LA City Council approves China Shipping SEIR p. 2 Carson tax measure to appear on November ballot p. 5 A virtual take on Romeo & Juliet p. 18
Born Into This:
Bukowski at 100 By John Dullaghan, Guest Writer
“Born into this” is the refrain of one of Charles Bukowski’s most enigmatic poems, Dinosauria, We. It is prophetic and dark; it seems like it was written for today by one who saw the future more clearly then than we do now. — The Editors Illustration by Mayon Hanania
[See Born, p. 14]
The Arc Of History:
There’s More to this Election than Defeating Donald Trump
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
Published shortly before his death in 1994, it describes a world where “the supermarket bag boy holds a college degree,” “where the jails are full and the madhouses are closed,” where “fist fights end as shootings and knifings” and “where the masses elevate fools into rich heroes,” all before graphically showing the earth’s final destruction, which today seems more real and probable than when the poem was written. In Dinosauria, We, Bukowski is descriptive and predictive, sensing numerous rumblings that would become future cataclysms. It is written in the spare, haiku-like style that he had evolved to by the end of his life. It is annihilation and beauty, all at once. The fact that Bukowski recognized horror when he saw it perhaps goes back to the world that he himself was born into: one where he was neither understood nor loved, enduring weekly beatings by a tyrant father, while his mother looked on (for Bukowski’s full account, read Ham on Rye). And what model of reality might this create in the mind of the child, and later, the adult? The kind where you’re comfortable with conflict but not intimacy; where aggression and depression come easily; where you’re wary of others, preferring to be alone; and where, beneath the surface, there churns such a constant, grinding feeling of unease that you’ll opt for anything — booze, sex, gambling — just to feel good again. This was Bukowski’s reality and one that many of his readers also know.
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
could loom so large in the midst of such national chaos. If you want to help put an end to gerrymandering in American politics, you’ll get the most bang for the buck by donating to challenger Brandy Chambers in her race to unseat a five-term incumbent whom she came within two points of defeating in 2018. That’s according to Sam Wang, a Princeton neuroscientist turned election nerd, turned anti-
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
Brandy Chambers is running to represent Texas’ 112th District in Congress. File photo
that are also ripe to be flipped, making Texas one of several Southern states where multi-level shifts toward the Democratic Party are underway. Virginia, which was solid red in 2004, is now solid blue from top to bottom, and now other states, from Texas to North Carolina, seem poised to follow a similar trajectory—if Democrats are smart enough to see the opportunity before them, and seize it. That’s why a lowly suburban state house district
While all eyes in politics are focused on the Democratic National Convention, suburban Dallas may not look like the center of American politics. But in one crucial sense, a slice of it is precisely that: Texas House District 112, centered in Richardson, is the tip of the spear in the battle against gerrymandering nationwide. It’s the most flappable of 11 prime seats, of which only eight are necessary. And those 11 state house districts significantly overlap with nine congressional districts
[See History, p. 10]
COVID-19 deaths and infections in the US as of Aug. 19, 2020: Deaths: 175,491 • Infections: 5,667,040 California: Deaths: 11,527 • Infections: 640,420
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Community Announcements:
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Harbor Area
China Shipping Saga Continues
COVID-19 Testing Site to Open for Port Workers
LA City Council approves SEIR, repeats violation patterns By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
More than 20 years after the Port and City of Los Angeles first got into the business of breaking the law to build the China Shipping terminal without an environmental impact report, the lawbreaking continued on Aug. 12. The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-1 to approve POLA’s 2019 supplemental environmental impact report, rejecting formal appeals that warned it was repeating past mistakes by approving a document with fundamental violations of the California Environmental Quality Act: failures of analysis, mitigation and enforceability. District 15 Councilman Joe Buscaino voted with the majority. Only District 11 Councilman Mike Bonin voted against. In addition to two local homeowner groups and allies represented by the Natural Resources Defense Council, rare appeals were also filed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board. “This is only the second time we have appealed an approval of a project to you,” SCAQMD Principal Deputy District Counsel Veera Tyagi reminded the council. “The EIR is legally defective for several reasons. First, it fails to ensure that mitigation measures are enforceable; second, it fails to require all feasible
mitigation; and third, it fails to analyze the air quality impacts without mitigation.” NRDC attorney Claire Woods cited two major flaws overlapping with SCAQMD, plus one more. “The SEIR is unlawful because it fails to show that the 2008 mitigation measures are infeasible and fails to adopt additional mitigation measures that are feasible today,” Woods stated. “To be clear, under CEQA the port can’t delete or modify the mitigation At an Aug. 12 Los Angeles City Council meeting, Port of Los Angeles in the 2008 EIR unless it executive director Gene Seroka (center) said he moved quickly to inform shows that each measure is the public when he learned of the port’s lack of compliance with the China Shipping mitigation measures. File photo infeasible.” There were also further legal flaws “If we’re unable to move forward today, encompassed under the broad umbrella of those this facility will remain out of compliance with major flaws. CEQA and closure of the terminal is a very real But, in an Orwellian twist, POLA Executive possibility,” Seroka warned. Director Gene Seroka bizarrely argued that Appellants vigorously disagreed. complying with CEQA would violate CEQA. “We do not want to see the China Shipping terminal closed under any circumstance,” said Dr. John Miller, president of the San Pedro and Peninsula Homeowners Coalition, one of the original plaintiff organizations that initiated litigation 19 years ago. “Mr. Seroka seeks to foment fear of this to justify ignoring CEQA.” Miller’s prepared remarks were not heard by the city council, due to its flawed (if not illegal) public comment process under COVID-19. But NRDC’s formal appeal explicitly called for a new agreement “that avoids litigation and keeps the terminal open.” Indeed, the terminal has virtually never been in compliance with CEQA, dating back to when planning first began in the late 1990s, as Woods reminded the council. But the port was operating in a parallel universe. “Certification of this final EIR is a win-win for both skilled labor and the environment,” Seroka claimed. While a number of labor leaders appeared to support this contention, no environmental advocates did. To the contrary, Kathleen Woodfield, an NRDC client representative who did speak, vividly underscored how long residents have been suffering from port lawlessness. “My son was in a stroller when I first testified about China Shipping, he is now in college,” Woodfield told the council. “I am still fighting against the port’s relentless failure to do this right. “I am asking you to reject the EIR. We want the port to make up for its illegal pollution caused by its failures to implement the measures it promised to adopt in 2008 — a failure that was actively orchestrated through illegal waivers, and then actively hidden from us for 10 years.” Seroka illustrated himself as a brave knight setting everything straight — a proactive
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
PMA Shoe Vouchers Out Now!
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[See Saga, p. 6]
LONG BEACH — Drive-up testing for COVID-19 was made available Aug. 17, to dockworkers, truckers and other frontline labor partners at the Port of Long Beach. The free tests will be available to port personnel and the general public on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m. at 2100 W. Anaheim St., at the southwest corner of Anaheim and Ninth streets. Up to 200 free tests will be provided daily by the City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the Port of Long Beach. Appointments are required. Details: www.longbeach.gov/health/diseasesand-condition/information-on/coronavirus/covid19-testing; 562-570-4636.
Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Central Council Meetings NWSPNC Community Issues Committee Meeting Time: 6 p.m. Aug. 25 Virtual meeting via Zoom NWSPNC Public Safety Committee Meeting Time: 6 p.m. Aug. 27 Virtual meeting via Zoom
South Division Community Forum
Cmdr. Jeffrey Liberman invites the public to a South Division Community Forum Teleconference. RSVP. Time: 6 to 7 p.m. Aug. 19 Details: Jericho.Balderian@longbeach.gov
The Suffrage Centennial
The Silent Sentinels and the Long Beach Suffrage 100 invites Long Beach residents to stand with them in silence to honor the centennial of the 19th Amendment and call for the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (House Resolution 4). Residents should maintain social distancing of six feet and wear masks. With Willmore SLAM (Season of Live Arts and Music), events begin at 12 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park, 401 Golden Ave. Time: 12 to 1 p.m. Aug. 26 Location: Victory Park, southeast corner of Pacific and Ocean Boulevard
LA County COVID-19 Rent Relief
LA County COVID-19 Rent Relief is open to renters in Los Angeles County. Eligible renters must qualify based on income and have struggled to pay rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their landlord must provide a W-9 and sign a participation agreement in order to have the rent paid on behalf of the tenant. To view the list of targeted zip codes that are prioritized for 50% of the available funding visit: https://wwwa.lacda.org/programs/rent-relief-zipcodes Renters not listed in targeted zip codes may still apply if they meet the eligibility requirements, with the exception of residents living in the City of Los Angeles, as the city also received its own allocation of CARES Act funds and has its own programs for city residents. Details: 2-1-1; 211la.org/lacounty/rentrelief
Be Counted in the Census by Sept. 30
The 2020 Census deadline is approaching on Sept. 30. The data collected will make sure that Los Angeles County receives funding for individuals and families who rely on important services, such as health care, schools, childcare and meal programs like CalFRESH. Details: https://my2020census.gov
Deadline Extended to Apply for Disaster Assistance Loans
On Aug. 11, the U.S. Small Business Administration extended the deadline to apply for a disaster recovery loan to Sept. 16, for Los Angeles County business owners who suffered physical or property damage due to the civil unrest incidents that began on May 26. Businesses and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. [See Announcements, p. 3]
San Pedro Elks Lodge Reopens By Hunter Chase, Reporter More than six years after an arsonist burned the San Pedro Elks Lodge #966 almost to the ground, the local fraternal organization had a soft reopening. The Aug. 14 reopening included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and outdoor dining. Members and guests wore face masks and maintained 6-foot social distancing. The rebuild was completed in early May, but Elks Lodge Secretary Patti Folsom-Medina said city regulations and inspections slowed the process. The project seemed to be moving toward final inspections in the first week of June, but they were canceled, in the words of the Elks’ Facebook page, “because of the stupid looters,” referring to uprisings that took place after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police officer. Exalted Ruler Jose Chavez said COVID-19 also delayed inspections. This also led to a scale down in the celebration. “Seriously you fricken idiot protesters, looters,” said Exalted Ruler Jose Chavez on his Facebook account on June 1. “Just another fricken hurdle in trying to get the lodge reopened.” The San Pedro Elks Lodge was built in 1967 for $648,000 on an 11-acre hilltop. The fraternal organization is a charity, not a country club, Folsom-Medina said. But she declined to comment about the Elks Lodge’s work. The cost to rebuild the event space was reportedly close to $11 million. It was set ablaze on April 15, 2014. It took a total of 104 firefighters to extinguish it. No one was injured. Los Angeles Fire Department investigators said the fire was set intentionally. Former lodge
member Nick Pecarich was charged with arson, but the charges were later dropped when he was deemed to be unfit to stand trial. Rebuilding of the lodge began in 2015. “One of the things we realized is that the Elks Lodge is not the building, it’s the people,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn at the groundbreaking. “It’s every single one of you who holds the value of the Elks and the community in your heart and it’s very heartwarming today to see people walking here.”
Community Announcements:
Harbor Area [Announcements, from p. 2] There are two newly updated deadlines to apply for assistance from SBA. Business owners must file an application by Sept. 16, 2020 for property damage relief and by March 17, 2021, for economic injury relief. Details: 800-0659-2955; disasterloanassistance. sba.gov, lacountyhelpcenter.org
Los Angeles City Planning Youtube Channel
San Pedro Elks Lodge dining and event space. File photo
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While you can still join commission meetings remotely by following the videoconference or call-in instructions found on the Los Angeles City Planning website, the City Planning Commission meetings have begun streaming on its YouTube channel. To submit public comments, follow a few simple steps which can be found on each agenda. Details: https://planning.lacity.org/about/ commissions-boards-hearings
DMV Gives One-Year Extension to Senior Drivers
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is providing an automatic one-year extension to Californians age 70 and older with a noncommercial driver license with an expiration date between March 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. This action delays the requirement for seniors to visit a DMV office during the COVID-19 pandemic. Details: dmv-gives-1-year-extension-to-seniordrivers-with-expiring-licenses
Free Trees
Order up to seven trees for free and the nonprofit City Plants will deliver them right to your front door. Choose from 30 different waterefficient species for either your street or yard. You can also request trees for your business or apartment building or sign up your entire block to get street trees. Details: https://www.cityplants.org/ourprograms/
Real News, Real People, Really Effective Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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Mayor Addresses LAPD Funding, COVID-19 Testing By Hunter Chase, Reporter
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti addressed the reallocation of funds from the Los Angeles Police Department and the city’s handling of COVID-19 at the Aug. 1 meeting of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition, which was held via Zoom. “This is the toughest budget year, obviously, in all of our collective history,” Garcetti said. The city has a $10.53 billion budget, but it will need to make more than a billion dollars in cuts. The budget increased from last year by 1.7%, but in a typical year, the budget increases by 5 to 6%, he said. The city has built up a reserve fund twice as big as it was before the 2008 recession; because of this, the city won’t cut any services. Instead, employees will be offered early retirement incentives. A few months ago, the city’s budget process was widely expected to provide increased funding to the Los Angeles Police Department. But that changed on May 25, when a Minneapolis police officer killed a black man named George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes. During the worldwide demonstrations that followed — including many in Southern California — many protesters found common ground in a call to “defund the police.” The slogan means different things to different people, but the short-term upshot is that LAPD is facing a $150 million reduction in its budget. That money, plus money from other areas of the city budget totaling between $350 million to $500 million, will be redistributed to communities of people of color, crime prevention and intervention programs and
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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti strikes a balance in announcing a reallocation of resources to support the city’s neediest communities while resisting calls to defund the police. File photo
addressing racial injustice, Garcetti said, adding that this redistribution of funds will reduce the workload of police. The mayor emphasized that this will be done “intelligently.” “I’m not a ‘defund the police.’” Garcetti said. “I don’t know what that means. Three people probably will give you three answers. To me, as a budget guy, that means get rid of budget allocation 100%. And I don’t think that that’s a responsible way forward, nor a good model to keep our community safe.” However, Garcetti mentioned that the city recently passed reforms to the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, without opposition
from the Los Angeles Police Protective League. He also said that the city has reduced police fatalities by 45% in the past four years and is 82nd out of a hundred per capita in terms of police killings. “I want to keep driving that number even further down while helping our police officers, who right now, quite frankly, their morale is low,” Garcetti said. “We need to find ways to rehumanize each other.” This includes the way police treat communities of color. “It doesn’t matter, as [Councilman] Marqueece Harris-Dawson and others have said, what rank you have or title you have, you experience what still is wrong with policing, with traffic stops and other things that still have a
bias,” Garcetti said. Garcetti pointed to the killing of Floyd by Minneapolis police as one of the extreme cases of police misuse of power. However, Garcetti also said there are police who are heroes and used the example of Juan Diaz, an off-duty police officer who was shot by a tagger. “People who want to say that there’s no agenda for police reform are wrong,” Garcetti said. “And anybody who would say that our police officers are across-the-board bad people and that everywhere there’s a culture only of oppression and not of help, they’re wrong as well.” Changes to be implemented in the LAPD include de-escalation training and implicit bias training, as well as crowd control training. On the topic of COVID-19 testing, Garcetti reported that the city has invested money but said he does not believe people will be able to fully go back to school or work without a different testing paradigm. Because of this, he is looking into paper strip testing with the Rockefeller Foundation, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Governors Association. “It’s very early,” Garcetti said. “We’ll see what happens. But this is an example of LA leading and trying to kind of fail forward and hopefully succeed forward.” The paper strip tests are significantly cheaper, as they are $1 to $5, as opposed to the $100 to $200 the city is paying for the current tests. However, they are only 50% as sensitive. “They don’t catch as much as the tests we do every day,” Garcetti said. “But the places we catch those people are usually after they’re infectious and they still have some viral load in them, but not an infectious one. So, I think even though this is 50% as sensitive, it’s probably 80 to 90% of what we need.” Garcetti said that because these strips are [See Police, p. 5]
Tax Measure to Appear on November Ballot By Joseph Baroud, Reporter
The City of Carson will ask residents to vote for a slight increase in sales tax during the upcoming elections in November. The city council is asking for its constituents to pay 10.25% sales tax, an increase of 0.75%. The sales tax hike proposal comes in anticipation of revenue loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shut down thousands of businesses nationwide. The city council cited another reason for proposing this increase: The council accused the county of not giving the city its fair share of sales tax monies. “The sales tax collected on products sold in Carson is currently [9.5%], of which the City of Carson only gets 1%,” City Manager Sharon Landers said. “The bulk of it goes to other entities like LA County and social districts in the region.”
The proposed tax hike can’t go higher than 10.25%, which is the ceiling put in place by the state. Landers said that if the city doesn’t pass the proposed tax increase, then the city would lose out on money that other cities would eventually capitalize on and gain from. This small hike on products would mean a lot for a small city like Carson, which is filled with small businesses that have felt the maximum adversity that COVID-19 has offered. The press release found on the city’s website states that the revenues collected from this sales tax will be deposited in the city’s general fund to fund services and programs for its residents. The city manager defended the tax hike. “Early feedback is that our residents support this revenue measure,” Landers said. “They
[Police, from p. 4]
— but he was planning to speak with other cities and co-finance it with them. Garcetti said that this plan was not public and it is still probably a couple months away. Garcetti said that one of the frustrations with COVID-19 was that it was a novel coronavirus — meaning that there is no clear roadmap to deal with it. “We are seeing it act in ways that no coronavirus has before,” Garcetti said. “As such, we’re having to learn how to respond to it each day.”
Police
cheaper, they could be used on students every day. He also suggested using them on important populations and potentially lowering the curve of COVID-19 within two or three days instead of three or four weeks. He did not explain how testing itself would lower the curve. Garcetti also acknowledged that this is brand new technology and that the United States did not have the manufacturing capability for it yet
Advocacy Director for the Los Angeles County Business Federation, De’Andre Valencia. File photo.
understand the need, and want this money allocated for city services like public safety and maintenance of infrastructure and community services.” Carson generates $23 million annually from sales tax revenue. The hike would bring in an additional $11.9 million. The sales tax is the city’s primary revenue source that goes to the city’s general fund for city repairs, beautification projects and city events. “We need to make sure progress continues in Carson and the level of security and public safety does not decline,” Mayor Pro Tem Jim Dear said in a released statement announcing the ballot measure. “Funds from the sales tax ensure that our local tax dollars remain
in Carson to protect our essential city services. This small increase will make a huge impact to boost our local funding to maintain Carson’s 911 emergency response and public safety, protect small businesses that provide local jobs and make public areas clean and safe.” The city council was also considering a truck intensive business tax, but shelved the idea following withering public criticism of the tax. During a council meeting on July 21, a flurry of public comments were submitted showing opposition to the tax measure. Critics argued that businesses have suffered due to the coronavirus and that this tax hike unfairly targets the goods movement industry. One of those critics, the advocacy director for the Los Angeles County Business Federation, De’Andre Valencia, came out against the tax increase. “Given the current economic turmoil due to COVID-19, this tax would target businesses that are unique to Carson and endanger jobs we need to keep our city prosperous,” Valencia said. The Los Angeles County Business Federation is a grassroots alliance of more than 200 business organizations, representing 450,000 employers with over 3.5 million employees in Los Angeles County. In regards to city funding, the census, which can be filled until the end of September, could provide the city much-needed federal money. “The other really important way to secure needed funds for Carson is the census,” Landers said. “So far, only 60 percent of our residents have been counted. It is imperative that we get our complete count since federal grants disbursed to cities are typically based on population.” Cities are awarded federal funding in proportion to their population.
Real News, Real People, Really Effective Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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Voting in LA County Starts Oct. 6
LOS ANGELES — Beginning Oct. 6, Los Angeles County will mail all registered voters a Vote By Mail ballot. In addition, registered voters will have more options for returning the ballot, as well as the option to track their ballot with a free “Where’s My Ballot” service. Read the announcement here, www. content.govdelivery.com You will find information on LA County’s new voting options in multiple languages. To find out if you’re registered to vote in LA County and how to register, visit lavote.net.
Twin Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles Post Biggest Month Ever
LONG BEACH — July marked the busiest month in the 109-year history of the Port of Long Beach as terminal operators and dockworkers moved 753,081 cargo container units. Trade increased 21.1% in July compared to the same month in 2019. Cargo volumes were bolstered in July by a surge in online spending as consumers continued to avoid leaving home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The port also saw a short-term increase in extra vessel
visits to compensate for voyages that were canceled earlier this year. Imports climbed 20.3% to 376,807 twentyfoot equivalent units, or TEUs, while exports grew 24.1% to 138,602 TEUs. Empty containers headed back overseas increased 20.8% to 237,672 TEUs. The port has moved 4,186,115 TEUs during the first seven months of 2020, 2.8% down from the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, the Port of Los Angeles had its strongest month of 2020 moving 856,389 TEUs in July. It was also the second-best July in the port’s history, trailing July 2019 by 6.1%. Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said fewer canceled sailings and 11 additional ‘ad hoc’ or unscheduled ship calls helped drive both imports and exports higher than recent months but still short of last July’s all-time record. July loaded imports decreased 4.3% to 456,029 TEUs compared to the previous year. Loaded exports dropped 21.7% to 126,354 TEUs. Empty containers declined 0.1% to 274,007 TEUs. In total, July volumes totaled 856,389 TEUs. Seven months into 2020, overall volumes are 4,618,278, a decline of 15.3% compared to 2019.
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Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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[Saga, from p. 2]
Saga Continues
problem-solver, with decades of real-world experience, spanning the globe. His background may be true, but the fairy tale he told is not. “When I became executive director here at the Port of Los Angeles in the summer of 2014, staff brought to my attention the languishing compliance with 11 of the 52 mitigations and lease measures in the 2008 China Shipping expansion environmental impact report,” Seroka said. “As a problem-solver, I immediately brought this issue to the public, owning it and stating that I wanted to fix it in order to rebuild trust.” “Immediately” meant more than a year. On Aug. 5, 2015, Random Lengths News Publisher James Allen requested information on any such “languishing” measures through a Public Records Act request. The port didn’t reply until Sept. 22, more than a month later than the law allows. It was only after Allen’s request that the port went public and began the SEIR process. However Seroka may see himself, the pattern of the port’s behavior remained fundamentally unchanged on his watch, as was also reflected in the flawed SEIR. “The port says the mitigation measures will be implemented after a renewed lease with China Shipping,” Woods pointed out. “However, the port fully admits that it is impossible to know when or whether China Shipping will sign a new lease. In fact, the record is replete with evidence China Shipping will not agree to a lease amendment. In the past, China Shipping refused to incorporate the 2008 EIR measures in its lease. Why is now any different?” Woods’ observation undermines the core
premise of Seroka’s “practical problem-solver” narrative, which the council uncritically accepted. It also undermines his claim that approving the SEIR would automatically bring the terminal into compliance with CEQA and thus prevent it from being closed down. As has happened repeatedly, for more than 20 years, the basic logic of the port’s actions regarding China Shipping remain mired in contradiction, as well as disregard for a legal ruling. The AQMD expressed disappointment with the decision in a statement provided to Random Lengths News. “The City Council missed an important opportunity to hold China Shipping accountable for reducing the air pollutant emissions from their terminal,” it stated. “AQMD is still considering its options on next steps.” “We’re considering our options,” NRDC senior attorney Melissa Lin Perrella told Random Lengths News. “Litigation has always been an option.” In addition to AQMD and CARB joining the appeal, Perrella pointed out that in 2008 there were environmental staff at the port who certified these measures, that are now under dispute, as feasible, as doable and committed to doing them. “Either the port got it entirely wrong in 2008 and lied to the public then, or they’ve gotten it entirely wrong and are being untruthful with the public now,” Perrella said. Given that technology has advanced considerably in 12 years, their position is that the measures they adopted in 2008 are feasible. “There [are] actually some better things that the port can do now,” she said. “We’ll be making a decision pretty soon … We don’t want another day to go by where folks who are residents are unnecessarily breathing dirty air.”
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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Trump: A Clear and Present Danger By James Preston Allen, Publisher
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which did nothing to “enhance” the mail service. What it did was to obligate the USPS to prepay 75 years of pension obligations at approximately $5.5 billion per year — something no other public or private business has ever done. Clearly the effort to destabilize the postal system has been going on a long time in order to take it out of government control and into private hands — first by underfunding it, then by trying to bankrupt it with the 75year pension prepayment. Now it’s done by deconstructing many of the standard operations that we all enjoy. The USPS dates back to the very beginning of our country and it was created by the Second Continental Congress. None other than Benjamin Franklin was appointed the postal system’s first postmaster general — you may recognize him as the face on the $100 bill. It was kind of his idea to create this service in 1775 that was formally adopted with the Constitution in 1792. So the idea that this is some kind of “radical” idea for our government to own the mail system is far fetched. So in essence, the postal service is older than our government, more popular than our current president and more essential to both our lives and economy than Twitter or Facebook. It actually is a government granted monopoly on first class mail service that as of 1970, was transformed into an “independent agency.” Whatever you may think about the declining service of your local post office, what you might like to imagine is what it would be like if it didn’t exist at all. Think of it in the same way you might think about public schools, fire departments or public transportation. Now is the moment that Congress needs to act to preserve this public asset from being destroyed by the most dangerous and corrupt president that our nation has ever seen. Do not, however, think that this is more than another distraction or trick, like sending federal police into Portland, Ore. to enrage demonstrators and take the focus off of his disastrously poor handling of the coronavirus and the resulting economic fallout. The COVID-19 pandemic can’t be bamboozled or lied to. It can only be lied about. And the Liar-in-Chief has been doing that since the beginning, but 175,000 deaths is hard to explain away.
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
From listening to President Donald Trump’s hateful jeremiads against the US Postal Service, you’d think the constitutionally mandated function of the federal government was antiAmerican, socialist or perhaps even a communist enterprise. What he doesn’t say, or perhaps more likely doesn’t even know, is that our postal system predates the adoption of the United States Constitution itself. Along with falsely claiming “voter fraud” by mail-in ballots, this is just one more of his many delusional accusations — evidence he is a clear and present danger to our Republic. I was reminded recently by one very concerned congressional aid that there are only two businesses enumerated in the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights — the first is the Post Office and second, under freedom of the press are newspapers (read news media today). His concern comes as Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump political appointee, has been disassembling the postal service as a means to constrict and obstruct mail-in voting or to otherwise implode what may be the most beloved part of the federal government — the mail system. The term “austerity” has been used to conjure up a veneer of fiscal conservancy that slows the mail by cutting overtime hours to workers and dumping automated sorting equipment. In response to one of the largest mail protests ever by American citizens, Postmaster DeJoy suspended his orders of removing mailboxes, slowing down deliveries and otherwise corrupting the mail service until after the Nov. 3 election. However, Congress is not satisfied with this reaction, nor should they be. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, (D-47th District), says that he has never received so much mail in all his years in office. “The post office is sacred to the American public,” this he says crosses party lines. He cites that 1.2 billion medical prescriptions are delivered annually and 70% of all small businesses use the USPS. And indeed, so do most independent publications like this one who still use the mail to send hard copy subscriptions. This of course brings me to complain about how poorly the mail service was before DeJoy went on his joy-ride only making things worse. Back in 2006, the Republican majority in Congress passed the
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com
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Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya
“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it.” —Mark Twain Vol. XLI : No. 17
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 Harbor Area.
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If You Believe in Democracy By Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator, Vermont
If you believe in science, if you believe in justice and workers’ rights, let me be very clear: The next 91 days may very well be the most important in our country’s history. Donald Trump must be defeated. I am confident that you understand as well as I do, how un-American and disastrous Trump and his administration have been. But I want to give you 10 reasons (and there are many more) as to why, together, we have got to do everything we can to create the largest voter turnout in history and send Trump packing.
1. Donald Trump is, at his core, an authoritarian leader who does not believe in democracy. In a democracy we can and will have strong differences of opinion on issues. As you well know, there are ideological disputes within the Democratic Party, and there are certainly very major differences between Democrats and Republicans, progressives, moderates and conservatives. But until the Trump administration, no president ever undermined the very tenets of American democracy and tried to move us into an authoritarian society. No president ever suggested delaying an election because he was behind in the polls. No president ever stated that he might not accept the results of an election he lost, that he might instead refuse to voluntarily leave office. No president has ever viciously discredited and undermined the election process by warning without fact, of massive voter fraud.
Columnists/Reporters Melina Paris Staff Reporter Hunter Chase Staff Reporter Send Calendar Items to: 14days@randomlengthsnews.com Photographers Terelle Jerricks, Raphael Richardson, Chris Villanueva, Arturo Garcia-Ayala Contributors RD Armstong, Joseph Baroud, John Dullaghan, Ari LeVaux, Michael D. Meloan, Greggory Moore, Sen. Bernie Sanders Cartoonists Andy Singer, Jan Sorensen, Matt Wuerker
Trump’s admiration for authoritarianism has become apparent as he has ruptured our relationships with long-time democratic allies around the world while embracing right-wing authoritarian leaders in Russia, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, the Philippines and elsewhere. 2. Donald Trump does not understand or respect the Constitution of the United States. Emulating demagogues throughout history, Donald Trump believes that he is above the law and need not follow the dictates of the Constitution. He was impeached because he has shown absolute contempt for Congress and the separation of powers. He has waged an unprecedented war against the concept of a free press, dismissing any news he doesn’t like as “fake news,” and repeatedly referring to the media as “an enemy of the people.” He has violated the right of Americans to peacefully protest and is “normalizing” the use of federal agents to patrol and make arrests of American citizens in communities throughout the country.
3. Donald Trump is a pathological liar. We cannot have anything resembling a stable government when we have a president who lies all of the time and when nothing he says can be trusted. According to a recent report, Trump has made more than 20,000 false or misleading statements since he has been president. 4. Donald Trump does not believe in science. From the first days of the COVID-19 [See Believe, p. 9]
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Community Alert #SaveThePostOffice from Trump Day of Action RuralOrganizing.org will be joining forces with Indivisible, the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, MoveON, the NAACP, Service Employees International Union, Vets for the People and the Working Families Party to mobilize people across the country in defense of the USPS. Actions also include calls to Congress to safeguard the integrity of the mail and elections, and protect it from Donald Trump’s and Republicans’ plan to destroy the USPS. Once you register for an event, you’ll get a host guide with detailed instructions on how to structure your event and resources to help along the way. Time: Aug. 22 Details: Sign up at https:// tinyurl.com/y2raqds6
RANDOMLetters Boycott Fox
I call it the Fox-Trump Conspiracy Cycle. It’s vicious, it summarizes the last four years really well, and it goes a little something like this … Fox News recites right-wing conspiracy theories, often pulled off the internet. 2. Trump repeats Fox News talking points to the press. 3. Fox News invites Trump on air to repeat talking points. 4. Right-wing groups post Trump-Fox clips on Facebook and Twitter. 5. Facebook and Twitter’s mysterious algorithms serve this content to people who are most susceptible to racism and misinformation. 6. Right-wing conspiracy theories spread like wildfire on the internet. Lather, rinse, repeat. Fox, Trump, Fox, social media — it’s viral conspiracy-theory gold. Just last week, Trump called into Fox News with a dangerous lie that trivialized the very real threats the pandemic poses to children. This time, Facebook and 1.
Twitter took steps to block the Trump-Fox clip (after millions of people had already seen the video),1 but nothing could stop it from spreading across the internet and our media system. Some may try to dismiss Fox News as a fringe network, but let’s be clear: Fox’s ratings are consistently high and its audience is only growing. The network’s audience is primarily made up of the 80+ demographic, a group at extremely high risk from COVID-19, which the network has downplayed all year. But last week, Fox announced that since the pandemic hit, it’s seen a surge in younger viewers — helping it lure new advertisers to back its toxic brand of racism and disinformation. MyPillow, a top advertiser on Tucker Carlson Tonight, has made it clear that the notoriously racist Fox News host can say whatever he wants, but what about Google, Dell, TalkSpace and Samsung? Fox’s toxicity could cost lives — any company whose advertising dollars are propping up the network should know that they are enabling the spread of hatred and disinformation. Candace Clement Freepress.net
[Believe, from p. 8]
Believe
pandemic, Trump has rejected the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our leading scientists, which has led to the unnecessary deaths of tens of thousands of Americans and the highest per-capita death rate of any major country.
Here is the simple truth: It is absolutely imperative that in unprecedented ways we do everything possible to make sure that Trump is defeated in November. But no single person can do it alone. It is going to require of us coming together, with our movement playing a very significant role in that process. We must begin now to send Donald Trump a message that is clear, forceful and non-negotiable: No, Mr. President, you’re not going to serve another four years. The American people are sick and tired of your authoritarianism, your lies, your racism. On Nov. 3, democracy will prevail and we will end your disastrous presidency. Bye bye.
Lunatic fringe fascist fool Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is without a doubt the dumbest, most worthless member of Congress, and considering the laughably low intelligence level of the average lazy Republican racist officeholder these days, that’s really saying something! Rep. Gohmert is an
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
7. Donald Trump is a xenophobe. Trump has tried, as all demagogues do, to demonize immigrants and blame them for society’s problems. He has used hateful and disgraceful rhetoric to try to dehumanize entire groups of people, and has used the power of the federal government to mistreat and terrorize immigrants at the border and in our communities.
10. Donald Trump is hostile to the LGBTQ community. During his administration, Trump has waged continued assaults on the rights of LGBTQ people. He recently rolled back health protections for transgender people and previously banned them from serving in the military. He has also reversed protections that defend LGBTQ people from discrimination in the workplace and at school.
Rep. Gohmert Pyle (R-Tx)
imbecile and a sick scumbag, not to mention corrupt. Lamebrain Louie Gohmert needs to resign from office immediately and begin preparing his legal defense against the multiple lawsuits headed his way for Gohmert maliciously forcing his staff members (by forbidding them from wearing masks or from working at home) and his colleagues (by Gohmert refusing to wear a mask while at work) to become infected with Gohmert’s COVID-19 disease, all because whiny little clueless conservative crybaby Gohmert the goofball has apparently been taking his medical advice from traitor Trump’s White House witch doctor named Dr. Demon Seed. Resign, Louie Gohmert — you’re an idiot! And if dishonorable dimwit Louie the loser isn’t man enough to resign, just vote the Moscow-loving moron out of office on November 3rd right along with Gohmert’s god Donald Trump otherwise better known as Vladimir Putin’s puppet. Send sick psycho Louie Gohmert and his partner in crime demonic Donald Trump to Russia where those anti-American bigots belong. Jake Pickering Arcata, Calif.
6. Donald Trump is a racist. From the start of his 2016 campaign until today, he has tried to divide us up based on the color of our skin or where we were born. He has strongly supported voter suppression efforts which make it harder for African-Americans to vote, and consistently made ugly and disparaging remarks against African-American leaders. Recently, he bragged about an executive order which makes it harder for minority families to move into the suburbs.
9. Donald Trump is a religious bigot. One of the first things Trump did after taking office was sign an executive order for the discriminatory Muslim ban to prohibit people from several Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States. He has used the office of the presidency to demonize the Muslim community and to try to divide us up based on our religious beliefs.
This past week, as my staff and I were delivering city services, providing food to those in need, and working on solutions to homelessness, a local TV personality ignited “The Lie Heard Round the World” and it likely made it to your computer or television screen. I am writing to let you know it is absolutely and demonstrably false. Last week, an on-air personality at Fox 11 tweeted what he claimed was proof that I have repeatedly called LAPD to respond to my home, often to protect me from protesters. That is absolutely false. His so-called evidence showed nothing of the sort. LAPD has confirmed I have not asked for patrols or special protection, and have never called 911. And I have written documentation specifically asking LAPD not to send units to my home, noting that officers have far better things to do. It is a lie, and it has had remarkable legs, making its way to local media, British tabloids, and the Fox News Channel. You can read the truth and see all the details discrediting this false report at this link. You can also see the LAPD letter debunking the report there, too. This false report coincides with recent attacks on me by the local police union, which has been upset with me since I challenged
them for advocating slashing vital city services and even reducing neighborhood patrols by 200,000 hours, in order to pay for their raises. And when George Floyd was murdered, and hundreds of thousands of Angelenos took to the streets calling for reimagining how we provide for public safety and keep our neighborhoods safe, I supported that call. The attacks from the police union, including a mailer that many of you received in your homes recently, is meant to send a message to all elected officials: Question the police union at your own peril. I refuse to be bullied or intimidated. I promised you when I first ran in 2013 that I would always do what I felt was right and that together we would move Los Angeles forward, do good, and get things done. No police union, no shoddy journalist, no false and malicious rumor will get me to break that promise to you. Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin Venice, 11th District
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
5. Donald Trump’s policies benefit his billionaire friends, while attacking the needs of working families. During his 2016 campaign, Trump claimed that he would stand with the working class and “drain the swamp.” He lied. He has appointed more billionaires to important positions than any other president in history while giving massive tax breaks to the very rich and large corporations. At a time of obscene income and wealth inequality, he continues to try to throw more than 20 million Americans off the health insurance they already have, and do away with protections for pre-existing conditions. While the rich become much richer, his budgets have repeatedly called for huge cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, education and nutrition programs.
8. Donald Trump is a sexist. Not only has Trump led the effort to deny women the right to control their own bodies and defund Planned Parenthood, he has — throughout his adult life — made disparaging and condescending comments about women. It is not surprising that some of his ugliest attacks have been against strong women leaders like Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto.
Setting the Record Straight
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[History, from p. 1]
Arc of History
gerrymandering crusader, who’s taken the “moneyball” approach developed by the Oakland A’s and applied it to politics, developing a metric he calls “voter power.” The A’s lacked the money to compete in high-stakes bidding wars, so they developed new measures to identify undervalued players they could more easily afford. Unless your last name is “Bill Gates” you’d be wise to at least give some thought to Wang’s innovative metric. “Voter power is complicated because it depends on the closeness of chamber control, how many voters there are per district, and how close the tipping-point districts are,” Wang told
Random Lengths. “It depends most of all on how close a chamber is to the edge of control. In that respect, TX/MN/KS currently appear to be right on the edge.” For ease of comparison, the race with maximum voter power is set to 100 and other races are set to some fraction of that. In Texas, there are 11 house races with voting power of 70 or more, while Democrats only need to win 8. But Texas is also a hotbed of potential Democratic gains in Congress. Rachel Bitecofer, who first predicted the 2018 Blue Wave, has identified nine House seats that could flip in Texas, stretching from the suburbs of Houston to those of Dallas-Fort Worth, and from the outskirts of El Paso to Austin. HD 112 sits largely inside a House seat that already flipped in 2018, but most of the flappable state House
and congressional districts overlap. And that, in turn, increases the chances of MJ Hegar, selfdescribed “combat veteran and working mom,” running to replace Senator John Cornyn. Hegar’s race isn’t considered top-tier, but that could easily change in the weeks ahead. Cornyn’s favorability is low—which isn’t likely to change—but so is Hegar’s name recognition, which gives him a chance to try to define her. Most other Southern Senate races are similarly seen as long-shots, but those on the ground see them as steps on a journey that will ultimately bring them success, if not this cycle, then soon. But the potential in this cycle is palpable— and reflected in the prominence given to Southern Democrats at the ongoing convention,
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
Air Force veteran, Mary Jennings Hegar is running Texas’ next US Senator. File photo
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as noted by Angie Maxwell, co-author of The Long Southern Strategy. “The number of southern speakers at the DNC shows that the party is not focused solely on recapturing states lost in 2016 (PA, MI, WI). The party is also looking at where it can grow and expand its options in terms of a path to electoral victory,” Maxwell told Random Lengths News. “Southern states who have or have almost elected Democrats to statewide offices, such as LA, VA, and NC (Democratic governors) and TX, FL, and GA (where [Stacey] Abrams, [Beto] O’Rourke, and [Andrew] Gillum made major inroads in 2018) are also some of the states hit hardest by COVID-19, which give Democrats an opening in an election that will take place amid a pandemic that the Trump administration has failed to control.” This governance crisis vividly underscores profound differences between the parties, not just Trump’s temperamental unfitness. But taking full advantage of it will require a level of sophistication that’s been lacking in the past, but starts to seem possible, as Maxwell went on note: The Democratic Party and the [Joe] Biden campaign are smart to work to (1) recapture the 2016 states that flipped red (MI, PA, WI); (2) reignite the Obama coalition that handed Democrats 3 southern states in 2008 and 2012 (FL, NC, VA); and (3) invest in southern states that are at the tipping point of turning blue (GA, TX). The party has to have both a short term Blue Southern Strategy and a long-term Blue Southern Strategy—which is exactly how the GOP flipped the South red over the last 50 years.”
One thread in that trajectory can be found by looking at what the Chambers campaign says regarding issues on her website. “Once again in the 2019 session, the legislature in Austin focused on fringe issues instead of
making real progress on critical issues like property tax reform and access to healthcare,” the introduction charges. “Our current representatives continue to put bandaids on issues instead of curing problems. Brandy is a problem solver who will put regular Texans first.” The site follows with sections on climate change, criminal justice reform, education, fair maps (“Politicians shouldn’t pick their voters”), fighting human trafficking, health care (Medicaid expansion) and jobs (fighting wage theft, passing paid sick leave, and more). Much of what’s there is fairly universal practical common sense. One could find similar positions all across the country in districts that flipped in 2018. But there are also specifically local or statewide references, particularly when it comes to addressing particular shortcomings or shining examples to build upon. Georgia is another Southern state whose Democratic activists see as inevitably turning blue in the near future—perhaps even this year at the presidential level, and ultimately top-to-bottom, as Virginia is now. This year—like California in 1992—there are two U.S. Senate seats up at the same time, one a special election to fill a partially completed term. That election pits the Republican appointee, Kelly Loeffler, against the Democratic challenger, Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church to become in Atlanta, Martin Luther King Jr.’s former congregation. Loeffler is ahead in the polls, but she’s quickly acquired Trumpian baggage. Shortly after her appointment in January, she got a seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, where she became an overseer of the overseers of the company that made her rich—Intercontinental Exchange—which runs a dozen stock exchanges. (She was an executive there first, then later married the CEO.) Then, in July, players on the WNBA Atlanta Dream came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, after Loeffler, a team coowner, criticized the social-justice movement. “Black lives matter,” their joint statement said. “We are the women of the Atlanta Dream. We are women who support a movement. … It is not extreme to demand change after centuries of inequality. This is not a political statement. This is a statement of humanity.” Then, in early August players for the Atlanta Dream appeared in t-shirts endorsing her opponent: “Vote Warnock.” Pictures of them flooded social media ahead of a nationally televised game with the Phoenix Mercury. Across the chest of the black T-shirts were two words “Vote Warnock,” So, it could be called a “volatile race.” The other Georgia U.S. Senate race is already seen as a toss up. The incumbent is Republican David Perdue, running for a second term. The Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff was the Democratic nominee for Georgia’s 6th Congressional district in a 2017 special election, which gained him national attention. Underlying both races, the massive voter registration work driven by Stacey Abrams prior to and surrounding her 2018 gubernatorial race has continued to shift the electorate, even as GOP voter suppression efforts have continued as well. In short, Georgia is a microcosm of American politics today. Whatever happens in November, there is no doubt which party stands for the future, and which stands for the past.
Standing in the Shadow of
Charles Bukowski
Reflection on the rise and fall and death of the American poet
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
It’s getting pretty damn crowded trying to stand in the shadow of the poet Charles Bukowski. It’s like apostles to Christ or worse. Everyone has their own version of who he was–however this time we actually have his original words, and don’t have to rely on the delusions of the mind long after the prophet has died. Don’t get me wrong, there still will be stories told by the devotees, there will be exaggerations and lies, and half truths told and repeated as truth incarnate. So much so that the shadow of Bukowski will grow and expand until that shadow no longer represents the figure who cast it. Luckily we still have his words. The damnable thing about standing too close to the genius of such a lucky muse is that it is almost impossible not getting lost in this shadow and losing your own style and sense. Such original power is intoxicating and seductive, seducing those close enough and even those at a distance into chanting mindless refrains like Krishna followers banging drums at the airport. Everyone does want a hero, and Buk is the best anti-hero-hero to come along since Jack Kerouack. So he serves his purpose, gives purpose and meaning to a lot of meaningless lives, who would be lost in the dive bars and dead end jobs of this metropolis on the desert. He always had the sense to strike his own matches in an otherwise dark and crowded closet of people who couldn’t find a light in a butane refinery. Now for all those who follow who are trying to squeeze into that same closet, pull the chain on that same dim light and strike those already burnt matches, just don’t even try. But try as they do it’s just not the same as when Bukowski sat alone striking match after match dropping the spent ones on the floor like so many smoked poems. We’re damn lucky though to have his words and not just others remembering those words. Damn lucky! — James Preston Allen, 1994
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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Find what you love and let it kill you.
I guess the only time most people think about injustice is when it happens to them.
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Almost everybody is born a genius and buried an idiot.
His Poems Are Timeless By RD Armstrong, Guest Writer
When I first read this poem,
Dinosauria, We, by Charles Bukowski, I thought, “This doesn’t sound like the Bukowski that I grew up on.” But after I checked and was told that it was, I got that old sinking feeling like the one I got from reading Pulp, Bukowski’s last book of fiction. That book seemed to be written by three different voices. It doesn’t matter because I guess I don’t really see what the point is. I’ve read Buk for about 50 years. I’d like to say that I often pull out my favorite volume but during the financial adjustment in 2008, I sold most of my Bukowski library to make the rent. I miss them, but I had to live with my mistakes. So I did. Even so, every time I read one of his poems, I find a deeper richness than I had when I read it before — say 20 years earlier. I’d say that this must be because I’m maturing. Life experience either makes you stronger or it kills you and I’m still at it. So, the reason I mention this is that Buk, well, he had this gift. Many of
his poems are timeless. I mean there’s no time stamp, almost no location markers. His poetry (and stories) could be about anywhere in the world. The same losers who populate every slum and after-work dive, every horse track, every “flop” can be found from Los Angeles to Rangoon. Sure, the language is different but what they talk about is the same. That was his draw. He could address that universal theme. So, I am not even remotely surprised at how accurate this poem, Dinosauria, We, is. After all, the themes are timeless, aren’t they? Buk’s been in the ground for nearly 30 years and he’s still relevant. I should be so lucky!
RD Armstrong, also known as Raindog, has been a poet for more than 50 years. In the past 25 years, he’s published thousands of poets from around the world and the United States. These days, he focuses his energy on procuring donations of personal protective equipment for homeless shelters, and money for poets in need, poetry centers and food banks — “much more rewarding!”
What Happened When Alex Cockburn, Bukowski Walked into a Sushi Bar? By James Preston Allen, Publisher
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
I was reminded earlier this year
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about a funny incident that happened back in 1992, when Alex Cockburn, noted columnist for The Nation magazine, was introduced to the famous American poet Charles Bukowski. My memory was sparked by the appearance of Laura Flanders, Cockburn’s niece and a radio journalist in her own right, who was speaking at a KPFK radio event at the Palos Verdes Art Center. It was the year after the end of Operation Desert Storm, the first Gulf War with Iraq, and a month before the November 1992 general election that would see William Jefferson Clinton elected president. We had published several of Cockburn’s columns
engagements in the Los Angeles Harbor Area.” Tickets were $8. As I recall, the events were well received with several hundred in attendance. I had the privilege of giving the venerated journalist a tour of the San Pedro Bay harbors. Driving over the Vincent Thomas Bridge, Cockburn looked out on the industrial expanse of the twin harbors with thousands of containers and terminals that had imported Toyotas. “Ah, here’s the national trade deficit!” he announced. He kind of laughed with his Irish accent as though he had discovered some new continent. Later that evening I had scheduled a dinner with the RLn staff and Cockburn at Senfuku, our favorite sushi bar on 6th Street in San Pedro. We reserved the large table on the upper level of the restaurant. As I entered I noticed a familiar face sitting alone at the bar: it was none other than Charles Bukowski, the poet. I said hello in passing as he sat drinking a large Sapporo beer and eating sushi. He had recently given his once-ina-life time endorsement of our newspaper and we had gotten to know each other over a very long night of drinking and conversation. Just as I was sitting down, I realized what an Illustration by David Ivar “Yaya” Herman Dune. astounding coincidence
on that war, which was a real privilege for a small alternative newspaper struggling for recognition on the edge of the Los Angeles metropolis. Cockburn was someone who Rep. Henry Gonzales, a Texas Democrat, called, “One of the most perceptive and ... brilliant minds we have in America.” Somehow our then-editor convinced him to come to San Pedro and address not one audience, but two. The first was at Los Angeles Harbor College and the second at the Pacific Unitarian Church in Palos Verdes. It was advertised as “Random Lengths News presents An October Surprise, An Evening with Alexander Cockburn. These two programs mark Mr. Cockburn’s first speaking
Charles Bukowski at a rare book signing and reading at Photo by James Preston Allen. Digital restoration and pr
Henry Charles Bukowski was a
writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cu Los Angeles. He was born Aug. 16, 1920, in Ande Pedro Peninsula Hospital Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundre publishing over 60 books. The FBI kept a file on h Man, in the Los Angeles underground newspaper Top 10 books include: Post Office (Black Spa Poems (Black Sparrow Press, 1992), Ham on Rye Like Wild Horses Over The Hills (Black Sparrow P 1977 (Black Sparrow Press, 1977), Pulp (Black S 1978), Notes of a Dirty Old Man (Essex House, 1 (Black Sparrow Press, 1990), Hot Water Music (B this was to have two great literary figures in the same room at the same time. “What great conversation would the two of them have?” I asked myself. I immediately got up and walked back to the sushi bar and invited Hank to come and meet Alex. Now, for all of Buk’s bluster and bodacious writing about his adventures in bars and bedrooms, he was actually kind of a private person, that is, until you put him in front of an audience with a bottle of beer reading his poetry. So, it took a bit of cajoling to get him to come over and meet Alex. Well, I never expected what happened next. I was imagining some great discussion of politics or literature or even philosophy, but
Reflections of Buk at 100 By Michael D. Meloan, Guest Writer
When I was 16, my friends and I
t Giant Books on 6th Street in San Pedro in the late 1980s. rint by Ray Carofano.
eds of short stories and six novels, eventually him as a result of his column, Notes of a Dirty Old r, Open City, later picked up by the LA Free Press. arrow Press, 1971), The Last Night of the Earth e (Black Sparrow Press, 1982), The Days Run Away Press, 1969), Love Is a Dog From Hell: Poems 1974Sparrow Press, 1994), Women (Black Sparrow Press, 1969), Septuagenarian Stew: Stories and Poems Black Sparrow Press, 1983)
Don’t Try (a gift from the cats of Santa Cruz Street) by David Ivar “Yaya” Herman Dune, ceramic, 2018. Photo by Mayra Zaragoza
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An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.
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What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
Hank’s reputation for wild drunken blowouts was real. But on any random evening, he was hard at work. One of his most important attributes was discipline. He wrote every day — sick, exhausted, hung over — it didn’t matter. He told me that he was
Michael D. Meloan’s work has appeared in Wired, Huffington Post, Buzz, LA Weekly and in many anthologies. He was an interview subject in the documentaries Bukowski: Born Into This and Joe Frank: Somewhere Out There. With Joe Frank, he co-wrote a number of radio shows that aired across the National Public Radio syndicate. He also co-authored the novel The Shroud with his brother, Steven.
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The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it -- basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.
no. For most of the evening they talked about cats! Bukowski and his wife, Linda, had a whole family of felines with odd names like Mystery B, Ting and Feather and apparently Cockburn, like many writers, had some cats, too. This was as if Ernest Hemmingway had met Edward R. Murrow and the only thing they found to converse about was their cats. I was dumbstruck. By the end of the evening, I had to chuckle over the entire conversation and my own expectations of what I thought would happen. Life is full of surprises and they often aren’t the ones you’d imagine. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be surprises.
…
like a spider building a web; it was in his DNA to pound the typer. In a one-on-one encounter, Hank demanded your complete attention, even when he was drunk. Sitting on the couch in the living room, he would take a drink, then a drag and his eye would cut over at you — scrutinize you. There was no place to hide. He was complex, outrageous and sensitive; loyal to his friends. When I was breaking up with Jan, he called to see how I was doing. He knew I was depressed and suggested that I come over for a drink. When I got there, Linda poured three glasses of good Cabernet. We talked for a while, and I told Hank that a literary agent had contacted me after I had some fiction published in Wired magazine. I asked him what he thought about agents. He paused, took a long drag, and said: “Listen kid, the whole thing comes down to this: If you want to write, you’re going to write and you’d better write it your way. If you’re after money or fame or groupies, that’s something else. Then you’ll do it their way … and they will smash you down into a flattened turd.” He took a big drink, then cut his eye over at me smiling and said, “Ring the bells of the city. The old man has spoken.” Now that we have reached the Bukowski centenary, I think this is his lasting message: Your life may sometimes look like shit, but there is beauty in art. It can help us rise up from the miasma. Take the gamble. Do it on your own terms.
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German-American poet, novelist, and short story ultural, and economic ambiance of his home city of ernach, Germany. He died March 9, 1994, at San
cruised Sunset Strip and brought back the LA Free Press, which ran Charles Bukowski’s column, Notes of a Dirty Old Man. We sat inside a backyard plywood shed that one of the neighborhood fathers had built to keep us out of trouble. As we smoked Tareytons and drank Colt 45, we read the column out loud. It was an explosion of hookers, philosophers, madmen and racetrack junkies — my early education. Fifteen years later, my girlfriend Jan was working at the Dew Drop Inn, a health food restaurant in South Redondo. One day, she mentioned that the owner, Linda Lee Beighle, was dating a poet named Charles Bukowski. There he was again. A few months later, I visited the Dew Drop for lunch. Bukowski unexpectedly walked in, spitting venom because his Mac had somehow deleted a couple of new poems. Linda mentioned that I was a software guy. “Are you any good?” he asked. My father taught me always to say yes. A few hours later, the poems were back and we sat drinking red wine while he asked me questions about how computers might be used to predict winners at the racetrack. In the fall of that year, Bukowski invited me over for the evening. Just the two of us and his beloved plastic goose with a light bulb inside. He uncorked the first bottle of red. “You seem nervous, kid,” he said, pouring. I took a big drink. I was nervous. But after a few glasses, the night took off. We were laughing and drinking until 3 a.m. With a stubby Indian Beedi dangling from his lips, he flicked his butane lighter a few times. A flame suddenly shot up like a hissing blowtorch. His left eyebrow sizzled and crackled as he jerked his head back and went, “Arrrrgh!” Later, he told me that I danced with the goose on my head and recited a long raving monologue about sex and death and science. I don’t remember any of it, but he always did.
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A spark can set a whole forest on fire. Just a spark. Save it.
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[Born, from p. 1]
Born Into This
Born like this Into this As the chalk faces smile As Mrs. Death laughs As the elevators break As political landscapes dissolve As the supermarket bag boy holds a college degree As the oily fish spit out their oily prey As the sun is masked
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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What Bukowski was born into certainly shaped the writer he became. When I interviewed John Martin, Bukowski’s publisher, he commented that if Bukowski had been raised in a more stable family, he might have become a successful Hollywood comedy writer. For an artist, a brutal childhood might be what can separate the hard-edge of a John Lennon, who was abandoned by both parents, from a more even-tempered Paul McCartney, who grew up in far less turbulent circumstances. If Bukowski’s journey looks like many of our own, his genius was that he could tap into the type of feelings and experiences that most of us keep locked away in our unconscious and hold them up to the light in a way that makes us say, “That’s me!” Given what Bukowski was born into, it’s also not surprising that throughout his career you see the same pendulum swing — from tremendous compassion for the suffering of people, to disgust for their almost limitless cruelty and ignorance. The same Bukowski who lamented “the proud thin dying” also stated, “People are just not good to each other” and “Humanity, you never had it from the beginning.”
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We are Born like this Into this Into these carefully mad wars Into the sight of broken factory windows of emptiness Into bars where people no longer speak to each other Into fist fights that end as shootings and knifings Born into this Into hospitals which are so expensive that it’s cheaper to die Into lawyers who charge so much it’s cheaper to plead guilty Into a country where the jails are full and the madhouses closed Into a place where the masses elevate fools into rich heroes
Charles Bukowski as a child. File photo
Bukowski called himself “a photographer.” This means he tried to capture the truth, both horrible and beautiful, as with Bluebird or Roll the Dice, later poems that inspire and touch us so deeply. In today’s society, where the government’s strategy amounts to a combination of magical thinking, corruption and deceit, voices of truth like Bukowski’s are more important than ever. Bukowski died in 1994. His original readers from the 1960s are nearing their final days, too. Despite all the hopes and plans of our youth, when we die, even the best of us won’t have changed the world much. The analogy of pulling your finger out of the water and creating a few ripples, which almost instantly disappear, is probably apt for most of our lives. As an author, Bukowski’s life had a greater impact than most. So it’s heartening that his words still have so much punch decades later. It’s tempting to think of what he might be doing today if he were alive: working on his ninth novel? Appearing on podcasts? One thing we can pretty confidently say: He would still be telling it like it is, with a combination of salty directness and style that nobody has yet been able to duplicate. He would be disgusted at the powers-that-be, but not surprised. And, every now and then, he might find himself in a rare mood and grace us with another Laughing Heart, which describes a completely different world, where people can be good to each other. John Dullaghan is the director of Bukowski: Born Into This, the 2005 Bukowski documentary that is widely considered the authoritative biographical document on the author.
Palos Verdes Art Center
Studio Gallery 345
SKIN IN THE GAME
Pat Woolley, Tetons
In an abundance of caution, Studio 345, which shows the works of Pat Woolley and Gloria D. Lee will be closed for First Thursdays until further notice. 345 W. 7th St., San Pedro.
Ko-Ryu Ramen 362 W. 6th St. San Pedro 90731 310-935-2886
koryuramen.com Koi Ramen
Mark Steven Greenfield, Problem Child, 2001
Curated by Brent Holmes, Skin In the Game presents works by 12 artists that challenge mainstream assumptions of Black identity and artistic practice. The pieces range from experiments in Afrofuturism and Afropunk to street portraiture, abstraction, exercises in queer humor, and the appropriation of minstrelsy. Although focusing primarily on Black voices, Skin In the Game includes artists of various ethnicities and backgrounds who show solidarity and commitment to the cause of racial justice. The exhibition will launch online Sept. 12 as a virtual exhibition. Zoom events will be announced providing discussion with the artists. The show runs through Nov. 14. Details: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes, (310) 541-2479, www.pvartcenter.org
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Take a vir tual tour of Pat Woolley’s work at www. randomlengthsnews.com/art/first-thursday
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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he brief, glorious moment when tomatoes are everywhere marks the culinary apex of summer. This drawnout, tomato-ey solstice is especially fleeting for heirloom tomatoes, the high-maintenance wing of the tomato clan. Too watery and delicate to preserve, heirlooms can only be enjoyed raw. Which means they must be enjoyed now. Heirlooms have shorter shelf lives than “normal” hybrid tomatoes and they are harder to grow and less productive, making them more expensive. The heirlooms at my farmers market are worth every penny. I’ve been a big spender all summer, and finally my own patch is starting to ripen. I’ve got Ox Heart, Black Krim, Brandywine, Thirsty Girl, White Peach, Striped German and others. These aren’t the lipstick-red, perfectly round, normal-looking slicers that you’d put on a sandwich, or the dense, dry paste tomatoes that in a few weeks I’ll simmer into large batches of sauce. Heirlooms come in as many shapes as clouds, as many colors as the rainbow, with mildly tangy flavors and sweet, earthy aromas. I keep my heirlooms closer than my friends and enemies, organized like perishable jewels, usually on a large plate but not in a pile, keeping track of which ones are soft. I don’t refrigerate or cook my heirlooms. They are for roomtemperature enjoyment only. I can’t think of any more delicious way to enjoy a summer heirloom — and summer itself — than a plate of caprese, the Italian salad that pairs a slice of tomato with a slice of mozzarella and a leaf or two of basil. These accompaniments flatter the heirloom, as lime and salt complete a shot of tequila, and just as intoxicating. Beyond this three-ingredient
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Heirloom Addiction By Ari LeVaux, Flash In the Pan Columnist
Colorful heirloom tomatoes from Jamie Drysdale’s Blue Coyote Farm. Photo courtesy of Jamie Drysdale
caprese quorum, most renditions will include salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, either red or white — white balsamic is made from white grapes and lately, because of trademark issues, goes by White Italian Condiment. Whatever we call white balsamic, I prefer it to the red. It’s
just as aromatic but less dominant. And, call me crazy, but I prefer tucking the basil between the tomato and the cheese. On top of the tomato, that basil leaf deflects the oil, salt and vinegar. And in so doing, it blocks the proper flavor from developing.
After weeks of studying, preparing, consuming and obsessing about caprese, my garden was depleted, and I went to the farmers market to buy more ingredients. While gathering bunches of basil from a vendor I barely knew named Jamie, I heard him mention that I looked like a man with caprese on his mind. As Jamie was so tuned in to the caprese wavelength, I asked how he serves it at home. He mixes purple and green basil on alternate pieces of caprese, along with different colored tomatoes. It makes a more colorful plate he says. He’s also a stickler for balsamic reduction, rather than the straight vinegar. He likes the syrupy consistency of balsamic reduction, how it sticks to the cheese and tomatoes and doesn’t so easily run off. To make your own balsamic reduction, simply heat a quantity of red or white balsamic in a heavy bottomed saucepan until it’s reduced by at least half. Some recipes call for sweetening the reduction, but I find it sweet enough. But if there is a bit of minced garlic, or thinsliced onion, or even a caper or two, I won’t complain. Sometimes I’ll place a peach atop Mt. Caprese. It’s usually served as some kind of towering pile, but you can also chop the basil, mozzarella and tomato into utensil-sized bits and sprinkle with salt, olive oil and some kind of balsamic — red or white, vinegar or reduced. Fresh mozzarella is about as cheap as fresh heirloom tomatoes. Unless you have a cow, a cheese shop or a trust fund, your caprese consumption might be limited only by your budget. But if ever there was a time to lighten up, take it easy and fill your belly with caprese, this is it.
Join Southern California Chefs in 20CHEFS Beacon House of San Pedro announced two well-known
Midwestern chefs to its 20CHEFS fundraising roster: the Food Network’s Andrew Zimmern (Minneapolis) and Jeremy Martindale, executive chef for The Alexander Hotel, the luxury boutique property in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. The center was recently named by U.S. News and World Report a “Top 200 Treatment Center” in the country. Zimmern and Martindale join Southern California chefs such as event co-chairs Michael Shafer (The Depot) and Christine Brown (Restaurant Christine), Victor Juarez (Fuego at Hotel Maya) and others to raise needed funds for the 115-bed treatment and rehabilitation facility for men in San Pedro. Additional chefs include: Paul Buchanan/ Primal Alchemy (caterer) Peter Carpenter/ Gourmet to You (caterer) Betty Fraser/ As You Like It Catering, formerly of Grub, Hollywood Kashi Aghilipour/ Think Prime Trina Mendoza/ Babouch Andrew Monterrosa Jennie Trinh Private Dining at: Compagnon Wine Bistro Pappy’s Big Nicks
Details: www.thebeaconhouse.org/20chefs/
ART Visual Arts, Online Lectures with Gregorio Luke Gregorio Luke presents his Zoom lectures, Murals Under the Stars, every Saturday. The format offers several advantages; the images are large and clear, people can see Luke next to the slides and at the end he will take questions live. His upcoming calendar includes lectures on Dávid Alfaro Siqueiros Aug. 22, Pablo Picasso Aug. 29, Rufino Tamayo Sept. 5 and Frida Kahlo Sept. 12. Time: 6 p.m. Saturdays Cost: $7.50 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ murals-under-the-stars Pandemic Response Several Angels Gate Cultural Center studio artists will be featured in the El Camino College Art Gallery’s Pandemic Response, a virtual exhibition. This is an online exhibition of work by 40 Southern California artists, plus one musician in response to the onslaught of COVID-19. Time: Aug. 15 to Sept. 30 Details: www.elcamino.edu Armchair Artwalk Join a virtual artwalk tour on the next First Thursday, Sept. 3, hosted by the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District. Time: 6 p.m. Location: Zoom Details: www.sanpedro waterfrontartsdistrict.com
FOOD Virtual Interactive Cooking Beginning Aug. 15, Long Beach Food & Beverage introduces virtual interactive cooking classes with some of your favorite Long Beach chefs and bartenders. Signing up for one or more classes supports Long
ARTS CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT
Beach chefs and bartenders with additional revenue during this challenging time. Details: www. lbfoodandbeverage.org/ upcomingclasses
COMMUNITY Community Roundtable Join a virtual discussion about the rocky shore ecosystems. This will be the first of three panel discussions on Zoom addressing the importance of the rocky intertidal habitat and to address the recent poaching along the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Save the date for future community roundtables Sept. 9. Time: 6:30 p.m. Aug. 26 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ rocky-intertidal COVID-19 Can Be Curbed In Multicultural Communities Strength Thru Unity will focus on the hard-hit impact of COVID-19 among Americans of color. Some of the nation’s most influential multicultural leaders will discuss their recommendations for how to curb this pandemic. Topics include health and economic disparities, the rise in hate crimes, looming evictions, remote learning, and the White House response and solutions to stop COVID-19 from impacting Blacks, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans. Time: 1 p.m. PST Aug. 26 via Live Stream on Zoom and on KPFK.org Details: STU will also broadcast on KPFK-FM 90.7 at 5 p.m. PST Aug. 28
DANCE Unsettling Ramona Salon Series Heidi Duckler Dance presents Unsettling Ramona Salon Series a collaborative work with native perspectives to “unsettle” Ramona, a book that was important in creating visibility for the issue of native rights in America and also problematic in that it romanticized California’s history. The series includes Unsettling Self on Aug. 20 and Unsettling Sound on Aug 27. RSVP. Time: 5 p.m. Aug. 20 and 27 Cost: Free Details: http:// unsettlingsalonseries. eventbrite.com/
EDUCATION
Using Film to Drive Social Change Five high school students undertook the adventure of a lifetime during Project Shiphunt. Join Tirrea Billings to learn more about this experience and how it helped shape her love for film and storytelling, her journey as an entrepreneur and how she
uses her gifts as an activist in digital spaces. Time: 3 p.m. Sept. 3 Details: https://sanctuaries. noaa.gov/attendee. gotowebinar.com Arts Learning Lab 18th Street Arts Center’s Arts Learning Lab @ Home is a series of free online arts classes for kids and families schooling from home. Hands-on artmaking workshops are held live on Zoom and are posted as on-demand videos after each workshop. Led by a diverse group of professional artists in residence at 18th Street, as well as members of the national and international arts community, ALL@Home strives to feature art making workshops in a range of mediums, skills with the core belief that the arts help us imagine new futures, create empathy, and promote community resilience. The ondemand video workshops align to California art standards and all of them are in English and Spanish. Details: https://18thstreet.org/ arts-learning-lab-home/
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More chefs will be added throughout the summer. Because of the pandemic, Beacon House Association of San Pedro had a $225,000 shortfall to assist those with alcohol and drug addiction issues. On the website, visitors are encouraged to purchase private dinners with a selected chef starting at $5,000. The meal will be prepared and served at the buyer’s residence or at the chef’s restaurant with the location and date to be agreed upon by both parties. The number of guests shall be limited to 10. Dinner purchases end Oct. 11. Dining purchases can also be made via email at the 20chefs@beaconhouse.org. “We feel encouraged by the outpouring of support and love to help these men. Addiction is one of the greatest scourges,” said Beacon House Association of San Pedro’s Executive Director, Brian Smith. “Our center allows these men to rejoin their loving families and become willing participants in their communities.”
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AUG 20-SEPT 3 • 2020
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Romeo & Juliet; Virtually
A Take on Shakespeare for Our Quarantined Times B Unstoppable for 61 Years! Since 1959 KPFK has been bringing the best in freespeech radio, news, music and public affairs to Southern California and the World. Show your support for KPFK today!
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efore there was internet, before television, before the telephone and telegraph, there was Romeo and Juliet, the oft-told tale of starcrossed lovers and the warring families that are the death of them. Needless to say, William Shakespeare couldn’t have conceived of a performance where his characters never come face-to-face. But these are pandemic times, and pandemic times call for inventive measures. That much can certainly be said for Romeo & Juliet; Virtually, which has the Montagues and Capulets in quarantine, where they meet and love and clash and die on Zoom. How well it works depends largely on what you’re looking for, but there’s no denying that a lot of work has gone into this re-imagined classic. First off, let’s be frank: if you’re unfamiliar with Romeo and Juliet, this is not the way to get your first taste. In the interests of briskness so as to avoid trying your online attention span, director Miles Berman and adapter Steven Vlasak have cut their source material by half — losing, for example, all Montagues save Romeo and Mercutio. (Mercutio’s not actually a Montague in the original, but here he’s combined with some of Romeo’s kinsmen.) More importantly, by removing the section referring to the fact that Romeo is head-over-heels in love
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Historically Endorsed by: San Pedro Neighbors for Peace and Justice, Witness for Peace Southwest, Veterans for Peace LA, CODEPINK LA, SoCal 350 Climate Action, #BernersAgainstMilitarism, Occupy Torrance/South Bay, MLK Coalition, #coldwartruthcommission, Green Party of Los Angeles, Long Beach Progressive Alliance, Maria Estrada for Assembly, Progressive Democrats of America, Long Beach Area Peace Network
By Greggory Moore, Curtain Call Columnist
Romeo & Juliet, Virtually. Photo courtesy of Miles Beyond Entertainment
with someone else before he ever meets Juliet and instantly transfers his affections to her, this RAJ pivots away from one of the play’s central themes: the fickleness of young love. (Remember: Shakespeare’s Juliet is just 13 years old.) Instead, Berman and Vlasak load their thematic eggs in the intolerance/hatred-ofthe-other basket. We don’t know wherefore the Montagues and Capulets began their feud, but it’s clear that now their beef is based on otherness. (Tybalt: “[…P]eace? I hate the word / As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.”) But is that really what Romeo & Juliet; Virtually is about? Probably not. More than anything, this show seems to be a simple entertainment and perhaps this is where it most succeeds. For starters, it’s good fun watching how Berman and co. move the action forward without ever (well, almost ever) bringing the characters face-to-face. The screen (a YouTube live stream) is an ever-shifting array of rectangles whose size and orientation vary from scene to scene, as the characters Zoom in pairs and groups, on laptops and smartphones, stock still or in motion. This show is not a staged reading: it’s a fully blocked theatrical event. Yes, it’s loose, but it’s anything but random. Despite the above-mentioned loss of the fickleness theme, Romeo & Juliet; Virtually maintains the self-important immaturity of Shakespeare’s characters in the form of everyone’s need to broadcast their lives online. More than the COVID-19 pandemic (a bit of backdrop made explicit by an opening newscast and the Capulet Family’s Zoom masquerade quarantine party), it’s the new normal of 21st-century online living that frames why these characters are looking at each other onscreen rather than eye-to-eye. (It frames it, but doesn’t always explain it. Don’t go looking for logical consistency—just make room under the suspension-of-disbelief umbrella that is status quo in theatre.) Although no one’s going to confuse
her with a 13-year-old, Stephanie Kutty imbues Juliet with an appropriate TikTokish callowness. Her life is drama, and she’s the star, living nothing but the highest highs and the lowest lows — and always into the camera. Hopefully Paris Moletti can better join her in that juvenile space by bringing more animation to his Romeo during the show’s short run. (I caught a press preview, so expect a bit more polish by then.) On the whole the acting is more than adequate. This is not a Shakespearean troupe, yet they manage the dialogue just fine. As Pops Capulet, John DiDonna is exceptional, the kind of guy I always want with my Shakespeare. And the entire cast manages to contemporize their characters, sometimes to the point of fully naturalizing them (e.g., Myles McGee’s Mercutio). Essential to the entertainment value of this project are the laughs, almost all of which emanate from the performers rather than the Bard. (R&J is not one of his wittiest.) The standout here is Amber Stepp as Nurse Nan. The dialog between Stepp and Kutty is some of the play’s best stuff (it helps that Juliet and Nan’s being constantly in touch is one place where the internal logic of why they’re online works perfectly); and Stepp slays as a verklempt wedding guest. Although Romeo & Juliet; Virtually is not a proper introduction to what may be Shakespeare’s most famous work, it’s certainly a look at what can be done to keep theatre (a)live during the current plague on all our houses. And hey, you just might be entertained in the process. Romeo & Juliet; Virtually by Miles Beyond Entertainment Times: Friday–Saturday 6 p.m. (log-on/ preshow begins at 5:30 p.m.) through Aug. 29 Cost: $7 to $9 Details: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/ projects/6970 Venue: Hollywood Fringe Festival Online
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Bulletin Board
ORDINANCE NO. 20-2008
supports the City’s position; and
Council meeting; and
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON CHANGING THE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS WITH RESPECT TO COUNCILMEMBERS ONLY FROM AN AT-LARGE ELECTIONS TO BY-DISTRICT ELECTIONS BY ADDING SECTION 2155 (BY-DISTRICT ELECTIONS) TO CHAPTER 1.5 (GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS) OF ARTICLE II (ADMINISTRATION) OF THE CARSON MUNICIPAL CODE ESTABLISHING DISTRICT ELECTIONS, DEFINING DISTRICT BOUNDARIES, AND SCHEDULING DISTRICT ELECTIONS
WHEREAS, Carson enjoys a diverse demographic blend of several racial and ethnic groups – e.g. Latino, African-American, non-Hispanic white, AsianAmerican and Pacific Islander and experiences same with respect to its elected officials; and
WHEREAS, On July 21, 2020, the City Council introduced, read by title, and waived further reading of this Ordinance which includes a map (see attached Exhibit “A”) with four council districts that are population balanced and based on communities of interest and other Constitutional factors as set forth in Elections Code section 26120 and other applicable law; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to City Charter Section 301, the City of Carson currently elects and is governed by four (4) City Councilmembers and a directly elected Mayor, using an at-large election system; and
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PEDRO PET PALS is the only group that raises funds for the City Animal Shelter and FREE vaccines and spay or neuter for our community. 310-991-0012.
WHEREAS, the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), at California Elections Code section 14027, states: “An atlarge method of election may not be imposed or applied in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgment of the rights of voters who are members of a protected class ... “; and WHEREAS, the City Council has been considering and has been holding public hearings on whether to switch to By-Districts Elections in lieu of at-large elections; and WHEREAS, to date, at least 31 Charter Cities have transitioned from at-large to by-district elections without a public vote, at least 22 by ordinance and at least 9 by court order; and WHEREAS, the City has been sued for violating the CVRA by Kevin Shenkman and Southwest Voter Registration Project (the Lawsuit), and the lawsuit is currently pending against the City; and WHEREAS, Kevin Shenkman and the Pico Neighborhood Association Plaintiffs recently (on July 9, 2020) suffered a total defeat in the Pico Neighborhood Association v. City of Santa Monica Case in a published opinion which was a seminal case that the City was following, and this means that the City is not legally obligated to switch to by-districts elections, and if it does so it is doing so on its own volition and not because of the Lawsuit; and WHEREAS, despite the total victory for Santa Monica which translates into a victory for the City of Carson, the City Council desires to voluntarily maximize the goals of the CVRA and the City’s goals of equality, diversity and inclusion, the City Council has determined that it is in the best interest of the City to transition from its current at-large election system to a by-district election system even though it is not legally required to do so and the newly published opinion of the Pico Neighborhood Association v. City of Santa Monica Case
WHEREAS, pursuant to California Elections Code Section 10010, the City has held several public meetings, including in each region of the city, at which the public’s input on district maps was invited, and each map was scrutinized; and WHEREAS, the City retained expert demographic firms to assist the City with developing draft electoral district maps and gathering input from residents on the district boundaries of possible maps; and WHEREAS, the City held three noticed public hearings during the initial districting process, prior to the drafting of preliminary Council district maps by City retained demographers, at which the public was invited to provide input regarding the composition of Council districts, those noticed public hearings being held on May 21, 2019, June 13, 2019 and June 18, 2019; and WHEREAS, subsequent to the drafting of preliminary Council district maps by City retained demographers, the City held multiple noticed public hearings on such Council district maps, with the maps being made available to the public no less than seven days before maps were considered at public hearings, noticed public hearings being held on August 17, 2019 and September 17, 2019; and WHEREAS, multiple draft Council district maps considered at public hearings by the Council and the public have been published online on the City of Carson’s website for public review; and WHEREAS, the September 19, 2019 public hearing discussed election sequencing, and on October 1, 2019 and October 15, 2019 election sequencing was also discussed at public meetings; and WHEREAS, on November 19, 2019, at a duly noticed public hearing, the City Council considered a draft version of a Council district map (referred to herein as “Draft 2 District Map”), such map being made available to the public through publication no less than seven days before that November 19, 2019 public hearing; and WHEREAS, after the November 19, 2019 public hearing, the Draft 2 District Map was revised to create Draft 2, Version 2 District Map (referred to herein as “Final District Map”), attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and incorporated herein by reference, and the Final District Map was published on the City’s website and made available to the public on January 10, 2020, and has been available to the public for no less than 7 days before July 21, 2020, the date when the Final District Map was included within this Ordinance provided for consideration by the City Council to be introduced for first reading at a City
WHEREAS, California Government Code section 34886 permits the City Council to change the City’s method of election by ordinance, with certain formalities, to a bydistrict system in which each Councilmember, other than the directly elected Mayor, is elected only by the voters in the electoral district in which the Councilmember resides; and WHEREAS, pursuant to California Government Code section 34886, it is declared that the purpose of the change in the method of electing members of the City Council of the City of Carson made by this Ordinance is to implement the guarantees of Article I, Section 7 and Article II, Section 2 of the California Constitution, as set forth in the California Voting Rights Act (California Elections Code sections 14025 through 14032); and WHEREAS, the purpose of this Ordinance is to enact, pursuant to California Government Code section 34886, an ordinance providing for the election of the Members of the City Council of the City of Carson by-district in four single-member districts, with the Mayor directly elected, as reflected in Exhibit A to this Ordinance. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA FINDS AND ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Incorporation of Recitals. The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference as material findings in support of this Ordinance. SECTION 2. By-District Elections. Section 2155 (By-District Elections) is hereby added to Chapter 1.5 (General Municipal Elections) of Article II (Administration) of the City of Carson Municipal Code to read as follows:
“2155 By-District Elections. A. By-District Elections. Pursuant to California Government Code section 34886, all members of the City Council of the City of Carson, other than the Mayor, shall be elected by-district in four (4) singlemember districts. 1. All members of the City Council shall be elected in the electoral districts established by subsection B of this Section and as subsequently reapportioned pursuant to State law. All City Council elections shall take place “by district” as that term is defined in California Government Code section 34871, meaning each of the five (5) Councilmembers, other than
[continued on p. 21 ]
LEGAL FILINGS
RECUSED: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
/s/
Donesia Gause-Aldana, MMC, City Clerk
The exhibit can be emailed or a printed version can be provided by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (310) 952-1720.
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Total Pop Deviation from ideal % Deviation % Hisp % NH White Total Pop % NH Black % Asian-American Total % Hisp Citizen Voting Age Pop % NH White % NH Black % Asian/Pac.Isl. Total % Latino est. % Spanish-Surnamed Voter Registration (Nov % Asian-Surnamed 2018) % Filipino-Surnamed % NH White est. % NH Black Total % Latino est. % Spanish-Surnamed Voter Turnout (Nov % Asian-Surnamed 2018) % Filipino-Surnamed % NH White est. % NH Black Total % Latino est. Voter Turnout (Nov % Spanish-Surnamed % Asian-Surnamed 2016) % Filipino-Surnamed % NH White est. % NH Black est. Total ACS Pop. Est. age0-19 Age age20-60 age60plus immigrants Immigration naturalized english Language spoken at home spanish asian-lang other lang Speaks Eng. "Less Language Fluency than Very Well" hs-grad Education (among those bachelor age 25+) graduatedegree Child in Household child-under18 Pct of Pop. Age 16+ employed income 0-25k income 25-50k Household Income income 50-75k income 75-200k income 200k-plus single family multi-family Housing Stats rented owned
ORDINANCE NO. 20-2008 (Exhibit A)
4 23,232 303 1.32% 50% 8% 13% 24% 14,384 43% 9% 18% 29% 13,630 54% 48% 3% 9% 14% 21% 6,303 52% 47% 2% 8% 14% 24% 8,223 54% 48% 2% 8% 13% 22% 23,103 26% 55% 18% 39% 60% 36% 43% 20% 1%
Total 91,714 1,798 7.84% 39% 8% 24% 26% 59,499 32% 9% 28% 29% 57,378 41% 37% 3% 8% 14% 34% 28,431 38% 34% 3% 7% 13% 39% 36,148 40% 36% 3% 7% 13% 35% 89,351 24% 54% 21% 35% 64% 46% 31% 21% 2%
16%
24%
19%
29%
22%
55% 17% 10% 27% 57% 15% 15% 17% 45% 7% 91% 9% 20% 80%
52% 23% 5% 31% 58% 15% 18% 19% 43% 6% 79% 21% 33% 67%
56% 18% 8% 30% 58% 14% 17% 16% 47% 5% 90% 10% 20% 80%
52% 17% 5% 34% 59% 15% 18% 19% 42% 6% 87% 13% 30% 70%
54% 19% 7% 30% 58% 15% 17% 18% 45% 6% 87% 13% 26% 74%
Total population data from the 2010 Decennial Census. Surname-based Voter Registration and Turnout data from the California Statewide Database. Latino voter registration and turnout data are Spanish-surname counts adjusted using Census Population Department undercount estimates. NH White and NH Black registration and turnout counts estimated by NDC. Citizen Voting Age Pop., Age, Immigration, and other demographics from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey and Special Tabulation 5-year data
CITY OF CARSON ORDINANCE NO. 20-2008 (Exhibit A) NOTICE OF ELECTION
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a General Municipal Election will be held in the City of Carson on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, for the following Officers and Measure: One (1) Mayor
Two (2) Members of the City Council (Districts 1 and 3)
(Full term of four years) (Full term of four years)
CARSON ESSENTIAL CITY SERVICES, EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROTECTION MEASURE. To maintain City services, such as public safety, natural disaster/public health emergency preparedness; 9-11 emergency response, protect local drinking water/environment; assist local small businesses/retain jobs; repair streets/potholes; and other general City services, shall the measure establishing a ¾-cent general transaction and use (sales) tax providing Carson approximately $12,000,000 annually until ended by voters, requiring public spending disclosure, all funds for Carson, be adopted?
YES
NO
The vote centers will be open on November 3, 2020 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
National Demographics Corporation, November 28, 2019
�2016 CALIPER
1 2 3 21,972 22,740 23,770 -957 -189 841 -4.17% -0.82% 3.67% 29% 37% 38% 8% 9% 6% 43% 6% 33% 16% 44% 19% 14,617 14,155 16,343 18% 37% 30% 6% 11% 9% 52% 6% 35% 20% 45% 24% 14,947 13,170 15,630 28% 49% 37% 25% 44% 33% 3% 5% 2% 4% 14% 6% 10% 21% 11% 55% 11% 45% 8,032 5,966 8,131 25% 48% 32% 22% 43% 29% 3% 5% 1% 3% 14% 5% 10% 22% 10% 59% 11% 52% 10,186 7,673 10,066 27% 51% 35% 24% 46% 31% 2% 5% 2% 4% 14% 5% 10% 21% 10% 54% 9% 47% 19,967 21,887 24,394 23% 23% 24% 53% 55% 54% 24% 22% 22% 27% 47% 28% 68% 68% 61% 59% 36% 53% 24% 28% 28% 14% 34% 16% 3% 2% 3%
/s/ Donesia Gause-Aldana, MMC City Clerk / Election Official Dated: August 6, 2020
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
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City of Carson - Draft 2 v2
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E2 33r W 234th St dS t W 235th St E 235th St Jackrabbit Ln E 2 3 6 th S E 237th St E 238th St W Carriagedale Dr t E 238th Pl W Sepulveda Blvd E Lincoln St E Pacific St E Realty St E Deloras Dr E 244th St E 246th St E 246th Pl 90744 E 248th St E 249th St W Lomita Blvd
W ats on
2022: Districts 2 (Dear) and 4 (Davis-Holmes)
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2020: Districts 1 (Hilton) and 3 (Hicks)
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r oD Grace Ave rd na Ravenna Ave Le r Catskill Ave
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Real News, Real People, Really Effective
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ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
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CITY OF CARSON
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Davis-Holmes, Hicks
1
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W 216th St
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
California State University Dominguez Hills E 186th St
E 189th St Victoria Park
Carson Town Center
)
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Robles, Dear, Hilton
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA
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/s/ Donesia Gause-Aldana, MMC, City Clerk
I, Donesia Gause-Aldana, City Clerk of the City of Carson, California, hereby attest to and certify that the foregoing ordinance, being Ordinance 20-2008 passed first reading on the 21st day of July, 2020, adopted by the Carson City Council at its meeting held on the 4th day of August, 2020, by the following roll call vote:
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ATTEST:
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/s/ Albert Robles, Mayor
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CITY OF CARSON:
/s/ Sunny K. Soltani, City Attorney
E Alondra Blvd E Nordby St W Claude St Blvd E Gardena
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90248
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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SECTION 4. CEQA. Based upon the whole of the record before it, the City Council hereby finds that a transition from atlarge to by-district elections is exempt from environmental re-
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tions Code section 14026(a)(3), are superseded by preemptive State law, i.e., the CVRA, pursuant to the court decision of Jauregui v. City of Palmdale, (2014) 226 Cal.App.4th 781. To the extent that the City Charter conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance, this Ordinance shall govern.
PASSED AND ADOPTED on the 4th day of August, 2020, by the following vote:
SECTION 6. CERTIFICATION. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be posted and codified in the manner required by law.
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SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions thereof may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
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C. Amendment of District Boundaries. Pursuant to California Elections Code section 21620, as it may be amended from time to time, the City Council shall adjust the boundaries of any or all of the districts following each federal decennial census or, if authorized by the City Charter, following each federal middecade census, to ensure that the districts are in compliance with all applicable provisions of law.”
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. Pursuant to Government Code section 36937(a), this Ordinance shall become effective immediately following its adoption.
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B. City Council Districts and District Elections. All Councilmembers, other than the directly elected Mayor, shall be elected on a by-district basis from the Council districts shown and numbered on the map attached as Exhibit A, a copy of which shall be on file in the City Clerk’s office. In November, 2020, and every four years thereafter, the following two City Council districts shall be elected by-district: District 1 and District 3. In November, 2022, and every four years thereafter, the following two City Council districts shall be elected by-district: District 2 and District 4.
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4. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, all Councilmembers in office at the time this Section takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of the at-large term to which they were elected.
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3. Termination of residency in a district by a Councilmember shall create a vacancy for that City Council district unless a substitute residence within the district is immediately declared and established within thirty (30) days after the termination of residency.
SECTION 7. ENTRY OF NOTE INTO CHARTER. Within thirty (30) days following the Effective Date of this Ordinance, the City Clerk is hereby directed to enter a notation that elements of the City Charter that are consistent with an “at-large method of election” as the term is defined by California Elec-
An elo
2. Any Councilmember elected or appointed to represent a district must reside in that district and be a registered voter in that district, and any candidate for City Council must reside in, and be a registered voter in, the district in which he or she seeks election at the time nomination papers are issued.
view under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines (Cal. Code Regs., tit.14, § 15000 et seq.) sections 15061(b)(3), 15320, and 15378(b)(3). Adoption of this Ordinance is an organizational and administrative activity of the City, does not have the potential to result in either a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and is therefore not a project for purposes of CEQA. (State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15061 (b)(3); 15378(b)(5).) In the event adoption of this Ordinance does constitute a project, it is categorically exempt under the Class 20 (Changes in the Organization of Local Governments) categorical exemption. (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15320.) Further, none of the exceptions to the exemptions found in State CEQA Guidelines section 15300.2 apply. Staff is hereby directed to prepare, execute and file with the Los Angeles County Clerk a CEQA Notice of Exemption within five (5) working days of the adoption of this Ordinance.
eroa S t
the directly elected Mayor, shall be elected from each district, by the voters of that district alone.
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[from p. 20]
21
LEGAL AND DBA FILINGS
NOTICE TO VOTERS OF MEASURE TO BE VOTED ON AND DATE AFTER WHICH NO ARGUMENTS FOR OR AGAINST A CITY MEASURE MAY BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY CLERK NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the General Municipal Election is to be held in the City of Carson, California on November 3, 2020, the following measure will be submitted to the voters:
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN That pursuant to Elections Code § 9285,
CARSON ESSENTIAL CITY SERVICES, EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROTECTION MEASURE. To maintain City services, such as public safety, natural disaster/public health emergency preparedness; 9-1-1 emergency response, protect local drinking water/environment; assist local small businesses/retain jobs; repair streets/potholes; and other general City services, shall the measure establishing a ¾-cent general transaction and use (sales) tax providing Carson approximately $12,000,000 annually until ended by voters, requiring public spending disclosure, all funds for Carson, be adopted? NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN That in the event that more than one argument for or against the Sales Tax Measure is timely submitted, the City Council’s duly appointed elections official shall give preference and priority first, to arguments submitted by a member of the City Council, as authorized by this Resolution, and second, to individual voters, bona fide associations, or a combination thereof, in the order set forth at California Elections Code § 9287.
Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
That in accordance with the requirements of Division 9, Chapter 3, Article 4 of the California Elections Code, all written arguments for or against the Sales Tax Measure: (1) shall not exceed three hundred (300) words in length; (2) shall be filed with the City’s designated elections official; (3) shall be accompanied by the printed name(s) and signature(s) of the person(s) submitting it, or if submitted on behalf of an organization, the name of the organization, and the printed name and signature of at least one of the principal officers who is the author of the argument; and (4) shall be accompanied by the Form of Statement to be Filed by Author(s) of Argument as provided for in California Elections Code § 9600. All written arguments may be changed or withdrawn until and including the date fixed by the City’s designated elections official, after which time no arguments for or against the Sales Tax Measure may be submitted to the elections official.
22
NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that, based upon the time reasonably necessary to prepare and print the arguments for the election, the City Clerk has fixed August
YES
NO
when the City’s designated elections official has selected the arguments for and against the Sales Tax Measure which will be printed and distributed to the voters, the City’s designated elections official shall send copies of the argument in favor of the Sales Tax Measure to the authors of the argument against, and copies of the argument against to the authors of the argument in favor. The author or a majority of the authors of an argument relating to the Sales Tax Measure may prepare and submit a rebuttal argument not to exceed two hundred and fifty (250) words in length. A rebuttal argument may not be signed by more than five (5) authors. The rebuttal arguments shall be filed with the City Clerk not more than ten (10) days after the final date for filing direct arguments. The rebuttal arguments shall be accompanied by the Form of Statement to be Filed by Author(s) of Argument as provided for in California Elections Code § 9600. Rebuttal arguments shall be printed in the same manner as the direct arguments. Each rebuttal argument shall immediately follow the direct argument which it seeks to rebut. NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that any ordinance, impartial analysis, or direct argument filed under the authority of the elections code will be available for public examination in the clerk’s office for not less than 10-calendar days from the deadline for the filing of the arguments and analysis. Any rebuttal argument filed under the authority of the elections code will be available for public examination in the clerk’s office for not less than 10-calendar days from the deadline for filing rebuttal arguments. /s/ Donesia Gause-Aldana, City Clerk Dated: August 6, 2020
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020102768 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: SPIRIT CRUISES & YACHT PARTIES, 429 SHORELINE VILLAGE DRIVE, SUITE D, LONG BEACH, CA 90802, County of LOS ANGELES Registered owner(s): JAYME WILSON, 43-61ST PLACE, LONG BEACH, CA 90803 This business is conducted by an Individual. The registrant(s) started doing business on 01/1984.I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ JAYME WILSON, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/09/2020. 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. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 07/22/20, 08/06/20,
08/20/20, 09/03/20
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020102768 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: THE KATHERMAN COMPANY, 6442 PARKLYNN DRIVE, RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA 90275, County of LOS ANGELES. MAILING ADDRESS: 46 E PENINSULA CENTER #284. Registered owner(s): RGM, LLC, 6442 PARKLYNN DRIVE, RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA 90275. This business is conducted by a CORPORATION The registrant(s) started doing business on: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ JAYME WILSON, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/09/2020. 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. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name
statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 07/22/20, 08/06/20, 08/20/20, 09/03/20
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020102756 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: OMELETTE & WAFFLE SHOP, 1103 S GAFFEY STREET, San Pedro, CA 90731, County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s): MONA SUTTON, 437 W 38TH STREET, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. LESLIE JONES, 437 W 38TH STREET, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. This business is conducted by CoPartners. The registrant(s) started doing business on N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ LESLIE JONES, Partner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/09/2020. 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. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 07/22/20, 08/06/20,
division (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. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 07/22/20, 08/06/20, 08/20/20, 09/03/20
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020107261 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) ROYAL
PALMS CONSULTING (2) SOUTH SHORES WELLNESS (3) SOUTH SHORES WELLNESS CENTER, 1611 W. 25TH ST. SAN PEDRO CA 90731, County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s): ROYAL PALMS CONSULTING, INC. 3425 S. PATTON AVE., SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. This business is conducted by CoPartners. The registrant(s) started doing business on N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Rebecca Melzer, CEO. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/17/2020. 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. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 07/22/20, 08/06/20, 08/20/20, 09/03/20
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020107263 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: CHEF’S CORNER PIZZERIA, 1306 S. GAFFEY, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731, County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s):
[continued on p. 23]
“Times Squared”— a sign of the times.
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CITY OF CARSON
13, 2020, during normal office hours, as posted, as the date after which no arguments for or against the City measure(s) may be submitted to the clerk for printing and distribution to the voters as provided in the Article 4. Arguments shall be submitted to the City Clerk, accompanied by the printed name(s) and signature(s) of the author(s) submitting it, or if submitted on behalf of an organization, the name of the organization, and the printed name and signature of at least one of its principal officers who is the author of the argument, at the City Hall, Carson, California. Arguments may be changed or withdrawn until and including the date fixed by the City Clerk.
08/20/20, 09/03/20
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020108119 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) NORTH SHORES WELLNESS CENTER (2) ABSOLUTELY NORTH SHORES WELLNESS CENTER (3) NORTH SHORES SOLUTIONS, INC. (4) NORTH SHORES WELLNESS (5) VITAL HEALTH WELLNESS CENTER, 3425 S. PATTON AVE., SAN PEDRO, CA 90731, County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s): NORTH SHORES SOLUTIONS, INC., 3425 S. PATTON AVE., SAN PEDRO, CA 90731 This business is conducted by CoPartners. The registrant(s) started doing business on N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Rebecca Melzer, CEO. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/19/2020.. NOTICE-In accordance with Sub-
ACROSS
1 Account execs 5 Common writing 10 Melting period 14 Tabriz’s country 15 Patty and Selma’s brotherin-law 16 Saintly symbol 17 Credit for a newspaper story on a Magritte work? 19 Musk who named one of his kids X AE A-XII 20 Topics during a job interview 21 Robotic “Doctor Who” nemesis 22 Rush singer Geddy 23 City’s outer fringe 25 CXV x X 28 Nervous 31 Confirm, as a password 34 Cumulonimbus, for one 36 Carrie Fisher 6-Down 38 Device with earbuds 39 Rolling Stone co-founder Wenner 40 One of the Rat Pack 41 “QuiÈn ___?” (“Who knows?” en espaÒol) 42 Common interest gps. 43 Mid-month Roman date 44 “Ready to do this!” 45 Lynx cousin
47 American-born queen of Jordan 49 Part of DOS or GPS 50 Positive responses 52 One of 30, for short? 54 ___ cum laude 56 Markey, Merkley, or Murkowski, e.g. 62 Bunches 63 Off-road cycling lane? 64 Drummer Krupa 65 Company that had a breakout with Breakout 66 Prefix meaning “eight” 67 Like some coffee 68 Insinuate 69 Aussie hoppers
DOWN
1 Clothing mishaps 2 French composer Satie 3 Big ___ (David Ortiz’s nickname) 4 Fishhook attachment 5 Gym class, for short 6 Thespian’s objective 7 Leave out 8 “That makes no ___!” 9 Before, palindromically 10 2011 Oscar winner for Best Picture 11 Oates’s attempt to go solo? 12 Ubiquitous lotion ingredient 13 Policy maven 18 Run, as dyes
21 Like library books, eventually 24 Inner vision? 25 Dead-end service gig, slangily 26 Mild cigar 27 Stretchy thing from the past? 29 Pleased 30 Nearly alphabetically last country 32 New Orleans sandwich, informally 33 Idyllic spots 35 Like some dryer sheets or detergent 37 “___ Excited” (Pointer Sisters song) 40 Webmaster’s concern 44 Literary twist of sorts 46 Proud ___ peacock 48 The slightest degree 51 Luxury hotel accommodations 53 Visible gas 54 “We Three Kings” kings 55 “Match Game” host Baldwin 57 Card game with no cards below seven 58 Doris Day lyric repeated after “Que” 59 Food truck fare 60 Actress Miranda 61 Greek letters that look like P’s 63 Reusable grocery item
LEGAL AND DBA FILINGS [from p. 22] AMALIO ALVAREZ, 1306 S. GAFFEY, SUITE 105, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an Individual. The registrant(s) started doing business on N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ AMALIO ALVAREZ, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/17/2020.. 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. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 08/06/20, 08/20/20, 09/03/20, 09/17/20
Original Filing
08/20/20, 09/03/20, 09/17/20, 10/01/20
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020118391 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: KENIA Z. FLORALS, 729 WEST BASIN STREET, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s):KENIA RIVERA, 729 WEST BASIN STREET, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an Individual. The registrant(s) started doing business on N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ KENIA RIVERA, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 08/05/2020. 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.Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See
Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 08/20/20, 09/03/20, 09/17/20, 10/01/20
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020117742 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: ALL CARPET CARE RESTORATION SERVICES, 1840 S GAFFEY STREET #414, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s):MARTIN MADRIGAL, 24517 MARINE AVE, CARSON, CA 90745. This business is conducted by an Individual The registrant(s) started doing business on 01/2000. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ MARTIN MADRIGAL, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 08/04/2020. 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 Coun-
ty 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.Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 08/20/20, 09/03/20, 09/17/20, 10/01/20
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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020112421 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: ARABELLA’S, 350 W. 5TH STREET #212, AVENUE, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s):STEVE V. GUEVARA, 1135 N. CABRILLO AVE. SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an Individual. The registrant(s) started doing business on 01/2018. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ VALERIE MONIQUE SANCHEZ-BUENO, Owner . This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/27/2020. 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.Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code).
09/03/20, 09/17/20
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020107263 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: JOSEPHINE TUBEROS TAX SERVICE, 28631 S. WESTERN AVE, SUITE 105 A, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s): JOSEPHINE TUBEROSI, 2025 UPLAND STREET, SAN PEDRO, CA 90275. This business is conducted by an Individual The registrant(s) started doing business on 01/1981. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ JOSEPHINE TUBEROSI, Owner . This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/17/2020. 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.Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020112419 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: 110 VIP MOBILE DETAILING, 1135 N. CABRILLO AVENUE, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s):STEVE V. GUEVARA, 1135 N. CABRILLO AVE. SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an Individual . The registrant(s) started doing business on 01/2018. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ sTEVE V. GUEVARA, Owner This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/27/2020. 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.Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing
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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 2020115943 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: SANPEDRO. COM, 3185 ALMERIA STREET, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731 County of LOS ANGELES. Registered owner(s): JEROME T. DORSEY, 3185 ALMERIA STREET, SAN PEDRO, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an Individual. The registrant(s) started doing business on N/A.. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ JEROME T. DORSEY, Owner This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles County on 07/31/2020. 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. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the fictitious business name statement must be accompanied by Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Names in violation of the rights of another under Federal, state, or common law (See Section 14111 et seq. Business and Professions code). Original Filing 08/06/20, 08/20/20,
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. 20LBCP00182 Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles Petition of: Richard Michael Martorella for Change of Name TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner Richard Michael Martorella filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Richard Michael Martorella to Savio Liberante Martorello. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Notice of Hearing: Date: October 1, 2020, Time: 8:30 a.m., Dept.: S26, Room: 5500 The address of the court is 275 Magnolia Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802 A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: Los Angeles Daily Journal Date: August 07, 2020 Michael P. Vicencia Judge of the Superior Court 8/17, 8/24, 8/31, 9/8/20 DJ-3389613#
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