Re: New Statement from McMillan About Neverland
What do you make of this? Could this be the deal that fell through
or is this something new?:huh:
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Oregon rail line pledges $24M to help Michael Jackson[/SIZE]
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http://www.ktvb.com/news/regional/stories/ktvbn-mar1408-jackson_neverland_railroad.54b4bd3f.html
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04:33 PM MDT on Friday, March 14, 2008
This article is derived from the extended one below, published March 13th:
http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080313/NEWS/22352400
Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch saved by Roseburg rail parent
At the same time the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad is seeking millions of dollars of state aid to reopen a rail spur between Coquille and Eugene, its parent company provided a bailout so troubled singer Michael Jackson could hang on to his Neverland Ranch.
On Thursday, Fortress Investment Group signed a “confidential” agreement that allows the pop singer to retain ownership of his famed property in Los Olivos, Calif.
“Fortress has claimed they do not have the money to invest in the CORP rail line that provides essential service to the Southern Oregon and Northern California economies, but somehow they’ve found the resources to invest in Neverland Ranch,” U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, said. “Their reported $24 million investment in the ranch is just about what it would cost to fully repair the rail line running from Coquille to Eugene and restore critical service to this regional economy.”
The 2,500-acre Neverland spread in the rolling hills of Central California’s wine country was scheduled to be auctioned off next week. The property had gone into default after Jackson had failed to pay the $24.5 million owed on the ranch.
Last month, RailAmerica, the Fortress-owned company that operates the Central Oregon & Pacific, offered to spend $2.9 million to repair a series of tunnels whose condition caused the railroad to shut down the 120-mile spur line without notice in September. However, in the offer made to Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, the company wanted assistance in raising the rest of the $20.4 million for other needed infrastructure improvements to the line.
“It’s unfortunate that they aren’t investing in the lines they have already — the Coos and Siskiyou lines,” said Bob Ragon, executive director of the Douglas Timber
Operators and spokesman for a coalition of shippers that use the Coos Bay spur and CORP’s Siskiyou line between Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Last month, Roseburg Forest Products reported it was spending between $125,000 and $167,000 more a month to ship lumber by truck rather than rail because of the closure of the Coos Bay spur.
A source close to Jackson, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told the Associated Press it’s not clear whether the entertainer will keep Neverland. Soccer star David Beckham is reportedly interested in the property.
Jackson bought the property years ago from a local cattle rancher and turned it into his personal playground, naming it after the mythical land of Peter Pan where boys never grow up. The singer, who was a star before he reached his teens, has said it was an effort to recreate the childhood he was denied.
He installed a zoo stocked with exotic animals and more than a dozen amusement park rides, including a merry-go-round and a train to rival Disneyland’s.
“I am told they run a small toy train at Neverland, perhaps that is the most rail capacity they are capable of handling,” DeFazio said of Fortress and RailAmerica.
