A Shot In the Arm
Injecting Vaccines In the Harbor Area By Hunter Chase, Community News Reporter
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[See Shot, p. 3]
Transformational Change, Or Not? The American Rescue Plan will cut child poverty in half for a year. Democrats want to make
that cut permanent. To prevent that — and much more — Republicans are trying to destroy democracy By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
“The sheer number of repressive voting bills that have been introduced just in the last few weeks are terrifying,” said Harbor Commissioner Diane Middleton, citing it as a response to the progressive agenda pushed by the Bernie Sanders campaign, which substantially informed the plan. Even before that, in early February, there were four times as many such bills as there were at the same time last year, according to the Brennan Center. Millions could be blocked from voting. The worst that Republican Senators could say about the American Rescue Plan was that it represented a “liberal wish-list” — otherwise known as an agenda. As Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent remarked: [T]he way representative democracy is supposed to work is that the voting public elects a party, that party enacts as much of its agenda as it can, and then voters [See Rescue, p. 8]
COVID-19 Deaths in the U.S. as of March 17, 2021: 549,702 • COVID-19 Deaths in Califrornia: 56,143 COVID-19 Deaths in LA County: 22,519 • For up-to-date stats: www.randomlengthsnews.com
March 18 - 31, 2021
On March 11, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the most consequential and most popular rescue package since the New Deal. Economists project it could double GDP growth this year, from around 3.5 to 7%. It passed narrowly with no Republican votes in Congress, but is so overwhelmingly popular — in the 70 to 80% range — that even a majority of Republican voters approve of it. The plan could be the harbinger of a new era —just like the New Deal was in the 1930s — in which Americans see government playing a crucial role in bettering their lives, thus restoring faith in our democracy. And, the House has already passed a string of bills to do just that, with more on the way. But if Republicans have their way — relying on the Senate filibuster and a wave of over 250 voter-suppression bills in 43 states — that faith could be strangled, rather than restored. We could be headed the way of India or Brazil.
Chaleff Report on LAPD: Does it go far enough? p. 8 One year, one crisis, two restaurants p. 10 Never underestimate the power of a girl and her pencil p. 9 A muralist’s migration: Venice’s loss is San Pedro’s gain p. 13
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
Brandi Aguilar, a member of the staff of the Harbor Community Health Centers, administers a COVID-19 vaccine to Albina Alejo. Photo by Chris Villanueva
ost people have spent the pandemic trying to avoid people infected with COVID-19, which has killed more than 532,000 in the United States alone. The 60 people on the staff of the Harbor Community Health Centers have done the opposite — they have been treating people with COVID-19, and as a result, 10 of them have been infected at different times. Now, they are no longer putting themselves in as much risk. They have been vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine, which is 94.1% effective. They have just begun vaccinating other people. “We’re going to essentially follow the tier groups,” said Jennifer Chen, a nurse practitioner and director of clinical operations at the Harbor Community Health Centers in San Pedro. While the centers have three locations, only the location at 6th Street offers vaccinations. “We have this outdoor area that we’re setting up, because [patients] have to be monitored for 15 to 30 minutes postvaccination,” Chen said. “So you want to make sure we have enough social distancing room to accommodate that.” Vaccinations for patients 65 and older began on March 3, and will move to the next tier as each group is completed. The centers requested 300 doses of the Moderna vaccine, but will only receive 100, said Tamra King, CEO of the centers. The centers now receive 100 doses every week. Prior to receiving the vaccine, the 60 staffers at the centers were just as susceptible to infection as the rest of the public. Because of the cases of infection among the staff, further preventive measures were put in place.
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Community Announcements:
Harbor Area LA County Launches Safety Element Update
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning is launching an update to the Safety Element to protect communities from risks posed by wildfire, extreme heat, drought, flood and other climate hazards. Community members are invited to join an introductory webinar on March 24 to learn more about the project and provide feedback to help inform strategies that support community safety in the event of climate disasters. Time: 6 p.m. March 24 Details: bit.ly/3t8wfiA; planning.lacounty.gov/site/ climate/safety-element-update
Help with Internet Bills, Computer Costs Approved for Low-Income Families
Under the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, low-income families who qualify can receive a $50 monthly credit towards their internet bills through their internet provider. Eligible families will also be given a one-time $100 discount on a tablet or computer, according to the FCC. Congress approved $3.2 billion for the federal initiative in a relief bill passed this past year. Eligible families include those who are currently on Medicaid, have received a Pell grant, use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or have lost employment due to the pandemic. Details: 888-225-5322; https://fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit
Use Sidewalk Hands-Only CPR to Save Lives
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services and its partners are stressing the importance of Hands-Only CPR during the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically, when someone is experiencing cardiac arrest CPR is administered using mouth-to-mouth or mouth-to-nose for rescue breathing. But in the era of COVID-19, this carries increased risk. Hands-Only CPR better protects both parties during CPR, and can still be effective in saving a life. Details: dhs.lacounty.gov/emergency-medical-services-agency; youtu.be/jHaicno95sk
Vaccine Appointments and Distribution Sites
March 18 - 31, 2021
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
Myturn.ca.gov, VaccinateLACounty.com, and VaxLB (Long Beach residents only) are the major appointment hubs to look for and schedule appointments in Los Angeles County. Please check them frequently. Details: 833-540-0473; https://myturn.ca.gov, http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/ Coronavirus/vaccine/index.htm, https:// barragan.house.gov/coronavirus/vaccinationsites-in-the-district
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Free And Discounted Transportation to Vaccines
Carson is offering half-off taxi rides to all Carson residents traveling to and from vaccination appointments at pharmacies within the city. Details: 888-711-8294
IHSS Customers May Be Eligible For Utility Reduction
The Department of Public Social Services is urging In-Home Supportive Services recipients to contact their local utility company to see if they are eligible to reduce their monthly bill through the Medical Baseline Allowance. The Medical Baseline Allowance will help customers who use electrically-powered medical equipment at home pay the cost of operating the life-saving equipment. The department is also encouraging recipients to plan ahead and get advance notices about power outages in their area during temporary public safety power shutoffs. Details: www.dpss.lacounty.gov/content/billrate-reduction
POLA Grant Applications Now Available
San Pedro — The Port of Los Angeles has opened the application process for the annual 2021-22 Community Investment Grant Program. Each year since 2013, the program [See Announcements, p. 3]
Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 40 Years
San Pedro NCs Petition to Use Vacant Port Property for Homeless By Hunter Chase, Community News Reporter
Two neighborhood councils in San Pedro have asked the Port of Los Angeles to use two of its parking lots — about four acres, total — as a campsite for homeless people. The port says it is not interested, citing the lots’ proximity to contaminated land and their current uses in the construction of the West Harbor project and for overflow business parking. Under a plan proposed by the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council and the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council in separate votes taken one month apart, lots E and F, located near 22nd St., would be used as living space for homeless people for three or four years, while the West Harbor development project is being built. On Jan. 19, Central San Pedro NC approved the plan, 7-3, with one abstention. The no votes came from Linda Alexander, Eugenia Bulanova and Matthew Quiocho. President Carrie Scoville abstained. On Feb. 16, Coastal San Pedro NC registered its approval, 9-0, although five members abstained — President Doug Epperhart and board members Isiah Cade, Erika Hernandez, Kavitha Muthuswamy and Shannon Ross. Neighborhood activist James Campeau had reached out to the port about the idea in November 2020. “I just had [it] in mind for all the people that are on the sidewalks in San Pedro and on Gulch Road, on the side of the hill, sliding down in the
Lots E and F, located across from the historic Canetti’s restaurant, have been proposed as a living site for the growing number of unhoused people as a public safety meaure. Photo by Chris Villanueva
mud in the rain, to … have a safe, level place,” Campeau said. Campeau said the lots have trees and shade and are fairly secluded. “They’re not in the firing line of … people driving by and cursing them out,” Campeau said. “I think it would be a dignified place, you know, in the interim that they find something else. However, at the March 4 meeting of the
Board of Harbor Commissioners, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said the lots are close to a Superfund site, the GATX Annex Terminal, which is an area that needs long-term work to eliminate the contamination of hazardous material. “When we began discussions with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and this Harbor [See Vacant, p. 4]
Community Announcements:
Harbor Area [Anouncements, from p. 2] has provided up to $1 million in non-taxpayer funded grants to local nonprofit organizations in support of events, programs and projects that benefit the Los Angeles Harbor community. Interested nonprofit organizations with 501(c) (3) status are able to apply for grants in three categories, ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. Activities and programs considered for grants are to support local workforce development, education, the environment or the Los Angeles Waterfront. An applicant informational workshop will be hosted virtually via Zoom at 6 p.m. April 1. Interested organizations can join the meeting at https://tinyurl.com/rfpvby6f. Applications are due by 4 p.m. on Monday, May 10. www. portoflosangeles.org/community/grants Time: 6 p.m. April 1 Details: https://tinyurl.com/rfpvby6f.
2020 LA River Master Plan Draft PEIR
The Draft Program Environmental Impact Report or PIER and Notice of Availability, can be found at pw.lacounty.gov/go/larmpceqa. In accordance with California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA, comments on the Draft PEIR should be submitted by April 2, the end of the 60day comment period, and all written comments will be responded to and included in the Final PEIR. Please send your written comments to the address or email address shown below. For emails, please write “2020 LA River Master Plan Draft PEIR Comments’’ in the subject line, and include a return address or email address with a contact name with your comments: Grace Komjakraphan-Tek Los Angeles County Public Works, Stormwater Quality Division 900 S. Fremont Ave., 11th Floor Alhambra, CA 91803 [See Announcements, p. 4]
[Shot, from p. 1]
A Shot In the Arm “We did weekly testing for all staff until we had … no negatives for a few weeks,” Chen said. “Any employee essentially who says they don’t feel well, have a fever or anything like that, we test them right away.” King said the staff has had no COVID-19 cases for six or seven weeks. “It’s definitely calming down amongst the staff,” King said. When administered, the vaccine feels like a standard flu shot; it only stings a bit, Chen said. Most people don’t feel any immediate effects, but later that day or evening some people have reported sore arms, fevers, chills or fatigue, and some get headaches or nausea. Not everyone that gets the vaccine has side effects, but among those who do, those side effects tend to be stronger after the second dose. If a person experiences a strong allergic reaction to the first dose, said person should not get the second dose. This has already happened to one of the people that received the vaccine at the centers. Unfortunately, there are few treatments for COVID-19 that are scientifically proven. One uses monoclonal antibodies, which can act as substitute antibodies to restore, enhance or mimic the immune system’s attack on cells’ infusion centers. Chen has been in communication with the county of Los Angeles about how to refer patients to infusion centers for these antibodies. “Other than that, we do very symptomatic treatment,” Chen said. “We treat the cough
and cold with over-the-counters; if they need inhalers, we’ll give those.” The staff monitor infected patients, especially if their oxygen saturation is fluctuating. If necessary, they administer supplemental oxygen. “We don’t have good, solid therapies for … the moderate to more severe disease,” Chen said. Patients who need treatment for severe symptoms are referred to a hospital. As vaccinations have become the focus of the fight against COVID-19, the role of testing is evolving. The centers have been doing “COVID clinics” in the afternoons for four days a week, where they offer testing and treatment. “When we started, [the clinics were] filling up pretty quickly,” Chen said. “If we tested 10 people, maybe one to two would be positive. Recently, in the last couple weeks, we haven’t really had that much demand for testing anymore.” King said they are only testing patients who have had prolonged, direct exposure to someone who was infected, or are showing symptoms of COVID-19. “We’re not really doing like the big drivethrough testings, [we’re not] doing the general public,” King said. “We just don’t have enough supplies.” Before they allow patients to enter the building, they ask screening questions, such as if they have had any symptoms or exposures. The staff also checks patients’ temperatures. “We are able to handle most of our visits
through telehealth, which really decreases the foot traffic coming through the clinic,” Chen said. The staff at the centers have a better handle on COVID-19 than they have previously — but this is mainly because cases have been going down. “If cases were to pick up again, we would be in a very similar situation because there’s no good outpatient treatment necessarily besides the monoclonal antibodies, and we haven’t really developed a very streamlined workflow of getting people into infusion centers to get those if they were to need it,” Chen said. “Treating the symptoms, that’s pretty much all we have.” During a recent spike in cases, emergency rooms were full and ambulances were not taking anyone except the more severe cases. If there is another spike, the same challenges could return. The centers have also struggled at times with their supply of personal protective equipment, or PPE. “We did have kind of a glove scare last month where we were running extremely low on gloves,” Chen said. The staff has had instances of running low on masks and face shields as well but were eventually able to replenish their supplies. They also had a shortage of needles when the vaccines first rolled out, but this is no longer an issue. Most people that visit the centers are there for reasons unrelated to COVID-19. They still get patients for physicals and check-ups, as well as routine follow-ups for diabetes, hypertension, asthma and abdominal pain. The Harbor Community Health Centers are currently the only clinics in San Pedro where you can get a vaccination. Other locations can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/vaccinationlocations/myturn.ca.gov.
Real People, Real News, Really Effective March 18 - 31, 2021
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Community Announcements:
Harbor Area
[Announcements, from p. 3]
833-993-1739 LARiverCEQA@pw.lacounty.gov Details: LARiverCEQA@pw.lacounty.gov or at 833-993-1739.
Carson City Council Fail to Fill Vacant Seat, Proceeds to Special Election By Joseph Baroud, Reporter
This year due to the pandemic, voting for your neighborhood council board members will be by mail. Voters can apply to receive a ballot by completing a vote-by-mail application through the city clerk’s 2021 Neighborhood Council Elections Vote-By-Mail Portal. They can complete and submit a paper application, or send an email or photo of their application. Please Note: The Vote-By-Mail portal will not be open until April 16. Mark your calendars. After the application is received, the clerk’s office will verify stakeholder eligibility and mail the appropriate ballot. Paper applications can be received at any time once made available. All applications are due to the clerk’s office by June 8, 2021. The designated drop off locations for completed ballots in Central San Pedro are still being confirmed. Details: www.clerk.lacity.org/elections/ neighborhood-council-election, www.clerk .lacity.org/sites/g/f iles/ wph606/f/2021_NC_VBM_FAQ.pdf
At a March 11 meeting, Carson’s city council voted to hold a special election to fill the council seat vacated by recently elected mayor, Lula Davis-Holmes. A special election is now necessary after the council failed to appoint someone at the meeting as nominations repeatedly ended with a 2-2 split. Mayor Holmes and Councilman Cedrick Hicks were on one side and Council persons Jim Dear and Juwane Hilton were on the other. Mayor Davis-Holmes has said she favored a candidate that would allow the city council to be reflective of Carson’s ethnic diversity The main splitting point arose under the perception that the council needed a more diverse representation. The council is currently made up of three AfricanAmericans and one white person. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 23.8% of Carson’s residents were African-American and 27% were white in 2019. The Hispanic percentage of the population exceeded both at 37% while the Asian population made up 26.7% of Carson’s
Online Training to Identify Pollution, Solutions
[Vacant, from p. 2]
NC Elections Vote By Mail Information
March 18 - 31, 2021
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
Community members interested in joining the AB 617 Community Steering Committee should complete an Interest Form. Submit your completed form to: AB617@aqmd.gov by March 26. The purpose of the community steering committee is to support active community involvement and collaboration in the AB 617 implementation process by providing a forum for identifying air pollution issues in the community and potential solutions. Committee members will be responsible for discussing a variety of topics including but not limited to: • Community concerns about emission sources to develop a shared understanding of the community’s air pollution challenge; • Proposed strategies for the community air monitoring and emissions reduction programs; • Approaches for additional community outreach; • Attend regularly scheduled meetings. Details: http://www.aqmd.gov/docs// steering-committee-interest-form
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LA Parks and Recreation Recruiting Pool Lifeguards for Summer
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation or LA County Parks has kicked off its recruitment of Pool Lifeguards for the 2021 summer season. LA County Parks is looking for team members who are strong swimmers, can assist in maintaining a safe environment, provide surveillance of the pool, and teach swim classes. The position offers starting pay at above $18 per hour, flexible work hours. The deadline to apply is March 27. Qualified applicants must submit an online application and pass a 500-yard swimming test that must be completed in 9.5 minutes or less to be eligible. Those hired will participate in an extensive Lifeguard Training Program to help prepare them for the critical role. Paid training is provided. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, aquatics facilities and swimming pools temporarily closed last year. LA County Parks aquatic facilities and pools for outdoor usage and programming are slated to reopen for summer, contingent on health guidelines. Details: https://bit.ly/3uM9KSf and the following links: B-Roll – http://bit.ly/3rQrR7H and TikTok Pool Lifeguard Recruitment – @ lacountyparks
population. In a March 2 council meeting, Davis-Holmes expressed this as being one of her biggest concerns moving forward. She said that Carson had always been a leader in diversifying its council to adequately represent its population but feels the city has been losing this identity over the years. “We don’t have a Filipino on our council. We don’t have a Latino on our council,” Holmes said. “I’m just concerned that if we’re forced to go to an election, we may still not have that.” But she also said that if the residents of the city choose someone who she doesn’t feel would bring about the diversity she’s mentioning, she’d be content with the peoples’ choice. Hilton on the other hand, didn’t agree with the notion of not wanting to appoint another African-American to the council because it would decrease diverse representation and felt that diversity in this context meant something other than race. Councilman Hilton argued for a broader
notion of diversity — one that considers qualifications. “When we talk about diversity, I want to quickly point out that diversity isn’t only about color,” Hilton said. “We could appoint a woman tonight and the council will be diverse. It’s not just about color. It’s based on qualification. So many people are looked over based on color, not their qualifications.” The council considered 46 applicants but none were able to get three of four available votes needed to get the interim seat that would last until the election in November. One of Jim Dear’s nominations was reserved for former council member Elito Santarina who served Carson from 2003 to 2017 in different fashions as a mayor pro tem and a council member. Former city manager and California State University Public Administrator Jerry Groomes was one of Hilton’s nominations. The next course of action, which was the only thing the council was able to agree on will be to hand the decision over to the city’s residents for the Nov. 2 election. “I think it’s best that we allow the residents of Carson to determine who’s going to be the person to represent district four,” Hicks said. “All of us have been elected to sit at this desk and I hope that we will put this back on the residents so that they can make the determination.”
Vacant Property
Commission on what we could do to assist those folks who are experiencing homelessness, the last thing we wanted was to put any human being in danger of polluted sites, and that’s what this is,” Seroka said. In addition, he said the lots are currently being used as a laydown area for the ongoing construction of the West Harbor project, meaning that construction materials are temporarily stored there. They are also intended to be used for overflow parking for nearby businesses. Seroka said that the City of Los Angeles has already committed two nearby properties to help homeless people — one is the Bridge Home shelter in San Pedro, and the other is the Bridge Home shelter in Wilmington. “Unfortunately, those two facilities are underutilized today,” Seroka said. “Let’s get folks who need housing into those facilities first, before we start talking about other difficult properties to convert, and time that these people don’t have.” Campeau argued that there was no overflow parking currently, and if there were, Sampson Way was closer to West Harbor, and has adequate parking available. In addition, the lots are currently used as a park about 75 feet away from the GATX Annex Terminal, and the park has never been identified as an environmental hazardous zone. “Mr. Seroka’s public safety concerns for not allowing the use of Lots E and F, despite their use by the general public for a number of years, doesn’t make sense,” Campeau said in an email to Seroka and the harbor commissioners. Campeau said that use of the lots could help homeless people who could not pass background checks to get into permanent housing or bridge homes. “I can’t find another area that is close enough that would work,” Campeau said. “The port is just, you know, throwing any cog in the wheel they can to not cooperate.” Campeau said he would like to see the port contribute its fair share to helping homeless
A homeless encampment in front the Harbor View House on Beacon Street during a cleanup on Dec. 29, 2020. Photo by Terelle Jerricks.
people. “You can’t send them … way too far away, they have to be part of our community,” Campeau said. Coastal board member Kavitha Muthuswamy argued that this shouldn’t just be an excuse to get homeless people out of public spaces, as they have a right to be there. “If the true intent, as many people have stated, is to provide a place where people can be clean and you know, go to the bathroom and relieve themselves, then fine, leave that open,” Muthuswamy said. “But it doesn’t mean that we need to get them out of our sight in other places.” The site could have wraparound services if it had city or county funding. But even if it didn’t, it would still have trash cans and portable toilets, both of which are inexpensive. Central board member Linda Alexander said using the lots to help homeless people could lead to lost revenue for the port. “I’m not opposed to this, I just wanted to point out that those lots are often used for … base camps, which would generate money for the port,” Alexander said. “I don’t know how much money they make, but … it may be their excuse
to not do this.” Coastal board member Shannon Ross said this property might be under the California Tidelands Trust act, which would prevent it from being used as a site for homeless people. “I’m not sure that this property would be eligible for this type of … homeless facility,” Ross said. “I don’t think the port is going to do anything with that property for a very long time, as we know, we watched them tear down the Ports O’Call village and it’s just been sitting there.” However, Calif. State Controller Betty Yee, who sits on the State Lands Commission, recently corresponded with this newspaper saying that “they were reviewing the Trust Doctrine in light of changing values.” But Campeau wants to use the lots because they represent immediate solutions. While the city has built homeless shelters, they take time to develop. “Meanwhile, every night, these people are on [the] sidewalk, out in the weather,” Campeau said. “Bridge Home is great, all these people that work to get permanent housing is great, but it doesn’t happen fast enough.”
Dems Win OC Supervisor’s Seat for First Time Since 1894 Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley won a historic victory on March 9, becoming the first Democratic woman on the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the first Democrat to gain the Second District seat since 1894. It was the latest sign of the county’s ongoing political shift. “I really believe that we made something happen here in Orange County with this campaign,” said Foley, as she thanked her supporters. “Voters overwhelmingly trust Mayor Katrina Foley to guide us through the pandemic,” said Democratic Party of Orange County Chairwoman Ada Briceño. “Many Democratic clubs and allies worked very hard to support her, and it shows. Veterans’ groups, teachers, nurses, hotel workers, paramedics and business owners stood together because Mayor Foley finds common sense solutions to get the work done.” Foley won handily by 43.8% to 31.5% over former State Sen. John Moorlach, the closest of three Republican competitors, shifting the board’s balance to 3-2 in favor of Republicans, which will have a considerable influence on country politics, according to OC Democrats Communications Director Rachel Potucek. “For the first time in decades, the OC GOP can no longer block Democrats from bringing issues to the table for a fair vote,” Potucek told Random Lengths News. “OC Democrats will have new power to bring issues forward, like faster and more equitable vaccine distribution, for more transparent debate and an up-or-down vote.” Beyond that, “Affordable housing policies, and services for those without housing, are both areas
New Orange County Supervisor, Katrina Foley. File photo
where we could see movement because of this significant change on the Board of Supervisors, among many other policy areas. For instance, the board may hear more housing affordability policy proposals for unincorporated areas, and more proposals to support unhoused families.” Foley’s election “reflects an ongoing Democratic sea change in Orange County,” OC Democrats said in a press release. “In the 2020 cycle, Orange County Democrats flipped two state senate seats and 20 local seats from red to blue, including city and school district seats in once deep-red areas like San Clemente, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley.” — Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
Real People, Real News, Really Effective March 18 - 31, 2021
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Buscaino’s Hammer and Nails Solutions
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
By James Preston Allen, Publisher Joe Buscaino was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council District 15 on Jan. 17, 2012 to fill the vacancy left by Janice Hahn, following her successful bid for the U.S. House of Representatives. He had no previous elected experience unless you count class president at San Pedro High School or raising enough money to be honorary mayor just before running for council office. His previous career, after graduating from California State University of Dominguez Hills with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, was as a Los Angeles Police Department officer. This explains his police-centric view of city governance and his total reliance on digital communications, which circumvent the local media whenever possible. By contrast, this publication gets daily press releases from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn just to name a few electeds. From Buscaino’s office, by contrast, we get a onceweekly diet of filtered self-promotional “good news” about him. It’s the Good News Joe selfie report that comes out on Fridays. And it never carries a disparaging word about anything. In these reports, by Buscaino’s propagandist Branimir Kvartuc, you would come to believe that everything is just hunkydory here in the 15th District, that he had made steady gains in addressing the homeless crisis, crime and making his district the envy of all the city. The truth is far more complex and self-evident as both crime and homelessness have increased beyond what palliative actions he has used to cure either. His approach to most things that can’t be glossed over or constricted by court orders ends up appearing more like enforcements than solutions. It’s a bit like if you only have a hammer every problem looks like a nail. On homelessness, it would appear on the surface that he and the city are making great strides with several Bridge Home shelters opened and finally a “tiny home” village being constructed and lots of apartments being built. And yet, the average homeless count from 2020 showed that even with all the efforts the City and County of Los Angeles made to provide shelter for the 63,703 homeless, the population increased by 12.7%. One can only guess what a year of the pandemic will actually cause as the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority count was postponed due to COVID-19 this year.
While the LAPD and Buscaino have backed off the strict “no camping on public property” laws, mainly because the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the city of Boise, Idaho in a landmark decision, local citizenry continue to cry out in opposition to public encampments, both in support for more solutions and against them as being a blight. If not for federal Judge David O. Carter holding the city council’s feet to the fire over enforcement without beds, things would be far worse. One of the few items that never made it into Buscaino’s propaganda reports is that Judge Carter actually convened his court in the council chambers to grill all 15 council members on exactly what they were going to do. Shortly thereafter, the “pallet (tiny) homes’’ made an appearance on the 15th District office’s to-do list. Now tiny homes wouldn’t seem to be much of a big deal except for the fact that the sudden awareness five years ago of the homeless problem countywide came about because the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council supported a young activist by the name of Elvis Summers to build tiny homes for a few people living without shelter down on Beacon Street. This spurred an anti-homeless social media uprising that was heard all the way down at city hall and picked up by every news outlet in Southern California. Prior to this, Buscaino considered homelessness a nail and enforcement measures the hammer. He wouldn’t listen to the community activists who understood the issues. At the time, I explained to those who were listening that what we have is an octagonal problem trying to be solved with a three-point solution. Today the councilman has an eight-point program that has evolved by order of the judge, but which hasn’t done more than take a few hundred souls off the streets. Well at least it’s something, but still not enough. And now he wants to drag this hammer and nail approach to the mayor’s office. It would be different if he was actually building something out of wood, but he’s not. Back when the NIMBYs rose up waving the Saving San Pedro banner against the tiny homes, they were all for their Sicilian hometown boy. But the day after he announced his run for mayor, the majority of them on Facebook wouldn’t support him for dog catcher. His detractors on both the right and the left criticize him for the same failures, albeit from opposing perspectives. The homeless crisis seems to be the main focal point with few af-
March 18 - 31, 2021
Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com
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Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya
“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it.” —Mark Twain Vol. XLII : No. 6
Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach. Distributed at over 300 locations throughout the Harbor Area.
Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg paul.rosenberg@ randomlengthsnews.com Internship Program Director Zamná Àvila
fordable housing units being built or even proposed among the various developments he has tried to rush through city planning. And then there are the continued enforcement sweeps to clean up encampments where no sanitation services are provided, no safe campsites are provided and the local residents rightly complain about the squalor. What Buscaino doesn’t get is that he has had the power to cure much of the homeless crisis from the very beginning, he just wasn’t willing to listen to anything outside of his own social media bell jar that conflicted with his hammer and nail approach. In light of the recent Chaleff Report on LAPD response to the demonstrations last sum-
mer, it seems unlikely that electing a former police officer for mayor would get wide support. That he is so committed to being a cop in this era of defund and reimagine policing isn’t going to garner much support from the growing array of LAPD critics citywide. Especially since he has not supported any of the most popular public safety reforms. In the end, Councilman Buscaino’s rather boosterish approach to leading the district has left many wondering if he’s qualified to lead the largest city in California when what is really needed is leadership that listens to the people and actually fixes the problems.
Are News Media Intentionally Perpetuating a Two-Party System? By Greggory Moore, Columnist
The game is rigged in favor of the two-party system. It’s rigged by the Constitution, which mandates that the president be chosen by simple majority in the Electoral College rather than by popular vote; and it’s rigged by the Democrats and Republicans, who (to quote Micah L. Sifry in The New Republic) “artificially lock themselves in power” by “instituting onerous petitioning requirements to hinder other upstarts” from getting on ballots, which are controlled by state legislatures — which are controlled by (surprise!) Democrats and Republicans. For all that, it’s still possible to be part of the U.S. political process on the highest levels without belonging to one of the Big Two. But sometimes it seems like the news media don’t want you to know.
Columnists/Reporters Melina Paris Staff Reporter Hunter Chase Staff Reporter Send Calendar Items to: 14days@randomlengthsnews.com Photographers Arturo Garcia-Ayala, Terelle Jerricks, Raphael Richardson, Chris Villanueva Contributors Richard Foss, Mark Friedman, Arturo Garcia-Ayala, Greggory Moore Cartoonists Andy Singer, Jan Sorensen, Matt Wuerker
Consider the coverage of Jan. 5’s Georgia runoff elections, when Democrat challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock bested Republican incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively. “Should Ossoff be certified the winner, Democrats would have 50 seats [in the Senate],” the Washington Post reported as the final results came in. “That gives Democrats the two victories they needed to secure a 50-50 tie in the Senate,” said the Los Angeles Times. “Democrats will hold 50 seats in the Senate,” proclaimed the New York Times. “With Warnock and Ossoff’s wins, the Senate is deadlocked with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans,” stated Fox News. CNN generated a neat little half-blue, half-red “Democrats flip the Senate’’ graphic for the occa[See Two-Party, p. 7]
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RANDOMLetters Faux Disaster Assistance
State Employment Development Department employees told me they issued a “Notice of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Award” and then deny benefits and they said they do it all the time. I reached out to ascertain the unemployment code on this contradiction; not one response from Gov. Newsom. Thousands of applicants may have received EDD (PUA) award letters that the EDD refuses to pay out. The site disasterassistance.gov states, “No disasters declared for individual assistance were found for” Los Angeles, California. The city plans to spend over $88 million for youth programs, neighborhood beautification, job and business programs, nonprofit services; $14 million for policing alternatives, administrative $4,250,680.35 out
of $81 million given to the Homeless Services Authority and eviction defense services. A total 500 households of single parents in Curren Price’s district may receive $1,000 a month for 12 months. (In 2015-2019 there are 1,383,869 households in LA). Is East Los Angeles excluded? $7.75 million to pay for “unarmed response” to homelessness and nonviolent calls. Surely there is no shortage of money in Los Angeles. A federal Judge in December 2020 (case 2:20-cv02291 filed 3/10/20) said he did not expect city officials and homeless advocates to help more than 60% of the homeless. Millions of dollars but I bet not one penny for mandatory affordable housing. I support minimum mandatory 85% across the city affordable housing to include extremely low income, very low income, and low and moderate income tenants. G. Juan Johnson Los Angeles
[Two-Party, from p. 6]
Two-Party
Great title for that article. Shame most of it was just printing a bunch of lies from City officials with zero attempt to confirm or deny what you were told. I, and a few others, could clarify all of that, yet nobody searched us out, to my knowledge. Claire from the article could have set up a meeting, so your paper didn’t come off as a rag, that simply prints city press releases. The part you did do well, however, were the interviews with Claire and Patricia. Kudos for that, at least. Feel free to contact me if you’d like a more realistic picture of this threat not only to our parks, but eventually to many of the 20-plus other parks in the City of Carson. Jstn Green Carson We published a follow up to “The Dark Side of Carson’s New
Three Hours and 19 Minutes
U.S. Army Lieutenant General Charles Flynn needs to be taken into custody immediately by the FBI for facilitating the right-wing domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Contact FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. at 202-3243000, and tell the FBI to arrest Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn as an accessory to the murder of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick. Charles Flynn is the younger brother of convicted felon and fellow insurrectionist traitor Michael Flynn, the Russian asset and Na-
tional Security Adviser for Vladimir Putin’s puppet Donald Trump. Trump (of course you will recall) is the disgraced, defeated, deranged, delusional former president. Three hours and 19 minutes went by before traitor Trump’s intransigent Pentagon (publicly shamed by the television news networks during disapproving live coverage) was finally forced to send National Guard troops in response to the domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol by peabrained, pro-Trump psychopaths who insist they were following demonic Donald’s demands. Cop-killing conservatives like Charles Flynn belong in prison, not in uniform! A court-martial will be unnecessary once Lt. Gen. Flynn is dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army, which should have happened on January 7th. Flynn should have already been arrested and in jail without bail awaiting trial on charges of sedition and facilitating the capital murder of a
other candidates could do so at either the primary or presidential level. In 2012, for example, Democracy Now!, a nonprofit news organization not beholden to advertising, held a debate for third-party candidates Jill Stein (Green Party), Virgil Goode (Constitution Party) and Rocky Anderson (Justice Party), providing them with a platform to answer the same questions Democratic incumbent Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney fielded in the primetime telecast.
police officer at the U.S. Capitol. There will be no presidential pardon this time for this Flynn brother. Charles Flynn needs to be tried transparently and publicly as soon as possible in a civilian court of law, as opposed to the usual Defense Department coverup of crimes committed by those in command. An inexplicable delay of 3 hours and 19 minutes only means one thing — Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn is guilty as hell! Lock Flynn up! Jake Pickering Arcata, Calif.
In other words, it’s simply a matter of will — just as it’s a matter of will to accurately report the number of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. Back in November, USA Today demonstrated how simple it is to do so: “Republicans currently hold 53 seats, while Democrats have 45, plus two Independents who caucus with them.” When it’s so easy to accurately report the facts, we should wonder with chagrin every time so many in the media choose to do otherwise.
March 18 - 31, 2021
plus the Georgia runoffs, which accounted for an additional $600 million. Split that number, $9.1 billion, in half (third parties account for almost no ad revenue), and that means the Democratic and Republican parties are each in the top five among all U.S. advertisers, despite the fact that their products — elections — are generally available only once every two years. The reason they have so much money to spend is because together they hold a virtual monopoly — and just as importantly, a perceived monopoly — on the American political process. If everyone believes Democrat-or-Republican is the only game in town, then all political donations will go to them regardless of how many others are running for office. This keeps both parties rich enough to blanket media with ad buys across the country, including negative ads — a strategy that yields diminishing returns when you have multiple opponents rather than a single target. Perpetuating a political milieu where two and only two superpowers are engaged in a political arms race in which they have to keep spending to avoid annihilation is the ideal way to maximize media profit. The best way to perpetuate the idea that Democrats and Republicans are the only viable options is to perpetuate the falsehood that there are no other options. Nationally televised presidential debates certainly perpetuate this idea, giving voice only to Democrats and Republicans. At first you might guess it’s a numbers thing. After all, we have to draw the line somewhere to limit the number of participants in a debate. But consider the first two 2020 Democratic Party presidential debates in June and July, where NBC and CNN each accommodated 20 candidates spread out over two nights. If a debate can accommodate 10 candidates on stage at a time, why not open them up to more parties — especially in a country where (according to a recent Gallup poll) half of voting-age Americans identify as independents and 62% say “[the two major] parties do such a poor job representing the American people that a third party is needed”? As it stands, the bipartisan (read: Dems and Repubs only) Commission on Presidential Debates mandates a 15% nationwide polling threshold — an arbitrary number seemingly calculated to keep third parties from getting a foot in the door — for admittance into an “official” presidential debate. However, any network inclined to let the public know about
Development” at www.randomlengthsnews.com that goes into detail how COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and altered Brown Act rules eased the path for the Imperial Avalon development to a fait accompli. Terelle Jerricks Managing Editor
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
sion: “50 DEMOCRATS, 50 REPUBLICANS.” Etc. Etc. But it’s fake news. In reality, the Georgia results created a Senate composed of 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats, and two Independents: Bernie Sanders (VT) and Angus King (ME). Peruse the above articles — which represent the vast majority of print, online and TV reportage — and you won’t find a single mention of Sanders or King or any sort of clarification such as we find parenthetically in a Jan. 7 Bloomberg.com article: “(The Senate technically has 48 Democrats and two independents, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, who reliably vote with them.)” It may be captious to complain about the “technically” or the claim that Sanders and King “reliably vote with” Democrats (ProPublica documents that Sanders and King don’t even vote with each other 1 out of every 3 times; and FiveThirtyEight reports that King supported President Donald Trump’s positions more than twice as often as did Sanders). We know what they mean: in straight “party-line votes,” Sanders and King almost always line up with the Dems against the GOP. But reporting that there are 50 Democrats in the Senate is not the same thing — and “we know what they mean’’ doesn’t cover it, because this isn’t a matter of nuance or interpretation. As a matter of fact, there are 48 Democrats — not 50 because Sanders and King caucus with the Dems, not 51 because Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris presides over the Senate and is the tie breaking vote, but 48. This widespread misreportage may be nothing more than journalistic laziness — inexcusable if you believe accurate reportage of fact matters, but not the same thing as calculated falsehood. But might corporate media have a vested interest in preserving the two-party system? The obvious reason they might is money. With virtually no limits on campaign spending, American elections are a cash cow that the media managed to milk for more with every passing election cycle. According to Advertising Analytics, “Political ad spending has grown an average of 27% per year since 2012,” including about $8.5 billion in the 2020 election cycle alone,
Re: The Dark Side of Carson’s New Development
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Chaleff Report on LAPD Critical of Response but Does it Go Far Enough? By Mark Friedman, Columnist
March 18 - 31, 2021
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
The just-released Chaleff report on the Los Angeles Police Department’s actions during the protests following the George Floyd murder in May 2020 find lack of training and preparedness as the culprit for LAPD’s failures — failures that date back to the Democratic Convention demonstration in 2000. Some progressives see this as a cover-up for LAPD historical harassment, violence and arrests. It has been ongoing for decades. Carol Sobel, a prominent civil liberties attorney known for suing the city on behalf of the homeless, is also representing people arrested and allegedly abused by the police during the George Floyd protests last May. Sobel said that the report “underscores the claims we made in our lawsuits.” “It’s really inexplicable that it happens over and over,” Sobel said. “We’ve gone through this show many times. When does it change?” The Los Angeles City Council assigned a task force composed of former police department commanders and led by a former president of the LA Police Commission and retired LAPD commander, Gerald Chaleff. Activists have questioned why an independent report on the LAPD was prepared by veteran LAPD officers. More than 4,000 demonstrators were arrested and hundreds injured by police projectiles during the summer protests. Multiple interviews in the media reflect individuals who were badly wounded after being shot with 40 mm hard foam/rubber projectiles at close range without them representing any threat to officers. One was shot in the head while standing with his arms in the air after backing away from advancing officers. When the arrestees were finally released, they were dropped off far from where they were arrested in late hours past the city curfew. Melina Abdullah, cofounder of Black Lives Matter-LA said the report, “addressed some of the wrongs, but did not critique the notion that LAPD should be putting down righteous protests in the first place.” The report acknowledges “mistakes that appeared to repeat problems that surfaced in past protests;” citing Democratic National Committee convention in 2000, MacArthur Park 2007 attack on immigrants’ rights protesters, the Occupy LA 2011 encampment, protests sparked by the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. (2014), and one could add several other demonstrations. The report acknowledges that the city paid out over $3 million in lawsuit settlements for false arrest problems. The National Lawyers Guild is spearheading a class action lawsuit against the city for its arrests and constitutional rights violations during the protests against killings by cops. Also, the National Lawyers Guild’s membership passed a resolution supporting police abolition following its #Law4thePeople Convention last fall, acknowledging that the institution of policing is incompatible with the Guild’s mission to use law in defense of human rights and ecosystems over property interests. The report’s review team reported finding deficiencies in the following areas that impacted the LAPD’s actions during the protests, including: planning, command and control, public order policing, less lethal tools (such as rubber and foam projectiles), mass arrests, preparedness and training and wellness. 8 The report adds that LAPD used a great deal
According to the Chaleff report, at least six police vehicles were destroyed by arson and others were damaged during the George Floyed demonstrations last Spring. File photo
of munitions during the protests, totaling more than 9,700 rounds of ‘less lethal’ munitions. This included more than 3,500 “40” mm foam rounds and 6,200 “37” mm foam rounds. It further acknowledges that people were indeed illegally detained for “exceedingly [Rescue, from p. 1]
Rescue Plan
judge the results. Only in a system where inaction is the norm is there something untoward about the party in power putting a wish list into legislation.
The problem for Republicans is that liberal policies are popular: Social Security, Medicare, environmental protection, minimum wage laws, the list goes on and on. A 1967 book, The Political Beliefs of Americans first uncovered this pattern: while a plurality of Americans called themselves conservatives and preferred free market solutions to government action in the abstract, a two-thirds supermajority was “operationally liberal,” meaning that they supported specific government programs, like the ones just cited, to solve specific problems. And that’s exactly what the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan does. It includes $1,400 direct checks for 85% of Americans, $300 per week in extended unemployment, up to $3,600 per child tax credit, $350 billion in aid for state and local governments (reaching every state and county), $130 billion for schools, $34 billion in health care subsidies, $28.6 billion aid for restaurants and $37.5 billion aid for other small business, $25 billion in rental assistance, $14 billion for vaccines, and $8 billion for food assistance. The child tax credit is refundable — meaning it even goes to families who don’t owe income taxes, making it more of a European-style child allowance, which is far more effective in reducing child poverty — 90% more effective according to one study. Along with the $1,400 checks, the extended unemployment and expanded food assistance, it’s projected to cut child poverty in half — at least for this year. That’s comparable to the drop in senior citizen poverty when Medicare was enacted in 1965. The provision expires
long periods of time.” This further includes failure to release protesters for curfew violations, a misdemeanor that does allow for arrest, and “failure to provide access to bathroom facilities and water” while hundreds of protestors were detained. after a year, because it is specifically designed to respond to the pandemic. But there will be a strong push to make it permanent, especially once it’s had a chance to prove itself. And that’s what Republicans are really afraid of: Democrats reminding people what a functioning government can do to dramatically improve their lives — and making it permanent.
Putting Working People First
Biden honed in on this the next day in his Rose Garden speech, after discussing some of the key highlights in the bill. “The bill does one more thing which I think is really important, it changes the paradigm,” Biden said. “For the first time in a long time, this bill puts working people in this nation first. It’s not hyperbole; it’s a fact. We’ve seen time and time again that trickle down does not work. … All it’s done is make those at the top richer in the past and everyone else fallen behind. This time, it’s time that we build an economy that grows from the bottom up and the middle out.” If Biden sounds more like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren than the Joe Biden of old, that’s because decades of trickle-down failure has finally taken its toll politically as well as economically. A decade ago, the establishment basically ignored Occupy Wall Street. But that’s now the distant past. “You won’t find this in the mainstream media coverage,” political scientist Thea Riofrancos tweeted, “but it’s literally impossible to imagine this $1.9 trillion dollar relief package without the past year of organizing by Black Lives Matter, tenant orgs, DSA, Sunrise; essential workers going on strike; and the Bernie campaign.” “Everything that Bernie espouses from taxing the billionaires and ending corporate welfare to universal health care, cancelling student debt, ending the school to prison pipeline, addressing climate change, etc. has overwhelming voter support,” Middleton said. “That is what motivated people to go to the polls. We want transformational change. That is how Bernie has
The report further says that interviewees were surprised at the violence that occurred in the afternoon and evening hours at some protests and that they lacked intelligence. By that they mean they did not get accurate information from the teams of undercover cops, whom they call “shadow teams.” During the George Floyd Minneapolis protests, activists accused undercover police officers of engaging in vandalism and inciting violence. Minneapolis police have denied the accusation. Right-wing agitators have been documented carrying out such tactics, the most infamous of which was dubbed the “Umbrella Man.” The reports review team cited poor training, command and control and planning for the LAPD’s failures during the protest last spring. In response to the report, Mayor Eric Garcetti is quoted as saying he was “Looking forward to working with the police commission, the city council, LAPD and community stakeholders in implementing improvements suggested in this report and the two reports coming shortly.” Former LAPD officer and current city councilmember, Joe Buscaino, quoted in the Los Angeles Times with a different approach, saying “We need to be thoughtful about how we process this information and how we implement changes.”
described the American Rescue Plan — the most transformational change in decades. “And it must be stopped — if capital is to remain in total control. Thus — task # 1 — keep people from voting.” Peter Warren, with Indivisible San Pedro, sees a three-sided blockage of democracy: repressing voting rights, the Senate’s filibuster, and rightwing court packing. “The GQP — the Grand [QAnon] Party — is cooking bills to increase voter suppression and pack the House via partisan redistricting,” Warren said. “The GQP, with massive amounts of funding and the Federalist Society picking young judges — all ideologues and many unqualified — will support these fascist victories to entrench the white vote in GQP states and even purple states. “To fight back, we must pass The For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which means overhauling or killing the filibuster. We are doing that work now.” Middleton agreed. “Anything that secures national and fair voting rights is necessary,” she said. “If that means millions marching à la Black Lives Matter mobilizations, it must be done. If that means abolishing the filibuster, it must be done. And these laws must be written to pass the possibility of reversal by the U.S. Supreme Court.” It’s not just activist advocates saying this. America’s already declined on several measures of democratic robustness tracked internationally by the V Dem Institute — a process of erosion that voter suppression could significantly intensify. “Democrats have a very short window to protect and expand voting rights in this country,” Princeton historian Kevin Kruse said on Twitter. “Everything else depends on that effort.” “We have so little time,” said Jason Stanley, author of How Fascism Works.
Never underestimate the power of a girl and her pencil By Melina Paris, Assistant Editor
A
March 18 - 31, 2021
Amanda Gorman. Illustration by Brenda Lopez
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
all styles of writing. Their voice emerges after so much manda Gorman has accomplished a prolific “I love to see a experimentation and exposure to varied writing styles. number of great feats at only 23 years old. Gorman’s other mentor is Laurie Geltman, her Most prominently — as everyone outside young girl go out and high school music and guitar teacher at New Roads, of the literary world has come to know her as the grab the world by the the socio-economically progressive private school youngest poet to ever do so — she delivered her in Santa Monica. While impressed by her student, poem The Hill We Climb at President Joe Biden’s lapels. Life’s a bitch. Geltman didn’t perceive Gorman’s success as an inauguration. Both the poem and Gorman garnered You’ve got to go out overnight event. international acclaim. “For anybody that knew Amanda, she was Gorman at first wrote songs and her third-grade and kick ass.” extraordinary,” said Geltman, who joked that the young teacher encouraged her to keep writing. At that time, Gorman always carried a clipboard. Gorman has said, she felt like an outsider but her teacher — Maya Angelou “She might have had a pencil and paper, but [she] was made sure she felt valued as a writer. In that class she very adult the way that she [took] notes,” Geltman said. “She wrote her first set of poems and eventually developed a love for cared about staying on top of things in the classroom. She was diligent journaling. and she displayed leadership qualities. She was both an ambassador to the But another part of Gorman’s early life has served as a major force in United Nations and the youth poet laureate. the forming of the young poet and activist — WriteGirl, a “Amanda is her generation’s Maya Angelou.” Los Angeles-based creative writing and mentoring Gorman’s connection to Angelou is twofold, organization, whose 200 volunteer women as the second Black poet laureate to recite a writers serve more than 500 girls annually. poem at a presidential inauguration and Among other things, WriteGirl has a 100 Angelou is the young poet’s role % success rate of helping its high model. school seniors both graduate and Geltman has volunteered enroll in college. At WriteGirl, with WriteGirl for 15 years as ripe with social intellect and a songwriter at its summer concern for justice and equity, workshop. She taught Amanda Gorman gained a holistic guitar at 14 years old. writing foundation. She recalled when Malala Two of Gorman’s Yousafzai came out, it was a mentors spoke about the big deal at New Roads because impact of WriteGirl on young some of the tenets of the girls and about Gorman, who school are social justice and they described as a driven environmental stewardship. young woman. After learning about how “She joined WriteGirl at 14, Malala fought for girls’ education through her high school years, in Pakistan, Gorman applied for a until we helped her get into Harvard,” fellowship to participate in an annual said Keren Taylor, executive director of meeting on women’s rights at the United WriteGirl. “We can’t certainly take all the Nations headquarters in New credit for Amanda. She went to Harvard York and got it. and has been involved in a multitude of “The organization that organizations, but we did give her her [Gorman] started in high school,” start and ... we were influential in many Geltman said. “One Pen, One Page, ways and [in] putting some positive was inspired by Malala.” direction into her life and into her Geltman said these are the formative years.” things that students grow up with Launched in 2001, WriteGirl and New Roads deserves credit. brings the skills of professional It instilled ideas of independent women writers to teenage girls thinking, critical thinking and who don’t have access to creative social justice in Gorman. This writing or mentoring programs. was coupled with WriteGirl’s As a hallmark, WriteGirl philosophy of not being encourages girls to explore all competitive but rather being different forms of writing and supportive and about the girls’ to read writers who they’re intrinsic power. unfamiliar with, including WriteGirl stays in touch in poetry, journalism, song with Gorman, as it does with writing, screenwriting and fiction. most of their alumni, trying to find This creates more well rounded writers new opportunities for them and making and sets WriteGirl apart from other organizations as it helps girls explore [See WriteGirl, p. 13]
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Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
ames Brown sounds pensive as he mused on how the pandemic may affect the psychology of his customers. “There’s going to be people that just really don’t want to be around people, at least at first. They want restaurant food, but are too nervous to sit down and eat it there. Others have told me they’re super excited to know that we’re reopening, they want to sit inside and feel like they’re getting the dining experience again. They dream of watching a Dodger or Laker game in a convivial environment.” James opened San Pedro Brewing 22 years ago and developed a sufficiently loyal customer following that the restaurant has stayed open with to-go business. That’s a feat for a sports bar, a style of dining more associated with grub that is just good enough to be enjoyed while distracted by the game. James has offered a higher standard than that and reconsidered his menu items for the take-out environment, but he only made one major change. “We have a really nice bone-in ribeye steak, our most expensive item, but it just doesn’t travel well. If you get it medium rare, which is the way that I like them, they’re cold by the time you get home … We made some other changes in packaging, like boxes that vent steam so the fries would arrive crisp, and I investigated all sorts of other technologies. I saw a program on Channel 5, the tech guy, and he interviewed some engineer that invented this little disk that you put in to go boxes, and it sucks up all the moisture and keeps your things crispy. I called them up and asked for a sample and they said no, and the minimum order was 10,000 at 25 cents each. OK, good luck, man. We just assume that when people order fries to go and they have a long drive, there’s that risk.”
One Year, One Crisis, Two Restaurants
Two views of eateries coping with the pandemic, from a veteran and a newcomer By Richard Foss, Dining Columnist
San Pedro Brewing Co. restaurateur James Brown pours a Port Town brew. Jae Woo restaurateur of Otasan in Long Beach welcomes diners back to her dining room. Photos by Arturo Garcia-Ayala
Outdoor dining was a lifeline, but people didn’t spend money the way they had before. “In normal times we do 50% food, 50% alcohol. This past year it was 70/30, because we don’t have people coming up in ordering
at the bar, getting shots and sitting around with friends. It wasn’t uncommon that people would be there for two hours watching a game, but now we’re having to ask them to move on after 90 minutes. One bright spot is that we’ve been selling a lot of growlers of our beer, 32 ounces to go. A lot of people have been drinking at home and wanted our
fresh beer, and I hope they developed a taste for that.” The other bright spot is that the move into the streets has made downtown lively and given it a stylish uniform look. “We have 17 parklets now, built to the same specifications, and I think it looks as good as any other town around. If you drive down Second Street in Long Beach they’re all different, and I think it doesn’t look that great. The Property Business Improvement District was smart to do that, spend a good amount of money building these parklets and keep them uniform.” While James Brown’s customers who were missing sports could tune in a rerun at home, Jae Woo’s had no such outlet. Jae opened sushi specialist Otosan in Belmont Shore during the pandemic, and had to figure out how to operate without a pivotal component of a high-end establishment. “That experience where you sit at the counter and interact with the chef, develop that relationship, get something that’s fresh that day, that’s off the table in this environment. In lieu
March 18 - 31, 2021
[See Two Restaurants, p. 11]
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[Two Restaurants, from p. 10]
Two Restaurants
of that we focused on creating a very thoughtful experience even at home. We chose items that we thought would survive the trip home. For our noodle soups, we separate the noodles from the broth so that the noodles don’t get soggy on the trip. We tried offering omakase (chef’s choice) meals but had to stop, because with sushi, temperature is such an important element. It’s not the same if the rice isn’t warm, and the fish is not the right temperature, the way it is when you eat it within 15 seconds of it being made.” Since the restaurant opened during the pandemic, Jae’s servers have never had the
experience that draws people to a high-end sushi bar. Instead, they have had to cope with service patterns that are unpredictable. “One day we’d have a lot of staff and never get busy, so everyone’s bored and unmotivated. The next day you think you’re going to be slow, and then all of a sudden, it gets crazy and stressful. Having people that can be flexible on your team is probably the biggest piece of our success.” Jae hasn’t had to ask people to vacate tables, but organized the menu subtly so she wouldn’t have to.
“We don’t have any happy hour where people would be sitting for a long time, and I’d like to have coffee service and a dessert program, but those have to wait. We had to stay aware of the fact that right now the only thing we can accommodate is people eating full meals and then taking off right after that. Our customers seem pretty mindful of what’s going on and know we have pretty limited space. I was concerned about that, but it hasn’t really been a huge problem.” Like James, Jae knows that some people may not feel comfortable dining out for some time, but she strikes an optimistic note. “It’s going to take a long time before people are mentally where they were at pre-pandemic.
Even with precautions, even after they’re vaccinated. I’m hoping that the people that are excited to dine out will offset the portion of the population that is reluctant to do that yet. I think that when people start feeling comfortable in public, they’re going to go back to what they love. They’re gonna snap right back to it. I think so. I hope so.” Otosan, 6460 Pacific Coast Highway, #140, Long Beach Details: otosan-sushi.com, 562-431-1334
San Pedro Brewing Company, 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro. Details: sanpedrobrewing.com, 310-831-5663
Palos Verdes Art Center
PVAC90: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
PVAC’s Art for Fun(d)s Sake event at Marineland of the Pacific
BEARLY IMPRESSIONS Out of an abundance of caution, Studio 345 has been closed during the pandemic. But viewers can walk by the studio’s storefront windows and see Bearly Impressions, a new installation of illustrations and paintings by Pat Woolley. 345 W. 7th St., San Pedro. Take a virtual tour of Pat Woolley and Gloria Lee’s works at www.randomlengthsnews.com/art/firstthursday
Details: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes, (310) 541-2479, www.pvartcenter.org
Pat Woolley
Ko-Ryu Ramen 362 W. 6th St. San Pedro 90731 310-935-2886
koryuramen.com Koi Ramen
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PVAC90 is year-long 90th anniversary exhibition celebrating the achievements made by Palos Verdes Art Center since its beginnings in 1931. It provides an opportunity to reflect on moving forward while remaining a valuable resource to our local community by collaborating with the world at large. Programming will be updated regularly at www. pvartcenter.org with additional galleries, event notifications and educational material. Curated by Aaron Sheppard.
Studio Gallery 345
March 18 - 31, 2021
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terrestrial to the architectonic orbital live on Facebook. Time: 1 to 7 p.m. March 20 Details: https://tinyurl.com/MelaM-and-Beldner
mar 18 - 31 • 2021
MUSIC
March 19
Sound/Stage: A Pan-American Musical Feast Enjoy the many sounds and flavors of the Americas with music by composers Tania León, Paul Desenne and Aaron Copland. Gustavo Dudamel will be conducting. Plus chef José Andrés stops by to talk with Gustavo. Time: 10 a.m. March 19 Price: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/panamerican-musical
March 20
Maria de La Vega and the Wayward Five Join dynamic female jazz vocalist Maria de la Vega accompanied by a cast of longtime professional musicians for an unforgettable jazz and blues experience. The Wayward Five’s repertoire includes classic tunes by Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker and many other jazz greats as well as a growing repertoire of jazz originals. Time: 7 p.m. March 20 Details: www.eventbrite.com/e/ maria-de-la-vega-the-waywardfive
March 26
March 18 - 31, 2021
Real People, Real News, Totally Relevant
Zakir Hussain and Masters of Percussion Widely considered a chief architect of the contemporary world music movement, Hussain has been involved in many historic collaborations with artists
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including Yo-Yo Ma, Charles Lloyd and George Harrison. Time: 7 p.m. PST March 26 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/zakirhussain
THEATER March 20
Embedded Live Embedded returns to The Actors Gang stage for a limited screening run in its film version, Embedded Live. The play examines the War in Iraq through its key players: the George Bush officials who concocted it, the embedded journalists who covered it, and the soldiers who fought it. Time: 7 to 8:40 p.m. March 20 Cost: Pay what you can tickets: http://bit.ly/EmbeddedS Details: boxoffice@TheActors Gang.com; 310-838-4264 ext.1
ART
March 19
March 23
Studio Soup Join the conversation with Peggy Reavey and guest artists Daniel Dove, Ron Linden and Ted Twine. Studio Soup at Angels Gate Cultural Center is a quarterly series of candid conversations about process, featuring guest artists who share their experience and practice. Eventbrite registration is required for this free, virtual event. Time: 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. March 23 Details: www.eventbrite.com/e/ studio-soup
March 24
Earthly Matters Artist presentation from Neha Choksi on her current exhibition, Uncertain Allies, followed by a conversation with curator Kristina Newhouse. Time: 6 p.m. March 24 Cost: Free Details: bit.ly/EarthlyMatters_ artisttalk Venue: Zoom
LITERATURE March 25
Studio Artist Emporium Angels Gate Cultural Center has launched its new Studio Artist Emporium. Shop original artwork by 15 different studio artists including ceramics, paintings, photography and prints. Details: www.angelsgateart.org; www.angelsgateart.org/home/ studio-artist-emporium
The Center Launches New LGBTQ+ Book Club The Center Long Beach is partnering with Long Beach Public Library to offer an LGBTQ+ Book Club. The first book it will be reading is Floodlight by Reba Birmingham. The virtual book club meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 25. Time: 6:30 pm March 25 Details: https://www.centerlb.org/ lgbtq-library/
Mela M & Ray Beldner Join a journey through abstract reciprocal perspectives from the
LA Made Presents Compton Cowboys Join author Walter Thompson-
March 20
Hernandez as he discusses cowboys and community with Randy Savvy, leader of the Compton Cowboys. His new book The Compton Cowboys: A New Generation of Cowboys in America’s Urban Heartland explores the history and current realities of these young modernday Black cowboys working to uplift their community through horses and ranching lifestyle. Streaming live on: YouTube and Facebook. Time: 4 p.m. March 25 Details: www.lapl.org/whats-on/ events/compton-cowboys
FILM
March 18
Dance on Screen 15 Original Films Dive into the thrilling world of dance films as Jacob Jonas The Company presents new work by over 150 artists. These evocative films are free to view. Details: www.films.dance
March 20
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles Film Festival Celebrate up-and-coming female talent behind the camera with InFocus: Female Cinema, including three shorts programs rich with a variety of stories from female filmmakers, along with Fall Back Down, a first feature by writer-director SB Edwards. Each screening will be followed by live Q&As via Zoom. Time: 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. March 20 Details: Tickets https://tinyurl. com/5b6u7d3d
March 25
The Real Wāhine Of Hawai’i Pacific Islanders in Communications presents a new season of their online shorts series, Pacific Pulse, featuring Real Wāhine of Hawai’i — six short films profiling top women filmmakers from the Hawaiian Islands. All films will be available on PIC’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/ user/piccom1 as well as on the series homepage, here https://www. piccom.org/pages/pacific-pulse-1 March 25 - Reel Wāhine of Hawai‘i: Myrna Kamae
April 1 - Reel Wāhine of Hawai‘i: Erin Lau
DANCE
March 19
Eskista: Ethiopian Dance Join an exploration of Eskista — an Ethiopian cultural dance which is known for its unique emphasis on intense body movement — with Sinay Woubeshet & Fikru Weldekidan, who share a mission to create and share culture throughout Los Angeles. For the program link please email eowens@lapl.org Online — Exposition Park — Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Library Time: 2 p.m March 19 Details: www.lapl.org/branches/ exposition-park
FOOD April 1
Dine Out Long Beach Dine Out Long Beach, Restaurant & Cocktail Week is a 14-day celebration where foodies, oenophiles, beer enthusiasts and the cocktail crowd can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner starting at $10. There are no tickets to purchase or passes required as guests experience the restaurants — and their settings — first-hand or through takeout, delivery and meal kits to-go. Time: April 1 to 15 Cost: $10 and up Details: www.dineoutlongbeach. com
COMMUNITY March 19
Creative Storytelling Workshops LA County Library and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art are hosting a series of free virtual workshops and programs. The workshops will feature a live story reading by an LA County Library librarian. The story will then be brought to life through a variety of expressive art activities led by a LACMA teaching artist. Time: 4 p.m. March 19 Details: Register in advance at LACountyLibrary.org/ LACMAprograms.
March 20
Family Art Workshops In this family art workshop, peek into the fascinating world of paper folding and explore different techniques of folding paper. Sign up on Eventbrite for the workshop and you will receive a Zoom link prior to the event. Time: 1 to 3 p.m. March 20 Details: www.eventbrite.com/e/ family-art-workshop-
March 21
Witness For Peace Southwest: The Cold War Truth Commision Join a day of education, testimonials and action co-hosted by Rachel Bruhnke and Frank Dorrel. Scholars and citizen testimonials will inform you of the history of the Cold War and its relevance to U.S. political corruption and to today’s global chaos. More than 30 speakers are scheduled. Time: 1 to 7 p.m. March 21 Cost: Free Details: Register Here: www.codepink.org/03212021
March 24
Voices For Justice Equity and Arts This series is an interdisciplinary exploration of systemic racism, social justice, activism, equality, and the arts. One of the nation’s foremost lawyers and leaders for social justice, Ben Crump is a previous president of the National Bar Association, and has represented families in highprofile civil rights cases. Time: 5 p.m. March 24 Details: https://tinyurl. com/47s9rajc From Challenge to Change City Controller Ron Galperin is hosting a discussion in his “Conversations with the Controller” series featuring local leaders serving on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis. The conversation will highlight issues of health equity, housing and homelessness, the economic impact of COVID-19 on women and low-wage workers in LA. Time: 5 p.m. March 24 Details: https://us02web.zoom. us/meeting/register/galperinchallenge-to-change
A new mural combining the best elements from San Pedro’s local landmarks and characters from Alice in Wonderland is on the corner of O’Farrell and Oliver streets behind Sister Cities Plaza. It was painted by renowned graffiti artist and muralist, Jules Muck. Jules recently moved to San Pedro from Venice Beach to seek more artistic opportunities. “How can I be a part of the community?” she asked herself. “Honestly, [Venice Beach is] running out of space …. The work space is limited. There aren’t enough walls for muralists.” She contacted her friend, Jason Ostro, who owns the Gabba Gallery in Los Angeles’ Filipino Town. He put Jules in contact with Linda Grimes, the managing director of San Pedro Waterfront Arts District. Linda then arranged Jules’ introduction to Leslie Jones. Leslie was already undertaking a cleanup effort with the San Pedro Caring Proactive Residence Volunteer Crew along Oliver Street behind Sister Cities Plaza, which also painted over the retaining wall turning it into a blank slate. Leslie, recognizing Jules’s talent and reputation, immediately commissioned her to paint the expansive mural dedicated to the local parks. It also takes inspiration from the adjacent mural on a privately-owned wall depicting the Mad Hatter painted five months prior by another artist named Ricky Hernandez. “San Pedro needs this, especially after the year it has had,” Leslie said. To prepare the wall, there was a coordinated effort between the volunteer group San Pedro [Write Girl, from p. 9]
WriteGirl
Her Story
Muralist Jules Muck with her Georgia bloodhound named Da-Da who is a major inspiration and sometimes participant to her work. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala
CPR and District 15 City Councilman Joe Buscaino’s office to beautify the area obscured behind a major freeway exit. The clean-up effort was a volunteer effort spearheaded by local San Pedro resident, George Matthews. In the past, the retaining wall on the other side of Sister Cities Plaza was constantly vandalized by gang graffiti, the sidewalk was littered with bottles and food containers. Residents’ attempts to maintain the area were futile. The mural spans more than half of the
March 18 - 31, 2021
Each girl gets on the mic and rants about anything for 30 seconds. As a vehicle for teens to get their ideas out, it’s often followed with writing. WriteGirls start to see the connections between their emotions and their ideas — what they should put on paper. “Not the flowery language that sometimes school pushes you into using but more of the visceral, this is what I’m thinking, … what I’m feeling,” Taylor said. They ask the girls to write about things they care about, like a letter to their mother. The girls explore things deeply personal and meaningful for them, allowing for ideas to come forward. “By encouraging them to explore their senses ... it gets the girls to the paper and they instantly start writing,” Taylor said. “Give a girl enough of those experiences, she won’t fear the blank page anymore.” WriteGirl gives its mentors a lot of training, or deprogramming from bad writing workshops or classes that make rules and obstacles that prevent “the flow.” It’s about keeping it visual and tactile and sensory. WriteGirl is a community, Taylor said. She especially feels it in the pride that the entire organization has about Gorman and her journey. “WriteGirl has been the community that I would like to have in the world,” Taylor said. “When things are rough in the pandemic, in politics, in any way, it’s my WriteGirl community that repairs my heart and soul and my faith in individuals and the kindness and joy and creativity of writers and creators. It’s been on my mind, especially as we’re all here in boxes and in isolation.” Taylor encapsulated how WriteGirl — its joy, support of a girl’s authority over herself and connecting to those passionate ideas — was exemplified in Gorman’s poem. “That [was] my greatest joy in watching her perform at the inauguration,” Taylor said. “It was the throughline between what Amanda was doing up there and what WriteGirl is.”
neighborhood block. In one section, Jules has painted a stone footpath flanked by giant colorful mushrooms leading to the pond under the Averill Park bridge with the Point Fermin Lighthouse in the faded background. In another section, she has painted the Alice in Wonderland caterpillar relaxing on a leaf smoking a hookah under the windswept tree near Sunken City as the Cheshire Cat looks on grinning. A large Alice herself spanning several sections lays on the grass looking up at the sky, dreaming what could be. To her right, a swarm of monarch butterflies surround the Korean Bell of Friendship with a melting clock stretching off the pagoda roof as though someone tossed their large pizza on a whim.
Jules has been a muralist for 30 years. She was born in Stoke-on-Trent, England to a Greek father and British mother. Her family immigrated to the United States, settling in New York City. Jules began her artistic work as “a little graffiti writer; — I was painting on a rooftop in the Bronx.” She was discovered by another renowned graffiti artist — Sandra Fabara, aka Lady Pink — and during the next several years Jules expanded her talents further as Lady Pink’s apprentice. She apprenticed under her for several years before moving to Venice Beach in 2008. In 2015, while visiting her father on the island of Lesvos in Greece, Jules personally witnessed the Syrian refugee crisis. While there at the harbor city of Mytilene, which was a major port of entry, Jules painted a mural of a woman draped in the Greek flag with only her eyes showing as a sympathetic gesture to the incoming refugees. The Alice in Wonderland mural on Oliver Street was an achievement of coordination among the many concerned citizen groups. “There is more to come,” Leslie said, implying this is only the beginning of more art projects in San Pedro. You can follow Jules Muck on her website www.julesmuck.com or through her social media under the Instagram handle @muckrock.
WriteGirl Ways
A typical exercise at WriteGirl is “Soapbox.”
By Arturo Garcia-Ayala, Columnist
“There is a difference between public art and making art in my studio because once it goes on [the wall] it belongs to everybody,” Jules said. During the interview, Jules continued to answer questions while at the same time carefully controlling every spray with coordinated clarity. Random admirers who have heard of the new mural stopped by to express their appreciation — some even brought their families.
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introductions. “We realize they still need a lot of support,” Taylor said. “There’s still more of the world to navigate.” This is fundamental to WriteGirl. In their long term journeys, it helps high school girls with their confidence, Taylor said. Once they get into college, identify the type of writing they want to do and as they find their voices, helping them on this long arc requires hard work to maintain communication systems. WriteGirl trains its staff to understand the nature of those long term relationships and how to support a young woman even during those times when mentors may have to stop and are no longer involved. “Seeing Amanda deliver her poem at the inaugural was a wonderful, prideful moment,” Taylor said. “But it’s also wonderful to see the impact that she has on so many others. That ripple effect … Not only are we helping girls but ... we’re helping them become world citizens who want to give back to the world.” Another WriteGirl alumnae has also realized fame. Arielle Davis, an economics student at University of California Los Angeles, joined WriteGirl five years ago. An abuse survivor, Davis credited WriteGirl for empowering her with the writing skills she needed to share her story. Davis has said the group is the first place she encountered free-thinking women. “Now the world is getting the chance to see some of these young girls we’ve been working with,” Talor said. “We just got finished doing a partnership with FoxTV and Arielle … one of our more recent alums. She wrote a beautiful poem in honor of Women’s History Month, [https://tinyurl.com/writegirl-davis.] It’s [an] amazing short film that comes to life because of Arielle’s poem,” Taylor said.
Venice’s Loss is San Pedro’s Gain
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March 18 - 31, 2021
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The animals at the Harbor Animal Shelter have ongoing need for used blankets, comforters, pet beds.* Drop off at Harbor Animal Shelter 957 N. Gaffey St.,San Pedro • 888-452-7381, x 143 PLEASE SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PET! *In any condition. We will wash and mend.
PEDRO PET PALS is the only group that raises funds for the City Animal Shelter and FREE vaccines and spay or neuter for our community. 310-991-0012.
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2021029353 The following person is doing business as: (1) Magic Plumbing, 1805 S Alma Street Unit A, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Gusa Plumbing, 1805 S Alma Street Unit A, San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business by a corporation. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 01/2021. 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/. Mladen Gusa, President. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Feb. 3, 2021. 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 expire 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 03/04/21,
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on 03/10/21. 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 expire 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 03/18/21, 04/01/21, 04/15/21, 04/29/21
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2021058571 The following person is doing business as: (1) Jasmine’s Day Spa, 28719 S. Western Ave., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: KALRUH LLC, 28719 S. Western Ave., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275. This Business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 06/2018. 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/. Yasmeen Khan, President.
ACROSS
1 Life force, to an acupuncturist 4 One of the Three Musketeers 10 Consumer protection gp. 13 “___ Wiedersehen!” 14 Like the opening letter of each of the four longest answers 15 “Dog Barking at the Moon” artist Joan 16 Magazine whose website has a “Find a Therapist” feature 19 “Away!” 20 Stunned state 21 How hair may stand 22 Maritime patrol org. 25 “The mind ___ own place ...” (John Milton) 26 Offer on eBay 28 Japanese grills 32 “Common” chapter of history 33 Flavor on a German schnapps bottle 37 Rank between marquis and viscount 39 Bell or whistle? 40 “Peter Pan” henchman 41 Device that records respiration 44 Went nowhere 45 Tightly cinched 46 “How We Do” singer Rita 47 “Fun, Fun, Fun” car in a ‘60s hit 49 British mil. decorations
51 Breezes (through) 52 Scrooge’s comment 55 Filmmaker Ephron 58 Math conjecture regarding a quadrilateral inscribed in a circle 62 “I identify,” in online comments 63 Ear ailment 64 Baseball stat 65 “Bill ___ Saves the World” 66 Hastily arrive at, as a conclusion 67 Celebrity chef Martin
DOWN
1 Pen parts 2 Period of quiet 3 Haunted house challenge 4 Hearth leftover 5 Brazilian beach city, briefly 6 “It was ___ blur” 7 “Feed me or I’ll knock your drink over” 8 “Splendor in the Grass” Oscar winner 9 Piglet’s home 10 High-end hotel amenity 11 Fiber-rich cereals 12 “Cheers” bartender Woody 15 Philosophies that regard reality as one organic whole 17 Lettuce variety 18 “___, With Love” (Sidney Poitier movie)
23 Golden State traffic org. (as seen in an Erik Estrada TV show) 24 Philbin’s onetime morning cohost 25 “It’s Shake ‘n Bake!” “And ___!” (old ad tagline) 26 Pager noise 27 Persian Gulf country 29 Arctic floaters 30 Burning 31 B equivalent, in music 34 Contrite phrase 35 A few feet away 36 Greek consonant 38 Happy fun Ball? 42 Code where B is -... 43 Some TVs 47 Frayed 48 Ecological community 50 “Be My Yoko ___” (Barenaked Ladies song) 51 “Wheel of Fortune” action 52 Eight bits, computerwise 53 One side of the Urals 54 Address abbreviation 56 Country star McEntire 57 Former dictator Idi 59 “Boardwalk Empire” actress Gretchen 60 Battleship score 61 That, in Madrid
Dr. Godfrey Pernell March 21, 1922- March 8, 2021
beloved wife, Beverly, his daughter Deanne and sister Charlotte. He is survived by his sons, Gary, Wayne, and Jeff Pernell, his daughtersin-law, Wilhemina, Shannon, Melissa, Jan and Stephanie, his sister Estelle, his brother Marvin, 11 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Donations may be made to fridaysforfuture.org so others may have the opportunity to live as long and meaningful a life as Godfrey Pernell. A virtual memorial service will be held Sunday, March 21 noon to 1 p.m. Live streaming from Pacific Unitarian Church, Palos Verdes. (Godfrey’s 99th birthday.) http://www.pacificunitarian.org
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Environmental Coverage
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Dr. Godfrey Pernell, widely known for his political engagement and civic participation, died on March 8 at the age of 98. Born March 21, 1922, the oldest son of Russian immigrants, Dr. Pernell was the quintessential first-generation success story. Growing up in Chicago in a family of modest means, he had an active and inquisitive mind and developed a life-long thirst for knowledge. He was interested in everything, but his passion was science. During World War II, he practiced dentistry as a navy lieutenant. After the war, he travelled to Southern California where he met his wife of 58 years, Beverly Furst. They built their home in Rolling Hills (a place they both loved), raised a family and were active in social and civic life. Dr. Pernell was a member of the Rolling Hills City Council and served multiple terms as mayor of the city. A life-long progressive and supporter of labor unions, Dr. Pernell created the first pre-paid dental program in the country in 1954, providing affordable dental care to union workers. The company he founded, Dental Health Services, was headquartered in Long Beach. He had no tolerance for racial injustice. In the 1950s, he won the Urban League award for the example he set with his multiethnic dental office. He was a model of how to live a full and active life. He never stopped learning and trying new things. He enjoyed traveling, SCUBA diving, rare fruit and cacti gardening. He was, among other things, an entrepreneur, a metal sculptor, restaurant owner and amateur geologist. He read two newspapers a day and kept his mind challenged with crossword puzzles. After he retired in his nineties, he helped create a local preschool at the Pacific Unitarian Church. He enjoyed spending time at his second home in Palm Springs where he had a wide-circle of friends. He was a mentor to many and generous with those in need. He had a great sense of humor and asked everyone he met for their best joke in exchange for one of his. He would end a conversation with, “Do good stuff,” a motto he lived by. Godfrey was preceded in death by his
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