Port Truckers Fight Reveals Normalized Exploitation in Company Business Practices p. 3 The California Drought: Foretelling the Shape of Struggles to Come p. 5
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ILWU Trouble at TraPac p. 8 Local Gallery Exhibition on Feminism’s Shifting Definitions p. 11 Everything Tastes Better With Bacon Except the Price p. 14
By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
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The Local Publication You Actually Read
hat the USS Iowa is open for the third consecutive year in the Los Angeles Harbor is a victory in itself. The floating museum exceeded the Port of Los Angeles’ expectations of 188,000 visitors per year in its first two years, drawing more than 200,000 visitors each year. In 2013, it topped out at 244,000. This year, the downtown San Pedro plaza watercut opened just ahead of the Tall Ships Festival led by a giant rubber duck. The festival drew more than 270,000 visitors during the last three weeks of this summer. However, this year’s numbers for the battleship museum are down from the first two years. Despite the summer activity on the waterfront those numbers are still within the expectations of Jonathan Williams, the Pacific Battle Center’s president and CEO. “We are going into our third full year of operations and as expected we are slightly down on year two,” Williams replied in an email correspondence to Random Lengths. “I estimate we will see approximately plus or minus 200,000 [visitors] in year three, which is still above the original market study projections. As mentioned, we have seen a big uptick in group sales and event inquiries the past month, so it is possible that we are plateauing earlier than expected.” Even so, the Pacific Battleship Center, the caretaker organization of the historic battleship, is looking forward to new initiatives to draw more tourists. The battleship museum recently completed the ship’s installation of the sewage system and in November, they will launch its sleep aboard program. Yet, with all of this promising news of progress, there appears to be trouble beneath the surface. In September, a former employee at the Pacific Battleship Center drew attention to allegations of labor abuses, environmental safety violations and management issues of the executive staff.
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Trouble on the Iowa/ to p. 6
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Community Announcements:
Harbor Area Carson’s Veterans Job Fair
The Carson Veterans Affairs Commission has organized a Veterans Career and Resource Fair, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 3, at StubHub! Center. Among the services that will be offered during the fair include information on veterans’ benefits and workshops and seminars on job seeking skills. Participants are encouraged to bring their resume and dress to impress as interviews may take place on site. Admission to the event is free. Details: (310) 847-3570; CarsonVets2014@gmail. com. Venue: StubHub! Center Location: 18400 Avalon Blvd., Carson
Free Overview of November 2014 Ballot
The League of Women Voters presents a free overview of propositions on November 2014 ballot, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 11, at the San Pedro Library. Clarify your understanding of the propositions on the November 2014 ballot. Details: (310) 548-7779 Venue: San Pedro Library Location: 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro
Gay Men’s Health Summit
Come celebrate National Coming Out Day at an event full of wellness, Oct. 11, at the Courtyard Marriott in Long Beach. This free, one-day event will focus on gay men’s general, mental and sexual health. Participate in workshops, listen to guest speakers and panelists presenting on important issues for today’s gay, bisexual, and/or gender fluid men. Venue: Courtyard Marriott Location: 500 E. 1st St., Long Beach
SEADIP
Residents have an opportunity to participate in the Southeast Development and Improvement Plan during a community meeting, at 7 p.m. Oct. 15, at Ecco’s Pizza in Long Beach. The Southeast Development and Improvement Plan, known as SEADIP, is a 3-year project to ensure resource preservation in 1,500 acres of southeast Long Beach. It also establishes a framework for community change, including identifying places for future development and transportation expansion. Details: (562) 570-6918; district4@longbeach.gov Venue: Ecco’s Pizza Location: 2123 N. Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach Attend the annual Center for International Trade and Transportation State of the Trade and Transportation Industry Town Hall meeting, starting at 6 p.m. Oct. 15, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. Details: www.ccpe.csulb.edu Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center Location: 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach
TraPac: Raise One Crane, Lengthen Boom
The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners
SPHS Class Reunion
The San Pedro High Class of Summer 1954 will have a 60-year reunion from 3 to 8 p.m. Oct. 26. RSVP before Oct. 4. Details: (310)833-0688; sandymcrad@cox.net
Volunteer for the 34th Annual Spirit of San Pedro Holiday Parade
The streets of downtown San Pedro will be filled with little leagues, girls scouts, boy scouts, bands, high school sports teams, local businesses, members, and many more—each coming together to showcase the best that our community has to offer in our annual holiday parade Dec. 7. Volunteers are needed, from 1 to 3 p.m., in a variety of capacities. Details: (310) 832-7272; events@sanpedrochamber.com
Festival Volunteers Needed
About 200 volunteers are needed for The Festival 2014, a craft beer-tasting festival. The event will take place Nov. 8 and 9 at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles. Volunteers must be a 21 years and older. The Festival will feature craft brewers from around the world, food and music. In exchange for volunteering one session, volunteers will receive a free beer tasting session, an event t-shirt and an invitation to the after-party on the evening of Nov. 9. Details: volunteer@sharefestinc.org. or facebook. com/sheltonbrothers Venue: Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles Location: 112 E. 22nd St., #10, San Pedro
Building Permit Streamlined for Residential Solar Photovoltaic Systems
On Sept. 18, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced new initiatives at the Department of Building and Safety that will reduce costs for Los Angeles residents installing solar photovoltaic systems at their homes, including making permits available online and having Building and Safety inspectors verify requirements on behalf of the fire department. Contractors can now visit www.ladbs.org to obtain instant online permits for standard solar systems up to 10kW for single-family homes and duplexes, which make up the vast majority of installations.
Human Trafficking Suspects Video Footage
The Long Beach Police Department is working a human trafficking investigation involving a minor. The department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects and vehicle wanted in connection with this case. In the video, the suspects’ vehicle, which appears to be a newer white 4-door sedan, is seen leaving the parking lot after the suspects and victim walked out of the store. Anyone with information regarding this vehicle or the suspects is urged to call (562) 5707219 or visit www.lacrimestoppers.org. Video of human trafficking victim and wanted suspects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jOgFj49BQE Video of human trafficking suspect vehicle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-sbhYLCKMI
Port Executive Directors Share Optimism at PortTech Expo
October 2 - 15, 2014
Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area
Global Trends, Local Impacts, Big Decisions
will host a public hearing for comments about a proposed project to raise one crane and lengthen boom at Berths 136-137. The public hearing will take place at 8:30 a.m. Oct.16, at the Port of Los Angeles Board Room. Details: (310) 732-3850; www.portoflosangeles.org Venue: Port of Los Angeles Location: 425 S. Palos Verdes St., San Pedro
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On Sept. 18, executive directors Jon Slangerup and Gene Seroka of the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles, respectively, sat in on a panel discussion about the future of goods movement and environmentally sustainable practices. Photo by Taso Papadakis, courtesy of the PortTech Expo
Committed to independent journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for more than 30 years
Fired Port Truckers Fight Reveals Different Faces of Trucking Firm TTSI By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
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With such a small portfolio, close attention to each company would be a given. According to BusinessWeek, “The firm makes equity and debt investments between $8 million and $15 million in companies with an enterprise value of up to $500 million.” But Kaoosji said that the TTSI investment is believed to be even more—around $16 million. “We believe it’s the majority of this company, controlling majority,” he said. Controlling is the operative word. Saybrook’s online profile clearly indicates its hands-on involvement in the corporate strategies of firms it invests in. For example, a job description on LinkedIn speaks of “control-oriented investments,” with responsibilities “assisting with oversight and monitoring of portfolio companies” and “work[ing] closely with management at Saybrook’s portfolio companies to increase profitability and drive operational improvement.” Saybrook, in turn, has significant investments from three public pension funds in California— CalPERS, the state employee pension fund, LACERs, the Los Angeles equivalent, and the Los Angeles Fire and Police pension fund. “So what we’ve been doing is we’ve been reaching out to this pension funds and the workers, whose money is actually in those funds to let them know what’s going on,” Kaoosji said.
Administration, concerning CalPERS’ investments in Saybrook, and another firm, CenterPoint Properties, which leases a warehouse to Green Fleet Systems. Cammack represents 25,000 public sectors workers within his jurisdiction, so Different Face/ to p. 4
Clean Up on the Docks
Retardant foam covering the water following the fire on the docks of Pasha Stevedoring in Wilmington on Sept. 22. Photo by Betty Guevara
The Local Publication You Actually Read October 2 - 15, 2014
n Sept. 3, Total Transportation Services Inc. fired at least 33 port truck drivers, who refused to abandon their wage theft claims that were filed with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). The claims total about $4.8 million. TTSI claimed no one was being fired. The company advanced the same claim in the press that the DLSE had alreday rejected. “Some owner operators decided not to renew their contracts with the company and those contracts have now expired,” a TTSI representative, Alex Cherin, told the Press Telegram, which erroneously reported that Cherin “refuted the drivers’ claims.” Fired drivers directly contradict this account. “I drove for TTSI for 10 years until last week, when I was fired because I refused to withdraw my wage claim with the DLSE,” said José Rosales Romero. “I did not ‘choose’ to stop driving for TTSI like the company says I did. I liked my job and the work that I did, but I simply wanted what every worker in America wants—the right to be treated with dignity, and the right to earn a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.” But these labor disputes are just one side of TTSI, a purportedly struggling company, paying independent contractors the going rate in a competitive marketplace. Other sides of TTSI have increasingly come into view as the company hunkers down into total resistance mode. There’s the private equity side, as attention has recently focused on Los Angeles-based Saybrook Capital, which has poured millions into TTSI, including money from public sector pension funds, whose overseers have begun to raise questions. And there’s the “green growth” side that TTSI promotes aggressively on its website and elsewhere, downplaying the fact that its “leadership” is entirely dependent on more than $7 million in public subsidies to purchase its current fleet of trucks. TTSI is “a significant company that’s received a lot of attention for their green initiatives,” said Sheheryar Kaoosji, who heads the Campaign for Clean and Safe Ports at the LA Alliance for a New Economy. “But they’ve also received a lot of subsidies from the state and Air Quality Management District, and the city, the Port of Los Angeles in order to get some of these clean trucks.” The largest source of money was $4.4 million from AQMD and the total from all sources nears $8 million. As TTSI has adopted an increasingly hostile posture towards its drivers, attention to these other sides of the company reveals a broader pattern of normalized exploitation that’s characteristic of America’s neoliberal political economy as a whole. On the private equity side, Saybrook Capital promises investors “superior risk-adjusted returns through special situations investments in lower middle market companies,” and lists TTSI as one of just 11 “current investments” on its website.
“We brought a group of drivers, initially to the CalPERS meeting, a couple of months ago in Sacramento.” Then, on Aug. 11, came a letter from Randy Cammack, president of Teamsters Joint Council 42, to Rob Feckner, president of CalPERS Board of
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New Oil Code Ban on Fracking By Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter
Carson continues to respond to some residents’ concerns about the possibility of oil companies, such as OXY, fracking and drilling, and perhaps creating public hazards, within city limits. In August the Carson City Council directed an updated draft of the oil code, including a new provision to ban fracking. The process of revision includes multiple opportunities for public comment and is expected to take several months. Public workshops concerning the revision process were took place Aug. 21 and Sept. 17 at the Congresswoman Juanita Millender-
McDonald Community Center in Carson. Another workshop is tentatively scheduled for October, when a draft code will be presented. The exact date will be posted on Carson’s website, along with a link to the proposed draft. The dates for a period of public comment will also be posted. Once the proposed new code is finalized, a period for public comment will open again. The final version must be approved by the Carson Planning Commission—most likely in December. After that, the city council will vote whether or not
Carson activists following an informational meeting on fracking in April 2014. File photo.
to approve the new code, probably in early 2015. In directing the update, the council agreed there was a need to address new technology and environmental concerns beyond what the current code—or the state—requires. Carson’s current code is about 40 years old and doesn’t have much regulation in it. The code provides the legal basis by which the civic government may regulate the vested rights, mineral rights and property rights of oil companies doing business in the city. It covers applying for a permit, ensures that industrial activities do not conflict with city land use, and looks at oil production and recovery. It does not replace the need for an Environmental Impact Report or other applicable regulatory procedures. It applies to both oil and natural gas extraction. Carson hired Marine Research Specialists, an environmental consulting firm based in Ventura, to draft a revised code. At the Sept. 17 workshop, company representatives Luis Perez, Steven Radis and Greg Chittick spoke and answered written questions from the audience. Many relevant topics were collectively addressed during the presentation and the question-and-answer period, including permitting,
financial responsibility, land use, safety, mishaps, fire code compliance, vapor recovery, air quality, groundwater quality, noise, transportation, aesthetics and decommission or abandonment of operations. One major new feature of the revised code promises be a ban on fracking and other enhanced drilling, as the State of California defines it. Another is a change in setback requirements—the current code only provides for a 300-foot setback from residential or commercial properties. The new setback is expected to be 1,500 feet. Another major portion of questions and answers dealt with current oil drilling activity in Carson. The city has five wells that are currently active and those are proposed to be grandfathered in. As companies seek modifications or extensions of existing permits, the new code will be applied. The city’s code is meant to address primarily above-ground facilities. The state Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources administers downhole safety regulations. It is in the midst of adopting new ones.
October 2 - 15, 2014
Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area
from p. 3
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Different Face
he’s speaking on behalf of the very people whose money is being invested in TTSI. On Aug. 29, this was followed by a similar letter to LACERS Commissioner Elizabeth Greenwood. Shortly after, in early September, “The drivers who had been terminated went to the LACERS board meeting in Los Angeles, and that was again to tell this story directly to the trustees,” Kaoosji said. “They should receive a clear message that this is unacceptable, public employees money should not be used to support a company that steals from their workers, and also a company that retaliates severely against workers who speak out.” As for TTSI’s environmental record, if you look at their website, you might think they were the Sierra Club. There’s a whole section touting its commitment to clean diesel, LNG and even hydro/electric trucks. “TTSI has invested $15 million in LNG and clean diesel trucks and plans to replace its entire fleet with alternative fuel vehicles,” it says in a timeline of its accomplishments. That is somewhat questionable claim, given TTSI’s reliance on subsidies on the one hand and forcing its drivers to make weekly truck leasing payments on the other. “TTSI enthusiastically joined in the ports’ commitment to clean air,” a later timeline entry proclaims. “A mere nine months after the ports
adopted the San Pedro Bay Clean Air Protection Plan, TTSI committed to converting its entire drayage fleet to a completely green fleet of clean diesel and liquefied natural gas vehicles. TTSI was able to complete the conversion in a year’s time.” It’s amazing what you can do, when somebody else is paying the bills. The biggest per-truck subsidies came from the Port of Los Angeles in early 2008, when TTSI inked an agreement worth $1,472,000 for just eight LNG trucks—$184,000 each. TTSI’s critics say the company also received AQMD subsidies paid for by Proposition 1B for at least 48 trucks. The program provided up to $50,000 per truck for diesel trucks and up to $100,000 per truck for LNG trucks. TTSI also got 97 of POLA’s $20,000 per truck incentive packages for new private truck purchases— regardless of fuel type. The Clean Truck Program was widely touted as an amazing success—and it was, judging by how quickly the new trucks were put into service. But the speed with which that happened also tells another story. The financial incentives were far more lucrative for the companies that caused the problem in the first place—more than any of the public agencies trying to solve the problem realized when they wrote the rules. And to this very day, wage theft from individual truckers is still a contributing factor to the handsome profits being made, critics believe.
California’s Record Drought Drags On, Foretelling Shape of Things to Come By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
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ecent tropical rainstorms have caused local disasters in California, while bringing virtually no relief to the long-term drought. Experts warn that this could only be a taste of decades-long dry spells to come as a result of global warming. It was one level at which apparent contradiction and confusion reigned. The record three-year drought brought California to confront the need for major long-term water policy reforms. Whether the state takes a just, sustainable path forward remains a highly problematic question. Downpours dumped almost 4 inches of rain on Mount Baldy in a single hour on Aug. 3, in the kind of event seen only once every 500 years, according to the National Weather Service. This happened just a few days after the July 29 start date for sweeping new statewide emergency conservation measures. Those measures include a $500 fine for residents and businesses that waste water outdoors. Ironically, the same day that the measures were approved, Reuters reported that a Glendora couple “received a letter from the city warning they had 60 days to green up their partially brown lawn or pay a fine ranging from $100 to $500,” just one small reflection of the massive social, political and bureaucratic chaos entailed in an ongoing uncoordinated response to
global warming. The Aug. 3 downpour also drenched Forest Falls with 3½ inches of rain, stranding nearly 2,500 people, after mudslides—up to 10-feet high—buried the town’s only road that connected it to the rest of the state. More recently, flash floods drenched several Inland Empire communities the first weekend in September, as spin-off from Hurricane Norbert dropped as much as 3 inches of rain in Valley Vista, near Hemet. Yet, “Unfortunately, these storms don’t really make a dent in the drought,” Stephen Harrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the Los Angeles Times after the most recent storm. “We need a large, prolonged rain event to really make a dent.” Figures from the National Drought Monitor back him up. The early August storms managed to help break an unprecedented 12-week run in which all of California was classified in one of the three worst drought conditions: D2, Severe; D3, Extreme; or D4, Exceptional. But while a small sliver of the state slipped into D1 (moderate drought) conditions (0.2 percent the first two weeks in August, now up to 4.58 percent), the combined percentage in D3 and D4 actually increased ever-so-slightly, from 81.89 percent before the first storms hit to 81.92 percent, where it has remained ever since.
The combination of record drought and record flash-flooding vividly underscores a key aspect of global warming—that as a large-scale, longrange climate phenomena it greatly increases the occurrence of extreme weather events of all kinds, even seemingly contradictory ones. That’s because planetary warming increases the amount of energy in the global climate system, and the increased energy produces more events on the extreme. While ideologically-driven denial remains in place, the brute facts have become increasingly impossible to ignore. As noted in a recent Associated Press story, “Red-State Cities Find Euphemisms To Prepare for Global Warming,” local officials across the country are increasingly taking action, “But in many places, especially strongholds of conservative politics, they’re planning for the volatile weather linked to rising temperatures by speaking of ‘sustainability’ or ‘resilience,’ while avoiding no-win arguments with skeptics about whether the planet is warming or that human activity is responsible.” In California, it’s not so easy to finesse when the subject is water or, more properly, the lack thereof. For starters, the free-market ideologues of California’s agribusiness sector are part of the most heavily socialized sector of the U.S. economy. Not one, but two government projects— the State Water Project and the federally-financed Central Valley Water Project—have been in place since the Great Depression. These comprise a network of 1,200 miles of aqueducts, canals and pipelines, which can transport about 11 million acre-feet of water (3.6 trillion gallons) from the high Sierras to the state’s farmlands, with a much smaller share going to cities, factories and extractive industries. But that’s only when the water is there. In severe drought years, like 2008, for example,
only about 41 percent of the system’s capacity was delivered, about 4.5 million acre-feet. Such years are projected to become increasingly common as the 21st century unfolds. “Big Ag” has two major workarounds in mind: first, pump more groundwater, and second, grab more water that would otherwise flow into the California delta. Neither of these is an environmentally sustainable solution. In an earlier story about California’s drought, “California on the Cusp of Megadrought,” published in the March 7, 2014 issue of Random Lengths News, we interviewed Dr. Michael Hanemann, a UC Berkeley environmental economist. He discussed the dramatic improvements in water policy Australia achieved throughout the past 30 years. These he sharply The Shape of Things to Come/ to p. 7
The Local Publication You Actually Read October 2 - 15, 2014
Top, the Bidwell Marina at Lake Oroville on on 20 July, 2011. Bottom: the same view of the Bidwell Marina at Lake Oroville on 19 August, 2014.
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Former vice president of development and communication for the Pacific Battleship Center, Patrick Salazar, submitted a detailed report to the Port of Los Angeles and the nonprofit’s audit committee Chairwoman Vanessa Lewis. Random Lengths News obtained copies of this correspondence. The report included statements from other paid staff and former volunteers. Pacific Battleship Center board of directors member, Douglas Herman, describes Salazar as a disgruntled former employee attempting
he resigned and attempted to get a severance package on par with the industry standard. Salazar believes PBC fired him for raising difficult questions about wage theft, labor law violations and environmental compliance issues too often while he was a staff member. Salazar says he is not looking to get the battleship’s lease revoked, but he saw enough dysfunction within the organization to become a whistleblower. “I just want the ship to survive and to serve
Thousands came to San Pedro’s waterfront to welcome the USS Iowa in the summer of 2012. File photo.
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The safety and management situation at Pacific Battleship Center is regrettable on many levels. This ship is a national monument to the service and sacrifice of thousands of American veterans and their families. As a historic naval ship museum supported by taxpayers here and in the state of Iowa, its leadership is obligated to a very high standard of ethics and transparency. One of my greatest challenges at PBC was to convey this standard to a management and board team that has very little experience or background in community service, nonprofit management or museum education. I consider it a failure on my part that I was unable to convince my colleagues at PBC to learn and maintain the industry standards that are so integral to good charitable organization stewardship. The team that prepared Battleship IOWA for its role as a museum did an excellent job. They faced numerous challenges and followed through in exemplary fashion. Like any complex project, however, each phase needs the right leadership. The same team who restored the ship is still running Pacific Battleship Center. Those who can skillfully refurbish a 70-year old ship are not necessarily the same crew who should lead it as a community-based nonprofit museum. That would be like asking the bricklayers and welders who build a school to stay on as teachers and coaches.
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Trouble on the Iowa
from p. 1
—Patrick Salazar
October 2 - 15, 2014
Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area
to extort money from the organization. Herman wouldn’t go into details about the circumstances of Salazar’s termination, saying only that there were two independent investigations conducted by the organization’s employer insurance companies that found that Salazar’s claims were based on hearsay and that there was no evidence to substantiate his claims. Salazar, who has 25 years of experience in fundraising in the nonprofit sector, was brought on board as a paid consultant in the same month that vice president of donor outreach, Robert Kent, left the organization in April 2013. The following month, he became a paid staff member after he was named vice president of development and communications. Salazar contends that his termination was the result of an extensive review in which senior management decided to reduce one full time position to part time and eliminate Salazar’s position altogether. In Salazar’s estimation, he raised a half million dollars in the 16 months he was with the Battleship Center. To him, it made no sense to fire a staff member who was bringing in the money. Salazar believes he was wrongly terminated, and their refusal to give him a severance package was a slap in the face considering his contributions to the organization. This is not the first time Salazar has left a nonprofit organization. Between 2008 and 2009, Salazar served as the vice president of development of the Parent Television Council. The organization is reputed for holding advertisers accountable for television content that the organization finds indecent. At the time, Salazar said he witnessed a number of unethical fundraising practices. The organization said they fired him. He said 6
the community,” Salazar said. “In my opinion, as of now, this is not possible with Jonathan [Williams] at the helm.” When asked about the allegations, the port’s director of media relations confirmed that they received Salazar’s documents and are looking into the issues raised to make sure that the tenant is in compliance with all aspects of the lease.
Alleged Mismanagement of Funds
Random Lengths obtained a copy of an email from Battleship Center President Jonathan Williams and Vice President of Operations Michael Getscher in which they announced that following an extensive review they would undergo major cost-cutting to make up for the lack of revenue from the off-season. “Like most museum operations,” the email read, “the summer on-season attendance revenue helps cover the shortfall during the off-season. While our revenues exceed our expenses during the summer, we have not seen a large infusion of onseason revenue to sustain the off-season short fall.” Salazar, who says he was privy to information he received from upper management staff such Williams and Dave Canfield, former vice president of security, learned that certain board members were getting paid travel expenses to go home in Northern California or non-Battleship Center-related work. Salazar began reaching out to the board’s audit Chairwoman Lewis about his concerns in September: • Why did Getscher and Williams take two trips for a week a piece to Hawaii to go to the U.S.S. Missouri as a fact finding mission and come back with just tourist pictures? What couldn’t you get in two days on one trip? I’m sure there was a report. Just doubt the veracity
of any of it since none of it trickled down to us to help us get the ship in better shape physically, financially or long term actuality based upon the other ship’s results. We paid for this. What a waste. • Why did Williams and some board members go to Hawaii at company cost to see how the overnight program worked? Really? And we paid to send a service animal too that was being trained. I do not understand this. Both could have been done online. • Sending Pawloski [Dan Pawloski is the former Vice President of Operations at the Pacific Battleship Center] to the U.S.S. Missouri to investigate their CHT system [Collection, Holding and Transfer system for waste on a ship]. Why was this necessary after we sent our “Chief Engineer” there twice? Sent Getscher to the U.S.S. New Jersey also. Why is there not a file on all of their CHT systems? What a waste. Salazar alleges that there is a “severe discrepancy in corporate officer pay, time and job performance. Salazar poses some serious questions. “Why do they act like it is a 40-hour work week? What are the standards to ensure that [the Pacific Battle Center’s] money’s worth? Why does Getscher get to not do as required and still get to keep his full pay when every manager there has taken pay cuts and time off to help the company and the ship? What happened to all the money for the overnight programs? How much was really given out? And why are we hinging our entire economic life on the overnight programs?” Salazar asked. It must be noted that in the email announcing Salazar’s termination, Williams and Getscher were fully expecting that the onboard overnight program would be enough to fill the revenue hole left by the off-season. Salazar forwarded a list of Pacific Battle Center vendors that were paid between 2008 and 2014. On that list, board President Jeff Lamberti and board Secretary Rebecca Beach were paid $17,037.82 and $102,146.07, respectively. The document does not reflect when those monies were paid or for what services those monies were paid. But generally, board members of a nonprofit organization are not paid positions. These two board members are important for another reason. Lamberti, who is gaming commissioner in the State of Iowa, recently came under scrutiny for his votes favoring casinos that
donated to the USS Iowa. Beach is Lamberti’s business partner with whom he formed Riverside Partners, a political consulting and fundraising firm. Riverside Partners was also listed as one of the USS Iowa’s vendors. (Read more about this in the next edition of Random Lengths.) The Pacific Battleship Center released audited financial statements for each year they have been in operation. Indeed, the Battleship Center earned $8.2 million in total revenues in 2012. A year later, total revenues were about half of 2012 totals. This decline was due primarily to the $5 million drop in contributions to the floating museum. There was a moderate increase from the ship’s revenue from admissions, but not nearly enough to make up the shortfall from the previous year. As for the overnight program, the Battleship Center received a $250,000 grant to launch it. Salazar believes that the executive staff is cooking the books to hide expenses being paid to outside consultants and travel expenses of board members and staff to travel home and back. What happens next remains to be seen. In any case, the issues brought to light by these whistleblowers raise important questions about Pacific Battleship’s Centers board members.
Hostile Work Environment
Salazar and others both spoke of a hostile work environment. The degradation of the work environment was due, in large part, to firings of staff that were perceived as unjust, labor violations and pay disputes. There also was the professional faux pas such as executive staff attempting to force volunteers and staff alike to wear naval uniforms and salute each other as if they were in the Navy, even though none of them had ever served in the armed services. In fact, there’s currently only one board member who has ever served in the military. “He has lost the confidence of many crew members and his willingness to break the law and flaunt PBC policy/procedure is appalling,” Salazar said of Williams. Salazar alleged that Williams vetoed small pay increases for the hourly employees making $12 an hour and frowned on managers for filing valid mileage expenses, all while using the company credit card for years of his personal travel home in northern California. Salazar and others described the temperament continued on following page
from p. 5
The Shape of Things to Come contrasts to California. California’s progress has largely been limited to consumer use advances, such as low-flow showerheads and toilets. Hanemann explained that Australia had been able to significantly reform its water-rights regime, largely because it became a national political issue, overcoming the tradition of deference to state-level control and opening the way for comprehensive regulation, including groundwater, thus protecting the shared resource of water tables, on which future generations also depend. However, here in California, even simply measuring groundwater has remained off-limits. At best, “states measure the water table,” Hanemann said. “They don’t measure who is doing the pumping,” This is crucial, he explained. “The first line of defense against climate change is measurement,” Hanemann said. “We need a baseline, so that we can make adjustments.” Such action was proposed during Gov. Jerry from previous page
Trouble Onboard
Throughout all the correspondence, the issue of regional preference as suggested by the operation team member’s “Richmond club” comment was rarely mentioned, but the issue seemed to be a deep undercurrent of the strife on the ship. In his July 25, correspondence with Vanessa Lewis, Patrick Salazar writes that he is “convinced that he [Williams] doesn’t respect the law, the ship, veterans, the Los Angeles/San Pedro community (he refers to Pedro as ‘the ghetto’).” His unwillingness to relocate here resonates negatively in the community. He has not embraced the region and it has returned the favor. He (publicly) calls the IOWA his “hobby”… while he claims to still run a going concern up North.” But the management troubles aboard the USS Iowa don’t stop there. Read the next edition of Random Lengths News to get the story of the cutthroat world of naval ship nonprofit organizations, fundraising from casino gaming corporations and conservative political operatives from Iowa.
October 2 - 15, 2014
The operations team member reported in a complaint to the Harbor Department that a number of these volunteers were donating innumerable amount of skilled labor and time. In light of this, the operations team member noted that many of the volunteers were unhappy with this treatment. Judging from the email correspondence to Vanessa Lewis, some of the management issues were starting to get resolved by the end of August 2014. In an email dated the first week of September, 2014, the operations team member noted that Williams was more visible aboard the battleship and was taking a positive interest in the volunteers that were serving, saying in one email to executive board member Lewis: Jonathan has been much more visible onboard the vessel. He is cultivating relationships with the employees and
volunteers. Actually seems to have walked the tour path and let people know what is happening onboard. He is showing a much more favorable attitude at this point. Trying to present an example for a change. This is good. We now have management onboard Saturday and Sunday as their prescribed working days. Good to have someone on board who is authorized to make decisions instead of the ship not having any management onboard Friday to Monday that is there or visible. This is a plus. • [There is] Actual involvement in the day-to-day operations of the ship in all areas by management. [Their management is] Still very weak but it’s there and possibly growing, so this is a win. With so few employees it is always a mistake to disappear into offices and never come out. • Ship’s attitude is changing for the positive across the board since Dan’s departure. Although I objected to Ken Labruzzi’s hiring, since he was coming from up north as part of the Richmond club. He is doing a good job. [He] knows how to be a manager. Still think it should have been a local hire to cement our relationships here. However, he is doing well.
benefit), as well as the principle of beneficiary pays, and will usher in a new era of big dams, providing little in the way of cost-effective nearterm drought relief. These critics say in their opposition statement to Prop. 1, “Funds for recycling, conservation and groundwater cleanup were slashed 36 percent in the final version of the bond in order to provide money for expensive water purchases and speculative new dams that will not be operational for decades.” Water wars have long defined the American West. “Whiskey’s for drinking, water’s for fightin’ over,” as the old saying goes. Wine may have taken whiskey’s place in recent decades, but there’s no end in sight for California’s water wars as its worst recorded drought drags on indefinitely.
The Local Publication You Actually Read
of upper management as mercurial towards their subordinates—particularly towards those they had a dispute with previously. In one account, which took place during the first year of the USS Iowa’s opening, it was commonplace for managers such as Williams and Pawloski to treat volunteers as if they were a part of a military command. “Pawloski gave one of his ‘my way or the highway’ speeches, where he told all the volunteers they were here to work and if he needed them to chip paint then that’s what they would do,” said one operations team member, whose identity Random Lengths has chosen to withhold. “No other options.” The team member in another account alleges that Williams made similar comments in July 2014: Jonathan Williams comes in and starts a week-long campaign onboard ship about how only 20 percent of the people do the work and he was going to get rid of all people with bad attitudes. This was brought about because a volunteer sent him a letter giving him an assessment of his lack of ability and such. Mr. Williams did not take it well and let all know… [He] let all know that if trimming was needed. It would come from management and he would start with all who had bad attitudes.
Brown’s first stint as governor, when California experienced its last most notable drought, but the proposal went nowhere. “If you make a change, someone will lose,” when it comes to water rights, Hanemann said. But now, miraculously, California seems poised to take action on this front. A set of three groundwater bills passed in late August, and Brown signed them on Sept. 16. As described by the Sacramento Bee, “The legislative package would compel water-basin managers in certain areas to craft groundwater plans guarding against overdrafts. The state would review the plans and reserve the power to step in if they are not prepared or enforced.” If that represents a welcome giant step forward, another state-level initiative draws much more negative reviews from environmentalists: Gov. Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which is basically the reincarnation of his “Peripheral Canal” proposal that voters rejected at the ballot box in 1982.
Instead of a canal, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan would use two tunnels to redirect Sacramento River water away from the Delta, and south to Big Ag consumers, as well as the growing fracking industry. But otherwise, the two plans are strikingly similar, including their destructive impact on the Delta ecosystem, which is why a devastating 43-page comment letter from the Environmental Protection Agency helped derail the project’s draft Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact Statement, EIR/EIS, this summer. The state still plans to re-circulate a new draft in 2015, but there’s no reason to think it will fare any better. Lawsuits are certain if it does. An article on the leading global warming science site DeSmogBlog quoted Food & Water Watch’s California Director Adam Scow summing up: “Really what this tunnel project exposes is who really wants the water out of the delta? And the answer is Big Ag and Big Oil. It’s not based on need, it’s based on greed.” If one state initiative holds great promise, while the second shows just the opposite, a third initiative—the $7-plus billion water bond, Proposition 1 on the November ballot—has multiple components, some clearly beneficial. The proposition has drawn support from both business interests—the California Chamber of Commerce, for instance, and from some environmentalists, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council. But Prop. 1 has a solid phalanx of grassroots environmental groups lined up against it, including groups like California Water Impact Network, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the River, Food and Water Watch, Restore the Delta and Southern California Watershed Alliance. They argue that it undermines the public trust doctrine (diverting public water for private
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ILWU Contract May Hinge on TraPac Automation
How far will new technologies go in replacing the workforce? By James Preston Allen, Publisher
October 2 - 15, 2014
Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area
The American flag barely flaps in the breeze when the sun rises behind the Vincent Thomas Bridge as seen from Eastview Little League baseball fields atop Knoll Hill. TraPac’s new automated OCR cranes at berths 134-139 can be seen idle with little movement on the docks from that vantage point, TraPac recently installed and had begun testing the new cranes that utilize a complete optical character recognition (OCR) solution for every entry and exit point of its terminal. The technology would make the terminal fully automated. I was told by a source that the automated cranes there haven’t been operating for the past two weeks following a health and safety grievance filing by the ILWU. The union claimed that TraPac’s new technology is dangerous following a dozen accidents on that terminal since the automated part of the facility was finished. The new automated cranes even showed problems on its inaugural launch, with all the executives on site. An accident was avoided only by the quick use of the override switch by a union crane driver. New technology seems to be the buzzword these days around the harbor with various entities both private and public heralding the economic and environmental benefits of “hi-tech” advances. At the San Pedro Chamber leadership breakfast, even the new Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles Gene Seroka, waxed on about how new technologies have reduced air pollution by some 45 percent over the last decade. Yet, it was the previous POLA Executive Director Geraldine Knatz who personally signed off on the $150 million to $210 million spent (there seems to be some disagreement as to exactly how much) by POLA on TraPac’s transition to a fully automated terminal. It is generally understood that her arrogance for not getting mayoral or city council approval was the cause for her “resignation” this past year. Whatever the actual amount was, it left a hole in the current POLA budget that has caused the Board of Harbor Commissioners and Mayor Eric Garcetti to do some deep soul searching on future expenses and the direction this port takes in remaining competitive in the global trade. The problem is that this TraPac deficit or investment, depending on how you look at it, has caused the Harbor
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Commission to postpone and delay other long promised waterfront developments. The trouble with this “hi-tech” solution and its “hi-cost” expense is that it currently can’t prove itself to be safe at any speed, cost millions to install and will cost good paying jobs on the waterfront. It is unclear how many years it will take the port to recoup the investment. More importantly, should the port be investing in this yet-to-be-proven safe technology that will, in effect, lose more jobs than it creates? This one terminal has now become a focal point of the entire West Coast contract negotiations between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association and as of this past week, I have been told the TraPac board is split on whether to settle the dispute or call for a lockout of the ILWU. This, of course, could have far reaching impacts on all concerned. A lockout could trigger a complete collapse of the West Coast contract talks, cause a stoppage of all cargo in every port from Vancouver, B.C. to San Diego and could cause far reaching economic impacts from here to Chicago. This, I predict, would call for immediate presidential intervention and I’m not so sure how the PMA would fare with a Barack Obamaappointed arbitrator settling the dispute. This may end up as being one of those historic moments, though, when everything changes, like the year longshoring changed to containerization. And I am not convinced that the majority of ILWU workers understand what’s at stake. These new technologies will replace as many as 25 percent of the current jobs and the jobs that remain or the new jobs created will mostly take a higher skill set than what most of these workers are trained in. Our schools and universities are not even ramped up to teach to this level yet. The question is whether any new jobs created by automation will in fact remain here or even be under the jurisdiction of the ILWU? I would bet that this last question is the crux of the long drawn-out contract negotiations that hangs over the ILWU and PMA jointly. How many jobs remain and who represents the new jobs that are created? It doesn’t take much to imagine a sci-fi future in which our aspiration for automation has progressed so far that the PMA wants to replace all workers with androids and that the entire port operates on a 24-hour schedule with no holidays, no overtime and no grumbling from the robots. This, of course, works up to the point where Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya info@graphictouchdesigns.com
“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it.” —Mark Twain Vol. XXXV : No. 20
Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach. Distributed at over 350 locations throughout the seven cities of the Harbor Area.
Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com Assistant Editor Zamná Ávila zamna@randomlengthsnews.com
artificial intelligence develops, the robots begin to think and the last human on the waterfront, an old ILWU worker says to them, “an injury to one is an injury to all.” And then, the robots stop working and there is no one left who knows how to either work the docks or reprogram the androids.
Don’t get me wrong, there will always be advances in technology, but the core ethical question is, at what point do we give up the human factor in any work and replace it with a machine? And, should public monies be used in this process to become more competitive at the expense of eliminating human jobs?
No Bombing of Syria and Iraq
By Christopher Venn and Leonardo Poareo, San Pedro Neighbors for Peace and Justice “The U.S. is racing down a slippery slope towards war in Iraq and Syria. Since Aug. 8, the U.S. has conducted more than 124 airstrikes in Iraq. About 1,000 U.S. troops are now on the ground in Iraq, with at least 350 more currently on their way.” —Veterans for Peace, Sept. 23, 2014 Long before President Dwight Eisenhower warned of the “military industrial complex,” Smedley Butler, a major general in the U.S. Marine Corps and a war hero, wrote a book entitled War is a Racket. In that book, Butler wrote about how it was elite business interests that mainly profited from war—not the people. Butler’s book was written in the 1930s, but its message still resonates. As the United States continues its disruption of the Middle East with its bombing of Syria and Iraq, ostensibly to quell ISIL, it’s apparent that those same interests Butler wrote about in the 1930s are again beating the drums of war and are still benefiting immensely from it, while the majority of us gain nothing. In order to benefit from such wars, the arms
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industry has to gain influence in Washington and also has to persuade the public. The Center for Responsive Politics notes that the arms industry’s main goal is “securing government defense contracts and earmarks and influencing the defense budget to make those contracts more likely.” They accomplish this, in part, by employing more than 1,000 lobbyists, close to two per Congress member, according to a report by the Center for International Policy. All of this influence has resulted in a windfall for the military industrial complex. The Center for International Policy found that in the first decade of the 2000s, military spending nearly doubled, while Department of Defense contracts almost tripled. But it’s a new decade and new money is to be had. In a story titled, “The war on ISIS already has a winner: The defense industry,” Forbes reports that those involved in the production of aircraft, munitions and missiles are already benefitting continued on following page Random Lengths News editorial office is located at 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, (310) 519-1016. Address correspondence regarding news items and news tips only to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email to editor @randomlengthsnews.com. Send Letters to the Editor or requests for subscription information to james @ randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, all Letters to the Editor should be typewritten, must be signed, with address and phone number included (these will not be published, but for verification only) and be kept to about 250 words. To submit advertising copy email adv@randomelengthsnews.com or reads@ randomlengthsnews.com. Extra copies and back issues are available by mail for $3 per copy while supplies last. Subscriptions are available for $35 per year for 27 issues. Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right to express those opinions. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Reporting Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2014 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.
RANDOMLetters They’re at it again.
In just the past week, the Republican and Tea Party extremists in Congress have voted to dismantle the Endangered Species Act, to weaken the Clean Water Act, block equal pay for women, and, of course, repeal the Affordable Care Act (for the 54th time). Instead of working to create jobs, raise the minimum wage for millions of Americans, tackle the student loan crisis, or face the reality of climate change, they are determined to pursue their far-right agenda no matter what America needs or wants. This is not the work of the people. Where I have been fighting to protect and better the lives of my constituents, my opponent would be yet another voice for the GOP extremists in Congress. He would help make their stranglehold on the House even stronger. We can’t let that happen. This is why I need your help, now more than ever. Together, our voices and our action can bring the House closer to sanity. Congressman Alan Lowenthal District 47
Road Diet: Looks like more of us could use one
Whether it is waistlines or road lanes, this lifelong, multigenerational San Pedro resident has observed the need for a trimming down on San Pedro streets. Simply put, I approve of the safer, slower, bike friendly, pedestrian friendly one lane town that might take
you an extra five minutes to drive through, now and then. A lot of people in the community around Pacific Avenue walk. We always have. I grew up on 14th Street and Mesa where I often crossed Pacific. My Grandfather and Grandmother walked, and today my nieces and nephews walk across Pacific Avenue daily. The difference between now and generations past is the current Fast and Furious fantasy car culture. Pedro has always been a place, different than the rest of Los Angeles, where people walk, ride bikes, ride busses, and drive slow. Lately, a lot more people in town need to walk, while public transit funds have been cut and routes scaled back, and at the same time, some in Pedro have forgotten how to drive safely. I own a new car, and I have a job. What’s the big deal with driving slower on Pacific? Slow down, get over it or drive on Harbor, Gaffey and Western if you can’t slow-ride and take it easy. Nearly a hundred children run over on Pacific Avenue is too much for my town. Robert Bustamante San Pedro
Pacific Avenue Lane Transitions Worry Student
I am a student at San Pedro Magnet High School and I have some concerns about the transition of four lanes on Pacific Avenue. I often run errands on my bike with my grandmother, who has never driven, but never had any major complaints about the way roads were set up. This change is
not beneficial to anybody when you compare it to the risks. In the article the points are made hat there are many schools around the street, many people complain about speeding, and that many accidents have occurred due to how constantly busy the street is. While all these statements are true, they will not be improved by taking lanes out of the road. Councilman Joe Buscaino argued that this protected the students at the surrounding schools. This includes only elementary and high schools. Almost every elementary school student is picked by their parents, and most high school students drive. These students were not benefitted by the changed, it actually made it harder for them to leave lance less cars can drive on the road. As a current high school student, I know that almost everybody drives, or gets a ride with someone who drives, putting in a bike lane did not help them, it just made it harder to get home. Buscaino brought up Janice Hahn’s fight to slow down San Pedro and argued that the lanes could help make that happen. These lanes may decrease speeding by a small amount but they cause a lot more problems that make the small decrease not worth it. I know from experience that when you are on a bike it is harder to be aware of the people around you, but easy to focus on their cars since they are bigger than you. Having an entire lane for bikes means that on a bike you have be more aware of everything on your side. This can lead to accidents if a bike is going straight and the car is turning… Sure, some people are slowing down, but is it really worth it? Serena McGillivray San Pedro
Raving about Ray Rice
Sports writer Vincent Bonsignore’s commentary on Ravens’ Ray Rice (Press-Telegram, Sept. 9), writes that “We didn’t need visual proof that a horrendous crime had been committed by Ray Rice. Janay Palmer’s still, almost lifeless body laying on a cold, uncaring floor … viciously assaulted by the brute strength of a professional athlete …” Ugh! The NFL announces a two-game suspension for Rice for starters. Would Bonsignore care to comment on a Martinez Walnut
Creek police officer who has pleaded no contest to charges that he beat a woman with a baseball bat when he was off duty, (“Officer pleads no contest,” AP, LA Times, Sept. 9). He is accused of felony assault and vandalism, plus a firearm enhancement. Officer Gregory Thompson wore a ski mask and gloves when he beat a woman, who told police she ran out of gas and was walking to get help when she came under attack. Prosecutor Barry Grove said his office will recommend the officer serve one year in county jail. Ready for this: Thompson has
been on paid administrative leave! Rice has been charged with felony aggravated assault in his case, but in May he was accepted into a pretrial intervention program that allowed him to avoid jail time and could lead to the charge being purged … from his record. Does the city of Martinez have a similar program for its servants? The world wonders. Alvaro Rodriguez Signal Hill
Let’s Go to the Beach
It was an early afternoon and More letters/ to p. 10
from previous page
between 2010 and 2013, that poorer families’ average real incomes have significantly declined in the same period and that even middle and some upper-class families have not recovered from the recession. However, the Reserve notes that families at the upper rung of the income ladder have earned more between 2010 and 2013. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the real unemployment rate is around 12 percent, the Census Bureau reports that more than 45 million are living in poverty, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 14 percent of U.S. households are “food-insecure.” Not to mention, our nation’s infrastructure is crumbling. Yet, with all of these social problems, the U.S. government has chosen to spend $8 trillion
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October 2 - 15, 2014
from the bombings. Forbes also reports that “American military operations targeting ISIS have cost some $600 million since mid-June,” and that our country is spending more than $7.5 million per day on the war. It’s clear that for these companies, war is good for business. But what about the rest of us? What about the majority of those in the United States who haven’t experienced any measurable increase in safety, but instead are left to watch a region burning in a violent inferno fuelled by their own tax dollars? The rest of us don’t enjoy the spoils of war, but instead must endure these difficult times, without the consideration afforded the arms industry. Many have not recovered from the recession. The Federal Reserve reports that the median income declined by 5 percent
on national security since 9/11, and military funding takes up 17 percent of the federal budget, and almost 60 percent of the discretionary budget, according to the National Priorities Budget. Surely we could use this money instead to provide for those of us struggling economically and to rebuild our decrepit infrastructure. All of these facts highlight the injustice the majority of us are facing in this country regarding war. Wars are waged with our tax dollars, but instead of benefitting ordinary Americans and people abroad, they enrich the arms industry. Those with access to Washington politicians are able to reap windfalls from death and destruction with our own dollars, bloodying our hands in the process. In the meanwhile, we are left with the remnants of a broken economy predicated on endless war. We must not accept this.
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Spend Tax Dollars at Home
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RANDOMLetters from p. 9
October 2 - 15, 2014
Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area
the wife and I took one our infrequent trips to Cabrillo Beach. We go there to relax, read, eat and sleep, as we sit by that aquarium. I finally had to use the restroom, so I picked up my cane and walked over very slowly. There was a bunch of kids, maybe 10 to 12 years old, gathered around the restroom, changing clothes and whatever. As I struggled toward the restroom one kid locked onto me like he wanted to help me. When I came out of the restroom the kid was still there focused on me. So I asked him where his group was from. He said all the kids were from a special school over by Point Fermin Park. That made me think he was a San Pedro kid. He then asked me how long I have been coming to Cabrillo Beach. I told him I have been coming to this beach for 71 years. I told him I had seen Elvis surf here. It was a joke but at 10 or 12 years he didn’t know. I then asked him who his grandfather or great-grandfather was. He said his grandfather was David Aguirre and his great-grandfather was Hector Aguirre. I said I know Hector and asked if Hector had a brother named Gabriel. He said yes and they were Barton Hill guys. I said me too. Then I had to give him the bad news. Hector and I were playing racquetball at Barton Hill School and we got into an argument about whether the ball was out or in, or something. Hector picked up a lunch pail and was going to hit me with it. I picked up a trash can lid to protect myself, luckily a teacher came over
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to stop us. A couple of days went by and we started talking to each other again. Our attitude was if we can’t beat them, join them. We became the two amigos as the school year ended. We added Mario Gonzalez and then became Three Amigos. During early summer we were the kings of Barton Hill. Hanging out together all day going over to Terminal Island, hanging out by the fishing boats and watching the men fix the nets. We talked about professional wrestler Gorgeous George, roller derby and boxing. As summer ended Manuel moved to Paramount and no more three amigos. I told the kid his grandfather and I moved onto Dana Junior High. I didn’t tell him that his greatgrandfather began to hang with the wrong people and went on a long sideways trip to self-destruction and I moved on to be a boys club junkie, playing sports. Many years later, I saw Hector walking down Gaffey Street at Sepulveda. I got his attention and we talked on the street for a minute. The last thing he said before moving on was, “John, you had a tough mom. I knew you were going to be okay. I knew you were going to be a square.” Hector’s great-grandson said, “You talk like Martin Luther King. Did you ever meet him? I said no, but I met Muhammed Ali once. He asked, “Who’s he?” I wanted to say Muhammed Ali invented the Internet and the kid would have believed me. So I just told him Muhammed Ali was once the greatest boxer in the world. John R. Gray San Pedro
By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer
Continued on page 16.
ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment ACE • Art, Cuisine, & Entertainment
outh Bay Contemporary Gallery continues their series of outstanding exhibitions with a new show titled, Transforming Feminisms, a group show featuring 29 artists. Addressing the many stages and definitions of feminism, gallery owner and curator Peggy Zask has again demonstrated a clear vision for her art space, formerly known as Zask Gallery. Organized feminism began in the Western world in the mid 19th century and has gone through three waves. Although it developed out of the anti-slavery movement, first-wave feminism was oriented around the station of middle- or upper-class white women. It involved suffrage and political equality. In the 20th century, second-wave feminism attempted to further combat social and cultural inequalities. Now, thirdwave feminism continues to address the financial, social and cultural inequalities, adding renewed campaigning for the greater influence of women in politics and media. The exhibition is a strong display of ‘intersectional feminism.’ The term, which Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw first coined, states that “women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity. Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated, but are bound together and influenced by the intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender, class, ability, and ethnicity.” “There is a third movement of feminism that is focusing more on global issues,” Zask said. “The right to choose, equal pay and abuse are the three topics that have not been resolved.” The artists participating in this exhibit represent almost every aspect of American culture and society: Jewish, African-American, Chinese, Samoan, Latina, male, female and transgender. All come together to offer their definition of feminism. The timely topics that Zask has chosen are as “Big Attitude” by Bronwyn M. Towle is part of the Transforming Feminisms exhibition at South Bay Contemporary Gallery. Courtesy photo.
October 2 – 15, 2014 October 2 – 15, 2014
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Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Promotes
Celebrity Chef Sam Choy will be at the Sustainable Seafood Expo conducting demonstrations, Oct. 12. Photo courtesy of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
Seafood Sustainability By Katrina Guevara, RLn Contributor
Independent And Free.
If you’re not conscious of both the best fish for
Something Funny At the Warner Grand
Sat 10/4 | 8pm This new monthly comedy show features the hottest stand up performers working today. Tickets are $10 cash at the door. Box office and doors open at 7pm.
Porta Caeli Chamber Players
Sun 10/5 | 7:30pm Come enjoy the LA debut of The Beauty of Music. The program will highlight classical and contemporary pieces as well as young soloists. Tickets are $15 in advance at www.grandvision.org or $15 cash at the door.
Little Joe & Tierra
Sat 10/18 | 6pm Join this Grammy-winning godfather of tejano, norteño and Latin music and his band La Familia as they celebrate his 74th birthday with a concert of Mexican music, country and blues. More info at 310-918-6861 or tonyjaramillo47@yahoo.com
October 2 – 15, 2014
The San Pedro Intl Film Festival Returns Oct. 10–12
The festival returns with feature films, documentaries and short films from around the globe, including Bella Vita, Endless Summer and Redemption. For information please visit Spiffest.org for tickets please visit Eventbee.com and type Warner Grand Theatre in the search box.
310.548.2493 • 478 W. 6th St.
Historic Downtown San Pedro
The Warner Grand Theatre is a facility of the City of Los Angeles, operated by the Department of Cultural Affairs. For Information and Tickets, Please Visit WarnerGrand. org or GrandVision.org. Events, dates, show times and ticket prices are subject to change 12 without notice.
your dish and the sea you can always Ask Jeeves, your fisherman uncle or experts at the upcoming Sustainable Seafood Expo. “We have to be careful with seafood for health reasons, such as mercury, but we know the positive; it’s crucial to the healthy diet,” said Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Executive Director Mike Schaadt. Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium present the Sustainable Seafood Expo Food from 1 to 5 p.m. Oct. 12 at Crafted in the Port of Los Angeles. Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium will present the inaugural event in order to promote savvy choices for seafood lovers. The aquarium may not seem like an appropriate host when it comes to celebrating marine wildlife for consumption. “But our concern is educating people about sustaining our oceans and preserving endangered species,” Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Executive Director Caroline Brady said . Informational booths, cooking demonstrations, wine and craft beer and seafood sampling, from establishment such as Terranea Resort, Whole Foods and local restaurants, will be among the 30 exhibitors. Celebrity Chef Sam Choy, known as “the Godfather of Poke” and founding contributor to Pacific Rim cuisine, will be on site to demonstrate cooking techniques. Prior to the public opening of the event, Choy will give an exclusive demonstration to chefs. Rising chef and San Pedro-native Dustin Trani of J. Trani’s Ristorante and DOMA Beverly Hills will make a special appearance as well. Brady said that after Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium participated in a small-scale sustainable seafood event at Loyola Marymount University this past February, they wanted to hold a similar event. “Our goal is to educate the local community, and also the restaurants who serve seafood,“ Brady said. “If we can create a market for some of the better seafood, we will be doing our part. It’s all about raising awareness.”
Almost 85 percent of the world’s fisheries are at capacity or over-fished, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium sustainable seafood advisory program and list Seafood Watch. The Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium has been a partner with Seafood Watch for 20 years. The program distributes education cards for seafood dieters to reference when purchasing or consuming fish: Green means good, yellow means okay and red means avoid. If that isn’t enough to convince you which seafood choices are safe to eat, keep in mind that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s primary responsibility for the nation’s seafood safety. Seafood products were the first of food items in 1997 to adopt the science-based Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point. The FDA also implemented the National Shellfish Sanitation Program to ensure the safety of molluscan shellfish such as clams, oysters and mussels in each state. Shellfish is susceptible to noroviruses because it can survive quick steaming processes and temperatures as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. The CDC report estimated that as much as 85 percent of the seafood consumed in the country is imported. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium has been serving the public as an educational research institution, zoo and aquarium since 1935, attracting more than 300,000 visitors a year. It is home to the most diverse marine life in Southern California, as well as home to a newer facility designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry. General admission tickets are $20 and $10 for Friends of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Tickets can be purchased at www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org or by calling (310) 548-7562, ext. 211. Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles is at 122 E. 22nd St., San Pedro.
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Michael Stearns Studio 347
R.A. LOPEZ STUDIO
The exhibit represents a recent shift in focus and direction for Michael Stearns. Exhibition opens Thursday, Oct. 2 from 6 to 9 p.m. coinciding with the San Pedro First Thursday Art Walk. Michael Stearns Studio 347 is located at 347 W. 7th St.
The Richard Lopez Studio will be open First Thursday Art Walk for a selected show exhibiting works on Architecture and Abstracts. Richard Lopez documents his observations about life’s constant change and movement. The underlying subject of these paintings is life’s ever-shifting balance of chaos and order. Richard Lopez Studio located at 372 W. 7th St., San Pedro Open during the First Thursday Artwalk, also open by appointment. (562) 682-4334
Colors and Code
The Loft Gallery Connections
The work of Sam Arno, Carol Hungerford, Candice Gawne, Jan Govaerts, Muriel Olguin, Daniel Porras, Annemarie Rawlinson, Nancy Towne-Shcultz. Runs through Nov. 29. Open First Thursday 6–9 p.m. Open Saturdays & Sundays 2-5 p.m. • 401 S. Mesa St. • 310.831.5757
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ARCHITECTURE AND ABSTRACTS
TransVagrant@warschaw Jay McCafferty, Recent Works
Jay McCafferty has been creating artworks by focusing rays of sunlight on its points of intersection for more than three decades. In this new body of work the grid gives way to the maze. Runs through October 31. TransVagrant@Warschaw Gallery located at 600 S. Pacific Ave.
Studio Gallery 345
Day of the dead display for November Pat Woolley and Gloria D. Lee present paintings, books, and boxes. Margie Rust staffing. Open 6-8 pm on 1st Thursday and by appointment. For more information call Gloria at 310.545.0832 or Pat at 310.374.8055 • 345 W. 7th Street San Pedro
ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment October 2 – 15, 2014
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Emiddio Ungaro, the owner of San Pedro’s A-1 Italian Deli and Imported Groceries
Everything Tastes Better With Bacon But The Price
October 2 – 15, 2014
Independent And Free.
By Mick Haven, Guest Columnist
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F
rom handmade Italian sausage studded with fennel to smoky pulled pork piled high, barbecued spare ribs covered in savory sauce and slab-cut bacon crisped perfectly, pork is the meat that makes all this happen. “My husband and I love bacon so much that we are never without,” said Irma M., a retired school teacher who asked that her last name not be included
in this article. “We go through half a pound to a pound on a weekend.” She recounts how once her grandnieces came over for an unexpected visit. “It was a surprise, so we hadn’t defrosted a package of bacon,” she said. “Everyone ended up with only a little bit, not even a whole piece. My Continued on next page.
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prices,” said Emiddio Ungaro, the owner of A-1. “Unfortunately, there’s no way we can absorb all of that food cost. We’ve got to pass some of it along to our customers.” While the scarcity of pork creates a windfall for pork producers, consumers are paying 13 percent more for pork this year compared to 2013, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and USDA marketing services show. Everything must taste better with bacon, because domestic demand for the meat remains strong in spite of the cost. The 13 percent price spike for the meat this year over the past failed to curb U.S. consumers’ hunger for it. Add record export levels to that and pork is what’s for dinner all over the world. In fact, pork is the most popular meat in the world. Turkey, chicken and beef beat it out in the United States. Businesses that don’t depend as much on pork sales haven’t felt much of a pinch in their pricing. Such is the case with Slavko’s Harbor Poultry and Specialty Foods, which has been open since 1922. A giant fiberglass Leghorn rooster adorns the rooftop and provides a beacon for the San Pedro landmark. As the restaurant’s name implies, chicken is the mainstay on the menu. Slavko’s deep fried chicken nuggets with its secret recipe batter, accompanied with potato wedges, helped make the restaurant famous. Others, swear by their fried chicken or whole roasted chickens. The restaurant offers Croatian beer to wash it all down with as well. Slavko’s Poultry carries and sells a lot of pork spare ribs as well, owner Jim Frlekian notes. “But I haven’t noticed a price increase for our spare ribs from our suppliers,” he said. “I know the price of a whole pig has gone up. So if you want to roast a whole pig, you’re out of luck. You can’t seem to get one of them because they’re so scarce.” The USDA predicts overall food costs will go up 2 to 3 percent this year. Pork continues contributing to that rise. The same USDA report estimates things will slow down in 2015 for pork with only a 3 to 4 percent increase in the price. Mr. Ungaro of A-1 Imported Groceries hazards a more dire prediction: “When prices go up this high, they don’t ever go back down again. I have been doing this a long time. I’ve seen it happen before. An industry’s standard has been set. Our vendors know we will pay this price. They are not going to drop it or at least not to what it was before. We will never see prices that low again.”
Entertainment October 3
Live Music at San Pedro BrewCo Harbor Area rock band, Eye The Realist, will be at San Pedro BrewCo, starting at 10 p.m. The cover is $3. Details: www.sanpedrobrewing.com, Venue: San Pedro Brewing Co. Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro Thom Rotella 4tet The Thom Rotella 4tet will perform, at 8 p.m. Oct. 3, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. Details: (800) 403-3447 Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro Ceora Winds Ceora Winds performs, at 12:15 p.m. Oct. 3, at the First Lutheran Church in Torrance. The members of Ceora Winds have played chamber music together for 10 years, performing throughout Southern California and across the country. Details: (310) 316-5574; www.palosverdes.com/ ClassicalCrossroads/BachsLunchtime.htm Venue: First Lutheran Church Location: 2900 W. Carson St., Torrance
October 4
John York John York will perform, at 8 p.m. Oct. 4, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro Details: (800) 403-3447 Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro Susie Glaze & Hilonesome Band The Grand Annex presents Susie Glaze & Hilonesome Band, starting at 8 p.m. Oct. 4. Winner of the Just Plain Folks Music Award, Susie Glaze & Hilonesome band properly deliver folk-inspired stories of love, tragedy and fate. Admission is $25. Details: (310) 833-4813, www.grandannex.org Venue: Grand Annex Location: 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro Something’s Funny at the Warner Grand Something’s Funny at the Warner Grand. Check it out. Something’s Funny at the Warner Grand is a monthly show featuring four of some of the funniest stand up comedians working. The next show takes place at 8 p.m. Oct. 5. Tickets are $10 and $15. Details: Tix.com Venue: Warner Grand Theatre Location: 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
October 5
Portia Caeli Chamber Players The Portia Caeli Chamber Players are scheduled to perform, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 5, at the Warner Grand. It will be a night of beautiful classical and contemporary music that everyone will appreciate and enjoy! General admission is $15 cash at the door. Venue: Warner Grand Theatre Location: 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro King Washington King Washington will perform, at 4 p.m. Oct. 5, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. Details: (800) 403-3447 Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
October 10
Richard Sherman Trio The Richard Sherman Trio will perform, at 8 p.m. Oct. 10, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. Details: (800) 403-3447 Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
October 12
Andy Waddell Quintet The Andy Waddell Quintet will perform, at 4 p.m. Oct. 12, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. Details: (800) 403-3447 Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
October 17
Grace Kelly Grace Kelly will perform, at 8 p.m. Oct. 17, at the Grand Annex in San Pedro. Weaned on Stan Getz, a saxophone player since the age of 10, and graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Grace Kelly has hit the jazz world by storm. Now, at only 22, this straight ahead jazz sax phenom has released eight albums, earned many regional and national recognition awards and worked with a who’s who of notable musicians. General admission is $20 in advance and $25 at the door, Details: grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex Location: 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro Kei Akagi & Jason Harnell Duo The Kei Akagi & Jason Harnell Duo will perform, at 8 p.m. Oct. 17, at Alvas Showroom. Details: (800) 403-3447 Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro Live Music at Harold’s Place On this night, a crazy blend of styles and approaches will be showcased. Majicbullet Theory 21+ No Cover! MajicBulletTheory, Hellbat and The American Daisycutters will be at Harold’s. Venue: Harold’s Place Location: 1908 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro
October 20
The Underground Railroad to Candyland at Harold’s Place Screaming Females and Pujol will be performing, starting at 9 p.m. Oct. 20, at Harold’s Place in San Pedro. Admission is for people 21 and older. Cover is $5. Venue: Harold’s Place Location: 1908 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro
Community/Family October 4
Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture The Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture will take place, from 12 to 8 p.m. Oct. 4 and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Grand Park in the heart of downtown. The event will include traditional food, dancing, martial art demonstrations, childrens’ activities, and craft vendors. Admission is free. Details: http://www.filamarts.org/fpac-about/ Venue: Grand Park Location: 200 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles The South Bay Folk Artists The South Bay Folk Artists will discuss and display the art of tole painting, from 1:30 to 2;30 p.m. Oct. 4, at the Muller House. Admission is free. Seating is limited. Tours of the house will be given after the presentation. Details: sanpedrohistory@gmail.com. Venue: Muller House Location: 1542 S. Beacon St., San Pedro La Luz en Ti Mizuho Sato presents a live flamenco show with her students accompanied by some of Los Angeles’ most popular flamenco musicians: Briseyda Zarate, Gabriel Osuna, and Gerardo Morales, starting at 3 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Grand Calendar continued on page 16.
October 2 – 15, 2014
Dustbowl Revival Throughout October 2014, the Grand Annex presents four installments of the Annex Jazz Festival. The fun starts at 8 p.m. on Oct. 10, with the Dustbowl Revival. Awarded the “Best Live Band in LA” in 2013, the band is quickly rising on the folk charts. Admission is $25. Details: (310) 833-4813; www.grandannex.org Venue: Grand Annex Location: 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
October 11
Matt Gordy The Grand Annex presents Matt Gordy, a Los Angeles-based drummer, percussionist, composer, and arranger, at 8 p.m. Oct. 11. He returns with his sextet to the Annex stage after a tour in China, leading up the U.S. Jazz Delegation at the Changsha Music Festival. Admission is $25. Details: (310) 833-4813; www.grandannex.org Venue: Grand Annex Location: 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment
five-year-old grandniece speaks up and says, ‘How come you just gave me a little bit of my favorite bacon?’” And she hasn’t let the price deter her or her family’s cravings for it. “Anytime I’ve got coupons or it’s on sale at Ralphs or Albertsons, a bunch of it lands in the freezer,” Irma M. said. “It’s the weekend treat.” While it’s just one family, Irma and her clan’s adulation for pork mirrors America’s. The USDA estimates predict no appreciable decline in Americans’ pork consumption for 2014 compared to 2013, despite the fact that that meat’s price has spiked to record highs in 2014. The culprit: porcine epidemic diarrhea virus or PEDv. According to an April 8, Associated Press article, scientists believe the virus might have come from China. With no known cure, PEDv targets young piglets, killing more than 7 million since hitting U.S. shores in April. A report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts an annual increase of 20 percent for wholesale pork prices by the end of 2014. The same report notes an increase in U.S. exports of the meat. Other countries are experiencing their own outbreaks of PEDv or simply cannot keep up with their citizens’ demand, as in the case of China or Mexico, — America’s two biggest markets for the other white meat. The scarcity and increased foreign demand equal a record price high. American hog farmers “Have leveraged lower feed costs and PEDv-generated extra barn space to feed animals to higher weights in response to higher hog prices,” the report stated. By fattening the older hogs unaffected by the outbreak, and taking advantage of the record price for the meat, many hog farmers are actually making more money and having a banner year. Underneath racks, festooned with dried salamis and rounds of cheeses, rests a loaded deli cooler. Cold cuts and cheeses, many of them difficult to find anywhere else, sit behind the chilled glass. There is also a real butcher counter with unwrapped meats waiting to be cut to order. The aisles feature Italian staples such as olive oils (that’s right, plural), peeled canned tomatoes, an assortment of wines, among other delectable goods. No, this isn’t Italy. It’s San Pedro. Family owned and in business since 1947, A-1 Italian Deli and Imported Groceries purchases meat from commercial vendors to create all the varieties of their most popular pork dish, homemade sausages. “Yeah, I’ve seen a 40 to 50 percent increase in
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Calendar from page 15. Annex in San Pedro. General admission is 20. Details: grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex Location: 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
October 11
United For A Cause Music Festival Justice For Murdered Children is hosting United For A Cause Music Festival, which features: Rick Jamnesia, The Mad Latins, Jimmy Espinosa, Billy Foster, Donald Bell, Norman Carter, Jimmy Sincerely, Ladee Dred, Cleveland Jones, Dew Drops, MC Life, Randy Medina and DJ Looney, Oct. 11, at the Marina Seafood Restaurant in San Pedro. Details: (310) 547-5362; www.jfmc.org Venue: Marina Seafood Restaurant Location: 1050 Nagoya Way, Ports O’ Call Village Carson Country Western Fair The Carson Country Western Fair will take place, at noon Oct. 11, at Dominguez Park. The fair features non-stop live country music entertainment, line dancing, western riders and entertainment for the entire family. Details: (310) 549-3962. Venue: Dominguez Park Location: 21330 Santa Fe Ave., Carson
Independent And Free.
October 2
October 12
Theater/Film
More is More More is More, a 50-year survey of work by Slater Barron, will have its opening reception, from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 4, at Stone Rose Gallery. Barron is a Long Beach artist of international renown. She employs dryer lint as her primary medium. Slater works both two and three dimensionally in a variety of series of images dealing with subjects from the artist’s surroundings. The work has a pop art, surreal feel mixed with a sense of humor. The exhibition runs through Nov. 1. Details: (562) 436-1600 Venue: Stone Rose Gallery Location: 342 E. 4th St., Long Beach
October 3
20 Feet from Stardom 20 Feet from Stardom will be showcased, at 7:15 p.m. Oct. 3, at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro. Millions know their voices, but few know their names. In his compelling new film, awardwinning director Morgan Neville shines a spotlight on the untold true story of the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century. General admission is $12, and students, seniors and military pay $10. Details: grandvision.org Venue: Warner Grand Theatre Location: 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
October 4
Twelfth Night Romance, slapstick, pathos, ribaldry and mental torture will take place with Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, playing Sept. 6 through Oct. 6, in the Studio at the Long Beach Playhouse.Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies. Its title refers to the 12th day of Christmas, the traditional close of the holiday. Twins - Viola and Sebastian become separated when they are shipwrecked on a mythical island. Countess Olivia is falling in love with Viola (disguised as a boy), while Sebastian is falling in love with Olivia. Details: (562) 494-1014 option 1; www.lbplayhouse. org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse Location: 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
October 10
October 2 – 15, 2014
Art Colors and Code Colors and Code is exhibiting at Michael Stearns Studio 347. The exhibit represents a recent shift in Stearns focus and direction. The artist uses chromosome mapping to raise questions regarding science and ethics, and approaches the work with color and shape. The show will be on display until Nov. 30. Details: (562) 400-0544 Venue: Michael Stearns Studio 347 Location: 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro
Sustainable Seafood Expo Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is hosting a Sustainable Seafood Expo, at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles. The event is a showcase for restaurants and seafood purveyors striving to provide smart seafood alternatives with less impact on the marine environment. More than 30 exhibitors will be present. The cost is $20 per person or $10 for Friends members. Details: (310)548-7562, ext. 211; expo@cmaqua. org Venue: Crafted Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro
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lifelong nature of learning, recently opened at Little Fish Theatre in San Pedro. The play, written by British dramatist Willy Russell, is about hairdresser, determined to learn “everything there is to know.” The hairdresser is paired with a jaded and burned-out professor of literature for tutoring. The play runs Wednesdays and Thursdays through Oct. 23. A Sunday matinee is scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 19, after which the creative team will be available for 10 to 15 minutes for post-show discussion with the audience. Details: www.littlefishtheatre.org Venue: Little Fish Theatre Location: 777 Centre St. San Pedro
2014 San Pedro International Film Festival The third annual San Pedro International Film Festival, takes place Oct. 10 through 12. The San Pedro International Film Festival celebrates the diverse culture and community of San Pedro with a wide spectrum of independent film, documentaries and shorts. Tickets start at $10. Details: www.spiffest.org
October 23
Educating Rita Educating Rita, the highly acclaimed and popular play about personal growth and the
October 4
October 9
Michael Davis / No Place to Hide The artist reception for Michael Davis / No Place to Hide is from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 9 at the El Camino College Art Gallery. The exhibit provides a glimpse at San Pedro artist Michael Davis’ stunning creative output from the 1980s to 2014. No Place to Hide includes sculptural and two-dimensional works that range from quizzical to didactic and from philosophic to apocalyptic. All bear the earmarks of precision, rigorous artistic scrutiny and elegance that are typical of Michael Davis. Details: (310) 660-3010; elcamino.edu/artgallery/ current-exhibition Venue: El Camino College Art Gallery Location: 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
October 11
Artists Talk South Bay Contemporary Gallery in conjunction with the art exhibition, Transforming Feminisms will be hosting a round-table discussion, from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 11, at the South Bay Contemporary Gallery in Rolling Hills Estates. The panel will discuss women’s issues in our global culture and how art plays a role in expression of these issues and ideas. Audience participation will be invited. The talk will be moderated by feminist scholar, Catherine Scott. Details: Southbaycontemporary.com Venue: South Bay Contemporary Gallery Location: 550 Deep Valley Dr., #261, Rolling Hills Estates
much by fate as by choice. Our news is full of horrific stories of domestic violence around the globe. Women and children are murdered on the street and in their own homes on a daily basis. In 2012 the story of Malia Yousafzai, shot on a school bus in Pakistan, inspired the women’s movement globally. Recent reports of NFL player Ray Rice’s assault on his fiancée, and Adrian Peterson’s disturbing punishment of his 4-year-old child brought domestic violence into the public discussion of culture and abuse. The U.S. Supreme Court’s questionable decision in the case of Hobby Lobby’s protest to provide birth control for employees affirmed the ongoing controversy over reproductive rights, 58 years after the development of the pill. All of these things are reminders that the struggle continues. “I am a curator who goes into territory, which is not clear or may be in flux and change,” said Zask, defining her role.” In contemporary art, I do not begin to think my perspective or knowledge is more important and do not want to influence the artists, only help them to express their ideas on the subject … the answers and nature of the exhibition is what the artists create.” A series of questions were sent to all the artists participating in the exhibit, in an effort to ensure that each artist speaks for themselves. The list of questions included: • Your personal definition of feminism • Your personal definition of power • Your personal definition of agency • Why you identify, or do not identify as a feminist The responses are as varied as the individual artists. Video artist Yoshie Sakai, says she is an ‘undercover feminist.’ Her video is about her Japanese-American family, who were in an internment camp during World War ll. Years later, her family ended up owning a liquor store. The family’s patriarch insisted that a male heir take over KOKO’s Liquor Store. Hatsuko Mary Higuchi’s art also visits her family’s history of internment during the war. Her watercolor, “Sayonara Oksan,” is a deeply personal collage of the generation that chose to remain silent and rebuild their lives following their release from the internment camp. Higuchi was imprisoned, along with her entire family at the age of three. Upon reentry to American life, she never heard the topic addressed in school or at home. Women are credited in her paintings with an extraordinary and unsung role for keeping the families together during and after their release from the internment camps. “Mary’s mission is to bring it out, to talk about it,” Zask said. Painter Bronwyn M. Towle submits a fullfigured nude titled, “Big Attitude,” epitomizing a large confident woman. Towle is a third-generation Chinese-American and a feminist. Disturbing stories from China of the abandonment of female children due to the One Child Law influenced
Towle. Families would leave female infants to die under trees, preferring a male child to perpetuate the family name. Artist Anna Rodriguez went from the small community of Maywood, Calif. to earn a masters degree in fine arts from Otis College of Art and Design. As a first generation Mexican-American she observed the differences in the choices available to her as opposed to her female cousins growing up in Mexico. She defines power as the determination to follow your own path without the interferences of others. Feminism is being able to look back in time and appreciate the struggle and fight for what is yet to be done, she said. A few of the artists state that they do not identify as feminists, but rather see a world where respect and human rights exist equally for all people. Zask noted that the original concept for the exhibition was about women’s identity, not feminism. In the discussion they concluded that the third wave of feminism has changed the way women view their needs and priorities. “As I began talking to the artists involved, I realized that feminism means simply believing in yourself as a woman” said Zask. “I have never identified as a feminist either. The whole idea for the title ‘Transforming Feminisms’ came from the discussions we had before the exhibit.” Many of the artists noted that the reality of women in the arts is that their art needs to represent their lives. The challenges women in the arts face is similar to challenges women face in almost any profession. Marriage, family and child rearing often interfere with professional development, and that brings with it the whole package of gender discrimination. The voices calling for an end to the oppression of women around the globe have become impossible to ignore. In the exhibition catalog Christy Roberts Berkowitz quotes Schumacher, a member of the Russian music group Pussy Riot: “There are two reasons why we frighten people. The first thing is that we’re a feminist, female group with no men connected to it, and the second is that we don’t have leaders… Russia has always linked the idea of leadership with some man or other, who can control things, and control women.” South Bay Contemporary will host a roundtable discussion for artists in the exhibition. They will discuss women’s issues in our global culture, and how art plays a role in expression of these issues and ideas. Audience questions and participation will be invited. A discussion with the artists in the exhibit is scheduled for Sat., Oct. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m.The talk will be moderated by feminist scholar, Catherine Scott. Peggy Zask will be moving her South Bay Contemporary Gallery from Palos Verdes to The Loft Gallery space in downtown San Pedro at the beginning of 2015. A non-profit has been formed to support her vision of engaging the community in the relevance of contemporary art. This is exciting news for downtown San Pedro as we look forward to her vibrant exhibition schedule in the First Thursday Art Walk. Details: Transforming Feminisms Venue: South Bay Contemporary Gallery Location: 550 Deep Valley Drive, #261, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
By Joseph Baroud, Contributing Writer
tucked-in area so the wind isn’t a factor. “Up on the hill at AGCC one feels far removed from the city,” Jones said. “The night sky [is] darker and [there are a lot more stars showing] because the ocean spreads out more and it’s quieter. The gun emplacement is down a short road, tucked into the
world of horror literature is extremely evocative for people. I think people really like to be scared. It’s important.” This will all take place at the Angel’s Gate Cultural Center. Admission to the story-telling event will be $5. Children younger than 6 get in for free. Jones expects about 200 people to turnout. The readings will begin at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30. Preceding this event will be the HOWL, art gallery and exhibition.
ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment October 2 – 15, 2014
Under the stars, an amphitheatre that took the place of an old gun emplacement will set the mood for scary stories this Hallows eve. Author Melanie Jones and company will send chills down the spine of an audience ready to hear these stories at the Angels Gate Cultural Center. As a writer, Jones wants to use literature to enhance one of the oldest forms of storytelling. The location, fire, sound effects and her choice of stories allow her to play with the art of storytelling, adding her own style and variations. “It’s like one of the most ancient forms of storytelling … oral story,” Jones said. “And also, gathering around the fire is like an ancient ritual. So it’s putting those two things together with my love of literature.” Jones said the theme of this year’s stories will be an under-the-bed type, with stories from: H.P. Lovecraft, who became famous through his horror-fiction writing; Margaret Atwood, who won the Booker prize (The Booker award is given to the best literary English-written novel of the year in 2000 for Blind Assassin ); and Jack Prelutsky, winner of the Children’s Poet Laureate award in 2006. They will be around the bonfire for an hour and fifteen minutes, which will be lit to give the audience the feeling of a trip into the wilderness. “It’s kind of a campfire experience without the troubles of camping,” Jones said. “It seems like every writer of merit or renown has tried his or her hand at a horror story.” This storytelling experience is unique. Instead of telling a story that gives the listener one objective scene to picture in their head, Jones said their stories are the type that can be told with the idea that the audience creates their own, individual vision. Novelty, which is an important human element when it comes to life, is met with this strategy. Combine that with the fact that the stories are different every year, this little campfire calls for a good time. Jones and her friends will have told 103 stories in the 12 annual events. The stories will be suitable for all age groups in the beginning. As time passes, the material will find itself baring more mature content. Like children, Jones says, that adults are amused by listening and engaging with their peers. Accompanying Jones will be three of her friends, who will also be taking part in the readings. She says all of them garner a certain audience, such as Cathy Skubik who is a third-grade teacher and has done the event with Jones every year. She’ll get the chance to ask her students, who she reads to everyday, to attend. Since Skubik is such a big influence on their lives there’s a bigger chance they’ll accept her invitation, rather than that from strangers. Jones and her team makes sure to fit in at least three rehearsals before the event. During the rehearsals, they work on sound effects, character voices and familiarizing themselves with the story’s trend. Jones said Angels Gate Cultural Center was perfect. She fell in love with the topography, isolation, wilderness and the fact that it’s in a
hillside. It’s somewhat sheltered from the wind, [a] bit eerily isolated and perfect for a big bonfire and feeling of [removal] from the everyday world.” Jones suggests bringing a lawn chair, or a blanket to put on the ground and some food for a picnic. She says that the nature of these scary stories leaves people on the edge and have them instinctually get close to each other. “It’s good if you want to snuggle with somebody,” Jones said. “It’s a good date… The whole
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www.goldenwestsanpedro.com 1 5 1 7 S . G a f f e y S t . • San Pedro, CA 90731
Local Notary Service • Payroll • Income Tax
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870 W. 9th St., Ste. 100A, San Pedro
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2014226205 The following person is doing business as: Across the Street, 1124 Dominguez ave., Wilmington, Ca 90744. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Teresa Violante, 1124 Dominguez ave., Wilmington, Ca 90744. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Teresa Violante, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on July 29, 2014. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 08/21/14, 09/04/14, 09/18/14, 10/02/14 Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2014202777 The following person is doing
business as: ABC Electric, 26201 Vermont Ave #102, Harbor City, CA 90710. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Ferenc Hudak, 26201 Vermont Ave #102, Harbor City, CA 90710. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 7/28/2009. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Ferenc Hudak, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on July 28, 2014. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 09/04/14, 09/18/14, 10/02/14, 10/16/2014 Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2014230794 The following person is doing business as: Girls Gun Club,
continued on following page
DBA/LEGAL FILINGS from previous page 12021 Wilshire Blvd #774, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Los Angeles County. Articles of Incorporation: 2750987 Registered owners: American Defense Enterprises, 12021 Wilshire Blvd #774, Los Angeles, CA 90025. This Business is conducted by a corporation. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: n/a. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. William Beasley, President. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on August 18, 2014. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 09/04/14, 09/18/14, 10/02/14, 10/16/2014
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2014249347 The following person is doing business as: San Pedro Chiropractic and Posture, 1534 W. 25th Street., San Pedro CA 90732. Los Angeles County. Articles of Incorporation number: 3696302. Registered owners: Ghassemi Chiropractic Corp., APC, 1875 S. Beverly Glenn, Los Angeles, Ca 90025: California. This Business is conducted by a corporation. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 8/15/2014. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Dr. Romina Ghassemi, DC/CEO, Ghassemi Chiropractic Corp. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Sept. 4, 2014. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 09/18/14, 10/02/14, 10/16/2014, 10/30/2014 Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2014260373 The following person is doing business as: (1.)Josephine Trusela Events (2.) JT Events, 1621 W. 25th St #2301., San Pedro CA 90732. Los Angeles County. Articles of Incorporation number: 201422610355.. Registered owners: Le Meow LLC, 1621 W. 25th St #2301., San Pedro CA 90732: California. This Business is conducted by a Limited Liability Corporation. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A regis-
trant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Josephine Trusela, president of Le Meow LLC.. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Sept. 16, 2014. Notice-In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 10/02/14, 10/16/2014, 10/30/2014, 11/06/2014 Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2014265913 The following person is doing business as: (1.) Mister Marley, 880 W. 18th St., San Pedro CA 90731. Mailing Address:880 W. 18th St., San Pedro CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Fred C. Allen, 880 W. 18th St., San Pedro CA 90731: California. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Fred Allen,owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Sept. 22, 2014. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 10/02/14, 10/16/2014, 10/30/2014, 11/06/2014
October 2 - 15, 2014
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2014204674 The following person is doing business as: American Rental Services, 2902 Alma Street., San Pedro, Ca 90732. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Michael Joseph Cracchiolo, 2902 Alma Street., San Pedro, Ca 90732. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: n/a. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Michael Cracchiolo, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on July 24, 2014. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement
must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 09/04/14, 09/18/14, 10/02/14, 10/16/2014
The Local Publication You Actually Read
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2014233778 The following person is doing business as: Port Nationals, 2049 W. Pacific Coast Hwy, Ste #223, Lomita, CA 90717. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Eddie Greenwood, 1220 W. Cruces St., Wilmington CA 90744. Carly Bolster, 4448 Owens St., #104, Corona, CA 92883. This Business is conducted by a general partnership. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: n/a. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Eddie Greenwood, partner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on August 19, 2014. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 09/04/14, 09/18/14, 10/02/14, 10/16/2014
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October 2 - 15, 2014
Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area