LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS
Big Business Players 4
INSIDE
Policing issues for Downtown’s finest.
7
Eyesores in the community.
8
The politicians who will make things move.
10
Redford fever and other illnesses.
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All the People, Places and Projects That Will Shape Downtown This Year
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sk almost anyone in Downtown Los Angeles to name the big issue of the year, and they’ll say the economy. It’s not a surprising answer, as this community, along with almost every other one in the United States, is suffering due to the recession. At the same time, the financial situation has not curtailed the evolution of an area that is
18 CALENDAR LISTINGS 20 MAP 21 CLASSIFIEDS
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up with the 90 people, projects and events that every Downtowner needs to know. They range from the elections that will affect area residents and workers (page 10) to the policing issues that will impact life on the streets (page 7) to the museum exhibits people will buzz about (page 15). Yeah, the economy will dominate, but there will be a lot more to focus on in 2009.
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And a Rail Line to East L.A. by AnnA Scott StAff writer
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ne of the biggest stories of 2009 will be the economy, and some of the signature projects Downtown Los Angeles has long awaited — the Grand Avenue plan, Park Fifth, etc. — are in question. Yet, despite the fears and uncertainties, the community this year will see the debut of several mega-developments, ones that began construction during the boom cycle and that have the power to continue to help transform the area. From skyscrapers that will house more stakeholders to an underground transit line that will make commuting into the Central City easier, these projects will all have a major impact on the people who live, work and visit Downtown.
Calling All Cops: Crews continue to work on the 10-story, glass-fronted principal structure of the new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, which stands south of City Hall. Scheduled for completion in October, the project’s ballooning, $440 million cost has drawn sharp criticism from many and an audit from City Controller Laura Chick. Still, it’s a much-needed replacement for the earthquake-damaged, 54-year-old Parker Center, and will be a state-of-the-art facility for the LAPD as well as a crowning achievement for Police Chief William Bratton. The main building will house office space for nearly 2,400 workers and will feature an auditorium and a one-acre lawn. The see Mega Projects, page 10
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photo by Gary Leonard
In the fall, the $232 million High School for the Visual and Performing Arts will open. LAUSD officials still have to hire a staff and decide who will be able to attend the state-of-the-art facility.
Dance to theinMusic
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Downtown’s 2009 Concert Calendar Is Packed With Big Shows by richArd Guzmán
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in the midst of transforming from a business hub to a 24-hour neighborhood. There are still cranes in the sky, people on the streets and an increasing number of entertainment and dining options. In anticipation of the next 12 months, Los Angeles Downtown News has detailed 18 key categories and identified five things in each to come
Ready for a Mega Year In 2009, Downtown Will Welcome Huge in Headquarters Projects Including O9a Police
city editor
Some big museum shows are coming.
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Looking at the big housing projects that will arrive in the next 12 months.
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Five projects we’re still waiting for.
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Soured housing, MOCA’s new direction and more news that will dominate ‘09.
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
January 5, 2009
Volume 38, Number 1
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hose looking to take in some live music this year will have no problem finding concerts in Downtown Los Angeles. Whether you like to rock out, get down to Latin sounds or you’ve got a taste for classical strains, there is something for you, from South Park to Bunker Hill. Here are five concerts to look forward to in 2009.
the ladies love Bret Michaels so much they fight over him season after season on the “Rock of Love” reality show. Those who want to see the former Poison frontman in all his musical and visual glory, without having to throw themselves at him on national TV, can do so at Club Nokia when he performs hits such as “Talk Dirty to Me” and “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” on April 24.
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Love of Rock: With his long blond hair, colorful rocking style and musical talent to spare (or is it spare musical talent?), it’s no wonder
Conga Beats: It’s fitting that one of the greatest congueros (conga players) of all time will hook up with the Conga Room at L.A. Live. On Feb. 13, Poncho Sanchez, the Texas-born see Concerts in ’09, page 15
photo by Gary Leonard
Britney Spears lit the Christmas tree at L.A. Live in December. On April 16-17, she crosses the street to play two shows at staples Center.
Since 1972, an independent, locally owned and edited newspaper, go figure.
2 Downtown News
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com
AROUNDTOWN Alleged Jewelry Thief Pleads Not Guilty
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ormer Jewelry District salesman Oren Shachar pleaded not guilty in Superior Court on Friday, Dec. 19, to five felony counts of grand theft, forgery and writing checks with insufficient funds. The charges were filed by District Attorney Steve Cooley’s office last September. The case, which involves three alleged victims, including one with a business Downtown, is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on Jan. 15. In a prior case, Shachar was charged with 36 counts of grand theft and providing checks with insufficient funds. For that case, Deputy District Attorney Eugene Hanrahan has filed a motion asking that Shachar be ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution to 16 alleged victims or withdraw a plea bargain struck in April. As part of that the deal, Shachar pled guilty to three counts of grand theft and one count of assault and agreed to five years probation and one year in county jail, which he is currently serving. He was also ordered to pay full restitution to all 16 victims. The $500,000, a portion of the full amount, needs to be paid before Shachar’s sentence expires in February. Also on Jan. 15, a judge is expected to rule on Hanrahan’s motion. In court documents, Hanrahan has claimed that at least $2 million in diamonds and jewelry allegedly stolen by Shachar is still missing.
TAP Into the Future
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or the thousands or people who rely on public transportation in the city, getting around town via Metro may be a lot easier and faster this week. The transit organization has launched the electronic Transit Access Pass, a reusable payment “smart� card. The
system, which went into effect Jan. 1, is a rechargeable card that will eventually replace weekly and monthly paper passes. Users can pay and the TAP card can be refilled via the Internet and at ticket vending machines in Metro Rail stations. Cards can also be automatically loaded each month. This month, more than 400 retail outlets and Metro Service Centers are selling the electronic TAP cards. Cash will continue to be accepted on both bus and rail lines.
Skid Row Park Gets New Hoops Court
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ver the past three years, the Gladys Park basketball court in Skid Row has emerged as a sort of social epicenter in the community, and is home to the Skid Row 3on3 Streetball league, which is organized by a small team of community activists. It is also host to frequent pickup games. The facility had long consisted of two blacktop, side-byside half-courts. Now, thanks to an effort by Nike and the LA84 Foundation, the park has a full-length court that was finished on Dec. 20. “This is one of 84 facilities that Nike and the LA84 Foundation have committed to improving in Los Angeles for the benefit of the community, particularly young people,� said Patrick Escobar, the foundation’s vice president for grants and programs. Escobar said the foundation and Nike spent about $17,000 on the court, the surface of which is made from recycled rubber shoes. The court is part of a larger city Department of Recreation and Parks renovation project that, starting in midJanuary, will add bleachers, new tables, shade structures and an automated public toilet to the park. As for the new court, “We want it to
photo by Gary Leonard
Officials including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Metro’s Jane Matsumoto last month gave a sneak peek of the new TAP program, a rechargeable “smart� card that Metro riders will be able to load up and use on bus and rail lines. Service began this week. See item this page.
be a hotspot for basketball players all around L.A.,� said General Jeff, a Skid Row activist and member of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council who helped organize the project. “The court is actually a Christmas present to Skid Row that gives hope to our community.�
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company Modernica, which owns the properties, uses about half of the 72,833-squarefoot complex as production and showroom space. The other half is occupied by livework spaces. As to why Modernica decided to sell, broker Tom Williams of the Heger Company, which is handling the sale, said the company needs more space. Modernica has not finalized its relocation plans, Williams said, but expects to remain within Downtown. “Ideally, we’d like to find someone that will keep the artists-in-residence in place and develop the balance of the property as more units,� said Williams. The complex is in the southern part of the newly expanded Arts District.
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News Blues It’s a Year of Challenge in Downtown, From Homelessness To an Art Museum by AnnA Scott StAff writer
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Downtown News 3
SearchDowntownLA.com In 2009, expect more groundbreaking and building delays, as financing, from capital investment to construction loans, remains nearly frozen. However, some economic experts are predicting that things could improve late in the year. The Art of Trouble: In late 2008, the embattled Museum of Contemporary Art faced a choice: accept a bailout from philanthropist Eli Broad and the responsibility of raising significant additional funds to stay afloat, or potentially forfeit some autonomy and merge with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. On. Dec. 23, the museum announced it had chosen the former, and that UCLA Chancellor Emeritus Charles Young would become chief executive of the museum, and that Director Jeremy Strick was gone. Young will face a huge challenge in slashing the museum’s budget from more than $20 million to a reported $13 million-$16 million. He’ll also have to help repair the museum’s shattered reputation. Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
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n the heels of a tumultuous 2008, this year is not likely to bring calm to Downtown Los Angeles. There will be good news, including the opening of several housing complexes and restaurants, and a bright future for the local convention industry, thanks largely to the under-construction Convention Center hotel at L.A. Live. But the dominant story of the year looks to be the still-suffering economy — its impact will be felt in many of the pivotal issues Downtown faces in 2009.
photo by Gary Leonard
Although the number of people sleeping on the streets of Downtown decreased in the past two years, the sour economy has led to increasing homelessness, and Skid Row could be heavily hit in 2009.
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Grand Delays: The Related Cos.’ $3 billion Grand Avenue plan has been one of Downtown’s most anticipated developments for years. Now, 2009 will prove critical for the proposed Bunker Hill mixed-use project that has already suffered multiple construction delays. If Related does not break ground by Feb. 15, the company will have to pay the city-county agency overseeing the project $250,000 each month until construction begins. Although Related has secured hundreds of millions of dollars from investors, credit markets remain in a bind, making prospects for obtaining the necessary $700 million construction loan uncertain.
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Charles Young (right), the new chief executive of the Museum of Contemporary Art, with philanthropist Eli Broad at the Dec. 23 press conference announcing Young’s hiring and the MOCA board’s acceptance of Broad’s bailout offer.
Mixed Up: The debate over how to create more affordable housing throughout the city is set to blow up in 2009. Last year, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called for the creation of the Mixed-Income Housing Ordinance, which would require nearly all new developments citywide to include some affordable units. The proposal is now weaving its way through City Council committees, but this year expect the business community to come out with guns blazing in the effort to kill it or to build in some serious incentives. On the Streets: In 2008, Skid Row area shelters and other service providers reported a dramatic increase in the number of families coming through their doors. With foreclosures and layoffs continuing to drive more people into poverty, experts say last year’s trend is likely to continue in 2009. After years of apparent progress in reducing homelessness in Downtown, the next 12 months will prove critical, and there will be increased calls on the city and county to help. Making matters worse, last year charitable giving to many Skid Row nonprofits tumbled, and it’s expected to be the same in 2009. Building Slowdown: Last year Downtown saw several developments delayed by financial difficulties and the choked credit market: the Grand Avenue project, the Park Fifth skyscraper and Meruelo Maddux’s under-construction 717 Ninth tower, among others (though 717 Ninth did resume construction).
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4 Downtown News
Righting the Ship
2006, Gary Toebben’s role has been to champion initiatives that contribute to the economic prosperity of the region. Toebben will have to push the interests of the business community this year at City Hall and in Sacramento. That means a lot of legislators to woo.
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in O9 Five Downtown Business Leaders to Watch by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
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fter a tough economic year in 2008, it looks like 2009 won’t be much better. That poses major challenges for the thousands of business people who work in Downtown. While every entrepreneur or captain of industry has numerous hurdles to get over, how the five figures below act could impact many in the Central City. Meruelo in the Middle: Richard Meruelo, the Downtown industrial real estate titan, had an eventful 2008. The coming year should be just as interesting, as Meruelo Maddux Properties’ 717 Ninth project — Downtown’s would-be tallest purely residential tower — is slated to open in the fall. Decreasing average rents will be a major challenge for the already cash-strapped company, which leases millions of square feet to produce businesses and other industrial users. The stock has been sagging, and some wonder if Meruelo will be forced to sell off some of his properties this year.
Maguire Rising?: Last May, Robert F. Maguire, who is somewhat of a legend in Downtown business circles, was ousted by the Maguire Properties board and replaced by Nelson Rising, another business figure to whom the word “legend” can be reasonably applied. In 2009, Rising has his work cut out for him in trying to bring the company back to form and raising its beatendown stock price. The Downtown-based real estate investment trust has talked about selling some of its buildings to raise cash, though Rising last year said the Downtown towers would remain in its portfolio. But if the dire economy persists, will he be able to maintain that position?
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Chamber of Support: In 2009, numerous businesses will be looking for a helping hand, and many of them will turn to the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. As president and CEO of the City West-based group since
American Success: Issue No. 1: Three months after Downtown-based American Apparel staged a press conference to tout its 2,500 employees hired in Southern California in 2008, the company announced it had laid off several hundred workers. Issue No. 2: In 2009, colorful and controversial company chief executive Dov Charney will, once again, be defending himself against at least one lawsuit filed by a former employee. Issue #3: While the company is known for its pink, 800,000-squarefoot headquarters at 747 Warehouse St. (the building is owned by Meruelo Maddux), Charney could look to take advantage of falling rental rates in Downtown Los Angeles. In other words, this could be a huge year for the maker of hip T-shirts and undergarments which proudly boasts that its goods are “Made in Downtown L.A.” Stayin’ Alive: It’s going to be a busy year for Lisa Herzlich, the general manager of AEG’s $2.5 billion L.A. Live. The sports and entertainment complex is like a mini-city within
Five Downtowners Guaranteed to Influence the Apparel Scene in 2009 by anna scott staff wRiteR
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owntown has long been known as a hub for business, with its hundreds of law offices, skyscrapers and massive 9-to-5 population. But one sector that has gained momentum in recent years is the fashion industry. The community is increasingly having an impact on worldwide trends. Here are five local figures whose fashionable focus in 2009 will extend well beyond Downtown Los Angeles.
photo by Gary Leonard
The fashion world has been coming to Downtown in recent years to check out designers’ debuts. The year’s biggest fashion event will likely be Reveal Los Angeles, a five-day extravaganza that opens Oct. 16 at the California Market Center.
Pretty as a Rose: With her headquarters on Broadway and a showroom in the Fashion District’s Cooper Design Space, Rozae Nichols is one of Downtown’s most prestigious designers. Known for bold contrasts, her most recent fall collection included flowing floral dresses and a women’s business suit with trendily cropped pants. This year, with recently appointed CEO and industry veteran Per Inglander at the helm of R’Novate, parent company to Nichols’ eponymous line and more casual RN Convertible collections, the designer looks poised to become even more of a name brand. Her clothes, found in stores including Barney’s and Neiman Marcus, are sold internationally but produced mostly in Los Angeles, with an emphasis on fair labor practices.
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All in the Family: Real estate investment giant Jamison Properties, Inc., headed by the media-shy internist Dr. David Lee, surprised many when it purchased the 3 million-squarefoot California Market Center in 2004 and began a series of renovations. Now Dr. Lee’s daughter Jaime, in her early 20s, serves as CMC president, overseeing the building with more than 1,000 wholesale showrooms. Though Jaime Lee has kept a low profile in the past, she will no doubt become more visible this year as the CMC continues its ongoing makeover. Lee will face a particular challenge when Reveal Los Angeles, a five-day, fashion-oriented event centered around exhibitions and shows at the CMC, comes Downtown on Oct. 16.
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South Park. But the project didn’t exactly open in the best of times, and Herzlich will have to ensure that the crowds continue to come to the mega-development. Its first year of operations will come amid a national recession when people are spending less. Herzlich’s challenge will be to sustain the energy around L.A. Live once the grand opening hoopla subsides, and then make sure that it works as designed. Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.
photo by Gary Leonard
Nelson Rising, who took over as head of Maguire Properties last May, will continue to try to help turn around the company. Its Downtown holdings include U.S. Bank Tower.
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Fashionable Business
bY BY
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com
A Sparkling Success: Jewelry and accessories designer Tarina Tarantino has maintained a Downtown showroom for years. Now, she is in the early stage of renovating a Broadway structure to serve as the headquarters for Tarina Tarantino Designs. In the meantime, Tarantino’s colorful accessories, which include everything from limited-edition, Wizard of Oz-themed necklaces to animal-print handbags, will no doubt continue to appear on celebrities such as Heidi Klum and Katy Perry and in her Melrose Avenue, New York and Milan retail stores. Exclusive Style: Designer Robert Rodriguez is known for detailoriented pieces like meticulous hand-beaded tops, tailored pants and cashmere sweaters. Rodriguez, whose showroom and production facilities are in the Cooper Design Space, is also known for outfitting the likes of Angelina Jolie and Oprah Winfrey, and late last year debuted a collection of eveningwear for the holiday season. Expect Rodriguez’s presence to expand further at stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s in 2009, with the creations coming from Downtown. Brady’s Bunch: The biannual L.A. Fashion Week and its flagship event, a series of Mercedes-Benz sponsored runway shows, ditched Downtown for Culver City in 2004. In 2007, local activist Brady Westwater and two partners launched a set of competing local runway shows titled Downtown Fashion Week, which continued in 2008 and have been part of a major push to bring Fashion Week back to the community. Last year, L.A. Fashion Week organizers announced that 2008 would be the final year that the Mercedes-Benz event would take place in Culver City. Entering 2009, and bolstered by the upcoming Reveal Los Angeles event in October, Westwater and his team have more of an opportunity than ever to steal the spotlight. Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
January 5, 2009
Downtown News 5
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New Projects in the Block O9 on
The Downtown Residential Revolution Continues in 2009 by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
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any people are understandably worried about the future of the residential market in Downtown Los Angeles, as they wonder how the community will fare in several years following the current construction slowdown. But almost overlooked amid that concern is the immediate future, and in 2009, Downtown will see the arrival of some significant new housing structures. From upscale lofts to historic conversions to the creation of additional low-income housing, thousands more people will be calling Downtown home in 2009.
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Towering Tower: Downtown’s tallest purely residential tower, 717 Ninth, is scheduled to open in September. The 35-story project by Meruelo Maddux Properties would continue the residential growth in South Park, adding to the momentum created by the South Group and introducing more neighbors to L.A. Live. The $155 million development is designed by Mambo Architecture and has an aquatic theme complete with a glass curtain that resembles a wall of water. It will contain 214 apartments and a 6,800-square-foot restaurant. The project stalled early last year, then received a boost when it secured an $84 million construction loan.
four separate projects compromising the Block 8 plot in Little Tokyo, is scheduled to open in the spring. Located at Second and San Pedro streets, the luxury apartment building will include 230 units with a 20% affordable housing component. The project from developer Related Cos., with designs by Thomas P. Cox Architects, will not be short on amenities, with a rooftop deck, a club room, a street level promenade, a fitness center and a business lounge. It will be another important development for the historic community, adding hundreds of inhabitants to patronize the area’s many shops and restaurants. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
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Little Tokyo’s growing residential community will receive another 230 units in the spring when the San Pedro Apartments debuts. The project comes from Grand Avenue plan developer the Related Cos.
El Historic: Joining the batch of renovated properties in the Historic Core in 2009 will be El Dorado, a 12-story, 65unit project slated for completion in the first half of 2009. The long-running renovation of the 1913 building at 416 S. Spring St. is being undertaken by developer Downtown Properties, a firm headed by Goodwin Gaw. The El Dorado, coupled with the Rowan Building, a soon-to-open project at Fifth and Spring streets also being undertaken by Downtown Properties, would bring new life and hundreds of residents to the reviving portion of the city.
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One Sweet Barn: The former Spreckels Brothers sugar beet warehouse at 940 E. Second St., which is being turned into the Barn Lofts, will add 38 condominiums to an industrial area of the Arts District when it opens this summer. The 58,000-square-foot adaptive reuse project by developer Mark Borman will maintain the brick façade of the property, keeping the industrial look of the building while gutting the interior and adding units that range from 1,300-2,600 square feet. It will open as condominiums and add residential fuel to the area that recently received an Urth Caffe. New Life: The New Carver Apartments, a $35 million, 53,000-square-foot affordable housing project from Skid Row Housing Trust, will not only create 95 units of affordable housing, it will also be eye candy for Downtown. Completion is scheduled for July for the circular project at 325 W. 17th St. It is being designed by architect Michael Maltzan, who also designed the Rainbow Apartments in Skid Row, as well as numerous for-profit developments.
photo by Gary Leonard
The residential population in the Arts District is set to increase this summer when the Barn Lofts opens. The project will create 38 condominiums.
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6 Downtown News
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com
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in Breath Don’t Hold O9Your
Five Long, Long, Long-Awaited Projects to Watch in 2009 by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
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t’s always good to be optimistic when a new year comes around. No matter how many times you’ve been disappointed in the past. It’s with that hope that we look at five projects Downtown Los Angeles has long watched and anticipated. For various reasons, these have failed to get off the ground. Maybe, just maybe, things will change in 2009.
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Grounded Angels: Angels Flight, the short, historic railroad that once connected Bunker Hill to the Historic Core, has been closed since a fatal accident in February 2001, and several announced reopening dates have come and gone. So it seemed like a ray of hope on Nov. 1 when the rail line’s two cars, named Olivet and Sinai, were brought to Hill Street and lifted onto the track. Although no date was set then for when the railway could resume operations, Dennis Luna, chairman of the Angels Flight Railway Foundation, said he was hopeful it would open by early 2009. Thousands of Downtowners yearn for the rail line to resume operations — those are hard stairs to climb.
Resolving Retail in Lower Rates Could Fill Some O9
Take the Fifth: One of Downtown’s biggest dreams is the $1.3 billion Park Fifth project, slated for the block north of Pershing Square. But the most recent groundbreaking date of early 2009 is going the way of several past missed starts. Developer David Houk is currently seeking new investors to replace troubled partners Namco Capital Group and Africa Israel Investments. The project, if it ever gets going, would include a 76-story tower and a 44-story tower housing a hotel and condominiums, connected by a 15-story residential building, plus retail and restaurant space.
Rent Control: For years, many tenants at Olvera Street have paid below-market rate rents, with some large restaurants shelling out less than $1 a square foot for prime commercial spots in the city’s birthplace. But some city officials and El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument General Manager Continued on next page
Hill streets contains a 6,000-square-foot commercial space in the old bank building’s former grand lobby. There are hand-carved, ornate wooden ceilings and original marble columns. There’s also a basement space in the bank’s former vault that the owners imagine as a fancy lounge. The only thing missing for the Jewelry District space is a tenant. A deal last July to bring in a high-end restaurant and lounge soured. Meruelo Maddux has been trying to fill the space and is in negotiations with a restaurant chain, according to a company spokesman, but nothing has been announced.
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Turning Rite to Right: When Rite Aid closed its Seventh and Los Angeles streets location in November — at the Santee Village housing complex — it was a sign that the area may not yet have the residential critical mass to support a big pharmacy. Rite Aid, which still owns the lease, is now shopping the property for a sub-lease, said broker Derrick Moore, director of urban retail for CB Richard Ellis. “I believe it will be leased space in 2009,” Moore said. “It may not be one tenant in there. It could be a couple tenants, but I think there are some pretty good prospects for that space.” The Union, Forever or Never?: The ground floor of Meruelo Maddux Properties’ Union Lofts at Eighth and
National Vision: Shahriar and Shahram Afshani, the sibling development team behind the National City Tower lofts at 810 S. Spring St., own one of the more interesting slices of Downtown commercial space. At 7,000 square feet, it’s a big piece, and only one tenant, the Infusion Café, has signed a lease for space in the property at Main and Eighth streets. The developers envision it as a retail anchor that will serve as the bookend to Fourth and Main, and they also could woo clientele from the Fashion District. The Afshanis said they are looking at fashion designers and restaurants. photo by Gary Leonard
No Lime, Yes Wine: When Lime Café deserted its 2,100-square-foot space on the ground floor of the Security Building at 118 W. Fifth St. last July, was it the result of weak demand, a failed business concept or something else? The question could be answered in 2009, as chances are another entity will come along and give the spot, with its prime Historic Core location, a try. The former tenant is looking to sell the lease, which comes with an existing beer and wine license. Still a Blank Canvas: With its 204 residential units and hundreds of students going to school literally across the
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The ground floor of the Union Lofts has a 6,000-square-foot restaurant-ready space that remains empty.
street at the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, there should theoretically be a customer base to support appropriate businesses on the ground floor of the Canvas L.A. housing complex. After opening to residents in April, the development at First and Beaudry streets has yet to fill any of its 5,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space. But with lots of activity in City West — including more residential and more schools — there is huge potential. Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.
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or retailers looking for space Downtown in 2009, the muddied economy has at least one silver lining: the cheaper rates for commercial real estate mean there should be good deals aplenty. So even though a handful of businesses went dark in 2008, market experts expect some new entities to take a chance. Here are five Downtown retail spaces looking for an occupant in 2009.
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photo by Gary Leonard
In February, the Angels Flight funicular will have been closed for seven years. Although a railway official said operations could resume in early 2009, numerous reopening dates have been missed.
90 ‘09
Empty Stores in 2009 by Ryan VaillancouRt
Homeless Center Still Homeless: A series of ads touting the coming of Donald T. Sterling’s $50 million, 65,000-squarefoot homeless center in Skid Row have appeared in the Los Angeles Times from time to time. Back in 2007, the real estate tycoon and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers told Los Angeles Downtown News that he had acquired the land at 600 Wall St. and was moving forward with the project. However, Downtown officials and local homeless agencies have still heard little from Sterling about his plans. Now, with city leaders favoring decentralizing homeless services to take some of the burden off Skid Row, it looks like the Sterling Homeless Center may still not find a home in 2009.
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Billion Dollar Baby: One block north of L.A. Live, the proposed $1 billion mixeduse Metropolis would continue South Park’s development with hundreds of condominiums, three towers, a 480-room hotel and 46,000 square feet of retail space. Construction was supposed to start by the end of 2008 but, due to the economy, has been pushed back to 2009. Then again, the project has been in the works, in various incarnations, for approximately two decades. Thus, with the country in a recession, breaking ground in 2009 could be a lofty goal for developer IDS Real Estate Group. There’s always next year. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
They’ll Be Watching You in a Lot on Their Plate The PoliceO9 in 2009 Have
90 ‘09
by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
I
n 2009, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division, which patrols much of Downtown Los Angeles, has numerous challenges to tackle. That is not surprising considering the makeup of the area — it contains some of the city’s poorest residents, those who live on Skid Row, along with the thousands of people moving into upscale lofts who demand safe streets. The department’s officers will continue to have their work cut out for them throughout the year.
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Should I Stay or Should I Go?: LAPD Chief William Bratton has made it clear that he has no intention of leaving his job any time soon. But with his immense popularity and past successes in New York and Boston, he seems to be mentioned every time a high-profile public safety job opens up — in particular, his trips to visit with law enforcement agencies in London and his backing of President-elect Barack Obama have some speculating that Bratton will wind up in Scotland Yard or Washington, D.C. While he can’t stay here indefinitely (Bratton would be termed out in 2012), he’s got one major department milestone to look forward to this year, with the opening of the new police headquarters in Downtown in October. Nightclubs Versus Residents: Crash Mansion, the now shuttered but once popular Downtown nightclub, epitomized the bad venue/neighbor-
hood relationship, and it was shut down last year, following a homicide. Another club in the Historic Core, Versus, has also been temporarily shut down, though for permit issues. Now, the possibility of more new venues coming online has Central Division vice officers on alert about community relations between the clubs and the area’s many residents. Expect 2009 to be an important year for the coalescing of club goers who want to party all night and loft dwellers who need to get some sleep. Stop, Thief!: By mid-December, Downtown had seen a 6% increase in property crimes in 2008, thanks in part to a 14% rise in burglaries. Central Division officials attribute the trend mostly to the ongoing revitalization of Downtown and the increase in residents, shops and restaurants. More people Downtown means more opportunities for burglars, said Central Division Capt. Jodi Wakefield. Many of the burglaries, which included theft from vehicles, were avoidable, she said. “You can’t leave a laptop on your seat or a GPS unit in the dash,” Wakefield said. “You’ve got to stow them, or they become a target.” The department this year will be trying to teach residents how to take simple steps to lower crime. That’s Entertainment: Along with an average of 45,000 shoppers, diners and event goers every night, South Park’s mega-entertainment district, L.A. Live, could also bring an uptick in burglaries, bar fights or even terrorism. With that in mind, the Central Division recently devised a new entertainment detail exclusively to police the area that encompasses L.A. Live, Staples
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Continued from previous page Robert Andrade have said they want to bring the tenants’ rents up to par with the rest of the city, which could mean $2.50 a square foot or more — something the tenants have vigorously fought every time it has been proposed. Progress on updating the rents, some of which have not increased since 1987, is expected this year following a report commissioned by the city to determine what area rents should be. Then again, several past similar studies have gone nowhere.
8th Street
Downtown News 7
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LAPD Chief William Bratton is continually mentioned for other highprofile public safety jobs. Despite the attention, the chief says he is happy in L.A.
Center and the Convention Center. So far, the unit has had few problems, said Sgt. Kathy McAnany, who commands the 18-officer group. “Our primary goal is to ensure public safety and that the public has an enjoyable experience and that they want to come back,” she said. With hundreds of concerts and sporting events a year, the detail will rarely have an off night. Harassing Grass: When LAPD narcotics investigators discovered a major marijuana growing operation inside an Arts District loft in September, they may have indirectly made a larger discovery: The industrial spaces used as live/work lofts in the Arts District are, in many ways, ideal for illegal facilities. Discovering one such operation in 2008 was seen as a possible prelude for future marijuana-related investigations Downtown. “I foresee more and more of this happening,” said Det. Burt Feldtz at the time. “Because let’s just say that lofts are probably the best locations to have an indoor grow operation.” Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.
8 Downtown News
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com
90 ‘09
Eyesores in Everyone O9 for
Five Downtown Sites That Remain in Limbo StAff writer
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owntown has plenty of impressive high-rises, mega-developments and restored historic treasures. Yet the community is also speckled with a few blighted sites and buildings that, despite all the surrounding progress, never seem to move forward. The five eyesores below are some of the biggest problems in the community, and as 2009 arrives, many hope this is the year they will finally be transformed.
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Hotel Closed: The Bristol Hotel at 423 W. Eighth St. is a boarded-up, graffiti-scrawled edifice, its owner in legal limbo. This year, many in the surrounding neighborhood hope that owner Adolfo Suaya’s plan to sell the property will come to fruition after at least one false start in 2008. The building must serve as affordable housing if it reopens before 2015, and if the Bristol comes back to life in 2009, it will require a developer familiar with building low-income housing, one up to the challenge of transforming 103 tiny units while navigating historic issues. Sadly, it looks more likely that this will remain empty and ugly for another six years.
Justice Not Served: Plans to build a federal courthouse in the Civic Center were scrapped last year after costs soared to more than $1 billion, leaving a gaping hole in the ground at Broadway and First Street. Going into 2009, Ninth District Councilwoman Jan Perry has said she will inquire as to whether the city might be able to make use of the site. The federal General Services Administration also has the option of scaling back the project’s design and starting over, but has made no moves to do so yet. Curtain Down on Theatre: Since developers WSA Management and the Chetrit Group abandoned plans to transform the former Embassy Hotel and Theater at 851 S. Grand Ave. into an upscale hotel in 2007, the property has remained empty. While Downtown’s hotel industry has gotten a boost from the under-construction Convention Center hotel at L.A. Live, the credit market remains in a crunch, and any new plans for the old Embassy may have to wait for who knows how long. Not Quite Blossoming: Blossom Plaza, a proposed $170 million, mixed-use project, has had it groundbreaking delayed several times and seen its plans re-worked. The project, which would occupy the site of the shuttered Little Joe’s restaurant in Chinatown, has
Under O9thein Microscope
90 ‘09
Local Leaders Face Important Issues in 2009 by richArd Guzmán, AnnA Scott And
ryAn VAillAncourt o one said leadership is easy, especially when a group or agency is under serious scrutiny. In 2009, several Downtown Los Angeles figures will face some tough challenges. Whether that means helping fix an education system or addressing issues of public space, these five players will have to do their job while the citizenry and the media are watching closely.
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photo by Gary Leonard
A federal courthouse project at Broadway and First Street was abandoned last year. It leaves Downtown with a big hole to fill.
been in the pipeline for more than five years. While developer the Bond Companies said the project will break ground in the second half of this year, the community is for now still stuck with a dead corner at Broadway and College Street. Tagger’s Delight: There has been a lot of confusion between the county and the state over who owns a plot in the Civic Center next to City Hall that once held a state office building. As it happens, the state Department
of General Services is primarily responsible for the land, which fronts First Street and for years has sat as a graffiti-scrawled cement rectangle. Though there is less graffiti now than in years past, the future of the plot is unclear. The GSD has said it is studying potential options. Whatever the case, Downtown’s most iconic building, City Hall, sits right next to one of the ugliest pieces of land in the entire city. Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
photo by Gary Leonard
by AnnA Scott
Recreation and Parks Department General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri will be under intense scrutiny in 2009. Although the department has millions of dollars in fees dedicated to park creation, Mukri has yet to find sites for new Downtown green spaces.
dropouts. Cortines will have a honeymoon, but managing these and others crises will have him under intense scrutiny in 2009.
In the Spotlight: As the entity responsible for issuing film permits in Los Angeles, FilmL.A. frequently faces Downtown residents upset over production shoots they say disrupt life in the community. In 2009 Paul Audley, who became president of the nonprofit last year (and who lives Downtown), must balance the needs of area inhabitants and the studios and production houses that make a major impact to the economy by having Downtown shoots. Audley also School Daze: On Jan. 1, veteran education faces upcoming contract issues with the administrator Ramon Cortines became the city, as FilmL.A. will seek to maintain its Los Angeles Unified School District’s new role as the permitting entity. This all comes superintendent. Many believe Cortines, as the production industry is facing tough who had been leading the district’s times sales — on-location film and commercial of daymissing opportunities? to-day operations since April, will lead the productions experienced steep declines in got the solution. Juggling too many projects, deadlines and vendors? Let massive LAUSD in aWe’ve waymanage and style whichand re-ordering the third quarter. Then there’s that pesky PIP the in creation of all of your business communinow ousted Superintendent Brewer possible strike. cations. InDavid one location, your PIP consultants bring together all the resources you need, including: was never able. But even if Cortines is better • Printing • Signs, posters and banners • Copying • Digital printing prepared than anyone to take the job, he Take a Ride: Metropolitan Transportation • Graphic design • Online ordering nevertheless faces serious challenges. The Authority CEO Roger Snoble announced 700 Wilshire Blvd. district is facing a budget shortfall offax:up213-489-2897 to in December that he would retire after sevph: 213-489-2333 $400 million, and Cortinespiparco@sbcglobal.net has talked about en years. Whoever replaces Snoble will head layoffs. While test scores are improving, one of the nation’s largest public transporthe district still has a serious problem with tation agencies and will have to put the fin-
in 90 ‘09
Scared
ishing touches on a key Downtown project, present a plan to remedy the situation. He the Metro Gold Line extension to East Los also needs to finish a master plan for L.A.’s Angeles. A bigger challenge will be helping parks, in the works for more than a year. the MTA work with the funds created by Ninth District Councilwoman Jan Perry Measure R, a half cent sales tax approved has vowed to put pressure on Mukri to by voters that will raise $40 billion over 30 find new park sites, a particular challenge in years to pay for transportation improve- densely developed Downtown. ments. Of course, there’s a downside, as the new boss will have to deal with critiques Fashionable Dilemma: Fashion District about rising fares on buses andSPOTLIGHT will have to ONBusiness Improvement District Executive RESTAURANTS continue Metro’s green power initiatives, Director Kent Smith this year will need to which has resulted in more than 2,500 bus- integrate two separate BIDs. The original es powered by compressed natural gas. Fashion District BID will operate for the )HMXSVMEP JSV EHZIVXMWIVW MW next five years at about two-thirds of its forEZEMPEFPI MR XLMW WTIGMEP WIGXMSR Park Poor: Recreation and Parks Depart- mer size, while Smith faces an uphill battle ment General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri in getting approval of a second neighbor'EPP has serious challenges in 2009. Under pres- hood BID. Already, the smaller area, which FIND OUT WHAT TO EAT sure from city officials for poor tracking encompasses 16 blocks on the east side of AND WHERE TO EAT @ 1264 W. 1st St., LA, CA 90026 of the more than $120 Quimby (213)million 481-1448 in • FAX (213) 250-4617the main Fashion District, will see cleaning fees — charged to developers and desig- and other services LAD suspended for N atEWS least a LADowntownNews.com OWNTOWN .COM nated for park creation — Mukri has yet to month starting in January.
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Let’s Get Physical Downtown Residents Will Have Plenty of Ways To Stay Active in 2009
O9 in‘09 90
by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
C
Downtown News 9
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ouch potatoes beware — Downtown Los Angeles will be an active place in 2009. For those bored with the gym, the Central City this year will offer plenty of opportunities to get out and get physical. Whether it’s a brisk climb to the top of the tallest building in the West, a good ol’ game of dodgeball or a walk for a worthy cause, you’ll find it Downtown.
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Top of the World: With its motto “Elevators Are for Wimps,” the annual Stair Climb to the Top (ymcastairclimb.kintera.org), a fundraiser for the Ketchum Downtown YMCA, is not for the faint of heart or the weak of leg. The event, scheduled for Sept. 25, will bring more than 1,000 people to the base of U.S. Bank Tower, where the fittest will walk to the top of the 75-floor building. It takes most people 30-45 minutes to complete the 1,500-stair climb, though the record is 9 minutes 28 seconds. Last year, the event raised $240,194. Tag, You’re It: If you miss the days when you could run out to the schoolyard and get in a good game of tag, handball or even dodgeball, then you’re in for some fun. Downtowners can go back in time thanks to the Weekend Recess for Grown-Ups, organized by Extreme Boot Camp Downtown L.A. (extremebootcamp.com/downtown_ la/home.html). On select weekends, the Extreme Boot Camp crew will organize these and other games at the Toberman Recreation
Center. They’re good exercise and lots of fun, but be forewarned: They can get very competitive, so if you lose, no crying. Pace Yourself: The Los Angeles Marathon (lamarathon.com) is one of the toughest things to put your body through, a 26.2-mile run through the city. But if you finish, then you’ll have supreme bragging rights. The event, which took place in March for two decades, has been moved to May 25 this year, and the race will start at 8:15 a.m. at Sixth and Figueroa streets and end one block east. It’s a tough race, and this one will be harder than ever — some runners are displeased about the shift to warmer May. The race requires plenty of training, so you may want to jog a little around Downtown before signing up for this.
mixed martial arts studio? Students at the school get professional-level instruction in just about every style used in MMA. Some students have professional fighting aspirations, while others are regular Downtown workers or residents looking for a workout beyond the stairmaster. Classes begin with a warm-up, followed by lessons in all the requisite kicks, punches and grappling techniques. It’s a tough way to get in shape, but no one said 2009 was going to be easy. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
photo by Gary Leonard
In September, thousands of people will attempt to walk up all 75 floors of U.S. Bank Tower for the annual Ketchum Downtown YMCA Stair Climb to the Top. That means 1,500 stairs.
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Walk for a Cause: The annual Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk (alz.org/memorywalk) is a good way to work off some calories while raising money for an important cause. The walk usually attracts thousands of people and raises hundreds of thousands of dollars that go to research for the disease. Last year the three-mile morning walk, which was held in October and began at the California Plaza Watercourt, stretched from Walt Disney Concert Hall to Grand Hope Park in South Park and back. No date has been set yet for the 2009 event. Really, Really Physical: If running up stairs or playing tag isn’t physical enough for you, and/or if you have a screen saver of street fighter Kimbo Slice on your computer, then why not work out at the Piccinini Training Center (piccininigroup.com), the South Park
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The 26.2-mile Los Angeles Marathon has been moved to May 25 (it formerly took place in March). The route starts and ends in Downtown Los Angeles.
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10 Downtown News
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com
Leaders of theinPack
O9 ‘09 90
Five Elected Officials Who Will Be at the Center of Things in 2009 by Jon RegaRdie executive editoR
I
n the grand scheme of things, with scheme being the operative word, the political scene in 2008 in Downtown was pretty quiet. The scandals were less fantastic than in previous years, the local elections were a far second in terms of excitement to the vote for president, and the city’s rock star politician, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was on good behavior as he worked hard to bounce back from a disastrous 2007. Will it be more of the same in 2009? Hard to tell at this point. We expect there will be some surprises (there always are), but for right now, expect the five figures below to be the ones to spur movement in Downtown Los Angeles.
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Shaking Up the Status Quo: On Dec. 1, 2008, Mark Ridley-Thomas became the first new county supervisor in more than a decade. This year, expect the Second District representative to shake up a panel that has gotten, figuratively, fat and comfy. The first order of business for RidleyThomas will be reopening Martin Luther King Hospital; the Supes have been ineffective with regards to the shuttered South Los Angeles institution, and don’t be surprised if Ridley-Thomas plays hardball to get things moving. After that, he may turn his attention to Skid Row: The Second District includes the impoverished Downtown neighborhood that is suffering greatly with the economic crisis. It needs serious buy-in from the county.
Mr. President: Though he represents Silver Lake and parts of Hollywood, 13th District Councilman Eric Garcetti’s role as president of the City Council has made him a key figure in Downtown, and with Villaraigosa focused on at least one election in 2009, Garcetti will be at the center of things. He’ll be acting mayor when Villaraigosa is out of town (which happens frequently), and as the controversial Mixed Income Housing Ordinance works its way through the Council, he’ll be a major dealmaker. The biggest question is if he’ll run for Congress if Xavier Becerra joins the Barack Obama administration — many think Garcetti is well-positioned to go for mayor if he stays in L.A. Jan Perry: The Ninth District council rep is a key player every year in Downtown, and expect more of the same in 2009. With no opponent in her bid for re-election, Perry has the opportunity to focus on community matters, and there will be no shortage of them: It’s almost time to redraw the maps of the council districts (it happens once a decade) and 10 years ago Perry had to defend her turf. Additionally, she’ll have her hands full making sure Little Tokyo maintains its Japanese character amid community changes, and as chair of the Ad Hoc Homeless Committee, she’ll have to deal with that worsening issue. Monica Garcia: The president of the school board last year led the effort to get rid of Superintendent David Brewer. It came off clunky, but the key is, she got him out and her guy in, and in politics, results are what matters. Garcia has the ear
Election Central Five Races to Watch in the Coming Year O9 in
90 ‘09
by Jon RegaRdie
executive editoR
D
emocracy is nice and all, but face it: In this day and age, elections are rarely about the exchange of ideas and picking the best man or woman for the job. Ugly as it is, they’re about money, spin, money, robocalls, money and, did I mention, money. Here are five elections to watch this year. May the best candidate, or at least the one with the most money, win.
in 90 ‘09
Villaraigosa Part I: On Dec. 8, 1940, the Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins in the NFL championship by a score of 73-0. On March 3, 2009, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s re-election margin will make that result seem close. AnVil’s bid for a second term was essentially decided the November day mallman Rick Caruso decided not to run. The closest thing to a “competitor,” Walter Moore, has only about 10% of the cash in Villaraigosa’s war chest. Many are bemoaning the situation,
noting that in the last quasi-uncontested mayoral election, when Richard Riordan won a second term, that he at least had a challenge from Tom Hayden. Polls will close at 8 p.m. Expect Villaraigosa’s victory speech about nine seconds later. The Weiss Stuff: Only one thing may prevent Fifth District Councilman Jack Weiss from becoming the next City Attorney on March 3, and that’s his last name: Turns out, there’s another candidate on the ballot also named Weiss, and the run from attorney Noel Weiss could confuse a few voters. Still, the widely endorsed Jack Weiss would have to work hard to lose the race. Even though another candidate, attorney Carmen Trutanich, has surprised some with his fundraising abilities, this one was over long before it began. At worst, the name confusion pushes this to a runoff, but don’t count on it. Jack is back. Complete Controller: The most interesting citywide election pits Second District Councilwoman Wendy Greuel against longtime city player and businessman Nick
Mega Projects Continued from page 1 500,000-square-foot project will include an open plaza facing First Street, a small park at Second and Main streets and a 300-car LAPD garage. Good as Gold: The Metro Gold Line extension, slated for completion in July, will span from Union Station across the 101 Freeway, creating eight new stations and culminating at Atlantic Avenue in East Los Angeles. The extension is expected to become a major artery in Downtown’s transit grid, and the MTA estimates the line, which is part underground and part street-level, will carry 23,000 riders a day by 2020. In Downtown, several existing and planned developments, such as the proposed Nikkei Center at First
photo by Gary Leonard
Fresh off her ouster of former LAUSD Supt. David Brewer, school board President Monica Garcia has put herself in a position of power.
of Villaraigosa (though some say she’s just doing his bidding) and she sits at the head of a school board where her side has the majority. With billons coming to the LAUSD after voters approved a school bond proposition last year, Garcia has power and is ready to use it. Laurocky Chickadillo: A simmering disagreement between City Controller Laura Chick and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo boiled over late last year, and it looks like it’ll stay that way until both are termed out in July. The pitbull Chick has sunk her teeth into the idea that she can audit the City Attorney’s workers compensation program, and Delgadillo has fought back with legal action. The Council has failed to allocate money for Chick to get her own attorney, but rather than shrink away, she’s on the attack and, so far, is winning the battle of public perception, as many question why Delgadillo is protesting so heartily. But this has a long way to go. Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.
Patsaouras. It’s curious too, as City Hall sources note that Villaraigosa was quite unhappy that Patsaouras, one of his former political appointees, chose to take on the mayor’s preferred candidate. Both know their way around City Hall and the business community, and the competition to follow Laura Chick in the public watchdog role could get intense. B Is for Brouhaha: At first glance, Measure B, which will appear on the March 3 ballot, seems like a slam dunk: Who wouldn’t vote to boost green technology in the city? But not only is the devil in the details with this one, so are all his minions from the nine planes of hell. Opponents fear that Measure B is a thinly disguised attempt to ratchet up DWP rates, and some wonder about the true costs and potential savings of a proposal that would have the city pay $1.5 billion for unionized workers to install solar panels on buildings and parking lots throughout the city. As election day approaches, expect the green technology spin to get intense. Villaraigosa Part II: The election to replace termed-out Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won’t take place until 2010, but many expect Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to begin campaigning aggressively shortly after he is re-elected mayor of Los Angeles. This could divert his attention from the city, especially
and Alameda streets, will capitalize on proximity to the new line. School Is in Session: The Los Angeles Unified School District’s $232 million, 1,700-seat High School for the Visual and Performing Arts will open for classes this fall. The 238,000-square-foot campus at 450 N. Grand Ave. includes a 950-seat auditorium and 140-foot tower; the eye-catching (some say audacious) project is designed by Austrian firm Coop Himelb(l)au. The school will feature music, dance, visual arts and performing arts academies. However, with only months until it opens, a few key issues have not been decided, such as how much of the student body will come from outside Downtown, and whether the school will be enveloped by the LAUSD, or if it will have some charter-like independence. A Residential Test: Developer Astani Enterprises is continuing construction on a 30-story tower at Figueroa and Ninth streets,
photo by Gary Leonard
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will win a second term as mayor on March 3. Many are wondering how long after that it will be until he announces a run for governor.
as he’ll have to battle San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (who has already tossed some barbs Villaraigosa’s way) and Attorney General (and former governor) Jerry Brown. The only thing that may keep Villaraigosa from running for the seat in ’09 is if Sen. Dianne Feinstein jumps in. Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.
the first phase of the planned Concerto project. Along with a smaller, seven-story building, phase one will house 348 units and is expected to be complete late this year. Planned long before the economy soured, the mega-project will say a lot about Downtown’s residential market. A second phase, with another 30-story tower, is planned, though there is no timeline yet. Regal Arrival: When it comes to first-run films, Downtowners have to drive to Glendale, Pasadena or Hollywood. That will change in November when a 14-screen Regal Cineplex opens as part of the $2.5 billion L.A. Live entertainment district in South Park. The 140,000-square-foot facility is likely to become a welcome neighborhood amenity and high-profile event space, as officials with developer Anschutz Entertainment Group have said they’ll try to bring star-studded openings to its 800-seat premiere house. Get ready to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants III in Downtown. Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
January 5, 2009
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HEALTH Sick of It All
meant I looked like a human punching bag for a few days even after the treatment ended. This posed a problem when it was time to go back to school. No matter how much I scrubbed, rubbed and scraped in the shower, the purple wasn’t coming out until it was good and ready. So there I was, back in school with a nice purple hue to my body. Some kids laughed, some just stood there in quiet disbelief. One little girl even cried and ran to the teacher when she saw me. It was the pre-Barney days so I couldn’t pretend to be dressed up as the dinosaur. Prince’s Purple Rain wouldn’t be out for another six years, so the color wasn’t fashionable yet. Luckily, we moved out of the country the following year. But I’m sure somewhere, as my classmates grew up and went to high school, they recounted the story of that one kid years ago who turned purple.
Everyone Gets Ill, But Sometimes It’s Worse Than Others
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veryone gets sick. That’s why the great God of business invented sick days. But sometimes, yowza, you get really sick, the kind where your body feels like you’ve been clubbed by a thousand trolls, your vision is blurred and all you want to do is sleep but you’re so sick you can’t even do that. That’s when things get tough. To prove that you’re not alone, the staff of Los Angeles Downtown News has revisited some of their knock-down drag-out ohdoes-this-suck illnesses. Hopefully this didn’t happen to you. If it did, we sympathize. Redford Fever, by Anna Scott, Staff Writer: Robert Redford makes me sick. Don’t get me wrong — he’s a great actor, easy on the eyes, but the sight of him gives me chills, aches and an itch in my throat. This strange affliction dates back to last January, when I had the worst flu of my adult life. It started as a nagging cough, which went on for almost a week. Then one morning, sitting at my desk at work, I realized that literally every part of my body hurt. I’d already scheduled a doctor’s appointment for that afternoon to check on the cough, so off I went. “You’re fine!” the doctor cheerfully proclaimed after a quick exam. “A lot of people
have coughs right now.” With a recommendation to take some Robitussin and return if it got any worse, she sent me back to the office. The next morning, my alarm went off as usual at 6 a.m. When I pushed away the blankets and stood up, the cold wood floor sent painful shock waves through my feet into the rest of my body, which felt unnaturally warm. I collapsed back into bed. After sending my fiancé to CVS to buy a thermometer, I saw that my temperature was hovering just over 101 degrees. Back to the doctor’s office I went. This time the doctor knew I wasn’t “fine!” It turned out that my illness was viral, and the only remedy was five days of bed rest while enduring a racking cough, raw throat, feverish dizziness, aches and chills. The single silver lining was that I had an excuse to re-watch my favorite movie, All the President’s Men, starring Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, cracking the Watergate scandal. I try to watch the movie a couple of times a year, especially when I need some professional inspiration. But under normal circumstances, it’s difficult to carve the nearly three-hour
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running time out of my schedule. Being sick, however, what else was I going to do? All the President’s Men made my sickness more bearable, but it also had an unintended consequence. My brain created some kind of psychosomatic connection between the illness and the movie, and now I can’t hear Redford say, “They volunteered that he was innocent when nobody asked if he was guilty,” without feeling a feverish ache. Disappointing as it is, it might be for the best; a reporter who obsessively watches All the President’s Men is a little cliché. Purple Pain, by Richard Guzmán, City Editor: There are times when it’s good to be purple. If you’re Barney the dinosaur, you get a lot of love for being purple. If you’re Prince, the Purple Rain star, it’s cool to be clad head to toe in purple gear. But if you’re a 5-year-old in kindergarten, a time in your educational career that could cement your reputation through high school, it’s not easy being purple. In fact, for me, purple rain has a whole new meaning, as in the tears I cried when my skin changed color thanks to the chicken pox. I was living in El Salvador at the time. I remember it started with a bit of itching that wouldn’t go away. We knew it was chicken pox once some of my classmates started getting it. Luckily for me, my aunt was a doctor and was privy to a particularly strong version of a medicine that was commonly used to treat chicken pox in El Salvador at the time. It was called Violeta, or Violet, because that was the color it would turn your skin after it was applied. It made you look like a purple alien for a few hours and then it would go away, but it worked wonders on the itching that comes with the chicken pox. My aunt’s version, while it almost completely got rid of the itching, stayed purple a lot longer than the regular dosage. That
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Crabs on a Plane, by Ryan Vaillancourt, Staff Writer: From my seat in the Colorado Springs Airport terminal, I watched as the jet that would take me to Providence, Rhode Island eased into the gate. It was a perfect winter day, with yesterday’s snow melting under the bright sun. But just when it seemed everything was right with the world, I was attacked by a gang of angry crabs. Sort of. I had eaten crab cakes the night before, and something about the thick, breaded medallions of shellfish was off. I mistakenly finished the meal anyway. Minutes before boarding the flight for my four-hour plane ride, I felt something clawing at my stomach. I like to think the crabs were exacting their revenge for having been trapped in a tide pool, stripped of their shells, frozen for the long truck drive to the Rockies, then undercooked in a vat of restaurant grease. The unmistakable pain of food poisoning was upon me. Sitting in my aisle seat, the captain announced that we were third in line for takeoff, but that we’d lose our place if anyone got out of their seat. Seconds later, my system’s first attempt to cleanse itself had me reaching for the airplane sick bag. What was I supposed to do with that? The note on the bag said, “Call attendant for removal.” When she arrived, the flight attendant shot me a look of surprise mixed with disgust as I held up the bag. “Did you get sick in that?” she asked, at a volume that invited the curiosity of passengers all around me. Then she said, “I’m not touching that.” An hour later, I was beaten. I had been through so many more sick bags (which I disposed of myself) that I finally elected just to camp out in the airplane bathroom. And there I laid, curled in the fetal position, until the plane began its descent. The worst thing about food poisoning is that there are no real defensive measures to take once it sets in. At home or in a plane, you’re stuck.
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Goal Setting 101 A Few Simple Steps To Future Happiness by Dr. Ken Gee ehrlich
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o be alive is to be on fire with purpose, to move forward with undaunted determination toward a goal.” —Paramahansa Yogananda It’s that time of year again when we take inventory of our lives, what we accomplished over the last year and what we can posFROM OUR ADVeRtISeRS
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Thought provoking news deserves thoughts. Give us yours. DowntownNews.com Now with reader comments.
sibly improve on over the next. Did you keep any “resolutions” you made last year? Did you keep them for a few months and then let them fizzle out? Or are you one of the few who changed your life? I like to think of goal setting as the single most important thing that we can do in life. Having goals gives us direction and focus, they remind us what we are living for, they are very powerful and they can change our lives forever. Before we make goals, however, we have to figure out what we want. The problem is, most people have no clue what they want. They work day in and day out just barely paying the bills, going through the motions of life like a cog in a big wheel that is making someone else’s dreams come true. Many of us live to work
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for Better HealtH instead of working to live. I was guilty of that myself and didn’t realize it until I started taking inventory of my life and making goals for myself and my family. The most important thing about making goals is that they need to be written down. If they are not written down
Before we make goals, however, we have to figure out what we want. The problem is, most people have no clue what they want. then they become little more than wishes or daydreams. Sounds easy, but this is the hardest part. Writing down what you want can be very scary because it is the first step toward commitment. For example: Getting married, having a baby, making $10,000 more a year, starting your own business, losing 40 pounds, etc. No matter how scary it may be, write it down. I like to have goals in different areas of my life such as spiritual, diet, financial, marriage, family, travel, business and fitness. This is where you take inventory of your performance. How well did you do on a scale of 1 to 10 in
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these different areas of your life? Rate yourself honestly. If you want to improve a certain area, you may need to move a goal higher up on the list. Read your goals daily. These are also known as affirmations; by repeating them you are programming your subconscious to believe it. Whatever your mind can conceive it can and will achieve. When I first heard this concept, I was skeptical. But after practice, some of the goals I wrote down started coming true. For the past five years I have continued to read my affirmations and goals three times a day. It is also a good way to take a break from the fast pace of life and meditate. Don’t be afraid to make big goals, and have fun doing it. Goals are like a menu from the universe and you get to order whatever you want. You may not be able to achieve every goal you write down — if you did, you didn’t think big enough. Out of the 12 goals I wrote down last year I achieved four. I have studied and applied these concepts over the last several years and have spoken to people who have made it work in their own lives. I would like to share with you a few of the books that have changed my life: n It Works by RHJ (I carried this one in my back pocket for a couple years) n Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander n The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Classon n Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen (This one is religious) Dr. Ken Gee Ehrlich is at TheGoodChiropractor.com.
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Health
Scientists Identify Mutation Found in Lymphomas Finding Could Have Significant Impact on Future Studies of the Disease by Meghan Lewit
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esearchers at the USC Keck School of Medicine have explained how certain key mutations occur in human lymphomas — a process that has, until now, remained a mystery. The findings of the study, published in the Dec. 12 issue of the journal Cell, will have a significant impact on future studies of how human lymphoma occurs. Chromosomal translocations, in which segments of DNA are moved around the genome, are DNA mutations frequently found in blood cancers. They occur when two chromosomes break and the resulting fragments are reassembled
in an exchange, said Michael R. Lieber, the Rita and Edward Polusky Professor in Basic Cancer Research at the Keck School of Medicine and the study’s principal investigator. “Our study provides new insight into understanding how these translocations occur and describes a key and informative fingerprint at these chromosomal break sites,” Lieber said. The fingerprint had been overlooked for decades because chromosomal break sites typically suffer damage that obscures the fingerprint, he said. “The precise steps leading to this pathologic rearrangement process — especially how the DNA is broken — have
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been a mystery for 25 years, in large part because these events occur long before the cancer becomes clinically apparent, and conventional experimental techniques do not reflect the process as it occurs naturally,” said Dr. Albert Tsai, a Ph.D. candidate at the Keck School of Medicine and the lead author of the study. Expanding on previous work done at the Keck School and the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and elsewhere, researchers studied patient tumor chromosomal translocations to gain an important clue as to how the most common lymphomas are caused. The study demonstrated that these breaks are focused at CpG sites, short special sequences in the genome, within restricted breakage zones. The CpG localization occurs in early B-cells, but not in translocations before or after that stage. B-cells are the cells responsible for producing antibodies. Their findings implicated roles for two enzymes — AID
and RAG complex — which are normally present in lymphocytes and that function to diversify the immune system to defend against attack by bacteria, viruses and parasites, Lieber said. The diversification process involves altering the DNA which encodes antibodies, by cutting and rejoining the DNA in a way that sometimes goes awry. This appears to be what causes the chromosomal translocations, he said. “Based on previous clues, we did a number of biochemical studies to verify our hunch about the mechanism of translocation,” Lieber said. “Our study demonstrates the biochemical feasibility of the sequence of events proposed, and this matches the fingerprint left by the chromosomal translocations.” The study relied on an important collaboration with ChihLin Hsieh, the Catherine & Joseph Aresty Chair in Urologic Research at the Keck School, and Markus Muschen, associate professor of pediatrics, biochemistry and molecular biology at the Keck School and director of the Leukemia Research Program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Article courtesy of USC HSC Weekly.
VITAL SIGNS Good Samaritan Hands Out Honor
G
ood Samaritan Hospital last month named ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon Dr. David S. Boyer the winner of the City West institution’s David N. Shaw, M.D., Medical Staff Leadership Award. The prize, for the physician of the year, is given to a person who demonstrates patient care and compassion and educational qualities. Boyer, who specializes in treating diseases of the retina and vitreous, is senior partner at Retina-Vitreous Associates Medical Group. He is a graduate of the Chicago Medical School and is also a clinical Associate Professor at USC. He has authored numerous scientific papers and is an investigator for several clinical trials. The award is named for Shaw, a former 32-year veteran of Good Samaritan who was medical director of Acute Rehabilitation, Physical Medicine, Skilled Nursing and Home Health, Medical Staff Chairman from 1993 to 1995. He was also on the hospital’s board of trustees from 1995-2003. He passed away in 2003.
January 5, 2009
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CALENDAR Stage Standouts It’s a Huge Year for the Performing Arts, Highlighted by the Start of the Ring Cycle by AnnA Scott StAff writer
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O9 in‘09 90
ith its wealth of stages and companies, Downtown is the performing arts capital of Los Angeles. This year, the theaters and groups will be especially busy, with a slew of notable presentations. The highlight will be the kickoff of an operatic Ring cycle in Downtown Los Angeles, but that is only one of many standout events. Here are five where you won’t want to wait to grab tickets.
with surprisingly dark undertones, Pippin and his struggles through war and love will be on stage at the Mark Taper Forum from Jan. 15-March 15. High Pitched Fun: Starting Jan. 28, REDCAT hosts five performances from the renowned Mexico City theater company Teatro de Ciertos Habitantes. The group will bring to life characters including a pair of Siamese twins, a gossipy opera maven and Napoleon’s horse, among others. All are part of the cast of Monsters and Prodigies: The History of the Castrati, a musical farce about the castrati superstars of 18th-century opera. Don’t try this at home.
in 90 ‘09
Starting a Cycle: In 2006, L.A. Opera General Director Plácido Domingo announced that the company would mount Richard Wagner’s epic Ring cycle, comprised of four operas. This year, the first of those, Das Rheingold, opens at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Feb. 21, where it continues through March 15. It’s a fantastical tale of various characters lusting after a magical ring of gold, and centers around themes of power, destruction and lust. The second part of the cycle, Die Walkure, runs April 4-26. Expect ring fever to envelop Los Angeles.
Full of Pip: Decades after it debuted on Broadway, the Tony Award-winning musical Pippin is nothing if not original. The coming-of-age story is based on the life of King Charlemagne’s oldest son, Pippin, and is set to 1970s pop tunes by Stephen Schwartz, composer of musicals including Wicked and Godspell. Mischievous and fun on the surface,
Beautiful Tragedy: Doomed love never looked so beautiful as it will this summer, when American Ballet Theatre brings Romeo and Juliet to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for five performances July 16-19. Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy has been part of ABT’s repertoire for 24 years and is one of the company’s signature productions. Set against music by Sergei Prokofiev, the acclaimed dancers in the company where Mikhail Baryshnikov was artistic director for a decade bring the centuries-old, star-crossed lovers to new life. Face Off: The title Frost/Nixon might ring a bell, thanks to the big-screen version directed by Ron Howard. But before it was a movie, Frost/Nixon was a Tony Award-nominated
Wowery in the in Gallery O9
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Five Big Museum Shows Coming in 2009 by Jon regArdie executive editor
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ight now, when people think of museums in Downtown Los Angeles, the first thing that pops to mind is the financial woes the Museum of Contemporary Art is enduring. It’s understandable, but it overshadows something else: Museums this year, including MOCA, will have a variety of interesting exhibits. Here are five not to miss.
visitors will be able to walk on; it will serve as a vehicle for showcasing some of Morphosis’ projects. Where Music and Politics Collide: You might not expect to encounter late FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover in a museum dedicated to music. But his FBI summary of Detroit revolutionary rockers the MC5 is part of the Grammy Museum’s show that explores the 200-year history of American music and politics. Songs of Conscience, Songs of Freedom, which opened with the rest of Downtown’s newest museum in December, has an array of items, from John Philip Sousa’s conducting baton and gloves to Grandmaster Flash’s turntables. The show on the museum’s second floor features more than 100 artifacts and 70 photographs.
in 90 ‘09
Mayne Man: The Museum of Contemporary Art, which when not squandering millions has staged some thought-provoking artmeets-architecture exhibits, continues the trend with Morphosis, a show featuring the work of the Santa Monica architecture firm of the same name led by Thom Mayne (he designed Downtown’s Caltrans headquarters). The display that runs Aug. 23-Dec. 7 in the Grand Avenue space will feature a variety of the firm’s work; the centerpiece will be a glass and aluminum structure that
Hawaii’s Not Just for Obama: On Feb. 14, the Japanese American National Museum will open Gokurosama: Contemporary
Concerts in ’09 Continued from page 1 Latin jazz legend, who has been performing for more than 30 years, will play the small venue. His latest album, Raise Your Hands, is an homage to Afro-Cuban music. He will perform with his Latin jazz band, which is heavily inspired by mambo and Tito Puente, so it’s almost impossible not to move to the beat of his congas. Final Curtain: After 17 years as music director of the Los
photo by Monika Ritterhaus
A 2008 workshop image of Die Walkure, the second play in the Ring cycle. It runs at L.A. Opera April 4-25.
play. Written by Peter Morgan, the stage version debuted in London in 2006. Now the story of how British talk show host and reputed playboy David Frost managed to elicit the first and only apology from former President Richard Nixon for the Watergate scandal returns to the stage. It plays at the Ahmanson Theatre March 11-29. Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
Photographs of the Nisei in Hawai’i. The exhibit will feature 35 black and white images by Brian Y. Sato depicting secondgeneration Japanese Americans in the state. As Sato said on JANM’s website, “I came to the realization that if it was not initiated and completed immediately, the opportunity to document the remaining Nisei generation would be lost forever.” Good Sports: There is so much to see in the new Sports Museum of Los Angeles that it’s mind-boggling. Highlights include a display that chronicles the evolution of the baseball glove, a section dedicated to early sportsrelated arcade games, a large room featuring artifacts cocnerning the Dodgers (Los Angeles and Brooklyn) and Babe Ruth’s shotgun. The facility on Main Street south of the 10 Freeway will be packing in sports fans year-round. Andy, Still Dandy: The USC Fisher Museum of Art will likely draw big crowds on Feb. 25 when it debuts Looking Into Andy Warhol’s Photographic Practice. The show, which continues through April 18, will display highlights from the museum’s recently acquired collection of more than 100 Polaroids and 50 black and white gelatin prints taken by pop artist Warhol, who
Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen will pick up the baton for the last time on April 19. In his farewell at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Helsinki-born conductor will lead the troops in Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex” and “Symphony of Psalms.” Expect emotion to run over as Salonen leaves to focus on composing. He will be replaced by Gustavo Dudamel when the 2009/2010 season begins. It’s Britney: She flipped the switch for the Christmas tree at L.A. Live, and on April 16 and 17, she’ll move across the street to Staples Center for what’s sure to be a pop-errific show. Sure, she may not have the greatest voice of all time, but it’s Britney, and her new album Circus has actually earned some
photo by Gary Leonard
The work of architecture firm Morphosis, led by Thom Mayne, is featured in a Museum of Contemporary Art exhibit that opens in August. Morphosis designed Downtown’s Caltrans headquarters.
died in 1987. The feature subjects are a mix of celebrities and unknowns. Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.
decent reviews. Plus, you’ll get to make all sorts of “oops, she did it again” jokes. Cool Thing: Alt-rock pioneer Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth will come Downtown to the nearly as legendary underground music club The Smell. The Feb. 20 show will give locals a chance to see the New Yorker in a tiny spot. It’s a testament to Moore’s credibility that after decades of making music, he still has enough street cred to rock this joint. And it’s a testament to The Smell that, although Moore could play in many larger, cleaner places, he’s coming here. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
16 Downtown News
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com
The Sixth Man Award
Trevor Ariza and Sasha Vujacic have been dominant at times, going for opposing team’s jugular when the starters are taking a breather. But this group has also been inconsistent and, at times, hostile toward each other. The Lakers are scary when their bench clicks, but they have a penchant for falling apart. To capture a title, these role players will have to remember that there is no “i” in team.
It Will Take More Than Star Power for Downtown’s Sports Teams to Succeed by Ryan VaillancouRt
Lookie Rookie: The Clippers have already had a tumultuous season, and unless there’s a miracle, they’re out of the playoff picture. But if there’s been one pleasant surprise for coach Mike Dunleavy, it’s first-year guard Eric Gordon, the Indiana University standout who since the trade of Cuttino Mobley has been starting, scoring and playing big minutes. Think of it as practice for the 2009/2010 season.
staff wRiteR
I
n 2009, Los Angeles sports fans will have their eyes on the usual superstars like Kobe Bryant, Manny Ramirez (assuming he’s wearing Dodger blue), Baron Davis and Anze Kopitar. But just like Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen, the big names can’t win a championship without a solid supporting cast. Here are some of the lesser-known players that will have to step up if the local teams are to succeed.
in 90 ‘09
Heal the Shortstop: It appeared in midDecember that Rafael Furcal was packing his backs for Atlanta. Then he re-signed with the Dodgers for three years. Now, their success could hinge on whether the injury-riddled shortstop and lead-off hitter can stay healthy. During his tenure with the Dodgers, he was consistent at the plate, hitting .290, but he spent nearly all of last season in the trainer’s room. For the Dodgers to go all the way, they’ll need Rafi to be healthy. Can somebody just feed him an apple a day? The Replacements: The Lakers are the cream
Rookie Eric Gordon has been a rare bright spot in an already tough Clippers’ season. If he learns to play well with his teammates, he could help the squad win… next year.
Lookie Veteran: As one of the WNBA’s founding superstars, Lisa Leslie has long been the face of the league. The six-foot-sixinch center was the first player to dunk in a game. But with the rise of her new teammate Candace Parker, Leslie has been replaced in the Sparks’ driver’s seat. Though she still averages 13.8 points per game, Leslie will turn 37 in 2009, and you have to wonder, how long can she keep up with the kids? If she’s got one more good season, she could spark the Sparks in ’09.
of the Western Conference, and while they can thank Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol for a great start, you can’t overestimate the play of the bench. Former UCLA standout Jordan Farmar and fellow reserves Lamar Odom,
Go to a Kings Game, Please?: The Kings are floating around a .500 record, which despite suggesting perfect mediocrity, is nevertheless great news to fans who haven’t seen much success in years. But even as Kopitar and the
photo by Gary Leonard
The
photo by Gary Leonard
After losing most of 2008 to a back injury, shortstop Rafael Furcal is ready to reclaim his spot at the top of the Dodgers’ lineup. The team’s success could depend heavily on if he’s truly healthy.
gang continue to string together wins and keep it close against league powerhouses, Staples Center has not exactly been packed. If a King scores a winning goal in a hockey arena and nobody’s there to see it, did they really win? Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.
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gillsindianrestaurant.net • (213) 623-1050 • 838 S. Grand Ave.
January 5, 2009
Downtown News 17
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Your Table Is Ready Five New Restaurants Where You’ll Want Reservations in 2009 by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
T
90 ‘09 O9 in
he economy may be in a tailspin, but with a slew of restaurants opening Downtown in 2009, there shouldn’t be too many hunger pangs. Here are five of the eateries foodies are eagerly awaiting.
drinks like the Rum Keg, which is enough rum for four people. Viva Gelato: Adding to the dining options in the Arts District in 2009 are Tony Riviera and Charlton Lui, who created Caffe Primo on Sunset Boulevard. Their Primo Cucina will deliver pizza, pasta and gelato to the Barker Block complex. The restaurant is scheduled to open in February.
The Danish Are Coming: It may not be the easiest name to pronounce, but hopefully the food will go down easy when the Danish-themed Hygge comes to South Park — the developer promises it’ll be this month. It’s set for the ground floor of South Group’s Luma building at 11th and Hope streets. The name is pronounced “hee-u-gee,” which means the state of being cozy, snug or just feeling good in general. It will be part Danish bakery and deli and part sit-down restaurant.
Chaya on the Way: A Downtown outpost of Chaya Brasserie, which will be next to Drago Centro at City National Plaza, is slated to open in late February. The restaurant, which has outposts in West Los Angeles, Venice and San Francisco, has French brasserie and Japanese teahouse influences. Signature dishes include the rib-eye steak and Chaya chicken, a freerange bird with Dijon mustard.
Tiki Time: Perhaps Downtown’s most anticipated restaurant opening of 2009 is the tiki-inspired Trader Vic’s, which will be part of the L.A. Live group of restaurants that is transforming South Park into the culinary district of Downtown. Trader Vic’s, which has locations in Chicago and even Lebanon, is famous for its South Pacific decor, dishes such as the signature curry plates, crab Rangoon and beef cho-cho, and communal
Hungry Like the Wolfgang: Superstar chef Wolfgang Puck wasn’t going to be left out of the L.A. Live party. He’ll bring his namesake restaurant to South Park in the spring. Puck’s well-known dishes, like his smoked salmon pizza, grilled prime burger and flatiron steak, will join him. The chef has teamed up with designer Tony Chi to create the bar and grill. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@dowtownnews.com.
in 90 ‘09
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photo by Gary Leonard
In February, an outpost of Chaya Brasserie will open in City National Plaza.
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18 Downtown News
EVENTS
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com
LISTINGS The
Tuesday, Jan. 6 Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org. Noon-2 p.m.: Airplay, whose band name is an obvious ode to their cover material, cranks out Top 40 tunes while you skate.
‘Don’t Miss’ List
Darwin, a Magic Flute and Some Scary Science by AnnA Scott, StAff writer
Wednesday, Jan. 7 ALOUD at Central Library 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7025 or aloudla.org. 7 p.m.: Denis Dutton, a professor of art at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, argues that human tastes in art are shaped by Darwinian selection. He’ll make his case in discussion with Michael Shermer, founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine Thursday, Jan. 8 Thursdays at Central 630 W. Fifth St., meeting room A, (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org. 12:15-1 p.m.: Peace Corps veterans talk about their experiences and the opportunities in today’s Peace Corps. Downtown Art Walk Info and map at downtownartwalk.com. Noon-9 p.m.: The Downtown Art Walk is a selfguided tour that showcases the many art venues in Downtown Los Angeles — commercial art galleries, museums and nonprofit art venues. Walk, or, starting at 6 p.m., ride one of Esotouric’s curated shuttles — the Hippodrome and Hazard’s Pavilion — for free. Friday, Jan. 9 Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org. 8-10p.m.: Led Zepagain takes you back to when rock really rocked. Black dogs welcome. Farmlab Public Salons 1745 N. Spring St. #4, (323) 226-1158 or farmlab.org. Noon: William Preston Bowling and Christina Walsh discuss the San Fernando Valley “Space Race,” the mess of chemical and radioactive impacted test sites it left behind and its high cost in lives to civilians unaware that they live or lived near one of these facilities. Bowling and Walsh are the co-founders of the Aerospace Cancer Museum of Education. First Fridays at the Natural History Museum 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-3466 or nhm.org/ firstfridays. 5:30-10 p.m.: The popular series returns with a season celebrating Charles Darwin, who would have turned 200 in 2009. At 5:30 p.m., the museum’s Ornithology Collections Manager, Kimball Garrett, takes guests on a tour of bird groups that Darwin would have observed, and talks about how the museum’s collections are used in modern day research. At 6:30 p.m., author Lyanda Lynn Haupt and moderator Michael W. Quick use little-known letters, diaries and notebooks to explore Darwin’s own evolution from a fumbling student of the natural world to an original, creative naturalist who could draw complex scientific truths from the observation of life around him. Live bands are Plants and Animals (8 p.m.) and The Little Ones (9:15 p.m.). Phatal DJ and J. ROCC spin throughout the night. saTurday, Jan. 10 Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org. 1-3 p.m.: Kids can enjoy entertainment from the Gilli Moon and J Walker Skills for Life at 1 p.m. and Allen Oshiro at 2 p.m. at the ice rink. Weekend Recess for Grown-Ups Tolberman Recreation Center, 1725 Tolberman St., (213) 610-3233 or extremebootcamp.com. 10 a.m.-noon: Remember how much fun you had at recess in elementary school? Regain that feeling at this weekend adult recess in bouts of dodgeball, kickball, freeze-tag and handball. Hosted by Extreme Boot Camp, Downtown LA. Every Saturday, except holiday weekends. Culinary Historians of Southern California Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org. 10:30 a.m.-noon: Former Los Angeles Times Food Editor Charles Perry talks about a distinctly American institution in “The Great American Soda Fountain.” sunday, Jan. 11 Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org. 2-4 p.m.: Ramfunkchus plays Top 40 jams. Sustainable Sundays at Natural History Museum 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-3466 or nhm.org/ firstfridays. Continued on page 19
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Ever wondered what it would be like to counse l teenagers in Belize, help launch an Armenian computer center or teach chemistry in a Ghanaia n hi gh school? You may get an op portunity to find ou t— all during your lunc h break. On Thur sday, Jan. 8, former an d present Peace Corps volunteers will ap pear at the Cen tral Library at 12:15 p. m. for a 45-minute discussion on the re wards and challe nges of their jobs. 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 2287000 or lapl.org.
1
photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging
’t ’t believe it, then ask yourself why we don Nature is a cruel, cruel thing. If you don ory Hist ral Natu don’t believe it, go to the all look like Brad and Angelina. If you still work of Charles Darwin, who coined the on Museum this Friday for a program natural selection. The museum’s popular the term for Earth’s ultimate injustice: a program titled “Darwin’s Revolution,” First Fridays series returns Jan. 9 with Darwin’s just in time for the 150th anniversary of by cies groundbreaking On the Origin of Spe ns begi t Means of Natural Selection. The even in Darw ps at 5:30 p.m. with a tour of bird grou Lyanda or auth ., would have observed. At 6:30 p.m t Darwin’s abou k Quic Lynn Haupt speaks with Michael W. ks. The apboo note and own evolution using letters, diaries s at 8 p.m., orm perf als propriately named band Plants and Anim DJ and J. tal Pha n The . followed by The Little Ones at 9:15 ., (213) Blvd n sitio Expo ROCC spin throughout the night. 900 763-3466 or nhm.org/firstfridays.
3
t sound flote migh y Die Zauber nishment to a pesk o m d in a eth g like an e (or som to The s u o m n s ducGerma it translate ted opera. The pro dler t u b photo by Robert Millard , t) a ra an like th art’s celeb t the Dorothy Ch ances z o M f o perform James , the title , opens a Magic Flute premiered in 1791 continues for nine ival is conducted by Magic v h d he tion, whic turday, Jan. 10, an Angeles Opera re sic Center stage. T s a u o S er M L u n q e ’s n io n th o il o c to seas Pav gers new nd love promises to ance in . 25. This s n l Ja ra h e g v e u rm thro erfo evil a ature s od battles p.m. Pre-p e nd will fe Conlon a iry tale in which go ce begins at 7:30 , will take place on n fa n a a a d s rm n m ll o p ra a te rf h G e te Flu lan C ing p 5 N. ay’s open vilion, 13 sted by A all. Saturd s with Conlon, ho rothy Chandler Pa o on conversati each show. The D m. o re .c hour befo 72-8001 or laopera 9 ) Ave., (213 In 1959, an experimental nuclear reactor meltdown occurred at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former nuclear research and rocket engine testing site near Simi Valley. In recent years, environmental groups, government officials and officials at Boeing, which currently owns the facility, have debated the extent of the potential contamination and how it should be cleaned up. It raises important question such as what health impacts could Angelenos face? Also, how close do you live to potential toxins? On Friday, Jan. 9, Farmlab hosts William Preston Bowling and Christina Walsh, cofounders of The Aerospace Cancer Museum of Education, who will address those issues. ACME, opened last May, is dedicated to L.A.’s artistic landsc ape has changed educating community members about the significantly over cades, and on Thur the past two desday, Jan. 8, Little To Santa Susana Field Laboratory clean-up initiakyo’s Japanese Am Museum invites yo erican National u to consider exactly tives. The free discussion takes place at noon. how. At 6:30 p.m., host a roundtable the museum will discussion with artis 1745 N. Spring St., Unit 4, (323) 226-1158 ts Eve Fowler, Lari Rothenberg; the ta Pittman and Erica lk will cover the ch anging landscape or farmlab.org. and institutions in of funding, gallerie Los Angeles over th s e last 20 years and an artist here, amon what it’s like to be g other things. The event dovetails with Years Ago Today: Su pporting Visual Artis the exhibit Twenty ts in L.A. (a work fro which closes Sunday m which is shown , Jan. 11. 369 E. First here), St., (213) 625-0414 or janm.org.
Five
4
Lari Pittman, Untitled, Courtesy of the Artist and Regen Projects, Los Angeles
January 5, 2009
Downtown News 19
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But Wait, There’s More!
Additional Event Information on the Web
DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM/LISTINGS : EVENTS | ROCK, POP & JAZZ | CLASSICAL MUSIC | THEATER, OPERA & DANCE ART SPACES | FILM | BARS & CLUBS | MUSEUMS | FARMERS MARKETS | TOURS
Listings Continued from page 18 All day: Representatives from the L.A. Zoo, Friends of Ballona Wetlands and the California Department of Fish and Game will be on hand in the museum’s Grand Foyer to offer insights on environmental protection. At 12:30 p.m., the museum’s curator of vertebrate paleontology discusses the past diversity of the cetacean order and compares ancient creatures to the diversity found in modern oceans. At 2:30 p.m., panda expert Lu Zhi discusses her politically innovative approach to conservation in China.
ROCK, POP & JAZZ 2nd Street Jazz 366 E. Second St., (213) 680-0047, 2ndstjazz.com or myspace. com/2ndstreetlivejazz. Music usually starts at 9 or 10 p.m.
How to reach us Main office: (213) 481-1448 MAIL your Letter Letters to the Editor • L.A. Downtown News 1264 W. First Street • Los Angeles, CA 90026 Email your Letter realpeople@downtownnews.com FAX your Letter (213) 250-4617 Read Us on the Web DowntownNews.com
Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie citY Editor: Richard Guzmán stAFF writErs: Anna Scott, Ryan Vaillancourt coNtributiNG Editors: David Friedman, Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jay Berman, Jeff Favre, Michael X. Ferraro, Kristin Friedrich, Howard Leff, Rod Riggs Marc Porter Zasada Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins ProductioN AssistANt / EvENt coordiNAtor: Claudia Hernandez PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Vandervort sAlEs MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin AssistANt sAlEs MANAGEr: George Caston sAlEs AssistANt: Annette Cruz clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Vanessa Acuña, Robert Dutcher, Catherine Holloway, Kelley Smith circulAtioN: Norma Rodas distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla 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. It is also distributed to the extended urban communities of Glendale, Hollywood, Wilshire Center, Los Feliz, Silver Lake & Larchmont Village.
One copy per person.
Tuesdays: Jazz jam session. 626 Reserve 626 S. Spring St., (213) 627-9800 or 626reserve.com. Tuesdays, 6 p.m.: Live music with Goh Kurosawa. Bar 107 107 W. Fourth St., (213) 625-7382 or myspace.com/bar107. Tuesdays: A classic island mix of reggae with attitude. Downtown says “Jah!” Wednesdays: Tap the spirit of Chuck Barris with the Bar 107 Karaoke Gong Show. The audience gets to help the judges vote for the best act of the evening. Sundays: DJ’s choice with 107’s Matt Dwyer, the comic-actor genius who plays music while serving the meanest drinks (in the nicest way) Downtown. Blue Velvet 750 S. Garland Ave., (213) 239-0061. Tuesdays, 10 p.m.: Live music and DJs. Casey’s Irish Bar and Grill 613 S. Grand Ave., (213) 629-2353 or bigcaseys.com. Fridays: Live Irish music. It’ll be like Dublin your pleasure. Chop Suey Café 347 E. First St., (213) 617-9990 or chopsueycafe.com. Cicada Cicada Restaurant, 617 S. Olive St., (213) 488-9488 or cicadarestaurant.com. Sundays, 6-11 p.m.: The restaurant is transformed into a vintage, old Hollywood-style dance club every Sunday. Come out to appreciate the big band, swank costumes, dinner and cocktails. Visit cicadaclub.com. Club Nokia Corner of Olympic Blvd. and Figueroa St., clubnokia.com. Conga Room L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic, (213) 749-0445 or congaroom.com. Thursdays: “Azucar” features tropical rhythms from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Fridays: “The Beat Down” features global beats and dance groove starting at 9 p.m. Saturdays: “Plata” brings an upscale Latin flavor from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. e3rd Steakhouse and Lounge 734 E Third St., (213) 680-3003 or www.myspace.com/therhythmsectionla. Second Saturdays: The Rhythm Section brings in DJs and live acts to this Arts District restaurant, playing eclectic selections in nujazz, soul, rare groove, soul and hip-hop. Echoplex 1154 Glendale Blvd., attheecho.com Jan. 5: Baritone bluesy songster Robert Francis, who has a Monday night residency. Jan. 6: Indie 103.1 presents Check One Twosday with Pop Noir, the Pacific and more. Jan. 7: At Dub Club, resident DJs spin the best in reggae, dance hall and dub. Jan. 8: No Culture with Guns N’ Bombs, Goddollars and more. The Edison 108 W. Second St., #101, (213) 613-0000 or edisondowntown.com. Jan. 7: Paris meets Berlin circa 1920 when the Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque reinvents the spirit of cabaret. J Restaurant and Lounge 1119 S. Olive St., (213) 746-7746 or jloungela.com. Tuesdays: Live acoustic performances in the lounge. Wednesdays: Salsa in the City features complimentary salsa lessons at 8 p.m. At 9 p.m., a batch of live musicians takes over for a jam session. Fridays: Live bands on select dates. La Cita 336 S. Hill St., (213) 687-7111 or myspace.com/lacitabar. Mondays, 9 p.m.: Mustache Mondays is a gay/mixed theme night with the best in electro, dance and live performances. Tuesdays, 9 p.m.: Cheap Souls, featuring DJs spinning funk, soul, old school and electro dance. First and third Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: Mucho Wednesdays are dance nights with Latin music. Second and fourth Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: Full Frontal features bigtime DJs from LA and beyond. $5 cover.
Listings for additional concerts, exhibits and more in Downtown Los Angeles can be found on our website. Go to downtownnews.com/listings for full information, including time and location, for all the happenings in Downtown.
Fridays, 9 p.m.: Punky Reggae Party. That’s right: punk plus reggae equals party. Free before 11 p.m. After that, it’s $5, Saturdays, 6 p.m.: Hacienda Nights features live tejano, norteno and cumbia music. Cover $10. Sundays, noon-10 p.m.: Hacienda Nights again, $8. Mountain Bar 475 Gin Ling Way, (213) 625-7500 or themountainbar.com. Every Tuesday “Broken Dreams” is DJ’ed by China Art Objects’ Steve Hanson and the Red Krayolas’ Tom Watson. Nokia Plaza L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., lalive.com. Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6000 or nokiatheatrelalive.com. Orpheum Theatre 842 S. Broadway, (213) 622-1939 or laorpheum.com. Pete’s Café and Bar 400 N. Main St., (213) 618-1759. Tuesdays, 10 p.m.-1 a.m.: Pablo Calogero and Fabiano Nacimento play Brazilian jazz. Redwood Bar & Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 680-2600 or theredwoodbar.com. Jan. 9, 10 p.m.: The Insect Surfers, who were formed in 1979 in Washington, D.C., and toured the U.S. extensively. As the name implies, it’s surf music from these longtime faves. Jan. 10, 10 p.m.: Angus Khan is littered with ex-members of sleaze/ psyche rockers like Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, B-Movie Rats and Jesters of Destiny. All you really need to know is that they dress like Zodiac Mindwarp and sound like AC/DC blowing up a school bus. Which we think is a good thing. With BC Tribe. Jan. 11, Noon: Brunch Americana with Rip Carson and Hellbound Eddie’s Trainwreck Trio. Rerax Fridays at Señor Fish 422 E. First St., (213) 625-0566 or senorfishla.com. Fridays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m.: Music, art, VJ performances, silk screening and photos. Royale 2619 Wilshire Blvd., (213) 388-8488 or royaleonwilshire.com. Mondays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: A live musical showcase with bands, a DJ and an Eastside vibe. Tuesdays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: An acoustic live set in the historic Royale lounge. A DJ spins between sets. Wednesday (second of every month), 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: A fusion of spoken word and acoustic musical melodies. Sundays, 9 p.m.-midnight: Rat pack protégé Max Vontaine. Standard 550 S. Flower St., (213) 892-8080 or standardhotels.com. Nightly DJs at both the lobby bar and rooftop lounge. Wednesdays, 8-11 p.m.: DJs spin in a swank, but still comfy, lobby. And yes, there’s a bar right there. Saturdays, noon-8 p.m.: Local DJs unleash indie, rock and electronica at “Diss.” Suede Bar and Lounge 404 S. Figueroa St., (213) 489-3590 or suedebarla.com. Nightly DJs and pop music in this upscale lounge at the Westin Bonaventure.
Please email Your event info To submit events for this section, please email a brief description, street address and a public phone number to calendar@downtownnews.com. Web addresses are welcome. Listings are due 10 days before publication date. Because of time constraints, submissions without full information cannot be considered for publication. Inclusion in the listings is at the discretion of the L.A. Downtown News. Sorry, we cannot accept follow-up calls about event listings.
A HAndy MAP RefeRence To food, ATTRAcTions & enTeRTAinMenT F
Where to Eat
_
Where to Shop
§ Where to Live
§F § §
C5 C5 B5
Grand Tower • 255 S. Grand Ave. Museum Tower • 225 S. Olive St. Promenade Towers • 123 S. Figueroa St.
229-9777 626-1500 617-3777
§
B8
The Metropolitan Apartments • 950 S. Flower St.
489-3300
7+FIG • 7th & Figueroa Sts.
955-7150
Ernst & Young • 725 S. Figueroa St.
955-7100
EF m C6
The Millennium Biltmore Hotel • 506 S. Grand Ave.
624-1011
FF_ C6 E#
California Plaza II • 4th St. & Grand Ave. • Watercourt • 4th St. & Grand Ave.
687-2001 687-2190
#
• Angels Flight Railway • 4th St. & Hill St.
626-1901
F m B7 F F F
Wilshire Grand Hotel • 930 Wilshire Blvd. • Cardini Ristorante • Seoul Jung • Kyoto
688-7777 896-3822 688-7880 896-3812
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F _ B7
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☞ C5
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Points of Interest
Downtown Dental Office • 255 S. Grand Ave., Suite 204
620-5777
☞ Services E ☞ C8
Kyoto Grand Hotel & Garden • 120 S. Los Angeles St.
629-1200
F# C4
Frying Fish Restaurant • 120 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
680-0567
F C5
Uptown Drug & Gift Shop • 444 S. Flower St.
612-4300
The Los Angeles Athletic Club • 431 W. 7th St.
630-5200
§ P
B3
F NA
E Entertainment
P Free Parking with Validation
The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM FIDM Museum Galleries & Shops • 919 S. Grand Ave.
624-1200
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels • 555 W. Temple St.
680-5200
El Pollo Loco • 260 S. Broadway
626-7975
Orsini Apartments • 505 N. Figueroa St. Gus’s Drive-In • 1657 W. 3rd St.
877-267-5911 483-8885
§☞
B5
Bunker Hill Real Estate • 800 W. 1st St., #401
680-1720
§
A7
Glo • 1050 Wilshire Blvd.
866-216-2101
☞
B6
Dr. Silvia Kasparian DDS • 601 W. 5th St., Suite 1110
892-8172
§
A7
Medici • 725 S. Bixel St.
888-886-3731
F C2
CBS Seafood Restaurant • 700 N. Spring St.
617-2323
§ m D7
Cecil Hotel • 640 South Main St.
800-896-5294
F C7
Clifton’s Brookdale Restaurant • 648 S. Broadway
627-1673
F C5
FF_ C2 P
F NA
Far East Plaza/Wing Hop Fung • 727 N. Broadway
626-7200
Tommy’s • 2575 W. Beverly Blvd.
389-9060
☞
B7
Carl’s Jr. • 254 S. Broadway
625-1357
PIP Printing • 700 Wilshire Blvd.
489-2333
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700 S. Flower St, Ste. 1940 Los Angeles, CA 90017 213.327.0200 maps�cartifact.com
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SearchDowntownLA.com
January 5, 2009
Downtown News 21
CLASSIFIED
pLAce your Ad onLine At www.LAdowntownnews.com
l.a. downtown news Classifieds call: 213-481-1448 classified display & Line ads deadlines: thursday 12 pm for rent
real estate for sale
STOP RENTING! Own A Home. 100% Financing. Zero Down. No Closing Costs. Federally Insured. 1st Time Buyer OK. Call 866-903-8051. Green Planet Mtg. DOC LIC#4130948. (Cal-SCAN) ThE MEdIcI 1 & 2 Bdrm Apts. Granite Kitchens, Washer/Dryers, Business Center, 2 Pools, Spa! Visit TheMedici.com for a full List of Amenities. Call 888886-3731 for Specials! TWO MONThS FREE! (O.A.C.) Brand New Resort Apartments. Granite kitchens, washer/dryers, pools, spas, saunas, fitness ctr, free tanning beds & much more! 866-690-2894. UP TO 1 month free! (O.A.C.) New downtown luxury apartments with granite kitchens, marble baths, pool, spa, saunas & free parking. 888-736-7471.
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offICe lofts
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lofts
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FIREFIGhTERS WANTEd. Paid training, good salary, S for school, regular raises, benefits, retirement. HS grads ages 17-34. Call Mon-Fri 1-800-3456289. (Cal-SCAN) URBAN PLANNER: prepare plans for uses of land & facilities etc. Must: Master degree & skills. F/T job: South El Monte, CA. Lee Ray Construction, Inc. Fax: 626279-1722.
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Continued on next page
Call 213-625-1313
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6th + Grand Ave.
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LOOKING FOR A cOST efficient way to get out a NEWS RELEASE? The California Press Release Service is the only service with 500 current daily, weekly and college newspaper contacts in California. Questions call (916) 288-6010. www. CaliforniaPressReleaseService. com. (Cal-SCAN)
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
22 Downtown News
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com
Continued from previous page
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with minimum 35lb
610 S. Rampart Blvd. @ 6th St (213)804-0069 Open Daily 7 a.m.-10 p.m. • Free Parking
Offices • Offices • Offices • Offices
PROFESSIONAL LOFT organizer / designer. Start the New Year with an organized loft. Closets, home, office, art studio, storage. Move in/out. OrganizeWithCaryn@Hotmail.com or 310-925-2819. LE MONSIEUR Gentlemen’s Clothier. Custom / ready made clothing. Complimentary dry cleaning. www.shoplemonsieur. com 323-222-4100.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NamES
Ask About Our Move-In Specials! 1-bedroom apartments starting at $1900 2-bedroom apartments starting at $2685
• Elegant Courtyards Pool/spa Putting greens Zen Garden
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• Clubhouse Lounge Pool Table Large Flat Screen TV Snacks
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. 20082181808 The following persons doing business as: (1)MANNY SOPRANO,
(2) MANNY SOPRANO WEB GROUP, (3) LOS ANGELES LATINA, (4) LOS ANGELES LATINA TV, 256 S. Robertson Blvd., Suite #7061, Beverly Hills, CA 90211, are hereby registered by the following registrant: MANUEL ESPINOZA, 256 S. Robertson Blvd., #766, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. This business is conducted by an Individual. Registrant has not begun to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on December 11, 2008. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on December 11, 2008. 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. 12/15, 12/22, 12/29, 1/02/2009
Place your classified ad online, it’s safe and secure at DowntownNews.com
Beautiful Offices For As Little As $400 Fully Furnished/Corporate ID Programs Flexible Terms/All New Suites Services Include: • Reception • Mail • T-1 • State-of-the-Art Voice Mail & Telephone • Westlaw • Fax • Photocopy • More
• Exclusive Business Center fax and copy machines, computers, and private conference rooms • Exclusive fitness center State of the art LIFE FITNESS equipment • Luxurious Lobby 24-hour Attendant
213 . 381. 50 0 0 918 South Oxford Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90006
Ve r s a i l l e s L i v i n g . c o m
Take Your Game to the Next Level Learn Course Management
3 Learn while you play 3 Shot visualization 3 Mastering club selection
3 Driving strategies 3 Mid/long iron techniques 3 Short game fundamentals
In golf, its you versus the course. Learn to manage the entire game, not just the mechanics of your swing. Learn course management and improve your game.
Steve Andelich Professional Golf Instructor
818.618.2099
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THAI MASSAGE SPECIALIST VIP Room Available. The Best Way For Business Meetings & Entertainment
Professional massage for men & women. Services include Thai Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Swedish Oil Massage, Foot Massage, Sauna, Steam, and more. Lounge area.
MASSAGEH
First Professionally Licensed Massage Shop in L.A. County.
3386766 0119
SakURa hEalTh gYm & SaUNa, INC. 111 N. Atlantic Blvd. Ste #231-233 Monterey Park, CA 91754 (626) 458-1919 [Corner of Garvey Ave.]
Children’s Performing Group
Sunshine Generation Singing, dancing, performing and fun! For boys & girls ages 3 and up! SunshineGenerationLA.com 909-861-4433
LOFT LIVING
Your number 1 source for Loft sales, rentals and development! DowntownNews.com
Luxury Rooms in Downtown Monthly Rents Start at $880 1 & 2 Bedrooms Available
HealtH Dept. rank a for 7 ConseCutive Years
HBODY
laUNDRY SERvICES
• Fully Furnished • 100% Utilities Paid • • Refrigerator, Microwave & TV In Each Room • • Wireless Access Throughout Bldg. • Gym • • Close to USC & Loyola Law School • • Presidential Suite with Kitchen • Parking Available Onsite
Special STUDeNT RaTe! $780 1 person
$100 OFF on 1st months Rent Exp. Jan. 15, 2009
Mayfair Hotel 1256 West 7th street
Simin (213) 484-9789 Ext. 555 or (213) 632-1111 Fully furnished with TV, telephone, microwave, refrigerator. Full bathroom. Excellent location. Downtown LA. Weekly maid service.
Monthly from $695 utilities paid. (213) 627-1151
Furnished single unit with kitchenette, bathroom. Excellent location. Downtown LA. Weekly rate $275 inc.
Monthly from $595 utilities paid. (213) 612-0348
Additional Features: Kitchen Facilities, All Support Services, Great Views, Free Conference Room Hours, Fully Trained Staff, Cost Effective.
Jenny Ahn jahn@regentBC.com
(213) 996-8301 www.regentbc.com
MOVE-IN SPECIAL REAL ARtist Lofts foR LEAsE
Open House Sunday 12:00pm-3:00pm 1250 Long Beach Ave. L.A. (Friendly Fun Community)
Wood floors, New kitchen, fireplace, high ceilings, jacuzzi, laundry room, pool. Gated Parking. View of Downtown.
On Spring St.
Spring Tower Lofts:
2bdrm/2bath, 2300 sqft, $3000/mo. • Live/Creative work space • 14 story bldg. • Rooftop garden terrace w/city view • Pet friendly
Premiere Towers:
2 bdrms/2 bath, $1750/mo. • 3 bdrms/2 bath, $2100/mo. • Rooftop garden terrace/GYM w/city view • 24 hr. doorman • free (1) parking
City Lofts:
880 sqft, 13 ft ceilings, $1650 • Granite marble top • Stainless steel appliances/ refrigerator etc. • Pet friendly
Sorry No Dogs
We are located in a prime area in Downtown LA nice neighborhood w/ salon, market, café etc. Wired for high speed internet & cable, central heat & A/C
1100 Ft 2000 Ft. Prices from$1750–$2500 $1600-$2300 1100 Sq Sq Prices from $1750–$2500 1100Sq Sq Ft Ft ––– 2000 2000 Sq Sq Ft. Includes 1 Pkg space.
Please call 213.627.6913 www.cityloftsquare.com
Call Emily (866) 425-7259
Do you have something to sell? All ads run for 2 weeks. Ads may be renewed after two weeks for 50% off the original price of the ad.
Ad prices (Marketplace and Automotive Categories ONLY): • Items under $300…12 words, 2 weeks FREE! • Items $301 to $500…15 words, only $11.50 • Items $501 to $1200…15 words, only $14.00 • Items $1201 to $2000…15 words, only $16.50 • Items $2001+…15 words, only $19.00 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.
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Ad Copy: ___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________
January 5, 2009
H E L P WA N T E D
Available Immediately
madison hotel Clean furnished single rooms. 24-hour desk clerk service. •Daily, $25.00 •Weekly, $99.00 •Monthly, $295.00 (213) 622-1508 423 East 7th St.
Join Us! llEnt PAy We Are Growing Everyday! ExcE nEfits!! & BE IMMEDIATE OPENINGS FOR
BUS DRIVERS FOR Downtown DASH • Have superb customer relations skills • Exercise sound judgment in stressful situations • Understand and follow detailed oral and written instructions • Quickly and accurately count money at a glance • Fluent in English
Our complete benefits package includes: Health Insurance and Paid Vacations
Minimum Requirements • Minimum age: 21 years old • Class C driver’s license • No more than 2 pts. in the last 36 months on DMV record (H6 form)
(2 blocks west of San Pedro St.)
05002822B850
Top floor of 11 story (18,000 SF) historic building available now! Perfect for corporate hqtrs. Features separate executive suite(s). Stunning views of LA two blocks away from Staples Center and across the street from the new LA Live complex. The building also has approx 4,000 sq ft of beautiful contiguous space and some small offices available. These spaces can be viewed by appointment. Information available to qualified prospective tenants. Email request to mdavis@shammasgroup.com or call (213) 746-6300
Downtown News 23
SearchDowntownLA.com
2012 Laura Street, Huntington Park, CA 90255 Job line 323-582-1875
TWO MONTHS FREE!
Bunker Hill real estate Co, inC. For rent: EstablishEd 1984 ❏ Prom. West-2 Bed. 2 Bath. 7th Floor. Elegant Upgrades. Green House. Pride of Ownership. $3,200 Furn. $3,000 Unfurn. ❏ Prom. West-2 Bed. 2 Bath. 5th Floor. $2,200 Month ❏ Bunker Hill Tower-2 Bed. 2 Bath. N/W View. $2,200 Month ❏ LA Fayette PK. PL.-2 Bed. 2 Bath. 3rd Floor. $1,750 Month Foreclosures-los Angeles ❏ 4 Bed, 2 Bath. Pasadena. Semi Circular Driveway. Price $411,900. ❏ 3 Bed, 2 Bath. Pasadena. Great For Growing Family. $409,900 ❏ 3 Bed. 2 Bath. Pasadena. Upgrades. 3 Car Gar. Big Lot. $594,900 ❏ 3 Bed. 3. Bath. Lawndale. Tri-Level Townhouse. Large $329,900 ❏ 2 Bed. 2. Bath. Altadena. 18,500 sq.ft. Lot Needs Some TLC. $412,000
Promenade West Condo
2 Story Townhouse. West Facing With Downtown City View. Upgrades. Large Patio. Very Elegant. Asking $599,900
Mirza alli
Broker/Realtor Leasing-SalesLoans-Refinance
(213) 680-1720 e-mail us: Info@bunkerhillrealestate.com
Call us for other condos for sale or lease Dwntwn & surrounding areas!!
www.Bunkerhillrealestate.com
Santee Court Lofts from $1,450 716 Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 623-8101 • www.santeecourt.com
Get your TRUE story to hollywood. PUBLIC NOTICE BY THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, IN CONFORMANCE WITH SECTION 33490 OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA’S HEALTH & SAFETY CODE, REGARDING THE ADOPTION OF THE MID TERM REPORT FOR THE FIVE-YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (FY2005-FY2009) OF THE PICO UNION No. 1 AND PICO UNION No. 2 REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREAS OF COUNCIL DISTRICT 1. NOTICE is hereby given that the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, California (CRA/LA) will hold a public hearing on the Mid Term Report of the Five-Year Implementation Plan (FY2005-FY2009) for the Pico Union No. 1 and Pico Union No. 2 Redevelopment Project Areas of Council District 1, Hollywood and Central Region on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. at the Community Redevelopment Agency of¿ce located at 354 South Spring Street, 6th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90013. A map showing the location of the Project Area is attached to this notice. The public hearing is being conducted to hear testimony of all interested parties regarding the Mid Term Report of the Five-Year Implementation Plan (FY2005-FY2009) for the Pico Union No. 1 and Pico Union No. 2 Redevelopment Project Areas of Council District 1. Any person desiring the opportunity to be heard in the Implementation Plan will be afforded an opportunity to do so. At the above stated time and place, any and all persons having any testimony regarding the proposed Mid Term Report of the Five-Year Implementation Plan (FY2005-FY2009) for the Pico Union No. 1 and Pico Union No. 2 Redevelopment Project Areas of Council District 1 may appear before the CRA/LA Board of Commissioners and be heard. The hearing may be cancelled or set for another time in the future at any time until the scheduled hearing-time. Copies of the Implementation Plans are available for public review at the following locations: CRA/LA Of¿ces 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 354 South Spring Street, 5th Fl. Los Angeles, CA 90013 (213) 977-1925
CRA/LA Hollywood Regional Of¿ce 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 3055 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 520 Los Angeles, CA 90010 (213) 977-2633
Of¿ce of Council District 1 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 200 N. Spring Street, Room # 410 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 473-7001
Pico Union Public Library 1030 S. Alvarado Street Los Angeles, CA. 90006 (213) 368-7545
Any and all persons having any objections to the proposed Mid Term Report, or who deny the regularity of this proceeding or wish to speak on any issue raised by the proposed Mid Term Report, may appear at the public hearing and will be afforded an opportunity to state their objections. If any person desires to challenge in court the adoption of the proposed Mid Term report or any proceedings in connection therewith, they may be limited to raising only those issues that they or someone else raised a the hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the CRA/LA, or prior to, the hearing. Written correspondence on this matter may be addressed to the CRA/LA at the above noted addresses. The public hearing is being held pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 33490 and is open to the public.
Los Angeles Downtown News is offering a once-a-year opportunity to reach more than 180,000 potential customers with its 2009 Los Angeles Restaurant Guide. 25,000 copies of this attractive magazine will be “outserted” around Los Angeles Downtown News. We also print 55,000 extra copies that are requested throughout the year by visitors, concierges, meeting planners and hotel and convention organizers. Don’t miss out.
The 2009 Los Angeles Restaurant Guide
Your review-style ad includes an inviting, upbeat story and a color photograph of your restaurant.
Reserve your space today. Call (213) 481-1448.
The Restaurant Guide will be online throughout 2009 at DowntownLADining.com.
Publishes March 30, 2009. Deadline is February 2, 2009.
24 Downtown News
January 5, 2009
DowntownNews.com photo by Gary Leonard
We Got Games The Locals Need a New Year’s Resolution to Win Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or nba.com/lakers. Tuesday, Jan. 6, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 11, 6:30 p.m.: The Lakers have three big home games this week, two against teams they lost to on the road last year. First up on Tuesday is Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets; then it’s revenge time against the Indiana Pacers on Friday and the Miami Heat on Sunday. Veteran point guard Derek Fisher will have his hands full as he tries to steady the squad. In between is a game at Golden State (Jan. 7). Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or nba.com/clippers. Sunday, Jan. 11, 12:30 p.m.: The Clippers are away for most of the week, with games against three top
Western Conference teams in Dallas (Jan. 6), San Antonio (Jan. 8) and New Orleans (Jan. 9). Things won’t get easier when the Clippers return on Sunday to face Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. Los Angeles Kings Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or kings.nhl.com. Thursday, Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.: After starting the week with an away game at Anaheim (Jan. 6), those same Ducks head north to face the Kings on their home ice. Then the New Jersey Devils come to town. If the Kings have a New Year’s resolution, it should be to win more overtime games and improve goaltending. In 2008, the Kings mustered only two wins in eight overtime or shootout games. —Ryan Vaillancourt
The unsteady Lakers will need the veteran leadership of Derek Fisher as they host three opponents this week at Staples Center.
Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore!
G r a n d To w e r 255 South Grand Avenue
Promenade To w e r s 123 South Figueroa Street LEASING INFORMATION
LEASING I N F O R M AT I O N
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(213) 229-9777
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(213) 626-1500
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