01-24-11

LOS ANGELES

DOWNTOWN

NEWS

Let’s Do Lunch 13

It’s the economy, Skid Row moves, and other happenings Around Town.

5

Amidst Brown budget threat, CRA tries to save money and some Downtown projects.

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

January 24, 2011

Volume 40, Number 4

2

When Malo News Is Good News

INSIDE

Restaurant Brings Mexican Comfort Food, and 100 Jobs, to Seventh Street Urban Scrawl on the money grab.

4

PICK THE

PROS Pick football games, win prizes.

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A “bait bike” helps Downtown cops.

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photo by Gary Leonard

Mitchell Frank (left) and Jeff Ellermeyer opened Mas Malo on Jan. 7. The $2 million Mexican restaurant on Seventh Street can hold 309 people.

by RichaRd Guzmán

used as storage for bar impresario Cedd Moses’ 213 Inc. hen club promoter and restaurateur “He hadn’t found a tenant for the place and it Mitchell Frank first toured a dusty, came up in conversation that why don’t we do a dormant Seventh Street space, a couple Malo there,” Frank recalled. “I texted Jeff within things stood out. First, there was the large hole in 30 seconds and said, ‘I think we should really look the ceiling. Then there were the worn murals and at it.’” woodwork. Just as disconcerting was the lack of a Malo is Frank’s popular Mexican Silver Lake kitchen and bar and the decades-old, completely eatery and bar. Jeff is Jeff Ellermeyer, Frank’s busiinadequate plumbing and electrical systems. ness partner in the venture, whose production see xxxxxxxxxxxx, page 12 on the fourth floor of the Still, Frank was ready to jump at the space being company Buck is housed

city editoR

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New life at the Bristol hotel.

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Buy this property in ‘What’s For Sale.’

Love 10 Means

building at 515 W. Seventh St. Ellermeyer agreed that the space had potential, and although it took much longer than anticipated due to permitting issues with the city, Mas Malo began serving on Jan. 7. While the initial response has been enthusiastic, the partners are looking at the long run, as opposed to being the flavor of the month.

“We want to be in this for the long haul and we want something that’s timeless,” Ellermeyer see Malo, page 12

The Sharks, the Lists and the Candidates

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hen it comes to Rudy Martinez, the challenger to 14th District City Council list maker José Huizar, much of the campaign has been the equivalent of the first half of the movie Jaws.

He’s been having fun running for office, enjoying this new kind of fishing expedition.

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THE REGARDIE REPORT

He’s put bait in the water and has the eager energy of a political rookie. Considering that Martinez gave his campaign a tidy $150,000, he hasn’t had to engage in the dispiriting dialing for dollars that most candidates en-

dure. This means he didn’t spend hours every day running down a list (there’s that word again!), calling potential supporters and saying/begging, “Whassup? I love you! Can you pretty please give me $500?”

The result is that, like Roy Scheider’s police chief Martin Brody, who joins a shark hunter and a marine biologist in search of a mean fish, it takes a while to grasp what lies below the surface. In the 1975 film, Brody doesn’t fully fathom that the ocean is a deep, dangerous environment and that a shark with a mouth the size of a Honda is lurking. In the case of the election, in the early running Martinez maybe didn’t grasp that below the see Election, page 11

The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles

photo by Gary Leonard

At a Thursday night debate in Glassell Park, Councilman José Huizar (standing) tangled with his challenger, restaurateur and reality TV personality Rudy Martinez.

2 Downtown News

January 24, 2011

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AROUNDTOWN Show Us Your Loft

before surrendering. A woman who had been in the room was not injured.

D

o you want to show your home off without having strangers traipse through it? Then Los Angeles Downtown News wants to hear from you. We’re currently assembling entries for our next Downtown Living focus. The special section, which publishes March 21, includes “What’s in My Loft,” in which proud Downtowners show off their residence and talk about a few of their favorite possessions. The stories include pictures of the occupants. So if you have the place and the place has the look, then email a short description and photo to Dawn Eastin at dawn@downtownnews.com.

Police Shoot Skid Row Gunman

P

olice officers last week shot a 33-year-old man who was allegedly waving a loaded handgun near Fifth and San Julian streets in Skid Row. Rahman Dejohnette was treated for wounds to his legs from a shotgun blast.

He was released the next day into police custody and booked for assault with a deadly weapon, even though the firearm turned out to be a pellet gun, Lt. Paul Vernon said.

Witnesses told police that Dejohnette had been pointing a gun at people at around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 16. They said he seemed upset over someone stealing his laptop. Witnesses directed passing officers to the man, who had entered the James M. Wood Apartments. As officers stood outside Dejohnette’s fourth floor apartment, the suspect opened the door suddenly and stepped into the hallway. Police shot Dejohnette, who retreated into the apartment momentarily

Volunteers Sought for Homeless Count

T

he Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is looking for volunteers to help count homeless people in the county.

The count will take place on the nights of Jan. 25-27, and the organization is seeking about 4,000 people to fill various positions including coordinators for deployment centers, office volunteers and counters, who will go out from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. In 2009, they counted more than 40,000 homeless people in the county. Knowing who and where the homeless populations are allows LAHSA to better target resources, officials said. To volunteer go to theycountwillyou.org.

ing permits in the second half of the year,” Ovrom said in a newsletter.

255 E. Temple St., Suite 1860, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

More Local Builders Pulling Permits

Calling Local High School Artists

Downtown Economic Report Coming

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he past six months saw a 29% increase in construction across the city, as measured by the Department of Building and Safety.

As the entity that issues and enforces building permits, the department also tracks the number of permits issued and the value associated with them. Officials last week said that valuation for the past six months (the first six months of the department’s fiscal year) was $1.4 billion, up 29% over the previous year.

Department General Manager Bud Ovrom said he expects the trend to continue because plan check fees, which are paid before permits are issued, have increased 27% over the same period. “That bodes well for build-

photo by Gary Leonard

On Wednesday, Jan. 19, the Natural History Museum gave a sneak peek of its upcoming dinosaurs exhibit. The show in the Exposition Park venue will open in July.

reative Downtown-area high school students have a chance to get rewarded for their work, but they have to move quickly. There is a Feb. 3 submission date for Congresswoman Lucille RoybalAllard’s annual Congressional Student Art Competition. High school students in the 34th Congressional District, which includes Downtown, have the chance to represent the community for a year in a national exhibit at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The winning student will get a $1,000 scholarship, a gift certificate for art supplies, a cash prize, and will attend the opening. Entries should be delivered to Roybal-Allard’s local office at

hose still trying to figure out where the economy is going, and whether Los Angeles is ready to rebound and/or ripe for investment, will want to head to the Los Angeles Marriott Downtown on Figueroa Street on Feb. 16. That’s when the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation will present its 20112012 Economic Forecast and Industry Outlook. As part of the program, LAEDC Chief Economist Nancy Sidhu, of the Kyser Center for Economic Research, will discuss the impact Japanese companies are having in the region. Registration information is at laedc.org.

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EDITORIALS Keep Fifth and Flower in Regional Connector Study

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his week, the 13-member board of directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is slated to take up an issue that erupted late last year and is vital to the future of Downtown: They’ll vote on whether to study including a station at Fifth and Flower streets in the Regional Connector.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his three appointees to the panel, and the rest of the board, should approve the study.

This doesn’t obligate them to spend the approximately $185 million it would cost to build the station, but it does enable them to keep it a possibility going forward. If they nix the study when they meet on Thursday, Jan. 27, then they will pass the failsafe point, meaning this portion of the Financial District would definitely miss out on a mass transit stop.

Metro’s reason for rejecting the study of the station last year is the same one forcing almost every civic decision across the state these days: money. They claim that, since the funds do not currently exist to build the station, and that the connector with the stop is about $200 million over budget, that it would be a waste to spend the $2 million even to continue examining it.

There is something to be said for fiscally prudent action — had government officials at numerous levels kept a tighter rein on their purse strings in the boom years, then the current economic dregs might not be so severe. However, the $2 million for the study cannot be taken in a vacuum — this project, after all, is budgeted at $1.36 billion. That’s before cost

overruns and change orders (one can be almost certain they’ll materialize) drive the price even higher. This is the veritable drop in the bucket.

Members of the Downtown business community have been working recently to keep Fifth and Flower in the study, though it remains unclear whether those efforts will pay off.

There are numerous reasons to do this, starting with what’s at or near the intersection: City National Plaza, the Central Library, Citigroup Center, the Westin Bonaventure and Standard hotels, and U.S. Bank Tower, among dozens of others. There are tens of thousands of potential users of a project that stitches together light-rail lines and stands to make travel throughout the region easier. Certainly that is something to encourage, rather than giving all these people another reason to climb into their cars.

There is also the question of the accuracy of the $2 million.

Some in the business community wonder if the analysis can be conducted for much less. In fact, $2 million sounds like a lot of money when officials are already studying the environmental and engineering aspects of other parts of the connector. Maybe some of the wise private-sector minds can help suggest good practices to keep the costs down.

Some of those who say Fifth and Flower is a no-go point to the nearby station at the Seventh Street Metro Center. They say the other three Regional Connector stops in Downtown

will satisfy the coming riders, and that a fourth stop might even slow speeds on the line. The objectors worry that if a project has a possibly undecided future at Fifth and Flower, then federal officials will not dispense their money, wanting to rely on shovel-ready projects.

There are reasonable counter-arguments to each of the above. Some say the Seventh Street station is overloaded, and that a Fifth and Flower station would relieve the crowding that will worsen with a new rail system. The topic of speed brings up the short two-mile route, so the savings may only be seconds or minutes. The federal funds are a concern, but how real is it right now when construction is not slated to begin until 2014, with a projected 2019 opening?

In short, the controversy is all the more reason to study the matter and get to the truth of it.

The objectors’ arguments are worthy of consideration, but they are not persuasive reasons to close the door on the station at this point. Again, all that is being asked for now is the chance to consider the stop. No one says the money exists to build it, but if the stop is eliminated this week, that would prevent future efforts, in an improving economy, to look for money.

Killing the station would be shortsighted. There are more reasons to save it, right now, than to eliminate it. Let’s hope the Metro board members do the right thing for Downtown.

Inauspicious Start for La Plaza Cultural Center

W

hen it comes to excavation and construction in Downtown Los Angeles, the past occasionally creeps up in unexpected ways, and has to be dealt with adequately and professionally. In the 1990s, work on a project at Olvera Street yielded finds that required bringing in an archeologist. In 2005, MTA crews near Los Angeles State Historic Park accidentally uncovered part of the Zanja Madre, the city’s early water delivery system. Excavation is ongoing and the public can view the work in progress through a well-labeled construction fence.

In 1997, construction of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels was complicated, and

slightly delayed, when debate swirled over a skull that had been found at the site four decades earlier. Archeologists worked to determine if the land once held a Native American cemetery. No other bones were discovered.

All of which leads to the present situation regarding La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, a $20 million project at 501 N. Main St. On the morning of Jan. 14, officials with the coming Mexican-American cultural center told Los Angeles Downtown News that, despite protests in the wake of the discovery of human remains, they would continue digging.

That afternoon, finally bowing to pressure from a growing chorus who charged that a former cemetery was being disturbed, they

halted work.

La Plaza’s move was the right one. The problem is, it came much later than it should have, resulting in the impression that they only reacted because they were caught in the spotlight. It’s nice to know the media and public pressure can have an effect, but it leaves many scratching their heads over where this new attraction will fit into the fabric of Downtown Los Angeles. Will they be good neighbors?

What is troubling is that La Plaza officials resisted entreaties to halt excavation, apparently more focused on meeting an April 9 opening goal. Bone fragments were discovered as early as October, and on Jan. 6, the

Native American Heritage Commission requested a halt in the excavation. It was not heeded.

Additionally, there have been reports that La Plaza officials failed to adequately brief the Los Angeles Archdiocese of what they had discovered. The archdiocese oversees the La Placita church that at one time held a cemetery.

La Plaza’s move is better late than never, but it is not going to win it much support.

The project may be a good one, but this is an inauspicious beginning. They’ll have to work very hard to convince the public that, moving forward, they’ll care as much about the community as they do themselves.

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis Los Angeles Downtown News 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 phone: 213-481-1448 • fax: 213-250-4617 web: DowntownNews.com • email: realpeople@downtownnews.com facebook: L.A. Downtown News

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Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie citY Editor: Richard Guzmán stAFF writEr: Ryan Vaillancourt coNtributiNG Editors: David Friedman, Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Pamela Albanese, Jay Berman, Jim Farber, 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 PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Schmidt AdvErtisiNG dirEctor: Steve Nakutin sAlEs AssistANt: Annette Cruz clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Catherine Holloway, Brenda Stevens, Billy Wright, Lon Wahlberg 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.

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CRA Aims to Protect The Downtown Shortlist $930 Million From State G

by Ryan Vaillancourt staff writer

G

ov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to eliminate redevelopment agen­ cies and repurpose their revenue came with a caveat: Brown would not dip into funds that agencies had already contractually committed.

The Los Angeles Community Rede­ velopment Agency sought to use that caveat as a loophole recently, as its board approved a plan to negotiate with the City Council to transfer $930 million in projected tax increment revenue to the city. The council delayed a vote last week but is scheduled to take the matter up on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

The $930 million slated for transfer in­ cludes $456.7 million in funding for doz­ ens of Downtown projects, among them the Broad museum and the Broadway streetcar (see sidebar).

Currently, the CRA only has $344.4 million in available funds, which are mostly in the form of tax increment and bond revenue. The rest of the $930 mil­ lion is in projected future revenue that the agency would contractually commit to the city.

If the council approves the proposal, the CRA and the city would negotiate an agreement to transfer the funds if

the agency is ultimately dissolved, said Jim Dantona, chief deputy to CRA CEO Chris Essel. Such an agreement could lead to the formation of a new nonprofit entity or economic development corpo­ ration, helmed by Essel, to manage the saved projects.

Brown has targeted redevelopment agencies statewide as a means to help shore up the state’s $25 billion deficit.

Redevelopment agencies rely on tax in­ crement funding, which repurposes a portion of property taxes for reinvest­ ment in blighted areas. Brown would take those dollars from the agencies and free them up for spending on core ser­ vices such as schools and public safety.

The Los Angeles CRA generates about $150 million in the kind of tax increment funding that Brown wants to take.

The CRA has been a key driver of development in Downtown, and local stakeholders have largely balked at the idea of eliminating the agency. However, some private developers have also la­ mented that the agency essentially pro­ vides another layer of bureaucracy that slows down the entitlement process and jeopardizes projects that don’t take pub­ lic money.

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

n Broad Museum garage, $52 million: The CRA plans to spend $52 million to help build a parking facility beneath Eli’s Broad museum.

The garage would serve museum staff and patrons until the Grand Avenue project adds new residential units. A plaza would also rise. n Grand Avenue Project, $50 million: The agency has $50 million tied to the long-de­ layed mixed-use mega project, which CRA officials say will create construction jobs, add housing and beautify the area. n One Santa Fe, $4 million: This 440-unit mixed-use development across from SCI-Arc would add 10,000 square feet of retail space in a mostly industrial part of the Arts District.

The project has been stalled as developer the McGregor Company looks for financing. n SRO Housing, $5 million: The CRA is a key funding source for one of Downtown’s primary developers of permanent supportive housing for the homeless. The agency has $1 million a year programmed for various fund­ ing for the nonprofit over the next five years. n Cleantech Manufacturing Center, $20 million: The cornerstone of the agency’s quest to transform an underused industrial swath along the Los Angeles River into a hub of green technology and jobs, the Cleantech Manufacturing Center would be scrapped without CRA dollars. n Alameda Street Corridor Improvements,

$30 million: The agency wants to invest heav­ ily in what it says are urgently needed im­ provements to a key corridor for goods move­ ment to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. n Bringing Back Broadway, $5 million: The effort to revitalize Broadway has leaned heavi­ ly on CRA funding, and the agency planned to spend another $1 million per year on various economic development projects on the street. rendering courtesy of LASI

Proposed Deal Would Save $456 Million For Downtown Projects

ov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to elimi­ nate redevelopment agencies jeop­ ardizes dozens of Downtown projects that the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency plans to take on in the next five years. Central City projects the agency is trying to protect include:

n Broadway Streetcar, $10 million: Another project that has relied on the CRA, the $100 million streetcar is set to get more agency funding over the next five years. n Downtown Auto District, $12 million: A push to make a section of Figueroa Street a hub for auto sales would use CRA funds for way-finding signage and other programs to boost the area’s visibility. n Various Affordable Housing, $45 million: Over the next five years, the CRA wants to invest at least $45 million in more than 12 af­ fordable housing projects in Downtown. n Blossom Plaza, $4.2 million: The CRA is waiting for responses seeking a developer for a planned mixed-use project with afford­ able housing and retail next to the Gold Line Chinatown station.

—Ryan Vaillancourt

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Downtown News 7

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Behind the Bait Bike Downtown Shop Helps LAPD Sting Thieves

By Donating a $900 Bicycle

by Ryan VaillancouRt

and try to sell a bike or accessories?

A: It happens sometimes. We put it on the street that we don’t buy bikes or parts. We don’t know where it’s coming from. The day the LAPD came in to pick up their bike, a guy came in trying to sell a bike. The cop put his badge away, hid his gun and said, “How much you want for it?” The guy said he’d meet up later but he didn’t show up. I think he sensed something was up.

staff wRiteR

J

ulio Pérez, a mechanic with the Downtown bike shop El Maestro, knows the pains — both mental and physical, in his case — of getting a bicycle stolen. That’s why he and shop owner Jorge Sosa, who goes by “Maestro,” were willing to help the LAPD deter bike theft in the area. The shop last year donated a bike worth about $900 for Downtown cops to use as bait in sting operations. Perez tells Los Angeles Downtown News about the donation, and offers some tips for keeping your two-wheeler safe.

Q: How did the idea of donating a bike to the LAPD come about?

A: It was Maestro’s idea. They came in with their dummy bike that they use and it was really crappy. We were like, “Nobody’s going to want to steal this.” They wanted to true [or straighten] the wheels and stuff.

We’re like, “Look, this is not true-able, why don’t we put something together for you guys?” I’m just glad the LAPD is taking more of an interest in the bike culture down here.

Los Angeles Downtown News: Have you ever had your bike stolen?

Jose Pérez: I had my bike stolen at least three or four times as a kid. As an adult now, just once, and it was by brute force. I was coming down Venice Boulevard. I was at a stoplight. A couple guys approached. They basically beat the [crap] out of me and took my bike. I was more than willing to give it up but they were drunk or high or something.

On another occasion, I was able to outrun them on my bike; this time it was a van, circling the neighborhood in Downtown, late at night. I evaded them, going the wrong way down one-way streets. We’ve had a lot of our customers come in and complain about the same thing. We had a couple guys whose bikes were taken at gunpoint. It’s just a bad situation.

Q: Why was it important to donate a nice bike, that you could have sold for a pretty penny, instead of, say, a used bike?

A: It’s a fixed gear bike with nice components. But as far as the details, I probably don’t think they’d want to publish that. We built a bike that would exceed $500, the cost needed to make it a felony if it gets stolen.

The total cost was about $900.

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Q: Do you believe that bike thieves have bad karma coming to them?

Q: How often does someone come into the shop

photo by Gary Leonard

Julio Pérez and Jorge Sosa, of Downtown bike shop El Maestro, with some of their wares. They donated a bicycle that police use in bike theft sting operations.

A: I hope so. I really do. Biking is the way we live our life. I gave up driving four years ago.

I don’t have a need to go back to driving, which is why a lot of us don’t mind spending money on our bike. We’re not paying for cars, gas, maintenance, registration, insurance, so we don’t mind putting a couple extra hundred bucks into our bike, which is why when something gets stolen it sucks. We take a hit.

Q: Do you ever blame the bike owner, instead of the thief, for not using a good lock, or no lock at all?

A: Yes. There’s a whole theory of locks —

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the larger the lock, the better. In my opinion, the larger the lock, the more you can grab. The best bet is to take off your front rim, put in the back and take a “U” lock and run it through both rims, the frame and a pole. [Thieves use] power tools like Sawzalls, grinders. It doesn’t really take much to cut a lock. If there’s a will there’s a way, so the best you can do is keep an eye out and lock it the right way. When people get careless sometimes, that’s when things happen.

El Maestro is at 806 S. Main St., (213) 6270580 or myspace.com/elmaestrobikeshop.

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

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8 Downtown News

January 24, 2011

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The Bristol Is Back Formerly Blighted Eighth Street Hotel Reopens as Low-Income Housing

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

I

n the world of Downtown Los Angeles housing projects, the Bristol Hotel is decidedly low-key. The seven-story edifice at 423 W. Eighth St. lacks flashy amenities like a rooftop patio or a swimming pool. The transformation of the 1906 building is bringing 107 units online, but they are tiny, with just a closet and bathroom and no kitchens.

The biggest impact of the affordable housing complex may simply be that it is open.

After all, a few years ago it appeared as if the property, on the same street as a popular bar and a community-friendly Italian restaurant, would sit empty and blighted for years.

“Every building that opens up here helps the area,” said Izek Shomof, the developer responsible for resuscitating the structure.

“We hope others will see what we did as an example of what can be done here to help Downtown.”

The first few move-ins have begun at

the Bristol. Residences average about 200 square feet and the project contains approximately 8,000 square feet of retail space. A 2,500-square foot D-Town Burger occupies the ground floor; it is Shomof’s second burger establishment, following one in the Hayward Hotel on Sixth Street.

More changes are anticipated. A wine shop is planned for another 500-square-foot ground floor space and Shomof said the lease for El Gaucho, a 5,000-square-foot hostess bar in the basement, is up in about a year. He plans to look for a high-end bar to replace it.

Even if the latter takes a while to come to fruition, the change is already momentous.

The Bristol has sat vacant and been an eyesore on the street since tenants were evicted in 2003.

The hotel closed after Adolfo Suaya, a restaurateur, purchased the property. With a wave of market-rate and boutique development sweeping across Downtown at the time, he planned to convert the building into a $3.5

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Developer Izek Shomof turned the empty Bristol Hotel into a low-income residential complex. The property contains a D-Town Burger restaurant on the ground floor.

million, 84-room boutique hotel, nightclub and restaurant.

His plans were shot down when the Legal Aid Foundation filed a wrongful eviction lawsuit on behalf of about 20 former tenants.

The suit was settled in 2006 and Suaya ultimately paid about $226,000 in damages and relocation compensation.

Officials with the Community Redevelopment Agency later said that even though Suaya compensated the tenants, the building’s previous owner, Chae Ro, was the one responsible for the evictions.

The CRA then filed a separate complaint against Suaya, arguing that his plans for the Bristol violated a covenant that Ro had with the city. The agreement, reached in 1985 and based on a $1.5 million loan the agency gave Ro, required the Bristol to serve low-income tenants until at least 2015.

After much wrangling, a settlement was reached; it found that Suaya was still bound by the covenant, but was not required to reopen the hotel at all. The situation led many to expect that the Bristol would remain shuttered for a few more years, and would continue to drag down the potential of a developing street.

“There was a fear that it would remain vacant until 2015,” said Dave Neubecker, a CRA assistant project manager for Downtown.

“But we are very pleasantly surprised at what Izek has done with it.”

Shomof purchased the building from Suaya in 2009 for $2.5 million. The 40,000-squarefoot property adds to several other Downtown projects developed by Shomof, including the Spring Tower Lofts, City Lofts, the Milano Lofts and the Hayward Hotel, a formerly rundown crime magnet at Sixth and Spring streets.

Patching an Eyesore The transformation of the 105-year-old Bristol took about 18 months. It was privately funded by Shomof, who would not disclose the cost of the renovation.

The majority of the work included a cleaning of the façade and interior. Utilities were also upgraded.

“We did not remove anything. There was no need for it,” Shomof, a slim, distinguished looking man who speaks with an Israeli accent, said on a recent visit. “We just kept what was here and cleaned it up. We haven’t changed a lot except repairing the plumbing and electrical and cosmetics, like drywall

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repairs, plaster and paint and replacing the doors.”

“What you see now is what you saw back in 1906,” added Eric Shomof, his son and business partner.

The units are barebones but pleasant, with dark tile floors, white walls, a small closet and a bathroom. Shomof will include a bed in each unit. There is a laundry room in the building and pets are allowed, but there is no parking and anyone with a criminal record is disqualified from renting, Shomof said.

Four apartments are market rate rentals, while the rest are for low income residents who make 60% of the California Department of Housing and Community Development median in L.A. County. That means potential residents can’t earn more than $46,400 a year, Neubecker said.

Maximum rent for low-income tenants would be $642 including utilities, and the market-rate residences, which are the same size, will go for about $700. Shomof is in the process of enrolling the property in the Section 8 federal rent subsidy program.

About 20 applications had been submitted for the low-income units by early January.

Shomof must wait until there are enough applications to fill the building before lowincome tenants can move in (a few of the market rate residences are already open).

Although the application process is going slower then he anticipated, Shomof expects the building to be filled within two months.

One of the market-rate units is being rented by Sina Tuy, a Cal State L.A. student who was previously living at the Rosslyn Hotel.

“This is much nicer,” she said. “Everything is brand new, nice and I’m a student so this is incredibly affordable.”

Perhaps those most pleased by the turnaround are the Bristol’s neighbors, who now know the property will not sit empty for at least another four years. Luigi Barducci

Downtown News 9

DowntownNews.com

More Money for Museum CRA Allocates $52 Million for Grand Avenue Project

by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR

T photo by Gary Leonard

The units in the 107-room complex average about 200 square feet. They have bathrooms but not kitchen facilities.

Contessi, who co-owns the Colori Kitchen restaurant next door, said the full impact of the renovation won’t be felt until the building is filled, but he is happy it will be active.

“It’s definitely going to be helpful for the street since it’s kind of dead now. It’s best for us if it’s open and not vacant,” he said.

Diego Selinger, general manager at the Golden Gopher bar, which also neighbors the Bristol, said he has already begun to see the advantages of having the building open.

“I love having things here that drive more people to the neighborhood,” he said. The bar has already partnered with D-Town Burger to offer deals to each other’s customers.

“We’re seeing a lot of changes here since we opened up,” he added. “Before people were afraid to walk by here at night, but the transformation is happening.”

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

he Community Redevelopment Agency last week increased funding for Eli Broad’s art museum by $22 million in order to build a larger parking facility, a public plaza and widen sidewalks on Grand Avenue. The new plan, which the City Council is expected to take up this week, bumps the CRA’s contribution to $52 million.

The plan, approved by the CRA Board of Commissioners on Thursday, Jan. 20, involves stretching the Broad museum footprint so that it encompasses the entire parcel bounded by Grand Avenue, Second and Hope streets and Gen. Thaddeus Kosciusko Way. The plan that the CRA approved last July envisioned a $30 million, three-level garage that occupied about half of the parcel.

The portion of the land that would have remained empty is tentatively slated for future development as part of the stalled $3 billion Grand Avenue plan. Related Cos., which has development rights for the parcel and several others along Grand Avenue, could still build on the site in the future, on top of the expanded garage.

Until Related is ready to move forward with any plan for the parcel, however, the top of the expanded garage will be landscaped and connected to a new plaza south of the museum, said David Riccietello, CRA regional administrator for the Downtown area.

The larger garage will create 370 spaces,

The Art Program of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) developed these tours to introduce residents and visitors to their collection of public art created by a broad range of artists, in a variety of forms and neighborhood contexts.

The tours available include:

Metro Briefs

Financial District Historic Core Bunker Hill Little Tokyo

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Printable maps direct you to each stop as you listen to the artists’ stories.

11-0813jl_gen-fe-11-008 ©2011 lacmta

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to your personal MP3 player and explore the public art of Los Angeles like never before.

If you’d like to know more, please call us at 800.464.2111, or visit metro.net.

up from the previous 284, and will allow for more efficient circulation and pedestrian access to the museum, Riccietello said.

Under the approved funding plan, Broad will pay for the construction of the garage, plaza and sidewalk improvements, which have an estimated price tag of $46.5 million (he’ll also cover the $100 million museum to be called The Broad). The CRA will pay Broad $8 million in advance, and another $22 million upon completion of the garage, according to a CRA report. The agency will then pay Broad back $3 million a year from Bunker Hill tax increment funds.

Thursday’s meeting came as the agency looks to protect nearly $1 billion in future revenues from Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to eliminate redevelopment agencies and repurpose tax increment dollars for core services such as schools and public safety.

Riccietello said any sense of urgency driving the change in the project stems from Broad’s desire to start as soon as possible. Broad has said he hopes to begin construction by April and open the building in early 2013.

However, Jim Dantona, deputy to CRA Chief Executive Officer Chris Essel, confirmed that the move also aligns with the agency’s short-term effort to ensure its funding plans are made official through various contracts. Brown’s proposal would not touch CRA funds that are already contractually obligated.

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

For more information on the artwork shown here and to download the tours please visit crala.org/art

WALL ST

MAYAN THEATER

12TH ST

14TH PL

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map courtesy of Catifact

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CALIFORNIA HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER

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Contact: Ira Flushberg at (213) 222-1203 or Brad Luster at (213) 747-4154, both of Major Properties.

Got a new listing that deserves some extra attention?

Ever wonder about that weird building that has had a for-sale sign on it for years? Drop me a line at ryan@ downtownnews.com.

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WEEKDAY WORKSHOP Thursday, January 27, 2011 6–8p.m.

WEEKEND WORKSHOP Saturday, January 29, 2011 10a.m.–Noon

All events will be held at: 715 S. Los Angeles Street Los Angeles, CA 90014

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Visit WWW.FASHIONYOURDISTRICT.ORG to complete our online survey available beginning Thursday, January 27, 2011.

Visit WWW.FASHIONYOURDISTRICT.ORG for more information

SAN JULIAN ST

MAPLE AVE

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The Hood: Potential buyers can bank on a steady income stream from those parking to visit the neighboring Club Starlight, one of Downtown’s hostess dance halls. It bills itself as a premium gentlemen’s club.

High claims aside, the corner of Pico Boulevard and Main Street is really a Fashion District location — garment shops like T-Shirt Haven and Champ Sportswear line Main Street. Across the street is the body piercing mecca Halftone Body Works. It’s on the western edge of the Fashion District, in the shadow of the AT&T Center.

January 24, 2011 SANTEE

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The Best Use: The current parking lot charges $4 per hour, or $3 after 4 p.m., and is mostly used by people visiting nearby fashion showrooms and garment shops. But the property is zoned to handle commercial buildings.

Since construction financing is still hard to come by, however, the site may be destined to remain a parking lot, at least for the near term. It might pencil out for a parking lot company with a growing portfolio and cash to spare. Flushberg said the site might also be enticing for neighboring property owners who don’t own parking, or as is often the case with Downtown commercial property owners, don’t own enough parking.

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The Price: Major Properties listed the property in November for $2.5 million, but recently dropped it to $1.8 million. Is the $125 per square foot price tag worth it? Hard to say: Vacant land sales in this area are not very common, so comps are hard to come by, said listing co-agent Ira Flushberg. One potential comp is a deal from January 2010, when a 7,065-square-foot undeveloped site at 1040 S. Los Angeles St. sold for $1.55 million, or about $219 per square foot.

9TH ST

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The Site: 105-117 W. Pico Blvd. This 14,505-squarefoot lot, which some may see as vacant land suitable for redevelopment, is actually two lots that form an L shape near the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Main Street.

ORPHEUM THEATER

GRAND HOPE FIDM PARK

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eal estate is the lifeblood of Downtown Los Angeles, and from Bunker Hill office towers to vacant land in Skid Row, buyers and sellers are constantly searching for deals and steals.

In the new recurring column “What’s for Sale,” Los Angeles Downtown News is looking at everything from individual condos to multi-family buildings to vacant lots. We’ll look at the high end, the low end and everything in between.

We hope that regular snapshots of individual properties will make for a wide-ranging survey of the overall Downtown market, and will offer glimpses of micro-markets — like wholesale fashion showrooms — that many overlook.

This week, the focus is on a parking lot in the Fashion District.

STILLWELL HOTEL

GRAND AVE

staff wRiteR

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by Ryan VaillancouRt

FIDM ANNEX

GRAND AVE

WHAT’S FOR SALE Fashion District Plot Is a Development Site, Or a Parking Lot for a Hostess Club

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Twitter/DowntownNews

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10 Downtown News

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January 24, 2011

Downtown News 11

DowntownNews.com

Election Continued from page 1 surface lies a political machine that makes chum of outsiders. Part of that machine is Parke Skelton, Huizar’s assassin de campaign.

In Jaws, Brody’s turning point occurs when, off the coast of the town of Amity, the shark rears up out of the water and flashes its razor teeth. Brody famously walks slowly backward and, in an oy vey voice, mutters to the captain, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Martinez’s moment likely came in the past few weeks. In December, he was blistered by a batch of Team Huizar press releases that dredged up a series of past stumbles, the most severe detailing his not one, not two, not three, but four arrests. Then, on Jan. 10, the candidates had to file their latest fundraising reports. Somehow, Martinez raised just $7,200 in a three-month period, a total so low one wonders if he’s allergic to checks like some people are to peanuts. The incumbent, meanwhile, gobbled up nearly $114,000. The net result is that, with less than two months until the March 8 election, Huizar has $320,000 with which to butcher his opponent, while Martinez’s cupboards are at a respectable but comparably bare $133,000.

At that moment, someone in the campaign staff might have turned to Martinez and muttered, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

Then, in a minor miracle, the boat arrived. Amazingly, it turned out that Huizar himself had unintentionally driven the boat up to Martinez’s front door and left it there, with a metaphorical bright red bow and a “kick me” sign.

It was the power lists.

A Downtown Roster?

The lists, reported by the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 17, could prove to be Huizar’s downfall if they turn enough of the community against the incumbent (indeed, at a Jan. 20 candidates’ forum in Glassell Park, the crowd visibly and audibly bristled when the topic came up). While a lot of people rank things like movies, it turns out Huizar pulls a Soylent Green equivalent and ranks people. And he thinks a lot of people in his district are zeros.

Three lists posted on Martinez’s website grade hundreds

of people in Boyle Heights, El Sereno and Northeast L.A. on their “support” for Huizar (bizarrely ranked from -3 to 3) and their “influence” (numbered 1 to 5). Those graded include beloved Homeboy Industries founder Father Gregory Boyle, who notched a 1 in support and a 2 in influence (equivalent to “Taken Into Account,” according to the list). County Supervisor Gloria Molina gets a 4 on influence, the same as a CRA regional administrator. The Fraternal Order of Eagles has zero pull in the Huizarasphere, while a “cheerleader advisor” for Franklin High School gets a 1 (“Can Get Attention”).

One Northeast stakeholder with a 3 in influence and support is, uh, Mia Sushi owner Rudy Martinez. The support number equates to “Die Hard” status, though they might want to rethink that one when it comes time to update the list.

The second most frequently asked question right now is, “What the heck was Huizar thinking?” Sure, candidates have lists of people they can ask for money during campaigns, and sitting officeholders usually have a mental rundown of friends and personae non grata. But most politicians don’t write the names down in Excel spreadsheets. The depth of the lists shows that some serious hours were spent compiling them.

The most common question right now is, “Where is the Downtown Los Angeles list?” Everyone in the Central City is dying to know if Huizar thinks they’re a 5 in influence or a zero. If such a document ever existed, then loose copies have probably been shredded and hard drives wiped in recent days.

Huizar better hope that Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks avengers don’t come snooping.

Huizar has yet to explain the lists in a satisfactory manner.

The Times reported that after the story, Huizar emailed supporters to say the rosters were compiled to stay “in touch” with constituents. That made me laugh so hard that milk came out my nose.

Actually, my favorite list-related moment occurred in a recent call from a Huizar supporter. They’ve been phone banking like crazy in the part of the district where I live, and I recently got three calls in four days asking if they can count on my support for the incumbent (I always refuse to commit, simply so I can gauge how hard the campaigns are playing).

On call two, I asked about the power lists, and the woman, who sounded like she used to babysit Methuselah, said she was a student and didn’t know anything about them.

I asked about the power lists again on call three and a guy responded with something like, “As a councilman he has

SECURING LA’S WATER FUTURE

The public is invited to hear an overview of the LADWP Water System’s strategic priorities and preview the draft 2010 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) that will outline the City’s long-term water resources management strategy. The final 2010 UWMP will be presented for adoption by the LADWP Board of Commissioners in May 2011.

photo by Gary Leonard

While the crowd bristled at Huizar’s discussion of the power lists, Martinez often resorted to clichés. “I enjoy people,” he chirped in his opening statement.

worked to create parks and—” I politely interrupted him, saying I said “lists,” not “green space,” and soon was transferred to a supervisor. When I asked him why Huizar was grading his constituents, he said it was a way to detail their own outreach to people in the community.

Thinking I must have heard this wrong, I asked the same question a second time. He told me, again, that the lists labeled “Community Power Analysis” have nothing to do with the councilman’s feeling about district stakeholders, but are his office’s internal mode of self-grading. This led to another laughter/milk/nose moment, which only increased when the man said the campaign told this to the Times but the paper chose not to include it in the story.

If that’s what happened, I can’t blame the Times. If they were interviewing me about the moon and I told them it was made of two parts fungus and one part of Antonio Villaraigosa’s tooth enamel, I don’t think they’d print it just because I said it.

At this point, only two things are certain: 1) The lists hurt Huizar, and 2) When a tiger is wounded, it fights back. Get ready for the 14th District race to go from brutal to nuclear.

Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Expo Light Rail Line Project Status Update Open House / Downtown & Mid-Corridor Thursday, January 27, 2011

Public Workshops

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At this public meeting, we will discuss the following:

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Free parking provided.

The Draft 2010 UWMP is available at www.ladwp.com Written comments are due by March 15, 2011 to: LADWP, 111 N. Hope St, Room 1460, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Attn: Simon Hsu or simon.hsu@ladwp.com For more information contact (213) 367-2970 or email simon.hsu@ladwp.com As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, service and activities. To ensure availability, such requests should be made 72 hours in advance by calling (213) 367-2970, TDD: 1 (800) 432-7397.

The Expo Line is a new light rail system connecting Downtown Los Angeles with the Westside. Phase 1 is currently under construction and will travel along the Exposition railroad right-of-way between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City.

For more information, visit BuildExpo.org or call 213.922.EXPO (3976)

Downtown and Mid-Corridor construction activities And the opportunity to have your questions answered by construction personnel

Please Join Us:

Holman United Methodist Church White Hall Room 3320 W. Adams Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90018 (On-site parking is available)

12 Downtown News

January 24, 2011

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Malo Continued from page 1 said. “This could be here 40 years from now.

That’s what we want, that’s our plan.”

The 9,500-square-foot establishment occupies the former home of the Clifton’s Silver Spoon cafeteria. The building dates to the early 1920s when the current restaurant space was a jewelry store.

The partners spent $2 million and about two years readying the project that created 100 jobs. While little was done to the exterior of the business that sits below and shares an entrance with the Seven Grand whiskey bar, the ceiling was restored. That turned out to be one of the most labor-intensive parts of the project.

“A huge section had to be patched and matched to the relief pattern,” Ellermeyer said. “Now you can’t tell there was a giant hole in the ceiling.”

Today the white, vaulted ceiling jumps out with floral patterns and is a primary focal point of the space. They also restored the Greek-style murals that sit above vintage woodwork on the walls and pink-tinged marble floors.

The restaurant has three bars and a 309-person capacity with a main floor, a mezzanine level, a subterranean cantina and a tiny tequila tasting room behind the original metal doors in the old vault of the jewelry store. The room will house more than 100 bottles of tequila for private events.

The cantina is accessible through a side door near the main bar. A flight of stairs leads down to a Brazil-inspired room featuring a white fireplace, hanging chairs, couches and small tables. The restaurant, including the cantina, was designed by Tracy Beckmann.

Food Central Mas Malo is the latest in a line of restau-

rants that have turned Seventh Street into a vibrant food destination. Establishments that have opened on the corridor between Figueroa and Olive streets in the last two years include sushi spot Sugarfish, Soi 7, a higher-end Thai eatery, and the always packed Bottega Louie.

Both Frank and Ellermeyer are experienced entrepreneurs. In addition to the original Malo and Buck, Frank runs Downtownbased concert promoter Spaceland Productions and the two opened the El Prado bar in Echo Park. Still, they ran into lengthy delays on Mas Malo.

Actual construction only took five months, Frank said. Going through the permitting process, meanwhile, lasted more than a year.

“We had some issues with the city getting permits during construction. We were held back at every moment,” said Frank, echoing a longstanding complaint voiced by bar and restaurant owners in Los Angeles that some city and business officials sought to address last year with the launch of a new expediting program.

Now that Mas Malo is open, the location will enable the restaurant to draw Downtown residents, the corporate crowd, shoppers and tourists, Frank and Ellermeyer believe.

“We felt this area in particular is one of the best Downtown,” Ellermeyer said.

So far, they’ve exceeded their expectations.

“We’ve already blown out our original financial plan,” Frank said. “We’ve been seeing about 400-500 covers per day, which is beyond our wildest dreams, and we just started, so the sky’s the limit.”

A Twist on Comfort Food The menu by Robert Luna, who worked on the original Malo nine years ago, focuses on Mexican comfort food. Although Luna, a Los Angeles native, looks more like a linebacker than a fine chef, he talks about food with authority and passion. His cuisine is

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In addition to the main dining room, the restaurant features three bars, a mezzanine, a cantina with a Brazil-influenced design, and a tiny tequila tasting room.

heavily influenced by his mother’s cooking while growing up in East L.A. “This is second-generation style cooking,” he said. “We are not a traditional hardcore Mexican food place. We are more of the East L.A., Boyle Heights style cooking.”

The dishes are inspired by the ingenuity of new immigrants who couldn’t always find the traditional ingredients of Mexico in their new home, he said. That is borne out in dishes such as the Boyle Heights Picnic, a quarter chicken roasted and simmered in traditional mole poblano.

Other standouts include the ground beef and pickle tacos. The Ensenada baconwrapped shrimp salutes his family trips to Baja California. Black tiger prawns are wrapped in bacon and sauteed with garlic cream sauce and a bit of chipotle.

“That’s a big thing in Baja, bacon-wrapped shrimp, so that’s a nod to those trips I took growing up,” he said.

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Other dishes are influenced by old Mexican recipes. They include the carnitas, a tender, juicy and slightly tangy pork that at Mas Malo is marinated in Coca-Cola and orange juice.

“One thing about Malo and what we’re trying to do here is make Downtown a destination for food,” Luna said.

Luna already has a few fans. One of them, Downtown property manager Nathan Lively, raved about the carne asada as he sat for lunch with two friends on a recent afternoon.

He thinks the restaurant is a good addition to the neighborhood.

“It fits very well in this area and has a unique feel,” he said. “I’ve been to Seven Grand many times and didn’t even know this space was here, so it’s great to see it open.”

Mas Malo is at 515 W. Seventh St., (213) 985-4332 or malorestaurant.com.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

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Downtown News 13

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LET'S DO LUNCH

photo courtesy of Morton’s

January 24, 2011

Special Deliveries Downtown Restaurants Make Lunch Easy With Prix-Fixe Meals

The Prime Lunch menu at Morton’s The Steakhouse includes grilled options such as rib-eye steak and colossal shrimp. There’s pie for dessert.

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

W

ith the pressures of work and making the right business decisions a constant in Downtown Los Angeles, the last thing you should do during your lunch break is stress out over what to order.

Fortunately, there are numerous Central City restaurants that make it supremely easy to enjoy your meal with prix-fixe lunch specials.

In most instances there are a couple appetizer and entree options, and some places throw in dessert as well. Best of all, the cost is usually far less than what you pay on an à la carte basis.

Here are some of our favorite Downtown prix-fixe options.

All Business: For those who want all of their energy focused on business instead of food, yet still appreciate a good meal, The Palm has it all worked out. The Business Lunch special, priced at $23.95, is fit for Hercules, or at least the Hercules of the business world. The threecourse menu includes starters like a mixed green salad, Caesar salad or soup; during a recent lunch there was a sublime tortilla soup.

Entree choices include twin tenderloin filets, a Southwestern New York steak salad and the fish of the day. You also get a choice of a side with the vegetable of the day (the broccoli would even impress the Green Giant) or the Half & Half, the restaurant’s signature mix of cottage fries and fried onions. If you haven’t exploded yet, there’s dessert, with either key lime pie or New York cheesecake.

At 1100 S. Flower St., (213) 763-4600 or thepalm.com.

Aloha Yummy: The taste of the islands, or at least a delicious fusion of flavors, can be a great thing to look forward to during lunch. To make it even more enjoyable, Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion offers a $25.95, three-course prix-fixe lunch that will make you feel like you’re on an island getaway. OK, that’s stretching it, but you’ll be pleased with a first course of seafood chowder or Hawaiian style hearts of palm Caesar salad. The entrees are Mochiko Crisped Chinese chicken salad, Li Hing Mui

(a salty dry plum) grilled flat iron steak, or roasted macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi.

Make sure to save room for dessert because you can select a Hawaiian guava chiffon cake of coconut haupia puffs.

At 800 S. Flower St., (213) 488-4994 or roysrestaurant.com.

Pasta Paradise: Go Italian without going to Italy by clocking in for lunch at Cardini Ristorante. The establishment in the Wilshire Grand hotel appeals to big tummies with an all you can eat $12.95 pasta lunch special. It includes soup or salad and garlic bread, to start. The pastas include spaghetti Bolognese, chicken fettuccini, penne pesto with chicken, spinach ravioli and seafood ravioli. Sadly, the restaurant’s decadent soufflés are not on the prix-fixe menu. Actually, that’s a good thing, because anyone who had the pasta and the soufflé would need a 90-minute nap.

At 930 Wilshire Blvd., (213) 896-3822 or wilshiregrand.com.

Lunch in the Box: It doesn’t get simpler than having all your food handed to you in a nice box, with all the items divided apart for even easier consumption. That’s what happens when Sai Sai, the Japanese restaurant in the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, dispenses its Bento Box special. The meal is served with soup, salad and rice. For $18, you get a twoitem box with selections like chicken, beef or salmon teriyaki, tempura, tuna sashimi, gyoza, ton-katsu (breaded pork loin) or a California roll. The Vegetarian Bento Box ($14) offers soup, salad and rice and two choices from items such as vegetable tempura, edamame, oshitashi (steamed spinach in tempura sauce), oshinko (assorted pickled Japanese vegetables) or wakame (seaweed salad).

At 506 S. Grand Ave., (213) 624-1100 or millenniumhotels.com.

Build You Own: It’s not that they’re getting lazy: Takami Sushi & Robata just wants to

photo by Gary Leonard

Chaya Downtown’s Power Lunch menu offers a price break over ordering à la carte. It has sandwich and burger selections, among others.

help you personalize your meal by letting you build your own Bento Box special. Prices are $15-$25 for the three-course meal. You get a cup of miso soup; a choice of salad, with options like miso Caesar, seaweed or cucumber; a sushi roll, with options such as spicy tuna, California roll and veggie roll; and an entree, with a choice of seven items. On the low end is the vegetable tempura combo ($15). It maxes out with the assorted sashimi option ($25). Yes, it requires more work than just ordering the set special, but you can try a bunch of different foods every time you go.

At 811 Wilshire Blvd., 21st floor, (213) 2369600 or takamisushi.com.

Follow the Fish Leader: Don’t ask for extra sauce or salt to go with your meal, and you better not dip something in soy sauce if it’s not supposed to be dipped. But if you want to be told what to eat and like it too,

Sugarfish, an offshoot of the acclaimed Sushi Nozawa, is the lunch place for you. It opened in November and they follow the guidelines set by founder and chef Kazunori Nozawa, a strict traditionalist known for his “Trust Me” method. The lunch Trust Me menus include the items the chef wants you to have — you get what you get and you don’t get upset. The $13.50 Trust Me/Lite comes with organic edamame, four different sushi servings and a hand roll. The plain-old Trust Me option is $23.50 and comes with edamame, five types of sushi and two hand rolls. The $34 Nozawa special feature the edamame, five varieties of sushi, two hand rolls and a daily special.

At 600 W. Seventh St., (213) 627-3000 or sugarfishsushi.com.

Prime Time: Morton’s the Steakhouse hopes to turn lunchtime into prime time with see Prix-Fixe, page 16

14 Downtown News

January 24, 2011

Let’s Do Lunch

Meal Deal How to Eat a Good Lunch In Downtown for Less Than $15

by RichaRd Guzmán

ach, smoked bacon, tomato and avocado with a ranch dressing. The steak and avocado ($8.75) comes with (wait for it) steak and avocado, as well as chopped romaine, sweet corn and a tangy avocado dressing. For something a little worldlier, try the My Thai Peanut, (8.75), made with roasted chicken breast, shredded carrots, red peppers, sugar snap peas and a Thai peanut dressing. If you hate forks, all the salads also come as wraps.

At 630 W. Sixth St., (213) 622-1616 or eatloooseleaf.com.

city editoR

C

ompared to dinner, lunch diners are fairly cost-conscious. People don’t want to spend a lot of money on the mid-day meal and, fortunately in Downtown Los Angeles, they don’t have to.

In fact, it’s easy to get a good lunch, with a reasonable tip included, for around $15. If you don’t know where to go, don’t worry, Los Angeles Downtown News went there for you. Here are some starting points.

Market Rate: If you’re looking for a fairly upscale sandwich at Subway prices, the Market Café is a good choice. There are two Downtown locations of the restaurant, in South Park’s AT&T Center and Bunker Hill’s Wells Fargo Center. At $11.50, the Market Lunch special includes a sandwich and a choice of two sides such as potato chips, mixed greens, spinach salad or potato salad.

You also get a dessert with your meal. The sandwich options include a turkey club, tuna salad, roast beef and lemongrass banh mi.

At 1150 S. Olive St., (213) 536-4090 and 330 S. Hope St., (213) 680-7387 or patinagroup.com.

Kitchen Star: You’ll be greeted at the door like a houseguest, with owner Nguyen Thi Tran asking if this is your first visit to Starry Kitchen. If it is, he’ll happily talk you through how lunch at this popular Bunker Hill spot works. The restaurant serves a rotating menu of Vietnamese-based comfort food. Although lines can get long, they actually move rather quickly. Nothing at Starry Kitchen costs more than $8.95 and the menu changes weekly. You start off by choosing a protein: Items in past rotations have included free-range lemongrass chicken in a ginger sesame sake sauce, as well as pork and Malaysian coconut pineapple chicken. The price of the meal is determined by the “vessel” you choose: Choices include a wrap ($7.50), a banh mi sandwich ($7.50), a chopped salad ($7.95), Thai Cobb salad ($8.95) and a lunch plate with rice and side salad ($8.95). A drink will cost up to $2.50,

Go Green: Salads aren’t just for starters at Loose Leaf. Instead, at the Financial District restaurant, salads are the main dish. The Popeye’s BLTA ($7) includes baby spin-

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Market Café offers an array of sandwich specials suitable for a casual business lunch.

keeping you under the $15 limit.

At 350 S. Grand Ave., (213) 617-3474 or starrykitchen.com.

Add a sauce like cilantro lime or agave vinaigrette and you’re done.

At 630 W. Sixth St., (888) 988-6246 or eatocho.com.

Happy Hour: Most employers would frown on their employees hitting a bar during the workday to catch a game. But if it’s your lunch break, and you want good Chinese food, and it happens to be served at a sports bar, hey, that’s not your fault.

Green Bamboo not only appeals to sports and Chinese food fans, it also pleases those looking to save a few bucks, since most items are well under $10. Portions are big and waitresses serve you at tables, so you don’t even have to grab and go. Options that will feed you for under $15 include kung pao chicken, Mongolian beef and BBQ pork lo mein for $8.95. If you add a beer you’ll likely go over the $15 threshold, and your boss may not buy your story about going there simply for the food.

At 136 S. Central Ave., (213) 625-2228.

New Digs: Coronado’s Mexican Restaurant and Bar recently uprooted from its longtime San Gabriel Valley home to open at the Alexandria, and they’re offering a menu with nothing more than $10. While the menu will expand in the future, there’s currently a pretty decent selection of the basics. The Coronado burrito ($7.75) comes with a choice of meat, rice, beans, onions, cilantro, avocado and chiles. The plate combos are good deals with offerings such as carne asada ($8.50), chile rellenos ($8.75) and enchiladas ($7.25). While the place is a little bare bones inside, with oddly mismatched tile and cement floors, and a tall ceiling, it fits into its surroundings at the Alexandria and is a good spot for the creative and edgy crowd.

At 212 W. Fifth St., (213) 784-1055.

The Octomeal: This may be a good place for someone with eight kids who all want something different. Then again, even if you don’t have a litter of kids, it’s still a good place to mix and match your meals. Ocho Mexican Grill opened a few months ago with what its proprietors call a “Fresh Mex” menu. It includes four entree choices: burrito, bowl, salad and tacos. You then pick a meal from the “ocho” choices, which determine the price. There’s grilled chicken ($8.25), steak ($8.50), fish ($8.75), shrimp ($8.75), shredded chicken ($7.75) and beef ($8), carnitas ($8.50) and vegetarian, a choice of guacamole or vegan tofu ($7.75). You then choose a topping, with choices such as organic rice and beans or the jica-mango, a mix of exactly what you expect. The salsas come next with selections like red hot and fiery habanero.

The Right Mix: When it comes to good food, don’t let the surroundings fool you. That especially comes into play with Chichen Itza, housed in an unremarkable food booth in a market by USC. They specialize in Southeastern Mexican cuisine, a mixture of Spanish, Caribbean and Middle Eastern recipes. All items are less than $10 and there are communal tables. Main dishes include pollo pibil ($6.99), chicken marinated with annatto seed and sour orange juice and spices. Another good lunch choice is the Poc Chuc ($8.29), made up of charbroiled thin slices of pork marinated with sour orange juice and salt.

At 3655 S. Grand Ave., (213) 741-1075 or chichenitzarestaurant.com.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

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Downtown News 15

Let’s Do Lunch

STREET TALK

by Richard Guzmán and Gary Leonard, asked at the 7+Fig Food Truck plaza

If you had a food truck, what kind of food would you serve and what would you call the truck?

I would serve a world fair kind of truck.

Stuff like chicken feet, thousand-year-old eggs, and dog if you could get it legally. I was born in Hong Kong so we got a lot of crazy stuff there.

I would call it Scare Me Hungry.

Something fried would be good, all deep-fried everything. Maybe I would call it Fry Me Phat.

—Jen Lodevico

I would do Tex-Mex food. It’s similar to Mexican food here but has a lot more cheese, less meat. It’s a bit heavy I guess. I don’t have a good name though.

I would sell Mexican food and call it Guadalajara Grill.

Actually, this is my first time eating at a food truck.

—Grace Fung

I would call it Fresh and Ungreasy. I would serve salads and maybe tapas.

These food trucks have changed my opinion of what can be served from a truck.

Just breakfast, breakfast only. It would be all Mexican, burritos, chilaquiles, everything Mexican. I would call it Mexican Only.

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—Will Munoz

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Spa Treatment: It may not come with a massage, but the Lunch Spa Menu at Café Pinot will soothe your tummy.

The ever-changing two-course menu is $19.95 and is driven by fresh ingredients chosen by the chef daily. Creations have included pork belly and sausage with a celery root puree and roasted apples. It’s also a good place to enjoy an outdoor meal, since the restaurant has a nice patio and sits adjacent to the Central Library.

At 700 W. Fifth St., (213) 239-6500 or patinagroup.com.

Get Power: OK, you won’t walk out with super human strength or the ability to close deals faster than a speeding

bullet, but the Power Lunch special at Chaya Downtown will leave you ready to vanquish Spider-Man (or at least Clyde from accounting). Options include the daily sandwich special, which is $15. Past sandwich specials have included braised balsamic pork tenderloin, served on country bread, as well as a soft drink. If you want to be even more powerful, the $20 lunch comes with a Chaya bistro burger, pommes frites and a half glass of red or white wine.

At 525 S. Flower St., (213) 236-9577 or thechaya.com.

Soi Good: It may not draw the attention of its next-door neighbor Bottega Louie, but higher-end Thai food restaurant Soi 7 deserves some recognition. The $12 and $18 lunch options both come with three items. The former includes choices like tom yum chicken soup, coconut chicken soup or mixed green salad for starters. The appetizer choices are chicken satay, egg roll or crispy wontons. Entrees include chicken pad Thai, chili beef, basil chicken and ginger pork. For $18 you get the same starter and appetizer choices with entree options including Mekong whiskey baby-back ribs and crying tiger steak.

At 518 W. Seventh St., (213) 537-0333 or soi7la.com.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

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The Play inCheckDevelopment’s the Thing Our Website for Full Movie Listings LADowntownNews.com Free LATC Theater Festival Offers a Raw Look at Eight New Works

JAN 10

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Chantal Rodriguez, the LATC’s literary manager and festival coordinator (right), and playwright Evelina Fernandez read a script in preparation for the LATC Playwrights Festival Jan. 27-30.

! n a F a E e m o ec or many of B the writers participating in the Los Angeles

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Theatre Center’s second Playwrights Festival, the event is a way to entice the audience into coming back for more. For some, it’s also a reminder of the roots of their craft.

“The audience is able to feel like they’re part of the process,” said Donald Freed, a 2010 Ovation Award nominee and playwright whose work The Devil’s Advocate will be showcased during the event that runs Jan. 27-30. “It’s a throwback to what theater used to be when it was more of a community event, when it was basic storytelling.”

The festival is a reading of eight plays scheduled for full production at the theater at 514 S. Spring St. during 2011.

It’s a raw look at works in progress, with no sets or costumes and minimal lighting. Also differentiating the shows from regular theatricals runs is that the performances are free. or nNews.com Additionally, the audience is welcomedcornand evenowencourer at Downt nd ha ht t rig s/maaillis aged to engage the director orperplaywright discussion /formin l in the up nnews.com E-NEWS Look for this symbo w.ladowntow w w P U N after SIGthe curtain falls.

“It’s our way of giving audiences a sneak peek into the development of our plays,” said Chantal Rodriguez, the LATC’s literary manager and festival coordinator. “We’re giving them an insider’s look at what it takes to create these plays.”

About 800 people are expected during the run that will include work presented by a mix of established and emerging playwrights. Each play will be performed in theater 4 of the venue, which has 99 seats.

Mixed Shows The festival starts Thursday at 7 p.m. with Freed’s play. One

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Starts highlight on Saturday is Bonded. The work written by Donald on the day he was being pursued, sought asylum in an archJolly tells the story of a pair of the last remaining slaves on a bishop’s home.

Jan.14/Jan.21 cash-strapped Virginia farm in 1820.

“No one knows what went on that night, so it’s an imagAlso on Jan. 29 is Bruce King’s Star Stage Left, a satire about ined take on what happened there,” he said. an aging Native American movie star named Uni Verse and Freed said he is looking forward to seeing other plays that his entourage of agents, women and bodyguards. are in the festival, and also hopes to get audience feedback.

The final day’s slate includes Blu, written by Virginia Grise. Rodriguez noted that that benefits the audiences as well. She It concerns a mother who has a romantic relationship with says many people who saw the festival last year returned for another woman after her husband goes to jail. She is also later, fleshed-out versions of the plays. struggling with the death of her son, who joined the military “If they see it here during the festival they usually want Check Our Website for Full Movie Listings LADowntownNews.com to escape his violent neighborhood but ended up getting to come see the full production,” Rodriguez said. “They get killed in Iraq. more invested in the work. They have a connection to it.”

The closing work is Another Man’s Son. The play, written by She said the connection is cemented by the opportunity to Silvia Semerciyan, won the 2010 Saroyan Playwriting Award, discuss the work with the playwright or director. Like Freed, presented by the Hollywood-based Armenian Dramatics Arts playwright Evelina Fernandez is looking forward to the auAlliance. The story follows an Armenian family in 1958 Beirut dience’s reaction. Her A Mexican Trilogy-Part II: Hope will that has to deal with the consequences of genocide. be staged Jan. 29. It focuses on a Mexican-American family Starts “I’m really excited about the diversity and range of playduring the time of three historical figures, Franklin Delano wrights in this festival,” Rodriguez said. “It also gives playRoosevelt, January 28 John F. Kennedy and Pope John Paul II. wrights an opportunity to learn from one another, see what “My play is still in development so it’s great to put it in others are doing and network.” front of the audience,” she said.

Rodriguez said the inaugural festival filled the house during While it’s unlikely that she will change her story based on every performance with both regular theatergoers and those the audience’s reaction, Fernandez will be playing close attenattracted by the chance to see a play for free. One benefit, she tion to anything that may seem confusing or that is hard to noted, is the opportunity to catch everything the LATC will follow in her story. offer in its spring and fall seasons all in one weekend.

“I’ll be looking for something that’s not clear, things they Check Ourbreaks Website for Full LADowntownNews.com “We do have in between andMovie we offerListings light refreshdon’t understand,” she said. “I especially hope they come ments, so it is possible to see everything,” Rodriguez said. back to see the plays.”

Freed’s play stars Robert Beltran and centers on the CIA’s LATC is at 514 S. Spring St., (213) 489-0994 or thelatc.org. hunt for former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownews.com.

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January 24, 2011

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Come Into the Light Geffen Contemporary Show Explores Latino Artists Using Space and Illumination

by Katie Schaufelberger

O

n a Friday morning, a group of laughing kids are splashing around in the swimming pool. A lifeguard admonishes visitors to take off their shoes before walking around the pool area. Those who forgot towels and bathing suits can get them onsite.

This all takes place in a museum in Downtown Los Angeles.

The three-foot deep pool is the centerpiece of the exhibition Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space. It is one of five largescale installations, designed by Latin American artists, on display at the Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo through Feb. 27. All use light, color, the exhibit space and unusual materials to involve the viewer in the work.

“There’s no other museum in America that has a space like this, that can accommodate this kind of experimental work,” said MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch.

The exhibition will move to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., next summer. But the high-impact layout, with all five pieces now housed in one area — a huge former LAPD warehouse redesigned by Frank Gehry — will likely have to change.

MOCA senior curator Alma Ruiz spent three years putting the show together. It was a challenge, as all of the works were created decades ago.

“It was labor-intensive to re-create them the way the artists intended,” Ruiz said. “We fit the space to the pieces. It’s amazing to see

that back in those days, the artists were thinking on this grand scale.”

The artists featured all worked with experimental themes in the 1950s and ’60s. Ruiz chose to focus on them because they were precursors to California artists such as Peter Alexander, Larry Bell and Peter Irwin, who worked with light and space art a decade later.

“California really gave rise to the light and space movement,” Ruiz said. “Even before that, these artists were pioneers in the field.”

She worked with artists on different continents and, in cases where the artist was dead, with their family or estate. The pieces were all built at the Geffen to their original dimensions.

Viewer Immersion The pool, called “Cosmococca — Programa in Progress, CC4 Nocagions,” is a musing on dictatorship and revolution by artist Hélio Oiticica and filmmaker Neville D’Almeida. Oiticica used the term “suprasensorial” to refer to his work. The walled-in exhibit features video projections, colored lights and eerie instrumental music. It was originally created in 1973.

“We meant it to be quasi-cinema, uniting film and art,” said D’Almeida.

The music is by American composer John Cage and the projections are images from his book Notations, featuring music manuscripts covered with lines of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

D’Almeida said he and Oiticica originally created the work in New York City. It was a comment on the then-oppressive political

photo courtesy of MOCA

The highlight of the MOCA show Suprasensorial is “Nocagions,” by Hélio Oiticica and Neville D’Almeida. It features a pool visitors can use.

situation in Brazil.

“It’s a kind of immersion, because you see the image from different points, hear the music, and you feel it in your body, when you’re in the water,” said D’Almeida, who now lives in Brazil.

Also on display is Lucio Fontana’s silvery neon structure of swirls called “Struttura al neon per la IX Triennale di Milano.”

Originally fashioned in 1951, it is suspended overhead at the start of the exhibit.

The installations all draw the viewer in to become a part of the artwork. Carlos CruzDiez’s “Chromosaturación” features actual rooms within the Geffen. When Cruz-Diez,

CELEBRATE Chinese New Year-

who lives in Paris, could not attend the setup, he sent his grandson to supervise.

The work features pristine white walls and floors, and viewers are asked to remove their shoes before entering. The rooms are saturated with red, blue and green light, and windows on the back wall allow viewers on the outside to see those inside who are bathed in light. The work was created with drywall, fluorescent lights and colored plastic.

“With all the works, the artists used very simple materials, and they made magic,” Ruiz said. “It’s not high-tech or expensive.”

Also playing with light is Julio Le Parc’s see MOCA, page 24

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Downtown News 19

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LISTINGS EVENTS SPONSORED LISTINGS Free Downtown Audio Walking Tours Various Locations, crala.org/art.

Free audio walking tours and maps are available for download at www.crala.org/art.

Explore Downtown’s Bunker Hill, Financial District, Historic Core, and Little Tokyo neighborhoods by discovering public art and places developed through the CRA/LA Art Program.

Live Church LA Club Nokia, 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 4934329 or livechurchla.com.

10 a.m.: Every Sunday, Live Church L.A. takes over the VIP Lounge at Club Nokia, bringing great music, people and inspiring messages. On February 6, come hear firsthand about “Home for Good,” the plan to end chronic homelessness in Los Angeles, straight from the task force co-chair Jerry Neuman.

by Lauren Campede ampedeLLi, Listings editor calendar@downtownnews.com

1 L

eave all preconceptions about ballet and modern dance at the door, because when you enter the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion this week, Grupo Corpo (it means Body Group) will challenge them. The Brazilian ensemble incorporates folk and urban dance styles, minimalism and classicism, and “Brazilianisms” of rhythm and movement to create inventive, athletic dance works. Their Music Center debut includes performances on Friday-Saturday, Jan. 28-29, at 7:30 p.m., and Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. One hour before curtain there will be a free behind-the-dance discussion. At 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0711 or musiccenter.org.

2

THREE A FoUR

Wednesday, Jan. 26 SCI-Arc Lecture Series W. M. Keck Lecture Hall, 960 E. Third St., (213) 3565328 or sciarc.edu.

7 p.m.: Speaker Christian Moeller works with contemporary media technologies to produce innovative and intense physical events. That’s all well and good, but more importantly, he makes large robotic sculptures for public spaces. Everyone loves robots.

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

8 p.m.: In conjunction with the release of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, My Chemical Romance will discuss their band, their music and their nearly decade-long career. If you can’t find it, look for the huge crowd of 20-somethigns wearing black.

Thursday, Jan. 27 ALOUD at the Central Library 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7025 or aloudla.org.

7 p.m.: Lit-master Carlos Fuentes talks about his newest work, Destiny & Desire: A Novel — a saga that explores passion, magic and corruption in modern Mexico.

Nip Tuck Diptych: A Lecture on Architecture MOCA Grand Avenue, 250 S. Grand Ave., (310) 6656867 or otis.edu/calendar.

Jan. 27, 7 p.m.: Otis College of Art and Design presents Sharon Johnston and Nader Tehrani. The architects collaborated on Helios House, a gas station in L.A. built to maximize sustainability and energy efficiency. Yep, gas that’s good for the environment.

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

7:30 p.m.: “S’Talking Zappa” offers an inside multi-track discussion of the late legend Frank Zappa. It includes audio and visual elements and a bit of live music presented by Gail Zappa with Todd Yvega and Joe Travers.

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

photo by Jose Luiz Pederneiras

ans of anime and giant robot action, take notice! In a desperate struggle to save the world and prevent the apocalyptic Third Impact, young pilots maneuver their towering cyborgs in combat with the monstrous “Angels” in Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, screening at the Downtown Independent from Jan. 28-Feb. 3. The 2009 Japanese film is the second of a tetrology based on a blockbuster sci-fi television series that aired in Japan in the 1990s.

This edition employs 3D computer graphics.

If you want to be fully prepared, the theater is showing Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone on Monday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. At 251 S. Main St., (213) 617-1033 or downtownindependent.com.

i

t’s all things Frank Zappa at the Grammy Museum on Thursday, Jan. 27, at 7:30 p.m. The late musical wizard was a composer, singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral and experimental music — and composer-in-residence at the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen, his at-home recording studio. Join Gail Zappa and Zappa collaborators Todd Yvega and Joe Travers for an exploration of his eccentric genius and more than 30year career. At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum. org.

photo courtesy of Downtown Independent

Tuesday, Jan. 25 ALOUD at the Central Library 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7025 or aloudla.org.

7 p.m.: Maxine Hong Kingston, author of The Woman Warrior, contemplates the meaning of family, the politics of war, and striving for peace in her unconventional memoir I Love a Broad Margin to My Life. She also loves a big audience.

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

7:30 p.m.: Get schooled in rock history with the tuition-free class “What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been: A Review of Rock’s Greatest Decade,” — the ’60s, of course. Tuesdays through Feb. 1.

Brazilian Dance, All Things Zappa and a Departing Circus

n “exquisite corpse” is forming at the Morono Kiang Gallery, but that’s a good thing. The term refers to creating a work of art by collaboration as each artist adds his/her component to a project in sequence.

Hence, the very-much-alive-and-evolving installation Edifice Cache, which opened on Jan. 18 with L.A.-based artist Mike Russek’s foundation. Over four weeks, four artists will sequentially create their own works — on view during gallery hours — to be incorporated into Russek’s original the following Saturday night. John Carr is doing his bit this week, with a reception Saturday, Jan. 29, from 6-9 p.m. Time-lapse video documenting the process will be on display, too. Will the results be exquisite?

Visit often and find out. Through Feb. 19 at 218 W. Third St., (213) 628-8208 or moronokiang.com.

This week is your last chance to see human popcorn, fire breathers, creepy contortion-ists and a black-clad clown who, yikes, pulls a hat out of a rabbit. The freaks of Cirque Berzerk have taken over the glitzy confines of Club Nokia for more than two weeks, but it all comes to an end on Sunday, Jan. 30.

The brainchild of Neil Everett, Suzanne Bernel and Kevin Bourque this year moved to L.A. Live, leaving behind a dusty big top at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. Despite the venue change, it’s still all grit, with a storyline of a wom-an who makes a deal with Death and winds up in a vaudevillian underworld. At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., cirqueberzerk.com.

5

Continued on next page

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

photo by Gary Leonard

Monday, Jan. 24 Grammy Museum L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org.

8 p.m.: Guitar master John Jorgenson, one of the pioneers of the American gypsy jazz movement, talks about his career, his latest release and founding genre-bending groups such as the Hellecasters and the Desert Rose Band. He’ll also perform a couple of songs.

The ‘Don’T Miss’ LisT

20 Downtown News

Twitter/DowntownNews

Listings Continued from previous page clubnokia.com.

8 p.m.; Jan. 28-29, 8 and 11 p.m.; Jan. 30. 4 and 8 p.m.: Cirque Berzerk, the edgy, contemporary circus theatre, closes out its dark phantasmagoric experience. Through Jan. 30.

Sunday, Jan. 30 LAVA Sunday Salons Clifton’s Cafeteria, 648 S. Broadway, lavatransforms.org.

Noon-2 p.m.: Joe Oesterle, author of the justreleased Weird Hollywood and Weird California, and Gene Sculatti, outsider artist and pop culture critic of The Catalog of Cool, are the featured presenters in Los Angeles Visionary Association’s loosely structured conversational salon.

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

Jan. 26, 7 p.m.: A screening of Victory Day, a feature that exposes the causes and ramifications behind human trafficking in Eastern Europe. Probably not suitable for first dates.

Jan. 27, 7 p.m.: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone is the first installment in the Japanese anime Rebuild of Evangelion tetrology.

Jan. 28, 7, 9 and 11 p.m.: Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance opens for a week-long run. See the “Don’t Miss� list for more info.

Flagship Theatres University Village 3323 S. Hoover St., (213) 748-6321 or flagshipmovies.com.

Through Jan. 27: The Green Hornet 2D (11:30 a.m., 2:15, 5, 7:45 and 10:30 p.m.); True Grit (2, 4:45, 7:30 and 10:15 p.m.); The Fighter (11:45, 2:30, 7:15 and 10 p.m.); Yogi Bear 3D (noon); Season of the Witch (5 p.m.).

IMAX Theater California Science Center, 700 State Drive, (213) 744-

2019 or californiasciencecenter.org.

Through Jan. 27: Featuring nine-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater, The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D will immerse audiences in the story of an ocean wave and the lives it impacts and transforms. Hubble 3D takes movie-goers on a journey through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings and accompany space-walking astronauts as they attempt the most difficult and important tasks in NASA’s history. Under The Sea 3D explores the exotic waters and creatures of the Indo-Pacific as well as the impact of climate change on the ocean wilderness.

Regal Cinema L.A. Live 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (877) 835-5734 or lalive.com.

Through Jan. 27: No Strings Attached (12, 1:40, 2:30, 4:20, 5, 7, 7:40, 9:40 and 10:20 p.m.); The Way Back (1:30, 4:30, 7:30 and 10:40 p.m.); The Dilemma (12, 2:40, 5:20, 8 and 11 p.m.); The Green Hornet 3D (1:20, 1:50, 4:10, 4:50, 7:10, 7:50, 10:10 and 10:50 p.m.); The Green Hornet 2D (12:30, 3:30, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.); Little Fockers (1:40 and 4:40 p.m.); True Grit (1:20, 4, 6:50 and 9:20 p.m.); The Fighter (12:50, 3:40, 6:30 and 9:10 p.m.); Tron: Legacy 3D (1:20, 4:20, 7:20 and 10:30 p.m.); Black Swan (1, 3:50, 6:40 and 9:20 p.m.); The King’s Speech (12:40, 3:40, 6:50 and 9:50 p.m.).

Jan. 28 (partial list): The Mechanic (12:10, 2:30, 4:50, 7:20, 9:40 and midnight); The Rite (1:40, 4:30, 7:10 and 9:50 p.m.); From Prada to Nada (12, 2:30, 5, 7:40 and 10:20 p.m.).

ROCK, POP & JAZZ Casey’s Irish Pub 613 S. Grand Ave., (213) 629-2353 or bigcaseys.com.

Jan. 28, 10 p.m.: Groovy rock with The Terrapin.

Conga Room L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic, (213) 749-0445 or congaroom.com.

Jan. 27, 9 p.m.: El Gran Combo, Puerto Rico’s legendary salsa orchestra, appears.

REDCAT 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org.

Jan. 28-29, 8:30 p.m.; Jan. 30, 7 p.m.: The Center for Experiments in Art, Information and Technology

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presents Iannis Xenakis: Now and Tomorrow — three concerts by the pioneer of music and architecture and composers he inspired.

Redwood Bar & Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 680-2600 or theredwoodbar.com.

Jan. 24, 10 p.m.: Regular Phil Alvin and friends make some noise.

Jan. 26, 10 p.m.: Mark Lane.

Jan. 27, 10 p.m.: The Heroines, Mondo Generator and Sassafras.

Jan. 28, 10 p.m.: The wonderful first lady of L.A. punk, Exene Cervenka, and Ingor Lorre (The Nymphs) in an acoustic set.

Jan. 29, 10 p.m.: Electric Frankenstein and Bourbon Saints.

Jan. 30, 10 p.m.: Somos Mysteriosos, guitar wizard Sylvia Juncosa, Electric Children and Lightnin Woodcock.

Seven Grand 515 W. Seventh St., sevengrand.la.

Jan. 25, 10 p.m.: House band The Makers rock.

The Smell 247 S. Main St., alley between Spring and Main streets, thesmell.org.

Jan. 29, 9 p.m.: Whitman, Jon Barba, Casey Chisholm, Crazy Band and Rob Thomas and his Unicorn Warriors.

Jan. 30, 9 p.m.: The Finches, Sun Foot, Anna Oxygen and Wolf And Cub. The Varnish 118 E. Sixth St., (213) 622-9999 or thevarnishbar.com Jan. 24, 9 p.m.: Drink in great jazz piano every Monday with Jamie Elman serenading live on The Varnish keys.

Jan. 25, 8:30 p.m.: Jazzman Mark Bosserman entertains on the house piano every Tuesday.

CLASSICAL MUSIC TueSday, Jan. 25 Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S. Grand Ave., musiccenter.org.

8 p.m.: Renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, in recital with pianist Rohan de Silva, performs a program of sonatas by Leclair, Beethoven and Saint-SaĂŤns.

ThurSday, Jan. 27 The Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., colburnschool.edu.

11 a.m.: The Performance Forum features facul-

January 24, 2011 ty-selected conservatory student solo and chamber ensembles performances. Free, no ticket required.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Zipper Hall, Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 622-7001 or laco.org.

7 p.m.: The “Baroque Conversations� series explores the genesis of orchestral repertoire from early baroque schools through the pre-classical period.

Tonight: the music of Telemann, Handel, Bach, Vivaldi and Boismortier.

SaTurday, Jan. 29 The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels 555 W. Temple St., (213) 680-5205 or olacathedral.org.

7 p.m.: Organist in residence Samuel Soria performs works by George Frederick Handel, Paul Hindemith, David N. Johnson, Frederick Delius and Marcel DuprĂŠ.

The Da Camera Society Doheny Mansion, 8 Chester Place, (213) 477-2929 or dacamera.org.

8 p.m.: The Colburn Chamber Players pairs the master artist-teachers of the Colburn School with their young protĂŠgĂŠs in a program including works for solo cello, piano quintet and a flute, viola and harp trio.

Sunday, Jan. 30 The Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., colburnschool.edu.

3 p.m.: Honors Recital is a juried showcase featuring young students from the School of Performing Arts.

6:30 p.m.: Chanson Boheme CD release concert is a visiting production. Tickets and information at (310) 499-8388.

Los Angeles Master Chorale Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7282 or lamc.org.

7 p.m.: “London Bridges,� a musical survey of English choral tradition, includes the Four-Part Mass by William Byrd, John Tavener’s Song for Athene, Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia, Missa Brevis and more.

THEATER, OPERA & DANCE 33 Variations Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 6282772 or centertheatregroup.org.

Opening Jan. 30, 8 p.m.: In the Tony Award-

January 24, 2011

Downtown News 21

DowntownNews.com

We Got Games A Rivalry Revisited, Clippers Rise, Kings Slide Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7100 or nba.com/lakers.

Jan. 25 and 28, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 30, 12:30 p.m.: Anybody smell chowda? Because the Celtics are coming to town — it’s their first meeting since the Lakers beat Boston last June to claim the NBA title. This Sunday matinee could be the game that brings back a vintage Kobe Bryant, who has been somewhat absent in recent weeks. But before looking too far ahead, the Lakers have to get by the Utah Jazz and then the Sacramento Kings. winning play, Jane Fonda plays a Beethoven scholar driven to solve the genius’ greatest mystery, while her own life crumbles around her. To reiterate: It’s

THE ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7100 or nba.com/clippers.

Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m.: The hottest basketball team in Los Angeles heads to Dallas to play the Mavericks (Jan. 25). Then the Texas two-step trip continues, with Blake Griffin’s team taking on the Rockets in Houston (Jan. 26). The Clippers return for a Saturday tilt against the Charlotte Bobcats. In recent years, a Clippers/ Bobcats matchup would be a yawner. Now, with Griffin and Eric Gordon leading the locals, any game is exciting. Not to mention, the team is winning.

Jane Fonda! Through Mar. 6.

Ken Roht’s Same-O, A 99¢ Only Electric Ballad Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 or bootlegtheater.com.

Jan. 27-29, 8 p.m.; Jan. 30, 3 p.m.: Costumes, sets and moving sculptures in this event incorporate traditional 99¢ Only Store fare. Through Jan. 30.

La Razón Blindada 24th Street Theatre, 1117 West 24th St., 213-745-6516 or 24thstreet.org.

Jan. 29, 8 p.m.: Argentine playwright/director Aristides Vargas infuses Cervantes’ classic novel El Quijote with Franz Kafka’s The Truth About Sancho Panza and testimonies by Chicho Vargas and other political prisoners held in the 1970s during Argentina’s dictatorship. Two political prisoners, oppressed by physical and emotional abuse, find solace in meeting every Sunday at dusk to tell the story of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Through Jan. 29.

Nesona Play Reading Series The Exchange, 114 W. Fifth St., 323-859-4436 or dramastage1@yahoo.com.

Jan. 30, 6 p.m.: Dramastage-Qumran presents

Los Angeles Kings Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., 1 (888) KINGS-LA or kings.nhl.com.

Jan. 24 and 26, 7:30 p.m.: The Kings have continued their slide as of late, winning only one of their last five games (as of press time).

This week, they host the Boston Bruins and the San Jose Sharks. Unfortunately, these look like the same old Kings.

L.A. Matadors Nokia Theatre, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., lamatadors.com.

Jan. 13, 7 p.m.: The L.A. Matadors are the local team in the new World Series of Boxing league. It’s an amateur league, with professional rules, which means the fights look just like a pro bout, but only last five rounds. They take on the Miami Gallo.

—Ryan Vaillancourt a dramatic reading of Cages, written by Leonard Manzella, about six life-term inmates who ultimately free the man who came to save them. Admission is free, no reservations required.

Stories by Heart Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 6282772 or centertheatregroup.org.

Jan. 27-28, 8 p.m.; Jan 29, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Jan. 30, 1 and 6:30 p.m.: Featuring the works of P.G. Wodehouse and Ring Lardner, Tony Award winner John Lithgow tells stories of his youth and of the storytellers who introduced them to him.

Through Feb. 13.

MUSEUMS African American Firefighter Museum 1401 S. Central Ave., (213) 744-1730 or aaffmuseum.org.

Ongoing: An array of firefighting relics dating to 1924, including a 1940 Pirsch ladder truck, an 1890 hose wagon, uniforms from New York, L.A. County and City of L.A. firefighters, badges, helmets, photographs and other artifacts.

photo by Gary Leonard

Eric Gordon and the Clippers try to continue their rise.

MORE LISTINGS Hundreds of listings of fun and interesting things to do in Downtown Los Angeles can also be found online at ladowntownnews.com/calendar: Rock, Pop & Jazz; Bars & Clubs; Farmers Markets; Events; Film; Sports; Art Spaces; Theater, Dance and Opera; Classical Music; Museums; and Tours.

2

Easy ways to submit Your

Event Info

4 WEB: LADowntownNews.com/calendar/submit 4 EMAIL: Calendar@DowntownNews.com

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

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

22 Downtown News

January 24, 2011

Twitters/DowntownNews

CLASSIFIED

place your ad online at www.ladowntownnews.com

FOR RENT

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Shop around for rates.”

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Information available to qualified prospective tenants.

Email request to ghollis@shammasgroup.com or call (213) 746-6300 x1455

All submissions are subject to federal and California fair housing laws, which make it illegal to indicate in any advertisement any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income or physical or mental disability. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

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CONDOMINIUMS/UNFURNISHED WITHIN WALKING distance of LA LIVE, FIDM, USC, shopping, dinning, bus routes, i-110 24 security monitoring Swimming pool/Jacuzzi 1 Bed/Bath appx 750 squarefeet Washer in unit Ask about pets 2133270597

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Need CDL-A & 3 months recent OTR. 1-877-258-8782. www.

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Call 866-789-8947. Swift. (CalSCAN) COMPANY DRIVERS (Solos & Hazmat Teams) *Great Pay *Great Miles *CDL-A Required.

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Hazmat required. 1-888-9059879 or www.AndrusTrans.com.

(Cal-SCAN) DRIVERS/CDL Training - Career Central. We Train and Employ You. Company Drivers up to 40K First Year. New Team Pay! Up to 48c/mile Class A CDL Training Regional Locations! 1-877-3697091 www.CentralDrivingJobs. net. (Cal-SCAN)

ACUPUNCTURIST. MASTER’S degree in acupuncture or oriental medicine required. Mail resume to Natural-Bio Care Inc. 2717 W. Olympic Blvd. #202, Los Angeles, CA 90006. Attn: Joon Kyung Suh. ACUPUNCTURIST. MASTER’S degree in acupuncture or oriental medicine required. Send resume to: Apricot Grove Acupuncture Inc. 3321 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019 Attn: Eun Jin Park.

ACUPUNCTURIST. MASTER’S degree in acupuncture or oriental medicine required. Send resume to: Nazareth Clinic Corp.

2140 W. Olympic Blvd. #321, Los Angeles CA 90006 Attn: Gwang Choi.

Sales NEED A JOB? 18+. Paid Training, Must Be Money Motivated, No Experience Necessary. Road Rulez Atmosphere. 877-5322068 Ext 1 or 2. (Cal-SCAN) SALES PEOPLE NEEDED Interface with Downtown corporations for lunch planning - sell our menu. 10% Commission!

626-435-7726

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Help Wanted ABLE TO TRAVEL. Hiring 8 people. No experience necessary. Transportation & lodging furnished. Paid training. Work and travel entire USA. Start today. www.ProtekChemical.com 1-208-590-0365. (Cal-SCAN) ATTN: COMPUTER Work.

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Borders 640 acres of Trust land. Convenience well access, beautiful mountain views, rain fed arroyos, lush grassy meadows & maintained road access. $22,900, $2,290 down, $222 per mo. Free brochure includes maps & additional foreclosure specials. 1st United 1-800-9666690 Weekdays. 602-478-0584 Weekends. www.ArizonaLand. com. (Cal-SCAN)

SERVICES

income qualifications - under $46,400/year

213-228-3000

All applications can either be mailed in or dropped off to: 206 West 6th st., la ca 90014 or 423 west 8th st., la ca 90014

Get your GREEN CARD or CITIZENSHIP Law Office of H. Douglas Daniel Esq., (213) 689-1710

ATTORNEY JOHN BENSON Your Local Downtown Attorney Bankruptcy and Divorce best rates in town www.attorneyjohnrbenson.com (213) 9059364 Business Services

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(323) 829-2434 Aromaticbliss.Scentsy.us ADVERTISING- BEST Kept Secret. A business card sized display ad 140 California community newspapers. Reach 3 million+ Californians. Cost $1,550.$1.33 cost per thousand. Free brochure (916)288-6019; www.CalSDAN.com. (Cal-SCAN) Cleaning CONCEPTO’S CLEANING Crew. Professional, experienced, cleans apartments, homes, offices and restaurants.

Call for a quote. 323-459-3067 or 818-409-9183.

ATTEND COLLEGE Online from Home. *Medical, *Business, *Paralegal, *Criminal Justice. Job placement assistance.

Computer available. Financial Aid if qualified. SCHEV certified.

Call 888-210-5162 www.Centura.us.com. (Cal-SCAN)

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2-5 days, some subsidies Near Little Tokyo Metro Station Harry Pregerson Center 213-894-1556 Joy Picus Center 213-978-0026 mtwashingtonpreschools.org

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

January 24, 2011

Downtown News 23

DowntownNews.com

Financial ServiceS CASH NOW! Cash for your structured settlement or annuity payments. Call J.G. Wentworth.

1-866-494-9115. Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau.

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(Cal-SCAN) INTERPRETING SERVICES Downtown. Conference Interpretation and Express Translation services, any language 213924-8646.

2007 AUDI A6 Low miles. Loaded! Manager special. # 151076 vin ZA9770 $26,815 Call 888583-0981 2007 INFINITY G35 Stock C110085-1 vin 706331 Silver, Great condition! $23,782 call 888-203-2967.

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For a complete list of our pre-owned inventory, go to www.DTLAMOTORS.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS

DONATE YOUR CAR, Truck or boat to heritage for the blind.

Free 3 Day Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing, All Paperwork Taken Care Of. 888-9026851. (Cal-SCAN)

ITEMS FOR SALE clOtHing/JeWelry WWW.CHIEFROCKER.TK MUSIC & FASHION - Brand new clothing apparel for Men and Women. Free delivery! $25-60 (213) 842-0232

auctiOn

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TNT PUBLIC AUCTION Saturday, Feb. 5, 2011 9am. Preview: Feb. 3 & 4, 9am-5pm. Ramona, California. Vehicles, Trucks, Equipment, Trailers, Buses, & More from San Diego County & Other Agencies! Check our website for info: www.TNTAuction.com (801) 519-0123. (CalSCAN)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT NO. BC439535 PLAINTIff: SEOUNG SIk ShIN vS DEfENDANTS: POk SOON YU, AN INDIvIDUAL AND MIChAEL kIM, AN INDIvIDUAL AND DOES 1 THROUGH 20, INCLUSIVE You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form, if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you

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WANTED DIABETIC Test Strips.

Cash Paid. Unopened, Unexpired Boxes Only. All Brands Considered. Help others, don’t throw boxes away. For more information, Call 888-491-1168.

(Cal-SCAN)

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LEGAL

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Pre-OWneD

DOWntOWn l.a. autO grOuP Porsche Volkswagen audi Mercedes-Benz nissan cheVrolet cadillac

Fax: 858-274-3588 Pub. 1/10, 1/17, 1/24, 1/31/11 FictitiOuS BuSineSS naMe fICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO. 20101677916 The following person is doing business as: SAVOIR WINES, 600 W. Ninth Street, Suite #1102, Los Angeles CA 90015, are hereby registered by the following registrant: STEPHANIE BADEN, 600 W. Ninth Street, Suite #1102, Los Angeles CA 90015. This business is conducted by an individual. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on November 15, 2010.

This statement was filed with DEAN LOGAN, Los Angeles County Clerk on November 19, 2010.

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

autOS WanteD

The Downtown Renaissance Collection

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AUTOS

cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form.

If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away.

If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association.

The name and address of the court is: Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Cantral District 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles CA 90012 Case number: BC439535 Dated: June 11, 2010 The name, address and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or plaitiff without an attorney is: Joshua J Richman 1940 Garnet Ave., Suite #230 San Diego, CA 92109 Telephone: 858-483-3082

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FREE Rent Specials On Select Floor Plans • Free Resident/Guest Parking in Gated Garage • Private Library, Business Center & Conference Rooms • Free Wi-Fi & DSL Computer Use • Resident Karaoke Lounge • Directors Screening Room • Lavish Fountains & Sculptures • On-Site Private Resident Park with Sand Volleyball, BBQ’s and Jogging Track • Night Light Tennis Courts • Indoor Basketball

Version 1

• Brunswick Four-Lane Virtual Bowling • Full Swing Virtual Golf • 3100 Square Foot Cybex Fitness Facility • Free Tanning Rooms • Massage Room, Sauna & Steam Room • Rooftop Pools with Dressing Rooms • Concierge Service • 24-Hour Doorman • 24/7 On-Site Management • Magnificent City Views *Amenities vary among communities

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24 Downtown News

January 24, 2011

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MOCA Continued from page 18 1962 installation “Lumière en Movement.” Mirrors hang on strings from the ceiling, casting fragments of light onto dark and mirrored walls, while viewers wander through the dreamy space.

Forward Thinking D’Almeida said it was exciting to see his work on display at the Geffen. It was last shown in Brazil two years ago, after being under wraps for decades.

“I’m very glad to have it here because it was created in America,” he said. “I think it is still new, daring and up to date.”

The exhibition also provides background on light and spatial art for a retrospective of California artists, some of whom worked with the experimental themes in the 1970s. That show, Under the Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981, is due at the Geffen in the fall.

Ruiz said that for the most part, the artists in Suprasensorial were unaware of each other’s works when the pieces were being created. However, their light and color experiments seem to work off each other in the current setting.

photo courtesy of MOCA

“Penetrable BBL Bleu,” by Jesús Rafael Soto, is an interactive sculpture of dangling blue fibers that museum visitors can walk through.

“As you bring them together, it’s amazing to see how in concert the artists were in their use of new materials and getting away from traditional, two-dimensional work,” she said.

“It’s work that can be understood by many, a more democratic way to incorporate art into life.”

Suprasensorial runs through Feb. 27 at 152 N. Central Ave., (213) 621-1749 or moca.org.

Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore!

Grand Tower 255 south Grand avenue Leasing Information 213 229 9777

Promenade Towers 123 south Figueroa street Leasing Information 213 617 3777

Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Concierge ~ Pool / Spa / Saunas ~ Fitness Center ~ Gas BBQ Grills ~ Recreation Room

Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Pool / Saunas ~ Fitness Center ~ Covered Parking

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

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

Now For l l a C n Specials Move-I

8 7 7 - 2 65 - 714 6

museum Tower 225 south olive street Leasing Information 213 626 1500

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

On Site: ~ Convenience Store / Coffee House / Yogurt Shop / Beauty Salon

Community Amenities: ~ 24 Hr. Manned Lobby ~ Concierge ~ Pool / Spa / Saunas ~ Fitness Center ~ Gas BBQ Grills ~ Recreation Room

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

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

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