By Adam Mahoney with photographs by Damon Casarez
F
or Daniel Delgado, the Fourth of July marked a turning point in 2020. It was the first holiday after COVID-19 had kept much of America locked down. In nine days, he’d be entering his 20s. He planned to spend his birthday relishing the Arizona sun with friends, but in the meantime, the holiday offered him an opportunity to be celebrated by family and friends, surrounded by love and human connection — things that had been hard to come by that year. He spent the day at his aunt’s home in the Los Angeles Harbor Area neighborhood of Wilmington. His parents, Sonia Banales and Roberto Delgado, and his large extended family remember laughing, grilling ribs and setting off fireworks. Shortly after midnight, as the celebration died down, Delgado left the house to drive a few friends home. He never made it back. About 2 a.m., Delgado was shot and killed in the only place he ever called home, a small corner of Los Angeles tucked between the largest port in North America and the largest oil refinery in California. He was one of at least 160 people in the U.S. who lost their lives to gun violence that weekend. The exceptional deadliness of Independence Day weekend is one of the few American norms that the pandemic did not disrupt. In the 20 months since Delgado’s death, his family has found little solace and fewer answers as they grapple with what happened that night. They’ve expressed disillusionment at the social support available to them— the police have not discovered a motive or firmly identified a suspect. [See Pollution, p. 10]
Graphic by Brenda Lopez
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
“1.5°C is dead.” Following the report’s release, Scientist Rebellion staged direct non-violent actions of civil disobedience in 27 countries, involving more than 1,000 arrests. In Los Angeles, four members chained themselves to the doors of JP Morgan Chase, the bank that’s funded more new fossil fuel projects than any other, according to a recent NGO report “Banking on Climate Chaos.” One of the four, NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus, tweeted ahead of time, “Brief summary of the
new IPCC report: We know what to do, we know how to do it, it requires taking toys away from the rich, and world leaders aren’t doing it.” “Climate activists are sometimes depicted as dangerous radicals, but the truly dangerous radicals are the countries that are increasing the production of fossil fuels,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a press briefing when the report was released. “Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness.” Yet, that’s just what’s being contemplated at every level from President Joe Biden, who announced the intention to expand production and export liquefied natural gas to Europe in response to Russia’s war, down to the Port of Los Angeles, where staff is pushing a proposal to nearly double crude oil throughput at the Phillips 66 terminal without even doing an environmental impact report. The report itself was almost as clear: “the Paris
April 14 - 27, 2022
A remembrance of LA’s Queen of Jazz — Barbara Morrison p. 15
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released April 4, warns that global emissions must peak in just three years to stay below the 1.5°C warming ceiling for a livable future
LA Maritime Institute celebrates 30 years p. 2
‘I
started to think about the parallels between climate change and this war,” Ukraine’s leading climate scientist, Svitlana Krakovska, told The Guardian. “It’s clear that the roots of both these threats to humanity are found in fossil fuels.” But also in delay. The world has known about fossil fuels’ climate threat at least since James Hansen’s congressional testimony in 1988, shortly after which President George H.W. Bush promised to counter the greenhouse effect with “the White House effect,” the first of countless broken promises over three plus decades of delay. As a result, the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released on April 4, warns that global emissions must peak in just three years to stay below the 1.5°C warming ceiling for a livable future — a target that could easily have been hit with gradual changes begun decades ago, but that now calls for cuts so drastic that scientists involved with Scientist Rebellion declared flatly that
Earth Day Edition
Turning salty water drinkable ― LA water agency protects regional groundwater p. 2
The Oil War And Climate Change
[See Oil, p. 7] 1
Community Announcements:
Harbor Area Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Summer Docent Applications Available
The summer docent program is a fun and interactive introduction to southern California marine life. Participants learn how to present information and interact with the public, which are excellent life and career skills. Applications are being accepted for students entering grades 7 to 12 in the fall of 2022. Applications are due at 4 p.m. April 29. Details: www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org/ summer-docent
Nearly $4 Million in New Public Health AmeriCorps Grants in California
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced April 6, that organizations throughout California will receive nearly $4 million in Public Health AmeriCorps funding from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. The five grants will support 219 new Public Health AmeriCorps members in California. Public Health AmeriCorps, is a partnership between AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It supports the recruitment, training, and development of a new generation of public health leaders. Supported by a fiveyear, $400 million investment from the American Rescue Plan Act, Public Health AmeriCorps will help meet public health needs of local communities by providing surge capacity and support while also creating pathways to public health-related careers. In addition, AmeriCorps will provide more than $876,000 each year in education scholarships for the Public Health AmeriCorps members supported by this award to help pay for college, vocational training, or pay back student loans. Grantees are actively recruiting adults of all ages and education backgrounds to serve in Public Health AmeriCorps. Public Health AmeriCorps members may be eligible to receive a living allowance, professional development, health and childcare support, and an education award. Details: AmeriCorps.gov/PublicHealth.
2022 LANI Virtual Forum
Earth Day Edition
This year, the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative or LANI is hosting a webinar series for neighborhood leaders and stakeholders, and public agency partners. Session 1 - Prioritizing Pedestrians: Making a Walkable Neighborhood Discuss improving pedestrian safety and infrastructure with a combination of experts in the field and community members who have successfully brought pedestrian-oriented improvements to their neighborhoods. Scheduled panelists include: Christopher Ryder, Vision Zero Los Angeles, Eric Bruins, transportation deputy for city councilmember and chair of the city council transportation committee Mike Bonin, Arturo Nevarez, LANI program manager, Gaby Segovia, community leader in Wilmington who was instrumental in bringing high visibility decorative crosswalks to the neighborhood near LA Harbor College. Time: 1 to 2:30 p.m. April 21 Cost: Free Details: https://www.lani.org/communityforum Venue: Zoom
Second Set of Free At-home COVID-19 Tests Now Available
Every household in the United States is now eligible to order a second set of four free, at-home COVID-19 tests. A set of four were previously available in 2021. These can be delivered directly to resident’s homes. Details: https://www.covid.gov/tests
April 14 - 27, 2022
Long Beach Administering Second COVID-19 Booster Shots
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The Long Beach Health Department is now administering second COVID-19 vaccine booster shots of Pfizer or Moderna. To be eligible, people must have received their first booster shot at least four months ago. In addition, they must fit into one of the following categories: At least 50-years-old, and have received mRNA vaccine for their first booster; at least 18-years-old, and received Johnson [See Announcements, p. 4]
Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 40 Years
Turning Salty Water Drinkable LA Water agency protects regional groundwater By Hunter Chase, Community News Reporter
The Water Replenishment District of Southern California, or WRD, is tasked with protecting groundwater sources for 43 cities, including Los Angeles. One of their new projects is the Regional Brackish Water Reclamation Program, which will take water that is too salty to drink and turn it into drinking water. “This brackish groundwater has much less salt than ocean water making it less expensive and more environmentally sound to desalinate,” said Director Rob Katherman, a WRD board member who represents the City of Torrance and other beach cities. In the 1900s, the over-pumping of groundwater made seawater from the ocean flow into groundwater aquifers, according to the WRD. Most of the water that Californians drink is groundwater, which is water underneath the ground. The groundwater and seawater mixed, creating brackish water, which is too salty to drink, but not as salty as seawater. Wells in the West Coast Basin and the southeastern tip of the Central Basin were affected by this. Instead of abandoning the wells, Los Angeles County started pumping in freshwater in the 1960s, creating an artificial barrier between the groundwater and seawater. It used more than 100 injection wells. However, in the process of creating the barrier, the county trapped a plume of brackish water in aquifers in lower San Pedro, Gage, Silverado and Lynwood. A plume is a vertical body of fluid moving through another, in this case brackish water in freshwater. This plume consists of 20 billion gallons and prevents the county from pumping groundwater in some West Coast Basin areas. The WRD first started treating brackish water at the Goldsworthy Desalter in Torrance, starting in 2002 and doubling its capacity in 2017. “This treatment facility is jointly operated by WRD and the city of Torrance and currently purifies 5 million gallons per day of salty groundwater and sends that water directly into the city’s drinking water system,” Katherman said. The WRD will apply this on a much larger scale with the Regional Brackish Water Reclamation Program. The WRD initiated a study with seven stakeholders, according to its feasibility report published in March 2021. These included three cities, Torrance, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, and four water companies, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the Golden State Water Company, the California Water Service Company and the West Basin Municipal Water District. The WRD is still planning the program, but it will be completed in phases, and the organization estimates finishing it in 2026, Katherman said. It will potentially have the capacity to treat 18 million gallons of water per day. Depending on which project plan the WRD decides to take, the program’s cost and maintenance could range from $8.5 million to $13.5 million, according to the feasibility report. The project is expected to last 20 years, Katherman said. [See Brackish, p. 12]
Top: Interior of the Robert Goldsworthy Desalter, which is a plant in Torrance that treats salty water. Bottom: Exterior of the Robert Goldsworthy Desalter. Photos courtesy of the the Water Replenishment District of Southern California
‘School Is Where the Kids Are’ LA Maritime Institute celebrates 30 years By Mark Friedman, Contributor
The Los Angeles Maritime Institute was founded 30 years ago by Jim Gladson to take disadvantaged youth on the water to develop leadership skills and self-confidence. The first two tall ships were Exy and Irving Johnson, and they have now been complemented with American Pride and the Swift of Ipswich. The ships take out 7,000 youth annually, with grants from the Port of Los Angeles, Marathon Refinery, California State Coastal Conservancy and others. The celebration featured a host of local political figures and others to commemorate this anniversary and the opening of the building “G” warehouse where ship maintenance occurs and where youth learn how to build a sailing boat from scratch, or learn to sail. The gathering was led by John Bagakis, San Pedro Chamber of Commerce board chair. Tanya Ortiz Franklin, representing Los Angeles Unified School District, told the crowd of 150, “We are so grateful for this partnership with LAMI, and their slogan rings true ‘School is where the kids are.’ We only realized it during the pandemic.” She presented a certificate of recognition from LAUSD. Harbor Commissioner Lucia Moreno-Linares, in recognizing the official partnership for
30 years, commented “This program is a breath of fresh air. So many of our youth in Wilmington and across the county have so little knowledge of the marine world. Topsail expands the boundaries of the world they know. This overlaps with what they, especially at-risk youth, learn. “It is such a contribution to the LA waterfront ... Scaling up the program and infusing STEM into your programs. Topsail provides teens with a level of confidence in leadership for the first time and even the first time on the ocean. Time on the ocean for many of us who have that opportunity are the good things that are happening.” A certificate of accomplishment from LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn was also delivered. LAMI director Bruce Heyman threw out some numbers and then explained what they meant: • There are 2.2 million students age 17 and younger in LA County • 50% of the kids had never been to the waterfront • 5% of the kids go out on the water with the program’s ships • 92% of the kids are Black and Latinx • 7,000 students went out on the program’s [See Kids Are, p. 5]
Earth Day Edition
April 14 - 27, 2022
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My Recycled Life—
‘SAFE’ Disposal of Haz-mat By Lyn Jensen, Columnist
April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
I remember what recycling was like before many communities adopted curbside recycling. Until the 21st century, recycling was largely dependent on individuals saving their own paper, bottles, cans and metal, and periodically carting it all to a recycling center, getting a little money for what few pounds got turned in. What small change I earned came in handy for parking meters, bus fare, library fines, vending machines, coin-operated laundry equipment and pay phones (before cell phones took over). Community curbside recycling programs have largely rendered such DIY recycling obsolete, although you’re still welcome to, if the money helps your budget. Today the communities around the Los Angeles Harbor area — Los Angeles, Long Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Carson, Lomita, and Los Angeles County, too — offer curbside recycling. Put your cans, bottles, paper, and some types of plastic into your bin or bins, and your local municipality does the rest. Two major types of recyclable materials, though, still often require separate handling apart from routine curbside service. One is hazardous waste, “haz-mat” for short, and the other is unwanted electronic equipment (also known as e-waste). Haz-mat is any product that by law is
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too toxic to be disposed of as regular trash— including anything labeled as toxic, poison, flammable, combustible, irritant or corrosive. Some examples include pesticides, auto and household batteries, motor oil and filters, antifreeze, paint, stain, solvents, varnish, pool chemicals and many household cleaning chemicals. Electronic waste or e-waste includes basically anything with a plug or batteries, including the batteries themselves: computers, printers, televisions, cell phones, VCR and DVR machines, radios, cables, video/electronic games, fax machines, lamps, turntables and speakers. If you reside anywhere in Los Angeles County (in either an incorporated or unincorporated area), you may take your haz-mat and e-waste to a SAFE Collection Center, managed by Los Angeles County Public Works, which provides a free drive-through drop-off location for e-waste and haz-mat. When I lived in the South Bay, I’d periodically load up my car with whatever hazmat I’d want out of my house and take it to the center in San Pedro. On my visits, I’ve found the line snaking along the access road may be long, so you may want to bring a magazine, or busy yourself with your phone, while you wait. When you get to the head of the line, you’ll be asked to pop your trunk. If your car’s so old the trunk doesn’t pop,
pack your recyclables in a way you can hand them out the window like a takeout order, or hand the worker your trunk key. Some other things to know before you go: the center asks that you obey COVID protocol — including staying home if you’re sick. There’s a limit of six electronic items per visit, and there’s a legal limit for haz-mat, 15 gallons or 125 pounds. Some unusual items the center accepts — things you might not even think of — include fluorescent light tubes and bulbs, aerosol cans, pharmaceutical drugs, and items that contain mercury. Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday and Sunday only (closed on holidays and rainy days) Location: SAFE Collection Center, 1400 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro Details: www.lacsd.org
Community Announcements:
Harbor Area [Announcements, from p. 2] & Johnson as first booster; at least 12 years old and immunocompromised (they will only receive Pfizer); at least 18 years old and immunocompromised. Details: www.longbeach.gov/health/diseasesand-condition/information
Child Tax Credit Available
Families with children 17 or younger may qualify for a tax credit of $3,000 to $3,600. This can still apply if the family has no reported income, if the child has a Social Security number and was younger than 18 at the end of the year. In addition, the child must have lived with the person claiming the child for more than half of the year, and be claimed as a dependent. Details: https://tinyurl.com/Child-credit
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month
The SAFE Collection Center on Gaffey, where you can dispose of electronic waste and hazardous waste. File photo
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be actively looking for drivers throughout the month who are in violation of the state’s handsfree cell phone law. Under current law, drivers are not allowed to hold a phone or electronic communications device while operating a vehicle. This includes talking, texting, or using an app. Using a handheld cell phone while driving is punishable by a fine. Violating the hands-free law for a second time within 36 months of a prior conviction for the same offense will result in a point being added to a driver’s record. If you have an important phone call, text, email or need to program directions, pull over to a safe parking spot. Before starting the car, either silence your phone or put it somewhere you can’t reach. Details: https://tinyurl.com/portpublicopiniontrafficsafety
[Kids Are, from p. 2]
Where the Kids Are sails the last year before the pandemic • 15,000 is the program’s five-year plan; to double the number of students it takes out on the tall ships “The more we can do to educate our youth in leadership and self-confidence the better we shall be in the future,” Heyman noted. He went on to explain the history of building G. “It was built in 1948 then abandoned in 1995. The roof failed; it was a mess. The building was awarded us to use as a county resource, which is what it has become.” Sareta Gladson, granddaughter of Jim Gladson, sent a video message, “Jim was a teacher
who had conflicts with the school system because students were caught in a frustrating cycle, same as today. At-risk students think they have failed; but it is the system that has failed them. Jim saw the sails not as a reward for good behavior, but as a remedy because these students should not be destined to be mediocre. He may have hoisted the sails but so many people have been the wind in them. You all have pushed LAMI to new horizons.” Rep. Nanette Barragán sent a message saying “It is so important we preserve our marine heritage. This certificate of recognition of 30 years preserves that heritage and supports youth in the
John Bagakis addressed the crowd gathered to celebrate the Los Angeles Maritime Institute’s 30th anniversary. Photos by Arturo Garcia-Ayala
Topsail programs.” Sen. Steven Bradford, representing the 35th senatorial district, addressed the crowd, recalling the “Importance of educating our youth about the marine environment. We celebrate the diversity of LAMI and recognize the dedication of this building and the monumental work of Jim Gladson.” The Los Angeles Maritime Institute continues to seek volunteers for the maintenance and restoration of the ships, crew members and other volunteers to continue and expand the numerous programs, including bilingual ones, undertaken to run and preserve. Details: www.lamitopsail.org
A plaque dedicates building G, LAMI’s warehouse and work space to Jim Gladson, the founder of LAMI.
Earth Day Edition April 14 - 27, 2022
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April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
[Oil from p. 1]
Oil War and Climate Change
SAN PEDRO — Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer April 11, named Steve Otera as general counsel to the City of Los Angeles Harbor Department. Otera will oversee the legal team advising on Port of Los Angeles operations and serve as in-house counsel to port management and the Los Angeles Harbor Commission. Otera has worked nearly two decades at the Harbor Department, most recently as an assistant city attorney. He replaces Janna Sidley, who retired earlier this year. As an assistant city attorney, Otera supervised staff providing in-house legal services at the port, handled and oversaw major matters such as container terminal leasing, and advised port management and Harbor Commission on a variety of other port legal matters, including municipal governance, land use and development, contracting and negotiation, litigation management, among other areas. Prior to working in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Otera spent more than a decade in private practice, including as director of legal compliance and education at LRN (formerly the Legal Research Network), where he managed development of web-based, multimedia workplace ethics and legal compliance training modules for clients such as Ford Motor Co., Johnson & Johnson and Boeing. Previous to that, he served as an associate attorney for several local area law firms. Otera earned his bachelor’s degree from UCLA, and Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Illustration by Jean Schweitzer
[See Oil War, p. 22]
Ports to Revisit ‘Container Dwell Fee’ on April 15
Consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee” at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles will be delayed until April 15, port officials announced April 11. The two San Pedro Bay ports have seen a combined decline of 49% in aging cargo on the docks since the program was announced on Oct. 25. The executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after monitoring data over the next week. Fee implementation has been postponed by both ports since the start of the program. Under the temporary policy, ocean carriers can be charged for each import container dwelling nine days or more at the terminal. Currently, no date has been set to start the count with respect to container dwell time. As of April 12, the POLA reported the Container Dwell Fee has been postponed 22 times.
Padilla, Feinstein Announce Over $1.9 Billion in Transit Funding for State
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein (both D-Calif.) April 6, announced that the Federal Transit Administration or FTA will provide over $1.9 billion to California over the next year to invest in transit projects across the state. This is part of an investment of more than $20 billion this fiscal year in transit across the U.S., thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which both Padilla and Feinstein voted to pass last year. This funding will help transit agencies address their repair backlogs, modernize bus and railcar fleets, and transition to new technologies to address the climate crisis. These upgrades will support the expansion of U.S. manufacturing due to Buy America requirements that apply to steel, iron, and other materials used in public transportation projects that receive federal assistance. All FY22 FTA funding Apportionments Tables are available at www.transit.dot.gov/ [See Briefs, p. 10]
April 14 - 27, 2022
indefinite hold on a proposed plan to revise the state’s net energy metering rules, making rooftop solar energy less affordable — a clear step in the wrong direction. At the same time, State Sen. Lena Gonzalez celebrated her Fossil Fuel Divestment Act passing out of committee. It would require the state’s two retirement funds to divest from fossil fuel companies by July 1, 2027, except in case of emergency. But most comprehensively, on April 5, the California Legislative Analyst’s Office [LAO] released a detailed set of six reports on climate change impacts across the state, one broadly dealing with cross-cutting issues, the others specifically targeting transportation, health, housing, K-12 education, and workers and employers. Five types of impacts were covered: (1) higher temperatures and extreme heat events, (2) more severe wildfires, (3) more frequent and intense droughts, (4) flooding due to extreme precipitation events, and (5) coastal flooding and erosion from sea-level rise. Siegal called it “a set of really precedential and important reports,” but stressed the need for the LAO to apply those findings “when analyzing legislation, because unfortunately, legislation that has been considered and actually passed into law in recent years has been grossly insufficient to deal with the scale of the crisis in our state.” Indeed, the legislature just received its first “D” grade from California Environmental Voters for the 2021 session. A similar pattern can be seen at the Port of LA, where staff is seeking approval of Phillips 66 Wharf Improvement Project with only the most minimal level of environmental analysis — what’s known as a minimum negative declaration. CBD was one of eight organizations
billions in tax subsidies for fossil fuel companies, whose profits had soared last year, even before recent price-hikes. “The money spent on unnecessary subsidies could be far better spent on efforts to shield the American people from the consequences of Putin’s war against the Ukrainian people,” they wrote. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed off-setting the increased costs of oil by sending vehicle owners $400 debit cards, limited to two rebates per person. In response to initial criticism, he’s also proposing $750 million in grants for local transit agencies to offer up to three months of free transit. But why just three months? Most transit costs are paid for by taxes. Why not all? “Permanent year-round free transit for Californians could help solve a lot of problems,” said Joe Lyou, president and CEO of the Coalition for Clean Air. “It would provide relief from the high cost of gasoline, reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and help us meet our greenhouse gas reduction requirements.” Siegal agreed. “The best solution is for public transportation to be both zero emissions and free for people,” she said. Rebates could also be better targeted to meet broad economic needs, not just subsidize gas consumption. A group of Democratic assembly members has proposed sending every California taxpayer a $400 check. And the leaders of the state senate and assembly have proposed giving $200 payments to each California taxpayer and their dependents, with eligibility capped to households making less than $250,000 per year. More broadly, there’s an ongoing struggle to rationalize California’s climate policies. In early April, California utility regulators put an
Earth Day Edition
climate goals could move out of reach unless there are dedicated efforts to early decommissioning, and reduced utilization of existing fossil fuel infrastructures, cancellation of plans for new fossil fuel infrastructures, or compensation efforts by removing some of the CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.” The last option, carbon capture and storage or CCS is especially controversial. Overshooting the 1.5°C ceiling has made it a virtual necessity in the long run, but for now it remains “extremely expensive and energy-intensive, even as the costs of alternatives have plummeted,” as Inside Climate News reported in March. “We should absolutely invest in long-term research and development, really green energy technologies, for really true solutions,” said Kassie Siegal, director of the Climate Litigation Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity. “But we need to distinguish between that and between gimmicks promoted by polluters just to prolong their profits, which is what CCS is today.” What’s more, “The government needs to invest in climate solutions that also protect biodiversity in our natural world,” she pointed out. “There are so many things like protecting old-growth forests, for example, that will both give a climate benefit in terms of the atmosphere and also promote biodiversity and promote resiliency in the face of the climate crisis that’s all around us.” As things stand now, CCS is a “false solution,” she told Random Lengths News, “It must be rejected and California needs to remove the subsidies and the perverse incentives that it’s currently granting.” Perhaps the most perverse example is an Occidental Petroleum proposal to finance a CCS plant in Texas by selling credits in California’s transportation carbon market, and then pump the captured carbon dioxide into aging oil fields to extract even more oil. In contrast to Biden’s initial focus on providing liquid natural gas to Europe, climate activist Bill McKibben, co-founder of 360.org, advocated a different path as Vladimir Putin’s invasion began: “immediately invoke the Defense Production Act [DPA] to get American manufacturers to start producing electric heat pumps in quantity,” that could total tens of millions of units, on the model of the Lend-Lease Program prior to entering World War II. The DPA is just one of several sources of executive power Biden could employ, as detailed in a report CBD issued that same week. But congressional funding could help do even more. In early April, U.S. Congressional Reps. Cori Bush and Jason Crow and Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation to invest $100 billion in “reinvigorating the domestic clean energy industrial base using the Defense Product Act,” according to a summary from Bush, and to provide $30 billion for the Energy Department to weatherize and insulate 6.4 million homes over the next 10 years, plus $10 billion to procure and install millions of heat pumps. This spending would be a fraction of one year’s “defense budget” but would do far more to ensure longterm global security than spending more on weapons. The week before that, addressing rising gas prices, four representatives, including Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, sent a letter to House leadership urging a direct cash rebate for consumers, paired with legislation they introduced to repeal of some of the hundreds of
Feuer Appoints New General Counsel for POLA
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Wrong Again Joe
You can always count on Buscaino to take advantage of somebody else’s misery By James Preston Allen, Publisher
April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
You may recall how Councilman Joe Buscaino burst onto the mayoral scene last year by grandstanding about the homeless issue on the Venice Boardwalk pointing out how his colleague Councilman Mike Bonin had screwed up. This, of course, was preceded by weeks of a whirlpool of TV media coverage sensationalizing the homeless issue there, but ignoring it in Buscaino’s own district. Face it. The homeless problem has been growing for decades before anybody admitted that it was indeed a crisis. The Los Angeles City Council didn’t even have a committee to deal with the issue until the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council created one out of sheer frustration with Buscaino stalling on the issue. Back in 2015, the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council supported the construction of tiny homes and the local NIMBYs went berserk. True to form, Buscaino came to the rescue by creating a “homeless task force” with a group of handpicked cronies and spent 18 months formulating a plan that was never released. Meanwhile, he got busy pushing law enforcement tactics that even the police didn’t believe worked. When Mayor Eric Garcetti embraced the Bridge Home concept, Buscaino suddenly found political compassion for helping the homeless, grabbing as much of the spotlight as he could while slow walking all other logical solutions that would soon become acceptable — like the Tiny Home villages. Only then did he come around to seeing the vision that certain citizens of his district, including myself, had championed from the beginning. My assessment is he’s a follower not a leader, except when he’s calling for more police. Buscaino only adopted the tiny homes solution when the name was changed to “pallet homes” and placed at a distance far from his hometown of San Pedro – and even then only begrudgingly so. I think his change of heart had to do with Judge David O. Carter’s homeless hearings in council chambers. I have said it before and I’ll repeat it here for the hard of hearing, if ordinances could solve the homeless crisis, it would have been solved a long time ago. Somehow Buckets Buscaino, as he is known in the district, has convinced a majority of his city council colleagues to pass his latest political theater act over to his mayoral opponent, City Attorney Mike Feuer,
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to write up this bright idea so that it won’t be unconstitutional. The four dissenters, Mike Bonin, Nithya Raman, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Curren Price, called out this needless act of grandstanding. Raman rightly pointed out that blocking any public right-of-way is already illegal, as is bike theft, which is what Buckets seems bent on preventing. And yet this proposed law would specifically target one class of people, would use more police to enforce and in the end would only clog up the courts with cases that if they were convicted would be misdemeanors and released. Does anyone see the problem with this scenario? In an April 12 press release Buscaino attempted to capitalize on the New York City subway attacks in support of his mayoral hopes. He announced he was introducing a motion that would request for city and county safety and transportation agencies to review their approach to preventing violent crimes in transportation systems. Clearly, this goes along with his commitment to hire more than a 1,000 more police officers, which is contrary to the growing consensus that the key to staunching the precipitous rise in crime is by shifting money from the police budget to hire more mental health professionals and take more guns off the streets. Every police officer I know admits that we can never arrest our way out of the homeless crisis. And it is rather self evident that even if we could afford doubling the police force that even this would not reduce crime or homelessness. I’ve said it before that Buscaino is a man with a hammer who views every problem like a nail. Even his Safer Streets LA campaign, a city measure for the June 2022 ballot, claims to “educate voters about proposed solutions to the homelessness crisis,” but is really a thinly veiled attempt to normalize homeless sweeps, because homeless encampments are “unsightly,” when the word Buscaino is looking for — to describe 44,000 unsheltered people living on the streets in one of the wealthiest cities in California — is “unconscionable.” Buscaino’s solution would only provide beds for 60% of this population, a number set by a federal judge. The other 40% he would just chase off the sidewalks because he doesn’t like seeing them? This is a one-dimensional solution for an octagonal problem and Buscaino is vacuous when it comes to complex algebraic analysis. The city should be forewarned before going to the polls
“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it.” —Mark Twain Vol. XLIII : No. 8 Random Lengths News is a publication of
Beacon Light Press, LLC
Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach.
on June 7. By contrast, I had the chance to interview Kevin de León, one of the other mayoral candidates, last weekend. He’s only been a councilman for some 18 months and claims to have built more housing in his district than any other councilperson. That may just be talk for the campaign trail, but what I can tell you is that he gets the multi-dimensionality of the homeless crisis. He’s able to speak extemporaneously on the intersectionality of issues and causes that plague the poorest sections of this wealthy city. He un-
derstands the connection between port pollution, environmental racism, lack of job opportunities because of our global import economy and the violence on our streets. He’s not a one-dimensional man. Buscaino is. As Buscaino drops in the polls and as the discontent with his real performance in the 15th council district becomes better known, I predict that when the June election results are counted, Buscaino will probably not even win his own district because of the discontent he has sewn amongst his own constituents.
Who Is Rick Caruso?
The Man vs. the Ads By Bob Gelfand
If you, like me, saw the first set of Rick Caruso for Mayor ads on television, you would have come away from them not really knowing the man. He’s just a very, very rich guy who makes promises he can’t keep, like every other politician running for president. Some might even think of him as the west coast version of Donald Trump. Looking at his website and reading some of his biography, this does not appear to be the case, but the TV ads are a good example of how advertisers working for politicians miss critically important points. When I participated in politics at the level of a local Democratic club, I began to notice that there was a sort of ladder with its own pecking
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order for election to public office. If you were running for governor, it was expected that you would show some prior experience in government. Being the state Attorney General and creating a strong anti-crime image was the standard method. Holding some other statewide office and being the son of a popular former governor was also a way to be near the top of the ladder. Pete Wilson moved from mayor of San Diego to U.S. senator, and from there to governor. People who wanted to have a career in politics and were otherwise unaccomplished would run for the Community College District because there were a lot of seats and the voters typically had no idea who was any good or even who the
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[See Caruso, p. 9] Address correspondence regarding news items and tips to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email: editor@randomlengthsnews.com. Send Letters to the Editor to james@randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, letters must be signed with address and phone number (for verification purposes) and be about 250 words. For advertising inquiries or to submit advertising copy, email: rlnsales@randomlengthsnews.com. Annual subscription is $40 for 27 issues. Back issues are available for $3/copy while supplies last. Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2022 Beacon Light Press, LLC. All rights reserved.
[Caruso, from p. 8]
Caruso
incumbents were. It didn’t usually work out for most of these people — they couldn’t even afford to send a postcard to every mailing address in the district — but it shows that they did recognize that the ladder exists. So is Rick Caruso doing the exact same thing — running for mayor instead of for governor or the U.S. Senate — because he has lots of money and can afford to start at a higher level? That would be the impression you get if the only information you were to rely on comes from those television ads. Recent history suggests that successful candidates had a lot of name recognition, had a lot of experience in government, and could make a credible case that they had made things happen.
The Rich Guy Without Government Experience
There is another approach to government which is simplistically described as being rich enough to buy a lot of advertising. This is supposed to provide name recognition, the first requirement for successfully running for office. But is it enough? Experience tells us that this is not the case. The prime example was Ross Perot, who had gazillions of dollars and fought his way into a presidential debate. He didn’t win. A parallel track to the rich guy who buys a lot of advertising is being the son or daughter of a well known politician. The logic seems to go like this: People know the family name because Dad has been elected many times and people seem to like him. “When my name goes on the ballot, people will see Unruh or Dymally and check that name.” It didn’t work back then. My take-away impression at the time was that the children of successful politicians seemed to be rejected by the voters almost automatically. Admittedly, George W. Bush was an exception, but he had also been a state governor and had a lot of clout within his political party.
The Problem for a Beginner Trying to Break Into the System
Wikileaks and War
What is a war of aggression? What is a war crime? What are crimes against humanity? How is the public to know when they occur and by whom they are perpetrated? What and who censors the press and for what reasons? With the war in Ukraine raging and the ashes in Iraq still smoldering, these questions need to be clearly defined before they can be answered completely and truthfully. LA Progressive, CodePink, The National Lawyers Guild, ACLU Pasadena/Foothill Chapter, American Constitution Society-San Diego Chapter and Assange Defense-Los Angeles are hosting a webinar on the threat to freedom of the press in a time of war. Join legal scholar Marjorie Cohn and Jim Lafferty from the National Lawyers Guild as they moderate a roundtable discussion on these issues and more. Our roundtable will include Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, CodePink cofounder Medea Benjamin, author and historian Vijay Prashad, and international human rights lawyer Renata Avila.
RANDOMLetters Marine Le Pen Is on Putin’s Payroll
Formerly failed fascist French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has managed to make her moronic, White supremacist way into the French presidential runoff election scheduled for April 24, when lunatic Le Pen will assuredly suffer yet another crushing defeat at the feet of France’s incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, just like Le Pen lost in a landslide in the 2017 presidential runoff to Macron by a whopping 66% to 34% margin. Marine Le Pen (who just received 23% of the vote on April 10) must really be burned by barely beating Moroccan-born member of the French Assembly Jean-Luc Melenchon (22% of the vote) for second place in the initial election for the French presidency this year. President Macron couldn’t possibly be more politically fortunate in having the laughable loser Le Pen as his runoff election op-
ponent again, which will simply insure Macron’s second five-year term as the president of France, which will be a big win for the U.S. Le Pen’s latest impending landslide loss will become just one more epic fail headed for the history books by the far-right Russian kleptocracy, the FSB (the successor agency to the KGB), and their bought-and-paid-for political agents like Marine Le Pen, deranged Donald Trump, whack job Republican U.S. Senator from Wisconsin Ron Johnson, pro-Putin Fox “News” traitor Tucker Carlson, etc. Foolish Fox “News” says Marine Le Pen will win, so you now know for a fact that you can take it to the bank that President Macron will be re-elected easily on April 24. Fox “News” is almost always wrong, after all. (Except for when Fox “News” correctly called the 2020 American presidential election for Joe Biden & Kamala Harris. You know what they say… even a stopped clock is right twice a day!) Jake Pickering Arcata, Calif.
Time: 4 p.m., April 27 Details: Register, https://tinyurl.com/wikileaks-war-talk Venue: Online
April 14 - 27, 2022
[See Caruso, p. 26]
Community Alerts
Earth Day Edition
When I saw the recent ads for Rick Caruso, I saw somebody who doesn’t — as yet — present himself very well. In brief, I don’t know the man after seeing his ads, and I certainly did not gain any feel for how he would govern. Here’s the little I remember from the television intro: Caruso says he will declare a state of emergency on his first day in office. That’s a big “so what” to me. Which of our many emergency declarations has worked out in the past? What does it even mean? Caruso also said something about getting rid of waste, which is the first and last statement used by conservative politicians who want to promise big changes without increasing taxes. They promise to pull this mythical rabbit from a mythical hat. The ad also said something about creating low cost housing from abandoned buildings, or maybe it was surplus buildings, or something like that. The Caruso campaign is free to correct me, but that’s actually my point — I didn’t actually follow the proposal (if it actually has any meaning in the real world) because it flashed by so quickly and didn’t really give any details. So that was my first impression: It was a hohum political ad making exactly the same prom-
ises as every other politician has ever made, and it was entirely unconvincing. But maybe that first impression was itself wrong. I base that second opinion on his biography, as presented in his web page titled Meet Rick Caruso, which you can see here, https://carusocan. com/meet-rick-caruso/. Let’s start with one of my first impressions that is belied by the claims in his biography: As I said above, the ads would suggest that Rick Caruso has no experience in government and wouldn’t know how to start. (Being mayor means dealing with the city council and dozens of departments, and that means knowing how to do politics in the positive sense of the word.) Well, is that the case? Caruso reminds us (if we even knew) that he was appointed to the DWP Commission by Mayor Tom Bradley back in 1985. He was appointed again in 1997. In the website biography, he takes credit for “saving the department from financial ruin, slashing billions in debt and cutting wasteful spending.” It’s an interesting assertion. I’ll leave it to our other columnists to decide whether the pension debt at the DWP is now solved, but at least the candidate is trying to claim some government experience. But if you were to rely on the TV ads for your knowledge of Rick Caruso, you wouldn’t have the faintest idea that he has ever stepped through the front door of City Hall. Caruso also claims that he “Reformed LAPD as President of the LA Police Commission.” The website also says, “Caruso restored public trust in the LAPD, especially among Black, Asian and Latino Angelenos.” I’ll leave that to you to decide whether you think that our minority communities trust the LAPD. It’s a pretty brash claim, but at least it suggests some experience in government, even if it was just at the commission level. There’s one other point in the biographical sketch. Caruso takes credit for hiring William Bratton as the police chief during a particularly difficult time in LAPD history. I guess I always thought that the mayor had something to do with choosing the new police chief. But there is some meat in the website as opposed to the television ads, showing a man who has worked in city government and claims to have fixed things that were broken when others could not. That’s a pretty substantial point, and if he could make that case to the voters, might well win on it. Is it going to be a Caruso vs. Bass runoff? It may or may not be fair, but I suspect that everyone currently in the city council or holding citywide office is fatally tarred by the corruption scandal in the city council. When three other city council members have already been charged with felonies and the city attorney is allegedly involved in another major scandal, it will be easy for voters to disqualify the candidates, one and all. That leaves Karen Bass, Rick Caruso, and whatever other nonentities are on the ballot. We’ll see. I leave Joe Buscaino as a possible breakthrough candidate because he, seemingly alone, makes the logical argument that the city has the right to regulate its sidewalks and public spaces, whatever else we might do about the plight of the homeless. There’s one other thing in the Caruso website biography that might come back to bite him. Here’s how it is phrased: “Caruso’s father Henry ran track at Marshall High, served in World War II and attended the University of Southern California on the GI Bill. He achieved great early success in auto sales but
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[Pollution, from p. 1] [Briefs, from p. 7]
funding/apportionments The FTA has also launched a bipartisan Infrastructure Law information hub, https:// www.transit.dot.gov/BIL
AltaSea Ocean Program To Receive $600,000
SAN PEDRO — Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) has secured $600,000 in funding for AltaSea’s Ocean STEM Pathways program at the Port of Los Angeles. AltaSea is the only nonprofit organization in Los Angeles focused on climate change and job creation to receive this federal community project funding. AltaSea’s Ocean STEM Pathways program will provide Los Angeles area students with handson educational experiences in four sectors of the blue economy: sustainable aquaculture, ocean exploration and mapping, renewable energy and underwater robotics. AltaSea’s growing campus is primed to be the hub of the emerging blue economy, which is projected to create more than 126,000 direct jobs in LA County, paying a combined $37.7 billion in wages by 2030. AltaSea’s signed anchor tenants to occupy various locations on the 35acre campus include the University of Southern California, the University of California, Los Angeles, the Southern California Marine Institute (made up of 23 universities, colleges, and institutes), Braid Theory, Holdfast Aquaculture, Montauk Technologies, and Pacific Mariculture. Also among AltaSea’s tenants is oceanographer and explorer Dr. Robert Ballard’s Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) and the research vessel Nautilus, which docks at AltaSea.
Civilian Commission Begins Investigation on Gangs Within LASD
April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
On March 24, the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission began its investigation into the deputies gangs within the Sheriff’s Department. The gangs have been within the department for decades, and the commission is using a team of pro bono lawyers to find out how much they have influenced the department and how to get rid of them. The commission will use its subpoena power to hear testimony at regular monthly meetings and special public hearings. However, the current sheriff, Alex Villanueva, has ignored three different subpoenas from the commission, including one investigating the deputy gangs. The investigation is intended to find out which stations the gangs operate out of, and the impact they have on the community. The investigation is supposed to take five to six months. Ultimately, the investigation will write a report advising how to get rid of the gangs.
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Pollution and Violence “We know that he didn’t deserve to die like this,” said Banales, Delgado’s mother. “It hurts so badly.” “Every time I call [the police] they say, ‘I’m working on another case. I haven’t had time to work on Daniel’s case,’” she added. Banales claims that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has suggested to her that Delgado’s case has suffered due to “budget cuts” spurred by the historic protests against police violence the summer Delgado died. (Although the LAPD’s budget was cut by $150m in 2020, it then grew by $213m in 2021, making it the city’s largest police budget in history.) LAPD press representatives did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication of this article. Wilmington community members are no stranger to early death and the social inequality that drives it. The neighborhood is located in the Los Angeles City Council District 15, home to the most federal public housing projects and federally regulated toxic sites of all the city’s 15 districts. The port in its backyard contributes to 1,200 premature deaths annually; the air pollution from the refineries on its soil and trucks on its streets contributes to 4,100 premature deaths across southern California; and a lack of green spaces, jobs and safe housing contributes to the zip code’s five most populous census tracts being less healthy than 93% of the state, according to the California Healthy Places Index. As structural and environmental damages have piled up, interpersonal violence has followed. According to a Grist and Guardian analysis of California’s department of public health reports and the Los Angeles Times’ homicide tracking database, at least 189 people have been shot and killed (10 of them by police) in the community of 55,000 since the year 2000. That amounts to nearly 2.5 times as many fatal shootings as the Los Angeles County percapita average and four times as many as those experienced in the cities that border Wilmington — San Pedro, Rancho Palos Verdes and Palos
Verdes Estates — over the same time period. The vast majority of those shootings have taken place in the city’s industrial corridors, which are the west coast’s main arteries for oil production, trucking and logistics. They are home to more than 200 oil drilling sites, five fossil fuel refineries, three railways and dozens of truckyards and scrapyards. Delgado’s killing fits the trend: he was killed on the corner of Drumm Avenue and
Sonia Banales and Roberto Delgado sit below a portrait of their son, Daniel Felipe Delgado, who was murdered in 2020 by gun violence in Wilmington.
East Pacific Coast Highway, two streets flanked by shipping container overflow yards and metal scrap yards. According to southern California’s air pollution regulator, Wilmington is home to nearly 400 polluting sites, but their locations aren’t equally distributed. In 13 of the city’s 29 census
HACLA Warns Against False Housing Vouchers
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, or HACLA, issued a press release on April 7 saying that false information about Emergency Housing Vouchers was circulating on social media. The press release said that there have been events where attendees falsely believed that they would receive such vouchers, including Section 8 or Housing Choice Vouchers. The press release did not give details, but it was referring to a series of events in late March hosted by a nonprofit called Fathers and Mothers Who Care. The organization was only intending to process applications, but a social media advertisement not affiliated with the organization said that it would be giving out vouchers. More than a hundred people came to the events, but left empty-handed.
blocks, where roughly 40% of the zip code’s residents live, there are just eight industrial sites. In the other 16 census tracts, there are nearly 370 industrial sites. Every single one of the community’s fatal shootings since 2000 has taken place in those industrialized tracts. These inequities can be traced to America’s history of racist housing policies, including the practice of redlining. In the mid-20th century, the federal government considered roughly half of Wilmington’s residential area to be “hazardous,” which cemented its industrial character by maintaining low homeownership rates and paltry government support. The legacy of pollution and disinvestment persists, and it is also connected to the area’s rate of violence: formerly redlined communities have significantly higher rates of
Grist and Guardian analysis of California’s department of public health reports and the Los Angeles Times’ homicide tracking database American Community Survey. Graphic courtesy of the Guardian
gun violence than non-redlined neighborhoods. Academic research on the relationship between pollution, land use and violence has not definitively established a physiological relationship between pollution, access to green space, and violence and aggression. But it is known that air pollutants act as stressors, eliciting endocrine stress responses in our brains that lead to irrational decisions and violent tendencies and also disturb the physical, cognitive and emotional health of people exposed to it at high levels. And research has shown a strong correlative relationship between violent crimes and air pollution levels, and that violence rises in communities that don’t have access to public green space. In one study that combines environmental data with Los Angeles crime records between 2005 and 2013, researchers found that, even when controlled for many social, economic and circumstantial variables (such as weather), violent crime was 6.1% higher on days with dirty air than on days with clean air. In another study focused on Youngstown, Ohio, researchers found that turning vacant lots into community green spaces drastically decreased crime, including gun violence. The research tends to support the “cues to care” theory — that if there is visible maintenance and care offered to shared spaces in communities, a feeling of security and social cohesion follows. The inclusion of natural landscapes, green spaces and accessible outdoor community spaces helps mitigate the prevalence of violence, including [See Crime, p. 26]
Earth Day Edition
April 14 - 27, 2022
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[Brackish, from p. 2]
Brackish Water
“The benefits of the project will outlast the treatment process,” Katherman said. “As water is treated and used, it creates space in drinking water aquifers to store fresh water and purified recycled water. This water can be used as reserves for times of severe drought.” It will treat the water using a process called reverse osmosis, which has the water go through a membrane which the salt can’t go through. Af-
terwards, the WRD will disinfect the water and adjust its pH level to make it suitable for drinking. The program is targeting 375,000 acre-feet of brackish water, of which 240,000 acre-feet are in an aquifer in lower San Pedro, according to the feasibility report. The rest is an aquifer in Silverado, which has 113,000 acre-feet, and an aquifer in Gage, which has 13,000 acre-feet. The program has multiple facets to it, including wells to extract the water, a desalination plant, and wells to inject water back into the aquifers, Katherman said.
The WRD is considering using 20-inch-diameter, 316 stainless steel, vertical wells at up to 10 different locations, the feasibility report says. Each of these wells should be able to extract 2,000 acre-feet of water per year, but the San Pedro aquifer might not be able to extract as much as the Silverado aquifer. The WRD is considering using a larger number of wells that are smaller sizes instead. The WRD will likely use the Elm and Faysmith site in Torrance for the centralized treatment facility, according to the feasibility report. The site,
which is also called the Old City Yard, was suggested by the City of Torrance. This site had wells that were previously demolished, and because of this it is adjacent to the city’s water main and has access to its distribution system. In addition, it is on the edge of the plume of brackish water. The extracted salt from the water is called brine, and the WRD will most likely dispose of it in the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts’ Joint Water Pollution Control Plant. The program could potentially have a direct sewer line to the plant. This would cost the WRD about $12.6 million per year in capital expenditure, but it’s their cheapest option for brine disposal.
Removing Toxic Substances
Another project the WRD is working on is the PFAS Remediation Program. PFAS stands for polyfluoroalkyl substances, which include perflourooctanic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonate, or PFOS. These are man-made compounds that can be harmful to humans and the environment because they break down very slowly. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, research is underway to study what the effects are on people. The potential negative effects include increased risk of cancer, decreased fertility, developmental effects or delays in children, weakening of immune systems, increased cholesterol levels and risk of obesity. In October 2021, California became the seventh state to ban its use in food packaging. But they can still be found in drinking water, firefighting foam, fish, and household products. According to the WRD’s website, some PFAS have been found in some active wells in LA County, but they are below the health advisory level established by the EPA. The WRD Board of Directors approved a $34 million grant program to treat these wells. The WRD tested two pilots to decide on how to treat the water with PFAS. Both treated the water with ion exchange resins and granular activated carbon. The resins used were one time use, they were removed and disposed of afterwards. The carbon used was made of coal. The pilot tested four different types of resins and four types of carbon, and ultimately found that one of the resins was the most cost-effective method. It’s called Resinex PFCR-2, and is specifically designed to remove PFAS from water. It removes the most PFOA, and lasts longer than the other resins.
April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
Other challenges
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Katherman said that more than 200 water providers, including cities and water districts, have rights to pump from two basins that the WRD controls. A superior court allocated these rights decades ago, and they can’t be altered. They all have one thing in common, they all need drinkable water. “Although cities may have varying water needs and differing allocations, the health of the groundwater basins is important for everyone,” Katherman said. “If an unwanted substance, such as brackish water, were to migrate throughout the groundwater basins it could affect multiple water providers.” He said that the amount of groundwater each community can access was determined decades ago. However, water equity is still important to the WRD. “Water providers that serve low-income communities may be under-resourced and in need of additional support to treat groundwater affected by unwanted substances,” Katherman said. “These substances can cause water to be discolored, malodorous or bitter tasting.” The WRD has addressed this by starting a Safe Drinking Water Program and Disadvantaged Communities Program. Katherman said it has helped 13 cities address contamination issues.
California to Become a Sanctuary State for Trans Texans By Anealia Kortkamp, Editorial Intern
in cases involving gender-affirming care, putting cases regarding this at the absolute bottom of law enforcing priority. Similar laws are being put forward to provide similar refuge to those coming to California for abortion healthcare. According to Sen. Wiener, it seems that other states are also
small. In Utah, for example, a bill banning trans students from playing women’s sports would have affected one student in the entire state. On the grounds that the cost and liability was not worth it, Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed it, only to be overridden. Sen. Wiener, a member of the LGBT community, had this to say on the wave of these laws. “It’s political opportunism in the extreme. These are right-wing republican politicians who either want to be president or go to congress or [See Sanctuary, p. 24]
Earth Day Edition April 14 - 27, 2022
California often does not have a need to keep in mind the ongoing politics of other states. The Sierra Mountains and broad deserts have destined California to be geographically and culturally distinctive from its neighbors. On issues of LGBT rights, however, it seems that California will not be playing the role of the isolationist. Conservative led states have decided to curtail LGBT rights, and California in response is now drafting laws specifically to thwart this behavior from encroaching into its borders. In particular, California’s sister state Texas under a conservative-led Greg Abbott government has taken a hardline stance on trans issues. Among these stances is the idea that allocating genderaffirming care to trans children is equivalent to child abuse. Gov. Abbott has advocated that anyone providing this care, as well as the parents of the child, is liable for a crime. California has responded in kind, soundly refusing to collaborate with this vision of Texas. Texas is not alone, as of 2021 at least 33 states have introduced literal hundreds of bills looking to make cuts on the liberties afforded to gay and transgender individuals in those states. Some of the harshest originate in Arkansas and Florida, Arkansas allowing doctors to refuse to assist LGBT patients in any circumstance if the refusal is made on religious grounds. Florida’s big LGBT bill emphasizes a parent’s freedom to sue schools if the parent believes the teaching of gender or sexual topics was handled incorrectly. Abbott’s own bill stems from this line of thinking and rhetoric. Already Abbott has been challenged in this matter with a lawsuit from parents working in Texas’ Department of Family and Protective Services, or DFPS. The same DFPS is charged with the enforcement of Abbott’s order. The mother was placed on leave from the DFPS and the daughter grew worried of forced separation from her family and severance from her affirmative care. Child Protective Services probed the family with invasive questioning and made attempts at accessing their medical records solely on the ground that their transgender daughter was receiving care. All this was stated via the court’s petition for the lawsuit which is being spearheaded by the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU and Lambda Legal. This case carries serious repercussions for the health and well-being of transgender individuals in Texas and the Abbott order has ripples that will be felt in California. As it currently stands, should an individual under 18 come to California to receive gender-affirming care, a Texas official may still probe the case and California officials would have to release to them any information that would assist in this investigation. First spoken about on March 17, state senator and bill author Scott Wiener, along with coauthors and state legislators Susan Eggman and Evan Low, have put forward a bill firmly rejecting the idea of California collaborating with Texas on its recent transgender centric law. The bill goes further, however. It “bars any out-of-state subpoena seeking health or related information about people who come to CA to receive gender-affirming care,” said Sen. Wiener in a tweet thread following his announcement of the bill. The result of this would be blocking out any would be similar piece of legislation. In addition, it blocks out of state court judgments and arrests
considering adopting such protections for those seeking LGBT protections. “I’ve gotten calls from legislators in other states hoping to take a similar approach to what we’re doing. We’re having those conversations and it’s not just about California.” The argument of transgender people receiving healthcare and being able to participate in society is being used as a wedge issue by conservative politicians to rally their base as elections sit less than a year away. Oftentimes the scope of who is being targeted by these laws is comically
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April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
T
By Melina Paris, Assistant Editor There is much more to know about Los Angeles’ ordained queen and three-time Grammy-nominee. In Morrison’s honor, here, find remembrances of the singer, teacher and philanthropist from members of the music community who loved her, throughout Angel City.
Memories of the Queen of Blues and Jazz
Jazz drummer, producer of the Long Beach Jazz Festival and owner of the former Birdland West in Long Beach, Al Williams, first met Barbara Morrison in 1975 at The Coronet Room, a blues club in Long Beach. Williams recalled Barbara was on stage belting out the sounds of Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. “Barbara was slender, sexy, and her voice was warm and sultry,” Williams wrote via email. “She had a personality that would fill a stadium. She had an outstanding sense of humor — kept the audience and the musicians on stage laughing. At that time, I offered her a job at my club, The Jazz Safari, next to the Queen Mary.” Barbara worked with Johnny Otis, Ray Charles, Ernie Andrews, James Moody, among others. She toured internationally — a salute to jazz and blues — with the Phillip Morris big band, gathering a global following, creating a huge fan base that earned her international fame and allowed her to travel back to Europe with her own band many times. Williams noted that eventually, around the late ‘70s, she [See Queen, p. 20]
Earth Day Edition
he music world and Los Angeles lost its “Queen,” legendary jazz and blues singer Ms. Barbara Morrison, on March 16. The world of music in Los Angeles will be quieter for her loss. Yet, Barbara leaves the city richer in cultural assets from her contributions and the legacy she leaves behind. Morrison recounted how she earned the title “Queen,” in a 2013 interview with Random Lengths News. “It was from a man named Larry Gales, who worked with Thelonious Monk,” said Morrison. “I was so young and dumb when I got started in this business because I was trying to sing jazz and I didn’t know who any of the jazz giants were like Miles Davis or Ella Fitzgerald. So they would say, ‘Oh lord, here comes the Queen.’ “All the fellas would make fun of me and it just stuck. The other singers in town thought they were calling me Queen because I could sing better than them but that wasn’t why. They were calling me Queen because I was too dumb to know anybody. That’s when I knew I had to go to school to learn and study and find out who these people were that were making me want to sing this music.” One of Morrison’s greatest gifts was in the way she expressed a song. With a two-and-a-half octave range, Barbara’s vocalizing style — often down to the last echo of a note — seamlessly spanned numbers from The Great American Songbook to improvisational jazz, exuberant blues and R&B classics. Morrison was a musical force in Los Angeles. Among her many achievements, she was one of the first hires in the mid-’90s by jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell, director of the jazz studies concentration at UCLA, where she taught voice. Additionally, Morrison served as an adjunct professor of global jazz studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. The singer and teacher opened the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center or BMPAC in 2011 in Leimert Park, tapping the center to launch new artists. In 2016, she opened the California Jazz and Blues Museum to educate the community on LA’s prolific jazz performers and provide historical context about California’s influence on the genre. Morrison also taught beginning to advanced music, jazz/blues interpretation and history, acting and concert performing techniques.
April 14 - 27, 2022
Barbara Morrison, a legendary jazz singer, died this past March. Graphic by Brenda López
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Spring Noodles By Ari LeVaux, Flash In the Pan Columnist
S
ome of my favorite recipes come from vegetable growers. Farm cooks know how to feed a bunch of people efficiently, with simple recipes made from basic ingredients that quickly produce mountains of delicious nourishment to energize the farm hands without weighing them down. I am friends with some farmers who can really cook, and are generous with their recipes. Luci Brieger of Lifeline Farms in Victor, Montana has this carrot pasta dish that she’s perfected over many years. It’s sweet, earthy
and comforting, and makes you ravenous. Josh Slotnick of Clark Fork Organics in Missoula, meanwhile, recently came up with a noodle recipe, based loosely on Pad Thai, as a way of burning through mountains of excess parsley. He makes a tangy chimichurri — a steak sauce from Argentina — and tosses it into fried noodles. It’s nice to have brilliant friends whose shoulders you can stand on while you steal their recipes and mix them together like a kid at a self-serve soda fountain. If only it were
Chimichurri and carrot fried noodles. Photo by Ari LeVaux
that simple. Truth is, combining these recipes entails some tough choices. Which type of noodle, for example, should we use? If we go with a semolina-based pasta, a la carrot pasta, then we’ll add grated hard cheese and perhaps anchovy for extra umami. If we use rice noodles, a la chimichurri Pad Thai, we’ll get our umami from fish sauce and soy sauce. After some very enjoyable head-to-head taste tests, rice noodles were clearly the best choice for this carrot and parsley sauce. They
have a pleasing elasticity, can be pan-fried crispy, and hold the sauce admirably. I prefer the extra-wide rice noodles, which have a supple quality that makes chewing extra fun. Rice noodles are also less finicky than pasta, and easier to prepare perfectly. You don’t even have to boil them. Simply dunk dried noodles in a pot of room temperature water, and turn your attention to other matters. By the time you are ready to fry, your perfect noodles will be waiting.
Chimichurri and Carrot Fried Noodles
With vivid colors and vibrant earthy flavors, these noodles will ring in spring, blow everyone’s mind, and won’t even make too much of a mess. It may be Asian-style, but this luxurious dish is rich enough to handle a glass of Italian red. 1 14-oz package of rice noodles, preferably the wide kind 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into coins about ¼ inch thick 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium-sized onion, chopped ½ cup olive oil 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced 2 tablespoons rice vinegar Zest and juice of a lemon 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper ¼ cup water 1 bunch of parsley, including stems, chopped 1 tablespoon fish sauce 2 tablespoons soy sauce Optional: red pepper flakes as a garnish Fill a large pot or bowl with about a gallon of water. Add the noodles and let them soak for about 45 minutes until they are limp but not completely done, with a bit of stiffness still. Drain the noodles and set aside until it’s time to fry them. Add the butter and two tablespoons of olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pan, with the heat between low and medium. Add the carrot coins, spreading them out so that they are all touching the pan, with no double-decker carrots. Let them simmer for 15 minutes, lightly softening. Stir the carrots and spread them again. Add the onions atop the carrots, but don’t stir them in right away. Let it continue cooking quietly on the low side with the lid on. The onions will [See Noodles, p. 17]
Earth Day Edition
BIG NICK’S PIZZA
Tradition, variety and fast delivery or takeout—you get it all at Big Nick’s Pizza. The best selection of Italian specialties include hearty calzones, an array of pastas and our amazing selection of signature pizzas. We are taking all safety precautions to protect our diners and staff. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on new developments. Call for fast delivery or to place a pick up order. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri.Sun. Big Nicks’ Pizza, 1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-732-5800, www.bignickspizza.com
April 14 - 27, 2022
BUONO’S AUTHENTIC PIZZERIA
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Family owned and operated since 1965, Buono’s is famous for award-winning brick oven baked pizza. Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and sauces based on tried-and-true family recipes and hand-selected fresh ingredients. Now limited dine-in and patio service, takeout and delivery. Hours: Sun.Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Buono’s Pizzeria, 222 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-547-0655, www.buonospizza.com
CONRAD’S MEXICAN GRILL
Conrad’s reflects the cuisine of Oaxaca with a focus fresh on local, seasonal ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now Conrad’s features Peruvian dishes, as well as an inventive Mexican vegetarian and vegan menu. Dine in, dine al fresco or order online for curbside pick up and delivery. Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. S. Conrad’s Mexican Grill, 376. W. 6th St., San Pedro 424-264-5452, www.conradsmexicangrill.com
HAPPY DINER #1
The Happy Diner #1 in Downtown San Pedro isn’t your average diner. The selections range from Italian- and Mexicaninfluenced entrées to American Continental. Happy Diner chefs are always creating something new—take your pick of grilled salmon over pasta or tilapia and vegetables prepared any way you like. Dine in or al fresco or call for takeout. Hours: Mon.-Wed. 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thurs.Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #1, 617 S. Centre St., San Pedro, 310-241-0917, www.happydinersp.com
HAPPY DINER #2
Built on the success of Happy Diner #1, Happy Diner #2 offers American favorites like omelets and burgers, fresh salads, plus pasta and Mexican dishes are served. Order online for delivery or call for pickup. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #2, 1931 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-935-2933, www.happydinersp.com
HAPPY DELI
The Happy Deli is a small place with a big menu. Food is made-to-order using the freshest ingredients. Breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches include a small coffee. For lunch or dinner select from fresh salads, wraps, buffalo wings, cold and hot sandwiches, burgers and dogs. Order online or call for takeout or delivery. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 am. to 8 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Deli, 530 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 424-364-0319, www.happydelisp.com
SAN PEDRO BREWING COMPANY
A micro brewery and American grill, SPBC features handcrafted award-winning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, BBQ, sandwiches, salads and burgers. Order your growlers, house drafts and cocktails to go (with food purchase)! Open daily 12 to 8 p.m. for indoor or al fresco dining, takeout and delivery through Grubhub, Postmates and Doordash. San Pedro Brewing Company, 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-831-5663, www.sanpedrobrewing.com
WEST COAST PHILLY’S
Welcome to West Coast Philly’s Cheesesteak and Hoagies where authentic Philly cheesesteaks meet the waterfront in San Pedro. Along with serving the classic cheesesteak, West Coast Philly’s puts its unique twist on its cheesesteaks and hoagies. Also on the menu are subs, burgers, wings and salads. Happy hour from 2 to 6 p.m., Mon.-Thurs. Indoor dining or order online or call for pickup. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. West Coast Philly’s, 1902 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, 424-264-5322, www.westcoastphillys.com
Support Independent Restaurants • Dining Guide online: www.randomlengthsnews.com/dining-guide [See Calendar, page 16]
[Noodles, from p. 16]
Noodles
add moisture and steam the carrots. After ten minutes, stir again. Keep cooking on low. Meanwhile, make the chimichurri. Add ½ cup olive oil to a blender, along with the garlic, rice vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend. Stop the blender. Add the minced parsley. Blend again until it has become the savory green puree known as chimichurri. Remove the carrots and onions from the pan. Add the noodles and spread them out so as many are touching as possible. Turn the heat up to medium, and add the carrots back on top of the noodles. After about five minutes, the noodles on the bottom will start to develop a browned crisp. Add half of the chimichurri on top of the carrots, but don’t mix it in. Yet. After another five minutes or so, add the soy sauce and fish sauce and stir everything together. If the noodles are too stiff, add ¼ cup of water, put the lid on, turn off the heat and wait 10 minutes. After it cools a little bit, stir in the rest of the chimichurri and serve, garnished with pepper flakes.
RANDOMHappening
Small Island Big Song Earth Day Concert at the Warner Grand
LINKS: • Small Island Big Song -www. smallislandbigsong.com • Instagram - www.instagram.com/small_ island_big_song
By Melina Paris, Assistant Editor
The Small Island Big Song international tour and production draws attention to the diverse cultures of Madagascar, Aotearoa, Taiwan, Marshall Islands, Hawaii, New Guinea, Tahiti, Rapa Nui, Solomon Islands and more. It is an exuberant celebration raising awareness about climate change and the fate of many islands affected by rising seas. News from the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, in Glasgow reports that two of the eight islands of the nation of Tuvalu are nearly submerged and according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Marshall Islands may face the same fate within the next 20 years. “This situation is not only affecting the South Pacific. Climate change and sea level rise are changing coastlines around the world, in ways that threaten ecological
balances that we rely on,” said Dr. Julianne Pasarelli, education and collections curator at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. The Small Island Big Song documentary film showcases panoramic visuals of the artist’s homelands. The audience will journey across the breadth and into the soul of island nations of the Pacific and Indian Ocean, meeting an ancient seafaring ancestry while confronting the impacts of climate change head on. Performers and youth ambassadors share their island’s voice supported through the cinematic sequences. Watch the trailer here: https://tinyurl.com/ small-island. Time: 7:30 p.m., April 27 Cost: $29 to $105 Details: https://tinyurl.com/373s8pny Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
Earth Day Edition April 14 - 27, 2022
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Music
April 22
Chalaban at Alvas Showroom This band will be playing Moroccan Gnaoua music, in music traditions of Central Europe and Balkan styles. The band members will play guembri, guitar, bass guitar, saxophone, drums and Moroccan percussion. Time: 8 p.m., April 22 Cost: $30 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ Chalaban Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro The Winehouse Experience Mia Karter pays tribute to the late icon Amy Winehouse, known for her distinctive warm vocals, soulful songwriting and signature style. All of Winehouse’s greatest hits take center stage in this live concert. Time: 9 p.m., April 22 Cost: $25 to $45 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ Winehouse-experience Venue: Harvelle’s Long Beach, 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach
April 24
Bad Haggis This band blends Irish and Scottish traditions with rock, alternative, jazz, pop, world beat, African and Latin influences. It has been featured on numerous TV shows and movies, and will play original songs. Time: 5 p.m., April 24 Cost: $25 Details: https://tinyurl.com/BadHaggis Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
April 27
Ukrainian Roots Yale Strom, Elizabeth Schwartz, and Fred Benedetti are core members of Yale Strom and Hot Pstromi, the San Diego-based supergroup that has performed klezmer and Romani all over the world. The band will be playing a rare LA appearance at Collage as part of its program about the culture of Ukraine. Time: 7:30 p.m., April 27 Cost: $15 to $25 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ ukrainian-roots Venue: Collage, 731 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro
THEATER April 14
Earth Day Edition
A Doll’s House Part 2 This play is a sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, an 1879 play that ended with a woman leaving her husband and kids. The sequel dives deeper into her choices. Time: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, until May 1 Cost: $37 to $52 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ dolls-house-2 Venue: Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach
April 14 - 27, 2022
April 22
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Romeo and Juliet House of Bards Theatre Company presents William Shakespeare’s most revered romance, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Time: Friday, Saturday 7:30 p.m. Sunday 2 p.m. April 22 to May 1 Cost: $15 to $40 Details: www.house-of-bardstheatre-company. Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro San Pedro
April 23
April 15
An Evening with Anne Lamott Author Anne Lamott lifts, comforts, and inspires — all while keeping you laughing in this revealing evening. Time: 8 p.m., April 23 Cost: $65 Details: 562-985-7000; http://www.carpenterarts.org Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach
Nourish Food and Community Fair Join a community fair with free food distribution, free food samples and recipes. The event also includes mental health and nutrition education and presentations Time: 1 to 3 p.m., April 15 Cost: Free Details: 310-547-0831 Venue: YWCA, Harbor Area, 437 W. 9th St., San Pedro
Continuing
Community Passover Seder Temple Beth El San Pedro will be celebrating Passover with a brief service, followed by a meal. Dairy, butter, flour and nut free options are available, as well as a vegetarian meal. Time: 5:30 p.m., April 15 Cost: $20 to $40 Details: https://tinyurl.com/SederBeth-EL Venue: Temple Beth El, 1435 W. 7th St., San Pedro
ART
Blues-Birds at soundpedro2022 This new exhibit at Angels Gate Cultural Center features the work of Steven Speciale and his Loyola High School students. The exhibit consists of fabric birds that pay homage to Black artists while also acknowledging cultural appropriation and Black erasure. Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursdays to Saturdays Cost: Free Details: https://www.soundpedro. org/gallery-show-2022 Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro The Port of Long Beach Recordings Artist Phil Peters is showing The Port of Long Beach Recordings at Canary Test in LA. Peters went to the nation’s second busiest port to capture the soundscape, and now bottles those noises inside of a gallery. The exhibition runs to May 11. Details: 617- 997-6152; www.thecanarytest.com/# Venue: Canary Test, 526 E. 12th St., C, Los Angeles Where the Form Ends and also Begins Menduina Schneider Art Gallery Presents a solo show by Jorge Schneider. Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, through April Cost: Free Details: www.msartgallery.com Venue: MS Art Gallery 366 W. 7th St., San Pedro
Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach
April 23
Open Studios Day Angels Gate Cultural Center is holding a day where more than 50 local artists will display their work for the general public. There will also be a free family art workshop and community class demonstrations. Time: 4 p.m., April 23 Cost: Free Details: https://angelsgateart.org/ agcc-events/open-studios-day/ Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro
April 29
Malaga Cove Library Art Exhibit The exhibit features The Artists’ Studio of Palos Verdes, a professional artist cooperative affiliated with Palos Verdes Art Center. The original artworks are offered for sale in a variety of styles and media including painting, photography, and other wall hangings. The opening reception is April 29. The exhibition runs through May 25. Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., April 29 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/ malaga-cove-art Venue: Malaga Cove Library, 2400 Vía Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates
LITERATURE April 14
Matt Sedillo, Karo Ska & Sandra De Anda The series kicks off with live, instore readings by Chicano political poet, essayist, and activist Matt Sedillo, non-binary femme poet Karo Ska and writer, critic and comedian Sandra De Anda. Time: 7 p.m., April 14 Cost: Free Details: 562-588-7075; www.patmbooks.com Venue: Page Against The Machine, 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach
COMMUNITY April 14
South Coast Botanic Garden’s SOAR Immerse yourself in the life of a tropical butterfly. Your journey begins as you step into the host and nectar garden for an up-close view of the butterfly habitat and the emergence of new species. Visit SOAR now through July 31. Your ticket permits entry into the garden and the SOAR butterfly pavilion. Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: $7 to $22 Details: 424-452-0920; www.southcoastbotanicgarden. org/soar Venue: South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes Peninsula
April 14
A Woman’s Place The exhibition, A Woman’s Place, has installed the first wall that focuses on women in the arts. Watch as the exhibition is installed section by section, spotlighting women of different eras and local communities with history collected from the community. Time: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 1 to 5 p.m., Thursday 1 to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: Free Details: 562.424.2220; www.hslb.org Venue: Historical Society of Long Beach, 4260 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach
April 15
Recordar Es Vivir This solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist Anabel Juárez integrates ceramic objects, sculptural media and drawings to commemorate a sense of home. The artist builds a bridge between the past and the present and proposes questions around concepts of home following emigration. The exhibition runs through June 25 in the Museum’s Mini Gallery. Time: Tuesday to Friday, 12 to 5 p.m., Thursday evening hours: 5 to 8 p.m. and second Saturdays of the month, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost: Free Details: 562-985-4299; csulb.edu/museum Venue: Carolyn Campagna
EVENTS MUSIC April 27
Small Island Big Song Earth Day Concert Celebrating 5,000 years of Pacific Island culture, this concert is a joyous presentation uniting the communities of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, while also raising awareness about climate change and rising seas. Time: 7:30 p.m., April 27 Cost: $29 to $105 Details: https://tinyurl. com/373s8pny Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
FILM
April 22
Saging the World The film Saging the World spotlights the ecological and cultural issues intertwined with white sage, centering the voices of
Native advocates. The screening will include a panel discussion with Native advocates from the film, as well as a white sage plant giveaway. Time: 7 to 9 p.m., April 22 Cost: $10 to $15 Details: https://tinyurl.com/saging-world Venue: Warner Grand Theater, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
April 24
Wild and Scenic Film Festival Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy presents My Garden of a Thousand Bees. A wildlife filmmaker spends his time during the lockdown filming the bees in his urban garden and discovers over 60 species of bees and their distinct personalities. Time: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., April 24 Cost: $15 to $20 Details: www.pvplc.org/event/ film-festival-2022 Venue: Warner Grand Theatre 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
COMMUNITY April 16
Earth Day Coastal Cleanup Join the El Dorado Nature Center team for a coastal cleanup, meet on the sand east of Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier. Participants are encouraged to bring their own bucket or bag to further reduce their footprint.
April 17
Long Beach Antique Market More than 800 sellers will be available, selling antiques, collectibles, vintage items and home decor. Time: 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 15 Cost: $10 to $15 Details: https://tinyurl.com/LBantique Venue: 4901 E. Conant St., Long Beach
April 19
Reading of Waa’aka’: The Bird Who Fell in Love with the Sun Cindi Alvitre, full-time lecturer for California State University Long Beach’s American Indian studies department, will read and sign copies of her book. Time: 12 p.m., April 19 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/bookreading-CSULB Venue: 1250 N. Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach
April 21
Service of Remembrance This is a service to remember loved ones who have died, particularly those who died from overdose, addiction, drugs or alcohol. Participants can bring a picture of their dead loved ones to place at the altar. Time: 7 p.m., April 15 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/SPremembrance Venue: First Presbyterian Church of San Pedro, 731 S. Averill Ave., San Pedro
Celebrating Dolores Huerta Join a virtual celebration of Dolores Huerta’s 92nd birthday and her leadership in Delores Huerta Foundation’s 19 years of significant accomplishments in pursuit of social justice. Hosted by actress, comedian and social justice activist Cristela Alonzo. Time: 5 p.m., April 21 Cost: Free Details: Register at bit.ly/dolores92nd Venue: Online
Underwater Artists An aquarium educator will guide young artists in creating art in steps by making and sharing observations of their ocean animal art subject. Using live animal webcams and dynamic media, participants will discover interesting animal fun facts, explore ocean science and apply what they learn. Time: 10 to 10:45 a.m., April 16 Cost: $10 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ underwater-artists Venue: Zoom
Celebrating 50 Years of Succulent Art The annual show and sale is for anyone who loves the beautiful and the unusual. There will be plants for sale, hard to find plants, pottery, expert advice for beginners and advanced. Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 23, 24 Cost: Free Details: 310-346-6206; southcoastcss.org Venue: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes
Time: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., April 16 Cost: Free Details: 562-570-1745 Venue: Veterans Memorial Pier, 35 39th Place, Long Beach
sage scrub habitat to thrive. Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., April 23 Cost: Free Details: https://pvplc.volunteerhub.com/ Venue: White Point Nature Preserve, 1600 Paseo del Mar, San Pedro
April 16
April 19
Resource Fair The event at the Billie Jean King Main Library will include interactive and informational tables staffed by various city departments, games, giveaways and do-it-yourself sustainability activities. The city’s Youth Climate Ambassadors (www.longbeach.gov/ sustainability/programs/youthclimate-programs) will share information about the city’s first-ever proposed Climate Adaption Action Plan or CAA. Time: 6 to 7:30 p.m., April 19 Cost: Free Details: www.longbeach.gov/ lbds/planning/caap Venue: Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway, Long Beach
April 23
Earth Day at the White Point Nature Preserve Celebrate Earth Day volunteering outdoors at White Point Nature Preserve with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. Get outdoors and make a difference by helping to remove invasive grasses to enable rare coastal
April 23
Recycle Right Workshop Join LB Recycles at Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library for a workshop focused on the Long Beach curbside recycling program and learn what can and cannot be recycled and how to prepare trash and recyclables. Time: 10 to 11:30 a.m., April 23 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/ recycle-right Venue: Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library, 5870 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach Beach Cleanup Join an Earth Day event in advocacy for a beach cleanup plus a demonstration and an after party in celebration of the earth. Time: 9 a.m., April 23 Cost: Free Details: 562-570-1601 Venue: Bixby Park,130 Cherry Ave., Long Beach
Arts Announcements
Summer Internships Available at Arts Council Long Beach
The Arts Council has four internship opportunities available: an arts learning internship, marketing internship and development internship sponsored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and a public art internship made possible by the Getty Foundation’s Marrow Undergraduate Internship program. Applications are due April 20, 2022. Arts Learning Internship Job Description https://tinyurl.com/artys-learning
film, VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), installation art, performance art, sound art and mixed media. Juror: Ben Jackel. Apply through May 6 at: www.artist.callforentry.org/festivals_unique_info Time: June 6 to July 9 Cost: Free to enter Details: 310.541.2479; pvartcenter.org Venue: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes
Marketing and Grants Internship Job Description https://tinyurl.com/marketing-grants Development Internship Job Description https://tinyurl.com/development Public Art Internship Job Description https://tinyurl.com/public-art
Aquarium of the Pacific’s Trashin’ Fashion Design Contest
The aquarium will host its Trashin’ Fashion design contest during its annual Earth Day Celebration on April 23 and 24. The public is invited to enter for a chance at cash prizes that will be awarded to the top three designers with the most creative eco-friendly designs. Top designs will be showcased at the aquarium throughout the Earth Day Celebration. The goal of the contest is to draw awareness to issues of pollution and create a sustainable relationship with the ocean. Details: aquariumofpacific.org/multimedia/ trashinfashion
Now Trending: 6th Annual Alpay Scholarship Exhibition
Art and media students from Southern California colleges and universities are invited to submit engaging new work to be showcased in Palos Verdes Art Center’s Alpay Scholarship Exhibition, Now Trending. One $5,000 cash prize will be awarded. Additionally, the scholarship winner will be considered for inclusion in future PVAC exhibitions. This call is open only to currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students in Southern California. All media will be considered, including but not limited to: painting, drawing, printing, sculpture, glass, ceramics, fiber art, photography, video,
"Authentic songs that come straight from the streets and the heart" Apparitions: Ghosts On Pacific Avenue Review by Steven Meloan, Record Collector News, March-April, 2022
Earth Day Edition
“Channeling touches of Woody Guthrie, Tom Waits and acoustic Springsteen, James Preston Allen’s Apparitions: Ghosts On Pacific Avenue (Beacon Light Press) offers tales of San Pedro’s denizens of the street, the walking wounded or insane.” The doubleCD collection is envisioned as a concept album, a journalistic/poetic and mythical reporting of people and place — organized like a book, with each song a chapter and telling a given saga. “These song stories are lifted right off the streets of San Pedro, California, and may resemble people and places either living or gone. Some of the names may have been altered to protect both
have not.”
Allen’s previous album of original music, Days After the Rains, is also available. Photo and video by Jordan Quellman. Watch the video at www.jamesprestonallen.com
For more information on James Preston Allen’s life and work: www.jamesprestonallen.com
AVAILABLE NOW IN SAN PEDRO AT JDC RECORDS AND THE GRAND EMPORIUM; IN LONG BEACH AT PAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
April 14 - 27, 2022
Apparitions: Ghosts On Pacific Avenue is a two-disc set with a complete lyric book and a special tribute ballad to Charles Bukowski. Available online at: www.randomlengthsnews.com/ product/apparitions
the guilty and the innocent, some
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[Queen, from p. 15]
Barbara Morrison, Queen of Jazz
asked him to work with her. And that was the beginning of a deep friendship — like a sister and brother relationship — a mutual love, respect and support of each others’ musical projects which lasted all of her lifetime. “When I began performing at the Easter Jazz Sunrise Service at First Lutheran Church in Carson, I asked Barbara to be the vocalist. She was excited. I changed the lyrics to some church and jazz favorites to spiritually fit with the occasion. Barbara knocked them out of the box!” Al said Barbara was the strongest person he had ever met.
“She was positive every time she stepped out and she always had a smile on her face, even after having multiple surgeries for diabetes, losing both legs at different times. She was fiercely independent; she learned to drive her own vehicle from gig to gig. She kept on performing. “She called me one night and talked about opening a jazz and blues club in Leimert Park. “She asked me my thoughts on it and I was skeptical. However, The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center has been a huge success for more than 16 years. Some of the greatest jazz musicians performed there. She offered
singing and dancing classes for the kids who wanted to be performers (YES, INC- Young Educated Singers) teaching them no matter what their financial situation was. Now, some of them are successful performing artists, thanks to her. She also opened the first California Jazz and Blues Museum — photos, history, tributes, memorabilia, etc. No matter what the circumstances were in Barbara Morrison’s life, she always had a positive attitude. I will truly miss Barbara’s light-hearted energy and I smile every time I think of her. Love to my Queen.” International jazz, pop, R&B and gospel singer, Windy Barnes Farrell remarked that the title of Queen often conferred onto Morrison
was highly apropos. “Highly gifted and highly revered, she was the hardest working woman that I know in show business,” Barnes said. Barnes went on to note that Morrison rolled over major obstacles like they were mole hills. That defeat had no place in her life as she demonstrated resilience and great fortitude smack in the face of adversity. “She always sang while smiling ear to ear, not an easy feat. She couldn’t help it because her joy in pleasing the crowd would well up and pour out of her even after she sang her last note,” Barnes said. “She had a way of sing talking ... She sang the notes ... and there were many, and sang the lyrics, but she spoke directly to you straight from her heart. And we all heard. “She is sorely missed and Queen Barbara Morrison’s name will be forever embedded across the hearts of all who knew and loved her. “Rest my friend, job exceptionally well done. With loving memories.”
April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
Legendary LA jazz singer, Dwight Trible, called Morrison his comrade, friend and undisputed Queen of blues and jazz singing in Los Angeles. “I don’t think anyone would dispute that,” Trible said. “The thing that sticks out the most to me, is that Barbara did not discriminate.” By discriminate, Trible explained that Morrison could be playing at the Hollywood Bowl one night and in a family room, or some hole in the wall place in Compton the next. “But she did it with the same zeal and all of her energy that she did when she was at the Hollywood Bowl,” Trible said. “There was no place she would not sing … from festivals to hole in the walls, storefront churches and everything else. “And she did it with all her might all the way to the end. Even when she lost both of her legs to diabetes. She was still singing as good as ever,” Trible said. “She never made any excuses for herself. She did it with everything she had, which, like all of us know, we have no excuse for why we say we can’t do a certain thing, because she did it to the end with her condition.”
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Timothy Morganfield, Barbara’s friend and longtime business partner said, “We lost a real jazz legend. [But] to me, I lost a friend, sister and business partner. When you say Leimert Park, you have to say Barbara Morrison.” Morganfield explained that when he first went to work for Barbara to build her a stage, he described it as a good feeling. When she wrote out his first check, Barbara asked his name. He told her, “Morganfield.” Her face dropped. She said, “Muddy Waters?” Morganfield is a decendant of Muddy Waters, born McKinley Morganfield, April 4, 1913 to April 30, 1983. “We put together the Muddy Waters [West Coast] Festival (2017), across from the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center with Big Bill Morganfield, one of Muddy Waters’ sons.” In fact, Barbara was mentoring Joseph Mojo Morganfield’s (Water’s youngest son) daughters, Julissa and Bella. When the pandemic hit and everything shut down, Barbara invested in a live streaming system. “During the pandemic we streamed more than 60 shows so she could pay her band members,” Morganfield said. “That was her heart, she takes care of musicians.”
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Notice is hereby given to the general public of the availability for public review and comment on the following Environmental document. This publication is intended to serve as notification that the City of Los Angeles Harbor Department has prepared an Initial Study/Notice of Preparation (IS/NOP) for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report to the San Pedro Waterfront Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact Report for the proposed West Harbor Modification Project. The proposed West Harbor Modification Project, which involves development of an approximately 108,000 square foot outdoor amphitheater as well as an entertainment venue on 2.5 acres in the southern portion of the former San Pedro Public Market Project site (now called West Harbor). The amphitheater would provide up to 6,200 seats and would host a maximum of 100 paid events per year, generally from April through November. The venue also could host smaller, local community, charity, and sponsored events year-round. The Project would also replace a previously proposed 100-foot diameter Ferris wheel with an approximately 150-foot tall by 50-foot wide tower attraction. A virtual scoping meeting will be held on May 2, 2022 at 5pm. Information on how to join the virtual scoping meeting and the document are available for review on the Port of Los Angeles’ website at: https://www.portoflosangeles.org/ceqa. A copy of the document is also available for public review at the Harbor Department Environmental Management Division (EMD) located at 425 S. Palos Verdes Street, San Pedro. Due to COVID-19, please send your request to ceqacommments@portla. org or call (310) 732-3615 to schedule an appointment to pick up a copy. Comments on the IS/NOP should be submitted in writing prior to the end of the 30-day public review period and must be postmarked by May 16,
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is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: Date: 06-02-22, Time: 8:30 am, Dept.: A, Room: 904 The address of the court is 200 West Compton Blvd, Compton, CA 90220 A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: Daily Journal and RLn. Date March 22, 2022 Thomas D. Long Judge of the Superior Court 03/31/2022, 04/14/2022, 04/28/2022, 05/12/2022
[continued on p. 22]
“It’s Getting Dark” — but it’s supposed to do that.
ACROSS
1. They’re part of the vinyl solution? 4. Young of AC/DC 9. “Guernica” painter Picasso 14. Alley-___ (basketball maneuver) 15. Million-___ odds 16. “I speak for the trees” speaker 17. Win-win deal 19. Still around 20. Conclusion of “Hamilton” 21. Discussion need 23. Grandma, across the Atlantic 24. Seasonal reason to get a shot 26. Quite 28. Not built in a home workshop, perhaps 33. ___ Spaghetti (Detroit restaurant co-owned by Eminem) 36. Bard’s instrument 37. 2021 singer of “Easy On Me” 39. “Xanadu” rockers 40. Film editing technique, or what the edges of the theme answers represent 42. “Bloody ___!” (Cockney outburst) 43. Florida critter 45. Guitarist Benjamin and hockey player Bobby 46. It may be trapped in a filter 47. Old-timey emergency service provider
50. Go off course 51. Comes along 55. “American Dad!” employer 57. Primary impact 61. Layer discussed in “An Inconvenient Truth” 62. Pull some strings? 64. Maryland home of the U.S. Army Field Band 66. Kitchen range 67. Like Lamb Chop or Shaun 68. Chess’s ___ Lopez opening 69. Hurting more 70. Chimney deposits 71. Refreshing resort
DOWN
1. Like some yogurt, informally 2. Cook eggs, in a way 3. “In ___ of it all ...” 4. Leader of the Huns 5. “Conjunction Junction” conjunction 6. First-ballot Hall of Famer, presumably 7. Go back, in a way 8. Move like groundwater 9. It may get colored in at dinner 10. “You’ve got mail!” ISP 11. Where pirate ships sink, poetically 12. Obsidian source 13. “Oregon Trail” creatures 18. Jazz motifs 22. Climbing vine 25. Stanford rival 27. “Excellent” 29. Henry VII or Henry VIII, for in-
stance 30. “SNL” castmate of Ferrell and Gasteyer 31. Company shake-up, for short 32. Self-titled 1969 jazz album 33. Former eBay chief Whitman 34. Current chancellor of Germany Scholz 35. Person who gets you going 38. Street of horror fame 40. Part of a pub concert promotion, perhaps 41. Insurance provider to mil. families 44. Bauxite, e.g. 46. Jump on, as an opportunity 48. “It’s too chilly!” 49. Suffixes that go with stadiums 52. Gets really high 53. Reach a conclusion 54. “Byeeee” 55. Utter some discouraging words 56. Keen on 58. Tabloid craft 59. Porto-___ (capital of Benin) 60. Small music group 63. “___ Been Everywhere” 65. Sticks around for a real blast?
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2022. Please submit written comments to: Christopher Cannon, Director City of Los Angeles Harbor Department Environmental Management Division 425 S. Palos Verdes Street San Pedro, CA 90731. Written comments may also be sent via email to ceqacomments@portla.org. Comment letters/emails should include the project title in the subject line. REVIEW/COMMENT period begins 4/14/2022 & ends on 5/16/2022.
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RLNews is looking for freelance food and music writers who are knowledgeable about San Pedro and Long Beach area restaurants, culture and music scenes. Experienced writers preferred, but will consider aspiring bloggers. We are looking for writers who have a curiosity for a wide range of cuisines or music in the greater LA / Long Beach Harbor Area. Committment to writing to deadline is a must. Having a strong social media following and bi-lingual skills is a plus. Submit inquiries and any links to your writing to editor@ randomlengthsnews.com or call 310-519-1442 weekdays.
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[Oil War, from p. 7]
DBA FILINGS [from p. 21] Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2022052160 The following person is doing business as: GALA GENERAL CONSTRUCTION INC., 332 E. 111th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90061, County of Los Angeles. Articles of
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Incorporation/ or Organization Number: LLC/AI No C4803819 Registered owners: GALA GENERAL CONSTRUCTION INC., 332 E. 111th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90061. This Business is conducted by an Individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 12/2021. 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 misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one-thousand-dollars ($1,000).) GALA GENERAL CONSTRUCTION INC.S/. Norman Komugai This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on 08/25/20. Notice-In accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.
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A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920 where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not 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: 03/31/2021, 04/14/2022, 04/28/2022, 05/12/2022
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Oil War
who joined in a Feb. 18 comment letter noting that “Disguised as an improvement project … in reality this is an expansion project that would nearly double crude oil throughput” while extending its operation up to 40 years, thus necessitating a full environmental impact report: “An EIR is required because the Project is counter to state and regional GHG- and smog-reduction policies, which will require the phaseout of fossil fuel infrastructure, rather than expansion.” There are multiple other problems cited in the comment, as well as neighborhood council comments. But former port attorney Pat Nave, a principal drafter of Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council’s comments, said something striking. “Back when I was still working at the port there was a big discussion on what you do with renewing marine oil terminal leases, because they’re all heavily polluted — pipelines everywhere, all the tanks leak,” Nave said. “So, the feeling was that any long-term one should, before they’re renewed, undergo an EIR. So, if there is pollution there it should be cleaned up.” That was 18 years ago — before the port supposedly saw the light and rebranded itself as an environmental leader. Of course, the Phillips terminal never underwent that review, because it never had a long-term lease — just another way the port and its favored companies cut corners in the shadows. But at least they considered doing things responsibly. It’s way past time to get
Heavily industrialized ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach include many marine oil terminals and pipelines. File photo
started — at every level, from the port, to the state, to the country, to the planet. “We are in the midst of a crisis,” Siegal said. “There’s a lot of damage and harm that’s ongoing now, but as the world’s scientists have said, every fraction of a degree matters, and every second counts, and so nothing matters more than what happens today and what happens this year to get us on the right track and give us a brighter future.”
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April 14 - 27, 2022
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House Passes Landmark Marijuana Legalization Bill The City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation announced that The House passed legislation April 1, that would legalize marijuana nationwide, eliminating criminal penalties for anyone who manufactures, distributes or possesses the substance. Lawmakers approved the measure 220-204. Republicans Tom McClintock of California and Matt Gaetz and Brian Mast of Florida voted in favor of the legislation, while Democrats Chris Pappas of New Hampshire and Henry Cueller of Texas voted against it. The legislation, titled the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, passed in the House last year, but did not move forward in the Senate. The bill would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and it would establish procedures for expunging
previous convictions from people’s records and impose a tax on the sale of cannabis products. “The tax would begin at 5% and eventually increase to 8%. Funding raised through the tax would go toward a fund to provide job training, mentoring, substance-use treatment, legal aid, reentry services and youth recreation programs. It would also provide loans to help small businesses in the cannabis industry that are “owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals,” a summary of the bill read. The bill now, once again, will head to the Senate. Democrats would need all of their members and 10 Republicans to overcome a 60-vote hurdle needed to advance to a final vote. Details: www.congress.gov/bill/ MarijuanaLegalization-Bill
Graphic by Brenda Lopez [Sanctuary, from p. 13]
April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
Sanctuary
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be governor. They are trying to springboard their careers off the backs of children. It’s pure political opportunism.” The senator’s bill currently enjoys high support from his colleagues and when introduced will likely pass. There is a renewed fight against LGBT rights across the country, in the halls of legislatures, in courtrooms and in schools but California as a state is acting as a counterweight to this behavior. “I came of age in the ’80s when we had rampant homophobia,” he said about his experiences and why this fight is so crucial. “Few states had any protections for gay people and trans people weren’t even on the radar. It was a really difficult time. Then for several decades we made progress. Civil rights laws were adopted and now it seems there is this right-wing backlash that is spreading to more and more states. It started a decade ago and really accelerated last year. It’s tragic and these laws increasingly target LGBT kids. The kids have so many obstacles as is and now they are getting these toxic messages from political leaders, that they have no worth, that they are faking it. Is it any wonder why these kids have a heightened risk for suicide, for homelessness? It’s a terrible tragedy but for me it re-energizes me.” Concluding the interview, the senator said this on how far he was willing to go to continue this fight: “As far as we need to go to protect LGBT people, we have a responsibility to be a refuge to people fleeing oppression.”
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April 14 - 27, 2022
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[Crime, from p. 10]
The Connection Between Crime and Pollution gun violence, and pollution. Green spaces also help facilitate community interactions, which stifle interpersonal rifts. The inclusion of accessible outdoor community spaces helps mitigate the prevalence of violence. Wilmington enjoys few such “cues to care”, especially compared with its neighbors to the south and south-west: Wilmington is home to three times less park space relative to its size than neighboring communities. Moreover, all but one of Wilmington’s green spaces are on land that is either a former industrial site or home to active and inactive oil wells, according to Los Angeles’ Zone Information and Map Access System. Since 2000, more than 100 times as many toxins — or 16 million more pounds — have been released into Wilmington’s air and water compared to its neighbors, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency. “The slow violence that drives death [in Wilmington] — pollution — has become accepted and normalized,” said Julie Sze, a professor of American studies at the University of California, Davis, who studies the connection between violence and pollution. “Then the fast violence — gun violence — is seen as normal.” Wilmington’s current violence prevention strategies place a heavy emphasis on policing. Although 27% of Los Angeles’s record-setting $11.2 billion budget for 2021 was allocated to the LAPD, less than 11% was allocated for transit, emergency management, neighborhood empowerment,
Starbucks Workers Win in Arizona
April 14 - 27, 2022
Earth Day Edition
Starbucks Workers United, or SWU, won an election 25-3 to unionize in a store in Mesa, Arizona on Feb. 28. This is the third store to unionize, and more than 100 others have declared intent to unionize as well. Starbucks had previously argued to the National Labor Relations Board that the whole district should decide whether it would unionize or not, but the board disagreed. Starbucks used many many anti-union tactics, including forcing the employees to attend meetings where managers discouraged workers from unionizing. Starbucks also hired a bunch of new employees after the initial employees filed for unionizing, just so that they could vote against it. Mesa baristas voted to unionize for similar reasons to people in other parts of the country, including understaffing, pressuring employees to come to work sick, a lack of employee voice, and Starbucks not allowing them to stop accepting mobile orders when the store is too busy to handle them. In addition, Starbucks fired an employee who had cancer, prompting an outcry from other employees. In the coming weeks, SWU will try to have the same success in stores in Seattle and Boston. 26
community investment, housing and creating more climate-resilient infrastructure. Despite the prevalence of policing as a violence prevention strategy, data suggests that Wilmington residents do not utilize the massive resource. According to data shared by LAPD after a public records request, the department received just one call for service due to shots being fired in the neighborhood between January 2019 and January 2022. Nearly 30 people were shot and killed in Wilmington over that same period. “I think [policing] needs a lot of improvement,” said Roberto Delgado, Daniel’s father. “Someone took our son from us. They took everything from us, but there has been nothing done about it.” Wilmington, a place contending with overlapping forms of social and environmental violence, shows that there is an opportunity to expand the scope of public health interventions for violence prevention beyond individuals and into the physical environment, according to Octavio Ramirez, a community organizer and director of community gardens at the Wilmington-based Strength-Based Community Change. Ramirez was born and raised in Wilmington. He plans to die there, too, but before that, he wants to see a
change. “Growing up, I’ve noticed how a lot of things relate to each other here,” Ramirez said. “How the community being poorer means there aren’t
Top: The view from Anaheim Street with the Marathon refinery on the left. Above: Octavio Ramirez, director of community gardens at Strength Based Community Change.
[Caruso, from p. 9]
Who is Caruso?
took a massive personal fall early in his career and was indicted and served time for fraud. Rick drew the ultimate lessons from his father’s refusal to allow his mistakes to define him. After this setback, Henry founded Dollar Rent-a-Car, one of the most successful car rental franchises in America.” Talk about euphemism: “massive personal fall” is the description of being a crook. Will Caruso be accused of being soft on (white collar) crime? That’s how his own website presents him. It’s not important that the candidate has a relative who did time, it’s the way he presents his own attitude towards crime. It’s also of interest that Caruso ducked the first couple of debates and now is joining the
as many good jobs; and how it being home to more renters means there’s not enough room for people; and how there not being enough places for people to relax outside leaves people agitated — how all this leads to more violence, more shootings.” To fill the gaps that Ramirez has noticed in his community — and to build on skills that his dad, a gardener, passed on to him — he has turned his activism toward community gardening. With the support of his community organization, the local city council member’s office, and grants from local refineries (which he admits is ironic given the industry’s impact on public health in his hometown), Ramirez hopes the “Heart of the Harbor” garden, which is located in one of Wilmington’s top five hot spots for gun violence, will open doors for a trapped community. “At the bare minimum, this community garden provides a place for people to relax,” he said. “But what I really hope it does is provide a place for people to build community, learn how to grow their own food, and feel connected to each other and our home.” The one-acre garden, home to 66 raised beds which can be rented by community members for $10 per month, also includes a public kitchen stocked with a state-of-the-art grill and stovetop, as well as a worm farm used for composting. In the coming year, it’s expected to expand to include a “food forest” with 80 to 120 fruit trees.
process. Perhaps he realized that he couldn’t just buy the nomination and had to play the game. I suspect that this is how most people will see it. He has a chance to separate himself from the standard candidates. For example, he could promise to put a moratorium on salary increases for city employees during his term in office. That should go double for DWP employees. I doubt that he will do so, but it would be a start on doing something about our chronic structural deficits. Bob Gelfand writes on science, culture, and politics for CityWatch. He can be reached at amrep535@sbcglobal.net
It’s the first step in a community-centered movement to reframe Wilmington residents’ realities, their access to the environment around them, and how they relate to each other, Ramirez says. He’s already seen a difference. The garden, and programs like it, are meant to provide sustainable models for reducing violent interactions that are community-led and do not rely on burdening victims. “In a way [the garden] can help turn a very hostile environment into something really cool,” Ramirez said. “A lot of people just don’t see opportunity here,” he added, “but I still have faith in my community.” This article was produced as a project for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2021 Data Fellowship And was first published in The Guardian in collaboration with Grist.
Rep. Maxine Waters Secures Critical Funding for Lomita’s Water Systems United States Rep. Maxine Water March 25, presented the City of Lomita with $940,000 to invest in the future of Lomita’s water supply. Lomita is making significant investments in upgrading the Cypress Water Production Facility and Well Number Five, which pulls groundwater to supply the city water. The four new recently installed tanks are the heart of the granular activated carbon filtration system project designed to further improve water quality for residents. The project represents more than a $5 million investment. Even with these improvements, Well Number Five is Lomita’s only groundwater well, and
when it is offline as it is currently during construction, the city must rely on imported water from other parts of the state to meet its residents’ needs. Through this partnership, Congresswoman Maxine Waters has secured critical funding that will help Lomita explore the potential for a secondary well that will serve residents’ needs locally. Residents will not have to rely on costly imported water and to invest into critical infrastructure and pipe replacements, ensuring that local water continues to be delivered to residents’ homes safely and securely for years to come.
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-43rd District), fourth from left, presented a check for $940,000 to Lomita’s city leaders last month. The funds will to go toward upgrading the city’s water supply. Photo courtesy of the City of Lomita
Councilman de León Makes His Case for LA Mayor
Fourteenth District LA City Councilman Kevin de León came to San Pedro on April 9 to pitch his candidacy for LA Mayor. He’s only been in office 18 months but claims he has created more housing for homeless people in his district than any place else in the city. Photo Arturo Garcia-Ayala
Dana Middle School Hosts Resource Fair for Students and Community Earth Day Edition April 14 - 27, 2022
Robert Daniels, right, of the Do Good Daniels Foundation poses with the staff of Providence Little Company of Mary at the April 2 Resource Faire at Dana Middle School in San Pedro. The fair aimed to connect students and their families to needed resources addressing job training and food insecurity, but primarily mental health services. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala
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