02-29-16

FEBRUARY 29, 2016 I VOL. 45 I #9

Modern C lassic The L.A. Phil’s

Assistant Conductor Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla Is Rocketing to International Attention

A Convention Center Design Spat: 5 Visions of the First and Broadway Park: 6

photo by Gary Leonard

SEE PAGE 10

THE VOICE OF DOWNTOWN L.A. SINCE 1972

2 Downtown News

DT

AROUND TOWN

Looking for Downtown’s Coolest Offices

D

o people walk into your office and smile?

Are you frequently complimented for your sense of design or tchotchkes? Do you want to show off your workspace to the rest of Downtown? If so, then Los Angeles Downtown News wants to hear from you. On April 18 we’ll be showcasing some of Downtown’s coolest offices — whether modern loft-style creative office space or more traditional work settings — and we’re accepting submissions from anyone who works in the community. Your job doesn’t matter — programmer, attorney, whatever — as long as your place has a unique look. Those selected will be visited by a reporter and a photographer, and the results will be published in the Inspiring Workspaces section in print and online at downtownnews.com (you must be willing to be photographed). So if you have a great workspace and are ready to show it off, email a photo and brief description to Dawn Eastin at dawn@downtownnews.com.

Twin-Tower Hotel Coming

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he Downtown hotel boom continues, as New York City-based developer Lightstone last week revealed plans to build two towers with about 1,100 combined rooms. The project would rise across from the Los Angeles Convention Center, on a parking lot on the north-

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS east corner of Figueroa Street and Pico Boulevard. The appropriately titled Fig+Pico complex would comprise 40- and 28-story towers with 20,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Gensler and the firm Yabu Pushelberg are spearheading the exterior and interior designs. “We believe Fig+Pico could be a win-win for the city, bringing much-needed hotel rooms and jobs to Downtown Los Angeles and hopefully a catalyst for the Los Angeles Convention Center expansion efforts,” Mitchell Hochberg, president of Lightstone, said in a prepared statement. Before delving into planning and construction, the developer is seeking incentives from the city. The City Council has passed a motion to conduct a study into the economic feasibility of the hotel plan and what incentives could be used.

TAKE MY PICTURE GARY LEONARD

New Terrence Malick Film to Premiere at Ace Hotel

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ilmmaker Terrence Malick made his name with existential, dreamlike films including The Thin Red Line and The Tree of Life. Now the Oscar-nominated director is bringing his latest movie to Downtown. The Los Angeles premiere of Knight of Cups, a character drama about a broken, hedonistic Los Angeles screenwriter (played by Christian Bale) will take place at the Theatre at Ace Hotel (929 S. Broadway) on Tuesday, March 1, at 8 p.m. Knight of Cups explores the screenwriter’s relationships with his family and lovers, and is told over eight chapters named for tarot cards. The premiere will include a Q&A with members of the cast and crew. Tickets are on sale for $15. Additional information is at acehotel.com/calendar.

Downtown Modern Dentistry

February 29, 2016

First Street Entrance

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oggers and illuminated accessory fans, the night you have waited for is here. On Sunday, March 6, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation is holding an evening run/fundraiser in which people will carry glow sticks. The 5K Run/Walk begins outside the south lobby of the Los Angeles Convention Center; it is part of the AAAAIF’s annual meeting (taking place March 4-7), and proceeds will go to the foundation’s research in fighting asthma and allergies. The glow stick run starts at 5:30 p.m. and runners will circle the Convention Center twice. There

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will be music and entertainment, and Hall of Fame football player Eric Dickerson will serve as Grand Marshal. Registration can be done online at annualmeeting.aaaai.org or onsite the day of the event starting at 4:30. The cost is $40 and includes a T-shirt and glow gear.

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Example: There once was a boy named Huizar During campaigns he traveled near and far He saw stores come to Broadway Felt like king for a day But still he dreams of a streetcar

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re looking for supreme examples of the traditional Irish five-line verse. The catch is that the limerick must concern Downtown. How is up to you, but we expect creativity.

Downtown players, places and themes are all fair game.

The winner will be rewarded with a pot of gold. Well not really, but you might get a $50 gift card for Patina Restaurant Group.

ENTRY DEADLINE: TUESDAY, MARCH 8 @ 5 PM

HOW TO

ENTER

Email your limerick and your contact info to contests@downtownnews.com with the subject line “Limerick Contest” or mail to 1264 W. First St. LA, CA 90026

One entry per person. All or part of the submissions may be published in our St. Patrick’s Day issue (or online), on March 14 and become property of the L.A. Downtown News.

February 29, 2016

Downtown News 3

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

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EDITORIALS

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

February 29, 2016

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

Traffic Troubles in The Arts District

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f you regularly commute through the Arts District, then your drive has likely taken longer and become more frustrating in the past month. It’s a pain in the you know what. Unfortunately, the situation will probably remain difficult for a few years.

Los Angeles Downtown News recently reported on how traffic has gotten worse since the Sixth Street Viaduct was shuttered on Jan. 27. The 84-year-old bridge used to record about 23,000 vehicle trips each day.

Now those drivers are likely using the First, Fourth or Seventh Street bridges.

There’s another hiccup, this one in the form of construction on First Street in Little Tokyo for the Regional Connector. While people can get to and from Boyle Heights over the bridge, the closure of a few blocks of a main thoroughfare has further complicated matters. Fortunately, the street should reopen soon.

The $449 million Sixth Street Viaduct replacement, however, won’t be finished until 2019. In other words, get ready for at least three more years of traffic.

Not a lot can be done now, though the Department of Transportation did some necessary advance work such as improving certain intersections in the Arts District and retiming lights. Still, little steps could help, and we urge traffic engineers to make monitoring the Arts District and Boyle Heights a daily priority, and to continue to enact tweaks whenever bottlenecks occur.

Drivers, meanwhile, should resign themselves to lengthier commutes. They should leave earlier, give themselves a time buffer for appointments, try different routes and, perhaps most importantly, resist the urge to scream obscenities when traffic bogs down for no apparent reason. We’re not New York, after all.

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

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EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris GENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin 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 ©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.

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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

EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris GENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin

facebook: L.A. Downtown News twitter: DowntownNews

PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard

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

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

©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.

EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris

GENERAL MANAGER: Dawn Eastin EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jon Regardie SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim

STAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathryn Maese

S I N C E 19 7 2

Now What Happens to the L.A. Times?

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer ART DIRECTOR: Brian Allison

Y

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Yumi Kanegawa

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

PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary be dictated by Ferro and Justin Dearborn, who replaced Griffin as ou could almost hear the combination ofLeonard the sigh of relief facebook: CEO. Dearborn, a longtime Ferro compatriot, most recently served and the smug “Take that!” that sounded throughout Los AnACCOUNTING: Ashley Schmidt L.A. Downtown News as CEO of Merge Healthcare.

The hire seems counter-intuitive given geles last week after news broke that Jack Griffin, the CEO of CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine Holloway twitter: Dearborn’s lack of newspaper or media experience, but we’ll wait Tribune Publishing, which owns the Los Angeles Times,Holloway, had been ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Brenda Stevens, DowntownNews Michael Lambwho has chronicled the and see. ©2016 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles Downtown News fired. The initial report from Ken Doctor, SALES ASSISTANT: Claudia Hernandez is a trademark Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved.should be a visit to Los One of Ferro andof Dearborn’s first moves machinations at Chicago-based TPUB better than anyone, indicatThe Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newsCIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon for Downtown Los Angeles is distributed every Angeles topaper communicate theirand intentions regarding the Times. ed that Griffin never saw it coming.

Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown DISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Salvador Ingles Los Angeles.

There are numerous venues for this outreach, whether radio or The comeuppance comes after Griffin gave short shrift to the DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla One copy per person.

TV interviews or appearances at Town Hall-Los Angeles and othTimes and, by extension, the city of Los Angeles. It started last Auer public forums. Transparency and truthfulness are key, and this gust when Griffin fired Times Publisher and CEO Austin Beutner, should happen within weeks. Ferro and Dearborn need to recogsparking an uproar among civic leaders who applauded EDITOR & PUBLISHER: Sue Laris Beutner’s nize how poorly Griffin treated this city. efforts to improve the region’sGENERAL most important newsgathering MANAGER: Dawn Eastin Will Ferro, Dearborn and TPUB do what many, including this voice. Then Griffin rode herd on a buyout of scores of Times reportEXECUTIVE EDITOR: Jon Regardie ers and editors, people with vast institutional knowledge and a real page, have called for, and sell the paper to a local ownership SENIOR WRITER: Eddie Kim group? That would be by far the best result for Los Angeles. sense of context.

STAFF WRITER: Nicholas Slayton Whether that could happen is uncertain, as about 40% of TPUB’s Making matters worse, Griffin replaced Beutner with Timothy CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Kathryn Maese I N CTimes E 19and 7 2 the San Diego Union-Tribune revenue comes fromSthe Ryan, a former Baltimore Sun CONTRIBUTING publisher who has had absolutely WRITERS: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer Angeles Downtown Newswas propelled by Beutner). TPUB (ironically,Los its acquisition last year zero civic presence since arriving. More importantly for investors, DIRECTOR: Brian Allison 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 pursuing the Orange County Register, a move that TPUB’s stock price plummetedART during Griffin’s tenure, from approx- has also been phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR: Yumi Kanegawa the company even more dominant in Southern Caliimately $25 to, in recent weeks, below $6 (it was at about $7.50 late would make web: DowntownNews.com email: realpeople@downtownnews.com PHOTOGRAPHER: Gary Leonard fornia. last week).

If Ferro and Dearborn hold on to the Times, there are other quesGriffin’s ouster was reportedly orchestrated by Michael Ferro, who facebook: ACCOUNTING: Ashley Schmidt tions: How will they boost moraleNews among the workforce? How will just three weeks before, and supposedly by Griffin’s own hand, spent L.A. Downtown they convince Angelenos that the newspaper and its digital com$44 million to buy 16.6% of TPUB, becoming its biggest shareholder CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING MANAGER: Catherine Holloway twitter: ACCOUNT DowntownNews ponents are more than just a way to cover salaries and bonuses and head of the board. The putsch wasEXECUTIVES: speedy. Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens, Michael Lamb back in Chicago? Will there be a new publisher? Will that person be All this prompts a host of questions for TPUB, which owns SALES ASSISTANT: Claudia Hernandez ©2016 Civic Center News, Inc. Los Angeles local? newspapers across the country, including the Chicago Tribune Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved.

A healthy Times is vital to Los Angeles. Ferro hasn’t just taken and the Hartford Courant. But for Angelenos, one matters more The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read CIRCULATION: Danielle Salmon newspaper Downtown Los Angeles and is disover a business, heforhas inherited a responsibility to millions of Anthan the rest: What happens DISTRIBUTION to the Times, in the shortand longMANAGER: Salvador Ingles tributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles. gelenos.

He and the TPUB team must recognize this and act acterm?

DISTRIBUTION ASSISTANTS: Lorenzo Castillo, Bonilla cordingly. One copy per person.

Long-term, the answer will Gustavo come from Ferro. Short-term, it will

February 29, 2016

Downtown News 5

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Convention Center Rehab Sparks Dueling Visions Divide Erupts as City Official Suggests Bigger Plan and a Public-Private Partnership

By Eddie Kim once-direct path to an updated Los Angeles Convention Center has been thrown into question, as a top city official has unveiled a plan that could lead to a massive new project in South Park. The latestage proposal, which is new and fairly untested, has divided area leaders and raised the possibility of a project that would reshape a large portion of the community.

The city has long sought to modernize and expand the aging Convention Center. The venue’s lack of contiguous space — its South and West halls are split in two wings on uneven floor levels — and other shortfalls have made it a tough sell for meeting planners, particularly when vying with regional rivals San Diego and Anaheim.

For several years the city hitched its cart to Anschutz Entertainment Group’s Farmers Field proposal, as the stadium initiative included a modernization of the Convention Center to be funded by stadium ticket sales. When AEG pulled the plug on football last year, the city moved ahead on an effort to upgrade the complex on its own.

Last June, the City Council approved a plan to have the firms HMC and Populous design a $470 million upgrade. The council asked City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, along with a financial advisor (the firm Arup was ultimately hired), to look into how to finance the project.

In December, Santana came back with a report few were expecting.

He suggested that traditional financing us-

A

ing municipal bonds would create too much debt for the city. Instead, he advised adopting a public-private partnership (or “P3”) that would transfer the debt risk to investors and shield the city’s general fund.

Even more dramatically, Santana suggested not just renovating the Convention Center, but making it part of a massive mixed-use project that also creates housing, retail and other amenities. Such a project would reap bigger returns for the city and private investors, plus add to South Park’s economic development, the report says.

“It runs against the grain, as a P3 is not the traditional way that buildings get built by the city,” Santana said in an interview last week.

“But given the amount of real estate here, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we can do it while minimizing financial risk.”

The City Council’s Economic Development Committee has brokered an unsteady compromise. On Feb. 9, it agreed to study both paths.

A final decision won’t be made until June at the earliest.

Mayor Eric Garcetti is in favor of exploring both options, and in a statement to Los Angeles Downtown News his spokeswoman Connie Llanos said, “He supports expeditiously exploring the benefits of a P3 model for the Convention Center concurrently with the environmental analysis.”

Yet Councilman Curren Price, who chairs the Economic Development Committee, and whose Ninth District includes the Convention Center, said in an interview that the CAO’s re-

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port “threw him off” and came “last minute,” leaving lingering questions.

“I have some doubts. The Convention Center is a unique resource, so I don’t think we should just go down a P3 road after reviewing a conventional approach for so long,” he said. “And I don’t think housing is the way to go. Don’t bring that in last minute when it has never been vetted or discussed ever before in this process.”

The suggestion to include housing also surprised Bud Ovrom, executive director of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

In recent memos to commissioners of the Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Board, Ovrom questioned whether housing should exist in a convention hub. He also cited the activity during February’s planning for the Grammys and the U.S. Olympic Team marathon trials, stating that the entire West Hall was crawling with workers, equipment and vehicles.

“It is inconceivable that this degree of 24/7 activity could co-exist in the middle of a residential enclave,” Ovrom wrote in a Feb. 17 memo. “You saw the comments we have already received from our clients who are totally opposed to housing for incompatibility reasons. From our conversations, we know that our unions are also going to oppose anything that converts job-producing land to residential.”

Massive Project The HMC/Populous plan would build a structure over Pico Boulevard to hold meeting rooms and create a smooth transition between the South and West halls. In addition, the West

Hall would be rebuilt with a large indoor/outdoor gathering area and expanded exhibition space. A new ballroom would sit on the top of the West Hall. The city would act as the primary developer and float bonds to pay for the $470 million project.

The plan would be complemented by a 1,000-room hotel next to the Convention Center on city-owned property. The city has begun courting hotel developers and operators.

Santana’s study recommends that the city find a private partner to design, build, finance, operate and ultimately maintain a new Convention Center, plus invest in building a campus around it with housing and retail. That could potentially build on an agreement the city already has with AEG to operate the Convention Center.

The plan could support up to 4.8 million square feet of new development, which would represent a roughly $2 billion overall investment (more than $2.5 billion with the inclusion of the aforementioned hotel), according to Arup’s initial estimates. Tax revenues and ground rent (the city would still own the land under the new development) would in turn subsidize the expansion of the Convention Center.

Santana’s report also states that the traditional financing approach would leave “money on the table” and put financial risk on the city that it “cannot afford.”

“With a P3, the debt would not become part of the overall city portfolio. It would be on Continued on page 16

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6 Downtown News

February 29, 2016

image by Brooks + Scarpa

Park Dreams A Rundown of the Finalists’ Designs for the First and Broadway Park

By Eddie Kim or years, the parcel on First Street between Broadway and Spring Street was one of Downtown’s worst eyesores, holding the remnants of a 13-story state office building that was damaged in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and mostly torn down five years later.

The city of Los Angeles bought the site from the state in 2013 and the following year demolished the old underground garage. Then came a move to turn the parcel adjacent to Grand

Patio Plan: The design from Brooks + Scarpa features long grass striations that ebb and flow over hardscape, which covers much of the public space. Rather than a restaurant, the firm proposes a special events building on the northwest corner with two main interior rooms, a conference center and a large indoor-outdoor “patio.” The structure is covered with ribbon-like arches of concrete with grass growing on top.

“The revenue opportunity for a restau-

rant is not as good as for an event space. We think it could double revenue and better fund arts programming, security and maintenance,” said Brooks + Scarpa Managing Principal Angela Brooks.

The undulating surface of the park provides natural “benches” and other spaces for people to sit, with a large mound of buffalo grass toward Broadway and a boulder-and-water garden near Spring Street.

Hide and Seek Forest: The ambitious plan from former Sci-Arc Director Eric Owen Moss and his team takes the flat First and Broadway parcel and creates a hilly landmass. Scattered around the site are round cutouts that create intimate areas for people to gather. One large slope would hold the “hide and seek forest,” which features a grove of large wood poles and trees. An amphitheater is carved out of the hillside.

“This is carefully designed and precise but

raucous, rough,” Moss said. “The sensibility is a park in progress, not ‘walk here, don’t go there, grass there, no grass here.’ It’s more like you have to make your own way.”

Toward First Street there would be a restaurant managed by Bill Chait (Broken Spanish, Redbird), which connects to a public pavilion shaped like an upside-down “U.” People would take the stairs or an elevator to a main floor overhead. The entire structure would be wrapped in a translucent material.

image by Eric Owen Moss Architects

image by AECOM

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Park into another park. A design competition was launched, and the city has whittled the list of interested architectural and landscape firms to four: AECOM, Eric Owen Moss Architects, Mia Lehrer + Associates, and Brooks + Scarpa. The designs were recently showcased during an event at City Hall.

A winner will be chosen by early March. Here is a rundown of the finalists. Additional information on the designs is at eng.lacity.org/ projects/FAB.

Coves and Lobes: The design from Los Angeles-based AECOM offers a simple central concept: a park with an open center lawn surrounded by pockets of social space. The socalled “coves and lobes” approach includes areas with palm trees and gravel gardens, greener patches with shade trees, and hardscaped spaces with benches for people to sit.

The northwest corner holds the “Paper Plane” building with a restaurant (which the city requested for all designs). On the southeast is the “Wingnut,” a large angled struc-

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ture with a gallery space and a place for visitors to borrow park games, grills and other items. The park would utilize underground irrigation with water reclaimed and treated from the restaurant.

The goal is to promote a flexible park that offers visitors freedom and space, said Nate Cormier, director of landscape architecture for AECOM. “A Downtown resident should not have to leave town to host a birthday party or sit by a fire,” Cormier added.

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February 29, 2016

Downtown News 7

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Arts District Developer to Fund Public Space Under Sixth Street Bridge Leonard Hill Arts Plaza to Include Stage and Performances

By Nicholas Slayton eonard Hill has a deep and longstanding affiliation with the Arts District. As a partner in the firm Linear City, he developed the pace-setting Toy Factory and Biscuit Company Lofts. He also produced Dorfman in Love, a 2013 romantic comedy set and filmed almost entirely in the community.

His next play in the neighborhood will last longer than any weekend box-office report, and serve as a legacy project. Hill has donated $1.9 million to create a public plaza under the Sixth Street Viaduct replacement.

The Leonard Hill Arts Plaza will be between the passageway running under the rail lines just west of the river and Santa Fe Avenue. Initial plans call for the 1.4-acre parcel to have a stage for performances and open space to hold as-yet-undetermined classes.

Hill’s donation, made to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, will pay for the design and construction of the plaza, as well as programming for three years.

In a phone interview, Hill, a longtime patron of the arts, said he wanted a lasting way to support the field. The choice of where to donate, therefore, was important to him and his family, including his wife Patricia.

“We were looking for something to give back to the city,” Hill said in a phone interview. “I hope to give back to the city that gave me so much.”

The plaza will be built by the Bureau of Engineering, which is also handling the $449 million replacement of the bridge that for 84 years connected Downtown Los Angeles and Boyle Heights. The viaduct was shuttered on Jan. 27, the same day the plaza was announced. The replacement bridge is scheduled to open in 2019.

“That bridge can be an amazing signature for L.A.,” Hill said.

L

photo courtesy of the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles

Initial plans for the plaza call for a stage for performances and open space.

Programming would begin in 2020.

photo by Gary Leonard

Leonard Hill, (center) with his wife Patricia and Mayor Eric Garcetti. Hill has donated $1.9 million to create a public arts plaza below the Sixth Street Viaduct replacement.

“It’s not only beautifully designed, but as people have discovered more and more of that area adjacent to the river, there’s momentum to make it a great place.”

The Mayor’s Fund, established by Eric Garcetti in 2014, is a nonprofit designed to create partnerships in which private individuals and businesses donate money to support civic services and projects. The entity’s programs include work on the L.A. River Master Plan to revitalize areas around the waterway.

Deidre Lind, the fund’s president, said the Arts Plaza was an easy fit for Hill, and that his donation is the kind of effort that the program hopes to nurture.

“Public-private partnerships are a core and important element

to so much of what is successful in our city,” Lind said. “We’re so thrilled that Mr. Hill stepped up with this generous pledge.”

The process moved quickly. Hill reached out to the Mayor’s Fund early in the year, said Lind. It was only a few weeks from then until the plaza was announced.

Many details are still being finalized. The Bureau of Engineering is working on early designs for the plaza, and there will be community input before a model is finalized. The precise construction budget has not been determined.

Although the project has been announced, the formal name and the city’s acceptance of external funds ultimately need to be approved by the City Council, Lind said. No date has been set for that yet.

Garcetti praised the donation and the project, seeing the potential for a lasting impact.

“Just as the Sixth Street Bridge has connected the neighborhoods to the east and west of the L.A. River, Leonard’s incredible gift will give future generations of Angelenos a beautiful place to connect with the outdoors, their communities and each other,” Garcetti said in a prepared statement.

The demolition of the Sixth Street Viaduct will take nine months.

Once finished, work on the replacement bridge and additional elements will begin. The current plan is finish the plaza along with the bridge, and to start holding programming in 2020. nicholas@downtownnews.com

Rediscover Gold on March 5. celebrate the grand opening of metro’s gold line foothill extension. opening ceremony 10am Duarte/City of Hope Station 1777 E Duarte Rd Duarte, CA 91010

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8 Downtown News

Joe Baxley and Scott Simoneaux of Teragram Ballroom

Rob Kane of Lincoln Property Management

February 29, 2016

Vanessa Enriquez, Richard Molina, Mike Bowen, Sylvia Gonzalez, Marisa Thom and Nichole Silvera of Whole Foods Market

Eric Stultz and Nancy Levens, board members of the A+D Museum

Whole Foods Named Project of the Year Nine 2015 Projects Honored at Downtown News’ 15th Annual Downtowners of Distinction Awards PHOTOS BY GARY LEONARD Erik and Florence Chol of The Globe Theatre

Mike Alvidrez of Skid Row Housing Trust and Jan Perry of the City of Los Angeles Workforce Development

Hamid Behdad of Central City Development Group and Jeff Malin of the California Governor’s Office

Nick Griffin of the Downtown Center BID and Jessica Wethington McLean of Bringing Back Broadway

By Nicholas Slayton pproximately 350 people came out last week to celebrate some of the most important Central City projects of 2015. At Los Angeles Downtown News’ 15th annual Downtowners of Distinction Awards, the new Whole Foods was named Project of the Year.

That put a capstone on an evening that celebrated two museums, some renovated historic buildings, a couple restaurants and other projects.

The awards ceremony took place at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The senior editorial staff of Downtown News selected Distinction winners for nine districts, while community leaders voted for the Project of the Year from among those finalists.

Honorees were chosen for their impact on their individual district and on greater Downtown. The top prize went to the 41,000-square-foot supermarket that opened in November at 788 S. Grand Ave., on the ground floor of Carmel Partners’ Eighth and Grand apartment complex. Store manager Michael Bowen said the Austin, Texas-based company has been thrilled by the reception from Downtown Los Angeles residents and workers.

“This is a big award for a new store like ours,” Bowen said. “We really want to be a part of the community here. For us to be recognized like this, well, I think it’s a win for everyone in Downtown.”

The crowd included hundreds of Downtown residents, workers and business owners. City Attorney Mike Feuer attended, as did 14th District City Councilman José Huizar, Second District Councilman Paul Krekorian and former Downtown councilwoman and current Economic and Workforce Development Department General Manager Jan Perry.

As has been the case in recent years, some Distinction prizes went to restaurants.

Neal and Amy Fraser’s Redbird, in the for-

A

mer rectory of St. Vibiana’s cathedral, took home the award for Little Tokyo. Andrew Meieran’s $10 million transformation of the Downtown institution Clifton’s Cafeteria won for the Broadway Corridor.

Another transformative Distinction winner was the $140 million contemporary art museum The Broad. The building, from philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad, opened Sept. 20. Admission is free, though reservations are regularly booked months in advance.

Museum Deputy Director Rich Cherry reflected on the reception from the community.

“We’re really excited about receiving this award and the response we’ve had from all of you in Downtown,” Cherry said. “Eli and Edythe Broad had been amassing this collection for 40 years and it’s exciting to have it now, free to all of us in L.A.” Other winners were the Desmond Building in South Park; the A+D Museum in the Arts District; music venue the Teragram Ballroom in City West; the housing complex the Garment Lofts in the Fashion District; and the low-income residential project the New Pershing Apartments in the Historic Core.

The Distinction awards included honorable mentions to other standout projects.

Those went to Grow market, the renovation of the Globe Theatre, Precinct Bar, Escape Room L.A., Level Furnished Living, the pair of Pershing Square Playgrounds and the restaurant Broken Spanish.

Huizar praised the winners, saying that every city needs a strong center. Feuer echoed the sentiment, and pointed to the network and leadership in the Central City as a key reason for the growth.

“While we’re recognizing projects and additions to our community, there is much that is deeper happening in Downtown,” Feuer said. “What’s happening cannot be reversed. This is a positive, forward-looking moment for all of us.” nicholas@downtownnews.com

Jessica Robertson and Agnes Ferreyra of John Aaroe Group

Councilmember José Huizar

Rich Moody, Jorge Rios, Bill Lindborg and Isidra Clark of Capital Foresight

Mike Alvidrez of Skid Row Housing Trust and Debbie Welsch of Capital Foresight

February 29, 2016

2016 Downtowners of Distinction winners

Neal and Amy Fraser of Redbird

Donegan McCuaig of DTLA Real Estate, Jessica Lall and Jessica Mandelbaum of the South Park BID, Jacob Van Horn of DTLA Real Estate

Katie Norris, David Prentice and Candace Schultz of the Midnight Mission

Jeffrey Winston and Chantal Denny of Angelus Plaza

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February 29, 2016

The L.A. Phil’s Rising Star

Vilnius, Lithuania Native Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla Is Commanding Attention

At 29, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla is assistant conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, working closely with Music Director Gustavo Dudamel. She was also recently named music director of the acclaimed Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England.

By Eddie Kim he Los Angeles Philharmonic has never been afraid of going young, or in some cases going abroad, in the effort to find the next big thing in classical music. Venezuelan Gustavo Dudamel was just 26 when he was hired to become music director of the august body. He replaced Esa-Pekka Salonen, a Finn who took the job in his early 30s.

The Phil named 24-year-old Frenchman Lionel Bringuier resident conductor in 2011. Vijay Gupta was 19 when he became a violinist with the symphony.

In that regard, Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla is continuing tradition.

The native of Vilnius, Lithuania, was 26 when she joined the Phil’s Dudamel conducting fellowship in 2012. Now, she’s a rising conducting star drawing international acclaim.

Last month, Grazinyte-Tyla was chosen as the next music director of the acclaimed Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England, which has a track record of propelling young music directors to the top of the industry.

Downtown Los Angeles audiences get a chance to see her on the podium this week, when Grazinyte-Tyla leads the L.A. Phil through five contemporary compositions at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The performance on Tuesday, March 1, dubbed “Static Ecstatic,” includes two U.S. premieres and a world premiere from the noise-music maven Annie Gosfield.

Grazinyte-Tyla is drawing a lot of attention from prominent people in the world of classical music. L.A. Phil President and CEO Deborah Borda said that, despite her age, the company’s musicians have quickly developed chemistry with and respect for her.

“She burst upon the world fully formed, like Minerva,” Borda said with a buoyant laugh, referring to the Roman goddess of wisdom. “You can see the orchestra’s support of her when she performs. Her combo of being exuberant on the podium but also probing deep into a piece intellectually is something special.”

The praise comes from abroad as well.

“Her way of working is very collaborative, meaning that all the musicians feel drawn into the feeling that they are making music together,” Stephen Maddock, CEO of the Birmingham Symphony, wrote in an email. “Mirga understands the chemistry within the orchestra so well.”

Surrounded by Music Growing up, Grazinyte-Tyla could never escape music.

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Her grandmother was a violinist, her mother a pianist and singer, and her father a choir conductor. Strains of classical compositions constantly floated through her home, as did conversations about music.

Still, Grazinyte-Tyla’s parents were not necessarily eager to have their daughter follow them into the field. Musical bloodlines mean little if one struggles to make a living, they reasoned.

“My parents thought another profession would be better.

Something more stable and grounded,” Grazinyte-Tyla said in an interview in a quiet back room at Disney Hall last week. “But when I turned 11, I said to myself, ‘I can’t live without music.’”

It was, she shrugs, a “very late” age to begin formally studying music, including how to play the piano. Her father served as her conducting mentor in an arts school she attended in Vilnius, while her mother took on piano tutoring duties. Later came studies at the University of Music and Fine Arts in Graz, Austria, where she graduated in 2007, followed by stints at music conservatories in Germany and Italy.

Grazinyte-Tyla is fond of talking about the “joy” of conducting, and her ferocious presence on stage proves the point. Though petite, she cuts an impassioned figure, swinging her short blonde locks as she shimmies, dips and jabs the air with her baton. As she conducts, she flows endlessly from giddy grins to smirks to scowls and back.

Grazinyte-Tyla won the Salzburg Young Conductor’s award in 2012, which unleashed a barrage of interest from the classical music world. That included Dudamel, who would choose her for the fellowship program that year. Two years later, the Phil promoted her to assistant conductor, then doubled down by naming her associate conductor for the upcoming 2016-2017 season.

Grazinyte-Tyla calls her run with the L.A. Phil and appearances conducting other orchestras “a second childhood.” As assistant conductor, she often operates as Dudamel and Conductor Laureate Salonen’s right-hand woman, observing hours of rehearsal and breaking down performances with the duo. Last week, she was tasked with conducting an audition for a clarinet seat while Dudamel listened from the audience.

She speaks of the two in near-reverential tones.

“Gustavo is an animal for music, with music. You can feel it in him when he walks to the podium and the orchestra pays attention,” she said. “And Esa-Pekka, he is an amazing philosopher. Put

too bluntly, Gustavo is the right brain and Esa-Pekka is the left.”

Future Aspirations Grazinyte-Tyla likes to say she is still learning, but Maddock and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra saw enough to name her music director after several guest conducting spots and interviews (as with many orchestra jobs, it is only for several months a year, and she will also continue with the Phil). The organization has a reputation for cultivating budding talent — its three previous directors were 25, 28 and 30 years old.

Maddock described her as confident in a setting that others could find daunting.

“She was very clear and efficient in rehearsals, knowing exactly what effects she wanted to achieve and how to achieve them, with a great balance between what needed to be said, what [needed to be] shown and what could simply wait until the concert,” Maddock said.

Grazinyte-Tyla’s rise continues another Phil tradition. Bringuier, also now 29, made similar headlines last year when he became music director of the Zurich Tonhalle in Switzerland.

Yet there is a different element that makes Grazinyte-Tyla stand out — she is the first female music director of the Birmingham Symphony and one of the few female conductors on the international scene.

The responsibilities amount to a lot of pressure, which Grazinyte-Tyla doesn’t deny feeling. Yet the L.A. Phil has become a second home for her, and she takes comfort in knowing she has a place in the first American city she stepped foot in. She smiles wide when talking about the sweeping changes in Downtown over the last several years. She notes that her favorite eatery remains Nickel Diner.

It is unclear what will come after her 2016-2017 run as associate conductor. She chuckles as she finds an analogy for the future.

“If America is a ship, and New York is the engines and work that makes the ship function,” Grazinyte-Tyla said, rowing her arms for effect, “then L.A. and the L.A. Phil is the guy climbing the crow’s nest and seeing what’s coming, literally looking ahead.”

Static Ecstatic is Tuesday, March 1, at 8 p.m. at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave. or laphil.com. eddie@downtownnews.com

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February 29, 2016

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Downtown News 11

Woody Guthrie’s L.A. Protest Song New Book Highlights Folk Singer’s Time in Los Angeles, Including Downtown

By Nicholas Slayton oody Guthrie is known for his songs about the Dust Bowl and his protest anthems. His is known for fighting for workers’ and civil rights. He is known for “This Land Is Your Land,” an American classic and a rebuttal to “God Bless America.”

What is less known is that Guthrie spent time in Los Angeles, and even lived Downtown. A new book sheds light on that era.

Woody Guthrie L.A.: 1937 to 1941 (Angel City Press) is a book of essays edited by Darryl Holter and William Deverell. It charts a key period in Guthrie’s life. On Tuesday, March 1, Holter and Deverell will appear at the Grammy Museum to talk about the book. The event moderated by museum Executive Director Bob Santelli will be followed by a musical performance by Holter, who has recorded several albums when not serving as CEO of the Downtown automotive and real estate business the Shammas Group.

Guthrie came to Los Angeles in 1937, leaving behind a Dust Bowl-ravaged Oklahoma and Texas. At first he bounced around the city, including parts of Downtown, notably Skid Row. Guthrie slept in flophouses in the area.

Deverell said that Guthrie found an audience of people who were going through hardships similar to his own. He started playing music for them, and wound up with a show on radio station KFVD, based just outside Downtown on Western Avenue.

W

“Guthrie found a home in Los Angeles,” Deverell said. “He found his people and his voice, both through the radio and his radio show. He also found a political voice, singing simple but universal perspectives about the Depression to the downtrodden. Los Angeles took to him and he took to it.”

This is not the first time Holter and Deverell took on a Guthrie project. In 2012, they organized a conference and celebration at USC for what would have been the singer’s 100th birthday. While doing research, they found that Guthrie’s years in Los Angeles were often overlooked, although the time was formative in his evolution as an artist and activist. That led them to work on the book.

It was during his time in L.A., said Deverell, that Guthrie met a number of prominent figures on the political left, including actor Will Geer, The Grapes of Wrath author John Steinbeck and newscaster Ed Robbin. Guthrie’s proworker, anti-fascist music and views earned him an audience and a community. His involvement with activists also challenged a notion in California that Oklahoma migrants were ignorant and backwards, Holter said.

“When Ed Robbin met him and heard what he was playing, he asked Guthrie if he could come to this event in Downtown L.A.,” Holter said. “It was an anti-fascist event, and when he played the crowd was so blown away that he Continued on page 12

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During his years in Los Angeles, Woody Guthrie hosted a radio show on station KFVD. His partner was Maxine “Lefty Lou” Crissman.

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William Deverell (left) and Darryl Holter wrote and edited the new book Woody Guthrie L.A.: 1937 to 1941.

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The new book also contains some of Guthrie’s editorial cartoons, which address civil rights, racism, workers rights and the Dust Bowl.

became very popular in L.A. He basically played at every fundraiser, picket line and all over the city.”

Doing Dishes in Clifton’s Deverell and Holter’s book collects 12 essays from the authors and other writers, including Robbin. The works trace Guthrie’s views on race, his early recordings, interactions with migrants in Los Angeles and his relationship with the Communist Party.

They were aided during the research process by Holter’s access to the Woody Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As the work continued, they narrowed the focus to the singer’s Los Angeles years. They found just how prolific Guthrie was as an artist and activist in the city.

Guthrie ended up working Downtown as a columnist for People’s World, a Communist Party newspaper headquartered on Fifth Street in the Historic Core. He also was an illustrator, making political cartoons about politicians and workers’ issues. The radio show, meanwhile, forced him to come up with new music, and inspired by the environment, Guthrie started to compose more songs. His Downtown experiences influenced “Skid Row Serenade” and “Fifth Street Blues,” among other works.

Guthrie had experiences at places that outlasted him. Holter and Deverell recounted the time in 1939 when Guthrie and Robbin went to Clifton’s Cafeteria on Broadway. The cafeteria, despite its pay-what-you-can policy, asked Guthrie to pay more than the few pennies he had on him for a large tray of food.

Guthrie agreed to wash dishes.

“When Robbin came back an hour later, Guthrie was there sitting on a stool playing guitar and all of the workers were listening,” Holter said. “He said to Robbin, ‘These guys all know me from the radio show!’”

The radio show was canceled in 1939, and Guthrie returned to Texas before stopping in New York City. He came back to Los Angeles in 1941, continuing his activism for union workers before leaving for New York for good.

Holter said that Guthrie’s music remains relevant and carries a certain timeliness. He pointed to how, decades ago, Guthrie wrote songs that touched on homelessness (“Ain’t Got No Home”), poverty, police brutality and community relations.

“When he sings about floods in the L.A. basin, he’s singing not only about the ecological aspect, but also about the homeless being imperiled,” Deverell said. “The notion that we’re going to repair and do something interesting with the L.A. River is with us today, but we have to know it will affect these people. Guthrie was able to see these connections back then.”

Guthrie’s time in Los Angeles was short, but Holter and Deverell say it helped define his political and social views, and honed his music. The impact, they say, endured even as he moved on to New York.

William Deverell and Darryl Holter appear Tuesday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Grammy Museum, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 7656800 or grammymuseum.org. nicholas@downtownnews.com

EVENTS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 Ray Kappe and Hernan Diaz Alonso at SCI-Arc SCI-Arc, 960 E. Third St., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu.

7 p.m.: Alonso, the SCI-Arc director, engages Kappe, inheritor of Los Angeles modernist architecture traditions, in a friendly discussion about the whims and fancies of building design.

SUNDAY, MARCH 6 The Rock ‘N’ Roll Flea Market The Regent, 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheater.com.

11 a.m.: This gypsy tribe of music ephemera vendors will be hard pressed to top the $35,000 recently paid for a lock of John Lennon’s hair. You should probably stick to the old vinyl, posters, T-shirts and more.

Pigtails & Pirate Ships: A Pippi Longstocking Celebration The Regent, 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheater.com.

7 p.m.: A rare 16 mm print of Pippi in the South Seas will screen before a Pippi Longstockings costume contest. This is fitting, because 73% of regular female Regent-goers already look/ dress like Pippi and won’t have to change their outfit.

Sunday Studio MOCA, 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2766 or moca.org.

1 p.m.: Activities, tours and all-around improved access to the world of contemporary art you so long to identify with, but feel alienated from nonetheless due to your joyless toil as a CPA.

ROCK, POP & JAZZ

Blue Whale 123 Astronaut E. S. Onizuka St., (213) 620-0908 or bluewhalemusic.com.

Feb. 29: The Los Angeles Jazz Collective presents Matt Politano Trio and Nick Mancini Chamber Group.

March 1: Thelonious Monk Institute Ensemble Jam Session.

March 2: Julian Sure. Be the one to say out loud, “Sure, it’s Julian.”

March 3: Count to five with the Max Haymer Quintet.

March 4: Marquis Hill’s Black-Tet. March 5: Helen Sung Quartet.

Continued on next page

photo by Susana Capra / Capra Photography

By Dan Johnson | calendar@downtownnews.com

Pic that we ran with NHM first Fridays series in february photo courtesy of the Natural History Museum

The First Fridays series at the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park always draws a crowd. The installment on March 4 will be no different, as the night includes the bands Gardens & Villas and Lower Dens, and DJs Aaron Byrd and Val Fleury. What really makes the evening stand out, however, are the tours and panel discussions. First Fridays is merging Hollywood and science this year, and tours at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. will explore NHM displays and artifacts that have inspired movie blockbusters. At 6:30 p.m., journalist Patt Morrison moderates the cheekily titled talk “When in Doubt, Just Keep Swimming.” It features Ocean Conservation Society president Dr. Maddalena Bearzi and Dr. Chris Thacker, the museum’s curator of ichthyology.

That’s a fancy word for fish. At 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-DINO or nhm.org.

2

3

On March 4, the animated film Zootopia opens. On Saturday, March 5, Zootopia fever takes over L.A. Live with a Family Day celebration. The movie will be shown at the Regal Cinemas 14-Plex, and outdoors there’s a bevy of free entertainment starting at 11 a.m. There will be a complimentary photo op with characters from the film, a Zootopia headband giveaway, coloring activities and more — the Minions Family Day event last year also featured music, magicians and loads of crafts.

The event runs until 5 p.m., and Downtowners worried about getting tuckered out from the fun and festivities can try the Family Day overnight deal at the J.W. Marriott. At 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (844) 462-7342 or lalive.com. photo courtesy of Library of Congress

FRIDAY, MARCH 4 First Fridays Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763DINO or nhm.org.

5 p.m.: Gallery tours, a lecture from anthropology specialist KT Hajeian and a full bar will prepare you for music from the likes of DJ Val Fleury and indie psychonauts Lower Dens.

Gregory Crewdson at SCI-Arc SCI-Arc, 960 E. Third St., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu.

7 p.m.: The photographer graces us with a “trail log” documenting the creative process behind his latest book, Cathedral in the Pines.

L.A. Fight Club 1050 S. Hill St., (213) 746-5670 or thebelascotheater.com.

8 p.m.: Early attendance is recommended for tonight’s card lest you end up tardy and quote Ludacris by saying, “Oh no: the fight’s out.” Then you get super angry and continue the quote, “I’m about to punch someone’s lights out!” Beyond that, the night will be headlined by Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez.

Museum Action, a Family Celebration, Big Taiko Drumming And More Downtown Action

1

photo courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

The Don't Miss List

4 Photos are the medium of choice this spring at the Japanese American National Museum, with two justopened exhibits that explore the role Japanese Americans played as both experimental artists and striking subjects.

Now through June 26, Making Waves excavates the modern-inclined art photography of Japanese-American photography clubs, with 103 ultra-rare prints showcasing the sensibility of 1920s and ’30s negative artistry. Through April 24, JANM also hosts Two Views, an examination of Japanese internment as seen through the lenses of celebrated photographers Ansel Adams and Leonard Frank.

JANM is open daily except for Mondays. At 100 N. Central Ave., (213) 625-0414 or janm.org.

photo by Shuzo Uemoto

DT

CALENDAR LISTINGS

THURSDAY, MARCH 3 Tim Grobaty and Alan Rifkin at Last Bookstore Last Bookstore, 453 S. Spring St., (213) 488-0599 or lastbookstorela.com.

7 p.m.: Two memoirists ponder the limits between creative output and the self. Hey you, wake up!

What Is Contemporary?

MOCA, 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2766 or moca.org.

7 p.m.: Art practitioner Laura Owens and art observer Suzanne Hudson engage in an orderly conversation about Los Angeles art and the oft-overused term “contemporary.”

Downtown News 13

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

For four decades, percussionist Kenny Endo has traveled the world performing and preaching the gospel of Japan’s traditional rhythmic pursuit, taiko drumming. In that time, Endo has learned a thing or two about heritage, human nature and the fluid boundaries of art. His strict percussive atavism has given way to inroads of AfroCuban and Western drumming styles as his list of collaborators has grown ever longer. On Saturday, March 5, at 7 p.m., the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, in conjunction with the World Festival of Sacred Music, hosts Endo at the JACCC’s Aratani Theatre for a night of ensemble music and the doling out of a few good life lessons. At 244 S. San Pedro St., (213) 680-3700 or festivalofsacredmusic.org.

5

photo courtesy Ace Hotel and Columbia Pictures

February 29, 2016

P.T. Anderson’s 2002 film Punch Drunk Love delves into a world of quirks, repression and tempestuous anger that threatens to prevent a man from finding romantic fulfillment. Enjoyable in its own right, the movie promises another dimension of intricate craftsmanship on Saturday, March 5, as it screens at the Theatre at Ace Hotel with live musical accompaniment. Yes, the score has been purged from tonight’s special print and replaced with a souped-up version of composer Jon Brion’s handiwork. Manhattan’s Wordless Music Orchestra and L.A.’s Wild Up ensemble have divvied up the duties.

Brion himself will be on hand for what promises to be an enchanting evening of swelling score, masterful imagery and rooftop cocktails. At 929 S. Broadway, (213) 623-3233 or acehotel.com.

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

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

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Angels for a few years at the tail end of the Depression. In Woody Guthrie L.A.: 1937 to 1941, historian William Deverell and writer/musician Darryl Holter discuss Guthrie’s legacy.

They’ll talk about the book and Holter will perform. See story p. 11.

Microsoft Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6030 or microsofttheeatre.com.

March 5, 8 p.m.: The eternal return of cyclical decade nostalgia roars in full-flannel force with I Love the 90s.

Redwood Bar and Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 652-4444 or theredwoodbar.com.

Feb. 29: Acoustic Punk. 

LAST WEEKS ANSWERS

Escondite 410 Boyd St., (213) 626-1800 or theescondite.com.

Feb. 29, 9 p.m.: Skip Spiros and His 10 Piece Band are a booker’s drink ticket nightmare.

Exchange LA 618 S. Spring St., (213) 627-8070 or exchangela.com.

March 5: Andrew Bayer.

March 6: Cazzette.

Grammy Museum 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org.

March 1, 7 p.m.: Folk singer, populist and human being extraordinaire Woodrow Wilson Guthrie haunted the City of

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Continued from previous page Bootleg Bar 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 or bootlegtheater.org.

Feb. 29, 8 p.m.: Brian Whelan has a big beat, Springsteenadjacent track called “Americana.”

March 1, 8:30 p.m.: Basia Bulat is the Canadian indie inheritor to Alanis Morissette.

March 3, 8 p.m.: Luke Top’s bio describes his song “Lucky Penny” as a “tropical pop, perky Afropop, and draft bossa nova suffused chamber pop jam.” Red flags everywhere.

March 5, 8:30 p.m.: Emmy the Great sings above immense bass that promises to coax the Bootleg into a structural shimmy.

February 29, 2016

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14 Downtown News

The Regent 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheater.com.

March 4-5: Sound selectors par excellence Soulection celebrate their five-year anniversary.

Resident 428 S. Hewitt St. or (323) 316-5311.

Feb. 29: Sad Girl.

March 1: The Range.

March 4: From Indian Lakes (acoustic set).

March 5: Heron Oblivion and Morgan Delt.

Seven Grand 515 W. Seventh St., (213) 614-0737 or sevengrand.la.

March 1: The Makers were surprised to get a 1099-MISC written in crayon.

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.

2 YOUR EVENT INFO

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✔ WEB: LADowntownNews.com/calendar ✔ EMAIL: Calendar@DowntownNews.com

Email: Send a brief description, street address and public phone number. Submissions must be received 10 days prior to publication date to be considered for print.

DT

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.

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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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SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES CASE NO. YD 021506 PLAINTIFF: PHALA YOUNG VS DEFENDANTS: RANDY YOUNG To the person who received this “Request for Order”: if you wish to respond to this “Request for Order”, you must file a “Responsive Declaration to Request for Order” (form FL-320) and serve a copy on the other parties at least at least nine (9) court days before the hearing date unless the court has ordered a shorter period of time. You do not have to pay a filing fee to file the “Responsive Declaration to Request for Order” (form FL-320) or any other declaration including an “Income and Expense Declaration” (form FL-150) or “Financial Statement” (Simplified) (form FL-155).

The name and address of the court is: Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles 825 Maple Avenue Torrance, CA 90503 Case Number: YD021506 Dated: Dec. 28, 2015 Hearing Date: May 12, 2016 Hearing Time: 8:30 Hearing Department: SWH Hearing Room: 180 The name, address, telephone number, and fax number of defendant’s attorney or without an attorney is: Randy Young 28634 Bay Meadows Avenue Moreno Valley, CA 92555 tPub. 02/29, 03/07, 03/14, and 03/21/2016.

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Mayan August 6 » The

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4/11 » Club Nokia

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by Carol photo

& Nash, New York

artist and Mitchell-Innes

MPORARY

WILL IAM POP E.L: TRIN KET

William Pope.L’s upcoming nex is big in exhibition more ways at than one. WilliamMOCA’s Little Tokyo an approxima antely tinuous beating 50-by-20 foot American Pope.L: Trinket features from four ginormous flag that gets lery, with the a confans set up goal about democratic of creating a fraying around the galeffect curator Bennett ideals and their shortcominthat makes a point Simpson is gs. MOCA will include overseeing other the installation senior claimed “fishermansculptures and performanc , which of social absurdity.” es by the self-prolate 1990s, Pope.L The Great White began a nine-year Need more proof? In the “crawling” installation 22-mile stretch Way, in which he crawled , called of sidewalk on At 152 N. Central on Manhattan all fours across the ’s Broadway.

Ave. or moca.org.

Nokia April 12 » Club

GUESTS APOCALYPTICA

A Rundown of 40 Can’t Miss Concerts, Shows, Events, Exhibits and More Taking Place in Downtown

Club L.A. Fight THEATER MULTIPLE DATES AT THE BELASCO

spring. His Downtown -ba launching L.A. Fight Club ater, which o normally up in the ornate Hill Str in 1926) will feature up-a debut card will be headlined seph “Jo Jo” Diaz, Jr.,

Downtown LA’s Newest Sake Bar!

GOLDENVOICE PRESENTS

Theatre May 1 & 3 » Orpheum

detta Holmes. hts activcouple company Also on the bill are a premieres: Wheeldon’ Christophe s After Af the Rain r Uprising, by Pas de Deux u and ux choreograp her Hof ter. Four performan apher Hofesh checherf erformanc es also hold SSchechloved Revelations cces , choreograp the behimself. lf. P lf hed by Plan lan to arrive an hour early Ailey dance talk. f the for At 135 N. Grand nd Ave. or mu musiccente siccenter.or r.org. g.

OPENING APRIL 10 AAT THE NATURAL HISTORY NA NATUR MUSEUM MUSEU

defeated in 14 SERVING HAND ROLLS, SUSHI, RAMEN, & COCKTAILS. April 2, May fights. L.A. F

photo by Gary Leonard

SIXX: A.M. WITH SPECIAL Nokia STROMAE 4/14 » Club Theater 4/15 » Belasco ACTION BRONSON » Fonda Theatre WATERS 4/28 & 4/29 MATT & KIM WITH 5/2 » El Rey Theatre CLARK WITH TOM RHODES DR. JOHN COOPER Theatre L.A. LIVE CAIFANES 5/29 » Nokia @Goldenvoice

WS.COM

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MARCH 20-JUN E 28 AT THE GEFFE N CONTE

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Back in 1 ouin guides w drive streets Sure, a lot of people Ba cially visitors). remains an am- West bars, but there thousand to visit the area creative outto check out the lectively dozen ple opportunity populace in a couple March fornia Scienc put of the local The events on of the sc Historic Core galleries. will, as usual, be anMay 14 12, April 9 and 634 S. Spring rah. Comp Walk Lounge at with a scre maps. chored at the Art for freebies and theater.

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photo courtesy Of Montreal

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by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging

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2015

Downto wn News

o As the crow flies, it’s not too far a journey from East L.A to town. But my, The Regent in Downwhat a ride Los Lobos. it’s been for The High School band formed at Garfield four decades by critics and ago is adored fans for embodying tain sound a cerand the two-time style of L.A. On May 5, Grammy-w inning act livers its mix deof of Americana, roots rock with a garnish Tex-Mex and cano flavors. hearty ChiExpect hits from nearly decades of four music, starting album Si Se with the 1976 Puede!, the major label but How Will dethe later and even Wolf Survive eight years 2010’s Tin Can At 448 S. Main Trust. or theregentth St. eater.com.

The creative partnership between dancer and choreographer Zoe Scofield and visual artist Juniper Shuey promises to mes merize and provoke. The show at REDCAT stars Scofield and Ar Everyone loves butterflies, but few get to glimpse them from just inches iel Freedman, whose credits include touring with the Batsheva away. That opportunity arrives April 10, when the Butterfly Pavilion Dance Company. Melding arresting moves and balletic whirls returns to the front lawn of the Natural History Museum. The annual with ethereal, wistful music, avant-garde stage design and mul showcase features more than 50 species of butterflies and moths. In addition to ogling their beautimedia visuals, BeginAgain aims to transport viewers to a place ty and marveling at the cocoon process, there will be a “Monarch Waystation” outside the pavilion, where NHM staff will teach visitors how to plant the milkweed that monarchs love to eat. The Butterfly where all is well and the future is open and forgiving. Then again, it might force you, through audio and visual trickery, to Pavilion requires a separate admission than the museum proper. Also, be sure to make reservations in revisit your past by plopping you in the center of it. advance.

Former world At 631 W. Second St. or redcat.org.

At 900 Exposition Blvd. or nhm.org. champion regular

BUTTERFLY PAVILION

photo by Bruce Weber

14 » Club Nokia Saturday March & 9:30pm 2 shows! 7pm

March 2,

AT THE CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER

probably is about, you’re on the secic core Walk any less fun, and doesn’t make it this spring the in the histor of every month (espeond Thursday locals and visitors Multip le DAtes will teem with down

H2 C R A M HES: S I L B PU H7 C R A M

11

The Dead Sea Scrolls

to Downtown, Just 5 Minutes r & L.A. Live!

Staples Cente

7 and At 1050 S. Hill June 4.

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Don’t miss the Los Angeles Downtown News’ comprehensive round-up of Spring Concerts, Theater, Museums, Restaurants and more!

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The Floating Restaurant: As with AECOM, the design from Mia Lehrer + Associates features an open central plaza surrounded by pockets of greenery, with the restaurant tucked into the northwest corner of the parcel.

Unlike AECOM, ML+A ditches grass for hardscape in the central plaza, with an emphasis on built-in seating.

The design includes a small rock-paved path along Spring Street as an intimate area away from the central plaza.

Most dramatic of all would be the “floating” restaurant with a carved-out, shaded amphitheater at the base. The main dining room would be upstairs and a smaller cafe would sit on the backside of the amphitheater.

“We are not trying to duplicate the lawn right next door,” noted ML+A Principal Jeff Hutchins.

Around the restaurant would be outdoor seating with shade from large, flower-like installations. eddie@downtownnews.com

CONVENTION CENTER, 5 someone else’s credit card,” Santana said in an interview. “Investors would have a vested contractual interest in delivering the project on time and on budget. The second thing is that this plan would create a larger development that enhances the overall experience for Angelenos and visitors and produces more revenue for the city.”

Some city officials worry about whether a P3 project could happen within the planned timeframe for the HMC/Populous proposal, which envisions breaking ground in 2018. Santana maintains that it is doable, but Ovrom, in his Feb. 17 memo, disagreed sharply.

“None of the other departments working on this project believe that is realistic,” he wrote.

Ovrom’s concerns stem in part from his office’s communications with Strategic Advisory Services, a consulting and analysis firm that worked on Miami’s failed P3 convention center project.

“I lived through the whole thing since late 2011 and would personally never recommend a P3 for a convention center in the U.S.,” Jeff Sachs, founder and managing partner of Strategic Advisory Services, wrote in an email to Ovrom. It was also shared with the Los Angeles Convention and Tourism Board’s commissioners.

Sachs cites higher financing fees (municipal financing almost always has lower interest rates than private financing), loss of design control, budgetary infighting and hidden costs as downsides, noting that the city of Miami is “very happy” it returned to a traditional financing model.

Santana counters that delays and budget problems exist with any major project, and that those issues would be made worse in a traditional financing plan that pushes the city’s coffers to the debt limit.

“The P3 at least allows us to structure a contract so that if there are delays and added costs, that’s on the investors,” he said. “It’s more predictable and accountable.”

The current schedule calls for construction on the Convention Center to wrap in 2020. Independent analyses of both paths will be presented to the Council in June. eddie@downtownnews.com