08-17-15

AUGUST 17, 2015 I VOL. 44 I #33

The Comeback of Clifton’s After Four Years and $10 Million, the Broadway Landmark Gets Ready for Its Return SEE PAGE 8

Gearing Up for an Awful Election : 6

photo by Gary Leonard

The Best Acts at the FYF Fest : 9

THE VOICE OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES

2 Downtown News

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AROUND TOWN

City, County Set Aside Funds For Homeless Outreach

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kid Row stakeholders say that the amount and severity of homelessness in the neighborhood is continuing to grow. In an effort to address the problem, 14th District City Councilman José Huizar has introduced a motion to use $200,000 of his office’s discretionary funds to expand outreach to homeless people to connect them with housing and services. The outreach effort debuted in August 2014 as part of Operation Healthy Streets, which took place every other month and included street and sidewalk cleanings. The money will fund four six-person teams of mental health and medical professionals, working five days a week.

Huizar’s contribution is part of a joint effort with Los Angeles County, and supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Hilda Solis will also offer $100,000 each to the outreach effort. Organizers hope to launch the expanded effort by the end of September, and the goal is to reduce the homeless population in Skid Row by 25% by the end of the year.

City Atty. Feuer Hosts Downtown Crime Meeting This Week

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he crime spike in Downtown Los Angeles has prompted a lot of discussion about

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS what people can do to stay safe. This week, the topic gets some high-level attention and focus, as City Attorney Mike Feuer hosts a community forum on the matter. The talk will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m. at the Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium at 630 W. Fifth St. Feuer will discuss Downtown crime concerns with area residents and stakeholders, and will be joined by officers from the LAPD’s Central Division and Kurt Knecht, the neighborhood prosecutor for Downtown in the city attorney’s office. The meeting is part of a series of forums Feuer is hosting throughout Los Angeles to address the city’s 12% crime increase in the first six months of the year. The numbers were higher in Downtown, with a 34% rise in overall crime and a 60% surge in violent crime. “Neighborhoods across Los Angeles are experiencing a disturbing increase in crime. We should take every step we can to effectively address it,” Feuer said in a prepared statement. “I want to discuss with residents what’s happening in their neighborhoods and how we can best work together to make every community safe.”

Adaptive Reuse Project Proposed Near Skid Row

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newly proposed residential project could spur the creation of housing east of the Historic Core. Developer Daryoush Dayan has filed plans with the Department of City Planning for the conversion of two industrial buildings on the edge of Skid Row. The number of proposed units has not been specified, but the 1906 and 1912 structures are at 719 E. Fifth St. and 823 E. Fifth St., respectively. The proposal would include a ground floor retail component.

August 17, 2015

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In the past, the buildings have been used as a Salvation Army office and apartments, among other things. A timeline and budget have not been revealed.

South Park BID Celebrates 10 Years With Free Art Tour

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owntown’s South Park is seeing explosive business and residential growth, and the South Park Business Improvement District has helped shape that development while also providing security and cleaning services in the

August 13, 2015

neighborhood. The BID this week is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and the public is invited to the art-themed party. The BID, along with the Do Art Foundation and the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, is hosting an event on Tuesday, Aug. 18, from 5-8 p.m. It features a tour of the neighborhood’s public artworks, which includes a series of utility boxes newly printed with abstract images from local artist Sheri Neva. There will also be a street festival with live music and a number of artists, including Downtown muralist Kent Twichell. The free celebration takes place at and around 1147 S. Hope St. More information is at southpark.la.

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Downtown News 3

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4 Downtown News

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EDITORIALS

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

August 17, 2015

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

The Readers Talk Back Website Comments on Crime, Homelessness and Old Hotels

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egarding the editorial “As Downtown Crime Rises, Both Cops and Residents Must Play a Vital Role,” published Aug. 3

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nly through a strong partnership with our communities can we turn this thing around. We need the people to push out the crime prevention information, to be good witnesses and to report all incidents and activity seen. Crime does not exist in a strong-bonded community. This is not because there are not opportunities, but because the chances of being caught have greatly increased. Predators are not going to prey where they know they will be reported and captured. Become involved in the DTLA area, or any other area in Los Angeles. Call me to learn more at (213) 486-1164, or follow me on Twitter @SgtFlanaganLAPD. —LAPD Sgt. Mike Flanagan, Aug. 3, 5:23 p.m.

Regarding the article “Ridley-Thomas Talks Homelessness, Sex Trafficking,” by Eddie Kim, published Aug. 3

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n reading Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ comments on homelessness in L.A. County, I can’t avoid a feeling of helplessness. There are so many entities, with shelters, government groups, religious organizations, etc. Each has their goals, their methods, their hierarchy of management personnel. I see so many SRO hotels/apartments Downtown and still the call from Ridley-Thomas is, “We need 500,000 more affordable housing units.”

When the latest homelessness census reveals that roughly half of the more than 44,000 homeless people in L.A. County are either mentally ill or drug-addicted, how is affordable housing going to help those people? I’d like to see serious effort and money go into building the community-based treatment centers that were envisioned when the massive asylums were being closed here in the 1970s, releasing a flood of mentally disturbed people onto the streets. Some centers could specialize in treating drug addiction and provide supportive housing and counseling. Others could do the same for those whose psychiatric state doesn’t permit them to live as citizens of a city are expected to live. Los Angeles is a dumping ground for mentally ill and “problem people” from all over the country. We can’t stop that, but we can find more humane ways to deal with the folks who end up here.

—Susan Simmons, Aug. 5, 12:32 p.m.

Regarding the article “In Hotel Game, Older Establishments Try to Stay Modern,” by Heidi Kulicke, published June 8

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kind of like the Biltmore rooms as they are. Yes they’re dated, but they have so much character. All those old built-ins, you could imagine a writer sitting at one with their typewriter, having just arrived in L.A., tightening up that script for a submission. These rooms had soul.

—Robert, June 11, 8:32 a.m.

L.A. Olympic Hosting Now on the Fast Track

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ast month, the city of Boston withdrew its nomination as the United States’ choice to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, as Mayor Marty Walsh heeded a public groundswell against a city guarantee to cover any cost overruns related to the Games. In doing so, Boston opened the door for Los Angeles to take its place.

Now, Mayor Eric Garcetti is trying to get the city to stampede through that doorway. While more due diligence must occur to ensure economic feasibility, this is absolutely the right move, and the mayor is correct to deploy his leadership here. Great cities host great events, and there is none greater than the Olympics. It would be foolish not to see if this can work.

We’re not saying that Los Angeles should leap forward with a let’s-trust-it-pencils-out proposal to host the Games. Instead, this is the time to work closely with the United States Olympic Committee, other arms of government and private-sector leaders to analyze what it would really cost to welcome athletes from nearly 200 countries. The 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics stand as landmark events in the city’s history, and Angelenos still speak proudly of the Games that took place and the benefits they provided 31 years ago. A successful 2024 Los Angeles Olympics could resonate in 2050 and beyond.

It’s best to take the issue of cost first. Garcetti last week stated his belief that not only can Los Angeles avoid the Games-related overruns that have plagued other cities, but that there could be a $150 million surplus. He gave the Games a $4.1 billion budget, with an additional $400 million contingency fund. “The Games would unite our communities, generate significant economic benefits, and with our world-class venues, be affordable and profitable like they were in 1932 and 1984,” he said.

Could Los Angeles pull off the Games for $4.5 billion? That needs to be examined closely, given that costs of the Olympics tend to rise over initial estimates, and that the 2012 London Games had a price tag north of $14 billion (we won’t even get into the graft-fueled $51 billion budget for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia). However, the plethora of existing local venues, an expanding regional transportation network and a Downtown that is blossoming put Los Angeles in a better starting point than many cities.

Los Angeles should move forward in its quest for the Games, but the process must include a bolstered economic analysis. In addition to the numbers that have already been crunched, local leaders

should solicit additional analyses from multiple sources.

Unfortunately, we cannot today generate an exact cost if we decide to take on the 2024 Games, but we can have the classic business analysis of “best case, worst case, most likely case” scenario.

Once the further data is assembled, the city could make its decision on whether to sign the guarantee the Boston mayor would not. In any case there is no getting around the fact that hosting the Olympics is a gamble, one with a local history of success, but still a gamble.

That risk management is key, as many people warn that hosting Olympics can trash a city’s economy. The 1984 Los Angeles Games famously turned a profit, though that was also an exception to the rule, in part because the private sector here played such a prominent role in preparing the Games. The huge financial loss at the 1976 Montreal Olympics is partly what allowed Los Angeles to land the Games — few other cities, worried by Canada’s experience, assembled a bid.

Downtown Los Angeles stands to be a major beneficiary of a future Games, and is primed to be a focal point of the action. The Coliseum in Exposition Park, following a needed renovation, would host opening and closing ceremonies. The Galen Center and other USC facilities would get used, as would Staples Center, other parts of L.A. Live and possibly the Convention Center. Area hotels, including those not yet built, would be filled.

There are many questions to ask and partnerships to work out.

What role would the county and state play? What would the federal government provide, including in terms of security? How can the private sector help ensure the type of success that occurred in 1984? Multiple major corporations were headquartered here then — Bank of America, Arco, First Interstate Bank and Security Pacific come to mind — and are either not based here now or have ceased to exist. Can the very different though robust business community that has emerged since rise to the occasion?

Much remains uncertain, and even if L.A. gets the USOC bid, the final decision will be made by the International Olympic Committee. Still, Garcetti is right to play up the possibilities. Now it is time to take a realistic look at the costs involved and perhaps to get very, very creative about finding a way to pay for it.

If it appears as if things can work out, then the city should move forward.

August 17, 2015

Downtown News 5

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

At Pershing Square, a Legacy of Renewal The Downtown Park’s Time for Change Has Come. We Need the Public’s Help

By City Councilmember José Huizar ershing Square is Downtown Los Angeles’ most historic and centrally located public space. Almost 150 years ago, our city’s founders dedicated it as “a public space forever” and called it La Plaza Abaja (the lower plaza). Since that time, it has undergone several renovations and has been renamed on

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GUEST OPINION three occasions. It has literally evolved with the rise, fall and revitalization of Downtown — in other words, it boasts a legacy of renewal.

That renewal has more often than not come during times of change in Downtown. The sea change happening here today is unlike any in Downtown’s history.

More than 500,000 people work here every day, and the community’s population has grown six-fold in the past 20 years.

More than 55,000 people now live Downtown, with a majority of them working in the area as well. To put that figure in context, there are 55,000 residents in the cities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood combined. The DTLA population is projected to grow to more than 100,000 residents by the end of the decade.

Downtown’s current renaissance includes more than 140 private development projects under construction or in the pipeline. There is no doubt that Downtown’s transformation will continue for the foreseeable future.

With all of the private development going on around us, we have an obligation as a city to ensure our public spaces keep pace. There is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink Downtown’s public areas so that they reflect the world-class urban center that we want Downtown to become.

There is not a more perfect opportunity to do this than at Pershing Square.

Pershing Square underwent its most recent renovation in

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1993. At that time, the design was considered cutting edge and an improvement given the conditions of the surrounding community. Today, the fortress-like design blocks sight lines, feels unwelcoming and unsafe and does not allow for flexible programming needs. The layout inhibits innovative uses.

Ideas about how to effectively use public space evolve and change with time. Pershing Square in its current design does not meet the needs of a new, bustling Downtown, which as history would have it is much more like the Downtown of yesteryear when Pershing Square was a dynamic and often-utilized public space.

This is why I started an initiative, Pershing Square Renew, that looks to redesign one of our most important public spaces to better serve the needs of today and tomorrow’s urban core. My office is working on the effort along with the city Department of Recreation and Parks and the Pershing Square Park Advisory Board.

Pershing Square Renew has created a collaborative with various city departments and the Downtown community and property owners to re-envision and fund the renovation of Pershing Square, utilizing a mix of public and private funds. Already underway is a pair of new children’s playgrounds at the southern end of the park. Those will open soon.

Pershing Square Renew’s goal is to ensure that the park becomes a world-class public space for Downtown’s workers, residents and visitors. However, we can’t make this happen without the help, support and input of people who live, work in and care about Downtown Los Angeles. So while I look forward to continuing to help make this objective a reality, I want to invite the Downtown community to join me in this work and participate by giving us ideas, visions and thoughts. Whether you think Pershing Square needs to return to its original design, be completely reconfigured, or something in-between, please share your ideas.

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Pershing Square underwent its last renovation in 1993. Now, the public’s input is being sought for an upcoming redesign.

and Parks Commission voted unanimously to support Pershing Square Renew’s public/private status. Shortly, the Los Angeles City Council will hopefully do the same. I urge their and your support in reimagining Pershing Square through Pershing Square Renew.

Throughout its nearly 150 year history, Pershing Square has stood as a witness to DTLA’s dynamic and profound changes.

With Downtown on the rise once again, one of its most treasured public spaces deserves its moment to be uplifted. Pershing Square’s time has come and that time is now.

If you would like more information or want to share your thoughts and ideas for Pershing Square’s future, please visit pershingsquarerenew.com.

José Huizar represents the 14th District on the Los Angeles City Council.

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Thursday, August 27, 2015 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm: Registration and Refreshments 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm: Welcome and Program 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm: Networking LADWP Headquarters Auditorium, Cafeteria, & “A” Level Lobby 111 North Hope Street Los Angeles, CA 90012

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Sign Language interpreters, Assistive Listening Devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be provided upon request. To ensure availability, you are advised to make your request at least 72 hours prior to the meeting you wish to attend. Due to difficulties in securing Sign Language Interpreters, five or more business day notice is strongly recommended. To request accommodation, please call (213) 367-2252, TDD: 1 (800) 432-7397.

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

6 Downtown News

August 17, 2015

Gearing Up for L.A.’s Worst Election Ever Think Voter Turnout Was Bad Two Years Ago? Just Wait Until 2017

By Jon Regardie n March 2013, the city of Los Angeles became a ballot box laughingstock when only 21% of eligible voters participated in an election featuring an open mayor’s seat. Our status as a political punching bag continued two months later, when, in the runoff, nearly 77% of

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THE REGARDIE REPORT the populace decided that they had something, anything better to do than choose between Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel.

The results were followed with resolute clucking from those in City Hall about the need to change the status quo. A shift in when Angelenos vote is coming, though because of some Spring Street machinations that won’t happen until 2020. The result is that, unless something incredibly unlikely occurs, in less than two years the 2013 election is going to look like a high point on the civic rollercoaster.

The 2017 citywide election could give new meaning to the phrase “civic embarrassment.”

How bad will it be? We’re talking The Godfather III or McCourt-era Dodgers bad, the kind of result where you shake your head in awe and wonder how something with so much potential got so messed up.

It’s difficult to predict what a mass of voters will or won’t do 17 1/2 months from now. Still, the falling turnout of the past, combined with early steps in the political process and fundraising game, indicate that we are approaching what may be the worst city election ever.

Could turnout on March 7, 2017, fall below 17%? That’s not farfetched. Given that a lack of competitive contests could lead Angelenos to think their vote doesn’t matter, might you see 15% or fewer voters hit the polls? To quote Bugs Bunny in a decades-old cartoon, “You might rabbit, you might.”

If I just compared City Hall to a character from Looney Tunes, it was purely coincidental.

Money Changes Everything What’s the biggest reason that the March 2017 election could be a political gutter ball?

The answer is Mayor Eric Garcetti.

This has little to do with how Garcetti has fared. While he hasn’t suffered the early-term face plants experienced by his predecessor, Antonio Villaraigosa, it’s hard to find any political observer who thinks hizzoner has done a fantabulous job. While Garcetti scored victories by taking important steps on earthquake preparedness and helping lead the City Hall charge to hike the city’s minimum wage, he has been dogged by crime hikes, a worsening homelessness crisis and a tendency on important matters to be quieter than a mouse wearing slippers walking on a floor made of marshmallows.

The Los Angeles Times recently gave Garcetti a C grade in its mid-term report card, leading to the new joke: What do Mayor Garcetti and Mercedes-Benz have in common? A: They both have a C class.

However, when it comes to raising money, Garcetti gets an A+.

Documents filed with the City Ethics Com-

mission reveal that in the first six months of the year, Garcetti raised an astounding $2.227 million for his re-election campaign, and has more than $2 million in cash on hand. He shattered the first-term reporting period record of $1.63 million set by Villaraigosa in 2008.

Like a Dr. Seuss character, Garcetti raised money here, there and everywhere. According to Ethics Commission filings, he got the maximum individual donation of $1,400 from Eli Broad, Rick Caruso, SBE Entertainment honcho Sam Nazarian and Donald Trump (I made one of those up). He also received heavy backing from Hollywood, with $1,400 from Dreamworks partners Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, “Weeds” and “Orange Is the New Black” creator Jenji Kohan, and J.J. Abrams, the director of films including the upcoming Star Wars feature, which just proves that The Force is with Garcetti.

Remember that trip the mayor took to Washington, D.C. in June, right before the Police Commission announced its findings on the shooting of Ezell Ford by LAPD officers in South Los Angeles? Garcetti drew flack for it, but he also made bank, as his war chest boasts $21,800 given during June by people who live in Washington and nearby communities in Maryland and Virginia.

This is to be expected, and a big part of being a first-term mayor is raising cash so you can also be a second-term mayor. Yet while the money mountain is good for Garcetti, the

photo by Gary Leonard

Eric Garcetti on the night in May 2013 when he won the mayoral election. Just 23% of eligible voters cast ballots that day. Given how things are shaping up now, turnout in the March 2017 primary could be far lower.

downside for Angelenos comes in that his fundraising prowess decreases the likelihood of a reputable challenger entering the race. A serious opponent would force the mayor to defend his record, his choices and his leadership style. With only token candidates, he can skate.

If Garcetti had only raised, say, $158 and a crate of Go-Gurt, then oft-discussed figures such as Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, businessman Caruso, Council President Herb Wesson or former Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky might enter. Garcetti’s $2.227 million war chest, however, is the political equivalent of The Wall on “Game of Thrones,” and communi-

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August 17, 2015 cates to any interested foe that trying to topple the well-funded, sitting mayor would be a gargantuan, frightfully expensive and probably failed endeavor.

For any serious candidate, the better option is letting Garcetti coast to victory, then running if Sen. Dianne Feinstein steps down and the mayor wins an open Senate seat in 2018 or gets a cabinet post in a Clinton 2.0 administration.

The net result is that Angelenos will likely have little that compels them to the polls. If only 21% of those eligible came out in the 2013 primary when their vote actually mattered, how many can be expected to show up in 2017, when Garcetti’s re-election may be preordained?

To consider how bad things could be, go back to 2009. That year, Villaraigosa ran against

Downtown News 7

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM eight people, the most prominent being a never-had-a-chancer named Walter Moore. Moore got 26%, and a flailing AnVil won with an unimpressive 55.7%.

Turnout was an abhorrent 17.9%, with just 285,000 voters casting ballots. Will people feel even more disconnected to the political process in 2017 then they did in 2009? If so, then a turnout of below 15% becomes viable. Gulp.

More Slam Dunks Other factors could conspire to make 2017 the perfect storm of voter apathy. While the 2009 mayor’s race was a snoozer, that year the race for city attorney was exciting, with a newbie named Carmen Trutanich running against the early favorite, Councilman Jack Weiss. While Trutanich won and eventually disappointed many, during the election he was a breath of

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fresh air, an outsider raging against the machine candidate. In that race, people felt their vote mattered.

Speaking of the city attorney, current officeholder Mike Feuer is also part of why more Angelenos on March 7, 2017, will probably watch reruns of “Law and Order” than vote. Feuer by most accounts has performed well since winning the job in 2013. With a solid rep and nearly $400,000 raised so far, he’s also not likely to draw a serious challenger. Heck, he may not draw any challengers.

There’s another citywide race, a re-election for Controller Ron Galperin, but this won’t do a thing for turnout, in part because most Angelenos still have no idea what a controller is.

The eight city council races should be equally uninspiring. All the slots are now held by

men comfortably positioned for re-election, and each is likely to receive big money backing from traditional labor and business supporters.

Unless one of these pols emerges at the center of a scandal involving cash, a donkey, a bathtub full of Jell-O or all three, they will likely face only minor challengers. And minor challengers, as we have learned in class today, don’t bring out the voters.

If all goes right, this will be the last terrible Los Angeles election. After 2017, the city electoral cycle will align with federal and state ballots in June and November of even-numbered years. Having more people vote in general should boost turnout and stop the city’s downward slide.

That, however, is five years away. Right now, the big question is, will we fall below 15%? regardie@downtownnews.com

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8 Downtown News

August 17, 2015

The Comeback of Clifton’s After Four Years and $10 Million, the Eagerly Awaited Broadway Attraction Is Almost Ready to Reopen

By Eddie Kim n Sept. 21, 2010, Robert Clinton, whose family had owned Clifton’s Cafeteria on Broadway for more than 70 years, announced the business had been sold to Andrew Meieran, the owner of The Edison nightclub.

In September 2011, Meieran told Los Angeles Downtown News that a $3 million renovation of the historic restaurant had begun. He said it would reopen in late 2012.

Deadlines have come and gone, and in the process “When will Clifton’s reopen?” has become one of the most asked questions in Downtown Los Angeles.

Finally, it appears as if the answer is “very soon.” On a tour of the property at 648 S. Broadway last week, Meieran said he expects the cafeteria to return in about six weeks, with other new restaurants and bars in the building opening by the end of the year.

The total cost, Meieran said, is “probably” beyond $10 million.

“If I literally picked the most difficult project and populated it with the most difficult features, it would be Clifton’s,” he said. “Somebody had to do it. I decided it was me.”

Meieran’s project is by far the biggest undertaking the building has experienced since it was founded as a Boos Brothers’ Cafeteria. In 1935, Clifford Clinton purchased and transformed the dining hall into a lush, jungle-like venue, eventually dubbed Clifton’s Brookdale. The combination of comfort food and the exotic decor

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Andrew Meieran in the newly renovated Clifton’s Cafeteria. The Broadway institution, which Meieran has spent four years upgrading, is expected to open in about six weeks.

photo by Gary Leonard

The cafeteria will offer a number of food stations, including for salads and carved meats, when it is complete. photo by Gary Leonard

A highlight of the $10 million project is the transformation of a number of closed-off storage rooms into an airy atrium with multiple levels. A huge replica of a hollow redwood tree soars in the space.

set it apart. It also remained affordable, and all of the Clifton’s Cafeteria locations — including the nearby Pacific Seas eatery on Olive Street — gained a reputation for never turning a hungry person away, even if they could not pay.

In 2012, when Meieran purchased the building (the 2010 transaction was just for the restaurant, not the property), its age and wearand-tear had become apparent. The facility was, as he put it, a “basket case.”

Initially, Meieran planned to keep Clifton’s open at least a few days a week while renovating. Peeling back the layers, however, showed that was impossible. It served its last meal in September 2011.

The long delay isn’t surprising considering how complicated the problems are in many Historic Core properties, said Steve Needleman,

photo by Gary Leonard

who renovated the 1926 Orpheum Theatre.

“It’s easy work if you have to fix up a main room with four square walls. But he has floors and rooms and stairways and kitchens and more,” Needleman observed. “Bringing that building to 2015 code is a massive undertaking.

Clifton’s is probably the biggest Pandora’s box.”

Blue Plate Special Some of the cafeteria’s original stone features have been preserved and restored, and in the center of the first-floor dining space sits a large stone water feature with terrace seating.

Trunks of raw wood sprout from the ground to the ceiling, which, along with the forestthemed murals on the walls, recall the old cafeteria’s inspiration, the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The cafeteria-style approach remains,

though the historic elements are now complemented by new subway tile surfaces and stainless steel at the serving areas. Diners will select dishes from stations for carved meats, salads, rotisserie meats, sandwiches, desserts, drinks and more. Meieran plans to offer a daily “blue plate special” for around $10.

The second floor has more seating for the cafeteria but also serves as the entrance to a new three-level atrium, which Meieran created out of a series of massive storage rooms. It is dominated by a huge replica of a hollow redwood tree, which stands in the center of the atrium and stretches up through the floors. It’s more than decoration — the tree can be used by aerial performers, similar to those who have Continued on page 16

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August 17, 2015

Downtown News 9

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CALENDAR

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The Roster Overflows With Great Bands and DJs as Los Angeles’ Preeminent Festival Returns

Highlight acts on the opening day of the FYF Fest include (l to r) Odd Future member and solo artist Frank Ocean, old-school alt rockers The Jesus and Mary Chain and powerful hip-hop crew Run the Jewels.

By Dan Johnson orget Coachella, the springtime bacchanal in the desert with its attendant mess of lifestyle blogging, celebrity sightings and branded after parties. When it comes to actual music, FYF Fest is Los Angeles’ preeminent festival.

On Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 22-23, the longtenured cultural melting pot continues its reign over late summer sonic fun with a return to Exposition Park. While some snafus marred last year’s event, FYF organizers have responded by pushing the closing time to 2 a.m. and adding a central walkway to cut down on some of the loooooong walks.

As usual, FYF stands out for its musical lineup, and this year the roster reads like it was pulled directly from the blogosphere’s 2015 wish list, with a thrilling mix of rock, hiphop, dance music, new acts and old favorites.

Here are 12 highlights, including a mix of big names and artists on the rise, playing over the two days.

Saturday Frank Ocean: Few artists straddle as many critical junctions in the cultural zeitgeist as Christopher Francis Ocean. The LGBT icon and chosen emblem of the crooner wing of Los Angeles hip-hop collective Odd Future, Ocean reached out to the likes of John Mayer, Andre 3000, Earl Sweatshirt and Pharrell Williams for help on his genre-spanning, Grammy-winning 2012 release Channel Orange. Ocean closes out night one of FYF, hopefully with a little help from his friends.

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Jon Hopkins: We hope those packing the floor of the Sports Arena for two days of blazing indoor electronica realize they’ll likely be experiencing the last opportunity to see a show there before the venue disappears to make way for a soccer stadium. Lucky for them, the UK’s Jon Hopkins will be hitting the decks on Saturday for a foray into his signature low-key vibes. A latent garage sensibility moseys beneath house elements and big-textured ambient wash that augments acoustic samples in a gripping mélange of electronica that has earned the approval of no less than David Lynch and Brian Eno. Run the Jewels: If the constant slack-jawed glorification of a spiritually bankrupt paper chase and the sterile profusion of hollow threats and bland boasts has you bored with contemporary hip-hop, you should give MC duo Run the Jewels a go. Grimy slabs of dark-draped instrumentals roll behind sharp lyrics from New York’s El-P and Atlanta’s Killer Mike. When they’re not busy ripping on Reagan and delivering incisive critiques of what went down in Ferguson, Mo., they’re getting ready to drop a new album composed entirely of samples from cats. Interested?

Kaytranada: Given his Haitian birth and Quebec upbringing, it’s a safe bet that producer and deck jockey Kaytranada is well aware of the French word “bricolage,” meaning to borrow and reappropriate for one’s own interests.

Sitting pretty at the musical crossroads where hip-hop meets electronica, Kaytranada has more individual releases than you’ve got fingers, and his collection of bootleg remixes is longer than the incomplete college transcript you accumulated over seven hard years. The whole world of pop music is his playground.

The Jesus and Mary Chain: Born of an age when the stunning innovation of electronic dance music had become a trite and ubiquitous sonic blight, the Jesus and Mary Chain set about to reclaim rock with nothing more than a few guitars, a wall of feedback and some carelessly chic haircuts. It’s been 32 years since brothers Jim and William Reid formed the band in their native Scotland, yet the musical paradigm they set out to vanquish might as well epitomize the bass-dropping disco worship of today. With historical comparisons aplenty, we’ll let you hash out the delicious details as JAMC take you on a sonic journey down memory lane.

La Femme: Straight from France’s Basque Coast, La Femme weaves a spooky lounge vibe over vintage surf rock guitar noodling, groovy synths and a howling punk sensibility. Their off-kilter 2013 full length Psycho Tropical Berlin packs some serious pastiche punch with a suave dose of self-aware camp. It’s Gidget meets Goddard as this nonet channels bizarre influences to turn a little slice of Los Angeles into Halloween, if only for a few minutes.

Sunday Morrissey: Ernest Hemingway had some wise words that read as if written for the pack of mopey 14-year olds who worship at the altar of the former Smiths singer. “As you get older,” Hemingway wrote, “it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.” While the outspoken Irishman’s professional life has been in the past few years a fiasco of cancelled tour dates, petty industry spats and a consolation, pat-onthe-back response to his latest LP, Morrissey is still the unchallenged patron saint of alienated youth. Expect his set to be the best attended of the festival.

Thee Oh Sees: Thee Oh Sees rank among fuzz pedal manufacturers and floppy black hat vendors as the true beneficiaries of the recent psych rock revival. The San Francisco garage band took a labyrinthine path from late-’90s alt-rock interlopers to present-day master reverb manipulators. What keeps the band’s brand of rock fresh and punchy? What inspires them to constantly surprise with layer upon layer of inventive sonic textures? The answer to both questions: Founder John Dwyer has no qualms about dissolving his current lineup in favor of another.

D’Angelo and the Vanguard: When in the future we look back on contemporary music, D’Angelo stands to be remembered as one of the most enigmatic yet sporadically impactContinued on page 10

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10 Downtown News

The Sunday headliner is Morrissey (top). The day also includes a number of top dance acts.

ful artists of his time. With only three full-length releases over the past two decades, the R&B performer’s most recent Black Messiah was a staggeringly lush missive, recorded carefully on analog tape and honed with a barrel full of raw emotions. When D’Angelo takes the stage at FYF with the full weight of the Vanguard behind him, you can bet that 10 years’ worth of pent-up frustration will roll out of the speakers.

Belle and Sebastian: Fresh off a date at the UK’s Glastonbury Festival in support of their most recent Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, Glasgow, Scotland indie rock stalwarts Belle and Sebastian promise a bright recapitulation of 19 years’ worth of tunes girded over the occasional acerbic political reference. Coming late on Sunday, you can think of Belle & Sebastian as a familiar and gentle respite from a day stacked with challenging indie and a rip-roaring dance bill.

Toro Y Moi: If you recall the days when FYF filled Los Angeles State Historic Park, you may just harken back to Chaz Budnick’s stellar mid-afternoon set of punchy chillwave music draped across the 2013 crowd as Metro Gold Line trains filed past in the background. Chaz snuck into last year’s FYF with a dance set from his Les Sins project, but he returns this year in full-fledged form with Toro Y Moi supporting the funk-flirting What For? The Andrew Jackson Jihad: Now that we’re on a Fed watch list for typing the “J” word into a few search engines, we might as well fill you in on a saucy bunch of dudes from Phoenix, Ariz. who made a name for themselves by taping together bits of folk music over an anarchic, irreverent lyrical sensibility worthy of George Saunders and William S. Burroughs. Though the music has evolved from a purely acoustic getup to the occasional spiky electric guitar rampage, the Andrew Jackson Jihad continues undeterred on their mission of social subterfuge.

FYF Fest is Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 22-23, at Exposition Park.

Tickets and information at fyffest.com.

August 17, 2015

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Downtown News 11

Ray Garcia’s Powerful Downtown Double Play His New B.S. Taqueria and Broken Spanish Raise the Bar for Mexican Cooking in the Central City

By Eddie Kim pening a restaurant where a former popular eatery once existed necessitates comparisons. This is an issue doubly tough for Ray Garcia.

In the space of just a few months, Garcia has opened two Downtown Los Angeles establishments. His casual bistro B.S. Taqueria occupies the old Mo-Chica space on Seventh Street. The more formal Broken Spanish is on the site of John Sedlar’s former Rivera in South Park.

Garcia previously helmed the kitchen at Santa Monica’s Fig, which served simple food made with excellent farmers market ingredients. Yet with B.S. and Broken Spanish, he’s unleashed vibrant flavors and technique that Fig diners never saw. It’s safe to say that his establishments serve as the new face of modern Mexican cooking in the Central City.

You may have heard of B.S. Taqueria’s clamsand-lardo taco, which lives up to the hype.

Then again, it’s hard to go wrong with a combo of plump clams sitting on small cubes of pork fat, mixed with cilantro and onions, with a few dots of whipped lardo and crisp garlic chips for good measure. The more traditional toppings, such as the deeply flavored carnitas and beef tongue, are equally enjoyable. But those looking for the whimsical will likely be drawn to such clever riffs on the Mexican repertoire.

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I’m sure many people in Los Angeles have made bologna tacos, but Garcia’s take is a savory flavor bomb, rather than a decision driven by empty-fridge desperation and late-night bong hits. The beet torta, meanwhile, features fried slices of beet “milanesa” layered with pickled beets inside a warm bun. The dish tastes at once obvious and subversive in its vegetarianism.

B.S. Taqueria has taken off at lunch, though a number of daily dinner specials offer reason to return when the sun goes down. This remains a dilemma, as a neighborhood away sits its grown-up sister, Broken Spanish.

Rivera’s dark and moody themed rooms have been tossed in favor of more current trends — i.e. airy, colorful spaces with nary a tablecloth in sight. Mismatched photos and decorative cinder blocks line the walls. The installation of a retractable glass curtain wall in one room lets noise, light and air stream into the restaurant.

As with B.S., the dishes at Broken Spanish meld uncomplicated flavors with smart, un-showy technique. I left one visit craving just one more bite of the lamb neck tamales, all silken cornmeal and saucy braised meat with a bit of bite from chopped oyster mushrooms. Another time I departed daydreaming of the whole red snapper, which arrives in a brothy pool of melting leeks and clams, scented by the land and sea.

Missteps at Broken Spanish are rare. On one

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Chef Ray Garcia’s B.S. Taqueria and Broken Spanish both offer excellent modern Mexican cuisine.

photo by Dylan+Jeni

evening a braised turkey leg (swaddled in a mellow, earthy red sauce, the pipian for which the dish is named) arrived tough and stringy.

Other dishes could use a touch more nuance, as with the requeson, a little salad of fresh ricotta-like cheese, snap peas and sea beans that tastes too flat and mild for a menu that overflows with punchy flavors.

The chicharron, a curling hunk of pork belly drenched in an elephant garlic sauce and redolent of the barnyard funk of high-quality pig, looks like a showstopper. But while I loved the first big bite, and the second, by the fourth I was aching for more acidity and anything else to cut through the fat and heft of the meat. This is a dish best shared by many.

These are minor complaints. The cooking at both B.S. and Broken Spanish are some of the best in Downtown today, and that extends to the desserts from pastry chef Luis Ayala, who whips

up a mean tres leches cake, among other treats.

Still, I would rather finish my meal with the rebanada, which is on the menu as an appetizer rather than a dessert. I grew up eating the cheap packaged version found in Mexican convenience stores. At Broken Spanish, it arrives as a long slice of sweet bread lacquered by a layer of foie gras butter and livened by a bit of piloncillo sugar and a pinch of salt.

Like a number of Garcia’s dishes, it recalls familiar flavors while also blowing them away. I sigh when I eat the rebanada, partly because it reminds me of my childhood. Another reason, though, is that I regret not being able to eat it every day.

B.S. Taqueria is at 514 W. Seventh St., (213) 622-3744 or bstaqueria.com. Broken Spanish is at 1050 S. Flower St., (213) 749-1460 or brokenspanish.com. eddie@downtownnews.com

12 Downtown News

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August 17, 2015

DT The Don'T Don' Miss LisT Lis

CALENDAR LISTINGS EVENTS

Talented Seniors Meet Ghostface Killah And a Silent Disco This Week in Downtown

SPONSORED LISTINGS

By Dan Johnson | calendar@downtownnews.com

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photo by Gary Leonard

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TuESDay, auGuST 18 Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Drought?

Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway or zocalopublicsquare.org.

7:30 p.m.: Zocalo Public Square brings together policy experts, engineers and water managers to discuss the possibility of a miraculous deus ex machina that will sustain life in this desert.

photo courtesy of Goldenvoice

haolin monks and hip-hop heads alike will assemble en masse at the Belasco Theatre on Tuesday, Aug. 18, as Wu Tang Clan veterans Raekwon and Ghostface Killah take the stage. Though the two got their start rocking the mic together in the notorious hip-hop collective, each MC has made a name for himself as a solo performer. Concertgoers can expect a rousing evening chock full of tracks from each artist’s individual catalog, a few Wu Tang classics and probably a dose of songs from the 2010 Raekwon/Ghostface/Method Man collaboration Wu-Massacre.. Though cash rules everything around us, you will be sure to pick up a ticket in advance. At 1050 S. Hill St., (213) 746-5670 or belascous.com.

photo courtesy of HUSHconcerts

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he weekend ghost town that was once Downtown has grown into that stage of its redevelopment adolescence where it’s super into live music. On any given weekend night, one can hop from one free dance party to another with relative ease. But what of our curmudgeonly, sound-adverse neighbors? The Music Center satisfies both camps on Friday, Aug. 21, as its Bring Your Own Dance Moves series continues with Silent Disco. Strap on complimentary headphones pulsing with the sonic seasonings of DJ Carlos Nino and groove in apparent silence as onlookers speculate about your sanity. It kicks off at the Music Center Plaza at 7 p.m., but be sure to arrive early because headphones, unlike blaring PA systems, are in limited quantity. At 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7211 or musiccenter.org.

owntown’s park for everyone again earns its moniker on Saturday, Aug. 22, as two immense gatherings arrive. It’s all about edible delights and understanding at Grand Park as the L.A. Taco Festival and the LGBT-oriented Big Proud Picnic both take place. It may seem like an odd pairing, but it begins to make sense after awhile: The recent Supreme Court decision and years of landmark legislation and social progress have made marriage a right for every American, and coincidentally, every American, irrespective of creed, sexual orientation or religion, loves tacos.

Beginning at noon, the two free events will merge in an al pastor plentitude of acceptance. At 200 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8080 or grandparkla.org.

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photo courtesy Grand Park

SaTuRDay, auGuST 22 Chinatown Summer Nights Chinatown Central Plaza, 943 N. Broadway, (213) 6800243 or chinatownla.com.

5 p.m.-midnight: The live bands, the DJs, the capuchin monkey: All will be on hand for the summer’s final celebration of warm weather amidst burgeoning Chinatown.

Nisei Week Japanese American Cultural Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro St., and throughout Little Tokyo, niseiweek.org.

11 a.m.-6 p.m.: The second and final week of the annual showcase includes the Japanese Festival, with taiko drums, dancers, martial arts, musical performances, children’s activities, cultural exhibits and more.

12 p.m.: It’s time for the World Gyoza Eating Championship.

Last year Joey Chestnut consumed 384 potstickers in 10 minutes.

That’s 15 pounds of food. Can he break his record?

The 2015 LA Taco Festival Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8080 or grandparkla.org.

12 p.m.: It’s hard to be mad at double-booking when one event is a gathering of superlative masa wrapping sweet, sweet meat. Okay, there are vegetarian tacos, too.

Proud Picnic Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8080 or grandparkla.org.

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photo by Bryan Bruchman

FRIDay, auGuST 21 Angelus Plaza Talent Show Angelus Plaza, 255 S. Hill St., (213) 623-4352 or angelusplaza.org.

1:30 p.m.: Spry seniors compete for bragging rights and a wad of cash in this annual celebration of talent that is seasoned, but not aged.

Bring Your Own Dance Moves Music Center Plaza, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7211 or musiccenter.org.

7 p.m.: This week’s dance happening comes courtesy of a “silent disco” apparatus that keeps the ambient noise to a minimum and the jams at a maximum. Those on the dance floor will be wearing headphones. Nearby neighbors won’t be bothered by noise.

Summer Nights in the Garden Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 7633466 or nhm.org.

5-9 p.m.: Mocky and Friends provide the soundtrack for a night of tours, presentations and hands-on activities throughout the museum’s outdoor space.

one

nce a year, the perpetually youthful senior residents of Angelus Plaza coalesce a millennium or so of combined performance experience into Downtown’s preeminent display of geriatric ability.

At 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21, those skills will be on display in the 16th annual Senior Talent Show. Get ready to be wowed by the AARP set’s skills in dance, singing, comedy, magic and more. It’s free to attend, and there are big prizes, including $650 for the winner (a total of $1,700 will be given out). Light refreshments will be served.

At 255 S. Hill St., (213) 623-4352 or angelusplaza.org.

ver on Eighth Street, Downtown’s vaunted lo-fi, low-key, low-light, low-nonsense Chinese restaurant-turned-divebar/music venue hosts chipper electro peddler Jesse R. Berlin in a celebration of synth pop. Berlin will pop in to the Ham & Eggs Tavern on Thursday, Aug. 20, so you can have an excuse to bob your head to Berlin’s new track, “Wash Your Boat!” and down a Miller High Life on a weeknight. Those scouring the Internet for tickets are better off spending their time sorting through Donald Trump memes because admission is an atthe-door type of affair at the Hammy. At (213) 891-6939 or hamandeggstavern.com.

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Samurai Play in Little Tokyo 244 S. San Pedro St. or jaccc.org The Little Tokyo Business Association and Burai Productions present Burai: Standing All Alone, a play about Samurai warriors performed at the Aratani Theater at the JACCC. Performance dates are Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28 and 29, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 30, at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at jaccc.org.

Dames ‘N Games Sports Bar & Grill: MMA Girl Cage Fighting 2319 E. Washington Blvd., (323) 589-2220 or damesngames.net Spearmint Rhino’s Dames ‘N Games Sports Bar & Grill will hold its Caliente Cage Rage cage fighting championship event on Aug. 17. The girls will compete for $3,000 in cash and prizes. Featuring a full bar and menu, bottle specials and flat screen TVs.

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

August 17, 2015

Downtown News 13

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Sunday, auguSt 23 Nisei Week Japanese American Cultural Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro St., and throughout Little Tokyo, niseiweek.org.

11 a.m.-4 p.m.: The final day of the Japanese Festival, with drums, dancers, martial arts and more.

4 p.m.: The Dai Dengaku Street Dance and the Ondo Street Dance and Closing Ceremony take place on First Street. Everyone is invited to participate, dance in the streets and say goodbye to Nisei Week.

ROCK, POP & JAZZ

Aug. 20, 8:30 p.m.: Fat Tony is the moniker of a Simpsons character, a local transient seeking cigarettes outside Spring for Coffee and now a Houston based hip-hop MC. Aug. 21, 8:30 p.m.: The fact that you can pay $18 to see standout vocalist and world recognized smart-ass Reggie Watts is a testament to the American dream.

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

Aug. 23, 10 p.m.: Come rain, shine or blizzards of frozen whiskey, RT N the 44s have sworn to do their duty.

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

Aug. 20: Brillz and Wonk.

Aug. 21: Far East Movement.

Aug. 22: Claude Vonstroke.

FYF Exposition Park of FYFFest.com.

Aug. 22-23: Downtown’s annual two-day festival again brings a bounty of indie rock, hip-hop, electronica and assorted oddities

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Belasco 1050 S. Hill St., (213) 746-5670 or thebelascotheater.com.

Aug. 18, 8 p.m.: Raekwon and Ghostface Killah present an

intimate evening of post-Wu Tang sophistication.

Aug 21, 8 p.m.: Tonight’s special FYF installment of Rhondavous includes no less than Simian Mobile Disco and Psychemagik.

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

Aug. 17: Scrote and Friends Electric Guitar Quintet.

Aug. 18: Perry Smith Trio.

Aug. 19: Matt Yeakley Group.

Aug. 20: Ethio Cali.

Aug. 21: John Chin Trio.

Aug. 22: Holophonor.

Aug. 23: David Cook Quintet.

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

Aug. 18, 8:30 p.m.: When we listened to English indie blues band Life in Film’s track “Alleyway” on YouTube, the site recommended we also check out a video entitled “Lyndon Johnson murdered John F. Kennedy.” What’s the correlation? We have absolutely no idea.

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1-5 p.m.: Ain’t no shame today as all are invited to participate in this LGBT-friendly affair.

to Exposition Park. See story p. 9.

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

Aug. 18, 7 p.m.: Cynics rejoice as Bill Burr and others join Skyler Stone’s Comedy Rocks.

Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m.: Joy Williams of The Civil Wars fame (that’s the folk duo, not the national cataclysm) drops her latest album.

Grand Performances California Plaza, 350 S. Grand Ave., (213) 687-2190 or grandperformances.org.

Aug. 22, 8 p.m.: Sufi mysticism achieves new sonic heights with Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali.

Aug. 23, 7 p.m.: Iranian traditional duo Sahba Motallebi shows L.A. how Tehran gets wild.

Mayan 1038 S. Hill St., (213) 746-4287 or clubmayan.com.

Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m.: If you’re looking to hang out with the youth of the nation and feel so alive for the very first time, we recommend Continued on next page

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hryn Maese eff Favre, Greg Fischer

n 14 Downtown News Yumi Kanegawa

circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

s Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved. The Los Angeles Downtown News is the wn Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles.

Continued from previous page an evening with P.O.D. and their buddies in Hoobastank.

Orpheum Theatre 842 Broadway, (877) 677-4386 or laorpheum.com.

Aug. 20, 8 p.m.: Television’s “American Idol” strings together a lineup of crowd-pleasers in an evening of mainstream tastes that just may make you spend the next week insatiably craving multiple screenings of From Justin to Kelly.

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

Aug. 17: Rubber.

Aug. 18: The Turnaways and The Newports.

Aug. 19: Kait.

Aug. 20: Thursday Night Booty.

Aug. 21: Drouth, Death Kings, Infinite Waste and Wovoka.

Aug. 22: The Leeches, Barrio Tiger, The Hellions and Scarlet Harlot.

Aug. 23, 3 p.m.: Guitars A Go Go. The Regent 448 S. Main St. or theregenttheater.com.

Aug. 18, 8 p.m.: Saharan strummer Tinariwen prepares to demolish another L.A. gig.

Aug. 21, 8 p.m.: Badbadnotgood are masters of the undersell — they’re actually pretty solid.

LAST WEEKS ANSWERS

Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris

GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin

ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie

sENior writEr: Eddie Kim

stAFF writEr: Heidi Kulicke

coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese

coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer Art dirEctor: Brian Allison

AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa

PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard

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

AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway

AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens

sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon

distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles

distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

twitter: DowntownNews ©2015 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.

CROSSWORD Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin

ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie sENior writEr: Eddie Kim stAFF writEr: Heidi Kulicke coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard

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

AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt

facebook: L.A. Downtown News

clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez

twitter: DowntownNews

circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

Laris Eastin

gardie

ke hryn Maese eff Favre, Greg Fischer

n Yumi Kanegawa

Aug. 22, 8 p.m.: Bootie LA takes on Michael Jackson tunes for a mash-up surprise.

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

Aug. 17: That fourth member of the Peter Adams Trio is just a regular customer trying to mooch drink tickets.

Aug. 18: The Makers would love to discuss some of the exciting opportunities waiting for you at Amway!

Aug. 19: Rick Taub’s Midnight Blues Review is probably the best way you can spend your Wednesday.

Aug. 20: Cow Bop, western themed shenanigans.

Aug. 23: Calumette, otherwise known as a peace pipe.

©2015 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.

PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

s Angeles Downtown News is a trademark of Civic Center News Inc. All rights reserved. The Los Angeles Downtown News is the wn Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles.

August 17, 2015 Staples Center 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7326 or staplescenter.com.

Aug. 19 , 7 p.m.: Remember that “American idol” reference a few lines ago? AI is back, in headlining form, as Kelly Clarkson lands in Downtown L.A. Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m.: For a while, Shania Twain was one of the biggest things in music. Actually, considering that she’s playing Staples Center, she’s still a pretty big thing.

Aug. 21-22, 7:30 p.m.: The hills will be alive with the sounds of screaming teen girls as Taylor Swift does the first two of five shows in the home of the Lakers, Clippers and Kings. And yes, we know Downtown only has one hill, Bunker Hill.

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: Rock, Pop & Jazz; Bars & Clubs; Farmers Markets; Events; Film; Sports; Art Spaces; Theater, Dance and Opera; Classical Music; Museums; and Tours.

2 YOUR EVENT INFO

EASY WAYS TO SUBMIT

4 WEB: LADowntownNews.com/calendar 4 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.

August 17, 2015

DT

CLASSIFIEDS REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL

AUTOS & RECREATIONAL

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 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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Downtown News 15

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

e. green St., #111, pasadena, CA 91106, filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: present name: Shannon loweta lee proposed name: reyna nicole loweta lee the court orDerS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. if no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

notice of hearing Date: 09/09/2015 time: 8:30aM Dept.: D the address of the court is 600 east Broadway, glendale, ca 91206. a copy of this order to Show cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in la DoWntoWn neWS, 1264 West 1st Street, los angeles, ca 90026 of general circulation, printed in this county. prepared by: Sherri r. carter, Executive Office/Clerk.

Superior court north central District 600 east Broadway glendale, ca 91206 Date: July 09, 2015 hon. Mary thornton house Judge of the Superior court pub. 08/17, 08/24, 08/31, and 09/07/2015.

The Torah School at Temple Beth Israel Open enrOLLmenT temple Beth israel of highland park and eagle rock (tBi), home to la’s oldest continuous Saturday morning minyan, announces open enrollment for the torah School at tBi, under the leadership of Rabbi and Education Director Arielle Hanien. learn more. attend ‘tBi torah School open house and BBQ’ on

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16 Downtown News

August 17, 2015

Clifton’s, 8

Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore!

It’s our business to make you comfortable... at home, downtown. Corporate and long term residency Call Now Fo is accommodated in high style at the Towers Apartments. Contemporary singles, studio, one r bedroom and two bedroom apartment homes provide fortunate residents with a courteous full service lobby attendant, heated pool, spa, complete fitness center, sauna and recreation room Move-In Spec with kitchen. Beautiful views extend from the Towers’ lofty homes in the sky. Mountain vistas and ial slender skyscrapers provide an incredible back drop to complement your decor. Far below are a host of businesses s ready to support your pampered downtown lifestyle. With spectacular cultural events nearby, even the most demanding tastes are satisfied. Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore. Visit the Towers Apartments today.

Grand Tower

ran in Ask d T g N Ab ow e ou er w t O Co m Re ur ing n Su ova Apartment Amenities: m m tio ~ Refrigerator, Stove, er Microwave & Dishwasher 20 n 15 (most units)

255 South Grand Avenue Leasing Information 213 229 9777 Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Concierge ~ Pool / Spa / Saunas ~ Fitness Center ~ Gas BBQ Grills ~ Recreation Room

E at xci t G

~ Central Air Conditioning & Heating ~ Balconies (most units)

On-site: ~ Dry Cleaners / Dental Office / Restaurants

Promenade Towers 123 South Figueroa Street Leasing Information 213 617 3777 Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Pool / Spa / BBQ Grills ~ Fitness Center ~ Covered Parking

Apartment Amenities: ~ Refrigerator, Stove & Dishwasher ~ Central Air & Heating ~ Solariums and/or Balconies

On-Site: ~ Convenience Store / Beauty Salon

museum Tower 225 South Olive Street Leasing Information 213 626 1500 Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Concierge ~ Pool / Spa / Saunas ~ Fitness Center ~ Gas BBQ Grills ~ Recreation Room

Apartment Amenities: ~ Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave & Dish washer (most units) ~ Central Air & Heating ~ Balconies (most units)

8 7 7 - 2 65 - 714 6

TOWERS T H E

A PA RT M E N T S

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RESIDENCES: SINGLES • STUDIO • ONE BEDROOM • TWO BEDROOM

photo by Gary Leonard

The second-floor Monarch Bar has a relaxed neighborhood-pub vibe, and also features an old-fashioned soda fountain.

appeared in The Edison, according to Meieran.

The second floor, dubbed the Cathedral Grove, offers a casual neighborhood bar and an old-fashioned feature: a classic soda fountain. Along one wall, a taxidermied buffalo and deer stare out from massive glassed-in booths.

Down the hall is a small Victorian-style ballroom for private events and Sunday brunch. Up a flight of stairs is the third-floor Gothic Bar. The back wall is framed with a miniature Gothic façade, all swooping lines and pointy details. A small area opposite the bar will host bands and DJs. The cafeteria, the Cathedral Grove and the Gothic Bar are expected to open together as the first phase.

The fourth floor holds the Treetops bar and lounge; the design is Art Deco, with the redwood replica’s needle-like leaves creating a canopy overhead. Through a nearby doorway is a tiki bar named Pacific Seas. Decorations include a 1939 Chris Craft boat and tiki pieces from Bahooka restaurant in Rosemead, which closed in 2013. Meieran said he expects to open the bars and an American steakhouse menu on the floor by the end of the year.

The basement, dubbed the Shadowbox, holds a sleek, intimate bar that will open in the fall. The industrial space is decorated with old fixtures and tributes to the intersection of science and nature. Placed in the concrete floor at one corner of the bar is a unique decoration: a bundle of fossilized brontosaurus eggs, which Meieran said he bought from a collector.

“I’ve been collecting this stuff for 10 years. I finally have a place to put it all,” he said with a grin.

No Investors The details stand out for Blair Besten, the executive director of the Historic Core Business Improvement District, who toured Clifton’s earlier this year.

“The work that he does is so incredibly detailed that it takes a long, long time,” she said. “He acquires tiny pieces from all over the country. It feels like each bar of his is like a museum.”

Meieran remains keenly aware that the renovation of Clifton’s serves as an idiosyncratic testament to his vision, and indeed, he did the project on his own. While taking on investors would have helped financially, he said partnering often comes with strings attached, leading to bland projects that are cheaper but have less personality and fewer quirks.

“A lot of investors are conservative, and they want a return on their investment in a year and a half or two years, instead of investing for 80 years,” Meieran mused.

A hiring drive has begun. The beverage program will be headed by respected bar consultants Michael Neff and Damian Windsor.

The kitchens will be headed by chef Jason Fullilove, a Patina Group veteran who helped open The Gorbals and was most recently with the Malibu Pier Restaurant and Bar. The 50,000-square-foot Clifton’s will need about 250-300 staffers when fully operational, Meieran said.

The hiring process marks the start of the final sprint to the finish line, but seeing people walk in to Clifton’s will be the real victory for what Meieran said has been his most complicated, and most rewarding, project to date.

Additional photos of Clifton’s are at downtownnews.com.

Clifton’s Cafeteria is coming to 648 S. Broadway. eddie@downtownnews.com