Rln 12 27 13 edition

Hard Time: ACLU Release Report on Non-violent Criminals pg. 5

p Local Author Examines Legacy of the Runaways pg. 11 Ring in 2014 in the Harbor Area pg. 12

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

he infuse critiques of neo-liberal economic policy in his sermon? They seemed to ask.

“Save my soul, not my pocketbook,” said Fox News talking heads Stuart Varney and Andrew Napolitano (a selfproclaimed traditional Catholic).

The two played Whac-A-Mole with the Pope’s Evangelii Gaudium, focused on only the small portion of the document that specifically called for the closing of the wealth gap between the rich and poor.

McClatchy Tribune News Service writer Jay Ambrose and Forbes magazine contributor Louis Woodhill called the Evangelii “a bunch of papal bull,” and tossing out false arguments to discredit the Pope’s assertions and defend the orthodoxy of neo-liberal economic policy at the same time.

On the other end of the political spectrum, progressives see in the Pope a transformational figure for the progressive

movement. Those looking for greater rights and recognition of women in the church hierarchy see him as not bad and those in the LGBT rights and marriage equality movement see that the Pope at least doesn’t automatically condemn them all to hell.

Rev. Raymond Perez of St. Peter and Paul Church in Wilmington isn’t exactly surprised by the fall-out, though he doesn’t believe the Pope’s teachings are anything new.

“All the things that he (Pope Francis) said, isn’t new,” Perez noted. “In the late 1950s and early 60s Pope John XXIII and John Paul II and this pope have been saying the same thing…. For some reason, he caught people’s attention this time, maybe because of his down to earth way of putting things.”

Perez notes that galvanizing leaders such as these tend

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

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hether it was his decision to live in the Vatican guesthouse rather than the official papal residence in the Apostolic Palace, or his celebrating Holy Thursday by washing the feet of juvenile inmates—two of whom are Muslims and two more who are women—Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been turning heads from the moment he was inaugurated as Pope Francis this past March.

But when Pope Francis released the 53,000-word Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (a papal communique encourages a community of people to undertake a particular activity but does not define church doctrine) during the Thanksgiving break, he identified consumerism and all of its trappings as the biggest threat to humanity.

The American right threw an apoplectic fit. How dare

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Pope Francis Strikes a Chord with

Evangelii Gaudium

Francis: A Pope of the People/ to p. 4 1

Community Announcements:

Harbor Area

Help Grow the El Dorado Nature Center

Help keep the El Dorado Nature Center a beautiful and healthy place for wildlife. A threepart training session will get you ready to plant and care for California natives on the trails.

Monthly meetings, work parties and educational field trips throughout the year will provide ongoing opportunities to sharpen your skills, meet new friends and increase your knowledge base.

Applications due by Jan. 3. Training takes place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Jan. 18, 25 and Feb.15. Applicants must attend all three sessions.

Details: (562) 570-1750 Venue: El Dorado Nature Center Location: 7550 E. Spring St., Long Beach

NWSPNC Taking Applications for Vacant Board Seat

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

The Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council is seeking to fill one vacant board seat for the term ending June 30, 2016.

Anyone who is a stakeholder, at least 16 years of age and lives, or owns property within the boundaries of the NWSPNC is eligible to apply for the vacated Census Tract 2964 board position.

The Boundaries of Census Tract 2964 are roughly, the Peck Park boundary South to 9th Street (excluding LA County area) and Bandini Street west to the Los Angeles City and Rancho Palos Verdes Boundary.

Applications for this position should be received no later than Jan. 4, 2014.

The selection to fill the board seat will be made at the regular NWSPNC meeting at the Peck Park Auditorium on Jan.10, 2014.

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Become a Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Aquatic Nursery Volunteer Marine Aquarium is now recruiting Aquatic Nursery docents, “volunteer teachers” for a three-month commitment one day a week between 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.

Recruits should have an interest in marine research, raising public science literacy, and a personal desire for continued learning.

Join the Aquatic Nursery staff for training Jan. 8 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon in the front of the Aquatic Nursery laboratory.

Prior knowledge about the ocean is not required. Basic procedures of the Aquatic Nursery programs and an information packet will be provided; then use your knowledge to interpret lab activities for visiting school children.

Details: (310) 548-7562 ext.

204; kiersten.darrow@lacity. org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Location: 3720 Stephen White Dr., San Pedro

HARBOR AREA

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

Traffic Quota Settlement:

Past Catches Up to Harbor Division Commander

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

Harbor Division Cmdr. Captain Nancy Lauer came under fire for her management of the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Traffic Division this month after the Los Angeles City Council approved a $5.9 million settlement with 11 current and former police officers who alleged they were retaliated against when they resisted orders to meet traffic ticket quotas.

The council’s 11-0 vote came after a closeddoor meeting in which attorneys outlined the case and the proposed settlement.

Former City Councilman Dennis Zine questioned why Lauer was promoted to captain despite the problems at West Traffic Division. “This whole thing clearly shows me that management did not do what they needed to do and taxpayers are footing the bill for that.” Zine, who is also a former LAPD motorcycle cop, said.

Officers Philip Carr, Kevin Cotter, Timothy Dacus, Peter Landelius, Kevin Ree, Kevin Riley, Josh Sewell, Vincent Stroway, James Wallace and Jason Zapatka filed suit in 2010, following a four-year dispute with the department.

The lawsuit, filed by the Los Angeles Protective League on behalf of the officers alleges that Lauer required officers to write at least 18 traffic tickets each shift and demanded that 80 percent of the citations be for major violations. The lawsuit also alleged that Lauer instituted a de facto ticket quota policy at West Traffic Division that resulted

in negative comments on employee evaluation forms.

Chief Charlie Beck defended the division’s practices in a released statement saying that, management set goals to reduce traffic violations that

resulted in serious injury and death, but the jury in a separate 2009 case interpreted that as quotas.

The payment is the latest fallout from Lauer’s time at the helm of the traffic division, which patrols for

Harbor Division Commander, Capt. Nancy Lauer. File photo.

traffic violations throughout the city’s west side.

In 2009, two other motorcycle officers made similar allegations against Lauer and members of her command staff in a separate lawsuit.

In testimony, Lauer denied she had enforced a quota, saying there was “apparently some confusion” among officers, records show. If a certain number of tickets had been mentioned, it would have been used as “a goal” for officers instead of a quota, she said.

Similarly, lawyers for the city tried to persuade jurors that the department had simply established broad goals rather than specific quotas, and that supervisors were trying to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities.

The officers testified that they were ordered to drop their regular patrol assignments and were sent instead to specific streets where they were more likely to catch motorists committing moving violations. Though not illegal, this practice, they said, reinforced the belief that hitting ticket targets was more important than other aspects of the job.

Diane Gershuny, In Memoriam: The Loss of a Long Beach Champion

By Greggory Moore, Long Beach Correspondent I can’t say I really knew Diane Gershuny. I didn’t even know that cancer was a part of her life. So I was a bit stunned to walk into Portfolio Coffeehouse on Sunday night and see the newspaper notice of her death, right below a picture of her, smiling in

that quiet way of hers.

My acquaintance with Diane was limited, centering on her seemingly tireless efforts (through her marketing/ PR business and otherwise) to promote all things 4th Street. Although I had received press releases from her now

and again, my first real contact with her came in late 2011. She knew I had written a novel and done a reading at {open} bookstore/performance space (I doubt such an event could have taken place on Retro Row without her knowing about it), and she sent me an e-mail inviting me to do a reading at Portfolio as part of the coffeehouse’s new Local Writers Series. She printed up these beautiful promotional postcards for the event, displaying an amiable deference to my neurotic need for everything on them to be just so.

From then on we had what I’d call a friendly acquaintance, running into each other from time to time at various events or—where else?—4th Street.

I never experienced her as anything but pleasant. I’m referring to a sincere pleasantness, not the politesse that you can’t help feeling gets in the way of really seeing the person in front of you.

As much as I didn’t know Diane well, I always felt that my limited view of her was nonetheless a clear one.

Not quite a year after my Portfolio reading, I was doing another at Fingerprints. Remembering Diane’s postcards, I emailed her to inquire about what service or software she used. I would have been grateful simply for the information, but Diane offered to send me a template for printing up new ones. All I needed to do was supply her with replacement text. I did so, though once again I had continued on following page

New Park Opens at Wilmington Drum Barracks

On Dec. 7, Los Angeles Recreation and Parks and the Councilman Joe Buscaino opened a Civil War themed park adjacent the Wilmington Drum Barracks. Warren E&P donated the land several years ago under former councilwoman Janice Hahn’s administration. The park has state of the art features that include exercise machines that withstand inclement weather. Historical state of the art play ground equipment. Photos by Betty Guevara from previous page

work—we all need to pay the rent, right?—but I get the impression that she would have accepted complete anonymity if somehow that would have increased her effectiveness in promoting her community.

As it happens, Diane was not anonymous.

Many people knew her; many people loved her.

But even more people in Long Beach will miss her, whether they know it or not. They’ll miss her because their community has lost one of its champions. To whatever heights Long Beach rises, it will be a little harder to get there without Diane. We’ll miss her. I’ll miss her.

Diane Gershuny.

The Local Publication You Actually Read December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

to have things just so. As was her way, Diane displayed nothing but alacrity in helping me out.

That always stuck with me about her: how ready she was to be helpful. In the case of my Fingerprints reading, there was nothing in it for her—I wasn’t paying her; she wasn’t promoting the event. And yet she helped beyond what was asked. She loved 4th Street, so I’m sure the fact that the event was happening at Fingerprints was partial motivation.

But I have no doubt that had I made the same request for a reading I was doing in Boston, she would have been no less generous. I didn’t know her well, but I think that was her way.

There are people in far better positions to eulogize Diane on a personal level. From my perspective, the best I can do is to meditate on how the loss of someone like Diane diminishes a community. I have never been part of a community remotely like Long Beach, and its glory comes down to the people. Yeah, the weather’s great, and it’s nice to live near the water (despite its surflessness), and there are many cool businesses and so forth, but it’s all meaningless without the people. And if Long Beach is on the rise—as I’d like to think it is—it’s due only to the work of community members.

Diane Gershuny epitomized what I’m talking about. You didn’t have to know her well to know that she loved Long Beach and was doing more than her part to make it that much more loveable.

And unlike many of us simultaneously promoting Long Beach and our own individual ends, Diane never seemed interested in making it about her. No doubt she desired a fair wage for her

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Francis: A Pope of the People from p. 1

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

to emerge at time of great transition and turmoil.

If they are viewing Pope Francis a certain way, it has to do with a little bit of uncertainty with the way the world is going.

“At least during the Cold War, not that the Cold War was a good thing; it was a bad thing, but it kind of defined the world,” Perez said.

“And now, that that system has fallen, the Berlin Wall has fallen. So now it’s like where are we going? In light of that, people want the Pope to say something that conforms with the way they would like to see things go. But you cannot categorize them. They won’t be categorized by left or right. The gospels aren’t really about what’s left or right. They are about the salvation of souls and the preaching of Christ and his redemption.”

Francis wrote at length about the problem of people being used at the service of financial systems rather than financial systems serving people. Neo-liberal economic apologists argue that if markets were left alone without government interference, poverty would be drastically reduced. Francis assigns this frame of thought as wishful thinking. Francis only needs to point to debtor nations forced to pass harsh austerity budgets that have torn the safety net, pushing the most vulnerable to the brink of destitution. Despite the growing numbers of wealthy people in the world, due in large part to rise of economic powerhouses, China and India, the gap in wealth between the rich and poor has grown even wider.

“Even John Paul II was wary of globalization, if by globalization we’re talking about the mastery of money over people and cultures,” Perez noted.

“Or, if you mean the predominance of a (single) culture over all others that you oppress or suppress other people’s cultures. And John Paul II used to decry the same thing. He decried globalization in that sense. He was critical of the money market and the imposition of a material global culture—a global culture that is materialistic and devoid of spiritual values.

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and were as critical of collectivist communism as they were of capitalism. They were critical of both. Both were systems over the people…. ‘The market had to be healthy.’ That was important in some people’s minds. More important than individual well being. Look at Mao Tse Tung, who killed about 30 million people to make his collectivism work. That’s an extreme example of systems over people. But they are both addressing that. People don’t serve systems. Systems have to serve people.”

In any case, Pope Francis may continue on as a human Rorschach test that conservatives call him a Marxist, a communist, and President Barack Obama’s patron saint, while progressives view him as relief from the nasty demagoguery perpetrated thus far by the Christian right in the United States.

As Pope Francis emerges as the people’s Pope, conservatives attempt to brand him a Marxist. File photo.

“There are certain principles and values that are always applicable,” Perez said. “The circumstances change but certain principles always remain intact: love, justice and equitable distribution of goods no matter what period we’re under.”

Perez cited Pope Pius IX as an example, who

came into power in the mid-19 century and Pope Leo XIII later in the 19th century.

“Pope Pius IX seemed to be more proemployer but he was addressing a situation where strikers were taking advantage,” Perez said. “Pope Leo XIII came around and seemed to be pro-employee because the employers were oppressive. But the principles remain the same: love, justice and equity and distribution of goods equitably and charitably.”

Perez always thought it silly how pundits project images onto the pope. Perez notes that this has occurred with previous popes as well.

“We hear certain buzz words and we categorize it, ‘oh, that’s left or that’s right.’ When you do that, you miss the point,” Perez said.

“If you look at John Paul II and Paul VI, they were equally critical of collectivist communism

Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh and Fox News’ Stuart Varney were just a few to take aim at Pope Francis with the release of the Evangelii Gaudium.

File photos.

ACLU Reports on Non-Violent Criminals Imprisoned For Life

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

Lance Saltzman pictured with his sister. File photo.

to 1 in Illinois, to 23 to 1 in Louisiana, 18 to 1 in Oklahoma, 8 to 1 in Florida and 6 to1 in Mississippi.

“The punishments these people received are grotesquely out of proportion to the crimes they committed,” said Jennifer Turner, American Civil Liberties Union human rights researcher and author of the report. “In a humane society, we can hold people accountable for drug and property crimes without throwing away the key.”

But it’s not just civil liberties advocates who feel that way. A similar attitude was expressed

by Louisiana State Penitentiary Warden Burl Cain, who told the ACLU that he thinks it is “ridiculous” to foreclose the possibility of rehabilitation, according to the report.

“I really think it’s ridiculous because the name of our business is ‘corrections,’ but everybody forgets what corrections means,” Cain said. “It means to correct deviant behavior, so if I’m a successful warden and I do my job and we correct the deviant behavior, then we should have a [parole] hearing…If this person

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can go back and be a productive citizen and not commit crimes again, these nonviolent crimes, then why are we keeping them here, spending all this money?”

There are people who need to be locked up, Cain told the ACLU. “I need to keep predators in these big old prisons, not dying old men,” he said. “So it’s ridiculous to have someone here that…committed a nonviolent crime, all the way to the point that I’m spending $400 a day on medicine for him when he can be out back in the community and have health care there.”

The dollars add up dramatically over time.

Each non-violent life-without-parole prisoner costs Louisiana an average of $500,000.

Altogether, the ACLU estimates a total taxpayer savings of $1.784 billion if life-without-parole was a eliminated for non-violent offenses.

“Today, 49 states have some form of LWOP, up from 16 in the mid-1990s,” the report notes, though non-violent offenders are far more concentrated. Federal prison accounts for 63 percent of non-violent LWOP prisoners, with the remainder in Louisiana (429 prisoners), Florida (270), Alabama (244), Mississippi (93), South Carolina (88), Oklahoma (49), Georgia (20), Illinois (10) and Missouri (1).

California has none in its system, but is Imprisoned/ to p. 7

The Local Publication You Actually Read December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

In 2006, 21-year old Lance Saltzman broke into his own home and took his stepfather’s gun, which his stepfather had shot at his mother and repeatedly used to threaten her. For that, he was charged and convicted of armed burglary, and is now serving life without parole in the Florida state prison system.

In 1988, Ricky Carthan, a Louisiana Army veteran and junk dealer, was sentenced to life without parole for possession of 10 stolen stainless steel railroad tank car valves and a steel elbow pipe, which Carthan said he had purchased for $10 or $15 and for which he was paid $65.

In November 1997, two New Orleans police officers stopped and searched Paul Carter. They found residue in a bottle cap and powder inside a piece of foil, which tested positive for heroin, although “the amounts were too insignificant to weigh,” according to the police department criminalist who testified for the prosecution.

Carter was initially sentenced to 10 years, but the prosecutor won a motion to reconsider his sentence and Carter was resentenced to life without parole.

Saltzman, Carthan and Carter are just three out of 3,278 prisoners serving life without parole for nonviolent offenses in the United States, according to “A Living Death,” a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union, the first report ever to focus on non-violent prisoners serving life without parole. Their cases are among the most outrageous. But like the entire class they are part of they .re indicative of America’s overall extremism in the punishment of crime. From 1930 to 1975, America incarcerated criminals at the rate of 106 per 100,000 people. By 2011, driven largely by the drug war, that rate had skyrocketed to 743 per 100,000, the highest rate in the world, with more than 2.3 million people incarcerated in prisons and jails. From 1992 to 2012, the number serving life without parole quadrupled, from 12,453 to 49,081, making us even more of an outlier in the world.

“According to one study, the per capita number of prisoners serving life without parole sentences in the United States is 51 times that of Australia, 173 times that of the United Kingdom, and 29 times that of the Netherlands,” the report notes.

“Even China and Pakistan provide for a review of life sentences after 25 years’ imprisonment.”

The European Court of Human Rights has recently ruled that life-without parole sentences are a violation of human rights, a move that will require all European prisoners to be eligible for parole.

Of course racism plays a role as well—an utterly staggering one. “Blacks were sentenced to life-without parole for nonviolent crimes at 20 times the rate of whites” in the federal system.

Elsewhere, racial disparities ranged from 33

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LA City Council Approves AltaSea Lease at POLA

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

Los Angeles — On Dec. 17, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a 50-year lease to transform a 100-year-old pier on the Los Angeles waterfront in San Pedro into an urban marine research and innovation center called AltSea at the Port of Los Angeles.

POLA and Rockefellar Philanthropy Advisor signed the agreement for the AltaSea project, which involves about 35 acres of land and water at the port’s City Dock No. 1 site, Berths 56 through 60, 70 and 71.

AltaSea will be developed through a publicprivate partnership that includes the port, AltaSea and a host of regional public and private universities. Funding commitments for Phase 1 of the project total $82 million to date, including $57 million in site-related capital investments by the port and a $25 million gift by the Annenberg Foundation. Phase 1 is estimated to cost $185 million with a 2018 completion goal.

The AltaSea campus will feature circulating sea-water labs, offices, classrooms, lecture halls, support facilities, an interpretive center, a facility for marine-related commercial ventures and an opportunity to develop the world’s largest seawater wave tank for studying tsunamis and rogue waves. The anchor tenant of Phase 1 will be the Southern California Marine Institute, a strategic alliance of 12 major universities in Southern California that have marine science academic and research programs. The entire project cost is estimated at more than $500 million with completion over a 15- to 20-year timeframe.

An economic impact study conducted by Kosmont Cos. projects that AltaSea will generate more than 6,500 construction jobs, resulting in $1.17 billion of economic benefit. The study also found that the new marine research campus will also generate about 1,350 professional jobs, with an estimated economic benefit of more than $290 million.

For the first phase of the project (Berth 56 and 57), the Port has agreed to make improvements to the wharf and sub-surfaces to ready the property for development.

AltaSea will be responsible for upgrading the existing historic warehouse structures, as well as other improvements and facility operations.

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Citywide Gun Buyback Gets 817 Guns

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck announced Dec. 16, that 817 firearms were taken off the street during the city’s Gun Buyback Dec. 14.

In total, 387 handguns, 268 rifles, 131 shotguns, and 31 assault weapons were collected at three in Central Los Angeles, Wilmington and Van Nuys. In exchange for surrendering weapons, participants in the Gun Buyback receive a Ralphs pre-paid card.

The amount per firearm is dependent on its type, up to $200 for assault weapons as specified by the State of California, and up to $100 for handguns, rifles and shotguns.

The LAPD Gun Unit determines the type and classification of the firearm surrendered.

The Mayor’s Gang Reduction and Youth Development Office staff also conducted a voluntary survey of participants at all three of the Gun Buyback locations. A total of 500 surveys were collected and they noted the success of the program, highlighting that 90.7 percent of respondents felt their neighborhoods were now safer, 36.9 percent of respondents said they did not keep the surrendered firearms locked, 72.9 percent said they did not intend to buy another gun, News Briefs/ to following page

2013: National Year In Review

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

Above, Sen. Ted Cruz(R-Tx), left and Sen, Rand Paul (R-Ky) on the right, were instrumental in cutting food aid to the poor while increasing farm subsidies in 2013. Below, fast food workers went on strike for better wages in 2013. File photos.

Trayvon Martin. File photo

T

he dominant theme of national stories this past year has been rightwing attacks on America: If they can’t have her, then nobody can.

Following the GOP’s losses in the last election, there was talk for several months of a GOP “rebranding”. But what they were actually doing told a very different story, starting with the contnued development of GOP voter suppression strategies, which Random Lengths has followed since the 2004 election.

In February, we wrote about GOP votecounting schemes that would have elected Romney president with just 47 percent of the vote—if you can’t suppress their votes, just devalue and ignore them, was the apparent logic involved. Relying on their underlying success in gerrymandering the House of Representative, lawmakers in a number of key states which voted for Barack Obama began talking about changing how their state’s electoral votes were cast: if they were apportioned based on congressional districts, they could have elected Romney with a 2-1 majority from a handful of states that actually voted for Obama, plus North Carolina, which he only narrowly lost.

In March, after oral arguments, we wrote about conservatives on the Supreme Court determined to gut the most powerful, preventive powers of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which have prevented thousands of voter suppression laws over the years. We wrote again in June, after the decision was announced. Racism, you see, is no longer a problem, according to them. The conservative majority ignored all the evidence to the contrary that Congress had assembled in 2006, the last time the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized. Then, Congress documented the continuing importance of preventive actions under Sections 4 and 5: 750 objections blocked about 2,400 discriminatory voting changes since the last previous reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act in 1982. There had been 650 successful voting rights lawsuits that were brought in jurisdictions covered by sections four and five. But none of that mattered to the conservative ideologues who subsequently voted 5-4 to gut the act, leaving most of the South free to enact a host of discriminatory voter suppression voting laws—some of which had already been passed, but would have been blocked by the Justice Department, if not for the Supreme Court’s intervention.

President Lyndon B. Johnson with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. after signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

California Gov. Jerry Brown. File photo.

The same month, we also wrote about the sequester, “deep, indiscriminate across-theboard cuts to discretionary federal spending on domestic programs and defense” which, we noted, “was intended as a sword of Damocles, a threat so dire it would ensure a negotiated budget compromise to avert it.” But instead of a sword of Damocles, Republicans decided it made a dandy meat-ax instead—and so the cuts went into place.

An exception was quickly passed to ease airplane flights so Congress members could get back and forth from their districts easily. Once that was done, Congress and the media decided that the sequester was not a big deal, or even a little one.

And yet, the cuts hurt millions of people directly, and, by reducing spending, they took money out of the economy when it was still struggling to gain a healthy growth rate. They also encouraged the GOP to be even more confrontational, and push for even deeper cuts.

One result of this was the government shutdown (although Ted Cruz hijacked the shutdown for his own doomed “repeal Obamacare” circus, the broader long-term GOP impetus was to force a rollback of “entitlements”—meaning Social Security and Medicare—as well as “welfare”, which no longer exists as such, and so has been redefined to mean anything at all that benefits low-income Americans.

Food stamps (SNAP) emerged as the chief target on this front, as a temporary funding increase from the 2009 stimulus expired in November, affecting almost 48 million recipients—900,000 of them veterans—who suffered an average 7 percent cut. Hard as this was individually, we reported, “the total cut of about $5 billion comes to just over 1/10 of 1 percent of the federal budget, barely a rounding error.” But Congressional Republicans wanted much deeper cuts—$40 billion over 10 years, and as a result Congress failed to pass a Farm continued on following page

from previous page

Bill, which food stamp funding has been a part of for decades. Among those leading the charge for cuts were GOP representatives Stephen Fincher, who has pocketed $3,483,824 in farm subsidies since 1999, and Doug LaMalfa, who has pocketed $1,710,385 since 1995. Tellingly, both men argued against government helping to feed the poor on religious grounds.

Conservative obstruction and destructiveness even reached into the media, as seen in the months the media spent freaking out over stories of problems with the national health care website, and often false stories of people being forced into more expensive insurance. In contrast, Random Lengths reported on the story of local resident Carina Torres, who secured insurance for $300 despite a pre-existing condition which otherwise would have prevented her from returning to work.

The numbers of people like Torres, plus the new being covered by Medicaid, are vastly more than the numbers who may end up paying more—and

the vast majority of those who will be paying more for plans that provide a lot more protection.

But those basic facts have been curiously absent from most media coverage.

There were progressive trends to report on, but they were almost entirely from below. The explosion of one day strikes, primarily in the fast food sector, was one example, which we’ll review more fully in an upcoming labor review story. But we also reported on the crucial role progressive activists played in shaping, supporting and getting out the vote for the recently-passed Proposition 30, a tax measure devoted primarily to education funding, with the vast majority of new revenues coming from those earning $500,000 or more. It’s far more progressive than the measure originally proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown.

In August, we previewed the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington with a multi-faceted look at the 1963 March on Washington, including how racism rapidly went underground in reshaping social conservatism in

response, and how activists today are fighting to renew Kings vision, which always included a profound dimension of economic justice.

This was continued the following issue, when we reproduced the remarks of John Lewis, the only surviving speaker at the march, speaking in support to a rally of striking fast food workers in Atlanta.

Our March on Washington story also echoed themes of historical continuity struck in July, when, in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal, we ran a story, “A New Civil Rights Movement? Is ‘Stand Your Ground’ The New Segregation?,” which drew parallels between the murders of Trayvon Martin and Emmit Till, and how their families, communities, and activists responded. That story concluded, “like the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s before it, the current resurgence has mutual humanization at its core. It started with Emmet Till in 1955. It starts with Trayvon Martin today.”

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and 58.6 percent of respondents said their home is now gun free.

POLA Container Volumes Increase 17.3 Percent in November San Pedro — The Port of Los Angeles released its November 2013 cargo volumes.

November overall volumes increased 17.3 percent compared to November 2012. The increase is due in part to larger vessels calling at the port as well as improvement in the U.S. economy.

Imports increased 18.7 percent, from 288,273 Twenty-Foot Equivalent (TEU) containers in November 2012 to 342,247 TEUs this November. Exports jumped 23.3 percent, from 145,344 TEUs in November 2012 to 179,175 TEUs in November 2013.

Combined, total loaded imports and exports for November increased 20.2 percent, from 433,617 TEUs last November to 521,422 TEUs in November 2013. Factoring in empties, which increased 8.7percent year over year, overall November 2013 volumes (683,849 TEUs) increased 17.3 percent compared to November 2012 (582,981 TEUs). After 11 months of 2013, total container volumes (7,215,223) have decreased 3.7 percent compared to 2012 (7,489,560).

Current and past data container counts for POLA may be found at: www.portoflosangeles. org/maritime/stats.asp

Garcetti Directs Departments Start Open Data Initiative

Inmates are escorted by a guard through San Quentin state prison in San Quentin, Calif., on June 8, 2012.

File photo.

law. But a more comprehensive roll-back, Prop. 66, was defeated in 2004, solely due to an unprecedented multi-million dollar splurge in last-minute scare tactics advertising, flooding the airwaves with lies about hordes of dangerous criminals being released. More needs to be done preemptively to defend against that before more major progress can be made, Silva explained—at least in California.

But there’s also a broader need to develop a sense of positive alternatives. In her 1994 book, A Rage To Punish, former Philadelphia judge Lois Forer described her approach for dealing with non-violent crime, which centered on a heavy reliance on restitution—having criminals directly repay their victims for the property they had stolen. Forer wrote that her approach was “intended to achieve the following goals: (1) recognize the seriousness of the crime; (2) Help the victim; (3) Help the offender.” A doctoral student in criminology, Elmer Weiterkamp, analyzed the results of Forer’s approach within a period of years and found that it did a better job of curbing criminal activity than simply throwing criminals in jail.

Unfortunately, Forer, 80 years old at the time, died the same year her book came out, and no one has vigorously advanced her ideas since then. But the time may finally be ripe for changing how people think about justice.

As Silva put it, “There’s no justice in not giving the hope that rehabilitation will mean something.”

Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty to Illegal Cash Deposits FRESNO, Calif. — Travis Raymond Wilson, 38, of Huntington Beach, pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, to structuring financial transactions in violation of the federal Bank Secrecy Act, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

The Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions, such as banks, to file Currency Transaction Reports on any cash transaction that is greater than $10,000. The reports are filed with the U.S. Department of Treasury and are made available to law enforcement agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is a federal crime to make cash deposits in an amount of $10,000 or less with the intent to prevent a financial institution from filing Currency Transaction Reports, such transactions are known as structuring.

According to court documents, Wilson was an FBI special agent formerly assigned to the Fresno Resident Agency of the Sacramento Field Office. He was most recently a supervisory special agent in the FBI Long Beach Resident Office of the Los Angeles Field Office. Between January 2008 and February 2013, Wilson regularly gambled at casinos in California, Nevada, Arizona and West Virginia. Even though he frequently left

News Briefs/ to p. 10

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

over effects into things like life-without-parole.

“It definitely enabled other states to pass more egregious laws,” Silva added.

As early as 1999, a study showed that three strikes was not having the crime-fighting effect it promised. It compared county-level crime rates before (1991-1993) and after (1995-1997) three strikes went into effect. And, although crime rates were falling across the state—as they were nationwide—there was no difference due to how strictly three strikes was enforced.

Three distinct factors have been cited that undermine the hyper-punitive three strikes/ life-without-parole approach: first, the fact that truly violent crimes—murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault—are already severely punished with long sentences; second, the indiscriminate nature of such laws, punishing even minor offenses with life in prison and third, the fact that rehabilitation and even simply aging renders most long-term criminals relatively harmless, even as the costs of keeping them imprisoned rises with age.

With much broader cost concerns, even many conservatives are starting to question the wisdom of such sentences, and ACLU’s report brings heightened attention to some of the most senseless consequences. So that raises the question, are there chances for a broader change of direction?

“If it was left up to the voters, yes,” Silva said, pointing to the success of Proposition 36 last year, which rolled back some of the most egregious aspects of California’s three-strikes

Los Angeles — On Dec. 18, Mayor Eric Garcetti issued an executive directive establishing an Open Data initiative in the Los Angeles. Garcetti directed all city departments to collect data that they generate and prepare it for posting on a city website, which will go live in early 2014.

“This executive directive empowers Angelenos to participate in their government with greater understanding and impact and promotes a culture of data sharing and cooperation among city departments,” said Garcetti in a released statement. “I look forward to launching LA’s Open Data portal in early 2014 to promote transparency in government and give Angelenos a new way to help us solve our toughest challenges.”

The Local Publication You Actually Read

mentioned in the report, because of the impact its “three strikes” law had in driving the national tendency toward harsher, more inflexible sentences. Although the sentence itself is absent from the state, de facto life-without-parole sentences crop up frequently according to Geri Silva, director of Families To Amend California’s Three Strikes.

“We have one individual who got 51 years for taking videotapes from a kmart on two separate occasions,” Silva said. “He was tried for each of them, separately. Convicted of each of them, and given two 25 to life sentences…. He was about 30 at the time. If the law hadn’t been amended, he would likely die inside. He was a Vietnam vet. He had a drug habit, which had to do with his taking the videotapes in the first place. So he would have likely died inside, which amounts to life without possibility of parole.”

Silva was referring to Leandro Andrade, whose case was one of two that went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003. By 5-4, the conservative Rehnquist Court found that three strikes was not “cruel and unusual punishment.” But in dissent, Justice David Souter responded, “If Andrade’s sentence ... is not grossly disproportionate, the principle has no meaning.”

Silva went on to cite other examples: “One of our guys that works with us, his brother got 110 years,” Silva explained. “They called it a bank robbery, but he went in a bank, no weapon at all, he just passed a note to the people…. Normally that sentence carries 15 years, he got 110 years. So that is life without the possibility of parole.

“There are others,” Silva added. “There’s a guy who got 70 years for burglary. He was about 30, so you figure, that’s life without parole.

“The are a lot of extreme sentences, where you’re getting people getting 80 years,” Silva said.

Regardless of the language, the result is the same, she argued.

“It’s life without possibility of parole,” she said. “You’re going to die in prison.”

As for the impact of California’s law nationwide, “It set the bar,” Silva said. “When something that’s that outrageous passes, then things that are slightly less outrageous will pass without any problem.”

And, indeed, other state’s three-strikes laws have been less draconian. But there are also spill-

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7

What Color is Your Santa?

Fox’s Flap, Flop and Kerfuffle

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

James Preston Allen, Publisher I’m not sure that the recent holiday media flap over the color of Santa Claus’ skin is anything other than Fox News trying to ramp up its ratings by turning a non-issue into a red herring, while black and blue liberals turn red with anger. Just when did Ol’ St. Nick become such a polarizing ethnic can of paint to kick? It just seems like nothing is sacrosanct from the comical sphere of conservatives baiting liberal politics these days.

Our contemporary concept of St. Nicholas comes by way of the 19th century cartoonist Thomas Nast (1862) and then updated by artist Fred Mizen, for a CocaCola advertisement to promote its original cocaine-laced beverage formula (Zing! what a feeling).

In the more popular version, Santa is quite pink, which is the color most white folks are without a suntan.

The entire kerfuffle over Santa’s skin tone is essentially a distraction for the amusement of the masses who still don’t really know how to talk about racism in America. As in we are still embarrassed to discuss the issue because after all this time it is still something to be avoided in polite conversation—definitely not to be brought up at the Christmas Eve dinner.

Megyn Kelly, a Fox News talking head, defends her remark as “tongue-in-cheek.”

I’d characterize her as being intentionally provocative and having her head-up-herass! Who cares what color our very fictional saint of our completely secularized holiday is anyway? He could be red, yellow, brown, black, pink, turquoise or white. In John Boehner’s mind he might even be orange for all that matters, but more importantly is how much of row this has all caused in the season dedicated to “peace on earth and goodwill towards men.” Just wait until the lesbians tune in on this and want to have their own version of Santa coming out of the clauset!

The original St. Nicholas was born in 280 A.D., in Patara, a city of Lycia, in Asia Minor, according to one history. He became the gift giver of Myra. His gifts were given late at night, so that his identity would remain a secret. He was eventually named the patron saint of children, sailors, Russia and Greece. He was a Christian priest, who later became a bishop. He was a rich man,

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who traveled the country helping people, giving gifts of money and other presents. It is said that St. Nicholas did not like to be seen when he gave away presents, so the children of the day were told to go to sleep or he would not come. There is no mention as to what color he was nor his ethnicity. He was later imprisoned by the Roman’s for defying his own designation as a god.

Canonized in 800 A.D. by the Eastern Orthodox Church, he became the third most popular Christian saint. However, by the 1500s, people in England stopped worshipping this St. Nicholas and favored another gift-giving figure: Father Christmas. Over the centuries, St. Nicholas’ popularity grew and many people in Europe made up new stories that showed concern for children.

The name Santa Claus was derived from the Dutch Sinter Klass pronunciation of St. Nicholas.

Early Dutch settlers in New York (formerly New Amsterdam) brought their traditions of St. Nicholas. As children from other countries tried to pronounce Sinter Klass, this soon became Santa Klass and later was settled as Santa Claus.

The old bishop’s cloak with mitre, jeweled gloves and crozier were soon replaced with his red suit and clothing seen in other modern images made popular by Naste, Mizen and Norman Rockwell.

So, in short, Santa is a mixed bag of cultural influences and human invention, as well as, the Coca-Cola bottling company advertising campaign. You can still see the commercialized Coke image plastered on freeway bill boards guzzling the famous soda as you drive through the city.

Some people still deny the influence of advertising on the American psyche, but Santa Claus is the prime example of how completely insidious it is. In the final analysis the argument over what color is Santa Claus these days is how one of the most market savvy corporations portrays one of our cherished cultural fictions.

Just imagine if Coca-Cola had decided to use Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary as the symbol for their product.

Next year, Fox News can enrage even more people by arguing what color Jesus was, Even better, perhaps Coke should market its beverage in India with a picture of Vishnu drinking it with all four hands. Just to be clear, Vishnu is blue.

Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com

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

—Mark Twain Vol. XXXIV : No. 26

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

Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya info@graphictouchdesigns.com Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com Assistant Editor Zamná Ávila zamna@randomlengthsnews.com

What Happens to ‘Good’ Laws?

By Connie Rutter, Oil Industry Manager and Consultant, ret.

The mess around the Affordable Care Act is the latest in the evidence of how bad our laws can be.

Not morally bad, but poorly devised and often unworkable. I’m part of a local activists group that has been trying to remove the threat from the Rancho LPG facility on North Gaffey Street in San Pedro, because of the danger posed by the butane and propane that are stored there.

(These explosive gases have to be kept under pressure or refrigerated to handle them as liquids.

When released, they rapidly become vapors (gases) again, and increase more than 230 times in volume. This forms a vapor explosion, which can knock over walls, and break glass. This vapor cloud is very flammable, and if ignited, forms a second fiery explosion. The gas is heavier than air, and so it will not dissipate as natural gas would do, but will flow invisibly down hill. The fire burns hotter than the melting point of steel, endangering the other tanks at the site. Water or foam will not extinguish the flames; the expert advice is to let it burn itself out. The impound basin is little help, because when the gas vaporizes, it will exceed the volume of the basin, if more than half a percent of the tank volume is released.

Federal and state laws were written in the 1980s with the emphasis on toxicity, not explosivity. In 1990 explosiveness and

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flammability were added as properties of concern. The gist of the Federal law (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act or EPCRA) was that specified and standardized ways of assessing the dangers posed by chemical facilities were to be communicated to anyone in the public who asked (that’s the right-toknow aspect). It was apparently presumed that the public would interact with planning groups to prevent dangerous facilities from being sited and that local politicians would be lobbied to close existing facilities. But there is no standard in the law to state what risk is too great and no mechanism to shut a dangerous site down. This problem was pointed out by Rep. Janice Hahn at a meeting with an Environmental Protection Agency representative this past year.

The EPA regulations took about 5 years in the 1990s to be developed and in our case here in San Pedro, they only made the situation worse.

The EPA produced draft regulations that would have calculated the radius of exposure from one tank’s release as 3 miles and affecting 28,000 people. (Obviously, the 3-mile radius would have destroyed much of the Los Angeles port and part of Long Beach port.) The American Petroleum Institute sued the EPA claiming that flammable materials should be allowed to use a calculation for toxic materials, if there were ‘passive mitigation’ (the ineffective impound basin). This continued on following page

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

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

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Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right to express those opinions. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Reporting Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2013 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.

We Need a Budget

Last Thursday was a critical moment for Congress. Since it was the last day before adjourning until after the New Year, we were faced with a decision to either risk another government shutdown

by Jan. 15, 2014, or agree upon a budget. Both sides—Democrat and Republican—were not happy with certain parts of the budget bill, but the overwhelming majority of Congress did the right thing.

While I was not entirely happy with the budget, I voted “yes,” as it was a compromise on both sides.

Another fiscal battle will emerge on Jan. 15 when we have to vote on an appropriations bill that authorizes the government to spend the money in our budget.

Hopefully, our actions last Thursday will end the cycle of crisis budgeting and that Speaker Boehner will now allow a vote on comprehensive immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, and he will begin to seriously deal with the devastating effects of climate change.

You and I both know that there is much work to be done. No matter what battles and obstacles lie ahead, I intend to continue working to protect our environment; further economic and social equality; fix our broken immigration system; and represent the interests of our district.

Rep. Alan Lowenthal 47th Congressional District, Long Beach

and they are so far behind in checking sites which are deemed to be terrorist temptations, under its Chemical Facility Anti-terrorism Standards that they were subjected to a review by the Congressional General Accounting Office. The GAO report says that since 2007 the DHS has assigned priorities to only 380 out of 3500 possible dangerous facilities, and that it will take another 8 to 10 years to prioritize the rest of the sites.

Will any of them be shut down as too dangerous? That’s not clear. It seems that we ignore the warnings, which were given before the Trade Tower bombings and then make laws which may be burdensome, but, because of lobbying and lack of understanding on the part of lawmakers, the job is left only half done, which pretty much explains what happened with Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, we in San Pedro are waiting for the big explosion.

Thanks

I had no idea you had my letters in reserve for the future.

What a pleasant surprise!

By the way: I have no respect for Ayn Rand—Objectivism, Egoism, have no value.

We did not make ourselves, and the notion that the universe revolves around me and my free choice—I have never espoused such hollow values.

Thanks again!

Arthur Christopher Schaper Torrance

Holding Laris Lock and Key Representatives Gets New Owners Accountable Thank you, San Pedro for 38 years for doing business with Laris Lock and Key. Who knew, when my father James Laris opened in November

Laws

from previous page

calculation assumes that the material stops being released in 10 minutes. Of course, that’s not true, butane or propane would continue to be released until the tanks are empty. And, of course, the impound basin would ‘mitigate’ only the first half percent of release. But the EPA lawyers allowed it­ the second big error. So, Rancho claims that its radius of destruction (or ‘worst case’) is half a mile and involves only 770 people.

The states program was similar to the federal program, but had one serious flaw: it’s so complicated that there is not a single agency that administers and enforces it. One agency makes the hazardous material law, incorporating programs from other state agencies which deal with hazardous materials.

It would take a lot of money to create a program to enforce all the regulations and laws for all

Wow—Fifty Years!

I was teaching a U.S. history class at Banning High School, Wilmington, California. A little after 11 a.m., a student informed me of the shooting. I escorted my class to my car. The radio was reporting the details. I never left the TV for the next 4 days.

Daniel was born on the Cinco de Mayo, 1962 Harbor City, California. In Long Beach he attended Bixby Elementary, Marshall Junior High and Millikan High School, Long Beach City

College, Cal State Long Beach (‘84) and Harvard Law School (‘87). At age 36, the youngest law dean in the United States. At both colleges in Long Beach he was a member of the debating team.

Daniel’s father of Signal Hill, California, completed 30 years of teaching U.S. history at Banning High School, Wilmington, California and also coached boy gymnastics, soccer and both swim teams. He is now starting his 23rd year as a substitute teacher within the Los Angeles Unified School Districts.

Again Daniel. Not bad for a Chicano.

Daniel’s father was a combat

veteran in the Mexican Revolution with the forces of Pancho Villa and immigrated to the U.S. in 1917.

The family never asked him if he entered legally. Val and 3 brothers served in the army in World War 2 and a brother-in-law in the U.S. Navy. Also a nephew in Vietnam and a nephew in Iraq. Some 20 combat ribbons earned by the family.

Hey, San Diego and Northwestern! Maybe Harvard or Yale in the future. I would be happy if it was closer to home. Like, let’s say, the Law Schools at Berkeley or Palo Alto.

“His native ability to analyze a problem, research it, and organize More Letters/ to p. 10

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

possible dangerous sites. The state handed the enforcement of this unwieldy and crossreferenced program to local fire departments. This was in spite of the fire departments’ stating at the workshops at the time, that they hadn’t the expertise, manpower or money to adequately enforce this program. It didn’t do any good. They got the responsibility for the program anyway. As a result the Los Angeles Fire Department has been in trouble for inadequate enforcement of the hazardous facilities for several years.

Fast forward to 2001 and the Twin Towers terrorism and the resulting passage of laws surrounding Homeland Security.

Now the concern flipped, and, instead of informing residents, the DHS wanted to keep the information secret. So, one result was that it’s very difficult to get information on any site.

So DHS rules negated EPCRA. But that’s not the worst part, the DHS program is so unwieldy

1975, [his business] would continue into the future?

It’s been a wonderful 38 years, meeting many of you as my customers.

I’m pleased to announce that I sold my business to two wonderful individuals Eddie Torres and his nephew Chris, who will continue Laris Lock and Key for years to come. They bring new knowledge of the locksmith industry, especially in the automotive area.

So, please welcome them as you welcomed my Father and myself. The location is still 555 West 9th Street, Suite 5 and the phone number is still the same.

Email: larislock@gmail.com Once again, “Thank you, San Pedro.”

My best wishes to Eddie and Chris on there new adventure.

Daryl Laris San Pedro

your representatives accountable!

Samuel Sperling Monterey Park

The Local Publication You Actually Read

When Tom Bradley was Mayor of Los Angeles, the Board of Civil Service Commissioners took its Charter responsibilities very seriously. The Board had been

in office just 3 months when it set a number of 4-year goals for itself.

The Board’s first goal was to make better use of the probationary period for entrance as well as promotional level employees Goal #9 was to improve the quality of interviews through a more structured format and better training for interviewers.

And goal #12 was to explore the benefits of organizational development processes for increasing the productivity of City employees The Bradley Board set fifteen such goals and worked to achieve them. It was able to do that, in part, because a prominent member of the Board was—or had been—a Professor of Human Resource Management at UCLA. By contrast, the Civil Service Commission recently approved

by Mayor Garcetti includes four attorneys and one member with a business background. And based on the precedent set by 3 recent mayors, this board will serve as a quasi-judicial body; it will hear complaints and appeals. But it will not be asked or allowed to do what the charter requires it to do. It will not make and enforce the civilservice rules, it will not oversee the civil service system and it will not investigate rule violations!

Degrading the board and usurping its powers violates the charter and politicizes the civil service system. Under the charter, the board serves as a firewall to keep politics out of civil service.

But Riordan, Hahn and Villaraigosa tore down that firewall and ran civil service from the mayor’s office.

And now it seems our new mayor, Eric Garcetti, is also following that self-serving strategy.

Friends, I’ve tried for 40 years to make civil service work for everyone in Los Angeles. But I’m 87-years-old with congestive heart failure. I’ll be gone soon. If civil service is to survive, you must hold

RANDOMLetters

9

RANDOMLetters

amassed in debate.”

from p. 9

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area

a response has been honed by intercollegiate debate work until he is currently one of the most respected debaters in southern California. His success as a college debater is attested by the numerous awards for debate, extemporaneous, impromptu and persuasive speaking he has won as an individual and the string of tournament victories he and his colleagues have

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Taking It to the Street

Alvaro Rodriguez Signal Hill

Pasadena has this and other messages about free speech on their commercial utility boxes. I thought it would work well in SP. Gary Pernell Seattle, Wash

Open Letter to Long Beach City Clerk Larry Herrera

I feel that it is my duty to express to you a very grave concern I have regarding the campaign practices of my opponent, Douglas Haubert. I feel particularly compelled to report this information to you since you explained to the potential candidates present the seminar that Mr Haubbert is responsible for enforcing all the laws and regulations regarding electioneering in the city.

As you may know; California Government Code section 8314 provides in pertinent part, in subsection (a) that it is unlawful for any state or local officer to use public resources for a campaign activity or personal or other purposes which are not authorized by law.

And furthermore, in Subsection (c)1, the Government Code goes on to state that a civil penalty of $1000 per day will be assessed against the violating party.

In reviewing the list of potential candidates expected to run in the 2014 April 8th primary, listed on the City Clerk’s election home page, which I am also attaching to this email, I noticed that Mr Haubert uses as his campaign office contact, the phone number 562.570-5600.

That phone number, 562.570-5600, is the main public line to the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office. That is a number that is paid for by public taxes and public monies And since it is the main line of the City Attorney’s Office, that line is answered by a receptionist who is an employee of the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s office.

Mr. Haubert’s use of this phone number for his personal electioneering and campaign purposes constitutes a violation of the Government Code section I have cited above.

So, regretfully, I must ask your office to refer this matter for investigation by the public corruption units of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, and/or Attorney General Kamala Harris.

I sincerely regret that I must bring this to your attention. But, because I believe that when our public officials do not themselves scrupulously observe the law, it is engenders disrespect of the law in their constituents and the citizens of the City of Long Beach, I am compelled to ask you to act.

Rosemary Chavez Long Beach

from p. 7

the Casinos with more than $10,000 cash, Wilson regularly made deposits in amounts of $10,000 or less into his bank account. Wilson structured his cash deposits to attempt to prevent records from being filed because he did not want the FBI to become aware of his gambling activities. In total, Wilson structured more than $488,000 in cash into his bank account.

Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced on March 3, 2014. Wilson faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Social Workers Win Child Safety Agreement

Los Angeles—On Dec. 13, social workers announced the Children’s Social Worker Agreement with Los Angeles County Management.

After striking for six days in the name of child safety, followed by two additional days of intensive bargaining, Los Angeles County Children’s Social Workers and County management reached an agreement, which adds new protections for children.

What Social Workers Won: More Social Workers: 450 more social workers by Oct. 1, 2014. This is the net increase.

The County will hire behind all social workers who leave County Service. The total number of social workers hired will exceed 600, or 50 per month during the first year of the agreement.

Lower Social Worker-to-Child Ratios: The county agreed to jointly establish lower social workers caseload benchmarks based on the hiring plan.

Training and Education: The county agreed to educate workers for policy violations. This will help end the climate of fear.

Less Paperwork, More Social Work: The county will decrease policies by 25 percent in the 6 months that follow with a streamlined, webbased policy manual.

Letting Social Workers Do Their Jobs: The County agreed to give social workers more flexibility in how they do their jobs through a “mobile worker program.”

From left to right Joan Jett, Sandy West, Cherie Currie, Jackie Fox, and Lita Ford. File photo

By Joseph Baroud, Editorial Intern and Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

T

ake a surreal life packed with enough drama to fill seven seasons worth of soap operas, bend gender conformities and raise hell in the process, then pack it into a four-year span, and you would have the story of the Runaways.

Author Evelyn McDonnell opens her new book on the band, Queens of Noise: The Real Story of the Runaways, with a description of the band’s first and last tour of Japan, wondering aloud, “Why didn’t the Runaways become one of the greatest bands of all time?”

As McDonnell had noted, no one had done it before: crossing the globe to show how girls can play together, a teen team hustling music, driven by sexual desire and rebellion.

Towering above their hosts in their boots and satin, they were the wild things of which they sing, of icons of female sexual autonomy.

McDonnell’s answer to that question is as simple as it is complex: the nightmare of being a band on the road, of being young girls in show business, of drugs and sexploitation and

egos and insecurity and shitty teenage girl behavior and even shittier grown up men. Mobs, soft-core porn spreads, a broken bass, a broken glass and broken hearts rent the Runaways.

McDonnell sought to tell the story of a teenage girlband that co-opted the hard, aggressive, libidinal music long dominated by men and then turned the musical form into something raw, rebellious and seductive.

The Loyola Marymount English professor, pulled the book together by digging up old feature stories and interviews of the band. She interviewed family, old friends and former business associates to explain the context out of which the

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment ACE • Art, Cuisine, & Entertainment

Local Author Calibrates the Legacy of Rock Band and Feminist Gaze

Runaways Continued on page 16.

December 27, 2013 – January 9, 2014 December 27, 2013 – January 9, 2014

11 11

Celebrations Around the Harbor

Feasts and Celebrations Planned for the New Year

By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer New Year’s Eve, perhaps the only party attended by people on every continent on earth.

Some observe the holiday with traditional meals or activities.

If you are Greek, you may look forward to finding a coin in the Vassilopita. In the southern states of the United States, families cook greens and black-eyed peas to bring good luck. And, in Mexico it is turkey mole. Italians let their church bells peal, the Swiss beat drums, and the North Americans sound sirens and party horns to bid the old year farewell. Fireworks, champagne and New Year’s resolutions seem to be universal, no matter what your background.

But before we begin restricting calories, let’s take a moment to see where you can indulge yourself one last time in 2013.

DINING

Independent And Free.

J. Trani’s Ristorante

Fine dining is always on the menu at this casual, but sophisticated San Pedro restaurant.

Award-winning Chef Dustin Trani follows four generations of family members in providing memorable meals at the landmark restaurant.

Tranis will be serving a holiday menu on New Year’s Eve. Reservations are recommended.

Details: (310) 832-1220 Location: 584 W 9th St, San Pedro

Trump National Golf Club

Jeff John Pierre Vincent will be serving a New Year’s Eve prix fixe menu of surf and turf.

Breathtaking ocean views and world class dining are what you expect to find associated with the name Trump. Cost is $59.95 per person.

Details: (310) 303-3260 Location: One Trump Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes

The Whale and Ale

One of San Pedro’s destination spots, this British Gastro Pub offers comfortable dining in an oak-paneled setting.

Owner Andrew Silber provides an authentic menu of prime rib, glazed duck, roast turkey and much more. Many will start out the evening’s festivities here, so reservations are recommended.

This pub always serves 14 British tap ales and a full bar.

Details: (310) 832-0363; whaleandale.com Location: 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Utopia Restaurant

Good food and fine art, Utopia is an oasis in downtown Long Beach’s East Village.

It is a gathering place where busy people can find a casual, comfortable and creative environment. Utopias’ good food feeds the body.

Its fine art feeds the soul.

A fine piano bar, engaging art and a stellar wine list add to the ambiance at this intimate spot.

Serving a prix fixe dinner with a choice of four entrees. Price $75 per person or $65 pre paid.

Start here if you are planning to ring in the New Year at the mammoth downtown Long Beach street party.

Details: (562) 432-6888; www.utopiarestaurant. net Location: 445 E. 1st St., Long Beach

EVENTS Downtown Long Beach

Downtown Long Beach will host a massive celebration this New Year’s Eve beginning at 5 p.m. with a free family event.

Live music at the Pine Avenue Celebration will feature Long Beach rock ‘n’ roll Band Rival Sons and eight piece Southern California band

December 27, 2013 – January 9, 2014

Open New Years Eve!

12

Celebrations Around the Harbor The Mowgli’s.

At 8 p.m., this year’s Pine Avenue event will encompass two-square city blocks for an outdoor celebration featuring three stages of live entertainment. Eight outdoor bar areas will serve up a variety of spirits. As midnight strikes, a festive countdown celebration will bring in 2014 in style. The Pine Avenue Celebration is at the intersection of Pine Avenue and Broadway Avenue from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, or will be available at the event for $20 each.

Details: (562) 436-4259; downtownlongbeach. org Location: Pine Avenue at Broadway

Years with a 4-hour cruise through the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. The yacht, the Majestic, is a 140-foot ship with three levels, outdoor decks, a lounge, and two separate dance areas.

Admission is between $140 and $165.

D e t a i l s : ( 9 4 9 ) 2 2 9 - 5 5 6 5 ; w w w. un4seenproductions.com Venue: Port of Los Angeles Location: 141 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

Queen Mary

People’s Place and Palace

San Pedro Theater Club

This new addition to the San Pedro theater scene is getting some good word-of-mouth.

Soul Ablaze, Mimi Zulu and Geminelle Soul Ablaze, Mimi Zulu and Geminelle are performing at Harvelle’s at 9 p.m., Dec. 27. These three artists will all bring something different to the table on the stage. Geminelle will be performing at 9, followed by Mimi Zulu at 10 and Soul Ablaze at 11 p.m. A 2-drink minimum purchase will be required, so nobody under the age of 21 is allowed.

Admission is between $10 and $25.

Details: (562) 239-3700; www.longbeach.harvelles. com Venue: Harvelle’s Cafe Location: 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach December 28 Jeff Ellwood Quartet The Jeff Ellwood Quartet is scheduled to perform, at 8 p.m. Dec. 28, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro.

Jeff Ellwood has performed or recorded with: Tony Bennett, Alan Pasqua, Bill Cunliffe, Jimmy Haslip, Dave Carpenter, Darek Oles, James Moody, Randy Brecker, Christian McBride, Stevie Wonder, Bob Mintzer, Eddie Daniels, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Grusin, John Williams and Quincy Jones, to name a few.

Details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom. com Venue: Alvas Showroom Location: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

The theater’s 78 plush seats have high backs and feature a lounge-style lobby with sofas, a grand piano and a bar. In addition to theatrical plays, the theater is also booking jazz, classical, folk and rock music. For New Year’s Eve they are presenting a New Year’s Eve party and VIP after party. The concert headlines vocalist Windy Barnes and the San Pedro Theater Band, hosted by comedian, and theater founder, James Blackman.

Tickets are $25 and $50.

Details: (310) 773-4964; thesanpedrotheatreclub. com Location: 624 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

Triple Dog Dare Triple Dog Dare is playing at Crafted from 2 to 5:30 p.m., Dec. 28.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted, Port of Los Angeles, Warehouse 10 Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro January 4 Loretta McNair Trio The Loretta McNair Trio is playing at Crafted from 2 to 5:30 p.m., Jan. 4.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted at Port of Los Angeles, Warehouse 10 Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro January 5 Vinegar Hill Jam Session Jazz jam session will take place from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. All musicians are welcome, bring your instruments.

Details: (310) 935-7494 Location: 10th and S. Palos Verdes sts.

Venue: Vinegar Hill

10th Annual New Years Eve Yacht Party

Unforeseen Productions is hosting its 10th Annual New Years Eve Yacht Party starting at 9 p.m., Dec. 31.

The party will offer a chance to celebrate New

DJ Frank FoReal DJ Frank FoReal will be playing at Crafted from 2 to 5:30 p.m., Jan. 5.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted at Port of Los Angeles, Warehouse 10 Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

Open New Year’s Eve From 10am–10pm

And Join Us On New Year’s Day from 11am–10pm for Good Food, Drink & Football On Our 7 Flat Screen TV’s.

As Always You Can Dine–In Or We Can Deliver To You!

1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro

Fast Delivery!

310–732–5800 Fax: 310-732-5804

January 8 Karaoke Night Godmother’s Saloon is hosting a karaoke night at 12 a.m., Jan. 8. The morning of Jan. 8.

Details: (310) 833-1589; www.godmotherssaloon. com Venue: Godmother’s Saloon Location: 302 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Community/Family December 27 Tidepooling for Tots The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium presents Tidepooling for Tots from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Dec. 27.

This is a special tidepool class for young children and a guided walk to the rocky shore. The cost of the tour will be $5 a family.

Details: (310) 548-7562; www. cabrillomarineaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Location: 3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro

December 27, 2013 – January 9, 2014

To avoid the crowds consider an enjoyable evening at People’s Place and Palace.

Formerly known as People’s Yoga, this dance studio has gained a reputation as a place where you can practice all your best moves. Swing dance, salsa and more are happening here each week.

For New Year’s Eve, owner Jan Kain says they will have live music by the band Tropic Starr.

Scrumptious desserts, drinks, champagne toast, hats and noise makers will all be included.

There also is an 8 p.m. dance lesson before a 9 p.m. party.

Tables for groups up to ten can be reserved in advance. Tickets are $35 in advance or $60 at the door.

Details:(310) 547-2348; http://peoplespalacesp. com Location: 365 W. 6th St., San Pedro

December 27 White Winter Wonderland The annual White Winter Party takes place Dec. 27 at Executive Suites in Long Beach. Come celebrate the holidays at the hottest, craziest, most fun party in town. DJ Ryan Jones will be bringing you amazing sounds all night long.

Details: www.wepay.com Venue: Executive Suites Nightclub Location: 3428 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

The Ultimate New Year’s Eve Voyage is at the Queen Mary, with an ambitious “World Tour.”

Passengers will be transported to the vibrant streets of India, carnival nights in Brazil, the extravagant Moulin Rouge in France and Times Square in New York before returning to the ship’s beginning, a village in Scotland.

For those who’ve dreamed of celebrating the New Year abroad – now you can, without ever leaving Long Beach.

The sights, sounds and tastes will transform throughout the night, as the ship’s horn announces the arrival in a new Port of Call. Fireworks usher in 2014 as the Queen Mary visits its birthplace, Clydebank, Scotland. The Ultimate New Year’s Eve Voyage reclaims the glory days with an allnight celebration not to be forgotten.

Tickets for the Ultimate New Year’s Eve Voyage begin at $99 with the “Tourist Class” boarding pass, which includes general admission to the ship’s “Tourist Class” decks, salons and bars, strolling entertainers and view of the midnight fireworks.

Revelers must be 21 or older. Advanced reservations are highly recommended.

Details: (877) 342-0742; www.queenmary.com Location: 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach

Entertainment

13

San Pedro Takes Starring Role in Sunken City Film

By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer Making its rounds in the Harbor area is the independent film “Sunken City.”

Locally, they screened the film at the Chowder Barge, a location site for the film, and at the San Pedro Brewing Co. They are hoping that these small screenings will build support in town for their project.

So far, they have entered the film at the Oregon film festival and won awards for Best Actor, Best Editing and Best Cinematography.

San Pedro is often used as a stand in for other towns in major films — usually films depicting gritty urban backdrops. Filming is a common occurrence in San Pedro, whose streets are used

on a regular basis as stand-ins for locations across the country.

Residents are accustomed to seeing their town portrayed as inner-city sections of towns such as San Francisco and New York. The film Sunken City presents a rare moment when the spotlight shines to make San Pedro a main character and star of the film.

Two friends Hamilton Von Watts and Ryan Mclaughlin met and discovered that they were each drawn to San Pedro’s natural and urban landscapes.

Producer and lead actor in the movie, Sunken CIty Continued on next page.

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

December 27, 2013 – January 9, 2014

Independent And Free.

Gallery 345

14

Pat Woolley and Gloria Lee offer Art As a Gift for January 2014 1st Thursday. Paintings • Books • Special miniatures Unframed work is also available. Open 6-9 pm on 1st Thursday and by appointment: for more information call 310.545.0832 or 310.374.8055 • 345 W. 7th Street San Pedro

Michael Stearns Studio 347

Michael Stearns Studio 347 will be closed for the January First Thursday Artwalk. Watch for our upcoming exhibition “Love and Other Considerations” opening Feb. 6, 2014. Michael Stearns Studio 347 is located at 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro. For further information please visit www.michaelstearnsstudio.com or call 562.400.0544.

Angel City Chorale Spreads The Joy By: Melina Paris, Music Columnist

Sunken CIty Continued from previous page.

sumptuous shots of the shimmering Port of Los Angeles, with miles of shipping cranes spanned by the Vincent Thomas suspension bridge provide beauty and authenticity.

McLaughlin was drawn to reggae music to create the vibe he was seeking for the film. He ran into an old school pal who is the drummer for the Los Angeles reggae band, The Lions. The friend offered to send a few tracks to see if it worked to blend location and characters in the film.

“There is a nice juxtaposition of imagery with the reggae feel,” McLaughlin said. “As the story progresses it becomes darker it starts to blend nicely with the visuals and the overall arch of Nick Terry as a character.”

The result is Sunken City features an original reggae soundtrack by Next Level Productions.

Lead by Blake Colie of the popular Los Angeles reggae band The Lions, Next Level was critical in providing an authentic Jamaican sound for the film. Drawing from the talents of vocal artist like Black Shakespeare and Nuby Dan, the sound is modern with a strong influence from the golden era of reggae.

Echo Bridge Entertainment has picked up the film for distribution domestically and internationally. The team is working on marketing for the project.

Details: http://www.bentabb.com/del/sunkencity/

Angel City Chorale continued on page 15.

Make a New Year’s Hat Make a New Year’s hat at Crafted is taking place on Dec. 27. You can come make a New Year’s Hat and other 2014 crafts in the Creation Station.

Cover charge is $3. You can also come in on Dec. 28 and 29 to use the Creation Station for the same intention.

Details: (310) 732-1270; www.craftedportla.com Venue: Crafted at Port of Los Angeles, Warehouse 10 Location: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro January 4 Native Garden Workday The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is hosting its Native Garden Workday from 8 to 10 a.m., Jan. 4. Volunteers will participate in removing beach debris and helping maintain the native garden.

Also, participants will learn about shoreline habitats and the coastal sage scrub native plant community. Groups are required to register before hand.

Details: (310) 548-7562; www. cabrillomarineaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Location: 3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro January 5 First Sunday Speaker Series The San Pedro Historical Society presents photojournalist Tim Maxeiner from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Jan.5 as part of their first Sunday speaker series. The talk will present historic photos from archives complemented with contemporary photos and videos on San Pedro’s bay.

Details: www.sanpedrobayhistoricalsociety.org; sanpedrohistory@gmail.com Venue: Cornelius Projects Gallery Location: 1417 Pacific Ave., San Pedro Salt Marsh Open House The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is hosting the Salt Marsh Open House from 2 to 4 p.m., Jan. 5.

Participants will get the opportunity to step into the Salinas de San Pedro salt marsh with guidance from a Sea Ranger expert. You are encouraged to bring binoculars, cameras, a notepad and whatever is at your journalistic disposal.

Details: (310) 548-7562; www. cabrillomarineaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Location: 3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro Calendar continued on page 15.

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment December 27, 2013 – January 9, 2014

Hamilton Von Watt, is connected to the town through family and birth. He takes pride in his grandfather, Sam Davis, who worked at Bethlehem Steel on Terminal Island. Although his parents moved away when he was an infant, he returned often to the town to visit three generations of grandparents and extended family who remained there.

The legend of the Sunken City continued to intrigue the former inhabitant. In 1929, a sizeable section of land in the southern tip of San Pedro began to slip into the sea. Due to quick action, all but two of the houses on the seaward side of the street were moved before toppling into the sea. The eastern section of Point Fermin Park was lost and the area still is unstable.

“He started showing me these little short film clips he was doing in and around the Point Fermin area — clips of the tides and what not,” Von Watt said. “ I asked him, ‘What are you doing in San Pedro? My whole family is from there!’”

McLaughlin could not explain why he was so drawn to the location. He had initially come to San Pedro to film a music video and had stumbled upon Sunken City. Eventually the friends began exploring their mutual interest in the area. The visuals drew them in.

“It [San Pedro] had a noir vibe,” McLaughlin said. “It was romantic. And, as we got deeper into the community, we were welcomed. It became clear that the story was more than a story about a pot smoking detective. Our main character’s connection with the town of San Pedro was as important as any connection with other characters in the film.”

Professional connections helped them in the creation of their first full-length narrative film. Screenwriter Todd Samovich was brought in to create the story of Nick Terry, a furloughed pot smoking detective. Terry is pulled back into the police force when the body of a young woman is discovered lying in the ruins of Sunken City.

Casting director Shana Landburg was instrumental in choosing a talented group of professional actors for the film. She seemed to intuitively know who was best suited for each part. In the spirit of labor equality, which is the history of this town, each individual on the set earned exactly $100 a day. Technicians and actors all received the same pay.

Producer and director McLaughlin made an effort to maintain accuracy in the film although some creative license was exercised. The film, a detective murder mystery, substitutes a fictional San Pedro Police Department for the Los Angeles Police Department that patrols our streets. Also, locations in Wilmington, like the legendary Chowder Barge were moved to San Pedro through the magic of film.

Cinematographer Andrew Sachs brought his skills towards capturing the mix of urban grit and natural beauty for the film. Vast

If ever you’re not quite feeling the spirit of the holiday season, a great way to kickstart the festivities and see a great performance is to go see Angel City Chorale.

They just performed their annual holiday concert and sing-along, Joyful Joyful at Wilshire United Methodist Church, Dec. 7 and 8, to a full house.

Sue Fink, conductor and artistic director of the choral group, founded the Angel City Chorale at McCabe’s Guitar shop in 1993.

Fink is an exuberant conductor and the chorale is dynamic. With heart and skill they express the emotions time honored songs convey in their performance. They perform a wide range of genres including classical, jazz, gospel, pop and world music.

They host two annual concerts, one at Christmas and a “spring” concert, which actually takes place in June; the Wilshire United Methodist Church hosts both occasions.

The chorale has an ongoing commitment to partner with and connect to other nonprofits helping people in the local community from all socioeconomic groups. With their program, Holiday Tour of Hope, they visit and perform at places like soup kitchens, nursing homes, hospitals, Juvenile Hall and more.

To open, the concert singers stood alongside the outer edges of the pews in the church singing, “My Dancing Day On Christmas Night.” This was great, hearing them so well; right up close. They captured our attention immediately, giving the evening a feeling of connectedness from the start.

Performing almost 20 songs with four sing-along numbers the Angel City Chorale brought a varied mix of holiday numbers to a diverse city. They sang standard Christmas

Calendar from page 13.

15

Calendar continued from page 15.

Tim Maxeiner The San Pedro Historical Society presents local photo journalist Tim Maxeiner as part of their First Sunday Speaker Series, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 5, at the in San Pedro. Cornelius Project Gallery The talk is titled “Second Thoughts San Pedro,” and presents historic photos from the society’s archives complemented with contemporary photos and videos.

Details: sanpedrobayhistoricalsociety.org Venue: Cornelius Project Gallery Location: 1417 Pacific Ave., San Pedro January 8 Little Squirts The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is hosting Little Squirts beginning at 1:30 p.m., Jan. 8.

The class is intended for children ages two to four and will be offered on four consecutive Wednesdays. The course offers activities to help introduce young children to marine life. It will cost $30 for the four-week session. Pre-registration is required.Visit the website below to do so.

Details: (310) 548-7562; www. cabrillomarineaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Location: 3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro

Theater/Film January 8 Queenie Pie The Warner Grand Theatre is hosting Queenie Pie at 8 p.m., Jan. 8. Opera heads to Harlem for a Big Band makeover in Duke Ellington’s comic opera, inspired by the life of African American mogul Madam C.J. Walker. Admission is between $29 and $160.

Details: (562) 432-5934; www.longbeachopera. org Venue: Warner Grand Theatre Location: 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro

December 27, 2013 – January 9, 2014

Independent And Free.

Art

16

December 29 Gallery 478 Large format photography show, exhibiting the work of husband and wife team Ray and Arnée Carafano. Shot with a Canon ELS 600 T3, Arnée’s abstract series reflects images extracted from reality. A former painter, she applies a painterly aspect to her work, allowing the viewer to come to their own conclusions. Ray’s photography is an extension of his “Broken Dreams” series. The photographer has been documenting the beauty and decay of the Mojave Desert for 20 years.

Details: ray@carafano.co Venue: Gallery 478 Location: 478 W. 7th St., San Pedro The Space Between Illusion & Reality The Center Long Beach is featuring art by Marka Burns, Wendy Lagreen, Mic Burns, Arlene Cartozian, Dorte Christjansen, Lila Crespin, and Donald Tiscareno. This lineup of local artists is not to be missed. The exhibit will run through Dec.29.

A portion of sales will be donated to The Center.

Details: (562) 434-4455 Venue: Center Long Beach Location: 2017 E. 4th St., Long Beach 2013-2014 International Exchange Exhibit International Society of Experimental Artists joined National Watercolor Society and The Wales Group to present an International Exchange Exhibition with the country of Wales. Exhibit travels from Sanibel Island, Florida October 2013 to the NWS Studio Gallery in San Pedro through Jan 11, 2014 and then onto the country of Wales.

Details: http://nationalwatercolorsociety. wildapricot.org/ Venue: National Watercolor Society Location: 915 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

Continued from page 15.

Angel City Chorale

carols and included Chanukah “Songs of Freedom,” as well as several more uncommon songs, which amounted to almost half of their pieces.

Those unusual songs were intriguing, making me curious about their origin. The rhythmic sounds “O Sifuni Mingu,” an African song that means “Oh, Praise God,” for example, are reminiscent of music you might hear in The Lion King with congas, maracas and a clapalong part.

They also sang “Hine Ma Tov,” a Jewish hymn traditionally sung for Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest that entails refraining from work activities and engaging in restful activities.

A soloist sang this traditional song accompanied by clarinet, drums and piano only, allowing for an intimate appeal.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the Angel Band, a very talented 15-piece ensemble.

These musicians really added a layer of warmth and festivity to the evening and the acoustics in

Continued from page 11.

RUNAWAYS

Runaways emerged.

Many have attempted to tell the Runaways story, as well as some of the band members themselves who published memoirs such as Neon Angel. Even a movie, of the same name as the band, was released in 2010.

McDonnell centers her attention on Sandy West and Joan Jett as the heart of the Runaways and the infamous or legendary (depending on your perspective) manager Kim Fowley.

Fowley is often depicted as a villain in the history of the Runaways, McDonnell, had the challenge of separating fact from myth to discern the truth of each of these pivotal figures. In Neon Angel, Fowley is referred to as Svengali, who manipulates, controls and exploits the band and Cherie Currie in particular to turn them into stars.

McDonnell dedicated a great deal of space to her interviews with Fowley to tease out the real story. She came out with a more humanized vision of Fowley, as well as a more nuanced and more complex picture of the Runaways.

“Contrary to what one might think, the Runaways were not innocent victims of an evil Svengali,” McDonnell says. “That widespread narrative denies the women agency in their own life-story and simplistically demonizes Fowley, a complex figure, without whom there would have been no Runaways.”

Random Lengths News Editorial Intern Joseph Baroud was able to catch up with McDonnell about her book.

Joseph Baroud: What made you want to write this story, why the Runaways, did they influence you?

Evelyn McDonnell: The writer in me knew it was a good story in the sense that it had all types of plot elements, great characters, a great setting, you know, LA in the 70s.

It also had a narrative art and it was short. It could be told you know? It was compact and it hadn’t been told in its entirety. I felt like this was somewhat of a contested narrative and I can step in as a journalist and objective historian and try to disentangle some of that. I’m really aware

the church are amazing.

On the hymnal sounding “Joyful Joyful,” the male and female soloists both had extremely affecting voices that sounded so rich together.

The type you might expect to hear on a Sunday in the most soulful of church choirs. It was the kind of performance that leaves you wanting more.

The sing-along portions included traditional Christmas cheer songs like, “Angels We Have Heard On High” and a beautiful rendition of “Silent Night.” Leading into the latter, Fink shared some sentiments on the recent passing of Nelson Mandela.

“The legacy of Mandela was to love and respect each other,” she said. “Music is something we all share so let’s all come together in communities and sing this season.”

The audience as a whole participated enthusiastically.

The chorale participates in many other events throughout the year locally and nationally.

They were the first choral group to ever perform at the Democratic National Convention in 2000.

In December of 2003, the chorale debuted

at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in a holiday production of A Merry Mancini Christmas alongside Michael Buble’, Dianne Reeves and Monica Mancini. Coming up in April of 2014 members of chorale will perform at Carnegie Hall for the world premiere of Grammy award winning Christopher Tin’s new album, The Drop That Contained The Sea. They closed the concert the same way they opened, signing off as they sung “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” alongside the pews once again, as if to personally say their goodbyes.

As I looked around at attendees I could see the Angel City Chorale draws an assorted audience inclusive of old and young, multiple ethnicities and artists and families. I am convinced the sing-along is really a main part of the draw for choral fans. It’s interactive, you get to stretch your vocal chords and show your skills and singing simply feels good for the soul. This event is quite infectious in mood and revelry.

The holidays have officially arrived.

Details: www.angelcitychorale.org, www. youtube.com/user/AngelCityChorale

that women don’t always get recognized as being the kind of pioneers that they are or have been.

JB: If founder Kim Fowley didn’t have the personality that he did do you think that there would still be a Runaways?

EM: I think they would of been known musicians without Kim Fowley, but as an all-girl group put together like that? No. I think Kim had the vision and he had the connections. He did some really awful things, but he deserves credit.

JB: How difficult was it to dig up information on this book? You mentioned you like to look at original documents, how much of a nuisance was it to retrieve those?

EM: I really like doing that. It was really great to dig through those collectors stuff and look at all the actual contracts and stuff. There was so much mythology around the band and some misinformation that it was also really good to be able to anchor specific events and that it couldn’t of happened the way it was represented in movies and books. It just took a long time. It took a lot of time and some stuff were hard to find. Some stuff I didn’t find. The hardest part was interviewing people, finding everybody, getting everybody to talk. It started as a master’s thesis as a Sandy West story. Joan Jett’s manager Kenny Laguna helped me a lot with the initial introduction to people.

JB: Which event do you feel was the Runaway’s most significant?

EM: I would say the Japanese tour. That’s why I start the book there. It was the best of times and the worst.

JB: How do you feel the Runaways influenced teenage girls the most?

EM: They showed that women could play rock ’n’ roll instruments, that kind of music and can do it and own their sexuality, as Joan would like to say.

JB: Why do you feel the Runaways were more revered abroad? Is America looking for a sellout and not a true artist?

EM: I think America has a tough time particularly accepting, for a lack of better word, minority artists.

JB: Other governments have been more oppressive, I believe, than the American government has been.

EM: American radio has been notoriously sexist. Rock radio remains to this day. You know?

Really, there’s only like one female artist on the playlist. You only have one woman’s voice on

in an hour.

JB: How long did it take you to write the book?

EM: It took me four years to write the book. I was doing this master’s program at USC and I had to write a thesis and pretty quickly decided I was going to write about Sandy West. Everybody got their fame and went on with their life and I feel like Sandy really deserved a lot more credit. She was very heroic to me. I wish I’d known her.

JB: Was this a fun book to write?

EM: It was actually very painful to write.

These women had gone through some really tough stuff and it’s clear that it had damaged them to various degrees.

JB: What was the toughest thing about writing this book?

EM: Toughest thing about writing the book is trying to figure out what’s true and what isn’t.

Whose memory is accurate. Trying to figure out Kim Fowley.

JB: Do you see the Runaways as a sort of Civil Rights group?

EM: I do. I think they were so bold and bad ass to be out there doing what they did and they didn’t have to do it for all of womankind, but they were.

JB: Why do you feel it was so hard for the band to just sit down and talk about their issues?

EM: Kim Fowley had them pitted against each other. They didn’t trust each other.

JB: Was there a personal goal you had hoped to accomplish by writing this book?

EM: I needed to write a book that was like a researched biography or history. I just needed to have that. I’ve done other books, but I needed to write something like this.

JB: What’s the one thing you feel everybody should remember about this story?

EM: I want people to come away with the Runaways as these heroes and not victims. I want people to celebrate the ways in which they broke ground and pioneered.

McDonnell will be at the Mark Taper Auditorium of the Central Library in Los Angeles at 7:15 p.m., Jan. 9, with a member of the LA punk band X, Exene Cervenka and a special guest to further elaborate on the Runaways’ story and discuss music, feminism and the punk scene of the present and past. The library is at 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles.

Deadline? What Deadline?

Obamacare Sign-up Dates Keep Moving Confusion reigns as state and federal officials allow people to find and pay for new health insurance plans

By Charles Ornstein, ProPublica

Exchange.

“The most important thing I want people to do is to take the action to get that application started. We can work with them at that point,” Marchand said Wednesday.

All of those dates could still change, so if you are in need of coverage, it’s best to ask questions early and often.

“There is massive confusion around deadlines,” Mike Perry, co-founder of research firm PerryUndem, recently told The Washington Post.

He has traveled the country doing focus groups with uninsured Americans this past month.

“March comes up. January is prominent. But no-

body seems to know the deadlines,” Perry said.

If you don’t need coverage that begins Jan. 1, you’re in luck. The 2014 open enrollment period for the health insurance marketplaces runs through March 31, although your coverage generally won’t begin until the month after you sign up. (Most consumers who go without insurance in 2014 will have to pay a penalty.)

In the next few days, as enrollment surges ahead of Monday’s “deadline,” we’ll begin to understand the scope of the problem. Covered California on Wednesday said that 15,000 people a day are signing up for coverage; in New York, the figure is 4,500.

I’ve heard from a number of consumers this

President Obama Tells Clarence Aaron He Can Finally Go Home

By Cora Currier, ProPublica

Clarence Aaron was granted early release by President Obama. Aaron spent 20 years in prison for a crack cocaine-related charge.

rate at a recent press conference, Attorney General Holder said “We are at year five I guess of eight, so I would say hold on.”

Prominent lawyers have called for an overhaul of the pardons system and the way in which recommendations are made to the president.

ProPublica found major racial disparity among successful pardon applicants. The Justice Department has commissioned its own study of race and clemency, which as of August, it said was “ongoing.”

Holder made no mention of pardons in a major speech on criminal justice reform this summer, but spoke against “draconian mandatory minimum sentences,” and a system in which “too many Americans go to too many prisons for far

too long.”

The fact that the commutations all involved crack cocaine, Love said, “says something very important about the long federal sentences for drug crimes. There are a lot of people in prison whose cases are similar to the ones being commuted.”

“Now that the president has opened the door to doing commutations, he might make it a more regular activity, and not just save it for the holidays or the end of his term,” said Julie Stewart, president of the group Families Against Mandatory Minimums. “He certainly has plenty of cases that he could choose from. I guess that time will tell.”

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

President Barack Obama has ordered an early release from prison for Clarence Aaron, who has spent 20 years there, hoping for mercy.

Aaron’s commutation is one of eight crack cocaine-related sentences commuted recently.

Obama said the sentences were meted out under an “unfair system” that among other things featured a vast disparity between crack and powder cocaine cases.

The White House ordered a new review of Aaron’s petition last year after ProPublica and the Washington Post reported that the government’s pardon attorney, Ronald Rodgers, had misrepresented Aaron’s case to President George W. Bush. An Inspector General’s report released last December supported ProPublica’s findings, and referred the incident to the Deputy Attorney General to determine if “administrative action is appropriate.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to our questions about the status of the Deputy Attorney General’s review.

As a first-time, non-violent drug offender sentenced to three life terms in 1993, Aaron had seemed a model candidate for presidential mercy.

He first applied for a commutation­—meaning early release—in 2001.

“He was just overcome,” said his attorney, Margaret Love, who spoke with Aaron this morning shortly after he received the news. “We’re very grateful to the president.”

Aaron’s release is effective April 17, though Love said he may go home sooner.

The president also announced thirteen pardons today. Before that, Obama had issued 39 pardons and commuted one sentence, granting clemency at a lower rate than any other president in recent history. (While a commutation grants early release, pardons are given to people who have already served their sentences or have never been jailed, restoring for instance their right to vote.)

When asked about Obama’s low clemency

The Local Publication You Actually Read

You aren’t alone if you’re confused about the deadline to sign up for coverage on the health insurance marketplaces. The deadline is—and has been—in flux.

When the process began in October, consumers using HealthCare.gov, the federal marketplace for 36 states, had until Dec. 15 to pick a plan if they wanted coverage that begins Jan. 1.

But because of the well-publicized glitches with the website, federal officials last month extended that deadline until Dec. 23.

Then, last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sought to delay another key deadline, the date by which consumers have to pay their first month’s premium. As it stood, payments had to be received before coverage began (so, by Dec. 31), but HHS asked insurers to be flexible.

On Wednesday, health insurance companies obliged, extending the payment deadline to Jan. 10 instead of Jan. 1.

So where does this leave folks? It’s still not totally clear.

HHS hinted last week that the enrollment deadline was still not set in stone. “We will consider moving this deadline to a later date should exceptional circumstances pose barriers to consumers enrolling on or before December 23.”

The department’s fact sheet did not define “exceptional circumstances.”

The confusion only builds. The federal government sets enrollment deadlines for the 36 states for which it handles sign-ups; the 14 statebased insurance marketplaces set their own deadlines. Read these couple paragraphs from a story

by Jeffrey Young at The Huffington Post: The final date to choose a health plan that will be in place on Jan. 1 is Dec. 23 in 46 states and the District of Columbia. Marylanders and Oregonians have until Dec. 27, although Oregon residents had only until Dec. 4 to file paper applications with the state exchange because online enrollment remains unavailable.

The deadline to pay January premiums is now Jan. 10 in the 36 states served by the federal exchanges and in Colorado and New York. Users of the exchanges in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Nevada have to pay by Dec. 23. The due date is Jan. 1 for Kentuckians, Jan. 6 for Rhode Islanders, Jan. 7 for Vermonters and Jan. 15 for Marylanders. In the District of Columbia, Aetna customers have until Jan. 8, while CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and Kaiser Permanente enrollees can pay up until Jan. 15. Hawaii and Oregon are still determining their respective payment deadlines.

Here’s an excerpt from Wednesday’s Seattle Times about Washington’s deadlines: Washington residents who have started but not finished their applications for insurance through the state’s new health care exchange are getting a deadline reprieve, state officials announced Wednesday.

Anyone who begins an application before the previous deadline of Dec. 23, will get as much help as they need to finish and won’t face a real deadline until Jan. 15, said Michael Marchand, spokesman for the Washington Health Benefit

week saying that they had not yet received invoices from their insurance companies, and so they have been unable to pay their first month’s premiums. Along the same lines, at a forum for health journalists last week, an official from the Community Service Society of New York said that she was told that three prominent insurance companies were only beginning to send out invoices to their enrollees.

As I reported last week, some insurers reported that only 5 percent to 15 percent of enrollees had paid their first month’s premium.

If you’re rushing to make a last-minute choice, check out WNYC’s Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting Insured. I am talking about various aspects of buying insurance each morning this week on WNYC. Also, see the tips offered

by California consumer group Health Access.

And please let me know what your experience is like.

Editor’s Note: This post is adapted from Ornstein’s “Healthy buzz” blog. Have you tried signing up for health care coverage through the new exchanges? Help us cover the Affordable Care Act by sharing your insurance story.

17

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

It is reprinted by Random Lengths News

Paper Edition of Bread & Hyacinths $15, plus tax. $3 S&H Available at Random Lengths News, 1300 S. Pacific Ave, San Pedro

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In memory of Patrick Terry who passed away on Dec. 5, 2013, a memorial will be held on Jan. 5, 2014, at Jax Donuts at the corner of PCH and Normandie in Harbor City. Share good memories over coffee and donuts.

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

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS & LEGAL FILINGS Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013218455 The following person is doing business as: Empire Fashion, 417 N. Mesa Street, CA 90731, Los Angeles County.

Registered owners: Yen Nguyen, 1840 S. Gaffey St., #119, San Pedro, CA 90731.

This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct.

(A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Yen Nguyen. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Oct. 21, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 11/14/13, 11/28/13, 12/12/13, 12/27/13

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013232113 The following person is doing business as:(1) Family Chiropractic and Acupuncture, 732 W. 9th St, Ste#205, San Pedro CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Roger C. McGath, D.C. L.A.C., 3558 Lees Ave., Long Beach, CA 90808. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.)

S/. Roger C. McGath. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Nov 8, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.

A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 11/14/13, 11/28/13, 12/12/13, 12/27/13

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013234861 The following person is doing business as: Barricade Services, 3602 S. Cabrillo Ave., CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: David W. Cheek, 3602 S. Cabrillo Ave., CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.)

S/. David W. Cheek. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Nov. 13, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.

A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 11/27/13, 12/12/13, 12/23/13 Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013246109 The following person is doing business as: Lex Litigation Support,788 W.9th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Da’ad Makhlouf, P.O. Box 6067, CA 90734. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/.

Da’ad Makhlouf, President.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 2, 2013. Notice-In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.

A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 11/27/13, 12/12/13, 12/23/13, 1/9/14, 1/23/14 Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013253321 The following person is doing business as: The Sepulveda Home,1138 W. Sepulveda Street, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: The Sepulveda Home LLC, 1138 W. Sepulveda Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. Articles of Incorporation: 201135110057. This Business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company.

The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: November 2008. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Susan Portillo, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 11, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 12/23/13, 1/9/14, 1/23/14, 2/6/14, 2/20/14 Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013246108 The following person is doing business as: Playground Fitness,528 S. Pacific Ave, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Jamie Burton, 2211 S. Grand Ave., #1, San Pedro, CA 90731. . This Business is conducted by an individual.

The date registrant started to transact business under

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

Jamie Burton, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 2, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.

A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation

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

Original filing: 12/23/13, 1/9/14, 1/23/14, 2/6/14, 2/20/14 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. NS026944 Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles Petition of: Michelle Avril Frasché Belton for Change of Name TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner Michelle Avril Frasché Belton filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Michelle Avril Frasché Belton to Avril Rosalie Frasché 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: January 9, 2014, Time: 8:30 a.m., Dept.: S26.

The address of the court is 275 Magnolia, Long Beach, CA 90802 A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: Daily Commerce Date: November 26, 2013 Michael P. Vicencia Judge of the Superior Court 12/3, 12/10, 12/17,

12/24/13

December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013228637 The following person is doing business as:(1) San Pedro Firewood, 1166 W. 24th St., #2, San Pedro, Ca 90731.

Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Kevin Christy, 1166 W. 24th St., #2, San Pedro, Ca 90731.. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 10/21/13. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Kevin Christy. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Nov 8, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.

A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were

to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 11/14/13, 11/28/13, 12/12/13, 12/27/13

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2013225914 The following person is doing business as:(1) Harris Realty, (2) Harris Enterprises, (3) Golden Greek Leasing, (4) Golden Greek Charters, 870 W. 9th St. #200, San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: George J. Harris Inc., 870 W. 9th St. #200, San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by a corporation.

The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: May 1976. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.)

S/. Roger C McGrath. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2013. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920.

A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner.

A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.

The filing of this statement

does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code).

Original filing: 11/14/13, 11/28/13, 12/12/13, 12/27/13

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December 27, 2013 - January 9, 2014

Serving the Seven Cities of the Harbor Area