11-03-14

Downtown and Chinese Billions : 14

Sex, Drama and the Supreme Court : 18

NOVEMBER 3, 2014 I VOL. 43 I #44

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AROUND TOWN

Mixed-Use Project With Parking Proposed For Arts District

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hink of it as another day, another big Arts District development: Atlas Capital Group has filed plans with the Department of City Planning to transform a former three-story Coca-Cola building at 963 E. Fourth St. into a mixed-use complex, including a hefty parking structure. Plans call for turning the upper floors of the empty edifice, which last functioned as a toy company, into about 78,000 square feet of creative office space. The Coca-Cola building’s ground floor would house 25,000 square feet of retail, and another 20,000 square feet would be set aside for restaurants; one eatery would have 241 inside seats, and the other would hold 44 interior and 24 exterior seats. Next to the revamped building, on what is currently a 59-space surface parking lot, a seven-level parking structure would rise.

The garage would hold 306 spaces. No budget or timeline for the development has been revealed.

Broad Museum to Open In Fall 2015

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hen Eli Broad’s Grand Avenue art museum broke ground in early 2011, the aim was to open by 2013. That has been pushed

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS back multiple times, due in part to delays from the difficult construction, and now there is a new anticipated debut: fall 2015. Officials with The Broad announced the updated timeline last week. The $140 million project designed

by New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro is rising next to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. It will house the 2,000 works that Broad and his wife Edythe have collected over five decades. “We are pleased to create a permanent home for our foundation and personal collections in Los Angeles, in the heart of the city we love,” Eli Broad said in a prepared statement. “And Diller Scofidio + Renfro has created an architecturally distinct home for our collections that we hope will be as much a draw as the art inside.” The opening exhibition will contain 200 works in a variety of media, said Joanne Heyler, founding director of The Broad. Although the debut is about a year away, a 24,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard with century-old olive trees is expected to open this month.

Anthony Quinn Mural on Broadway to Be Restored

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nearly 30-year-old Broadway mural depicting a Hollywood legend is getting new life. City officials, the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, artist Eloy Torrez and actor Edward James Olmos are among those who came together on Wednesday, Oct. 29, to kick off the restoration of “The Pope of Broadway,” on the side of the Victor Clothing Company building at 242 S. Broadway. The mural is a 70-foot-tall depiction of two-time Oscar-winning actor Anthony Quinn, one of the most prominent Latino actors in film history. The image al-

November 3, 2014

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ludes to Quinn’s titular role in 1964’s Zorba the Greek, but his outstretched arms also serve as a warm gesture to the homeless in the area, according to Torrez, who painted the artwork in 1985. Fourteenth District City Councilman José Huizar helped secure the $150,000 for the restoration; the money came from developer Greenland USA as part of its community benefits package for the South Park mega-project Metropolis. Over the years the mural became chipped and faded, and was also vandalized.

The idea of restoring the artwork was first floated by Quinn’s son, Francesco, who tried to bring attention to it before his death in 2011.

October 31, 2014

Gay Bar Planned For Historic Core

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owntown has a handful of nightlife spaces that feature LGBT parties and events, but none devoted exclusively to a gay audience.

That may change in early 2015 with new plans to open an LGBT-oriented bar in the Historic Core. The project, dubbed Redline, would fill a 1,900-square-foot space at 121 E. Sixth St., on the ground floor of the Santa Fe Lofts. It is the first venture from Oliver Alpuche and Zachary Beus, who both live in Downtown. “SeeContinued on page 24

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EDITORIALS

November 3, 2014

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

A Puppet Theater’s Future

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he Bob Baker Marionette Theatre in City West has entertained Angelenos for more than 50 years. It is conceivable that people who attended puppet shows shortly after the building opened in 1963 have taken their grandchildren to performances.

It’s quite a legacy, and Baker, who is 90 and, unfortunately, in hospice care, will long be fondly remembered. He has created an enduring destination that brought families together. The performances he orchestrated were a sweet, innocent alternative to the snark and aggressive marketing seen so frequently in today’s children’s entertainment.

Despite this legacy, the building that houses the theater and its hundreds of stringed creations is unspectacular. The property has been purchased and the new owner wants to build apartments where it stands. At issue is whether the existing theater should be preserved and incorporated into a new complex, or whether its mission could live on in another way.

We don’t think saving the building is necessary or, for that matter, even smart. The theater at 1345 W. First St., in the shadow of a busy overpass that funnels people into the heart of Downtown Los Angeles, is bland and boxy. Its importance is cultural rather than structural.

Los Angeles Downtown News wrote about the situation last week, and detailed developer Eli Melech’s plans to build housing on the site that, five years ago, was designated a city Historic-Cultural Monument. Melech so far has been more sensitive to community desires than many developers, and his renderings show a lengthy structure that preserves the theater by using it as the project’s lobby.

It is a nice hat tip to the past, but as some have suggested, we think a better solution would be to look at the cost savings of razing the theater and then using some of the money to honor Baker’s legacy in the new complex. Perhaps, as project architect Steve Albert has said, this could be in the form of a public marionette space. Or maybe it would involve an endowment ensuring that the theater’s work lives on after the building is gone.

The reality is that the theater may not have much time left. In recent years Baker struggled to keep things going, and there were repeated searches for financial salvation. It is questionable whether it could be a viable business without Baker at the helm. Indeed, Melech said the theater’s lease ends in April and will change to month-to-month status after that. He hopes to begin construction on the apartments by the end of 2015.

We hope Melech remains open to the possibility of incorporating the memory and mission of the theater in the new building in a meaningful way, which would involve more than just some puppets in glass cases. Ideally, that would include occasional marionette performances. This piece of the past deserves preservation.

The building, however, doesn’t have to stand.

What was special here was what occurred, and for now what still continues to occur, on the inside.

Homelessness Is Not Just Downtown’s Responsibility

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n the last six months, increased attention has been paid to Skid Row. During that time the city has boosted the activities of Operation Healthy Streets. Equally important is the improved cooperation and coordination with Los Angeles County leaders and departments. Now deep cleanings of the area coincide with heightened outreach to the people living in squalor on the streets.

This is a good start, but it is no time for self-congratulations. Any outsider who glimpses Skid Row would be shocked by the conditions, by the number of people living in filth on the streets, and by the lawlessness that occurs here daily. The work done to date must be the start of the process, and only a sustained and well-funded effort, with key financial support from the county, will lead to real change. A nearby model might be San Diego. There are homeless people in its downtown, but they do not live in filth. The point is, it can be done and Los Angeles is not yet doing it.

While the improved local efforts are positive, one key element that must be part of any long-term change is being largely overlooked amid the current clean-ups. That is decentralization, or the concept of moving homeless support services outside of Downtown Los Angeles and spreading them to communities across the entire county.

A failure to make decentralization a top-level part of the response to homelessness would be a colossal mistake, a reversion to policies that never worked and have been shown to be counterproductive.

Decentralization is not a popular suggestion for those outside Downtown, and frequently we have heard neighborhood leaders protest when a project that would cater to homeless individuals has been proposed for their community. The outcry is predictable as people fret over the impact on property values and worry whether a facility serving the homeless or formerly homeless would raise safety concerns.

This is where leadership should come into play. This is where the 14 City Council members who don’t represent Downtown, and all five County Supervisors (including the two taking office Dec. 1), need to remember that they have a social and legal responsibility beyond the people who elected them. Assuming the mantle of public office means sometimes making unpopular decisions and dealing with the consequences in the name of the greater good and the policies the bodies on which they sit have said they endorse. This can’t be lip service: They need to search for land for these projects and find the money to fund them.

Homeless support services need to be housed in all 15 council

districts and, beyond that, across Los Angeles County. While the initial response from stakeholders in these areas is usually, “How can we stop it?” the more important question is, “How will this help those in need?”

Some people prefer to live in Skid Row. Many others don’t, but find themselves stuck in the community because they lack jobs and it is where the majority of services are housed. If these individuals are ever to have a real chance at turning their lives around, then they must be freed from the neighborhood where drug dealers prey upon the addicted and thieves take advantage of the weak. Getting someone into a permanent supportive housing complex in Skid Row is important, but even this means that they are just steps from the squalor and surrounding temptation. For many people the chances of recovery and re-entering the mainstream of society would be greatly improved if they can live in a community without a threat around every corner.

The county has done some good work, particularly with housing homeless families, but more must be done on many fronts. One key involves people released from prison: too often they are sent to Skid Row, not their old communities. This is a recipe for disaster.

An example of what works is Hope Gardens, which the Union Rescue Mission opened in Sylmar seven years ago. The project houses formerly homeless women and children (many of whom once resided on Skid Row) on 77 acres. Although area stakeholders protested when it was proposed, Hope Gardens has helped numerous families without destroying the community.

There need to be more projects similar to Hope Gardens, developments that are thoughtful, well-planned and that get people off Skid Row. Some will charge that moving homeless individuals out of Downtown just caters to affluent developers looking to make a profit in a whitewashed area. Those protesters clearly don’t know much about Downtown. Skid Row isn’t going away, as strictures prevent the turning of most affordable housing complexes into market-rate buildings. Rather, it is about improving conditions and making things manageable in a way that helps all people in the neighborhood, including the homeless.

It is time for the city council, the county board of supervisors, Mayor Eric Garcetti and others to recognize the importance of decentralization, of adequately funding it and committing to make it a key part of the response to homelessness in Los Angeles.

November 3, 2014

Downtown News 5

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Why Gloria Molina Doesn’t Have Purple Hair Talking Money, Nasty Campaigning and Neighborhoods With the County Supervisor and CD 14 Candidate

By Jon Regardie hen Gloria Molina says she was thinking of dying her hair purple, I smile at the joke. When she brings it up a second time I start to question if it was a joke. Twenty minutes later a woman with purple hair happens to walk into

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THE REGARDIE REPORT the Eagle Rock cafe where we’re sitting and Molina, 66, muses aloud, “She has purple hair. I wonder how she did it?”

Suddenly, it’s clear: Molina, one of the most powerful people in Los Angeles County after 23 years on the board of supervisors, isn’t messing around.

Molina was considering the color purple because, on Dec. 1, she will be termed out of office, marking the first time in 32 years that she has not held an elected position. She was pondering her options. “I was planning on reinventing myself,” she says. A quilting cruise in the spring with friends was also on the agenda.

The hair color, along with the cruise and anything else that resembles relaxation, have been shoved aside now that Molina is challenging incumbent 14th District City Councilman José Huizar in the most exciting race in Los Angeles. She knows her work is cut out for her as she attempts to topple a connected political heavyweight who has already raised more than $700,000 (a political action committee has pledged to spend another $500,000 on Huizar’s behalf). She is steadying herself for what she expects to be a campaign hatchet job.

The natural question is, why is she running at all? Molina’s legacy is established and she hasn’t faced a tough election in decades. In trying to snatch Huizar’s job she’s doing the equivalent of spitting in the face of a lion, and no, I can’t believe I compared Huizar to a lion either. “You could lose,” I say, which proves I have a great grasp of the obvious.

“I don’t plan on losing,” she responds. “Even if I did lose, I think

I’ve done enough in my life.”

Molina is calm, composed and surprisingly frank on this Friday afternoon. She says that when people began calling her in April and May to ask her to run against Huizar, she said no and meant it. Although the incumbent had been hampered by a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him and the city by Francine Godoy, his former deputy chief of staff, Molina was ready to leave politics behind.

The calls kept coming, she said, with people in various communities complaining not about the affair, but representation and leadership. She said individuals in the Arts District and Little Tokyo, among other neighborhoods, told her that Huizar’s office wasn’t responsive to constituents, that he didn’t know the stakeholders.

“There were strong feelings that somebody should run against him that could win because he doesn’t take care of the district,” she said.

In September, she filed papers to run for the seat.

Going Dirty Molina has a resume that even an opponent has to admire.

She was the first Latina elected to the California Assembly, in 1982, and the first Latina to join the L.A. City Council, in 1987.

She won her first supervisor’s race in 1991 and has a record as a champion of the Eastside, with prominent work on transportation, healthcare and more. In Downtown she played a key role in getting the firm Related Companies to pay $50 million up front when it won the rights to develop several city- and countyowned parcels on Grand Avenue. The money was set aside to create Grand Park and the move proved prescient when the recession hit; although the project stalled, the park moved forward.

Molina has had her share of battles over the years and numerous observers have described her tactics as sometimes bullying. As the race heats up, she knows that a Huizar campaign team that has savaged some past opponents is sharp-

photo by Gary Leonard

Gloria Molina has been a county supervisor since 1991, but hasn’t had a tough election since that first race. The competition is much stiffer as she runs for José Huizar’s City Council seat.

ening their knives.

“They’re going to cut me pretty good,” she says candidly, adding that she expects this will be hardest on her adult daughter, who has never seen her mom in this kind of fight.

She adds, “The thing is, I’m ready for it. It’s going to be uncomfortable.”

There’s plenty of ammunition with which to respond. In October 2012 in Boyle Heights, Huizar crashed his Toyota Highlander into a Saturn driven by former Huntington Park police officer David Ceja. Last March, the city of Los Angeles paid Ceja $185,000 to settle the case.

Then there’s Godoy. Her lawsuit was settled last month and Continued on page 24

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6 Downtown News

November 3, 2014

The Exit Interview: Lisa Watson The Outgoing CEO of the Downtown Women’s Center Reflects on 15 Years With the Organization

By Eddie Kim n her 15 years as the CEO of the Downtown Women’s Center, Lisa Watson fueled major growth in the organization, leading the effort to raise $40 million to build the current headquarters at 442 S. San Pedro St. and renovate the original DWC facility at 333 S. Los Angeles St. The number of women served has increased more than tenfold since Watson took the reins in 1999.

Watson’s last day at the DWC was Friday, Oct. 31. She is opening a consultancy for nonprofits in Los Angeles. She sat down with Los Angeles Downtown News to discuss her achievements, the challenges and joys of working to end homelessness, and the future of Skid Row.

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Los Angeles Downtown News: Looking back, what are some of your biggest accomplishments?

Lisa Watson: When I started here, we were serving about 300 women a year. Now it’s about 4,000 women a year. We have two locations now and 119 units, where we had 43 units before. We have an integrated mental health and medical clinic, which we’ve had for the last three years. And I take a lot of pride in our job training efforts and helping women veterans.

Q: When did you realize you wanted to devote a career to helping struggling women?

A: I had a mean stepfather, and one day I asked my grandmother, “Do you love this man?” And

Last week, Lisa Watson finished a 15-year run as the CEO of the Downtown Women’s Center. During her time, the DWC went from helping 300 women a year to 4,000.

she told me that when she married him, it wasn’t about love — she had six children and no financial support. At that point I realized that no one should have to be in a situation where they’re marrying for financial support.

Q: What has kept you motivated to fight for a cause that seemingly has no end in sight?

A: Some of our women, they’ve had to survive horrible things. Who could survive losing their family, losing their kids, being abused, or having severe schizophrenia like so many people in Skid Row have? You learn how strong the human mind and soul is. So that was a great gift in a sense, because I saw that people really want to change and be their best.

There are always going to be people in a society who need support. We forget about that.

People think, “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps,” but it’s easier said than done.

Q: What is needed to keep improving Skid Row and solve homelessness?

A: I think we need to continue to scale up our housing dollars from the city and county. Unless we can continue to build affordable housing, we’re not going to be able to fight this fight. We’re still waiting to see what [Mayor Eric Garcetti] will do on the issue of homelessness.

Our policing is a big issue, too. Unless we can shift to a greater community policing foundation, with our community members empowered to help develop safety standards, I

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don’t think we’re going to see a lot of change.

Q: What challenges face Skid Row as Downtown sees more development?

A: If we’re building housing around here, it should always include affordable units for poor people in the community. I don’t know why that’s so debated. It’s not that hard.

In general, if you’re going to come here, you need to be willing to help grow the community and actually work with people in it to solve issues. Good owners are employing people from Skid Row and talking openly with community members, and those businesses get more respect.

Q: What’s the biggest long-term goal for the DWC? A: The rate of victimization for homeless women is still so extremely high. So how do we create more safe havens? The majority of women

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who end up homeless have long-term sexual abuse and domestic violence issues, and the number one factor in healing is them having a safe space. So one of the things is continuing to talk to other agencies and shelters about why separating genders and offering genderspecific services is so needed.

Q: Sylvia Rosenberger, formerly with the Girl Scouts of L.A., is taking over for you. Why do you think she’s a good fit?

A: For one, our women were part of the hiring process. They got to meet with the three final candidates, and they liked Sylvia the best. She’s truly authentic and has a very trustworthy personality, and I think she really wants to be here.

A lot of people can have good skill sets to run an organization, but you need also passion here to earn the trust of the women. They’re pretty street-smart in that sense. eddie@downtownnews.com

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AFTER DARK

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Downtown News 7

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

The

Masters

By Donna Evans and Eddie Kim hat makes a great bar? Decor is important, as are location and the right vibe. Mess one of those up and fickle patrons will skip the nightspot for someplace else.

Another part of the equation is the skill of the person preparing the drinks. In 2014 the bartender, or mixologist, or whatever you

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Four Downtown Drinks Experts Share Their Behind-the-Bar Secrets

call them, is more important than ever. Customers have learned to appreciate inventive recipes and high-quality ingredients. The man or woman who crafts a thoughtful cocktail menu, and who has a pleasant bar-side manner, gets a lot of attention and accolades.

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rn B B a r : Patte 5 Age: 2

The 10 Strangest Bars in Downtown

See Page 8

ar

How He Got There: Wendel’s nightlife career began in San Diego, where he took a job as a barback at 18 and cleaned glasses, hauled ice and poured the occasional beer. It turned out that he wasn’t legally old enough for the job, so he waited tables before becoming a bartender at 21. He then moved to Los Angeles and landed at the Fashion District’s elegant, couture-themed Pattern Bar. Wendel expects he’ll be in the industry for the long haul, and hopes one day to open his own spot. “I love the people aspect of bartending, and the community within the industry is great,” he said.

Defining Drink: “I like to stick with classic cocktails, real simple stuff,” says Wendel, noting that he’s been pouring a lot of gin Old-Fashioneds lately. But Wendel’s signature concoction at Pattern Bar is the shoe-inspired Blahnik, featuring floral Hendrick’s gin, fresh lemon juice, thyme-infused agave syrup, a hit of St. Germain elderflower liqueur and a pinch of cayenne pepper. It’s a refreshing drink with a mix of elegant flavors, he says.

At 100 W. Ninth St., (213) 627-7774 or patternbar.com.

Continued on page 12

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DOWNTOWN AFTER DARK

November 3, 2014

The 10 Strangest Bars in Downtown Where to Drink When You Want Something Different

By Dan Johnson owntown Los Angeles has a lot of places to get a drink, and many of them are quite popular. There’s a reason that people flock to the spots run by the likes of 213 Inc. (e.g.

Golden Gopher, Broadway Bar, Las Perlas) and the Acme Bar Group (Library Bar, Beelman’s Pub, etc.).

The operators know what they’re doing and understand their clientele.

Sometimes, though, you’re in the mood for something different, something off the well-trod path. This search for the strange can take a variety of forms, whether in the look of the place, the type of drinks served or the overall vibe. But it’s OK: Strange is good.

Below are 10 of the fringe outposts that keep the Downtown nightlife scene lively with bizarre beverages and alien aesthetics. Drink up.

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Now You C Me: A Japanese bar where the staff don French maid costumes and serve tapas in a Little Tokyo strip mall sounds like something from a David Lynch movie. Alas, the reality of Bar C is far more pleasurable. The servers are happy to accommodate your basic needs with a simple retinue of liquor and beer, but those ready to erase their minds might opt for the Galvatron shot. Not only does the potent combination of Maker’s Mark, Patron and Bacardi 151 promise a one-way journey to belligerence, every time it’s ordered the bartender plays a music video highlighting the toxic potency of that very beverage. Consider yourself warned.

At 428 E. Second St., (213) 628-8877 or barc.biz.

Little Tokyo’s Bar C offers drinks, tapas, servers in French maid outfits and a blinding cocktail called the Galvatron.

photo by Gary Leonard

November 3, 2014

DOWNTOWN AFTER DARK

photos by Gary Leonard

The Lash in the Old Bank District is one of the most unique-looking bars not just in Downtown, but in the entire city. Keep an eye out for the red neon sign that spells “Wish You Were Here” in Cyrillic.

Just Like Clockwork: Perhaps Downtown’s most aesthetically unorthodox bar, The Lash in the Old Bank District is the sort of place Alex and his Droogs from A Clockwork Orange would frequent if the Korova Milk Bar were closed for fumigation. The curiously disjointed anteroom features stark white tile awash in a red neon sign that spells out “Wish You Were Here” in Cyrillic.

Venture through an unadorned central corridor and you’ll find yourself in a sprawling back bar where shadows curve around dark tile. The mirrored walls and abundance of concrete give the place a vibe of Bauhaus meets Brutalism. Sonically bright, The Lash often plays host to one or more eccentric DJs spinning electronica, dark wave, hip-hop and a little punk.

At 117 Winston St., (213) 687-7723 or thelashsocial.com.

Bubbling Up: At the corner of Fifth and Spring streets in the heart of the Historic Core is the sign-less Aqua Lounge. Think of it as a concept bar, a time capsule through which you’ll be magically transported to a vague approximation of Hollywood clubs circa 2008. The Aqua Lounge has willfully eschewed the grimy sensibility of the Down and Out across the street in favor of prominent walls of blue bubbles floating upward toward the ceiling. Miasmas of cologne and perfume waft over empty shot glasses and offer the perfect fragrant accompaniment to a profusion of button-down shirts and high heels.

At 500 S. Spring St., (323) 989-2782 or aqualoungela.com.

The Gang’s All Beer: Chinatown’s Melody Lounge is exactly the bar your mother was talking about when she warned you not to judge a book by its cover. With inauspicious signage and all the outward appearances of a general hovel, this cash-only joint on Hill Street has quietly assembled one of the finest beer programs in Downtown. Copious rotating taps and a few refrigeraContinued on page 10

Downtown News 9

10 Downtown News

November 3, 2014

DOWNTOWN AFTER DARK

Strange BarS, 9 tors full of bottled specialty beer cover all the bases from malt-heavy Belgians to hop bombs from San Diego County. Grab your suds, park beneath the red lanterns strung across the ceiling and enjoy one of the many high-decibel specialty vinyl nights that make Melody Lounge its own scene.

At 939 N. Hill St. Back to Basics: If you find yourself thirsty in the alley between Eighth, Ninth, Figueroa and Flower streets, then follow the blade sign for the Backdoor Pub. The spot in the rear of the Ritz Milner Hotel is a bastion of no-frills simplicity in an age of design brinkmanship and complicated craft cocktail programs. After a long refurbishment, the Backdoor recently reopened with few design flourishes that would distinguish it from an average hotel bar next to the airport in your favorite flyover state. Returning bartenders Sam and Nenna kick out basic cocktails and pop the top on your cheap canned beer. There is free popcorn and a jukebox.

At 813 S. Flower St. or (213) 627-6981.

Train-ing Day: It’s difficult to comprehend why someone would spend more than two days taking a train from Chicago to Los Angeles when you could accomplish the same thing in a three-hour flight. Rather than question motivation, Traxx Bar at Union Station opens its doors to both long-distance travelers and those who need a stiff one before hopping on the Metrolink or the Gold Line to Pasadena. Tucked away by the vaunted rail station’s Alameda Street entrance, Traxx is a humble corner establishment steeped in Streamline Moderne style

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The sign-less Aqua Lounge at Fifth and Spring streets is adorned with blue bubbles floating toward the ceiling. Somehow, that’s fitting.

photo by Gary Leonard

where you can belly up and order a beer or indulge in a robust cocktail whipped up by one of the qualified bartenders. Since the bar’s traffic draws heavily from train schedules, it’s hard to anticipate whether Traxx will echo with solitude or buzz with customers at any given moment.

At 800 N. Alameda St., (213) 625-1999 or traxxrestaurant.com/traxx-bar.

Grape Expectations: In the early 20th century, an enterprising Italian immigrant named Santo Cambianica relocated to Downtown Los Angeles and got into the local wine business.

The vineyards are long gone, but Cambianica’s legacy lives on with the San Antonio Winery.

Still owned by the same family and located on the original premises, the keepers of the vin-

tage where the grapes are stored offer up daily samples in their tasting room (reservations required) and full pours at their Maddalena Restaurant. It’s the closest you’ll get to a voyage to Italy while still being within walking distance of the Los Angeles River.

At 737 Lamar St., (323) 223-1401 or sanantoniowinery.com.

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DOWNTOWN AFTER DARK

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Ahoy, matey! The Redwood Bar is a curious assemblage of pirate decor, Los Angeles Times employees and rockers waiting for the evening’s show.

Rated Arrrrgh: A shiver corkscrews along the collective spine of Downtown’s bar community when you refer to the Redwood Bar and Grill as “that place from (500) Days of Summer.” With all due respect to that film’s fine locations team, the Redwood flaunted its nautical and pirate decor and care-not attitude for decades before Zooey Deschanel ever came Downtown. Climb aboard this brig of a barroom on any given day and you’ll find a range of humanity from L.A. Times employees to City Hall workers to punks eagerly guzzling cheap beer before the night’s show.

At 316 W. Second St., (213) 680-2600 or theredwoodbar.com.

The Big Mix: From all corners of Los Angeles, trendy foodies and elite Yelpers alike gather at Grand Central Market to sample a plethora of accessible, progressive cuisine. Meanwhile, next door at La Cita, no one is making any attempt to impress anyone. An unabashed Mexican bar, the front room is typically soundtracked with accordion-heavy ranchera music. As the corridos spill onto the patio they bleed into a secluded hipster enclave drawing fuel from a superlative make-your-own Bloody Mary bar. All bets are off on Monday nights as the LGBT-friendly Moustache Monday takes over.

At 336 S. Hill St., (213) 687-7111 or lacitabar.com.

A Case of Mal’s Wares: You will know Mal’s Café for the mural of Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads painted on the building’s façade. Though the humble sports bar is within spitting distance of the gargantuan Lorenzo apartment complex, most of the USC student occupants are apparently ignorant of the joint’s existence. Beyond the lonely location, what really sets Mal’s apart is the sort of value Downtown hasn’t seen since the beer-serving Carl’s Jr. went under. Yes, at Mal’s Café a wide selection of bottled and canned beers go for two for $5.

At 2331 S. Hill St. or (213) 746-2177.

Downtown News 11

12 Downtown News

November 3, 2014

DOWNTOWN AFTER DARK

BEHIND THE BAR, 7 How She Got There: Martinez came to Los Angeles from Phoenix in 2005 as a 21-year-old ready to drink in the city. She found bartending to be a great way to meet people and scored a job at Mark’s Restaurant in West Hollywood. After it closed, she moved to the Rockwell in Los Feliz, then to Los Globos, a Silver Lake music venue that taught her how to push out drinks in volume. In 2011 Martinez settled at Mas Malo, where the sangrias are made from scratch and the sours and syrups are prepared in house. With more than 250 tequilas, Martinez felt she could hone her skills at the Seventh Street Mexican restaurant and bar. The job, she said, has “helped me stick to what I enjoy most, which is making cocktails.”

Defining Cocktail: Martinez’s favorite drink to mix is the Señorita Angelina, which she described as “the perfect balanced cocktail that’s a little bit sweet and a little bit sour.” She starts with Centenario Rosangel Tequila (infused with hibiscus, which punches up the flavor) and adds hibiscus, fresh lime juice, agave and Tajín.

At 515 W. Seventh St., (213) 985-4332 or masmalorestaurant.com

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Ma B a r : Mas A g e : 31

How He Got There: Robinson has known one Wolf & Crane owner, Matt Glaser, since the third grade, and the other, Mike Francesconi, for 10 years. So when the duo needed help opening their Little Tokyo bar last December, he was there. A former theater student, Robinson moved to Los Angeles from Portland after college in search of film gigs, and bartended part-time at a California Pizza Kitchen. Later he served drinks for four years at the Standard Downtown before working in Israel from 2011-2013.

Defining Drink: Although Wolf & Crane is known for its highballs, one of Robinson’s favorite drinks to make there is the Hungry Like the Wolf, a version of the Paper Plane, a libation that cocktail wizard Sam Ross invented while listening to MIA’s “Paper Planes.” It features bourbon, lemon juice, Italian amaro liqueur and Aperol, a bitter orange aperitif. “I was making that for someone, and they asked whether I could do a special Wolf & Crane variation,” Robinson said. So he swapped out lemon juice and amaro for dry vermouth and China-China, a French liqueur, and finished it with a dash of the bar’s special bitters. As for the name of the offmenu cocktail: “Like Sam Ross, I named it for what was playing on the stereo,” Robinson said. “No kidding, it was Duran Duran’s ‘Hungry Like the Wolf.’”

At 366 E. Second St., (213) 935-8249 or wolfandcranebar.com.

B a r : Wol f & Crane A g e : 30

November 3, 2014

DOWNTOWN AFTER DARK

How He Got There: Damnit (he won’t reveal his given name) started bartending in an illegal basement bar in his native Chicago in the 1990s. He got a legitimate gig mixing drinks when he turned 21 and worked in bars in New Orleans before arriving in Los Angeles in the early 2000s. He slung drinks at Downtown’s La Cita and Bar 107 before starting at the Historic Core’s Wendell, a hipster neighborhood joint (in the former Craby Joe’s) which opened in September 2013. He says he likes the “sample size” of human interaction that comes with bartending, that you get to know everybody, but you don’t have to be too committed.

Defining Cocktail: It seemed like every bartender he met drank either Jameson or Fernet, a bitter aromatic liquor. So he decided to put them together in his signature beverage, The Bartender’s Breakroom. He mixes the Irish whiskey with Fernet and adds fresh lemon juice and simple syrup. There’s no garnish, though he lightly salts the rim. The drink is like “a huge shot,” he said, but most people sip it.

At 656 S. Main St., (213) 622-7200.

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Downtown News 13

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14 Downtown News

November 3, 2014

Downtown’s China Syndrome Chinese Investors Have Snapped Up Three Huge Downtown Sites.

Experts Say That’s Probably Just the Start

By Eddie Kim ast December, Beijing-based Oceanwide Real Estate Group bought the 4.6-acre site of the Fig Central mega-project, just east of Staples Center. The company is looking to build three towers, one with 49 stories and two others with 40 stories, with condominiums, hotel rooms and nearly 167,000 square feet of retail space.

The following month, Shanghai-based Greenland Real Estate Group purchased the 6.33-acre Metropolis site just north of L.A. Live, which had been stagnant for nearly three decades. Already the company is in the midst of construction on a $1 billion, multi-phase project that will create three condominium towers and a 19-story hotel.

Then in August, real estate investment firm Shenzhen Hazens snapped up the Luxe City Center hotel, also across from L.A. Live (just north of Fig Central), and two adjoining lots for $105 million. The company is looking at a $250 million reworking of the site, according to the Wall Street Journal.

That’s three huge Chinese investments in less than a year in Downtown Los Angeles. Ac-

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cording to real estate and global market watchers, it may also just be the start of a flood of cash from China into the community.

A couple particular factors are making Downtown ripe for a wave of Chinese investment, according to experts. That includes a growing interest from Chinese firms looking to diversify their investments, along with the familiarity of L.A. to Chinese individuals. Then there’s the sense that Chinese companies can get in on the cultural and residential renaissance in the Central City.

“These investors are seeing huge opportunities to make a return,” said Michael Soto, an analyst with real estate research firm Transwestern who is tracking Chinese investment in Los Angeles. “But they didn’t come in overnight.

These guys have been circling the market for a while waiting to pounce.”

Changing Policy Downtown is not the only area of interest to an increasingly robust China. Major gateway cities around the globe, including Vancouver, London and Sydney, are all seeing investments from the country. Last year, the United States attracted $6.4 billion in Chinese investment,

image courtesy Greenland Real Estate Group

Shanghai-based Greenland Real Estate Group is in the midst of construction on a project that will ultimately be worth $1 billion and create three condominium towers and a 19-story hotel.

of which Los Angeles accounted for $780 million, according to real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle. The city ranked second domestically in

A Condo Conundrum Will the Coming Wave of Chinese-Developed Buildings Attract Residents or Investors?

By Eddie Kim undreds of new condominiums will become available once Greenland and Oceanwide finish their respective South Park mega-projects, Metropolis and Fig Central.

Downtown brokers say that demand for homeownership in the Central City is on the rise, but some stakeholders worry that too many residences will be bought by people looking to invest rather than live in and contribute to the community.

The situation has occurred in New York City, Vancouver and other cities undergoing major growth. Investors often rent out their units or keep them as vacation homes or passive assets.

“L.A. is a tourist and vacation center, and

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cities like that… tend to have more empty homes during parts of the year,” said Steve Marcussen, executive director of brokerage at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

Initial building sales can be affected by the economy, noted Laura Silver, head of the Downtown residential division of brokerage Major Properties. A building owner could avoid selling too many units to investors when demand is strong, but be less discerning in a sales slump.

Homeowners’ associations can institute rules to discourage absentee ownership and renting units. One way is to write bylaws preventing new buyers from reselling or leasing their homes for at least a year, said Coldwell Banker residential broker Kerry Marsico.

Some South Park condo HOAs did that prior

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to the recession, but took off the restriction amid the economic downturn to encourage sales.

A HOA could also include a cap on investor-owners in their bylaws, said Mitch Carricart, a sales agent with real estate firm Douglas Elliman. Usually the cap is 20%-30% of a building’s units, he said, and it is instituted partly to protect financing for resales down the road. Lenders often avoid financing mortgages on condo buildings with too many renters, Carricart said.

“Lenders care about renters because they tend to not take care of the unit as well as owners, don’t take care of common areas and don’t always contribute to the building community,” Carricart noted. “These things can hurt unit value in the future.”

Chinese investment, behind New York City.

Chinese investment into Los Angeles County has doubled over the past five years, making China one of the county’s most prominent investors, according to a report from the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. More specifically, the outbound cash flow is rooted in governmental policy changes, noted Michael Margolis of L.A. law firm Blank Rome. Margolis has worked extensively with Chinese investors, and said that the leadership in Beijing has altered regulations, making it easier for people to take their money outside China.

“They’re now generally in the direction of making it simpler for entrepreneurs and institutional investors to go overseas. It used to be that big projects needed careful approval from the government, for instance,” Margolis said.

“The trend is very clear, and we’re seeing actual implementation of policy changes.”

The visibility of Los Angeles to Chinese individuals has also risen. Tourism from China has nearly quadrupled from 158,000 in 2009 to 570,000 visitors last year, according to the LAEDC, and the number could rise to 2 million by 2020. Additionally, L.A. is the United States’ top trade gateway to China and vice versa, accounting for nearly 45% of trade between the two countries.

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November 3, 2014

Downtown News 15

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Five Big Downtown Chinese Plays

photos by Gary Leonard

photo by Gary Leonard

I-Fei Chang, CEO and president of Greenland Group’s U.S. subsidiary, at the groundbreaking of the South Park project.

Those factors have coincided with the Downtown boom, something that has not gone unnoticed by investors. The residential and amenity surge here bodes well for future returns, experts say, and Downtown has something else that other major metropolises often lack: prime developable property in the heart of the city.

I-Fei Chang, CEO and president of Greenland Group’s U.S. subsidiary, noted in a February interview that land for major projects in a gateway city is prized.

“Look, if you go to San Francisco for the first project, that is only a 10-mile by 10-mile city.

You don’t have much space,” she said. “Or New York, look at the prices and the overcrowding.

Here, you have such a renaissance and there’s room to grow.”

Large Chinese institutional investors in particular have an appetite to go big, said Jones Lang LaSalle Vice President Rob McRitchie. Although Los Angeles’ notoriously cumbersome permitting process could curb interest, he noted that the previous securing of entitlements at the Metropolis and Fig Central sites made them essentially a “turnkey” operation. All that was required was cash and some slight alterations in plans.

“In Downtown, you can really build to scale, McRitchie said. “Most Chinese developers want to make sizeable projects while they can.”

He also said Chinese investors like Downtown’s central position in the region, and pointed to another benefit, as well.

“The ease of doing business in Downtown is also a factor,” he said. “There’s less neighborhood resistance to development.”

Not Like Japan The situation brings to mind another wave of Asian real estate investment. In the 1980s and early ’90s, Japanese investors flooded the U.S. as the yen soared in value. That ended disastrously for all sides: Japanese firms hemorrhaged money when the economy crashed, and cash-poor owners let local buildings stagnate until they could be sold. Some Downtown office towers were hit particularly hard.

Experts say the current situation is different. Eric Sussman, a senior lecturer at UCLA’s

Hotels also have appeal to Chinese investors. Shenzhen Hazens Real Estate Group bought the Luxe City Center and two adjacent parcels and is looking at building a large project. In 2010, Shenzhen New World Group bought the then-Marriott Downtown for $60 million.

1. Metropolis: Shanghai-based Greenland Group purchased the 6.33-acre Metropolis site, which had been discussed in development circles for nearly three decades, at the beginning of the year for $150 million. Greenland broke ground in June on a 38-story condominium tower and a 19-story hotel. In July it revealed plans to start work on a second phase, with 54- and 40-story condo towers, by the end of the year. The entire project, just north of L.A. Live, is budgeted at $1 billion.

2. Fig Central: Beijing-based Oceanwide Group snapped up the longstagnant Fig Central site, across the street from Staples Center, in December for a reported $175 million. The developer is planning to build three towers (one with 49 stories, the others with 40) with a combined 504 residential units and 183 hotel rooms, according to documents filed with the Department of City Planning. The towers would sit on a podium with nearly 167,000 square feet of retail space and 1,444 parking spaces. No timeline or construction budget have been revealed.

3. Luxe City Center Hotel: Shenzhen Hazens Real Estate Group is expected to have big plans for the Luxe City Center hotel and two Ziman Center for Real Estate, noted that the Japanese purchased existing assets, namely office towers, en masse as a way to protect capital without actively trying to grow the investments through tenant improvements and other means. Chinese investors, he said, prefer building new projects or spending to improve existing developments as a way to increase returns, especially with the U.S. economy in recovery.

“That’s why this new wave of investment is much better news and is a totally different case than the Japanese boom and consequent bust,” Sussman said.

Then there’s the issue of competition between Chinese and U.S. investors. The sheer mass of capital that institutional Chinese firms hold makes it difficult for some local players to compete, said Hamid Behdad, president of the Central City Development Group. As occurred during the Japanese boom, Chinese investors are able to pay more than market value if they treasure a particular asset.

“How can local developers compete with the money and speed of investment of Chinese firms?” he said. “I don’t know whether it’s good or bad, but it’s reality. They’re overpaying by a certain percentage, but for the developer it’s safer than just leaving the money in Chinese assets.”

adjacent parcels, which the company bought in August for $105 million. Shenzhen Hazens could tear down the Luxe and build a larger hotel tower in its place, as well as spend $250 million to build condo and office towers on the adjacent land, according to the Wall Street Journal.

4. BYD Headquarters: In 2011, Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD (or Build Your Dreams) moved into its new North American headquarters at 1800 S. Figueroa St. on the corridor south of the Convention Center. Former Deputy Mayor and current L.A. Times Publisher Austin Beutner led the team that secured the deal. The company has signed electric bus contracts with several transit agencies.

5. Marriott/L.A. Hotel: One of the first Chinese developers to get in on the Downtown hotel scene was Shenzhen New World Group Co., which in 2010 snapped up the 469-room property at Third and Figueroa streets for a reported $60 million. At the time it was a Marriott but currently operates as the L.A. Hotel.

—Eddie Kim

That isn’t to say that there is no ceiling to what Chinese buyers will pay. McRitchie of Jones Lang LaSalle has closely watched the situation, and thinks there may be a pullback from Chinese investors.

“Prices this summer, both for ground-up developments or acquisitions, got to the point where it didn’t make economic sense. I’m hearing prices of $200 a foot in the Historic Core and that’s just not sustainable,” he said. “Developers are keeping their eyes on Downtown but the returns aren’t always there.”

Sustaining the Boom Even as money flows, some wonder how long the Chinese investment boom in Downtown can last. McRitchie points out that there aren’t any large, already-entitled projects left to tackle in the Central City. Instead, he expects Chinese investors eventually to extend into suburban markets and Orange County, where more open developable land exists.

If the city hopes to keep the spigot flowing, he said, then Chinese developers will need something local business interests have long been clamoring for: a streamlining of the entitlements and permitting process.

Similarly, Blank Rome lawyer Margolis emphasized the need to work closely with Chinese firms to navigate the legal and regulato-

ry waters. Encouraging continued investment, he said, may require offering tax incentives when a developer is considering several cities, or partnering local business and policy leaders with Chinese investors to suss out “legal blind spots” that could prove costly or problematic.

Smaller infill projects could also become more frequent if the Chinese economy begins to cool, as some economists project. These can have complex entitlement processes, but Downtown has the right business and development climate to foster joint ventures, Transwestern’s Soto said.

That’s for the future. Right now, there’s a lot of money that needs to go out.

“The capital reserves in China are huge, whether it’s individual or institutional sources,” said Steve Marcussen, executive director of brokerage at real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. “These Downtown projects represent the value that some of the biggest investors in the world see in the area, and they’re not alone — these developers were competing with five other investors right behind them.”

That’s why analysts consider Downtown’s current boom to be just the first big wave in a set of Chinese and foreign investment swells. eddie@downtownnews.com

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

16 Downtown News

November 3, 2014

A Bright Twist in Little Tokyo The $100 Million Ava Delivers 280 Apartments, Vibrant Colors and Space Invaders Carpeting

By Donna Evans pace Invaders means a lot to video game enthusiasts who grew up in the 1970s and ’80s. It rarely, however, has much sway with housing developers.

Yet, as unlikely as it sounds, Space Invaders figures into Ava Little Tokyo, the $100 million apartment complex that opened its first 104-unit phase in July at Second and Los Angeles streets. Creatures from the video game adorn the carpet in the project’s leasing office.

It’s an unusual approach to design and development, but it’s not the only one in the building. Developer AvalonBay Communities turned to landscape architect MJS Design Group for features such as a bubbling fountain with 10 concrete legs fanning out, with toes pointed upward.

Other aspects of the 280-unit, six-story complex also veer from the status quo. Consider the balconies: Rather than being traditional white, with maybe a splash of color, the ones in Ava Little Tokyo are bright assemblages of green, orange and blue glass.

“We tried to create some whimsy,” said Thomas Guiteras, the senior development director of AvalonBay Communities, during a recent tour of the project. “It’s a different look.”

Designed by TCA Architects, Ava Little Tokyo is a colorful addition to the community that, while historic, is also changing quickly, as new market-rate buildings open. Ava follows apartment complexes such as Hikari and Sakura Crossing, which debuted before the recession.

Ava’s second, 176-unit building will come online this month, said Guiteras.

Ava Little Tokyo is the first Downtown project for the Virginia-based company, though AvalonBay has other properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties, as well as throughout the state and in Texas and along the East Coast.

The company recognized that Downtown was a neighborhood in transition when it purchased two surface parking lots in 2006 and 2007, said Guiteras. Company brass saw that people from all cultural and economic backgrounds were moving to the Central City. They also noticed the numerous restaurants and night spots opening in Downtown. It seemed the perfect time to make a play in the area.

“We think we’re building on that momentum as well as leveraging the momentum that’s been going on for at least five years now,” Guiteras said.

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Ava Little Tokyo, a 280-unit apartment complex from AvalonBay Communities, opened the first of its two buildings in July.

The second is set to come online this month.

photo by Gary Leonard

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Dog Park and Skyline Views As is the case in many new Downtown buildings, rents are in the neighborhood of $3 a square foot. Prices start at $2,015 for a 642-square-foot studio and go up to $4,975 for a three-bedroom apartment.

The ground floor holds about 19,000 square feet of retail space that Guiteras expects will be filled by a restaurant and shops, though no leases have yet been signed. The building is close to neighborhood landmarks such as Japanese Village Plaza, the Little Tokyo Library and the Little Tokyo Galleria, and is also within walking distance of the Historic Core and the Arts District.

Polished concrete floors stretch throughout Ava Little Tokyo, and are accented by raw materials such as maple wood paneling on the walls and cast-iron planters in the gardens. Amenities include a lounge with a kitchen and game tables. There is also a dog park with a pet washing station and three courtyards.

A rooftop deck offers skyline views along with a barbeque, sink, fireplace and a projection TV. A fitness center will be available when the second building opens.

The building contains 480 subterranean parking spaces for residents. Rent includes one space per unit (three-bedroom spaces get two spots). Additional spots start at $100 per

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month. Ava Little Tokyo also has 79 parking spaces for the public, with a valet option.

Ava is a fit for residents Dawn and Jibril Jackson, who in October moved from Manhattan with their English Bull Terrier Kimchi into a twobedroom, two-bathroom apartment. The couple was used to living in a walkable neighborhood

with easy access to public transportation. They found Little Tokyo to be close to the Metro and the freeways, and are already fans of the fish counter in the nearby Little Tokyo Marketplace.

“We looked in Silver Lake, Inglewood and Mid-City,” Dawn Jackson, 33, said. “For the amenities and the quality of the building, it

City Living

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The $100 million project features a number of communal areas, including outdoor courtyards and a dog run.

(On the corner of Olympic and S. Alameda St.)

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November 3, 2014

Downtown News 17

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

The Central City Crime Report A Rundown on Downtown Incidents, Trends and Criminal Oddities

Thomas Guiteras of AvalonBay said the firm was inspired to invest in Downtown after seeing the community’s rapid transformation. “We think we’re building on that momentum as well as leveraging the momentum that’s been going on for at least five years now,” he said.

By Donna Evans n the Central City Crime Report, we survey the recent week in public safety. All information is provided by the LAPD’s Central Division.

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photo by Gary Leonard

just wasn’t comparable.”

The couple, scheduled to have their first child this month, also have found a welcoming community in the building. They recently hosted a BBQ and opened it up to fellow residents.

The brightly colored building stands out in the historically tight-knit neighborhood, but Ellen Endo, president of the Little Tokyo Business Association, said that’s a good thing. She prefers the splash, she said, to a homogenized community.

“Who wants to see all beige buildings?” she asked.

Endo also expects that the surge of younger residents able to afford the rents will be good

for area businesses.

Before getting to those businesses, however, the inhabitants will have to pass through some of the other whimsical elements in the complex.

AvalonBay hired Degen & Degen Architecture and Interior Design and gave the firm the directive to create a vibrant aesthetic throughout the property, complete with artwork on every floor.

That’s why someone walking on the second floor of the currently open building will find 12 stenciled silhouettes flanking the phrase “Kiss My Sass.” On the sixth floor is a series of automobile drawings that wrap around the line, “I’m not weird. I’m limited edition.” donna@downtownnews.com

Siren Song: Paramedics were treating a psychiatric patient in an ambulance at 7:10 p.m. on Oct. 19 when the man became violent. The driver pulled over and allowed the patient to exit at Temple and Alameda streets. As the paramedics cleaned the back of the rig, the patient commandeered the vehicle and drove off.

The paramedics jumped out and called 911. Police stopped the vehicle at Beverly Boulevard and Union Avenue. The man was arrested.

Not So Neighborly: An argument between two neighbors in the 400 block of East Seventh Street just before 10 a.m. on Oct. 21 escalated into a knife attack.

Both individuals were injured, and police arrested one on suspicion of attempted murder.

Mace Case: A man accused another man of dealing drugs at 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 22 at Fifth Street and Broadway. The accused

became indignant, and sprayed Mace in the face of the first man. When police arrived, they found drugs on the accused man and arrested him.

Sharp Attack: A man walking at Olive Street and Venice Boulevard at 4 p.m. on Oct. 22 told police he was attacked by an unidentified person. The assailant used scissors to stab him in the buttocks, then fled. The injured man was treated at a nearby hospital.

Arts District Robbery: A person walking along Fourth Place at Mateo Street at 3 a.m. on Oct. 19 was attacked and robbed by two people who got out of a car. Officers from the Arts District Los Angeles Business Improvement District took down the license plate, and police are working to identify the suspects.

Trouser Trouble: An unidentified man approached a nurse walking at Seventh and Flower streets just before 1 a.m. on Oct. 24, and told him to stop and face the wall. The man complied, and the robber proceeded to steal his wallet, shoes and even pants.

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November 3, 2014

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Arguendo, from New York City theater group Elevator Repair Service, features the verbatim oral arguments of the United States Supreme Court in a case about the rights of exotic dancers to perform nude.

CALENDAR

photo by Joan Marcus

18 Downtown News

t , r x u Se Drama upreme Co S and the

Theater Company Elevator Repair Service Finds a Story in a Legal Case About Nude Dancing

By Eddie Kim ohn Collins was frustrated. He had a brilliant idea for his New York City-based theater group, Elevator Repair Service: They would stage a theatrical reenactment of The Great Gatsby.

There was one problem, however. The estate of author F. Scott Fitzgerald had given the exclusive rights to the novel to another playwright, and it would be years before the contract ended.

Stubbornly, Collins dove into a hunt for a legal loophole that might allow Elevator Repair Service to perform the text without permission. He pored through Supreme Court cases, listening to oral arguments regarding the First Amendment and fair use rights.

“It was a lost cause,” Collins admitted.

What he stumbled across in his search, however, proved equally valuable, at least theatrically. Collins, the artistic director of the 23-year-old avant-garde company, learned of a landmark (albeit mostly forgotten) 1991 case, Barnes v.

Glen Theatre, Inc., which concerned exotic dancers’ rights to perform nude in South Bend, Indiana. As he listened to the Supreme Court justices discuss strippers, G-strings and sexual morality, something clicked.

“It had such hilarious hypotheticals from the justices,” Collins said. “There was some great built-in theater with absurdist humor.”

Nearly a decade after discovering Barnes v.

Glen Theatre, Inc., Collins turned a near-verbatim reenactment of it into the 80-minute Arguendo, which debuted in New York City in September 2013. This week, Elevator Repair Service

J

brings the show to REDCAT in Downtown Los Angeles. Five performances will take place on Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 6-9.

The case was hotly contested, with the justices ultimately delivering a 5-4 verdict supporting Indiana’s right to restrict nude dancing. Going from a legal drama to a theatrical one, however, proved tricky, especially with just five performers portraying the justices, lawyers and dancers. So Arguendo (a Latin term that means “for the sake of argument”) is gilded with video projections, sound effects and what Collins termed “Vaudeville-like” choreography, including the use of rolling chairs, to keep things lively.

This out-of-the-box approach is normal for Elevator Repair Service, said REDCAT Executive Director Mark Murphy, as is the company’s penchant for crafting clever stagings of traditionally non-theatrical texts. Murphy would know: After Collins finally turned The Great Gatsby into a seven-hour play dubbed Gatz, Murphy in 2012 brought it to Downtown.

“John has very keen senses. It comes through in his incredible sense of humor and a passion for creating unique experiences,” Murphy said.

“He’s always trying something new, taking a risk to express a big thought or idea.”

Humor in the Text The idea for Arguendo bubbled inside Collins for years. Development of the show only really started in the months before a March 2012 conference in Seattle to which Elevator Repair Service was invited.

The ensemble prepped a workshop reading of the Barnes case for the conference and

found that though the text was dense and difficult, the arguments orbited an easily relatable idea, freedom of expression and how to regulate it. The cast members also unpacked a treasure trove of wry humor within the text.

“Most legal cases are fairly dry, but because of the subject matter and personalities of the justices at the time, this had a lot more zing to it,” said Vin Knight, who primarily portrays Justice Antonin Scalia. “A lot of the laughs we get are the same laughs you hear on the actual audio of the hearing.”

That doesn’t mean that the legalese in Arguendo is easy to decipher. One of the most difficult aspects, said Collins, was just comprehending everything that was said during the Barnes hearing. The ensemble went “back to school” with crash courses in constitutional law and court precedents, Collins said.

The actors also learned to mimic the mannerisms and vocal inflections of Justices Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and others by listening to audio recordings and watching TV appearances.

“The challenge is similar to working on something classical, because the language itself is so different from what a normal contemporary theater audience is expecting,” Knight said. “It’s almost like Shakespeare in a sense, or a Greek tragedy, because it’s so alien.”

Founded by Collins in 1991, Elevator Repair Service has tackled numerous hefty literary works and figures. In addition to Gatz, they’ve taken on William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and even a transcribed interview with Jack Kerouac.

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Literary adaptations for the stage are nothing new, but Collins sees a special thrill performing untouched passages, which he said give audiences the “uncut” experience.

REDCAT’s Murphy knows that appreciation firsthand, considering the audiences that Gatz and 2010’s The Sound and the Fury drew. Gatz in particular elicited jokes from local theater observers about whether audiences could handle such an epic runtime. The consequent acclaim burned down any doubts about Elevator Repair Service’s approach, Murphy said.

“You entered into this world and it was spellbinding. There were people who couldn’t wait to get back in from the intermissions,” Murphy said. “They take difficult subjects and make remarkable theater.”

On the flipside, Gatz’s run at REDCAT reaffirmed Collins’ confidence in Los Angeles audiences. The response was perhaps the best of the 25-venue tour, he recalled, saying that the city has proven exceptionally receptive for experimental and innovative works.

“There’s a sense of openness and adventure that audiences here have that’s tougher to find sometimes on the East Coast, which has a bigger theater tradition and more ownership of that heritage,” Collins said.

All of that openness may be required this week, as instead of enjoying words written by Fitzgerald and Faulkner, local audiences will have to find the drama and the laughs in lines spoken by Justices Scalia and Ginsburg.

Arguendo runs Nov. 6-9 at REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org.

November 3, 2014

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Downtown News 19

In the Company of Dancing Men England’s Powerful All-Male Ballet Troupe Visits Downtown

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a more intimate environment than the larger Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, where most events in the Glorya Kaufman series take place. She believes audiences will be moved by the nuance and the simplicity of the choreography.

“They picked really provocative and compelling work,” she said of Trevitt and Nunn, who share the title of artistic director of BalletBoyz.

“The program gives you a little of the expected physicality and athleticism, but I think the audience will be surprised by the grace and sensitivity of the work.”

Trevitt described Serpent as very lyrical, with the dancers exhibiting a refined and subtle performance flecked with tender moments. Conversely, in Fallen, the men, ages 18 to 26, take on more physically powerful movements, he said, with “death-defying lifts” and each one trying to outdo the other by climbing higher and falling in a more spectacular way.

“These guys really have to trust one another,” Trevitt said. “They are a team and work for each other and together. There are no stars in this show.”

The all-male cast creates a challenge for choreographers, Trevitt admits. Women, however, have danced with the company in the past, and will join them, ironically, for the upcoming production, Young Men. In the meantime, Trevitt said the men’s youthfulness contributes to the troupe’s fearlessness and unyielding energy. He laughed as he said it’s a hunger that older dancers, such as himself, lose after years of injuries. Both Trevitt

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By Donna Evans allet is about precision. For centuries choreographers have strived, and sometimes berated their dancers, into being in the exact right place at all times.

It is a tenet that William Trevitt subscribed to for the 12 years he danced with London’s Royal Ballet. It is also one that he and fellow dancer Michael Nunn chucked aside when they left England’s largest and most prominent ballet company to create their own, contemporary troupe, BalletBoyz.

“There are lots and lots of ways to be correct, and that is very liberating,” Trevitt, 45, said by phone last week from his London home.

There’s another way that BalletBoyz breaks from tradition: As the name implies, the company is comprised entirely of men. On FridaySunday, Nov. 7-9, Trevitt and Nunn will bring 10 BalletBoyz dancers to the Ahmanson Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles for three performances as part of the 12th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center.

Downtown is the fifth stop on a BalletBoyz tour that includes visits to Philadelphia, Wisconsin, Palm Desert and Portland. The program consists of Serpent, choreographed by Liam Scarlett with music by Max Richter, and Fallen, choreographed by Russell Maliphant, featuring a score from Armand Amar.

This marks the first BalletBoyz visit to Downtown. Renae Williams Niles, the vice president of programming for the Music Center, thought the Ahmanson, with its 2,000 seats, would offer

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The all-male company BalletBoyz makes its first stop in Downtown on Nov. 7-9, with three performances at the Ahmanson Theatre. It was founded by two former members of London’s Royal Ballet.

photo by Panos

and Nunn retired from the stage four years ago.

Once known as ballet rebels for leaving Great Britain’s largest company and venturing out on their own, Trevitt and Nunn’s odyssey began with a 1998 documentary they made about the Royal Opera House. The building was being renovated and the dancers wanted to capture its historic beauty. When they took the film to a TV producer, Trevitt and Nunn wanted to call it “Mike and Billy’s Royal Ballet.”

The producer preferred “BalletBoyz.” Although Trevitt and Nunn disliked the name, they couldn’t think of anything better, so it stuck.

The two have since embraced the moniker, and used it when launching their own company in 2001.

At the Music Center, Niles schedules about six ballets a year, but said this one is distinctly different.

“There’s a quality and an integrity to both pieces. It is quite powerful and emotional,” she said, noting that the all-male cast, particularly in the duets, allows for lifts and movements that require more strength than an audience would ordinarily see.

If some of those lifts look great but maybe are not in the ideal position, Trevitt may not mind.

After all, there’s more than one way to be correct.

BalletBoyz runs Nov. 7-9 at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2722 or musiccenter.org donna@downtownnews.com

20 Downtown News

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DT

November 3, 2014

CALENDAR LISTINGS EVENTS

Wednesday, november 5 Florencia Pita and Jackilin Bloom at SCI-Arc SCI-Arc, 255 S. Santa Fe Ave., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu.

7 p.m.: “Color is important,” says your 8-year-old, as he doodles with crayons. For a more erudite opinion about the importance of polychromatism in architecture, refer to these two internationally renowned architects.

Marilynne Robinson at Aloud Mark Taper Auditorium, Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lfla.org.

7:15 p.m.: Novelist Marilynne Robinson won a Pulitzer Prize for Gilead. Now she returns to her earlier superlative effort’s setting with Lila, a work of fiction set in the same rural Iowa town.

Robinson joins Michael Silverblatt at Aloud.

By Dan Johnson | calendar@downtownnews.com

The Los Angeles Opera’s current double run of two one-act operas reinforces the married motifs of affection and sorrow.

That’s a good thing! With a mere four performances left at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, your opportunities to see Dido & Aeneas (shown here) with Bluebeard’s Castle are rapidly dwindling. On Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m., Purcell’s story of lost love and Bartok’s lament-filled musical treatise are directed by Barrie Kosky. The prudish should be advised that the program contains nudity. At 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8001 or laopera.org.

Friday, november 7 Sandra Yum at SCI-Arc SCI-Arc, 255 S. Santa Fe Ave., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu.

1 p.m.: Sandra Yum addresses the professional stresses and quiet inspirations of successful architects. saTurday, november 8 Git-Hoan Dancers at World City W.M. Keck Amphitheatre, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 9727211 or musiccenter.org.

11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.: The World City program continues with a slice of folkloric storytelling and indigenous dance from Canada’s western shore.

photo by Ed Krieger

photo by Eliot Lee Hazel

Nothing says Monday night quite like heading down to the Mayan Theatre for an evening of progressive house from Deutschland’s Booka Shade and Sweden’s knob-turning wunderkinds Galantis. For years now, Booka Shade’s rambunctious take on electronica has been thrilling audiences. With the strength of a rousing set at Coachella and a busy spring tour, relative newcomers Galantis have garnered a strong following in the EDM scene. The Nov. 3 show will deliver loud music, copious bass and blinding lights, so get your “feeling under the weather” excuse ready for Tuesday morning. At 1038 S. Hill St., (213) 746-4287 or clubmayan.com.

For several weeks now, the Los Angeles Theatre Center has played host to Encuentro, a festival encompassing the work of some of the finest writers, actors and directors in contemporary Latino theater. Now in its final week, Encuentro is going out strong with nearly 20 performances of 10 plays in three days.

Award-winning poet/playwright Magdalena Gomez shares her lucid perspectives in Dancing in My Cockroach Killers on Friday, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. The noir-influenced domestic murder story Premeditation (shown here) plays on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. A full schedule is online. At 514 S. Spring St., (213) 489-0994 or thelatc.org.

The World City program at the Music Center boasts an alwaysdiverse lineup of artistic pleasures from around the globe. On Saturday, Nov. 8, the W.M. Keck Amphitheatre atop Walt Disney Concert Hall hosts the Git-Hoan Dancers. The folkways of these members of the Tsimshian First Nations People feature traditional origin myths (think “Mouse Woman and the Cannibal Giant”) and totem art. The two shows are free to those who line up outside the Keck Amphitheatre an hour before the 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. start times. At 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 9727211 or musiccenter.org.

photo by Federico Zignani

ROCK, POP & JAZZ Ace Hotel 929 S. Broadway, (213) 623-3233 or acehotel.com.

Nov. 8, 8 p.m.: Ever-so-delicate shoegazers Slowdive reprise their recent FYF gig with another visit to DTLA. Belasco 1050 S. Hill St., (213) 746-5670 or thebelascotheater.com.

Nov. 6, 9 p.m.: Manchester, England’s standout hipster singer/ songwriter Daley offers tips on maintaining a high fade.

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

Nov. 4: Jesse Palter-Nick Mancini Quartet.

Nov. 5: Kaveh Rastegar Trio Plus.

Nov. 6: David Ornette Cherry with Organic Roots.

Nov. 7-8: Gilad Kelselman Trio.

Nov. 9: Alex Pinto Quartet and the Richard Sears Group.

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

Nov. 3, 8:30 p.m.: No punches will be pulled when Dorothy’s revival of classic ’60s blues rock gets its time in the sun with a month-long residency.

Nov. 4, 7 p.m.: Bits of downtempo and hip-hop backbeats collide in the ever groovy Wax Tailor.

Nov. 5, 7 p.m.: Aesthetically, R5 have that alternative look that’s so in vogue today. Sonically, they’ve got a slick, manufactured pop rock sound.

Nov. 5, 8:30 p.m.: We’ll go out on a limb and guess that Gazelle Twin has listened to one or more Die Antwoord albums in her lifetime.

Nov. 6, 9 p.m.: The Stone Foxes are back from San Francisco to share with us peasants the bold sound of the future from up in the Bay. Nov. 7, 9 p.m.: Enjoy an evening with The Kin. Nov. 8, 9 p.m.: Three strong looking, heavily bearded men do their best Mumford and Sons impression as Bear’s Den. Nov. 9, 9 p.m.: Local indie upstarts and fast-rising troubadours Corsica Arts Club headline the benefit Concert for West Africa.

photo courtesy Joan Dangerfield

Rodney Dangerfield spent much of his life complaining about getting “no respect.” Of course, that was all part of the act, and in addition to plenty of respect, the late comedian now has a tribute exhibit at the Grammy Museum. Running through February 2015 and curated in partnership with his widow Joan (shown here with Rodney) is the just-opened The Comedic Genius of Rodney Dangerfield. Memorabilia from his life and career including a Grammy Award, clothing (such as his robe from Easy Money) and his first headshot are among the items on display. It’ll be fun and games until an unwitting ignorant wanders by and asks, “So what?” To which you will reply, “So let’s dance!” (it’s from Caddyshack). The museum is open seven days a week. At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org. photo courtesy L.A. Opera

Thursday, november 6 Dr. Zhihang Chi at Town Hall-L.A. City Club Los Angeles, 555 S. Flower St., (213) 628-8141 or townhall-la.org.

11:30 a.m.: Chinese specialist Dr. Chi will deliver a lecture entitled “U.S.-China Relations in the New World Order.” Look forward to what happens when the two super powers get along, and what happens when they don’t.

Respecting Rodney Dangerfield, A Last Chance for Latino Theater and More Fun

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

November 3, 2014

Downtown News 21

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM

Club Nokia 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-7000 or clubnokia.com.

Nov. 8, 9 p.m.: Come one, come all, for an evening with electro-pop-R&B crooners Common Kings.

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

Nov. 3, 10 p.m.: Kat Myers and the Buzzards are a special seasonal tribute to Scorpio.

Nov. 4, 10 p.m.: Next 2 the Tracks is actually tonight’s headliner and not where Jeremiah & The Red Eyes reside.

Nov. 5, 10 p.m.: Fiddle & Pine take it up a notch.

Nov. 6, 11 p.m.: Bob Spring will be performing as Robert Autumn come March.

Nov. 7, 9 p.m.: Because he loves the place so much (or he lost his wallet), Bob Spring returns to open for the Vibrometers.

Nov. 8, 10 p.m.: The Kings Inn Showcase, because life is like a box of bluegrass in that you never know what you’re going to get.

Nov. 9, 10 p.m.: RT N the 44s provide basic psychiatric services with their honkytonk music.

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

Nov. 7: Tujamo.

Nov. 8: Hot Since 82, where the qualifying factor is maintaining a body temperature above 80 degrees.

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

Nov. 5, 8 p.m.: Tonight’s evening with Kathy Griffin may remind you of her TV appearances.

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

Nov. 3, 7 p.m.: Heavy on the house music as Booka Shade and Galantis play Downtown’s most ornate venue.

Nov. 9, 8 p.m.: Old school educated punkers Bad Religion will play to the faithful.

Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6030 or nokiatheatrelalive.com.

Nov. 6, 3:15 p.m.: For a mere hundred dollars (1,342.48 pesos), you can enjoy what we assume to be an awards show called Premios de la Radio. El Komander will be performing.

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

Nov. 7, 8 p.m.: South Korean singer Insooni once played Carnegie Hall. Another time she delivered a surprise show on the Seoul subway. This Orpheum date will be something in between the two.

Nov. 8, 8 p.m.: French singer Patrick Bruel is sadly no relation to Dr. Steve Brule.

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

Nov. 3: Memory Boys, Half Shadows and Gun Outfit.

Nov. 4: The Folks & Company and JQ & The Revue.

Nov. 6: Thursday Night Booty.

Nov. 7: Lilith Velkor, Hot Mustard, Radio Mason and the McNaughstys.

Nov. 8: Frantic Rockers, Los Apaches and El Nova.

Nov. 9: Steel Cranes and Skates.

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

Nov. 7, 7 p.m. and Nov. 8, 8 p.m.: Welcome to Downtown, Regent! We’re pleased that you’re bringing Yacht and Conner Mockasin to the stage in a two-night affair you’ve named the Downtown Festival.

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

Nov. 3, 10 p.m.: Short of summoning the spirit of Satchmo (which we always recommend), the Ron King Quartet is the best trumpet-based jazz you’ll hear in L.A. tonight.

Nov. 4, 10 p.m.: The Makers are only now coming down off of their Halloween sugar high.

Nov. 5, 10 p.m.: Rick Taub’s Midnight Blues Review recapitulates a century of grand music.

Nov. 6, 10 p.m.: The Johnny Stachella Band has a name perfectly primed for Movember and its copious mustaches.

Nov. 9, 10 p.m.: Are the California Feetwarmers a Dixieland jazz band or a subtle sales pitch for the new Volvo SUV? Staples Center 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7326 or staplescenter.com.

Nov. 7, 8 p.m.: God is a Korean band-name acronym that stands for Groove Over Dose.

They’re playing Staples Center.

The Smell 247 S. Main St. in the alley between Spring and Main or thesmell.org.

Nov. 6: Michel Vidal, R.L. Kelly and Soma.

Nov. 7: DEBT, Brannigan’s Law, Losing End and Sheer.

Nov. 8: Foxworthy, Dangers and No Sir.

FILM Downtown Independent 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com.

See website for details IMAX California Science Center, 700 State Drive, (213) 744-2019 or californiasciencecenter.org.

Island of Lemurs: Madagascar 3D is an eye-popping journey full of, you guessed it, lemurs.

Continued on next page

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$19,998 2008 Jeep Wrangler .............................. $20,998 Silver/Gray, Only 45k miles. F15455-1/515341 2012 Ford Flex ........................................ $22,998 Gray/Gray. F15606-1/D09480 2014 Kia Sedona ....................................

Silver/Gray. UC1569R/541252

329

$

per month for 36 mos

Plus tax, 36 Month closed end lease on approved credit through Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. $2,499 CAP reduction, $795 acquisition fee. Excludes title, taxes, registration, license fees, insurance, dealer prep and additional options No security deposit required. 25¢ per mile in excess of 30,000 miles. Offer good on all with MSRP $33,925.

$30,480 2009 Mercedes CLS550 ......................... $34,981 Certified, Prem. Pkg. 1, Nav. Syst. 142856-1/154528 2012 Mercedes E350 .............................. $36,891 Certified, Prem. Pkg. 1, Low Miles! 7823C/565979 AUDI OF DOWNTOWN L.A. 2012 Mercedes GLK350 ........................

Certified, Low Miles, Must See! 7790C/876430

888-583-0981 1900 S. FIGUEROA ST. • AUDIDTLA.COM

NEW ’14 AUDI A4 2.0T

LEASE FOR ONLY

315

per month for 36 mos

Plus tax. Close end lease. Above average approved credit. Payment net of $1000 Nissan Lease Rebate and $500 Customer Bonus Cash. $2999 cash down. No security deposit. 12k miles per year, 36k total miles- 15 cents per mile after. Subject to availability. Charges for excess wear and tear. Not all lessees may qualify, Higher lease rates apply for lessees with lower credit ratings. Offer expires 11/9/14.

1 at this price. (EZ369787/F15594)

LEASE FOR ONLY

per month for 24 mos

Automatic. $2,999 due at signing. Excludes TDI Clean Diesel® and Hybrid models. MSRP $19,085 (includ (including destination charges), amount due at signing excludes title, tax, options, $625 acquisition fee and dealer fees. Residual $11,832.70. At lease end lessees responsible for $0.20/mile over 20,000 miles and excessive wear and tear. 0%APR for 60 mos. 1 at this price. VIN EM322690. Offer ends 11/9/2014

$

888-319-8762 1801 S. FIGUEROA ST. • MBZLA.COM

$

per month for 42 mos

Plus tax 42 month closed end lease on approved credit. $2199 down, plus first month payment, tax, title, licensing fees and $695 bank acquisition fee.$0 Sec. Dep. Must qualify for the Audi Loyalty or Audi Acquisition Rebate of $1,000. $0.25 per miles over 10,000 miles/year. 1 at this offer EN022577.

$23,995 2010 Cadillac SRX SUV .......................... $26,703 Bronze, Low Miles! Reduced! ZA10815-1/608818 2013 Audi Q5 2.0T SUV ......................... $36,995 Certified, Silver/Black. ZA10808/064686 PORSCHE OF DOWNTOWN L.A. 2011 Audi A4 2.0T Prem. Front Trak ...

Meteor Gray/Black, Sports Pkg., Blue Tooth. A150039D1-1/045947

888-685-5426 1900 S. FIGUEROA ST. • PORSCHEDOWNTOWNLA.COM

NEW ’14 PANAMERA 4S Executive LEASE FOR ONLY

1,299

$

per month for 36 mos

10k miles per year, P14802/064132, residual $73,097.60, 1 at this price. Down payment excludes tax, dmv fees, $895 Bank Acquisition fee, first payment and document fees. Rates based on approved Tier 1 credit through Porsche Financial Services.

$67,988 2013 Cayenne S Demo ........................... $70,988 Silver/Blk, Nav, XM, Prem, Pkg., PASM, Pk. 5k miles (DLA85183) NEW 2013 Panamera Turbo S ............

White/Black, Over $40k off MSRP, Burmester, Cruise. (DL090469) $143,988 2012 Cayenne S Hybrid Demo .............

Silver/Blk, Nav, XM, Prem, Pkg, Bose Pkg. 4k miles (CLA92041)

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

22 Downtown News Continued from previous page Forces of Nature promises a panoply of nature’s worst destruction.

Flight of the Butterflies is visually stunning.

Experience the gripping story full of hope, crushing disappointment and triumph in Hubble 3D. Regal Cinemas LA Live 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 763-6070 or lalive.com/ movies.

Through Nov. 6: Interstellar (11:30 a.m., 3:10, 7, 10 and 10:50 p.m.); Before I Go to Sleep (11:40 a.m., 2:20, 4:50, 7:10 and 9:40 p.m.); Nightcrawler (11:20 a.m., 1:20, 2:10, 4:20, 5:10, 7:20, 8:10,

10:30 and 11:10 p.m.); Saw 10th Anniversary (11:50 a.m., 2:40, 5:30, 8:20 and 11 p.m.); John Wick (12:20, 2:50, 5:20, 8 and 10:40 p.m.); Ouija (1, 3:20, 5:50, 7:50 and 10:20 p.m.); The Book of Life 3D (12 and 5 p.m.); The Book of Life (2:30, 7:30 and 10 p.m.); Dear White People (12:40, 3:40, 6:40 and 9:20 p.m.); Fury (12:50, 1:30, 4, 4:40, 7:40, 8:30 and 10:50 p.m.); Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (11:25 a.m., 1:40, 3:50, 6:30 and 9 p.m.); Dracula Untold (11:35 a.m., 1:50, 4:10, 6:50 and

LAST WEEKS ANSWERS

S I N C E 19 7 2

ople@downtownnews.com twitter: DowntownNews

9:10 p.m.); Gone Girl (11:55 a.m., 3:10, 6:20 and 9:50 p.m.).

THEATER, OPERA & DANCE Arguendo REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org.

Nov. 6-7, 8:30 p.m., Nov. 8, 3 and 8:30 p.m. and Nov. 9, 3 p.m.: The irreverent and incisive Elevator Repair Service returns

Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie stAFF writErs: Donna Evans, Eddie Kim coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer, Kristin Friedrich, Kylie Jane Wakefield Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Yoji Cole, Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

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

twitter: DowntownNews ©2014 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

ne Holloway n, Catherine Holloway

Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin

Gustavo Bonilla

ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie stAFF writErs: Donna Evans, Eddie Kim coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer, Kristin Friedrich, Kylie Jane Wakefield

News is a trademark of Civic Center

spaper for Downtown Los Angeles and residences of Downtown Los

Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Yoji Cole, Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin

72

wn News geles, CA 90026 : 213-250-4617 eople@downtownnews.com twitter: DowntownNews

ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie stAFF writErs: Donna Evans, Eddie Kim coNtributiNG Editor: Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jeff Favre, Greg Fischer, Kristin Friedrich, Kylie Jane Wakefield

to Los Angeles to skewer American jurisprudence with a tale of go-go dancers and the Supreme Court.

Bob Baker’s Halloween Hoop-de-Doo Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W. First St., (213) 2509995 or bobbakermarionettes.com.

Nov. 8-9, 11:30 a.m. The veil is lifted as Downtown’s premier puppeteer dances his wooden minions through a celebration of the great and ghoulish Halloween. *For those not in the know, famed puppeteer Bob Baker’s health has declined. While productions continue, Bob is currently in hospice care. His friends and family have reached out to help cover the costs involved. Those wishing to make a donation can do so at gofundme.com/fwza8k.

MORE LISTINGS

facebook: L.A. Downtown News

AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt

scher, Kristin Friedrich,

November 3, 2014

S I N C E 19 7 2 Los Angeles Downtown News 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 web: DowntownNews.com email: realpeople@downtownnews.com facebook: L.A. Downtown News twitter: DowntownNews ©2014 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.

AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Yoji Cole, Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway sAlEs AssistANt: Claudia Hernandez circulAtioN: Danielle Salmon distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla

Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins

©2014 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.

PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard

One copy per person.

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.

November 3, 2014

DT

CLASSIFIEDS

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.

EMPLOYMENT

REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL

General

SERVICES

psyChotherapy Life Coach in DTLA Reasonable Rates Real Results Mark Bollinger 909-802-4594

notary

lofts for sale

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Bill Cooper

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AUTOS & RECREATIONAL

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old Bank District The original Live/Work Lofts from $1,295 Cafes, Bars, Shops, Galleries, Parking adjacent. Pets no charge Call 213.253.4777 LAloft.com

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Over 1000 vehicles on Sale Now!

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Nearly Every Make & Model

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Visit us online

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Rene: 213.304.7004 $3,650/mo.

dtlamotors.com

rene@vaughanbenz.com

is your teen experiencing • School problems?

• Conflict at home or with friends? adolescent support group now forming ages 13-17 low fee

Get your Green Card or CitiZenship Law Office of H. Douglas Daniel Esq., (213) 689-1710

home improvement RUBEN GARCIA: Experienced painter of interiors and exteriors.

Does very good work. Reasonable prices. Call for a quote 323 - 622- 9583.

fiCtitioUs BUsiness name Fictitious Business name statement File no. 2014248769 The following person is doing business as: 1) KOSHA DESIGNS GIRDLES, CURTAINS, AND FINE LINEN 2) WHAT’S YOUR FUNCTION? CHAPTER 2 PROMOTING JOY, PEACE, PROSPERTIY, AND BE IN GOOD HEALTH, 5647 ADOBE RD #57, TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, 92277, are hereby registered by the following registrant: SHASHATIA GUTHRIDGE, 5647 ADOBE RD #57, TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, 92277, This business is conducted by an individual. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 09/03/2014.

This statement was filed with

poliCe permit notice oF aPPlication FoR Police PeRmit Notice is hereby given that application has been made to the Board of Police Commissioners for a permit to conduct a MASSAGE BUSINESS NAME OF APPLICANT: OPUN LLC DOING BUSINESS AS: New Nuch Royal Thai Spa LOCATED AT: 5300 Hollywood Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Any person desiring to protest the issuance of this permit shall make a written protest before November 24, 2014 to the: LOS ANGELES POLICE COMMISSION 100 West First Street Los Angeles, CA 90012

Upon receipt of written protests, protesting persons will be notified of date, time and place for hearing.

BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS Pub. 11/03, 11/10/2014

the LOFT expert!

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Downtown since 2002

Bill Cooper 213.598.7555 TheLoftExpertGroup.com

Bill Cooper 213.598.7555

TheLoftExpertGroup.com BRE #01309009

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sat., Nov. 8 & sun., Nov. 9 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

lots of great items: exercise machine, toys, clothes, home decor and more!

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Immigration, Criminal, Accidents.

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• CPR AED, First Aid Certified • Mobile Services • Quick Claim Documents • Grant Deeds • Commission by the State of CA Call René Amaral for an Appointment 213.304.7004 or 323.276.6902

DEAN C. LOGAN, Los Angeles County Clerk, on September 03, 2014.

NOTICE—This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et. seq. Business and Professions Code).

Pub. 10/13, 10/20, 10/27, and 11/3/2014.

los Ranchos

apartments/UnfUrnished SENIOR APARTMENTS 62 + Studio $881 1 Bedroom $937.

Balcony, Full Kitchen, A/C, Clubhouse, BBQ, Resource room, Laundry, SEC 8 O.K. Visit GSL SAN LUCAS.com 213623-2010.

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• Beautiful view of Sandia mountains • Great for large homes • Alfafa field with irrigation

• 5 minutes from shopping • 9 miles from downtown Albuquerque • 8817 4th Street, NW

For appointment call alex sanchez 505.898.3934 or cell 505.362.6488 One of the few remaining property of this size in the North Valley

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________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

Restrictions: Offer good on private party ads only. Ads must be pre-paid by cash, check or credit card. Certain classifications excluded. Deadline: Thursday at noon for next issue.

TWITTER: @ DOWNTOWNNEWS

24 Downtown News

November 3, 2014

MOLINA, 5

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

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

Apartment Amenities: ~ Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave & Dishwasher (most units) ~ 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

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RESIDENCES: SINGLES • STUDIO • ONE BEDROOM • TWO BEDROOM

the terms haven’t been released, though local officials have said the city did not pay out any money. (Whether Huizar personally paid is unknown.) Still, the incumbent put the city in the legal soup by having an affair with an underling, and that’s the type of thing that gets blasted on campaign mailers.

Molina says she has a lot of respect for Huizar’s wife, Richelle, and doesn’t want to use the Godoy issue during the campaign. Still, she notes that her consultant has advised her not to rule it out. Going negative, she says, will depend on what his campaign does.

Besides, she expects Huizar will offer up enough opportunities on his own.

“He is his own worst enemy,” she says, and she’s probably being prescient again.

Mayoral Dreams?

Molina knows she can’t equal Huizar’s war chest. Still, she believes she can raise enough money to be competitive in the race, which builds up to a March primary (a May runoff would take place if no one gets more than 50% of the vote).

There’s ample speculation that this isn’t the only race on her agenda, that Molina actually wants to be mayor. The model is Antonio Villaraigosa, who won the 14th District seat in 2003, then trampolined to the mayor’s office two years later.

“I would be a very good mayor, but I don’t have the ability to get elected,” Molina remarks, saying she couldn’t raise the money needed to compete in a citywide campaign.

I tell her I don’t buy it, that her decades in office and her connections provide her access to plenty of cash. She sticks to her statement, saying citywide elections are about special interests, that labor and other sectors won’t give her the millions required.

I press the matter. She presses back.

“Would I love to be mayor? Absolutely,” she says. “Can I get elected? No.” Whether she means what she says remains to be seen, but the approach is undeniably savvy. It means she doesn’t have to pull a Villaraigosa, who during his council run promised voters he would serve a full term, then lied and ran for mayor. Instead, it leaves open the door for Molina to beat Huizar, then to say that a groundswell of Angelenos want her to be mayor.

But first she has to get by Huizar, which is a tall task. In addition to the cash and the PAC, Huizar has the backing of players including Council President Herb Wesson. He also has his campaign machinery in place, having delivered resounding council race wins in 2005 (a special election to fill Villaraigosa’s open seat), 2007 and 2011.

Molina has a committed base of longtime supporters, and her strategy involves looking at both big issues and neighborhood nitty gritty. She says that even as Downtown booms, not enough people are discussing affordable housing and parking.

Infrastructure is another key topic. She doesn’t dismiss a Huizar pet project, the Downtown streetcar, but she doesn’t laud the work on it, either.

“I’ve watched it from afar and not understood it,” she says. “It surely is lacking in leadership.”

Molina will get plenty of opportunity to make her case in the next four months. She expects to attend numerous neighborhood coffee sessions. She hopes to have precinct walkers, but says she wants them to be unpaid volunteers, not hired guns.

She again references not being able to equal Huizar’s money, but thinks she can spend her campaign cash effectively.

“I think people are interested in talking,” Molina says. “I’m going to try. It’s not a slam dunk for either of us.”

No matter what happens in March, there’s always purple hair dye. regardie@downtownnews.com

AROUND TOWN, 2 ing how open the community is, I think it’s time for a gay bar to be here,” Alpuche said. “We want to make it into a community meeting space, too.” Redline would have a dance floor in addition to tables, and it would offer a food menu. The bar would initially be open from 5 p.m.-2 a.m. daily, then extend hours on the weekend for brunch. Alpuche said they hope to open Redline by the end of January. It is not the only gay bar planned for Downtown: A project at Fourth Street and Broadway, dubbed Precinct, was announced in April. No timeline has been revealed for that bar.