RLn 01 09 14 edition

Sheriff Baca Retires, Leaves a Mess for Successor to Clean p. 5

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Peter Pan Comes to the Warner Grand p. 11 Debbie Marr: Local Artist Remembered p. 14

The collage of photos includes Rev. William Smart, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference leading a fast food workers march in Los Angeles and an SEIU-staged Ronald McDonald picture. Graphic: Mathew Highland.

The Local Publication You Actually Read

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor and Zamna Avila, Assistant Editor

hether it was the 45th Anniversary of the City of Carson’s founding, the 50th Anniversary of the march on Washington, the 125th Anniversary of the founding of San Pedro, 2013 was both a year of transition as well as a year of reflection on the harvest from seeds sown decades before.

In Los Angeles, the highly visible Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and loud City Attorney Carmen Trutanich were replaced by the comparatively invisible and quiet Eric Garcetti and Mike Feuer. With this transition, San Pedro locals hoped that some of their own Finding Meaning in 2013/ to p. 2

January 10 - 23, 2014

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HARBOR AREA

Committed to independent journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for more than 30 years

The Year in Review

Finding Meaning in 2013 from p. 1

would be placed on the boards and committees that count, like the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission.

With the election, Wilmington residents hoped to get more help in controlling medical marijuana dispensaries and the population of registered sex offenders in town. Feuer pledged to employ a more collaborative approach between the community and city agencies in dealing with both issues, but noted that he was hamstrung by cuts in funding and staff during an Oct. 3 town hall meeting at Los Angeles Harbor College .

In the City of Carson, residents managed to shake up the city council by adding a new face with Albert Robles after the March 2013 elections, while rejecting a measure that would have returned the city to a rotating mayoralship.

The political nastiness that emerged the previous year—a nastiness that began over a dispute about the appropriate way to honor long-time city clerk, Helen Kawagoe—was all done away with in quick succession in the months following the election.

Community Announcements:

January 10 - 23, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

Harbor Area

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March for Immigration Reform

A March for Comprehensive Immigration Reform is scheduled to start, at 10 a.m. Jan. 11, at Orizaba Park in Long Beach.

Marchers will walk along Anaheim Street and end their demonstration at MacArthur Park in Long Beach.

Venue: Orizaba Park Location: 1435 Orizaba Ave., Long Beach

Other hot issues that emerged but died down as the year wore on was the unexpected firing of City Manager David Biggs and his odd replacement with uncredentialed and inexperienced Samuel Ghaly. After only a couple of months in office, a time during which he fired numerous personnel, he also was fired and replaced by Deputy City Manager Jackie Acosta.

From Ports O’ Call to AltaSea

In San Pedro, we opened a 25-year-old time capsule on a day, week and year that was auspicious for many reasons. Former South African president and freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela died 20 years after the dismantling of apartheid began. Locally, the seeds that would launch the redevelopment of San Pedro’s waterfront were just planted. In 2013, residents were beginning to see some of those seeds come into fruition when the Port of Los Angeles selected LA Waterfront Alliance to redevelop Ports O’ Call Village.

There are about 840,000 visitors per year to coming to Ports O’Call, according to the POLA. Development is expected to bring in another 420,000 more visitors.

In April 2013, LA Waterfront Alliance representatives—the developers that were introduced in late 2012—met with several hundred people at the Warner Grand Theatre The developers made a presentation,

The City of Carson celebrated its 45th anniversary of its incorporation with a parade and birthday bash in October 2013. Pictured Councilman Mike Gipson, Mayor Jim Dear, Mayor Pro tem Elito Santarina, and Councilwoman Lula Davis Holmes. Photo: Kelvin Brown, Hitman Photography.

highlighting the precedents that the Urban Land Institute laid. LA Waterfront Alliance representatives also cited a series of guideline priorities including: increasing public access, maintaining the community character and building on local history while promoting a safe and clean environment. All this is in addition to featuring port activities, supporting local

Cabrillo Beach Polar Bears Swim in the New Year

LACEEN Pilot Project Launching, Open House

Community members are invited to the Los Angeles Environmental Enforcement Network pilot project launching and open house, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jan. 17, at the Coalition For A Safe Environment office in Wilmington.

LACEEN is a community-based project that will monitor air quality and other environmental conditions in a community.

Details: (310) 567-0748 Venue: Coalition For A Safe Environment Location: 1601 N. Wilmington Blvd., Suite B, Wilmington

Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace & Unity Parade Volunteers Needed Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews is calling for volunteers for the 26th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace and Unity Parade Celebration.

There are all types of fun activities that you can donate your time towards such as the 7th Annual Peace March, park celebration assistants, and parade monitors. Community service hours are offered to all volunteers and students are welcomed. You must 16 years old or older to volunteer.

Details: (562) 570-6816.

Newly crowned 2014 Cabrillo Beach Polar Bear King and Queen, Richard Leach and Lori O’Donnell, presided over the 62nd Polar Bear Swim. Rep. Janice Hahn, right, who took a dip in the ocean, presented them with a certificate at the New Year’s Day swim. Swimmers braved 55-degree temperature in the ocean to welcome the New Year. Photo: Bobby Favro.

businesses, increasing economic activity and expanding public parks and recreation.

Another key component in transforming San Pedro into an education/research center in addition to its designation as a destination town, was the unveiling of AltaSea in 2013, the Port Director Geraldine Knatz’s pet project to transform City Dock 1 into a marine science center.

AltaSea’s future was secured for the next 50 years when the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to lease the 100-year-old pier to AltaSea on Dec. 17.

The AltaSea campus will feature circulating sea-water labs, offices, classrooms, lecture halls, support facilities, an interpretive center, a facility for marine-related commercial ventures and an opportunity to develop the world’s largest seawater wave tank for studying tsunamis and rogue waves.

An economic impact study conducted by Kosmont Cos. projects that AltaSea will generate more than 6,500 construction jobs, resulting in $1.17 billion of economic benefit. The study also found that the new marine research campus will also generate about 1,350 professional jobs, with an estimated economic benefit of more than $290 million.

After almost 10 years, two environmental impact reports, hair pulling, teeth gnashing between local residents and would be developers, Ponte Vista is finally going to be built. Los Angeles Planning and Land Use Committee approved the plan after the current developer, iStar Financial, cut the number of units down to 700 units—a far cry from the 2,300 plans that was initially proposed

by Bisno Development, the original Ponte Vista Developer, in the early 2004. continued on following page

from previous page

Local Issues: Sowing the Seeds for 2014 The 61.5-acre property used to be a Navy housing site, left vacant in 1997 before it underwent a change of ownership and development revisions.

If the Los Angeles City Council approves the project in 2014, developers could break ground by the middle of the year.

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster fired Harbor Commission President Thomas Fields this past November.

Critics believe Fields was sacked because of his disagreements with the mayor over the siting of the port’s administration building. File photo.

Paseo Del Mar

Just when everyone were getting used to the idea of fixing the Paseo del Mar slide with the installation of a sturdy retaining wall and new road, residents were informed in November 2013 of the presence of new cracks near the slide area. Councilman Joe Buscaino noted that the revelations will not affect plans to reopen the road.

The Bureau of Engineers noted that the retaining wall and road could do much to stabilize the area., but some residents opposed to reopening the road at all have begun organizing to prevent further construction. They even launched a petition drive to prevent the road’s reconstruction.

Closing of San Pedro Courthouse

LB Looks Again at Medical Pot Dispensaries

Contenders for the April 8, 2014 primary election in Long Beach placed names in the hat as early as January 2013.

Twelve people filed intention letters to replace the termed-out Mayor Bob Foster, including Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, District 5 Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, Vice Mayor and District 1 Councilman Robert Garcia, Wilmore City Heritage Association Treasurer Jana K. Shields, Long Beach City Trustee and lawyer Dough Otto, economics professor E.B. Gendel, basketball coach Kareem Muhammad, auto detailer Richard Camp and businessman Steven Mozena. Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal intended to run for mayor, but decided to run for the 70th Assembly District instead, which

Local Year in Review/ to p. 4

January 10 - 23, 2014

After a failed 2010 attempt to regulate marijuana dispensaries the Long Beach City Council voted again, in September 2013, to try to find a way to allow them to do business in the city.

The city council agreed to get the city attorney to draft another ordinance that would regulate collectives within the city and allow a limited number of shops to operate.

The city council adopted a medical marijuana ordinance in 2010, but it was repealed after several court rulings, effectively banning medical marijuana dispensaries.

The Planning Commission

Long Beach Elections

her former mother-in-law, Bonnie Lowenthal, is leaving.

City Prosecutor Doug Haubert is bidding for a second term in office against Rosemary Chavez, a prosecutor for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.

After longtime City Attorney Robert Shannon decided to retire earlier in May, lawyer Charles Parkin filled his seat. Parkin is vying for the office against Matthew S. Pappas and District 7 Councilman James Johnson, who decided not to run for a second term in the council and run for the city attorney seat instead.

Long Beach City College Trustee Roberto Uranga, husband of former Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, is running for the District 7 office, along with Wrigley Area Neighborhood Alliance Vice President Joan Greenwood and Lee Chauser.

The Local Publication You Actually Read

In April 2013, the Superior Court of California posted a notice and request for public input stating that it planned to close or severely reduce services at least nine courthouses, including the one in San Pedro and Catalina Island.

Publisher James Preston Allen addressed the possibility of a courthouse closure in San Pedro by writing several editorials. In “Theft of the Courthouse,” published in June, Allen called the potential closure a denial of access, justice and, therefore, democracy.

Even as the state was closing courthouses to ostensibly save money, construction on the new George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach was completed in September 2013.

The new 531,000-square-foot building houses 31 court rooms, replacing the old courthouse that was built in 1958. The net present cost of the private-public Long Beach project is $725 million.

The Deukmejian Courthouse will cost the state court system approximately $35 million annually for the next 35 years.

will be the next step after the council discusses and instructs the city attorney and staff on how to move forward with the potential ordinance.

The commission will have to do a study session in early 2014 and vote on the ordinance before council members vote on its approval.

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Isodore Hall Plans for State Senate in 2016

By Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter

January 10 - 23, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

With the 2014 election season looming, Carson is about to see new representation in the state assembly.

Isadore Hall III represents Carson as part of the 64th Assembly District, but he’s facing term limits.

The contest over who will take Hall’s place in the Assembly is expected to involve two Democrats—most likely Mike Gipson of the Carson City Council and Steve Neal of the Long Beach City Council.

Gipson said he is running, “To take my eight years of experience on the Carson City Council, particularly to create job opportunities, increase employment.”

He pointed to his familiarity with the district— besides his service on the council, he was born in Watts and went to school in Compton.

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Hall supports Gipson.

“He has more experience, as an elected official and a person, dealing with the core values of the Democratic Party,” Hall said.

The assembly member is planning a campaign for the 35th Senate District in 2016, when Roderick Wright faces term limits. Hall says he plans to campaign on how AD 64 and Senate District 35, being overlapping districts, face many of the same issues, including the recent fiscal crisis that resulted in many foreclosures and high unemployment.

“Our district was one that was hit hard by the fiscal crisis,” Hall maintains. “We’ve had more layoffs in our community and more foreclosures in our community than in any other district in the county.”

Given that AD 64 and SD 35 are generally considered safe Democratic seats, any opposition to Hall taking the Senate seat in 2016 is likely to come from a fellow Democrat such as Steve Bradford, who represents the neighboring AD 62.

Hall has made a couple of personal appearances in the AD 64 recently, including a meet-and-greet at Supreme Doughnuts in Carson on Oct. 26. He says roughly eight constituents stopped and talked with California’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act— commonly called Obamacare—being the most common topic.

The assembly member also hosted his eighth annual turkey giveaway on Nov. 25 at El Camino College Compton Center, formerly Compton Community College. He combined the event with a health fair so people would get a turkey only after going through various health care stations.

“We want to leave them with something more than a turkey,” is how he puts it. “I started this when I was on the [Compton] City Council and I find myself unable to get away from it,” he half-

jokes and laughs, which he does often.

He goes on to explain how, in the depth of the fiscal crisis about three years ago, he had trouble getting funding for the event. He considered canceling except, “Hundreds of people were calling and saying, where are we going to get our turkey?”

Hall’s legislative career accomplishments include securing the passage of Senate Bill 510, which puts teeth into a law that says mobile home owners must abide by park residents’ preference when determining whether the homes may be converted to resident ownership of individual

Assemblymember Isadore Hall and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in July 2013 at Councilman Joe Buscaino’s swearing in ceremony at the Watts Towers. Photo: Terelle Jerricks.

parcels, commonly referred to as “condo conversion.”

State law previously provided that affected residents must be surveyed. However, some park owners argued survey results were not binding.

Senate Bill 510 ensures that they are.

Hall also recently saw the passage of his own bill, Assembly Bill 974, which he authored after a woman’s complaint that her ailing mother was moved to another medical facility without notification. The new law provides that medical providers must notify the family if a patient is transferred to another hospital.

“You’d think that’s already law but it wasn’t,” Hall explains.

During the 2013 assembly season, Hall also weathered a couple of legislative controversies, one local, the other statewide. Locally, some members of the Carson City Council were dissatisfied with the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District’s response to West Nile Virus. They lobbied to change state law so they could remove the city’s representative, Harold Williams, in the middle of his term.

Hall responds that there was insufficient support in the legislature for such a change, “It sets a [bad] precedent for all the other vector control boards because then all the other directors can be removed, too,” Hall said. “If you vetted the person that you appointed appropriately, you’d better leave ‘em there,” he adds, with a laugh. “It makes the city council accountable.”

A bigger and broader controversy resulted when Democrats failed to get a fracking moratorium through the legislature.

“The basic bill they gutted and amended,” Hall asserts. “Members had not even had an opportunity to read the bill. It was a last-minute shove-through. So they were like, ‘Wait, wait!’

“The author herself [Holly Mitchell] didn’t even know what was in the bill.”

Democrats eventually substituted another bill, SB 4, to regulate fracking but not ban it.

“There’s room to come back for more,” Hall notes.

from p. 3

Local Year in Review Larry King dropped out of the race, deciding to endorse Uranga instead.

Eighteen candidates also are looking to fill seats in District 1, 3, 5 and 9.

2013 Long Beach Politics and Economics

Long Beach saw its financial fortunes turn around in 2013, with a 3.5 million surplus in the city’s general fund—a surplus due to high oil prices and a stabilized flow of property taxes.

After Gov. Jerry Brown shut down redevelopment agencies, the city was able to divide the remaining development funds among all the districts to be spent on infrastructure and capital projects.

City leaders also were able to negotiate successfully with all of its unions to achieve several pension reforms that would save the city millions in the coming years.

As a result of the surplus, the city restored fire and police academies. However, efforts to restore Fire Station 8 in east Long Beach and the paramedic ambulance in Station 12 fell short in funding projections.

With the Port of Long Beach moving ahead with construction on the Gerald Desmond Bridge, disagreements emerged over where to move the port’s administrative headquarters. Among the

casualties of this fall out was the resignation of Port Executive Director Chris Lytle, who took a similar job in Oakland, and the firing of Long Beach Commissioner President Thomas Fields in November.

Mayor Bob Foster cited excessive travel as one of the reasons he pushed for the council to remove Fields from his post. Fellow Commissioner Nick Sramek resigned, not long after. Foster appointed former Long Beach Finance Director Lori Ann Farrell to fill Sramek’s spot.

Tidelands and oil revenues also helped fund a temporary pool for Belmont Shore, which opened after the Belmont Plaza Olympic pool was shut down in January. Seismic engineers found that it could collapse in the event of an earthquake.

The city’s officials in 2013 also set their eyes on the rebuilding of the Civic Center Plaza, which includes Long Beach City Hall and the Main Library, after seismic engineers found that those buildings, too, were subject to collapsing in an earthquake. So far, officials have deflected questions about the need for a whole new plaza— especially since the building was just built in the 1970s. Officials recommended a replacement and voted to put out a request for proposals in the third quarter of the year. Requests for proposals are expected to be ready by February.

Sheriff Lee Baca Retires Amid LBPD Releases Preliminary DOJ Indictment of Deputies Crime Stats

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

Long Beach Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell announced preliminary year-end statistics for 2013 during a news conference, Jan. 2, at the LBPD headquarters.

“We also maintain an exceptional fourand-a-half minute average response time to Priority 1 calls for service,” the chief said.

The preliminary data showed that 2013 had lowest rate of violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault) in 41 years, with 2,340 incidents compared 2,705 in 2012—a decrease of about 13.5 percent.

Property crimes also decreased about 8.5 percent compared to 2012. Property crimes include theft, burglaries, grand theft auto and arson. There was a decrease in bicycle thefts by 25.6 percent and petty theft that was more than $50, which is about 20 percent. An 18.4 percent decrease—450—is expected for auto burglaries. However, there is an expected increase in petty theft of under $50 (about 5.5 percent) and residential burglaries by 1 percent.

Rape decreased by about 11.3 percent;

Sheriff Lee Baca announced he was retiring Jan. 7 following the fallout of inmate abuse investigations and reports of questionable hiring practices in the past several months. File photo.

after me a chance.”

Baca, who has been in law enforcement for 48 years and the sheriff of Los Angeles County for the past 15 years, couched his legacy in progressive terms and his tenure being about

Baca Retires Ahead of DOJ Indictments/ to p. 17

there were 102 rapes. Robbery decreased about 10 percent; there were about 1,114 robberies— and aggravated assault decreased about 17.4 percent, compared to the prior year.

Murder increased by about 6.7 percent, with 32 murders in 2013 compared to 30 in 2012. Of the 32 murders, 19 were gang-related.

Criminals are getting more sophisticated, especially when it comes to computer crimes, fraud-type crimes, street gangs and sex trafficking, McDonnell said.

In 2012 there were four sex trafficking investigations and four arrests. In 2013, the numbers at least tripled. There were about 12 sex trafficking investigations in Long Beach and 15 arrests.

“The more we look, the more we find,” he said. “Gangs, in particular, have become more involved in the sex trafficking trade, if you will.

And, what we are finding is that that’s is because it is so lucrative and relatively low risk. They can make an awful lot of money. So, we’ve seen a shift, to some degree, from trafficking in narcotics LB Crime Stats/ to p. 17

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In Random Lengths News

Income Taxes & Dieting.

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Sheriff Lee Baca officially announced his retirement Jan. 7 following an avalanche of federal investigations and inquiries.

In 2011, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Ridley-Thomas authored a motion for the creation of the Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence, with the goal of determining the full extent of the custody problems within the county’s jails.

In September 2012, the commission released 77 findings in its almost 200-page report. Evidence of inmate abuse and jail mismanagement was uncovered after a more than a year of collecting testimony and sifting through more than 35,000 pages of documents.

This past September, supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Gloria Molina called for the creation of a permanent citizen’s oversight commission following the U.S. Department of Justice’s accusing the embattled department of inmate abuse in its jails.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors formally selected Max Huntsman, assistant head deputy of the District Attorney’s Public Integrity Division, as the inspector general for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to monitor and provide comprehensive oversight of the sheriff’s department and its jails.

Reporters questioned the timing of the fourterm sheriff’s retirement, asking if he feared that he would be facing a federal indictment as result of the Justice Department’s investigations.

Baca said his primary reason for retiring is to keep to a minimum the negative politicking that’s bound to occur as a result of the latest revelations. In a note of defiance, Baca said, “At the same time, I was elected to four terms I will go out on my own terms.… I will retire at the end of this month.”

When pressed on whether his retirement was due to a pending indictment by the federal government regarding the jails, Baca replied, “I’m not afraid of reality. I’m only afraid of people who don’t tell the truth.”

Baca said he said was concerned about the future of the department.

“I don’t see myself as part of the future, but as part of the past,” Baca said. “I must give others

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Labor Year in Review Man Killed in Train Collision

LOS ANGELES — A man committed suicide on the train tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad Jan. 3, near 48th Place and Long Beach Avenue.

The unidentified man laid, who was about 50 years old, himself across the eastside tracks directly in the path of an oncoming northbound freight train at about 3:05 p.m. The train conductor sounded his horn and applied the brakes on the locomotive, but was unable to stop in time.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene by the Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics who responded.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call (213) 972-1837 or visit LAPDOnline.org and click on “webtips.”

Lieu Introduces Anti-Spying Bill

January 10 - 23, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

SACRAMENTO—On Jan. 6, state Sen. Ted Lieu introduced a bill that would ban state agencies, officials and corporation that provide services to the state from supporting or assisting the federal government to spy or collect data on Californians.

Records show that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr. initially lied to Congress and denied the existence of National Security Agency’s blanket phone surveillance of all Americans. Multiple media reports regarding NSA activities have now caused Clapper to admit he lied and that the NSA has, in fact, been collecting phone information on all 317 million Americans for years. A federal judge recently declared the NSA’s blanket phone monitoring program to be unconstitutional, calling the dragnet ‘near Orwellian.’

Recent media articles also state the NSA’s surveillance program on Americans extends to not just phone records, but also all types of electronic data, including emails, text messages and information stored on Americans’ smart phones.

To collect data on Californians, the NSA sometimes relies upon services provided by the state and/or private entities that provide services on behalf of the state. Lieu’s bill would ban state agencies, officials and corporations providing services to the state from giving any material support, participation or assistance to any federal agency to collect electronic or metadata of any person, unless there has been a warrant issued that specifically describes the person, place and thing to be searched or seized.

If Senate Bill 828 is approved as drafted, it would take effect immediately.

Details: http://tinyurl.com/ SenateResolution16

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Man Sentenced to 45 Years for Human Trafficking

LONG BEACH — Ray Rhodes was convicted to 45 years in prison, Jan. 2, on several charges relating to the human trafficking of 13-year-old girl.

The conviction of the 33-year-old man stems from a 2011 investigation after the arrest of the girl for prostitution. Detectives learned that Rhodes, of Los Angeles, had been forcing the girl into prostitution in Long Beach since September of 2010.

Rhodes was arrested in San Bernardino County in May of 2011 on unrelated charges, in addition to a warrant issued for his arrest for human trafficking, sexual assault, pimping and pandering in Long Beach.

On June 27, 2013, Rhodes was convicted in Los Angeles on two counts of lewd act with a child, one count of procuring a child for a lewd act, one count of pandering a minor younger than 16 years of age and one count of pimping a minor younger than 16.

On Jan. 2, 2014, Rhodes was sentenced to 45 years in prison without the possibility of parole until he is 73 years old.

News Briefs/ to following page

Workers Battled Wage Theft in 2013

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

Labor issues and concerns wove throughout much of what happened in 2013.

The sequester cuts early in the year, which impacted the federal workforce as well contractors and grantees, and our front-page story on ILWU Local 13’s Walk the Coast fundraiser for cancer research with Alex’s Lemonade Stand are examples. But core issues of the right to organize and basic labor law enforcement were prominent on several notable occasions.

Nationally, the most high-profile labor story of the year was the explosion of one-day fast-food worker strikes, which actually started in 2012 with strikes in New York. By early August, the strikes had spread to Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., Detroit, Milwaukee and Flint, Mich.

We first wrote about them in the framework of a multi-tiered economic pushback against Wall Street and the 1%, in a story that also dealt with proposed Senate banking regulation and the City of Richmond’s (in California) threatened use of eminent domain to protect its residents’ homes from foreclosure.

“The problem is not just low wages, but split-shifts, short hours and—on top of it all— wage theft,” Random Lengths News reported.

“According to a survey in New York City released in mid-May, 84 percent of fast-food workers report wage theft of some kind, with nearly half reporting three or more instances. Even worse, 100 percent of delivery workers reported wage violations.”

At the time, it was the largest strike by fastfood workers in U.S. history, as labor journalist Josh Eidelson told Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman. But it was dwarfed less than a month later, on the day after the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, when thousands of fast food workers in 58 cities went out on a one-day strike with a key demand: to increase pay to $15 per hour.

While it might seem like a utopian demand to some, we noted that it would be less than the minimum wage, if the minimum wage had kept up with productivity growth since 1969, as it had for the previous 22 years. This helps illuminate why the fast-food workers strike struck such a resonant chord: They are broadly representative of a much wider range of workers, starting with the restaurant industry as a whole.

We not only quoted workers, activists and policy experts, but also spiritual and civil rights leaders, including Rev. William Smart, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Los Angeles and Georgia Rep. John Lewis, the sole survivor speaker from the original March on Washington, who spontaneously joined fast-food strikers in Atlanta.

“We must remember that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on April 4 in 1968, died in Memphis trying to help the sanitation workers—and that’s what this is all about,” Lewis said. “Some people are getting richer and richer, and doing better and doing better, and others are getting poorer and poorer. That’s not right. That’s not fair. That’s not just.”

Random Lengths News also quoted Adam Smith, the so-called “father of capitalism,” from The Wealth of Nations, who wrote: “Servants, labourers and workmen of different kinds, make up the far greater part

Labor organizing truckers like Mario Hernandez, with fellow picketers, have been pushing back hard against wage theft in 2013. File photo.

of every great political society. But what improves the circumstances of the greater part can never be regarded as an inconvenience to the whole.”

Closer to home, a strikingly similar struggle has been taking place among port truckers, particularly after drivers at Australian-owned Toll Group won union representation in 2012 and their first contract in January 2013. Random Lengths News did a front-page story when drivers at Green Fleet Systems went out on a one-day unfair labor practices strike just three days before the Aug. 29, 2013 fast-food workers’ strike.

“This is the first time as port truck drivers that we are doing this, exercising our rights,” Green Fleet Systems driver Ramon Guadamuz told Random Lengths. “We are so excited.”

It wasn’t just a matter of asserting legal rights, but also asserting their basic humanity, according to Guadamuz—a very old story in labor history.

“They don’t take our respect as human beings,” he explained. “They look at you like you are [an] object.”

Even worse, once workers started organizing, the company fought back, using illegal practices, such as intimidating workers. That’s one key reason the strike was so important—it was a way to vividly demonstrate that they were not afraid.

“What Ramon and his coworkers [are] showing his other coworkers is that they don’t need to be scared,” Teamsters’ Port Campaign Director Nick Weiner said. “They’re taking this courageous action to go out on strike for a day.

And other workers are scared.... Port drivers, fastfood workers and Walmart workers are terrified of losing their job, and speaking up and standing up for their rights.... They can stand up for their rights and demand a living wage and respect and that’s spreading, it’s now spreading to the port, that fever, that port drivers aren’t going to take it any more.”

Vivid proof that Weiner was right arrived in November, when another wave of fast-food strikes in 130 cities and Black Friday protests at 1,500 Walmart locations nationwide roughly

coincided with another port trucker unfair labor practices strike—this one lasting for 36 hours and affecting three separate companies: Green Fleet Systems, American Logistics International and Pacific 9 Transportation.

What’s more, they were joined on the picket line by port truckers from as far away as Seattle, Savannah and New Jersey. This spread of labor activism and organizing among low-wage workers was arguably the most important labor story of the year in America—and a major facet of it happened right here in the Los Angeles Harbor Area.

For longshore workers, retirees and their families, the most far-reaching contract concern this past year has been the mal-administration of health benefits by Zenith American Solutions, the controversial claims-processing company that was hand-picked by the Pacific Maritime Association to replace CIGNA, over the objections of the ILWU. Active workers and retirees alike have encountered widespread delays, denials and red tape, up to and including the threat of bankruptcy, prompting both demonstrations and official labor law complaints, and resulting in arbitration hearings in July. Another round in November was postponed to January 2014.

Dozens of Local 13 members travelled by bus overnight to join with other locals protesting at PMA headquarters on Market Street in San Francisco on April 9. At the time, PMA and Zenith promised to improve performance, but they failed to deliver. Arbitration hearings followed three months later, but without a resolution.

“According to sources close to the arbitration hearings, the arbitration officer chided Zenith officials for holding up $30 claims when their investigation has only uncovered 1 to 2 percent claims have been uncovered as fraudulent,” Random Lengths reported at the time.

There seems to be little doubt that this situation helps to set a decidedly hostile and distrustful tone heading into contract negotiations this coming year.

Environmental Year in Review

The Year Industry Rolled Over Us

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

Los Angeles and Port of Los Angeles officials turned out for the unveiling of the newly name of the City Dock 1 marine science center as name as AltaSea. File photo.

Environment in Review/ to p. 17

from previous page

Massive Cold Spell Linked to More Global Warming if the ports simply meet the goals they proudly claim they are going to.

On March 7, the Port of Los Angeles Board unanimously approved the controversial BNSF off-dock rail project—the Southern California International Gateway—and the Los Angeles City Council followed suit on May 8, voting in favor 13-2, despite strong adverse testimony on several fronts, including the City of Long Beach, Long Beach Unified School District and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, as well as a number of environmental organizations, most notably, the Natural Resource Defense Council, the Coalition for Clean Air and East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.

It marked the first time the AQMD had ever opposed a significant project at the final approval stage. But it didn’t end there. Subsequently, all those just named filed suit to block the project from going forward. Possible additional text on current status to be added here. Negotiations have not resolved the matter, which is still headed for trial.

On Nov. 1, nurses organized by the California Nurses Association represented a new force joined with environmental justice activists and others speaking out against the possible largescale refining of tar sands in the Harbor Area before the board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. AQMD staff responded by explaining that the Valero application was both incomplete and on hold at Valero’s request. They promised to meet with the nurses to discuss the application in depth, which they had previously done with several environmental groups. AQMD also promised an open public comment hearing before any decision on a permit is made.

This year, the California legislature passed a last-minute, limited package of “reforms” to the California Environmental Quality Act—the law controlling the environmental review process—with absolutely no support from the environmental community. With his more balanced, comprehensive CEQA reform bill facing business opposition, Sacramento Democrat Darrell Steinberg, president pro tem of

The first big weather story of the new year concerns a massive influx of cold Artic air affecting most of the country east of the Rockies, likely affecting weather patterns for up to two months to come.

It’s most likely yet another piece of evidence of increased global warming. As explained by Andrew Freedman at ClimateCentral.org, what’s occurring is an event known as sudden stratosphering warming, in which the polar vortex of westerly winds in the winter hemisphere suddenly slows down or even reverses direction over the course of a few days.

“While the physics behind sudden stratospheric warming events are complicated, their implications are not: such events are often harbingers of colder weather in North America and Eurasia,” Freedman wrote. “The ongoing event favors colder and possibly stormier weather for as long as four to eight weeks after the event, meaning that after a mild start to the winter, the rest of this month and February could bring the coldest weather of the winter season to parts of the U.S., along with a heightened chance of snow.”

But cold weather does not mean an end to global warming, quite the opposite.

“Sudden stratospheric warming events take place in about half of all Northern Hemisphere winters, and they have been occurring with increasing frequency during the past decade, possibly related to the loss of Arctic sea ice due to global warming,” Freedman noted. “Arctic sea ice declined to its smallest extent on record in September 2012.”

While cold grips the continental United States, warmer temperatures are being experienced farther north. “[W]eather maps show a strip of orange and red hues, indicating above-average temperatures, across parts of the Arctic, Scandinavia, Europe and Asia,” Freedman reported. “The forecast high temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Monday was in the 20s Fahrenheit — warmer than many locations in Georgia and Alabama. That fits in with the so-called ‘Arctic Paradox’ or ‘Warm Arctic, Cold Continents’ pattern that researchers first identified several years ago. Such patterns bring comparatively mild conditions to the Arctic while places far to the south are thrown into a deep freeze.”

January 10 - 23, 2014

project. Not only would the residents of the new project be potential victims of a future disaster, they also would have no financial protection.

In addition to further critical analyses from Connie Rutter, a retired oil industry consultant who has become a leading community advocate for closing or moving Rancho LPG, Random Lengths also published critical expert analyses from Carl Southwell, president of the Risk and Policy Institute, and from University of California professor emeritus Robert Bea, a national leader in the field of risk analysis and management.

“A facility like this shouldn’t be built near population centers,” Southwell told Random Lengths. “The best response to a disaster is to try to prevent one.”

Bea explained how the catastrophic risk posed by Rancho LPG exemplifies a much broader pattern of “risk creep,” where a complex system gradually becomes increasingly dangerous through time, in large part due to poorly-understood problems with the interfaces between basic subsystems of the whole. These are precisely the sorts of things that the Rancho LPG facility has managed to escape accountability for repeatedly, dating back to its initial construction in the 1970s. Random Lengths fully expects that Rancho LPG will be a major focus of our coverage in the year ahead, as the threat it poses to the community continues undiminished.

The Rancho LPG story illuminated a broader pattern, in which most public bodies performed poorly this past year in protecting the public and the environment, with the notable exception of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

For example, on Feb. 1, the South Coast Air Quality Management District voted to adopt a “backstop rule” that would ensure that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach meet their stated air quality goals, which are a necessary part of the District’s Air Quality Management Plan, to meet its legal obligations under the Clean Air Act, including 2015 fine particulate standards.

Both ports strenuously opposed the measure, even though it would have no impact whatsoever

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Two-thousand-thirteen was a year that saw some major landmarks in local and regional development, and environment issues, most of which are covered in “Finding Meaning In 2013 (p. 1).

Locally, after almost a decade, a scaled-down version of the Ponte Vista Project has gotten planning commission approval. A developer and a concept have been approved for the redevelopment of Ports O’ Call. San Pedro has a new community plan for the first time in about a decade. A major new off-dock railyard project was approved—and promptly found itself in court.

And, on Nov. 7, at her last Harbor Commission meeting as executive director, Geraldine Knatz secured approval for the 50-year AltaSea Marine Science Research Center lease.

Regionally, on June 7, after decades of recurrent controversies, Southern California Edison abruptly announced it was shutting down the San Onofre nuclear power plant for good.

But the most environmentally important story Random Lengths covered throughout the year concerned the Rancho LPG facility, an almost 40-year-old development. Nothing major has happened this year, despite a sharply rising tide of local concerns and official questioning, including calls for investigation and information from Rep. Henry Waxman and state Sen. Ted Lieu.

Early in 2013, we reported that Rancho had once again broken faith with government officials trying to protect public health and welfare, breaking its October 2012 promise to provide the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council information about its insurance coverage. But on Feb. 4, 2013, the day before Rancho Palos Verdes was scheduled to discuss the matter again, Rancho representative Ron Conrow reneged. Rancho’s apparent lack of insurance coverage means that the public at large would bear the burden of everything lost in the case of a catastrophic disaster, which ought to be grounds for shutting the facility down. So far, however, Rancho’s evasive tactics have stymied efforts to hold them accountable.

Throughout the year, Random Lengths reported on repeated examples of further failures and deception on Rancho’s part, as well as a string of three major disasters across the continent—an ammonium nitrate explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, on April 17, a crude oil train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec on July 6, and explosions at the Blue Rhino LPG plant in Tavares, northwest of Orlando, Fla. on July 29.

After that, Waxman, sent an urgent letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, calling attention to serious inconsistencies between DHS and Environmental Protection Agency safety evaluations, and saying “the root cause of the problem may be deficiencies in the Chemical Facility AntiTerrorism Standards administered by DHS.” Almost simultaneously, Lieu, wrote to state Fire Marshal Chief Tonya Hoover, requesting “an investigation and risk analysis of the Rancho LPG facility,” citing a number of urgent public safety questions which local activists have long raised.

Rancho LPG’s threat to public safety also emerged as an issue in the approval of a longdelayed, reduced-scale version of the Ponte Vista

the California State Senate, abandoned that bill at the last moment and moved a few key provisions into a bill specifically exempting the Sacramento King’s new stadium project from standard CEQA review. The bill passed both houses by wide margins in the last hours of the legislative year. Environmentalists had supported some streamlining proposals, which would have made it easier to do smart growth, density-enhancing infill development, but these were not included in Steinberg’s last-minute bill. Throughout the debate, planners and environmentalists pointed to California’s long record of economic growth under CEQA as clear evidence that the law does not constitute an economic burden as a cost of protecting the environment.

In sharp contrast to the CEQA “reform” legislation, Random Lengths reported on the beneficial economic impacts of air quality regulations here in the South Coast air basin, as laid out in the Socioeconomic Report accompanying the AQMD’s 2012 Air Quality Management Plan, which the AQMD board approved in December 2012. Although the purpose of the plan is environmental—to bring the region into compliance with the Clean Air

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Happy New Year It’s an Affirmation, Not a Prediction James Preston Allen, Publisher

January 10 - 23, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

Every year, with the turning of the calendar clock, the bells ring, the celebrations begin, the band plays and people hug and kiss with the traditional exclamation, “Happy New Year!”

Only later does this exclamation become a greeting that replaces, “Hello, how are you?” for a matter of weeks into the new year. It strikes an optimistic note that affirms the new rather than the old. As in thank gawd 2013 is over or perhaps even our dread of facing the unknown in the year ahead. I'm often driven to respond to this joyfully expressed greeting with, “I hope so” response with a straight faced. It’s not that I am overly pessimistic. I’m just guardedly cautious. After the last 5 years of economic hard times, I’m somewhat skeptical over what people generally accept as “happiness.”

So yes, I’m happy to be alive after having survived one more trip around the sun. But I’m saddened by the loss of those great and humble friends and family we have lost along the way.

In my quiet moments, I reflect on their lives and on what I'm doing that’s making a hill-ofa-difference. And then I focus my mind on that elusive thing called happiness that slips through our hands like water in a stream.

Remember, the Declaration of Independence only advocates your right to pursue happiness. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll find it, or hold on to it if it is found. All of that is left up to you.

For all of us living in Southern California, you might say we can be happy that we don't live in Minnesota with temperatures falling to 40 below zero, or shoveling out your car from four feet of snow in Ohio due to a polar vortex.

Unlike Herb Zimmer writing in San Pedro Yesterday, I am not going to go to the dictionary to find happiness because we all know it's easier to define what it is not as opposed to what it is. English is so ambiguous when it comes to matters of the heart and soul.

Right now, I'd be happy with just getting over the cold I was given on Christmas Eve and having a few days of peace and quiet without another party or funeral to attend.

So yes, I look upon the new year with some trepidation and guarded optimism. I have doubts about the Port of Los Angeles being able to conclude a successful waterfront plan for Ports O’Call Village with the Los Angeles Waterfront Alliance and community consensus.

I also have my reservations about the promise and planning of the AltaSea project,

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as well as the yet-to-be-revealed costs of cleaning up the former Westways terminal next door. You'll recall, the Port of Los Angeles challenged our published estimate of the cleanup cost some time ago, but it’s looking like we were more correct than not. I also have my doubts about POLA being able to continue in its commitment to the “seamless interface” and community friendly projects in the wake of the cost overruns with the TraPac terminal.

On the brighter side, Mayor Garcetti's administration is moving forward in some discernible directions with garnering federal grant funding from the Obama administration. In particular, the “Promise Zone” grants that were announced this week would direct up to $500 million to the City of Los Angeles over the next 10 years to address areas of chronic poverty and lack of affordable housing.

Yet, none of that grant is focused on any part of the 15th Council District. Councilman Joe Buscaino, we need to have a big idea to address our common concerns in the Harbor Area—like connecting the port to the rest of Los Angeles with a Metro rail line! That plan has been sitting on the shelf for half a decade waiting for a champion or the political will to get it moving. And the lost opportunity is that while this Congress argues about unemployment extensions versus deficit reductions, the next Congress may well come into office looking for an infrastructure project to fund. The rails and right-of-ways already exist for 90 percent of this rail line. I know, that's awfully optimistic, but it is a positive affirmation of what we could attain.

For most of the last three-and-half decades, we here have had great aspirations dashed on the rocks of a failing economy or poor timing and unfulfilled promises. It is well past the time that the communities surrounding the Port of Los Angeles, even up to the northern reaches of CD 15, asked for and received the benefits of economic development commensurate with the loss of 30,000 jobs in the 1980s that were never replaced.

If you asked, “What would make me happy for the new year?” it would be an uprising in our communities to support a broad-based economic plan to raise the tide of all boats that will be started now (not seven years from now) and accomplished within a decade. In other words, we need a game changer and the political consensus to turn the new year into a new decade for progress.

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

“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it.”

—Mark Twain Vol. XXXV : No. 1

Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach. Distributed at over 350 locations throughout the seven cities of the Harbor Area.

Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya info@graphictouchdesigns.com Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com Assistant Editor Zamná Ávila zamna@randomlengthsnews.com

What’s Wrong With Today’s Journalism?

By Lionel Rolfe, Contributing Writer

Now that the Los Angeles Times is being orphaned by its corporate overlords, it caused me to think long and hard about this terrible business I’ve been in now for upwards of 50 years.

First there was the personal shock. On many occasions back in the good old days, I used to prowl the long hallways of the Times’ building because I was doing a lot of writing there. And even today I enter into the hallowed halls of the giant building on First and Spring streets and all around me I see the devastation of a war against the newspaper. Its amazing how the same hallways feel so different in different eras. Things have been on a downward spiral ever since the Chandler family sold the paper to the Chicago in 2000.

Back in the ‘60s, the city room reeked with a sense of confidence. True, even back then oldtimers were uncomfortable because Publisher Otis Chandler had allowed his mother “Buffy” to remodel the city room so it looked like an insurance company’s executive offices. No longer could you throw your cigarette butts on the ground and grind them into the floor with your soles and heels. The carpeting was corporate luxurious, and ashtrays and private places to hide your hooch were conspicuous by their absence.

Of course, the colorful characters who used to populate city rooms are long gone, and with

Columnists/Reporters Lyn Jensen Carson B. Noel Barr Music Dude John Farrell Curtain Call Lori Lyna Hirsch-Stokoe Food Writer Andrea Serna Arts Writer Malina Paris Culture Writer Calendar 14days@randomlengthsnews.com Photographers Terelle Jerricks, Betty Guevarra, Slobodan Dimitrov Contributors Jim Hightower, Greggory Moore, Lionel Rolfe, Danny Simon

Cartoonists Ann Cleaves, Andy Singer, Matt Wuerker Advertising Production Mathew Highland, Suzanne Matsumiya Advertising Representative Mathew Highland reads@randomlengthsnews.com adv@randomlengthsnews.com Editorial Intern Joseph Baroud Display advertising (310) 519-1442 Classifieds (310) 519-1016 www.randomlengthsnews.com

them a lot of good writing. In those earlier days, reporters didn’t go to universities to learn how to write. Often they came to journalism by way of being taxi drivers, merchant marine sailors and bartenders. Today’s journalist are cookie-cutter types who sip Pierre and write their indistinguishable prose. In fairness, the rimrats and wild men of yore appreciated what Otis Chandler was doing with the Times, trying to make it into the greatest newspaper in the country. The excitement was palpable.

But the battle was lost long ago. Today’s editorial peons slink and scurry about because they know the grim reapers from corporate are drawing up the next list of writers to “trim and prune” in their ever increasing drive for editorial “efficiency.”

The newspaper has become an interloper in its own home. The radio stations and television stations purchased with the huge profits of the newspaper over the decades have now been lumped with the real estate into the main corporate entity, and a separate unit with the newspaper itself has been spun off. They pretend they are salvaging the newspaper by condemning it to death.

Now the newspaper must pay rent in the building paid for by the newspaper’s profits. If Journalism Ain’t What It used to Be/ to p. 19 Random Lengths News editorial office is located at 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, (310) 519-1016. Address correspondence regarding news items and news tips only to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email to editor @randomlengthsnews.com.

Send Letters to the Editor or requests for subscription information to james @ randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, all Letters to the Editor should be typewritten, must be signed, with address and phone number included (these will not be published, but for verification only) and be kept to about 250 words. To submit advertising copy email adv@randomelengthsnews.com or reads@ randomlengthsnews.com.

Extra copies and back issues are available by mail for $3 per copy while supplies last. Subscriptions are available for $35 per year for 27 issues.

Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right to express those opinions. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Reporting Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2014 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.

RANDOMLetters Notes From a Housing Project Kid: A Few Good Men

I grew up in San Pedro in the 1950s and was a housing project kid going through the regular coming of age experiences, such as attending elementary and junior high school. I had the good fortune of meeting four good Peedro men, who were all different, but alike.

These men were Bob Moulton at Barton Hill Rec. Center; Nick Trani and Mitch Vladamir at the San Pedro Boys Club and man about Pedro, Sam Domancich’ Mr. Moulton was the softball and baseball coach at Barton Hill.

He accepted all kids. I walked up Gaffey Street from the Banning Homes Projects and played softball. He appointed me captain; he simply said, be in charge, don’t mess up; It was grown up time for me. As a teenager, it was now time to move on down Gaffey Street to play sports at the Big Cahuna, the San Pedro Boys Club. The really good athletes played there.

Mr. Nick Trani seemed older and he was respected by all the boys who walked over from Dana Junior High. He would stand at the front door on thirteenth street to welcome kids as they walked into the building. We liked him because he would let the boys work at the club to earn membership fees.

There was the much loved

Community Alert

Port of Los Angeles Change of Date for Public Hearing

SB 309 just a way to get more cash to hide and not for safety?

Was SB 309 created by Senator Ted Lieu for Consumer Affairs Cash Box and not used for fighters health and safety? Use the money to pay for all Fighters scans ASAP before more fighters die in California. By written law all fighters need to be scanned. Or is this a cash cover-up. No care for health and safety just another California hidden tax to rob Peter to pay Paul. http://www.fightopinion. com/2012/08/28/prediction-csacaudit-millions-missing/ WHAT WILL BE FOUND? 1. Tampering by the Department of Consumer Affairs in regards to the Neurological Fund.

The neurological fund, just like the boxer’s pension fund, is a DCA-controlled fund that event promoters pay into based on a percentage of the ticket sales going to finance these accounts. The money goes directly to DCA, not to CSAC. In the case of the boxer’s pension fund, hardly any of the money has been distributed to boxers who contributed to the fund in the first place due to eligibility requirements. If you fought two or three decades ago, only now would you be qualified to receive any sort of money. What makes this process a total joke is that CSAC has no plan or idea on how to get the money distributed to the fighters because they don’t have any sort of idea about which fighters to contact or how to get the cash to them.

The neurological fund is an even bigger controversy. Promoters have paid into this fund and nothing has been done, on the surface,

Make the 1% Pay for the Iran War

Some Senators like Chuck Schumer and Robert Menendez are trying to blow up U.S. diplomacy with Iran, putting us on a path towards war, by imposing new sanctions on Iran, even though freezing sanctions is a key feature of the interim deal negotiated by the U.S. and other members of the UN Security Council. U.S. intelligence agencies say that if new sanctions are imposed on Iran now, diplomacy with Iran will collapse.

Before the Senate has any vote on new sanctions that would blow up diplomacy, the Senate should consider who will pay for a new war in the Middle East.

Urge economic populists Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown to introduce legislation saying that if there is war with Iran, the top 1% of the income distribution should pay for it. This would be a win-win for justice. We know well that the top 1% don’t pay their fair share of taxes, so increasing their taxes would make taxation more fair.

But more importantly, stipulating in advance that the 1% will pay for any war would act as a powerful deterrent to another unnecessary war.

I explained why this campaign is important in a piece at Huffington Post. You can read and share my piece here: http:// www.huffingtonpost.com/robertnaiman/iran-war-cost_b_4537898. html Thanks for all you do to help prevent unnecessary wars, Robert Naiman Just Foreign Policy

Ariel Sharon, Sabra Shatila vs Syria and Russia

Why not blame Russia for the chemical weapon attack in Syria?

When an atrocity is carried out in Syria, who is the blame attributed to? Is it the Syrian government or the Syrian rebels, or is it Russia, Britain, the US, or another party involved in the conflict militarily, operationally or politically?

While there are legitimate

reasons for criticizing parties outside of Syria for their involvement in the Syrian conflict (as well as valid reasons for criticizing their lack of involvement), it would be patently absurd to blame Russia, for example, for the killing of hundreds of civilians in a chemical weapon attack by the Syrian government, while absolving that government any responsibility.

And yet, a similar situation has existed for decades and is sure to be part of a global spotlight as Ariel Sharon enters his final days. Ariel Sharon is colloquially referred to as the ‘Butcher of Sabra and Shatila’ by haters of Israel for his indirect responsibility

in a massacre of Arabs that was committed by Arabs.

Elie Hobeika, the leader of the Lebanese militia that actually carried out the attack, which took place in Lebanon, was later elected to the Lebanese parliament. Twice, in fact (just to emphasize the lack of interest by the Lebanese in making accountable someone that had conducted an atrocity in their country). But it wasn’t Hobeika who was the target of a war crimes trial that was initiated in Belgium.

It was Ariel Sharon. After all, why blame the actual perpetrator when you can blame it on an Israeli?

Back in September 1982, between 762 and 3,500 Palestinians

and Lebanese Shiites were killed by the Lebanese militia in the Sabra neighborhood of Beirut and the nearby Shatila refugee camp. This particular massacre, said to have been carried out as a retribution for a different atrocity, was merely one of many massacres perpetrated in Lebanon (and not even the one with the greatest level of victims).

Not so different from Syria today.

So what makes this massacre stand out from the other massacres in Lebanon, and worthy of the infamy that it possesses?

Michelle Moshelian Israel

The Local Publication You Actually Read January 10 - 23, 2014

Notice that the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners will reopen a public hearing on the Port Master Plan Update to consider an Addendum on Jan. 9, 2014. That date has been rescheduled: New Date: Jan. 23 Port of Los Angeles Administration Building, 425 S. Palos Verdes Street, San Pedro, CA 90731 at 8:30 a.m.

The Addendum is presently available fore review at www. portoflosangeles.org/planning/ update.asp. The addendum consists of receipt, consideration of, and response to late California Coastal Commission comments.

Any person unable to attend the meeting may submit written comments to the Director of Planning & Economic Development, P.O. Box 151, San Pedro, CA 90733. Written comments should be submitted no later than the day before the hearing date.

The staff report and recommendation relative to the Addendum are anticipated to be available for review after 5 p.m. on Jan. 17, either by visiting the Port of Los Angeles website, www.portoflosangeles. org, or by contacting the Harbor Department's Planning & Economic Development Division at (310) 732-3850

Mitch Vladamir. He coached all sports and I played them all. When he talked you had better listen. He was quiet, down to earth, and like an older brother. You learned life lessons from just being around him. Most of all Mitch treated all the boys like they belonged.

Sam Domancich, the man about Peedro was a guy everyone seemed to like. I met Sam at Daniels Field when I was 13 years old. He was still attending Long Beach State College. He taught me to high jump and run hurdles.

Sam was a master of the positive.

He always saw the good in people.

Somehow, he was able to treat each person like they were important.

As an awkward 13 year old, he got me to believe in myself.

John Gray San Pedro

with the cash. The idea behind the fund was to help finance medical testing for concussions, such as baseline testing, and to produce study results on how to implement changes to make combat sports safer. So, what’s happened to the cash? On paper, the cash has just been sitting around in the hands of Consumer Affairs.

Greg Patschull San Pedro

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2013 Figures in Memoriam

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

Vincent “Jim” Trani, the patriarch of J. Trani Ristorante (Jan. 5, 1924 -March 10, 2013), was born, raised and educated in San Pedro.

Upon graduating from San Pedro High School in 1942, Jim enlisted in the Army and served 4 years in the Pacific during World War II, primarily in the Philippines, where he attained the rank of sergeant.

In 1946 he returned to his hometown of San Pedro where he rejoined the family business, Trani’s Majestic, which had begun as a pool hall, bar, and restaurant, having been founded by his father Filippo, in 1925.

Over the years, Jim was involved in and supported many local organizations. He was a founding member and former president of the San Pedro DB Club, a lifetime member of the San Pedro Elks Club, a founding member of the Majestic Golf Club and, together with his brothers, he was instrumental in the creation of the San Pedro Sportswalk.

Jim is survived by his children, grandchildren, and brothers John and Phil.

January 10 - 23, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

John Ljubenkov (July 17, 1946- March 25, 2013), a beloved San Pedro resident and labor activist on behalf of the United Farm Workers.

An intellectually curious man, Ljubenkov studied everything from biology to zoology to politics. Ljubenkov was a marine taxonomist, analyzing ocean water and determining what was living within it. He was a whistleblower in the 1980s via Random Lengths News, exposing toxic contamination of local waters with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) a toxic ingredient in dielectric and coolant fluids and DDT, a colorless, crystalline, tasteless and almost odorless organochloride found in insecticides.

John is survived by his wife Julie Schneider Ljubenkov, brother George Ljubenkov and wife Glen, niece Tiffany, nephew Peter and sister Evon Ljubenkov.

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Marine biologist John Ljubenkov.

Bob Beck, left, with Random Lengths News Publisher James Allen in the early ‘90s. File photo.

Bob Beck (Aug. 13- 1924--May 4, 2013), former managing editor to the defunct San Pedro News-Pilot, died at the age of 84. Beck was the familiar face of local journalism in the San Pedro Harbor Area for more than 30 years.

Beck was born and reared in Centralia, Ill. After graduating high school, he worked on the railroad, later joining the Navy to receive a better education. He became interested in journalism through his family. He attended San Diego State University and earned a journalism degree.

After an 8-month internship, Beck was asked to relocate to San Pedro to work on the NewsPilot.

Beck is survived by his wife, two sons and three grandchildren.

Mathew Taylor, right, at one of the many UTLA rallies he has participated in as a labor activist and organizer. Photo courtesy of Michelle Taylor.

On Dec. 28, the popular Fremont High School teacher and coach, Mathew Charles Taylor (Feb. 5 1953- Dec. 28, 2013) died from complications related to cancer. In the Green Hills chapel filled to standing room only on Jan. 4, Taylor was memorialized by family, friends, students and colleagues for activism and his passion for teaching.

Taylor was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer late this past year. Many only learned of his passing following the posting by his wife, Michelle: Hello to all our family & friends. Today I lost my husband of 15 yrs. to cancer, it’s a rough day.

I just want to say thank u to everyone for the love and support. With love and appreciation.

A sharp critic of Los Angeles Unified

superintendent John Deasy and former United Teachers of Los Angeles president AJ Duffy, Taylor was remembered as a fearless advocate for teachers. As late as November, Taylor in a post said: HI FOLKS! I am in the middle of a mess with LAUSD. They are threatening to dismiss me over Complete BS unless I retire first (and save my medical benefits). Would like to teach a few more as I still love the kids, poetry and getting paid more than the 60% retirement will bring me...This is coming from the top of the district, you know, let’s get rid of all those “bad teachers” (bad equals loud-mouthed-not-afraid union activists).

E-mail Deasy and tell him what you know!

Taylor is survived by his wife Michelle and son, Charlie.

The Mendacity of GMO Purveyors

By Jim Hightower

Tenacity can be a virtue. But the persistent push by giant food conglomerates to deceive us consumers has turned their tenacity into raw mendacity.

Brand-name food peddlers are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on lobbyists, lawyers, campaign donations, PR hypesters, and political manipulators so they can genetically (and dangerously) alter the dinner we put on our family tables, without bothering to tell us which items they’ve messed with. With practically no public notice, their first deception was to get Washington to okay the production and introduction of genetically modified organisms into corn, canola, soy, and other crops. Then they quietly pushed to prevent federal regulators from requiring that these tampered Frankenfoods be labeled as containing GMOs. Next, they tried a grand deception insisting that foods tainted with GMOs qualify for the national “organic” label.

Even our usually-submissive regulators balked at that one – but, look out, for here they come again! Big Food’s industry front group, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, is now demanding that foods with genetically-engineered ingredients be allowed to use the word “natural” on their packages.

Natural? Let’s see – one, these biotech mutations are not products of nature, but of corporate technicians; and two, the plants are manufactured in corporate labs by extracting genes from a foreign plant or even an animal, then splicing those

genes into the manufactured creature. The very DNA of this man-made “food” is altered, with no understanding of the long-term environmental or health consequences.

A Twinkie is more natural than that! They’re

perverting both our language and nature’s reality. To oppose these profiteers’ tenacious mendaciousness, contact the Environmental Working Group: www.ewg.org.

Spirit of Giving in Carson

Carson Councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes and her husband, Harry, hosted a toy giveaway at their home in Dec. 20, 2013. Photos: Kelvin Brown, Hitman Photography.

By John Farrell, Curtain Call Writer

T

he Warner Grand Theatre has seen many things inside its concrete and brick walls in the more than 80 years that it has graced downtown San Pedro.

There have been operas, performances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic crowded on its stage, and thousands of films screened. Musical comedy has been a relative newcomer to the theater, but many great performances have been held there. Hollywood celebrities have had sway there since the very beginning of the sound era.

But, in spite of nearly 83 years of history, (the theater opened Jan. 20, 1931, so it is still a few days away from its 84th birthday) there is one thing that the theater hadn’t experienced.

Until a recent dress rehearsal, no one had ever flown in the Warner Grand.

That ended on a recent Sunday afternoon when an athletic and lovely young woman, playing a young boy, finally got into the air.

“I haven’t flown there yet” said Carly Linehan, the actress who will star this week and the next in Encore Entertainer’s Peter Pan at the Warner Grand. “They were loading the equipment into the theater this afternoon,” she said in cell phone call the prior Saturday from the theater. “We are doing the first flying tomorrow morning. I know I am the first person ever to fly in the Warner Grand. I’m doing my first flight tomorrow morning.”

“They” are Flying by Foy, a professional company from Las Vegas who made Linehan fly when she first appeared in

Peter Pan for Encore this past year in Redondo Beach. That was in February. Linehan has had a busy 2013. She was also married this past year.

“I don’t know the right words for it,” Linehan said from her cell phone. “They had to bring in extra equipment because the Warner didn’t have quite enough space for what they had.”

For those who need a technical explanation, the kind of flying Linehan is talking about is not like “flying” sets on stage. The Warner has space for “flying” sets in the top hat, or building extension, above the stage, and with new ropes (provided a few years ago) it is state-of-the-art for that kind of flying.

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment ACE • Art, Cuisine, & Entertainment

Peter Pan flies before a crowd of wildly appreciative boys.

Peter Pan Continued on page 16.

January 10 – 23, 2014 January 10 – 23, 2014

11 11

Entertainment January 9

Jimmy Cortez Jimmy Cortez will be performing at the San Pedro Brewing Company at 10 p.m., Jan. 9. Cortez will be jamming from the acoustic guitar. The cover charge is $3.

Details: (310) 831-5663; www.sanpedrobrewingcompany.com Venue: San Pedro Brewing Company Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro

January 10

Paseo Paseo is playing at the San Pedro Brewing Company at 10 p.m., Jan. 10. Paseo is a rock band.

The cover charge is $3.

Details: (310) 831-5663; www.sanpedrobrewingcompany.com Venue: San Pedro Brewing Company Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro Seatbelt Seatbelt is playing at Godmothers Saloon from 9 to 10 p.m., Jan. 10. No cover will be charged.

Details: (310) 833-1589; www.godmotherssaloon. com Venue: Godmothers Saloon Location: 302 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Gravy Recipe

January 11

• 2 heads of garlic • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided • 1 head cauliflower, trimmed into large florets • 1 shallot, minced • 1 cup non-fat half-and-half • fresh grated nutmeg • salt and white pepper

Brock Pollock Crafted is hosting live music from Brock Pollock from 2 to 5:30 p.m., Jan. 11.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

Independent And Free.

Tri-Fecta Blues Band The Tri-Fecta Blues Band is performing at 8 p.m., Jan. 11, at Alvas Showroom. The three-member band consists of the bass, drums, vox and guitar instruments. Also, Delta Blues Guitarist Sean Lane, will open the show. Admission is $20.

Details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom. com Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro Purple Sugar Purple Sugar will be performing at the San Pedro Brewing Company at 10 p.m., Jan. 11. The band will be playing rock ‘n’ roll music. The cover charge is $3.

Details: (310) 831-5663; www.sanpedrobrewingcompany.com Venue: San Pedro Brewing Company Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro Lance and the Longhorns Lance and the Longhorns will be performing at Godmothers Saloon from 9 to 10 p.m., Jan. 11.

No cover will be charged.

Details: (310) 833-1589; www.godmotherssaloon.com Venue: Godmothers Saloon Location: 302 W. 7th St., San Pedro

January 12

The “Ask Dino” Mattalone Show The Ask Dino show will be taped at Alvas Showroom on Jan. 12. The show hosts musical and entertainment guests who explain exactly how they ended up in the position they are in and what made them successful.

Details: (800)403-3447; (310) 782-1440; www. alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Cheers To A Healthy 2014: Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Gravy

By Lori Lynn Hirsch Stokoe, Food Writer and Photographer

January 10 – 23, 2014

January 17

12

Bad Apples The Bad Apples will be playing reggae music at Alvas Showroom at 10 p.m., Jan. 17. The cover charge will be $3.

Details: (310) 831-5663; www.sanpedrobrewingcompany.com Venue: San Pedro Brewing Company Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro Azure Azure is playing at Godmothers Saloon from 9 to 10 p.m., Jan. 17. No cover will be charged.

Details: (310) 833-1589; www.godmotherssaloon. com Venue: Godmothers Saloon Location: 302 W. 7th St., San Pedro Calendar continued on page 13.

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution to eat healthier in 2014?

Think you have to give up pasta and creamy sauces?

There is another way.

Good news, there are techniques that can result in super-satisfying pasta dishes that are lower in calories and saturated fats, higher in fiber and loaded with vegetables. Enjoy a full-flavored spaghetti dish by using pureed cauliflower as a base for the thick smooth sauce where roasted garlic adds rich mellow flavor. Pair whole-wheat pasta with an equal amount of your favorite steamed or blanched vegetables, then toss with roasted garlic cauliflower gravy.

Say goodbye once and for all to arteryclogging fettuccine Alfredo and say hello to his svelte cousin.

Cut the very top off the garlic heads to expose the cloves. Place in a small baking dish. Drizzle one tablespoon olive oil over the top.

Cover and cook in a 400-degree oven for about 35 minutes until the garlic cloves are browned and soft. Let cool slightly then squeeze the cloves out of the skins and place them in the bowl of a food processor.

Meanwhile, place cauliflower in a pot of boiling water, reduce heat and cook until soft.

Drain, let steam escape, then add them to the food processor.

Sauté shallot in one tablespoon of olive oil until translucent. Add to the food processor.

Add remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and non-fat half-and-half to food processor.

Process until smooth. Add more half-and-half if necessary to get a gravy-like consistency. Season with fresh grated nutmeg, salt and white pepper.

Transfer gravy to a sauce pot and heat through.

Serve warm.

Pasta Recipe • whole wheat spaghetti • zucchini

Slice zucchini into long thin strips. Blanch in boiling water for one minute, then drain well. Season with a very light drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Meanwhile, cook whole-wheat spaghetti according to package instructions.

Toss equal amounts of vegetable and pasta together. Ladle on the luxurious cauliflower gravy.

No cheese. No butter. No heavy cream. No guilt.

Cheers to a happy healthy delicious 2014!

Lori Lynn Hirsch Stokoe blogs about food, wine and entertaining at Taste With The Eyes http://www.tastewiththeeyes.com and tweets as Tasteblog at https://twitter.com/tasteblog.

Calendar from page 12.

January 18

Big Nick’s Pizza

Tradition, variety and fast delivery; you get it all at Big Nick’s Pizza. The best selection of Italian specialties include hear ty calzones, an array of pastas and of course, our amazing selection of signature pizzas, each piled high with the freshest toppings.

Like wings or greens? We also offer an excellent selection of appetizers, salads, beer and wine. Call for fast delivery. Hours: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat. 1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro • (310) 732-5800 Boardwalk Grill

C a s u a l waterfront dining at its finest! Famous fo r s l a b s o f Chicago-style baby back ribs, fish-n-chips, rich clam chowder, cold beer on tap and wine. Full lunch menu also includes salads, sandwiches and burgers. Indoor and outdoor patio dining available. Proudly pouring Starbucks coffee. Open 7 days a week. Free Parking. 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 519-7551

Iron City Tavern

Mishi’s Strudel Bakery Mishi’s is a fragrant landmark on 7th Street, where it is possible to find Nirvana by following your nose. The enticing aroma of baking strudel is impossible to resist, and the café is warm and welcoming like your favorite auntie’s house.

Aniko and Mishi have expanded the menu to include homemade goulash, soups and a variety of sweet and savory Hungarian strudels, crépes and pastas. Take a frozen strudel home to bake in your own kitchen and create that heavenly aroma at your house. Mishi’s Strudel Bakery and Café, 309 W.7th St., San Pedro • (310) 832-6474 www.mishisstrudel.com PORTS O’CALL WATERFRONT DINING S i n c e 1 9 61 we’ve extended a hearty welcome to visitors from every corner of the globe.

Delight in an aweinspiring view of the dynamic LA Harbor while enjoying exquisite Coastal California Cuisine and Varietals.

Relax in the Plank Bar or Outdoor Patio for the best Happy Hour on the Waterfront. With the Award-Winning Sunday Champagne Brunch, receive the first SPIRIT CRUISES Harbor Cruise of the day FREE. Open 7 days, lunch and dinner.

Free Parking. 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor Berth 76, San Pedro • (310) 833-3553 www.

Portsocalldining.com San Pedro Brewing Company A microbrewery and American grill, SPBC features hand-crafted award-winning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, bbq, sandwiches, salads and burgers. A full bar with made-from-scratch margaritas and a martini menu all add fun to the warm and friendly atmosphere. WIFI bar connected for Web surfing and e-mail—bring your laptop. Live music on Saturdays. Hours: From 11:30 a.m., daily. 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro • (310) 831-5663 • www. sanpedrobrewing.com

SPIRIT CRUISES An instant party! Complete with all you need to relax and enjoy while the majesty of the harbor slips by. Our three yachts and seasoned staff provide for an exquisite excursion every time, and “all-inclusive” pricing makes party planning easy! Dinner Cruise features a 3-course meal, full bar, unlimited cocktails and starlight dancing. Offering the ultimate excursion for any occasion. Free Parking.

1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 548-8080, (562) 495-5884 • www.spiritmarine.com Trusela’s

Bob and Josephine Trusela invite you to eat, drink and relax in their welcoming and intimate dining room. Whether it’s fo r a ro m a n t i c dinner for two or a Sunday night family feast, Trusela’s serves Southern Italian inspired and California cuisines made with hand selected, fresh and seasonal ingredients. Trusela’s offers an extensive wine and imported beer selection. Catering and banquets from elegant to casual for all occasions.

Reservations recommended. Call for catering (310) 547-0993, www.truselas.com.

The Whale & Ale

San Pedro’s British Gastro Pub offers comfortable dining in oak paneled setting, featuring English fish & chips, roast prime rib, sea bass, rack of lamb, beef Wellington, meat pies, salmon, swordfish & vegetarian dishes. Open for lunch & dinner, 7days/wk; great selection of wines; 14 British tap ales, & full bar. Frequent live music. First Thursday live band & special fixed price menu.

Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri. 11:30 a.m.-midnight Sat. & Sun. 1-10 p.m. Bar open late. 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro • (310) 8320363 • www.whaleandale.com

Put It In Your Pocket!

Harbor Jazz Ensemble The Harbor Jazz Ensemble will be performing at Crafted from 2 to 5:30 p.m., Jan. 18.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro Monster Ball Participate in the LGBTQ, from 7 to 10 p.m. Jan. 18, at the Madhaus in Long Beach. This free event is open to ages 13 to 18. The event will feature a dance floor, drag performances, food, refreshments, contests and prizes. Costumes are optional. A valid student ID is required.

Details: (562) 434-4455; kbullock@centerlb.org Venue: Madhaus Location: 624 Pacific Ave., Long Beach Warehouse One Warehouse One will be rocking at the San Pedro Brewing Company at 10 p.m., Jan. 18. The cover charge is $3.

Details: (310) 831-5663; www.sanpedrobrewingcompany.com Venue: San Pedro Brewing Company Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro

January 19

King Washington King Washington will be playing at Alvas Showroom at 4 p.m., Jan. 19. Washington is the grandson of pop song writing legend Tom Kelly, and has released an album, The Gears LP, which is highly acclaimed by critics and fans. Admission is $20.

Details: (800) 403-3447; www.kingwashingtonmusic.com; www.alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro Brooklyn 232 Brooklyn 232 will be performing live at Crafted from 2 to 5:30 p.m., Jan. 19. Come enjoy the talented couple.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

Community/Family January 10

Marbling with Nail Polish Crafted is hosting Marbling with Nail Polish through Jan. 10 at the Creation Station. You will marble paper boxes and paper stationery with nail polish.

Call for more details. This class is also taking place on the subsequent two days.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro One-on-One Jewelry Crafted is conducting a jewelry making workshop at 11 a.m., Jan. 10. The fee is $25 for two hours.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com; ekarrigan@gmail.com Venue: Crafted Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

January 11

On your smart phone visit www.randomlengthsnews.com/ dining-guide Save the link for quick access!

To Advertise in Random Lengths News’ Restaurant Guide for the Harbor Area, Call (310) 519–1442.

Sail Aboard a Tall Ship Enjoy the sailing of a lifetime, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 11. Cost is $25.

Details: (310) 833-6055 Location: Berth 78, San Pedro Chainmail Class Crafted is hosting a chainmail class from 3 to 5 p.m., Jan. 11. Attend the class to learn the ancient art of chainmail using the Byzantine pattern. The class fee is $25 with all the material included. Will be at booth 187, Eileen’s Bead Jewelry.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro Calendar continued on page 15.

January 10 – 23, 2014

Iron City features a newly renovated dining room and wonderfully restored bar in a modern setting.

The most comfortable gastropub in San Pedro, Iron City offers casual dining for lunch and dinner with food service at the bar. Catch all sporting events on seven 50” screens in surround sound and listen to your favorite tunes on our internet jukebox. (Iron City is a supporter of the Black & Gold.) Iron City features authentic Philly cheese steaks, various hot sandwiches and burgers, calamari steaks and a variety of Italian pasta dishes.

Hours:10:30 a.m.-2a.m. 7 days a week.

Happy hour from 4-6 p.m. featuring 1/2 priced appetizers and drink specials. Free parking in rear. 589 W. 9th St., San Pedro • (310) 547-4766

The favorite local cafe for the point Fermin area of San Pedro great breakfasts, lunches and even dinner.

Serving traditional offering for breakfast along with specialty omelets, espresso and cappuccino. Lunches include a delicious selection of soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches with hearty portions as well as Chef’s Creations. Dinners feature Top Sirloin Steak or Prime Rib as well as a kids menu. Beer and wine are served. Free Wifi and is pet friendly on the patio. Open 7 days a week 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. close to Cabrillo Beach and the Korean Bell, Point Fermin area- 508 West 39th St., San Pedro. 310- 548- 3354

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

Buono’s Authentic Pizzeria A San Pedro landmark for over 40 years, famous for exceptional awa rd - w i n n i n g pizza baked in brick ovens.

Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and sauces based on tried-and-true family recipes and hand-selected ingredients that are prepared fresh. You can dine-in or take-out. Delivery and catering are also provided. Additionally, there are two locations in Long Beach. Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. 1432 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro • (310) 547-0655 www.buonospizza.com

Lighthouse Cafe

Brad Dutz CD Release Party Brad Dutz is hosting his CD release party at Alvas Showroom at 8 p.m., Jan. 18. Dutz will be playing the mallets, percussion and some new compositions while three others will take his side, bringing you sounds from the oboe English horn, cello and bass clarinet. Admission is $20. First 10 people to arrive will receive a free copy of Dutz’s CD. Details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom. com Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

13

computer effects on shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation.

But it was the idea of paint on canvas that excited her. When asked as a youth what she wanted to do with her life?

Her brother remembers her saying, “I want to do one of these two things, be a vet or an artist.”

She choose the art and never looked back.

She surrounded herself with friends who she met quite easily, always willing to help and encourage others in whatever they did. A staunch supporter of the arts, Debbie had been part of the San Pedro Art Association since about 1998.

“She was a force within the art community,” said John Stinson, who heads The San Pedro Art Association. “She helped The San Pedro Art As-

Debbie Marr’s Friendship Bell, 2008.

Local Artist Succumbs to Cancer

January 10 – 23, 2014

Independent And Free.

By Andrea Serna, Contributing Writer

14

The San Pedro arts community recently lost a strong advocate.

Debbie Marr, an award winning artist and owner of the Lazy Dog Gallery at 361 W. 7th St. in San Pedro, died on Jan. 3, 2014 at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

An accomplished painter, Marr was recently included in a national photo realism exhibition in Tempe, Ariz.

She studied art at El Camino College and later graduated from the University of California Los Angeles with a degree in computer animation and illustration.

She worked as a graphic artist and also as an interior designer before launching her San Pedro studio. Her varied interests included astrology and in 2013, she organized a lecture by astrologer Steve Judd at MaGriffe Gallery.

Although she was a resident of Inglewood, her primary passion was the art community in San Pedro. Many of her paintings focused on the rich history of her adopted home, which she wished to preserve. She published an art book titled, San Pedro: Faces and Places. The volume is a compilation of work by five local artists portraying local landmarks and residents.

For more than a year she had been fighting an aggressive form of cancer that began in her bladder, but went to her brain. Her treatments included radiation therapy. Before her death, she considered creating an exhibition based on her cancer treatments.

“At UCLA she was fitted for molded head gear that covered her face and head and made it possible to pinpoint the radiation to her tumor,” said her brother, Ron Darling. “She asked the technicians if she could keep the mold.

She was excited about using the mask to create an art show dedicated to living with cancer.”

“My sister was such a strong individual. She was a valiant fighter.

Once she made her mind up about something it was inevitable that she would succeed.”

Debbie Marr was born Nov. 11, 1955 in Wilmington.

She is survived by her uncle George Marr, brother Ron Darling, sister Bobbie Ritter, aunt Gwen Jennings and nephew Corey Marr.

My Friend, Debbie Marr

By B. Noel Barr, Music Columnist

A light on 7th Street went dark and for some people, the neighborhood will never be the same.

My good friend Debbie Marr, nationally recognized photorealistic artist, died at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 3.

Her determination to make her gallery work and to make a mark as a photorealist was paramount. At the time of her death, she had been on the cusp of greatness. She stayed positive to most, never allowing her fears to get in the way of what needed to be done.

Lazy Dog Studio was one of the only Galleries that was open six days a week and six hours a day since Debbie Marr opened the room to the public.

It was a dog friendly gallery at that. Debbie owned a feisty golden retriever named Karma. He was her pup. The image you see on her logo is another dog she had, named Zack. The pictures of dogs, particularly golden, could be seen intermixed with nature and scenes of her beloved San Pedro.

Her ability to create real life with paint and brush shined in her portrait of Simon Rodia, the man who built the Watts Towers. A print of Debbie’s hangs in Rodia’s hometown of Serino, Italy.

You can look at the detail of her architectural paintings or her work with other complex images.

“Stunning” is the word that comes to mind.

Her connection with San Pedro began many years before in Inglewood, where she was instructed in art by Muriel Olguin at Morningside High School. This relationship lasted until Debbie’s death this past week at age 58. The Olguins were Debbie’s friends. She did a portrait of John and Muriel and another of John after his death.

Their photos and portrait are in Debbie’s book San Pedro: The Faces and Places, which she dedicated to the Olguins.

Her love for San Pedro never flagged. She moved away from the town a couple of times but always returned. She used to tell me, “You can

leave Pedro, but it never leaves you.”

She was committed to her family and her friends, and she always said what was on her mind. She embraced San Pedro and its wild-atheart nature.

Debbie moved from one parent to another briefly, but at this point she took the offer of her Uncle George Marr who had been taking care of his mother until she died. He offered her a home and helped with her education in art. Debbie would go from El Camino College with an associate degree in art and on to UCLA where she graduated.

She worked in different media that included new computer technology. Trust me she was a hard-core techie. She would read manuals and played with the equipment until she mastered them. Debbie was a part of the new visual artists who were changing the face of television doing

Debbe Marr’s Sante Fe 3751.

Debbie Marr’s Brier’s Back.

sociation to get their current location in Ports O’ Call Village. She not only helped the San Pedro Art Association, she helped the San Pedro community at large.”

She received awards and accolades for her work in the community from The City of Los Angeles signed by Councilwoman Janice Hahn and later Councilman Joe Buscaino. Those are just two of many that covered the wall of her studio on 7th Street. Along for her numerous awards and blue ribbons were her write ups in the newspapers like Easy Reader, Random Lengths News along with other local and mainstream media. On the remaining walls in the heart of the studio were current works or favorites that she moved in and out.

Debbie published San Pedro: Faces and Places in 2005. This endeavor included not only My Friend Debbie Marr Continued on page 16.

Calendar from page 13.

Peace March

At 5 p.m. Jan. 11, at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 1950 Lemon Ave., this annual candlelight march spreads the vibration of peace throughout Long Beach. Join community leaders, organizations and neighbors as they walk in harmony for peace.

Celebrate MLK Day This photo by Harry Adams shows the Rev. Martin Luther King posing with Ralph Abernathy, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sammy Davis Jr. and Marlon Brando -- during his 1963 visit to Los Angeles for a civil rights rally.

King and Kent: Art and Action for Social Justice

Martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Peace March

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Peace March will take place at 5 p.m. Jan. 11, starting at the Ernest S. McBride Park in Long Beach.

The march ends at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Parking will be available at Long Beach City College. Free shuttles are available. For information call (562) 570-6816 or visit www. longbeach.gov/district6

Peace Week events include:

Pre-Parade & Neighborhood Clean Up From 8:30 to10 a.m. Jan.11, at McBride Park, 1550 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., join community groups and neighbors as they work to clean up the parade route area.

The Gift

From 12:30 to 3 p.m. Jan. 11, at Washington Middle School, 1450 Cedar Ave., local residents attend to receive free gifts which includes food, clothing, services and accessories.

On Jan. 12, all places of worship in Long Beach are encouraged to participate in recognition of King’s legacy in the form of your choice. This is to promote the dialogue and reflection of King’s message into our community.

Peace in our Community

From 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 13, at Martin Luther King Jr. Park to help build an inclusive community by having dialogue around immigration and safety in our community.

Presentation, Peacemaker Awards

At 5 p.m. Jan. 14, during the Long Beach City Council meeting local community leaders who have continued the message of peace will be recognized.

Spirit on the Move

From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 15, at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, 1950 Lemon Ave., this event will move the human spirit to peace with special performances by African drummers and dancers, sacred jazz and spoken word.

Read for Peace

From 2 to 4 p.m. Jan 16, at Mark Twain Library, this is a free Peace Week educational event for all ages. The event is in honor of the World’s Peacemakers Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Cesar Chavez and Nelson Mandela. Free books will be given to each child ages 5 to 12. Special guest PEACE readers will be reading quotes from peacemakers.

50 Years Strong & the Dream Lives On

The 26th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace & Unity Parade and Celebration runs from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Jan. 18. The celebration, which includes two stages of entertainment, health pavilion, teen and youth area and free activities, international food and vendors will take place from 12 to 5 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 1950 Lemon Ave., Long Beach.

3D Design and Printing with LA Makerspace The San Pedro library will be hosting a design and printing workshop with LA Makerspace at 1 p.m., Jan. 11. Children will learn the process of how to create three-dimensional objects out of computer code and then print it out on a 3D printer. This class is intended for children 10 years or older.

Call to make reservations.

Details: (310) 548-7779; www.lapl.org Venue: San Pedro Public Library Location: 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro Tidepool Wonders Explore low tides on the rocky shore, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 11, 12:30 to 2 p.m. Jan. 12, and from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 18 and 19, with Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. A presentation in Spanish will be offered from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 12. Bring family and friends to the aquarium’s John M. Olguin Auditorium for an informative slide show, followed by a Cabrillo Marine Aquarium education staff led walk to the nearby Point Fermin Tidepools. The area offers a home to a variety of local tidepool animals and seaweeds. Among the organisms are tidepool sculpin, sea urchins, sea hares, hermit crabs, feather-boa kelp and an occasional octopus.

An accessible pathway leads to the edge of the tidepools. This is a free event.

Details: (310) 548-7562; www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Location: 3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro

January 12

Earring Class Crafted is conducting an earring class from 3:30 to 5 p.m., Jan. 12. Children will learn the basic earring making techniques. Admission is $20, which includes all material. Reservations are required.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com; ekarrigan@gmail.com Venue: Crafted, booth 187 Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

January 15

Transgender Support The Southbay LGBT Center is hosting a social support group from 7 to 9 p.m., Jan. 15. The group is intended to be a support group for transgendered people. This is not a date night, but a place for people to need to question their gender identity and just simply talk about things of those nature. The group will meet every Wednesday. The suggested donation is $5. Nobody will be turned away.

Details: (310) 328-6550; thecenter@southbaycenter.org Venue: Southbay LGBT Center Location: 16610 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

On Jan. 15, citizens of San Pedro have joined together to host what will be the first annual celebration of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., focusing on the relationships that Dr. King developed in the Los Angeles community during his many visits to our city.

In doing so, fINdings Art Gallery will be hosting a reception for month long exhibition featuring photos of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. taken by famed photographer Harry Adams, who chronicle black Los Angeles from the 1950s through 1980s, and original serigraphs by artist Corita Kent.

San Pedro has a direct connection with Dr. King in Los Angeles. Kenneth Hahn, Los Angeles County Supervisor, representing the Second District, and a lifelong resident of San Pedro, was the only public official to meet Dr. King at the airport when he visited Los Angeles for the first time in 1962, something that no other local, state or federal public official was willing to do.

Supervisor Hahn ignored warnings of “political cost” and welcomed Dr. King to the city, signifying his commitment to justice and equality, which continues to be exhibited through his daughter Rep. Janice Hahn, who also resides in San Pedro.

The art reception will also feature quotes from Dr. King, memorialized in serigraphs by Corita Kent, also known as Sister Mary Corita, who gained international fame advocating for social justice through her art. King and Kent were also good friends.

Following the reception, Freedom Riders who participated in nonviolent direct action against segregation in the early 1960s will lead a

community discussion on the work of Dr. King and the civil rights movement, and the movement’s influence on the arts, music and culture.

The exhibit is jointly curated by the California African American Museum (CAAM) and fINdings Art Center, with photographs courtesy of the Institute for Arts and Media – Cal State Northridge. The art reception will be held at fINdings Art Center at 470 W. 6th Street, while the discussion will be held at the San Pedro Theatre Club at 624 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro The art reception is from 5 pm – 7 pm. The community discussion is from 7 pm – 9 pm.

Personal Reflections

January 11

Nature Walk Enjoy the trails at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, at 9 a.m. Jan. 11, in San Pedro.

Walk from the Nature Center to the historic military gun emplacements above to view spectacular ocean vistas.

Details: (310) 541-7613 ext. 201; www.pvplc.org.

Venue: Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy Location: 916 Silver Spur Rd #207, Rolling Hills Estates

Calendar continued on page 16.

January 10 – 23, 2014

15

Calendar from page 15.

Captain Hook sings the glories of being evil in Peter Pan.

January 16

Curiosity Machine The San Pedro Library is hosting the curiosity machine by Iridescent Learning at 4 p.m., Jan. 16.

The library is inviting students and their families to learn science concepts, design and build projects by applying those concepts. Admission is free for students and they must have a family member older than 18 accompanying them. Families must make a five-week commitment to register. Applications are at the reference desk at the library.

Details: (310) 548-7779; www.lapl.org Venue: San Pedro Public Library Location: 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro

January 17

LGBT Center Movie Night The LGBT Center is hosting its movie night at 7 p.m., Jan. 17. The movie will be determined by those attending. You may bring your own video for possible viewing. The suggested donation is $5. Nobody will be turned away.

Details: (310) 328-6550; thecenter@southbaycenter.org Venue: Southbay LGBT Center Location: 16610 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance Light Switch Plates Crafted is hosting a light switch plates class on Jan. 17. Learn to make fabrics, paintings, modge podges, or something unique for yourself to initiate the new year. Cover charge will be $3.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

Theater/Film January 10

Peter Pan The Warner Grand will be showing Peter Pan at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 10. Admission will be $27 and $22.

The show will be playing throughout Jan. Details: (310) 896-6459; www.encoreentertainers. org; www.grandvision.org Venue: Warner Grand Theatre Location: 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Independent And Free.

January 17

Deathtrap The Long Beach Playhouse presents Deathtrap at 8 p.m., Jan. 17. This is a story of a seemingly comfortable writer who has trouble getting over a dry spell. When he receives a script from a student though, he instantly recognizes the Broadway potential. He offers his collaboration and that’s where the journey begins. Admission is $12.

Details: (562) 494-1014; www.lbplayhouse.org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse Location: 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach

Art January 11

Second Thought San Pedro Experience the photographs from the archives of the San Pedro Bay Historical Society complemented with Tim Maxeiner’s contemporary photographs and videos, from Jan. 11 through March 1, at Cornelius Projects in San Pedro.

Details: Corneliusprojects@gmail.com Venue: Cornelius Projects Location: 1417 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

January 15

January 10 – 23, 2014

Martin Luther King Serigraphs The Corita Kent Gallery will host a special exhibit of original Martin Luther King serigraphs, as well as a reception Jan. 15, at fINdings Art Center.

Details: (310) 732-0010 Venue: fINdings Art Center Location: 470 W. 6th St., San Pedro

16

Continued from page 11.

No, the kind of flying Linehan is talking about happens, for the first time when she, playing Peter Pan, the leaders of the lost boys in Neverland, flies in through the window of the Darling House in London. She flies through the window in mid-air and over the audience. It’s a spectacular effect, a hallmark of productions of Peter Pan, and Linehan knows all about it.

“The first time I flew it was scary,” Linehan said. “It was scary until I got up in the air and then it was so much fun I couldn’t get enough of it. But it requires coordination to keep yourself straight in the air when you are flying. It is hard to sing and fly and land all at the same time.”

This Peter Pan is based on J.M. Barrie’s famous play, but has an original Los Angeles slant: It was created as a musical when Edwin Lester of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera had the inspiration to turn Barrie’s story to music and Continued from page 14.

My Friend Debbie Marr her paintings and photos but the works of Taso Papadakis, Tony Podue, Shirley Richards and Norm Zareski, plus photos from the San Pedro Historical Society.

This depicted the people and the port town historically and in present settings.

In 2012 she had a work in a National Park Contest and won the honors to tour some of the National Parks and Monuments.

In 2013 she had been accepted into a select group of photoreal-

was a hit in Broadway before being filmed as a television special.

Mary Martin starred in that Broadway show and it has since seen Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby in many successful versions. Barrie’s play has become iconic with children everywhere, with its story of adventure, loss and redemption.

In more than a century it has charmed millions of children and adults who appreciate the story’s complexity.

For Linehan, the role is as much about physical condition as about singing and acting.

“Playing Peter is one of the most physically demanding roles I’ve ever done,” Linehan admits. “I’m a 24-year-old woman, but I am trying to play a young boy. That’s hard, but the minute I fly through the window I become a different person.

“None of the adults in this show are amateurs…. No one coming to see this show would know that we are actors by night and have normal day jobs. In real life I am a newlywed and I work at my church in El Segundo.”

Encore Entertainers is a South Bay-based organization dedicated to bringing new performers, especially young ones, to the theater. But though there are lots of kids in these productions, the productions are thoroughly professional, with Summer Dey Cacciagioni directing, sets designed by her husband Marcelo and choreography by Jennifer DiBenedetto. Their previous productions at the Warner Grand have been critical successes and attracted a huge audience, including lots of children.

“We’ve got about 100 or more lost boys in this cast — more lost boys than we know what to do with,” Linehan confided. “Another challenge I’ve got is working with all these boys. That quote about working with children and dogs, it’s true.”

Tickets are $27, $22 for seniors 65 and older.

Performances at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 10, 11, 17, 18, at 2 p.m. Jan. 12, and at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 18.

Details: (310) 896-6459; www.EncoreEntertainers.org Venue: Warner Grand Theatre Location: 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro

ists out of a thousand entries in Tempe, Ariz.

Prints were moving through the gallery. Her personal production was at a clip of one painting a month. Good paying assignments were coming in. Throughout this time of physical unease she maintained grace under duress. Always playful, she liked joking with her friends, always followed by, “Come on over” and you would get a hug.

and help. For giving her time and her interest to elevate the status and importance of the arts in our community and beyond. For sharing her special talent and amazing gift with the universe.

Andrea Luse of MaGriffe Galerie said of Debbie Marr in an online statement: Never to be forgotten: Debbie Marr, Cherished Friend In appreciation for the many qualities that made her the definitive of “MaGriffe”, my mark...

For being there to listen, trying to understand

There are those whose life had been struggle and challenge, hers was of that lot. She overcame the odds and recognized that the truth in her life was her art. That art set her free.

Her brother and sister-in-law Ron and Linda Darling, her Uncle George Marr and her friend Michelle Meese were there with Debbie when her time came. Just before she died, her brother leaned in her ear and said how much he loved her.

Her last words were, “I love..”

from p. 7

Environment in Review

Act—annual benefits from 2014 to 2035 are projected to outweigh costs by more than 20 to 1, $10.7 billion to $448 million.

What’s more “there is a net modest job gain due to cleaner air” of about 37,000 jobs annually, according to the report. Jobs created outnumber job growth foregone by more than 10 to 1. In short, there is a powerful economic reason to adopt the plan, regardless of federal environmental law. Also noteworthy was how much of the economy will bear almost no cost at all. Out of 60-some sectors analyzed, almost two-thirds have costs less than 1/1000 of 1 percent, while only three transportation sectors have costs over one-tenth of 1 percent, even as

“We basically underestimated the project,” POLA’s Deputy Executive Director of Development Mike Christensen told the board. “We didn’t really know what we didn’t know.”

It manifested in cost increases to multiple different systems, but the root cause was a change in the basic plan to create a new, highly automated port, rather than a conventional one.

This entailed what amounted to a complete redesign of the project, which was never presented to POLA’s board for approval.

What’s more, TraPac appears to be more interested in getting rid of its union workforce, rather than retraining them, as called for in coastwide contracts dating back to the 1960s.

Local 13 labor representative Mark Miscola contrasted TraPac’s approach with that of a similarly automated terminal in Long Beach,

Rendering of the Southern California International Gateway. Courtesy of the BNSF Railway.

to trafficking in people. The more focus we put on that, the more we find that it’s prevalent, not only in this area, but throughout the nation.”

The 2013 year-end total of officer involved shootings, excluding accidental discharges and animal charges, were 15 with six resulting in death. There were four accidental discharges and there were three animal shootings. No officers were shot in 2013.

“In almost all of these incidents, the suspect shot at or used a weapon, either directed at an officer or at a third party victim,” McDonnell said. “We certainly understand the concern over the increase from the previous year or years. What we are seeing, however, looking at it another way, is officers are forced to place themselves between a threat—a deadly threat in many cases—and the public, in more cases than in prior years.”

He said that the department’s rapid response also makes it likely for officers to encounter crimes in progress and suspects fleeing or remaining on the scene of a crime.

McDonnell cited a carjacking case on Dec. 30, 2013, where a victim reported that a man placed a rifle against his head and took his car.

LBPD officers found the suspect and vehicle, leading them to a vehicle and foot pursuit before an apprehension. During the vehicle pursuit the LBPD helicopter officers saw an object being thrown from the car. The object ended up being a fully-loaded assault rifle, which was jammed, “an indication that the suspect may have attempted to shoot at our officers or others, had the gun not malfunctioned,” he said.

In considering the officer-involved shootings, the chief said that the department individually looks at tactics, training, equipment, trends patterns and reasonable force for each case.

“We try to learn at the micro-level, as much as we can, to be able to be better as we move from p. 5

Baca Resigns Ahead of Indictments

something bigger than himself.

“Your sheriff’s department is the best in the world in my opinion,” Baca said. “My greatest accomplishment is the reduction of crime to historic lows in 50 years.... This job has never been about me.”

He credited the sustained reductions to his department’s programs to educate and treat inmates in addiction programs.

“Your jails are in great shape,” Baca said after noting that he has complied with federal recommendations.

He characterize his leadership as one geared toward transparency and one that aimed to protect the safety and rights of the marginalized in Los Angeles County.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas tweeted that the Los Angeles sheriff’s race was wide open and expected more candidates will jump in. Baca noted his assistant deputies James Hammonds and Todd Rogers would equally make able leaders of the department but stopped short of endorsing either. Baca recommended to the County Board of Supervisors that Terri McDonald be installed as interim sheriff.

Los Angeles County CEO Bill Fujioka says the board will appoint a sheriff replacement within 90 days.

Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell. File photo.

forward and to allow something to go on that doesn’t need to be allowed to go on,” he said.

“And, on the big sense … is there something we can be doing to be able to reduce the number of officer-involved shootings? That is something we are always looking to do both to protect the officers, protect the community and to avoid that type of an intervention.”

He said the LBPD works with mental health specialists, it has medical teams to respond and try and de-escalate the situation where deadly force is necessary.

In November 2013, a woman with mental health issues was shot after the police was alerted that there was a woman who was holding what seemed to be a gun. Officers set up a containment area and attempted to open a dialogue with a woman for two hours. Two separate mental evaluation teams were present to try to set up the dialogue. The woman did not engage the officers, until she pointed what ended up being a replica.

The woman was shot at least twice and was taken to a local hospital.

The Long Beach Citizen Complaint Commission gets citizen complaints that the LBPD provides from Internal Affairs. Internal Affairs works closely with the commission, providing the commission with complaint investigations. The commission looks at the complaints for appropriateness and has the ability to do re-interviews and look at evidence from its perspectives. However, their role is not to investigate officer-involved shootings, because that is not the way they were set up by charter.

When there is an officer-involved shooting, there is a likelihood that it would result in some type of civil action. The city attorney takes the cases through the court system. In the cases where the jury finds against the city, the city attorney looks at whether to settle or appeal.

The case involving the shooting of Douglas Zerby, who was shot and killed in 2010 by a police officer is one case still under appeal consideration. Zerby, 35, was holding a water hose guzzle when officers killed him. While officers were acquitted, a jury in April found the department was liable, awarding Zerby’s father, mother and son a total of $6.5 million.

In December 2013, LBPD gained 40 new officers. Another class is expected to graduate from the police academy in the spring of 2014.

The final 2013 statistics are expected to be available by late January.

McDonnell also boasted the use of social media as a conduit to the community, including its newest social media networks application Go LBPD. The application is expected to be expanded to allow community members to generate online crime reports for select offenses later this year. For details and alerts visit www.nixle.com.

17

January 10 - 23, 2014

the Long Beach Container Facility: “Every step of the way with LBCT, they’ve met with the union, they’ve discussed forthcoming technologies. They’ve been very open about it. We’ve met not once or twice, we’ve met dozens—if not more than that— dozens of times with them,” Mascola said.

They’ve even started a training program for union members and have taken union officials to Asia to see the technology in action, he added.

Although the Los Angeles City Council later signed off on the deal as well, official displeasure was widely expressed and it’s commonly assumed that this was a major factor in Mayor Eric Garcetti’s decision to replace POLA Executive Director Geraldine Knatz.

In contrast, some local media most notably CBS-TV 2—focused an inordinate amount of attention on the cost of retrofitting the Angelina II to a virtually non-polluting propulsion system. Aside from misrepresenting it as a party yacht, CBS and others failed to do any sort of serious investigation of comparative costs and requirements. While there were some clear examples of costly mistakes in the process, the retrofit (made necessary by state law) ended up costing considerably less than the purchase of a similar new vessel would, while upgrading port staff’s technical expertise in the process.

In short, contrary to the headline reporting, the Angelina represented a distinct ray of hope, echoing the promise of the AltaSea project for a port that continues to evolve in a changing world.

LB Crime Stats

The Local Publication You Actually Read

reduced congestion costs mean these sectors will also benefit disproportionately.

The most recent previous AQMP, in 2007, projected $14.6 billion in benefits annually between 2007 and 2025. compared to costs of $2.3 billion. The vastly different figures reflect differences in the new measures being adopted, but show the same general pattern of economic benefits far outweighing costs.

Random Lengths explored a similar, but more, dire message on a planetary scale in our Earth Day issue, with a feature on a new book, Bankrupting Nature, which argues that global warming is just one of 10 different ways in which we risk destroying the natural foundations that all human civilization depends upon.

In the closing months of the Antonio Villaraigosa administration, POLA finally rid itself of citizen oversight, as POLA’s board voted to abolish the Port Community Advisory Committee, a project that POLA Executive Director Geraldine Knatz has pursued in one way or another throughout her tenure. Despite pious lip service about the need to have some form of citizen input, POLA’s board couldn’t be bothered to do anything but destroy the only such form that’s ever existed.

Almost on cue, however, it was soon vividly shown that POLA’s problems stem far more from a lack of public oversight and accountability than from too much of it, with an end result that apparently cost Knatz her job. Cost overruns on the TraPac terminal expansion of 40 percent— from $365 million up to $510 million—ballooned out of nowhere, seemingly, and were reluctantly approved by POLA’s board on Sept. 19, though not without intense discussion and controversy.

from p. 5

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from p. 8

Journalism Ain’t What It Used to Be editorial want to use a conference room at First and Spring street, they have to pay extra for it.

When I first started freelancing for the newspaper in the ‘70s, I was joining an opulent operation that had set out to become a rival for the New York Times nationally, and a great newspaper in its own right. It had twice the circulation and staff than the version that’s produced nowadays. It also had some really top rate writers—people like Ruben Salazar and Bella Stumbo, Jack Smith, John Pastier and many others. The paper now has no style, little wit, no real vision or purpose. It’s just going through the motions until it doesn’t. There may be talented individuals among the minions—I know there are—but there’s a demoralization evident in its pages that’s hard to miss.

I came into the business at a tumultuous time in journalism. It was early in the ‘60s and the underground press was in full bloom, driven in part by technological changes such as cold type and offset printing. Both were much cheaper than the old clanking linotype machines and gigantic presses that squeezed the images on newsprint from a half-circular plate of lead. The civil right movement and then the Vietnam disaster drove the underground press.

I was one of a group of four journalists from the Los Angeles Free Press, recruited to write for West magazine in the Los Angeles Times. As a result of the new printing technologies, and the so-called new journalism, the Free Press was able to gain a large and influential readership.

The new journalism was but the descendant of the kind practiced by Mark Twain.

Lionel Rolfe in front of a bas relief of Jack London, when he was younge. Photo: Phil Stern.

Cold type and offset printing were almost as important to alternative journalism as the Internet is today.

The difference also was the people. Charles Bukowski was probably the most talked about writer in Los Angeles, and he was in the Free Press, not the Times. My generation of journalists learned by mentoring, not going to university.

You learned from old hands. You learned to drink with them and either the city room or the closest bar was your classroom.

Academia by its very nature worships authority, whereas a journalist must constantly probe and question conventional wisdom. While

newspapers increasingly hire their staff through their human relations departments, the way journalists got hired in the old days was totally different.

At the San Francisco Chronicle, the city editor would ask potential reporters to show him not their news clippings, but the manuscript of the novels they were working on. If you weren’t working on a novel, you weren’t the right material. The tradition did not lean to the establishment, as today’s generation leans, but toward revolution, enlightenment and science and democracy. Paine and Twain were scribblers whose mighty prose was issued forth from places that had printing presses. That’s what newspapers used to be, sort of the collateral product produced by printing shops where you got your wedding announcements produced. Paine and Twain both handset their articles with lead type.

It was with good reason that one of my greatest mentors, Scott Newhall, the genius editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, refused to hire anyone who had a journalism degree.

“Degrees in history, literature, philosophy, psychology are fine,” he used to say, but he figured that journalism schools beat anything original and insightful out of its graduates.

There’s another thing that has changed over the years. Newspapers used to be fun. For many of my earliest decades in the business, I looked forward to going to work. The city room was the vortex of a community, where everything was happening. West magazine had its auxiliary city room in the Redwood Room, which in those days was actually in the Los Angeles Times building.

Scott taught that true journalists are “a priesthood, dedicated to unveiling the truth.”

He thought that a good paper should educate

and entertain and amuse. It should be fun to read as well as informative. That spirit is totally gone now in contemporary journalism, which essentially has turned newspaper city rooms into word factories, where the peons are grateful for their shrinking paychecks and crank out the drivel needed to pour around the ads.

The changes are not just technological. Part of what’s wrong with contemporary journalism is that it’s bland and like a lot of things that are bland, the deeper message of bland is evil.

Lucifer is not necessarily a colorful guy.

Nowadays he’s probably a marketing guy.

About the time that the Underground newspaper movement was growing, there was also a corollary phenomenon going on amongst the Overground paper. Most papers were owned by families or individuals. Because of tax laws, most of those families ended up selling out to corporations, who put out newspapers in places like Duluth and Norwalk from imperial corporate headquarters elsewhere. Papers became homogenized, alike in every town. Newspapers used to be run by proprietors, or later the families of the proprietors. It wasn’t always good but it wasn’t corporate. Newspapers had character, just like the towns they spoke to had character. Today newspapers are owned by people who not only know nothing of the “business” of newspapers, but also nothing of the nobility and primacy of the printed word. It is these scoundrels who have stolen journalism’s soul.

Lionel Rolfe is an author and journalist who has written various volumes on classical music, literature, journalism, history and philosophy. His one novel, The Misadventures Of Ari Mendelsohn: A Mostly True Memoir Of California Journalism, is available in print and digitally at Amazon.com.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS & LEGAL FILINGS Original filing: 11/27/13, 12/12/13, 12/23/13, 1/9/14, 1/23/14

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013246108 The following person is doing business as: Playground Fitness,528 S. Pacific Ave, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Jamie Burton, 2211 S. Grand Ave., #1, San Pedro, CA 90731. . This Business is conducted by an individual.

The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/.

Jamie Burton, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 2, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.

A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence ad-

dress of a registered owner.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 12/23/13, 1/9/14, 1/23/14, 2/6/14, 2/20/14 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. NS026944 Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles Petition of: Michelle Avril Frasché Belton for Change of Name TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner Michelle Avril Frasché Belton filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Michelle Avril Frasché Belton to Avril Rosalie Frasché The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without

a hearing.

Notice of Hearing: Date: January 9, 2014, Time: 8:30 a.m., Dept.: S26.

The address of the court is 275 Magnolia, Long Beach, CA 90802

A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county:

Daily Commerce Date: November 26, 2013 Michael P. Vicencia Judge of the Superior Court 12/3,

12/10, 12/17, 12/24/13

January 10 - 23, 2014

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013253321 The following person is doing business as: The Sepulveda Home,1138 W. Sepulveda Street, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: The Sepulveda Home LLC, 1138 W. Sepulveda Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. Articles of Incorporation: 201135110057. This Business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company.

The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: November 2008. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Susan Portillo, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 11, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this

statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 12/23/13, 1/9/14, 1/23/14, 2/6/14, 2/20/14

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013246109 The following person is doing business as: Lex Litigation Support,788 W.9th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Da’ad Makhlouf, P.O. Box 6067, CA 90734. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/.

Da’ad Makhlouf, President.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 2, 2013. Notice-In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.

A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

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January 10 - 23, 2014

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