01-19-09

Let’s Do Lunch

LOS ANGELES

DOWNTOWN

NEWS

13-17

Heroin gang punishment, an officer moves on, and other happenings Around Town.

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Howard Leff and his Party of One check out the Los Angeles Sports Museum.

W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M

January 19, 2009

Volume 38, Number 3

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Planning a Better District

INSIDE

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and His Senior Deputy/Ex-Developer Dan Rosenfeld Chart Their Course Holy cow, Downtown’s getting a park!

by Jon RegaRdie executive editoR

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any people were surprised recently when new Second District County Supervisor Mark RidleyThomas announced the hiring of Dan Rosenfeld as his senior deputy for planning,

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CONvErSaTiONS

transportation, the environment and economic development. This type of top-level post usually goes to a career veteran of the public sector.

Rosenfeld, meanwhile, spent much of the last decade running Urban Partners, the Downtown Los Angeles-based development

Urban Scrawl on the Obama inauguration.

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Designing the performing arts school.

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firm he co-founded with Paul Keller and the late Ira Yellin. The company’s projects include the Civic Center’s Caltrans headquarters, the University Gateway student housing complex near USC and several transit-oriented developments. Although Rosenfeld had a previous stint in the public sector — after succeeding as an office building developer, he worked for the state and then the city from 1992-1998 — until a couple weeks ago, he was decidedly part of the for-profit community.

The two have remained in touch since the time Ridley-Thomas, while on the City Council, chaired a committee to which see Second District, page 8

photo by Gary Leonard

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas (left) and Senior Deputy Dan Rosenfeld aim to push job growth and economic development in areas across the Second District.

Geoff Palmer’s Da Vinci Code

Olvera Street Rent Issue Could Ignite

Unfazed by the Crippled Credit Market, Downtown Developer Gets Ready to Push a 670-Unit Apartment Complex

Merchants, Management May Battle Over Rates at Historic Attraction

by RichaRd guzmán city editoR

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by Ryan vaillancouRt

All the latest Health news.

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A huge art show comes Downtown.

Love Means 20

A box of chocolates, a dozen roses and your message in Downtown News.

D

uring the residential building boom of the past several years, Downtown Los Angeles was a veritable crane city.

But in 2009, some real estate experts predict that the ongoing recession will put Downtown cranes on the endangered species list.

Just don’t tell that to Geoff Palmer, the developer known for his Italian villa-inspired apartment complexes SearchDowntownLA.com E L L and— the Orsini which like the Medici have brought thousands of marketrate residences to the community.

Despite the slumping economy and falling rental rates, his The First 12 Words Are FREE! Brentwood-based company, G.H. My ne Love Line Message: en Val ti Palmer Associates, expects to break ground on Piero II, a 335-unit apartment building at Sixth and Bixel streets, at the end of the month. The project abuts the original 225-unit Piero, which was completed in 2004.

On Friday, Jan. 23, Palmer’s latest proposed Downtown project, the 670-unit Da Vinci, will have its first hearing before the city Planning Department, initiating a process that, barring any major hiccups, would allow for a 2011 groundbreaking, Palmer said via email.

The Da Vinci is slated to rise on what are now a group of undeveloped parcels and surface parking lots around Fremont and Temple February 11, 2008

Sistas!...We are loved, adored, desired, envied and don’t forget it…Dorothy

Hi Sexy!...Just wanted to say I love you so much!...

Mary

February 9

LA Live…Will you marry me?…Downtown

Valentine, love you…Mommy

Economy…We’ll be together for better or for worse, we’ve seen the worse, now lets make it better…L.A. Consumer

Mr. & Mrs. Roberts…Wedding anniversary! Best wishes, Norman and Jona-Labaton Roberts!...Love, Titalib

Manny Ramirez…Please don’t leave me…

Dodger Fan

Larry & Lucita Geronca…Kaitulari’s families by consanguinity, affinity and choice respect you…

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Hector and Christine Barraza…You earned the respect & love of relatives and friends…LGV Porter

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Joanie…Loves forever on Valentine’s Day, our Bea andper Lavireader.)

DD…Thanks for all your support you Wedding Day…Love Sunny(Limited Day to one FREE message rock…Love, Boysie Jackie, My Sweetie Pie…I can never imagine my life without you. Your beautiful smile makes my C & H…Sugar and spice is nice, but your sauce is thrice…JS day. Happy Valentine’s Day!...Love, Mommy Daisy, My Baby Cakes…Thank you for all your and kisses! I look forward to them every day. Happy Valentine’s Day!...Love, Mommy

Print type love,or hugs

Grandma Gloria…Es un orgullo tener una Abuelita tan especial como tu. Happy Valentine’s Day. We love you…Jackie y Daisy Mama…I love you! Let’s scare the cat and go to the park!...Vivian To the little one Catherine Navas…You are the only one!...Steven

Rodrigo…Te amo mucho papito. Tu me haces muy feliz…Tu Gaviota

Yvonne, Joie, Justine…Happy Valentine’s Day, you are my life…Love, Daddy LaDonna…Hi baby, love you much…Al

Free up to here

I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me, Crystal?...Adriane James…At last my love has come along…Not Etta Continue on another

Jimmo & Terry Moreno…You’re accommodating, loving and much loved by everyone…Me Citlalit Corona…You are my inspiration and shinning star, I love you…Wendy Love is spelled DAVID, Always…BK

Landy, my husband…I can’t imagine life without you, love always…Aarion Emily…You will always be my only Valentine, 1937 to eternity…Bill Disser…Forever you have touched my heart. Happy Valentine’s, Always…Disserette Mike…You and me forever we will be. Happy Valentine’s. XOXO…Diane I can’t wait to be your husband this year! I love you Vanna Tran!...8.8.8

sheet if necessary

Just fill out the Love Lines form and mail, fax, email or deliver before Tuesday, February 3.

The first 12 words are free.

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Pay just $1 for each word exceeding the first FREE 12. All messages must be prepaid.

Darling Sunny…Thank you for being my husband Robert Bodnar…Through good, bad, happiness Total Words in Joanie Message (first 12 areI still FREE!) andwords sadness, love you…Wendy and rescuer…Love

Name

TB…I wanna singa with you, in the moon-a and the

June-a and forever…Your Owl Jolson Address

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Robert…the most loving husband…Pat

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24 MAP 25 CLASSIFIEDS

Mr. Full Marine…Spend Valentine’s Day/Court with little monkey?...Michelle Alex Santiago…Chris will always love you, hope you are well, God Bless.

James…At last my love has come along…Not Etta

teeth…Mama and Daddy

are the Number of words over 12: xNicole…You $1 per word = $best sister. Happy Valentine’s LM…Be mine always, here in L.A. or anywhere… Day…Your sister Mercy Anne Sara amount enclosed: $ Total Denise Marie Kavialani…You will always be my (All messages must be prepaid)

L.A. Downtown News • 1264 W. First Street, L.A., CA 90026 • fax: (213) 250-4617 • email: lovelines@DowntownNews.com • office hours: M-F, 8:30-5

22 CALENDAR LISTINGS

Downtown News 1

LOVE LINES

xprEss your amour in our romantic ovE inEs Edition dEadLinE for EntriEs — February 3

Carlos and Bonniem Calizo…Love and good care. Wedding congratulations, best wishes!...Love Mommy

Send your Downtown Love Line.

he El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Board of Commissioners recently took a first step toward raising the rents for scores of commercial tenants at the historic birthplace of the city.

The move could ignite a longsimmering dispute. Some officials and real estate observers note that many of the tenants on the street pay rents that are a fraction of fairmarket value and have not had a

staff wRiteR

Robert Bodnar…Through good, bad, happiness and sadness, I still love you…Wendy Robert…the most loving husband…Pat

Mercy Anne…You are the best sister. Happy Valentine’s Day…Your sister Nicole Nicole…You are the best sister. Happy Valentine’s Day…Your sister Mercy Anne Denise Marie Kavialani…You will always be my Valentine, love you…Mommy

photo by Gary Leonard

Mr. & Mrs. Roberts…Wedding anniversary! Best wishes, Norman and Jona-Labaton Roberts!...Love, Titalib

Developer Geoff Palmer, shown here in front of his Piero project, has brought more than 2,000 market-rate apartments to Downtown. This week he’ll present plans for another 670-unit complex.

Larry & Lucita Geronca…Kaitulari’s families by consanguinity, affinity and choice respect you…

Love, Geronca Family Jimmo & Terry Moreno…You’re accommodating, loving and much loved by everyone…Me Citlalit Corona…You are my inspiration and shinning star, I love you…Wendy Love is spelled DAVID, Always…BK

Landy, my husband…I can’t imagine life without you, love always…Aarion

Emily…You will always be my only Valentine, 1937 to eternity…Bill Disser…Forever you have touched my heart. Happy Valentine’s, Always…Disserette Mike…You and me forever we will be. Happy Valentine’s. XOXO…Diane

I can’t wait to be your husband this year! I love you Vanna Tran!...8.8.8

streets, near where the 101 and 110 freeways meet. The property, which Palmer bought in 2004 for about $8.2 million, consists of 31 lots totaling about 202,430 square feet.

The 508,000-sqaure-foot project would put six floors of housing above one level of subterranean parking. It would include two pools, one of which would be on the roof, and a full-size basketball court.

“Although the classic Italian see Da Vinci, page 12

Mr. Full Marine…Spend Valentine’s Day/Court with little monkey?...Michelle Alex Santiago…Chris will always love you, hope you are well, God Bless.

photo by Gary Leonard

El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument General Manager Robert Andrade is one of the officials looking at increasing the rents for merchants on Olvera Street. Some tenants maintain that rents should not rise until improvements are made.

rent increase in decades. Some merchants counter that rents should not rise until long-promised renovations are completed.

The commission on Jan. 8 voted unanimously to assign its Budget and Operations Committee with the task of reviewing rents at the monument and reporting back with recommendations on what the new rates should be.

“Essentially, it’s the first step in moving toward realizing self-sufficiency for El Pueblo and for the fair market rent that we’re looking to achieve,” said Robert Andrade, general manager for the city department that runs the monument.

El Pueblo Commissioner David Louie, who chairs the department’s Budget Committee, said he plans to have a report before the commission within 60 days that will outline recommendations for new lease agreements, including rental rates and area maintenance charges.

If approved by the El Pueblo Commission, the report would go to the City Council for review. That could lead to negotiations with the tenants.

“We got the opportunity to move forward and hopefully we’ll turn to a path that’s going to get El Pueblo economically and financially sustainable,” Louie said.

Reaching financial stability is crucial for a department that has had see El Pueblo, page 10

Since 1972, an independent, locally owned and edited newspaper, go figure.

2 Downtown News

AROUNDTOWN City Takes Aim at Downtown Gang’s Wallets

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n a legal move that city officials characterized as the first of its kind in the state, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo’s office has secured a $5 million civil judgment against the Downtown-based Fifth and Hill gang. It allows the city to try to seize $4.2 million in gang members’ ill-gotten assets; the remaining $800,000 does not need to be tied to illegal activities, Delgadillo said. The latter part of the action stems from Senate Bill 1126, which allows prosecutors to collect assets not linked to criminal activity from any named gang members. The regulation essentially allows the city to treat gangs as businesses, Delgadillo said at a press conference at Pershing Square on Tuesday, Jan. 13. “Just because Fifth and Hill doesn’t have articles of incorporation, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to treat them the way we treat bad corporations,” Delgadillo said. City Attorney officials said the $5 million judgment represents a conservative estimate of the costs incurred over the last 20 years by the city and businesses, mainly in graffiti removal and security, as the result of the gang’s activities. The gang had long used Pershing Square for its heroin sales in the area, Delgadillo said. Those activities have been significantly handcuffed since the city secured an injunction against the gang last February, police officials said.

Phil Jackson Up Close aker fans who want to move from the sidelines to the court get a rare opportunity on Tuesday, Jan. 20, with the annual Basketball 101 event. The Staples Center fundraiser organized by the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission and its president, Kathryn Schloessman, and facilitated by Lakers’ Executive Vice President Jeannie Buss, opens with the opportunity to shoot free throws on the Lakers’ court. That is followed by a buffet dinner and an up-close tutorial from Coach Phil Jackson; this year’s theme is “The Complete Game” and Jackson will be joined by players including Derek Fisher and assistant coaches Kurt Rambis and Brian Shaw. The evening also includes a silent auction

Developers See the Bright Side and a frank Q&A session; last year, in describing the frustrations of teaching former center Kwame Brown to be more aggressive, Jackson quipped, “Kwame has to be led to water, then forced to drink.” Individual tickets for the event that begins at 5 p.m. are $550. More information is at lasec.net.

Where’s the Love?

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re you the most romantic wordsmith since Cyrano? Do you want the world, or at least Downtown, to know it? Do you want to do so for free? If so, it’s time to fill out a Downtown Love Line. Readers can now make their statement in Los Angeles Downtown News’ annual Valentine’s Day issue. The first 12 words of a message are free ($1 per word after that; one free message per reader). To fill yours out, complete the form on page 21. Love Lines must be received

by Feb. 3 and will be published in the Feb. 9 issue. It’s time to get your love on.

Central Division Officer Moves On

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APD Officer Jack Richter, a familiar Downtown face who for 18 months served as senior lead officer for Little Tokyo, the Arts District and part of Skid Row, has been assigned to a new post in Chief William Bratton’s Community Relations office. On Jan. 4, Richter began his new role as the department’s liaison to the Los Angeles Muslim community.

“Under Chief Bratton, the umbrella of community policing is developing a large community resource program where we are going to develop relationships and develop programs to strengthen partnerships with various ethnic, religious and business communities,” said Richter, who admitted to not being very familiar with Muslim culture, at least not yet. While he jumped at the opportunity to take the new post, leaving Central Division was difficult, he said. “But in working with the BIDs and the volunteers, residents and the businesses, it’s better than when I found it, so for me that was a goal that I achieved and I feel pretty good about it,” Richter said.

Among his other accomplishments, Richter helped organize Downtown’s National Night Out celebration. Last August’s event in Little Tokyo attracted thousands of people.

Why does this little burger stand attract over a million people a year?

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t a time when the economy is reeling, at least two real estate companies that have large stakes in Downtown are looking to grow. At least, that is what they told the crowd at a Thursday, Jan. 15, luncheon hosted by the Central City Association at the Wilshire Grand Hotel.

During the panel discussion titled “Staying Alive Through 2009: What to Expect in the Coming Year,” Harlan Lee, founder of Lee Homes, the developer of Downtown’s Flower Street Lofts, Market Lofts and other complexes, said he is looking for distressed properties to purchase. While he did not give specifics, he said Lee Homes is working with an East Coast bank to buy and complete a 100-unit condominium project east of Downtown. Another member of the panel, Bill Witte, west coast president of the Related Cos., said his company is also looking at distressed properties.

While Related has hit a snag in getting its $3 billion Grand Avenue project off the ground, Witte said the company is focusing on its stable portfolio of low-income and affordable housing, including a senior housing complex at 740 S. Olive St. that Related bought late last year and is refinancing. In terms of Downtown’s saturated rental market, Witte, whose company will open Little Tokyo’s luxury San Pedro Apartments in May, said, “Downtown in a way is a victim of its own success.” He added, “I should use a bullhorn here: It is doing better than a lot of places.”

Supermarket Sweep

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ittle Tokyo’s Mitsuwa Marketplace will hold a closing sale Jan.19-25. The Japanese supermarket inside the Little Tokyo Shopping Mall on Alameda Street will close for good on Sunday, earlier than a recently announced February date. News that the store might be replaced surfaced after a group of local Korean-American investors purchased the mall last May for $35.5 million. Earlier this month, Jason Kim of Coldwell Banker, who is handling the mall’s leasing and acting as a spokesman for the owners, said the primary contenders to replace Mitsuwa are the Korean chain H Mart and an international-themed market.

Starting this Monday, Mitsuwa’s merchandise (with a few exceptions including cigarettes, liquor and appliances) will all be marked at 50% off.

metro.net

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For more details, check metro.net/tap or call 1.866.TAPTOGO.

Public Hearings On Bus Service Feb. 4 -12 Proposed bus service changes will be discussed at five public meetings being held February 4 -12 throughout LA County. For details about the proposed changes along with the time, date and location of the hearing nearest you, check online at metro.net.

Make A Resolution You Can Keep

Find out at the landmark location near Downtown. Home of the original Chili-burger.

Quality and value since 1946:

Forget about dieting. This year resolve to Go Metro. Join the employees at 335 worksites throughout LA County who are finding a better way to get to work through Metro’s Employer Pass Program. Find out more at 213.922.2811.

Chili Hamburger .............. $2.00 Chili Cheeseburger ........... $2.40

Celebrate the Chinese Year of the Ox at the 31st Annual LA Chinatown Firecracker 5k/10k Run/Walk on Sunday, February 8. Metro Rail’s Chinatown Station is an easy way to get close to all the action. Use the Trip Planner at metro.net for connections.

Chinatown Firecracker Run/ Walk Feb. 8 tax included

TAP Ready For Reduced Fare Customers Metro riders with Senior, College/Vocational or Student K-12 discount passes need to submit an application for a new reusable TAP card. You can get applications at Metro Customer Centers or online. Check metro.net/reducedfares for details or call 213.680.0054.

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If you’d like to know more, please call us at 1.800.464.2111, or visit metro.net.

GEN-FE-09-008 ©2009 LACMTA

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January 19, 2009

DowntownNews.com

January 19, 2009

Downtown News 3

SearchDowntownLA.com

photo by Gary Leonard

Downtown to Get New Park Historic Core Amenity to Be Paid for With Highly Scrutinized Funds

by AnnA Scott StAff writer

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ity officials last week announced plans to create a small park in green-starved Downtown. It would be a victory for the city Department of Recreation and Parks, which has been severely criticized for its inability to use fees from developers to create parks across Los Angeles.

Ninth District Councilwoman Jan Perry and the Department of Recreation and Parks said last Wednesday that the park will occupy nearly one acre of land in the Historic Core. The city is in the process of acquiring the parcel for $5.6 million from developer Downtown Properties, who previously entitled the land for a high-rise hotel and condominiums. Perry noted that the price is 12.5% below what the land was appraised for in September 2008.

“I think it’s a major step and I hope it’s the first one of many,” said Perry. “I hope it’s a place of peaceful refuge from the stress of daily life.”

Fronting Spring Street between Fourth and Fifth streets, the property currently houses a parking lot and construction equipment for Downtown Properties’ adjacent Rowan lofts and under-construction El Dorado lofts. The city expects to close escrow on the property in March, said Perry, and after that will gather community input on what features it should include. There is no timeline yet, but because of the park’s small size, Perry said, it should open within months of the sale closing.

“I know we have a lot of creative people in the Historic Core, so I expect the ideas will be very unusual and unique,” she said. “I expect a true urban park.”

Over the next two months, the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council will hold a series of community meetings where attendees will be invited to make suggestions about park features and management, said DLANC President Russell Brown.

“Probably it will be a place that can accommodate small community events,” said Brown. “We’re looking at a mid-block alley paseo that would connect Fifth Street to Fourth Street with the park in the middle. Maybe a dog care area. Not a dog park, but a place to curb your dogs, maybe a dog run.”

He also noted that the park could eventually complement ground-floor restaurants proposed for surrounding buildings, and the monthly Downtown Art Walk, which includes nearby galleries.

In terms of management, it remains to be seen whether the city or the Historic Downtown Business Improvement District and the community will take responsibility for the park’s upkeep.

The land is being purchased with the help of Quimby fees, assessments collected from developers that go toward park projects. The city’s Quimby program has been in the spotlight since late 2007, when Recreation and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri revealed that the department had accumulated more than $120 million in fees since 2002, but lacked an effective tracking system for the money and that much of it remained unused.

Subsequent City Council hearings and an audit of the Quimby program by City Controller Laura Chick increased pressure on Recreation and Parks to identify potential new park sites.

Perry, an outspoken critic of Mukri’s handling of the park funds, last spring created a task force to address Downtown’s lack of parks. The committee, which includes members of several city departments and the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, among others, helped guide the search for Downtown Los Angeles park sites. Members recently looked at another plot, near the intersection of Main and Winston streets, as a potential acquisition.

Mukri has argued that his department exercised prudence in refusing to quickly spend the Quimby money.

“I’m very happy we did not just spend the Quimby money,” he said last week. “We came up with a plan, we worked with the Downtown folks… they mapped out an area for us to focus on and we got it. This is the first step in what I hope will be many to improve Downtown.”

The department is currently working on a citywide assessment to identify park needs and match them with available funds. That assessment, Mukri said, should be complete within two months.

A final master plan for the department, which will incorporate information from the needs assessment as well as detailed guidelines for everything from hiring practices to land acquisition, is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

The city is in the process of purchasing a nearly one-acre parcel on Spring Street for a new neighborhood park.

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4 Downtown News

January 19, 2009

DowntownNews.com

EDITORIALS How to Survive Tough Times

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itness some nimble moves in Downtown Los Angeles. With barely a blink of the eye (okay, a blink plus some sleepless nights) people are reinventing themselves and their projects or businesses.

As they do so they are not only upping their own odds for prevailing in tough times, they are setting an example for others.

Almost everyone is facing some level of financial challenge right now. Those who survive the tough economic times and at some later date flourish are likely to have traits in common.

Basic among them will be the ability to put rigid ideas about themselves and their immediate futures aside and consider broader options. There will be those who have to embrace reinvention.

Witness the recently announced County planning deputy who had been a real estate developer for the better part of a couple of decades, up to and including December, a smart guy who moved quickly to direct his considerable talents elsewhere. We admire his sense of reality, his creativity and his willingness to embrace change. His new boss will make good use of his skills.

Witness a couple of Downtown beauty salon owners when rent got too high. The husband of one built her a salon in their backyard in the Valley, and she moved her business home. Surprising only to those who don’t know her work,

her Downtown clientele followed.

The other salon owner had some sleepless nights, then readjusted her dream. With a redefined mission she moved from a large space in a prime location on Bunker Hill into a smaller prime location in a rehabilitated 100-year-old building in the Historic Core. Her new location is a corner unit with huge windows on two sides and a view of Vibiana. It’s a stunning space.

Witness the reinvention of the Rowan building, which had the unfortunate timing to come online just as the financial terrors of October 2008 hit. Other new residential developments have reinvented themselves over the past two years by changing from their condominium concept to rentals.

The Rowan developers decided to go a different route: They stayed condo, cut their prices by about 45% and are having an auction on Feb. 8.

It might work. A Downtown condo at half price? People may be ready to jump at it, and thus definitely worth a try.

Similar to the others mentioned, the Rowan developers understand that they have to work harder to get customers in the door. If idea A doesn’t fly, try idea B, then C (probably rentals, in this case), and so on. Success, even by its new shortterm definition of survival rather than large profits, takes not only innovation but rededication.

Creative problem-solving is a trait inherent in the evolu-

tion of the species, so in some ways these Downtowners are not doing anything that hasn’t been done since time began.

But we as a culture are coming off of a long stretch of complacency and, as it turns out, overconfidence. Shifting gears will take considerable effort for some, and our local examples are good reminders for anyone else in the community who is still in the sleepless nights stage.

There are two apt clichés to keep in mind while wrestling with options for the future: Pride goeth before the fall, and necessity is the mother of invention. The people who survive and prevail are those who won’t be too proud to let go of a dream, knowing time can make new dreams rewarding in their own way.

Downtown Los Angeles is fortunate to be a “new” city. The people trying to form this new city are by definition less staid, less rigid than those who have not taken on such a challenge.

They are more adventurous, more creative, more flexible, and we look forward to seeing enterprising solutions to new economic realities.

Downtown is also fortunate to be at the center of the L.A. Basin and its 10 million or so people and its vast (and growing) transportation network. In history perhaps, there has never been a better time to be this centrally located. There is widespread desire to use less gas and to live in smaller quarters as an ecological decision. Downtown’s location gives us a hole card to ride out whatever our national economic condition turns out to be.

Here’s to everyone working to come out the other side.

Photo Club Delivers Skid Row Message

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e all have a mental picture of Skid Row. Even with the improvements of the past several years — in particular the decrease in the number of people sleeping on the streets — the very phrase brings to mind abject poverty, lines of tents, rampant drug use, filthy and dangerous conditions, etc.

That is partly why the Skid Row Photography Club is important. The nearly year-old group, which Los Angeles Downtown News wrote about last week, not only provides something of value to its members, but it reminds the rest of the city that there is more to the neighborhood than poverty. It reminds us that, like every other neighborhood, it is foremost about people, and that all people have hopes and dreams and want to improve their lives.

The Skid Row Photography Club seeks both to help those

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

in the area find something fun to do and to empower and improve themselves. It is something that occurs only because two people, Michael Blaze and Dave Bullock, dedicate their time and expertise to help teach a skill, and that entities including the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council take it upon themselves to donate money to buy cameras and art supplies. They have discovered a wealth of community buy-in, including the spaces that have hosted shows of the members’ artwork (an exhibit is currently up at the Spring Street architecture store Raw Materials). We expect that as more people learn about the organization there will be even more offers of help.

Similar stories have been told before: The Skid Row Quilting Club for years has taught a skill most outsiders would never expect to find on Skid Row. The area also has a popular basketball league.

The Skid Row Photography Club, like the other groups, is a worthy pursuit that deserves support and help from volunteers and those with resources. It is also important that the rest of Los Angeles knows about these opportunities. We need to think of Skid Row not only as a picture of poverty, but as a place for people.

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.

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Take the Blue Line to Brooklyn It’s Always Old-Timers’ Day at Downtown’s New Sports Museum

I

’m panicking.

Two hours into my first visit to Downtown’s impressive new Sports Museum of Los Angeles and there’s no sign of a gift shop. Translation: No Happy Hairston snow globes. I can’t get my loved ones a Roman Gabriel rain slicker. Thirty-two thousand square feet inside this baby and I’m walking away without a single Johnny Podres foam finger.

Do you have any idea what eager sports fans would pay for those?

Well, who knows in this economy? But other than the admission fee ($14.95 for adults/$8.95 for children), visitors won’t find any reason to reach for their wallets. Thankfully, it’s not about buying souvenirs. It’s about staring at them.

Howard Leff There’s plenty to see. You can spend hours wandering the galleries and still fail to take in the massive OF ONE amount of historic collectibles on display. Uniforms. Photos. Bats. Balls. Cards. Trophies. Sports movie posters. An entire Rams room! There’s a replica of Ebbets Field at least eight feet long and six feet high. Nearby you’ll find some seats from the actual stadium.

There are vintage baseball gloves with less padding than most oven mitts. Did you know they used to play professional baseball on a frozen lake in 19th-century Brooklyn? The museum has a list of the “ice-baseball” rules. (Balls caught on one bounce, for example, were considered outs.) I have a strong suspicion that headfirst slides required an ambulance, if not a coroner.

The exhibits skew heavily toward baseball and the Dodgers.

In fact, visitors with no prior knowledge might walk away thinking the Dodgers completely dominate the L.A. sports scene, with all other teams not much more than an afterthought.

PARTY

The museum offers colorful details on every inch of Dodgers history outside of Steve Garvey’s last facial. Here’s one tidbit I learned about their years in Brooklyn: The team took its name from borough residents who had to “dodge” street trolleys in an effort to avoid getting hit. Today, many of

Let’s not complain too much about the location. Though it’s not in a perfect Downtown spot, I’d hate to refer to this museum one day by an ominous new name: The Sports Museum of Los Angeles of Anaheim.

these same people are now Mets fans forced to dodge any and all memories of the past two seasons — in an effort to avoid a nervous breakdown.

As opposed to Downtown’s flashy new Grammy Museum, where visitors can step into a sound booth and sing along with famous recording artists, the SMLA is a decidedly lowtech affair. None of the 30 galleries feature a virtual batter’s box, for example, where you might find out what it was like to face Eric Gagne with two outs, nobody on and trailing by one run in the top of the ninth at Dodger Stadium.

Stressful, I’m guessing.

You can’t go one-on-one with a pretend Jerry West, or make believe you’re a Rams quarterback trying to find a wideopen Jack Snow while fleeing a linebacker intent on breaking one of your two favorite legs.

There’s nothing wrong, of course, with the old-school museum approach. However, if owner Gary Cypres wants to bring sports history to life with some interactive touches, I do have a few high-concept suggestions: 1) The Chavez Ravine Gallery: Uh-oh. It’s 1957 and Brooklyn (not for long) Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley yearns to turn your quaint L.A. home into a giant parcel of right centerfield. Shhhh. What’s that sound? Why, it’s heavy equipment! You try to outrun the bulldozers and head for the hills! Or, in this case, out of them. This gallery features a rare chance for the kids to get a firsthand look at the concept of “eminent domain.”

2) The Which Way Did They Go Gallery: You’re forced to help a giant animatronic Georgia Frontiere pack boxes while she moves the Rams right out from under your cleats. “Don’t worry,” she says. “We’re not going very far. Just drive yourself to Barstow, head east on the I-40 and look for the ‘St. Louis’ signs. Just make sure to leave by Thursday night for home games.”

3) The Congressional Committee Gallery: You’re in the hot seat facing our nation’s toughest lawmakers delving into whether or not you and Paul Lo Duca ever injected each other with anything. And, if so, whether or not you and Paul Lo Duca ever looked at each other the same way again. (I’m still working on this one, but the exhibit will involve a noted actor playing the role of Jose Canseco.)

I hope the museum’s a smashing success. I only wish it had somehow landed just a tad closer to L.A. Live. Think of all the sports fans, diners and shoppers who would easily make the museum one of the highlights of their visit without having to make an extra trip.

As it is, they’ll have to meander about a mile and half southeast to the oft-overlooked intersection of Main and Washington. It’s one of those white, beige and gray corners of Downtown that doesn’t get a lot of accidental foot traffic.

Let’s not complain too much about the location. Though it’s not in a perfect Downtown spot, I’d hate to refer to this museum one day by an ominous new name: The Sports Museum of Los Angeles of Anaheim.

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January 19, 2009

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‘This Is Not a Normal School. This Is an Arts School’ In His Own Words, Architect Wolf D. Prix, of Austria-based Coop Himelb(l)au, Explains the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts as told to Ryan Vaillancourt

O

ne of the first challenges we faced is, there is a big difference between the European handling of schools and the American handling of schools, and this is mainly because of security. We had to learn a lot about how the Americans take security very seriously.

“But including public spaces was very important for us.

This is not only for the public and it’s not only for the students. It’s for both coming together.

“In the forefront of the theater lobby there’s a little plaza.

People can hang out there. So it’s not blocking and excluding the public, but it’s offering space to them, whether people take it or not.

“We have two or three points where we could convince the district that it was necessary to have public spaces and semipublic spaces within a secured school. The theater, for one, is a public space and the theater lobby is a public space. Both are situated at the southwest corner of the campus, on Grand Avenue, so that the lobby opens to Downtown.

“The urban layout is very clear. The opening to the public — the theater lobby, and the plaza in front of the lobby — is directed to Downtown. The school entrance, on the other hand, is directed to the north on Cesar Chavez Avenue, the area where the students are coming from.

“To play with those two entrances was one of the architectural design concepts. We also wanted to create, let’s say, a not-so-regular kind of scene along the street, with the circular windows.

“The windows were done like that for many reasons, first to make sure they were different from most windows and walls because this is an arts building and art is different than regular life. The big windows are placed where the best view is and it creates, inside, a very different creative atmosphere.

From outside, it looks like a constellation.

“With regard to the tower, I thought this is a concept driven by making readable, architectural identification points in

“

the anonymous fabric of the city. Identification helps people get their grip on the building.

“With the readable shapes, it means that students will mentally take possession of these spaces. The example of where it didn’t work that way was in Paris. During the riots [in 2005], they burned the schools and they burned the public spaces because they were such anonymous boxes that people have no feeling of value for them. Making people feel value in the space is a goal in all of our projects.

“I also think that people can follow the idea of supporting the arts by creating these icons. For me, it was one of the arguments for why we are doing such expressive icons. One, it’s for identification. But it also shows a supportive gesture to the arts. This is very important, because this is not a normal school. This is an arts school.

“I think we won the design competition because we proposed this tower as an art-supportive element. The tower has an urban function that meets together with the [Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels] as a kind of gateway to Downtown. But the tower is polarizing, I know. People like it. People hate it.

But they’re talking about the school. What I want to know is would [artist Constantin] Brancusi have liked the tower?

Maybe, yes.

“I must also say that I would never have gotten to do this project in Europe. The argumentation there would be, basically, that art is not so important. They are living in the history of art in Vienna but they are not supporting the contemporary art, which is crazy. Here, it was not easy, but it was done.

“The tower is, however, unfinished in a way. The box on top hasn’t been built out.

“We learned from MOCA that rentable space is very valuable and we thought, okay, we created a beautiful space with a beautiful view and maybe the school can rent it and get money for activities. We imagined that tower space to have hybrid functions.

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“The school district didn’t do it, at least for now, but we still think that they could use it as an advertising platform later on. It’s not in function right now but it could be. But you have to remember that to describe a space where you are, or the city that you’re in, is only mental. We have a lot of roofs in Vienna — the towers — which are completely senseless, or seemingly senseless, but it helps to make a city describable.”

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

photo by Gary Leonard

Wolf D. Prix is senior architect at Coop Himelb(l)au, which designed the $232 million High School for the Visual and Performing Arts at 450 N. Grand Ave. It opens in the fall.

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Second District Continued from page 1 Rosenfeld reported. Now, working together in Ridley-Thomas’ eighth floor suite of offices in the County Hall of Administration, they have a mandate to spur growth and create jobs throughout the Second District, which sprawls from Skid Row to South L.A. to Culver City.

The two sat down with Los Angeles Downtown News last week to discuss development strategies in the district, plans for the Sports Arena and the public-private divide. And Ridley-Thomas had some pointed words for the Central City Association and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, two organizations that did not endorse him in last year’s election.

Mark Ridley-Thomas hired Dan Rosenfeld 15 years after they first met. In the past decade, Ridley-Thomas served in the state Assembly and Senate while Rosenfeld ran the Downtown-based development firm Urban Partners.

Los Angeles Downtown News: It is rare to tap someone with this much private-sector experience to be a top deputy in public office. Why did you decide to go with someone from the private sector?

Mark Ridley-Thomas: I believe that there’s a need for more of an entrepreneurial orientation, which is not easily found in the public sector and is readily found in the private sector.

Q: With that decision made, what was it about Dan Rosenfeld that appealed? What are the skills he demonstrated that convinced you he can succeed in this job?

Ridley-Thomas: He embodies both privatesector experience and public-sector experience and that’s rather unusual for an individual to excel in both contexts. He has. Plus, he gets along with me.

Q: Is that hard?

Ridley-Thomas: That’s important [laughs].

Q: Dan, people have a natural question about this decision: Why would someone who runs a success-

ful development firm give it up for the public sector?

Dan Rosenfeld: This was an easy decision for me and I accepted within hours of the invitation. I believe that the privilege of serving the public is the highest honor to which a citizen can aspire.

There is a long American tradition, going back to the founders of this country and exemplified in the Roosevelt and Kennedy years in particular, of public service, of when you are called, when you have the opportunity to give something back. That’s something that should be taken very seriously.

Q: With the decision to give back, why did you choose this job at this time?

Rosenfeld: The most important reason is Mark Ridley-Thomas.

It’s been 15 years and it was an extraordinary and eye-opening experience when I first appeared before his committee in Los Angeles City Hall. From those beginnings we produced some of the most

successful efforts to bring local government out into the communities of Los Angeles, to break down the insular characteristics of City Hall and decentralize and increase the public access to government.

As I watched him move up through his state experience I’ve always hoped in my heart that Mark would come back to Los Angeles, because like Tip O’Neill, I believe the heart of politics is local and this is where the most good can be done.

Q: During the campaign, you were painted as the “labor” candidate, and many critics overlooked your work on business issues such as helping get Staples Center built. Does hiring Dan send a message to the wider business community that this is an office that understands and can make a liaison with business?

Ridley-Thomas: I should think so. But to narrowly define me was a mistake, is a mistake. I recognize the efficacy of having strong relationships with the business community and labor. I think the

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people of the Second District got that, and economic development at its best embraces both sectors. And they’re not always oppositional. I’ve said repeatedly, the most fierce tension has been driven by competition from business to business, not labor against business.

from the perspective of constituent services and how they are housed and presented to retail centers to other institutional projects, be they office buildings and/or as I said earlier, the MLK project. That’s what we can and will do, and we have a lot on the drawing board.

Q: This is a tremendous opportunity. In the areas where you two will work together, what are the main goals? What needs to happen?

Ridley-Thomas: We can do a lot. You’ll see examples of one of the flagship efforts on which Dan and I worked in the mid’90s, mainly the constituent service center. We built the first green municipal building in the city of Los Angeles and set a standard at that point. We expect to do more of that and to do it much better some 12-plus years later.

We also see economic development projects, capital projects, that need to be completed in the Second District and we plan to put our backs into it to make it happen.

Q: Dan, you’re going from being the boss of a private company and working with your partners to working for a supervisor and answering to an elected official and the public. What will that require you to do differently?

Rosenfeld: One thing that fascinates me about public service is to understand the ultimate accountability, which is to everyone. Whereas in business it’s a very limited group of shareholders or investors, here we literally work for all the members of our community. As a consequence, decisionmaking is more deliberate, more transparent, sometimes slower, but you’d like to think ultimately better. But it’s very satisfying. I’ve found that in my previous tours in public ser-

vice, to be able to succeed and do so with business, to be able to do high-quality work that really serves everybody. I find that a fascinating and rewarding challenge.

Q: There is a lot of skepticism over what the county hasn’t been able to accomplish over the years. As you come to this with planning and economic development— Ridley-Thomas: This is an important time for us to prove our worth. So if Dan is all that, let him get busy [laughs].

Rosenfeld: Shut up and go to work.

Ridley-Thomas: See what he can do [laughs].

Q: What else should we expect?

Ridley-Thomas: I think this is going to be a great team effort.

We are both very serious about economic development and economic justice. And for the record, we have a thing or two to teach both the CCA and the Chamber.

Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.

Q: What in particular?

Ridley-Thomas: One of the big projects is the Martin Luther King medical center. It’s a 38-acre parcel of land with huge possibilities. There’s a huge possibility for it to be a catalytic project for the entire community, not just the hospital itself. That’s just one example. There are others. A private sector one might be Marlton Square; very controversial, but it needs leadership.

Q: What will Dan be doing on a day-to-day basis?

Rosenfeld: The economy is foremost on just about everyone’s mind today. Our efforts, be they in transportation or land use or the environment, all have to be viewed in terms of their potential benefit to the regional economy. In each of those areas there’s a tremendous amount that the county can do, and I think the county, in many people’s minds, including mine before I came here frankly, is underappreciated in terms of the scope and potential that it represents.

In addition to the projects Mark mentioned, first I think, most symbolically and practically, are the constituent service centers. We’ve already embarked on a program to create a new type of, call it a mini-city hall for the county, at a disbursed location where it’s accessible and therefore usable to local communities.

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Q: How will Dan’s private-sector experience and connections help as these move forward? Will we have, say, Caltrans architect Thom Mayne advising on a project?

Rosenfeld: I think both of us believe in public-private partnerships, and part of my role will be to serve as an ambassador to the private sector and other governmental relationships. We hope to tap private skills in many regards, and above all I think it’s important that the private side understand better what government is doing, and get the public and employee groups to appreciate the skill and talent on the other side.

Ridley-Thomas: I intend to engage faith-based developers, [economic development corporations] that are connected to nonprofit organizations as I have over the years, to engage in indigenous development in the Second District. I intend to partner to the extent that it’s appropriate with a range of other developers, so you’ll see projects going, for example, the West Angeles Economic Development Corporation. You’ll see activity going on with developers from Rick Caruso to Ed Roski to Chuck Quarles.

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Q: You have both worked extensively in the Exposition Park area. Will we see anything there?

Ridley-Thomas: One of the things I have said and continue to say is that Exposition Park is one of the region’s most powerful and unique assets. It is a destination point of some consequence whose transformation has been extraordinary over the past five to seven years. And one of the remaining sites that could be quite catalytic is the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Figueroa, namely the parcel where the Los Angeles Sports Arena is currently located.

The northwest corner has tremendous opportunity. I believe the Coliseum Commission should take it upon itself to engage and with an appropriate amount of due diligence, be it an RFQ, an RFP, an RFI, figure out how that parcel can contribute to the life of the community in ways that are not currently the case.

Q: As a member now of the Coliseum Commission, is that something you’ll bring up?

Ridley-Thomas: I will be championing that issue to the extent that it is appropriate. I raised that issue in the context of my service in the state legislature, and I will continue to say how can we make this better? Let’s not simply settle for what is. Let’s think about what can be, and do so with imagination and will.

Q: What is going to determine success for you?

Ridley-Thomas: Getting projects done. The reason I hired him is because he’s results-oriented. This is not about process and planning as an abstraction.

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El Pueblo Continued from page 1 its share of problems through the years.

Last year, the department that oversees historic Olvera Street, four museums and other amenities operated on a budget of $4.1 million. The department earned $800,000 from rent paid by merchants and took in about $2 million from parking fees (which were recently raised by 30%). Another $300,000 came from filming revenues.

However, El Pueblo still needed about $1 million from the city’s general fund to balance its budget. The department also faced a $350,000 budget deficit last year that required a bailout by the city to keep the department from shutting down. Even with the infusion, El Pueblo had to cut 17 parttime positions and slashed operating hours at the museums.

El Pueblo sees about 2 million visitors a year, many of whom are drawn to Olvera Street, which is lined with 78 businesses ranging from large restaurants to small huts, or puestos. Some of them are run by descendents of the families who opened Olvera Street in the 1930s.

The current tangle is over the leases. Only 17 merchants operate under long-term deals. The remaining 61 have not signed new leases since 1987. Some of the largest restaurants pay less than $1 per square foot.

Local real estate experts previously interviewed by Los Angeles Downtown News said that, based on traffic and location, a more realistic rate would be up to $4 a square foot.

The commission hopes increasing rents would decrease the amount of general fund money that goes to El Pueblo. Some city officials agree.

“[Raising the rents] is a step in the right direction,� said City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, a member of the Council’s Budget & Finance Committee who has been a strong proponent of bringing the rents up to market rate.

However, Rosendahl added that careful consideration must be given to the current economic climate when deciding what the new rents should be. “The one thing I caution us about as we’re in this spiral-down economy is that we don’t push anything off and anything out that is a value both historically, tourist-wise and for the community,â€? he said A spokesman for Councilman JosĂŠ Huizar, whose 14th District includes El Pueblo, said Huizar would not comment until the Committee report is complete.

Improvements First Some longtime tenants of Olvera Street say they are not against paying more as long as the increase is fair. They also say the department must first invest more money in the monument, with more marketing, promotions and repairs, and live up to promises they said were made years ago. “Nobody here is opposed to paying more rent. Everybody knows the rents haven’t been changed in 15 years,� said Mike Mariscal, owner of Myrosa Enterprises, a store that specializes in Mexican party supplies and souvenirs.

Mariscal said that in the late 1990s merchants were promised a new parking structure and infrastructure improvements, which have yet to be delivered. Although he has not signed a new lease, he said his rent was increased in the late 1990s and any new increase should be no more than what is recommended by the Consumer Price Index. “You’re going to arbitrarily increase rent on us when improvements haven’t been

done?� he said. “We’re sitting here dying and starving and nothing is being done. It’s just cutting, cutting, cutting. We have no marketing program; the only thing we’re surviving on is the events we do. The park does not do anything to market itself, to promote the things we do.�

His comments were echoed by Valerie Hanley, whose family has owned Casa California, which sells novelties and piĂąatas, for more than 40 years. She said infrastructure improvements must come before higher rents. “Right now you’re barely starting to see the center puestos being renovated, and that’s something that should have happened 25 years ago. We’ve been telling them we have termites; we have a lot of problems and things we can’t touch because they’re historical [buildings] so we can’t do our own repairs. We’ve been trying to get the city to help us and get things going,â€? she said. “Before we see the increase in rent we need to start seeing the returns. If not, you’re trying to take blood out of a turnip,â€? she said.

Andrade said improvements at Olvera Street have already begun. He said the city has invested $13 million in puesto renovations and utility upgrades, part of an approximately $20 million, six-phase improvement project at El Pueblo. The work will include utility upgrades and improvements for fire, electrical and water systems. “To the extent that someone might criticize the city for not investing, I would point to those numbers,� Andrade said. “I think that speaks volumes that the city is committed.�

Next Steps Figuring into the negotiations will be a

market-rate study commissioned by the city’s General Services Department. It is still in draft form and has yet to be viewed by El Pueblo’s Budget Committee or released publicly. “It provides the basis for making recommendations on rent rates, a third-party objective view,� Andrade said.

The report was prepared by Riggs and Riggs, a real estate consulting firm. Andrade said merchant rents were compared with other businesses in and around the Downtown Los Angeles area. “We’ll collect the basic information, copies of leases, the rate study, documentation on why things that have happened have happened‌ how 17 leases got signed and the rest didn’t,â€? Louie said.

The committee will also review issues such as the Common Area Maintenance Fee paid by merchants. Similar to homeowners’ association fees paid by condominium owners, they are based on the square footage of the business and go toward general El Pueblo improvements. “Similar to rents, CAM fees have not been increased in some time,� Andrade said.

Whatever happens, it appears there is a chasm between merchants and management.

As Hanley and Mariscal walked through Olvera Street on a quiet weekday afternoon, they talked about feeling like scapegoats and being taken for granted. “This administration only has a focus on El Pueblo, not on Olvera Street,� Mariscal said. “We promote history, we promote culture, we do events, we do education, workshops. If Olvera Street wasn’t here, El Pueblo wouldn’t exist.�

Contact Richard Guzman at richard@downtownnews.com.

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Downtown News 11

12 Downtown News

January 19, 2009

DowntownNews.com

Da Vinci Continued from page 1 architecture will be similar, all our buildings have their own unique look and feel,” Palmer said. “No two buildings entries, lobbies, courtyards or fountains are alike. We have a very successful formula and this one will be in addition to and the next generation, as we continue to improve our brand.”

The Da Vinci site includes a parcel on Temple Street that abuts the nightclub Vertigo’s. Palmer said the plan is to build around the one-story club, but that he would purchase the property if the price is right.

“If in the future it becomes available at a fair price, it will become a plaza with a fountain,” he said.

After Friday’s hearing, the project will require approval from the Planning Commission, but a date to go before that panel has not yet been set, said city planner Kevin Jones.

A pioneer of the Downtown residential development scene, Palmer’s company has built six of their signature buildings in the area, encompassing 2,214 completed units.

More important to the company’s success Downtown than its sheer volume and pace is the high occupancy rate of its properties.

“I currently have less than six months of inventory available to lease in these current market conditions,” Palmer said. “The market is absorbing new units at 25 per month.

In six months I expect to be out of inventory of new available units.”

With natural turnover, Palmer said his

Downtown properties maintain an occupancy rate higher than 90%.

Though Palmer would not provide details on how his projects are financed, he said the company builds at a relatively low level of leverage, meaning it employs more cash and less credit than most developers. That practice, along with the fact that the company

‘In six months I expect to be out of inventory of new available units.’

Geoff Palmer, developer

maintains ownership of all its projects, has allowed Palmer to steer around the potholes and roadblocks faced by many in the current credit market, he said.

Dark at Street Level While Palmer projects have seemingly had no trouble luring residents, their ground floor commercial space has remained largely empty.

At the Orsini and Orsini II, which comprise 862 units at Cesar Chavez Avenue and Figueroa Street (a third, 210-unit phase of the Orsini is slated to rise across the street),

AChIEVE YOUR ULTIMATE ACHIEVE

A

there is not a single commercial tenant. That is a point of concern for City Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose Ninth District includes the Orsini and the proposed Da Vinci.

“I am particularly interested and excited and look forward to see how he activates the retail portion of [the Da Vinci] because I don’t see a lot of street level activity at some of the others, and I’m hoping that that will be very different in that project,” Perry said.

Palmer acknowledged that it has been a challenge to lure retailers to his projects because they are all outside the core of Downtown. The Medici, Visconti and Piero are in City West, and the Orsini and Da Vinci sites are on the northern edge of Downtown.

None of the Palmer projects are close enough to areas with the level of commercial and office density that traditional retailers are looking for, said Derrick Moore, director of urban retail for real estate firm CB Richard Ellis, who has represented three Palmer projects in the past.

“When you have retail below residential, retailers figure that the residents are gone during the day, and when you are so close to a business district that has retail below office users where retailers know they’re present during the day, they typically opt to go there first,” Moore said. “They’ll seek out the best locations and even some secondary locations before they’ll give focus to what they would consider a tertiary market.”

Questions of Affordability Few would deny that Palmer has had major success in developing housing in Downtown.

But mirroring his gains is a lasting tension with the city regarding affordable housing rules.

A series of lawsuits resulted in Palmer paying the city $2.8 million as part of a 2004 settlement that allowed him to not include affordable units in the Visconti. It also allowed him to convert a portion of moderate-

income units that he was forced to include in the Medici to market rate.

The legal battles revolved around the question of whether Palmer was bound by an affordable housing requirement in the Central City West Redevelopment Plan, which was written in the 1980s and considered by many business leaders to be outdated.

The company is in a similar battle with Piero II; while Palmer won a judgment last year allowing him not to include affordable units, the city appealed the ruling. The case is still pending, but it will not delay construction, Palmer said.

One and two-bedroom units at other Palmer projects lease from $2.20-$3 per square foot. Currently at the Orsini, an 827-square-foot, one-bedroom unit is $2,127.

A two-bedroom unit goes for $2,664.

Palmer has a reputation for being unyielding in his opposition to affordable housing requirements, which could make him one of the staunchest opponents to new housing plans currently circulating at City Hall.

“He has strong opinions,” said Perry.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has proposed a plan that would require most developers, including those like Palmer who only use private funds, to include some affordable housing units. But with the current slump in the national and local economy, cementing a new citywide housing plan will likely take longer than expected last year, when the discussion began in earnest, Perry said.

That would mean that the Da Vinci, if it breaks ground in 2011, could beat a new housing plan to the punch.

“I think we’re in a whole different situation now than a year ago because of the economic situation,” Perry said. “I think the paradigm for discussion has changed too, so I think we’ll have to see how this plays out.”

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

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January 19, 2009

Downtown News 13

SearchDowntownLA.com

LET’S DO LUNCH Five tips for a Perfect Lunch photos by Gary Leonard

Downtown Chefs Fill in the Details on Preparing Mid-day Meals

F

orget what you’ve heard from the breakfast boosters: For many people in Downtown Los Angeles, lunch is the most important meal of the day.

There are hundreds of places to eat in the area. In the following pages, we checked in with a few of our favorite chefs. They each offered up five tips for the perfect lunch, ranging from their top dishes to how they get through the day. Happy eating.

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xperience the Grand Café, where visual art meets culinary art. Tempt your palate with contemporary Californian cuisine served in a casually elegant setting surrounded by a beautifully landscaped sculpture garden. Stop by for breakfast or lunch to sample the unique and traditional chef creations now presented on our beautiful new buffet.

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14 Downtown News

January 19, 2009

Let’s Do Lunch

Say Aloha to Lunch Jennifer Lee Has Tips When You Feel Like Tryin’ Hawaiian

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

G

oing to a tropical destination for lunch isn’t just for the super rich anymore. Downtowners can get a little island flavor in Little Tokyo with Aloha Café.

Jennifer Lee, the 26-year-old owner, relocated her Monterey Park restaurant to Little Tokyo in March and has been welcomed by the Downtown dining crowd. Although not a native Hawaiian, Lee learned about island food from Maui native and one-named chef Komai, who passed away about a year ago.

Lee now runs the kitchen and cooks up favorites such as Kalua pork, kimchee samin and beef teriyaki bowls. Here are her five thoughts on what it takes to feed diners hungry for Hawaiian fare.

1) “Preparing for lunch starts pretty early for us, at about 8 a.m. Every day we make different lunch specials.”

2) “One of our most popular lunch items is the braised short ribs, which is served Mondays and Fridays. We usually sell out.

It’s braised, so that means it’s cooked in the oven for over two hours, so it takes a few hours to prep and it’s really soft, has a light gravy on top and everyone loves it.”

3) “Most of the lunch specials are items that have been on our menu for about 10 years, so they’re well known. But every so often I like to get creative and I’ll bring out a new special, something fun or something I haven’t made in a while so that customers can enjoy something new.

It can also be like a test for our food. If the specials get really popular and people really like them they’ll get on our regular menu.”

4) “One of my recommendations here is the Loco Moco, which starts off with white rice on the bottom topped with our homemade hamburger patty, eggs and then it’s covered in brown gravy. I also really like our chili Loco Moco; it’s something I only make sometimes. It’s the Loco Moco but with our homemade chili.”

Aloha Ca fé

Jennifer Lee

5) “For those that don’t have much time, calling ahead is always the best. Our food is prepared daily and I cook to order so it can get really hard for people who have only a few minutes, but with a call ahead I can have the food ready by the time they get here.”

At 410 E. Second St., (213) 346-9930.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com. photos by Gary Leonard

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January 19, 2009

Downtown News 15

Let’s Do Lunch

home for Lunch Traditional Taqueria Food For the Business Bunch

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

O

ne of the newest restaurants in Downtown is Casa, which opened at California Plaza on Jan. 6. It features two Downtown Los Angeles dining veterans: Mario del Pero, who wowed Bunker Hill with upscale sandwich joint Mendocino Farms; and chef Kris Morningstar, who launched the acclaimed Blue Velvet.

At Casa, Morningstar focuses on authentic Mexican small plates. The restaurant bills itself as an upscale taqueria with quick meals and a “grab-and-go” counter, and Mexican favorites like tacos, burritos and huaraches are on the menu. Casa also offers a “taco truck” menu from 10 p.m.-midnight.

Morningstar shared five lunch tips.

1) “We try to have a flow going. It’s hardest on Mondays, especially because of the type of food we’re doing. A lot of it is marinated the day before, so the bigger challenge is staying up on it so that it’s ready for the next day and has time to get the flavors into it.”

2) “I think right now we’re selling a lot of carne asada and tacos al pastor, at least until we run out of pastor.”

3) “We just opened so we haven’t got to the point where we’re doing lunch specials yet, but I know the plan for the upcoming couple of weeks is to test out some Mexican items and kind of see how the reaction is. Right now our biggest priority is having everything functioning so we can start implementing some specials. I think one of the first specials we’re going to be running is goat, which we will start in the next week or two.”

4) “They should try the cochinita pibil, a citrus-roasted pork that’s shredded and marinated. It’s a Oaxacan dish that’s really different, really good.”

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5) “We run a business similar to Mendocino Farms where, for those in a hurry, if the line is not too long, our goal is to have the food to them within eight minutes or so. It really just depends on the line and what time they’re coming. We’re focusing on a taqueria-style lunch, we’re not doing full sit-down service, at least not yet. Right now our biggest goal is to be able to offer people the opportunity to have a fast lunch with quality food.”

At 350 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2249 or at casadowntown.com.

Contact Richard Guzman at richard@downtownnews.com.

Kri s Mo rnin gs

ta r

Casa photos by Gary Leonard

16 Downtown News

January 19, 2009

Let’s Do Lunch

photos by Gary Leonard

Lunch check Food Tailored for the Business Crowd

by RichaRd Guzmán

Checkers about three months ago. Here are the ways he keeps the lunch crowd happy.

city editoR

H

oused in a building that dates back to the 1920s, Checkers Downtown is a chic restaurant inside the boutique Hilton Checkers hotel on Grand Avenue. It’s known for its vodka martini and onyx bar, but the New American food, with a hint of French influences, has also made it a popular spot for the business lunch crowd.

Favorites include the Japanese-style white shrimp, the seared tahini-crusted ahi, the blackened swordfish with fettuccini and the New York steak. It all comes from the hand of new chef Todd Allison, formerly of Studio Restaurant in Laguna Beach, who started at

1) “We usually start by checking reservations for the day. We get together with my floor supervisors and my cooks and we talk about the day every morning at about 9:30 a.m. The food is prepared the day of, to get it ready for lunch.”

Todd Allison

2) “Our most popular items are the Checkers Cobb Salad, our organic chicken breast and a grilled salmon dish with fire-roasted vegetables. The salad is a traditional salad; it’s more of a comfort item. The chicken has braised vegetables and we finish it with a

DOWnTOWn LA D An

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nice cherry butter sauce. The salmon is a nice fresh item for those healthy eaters out there that want vegetables and fish.”

invite you to lunch

3) “Lunch specials depend on what’s out there on the market. I like to cruise the farmers’ market on Wednesdays out in Santa Monica and check out fresh new ingredients, new fish, seasonal fish. I also check out the competition to see what they’re doing.”

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4) “The daily specials are always nice here. This Monday we’re coming out with a prix-fixe three-course menu that’s

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5) “Our business model is a business lunch. We’re built for speed; the menu is built for speed. None of our dishes take that long.”

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Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

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F r e e P a r k i n g

January 19, 2009

Restaurant Buzz

gnacs. Another draw will be the Seasonal Tequila on Tap, which involves Sedlar’s mixes of sipping tequilas with fruits, herbs and spices. These drinks are meant to be savored, not downed in a single shot.

At 1050 S. Flower St., (213) 749-1460 or riverarestaurant.com.

Un-Corked, the Tequila Tap, And a Not So Tranquil Base

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

n An Artsy Decade: Café Metropol is marking 10 years in the Arts District, and you’re invited. The anniversary celebration at the space known for European specialties and live jazz is underway now and continues through the end of February (a big party takes place Feb. 5). Festivities include giveaways for gift certificates and a Flying Pigeon, the famed Chinese allpurpose bike. Food specials, from 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, include the Monday Burger Night, with half-off all burgers with the purchase of a beer, wine or cocktail, and the Tuesday Pizza Night, with the same deal except with a pizza instead of a burger. Café Metropol is also known for its late-night jazz shows which have welcomed artists such as Nick Mancini, Anthony Ortega and Freddie Hubbard.

At 923 E. Third St., (213) 613-1537 or cafemetropol.com. n The Wine EVOlution: Wine lovers will have no reason to, well, whine about not having places to enjoy a nice vino in South Park. Corkbar, a wine bar on the ground floor of the condo complex Evo, is set to open by early February, according to an Evo spokesperson.

Also in the building, on Saturday, Jan. 24, is a Zen fitness demonstration. The event in the 240 Lounge, a rooftop spot, is open to the public, and from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Corkbar representatives will be there pouring mimosas and serving food. There is no charge to attend but RSVPs are required. On Jan. 30, wine lovers are invited back to the rooftop lounge for the Champagne, Wine & Gourmet Food World Tour, a wine-tasting event from 7-9 p.m. organized by lawinetasting.com. But you’ll have to hurry, since by last week only a couple dozen spots remained open. The wine samplings will include vintages from Argentina, France, Italy and California. Tickets are $65 per person or $110 a pair.

At 408 W. 11th St. Wine tasting tickets at lawinetasting. com. To RSVP for the Corkbar event, contact Evo at (213) 622-5400 or evo-south.com. n The Tequila Tap: It may sound like a cool new dance, but the tequila tap is actually the creation of chef John Rivera Sedlar, whose new restaurant Rivera opened on the ground floor of the Met Lofts in South Park on Jan. 16. The chef, whose resume includes stints at Saint Estephe, Bikini and Abiquiu, has opened a Latin restaurant inspired by the foods of Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the American Southwest and even Portugal and Spain.

Sedlar is also delivering his own brand of Patron Tequila, Extra Añejo, which he compares to fine co-

photo courtesy of FoodGPS.com

Chef John Rivera Sedlar last week opened the restaurant Rivera on the ground floor of the Met Lofts in South Park. It specializes in Latin cuisine.

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n More Urth: It was obvious from the beginning that Urth Caffé at the Barker Block was going to be a popular destination, since parking was hard to find within days of the Nov. 16 opening. So in response to the strong reaction it received from the neighborhood, Urth Caffé has extended its hours and is now open from 6 a.m.-10 p.m. This means five extra hours a day of caffeine quaffing, and is a big change for the Barker Block neighborhood, which now has a public place to hang out after dark.

At 451 S. Hewitt St., (213) 797-4534 or urthcaffe.com.

n Houston, We Have a Problem: Tranquility Base, the lunar-themed establishment that took its name from a Neil Armstrong quote as he landed on the moon, has closed its doors less than a year after it opened. Calls to the restaurant were not returned and by last Tuesday the website at tranquilityla.com had an announcement of the closure due to “the slump in the economic climate.”

Tranquility Base, opened by David Tardif with the plan to change the menu and the decor seasonally, occupied a 3,200-square-foot spot on the ground floor of the Sky Lofts in South Park. It featured a sleek bar and several plasma screens that displayed changing images, a VIP lounge, a glass-enclosed patio with a fire pit, a few cabanas and pillow-strewn couches.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

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January 19, 2009

HEALTH Getting Started Make an Easy Transition to a Healthier Lifestyle by beth Wood

Y

ou know it’s time. Going up that short flight of stairs left you panting.

You hardly recognize yourself in a photo taken just a few years back. Or perhaps your doctor gave you a “change-your-habits” speech. Whatever the signals, you have made the commitment to get healthy.

“You will feel better, be more energized, sleep better and have a zip in your step. A healthy lifestyle also helps when it comes to coping with stress,” said Kathleen Zelman, WebMD’s director of nutrition.

Linda Copp, a nutrition consultant in private practice and a part-time instructor at San Diego State University, concurred.

“People feel better overall,” she said. “They are happier, in better moods.”

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There are some crucial first steps that need to be taken.

“First, clean out the cupboards and stock them with healthy alternatives that are good for everyone in the family,” Zelman said.

In addition, make sure to step up family dinners. For those dependent on fast food, “Picking up a rotisserie chicken in the grocery store is just as fast as a drive-through restaurant and less expensive.”

What if you can’t get to a market? “If fast food is inevitable, choose wisely — you don’t need to eat burgers and fries. Go for the healthier chili, salads, grilled chicken and fruit,” she said.

For people too rushed to cook, Zelman suggests frozen healthy dinners with a side salad or a salad and baked sweet potato for

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a simple and nourishing meal at home. Just make sure to eat everything in moderation.

“Use the [Idaho] Plate Method to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, onequarter with whole grains or starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and the last quarter with lean meat, fish, chicken, tofu or beans,” she said. “Choose a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables to be sure to get all the disease-fighting nutrients. Enjoy healthy foods in reasonable portions.”

As for initiating an exercise program, both experts recommend easing into it.

“Start small,” cautioned Copp. “Do not attempt to train for a marathon from the get-go, so to speak. Small increments. Baby steps. It doesn’t hurt so much that way and if it doesn’t hurt, people tend to stick to the program.”

Zelman agreed. “Change is hard, and when you go from not exercising to adopting a program of daily trips to the gym, chances are it won’t last,” she said. “Instead, go for a walk every day during lunch or after dinner.

Slowly improve your lifestyle with small, doable steps that are sustainable long term.”

Some of these steps can be integrated into daily life. Make things less convenient. Put your file cabinet at work in a place where you have to get up from your computer for needed information or, at home, forgo the remote and get up to change TV channels.

“Make movement a part of the majority of your day,” Copp said. “For example, avoid sitting down. If you are preparing dinner, rather than sit down to wait for the water for pasta to boil, get some cans from the cupboard and complete some arm reps or

CNS Photo

If ordering from a fast food restaurant, remember to purchase healthier items such as salads and grilled chicken.

complete some leg lifts against the counter or do some squat reps. Or merely stand up in the kitchen. One may say that they are so tired at the end of the day that they have to sit down while preparing dinner. However, once a person changes this mindset, he or she finds an increased level of energy.”

In terms of a program, Copp recommended choosing an activity you liked in the past, not whatever happens to be the current craze.

But take your overall health and age into consideration as well.

“For example, if someone is elderly and suffers from pain in their joints, running is not for them,” Copp said. “Walking or water Continued on next page

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Health

Researchers Derive First Rat Embryonic Cells Breakthrough Will Allow More Effective Study of Diseases

by Meghan Lewit

F

or the first time in history, USC researchers have derived authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats.

This breakthrough finding will enable scientists to create far more effective animal models for the study of a range of human diseases.

The research was published in the Dec. 26 issue of the journal Cell.

“This is a major development in stem cell research because we know that rats are much more closely related to humans than mice in many aspects of biology. The research direction of many labs around the world will change because of the availability of rat ES cells,” said Qi-Long Ying, assistant professor of cell and neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine, a researcher at the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, and the study’s principal investigator.

The finding brings scientists much closer to creating “knockout” rats — animals that are genetically modified to lack one or more genes — for biomedical research. By observing what happens to animals when specific genes are removed, researchers can identify the function of the gene and whether it is linked to a specific disease “Without ES cells it is impossible to perform precise genetic modifications for the creation of the disease model we want,” Ying said. “The availability of rat ES cells will greatly facilitate the creation of rat models for the study of different human diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, addiction and autoimmune diseases.”

Ying, a native of China, noted that this breakthrough research occurred during 2008, the Chinese year of the rat.

Embryonic stem cells are derived from a group of cells called the inner cell mass in a very early stage embryo. ES cells provide researchers with a valuable tool to address fundamental biological questions, because they enable scientists to study how genes function, and to develop animals with conditions that mimic important human diseases.

The first ES cell lines were established from mice in 1981 by Martin Evans of Cardiff University, U.K., who last year was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology. Researchers have long been working on establishing rat ES cells, but faced technical hurdles because the conventional methods developed for the derivation of mouse cells did not work in rats.

Building on recent research into how ES cells are maintained, the USC researchers found that rat ES cells can be efficiently derived and grown in the presence of the “3i medium,” which consists of molecules that inhibit three specific gene signaling components (GSK3, MEK and FGF receptor kinase). This approach insulates the stem cell from signals that would normally cause it to differentiate, or turn into specialized types of body cells. By blocking these signals, Ying and colleagues found that stem cells from rats, which have previously failed to propagate at all, could be grown indefinitely in the laboratory in the primitive embryonic state.

An accompanying study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, U.K., reported similar findings, independently verifying that authentic ES cells can be established from rats.

“The development of rat embryonic stem cells, long sought by researchers around the world, is a major advance in biomedical science,” said Martin Pera, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research.

“These new stem cell lines will make a huge contribution to basic and applied research and drug development by providing a technology platform for facile genetic manipulation of a mammalian species that is widely used in academic and industrial labs studying physiology, pathology and pharmacology.”

Until now, authentic ES cells have never been established from humans or animals other than mice. This new key underContinued from previous page aerobics would be a better choice.”

Copp is enthusiastic about people adopting dogs to help maintain a regular walking schedule. However you exercise, make it part of your routine. And don’t forget to collaborate.

“Studies show people who are connected — whether to health care professionals, programs or friends — do the best,” Zelman said. “They sense a responsibility and have someone to lean on when the going gets tough.”

Copp shared a mantra she uses in her practice: “If you can lie down, sit up. If you can sit, stand. If you can stand, walk. If you can walk, run. If you can run, then fill in the blank with any exercise that fits, such as swim, play volleyball, play soccer, shoot hoops, be a cheerleader, etc. In other words, move, move, move.”

Article by Creators News Service.

standing into how ES cells are maintained in culture may eventually enable scientists to establish real ES cell lines from a number of other mammals, which could have significant implications for organ transplantations and the development of drug therapies, Ying said. Researchers at USC are currently working on generating the first gene knockout rat through ES cell-based technologies.

“If our work is feasible it is likely that many labs will follow up to generate different types of gene knockout rat models,” he said. “This will have a major impact on the future of biomedical research.”

Article courtesy of USC HSC Weekly.

Qi-Long Ying authored a study that researchers believe will be a valuable tool to address fundamental biological questions. photo courtesy of USC HSC Weekly

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January 19, 2009

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CALENDAR

The Art of the Deal and the Dealing of Art Mega-Show Moves From Santa Monica to the Convention Center “Pueblo Suspendito,” a painting by Antonia Guzman, is one of many works that will be displayed at the L.A. Art Show. Also on display (below, l to r) are Carl Benjamin’s “#22 (Red, Orange),” Elizabeth Catlett’s “Sharecropper” and Clare Falkstein’s “Space Structure.” image courtesy of Couturier Gallery

O

image Courtesy of Louis Stern Fine Arts

ne of the country’s biggest annual art shows arrives at the Convention Center this week, bringing with it everything from 16th century drawings to contemporary paintings, installations and live performances.

The Los Angeles Art Show, the first major Convention Center event of 2009, also brings big questions such as how many people will attend, and what will sales look like in the slumping economy?

Along with real estate, art sales have taken a nationwide dive in the past year. Giant auction house Sotheby’s reports on its website that 2008 sales totaled $4.9 billion, down 8.5% from the previous year. Christie’s, another major auction house, reportedly auctioned approximately 20% less art in 2008 than in 2007.

L.A. Art Show’s organizers paint a more optimistic picture.

“I am concerned, and the organization is concerned, but this is our 14th year and we’ve had our ups and downs,” said Louis Stern, president of the Fine Art Dealers Association, coproducer of the L.A. Art Show. “When you have uncertainty, people revert to collectibles, fungibles, antiques. I predict we’re going to have a lot of people at the L.A. Art Show, and we’re also going to have a lot of sales.”

City leaders also see the show as a boon. Last August the City Council voted to declare January 2009 as Los Angeles Arts Month, a promotional effort culminating with the L.A. Art Show.

The idea was to “beat the drum toward the arts,” said Fourth District Councilman Tom LaBonge, chairman of the Council’s Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee, who authored the resolution. “The fact that this show has moved to the Convention Center is a big plus-plus.”

Other Highlights Featuring exhibitions from 175 domestic and international galleries, including Downtown’s Bert Green Fine Art and

Pharmaka, the L.A. Art Show takes over the Convention Center Jan. 21-25.

Thursday-Saturday from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., art dealers, collectors, enthusiasts and the merely curious will be able to peruse thousands of paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and prints priced from the hundreds to the millions.

An opening night gala on Wednesday is open to the public, for $225-$250 per ticket.

In addition to the art, show highlights include lectures on topics including art criticism and Latin American art, an evening mixer for young collectors and an exhibition of works

by M.F.A. candidates from eight local schools including USC, Art Center College of Design and Otis College of Art and Design. In conjunction with the show, USC’s Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre will host free screenings of eight art-related documentaries on Jan. 17 and 18.

This marks the L.A. Art Show’s first foray into Downtown Los Angeles. In recent years it had been held in Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar, and the move to the Convention Center will double its space, from 75,000 to 150,000 square feet. That means exhibitors have more space to showcase their wares.

“We’ve had a tremendous demand for this show,” said Stern. “We’ve never really been able to accommodate both the exhibitors and the attendees. Last year they struggled with parking. Now they’re not going to.”

He added, “We decided there’s so much interest in Downtown now; especially with the area around the Convention Center, it’s become a destination and it’s really

a natural fit for us. The Staples Center, Disney Hall, the great restaurants that have opened up; there’s just a lot of energy and we feel that this is the right time for us to step into it.”

Last year the event attracted more than 30,000 people and generated between $5 million and $10 million in sales, said co-producer Kim Martindale. The organizers hope to exceed those figures this week.

Art Fairs Faring An increasing crowd and interest from out-of-town visitors could help the L.A. Art Show overcome the dire financial times.

“We’re getting a lot of people coming from the East Coast and the Northwest,” said Stern. “I’ve also noticed in the past few years, there’s so much more international interest. As far as Europe goes, the euro is strong against the dollar and that encourages people who use the euro to buy with dollars.”

Martindale said he has tracked other art shows and fairs over the past year as a gauge of what to expect in terms of revenues.

He got a mixed picture.

“I’ve traveled all over the world to see how art fairs are doing, and some have done much better than expected,” he said. Others, such as the massive Art Basel Miami Beach in December, “were not as strong as past years,” he admitted, but still drew significant crowds.

Pharmaka Director Rebecca O’Leary said that even if sales are down, art shows reap benefits for gallery owners in terms of exposure. Pharmaka, which is based at 101 W. Fifth St. in the Historic Core, is displaying a series of photographs detailing the gallery’s own history at this week’s event.

“In the current economic state, I do think the art market is suffering,” she said, nothing that the nonprofit Pharmaka saw its funding drop by about 75% in the last quarter. “We hope to garner more support in the private and public sectors. This is where we really do have an opportunity to reach out and educate more people and spread the word.”

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com. image courtesy of Louis Stern Fine Arts

StAff writer

image courtesy of Lee Stone Fine Prints

by AnnA Scott

January 19, 2009

Downtown News 21

SearchDowntownLA.com photo by Robert Millard

A Joyful Noise ‘Magic Flute’ Has Successful Return to L.A. Opera

by Marc Porter Zasada contributing writer

T

here’s a joyful noise onstage at Los Angeles Opera and it’s called The Magic Flute. The campy, color-saturated production first created by director Peter Hall and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe in 1993 has returned to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Downtown Los Angeles under the baton of James Conlon, who conducts with what can only be called a gentle happiness.

Two strong casts alternate performances, but over this short run, neither will make heads nor tails of the tale — for no one has ever successfully explained Mozart’s last great opera. Is it a festival of Masonic symbology?

A high-minded cosmology? A coy political allusion? A broad satire? A teeter-totter game of body and mind, light and dark, male and female? Does the plot, as has been suggested, all take place inside one person as he/she attempts to balance the contradictory forces in his/her soul?

To every proposition, the answer is always “yes.”

The story revolves around Prince Tamino, sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter, Pamina, from the clutches of Sarastro, the leader of an intellectual sun cult.

But the story is not so much about the rescue as the spiritual development of the idealistic prince… or is it? Along the way, Tamino picks up a low-living bird-man named Papageno, who gets all the best lines and some of the best arias — and seeks his own Papagena. Wait, is slave-owning Sarastro actually the good guy? And what, precisely, does the flute have to do with anything?

About the only thing that is clear is that the flute makes magic.

Thanks to its “balancing” qualities, Magic Flute, which debuted Sept 30, 1791, is one of the few truly ensemble operas, spreading the musical wealth among many singers.

The opening night cast included the wonderful Nathan Gunn as a handsome and highly male Papageno, Matthew Polenzani as a slightly effeminate but solid Tamino, and the wonderful Marie Arnet as a nicely strong-willed Pamina. The self-confident Gunn garnered laughs without overplaying the bird-man, but the vocal highlights mostly came from Arnet, who made much of what can be a passive role. Her “Ach Ich Fühls,” for example, was a delight.

Tamara Wilson, Lauren McNeese and Beth Clayton went magnificently over the top as the “three ladies” who serve the Queen of the Night; they offered precise trios and equally precise nonsense. Günther Groissböck as Sarastro was a bit stiff musically, but Greg Fedderly, in the outrageously green and fabulously bulbous costume of Monostatos, lecherous jailer of Pamina, performed as much with his body as his voice. Coloratura soprano L’ubica Vargicová made for a good, if not great, Queen of the Night; her voice is not quite big enough for the Chandler, and she was cautious with what should be huge and incautious arias.

No one has better captured the underlying camp of the “three boys” who guide Papageno through his journey than director Hall, who conceived the original production. These boys float above the stage in a boat shaped like a bird, wearing Harry Potter glasses and gestur-

Nathan Gunn is one of the two singers who portrays Papageno in the L.A. Opera production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. It continues through Jan. 25.

ing with white gloves. Ryan Schiller, Stephen Cruz and Caleb Glickman filled the bill admirably. The chorus, under Grant Gershon, delivered its usual solid performance. Amanda Squitieri was a fun Papagena.

This production of The Magic Flute provided the first chance to hear Music Director Conlon conduct a major Mozart opera, and once again he demonstrated his uncanny ability to let a composer speak through him instead of imposing himself on the composer.

He captures the childlike wonder of Mozart without losing any of the mature grace, a per-

fect rendering sure to deepen the already deep love affair between Conlon and Los Angeles.

The opening night cast performs on Jan. 21 and 24, while on Jan. 22 and 25 rising star Joseph Kaiser takes on the role of Tamino, Markus Werba is Papageno and Russian Albina Shagimuratova (who debuted as the Queen at the Salzburg festival) steps in as the Queen of the Night. Each should be capable of creating more joyful noise.

The Magic Flute continues through Jan. 25 at 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8001 or laopera.com.

February 11, 2008

Love Means A box of chocolates, a dozen roses and your message in Downtown News.

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LISTINGS

EVENTS

THE‘DON’T MISS’ LIST

SPONSORED LISTING Fifth Floor 502 Chung King Ct., (213) 687-8443 or fifthfloorgallery.com Jan. 24, 6-9 p.m.: Fifth Floor will celebrate the anniversary of its first year in business. The gallery, which will serve refreshments from 6-9 p.m., will stay open late. Sign up for the mailing list for a chance to win $100 in credit toward the purchase of the art or design object of your choice. Fifth Floor features hand-made and limited edition works of furniture, art and design. Still on view is Dameon Lester’s Works of Paper, a collection of the artist’s endearing sculptural pieces and beautifully subtle, laserengraved drawings.

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If you can’t make it to Washington D.C., want to witness history or just need a way to kill time on the morn morning of Tuesday, Jan. 20, then join Ninth District Councilwoman Jan Perry at L.A. Live’s Nokia Plaza for the city’s biggest inaugural viewing party. Live feeds on state-ofthe-art video screens will broadcast Barack Obama taking the oath of office in Washington, as well as two CNN feeds. The pre-ceremony events begin at 7 a.m., followed by the swearing in at 9, post-ceremony coverage at 10 and coverage of the 56th Inaugural Parade at 11:30. The Nokia Plaza at L.A. Live is on Figueroa Street between 11th and 12th streets, lalive.com.

Instead of considering Monday, Jan. 19, just another day off, the California African American Museum will celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by inviting locals to celebrate the life of the civil rights leader. The Exposition Park museum opens at 11 a.m. for its annual Cake for King event, offering free MLK birthday cake, screenings and performances of King speeches, and its exhibitions will stay open until 5 p.m. The specially created photography exhibition A Dream Realized will feature images of King and President-elect Barack Obama. 600 State Dr., Exposition Park, (213) 744-2132 or caamuseum.org.

3

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Performances cont e show runs throug Th . ay rd tu Sa on ee theatregroup.org. tional 2 p.m. matin ) 628-2772 or center 13 (2 e., Av d an Gr N. 135

Almost 45 years ago to the day, the Los Angeles Master Chorale debuted at Downtown’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with a performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass. On Sunday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m., the choir celebrates its 45th anniversary at Walt Disney Concert Hall with a performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah. A pre-concert conversation with KUSC’s Alan Chapman and Master Chorale Music Director Grant Gershon, free for ticket holders, begins at 6 p.m. 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7282 or lamc.org.

Wednesday, Jan. 21 ALOUD at Central Library 630 W. 5th St., (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org.

7 p.m.: Composer David Ornette Cherry, librettist Terry Wolverton and director Rose Marcario join forces to present “Embers: a jazz opera in poems.”

Thursday, Jan. 22 Los Angeles Art Show LA Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., LAArtshow.com.

11-8 p.m.: The 14th annual LA Art Show relocates to Downtown from Santa Monica, bringing more than 150 exhibitors and an expected 30,000 visitors.

The event showcases more than 15,000 works by a variety of artists, and includes Supersonic 2009, the annual student show produced and featuring works

by Southern California MFA students. Through Jan. 25. For schedule of discussions and show events, see LAArtshow.com.

Celebrating MLK Jr. at USC USC, Bovard Auditorium, usc.edu/bsfc Noon-2 p.m.: USC’s Black Staff and Faculty Caucus will host the 28th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday celebration. The event will feature musical performances, various presentations related to King’s life and legacy and a keynote address.

ALOUD at Central Library 630 W. 5th St., (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org.

Continued on page 23

photo courtesy of AP Photo/Gene Herrick

by AnnA Scott, StAff writer

5

If you wish you’d been around to scream and swoon at a Beatles concert, or have a hankering to relive the time you did, The Fab Faux (shown here) claims to offer a close facsimile. The five-man tribute band has been together 10 years and prides itself on playing not just the early hits that most cover acts rely on, but the Beatles’ later material as well. The Fab Faux comes together, ha ha, at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday, Jan. 24. Orpheum Theatre, 842 S. Broadway, (213) 480-3232 or laorpheum.com.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

photo courtesy of Clean Box Entertainment

Tuesday, Jan. 20 Inauguration Viewing Nokia Plaza at LA Live, Figueroa St. and Chick Hearn Court.

7-11:30 a.m.: City Councilwoman Jan Perry invites members of the Downtown business and residential communities to view the Presidential Inauguration and other festivities live from Washington, D.C. Preceremony events start at 7 a.m., the ceremony is at 9 a.m. and the Inaugural Parade is at 11:30 a.m.

A Material World 7+Fig Shopping Center, 735 S. Figueroa St., (213) 955-7150 or 7fig.com.

4-6 p.m.: Rehearsals for “A Material World,” a seven-week, site-specific residency and public art project culminating in a dance performance of “liquid architecture” on Feb. 18, are open to the public. The final performance will stretch 200 feet of bright blue fabric and 10 dancers throughout the topography of 7+Fig. Public rehearsals are from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesdays and noon-3 p.m. Wed.-Friday until Feb. 18.

Inaugural Ball Gallery 1927, 811 W. Seventh St., earlymorningopera.com.

8 p.m.-12 a.m.: Celebrate (or brood over) the inauguration of the 44th president inside the Beaux-Arts-style gallery, with live jazz, theatrical performances, DJs and impersonator Barry Bahama Obama. The event coincides with an exhibition of election-night photos by Lars Jan.

A Historic Week With Singing, Dancing and Moptops

photo by Steve Cohn

Monday, Jan. 19 Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org.

Noon-2 p.m.: Ice Skating and reggae might seem like oil and water, but not in Los Angeles: On the final day of Pershing Square on Ice, Urban Dread dubs it out under the winter sun.

Society of Professional Journalists Redwood Bar and Grill, 316 W. Second St., (213) 6802600 or spjla.wordpress.com.

6:30 p.m.: The Society of Professional Journalists hosts Daniel J.B. Mitchell, professor emeritus at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, to discuss the state’s complicated budget woes. Grab a drink and get your questions answered. It’s free, but RSVP to spjlosangeles@gmail.com.

January 19, 2009

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January 19, 2009

Downtown News 23

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But Wait, There’s More!

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.

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 22 7 p.m.: Former LA Weekly senior editor and environmental writer Judith Lewis moderates a panel titled “Thinking About Earthquakes” that will bring together a group of seismology experts and writers that have taken on earthquakes.

Thursdays at Central Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., Meeting Room A, (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org.

12:15-1 p.m.: Two talented and entertaining Central librarians lead a “readers advisory on a very high level.”

Art as an Investment Omni Hotel, 251 S. Olive St., (213) 617-3300.

4:30-6 p.m.: Max Donner, an appraiser and veteran business reporter, and Jessica Darraby, chair of the Art and Museum Practice section of the American Bar Assn., discuss art as investment.

This workshop will explore the most important factors shaping the future direction of art markets and outline tested principles for long-term success, including key findings from case studies in best practices.

Friday, Jan. 23 Farmlab Public Salons 1745 N. Spring St. #4, (323) 226-1158 or farmlab.org Noon-1 p.m.: Winter vs NRDC was the recent controversial US Supreme Court case that challenged the US Navy’s use of sonar off the coast of Southern California. At this salon, Joel Reynolds of the Natural Resources Defense Council will discuss the outcome of the case, the reasoning and the science behind the NRDC’s arguments and hypothesize about what 2009 may bring regarding the matter.

Styrofoam Love at Sci-Arc 960 E. Third St., (213) 356-5328 or sciarc.edu.

6 p.m.: SCI-Arc Director Eric Owen Moss speaks with Vienna-based architect Susanne Zottl about her site-specific installation, A Styrofoam Lover with (E)motions of Concrete.

Saturday, Jan. 24 Youth ‘Sport for Good’ at USC USC, Exposition Blvd. and S. Figueroa St., (424) 9039352 or newsong.net Noon-2 p.m.: NewSong LA’s Children’s Ministry and Lead LA at USC have partnered with

less so. Keep a close eye on the unlit cigarette.

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.

Jan. 23: OAR, which stands for Of a Revolution, brings their funky, reggae-infused pop rock to L.A. Live.

Jan. 24: Cuban-American rapper Armando Perez, a.k.a. Pitbull, performs his brand of Latin-tinged crunk.

Jan. 25: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings play funk and soul the ’60s and ’70s way, which is to say, the right way.

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.

Grammy Museum LA Live, Corner of Olympic Blvd and Figueroa St., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org.

Jan. 21, 8 p.m.: Presented in conjunction with the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the Recording Academy, museum director Bob

Youthnoise and Nike to provide weekend sporting sessions and workshops meant to lead youth into healthy lifestyles. The organizations are seeking kids from 11-15 years to join their first session, in which participants will play a variety of sports and games.

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.

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.

Thursdays, 6 p.m.: More live sounds, this time with Jessie Torrez.

Automat 936 Chung King Rd., (213) 617-0422.

Jan. 24, 8 p.m.: The L.A.-based band Department of Real Estate performs jazzy, improvisational ambient music with invented instruments.

Bar 107 107 W. Fourth St., (213) 625-7382 or myspace.com/bar107.

Tuesdays: A classic island mix of reggae with attitude. Jah! Wednesdays: The world famous (or at least in L.A.) Bar 107 Karaoke Gong Show. Come join the fun and 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 and Thursdays, 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.

Chop Suey Café 347 E. First St., (213) 617-9990 or chopsueycafe.com.

Thursdays, 7:30-9:30 p.m.: Live jazz on the patio of the restored landmark.

Cicada Cicada Restaurant, 617 S. Olive St., (213) 488-9488 or cicadarestaurant.com.

Thursdays, 8-11 p.m.: The velvet-voiced Max Vontaine recreates the sounds and styles of rat packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. His smoking jackets and tunes are vintage; his bawdy repartee is

Downtown Los Angeles

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316 E. 1st St. • (213) 626-4046

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.

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Sushi & Japanese Food

Santelli will host a discussion with jazz composer/ bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Alan Broadbent.

The artists will give a short performance.

Jan. 22, 8 p.m.: Longtime Grammy Awards producer Ken Ehrlich will be joined by Recording Academy head Neil Portnow, producers John Cossett and Walter Miller, as well as CBS executive Jack Sussman, promising a behind-the-scenes look at the awards.

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.

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943 N Broadway, Los Angeles

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229-9777 626-1500 617-3777

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The Metropolitan Apartments • 950 S. Flower St.

489-3300

7+FIG • 7th & Figueroa Sts.

955-7150

Ernst & Young • 725 S. Figueroa St.

955-7100

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624-1011

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687-2001 687-2190

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626-1901

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629-1200

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680-0567

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612-4300

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630-5200

§ P

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624-1200

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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

§☞

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Bunker Hill Real Estate • 800 W. 1st St., #401

680-1720

§

A7

Glo • 1050 Wilshire Blvd.

866-216-2101

☞

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Dr. Silvia Kasparian DDS • 601 W. 5th St., Suite 1110

892-8172

§

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Medici • 725 S. Bixel St.

888-886-3731

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CBS Seafood Restaurant • 700 N. Spring St.

617-2323

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Cecil Hotel • 640 South Main St.

800-896-5294

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627-1673

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626-7200

Tommy’s • 2575 W. Beverly Blvd.

389-9060

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Carl’s Jr. • 254 S. Broadway

625-1357

PIP Printing • 700 Wilshire Blvd.

489-2333

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Contact Cartifact for the full-color, every-building version of this map and others. Available as a poster and in print, web, and mobile media.

700 S. Flower St, Ste. 1940 Los Angeles, CA 90017 213.327.0200 maps�cartifact.com

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SearchDowntownLA.com

January 19, 2009

Downtown News 25

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reAL estAte for sALe

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reAL estAte FOREcLOSEd hOME auction! Las Vegas -Auction: Jan 31st. 300+ Homes Must Be Sold! Free Brochure 800-6130263. www.USHomeAuction. com REDC. (Cal-SCAN)

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CommerCiAL reAL estAte 6,610 SQ. FT. Commercial Building on 11,000 sq. ft. land for sale. 4-unit warehouse partially leased. Good for owner/ user. West of 110 freeway.

Fenced, secure. Parking lot. $1.2M; $2K/mo. to own. Matt 323-767-2033.

Continued on next page

Sell Your Car!

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CROSSWORD PUZZLE

26 Downtown News

January 19, 2009

DowntownNews.com

Continued from previous page

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Promenade West Condo

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MAKE JOINING with Homeless in America your New Year Resolution! www.HomelessInAmerica.BlogSpot.com Your donation, however great or small helps men, women, children and teenagers at St. Peter’s in Chinatown daily food line and Homeless in America’s StreetReach to those homeless living under DTLA bridges and in alleyways. Donate now online with PayPal at www.

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Children’s Performing Group

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January 19, 2009

MOBILE HOMES, manufactured homes, modular homes.

Wholesale Prices. Brand New starting at $18, 900. Free Floor Plans and Prices. 1-800-5043315. (Cal-SCAN)

Parking

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Downtown News 27

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VOLUntEEr OPPOrtUnitiES HELpINg kIdS heal. Free Arts for Abused Children is looking for volunteers to integrate the healing power of the arts into the lives of abused and at-risk children and their families. Today is the day to get involved!

Contact Annie at volunteers@ freearts.org or 310-313-4278 for more information.

We've got what you're searching for!

DowntownNews.com

fictitiOus

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BUSinESS OPPOrtUnitY 100% RECESSION pROOF! Do You Earn $800 in a Day? Your Own Local Vending Route Includes 25 Machines and Candy for $9,995. MultiVend LLC, 1-888-625-2405.

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Offices • Offices • Offices • Offices

TWO MONTHS FREE! Burbank • Brentwood Century City • Downtown L.A. Woodland Hills Locations Nationwide 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

On Spring St.

Spring Tower Lofts:

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City Lofts:

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Available Immediately Top floor of 11 story (18,000 SF) historic building available now!

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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

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.

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28 Downtown News

January 19, 2009

DowntownNews.com

We Got Games The Kings Hit the Road as Basketball’s King Comes to Town Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or nba.com/lakers.

Monday, Jan. 19, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 25, 12:30 p.m.: The Lakers’ modern nemesis may be the Celtics, but it’s looking more like Lebron “King” James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who come to Staples Center on Monday, are the new team to beat in the East. In what could be an NBA Finals preview, the league’s two best individual players — James and Kobe Bryant — are sure to put on a show. Then the purple and gold play visitors on their home court to the Clippers (Jan. 21), before hosting Washington and San Antonio.

Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or nba.com/clippers.

Monday, Jan. 19, 12:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 21, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m.: The Clippers host the Minnesota Timberwolves in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day matinee, then welcome the Lakers on Wednesday. The Oklahoma City Thunder, the only NBA team that may be struggling more than the Clippers, return to Staples Center on Friday. The Clips close out the week at Golden State (Jan. 25).

Los Angeles Kings Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or kings.nhl.com.

The Kings play only twice this week (both games are away), which may be bad news for fans, but it’s good news for the purple and black: The squad could use the rest. They look to improve their record against the Minnesota Wild (Jan. 20) and the Colorado Avalanche (Jan. 21).

—Ryan Vaillancourt

photo by Gary Leonard

Many consider Kobe Bryant to be the best player in the NBA. To live up to that reputation, he’ll have to slow down Cleveland’s Lebron James, who comes to town on Monday.

Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore!

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