RLn 04-13-23

‘EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE

Averting Climate Crisis

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

One month before Earth Day — on March 20 — the United Nations released its most dire climate report ever. “World is on the brink of catastrophic warming,” the Washington Post’s headline read. But there’s still a short time for dramatic action to make a difference.

“It will take a quantum leap in climate action,” said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “Our world needs climate action on all fronts everything, everywhere, all at once.”

“The choices we make now and in the next few years will reverberate around the world for hundreds, even thousands, of years,” said Hoesung Lee, who chairs the UN’s climate body,

Friends of the Canyon— protecting natural heritage p. 3

ILWU crosses $1 million fundraising goal p. 4

fiNding a future p. 11

It’s sunshine and blue skies in Carson mayor’s State of the City p. 18

the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Perhaps the most basic choice is to frame our thoughts, policies and actions differently — not in the backward-facing terms of those who have accumulated wealth and power by causing the problem, but in the forward-facing terms of creating a just and sustainable future for all. Some striking examples of how to do that have appeared in the last few months, which cast into sharp relief the retrograde forces that stand in the way, as well as the corrosive cost of continued ambivalence.

A human rights framework

A first example of framing things differently came from Hawaii’s Supreme Court on

March 17, when it recognized an affirmative human right “to a life-sustaining climate system.” Similarly, a second example came twelve days later, when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to bring climate change litigation to the world’s highest court, seeking an advisory opinion on the obligations of states with respect to climate change, and the legal consequences “where they have caused significant harm,” specifically to “particularly vulnerable” small island developing states, as well as “individuals of the present and future generations affected by the adverse effects of climate change.” The World Court’s response could in effect establish the Hawaii decision as a worldwide precedent, if it

adopts a human rights framework.

The UN resolution was initiated by the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, which engaged in a year-long support-building campaign, along with more than 1,700 civil society and youth groups across 130 countries. It had 105 national co-sponsors when adopted. A decade earlier, Palau and the Marshall Islands spearheaded a similar effort, but it failed due to strong political opposition.

Clearly, a lot has changed since then. The climate strike movement, started by Greta Thunberg in August 2018, has mobilized millions of students around the world, pressuring govern-

[See Crisis, p. 6]

Warner Grand Theatre’s Future Obscure

Lack of transparency, inconsistent statements hide the plans of the Warner Grand’s future

By Greggory Moore, Reporter

In 2021, the City of Los Angeles had a plan: close San Pedro’s historic Warner Grand Theatre for 12 to 15 months, then re-open in 2023 after $9 million in renovations.

Two years later, with no work begun and the projected closure extended to two years, the city says the plan approval process is finally nearing completion. But varying accounts of what is in the plans make it clear that not everyone involved is on the same page. And those with direct access to the plans refuse to share them voluntarily.

One of the people who had not seen the plans is Fred Allen, vice president of the Grand Vision Foundation, a nonprofit arts organization whose “arts and educational experiences [are] centered on the historic Warner Grand Theatre and the Grand Annex in downtown San Pedro” and which participated in the creation of a 2019 feasibility study enumerating a full range of

recommended renovations. Because he was never shown the final submitted plans for the renovation, in early February Allen reached out to the city to get a sense of what work is planned at present. On Feb. 16 a reply came from Juan Garcia, public information officer for the Department of Cultural Affairs, saying that, pending approval by the city’s Plan Check, beginning June 30 the theater would be closed for renovations “includ[ing] some historical restoration work; adding an elevator that will reach the 2nd floor and 3rd floor projection room; the addition of a roof-top deck; renovating a VIP multi-purpose room; and a renovation of store fronts for administrative and production rooms,” with “an estimated completion date of July 1, 2025.”

Garcia’s summary is at some variance with that provided in the city’s Project Info Report, which omits any mention of an elevator but includes “ADA access and egress, Structural upgrades, HVAC, Electrical system,

Fire Life Safety system […] Improvement and expansion of concession areas. Theatrical improvements include acoustical enhancement, audio-visual control system, house lighting systems & controls, theatrical light fixtures, production drapery & rigging, etc.”

But neither of these overviews mentions any plumbing work, which 15th District Councilman Tim McOsker says is one of the top priorities. Although McOsker also hasn’t seen the final plans, he says that in late March he was given a walk-through of the forthcoming renovation, which purportedly includes “all electrical and plumbing systems,” with “a primary focus on the restrooms.”

Grand Vision Foundation President Liz SchindlerJohnson says she has seen the final plans and provides the most detailed overview, saying the proposed work includes a major overhaul of not only the plumbing but

[See Obscured, p. 16]

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warns that a massive change in climate action is needed to prevent disaster. Graphic by Terelle Jerricks

Blue + Green: Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture

The Blue + Green 2023 series is a four- part in person and virtual series in celebration of Earth Day beginning April 13, and concluding April 29. The goal of the project is to shine a spotlight on the emerging aquaculture sector in the economy. Aquaculture and the supporting technologies bring together key ingredients — future growth opportunities that support coastal ecosystems, the economy, jobs, and communities.

Time: 3 to 4 p.m., April 20

Details: https://tinyurl.com/blue-and-green

Venue: Online

Western Avenue Beautification Open House

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes is exploring design enhancements aimed at beautifying Western Avenue from Peninsula Verde Drive to Summerland Street.

Join on April 19 for an open house to see what’s envisioned for the Western Avenue Beautification Project and share your input on the design concepts with city staff. Light refreshments will be provided.

Time: Open house 6 to 8 p.m.

Details: vhevener@rpvca.gov

Venue: Terraces Shopping Center, Ste. 101 (next to Coast Physical Therapy).

Recycle Festival in San Pedro

Call to upcycling and assemblage artists: This three-day event will be held at Crafted Port of LA. The cost to participate is a $20 fee for each table. $10 will go to Crafted and $10 will go to the San Pedro Art Association Harbor-wide All Grades Student Art Competition.

Time: April 14, 15 and 16

Details: Debbie Sue @ 310 612 1949

Venue: Crafted Port of LA, 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro Community Meeting on Deputy Gangs in LA County Sheriff’s Department

Local residents are invited to meet with leadership from the Civilian Oversight Commission to discuss deputy gangs in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Discuss your experience with Sheriff’s deputies and your observations and thoughts on:

There are three ways to participate:

1. In person: RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/ community-meeting-deputy-gangs at East Los Angeles Service Center, 133 N. Sunol Dr., Los Angeles

2. By computer or mobile device: Register for Webex at https://tinyurl.com/LASD-deputy-gangs or on Facebook Livestream at: https://tinyurl. com/facebook-live-deputy-gangs

3. By phone: 213-306-3065 and enter access code: 2596 649 1686 and numeric meeting password: 262123.

Submit written comments by completing the form at https://tinyurl.com/public-commentdeputy-gangs Submissions will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on the meeting date.

Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., April 15

Details: https://tinyurl.com/registration-deputygangs

Free Help with Taxes

You can visit a Volunteer Tax Income Assistance (VITA) location in the Los Angeles area and have your taxes get filed for free.

Details: https://www.freetaxprepla.org/locations and En Español https://www.freetaxprepla.org/ es/locations

Rainbow’s Annual 2023 Spring Luncheon & Fashion Show Fundraiser

All proceeds from this event support Rainbow’s myriad of survivor-driven programs and prevention education services. Join for an exciting silent auction, delicious lunch, a fashion show featuring this spring’s latest trends and empowering survivor stories.

Time: 11 a.m.to 3 p.m., April 23

Cost: $500 and up

Details: https://tinyurl.com/spring-luncheon-fashion-show

Venue: San Pedro Elks Lodge: 1748 Cumbre Dr., San Pedro

Friends of the Canyon Look to Protect Natural Heritage

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor and Micah Smith, Editorial Intern

Even during George Peck’s time, one of San Pedro’s land barons and iconic founding fathers, advocates for green open spaces for the public were concerned about the speed of urbanization and city sprawl robbing this city’s citizens of their access to nature.

In this town, Peck Park and its crown jewels, Alma, Rena and Leland parks, named after Peck’s three children, had been the beneficiary of that interest for more than a hundred years.

In this town, every generation, civic organizations, the chamber of commerce, and residents poured themselves into protecting this town’s open spaces, with this moment being no different.

San Pedro resident Gwendolyn Henry and a merry band of cohorts called the Friends of the Canyon are no different.

Henry has worked as a volunteer at a number of different parks throughout the Los Angeles Basin and has served in the forestry service. So her perspective on parks and open spaces is informed by experience.

Henry, a lifelong camper who served as a YMCA youth counselor, and like-minded friends and others rattled by last year’s shooting at the park and the series of fires in the canyon area before that, have stepped up advocacy on behalf of the park.

She says science is one of her passions, and believes it is best taught outdoors.

“Most scientific principles, in regards to biology, you just start understanding when you learn more about the environment around you and how nature works,” Henry said.

The park was renovated 12 years ago as part of a $4.8 million project that cleaned up stream water runoff that courses through the bottom of the canyon, installed new hiking trails and foot bridges over the stream, replaced weeds with native plants and vegetation and educational signs.

Also known as Mira Flores Canyon, the 3-mile ravine cuts east from the back of Peck Park toward the harbor. Goats and cows once grazed on the property, which was near a dairy farm that long ago shut down.

But after a series of fires and a shooting, residents and civic leaders like Henry have become reengaged in this town’s natural resources.

“[Those fires] ... it was through human behavior that this happened,” Henry said. “There were people who parked nearby and there’s a lot of inlets where they shoot fireworks. That’s how one of them started.”

Alluding to transients without shelter who are known to camp out in the canyon, Henry believes there are cases in which they start a campfire that ignited something else.

“There were other people who were concerned about public safety,” Henry explained. “But many of us are of the mind that if we care for the park and we manage the park and manage the native plants, and the overgrowth of grasses, the dangers would be minimized.”

Henry noted that like parks throughout Los Angeles County and the rest of the country, open

spaces and parks like Peck Park and Mira Flores Canyon are supported by community people who create trusts and 501(c)3s in order to create funding sources and a pool of people who become educators, docents who put on programming.

“We’re just trying to revitalize the canyon,” Henry said. “There’s a lot of exciting programming going on such as pickleball, which has really taken off.

“Grass, of course, is not native to the Ameri-

cas. There were a lot of other plants that weren’t those fast growing, fast drying grasses. Most of them were European imports.

“Even before climate change became more of a thing where we’re having longer summers, and drier longer, dry periods, and the grass gets dry very quickly ... Even before then, the California climate allowed fires to happen very quickly, and it’s a fuel that really takes off and it’s very dam-

A bridge in Peck Peck. Photo by Terelle Jerricks

[See Canyon, p. 6]

ILWU Crosses $1 Million Fundraising Goal

Dan Imbaglazzio tells how they got there

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

Retired longshore worker and former Southern California area representative for the Coast Pension and Welfare Committee, Daniel Imbagliazzo stopped by the Random Lengths News office to spread the news that the union had raised $140,000 last year and had crossed the $1 million threshold for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a charity fighting childhood cancer.

“This is what we’ve done,” Imbagliazzo said, beaming.

In 2011, the Longshore Division of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, or ILWU, formed a committee to reach out to Alex’s Lemonade Stand to contribute to the fight against pediatric cancer.

Then and now, Imbagliazzo explained that the effort was an expression of the union’s desire to give back to the community.

“We wanted to do something good with the community for other people,”

he said.

To that end, the union formed a committee and organized an event at multiple ports on the West Coast the same day with the union acting together.

The results were different from the initial plan, but coordinated events in three different ports on the West Coast. They settled on the name, “ILWU Walk the Coast,” for efforts on behalf of pediatric cancer research.

“A lot of people traditionally think that you raise money by walking,” Imbagliazzo said. “Our idea is that each port would have its own separate identity and function unique to them.”

The only thing that is required is that they use the same artwork in their promotional tools and that the events are held on the same day.

Every summer, between late July and August, since 2011, the Longshore Division of the ILWU have raised

money on behalf of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a nonprofit organization committed to raising money for childhood cancer research. It was an “ILWU

Walk the Coast” fundraiser. Last year, the union raised its 1 millionth dollar for the pediatric cancer charity named for Alexandra Scott, who developed childhood cancer only days before reaching her first birthday.

Alex was afflicted with neural blastoma, a common infant cancer because it grows out of immature nerves. More than 90% of those diagnosed with this type of cancer are younger than 5. Alex never went into remission despite going from one treatment to the next from chemotherapy to radiation therapy and experimental treatments.

In 2000, when Alex was 4 years old, she told her mother, Liz Scott, that she wanted to do something for other children with cancer. She and her brother put up a lemonade stand in their front yard and raised $2,000. By the time Alex died in 2004, with the help of others, she had raised more than $1 million and the work continued. This is a story Random Lengths has published before.

Alex Scott’s story, six years after her death from cancer, is what drew Imbagliazzo to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

“When I read about the child, Alex, the four-year-old child in the hospital saying, ‘I want to help somebody else,’ I fell in love with the child,” Imbagliazzo said. “And so, we adopted Alex’s Lemonade Stand in the pacific northwest.”

The union also donated to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network for two years. PanCAN was active until it kind of faded away, the retired union leader said. From 2013 to 2019, it was mostly southern California and Alex’s Lemonade Stand and then he opened it up.

Imbagliazzo had asked the union officers in San Francisco if he could talk to all the divisions of the ILWU about contributing to Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Originally, this was just a Longshore thing. The ILWU has other divisions. So Imbagliazzo asked for permission to ask the rest of the union to participate in the ILWU Walk the Coast fundraiser for Alex’s Lemonade

Stand. Permission was granted at the last convention, which had to be virtual due to COVID-19. In the process, he got the opportunity to ask the entire union and was able to get locals from Canada, Hawaii and Alaska to sign on.

“So this year, we have, for the first time, a Canadian local to join us.” Imbagliazzo said. “So we’re growing.”

As pivotal a role Imbagliazzo has played in making the Walk the Coast fundraiser a success, the union leader has a long list of people he feels he owes a debt of gratitude. Imbagliazzo noted during the first ILWU Walk the Coast, his goal was incredibly modest at $20,000. Instead, the Walk the Coast committee raised more than $80,000.

Imbagliazzo credited all the companies and the union locals, including Local 13, 63, and 94.

“I never put out to everybody, ‘this is our goal.’ I just knew I had to work hard and then it happened. And every year we’ve done a little better,” Imbagliazzo said. “One time, I think we didn’t increase and then every year we’ve done better but it wasn’t because I said to the group, just every year, I have to renew and form new relationships with people, companies and locals and tell them thank you for what you do. It isn’t what I do. It’s what we do. Everybody feels good when they do this. You’re part of this.”

ILWU pensioner Walter Romanowski was one of them. Imbagliazzo explained that Romanowski was one of the first people he went to for a donation for Walk the Coast.

“It wasn’t the first time I had gone to him,” Imbagliazzo explained. “The first time I went to him and asked him for money, he said yes right away. By the next year when I had asked him for money ... we had formed a relationship. About three or four years in, while we were talking, he asked, ‘Hey what’s your goal this year? And I said, well, I’m hoping for $85,000 ... He said, ‘chickenshit. Go for $100,000.’”

Imbagliazzo explained that Ro-

ILWU members and their families participate in the 2013 ILWU Walk the Coast to raise money for a pediatric cancer nonprofit. Photo courtesy of Dan Imbagliazzo

manowski connected him to his network of highranking individuals at terminals and businesses across the waterfront, many of whom had worked under him and with him through his many years on the waterfront.

“He had such a good relationship with the people that worked for him,” Imbagliazzo said. “They later became vice presidents at ITS and APM Terminal, and now the new company, Fenix. Those guys went their own way and now they’re all contributors because of Walter. They wouldn’t answer the phone for me. Walter allowed me to use his name.”

After nearly five decades on the waterfront, Imbagliazzo noted that the point of the ILWU Walk the Coast fundraiser wasn’t to get everyone to give a lot of money. Rather, it was to unify the entire union by participating in single action for a common good.

“We’re honest and we got a good charity and we made a marriage together,” Imbagliazzo said.

Imbagliazzo noted that while union locals had organized food giveaways and toy drives before Alex’s Lemonade Stand, the union had not done one thing together as part of a united effort, at least not since the 1934 general strike.

“Each local does their own thing,” Imbagliazzo said. “But Alex’s Lemonade Stand is the one thing we all do together.”

Imbagliazzo said he wrote the resolution with three goals in mind:

• Do something good for others

• Unite the union

• Let the community know the goodness of organized labor

Early on, Imbagliazzo made it a point to draft Robert York from the ILWU Credit Union and

Robert Maynez of the Marine Clerks Association-Local 63 to help lead and organize ILWU Walk the Coast.

In the beginning, Seattle got involved because of a guy named Scott Mason, and then down south, there were Locals 13, 63, 94 and the pensioners.

“The first people I asked for money from were the pensioners and they were there,” Imbagliazzo said. “It was amazing.”

The 76-year-old longshore worker recalled how great it was when Liz Scott attended the union’s first fundraiser in 2011.

“My knees are going like this [demonstrating how his legs were shaking]... I don’t know why I got a case of nerves. She [Liz Scott] looked at me as calmly as possible and said, ‘No. This one’s special.’ She came from the East Coast to babysit me. Then she got in a fire boat for the first time and we got a picture of it.”

Imbagliazzo discussed the highlights of organizing the Walk the Coast fundraiser in the Los Angeles Harbor Area and its transition from an all-day music festival complete with classic car shows and World War II plane flyovers. A few years before COVID-19, Walk the Coast turned toward poker tournaments.

When Imbagliazzo talks about the work of raising money for a worthy cause, he typically focuses the attention on the donors and the workers doing the work, all the while shunning the spotlight. But given the critical role he played in getting the union as deeply involved as it is, it’s hard to miss the personal sense of duty and gratitude that has guided his work in the ILWU.

It turned out he was deeply inspired by his mother, who during the last few years before she died, would give her son a list and tell him to donate $5 for this charity or that one.

kinds of principles. It wasn’t because I sat down on my own and thought, ‘how can I do something good?’”

Without going into much detail, he explained that he and his older sister were reared by their mother in a single-parent household. He recalled tough financial times in his childhood. When he turned 18, while attending Los Angeles Harbor College, he asked an uncle for help getting a job on the waterfront. Though his uncle wasn’t in the union, he had friends who were.

So his uncle said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Imbagliazzo explained that up til that point, he had never asked a man for anything in his life. A year passed. Then one day, while he was at his future wife’s house, he received a call. It was his uncle.

“‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Come down here and fill out

this application.’ It was for a permanent job. He had found somebody with no family who had no-

The septuagenarian knew that in situations like that people usually would want something in return.

“I was a dumb kid. I didn’t know anything,” Imbagliazzo said.

The sponsor said he just wanted to see him. The man sized up the 19-year-old Imbagliazzo, then told him, “You’ll do fine. I asked your uncle if I could see you. Good luck to you.”

Then off this longshoreman went to Homeland, California, Imbagliazzo recounted. The interaction took two minutes.

The grandfather of three explained that he searched for his sponsor several years ago to thank him more properly.

“I wanted to thank him but he passed away and he had no family. There was nobody to say

[See Fundraiser, p. 18]

Dan Imbagliazzo, center in neon vest, with Liz Scott, to his right, in 2012. Photo by Terelle Jerricks

Can We Avert a Crisis?

ments at all levels to respond urgently as never before. The fossil fuel divestment movement has grown from half a dozen college campuses in 2011 to 1560 institutions today, representing $40.5 trillion. And the “Environmental, social, and corporate governance” (ESG) investment framework — which includes climate impacts — has grown dramatically more influential, now being used to manage about one-eighth of professionally managed U.S. assets. There’s even an S&P 500 ESG index. Vanuatu succeeded where Palau and the Marshall Islands failed because it took maximum advantage of how the world had changed; as a result it will change even more.

Local resonances

The specifics of the Hawaii case resonate with local concerns. Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission, or PUC, rejected a proposed project because it would be a significant net-emitter of greenhouse gasses for its first 25 years — two years beyond Hawaii’s 2045 zero emissions target.

“The reality is that yesterday’s good enough has become today’s unacceptable,” Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins wrote in the court’s unanimous opinion. “The PUC was under no obligation to evaluate an energy project conceived of in 2012 the same way in 2022. Indeed, doing so would have betrayed its constitutional duty.”

Similarly, California’s climate commitments have evolved. In August 2022, the California Air Resources Board approved a rule requiring 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035. For California agencies to act as Hawaii’s PUC did, they would have to stop approving projects that would flood the state with fossil fuels beyond then — projects such as the Phillips 66 Marine Oil Terminal and Wharf Improvement Project at Berths 148-151, which would “nearly double crude oil throughput at the Phillips 66 terminal,” as a group of eight organizations wrote in their comments last year, when The Port of LA first tried to approve the project with the most minimal level of environmental review.

Homeowner local activists Janet Gunter and Peter Warren both reflected on Hawaii’s example.

“The Hawaii case directs a spotlight on how honesty and prudent behavior can and should be practiced in our government,” said Gunter. “We are consistently hearing governments at most levels and, of course, our own ports, make verbal promises of a strict policy of ‘zero emissions,’” she noted. “This sad reality is most recently reflected in the Port of LA’s Marine Terminal Improvement Project for Phillips 66. It will provide a 40-year lease, and increase oil tanker calls from 17 to 75 ships annually. By doing this, the port boldly commits to the promotion of petroleum for another 4 decades! This … despite the port applauding itself regularly as the ‘environmental leader’ and the nation’s ‘greenest’ port!”

“The Hawaii Supreme Court gets our predicament,” said Warren. “The burning of fossil fuels is, right now, killing and sickening workers and residents who simply breathe the air where we live. Worse, the continued free-market driven abuse of fossil fuels will harm the vast majority of people on Earth in this century. Those things will be here before oil companies willingly curb their profits.”

Transforming transportation

But even if the ports, and California as a whole, followed Hawaii’s example, that alone wouldn’t be enough, because renew-

Canyon Guardians

aging,” Henry said.

One of the initial goals of Friends of the Canyon has been the restoration of Mira Flores canyon. Henry was particularly inspired after visiting the community gardens in East Los Angeles on Cesar Chavez Day, where farmers were growing vegetables.

“I got into a whole dialogue with one of the main people who helped spearhead the Avalon Gardens and a local farmer recounted giving some high school kids a tour of the garden,” Henry said. “When he got to the tomato plants, he said, ‘Here, do you guys want to try this?’ It was a tomato of course. It was the most amazing tomato... it was going to be sweet. It was summer, straight off the vine and the kids went, ‘no, it’s dirty. We’ll go to McDonald’s and they got clean tomatoes they made themselves,’ and a whole conversation ensues. And I was like, ‘What?!’”

Henry noted that people are living a very odd urban experience that is further away from what we’ve always been part of.

The veteran forestry worker said that open spaces are more than just places to decompress, noting there are studies that show that people who are in natural open places have better mental outlooks, lower blood pressure and slew of other well documented health benefits.

able energy creates environmental challenges. A third example of framing things differently tackles this problem head on: a January report, “Achieving Zero Emissions with More Mobility and Less Mining,” from the Climate and Community Project. As it explains, lithium is “the most non-replaceable metal for EV batteries,” and if current EV demand is projected to 2050, the U.S. demand alone would require triple the current worldwide production. But this demand can be limited “by reducing the car dependence of the transportation system, decreasing the size of electric vehicle batteries, and maximizing lithium recycling.”

The report compares lithium requirements of four pathways to zero-emissions: an electrified continuation of the status quo and three increasingly ambitious scenarios that support public and active transportation. The most ambitious scenario reduces lithium demand by up to 92%. “This can be done by employing three key policy interventions: decreasing car dependency, right-sizing EV batteries, and creating a robust recycling system.” There are other benefits as well: “Reordering the US transportation system through policy and spending shifts to prioritize public and active transit while reducing car dependency can also ensure transit equity, protect ecosystems, respect Indigenous rights, and meet the demands of global justice.” There’s already precedent for this: car use in Paris declined nearly 30% from 2001 to 2015, and it fell by nearly 40% in London from 2000 to 2014.

Achieving this transformation will require coordinated government action at all levels: state and federal investments in public and active transit options will be essential, while local gov-

ernments “can promote transit options like bicycling and walking by increasing the availability and safety of bike lanes, sidewalks, and car-free streets; subsidizing bikes and e-bikes; facilitating car-share programs as an alternative to individual car ownership; and providing low- or no-cost options for bike shares.” In addition, “building codes, zoning, and land-use laws will need to be reformed to facilitate new housing in which residents will be able to live and have families without depending on cars for their daily transportation needs.” If this sounds like far-reaching change, it is. But, the report notes: “[M]ode shifts and land use changes more dramatic than those modeled in even our most ambitious scenario have already occurred in the US—although in the opposite direction. Through urban renewal programs, the construction of the interstate highway system, subsidies for suburbanization, and other policies, the United States largely destroyed and rebuilt its cities in the midtwentieth century in ways that created highly racialized urban geographies characterized by segregation, car dependency, and urban sprawl … Our most ambitious scenario would entail a near inversion of this transformation over a similar time horizon. Such an inversion could bring manifold social benefits—as well as reduce harms from minerals mining and likely speed up the timeline of decarbonization.”

Red state resistance

Such change is clearly possible, and would have enormous benefits. But what stands in its way is two-fold: the continued power of the fossil fuel industry, and its integration into Amer-

Aside from the human health benefits, there’s the protection of endangered animal species in their natural environment like the Palos Verdes blue butterfly.

There’s a lot of little butterflies all over the coast. Their host plants are the rattlesnake plant, like the one Henry recently bought, which has little pods that mimic the sound of a rattle (it’s also called locoweed by ranchers. The scientific name is Astragalus). The Palos Verdes blue butterfly relies on that plant, Henry explained.

“Over time, a lot of [those plants] had been removed,” Henry said. “They actually thought the blue butterfly had gone extinct. And it just so happened that in Friendship Park, there still happened to be some of that plant available and they actually rediscovered the Palos Verdes blue butterfly.” The Palos Verdes blue butterfly was actually found at the Naval Fuel Depot on North Gaffey Street

At the end of the day, Henry sees herself and her comrades in the Friends of the Canyon as (what she called) a bunch of old farts who just want to inspire kids to do the thing and know about the natural environment. And not just that, but to know what generations of San Pedrans have had the luxury to do, know the treasure that is Peck Park and Mira Flores Canyon.

“There’s lots of things to be done,” Henry said. “But if we could all spend a day in the park, dig a couple of holes and put some plants in them, and then every so often come back and pull some weeds around it, we’d be closer to our goals.”

The nature lover noted that the park, above all else, is a place for kids.

“I have heard countless stories of kids who knew very little about nature coming to the park and it changed their lives, leading to a few of them taking up biology and environmentalism later on,” Henry said.

“The choices we make now and in the next few years will reverberate around the world for hundreds, even thousands, of years”

— Hoesung Lee, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Media Gets Labor Wrong Again

Bloomberg and others report on labor shortage when there was none

By James Preston Allen, Publisher

The Bloomberg News headline announced, “LA, Long Beach Port Terminal Closures Stretch to Second Day” about a lack of workers on the second shift on April 6 (Passover). Then reported “The largest container gateway into the U.S. remained closed Friday as a shortage of dockworker labor that halted operations Thursday evening went into a second day”. That second day was Good Friday and of course Sunday was Easter. Of course, the implication was that the longshore union was pulling some kind of labor action to influence the contract negotiations ongoing since July.

What the corporate media got wrong is that they based their reporting mainly from the Pacific Maritime Association’s press release and did not check with any labor sources before reporting the shocking news that “ILWU Local 13 withheld labor again for this morning’s shift. The action by the union has effectively shut down the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,” the Pacific Maritime Association said in a statement.

This very same news was repeated in the LA Daily News, OC Register, the Daily Breeze, then other industry news outlets and finally summarized in the TV news — without any extra reporting nor verification by local reporters. This was like lemmings jumping off the cliff, not good reporting. One doesn’t need to be a genius to figure out what really happened and to call out Laura Curtis’ reporting for Bloomberg as baloney! It is explanatory of how corporate media works by reiterating a “scoop” and then just multiplying it over and over before anyone ever questions it.

Here’s what they missed, April 6 which was both the first Thursday and the beginning of Passover, and by contract a legal stop work day for the union to meet usually in the evening or the second shift. This was an important meeting as the Local 13 of the ILWU had just elected a new president, Gary Herrera, and the union voted at that meeting to add 500 new members to its regular workforce.

The very next day was Good Friday and is still a part of Passover and the following Sunday is Easter, a contracted holiday and one just might presume that some workers took a four-day weekend. And with the decline in cargo that’s been diverted to the East Coast since the supply-chain fiasco last year there’s actually been less work as volumes are off by some 40%. The workers have been complaining that there’s not enough work and yet the PMA claimed that, “The

ILWU has taken a concerted action to withhold labor” in an April 7 statement.

This version then got picked up on LinkedIn News by another reporter who didn’t verify any of it and what you have, is a one-source story based on some propaganda put out by the PMA who has been dragging their feet in the extended contract negotiations. Responses to the PMA and the LinkedIn reporter on Twitter were both harsh and blunt.

“Why don’t you issue a statement about how you’ve been stonewalling the Union for almost an entire YEAR, now playing mind games, walking out of negotiations multiple times? All the while the Union has been moving cargo at record paces and in GOOD FAITH with NO CONTRACT.”

In fact, on multiple occasions Gene Seroka, the director of POLA has praised the work of the ILWU for their dedication to moving cargo during the COVID19 pandemic and then the resulting congestion in the San Pedro Bay ports.

One worker on Twitter asked, “what more can you ask of a workforce?”

Finally in response to the accusations and upon request from me the Local 13 issued a clarification:

ILWU Local 13 Members Remain Willing and Able to WorkLongshore workers at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (Ports) are still hard at work and remain committed to moving the nation’s cargo.

San Pedro, CA (April 7, 2023) On the evening of Thursday, April 6, 2023, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13 held its monthly membership meeting as is its contractual right. At the meeting, outgoing President Ramon Ponce de Leon, Jr. swore in incoming President Gary Herrera. Several thousand union members attended the monthly meeting.

On Friday, April 7, 2023, union members who observe religious holidays took the opportunity to celebrate with their families.

Cargo operations are ongoing as longshore workers at the Ports remain on the job.

The PMA went on to accuse the ILWU of, “coordinated actions … occurring while negotiations for the new coastwise contract continue”. And that “These actions undermine the confidence in the West Coast ports.”

What the PMA’s statement reveals is their nervousness about how the contract negotiations are stalled and what the unintended consequenc-

Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com

Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya

“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. XLIIII : No. 8

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

Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach.

es are of their news release that cause the very “undermining of confidence” that they are afraid of happening.

While most readers won’t think too much about this confusion over the news report it does open the door to consideration on how other types of news gets compounded by the failure of corporate owned media companies who have gutted their newsrooms and become heavily reliant upon being news aggregators and not news creators or fact checking the stories they publish. I’m thinking of almost every online news platform — Google, Yahoo, and Apple News and not forgetting to mention those like Newsmax and OANN that are blatantly making up “the news.” Should I even mention Tucker Carlson at Fox?

All I can say is that this paper has one of the smallest reporting staffs, we know the local issues and how they relate the bigger news

that matter to our readers. And when people say, “Why don’t you run more rightwing articles to balance out the perspective of your newspaper?”

I tell them you got the Daily Breeze (owned by The Southern California News Group (SCNG) which is operated by Media News Group (MNG), the nation’s second largest newspaper company and one of the largest providers of digital news and information in the U.S. SCNG was created in March 2016 when MNG acquired Freedom Communications). And there are a hundred other media organizations that carry the water for those same political interests. The reason why people read us is because we don’t!

Only six media conglomerates control 90% of the media industry, and around 232 media executives control the information that reaches the American population. These corporations have a net worth of over $430 billion.

Threats and Solutions to Global Climate Change

Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com

Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg paul.rosenberg@ randomlengthsnews.com

Internship Program Director Zamná Àvila

Population growth on Earth has reached almost 8 billion and is projected to grow to 9 to 10 billion by mid-century and now beginning to exceed its carrying capacity.

The result is evolving ecological and social degradation, which is causing increased industrial and community waste, air, pollution, water shortages and land pollution, impacting food production and increased density of population and crime, particularly in densely populated urban environments.

Columnists/Reporters Melina Paris Assistant Editor/Arts Hunter Chase Community News Reporter

Fabiola Esqueda Visual Journalist/ Social Media Director

Photographers Arturo Garcia-Ayala, Harry Bugarin, Chris Villanueva

Contributors Mark Friedman, Thom Thartmann, Ari LeVaux, Greggory Moore, Jim Thebaut

Cartoonists Andy Singer, Jan Sorensen, Matt Wuerker

The growth is impacting public health and creating warming temperatures making disease impacts significantly more intense. Warming temperatures are also creating longer and hotter heat waves, droughts and powerful storms and wildfire conditions. And increased global migration

And the significantly most dangerous reality is the evolving threat of nuclear war. Russia has threatened to use its nuclear war capabilities dur-

By Jim Thebaut, Documentary Filmmaker [continued on following page]

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Dead School Children are a Sign of America’s Trump-Fueled Fascism Problem

By Thom Hartmann

Now that Donald Trump has been indicted, expect to see the fascist movement in America heat up quickly. And become more deadly.

That it’s happening at the same time our children are experiencing an unprecedented level of slaughter is no coincidence (more on that in a moment) and helps explain Republican unwillingness to do anything about guns.

Many Americans are baffled. Why, they ask, would Republicans refuse to act when semiautomatic weapons designed for the battlefield are used against our children? When we’ve had 38 school shootings — and over 100 mass shootings — all using semi automatic battlefield-style weapons in the first 90 days of this year?

Why are Republican members of Congress wearing little metal pins of the AR15 battlefield assault rifle on their lapels? Why do they insist that nothing can be done about the plague of these weapons when every other civilized country in the world has outlawed or heavily regulated them?

What most Americans don’t realize is that our gun problem is simply a visible manifestation of our Trump-fueled fascism problem.

There are people among us, led by Donald Trump, who hate our form of government because it tolerates people who are not straight, white, or Christian having economic and political power. Who want to replace our representative democratic republic with a fascist oligarchy like Hungary or Russia with Trump or somebody like him in charge.

And who are willing to kill their fellow

Global Solutions

ing its unprovoked war in Ukraine. North Korea has threatened to use their nuclear capabilities and China and the United States have the capacity to counter and the result would be the abrupt end of humanity.

Realities

Evolving population growth, ecological impacts and increasing geopolitical tensions are causing war and deadly conditions throughout the planet.

Michael Wirth Chevron’s CEO indicated recently on CNN the continuing of evolving demand for fossil fuels will continue to be a reality because global decision makers and the World’s population demand it and the obvious result is climate chaos will continue to increasingly intense.

Solutions need to include:

1. Creating global set of humanitarian and ecological rules to survive by

2. All educational institutions across the world must teach ecology at all levels which includes the rereading of Silent Spring

3. Geopolitical priority focus must be on the survival of the world’s Indigenous population, including climate and environmental impacts

4. Eliminate military intentions across the world and eliminate all nuclear weapons.

5. Leadership throughout the planet must focus specifically on reducing anger and tensions among all populations

A Reasonable Hypothesis

The United Nations and other global institutions must immediately recognize the reality of the absolute truth of the state of the planet and

Americans to get there.

There have always been people in America who don’t agree with our form of government.

In 1960, a paper written by William and Mary student Stuart R. Hayes was the first to get widespread readership with the argument that the Founders and Framers of America wanted citizens armed because someday we all may have to rise up against our own government.

“[W]hen the ancients made the five kinds of weapons, it was not for the purpose of killing each other, but to prevent tyranny…” Hayes wrote, quoting Chinese Emperor Han’s 124 BC response to a chancellor who wanted to disarm the populace.

His next paragraphs noted:

Weapons have been used in warfare for defense, offense, and revolution. It is with the defensive and revolutionary forces that the Second Amendment concerns itself. As part of the great power of the revolutionary force, weapons are an element of the control of men’s destiny. In the operation of government, they are a safeguard against tyranny.

It has been said the Tudors were rulers surrounded by an army: that of the English people.

By the 1970s the meme took on a larger dimension with the publication of The Turner Diaries, a novel in which freedom-loving white men blow up a federal building with an explosivefilled truck, provoking a national gun-confiscating response from the U.S. government that leads to an all-out civil war.

implement its collective power and capabilities and implement obvious solutions.

The common thread is creating geopolitical alliances in safeguarding freedom and security by political means and its primary focus is on global survival by reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons. This will require alliances to work both individually and internationally to prevent nuclear war and work with nuclear states for establishing verifiable enforceable plans to eliminate nuclear arsenals, as well as eliminate all other weapons of mass destruction. In addition, conventional and cyber warfare capability and arms sales must be dramatically curtailed.

Its also a priority for governments to eliminate poverty, hunger and public health emergencies and develop a sense of stability for all citizens.

This will be accomplished by generating funding for implementing infrastructure projects by dramatically reducing defense spending and creating creative economic plans.

Implementation will take place by generating global economic relationships with viable international financial institutions.

Without government leadership recognizing the planet is crossing the threshold of the point of no return and unless immediate non-political leadership evolves and recognizes this reality the most dangerous scenarios will become a bleak reality.

James “Jim” Thebaut is the president/founder, executive producer/director of The Chronicles Group.

The Chronicles Group is an international nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of communicators, scientists, policy leaders, professionals, and academics whose mission is to accurately convey the existential threats confronting Earth, in the 21st century.

At the end, the U.S. government has been defeated; Jews, Hispanics, and Blacks are all dead; and the armed Christians “retake” and remake America as a whites-only ethnostate.

The Turner Diaries is now the unofficial bible of the militia and white nationalist movements in the United States: it’s what inspired both David Koresh and Timothy McVeigh.

This is the vision held by the Republican legislators wearing AR15 pins and tweeting pictures of their families carrying assault rifles.

And it is why none of them will lift a finger to outlaw semi-automatic or assault weapons in the United States. They believe — or they’re humoring the GOP base that believes — those weapons will be necessary to one day soon use against government agents, Jews, “deviants,” and what

they refer to as “mud races.”

This is a full-blown fascist movement within the United States, and it’s now taken over most of the Republican Party.

Standing behind and encouraging this movement through their think-tanks, massive media operations, and political campaign contributions is a small army of rightwing billionaires, some of whom have openly ridiculed the idea of free and fair elections or even that women should be allowed to vote.

They’ve spent decades getting us to this point, spending billions to stack our court system, infiltrate the political systems of every state and the federal government, and training up a new generation of fascist children through a widespread homeschool and whites-only private school movement.

As with every fascist movement in history, their main weapon is bullying

They start with those they perceive as the most defenseless and least likely to arouse public

[See Fascism, p. 21]

No Papers? Lose Your Home!

By David Bacon https://tinyurl.com/no-papers-lose-your-home

What Do Pornography, Ginny Thomas, & Thomas Jefferson Have In Common?

By Thom Hartmann https://tinyurl.com/porn-ginny-thomas-jefferson

The Horrors of Microplastics: In the Ocean, Soil, Air and Your Body

By Mark Friedman, Reporter

The dangers of microplastics and the harms they pose to human health are still coming to the awareness of the general public. The extremely small pieces of plastic debris that result from the disposal and breakdown of plastic consumer prod-

ucts can result in human cellular damage similar to cancer.

On April 5, the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific hosted a presentation by scientist Shelly Moore on ocean plastic pollution to a full audi-

ence. Moore, whose background is in fish biology, has been researching the aquatic environment for more than 25 years and has taken specific interest in microplastics.

She got her start working as a sweeper at Dis-

neyland while she was a college student.

“I got to see kind of the littering patterns of the public,” she said.

She had been researching marine systems since 1994 when she participated in the first region wide study of the Southern California bight, the coastline between Los Angeles and San Diego, which stretches about 200 miles.

“We have looked at trawl debris off of the coast here since then,” she said. “So, since 2020 we’ve been doing research at the Charles Moore Institute for plastic pollution.”

Moore explained that she and her team conduct research in the Southern California bight every five years and noted that they have seen a steady increase in the amounts of plastic and debris off the Californian coast.

“We also did a study on rivers and streams and we found high numbers of plastics in those samples,” Moore said.

Moore noted that the primary thing they are finding are plastic pieces that have gone through some sort of degradation and have broken into smaller plastic pieces.

“The 1998 study was a comprehensive study on beaches in Orange County where we actually wanted to make sure we weren’t missing anything so we sieved sand at each one of our sites and we estimated there were over 100 million micro and macro plastics,” Moore explained.

Since then, the Moore Institute has been working mostly on microplastics with the state water board to basically define microplastics.

“In 2020 they had to develop and recommend standardized methods which the study was part of and they’ve done that and the next thing we’re focused on is becoming an incredible lab for microplastics and drinking water here in California,” Moore said.

If there’s one thing she hopes to convey to the public regarding microplastics, it’s urgency.

“We need to do something and we need to do something fast,” she said. “One of the graphs I show is basically what’s going to happen if we don’t change anything in our use of plastics … Basically if we do business as usual then the amount of environmental pollution that will occur is going to increase exponentially. We need to eliminate plastic from our homes and that’s what I tell my students, as an instructor at Santa Ana college teaching environmental biology.”

Moore said we can start small by reducing the amount of plastic we’re using. Don’t go to fast food restaurants that give you food in plastic containers. Make more meals at home. If you’re purchasing something that’s plastic

Director Annette Ciketic discusses the San Pedro art center

By Melina Paris, Assistant Editor

Update: when the new projected closing of Warner Grand Theatre was announced, Ciketic reported that the Ukrainian show will return to fiNdings at the end of June when the current exhibit closes.

The Warner Grand Theatre was supposed to be closing this year for renovations. June was the original estimated date but that has now been extended to January 2024. The fiNdings Art Center, which is adjacent to the theater, will be evicted by collateral happenstance. And it will have its final show, Thank You for the Journey, to close out its tenure in its current space in June 2023.

I recently spoke to fiNdings director Annette Ciketic and Ukrainian curator Nadiia Nikolaieva also joined us to talk about this time of transition for fiNdings. Ciketic placed special emphasis on the word “Journey” in the show title, indicating that the eviction does not mean the end of the work of fiNdings Art Center.

Indeed, one of its most important projects, Shows for Causes — a monthly exhibition intended to raise funds for worthy causes — gives permission to an organization or nonprofit to put up a show supporting their program. Ciketic noted that the monthly exhibition has been going on for the past 15 years.

She noted that the show’s most dominant and beautiful professional exhibit was the Ukrainian exhibit, which was curated by Nadiia Nikolaieva. The exhibit ran from May 2022 to January 2023 while part of the sales proceeds went towards art supplies for a Ukrainian orphanage.

Ciketic, an acolyte of Sister Mary Corita Kent at Immaculate Heart College in the 1960s, is no stranger to this kind of work.

Back when Ciketic was a student, Corita headed the school’s art department. Through her innovative approach to design and education, Corita’s vibrant serigraphs (silk screen designs) drew international acclaim. Corita’s work reflected her concerns about poverty, racism and war.

Her artistic mission was to seek joy and beauty in ugly places. She was also influenced by her faith, politics and other artists, including her close friend Andy Warhol. Ciketic, describing the former nun’s impact on Pop Art, noted that Corita was called the religious Andy Warhol. Ciketic is one of several prominent LA Harbor Area alumni of Immaculate Heart College who continued Corita’s legacy in San Pedro.

fiNdings’ Legacy

Today, fiNdings Art Center works in three capacities. The community gallery annually hosts a number of shows for a variety of artists. The fINdings women’s project helps immigrant women of diverse heritage build entrepreneurial skills and discover their creative capabilities through designing art pieces and textiles that enrich their lives and benefit society. And in honor of Sister Mary Corita Kent, the center has a variety of her artwork on hand at all times.

Before starting fiNdings, Ciketic was director of the Family Literacy Center. It’s a national program sponsored by Toyota: National Centers for Families, wherein family literacy programs help parents improve both their parenting and literacy skills while providing children with early childhood education. Ciketic said children came to school with their mothers to learn English. When she retired from the center, fiNdings formed a group of immigrant women which evolved into the fiNdings Women’s Project.

“That group is still strong today,” said Ciketic. “It’s part of who we are. The whole idea was to help [the women] get jobs and continue practicing their English and making money. So most of them have jobs now but they still make products. For example at The Corner Store, we have a whole display of old-fashioned aprons they made.”

Ciketic said, besides displaying, promoting and showing Corita artwork, fiNdings also has an artist studio workshop at Angels Gate Cultural Center which has become an upcycled art center where people bring art supplies that they don’t need anymore and the center gives those supplies back to the community and any organizations

[See fiNdings, p. 13]

Nadiia Nikolaieva, curator for fiNdings, poses in front of fiNdings gallery with Landscape with a Church and a Rainbow by Ukranian painter Stanislav Khochlov. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala

re there carrots?” asked my friend. The question was not existential. He was planning to feed a lot of people, and wanted to be sure there were proper condiments to accompany the food. By carrots he meant carrots and peppers, packed in quart jars with a sweet and salty vinegar. Once upon a time, these spicy, crunchy pickles had served as a currency amongst a certain circle of friends who believed that to properly feast, a jar of carrots must be on the table. In those days I would make about 30 quarts per year, for gifting, for swapping and for the table, where we enhanced our food, mid-chew, with the spicy, sour, salty sweet of pickled carrots and peppers.

The meal planner had asked me if there were carrots so that we could properly feast at the work party planned in three weeks’ time. I had none, but promised to make a few jars.

I had never pickled carrots in winter before, only late summer, when the peppers are fresh and abundant. I use fleshy peppers like jalapeño or cherry bomb or Louisiana, but almost any pepper will work. When I went to the winter farmers market to pick up some freshly dug carrots I found a bag of dried, skinny, thinskinned Thai peppers, and decided to give them a shot.

I knew those Thai chiles would reconstitute chewy, and possibly deadly. But I couldn’t resist making a few jars of totally local, spicy winter pickled carrots.

For old times’ sake, I stopped by the supermarket for jalapeños, the world’s greatest pepper. During the heyday of pickled carrots I’d made innumerable batches with jalapeños, and they make a great pickled carrot.

Refrigerator Pickled Carrots

By Ari LeVaux, Flash In the Pan Columnist

On a whim, I decided to roast my jalapeños before pickling them. In addition to enhancing the pungent musky side of the jalapeño, the roasting softened the peppers’ flesh, destroying any hope of a pickled pepper with a crunch. But immense gains in flavor are realized via roasting, and I was fine with the trade.

When I ran out of carrots and roasted jalapeños, I packed the top few inches with cauliflower, also from the winter farmers market, and finished with a few tablespoons of olive oil, which would sit on top and coat anything pulled from the jar. It looked like something from the salsa bar of a borderlands Mexican restaurant.

When the jars were packed, I heated the brine, adding vinegar, water, sugar and salt by feel,

having been through it so many times, to make exactly enough brine to fill all the jars. I poured the hot brine into my packed jars, screwed on the lids, and then enjoyed the chorus of pings as the lids sealed. Two quart jars of Thai chili carrots, and one two-quart jar of carrots with roasted jalapeños and cauliflower. That night as I ate my sandwich, I pondered how long I should let carrots pickle before

trying them. Two weeks, perhaps? Seems reasonable, I told myself.

As I chewed my salami sandwich I gazed at my beautiful new jars of pickled carrots. The sandwich was good, but a tad dull and dry, and lacking something important. And those bright carrots looked tantalizing. They had barely cooled to room temperature, but I figured they had been pickling long enough, at least for a taste. It’s not like I would be halting the pickling process by eating a carrot, I told myself. So I popped open a jar and pulled out a carrot to eat with my sandwich. And just like that, it was the best sandwich I’d ever had.

Pickled Carrots

This recipe is for refrigerator pickles, which must be stored in the fridge, not at room temperature. If you want to make storage pickles that will last for months on the shelf, use the same recipe but follow sterile canning procedures.

This recipe yields one quart jar of pickled carrots. Scale up the recipe to make several jars at once.

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

1 tablespoon of salt

2 cups sliced carrots

2 cups peppers, whole or sliced

2 cups cider vinegar

2 cups water

¼ cup sugar

Add the salt and mustard seeds to a clean, sterile quart jar, followed by the carrots and peppers. Leave at least an inch of space between the top of the veggies and the rim. Combine the vinegar, water and sugar in a saucepan and heat until it starts to boil. Pour this brine into the jar so it covers the contents. Screw on sterile lids and rings. Within about 20 minutes you should hear the pings as the lids seal. They will last for months in the fridge.

Jars of pickled carrots with peppers. Photo by Ari LeVaux

fiNdings

that need it.

“We like to be considered a network,” Ciketic said.

Looking Forward

Nikolaieva said Annette has a special talent for connecting people.

“I met a lot of people because Annette has the energy and power [to connect people]. It’s important because it’s a cultural center.”

Right now Nikolaieva said she’s trying to find a museum to show her Ukrainian exhibition. She is also helping Ciketic with her project to open a museum.

“When Annette needs me, I’m involved,” Nikolaieva said. “I teach art to kids, just two times a week.”

Nikolaieva dreams of opening a Ukrainian museum one day where art and Ukrainian culture are taught.

Ukrainian culture is very rich. People would

enjoy it because it’s quality art, Nikolaieva said. She said it was also her dream to start a Ukrainian center in San Pedro.

After finding herself to be a refugee following the Russian invasion of her country, Nikolaieva has found a place to belong in San Pedro, noting

galleries. All the downtown galleries are closed.

“In Kyiv, in wartime, galleries are open, cafes are open, people are working, people want life and life is happening,”

Nikolaieva said. “This cultural life, it’s most important. It’s important to tourists too.” that she has met very good people here.

“I really appreciate this,” Nikolaieva said. “I love San Pedro and I love the people.”

But the Ukrainian artist and curator pitied the lack of cultural life happening in San Pedro. In the past six months since she has worked here, people have not been going to the

Ciketic added San Pedro has a lot of work to do in that area. fiNdings wants to bring artists back to San Pedro. The art center offers internships now and Ciketic said internship projects for high school students will be one of its big pushes going forward.

Nikolaieva expressed gratitude to Ciketic for

opening fiNdings to her.

fiNdings doesn’t yet know where the new art center will be located. Ciketic said they are working with CD15 Councilman Tim McOsker on this transition. She added that he is a very big supporter of fiNdings.

“We’re waiting on the ‘go’ from Tim McOsker to see if the city has an empty building that we could work [on] with the city. Especially if we’re going to open the cultural heritage museum. My concept is that San Pedro is built on multi-cultures, not just one or two.”

Ciketic said the work the art center is doing is to promote Corita’s work here in the South Bay.

“We have a lot of Immaculate Heart college graduates up on the hill mostly and so Corita is not a stranger to this neighborhood,” Ciketic said. “That’s how we fit in here. The Corita tradition is a unique method of education.

“Corita’s concept was to show up and be there and you will create art,” Ciketic said. “If you’re absent, nothing happens.”

Details: http://new.findingsartcenter.com

BIG NICK’S PIZZA

Tradition, variety and fast delivery or takeout—you get it all at Big Nick’s Pizza. The best selection of Italian specialties include hearty calzones, an array of pastas and our amazing selection of signature pizzas. We are taking all safety precautions to protect our diners and staff. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on new developments. Call for fast delivery or to place a pick up order. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri.-Sun. Big Nicks’ Pizza, 1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-732-5800, www.bignickspizza.com

1111 BISTRO AT LA HARBOR COLLEGE

Come experience the French flair at 1111 Bistro at Los Angeles Harbor College.

Open Tuesday and Thursday for lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting Feb. 23 through March 2. The Bistro is run by students serving à la cart and 3-course meals.

1111 Bistro on the LA Harbor College campus, 1111 Figueroa Place, Wilmington, culinaryreservations@ lahc.edu

BUONO’S AUTHENTIC PIZZERIA

Family owned and operated since 1965, Buono’s is famous for award-winning brick oven baked pizza.

Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and sauces based on tried-andtrue family recipes and hand-selected fresh ingredients. All you can eat Trip to Italy Lunch Buffet is back. Dine-in and patio service, takeout and delivery.

Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Buono’s Pizzeria, corner of 6th and Centre sts., Little Italy San Pedro, 310-547-0655, www.buonospizza.com

HAPPY DINER #1

The Happy Diner #1 in Downtown San Pedro isn’t your average diner. The selections range from Italian- and Mexican-influenced entrées to American Continental. Happy Diner chefs are always creating something new—take your pick of grilled salmon over pasta or tilapia and vegetables prepared any way you like. Dine in or al fresco or call for takeout. Hours: Mon.-Wed. 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thurs.-Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #1, 617 S. Centre St., San Pedro, 310-241-0917, www.happydinersp.com

HAPPY DINER #2

Built on the success of Happy Diner #1, Happy Diner #2 offers American favorites like omelets and burgers, fresh salads, plus pasta and Mexican dishes

are served. Order online for delivery or call for pickup.

Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #2, 1931 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-935-2933, www.happydinersp.com

HAPPY DELI

The Happy Deli is a small place with a big menu. Food is made-to-order using the freshest ingredients. Breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches include a small coffee. For lunch or dinner select from fresh salads, wraps, buffalo wings, cold and hot sandwiches, burgers and dogs. Order online or call for takeout or delivery. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 am. to 8 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Deli, 530 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 424-364-0319, www. happydelisp.com

KO-RYU RAMEN SAN PEDRO

Serving Japanese dishes and signature ramen bowls. Or order your ramen to fit your taste buds perfectly by customizing your own bowl. Order as many toppings as you want and add just the level of heat to suit your taste. Now serving sake and Sopporo beer. Hours: Mon. - Thurs. 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sun. 12 to 9 p.m. Ko-Ryu Ramen, 362 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-935-2886, www.koryuramen.com

PINA’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Pina’s Mexican Restaurant serves traditonal Mexican food from Michoacan for breakfast through dinner, and is known for specialty enchiladas, burritos, tacos and mariscos served in a comfortable, casual dining atmosphere. Pina’s now has a full bar and outside dining, so come on by for a real margarita! Party trays for any occasion.

Hours: Sun. - Wed. 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Thurs. - Sat. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pina’s Mexican Restaurant, 1430 W. 25th St., San Pedro, 310-547-4621, www.pinasmexicanrestaurant.com

SAN PEDRO BREWING COMPANY

A micro brewery and American grill, SPBC features handcrafted award-winning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, BBQ, sandwiches, salads and burgers. Order your growlers, house drafts and cocktails to go (with food purchase)! Open daily 12 to 8 p.m. for indoor or al fresco dining, takeout and delivery.. San Pedro Brewing Company, 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-831-5663, www.sanpedrobrewing.com

Nadiia Nikolaieva, curator for fiNdings, and Annette Ciketic, fiNdings director. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala

MUSIC April 15

Bunny Brunel CAB

Bunny Brunel is a two-time Grammy-nominated bassist who’s toured, performed, music directed and recorded with some of the most iconic recording artists/ musicians in the world, including Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Jack DeJohnette, Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, Ziggy Marley, Gloria Estefan and Natalie Cole.

Time: 8 p.m., April 15

Cost: $35

Details: www.alvasshowroom. com/event/bunny-brunel-cab-2-2

Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Rockin’ at the Beach

This show stars Frankie Avalon with special guests Jan & Dean’s Beach Party featuring Dean Torrence & The Surf City All Stars.

Time: 8 p.m., April 15

Cost: $65 to $95

Details: 562-916-8500; www.cerritoscenter.com

Venue: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos

April 16

Second Sundays at Two

Steinway artist Dmitry Rachmanov is professor of piano at California State Northridge where he serves as chair of keyboard studies. He is hailed by New York Times as a “suave and gifted pianist.”

Time: 2 p.m., April 16

Cost: Free

Details: 310-316-5574; www.palosverdes.com/classicalcrossroads

Venue: Rolling Hills United Methodist Church, 26438 Crenshaw Blvd., Rolling Hills Estates

April 18

The Diaspora Project

Grammy-winning classical guitarist William Kanengiser will present a recital of recently commissioned works, focusing on issues of scattered cultures and global migration.

Time: 7 p.m., April 18

Cost: $10 to $24

Details: https://elcaminotickets. universitytickets.com/w

Venue: El Camino College, Campus Theatre, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance

April 21

The Pepper Moons

The Pepper Moons began heating up the SoCal vintage music scene in 2022. Focusing on the pre-bop styles from the Swing Era, the group is fronted by singer/ songwriter Eva Mikhailovna and backed by a jazz quintet.

Time: 7 p.m., April 21, 22

Cost: $37

Details: https://torrancearts. org/show/pepper-moons/

Venue: TOCA, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance

April 22

Incendio

The Los Angeles-based group Incendio performs original “world guitar” compositions, featuring guitar-playing across a variety of genres: Latin, Middle-Eastern and Celtic.

Time: 8 p.m., April 22

Cost: $20

Details: https://tinyurl.com/ incendio-at-alvas

Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

April 25

Allan Holdsworth Holdsworth was a composer of harmonic and rhythmic sophistication. This night of music, led by pianist/keyboardist

Adam Hersh, will include tunes from the full spectrum of Holdworth’s output.

Time: 8 p.m., April 25

Cost: $25

Details: https://tinyurl.com/HershHoldsworth-Novak

Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W 8th St., San Pedro

THEATER

April 15

Mortified

Witness adults sharing their embarrassing childhood diaries, letters, poems and artwork in front of total strangers at this special presentation of the storytelling event Mortified. After two decades of shows worldwide, Mortified’s best of show highlights some of the most hilarious, heartbreaking and awkward tales of teen angst in the show’s history.

Time: 8 p.m., April 15

Cost: $25 to $35

Details: https://torrancearts.org/ show/mortified

Venue: TOCA, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance

April 16

Culture Talks

What will San Pedro look like in the next 20 years? What’s happening with the Rancho San Pedro redevelopment? How are our neighbors coping with these changes? Join the third installment of Culture Talks, in collaboration with Cornerstone Theater Company, Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, the POLA High School photography students and One San Pedro, the community outreach arm of the Rancho San Pedro project developer.

Time: 2 p.m., April 16

Cost: Free

Details: For tickets, 55lindagrimes@gmail.com

Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro

April 21

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

This is a version of William Shakespeare’s immersive, theatrical experience.

Time: 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, April 21 to May 7

Cost: $15 to $50

Details: https://houseofbards.org

Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro

April 13

The LOFT Galleries

Recent work by nine Loft artists will be on display. The exhibition is open First Thursdays and by appointment.

Time: Through April 22

Cost: Free

Details: 310-683-3115

Venue: The LOFT Galleries and Artist Studios, 401 S. Mesa Ave., San Pedro

Lee Krasner: A Through Line

The exhibition of works by abstract expressionist painter Lee Krasner provides a context to explore important abstract paintings and collages from the 1940s to the early 1960s.

Time: 12 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, through May 19

Cost: Free

Details: www.csulb.edu/carolyncampagna-kleefeld-contemporary-art-museum

Venue: Carolyn Campagna

Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach

There’s No Place Like Home

The El Camino College Art Gallery presents an exhibition and events in honor of California native land-

scapes and plants as well as offering beach clean up and conservation efforts in honor of Earth Day celebrations.

Time: 2 to 5 p.m., April 15, 16 public reception and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 16, Theodore Payne Foundation Garden Tour

Cost: Free

Details: https://tinyurl.com/CAnative-plants

Venue: El Camino College Art Gallery, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance

Washed Ashore – Art to Save the Sea

The exhibit features 16 largescale sculptures made from beach waste. Washed Ashore – Art to Save the Sea is a nonprofit organization committed to combating plastic pollution through art and education.

Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 13.

Ongoing

Cost: Free with garden admission of $0 to $15

Details: 424-452-0920; https://tinyurl.com/washed-ashore

Venue: South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes Peninsula

April 15

Spring Open Studios Day

More than 50 local artists will open their doors to the public for a peek into their art practice. The event will include a free mural painting workshop, artist demonstrations, and a ceramics sale. In the gallery, two exhibitions will be opening — Notions of Place and Direct from the Classroom.

Time: 12 to 4 p.m., April 15

Cost: Free

Details: https://angelsgateart.org/ agcc-events/open-studios-day

Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro

April 21

Abstraction Symposium

Explore contemporary topics in abstraction through presentations by keynote speakers and panel discussions focusing on abstract visual art and its relationship with indigeneity, materiality and ecology. Individual talks events are located in the Horn Center, lecture hall 100 (HC-100), university theatre, and the museum.

Time: 5 to 9 p.m., April 21 and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., April 22

Cost: Free

Details: https://tinyurl.com/abstraction-symposium

Venue: Carolyn Campagna

Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach

April 22

Experience 53: BELONGING

El Segundo Museum of Art is collaborating with bestselling author Cornelia Funke in a exhibition featuring all women artists. Through the works on display, guests will experience what happens when you gather passionate storytellers to create in the magical environments of Malibu and Tuscany.

Time: 5 to 8 p.m., April 22

Cost: Free

Details: https://esmoa.org

Venue: ESMoA, 208 Main St., El Segundo

Family and Community Art Day

The Go Make Something Kids cohort at the Arts Council for Long Beach will showcase original artwork created by Long Beach Unified School District students who participated in the program. The exhibit runs throughout the month of April.

Time: 11a.m. to 3 p.m., April 22

Cost: Free

Details: https://artslb.org/gomake-something/ Venue: Long Beach Community College art gallery, 1305 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach

FILM

April 23

Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour

Enjoy a selection of films about nature. You’ll be moved, transfixed and energized to make a difference in our world.

Time: 4 p.m., April 23

Cost: $15 or $20 at the door

Details: pvplc.org

Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro

LITERATURE

April 27

LBPL Virtual Author Talks

Listen to mystery writer William Kent Krueger as he discusses his newest book in the Cork O’Connor series, Fox Creek, and his numerous other works. Registration is required.

Time: 5 p.m., April 27

Cost: Free

Details: https://libraryc.org/lbpl Venue: Online

COMMUNITY

April 14

Roots in California: Concepts of Home

Roots in California: Concepts of Home (Raices en California: Conceptos de Hogar) relates the oral histories of Mexicans and Mexican Americans living at Rancho Los Cerritos between the 1890s and 1930s. The exhibition runs through May 2023.

Time: 1 to 5 p.m., Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday

Cost: Free

Details: 562-206-2040; https://tinyurl.com/concepts-ofhome

Venue: Rancho Los Cerritos; 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach

April 15

The Lego Shipbuilding Contest

Builders of all ages will have the opportunity to build a ship using Lego supplied by the museum. Prizes will be awarded in the following age group categories: 3 to 5 years, 6 to 8 years, 9 to 13 years, and 14 and over.

Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 15

Cost: Free

Details: 310-548-7618; https://

www.lamaritimemuseum.org/

legos

Venue: LAMI, Berth 84, Foot of 6th St., San Pedro

Save Water, Landscape with Succulents

Thousands of plants will be for sale, and artistic pottery and expert advice for beginners and advanced will be available.

Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 15 and 16

Cost: Admission and parking are free

Details: 310-346-6206; southcoastcss.org

Venue: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes

Anderson Playground Ribbon Cutting

Join the grand opening of the newly renovated Anderson Memorial Playground. Enjoy face painting, class demonstrations and arts and crafts.

Time: 10 a.m., April 15

Cost: Free

Details: https://www.laparks.org

Venue: Anderson Park, 828 S. Mesa St., San Pedro

Earth Day Coastal Cleanup

Protect the Long Beach coastline and get together for a cleanup to keep the local marine environment healthy. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own bucket or bag to reduce carbon footprint.

Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., April 15

Cost: Free

Details: 562.570.1745

Location: Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier, 35 39th Place, Long Beach

April 17

The Port of Long Beach Harbor Tours

Aboard the 90-minute narrated excursion, you will get close to operations at one of the busiest ports in the nation and possibly even catch a glimpse of local marine life.

Time: Registration for May tours will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 17

Details: https://tinyurl.com/POLBharbor-boat-tours

April 18

Long Beach Eco Fair

The Eco Fair will feature booths and exhibits from multiple city departments, community partners, food trucks and more.

Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., April 18

Cost: Free

Details: longbeach.gov/sustainability

Venue: Civic Center Plaza 411 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

April 20

Earth Day Chalkfest

The family-friendly event features a range of Earth Day activities, including plenty of chalk to create personal sidewalk art murals. Participants will be able to design and take home a small California native garden.

Time: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 20

Cost: Free

Details: https://tinyurl.com/earthday-chalk-fest

Venue: Wilmington Waterfront Park, near C Street and Neptune Avenue, Wilmington.

April 21

Fishtival + Silent Disco

Choose from five silent disco stations with music options including pop and remixes from the ’70s to current day, Latin, EDM/House music and hip-hop. Dance, hatch grunion eggs, participate in grunion arts and crafts, watch a grunion movie, and see grunion on the beach.

Time: 8 p.m. April 21

Cost: $10 to $20

Details: https://tinyurl.com/silentdisco-fishtival

Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro

April 22

Celebrate Earth Day with PVPLC

Help celebrate planet Earth by taking action. Beautify the preserve and native plant demonstration garden for the benefit of the community and wildlife. Great activities for families including a guided nature walk. Volunteers under 16 should be accompanied by an adult.

Time: 9 a.m., to 12 p.m., April 22

Cost: Free Details: pvplc.volunteerhub.com

Venue: White Point Nature Preserve, 1600 W. Paseo del Mar, San Pedro

Warren Chapel Community Resource Fair

Join to celebrate community with refreshments, activities for youth, while getting connected to low cost, no cost resources for your family.

Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., April 22

Cost: Free Details: 310-383-0789 or 661365-5605

Venue: 1039 W. Elberon Ave., San Pedro

April 25

City Nature Challenge

It’s easy to collect information to help add to the knowledge of local species — just take a photo and upload it to iNaturalist. Join the virtual presentation to find out where and how to participate as citizen scientists for the City Nature Challenge April 28 to May 1. No prior experience is necessary.

Time: 6 to 7 p.m., April 25

Cost: Free

Details: https://pvplc.org/city-nature-challenge

Venue: White Point Nature Preserve, 1600 W. Paseo del Mar, San Pedro or George F. Canyon Nature Preserve, 27305 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rolling Hills Estates

April 27

Environmental Racism & Community Empowerment

The League of Women Voters of Torrance Area is hosting a speaker and panel event. Climate educator Brittany Jefferson, climate activist Sim Bilal and community organizer Tim Watkins will speak to environmental racism in the South Bay and tell their stories about getting involved.

Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m., April 27

Cost: Free

Register: https://my.lwv.org/california/torrance-area

Location: Torrance High School Library, 2200 Carson St., Torrance

Ongoing

Open Garden at Feed and Be Fed San Pedro’s own urban farm opens its downtown garden every Tuesday and Friday morning and on First Thursday evenings. Organic produce is for sale at farmers’ market, corner of 6th and Mesa, Fridays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Get your hands in the dirt as a volunteer, get expert advice, or just relax.

Time: Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and First Thursday evenings

Cost: Free

Details: feedandbefed.org

Venue: Feed and Be Fed Farm, 429 W. 6th St., San Pedro

PVPLC Invites You to Celebrate Earth Day

By Melina Paris, Assistant Editor

“Go Wild for the Peninsula” this year on Earth Day weekend.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy or PVPLC has three amazing ways to participate this year: the Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour, an online silent auction and an outdoor volunteer day at the White Point Nature Preserve. For 35 years, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy has preserved land and restored habitat for the education and enjoyment of all. Working with the community, the conservancy has succeeded in preserving over 1,700 acres of natural land overlooking the Pacific Ocean throughout the peninsula. Visitors can explore over 42 miles of recreational trails.

To celebrate Earth Day join one or all of these events.

Join the eighth annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro. Fourteen films in two hours will take filmgoers from the Italian Apennines and the Grand Tetons to Brazil’s Pantanal region and the Scottish Highlands. Topics will range from kayaking and Alaskan dog sledding adventures to stories about saving wildlife large and small, from elephants to endangered migrating monarchs. PVPLC assures the festival will not only thrill all ages but also inspire new ideas, actions and awareness. The films will provide an encouraging look at conservation efforts worldwide. With beautiful cinematography and stories about some remarkable individuals, the passion for nature in these films is contagious. This selection of films for Earth Day will move and energize people to make a difference in our

world.

During the brief intermission, the conservancy is asking everyone to “go wild” by sharing a favorite picture of yourself in “the wild” — with a pet or “wild” friends to show up on the big silver screen. Please send a photo by April 18 to info@pvplc.org and include a caption.

Time: 4 p.m., April 23

Cost: $15 or $20 at the door

Details: Tickets 310 541-7613; www.pvplc.org

Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6 th St., San Pedro

Starting April 3, the conservancy invites you to participate in a special Earth Day online silent auction featuring spectacular vacation homes, beautiful art, custom jewelry, fine dining, excur sions, tours and much more. A “buy now” op tion is available for those must-have items. The auction benefits the White Point Nature Educa tion Center activities and 102-acre preserve.

Time: 5 p.m. April 3 through April 24

Details: pvplc.org

seeds, spreading mulch and more. Family activities include a guided garden walk, a native plant sale, scavenger hunt, nature-based art project and a raffle with coffee provided by Starbucks. Volunteers under 16 should be accompanied by an adult. Community service hours opportunity for students; volunteers 16 to 18 years will need a parent or guardian to sign and complete a waiver (available online).

Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., April 22

Details: pvplc.volunteerhub.com

Location: 1600 Paseo del Mar, San Pedro. Cars must enter via Western Avenue, parking area and street parking at the end of the road.

The Nature Center at White Point Nature Preserve in San Pedro. File photo

Visitors tour the native plant garden at White Point Nature Preserve. File photo

Theater’s Future Obscured

refurbishment of all existing restrooms, along with the addition of “eight or nine” single-person, gender-neutral restrooms. “The top priorities, which are being addressed, are the main elevator, better ADA access to the auditorium and plumbing, electrical and HVAC upgrades,” she says, while also noting the addition of not one but two elevators: one at the northwest corner of the building running from the lobby to the projection room, and smaller one from running the stage to dressing rooms.

Initially, Schindler-Johnson indicated to Random Lengths News that she did not believe she had seen the final plans. “[…] I feel like I have some sort of a scope, but it doesn’t have any plans in it,” she said via telephone. “I’m looking at it right now. I can’t believe it doesn’t have any plans in it. So I’m not sure if I was given the latest plans. I really don’t feel like I was.” However, two weeks later she stated she’d had the plans all along but “was not authorized to share it,” declining to say whether anyone told her the plans could not be shared.

In any case, Schindler-Johnson’s understanding of the project’s budget is at variance with city figures. Although she stated via e-mail that “I was told by the DCA and the Bureau of Engineering representatives yesterday [i.e., March 23] that we have $12.5 million in hard costs [i.e., money directly construction-related] allocated for the project,” with an additional $1.5 million in “soft costs” (e.g., permitting), the City’s Project Info Report lists the construction budget at $10.2 million, a figure affirmed by McOsker and Garcia. (Allen’s understanding of the project budget, which he says he obtained from previous 15th District Councilmember Joe Buscaino’s office, more or less comports with Schindler-Johnson’s.)

The City of Los Angeles declined to share the

renovation plans with Random Lengths. According to Mary Nemick, the Bureau of Engineering’s director of communications, “We do not release plans unless they are final. Sharing drafts or incomplete files could cause problems.” Random Lengths asked Nemick whether the plans include renovations/additions of bathrooms (or any plumbing), installation of elevators, and/or creation of new office spaces (e.g., box office, manager’s office, rooftop deck). “Let me see if I can get more details,” Nemick stated initially but provided no further information.

When it was pointed out to McOsker that many of the items enumerated during his sitewalk are absent from the Project Info Report, he instructed Sophie Gilchrist, his director of communications, to research the matter. Random Lengths provided Gilchrist with the request for details put to Nemick but also received no reply. (Random Lengths has subsequently submitted a Public Records Act Request for the plans and related information.)

This lack of transparency is part of why Allen is so concerned about the renovation.

“They are in Plan Check, but they are not sharing what’s going on,” he says. “Whenever that happens, you know that people are doing things they don’t want to share because you’re going to disagree with them. The whole thing has been [a complete] subterfuge. They have never had a single open conversation with this community about what they’re going to do at that theater. Not one. That’s S.O.P. [standard operating procedure] for the City of Los Angeles. […] Why can’t we get [the plans]? Why can’t we see them? Why isn’t there some public forum that shows what they’re up to?”

Allen points to the city’s handling of the Vision Theatre in Leimert Park, which the city took control of circa 2000, as the nightmare scenario highlighting the city’s lack of competency in this field. In 2018, the Vision Theatre was closed for a two-year renovation. The re-opening date was subsequently pushed to 2021, then 2022. But as of November 2022, the anticipated project completion date had been pushed to August 2023

“The city tried [renovating a historic theatre] once before, and they completely fucked it up,” Allen says. “[…] That’s a telltale of how the city is able to do theater. […] They do not have an adequate grip on what it takes to run a theater. […] If I were king of the mountain, I would stop this project right now [and] not allow it to go forward until they have public hearings that tell us what they’re doing and convince us they have enough money to pull off those things […]. I just don’t have the confidence that they have the cash to do it.”

Random Lengths submitted requests to both Nemick and Garcia to discuss the Vision Theatre but received no reply.

While McOsker agrees that the Vision Theatre is a cautionary tale, he is confident that the city will do better this time — partly because he will be here to stay on top of things.

“It’s a lesson to learn. It’s a tough lesson for that community, and my heart goes out to ‘em, because I think the Vision Theatre is an important asset to Leimert Park,” he says. “But it’s also a lesson that I take into consideration. With my background in having managed projects, and my legal background in having advised folks who have managed projects, and having worked with the mayor in having moved projects through from start to finish, I am fully aware of the capacity of the City to close too soon, to not plan a project all

the way through and have it closed too long and then have the project essentially become strained. It could fail unless we think hard, work tight, and keep moving, make sure it’s properly funded, and make sure the bids are properly reviewed. I have great confidence in my office, I have great confidence in my ability to stay on this project — make sure it closes at the right time, that we do the work expediently, and that we get the thing open as quickly as possible. […] I’m going to work to make sure we do the best work we possibly can with the funding that we have.”

Although the Warner Grand was originally slated to close June 30, last month McOsker announced via Facebook that the date had been pushed back to Sept. 30. Now he seems to have been instrumental in its being pushed to January 2024.

“[During my recent site walk I asked] for a conservative timeline,” he reports. “‘How long will it take to get the final building permits? […] How long will [the bidding process take]?’ And as I went through that reasonable calculation, it sounded more like it will be in December that we can start work. So for that reason I’ve asked […] to keep the facility open through Dec. 31 so that we can enjoy a holiday season there, as […] the facility does get used for concerts and performances throughout the holidays.”

McOsker’s connection to the Warner Grand goes far deeper than its being a historic part of his district. He and his future wife danced The Nutcracker at the Warner Grand, and just before the COVID-19 pandemic his eldest daughter married on that same stage, with a reception in the lobby, where the bride’s grandparents recounted their own story of getting to know each other in the 1950s while working there as usher and “candy girl.”

“It is a jewel,” McOsker says. “It’s a beautiful, historic monument in the city, and it’s wonderful that it still has activity. It’s great that it’s going to receive some of the renovations that it needs. This is just a piece of it. We need more, but this will be a piece.”

The 2019 feasibility study, which was generated by Studio Pali Fekete Architects or SPF: architects, itemizes approximately $30 million in recommended renovations — although Schindler-Johnson estimates that, with rising construction costs over the last four years, today that total would be closer to $35 million. For his part, Allen believes that doing everything enumerated in the study would cost at least $40 million — but that even such an expenditure would fall short of the stated goals.

“I question whether even $40 to $45 million is enough to bring the theater up to the standards

that are necessary in order for large ensembles to come into the building, [which is] one of the things we were tasked with determining,” he says. “If you want to get an equity-level show, you’re going to need to have dressing rooms that have sinks in them. We’ve got big dressing rooms with nothing in them […] and two bathrooms across the hall for six dressing rooms. [… Also,] They told me they weren’t going to do anything on the stage except for the elevator — but that stage has many, many deficiencies which hold it back from being a really good theater to perform in. […] Equity would never allow a production to come into that building — [yet] that was one of the stated goals for the renovation: ‘How do we get bigger productions into the theater?’ But the architect just didn’t want to deal with that. At one point they were arguing over what the candy counter was going to look like,

for heaven’s sake!”

According to SPF:a’s Michael Toubi, the concession counter is one of the major items that caused the “bottleneck” in Plan Check for what Schindler-Johnson characterizes as “months and months and months.”

“We’re still trying to appease Plan Check,” Toubi said in mid-February. “[…] The Health Department, actually, is questioning our choices. […] This is typical and understandable because we are renovating the concession stands, […] which is their jurisdiction. […] That definitely added to [the two-year delay].”

One local business that may be eradicated by the renovations is Sacred Grounds, the coffeehouse-and-more that has been a downtown staple since 1995. According to Schindler-Johnson, onethird of Sacred Grounds’ current footprint will be annexed as a Warner Grand “production space,” while the other two-thirds will continue to be a coffee shop, though not necessarily operated by/ as Sacred Grounds. But Allen believes altering the Sacred Grounds space “is a fool’s errand.”

All parties seem to concur on two points: the Warner Grand Theatre is a treasure, and it is in serious need of renovation. Allen says parts of the electrical system date from its 1931 opening. Schindler-Johnson notes that the HVAC system the city installed in 2000 is so loud that it can’t be used during performances. By all accounts there is far more to do than there is money to do it.

The devil — along with the disputations — is in the details. Until the City of Los Angeles provides a clear, consistent picture of what work is to be done during the forthcoming renovation, there is no telling what the Warner Grand’s future holds in store.

(Full disclosure: Fred Allen is the brother of James Preston Allen, publisher of Random Lengths News.)

The entrance to San Pedro’s Warner Grand Theatre on 6th Street. File photo

Microplastics

Sunshine and Blues Skies in Carson Mayor’s State of the City

The city has $88 million in the reserve

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

City of Carson Mayor Lula Davis Holmes delivered the State of the City at the Carson Chamber of Commerce filled with sunshine and blue skies with hardly a cloud on the horizon. This by itself wasn’t so unusual. But that the State of the City was a slick video presentation that could have been a company promo spot on television was unusual.

In it, the mayor speeding in the passenger seat of a porsche on a track at the Porsche Experience Center came to a speeding stop before introducing herself brought an added sense of levity to the luncheon on the last day of the most recent rains.

The biggest news to come out of the State of the City is the fact that there’s $88 million in the city’s reserve fund and three tax measures passed by Carson residents, including:

• Measure C, approved by the voters in 2017, which brought in excess of $80 million.

• Measure K, the transaction and use tax approved by the voters in November 2022, which brought in $19 million dollars to the city.

• And Measure R, the Utility User’s Tax approved in November 2022, which is set to bring the city $9 million.

Mayor Davis-Holmes noted that for the second year in a row, the City of Carson has ranked among the top performing cities in the state.

“Our city is physically stable,” she said. “This is the first time in the history that we’ve had such a large amount of funds in the reserve that will help benefit the community.”

Other Highlights: Carson Country Mart, a development featuring fine dining, shopping, open spaces, and a dog park. It will include a pedestrian bridge crossing a storm drain that empties into the Dominguez Channel. This bridge will connect the Imperial Avalon and Hanover project residents will be able to walk or ride to enjoy all of the amenities that the Carson Country Mart will offer.

The Hanover project located at 213 South Avalon will be a mixed-use complex consisting

of approximately 1,200 apartments, 100 new townhomes, 18 single family units and will increase the housing supply. The project will include restaurants and a brand new park.

Last year, the city approved an agreement with Simon Properties to resume the development of the Premium Outlet Mall. This, after the largest outlet mall developer in the country sued the city, unsuccessfully, for $85 million, claiming the municipality’s reclamation authority had squandered funds intended for environmental remediation. Construction is expected to begin later this year with a grand opening scheduled towards the end of 2024.

Plans for the Maupin development located at 215 West Carson Street was still underreview before the mayor’s state of the city, but given her mentioning it, that could mean approval is on the way. The development will consist of 35 new townhomes.

The Marriott TownPlace Suites located at 888 E. Dominguez St. will include 111 rooms, a new restaurant featuring two loung-

es and an indoor pool in preparation for the 2028 Olympics.

Carson is very fortunate to have a strong and active senior population. Program of All-inclusive Care of the Elderly or PACE Senior Health Care Facility will be built at 20920 Chico St. and offer senior care and a multitude of social and medical services.

In October 2022, The International Institute of Tolerance opened after an old dilapidated industrial building was turned into the city’s first mosque.

The tennis courts at Hemingway Park were transformed into pickleball courts, similar to tennis, the fast growing sport has taken root in the City of Carson.

A new drive-through Starbucks located at Bonita and Carson streets is coming soon. Vallarta supermarkets is currently being developed on Carson Street and Main.

A new general plan for the City of Carson is set to be completed and adopted before the end of April 2023.

Two years ago, the city signed its first Town and Gown agreement with Cal State University, Dominguez Hills. In alignment with its mission of elevating and empowering locally owned businesses, the Small Business Academy was formed, a program the mayor helped create in partnership with the university. The academy graduated its first class this past December.

The city established the innovation department. This department will take the lead in the development and implementation of the city’s strategic plan. The three core topics or areas for the department are sustainability, open data and performance management.

In November of 2022, the City of Carson was named as a Los Angeles County’s Economic Development Corporation finalist for its most business-friendly city award. Carson demonstrated exceptional contributions to economic development, and fostering growth of businesses.

Automatic license plate readers are coming to the city. With the advent of this new technology, more than $5 million will be invested in secu-

rity cameras at all of the city parks and buildings.

Carson’s newest budget includes funding for two homeless coordinators. The two positions will assist in providing housing to city’s homeless population.

The mayor said she directed the city manager’s office and public works department to continue working with the Los Angeles County to make sure that pollution caused by fire debris from nearby industry doesn’t sicken residents again.

The new innovation department is taking the lead on the broadband and digital equity project. The project will create a roadmap for improving the city’s access to the internet. The city appropriated $500,000 to hire a technical consultant.

Veterans Park and Sports Complex is set to have solar panels installed at its facilities in an effort to get the city to do its part in reducing emissions within the city. The city also plans to vastly expand the number of charging stations at local parks and the community center. The city is set to acquire 20 Level 3 Tesla superchargers and install them at the Carson Event Center.

Bike lanes are set to be installed at the Dominguez Channel bike path.

The city launched two grant programs to assist its business community, $1.5 million for the small business, and $1 million for the commercial facade. These grants will support the businesses in Carson who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.

Last month, Carson celebrated its 55th anniversary. For the first time in its history, the city has $88 million surplus. These are historic levels of reserves that will be invested in the city’s infrastructure, parks and programs.

Carson received $2 million from Congress in January which includes money for Veterans Park and the sports complex this money will be used to install solar panels. Carson also received $7 million from the state for the city’s parks thanks to Assemblyman Mike Gibson.

The city also received $4.5 million from the Great American Outdoors Act thanks to Rep. Nanette Barragan.

they’re going to keep making it, so stop buying those products. Eventually, if enough people do that, plastic producers will stop making it.

In regards to plastic recycling, Moore’s doesn’t believe it’s happening. At least not to the level it should be.

“There’s been many studies done to look at how much actually gets recycled,” she said. “I’m not confident that any of the stuff we put in our recycling bins actually gets recycled ... perhaps 9% of it does.”

Moore said she grew up in an area where the milkman delivered glass bottles of milk to the front porch.

“I think we actually need to go back to doing some of that stuff,” Moore said.

While there are still bottle and can redemption programs, there are policies known collectively as trash amendments that require municipalities and storm water agencies to put in full trash capture devices in place.

“We’ve been doing some education but it has to be monitored in that area,” Moore said. “They only collect plastics that are larger than 5 millimeters, which excludes microplastics.”

Moore’s goal over the next couple of years is to bring microplastics to the point where the state recognizes them as a problem and create policies to actually decrease their size and number in the oceans.

But for now, she’ll just ask people within reach of her voice to make small changes in their lives to stop using plastics.

“We want to educate people; you need to be educated,” Moore said. “You can’t believe everything you see on the news. Look for reliable resources when you’re trying to find the right answer but don’t trust what people are telling you to do the research for yourself and make those decisions good.”

Fundraiser

... you know, your father ... your uncle ... there was no way for me to say...” Imbagliazzo explained. “I realized after so many years what he had given me. He gave me a life. And my uncle too. I gave my uncle a candy dish to say thank you. He didn’t eat candy. The last thing he needed was a candy dish, but that’s what I gave him. I was just lucky. I was just fortunate.”

Then he said, “But don’t make this about me.”

Imbagliazzo is right about one thing. The story isn’t about him. It’s about believing in the best of humanity.

Imbagliazzo said, “Here’s my thing. Every child ought to get a chance at life and cancer tries to steal that chance and that isn’t right. I had my chance in life and then I got lucky and was very fortunate. Every kid deserves a shot at life.”

After 57 years of walking this earth as an adult, he was struck by something he read in literature about cancer. And in it, it said, “Cancer doesn’t care about race ... gender ... or economic standing. Cancer comes after children and adults in every walk of life.”

“That hit me,” Imbagliazzo said. “Cancer doesn’t care, but people do care, and people want to be part of something.

“I think if you’d lost your wallet, chances are you’d get your wallet back,” Imbagliazzo explained. “ I think people are mostly good. I don’t remember getting too many “no”s when it came to a donation for Alex’s Lemonade Stand.”

Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes at her 2023 State of the City address. Photo by Kelvin Brown Sr.

[Microplastics, from p. 10]

[Fundraiser, from p. 5]

JOB OPPS

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT

File No. 2023-033144

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Integrity Professionals Moving & Art Installations, 25410 Narbonne Ave., Lomita, CA 90717, County of Los Angeles

Registered owner(s): James Eagle Manos, 25410 Narbonne Ave., Lomita, CA 90717; California. This business is conducted by: an individual

(See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). 3/02/23, 03/16/23, 03/30/23, 04/13/23

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT

File No. 2023-043914

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The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 01/2010 I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ James Eagle Manos, Individual

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on February 13, 2023 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, where it 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. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Cheap Alternatives, 25410 Narbonne Ave., Lomita, CA 90717, County of Los Angeles, 2.) Cheap Vintage, 3.)Cheap Thrift, 4.) Cheap Furniture, 5.) La Ronde Coop 6.) Greenwood Co 7.) J.R.J. Greenwood

Registered owner(s):The Greenverd Company, 25410 Narbonne Ave., Lomita, CA 90717; California. This business is conducted by: a Corporation

formation in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Russell Anthony

Greenwood, President

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on February 13, 2023

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, where it 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 ad-

dress of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). 3/02/23, 03/16/23, 03/30/23, 04/13/23

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT

File No. 2023-031715

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Cryptospace, 1379 Park Western Dr., San Pedro, CA 90732, County of Los Angeles, 2.) Cryptospace

[continued on following page]

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The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 01/2010 I declare that all ininstalled gutter guards protect your gutters and home from debris and leaves forever!

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PLEASE SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PET!

*In any condition. We will wash and mend.

PETS

Across

1. Get by reasoning

6. Obey “You shall not pass”?

10. Dull pain

14. Anatomical trunk

15. Radius partner

16. “Moby-Dick” captain

17. Poster phrase discouraging theft of intellectual property

19. “The Lion King” heroine

20. “___ fÍtes!” (“Happy holidays,” loosely)

21. In a cheaply assembled way

23. Black or red insect

24. FedEx alternative

26. Part of a wedding ceremony

27. Family tree entry (abbr.)

29. Shucked shellfish

32. Letters before “Miami” or “NY”

35. Most important items

38. Twinkie filling

40. “Celebrity Jeopardy!” finalist Barinholtz

41. Pacific Northwestern pole

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42. Easy-to-understand selfhelp genre

45. “Six-pack” muscles

46. Disposable in a box

47. Sahara slitherers

50. Place for a golf ball

51. Six-pointers, in the NFL

53. “Argo” employer

54. Area above the ankle

59. Let out fishing line

61. Setting of “Reading Lolita in Tehran”

62. Markable spots on the map showing where to land on the island, in Fortnite

64. Waiting room word

65. “Stranger Things” waffle brand

66. RenÈe Fleming performance, perhaps

67. Chest items

68. Video game with an “Eternal” sequel

69. Coins in Mexico

DOWN

1. “You’re not gonna like this ...”

2. Zip

3. Way to get onto the porch

4. “Around the Horn” airer

5. Captured a dogie

6. Pet hair

7. Rueful remark

8. Rainfall measurement

9. Time between flights

10. Barq’s competitor

11. Spiced tea brewed in milk

12. Concert venue

13. “The World’s Online Marketplace”

18. “When ___, the world gets bet-

ter, and the world is better, but then it’s not, and I need to do it again” (2009 Isla Fisher movie line)

22. Triangle in a bag

25. Karaoke display

28. Give a free ticket

30. Guru Nanak’s followers

31. Tire alignment used on racecars

32. Some paintings of urban life

33. Recognize

34. Intellectual’s ending

36. Be a bother to

37. Frat party outfit

38. Pre-Apr. 15th advisor

39. Actor Corddry of “Childrens Hospital”

43. Produced, as crops

44. Approached, with “to”

48. “Cavalleria Rusticana” composer Mascagni

49. Chip condiments

50. Campground array

52. Martha’s cohost on VH1

54. Laundry leftover

55. Dessert released in 1912

56. Crayon-like

57. Therefore

58. Belinda Carlisle, once

60. Ready to be eaten

63. “Wonderful” juice brand

“You Down With That?” — it’s only by nature.

CLASSIFIED ADS & DBAs

Registered owner(s):Huerta Consulting Services LLC, 1379 Park Western Dr., San Pedro, CA 90732; California.

This business is conducted by:

a Limited Liability Company

The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 01/2010 I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/Princess Nava, Manager

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on February 10, 2023

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, where it 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. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). 3/02/23, 03/16/23, 03/30/23, 04/13/23

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT

File No. 2023047376

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:

S.B.A.C.M. SAVE BUYING

@ C - MART, 420 S PACIFIC AVE UNIT, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731 - 2626 County of LOS ANGELES

Registered owner(s): RONALD JOE BENNETT, 420 S PACIFIC AVE, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731-2626; State of Incorporation: CA This business is conducted by an Individual

The registrant(s) started doing business on 08/2015.

I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)).

S/ RONALD J BENNETT, OWNER

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 03/03/2023.

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, where it 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. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). 03/16/23, 03/30/23, 04/13/23, 04/27/23

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2023053778

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Engineer Makers Project, 830 W 29th St APT D, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731, County of LOS ANGELES

Registered owner(s):

Shurhonda Bradley, 830 W 29th St APT D, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731; State of Incorporation: CA This business is conducted by an Individual

The registrant(s) started doing business on 01/2021.

I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)).

S/ Shuronda Bradley, OWNER

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 03/03/2023.

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, where it 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. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). 03/16/23, 03/30/23, 04/13/23, 04/27/23

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT

File No. 2023057413

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: PAW CHAKRA, 437 W. 6th St SAN

U.S. Fascism

support — in this case trans people — and from there will climb their way up through the entire queer community, immigrants from “shithole countries,” and ultimately to Jews, Muslims, “liberals,” and Black people.

And they do it all while claiming to be protecting “the children” and “culture.”

This is how it played out in Italy, Germany, and Spain in the 1930s, and most recently in Russia and Hungary. “Protect the children. Purify the society. Fight the culture wars.”

These are the templates, the models, for this Trump-led faction within the GOP.

And even those Republicans who don’t fully buy into the idea of replacing our democratic republic with a fascist oligarchic republic are unwilling to speak out because the bullies have succeeded in instilling in them the one paralyzing force always employed by fascists: fear.

So, how do the democratic countries that make the transition to violencebased fascism allow that to happen? And what is life like in those countries, both during and after it’s happened?

After World War II, a Chicago reporter named Milton Mayer struggled to understand how Adolf Hitler was able to flip one of the world’s most stable democracies into fascism.

His book, They Thought They Were Free, is his story of that experience. Intertwined through it — first published in 1955 — are repeated overt and subtle warnings to future generations of Americans: to us, today.

We can’t say we weren’t warned by our own people, our own politicians, the most senior members of our own institutional power structure.

In a speech that was hysterically criticized by Republicans and Fox “News“ pundits, former President Barack Obama in December of 2017 came right out and said it:

PEDRO, CA 90731 County of LOS ANGELES. Mailing Address: 255 W 5TH ST 1106, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731.

Registered owner(s): PAW CHAKRA LLC, 255 W 5th St UNIT1106, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731; State of Incorporation: CA This business is conducted by a limited liability company. The registrant(s) started doing business on N/A.

I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)).

PAW CHAKRA LLC S/ KAY-

LEIGH GEOGHEGAN, CEO

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 03/15/2023.

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, where it 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. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). 03/30/23, 04/13/23, 04/27/23, 05/11/23

WARNING:

Free newspapers provide a key source of information to the public, in many cases providing an important alternative to the news and ideas expressed in other local media sources. The Legislature further finds that the unauthorized taking of multiple copies of free newspapers, whether done to sell them to recycling centers, to injure a business competitor, to deprive others of the opportunity to read them, or for any other reason, injures the rights of readers, writers, publishers, and advertisers, and impoverishes the marketplace of ideas in California.

Ref. Universal Citation: CA Penal Code § 490.7 (2021)

We are, today, fully in the midst of a fascist crisis in this country. On the surface things seem normal: there’s a thousand movies on demand in your home, people go to work and get their paychecks, airplanes are full as families travel on vacation and businesspeople do their thing.

But the fascist movement grinds on like a glacier, patiently but irresistibly tearing up the landscape in front of it.

“You have to tend to this garden of democracy, otherwise things can fall apart fairly quickly. And we’ve seen societies where that happens.”

The warnings have been there all along: fascist takeovers are rarely sudden affairs. I wrote of this in 2005, quoting Mayer and going off on George W. Bush and the PATRIOT Act as the prequel to fascism.

If ever there was a time when Americans need to be conscious of what’s really going on in our nation — to be “woke” — this is it.

Averting Crisis

vironmentalist to get on board the transition to a more climate-friendly world,” she concluded. “The question is whether it will be worth it.” And that depends on what’s done on a broader scale, as the Climate and Community Project describes.

Another example of Biden’s straddling was his approval of ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope last month, directly contradicting his repeated campaign pledge. Ironically, the action was rooted in the Inflation Reduction Act — the most ambitious climate bill ever passed. But it only passed after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin extracted massive concessions to support continued fossil fuel developments. Still, the Biden administration did not have to approve the project. They could have fought in court for years, while doing everything possible to accelerate the shift to renewables, so that oil drilling made less and less sense even in the narrowest of economic terms.

The Willow project echoes here locally as well, with the Phillips 66 terminal project. It’s not that Willow project oil will inevitably come here. Indeed, they say they don’t have South Coast Air Quality Management District permission to do so, Natural Resources Defense Coun-

REP Watch

ica’s culture wars, reflected in a striking divide between blue state and red state policies, as Ronald Brownstein highlighted in The Atlantic last year. The federal Energy Information Administration calculates how much carbon each state emits from its energy sector per dollar of economic activity within its borders. Of the 19 most fossil fuel reliant states, 18 voted for Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020, while Republicans hold unified control of their governorship and state legislature in 15 of them. (Joe Biden won all 16 states that were least fuel reliant.)

damage on themselves.

“The Hawaii Supreme Court gets our predicament. The burning of fossil fuels is, right now, killing and sickening workers and residents who simply breathe the air where we live.”

Perhaps most strikingly, 19 states have enacted legislation to preempt local regulation of fossil fuels. There are also “critical infrastructure” laws that make nonviolent protest near oil, gas, electrical, and other forms of infrastructure a felony in 19 states “due to the efforts of the conservative legislators’ organization known as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the meticulous lobbying of powerful oil and gas companies,” Bolts magazine reported.

“These fossil-fuel-reliant states are nearly all

among those moving most aggressively to restrict voting, abortion, and LGBTQ rights; to ban books; and to censor what teachers and college professors can say about race, gender, and sexual orientation,” Brownstein wrote. “Almost all of the states fighting the energy transition are expressing equally intense resistance to social change. In effect, they are fighting the future on both fronts.”

They’ve taken a wide range of actions to protect fossil fuel companies and punish renewables. But in doing so, they’re also punishing themselves. A 2021 International Monetary Fund report found that “Globally, fossil fuel subsidies were $5.9 trillion in 2020 or about 6.8% of GDP [Gross domestic product].” America’s share was a staggering $662 billion. Only 8% were explicit subsidies, 92% were for “undercharging for environmental costs and foregone consumption taxes.” But these implicit subsidies cost 3.8% of global GDP, along with 900,000 air pollution deaths, in addition to the climate costs. Red states are willfully inflicting this

In January, the Washington Post reported that Ohio passed an Orwellian law legally redefining methane (“natural”) gas as a source of “green energy,” which ALEC also plans to push in other states. This redefinition would allow it to pass muster with some ESG investors. But red states have also begun passing broader anti-ESG laws as well, under the rubric of fighting “woke capital.”

Straddling the Divide

This is how America’s culture wars imperil the whole planet’s future. Nationally, President Biden is trying to straddle this divide, coaxing red America over with his enthusiasm for big electric trucks, for example, first the Ford F-150, then the Hummer EV. “On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified,” Biden tweeted out with a picture of him in the Hummer EV. As the Washington Post’s Shannon Osaka noted in January, as of right now, “a Hummer EV driven on the average power grid in the United States emits about 276 grams of carbon dioxide per mile; a Toyota Corolla running on gasoline, meanwhile, emits 269 grams,” so it’s not a net plus for the climate. But it is “an attempt to get people who aren’t remotely en-

cil attorney David Pettit said. The permit “can be changed,” he said, “but I think that there would probably be CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] consequences if P66 began a new, polluting use that was not analyzed in the current EIR [environmental impact report] proceeding.”

This doesn’t seem likely. But Biden approving the Willow project seemed far more unlikely when he was elected in 2020. What’s needed is a decisive shift in thinking: to make such decisions unthinkable, as opposed to unlikely, to follow the Hawaii’s Supreme Court’s example, and commit to the broad systemic changes outlined by the Climate and Community Project report. In today’s world, political forces are nearly evenly matched, but that’s not so for the world’s youth — even in red America. The fight to secure a just and livable future for all is inextricably embedded in the broader matrix of American politics.

“We are socializing risk and privatizing profits for the benefit of the goods movement and fossil fuel industries, while conservative ideologues claim our Constitution offers the people no recourse,” Warren said. “Hawaii shows a way. We need to move against the bought-and-paid-for Supreme Court that GOP dark money has built.”

HIS Receives $375,000 Grant to Renovate Shelter

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

On April 12, Rep. Nanette Barragán presented a $375,000 check to Harbor Interfaith Services to renovate the organization’s women’s shelter at 10th Street, in San Pedro. The money will go

toward outfitting the facility with new exterior windows, refrigerators and new paint. The check will also cover expenses to temporarily relocate the families during the capital improvements to the facility.

The facility has 22 units. Twenty-one of those units are for families and one unit is for the onsite resident manager.

Founded in 1975, Harbor Interfaith is the result of a merger between two San Pedro organizations, the fish pantry, and the Harbor Interfaith shelter. This unification integrated the delivery of the most fundamental human services: nutrition and shelter.

Over the years, the food pantry has grown into the Family Resource Center and Harbor Interfaith services today.

Aside from the housing programs, HIS has a child care center and serves as a hub for LA County’s Coordinated Entry System in Service Planning Area 8. In 2021, Harbor Interfaith provided over 23,000 services to 9,000 individuals.

During her comments, HIS executive director, Tahia Hayslet, noted that 90% of the clients Harbor Interfaith serves are single-parents, whether they are single mothers, single fathers, and in some cases grandparents taking care of grandchildren.

“Their fall into homelessness could be [due] to loss of employment; the [family’s] breadwinner decided to move on. There could be a domestic violence situation or substance abuse

situation,” Hayslet explained. “They come from different walks, but they have the same common goal and that goal is to provide their family with stability, and find permanent housing at the end

of their stay.”

Through case management, Harbor Interfaith works with families to increase their income, connect them to employment and resources to change their situation.

“Our goal is really to get to the root cause of the problem and then to offer them a better solution,” Hayslet said.

Barragán is a member of the Congressional homeless caucus, a dedicated forum for members of Congress to work toward the common goal of ending homelessness in this country.

The congresswoman noted that in fiscal year 2022, LA County received nearly $150 million in federal funds for organizations that connect our unhoused community members. Harbor Interfaith received more than $1 million of that funding.

— Peter Warren, San Pedro & Peninsula Homeowners Coalition

The Port of Los Angeles Main Channel. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala

Harbor Interfaith Services program director (left), Shari Weaver executive director, (center) HIS executive director Tahia Hayslet, and Rep. Nanette Barragan pose with the oversized check as they celebrate with HIS staff.

Photo by Chris Villanueva