In the first place, anyone demanding a fee for doing community service should not only be ashamed at their greed, but should be eliminated from any potential speakers list. Speaker fees as exorbitant as $100,000, never mind first class travel and expenses for appearing? If 100 curious locals show up, that’s $1,000 per seat. Are 100 star-struck attendees willing to fork over $1,000 each for a Kenny G lecture? If so, let them privately fund the event.
But really now, does anyone proposing this outrage actually understand that a $100,000 speaking fee for little more than an hour or so of forgetful blathering significantly exceeds the average annual pension of a local retiree, or the salary of an underpaid public school teacher or the annual cost of assisted living for an elderly relative? Anyone in the public service should know better unless holding elected or appointed office now erases one’s conscience.
The Malibu City Council should exercise better judgment and use our limited resources to do tangible good for the city. How about long-stalled PCH safety or the deadly Kanan-PCH intersection? This community is richly populated with successful individuals, not necessarily celebrities, but endowed with ample speaking experience and real value to impart, who would gladly support a speakers series, for no fee. If anyone would like to speak in the library, they could be welcome, but only as pro bono local citizens.
Christopher Carradine