Los Angeles Charities Rarely on Hollywood’s ‘Must Do’ Lists

LOS ANGELES, September 4, 2009, The New York Times — When Michael Jackson was memorialized at the Staples Center here in July, celebrities sang, eulogized and openly wept. What they did not do was offer to pick up the city’s $1.4 million tab.

This is getting to be a habit in Los Angeles.

After helping to build some of the city’s most impressive monuments over the last century — including the downtown music center, with its Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Disney Concert Hall — show business has been stepping back, according to nonprofit organizations in the city and some people in the entertainment industry.