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W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
March 21, 2011
Volume 40, Number 12
INSIDE
Downtown Living
PODCASTS
LOS ANGELES
Blakeonomics 101 The Clippers Rookie Phenom Is Not Only Dunking, But Appears to Be Spurring Spending in Downtown
Jan Perry and the mayor’s race.
5
A twist for the Cleantech Center.
6
Omni Hotel completes a renovation.
9
A new book of Julius Shulman’s work.
10
Get ready for the Dutch Dans.
21
For you, a new ‘Screw’ review.
22
23 CALENDAR LISTINGS 25 CLASSIFIEDS
by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
A
thletically, he’s been likened to a jumping freak, an undying engine with one gear — high. That’s great for SportsCenter highlights, but the dunktastic experience raises a question: Can Blake Griffin single-handedly catapult the woeful Clippers to NBA relevance, and be a real economic engine for Downtown? The Clippers are banking on it. More than three-quarters of the way through his rookie season, Griffin (who missed the 2009 campaign with a knee injury) has become the smiling face of Los Angeles’ “other” team. He was the only rookie to make the AllStar Game, and last month in Staples Center he won the fan-adored Dunk Contest by leaping over a car. It wasn’t long before Griffin’s dunk was turned into a slow-motion commercial promoting the car company and the league. The NBA is already cashing in on Griffin’s cachet. So is YouTube, where the phrase “Blake Griffin Dunks” returns 12,700 results. Measuring his impact on the Clippers and Downtown Los Angeles is trickier. Basketball purists could compare the perpetually bad team’s record thus far to last year, when Griffin watched from the bench. While ESPN highlights of Griffin’s soaring heroics might make one think the Clippers are playoff bound, the truth is that, through March 17, the team’s 26-43 record gives it exactly one more win than on the same date last year (the 2009-10 clippers would go on to finish 29-53). In other words, in pure basketball terms, the Clippers are still the woeful Clippers. From an economic standpoint, however, there’s a definite Blake bump, said Bryan Lytle, general manager of The Palm restaurant, a see Blake Griffin, page 11
photo by Gary Leonard
In Blake Griffin’s rookie season, the Clippers have seen attendance increase by an average of 1,080 fans per game over last year. Downtown restaurants and bars are also seeing a Blake bounce.
Downtown’s Big Fault While Experts Say a 9.0 Earthquake Is Not Possible, a Smaller, Central Shaker Could Be Devastating by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
T
he images of the destruction caused by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan on March 11 are particularly poignant to those who live in earthquake-prone areas. They strike a chord in Southern California in part because seismic experts have long been talking about the overdue “Big One” that would emanate from a rupture on the San Andreas Fault.
What most people in Downtown overlook is that while a magnitude 9.0, or even an 8.0 temblor on that fault would be catastrophic, the Central City could face much greater risks from a smaller, more local shaker. While experts say it is not capable of producing a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the Puente Hills Fault, which runs about four miles underneath Downtown and two miles below the Coliseum and USC, is see Earthquake, page 12
photo by Gary Leonard
Chris Ipsen of the city’s Emergency Management Department in Temple Street’s Emergency Operations Center. In the event of a major earthquake, about 30 representatives of city departments would be summoned to the building.
The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles