By Hunter Chase, Community News Reporter
W
[See Walker’s, p. 5]
Death on the Waterfront p. 2 At Length: Train robbers and other bandits p. 8 Exclusive Showtime docuseries reckons with Cosby p. 11
Emma Rault stands in front of Walker’s Cafe, which closed in October. Rault is leading the effort to make the café a historic-cultural monument. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala
Trump Confesses! This is an admission, and a massively un-American statement “he [Pence] could have overturned the Election!” — Former President Donald Trump “This is what prosecutors call guilty knowledge. And also, intent…” — Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
A year after the Jan. 6 coup attempt, crimes hidden in plain sight — the insurrectionists’ seditious conspiracy, Donald Trump’s election-interference phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the submission of fraudulent electoral college slates — are finally getting the public attention they deserve. It’s causing many to question why Trump seems immune to scrutiny, while Trump himself provided possible reasons at a rally in Conroe, Texas on Jan. 29. He raised the specter of violence if he’s charged with any crimes, while baselessly accusing two Black prosecutors of being racists, and also dangling promises of pardons, which could constitute obstruction of justice. He followed up by openly admitting he had tried to get Vice President Mike Pence to “overturn the election.”
“If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere, because our country and our elections are corrupt,” he told his audience, in the midst of an 80-minute lie-packed speech. Minutes later, he promised to “treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly,” if he runs and wins in 2024, “And if it requires pardons we will give them pardons. Because they are being treated so unfairly.” In fact, as early as late August, the Washington Post reported that, “Federal judges in Washington are questioning whether rioters who have admitted to storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 in support of President Donald
Trump are being treated too leniently.” Never-Trump Republicans were quick to condemn Trump’s most recent remarks. “Trump uses language he knows caused the Jan 6 violence; suggests he’d pardon the Jan. 6 defendants, some of whom have been charged with seditious conspiracy; threatens prosecutors; and admits he was attempting to overturn the election,” said Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, co-chair of Jan. 6 Select Committee on Twitter. “He’d do it all again if given the chance.” On Jan. 30, Trump released a statement attacking recent congressional efforts to definitively close
February 3 - 16, 2022
For Valentine’s Day: ¡Holy Mole mi Amor! p. 12
Local activist submits application for historic-cultural monument status
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
alker’s Cafe was one of the places that convinced Emma Rault to move to San Pedro. So, when it closed down in October, she was very concerned. “The first time that my wife and I visited here … we just had this really wonderful experience,” Rault said at the Jan. 18 meeting of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council. “It kind of drove home that this might be a place where you can find things that … can be quite difficult to find in Los Angeles, which are community and historic continuity. And Walker’s Cafe kind of represents both of those things and is now under threat.” The café, which is right next to Point Fermin Park, has been a beloved mainstay of San Pedro since its founding in 1944 by Bessie Mae Petersen and Ray Walker. Before its closing, it was open on and off during the pandemic. Rault, who is a board member of the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council, began looking into ways to preserve the café shortly after it closed. “I was very concerned because suddenly the prospect of this place possibly disappearing from the community forever began to seem very real,” Rault told Random Lengths News. Rault was already somewhat familiar with preservation advocacy, so she started a petition on change.org to preserve the café, which has gathered more than 2,500 signatures.
[See Un-American p. 10] 1
Community Announcements:
Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 40 Years
Harbor Area Blood Donations Needed
During the pandemic, less people have been donating blood and that has caused a nationwide shortage of blood of all types. If you are able, consider helping out by donating blood to the Red Cross. Details: www.redcrossblood.org
Proposed Housing Element Update Adoption Hearing, Feb. 8
On Feb. 8, the Long Beach City Council will hold an adoption hearing on the Proposed 20212029 Housing Element plan. The proposed project involves an update to the Housing Element (6th Cycle), a required element of the city’s general plan. The document sets goals, objectives and policies for housing citywide. It establishes a roadmap for accommodating projected housing unit demand for existing and future residents over the next eight years. As required by state law, the document shows how the city can accommodate demand for housing at all income levels, including through future rezoning of properties consistent with the adopted Land Use Element (LUE) of the General Plan. The updated Housing Element plan has been released for public review and will be considered for final adoption by the city council Feb. 8. The City Council meeting agenda and staff report will be available on legistar.com Details: longbeach.gov/housingelementupdate.
LB Port Releases Revised Draft Master Plan Update
February 3 - 16, 2022
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
The Port of Long Beach Jan. 27, released a revised draft update for its Port Master Plan, a document that defines long-range goals and policies for land use and development at the seaport. A virtual public information meeting will be held Feb. 10, to inform the public on changes made to the draft update. Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog translation will be provided upon request. Requests for translation must be submitted by Feb. 7 to pmp@polb.com. The revised draft update, associated documents and information on attending the virtual public information meeting are available at the link below. Comments on the Port Master Plan Draft Update will be accepted through March 14. Submit them in writing to Theresa Dau-Ngo, director of transportation planning, Port of Long Beach, 415 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802, or to pmp@polb.com. Time: 6 p.m. Feb. 10 Details: www.polb.com/masterplan. Venue: Online
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Watch the State of the Port of LB
Join online — 2021 was a year of challenges and a year of collaboration. Executive Director Mario Cordero will share the outlook for 2022. Time: 9 a.m. Feb. 9 Cost: Free Details: www.polb.com/port-info/state-of-theport Venue: Online
LA Unified to SP Residents:
Rat Problem is Not Our Problem By Hunter Chase, Community News Reporter
In the Jan. 20 edition Random Lengths News reported on two residents who live next to San Pedro High School who said their houses were infested with rats and mice — and that construction on the school was to blame. One of the neighbors, Shannon Black, said that once the school tore down trees on its property, the rodents that lived in those trees went into the surrounding neighborhood. The Los Angeles Unified School District responded to these claims on Jan. 26, denying any responsibility. “After completing a thorough investigation, our technicians found no indication of any vermin infestation on our project site that could have been the source of any rodents that may exist at a few nearby homes,” representatives from LAUSD wrote. LAUSD representatives wrote that their community relations team received the first homeowner complaint in December 2021, and that this was five months after completion of demolition, tree removal and laying of the foundation. Black said that she first saw the rodents at the end of September. “During that time, we found no signs of rodents on campus, heard no complaints from staff or students about vermin and saw no signs of the pests, such as droppings, nests or burrowing that would indicate their presence,” LAUSD representatives wrote. Black previously reported that LAUSD rep-
POLA Announces ‘Green Shipping Corridor’ Plan Detailed Implementation Plan Promised By Year End By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
DPSS Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and CSBG CARES Programs provide
On Jan. 28, the Port of Los Angeles announced a partnership with Port of Shanghai, and C40 Cities to work with leading industry partners to begin transitioning to zero-carbon fueled ships by 2030, with a commitment to deliver an implementation plan by the end of 2022. But, as with the Clean Truck Plan, transitional fossil fuel use remains a troubling concern, among others. “International collaboration is essential to decarbonize global supply chains,” said Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka. “It’s time to get started on this important work.” “I am impressed with the commitment, however, I’ve learned that, when it comes to these things, it’s a lot easier to make promises than it is to keep them,” said Joe Lyou, president and CEO of the Coalition for Clean Air. “I’ll be a lot happier when the green shipping corridor becomes a reality.” Lyou’s comment was typical of initial responses from activists, which combined a mixture of praise and caution. “Note that, as with the Clean Trucks Plan, the
[See Announcements, p. 3]
[See Green Corridor, p. 17]
Eligible Californians Can Apply for New Mortgage Relief Program in California
CALIFORNIA — On Jan. 25 U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) encouraged eligible Californians to apply for the state’s new Mortgage Relief Program during a virtual conversation with the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) and California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH). Following recent approval by the U.S. Treasury, the state launched the California Mortgage Relief Program to provide one-time payments to qualified homeowners who have fallen behind on their housing payments or to reverse missed payments of up to $80,000 as part of the state’s Housing is Key initiative. The $1 billion in federal funding for this program comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Details: www.CAMortgageRelief.org; 888-840-2594.
Community Services Block Grant Serving LA County
The construction site at San Pedro High School, where most of the school’s buildings have been torn down. Photo by Chris Villanueva
resentatives told her they set traps at the school but did not catch anything. “I’m like, set them across the street at the houses,” Black said. “Why are you setting the traps at school? …. There’s nothing left.” In addition, LAUSD representatives denied there was any money set aside to reimburse residents for vermin damages. “As for alleged rumors of a special fund or “allotment to reimburse neighbors for vermin damages,” we have no such program, nor do we know how that rumor may have begun,” LAUSD
representatives wrote. LAUSD representatives finished their statement by commending the residents who live near their campuses. “Our neighbors have been great partners in our work to improve the educational facilities for our students. We value their understanding and support and will continue to listen and share information with the neighborhood.” Whether these neighbors include the neighbors whose houses are infested with rodents is unclear.
Deaths on the Waterfront Staff reports Random Lengths News has learned that two deaths occurred in the San Pedro Bay Ports, one in Long Beach on Jan. 15 and the other at the Port of Los Angeles on Jan. 18. After more than two weeks, investigations are still ongoing with little information released to the public. What is known at press time is that on Jan. 15, Long Beach port police responded to a call to a deceased male at 3:34 p.m. It is reported that he was hit by a transtainer. [The transtainer is a machine developed for handling containers. The equipment can be designed to handle a wide range of shapes and dimensions, offering different configurations for stacking and lining up containers]. Chulaih Ang, 64, an ILWU member died on Jan. 15 in an industrial accident causing blunt force traumatic injury at ITS Terminal in Long Beach. Long Beach Police and Long Beach Fire were the first responders. The county coroner was also on scene. The decedent was sent to St. Mary’s Hospital in Long Beach where he died. The Port of Long Beach public information officer reported that the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners adjourned its Jan. 24 regular meeting in Ang’s honor. According to the LA County Coroner’s
office on Jan. 18, a 911 call was made at 7:02 a.m. in response to another death that occurred at the 400 block of S. Palos Verdes Street in San Pedro. However, that reported address is inaccurate. The accident actually occurred at pier 400 on 2500 Navy Way on Terminal Island, East San Pedro. The Port of LA port police arrived at 8:09 a.m. to this incident and accompanied the victim to the hospital until the family arrived. The Los Angeles County coroner reported that 37-year-old Edgar Ruiz (37) died in the hospital Jan. 18, from a blunt force trauma neck injury by a piece of equipment that fell from a crane. It is reported that Ruiz worked for a contractor, BHCcrane whose motto is, “committed to ensuring a safe and healthy work environment.” The terminal is operated by APM Maersk Terminals Los Angeles and is the largest container port terminal in the Western Hemisphere, featuring over 507 acres of worldclass infrastructure and was the focus of the conflict over automation. According to the GoFundMe page set up for his fiancée and unborn child, Ruiz was crushed by a 4,000 lb. piece of metal. The GoFundMe page has a $100,000 goal. It’s reached a little more than $20,000 so far. RLN has also contacted the Long Beach Fire Department in regard to these incidents but has not heard anything further.
Amazon Workers Score Victory:
Union Election By Mark Friedman, Labor Reporter
Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island will vote on whether to unionize their workplace. The effort is being led by Chris Smalls, who Amazon fired in March of 2020 after he organized a wildcat strike demanding sanitized workspaces, protective masks and COVID-19 tests for workers. The Staten Island workers will vote on whether to join a grassroots worker group called the Amazon Labor Union, which is unaffiliated with any national union.
Mexican Auto Workers Organize an Independent Union at GM
Workers in Mexico are trying to build democratic, independent unions. For decades, millions of Mexican workers have labored under “protection contracts,” signed behind their backs by corrupt unions who collected dues but did nothing for the workers. Activist union members who sought to organize genuine unions faced intimidation, firing and even violence. This was the situation facing the 6,000 auto workers at the GM plant in Silao, Guanajuato, who produce the profitable Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra. New laws and labor provisions in the new trade agreement among Mexico, the United States, and Canada (the USMCA) say all existing contracts must be ratified in secret ballot
elections — giving workers a major opportunity to replace their corrupt unions with genuine, democratic unions that fight for them on the shop floor. At the GM Silao plant, the newly formed democratic union SINTTIA — the Independent National Union of Auto Workers — is fighting an uphill battle against a well-organized, wellfunded machine — corrupt locals of the CTM (Confederation of Mexican Workers) — with very few resources.
Misclassified Truck Drivers File for Union Election in LA and San Diego
Port and rail truck drivers working for XPO Logistics across Southern California filed for an election to form a union Jan. 19, setting up the first-ever National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election involving misclassified port and rail truck drivers. The drivers seeking to form a union at XPO Logistics have long been misclassified as independent contractors, a legal designation that denies them basic rights and benefits including health insurance, paid sick leave, a guaranteed minimum wage and overtime pay. Because federal labor law prohibits independent contractors from forming a union, companies like XPO purposefully misclassify workers as indepen-
dent contractors to deny them that right. XPO drivers are challenging their misclassification head on, arguing that they should be properly considered employees with the right to join together in a union. “My fellow drivers and I are proud of the work we do every day to keep the supply chain moving and provide for our communities. Today, we’re proud to take the next step in forming a union to give us a voice on the job and fight for better pay and benefits,” said Domingo Avalos, an XPO driver at the company’s facility in Commerce. The union election comes as XPO Logistics recently agreed to pay close to $30 million to settle two class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of hundreds of misclassified port and rail truck drivers working at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, alleging the company paid them less than minimum wage. Internationally, XPO is notorious for maintaining poor working conditions, engaging in wage theft and fostering a culture of pregnancy discrimination, gender discrimination and sexual harassment. XPO, with a long history of exploitation and union-busting, has failed to voluntarily recognize drivers’ demand. The unfair labor practice charges against XPO allege that the company has violated its federally imposed duty to bargain by refusing to recognize and bargain with the union its drivers have chosen. The XPO port and rail truck drivers are seeking to join the Teamsters through Teamsters Local 848, headquartered in the greater Los Angeles area, and Teamsters Local 542, headquartered in San Diego.
Community Announcements:
Harbor Area [Announcements, from p. 2] funding to community partners to provide services for families in need. Find a CSBG participating agency at www.dpss.lacounty.gov/en/community/csbg.html
Fraud Alert: COVID-19 Scams
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is alerting the public about fraud schemes related to the novel coronavirus. Scammers are using telemarketing calls, text messages, social media platforms and door-to-door visits to perpetrate COVID-19-related scams. Details: www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/consumer-alerts
Pick Up Your Free PCR COVID-19 Tests
We Are LA Health has launched a program to increase and facilitate access to COVID-19 tests. The program allows residents to pick up a PCR test at 13 locations across LA County and return it to obtain results within 2448 hours. Details: www.covid19.lacounty.gov/la-county-pick-uptesting-kit-program
How To Report Price Gouging On At-Home Test Kits
As COVID-19 cases increase, so do opportunities for consumers to be victimized by illegal price gouging. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order establishing consumer protections against price gouging on at-home test kits. To report price gouging for COVID-19 rapid tests online or in stores, go to Los Angeles County Consumer and Business Affairs at: www.dcba.lacounty.gov/newsroom/ price-gouging-covid-at-home-tests
Celebrate Data Privacy Week
It’s time for a data check up. Take five minutes to check the privacy settings on your social media and other digital accounts. Make sure you are comfortable with the personal info your friends/followers can view and with the data you share with each platform. Details: www.staysafeonline.org/data-privacy-week
Real People, Real News, Really Effective February 3 - 16, 2022
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My Recycled Life —
Backyard Avocados By Lyn Jensen, Columnist
February 3 - 16, 2022
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
Shortly after my parents moved into our home in Anaheim in 1960, they planted an avocado tree in the backyard. We all liked avocados, but nobody liked the work that went into caring for the tree or its crop. My mother usually just let the fruit fall. We’d eat some, local wildlife would eat some more and sometimes she’d take any surplus to her co-workers or club members or the local senior citizens’ center. For the first year or so after my mother died and I started caring for the house, the avocado tree was unproductive. Last summer it suddenly started putting out fruit by the bagful, as if a switch had been flipped. I’ve heard that avocado harvesting season here lasts roughly from September to December, but when January was almost over I was still picking avocados by the dozen. I don’t like seeing homegrown fruit go to waste. If you’ve got a fruit tree, it deserves as much care as any other valuable property. I
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brushed up on how to tend backyard avocados. First, ideally they should be clipped, preserving a little of the stem, because they may not ripen properly otherwise. Second, even then they may not ripen properly unless, after picking, they’re stored in a brown paper bag for days or even weeks. Proper jobs need proper tools. Since the tree’s about 20 feet high, I needed a 10-foot ladder, which I had (never mind a motherly aunt’s concern) and a special picking tool, which I needed to get. Local hardware stores had only citrus fruit pickers, simple poles with wire baskets — they pull the fruit off the tree and into the basket. I needed a tool similar to a limbcutter, which clips the stems but also has a basket or bag to catch the fruit. I had to order one online and it was expensive but worth it. I posted on a neighborhood site, “backyard avocados for picking.” I got dozens of responses, but had to explain repeatedly about, “pick your
own.” Ultimately five or six people took up the offer. That took care of the tree’s output for a few months. When I found fruit of the right size to be
picked, I found I needed to pick it fast — I think possums or other wildlife got what wasn’t quickly picked when table-size. I still got plenty of good ripe avocados, though. With the tree still putting out more fruit than I can consume, I’ve started taking the surplus to a local feed-thehomeless organization. I’m now used to regularly checking for fruit, picking it when it’s the right size, keeping it in a brown paper bag, checking for ripeness often. Some fruit never does ripen. Some I let get too mushy and I have to either throw it out or post online about, “Anybody want to make guacamole?” I sometimes get a taker. I’ve only found one questionable issue concerning our backyard tree still thriving after all these years. My parents made the mistake of planting the tree directly under the house telephone line, so the line routes through several feet of the tree’s thick canopy of leaves and branches. I don’t know if any danger or damage lurks from having the branches and the line so close together, but I try to keep the branches trimmed a few inches from the line. At least it’s not the house electrical line, or it would’ve been, “Good-bye, tree!” long ago.
[Wlaker’s, from p. 1]
Saving Walker’s Cafe “I had a lot of people reach out as well … and share these memories, about … how much the place meant to them,” Rault said. “They were kind of devastated about the prospect of it possibly disappearing from the San Pedro landscape.” Her efforts paid off. On Jan. 20, the Cultural Heritage Commission of the City of Los Angeles voted unanimously to consider declaring Walker’s Cafe a historic-cultural monument. Rault laid out the reasons why it should be made a monument at the Cultural Heritage Commission meeting. She said that it was an example of early commercial development in San Pedro, as well as its longest continually running café. In addition, the café is associated with multiple transportation mode histories of Los Angeles, including jitneys, streetcars and motorcycles. It has been in lots of movies and TV shows, such as Chinatown and the recent Perry Mason prequel. “But above all, it is significant as a much-beloved institution central to the identity and social fabric of San Pedro over 80 years,” Rault said. When a building is declared a historic-cultural monument by the city, it allows the Cultural Heritage Commission to delay its demolition for up to 180 days, plus an additional 180 days if approved by the city council, according to Los Angeles City Planning’s website. The reason for this is “to create opportunities for preservation solutions to emerge.” In addition, if designated a monument, the Office of Historic Resources must review and approve any alterations. After an application is submitted for the consideration of making it a monument, a temporary hold is placed on all permits
Left: Bessie Mae Petersen, one of the founders and owner of Walker’s Cafe until her death in 1996. Above: Walker’s Cafe, which has been in operation since its founding in 1944, closed in October. File photos
for demolition or alterations. Rault submitted her application in December. “The desired outcome of landmarking would be to see this iconic place protected and pave the way for continuity of use,” Rault said. “A number of local stakeholders have expressed serious interest in stepping in to take over the business, if indeed the owners are looking to move on.” Derek Brummett, the trustee of the café, con-
firmed his family intends to move on when he spoke at the Cultural Heritage Commission on Jan. 20. “Since my grandmother, Bessie Petersen, passed away, her son, my father, Richard Brummett, has been the sole proprietor of Walker’s Cafe,” Brummett said. “My father is currently 89 years old and is in poor health, which is why the restaurant had to be closed in October. And he will no longer be able to run the café. The remaining family members will not reopen the café. It will either be sold or closed permanently and boarded up.”
Book Review
African American Leisure Yesterday and Today By Melina Paris, Assistant Editor
in Manhattan Beach and built the Bruce’s Beach resort between 26th and 27th streets. Soon after, the Bruces and their customers were harassed and threatened by white neighbors including the Ku Klux Klan. Within one day of the resorts’ opening, local property owners acted through public power to contest the leisure of Bruce’s Beach patrons. Jefferson referenced a June 1912 Los Angeles Times article
stating “landowner and city founder, George H. Peck, [of San Pedro’s Peck Park] staked off and installed ‘No Trespassing’ signs on his acreage between the Bruce’s property and the ocean.” Jefferson noted that though Bruce resort patrons were warned not to cross Peck’s land to reach the ocean, the one-half mile walk [See American Dream, p. 14]
Unfinished Business
Rault is not the only one refusing to give up on Walker’s Cafe. Nick Noussias, who has worked for the café for many years, is refusing to leave the property — at least until he finishes repairs he started back in 2008. “I own all the appliances,” Noussias said. In addition, he said there is a garage in the back that contains new electric parts. Noussias has his mail delivered to the café, and has lived there on and off since its closing. He has also spent time at his sister’s house, who was the manager of the café. He said that Richard Brummett’s daughter locked his sister out of the café. Prior to that, he had not been paying his sister fair wages for years, Nussias said. “I looked at the labor board laws,” Noussias said. “He owes her $78,000 since 2008. He paid $126 as a manager, a week since 2008. That is not appropriate for a manager in California to manage a restaurant, seven days a week 10 hours a day.” Noussias said he has had $15,000 worth of materials dropped off at the café and that he could finish it within five days if he had help — and if he could get the proper permits. But Noussias is still recovering from a spider bite, which he was hospitalized for. And Richard Brummett and his family are no longer returning his calls. “I was going down to the city [to] get the permits to extend it two feet by 10 feet on one side, and four feet in the back, raise the ceiling up, and make it a 1,000 meal kitchen, instead
Real People, Real News, Really Effective February 3 - 16, 2022
Historically, leisure and vacationing in the United States was solely the province of the wealthy. By the late 19th century, attitudes to leisure and vacations began to expand to more types of workers, including the lower economic classes. In the 1890s, companies and local councils and governments began to pay or even subsidize leisure and vacation time for their employees. But this period was also oppressed by the heyday of Jim Crow restrictions. In 2020, historian and author Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson released her book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites During the Jim Crow Era. In it, Jefferson examines how African Americans pioneered America’s “frontier of leisure” by creating communities and business projects in conjunction with their growing population in Southern California during this period. This past month, Jefferson discussed her book with First Things First on KBLA TALK 1580 host Dominique DiPrima. They talked about the role of community and media in spreading awareness about social justice issues and the legacy of Bruce’s Beach. It was moderated by Los Angeles County Library director Skye Patrick and included Supervisor Janice Hahn. The story of Bruce’s Beach provided a framework in this virtual discussion. In 2021, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn initiated efforts to return the Bruce’s Beach property to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce. The Bruces purchased the ocean-side property
Brummett said that neither he nor his family had been told about the application and were surprised when they heard about it from something they received in the mail. Brummett also said that for the café to continue to function as it was before closing, it would need certain exemptions. He said the alcohol permits had been grandfathered in. “I believe it’s been re-zoned as residential from commercial,” Brummett said. “If that wants to continue as an operating café as it is, then any new owner, I believe, would need to have the ability to maintain that sort of operating stature.” The café passed into Richard Brummett’s possession when his mother died in 1996. His father, Ray Walker, died in 1953, but Bessie Mae Petersen continued running the café for nearly 50 years.
Beachgoers at Lake Elsinore in 1946. Photo courtesy of the Walter L. Gordon Jr. Collection of William Beverly Jr.
[See Walker’s, p. 7]
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Critical Repairs To The Queen Mary Begin in February
LONG BEACH — The City of Long Beach is preparing to start critical repairs to the Queen Mary, with fencing being placed around the construction zone and staging areas prepared as of last week. In February, the city will begin the first phase of critical repairs, which are anticipated to be completed later this year, allowing the Queen Mary to reopen to the public. The city regained control of the Queen Mary for the first time in over 40 years in June 2021. Since that time, with the help of marine engineering experts and based on previous studies, the city has designed the specifications and layouts for the required repairs, established milestones for the project and anticipates a completion date later this year. The estimated cost of the repairs will be approximately $5 million.
State Dems Looking to Pass Vax Mandates
Senate Bill 871 would add COVID-19 to the list of diseases K-12 students must be inoculated against By Mark Friedman, Contributor
The California state legislature is debating two proposed bills that would either further protect children and teachers from COVID-19 or leave tens of thousands of students, teachers and their families vulnerable to infections, sickness and possibly death. These bills come in the context of more children getting COVID-19 and more than 2,000 U.S. citizens dying per day from the pandemic. Senate Bill 871, which was introduced by Sen. Richard Pan, a Democrat from Sacramento
Padilla Announces Over $172 Million for California Ports and Waterways Projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) Jan. 20, announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will receive $172.5 million in federal funding to help move forward critical water infrastructure projects in California. This funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2022 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, both of which Padilla voted to pass last year. This infusion of funding will help fund infrastructure projects that Padilla has supported as a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, including efforts to clean California waterways and improve resiliency during major weather events. Highlights include: $8 million to improve commercial navigation at the Port of Long Beach to allow larger and more ships to pass. $28 million will go to restoring and revitalizing the Los Angeles River. This project will restore hundreds of acres of habitat around the river and expand access to green space and recreation for thousands of Angelenos. Details: www.padilla.senate.gov/US-Army-CorpsFunding-for-CA
February 3 - 16, 2022
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
Ex-LBUSD Safety Officer Will Stand Trial On Murder Charge
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LONG BEACH — A former Long Beach Unified School District safety officer was ordered Jan. 19, to stand trial on a murder charge stemming from an 18-year-old woman’s fatal shooting last year. Eddie Gonzalez was fired by LBUSD about a week after shooting Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez in the head Sept. 27, as she sat inside a moving car. Gonzalez was charged a month later with her killing. He pleaded not guilty at a Dec. 8 court hearing.
Date Set For Demolition Of The Court House
The public is invited to watch (from a safe distance) the demolition start at 10 a.m., Feb. 9. The demolition of the San Pedro court house at the corner of 6th and Centre streets will take between 30 and 50 days to complete. Construction is scheduled to begin in late summer and will take two years. The project is being built by Genton Cockrum Partners. Supervisor Janice Hahn made the following statement: “This is a project that we have been looking forward to for a long time. This project is so important because it is in the heart of downtown. We are building apartments that people can afford, bringing more people to downtown, and there is a proposal to put a labor museum on the ground floor. It meets our town’s values because it is labor-financed and labor-built.”
Sen. Scott Weiner co-introduced SB 866, which would allow children over 12 to get vaccinated without parental consent. File photos
Sen. Richard Pan introduced a bill that would add COVID-19 to the inoculation requirement to California school children. File photo
and a physician, would add COVID-19 to the list of diseases K-12 students must be inoculated against to attend public or private school. Sen. Pan also introduced SB 866, which would allow minors to get vaccinated without parental consent. In this state and most states nationally, children must be vaccinated for polio, chickenpox, rubella, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough in order to attend school. Pan’s bill would add a COVID-19 vaccination with
no exemptions for “personal religious belief,” which has been used to avoid inoculation. Medical exemptions would still be permitted. State Sen. Richard Pan previously led the successful fight for mandatory measles vaccinations after an outbreak at Disneyland in 2014. Because of these efforts, he has been harassed by anti-vaxxers. Congresswoman Nanette Barragán has come out in support of both bills. The candidate for the 65th Assembly District seat, Fatima Iqbal-Zubair, supports SB 871 and SB 866. “Our communities in the 65th Assembly district have seen the detrimental effects of virtual learning amidst this pandemic,” Iqbal-Zubair said. “It has brought to light inequities in our public education system and I’ve experienced this firsthand as a mom to a son with special needs.” Iqbal-Zubair explained that government, at its best, passes policy rooted in scientific evidence to improve outcomes for communities. “The way we will beat this current pandemic is by achieving herd immunity locally, statewide, and globally,” said Iqbal-Zubair, who is running
Reward Offered to Find Killer of Wilmnigton Woman
in a rematch against incumbent Assemblyman Mike Gipson. “It is how every pandemic before has achieved eradication or near eradication. Only if enough of us achieve immunity to the virus by getting vaccinated, will we outsmart the virus.” Gov. Gavin Newsom has indicated that he favors requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for school students. However, he likes the idea of a personal belief exemption. This would once again open up the online paper mills that give anyone a certificate of religious opposition to obtaining the vaccine. Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, who introduced SB 866 alongside Pan, said this bill was would allow children 12 and older to get vaccinated for any disease without their parents’ knowledge. “COVID-19 is a deadly virus to the unvaccinated and it’s unconscionable for teens to be blocked from the vaccine be if a parent either refuses or cannot take their child to a vaccination site.” It should be noted that minors can already access reproductive health care, obtain birth control, and receive abortion services without parental notification or parental consent. Opponents of the bill say that it is about the right of parents to make decisions on their children’s healthcare. However, there’s nothing in the bills that says parents can’t keep their children from being vaccinated. It just means independent study or homeschooling will be their only avenue for education. The anti-mandates organization, Let Them Breathe, based in San Diego filed lawsuits against the Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified school systems due to vaccination mandates. The Los Angeles school board filed a court brief in support of San Diego Unified’s student mandate. The LA Unified vaccination mandate applies to students 12 years of age and older. The requirements are set to take effect in the fall. Let Them Breathe, along with Reopen California Schools, filed the suit this past July to overturn the mandate and to challenge COVID testing policies in schools, arguing that maskwearing is harmful to children and instead should be optional. They have repeatedly disrupted school board meetings.
COVID-19 Stats
As of 6 p.m. Jan. 29, 2022 The numbers are the cumulative total since the March 2020 City
Cases
Case Rates Deaths Death Rates
Carson 23,715 25,270 Lomita 3,971 19,157 Long Beach 117,613 Palos Verdes Est. 1,392 10,294 Rancho PV 4,465 10,445 Rolling Hills 174 8,969 Rolling Hills Est. 890 10,970 Torrance 20,773 13,917 Harbor City 6,495 22,343 Harbor Gateway 11,400 26,147 San Pedro* 18,190 23,309 Wilmington 18,210 32,238
286 305 50 241 1,129 11 81 73 171 3 155 8 99 267 179 43 148 94 216 149 191 118 209
* Case and death numbers include cases associated with Correctional Facility Outbreaks located in the City/Community. Due to reporting delays numbers may not align with outbreak investigation counts presented for Correctional Facilities on the list of Los Angeles Residential Congregate Settings with One or More Positive COVID-19 Cases. Mourners gathered in the house of Monica Molina in Wilmington, who was killed in a drive-by-shooting on May 2, 2021. After seven months with no leads, South Bureau homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help and offering a $50,000 reward for information. Photo courtesy of Chris Villanueva
**These numbers are subject to change based on further investigation. (1) No. of cases per 100,000 residents (2) No. of deaths per 100,000 residents
[Walker’s, from p. 5]
Walker’s Cafe
of the little tiny grill that was there,” Noussias said. Noussias said that Richard Brummett still owes him money for the construction job. While he wants to be paid, he does not want to sue. “I want to finish what I was doing,” Noussias said. “And then we can talk about what’s going on. Either give me the 10-year lease, let me finish it, and then I’ll buy the place, whatever. Or
makes a final staff report on whether the building qualifies as a monument. The Cultural Heritage Commission then holds a hearing on whether to recommend the nomination to the city council. This must be held within 75 days of the commission’s initial vote to consider the nomination. If the commission approves the nomination, the city council has 90 days to act on it, with a possible 15-day extension. Then the planning and land use management committee holds a hearing and makes a recommendation to the full city council, followed by a vote by the city council.
Emma Rault pets a cat in front of Walker’s Cafe. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala
Next Steps
Since the Cultural Heritage Commission has voted to consider making Walker’s Cafe a monument, the next step is for two members of the commission to visit the property in person, according to Los Angeles City Planning’s website. After that, the Office of Historic Resources
“There’s sort of multiple stages of … checks and balances built in,” Rault said. “And multiple levels of discussion, and seeking input from members of the public.” Richard Brummett could not be reached for comment on this story.
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
let me get my stuff out and just pay me what he owes me.” In addition, the Brummett family has declared a no trespassing order. Noussias spoke with the police a week before Jan. 27. They told him to leave, but that they could help him get his stuff. Noussias refused. “I said, ‘You want to fight with me?’” Noussias said. “I have LAPD in my family, Orange County Sheriff and U.S. Coast Guard. Let’s do this and I know the law, I know administrative law.’” Noussias said the café has been broken into three times since closing. It’s boarded up to prevent further break-ins, and Noussias has someone else watching the property when he’s not there. “I didn’t do all this work for nothing,” Noussias said. “I’m not just going to walk away.”
February 3 - 16, 2022
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Train Robbers and Other Bandits Buscaino Calls for Investigation into Union Pacific Thefts By James Preston Allen, Publisher
On Jan. 26, Los Angeles City Councilmember Joe Buscaino called for an investigation into the Union Pacific rail thefts calling this a “crisis.” Multiple entities have been pointing the finger about who is ultimately responsible for the protection of rail cars, and the responsibility for arrests and prosecution of those responsible for the thefts. Buscaino, who is now running for mayor, thinks that the city council is an investigative body like Congress and he should hold hearings to investigate the current incidents of train robbing in LA. I doubt he knows what he’s talking about and I doubt even more he understands the historical context. Let me explain. Many of America’s most well known folk heroes have been bank robbers and train bandits. Think Jesse James, Pretty Boy Floyd, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, to name just a few. The folklore of the “wild west,” popularized in paperback novels and Hollywood films, have only exaggerated the myths of these bandits beyond recognition but rarely contextualizes the history behind their banditry nor their economic motivations.
The first known train robbery in the U.S.
February 3 - 16, 2022
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
On Oct. 6, 1866, one of the first train robberies in America took place when a group of bandits known as the Reno brothers boarded an eastbound train in Indiana wearing masks and toting guns. After emptying one safe and tossing the other out the window, the robbers jumped off the train and made an easy getaway. A wave of train robberies followed the Reno brothers’ startling hold-up success. Within two weeks, two trains were derailed and their safes were robbed. During another robbery in Indiana, an expressman aboard the train was thrown out the window before safes were emptied of $40,000. During and after the American Civil War, there were many disaffected Southern Confederates and Copperhead sympathizers in the North. Most of them had been left without jobs or property, but with training in warfare. Some, like Jesse James and his brother Frank, chose to make their living by robbing banks and trains because as the famous bank robber Willie Sutton once quipped, “that’s where the money is.” They probably thought it was justified as the railroads were mostly owned by wealthy Northern interests and carried large cargoes of gold and cash. The post-war era wouldn’t end until the late 1890s. What a review of American history tells us is that great inequities following war often
8
aggravate the conditions where robbery seems like an opportunity, and not just a crime. Just where are we today? We are in the post-Afghanistan war era. We’ve been at war for 20 years and a number of trained war veterans have now come home, many suffering PTSD or homelessness. There are news reports about billions of dollars of cargo stuck in the supply chain starting at our ports but parked right in the middle of Lincoln Heights, one of the poorer neighborhoods in Los Angeles. To top it off, the Union Pacific poorly guards onehundred-car-long container trains. Each container is secured with a simple padlock — easily broken with a bolt cutter. This is sort of like dangling red meat in front of a hungry tiger. So as any junior detective could assess, there’s motive and opportunity. And yet the Union Pacific and others are blaming George Gascón, the LA District Attorney, for his “liberal prosecution” policies and never once thinking that they might want to beef up their own security for what is ostensibly their corporate responsibility to keep their trains secure. What has become even more troubling about all of these train robberies is the revelation that some of these shipping containers are carrying weapons and ammunition, which one can only presume have been the target for LA street gangs trying to restock their arsenals with untraceable guns. This, of course, is in direct response to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies attempting to take illegal firearms off the streets as the homicide rate increases. All of this and much more can be ascertained without Buscaino grandstanding and calling for “an investigation” of facts commonly reported in the press. This “investigation” would only result in months of testimony, more grandstanding and a report issued that would be better used as a doorstop than a plan of action. What the railroads need to do is hire more security, use better padlocks, perhaps use some drones to surveil their trains and keep the cargo moving. What Buscaino and others at city hall need to do is figure out how to end the economic disparities with job creation, and provide housing and better options for people other than robbing trains. Yet, it is understandable (without condoning it) why breaking into a parked container on a lonely railroad track in the middle of this city that holds conceivably ten times what a low wage worker makes in a year would be a tempting option. Buscaino has had a decade to bring better op-
“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it.” —Mark Twain Vol. XLIII : No. 3
Random Lengths News is a publication of Beacon Light Press, LLC Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach.
tions to the people of Los Angeles, particularly his district, and yet we are still plagued by homelessness, street crimes and homicides. And with him being a former Los Angeles Police Department officer who thinks more ordinances against the unhoused is the answer, I only have one piece of advice: If ordinances, police enforcement and posting “no camping signs” could solve the homeless crisis, it would already have been solved! In the end, he states the obvious: “The communities that UP tracks go through in Los Angeles already suffer disproportionately from quality of life issues.”
This only calls into question the one area that city council members actually have some power to change — quality of life issues. Where’s the budget item for this all along the railroad tracks through the city and the neighborhoods that are invisible to the rest of us? Joe Buscaino only reacts to the problems once he sees them on TV. He’s had a decade in office to address them before they became a “crisis.” One just might ask, “who is actually being robbed?” Jesse James might have argued that he was just “redistributing the wealth.”
What Do You Call a Failed Insurrection? Practice By Greg Palast, National Columnist
Take a Red Pill and join me in the future for the reading of the electoral vote. The year is 2025. It’s 1 p.m. on Jan. 6 and Vice President Kamala Harris has begun opening the envelopes with the electoral vote from each state, alphabetically. When she reaches Georgia, Republican Sen. Herschel Walker objects to accepting Harris’ choice of the slate of electors pledged to Joe Biden, submitted by Georgia’s Gov. Stacey Abrams. Instead, Sen. Walker demands Harris count the vote of the slate submitted by Georgia’s GOP-controlled legislature with its electors committed to Donald Trump. Republicans, holding the majority in the House since the 2022 mid-terms, have rejected Biden’s electors from Georgia, Arizona,
Columnists/Reporters Publisher/Executive Editor Melina Paris Assistant Editor/Arts James Preston Allen Staff Reporter james@randomlengthsnews.com Hunter Chase Fabiola Esqueda Carson Reporter Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Photographers Suzanne Matsumiya Arturo Garcia-Ayala, Harry Bugarin, Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks, Raphael Richardson, Terelle Jerricks Chris Villanueva editor@randomlengthsnews.com Contributors Mark Friedman, Lyn Jensen, Ari Senior Editor LeVaux, Greggory Moore, Greg Palast Paul Rosenberg paul.rosenberg@ Cartoonists randomlengthsnews.com Andy Singer, Jan Sorensen, Internship Program Director Matt Wuerker Zamná Àvila
Wisconsin, and Michigan. Vice President Harris is therefore compelled to invoke the Constitution’s procedure for disputed elections outlined in the 12th Amendment. Under this little-known Constitutional process, each state receives but a single vote. Republicans control the Congressional delegations of 27 states. Though that represents just a tiny portion of America’s voters, Donald Trump wins “re-election” with a vote of 27 to 23. Trump will be inaugurated, for a second time, on Jan. 20, 2025.
Yes, it CAN happen here
You’re thinking, “Palast, do you really believe this could happen?”
Design/Production Suzanne Matsumiya, Brenda Lopez Advertising Sales Chris Rudd Chris@RandomLengthsNews.com
[See Practice, p. 9]
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tapes were
RANDOMLetters Matters of Ukraine
I read your story on Dr. MLK, Jr.’s speech. [RLN, Jan 20, 2022 issue] I’m concerned that the Biden Administration is potentially slowwalking us into a war with Russia over Ukraine. Whereas the EU might have more to be concerned about in Ukraine than the United States, WE have a concern about the Republic of China on Taiwan, and a LOT of economic interdependence. Looking weak on Ukraine, after Afghanistan, may not bode well for a potential PRC attack on the ROC. Certainly, the failure of anyone to act after Crimea and Hong Kong, and the debacle in Afghanistan have spoken loudly about our likely impending failure to do anything about Taiwan. And, it is THIS fear of looking weak that I fear will encourage the Biden Administration to engage in an unnecessary conflict over Ukraine. I would argue that a much BETTER solution would be to setup an Americas Free Trade Zone that would employ more people in Central America and Mexico, that would raise them up economically, and that would present the United States with more secure lines of communication. In lieu of a two-week 6,000 mile voyage on Chinese ships, our products could be in the United States in two days, via U.S.-owned trains. The
potential loss of the U.S. market would be a big threat to the PRC, and we’d have a more secure supply chain. I would love to see a story about the Ukraine matter in Random Lengths News. Ralph J. Ortolano, Jr. San Pedro
On the New Courthouse
All of those standing before a judge in San Pedro … For those who will never appear before a judge in San Pedro … never have access to a court in San Pedro … be grateful they are building condominiums on top of our local courthouse. There will be market rate housing but nothing for the homeless. Just as exactly when retired Navy housing sits derelict. Condemnations Mark A. Nelson San Pedro
Republican Pedophile Poster Boy
Florida Panhandle pedophile Matt Gaetz is
That loud-mouthed idiot everyone hates. No wonder rapist Gaetz is on Fox everyday — Sick sexual assaults done the Fox News way!
Bill O’Reilly’s phone sex assault
[Practice, from p. 8]
Practice Coup
And Roger Ailes tried to force Megyn Kelly. Richard Nixon’s ad man Roger Ailes is dead,
Burning in Hell while giving the Devil head. The original name of Fox News was GOP TV, But truth in advertising is too much honesty. So the slogan “Fair and Balanced” was born, Which is as laughably false as they come!
Matt Gaetz is the GOP Pedophile Poster Boy Who’ll soon be his prison cell mates’ sex toy. Jake Pickering Arcata, Calif.
Russian Joke
During the Russian troops build-up at the Ukraine border, a Russian General and his troops are at a hill over-looking Ukraine. They hear a voice shouting. “One Ukraine can beat ten Russians!” The General laughs about it and sends ten of his troops to go kill whoever is on the other side of the hill. There is a lot of noise and shooting and after a while silence comes and none of the Russians return. The voice speaks once again saying: “One Ukraine can beat
power. Yet big utility companies like PG&E are currently pushing to increase their profits by increasing the financial burden on rooftop solar customers. The California Public Utilities
Commission is now considering a proposal to add a fee averaging $57 to the monthly electricity bill of solar panel consumers (the more panels, the higher the fee). In [See Letters, p. 17]
CPUC Considers Fee to Solar Panels
Polls have shown that 73% of Californians support doing more to encourage the use of solar electric
America is dangerously out of balance and needs self-reliance — China is looking at its interdependence with us through a national security lens, and we should, too. By Thom Hartmann
Read these online exclusives and more at:
The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow Book review by Greggory Moore, Columnist
RandomLengthsNews.com
How to stop a coup
[See Practice Coup, p. 17]
February 3 - 16, 2022
As a journalist, it’s not my job to tell you whether Biden or Trump should be President. How about we let the voters make that choice? But that’s not easy. Whether we have a democracy in 2024 depends on whether we can preserve democracy in 2022. And once again, it will come down to Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin — where voting is about to get a lot harder for people of color as we’ve uncovered in our latest investigation. This year, vigilante “vote fraud” hunters have challenged the right of 360,000 Georgians to cast their ballots. If they succeed in this mass voter purge, combined with other vote suppression trickery in the new law SB 202, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s re-election is in real danger, no matter the will of the voters. The following scenario is then more than possible in January 2025: Warnock loses, throwing U.S. Senate control to the GOP; the House goes Republican as well. In 2024, the Democratic presidential candidate wins Georgia, as in 2020, by just 12,000 votes. But then, the Georgia legislature, citing alleged vote fraud by Democrats, certifies a slate of electors committed to Trump. Gov. Stacey Abrams, who gets elected despite vote suppression headwinds, sends a competing slate of electors to Congress. The 12th Amendment (and the empowerment of state legislatures in Article II) gives the new Republican Congress the power to choose the Trump slates. And this time, the GOP senators and
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
You betcha. Forget the whack-jobs who invaded the Capitol one year ago as of last month. These “insurrectionists” were schmucks with no chance of overturning the election. (I don’t dismiss the gravity of their actions — they crushed the skull of a policeman and threatened other murders in the hall of the people.) But truly, the real danger was in the Oval Office when, two days earlier, Trump peddled a memo by attorney John Eastman. Eastman’s memo laid out, in detail, the dark scenario I described above, in which Republicans use the 12th Amendment to overturn the choice of the voters. And if you think the U.S. Supreme Court will block this coup d’état, fuhgeddaboudit. Count on the Supreme Court to cite Article II of the Constitution, the one that says the electors to the Electoral College will be chosen by state legislatures, not voters. That’s right. In fact, there’s not one damn word in the Constitution granting citizens the right to vote — and certainly not the right to vote for president. The Supremes have already relied on Article II to bless a coup against democracy. In 2000, the Court adopted the Florida Legislature’s certification of the Electors for George W. Bush before the ballot count was completed. Sec. of State Katherine Harris stopped counting when Bush was ahead by a teensy 537 votes–yet 178,000 ballots had not been tallied, ballots concentrated in Jacksonville and other AfricanAmerican majority towns. The GOP-controlled legislature chose the Bush electors.
Infamous in their immature, creepy stupidity.
100 Russians!” The General is a little upset by now and sends 150 of his troops to go after the voice on the other side of the hill. Once again there is a lot of noise and shooting and once again none of the Russians return. The voice speaks again: One Ukraine can beat 1,000 Russians.” The General is fuming and sends 1,000 of his best men. The noise and shooting lasts way longer this time, and as silence almost settles, again one Russian comes crawling back over the hill bleeding from wounds. He says: “General, I beg you, don’t send any more troops, it’s a trap! There are two of them!” John Wrinkler San Pedro
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[Un-American, from p. 1]
Un-American
any loopholes in the Electoral Count Act. It concluded by saying, “he [Pence] could have overturned the Election!” “‘He could have overturned the election.’ This is an admission, and a massively un-American statement,” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, another GOP Select Committee member, tweeted. “It is time for every Republican leader to pick a side… Trump or the Constitution, there is no middle on defending our nation anymore.” To understand Trump’s seeming immunity in a non-sinister light, there’s no better guide than legal/national security blogger Marcy Wheeler’s late August post, “How A Trump Prosecution for January 6 Would Work.” In it, Wheeler argues that if Trump is charged, the DOJ will follow the patterns it’s already established: “Of around 200 January 6 defendants charged with obstruction, I can think of few if any against whom obstruction has been charged based solely on their actions on the day of the riot, and Trump is not going to be the exception to that rule .... DOJ would rely on Trump’s words and actions leading up to the event to prove his intent,” and “they would charge him in a conspiracy to obstruct the vote count that intersected with some of the other conspiracies to obstruct the vote count, possibly with obstruction charges against him personally.” She also cites two stand-alone crimes that might be charged separately: Trump’s call to Raffensperger and his public statements that made Pence a target for assassination threats. Wheeler went on to note the “Manners and Means” alleged in the conspiracy indictments, and laid out what might be alleged against Trump. These include things that aren’t criminal in and of themselves, but that cumulatively contribute to a criminal enterprise, as well as things whose criminality might be in doubt. Examples include: • Agreeing (and ordering subordinates) to plan and participate in an effort to obstruct the vote certification
February 3 - 16, 2022
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
• Encouraging the Proud Boys to believe they are his army
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• Personally sowing the Big Lie about voter fraud to lead supporters to believe Trump has been robbed of his rightful election win
• Asking subordinates and Republican politicians to lie about the vote to encourage supporters to feel they were robbed • Encouraging surrogates and campaign staffers to fund buses to make travel to D.C. easier
• Using the Jan. 6 rally to encourage as many people as possible to come to D.C.
• Applauding violence in advance of Jan. 6 and tacitly encouraging it on the day • Recruiting members of Congress to raise challenges to the vote count • Asking members of Congress to delay evacuation even as the rioters entered the building, heightening the chance of direct physical threat (and likely contributing to Ashli Babbitt’s death) With this in mind, it’s much easier to understand how pressure is building up against Trump, whether or not the DOJ ultimately decides to charge him. Let’s consider four recent coup-related developments, and where they could lead.
The Oath Keepers conspiracy
On Jan. 12, the Department of Justice charged 11 Oath Keepers with seditious conspiracy, including the group’s founder Stewart Rhodes. Not only does it break new ground in terms of the serious-
ness of charges, it has implications that go far beyond the specific individuals involved, as Wheeler explained. First, it “makes it clear that the intent of mobbing the Capitol was formulated well in advance of the event.” (This doesn’t absolve Trump of responsibility for inciting the mob that day, due to other evidence of Trump’s involvement in wider efforts to overturn the election.)
Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is charged with seditious conspiracy. File photo
Second, it’s one of several recent indictments that eliminated coordination between the Oath Keepers and the Willard Hotel, where Trump allies had set up a “war room,” not because it’s unimportant, but because “I think they’ve just decided to move onto making other people sweat about their communications with now-charged seditionists appearing in the indictment, while hiding how much more they’ve learned about the Willard in recent weeks.” Third, there are other indications of broader connections, including a potential shared interlocutor between Stewart Rhodes and Sean Hannity. In short, a wide range of people not part of the Oath Keepers may have their own questionable, if not criminal, conduct exposed in an Oath Keepers conspiracy trial, including figures like Sean Hannity and Roger Stone (who had Oath Keeper “bodyguards”) who are very close to Trump.
Coordinated slates of fraudulent electors
On the week of Jan. 10, several outlets began reporting on fraudulent electoral college slates submitted by Republicans in seven states, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. These existence of such slates had been known at the time of the insurrection, and the group American Oversight first obtained copies of documents from the National Archive in March 2021, with the blatantly fraudulently claim to be “the duly elected and qualified Electors or President and Vice President.” But they finally gained high-profile attention as a result of references in two key couprelated documents, the how-to-overturn-theelection memo prepared for Trump by attorney John Eastman, and the draft letter to Georgia state officials written by former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, intended to bully them into invalidated Joe Biden’s win in their state. “Under state law, I think clearly you have forgery of a public record, which is a 14-year offense, and election law forgery, which is a five-year offense,” Michigan Attorney general Dana Nessel told MSNBC, even as she referred the matter to federal prosecutors, as did several other state attorneys general. [See Confession, p. 16]
Exclusive Showtime Docuseries Continues Through Black History Month
B
By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
February 3 - 16, 2022
comment. He deliberately chose this course of action in order to make this docuseries a conversation about Cosby, rather than with him, and did so in part out of concern for the survivors. “Once you get the buy-in from some of the survivors to do something that is very delicate — we’re going to tell your story,” Bell said. “But there’s also going to be stuff in here that is about the good parts of Bill Cosby’s legacy — to get them to buy into that part is big. It would feel like a total betrayal to then go, also, we reached out to Bill Cosby, and we’re going to interview him.” Deggans notes that what Bell’s work does differently than documentaries like Surviving R. Kelly and Framing Britney Spears is it asks audiences to reexamine how we all may have shrugged off past controversies. Bell is after something different. “The commonality is not listening to women,” Bell said. “The thing that we all need to do, and specifically as men, is we have to do a better job of prioritizing, centering and platforming the voices of women, especially brothers like me and you who are in positions of power and privilege.” I would go so far as to argue that Bell is also after a reconciling of the two sides of Bill Cosby — the side that advanced civil rights in film and television, the side that championed historically Black colleges and universities; a trailblazer for actors and comedians who followed him — with the side that sexually assaulted scores of women over the 50 year span of his career; the side of Cosby, whose power and prestige silenced many of his victims. In other words, exacting accountability doesn’t have to mean the erasure of the good and the admirable in Cosby. But it does mean there has to be accountability no matter what. In the old media landscape, traditional network television dominated and Americans with a television in their household organized their time around their favored, shows. For better or for worse, the old media landscape allowed for a collective experience of ground-shaking events. We Need to Talk About Cosby is airing only on Showtime with no plans of it being aired on Netflix or any other platform without a Showtime subscription for the foreseeable future. Subscriptions are available for purchase through Apple, Roku, Amazon, your cable provider or the Showtime website. The fourepisode docuseries began airing on Jan. 30. The second episode airs on Feb. 6.
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
ill Cosby was a role model for comics like W. Kamau Bell, who produced and directed the docuseries, showing that you could be smart and funny in equal measure. In We Need to Talk About Cosby, he asks the question: “How do we talk about Bill Cosby? Here’s all the good he did and all the other things that I and many other people believe he did.” NPR’s television critic Eric Deggans interviewed Bell for the NPR Storytelling Lodge at this year’s virtual Sundance Film Festival. During that interview, Deggans asked why he made a film with pundits, comics, assault survivors, experts and more speaking on Cosby’s legacy. A big part of the reason, as Bell has told in other outlets, was that few people wanted to speak about Cosby on tape, for a variety of reasons. Kamau referenced a segment in the docuseries about Black stunt performers. It begins with Black actress and model Gloria Hendry, who appeared in the James Bond film Live And Let Die, saying there were no Black stuntwomen to film a scene where Bond fights her. Instead, a white man dressed in a white sleeveless outfit with his skin colored black, served as the stunt double. Bell tells how Cosby on the set of I Spy, his very first TV show, told the producers he would not work on the show unless they got him a Black stunt performer after watching a white stuntman getting painted black. Bell said that changed the whole industry. Reportedly, when Bell heard a documentary on Black stuntmen pulled a Cosby interview, he worried the rush to not talk about the comic would also eliminate important information. In Bell’s estimation, if something wasn’t done to reckon with the two sides of Cosby — the side of him known as America’s Dad and the other, a serial rapist, critical Black history could be lost if mishandled. A spokesperson for Cosby released a statement earlier this week calling Bell’s project a “PR hack,” noting the superstar comedian has denied all allegations of drugging and assault and claiming, “despite media’s repetitive reports of allegations against Mr. Cosby, none have ever been proven in any court of law.” Cosby was found guilty on three counts of assault in 2018 and served almost three years in prison before the conviction was overturned on appeal. The docuseries features stories from several women who say Cosby drugged and raped them, using a timeline to compare dates of the assaults to important milestones in the comic’s career. Victoria Valentino, a former Playboy model, told Bell that Cosby assaulted her in 1969. This was years before Bell was born. Bell doesn’t ask Cosby for
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Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
ove is a glorious thing, but chocolate is my favorite part of Valentine’s Day. Public displays of romance are awkward. And chocolate is much less complicated. South of the border, Valentine’s Day goes by the name El Dia del Amor y Amistad, which translates to “The Day of Love and Friendship.” This holiday, based on a broader concept of love that doesn’t fixate on romance, is a lot more palatable. Mexican culture also has a more nuanced approach to chocolate, which is often used in savory dishes. In the movie Like Water for Chocolate, the heroine Tita Garza prepares a mole of chocolate and spices that seduces the guests by leaning into the bitter side of cocoa. Tita’s heart was built for romance, but Garza family tradition required her, as the youngest daughter, to care for her mother instead of getting married. And Tita’s mom saw to it that Pedro, who Tita loved and who loved her back, married her sister instead. Denied the love she wanted, Tita put her passion into her cooking and made love to whomever ate her food. After eating her mole, one of the guests pressed Tita for the recipe. “The secret is to prepare it with love,” she said. Like chocolate and love, hot chile can really get the blood pumping. All of these ingredients trigger endorphins, adrenaline and the kind of manic energy you need to melt the snows of winter, if not the prison bars around a lonely heart. I have my own formulation of mole, which I also prepare with love. And to give it even more of an extra push, I add instant coffee as well. I got the idea from a coffee and red chile osso bucco I once ate at Casa Vieja in Corrales, NM. I remembered this lovely combination when I was formulating my mole, and it fits right in.
BIG NICK’S PIZZA
Tradition, variety and fast delivery or takeout—you get it all at Big Nick’s Pizza. The best selection of Italian specialties include hearty calzones, an array of pastas and our amazing selection of signature pizzas. We are taking all safety precautions to protect our diners and staff. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on new developments. Call for fast delivery or to place a pick up order. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri.Sun. Big Nicks’ Pizza, 1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-732-5800, www.bignickspizza.com
February 3 - 16, 2022
BUONO’S AUTHENTIC PIZZERIA
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Family owned and operated since 1965, Buono’s is famous for award-winning brick oven baked pizza. Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and sauces based on tried-and-true family recipes and hand-selected fresh ingredients. Now limited dine-in and patio service, takeout and delivery. Hours: Sun.Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Buono’s Pizzeria, 222 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-547-0655, www.buonospizza.com
¡Holy Mole mi Amor! By Ari LeVaux, Flash in the Pan Columnist
I also use red wine in my mole, as it also plays well with the other ingredients, and turns out to be the only sweetness that I add. After all, I think there is enough sugary chocolate in this world, and unsweetened chocolate goes perfectly and pungently with the chile, cumin, coriander, garlic and coffee. It all comes
together in my spicy chocolate love paste. As I developed this mole recipe I came up with a dry rub along similar lines. It takes 30 seconds to mix chile powder, chocolate powder, instant coffee, salt and garlic powder. The combination is pungent and bold and dark and mysterious.
Try mole sauce over chicken for a Valentine’s Day dinner from the heart. Photo by Ari LeVaux
Mole of Love and Friendship
Valentine’s Day is not a religious holiday, but this high-octane mole will make it holy. Use mole in a manner analogous to BBQ sauce — as a condiment or as a medium in which to cook protein. It’s most commonly prepared with chicken or turkey, but it’s also great with beef and beans. I often use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, but any cooked chicken or parts will do. Deconstruct and cut the chicken into whatever size you wish, and add them to the simmering brown brew so the mole can impregnate the meat. 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 medium sized onion, minced 1 tablespoon sesame seeds 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds 2 tablespoons whole cumin (or powder) 1 tablespoon whole coriander (or powder) 6 tortilla chips, crumbled 2 tablespoons hot chile powder or to taste, as the chile heat is very subjective 5 tablespoons paprika 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 quart stock 1 tablespoon instant coffee 2 tablespoon cocoa powder 4 cups chicken stock ½ cup red wine 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon almond butter Salt to taste [See Mole, p. 13]
CONRAD’S MEXICAN GRILL
Conrad’s reflects the cuisine of Oaxaca with a focus fresh on local, seasonal ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now Conrad’s features Peruvian dishes, as well as an inventive Mexican vegetarian and vegan menu. Dine in, dine al fresco or order online for curbside pick up and delivery. Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. S. Conrad’s Mexican Grill, 376. W. 6th St., San Pedro 424-264-5452, www.conradsmexicangrill.com
HAPPY DINER #1
The Happy Diner #1 in Downtown San Pedro isn’t your average diner. The selections range from Italian- and Mexicaninfluenced entrées to American Continental. Happy Diner chefs are always creating something new—take your pick of grilled salmon over pasta or tilapia and vegetables prepared any way you like. Dine in or al fresco or call for takeout. Hours: Mon.-Wed. 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thurs.Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #1, 617 S. Centre St., San Pedro, 310-241-0917, www.happydinersp.com
HAPPY DINER #2
Built on the success of Happy Diner #1, Happy Diner #2 offers American favorites like omelets and burgers, fresh salads, plus pasta and Mexican dishes are served. Order online for delivery or call for pickup. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #2, 1931 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-935-2933, www.happydinersp.com
HAPPY DELI
The Happy Deli is a small place with a big menu. Food is made-to-order using the freshest ingredients. Breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches include a small coffee. For lunch or dinner select from fresh salads, wraps, buffalo wings, cold and hot sandwiches, burgers and dogs. Order online or call for takeout or delivery. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 am. to 8 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Deli, 530 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 424-364-0319, www.happydelisp.com
SAN PEDRO BREWING COMPANY
A micro brewery and American grill, SPBC features handcrafted award-winning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, BBQ, sandwiches, salads and burgers. Order your growlers, house drafts and cocktails to go (with food purchase)! Open daily 12 to 8 p.m. for indoor or al fresco dining, takeout and delivery through Grubhub, Postmates and Doordash. San Pedro Brewing Company, 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-831-5663, www.sanpedrobrewing.com
WEST COAST PHILLY’S
Welcome to West Coast Philly’s Cheesesteak and Hoagies where authentic Philly cheesesteaks meet the waterfront in San Pedro. Along with serving the classic cheesesteak, West Coast Philly’s puts its unique twist on its cheesesteaks and hoagies. Also on the menu are subs, burgers, wings and salads. Happy hour from 2 to 6 p.m., Mon.-Thurs. Indoor dining or order online or call for pickup. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. West Coast Philly’s, 1902 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, 424-264-5322, www.westcoastphillys.com
Support Independent Restaurants • Dining Guide online: www.randomlengthsnews.com/dining-guide [See Calendar, page 16]
[Mole, from p. 12]
Love of Mole
In a saucepan, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil and butter on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Meanwhile, set a heavy bottomed pan onto medium heat and slowly toast the sesame, coriander, cumin and pumpkin seeds until they are dark but not burnt. (Skip this step if using powdered spices) Grind the toasted spices and corn chips to a powder in a spice grinder or mortar. Add the ground spices to the translucent onions, along with the other spices, including the coffee and chocolate. Stir it all together, then add the stock, wine, vanilla and almond butter. Keep it on medium heat, stirring as necessary to keep
from sticking. Season to taste.
High Octane Dry Spice Mix 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 2 tablespoons paprika 1 teaspoon instant coffee 2 teaspoons hot chile powder (or to taste) 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder Mix the ingredients and use as a dry rub to season anything savory, like roasted roots.
Real People, Real News, Really Effective February 3 - 16, 2022
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Hurricane Dora destroyed many homes and businesses. The American Beach Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. The beach still exists, although many of the Black families that once owned homes there migrated to other areas.
[American Dream, from p. 5]
Living the American Dream
around Peck’s land did not deter Bruce’s Beach patrons from going to the breakers. The Manhattan Beach City Council moved to seize the Bruce’s property as well as surrounding property using eminent domain in 1924, purportedly to build a park. The City of Manhattan Beach took possession of the property in 1929 and it remained vacant for decades. In December 2021, the Board of Supervisors voted to accept from the state the amended land deed for the property that was once Bruce’s Beach Lodge to finally, legally transfer the property to the Bruce family. Jefferson will continue to discuss these ideas in an upcoming California African American Museum exhibition in December 2022 about these leisure sites. More Los Angeles county leisure locations Jefferson examines in her book include Santa Monica’s South Beach and Ocean Park, Venice and Eureka Villa in Santa Clarita. In Riverside county she includes Lake Elsinore and Corona’s Park Ridge Country club and others.
Historical Travel Tour: Leisure sites that are still operating today:
Murray’s Dude Ranch
Sag Harbor, New York
Sometimes called the Overall Wearing Dude Ranch, it was a guest ranch in Bell Mountain, California from the 1920s until the 1960s. The ranch was located in Apple Valley, just outside the city limits of Victorville. Operated for nearly 20 years as a dude ranch with a pool, several small houses, tennis courts, and riding stables, the ranch was used by entertainment personalities and by ordinary families. It was open to all who could afford to come. Murray’s was a recreational favorite for African Americans and a marker in the history of Black recreation.
Located on the North Shore of Long Island in the towns of East Hampton and Southampton, Sag Harbor is one of the most expensive and exclusive of the Black vacation-home communities. Today, second and third generations of families still own homes in Sag Harbor, along with some affluent newcomers.
Idlewild, Michigan
“The Black Eden” was a resort where Black writers, business people, physicians and entertainers spent their summers in the 1940s to 1960s located amongst the wilderness. Today, you can still enjoy that open-air experience while exploring the town’s stores, restaurants and activities or traversing through Newaygo Park.
Highland Beach, Maryland
The oldest Black resort town in the country, this location was founded by Frederick Douglass’ son, Charles, and his wife Laura in 1893.
Alison Rose Jefferson after receiving the 2020 Miriam Matthews Ethnic History Award for her book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites During the Jim Crow Era at the Los Angeles Historical Society Annual Gala held at The Dunbar Hotel on Central Avenue, Sunday, March 8, 2020. Photograph by Diane Kanner
In 1922, Highland became the first black town incorporated in the state. Today in America’s first Black vacation-home community, prices for homes on the market range from $250,000 to $950,000.
American Beach, Florida
February 3 - 16, 2022
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
Located on Amelia Island near Jacksonville, American Beach was founded in 1935 by Florida’s first Black millionaire, Abraham Lincoln Lewis, who co-founded the Afro-American Life Insurance Co. American Beach attracted some of America’s most influential politicians, celebrities and athletes. It began to decline in 1964 after
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Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
The community of Oak Bluffs has a long history. In the early 1900s when African-American professionals began looking for property to buy or build vacation homes, Oak Bluffs was the only town on Martha’s Vineyard that welcomed Black families. Oak Bluffs is famous for its Gingerbread houses, some of which have been owned by the same families for several generations. (The Obamas purchased a home on Martha’s Vineyard in nearby Edgartown.) Details: Find Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson’s book at www.alisonrosejefferson.com and Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites During the Jim Crow Era, video link: www.youtube.com/living-the-california-dream
MUSIC Feb. 4
The Springsteen Experience See Josh Schreiber’s high-octane journey through E Street Band history. Hear Born to Run, Hungry Heart, Sherry Darling, Glory Days and more. This is a show that does justice to The Boss. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 4 Cost: $28 and up Details: www.tinyurl. com/2p862txz Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
Feb. 5
Dale Fielder Quartet Enjoy a night listening to cutting edge jazz originals and a few jazz standards. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 5 Cost: $20 Details: www.alvasshowroom. com/dale-fielder-quartet-3 Venue: Alvas Showroom Saturday, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
Feb. 6
Con el Alma Join the annual winter flamenco concert with the studio dancers of Esencia Flamenca Dance Co and School. There will be live music and over 30 flamenco dancers of all ages. Enjoy this inspirational afternoon of passionate music and dance in a recital of new and classic flamenco choreography. Time: 2 p.m., Feb. 6 Cost: $25 to $50 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ Conelalma Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro Sweet Seasons Enjoy an evening in tribute to legendary singer/songwriter Carole King. Driven by an intense love and admiration for Carole’s music, tribute artist Carla Buffa felt compelled to pay homage to King’s legend with a show that includes all of the chart topping hits that you’ve come to know and love over the years. Time: 4 p.m., Feb. 6 Cost: $20 Details: www.alvasshowroom. com/sweet-seasons Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
Feb. 12
Jazz Brunch Featuring Bennie J. Smith with special guest singer songwriter Elisa Gomez Taylor. Enjoy the smooth jazzy sounds of Bennie J. as he makes his California and West Coast performance debut
Elton John’s Classic Hits – Live! Don’t miss this awesome tribute show to five-time Grammy winning pop star Elton John who smashed music charts with a litany of hits, including Cold Heart, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man and I’m Still Standing. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 12 Cost: $40 to $75 Details: 562-916-8500; www.cerritoscenter.com Venue: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos
Piazza di SanValentino Join an Italian restaurant popup experience featuring several of San Pedro and LA’s budding talent. Use the code RANDOMLENGTHS and get 10% off your ticket price. Time: 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 12 Cost: $25 to $55 Details: www.CAHOOTSEVENTS.ORG Venue: The Sardine (in the event space nextdoor to the bar) 1105 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro,
Paul Williams Songbook Celebrate America’s most prolific songwriter and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, Paul Williams, with singers Laura Ellis and Joh AdkinsonSpend the evening getting lost in the memories that his music brings and creating new ones. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 12 Cost: $25 to $35 Details: www.titkt.choicecrm.net/ TOCA/PaulWilliamsSongbook Venue: Torrance Cultural Arts, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance Boys Of Summer Two plus hours of music from arguably one of the best writing teams in the history of music – The Eagles. This is a special Valentine’s week show with some of the most romantic songs ever written, including Best Of My Love, Peaceful Easy Feeling and Tequila Sunrise. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 12 Cost: $25 Details: alvasshowroom.com/ event/music-of-the-eagles Venue: Alvas Showroom Saturday, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
Feb. 19
Albert Cummings Opening with: Rebecca Lynn. Blues-guitar wizard and singer, Cummings has worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s band Double Trouble and delivers a blazing blues-rock live show. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 19 Cost: $23 and up Details: www./tinyurl. com/3v8a5hxp Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
Feb. 20
Catatonic This show has high energy original music with improvised solos based on jazz harmony with funk rhythms. Per LA Health Department regulations, proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required at the door. Time: 4 p.m., Feb. 20 Cost: $20 Details: www.alvasshowroom. com/events Venue: Alvas Showroom,1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
THEATER Feb. 3
Murder On The Orient Express The luxury train is stuck in a snowdrift and passengers wake to find a murder and a killer in their midst. The passengers are an elaborate cast of characters and all have solid alibis. But who had motive? Who had access? And will the killer strike again? Time: 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 3 to Feb. 12 Cost: $14 to $24 Details: 562-494-1014; www.lb-
FOOD
Feb. 12
Editor’s Note: Due to the current COVID-19 surge in the Los Angeles area, please be advised to check ahead to confirm if events will still be happening before purchasing tickets. playhouse.org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
Feb. 4
LOVE, LINDA (The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter) In this tour-de-force one-woman show, Linda Lee Thomas (Mrs. Cole Porter), candidly recounts, through song and story, her life’s journey with Cole Porter. With innovative arrangements, the timeless music and lyrics of Cole Porter weave through the compelling narrative. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 4, 5 and 2 p.m., Feb. 6 Cost: $20 Details: www.lbplayhouse.org/ love-linda-the-life-of-mrs-coleporter Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
Feb. 11
Legacy Of A Garage Band The moment a band ceases to be beholden to each other, the moment they break their music bond with one another, the world engulfs them, and the music is lost forever. You only get one chance at greatness. Community Professionals and El Toro Collaborative is a community of progressive artists and writers committed to bringing innovative and progressive creative works to the community. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 11, 12 and 2 p.m., Feb. 13 Cost: $20 Details: 562- 494-1014; https://lbplayhouse.org/?tribe_ events=legacy-of-a-garage-band Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St, Long Beach
ART
Feb. 3
PORTALS PORTALS reflects on the transformative nature of passageways — contemplating ideas of boundaries, entrance and egress, progress and travel into the unknown. Working in tapestry, drawing, neon sculpture, resin and sitespecific installation among other mixed media, the artists explore transformation, with the Port of Los Angeles as a relevant foil. Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays to Saturdays, Feb. 3 to March 26 Cost: Free Details: www.angelsgateart.org Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro Stuart Hamilton: Earthly Meditations This exhibition includes over 50 works made during the late artist’s 10-year history at Angels Gate Cultural Center. Earthly details taken out of context — stones, sticks, and bone fragments — are arranged in geometric patterns
reflecting a sense of order in a meditative process that carefully considers the natural world. Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays to Saturdays, Feb. 3 to March 26 Cost: Free Details: www.angelsgateart.org/ home/plan-your-visit Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro ArtWalk The band CODE 4 will be performing on the corner of 6th and Mesa and the Food Truck Alley will be on Mesa between 7th and 5th streets. Due to the Omicron variant, there will not be a guided ArtWalk tour. Time: 5:30 to 9 p.m., Feb. 3 Cost: Free Venue: 6th and 7th streets, Downtown San Pedro
Feb. 9
Historical Architectural Tours: James Homer Garrott The Department of Cultural Affairs grantee, Friends of Residential Treasures, launches a trail map of avant-garde modernist homes designed in the 1940s era by civil rights activist and modernist architect, James Homer Garrott, for self-guided tours. The map explores five exteriors of key structures, illuminating both their built qualities and telling the stories of the passionate civil rights leaders who inhabited them. Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 9 Cost: Free Details: 310-209-5302; www.culturela.org/event/the-radical-practice-of-james-homer-garrott Venue: Online
Feb. 16
Artist Talk and Walk-through: Linda Besemer Join an insightful tour of StrokeRollFoldSheetSlabGlitch led by artist. Go on a journey through the evolution of the Besemer’s practice, which has worked painterly material into strokes, rolls, folds, sheets, slabs and glitches. There is a limited availability of tickets. Time: 12 p.m. Feb. 16 Cost: Free Details: RSVP on Eventbrite Venue: Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach
FILM
Feb. 4
Red Hope: The Blacklisting of Hope Foye Hope Foye was a progressive young African American singer whose voice not only impressed legends such as Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Dubois, but whose actions, relationships, and popularity drew the attention of the FBI. She was a long time resident of the Peninsula area. Time: 7 p.m. Feb. 4
DANCE Feb. 5
A.I.M A thumping mixtape of a dance, An Untitled Love is sonically rooted in the richness of soul and R&B music, and celebrates family, community and love in this evening-length experience by one of today’s most in-demand choreographers. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 5 Cost: $45 Details: http://tinyurl.com/aimcarpenter Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach
COMMUNITY Feb. 5
Artlab Art and Science Workshops Join the Marine Mammal Education Team and an Angels Gate artist-teacher to learn about food chains and webs and create your own artwork. The afternoon will begin with an introduction to food chains and webs — who’s eating who in the ocean? And, learn what makes the ocean green (it’s not usually blue). This is followed by an art workshop led by Angels Gate Artist-Teacher, Anna Erneholm. Time: 1 to 3 p.m., Feb. 5 Cost: Free Details: www.eventbrite.com/e/ virtual-artlab-art-science-workshop Venue: Online
Feb. 5
Volunteer Day Opportunities Outdoor Volunteer Day at Abalone Cove Reserve with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy is Feb. 5. Join the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy to volunteer at the newest restoration site on a breathtaking coastal reserve helping eradicate invasive weeds to protect native species. Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Feb. 5 Cost: Free Details: https://pvplc.volunteerhub.com/ Venue: Abalone Cove, 5970 Palos Verdes Dr. South, Rancho Palos Verdes Nature Walk You will be guided by a trained naturalist to discover a unique variety of wildlife in their canyon habitat with amazing views of the LA Basin. Meet on the back patio of the George F. Canyon Nature Center. Rain cancels the walk. Time: 10:30 a.m., Feb. 5 Cost: Free Details: www.pvplc.org Venue: George F. Canyon Nature Center, 27305 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rolling Hills Estates
Feb. 10
Patriots of Color Join the Harbor Chapter February dinner meeting with awards, presentations and guest speaker. Sons of Liberty chapter secretary, David Morrow presents Patriots of Color in the Revolutionary War. All are welcome to attend. RSVP by 6 p.m. Feb. 9. Time: 6 p.m. social hour, 7 p.m. meeting Feb. 10 Cost: $25 (Includes tax and tip) Details: my.cheddarup.com/c/ harbor-chapter-sar-dinner-meeting Venue: Raffaello’s Ristorante, 457 W. 7th St., San Pedro
Feb. 12
Nature Walk: Abalone Cove Join a nature walk at Abalone Cove Reserve guided by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. Situated between Portuguese Point and Inspiration Point, the secluded sacred cove features wonderful rock formations edged with tide pools and a channel into a sea cave. The trail is moderate to strenuous. Parking is $6 for the first 2 hours. Time: 1 p.m. Feb. 12 Cost: Free Details: https://pvplc.org/calendar-guided-nature-walks/ Venue: Abalone Cove, 5970 Palos Verdes Dr. South, Rancho Palos Verdes Outdoor Volunteer Day Help to restore habitat on the 22acre restoration site to create a home for rare cactus wrens and gnatcatchers with beautiful views of Catalina Island. Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Feb. 12 Cost: Free Details: https://pvplc.volunteerhub.com/. Venue: Alta Vicente Reserve, 30940 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes
Feb. 13
Sulcorebutia: A Virtual Tour Through Bolivia Jackson Burkholder will introduce you to the taxonomy and biology of the genus Sulcorebutia, and how to care for these flowering cactus native to Bolivia. His virtual tour will show Jackson’s collection of these Bolivian native plants grouped by locality. Time: 1:30 p.m., Feb. 13 Cost: Free Details: southcoastcss.org Venue: Zoom
Feb. 26
Preserving the History of Japanese Farming on the Peninsula and Greater South Bay Join a joint PVLD and American Association of University Women program with presentations on the Japanese farming history of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and efforts to preserve the broader history of Japanese agriculture in the South Bay region. Guest speakers include PVLD’s archivist and local history Librarian Monique Sugimoto and Greg Williams, director of the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills and lead on the Japanese American Digitization Project. Registration Required. Email aauwtorrance@ gmail.com for the Zoom link. Time: 10 to 11a.m. Feb. 26 Cost: Free Details: www.tinyurl. com/2p99cdt8 Venue: Zoom
February 3 - 16, 2022
A Smooth Jazz Valentines Spend an intimate evening with Kenny Lattimore, Najee, Mariea Antoinette and her soulful orchestra, Althea Rene and Erin Stevenson. Time: VIP dinner 5 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 12 Cost: $85 Details: 562-424-0013; www.rainbowpromotions.com Venue: Long Beach Terrace Theater 300 E. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach
Cost: Free Details: 310-378-9449 Venue: Pacific Unitarian Church, 5621 Montemalaga Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
Feb. 9
C&C Together Again Art for Us presents C&C, Candi Sosa and Cristina Rebull, two strong, passionate and versatile Cuban women unite their voices and hearts as they sing a selective repertoire of American and Latin standard ballads, Cuban, Latin jazz, originals and classics. Time: 8 p.m., Feb. 9 Cost: $25 Details: www.alvasshowroom. com/events Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
plus the sultry smooth voice of Elisa. Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Feb. 12 Cost: $45 Details: 310-489-2555; or email, cmsann@AOL.com Venue: The Links at Victoria Golf Course, 340 MLK Jr. St., Carson
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Seizing voting machines
[Confession, from p. 10]
Confession
On Jan. 20, news broke that Trump campaign officials, led by Rudy Giuliani, were responsible for coordinating the effort. That night Rachel Maddow played a tape recording of a Trump campaign official leaving a scripted voicemail message for a Michigan state legislator, requesting their help to “send a slate of electors that will support President Trump and Vice President Pence.” More details emerged, culminating on Jan. 28, when the Jan. 6 Committee subpoenaed 14 people involved as chairpersons or secretaries of the slates from seven states. Electors in several states refused to go along with these schemes, recognizing their illegitimate nature, and had to be replaced. Threats of both state and federal felony prison terms will likely produce significant witness cooperation. Because the Trump campaign was involved in coordinating this effort, Trump himself could conceivably be criminally charged.
On Jan. 20 the National Archives and Records Administration turned over more than 700 pages of contested Trump Administration documents to the Jan. 6 Select Committee. Politico reported that among them was a draft executive order that would have directed the defense secretary to seize voting machines. It claimed authority derived in part from National Security Presidential Memoranda 21, a document not publicly known before, an indication it was drafted by a knowledgeable high-level advisor. Further details emerged slowly until Jan. 31, when the New York Times reported that Trump had been intimately involved in exploring the possibility of using two other departments as well to seize voting machines — the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Trump had already rejected using the military, and Attorney General William Barr had rejected using the DOJ before Trump directed Giuliani to ask DHS to seize the machines, the Times reported. Trump’s active involvement in pursuing this radical scheme casts an even more sinister light on his last-minute leadership replacements at the departments of Justice and Defense, and provides
additional evidence that would go to establishing criminal intent in a possible conspiracy charge. In an instructive parallel, the Oath Keepers’ conspiracy indictment includes planning and preparation for moving arms into the Capitol from a safe house in Virginia, which was similarly not followed through on.
Election interference in Georgia
As already mentioned, Trump’s electioninterference phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, saying, “I just want to find 11,780 votes,” is a prime candidate for charging Trump with a stand-alone crime; but there’s no indication it’s being pursued by the DOJ. However, it is being pursued by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, though as part of a broader inquiry. On Jan. 20, Willis wrote a letter requesting a special grand jury for the probe, which would allow her to subpoena witnesses, including Raffensperger, who thus far “have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony.”
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February 3 - 16, 2022
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
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road,” which could get him charged with a crime. Threatening violence on the one hand, and promising pardons on the other are typical of how Trump has sought to thwart the justice system since he first became president. But he has a much longer history of evading accountability. A forthcoming book by criminologist Gregg Barak, Criminology on Trump, argues that “By most measures, Donald Trump belongs in the same annals where we place our now-legendary crime bosses,” according to a preview article at The Crime Report website. “To understand how we got to this point, my book examines three generations of Trump businesses. It attempts to show how long before he became president, he was operating a criminal enterprise composed of various illegal schemes and rackets as part of the Trump Organization,” Barak explained. “This book is also an historical account of the intermingling of illegal and legal activities that Donald Trump pursued in order to obtain the power of Commander-in-Chief, what he did with that power once he had obtained it, and finally the lengths to which he would go to keep from losing that power.” Before Trump came right out and admitted his intent to overthrow the election, proving criminal intent had routinely been cited as a major obstacle to prosecuting him. That obstacle is now gone. But Barak shows that there’s another way past it as well — and it’s always best to have multiple angles of attack. That way past is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which has been used to take down other crime families, and could be used against the Trump family as well.
Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has opened a criminal investigation into Trump’s alleged election interference. File photo
The request required a majority of judges to be approved, which was done within just four days. The grand jury will convene on May 2 and continue for up to 12 months. Trump isn’t the only person being investigated. Willis has previously confirmed that she’s also investigating a November 2020 phone call between U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Raffensperger, the abrupt resignation of the U.S. attorney in Atlanta on Jan. 4, 2021, and comments made during December 2020 Georgia legislative committee hearings on the election. But Trump is clearly in the cross-hairs, and he knows it, as shown by his remarks in Texas, and Willis was quick to respond to his threats, with a letter to the FBI’s Atlanta field office, requesting protective resources that would include “intelligence and federal agents,” as well as a risk assessment of the Fulton County Courthouse and Government Center. “Security concerns were escalated this weekend by the rhetoric of former President Trump,” she wrote. “This rhetoric is more alarming in light of his statements at the same event regarding those convicted of crimes, including violence, for actions at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He stated that if elected President in 2024, he may pardon people who have been convicted of crimes related to illegal acts related to the attack in the U.S. Capitol.”
More darkness ahead — and a ray of light
“He promised pardons for people who are enemies of our country,” former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuaid said on MSNBC. “It’s a dangerous place to be going down the
Author and criminologist Gregg Barak has written a book that chronicles Trump’s history of evading accountability. File photo
“RICO could be employed for much of but not all of Trump’s diversity of lawlessness, civilly and/or criminally,” Barak told Random Lengths. “It could be potentially very effective especially in the case of conspiracies but not necessarily with respect to overturning the election conspiracy, but I would not rule it out.” But when asked about a related matter — if it could be used with respect to Trump’s moneymaking off the “stop the steal” campaign, Barak responded enthusiastically. “Absolutely,” he said. “And, the beauty is that the government could confiscate and freeze all the money raised by the fraudulent ‘stop the steal’ campaign while the adjudication/litigation process plays out for months/years. Prosecuting for this type of fraud not using RICO would not allow for such state intervention/sanctions.” In short, there is a clear path forward to extricate America from Trump’s extravagant lawlessness. All that’s necessary is a firm resolve to take it.
[Green Corridor, from p. 2]
POLA’s Green Corridor
[Practice Coup, from p. 9]
a day, the Jews,” and other such undesirables who would, “destroy all nobles.” So, our founding nobility chose the nobles of each state, the legislators, all then landed gentry, to choose the electors who would, in turn, choose the president. Indeed, if you are a fan of democracy, it’s hard to find a clause in the Constitution worth defending. What kind of “democracy” gives two Senate seats to West Virginia, an equal number to California, and none to Washington, D.C. ? Let us give thanks for the Bill of Rights, which put some limits on this Constitutional monstrosity. So, should we junk the Constitution? Well, that’s a discussion for another day — probably another century. In the meantime, let’s start, today, with protecting the fragile little shards of democracy still left to us.
Practice Coup
reps, watching what has happened to the careers of anti-Trump Republicans, fall in line and let the 12th Amendment take its dark course.
Then it’s Hail to the Thief
Can we stop this coup? Yes, but only before it happens: by protecting the vote in Georgia and other swing states. If we wait until 2024, it will be too late. The work begins this midterm year. And while we’re at it, repeal the Constitution. Did our Founding Fathers make an unintended error in designating state legislators, not voters, the power to choose our president? Nope. Historians like to say the Declaration of Independence gave America its democracy, and the Constitution took it away. John Adams, our second president, was thrilled that Thomas Jefferson was excluded from writing the Constitution, and Jefferson’s furious objection to it was mostly ignored. Adams warned against creating this dangerous thing, democracy, which he termed the instrument of, “the firewomen, badauds, the stage players, the atheists, the deists, the scribblers for any cause at three livres
Gregory Palast is an author and a freelance journalist who often worked for the BBC and The Guardian. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but he has also worked with labor unions and consumer advocacy groups. For more than eight years, Palast has been investigating vote suppression in Georgia for Rolling Stone, Black Voters Matter and, as of late, The Thom Hartmann Program.
addition, the proposal would reduce the credit that solar users get for sharing surplus solar energy with the grid by 80% (from an average of 25 cents per kilowatt hour to 5 cents). This proposed policy would be an enormous backward step not only for California’s progress on the environment, but also for its social equity and economy. These increased costs would significantly reduce the number of people who could afford rooftop solar, at a time when nearly half of all new solar installations are going into working and middle class neighborhoods. A decrease in demand
February 3 - 16, 2022
leading industry partners for advancing a horizon of hope,” said Dawny’all Heydari, Ship It Zero Campaign Lead at Pacific Environment. “In 2021, fossil-fueled ships at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach increased cancerous particulate matter emissions in Southern California by the equivalent by 100,000 big rig trucks per day. With our port neighbors and oceans dying now, we need urgent action to end ship pollution in 2022 — and a 100% zero-emissions international shipping future this decade.” But, Heydari added, “Inclusion of the term ‘low carbon’ in this announcement is concerning: We call on leaders involved in this corridor and all ocean shippers to reject LNG and interim fuels and rapidly invest only in 100% zero-emissions solution from wellto-wake.” The plan “sets a climate leadership bar for ports, shipping companies, and the retail brands that ship their goods on heavily polluting container ships,” said Kendra Ulrich, shipping campaigns director at Stand.earth. “Climate laggards like Target and Walmart should take note: the massive pollution impact of this industry on our climate and public health will no longer sail under the radar.” “While we celebrate the announcement, we also urge companies and governments to ensure that this green corridor is truly fossil-free,” Ulrich added. “Too often, the oil and gas lobby have derailed climate action, and have been pushing the shipping industry to switch to LNG as a false climate solution. Now is not the time to be blown off course by yet another GHG-intensive fossil fuel.” “We welcome more such collaboration to be announced in coming years,” said Mao. “As mentioned in the announcement, a green shipping corridor is a great venue for multi-stakeholder partnership to ensure that cargo demand, transport service, fuel demand and required infrastructure can be developed coordinately to deliver a fast and economic transition to decarbonizing the shipping industry. I am especially glad that the announcement mentioned zero-carbon fuels since that’s an area that the much needed early investment is still lacking right now.”
[Letters, from p. 9]
could also threaten thousands of small, locally owned solar businesses and the 60,000 jobs that the rooftop industry provides in California. In mid January, Gov. Gavin Newsom said to reporters that he wants to see changes in the CPUC proposal, but he did not give specifics. There is reason to hope that he might advocate for the elimination of this fee increase and of the reduction in credit for sharing excess energy. The next possible date for a decision on this proposal is Feb. 10. If you have an opinion on this matter, now is the time to contact the governor’s office by phone, email, or letter. For more information, visit the website of the Solar Rights Alliance. Terry Andrews San Pedro
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commitment doesn’t reduce climate and air pollution. It’s the fulfillment of the commitment that matters,” Lyou explained. “When they development their implementation plan, they will need to make sure that the time lines and deliverables are enforceable commitments that include meaningful consequences for failing to make good on the promises.” Perhaps the most enthusiastic response came from Xiaoli Mao, lead author of a 2020 study from the International Council on Clean Transportation, assessing the possibility of such a corridor using hydrogen as a fuel. “This is exciting news,” said Mao. “We’ve shown in our 2020 study that technically speaking, 99% of a container shipping lane traffic between Pearl River Delta in China and San Pedro Bay in the US can be powered by green hydrogen with just minor changes on ship operations. This announcement, which involves a very similar shipping lane, provides added confidence that a green shipping corridor this long could become a reality very soon.” But she added a note of caution: “We need to be aware though, to make sure that the corridor considers shipping decarbonization solutions based on their life-cycle greenhouse gas reduction potentials.” “With ships being a huge contributor of the most harmful air pollution and greenhouse gases, I’m overjoyed [with the plan],” said Richard Havenick, San Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council and Harbor Community Benefits Board member. “Though less lofty than the Clydebank Declaration goal of six green corridors by mid-decade, I am grateful to the C40 for their immediate goal to develop the Green Shipping Corridor Implementation Plan by year-end 2022 to include deliverables, milestones, and partnership roles.” Balancing caution and hope, he added, “I hold the expectation that green shipping means free of carbon and free of methane and that the San Pedro Bay Port complex is the venue to gather the great minds necessary to achieve the goal by 2030.” “We thank Mayor Garcetti, C40 Cities, the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Shanghai, and
RANDOMLetters
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2022017598 The following person is doing business as 1) THE HABITS, 2111 S. Cabrillo Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Sheridan Wolf Bradley, 2111 S. Cabrillo Ave., 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: 01/2022. 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/. Sheridan Wolf Bradley,
owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on 01/26/2022. Notice--In accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920 where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not in itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights
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Obituary
Noel Leverenz, 71, San Pedro, CA Jan 22, 2022. Born December 25, 1950 in Torrance, CA to Alexander and Kathleen. Survived by his wife: Carol, sons: Paul, Patrick, and Alex, and daughters: Natalie and Julie. 12 grandchildren, sisters: Karen and Marilyn and his beloved dog Lizzy. Noel was a general contractor in Southern California for over 40 years. He loved boating and being on the water with family and friends. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Private memorial to be held for family only.
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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. 22LBCP00026 Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles Petition of: Anthony Alexander Ernesto Bernal TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner ANTHONY ALEXANDER ERNESTO BERNAL filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Ratboy Alexander Ka-Thish 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: 03-15-22, Time: 8:30 am, Dept.: 26, Room: The address of the court is 275 Magnolia Ave, 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 and RLn. Date Jan. 28, 2022 Michael P. Vicencia
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RLNews is looking for freelance food and music writers who are knowledgeable about San Pedro and Long Beach area restaurants, culture and music scenes. Experienced writers preferred, but will consider aspiring bloggers. We are looking for writers who have a curiosity for a wide range of cuisines or music in the greater LA / Long Beach Harbor Area. Committment to writing to deadline is a must. Having a strong social media following and bi-lingual skills is a plus. Submit inquiries and any links to your writing to editor@ randomlengthsnews.com or call 310-519-1442 weekdays.
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1 “This ___ really happening!” 6 “Beavis and Butt-Head” spinoff 11 It can be scrambled 14 ___ York (NYC, to some residents) 15 Monarch’s domain 16 Former “Great British Bake Off” cohost Perkins 17 Computer character set that’s mostly rainbows and macadamias? 19 Back-of-a-jigsaw hue 20 Evaporating Asian sea 21 Indicator that a new pope has been selected 22 Reactor part 23 Tripod part 24 Blokes 25 Time off, briefly 26 1990s Super Nintendo racing game (often on “top Nintendo games of all time” lists) 28 “Brave” princess 29 Special attention 34 Onetime owner of the Huffington Post 35 Inadvisable activity traveling down the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius? 38 MTV live show until ‘08 39 Tournament favorites 40 Continue the journey 42 Savory quality 46 Scared-looking, maybe 47 Donut flavoring
51 Stimpy’s partner 52 Forward-facing font type (abbr.) 53 Paddled boat 54 “___ I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism” (1981 bell hooks book) 55 “In the Heights” Tony winner ___-Manuel Miranda 56 2000s Nintendo controller named for a 2000s “SNL” alum? 58 Conclude 59 “My Dinner With Andre” director Louis 60 Elementary atomic particle 61 Low-___ graphics 62 Medicine dispenser 63 Get the cupcakes ready
DOWN
1 Equally split 2 Public radio journalist Ray with the podcast “Going for Broke” 3 Meditative genre 4 Track layout 5 Mai ___ (cocktail) 6 Interpersonal conflict, so to speak 7 He wrote “The Fox and the Lion” 8 Oven shelves 9 “Would ___ to you?” 10 Friend of France 11 From Tartu or Tallinn 12 Snarly protector 13 Vague army rank? 18 “Well, sorta”
22 Matchbox toy 24 “Straight Outta ___” (2015 biopic) 25 Stuff that sticks around 27 “Everybody Hurts” band 28 “Um, Actually” host Trapp 30 Lackey 31 Sciatic region 32 “___ for Alibi” (seriesopening Sue Grafton mystery) 33 Belgium-to-Switzerland dir. 35 Unspoiled 36 Seasoned pros 37 Suffix for skeptic or real 38 It may get hauled around the country 41 “Electric” creature 43 “The Magic Flute” passage 44 Candy paired with Diet Coke 45 Objective 47 Sends with a stamp 48 Geometry measurement 49 “The ___ of Positive Thinking” 50 Floral accessory 53 Sicilian send-off 54 Part of N.A. or S.A. 56 Iraq War controversy, for short 57 Global currency org.
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February 3 - 16, 2022
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Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant