RLn 07-26-12 Edition

San Pedro Reflects as the Taste Goes on Hiatus p. 2 Did the White House Orchestrate the Occupy Crack Down? p. 6 Slack Key Guitarist Kimo West Brings Hawaiian Music Plays with Love to the Harbor p. 11

The Local Publication You Actually Read

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

T

been active here in San Pedro recently in places like Field of Dreams, Harbor Boulevard, 25th and Western, and before Paseo del Mar fell, there were illegal drag strip races,” Galaz said.

Increase the peace through the wheels. This is their way of saving wayward youth.

“Our main focus is to help the youth; give them an out, keep them away from drugs and gangbanging and the whole jail lifestyle,” Galaz explained. “If we could save one kid’s life from killing somebody in an illegal street race and getting caught up in the system ... if we can take that at-risk youth and show them how to physically turn a wrench and come up with formulas on how to make things work and to work out problems mentally and physically with their hands … [That] is the main focus of our organization.”

Galaz credits Big Willie next to his stepfather for saving his life. Though raised in a stable middle class home he got caught up in gangs and the criminal justice system before he got involved in the Terminal Island drag strip. When it closed, he lost his way again for a couple of years before Big Willie took him under his wing and got him involved in working on cars and racing again.

Above is a race taken at the old Brotherhood Raceway Track in Terminal Island in the 1990s. One of the organizers of Project Street Legal, Donald Galaz (center) with just a handful of young people that hang out at his garage, learning the basics of car maintenance and repairs. Photo: Terelle Jerricks.

He’s taken his case to the Los Angeles County. He’s had conversations with both the previous and current captains of the Los Angeles Police Department, Harbor Division. He has also gone to each of the neighborhood councils in San Pedro with his petition. With the numerous letters of support at his disposal, there are many receptive ears to his message.

Big Willie and Street Racing

July 27 - August 9, 2012

The world of street racing literally lost a giant when Big Willie Andrew Robinson III died this past May. Big Willie, who stood at 6-foot-6-inches tall and weighed 300-plus pounds, was once Mr. Olympia. He competed against the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger as bodybuilder in his heyday and was also the founding president of the National and International Brotherhood of StreetRacers. For many years, he operated a drag strip on Terminal Island and elsewhere.

Whether because of his size, his status as a Green Beret Vietnam War veteran, his knowledge of cars and engines, or his natural predisposition towards being a peacemaker, Big Willie was widely respected and touched many lives. Big Willie’s long illnesses and ultimately his death caused the Brotherhood to undergo a period of reorganization. But he did leave behind some proteges to carry on his principles and legacy, even if it wasn’t through the Brotherhood itself.

San Pedro native Donald Galaz was one of them. For the past 11 months, Donald Galaz has been on a mission to open a drag strip to satisfy the south end of the Harbor Freeway’s appetite for hot rods and speed. Galaz’s movement came to be called Project Street Legal.

“We started in the Harbor Area because street racing has

Galaz, 38, wasn’t even a gleam in his mother’s eye when Big Willie began building race tracks. He got to know Big Willie through his father and uncle back in the heyday of the Terminal Island race track in Street Legal/ to p.15

Has Change Arrived at Taste in San Pedro?

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

2

So far, summer 2012 has been one huge event ment and the Chamber of Commerce saw potenafter another with the opening of Crafted at the tial in the event for spotlighting San Pedro resPort of Los Angeles, USS Iowa, Cars and Stripes taurants and invited the community to the party. and Swingin’ Salute in Downtown block party. First located near the Doubletree Marina Hotel But the biggest non-event, thus far, was the post- and inside Cabrillo Beach, The Taste quickly outponement—if not cancelation—of this year’s grew the venue and moved to the parade grounds Taste in San Pedro.

Five days after a wildly successful block party that drew 5,000 visitors to downtown San Pedro, the Chamber of Commerce, the sponsoring organization of the annual Taste event, sent out brief press release that it was going to take time-out, “to regroup and redefine the Taste in San Pedro to meet the needs of the community, our vendors, and the financial needs of the Chamber.

“Many factors contributed to this decision most notable were financial constraints resulting from the current economic climate, and the inability to host the event on Sunday this year at the Ports O’ Call location.”

Though the announcement came as a surprise, it seems the feeling that change in the event was long overdue.

“A lot of people who live in that area were disappointed that it was moved,” Christina Kungvanwong The 21st Annual Taste in San Pedro in 2009 at Point Ferco-proprietor of Thai Tiffany and min Park. Photo: Terelle Jerricks. longtime participant at the Taste said.

She noted that the new location at the wa- at Fort MacArthur in the mid 1990s. terfront wasn’t very pedestrian friendly, forcing The Taste was expanded to two days in 1995 taste goers to walk for long stretches instead of then was moved to Point Fermin Park in 1998. in a circular motion that allowed attendees reach Due to the City of Los Angeles raising fees the booths and the performance areas with ease. across the board, including use of public parks She also noted that there seemed to be less help for events in response to the recession, the Taste than previous years. was moved to the Waterfront in 2011.

“There were fewer volunteers to help those Former executive director and CEO of the with booths to transport equipment back and Chamber, Camilla Townsend, noted that the first forth from vehicles,” Kungvanwong said. challenge in running the Chamber was always The Whale & Ale proprietor, Andrew Silber financial. had a bit longer list of issues that need to be ad“To raise the financial resources to keep the dressed.

Chamber going as well as raise money to create “The Chamber needs to make up its mind if events and projects that would benefit San Pethis is a fundraiser for the Chamber or a show- dro and would benefit the image of San Pedro case for local restaurants,” Silber said. and benefit the economics of San Pedro,” she He noted that the Taste as it is, was not sup- explained. portive of local restaurants and that the event Townsend became the Chamber’s CEO in was underpriced for a day out with live music 2005. She noted that she had the benefit of being and alcohol. in charge of a Chamber with a robust group of “If it’s too inexpensive then you might not at- dedicated volunteers that were really committed tract the kind of customer to which you can show- to making the Taste work. case your food,” he said. “I think the Chamber “We didn’t ever have the resources to hire an made the right decision in taking a step back…It event planner to come in to the Taste,” she said. was getting old and done to death.”

“So, its happening and its success was really due Silber was involved with the Taste back in to the dedication of the volunteers leaders of the early days when it was at Fort MacArthur. Sil- Taste along with the chamber staff… For three ber noted that he stopped participating because it years it was fine. wasn’t attracting The Whale & Ale kind of cus“We did it at the park [Point Fermin], we celetomers. brated the big 20th anniversary; we had the big fireThe Taste started off small and was known as works spectacular. It was wonderful. And then after the “Pigathon” in the late 1980s and was primar- that--that was when the Recession started to hit.” ily geared toward promoting local restaurants. It Townsend explained the Chamber tried to was composed of two dozen people that sampled work around the issues. When the city started a specialty of each participating restaurant and charging significantly higher fees for use of pubcollected pledges from friends and family for lic parks and permits, the Chamber paid it. That charity. Though lots of fun, this event had limited eventually became untenable. return as a fundraiser.

“The city started to pull back funding and Changing Taste/ to p. 4 However, the San Pedro revitalization move-

HARBOR AREA Community Announcements:

Harbor Area LAUSD Announces Adult Education Classes

LOS ANGELES—On July 18, the LAUSD announced that its Division of Adult and Career Education will begin offering classes on Aug. 14. The classes will be held at multiple locations and branches that serve communities throughout the District.

This year, the Division of Adult and Career Education will offer academic basic and secondary education, English as a Second Language, as well as programs for older adults, and adults with disabilities for a $30 class fee. For career technical education classes, contact the school of choice for class fee information.

Registration runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Aug. 6 and from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 10. Beginning Monday, July 30, students should contact the branch site listed below for registration information: Harbor Service Center, 740 N. Pacific Avenue, San Pedro, CA 90731 Phone: (310) 547-5551 Details: (888) 730-3276; http://adultedlausd-ca.schoolloop.com

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

San Pedro Community Plan to Be Unveiled

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

San Pedro is just a few weeks away from getting a look at a new draft community plan that’s been years in the making—a City Planning Department document designed mostly to guide development in ways that community members have long been calling for. The public will have 45 days to comment on it, before the final planning stage begins. It’s one of 35 such community plans across the city.

“The existing plan was completed in 1999, and much has happened since then to warrant the creation of a new plan,” the department’s Community Planner for San Pedro, Debbie Lawrence, wrote in the department’s newsletter this spring.

“The plan emphasizes the importance of planning for sustainability, improved mobility, more open spaces, plazas and parks and better urban design,” she explained to Random Lengths.

to this as inappropriate.”

Community consultations began about six years ago with a land use survey and the first round of outreach to community and stakeholder groups-a process drawn out due to city budget and staff cuts. While the update has been delayed, Lawrence said her department has stayed in touch

with newly developing needs.

“We have had dozens of meetings since the update process began, which allows us to keep aware of emerging concerns in the community,” she said.

“For the most part, updates of Community Plans are made better by considering the proNew Community Plan/ to p. 19

Veterans Job Resource Expo

Grand Ventures Booksigning and Talk by Author Tom Sitton

Tour of Joint Water Pollution Control Plant

If you’ve ever wondered what happens to your waste water, take a tour of the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant, starting at 9 a.m. Aug. 4, in Carson. The tour is open to ages 7 and older. Cost is free.

Venue: Joint Water Pollution Control Plant Location: 24501 S. Figueroa St., Carson

But it’s more a continuation and strengthening of existing policies than a new departure.

“The basic plan for the distribution of land uses in San Pedro will not change,” she said. “This plan update is a refinement of the current plan... Existing goals and policies will be retained and enhanced along with the focus on land use and related mobility issues and urban design. The update will improve usability of the plan for community members, developers, city staff and decision makers.”

Throughout the years, there were multiple rounds of consultations with neighborhood councils, the Community Redevelopment Agency’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee, the Port, Council Office and other stakeholder groups and city departments.

“The Planning Department made a good faith effort to reach out and listen to community concerns,” said Sue Castillo, Land Use and Public Works Committee chairwoman for Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council. “The majority of comments made at earlier neighborhood council and Redevelopment Agency meetings were incorporated into the last draft that came out in April of this year.”

Diana Nave, president of Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, was generally pleased with city planners and how they’ve responded to the neighborhood councils.

“They made good suggestions and listened to our comments, particularly in the areas of preserving the character of the community,” she said.

But the latest round of community comments hasn’t been responded to yet.

There’s also one major sticking point.

“Our biggest concern is the Ponte Vista property,” Nave pointed out. “Although our council requested a change in the community plan boundaries to include all of San Pedro (up to Palos Verdes Drive North) that did not happen... As a result the Ponte Vista area is not in the San Pedro Community Plan area, where most of the impact will occur.

“The draft community plan changed the current R-1 zoning and increased the density for that property. We have objected

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Wilmington—On July 28, Tom Sitton, author of Grand Ventures: The Banning Family and the Shaping of Southern California will be giving a talk on the role of pioneer Phineas Banning and his descendants in the rise of the Harbor Area.

He will primarily focus on the second generation and their ownership of Santa Catalina Island from 1892 to 1919. Free for Friends of Banning Museum members and children under 12, and $5 for nonmembers. Starts at 10 a.m.

The Banning Museum is a facility of the City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation & Parks operated in cooperation with the Friends of Banning Museum whose mission is to “Preserve History, Promote Education & Inspire Entrepreneurial Spirit.”

Details: (310) 548-2005 Venue: The Banning Museum Location: 401 East “M” St., Wilmington

The old Ponte Vista site is not in the boundaries of the San Pedro Community Plan, though most of the impact will occur there.

The Local Publication You Actually Read

The City of Carson Parks and Recreation Services and the Veterans Affairs Commission are hosting a Veterans Job Resource Expo, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 26, at the SouthBay Pavilion in Carson. The event is designed to help veterans find employment or desired trade.

The expo will include staffing companies and veterans resource tables in collaboration with the Employment Development Department and the California Department of Rehabilitation.

Admission to this event is free and it is open to all job seekers. Several organizations are involved: local businesses, schools, staffing companies, veteran’s resource organizations, local trade schools and colleges.

Details: (310) 847-3570 Venue: SouthBay Pavilion Location: 20700 Avalon Blvd., Carson

3

Carson May Lose College District Representation

By Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter

In response to a 2011 lawsuit the Compton Community College District (CCCD) has completed the process of redrawing its district boundaries, but the Carson City Council is not satisfied.

At its June 19 meeting the council voted unanimously to oppose the new trustee area boundaries for the CCCD. Carson Mayor Jim Dear said the council’s action was taken because, “The new map puts a small section of Carson together with a large section of Compton. So, in the next election the seat

will most likely be won by someone from Compton. The map used previously allowed Carson to be combined with unincorporated areas.”

Accompanying the council’s action, a city staff report stated, “On May 16, 2012, Thomas E. Henry, Special Trustee for the Compton Community College District, approved a plan consisting of five trustee areas… According to the Approved Trustee Plan, the City of Carson falls into area D that is primarily comprised of the City of Compton. Because of this, there is concern that the City of Carson may not be fairly represented

by the Compton Community College District.”

Keith Curry of the CCCD said that Special Trustee Thomas Henry, acting in place of a college board of governors, on July 9, approved an election for the new districts, to take place in November 2013.

Ann Garten, a publicist for the CCCD, explained further that Henry approved an election waiver so there was no need for an election to approve the redistricting. The Compton Community College District could move immediately on to an election for representatives of the new areas.

Curry works as interim CEO and is clerk of the governing board for the Compton Community College District. He explained that this past year a Latino advocacy group sued the district under the California and federal voting rights acts. As part of the settlement, the district agreed to redraw districts, with all five new district seats up for election in November 2013.

“The old district [that included Carson] was shaped around parts of Compton and Willowbrook, the old map was like a C shape,” Curry said.” We were able to create clear districts, a new

average of 60,000 residents, with new shapes not perceived as gerrymandering…We spent six to eight months working on this project…We involved elected officials including from the City of Carson. The committee included a representative from each city.”

Curry and Garten also explained that, under the old map, John Hamilton is currently the trustee representing the area that includes Carson.

Whoever wins the election to represent area D in 2013 will be serving a four-year term.

Olivia Verrett represented Carson on the redistricting committee. She is a former NAACP chapter president.

According to the Compton Community College District Web site, in 2005 the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges revoked Compton’s accreditation.

In 2006, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law providing a $30 million loan for recovery and the opportunity to partner with a college in good standing. Later that year the El Camino Community College District Board of Trustees approved a memorandum of understanding beCollege District/ to p. 21

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

Scalers Tell Clean Harbors to Clean Up Act

4

More than two dozen demonstrators from the ILWU’s Local 56 protested the Clean Harbors Environmental Services facilities on July 20, because of its environmental record. Clean Harbors services include treating, storing, hauling and disposing of hazardous waste. In 2004, the company reached a $19,000 settlement with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control for hazardous waste violations at its 5756 Alba St. facility in Los Angeles.

In April 2010, Clean Harbors Environmental Services agreed to pay $55,500 in penalties for violating air quality regulations, after an investigation by the Air Resources Board showed that Clean Harbors failed to properly self-inspect their diesel trucks to assure that they met state smoke emission standards. Photo by Betty Martinez from p. 2

Changing Taste

started to charge big bucks for use of the park, I mean really big bucks. Which they were doing all over, not just at the Taste,” Townsend explained. “It started to look like it wasn’t a viable fundraiser for the Chamber in terms of the output they had to give with staff and everything. This is a huge thing to put on when you don’t have a [private] event coordinator.”

Townsend said that amidst that struggle, she thought it was time to reevaluate the Taste and look at it with a different eye in terms of what the Taste is, where it is, and how it should operate.

“I thought this for the last two years” she said. “We wanted to do it, but in what format? What would work now? Times have changed.”

Townsend said that this year, the chamber had to finally face it.

“They had to,” Townsend explained.

“There just was no money. The location wasn’t working because they couldn’t do

two days.

“It was really time sit back and revisit and consider doing it in collaboration with other organizations like the (Property and Business Improvement District) and look at other locations.”

The Chamber reportedly will discuss possible changes to the event at its September retreat and possibly build on solutions revealed by the success of the Swingin’ Salute street party.

But Townsend cautioned that there are some significant differences between the Taste and the street party, given that one is a chamber activity and is for all of San Pedro, while the other is sponsored by the PBID. Because the street party was a PBID-sponsored event using PBID stakeholder money, the street party had to be limited to the stakeholder district, allowing only stakeholder businesses to participate. The challenge is using such a model that is inclusive of all of San Pedro.

It is a challenge indeed, that many are now willing to accept.

from p. 1

Street Legal

“What we’re doing with Project Street Legal is no different from what Big Willie was doing in the 1960s,” Donald Galaz said. Galaz and his supporters stand in front of his Garage on Pacific Avenue. He was part of the Street Racing Legion of Big Willie Robinson, who was known as a peacemaker with the ability to bring people together. File Photo.

Galaz mentors a small group a young people at his garage, teaching them how to conduct basic maintenance and repairs on cars. Galaz notes that high schools no longer have auto shops as part of the curriculum any more, but there has been an investment explosion in computers and the culinary arts today’s education.

“That’s fine if that’s what you want to do, but some of the youth that I deal with here ...

Galaz/ to p. 21

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Passing it Forward

they build cars,” he said. “They like to test their knowledge and their skills. This is their high.”

A casual longshore worker and vintage car restorer, Galaz’s garage serves as skills center and training for young people in their teens and 20s who love working on cars.

“All I’m doing is regurgitating the same thing that Big Willie did. During the last couple months of his life, I sat down with him and he schooled me on what I need to do.”

“A lot of these kids that come by the garage are hard workers… They’re in school, they’re working jobs. Some of them have their own families,” Galaz said.

Given the skills these young car enthusiasts are picking up at the garage, Galaz hopes some partnerships could arise to form the bases of apprenticeships to further skills of these young people. For now, he’s offering his knowledge base freely to anyone interested. Galaz said he offered San Pedro High School principal, Jeanette Stevens, to teach a class on car maintenance for free.

She hasn’t yet taken him up on his offer.

Galaz noted Big Willie opened race tracks throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s and that through it all he managed to forge strong relationships with the mayor, city and state representatives and law enforcement. Now with the emergence of neighborhood councils, Galaz understands those are the entities whose support he will need, along with the Harbor Commission.

“The neighborhood councils are the base of where we need to start at,” Galaz said.

For the past 11 months, Galaz has been blitzing all three neighborhood councils with information about the Project Street Legal and getting more involved in neighborhood council affairs, as well offering to assist in community efforts through Project Street Legal.

Most recently, his group raised enough to

The Local Publication You Actually Read

the 1980s. The history that he knows is actually the oral history that was passed down to him from the people that were there in the beginning.

The Brotherhood was started in the aftermath of the 1965 Watts Rebellion, Galaz explained, when racial tensions was still high. The Los Angeles Police Department, after noticing a multiracial and multi-ethnic collection of street racers, black, white, Chicanos and Asians all getting along with no problems, the department under Chief William Parker’s regime reached out to Big Willie and formed a partnership, Galaz explained.

“When you got your car out there and doing the things they were doing, they weren’t worrying about fighting and killing each other,” Galaz explained. “They were worried about what they were putting into their cars. It was that ingenuity, they started to have that common bond to where they didn’t see color lines like we see these days sometimes.

“What they did was staged some street races and the LAPD came and blocked off some streets for them, to see how Willie had done it. Everybody thought it was a set up.

“In the 1990s, when we had the LA Riots again, the same thing happened. The track was opened in 1993, I believe, and it did the same thing and that was located at Terminal Island, But then it got closed shortly afterward, making way for the LAXT Coke facility. And, as you know, they went belly up, so now the property is now vacant.”

5

Global Boycott of Hyatt Hotels Announced

Long Beach—On July 23, the local branch of Unite Here organized a demonstration in support of the unveiling of a global boycott campaign against Hyatt Hotels in Washington D.C. to protest what it describes as abusive working conditions.

Unite Here, along with a coalition of labor unions and progressive groups that include the National Football League Players Association has ramped up a boycott of Hyatt hotels.

Unite Here had previously called for boycotts of individual Hyatt hotel properties, but the unveiling of a global boycott campaign at a press conference in Washington, D.C., marked an escalation of this effort. Other members of the coalition include the National Organization for Women, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Black Justice Center and Christian and Jewish labor groups. Demonstrations are planned this week for cities across the country, including San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Scalers Union Tells Clean Harbors to Clean Up its Act

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

On July 20, ILWU Local 56 Scalers Union and other labor demonstrators held a press conference outside the Clean Harbors Environmental Services facilities in Gardena as a warning to clean up their act. A long history of environmental violations trail the Massachusetts-based environmental services company, ranging from the Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Air Resources Board, and the state’s Water Resources Board.

The Port of Los Angeles contracts a great deal of work to the environmental services company.

In September 2011, Clean Harbors was hired to remove asbestos from the fruit warehouses at Berth 54 near 22nd and Miner Streets. Fifty-five ILWU demonstrators protested outside the gates after learning that Clean Harbor hired a subcontractor using non-union labor for the job.

“The company is using workers not qualified to do the job,” said the international organizer of the ILWU, Carlos Cordon, at the time. “The workers don’t even have the right equipment and they’re dealing with potentially hazardous materials. We want to make sure they are abiding by industry standards.”

In a phone interview with Random Lengths after the July 20 demonstration, Cordon took note of the 70-plus year history of the Scalers Union, scraping the barnacles off the hulls of ships and how the occupation evolved into cleaning and disposing of hazardous materials from the Harbor safely.

6

Wilmington Community Clinics Receive Series of Grants

On July 19, the Port of Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners voted unanimously to release $350,000 for the first round of Health Care Grants from the Port Community Mitigation Trust Fund to the Harbor Community Benefit Foundation.

The Port Mitigation Trust Fund aims to address health impacts such as asthma and other cardiopulmonary diseases resulting from air pollution stemming from port operations.

The selected projects will serve Wilmington residents through education and outreach, as well as through diagnosis, treatment and medical supplies.

The grantees include: Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, The Children’s Clinic, Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, and Wilmington Health Center.

It is anticipated the Health Care Grant Program will continue as long as funding is available. We expect that a notice of funding availability for the next round of health care grants will be announced in the fall.

News Briefs/ to p. 20

White House and Democrats Worked to Protect the Banks Against Protests

By Dave Lindorff, founder of This Can’t Be Happening A new trove of heavily redacted documents provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) on behalf of filmmaker Michael Moore and the National Lawyers Guild makes it increasingly evident that there was and is a nationally coordinated campaign to disrupt and crush the Occupy Movement.

The new documents, which PCJF National Director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard insists “are likely only a subset of responsive materials,” in the possession of federal law enforcement agencies, only “scratch the surface of a mass intelligence network including Fusion Centers, saturated with ‘anti-terrorism’ funding, that mobilizes thousands of local and federal officers and agents to investigate and monitor the social justice movement.”

Nonetheless, blacked-out and limited though they are, she says they offer clues to the extent of the government’s concern about and focus on the wave of occupations that spread across the country beginning with this past September’s Occupy Wall Street action in New York City.

The latest documents, reveal “intense involvement” by the DHS’s so-called National Operations Center (NOC). In its own literature, the DHS describes the NOC as “the primary national-level hub for domestic situational awareness, common operational picture, information fusion, information sharing, communications and coordination pertaining to the prevention of terrorist attacks and domestic incident management.”

The DHS says that the NOC is “the primary conduit for the White House Situation Room” and that it also “facilitates information sharing and operational coordination with other federal, state, local, tribal, non-governmental operation centers and the private sector.”

A better description for a police state network could not be written.

Remember, this vast, yet, centralized operation—what Verheyden-Hilliard describes as “a vast, tentacled, national intelligence and domestic spying network that the U.S. government operates against its own people”—was in this case deployed not against some terrorist organization or even mob or drug cartel, but rather against a loose-knit band of protesters, all conscientiously and publicly committed to nonviolence, who were exercising their constitutionally-protected right to gather in public places and to speak out against the crimes and abuses of the corporate elite and the politicians who are bought and paid by that elite.

Among the documents obtained by the PCJF in this second batch of responses to its freedom of information act (FOIA) filing is one from the NOC Fusion Center Desk dated Nov. 5, 2011, which collects at the federal level and then distributes the names and contact information of a group of Occupy protesters who were arrested during a demonstration in Dallas against Bank of America, one of the nation’s biggest predatory lenders. Although none of the seven arrested were charged with any serious crime (six were charged with “using the sidewalk!”), their names and contact information were widely disseminated by the DHS. Fusion Centers, a post-9-11 creation, are a federally-funded joint project of the DHS and the

“

Remember, this vast, yet centralized operation.... was in this case deployed not against some terrorist organization or even mob or drug cartel, but rather against a loose-knit band of protesters, all conscientiously and publicly committed to nonviolence, who were exercising their constitutionally-protected right to gather in public places and to speak out against the crimes and abuses of the corporate elite and the politicians who are bought and paid by that elite.

U.S. Justice Department which are designed to share intelligence information among such federal agencies as the DHS, the FBI, the CIA and the U.S. Military, as well as state and local police agencies. By their nature they are designed to circumvent legal constraints on various agencies, for example the ban on CIA domestic spying, or the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars active military activity within the borders of the United States. There are currently 72 Fusion Centers around the United States.

Another group of documents shows that on Nov. 9, two days after a demonstration by 1,000 Occupy activists in Chicago protesting social service cuts in that city, the NOC Fusion Desk relayed a request from Chicago Police asking other local police agencies what kind of tactics they were using against Occupy activists. They specifically requested that information be sought from police departments in New York, Oakland, Calif., Atlanta, Washington D.C., Denver, Boston, Portland, Ore., and Seattle—all the scene of major Occupation actions and of violent police repression.

Realizing that it would look bad if it assisted in such coordination overtly, higher officials in the DHS ordered the recall of the request but then simply re-routed it through “law enforcement channels,” where presumably it would be harder for anyone to spot a federal role in the coordination of local police responses. In response to that order, the documents show that the duty director of the NOC wrote that he would “reach out” to “LEO LNOs (liaison officer) on the floor” to assist. Verheyden-Hilliard explains that LEO is FBI’s nationally integrated law enforcement, intelligence and military network.

On Dec. 12, when Occupy planned anti-war protests at various U.S. ports, Verheyden-Hilliard says the new documents show that the NOC “went into high gear” seeking information from local field offices of the Department of Homeland Security about what actions police in Houston, Portland, Ore., Oakland, Calif., Seattle, San Diego and Los Angeles planned to deal with Occupy movement actions.

Another document shows that earlier, in advance of a planned Occupy action at the Oakland, Calif. port facility on Nov. 2, DHS “went so far as to keep the Pentagon’s Northcom (Northern Command) in the intelligence loop.”

Given the subterfuge revealed in these documents that went into trying to create the illusion that the DHS was and is not coordinating a national campaign of spying, disruption and repression against Occupy activists, it is almost comical to find documents that show the DHS was in “direct communication with the White House” to obtain advance approval of public statements by DHS officials denying any DHS involvement in anti-Occupy actions.

These documents show that both DHS and one of that department’s police arms, the Federal Protective Service were in direct contact with Portland, Oregon’s police chief and mayor, discussing how to deal with protesters who were

in part on federal property. The coordination between the feds and the local police and political authorities were intense. Yet the approved statement sent to DHS from the White House read: Any decisions on how to handle specifics (sic) situations are dealt with by local authorities in that location. If a protest area is located on Federal property and has been deemed unsanitary or unsafe by the General Services Administration (GSA) or city officials, and they make a decision to evacuate participants—the Federal Protective Service (FPS) will work with those officials to develop a plan to ensure the security and safety of everyone involved.

There was, comically, also a White Houseapproved DHS “background” statement, too.

(Typically background statements by federal officials are supposed to be used when they want to tell a journalist the true situation but don’t want to have that statement attributed to them or their department. Having it pre-approved by the White House defeats that purpose and is simply a manipulation of the media.)

The faux “background” information included the following­—a flat-out lie: DHS is not actively coordinating with local law enforcement agencies and/or city governments concerning the evictions of Occupy encampments writ large.

Tellingly, the documents also include a Dec. 5 copy of the “Weekly Informant, ” an intelligence report published by the DHS’s Office for State and Local Law Enforcement. The issue includes an update from the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) concerning the activities of the Occupy Movement. PERF, Verheyden-Hilliard notes, is the group that the federal government claims organized a series of multi-city law enforcement calls to coordinate the police response to Occupy, which led immediately to the wave of violent crackdowns. It was at those meetings that police were advised among other things to act at night, to use aggressive tactics and weapons like tasers and pepper spray, and to take steps to remove journalists and cameras from the scene of crackdowns.

The overall sense from these latest documents is that Washington and the DHS, along with the FBI, was the nexus of the crackdown, orchestrating it, encouraging it and attempting to cover its tracks.

The documents among other things expose the massive hypocrisy of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party, which this election year have tried to co-opt and claim as their own the anti-fat-cat theme of the “We are the 99%”-chanting Occupiers, while actually acting in the interest of Bank of America and its fellow financial sector mega-firms in trying to crush the movement itself.

To see all the new FOIA documents, go to the PJIF website: http://tinyurl.com/c3cr4gn Dave Lindorff is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion, published by AK Press. Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition. Lindorff lives in Philadelphia.

Trouble in Fantasy Land When the dream machine collides with reality

By James Preston Allen, Publisher

rise and must be dealt with swiftly, if not unjustly, is the media’s reality. Is it not surprising that both some officers and some on the fringe of mental stability, or even most viewers, should confuse fiction for facts? Violent crime has been declining for many years (according to the most recent FBI report for 2010 overall violent crime -2.7 percent murders -4.2). It has been repeatedly reported that in the core business district of San Pedro the crime rate is down 24%, but not so in the movies!

However, officer-involved shootings are growing. As of a year ago news reports say LAPD stats showed an increase of 50 percent Use of Force incidents, a statistic mirrored nationwide. It also appears that of all “use of force” reports only 25 percent of the victims were actually armed according to the ACLU– a figure confirmed by police trainer Tom Aveni on Policeone.com.

However, I would not be so quick as to exclusively blame the Hollywood dream machine for all of this. My personal theory is that there is a significant number of police officers who have over the last ten years of war did a tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan where they were retrained in reactive firing which shortens the time between recognizing a threat and pulling the trigger. This is a necessity in a firefight but is dangerous in police work with a civilian population. This plus growing recognition of post traumatic stress on soldiers with the rise of domestic violence by service members may all contribute to a rising number of police officers with frayed nerves and quick trigger fingers.

This only explains the increase in police reactive shootings but doesn’t explain the Aurora rampage or the dozens of other idiots with too many guns and a score to settle. Most estimates range between 39 percent and 50 percent of U.S. households have at least one gun (that’s about 43-55 million households). The estimates for the number of privately owned guns range from 190 million to 300 million. Remove those that skew the stats for their own purposes and the best estimates are about 45 percent or 52 million of American households owning 260 million guns. By far the vast majority of these gun owners are law abiding, if you believe these numbers, but the availability of 52 million guns in homes does sound a bit like overkill.

Now consider that a few million people who own these guns have lost their homes, lost their jobs and lost their fantasy of still being in the dwindling American middle class; do you suppose some of them will take it out on a spouse,

www.randomlengthsnews.com

Sherry Hernandez, Member of Occupy San Pedro On July 17, a group from Occupy Fight Foreclosures in Los Angeles met to attend the meeting of the County Board of Supervisors in hopes of addressing our hopes of getting a moratorium on foreclosures until the Homeowners Bill of Rights goes into effect.

Within the group were less than a handful of home buyers who wanted their grievances heard.

The meeting started with a clown, yes, I mean a literal clown, who dressed up to accuse the Board of Supervisors of being ineffective.

He was an angry man who rambled through his 3-minutes jumping from one subject to another and redirecting back to his perceived ineptness of the Supervisors.

There were several agendas discussed at the meeting and those of us who wanted to address issues not on the regular agenda had to wait until Advertising Production Mathew Highland, Suzanne Matsumiya Advertising Representatives Mathew Highland, Chad Whitney reads@randomlengthsnews.com adv@randomlengthsnews.com Editorial Intern Kevin Walker Display advertising (310) 519-1442 Classifieds (310) 519-1016 www.randomlengthsnews.com

the end, where customarily we would be given 3-minutes to address our concerns. However, July 17, the committee made a motion to reduce our time to one-minute each.

A group of more than 50 people were there to request that the money appropriated for building new prisons, instead be used for programs to help educate youth and get them into positive programs prior to becoming inmates in the prison facilities.

At long last, it was time for one from our group to go forward and address her grievances. Her name was Maricella, she had five children and a 92-year-old grandmother living with her. Her home was being foreclosed upon and she was asking for help. She was asking for an opportunity to save her home.

She did not speak English well, so she Set Up to Fail/ to p. 8

Random Lengths News editorial office is located at 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, (310) 519-1016. Address correspondence regarding news items and news tips only to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email to editor @randomlengthsnews.com.

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

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

Subscriptions are available for $35 per year for 27 issues.

Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right to express those opinions. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Reporting Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #08916627). All contents Copyright 2012 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.

July 27 - August 9, 2012

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

three decades and resides on life support in the local emergency room or the food pantry for the homeless shelter. There is recently good cause for the elimination of the death penalty, that I would argue for, however, I believe that capital punishment should be preserved for those few institutions who rob the public with impunity, causing great social harm and financial distress that they should be summarily executed publicly and their leaders imprisoned.

This solution, of course, would be too much reality for most who have bought the media fantasy but lost the American Dream.

A Crisis of Ethics

Columnists/Reporters Lyn Jensen Carson B. Noel Barr Music Dude John Farrell Curtain Call Assoc. Publisher/Production CoGretchen Williams Entrée ordinator Calendar Suzanne Matsumiya 14days@randomlengthsnews.com info@graphictouchdesigns.com Photographers Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks, Slobodan Dimitrov, Terelle Jerricks Diana Lejins editor@randomlengthsnews.com Contributors Assistant Editor Sherry Hernandez, Justin RaimonZamná Ávila do, Danny Simon, Arthur R. Vinsel reportersdesk@randomlengthsnews.com Cartoonists Ann Cleaves, Andy Singer, Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg Matt Wuerker Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com

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

—Mark Twain Vol. XXXIII : No. 15

shoot a neighbor or the guy who fired them at the post office or cut them off in a freeway clogged road rage? Many more will self-medicate and become more delusional if not homeless as the Wall Street bankers proclaim that the economy has recovered, while the rest of America stagnates without living wages, or those few with pensions and decent wages, are accused of crippling municipal budgets.

Some will argue for more gun control, others for justice and the death penalty—neither will restore the life of the American Dream, which has slowly been murdered over the course of the last

The Local Publication You Actually Read

There is trouble brewing just down the street from the Magic Kingdom, “the happiest place on earth,” there is trouble brewing at Anaheim City Hall.

The uproar over the police shootings of two Latinos under questionable circumstances. O.C. Weekly reporters claim it’s the eighth this year, the authorities say it’s only six. The city council voted to ask for a federal civil rights investigation, but outside the chambers, an angry and indignant crowd gathered, unable to enter the already crowded council room—the mood turned ugly. Anaheim police in riot gear pushed the protesters back and the protesters, in turn, grew defiant. Police swung batons and fired rubber bullets. The crowd threw rocks and bottles back. No one is sure how it started.

What happened next is rather curious, for in this land of instant TV coverage where it’s common to have simultaneous coverage of anything violent broadcast live, only one station, KCAL 9 covered the resulting melée. Not from on the ground, where they had two reporters stationed, but from the distant vantage point of their news-copter.

ABC 7, the channel owned by Disney and all the other network channels only covered the aftermath of the conflict between police and citizens on the 11 O’Clock news, making this observer question whether a live-news blackout had occurred. After all, Anaheim, the capital city of the “happiest place on earth” has its image to uphold.

Aurora, Colorado—the site of the recent Batman movie massacre—conversely has coverage of every minute detail, from the very night of the murderous assault with people fleeing Cinema 9 bleeding, to the drama filled arraignment of the orange-haired “academically brilliant” but deranged assassin—James Holmes. As different as these two violent episodes are, they share curious similarities in our consciousness, as they relate to the American Dream. The police murders in the shadow of the Disneyland attraction, the Matterhorn and the massacre you could only imagine happening at a Marvel Comics film opening in Colorado both played out in the media like another form of reality TV, except this is reality breaking into fantasy-land.

The reality that is disrupting the fantasy is that the American Dream has been exposed for what it is not. Exposing that all the years and years of violence-laced movies and hundreds of TV cop shows with the police routinely abusing suspects’ civil rights, using ever more realistic blood and gore and entrancing the audiences with increasing believability that crime is on the

7

RANDOMLetters Neighborhood Councils Under Attack by ENC

Each neighborhood council has experienced a 26 percent decrease in funding in the past several years.

We are aware of the financial situation of the city and I for one, have not to this date complained. However, the Education and Neighborhoods Committee is now considering a proposal that seeks to force all NCs to collectively pay for the costs of the upcoming NC elections which the city has previously committed to paying. Central San

Reflections on a Crazy Nation

Pedro Neighborhood Council, concerned about the length of time and funding required by the city to handle elections, chose to hold selection in June, at cost less than $1,000.

Councilman Buscaino knows neighborhood councils and has consistent pledged support. He must stand up to those who would devastate the system by using back door tactics to eliminate funding.

Linda Alexander, President Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council

The wealthiest 400 people in the US own more wealth than the bottom 185 million*. That’s crazy.

Why isn’t this disparity front page news every day? Truthout serves a growing community of readers, writers and activists who are working to make the “news” reflect the realities that are actually affecting the lives of our fellow Americans.

While the media obsesses about celebrity divorce and who Romney will pick to run with him, we’re going to keep pressing issues like poverty, education, civil liberties and the creeping militarization of our society.

Maya Schenwar, Executive Director and Matt Renner, Director of Development *Economist Gar Alperovitz.etime-put-all-your-money-onblack-roll-the-wheel-Vanna-package deal – a task undertaken (b

Shameless

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach recently declared to the press that,lawyers were ‘shameless’ in requesting fees in excess of $675,000 from the federal judges who drew up the redistricting maps that Gov. Brownback and the state legislature could not produce on time.

I would like to remind read-

Community Alert

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

710 Corridor Project Draft EIR Released for Public Review

8

Los Angeles—The California Department of Transportation has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the Interstate 710 Corridor Project for a 60-day public review, ending on August 29.

The project was developed in cooperation with various other agencies.

The environmental review involves proposals to improve the Interstate 710 in Los Angeles County between Ocean Boulevard and State Route 60.

Major elements include widening the I-710 freeway up to ten general purpose lanes (five lanes in each direction); modernizing and reconfiguring the Interstate 405, State Route 91 and a portion of the Interstate 5 interchanges with the I-710; modernizing and reconfiguring most local arterial interchanges along the I-710; and looking at a provision of a separate four-lane freight corridor to be used by conventional or zeroemission trucks.

Written comments may be sent to: Ronald Kosinski, Caltrans District 7, Division of Environmental Planning, 100 South Main Street, MS 16A, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Or send an e-mail through the project website at http://www.dot.ca.gov/ dist07/resources/envdocs/ docs/710corridor/ Public comments hearings are being held in August.

The Long Beach hearing date is from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 8, at Silverado Community Center in Long Beach.

Details: www.dot.ca.gov/ dist07/resources/envdocs/ docs/710corridor Venue: Silverado Park Community Center Location: 1545 W. 31st St., Long Beach

ers of the more than $640,000 in lawyers fees to defend the unconstitutional and draconian abortion clinic regulations passed by our “free market” loving lawmakers in 2011.

We should not forget the final bill yet to come for Dear Old Phill Kline and his the revolving door of lawyers is piling up, The great defender of the “preborn” has been throwing Kansas taxpayers money to his cronies toward keeping his lapsed Kansas law license. The bill isn’t in yet, but coupled with the millions he expended while in office to persecute women and their doctors for legal abortions it promises to be sizable. A fact most Kansas reporters have yet to get

paid to find out how much.

A “known unknown” is the $75,000 to Art Laffer for his layover in the flyover zone of Topeka last year. Good Old Boy Art on his way to Tennessee declared Gov. Sam a genius in cutting state jobs, eliminating income taxes, etc.

Bush #41 called Laffer’s methods ‘voodoo economics.’ Art declared victory and announced to the country that Kansas is having a “revolution in a corn field.”

Then there is the $31 million Gov. Sam sent back to DC over the health insurance exchange program, and the million or so lost from matching grants for the arts, a small matter for people who only More Letters/ to following page

from p. 7

Set Up to Fail had an interpreter there to interpret her remarks. She wanted to save her home, she wanted a modification, no one was listening to her and she needed help.

The interpreter translated with an inflection in his tone that revealed his opinion that he thought this woman was less than worthy. It was somewhere within that moment and the ones that followed that I felt the imposition of hopelessness and distress that has been inflected on the home buyers in our country.

Maricella was dressed humbly in jeans and a t-shirt, she brought her five children with her. It was not difficult to decipher the opinion of the panel sitting with the board and they glanced impatiently around.

Gloria Molina, supervisor for the First District spoke to the woman impatiently, in Spanish, “Who told you to come here?” she demanded.

“I am with the Occupy movement,” Maricella looked back for support.

I was sitting next to Carlos Marroquin who is heading up the Occupy Fight Foreclosure action committee in Los Angeles. He is a hard working man with a genuine compassion for people. He has lost his own home to foreclosure and is determined to help others save theirs.

He leaned over and whispered to me what was being said.

“Gloria Molina is not being very nice to this woman,” he said in hushed tones, “She is talking down to her.”

For the past 5 years I have seen the injustice of the propaganda perpetuated by Wall Street, “The home buyers got in over their heads, they got greedy.”

Then this myth is further exacerbated by the damage it causes. A woman, a mother, a hard worker, who believed that the lender was helping her to

purchase a home, not setting her up to fail, begins to bend under the burden, she is offered a modification, and she sees hope only to be lured into foreclosure by the lenders that are still profiting from their fraud and because of their past reputations of trust and compliance.

The lenders are still able to convince an uninformed public that the homebuyer is responsible for this mess.

This propaganda might even work when someone like Maricella, who cannot communicate in their language, stands before the Country Supervisors, struggling for the words to express her outrage and discouragement…but after Maricella came others, dressed in suits and ties, dressed like business personnel, asking for a moratorium on foreclosures, outlining the fraud by the lenders.

Some had homes in distress, others did not, but all asked for a moratorium and were wellinformed in their brief redress.

As we began to leave the auditorium of the Board meeting, a liaison for Gloria Molina came down the aisle and asked to speak to us. She told us Gloria wanted to set up a meeting with Maricella to see what she could do to help her. She sent her down to the Department of Consumer Affairs to make an appointment for counseling.

Too many home buyers are suffering in silence, like Maricella, they are afraid they will not be heard, and alone, they may not be, but if we stand together, we can make a difference, we can change the conversation from “deadbeat home buyers” to “Wall Street fraud.”

We can change the course of history, or we can sit idly back until the thief comes to our door in the form of more lost equity in our homes or lost pension earnings as the lenders who are guilty of the fraud continue to grow richer.

from previous page

see golf courses. He then informs all that the future of the Supreme Court tested Affordable Care Act hinges on the November election and running out of office what many Kansans call “that n-word socialist in the White House.”

Now with 60 and more Kansas counties declared drought disasters there will be lines of heavily subsidized livestock feed farmers with their hands out for federal loans and crop insurance claims.

Michael Caddell Nortonville, Ks.

On QM Valor

In 2011 President Obama spoke on D-Day at Normandy Beach. This year no representative from the White House. Recently in an Op-Ed article in the Los Angeles Times (April 1), the author commented that his son “volunteered for a military life of action; he didn’t sign up to be in the Quartermaster Corp,” I would call to his attention and other military buffs that thousands of GIs who served in the Quartermaster Corps fought alongside combat units and earned their share of military citations.

Monuments at Utah lists the units who participated on June 6, 1944. One lists the 1877th QM Gas Sup co and the 1878 QM Gas Sup Co. Also 6 other QM units Val Rodriguez Signal Hill

Angelenos Should Not Be Taxed to Help Politicians Win Elections

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Under current “arrangements,” each of the city’s 15 council members is authorized to employ 18 council aides. That means the people of Los Angeles are now taxed well over 16.5 million dollars to pay the combined salary of 270 aides.

Unfortunately, the people haven’t been given a whole lot of

information about those 270 aides.

Do the people know that aides are not required to meet established education experience standards?

Do they know that aides are not subject to background checks?

Do the people know that aides are appointed by individual council members — that members are free to hire whomever they want?

Letting 15 council members put 270 exempt employees on the city payroll is a really big deal for politicians. But if the people who pay the bills at City hall knew more about this “arrangement”, they would surely demand its elimination.

Sadly, the role council aides are expected to play continues to be a well-guarded secret. Presumably, they provide various kinds of service to the residents of a given council district. Naturally, they do it on behalf of the council member who appointed them. That helps the incumbent win voter approval and stay in power. But it simultaneously puts prospective challengers at an enormous disadvantage.

Moreover, beyond providing service to incumbents’ constituents, aides have been known to get involved in political campaigns.

It was recently reported that an aide, while on the city payroll, was caught mailing campaign literature to all the registered voters in the district.

And who knows what the other 17 aides are doing—at taxpayer expense—to help that incumbent get re-elected?

This arrangement must not continue. Letting politicians put their friends on the city payroll opens the door to nepotism, kickbacks, and other forms of fraud and corruption. It must be stopped.

And here’s how it could be done.

First, the council aide classification must be eliminated. It should be replaced with a new class called neighborhood aide. Current council aides should be invited to file a civil service application for a neighborhood aide examination.

Samuel M. Sperling Monterey Park

July 27 - August 9, 2012

9

10

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

From the Heart to the Fingers by: B. Noel Barr, Music Writer Dude

H

Shop Local. Dine Local. Support Your Community.

Shop Local. Dine Local. Support Your Community.

Photo by: Kristine Slipson

awaiian slack key guitarist Jim “Kimo” West recently appeared at Alvas Showroom for a concert in the intimate 60-plus seat listening room.

It was an evening where music merged with the heart, where everyone became Hawaiian for a little while. It was this aloha spirit, that made everyone present feel as though they were welcomed back home.

Kimo, who has been with Weird Al Yankovic as his guitar player for many years told us of how he found and fell in love slack key guitar music.

“I was playing acoustic guitar since I was about 12,” he said. “I went to Hawaii in 1985. Due to a friend of a friend, I ended up in this little town called Hana on the island of Maui.

“My friends there had a collection of Hawaiian records in there were these slack key guitar recordings. That was when I first discovered this music.

“I became entranced by it, and as a player I understood the technical concept of it. I didn’t try to play it for a number of years.

“I would just listen to it in my car and enjoy it. It wasn’t until around 1990 I started writing slack key songs. It started to creep into my repertoire; I started writing in that style and was having a lot of fun playing it.

“So, someone suggested I make a CD out of it. From that came my first disc Coconut Hat which came out in 1999. It was that trip to Hana Maui that was the catalyst for it.”

We interviewed Kimo about the concert and life as a non-Hawaiian playing music that dates back to early settlement of the islands. During the interviews and the performance Kimo gave reference to the history of the music and people of Hawaii. Slack key guitar is an open tuning making a chord without putting any fingers on a fret-board of the instrument.

“The tunings of the instrument in some cases would be family secrets,” Kimo said.

The history goes a bit deeper as Hawaiian slack key guitar found its roots with the Mexican cowboys the vaqueros. They in turn became Hawaiian cowboys, known as Paniolo. During the time of Anglo settlements in Hawaii, the British introduced cattle to the islands. The land owners needed men who could handle these large beasts who were breeding and destroying local crops. So, from California came the vaqueros to Hawaii and with them they brought the guitar. The Hawaiians loved the sound of this instrument and it was adopted into Kimo West to page 17.

July 27 – August 9, 2012 July 27 – August 9, 2012

11 11

Ham & Eggs Shops Adds Luster to a Good Breakfast T by: Gretchen Williams, Cuisine Writer

ACE>> Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

The Omelette & Waffle Shop offer more than 100 different kinds of omelets from which to choose.

Spiffy yourself before dining at Think Café, on 5th Street in San Pedro, because you are going to see someone you know there. The only place in town with lovely linen table service for breakfast,

• Happy Hour •

Blu Bar at Crowne Plaza • $4 Drinks and half off appetizers. (310) 519-8200, 601 S. Palos Verdes St., San Pedro The Chowder Barge • Try the 34oz. captain’s mug! (310) 830-7937, 611 N. Henry Ford, Leeward Bay Marina, Wilmington Godmother’s Saloon • Live jazz from Mike Guerrero Trio: 7 p.m. every Wed. (310) 833-1589, 302 W. 7th St., San Pedro

July 27 –August 9, 2012

Iron City Tavern • Happy Hour 1/2-price appetizers & drink specials: 4 to 6 p.m.

Mon. to Fri. 589 W. 9th St., San Pedro; (310) 547-4766

12

he irresistible aroma of fresh coffee, sizzling bacon and baking waffles wafting from the local breakfast place tends to bring the neighbors out early. Morning hours keep the atmosphere casual, the dress code informal and the prices low. Each neighborhood worthy of the name has an establishment that attracts the local buzz while providing excellent caffeine and a variety of good things to eat in the a.m.

San Pedro’s Omelette & Waffle Shop continues to set the standard for phenomenal choices in omelets and waffles, though quality is consistently high throughout the quantity. Fresh vegetables and fruit shine as well as giving the kitchen salsa good heat. Mona and Leslie have made their restaurant into the beating heart of the neighborhood, sending funding and morale support to local schools, Boys and Girls Club and Harbor Community Clinic. The original Danny’s Waffle Shop was a sliver of a café next to the old Strand Theatre, so narrow that patrons regularly passed coffee to diners seated at the two tables because there was no room for a waitress. Those original waffle irons supplied generations of early risers with golden discs of indented delight. The Omelette and Waffle Shop carries on Danny’s tradition of early morning waffle happiness, complimented by more than 90 omelets, hot cakes and French toast.

The Omelette & Waffle Shop is at 1103 S. Gaffey St. in San Pedro.

Details: (310) 831-3277

Ports o’ Call • Happy Hour: Mon. to Fri., 3 to 8 p.m. Taco Tuesdays. Oyster shooter & bloody mary Wednesdays. (310) 833-3553, Berth 76 Ports O’ Call Village, San Pedro San Pedro Brewing Co. • Happy Hour: 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., Mon. to Fri. (310) 8315663, 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro Whale & Ale • Happy Hour: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Mon to Fri., 4 to 7 p.m. on Wed. Late Night Happy Hour: 10 p.m. to Midnight, Fri. Only. (310) 832-0363, 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro Happy Hour Listings Are Paid Advertising

Think Cafe proprietor Carly Ramirez. Photo by Terelle Jerricks

Think Café has maintained its interesting menu and good service. Throughout the years, it has become central to the downtown. The pleasant, leafy outdoor space is perfect for dining al fresco in warm weather. Such conditions might command a stiff tab elsewhere, but Think is reasonable as well as comfortable. Breakfast items include favorites like ham and eggs but stretch to cover tasty but unusual dishes like eggs scrambled with smoked salmon or breakfast spaghetti. Espresso, latte and other coffee drinks are always available; though champagne may be just the ticket some mornings. Local politico and celebrity sightings are not unknown at Think Café.

Think Café is at 302 W. 5th St. in San Pedro.

Details: (310) 519-3662 The Dandy Lion Restaurant is a true portrait of its neighborhood, shaded and nuanced with sports, local culinary tradition and a smattering Contiued on page 13.

Contiued from page 12.

of gossip. Most diners are regulars, well versed in the short menu and daily specials, a great deal with breakfast as low as $4.99. Ketchup is a vital ingredient in the kitchen salsa, resulting in a slightly sweet, hot mix very good with scrambled eggs or the house made sausage patties.

Hash browns, home fries or grits are all good choices in a breakfast cuisine meant to appeal to many different people.

Hot cakes are not shy in this parade, covering the plate and ready for serious applications of butter and syrup. The Dandy Lion is warm and welcoming and is especially lively for Lakers and Dodgers fans.

The Dandy Lion Restaurant is at 18902 Avalon Blvd. in Carson.

Details: (310) 327-9150

Jongewaard’s Bake N’ Broil is a neighborhood jewel on Atlantic in Bixby Knolls. Family owned and operated onto The friendly staff of Jongewaard Bake N’ Broil with a short stack its third generation, The Bake N’ Broil with strawberries and cream. Photo by Terelle Jerricks is like going to your favorite auntie’s house out of the tiny kitchen. Blueberry muffins are for breakfast. The décor is cozy and homey, splendid, brimming with fresh berries. Quiche is charming with pattern and soft colors. The different each day, ranging from ham and cheese homemade preserves on each table give a hint of to vegetable with green chilies or mushrooms the wonderful things to come. Baked goods are or olives. Bake N’ Broil is reassurance that the pride of the kitchen, turning out muffins, pies, great coffee will be made, breakfast will be cakes and coffee cakes every day. The signature well prepared and served and all is right with dish of Bake N’Broil is a tender chicken pot pie, the world. packed with breast meat and crowned with flaky Jongewaard’s Bake N’ Broil is at 3697 Atlantic crust. Breakfast is a contender for favorite as Ave. in Long Beach. gorgeous omelets and scrumptious pancakes fly Details: (562) 595-0396

Belmont Shore has become an enclave of Mediterranean cuisine, hosting several able competitors for the Med’s prize of top kitchen. The newest contender, Boubouffe, has brought all of the successful elements of Mediterranean cuisine under one roof to tremendous effect. Boubouffe offers breakfast until 11:30 each day, with a special menu demonstrating the many different morning meals eaten around the Mediterranean. Eggs are served in different styles, as you like with apple wood smoked bacon, or poached and served with smoked salmon and grilled asparagus, or fried atop a seasoned lamb burger, or in an omelet with kalamata olives and mint. Pita and hummus and

Entertainment July 27

The Hellhounds Live at Brixton with WildChild The evening starts at but the home town favorite The Hellhounds go on stage at midnight. Don’t let the time slot fool you, They’ll be following the amazing Doors cover band Wild Child! Wild Child has toured and played with Doors founding members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger and features the Jim Morrison look-a-like, sound-a-like David Brock on vocals. Don’t miss this epic show.

Tickets: Free admission before 9 pm, $15 after 9 p.m. MAKE SURE YOU SAY YOUR THERE TO SEE THE HELLHOUNDS OTHERWISE YOU WILL PAY $28.00 INSTEAD OF $15!

Venue: Brixton Location: Redondo Beach Pier , Redondo Beach DW3 Rhythm and blues band DW3 is going to do what they do best, starting at 8 p.m. The are going to get people out on the dance floor to some covering jams from the 1980s to early 2000s plus some of their original tracks. The cover is $10.

Venue: 7th Street Chophouse Location: 465 W. 7th St., San Pedro Tierra and The Legends of Soul The Alpine Village is going to be poppin on this night with legendary soul group Tierra headlining the night, starting at 8:30 p.m. But if that wasn’t enough, the night’s line up includes Gilbert Esquivel, The Midniters, and Greg Esparza.

Venue: Alpine Village Location: 833 W. Torrance Blvd., Torrance

Belmont Shores’ Boubouff has options galore to help you break your fast Entrée to page 14.

BERDOO’s 2012 This San Bernardino-based metal band BERDOO will put some ringing in your ear on their tour of the West Coast, starting at 7 p.m. Call ahead for cover charge info.

Details: (562) 433-5823 Venue: Max’s Steiners Location: 2500 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach Entertainment Calendar to page 15.

310.548.2493

Tickets & Info: Williams Bookstore, www.WarnerGrand.org & www.WarnerGrandTheater.org

SUSHI BAR

Japanese Restaurant Sushi Bar 380 W. 6th St. • 832-5585

Shop Local. Dine Local. Support Your Community.

478 W. 6th St. • San Pedro

Oklahoma! • Friday, Aug. 10, 8 p.m. and Aug 11 & 12 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. - $15 and $25 Rodgers & Hammersteins OKLAHOMA! is set in a Western Indian territory just after the turn of the century. Join Scalawag Productions at the Warner Grand Theatre as performers, ages 13-18, entertain us with their delightful vocals, high-energy dance numbers and unmatched story-telling.

Thoroughly Modern Millie • Wednesday, Sep. 5, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. through Sept 16 - $40-$60 A high-spirited, award-winning musical romp that had all of New York dancing the Charleston! In NYC in 1922, young Millie Dillmount is in search of a new life - at a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever. For information, please call 310.372.4477.

3rd Annual H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival • Friday, Sep. 28, and September 29 - various screenings LA celebration of films and literary works from the mind of the premier master of the macabre featuring films, special guest speakers, a live radio drama recreation and gothic-inspired “vendors of the unusual.”

July 27 – August 9, 2012

Golden State Pops Orchestra • Saturday, Sep. 22, 8 p.m.

GSPO celebrates its tenth anniversary with the 2012-13 season opening concert, directed by conductor and composer Steven Allen Fox.

13

Entertainment Calendar from page 13.

Bojangles Bojangles perform with Joe Kinkaid Band July 27 at the Seabird Jazz Lounge in Long Beach.

Details: http://seabirdjazzlounge.com Venue: Seabird Jazz Lounge Location: 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach

July 28

Dale Black Jazz Quintet Dale Black Jazz Quintet performs, starting at 9 p.m. July 28, at the Seabird Jazz Lounge in Long Beach.

Details: http://seabirdjazzlounge.com Venue: Seabird Jazz Lounge Location: 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach

PSST:

It’s About Damn Time

Legends of New Orleans The Jazz & Blues Festival on the Waterfront featuring musical legends: Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas and Rebirth Brass Band takes place July 28, at the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

Details: http://www.legendsqm.com/ Venue: The Queen Mary Location: 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach

July 29

The Swingin’ ARMANI Brothers Join the neighborhood for dinner and the exciting, romantic, sophisticated, Italian-American sounds of Don Codioni and The Swingin’ Armanis, starting at 4 p.m. July 29, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro.

A specially prepared home-made pasta dinner is included in the price.

Details: (800) 403-3447 Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro Shades of Tjade Shades of Tjade, performs from 2 to 6 p.m. July 29, at the Seabird Jazz Lounge in Long Beach.

Details: http://seabirdjazzlounge.com Venue: Seabird Jazz Lounge Location: 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach

August 1

ACE>> Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

Introducing Genesis Ian’s New Project De5tro They are preparing for their a fall tour 2012 but before going into hibernation to perfect our new show, get a chance to peek parts of that same show exclusively on this special night at the foundation room. Starts at 10:30 p.m.

Venue: House of Blues, Foundation Room Location: 8430 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles

August 2

Stacy Clark Stacy Clark performs, at 7 p.m. Aug. 2, at Bliss 525 in Long Beach.

This Southern California-based singer, songwriter and musician is an exciting artist to watch on the indie-pop music scene. Clark’s idiosyncratic voice and heartfelt lyrics has drawn comparisons to Sarah McLachlan, Feist, Stevie Nicks, Björk, Taylor Swift.

Details: (562) 495-7252 Venue: Bliss 525 Location: 525 E. Broadway, Long Beach

August 9

BC Rydah BC Rydah performs, at 9 p.m. Aug. 9, at Blue Cafe in Long Beach.

Rydah is a DJ and producer first before anything else, and has the callouses from crate digging to prove it. Admittance is for people 18 years old and older.

Venue: Blue Cafe Location: 217 Pine Ave., Long Beach

Theater/Film

July 27 –August 9, 2012

July 26

14

Les Miserables Encore Entertainers returns with one of the most award-winning stage musicals of all time. Starts at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16 to $20 Details: (310) 896-6459 Venue: Warner Grand Theatre Location: 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro

July 29

REVEAL THE PATH-New Adventure Cycling Film A beautiful, visual exploration of grand adventures by bike; exploring worldly landscapes, wide-ranging cultures and what it means to live an inspired life however humble or extravagant. Filmed across four continents and featuring Tour Divide race legends Theater/Film Calendar to page 15.

Ron Linden stands next to Linda Day’s, Untitled, n.d. acrylic on canvas over wood panel, in the PSST exhibit at Transvagrant/Warshaw Gallery in San Pedro.

by: Andrea Serna, Arts Writer

R on Linden’s curated show PSST —

pronounced either as “psssst,” like you’re trying to catch someone’s attention or, perhaps, “pissed,” as in pissed at it taking so long for local artists to get the recognition they deserve. Linden would have you take your pick.

PSST: Art is San Pedro 2000 - 2012 was intended to showcase nationally and internationally renown artists living and working in San Pedro.

Linden was frustrated because despite their reputations in the art world, the artists in PSST weren’t getting their just due, particularly in the context of Pacific Standard Time, a Getty Museum led effort that documented the birth of the Los Angeles art scene from 1945 to 1980.

The injustice of this lack of acknowledgement was so acute that art critic Peter Frank observed, “There are people here whose names you know.

There are many more whose names you should know. But you don’t not know them because they live in San Pedro.”

Linden attempts to correct this by identifying these artists’ place in the pantheon of Pacific Standard Time.

Through his activities as an artist, teacher, curator and gallery director, Linden has achieved grassroots recognition among other artists. Most recently he has exhibited at the Cue Art Foundation in New York. He is also a member of the Fine Arts Faculty at Los Angeles Harbor College, where he has served as Gallery Director since 2000. In

2007, he founded TransVagrant, a collective of artists and writers, to produce exhibitions and performances.

The wealth of talent in this exhibition challenges description. The 18 artists exhibited are represented in museums and galleries such as Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, The Getty, the Whitney, and notable museums in Latin America and Europe. And that’s not even including a number of private collections around the world in which their works reside.

The mediums represented range from acrylic, oil, works on paper, three dimensional sculptures and one very interesting video installation (Hint: put on the headphones).

Included in the show are artists who have recently died, Harold Plople and Linda Day. Plople, who struggled with mental illness and alcoholism is featured with two striking images.

“Drug Pusher” and “Gigolo,” both, initially appear quirky or whimsical, but with an underlying dark visions that emerge. The cruelty behind the drug pusher’s sunglasses and the blood shot eyes of the gigolo reveal the reality of the streets Plople knew well. His work succeeds in being both primitive and sophisticated. Although he was unable to build a significant résumé, his painting was featured as the cover of Artillery Magazine.

Day was a much loved educator in the art department at Cal State Long Beach and will be the

subject of a solo exhibition, Swimming in Paint, at the University Art Museum later this year. With her use of vibrant color, Day’s work articulates complex spatial characteristics and invites the viewer to participate through interaction. An early geometric construction piece is represented here.

Sculptor Eric Johnson has offered a shimmering electric violet three-dimensional wall piece created from composite resin. Johnson states he is inspired by both art and science. His ancestral boat builders heritage inspires the craftsmanship that combines with an obsession for color and surface. His work is frequently compared to the “Finish Fetish” school and his piece “Calando” directly connects him to the Laguna Contemporary Art PST show, Phenomenal: California Light, Space, Surface.

It’s hard to miss the work of artist Michael Davis. His public art inhabits Times Square, Los Angeles Metro stations and plazas throughout the United States and Japan. His work is viewed by literally hundreds of thousands each day. Davis moved to San Pedro in 1975 with other artists from Los Angeles’ Westside with the hopes of creating a new Venice-style arts community.

Two years ago, he invited Lynn Kienholz, president of California International Arts Foundation, to town to discuss the establishment of an international art scene at the location of Warehouse 1 to include a sculpture garden. His grand vision is yet to be realized but Davis states he feels San Pedro is on the cusp of what is possible with the arts.

Perhaps the only San Pedro native included is Jay McCafferty. McCafferty practices a method of solar burning, done on the roof of his San Pedro studio. In the process, he rubs pastel on paper. Focusing the sun’s rays with a magnifying glass, he creates a loose grid on his finished work. McCafferty was included in the Getty PST exhibition at Laguna Art Museum this past year.

His impressive résumé stretches back more than 30 years and represents a massive body of work with exhibitions in museums and galleries across the country. McCafferty is also a Harbor College professor along with Linden.

Craig Keith Antrim is a graduate of Claremont graduate school. His work is in the collection of the Getty, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Cocoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. His two–dimensional pieces take on the appearance of a third dimension through his ability to layer and score his canvases. “Sun Dagger” speaks to a favorite subject of spirals, symbols and earth elements. His fascination with Native American symbology runs throughout his work. Antrim was included in the much acclaimed 1986 show The Spiritual in Art Abstract Painting 1890 - 1985.

The remaining featured artists includes Philippa Blair, Ray Carofano, William Crutchfield, Austin and Lyda Lowrey, Danial Nord, Peggy Reavey, Fran Siegel, Maggie Tenneson, Marie Thibeault, and Ted Twine.

PSST runs through Aug. 4 and is available for viewing, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Fridays, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

A closing reception is open to the public Aug. 4 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Transvagrant at Warschaw Gallery.

Venue: Transvagrant at Warschaw Gallery Location: 600 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

Entrée from page 13.

baba ganoush with fruit and olives is a very typical Mediterranean breakfast. Lemon blueberry crepes are not so typical, but wildly delicious nonetheless.

Coffee and espresso are directly from Italy, using Italian beans and espresso machine. Observe the fascinating Belmont Shore scene from Boubouffe while drinking the best coffee since “Roman Holiday”.

Boubouffe is at 5313 E. 2nd St. in Long Beach.

Details: (562) 433-7000 The skull and crossbones standard crowns the

yard arm over the listing deck of The Chowder Barge, but the pirates aboard seem semi-retired and the modern wi-fi connection seems to buffer the dubious history of the vessel. Originally built as support boat for the filming of the 1934 version of Mutiny on the Bounty and then to serve as brothel and minor league gambling den, The Chowder Barge enjoys its present moorings at Leeward Bay and legitimate role as chief disseminator of chowder. The dress code is decidedly casual at The Chowder Barge, just the place to go for a cold brew and breakfast after the game or garden or garage.

The specials board is always worth checking out.

Entertainment Calendar from page 14.

Matthew Lee & Kurt Refsnider, Reveal the Path is guaranteed to ignite the dream in you. Tickets are $6.50adv/$7.50door. Starts at 12:30p.m.

Details: (562) 438-5435 Venue: Art Theatre Location: 2025 E. 4TH St., Long Beach

August 10

The clam chowder is awesome!

The Chowder Barge is at Leeward Bay Marina, 611 N Henry Ford Ave. in Wilmington Details: (310) 830-7937

Oklahoma!

Rodgers & Hammersteins OKLAHOMA!, set in a Western Indian territory just after the turn of the century, the high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play Entertainment Calendar to page 17.

San Pedro’s Original ArtWalk— Fine Dining Event • Live Music Special Performances • Food Trucks!

Artist Studios & Galleries

Gallery 345

From Within and Beyond Gloria D Lee and Pat Woolley exhibit mixed media and watercolor paintings, books, small works and more. 6-9 pm 1st Thursday, and by appointment. Please call 310 545 0832 or 310 374 8055 for appointments or email artsail@roadrunner. com; www.gloriadlee.com; woolleybear@verizon.net ; www. teddytraveler.com• 345 W. 7th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731

The Loft Gallery

In The Large Gallery: 2012 California Open Photo Show.

In The Small Gallery: Photos by Paul Blieden and Jim McKinniss Open Studios: Candice Gawne, Carol Hungerford, Sam Arno, Daniel Porras, Murial Olguin, Jan Govaerts, Anne Marie Rawlinson, & Nancy Towne Schultz 401 S. Mesa St. • 310.831.5757 • Open 6–9pm & by appt.

Shop Local. Dine Local. Support Your Community.

Gallery 381 • 381 West 6th St. • 310-809-5082 Dwelling • 387 West 6th St. • 310-547-4222 Neil Nagy • 408 West 6th St. • 310-617-3459 Mike Rivero Studio • 414 West 6th St. • 310-720-3407 Dekor • 445 West 6th • St. 310-831-1800 fINdings Art Center • 470 West 6th St. • 310-489-1362 Arcade Gallery Ovation • 479 West 6th St. • 267-909-0799 Ancient Arts Stained Glass • 333 West 7th St. • 310-832-7613 Studio 339 • 339 West 7th St. • 310-514-1238 Studio 345 • 345 West 7th St. • 310-374-8055 / 310-545-0832 Allyson Vought • 356 West 7th St. 424-210-7475 Human Array Gallery • 357 West 7th St. • 408-475-8867 Nancy Crawford • 360 West 7th St. • 310-732-7922 Gallery Ls • 362 West 7th St. • 310-541-4354 Paul Turang • 364 West 7th St. • 310-547-9771 Gallery Neuartig • 366 West 7th St. • 213-973-8223 Jim Harter • 368 West 7th St. • 310-533-8753 Studio MNX • 370 West 7th St. Meredith Harbuck • 372 West 7th St. • 310-528-7184 Yoon Jin Kim • 374 West 7th St. • 310-514-2143 Julia Strickler • 376 West 7th St. • 310-908-3824 Shannon LaBelle • 378 West 7th St. Hiroko • 382 West 7th St. • 310-514-8881 SP Chamber Board Room Gallery • 390 W 7th St. • 310-832-7272 Gallery at the Vault • 407 West 7th St. • 310-548-6585 Shalla Javid Studio • 407 7th St. Unit 119 A • 918-557-2165 Scott Boren Borenstudios • 412 West 7th St. Yong Sin • 414 West 7th St. • 310-221-0283 Medea Gallery • 445 West 7th St. • 310-833-3831 Gallery 478 • 478 West 7th St. • 310-732-2150 Croatian Cultural Center • 510 West 7th St. • 310-406-9330 Norm Looney • 318 S. Pacific Ave. • 310-548-6293 Warschaw Gallery • 600 S. Pacific Ave • 310-547-3606

302 W. 7th Street • 310. 833.1589 –Entertainment Calendar– First

Thurs 8/2

Jay Edward Band

7pm

Fri 8/3

Longhorns Daddyos Handsome Devils In Contempt Seat Belt Azure AWOL

9pm

Sun 8/5 Fri 8/10 Sun 8/12 Fri 8/17 Sun 8/19

5pm 8pm 9pm 4pm 9pm 4pm

Karaoke Every Tuesday at 8pm with Amorette Jazz Jam every Wednesday 7 - 11pm

– www.godmotherssaloon.com –

July 27 – August 9, 2012

Thurs 8/9

15

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

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

Fancy Melts “Fancy” barely begins to describe it. Our secret recipe old-world bread has been a San Pedro staple since 1975. Now we use it to create the most amazing grilled sandwiches you’ll ever try.

Come taste what everyone has been talking about... Delivered right up to your car window if you wish. Fancy Fever... Catch it! Call your order ahead for made–to–order, no–waiting pick-ups!

Hours: Tues–Sat 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. 2331 Alma St., San Pedro • (310) 547-4331

Boardwalk Grill

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

The most comfortable gastropub in San Pedro, Iron City offers casual dining for lunch and dinner with food service at the bar. Catch all sporting events on seven 50” screens in surround sound and listen to your favorite tunes on our internet jukebox.

(Iron City is a supporter of the Black & Gold.)

Iron City features authentic Philly cheese steaks, various hot sandwiches and burgers, calamari steaks and a variety of Italian pasta dishes.

Hours:10:30 a.m.-2a.m. 7 days a week. Happy hour from 4-6 p.m. featuring 1/2 priced appetizers and drink specials. Free parking in rear. 589 W. 9th St., San Pedro • (310) 547-4766

July 27 –August 9, 2012

ACE>> Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

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

16

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

Buono’s also o f fe r s c l a s s i c Italian dishes and sauces based on triedand-true family recipes and hand-selected ingredients that are prepared fresh. You can dine-in or take-out. Delivery and catering are also provided. Additionally, there are two locations in Long Beach. Hours: Sun.-Thurs.

11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. 1432 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro • (310) 547-0655 www.buonospizza.com The Chowder Barge

L.A. Harbor’s famous floating restaurant, surrounded by boats in Leeward Bay Marina. Dine inside by our fire place, or outside on our deck .

This unique spot ser ves great sandwiches, burgers, fish & chips, wings and of course, the BEST clam chowder anywhere! Try our sourdough bread bowl and daily specials. Wine and beer on tap or by the bottle, featuring our 34oz Captains Mug! The new owners have kept the “funkiness” of the old barge, and stepped it up several notches. Watch the games on our big screen TVs, utilize our WiFi and enjoy our XM tunes. THE place for your next party.

Hours: Mon, Tues 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Wed, Thurs 11 a.m.–8 p.m. Fri, Sat, Sun 9 a.m.–8 p.m.

611 N. Henry Ford, (at Anaheim) Leeward Bay Marina, Wilmington • (310) 830-7937 www.ChowderBarge.com

Iron City Tavern

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

Aniko and Mishi have expanded the menu to include homemade goulash soup and a variety of sweet and savory Hungarian strudels, crepes and pastas. The best indulgence is taking a frozen strudel home to bake in your own kitchen and create that heavenly aroma at your house. Mishi’s Strudel Bakery and Café, 309 W.7th St., St., San Pedro • (310) 832-6474 www.mishisstrudel.com NIKO’S PIZZERIA Downtown San Pedro’s newest restaurant features a full Italian menu, as well as pizza, and a beer and wine bar. We carry a wide selection of beers on tap and by the bottle. Watch sporting events on plasma TV screens throughout the restaurant. Delivery service to all of San Pedro, Port locations, and hotels. 399 W. 6th St., San Pedro (at the corner of Mesa and 6th sts.) • (310) 241-1400 PORTS O’CALL WATERFRONT DINING Since 1961 we’ve extended a hear ty welcome to visitors from every corner of the globe. Delight in an awe-inspiring view of the dynamic LA Harbor

while enjoying exquisite Coastal California Cuisine and Varietals. Relax in the Plank Bar or Outdoor Patio for the best Happy Hour on the Waterfront. With the Award-Winning Sunday Champagne Brunch, receive the first SPIRIT CRUISES Harbor Cruise of the day FREE. Open 7 days, lunch and dinner. Free Parking. 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 76, San Pedro • (310) 833-3553 www.Portsocalldining.com PRONTO’S FRESH MEXICAN GRILL & PRONTO’S BURGERS

(25th and Western) 2420 S. Western Ave. , San Pedro, (310) 832-4471

Los Angeles 110 W. El Segundo Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 527-7323 Gardena 13890 S. Normadie Ave., Gardena, (310) 327-5615

www.prontosmexgrill.com.

San Pedro Brewing Compnay SPBC has an eclectic menu featuring pastas, steaks, seafood, sandwiches, salads, delicious appetizers, and great BBQ. Handcrafted ales and lagers are made on the premises. A full bar with made-from-scratch margaritas and a martini menu all add fun to the warm and friendly atmosphere. WIFI bar connected for Web surfing and e-mail—bring your laptop. Hours: From 11:30 a.m., daily.

331 W. 6th St., San Pedro • (310) 831-5663 www.sanpedrobrewing.com SPIRIT CRUISES An instant party! Complete with all you need to relax and enjoy while the majesty of the harbor slips by. Our three yachts and seasoned staff provide for an exquisite excursion every time, and “all-inclusive” pricing makes party planning easy! Dinner Cruise features a 3-course meal, full bar, unlimited cocktails and starlight dancing. Offering the ultimate excursion for any occasion. Free Parking.

1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 548-8080, (562) 495-5884 www.spiritmarine.com Taxco Mexican Restaurant We are proud to serve our community for over 25 years. We offer some of the most unique Mexican dishes around, including the best fajitas in town in a great family atmosphere.

Catering for every occasion. Beer, wine and margaritas to your taste. Tony and Vini Moreno welcome you. Hours: 9 a.m. to 10 .m. daily. Major credit cards accepted.

29050 S. Western Ave., San Pedro (at Capitol and Western) • (310) 547-4554 www.sanpedro.com, click on RESTAURANTS

Trusela’s

Southern Italian & California Cuisine • Bob and Josephine Trusela have been awarded the “Most Promising New Restaurant 2010” award and three stars 2011 and 2012, by the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association. Catering available for all ocassions. Hours: Sun. 5 p.m.–Close, Lunch: Tues–Fri 11:30–2:30, Dinner: Tues–Sat 5 p.m.–Closing. 28158 S. Western Ave., San Pedro • (310) 547–0993 www.truselas.com

The Whale & Ale

San Pedro’s British Gastro Pub offers comfor table dining in oak paneled setting, featuring English fish & chips, roast prime rib, sea bass, rack of lamb, beef Wellington, English pies, venison, salmon, swordfish & vegan/vegetarian dishes. Open for lunch & dinner, 7days/wk; great selection of wines; 14 British tap ales, & full bar. Frequent live Music. First Thursday live band & special fixed price menu. Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri. 11:30 a.m.midnight Sat. & Sun. 1-10 p.m. Bar open late.

327 W. 7th St., San Pedro • (310) 832-0363 www.whaleandale.com

San Pedro’s Best Guide To —Fine Dining—

Brochure Pick Up Your 2012 Copy Today!

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

Family Fun Way Back in the Good Ol’ Days

I’m by no means nostalgic.

Though I complain about them, I love the convenience of having my phone in my pocket. I don’t love the Internet, but I work on it and use it every day. And I even microwave a burrito now and then.

Many things are better today than ever before, from young 20-somethings of whichever sex you prefer in revealing clothes and bathing suits, to motion pictures, which have finally broken the 3-D wall (though they still don’t deem top know how to use it).

There has never been a better place to live than in Los Angeles. Every year the culture is more diverse. Remember when a Chinese restaurant was some place special? Now even Korean tacos and Chinese-style poker are “been there, done that.”

But not everything has improved. When I was growing up Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm were special places that offered local special treats that relatives visiting from out of state could never sample.

My family was anything but wealthy, but we kept in the junk drawer every leftover ticket booklet from Disneyland. Knott’s was even open a few days each year during the holiday season admission free, so you could do your Christmas shopping there. Disneyland was inexpensive enough you could go just to hear one of the big bands that still made the Magic Kingdom part of their yearly circuit. I still remember Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Orchestra at the Carnation Pavilion.

I haven’t been to either place for years now

Kimo West

Kapo Ku sang and played guitar with Kimo on “Little Grass Shack” which was written for a canoe race back in 1933. This song has been recorded countless times since then; a favorite version of ours is by the late Bill Tapia from his 100th birthday celebration recorded at the Warner Grand Theater in downtown San Pedro.

The last song of the set was called “Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai.” It is about the gathering of the bounty of the ocean. This had every one of the performers playing and dancing. The second set equaled the first set, and bit more. The next 10 songs brought the guests out for more playing as the solo performances by Kimo were contained to just three songs.

This is what Hawaiian music is all about, a soulfulness that is gentle as a tropical breeze. It invigorates, energizes, breathing new life that surrounds you.

Continued from page 11.

the culture.

“The recorded history really didn’t begin in until 1947 with Gabby Pahinui had his recording of ‘Hi’ilawe’ on Aloha Records,” Kimo said.

The two sets at Alvas featured Kimo on slack key, baritone, and steel guitars. Hawaiian recording artist Kapo Ku played guitar and ukulele joining in on several songs during the night. Other guest artists included Joe Bird “Ka Manu,” the peninsula resident played gourd drum called the Ipu Heke. On the ukulele was Greg “Maka’ala” Porth, Diana Tanaka was the only female vocalist and Amanda “Ku’u Leilani” Taketa was our very expressive hula dancer.

The set opened with a song called “Radio Hula.” This was a solo instrumental, a very warm and friendly song. Much like the greeting we got as we entered Alvas. Kimo engaged his audience

Shoreline Village, Long Beach. File Photo.

Community/Family July 26

Enjoy a night of art, fashion, make-up and music with the RAW: mixology showcase, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. The showcase brings together the best of Long Beach artists, designers and one musician.

Steven H. Garcia will be showing off his newest erotic pin-up art. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Details: www.rawartists.org/longbeach/mixology Venue: Sevilla Nightclub Location: 140 Pine Ave., Long Beach

July 27

Swing Pedro Enjoy a fun-filled evening of live music and dancing with LA’s Hottest Swing Band: “The Swing of Things” featuring Barry Anthony & Sylvia Rodriguez. Swing Lesson for all levels (Beginners Welcome) starts at 7 p.m. The live music starts at 8p.m. You can dance, or just sit and listen. Advance Tickets: $15 and $20 at the door. Group discounts available. Reserve a table for 10 at $10/guest. Enjoy Refreshments and a no-host Bar. Details: swingpeedro.com for tickets Venue: People’s Yoga, Health & Dance Location: 365 W. 6th St., San Pedro Puro Pink Party Bienestar Long Beach is feeling a little pink. They are turning inside out to bring the pinkest fashion, music and fun, starting at 9 p.m.

Details: (562) 628-9687 Venue: Bienestar Long Beach Location: 525 E. 7th St., Long Beach

July 28

Summer Dance Enjoy a summer dance, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Wilmington Senior Citizen Center. Admission is $10. One Ten South will be performing. Guests are encouraged to dress in 50s rockabilly fashion.

Prizes will be awarded to the best dressed and best dance moves.

Details: (310) 519-7233 Venue: Wilmington Senior Citizen Center Location: 1371 Eubank Ave., Wilmington 5K Run/Walk The Aquarium of the Pacific will host its first 5K Run/Walk, starting at 7:30 a.m. The race will take participants on a scenic waterfront loop around the Aquarium and surrounding shoreline areas.

The chip-timed race will award $500 to the top male and female overall finishers and certificates to the top three participants in each age division.

The cost for runners younger than 17 is $44 and is $52 for adults.

Details: (562) 590-3100; www.aquariumofthepacific. org/a5krace Venue: Aquarium of the Pacific Location: 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach

August 3

Nocturnal Sights Explore nocturnal sights with an expert naturalist under a full moon with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, Aug. 3, at the George F Canyon Nature Preserve in Rolling Hills Estates. Cost is $10 per person. Participants must be at least 9 years old. Reservations required.

Details: (310) 547-0862; www.pvplc.org Venue: George F Canyon Nature Preserve Location: 27305 Palos Verdes Dr. East, Rolling Hills Estates

July 27 – August 9, 2012

with a warm “Aloha” as they approached. The vibe in the sold out room was warm and friendly.

We were not just listening to the music we were transported. Seven of the songs in the first set were performed solo. On the 3rd song “Sophisticated Hula” the beautiful Ku’u Leilani joined Kimo with a hula dance. As we were told Ku’u Leilani had been performing since she was 4 years old, now this young lady took us with each bend of her body, each turn of the hand, told us a story in dance without a word.

“Maria Elena” which is a popular Spanish song from 1932, was first heard in a film with Paul Muni, Betty Davis called Border Town. Later, the song was a hit for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra sung in English in 1941. It later appeared on Ry Cooder’s 1972 album Boomer Story. On this occasion it was sung with the original Spanish lyrics by Kimo’s wife Diana Tanaka. It is not surprising how the Spanish song lends itself so well as a Hawaiian tune.

by: John Farrell, Contributing Writer

Entertainment Calendar from page 15. out their love story. Join Scalawag Productions at the Warner Grand as performers, ages 13-18, entertain with their delightful vocals, high-energy dance numbers and unmatched story-telling. Show runs Aug. 10 at 8 p.m. and Aug 11 and 12 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 and $25.

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

Shop Local. Dine Local. Support Your Community.

and I wasn’t surprised that ticket prices had risen. But when I heard, in casual conversation, that Disneyland was $87 for a single visit, I was shocked. I had thought of Disneyland as I used to, as a place where I could afford to visit when I wanted to. It had been priced out for me. I can’t even imagine a family of four spending more than $400 for food, tickets and parking.

Knott’s is still affordable—barely. The same ticket there is $39.99 purchased on line: a little less than $200 for a family of four, including parking, which was still free the last time I was there. No more free nights, no more affordable days. So what can a Southern Californian do these days without taking out a loan?

Well, as I remember Disneyland (and that too has changed: there are now two parks instead of one) the very first thing you did upon entering the Magic Kingdom was to wander down Uncle Walt’s vision of America circa during the turn of the century. The Twentieth Century.

That was Main Street, U.S.A., several blocks of small shops that led to other parts of the park.

It was charming in a sleepy, almost authentic way.

Now it costs big money to experience the ersatz street cars and Disney souvenir shops.

This past Sunday afternoon I spent several delightful hours on a real Main Street, and I didn’t even have to pay to park. This Main Street was actually three blocks of Main Street, Seal Beach, Calif., and it was filled with young and old, speaking at least five languages, walking dogs that were, in one case, as big as a small horse and in others as small as can be, with shops

selling everything from art to kites to jewelry to, yes, a genuine hardware store, a nursery and even a liquor store. At the south end was the Pacific Ocean, with a wide beach, a restaurant on the half mile-long pier and a view that even the best of Disney Imagineers couldn’t duplicate. Only one building on the whole stretch was three stories tall, and the look and feel of the place must have been cross-pollinated with Disney somewhere in the past.

The week before I spent several hours at Shoreline Village in Long Beach, a free bus ride from ample downtown Long Beach parking, with the Loof’s Carousel anchoring a large, very walkable promenade with everything from a pirate shop and restaurants to a melodrama theater. Neither time was I charged a thing. There were friendly people, lots of benches to rest on (in Seal Beach they seem to be every few yards) and just the kind of friendly, Southern California experience I used to have at Walter Knott’s place and Uncle Walt’s fantasy home.

This isn’t to suggest that Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm don’t have their uses. If a couple from the Midwest are coming to town, chances are they want the Disneyland experience as part of their trip to California. There are still bargain nights at both places, especially during the off-season, and teenagers like to go again and again (and they can presumably afford going again and again).

But for the average family facing hard times and budget constraints these are very affordable alternative. A visit to Seal beach with a bargain meal at Woody’s and a treat from Sweet Jill’s isn’t going to break you. At Shoreline Village you can rent a peddle-powered cart for four for $18 an hour and have some great memories. Or visit the Great American Melodrama, one of the best bargains anywhere. Have a pretzel, look at the boats, and enjoy the best view of the Queen Mary anywhere.

Perhaps the big entertainment centers have found a new way to make money, from the affluent and tourists who have to have the theme park experience. But for the people who want a little more reality in their lives, who would rather spend $18 eating at a restaurant than parking the car, I’ve found a couple of great alternatives. I’ll be back frequently. Maybe I’ll see you there. I’m the guy in the top hat.

17

Employment

Sales Random Lengths is looking for an experienced advertising/print salesperson. We are the Los Angeles Harbor Area’s oldest independent newspaper. We are a stable and growing company, open for over 30 years. The candidate should have 2 or more year’s experience in outside sales. Bi-lingual is a plus. Please email resume and cover letter with salary history to james@randomlengths news.com. Monthly base salary and commission. EOE Help Wanted!!!

Make up to $1000 a week mailing brochures from home!

Helping Home-Workers since 2001! Genuine Opportunity!

No experience required. Start Immediately! www.themailinghub. (AAN CAN) Actors/Movie Extras needed immediately for upcoming roles $150-$300/ day depending on job requirements.

No experience, all looks.

1-800-560-8672 A-109 for casting times /locations. (AAN CAN)

Movie Extras. People needed now to stand in the background for a major film Earn up to $300 per day. Exp not REQ. CALL NOW AND SPEAK TO A LIVE PERSON

877-824-7260. $$$HELP WANTED$$$ Extra Income! Assembling CD cases from Home! No Experience Necessary! Call our Live Operators Now! 1-800405-7619 EXT 2450 http:// www.easywork-greatpay.com (AAN CAN)

Business Opp REACH 5 MILLION hip, forward-thinking consumers across the U.S. When you advertise in alternative newspapers, you become part of the local scene and gain access to an audience you won’t reach anywhere else. http://www.altweeklies. com/ads (AAN CAN)

Professional Services MOBILE NOTARY—South Bay. I come to you. Certified to notarize loan documents.

Bonded. Paula Bills, commission #1894472. (310) 691-9921.

Career Training EARN $500 A DAY Airbrush & Media Makeup Artists For: Ads - TV - Film - Fashion. Train & Build Portfolio in 1 week. Lower Tuition for 2012. AwardMakeupSchool.com

Education Teach English Abroad! 4-week TEFL course in Prague. Job assistance worldwide. We have over 1500 graduates teaching in 60+ countries! www.teflworldwideprague.

com info@teflworldwideprague.com

Educational tutoring by certified & experienced Special Education & Reading teacher.

Patient, well-trained, creative & structured. An expert in positive reinforcement. Reasonable rates negotiated.

310-528-1111.

Academic and occupational consulting and guidance assistance with the college admissions process, admission essays, resume revision and job searches. Call for a free consultation! 424-210-5771.

For more info: http://guidedachievements. info.

Adoption Service PREGNANT? CONSIDERING ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families nationwide.

LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions 866-413-6293 (AAN CAN)

Dating Services EroticEncounters. com Where Hot Girls Share their private fantasies!

Instant Connections. Fast & Easy. Mutual Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Exchange messages, Talk live 24/7, Private 1-on-1.

G i v e i n t o Te m p t a t i o n , call now 1-888-700-8511 New! Free to Try! 4 Services!

1-877-660-3887 Instant Live Connections! 1-866-8173308. Hundreds of Local Women! You Choose! 1-877747-8644. Connect With Live (18+) Local Ladies! 1-866530-0180 (AAN CAN)

CLASSIFIED ADS Psychics

PSYCHIC GLORIA Help on all love, money, health problems.

Guaranteed results in 3 days. Reunite lovers.

310-470-9046

GOD GIFTED PSYCHIC Love Specialist, Stops Divorce, Cheating, Reunites Separated Partners, Solves Severe Problems. Never Fails.FREE 15 MINUTE Reading By Phone 254-4206794 (AAN CAN)

Pets Adopt a pet from the Harbor Care Center, 957 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro. 888452-7381.

Automotive Any Car/Truck. Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid. WeCome To You! Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www. cash4car.com (AAN CAN) CAR OWNERS EARN $600/ MONTH.Safely rent out your car anytime you are not using it. You control the price, times & people for each rental. RelayRides provides insurance, driver-screening & support.

Text (415)868-5691 for details+ special offer. Free to join. www.RelayRides.com/ Car (AAN CAN)

Storage Available Storage Containers for rent in San Pedro, at 15th and Centre Streets. 310 544-7400.

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

Bulletin Board

18

Don Marshall CPA, Inc.

DBA filing and publishing $120 (310) 519-1442

(310) 833-8977

Don Marshall, MBA, CPA Specializing in small businesses CPA Quality Service at very reasonable rates

www.donmarshallcpa.com

Please help!

8/12

Bread & Hyacinths This is the book that explains why the city of Los Angeles is the way it is. Bread and Hyacinths: the Rise and Fall of Utopian Los Angeles is the gripping, little-known saga of the great battle between Job Harriman, the West Coast’s leading socialist, and General Harrison Gray Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Times—a battle for the future of Los Angeles.

Written by Lionel Rolfe, Nigey Lennon and Paul Greenstein, Bread and Hyacinths was originally published in 1992 by California Classics Books.

It is reprinted by Random Lengths News and available for $15.

Buy it now at Williams Bookstore, Random Lengths News office and The Tobacco Leaf at Western & 25th

Vintage Auto & Motorcycle Storage 25 indoor & outdoor stalls

• Armed Response Alarm System • Web-based Video

Monitoring • Electronic Access

Control • 24-Hour Availability • Self-Serve Free Hand Wash • WIFI Hotspot • Free Charging Station (310) 707-2207 www.8thstreetgarage.com

The animals at the Harbor Animal Shelter have ongoing need for used blankets, comforters, pet beds.* Drop off at Harbor Animal Shelter, 957 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro.

888-452-7381, x 143 PLEASE SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PET! *In any condition. We will wash and mend.

REAL ESTATE Room For Rent $140 PER WEEK! SAN PEDRO SRO Hotel has rooms available. A clean, tranquil setting for the best price. Alex (310) 514-3919.

Apartment / House For Rent

Take-Over Payments Program. 2 and 3 bedroom homes available for less than rent! NO credit requirements!

CALL Today 805-683-8600 Large Single newly remodeled unit for $725/mo. 1 bdrm unit $900/mo. Wood & tile flooring, secured property, quiet area, close to bus lines.

Gas included. 2040 S. Pacific Ave., SP. Call Francisco, 310833-5170.

Commerical Real Estate For Lease San Pedro – For Lease S.Pacific Ave. office suites & retail space in the “Arts District”. Several choices available.

A-Delta Realty 310/831-6670

Real Estate Investor seeks to purchase commercial or multi-unit residential properties in San Pedro. No Agents please.

310-241-6827

Reach 63,000 Harbor Area Readers

Rommates ROOMMATES.COM. Browse hundreds of online listingswith photos and maps. Find your roommate with a click of the mouse! Visit: http://www.

Roommates.com. (AAN CAN)

BUSINESS FILINGS Abandonment Fictitious Name Current File No.20101227912 Dated Filed: 9/01/2010 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) Studio 343, 343 W. 7th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. County of L.A. Registered owner(s): Sheila Eunice Harrity, Inc., 343 W. 7th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731.

This business is conducted by an individual. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) S. Sheila Eunice Harrity/owner This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 5, 2012.

Original filing: 06/14/12, 06/28/12, 07/12/12, 07/26/12

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2012108934 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) What’s Sup, Nutritional Supplements

by Design, 1840 S. Gaffey Street., #324, San Pedro, CA 90731. County of L.A. Registered owner(s): Janet L. Trevino, 1840 S. Gaffey Street.,

Golden West Realty

#324, San Pedro, CA 90731 .

This business is conducted by an individual. The registrants commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Janet L. Trevino, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 5, 2012.

Notice-In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business name in violation of the right of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Original filing: 06/14/12, 06/28/12, 07/12/12, 07/26/12

www.goldenwestsanpedro.com

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2012116119 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) The Shop, 365 7th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. County of L.A. Registered owner(s): John Machado, 365 7th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an individual.

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

John Machado, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 13, 2012. Notice-In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name statement must be filed before

1 5 1 7 S . G a f f e y S t . • San Pedro, CA 90731

continued on following page

Serving San Pedro and the entire South Bay since 1980

Gorgeous One Level End Unit Condominium

Move-in ready 2 bedroom, 2 bath San Pedro Condominium has 1,858 sq. ft. and features M a s t e r bedroom with his and hers closets, Master bath, large glass enclosed balcony with 2 storage closets.

Complex has elevator and attractive pool/spa area.

Why pay rent?

When you could own this 2 bedroom, 2 full baths remodeled home in San Pedro.

Features include oak kitchen with granite counter, tile floors, new electric panel, copper plumbing, and fenced yard.

For more information call Golden West Realty

310.548.2881

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS FILINGS 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: 07/12/12, 07/26/12, 08/09/12,

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 right of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Original filing: 06/28/12, 07/12/12, 07/26/12,

08/09/12

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2012116224 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) Insurance Center Associates, (2) Harbor Insurance Agency, (3) C&S Insurance Services, 1622 S. Gaffey, San Pedro, CA 90731. County of L.A. Registered owner(s): Insurance Center Associates Inc., 1622 S. Gaffey, San Pedro, CA 90731. This business is conducted by a corporation. The registrants commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above 12/31/1988. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Insurance Center Associates Inc, Michaeil J. Randles, President.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 13, 2012. Notice-In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business name in violation of the right of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Original filing: 06/28/12, 07/12/12, 07/26/12,

08/09/12

Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: MaryAnne Califano, 1134 W. 21st., San Pedro,CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: NA. I declare that all information in this statement is

of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Profes-

from p. 3

New Community Plan

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2012122010 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) San Pedro Yachts, (2) Pacific Sailing and Motor Yacht Sales, 210 Whalers Walk Ste# 123, San Pedro, CA 90731. County of L.A. Registered owner(s): The Shoreline Yacht Group Inc, 210 Whalers Walk Ste# 123, San Pedro, CA 90731.

This business is conducted by an individual. The registrants commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct.

(A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) The Shoreline Yacht Group Inc., Louis N. Friedman, President. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 19, 2012. Notice-In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name

Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name statement must be filed before the expiration. The fi ling

of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business name in violation of the right of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Original filing: 06/28/12, 07/12/12, 07/26/12,

08/09/12

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2012123124 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) RGI Insurance Services (2) Rosalie Gonzalez Insurance Services, 317 W. 7th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. County of L.A. Registered owner(s): Rosalie Gonzalez, 1415 W. Santa Cruz Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an individual. The registrants commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is

true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Rosalie Gonzalez, Owner.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 20, 2012. Notice-In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business name in violation of the right of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Original filing: 06/28/12, 07/12/12, 07/26/12,

08/09/12

Fictitious business Name Statement File No. 2012134893 The following person is doing business as: Encino Law Center Suite 201, 151915 Ventura Blvd., #303, Encino, CA, 91436, Los Angeles County.

Registered owners: Patti Kraakevik, 15915 Ventura Blvd. #303, Encino, CA 91436. J. Patrick Francis, 15915 Ventura Blvd., #303. Encino CA 91436. This Business is conducted by a general partnership. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 1979. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) Patti Kraakevik, Partner.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on July 5, 2012. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new

posals over time,” Nave added.

“However the time between meetings has resulted in a somewhat disjointed process.”

Still, she cited, “a number of relatively major changes” whose impacts “we are now able to incorporate … into the plan.”

A public outreach, involving focus groups, from November 2006 through March 2007 generated a list of common themes which were then “organized by Community Plan topics to help guide policy development,” as explained on the department’s website. For example, themes grouped under “Commercial” included: • Lack of high-end retail, including grocery stores, so have to shop outside of San Pedro While new retail stores are desired, need to retain existing locally-owned establishments • Lack of entertainment related uses such as movie theatres, live theatre and concerts in the park • Lack of retail establishments within walking distance of neighborhoods • Too many pawn shops, swap meets, liquor stores and bars. No major draw in San Pedro to attract visitors as a destination community • Lack of entertainment and shops that cater to teens As can be seen, most of these concerns persist to this day—even the arrival of the USS Iowa does not automatically ensure visitor spill-over into downtown.

“The regional attraction is the waterfront, and the reason to venture inland is to explore its opposite—a historic main street with non-chain shops and restaurants,” said Castillo.

Making downtown work for local residents is also fundamental, she stressed.

Central’s most recent response includes a wide range

of details—not least of which are calls to prioritize Seventh Street and the California Coastal Trail, as well as providing pedestrian access to Knoll Hill.

Northwest included an even longer list, including a number of transportation items involving parking, bike lanes and skateboarding. Northwest also called for “an updated Infrastructure Study as required by state law,” explaining that, “A community plan and the required (environmental impact report) will be incomplete without this information since infrastructure improvements are more than reasonably foreseeable.”

“A key issue was the desire of the community to revitalize the downtown, returning it to its status as the commercial ‘heart’ of San Pedro, and preserving its pedestrian-orientation and main street ambiance,” Lawrence said. “So, the plan seeks to enhance and enliven downtown by encouraging more housing, and ensuring a pedestrian-friendly environment by requiring ground floor commercial and implementing design controls.”

“Height limits will be raised along Pacific Avenue and Harbor Blvd,” Castillo added.

“We are also exploring reduced parking requirements for existing buildings in the downtown as an incentive for smaller, local ‘mom and pop’ businesses to locate or expand there,” Lawrence said. “The plan also encourages employment-generating uses to ensure the community benefits from a balanced downtown center.”

Yet, she again stressed underlying continuity.

For example, “We are proposing expansion of the Downtown Community Design Overlay to cover a larger portion of the downtown area,” she said.

“The Community Design Overlay ( lays out design guidelines

Original filing: 07/26/12, 08/09/12, 08/23/12, 09/06/12 Statement of Abandonment of Use of Fictitious Business Name Current File No. 20100561077 Date filed: 4/26/10 Craft-Tique & Ect., 1909 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731.

Registered Owners(s): Joanne Marie Califano, 314 S. John Way, San Pedro, CA 90732. Business was conducted by an individual. I declare that all information in this statement is rue and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.)S/ Joanne M. Califano, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on July 17, 2012.

Original filing: 07/26/12, 08/09/12, 08/23/12, 09/06/12

and standards for development projects as well as remodels or facade changes. Our public outreach indicated that many community members wanted to see better design controls established, to improve design and a pedestrian-oriented environment. The expanded area would include parcels along and between Pacific Avenue and Gaffey Street in Downtown San Pedro.”

Lawrence also cited continued efforts to work with the Port “to provide improved connections to the waterfront and to ensure that the city’s commitment to a greener, more sustainable and cleaner port has direct benefits for San Pedro residents.”

For all the good it promises, the plan can only do so much.

It will prevent the citing of any new liquid bulk facilities, for example, but can do nothing about the existing danger posed

by Rancho San Pedro. Its development-promoting impacts are limited as well.

“The big obstacle to increased development will be our (lack of) public transit connections to downtown Los Angeles and other points north,” Castillo pointed out. “Connecting us to Metro Light Rail is not expected to occur for at least a decade. We may start to lobby for Port money being used to expedite this, as waterfront tourism will benefit greatly were this to be available.”

In the end, the final draft plan and final EIR will be presented to four different bodies—the Harbor Area Planning Commission, the City Planning Commission, the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, and the Los Angeles City Council.

“The proposed policies are good; the devil is in the details,” Nave said. “Stay tuned!”

19

July 27 - August 9, 2012

08/09/12

Fictitious business Name Statement File No. 2012144655 The following person is doing business as: Curiosities,1909 S Pacific

sions code).

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2012125619 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) Artisan Eyes by Ixta, 1826 S. Elena Ave., Redondo Beach, CA 90277. County of L.A. Registered owner(s):Ixta X Flores, 1286 W. 22nd Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an individual. The registrants commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name listed above 6/19/2012. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Ixta X Flores, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 22, 2012. Notice-In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business name in violation of the right of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411et seq., Business and Professions Code).

Original filing: 06/28/12, 07/12/12, 07/26/12,

08/23/12

true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) MaryAnne Califano, Partner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on July 18, 2012. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation

Alexander Cockburn, RIP They don’t make ‘em like that anymore

By Justin Raimondo, columnist for antiwar.com

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

The death of Alexander Cockburn, columnist for the Nation and author of many books, is an irreplaceable loss, not only personally, for those who knew him, but for the broad “progressive” movement. There his populist brand of anarcho-syndicalism—the leftist equivalent of “crunchy conservatism”—set him apart from the bullhorn-shouters and sloganeering ideologues of the haute cuisine Left. His death, after a twoyear battle against cancer, marks nearly the end of what remained vital and interesting about the American Left in this country. There is simply no one even remotely like him.

What’s particularly poignant about his death is that we’ll never read anything even remotely like it again. With his death, a certain current in American politics, with its roots on the left, has lost its only remaining voice.

20

Accounts of Cockburn’s career in the obituaries describe him as a “radical leftist,” but this is only half-true. He was a radical, all right, but as for the “leftist”—I have my doubts. And so did his readers at the Nation, with whom he engaged in a long-running debate over what constituted proper left-wing orthodoxy. This debate included his editors: one “Beat the Devil” column in the Nation bears this footnote: “The Nation’s editor, Katrina vanden Heuvel, wishes it to be on record that she takes exception to the description of Dissent as ‘obscure.’ I suggest a poll of the American people.”

There was a running tension between vanden Heuvel and Cockburn over the “Obama Question,” and his other “deviations” from the Left’s party line. Approached by his critics, vanden Heuvel averred, “I don’t read Counterpunch”— Cockburn’s feisty newsletter which featured material far too radical for the Obama-worshipping “respectable” Nation. Then there was the “Bush/ Hitler” debate, and the climate change controversy—the latter brouhaha the final straw for the kind of up-market, sandal-wearing lefties who still read the Nation. His “Press Clips” column at the Village Voice in the 1970s carried on for almost a decade, and gave him a platform from which to challenge the conventional wisdom on almost every conceivable topic. He wrote, not with the pen of an ideologue, but with an eye to the telling detail; the humorous aside, that made his prose stand out from the usual automatic writing that substitutes for real political commentary.

In 1983, however, he was fired after the AntiDefamation League released a booklet detailing the efforts of the “Arab lobby” to influence American journalism. Edward Said’s “Institute for Arab Studies” had awarded him a $10,000 grant to write a book, his accusers averred, a fact Cockburn had failed to disclose to his editors and readers.

from p. 6

In the early 90s, Random Lengths News hosted Alexander Cockburn for a weekend of lectures at Los Angeles Harbor College and the Pacific Unitarian Church. File photo.

The Israel lobby had pulled off yet another successful hit against a critic of Israeli government policies, but they hadn’t gotten rid of Cockburn. He was immediately offered a gig by Victor Navasky, then editor of the Nation, and “Beat the Devil”—named after one of his father’s novels— commenced. In a clever marketing ploy on the part of both the editors and the writer, he was even taken in by the editors of Wall Street Journal, where he wrote a regular column for a while.

The end of the Cold War, which sparked a major re-thinking of old dogmas on the American right, had less emphatic consequences on the left, which had long ago replaced the old Marxist shibboleths with new ones: identity politics, the climate change religion, and, more recently, a firm belief in the divinity of Barack Hussein Obama. Yet for Cockburn, an old-fashioned leftist, the implosion of the system his father—a Communist Party member—had so consistently defended had a profound effect on his thinking.

While the rest of what used to be called the left in this country drifted into Democratic party politics and from there were recruited into the Obama cult, Alex Cockburn stood aloof, scathing in his indictment of Obama’s wars and the current regime. He deviated from contemporary leftist cant in important ways, such as his critique of Obamacare: “The liberals are howling bout the unfairness of these attacks, led by Sarah Palin, revived by her Death Panel talk and equipped with a dexterous new speechwriter who is even adding footnotes to her press releases.”

If he had lived, I believe Cockburn would be having his paleoconservative moment. He was, after all, a paleo-radical who had survived long enough to be considered a reactionary. At the end of his long career as a luminary of the left, he found himself, like H. L. Mencken and Albert Jay Nock, denounced as an enabler of “rightwing extremism.” This was due not only to Cockburn’s defense of the militia movement, his caustic comments on the abortion issue, and his climate change “denialism,” but to his dalliance with—I would say outright sympathy for—libertarianism. He admired Ron Paul, and had been friendly to libertarians since at least the 1990s, when we invited him to speak at our first—and, sadly, only—national conference.

For all his pedigree as the son of a celebrated “Stalinist”—a point the right-wing obit writers are underscoring—Cockburn was the exact opposite of a party-liner in every sense. I won’t insult his memory by referring to him as a “contrarian”—as if he was simply trying to draw attention to himself. He may have been born into one of Britain’s most distinguished literary families, but there was something quintessentially American about his brand of anarcho-left populism, more akin to the Wobbly tradition than the Leninist and social democratic currents that have dominated the modern American left.

About a week earlier, the Wilmington Community Clinic received a $100,000 grant within two years from the California Community Foundation, which will provide general operating support for services for low-income and uninsured residents of the Los Angeles Harbor area and South Central Los Angeles. The grant from the California Community Foundation will enable Wilmington Community Clinic to improve the health of disadvantaged residents through the direct provision of medical care and primary and preventive healthcare services.

It also will provide funding for new electronic health information systems, enhanced fundraising programs, additional community outreach, program eligibility and case management personnel, and new Spanish health literacy tools. The funding will help the Wilmington Community Clinic to strengthen partnerships with complementary community agencies to improve patient access.

OC Bank Executive Imprisoned for Stealing $2 Million

Santa Ana—An Orange County man who served as a vice president of Farmers and Merchants Bank and was the manager of the institution’s Laguna Hills branch was sentenced July 23 to 41 months in federal prison for stealing about $2 million from a customer’s account.

Matthew J. Walker, 34, of Orange, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Andrew J. Guilford, who ordered Walker to pay just more than $1.8 million in restitution.

Walker pleaded guilty to one count of theft of bank funds in November 2011, specifically admitted that he stole nearly $2 million over a 16-month period that ended in July 2010. Walker withdrew money from a line of credit in the name of a trust that held an account at Farmers and Merchants.

To cover up the scheme, Walker made interest payments on the money supposedly loaned to the trust.

Walker “stole almost $2 million from a client for a personal venture where he was trying ‘to hit it big,’” a sentencing memo filed by prosecutors reads. “Much like gambling, [Walker] used the money on a start-up company that he was intimately involved in and where he could win or lose.

Like most risky gambles, he ultimately lost it all.”

Long Beach Gets New Vice Mayor

District 1 Councilman Robert Garcia was elected vice mayor of Long Beach July 17, by an 8–1 vote.

Garcia out-scored fellow nominees, incumbent District 2 Councilwoman Suja Lowenthal and District 9 Councilman Steven Neal.

“I want to thank all my colleagues again, for this opportunity and I look forward to working with all of you.” Garcia said Votes were later recast, making the election unanimous with sole dissenter Lowenthal changing her vote in favor of Garcia.

Lowenthal, who nominated Neal for the vice mayor position, finished second in a 4–5 vote with Neal trailing in third with a finish of 3–6.

The meeting also served as the inaugural ceremony for four of the city’s council members: Suja Lowenthal (District 2), Patrick O’Donnell (District 4), Dee Andrews (District 6) and Al Austin (District 8).

Austin, who defeated Lillian Kawasaki in the April election, was the only new addition to the council, replacing two-term veteran Rae Gabelich who declined running for a third term as a write-in candidate. The new councilman promised to be a defender of organized labor and an advocate of living wage jobs in the city.

“Labor is a very big part of me,” Austin said. “ I spent a good part of my life fighting for others, working families, ensuring that people have dignity in the workplace…fair wages [and] benefits. I don’t apologize for that and neither should those workers.” ­—Kevin Walker, Long Beach Reporter

from page 4

from p. 5

College District Galaz tween itself and the CCCD. Because of the lack of accreditation and the agreement with El Camino, Henry, a special trustee appointed by the chancellor of the California Community Colleges, governs Compton Community College District in place of a board of governors.

As interim CEO, Curry is responsible for district operations.

Curry said the CCCD remains separate from the El Camino Community College District, although the former Compton Community College has been renamed the El Camino College Compton Center.

Garten said the Compton district remains separate so that when the college is again accredited, an infrastructure would already be in place.

According to the agreement between the two districts, Compton may reapply for accreditation in the 2012-14 time frame.

give gifts to children in Rancho San Pedro public housing.

He and his partner and mentor, Angel Nieves, have been looking at several locations within the Council District 15 for a potential race track, which includes, Field of Dreams, 135th Street and Main in Willowbrook, and the former site of the LAXT Coke terminal at the Port of Los Angeles. Of the three, Galaz believes the Field of Dreams and the Willowbrook site has a stronger chance.

Galaz’s group was also looking at the Anchorage site near the Wilmington’s marina in 2007. Though the Wilmington Neighbor Council was supportive of the concept of Project Street Legal, they wouldn’t get behind the proposed location as the site for the racing strip, mostly because the noise level would impact nearby residents living on their boats. Also, it would interfered with long time efforts of establishing a wetland nature preserve at that location.

Galaz has received letters of support from Central and Northwest San Pedro neighborhood councils as well as letters of support from former Harbor Division commander, Capt. William Hayes.

When Galaz thinks about the potential of drag strip in Harbor Area, he only needs to look at the

20,000 visitors that went to Cars and Stripes and Stripes. It could serve as a draw, just like the USS Iowa, and impact local business, particularly the auto repair shops and a ensure that local restaurants have guaranteed space these events and not just the food trucks.

“We generate the money, keep the money here. We want to bring outside money into our

area again.”

But he reiterates that Project Street Legal is about the youth.

Galaz recognizes that he has a long road ahead of him, but his desire to give a hand up the way Big Willie and others did for him won’t let him stop moving forward.

The Local Publication You Actually Read July 27 - August 9, 2012

21

The Anti-Prohibitionist

By Danny Simon, Contributing Writer

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

Six years ago, retired Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Stephen Downing read an article in the Los Angeles Times which he felt

22

diner. Adrienne cruised up in a shiny ’57 Chevy.

The couple married in 1958, but initially, their jobs kept them apart. Adrienne worked as a stewardess for American Airlines and Downing built trails for the U.S. Forest Service. Eventually, they settled in Hanford and lived in an apartment above a funeral home. Having recently given birth to Michael, the first of the Downing’s three children, Adrienne hung diapers on a clothesline stretched above coffins in an adjacent storage room.

At a local cafe, Downing spotted an LAPD job ad in the Los Angeles Times with a starting salary of $484 a month. He wondered if he couldn’t work a night beat and take college class-

misrepresented the realities of the War on Drugs.

His printed rebuttal caught the attention of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition; the organization enlisted Downing as a speaker and he now serves on its executive board.

In the study of his Belmont Shore home, Downing steps me through footage of a raid conducted by the Long Beach Police Department of a marijuana dispensary on June 19. The footage was provided by Sergio Sandoval, the director of public relations for Pappas Law Group, which has advocated in cases involving the issue of medical marijuana use in Long Beach.

In what appears to be the dispensary’s storage room, LBPD officers confront a young man who calmly submits and lies prone on the floor, his hands spread wide.

Maneuvering across the tight space, the primary police officer steps on the man’s neck.

“Where does he get the right to do that?” exclaims Downing.

Eventually, LBPD officers real- Retired Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Stephen ize that they’re being taped and ob- Downing stands in front of framed armory. Downing speaks scure the camera’s view with what against police violence and prohibition of medical marijuana. looks like a beach towel. Next, Photo: Danny Simon. the video shows a plainclothes officer bashing es during the day. He already worked around the the store’s front room surveillance camera. The clock. At night, he transported recently deceased video then reveals the sweeping damage done by bodies to the funeral home in trade for rent. During the day, he worked as a civilian surveyor for officers during the raid.

Police violence and vandalism in the course the U.S. Navy, but he sensed it was a dead end of drug raids is de rigueur, but the escalation of job. Downing moved to Los Angeles and entered the use of force is worrying for Downing, who the police academy.

In the early 1960s, actor and producer Jack has witnessed America’s longest running and Webb of Dragnet approached the LAPD looking most expensive war transform the country.

Downing was born in Hanford, Calif. in 1938. for a technical advisor to lend some authenticity After graduating from Hanford High School in in the development what would become “Adam1956, he moved to Visalia to attend college. It’s 12.” Downing got the assignment and impressed there that he met Adrienne, his wife of 54 years in Webb. He had studied screenwriting at Cal State a scene reminiscent of American Graffiti. Down- University Los Angeles and pressed Webb for ing and a friend were hanging out at a drive up chance to write an episode. Later, Downing stud-

ied screenwriting alongside fellow officer Joseph Wambaugh learning how to craft arresting fiction from humdrum fact. Webb allowed Downing to submit a spec script for Dragnet as a test. Though the script was never produced, Downing found an open door. He sold his first episode script in 1965 under the nom de plume, Michael Donovan, though Downing used several pseudonyms over the years to avoid taking flak from the brass.

Downing’s dueling careers led to success. As he ascended the executive ranks of the LAPD, he wrote for a variety of programs like Adam-12, Emergency, Chips, Police Story and Kojack. In retirement, he wrote episodes for TJ Hooker and McClaine’s Law and served for four years as the onsite executive producer on MacGyver.

Coining the phrase War on Drugs in 1970, President Richard Nixon’s drug policy objective was the mass reduction of Americans’ addiction to imported illicit narcotics. To that end, Nixon created the Drug Enforcement Agency in 1973 to combat national aspects of the War on Drugs.

Throughout the course of his 20 years on the job, Downing witnessed the failure of the War on Drugs to achieve its objectives. Importation increased, addiction rates remained steady, and the war gave birth to new industries. An industrial prison complex arose to house drug offenders put there by judges bound by harsh sentencing guidelines. Downing watched as police forces across the nation militarized to keep pace with violent cartels.

The end of the War on Drugs, Downing asserts, would gradually create the circumstances in which its original objectives might be achieved.

Drug addiction would be treated in hospitals and not in prisons as advanced by the American Medical Association. The power and effect of both cartels and federal law enforcement agencies would diminish.

As a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Downing advocates for the restoration of law enforcement’s true purpose which honors both a social contract and the public’s trust. After prohibition ends, drug warriors will revert to their previous roles as peace keepers.

“We are servants of the people.” Downing says. “We only exist because the law allows us to exist.”

The Local Publication You Actually Read

July 27 - August 9, 2012

23

24

July 27 - August 9, 2012

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area