03-09-09

A NEWS &E LOS ANGELES

DOWNTOWN

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

March 9, 2009

Volume 38, Number 10

INSIDE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Other Side of Mark Geragos Known for Clients Such as Chris Brown, Scott Peterson and Michael Jackson, The Downtown Attorney Also Has a Passion for Historic Real Estate

The weed-eating goats are back.

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Election Day’s losers and winners.

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Why Steve Soboroff loves the Clippers.

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photo by Gary Leonard

Attorneys Mark Geragos (left) and Brian Kabateck have transformed the lobby of the Fine Arts Building on Seventh Street into an event and public art space. The two purchased the historic property last year for $23.5 million.

by AnnA Scott StAff writer

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ttorney Mark Geragos is famous for his roster of celebrity clients, his stints as a TV pundit and his loquacious style both in and out of the courtroom.

But the mustachioed lawyer has a lesser-known side: Downtown Los Angeles real estate investor.

In the past two years, Geragos and his invest-

A time out for the Sports Museum.

The Last Walk

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ment partner, attorney Brian Kabateck, have purchased two historic Financial District buildings: The former fire station at 644 S. Figueroa St., known as Engine Co. No. 28, which houses both lawyers’ offices, and the Fine Arts Building, an 82-year-old architectural gem at 811 W. Seventh St. They have invested more than $30 million in the two buildings.

Now, Geragos and Kabateck are eyeing three

other potential acquisitions in the area and hope to buy something by the end of the year. All three are historic properties that would house offices and require minimal renovation.

Geragos said he and Kabateck have an acquisition budget of $100 million.

“Rental investments that are historically significant, that’s what we like,” said Geragos. “I’m in the see Geragos, page 26

A 30-Year LAPD Veteran Has Company On His Final Downtown Foot Beat by ryAn VAillAncourt StAff writer

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

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17 CALENDAR LISTINGS 22 MAP 29 CLASSIFIEDS

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n the morning of Tuesday, March 3, four police cars were parked back-to-back in front of Clifton’s Cafeteria on Broadway as Officer Ray Carreon and nine other cops held court outside an adjacent jewelry store.

“What’s this?” asked a curious passerby. “Safety in numbers?”

Sort of. It wasn’t a crime scene.

These 10 officers were in uniform, but their guard was down. Their mood was light. Laughter bounced as they engaged in a comfortable routine of

sidewalk banter.

Officer Guadalupe “Shep” Ruvalcaba eyed his watch and, at 11 a.m., took out his radio as if he was expecting an important message. He held it out so Carreon would be sure to hear.

“Attention all units, attention all units,” came the grainy voice through the radio. “This is an end-watch broadcast for Patrol Officer Ramon ‘Ray’ Carreon who’s retiring after 30 years of service to the Los Angeles Police Department.”

The broadcast commemorating a retiring officer’s last day is a departmentsee Police, page 25

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

photo by Gary Leonard

Last call at Bloom’s General Store.

Central Division Officer Ray Carreon on March 3, his final day on the beat after 30 years with the Los Angeles Police Department.

2 Downtown News

March 9, 2009

DowntownNews.com

AROUNDTOWN Downtown Design Guidelines Move Forward

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he City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee last Tuesday approved a set of new Downtown design and sidewalk standards aimed at making the area more pedestrian-friendly. Goals of the guidelines, approved by the Planning Commission in January, include wider sidewalks, landscaped parkways and medians and additional streetlights, trees and street parking. The guidelines are expected to go to the full Council by early next month, said Emily Gabel-Luddy of the Planning Department’s Urban Design Studio, which spearheaded the project. If approved by the Council, the guidelines would take effect in approximately 30 days. However, “It’s not over when it gets adopted,” said Gabel-Luddy. “Our commitment is to continue to work together” and collaborate with the community on implementing the standards, she said.

Library Farmers Market to Move

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he Financial District Farmers Market, which for five years has been held every Wednesday from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. in front of the Central Library on Fifth Street, is moving to Pershing Square. The market is expected to debut in its new location on Wednesday, March 18, said market coordinator Melissa Farwell, though that was not confirmed by late last week. The day and hours of operation will remain the same. “We’re moving because we’re expanding and we’re growing, and the park will offer us a better place to do that,” said Farwell. Updates on the market and its opening are at the website rawinspiration.org.

Former Bus Driver to Head Metro

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man who began his career 38 years ago as a Los Angeles bus driver has been selected to head the third-largest public transportation agency in the United States. Officials with Metro last Thursday announced that Arthur Leahy, who has headed the Orange County Transportation Authority for the past eight years, will fill the post being va-

cated by retiring Metro CEO Roger Snoble. “We conducted a nationwide search to find the brightest and most innovative leaders in transportation,” said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who also serves as chair of the Metro board. “Art will lead the efforts to reduce congestion and expand public transportation in Los Angeles and ensure that funding from the federal stimulus package and Measure R goes toward creating a sustainable future for Los Angeles.” Leahy, who signed a fouryear contract that will pay him $310,000 a year, will oversee an agency with 9,000 employees and a $3.4 billion annual budget. He comes aboard as Metro will benefit from Measure R, an initiative approved by voters that will give the agency $40 million for transit projects over 30 years. The hiring gave Leahy a return to his roots; he began his career in 1971 as a bus driver for the California Rapid Transit District, a Metro precursor.

Downtowners Show Their Pep

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s the men’s and women’s Pac-10 Basketball Tournaments take over Staples Center March 11-15, fans and alumni of teams including USC and UCLA can show their colors at a pep rally at Nokia Plaza on Friday, March 13. Starting at 1 p.m., pep squads and bands from the schools will set the soundtrack as fans battle for spirit superiority. The event will include the Downtown Shootout Contest, a free throw competition from 12:30-1:30 p.m. At 4 p.m., aspiring hoopsters can participate in the Pac-10 Youth Basketball Clinic in Chick Hearn Court. Think of it as a head start on a basketball scholarship. To register for the clinic, call (877) 234-8425.

Return of the Goats

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fter successfully munching clean a spot of overgrown brush and grass on Angels Knoll in Bunker Hill last year, a group of goats are back in Downtown. This time, they are chewing away vegetation at the Los Angeles State Historic Park on the outskirts of Chinatown. Five African Boer goats and one goat/deer hybrid are clearing the area around the Anabolic Monument, which is made of decomposing corn-

photo by Gary Leonard

A group of working goats has been dispatched to the Los Angeles State Historic Park to eat away some overgrown vegetation. See story this page.

stalk bales left over from the Not a Cornfield project at the park. The goats are an environmentally friendly (and entertaining) way to clear vegetation, said Sean Woods, a superintendent for California State Parks. Depending on how quickly they work, the goats will stay around for about another week, Woods said.

Downtown Fashion Week Returns

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his weekend, Broadway’s Los Angeles Theatre will be transformed into a fashion hotspot as BOXeight Fashion Week takes over the venue at 615 S. Broadway. The homegrown extravaganza, started in 2007 by Downtown real estate developer Gary Warfel, Downtown L.A. Neighborhood Council Vice President Brady Westwater and artist Peter Gurnz (whose company, BOXeight, produces the events), has since emerged as a major local fashion showcase. The festivities run March 13-15 and begin with a launch party Friday at 7 p.m. Shows by up-and-coming designers will take place throughout Saturday and Sunday. A full schedule and ticket information are at (646) 726-8355 or boxeight.com.

ST The il Or l T igi he nal Be & ST !

University of Southern California

Warhol’s World ANDY WARHOL / POLACOLOR TYPE 108 / USC FISHER MUSEUM OF ART GIFT OF THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION OF THE VISUAL ARTS, INC., THE ANDY WARHOL PHOTOGRAPHIC LEGACY PROGRAM

See an eye-popping selection of the Pop Art icon’s Polaroid portrait studies and personal snapshots.

Looking Into Andy Warhol’s Photographic Practice USC Fisher Museum of Art Through Saturday, April 18

Tuesdays through Saturdays, Noon to 5 p.m.

Admission: Free www.uscfishermuseumofart.org (213) 821-1265

JUAN HAMILTON AND GEORGIA O’KEEFFE

During the last 10 years of his life, Andy Warhol shot roughly a roll of film a day.

Wherever he went – to discos or dinner parties, flea markets or wrestling matches – he brought along his 35mm camera, shooting black-and-white film. A selection of these fascinating images, along with dozens of color Polaroids that Warhol used as formal studies for his commissioned portraits, are now on display at the USC Fisher Museum of Art, which celebrates its 70th anniversary of collecting. Whether it’s male bathingsuit models strutting at a Paris fashion show or a heartbreaking portrait of the aged, near-blind Georgia O’Keeffe in the suffocating embrace of her factotum, these pictures reveal Warhol’s keen critical eye and offer a glimpse into the artist’s glitzy-tawdry existence.

USC your cultural connection

A L S O AT U S C :

Cerca de la Cerca: Along the Border Fence Through Wednesday, May 20 Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Photographer María Teresa Fernández documents life and death along the border fence between the United States and

7 Exciting Flavors!

Mexico. The Los Angeles Times praises:

chocolate

“Fernández zeroes in on details: little

vanilla

• strawberry • kona coffee • mango • red bean • green tea

incidents that might seem insignificant but that accumulate to form a knot of narratives by turns tragic, defiant and touching.”

USC Annenberg Gallery Admission: Free (213) 821-3015

For more information visit www.usc.edu

Location: ROP M 2008 LA Downtown News Mikawaya 6-9 File Name:

Los AngeLes LocAtions Japanese Village Plaza: 118 Japanese Village Mall, Los Angeles, CA 90012 • (213) 624-1681 Little Tokyo Shopping Center: 333 S. Alameda St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 • (213) 613-0611 Mitsuwa Plaza: 21515 Western Ave., Torrance, CA 90501 • (310) 320-4551 Pacific Square: 1630 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., Gardena, CA 90247 • (310) 538-9389

www.mikawayausa.com • www.mochiicecream.com

March 9, 2009

Downtown News 3

SearchDowntownLA.com

The 55% Solution Antonio Villaraigosa Sees How Low He Can Go on Election Day

by Jon RegaRdie executive editoR

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t first gasp, the fact that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa collected only 55% of the vote in last Tuesday’s election is shocking. But on second thought, it may be fitting, since many people in Los Angeles feel that Villaraigosa has only lived up to about 55% of his hype. the regardie report

Still, for the man who would be king if only they elected people to the post, this has to be a bigger shock than the one he got when he realized that first-choice presidential pick Hillary Clinton was going to come in second. Although Villaraigosa was competing against a nine-pack of candidates about as frightening as a bouquet of buttercups, he still managed the amazing feat of limboing below the 61% of the vote former Mayor Richard Riordan secured in 1997 when he won a second term against a widely respected candidate, Tom Hayden. Heck, Villaraigosa actually did a backslide from the 59% he notched in his 2005 mayoral runoff win against Jim Hahn.

The election results propel a lot of questions, though the biggest one is whether, in private moments in his Spring Street aerie, Villaraigosa will take the 55% as a sign to change the way he operates — especially as he preps for his gubernatorial run — or whether he believes his own PR to the point that he thinks the voters got it wrong.

Another question is how many Angelenos really felt someone else would be a better leader for the city, and how many people were casting a protest vote, using the election to say, for example, that they’d prefer their mayor focus more on the city than on comely Telemundo anchors. Sorry, that should be singular. I think.

For a sense of context, one should look at not only the mayoral numbers, but also the results of the five City Council races in which the incumbents ran against tomato cans.

Council members Ed Reyes, Dennis Zine, Bill Rosendahl, Eric Garcetti and Janice Hahn all, curiously, garnered between 71% and 76% of the vote. Considering that Garcetti’s opponent reported raising $16,000 to the incumbent’s $655,000 and the others pretty much ran on the spare change they found between sofa cushions, it is clear that even if you are super-popular, about one-quarter of the electorate will still vote against you. The takeaway is that you can’t please all the people all the time, but you can please 71%-76% of them most of the time.

In the mayor’s race, second-place contestant Walter Moore, who ran a respectable campaign and raised about $200,000, yet was still machine gunned by AnVil’s $3 million war chest, pulled 26%. That gels with what the Council pretenders earned.

On top of that, however, another almost 19% refused to Inkavote Villaraigosa, instead selecting candidates who have about as much place in the mayor’s office as Shaquille O’Neal does in a Victoria’s Secret catalog. Granted, I did not speak to all of the 14,483 people who voted for third place finisher Gordon Turner, but I think it’s safe to say that few if any of them chose the man who raised about $2,000 and skipped most candidate forums because they believe he is uniquely suited to lead a city of 4 million people for the next four years.

Lower on the Ticket There is a thing in elections known as coattails. They are most frequently cited in presidential races when a popular candidate inspires voters to turn out and elect other lowerticket figures from the same party.

Villaraigosa may have long coattails, but last Tuesday, someone snuck into his closet and snipped them off before he went to the polls. How else to explain the fact that two other seemingly can’t-miss causes he supported wound up flopping around on the ground like a lake trout about to be gutted.

City Attorney candidate/Villaraigosa li’l buddy Jack Weiss managed to prove that money isn’t everything, though not in a good way. Although he raised over $1.7 million, or about $1 million more than opponent Carmen Trutanich, he pulled an anemic 36% and now faces a May runoff against the rising challenger. In the process, the once seemingly wizardly Weiss may turn out to be the man behind the curtain. It’s not over though, and in the next two months expect to see a campaign that will make the D-Day battle at Omaha Beach look like a sandbox tiff.

Villaraigosa’s other pet proposal, the solar power initiative Measure B, narrowly went down to defeat Tuesday. That was supposed to be a resounding victory, and the result was as unexpected as when hobbled Daniel-san pulled out a victory with the where’d-that-come-from crane kick at the end of The Karate Kid. Villaraigosa must have been as slack-jawed as

the vanquished Johnny Lawrence.

At least Villaraigosa could put on a smiley face when another ally, Wendy Greuel, captured the City Controller’s post. That race also revealed the man who could turn out to be Election 2009’s biggest loser: Engineer Nick Patsaouras, a longtime city player and former Villaraigosa appointee who was treated as a credible candidate by everyone and raised $130,000, managed the incomprehensible feat of coming in third place. He slipped behind even Kathleen “Suzy” Evans, a Moore acolyte who pulled in just $6,000.

Elections. They’re funny things.

Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.

photo by Gary Leonard

Introducing Mr. 55%.

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4 Downtown News

March 9, 2009

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EDITORIALS Work to Raise Rents at El Pueblo

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n important step has been taken in the effort to rectify a lingering problem in the heart of Downtown. It was only a meeting, but with the decades of inaction at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, that constitutes a step forward. We hope city officials will finally be responsible and work to raise the below-market rents paid by many of the merchants at Olvera Street.

Progress cannot wait. El Pueblo requires about $1 million a year from the city’s general fund to balance its budget. This comes as the city is facing a deficit of more than $400 million. The last thing Los Angeles needs is to spend unnecessary money. The El Pueblo budget could be balanced with higher rents that are still fair to business owners.

On Feb. 24, the Budget and Operations Committee of El Pueblo’s Board of Commissioners met to discuss the status of

rents paid by the 78 merchants who do business on the historic street. Such a meeting should be a no-brainer, but even getting to this stage is a significant accomplishment — efforts to raise rates to fair market value here have been rebuffed for a long time.

Although Downtown Los Angeles real estate experts have said El Pueblo could command rents of up to $4 a square foot per month, some merchants pay less than $1 a square foot. Seventeen tenants have longterm leases, while 61 have operated without deals since 1987.

The Budget and Operations Committee meeting was the beginning of asking the right questions and getting the appropriate information on the public record. A key issue is the length of the leases, and indeed, the 17 tenants who signed deals in the late 1990s have 55-year terms. However, one speaker at the event, who

is one of the most respected leasing attorneys in the United States, stated that such a lease is “really unheard of.” He recommended that Olvera Street leases be no longer than five years.

Other questions are being asked, such as why officials from the City Attorney and Chief Legislative Analyst’s office made certain decisions in the past regarding lease terms.

Unfortunately, none of those questions were answered at the Feb. 24 meeting — the City Attorney sent someone without knowledge of the leases, and the CLA did not even bother to send a representative. An official from City Councilman José Huizar’s office (his 14th District includes El Pueblo) who attended the meeting also was not up to speed.

Some El Pueblo merchants have stated they are willing to pay more once long-promised improvements are completed. It is a nice sentiment, but it is out of place — the tenants

are not the ones who should dictate terms.

This is city-owned property, and leases have been low for too long at an attraction that gets 2 million visitors a year. Work to raise rents can happen as improvements take place (in fact, some are under way).

What will happen next is uncertain.

Historically, efforts to raise rents on Olvera Street have made progress, then been quashed as they progressed through political channels. The result is that rents are artificially low.

That needs to change not only because it is wrong, but because a city with a $400 million-plus deficit can no longer afford the practice. We hope we’ll see real participation by the City Attorney, the CLA, the 14th Council District and all appropriate representatives to raise rents to levels that are fair to both the merchants and the city.

We Get the Democracy We Deserve

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he approximately 15% citywide voter turnout in last Tuesday’s election is an embarrassment to Los Angeles and an embarrassment to democracy.

Democracies are messy. And our U.S. democracy has its own brand of messy. Many citizens feel no obligation to vote.

They trust that someone else will figure out the solutions to the problems. Those of us who vote can rarely claim to be completely informed on all matters on the ballot.

It is particularly disheartening to see this paltry turnout after a decade when many people thought they had learned the lesson that votes count. Nationally, both political parties feel passionately about getting out the vote. Locally, not so much.

Los Angeles currently has a system that effectively doesn’t allow opposition to arise. In last week’s election eight incumbents had little or no serious competition. No disasters of the magnitude of a botched presidential campaign happened, fortunately, but we should fix the system before it does.

It’s not easy to apportion blame for a bad practice that could eventually be a true assault on our freedoms. In the end, it is always the voters who are responsible. But it is more

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

complicated than that. There is more than enough blame to go around.

To begin with, it is extremely awkward to hold city elections in March. They should be scheduled at more traditional times: June and November are the obvious choices.

Worse, as we say, is that we have a system that effectively quells opposition. Donors give to incumbents and serious candidates who might threaten those incumbents. Newcomers are largely ignored by donors and by most media, including this newspaper. Should there be further limits on donations?

Maybe there should be a real discussion of public financing.

A situation where incumbents are so powerful that they do not face any real opposition is bad for the citizenry. As we have stated before, without effective opposition, incumbents are not forced to defend their record or explain why they have made certain decisions. Instead, too many of them just spin.

If there is one silver lining, it is that, in a few key races, those who bothered to turn out sent a message that officeholders would be foolish to ignore in the future. Measure B, a solar power effort backed by many elected leaders,

went down to defeat. That’s a slap in the face to those same easily elected leaders. We think it means that people want to be more fully informed.

Also fascinating is that nearly half of all voters chose someone other than Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. This is a shocking reality for a politician who, having raised $3 million, had more than 10 times the money all his challengers had combined. We wonder how this relatively narrow victory will play into the mayor’s decision about running for governor.

One can only imagine what the results for all the races would have been if we had real democracy.

How to reach us Main office: (213) 481-1448 MAIL your Letter Letters to the Editor • L.A. Downtown News 1264 W. First Street • Los Angeles, CA 90026 Email your Letter realpeople@downtownnews.com FAX your Letter (213) 250-4617 Read Us on the Web DowntownNews.com

Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie citY Editor: Richard Guzmán stAFF writErs: Anna Scott, Ryan Vaillancourt coNtributiNG Editors: David Friedman, Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jay Berman, Jeff Favre, Michael X. Ferraro, Kristin Friedrich, Howard Leff, Rod Riggs Marc Porter Zasada Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins ProductioN AssistANt / EvENt coordiNAtor: Claudia Hernandez PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Vandervort sAlEs MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin sAlEs AssistANt: Annette Cruz clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Vanessa Acuña, Robert Dutcher, Catherine Holloway, Kelley Smith circulAtioN: Norma Rodas distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles. It is also distributed to the extended urban communities of Glendale, Hollywood, Wilshire Center, Los Feliz, Silver Lake & Larchmont Village.

One copy per person.

March 9, 2009

Downtown News 5

Opinion

The Readers Are in Control Website Comments on the Mayor’s Race, Angels Flight, Downtown Filming and More

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os Angeles Downtown News posts comments to stories on our website. Here are some of the most recent responses.

Many more appear on downtownnews.com (comments follow individual articles).

Additional responses are welcome.

Regarding the Guest Opinion “Angels Flight: The Private Sector Is Finishing the Job,” by Dennis R. Luna and John H. Welborne, Feb. 16

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Regarding the Editorial “Mayoral Endorsement: No One,” Feb. 23

have but one question for these two gentlemen: Can you give the public an opening date and stick to it?

—posted by JM, Feb. 15, 12:13 p.m.

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E

.A. is too important and its challenges are too great to be represented by a parttimer who is as interested (or more) in his own career advancement as he is in solving the challenges facing Los Angeles.

—posted by Dan, Feb. 22, 10:42 a.m.

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wholeheartedly agree with your commentary on the mayoral election. Villaraigosa has been a terrible disappointment and his “efforts” thus far are a joke. Even more irritating than his re-election commercials are his (continued) empty promises for education. His LAUSD “initiatives” are simply a PR scam that are offensive to anyone in education. It is clear that his interest in education is for his own career and has nothing to do with helping kids.

I’ll be voting for anyone but him — in mayoral or even gubernatorial elections.

—posted by Anna, Feb. 23, 8:53 a.m. oth Tony V. and his predecessor had plenty of experience, and they are/were both failures as mayor. Richard Riordan had no political experience, and did a great job. So much for experience — my vote [went] to Walter Moore.

—posted by city girl, Feb. 23, 11:29 a.m.

G

ive them a deadline and if they don’t keep it, take the opening and operation out of their hands. I buy that bureaucracy slows things down, but not eight years and counting. Enough is enough. Either figure this out quickly or hand the landmark over to someone who can get it running —posted by Nikki, Feb. 18, 12:15 p.m.

M

r. Luna and Mr. Welborne keep hiding behind the phrase “life safety issues.” They admonish readers not to rush the inspection process and not to exert pressure on the inspectors to rubber stamp the inspection results to get things “over with.” No one wants anything skipped. All any of us wants is for progress to do just that: progress. And to do that in some sort of sure, steady, uninterrupted pace (not whatever’s been going on so far). Eight years is just not acceptable.

—posted by John Stock, Feb. 19, 5:20 p.m.

call BS to the argument that when film crews are Downtown they bring business.

Most often they bring their own catering and when they film, it is usually when eateries are closed. Or when they film, it is difficult to get to the business you want to patronize due to blocked streets. When production companies rent a building or buy a business for a day, they are not creating commerce.

—posted by RLK, Feb. 17, 9:05 a.m.

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s an alumnus of USC from the School of Urban and Regional Planning (now the School of Public Policy and Development) and a community real estate investment banker, I would like to see — and perhaps it is a bit too late for — USC engage in a more forward thinking, inclusive and collaborative community planning approach to the Figueroa Corridor. The article does not mention the surrounding and increasingly Latino business and consumer community. Furthermore, the current planning and entitlement effort should consider minority ownership and investment opportunities. This is Los Angeles, with a rich diversity that needs to be leveraged and enhanced by USC in leading real estate and economic development.

—posted by Sirchuy, Feb. 23, 7:14 a.m.

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applaud FilmL.A. and Audley for at least sensing the urgency in focusing on public relations. The residents and merchants affected by filming need to be heard. By allowing FilmL.A. the opportunity to monitor these sensitive areas, report and then find solutions, they do indeed become “referees,” and will aid in bringing together these two warring entities, and possibly even curb the outrageous extortion and outright lies that some Downtown residents are grasping onto.

—posted by Bogart, Feb. 17, 11:31 a.m.

Regarding the article “The Rowan Rally,” about the condominium complex’s sales auction, by Richard Guzmán, Feb. 16

Regarding the article “Bloom Is off Blossom Plaza,” about the Chinatown project being stalled, by Richard Guzmán, Feb. 16

I

bought a unit at the Rowan and loved the experience. It was a very fair process as the developers essentially let us tell them the price we were willing to pay. It was a nice, calm event, not the craziness I was expecting from an auction. Wish I could buy all my homes this way.

—posted by Tom, Feb. 16, 2:48 p.m.

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rgh! This project is so incredibly important to Chinatown and the rest of Downtown. Currently, from the perspective of a pedestrian, getting off at the Chinatown Gold Line station isn’t the most pleasant.

Blossom Plaza would have made Chinatown a real destination from the vantage point of a walker and not just a driver.

—posted by Brigham, Feb. 14, 11:49 a.m.

Regarding the article “The Outsider,” about new FilmL.A. head Paul Audley, by Ryan Vaillancourt, Feb. 16

metro.net

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When you work late or play late, Metro Night Owl service gives you reliable options between Downtown LA and points west. Whether it’s 1 am, 3 am or 5 am, depend on Local Lines 10, 14, 37 and 38 to be there when you are.

GR

B

ight years? Excuses after excuses are why Angels Flight is not open! Get it open already!

—posted by Richard, Feb. 16, 8:07 a.m.

I

Regarding the article “USC Plans for the Future,” by Anna Scott, Feb. 23

6 Downtown News

March 9, 2009

DowntownNews.com

Front-Row Seats for Sub-Prime Hoops Why Developer and Civic Booster Steve Soboroff Loves the Clippers

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os Angeles residents who know nothing about sports know all about the Lakers. How could you possibly draw smoggy breath in this burg and not be aware of the cultural contributions of Kobe, Coach Phil Jackson, the Laker Girls, and of course their ultra-famous front-row fan, Jack Nicholson?

Conversely, the other team that plays in Staples Center, the Clippers, operates well below the zeitgeist, and not coincidentally, many games below the respectable .500 winning level. On top of that, the rich older white guy who graces their mid-court throne has slightly less marquee wattage than Jack — former mayoral candidate, Staples enabler and president of the Playa Vista development, Steve Michael X. Ferraro Soboroff.

With his round glasses, white fringe of hair and avuncular air, Soboroff is STADIUM a gregarious, successful businessman who doesn’t seem like a sucker. So why on earth is he here?

Fellow season ticket holder Cliche Stadium sat down with Soboroff during halftime of a recent blowout loss to Phoenix to get the POV of a mover and shaker who’s so Clippercrazed he actually tried to get Jack to jump ship.

would not be able to [afford to] come to a Lakers game.

Q: Would you ever consider some kind of management role with the team? They need help.

A: I’d like to buy the Clippers, but there’s only two problems, and I talked to Sterling about it: One is, he doesn’t want to sell, and two, I don’t have the money.

Seriously, if Sterling said “I’ll sell the team,” if I could pick one guy to own the team, it would be Tiger Woods. He’s an L.A. guy, he understands promotion, he understands excellence and he’s cool.

to you.” And he wanted to keep them in L.A. So it was a good thing for L.A., I think, and a better thing if they’re winning.

Q: Has he thought about it?

A: Maybe if he reads this.

Q: As senior advisor to Mayor Richard Riordan in the late ’90s, what role did you have in the birth of Staples Center and getting the Clippers here?

A: With Staples Center, the Lakers and Kings were going to build a new arena on the site of the Forum. So I went to Mayor Riordan and said, “Look, I’d like to recruit these guys to come down here [to Downtown] and play near the Convention Center, because our Convention Center needs some action down there.” It was falling apart at the seams at the time, and so that eventually led to Staples Center.

Politically I thought it was important, as senior advisor to the mayor and then candidate for mayor, that Staples Center be something for everyone, not just for wealthy people. And I thought the Lakers ticket pricing was… different, so I went to Sterling and went to [Anschutz Entertainment Group head Phil] Anschutz, and neither wanted to talk to the other. But I sort of put them together and so they did the deal.

Because Sterling was heading down to Anaheim at that time. He had a deal ready to sign. And I remember saying to him, “Don, you don’t wanna go to Anaheim,” and he said, “Yeah I do.” I said, “No you don’t.” He said, “Why do you say that?” And I said, “You can tell — you’ve got hives. A guy like you doesn’t make a decision when it’s not as clear as a bell

CLICHE

Cliché Stadium: Why are you a Clippers fan?

Soboroff: I was a Parks Commissioner when they played in the Sports Arena. We have five kids, and I used to bring ’em all the time. It’s easy to be a Lakers fan, but I wanted my kids to learn about hanging with something and sticking with it.

Whether it’s your basketball team or your wife, or your husband. Or whatever. Just a little bit about loyalty… not everything is a big victory or movie star every day.

I think of myself as the common man, and this is NBA basketball for the common man. Otherwise, a lot of these people

photo by Gary Leonard

Steve Soboroff in his courtside Clippers seat. The former advisor to Mayor Richard Riordan helped get Staples Center built.

Q: Speaking of winning, the last time the Clippers were doing that, you tried to temporarily convert Jack Nicholson to the Clipper cause. What was the story there?

A: I didn’t know he was sitting next to me [during the 2006 playoffs] but he was. He came with the guy that owns “The Simpsons” [season-ticket holder James L. Brooks] and we were chatting. I said, “I don’t know if you realize this, but this is a big deal for the Clippers fans to have you here.” He said, “Oh come on, really.” I said, “Why don’t you just stand up and put on this [Clippers] T-shirt and see what happens?” He just looked at me and said, “No.” Q: After all this misery the Clippers have given us [the team’s record is 15-47 at press time], why should people be loyal?

A: Because this is a town and country of hope. That’s the only thing I can tell you. Because we’ve had so many false starts and so many things happen that have been disappointments.

You just have to look and say, one of these days, it’s going to come together. And I think there are a hundred different things that happen to make a championship team or a horrible team. And it’s not just one or two things. There’s no reason why these guys can’t turn it around.

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March 9, 2009

Downtown News 7

SearchDowntownLA.com photo by Gary Leonard

Saying Goodbye to Bloom’s The Final Hours at the Arts District Mainstay

by AnnA Scott StAff writer

B

y noon on Saturday, Feb. 28, there was little to buy in Bloom’s General Store. A jumble of DVDs against the back wall, a rack of postcards and a few boxes of orange and grape Swisher Sweets cigarillos were among the items still on the shelves.

It was the last day in business for the 15-year-old Arts District shop, which doubled as a sort of community living room, a place to pick up the latest neighborhood news along with a pack of smokes.

“Bloom’s was a gateway,” said longtime Arts District resident Qathryn Brehm.

“When people would come from outside the community they’d look for someplace to go, to ask questions… and Bloom’s was that.”

For a long time, the person answering those questions was store founder and neighborhood pioneer Joel Bloom. Since he passed away in 2007, the store had struggled.

Joel’s son, Randy Bloom, took over the business after Joel’s death and hoped to keep it open. But a 50% rent increase, plus a dip in sales amid the struggling economy, made it impossible, he said. Randy, who lives in Azusa and works full-time in the computer industry, also admittedly never had the time or motivation to keep the business going.

“Realistically, what else could I have done?” he asked.

In the waning hours, the shop bustled with activity. Randy and store manager Jonathan Carter Schall hurried about, sifting through the remaining inventory. Joel’s older brother Michael Bloom, 66, who flew in from Florida for the closing, uncovered treasure after trea-

CHW

sure in the dusty corners. He laughed at an image in a stack of snapshots, a black and white photo of a bespectacled Joel lounging with a cigarette.

“It is extremely bittersweet,” Michael said of the closing. However, he added, “I know it’s the right thing. It isn’t a business; it’s an institution. And without Joel, it’s not an institution.”

Times a’ Changin’ Joel Bloom, a Vietnam veteran known both for his neighborhood activism and his gruff demeanor, moved to the Arts District in the late 1980s.

He opened his namesake store on the ground floor of a four-story building at 303 S. Hewitt St. in 1994. At the time, it was the only place where residents of the then sparsely populated area could buy toilet paper, toothpaste and other staples.

Joel was as much a beacon as his store.

Active in many neighborhood improvement efforts, he helped spearhead the city’s designation of the area as the Arts District.

“At one point, [the city] wanted to call it Little Tokyo East. Can you imagine?” said longtime area resident Rick Robinson. “It was extremely important to have people like Joel Bloom. He fought hard to let people know it was the Arts District.”

Much has changed since the days when the neighborhood had to fight for recognition. Now, new residential projects and eateries have transformed the once scrappy community into a hip, lively destination. In November, a sausage and beer restaurant, Wurstküche, opened across the street from Bloom’s and regularly draws long lines.

For some local denizens, Bloom’s was the

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The late Joel Bloom at Bloom’s General Store. Bloom died in 2007. The shop, which Bloom’s son tried to run without him, closed on Feb. 28.

last vestige of the old neighborhood. Store manager Schall, rail thin and perpetually dressed in black, had worked at Bloom’s on and off for nearly eight years. He took over after another manager walked off the job last year, and spent much of the last two months pursuing potential buyers and even a small business loan to keep the store afloat.

“I’m pretty devastated,” he said a few days after the store closing. “I feel like I let the community down.”

Others see the end of Bloom’s as a natural evolution.

“I’m really sad they couldn’t make a go,” said artist Lilli Muller, who helped stage a fundraiser last summer for the limping store.

“But in a way, I actually feel good, because it’s kind of the end of an era anyway. At some point, you have to let it go and have something emerge from the ashes.”

A Continuing Legacy When Joel passed away on July 13, 2007, at age 59 after a long battle with cancer, the area around East Third Street and Traction

Avenue was renamed Joel Bloom Square.

Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose Ninth District encompasses the former store, said she has been looking for potential new park sites in the Arts District and would like to name a green space after Joel.

“I hope I can work with the community to create some sort of tribute to Joel in a lasting way,” she said. “I feel sad that his son had to do what he had to do, but reality set in and I can certainly understand that.”

Artist and former Arts District resident Alexandra Koiv, who still keeps a studio in the neighborhood, said she would like to see someone else in the community open a new business using Bloom’s name.

“We have the square, but to actually have living history there would be really wonderful,” she said.

Still, everyone seems to agree, no replacement could quite capture the spirit of the original.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

8 Downtown News

March 9, 2009

DowntownNews.com

Sports Museum Takes a Time Out Facility Halts Regular Hours Months After Opening

by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR

A

fter an attention-generating grand opening on Thanksgiving weekend, the Sports Museum of Los Angeles is now closed to the general public indefinitely. It is available only for group tours and private events.

The contents of the museum, which are estimated to be worth more than $30 million, are the private collection of Los Angeles entrepreneur and sports fanatic Gary Cypres, who also owns the building at 1900 S. Main St. Despite a pre-opening media blitz that generated a wealth of local and regional coverage, the museum, which sold individual tickets for $17.50, never took off. Regular hours ceased in early February.

Cypres said he had hoped for a minimum attendance of 500 people per day, at least on the weekends. Instead, he said last week, he got maybe 100. “I subsidize the whole thing; it’s not like the city helps or we have a bunch of trustees who contribute to it, and unfortunately given the current economics and attendance levels, it didn’t seem like now was the time to keep it open to the public,� Cypres said.

Housed in a two-story warehouse on Main Street near Washington Boulevard, the museum is a sprawling treasure trove of sports memorabilia.

Its walls are covered in vintage baseball cards and old uniforms are displayed near exhibits that illustrate the evolution of baseball gloves, football helmets and other athletic gear.

Items include everything from Wilt Chamberlain’s high school basketball jersey and Hank Aaron’s cleats to Babe Ruth’s shotgun and one of the earliest tennis rackets in existence.

Widespread Pain The Sports Museum is not the only Downtown Los Angeles cultural institution squeezed by the ongoing recession: The Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo recently cut its hours and the Center Theatre Group

postponed a summer show at the Mark Taper Forum to 2010 for financial reasons (though CTG officials stressed that the move was precautionary, not the result of a budget shortfall).

Additionally, the Museum of Contemporary Art has had to trim staff, slash its budget and temporarily shut down the Geffen Contemporary annex.

Cypres’ facility is not the only sports attraction to face trouble. In New York, the Sports Museum of America, which opened in May 2008, shuttered in February. The $100 million venue is now reportedly looking to liquidate its assets.

While the Sports Museum of Los Angeles will now be harder for the public to access, Cypres said he is not in a dire financial situation like the New York museum. He considers the facility more of a hobby than a business venture. “It wasn’t a business in the usual sense,� said Cypress, who made his fortune in the finance industry. “All we had hoped for was that we’d have enough attendance to meet operating expenses.�

When it became clear that attendance was low, Cypres mulled two approaches: Invest in a major marketing campaign to spread awareness and sell tickets, or revert to a model he had employed before the November debut, where he offered private tours of the space and rented or donated it to charities for fundraisers.

He chose the latter, a decision that disappointed but didn’t necessarily surprise those who had supported the project, including Ninth District Councilwoman Jan Perry. “To hear that anybody is performing under projections at this point is certainly not a surprise,� said Perry, who helped Cypres navigate the city approvals process. “He has just got to retool, and that makes sense, because everybody’s got to retool and rethink how they market themselves.�

Cypres said he would like to reopen the museum to the general public, but will not rush to do so. He also said that there is not a target date for reopening.

In the meantime, the museum remains open to groups of 15 or more by appointment, and Cypres will contin-

photo by Gary Leonard

After making his multi-million-dollar sports memorabilia collection available to the general public, Gary Cypres has halted regular operating hours at the Sports Museum of Los Angeles. It remains open by appointment only for groups of 15 or more.

ue to rent the space for private events. Individuals and groups of less than 15 can call the venue and get added to larger groups, he said, so nobody will be denied. “I did consider opening it only on weekends, and that may be the model we go back to, but if we’re going to do that it would be toward the summer when hopefully there’s much more tourist business,� he said. “But right now, I don’t think anybody’s too concerned about museums. I think they’re concerned about their livelihood.�

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

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10 Downtown News

Arts & Entertainment

March 9, 2009

Celebrations of the Spring Anniversaries Are All the Rage on Downtown Stages

by Jeff favre contributing writer

A

nniversaries and hat tips to the past are on tap on Downtown stages this spring. They range from a revival of an until-recently-forgotten TV interview to the 50th birthday of a beloved dance troupe.

A New York company will come to Bunker Hill to celebrate turning 10, while the 1906 Alexandria Hotel will be honored by a theater company also celebrating its 50th anniversary. That’s just the beginning.

For complete Theater and Dance listings, see page 21.

De-Frosting Nixon: More than 30 years have past since David Frost butted heads with Richard Nixon, but once again, those

interviews are in the public consciousness, thanks to Frost/Nixon, the Tony-nominated play and Oscar-nominated film, both penned by Peter Morgan. The national tour, which opened last week at the Ahmanson Theatre, where it runs through March 29, is highly anticipated, though there is one major change from the original: Frank Langella, whose stage and screen portrayal of the former president has been universally praised, is not touring. The good news is that versatile leading man Stacey Keach is tackling the role. Even if Keach doesn’t share Langella’s Nixon-esque physicality, his take on the country’s most controversial president should be compelling.

His English co-star, Alan Cox, debuted on Broadway in Transitions in 2007, and is new to the role of Frost.

photo by Carol Rosegg

Alan Cox plays David Frost and Stacy Keach Is Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon.

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Mardi Gras decorations and people in animal costumes take over REDCAT April 9-12 in SOS.

But much of the original cast and creative team, including director Michael Grandage, are participating, so expect the same visually arresting and taut tussle between two intellectual and competitive men.

At 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.

The Greatest Hits: “Revelations” is to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater what “Respect” is to Aretha Franklin. So audiences expect — or, rather, demand — the company to deliver part or all of the seminal piece at each of its six performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion March 18-22. Still celebrating its 50th anniversary, AADT, which debuted in 1958, is combining some of its best known works with a few premieres (there are four different programs scheduled). “Blues Suite,” Ailey’s first major work, incorporates memories of his childhood growing up in the South. “Suite Otis,” which premiered in 1971, is set to the music of Otis Redding. Then there’s “Revelations,” which was first danced in 1960. It celebrates the African-American spirit, determination and triumph, spanning from the time of slavery to the modern era.

At 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.

Sending Out an SOS: New York’s Caden Manson/Big Art Group, one of the city’s best-known experimental theater companies, is celebrating its 10th anniversary by touring its latest work. SOS, an explosion of multimedia and live performance, appears April 9-12 at REDCAT. Describing any of its pieces can be a challenge, but Big Art Group explains that SOS “began as an investigation into the nature of sacrifice within a supersaturated, hyper-acquisitive society.” If you have no idea what that means, just picture an overload of color, Mardi Gras-like party decorations, live edit cameras projected on numerous screens and human performers in animal costumes. Chaos ensues.

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

A Mysterious Woman: The title character in Octavio Solis’ Lydia is an undocumented maid living with a troubled El Paso, Texas, family in the 1970s. She possesses an unquestioned beauty and an unusual ability to “understand” the thoughts of Cici, who has lain in a near vegetative state since a car accident before her 15th birthday. Lydia, which runs April 2-May 17 at the Mark Taper Forum, employs “magical realism,” which blends realism and fantasy, such as the scenes where Cici is able to talk to the audience clearly, as though the accident hadn’t damaged her brain. In an interview with Yale Repertory Theatre, Solis described the show as feeling like “a play of the border. It depicts a family, a culture between two ways of being, two ways of life.”

At 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.

Back to the Future: For its second annual festival of 10-minute plays, L.A. Views II, the Company of Angels writers group chose as its theme Downtown’s Alexandria Hotel, which hosts the show’s Black Box theater (on the hotel’s third floor). Damon Chua, the 2007 Ovation Award winner for Best World Premiere Play (Film Chinois), based his new short play on Mabel Normand, the first person ever to be captured on film throwing a cream pie into someone’s face. Jamison Newlander, who co-starred in the film The Lost Boys, was inspired by silent movie queen Mary Pickford. The festival opens April 17 and runs Fridays and Saturdays until May 9.

At 501 S. Spring St., (323) 665-7612 or companyofangels.org.

A Trio of Mednick: Murray Mednick, best known for founding the Padua Hills Playwrights Workshop/Festival, which propelled the careers of Sam Shepard and Eduardo Machado, will have two of his plays (and one film) premiere Downtown at Art Share L.A. The Padua Playwright’s Masters Tribute Series is offering Clown Show for Bruno and The Destruction of the Fourth World from March 26-April 19. The former is an homage to Polish writer/artist Bruno Schultz, who was enslaved by a Nazi officer during World War II. The second work concerns a Native American trickster getting ready for the end of the world.

At 801 E. Fourth Place, (213) 625-1766 or paduaplaywrights.net.

Hip-hop Theater: Part storyteller, part hiphop artist, Marc Bamuthi Joseph infuses his Poetry Slam champion skills with music and video for his piece The Break/s: A Mixtape for the Stage, running April 22-26 at REDCAT. Joseph weaves personal anecdotes with history to trace the roots and progression of hip-hop and uses hip-hop styles and film segments to tell his story.

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

Marry Music: No L.A. company is more closely associated with Broadway icon Stephen Sondheim than East West Players, so it’s always an event when the company produces one of his works. This time it’s the non-Sondheim Sondheim show Marry Me a Little, which will run May 7-June 7, and will incorporate several songs by the noted composer that didn’t fit in to his musicals.

It’s only a one-act, which is a good thing because it means audiences also get to enjoy another one-act, Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years. Brown, whose musical 13 premiered at the Mark Taper Forum a couple of years ago, crafted a love story told from beginning to end by one person, and recounted backward by the other.

At 120 Judge John Aiso St., (213) 625-7000, ext. 20, or eastwestplayers.org.

March 9, 2009

Downtown News 11

Arts & Entertainment

Scavenger Hunts, Dance All Day and More

Spring Events Go From Urban Planning to Anthropology and Beyond

by AnnA Scott

Beyond: Birthplace of the City,” will take place April 4 and 18 at 10 a.m., and will lead participants back in time more than 200 years. Teams will be tasked with finding historic treasures from the time when L.A. began as a small pueblo near what is now Olvera Street. The second race, to begin at 11 a.m. on April 5, is titled “The Great Chinatown Hunt” and will take participants on a clue-solving adventure through plazas, shopping arcades, restaurants, unusual shops and art galleries in the neighborhood. Attendees at the Chinatown race will also be sent on two “mini-quests,” which involve a series of tasks to win bonus points. Some helpful hints: CityRace hunts require more noggin power for code-cracking and puzzle solving than physical brawn, and teams can include two to four members.

At (310) 360-6950 or racela.com.

StAff writer

S

pring is a blooming season in Downtown, at least when it comes to cultural events. From discussions about the future of Pershing Square and human origins to Japanese film screenings, there are plenty of op opportunities to give your brain a workout in the next few months. If thinking outside the confines of four walls is more your style, no problem: There are all-day, outdoor scavenger hunts in Chinatown and dance lessons at the Music Center plaza. For complete Events listings, see page 17.

Amazing Races: Downtown has a lot to discover, literally, when CityRace hosts two scavenger hunts.

One, “Olvera Street, El Pueblo and

Lucy’s Legacy: The Natural History Museum’s First Fridays series, a perfect blend of nerdiness and partying, has been a hit since it launched in 2004. But it’s not every month that the museum hosts the man credited with finding the most widely known fossil of the last century. On May 1, paleoanthropologist Dr. Donald C. Johanson, who in 1974 in Ethiopia discovered the hominid fossil known as Lucy, serves as First Fridays’ guest of honor. The 3.2 million-year-old skeleton, which possesses a mixture of human and ape-like features, has inspired a fierce debate about evolution. The event begins with tours at 5:30 and 6 p.m. of the Vertebrate Paleontology Collections, which house fossil casts from as far away as Tanzania and South Africa. At 6:30 p.m., there is a discussion with Johanson that will focus on his discoveries, including the Lucy. Finally, from 7-10 p.m., dance, eat and drink while there is live DJ music in the African Mammal Hall.

At 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-3466 or nhm.org.

Dance the Day Away: This month, the Music Center highlights the diversity of African-American dance styles with Ailey Week. The rare roster of dance offerings celebrates the 50th anniversary of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (the group performs March 18-22 at the Dorothy Chandler

photo by Gary Leonard

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt will speak at a Town Hall Los Angeles event at the Biltmore Hotel on March 19. Expect someone to bring up Manny Ramirez.

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John Hennessy, founder of CityRace and Race/LA, at a Chinatown locale that will figure in his Downtown scavenger hunts. They take place April 4, 5 and 18.

Pavilion). While the stage is reserved for the pros, on March 21 anyone else can participate in A Taste of Dance, a daylong event in the Music Center Plaza that will offer 20-minute, $1 dance classes in a variety of styles. Start with a warm-up at 11:15 a.m. and keep going until the final classes begin at 4 p.m. The event offers a chance to try break dancing, hip-hop and jazz, among other styles.

At 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-0711 or musiccenter.org.

Park Under Scrutiny: Is Pershing Square a study in failed urban design, or a lovely pocket park? With local stakeholders and city see Events, page 16

12 Downtown News

Arts & Entertainment

March 9, 2009

A Song for Everyone Britney, Los Lobos and Even Elmo Are Coming to Sing and Dance in Downtown

Pop Time: Ever since her father started controlling her every move and got rid of her paparazzo boyfriend, superwreck Britney Spears seems to be climbing her way back up. She’s in dancing shape now, and on April 16-17 the pop star will perform at Staples Center as part of her Circus tour. It’s her first tour in five years and it follows the release of her album, also called Circus. If you’re on the wire about whether this show will be a circus for all the wrong reasons, take some comfort in knowing that she’s touring with the Pussycat Dolls. So even if Spears bombs, the dolls are there to do their thing.

At 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7000 or staplescenter.com.

Nah Nah Nana: If you instantly recognize and even cringe at the phrase “nah nah nana, nah nah nana,” then you’re either a young child (in which case you’re probably only reading Los Angeles Downtown News if your Harry the Dirty Dog book has gone missing) or a parent of a young child who has heard this “Sesame Street” song thousands of times.

Either way, you’re exactly who is coming to the Nokia Theater May 29-31 to catch “Sesame Street” breakout star and idol to all who drool, Elmo. The red-furred and wildly imaginative little monster will star in the concert “Elmo’s Green Thumb.” The show’s storyline has Elmo and friends in Big Bird’s garden trying to find a new home for Elmo’s sunflower Sunny, which has been displaced due to his inability to meet mortgage payments amid the international global economic crisis (we made that last part up). Since Sunny has become too big for Elmo’s small flowerpot, the red one decides to plant him in a bigger garden. And so on.

It may not be as exciting as your Lollapalooza days, but hey, if Elmo can put a smile on the kids’ faces for an afternoon — and he will — then it’s worth it. All together now, “Nah nah nana, nah nah nana.”

At 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6000 or nokiatheatrelive.com.

photo by SeanRicigliano

Howling Good Times: It’s been more than 20 years since Los Lobos’ rendition of Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” made them household names. But even before that, and more importantly, after that 1987 hit, the Grammy winners continue to be

Guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine fame will perform an intimate acoustic set at the Grammy Museum Sound Stage March 31.

Guitar “god” Nels Cline will perform jazz pieces at REDCAT March 28.

Soul Check: With all the gimmicky boy bands and sultry pop divas that dominate the airwaves, it can be easy to forget that good music matters and can have a real message. When India.Arie brings her soulful, funk-inspired sound to Club Nokia April 15, it will be a reminder that music that matters can also sound better than any manufactured hit.

She is touring in support of her third album, Testimony Vol. 1: Life & Relationship, which like its title suggests, takes a deep look at her own life. It addresses failures, heartaches and the acceptance of moving on. It comes with catchy melodies and deep rhythms.

At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) The circus is coming to town and Britney Spears will be the main attraction. She performs at Staples Center April 16-17 as part of her first concert tour in five years.

763-5483 or clubnokia.com.

Say Yes to War: War is usually not the answer, unless the question is about which indie rock band has generated street cred by touring hard and playing good, honest music. Cold War Kids, straight outta Fullerton, will be doing what they do best at the Orpheum Theatre on March 27. The Kids have been influenced by legendary acts such as Radiohead, Jeff Buckley and the Velvet Underground. The Orpheum show is also a chance to discover more independent acts that somehow go under the radio waves: Crystal Antlers, a psychedelic punk and soul band that has its own devoted following, will open the show.

At 842 S. Broadway, (877) 677-4386 or laorpheum.com.

Jazz It Up: Cryptogramophone Records, the Los Angelesbased jazz label, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary at REDCAT March 27-28. The first of the Cryptonights shows features pianist Myra Melford, who fronts the group Be Bread.

The second show features Nels Cline, who has been called a “guitar god” by Rolling Stone and heads the Nels Cline Singers.

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

photo courtesy of Staples Center

N

known as much for their rockabilly, Mexican and country-influenced rock as for their East L.A. roots. The local boys return home March 27 for an intimate show at the Conga Room. The concert is sure to include the classic songs captured in the band’s most recent release, Wolf Tracks: the Best of Los Lobos Lobos.

It’s been more than 30 years since they started playing, so it’s pretty certain that Los Lobos will keep howling at the moon for some time.

At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 749-0162 or congaroom.com.

Smells Like Rock: Young punks aren’t always bad, especially when they have a track record at Downtown’s mecca for underground music. So a show by Mika Miko at The Smell on May 9 is a can’t miss for several reasons: The Los Angeles band, who also work as volunteers at the club, put on a frantic and energetic show, and The Smell itself has become a hub for local talent; another club mainstay, No Age, are signed to Sub Pop records and recently performed on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.”

At 245 S. Main St., thesmell.org.

Talk Dirty to Me: Riding high on the success of his reality show “Rock of Love,” where scantily clad and heavily madeup women compete for his affection, hair-band idol Bret Michaels will come to Club Nokia on April 24. Expect classics from his Poison days and, since the rocker recently announced on the radio that some of the ladies from his TV experience will be joining him on this show, it’s sure to be entertaining.

At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 763-5483 or clubnokia.com.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

A Softer Rage:: He’s known for his original and insanely heavy guitar riffs and his equally passionate political activism, but a softer (at least musically) side of Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello will appear at the Grammy Museum Sound Stage on March 31. Morello will perform a few acoustic songs and talk about his political activism, songwriting and take questions from the audience. It’s a small setting for a big star, with only 200 seats, and priority goes to museum members, but a portion of the seats will be reserved for the public.

At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite A245, (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org.

East L.A. natives Los Lobos will bring years of music history to the Conga Room March 27.

photo courtesy of Madison House Publicity

city EditoR o matter what your musical taste may be, chances are there is a concert for you in Downtown Los Angeles this spring. Maybe even several.

From pop to rock to Latin to alternative, Downtown’s concert scene has the right tunes for just about any music fan, even the 5-and-under set. Many of them take place in sparkling new venues, though some shows are in spruced-up historic buildings.

Here are some of the top shows of the season. Complete Rock, Pop & Jazz listings are on page 19.

pho to c our tesy of N els Cli ne

by RichaRd Guzmán

March 9, 2009

Downtown News 13

Arts & Entertainment

The Rite of Spring From World Premieres to Salonen’s Finale, Classical Concerts Abound This Season

photo courtesy of Da Camera Society

The Da Camera Society presents two concerts in historic Downtown buildings this spring. Ciaramella plays medieval music in City Hall and the Amstel Saxophone Quartet (shown here) blows the air around the Bradbury Building.

by Ryan Vaillancourt staff writer

D

owntown Los Angeles has emerged as Southern California’s classical music mecca, and for good reason. This spring, classical music fans will flock to the area for everything from free weekly student recitals at the Colburn School to a continuation

of L.A. Opera’s production of Wagner’s Ring cycle. Other seasonal highlights include daring new music to premiere at the Monday Evening Concerts at Zipper Hall and the final concerts conducted by L.A. Philharmonic Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen. Walt Disney Concert Hall bids adieu to its longtime leader by handing him the baton for eight performances in April.

Complete Classical Music listings are on page 20.

Adams Does Adams: One of the most celebrated contemporary American composers, John Adams conducts two of his own works at Disney Hall this spring. First, on May 12, Adams teams up with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, pianist Timothy Andres and percussionist Payton MacDonald for a Green Umbrella series concert. The program features works by Andres and MacDonald, followed by Adams’ “Son of a Chamber Symphony.” Then, on May 15 and 17, Adams conducts his fourth and most recent opera, “A Flowering Tree.” The piece, a collaboration with director Peter Sellars, is based on a South Indian folk tale whose protagonist turns herself into a tree.

At Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org.

So Long Salonen: After 16 years at the helm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen will step down as music director this spring, but he won’t go quietly into the night.

Walt Disney Concert Hall will be all Salonen all the time starting April 9, when the Finland native will conduct Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and his own Violin Concerto. The series culminates with performances from April 16-19 of Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex.” It likely won’t be the last we see of Salonen around these parts, but his departure marks a changing of the guard with incoming music director Gustavo Dudamel. Expect plenty of emotion and unending accolades for the man credited with elevating the Phil to its current status as one of the top orchestras in the country.

At Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org.

Grab the Ring: L.A. Opera’s production of Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle continues April

photo courtesy of L.A. Phil

L.A. Philharmonic Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen takes his final turn at the podium in April.

4-25 with a bang-up lineup. Die Walkure, which under director/designer Achim Freyer follows the highly praised Das Rheingold, stars Plácido Domingo as Siegmund and soprano Anja Kampe as Soeglinde. A tale of gods, goddesses, giants and dwarves battling each other and their collective lust for the cursed ring, think of Wagner’s masterwork as Tolkien for grown-ups. There is also a love story in the production to be conducted by James Conlon.

Die Walkure features some of Wagner’s most famous music, including the epic “Ride of the Valkyries.” But before you go, be prepared: The running time is four hours and 50 minutes (including two intermissions).

At the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7219 or laopera.com.

Chamber Rockers: If contemporary classical ensemble, it’s the Calder Quartet, who will again perform at Zipper Hall at the Colburn see Classical, page 15

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14 Downtown News

Arts & Entertainment

March 9, 2009

The Shows Must Go On

Crime Scene Exposition Park: Is television a worthy creator of science exhibits? If it’s the procedural drama “CSI” it is, at least according to the California Science Center.

In January, the museum opened CSI: The Experience, which is based on the CBS show and was developed by show and network officials along with the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. The traveling exhibition features a variety of things those savvy crime scene investigators might impart. There is an autopsy room, a lab that gives instruction in forensic science and even three crime scenes full of clues where visitors try to determine what happened. (Why did that car crash into that house?

Who killed that waitress who lays dead in the alley?) The heavily hands-on show, which runs through April 26, will help visitors hone their scientific inquiry skills.

At 600 State Drive in Exposition Park, (323) 724-3623 or californiasciencecenter.org.

Clothes Encounter: The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in South Park is in the midst of its annual display of some of the best film costume work around.

The 17th installment of the exhibit Art of Motion Picture Costume Design, which runs through March 29, showcases scores of outfits that appeared on silver screens. A highlight is a focus on Elizabeth: the Golden Age, which won the Costume Design Oscar in 2008. Works from the past year on display in the Downtown space include designer Jacqueline West’s work from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Catherine Martin’s outfits from

Last Chance at CAM: The Chinese American Museum is in the stretch run of its two current exhibits. Asian Roots/American Reality: Photographs by Corky Lee, which closes May 31, contains 88 images by Lee, a photojournalist who has captured many important moments in his three-decade plus career, including the 1975 shot of a victim of police brutality in New York (it wound up on the cover of the New York Post). Also ending its run May 31 is an exhibit of photos from a dozen high school students in the San Gabriel Valley. Picture This! My Life, Your Life, Our Lives features high schoolers who Lee guided.

At 425 N. Los Angeles St., (213) 485-8567 or camla.org.

Friday Night Lights and Talks: The Natural History Museum is in the midst of a major renovation and its exhibits are relatively limited. So for the next couple months, the biggest happenings are literally that — happenings, in the form of the Exposition Park facility’s First Fridays, which meld gallery tours with panel discussions and DJ and band performances. On April 3, there is a tour of the museum’s entomology collection (think insects) and the discussion “Darwin’s Other Great Theory: Sexual Selection, or Why Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus.” The May 1 event takes visitors on a tour of the vertebrate paleontology collection and the discussion features paleoanthropologist Dr. Donald Johanson discussing his discoveries.

At 900 Exposition Blvd. in Exposition Park, (213) 7633466 or nhm.org.

Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.

image © 2009 John Chamberlain/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Painting, Meet Sculpture: If there is a silver lining to the Museum of Contemporary Art’s budget woes, it is that expensive new exhibits may for a time give way to shows that utilize the museum’s fantastic but often unseen permanent collection. Thus A Changing Ratio: Painting and Sculpture From the Collection will tap the rich reserves that most visitors do not often glimpse.

Changing Ratio, which opened March 1 and continues through June 29, explores the way that, starting in the 1960s, the art forms of painting and sculpture blurred and influenced each other. Curated by the museum’s Rebecca Morse, the show includes pieces from some major artists as it details how the artistic evolution led to some of the mixedmedia and large-scale installations that are common today.

Highlights of the show include Robert Rauschenberg’s “Inlet” (1959), one of his “combines,” which meshes a traditional painter’s canvas with newspaper, can lids, a toy pistol, a pant leg and other unexpected items. Also on display are some of Mark Rothko’s color field paintings, Jackson Pollock’s abstract expressionist works and Donald Judd’s 1966 sculpture “Untitled,” which is affixed to the wall instead of a pedestal.

At 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 626-6222 or moca.org.

Tryin’ Hawaiian: In 1999 the Japanese American National Museum proudly unveiled its shimmering new building at First Street and Central Avenue. A decade later, the museum has cemented its role as an important cultural component of Downtown. Although like others arts establishment it has recently limited its operating hours and cut costs due to the recession, it continues to bring in visitors.

The big show for the rest of the spring is Gokurosama: Contemporary Photographs of the Nisei in Hawai’i. It opened in February and features 35 images from Brian Y. Sato, a Honolulu photographer who in 2002 began to chronicle the second-generation Japanese Americans living in the state.

Sato shot 70 Nisei from the islands and the exhibit, which runs through May 24, features 35 crisp black and white photos. The word “gokurosama” is used to denote appreciation for a person’s hard work and sacrifice. The show is bolstered by the 30-minute video “Plantation Roots,” which details how the former Hawaiian sugar plantation system impacts current community and cultural life in the state.

At 369 E. First St., (213) 625-0414 or janm.org.

photo by Corky Lee

T

he museums of Downtown Los Angeles have been in an unexpected position recently: Their happenings have more often made for news stories than entertainment stories.

It is unlikely, but given the events, not surprising. The Museum of Contemporary Art received global attention in the past few months due a financial meltdown that led to the ouster of its leader and the temporary closure of its Little Tokyo annex. The Chinese American Museum on Olvera Street last year also was forced into cutbacks due to budget issues with the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. In Exposition Park, the Natural History Museum’s biggest activity is not exhibits, but rather the building of a new wing of the California Science Center and a renovation of the Natural History Museum. Meanwhile, the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo is set to make headlines for the 10th anniversary of its new building.

Of course, the reason most people care about the museums is the shows, and once again this spring, there is a diverse and interesting lineup in Downtown. Highlights from now until the end of May include an exhibit that digs into MOCA’s vast permanent collection, a show at the California Science Center inspired by the TV show “CSI,” and another glimpse of some top-notch film costumes.

Here is some of what is worth checking out this spring.

Complete Museum listings appear on page 24.

Australia, Lindy Hemmings’ designs from The Dark Knight and Ann B. Roth’s duds from The Reader.

At 919 S. Grand Ave., (213) 624-1200 ext. 2224 or fidm. edu.

photo 2007, by Forth Worth Museum of Science and History

by Jon Regardie executive editor

photo courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiíi (JCCH). Photograph by Brian Y. Sato

A Variety of Exhibits Are on Display This Spring In Downtown Museums

(from top) The Japanese American National Museum show Gokurosama features 35 photos of second-generation Japanese-Americans living in Hawaii, including surfer Tom Nekota of Oahu. It is on display through May 24; the Museum of Contemporary Art dips into its permanent collection for A Changing Ratio, which explores how painting and sculpture have influenced each other. Works on display include John Chamberlain’s sculpture “Lo An.” It runs through June 29; Corky Lee’s 1975 image of a New York victim of police brutality made the cover of the New York Post. An exhibit of Lee’s work is at the Chinese American Museum through May 31; the California Science Center exhibit CSI: The Experience is based on the CBS show. It attempts to instruct visitors in the field of forensic science and includes three crime scenes, including one where a car crashed into a house. It runs through April 26.

Classical Continued from page 13 School on March 20. The group, whose members were in the conservatory’s first graduating class in 2006, is equally at home with Mozart as it is sitting in with Los Angeles rockers The Airborne Toxic Event. But don’t expect pop surprises this time, as the Calder Quartet is joined by violist and faculty member Paul Coletti. They’ll tackle a program that features Johnston’s Quartet No. 4 “Amazing Grace;” Mozart’s Viola Quintet in G

L.A. Opera continues its Ring cycle with Die Walkure. The nearly five-hour Wagnerian masterpiece runs April 4-25.

Arts & Entertainment Minor, K. 516; and Beethoven’s String Quartet, Op. 59 No. 1 in F Major “Razumovsky.”

At the Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 colburnschool.edu.

Solemn Remembrance: Some of the world’s most powerful music comes in the form of a composer’s response to tragedy; that is the case with the Armenian composer Komitas, whose repertoire includes solemn tributes to victims of the Armenian genocide. One of his works, along with a piece by Viktor Ulmann, who was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, will be performed at Zipper Hall on May 1 by the Dilijan chamber music ensemble. The concert is a commemoration of the Armenian genocide, and also features a performance by the group’s executive director Movses Pogossian of Bach’s “Chaconne,” an extremely challenging piece for solo violin. Amid a program replete with dissonance and minor chords, the concert will conclude with the warmer, more festive Mozart Clarinet Quintet.

At the Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 colburnschool.edu.

Oh Boy, Oboe!: Though Camerata Pacifica is based in Santa Barbara, for the chamber ensemble, Downtown might as well be a second home. The group is finishing up its 19th season this spring with two dates, April 23 and May 14, at Zipper Hall. The first concert will feature a piano quartet playing works by Beethoven and Brahms, plus a sonata for viola and piano by Rebecca Clarke. The May event puts the spotlight on the oboe, featuring Martin Loeffler’s “Two Rhapsodies for Oboe, Viola and Piano” and Madeleine Dring’s “Trio for Flute, Oboe and Piano.”

At the Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 colburnschool.edu.

photo by Monika Rittershaus

Downtown News 15

photo courtesy of L.A. Phil

March 9, 2009

City Hall Serenade: The Da Camera Society of Mount St. Mary’s College will put chamber music in its place. No, not the concert hall; instead, their concerts this spring will take place in historic Downtown venues such as the Tom Bradley deck in City Hall and the Bradbury Building. Inside the dramatic, five-story interior court of the Bradbury Building (known to many for its use in the film Blade Runner) on March 22, Da Camera presents the Amstel Saxophone Quartet, a Dutch ensemble that will play works by Arvo Part,

Celebrated composer John Adams visits Disney Hall in May. He will conduct his most recent opera, “A Flowering Tree.”

Cesar Franck, Philip Glass and Rabih Abou-Khalil. Then on March 28, the medieval music ensemble Ciaramella will bring to life some early renaissance music inside City Hall’s tower room, which is surrounded by the 27th floor observation deck with unobstructed views of L.A. At the Bradbury Building, 304 S. Broadway and at City Hall, Bradley Tower, 200 N. Spring St. For information on both events, contact (213) 477-2929 or dacamera.org.

Piano Power: If piano music is your preference, Piano Spheres is your group. Actually a collection of four pianists who usually perform solo, Piano Spheres showcases a wide range of works for their instrument of choice. Susan Svreck performs a smorgasbord of modern delights on March 17 at Zipper Hall, including the West Coast premiere of composer Jeffrey Holmes’ “Cyan.” Then Mark Robson tackles a program on April 28 that features Arnold Schoenberg’s “Piano Pieces, Op. 23,” Gyorgy Ligeti’s “Three Etudes” and Charles Ives’ “Songs Without (good) Words.”

At the Colburn School, Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 colburnschool.edu.

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

16 Downtown News

March 9, 2009

photo by Gary Leonard

Arts & Entertainment

Events Continued from page 11 officials focused on increasing Downtown’s park space, the discussion hosted by the Aloud forum at the Central Library on March 11 at 7 p.m. is particularly timely. The conversation includes the New York-based Bryant Park Corporation co-founder Daniel Biederman, Friends of the Los Angeles River founder Lewis MacAdams, Recreation and Parks Commissioner Barry Sanders and Suisman Urban Design principal Doug Suisman.

It is not the only Aloud highlight this spring. Other don’t miss events include REDCAT’s Mark Murphy and UCLA Live’s David Sefton on April 16, and Eric Bogosian speaking with Jerry Stahl on May 13.

At 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7025 or lfla.org.

Movie Time: The Japanese American Cultural & Community Center’s 2009 Film Series has something for everybody, from a documentary abut the first AsianAmerican basketball player drafted into the NBA to the story of a talented young ninja involved in a plot to assassinate a warlord. The series will screen Toyo’s Camera, tracing Japanese American history during World War II, on March 15 at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.; Dream Window, a reflection on Japanese Gardens, on March 29 at 2 p.m.; and Shinobi No Mono, or Band of Assassins, the aforementioned ninja movie, on March 31 at 6 p.m., among other films. The series will wrap up in June with free outdoor screenings of the Japanese animated classics Astro Boy and Gigantor.

At 244 S. San Pedro St., (213) 680-3700 or jacc.org.

Wit and Wisdom: Author David Sedaris, known for his bitingly sarcastic wit and social critiques, delivered in laugh-out-loud first-person essays, has tackled topics including his stint as a department store Christmas elf and failed attempts at performance art. On April 28 at 7 p.m., he comes to USC’s Bovard Auditorium for a reading.

Sedaris has authored several best-selling essay compilations including Barrel Fever, Holidays on Ice and his most

The Music Center hosts an entire day of dance lessons on March 21. The A Taste of Dance program will offer a series of 20 minute lessons, with each just $1 a person.

recent work, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. As anyone who has heard the frequent contributor to NPR’s “This American Life� can attest, Sedaris’ uniquely nasal voice only makes his words funnier.

At 3551 Trousdale Parkway, (213) 740-2311 or usc.edu.

Artful Dodger: Frank McCourt became the fourth owner of the L.A. Dodgers almost five years ago. The club has since made the playoffs twice, and hopes were raised further when McCourt hired manager Joe Torre. On March 19 at noon, McCourt takes a break from baseball (sort of) to discuss what’s in store for the team during a Town Hall Los Angeles forum at Downtown’s Millennium Biltmore Hotel. McCourt is not the only local luminary who will appear at Town Hall this spring. Also on the schedule are Green Dot schools founder Steve Barr on March 24, and Hollywood studio head Rob Friedman on April 22. All events are Downtown, though venues vary.

Frank McCourt event at 506 S. Grand Ave., (213) 628-8141 or townhall-la.org.

Walk the Walk: Take it to the streets! On April 9 and May 11 from noon-9 p.m., enjoy the Downtown Art Walk, a selfguided tour showcasing Downtown’s many galleries, museums and nonprofit art venues. The exhibition spaces are concentrated along Spring and Main streets between Second and Ninth streets; the epicenter is Fourth and Main streets. Admission is free, as is the Art Walk shuttle that operates along Gallery Row from 6-10 p.m. Before you commit to hoofing it, note that Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of the unique L.A. tour company Esotouric host the shuttle, aka The Hippodrome, a vintage 1940s school bus. Along with getting you from one place to another, the bus functions as a floating salon, featuring live music, art happenings, readings and conversations.

At (213) 624-6212 or downtownartwalk.com.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

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ENVISION THE NIGHT Enjoy a free evening of art, music and entertainment as Pasadena’s most prominent arts and cultural institutions swing open their doors.

Participating Institutions Alliance Française de Pasadena, Armory Center for the Arts, Art Center College of Design, Norton Simon Museum, One Colorado, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena City College, Pasadena Jazz Institute, Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena Museum of History, Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena Symphony, Side Street Projects, Shumei Arts Council

Free Shuttles Free shuttles will loop throughout the evening.

Park at any of our participating institutions and we’ll whisk you away to your next destination.

Pasadena ARTS Route 10 Makes limited stops until 10 pm. Find route information and download a free pass at cityofpasadena.net/artsbus.

Metro Gold Line Attend ArtNight by taking the Metro Gold Line to Pasadena. Please visit metro.net for schedule information.

Organized ArtNight Bicycle Tours For more information, visit cicle.org.

artnightpasadena.org Sponsored by the Pasadena Arts and Culture Commision

ArtNight is an ongoing partnership among many cultural institutions and the Cultural Affairs Division of the City of Pasadena. More information: 626.744.7887.

Accessibility and alternative formats: 626.744.7249.

Para espaĂąol, visite artnightpasadena.org.

March 9, 2009

SearchDowntownLA.com

Downtown News 17

LISTINGS SPONSORED LISTING Specials at Bacaro LA Wine Bar 2308 S. Union St., (213) 748-7205 or bacarolosangeles.com.

Bacaro LA Wine Bar is now hosting a Sunday brunch with $5 carafes of sangria and, every Monday, the bar offers $1 off all wines by the glass all day.

Nature Photo and Poem Show Torrance Cultural Art Center Garden Room, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance and Sunnyland Organic Warehouse, 800 E. Fourth Pl., Los Angeles.

March 19-21 and 28-29: This art show features hundreds of nature photographs from refuges like the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, as well as a series of poems by artist Suzi Leavens. The show opens at the Torrance Cultural Art Center Garden Room from March 19-21, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The following weekend, on March 28 from 11 a.m. – to 5 p.m. and March 29 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., the show comes to the Arts District in Downtown at Sunnyland Organic Warehouse. For more information, contact (310-257-9440), (310) 938-6942 or sleavens@ sbcglobal.net.

Monday, March 9 Town Hall L.A. Jonathan Club, 545 S. Figueroa St., (213) 628-8141 or townhall-la.org.

6 p.m.: Town Hall L.A. hosts Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who will discusses his most recent book, “Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges,” which he collaborated on with attorney Mark E. Haddad. A reception starts at 6 p.m., and the program starts at 7 p.m.

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

7 p.m.: Gayle Greene is an accomplished author and professor at Scripps College. She’s also an insomniac, and will talk about her “Slant on Sleep” in conversation with UCLA research scholar Alice Wexler.

Tuesday, March 10 Town Hall L.A. 515 S. Flower Street, Suite 1650, (213) 628-8141 or townhall-la.org.

6 p.m.: The organization hosts award-winning journalist and author James Flanigan, business columnist for the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

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

7 p.m.: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Humes talks with L.A. Times columnist and KPCC host Pat Morrison about “The Eco-Barons: The Dreamers, Schemers and Millionaires who are Saving our Planet.”

Wednesday, March 11 SCI-Arc Lecture Series Sci-Arc, Keck Lecture Hall, 960 E. Third St., (213) 623-2200 or sciarc.edu.

7 p.m.: Italian architect Livio Sacchi discusses “Cities and Architecture: Looking Ahead.” Saachi was among the curators of the XVII Milan Triennale as well as one of the curators of the traveling exhibition “From Futurism to a Possible Future in Contemporary Italian Architecture.”

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

7 p.m.: A panel of parks, landscape and history experts discuss the future of Pershing Square with L.A. Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne.

Thursday, March 12 Thursdays at Central 630 W. Fifth St., Meeting Room A, (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org.

12:15 - 1 p.m.: Library staff give an overview of Edward S. Curtis’s “The North American Indian,” a landmark photographic study of the American Indian.

Downtown Art Walk Info and map at downtownartwalk.com.

Noon-9 p.m.: The Downtown Art Walk is a selfguided tour that showcases the many art exhibition venues in Downtown Los Angeles — commercial art galleries, museums and nonprofit art venues.

Walk, or ride one of Esotouric’s curated shuttles — the Hippodrome and Hazard’s Pavilion — for free between 6 and 9 p.m.

Friday, March 13 Farmlab Public Salons 1745 N. Spring St. #4, (323) 226-1158 or farmlab.org Noon-1 p.m.: The salon hosts Karen Mack, founder and executive director of L.A. Commons, an organization working to promote and make more accessible the diverse neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

SCI-Arc Lecture Series Sci-Arc, Keck Lecture Hall, 960 E. Third St., (213) 623-2200 or sciarc.edu.

1 p.m.: Robert Davolio, the principal of Form and Structure, a consulting company in Hong Kong specializing in 3D designs and construction projects, gives a lecture entitled, “From Concept to Fabrication: Building Non-Cartesian Structural Systems.”

Wine Tasting and Tango at Evo Evo, 1155 S. Grand Ave., lawinetasting.com.

7-9 p.m.: Taste boutique wines and gourmet food under the stars. LAWineTasting.com hosts a Latinthemed tasting, with wines from countries like Argentina and Chili, artisan cheeses and appetizers and a performance by A Puro Tango on the Evo rooftop.

Tickets are $70, or $120 for two, and a portion of the proceeds benefits an LAUSD gang intervention program. saTurday, March 14 Community Job Fair Dodger Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Ave., (323) 224-1466.

10 a.m. – 1 p.m.: The Los Angeles Dodgers host the 14th annual Community Job Fair. People will be able to meet with employers and apply for jobs.

Bring a resume and dress in appropriate business attire. There will be a free shuttle at Sunset Boulevard and Elysian Park Ave. Culinary Historians of Southern California Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., Mark Taper Auditorium, (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org.

10:30 a.m. – noon: The Culinary Historians of Southern California present cookery expert Carol Penn-Romine for a historical overview of Irish cooking.

Acting Workshop at Central Library 630 W. Fifth St., Meeting Room A, (213) 228-7226 or lapl.org.

12:20 – 2 p.m.: New York’s Aquila Theatre presents a free acting workshop exploring classical acting techniques as part of the library’s “Page and Stage: The Power of the Iliad Today” program series, which is also presenting a free theatrical performance of Homer’s Iliad: Book One later the same day. Reservations required.

Homer’s Iliad at the Central Library 630 W. Fifth St., Mark Taper Auditorium, (213) 2287226 or lapl.org.

2:30 – 4 p.m.: New York’s Aquila Theatre brings Homer’s “Iliad: Book One” to the stage in a modernday version of the Classic tale. Reservations required.

Fashion and Fundraising National City Tower, 810 S. Spring St., (213) 3270084 or helpalife.us.

7 p.m. – 2 a.m.: Help A Life Foundation, which helps provide shelter and education to Ethiopian orphan girls, hosts a night of art, music and fashion to help the cause. The event will include circus stilt walkers, a fashion show by L.A. designer Marco G and music from DJs Imagika, Koristo and Mirko. sunday, March 15 Women’s History Month at CAAM California African American Museum, 600 State Dr., (213) 744-4432 or caam.ca.gov.

3 p.m.: In celebration of National Women’s History Month, the museum presents author Jacqueline Rhinehart, in discussion with music historian and museum associate curator Ruth Adkins Robinson.

Rhinehart will discuss her debut book, “My Organic Soul: From Plato to Creflo, Emerson to MLK, Jesus to Jay-Z — A Journal to Help You Discover Yourself Through Words of Wisdom from Visionaries Past and Present.”

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

March 16, 7 p.m.: Novelist Abraham Verghese in conversation with actor Hector Elizondo. Verghese, a bestselling nonfiction author and renowned physician, makes the leap to fiction with “Cutting for Stone: A Novel.”

March 18, 7 p.m.: In “Tao Te Ching: An Illustrated Journey,” scholar and translator Stephen Mitchell offers a unique adaptation of the greatest passages from two ancient successors to Lao-tzu, illuminated by his own poetic commentary.

March 19, 7 p.m.: Vanessa Place, Janet Sarbanes and Veronica Gonzalez discuss using nontraditional

Events

image provided by the Natural History Museum

EVENTS

First Fridays at the Natural History Museum: The museum continues its popular series that, in one fun-filled night, blends science-laden academia with live music and entertainment. It’s like a college party that only the cool, smart kids attend. On April 3, the event explores Darwin’s theory of sexual selection, which attempted to describe why males and females of the same sex can differ so markedly. On May 1, the focus turns to fossils. At the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-DINO or nhm.org. forms for an unconventional city, writing a polyvocal landscape for a polyvocal world, publishing with an independent press, and why women write about L.A. better than anybody.

March 25, 7 p.m.: Jeffrey Richelson, author of “Defusing Armageddon: Inside NEST, America’s Secret Nuclear Bomb Squad,” is in conversation with NPR foreign correspondent Mike Shuster.

March 26, 7 p.m.: Religion writer Gustav Neibuhr discusses with Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago, how interfaith initiatives build mutual respect and pluralism among religiously diverse young people by empowering them to work together to serve others.

April 1, 7:30 a.m.: An ALOUD Business Forum with Nandan Nilekani, called “A Visionary Look at the Evolution and Future of India.” He’s in conversation with Vijay Sathe, Professor of Management, Drucker School of Management. Tickets $20. Visit www.aloudbizforum.org for reservations.

April 2, 7 p.m.: Minal Hajratwala, author of “Leaving India: My Family’s Journey from Five Villages to Five Continents,” is in conversation with journalist Swati Pandey.

April 6, 7 p.m.: Mark Arax, a native son, spent four years traveling the breadth of the Golden State to explore its singular place in the world. From the marijuana growing capital of the U.S. to the town that inspired “The Grapes of Wrath,” Arax offers a stunning panorama of California in a new century in “West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders and Killers in the Golden State.”

April 7, 7 p.m.: B.H. Fairchild and Elise Paschen read poems that celebrate how the humble — the work of a machine shop, the duties of a home — is exalted by attention and care, just as their poems are distinguished by thoughtfulness, gratitude, and a deep concern for the well-made phrase.

April 14, 7 p.m.: Investigative reporter Michelle Goldberg exposes the global war on women’s reproductive rights and its consequences for the future of global development in “The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World.”

She’s in conversation with Sue Horton, Op-ed and Sunday Opinion editor of the Los Angeles Times.

April 16, 7 p.m.: Two L.A. impresarios, Mark

Murphy and David Sefton, talk about what goes into the making of a season of groundbreaking performing arts at REDCAT and UCLA Live.

April 18, 3 p.m.: An afternoon of chamber music with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

April 21, 7 p.m.: Judge Thomas Buergenthal, currently the American judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, arrived at Auschwitz at age 10 and was soon separated from his mother and then his father. He’s touring with his memoir “A Lucky Child.”

April 22, 7 p.m.: Linda Gregerson, Paul Muldoon, and Robert Pinsky, three members of the final judging panel for the Kingsley and Kate Tufts Poetry Awards, read from their own prize-winning work.

April 28, 7 p.m.: America’s favorite surrealist poet and NPR commentator, Andrei Codrescu, offers an impractical handbook for practical living in “The Post Human Dada Guide: Tzara & Lenin Play Chess.”

April 29, 7 p.m.: The annual new poet night with Billy Burgos, Peter Eirich, Erica Erdman, Ro Gunetilleke, Cathie Sandstrom, and Mary Torregrossa.

April 30, 7 p.m.: Behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher, author of “Rapt: Mastering Attention to Transform Experience,” is in conversation with Irene Borger, Director, Alpert Award in the Arts.

May 4, 7 p.m.: Reza Aslan surveys the global scene in “How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization and the End of the War on Terror,” and revolutionizes the way we understand — and confront —radical Islam.

May 5, 7 p.m.: A poetry performance from Anne Waldman that draws on animal lore, animal encounters, dreams, evolutionary biology, neuroscience and Buddhist ritual.

May 13, 7 p.m.: Bad boy Eric Bogosian, promoting his latest book “Perforated Heart: A Novel,” is in conversation with novelist Jerry Stahl.

May 14, 7 p.m.: Composer John Adams has now composed a memoir — “Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life.” He’s in conversation with Deborah Borda, president of the L.A. Philharmonic Association.

May 19, 7 p.m.: Christopher Buckley discusses “Losing Mum and Pup,” the true story of the year in which both of his parents died, and the heartbreaking and disorienting feeling of becoming a 55-yearContinued on page 18

Listings Continued from page 17 old orphan.

May 20, 7 p.m.: Colson Whitehead appears in conjunction with“Sag Harbor: A Novel,” about the historically African-American enclave of Sag Harbor, on the east end of Long Island.

California African American Museum 600 State Drive, (213) 744-2024 or caamuseum.org.

March 21, 1 p.m.: The event called “Living the Legacy/Lessons Learned: A Dialogue with Black Panthers, Brown Berets and Community Activists” is a discussion moderated by Yusef Omowale, Director of the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research.

March 22, 2 p.m.: In “Women in Bike Culture,” hear first hand what it’s like to be a woman motorcyclist from the women who ride.

April 4, 1 p.m.: Bring your superhero characters and stories to life with local artist Eric Montenegro.

All supplies provided. To reserve, call (213) 7442024. Ages 10 and up.

April 5, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.: Target Sunday at CAAM features activities and performance.

April 18, 1 p.m.: A shadow puppet show inspired by “Of Tulips and Shadows.”

Downtown Art Walk Info and map at downtownartwalk.com.

April 9, May 11, noon-9 p.m.: The Downtown Art Walk is a self-guided tour that showcases the many art exhibition venues in Downtown Los Angeles — art galleries, museums and nonprofit art venues.

Farmlab Public Salons 1745 N. Spring St. #4, (323) 226-1158 or farmlab.org.

March 20, noon: Join Christina Ulke for a reflection on collective cultural resistance practices in the Americas and beyond. She will talk about her work with the Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, collective identity and representation and some of her public art work.

March 27, noon: A first-ever summit between the executive directors (Mayisha Akbar and Judith Hopkins) of two Southland organizations that help kids, via horses.

April 3, noon: Co-presented by For Your Art. More info TBA. April 10, noon: William Deverell appears. More info TBA. April 17, noon: Frank van de Ven and Victoria Looseleaf present “Corpus Criticus: Bodies on Words — Words on Bodies.” Considering the art of improvisation as danced by Frank van de Ven, arts journalist and critic Victoria Looseleaf opens a dialogue with both performer and audience, demystifying the genre in real time.

April 24, noon: John Malpede and Susan Gray.

More info TBA. May 8, noon: Jeremy Pal appears. More info TBA. Japanese American Cultural & Community Center Aratani/Japan America Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St., (213) 382-04886 or jaccc.org.

March 1, 1-3 p.m.: The JACCC’s new series of cultural workshops, On the Veranda, features lectures and demonstrations in the Garden Room that looks out onto the newly restored James Irvine Japanese Garden. Today is a Hinamatsuri (Girl’s Day Celebration) with a display of traditional Hinaningyo (Girl’s Day dolls) with a tea ceremony/ reception and crafts activity for girls.

March 22, 1-3 p.m.: Practitioners of the Ohara School of Ikebana will demonstrate and teach participants the art of traditional flower arrangement, utilizing some materials from the James Irvine Garden.

March 26, 1-3 p.m.: Japanese Garden experts, landscape architect Shiro Nakane and professor Makoto Suzuki, will share their vast knowledge and research of Japanese landscape aesthetics and architecture.

April 5, noon-4 p.m.: For Hanamatsuri, the JACCC campus is transformed for Buddha’s birthday.

April 19, 2009, 1-3 p.m.: Practitioners of the Omote Senke School of Tea Ceremony will demonstrate and provide explanation on the Japanese tea ceremony. Participants will learn the traditional way to drink Japanese tea.

May 3, 1-3 p.m.: From the traditional to the more free-wheeling, elements of training and creating bonsai will be demonstrated by members of Nampukai Bonsai. Have a bonsai that needs a little emergency care? Bring it in and let the experts help you out.

May 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Rain or shine. Perhaps the most endearing Little Tokyo event ever. Now in its 23rd year, “Chibi-K” is a fun run down San Pedro Street that kicks off Children’s Day. May 24, 1-3 p.m.: Hirokazu Kosaka, artistic director of the JACCC, will lead participants on an exploration of the evolution of the Chinese ideogram with an intimate lecture and calligraphic demonstration with a collection of brushes made from everything ranging from ostrich eyelashes to the hair from his son’s first haircut.

MOCA Grand Avenue 250 S. Grand Ave., moca.org.

March 21, 7 p.m.: One night a year, teens take

DowntownNews.com over the museum for an extravaganza of art, music, and more. SIN FACTORY: Generating Critique, Challenging Norms and Provoking Society — whose name is inspired by footage from the Dan Graham film Rock My Religion — invites teens to see the museum as a place for critique and provocation. Live performances by local bands and DJs, a student art exhibition, art-making activities, and refreshments.

(213) 621-1745 or education@moca.org.

March 26, 6:30 p.m.: MOCA Associate Curator and exhibition co-curator Bennett Simpson will discuss “Dan Graham: Beyond.” (213) 621-1745 or education@moca.org.

March 28, 12:30 p.m.: Offered in conjunction with “Dan Graham: Beyond,” this six-session course will explore Graham’s work through lectures, discussions, and creative projects. Course continues at UCLA Extension in Westwood. Advance registration required.

(310) 825-9971 or www.uclaextension.org.

April 5, 1 p.m.: This “First Sundays are For Families Workshop” explores works from MOCA’s permanent collection with local artist Alexandra Olson.

A spotlight tour of “A Changing Ratio: Painting and Sculpture from the Collection” will be followed by a chance to make artwork inspired by worldrenowned contemporary artists. (213) 621-1765 or fflores@moca.org.

April 9, noon: On Downtown Art Walk nights, MOCA participates with free museum admission from 5-8 p.m. Take advantage of the free Art Walk DASH shuttle from 7-10 p.m. The closest shuttle stop is approximately four blocks from MOCA Grand Avenue on Spring and Third streets; the last shuttle leaves at 9:45 p.m. Info at downtownartwalk.com.

April 16: Assistant Curator and exhibition curator Rebecca Morse leads a walkthrough of “A Changing Ratio: Painting and Sculpture from the Collection.”

(213) 621-1745 or education@moca.org.

April 30, 6:30 p.m.: MOCA Curatorial Assistant and “Dan Graham: Beyond” research assistant Christine Robinson leads a walkthrough, discussing the film and video works featured in “Dan Graham: Beyond.”

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-DINO or nhm.org.

March 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Junior Scientist events are for 6-9 year olds. This one is called “Inspecting Insects.”

March 28, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: The new series Art + Science explores how science influences art, and the art inherent in science. Today, see the natural beauty of gems and minerals by learning how to photograph museum gem exhibits, using color and sparkle to identify specimens, and making personalized jewelry to take home. Dance to music by Herman Dune and get lost on a treasure hunt.

March 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: A Sustainable Sundays event, with Patricia Zurita, CI Senior Director of Conservation Stewards Program, on hand to discuss her work with local communities around the world to create Conservation Incentive Agreements, which enables local people to stop destroying their resources and instead, harness nature to improve their ability to produce food, educate their children and develop economic opportunities.

April 3, 5:30-10 p.m.: This First Fridays explores Darwin’s second theory, sexual selection, which attempted to describe why males and females of the same species can differ so markedly. Dr. Michael Ryan, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and zoology professor at the University of Texas, Austin, reviews our understanding of sexual behavior in animals and NHM Entomology Curator Dr. Brian Brown takes guests on a whirlwind tour of some of the Museum’s 5.7 million insect specimens, looking for examples of the extremes of sexual selection. The Phatal DJ and special guests spin, and bands will be announced soon.

April 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: In this Sustainable Sundays event, NHM scientists, a film director and local environmentalists will talk trash — literally. There will be a screening of the short film “Trashed,” a road trip through the strange afterlife of our garbage, then Leslie Harris, NHM Annelida Polychaetes Collections Manager, will discuss the problem of plastics in the ocean, how we can convert those materials, and how to recycle and conserve other plastics.

May 1, 5:30-10 p.m.: This First Fridays is called “The Quest for Human Origins.” Paleoanthropologist Dr. Donald C. Johanson — founder of human-evolution think tank, the Institute of Human Origins — highlights some of his discoveries, including the most widely known fossil find of last century, the Lucy skeleton. NHM Chief Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Dr. John Harris, will show fossil casts from Africa. The Phatal DJ and special guests spin, and bands will be announced soon.

May 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: For this Sustainable Sundays, NHM Crustacea Curator Dr. Jody Martin will address these issues as they relate to his experiences scuba diving, collecting, and photographing the marine invertebrates of the outer Hawaiian Islands.

Then Patrick Mehlman, Conservation International’s Regional Director, Central Africa Program, will discuss the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is

March 9, 2009

Rock, Pop & Jazz photo courtesy of L.A. Philharmonic

18 Downtown News

Falling for Fado: Portugal’s finest fado singer, Mariza, returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Mozambique-born singer moved to Lisbon when she was three and grew up singing the land’s traditional music. Fado is one of the saddest musical traditions in the world, but after melting your heart, Mariza will pick up the pace and turn the hall into a festive taverna. At Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org.

now emerging from a decade of civil war.

May 16-17: It’s Bug Fair weekend. Explore the world of insects and their arthropod relatives. See live spiders and scorpions, start your own collection of butterflies and stay for some great cooking tips from a world-renowned insect chef. Over 60 vendors will be on hand with books, entomological equipment and supplies, artwork, toys, clothing and more.

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

April 1, 7 p.m.: The panelists in this “Be the Change” event include poet and educator Mark Gonzalez, artist Suzanne Lacy, curator and arts administrator Adolfo V. Nodal, and the art-activist group Beehive Collective. Each gives a presentation on current projects and touches on strategies rooted in models of social activism, public art, community organizing, education, and policymaking.

April 19, 7 p.m.: An evening of new nonfiction with Wayne Koestenbaum, Sarah Thornton and David L. Ulin.

May 14, 8:30 p.m.: Lit and media critic Samuel Weber explores visibility, invisibility and divisibility with Sande Cohen and James Wiltgen.

SCI-Arc Lecture Series 960 E. Third St., (213) 356-5328 or sciarc.edu. In the W. M. Keck Lecture Hall.

March 18, 7 p.m.: Eric Owen Moss first taught at SCI-Arc in 1974, and was appointed director in 2002.

This lecture is titled “The Latest and the Latest.”

March 25, 7 p.m.: Elena Manferdini appears. She is the principal of Atelier Manferdini, a design office that specializes in the cutting edge of computeraided design of exotic forms.

March 27, 1 p.m.: David A. Ross is the principal of Code-A, an exploratory architectural design studio based in Los Angeles. He teaches graduate design studios and seminars at SCI-Arc. March 28, 2-5 p.m.: The spring Mediascapes Symposium is called Immersive and Virtual Architecture.

Invited speakers include Benjamin Bratton, Jean Michel Crettaz, Manuel DeLanda, Ed Keller, JoAnn, Kuchera-Morin, Eric Owen Moss and Marcos Novak.

April 1, 7 p.m.: Evan Roth’s talk is called “Release Early, Often, and with Rap Music.” He’s an artist with interests in technology, tools of empowerment, open source and popular culture.

April 3, 1 p.m.: Jessica D’Elena presents “Graphitecture: The Graphic Designer Draws Lines in the Architect’s Sandbox.” She’s a Los Angeles-based graphic designer whose interest, study and practice are in the areas of publication, exhibition and environmental design, of which she has received recognition for from the Art Director’s Club.

April 8, 7 p.m.: “American Gothic” from Jason Payne, who has worked as project designer for Reiser + Umemoto/RUR Architects and Daniel Libeskind Studio and co-partnered the award winning office Gnuform, which is best known for the NGTV Bar (2006 AIA Design Award) and the 2006 PS1 en-

try “Purple Haze.”

Thursdays at Central Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., meeting room A, (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org.

March 19, 12:15-1 p.m.: Get ready for the new hiking season. Tips and first-hand accounts from two long-time recreational hikers.

March 26, 12:15-1 p.m.: Craft Thursdays, with knitting and more. After a brief respite, it’s time to catch up on new techniques and materials. Join your friends for this craft social.

April 2, 12:15-1 p.m.: To Your Health features tips and advice for a healthier lifestyle.

April 9, 12:15-1 p.m.: Career counselor Kathy Bailon (FIDM) with tips on writing a successful resume.

April 16, 12:15-1 p.m.: Investigate the newest and best mystery writers from Asia.

April 23, 12:15-1 p.m.: An exploration of doorstep gardens. No matter how small, gardens can improve your outlook and enrich your life. Learn how to create a “doorstep garden” of your very own.

April 30, 12:15-1 p.m.: Craft Thursdays: Bring your craft projects and exchange tips and techniques.

Town Hall Los Angeles Visit townhall-la.org. Venues vary, but all listed take place Downtown.

March 17, noon: Angela Braly, president and CEO of one of America’s largest health care companies, WellPoint, Inc., appears.

March 19, noon: Frank H. McCourt Jr. became the fourth owner of the franchise after receiving unanimous approval from Major League Baseball on January 29, 2004. In his first year, the Dodgers won their first division title in nine years.

March 24, noon: Steve Barr, founder of Green Dot Public Schools, is the guest. Green Dot is achieving its results while serving similar student populations as the lowest-performing schools in LAUSD and without fundraising to pay for ongoing school operations.

March 26, noon: Abraham F. Lowenthal, professor at the USC School of International Relations, appears. Ask him his opinion of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the appointment of Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State.

Zócalo Venues vary. Visit zocalopublicsquare.org March 17, 7:30 p.m.: From blind faith in ever-rising housing prices to fearful mistrust of capital markets, powerful psychological forces seem to be endangering the global economy. George Akerlof, a Nobel laureate, and Yale University economics professor Robert Shiller stop by to discuss. At the Central Library.

March 18, 7:30 p.m.: With the game of getting into college growing increasingly competitive, a cottage industry of college counselors, applications consultants, and test prep teachers has sprung up to serve students, for a price. A panel of higher education experts — including Los Angeles Community College District Board President Kelly Candaele, Inside Higher Ed Editor Scott Jaschik and Bruce

March 9, 2009

Downtown News 19

SearchDowntownLA.com

ROCK, POP & JAZZ

Wednesday (second of every month), 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: A fusion of spoken word and acoustic musical melodies.

Sundays, 9 p.m.-midnight: Rat pack protégé Max Vontaine.

Sheraton L.A. Downtown Hotel 711 S. Hope St., (310) 216-5861.

Fridays: The hotel presents a weekly live jazz night.

Standard 550 S. Flower St., (213) 892-8080 or standardhotels.com.

Nightly DJs at both the lobby bar and rooftop lounge. Wednesdays, 8-11 p.m.: DJs spin in a swank, but still comfy, lobby. And yes, there’s a bar right there.

Saturdays, noon-8 p.m.: Local DJs unleash indie, rock and electronica at “Diss.”

Suede Bar and Lounge 404 S. Figueroa St., (213) 489-3590 or suedebarla.com.

Nightly DJs and pop music in this upscale lounge at the Westin Bonaventure.

Tribal Café 1651 W. Temple St., tribalcafe.com.

March 13: Tribal presents a night with the Vinyls.

March 14: Ray Argyle and friends present a night of acoustic indie rock.

Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org.

March 7: The atmospheric sweeps and chiming astro-pop of France’s M83 share the stage with the L.A. Phil.

Future rock, PoP & Jazz Club Nokia 800 W. Olympic Blvd.,clubnokia.com.

March 16, 8 p.m.: Longtime eye-lined rockers Primal Scream appear with Brian Jonestown Massacre and Kuroma March 28, 7 p.m.: Reggaeton duo RKM and Ken-Y. March 21, 9 p.m.: Houston-born rockers Blue October March 28, 8 p.m.: Madeleine Peyroux, who can sing Edith Piaf songs and totally get away with it, appears with William Fitzsimmons.

April 3, 8:30 p.m.: Country group Little Big Town with Zach Brown Band.

April 4, 9 p.m.: Tool frontman and wine impresario Maynard appears as Puscifer, with Into the Presence.

April 7, 8 p.m.: America’s first-ever hard rock and heavy metal music award show, the Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards presented by the Honda Fury. Hatebreed and Killswitch Engage with All That Remains and Suicide Silence.

April 15, 8 p.m.: Melody maker India.Arie.

April 24, 8 p.m.: The lovelorn bandana advocate Bret Michaels.

May 2, 7 p.m.: Christian rockers Third Day with Brandon Heath and Revive.

Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6000 or nokiatheatrelalive.com.

March 20, 8 p.m.: Spanish crooner Franco De Vita.

April 4, 8 p.m.: Tough talking Denis Leary and special guests.

April 10, 8 p.m.: The iconic Leonard Cohen.

April 16, 8 p.m.: KROQ Presents Avenged Sevenfold April 20, 8 p.m.: Youth ministry singers, Hillsong United.

April 25, 8 p.m.: Mexican rockers Los Inquietos Del Norte May 2, 8 p.m.: Jennifer Hudson makes her return to the stage with Robin Thicke.

Continued on page 20

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2nd Street Jazz 366 E. Second St., (213) 680-0047, 2ndstjazz.com or myspace. com/2ndstreetlivejazz.

Tuesdays: Jazz jam session. Music usually starts at 9 or 10 p.m.

626 Reserve 626 S. Spring St., (213) 627-9800 or 626reserve.com.

Tuesdays, 6 p.m.: Live music with Goh Kurosawa.

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

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

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

Tuesdays: A classic island mix of reggae with attitude. Jah! Wednesdays: The world famous (or at least in L.A.) Bar 107 Karaoke Gong Show. Come join the fun and help the judges vote for the best act of the evening.

Sundays: DJ’s choice with 107’s Matt Dwyer, the comic-actor genius who plays music while serving the meanest drinks (in the nicest way) Downtown.

Blue Velvet 750 S. Garland Ave., (213) 239-0061.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 p.m.: Live music and DJs. Café Corsa 2238 S. Figueroa St., (213) 746-2604 or cafecorsala.com.

Café Metropol 923 E. Third St., (213) 613-1537 or cafemetropol.com.

March 13: Drummer Jason Harnell leads the jazz fusion quartet JoeLess-Shoe.

March 7: Improvisational sounds from the Trio Sangha.

Casey’s Irish Bar and Grill 613 S. Grand Ave., (213) 629-2353 or bigcaseys.com.

Friday and Saturday: The bar throws a St. Patrick’s Day weekend bash, with the Irish band Paddy’s Pig. Plus, a bagpiper will join DJs to commemorate the man who drove the snakes out of Ireland.

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

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

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

Thursdays, 8-11 p.m.: The velvet-voiced Max Vontaine recreates the sounds and styles of rat packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

His smoking jackets and tunes are vintage; his bawdy repartee is less so.

Keep a close eye on the unlit cigarette.

Sundays, 6-11 p.m.: The restaurant is transformed into a vintage, old Hollywood-style dance club every Sunday. Come out to appreciate the big band, swank costumes, dinner and cocktails. Visit cicadaclub.com.

Club Nokia Corner of Olympic Blvd. and Figueroa St., clubnokia.com.

March 12: Argentinian rockers Babasonicos, with Viniloversus, Don Tetto and Automatico DJ’s Ane and Monycometa.

March 13: English soul band Simply Red crosses the pond, and then some, for their Greatest Hits tour.

March 14: Pendulum, the Australian kings of drum n’ bass, is joined by the Glitch Mob. Conga Room L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic, (213) 749-0445 or congaroom.com.

Thursdays: “Azucar” features tropical rhythms from 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

Fridays: “The Beat Down” features global beats and dance groove starting at 9 p.m.

Saturdays: “Plata” brings an upscale Latin flavor from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. e3rd Steakhouse and Lounge 734 E Third St., (213) 680-3003 or www.myspace.com/therhythmsectionla.

Second Saturdays: The Rhythm Section brings in DJs and live acts to this Arts District restaurant, playing eclectic selections in nujazz, soul, rare groove, soul and hip-hop.

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

J Restaurant and Lounge 1119 S. Olive St., (213) 746-7746 or jloungela.com.

Tuesdays: Live acoustic performances in the lounge.

Wednesdays: Salsa in the City features complimentary salsa lessons at 8 p.m. At 9 p.m., a batch of live musicians takes over for a jam session.

Fridays: Live bands on select dates.

La Cita 336 S. Hill St., (213) 687-7111 or myspace.com/lacitabar.

Mondays, 9 p.m.: Mustache Mondays is a gay/mixed theme night with the best in electro, dance and live performances.

Tuesdays, 9 p.m.: Cheap Souls, featuring DJs spinning funk, soul, old school and electro dance.

First and third Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: Mucho Wednesdays are dance nights with Latin music.

Second and fourth Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: Full Frontal features bigtime DJs from LA and beyond. $5 cover.

Thursdays, 9 p.m.: Dance Right, voted Downtown’s best dance night. Free if you RSVP, $5 otherwise. So duh, RSVP. Fridays, 9 p.m.: Punky Reggae Party. That’s right: punk plus reggae equals party. Free before 11 p.m. After that, it’s $5.

Saturdays, 6 p.m.: Hacienda Nights features live Tejano, Norteño and cumbia music. Cover $10.

Sundays, noon-10 p.m.: Hacienda Nights again, $8.

Millennium Biltmore Hotel – Gallery Bar 506 S. Grand Ave., (213) 624-1011 or millenniumhotels.com.

Mountain Bar 475 Gin Ling Way, (213) 625-7500 or themountainbar.com.

Every Tuesday “Broken Dreams” is DJ’ed by China Art Objects’ Steve Hanson and the Red Krayolas’ Tom Watson.

Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6000 or nokiatheatrelalive.com.

March 13: Mexican romantic music group Los Temerarios have recorded 18 albums and won five Billboard awards for Latin music.

March 14: Sssshhhh….it’s the R&B vocals group, the Whispers.

Orpheum Theatre 842 S. Broadway, (213) 622-1939 or laorpheum.com.

March 13 and 14: Neon pigs will fly at the Pink Floyd Experience.

Don’t miss it, you’ll wish you were here.

Pete’s Café and Bar 400 N. Main St., (213) 618-1759 or petescafe.com.

Tuesdays, 10 p.m.-1 a.m.: Pablo Calogero and Fabiano Nacimento play Brazilian jazz.

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

March 9, 10 p.m.: Jake LaBotz, praised by Tatoo Magazine for his “sadder than hell balladry, razor sharp testifying, storied takes on loneliness, beatnik-on-the-Mexican-border music, coffeehouse chic.”

March 10, 10 p.m.: Deep-rooted country from Mike Stinson and Dave Gleason.

March 11, 10 p.m.: Spindrift, The Upsidedown and Lower Heaven March 13, 10 p.m.: The Pack A.D. mix Jack Daniels-infused garage rock with Civil War stories. With the Gunslingers and The Birthday Suits.

March 14, 10 p.m.: The Hangmen, Tijuana Panthers and The Strangers March 15, Noon: Brunch Americana with David Serby, Brian Jay, Ted Russell Kamp and Whiskey Town.

March 15, 10 p.m.: Shipwrecked Sunday’s with Moonshine and Melanoid.

Rerax Fridays at Señor Fish 422 E. First St., (213) 625-0566 or senorfishla.com.

Fridays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m.: Music, art, VJ performances, silk screening and photos.

Royale 2619 Wilshire Blvd., (213) 388-8488 or royaleonwilshire.com.

Mondays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: A live musical showcase with bands, a DJ and an Eastside vibe.

Tuesdays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: An acoustic live set in the historic Royale lounge. A DJ spins between sets.

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Poch, Dean of Admissions at Pomona College — explore whether higher education has become inaccessible to all but the rich. At the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

March 19, 7:30 p.m.: University of Illinois at Chicago professor Lennard Davis, author of Obsession: A History, explains obsession’s growth, its treatment, and its complex origin and deep cultural roots.

At MOCA Grand Avenue.

An Extensive Seafood Menu including Dim Sum at Moderate Prices Relaxed Dining in an Elegant Ambiance Live Lobster Tank

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Listings Continued from page 19 May 29-May 31: Sesame Street Live “Elmo’s Green Thumb.”

Orpheum Theatre 842 S. Broadway, (213) 622-1939 or laorpheum.com.

March 29, 7:30 p.m.: The Idan Raichel Project fuses its Iraeli-born frontman’s voice with electronics, Hebrew texts, Middle Eastern and Ethiopian music.

April 9, 7 p.m.: Hangman.

May 16, 9 p.m.: Scottish rockers Mogwai.

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

March 21, 8:30 p.m.: Inspired by the classic David Bowie pop hit, The E.A.R. Unit surveys fresh new works by young American mavericks from across the country. The ensemble plays Daniel Wohl’s +ou-, Oscar Bettison’s Gauze Vespers, Ryan Brown’s Our Friend Adam, Jamu by Christine Southworth, and a brand-new work from Matt McBane.

March 27-28, 8:30 p.m.: The Los Angeles creative jazz label Cryptogramophone Records celebrates its 10-year anniversary and the release of two new CDs with a pair of concerts. In the first, pianist Myra Melford, one of the most influential women in jazz, leads Be Bread. Saturday’s “Cryptonight” show is headlined by Nels Cline, an anointed “guitar god”

by Rolling Stone.

May 29-30, 8:30 p.m.: Wild and wooly composer Harry Partch’s microtonal work rings out in “Partch Dark/Partch Light.”

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

March 16, 10 p.m.: Bluesy, country and rocking tunes from the Jake LaBotz Band.

March 17, 10 p.m.: Alt country boys Mike Stinson and Dave Gleason.

March 19, 10 p.m.: Quetzal Guerrero and The Warriors. Frontman Guerrero has a background of Native American, Brazilian and Mexican cultures, and as such, he plays many styles and instruments from violin and guitar to percussion and he also sings.

March 20, 10 p.m.: Mike Watt with Jason and The Punknecks. Watts co-founded The Minutemen and fIREHOSE, and as of 2003 he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan.

March 23, 10 p.m.: The Jake LaBotz Band. See above.

March 24, 10 p.m.: Mike Stinson and Dave Gleason. See above.

March 26, 10 p.m.: Quetzal Guerrero and The Warriors. See above.

March 27, 10 p.m.: Rockabilly and Americana rockers, The Horton Brothers.

March 28, 10 p.m.: The Binges, Carnage Asada and Vagrant Vinny can all leave ears bleeding.

March 29, noon: A brunch Americana with The Horton Brothers and Miss Lauren Marie.

March 29, 10 p.m.: Shipwrecked Sunday’s with Kozmonaut, Black Math Horsemen.

March 30, 10 p.m.: The Jake LaBotz Band. See above.

March 31, 10 p.m.: Mike Stinson and Dave Gleason. See above.

April 3, 10 p.m.: Movie Star Junkies, Lamps, Guilty Hearts, and Ross Johnson.

April 4, 10 p.m.: Rockabilly and roots man Dexter Romweber April 10, 10 p.m.: Johnny Witmer’s Medicine Show.

April 11, 10 p.m.: Blues queen Lady Dottie and The Diamonds with The Flametrick Subs April 17, 10 p.m.: Ireland-soaked rockers Ollin.

April 24, 10 p.m.: Good old boys Bob Wayne and The Outlaw Carnies.

April 25, 10 p.m.: Masuimi Max’s Hard On For Trouble May 1, 10 p.m.: The Legendary Dogs.

May 9, 10 p.m.: Lady Dottie and The Diamonds.

See above.

May 15, 10 p.m.: The Lovetones.

Staples Center 1201 S. Figueroa St., staplescenter.com.

April 16-17, 8 p.m.: Britney Spears is back onstage — and she’s way better here than she is in court.

May 22, 7:30 p.m.: Ingenue Taylor Swift hits Staples.

May 28, 8 p.m.: The re-assembled Fleetwood Mac hits the road again.

Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org.

March 18, 8 p.m.: Portugal’s finest fado singer, Mariza, returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall. She’ll melt your heart and feed it to you like ice cream.

May 20, 8 p.m.: Jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves appears in a night called “Strings Attached.” She’s accompanied by guitarists Russell Malone and Romero Lubambo.

March 9, 2009

DowntownNews.com W.M. Keck Amphitheatre at Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-3660 or musiccenter.org.

April 18, 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.: Traditional Quebec musicians Le Vent du Nord, and the daredevils of city-mates, Circo Comedia.

Classical photo courtesy of L.A. Philharmonic

20 Downtown News

CLASSICAL MUSIC Monday, March 9 Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., Thayer Hall, colburnschool.edu.

7:30 p.m.: Conservatory student Martha Long gives a flute recital.

Southwest Chamber Ensemble Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (626) 685-4455 or swmusic.org.

8 p.m.: For this concert by the Southwest Chamber Ensemble, two versions of American faith open the program, with the Protestant hymn-tunes of New England in Charles Ives’ String Quartet No. 1, while Wadada Leo Smith’s “Black Church, First Gathering of the World Spirit,” celebrates the struggle and achievements of the Black Church. The program closes with Dvorák’s Quintet for Piano and Strings.

Thursday, March 12 Los Angeles Philharmonic Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org 8 p.m.: Conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin leads pianist Martha Argerich and the L.A. Phil in a program featuring works my Maurice Ravel, plus Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.

Camerata Pacifica Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (805) 884-8410 cameratapacifica.org.

8 p.m.: The Santa Barbara-based ensemble plays Mozart’s Violin Sonata in A Major, Auerbach’s Cello Sonata and Brahms’ Clarinet Trio in A Minor.

Friday, March 13 Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., colburnschool.edu.

7:15 p.m. and 8 p.m.: Friday night recitals from School of Performing Arts students at 7:15 p.m. in the Grand Rehearsal Hall and at 8 p.m. in Mayman Hall.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org 8 p.m.: See March 12 listing. saTurday, March 14 Los Angeles Philharmonic Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org 2 p.m.: See March 12 listing.

Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., colburnschool.edu.

7:30 p.m.: Rae Kate Shen and School of Performing Arts faculty members Rumi Shimasaki, Margaret Shimizu and Nancy Yamagata perform works by Debussy, Shostakovich and Schoenfeld, with guest artist Andrea Sanderson. sunday, March 15 Los Angeles Philharmonic Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org 2 p.m.: See March 12 listing.

7:30 p.m.: Dame Gillian Weir gives an organ recital featuring works by Messiaen, Franck and de Grigney.

Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., colburnschool.edu.

7:30 p.m.: Conservatory student Tanya Gabrielian gives a piano recital in Thayer Hall as Conservatory student Yun Tang gives a violin recital in Mayman Hall.

FuTure classical Music Da Camera Society Venues vary (213) 477-2929 or dacamera.org.

March 22, 2 and 4 p.m.: Space and sound converge when the Bradbury Building’s dramatic fivestory interior court resonates with music from the young saxophonists of the Amstel Quartet.

March 28, 12, 2:30 and 5 p.m.: The Medieval tower stood as a symbol of civic unity, held prisoners of war and love and inspired songs and poetry by nobles and peasants alike. Los Angeles’ own City Hall tower, rising 452 feet above Main Street, offers a setting for a concert of music courtesy of Ciaramella, of the early tower musicians and songs sung by tower prisoners.

April 18, 8 p.m.: The Shanghai String Quartet performs in the Doheny Mansion, returning to the Pompeian Room for quartets of Mozart and Debussy, and enchant with selections from Yi-Wen Jiang’s China Song.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Zipper Concert Hall, Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., laco.org.

March 19, 7 p.m.: Players Margaret Batjer, Andrew Shulman, Kenneth Munday and Patricia Mabee perform a program of Vivaldi, Scarlatti/Avison

Bell and Bringuier: Lionel Bringuier takes the podium for four straight concerts with the L.A. Philharmonic and guest violinist Joshua Bell. The lineup will feature worksby Ravel, Lalo, Schmitt and Liszt, that’ll be sure to allow the dynamic Bell to show off his range.

April 23, 8 p.m.; April 24, 8 p.m.; April 25, 2 p.m.; April 26, 2 p.m.

At Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org.

and Handel. In signature LACO style, the artists will introduce the music from the stage, share their insights, and invite questions to conclude the evening.

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

March 29, 7 p.m.: Five composers across time share the native voices, melodies, stories and spirit of their homelands, keeping alive the culture and traditions of the people who lived these stories. L.A. Master Chorale Assistant Conductor Ariel Quintanta takes the podium to conduct Brahms’ gypsy-tinged Zigeunerlieder.

May 3, 7 p.m.: On the surface, these two works couldn’t be more different — Haydn’s Heilig Mass is a celebration of bright melodies and frugal development, whereas Trois Petites Liturgies for Women’s Voices is Messiaen’s ethereal, emotional and quintessentially French choral masterpiece. What they share, though, is their meticulous skill in composition as well as their spiritual underpinnings that are both personal and universal.

May 31, 7 p.m.: The Chorale closes its 45th season with the West Coast premiere of Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra’s “Missa Latina.”

Los Angeles Philharmonic Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org.

March 16 8 p.m.: Pianist Evgeny Kissin in recital with a program of Prokofiev and Chopin.

March 17, 8 p.m.: A Chamber Music Society evening with members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Soprano Kate Royal is featured.

March 20 and 21, 8 p.m.; March 22, 2 p.m.: The Phil plays a night of Mendelssohn and Mahler.

Pablo Heras-Casado conducts.

March 24, 8 p.m.: The English Concert features conductor Harry Bicket and countertenor David Daniels, and a program of Bach and Handel.

March 25, 8 p.m.: Pianist András Schiff plays a night of Beethoven sonatas.

March 27-28, 8 p.m.; March 29, 2 p.m.: A program of Handel, Haydn and Mendelssohn, with cellist Johannes Moser in the hall.

March 31, 8 p.m.: A night in the Chamber Music Society series, and a program of Haydn and Mendelssohn.

April 1, 8 p.m.: Pianist András Schiff tackles another night of Beethoven sonatas.

April 3-4, 8 p.m.; April 5, 2 p.m.: Handel’s Organ Concerto in D minor, Op. 7, No. 4; Haydn’s Violin Concerto in C; and Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ.

April 7, 8 p.m.: Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group in a night of premieres from Fang, Gee, Clyne and Chapela, and “Floof” by Salonen himself.

April 9, 8 p.m.; April 10, 11 a.m.; April 11, 8 p.m.: Salonen conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and his own Violin Concerto. Leila Josefowicz guests.

April 16-18, 8 p.m.; April 19, 2 p.m.: Salonen

conducts Stravinsky: The Final Concerts, which is to say, Oedipus Rex and Symphony of Psalms. Peter Sellars directs.

April 21, 8 p.m.: The Australian Chamber Orchestra appears to play concertos from Vivaldi and Mozart, Haydn’s Symphony No. 44 and Rameau’s Suite from Dardanus.

April 23, 8 p.m.; April 24, 8 p.m. (a Casual Fridays night); April 25, 2 p.m.; April 26, 2 p.m.: Violinist Joshua Bell guests, with Lionel Bringuier at the podium for a piece from Ravel, Lalo, Schmitt and Liszt.

April 26, 7:30 p.m.: Pianist Krystian Zimerman in recital.

April 28, 8 p.m.: A night in the Chamber Music Society series. Prokofiev’s String Quartet No. 2, Arensky’s Piano Trio, Stravinsky’s L’histoire du Soldat trio, and Stravinsky’s Octet.

April 29, 8 p.m.: The Colburn Orchestra plays, conducted by Yehuda Gilad and featuring violinist Elmar Oliveira.

April 30, 8 p.m.; May 1, 8 p.m.; May 3, 2 p.m.: Hans Graf conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group in Kodály’s Concerto for Orchestra, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8.

May 8, 8 p.m.: Pianist Yefim Bronfman plays Prokofievss Piano Concerto No. 3 and Bartók’s “Suite from the Miraculous Mandarin.”

May 9, 8 p.m.; May 10, 2 p.m.: Pianist Yefim Bronfman plays a night of Yi, Prokofiev, Adams and Bartók.

May 12, 8 p.m.: John Adams conducts a night of new music by conductors Andres, MacDonald and Adams himself.

May 15, 8 p.m.; May 17, 2 p.m.: Adams conducts again, his own “A Flowering Tree.” The performance is directed by Peter Sellars.

May 22-23, 8 p.m.; May 24, 2 p.m.: Christoph Eschenbach conducts Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.

May 24, 7:30 p.m.: Naji Hakim plays an organ recital with his own compositions, and those of Franck, Couperin, and Bach.

May 26, 8 p.m.: A night of Dvorák’s chamber music with pianist Christoph Eschenbach and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

May 28-29, 8 p.m.; May 30-31, 2 p.m.: Christoph Eschenbach conducts Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7.

Monday Evening Concerts Colburn School’s Zipper Concert Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (310) 836-6632 or mondayeveningconcerts.org April 13, 8 p.m.: In 2006, the music world lost one of its most distinctive voices, the Russian composer Galina Ustvolskaya. This tribute to her obsessive vision is conceived by pianist and conductor Marino Formenti.

Musica Angelica Colburn School’s Zipper Concert Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (310) 458-4504 or musicaangelica.org.

March 16, 8 p.m.: Musica Angelica pays homage to Haydn upon the 200th anniversary of his death.

March 9, 2009

Piano Spheres Colburn School’s Zipper Concert Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (323) 692-8075 or pianospheres.org.

March 17, 8 p.m.: The first half of this recital is a collection of pieces written by Susan Svrcek’s friends, Tom Flaherty and Virko Baley. This year she continues her exploration of new Polish music, particularly with Organismi by Debski. Cyan, a new work written for her by Jeffrey Holmes, will receive its West Coast premiere.

April 28, 8 p.m.: Pianist Mark Robson performs a program of Arnold Schoenberg, Morton Feldman, Maurice Ohana, Patricio Da Silva, György Ligeti, Beat Furrer, Mauricio Kagel, and Charles Ives.

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

March 21, 8:30 p.m.: Inspired by the classic David Bowie pop hit, The E.A.R. Unit surveys fresh new works by young American mavericks from across the country. The ensemble plays Daniel Wohl’s “+ou-,” Oscar Bettison’s “Gauze Vespers,” Ryan Brown’s “Our Friend Adam,” “Jamu” by Christine Southworth, and a brand-new work from Matt McBane.

May 12, 8:30 p.m.: Baroque ensemble Bach’s Circle celebrates 250 years of Georg Frideric Handel’s legacy with a concert of chamber music.

Southwest Chamber Music Colburn School of Performing Arts, 200 S. Grand Ave., (800) 726-7147 or swmusic.org.

May 4, 8 p.m.: The company’s season ends with a series of concerts in collaboration with the Shumei Arts Fellowship celebrating its 10th anniversary. Our first concert juxtaposes Toru Takemitsu with music from the Baroque era. The second concert contains pieces from his vast Waterscape series.

THEATER, OPERA & DANCE 99 Cent Only Calendar Girl Competition Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 bootlegtheater.com.

Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m.: For the sixth year in a row, the theater presents a production with all the sets and other materials purchased from 99 cent stores. In this year’s edition, 12 bold beauties compete for the audience’s favor in Ken Roht’s “99 Cent Only Calendar Girl Competition.” The show is an interactive R&B beauty pageant with the audience crowning a new winner every night. After seven sold out weeks, the show has been extended through March 29.

Bob Baker’s Marionette Theater Bob Baker Marionette Theater, 1345 W. First St., (213) 250-9995 or bobbakermarionettes.com.

Tuesday-Friday, 10:30 a.m.; Saturday, 2:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 p.m.: Bob Baker brings back an old favorite, “Something to Crow About,” the barnyard themed show featuring handmade, antique marionettes.

Das Rheingold L.A. Opera, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-7219 or laopera.com.

March 11, 7:30 p.m.; March 15, 2 p.m.: The L.A. Opera presents the first part of Wagner’s mammoth, four-part Ring cycle, a tale of gods, goddesses, giants and dwarves battling each other and their collective lust for the cursed ring. Think of it as Tolkien for grown-ups. Through March 15.

Ixnay David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 N. Judge John Aiso St., (213) 625-7000 or eastwestplayers.org.

Wed.- Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.: East West Players presents a world premiere of “Ixnay,” a new comedy directed by Jeff Liu about death, reincarnation and identity. Protagonist Raymond Kobayashi is in the prime of his sansei life when he is pulled up to the “Reincarnation Station.” When he finds out he’s being sent back as a Japanese American, he refuses. It’s a comedy about an usually polite Asian causing major havoc when he “ixnays” his next life. Through March 15.

Laugh With Class Company of Angeles, Alexandria Hotel, Third Floor, 501 S. Spring St., companyofangelestheater.org.

March 12, 9 p.m.: Stand up comedy show LOL is back, featuring Rawle Lewis (Cool Runnings), Cisco (Latino Laugh Festival), Karen Anzoategui (Ice House, Comedy Store), Shaun Latham (Playboy TV) Corey Craig (Jace Hall show) and Rosie Tran.

Loft Variety Hour Featuring Naughty Nancy L.A. Fringe Theatre, 929 E. Second St., (213) 6800392 or loftensemble.com.

Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sundays at 5 p.m.: Naughty Nancy is an Amsterdam prostitute who likes to share her often inappropriate point of view. The LOFT ensemble’s Variety Hour is a form of sketch comedy that employs the use of puppets (all of whom the cast believe to be real people), plus singing and dancing. Through March 15.

Pippin Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 6282772 or centertheatregroup.com.

March 10-13, 8 p.m.; March 14, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; March 15, 1 and 6:30 p.m.: Tony Award-winning musical Pippin is the lively coming of age story of King Charlemagne’s oldest son. Director Jeff Calhoun and Deaf West Theatre transform this classic into a

SearchDowntownLA.com wildly theatrical and original musical event featuring deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing actors, as voice and American Sign Language are interwoven with music, dance and storytelling. Through March 15.

Future Theater, Opera & Dance Ahmanson Theatre 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.

Through March 29: “Frost/Nixon” asks how David Frost, a famous British talk show host with a playboy reputation, elicits the apology that the rest of the world was waiting to hear from former President Richard Nixon. Stage and screen actor Stacy Keach stars as Richard Nixon.

April 18-May 31: “Ain’t Misbehavin’” is a tribute to the black entertainers of the Harlem Renaissance of the early 1900s and the music of one of the most prolific musicians of the time, Thomas “Fats” Waller.

Bob Baker’s Marionettes 1345 W. First St., (213) 250-9995 or bobbakermarionettes.com.

Ongoing: Dozens of the local puppet master’s marionettes appear in musical extravaganza “Something to Crow About.” It’s an hour-long show, and afterwards, the audience is invited to visit with the puppeteers and enjoy refreshments in the theater’s famous party room. No end date.

Bootleg Theater 2220 Beverly Blvd., (213) 389-3856 or bootlegtheater.com.

Through March 29: In “Calendar Girl Competition,” musical theater visionary Ken Roht plays with the idea of beauty pageants and the politics of image.

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion 135 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8000 or musiccenter.org.

March 18-22: This year Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), marks its 50th anniversary of African American cultural expression and American modern dance tradition. Highlights include excerpts of over a dozen ballets spanning each decade of Alvin Ailey’s career, from beloved works to rare gems not seen in three decades. They include “Blues Suite,” the dance that launched the company in 1958 and “Opus McShann,” his final piece 30 years later. It closes with the classic “Revelations” in its entirety.

April 25, 10 a.m.: This Pillow Theatre kids event features ZunZun, a musical theater duo that blends a variety of folkloric instruments, storytelling and comedy to celebrate the sights, sounds, stories and songs of the endangered rain forests of the Americas. The Rain Forest Sings (La Selva Canta) will also be there, and this is a musical journey filled with songs about monkeys, snakes, jaguars, the rainforest canopy, and an orchestra of birds performed in Spanish, English and Portuguese.

East West Players David Henry Hwang Theater, 120 Judge John Aiso St., (213) 625-7000 or eastwestplayers.org.

May 7-June 7: This is an evening of two one-act musicals by two powerhouse composers. “Marry Me a Little” features songs that didn’t quite fit into Stephen Sondheim’s best-known musicals, woven into a simple tale of two lonely people during one evening in their small, one-bedroom apartment.

“The Last Five Years” has music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and tells the story of an imploding relationship from the points of view of both lovers.

The Hayworth Theatre 2509 Wilshire Blvd., (323) 960-4442 or thehayworth.com.

Thursdays though March 26: “Sin, a Cardinal Deposed” is a drama directed by Paul Mazursky.

Los Angeles Opera Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 972-8001 or laopera.com.

April 4, 6:30 p.m.; April 8, 1 p.m.; April 12, 1 p.m.; April 16, 6:30 p.m.; April 19, 1 p.m.; April 22, 6:30 p.m.; April 25, 6:30 p.m.: Plácido Domingo as Siegmund and soprano Anja Kampe star in “Die Walküre,” the compelling love story between the doomed hero and his soulmate, which features some of Wagner’s most memorable music.

April 11, 7:30 p.m.; April 18, 2 p.m.; April 23, 7:30 p.m.; April 26, 2 p.m.: The company’s James Conlon continues his exploration of long forgotten masterpieces by the lost composers of the Holocaust. Featured in this year’s Recovered Voices series is this late Romantic work, reminiscent of Strauss and Wagner. Walter Braunfels has freely adapted the ancient Greek comic-dramatist Aristophanes’s play “The Birds.”

May 21, 7:30 p.m.; May 27, 7:30 p.m.; May 30, 7:30 p.m.: Verdi’s heart-rending story of a Parisian courtesan with a sordid past and no future features some of the composer’s most popular music. In “La Traviata,” two gifted artists share the role of Violetta Valery: Making her company debut is rising young Russian soprano Marina Poplavskaya and returning is Elizabeth Futral. The Los Angeles Master Chorale’s Grant Gershon makes his podium debut, and Marta Domingo directs.

Mark Taper Forum 135 N. Grand Ave., (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org.

April 2-May 17: In “Lydia,” a Mexican-American family is mired in grief and guilt over a daughter tragically disabled. So, the Flores family welcomes Lydia, an undocumented maid, into their El Paso home and is immediately set on a mysterious journey of discovery that threatens to uncover elusive secrets.

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

March 22-23, 8:30 p.m.: The quarterly series for new performance works, Studio, is an opportunity to experience an interdisciplinary mix of unexpected experimentation and investigation from Los Angeles artists.

April 4, 8:30 p.m.; April 5, 3 p.m.: The Los Angeles-based gamelan Burat Wangi stages two performances of Balinese court music and dance, featuring traditional and new choreography, and the Balinese kecak music drama.

April 8-11, 8:30 p.m.; April 12, 3 p.m.: The Caden Manson/Big Art Group’s “SOS” employs nine performers, two musicians, a half-dozen projection surfaces and 22 live-edit cameras to mix the worlds of surveillance, cinema and live performance.

April 15-17, 8:30 p.m.: Neil Greenberg’s “Really Queer Dance With Harps” is performed by four men and four women to a vivid live score for three harps by Zeena Parkins.

April 22-25, 8:30 p.m.: April 26, 3 p.m.: Mark Joseph Bamuthi presents “The Break/s: A Mixtape for Stage.” The former National Poetry Slam champion Bamuthi performs in a percussive call-and-response format with turntablist DJ Excess and beatboxer Tommy Shepherd (aka Soulati), accompanied by video by Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi.

May 8-9, 8:30 p.m.: The new resident ensemble of The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts, the Next Dance Company, makes it debut with a pair of concerts. Directed by acclaimed choreographer Stephan Koplowitz, dean of the school.

May 17-18, 8:30 p.m.: Studio. See March 22-23 listing for more info.

May 22-23, 7:30 p.m.: The CAP/Plaza de la Raza Youth Theater presents “Behind the Wire.” Developed by Chicana playwright Virginia Grise in collaboration with some 50 high school actors and writers, this drama explores the meanings of “borders” and “walls” through documenting personal stories and a wider history of internment, immigration and protest in the United States.

USC School of Theatre Bing Theatre, Scene Dock Theatre or McClintock

Downtown News 21

Theatre, USC, (213) 740-2167 or theatre.usc.edu.

April 2-11: The musical fantasy “Brigadoon,” is about a town that disappears into the mist of the Scottish Highlands one day every 100 years.

April 2-5: “Don Juan Comes Back From the War,” is a translation of the story about the unsympathetic womanizer who has just come back from the front lines.

April 3-26: “Blueprints” is a workshop of plays from second year M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing students.

April 30-May 1: The Little Mermaid’s story comes to life in “Choreography from Under the Sea.”

ART SPACES 01 Gallery 530 S. Hewitt St., Suite 141, (213) 689-0101 or 01gallery.com.

Through March 29: “Vintage Futurism” is an exhibition by graffiti artist Kofie One. Gallery director Christina Ochoa curates collage works, watercolors and prints that showcases the artist’s architectural styling and street art.

410 Boyd 410 Boyd St., (213) 617-2491.

Through March 19: “Girls On A Black Chair” is a photo exhibition by Ted Meyer featuring 23 photos of 21 girls sitting on the same black chair.

626 Gallery and 626 Gallery at Studio B 626 S. Spring St., (213) 614-8872 or 626artgallery.com.

7+Fig Art Space 735 S. Figueroa St., Suite 217, (213) 955-7150.

Acuna-Hansen Gallery 427 Bernard St., (323) 441-1624 or ahgallery.com.

Through March 21: The gallery hosts “It’s A Very Deadly Weapon to Know What You’re Doing,” an installation by sculptor and expert glass blower Katherine Gray.

Andlab 600 Moulton Ave. #303, (323) 222-2225 or andlab.com.

Art Slave 216 S. Spring St., (213) 598-3155 or artslavegallery.com.

Ongoing: More than 115 paintings and mixed media works by artist Neil Simon Poyuzina.

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

Bank 125 W. Fourth St. #103, (213) 621-4055 or bank-art.com.

Through March 28: The gallery presents the group

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

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SearchDowntownLA.com

Listings Continued from page 21 show, “I’ll Be Your Mirror,” showcasing works by Enrique Castrejon, Ann Diener, Osman Khan, C.E.B. Reas, Kim Schoen, Fran Siegel and Bari Ziperstein.

Bert Green Fine Art 102 W. Fifth St., (213) 624-6212 or bgfa.us.

March 15-April 25: Two artists are featured. The first: Viva Hoffmann was given the name Viva by Andy Warhol; she appeared in several of Warhol’s films and was a daily worker at The Factory. Her autobiographical icon paintings are extreme makeovers of traditional Indian, Chinese, Tibetan and Roman Catholic cosmologies, as well as heroic allegories of woman as a goddess over the earth, triumphant and larger than life. Carl Ramsey gets his second show at the gallery, and continues his theme of Downtown Los Angeles — specifically Historic Core — life.

Bonelli Contemporary 943 N. Hill St., (213) 617-8180 or bonellicontemporaryla.com.

Through March 30: Wainer Vacarri’s “Fights” is a solo debut for the artist, and focuses on the world of boxing, its inherent values and its risks.

Box Gallery 977 Chung King Road, (213) 625-1747 or theboxla.com.

BOXeight Gallery 1446 E. Washington Blvd., (213) 631-0560 or boxeight.com.

Charlie James Gallery 975 Chung King Road, (213) 687-0488 or cjamesgallery.com.

China Art Objects 933 Chung King Road, (213) 613-0384 or chinaartobjects.com.

Chinese Historical Society of Southern California 415 Bernard St., (323) 222-0856 or chssc.org.

Ongoing: An exhibition about the history of immigration from China to the United States.

Chung King Project 945 Chung King Road, (213) 625-1802 or chungkingproject.com.

Through March 28: “Shooting Blanks” is photographer Gina Osterloh’s debut Los Angeles solo exhibition. Her previous work used her own body; this show expands to incorporate other anonymous bodies, and cast papier-mâché mannequins.

Cirrus Gallery 542 S. Alameda St., (213) 680-3474 or cirrusgallery.com.

Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2200 or colburnschool.edu.

Ongoing: Work from three artists whose oeuvres are influenced by music: photographer Jenny Okun, sculptor and author Sarah Perry and photographer Barbara Strasen. It is installed throughout the lobby and hallway areas of the school.

The Company 946 Yale St., (213) 221-7082 or thecompanyart.com.

April 25-June 6: “Screwball Asses” is curated by David Jones and Hedi El Khoti.

Cottage Home 410 Cottage Home Road, cottagehomela.com.

Crewest 110 Winston St., (213) 627-8272, crewest.com or thelabellab.com.

Through March 29: “Nat King Cole: Regenerations” is a show about the new album, and the fusions of cultures on it.

Dalessio Gallery 838 S. Spring St., (213) 471-2977 or dalessiogallery.com.

David Kordansky Gallery 510 Bernard St., (323) 222-1482 or davidkordanskygallery.com.

Through March 21: Patrick Hill’s sculpture show also has a few paintings. Both violate elementary laws of physics.

David Salow Gallery 977 S. Hill St., (213) 620-0240 or davidsalowgallery.com.

Doheny Memorial Library USC, 3550 Trousdale Parkway, (213) 740-2070 or usc.edu/libraries.

Downtown Art Center Gallery 828 S. Main St., dacgallery.com.

Through April 9: Work from the Argentina-born Patricia Yossen, who uses the plains of the Argentine Pampas as the focus in her most current work.

Downtown Art Gallery 1611 S. Hope St., (213) 255-2067 or downtownag.com.

Tuesdays, 7:30-10:30 p.m.: Figure drawing classes are $12; bring your own materials.

Ongoing: Large format drawings and different pieces by gallery artists.

Edgar Varela Fine Arts 542 S. Alameda St., second floor, (213) 494-7608 or edgarvarelafinearts.com.

El Nopal Press 109 W. Fifth St., (213) 239-0417 or fauxpop.com/nopalpress.

Farmlab 1745 N. Spring St. #4, (323) 226-1158 or farmlab.org.

Fifth Floor 502 Chung King Court, (213) 687-8443 or fifthfloorgallery.com. g727 727 S. Spring St., (213) 627-9563 or gallery727losangeles.com.

Through April 25: “Soundscapes,” curated by Tiffany Barber, is the first in g727’s efforts to support the incubation and development of site-specific projects through its pilot community resource initiative, the Map and Model Shop, located in the upstairs loft of g727. “Soundscapes” features new and existing work

by Camilo Ontiveros, Felipe Zuñiga, Giacomo Castagnola, and Nina Waisman as CUBO; Ari Kletzky with Sarah Roberts and Gerhard Schultz; Elana Mann; Carla Herrera-Prats; and Christina Ulke with Sara Harris.

Gallery 143 530 S. Hewitt St., Barker Block suite 143, (213) 689-0101.

Gallery 1927 811 W. Seventh St., (661) 816-1136.

Gallery Waugh 548 S. Spring St., Suite 108, (310) 435-9551 or gallerywaugh.com.

Gary Leonard 860 S. Broadway, takemypicture.com.

Ongoing: Hung on the walls of veteran lensman Leonard are several decades of Los Angeles — punkers, Dodgers, cops, politicos and wackos.

George J. Doizaki Gallery Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, 244 S. San Pedro St., (213) 628-2725 or jaccc.org.

Happy Lion 963 Chung King Road, (213) 625-1360 or thehappylion.com.

Helen Lindhurst Fine Arts Gallery Watt Hall 104, USC University Park Campus, (213) 740-2787 or roski.usc.edu.

Hive Gallery and Studios 729 S. Spring St., (213) 955-9051 or thehivegallery.com.

Through March: The gallery’s ubiquitous group show features Grant Fuhst and Christopher Ulrich this month.

I-5 Gallery 2100 N. Main St. #A9, (323) 342-0717 or breweryartwalk.com.

Infusion Gallery 719 S. Spring St., (213) 683-8827 or infusiongallery.com.

Through March 25: The gallery hosts a solo show

by Dave Holley. “Evildoers — 13 Miserable Portraits,” gives a crude collage-like treatment to Bush, Rove, Bin Laden and others.

Jail 965 Vignes St., Suite 5A, (213) 621-9567 or thejailgallery.com.

Julie Rico Gallery 500 S. Spring St. and 116 W. Fifth St., (213) 817-6002 or weeneez.com.

Katalyst Foundation for the Arts 450 S. Main St., (213) 604-3634 or kffta.org.

KGB Studio and Gallery 1640 N. Spring St., (323) 224-1900 or kgbla.com.

Mihai Nicodim Gallery 944 Chung King Road, (213) 621-2786 or nicodimgallery.com.

Through April 11: Apocalyptic drawings and videos from Norway-born Martin Skauen in “Servants Swept the Sand Smooth.”

L2kontemporary 990 N. Hill St. #205, (626) 319-3661 or l2kontemporary.com.

LADWP John Ferraro Office Building, 111 N. Hope St., (213) 481-5411 or ladwp.com.

Ongoing: A salute to William Mulholland with historic photos, artifacts and memorabilia. Open Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. This is the first installment of what will be a permanent exhibition showcasing the water and power of Los Angeles.

La Mano Press 1749 N. Main St., (323) 227-0650 or lamanopress.com.

Lamp Community Art Project 452 S. Main St., lampcommunity.org or lampartproject.org.

Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture At the New LATC, 514 S. Spring St., (213) 626-7600.

Library of Congress/Ira Gershwin Gallery At Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (213) 972-4399 or musiccenter.org.

Through March 2009: “Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: 50 Years as Cultural Ambassador to the World” celebrates the troupe’s African-American expression and modern dance tradition.

LMAN 949 Chung King Road, (213) 628-3883 or lmangallery.com.

Los Angeles Center for Digital Art 107 W. Fifth St., (323) 646-9427 or lacda.com.

Through May 2: Rex Bruce’s “Inversions.” Bruce gave up his car, spent two years in public transportation, and took pictures.

Lost Souls Café 124 W. Fourth St., (213) 617-7006 or lostsouls.com.

Lot 44 257 S. Spring St., (213) 626-4646 or lot44coffee.com.

Through April 4: “Names of God” is an exhibition of artist Danny Hughes’ spiritual and creative exploration of consciousness and well-being.

Stemming from the spiritual tenets of Kabbalah, Hughes has created a series of mixed media artworks that paint an honest, simple and thoughtprovoking illustration of energy, insight and compassion. His works are a process of layering wood panels with collections of aged religious texts from the 1800’s.

LA Artcore at Union Center for the Arts 120 Judge John Aiso St., (213) 617-3274 or laartcore.org.

Through March 29: Work from Hee Ouk Kim and Lori Lipsman.

Los Angeles Artcore Brewery Annex 650A S. Ave. 21, (323) 276-9320.

Los Angeles Public Library Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7500 or lapl.org/events.

Ongoing: “Bunker Hill by Leo Politi” features the work of the beloved local artist known for murals in several libraries and, most famously, at the entrance to the Eugene Biscailuz Building on Olvera Street.

Ongoing: “Treasures of Los Angeles” features items from the Hollywood collections, including vintage posters and publicity photographs. In the Annenberg Gallery.

Main Field Projects 418 Bamboo Lane, (323) 559-1568 or mainfieldprojects.com.

Mandarin Gallery 970 N. Broadway, Suite 213, (213) 687-4107 or mandaringallery.com.

Mesler and Hug 510 Bernard St., (323) 221-0016 or meslerandhug.com.

Through March 21: Artist Patterson Beckwith’s second solo exhibition at the gallery features 20 “strobographs,” multiple-exposure images that capture events with up to six separate photographs.

Several strobe lights, each with different neon tints, are set up in a completely dark room and give the images a palette of neon color.

Mexican Cultural Institute Gallery 125 Paseo de la Plaza, Suite 100, (213) 624-3660 or mexicanculturalinstitute.com.

No end date: Joe Bravo’s tortilla artwork appears in “The Traveling Museum of Tortilla Art.” M.J. Higgins Fine Art 104 E. Fourth St., (213) 617-1700 or mjhiggins.com.

MLA Gallery 2020 N. Main St. #239, (323) 222-3400 or mlagallery.com.

Morono Kiang Gallery 218 W. Third St., (213) 628-8208 or moronokiang.com.

Through March 28: Beijing-based Varvara Shavrova’s “Between Borders” features work set against the longest border in the world — the one between Russia and China.

Niche.LA Video Art 453 S. Spring St., Suite 443, (213) 247-0002 or niche.la.

North Hill 945 N. Hill St., (213) 500-7778 or northhillchinatown.com.

Phantom Galleries L.A. At the Continental Building, 408 S. Spring St., (213) 626-2854 or phantomgalleriesla.com.

Pharmaka Art 101 W. Fifth St., (213) 689-7799 or pharmaka-art.org.

Through May 2: “TRANSformal” features abstract artists Kasarian Dane, Stephan Fritsch, Brent Hallard, Leo Hurzlmeier, Robin McDonnell, Mel Prest, Richard Schur, Nancy White, and John Zurier.

Phyllis Stein Art 207 W. Fifth St., (213) 622-6012 or phyllissteinart.com.

Through April 4: New work from expressionist painter S. Lee Robinson.

Pico House Gallery El Pueblo Historical Monument, 424 N. Main St., (213) 485-8372 or lacity.org/elp.

Popkiller Second 343 E. Second St., popkiller.us.

POVevolving Gallery 939 Chung King Road, povevolving.com.

PYO Gallery 1100 S. Hope St. #105, (213) 405-1488 or pyoart.com.

Raw Materials 436 S. Main St., visit winsteadadams.com or rawmaterialsLA.com.

Raw Materials is an art and architectural supplies store.

Remy’s on Temple 2126 W. Temple St., (213) 484-2884 or remysontemple.com.

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

Through March 29: Architecture studio Atelier Bow-Wow’s “Small Case Study House” explores the use and function of space within urban environments. Bow-Wow’s newly commissioned project for REDCAT is the culmination of an extended Los Angeles residency period, during which the studio’s Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kaijima researched the Case Study House program and made this postwar project a point of departure in thinking about domestic dwellings.

Roark 549 W. 23rd St., (213) 747-6100 or linsleylambert.com.

Continued on page 24

A HAndy MAP RefeRence To food, ATTRAcTions & enTeRTAinMenT F

Where to Eat

_

Where to Shop

§ Where to Live

§F § §

C5 C5 B5

Grand Tower • 255 S. Grand Ave. Museum Tower • 225 S. Olive St. Promenade Towers • 123 S. Figueroa St.

229-9777 626-1500 617-3777

§

B8

The Metropolitan Apartments • 950 S. Flower St.

489-3300

EF m C6 FF_ C6 E# # F m B7 F F F

☞ C5

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel • 506 S. Grand Ave. California Plaza II • 4th St. & Grand Ave. • Watercourt • 4th St. & Grand Ave. • Angels Flight Railway • 4th St. & Hill St.

624-1011 687-2001 687-2190 626-1901

Wilshire Grand Hotel • 930 Wilshire Blvd.

• Cardini Ristorante • Seoul Jung • Kyoto

688-7777 896-3822 688-7880 896-3812

Downtown Dental Office • 255 S. Grand Ave., Suite 204

620-5777

F Where to Office F m D5 P

F D5

F m ☞ C7

§☞

B5

☞ B6 F C2

m Where to Stay

#

Points of Interest

Kyoto Grand Hotel & Garden • 120 S. Los Angeles St.

629-1200

Frying Fish Restaurant • 120 Japanese Village Plaza Mall

680-0567

The Los Angeles Athletic Club • 431 W. 7th St.

630-5200

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

680-1720

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

892-8172

CBS Seafood Restaurant • 700 N. Spring St.

617-2323

F C7

Clifton’s Brookdale Restaurant • 648 S. Broadway

627-1673

FF_ C2

Far East Plaza/Wing Hop Fung • 727 N. Broadway

626-7200

The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM FIDM Museum Galleries & Shops • 919 S. Grand Ave.

624-1200

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels • 555 W. Temple St.

680-5200

E ☞ C8

F# C4

☞ Services F C5

§ P

B3

F NA

§

A7

F C5

P Free Parking with Validation

El Pollo Loco • 260 S. Broadway Orsini Apartments • 505 N. Figueroa St. Gus’s Drive-In • 1657 W. 3rd St. Medici • 725 S. Bixel St. Carl’s Jr. • 254 S. Broadway

626-7975 877-267-5911 483-8885 888-886-3731 625-1357

☞ B7

PIP Printing • 700 Wilshire Blvd.

489-2333

F NA

Tommy’s • 2575 W. Beverly Blvd.

389-9060

7+FIG • 7th & Figueroa Sts.

955-7150

Ernst & Young • 725 S. Figueroa St.

955-7100

P P

E Entertainment

F _ B7

F B7

24 Downtown News

Listings Continued from page 23 Rouge Galerie 548 S. Spring St., Unit 108, (213) 489-7309.

Sabina Lee Gallery 971 Chung King Road, (323) 935-9279 or sabinaleegallery.com.

Sam Lee Gallery 990 N. Hill St. #190, (323) 227-0275 or samleegallery.com.

March 21-May 2: Phung Huynh’ “Disorientation.”

SCI-Arc Gallery Southern California Institute of Architecture, 960 E. Third St., (213) 613-2200 or sciarc.edu.

Seventh Street/Metro Center 660 S. Figueroa St., (213) 922-4278 or metro.net/ metroart.

Ongoing: Artist Stephen Galloway offers “Coming and Going,” the latest installment in the Metro Art Lightbox series on display in the mezzanine level of the rail station.

Showcave Gallery 1218 ½ W. Temple St., (213) 663-3521 or myspace.com/showcave.

Sister 955 Chung King Road, (213) 628-7000 or sisterla.com.

Through March: The gallery is showing “Untitled, 2009,” an eight-foot-tall steel sculpture by John Williams. Williams uses the structure both as a painting surface and a pedestal. He draws rudimentary legs, arms and hands by scraping, painting and sanding the metal surface. During the course of the exhibition, Williams will be rearranging the piece along with a trance inducing light and sound spectacle.

The next rearrangements are scheduled for 8 p.m. on March 7 and March 13.

Spring Arts Collective Spring Arts Tower, 453 S. Spring St., mezzanine level, springartscollective.com.

Switch 446 S. Main St., (626) 833-1488 or switch.la.

Tarryn Teresa Gallery 1820 Industrial St., #230, (213) 627-5100 or tarrynteresagallery.com.

Telic Arts Exchange 972B Chung King Road, (213) 344-6137 or telic.info.

Todd/Browning Gallery 209 W. Fifth St., (310) 926-6347 or toddbrowning.com.

Through April 4: “Adventures in Tornado Alley” features photographs by Eric Nguyen.

Tropico de Nopal Gallery 1665 Beverly Blvd., (213) 481-8112 or tropicodenopal.com.

USC Gayle and Ed Roski Master of Fine Arts Gallery 3001 S. Flower St., (213) 743-1804 or roski.usc.edu.

USC Windows The Chapman, 750 S. Broadway, anim.usc.edu.

Velaslavasay Panorama 1122 W. 24th St., (213) 746-2166 or panoramaonview.org.

Venus on Hope 1228 S. Flower St., (213) 359-9097 or venusonhope.com.

Ongoing: Collaborative drawings, sculpture, limited edition collaborative art publications, works on paper, ink paintings and artist interaction at the studio of Jared David Paul.

FILM Flagship Theatres 626 S. Spring St., Suite 604, (213) 629-5752.

Through March 12: Watchmen (Noon, 3:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 10:30 p.m.); Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail (2 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m.); Friday the 13th (1:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m., 8 p.m., 10:15 p.m.).

Laemmle Theaters Grande 4-Plex 345 S. Figueroa St., (213) 617-0268 or laemmle.com.

Through March 12: Watchmen (5 p.m., 8:30 p.m.); The Reader (5:20 p.m., 8 p.m.); Frost/Nixon (5:10 p.m., 8:10 p.m.); Slumdog Millionaire (5:30 p.m., 8:20 p.m.).

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

Through March 17: This is the Life was a Best Documentary Audience Award Pan-African Film Festival 2008 Winner!

IMAX Theater California Science Center, 700 State Drive, (213) 7442019 or californiasciencecenter.org.

Through June 25: Under the Sea will transport moviegoers to some of the most exotic and isolated undersea locations on Earth, for face-to-face encounters with some of the most mysterious and stunning creatures of the sea. (9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.).

Through June 25: Wild Ocean 3D captures one of the world’s greatest spectacles. Each year a massive feeding frenzy takes place in the oceans of South Africa as billions of fish migrate up the KwaZulu-

DowntownNews.com Natal Wild Coast. Breaching whales, frenzied sharks, herding dolphins, and diving gannets compete in an epic underwater struggle for survival. (10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., Sat.-Sun. only 5:30 p.m.

MOCA Grand Avenue 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-1745 or visit moca.org.

April 19, 3 p.m.: The night called Who Am I and What’s My Name features new video works from Israel. Presented by MOCA and the Visual Arts Committee of The Jewish Federation’s Tel Aviv/ Los Angeles Partnership, this program addresses contemporary issues of identity — whether artistic, historic, social, economic, geographic, or political.

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

March 30, 8:30 p.m.: Robert Todd’s lyrical shorts, shot in 16 mm, are screened, and Todd appears in person.

April 20, 8:30 p.m.: Animator Joanna Priestly unveils her new short Missed Aches (2009, 4 min.), a humorous rant about the need for proofreading, which is screened with several other pieces. Priestly is there in person as well.

April 27, 8:30 p.m.: New York artist Zoe Beloff’s mesmerizing films are focused on “phantoms,” on images that are “not there,” and on a pre-cinematic version of the virtual-created by means of a stereoscopic Bolex camera that produces spectral 3-D images.

April 29, 8:30 p.m.: “The Cinema Cabaret: Live Film Narration” features poets and filmmakers who perform live redubbings of scenes from Bollywood’s Silsila (1981), the atomic noir On the Beach (1959), classics such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

(1966), and others.

April 30-May 2: The School of Film/Video presents a juried selection of new live-action works by students in the Program in Film and Video and the Film Directing Program.

May 3, 2 p.m.: This presentation features the work of teenage photographers, animators and video artists in CalArts CAP programs with Inner-City Arts, the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, the Santa Clarita Valley Boys and Girls Club, Self-Help Graphics and Art, and Bell High School.

May 11, 8:30 p.m.: Cheryl Duneye’s The Watermelon Woman tells the story of Cheryl, played engagingly by Dunye herself, who develops a fascination with 1930s actress Fae Richards — a fictional character confined to playing “Mammy” roles in movies by a Dorothy Azner-type director. In person is Cheryl Dunye.

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.

Annette Green Perfume Museum FIDM, second floor, 919 S. Grand Ave., (213) 6241200 or fidm.edu.

Ongoing: “Fame and Fragrance” is up in this, the only museum of its kind in the U.S. It’s dedicated to enhancing our understanding the art, culture and science of the olfactory. Originally opened in New York City in 1999, the collection — 2,000 bottles, perfume presentations and documentary ephemera dating from the late 1800s to the present — was donated to FIDM in 2005.

California African American Museum 600 State Drive, (213) 744-7432 or caamuseum.org.

Through April 12: “Black Chrome” looks at the contributions African Americans have made to motorcycle culture, mechanical technology and aesthetics since World War II. Through April 5: “A Moment in Time: Bingham’s Black Panthers” captures several months in 1968, when photographer Howard Bingham and journalist Gilbert Moore documented leaders of the Black Panther Party — the energy of their activity in political education classes, conferences, public rallies, demonstrations, courts and jailhouses, but also in the spaces of Eldridge Cleaver’s apartment and the Panthers’ headquarters.

Permanent: “The African American Journey West” is a collection of pieces chronicling the path from the West Coast of Africa to the West Coast of America.

California Science Center 700 State Drive, (323) 724-3623 or californiasciencecenter.org.

Through May 3: “Target America: Opening Eyes to the Damage Drugs Cause,” developed by the Drug Enforcement Administration Museum, looks at the science and technology of illegal drugs and their effects on the mind and body. There’s an actual jungle coca processing lab confiscated in South America, a recreated Afghan heroin factory and a simulated MRI machine with scans of a normal brain and that of a drug addict.

Ongoing: The Science Center’s permanent exhibits are usually interactive and focus on human innova-

tions and inventions as well as the life processes of living things. The lobby Science Court stays busy with the High Wire Bicycle, a Motion-Based Simulator and the Ecology Cliff Climb. The human body is another big focus: The Life Tunnel aims to show the connections between all life forms, from the singlecelled amoeba to the 100-trillion-celled human being.

Chinese American Museum 425 N. Los Angeles St., (213) 485-8567 or camla.org.

Through May 31: “Asian Roots/American Reality: Photographs by Corky Lee” is the first major retrospective and only West Coast venue for 88 compelling photographs spanning 30 years of photographer Lee’s career.

Through May 31: “Picture This! My Life, Your Life, Our Lives: Photographs by Youths from the San Gabriel Valley” features work from the 12-week program between the museum and San Gabriel High School, which students trained and challenged the students to compose stories of their community through black and white photography. The resulting exhibit features a series of 12 photographs representing a mosaic of everyday life in a place where many call home.

Permanent: Re-creation of the Sun Wing Wo, a Chinese general store and herbal shop, and “Journeys: Stories of Chinese Immigration,” an exhibit exploring Chinese immigration to the United States with an emphasis on community settlement in Los Angeles. The display is outlined into four distinct time periods. Each period is defined by an important immigration law and/or event, accompanied by a brief description and a short personal story about a local Chinese American and their experiences in that particular historical period.

Permanent: “Neighborhood Stories” a photographic exhibition exploring the beginnings of Los Angeles’ changing Chinese American communities, from the city’s original Chinatown, New Chinatown, China City and Market Chinatown. This exhibit will provide a glimpse of how the Chinese American community began to make Los Angeles home.

El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument 124 Paseo de la Plaza, (213) 485-8372 or elpueblo.lacity.org.

Ongoing: The whole of El Pueblo is called a “monument,” and of this monument’s 27 historic buildings, four function as museums: the Avila Adobe, the city’s oldest house; the Sepulveda House, home to exhibits and the monument’s Visitors Center; the Fire House Museum, which houses late 19th-century fire-fighting equipment; and the Masonic Hall, which boasts Masonic memorabilia. Check its website for a full slate of fiestas, including Cinco de Mayo, Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in November and December’s beautiful candlelight procession, Las Posadas. Open daily, though hours at shops and halls vary.

FIDM Museum and Galleries 919 S. Grand Ave., (213) 624-1200 or fidm.edu.

Through March 29: The 17th annual “Art of Motion Picture Costume Design,” features costumes from some of 2008’s best films.

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

Ongoing: “Songs of Conscience, Songs of Freedom” is the new museum’s inaugural show. It explores the 200-year history of music and politics in America, and music’s role as a political force in society.

Grier Musser Museum 403 S. Bonnie Brae St., (213) 413-1814 or griermussermuseum.com.

Ongoing: A turn-of-the century historic Queen Anne house that displays antique collections in monthly holiday exhibits throughout the year.

Japanese American National Museum 369 E. First St., (213) 625-0414 or janm.org.

Through May 24: “Gokurosama: Contemporary Photographs of the Nisei in Hawai’i” features 35 black and white portraits by Honolulu photographer Brian Y. Sato. It takes its name from “gokurōsama,” which is used to express appreciation of someone’s hard work and sacrifice, embodies the spirit and cultural heritage of these second-generation (Nisei) Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i.

Through May 17: “Fighting For Democracy: Who is the ‘We’ in ‘We, the People’?” asks visitors to think critically about freedom, history, and, ultimately, the ongoing struggle to live democratically in a diverse America.

Ongoing: “Common Ground: The Heart of Community” chronicles 130 years of Japanese American history, from the early days of the Issei pioneers to the present.

Museum of Contemporary Art, Grand Avenue 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-2766 or moca.org.

Through May 25: “Dan Graham: Beyond” is the first North American retrospective of the art of Dan Graham, who has been a central figure in the development of contemporary art since the 1960s —from the rise of minimalism, conceptual art, and video and performance art, to explorations of architecture and the public sphere and collaborations with musicians and the culture of rock and roll.

Through June 29: “A Changing Ratio: Painting and Sculpture From the Collection” explores the

March 9, 2009

trajectory linking non-representational painting of the early 1950s to the sculptural innovations of the late 1960s — when painting was no longer the dictator of art production and sculpture found its longsought independence.

Permanent: Nancy Rubins’ cheekily and comprehensively titled “Chas’ Stainless Steel, Mark Thompson’s Airplane Parts, About 1000 Pounds of Stainless Steel Wire, Gagosian’s Beverly Hills Space, at MOCA (2001-2002)” is a monumental sculpture made out of parts of an airplane.

Museum of Contemporary Art, The Geffen Contemporary 152 N. Central Ave., (213) 621-2766 or moca.org.

Museum of Neon Art 136 W. Fourth St., (213) 489-9918 or neonmona.org.

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763–3466 or nhm.org.

Ongoing: “Visible Vault: Archaeological Treasures from Ancient Latin America” features over 700 treasures from ancient civilizations of Mexico, Central and South America are on display. The objects are beautiful in and of themselves — gold drinking vessels from ancient Peru, a large stone Teotihuacan carving of an “Old Fire God” and a Jalisco warrior figurine with armor, for example — but they also provide a dramatic encounter with the ancient civilizations of the New World.

Through Nov. 1: The museum’s annual “Spider Pavilion” is an outdoor exhibit, where visitors can watch the work of hundreds of web-weaving spiders.

Ongoing: A life-sized T. rex and Triceratops roam the museum Wednesday-Sunday. They’re actually puppets — and the Dinosaur Encounters program they star in aims to teach visitors about dinosaur habits and physicality.

Ongoing: “Thomas the T. rex Lab” is a working paleontological lab, wherein museum preparators will work on a T. rex skeleton in full view of the public.

USC Fisher Museum of Art 823 Exposition Blvd. on the USC campus, (213) 7404561 or fishergallery.org.

Through April 18: “Looking Into Andy Warhol’s Photographic Practice” presents a selection of Polaroid photographs and 50 original black and white gelatin silver prints granted to the museum through the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program.

Wells Fargo History Museum 333 S. Grand Ave., (213) 253-7166 or wellsfargohistory.com.

Ongoing: Take in an Old West exhibit including a faux 19th-century Wells Fargo office, a real-life Concord stagecoach that once traversed windy southern Kentucky roads and a gold nugget weighing in at a shocking two pounds.

FARMERS MARKETS Thursdays City Hall Farmers Market South Lawn of City Hall, between Main and Spring streets, downtownfarmersmarket.org.

10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Farm fresh produce, flowers, olives, oils, hummus, dips, honeys and crafts. Music 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. It’s a chance to pick up fresh goods and get some face time with your favorite civil servant.

7+Fig Farmers Market 725 S. Figueroa St., (213) 955-7150 or 7fig.com.

11 a.m.-3 p.m.: The outdoor mall in the Financial District offers produce, hot and sweet kettle corn, flowers, honey, breads, bonsai trees, tamales, olives, nuts and more.

Chinatown Farmers Market 727 N. Hill St., between Alpine and Ord streets, (213) 680-0243 or chinatownla.com.

3-7 p.m.: Wares from certified growers, plus a variety of Asian produce.

Fridays Bank of America Farmers Market 333 S. Hope St., at Bank of America Plaza, ccfm.com.

11 a.m.-3 p.m.: Visitors rave about the falafel, samosas and tamales, but there’s also produce, flowers and crafts.

Please Email Your Event Info To submit events for this section, please email a brief description, street address and a public phone number to calendar­@ downtownnews.com. Web addresses are welcome. Listings are due 10 days before publication date. Because of time constraints, submissions with­out full information cannot be considered for publication.

Inclusion in the listings is at the discretion of the L.A. Down­town News. Sorry, we cannot accept follow-up calls about event listings.

March 9, 2009

Downtown News 25

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Police Continued from page 1 wide tradition to honor longtime cops like Carreon, but in Central Division, it’s not the only one. For old hands like Carreon, who joined the force in 1979 and spent 26 years in Central, which includes most of Downtown Los Angeles, a more storied last-day ritual is the final walk of their original foot beat with other longtime officers.

“It’s a Central thing,” said Det. Bryce Spafford, a 25-year department veteran. “It’s something that’s been coming up as there’s a big sea change in the police culture over the last few years. The old guys out here walking the streets is sort of a dying tradition and the guys that are leaving, we’re like the last ones.”

The foot beat walk on the final day is what brought Carreon to Broadway and Seventh Street in the Jewelry District.

“I’ve been here so long,” he said. “I’ve done just about every foot beat Downtown.

But right here, Broadway, it’s the heart of Downtown.”

Humble Hero Carreon, 57, stands about 6-foot-2 and sports a thick moustache just starting to gray.

He is soft spoken and careful with his words.

Pacing north on Broadway, Carreon led the pack of Central Division veterans through a neighborhood they have watched change dramatically over three decades.

Most of those changes have come hand-inhand with Downtown development, he said.

Carreon recalled how in the mid-1980s, the property that now houses the Ronald Reagan State Building, on Third Street between Main and Spring streets, was a conglomeration of crime-ridden residential hotels.

“They were, for us, problems because they had a lot of crime, a lot of prostitution go-

ing on in them,” Carreon said. “When they changed the environment, it displaced a lot of that element. So a lot of the changes that have happened have happened because of new construction.”

On his final walk, the late-morning atmosphere was much calmer than it would have been “in the old days,” he said. Back then, he noted, chain and purse snatchings were a daily occurrence, and Carreon was busy every second of his shift.

“It used to be real busy from when you came out of roll call, all the way to the end of the shift,” he said. “But it’s gotten a lot mellower.”

It must have been one of those busy days about 10 years ago, when Carreon was walking the beat with a rookie officer near the Jewelry District, that they responded to a 911 call about an infant choking.

“When Ray got there, the baby was already blue and the parents were frantic,” said Ruvalcaba.

Carreon performed a one-handed version of the Heimlich maneuver on the baby, and managed to dislodge a piece of hard candy from its throat, Ruvalcaba said.

“But you know, he didn’t tell anyone about it,” Ruvalcaba said. “He didn’t brag about it.”

Ruvalcaba only heard the story because he asked Carreon’s trainee how his day went, and the rookie shared the account.

Ruvalcaba, himself a veteran of 27 years, made sure his colleague got proper recognition.

“I told the watch commander about it, and later Ray got a surprise commendation,” Ruvalcaba said. “He saved a baby’s life.”

Training Ground For the past 19 years, Carreon has worked as a training officer, coaching “slick sleeves” — rookie cops with no rank patches on their uniform sleeves.

“Those are the guys who determine who

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On his last day, Carreon was joined by fellow LAPD veterans including officers Guadalupe “Shep” Ruvalcaba (left) and Joy Haro.

your cops are, who train your sergeants, your captains,” said Sgt. Darryle Lewis, who stopped by to congratulate Carreon.

“You’ve got to get through [Carreon] to even promote up and get any further, so it’s the most valuable position in any police department. He’s been training for 20 years.

Think about that. We’re losing a chip in the cornerstone.”

What would compel a seasoned veteran to stay in the same role for 19 years, coaching rookies on the street?

“Probably one of the biggest reasons is later in their career when you see them advancing up you feel satisfaction that you had a small part in their success,” Carreon said.

But on this day, the focus was not on the legions of Carreon’s trainees, but rather on his own accomplishment of 30 years in the

department.

As the group returned to its starting point, Carreon was reminded that despite all the changes he has seen Downtown, “some things haven’t changed at all, like Clifton’s here.” He then stepped into the 78-year-old eatery like he had done so many times before.

The grainy voice over the radio had if not the last word, then the most apt.

“Carreon will be remembered by his colleagues at Central Division as one of the quiet leaders who prided himself in leading by example in educating the future leaders of the Los Angeles Police Department,” it said.

“Ray will be missed, but never forgotten, and we wish him best luck and Godspeed.”

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

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For more information regarding the CFL distribution visit www.ladwp.com or call 1 (213) 367-4614.

26 Downtown News

March 9, 2009

DowntownNews.com

Geragos

photo by Gary Leonard

Continued from page 1 business of storytelling, and each of these buildings has a great story behind it, and it adds some character.”

He continued, “Every five years there’s always some story about, ‘Downtown’s about to take off. This is the first time in the last four or five years that I’ve actually believed it’s true, which is one of the reasons we bought the buildings.”

Trim and affable, Geragos, 51, has deep ties to Downtown. Five decades ago, his parents met at an Armenian youth event at the Historic Core’s Alexandria Hotel. He was born at Downtown’s St. Vincent Medical Center, attended Loyola Law School in City West, and has spent most of his 26-year career working in Downtown. He has had his own firm in Downtown, Geragos & Geragos (he is a partner with his father, Paul) since 1983.

During his career, Geragos has garnered significant success and has become one of the nation’s most well-known lawyers. At the same time, he has engendered occasional fury for representing media demons such as Michael Jackson, convicted murderer Scott Peterson and, currently, teen pop star Chris Brown, who allegedly battered his girlfriend, singer Rihanna, on Feb. 8.

Geragos also recently won a $38 million judgment against drug maker Pfizer for stealing trade secrets from a medical nonprofit. Additionally, he has taken on extensive pro bono work for the Armenian community.

“Whoever your latest client is, if you do cases that get some notoriety, people tend to either love you or hate you depending on that,” Geragos said with a shrug. “The great thing about this point in this career is, I can take the cases that interest me and not take cases that don’t.”

His ventures into Downtown real estate reflect a similar labor of love.

A Match Made in Downtown The three-story, 1912 Engine Co. building, on Figueroa Street at Wilshire Boulevard, functioned as a working fire sta-

The 1927 Fine Arts Building was the second acquisition for Geragos and Kabateck. They have a $100 million budget for additional properties.

tion until 1969. Abandoned after that, the property fell into disrepair until a trio of preservationists purchased it in 1983.

That team upgraded the structure, which today is best known as the home of the power lunch establishment Engine Co. No. 28. They sold the building to Geragos and Kabateck in March 2007 for $10 million.

“We just looked at each other and said, ‘Instead of paying rent, we should buy a building,’” Kabateck recalled.

Kabateck, 47, a partner in the firm Kabateck Brown Kellner, specializes in consumer lawsuits. His company has also handled highly publicized cases, including one that resulted in a $7.2 million judgment for entertainer Ed McMahon in a mold insurance suit, and another that garnered $20 million from XtraJet for secretly taping Geragos and Michael Jackson on a private jet.

Kabateck and Geragos met in the early 1980s. At the time Geragos, still in law school, worked as a party promoter and Kabateck was a DJ for rock radio station KROQ. They solidified their friendship in the late 1990s, when they collaborated on a class-action lawsuit on behalf of families of Armenian genocide victims.

Geragos and Kabateck were both familiar with the Engine Co. building and fans of its restaurant when the property came on the market. They had even discussed leasing the property with the prior owner, Geragos said.

“Then one thing led to another, and we were fortunate enough to buy it from him,” he said. “I’ve always loved the building. I love the location, right next to the Metro. And it’s walking distance to the Criminal Courts Building. It’s dynamite.”

Since taking over the Engine Co. building, Geragos and Kabateck have added three floors, which now house their two firms. During a recent walk-through of the edifice, Geragos enthusiastically pointed out original details including the wainscoting, ceiling and a brass fire pole that stretches through the offices of Geragos & Geragos and Kabateck Brown Kellner.

When it comes to handling day-to-day building operations, he said, “I’m the big-picture guy, and Brian is the operational guy.”

Or, as Kabateck puts it, “I tend to be more focused on the business, and Mark tends to be focused on the party.”

Party Space On a recent evening, both Kabateck and Geragos played party host to dozens of guests in the cathedral-like lobby of the Fine Arts Building.

The event, a reception honoring the first legal fellowship dedicated to serving the Armenian-American community, was one of many that the attorneys have hosted since purchasing the 12-story, 1927 Romanesque Revival building for $23.5 million last May. The Spanish Renaissance, courtyard-style lobby, decked out with original bronze statues by Burt Johnson and the nation’s largest installation of handcrafted Batchelder tiles, was a major selling point for the pair.

“Every time I walk in there I almost feel like I want to cross myself,” said Geragos.

Kabateck added, “This is the greatest party space we’ve ever had.”

Since buying the Fine Arts Building, Geragos and Kabateck have focused on activating the lobby. They have turned the display cases lining the walls into a showcase for local artists, putting up new works to coincide with the Downtown Art Walk on the second Thursday of each month. They have also hosted several political and charitable receptions there, including an event for the new Downtown Film Society’s

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Geragos cites the surrounding neighborhood as a factor in their decision to buy the building and make it available to the community. The Fine Arts Building sits just west of Flower Street, on a portion of Seventh Street targeted by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District as a destination for new eateries. The effort has brought at least three new restaurants and bars in the past two years.

“This is where it’s really happening, if you ask me,” said Geragos. “One of the reasons we got the Fine Arts Building is that to me, it looks like it’s going to end up being on restaurant row. I figured we’d be on the ground floor of that, or at least on the elevator on the way out.”

In some ways, Geragos and Kabateck have brought the property full-circle by making it available it to the community. Renovated in 1983 by architect Brenda Levin, the building was “one of the early renovations Downtown, so it started the movement,” said Los Angeles Conservancy Executive Director Linda Dishman.

In the coming years, Geragos and Kabateck plan to continue that movement.

They say they plan to invest in new properties at the pace of one per year, and would like to launch a boutique hotel in the area within five years. In the meantime, they are looking at putting together a coalition of lawyers to act as silent partners in their next acquisition, though no deal has been struck yet.

Whatever happens, Geragos said, “I think we’re in it for the long haul.”

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

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Geragos has been working Downtown since 1983. “The great thing about this point in this career is, I can take the cases that interest me and not take cases that don’t,” he said.

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Party Like a Saint Events on (and Before!) March 17 Will Turn Downtown Green

by Richard Guzmán city editor

S

aint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. A former slave who returned to the country to help its people, he rid the land of snakes and inspired a national holiday.

He also must have been one heck of a fun guy, because he inspired the best excuse to party through the weekend and into the middle of next week. In Downtown Los Angeles, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations kick off March 13 and go through March 17, when the annual parade takes place and everyone gets a wee bit Irish.

Green beer will flow, bands will march, Irish food will be served and bagpipes will play all day. Here is a list of St. Patrick’s Day events, and remember, the best way to honor a great man is to party like a saint.

Green Weekend: No Downtown St. Paddy’s Day celebration is complete without a visit to Casey’s Bar & Grille, Downtown’s most authentic, and also only, Irish bar. The Financial District watering hole will start the party early — this weekend — with green beer and $5 pints of Guinness.

Irish band Paddy’s Pig will perform Friday and Saturday

night and a traditional Irish bagpiper will join in. On St. Pat’s Day, for $30 you can ride on top of Casey’s double-decker bus and “mobile pub” during the parade. If you’re playing hooky from work, you can pay $20 and ride inside the bus where your boss won’t see you.

At 613 S. Grand Ave., (213) 629-2353 or bigcaseys.com.

Studious Partiers: St. Patrick’s Day is not only about booze and parties. Seriously. It can also be a learning experience, thanks to the Central Library and the Culinary Historians of Southern California. On Saturday, March, 14, at 10:30 a.m., the library’s Mark Taper Auditorium will be the site of “An Incomplete History of Irish Food,” a lecture by Los Angeles-based food writer Carol Penn-Romaine. She’ll detail some of the most interesting aspects of Irish food. For example, did you know that no one in Ireland eats corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day? You do now.

At 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 663-5407 or culinaryhistoriansofsoutherncalifornia.org.

Cheers for Beers: Yes, St. Patrick’s Day and beer go hand in hand. So why not celebrate at The Yardhouse, which boasts more than 100 beers on tap. From March 16-18, the L.A. Live bar and restaurant will add green beer to its see St. Patrick’s, page 28 photos by Gary Leonard

Walk This Way: The area’s biggest celebration will take place Tuesday, March 17, at the city’s 10th annual St.

Patrick’s Day Parade. Thousands are expected to line the route for the event that starts at 11:30 a.m. at Main and Arcadia streets and snakes down to Fifth Street. It culminates in Pershing Square at 12:30 p.m. where the Young Dubliners will perform. Along with bands and dignitaries — City Councilman Tom LaBonge, a major supporter of the parade, is always a highlight — the grand marshal will be Robert Patrick of Terminator 2 fame. Lorenzo Lamas will sing the national anthem. The special guest this year is… you. Yes, anyone who wears green is welcome to walk in the parade.

Downtown News 27

The city’s 10th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade is expected to attract thousands of green partiers. It ends at 12:30 p.m. in Pershing Square, where the band the Young Dubliners will perform.

L UA NN A 10 TH

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28 Downtown News

What’s In a Name?

An Unusual Irish Name Always Makes An Appearance on St. Patrick’s Day

by AnnA Scott StAff writer

D

o you have any idea what it is like to grow up with a first name like Briéfne? You may think you do, but you don’t.

I do. I’ve lived it. And I’m reminded of this bit of Irish lineage my parents chose every March 17.

Other kids on the playground call you “Bad Breaf-nee,” your babysitter calls you “Battery” and the first day of school is always fraught until that horrible moment when the teacher stops, mid-roll call, confused, and finally tries, “Brief? Knee?”

A grown man, upon hearing my first name, once chuckled and asked me, “Why didn’t your parents just get a horse and name that Bréifne?”

This is why, at age 12, I said “no more.”

At the start of seventh grade I announced that I would henceforth be called by my middle name and refused to respond to Bréifne, which means “hilly” in Irish and was the name of a historic Irish territory. I haven’t looked back.

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Yet when St. Patrick’s Day rolls around, it always comes out, often accompanied by an Irish Spring commercial caliber lilt. Somehow, the spirit of the day inspires those who know my first name to say it — a lot.

This year, however, I’m determined not to let it bother me.

As an adult I’ve developed a grudging appreciation for the strange beauty of my first name, and some pride in the fact that it’s gender-neutral and is also the name of a pub in my hometown of New York City.

Remembering my name also makes me feel more connected to my ancestry, as all four of my grandparents were born in Ireland.

These are the things I’ll remind myself of on St. Patrick’s Day, when the green beer and the “Bréifnes” start flowing.

But, note to family and friends, that still doesn’t mean you can call me Bréifne on March 18.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

4:25:08 PM

THINK GREEN

Downtown’s St. Patrick’s Day Weekend festivities begin Thursday at Casey’s Irish Bar & Grill where you can enjoy the flow of green beer, or a pint of Guinness for $5.

Not only that, Paddy’s Pig will perform Friday and Saturday night, while a traditional Irish Bagpiper joins DJs to commemorate the sacred day.

Best of all, there’s no cover charge. $30 will get you a seat on top of Casey’s double-decker bus and mobile

pub where you can wave to all your downtown-dwelling friends and coworkers while riding in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. $20 will buy you a seat inside the bus so you can hide from your downtowndwelling friends and co-workers.

Call 213.629.2353 now to reserve your seat. The Guinness may flow all St. Patrick’s Day Weekend, but the bus to Casey’s fills up fast.

St. Patrick’s Continued from page 27 already bountiful selection. But with all this beer, you will need something to eat as well.

Thus, The Yardhouse will add a special Irish menu with corned beef brisket, a corned beef sandwich and shepherd’s pie. There will also be martini specials.

At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 745-9273 or yardhouse.com.

Green Food: If your eggs look green on March 17, don’t worry — it just means you’re at McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant. The day will start early with an “Irish” breakfast of green eggs and ham and potatoes O’Brien. Lunch will be just as green,

with corned beef and cabbage and lamb stew.

McCormick’s will not only taste Irish, the restaurant will also sound Irish, thanks to the, umm, soothing bagpipe sounds of the LAPD’s Emerald Society bagpipe and drum band, which will perform at the restaurant after the parade.

At 633 W. Fifth St., (213) 629-1929 or mccormickandschmicks.com.

Brew Day: Weiland Brewery and Restaurant is giving you a good reason to call in sick and instead attend its 10th annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration, which runs from 11 a.m.-2 a.m. on March 17. The longtime Downtown establishment is offering drink specials, will serve Irish food, and there will be plenty of live entertainment.

At 400 E. First St., (213) 680-2881 or weilandbrewery.net.

Mix It Up for St. Paddy’s How to Be Your Own Bartender With Some Festive Drinks

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

F

or those who want a more personal St. Patrick’s Day experience, or don’t feel like bodysurfing through drunken crowds to get your drinks at the bar, you can prepare your own special beverages at home. Here are some St. Patrick’s Day drink recipes compiled from drinkoftheweek.com, a site that specializes in easy-to-follow drink mixes.

Half & Half (Black & Tan): This is a good mix of two great beers.

Ingredients: One bottle of Harp Ale; one can or bottle of Guinness Stout.

Directions: Fill half a pint glass with Harp. Place a teaspoon on the inside of the pint glass and pour the Guinness slowly over the back of the spoon.

Celtic Mix Cocktail: This combines a good kick with a bit of class.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz. scotch; 1 oz.

Irish whisky; 1/2 oz. lemon juice; dash of bitters.

Directions: Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, stir and pour into a martini glass.

Cork Comfort: A smooth drink that doesn’t mess around.

Ingredients: 1 oz. Irish whisky; 1/2

oz. Irish mist; a dash of Southern Comfort; a dash of Angostura Bitters.

Directions: Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, shake well and strain into a martini glass.

Dingle Dram: This goes down easy, but it’s still a strong mix.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz. Irish whisky; 1/2 oz. Irish mist; coffee soda; crème de cacao; whipped cream.

Directions: Pour whisky and Irish mist into a highball glass filled with ice. Add coffee soda and stir, then float crème de cacao on top and add on whipped cream.

Green Beer: A classic choice for St. Patrick’s Day. Ingredients: lager beer; green food coloring.

Directions: Pour beer into pint glass and add green food coloring until the level of greenness is to your liking.

Emerald Forest: Because it’s a jungle out there.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz. gin; 1/4 oz. green Crème de Menthe; 1/4 oz. white Crème de Menthe.

Directions: Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice, stir well and pour into a martini glass.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

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Downtown News 29

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213.627.1900 We've got what you're searching for!

DowntownNews.com

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

30 Downtown News

March 9, 2009

DowntownNews.com

Continued from previous page

commercial real estate FOR LEASE: 945 E. 10th St. (at Stanford) 11,500 total square feet, (3) 5000 sq. ft. beautiful offices. 24’ ceilings. Built 1986. 22 car parking lot. $0.85 per sq. ft modified gross. Call Stuart 323246-9800 Mon-Sat. 8-6.

DRIVER - West Coast Regional NEW HIRING AREA. Newest equipment on the road. Competitive Pay. Run the Western 11 States. On Site - Full Service Maintenance Shop. Reasonable Home Time. Western Express - 22 yrs. old. Good MVR, EOE, CDL-A, 1 yr. OTR. Call Edna Today! 1-866-863-4112. (CalSCAN)

DISPLAY ADVERTISING in 140 Cal-SDAN newspapers statewide for $1,550! Reach over 3 million Californians! FREE email brochure. Call (916) 288-6019. www.

Cal-SDAN.com. (Cal-SCAN)

help WaNteD

busiNess services

SYSTEMS AND Programming Manager (SAP): Direct the design, implementation & maintenance of SAP-based programs supporting enterprise applications; develop ABAP programming & design. Send resume to : Teri Lyons, LAUSD, IT Division, 333 S. Beaudry Ave. 11/Floor, L.A., CA 90017.

NEWS RELEASE? Cost-efficient service. The California Press Release Service has 500 current daily, weekly and college newspaper contacts in California. FREE email brochure. Call (916) 288-6010. www.CaliforniaPressReleaseService.com.

(Cal-SCAN)

Family, Criminal, P.I. for more than 20 yrs!

Familiar o Amigo Arrestado?

Necesita Permiso de trabajo? Tagalog / Español

Help Wanted

ABOGADO DE IMMIGRACION!

Get your GreeN carD or citiZeNship Law Office of H. Douglas Daniel Esq., (213) 689-1710

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW attorney to handle your professional licensing case. Represents physicians, nurses, laboratories, pharmacies and other professionals in disciplinary actions brought by state and federal agencies including license denials, suspensions and revocations and associated criminal matters. Please call John Dratz, Jr. at (213) 221-7564. www.medicalfraudattorney.com

THAI MASSAGE SPECIALIST

AdMINIStRAtIVE SECREtARY – LOS ANGELES, CA $4,266 - $5,193 MONtHLY Since 1948, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) has been Los Angeles’ public partner in housing, commercial, neighborhood and economic development. CRA/LA is dedicated to revitalizing, refurbishing, and renewing economically underserved areas of Los Angeles.

CRA/LA seeks to hire an Administrative Secretary.

VIP Room Available. The Best Way For Business Meetings & Entertainment

HBODY

MASSAGEH

First Professionally Licensed Massage Shop in L.A. County.

madison hotel Clean furnished single rooms. 24-hour desk clerk service.

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Qualified candidates must forward a completed application and resume to: CRA/LA Attn: HR, 354 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. Position is open until filled. First review of applications will be Thursday, March 26, 2009. Incomplete applications or stand-alone resumes will not be considered.

Posting/application on-line at www.crala.org. Announcement# 2009-02-002.

AA/EOE.

(2 blocks west of San Pedro St.)

Children’s Performing Group

Sunshine Generation Singing, dancing, performing and fun!

For boys & girls ages 3 and up!

SunshineGenerationLA.com 909-861-4433

WWW.DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM HELP WANtEd Market Research Analyst-J.S. Bon Investment, Inc.-Los Angeles, CA- Collect and analyze data on customer demographics, sales, and method of marketing and distribution for retail cosmetic beauty products. Forecast and track marketing and sales trends, analyzing collected data. Gather data on competitors, analyze their prices, sales. Research consumer opinions and sample products to target local consumer markets.

Req. a Bachelors of Science degree or equivalency & 5 years progressive experience as a market research analyst or related position. Previous knowledge of Korean business practices necessary. Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, 40 hrs/wk. Qualified applicants, fax resumes to 323-856-7044 Subjectline: Market Research Analyst

Take Your Game to the Next Level Learn Course Management

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In golf, its you versus the course. Learn to manage the entire game, not just the mechanics of your swing. Learn course management and improve your game.

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Catering to Intermediate/Advanced Players

DONATE YOUR VEHICLE! Receive Free Vacation Voucher.

United Breast Cancer Foundation. Free Mammograms, Breast Cancer Info www.ubcf.info Free Towing, Tax Deductible, NonRunners Accepted, 1-888-4685964. (Cal-SCAN)

CONCEPTO’S CLEANING Crew. Professional, experienced, cleans apartments, homes, offices and restaurants. Call for a quote. 323-459-3067 or 818409-9183.

A VACATION does not have to break your budget. Call or email us TODAY for Cruise and Resort Vacation Special Rates. 714401-1053 or richard@whittingtontravel.com

computers FRUSTRATED BY COMPUTERS? For services or solutions for home or business, call 213458-6873.

lauNDrY services Let us do the dirty work!

Beverly's Laundromat

“ACE VENTURA” private dog walker/pet sitter. Los Felix, Hollywood. $25.00 hour. 323-9770035.

SAWMILLS FROM only $2,990 - Convert your Logs To Valuable Lumber with your own Norwood portable band sawmill. Log skidders also available. www.

NorwoodIndustries.com/300N -FREE Information: 1-800-5781363 x300-N. (Cal-SCAN) SILVERLAKE carpet/tile floors, Downtown views. Near bus & freeway. 5 Minutes to central city.

2 BR/1BA. Room for expansion.

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323-663-1318 or 323-896-2223 BUILDING SALE!... “Unprecedented Low Prices”. Reduced Deposits. Limited Inventory.

25x40 $6,844. 30x50 $7,844.

35x60 $12,995. 40x60 $15,995.

60x100 $37,400. Others! 1-800668-5422. www.PioneerSteel. com Since 1980. (Cal-SCAN) NEW CURVES shoes for women. Cross trainer size “7” $45.00.

Call 213-784-5181.

health

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saKura health GYm & sauNa, iNc.

Minimum qualifications include: At least 4 years of increasingly responsible secretarial/clerical experience; the equivalent of the successful completion of 12th grade including or supplemented with specialized classes in secretarial skills and office procedures; type at a speed and level of accuracy within acceptable Agency standards and be computer literate with emphasis and proficiency on Excel Spreadsheet, Microsoft Word, Outlook and Powerpoint software. Knowledge of proper English language, including usage, spelling, grammar and punctuation; modern office methods, procedures and equipment; record keeping principles and procedures required. Must be able to learn assigned department/project policies, procedures, organization, and operating details; communicate effectively in oral and written form; understand and carry out oral and written directions in an independent manner; organize/prioritize heavy workload for self and others; and establish and maintain complex filing systems.

DONATE YOUR CAR: Children’s Cancer Fund! Help Save A Child’s Life Through Research & Support! Free Vacation Package. Fast, Easy & Tax Deductible. Call 1-800-252-0615. (CalSCAN)

LIFE INSURANCE Beneficiary Available. Singhaha2000@yahoo.com.

HealtH Dept. rank a for 7 ConseCutive Years

111 N. Atlantic Blvd. Ste #231-233 Monterey Park, CA 91754 (626) 458-1919 [Corner of Garvey Ave.]

autos WaNteD

services

Professional massage for men & women. Services include Thai Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Swedish Oil Massage, Foot Massage, Sauna, Steam, and more. Lounge area.

This individual will perform a variety of responsible secretarial and program/ project support activities, and provide administrative support for complex and/ or specialized project-wide functions. This recruitment is being conducted for the Hollywood & Central Region.

UP TO $275K+ 1st year Potential Income. We train. Serious, Motivated & Driven Only. Not MLM. Don’t Believe it, Don’t Call.

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(CalSCAN) 100% RECESSION proof! Be Your Own Boss! Your Own Local Vending Route. Includes 25 Machines and Candy for $9,995.

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(Cal-SCAN)

3386766 0119

DRIVER - Positions Available!

Start your NEW CAREER with our CDL Training: $0 down, No Credit Check financing by Central Refrigerated. 1-800-5870029 x4779. www.CentralDrivingJobs.net. (Cal-SCAN)

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING in 240 Cal-SCAN newspapers for the best reach, coverage, and price. 25-words $550. Reach 6 million Californians!. FREE email brochure. Call (916) 288-6019. www.Cal-SCAN.com.

(CalSCAN)

attorNeYs

busiNess opportuNitY

For sale 1959 FORD pick-up truck.

Needs repairs - excellent engine.

Los Angeles area. $3,000 OBO. 323-243-3505 Garfield.

JOB SECURITY: Be Great Looking. Fully stocked private gym personal training right in Downtown. Fast learning curve will result in high intensity workouts to get you fit and keep you in shape. Free parking. Email: Ronnie@HealthConquest.com (248) 980-5695. I have a degree in Exercise Science. Experienced, w/NASM.

KiDs perFormiNG schools CHILDREN’S PERFORMING Group! Singing, dancing, performing and fun! For boys & girls ages 3 and up! See SunshineGenerationLA.com or call 909-861-4433.

Luxury Rooms in Downtown

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DoNatioNs JUST $5 can make you feel good. www.homelessinamerica. blogspot.com. Make donations at www.servantsofthefather.org/ donation.

voluNteer opportuNities HELPING KIDS heal. Free Arts for Abused Children is looking for volunteers to integrate the healing power of the arts into the lives of abused and at-risk children and their families. Today is the day to get involved! Contact Annie at volunteers@freearts. org or 310-313-4278 for more information.

leGals SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

REAL ARTIST LOFTS FOR LEASE

• Fully Furnished • 100% Utilities Paid • • Refrigerator, Microwave & TV In Each Room • • Wireless Access Throughout Bldg. • Gym • • Close to USC & Loyola Law School • • Presidential Suite with Kitchen • Parking Available Onsite

$780 1 person

RAPTIVA INJURY alart! The Psoriasis prescription drug RAPTIVA may be linked to a deadly brain infection and other complications. If you’ve taken RAPTIVA and have suffered serious infections or experienced other serious disorders you may be eligible for Money Damages. Call the attorneys at James Rolshouse & Associates at 1-800-969-5633.

Licensed in Minnesota. (CalSCAN)

MOVE-IN SPECIAL

Monthly Rents Start at $880 1 & 2 Rooms Available

Special STUDeNT RaTe!

aNNouNcemeNts

Open House Sunday 12:00pm-3:00pm 1250 Long Beach Ave., L.A. (Friendly Fun Community)

$100 OFF

Wood floors, New kitchen, fireplace, high ceilings, jacuzzi, laundry room, pool.

Gated Parking. View of Downtown.

Exp. March 31, 2009

Sorry No Dogs

on 1st months Rent

1100 Sq Ft – 2000 Sq Ft. Prices from $1600-$2300

Mayfair Hotel 1256 West 7th street

Includes 1 Pkg space.

Simin (213) 484-9789 Ext. 555 or (213) 632-1111

Call Emily (866) 425-7259

Do you have something to sell?

All ads run for 2 weeks. Ads may be renewed after two weeks for 50% off the original price of the ad.

Ad prices (Marketplace and Automotive Categories ONLY): • Items under $300…12 words, 2 weeks Free!

• Items $301 to $500…15 words, only $11.50 • Items $501 to $1200…15 words, only $14.00 • Items $1201 to $2000…15 words, only $16.50 • Items $2001+…15 words, only $19.00 Restrictions: Offer good on private party ads only.

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Certain classifications excluded.

Deadline: Thursday at noon for next issue.

Name: Address: City Phone: Cash $ Credit card #: Exp. Date:

State Check $

With a circulation of 49,000 our classifieds get results!

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Ad Copy: ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

March 9, 2009 SOUTH DISTRICT LONG BEACH COURTHOUSE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE NO. NS020883 Petitioner (name of each): LUIS ANGEL TOBON BARRAGAN, 4561 Montair Ave., Apt. D8, Long Beach, CA 90808 filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: LUIS ANGEL TOBON BARRAGAN Proposed name: LUIS ANGEL TOBON JR. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. if no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: 4/02/2009 Time: 1:30 p.m.

Dept.: G Room: 51 The address of the court is 415 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA, 90802. A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior

Downtown News 31

SearchDowntownLA.com to the date set for hearing on the petition in CIVIC CENTER NEWS, 1246 West First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026, of general circulation, printed in this county.

Date: Feb. 13, 2009 John A Clarke, Executive Officer/ Clerk Hon. Douglas M. Haigh, Judge Pro Tem Judge of the Superior Court Pub. 2/23, 3/02, 3/09, 3/16/09 LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT No. SC096622 CROSS-COMPLAINANT: ULTIMATE WATER CREATIONS, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION; DONALD GOLDSTONE, AN INDIVIDUAL vs DEFENDANT: MILES ENGINEERING, ROUX ELECTRICAL, HA POOLS, INC. AND DOES 1 TO 50, INCLUSIVE 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 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: Los Angeles County Superior Court West District 1725 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90401-3299

Case Number: SC096622 Dated: August 20, 2008 John A. Clarke, Executive Officer/Clerk By: D. McKinney, Deputy The name, address, telephone number, and fax number of Plaintiff’s attorney is: Willis J. King, III, Esq. (State Bar No. 193828) Bullard, Brown, Beal, LLP 234 E. Commonwealth Ave. Fullerton, CA 92832 Telephone: 714-578-4050 Fax: 714-578-4060 Notice to the person served: You are served on behalf of: H A Pools, Inc. under CCP 416.10 (corporation) Pub. 3/09, 3/16, 3/23, 3/30/09 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES No. KC 053121 PLAINTIFF: RAFAEL CASTILLO; JOSE FLORES; VANESSA ZAMORA; KENIA FLORES, A MINOR,

BY VANESSA ZAMORA, HER

GUARDIAN AD LITEM vs DEFENDANT: RENEE BELL; ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR; JOHN DOE and DOES 1-20, inclusive 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 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: POMONA COURTHOUSESOUTH(EAST DISTRICT) 400 CIVIC CENTER PLAZA POMONA, CA 91766 Case Number: KC053121 Dated: June 16,2008 John A Clarke, Clerk E. Leon, Deputy The name, address, telephone number, and fax number of Plaintiff’s attorney is: THE LAW OFFICES OF ARTHUR G. LESMEZ

BERNARD WARE, ESQ (SBN 159833) A Professional Corporation 854 Pico Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90405-1325 Telephone: 310-399-1111 Fax: 310-399-3299 Pub. 2/23, 3/02, 3/09, 3/16/09

Fictitious

Business

Name

Statements:

Only

$ 85.

for 4 insertions Call (213) 481-1448 for details.

(Note: The Downtown News does not perform filing services)

Why Chapman Flats are the fastest leasing lofts in Downtown?

Iconic Beauty

Now Leasing

Move-in Specials $1395* - Free Parking On Spring St.

Spring Tower Lofts:

Open floor plan, 2000 sqft $2500/mo. • Live/Creative work space • 14 story bldg. • Rooftop garden terrace w/city view • Pet friendly

Premiere Towers:

2 bdrms/2 bath, $1600/mo. • 1 bdrms, $1300/mo. • Rooftop garden terrace/GYM w/city view • 24 hr. doorman • free (1) parking

City Lofts:

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On Broadway at 8th St. • 213.892.9100 C h a p m a n flats . co m

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Burbank • Brentwood Century City • Downtown L.A. Woodland Hills

Please call 213.627.6913 www.cityloftsquare.com

Bunker Hill Real Estate Co, Inc. Established 1984 For Rent: ❏ Prom. West-2 Bed. 2 Bath. 7th Floor. Elegant Upgrades. Green House.

Pride of Ownership. $3,000 Furn. $2,800 Unfurn. ❏ Prom. West-1 Bed. 1 Bath. Penthouse. Overlooks Pool & Gardens.

Greenhouse Windows and Balcony. Stunning! $1,995 Month ❏ Prom. West-2 Bed. 2 Bath. 5th Floor. Move In Now. $2,200 Month. ❏ Bunker Hill Tower-2 Bed. 2 Bath. N/W View. $2,200 Month ❏ Bunker Hill Tower-1 Bed. 1 Bath. South View. $1,600 Month Foreclosures-Los Angeles ❏ Pasadena Home. Semi Circular Driveway. More. Price $379,900 ❏ 3 Bed. 2 Bath. Pasadena. Upgrades. 3 Car Gar. Big Lot. $547,800

Promenade West Condo

2 Story Townhouse. West Facing With Downtown City View. Upgrades. Large Patio. Very Elegant.

Asking $599,900

Mirza Alli

Locations Nationwide Beautiful Offices For As Little As $400 Fully Furnished/Corporate ID Programs Flexible Terms/All New Suites Services Include: • Reception • Mail • T-1 • State-of-the-Art Voice Mail & Telephone • Westlaw • Fax • Photocopy • More Additional Features: Kitchen Facilities, All Support Services, Great Views, Free Conference Room Hours, Fully Trained Staff, Cost Effective.

Broker/Realtor Leasing-SalesLoans-Refinance

(213) 680-1720 e-mail us: Info@bunkerhillrealestate.com

Call us for other condos for sale or lease Dwntwn & surrounding areas!!

Jenny Ahn (213) 996-8301 jahn@regentBC.com www.regentbc.com

www.Bunkerhillrealestate.com

Furnished single unit with kitchenette, bathroom.

Excellent location.

Downtown LA. Weekly rate $275 inc.

Fully furnished with TV, telephone, microwave, refrigerator.

Full bathroom.

Excellent location.

Downtown LA. Weekly maid service.

Monthly from $595 utilities paid.

(213) 612-0348 Monthly from $695 utilities paid.

(213) 627-1151

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

Perfect for corporate hqtrs. Features separate executive suite(s).

Stunning views of LA two blocks away from Staples Center and across the street from the new LA Live complex. The building also has approx 4,000 sq ft of beautiful contiguous space and some small offices available. These spaces can be viewed by appointment.

Information available to qualified prospective tenants.

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

The Alexandria at 501 S. Spring St.

is Now Leasing!

On-site laundry, free utilities, indiv. bathrooms, 24 hr. security & pet friendly. Close to metro, restaurants, farmers market & supermarket. Units starting at

$570/month

income & other restrictions apply.

Call 213.626.1743 or stop by for a tour

ARTIST LOFTS FOR LEASE Live/Work in Downtown Fashion District 700 to 1500 Sq. Ft. Lofts.

High ceilings, skylights, cable, kitchen, bath+shower, laundry room, elevator, controlled access, sub. parking. Sorry no dogs.

Call George: 818-634-7916 or 310-275-9831 x24

Rent

Move-in Special 1/2 Month Free Single rooms starting from $550/mo.

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208 W. 14th St. at Hill St. Downtown L.A.

For English Call Terri or Pierre 213.744.9911 For Spanish call Susana 213.749.0306

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LOFT LIVING Your number 1 source for Loft sales, rentals and development!

LADowntownNews.com

32 Downtown News

March 9, 2009

DowntownNews.com

We Got Games The Kings Make a Push for the Playoffs Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or nba.com/lakers.

Sunday, March 15, 12:30 p.m.: The Lake Show is on the road the first part of the week, and it’s a tough schedule, with bouts against Portland (March 9), Houston (March 11) and San Antonio (March 12). At the end of the week, Coach Phil and the team return to Staples Center to host the other piece of the Texas triangle, the Dallas Mavericks.

That’s four playoff contenders and some of the top players in the NBA in one week, and all of those teams would like nothing better than to beat the purple and gold.

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

Tuesday, March 10, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 15, 6:30 p.m.: When Lebron James comes to town, Clippers tickets

are suddenly harder to come by (but still not that hard; after all, they’re the Clippers). The team with one of the worst records in the league will try to slow down LBJ and the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, before heading to Denver to play the Nuggets (March 14). They return home Sunday to host Vince Carter and the New Jersey Nets.

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

Monday, March 9, 7:30 p.m.: The Kings face tough backto-back matches, the first home and second (March 13) away, against the streaking Vancouver Canucks. But if they hope to sneak into the playoffs, the most important game of the week for Anze Kopitar and the Kings will come in San Jose (March 14) against the Pacific Division-leading Sharks.

—Ryan Vaillancourt

photo by Gary Leonard

Anze Kopitar and the Kings have struggled to keep the winning momentum all year. They host the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore!

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