August 24, 2020 I VOL. 49 I #34
DTLA EXPLOSION Feuer files criminal charges following May incident ‘Light Spectrum’
Presidential Election
Public art installation
Dodger Stadium to
shines Downtown
Safety First Artist-designed face masks support MOCA
serve as vote center
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High school students breaking education barriers Editor:
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Re: High school students breaking the education barriers, July 28, 2020 As a first-generation student about to start college, and coming from a low-income family, I believe this is a wonderful idea. There are many students from low-income families who don’t have the ability to pay for a private tutor to help them succeed in school. This organization is also welcoming and helping other students from other states and countries. For example, they are helping mentees from South Korea learn English so they can be more successful not only in school but when they are looking for jobs. I really encourage students to take advantage of opportunities and resources such as those provided by Leaders United for Change. Another example would be an organization called Para Los Niños, which helps high school juniors and seniors with applications, internships and other college-preparatory activities. You can benefit from them because they will help you become a better student. Margarita Garcia
Where is Barron Trump? Editor:
Demented Donald Trump idiotically insists local school boards should illegally force your vulnerable children back into crowded classrooms unsafely as the Trump-caused COVID-19 catastrophe only continues to get worse, while on permanent vacation Trump golfs endlessly at the taxpayers’ expense. Delusional Donald continues to claim the coronavirus will simply “...disappear, one day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear...” as some sort of sick, psychotic rationalization for his Russian-controlled regime’s intentional inaction during this deadly pandemic. Vladimir Putin and his pathetic puppet Trump aren’t fooling anyone other than Jim Jones Trump’s orange Kool-Aid drinkers and their greedy, hypocritical charlatan pastors in their private jets. Over 170,000 Americans are dead due to the Republican Party’s ongoing criminal negligence and purposefully incompetent cruelty. On November 3, the American people will finally render their political and constitutional judgment against Orange Julius Caesar in a landslide defeat for the GOP of historic proportions. Adios, Trump! And if the GOP’s dimwitted, draft-dodging version of Julius Caesar follows through on his tyrannical, terroristic threats to sabotage and/or cancel this November’s presidential election, the American republic’s defenders will respond appropriately in the remaining days of traitor Trump’s pathological presidency. (Perhaps the Orange Emperor has never read William Shakespeare’s play about this subject?) Speaking of Shakespeare, where in the world is the Tangerine Tyrant’s 14-year-old son, Barron Trump—a sad, tragic, unloved Shakespearean character if there ever was one. Considering the virtual blackout of almost all news coverage of President Trumptanic’s troubled relationship with his youngest son, Barron, isn’t it time for the craven corporate media to highlight the highly relevant fact that Barron will not be returning to school in person this year like your children, but Barron Trump will instead stay safe at home and attend class online? Jake Pickering
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Sky Trees Tower’s development a sign of the times By William Bergholz he development of the Sky Trees Tower at 11th and Hill streets in South Park is yet another sign of Downtown’s revival. “Downtown LA is experiencing a once-in-a-generation revival—led by the heightened convergence of tech, media and entertainment,” said Iwan Sunito, Crown Group chief executive officer. “This is an excellent and rare opportunity to be able to contribute to the transformation of an entire neighborhood and, by extension, the entire city, with a unique offering that features turnkey resort-style living, as well as stylish architecture and design that promotes a more balanced, healthier lifestyle.” The $500 million project is the first in Los Angeles by the Australian developer Crown Group and is a joint venture between it, Magnus Property Pte Ltd. and ASRI. The tower would replace a two-story warehouse, which dates back to the mid-1950s. Plans call for a 43-story edifice featuring 319 one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums; a 160-room hotel; 3,381 square feet of ground-floor restaurant space; and 390 parking stalls on six above-grade levels and two basement levels. The project’s design team includes Koichi Takada Architects, MVE+Partners as the architect of record and Rios as the landscape architect. The Sky Trees Tower is inspired by California’s famed redwood trees. The glass and steel structure will rise to a sculpted rooftop with an architectural peak of approximately 520 feet. Architecture plans call for a green wall masking the building’s above-grade parking, with open-air amenity terraces planned at its podium and roof levels. Lastly, the project, as designed, would include approximately 38,000 square feet of common open space—slightly
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more than required by code. “Our vision is to create the healthiest place to live in Los Angeles by creating the optimal balance between the artificial and natural environments,” explained architect Koichi Takada. “In doing so, we can help create a living, breathing neighborhood that will become an integral part of the future DNA of Los Angeles. Our nature-inspired approach to this project provides a platform for health and well-being for the residents, hotel guests and neighbors. It’s a tall high rise, but we humanize it with natural materials, vertical landscaping and engaging public elements.” The staff report to the recreation and parks commission recommends developers should be required to make an in-lieu payment of approximately $4.3 million to the city of Los Angeles to support the construction of new parks in Downtown and the pending redesign of Pershing Square. Crown Group and its partners are expected to complete the construction of development in 2025. Several similar high-rise developments are slated for surrounding properties along the 11th Street corridor, including two towers planned by Mack Real Estate and a 70-story building proposed by Crescent Heights. A 60-story tower is also planned one block north at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Hill Street. Crown Group is a leading Australian property group, specializing in property development, property investment and serviced apartments. The company was co-founded by Sunito and engineer Paul Sathio. Their first project was The Crown, a 54-unit development at Bondi Junction, built in 1996 in Sydney, Australia.
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Plans call for a 43-story edifice featuring 319 one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums; a 160-room hotel; 3,381 square feet of ground-floor restaurant space; and 390 parking stalls on six above-grade levels and two basement levels. Image courtesy Koichi Takada Architects
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Melina Abdullah gives a speech with a sign-language translator in front of City Hall during the “Jackie Lacey Must Go” weekly demonstrations on July 1. Photo by Sarah Donahue/LA Downtown News
Lacey’s husband charged with assault of BLM co-founder
By Sarah Donahue n the early hours of the morning on March 2, Black Lives Matter demonstrators went to LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s home to have a community meeting that she had promised. Upon ringing the doorbell, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA, Melina Abdullah, was met with the district attorney’s husband, David Lacey, pointing a gun at her chest saying, “I will shoot you.” On August 3, Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed charges against David in Los Angeles County Superior Court for three counts of assault with a firearm. Abdullah said she is pleasantly surprised. “I’m encouraged that charges were filed,” Abdullah said. “I think that we have so little faith in these kinds of interlocking parts of the criminal justice system that we thought that he would get away with it completely.” Jackie’s refusal to “prosecute killer cops” is the reason Black Lives Matter LA protests outside her office every Wednesday, the organization says. During Jackie’s time as district attorney, 618 deaths have happened in the hands of police, Abdullah said. The incident was recorded on a video that went viral on Twitter. Abdullah, who is also a professor and former chair of Pan-African studies at California State University, LA, tweeted the video from her account because she thought it was important to share what had happened with the rest of the world. “I’m positive that had it not been posted that no charges would’ve been filed against him,” Abdullah said. “It had to go to social media in order for people to see what happened.” When Abdullah’s daughters saw the incident on social media, they were terrified, she said, adding that they both had to take a break from school afterward. “It’s a traumatic experience,” she said. “When I think about it, I can still feel that energy of the gun. I can feel where it was pointed to on my chest.” That day after the confrontation, Jackie had an emotional press conference to discuss the incident, expressing how she had felt unfairly targeted by the protesters. Jackie issued a personal statement to LA Downtown News through lawyer Samuel E. Tyre about the charges saying: “The events that took place earlier this year have caused my family immense pain. My husband acted in fear for my safety after we were subjected to months of harassment that included a death threat no less than a week earlier. Protesters arrived at my house shortly after 5 am while I was upstairs. My husband felt that we were in danger and acted out of genuine concern for our well-being.” In the statements provided by Tyre, he said that he and David “disagree entirely with their assessment” and will not comment on the facts of the case. “My client’s human instinct is forever and always to protect his wife and his family and to keep them safe from physical harm,” Tyre said in the statement.
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Abdullah pointed out how she believes they are creating legal arguments as victims because Jackie is a lawyer herself. “She defends him the same way she defends the police who kill our people,” Abdullah said. “The way in which he threatened in real time those who are struggling for justice for those souls matches her disrespect and disregard for Black life, and I think everyone can see it.” The idea that Jackie felt threatened by the protesters is “absolutely ridiculous,” Abdullah said, noting that she is nonviolent and that she and Jackie have been in the same spaces together before. As for the death threat, Abdullah said that it was made by a mentally ill Long Beach man who has no affiliation with any protests or Black Lives Matter LA. “(David) came down the stairs, cocked his gun and pointed it at me,” Abdullah said. “Who is the victim in all of this is us. We are the victims. Only David Lacey had a gun.” When the incident happened, she and the other protesters remained collected, the video shows. Abdullah pleasantly said “good morning” to David as he kept the gun pointed at her chest, threatening to shoot. “I actually felt my spirit become calm,” Abdullah said. “I felt a shift almost when he pulled that gun. My spirit knew it had to sink into its calm rather than become agitated or fearful or angry.” Even though at that moment she sunk into a space of calmness, she said in the back of her mind she saw flashes of her three children’s faces and thought to herself audibly, “Is this how I’m really gonna go out?” After he closed the door, Abdullah said she and the other 30 demonstrators present were in complete shock and disbelief of what had happened. “It strengthened our resolve that we had to protest her,” Abdullah said. “Our only push was for her to prosecute the police who kill our people, and if she sees that as a threat, then it’s hugely problematic that she’s district attorney.” Going to Jackie’s house was not the first step to their movements, Abdullah emphasized. The organizers started with community meetings, letters, petitions and conversations with Jackie to understand the barriers preventing her from prosecuting cops as early as 2014, Abdullah said. Jackie agreed to a meeting with Black Lives Matter and the Stonewall Democratic Club, an LGBTQ advocacy caucus, before December 2019, Abdullah said. The organizers gave Jackie a grace period where months went by, but she never followed through. The Black Lives Matter organizers, many of whom live in South Central LA, didn’t want to wake up early to take a bus to Jackie’s Granada Hills home, Abdullah said, but, “We had to go because our people keep being killed by police and she’s essentially giving it a green light by her refusal to prosecute.” Abdullah said she hopes that the situation coming to light will cost Jackie the upcoming election, but her real hope is that she resigns on her own.
AUGUST 24, 2020
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Feuer files criminal charges following DTLA blast By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski ity Attorney Mike Feuer has filed more than 300 criminal charges against the owners and operators of four Downtown buildings and three businesses for alleged fire code and safety violations following a massive fire and explosion in May, which injured 12 of the more than 230 responding firefighters. The charges follow multiagency inspections of the Downtown LA buildings and businesses by the Los Angeles Fire Department, LAFD’s Arson Unit, Los Angeles Police Department and the Department of Building and Safety. “The fire and explosion that ripped through the Boyd Street property caused our firefighters great suffering—and came perilously close to costing their lives,” Feuer said. “We’ll do everything we can to hold the owners and operators of buildings and businesses responsible for complying with our fire and safety codes. The public is counting on us to protect them from a potential catastrophe.” LAFD Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said the Boyd Street Fire could have been an “epic tragedy” for his agency. “Thanks to the work of our arson investigators, the Fire Prevention Bureau, the LAPD and the city attorney’s office, we are one step closer to holding accountable the individuals who may have contributed to the circumstances that precipitated this fire and, hopefully, be able to prevent similar incidents in the future,” Terrazas said. Freddy Escobar, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, IAFF Local 112, said the case is personal. “Our firefighters are lucky to have escaped this inferno with their lives. We support the city attorney’s efforts to hold people accountable for their reckless actions that put our first responders in harm’s way.” The sprawling fire allegedly started at 327 Boyd Street, a building owned by Steve Sungho Lee that houses SmokeTokes, Green Buddha and Bio Hazard. It quickly spread to 325 E. Boyd Street, also owned by Lee and where Green Buddha and Bio Hazard also allegedly operate. Lee was charged with 36 counts for viola-
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tions at 327 Boyd Street and 50 counts for violations at 325 E. Boyd Street Two additional buildings, also owned by Lee, are 309 S. San Pedro Street— where Smoke Tokes also allegedly operated—and 5719 S. Avalon Boulevard. Lee has been charged with 46 additional counts for violations at 309 S. San Pedro and three more counts for violations at 5719 S. Avalon. All four of the properties allegedly were found to have illegal storage of hazardous materials. Smoke Tokes, as one of the operators of the properties, has also been charged with 36 counts for violations found at 327 Boyd Street and 46 counts for violations found at 309 S. San Pedro. Green Buddha, which is owned by Smoke Tokes, and Bio Hazard—two additional operators—are charged with 36 counts for violations at 327 Boyd Street and 50 counts for violations found at 325 E. Boyd Street. Charges include violations of the Los Angeles Municipal Code and the California Penal Code. The charges include a multitude of violations including failure to comply with LADBS and LAFD orders for fire code and building code violations. The most egregious among the violations allegedly occurred at the 327 Boyd property and include conspiracy to endanger the public health, which encompasses failure to maintain aisles, failure to have hazmat warning signs, failure to have no-smoking signs, failure to classify hazardous commodities, illegal storage height, over-height storage, failure to obtain a facility permit, hazmat storage without proper permits, improper shelf storage, failure to identify aerosols, failure to have key boxes, failure to have proper sprinkler coverage and failure to maintain a safe building. Maximum penalties for Steve Sungho Lee are up to 68 years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines. Maximum penalties for Smoke Tokes include up to 41.5 years in jail as well as thousands of dollars in fines. The maximum penalties for Bio Hazard and Green Buddha include up to 43.5 years in jail and thousands of dollars in files. Arraignment for all cases is November 19.
A massive fire and explosion in May injured 12 of the more than 230 responding firefighters. Photo courtesy the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region
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Dodger Stadium to serve as presidential election vote center By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski he Los Angeles Dodgers are the first team in Major League Baseball to make their stadium available for voting in a presidential general election. Dodger Stadium will be accessible with free parking to any registered voter in Los Angeles County over a five-day period with operational details to be announced soon. The site will follow all CDC and public health guidelines regarding social distancing. “Dodger Stadium is part of the fabric of Los Angeles, and we’re proud to continue to partner with the county to make the property available for the benefit of the community at large,” said Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten. “Voting is all of our civic duty, and we’re excited to work with More Than A Vote to do anything we can to help get out the vote by making this process as easy, accessible and safe for all Angelenos.” The Dodger Stadium voting site is a joint effort between the Dodgers and More Than A Vote, a nonprofit coalition of Black athletes and artists working together to educate, energize and protect young communities of color by fighting the lies and systemic, racist voter suppression that stands in the way of Black voices being heard. “I may still be new to LA but didn’t take long for me to learn how special the relationship is between the Dodgers and Lakers. We are all in this together,” said LeBron James, who helped create More Than A Vote. “I’m really proud we were able to help the Dodgers become the first MLB stadium to open for voting. This is exactly why we created More Than A Vote. A lot of us now working together and here for every team who wants to follow the Dodgers lead and turn their stadium into a safer place for voting.”
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Dodgers pitcher David Price is equally as impressed. “Winning takes collaboration, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing between Los Angeles County and professional sports here in LA,” said Price, a More Than A Vote member. “We may not be able to play in front of our fans this year, but we can do our part to provide a core civic function and make sure that Angelenos can safely vote this fall. By becoming the first Major League Baseball team to convert our stadium into a vote center, the Dodgers are handing a blueprint to teams across MLB that can be used to make a very real difference in the lives of their fans.” While Dodger Stadium has been closed to the general public for most of 2020, the stadium and surrounding property have hosted many civic and communal installations, including the county’s largest COVID-19 testing site and Los Angeles Unified School District’s virtual graduation while also serving as a staging ground for emergency equipment and a food distribution site for those experiencing food insecurity. “We are thrilled to partner with the Los Angeles Dodgers. We are thankful for their commitment to civic engagement and voter enfranchisement,” said Dean C. Logan, LA County registrar-recorder/county clerk. “Hosting a vote center at Dodger Stadium is a grand slam that allows us to meet public health standards for physical distancing while ensuring voters have access to in-person voting options in the presidential election. In uncertain times, it is collaborations such as this that demonstrate the spirit of community and the strength of our democracy. We encourage voters to head out to the ballpark to make their voices heard this fall.”
AUGUST 24, 2020
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Corey and Kyle Seager finally played their first games against each other. Photo courtesy Major League Baseball
Staples Center achieves clean facility accreditation By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski he Staples Center has received the Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s GBAC STAR facility accreditation, the gold standard for prepared facilities. The Downtown venue is the first United States arena to receive the highest level of accreditation as determined under the guidance of GBAC, a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association. The GBAC STAR facility accreditation insures the public that Staples Center, the first NBA, NHL and WNBA globally to receive the award, has created and implemented the most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention throughout the arena. To achieve the accreditation, the Staples Center was required to demonstrate compliance with the program’s 20 core elements, which range from standard operating procedures and risk assessment strategies to personal protective equipment and emergency preparedness and response measures. As the cleaning industry’s only outbreak prevention, response and recovery accreditation, GBAC STAR helps organizations establish protocols and procedures, offers expert-led training and assesses a facility’s readiness for biorisk situations. The program verifies that Staples Center implements best practices to prepare for, respond to and recover from outbreaks and pandemics. “GBAC STAR accreditation empowers facility owners and managers to assure workers, customers and key stakeholders that they have proven systems in place to maintain clean and healthy environments,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “By taking this important step to pursue GBAC STAR, Staples Center has received third-party validation that it follows strict protocols for biorisk situations, thereby demonstrating its preparedness and commitment to operating safely.” Staples Center President Lee Zeidman said he’s looking forward to hosting events again— when the time is right. “We know that when the time is right for our guests, athletes, artists and our team members to experience the incredible energy within Staples Center again that our GBAC STAR accreditation demonstrates that we are taking the proper precautions to protect everyone once it is safe to host events again,” Zeidman said. “We are honored to be one of the first GBAC STAR-accredited arenas leading the way in maintaining cleanliness and continuing to make the safety of everyone our No. 1 priority.” Staples Center’s partners ABM and BELFOR Property Restoration provide services to venues of all sizes. Staples Center’s enhanced sanitization procedures provide the safest environment to host events and ensure the safety of the athletes, artists, performers, team members and guests. The arena’s sanitization protocols will continue during live events with or without guests inside the arena and throughout the office work spaces. Dedicated restroom attendants equipped with enhanced products work constantly to keep these high-touch areas clean. A team of “sanitization monitors” is constantly auditing and evaluating all areas, especially high-touch guest areas, such as in arena seats and arm rests, escalator and stair handrails, faucets, soap dispensers and restroom fixtures which have been modified, where appropriate, to touchless. Food and beverage areas are also the subjects of EPA-approved sanitization methods. Staples Center’s heating ventilation and air conditioning system is equipped with AtmosAir Bipolar Ionization. Airflow passes through the patented AtmosAir bipolar ionization tube. The tube energizes the air to form bipolar—positive and negative—air ions. Unlike most air purification systems, AtmosAir seeks out and neutralizes the contaminants at their source. This is vastly superior to most air purification methods because it works “in the space” where we work and play.
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Corey and Kyle Seager reunited on field By Nicholas Barker orey and Kyle Seager, along with their other brother, Justin, have been in a sibling rivalry for as long as they can remember. That rivalry did not change when all three were playing professional baseball. Kyle, who is six years older than Corey and has been on the Seattle Mariners his entire career, and Corey, who has excelled in his few years in the Majors, finally played their first games against each other. And that first game was thrilling. Twenty combined runs, and a homerun from each brother. The Dodgers won 11-9 on August 17, and both Seager brothers did not disappoint. Before the first game started, Corey said he hopes his brother gets four hits and the Dodgers win. After it was all said and done, Kyle finished with three hits, and the Dodgers rallied for the comeback win. “There is always a little bit of rivalry,” Corey said. “We have our little homerun bets or our double bets. He pretty much wins homers every year and I pretty much win the doubles bet every year. I think it comes out to be pretty fair bets across the board.” The anticipated meeting almost didn’t happen. Corey, who has battled injuries in his short career so far, was recovering from an injury leading up to the game.
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Corey Seager plays for the Dodgers, while his brother Kyle plays for the Seattle Mariners. Photo courtesy Major League Baseball
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“I wasn’t thinking about that until I actually came back, and I realized I cut that one pretty close to almost doing that again to us,” said Corey. “He’s finding ways to dodge me,” his older brother responded. The rivalry did not start on the diamond. It started when all three brothers were living together before their professional careers started. “Kyle is a very good antagonizer,” Corey said. “He’s very good at knowing what buttons to push, knowing where to go, knowing how to go get it towards me. Kyle was very good at that but at the same time very supportive.” Kyle might have been the assertive older brother, but on the inside, all he wants to see is his brothers succeed. “As competitive as we want to be, we are still rooting for each other,” Kyle said. “I love looking in the box score and seeing him have good games. Obviously, we are trying to compete with each other, but at the same time we are rooting for each other. As competitive as the two brothers are, each one wouldn’t mind taking something from the other. When asked what Corey would take from Kyle baseball-wise, he said Kyle’s speed would be nice to have, and when Kyle was asked, he wishes he could have some of Corey’s height. Before the start of the first game of the series, media got a perfect look at the rivalry of the two brothers. Youngest brother Justin rewarded $20 for the first brother who would say “avocado” in a sentence. When the first question was asked, Corey’s answer was simply “an avocado.” The two then went back and forth for a couple of seconds on who should win the money. Media got a firsthand look at the rivalry, and it continued into the first game of the series. In the second inning of game one, Kyle watched from third base as his younger brother jogged around the bases after hitting a massive three-run homerun. Just one inning later, Corey witnessed from shortstop his older brother’s homer. It was a fantastic first game against each other, and there will certainly be more bets and jabs the next couple of years when the two brothers play once again.
AUGUST 24, 2020
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Veteran from DTLA promises to make a difference
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski ith his military career wrapping up, Dr. Damon Friedman is stripping his “Superman” outfit and replacing it with civilian garb. But that doesn’t mean the fight has ended. The Downtown LA native will continue his mission of fighting enemies. As a veteran, the enemy he’s battling is suicide. “My purpose always been the same,” he said. “I’m trying to help people who can’t help themselves. I’m passionate about the issue of suicide. “After all these years, nothing is worse than to see the men and women who have done extraordinary things, served this incredible country, going through all the hell and then come home, get into a really dark place and it’s so dark that they lose hope. Their life to them is meaningless. The pain is so overwhelming they’d rather end it. They use their freedom to take their freedom.” In 2017, 45,390 American adults died from suicide, including 6,139 U.S. veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “The suicide rate is 1.5 times greater among the veteran community,” said Friedman, who earned a doctorate in intercultural studies from Fuller. “This whole coronavirus crazy has isolated our veterans more than ever, causing a spike in suicides.” Friedman has joined the White House, Department of Veterans Affairs and several nonprofits to form the Faith-Based Veteran Service Alliance to make a global impact in the fight against veteran suicide. Recently, the White House rolled out the PREVENTS Task Force Roadmap to empower veterans and end the national tragedy of suicide. President Donald Trump said this roadmap expands White House and VA partnerships to include those with faith-based leaders to establish specialized support systems for veterans. “Many of these warriors are unable to reintegrate back into civilian life, leaving their families to deal with the aftermath of broken homes and, at times, suicide,” said Friedman, president of Shield of Faith Missions and co-chairman of FBVSA. “By addressing the mind, body and soul, the warriors we serve can once again, successfully lead their families, their communities and our nation.” Friedman said his new mission is to empower people to find purpose and be resilient. “The path to wellness is different for everyone,” he said. “There isn’t one treatment to save everyone. You don’t know if that individual’s struggle is from a concussion, which changed the way our brains operate. Not everyone has PTSD. Everybody’s trauma is different. We’ve all had different experiences.” Friedman suggested taking a holistic approach. “Depending on where this person is and what they believe, they may need a psychologist, or social activities or physical therapy,” he said. “If you’re like me and banged up from the floor up, you need it all.”
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Rough childhood
Dr. Damon Friedman recently released the book “Igniting Movements: How Critical Factors and Special Ops Empower World Changers.” Photo courtesy Dr. Damon Friedman
A self-described “vagabond,” Friedman lived in 14 different homes in the first 12 years of his life. “My mom had different jobs, working for minimum wage,” he said. “It was driven by my biological father, who was very abusive. The dude did everything you can imagine. He was very abusive in so many ways.” He did drugs, had anger issues, and manhandled Friedman’s mother and him. “We were running away from him,” he said. “We lived in low-income housing in Downtown LA in the projects. We went to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to try to find hope. But LA has a special place in my heart. “I’ve been homeless before and lived out of my car. I pitched a tent, trying to get from point A to point B.” A member of Premiere Speakers Bureau, Friedman spends his time sharing his story with the public. “I do travel to Southern California, often speaking in large venues that are faith-based as well as veteran military events,” said Friedman, who, on August 4, released the book “Igniting Movements: How Critical Factors and Special Ops Empower World Changers.” “Every person has a purpose. If I can make it, living in Downtown LA as a vagabond, barely passing school, flunking a grade, anyone can. I barely fricking made it. “One day, I woke up and looked at myself. I heard a voice who said, ‘I have a plan for you.’ It was the most profound voice I had ever heard, but it came during one of my darkest times as an adolescent.”
Later on, he heard a different voice. This time it said he was loved and he was going to do wonderous things with his life. He decided to no longer listen to the “loser voices.” He became energized like a bolt of lightning. Friedman joined the military. The combat-decorated veteran served four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the global war on terrorism. Originally a U.S. Marine Corps officer, Friedman transferred to the Air Force’s elite as a special tactics officer (combat controller) and a leader in special operations. His decorations include three Bronze Stars (one with valor) and the Air Force Combat Action Medal. He’s retiring because, he said. “It’s a young man’s game now.” “I’ve made my contribution,” he added. “I’m just trying to figure out how now to work 20 hours a day. I just want to empower people to change the world for good. “There’s so much chaos, hate and anger. We all need to come together and have some form of unity. It’s about changing the world one life at a time.”
Dr. Damon Friedman facebook.com/DrDamonFriedman damonfriedman.com
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AUGUST 24, 2020
Contributions to the MOCA Mask Project range from the humorous, like Catherine Opie’s signature gender subversion, which is represented by a mustachioed mouth, to the literal, like Barbara Kruger’s design, which reads “Better safe than sorry.”
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Artist-designed face masks support MOCA By William Bergholz s the coronavirus restrictions remain, The Museum of Contemporary Art at 250 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, is raising urgently needed funds while brightening Angelenos’ day. The MOCA Mask Project features masks created by Virgil Abloh, Yoko Ono, Pipilotti Rist, Mark Grotjahn, Alex Israel, Barbara Kruger, Catherine Opie and Hank Willis Thomas. Many of the masks were exclusively designed by the artists for the MOCA Mask Project, while others represent works from the artists’ catalogs.
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The MOCA Mask Project was made possible by LA-based denim brand Citizens of Humanity and MOCA trustee Karyn Kohl, who donated all production costs so MOCA could benefit from each sale. “Wearing a mask just got a whole lot cooler,” Kohl said. According to the Museum of Contemporary Art, the masks vary in fabric depending on the design, and the shapes of the masks are meant to fit a wide range of faces, including children over 10 years old. Contributions range from the humorous, like Opie’s signature gender subversion, which is represented by a musta-
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chioed mouth, to the literal, like Kruger’s design, which reads “Better safe than sorry.” Priced at $28, all of the masks are manufactured in LA and are available from the Museum of Contemporary Art store. “Each artist saw making masks as a very serious opportunity to bring art into daily life and to make it caring and protective, which is what I think the masks should be,” said museum director Klaus Biesenbach of the MOCA Mask Project. “Of course, it has to be a design that fits into the shape of the mask, but each artist found an interesting way for form to follow function. They’re all very thoughtful.” Biesenbach came up with the idea for the MOCA Mask Project after he embarked on a series of interviews with artists for the Museum of Contemporary Art’s social channels. During the pandemic, social media has replaced regular studio visits, which serve as the foundation of his curatorial philosophy. “I remember being on the phone to Hank Willis Thomas, and at one point I said, ‘I can’t really hear you,’ and it was because he was wearing a mask, of course,” Biesenbach recalled. “I also reposted an image of a mask from the MOCA Instagram account, and one of our trustees,
Karyn Kohl, texted me saying, ‘We should do this and I’ll support it.’ So it partly came from the artists and partly from Karyn.” To extend mask distribution, the Museum of Contemporary Art is partnering with the K11 group and Qatar Museums. The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts also took part. Beyond the immediate support, the MOCA Mask Project offers for the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is one of Los Angeles’ most popular cultural institutions, Biesenbach also hopes it will serve as a reminder of the wider importance of art, which Biesenbach believes is a means of finding moments of levity and joy during difficult times. “What would everybody have done during those months of lockdown without art, without movies, without literature?” he added. “It should have made us aware that this is something we have to consider essential, and especially when you think about education and bringing art into communities. I just hope that the masks can remind us that art is an important part of our lives.” The MOCA store can be accessed at moca.org/masks.
AUGUST 24, 2020
DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM
LA-based artist Jen Stark is lighting up Downtown with “Light Spectrum,” a public art installation at Summer FIGat7th.
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Jen Stark’s ‘Light Spectrum’ shines Downtown By William Bergholz A-based artist Jen Stark is lighting up Downtown with a public art installation at Summer FIGat7th, at 735 S. Figueroa Street. “Light Spectrum” was coordinated by Arts Brookfield Properties, which is known for its outdoor and indoor public art. The program manager, Erica Overskei, introduced Stark to the location. “It looked pretty awesome and massive,” Stark said. “I was definitely interested. It was a really great place for exhibit artwork.”
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“Light Spectrum” is found on Figat7th’s second-floor railings and grand staircase and features translucent vinyl, which casts a prism onto the ground as the sun transitions throughout the day. Along with that, opaque vinyl on the plaza elevator shaft and psychedelic-colored drips accent the top of the FIGat7th columns.
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Stark began working on “Light Spectrum” last fall. She sketched the design with drawing pencils and paper and scanned it onto her computer. She then used Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to trace and color it. “Light Spectrum” is found on Figat7th’s second-floor railings and grand staircase and features translucent vinyl. The vinyl is from Spin Imaging Inc. and its founder/ partner, Ruben Spangenthal. The vinyl casts a prism onto the ground as the sun transitions throughout the day. Along with that, opaque vinyl on the pla-
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za elevator shaft and Stark’s signature psychedelic-colored drips accent the top of the FIGat7th columns. Stark implemented vivid colors that are directly related to nature, inspired by the unique pigmentation of flowers and the wonder of bioluminescent sea creatures and microorganisms that live in the depths of the deep sea. This unique psychedelic installation is free and open to the public. “I love the public,” Stark said. “The public aspect is awesome because it opens the art to a whole new audience. Usually in galleries or those kinds of shows it only reaches a certain audience that has already tapped into that sort of art world. I love doing public art because it makes art more democratic. Most art is pretty to look at, but a lot of people don’t realize it. Public art makes the art accessible to everyone. So, people just showing up at the mall, they’re hopefully gonna stumble upon it and be inspired by it. Public art reaches a lot further.” Stark is known for her vibrant color displays. Her work is driven by her interest in conceptualizing visual systems to simulate plant growth, evolution, topography and sacred symbols. Working and living in Los Angeles, Stark’s work is all about catch-
ing people’s attention and creating cutting-edge pieces. The resulting works often resemble organic, molecular, cloud-like structures and are imbued with kinetic undulating effects that serve to dislocate the viewer from staid reality into an immersive ecosphere of echoing patterns and the implausible designs found in nature. Stark’s artist inspirations include Tom Friedman, Tara Donovan and Sol LeWitt. Stark has hosted exhibitions globally, with major shows in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Thailand and Canada. Her work is in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the West Collection, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and MOCA Miami. “I enjoy coming up with an idea in my sketchbook,” said Stark about her process. “It just starts with a thought. I enjoy the challenge of making it come to life. I’ve been getting more into having obstacles I have to get passed and figure out. I love my ideas coming to life.” Stark will host a show in November at Wilding Cran Gallery, 1700 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Suite 460, Downtown. Info: jenstark.com
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AUGUST 24, 2020