OK, this article from the San Jose Mercury News is just gross. It talks about how Redwood City, Calif., in whose courtroom the Scott Peterson murder trial is currently under way, isn't profiting sufficiently from all the press and other lookie-loos who swarmed in to pick up the latest dirt.
- Scott Peterson's attorney Mark Geragos eats lunch daily at Bob's Court House Coffee Shop. Television networks rent space on the roof of the Redwood Law Center. Journalists pack the Vino Santo Bistro on Broadway. And the modest Good Nite Inn rents around a dozen rooms to out-of-town reporters.
Such are the few glimmers of gold for businesses in Redwood City since Peterson's double-murder trial geared up with jury selection eight months ago. But the nuggets are few and far between. The prosecution rested its case after four months of testimony, the defense is expected to start this week, and anticipated throngs of free-spending visitors have barely materialized. Most businesses have seen nary a blip in their sales.
I understand that the city has to pick up the tab for the extra security and other trial-crowd associated costs, but the idea of being disappointed by not profiting sufficiently from a murder trial is just abhorrent to me. And I thought Boston and New York were bad enough crying about how they didn't make "enough" off the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Thankfully, while there may have been talk of figuratively killing the opposition, no one actually died of anything (except maybe boredom).
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