LA Downtown News 04-20-20

APRIL 20, 2020 I VOL. 49 I #16

Feeding the Community Little Tokyo’s new program helping small businesses Page 7

+ Humanity Heroes donates face masks to the homeless Page 4

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APRIL 20, 2020

AROUND TOWN

City Hall awash in blue in support of health care workers.

Photo courtesy Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office

Mayor: Large gatherings maybe not until 2021

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski ayor Eric Garcetti told CNN he doesn’t see large gatherings like concerts or sporting events returning to Los Angeles until 2021.

“It’s difficult to imagine us getting together in the thousands anytime soon, so I think we should be prepared for that this year,” he said.

“I think we all have never wanted science to work so quickly. But until there’s either a vaccine, some sort of pharmaceutical intervention or herd immunity, the science is the science. And public health officials have made very clear we have miles and miles to walk before we can be back in those environments.”

During his daily update on April 15, Garcetti was less specific. He said one of the biggest tragedies is not knowing when the public can gather again—be back in a classroom, catch a game at Dodger Stadium or the Staples Center.

“There’s no one who wants to see an NBA championship or a World Series winner

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than me,” Garcetti said. “Getting back to medium and large gatherings will be slow.”

On April 13, Gov. Gavin Newsom along with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced a regional partnership to coordinate the reopening of the West Coast. But Garcetti doesn’t know when that might be.

“While we don’t know what that date will be, the more we do now, the sooner those dates will come,” Garcetti said.

There are five pillars to “reopening Los Angeles”—widespread testing, real-time surveillance to detect new outbreaks, an aggressive response to new cases, an appropriate capacity of hospital rooms, and ongoing research and development.

“Some of the worst days of this crisis are still ahead,” Garcetti said. “With swift action, I hope we are flattening the curve.”

Info: coronavirus.lacity.org

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski STAFF WRITERS: Sara Edwards, Annika Tomlin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Marylu Bautista, Kamala Kirk, Brian Louwers ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Michael Lamb FOUNDER EMERITUS: Sue Laris

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APRIL 20, 2020

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EDITORIAL

BRANCH’S OPINION

What should the state do about the undocumented population?

By Marylu Bautista y dad rushes past the television as Gov. Gavin Newson announces his stay-at-home order. He grabs his lunch and heads out to work like any other day. He works as a dock loader and doesn’t have the luxury of staying home during this pandemic. As a mixed-status household, the only real safety net we have during this pandemic is his job—we are the lucky ones.

Undocumented immigrants including Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients are not eligible for benefits from the $2 trillion stimulus bill, because they do not have a qualifying Social Security number. Yet, undocumented immigrants are on the front lines of this pandemic: sanitizing buildings to reduce the spread of the virus; working on the fields so people have food on their tables; and, in my dad’s case, loading up supplies to have supermarkets stocked.

Leaving these 10.5 million people without an economic safety net is extremely counterproductive and dangerous for the pandemic. Many undocumented immigrants are working in essential industries and don’t have paid sick days, which economically forces them to go to work even if they are sick.

For households with qualifying Social Security numbers, the stimulus bill will provide a onetime payment of $1,200, although that amount might be less depending on your income. For every qualifying child age 16 and younger the household will receive $500. However, U.S.-born children with undocumented parents and mixed-status married couples will not qualify for this payment (except for military families). Under the bill, individuals with qualifying SSN will get an extra $600 per week on top of their state benefit; in California the maximum weekly benefit is $713. The extra $600 payment will last up to four months, ending July 31.

Some might argue that undocumented immigrants should not be eligible for any benefits because they don’t pay taxes and technically the individual payment is a tax credit advanced for your 2020 taxes. That argument is misinformed, as many undocumented immigrants, despite having no Social Security number, pay taxes through their Individual Tax Identification Number.

ITIN is a tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service to ensure people pay taxes regardless of their immigration status. According to the IRS, in 2015, 4.35 million people paid over 13.7 billion in net taxes using an ITIN and yet are not eligible for many tax and public benefits, including this federal tax credit.

Immediate response should come from the state government. My home state California has the second-highest statewide concentration of undocumented workers—1.75 million, according to The Pew Research Center. Immigrants contribute one-third of California’s GDP, over a third of our workforce, and pay billions of dollars in state and local taxes.

Undocumented immigrants will benefit from California earned income tax credit, which is a refundable cash-back credit for qualified low- to moderate-income working Californians. While the federal EITC (earned income tax credit) excludes ITIN tax filers, California earned income tax credit is not bound by these rules, for it’s a state-funded tax credit. However, you must have a Social Security number to qualify for CalEITC. California Immigration Policy has been working on a campaign to include ITIN filers in the CalEITC. “We continue to tell the governor that as part of the emergency response to COVID-19 it’s really crucial that he include ITIN files in the CalEITC, especially since the tax filing deadline was pushed back to July 15, so that gives more people time to file their taxes and claim their credit and people who already filed their taxes could amend their return to be able to claim their credit,” said Economic Justice Policy Manager Sasha Feldstein.

In addition to its budget act, California Immigration Policy is also working with legislative leaders such as Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), who sponsored Assembly Bill 2066. AB 2066 extends eligibility for CalEITC to ITIN tax filers, such as low-income undocumented immigrants.

During this pandemic, help for people should not be dependent on a nine-digit number, because whether you have a Social Security number or not is completely irrelevant to the virus—it affects everyone.

To support California Immigration Policy initiatives, you can go to its action portal at BIT.LY/ caleitcACTION.

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APRIL 20, 2020

UK luxury real estate company eyes expansion in LA

By Brian Louwers efore the scourge of the coronavirus Thomas Balashev cast a shadow of uncertainty over the world and virtually all of its business plans for the immediate future, Thomas Balashev and his wife took a “fact-finding” trip from the United Kingdom to Los Angeles.

Their mission: to explore the luxury real estate market ahead of a planned expansion of their company, Montague Property, into the LA area.

“I was really somewhat inspired by the marketplace. I think it’s a really interesting place in the world,” said Balashev, 30, Montague Property’s founder and CEO. “The reason we want to expand there is I genuinely believe the U.S. real estate model is centuries ahead of what it is in the U.K. and Europe.”

Balashev dropped out of school at the age of 16, learned about the U.K. property market on his own and built the company from the ground up. His team now bills Montague Property as one of the fastest-growing luxury real estate companies in the United Kingdom and attributes its success to a personal, start-tofinish approach that makes the process “effortless and completely transparent” for its clients.

Expansion in select U.S. areas would be a good fit and a natural progression for the growing but still agile global real estate agency. Like art, film or popular music that achieves acclaim and success on the other side of the Atlantic, Balashev, whose roots lie in Eastern Europe and Scotland, said making it in America isn’t a given.

“When it comes to the U.K., we don’t take real estate that seriously. The way we do business is very American,” Balashev said. “My focus is not to try and be the No. 1 agency in the U.S. It’s to improve our business for the benefit of our clients by taking the best from both continents.

That makes a lot of sense to me. I don’t know why more people haven’t tried that.”

A rebranding of sorts for the U.S. market would swap Montague Property to a more familiar Montague Real Estate.

While COVID-19 has forced everyone to at least temporarily suspend or rethink the timing of their plans, Balashev said Montague’s fresh perspective might provide value for developers once the virus threat subsides.

He said he isn’t afraid to fail by venturing into the LA market.

“I’d rather that happen than sit on the sidelines in Europe,” Balashev said. “The U.S. has that phrase, ‘Put some skin in the game.’ That’s what we’re trying to do.

“We want to be a part of the community. We don’t want to change anything. We want to complement it,” Balashev said.

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Humanity Heroes’ founder, entrepreneur Michael “BigMike” Straumietis, right, passes out masks to the homeless with the help of volunteers.

Photo courtesy Humanity Heroes

Humanity Heroes donates face masks to the homeless

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski o help stem the tide of COVID-19 among the homeless of Skid Row, Humanity Heroes donated 17,000 face masks to homeless shelters in Los Angeles. That includes 2,500 face masks to the Hollywood Food Coalition.

“There is such a concern about the easy spread of this virus to people who are living outside,” said Executive Director Sherry Bonanno of Hollywood Food Coalition. “Having these masks and distributing them is hugely helpful.”

Humanity Heroes also donated 5,700 face masks to Homeless Healthcare of Los Angeles, which provides the homeless with a 24/7 hygiene center known as the “Refresh Spot” with access to handwashing stations, showers, clean restrooms and laundry facilities for Skid Row. “It’s amazing that Humanity Heroes is able to do this, and I just can’t thank them enough. This is beautiful,” said Director Mark Casanova of Homeless Healthcare of Los Angeles.

Additionally, 700 N95 masks were donated to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center for the brave doctors and nurses who face this pandemic head-on.

In preparation for the increased burden on the homeless caused by this tragic pandemic, Humanity Heroes is also reaching out to any organizations that are willing to donate items for their “Humanity Packs.”

Humanity Heroes’ founder, entrepreneur Michael “BigMike” Straumietis, said the homeless were grateful for the masks. To date, the organization has donated more than $450,000 in nonperishable items to the LA homeless community.

“It was sorely needed,” Straumietis said about the masks. “The reaction was extremely positive. The homeless are not practicing safe distancing. They’re in packs.

“There are more homeless people down there than all the other times I’ve been there.

The city of LA needs to get down there and do whatever they can. It’s a major infestation point that’s about to detonate.”

Info: joinhumanityheroes.org

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APRIL 20, 2020

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

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Landlord supports tenants, employees during pandemic

By Kamala Kirk ith the recent mandate to shut down businesses as a result of COVID-19, Sauli Danpour’s first order of business was to provide support for his tenants and employees. In addition to several residential properties, Danpour owns two commercial buildings in Downtown Los Angeles. His tenants include a variety of small businesses that range from a sandwich shop to a charter school.

“My immediate concern was to try and help the small-business tenants,” Danpour said. “Being a small-business owner myself, I’m somewhat sensitive to some of the issues that they are facing when the economy turned sour.”

Danpour told his tenants about government subsidies and other resources for small businesses, as well as offering rent relief by discounting their rents through the end of the year and deferring their payments for two months.

Veronica Perez owns a public affairs firm and has been Danpour’s tenant for two years. “As a small-business owner, I am definitely losing sleep over the toll this pandemic might take on my business,” she said. “I feel very fortunate that our landlord proactively reached out to offer rent relief. In these uncertain times, it is a much-needed reminder that we are all in this together.”

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Another tenant, Sung Park, owns a sandwich shop that has rented space in one of Danpour’s buildings for several years. “At this very moment when everyone is struggling to fight COVID-19, both financially and emotionally, it’s had a huge impact on small businesses like ours,” she said. “Sauli has been very forgiving and understanding about the situation and has provided rent relief along with additional material to help financially with our business.”

Danpour emailed LADWP to encourage it to defer some or all payments for small businesses and property owners, and suggested that it offer the opportunity to set up an installment plan for the deferrals. He contacted his mortgage lender to request interest reductions for both of his properties and asked his insurance company for a reduced premium to pass onto tenants.

He sent emails to the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, requesting the postponement of deadlines for the mandate for the seismic retrofit of buildings and to eliminate gross receipts taxes for up to $3 million in gross revenues, as well as the county assessor to suggest deferral of some or all property tax payments for small businesses and property owners.

Danpour, who is a board member and finance committee chair for the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID), also

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contacted the organization’s executive director to see if she would team up with other districts to encourage financial relief from city and county officials.

“I’ve also reached out to people in City Hall about some of the ordinances they’ve been proposing and asking that they exempt small businesses of 50 or fewer employees,” Danpour added. “While not enforcing evictions is totally understandable, there should also be some compensation on the other side of the equation for small property owners like myself. My mortgage lender still wants to get paid, which is making things challenging right now.”

Also concerned about his employees, who were furloughed due to the mandated closure of his business, Danpour has been writing them bi-weekly checks from his personal account to match their payroll checks, with the goal of easing financial burdens until their unemployment benefits kick in.

“Throughout the years that I’ve been in this business, we’ve had a number of economic slowdowns and crashes, including the recession several years ago,” he said. “Employees want a sense of security during these tough times, so I’ve always shown my staff that we’re going to be fine. Every downturn you go through, you learn some lessons and you become more proactive to make sure all the antic-

ipated issues are addressed as soon as possible.”

Thirty-nine years ago, Danpour learned a big lesson when he experienced a major financial setback that left him homeless and living out of his car for a while. These days, he works with nonprofits that hire homeless individuals to perform different jobs. “It taught me to never take anything for granted and helped ground me quite a bit,” he said. “You come out stronger from things like that.”

Even before COVID-19, Danpour was committed to providing accommodations for his tenants. From helping a tenant overcome obstacles related to construction permits to paying for a portion of another tenant’s legal expenses when they were being sued, he has always gone above and beyond to lend a hand.

What advice does Danpour have for other landlords in a position similar to his?

“Communicate with your tenants,” he said.

“Of course not everyone is going to be happy and some will ask for more concessions. We all have our own constraints and I’m doing all I can. Talk with them and stay in touch. If someone is having difficulty paying, set up an installment plan—do whatever you can to help them out. To me, it’s not as much about the money as it is about establishing and maintaining those relationships with small businesses. In my opinion, it’s the right thing to do.”

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APRIL 20, 2020

Union Cowork brings the office to the cars

By Annika Tomlin quiet place to sit down and work is hard to come by nowadays when all of the family is stuck at home, not to mention when all of the internet is now being shared with every member of the household.

Union Cowork CEO and founder Jaime Miller has a fix for this problem. Miller is offering members of the office-sharing company the opportunity to use the parking lot as a drive-up office.

“Our goal wasn’t to replace the eight-hour workday with this,” Miller said. “It’s to give people an option for important calls and important work without having to scramble around your house to figure things out.”

Union Cowork has seven locations around Southern California that, prior to the pandemic, housed several entrepreneurs needing office space to call their own.

Now stuck at home with the government-mandated lockdown, people are struggling to get their work done.

Union has 12 parking spaces at the Downtown LA location where members can park and access the password-protected fiber optic Wi-Fi connection.

“One of the biggest value propositions working in the cowork is having that sense of community,” Miller said. “Obviously, it’s not as intimate, but drive-up coworking at least gives people that sense of connectivity that they don’t get at home.”

Miller can relate. The quietest part of his home doesn’t have a wireless signal. To focus, he would have to run out to his car and use Wi-Fi.

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There are 12 parking spots in front of the 25,000-square-foot Union Cowork DTLA where members can park and access its password-protected fiber optic connection.

Photo courtesy Union Cowork

“Scrambling out to my car with a laptop and a phone while I’m trying to figure this out because the source of noise is my child who stubbed his toe means that I’m very inefficient and probably ineffective relative to that specific amount of time,” Miller said. “This allows for people to allot for that time and to make sure that they don’t hit those speed bumps that they might at home.”

The connectivity to the internet as well as to the members’ peers was the driving force to make this opportunity happen.

“Members find it more productive because they are around people who are achieving something or working toward something and therefore it is somewhat inspiring,” Miller says.

Working in a car may seem like an odd concept, but it’s worth the change of scenery.

“As funny as it might be to sit in a car with your windows down 6 feet away from another car, there is that capability to just turn to whomever it is and discuss an issue whether that’s business or personal,” Miller said. “Even if you don’t speak with that person it’s just knowing that people are in it also, which is one of the motivating factors for people to go to coworking spaces.”

Restrooms with hot water and soap are open in the buildings for members to go to one at a time while wearing a mask. Restrooms are cleaned daily.

Another amenity of the urban central location is the quick access to food and drink. It’s easy for a member to park in the lot and take a break to go walk and grab a coffee and return.

The biggest amenity for members of Union Cowork is the dedicated fiber-optic connection.

“If you’re sharing bandwidth with your neighborhood and your kids, you’re probably not getting as great of a connection, if any at all, to do the meetings or high bandwidth-demanding scenarios,” Miller said. “That’s the biggest amenity that we provide out of the building during this time.”

There is a two-hour limit on a parking spot, but it has not yet needed to be regularly enforced.

“I think it’s natural that after a couple hours you have done the work that you need to do and you’re also maybe tired of sitting in a car,” Miller said. “I think it’s a natural sort of limit for people.”

Miller’s favorite part about the switch is the continued family atmosphere.

“People are bringing their pets, not that they don’t bring their pets to the cowork, but if someone opens up the back of their truck and they’re working out of their SUV and they got their dogs there, you almost have this family environment going on in the parking lot,” Miller said. “Maybe you’ll take your friend’s dog for a walk in between work sessions.”

Miller works out of his Suburban that offers lots of room and privacy while also letting him open a hatch to let in the fresh ocean air.

“The added benefit in Southern California is that the weather is great, so you get to be in great weather,” Miller said.

Union Cowork 1325 Palmetto Street, Los Angeles 213-814-0270 unioncowork.com/locations/union-co-work/

APRIL 20, 2020

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BUSINESS

Little Tokyo’s new program feeds small businesses’ budgets

By Kamala Kirk he second oldest neighborhood in Los Angeles, Little Tokyo is home to historic and family-owned businesses and restaurants. During COVID-19, many of these local businesses continue to operate for delivery, takeout or online shopping and are also participating in the Community Feeding Community Program (CFC), which provides meals for hospitality workers whose jobs have been impacted by the pandemic.

“We knew as soon as COVID-19 hit Los Angeles that our Little Tokyo community would be particularly vulnerable, given that Little Tokyo is very small but has the highest concentration of senior residents and about 400 businesses,” said Kristin Fukushima, who founded CFC with James Choi and Nancy Yap. “We are extremely worried that COVID-19 has the potential to irrevocably change the landscape and makeup of our community in a way that devastates this historic neighborhood, and we hope CFC will help strengthen the neighborhood through crisis.”

It all started when the program’s founding funders, Susan Moon and Michael Yap, started to support local restaurants and feed nonprofit staff that were doing essential work. They approached Michael’s sister, Nan-

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cy, who is vice president of development for Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP), to ask how they could support more small businesses.

With Fukushima and Choi, they assessed the other programs in Little Tokyo and where they could fill a gap. A Little Tokyo Community Council board member and Café Dulce owner, Choi shared programs that restaurants like Mozza and Adamae were having for hospitality folks whose jobs were impacted by coronavirus closures.

They took that idea and added a nonprofit fundraising lens to it—then kicked off the program and engaged donors.

“With a few different organizations doing the important work to support senior residents, we decided to concentrate our focus on filling the gap around small business support,” explained Fukushima, the Little Tokyo Community Council managing director and an Arts District/Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council member.

“The small-business community has always been a core part of Little Tokyo’s foundation and has grounded our memories, connections and community over generations—they are what makes Little Tokyo unique and special, and feel like home.”

Here’s how the program works: CFC uses

all money raised to buy meals at small businesses across Little Tokyo and the Arts District at menu price. The meals are then passed out to those whose jobs have been impacted by COVID-19 closures. Distribution takes place from a table outside Café Dulce at 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays until it runs out of meals. CFC has purchased meals from businesses like Far Bar, Mitsuru Sushi & Grill and Bao Hiroo.

Don Tahara, who owns Far Bar and Sake Dojo in Little Tokyo, provided meals for the first CFC donation day on April 11.

“We have provided meals through sponsorships to unemployed restaurant workers and separately to out-of-work bartenders,” Tahara said. “We are currently providing senior citizen meals once per week for CFC.” Café Dulce started “Dulce Drink Provisions,” which are half-gallon sizes of its more popular drinks, like the dulce latte and blueberry matcha latte.

“We have also started offering other things that are easier for taking away and

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storing at home, like lasagna,” Choi shared.

“We have also brought back our sausage donut, which is only a twice-a-year special item. All of this is in efforts to keep as many of our team members employed while being open and giving our community another option for sustenance and some semblance of normalcy.”

So far, CFC has received support from more than 150 donors who have helped it raise over $20,000. Those interested can donate a meal for $15 online. All donations go directly to purchasing meals from small businesses.

“Little Tokyo is a fairly tight-knit community, and many of us have gotten to know the staff and workers fairly well at the different stores, restaurants and other businesses,” Michael Yap said.

“This is a way to show we care about these folks and want to make sure they can get a delicious meal from a business in the community.”

For more information, visit littletokyola.org.

Japanese Village Plaza is a diverse shopping complex that is home to Japanese eateries, markets and shops in Little Tokyo.

Photo courtesy Go Little Tokyo

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APRIL 20, 2020

The Sparkle Factory is open by appointment Monday through Friday and offers customers an exclusive shopping experience.

Photo courtesy Tarina Tarantino

Designer Tarina Tarantino’s Sparkle Factory shines bright F

By Kamala Kirk rom Barbie to Hello Kitty, jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino is known for her colorful and eclectic designs that have been worn by countless celebrities and featured on magazine covers. Her flagship retail boutique and corporate headquarters, The Sparkle Factory, is located in a historic building in the heart of DTLA’s Historic Core neighborhood.

Tarantino purchased the building in 2007 with her husband, Alfonso Campos. In late 2006, the couple had outgrown their previous space at the Cooper Building in the Fashion District, where they had been for almost five years.

“One day, Alfonso and I were parking in the lot that used to be next to our building just as the owner was putting up a ‘For Sale’ sign,” Tarantino said.

“This building was our favorite in the neighborhood, and we couldn’t believe it was for sale. We toured the building and made an offer, but an existing tenant was trying to buy it. We didn’t hear anything for

months, so we gave up. Then suddenly we got a call that it was back on the market and figured it was meant to be, so we bought it.”

Staying in Downtown was a no-brainer for Tarantino and Campos, who were drawn to the energy of the area along with its community of creatives.

“We only ever wanted to be in Downtown,” Tarantino said. “We are huge fans of Los Angeles, especially its historic neighborhoods. In 2007, the Fashion District was still very garment-centric and there were certainly no viable retail or cool restaurants.

But you had all these beautiful buildings on Broadway that were full of history and stories ready to be told. We were excited to be part of that renaissance.”

Located at Ninth and Broadway across from the Ace Hotel, the building has a rich and fascinating history that dates back to Hollywood’s Golden Age. It was built in 1914 and designed by Meyer & Holler, a well-known architecture firm behind some of the most opulent buildings in Los Angeles, including Grauman’s Chinese and Egyptian theaters.

APRIL 20, 2020

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Tarina Tarantino’s jewelry, handbags and other accessories feature whimsical designs, bright colors and just the right amount of sparkle.

Photo courtesy Tarina Tarantino

In 1919, L.L. Burns of Western Costume leased the entire building. In 1922, Harold Lloyd filmed the iconic clock scene from his film “Safety Last” on the rooftop. The south-facing wall of the building features a mural depicting the word “parking” in bold red letters accompanied by a young girl on a swing, which was painted in 2010 by renowned street artist Banksy.

“We are in this wonderful little community that is a mixture of artists, entrepreneurs, fashion and tech companies,” Tarantino said.

“There are lots of creatives and the vibe here is amazing. We just installed a 15-foot by 20foot mural in our lobby showcasing the history of The Sparkle Factory and surrounding neighborhood. The reason we renamed it The Sparkle Factory is for the ‘spark’ of innovation and creativity it inspires. It’s an exciting time here on Broadway, even in light of the current situation with COVID-19. I believe that everything will bounce back quickly.”

The couple’s goal after buying the building was to bring it back to its original glory. Renovation projects included restoring the second-floor windows that had been removed in the 1930s and replacing them with small modular windows. They recreated the windows by using the seventh-floor windows, which were the same, as a template.

The other major change was the addition of the lights on the façade.

“Our building was chosen by the Bringing Back Broadway committee of Los Angeles to receive a grant through The Broadway Façade Lighting Project,” Tarantino said.

“The best part was working with lighting designer Tom Ruzika, who seemed to read our minds when he showed up with his proposal. Our dream was to light the façade with individual bulbs in an old-time arcade style— he not only came up with the perfect design, he also sourced faceted lightbulbs to give it that extra sparkle. People stop us all the time to say how much they love the building and

to thank us for restoring it so beautifully.”

Tarantino leases out various floors of the building to commercial tenants, most of whom are in tech and fashion. The ground floor of the building features a large retail space with a mezzanine, while the second through seventh floors are creative office spaces. The basement is available, and Tarantino said it would be “perfect for a speakeasy-style bar.”

Located on the seventh floor, The Sparkle Factory’s whimsical interior includes a pink chandelier adorned with pearls, a wall painted in the Tiffany blue shade, and endless drawers and shelves filled with sparkling treasures. The space was formerly Tarantino’s wholesale showroom, but she wanted to transform it into a space where the public could shop by appointment Monday through Friday. Her customers, many who are avid collectors, love going through the drawers, trying on pieces from current and past collections, and shopping the entire archive.

“As much as we loved our stores on Melrose and in NYC and Italy, we wanted our customers to experience something new,” Tarantino said.

“It took almost a year to build out the space, mostly because of all the custom work we did ourselves. Alfonso designed and made all the built-ins and cabinets, while I added all the details like the pearl bead drops in the wall units. We also knew it had to be an experience worth the trip up from street level, so no details were spared. It’s also important for the space to be gorgeously photogenic as the backdrop for our collections.”

Although closed due to the stay-at-home mandate, The Sparkle Factory looks forward to opening its doors again in the near future.

For now, all of Tarantino’s collections can be found on her website and she continues to process online orders for customers who need a little extra sparkle in their lives.

“I’m inspired by the parade of life, whatev-

Tarina Tarantino purchased and renovated a historic building on Broadway that was designed

by Meyer & Holler, the architecture firm behind Grauman’s Chinese and Egyptian theaters.

Photo courtesy Tarina Tarantino

er strikes me at the moment,” Tarantino said.

“My phone is full of crazy notes of ideas and I take tons of photos to mostly capture color combinations.”

She also keeps an “inspirationarium” at her studio and at home, which has shelves filled with books, toys, collections, art and other things that inspire her.

“Our spring jewelry collections are all about modern nostalgia with lots of layered pearls and chains combined with playful fruit motifs like bananas, apples and strawberries,” Tarantino added. “In response to the pandemic, I’m currently creating a brand-new collection of couture DIY jewelry kits based on my book, ‘The Sparkle Factory,’ which will be available on our website very soon.”

For more information, visit tarinatarantino. com and follow on Instagram @tarinatarantino @thesparklefactory to stay updated on upcoming events and more.

Tarina Tarantino is a world-renowned jewelry designer whose creations have been worn by countless celebrities and featured on magazine covers.

Photo by Albert Sanchez

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

10 DOWNTOWN NEWS

APRIL 20, 2020

Arts and culture festival goes virtual during the pandemic

By Sara Edwards ur LA Voices Arts + Culture Fest, Grand Park’s most popular spring arts experience, is going virtual to showcase Los Angeles County’s vibrant art, music and culture.

Julia Diamond, Grand Park director, said folks are missing the human connection, even though they can leave their homes to go for a walk or drive during this quarantine.

“Now more than ever, people need some joy and learning opportunities to feel connected,” Diamond said. “People want to feel a connection to LA, and you can sometimes get that feeling through film and television.

This felt like an opportunity to maintain the festival and really help people feel connected to Los Angeles.”

This third annual festival is a free, family-friendly look at the diverse culture and community that make up LA County through visual arts—from music and films to poetry and food.

“We really serve to elevate and celebrate the creative cultures and communities of LA and we didn’t want to let this opportunity go by, especially in a time where our arts community is being so hard hit by the crisis,” Diamond said. “We do this festival every year and it’s this wonderful platform to really put some of the coolest, most interesting, creative talents out there for people to discover.”

The festival runs for three days with mu-

O

5 OFF

sic and performances from different cultures and communities across LA. This year, more than 18 hours of livestreamed content will air on Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26, only.

Saturday will feature musicians like Puerto Rican quartet Balún and the Los Angeles Beatmakers, a scene that combines sound and space, while exploring the crossroads of technology, tradition and identity.

Linafornia, from Leimert Park, has DJed for Grand Park events previously. The rising hip-hop DJ is ready to make her return with Grand Park and hear some other beatmakers.

“One thing we all have in common is we repurpose old music to make new sounds and create new ideas and concepts,” she said. “We all live in LA and we have this unique music community that focuses on hip-hop beats, beat making and live demonstrating.”

Another DJ, Jansport J, heard about the festival through producer Slim Jeff, who curated the acts the previous year. He said while they can’t perform in person, they can at least spread the message and excitement of the festival even over livestream.

“I’m excited to be a part of the event and showcase my skills but at the same time see my peers flourish on a platform like this,” he said. “It’s a beautiful thing that the city of Los Angeles is continuing to go forth with it and find a way to broadcast to an even big-

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ger audience and not just LA.” Film and movies are another big part of the festival. Visual Communications is “the first nonprofit organization in the U.S. dedicated to the honest and accurate portrayals of the Asian Pacific American peoples, communities and heritage through the media arts.”

Francis Cullado, the executive director for Visual Communications, said the Our LA Voices festival allows them to showcase two of their film programs: the digital histories program, which is adults and seniors telling the stories of LA through documentary-style films, and Armed with a Camera fellowship, consisting of younger emerging filmmakers.

“We really just wanted to make arts and culture accessible to everybody, and we really rock with that,” Cullado said. “A live version would’ve been amazing, but at least everyone can come together virtually.”

Visual Communications will be showing two collections of films. Saturday will feature the films in a collection called “The Unseen El Lay,” showing films from the Armed with a Camera fellowship about how native Angelenos view their lives in the City of Angels. The second collection, on Sunday, will feature films by the Digital Histories group called “Little Tokyo and Beyond,” which will discuss what constitutes a “place,” “location” or “meeting ground.”

“We want to be contributing to the inclu-

sivity of Los Angeles,” Cullado said. “Most of our stories, while specific, are universal; and hopefully that’s a common theme everyone can share.”

In prior years, the festival also had a marketplace for food and art vendors. In lieu of that, the festival will feature cooking demonstrations from food vendor SalviSoul at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, and a live interview with Gloria Lucas and Monica Virgen Zamora from artist market Mujeres Market on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

“Some things convert very easily to online and others don’t,” Diamond said. “We’re just happy to retain 80% of the original programming, even with some modification, and keep them in this format. It’s a sign of the times and people are getting creative.

Who better to be challenged and creative than a group of artists?”

While Diamond is sad she and other LA residents won’t get to see the work of artists and vendors in person, continuing to hold the festival through a virtual platform allows people from all over the country to attend.

“Access has always been a hallmark of the park,” Diamond said. “We’re trying to translate those values and aspects of what people love about the park to the digital space.

I also applaud the artists because it’s a lot to take a project you’ve been working on for a year or more and morph it. It’s a testament to the artists and their love of community to do this.”

DOWNTOWN NEWS 11

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Instagram, @shani_am_mo.

Moore has an upbeat attitude about multiple sclerosis but remains cautious. She describes it as a car wreck in slow motion.

“It doesn’t have the drama of the crash, but it’s a series of hurts, pain and fears that collectively diminish your way of life,” she said.

“I used to think that MS was a curse. Now I realize it’s a blessing. It taught me to appreciate each day and to pursue my plans and dreams with reckless abandon. When obstacles come up in our lives, there’s always a way to overcome and push through or go around them.”

Moore has been sad about coronavirus ripping through the globe. Her immune system is compromised due to the MS. Her friends and family are also quarantining to protect Moore.

“If they caught coronavirus, they would be fine,” she said. “They are doing it because it would be good for me and older people who are vulnerable. They’re stepping it up for the vulnerable. I was so inspired by that.”

Moore is raising money to support the vulnerable, including her 2.3 million “brothers and sisters” around the globe who have MS. “I’m raising money for the MS Society’s efforts to find a cure for this devastating disease, too,” she said. “I decided to walk the 3 miles in laps in front of my home while wearing a mask and keeping 6 feet apart. I want to be safe about it and follow Gov. Newsom’s guidelines.”

largest walk locally. It’s usually held at the Rose Bowl with 8,000 to 10,000 walkers.

“We’re asking anybody who is virtually walking to use #virtualwalkms and share pictures.”

Moore has raised $30,000 in a week, Wise added. To donate, visit https://bit.ly/2VDiold or go to secure.nationalmssociety.org and search for Shani Am. Moore.

“She’s really quite an inspiration,” Wise said.

“What she’s doing with the larger MS community and the community at large is going to make a big impact for us.”

Ambitious Moore grew up in the Bronx, in a small home with nine other people. One of those family members was her grandfather, the Rev. Dr. James J. Thomas.

“As we were growing up, he would pull me aside and gesture around the loving but crowded home, in his Jamaican accent, and say, ‘If you want more than this, go to school.

Education is the skeleton key to the world.’ He was brilliant.”

Moore earned a degree in politics with a focus on African American studies from Princeton. At UC Berkeley, she earned her master’s degree in journalism with a focus on Latin American studies. She obtained her JD with a concentration in business and communications from Stanford.

Most recently, she attended UCLA Extension and received a certificate in TV writing. She’ll announce the name of the Netflix show she’s working on through her

Shani Am. Moore, who has multiple sclerosis, is raising money through September for the National MS Society.

Photos courtesy Shani Am. Moore

Shani Am. Moore an ‘inspiration’ to her peers

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fers from agonizing muscle spasms.

“There isn’t a single day I don’t live with the fear that my MS will progress to the ultimate point of taking my life,” she said.

On April 19, she hosted a virtual walk, Walk MS: Greater Los Angeles 2020. She’ll collect money for the organization until September 30 through nationalmssociety.org.

Walk MS is one of the society’s largest fundraiser, with hundreds of walks that happen nationwide, according to Jennifer Wise, National MS Society’s president for Southern California and Nevada.

“In light of COVID-19, we’ve had to shift this to a virtual walk,” Wise said. “Folks are participating virtually for the days the walks were slated to talk place. Shani is taking part in the

photo courtesy Atlantic

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski leven years ago, Shani Am. Moore woke up blind in her left eye. Three weeks later, her sight started slipping away from her right eye.

That was her introduction to multiple sclerosis.

“It was a regular old Thursday morning, but I couldn’t see anything out of my left eye,” Moore said. “I thought I forgot to take out my contact.”

Really the Lincoln Heights woman’s immune system was attacking the healthy cells of her body as if it was fighting a cold, said Moore, a writer for Netflix.

The majority of her vision has returned, but her left side is partially paralyzed, and she suf-

Info: facebook.com/WalkMS

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