LA County Hate Crimes Report

In 2021, Los Angeles County hate crimes reached the highest level in 19 years.

That’s what the LA County Commission on Human Relations or LACCHR found in its annual hate crime report released Dec. 7. A few of the report’s significant findings include the following: • Hate crimes have grown 105% since hitting an all-time low in 2013. • Transgender victims experienced the highest rate of violence (93%), followed by homophobic (89%), racial (78%), and religious crimes (53%). Anti-transgender hate crimes rose 24% from 33 to 41. • The 23% increase in hate crime was largely due to a 17% spike in racial crimes. • As in past years, Black people were grossly over-represented. Although Black people constitute only 9% of county residents, they comprised 46% of racial crime victims. Anti-Black crimes jumped 30% from 169 to 219. • Latino/as comprised 25% of racial victims and anti-Latino/a crimes rose 10% from 106 to 117.

In response, the LA County Board of Supervisors directed LACCHR to build a campaign to respond to acts of hate in the county, which resulted in the LA vs Hate initiative. Its three components include a community-driven marketing campaign to encourage residents and organizations to unite against and report acts of hate, a government hotline (via 211) for reporting all acts of hate — both incidents and crimes — and providing free assistance to all victims; and a network of community agencies that provide rapid response, support, healing, advocacy and hate prevention services.

Random Lengths News spoke to local comcity and others to address this rising issue.

Award-winning journalist and political strategist, Jasmyne Cannick, reacted to the report by noting that its bullet points have not changed from last year, the year before or the year before that.

“Black people, the LGBTQ community and Jewish folk are always at the top of the list,” said Cannick.

Cannick’s chief complaint was the lack of intersectionality within the report. She noted these are only the numbers that were reported. Often, people do not report hate crimes.

“What’s lost when these reports come out is that intersection of Black queer folks,” Cannick said. “I’m a Black lesbian but Black trans women, for example, are at the top of the list for hate crimes. That intersection is not talked about — it’s Black and queer but not Black/queer [people]. We need to look more at the intersectionality of these situations because when you look at the number and you look at who the trans people are, the trans women in particular who are being attacked, you will find that the majority of them are Black. When you have Black and queer folks as your [numbers] one and two, in terms of the highest incidents of hate crimes, clearly there’s going to be some crossover.

“All the queer folks on the list are white. (LGBTQ hate crime victims listed in the report’s bullet points are not identified by race). The majority of them are people of color when you look at the hate crimes statistics against queer folks. It is not hate crimes against white folks. It is usually against someone Black or Latino. That’s really important to me.”

She also said it starts with leadership.

“When you have leaders in the City of LA who are racist, that does not send a message to others not to be racist,” she said. “I’m speaking about the Nury Martinez, Kevin de León, Gil Cedillo scandal.”

It comes down to how we are raising our children, our young adults, what values we are instilling in them, Cannick said.

“Whatever our families look like, we need to be having those conversations with our kids and our young adults. I especially think we need to be having these conversations in our schools as well. A lot of this is learned behavior and these are young people who then turn into adults with the same mindset. We should be doing more to work with young people before they’re adults out here committing hate crimes.”

The executive director of the LGBTQ Center Long Beach, Carlos Torres, reacted to the report by expressing hope for the county’s LA vs Hate initiative, particularly when it comes to representation.

“There are a couple things at play here,” said Torres. “For many decades our community has been advocating for visibility and inclusion. That means when someone reports a hate crime, particularly a transgender person, that we are not included by the gender that we were assigned at birth. It has taken a lot of years and advocacy to make sure that information is reflected accurately. Now we’re at a point where those data collection mechanisms and systems are in fact included in our information accurately.

“The second piece is that although violence has continued to increase against LGBTQ individuals, now we have a system like LA vs Hate that is specifically dedicated to account for our stories and our incidence as legitimate. While the numbers look high, it’s a combination of violence still being perpetrated against our community — particularly against people of color and transgender women of color more are targeted — but also now, we have programs and systems that do reflect that data accurately. In the past it was being under reported or misreported because we were categorized as male female, rather than transgender, or non-binary or gender nonconforming. So, having those specific designations, I think, brings new attention to the issues.”

Torres highlighted that rather than using the traditional law enforcement mechanisms, LA vs Hate allows the community room to tell their stories in a manner that is not traumatizing or retraumatizing. Communities of color have had difficult relationships with law enforcement. Having the opportunity to make reports to a nonlaw-enforcement entity helps identify resources and ensures that individuals impacted by the violence are connected with the services that they need. Torres said this allows for resources for funding, for programming, for interventions to be designed specifically to serve the needs of the LGBTQ community.

“Why?’ he asked rhetorically. “Because our

munity leaders and activists about the LACCHR report to get their thoughts on the report and on what more could be done, or what has not been considered — in addition to the LA vs Hate initiative — on the part of the county,

[Announcements, from p. 3] positions entail three to five week periods working aboard E/V Nautilus as data loggers, seafloor mappers, navigators, ROV pilots, or video engineers. All interns spend their time on Nautilus working with a wide array of scientists, engineers, students and educators.

Applications are now being accepted for ocean science, ROV engineering, and video engineering internships for the 2023 expedition season.

Learn more details and apply before Dec.

31. Details: https://tinyurl.com/scienceengineer-internships

Free Hot Spots and Computers are Available

Long Beach residents who don’t have access to Wi-Fi or a computing device can call Cenro CHA to see if you’re eligible to receive a free Chromebook and hot spot. Details: 562-612-4180 and ask about the digital inclusion program. Jasmyne Cannick, award-winning journalist and political activist. Photo courtesy of Jasmyne Cannick

[Hybrid, from p. 3] Hybrid Meetings

is extended. AB2449 allows hybrid meetings to happen even after the state of emergency is over. However, it requires that board members only be allowed to remotely participate in three meetings per year. Nadel would like to change this to allow more.

“An effort is being made to try to make changes in Sacramento to this,” Nadel said. “The NC system is the only system that is affected like this. And we want to try to make sure that Sacramento is perfectly aware that we’re asking for specific changes that will only affect the NC system.”

In addition, AB2449 requires that a majority of the board be physically present at the meeting in order to reach quorum.

“We need to think of it from the stakeholders’ point of view,” Nadel said. “Imagine, if you’re showing up to a meeting, and it’s in person and it’s on Zoom, and there’s a board of 20 people, and one person shows up. And it’s 19 people on Zoom.”

Nadel said that stakeholders might not feel as comfortable presenting to people who are not physically in front of them. The board members that participate remotely must also have their cameras turned on.

Labrecque pointed out a big obstacle to the hybrid model working for her council — the lack of internet access. Before the pandemic, the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council held its meetings at Peck Park, in a room that is not wi-fi accessible.

“We may have to move somewhere else,” Labrecque said. “Now, the other challenge is whether or not we can get that meeting place for free like we are at Peck Park, or whether or not we’re going to have to pay, or whether we have the funds to pay.”

Labrecque suggested they could use a hot spot, but wasn’t sure if it would work.

Laurie Jacobs, former vice president of Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, said that the council had already tried using a hot spot, but it was spotty because of the type of the building the meeting is held in.

Nadel said that the equipment needed for internet access would be covered by the city council, at least under his working group’s proposal.

“Part of the package that we’re considering including for NCs would include mobile hot spots,” Nadel said. “And it may even include more than one mobile hot spot, because we understand that there are a handful of NCs that have some sorts of physical challenges.”

Northwest’s difficulty with Wi-Fi is part of the reason the working group chose it, as it was looking for NCs with challenges, so that they can be worked out.

“We’re going to be rolling this out to 99 NCs,” Nadel said. “If we picked a bunch of easy NCs to do the pilot program, the easiest 14 picks and easiest seven back-ups, if we do the program it will look fantastic. And then the second we roll it out to 99 NCs we’re going to have a disaster.”

Nadel said he wants the city council to pay for the entire program, beyond just the pilot. If the city council wants the NCs to help pay for the equipment, Nadel said the working group had several suggestions. One of them was that the city offers the NCs a loan with 0% interest, that they could pay back $1,000 per year.

“I’m on an NC too,” Nadel said. “If you told me it was $1,000 for all this, I would still be upset, but I mean you’re not murdering my NC’s budget at $1,000. That would be literally the limit of what I would tolerate.”

Doug Epperhart, president of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council and a member of the working group, said that not all NCs will necessarily get their own set of equipment.

“One of the things we’ve all talked about is the idea that there may be equipment pools, where four or five or more neighborhood councils might share a single set of equipment as a way of cost-saving, for example, so that you’re not buying all this expensive equipment to use it one day a month,” Epperhart said.

Epperhart said there will probably be costs to the NCs, such as potentially needing a stronger wireless connection, or having someone operate a camera.

“Hybrid’s going to change the way we do things,” Epperhart said. “But as I told everybody, this is an ideal in which we’re not trading the folks who are not technically savvy or capable for the folks who can’t show up in person. This is the way we hit everybody.”

[See Hate, p. 194]

By Johanna Cervantes, OEP Coordinator, Special to Random Lengths News

Los Angeles Maritime Institute or LAMI has received a major grant from California State Parks for its new program, Maritime Youth Ambassadors of Wilmington.

This is a brand-new, ongoing program inviting groups of students and youth 14 to 16 years of age, every other month who reside or attend school in Wilmington. The program is six days total within the course of one year. There are three, one-day sails and activities taking place and a three-day voyage to Catalina. This is open to 25 students and adult family members.

Activity #1 is an introduction to sailing a tall ship. Students and their family members learn how to set sails, climb up the rigging, learn to navigate the ship and other introductions to being on a sailing ship.

Activity #2 teaches students and their families topics involving marine ecology. There will be science stations covering marine biology, water chemistry, marine pollution, human impacts and the upstream ecological connection that exists in the watershed.

Activity #3 is a marine career paths activity, where many guest speakers will talk to the youth and their families. Participants will learn about and get to ask questions regarding career paths in the maritime industry, science, education, recreation and conservation.

The Weekend Voyage is a three day and twonight trip; 28 students and parents will sail to Catalina Island and experience a natural area trip. The group will be introduced to water activities like hiking, kayaking and snorkeling. They will sleep onboard the ship, assisting with cooking, cleaning and conducting night watches. All meals will be provided.

The grant allows LAMI to include more under-resourced students in order to achieve the organization’s vision of a thriving community, where all youth have the opportunity and the resources available to access science, technology and mathematics programs that could potentially inspire them to pursue a STEM related career and develop an understanding of the importance of environmental sustainability and ocean conservation. Students will learn how to sail, explore marine ecology topics and meet local guest speakers involved in maritime careers, all through a multi-day skill building program culminating in a weekend voyage on the tall ships to Catalina Island.

Contact LAMI if you know a Wilmington youth, between 14 to 16 who would like to participate, 310-833-6055.

LAMI, celebrating its 30th anniversary year, is a nonprofit organization. Its mission is to empower youth to discover their greater potential through extraordinary at-sea experiences aboard educational sailing vessels built to train and equip young people with 21st-century leadership skills and inspire maritime and STEM career paths.

— Arnold Toynbee, English historian and philosopher of history

was the final straw for many Southerners, as they feared that his presidency would result in ending of their way of life based on slavery.

On Dec. 20, 1860, six weeks after Lincoln’s election as president, South Carolina’s leaders met in the banquet and concert hall of the St. Andrew’s Society and voted to secede from the United States. President James Buchanan declared the act illegal, as did President-elect Lincoln, but it did not quell the tide. Mississippi was next to secede, on Jan. 9, 1861, followed the next day by Florida and by Alabama the day after that. By Feb. 1, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas had all seceded. But the states of the upper south remained in the Union, with Virginians voting two-to-one against secession just eight days before the bombardment of Fort Sumter.

And for the next five years, Americans fought and killed each other, resulting in 750,000 dead. Yet in the end, after the South surrendered there was just one leader of that

Lately, in regard to the investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, pundits and reporters in the mainstream press have called the likely prosecution of a former U.S. president, “unprecedented.” This public hand-wringing by prominent media commentators and politicians is due to a misunderstanding of the American Civil War’s aftermath. While most high school history books have a section on this nation’s bloodiest conflict, it usually ends with Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the panel’s Republican vice chairwoman, said during her opening remarks on Dec. 19 when the Jan. 6 Committee issued its final report, noted that every president in American history has defended the orderly transfer of power, “except one.” This is technically true but only if you exclude Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederate States of America.

When you look at the timeline of the Civil War, Lincoln was elected to become the 16th president of the United States in 1860 and was inaugurated in 1861. His election was a sectional victory, winning none of the southern states. This insurrection who was arrested and charged with treason — CSA president Jeff Davis.

When the Confederacy was defeated in 1865, Davis was captured, accused of treason, and imprisoned at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia. A famous Boston lawyer, Richard Henry Dana Jr. (the same one from Two Years Before the Mast), was called in to prosecute him, but he was never actually tried and was released after two years. The problem then, as it is now, was that the country was divided and this was “unprecedented.” Treason in those days would have been dealt with by hanging or firing squad.

Yet, Davis’ legacy is intertwined with his role as president of the Confederacy.

Immediately after the war, he was often blamed for the Confederacy’s loss much as Donald Trump is being blamed for the recent midterm election losses. After he was released, he was seen as a man who suffered unjustly for his commitment to the South, becoming a hero of the pseudo-historical Lost Cause of the Confederacy during the post-Reconstruction era. If some of this begins to sound like the lost cause of the “stolen election” of 2020 and the perpetual victimization Trump claims, then you’re right.

Also during the aftermath of the war another insurrectionist, Nathan Bedford Forrest, a prominent Confederate Army general, became the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan, with Forrest at the lead, suppressed voting rights of Black people in the South through violence and intimidation during the elections of 1868. In 1869, Forrest expressed disillusionment with the lack of discipline in the white supremacist terrorist group across the South and yet his legacy and statues persisted until recently.

Clearly, the inability of the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute both Davis and Forrest for insurrection or treason for their actions during the Civil War had long lasting effects — effects that continue to haunt this nation to this very day. As we all witnessed on Jan. 6, 2021, there were many Confederate battle flags flown next to the Trump ones and this stands as the unique moment in which the inheritors of the Confederacy actually invaded the U.S. Capitol and threatened the Union. This cannot stand unindicted this time. Donald J. Trump lost the election and conspired to overthrow the government by fraud, deceit and dereliction, inspiring if not orchestrating violent insurrection.

There should be no apprehension of bringing charges against him and his co-conspirators expeditiously. We should have no doubt that if justice can not be meted out now that this will be the precedent for the future.

What is one of the most prescient quotes from this era is surprisingly by 18th President Ulysses S. , who reflected: If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon’s but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Jefferson Davis’ legacy as the Confederate president leader was celebrated and memorialized across the South, as were other Confederate leaders. In the 21st century, however, he is frequently criticized as a supporter of slavery and racism, and a number of the memorials created in his honor throughout the country have been removed. No such legacy should ever be afforded Trump except for a residency in federal prison and the American media who report on this should go back and read the history.

By Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn

In 2022, we saw the war in Ukraine, the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, record inflation, innocent lives lost in mass shootings at a LGBTQ+ nightclub, grocery stores, and an elementary school, hate crimes on the rise including here in LA County, the leak of a secretly recorded racist conversation between Los Angeles City councilmembers, and weeks of protests that have debilitated city hall.

Was there anything that happened in 2022 that gives us reason to hope?

I thought about it and ended up coming up with a longer list than I expected. Here are a few of them worth mentioning:

I will remember 2022 as the year that Los Angeles County was able to return Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan Beach to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce — marking the first time in our nation’s history that a government returned land unjustly taken from a Black family. In the weeks and months since, I have heard from other government officials who want to use what we did with Bruce’s Beach as a model to return stolen land in their own jurisdictions and I’ve gotten stopped by people across the county who thank me. I have no doubt that returning Bruce’s Beach

[continued on following page]

“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. XLIII : No. 27

Random Lengths News is a publication of Beacon Light Press, LLC

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Photographers Arturo Garcia-Ayala, Harry Bugarin, Raphael Richardson, Chris Villanueva Contributors Mark Friedman, Supervisor Janice Hahn, Ari LeVaux, Bondo Wyszpolski Design/Production Suzanne Matsumiya

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Display advertising (310) 519-1442 Classifieds (310) 519-1016 www.randomlengthsnews.com 1300 S. Pacific Avenue San Pedro, CA 90731

Address correspondence regarding news items and tips to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email: editor@randomlengthsnews.com. Send Letters to the Editor to james@randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, letters must be signed with address and phone number (for verification purposes) and be about 250 words. For advertising inquiries or to submit advertising copy, email: rlnsales@randomlengthsnews.com. Annual subscription is $40 for 27 issues. Back issues are available for $3/copy while supplies last. 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. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2022 Beacon Light Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

Re: Spiny Lobster Story

(RLn, 12-8-22)

As a diving instructor back in the 70s, lobster was cheaper for me and my three kids than hamburger while they were growing up. So was abalone

formerly of San Pedro, now in Oregon

Student Letters

Editor’s note: Random Lengths News received a batch of Letters to the Editor from the students of San Pedro High School English teacher Michael Kurdyla. Students commented on stories published over the past few months. The students did an admirable job following their teacher’s instruction to read and critique stories that piqued their interest. In the interest of space, we will select a few of the letters for print, while posting the remainder online.

In the Random Lengths article (RLn, 9-1-22) “Billboard at End of 110 Fwy” editor Hunter Chase talks about the debating factors of the famous billboard off the 110 Fwy and the city’s thoughts and feelings about its history. The reason I decided to choose this article was because of the severity of the impact it has on the view people have of my hometown San Pedro. Some people are embarrassed by what the billboard has to say sometimes and the messages that are being put up to show, and I don’t think it’s fair that when some people first come into our town for the first time they see an embarrassing ad. Some of the residents don’t appreciate the views they see and also the thoughts on why they feel a certain way. It was also brought up to the city council about just not doing anything to the billboard because of certain circumstances.

Graffiti, unpleasant messages, and the town’s opinion are some of these circumstances. Having graffiti on the sign is a huge problem since a vandalized sign is a waste. It’s an unpleasant sight not just for the towns viewing but the people who come to see San Pedro.

In addition, the city council met to discuss the complaints and issues surrounding the billboard, and I found that in Hunter Chase’s article one of the council members agrees “straight up embarrassing”, it was a feeling that many people shared. In 2011 there was an advertisement for the San Pedro Medic Clinic that shows a woman advertising her body in a bikini which concerns a lot of the residents. CBC says after about six weeks of the ad being up people asked the city council to take it down. Although it was making people uncomfortable there was nothing the city could do because the property was privately owned. So after the clinic had been aware, they decided to take it down.

It is a matter that isn’t as big as a crime but can cause well if we made a little change in our community such as this change. It makes the community less embarrassed and more sure that it won’t happen again. I wanted to highlight this article because I feel like the area around San Pedro should be more valued because we are a big part of LA and should be represented more as professionally as possible.

[from previous page] Reasons to Hope

will be the most important thing I did over the course of my career.

2022 was also the year we launched 9-8-8 here in LA County. For decades, we have relied on 9-1-1 as our only emergency line for people to call in times of trouble. But during a mental health crisis, calling 9-1-1 hasn’t led to the outcomes we’ve wanted. Having armed law enforcement respond to a person in a mental health crisis usually ends in an arrest and sometimes ends in a tragic loss of life. We now have 9-8-8, a number that anyone can call if they are experiencing or witnessing a mental health crisis.

Unarmed mental health professionals will be available to respond, de-escalating the situation, and more importantly, getting a person in crisis the long-term help they need so they don’t end up in our jails. This should give hope to so many family members who have been afraid to call for help.

This November, voters overwhelmingly elected a new sheriff for Los Angeles County. The last four years, you have seen headline after headline about “feuds” between the Board of Supervisors and the sheriff. I know you were sick of hearing about them (and I was sick of being in them). Sheriff Robert Luna ran on a platform of bringing transparency and accountability back to the department and building back the trust that has been lost with the public. We may have disagreements going forward, but at least we will be pulling in the same direction: making public safety a priority in our neighborhoods through a lens of justice and fairness.

And for the first time in the City of Los Angeles’ long history, we elected a woman to be our mayor.

Karen Bass’ election, a record number of women serving on the city council, and an allwomen board of supervisors, means that Los Angeles County is being run by women. And if that doesn’t give you hope, I don’t know what does.

Last week, I joined Mayor Bass as she signed an order declaring homelessness an emergency, promising to marshal city resources to finally treat this tragedy with the urgency it demands – no different than if thousands of people were displaced from their homes due to a flood, an earthquake, or a fire. It’s a mindset I have thought has been missing for too long. As the chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, I stand ready to be a partner with the new mayor in this effort and I have put forward my own proposal to ensure that county resources can be brought to bear to match the city’s new efforts.

I don’t think this emergency declaration is a silver bullet that will magically solve the homelessness crisis. I know that her goals are ambitious, but the energy and attitude Mayor Bass has brought to this fight gives me hope. This is a crisis that demands all our cooperation and resources from the city, the county, the state, and the federal government — and Mayor Bass has come in committed to linking arms rather than pointing fingers.

Lastly, I am grateful that, in the coming weeks veterans who have struggled with homelessness are moving into the new 60-room veterans interim housing site that I have been working to open in the closed Best Western hotel on 1st and Gaffey streets in San Pedro. There will be round-the-clock security and all the veterans will get the supportive services they need and help getting new jobs and permanent housing.

I have been so moved by the overwhelming support we received for this project from neighbors with homes near the hotel, the neighborhood councils, and the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce. This community’s support made all the difference in getting this project done quickly. You all are the reason these veterans will have a home. That gives me hope that we can replicate this all over the county.

As many in our community celebrate Hanukkah, I think it is important we all remember the power of just a small amount of light to transform the darkness and give us all hope.

In the article “Banned Books in the Crosshairs” (RLn, 9-15-22), editor Terelle Jerricks discusses the apparent targeting and crackdown on books and education that contains content of LGBTQ+ identities and topical social issues.

As a student of San Pedro High School, I believe that we should be well informed and educated of topical social issues so that we as students can have open discussions of certain topics and form our own opinions.

As a student and citizen of a diverse city and community such as San Pedro, it is important to have an open platform and environment for anyone to publish their works and messages so that we can be more well educated and informed about topical issues so we can form our own opinions, have more open discussions of certain issues and topics, and have more opportunities to get a better understanding of others and ourselves.

If policies and legislations such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill are to be enforced and exercised here in San Pedro, it will directly affect San Pedro’s communities, publishers and educational institutions by restricting any material that contains talks of topical issues or LGBTQ+ material. Ignoring this trend of targeting certain material will inevitably result in the direct undermining of our freedom of expression that was guaranteed by us in the first amendment written in the constitution.

San Pedro High School LA City Council Approves Motion to Name Street after Joe Buscaino

On Dec. 9, the newly seated LA City Council introduced a motion rename a part of Harbor Boulevard from 8th Street to 22nd Street in San Pedro as “Buscaino Way.”

The council requested that the Board of Harbor Commissioners act on this motion and take all necessary actions to make it happen, including transmitting an application to the Bureau of Engineering, pursuant to the requirements Los Angeles Municipal Code 18.09.

This motion did not come out of any committee and the council did not solicit any public or Neighborhood Council comments.

Read these online exclusives and more at: RandomLengthsNews.com

https://tinyurl.com/alu-organizing-drive

https://tinyurl.com/cali-guaranteed-income

On Dec. 17, Rep. Nanette Barragán (D, CA-44) greeted constituents at El Torito restaruant in Long Beach. The top three takeaways from the briefing were the Inflation Reduction Act; the Infrastructure Bill; and the 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which includes $4 million to build a brand new Boys and Girls Club in Harbor Gateway — a bill Barragán hopes gets signed before the new year starts and the congressional gridlock starts anew under the Republican House majority. Top photo courtesy of Barragán’s office, photo left by Fabiola Esqueda