02-08-16 by Los Angeles Downtown News

FEBRUARY 8, 2016 I VOL. 45 I #6

INSIDE THIS WEEK: A Park in the Middle of Hope Street : 13 Remembering the Incendiary Otis Redding : 17

SPECIAL

photos by Gary Leonard

SECTION

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

Scenes From the Night On Broadway Street Festival

See Page 14

PAGES 7-12

THE VOICE OF DOWNTOWN L.A. SINCE 1972

2 Downtown News

AROUND TOWN

Two More Jewel-Inspired Projects Announced

owntown-based developer and landowner Jade Enterprises is in construction on the 159-unit Topaz apartments at Sixth and Main streets and the Onyx project, which will create 410 rental units on Pico Boulevard between Flower and Hope streets in South Park. It turns out, that’s just the start. Jade is readying two other seven-story developments named after jewels. According to a company spokesman, the Sapphire, at Sixth and Bixel streets in City West, would feature 369 residential units and 22,000 square feet of retail space. The Emerald, at 14th and Olive streets, would have 154 apartments and 11,000 square feet for retail. Both projects are in the entitlement phase and no budget or timeline have been announced. Current plans call for the Topaz to open in the third quarter of this year and the Onyx to debut in early 2017.

Calling All Artists: Can You Design a Sun Shade?

n December, Grand Park won a $100,000 grant from the Goldhirsh Foundation to install sun shades in part of the 12-acre attraction. Now, there’s even better news for Downtowners: Locals have a chance to design the structures. The park has launched a competi-

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS tion, which according to an announcement on the website is open to all Los Angeles established and emerging artists. The shades will go in the portion of the park known as the Olive Court, between Grand Avenue and Hill Street. Few guidelines are given, though the website instructs, “Artists are encouraged to draw on their own experiences with and at Grand Park in developing their designs.” The winner will receive a $15,000 commission and the chosen design will be featured at the Olive Court for two years. An informational meeting on the contest takes place at the Olive Court at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10. The deadline for entries is 5 p.m. on Feb. 26 and finalists will be announced March 12. More information is at grandparkla.org.

TAKE MY PICTURE GARY LEONARD

Anticipated Restaurant Opens in Arts District

n late 2013, proprietor Matteo Ferdinandi and chef Angelo Auriana opened the Factory Kitchen in the Arts District. They quickly won acclaim for the finessed Italian cooking in a casual, industrial-chic space. Now, they’re doubling up, and on Friday, Feb. 5, they launched Officine Brera, also in the Factory Place Arts Complex. The new restaurant focuses on Italian preparations of meat and game, and a central open kitchen shows off a wood-fired oven, rotisserie and grill, all surrounded by a large indoor dining area and outdoor patio. Highlights include grilled quail, large cuts of roasted meat, risotto and other Northern Italian specialties. Ferdinandi and Auriana have recruited chef de cuisine Mirko Paderno to oversee daily operations and change the menu regularly; Paderno most

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recently worked at the Avalon Hotel’s Oliviero restaurant and received much of his training in Italy. Officine Brera is at 1331 E. Sixth St. More information is at officinebrera.com.

New Designs for Major Chinatown Project

potentially transformational Chinatown development has received a significant redesign. The mega-project College Station, initially broached in 2014 by now-defunct developer Evoq, has been redesigned under the

Winter 2016

helm of Atlas Capital Group, which acquired Evoq. The new plan, designed by Chinatownbased architecture firm Johnson Fain, ditches the former 20-story towers for six low-rise buildings, public plazas and retail space spread across a 5.7-acre site at Spring and College streets (near the southern tip of Los Angeles State Historic Park). The project would have a total of 624 apartments and 51,000 square feet of retail, including a roughly 37,000-squarefoot market. The new proposal addresses concerns about the impact of high-rises in a largely low-rise community without sacrificing much Continued on page 24

s á m y , c i s u m , films

th at this mon

la plaza

MUSIC | Boleros de Noche Grupo Bella & Trio Alma y Alma Friday, February 12 | 6:30 pm | $20 Enjoy a night of romantic boleros under the stars during Valentine’s Day weekend! Tickets can be purchased at: http://bolerosdenoche-february12.eventbrite.com

FILM | Invisible Roots: Afro-Mexicans in Southern California Thursday, February 18 | 7pm | Free In honor of Black History Month, learn about the history, culture, and lives of Afro-Mexicans from the Costa Chica area of Mexico living in Southern California. Conversation with producers Tiffany Walton and Lizz Mullis.

FILM | Black in Latin America — Mexico & Peru: A Hidden Race Thursday, February 25 | 7pm | Free LA Plaza’s Black History Month celebration continues with a film exploring African roots in Latin America. Conversation with Dr. Toni-Mokjaetji Humber, professor of Ethnic & Women’s Studies, CSU Pomona.

To learn more about these exciting events, follow us! 501 North Main Street | www.lapca.org | 888.488.8083

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February 8, 2016

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4 Downtown News

EDITORIALS

ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison ASSISTANT ARTTWITTER: DIRECTOR: Yumi Kanegawa @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

CIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Salvador Ingles DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla February 8, 2016

©2016 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved. The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles.

One copy per person.

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

Downtown Gets The Street Festival It Deserves

ver the past 15 years, Downtown Los Angeles has undergone a metamorphosis, transitioning from EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris an office hub that was busy in the day and freGENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin quently dead after dark to a thriving, almost 24-7 community that is home to nearly 60,000 residents and the most EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jon Regardie exciting restaurant and nightlife scene in L.A. County. As SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim DTLA, as it is now often termed, blossomed, the world has STAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton taken notice — just consider the numerous stories in naCONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathryn Maese S I N C E 19 7 2 tional and international media. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer Los Angeles Downtown News Now, after all these years of growth, Downtown has the 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison street festival it deserves, one that encapsulates the excitephone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Yumi Kanegawa ment, diversity and boundless life found in the community web: DowntownNews.com itself. That festival is Night on Broadway. email: realpeople@downtownnews.com PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard The second installment of the event created by the offacebook: fice of 14th District City Councilman José Huizar took place ACCOUNTING: Ashley Schmidt L.A. Downtown News on Saturday, Jan. 30, and it was thrilling. For six hours peoCLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine Holloway twitter: ple thronged seven blocks of Broadway, parading up and ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens, DowntownNews S I enterN C E 19 7 2 down the historic street and enjoying a bevy of free Michael Lamb Los Angeles Downtown News ©2016 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News tainment. Organizers estimate that 65,000 people showed SALES ASSISTANT: Claudia Hernandez is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved. W.leap First from Street,the Los35,000 Angeles,who CA 90026 up, a1264 huge attended the inauguThe Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newsphone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 CIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon paper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every ral event last year. web: DowntownNews.com • email: realpeople@downtownnews.com Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Salvador Ingles The night was a fantastic demonstration of all that Los Angeles. DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla One copy per person. Broadway facebook: — and by extension, all that Downtown twitter: — has L.A. Downtown News and modern technology, DowntownNews to offer. It showcased history and the Theatre at Ace Hotel) or the other onetime movie palaces. Per The street itself is more pedestrian friendly, as Huizar’s office offered up copious amounts of food, music, architecture suading the owners of the venues to open and program these works to create permanent protected on-site dining and gatherand art. The energy was palpable. ing areas, in part by reducing traffic lanes.EDITOR The net result is that, & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris gems was a coup. EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris Huizar and his office deserve immense credit for their The fun continued outdoors. The street was filled with food in 2016, people think of Broadway differently thanMANAGER: they onceDawn did. Eastin GENERAL GENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin vision and execution, and after seeing the results it is hard trucks, art displays, kid’s activities and even a Ferris Wheel. The Now the street speaks to the future, not just the past. EXECUTIVE Regardie to ponder howEDITOR: manyJon hours of planning and work must EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jon Regardiecrowds were thick for performances by Aloe Blacc and Los Angeles Eddie haveSENIOR gone WRITER: into Night onKim Broadway. The event’s website band Ozomatli. SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim STAFF Nicholas Slayton alone listsWRITER: 54 sponsors (they include Los Angeles DownSTAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton If there was one quibble with Night on Broadway, it was the Kathryn Maese townCONTRIBUTING News), and EDITOR: this doesn’t take into account all the coCONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathryn overuse Maese of banners, signage and announcements touting Huizar CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer ordination that had to be done with city departments to himself. the councilman has focused S I N Cresources E 19 7 2on the street CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Favre, GregWhile Fischer ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison arrange street closures, traffic diversion, police, portable in a more effective way than any politician in decades, Los Angeles Downtown News the event ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: toilets, post-event clean-upYumi andKanegawa more. Everywhere one should not have been this 1264 self-referential, and other street ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA festi90026 looked there were staffers in bright red T-shirts ready to are generally less boosterish of their organizer. influphone: 213-481-1448 • fax: Huizar’s 213-250-4617 ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Yumivals Kanegawa PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard hand out brochures or offer guidance. ence and stamp were already Instead, the feeling sometimes web:clear. DowntownNews.com ACCOUNTING: realpeople@downtownnews.com The event wasAshley timedSchmidt to mark the eighth anniversary with the banners, etc., seemingly there PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard verged on Big Brother-ish, email: of Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway initiative,Holloway which he to remind everyone who they should thank for the night. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine facebook: ACCOUNTING: Ashley Schmidt That’s a small point, however, and one ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Michael Lamb launched in January 2008 as an Holloway, effort toBrenda reviveStevens, the historic that can easily be rectiL.A. Downtown News SALES Hernandez street. TheASSISTANT: program Claudia has been a clear success, and though fied next year. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine Holloway twitter: is expanding, and one CIRCULATION: key component, a Downtown streetcar, still seems far And there should be a next year. Downtown Danielle Salmon ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, off ifDISTRIBUTION not impossible, Huizar’s officeIngles has scored on more is gaining signature events such as theDowntownNews New Year’s Eve and Fourth MANAGER: Salvador Brenda Michael Lamb of July celebrations at Grand Park and the annual summer concerts important elements, chiefly Lorenzo creatingCastillo, an environment in That said, the past was on display at Night on Stevens, Broadway, in the DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Gustavo Bonilla SALES ASSISTANT: Claudia Civic Square. Center News, Inc. have Los Angeles which the street is ripe for investment of all kinds. New at Grand Performances and©2016 Pershing People come to form of free entertainment offered in seven theaters. Crowds wan-Hernandez Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News ©2016complexes Civic Center News, Los Angeles Newsasishas a trademark housing haveInc.opened on Downtown Broadway, the of Civic expect gatherings such as Inc. theAllfree summer three-on-three basketdered through the century-old buildings throughout the evening, rights reserved. Center News Inc. All rights reserved. TheThe Los list Angeles Downtown News is the must-read game-changing Ace Hotel. The street now has an Urban ball tournament at L.A. Live. goes on. and mouths were agape as people inspected the intricate detailCIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is disOutfitters, a Rossevery Dress for Less, a Gap Factory Store and No event, however, speaks to what the community has become and is distributed Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown ing Los and ogled the carved ceilings. Many of the visitors MANAGER: probably Salvador DISTRIBUTION Ingles tributed every Monday throughout the offices and Angeles. residences of Downtown Los like Angeles. other retailers. Clifton’s Cafeteria is back and numerous and ties its past to its present and future quite Night on Broadnever before had the opportunity to see DISTRIBUTION a performance or film in ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, copy per person. newOne restaurants and bars have opened. way. It embodies the new, One vibrant the Los Angeles, the Palace, the Orpheum, the United Artists (now copyDowntown. per person. Gustavo Bonilla

THE NIGHT WAS A FANTASTIC DEMONSTRATION OF ALL THAT BROADWAY — AND BY EXTENSION, ALL THAT DOWNTOWN — HAS TO OFFER.

EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris GENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin

S I N C E 19 7 2 Los Angeles Downtown News 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 web: DowntownNews.com • email: realpeople@downtownnews.com facebook: L.A. Downtown News

twitter: DowntownNews

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jon Regardie SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim STAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathryn Maese CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Yumi Kanegawa

PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard ACCOUNTING: Ashley Schmidt CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine Holloway ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens, Michael Lamb SALES ASSISTANT: Claudia Hernandez CIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Salvador Ingles DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

One copy per person.

February 8, 2016

Downtown News 5

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Garcetti Wins Second Term! Mayoral Election May Be a Year Away, But Barring a Miraculous Misfire, the Race Is Over By Jon Regardie n March 7, 2017, about 10% of the approximately 4 million people who live in the city of Los Angeles will go the polls to choose a mayor. Think of it less as an election and more as a second coronation ceremony for Eric Garcetti.

THE REGARDIE REPORT Is it premature to say this 13 months before election day? Not after the developments in the first month of the year. Garcetti’s victory has been virtually assured by the combination of the lack of a serious challenger and some recently filed campaign donation reports. Here Garcetti pulled something miraculous: He raised just $7,600 in a six-month period, yet managed to make that look like a Jedi master stroke. The guy’s a lock, a sure thing, the type of winner Donald Trump can only dream of becoming. Wagering on Garcetti is safer than having two face cards in Vegas while the dealer’s showing a six. He’s as good at campaign politics as the Lakers are bad at NBA basketball. There’s always a chance the unexpected happens, that declaring a victor now turns out to be an L.A. 21st century equivalent of the Chicago Daily Tribune’s famous 1948 headline “Dewey Defeats Truman.” But at this point the only threat to Garcetti’s re-election is himself, and as long as he avoids any boneheaded sexual or financial scandal, he’s got a clear path to

victory. Then again, given the paucity of contenders, he might even be able to pull a Gary Hart, a Bill Clinton or an Anthony Wiener/Carlos Danger and still finish first on election day. Not that he seems to be that kind of guy. The irony is that the coming slam dunk victory has almost nothing to do with his performance as mayor, and instead spins from money, scare tactics and other candidates choosing to wait their turn. By all rights Garcetti should be vulnerable. While he can boast of achievements such as pushing a city minimum wage hike to $15 an hour, and hasn’t had a major screw-up — he’s too careful for that — no one who follows this stuff closely would describe his first term as awesome. Heck, the L.A. Times Editorial page last summer gave him a “C” grade as mayor. This should be the equivalent of dousing him in political chum. However, all the sharks out there are swimming in other waters, content to avoid a confrontation. Anyone who could give Garcetti a fight would rather wait until he chooses to swim away. The only ones who dare approach are guppies, and they pose no danger. All of this means two things: 1) I just spent 56 words on ocean allusions, and 2) Garcetti essentially just won a second term. Money Matters In the first six months of 2015, Garcetti raised $2.227 million, smashing the record for an ini-

Eric Garcetti on the night in 2013 when he won the mayoral election, beating Wendy Greuel. At this point in time, his reelection in 2017 seems assured.

photo by Gary Leonard

tial mayoral fundraising period and giving him enough money to buy a pony made of gold. If you had asked me two weeks ago how much he’d pull in during the second half of the year, I’d have guessed either about $300,000 or just over $773,000, with the figures designed to allow him to issue a press release about having a $2.5 million or $3 million war chest.

Talk about “You know nothing, Jon Snow” (for the three people who haven’t watched, it’s a “Game of Thrones” reference). Instead, according to documents filed with the City Ethics Commission, Garcetti pulled in just $7,570 from July 1-Dec. 31, and spent $181,000 on his campaign during that period. Continued on page 6

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6 Downtown News

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

February 8, 2016

GARCETTI WINS!, 5

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Highlight contributions include $1,400 each from billionaire businessman Rick Caruso’s wife Tina and former Univision CEO and Chairman Jerry Perenchio. There was also $250 from an attorney in Sleepy Hollow, NY, which I mention only because of Washington Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and it makes me think of a guy with a pumpkin head giving Garcetti a $250 check. Why the financial pullback? Garcetti is only a few thousand bucks from hitting the ceiling that allows him to qualify for city matching funds, and this can be a lot of free money. When he ran against Wendy Greuel in 2013, Garcetti got $667,000 from the city in matching funds in the primary, and another $800,000 in the run-off. Staying beneath the ceiling is a crafty trick, and you have to assume that Bill Carrick, the mayor’s veteran campaign strategist, was all over it. Garcetti could have continued to obliterate fundraising records, yet he put his hand on the faucet and reduced the money flow to just a trickle. In a way that’s more frightening to any contender than an out-and-out money grab: Team Garcetti is watching everything happening in the race, and if they sense a challenge, they’ll just open the spigot, grab the cash and use it to blow away an opponent. Candidates, Schmandidates Speaking of opponents, there pretty much aren’t any. There is a small gaggle of people whom political observers know could wage a legitimate campaign, and possibly even win, particularly if crime continues to rise and the economy tanks. They include County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, City Council President Herb Wesson, Secretary of State (and former Council President) Alex Padilla, Congressman Xavier Becerra and the aforementioned Caruso. There are a few others as well, but the point is, none of them want to mess with a mayor with no major failures and enough money to go Braveheart with attack ads. Any and all of the above might run for mayor someday, but each knows the path will be clearer when Garcetti is out of the picture. That could be after a second term that ends in 2021, but the office also could open up if Garcetti runs for and wins a gubernatorial or senate race in 2018. In other words, patience, politicians, patience. A few gadflies have filed to run against Garcetti. Then there’s Mitchell Schwartz, who worked on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and also clocked time in the State Department when Bill Clinton was president. That’s not nothing, as they say, but I’d never heard of the guy until the other week, and I actually pay attention to local politics. It’s the same lack of recognition for almost every L.A. voter. Unless Schwartz starts driving around the city in the Batmobile or with Angelyne in her pink Corvette, he’s going to have a nearly impossible time breaking through. He also might want to fix the two goofs on the front page of his campaign website — out-of-control development should be “reined in,” not, as Schwartz had it last Thursday, “reigned in” — if he wants to send a serious message. Just a suggestion. The L.A. Weekly first reported that Steve Barr, the founder of Green Dot charter schools, is also considering running, but there’s a big gap between pondering and jumping in with a well-financed campaign. At this point the best-case scenario for voters might be that Schwartz or Barr rises to the level of Tom Hayden, a plausible if longshot candidate when Mayor Richard Riordan ran for a second term in 1997. Hayden was able to press Riordan a bit, yet still got destroyed on election day, winning just 34.5% of the vote. Or things could trend down from there, and it’d be like political outsider Walter Moore going against incumbent Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2009. Moore finished with just 26%, though that was more about public disillusionment with AnVil than people wanting Moore. In the primary the mayor won with only 56% of the vote, with the rest spread among fringe candidates. In L.A. mayor’s races a certain portion of the electorate will always vote against the incumbent just because they’re cranky or as a protest. You need real heft and huge money, like Villaraigosa had when he ran against Mayor Jim Hahn in 2001, to knock an officeholder out. That type of challenge isn’t on the horizon for Garcetti. Instead, start the “four more years” chant. regardie@downtownnews.com

February 8, 2016

Downtown News 7

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

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8 Downtown News

February 8, 2016

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

Downtown Feels the Love

stallation with 3D images from Austria’s Electronica Futurelab. At 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.com.

The Shows, Parties and Meals That Will Make Valentine’s Day Memorable By Nicholas Slayton and Eddie Kim alentine’s Day can inspire a strong emotional response: love, fear, panic, excitement, hunger or sadness. Whether single, trying to impress a new partner or in a committed relationship, the heart imagery, chocolate sales and quest to make the perfect dinner reservation can leave one shocked and awed. Fortunately, Downtown Los Angeles is full of events and restaurants that can satisfy both the lovebirds and the lovelorn. Even better, some take place before Sunday, Feb. 14, which is perfect for those trying to avoid crowds or work around tight schedules. Below are 15 Downtown Valentine’s Day options, from lavish and tragic romances on screen to masked luchadors to delicious meals. Think of it as just a starting point. Just Do It All’s Fair in Love and Wrestling: Get an early start on Valentine’s Day at the Mayan Theatre, when Lucha VaVoom barnstorms the Hill Street joint. On Wednesday-Thursday, Feb. 10-11, audiences will get the traditional mix of masked Mexican wrestlers, sultry burlesque performers and biting (not literally) comedians. Brawlers on the nights with a “Crazy in Love” theme include Dragon Lee, while Jessabelle Thunder and Molly d’Amour are among the performers between bouts. The shows are 21-plus. At 1038 S. Hill St. or luchavavoom.com.

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A Valentine’s week favorite returns to Downtown as Lucha VaVoom brings its mix of masked Mexican wrestling and burlesque dancers to the Mayan Theatre on Wednesday-Thursday, Feb. 10-11.

photo by Krista Kennell/Corbis

Cinematic Romantic: The film series Cinespia is double dipping in Downtown for Valentine’s Day. On Saturday, Feb. 13, Michel Gondry’s exploration of love and memory Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind screens at the Palace Theater. The movie starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet (and written by Charlie Kaufman) starts at 9 p.m., and before the show there will be DJs and full bars. On Valentine’s Day proper, Baz Luhrmann’s musical Moulin Rouge plays at the Los Angeles Theatre. This is Cinespia’s V-Day bash, and before the film variety acts including dancers and magicians will perform. There will also be live music, perfect for a dance with that special someone. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is at 630 S. Broadway; Moulin Rouge is at 615 S. Broadway or cinespia.org. Remember the ’90s?: Singles are in luck, and so are fans of late-1990s MTV. Flower Street’s Honeycut bar is throwing a Valentine’s Day party and contest based on the MTV dating show “Singled Out.” The first 50 men and women to RSVP will be the contestants. Guests can expect, you guessed it, a ’90s theme in decor and drinks. At 819 S. Flower St., (213) 688-0888 or honeycutla.com.

Art + Books + Party = Fun: It might not be specifically Valentine’s Day-themed, but the L.A. Art Book Fair, which takes place at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA on Feb. 1214, makes for a good date opportunity. At the free event literally hundreds of exhibitors from across the globe will display their artistic and antiquarian wares. There’s also an after-party on Feb. 13 at the Arts District’s recently opened Resident. The space will, naturally, be full of music and art, with DJs including San Francisco duo Honey Soundsystem. The L.A. Art Book Fair is 152 N. Central Ave. or laartbookfair.net. Resident is at 428 S. Hewitt St. or residentdtla.com. City of Light and Love: Couples and singles alike can enjoy a medley of beautiful music and some unique visuals when the Los Angeles Philharmonic performs at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Feb. 12-14. Former Phil Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen will take the baton for the “City of Light” programs on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The performances will feature works by Eric Tanguy and Henri Dutilleux before culminating with 30 minutes of Maurice Ravel’s “Mother Goose.” Want more? You’re in luck, as the music will be accompanied by a video in-

They’re Playing Her Song: Freestyle and electro artist Trinere takes over the Conga Room for Valentine’s Day. Known for her hits “All Night” and “They’re Playing Our Song,” Trinere will perform for dancers and diners at the L.A. Live club. For the latter, the Conga Room is offering a three-course menu. Doors are at 7 p.m. At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 745-0162 or congaroom.com. Turn on the Power: On Valentine’s Day, the former power-plant-turned-nightspot The Edison combines three Los Angeles specialties: spectacular design, spectacular entertainment and spectacular cocktails. The space in the basement of the Higgins Building is throwing its Queen of Hearts Ball, which will feature DJ Greto and soulful, jazzy tunes from Lyndsay and the All-Nighters. The space will also be filled with aerialists, stilt walkers and dancers. At 108 W. Second St., (213) 613-0000 or edisondowntown.com. When Teasing Is a Good Thing: Valentine’s Day is all about romance, but it can be sultry, too. A dash of burlesque helps. That comes into play when the six dancers of Tease If You Please take over the Globe Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 13, for an erotic and extravagantly costumed night. Led by producer Donna Hood, the show starts at 8:30 p.m. At 740 S. Broadway, (805) 738-3273 or teaseifyouplease.com. Lovely Waters: The 1990s gave the world Quentin Tarantino, the grunge movement and many songs about love. Why not celebrate Valentine’s Day with the latter? The Regent is hosting the 100% Pure Love party on Sat., Feb. 13. The event will feature a performance from 1990s house singer Crystal Waters. There will also be music from DJs willyouarenot, Omar Di Jou, Automaton and dance musician Bathhouse. Treat your special someone to a night of flannel, ’90s-slacker nostalgia and pre-dubstep electronic music. At 448 S. Main St., (323) 284-5727 or theregenttheater.com. One Is the Happiest Number: Many singles hate Feb. 14. They’re in luck, as Angel City Brewery is bringing back a day-long event it describes as an “anti-Valentine’s Day bash.” The Broken Hearts Circus runs from noon-8

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February 8, 2016 p.m. and features clowns, acrobats, tarot readings and, naturally, all the brewery’s beers to drown your sorrows in. There will also be performances from bands and musicians Litty Kitter, Sara Dee and Super Tall Paul, along with circus games and fire jugglers. Even better, admission is free. At 216 S. Alameda St., (213) 622-1261 or angelcitybrewery.com. Eat Your Heart Out No Frontin’: A newcomer to the Downtown dining scene, FOH (for “front of house,” a reference to wait staff and dining room managers) has been pleasing patrons with modern Mexican flavors and intriguing cocktails. The Flower Street restaurant is offering two Valentine’s Day specials: a $60 per person menu and a $110 per couple option. Both offer the same appetizers and desserts — think lobster bisque, Brussels sprouts, creme brulee and crispy fried buñuelo donuts — but switch up the entrees (one highlight: slow-roasted whole-duck pibil). Both options come with champagne toasts. At 615 S. Flower St., (213) 537-0554 or fohrestaurant.com. Artisan Touch: The Historic Core’s Artisan House is offering a prix-fixe steal for $45 a person on Valentine’s Day. The menu from chef Karo Patpatyan leans on classic flavors, with items such as hamachi sashimi with grapefruit, cucumber and Korean chili aioli; English pea soup with wild mushrooms; grilled prawns with chorizo and clams; and braised shortribs with a potato-bacon terrine. A romantic meal demands a sweet finish, and Artisan House has two V-Day options: a chocolate hazelnut tart with vanilla ice cream and strawberry cheesecake cones with

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

Downtown News 9

fresh strawberries. The restaurant is also offering $45 bottles of Le Grand Courtage sparkling wine, in case the food isn’t enough. Reservations are available from 5:30-11 p.m. At 600 S. Main St., (213) 622-6333 or artisanhouse.net. Ticket to Love: Plenty of lovebirds will be (or at least should consider) taking Metro on their Valentine’s weekend day or night out, considering the copious amount of booze that will flow. One incentive beyond the simple joys of mass transit is the special dessert deal at Nest at WP24. The Wolfgang Puck lounge on the 24th floor of the Ritz-Carlton hotel at L.A. Live. is offering a “Ticket to Love” special from Feb. 1315: Anyone who presents a Metro or Metrolink ticket stub gets a free Marjolasian, a rich flourless chocolate cake with cashew nougatine and coffee ice cream. Does anything turn up the romance quite like a decadent (and, most importantly, free) dessert? We’re tempted to say no. At 900 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 743-8824 or ritzcarlton.com. Flying High: On the upper echelon of Valentine’s Day dining options sits Redbird, which is already one of Downtown’s most romantic restaurants thanks to its picturesque dining room and intimate vibe. The joint headed by chef Neal Fraser and Amy Knoll Fraser is dropping a doozy of a four-course menu on Valentine’s weekend for $125 per person. There are 12 dishes to choose from, including standouts like rabbit roulade with English pea flan, herb gnocchi with truffles, rack of lamb with carrots and yogurt, and even a prime ribeye steak for two. Three desserts from pastry chef Jashmine Cor-

Get a sultry start to Valentine’s weekend when the burlesque show Tease If You Please takes over the Globe Theatre on Broadway on Saturday, Feb. 13.

photo courtesy Tease If You Please

puz, including a refreshing tropical fruit pavlova with lychee sorbet, round out the meal. At 114 E. Second St., (213) 788-1191 or redbird.la. Drink It Away Now: On the flipside, Valentine’s Day can be an awful time for the lonely hearts, which makes it all the more frustrating to see couples bonding over special multi-course meals. Fear not, as trusty neighborhood gastropub Public School has got your back. The Fi-

nancial District space is inviting guests to “Shred Your Ex” for 50% off the first beer. Quite literally, too, as patrons have to bring in a photo of an ex on Saturday or Sunday and dispose of it in Public School’s “dedicated shredder.” While it is not explicitly stated, bringing in photos of random people to shred in order to get the discount is discouraged, especially if you are secretly in a happy relationship. At 612 S. Flower St., (213) 622-4500 or psontap.com.

10 Downtown News

February 8, 2016

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

Love Lines Valentine’s Day Is Here, and So Are Downtowners’ Messages of Gooey and Silly Amor

Shug… I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you… Big Daddy Charles B.… Darling, you send me… Gwen C.

Juve… Every time I look into your eyes I know my heart never lies about my love for you, it’s true… Ruth

David… I love you more today than yesterday and less than tomorrow. Booyah to the haters… Sophia C.

Julio Guerra… I will hold your hand, walk by your side or care for you when you are scared, lost or sick… JAG

Mimi… You are my everything. Each day my life is more joyous because of you. I love you baby!… Jeremy

Matt, Salina, Olivia, Adam, Idris and Rumi… Happy Valentine’s Day to my extra special loves… Love, Mama (Grammy)

Kaye… My queen, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you… E.G. Raneeta Best… Will you marry me Nani Mami?… Jazzmine Dixon

Lisa-o… Happy-o Valentine’s-o Day-o Pretty-o Girl-o… Marty-oHi from SB7, the Intern, Hu-Dog, Snuggle and Kitzen

Pete… Happy 30th Valentine’s Day, sweetness of my life… Nan

Rosana… Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer… Love, Gary

TB 129… I’d still instantly go to two parties with you 16 years later. But no dinner with a Wayans brother this year, just me and you… RJR

Mama… We’ll be salami and cheese, you be the bread and take a bite. Thanks for the meals, the hugs and the love… V&G

Lucy, Frances, Keisha, Kim, Michelle, Jennifer and Vanessa… Big love to the best employees, our BMB Angels… Chip and Angela

Peg… Been there: AA, NYC, LA, Paris, VN, SP, London, Venice, Athens, Copenhagen. Where next? With you. Always… RT

Jose… You think I’d leave your side baby. You know me better than that. Team Us baby, no matter what… Melody

Rex, Vina and Christine… To my loving husband and beautiful daughters, Happy Valentine’s Day! Love, hugs and kisses… Mommy Girliea

Mike… You will forever be my always! Luv u to the moon & back… Luv, Diane

Landy… Husband of 10 years in April, thank you for marrying me and taking care of us… Love always, Aarion

Downtown Development A Special report featuring more than 75 project updates. February

February 23, 2015 with Ahbe Landscape Architect, the company tapped to create the new facility, have begun the effort to get public input on the design of the project that will rise on an L-shaped lot. Last May, the office of then-County Supervisor Gloria Molina contributed $950,000 to the project, bringing the amount secured for the facility to $8.25 million. Another $5 million comes from Proposition 84 state funds. Demolition is expected to begin soon, with a grand opening slated for this summer.

Februa

ry 23, 2015

23, 2015

FOREST CITY/SOUTH Developer PARK Forest City seven-story is prepari ng to break South Park Vice Preside ground on buildings a pair of nt in late spring, lion project of Development Frank Frallicci according to will bring Hill streets) one buildin ardi. The $135 with 177 g to 156 W. studio 7,500 square 11th St. (11th milfeet of ground to two-bedroom and include a units and floor pool deck, courtyard retail space. Amenit about pedestrian and ies paseo Herald Examin in the alley betweegym. It would also would create a Main St. with er Building. Anothe n the apartments and the square feet 214 studio to two-ber structure will rise at 1201 S. of retail space. droom apartm than 500 The two ents and combin 7,500 spaces. Forest ed parking stalls buildings would have more and nearly City is aiming taneously 450 bicycle to constru and open parking ct both buildin them by said. the summe gs simulr of 2017, Frallicciardi FOURTH AND BROAD Planning for a high-ris WAY veteran develop e at Fourth Street and son and busines er Izek Shomo Broadway f continu from s partner he added. . The entitlem es, said Eric Shomo The f, his and parking 34-story tower would ent process is underway, feature 450 retail space. spaces, and there residential would be The 450,000 units 7,000 signed by Downtown-bas-square-foot develop square feet of to condom inium specific ed architect Hansonment, being dements, Eric LA, would Shomof said. ations but likely would be built of the buildin Render open as apartg with a curved ings show a corner of mid-rise Development Downtown News 15 segment Fourth and fronting the portion Broadw on top of southeast that. No timeline ay. A rectang ular tower orprojected budget has would rise building. The $23 million project will also create than the initial cost been of $125 million. clinics and physician offices including the hosreveale office space and a 50-seat theater, which would City d pital’s Surgical Specialties Clinic, which includes Officials with the office of 14th District hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery, said Bada. The builder is Millie and Severson. LOS ANGELES RIVER Last May, the Army Corps of Engineers an nounced its support of an estimated $1 billion

Councilman José Huizar have said the actual cost could be lower than $270 million, but the arey Building project’s funding picture remains unclear. and In

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Site demolition work, including excavation, backfill, re-compaction and grading, has been completed. The park would rise on the site of a former state office building that was razed after the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. The new facility is expected to complement Grand Park, which lies directly to the north. According to Huizar’s office, the $18 million to $20 million Civic Center project has secured $14 million so far, with more than $10 million of that in Quimby fees (charged to developers for the creation of green space). The Department of Recreation and Parks anticipates that the remaining funds will come from a combination of future Quimby fees and department allocations. GOOD SAMARITAN HOSPITAL MEDICAL PAVILION The $80 million Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Pavilion is on pace to open late this year, according to hospital spokeswoman Katrina Bada. The 190,000-square-foot development, being designed by Ware Malcolmb, will hold the Frank R. Seaver Ambulatory Surgery Center, which will have eight operating suites. Additionally, the project on Wilshire Boulevard at Witmer Street will hold a pharmacy, outpatient

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Carmel Partner photo by Gary Leonard Eighth Street s’ seven-s photo by Gary tory, 700-un Leonard it apartm Grand The expansive renovationand of the 34-acre park ent comple Avenue x at on the edge of Chinatown, which began last , formally known as G8, is enterApril, has been delayed due to the discovery Continued on page of underground archaeological features and 12 some soil contamination. The park, which had been scheduled to be complete in the spring, is now slated to reopen in November, according to state Department of Parks and Recreation Superintendent Sean Woods. Completed work thus far includes excavation and grading of the two-acre restored wetlands area, construction of a pedestrian bridge, and framing of a welcome center, ranger station and public restrooms. Other planned features include a treeflanked promenade and a paved parking area. The renovation is budgeted at approximately $20 million. At lashp.wordpress.com. LOS ANGELES STREETCAR The most recent assessment of the Los Angeles Streetcar’s cost, from project manager URS Corp., came in at about $270 million. That’s much lower than the worst-case estimate from a city analysis in 2013, which put the price at up to $327.8 million, though it is also far higher

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sold W. First St. was Theatre at 1345 apartment complex Marionette an plans to build demolition of the The Bob Baker the Melech, who in 2013 to Eli would involve the City West Whether that but the city deemed on the site. initial deto be seen, in 2009. The ry, theater remains -Cultural Monument for a five-sto Albert calls theater building a Historicand architect Steve the existing bridges over sign from Melech be preserved structure that space would comtheater wood-framed the house displays majority of x and would building; the hold 102 the new comple upper floors would ction The as a lobby in said constru Baker’s career. ents. Melech 2015 at the memorating edroom apartm start until the end of this April, one- to three-b would not through ment runs No on the develop Baker company’s lease th arrangement. Bob a month-to-mon soonest; the it turns into . at which point has been revealed the project budget for Partner Group er Holland VIBIANA LOFTS gton-based develop just south of the forWashin Partner’s Vancouver, one-acre parcel of Holland ed the nearly Warren, head to has purchas Cathedral. Tom the firm expects mer St. Vibiana ia developments, said building that -foot -square Southern Californ month on a 179,000 of wood five stories this Plans call for approximately 247 break ground apartments. is being e podium, with will create 237 The project over a concret and parking spaces. construction below-ground firm Togawa Smith Martin, nt above- and ture of retail or restaura the architec square feet designed by residential just under 4,000 , including a 41-story St. Warren will include at 222 S. Main previous projects space. Two d for the site to an opening been propose years, leading tower, had taking two ction constru anticipates in early 2017. RESIDENTIAL

TRACTION FOURTH & Regardie is hitKim and Jon Los Angeles Evans, Eddie but in Downtown By Donna being built, ment boom is he develop are projects Central City level: Not only words, the ting a new vertical. In other in they are going ng density increasi to an upswing. on it. es it speaks literally that welcom nt because in Los Angeles e and the Valley freThis is importa communities Westsid one of the few ts of Hollywood, the in Downtown is proposed, mass. Whereas residenwhen a new high-rise the area a critical Wilshire quently protest ed as a means to give The 73-story it is often embrac on numerous fronts. Figueroa streets and seen and This is being at Seventh completion. ment is rising St. is nearing ction Grand replace at 888 S. Olive is under constru on Onni Tower near L.A. Live the 33-floor Metropolis just broke ground wer Urban in South The multi-to ment firm Trumark S. Grand Ave. and the develop inium complex at 1050 s have been made condom drawing as of higha 22-story the start, another batch literally just sought for Park. That is ents are being rental and entitlem 50 stories. rush of low-rise 40 or even civic boom. The rises, some extent of the heated on the That’s not the es, and things are also use Courtho Federal continu complexes projects, the g of the reamong other groundbreakin front, with, and the recent l . HLW Internationa the design steaming forward Sixth Street Viaduct image courtesy wn News proST. wrapping up of the Partners is 801 S. OLIVE Angeles Downto things to conOlive streets, placement be o-based Carmel tower at Eighth and g pages, Los Expect . District will followin the San Francisc Dan GaribIn 96 projects in the Arts apartment office Development of March, updates on la building phase of a 27-story Vice President of -old Coca-Co se complex with creative vides the latest figuratively and literally. the end Senior The century Angeles and up, ground by according to of 2017. into a mixed-u GPI Companies of Los tinue to look y plans to break third quarter transformed a $19 milnts. TS stualdi. The compan wrapping up in the completed and restaura units, with NEW PROJEC ced, were revived or last spring Traction ction space, retail call for 363 uses. announ Atlas Capital now dubbed Fourth & with constru S. Olive St. sed publicly the York-ba and eight pentho e, tower at 801 New streets, . were either pool apartments Plans for the five months ion of the structur of Fourth and Merrick These projects two-bedroom center, a rooftop lion acquisit nce in the past The threecorner dios, one- and include a large fitness on area on a fifth-floor street name). Fourth gained promine h it sits on the the change (althoug would E. to at 963 Amenities pool and recreatifeet of street-facing has acare seeking and a larger red brick buildinghoused operations developers SPRING Partner Group and lounge, sly -square-foot be 10,000 square podium. Most of the sed Holland EIGHTH AND and plans to and previou Leasing would also story, 150,000 Washington-ba and Spring streets -floor deck. There opened in 1915 has long been vacant. four-story parking panels, allowing the Vancouver, but lot at Eighth ent as part of a St. originally ents and ground it will get retail space d in transluc la company, announced of the quired a parkingbuilding with 320 apartm for the Cola-Co Partners and RKF have Warren, head would be wrappe night. use with an Tom 24-story a nts. pentho podium at build said Holland the foot rooftop glow softly agents Industry ng to city docume nt will be on structure to 10,000-squareia developments, S. Spring St. retail, accordi a landscaped, and fire pit, and a restaura HLW International is Southern Californ the property at 737 firm wn defor company’s a outdoor kitchenstructure. Architecture creation of $12.5 million other Downto y broke OLIVE ST. include the the . 820 S. Partner paid would follow project will east end of Core project t to the building June, the compan redesign. The The Historic Partner. Last es at Sixth and Bixel structure adjacen fourth quarter handling the for Holland vel parking tory structur ted in the velopments 300-space multi-leis due to be comple a pair of seven-s ground on Fourth & Traction West. streets in City of this year. is seeking entitleLITTLE TOKYO E Homes HOMES deSQUAR er Etco The ETCO MARIONETTE sed develop in Little Tokyo. ent project Beverly Hills-ba would offer 66-unit apartm Ellison S. Onizuka St. square ments for a ut up to 1,250 at 118 Astrona with floor plans by the end of the velopment room lofts, ground one- and two-bedy is aiming to break t is BGA Inc. The architec feet. The compan manager Kyle Milano. . year, said project has been revealed No budget

y J.P. Morgan Los Angeles River revitalization plan, dubbed buildings includin g between Alternative 20. The effort, backed by Mayor The grounda fifth-floor pool First and deck, cabana headqu floor will storefro Eric Garcetti, would restore 719 acresarters and tear hold s and nts for Megato Develo COURTHOUSE was initially along Grand 5,672 square feet a fitness center. out three miles of concrete channeling, and ys, a toy busines FEDERAL pment Avenue proffere and 11th of retail space, hit a wall Flamm s run include connections from the waterway to ion development, The massive steel frame of the $323 million ang Archite Street. The when the d by develop with with designs by the Woo famTrumar er Amir astanie recessio project cts isFederal Los Angeles State Historic Park. Now the city is k Urban Kalanta nterpris handlinCourthouse, at the southwest corner of by Togawa ri, but plans based archite acquired n began and es.com g Smith designs . Broadwaythe looking for money to cover half of the project; and First Street, is nearly complete. cture firm the project in lending market . At buildin June 2014. s froze. g, which Hanson the funds could potentially come in the form of Construction began in summer 2013 and is on LA feature Downt ting out Downto create s several is handling designs ownallows along an wnproperty taxes, thanks to a new law that track to wrap in fall 2016, according to Traci 237 studio MIXED News 13 Rubik’s edge of BLOSS USE reserve to three-b for the OM PLAZA the structu Cube-like d forcertain tax dollars to be used on revitalization Madison, a representative for the U.S. General edroom low-inc TITLE INSUR accents Broadw re. ome residen apartm jutay and public works projects. In January, the City ents, Services Administration. The 600,000-squareHard demoli ANCE BUILD also for restaur will have 19,000 ts. The develop with 53 units ING Council asked citysquare staff to create ment a detailed foot building will have 24 district courtrooms is immine tion for the and retail; spaces. ants at 900 N. Historic feet of the Los Core’s Title street project the 1928 nt, said Bill Lindbo report how Angeles could create an and 32 judges’ chambers, as well as offices for Additio nally, on public level will Forest structu plaza with space hold four City is creatinFinancing re at 433 rg of Capital Insurance Buildin pleted Enhanced Infrastructure District to the U.S. Marshals Service. The design from arstation the Foresig S. to Broadw a walkway connec g g a 17,000-restaurant ht, which to move abatement and Spring St. The heartderestore and improveting 31 miles of thesquareriver; the ay, allowin chitecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merill owns forward compa of Chinato soft demoli the Metro foot g for turning in the wn byisfoot riders Gold Line tion work, ny has comdue inrail the beginning At picts a large cube with windows set atdown angles several report to easilyof March. the buildin permitting (curren and continu square flights of process spaces projectwill tly, they ngaccess g feet of to create a serrated outer skin; the design thefor both stairs is slated lariver.org. es ground into 216 residen , he said. Plans retail and for comple and walk up would have to -floor retail tial units call bring in natural light while also cutting solar go multipl residential tion in with 40,000 TOPAZ space. e blocks) CITY MARKE late spring owned Merced Theatertenants and the. attached . The heat gain. The Civic Center building is being 2016. PARK Constru T LOS ANGELES STATE HISTORIC Accord ction ing to the Masonic Hall, near the Olvera Street plaza. engineered to achieve LEED Platinum status, ment comple continues phase on photo by Gary Leonard of develop most recent informa The process began last summer and will run according to the GSA. Main streets, x just north Jade Enterprises’ project ment for of the Santa 159-un City accordi the massivetion available, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s through this summer. Public hearings to re redubbed it apartspace, hotel Market, a propos ng to a the initial Topaz, Fashion compa Fe Lofts at Sixth broke ground ed $1 rooms fice at 550 District $120 million Division 13 Bus Maintenance view the preliminary designs are slated to take ny spokes FIGUEROA CORRIDOR BIKEWAY For the and megaS. Main initial phase,and a college billion hub of man. The last Septem streets. housing and Operations Facility will be completed in place by early winter, according to the city LENA Group Construction of the street improvements has campu project Topaz will St. will stretch dubbed ber. The s, began , office , betwee and will six-stor offer studio and said department El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical May and will open the following month. All begun along the Figueroa Corridor, Tim intends to turn City Market South, last summe San Julian include and one- n Main and Los y edir. two aged 23,000 project betwee fice space Angele to three-b Monument (which manages the buildings). The construction and infrastructure work has been square Fremaux, a transportation engineering associis buildin developer the s and dining n 11th and feet gs on San No budgetexpected to be edroom 12th finished, and now the fueling, washing, vacucity is planning to move the studio for Chan Chancomple of retail. The Historic units ate for the city. The $20 million from My Figueroa establis landow Pedro has been te by the hments streets into creative ner Peter housing reveale . The overall third quarter Core Fleming uming and other equipment is being installed. nel 35, which airs City Council meetings and project, an effort to make the street friendlier d. units, 210 VALEN , ultimat City Marketof295,000 of 2016. CIA other government-related programs, into the square to pedestrians and bicyclists, is expected to feethotel rooms, 225,000ely would Continued on page 16 , Develo include before per of creative square 945 last through December. Plans call forthe trimming entire project $60 million Sonny Astani office feet broke is comple space. It could of retail and vehicular lanes and establishing protected arBlvd. The , six-story apartm ground in FIGUER te. be At late 20 218-ap citymar OA CENTR ent project 2014 artmen plete in eas for two-wheeled travelers. The project will ketla2.c years Chain-l at 1501-1 on a roughly t City West Februa om. ink fences AL 521 W. have amenit ry 2016, comple accomplish this while preserving the entrance mega-p went up Wilshire accordi roject late on ng to Astani.x is slated to Most units ies such as menced and other and exit points for auto dealerships last year, the 4.6-acre site The Valenci be comwould have open courtya on the and constru of the square Develo parcel, parking rds and businesses along the three-mile section balconi feet of per Forest ction work Fig Central which for lot andof a fitness a would es ground million also held years underg center. has com-floor retail and there would Figueroa Street Blossom City is finished round District two squat operated as photo by between the Financial and comme be 4,400 bank with the Gary Leonard Plaza the parking plans to a surface and Exposition Park. At myfiegueroa.com. founda build two vault. Beijing- mechanical buildin rcial space. podium complex and tion Develo based develop top of a began 40-stor in January Killefer gs pment pouring at the $100 large y towers , accordi Frank Frallicc er Oceanwand an develop retail space. parking podium concret and a ng to Vice AND ment is e for BROADWAY PARK with about49-story high-ris ide about 30% iardi. Constru FIRST Preside air galleria Initial renderi nt of of Recreation ction e, all on 200,000 comple Theon city Department andtwo Parks, ngs show the combin with te, he said. square five-sto the retail levels. The feet of ed ry 504 condom space as theThe Bureau of Engineering Councilman towers, project ties and an such will a pool and iniums and 183 meanwhile, will openJosé Huizar’s office have begun as hosting hotel rooms, hold a green space community outreach meetings for the park on top with of the podium ameniproposed for the corner of First Street and . The Contin ued on Broadway, said Huizar spokesman Rick Coca. page 14

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February 23,

st corner NG at the southwe FORD BUILDI Motor Factory building be transformed into Ford oFe Avenue will The former San Francisc Street and Santa on the ground floor. ed the of Seventh retail ies purchas space with creative office giant Shorenstein Propert structures for $37 anying tein, based real estate two accomp t of Shorens building and senior vice presiden 102-year-old tes opening April. Jim Pierre, this April, and anticipa million last announced. begin to been has ction expects constru in spring 2016. No budget the ground floor. s on ment the develop -ceiling window feature large winfloor-to show of also would Renderings above the street deck with sweeping views 1912 a The four levels opened in would have . The Ford building ia assembly dows. The rooftop n Californ and Boyle Heights Downtown primary Souther ed as the headCompany’s A’s. It function as Ford Motor and Model to 2005. for Model T’s y from 1972 operations l Toy Compan the Imperia quarters of

image courtesy

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Group is moving developer Onni tower between Hill tial Canada-based 10 Vancouver, 50-story residen Continued on page plans for a forward with image courtesy

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February 8, 2016

Wednesday Schuler… I can’t believe this is our second Valentine’s Day. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love. Will you marry me, my love?… Brian Schuler My dearest Mercedes… Never mind the wedding. Our love’s in print now, so there’s officially no turning back. I love you… Justin Chapman Lucifer… Shining One, your light is pretty damn dim Oh Faithless One, but Dexter still loves you most devotedly… Jennifer L. The Duartes and the Shaws… I want to thank you both for being my Valentines this year. I love you guys!… Ben Shaw Bonnie Brooke… Happy Valentine’s Day baby! I miss you so much. We’ll be back together soon… Clyde Aissata Sidibe… Ever since I opened the window of my heart you, my sunshine, have lit up my life. I love you… Bertrand W. Irvin Jr. Mrs. Sandoval… Your love is graceful, unselfish, honest and pure. You are my beautiful wife and have blessed my life… Mr. Sandoval Amorcita tortuguita cubanita bonita… Te quiero muy muy muy poco. JK Tu sabes… Chanchito

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

Alex… You are the best koala in the whole world! I <3 you boothang… Alexis Vtrboy… After 18 years, you are still alright… Declean Jay N. Rosenberg… My dear Big Fuzzy Bear, I love you! Happy Valentine’s Day <3… Love, your Ms. Tish Raymond… No matter the obstacles we face together or individually. I love to be in love with you! Happy Valentine’s Day!… Melissa Kris… Can’t wait to see where the next 23 years takes us! Love you… Shannon Chef GB… It was wonderful to celebrate our honeymoon in Spain! Looking forward to Italy/Greece in the future! Love you forever!... S/G Dearest Sergio… Our love remembered, today and every day. We’re blessed with 20 years. Cheers to many more… Love, Gabriel Gwen C.… Darling you send me, too… Charles B. Anthea… A love from today that will last a hundred years… TK Chris… All my love, my sweet Valentine!… Tiffany

Debbie… Our love is a function of time. The first and second derivatives are positive. The best is yet to come… Chad Mr. Fullmarine… So romantic you braved a 28-hours flight 13 days away from home for little mouse birthday Mediterranean trip… Michelle W. Sophie and Nancy… You are the spark in my smile and my sweetest Valentines!… Mayra Ashley… We find ourselves back in L.A., and I am so excited for this and our next adventure. I love you!… Gunnar NDLSR… Me love you long time, now more than ever… DTR Dearest Pattie… I love you so much as we spend our first Valentine’s Day as husband and wife! Kisses!… David Sunny… Thank you for everything. I love you more, always, forever, only. Bless you and our family… Neil Babe… I could watch TV with you forever. Happy Valentine’s Day!… The New Mrs. Willie Saucedo Jeff E.B.… You light up my world with your creative photos and your imaginative mind. I love you… Vanessa Avilez

Downtown News 11

Laron, Jasmine, Lillie… Happy Valentine’s Day to my amazing husband, beautiful daughter and loving Mother Lillie. I love you!... Nicole My Dearest Husband René Guerra… God, love, communication, understanding, respect, family and laughs. We’re blessed. Happy 25th anniversary Tasmanian devil! I love you forever… Your wife, Pat Guerra Nancy Thurlo… You’re the love of my life! I love you, always and forever!... JRY Pedro… The first 15 years were incredible! The next 50 years will be awesome! Thank you for all your love!… Keith Wells… Love is battle, love is war, love is growing up and I’m glad I’m growing up with you… Monique Katie… That first “Hi” changed my world. That smile gave it meaning. And that first kiss made me yours… Ozz Myllex… I love you in any condition and under any circumstance… Michell Desiree Lunsford… I’d bring you rivers of wine just to see you smile. I wouldn’t spend a moment without my Daisy… Gary Christian

12 Downtown News

February 8, 2016

ROMANCE IN THE CITY

LOVE STORIES, 7

Honorable Mentions Livin’ L a Vida Loca e ha

Have a Drink or E ight

n a lonely Valentine’s Day in 2009, my friend Alex and I decided to the blues and visit the beat Grove for “singles aw areness.” Eventually Ale got pretty drunk and passed out. Meanwh x ile, his phone was rin the hook. I decided to ging off pick up (we were cool like that) and it happ be his (also single) frie ened to nd I hadn’t met yet. I told him, “Hey, your is passed out and I ha friend here ve to drop him off no w so he can’t join yo said to me, “Well, jus u guys.” He t drop him off and co me yourself.” I thoug why not? I dropped ht to myself, off Alex at his place an d drove to Fantasia in waited around a bit Burbank, and almost left, but then around the corne handsome man I’d ev r the most er seen appeared. We hung out every day am so glad I took the after that. I chance. I thank Alex now, for getting dru ing me a husband. nk and land—Adelina Kazaryants

Teamwork

eam Sodi Jam, a crazy combination of a Wisconsinite and an Angeleno, is comprised of Jodi Shapiro n. and Samuel Friedma on g They began talkin er the phone in Novemb matchmaker on the via Jodi’s friend and ed tch ma re e calls, we ey 2012. Th a few weeks of phon ouAtSinai.com. After wY Sa urs! ite ho r bs fou we s g wa tin da Skype call ype dates. Their first . ns pu d they moved on to Sk ba d g an board games, readin to They shared a love of 12, when Sam came 20 er mb ce De in n rso pe in part i’s me Jod rst t fi They Sam even me it went very well and vis d e Th trie . ey L.A Th in . i tes Jod da it e vis d Skyp to have phone calls an it vis to nt we en ents. They continued ev i . Jod ery three weeks or so to visit each other ev ! ow sn r nte wi FaSam three times in the proposed to Jodi on of blissful dating, Sam s, “Ye d, sai i Jod After seven months in. , Wiscons nic Point in Madison rried ma re we ey Th . ther’s Day 2013 at Pic les ge Sam moved to Los An of course!” Soon after on July 13, 2014. d has a pug named es in Los Angeles an The Team currently liv —Jodi L. Shapiro Pugcasso.

ily st fam r close he said. u o f o ,” 0 f 56,00 s game front o ht Firework in it o ig ed yN st don’t w a Frida The Be . “Why r Stadium at is h t ether “ “just in g o o d e t t o g t u d dp nse f Do eady by ge lice rant an field o were r restau marria er.” We talked ed rs, we on the a a a d e d d y ie e e r ll n r in d n a e a a a c v t in I e m e b . d s h t o g fter . We hday t’s ge . We ddin ed him y son, his weeks e to his “birt ise we ers? Le g — fast! r r b o o p r d w m t u a e s d m methin I planned his e together in ning we drov h I loved an ago), m pening. c p : m Chic e m o do so I had t when I did it he details ca Thursday ev him how mu I flew in fro what was ha ouble l t m -d d d u o E ll e if in z h A t li H ” m u w “ a r. That’s ( out, to re hter a bea he re y Eve d d g a e n e e u c t D O a m n n ” . g d a a o e y re Openin ant to elop going in. I w et where his rs of jo Now?” He sc er. cGuire ed tea rp re ew ? trada M y ev s a E d a case w r’s edge befo n the red ca aiting. He sh to marry me g is nin —L te dow ant st ope ere w the wa tor and d his wife w ar, “Do you w ur family. Be a v le e up the ur pastor an ered in his e water, with o e ,o isp fiancée ver and wh we did, by th o o d S e !” n I lea yeah sticks, hockey

Day g n i n Ope

piro

, ittin the tin go today. T t work at e was s recognized ad of a shoulder, th ar a e e t y s I a . in t , e is h , p k a Marke ad met her here he was and as his ed to t k. We h t eous. T spot. I want usand times r his nec im was gorg met at o u h e o es. W h ed a t nt in t s e a o e s t h e m m t r T e l x . a c u e it n la so d, c new su d and my rep e were , rubbe on his too next to I had kissed rfect year. W m s a , e n r c io t er pe seat. egg irec should had been a on the colate legs in my d o m h a c e r a It c d t ” d “Why? I spille g her perfec ocolate egg f the whippe y h ch r when un to a W u . e o g c g in la r counte s woman sw him p loser. Peekin l diamond w u a o e s e h I gorg way. autifu slipped on t ped c alked a as a be ? I step I after then w s that about erry stem, w I’d be here? y ever il p p a a h h w c no nd What w paled on a id he k e counter a ein , im How d th ? t a Goldst im h cream im Susan bted t to h u — x o e d n I e had plac ok my . ring, to y egg cream m d sippe

photo cour tesy Jodi L. Sha

ream Grand Central f C g g nd E of Wexler’s Deli aat rk on the backeaoted a y s Jealou g at the counter y starfish birthhme woman nowssitting

d just s San Jose tarted dating. S h and we to L.A. a had the e had tickets to nd best tim a Ricky M dirt med took my eyes o e. I was artin co ff ian strip speedin ncert in and I did the road for a s slamme g while econd. T d the bra everyth driving h in e bac k g out. She e car veere woke m s, spun out and wrong: Jerked d into th k th e up. Th fl e down a ip e ped u steering en she ra tru wheel, n back u s over into a dit Luckily w cker. At the ER, ch. I bla p to the I had cu e cke freeway ts on my “Livin’ La didn’t have any until she d arms, fa broken Vida Loc fla ce and s bones. T a.” She g woke m calp sew gged he n ot a eu n up. so I told p throughout th hotel room, ba urses joked tha tw he th e asked h r I would unders night like the d ed the blood off e were er to ma o ta me, and c to nd if s r told he rry me o and hav r. I almo n Valenti he left me. But e two b st kille sh n eautiful children e’s Day. We’ve b e stuck with me d us, een marr . , and I ied 15 y ears now —Ricard o Lira Ac una

Office Roman I had be ce en work

in guts to ask Meli g in the office fo na on a much li date. Aft r a year when vin I er our s two mo g together be econd d finally got the c nths of ate, we dating, ause we could seeing were pre n’t stan no one each tty On a lat other (this was in our office k d to be apart. After n e a e Friday a gainst c w t h our tea a t we we fternoo ompan ma re even present nd about 10 o n, we were ha y policy). v ation, s t in h e g r a e s m a h les plo ow was finis hing up casing a big p yees. I was giv meeting with roject w ing a Po my disc I presse we eh uss you ma d the clicker an ion, I said, “ Th ad ramping up rPoint ere’s stil rry me? . As I d t h e fi ”E lo na Melina almost veryone in the l slide popped ne last thing.” fainted up: “Me her ans . After c conference ro wer wa om was lina, will attcching s. s her bre ath, you hocked and know w hat —Gusta vo Alcan tara

February 8, 2016

Downtown News 13

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Plan Could Bring Park to Middle of Hope Street South Park Proposal Would Create a Temporary Public Gathering Space Out of Traffic Lanes By Nicholas Slayton owntown Los Angeles is big on streets and buildings. It’s green space that the community lacks. A proposed project in South Park could mix both of those. Though the idea is currently in the planning stage, in April a temporary park could open right in the middle of Hope Street. Traffic would flow by on either side of the public space. The South Park Business Improvement District is working on plans for a pilot program that would bring a park to Hope Street just south of 11th Street from April 4-May 31. If feedback to the half-block attraction is positive and the pilot is deemed a success, it could lead to a permanent park in the future. SPBID leaders caution that details are still being worked out, and input is being sought from neighbors and officials from various city departments that would have to sign off on the project. The idea grew out of surveys the BID conducted with the community. The goal for the park, said SPBID Executive Director Jessica Lall, is to increase foot traffic along Hope Street and activate the area, bringing more

people to local businesses. “People really want a place to congregate,” Lall said. “A fast-growing neighborhood like South Park needs places like that to bring their families, bring their animals and interact with one another.” The SPBID is working with the Department of Transportation, the office of 14th District City Councilman José Huizar, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, landscape and architecture firm Melendrez and the nonprofit Do Art Foundation. The project is dubbed The Spot @ Hope Street. Initial plans call for a 33-footwide park in the two center lanes of Hope Street below 11th. Concrete traffic barriers would be installed at the north and south ends of the facility, while the east and west sides would have temporary walls displaying art. There would also be temporary mid-block crosswalks to allow access to the park. The space would include tables, trees and chairs, a small dog run and open areas. The specific material that would be laid atop the street has not yet been determined. The Spot @ Hope Street would be a very trimmed-down version of parks or public spaces in the Continued on page 16

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Plans are in the works to bring a temporary half-acre park, similar to the example shown on top, to Hope Street just south of 11th Street (bottom). Traffic would flow by on either side, while visitors could rest, have a drink or even take yoga classes. Design elements have not been revealed.

top: courtesy Do Art Foundation bottom: photo by Gary Leonard

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14 Downtown News

February 8, 2016

Oh What a Night! PHOTOS BY GARY LEONARD

he Night on Broadway festival on Saturday, Jan. 30, was even bigger than organizers anticipated, as approximately 65,000 people showed up for the event that shuttered the street to cars. Crowds caught free performances in seven historic theaters, and Broadway itself was filled with food trucks, art displays, vendor booths and more. The festival, organized by the office of 14th District City Councilman José Huizar in honor of the eighth anniversary of his Bringing Back Broadway initiative, included chessboxing, outdoor concerts by Ozomatli and Aloe Blacc, and some of the best people-watching Downtown has seen in years.

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illions of Americans suffer from chronic knee pain every year. Most are told knee replacement surgery or prescription pain relievers are their best options. But now, through Flexogenix Clinics’ “Knee-Flex 5 Step” Protocol, knee pain sufferers are finding relief and getting back to an active lifestyle. The “Knee-Flex 5 Step” Protocol includes the FDA approved injection therapy called Viscosupplementation. Through this simple procedure, a natural lubricating substance (hyaluronic acid) is injected into the knee joint to re-nourish the cartilage and provide lubrication and cushion to the joint. But at Flexogenix Clinics, Viscosupplementation is just one step in their proprietary 5 Step Protocol. To begin, an advanced injection treatment is employed that stops further degradation of the knee joint and surrounding cartilage. Then, using advanced imaging technology, the skilled medical team administers the Viscosupplementation with pinpoint precision. This is followed with high end strength and mobility exercises, bracing (if applicable) and a final additive that reduces any residual pain and maximizes the effectiveness of the 5 Step Protocol, overall. Flexogenix Co-Founder and Medical Director Paul Mogannam, MD explains the multiple steps are the differentiator from other knee pain clinics, “The research is out there. It’s shown that using every one (treatment) in isolation has some benefit but when you add them all together they’re greater than the sum of its parts.” The “Knee-Flex 5 Step Protocol” is covered by Medicare and most major insurances and has already helped thousands in the Los Angeles area avoid risky knee replacement surgery and dependence on pain relieving medications. Patient Nelson Jurado was considering total knee replacement when he found Flexogenix and their non-surgical treatments for knee pain. “It’s changed my life. I feel great. They’re professionals at Flexogenix. They made the procedure very easy. I recommend it to anybody.” To find out if the Knee-Flex 5 Step Protocol is right for you, Flexogenix offers a completely free consultation. You will meet with a Board Certified Physician who will review images of your knee and give you an honest and straightforward assessment of how Flexogenix can help your condition. If you are a good candidate we can often begin treatment the same day. Flexogenix Clinic is located at 1000 S. Hope Street, Suite 101, Los Angeles CA 90015. Free Valet Parking is available for all appointments. To schedule yours, call (213)296-6256 or visit Flexogenix.com

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Metro Eases Tra;c Everyone knows that congestion is bad, but we really can improve the way we get around. Right now, Metro is easing tra;c by delivering 1.4 million rides each day. And we’re planning future relief all over LA County by adding more bus and rail service, >xing freeway bottlenecks, funding local road improvements and updating our strategic transportation vision. We’ve come a long way in a short amount of time, but we still have so much more to do. Let’s get it done, together. Learn more about The Plan at metro.net/theplan.

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Gold Line Foothill Extension Opens March 5 Metro Rail’s Foothill Extension is only a few weeks away from the grand opening of six new stations that stretch from Pasadena to Azusa. As testing continues in the area, please remember to watch for trains. Learn more at metro.net.

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PARK, 13 middle of the street that exist in Barcelona, Tel Aviv and other cities, said Lall. She pointed in particular to Barcelona’s pedestrian path, the three-quarter-mile-long La Rambla, as an example of a public space that can be used safely in the middle of a street. The Downtown Los Angeles park would be maintained by the SPBID’s clean and safe team, and a security guard would be hired to patrol the space after 9 p.m. The hope is that people would visit the park and patronize area businesses, such as Hope Street’s new Impresso Café, the restaurant The Briks or the Downtown Dance & Movement studio. The park is designed not to interfere with parking garage entrances in

nearby buildings. Lall said a goal is to make Hope Street the “backbone” of South Park. Ma-ayan Dembo of the Do Art Foundation said that the space would be maximized by functional sculptures such as shade structures. She said walls on the east and west sides could display artwork. The SPBID’s website noted that other potential uses include outdoor movie screenings. “We have a lot of space in the proposed pilot we can use for programming,” Dembo said. “In the flex space there can be yoga classes or art classes.” The South Park BID said the preliminary budget for the park is $80,000-100,000. Once a permit is acquired, it would take a month to secure the materials, although Lall estimates the com-

February 8, 2016

ponents could be installed in a weekend. The park would be next to the South Park BID’s Hope Street Parklet. That opened Jan. 14 and replaced two parking spots with seating and trees. Not everyone is enthused by the idea. At a Jan. 27 meeting about the proposal, several residents of nearby condominium buildings expressed concern that people would loiter in the park, and some complained that there has been little outreach so far about the proposal. Lall said the SPBID is bulking up its contact list and wants more people to attend a follow-up meeting on the project. Lall stressed that The Spot @ Hope Street would be temporary, and added that the pilot program could not be extended without community input.

“If everyone were to say, ‘This is the greatest thing ever, we want it to stay,’ we wouldn’t be allowed by the city to continue it,” Lall said. “If we want to look at doing something permanent, that would be a different process.” Lall said that once the park opens, the SPBID would track foot traffic to determine if more people are drawn to the area and frequent nearby businesses. She also said neighbor and community response would be measured. Those could help determine if a permanent park would work. The next step in the process is a meeting with the Department of Transportation to discuss the traffic plan for Hope Street. After that, the SPBID will hold another community meeting, although no date has been set. nicholas@downtownnews.com

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February 8, 2016

Grammy Museum Exhibit Explores Otis Redding’s Short But Influential Career By Eddie Kim ome musicians hone their craft over decades of work. Others seem to be born with incendiary talent. Otis Redding’s career never got to span decades. The kid from Macon, Ga. initially wowed crowds at local talent shows held at the Douglass Theatre — he won the prize money so often that he was eventually banned from the competition. He would later rise to fame for his blues-imbued soul tunes and wide-eyed, wildly energetic live shows, which drew not just black crowds but white fans looking for a literal change of pace amid the early ’60s pop music scene. Redding was 26 years old and at the top of his game when a plane carrying him and his band, the Bar-Kays, crashed into a lake on a foggy, rain-choked December night in 1967. Three days earlier, Redding had recorded “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” the song that would complete his crossover into the pop charts. A new exhibit at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live explores the too-short life and career of Redding, with an eye toward his early years, his talents as a producer and partner beyond his own records, and his ongoing legacy as a soul pioneer. Respect! Otis Redding and the Revolution of Soul launched Jan. 22 and runs through Sept. 15. “It highlights how short his career was compared to the impact it left. He had only about five or six years as a major performer,” said Nwaka Onwusa, the curator at the Grammy Museum who put together the show. “It’s been almost 50 years since he died. Can you imagine what he would be if he was still here?” That question, Onwusa notes, is key to appreciating Redding and the exhibit. Like many black soul and R&B artists from the South, Redding developed his singing in church, even earning $6 every Sunday by performing gospel songs on Macon radio station WIBB. He never had any formal musical training, yet he would go on to pen or produce other hits, including “Try a Little Tenderness” and “Respect” (the latter became a smash for Aretha Franklin). The exhibit, on the museum’s fourth floor, breaks Redding’s life and career into several chunks. “The Early Years” shows off his modest childhood and photos from early shows;

his light-up grin is present even as he sings to small crowds in nondescript rooms. Other parts highlight his time with Stax Records, where he helped shape the Memphis soul sound, and later when he began touring around the country, giving legendary performances at L.A.’s Whisky a Go Go club and the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival. A listening room reveals Redding’s boundless energy, stage chemistry and go-for-broke vocals on live performances of “Respect” and “Try a Little Tenderness.” Other stations offer interviews and insights from some of his closest associates. “He was such a light, and with his enthusiasm and energy, he made you play things like you never would’ve played. He made the process so much fun,” Steve Cropper, the wellknown session guitarist, says in one video. Ironically, Redding underplayed his stage presence and vocal ability, which today remain hallmarks of his influence, said Karla ReddingAndrews, the late performer’s daughter and executive director of the Otis Redding Institute (which helped put together the exhibit). “He never felt like he was a great performer,” Redding-Andrews said. “He thought, ‘You know, I can’t dance, and I look just okay, but I can sing a bit.’ But he was out of this world on stage. To hear Janis Joplin and Mama Cass and Hendrix talking about him, admiring him, it was amazing.” Growing up, Redding-Andrews and her two brothers didn’t grasp the fame and respect her father commanded, she said. She saw him strum a guitar and hum a new melody from time to time, or fiddle with a cassette recorder as he put ideas to tape. His legacy came into focus in later years, as she went to high school and college. “I would tell people, ‘Well, he ain’t Elvis.’ And they would say, ‘No, he’s bigger than Elvis,’” Redding-Andrews recalled. The Grammy Museum exhibit helps put his life into context beyond the memorabilia, clothes and music, she said. It gives the sense that Redding was not just a great soul singer, but also a storyteller and gifted musical mind who could have been relevant in any decade and style, just as he showed with the introspec-

Redding was known for his incendiary live performances and songwriting ability, including on classic tracks like “Respect” (which later became a hit for Aretha Franklin).

tive and decidedly un-funky “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” Redding-Andrews still ponders where his career might have gone. “He would be very diverse today. I don’t think he would’ve shunned rap. I think he would’ve branched into country because some of his songs had that flavor,” she mused. “He never would’ve been stagnant or condescend to any genre of music. The big thing is that he always wanted to be original.” Redding’s touch lingers on pop and soul

music today, whether literally through samples as in Jay Z and Kanye West’s swaggering “Otis” or through the copping of his on-stage style. While the Grammy Museum exhibit explicitly shows how his short career helped spawn a legion of fans and imitators, it also reaches toward a more indelible notion — that his “musical aura,” as Onwusa puts it, was maybe always meant to last, one way or the other. Respect! runs through Sept. 15 at the Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org.

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February 8, 2016

A Higher Power Play

Sean Hayes (center) is the Almighty in An Act of God, which opens at the Ahmanson Theatre this week. He gets some help from a pair of angels played by James Gleason (left) and David Josefsberg. Inset: The play was written by David Javerbaum, who also has the Twitter account @TheTweetOfGod. He formerly served as head writer for “The Daily Show.”

Former ‘Daily Show’ Head Writer David Javerbaum Talks About God, Twitter and the Play That Brings Them Together

Q: Did you make alterations for Sean Hayes taking over the lead role? A: In both cases we had to find people who had the comic chops, the acting chops, and the endurance and likability to do this. There are very few people who fit that bill and that people would like to see. The show begins with God explaining why he’s chosen this particular actor to embody him. He had good reasons to pick Jim. Now he has good reasons to pick Sean. The show starts with God as Sean Hayes talking about Sean Hayes. Q: Do you come from a religious background? A: I’m not particularly religious. I come from a Jewish background. I did some research before I wrote the book, things like reading the

photo by Jim Cox photo by Andrew Eccles

Bible, which was the only thing people read for thousands of years. People keep asking me in a shocked way, “You read the Bible?” Q: You’ve been building up this idea or persona of God for a few years now. Have you seen any changes in how people react to it? A: No, the people who are going to make fun of it and the people who are going to see it are the same. And the people who believe fondly in Jesus and Christianity are the same. Never the twain shall meet. Q: I’ve heard that the play gets the audience involved in the show. What happens? A: We work the crowd. God brings two angels with him, and one of them interacts with the audience.

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Los Angeles Downtown News: What was it like going from 30-minute TV shows and 140-character tweets to an 85-minute stage show? David Javerbaum: The idea for the book came first, about five years ago. My publisher said I should start the Twitter account to promote the book. I was tweeting as God while writing the book and had some success. I have a great joy of working on the stage, tak-

Q: How have you changed the play for the West Coast tour? Are you updating it for shifts in the news cycle? A: We’ve made a couple more updates and might throw more in for San Francisco [where it goes after Los Angeles]. I might need to pull back from some of the topical references. I don’t want it to feel like a late-night talk show monologue. We already have a joke about the Iowa caucuses and the larger issues thereof.

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ing some of the material from the Twitter account and the book. The majority of the show is new material though.

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By Nicholas Slayton he lights blind the eyes. The music swells. God appears. He has jokes. Many jokes. That’s the set-up for An Act of God, a play that opens Wednesday, Feb. 10, at the Ahmanson Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles. Sean Hayes from “Will and Grace” plays the Almighty who visits Earth to give an updated list of commandments, clarify some points from scripture and deliver holy wisdom. It runs through March 13. The 85-minute, intermission-less play was written by David Javerbaum, a former head writer for “The Daily Show.” He spun the play, which debuted on Broadway in 2015 with Jim Parsons of “The Big Bang Theory” in the lead role, off his book The Last Testament: A Memoir by God and his Twitter account @ TheTweetOfGod. Los Angeles Downtown News spoke with Javerbaum about religion, audience reaction and the nexus of God and social media.

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Q: Have you met anyone who had truly intense or passionate reactions to the show? A: I think it’s a self-selecting group. The kind of people who would say that I’m going to burn in Hell are not the ones who are going to pay $100 for a Broadway show. Q: What has surprised you with the reaction? A: I’m just surprised at how well received it’s been in New York. It recouped its investment in 10 weeks, which is really rare for a show. It’s really exciting. The show moves along, there are a lot of really good jokes, and Sean’s performance is a tour de force. An Act of God runs Feb. 10-March 13 at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 6282772 or centertheatregroup.org. nicholas@downtownnews.com

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An Unusual View of ‘The Room’ Short and Strangely Controversial Run of Wooster Group’s Play Gives a Whole New Angle on Pinter By Jeff Favre he adage “no such thing as bad press” gained additional credence this month after the announcement of a brief run of a brief play by an avant-garde theater company grabbed national attention for reasons that still don’t make much sense. The highly regarded experimental company Wooster Group, which is based in New York but frequently appears at Downtown’s REDCAT, announced a tour of its take on The Room, the 1957 debut play by then-unknown Harold Pinter. The company chose to premiere it at the theater in Downtown Los Angeles. The Samuel French publishing house, which holds the licensing rights to The Room, gave the go-ahead for the 10 L.A. performances from Feb. 4-14, but dictated that no reviews would be allowed (a directive not expected to be widely adhered to, not to mention difficult to enforce in the Internet age). More significantly, the publishers rejected the other tour stops. Wooster director Elizabeth LeCompte recently told Los Angeles Downtown News that this would be a blow to the company’s revenues and an overall “disaster.” That means there are only a few chances to see this intriguing, well executed, but hardly revolutionary 40-minute deconstruction of Pinter’s one-act, which helped push the boundaries of theater for the next several decades. Samuel French’s decision to limit the exposure of this new take on Pinter seems like a

missed opportunity to promote a lesser-known offering from his canon. Pinter purists, who are likely to despise the reading of stage directions, radical shifts in tone and cast members singing some of the lines, can blame Wooster while still revering the author. Meanwhile, fans of this transformed Room can point to how Pinter’s timeless and universal text allows it to thrive even with such a dramatic facelift. The reality probably lies somewhere in the middle. The Room was Pinter working out his language and style in what would later become identified as Theater of the Absurd, where everyone is lost in a world with no clear meaning or purpose. The Wooster Group, which seems to be taken more seriously by its fans than its actual members, is doing what it loves to do — taking theater in a direction it has never been. In this case, the direction is somewhat comical and visually compelling. The set design shows the production’s inner workings, including placing the sound designers on stage, and having only a few pieces of furniture to convey the location. The cast begins by singing the opening lines. This is followed by Ari Fliakos reciting Pinter’s stage directions during the pauses of Rose’s (Kate Valk) opening monologue to her silent husband Bert (Scott Renderer) about the weather, the room they rent, and about who

Theater company Wooster Group’s version of Harold Pinter’s The Room plays at REDCAT through Feb. 14. Due to a dispute with the owner of the play’s publishing rights, the Downtown stop may be the only performances.

photo by Paula Court

might be living in the basement. Soon, the apparent landlord, Mr. Kidd, arrives (Fliakos, who plays three roles, including the narrator). Later, when Bert and Mr. Kidd have left, Mr. and Mrs. Sands (Fliakos and Suzzy Roche) show up looking for the landlord. They also provide news about an unusual man (Philip Moore) in the basement. The highly mannered performances are complemented by the heavy use of sound effects, the spoken-out-loud stage directions and Omar Zubair’s original music, all of which disrupt the signature silent pauses that traditionally dominate Pinter’s work. The meaning of the bare plot, which ends with an eruption of violence, is open to interpretation. In this production, the focus seems to shift from Pinter’s thoughts on confinement, intimidation and physical domination, to the Wooster Group’s take on the entire concept of Theater of the Absurd.

The ways that lines are recited or sung render them more as sounds than words. Additionally, the verbal stage directions signal the artificiality of LeCompte’s blocking. The Wooster changes may diminish Pinter’s intent, but they add humor, in particular the way each actor varies the emotional scope of almost every line, traveling from comic to tragic and back again. Watching a 40-minute experiment of stripping Pinteresque traits from a Pinter play may not sound like it’s worth the time and effort to get to REDCAT in the next week. However, if Samuel French maintains its current restrictions, this may be the only time to see The Room from a whole new angle. Pinter’s material can take a little rearranging, and the Wooster Group has earned the right to be the ones to do it. The Room runs through Feb. 14 at REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org.

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CALENDAR LISTINGS EVENTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Ingrid Betancourt at Aloud Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org. 7:30 p.m.: Colombian literary luminary Ingrid Betancourt discusses her latest effort, The Blue Line. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 Lucha VaVoom Mayan, 1038 S. Hill St., (213) 746-4287 or clubmayan.com. Feb. 10-11, 8:15 p.m.: The theme is “Crazy in Love.” Loco it will be as the burlesque and Mexican wrestling tandem invades with irreverent pleasures aplenty. Mohsen Mostafavi at SCI-Arc SCI-Arc, 350 Merrick St., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu. 7 p.m.: When the Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design stands up to say something, you listen. Unless, of course, he’s stumping for Ted Cruz. Which in this case he’s not. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Downtown Art Walk Historic Core or online at downtownartwalk.org. 5 p.m.: As if you needed another excuse to wander around the neighborhood. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12 L.A. Art Book Fair MOCA Geffen Contemporary, 152 N. Central Ave. or online at laartbookfair.net. Feb. 12-14: Lock up the cash and the ATM card, this annual sale of eminently purchase-able art books is mighty potent. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 117th Annual Golden Dragon Parade & Chinese New Year Festival Chuan Thien Hau Temple, 750 N. Yale St.; parade throughout Chinatown, (213) 680-0243 or chinatownla.com. 1 p.m.: No word as to the status of the vaunted capuchin monkey, but with or without, this year’s celebration of Chinese New Year promises to be quite an affair. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 L.A. Marathon Downtown or lamarathon.com. 6:30 a.m.: This year’s race title is “From the Stadium to the Sea,” which apparently abbreviates the full and correct name of the event, “From the Stadium all up in Downtown’s business with traffic closures then through the other inconsequential parts of the city before ending in the seaside hamlet of Santa Monica.”

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

February 8, 2016

I HE DON'T MISS LISI By Dan Johnson | calendar@downtownnews.com

ART WALK AND ESA-PEKKA SALONEN ARE BACK DURING A PACKED WEEK OF CULTURE

Graffiti taggers, redevelopment agents, impound lot managers, towtruck drivers and casual shoplifters will all be getting down with early ’90s hip-hop standouts Naughty By Nature when they espouse their rhetoric of “OPP,” or “Other People’s Property,” on Thursday, Feb. 11, at The Regent. No, Treach and Vin Rock aren’t exactly on speaking terms, but they have a “business partnership” that functions much like your friend’s parents’ failed marriage. So hip-hop hooray friends, because the ghosts of the 1996 Grammys are back to haunt the legacy of that awards show in ways that Milli Vanilli never will. At 448 S. Main St., (323) 284-5727 or theregenttheater.com.

2 photo by Patti McGuire

1 photo courtesy Naughty By Nature

Here’s a rule of thumb: Anytime a creative work refers to America with a bizarre spelling, prepare yourself for a primer on the unflattering contradictions inherent to this democratic experiment. When you march into the Shakespeare Center in City West to check out Critical Mass Performance Group’s just-opened Ameryka, the troupe will be guiding you out of the sanitized theme park of our self-professed exceptional achievements to explore 250 years of connections between this country and Poland. Ameryka runs through March 6 with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. At 1238 W. First St., (323) 9937263 or critical-mass-performance-group.ticketleap.com.

When you throw the gallery doors open or hawk your creative wears or parade through the streets of Downtown on Thursday, Feb. 11, for the Downtown Art Walk, no one, especially the event organizers, demands that you actually walk. You may prance, skip, hop, dance, slink, crawl, but please don’t run — safety is the highest priority. As you peruse shows at a host of hotspots including REN Gallery, Gloria Delson and Hive, be sure to pop in to the Art Walk Lounge (634 S. Spring St.) where late great producer J. Dilla receives the artistic tribute he’s long deserved. The Lounge is open from 6-10 p.m. In the Historic Core or downtownartwalk.org.

3 photo by Gary Leonard

ROCK, POP & JAZZ

Belasco 1050 S. Hill St., (213) 746-5670 or thebelascotheater.com. Feb. 13, 9 p.m.: Papa Heroes will give you daddy issues you didn’t even know you had. Blue Whale 123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka St., (213) 620-0908 or bluewhalemusic.com. Feb. 8: The B Band and Invisible Anatomy. Feb. 9: 18th Street Arts Center Presents Teddy Raven. Feb. 10: Randy Newman Tribute. Feb. 11: Willie Jones III Quintet. Feb. 12: Blue Whale Fundraiser. Feb. 13: Codes. Feb. 14: Joshua Crumbly Group. Bootleg Bar 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 or bootlegtheater.org. Feb. 8, 8:30 p.m.: Lena Fayre recently recorded an album outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. I bet she’s wondering what a Roanoke album would sound like. Feb. 10, 8 p.m.: Suffice it to say, we did not read Eleni Mandell’s 1,220-word bio. Feb. 12, 8:30 p.m.: What we wouldn’t give for Meat Wave to be a new genre. We’ll take it as a band though. Feb. 13, 8 p.m.: mc chris prefers to spell his name in all lowercase. Club Nokia 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-7000 or clubnokia.com. Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m.: Sam Hunt fronts a fundraiser for Grammy in the Schools, a camp that promotes youth music education

4 photo by Clive Barda

Some might argue that Helsinki’s Esa-Pekka Salonen is Finland’s greatest musical export since Sibelius. Educate yourself on the topic this week when the former music director of the L.A. Philharmonic comes back to lead the symphony in three nights of Ravel’s “Mother Goose,” capping off a show already rich in Poulenc, Dutilleux and Tanguy. There will be more than just music at the Walt Disney Concert Hall performances, as Electronica Futurelab creates live 3D graphic images to accompany the sonic creations. Show times are 8 p.m. on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 12-13, and again at 2 p.m. on Valentine’s Day. At 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7300 or laphil.com.

Author Ingrid Betancourt spent more than six years as a prisoner of Colombia’s FARC rebels. No, this is not comparable to your time at an elite New England boarding school, but perhaps you can relate to Betancourt’s latest coming-of-age novel, The Blue Line, which also chronicles Colombia’s descent into instability. Betancourt, with her surplus of grace and literary aplomb, barnstorms the Central Library during an Aloud program event on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 7:15 p.m. She’ll be in conversation with fellow author and Argentinian detention camp survivor Alicia Partnoy. Reservations were full at press time, but Aloud often has some standby tickets at the door. At 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org.

5 photo by Barker Evans

Send information and possible Don’t Miss List submissions to calendar@downtownnews.com.

February 8, 2016

Downtown News 21

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

rather than a proliferation of Lady Gaga meat dresses. Feb. 12, 8 p.m.: Beats Antique, no longer a tribute to vintage purple vegetables. Feb. 13, 8 and 11 p.m.: We’ll bet Ja Rule and Ashanti are “happy” to be performing together again. Does their joy overshadow any fear of a 50 Cent appearance? We do not know. Feb. 14, 7 p.m.: In case “Broader than Broadway” is the message you’d like to take on for Valentine’s Day, Barrington Levy will be on hand. Exchange LA 618 S. Spring St., (213) 627-8070 or exchangela.com. Feb. 12: Experience a four-hour long set with Paul Van Dyk. Feb. 13: Tycho. Feb. 14: Dash Berlin. Grammy Museum 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org. Feb. 9, 7 p.m.: Tonight’s guest, L.A. Reid, produced Toni Braxton, which gives us carte blanche to ask that he unbreak our hearts. Feb. 10, 8 p.m.: A little slack key guitar with Hawaiian standout Mele Mei. Redwood Bar and Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 652-4444 or theredwoodbar.com. Feb. 8: Rubber. Feb. 9: Gonzophonic. Feb. 10: Scarlett & The Fever. Feb. 11: Neighborhood Brats, Rough Kids, Maniac and Oxidizer. Feb. 12: Bone Crusher, Riot Gun and Gross Polluter. Feb. 13: Happy Lives, Spirit in The Room, New Evil and Romanda Hammer. Feb. 14, 3 p.m.: Fools on Stools. The Regent 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheater.com. Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m.: Advertising Jukebox the Ghost as “a band of musical survivors” really rubs salt in the wounds of the Titanic house band. Feb. 11, 8:30 p.m.: Naughty By Nature have matured. Feb. 13, 8 p.m.: Dweezil Zappa makes your parents’ naming choices feel rather banal, unless of course the person reading this is named Chocolate Pleasure Yarn Smith. Feb. 13, 10:30 p.m.: The 100% Pure Love ’90s Dance Party is not just an ironic take on Valentine’s Day and ’90s classic “100% Pure Love.” Song originator Crystal Waters will actually be on hand. Feb. 14, 8 p.m.: One of the perks of living in Downtown is access to the great vibes of bands like the Aggrolites. Down in the South Bay, all the bros are still jamming to Agroheavy. Seven Grand 515 W. Seventh St., (213) 614-0737 or sevengrand.la. Feb. 8: No, tonight’s Rollercoaster Sessions is not a Bernie Sanders fundraiser. The Red Hot Chili Peppers already stole that idea. Feb. 9: The Makers have long accepted that a Valentine’s Day spent with a trombone is not a day spent alone. Feb. 10: Steve G & The VIP Band has generously agreed to put up with your pedestrian social status. Feb. 11: The hardest working band in Downtown funk: The Vibrometers. Feb. 14: The Fabrice Martinez Quartet, or FMQ as they’re known throughout Asia. The Smell 247 S. Main St. in the alley between Spring and Main or thesmell.org. Feb 11: David Bowie Tribute Night with Current Joys, Gimme Danger and Arjuna Genome. Feb. 12: Idiot Glee, Michael Stasis, Arjuna Genome (again) and Cotton Ships. Feb. 13: Current Joys, Popheart, Sugarcube and Ferbus. Feb. 14: Peter Pants, Moaning, TraPsPs and Teeks. Teragram Ballroom 1234 W. Seventh St. or teragramballroom.com. Feb. 9, 8 p.m.: Andrew Bird has too many laurels to name. Feb. 10-11, 8:30 p.m.: Guster play a tandem of albums in their entirety for a room full of doting fans. Feb. 12, 9 p.m.: ALO, slightly less soothing than aloe. Feb. 13, 8 p.m.: FlyLo will be playing a late notice gig to help assuage the overwhelming loneliness of his fans.

FILM

Downtown Independent 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com. See website for schedule. IMAX California Science Center, 700 State Drive, (213) 744-2019 or californiasciencecenter.org. Journey to Space 3D brings audience members along on an E-ticket ride of exploration to the red planet. Ewan McGregor is the voice of Humpback Whales 3D. Not that the whales aren’t significant enough in their own right, but Obi-Wan narrating means we’re dealing with serious power brokers here. Power brokers who know a good whale story when they see it. Regal Cinemas LA Live 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 763-6070 or lalive.com/movies. Through Feb. 11: Deadpool (8 and 11 p.m.); Zoolander 2 (7 and 9:30 p.m. and 12 a.m.); The Choice (12:50, 4, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.); Hail, Caesar! (1:40, 4:40, 7:40 and 10:35 p.m.); Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (11:30 a.m., 1:20, 2:10, 4:10, 5:10, 7:10, 8, 10:10 and 10:50 p.m.); Fifty Shades of Black (11:40 a.m.,

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22 Downtown News Continued from previous page 2:20, 4:50, 7:20 and 9:50 p.m.); The Finest Hours (1:30 and 10:40 p.m.); Kung Fu Panda 3 (3:50 and 9:10 p.m.); Kung Fu Panda 3 3D (11:20 a.m., 1:10, 1:50, 4:20, 6:30, 7 and 9:40 p.m.); The Boy (12:10, 2:50, 5:30, 8:10 and 10:45 p.m.); Dirty Grandpa (12:30 and 3:10 p.m.); 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (11:50 a.m., 3, 6:10 and 9:30 p.m.); Ride Along 2 (1, 3:40, 6:20 and 9 p.m.); The Revenant (11:50 a.m., 3:10, 6:40 and 10:10 p.m.); Star Wars: The Force Awakens (12:20 and 10 p.m.).

THEATER, OPERA & DANCE

An Act of God Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. Feb. 9-12, 8 p.m. and Feb. 13, 2 and 8 and Feb. 14, 1 p.m.: The comedy An Act of God comes from the pen of 13-time Emmy winner (and former “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” head writer) David Javerbaum. Sean Hayes, perhaps best known for his role in “Will & Grace,” plays the Almighty himself in this tongue-incheek divinity play. Through March 13. See story p. 18. The Aeroplane or How Low: An Autobiography (sort of) Loft Ensemble, 929 E. Second St., (213) 680-0392 or loftensemble.org. Feb. 13, 8 p.m. and Feb. 14, 7 p.m.: In Mitch Rosander’s drama, a plane flight home to cope with family grief turns into a boundless bit of soul searching. Through March 6. Bob Baker’s Sketchbook Revue Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W. First St., (213) 250-9995 or bobbakermarionettes.com. Feb. 13-14, 2:30 p.m.: The Sketchbook Revue promises a cast

CROSSWORD

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS of marionettes that will alternately delight and terrify. Criers For Hire East West Players, 120 Judge John Aiso St., (213) 625-7000 or eastwestplayers.org. Feb. 11-13, 8 p.m., Feb. 14, 2 p.m.: Funeral singers of the Filipino derivation form the conceptual basis for this comedic tale. It’s about an unlikely prodigy who turns somber mourners into joyful celebrants. Through March 13. The Magic Flute Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8001 or laopera.org. Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m.: Multimedia trickery and a 1920s update give this Mozart classic a little panache. Bonus: You get James Conlon’s consummate work in the pit. The Mystery of Love and Sex Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. Feb. 10-13, 8 p.m., Feb. 14, 1 and 6:30 p.m.: Is that it is never free. Just kidding, folks. The play tackles the hardships of an interracial love affair and a family that may or may not be able to discern affection beyond the color line. York Walker and Mae Whitman star. The Room by Harold Pinter REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org. Feb. 11-13, 8:30 p.m. and Feb. 14, 3 p.m.: The vaunted Wooster Group debuts their adaptation of Harold Pinter’s classic in the vein of comedy of menace. It’s a world premiere in L.A. for the New Yorkbased company. Through February 14. See review p. 19. Sleepaway Camp Downtown Independent, 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com. Feb. 9, 9 p.m.: Feast on this irreverent stand-up comedy cavalcade takes up residence at the Downtown Independent.

CLASSICAL MUSIC THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Camerata Pacifica Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand, (213) 621-1050 or colburnschool.edu. 8 p.m.: Compositions from Wynton Marsalis and Tan Dun form the bedrock of tonight’s blowout chamber music show. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12 City of Light: Mother Goose Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0777 or musiccenter.org. Feb. 12-13, 8 p.m. and Feb. 14, 2 p.m.: Finnish mastermind Esa-Pekka Salonen continues his tribute to Paris with a show practically stuffed with Ravel, Dutilleux, Poulenc and Tanguy. Musical Encounter Concert Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand, (213) 621-1050 or colburnschool.edu. 10 and 11:30 a.m.: Major stranger danger as the Colburn School’s L.A. Brass Quintet joins forces with the school’s Dance Academy. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 Colburn Chamber Music Society Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand, (213) 621-1050 or colburnschool.edu. 3 p.m.: Violinist Augustin Hadelich has a bit of Paul Simon around the eyes.

MORE LISTINGS Hundreds of listings of fun and interesting things to do in Downtown Los Angeles can also be found online at ladowntownnews.com/calendar.

February 8, 2015

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February 8, 2016

To place a classified ad in the Downtown News please call 213-481-1448, or go to DowntownNews.com Deadline classified display and line ads are Thursday at 12pm. FORfor RENT

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All submissions are subject to federal and California fair housing laws, which make it illegal to indicate in any advertisement any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income or physical or mental disability. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 2016019673 The following individual(s) is (are) doing business as: (1) Tiny Bee Cards, 1528 Yale St. #3, Santa Monica, CA 90404, (2) Lemonade Pixel, 1528 Yale St. #3, Santa Monica, CA 90404, and (3) Lemonade VFX, 1528 Yale St. #3, Santa Monica, CA 90404, are hereby registered by the following registrants: Alexis Rawlins, 1528 Yale St. #3, Santa Monica, CA 90404 and Brandon Sachs, 1528 Yale St. #3, Santa Monica, CA 90404. This business is conducted by a married couple. Registrants began to

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Downtown Development February

A Special report featuring more than 75 project updates. February 23, 2015

with Ahbe Landscape Architect, the company tapped to create the new facility, have begun the effort to get public input on the design of the project that will rise on an L-shaped lot. Last May, the office of then-County Supervisor Gloria Molina contributed $950,000 to the project, bringing the amount secured for the facility to $8.25 million. Another $5 million comes from Proposition 84 state funds. Demoli tion is expected to begin soon, with a grand opening slated for this summer.

Killefer

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LOS ANGELES STREETCAR The most recent assessment of the Los Angeles Streetcar’s cost, from project manager URS Corp., came in at about $270 million. That’s much lower than the worst-case estimate from a city analysis in 2013, which put the price at up to $327.8 million, though it is also far higher

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sold W. First St. was Theatre at 1345 apartment complex Marionette an plans to build demolition of the The Bob Baker the Melech, who in 2013 to Eli would involve the City West Whether that but the city deemed on the site. initial deto be seen, t in 2009. The theater remains ltural MonumenAlbert calls for a five-story, Steve theater building a Historic-Cu and architect over the existingpreserved sign from Melech that bridges be ed structure space would comwood-fram the theater house displays majority of and would building; the hold 102 the new complex upper floors would The as a lobby in construction said g Baker’s career. s. Melech at the memoratin room apartment until the end of 2015 this April, one- to three-bedent would not start runs through nt. No on the developm Baker company’s lease month arrangeme Bob a month-tosoonest; the it turns into at which point has been revealed. the project budget for Group Holland Partner VIBIANA LOFTS n-based developer just south of the forWashingto parcel Partner’s Vancouver, of Holland the nearly one-acre head Warren, has purchased expects to Cathedral. Tom said the firm that mer St. Vibiana developments, uare-foot building Southern Californiamonth on a 179,000-sq stories of wood five this for call tely 247 Plans break ground approxima apartments. podium, with is being will create 237 The project over a concrete and parking spaces. construction below-ground firm Togawa Smith Martin, re above- and restaurant the architectu square feet of retail or designed by residential just under 4,000 including a 41-story will include S. Main St. Warren 222 at previous projects, site Two for the space. to an opening been proposed years, leading tower, had taking two construction anticipates 2017. in early IAL RESIDENT

Regardie is hitKim and Jon Los Angeles Evans, Eddie Downtown but By Donna ent boom in being built, is he developm are projects Central City level: Not only words, the ting a new vertical. In other they are going density in to increasing an upswing. it. literally on because it speaks that welcomes frein Los Angeles This is important and the Valley communities , the Westside Downtown one of the few of Hollywood proposed, in mass. high-rise is Whereas residents area a critical when a new to give the Wilshire quently protest as a means The 73-story it is often embraced on numerous fronts. Figueroa streets and seen and Seventh This is being completion. nt is rising at St. is nearing on Grand replaceme Tower at 888 S. Olive is under constructi on Onni near L.A. Live the 33-floor broke ground just r Metropolis The multi-towe ent firm Trumark Urban S. Grand Ave. in South made and the developm ium complex at 1050 have been a 22-story condominjust the start, as drawings batch of highanother literally sought for Park. That is ts are being rental and entitlemen even 50 stories. rush of low-rise 40 or boom. The rises, some on the civic extent of the are also heated e That’s not the and things Federal Courthous recontinues, complexes projects, the aking of the among other groundbre front, with, and the recent forward HLW International the design steaming News proStreet Viaduct. image courtesy ST. wrapping up of the Sixth streets, Partners is 801 S. OLIVE Angeles Downtown to conplacement based Carmel tower at Eighth and Olive Garibpages, Los will be Expect things San FranciscoDan In the following the Arts District 96 projects. apartment building in office Development of March, updates on phase of a 27-story Vice President of d Coca-Cola with creative vides the latest figuratively and literally. the end and Senior The century-ol a mixed-use complex up, ground by s of Los Angeles according to of 2017. d into tinue to look plans to break third quarter s. GPI Companie transforme a $19 milstualdi. The company wrapping up in the and restaurant last spring completed units, with NEW PROJECTS , were revived or on & Traction space, retail call for 363 s. Atlas Capital with constructi S. Olive St. dubbed Fourth publicly announced and eight penthouse tower at 801 New York-basedof the structure, now streets, the were either pool apartments Plans for the five months. and Merrick These projects two-bedroom center, a rooftop e in the past lion acquisition on the corner of Fourth The threedios, one- and include a large fitness sits street name). Fourth gained prominenc area on a fifth-floor change the (although it would E. recreation to 963 ng and at acAmenities pool has are seeking brick building feet of street-faci and a larger developers SPRING Partner Group uare-foot red previously housed operations and lounge, be 10,000 square podium. Most of the EIGHTH AND n-based Holland streets and plans to and Leasing would also story, 150,000-sq Washingto or deck. There and Spring opened in 1915 has long been vacant. four-story parkingt panels, allowing the Vancouver, s and ground-flo lot at Eighth but as part of a will get St. originally it d space translucen parking apartment a company, in retail the 320 announce of quired be wrapped with an building with for the Cola-ColaPartners and RKF have Warren, head penthouse podium would softly at night. build a 24-story to city documents. Tom said Holland glow agents Industry are-foot rooftop be on the developments, S. Spring St. structure to d, 10,000-squ and a restaurant will retail, according al is a landscape pit, Southern Californiathe property at 737 Internation fire HLW and defirm for company’s a ST. outdoor kitchenstructure. Architecture creation of $12.5 million other Downtown broke 820 S. OLIVE include the the Partner paid would follow project will east end of the building. Core project June, the companyBixel adjacent to redesign. The The Historic Partner. Last at Sixth and handling the for Holland l parking structure in the fourth quarter y structures velopments completed 300-space multi-leve a pair of seven-stor is due to be ground on Fourth & Traction West. streets in City of this year. entitleLITTLE TOKYO Homes is seeking The deSQUARE ETCO HOMES developer Etco MARIONETTE in Little Tokyo. Beverly Hills-based apartment project St. would offer 66-unit Ellison S. Onizuka to 1,250 square ments for a at 118 Astronaut with floor plans up the velopment the end of om lofts, ground by is BGA Inc. one- and two-bedrois aiming to break The architect feet. The companymanager Kyle Milano. year, said project has been revealed. No budget corner at the southwest FORD BUILDING Factory building be transformed into Ford Motor Fe Avenue will The former San FranciscoStreet and Santa on the ground floor. of Seventh retail purchased the space with creative office giant Shorenstein Properties structures for $37 ying n, based real estate two accompan of Shorenstei Onni Group building and image courtesy opening senior vice president 102-year-old . April. Jim Pierre, this April, and anticipates is moving million last n to begin has been announced Onni Group Hill sed developer 2016. No budget the ground floor. expects constructio tower between 10 Canada-ba on nt in spring on page Vancouver, 50-story residential winthe developme floor-to-ceiling windows large Continued plans for a feature show of forward with also would Renderings above the street deck with sweeping views 1912 a The four levels Architects opened in would have The Albert Group image courtesy The Ford building dows. The rooftop California assembly and Boyle Heights. Downtown primary Southern as the headCompany’s A’s. It functioned as Ford Motor and Model 1972 to 2005. for Model T’s Company from operations Toy the Imperial quarters of

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Leonard apartmen Grand The expansive renovationand of the 34-acre park Avenue, t complex on the edge of Chinatown, which began last formally known at as G8, is enterApril, has been delayed due to the discovery Continue d on page of underground archaeological features and 12 some soil contamination. The park, which had been scheduled to be complete in the spring, is now slated to reopen in November, according to state Department of Parks and Recreation Superintendent Sean Woods. Completed work thus far includes excavation and grading of the two-acre restored wetlands area, construction of a pedestrian bridge, and framing of a welcome center, ranger station and public restrooms. Other planned features include a treeflanked promenade and a paved parking area. The renovation is budgeted at approximately $20 million. At lashp.wordpress.com.

News 9

OPMEN T WN DE V EL DOWNTOing Downtow n News 11

February 23,

hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery, said Bada. The builder is Millie and Severson.

two 40-story buildings Developm top of a n began sed developer in January, and large pouring at the $100 towers developm ent Frank Frallicciard according retail space. parking podium concrete and a 49-story Oceanwid an to Vice AND BROADWAY ent is about PARK i. ConstructFIRST President for high-rise, e air galleria Initial rendering with about 30% complete ion on of of Recreation 200,000 all on The city Department andtwo Parks, s show the combined with square five-story the , he said. levels. feet of 504 condomin The towers, retail space theThe Bureau of Engineering Councilman project ties and as an such will a pool and iums and 183 meanwhile, will openJosé Huizar’s office have begun as hosting hotel rooms, hold a green space community outreach meetings for the park on top with of the podium. ameniproposed for the corner of First Street and The Continue d on page Broadway, said Huizar spokesman Rick Coca. 14

Milano Lofts National City Tower The HAAS Lofts Building Chapman Flats Great Republic Lofts Chester Williams Building LoftSeve n

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Downtown Developm

be used for public events and cultural activities. Councilman José Huizar have said the actual The renovation is expected to be finished by cost could be lower than $270 million, but the the end of 2017. project’s funding picture remains unclear. and In crews will January, streetcar officials reported that 24 ment complex, METRO BUS FACILITY firms from 19 cities responded to a “request for rprises. Lowe February information” on a financial partnership for the 23, 2015 Second project; actual deals will not happen until the St. by J.P.toMorgan city prepares a “request for proposals. ” Up including en First $85 million in tax funds can be collected fromand The grounda fifth-floor pool storefront floor will hold deck, cabanas Downtown property owners along the street streetopen and this Developm was initiallys along Grand 5,672 square feet a fitness center. car route and $10 million has come from FEDERAL COURTHOUSE ent ongthe of retail proffered Avenue and the hit a wall Flamman former Community Redevelopment Agency. The massive steel frame of the $323 million when the by develope 11th Street. The space, with g e Woo Trumark r Amir Kalantari, project astaniente Architects isFederal Courthouse, at the southwest corner of recession The city is applying for $75 million in federalfamUrban handling rprises.co began based architectuacquired gawa but plans m. Broadwaythe Smith designs. grants, but even if that is secured, some sort of and First Street, is nearly complete. the project and lending At markets building, re firm etail HansonLA in June 2014. froze. public-private partnership would be needed. which features and Construction began in summer 2013 and is on Downtow ting out Downtow create several is handling designs along an n News nThe 3.8-mile project would run fromrian-only South Park track to wrap in fall 2016, according to Traci 237 studio MIXED Rubik’s edge of BLOSSOM 13 USE reserved to three-bed for the the structure. Cube-like to the Civic Center with a main spur on Broadfor Madison, a representative for the U.S. General PLAZA to Broad TITLE INSURAN accents tworoom Broadway low-income jutresidents. apartments, will also way. The streetcar’s environmental impact Services Administration. The 600,000-squareHard demolitio CE BUILDING idences with 53 for restauran The have units n for the report is expected to be done in thermet coming foot building will have 24 district courtrooms ts and retail;19,000 square development is imminent spaces. at Historic feet 900 the 1928 , said Bill Lindborg Core’s Title months, and Huizar hopes to have the streetcar and 32 judges’ chambers, as well as offices for Additionally, Forestthe project will of street level N. public structure plaza with . The projspace hold four of Capital Insurance Building pleted at 433 S. the U.S. Marshals Service. The design from ar station a walkwayCity is creating restauran the Foresight, to Broadway a 17,000-sq t connectin Another to move abatement and Spring St. The which owns heartde chitecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merill uare-foot forward g the of Chinatow , allowing soft demolitio company for turning in the has comn by foot rail riders to Metro Gold Line areas, MERCED THEATER AND MASONIC HALL picts a large cube with windows set atdown angles n work, several the building permitting easily access (currently and continues square flights of process, projectwill feet of , they The city Bureau of Engineering remains in to create a serrated outer skin; the design the g constairs is slated ground-fl into 216 residentia he said. Plans for completioand walk up would have to oor retail call the design phase for a renovation ofude the cityl units with bring in natural light while also cutting solar go multiple TOPAZ space. n in late 530 CITY MARKET blocks). 40,000 spring owned Merced Theater and the attached heat gain. The Civic Center building is being The 2016. Construct According ion continues Masonic Hall, near the Olvera Street plaza. engineered to achieve LEED Platinum status, to the most ment complex phase on photo by Gary Leonard recent of developm The process began last summer and will run according to the GSA. Main streets, just north Jade Enterprise informatio project ent for s’ 159-unit City according of the Santa the massive n available, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s through this summer. Public hearings to re redubbed space, hotel Market, a proposed apartthe initial to a company Fe Lofts at Topaz, Fashion broke ground rooms fice at 550 District $120 million Division 13 Bus Maintenance view the preliminary designs are slated to take FIGUEROA CORRIDOR BIKEWAY $1 For the spokesma Sixth and megaS. Main initial phase,and a college billion hub of last Septembe n. The project, streets. housing, and Operations Facility will be completed in place by early winter, according to the city LENA Group campus, Construction of the street improvements has Topaz will St. will stretch dubbed office began between r. The six-story and will offer studio and said department El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical May and will open the following month. All begun along the Figueroa Corridor, Tim intends to turn City Market South, last summer. San Julian include and one- Main and Los editwo aged 23,000 project between fice space Angeles to three-bed Monument (which manages the buildings). The construction and infrastructure work has been square Fremaux, a transportation engineering associ is buildings developer the and dining 11th and feet No budgetexpected to be room units finished, and now the fueling, washing, vacucity is planning to move the studio for Chan Chancomplete of retail. The Historic establishm 12th streets on San Pedro landowne ate for the city. The $20 million from My Figueroa has been into by the third r Peter housing revealed. Core Fleming, ents. The overall creative ofuming and other equipment is being installed. nel 35, which airs City Council meetings and project, an effort to make the street friendlier units, 210 quarter VALENCI 295,000 hotel rooms, ultimately would City Market, of 2016. A other government-related programs, into the square to pedestrians and bicyclists, is expected to Continued on page 16 Develope 225,000 feet of include before r Sonny creative square 945 last through December. Plans call forthe trimming entire project $60 million, Astani broke office feet is complete space. It could of retail and vehicular lanes and establishing protected ar Blvd. The six-story apartmen ground in FIGUERO . At citymarke be 20 years 218-apart A CENTRAL t project late 2014 on a plete in eas for two-wheeled travelers. The project will Chain-link tla2.com. roughly at 1501-152 February ment City West fences have amenities 2016, complex 1 accomplish this while preserving the entrance mega-pro W. went Wilshire according up on ject late such as Most units to Astani. is slated to be menced and and exit points for auto dealerships other last year, the 4.6-acre site open courtyard The Valencia comwould have on the and square Develope parking businesses along the three-mile section ofparcel, which construction of the Fig Central s and balconies feet of would lot ground-fl work has for years and there a fitness center. million r Forest City is also held undergrou and oor retail Figueroa Street District comBlossom finished would be two squat operated as photo by between the Financial and commerc with the Gary Leonard Plaza the parking plans to nd bank vault. 4,400 a surface and Exposition Park. At myfiegueroa.com. foundatio build Beijing-ba mechanical ial space. podium complex and

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FOREST CITY/SOU TH Develope r Forest City PARK seven-sto is preparing ry South Park buildings to break ground Vice President on a pair in late spring, lion project of Development according of Frank will bring to Hill streets) one building Frallicciardi. The $135 with 177 to 156 W. studio 7,500 square 11th St. (11th milfeet of ground to two-bedroom and include a units and floor pool deck, courtyard retail space. Amenitiesabout pedestrian and gym. paseo It would also would Herald Examiner in the alley between Building. the apartmen create a Main St. with Another ts and the structure square feet 214 studio to two-bedro will rise of retail space. om apartmen at 1201 S. than 500 The two buildings ts and combined parking spaces. Forest would have 7,500 City is aiming stalls and nearly more taneously 450 bicycle to construct and open both buildings parking them by said. the summer simulof 2017, Frallicciard i FOURTH AND BROADW Planning for a high-rise AY veteran developer at Fourth Street and Broadway son and business Izek Shomof from partner. The continues, said Eric he added. Shomof, entitleme The his nt process and parking 34-story tower would feature 450 is underway, retail space. spaces, and there The 450,000-sq would be 7,000 residential units signed by square feet uare-foot Downtow of developm nto ent, being nLA, would debe built d open as apartDevelopment Downtown News 15 id-rise portion ectangula the southeast r tower would building. The $23 million project will also create than the initial projected cost of $125 million. clinics and physician offices including the hosrise revealed. office space and a 50-seat theater, which would City pital’s Surgical Specialties Clinic, which includes Officials with the office of 14th District

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February 8, 2016

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density, said Johnson Fain Principal Scott Johnson. “A few tall buildings in a sea of parking is not a good idea, so we played with how to make this project pedestrian and resident friendly,” Johnson said. “We have several clusters of housing with different kinds of retail wrapped in so people have more choice.” Johnson tentatively expects to begin engineering and final designs in 2017 and potentially start construction by the end of next year.

Work Begins at Figueroa Street Housing Project

he South Park housing boom continues, as crews are currently mobilizing and will soon break ground on a 106-unit project at 1400 S. Figueroa St. DHG Family Trust is developing the seven-story apartment complex that would extend the residential activity south of the Avant apartments. Don Getman, a principal for the project’s designer, GMP Architects-LA, said work is ready to begin following a four-month delay. The project across from the Los Angeles Convention Center would include nearly 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The building is expected to be finished in late 2017.

Reward Offered for Shooting at Standard

n Dec. 13 at 2:20 a.m., several individuals got into a fight at the Downtown Standard hotel on Sixth Street. The dispute escalated and one person pulled out a gun and shot two people outside the hotel, then fled to a parking lot next to the hotel, where two more people were shot. During the incident, a man identified as Thomas Johnson was killed. Police have been unable to locate the shooter, and recently announced a $50,000 reward for information on the person or persons behind the attack. The motion to offer the reward was introduced by City Councilman José Huizar, whose 14th District includes the Standard. Police in December released video of an individual they believe was involved in the shooting; he was described as an African-American male with cornrows. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call (877) 529-3855.

City Aims to Rename Ninth and Los Angeles ‘Stanley Hirsh Square’

or decades, Stanley Hirsh was one of Downtown Los Angeles’ most prominent garment manufacturers and landowners, assembling a vast collection of properties in the Fashion District. He died in 2003, and now the city is taking steps to honor him. Fourteenth District City Councilman José Huizar recently introduced a motion to rename the intersection of Ninth and Los Angeles streets as Stanley Hirsh Square. The intersection is where Hirsch owned one of his most notable properties, the Cooper Building. According to the motion, Hirsch was born in the Bronx, dropped out of school as a teenager, went to work at a Long Beach shipyard, and later joined the Navy. After leaving the military he began working at the House of Nine clothing manufacturing business in Downtown, then began his own company, S. Howard Hirsh. His business expanded and he began buying vacant properties to fill with garment manufacturers. He later served as chairman of the Downtown Property Owners’ Association and helping create the Fashion District Business Improvement District. The measure ultimately will require the approval of the City Council.

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