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Home My WebLink About2/16/2005 - STAFF REPORTS (16) CITY COUNCIL FEBRUARY 16, 2005 CONSENT CALENDAR Subject: "EYES WIDE OPEN' EVENT Initiated by: Department of Parks and Recreation SUMMARY: The City Council will consider sponsoring the "Eyes Wide Open" event on Sunday, March 13, at Pavilion/Cerritos Field by waiving the normal park use fee and allocating funds for the cost of the display tent rental fee and City staff services. RECOMMENDATION: 1. Approve Minute Order No. "APPROVING SPONSORSHIP OF THE "EYES WIDE OPEN' EVENT ON SUNDAY, MARCH 13, AT PAVILION/CERRITOS FIELD BY WAIVING THE NORMAL PARK USE FEE ANDALLOCATING FUNDS FOR THE COST OF THE DISPLAY TENT RENTAL FEE AND CITY STAFF SERVICES." STAFF ANALYSIS: The"Eyes Wide Open"eventwill visit Palm Springs on Sunday, March 13, in a presentation sponsored by the City of Palm Springs at Pavilion/Cerritos Field at the corner of Pavilion Way and Baristo Road. This is an opportunity to have this unique, vivid memorial exhibited locally, as it tours Southern California in March 2005. The "Eyes Wide Open" event is a multi-media exhibit, symbolizing the U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians who have lost their lives in the Iraq War. The exhibit will highlight, in a sprawling outdoor presentation, the names of over 1,400 American soldiers by displaying a single pair of boots representing each soldier who has fallen during this conflict. There will also be a museum-like exhibit in the display tent, with information panels, display televisions and large photos depicting the conflict. The hours for this exhibit will be from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and open to the public free of charge. FISCAL IMPACT: Funding for this event was not budgeted by the Department of Parks and Recreation. Staff is requesting funding in an amount not exceeding$2,500 from the City Council Unallocated Council Priorities Account 001-1220-42691. S tt Mikesell, Director David H. Ready, City Mahager' epartment of Parks and Recreation ' ,._ C'Em Z , Y Eyes Wide Open: An Exhibition on the Human Cost of the Iraq War : AFSC Page 1 of 1 Upcoming Dates February 15-17 Zilker Park Peace Grove Austin,TX(details) Contact Jessica Arjet:512-457-8115 February 28-March 1 City Hall Plaza - Dallas,TX(details) Contact Stephen Betzen March 5-6 Tucson,AZ Contact Melanie-Emerson:520-623-9141 March 9-10 San Diego,CA Contact Christian Ramirez:619-233AI14 March Los Angeles Metro Region,CA �1 Contact La Quetta Shamhlee:626-791-1978 x133 March 22-24 Fresno,CA Contact Myrna Martinez Nateras:559-222-7678 March 25-27 San Francisco,CA Contact Paula Simsor.:415-565-0201 x12 March 29-31 Sacramento,CA Contact Cindy Fowler:916-391-3132 April 3-4 Eugene,OR Contact Susan Segall April 5-7 Portland,OR Contact Susan Segall April 8.9 Tacoma,WA Contact Susan Segall April 10-13 Seattle,WA Contact Susan Segall http://www.afsc.org/eyes/default.htm 2/16/05 see where we've Been : Eyes Wide Open Exhibit : AFSC Page 1 of 1 SELE ` FilEP11 1 IE 6 s1Lt Ask rtL�C !�'x s., L� 1.DE1'..t'.3 Click on any underlined city from the list below to see photos and stories from the traveling exhibit. (In alphabetical order by state) Connecticut(CT) Teaneck, NJ Washington, D.C. Hempstead, NY Jacksonville, FL Long Island,NY Orlando, FL New York NY Tampa,FL Akron,OH Tallahassee,FL Canton, OH Athens,GA Cincinnati,OH Atlanta,GA Macon,GA Cleveland Heights,OH Chicago IL Dayton,OH Glen Ellyn, IL Oberlin,OH Toledo, OH Rockford, IL Youngstown, OH Indianapolis,IN Greensboro, NC Boston, MA New Castle, PA Fitchburg, MA _Philadeiohia, PA Western Mass.(MA) Chadesion,WV Kalamazoo,MI Rhode Island(RI) Lansing, MI Vermont(VT) Kansas City,MO Milwaukee,WI http://www.afsc.org/eyes/locations/main.htm 2/16/05 riwur WU nMIIVI. : nyns vviuc Upen nxmon : arak, Yage 1 of 2 c r LA Host the Exhibit I Media Coverage I Contributors ( 1 Since 1917,the About Eyes Wi American Friends Service Committee has Eyes Wide Ope - _- championed the dignity Ulm and worth of every Friends Service individual,the sanctity of acclaimed exhit human life and cost of the Iraq ra commemorates ,au i humanity's collective responsibility to_ ponsibil' promote peace.For almost 90 The exhibit inch years of work in war honoring each t zones on four continents, casualty;a field 1 we have gained an of remembranc< intimate knowledge of Iraqis killed in tf the costs and horrors of war. multimedia disp t history,cost am When this exhibit was unveiled by our Chicago office in the war. January 2004,there were 504 pairs of boots symbolizing the lost lives of U.S.soldiers in Iraq.With each passing week,each stop in a new city, more pairs of boots are About the Am added to represent the newly fallen.Alongside the boots Service Comm stands a wall of remembrance with the names of the more than 11,000 Iraqi civilians who have been killed since the The American F U.S.-led invasion. Committee is a organization tha As the exhibit makes its appearances across the country, various faiths w families and friends come to grieve for lost loved ones and social justice,p( strangers honor those who gave their lives to a cause far humanitarian se from home. based on the be every person ar At each stop,person after person leaves notes of of love to overa commemoration,photographs of lost soldiers,identification injustice. tags,flowers,and American flags to accompany the boots on their journey. More about AF: Although a majority of Americans now believe this war is a tragic misadventure,the human cost of the Iraq War grows every day.How many more boots will be standing at silent attention before this war ends,before Iraqis and American soldiers are out of harm's way? This traveling exhibit is a memorial to those who have fallen and a witness to our belief that no war can justify its human cost. Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary,AFSC http://www.afse.org/eyes/about-the-exhibit.htm 2/16/05 ADM me hxntott : r yes W tae Upen nxhibn : At'NU Page 1 of 1 About Eyes kA.1de Open Eyes Wide Open,the American Friends Service Committee's widely acclaimed exhibition on the human cost of the Iraq war ani the lives lost. The exhibit includes a pair of boots honoring each U.S.military casualty;a field of shoes and a wall of remembrance to memod killed in the conflict;and a multimedia display exploring the history,cost and consequences of the war. About the American Friends Service Committee The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to ov and injustice. hitp://www.afse.org/eyes/about-the-exhibit.htm 2/16/05 i MIu Wg OUILG JVtuuatl rnntanie story Page 1 of �j l ; O� 1 tansf r �SLate;lotl rnal This is a printer friendly version of an article from Lansing State Journal.To print this article open the file menu and choose Print. Published October 1,2004 Boots stand empty for 1,054 soldiers Exhibit aims to put a face on war losses By Kevin Grasha Lansing State Journal As tears welled up in his eyes, John Walbridge watched as boots honoring his Buy this photo C cousin were placed on the east steps of the state Capitol during a ceremony Thursday. U.S.Army Staff Sgt. Paul M. Neff II was one of 31 soldiers with Michigan ties being honored as part of a national touring exhibit memorializing U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraq war. While the boots symbolizing Neff-a South Carolina native whose father lives in West Branch-and 30 other Michigan soldiers lined the stone steps, more than 1,000 pairs of : *: y , combat boots sat in gravestone-like rows on the Capitol's east lawn. (ROD SANFORD/Lansing State Journal) Memorial:Wiping away tears,World War II Army Neffs Tamil had clippedphotographs to the veteran Charles Rybnikar, 82,walks the Capitol Y pP lawn Thursday through some of the 1,054 pairs boots'laces. One showed a smiling Neff, of combat boots lined up to represent U.S. wearing a desert camouflage uniform and a soldiers who have died in Iraq.The boots are black beret, shaking hands with his father. part of a traveling exhibit. After the ceremony, Walbridge, a Lansing Advertisement resident, said the event was part of the family's healing process. His 30-year-old cousin was killed on Nov. 7 when his Black 'Eyes Wide Open' exhibit Hawk helicopter was shot down by a rocket-- propelled grenade. •Thursday's exhibition on the state Capitol building's lawn-called"Eyes "I still miss him a lot,"said Walbridge,47,who Wide Open"- has been traveling across wore his cousin's Army-issued ID bracelet. the country since March. He said the Black Hawk went down in the same region where Saddam Hussein was Boots representing fallen American captured about a month later. soldiers were placed three feet apart, covering an estimated 25,000 square "It's very important that people realize the full feet, organizers said. cost of the Iraq war,"said the exhibit's creator, Michael McConnell of Chicago. "I • Learn more about the"Eyes Wide http://www.Isj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041001/NEW SOl/410010337/1001/news&... 2/16/05 L.auauig orarc JUwuail rrrtuaote scary Page L OT L didn't want the deaths to just became a statistic." Open"exhibit, including a schedule of upcoming stops, at McConnell, regional director for the American www,afsc.org/eyes/default.htm. Friends Service Committee, an international Quaker organization, said he conceived the exhibit about a year ago because he felt the War's toll human face of the war was not being shown to the public. Since Operation Iraqi Freedom began on March 19, 2003, more than 1,000 When it premiered on March 18 in downtown American troops have been killed in Iraq, Chicago, 507 pairs of combat boots were most of them after May 1, 2003, when displayed. The exhibit has traveled to many major combat operations were declared cities across the country,from Philadelphia, over. near the Liberty Bell, to Dayton, Ohio. The one-day stop in Lansing is the first of 1,054 only two the exhibit will make in Michigan. It travels to Kalamazoo today. U.S. troops killed in Iraq during the war As the names of soldiers and Iraqi civilians 31 were read one by one by volunteers, Ron Callen, 72, of Lansing said he thought the exhibit made real the losses the country has of those soldiers had Michigan ties faced. "It shows the realities of war,"he said. The exhibit also showed another side of the 16,000 war's human cost. Iraqi civilians estimated killed during the Lining the walkway to the Capitol's steps war were several 4-foot-high panels listing the names of the more than 16,000 Iraqi civilians killed in the war.Organizers said the civilian 507 casualty figures were conservative estimates derived from news reports and eyewitness Pairs of boots were originally needed to accounts. represent U.S. casualties when the exhibit opened in March That list includes three children from the same family, ranging in age from 1 to 10 years old,who died April 5 in Basra as a result of coalition airstrikes. Thousands are listed only as"anonymous Iraqi civilians." Their only crime, said McConnell:They were too close to military targets. Contact Kevin Grasha at 267-1347 or kgrasha@lsj.com. Copyright 2005 Lansing State Journal Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service(updated 12.20.02) [Back] http://wwwlsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041001/NEWS01/410010337/1001/news&... 2/16/05 1News4Jax.com-rant I111s Ltory - I nOUSandS Ut boots 1 o Show Human Cost UI Iraq War Page 1 of 2 News413axxom Thousands Of Boots To Show Human Cost Of Iraq War POSTED: 11:02 am EDT October 27, 2001 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A touring memorial that uses boots to demonstrate the human toll of the war in Iraq opened Wednesday at Metropolitan Park. "Eyes Wide Open" features 1,100 military boots -- one for every American man and woman killed in the conflict, but also uses 1,000 Video civilian shoes and boots to represent the thousands of Iraqi civilians that have died in the last 18 months. _sa While the war is one of the major political issues of this election year, organizers with the American Friends Service Committee, the # service agency of American Quakers, say the exhibit is about peace, not politics. "Peace is something that's bipartisan," Claud Myers of the National Conference for Community Justice said. "I hope people %= don't take something like this and turn it into a political message." Visitors Touched By Portrayal Of War Dead "Unfortunately, some Republicans decline," organizer Joanne Herrman said. "We feel that whether you're left or right or upside down or whatever, we all have this common, human need to grieve for our loved ones and honor our soldiers who have sacrificed their lives." John Capra is a Navy reservist who served in Iraq and is a Republican, but feels the exhibit is useful. "I think it's a good thing. There's a lot of people serving over there. We certainly don't want them to think they're forgotten, because they're not," Capra said. In addition to the field of boots in the display, there's a _ v three-panel wall of names listing more than 16,000 - names of Iraqi civilians killed, and an indoor multimedia exhibit. "I think we have to work real hard to offset much of the -, i confusion and chaos we see in the world today. Casualties Y happen for our side, they happen for their side and when F= r. _. the dust settles, we all have a lot of work to do to establish peace in the world." Myers said. . EXHIGIT SCHEDULE "Eyes Wide Open" is free and open The exhibit, which opened in Chicago in January with 500 to the public as follows: pairs of boots in January, has grown as the death toll in the war continues to rise. The tour has been to more than Wednesday,9 a.m.to 8 p.m. 20 cities and towns. After leaving Jacksonville, the exhibit . Noon -opening ceremony goes to Tampa and Tallahassee. • 6 p.m. -speakers and performers "Eyes Wide Open" is free to the public at Metropolitan • 7 p.m. -Candlelight observance Park Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday,9 a.m.to dusk On The Net Z�Eyes 11!1ide Open • 1 p.m. -Commemorative ht4)://www.riews4jax.com/print/3860529/detail.litail 2/16/05 MINUTE ORDER NO. APPROVING SPONSORSHIP OF THE "EYES WIDE OPEN" EVENT ON SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2005, AT PAVILION/CERRITOS FIELD BY WAIVING THE NORMAL PARK USE FEE AND ALLOCATING FUNDS FOR THE COST OF THE DISPLAY TENT RENTAL FEE AND CITY STAFF SERVICES. I HEREBY CERTIFY that this Minute Order, approving sponsorship of the "Eyes Wide Open" event on Sunday, March 13, 2005, at Pavilion/Cerritos Field by waiving the normal park use fee and allocating funds for the cost of the display tent rental fee and City staff services, was adopted by the City Council of the City of Palm Springs, California, in a meeting thereof held on the 161" day of February, 2005. BY: JAMES THOMPSON City Clerk 0