03-29-10 by Los Angeles Downtown News

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NEWS SF Fed chief talks up the economy.

The El Pueblo rent battle continues.

A Downtown top cop looks back.

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March 29, 2010

Volume 39, Number 13

The Last Hour of Brooks Brothers

photo by Gary Leonard

INSIDE

Easter Happenings

After 71 Years in Downtown, Customers Say Goodbye to an Institution by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

or Tom Kaleita, it was the personal touch that made him go well out of his way to get to the Downtown Los Angeles Brooks Brothers. He’d drive from UCLA, where he is a professor, knowing he could always find that one-on-one connection with the sales staff that ensured he would look his best. Last Monday, Kaleita walked out of the store at 604 S. Figueroa St. for the last time, a heavy heart under his nicely fitted shirt. “I’m grieving the loss,” he said. “The people that worked here personalized the service, they gave you opinions about what looked good and what fits better…. They really spruced up Downtown.” Kaleita, who bought two shirts on his visit, was the final customer at the see Brooks Brothers, page 12

Figueroa Street Marriott Sells

Just after the store closed for the final time, an employee began scraping the Brooks Brothers name off the door.

Great Moments From the Budget Bumble

China-Based Investor Plans Up to $15 Million in Renovations

A Big Deficit and Unheeded Warnings Help Make Los Angeles a Pink Slip City by Jon ReGaRdie executive editoR

he only thing surprising about the city’s budget disaster is that anyone is actually surprised about it. People may

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THE REGARDIE REPORT

bemoan the $212 million shortfall for the current year, but the fact is, this is nothing new.

Around this time last year, City Hall was Chicken Little-ing over what was then a $530 million deficit. Threats of up to 2,800 job cuts were floated but, after some angry back and forth between elected leaders and union officials, the negotiators came together like in that old I’dlike-to-buy-the-world-a-Coke commercial. see Budget, page 10

photo by Gary Leonard

Huge health fair coming to Sports Arena.

18 CALENDAR LISTINGS 21 MAP 22 CLASSIFIEDS

The 1982 Los Angeles Marriott Downtown, which fell into foreclosure last year, has been acquired by a Chinese firm. A planned renovation will enable the building to meet LEED energy-efficiency standards. by Ryan vaillancouRt staff wRiteR

he Los Angeles Marriott Downtown was sold last week, capping a tumultuous period for the 28-year-old hotel on Figueroa Street. Shenzhen New World Group Co., Ltd., an influential real estate developer in China, purchased the

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469-room hotel for an undisclosed price. Shenzhen partnered with the Arcadia-based investor and property manager Kam Sang Co., which initiated the deal, said Ronnie Lamm, Kam Sang’s president and CEO. The purchase, which closed Wednesday, March 24, marks Shenzhen’s first investment in Los see Marriott, page 11

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2 Downtown News

March 29, 2010

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AROUNDTOWN Geragos, Partner, Buying Engine Co. Restaurant

ower attorneys Mark Geragos and Brian Kabateck are buying one of Downtown’s preeminent powerlunch destinations. Geragos and Kabateck, who three years ago bought the Engine Co. 28 building at 644 S. Figueroa St., expect to close escrow within days on comfort food establishment Engine Co. No. 28. The transfer of the liquor license was completed on March 25. The new owners plan some interior improvements that Geragos described as basic layout changes; those are expected to cost in the six-figure range (though no budget was revealed) and should begin in the coming month. “Our thought was that the restaurant is kind of a Downtown institution,” Geragos said. “We don’t look at it as much as ownership as much as stewardship. We want to make sure going into this next 10 or 20 years that it has as much backing and support as it needs.” The move to buy the restaurant was sparked in part by an expectation that the Financial District will enhance its role as a commercial center with the proposed $1 billon Korean Air development on the site of the Wilshire Grand Hotel, Geragos said. The fire station operated until 1969. A decade later it was designated as a national historic landmark, and a renovation and transformation into a restaurant was completed in 1989. The original façade with twin-arched Renaissance Revival-style windows remains.

Main Street Housing Project Breaks Ground This Week

n Tuesday, March 30, Skid Row Housing Trust is slated to break ground on a six-story apartment complex for homeless and low-income individuals at 458 S. Main St. The New Genesis Apartments, which will replace the Genesis Hotel, will provide 106 units in a Historic Core building designed by Killefer Flammang Architects. The project continues a SRHT trend of working with high-profile architects on supportive housings efforts. The

structure will be unique for the nonprofit developer in that it is slated to include ground floor commercial space, said Molly Rysman, the group’s special projects director; that plan was instituted largely because of community input, Rysman said. Although most SRHT buildings are entirely for homeless individuals, the New Genesis will reserve 25% of the apartments for people earning 60% or less of the Area Median Income. The groundbreaking ceremony starts at 11 a.m.

Metro Looking for Artist For Union Station Project

etro is planning a new Downtown bus station for the Silver Line busway, and the agency is looking for an experienced artist to contribute work to the project. The station is planned for the southern edge of the Patsaouras Transit Center at Union Station, a spot that could come with significant visibility for a public art component, said Maya Emsden, deputy executive officer of Metro’s Creative Services. The commission, for up to $300,000, is targeting artists experienced in executing major public art projects, Emsden said. All Metro projects are required to allocate one half of one percent of the construction budget to public art. “The purpose is to make the stations more attractive and inviting and nice places to sit,” Emsden said. “A lot of time we think about how to get from A to B but not enough time thinking about when people are waiting to get from point A to point B.” The deadline for receiving submissions is April 5 at 5 p.m. Additional information is at (213) 922-4278 or metro.net/art.

Standard Hotel Pays $370,000 For Dumping Chemicals

perators of the Downtown Standard hotel have pleaded guilty to violating federal environmental law following a Jan. 18 incident that caused a street closure and

Basquiat, Once Upon A Time… Fractured fairy tales the Musical take a Freudian twist Snatch a sneak peek of Into the the Woods Prodigy, new by Stephen Sondheim rock musical.

os Angeles police detectives are looking for help tracking down a man who is a suspect in a March 5 kidnapfor-robbery incident in the Jewelry District. The man’s alleged female accomplice, Erika Orenday, was arrested in her El Monte home on March 19. The suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his late 20s or early 30s who goes by Paco and has a goatee and crew cut. The crime occurred at about 6 p.m. on March 5, when a 46-year-old jewelry store employee left her job. Orenday waved down the victim in her car and insisted on getting into the vehicle, claiming to have sensitive information about the driver’s children, Lt. Paul Vernon said in a release. Orenday then beckoned a man into the back seat and ordered the victim to drive. The woman was later tied up in the backseat and then taken to a hotel, where she was held while Orenday and the man threatened her children and demanded money. “Thanks to the victim’s thorough recollection and steady nerves, detectives were able to identify the primary suspect quickly,” Vernon said. “Detectives got a warrant and arrested Erika Orenday.” A composite sketch of the suspect is at downtownnews.com.

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Enter the graffiti-splashed, hiphopped-up world of the impossibly Who Would have imagined that gifted 1980s phenomenon Jean-Michel Snow White and Cinderella, Jack and Basquiat. FromLittle homeless addict the Beanstalk, Red drug Riding to pampered darling of the New Hood and Rapunzel could be so, York well, cultural elite, the Haitian-American un-Disney-esque? Inspired by Bruno iconoclast lived a fast and furious exisBettelheim’s Freudian deconstruction of popular fairyinto tales,histhis 1987 tence, drawing orbit thehitlikes Broadway musical probes the darker of Andy Warhol and Madonna before side of relations between parents his star supernovaed in a “speed- and children,accident fantasy and reality, adventure balling” at age 28. Don’t and its consequences. Tony Awardmiss this professional staged reading winning actor John Rubinstein directs of what may be next year’s Broadway the student-thespians of USC in a sensation, book and by sumptuouswith production of lyrics this manyUSC Thornton directorreplete Ken layered modern Opera masterpiece, Cazan and a rap-Latin-alternative with such Sondheim show-stoppers as “Agony” Will Listen.” rock scoreand by “Children composer Billy Pace.

sickened several people in a subway station. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, hotel operators agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligent discharge of pollutants. The hotel will pay a $200,000 criminal fine, the maximum under the law, donate $150,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Fund, and make a $20,283 restitution payment to authorities for costs incurred during the incident. The U.S. Attorney’s office said the trouble started when a hotel maintenance worker dumped pool chemicals into a rooftop drain. A mix of chlorine and muriatic acid caused gases to form in the storm drain system and were released into the subway station near Seventh and Figueroa streets. The intersection of Sixth and Flower was closed for several hours as the gas escaped from the drain system.

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ates of the MFA in dramatic writing program. Tony Award-winning composer Jason aRobert Choose from About Harvest, describing forbidBrown Thornton Wilder’s nod thea den love stages between an American farm girltoand ancient Greeks. Subtitled A Life in the Sun, German POW working her family’s fields in the the 1955 drama reconsiders the legends of 1940s; Daughters of Lot, a retelling of the biblical Admetus, King of Thessaly, and his loving wife, story of thewho fieryare flight from Sodom; Alcestis, at once blessedand andTether, cursed which the strange of Apollo. twin sisters to berelates the favorites of thetale god, Lach and Lam – one black, the other white. Scene Dock Theatre McClintock Building $12 General Admission: Admission: Free www.usc.edu/calendar (213) 740-2167

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Downtown News 3

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How to Build a BID The Early Days Of The Figueroa Corridor Partnership

ith the support of father-in-law Nick Shammas and Figueroa stakeholders like then USC President Steven Sample, Shammas Group CEO Darryl Holter began to gather refROM OUR ADvERTiSERS

sources to build a business improvement district. He traveled to an International Downtown Association conference with Carol Schatz, leader of the Central CityAssociation, Councilmember Rita Walters, and her then chief-of-staff, Jan Perry. As he learned the nuts and bolts of building a BID, Holter also began to solicit Figueroa

stakeholders. “I’d tell the property owners, ‘We want to fix up the neighborhood, we want to make the district better.’ They’d ask how we were going to do it and I’d tell them we were basically going to raise their taxes. They told me I was crazy.” But Holter persisted. He convinced the property owners that the money would be wholly re-invested back into the area, that they would control their own budget, hire their own people to keep the area clean and safe, and make their own decisions free from any political interference. Plenty of the owners still weren’t con-

vinced. “But between me and the university, and a couple of others I picked up early on like the Automobile Club and the Orthopaedic Hospital, we had the numbers,” Holter says. “So the others stared to fall into place.” It was an interesting time, Holter recalls. Stakeholders who didn’t know each other previously met and became friends because they were working toward the same goal. There were focus groups, task forces, and numerous meetings — the BID’s organizers had to come up with a funding mechanism, determine how each owner would be assessed, and they had to lure new investment. Both the Figueroa Corridor Partnership and the Downtown Center BID were approved by City Council at the same time, and founded in 1998 — joining the L.A. Fashion District BID to begin Downtown’s robust creation of BIDs.

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4 Downtown News

March 29, 2010

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EDITORIALS About Those Eyesores

owntown Los Angeles has a lot to be proud of, especially in the last decade. The community has seen tremendous growth, with the creation of thousands of housing units, numerous destination restaurants and instant landmarks such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the new LAPD headquarters. Yet amidst literally billions of dollars in investment, many points of trouble remain. Scattered among the attractions that people flock to and photograph there are empty buildings, vacant lots and derelict properties. In the worst instances, these dead zones have been pocks on the landscape for years, and have sat ugly and unchanging even back during the most recent boom times through the present. Last week, Los Angeles Downtown News published the article “Downtown’s 10 Worst Eyesores.” It may have caused some embarrassment to the public and private entities that own the parcels or properties on the list, but perhaps not, too, since if they cared what people think they would have taken action by now. Embarrassment was not the point, but if the coverage did make them blush, that’s not a bad thing. The properties were noted mostly because of their role in the urban context, not just lack of progress or upkeep, their obvious negatives. An eyesore is an unfortunate occurrence on its own — and yes, there are far more than 10 of these in Downtown — but is exacerbated when the problem property sits near new projects or landmark structures. A rotten apple is not self-contained; it has a negative effect on both

the mom and pop restaurant and the $20 million condo project on the same block. Some of the eyesores are more troubling than others. The two most unfortunate are diagonally across from each other in the Civic Center. The so-called graffiti pit and the hole in the ground where a federal courthouse was dreamed of both run counter to the progress in the area. The former stands immediately west of City Hall. It once held a state office building, which was damaged in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and later razed. Although a few plans have been floated for the state-owned site, nothing has ever materialized. This means that one of the most strategically located properties in Downtown has remained effectively unused for nearly 40 years. While absence of activity is bad enough, it is often not maintained (until there’s a newspaper article about it), and every few months the hunks of concrete become scarred with graffiti. Where is the public pride, the local responsibility? The spot across the street, on the block bounded by First, Second and Hill streets and Broadway, is today a gaping hole of lost opportunity. This actually began with the good intentions of a $314 million courthouse, but that effort was waylaid when the estimated cost somehow soared past $1 billion. That is bad for the courthouse project but worse for Downtown. The hole is ugly on its own, but when it rains we get a muddy swamp, a stark contrast to all the high-end glory in the area. Clearly a major development will not move forward here anytime soon (though if there is a large urban

development worth stimulus funds, this seems to be it). The federal government, which is behind the courthouse project, needs to figure out some way to make the land useful and more attractive in the interim. The problems continue with the privately held properties. Three of them are owned by the New York-based Chetrit Group. Although two of those — Giannini Place at Seventh and Olive streets and the Embassy Hotel in South Park — are architecturally impressive, they suffer from the developer’s either inability or unwillingness to effect change. While we respect the right of the private sector to do what it takes to turn a profit on a property, owning comes with a responsibility to the community. Pressure should be applied by neighboring landowners and government officials. We know they’ve tried. They should try again. Arm-twisting can be appropriate and effective. Tenacity in the face of inertia is the only way. The point is, if the eyesores on the list could be activated, the results would be significant for Downtown and for the rest of Los Angeles. Enlivening the dead zones would create street life and would lead to further investment. This would spur business, which in turn would create tax revenues for a cash-strapped city. We do hope that the public and private entities that own the eyesores recognize their responsibility and turn them around. If they don’t have the wherewithal or the willingness, then it is time to step aside. Either bring in a partner who can make something positive happen, or sell and get out of town.

An Impressive Science Center Addition

xposition Park is a unique place. It is a massive plot housing a collection of museums, sports facilities and other resources, such as the enormous rose garden. Some in the Central City might not consider it to be part of Downtown, though we have long disagreed due to its position at the southern end of the Figueroa Corridor and its proximity to USC, which itself has had a history of direct links to Downtown. As more development occurs along the corridor in future years, the ties between Exposition Park and the Financial District, South Park and other, more northern Downtown districts will strengthen. In fact, another important element of growth was celebrated in Exposition Park last week. On Thursday, March 25, the

California Science Center opened a $165 million expansion. Although it includes office and administrative space, the highlight is Ecosystems, a 45,000-square-foot permanent exhibition. Since its opening in 1998, the Science Center has quietly but continually been an important destination for greater Los Angeles. A sizeable chunk of its 1.4 million annual visitors (a figure expected to rise up to 25% with the new addition) may be schoolchildren, but tourists play a role, too. As Downtown grows and lures more families, parents will be taking their offspring down the Figueroa Corridor to the museum. In Ecosystems, Science Center executives and curators have done an admirable job of creating a modern, interactive and educational experience. The exhibit explores how different parts of

the planet function and interact with each other, and elements such as live plants and animals deliver opportunities that urban dwellers might not otherwise enjoy. There is a 188,000-gallon tank populated with approximately 1,500 fish and other marine life. There is an anthill and a tortoise, things that, obviously, Downtowners don’t come across too frequently. There is also a surprising exhibit about trash, with displays that point out the impact the average person has on the planet. It’s a smart, effective way to demonstrate the cliché that, yes, everyone can make a difference. Science Center officials should be proud of themselves. Ecosystems is a vibrant addition to the museum, to Exposition Park and to Downtown.

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

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Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie citY Editor: Richard Guzmán stAFF writEr: Ryan Vaillancourt coNtributiNG Editors: David Friedman, Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: 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 Schmidt AdvErtisiNG dirEctor: Steve Nakutin sAlEs AssistANt: Annette Cruz clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Steve Epstein, Catherine Holloway, Tam Nguyen, 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.

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March 29, 2010

Downtown News 5

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The Yellen Report San Francisco Fed Chief Predicts Prolonged, Moderate Growth in Economy by Ryan VaillancouRt

they’re going to be slow to hire,” Kyser said. “It’s only when they determine that the rebound is sustainable that they will start to think about adding to their workforce, and if you look at construction, the prospects for that industry are not that bright because it’s going to be difficult for homebuilders to get a loan.” Local Chief The Federal Reserve, the country’s central banking system, has 12 districts and 25 member banks. Yellen presides over the 12th District, the largest of the group, which spans eight states and is headquartered in San Francisco. She served on the Fed board from 1994-1997 and as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 1997-1999 under the Clinton administration. The White House, which is looking to fill three vacant spots on the Fed’s board of governors, has identified Yellen as its top choice for the recently vacated vice chair spot. For now, as she remains in the post in San Francisco, Yellen said she and her Fed counterparts are crafting an exit strategy to eventually ween the economy from its recent reliance on a variety of government backed stimulus programs, from the mass government purchase of toxic assets, to the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers that is due to expire April 30. “I believe these policies played a key role in breaking the downward momentum,” Yellen said. Although the economy has shown signs of rebounding — such as a diminished pace at which jobs are being lost — Yellen warned against holding out for a classic “V-shaped” recovery, like the robust post-recession growth seen in the mid-1980s. “It reflects the financial backdrop of the recession,” she said. “Growth for the past decade, especially in the housing market, was fueled by easy access to credit. Now credit is harder to come by.” With the federal homebuyers’ tax credit set to expire on

staff wRiteR

hen it comes to the economy, California is not out of the woods yet, as business owners and millions of unemployed people can attest. But Janet Yellen, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, a key player in the nation’s monetary policy, believes that the worst has passed. In a Tuesday, March 23, address on the economy at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Yellen painted a portrait of tepid optimism: Growth will occur at a moderate rate for several years, inflation will remain subdued and unemployment will “inch down.” Skeptics of any semi-optimistic forecast could be forgiven, considering the nation’s 9.7% unemployment rate and a federal deficit that has ballooned to almost $1.4 trillion. But Yellen said it is important to compare today to the recessionary nadir to understand how the economy has rebounded. At the end of 2008, the entire financial system was on life support, the housing market had collapsed and consumers and businesses were in a panic, Yellen said at the event organized by the group Town Hall-Los Angeles. “Just a little over a year later the financial system has stabilized,” she said. “Panic has subsided and the economy is growing again. But we face important threats to recovery; in particular, the job market is turning around really slowly.” That is a concern for Yellen, who said that while businesses are reportedly seeing a rise in orders, they nevertheless remain extremely cautious when it comes to hiring. She predicts that unemployment will still be north of 8% in 2011, a level she termed “very disappointing.” Jack Kyser, senior economist and senior vice president at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, echoed Yellen’s assessment of the recent measured growth. “What we’re seeing is that business owners have learned that they can produce as much output with fewer people and

photo by Gary Leonard

Janet Yellen, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, last week told a Downtown crowd that she anticipates moderate economic growth, and not inflation. However, she was concerned over the high unemployment rate.

April 30 — though it was already extended once, and many in the real estate world have their fingers crossed for another extension — Yellen said an important prop is being removed. Even if the credit is not restored, California residents may benefit from an extended state incentive. The state Assembly voted last week to extend a state tax credit for homebuyers worth up to $10,000, a plan that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has publicly supported. The program expired on March 1, and is expected to be reinstated on May 1 and last through the end of 2010. Kyser said that could have a payoff. “I think the tax credits have been very important because you have interest rates that are at a very, very low level, so a lot of people are wondering if the housing industry can fly solo,” Kyser said. “But if there’s still concern back in D.C. about the state of the economy, they very well might decide to extend that federal homebuyers’ tax credit one more time.” Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

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6 Downtown News

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March 29, 2010

Downtown News 7

DowntownNews.com

Heated El Pueblo Rent Battle Leads to ‘Cooling Off’ Period Move Halts Increases That Were to Go Into Effect This Week

photo by Gary Leonard

Olvera Street business owners Andy Camacho and Vivien Bonzo last week protested proposed rent increases at Olvera Street.

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fficials who have long sought to raise the far belowmarket rate rents paid by many Olvera Street merchants thought their efforts would pay off this week. Now, an 11th hour move has delayed the action, perhaps for 30 days, perhaps for longer. At a meeting on Tuesday, March 23, members of the City Council’s Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee agreed to delay rent increases that were supposed to begin for more than 50 merchants on April 1. After the meeting, City Councilman José Huizar, whose 14th District includes El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, authored a motion to enact a 30 day “cooling-off” period. The moves comes in response to a situation that has grown heated. While some say the hikes are needed to balance the department’s budget, merchants, many whose families have had businesses at Olvera Street for decades, have complained that the increases could put them out of business. Huizar’s motion is expected to be go before the full Council on Tuesday, March 30. In January, the El Pueblo Board of Commissioners, whose members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, approved following the recommendations set forth in a recent rent study. It called for raising the rents to competitive levels. Huizar’s motion would delay rent increases until May 1. In the meantime, a negotiating team would be formed to work on the leases. Members of the team would include El Pueblo General Manager Robert Andrade and representatives of Huizar’s and Villaraigosa’s office. “Like any negotiation, there comes a time and a period when people sit across the table and look at each other eye to eye and say this is it, and then you decide,” Huizar said. Market Study Last year, an audit of El Pueblo conducted by the City Controller’s office found that rents for the more than 70 merchants at Olvera Street average $1.35 per square foot, and that tenants of the puestos, the small kiosks that occupy the center aisle of the street, pay an average of $300 a month. The report recommended that El Pueblo officials bring rents up to market rate, which could increase revenue by up to $1.5 million a year. A study commissioned by the city and conducted in August by Simi Valley-based real estate appraisal and consulting company Riggs & Riggs found that rents for retail tenants should be $2-$6.50 per square foot. The report also said that puesto tenants should pay $950-$1,350, depending on location. That led the El Pueblo Commission to approve the rent increases for the tenants who are on month-to-month deals (17 tenants previously signed 55-year leases). The April 1 increases would have followed the lower end of the study recommendations, city officials have said. The new city negotiating team would look at options to phase in market rate rents over time rather than all at once. Additionally, they would formulate a timeline for new lease negotiations and examine the city’s eviction procedures. “This should in no way be interpreted that we are not moving forward with rent increases,” Huizar said after the March 23 meeting, which took place at the Pico House at El Pueblo. “We’ve come a long way; we just need a little more time. I think we are close and we’re going to finalize this by May 1.” City Subsidy El Pueblo’s current budget is $4.4 million, with revenues generated from parking, film fees and about $840,000 from rent paid by merchants. However, the department for years has been unable to cover its operating costs, which has resulted in the city contributing more than $800,000 per year to balance El Pueblo’s budget, according to Huizar’s motion. Officials in favor of the rent increases say hiking rates would balance the budget and stop the practice of dipping into the general fund, a process seen as unsightly as the city struggles with a $212 million shortfall this year. El Pueblo merchants counter that the rent increases are too much too soon and will drive them out of business. Several commissioners who previously approved the increase agreed with the cooling-off period at the March 23 meeting. “We all agree on rent increases, on becoming self sufficient,” Angel Cervantes, vice president of the commission, said during the meeting. “My concern is why the rush? People are going to get hurt, so let’s have a 30-day cool-off to slow it down.” Commissioner Lisa See disagreed, and said in light of the budget crisis, El Pueblo needs to be self sufficient. Vivien Bonzo, owner of La Golondrina Café and president of the Olvera Street Merchants Association, told the committee

that the tenants have conducted their own rent study, which will be completed this week. Although Bonzo did not return calls from Los Angeles Downtown News, other tenants have said that they hope to use the merchants’ rent study during negotiations. “[We want] negotiated long term leases, not mandates or rents we can’t afford that would clear out Olvera Street,” Bonzo told the committee. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

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8 Downtown News

March 29, 2010

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Downtown News 9

DowntownNews.com

photo by Gary Leonard

The Exit Interview: Sergio Diaz Central Bureau’s Deputy Chief Reflects on 33 Years in the LAPD by Ryan Vaillancourt staff writer

n March 31, Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz will retire, ending a 33-year tenure with the Los Angeles Police Department. The 55-year-old spent the past nearly three years overseeing Central Bureau, which includes five divisions that cover Downtown and its surrounding communities. Last week he spoke with Los Angeles Downtown News about his career. Los Angeles Downtown News: When did it dawn on you that you weren’t ready to “hang up the pistols,” as you’ve put it, and why? Sergio Diaz: About a year and a half to two years ago, while assigned here in Central Bureau. You know, you realize kind of late that you are making a difference, that all the years of experience are reflected in the way you make your decisions on a daily basis. In terms of making a difference in this community, we always hoped that we would make a difference, but in the last few years in Downtown L.A., you can’t help but conclude that the police department with its partners has been able to achieve something significant and transcendent and you don’t want to give up being part of that. Q: What has surprised you the most about the way Downtown has changed? A: I haven’t attended a huge number of community meetings but I’ve attended a few, and it still blows me away that in a sense this is like a little village. We have developers and lobbyists and very affluent people who at the very least know some of the characters on Skid Row. They have different interests, but they know each other and not necessarily with animus between them. It’s cool. It’s like everybody’s got this role that they’re playing and we have a role too. It’s the essence of community policing that in some ways we get to be the bridge between people and interest groups and such. If we’re doing it right I think we’re serving them all in hopefully an even-handed way. Q: What’s the best caper you ever found yourself in the middle of? A: I remember when I was a very young officer working Southwest and we went on a radio call — something was going on and the people we were dealing with weren’t telling the truth and we just couldn’t leave. I had a sense about it. Come to find out, we had a guy who had been tied up and put in the trunk of the car we were standing next to. I’m pretty sure that had we not probed deeper, they would have killed him. I’ve thought about this case many times for different reasons, the primary one being that when you get a hunch, a thing in your stomach that says this doesn’t feel right, when you’re a cop you need to follow it wherever it takes you. Q: Did you ever fire your weapon? A: I never have. I came close and took a lot of guns off people in the street, but I’m very, very lucky that way. I’ve been in my share of fights, but if you didn’t understand earlier in your career, by the time you get to be an old guy and have a little experience you understand that the fondest memories are the friendships you make and the people you help. Q: You oversaw the Safer Cities Initiative. How has that effort succeeded and where has it fallen short? A: I think one of the things that frustrates us is we’ve been able to achieve initially very dramatic decreases in crime. And then to some degree it plateaued a little bit. Although crime continues to decrease Downtown, it’s done so in a more incremental way in the last couple years, in a way more consistent with what’s gone on in other parts of Central Bureau and the city. Increased police presence by itself is necessary, but all by itself, if you don’t have very strong partnerships, it’s not a long-term kind of deal. Now, you can’t underestimate the number of people that aren’t dying on Skid Row. We’ve seen a decrease in murders and natural deaths. There are many fewer overdose deaths. Q: What advice do you have your successor, Jose Perez? A: Jose is a pretty experienced guy. He doesn’t need a lot of advice, but I’m thinking of a lot of things I’d say to young cops. The ideal police officer would have a 25-year-old body and a 55-year-old mind. It’s almost like the most important things are what you have to unlearn. You almost have to unlearn all the rules because the rules them-

selves are not all that important in terms of how you want to serve people. The reasons behind the rules are important. I think what I’m toying with is emphasizing everybody’s humanity. Everybody we work with. Before they’re anything else they’re human beings and if we can get past the things that separate us — sex, race, nationality, status in this country — we find out we have a whole lot more in common than we do that differentiates us. Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz spent nearly the last three years working out of the LAPD building on Sixth Street in Skid Row. He retires March 31.

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10 Downtown News

March 29, 2010

Twitter/DowntownNews

Budget Continued from page 1 Now, however, that cola of plenty turns out not to have been nearly enough, and Los Angeles is about to become Pink Slip City. Still, some seem surprised. Which is baffling, considering that you don’t need a six-figure degree from an Ivy League or a Westwood-based school to guess that things might not go from abysmal to peachy in a few months. Still, a few of those who wander the halls of power are acting as shocked as Forest Whitaker’s character was in The Crying Game when he realized that the snuggle bunny of dead Stephen Rea’s character actually was a man. So here we are, one year on and one transgender film reference from last year’s tumult, and local leaders are feeling the effects a budgetary Bubonic plague. What follows are some of the best moments from the great budget bumble of 2009/10. Would You Like Syrup With That Waffling?: The budget mess actually started long ago. One flashpoint came on April 6, 2009, when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stated, “An unprecedented deficit threatens the long-term health of our City.” Granted, you didn’t need to be Nostradamus to predict that, and it came as Villaraigosa, the City Council and the unions wrangled over what steps to take. This led to a spate of position flipping; one week layoffs were the path of necessity, the next it was early retirements, the next it was everyone should work fewer hours. So much was said and it dragged on for so long that pretty much every regular citizen lost track of what happened. Ultimately, about 2,400 people were ERIPped, which despite sounding violent is a term for accepting an early retirement package. You Were Warned: After the budget problem was “solved,” and by solved I mean that a bunch of people saw their paycheck shrink as they were furloughed, while those who had joined the right union belly flopped into an early retirement pool filled with gold bullion, many forgot about the pesky

fiscal situation. After all, there were holiday presents to buy and future elections to lay the groundwork for. But it’s not like AnVil and Gretel were out of the woods, as in December, City Controller Wendy Greuel warned that Los Angeles was still exceeding its payroll budget by $85 million. Oops! This was interesting on two levels. The first is that if you type “Greuel warned” into Google, it returns 358 results. This means that either she has been doing her job and is keeping the city up to date on its finances, or that she is planning to run for mayor in 2013. Or both.

‘I am the chief executive of this city and I believe it is important to be here, particularly in extraordinary times, but I would dilute the extraordinary nature of my request if I were to come on a weekly basis.’ —Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

The second reason this is interesting is that, well, we’ve actually been warned. Greuel’s messages — and every month or so another “Budgetary Cash Flow” report appears on her website — are kind of like what happened in the movie The Ring, when after watching a videotape the phone rings and Naomi Watts’ character picks it up to hear a voice threaten “Seven days.” Each time Greuel releases another report and points out that depleting the reserve fund isn’t wise fiscal policy, it’s like the collective phone is ringing and we’re all hearing the voice from the movie

photo by Gary Leonard

Jobs czar Austin Beutner may have to focus his energies close to home. City officials have called for eliminating 4,000 positions.

go “Six days,” then “Five days.” Actually, this raises another question: How the heck did someone get a film made where the culprit is a killer VHS tape? And if this worked, can I sell a script with a plot about a 746page budget that when opened turns politicians into zombies? Deficit Schmeficit: For a while, it seemed that enough steps had been taken to stop the financial hemorrhaging. Then in February, Los Angeles was bushwhacked by reports that the city would suffer an approximately $185 million shortfall in anticipated revenue for the current year. Oy vey. A deficit of $212 million took hold and calls were made to eviscerate city departments and cut 1,000 jobs. Everything reached its nadir on Feb. 9, as Council Chambers turned into a place that would make the asylum in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest seem like the land of poise and grace. Angry

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Angelenos protested almost every cut, and most City Council members refused to chop anything, either because they felt the pain, or because they are planning to run for mayor in 2013. Or both. About 12 hours later the session ended, but not before the Council elected to do pretty much nothing. Some reports were ordered. Yawn. Dilute This: Another highlight of the day was Villaraigosa’s unprecedented testimony before the Council. I know it was unprecedented because he kept telling everyone that. “I recognize this is an unprecedented visit and an unprecedented opportunity,” he said, and a short while later remarked on an “unprecedented” letter he had drafted. Why a mayor actually speaking with the Council in a time of fiscal emergency should be without precedent I have no idea. Shortly before noon, Villaraigosa finished his shpiel. Council President Eric Garcetti thanked him, saying, “We invite you back during February at any time when you want, and if you feel certain things are going on we want this to be also your chambers just like it’s the public’s chambers.” While most people might say thank you to such an invite, the mayor chose to blaze his own path, remarking: “I respect the legislative functions of this council. I am the chief executive of this city and I believe it is important to be here, particularly in extraordinary times, but I would dilute the extraordinary nature of my request if I were to come on a weekly basis.” I hate to use text terms, but OMG! Did he really take an opportunity to work together and basically say, “Sorry, I’m too extraordinary to meet with you in public”? This is like getting to the doorstep at the end of a nice date with the pretty girl/guy, uttering a hopeful, “We should do this again,” and instead getting slapped with, “Are you kidding? This was a charity date. I have to hang out with beautiful journalist/model types now.”

when the character Max tells the desert dwellers, “You wanna get out of here? You talk to me.” It was like Villaraigosa was a political Mel Gibson. Well, early Mel Gibson, not the drunk, expletive spewing, religious nut Mel Gibson. The Sacking of Los Angeles: Once everyone was arm wrestled into 1,000 job cuts, the elected populace really got the hang of it. Why stop at 1,000, they seemed to say. By Feb. 18 they embraced a total of 4,000 job cuts over about 15 months. At this point, new jobs czar Austin Beutner managed to actually kick himself in the head out of frustration. Creatures of Credit: In late February, Standard and Poor’s became the last of the three major financial credit agencies to downgrade Los Angeles’ credit rating. Granted, 14% of the people still reading this fell asleep just reading the words “credit rating,” but break it down and you get this: Lower credit rating = more expensive money, and L.A. had been

warned about this. In response, Villaraigosa released an undiluted statement calling the move “disappointing.” No credit rating agencies were then seen quaking in their boots. By the Way, Next Year Will Be Worse: On March 2, Greuel released an economic forecast projecting that the city’s revenue in 2010-2011 will be $141 million less than in the current year. Altogether now: “Three days.” Water and Power Play: Last week, Villaraigosa sought to scare the Council into passing DWP rate hikes, warning that the failure to do so could set off a process that could force L.A. to tumble into bankruptcy. The Council responded with a 15-0 vote against, with even the mayor’s water carriers dropping their pails. I’d suggest AnVil visit Council to hash out their differences, but that would dilute the extraordinary nature of his previous visit. And we sure wouldn’t want that. Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.

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Marriott Continued from page 1 Angeles, but not likely the last, said the group’s chairman, Hei Huang. “There’s an old Chinese saying that the word crisis has two meanings: crisis and opportunity,” Huang said through a translator. “What I see is the crisis is about to be over and opportunity is coming. I believe that Los Angeles provides a very favorable investment environment.” As part of the deal, the new owner is expected to maintain the Marriott brand, said hotel General Manager Carl Sprayberry. “They are maintaining the Marriott flag on this hotel. It’s definitely going to remain a Marriott,” he said. Sprayberry said he, however, will leave the hotel soon. Formerly owned by investor Namco Capital Group, the hotel at 333 S. Figueroa St. fell into foreclosure in August 2009, at which point lender Leeward Strategic Properties took over, Sprayberry said. The 1982 hotel is said to be in need of renovations, but has otherwise performed well in the Downtown market, said Bruce Baltin of hospitality industry research firm PKF Consulting. Lamm said the owners will soon embark on a major renovation, following the guidelines of the Marriott company improvement model. The upgrades are expected to cost between $12 million and $15 million, Lamm said. Renovations are expected to make the 13-story property meet LEED energy efficiency standards. The purchase comes about a month after the J.W. Marriott opened at L.A. Live, about eight blocks south of the older Marriott, which straddles Bunker Hill and the Financial District. Lamm said he does see any competition between the older building and the new hotel, an 878-room establishment that is part of a $1 billion project. “The J.W. Marriott is already open, and yesterday, here, we were in the high 80% occupancy range,” Lamm said. Baltin confirmed that the Marriott has met and sometimes exceeds its share of the Downtown hotel market. Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

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Brooks Brothers Continued from page 1 store. On March 22 at 6 p.m., it closed its doors, marking the end of Brooks Brothers’ 71-year in Downtown. GREEN run PARROT Claudio Del Vecchio, the chairman and CEO of New York-based Brooks Brothers, said the store closed because the company had intended to open an 11,000-square-foot location in developer Related Cos. $3 billion Grand Avenue project. That remains on hold due to the difficult lending environment. “The delay of the Grand project coincided with the expiration of our current lease at Figueroa Street and unfortunately we were unable to reach an agreement with the landlord,” Del Vecchio said in an email to Los Angeles Downtown News. “It is never an easy decision to close a store and we hope to return to Downtown L.A. We are COCKATOO actively searching for alternate locations in the event that the Grand doesn’t come to fruition.” The store, one of the oldest men’s clothing chains in the country, was founded in 1818 by Henry Sands Brooks in New York. It primarily sells men’s clothes with a concentraCCRF Quarter Page FINAL.pdf

3/24/10

tion on the corporate crowd. Its first presence in Downtown came in 1939 with the opening of a sales office in the Pacific Mutual building at 523 W. Sixth St. The store moved to the Roosevelt building on Seventh Street in the mid ’40s before making the Brockman Building, which now houses the Bottega Louie restaurant, its home in 1965. Brooks Brothers moved to its current location in 1989. Well Wishers While there was little hype from Brooks Brothers itself (there was no going out of business sale), the last hour of business on thru Monday attracted plenty of loyal customers. Rocky Delgadillo, the former Los Angeles City Attorney, came in during the final hour. “I’m a fan of Brooks Brothers Downtown,” said Delgadillo, who is planning to run for the state Attorney General’s post if Jerry Brown becomes governor. “It’s a symbol of tradition, and it’s been in Downtown since I’ve been working Downtown, and that goes back to my teens.” Delgadillo, who walked out of the store ATM

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with a Brooks Brothers bag holding a new shirt and tie, lamented the end of an era. “It’s a real loss for Downtown. It’s been here so long and with so many new things coming in, it would have been nice if Brooks Brothers could stay here,” he said. Carl Muhlstein, a commercial real estate agent PINK who BIRDworks Downtown, didn’t plan on buying anything on the last day of business. Instead, he came with a bottle of Merlot and a few hugs for the store employees. “It’s disappointing,” he said. “They were a good service to the community. Downtown is evolving, but you can’t ignore the fact that there’s probably 25,000 suit-wearing males who work within a 20-block radius of here who are going to lose this.” Brian Ulf, a commercial real estate broker who has been working in the neighborhood for 30 years, said coming to Brooks Brothers was like a ritual for some of the older, corporate crowd. “For the old-timers it was about habit,” RED MACAW he said. “There are other Brooks Brothers in other locations and you can buy all this online, but it’s the people connection that made this store. And as Downtown evolves it seems like the old leaves and the new comes in.” Like Muhlstein, Ulf didn’t purchase anything. He just came in to say goodbye to the sales crew. Women Too It wasn’t just Downtown men saying goodbye to Brooks Brothers. The store also sold some women’s items. Writer and former MOCA employee Marisela Norte, who has found artistic inspi-

ration as well as clothing at Brooks Brothers, made her way Downtown by bus from her East L.A. home to shop one last time. “It’s the end of an era, another little slice of our civility gone,” said Norte. “When I worked at MOCA it was kind of a nice little outing for me, to come in and look at the order of things and men picking out ties. That kind of little ritual that men go through, there’s something really beautiful about that.” Norte, who has included scenes she’s witnessed at Brooks Brothers in her poetry, purchased a pair of black leather gloves to commemorate the last day of the store. “I wear pieces that I bought over 20 years ago, so that says something about Brooks Brothers. It’s not disposable fashion,” she said. thru As the last hour wound down, boxes of merchandise were carried out of the store by a Fed Ex driver. Another man scraped off the Brooks Brothers lettering from the window, and as the sales crew posed inside to take a group photo, Alfred King walked by and peeked inside. Dressed in a suit, King, a Washington, D.C., resident who travels to Downtown on business and shops at the store whenever he needs clothes, had no idea it was about to close. “They’re closing? Oh no, that’s a disaster,” he said. “I’ve been a longtime Brooks customer. What a shame. They’ve been around as longthru as I have.” Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com. ATM

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Downtown News 13

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HEALTH

T he R ace of His Life Francesco Siquieros, Who Was Diagnosed With Prostate Cancer, Refused to Skip the L.A. Marathon text and photos by gary leonard

rancesco Siquieros is a fine art printer at Fifth and Main streets. He has lived and worked Downtown for more than 25 years. He has run the Los Angeles Marathon for the last 24 years and is part of a dwindling group referred to as Legacy Runners, people who have run every single marathon. Siquieros is the only Legacy Runner who has lived Downtown the whole time. Before last year’s race, Siquieros was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. Amazingly, he ran and finished the marathon after having had chemotherapy just a few weeks earlier. Last month, doctors performed a followup surgical procedure and insisted that he not run in this year’s marathon, which took

place Sunday, March 21. Despite Siquieros’ health issues, he found it difficult not to participate, and asked his doctors if he could walk the route. The doctors allowed him only a few miles, which made it possible for me to join him. Our walk was around Dodger Stadium, past the High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, past the Chinatown Gate, past Olvera Street, past City Hall, around Disney Hall and as far as the Music Center, mile 4. At mile 4 there’s a photo of him at his finish, as he walked away from the race. It’s difficult for a marathon runner not to go the distance. A few years back Siquieros fell during the run, broke his collarbone, but still finished. This was his first incomplete race. He insists that he will complete the marathon next year.

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EASTER Brunch, Blessings and Beyond Downtown Gets Some Eggscellent Adventures on Easter photo by Gary Leonard

by Jessica Hamlin

hether or not Easter holds religious significance for you, it seems to be a refreshing time for all. Children search for vibrantly hued eggs hidden by a whimsical bunny, and family and friends gather for a day of eating, relaxing and socializing. As Downtown Los Angeles grows, there are more and more ways to celebrate the holiday. Here are a few. And remember, if you plan on going out for brunch on Sunday, April 4, many others have the same thought, so it’s a good idea to make Easter brunch reservations ahead of time. Beastly Blessing: Saturday, April 3 (the day before Easter), will mark the 80th annual Blessing of the Animals on Olvera Street. From noon-5 p.m., El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument will play host to the ceremony that dates back to the fourth century. Most people bring dogs or cats to be blessed and sprinkled with Holy Water by Cardinal Roger Mahony, but that’s only the beginning: A cow covered with flowers will lead the procession that begins at 2 p.m., and you’re sure to see birds, fish, ferrets and iguanas. Keep an eye open for the huge albino python. The family friendly event also includes musical acts, pony rides, dancers and a petting zoo. It’s unknown whether those animals also get blessed. At 125 Paseo de la Plaza, (213) 625-7074, (213) 485-8372 or elpueblo.lacity.org. Steak Your Claim: From its name, Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar may not

The Blessing of the Animals takes place at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument on Saturday, April 3. Expect dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and more to parade in front of Cardinal Roger Mahony.

be an obvious Easter brunch choice, but from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 4, the L.A. Live establishment will be serving a three-course brunch for $29.95 a person. Pay tribute to the Easter Bunny with a choice of wedge lettuce or fresh fruit salad to start, and then channel something with a heartier appetite from the six entree choices such as filet Benedict on buttermilk biscuits with hash browns and green beans, berry stuffed French toast with turkey sage sausage, and a lump crab, asparagus and Swiss cheese frittata with hash browns and green beans. Crème brûlée, cheesecake and walnut turtle pie (important note: the pie does not actually contain turtles) vie for your dessert choice. Fleming’s regular menu will also be available throughout the day and evening. And don’t forget the impressive menu of 100 wines by the glass. At L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213)

Celebrate Easter at

745-9911 or flemingssteakhouse.com. J Okay: Take care of two Easter traditions in one place: South Park’s J Restaurant and Lounge will hold brunch on an outdoor patio, as well as an Easter egg hunt for children. From 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 4, the regular brunch menu will be offered, as will specials like petit Maine lobster gratin served with micro greens and sweet potato fries (the meal is by reservation only, so call ahead — seriously) and a grilled German wurst plate with rosemary mustard sauce, mashed potatoes and house made sauerkraut. Children’s selections include Niman ranch beef sliders with Kennebec fries and an aioli trio, or mini chocolate chip pancakes with hot cocoa or dark chocolate milk. Regular brunch masterpieces include sweet and savory crepes, a Monte Cristo sandwich, quiche Lorraine and

other egg and pancake dishes. Prices range from $9-$26, so there’s a wide assortment for your palate and wallet. At 1119 S. Olive St., (213) 746-7746 or jloungela.com. Garden State: Let the garden patio at Café Pinot transport you and highlight the blossoming spring season. A three-course, $35.50 brunch offers starters such as cold potato leek soup with crunchy potato, yellowfin tuna sashimi, mushroom risotto or French onion soup. Those with a sweet tooth can enjoy ricotta pancakes or brioche French toast; there is also a pan-seared hanger steak or the restaurant’s signature mustard-glazed rotisserie chicken. Three distinctly different desserts beckon in the form of warm chocolate lava cake, Fuji apple crumble with cinnamon ice cream, and vanilla panna cotta with blueberry sorbet. You may never go indoors again. At 700 W. Fifth St., (213) 239-6500 or patinagroup.com. Sweets and a Suite: An old Easter stalwart is at it again, as the Millennium Biltmore Hotel offers a big ol’ brunch. Chef-attended stations and tables include homemade waffles, eggs Benedict, fresh fruit, carved meats, seafood, organic salads and veggies and decadent desserts (there’s even a chocolate fountain). Champagne, coffee and fresh fruit juices are offered too — pretend you’re drinking them from a chalice. Younger patrons can partake of a children’s buffet that offers favorites like macaroni and cheese, chicken tenders, pizza and spaghetti. Dine in the elegant Rendezvous Court or cozy Smeraldi’s Restaurant on Sunday, April 4, from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Adult are $55 and children are $25. If you want to get a head start on Easter, the Biltmore has an overnight package. It includes a room, champagne brunch for two in the Rendezvous Court, valet parking and a Biltmore coffee table book so you can bring

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Downtown News 15

South Park’s J Restaurant and Lounge does double duty on Easter Sunday, hosting both a big brunch and an egg hunt for children.

some of the hotel’s upscale charm home with you. It starts at $259 and is valid for the night of April 3 only. At 506 S. Grand Ave., (213) 612-1562 or thebiltmore.com. Taix One for the Team: Add some French flair to your Easter at Taix French Restaurant, just outside of Downtown in Echo Park. From noon-8 p.m. on April 4, the historic restaurant will serve an Easter meal that includes $12.95 appetizer choices such as escargot, an assortment of farmhouse cheeses, Parisian style jumbo shrimp cocktail, mussels, or a “butcher’s block” of charcuterie. Entrees, which are $19.95-$26.95, include filet of sole with champagne and lobster cream sauce, baked ham with brandy and raisins, linguini with three varieties of mushroom, spinach, cream and parmesan cheese, vol au vent (hollow puff pastry) of veal sweetbreads with Chablis wine, truffle and cream, and rack of lamb with a mustard and parsley crust. At 1911 Sunset Blvd., (213) 484-1265 or taixfrench.com. A Solemn Ceremony: All the festivities and all the food make it easy to forget that Easter is, first and foremost, a religious holiday. Perhaps the most appropriate place to

worship is at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Services will be offered on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, and an Easter vigil will take place at 8 p.m. on April 3. Easter Mass is on April 4 at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon. A bilingual mass is at 2:30 p.m. At 555 W. Temple St., (213) 680-5200 or olacathedral.org. After the Service and on the Plaza: If you’re attending mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, make your brunch commute easier by partaking of the Center at Cathedral Plaza meal. At $30 for adults and $20 for children (12 and under), the hardest part will be making room to try each selection. On the menu are honey baked ham, made-to-order omelets, waffles, lemon chicken, orange cheese blintzes with berry sauce and salads. Mini Easter pastries and fresh baked cookies will also be served. Wash it down with free flowing sparkling wine, paradise ice tea and gourmet coffee. At 555 W. Temple St., (213) 680-5271 or levyrestaurants.com. Bringing Back Brunch: Chaya Downtown rarely offers brunch, but it more than makes up for it with a $35, three-course meal for adults that includes bottomless

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thechaya.com. Hats On, Hats Off: Easter is a perfect excuse to don a hat, and in case you need any encouragement, the California African American Museum will hold its annual “Hatitude” competition for men, women and children, as part of its Brims, Bonnets and Chapeaux event. The museum opens at 11 a.m., and from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. the free event will feature singers, dancers, spoken word and some lavish sweets and teas. The Cat in the Hat never got this much love. Admission is free but parking is $8 a vehicle at 39th and Figueroa streets, so carpool with some of your fellow mad hatters. At 600 State Dr., (213) 744-7432 or caamuseum.org.

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Holy Week ServiceS Palm Sunday, march 28 Worship 11:00 am maundy ThurSday, aPril 1 Service 7:00 pm Good Friday, aPril 2 Service & Meditation 12:10 pm holy SaTurday, aPril 3 Holy Flame Service 8:00 pm

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mimosas. Start with refreshing organic beets, creamy goat cheese and blood oranges. There are also other salad selections, crunchy Monterey calamari and corn puree soup. Main courses include huevos rancheros, paparadelle with Kobe beef porcini Bolognese, cinnamon roll French toast and a grilled provencale vegetable and polenta napoleon. End the meal with classics like a flourless chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream or panna cotta with farmer’s market berries compote and Greek yogurt gelato. For $15, little ones get muffins, an entree choice of mini cheeseburger and fries or a pancake with chocolate sauce, and dessert. Sounds like Chaya needs to have brunch more often. At 525 S. Flower St., (213) 236-9577 or

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photo by Gary Leonard

Easter

EastEr sunday, april 4 Organ Prelude 10:30 am Worship 11:00 am Festive Reception and Easter Egg Hunt For Children 12:00 pm

Progressive Values

Inspiring Community

Sunday, April 4th, 10am

Between Downtown and Hancock Park 540 South Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90020 Tel 213.385.1341 Dr. R. Scott Colglazier, Senior Minister

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16 Downtown News

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March 29, 2010

CALENDAR AR

‘Mixed’ Up at JANM Artist Kip Fulbeck Is Back Exploring Identity, But This Time With Children by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

pon entering Mixed, the recently opened show at the Japanese American National Museum, one can’t help but smile. The happy young faces depicted in the 70 photographs that make up the exhibit are filled with joyful innocence. One image shows two girls, one in a ballerina outfit, the other wearing rainbow stockings and a necklace and bracelet to match, engaged in a carefree dance; another portrays a little girl proudly holding up her two colorfully dressed rag dolls; a third depicts a close-up of a smiling boy, his long dreadlocks flowing down his face. The show, with the full title Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids by Kip Fulbeck, is intended to be playful, interactive and fun. But it also deals with a sensitive subject: identify, and in particular, the identity of people who come from mixed backgrounds. Each of the children in the exhibit is the product of parents of different races or ethnicities. “I want people to realize that our country is a multiracial country and it’s been that way for centuries. It’s not a new phenomena,” said Fulbeck, an artist and professor of art at the University of Santa Barbara. The exhibit opened March 20 and runs through September 6 at the Little Tokyo museum.

Along with the portraits, Mixed has some interactive elements, including a wall where visitors can leave their handprints, and an ever-evolving sculpture in which people can place Polaroids of themselves along with messages about who they are. While inside the exhibit space, visitors can try the “electroluminescent location of ancestry activity.” The cumbersome titles refers to how each portrait is connected to a world map mounted on the floor. When buttons are pressed, lights connect the images with the ancestry of the subjects. Mixed is also accompanied by Fulbeck’s book of the same title. Messages from the children about who they are are written on the walls. “Every single voice matters, which is why I really wanted the statements in there,” Fulbeck said.

Deceptively Simple Visitors don’t need to be of mixed heritage to connect with the images, said Chris Komai, a spokesman for JANM. “Kip’s shows are in some way deceptively simple, but they really do connect with a very broad audience. His shows are more about identity than they are about race,” Komai said. Fulbeck, who is Chinese, English, Irish and Welsh, was raised in a Chinese household in Covina. His goal with the show, he said, was not to capture cute faces, but to present their enthusiasms, playfulness, messiness, crankiness, imagination and, ultimately, their hope. All of the children in the portraits are under 12 years old. They hail from across the country, including California, New York and Hawaii. “I didn’t want the Christmas card or the Chanukah card or the school photo, I wanted them to actually be themselves,” he said. The children’s self-identifying descriptions on the exhibit wall add to the impact. One reads, “I’m 12, guitar and video games period.” Another caption says, “I play soccer, I am amazing. People say you aren’t Asian and I say I am, people still do not believe me.” For Fulbeck, the messages are unbridled, and offer something purer than self-censoring adults can deliver. “Kids have a certain honesty we lack as adults and are not afraid to speak their minds, which we adults don’t do all the time,” Fulbeck said. Encore Mixed is the follow-up to the 2006 JANM exhibition Kip Fulbeck: Part Asian, 100% Hapa. That featured photographic portraits of individuals of multiracial heritage and their responses to the question people often asked them: “What are you?” Fulbeck continues to ask that questions with his current show. But this time, he is not answering it alone. On June 12, Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, President Barack Obama’s sister, who wrote the foreword to Fulbeck’s book, will read excerpts from her unpublished children’s book and will speak with Fulbeck on the subject

of identity, family and being multiracial in America. The show is also a way to dissolve ideas about mixed marriages, by showing the results of these unions and in essence, the future of the United States, Komai said. “That’s what I look at it as being,” he said. “It’s Kip’s attempt to free our society from those old stigmas.” It is also a way for Fulbeck to explore his own family’s identity and the world his 1-year-old, mixed-race son will grow up in. The exhibit started when he and his wife decided to start a family. Now, he said, the important thing is making sure he helps create a better place for the next generation. “I learned that I was actually a lot more concerned than I had realized about making changes in the world for my son,” he said. “When I grew up I thought every kid got beat up for being half Chinese, but that’s not the case. It’s a really different place now, but we still have a long way to go.” Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids by Kip Fulbeck runs through Sept. 6 at the Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. First St., (213) 625-0414 or janm.org Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

photos by Kip Fulbeck

Children of mixed backgrounds were photographed in Mixed: Portraits of Multiracial Kids by Kip Fulbeck. Each photo includes a statement from the child about his or her identity. The show runs through Sept. 6 at the Japanese American National Museum.

March 29, 2010

Downtown News 17

DowntownNews.com

A Word With the Emperor Robey Theatre Production Kicks Off LATC Spring Season by Ryan Vaillancourt staff writer

he central conflict in the Robey Theatre Company’s The Emperor’s Last Performance revolves around a racial slur, a word whose use is as controversial now as it was during the 1920s, when the world premiere is set. Against the backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance, the play centers on African-American actor Charles Gilpin and his personal battle with the n-word. “Some things never change,” said Ben Guillory, artistic director and co-founder of the Robey Theatre Company, a resident company of the Historic Core’s Los Angeles Theater

Spring Season T

he Emperor’s Last Performance kicks off the spring season at the LATC. The series of plays running at the venue’s four theaters has been dubbed “East of Broadway,” for its location a block east of L.A.’s own Broadway. On the docket are: April 16-May 16: In Erik Patterson’s Sick, Pamela keeps digging herself deeper into a world of hypochondria. May 1-30: In Dementia, a production of the resident Latino Theater Company, Moe has a going away party because he’s dying of AIDS. May 7-June 6: 1951-2006 is a 50-year love story centered on the fourth floor of a brownstone on the east side of Manhattan. June 18-27: The Robey Theatre Company returns with Transitions, written by Kellie Roberts. The three short plays deal with ordinary people struggling with a call from God. June 19: The Slumber of Reason is a new dance theater piece developed and produced by the Latina Dance Project. It springboards off prints by Francisco de Goya.

Center for the past three years. Guillory, who also directs The Emperor’s Last Performance, knows that the play is first and foremost a period piece that strives to be true to a cast of real life characters, from Gilpin to playwright Eugene O’Neill to Paul Robeson, the luminary for whom the Robey is named. But if the cultural references in Melvin Ismael Johnson’s script reflect 1920s New York, some of its themes are just as relevant in 2010 Los Angeles. “In the context of the play, that word and the use of it and who should use it if anyone, and who shouldn’t, is discussed in depth,” Guillory said. The play chronicles Gilpin’s role as Brutus Jones in O’Neill’s play The Emperor Jones. In O’Neill’s work, Gilpin is sent to jail after killing another man in a fight. He later escapes from prison and moves to a tropical island, where he cons the locals into making him the emperor, though he must flee when the natives rebel. Johnson’s piece, however, focuses on the relationship between Gilpin and the white playwright O’Neill, who wrote the racial slur into The Emperor Jones more than 30 times. “These days O’Neill would have been considered a racist, but back then, he was doing courageous work,” said Guillory. Ultimately, the Robey production deals with Gilpin’s objection to using the slur in the performance, and the consequences he faces for challenging O’Neill. “The motives are suspect as to why it’s used so often when it’s written by a white man, and Charles challenges that,” Guillory said. “Then there are questions about the way he challenges.” Earning the Stage The Robey Theatre Company’s residency at the LATC coincides with its playwrights program. The effort is helping 18 writers develop works for the stage. The Emperor’s Last Performance is one of three Robey productions scheduled for 2010 at the LATC. All are products of the playwrights program, Guillory said. Founded by Guillory and actor Danny Glover 16 years ago, the Robey Theatre Company’s mission is to produce works

photo by Ed Krieger

Set during the Harlem Renaissance, The Emperor’s Last Performance is an historical take on one black actor’s trouble with a racial slur written into his script. Dwain A. Perry (seated) plays Charles Gilpin and Jonathan Palmer (left) plays Eugene O’Neill.

that deal with the African American and black experience worldwide. “This playwrights’ process is really about developing new work that deserves production, so the fact that we’re doing three world premieres this year, it’s because the work that’s coming out of the program is just deserving of production,” he said. The Emperor’s Last Performance runs Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 and 7 p.m. It runs through April 4 at the LATC, 514 S. Spring St., thelatc.org. Ticket information at (213) 489-0994, ext. 107, or robeytheatrecompany.com.

E aster Sunday

APRIL 4, 2010

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18 Downtown News

EVENTS

March 29, 2010

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LISTINGS ThE ‘DoN’T MIss’ LIsT Shredding, Dancing and Exhibiting in Downtown L.A.

Wednesday, March 31 SCI-Arc Lecture Series 960 E. Third St., (213) 356-5328 or sciarc.edu. In the W. M. Keck Lecture Hall. 7 p.m.: Historian Eric Avila discusses how, by the 1920s, Downtown Los Angeles had become the “Great Gatsby of American cities,” a magnet for Southern California’s political, commercial and cul-

NUMBER ThREE

The Mu seu m of Contemporary Art turned 30 recently, and the party continues Thursday, Ap ril 1, at 6:3 0 p.m . with performance collec tive My Barbarian’s missioned com ce reprisal of The Fourth Wall, a pie anied by omp y. Acc by MOCA to celebrate its birthda ic and com es stag videos and original music, the group CA MO with ws rvie critical scenes adapted from inte CA MO 30, of age staff. Seems that even at the ripe ibiexh oing ong has a sense of humor about itself. The s ure feat rs, Yea rty tion Collection: MOCA’s First Thi h bot at ts artis 200 more than 500 works by more than Contemporary fen Gef the and nue Ave nd MOCA Gra ning from 5-8 p.m. at MOCA. FYI, every Thursday eve S. Grand Ave., (213) admission to MOCA is free! At 250 626-6222 or moca.org.

No.2 Fender presents John 5: Professor of Shredology at the Grammy Museum Soundstage on Wednesday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. Who? Mr. 5 is one of hard rock’s greatest guitarists, with a resume that includes his own solo work and collaborations with Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth, photo courtesy of the Grammy Museum Salt-N-Pepa, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Rob Zombie, among others. He’ll demonstrate his riff-roaring axe technique, break down his signature gear (the J5 Telecaster, J5 Special Edition acoustic and J5 Triple Tele Deluxe), discuss life on the road and his latest solo project, Requiem. He’ll also answer questions and sign autographs. Admission is free; reservations required. At 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-6830 or grammymuseum.org.

No.FoUR

There’s no event quite like First Fridays at the Natural History Museum, where the entire venue stays open until 10 p.m. and the young and tattooed come to dance, drink and learn about science. The sixth season is titled No Place Like Home: The Science of Southern California. Earthquakes, our ever-present peril, are on the agenda on Friday, April 2. After the “Living on the Edge: Coping With Earthquakes” interactive museum tour at 5:30 p.m., Dr. Tanya Atwater leads the “Living in the Plate Boundary: Our Town, Twisted (and Shaky) Landscapes” discussion. Funk orchestra Breakestra and the soulful Fitz and the Tantrums will rock the diorama halls, while resident DJ Them Jeans and headliner Cosmic Kids spin a span from hardcore punk to hip-hop. At 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-3466 or nhm.org.

“Please, sir, I want som e more.” G and the City, ruel a short play photo courtesy festival open , that is. L.A. Views 3: H Company o of Company of ing Friday, u fA Angels April 2, at th nger plores the co ngels Theatre in the e ncept of wa Alexandria nting more Charles Dic so vividly im Hotel, exkens’ Oliver mortalized in Twist. Eigh Los Angeles t p the theme o laywrights chew on fh and figurativ unger, both literally ely on issues re , turning the spotlight sonating in our fair city Topics rang . e fr apathy; sibli om Prop 8 to AIDS ng rivalry to ance betwee th n art and co e balmmerce; and hunger for primal desi a good steak to the re of wanti ng more. The show ru ns through April 25 at 501 S. S pri 3703 or com ng St., (213) 489panyofangel s.org. Contact Lau ren Camped elli at calend ar@downtow nnews.com.

NUMBER FIVE

Tuesday, March 30 Japanese American Cultural & Community Center JACCC Plaza or Aratani/Japan America Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St., (213) 628-3700 or jaccc.org. 7 p.m.: The JACCC celebrates its 30th anniversary with a gala featuring taiko legend Kenny Endo; jazz piano virtuoso Keiko Matsui; five-time Grammy winner Daniel Ho; and Japanese music superstar Jero. Following the concert, the celebration continues with a reception on the JACCC Plaza.

Downtown landlo rd Br arts>Brookfield Prop ookfield Properties has gained pl enty of attention erties, its program th for at brings various arts lic spaces in its real presentations to the estate holdings. The pubeffort continues at its company teams with 7+FI the California Afric an American Museu G Art Space, as the tion of paintings, sc ulptur m on a dynamic exhi biArtist Coalition of Lo e, photographs and assemblages from 20 prominent Califor s Angeles members. nia CAAM’s 7+FIG Show temporary extension case, a recently debu of th ted Monday through Frida e museum’s Exposition Park location, is open from noon-4 p. y, as well as during m m., onthly Thursday even ues through June 11 ing Art Walks. It cont at 735 S. Figueroa St ., (213) 744-7432 or incaamuseum.org.

photo courtesy of MOCA

SPONSORED LISTINGS Caña Rum Bar at the Doheny 714 W Olympic Blvd., (213) 745-7090. 6 p.m.-2 a.m., Mon.-Fri.; 7 p.m.-2 a.m., Sat.: Caña Rum Bar at the Doheny is open and serving handcrafted rum cocktails and flights from its large library of premium, smallbatch rums. Live Caribbean and tropical music. $20 annual membership provides induction to Caña Rum Society and free rum tastings and spirit education. $6 mojito and daiquiri specials. New member fees are donated to charity. Kids 4 Kids Run/Walk L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (310) 2075330 or ccrf-kids.org. April 25, 10 a.m.: Toyota and AEG host the “All-Star” carnival and finish line entertainment for the Kids 4 Kids 5k Run/Walk 2010. A host of celebrities and professional athletes have been invited to attend, including Jordan Farmar, Rafael Furcal, Luc Robitaille, Landon Donovan, Michael Cooper, Noelle Quin and Emma Roberts. The event is a benefit for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Griffith Observatory’s 75th Birthday Party 2800 E. Observatory Rd., (213) 473-0807 or friendsoftheobservatory.com. May 15, 5:30-10 p.m.: Celebrate Griffith Observatory’s 75th birthday and support science education at the same time. See the Observatory bathed in shimmering northern lights. Attend the premiere of Light of the Valkyries, a live planetarium show with celebrity performers. Dine on gourmet cuisine by Wolfgang Puck. Proceeds fund field trips for thousands of students. For ticket and sponsorship information, see contact information above. Easter Brunch at the Cathedral Cathedral Plaza, 555 W. Temple St., (213) 6805271 or invitelevy.com/blog. April 4: Celebrate Easter Sunday with a delightful champagne brunch prepared by the expert chefs at the center at Cathedral Plaza, a signature of Levy Restaurants. Adults $30, children (2-12) $20 plus tax. For more information and reservations call (213) 680-5271.

oNE

Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging

photo by Gene Og ami

by Lauren CampedeLLi, Listings editor

March 29, 2010

Downtown News 19

DowntownNews.com Flagship Theatres University Village 3323 S. Hoover St., (213) 748-6321 or flagshipmovies.com. Through April 1: How to Train Your Dragon 2D (11:30 a.m. and 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m.); Hot Tub Time Machine (noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30 and 10 p.m.); Diary of a Wimpy Kid (12:30, 2:45, 5, 7:15 and 9:30 p.m.); Clash of the Titans 2D (April 1, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.). Regal Cinema L.A. Live 1000 W. Olympic Blvd., (877) 835-5734 or lalive.com. Through April 1: Alice in Wonderland in 3D (11:10 a.m., 1:10, 1:50, 4, 4:40, 6:40, 7:20, 9:30 and 10:10 p.m.); The Bounty Hunter (1:30, 4:10, 6:50, and 9:40 p.m.); Diary of a Wimpy Kid (11:20, 1:50, 4:20, 6:50 and 9:10 p.m.); Green Zone (11:20 a.m. and 2:10, 4:50, 7:40 and 10:20 p.m.); Hot Tub Time Machine (11:40 a.m. and 12:20, 2:10, 2:50, 4:40, 5:20, 7:10, 7:50, 9:40 and 10:20 p.m.); How to Train Your Dragon (12, 2:30, 5, 7:30 and 10 p.m.); How to Train Your Dragon 3D (11:30 a.m. and 2, 4:30, 7, and 9:30 p.m.); Repo Men (11:40 a.m. and 2:20, 5:10, 8:10, and 10:50 p.m.); Shutter Island (12:10, 3:30, 6:30, 9:40 p.m.); Our Family Wedding (1:20, 3:50, 6:30 and 9 p.m.); She’s Out of My League (12:40, 3:10, 5:40, 8:10 and 10:40 p.m.). April 2 (partial listing): Clash of the Titans (11 a.m. and 1:50, 4:50, 7:50 and 10:50 p.m.); Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? (11:10 a.m. and 2, 5, 8 and 11 p.m.); The Last Song (11:10 a.m. and 1:40, 4:30, 7:10 and 9:50 p.m.)

tural capital. But by the 1940s, the area had become the paragon of the noir city: dark, dangerous, and distant from the periphery of suburban wealth. Thursday, april 1 MOCA Grand Avenue 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-1745 or moca.org. 6:30 p.m.: Join artist collective My Barbarian for a reprisal of “The Fourth Wall,” a performance commissioned to celebrate MOCA’s 30th birthday. Accompanied by videos and original music, the group stages comic and critical scenes adapted from interviews with MOCA staff. ALOUD at the Central Library 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7025 or aloudla.org. 7 p.m.: “The Writer In The World” invites two celebrated authors, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, from Kenya and Laila Lalami, from Morocco, to examine how writers take on the challenges posed by political and cultural conflict. Friday, april 2 Farmlab Public Salons 1745 N. Spring St. #4, (323) 226-1158 or farmlab.org. Noon: Sam Easterson gives a presentation on the history and future of the Museum of Animal Perspectives, which collects and displays wildlife imagery that has been captured using remote sensing cameras. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-DINO or visit nhm.org. 5:30-10:30 p.m.: This installation of First Fridays focuses on the science of Southern California earthquakes. Dr. Tanya Atwater delves into the plate tectonics of Los Angeles, and later, DJ Them Jeans shakes the dance floor with Cosmic Kids.

ROCK, POP & JAZZ

2nd Street Jazz 366 E. Second St., (213) 680-0047, 2ndstjazz.com or myspace.com/2ndstreetlivejazz. Tuesdays: Jazz jam session. Music usually starts at saTurday, april 3 Japanese American Cultural & Community 9 or 10 p.m. Café Metropol Center 923 E. Third St., (213) 613-1537 or cafemetropol.com. JACCC Plaza or Aratani/Japan America Theatre, 244 April 2-3, 8-10 p.m.: The Walter Smith III Quartet. S. San Pedro St., (213) 628-3700 or jaccc.org. 8 p.m.: Taiko master Kenny Endo and his cast of Chop Suey Café supporting musicians present a unique blend of fu- 347 E. First St., (213) 617-9990 or chopsueycafe.com. Thursdays, 7:30-9:30 p.m.: and Livevendors? jazz on the sion, combining Japanese classical with We’ve gotdrumming the solution. Juggling too many projects, deadlines Letpatio PIP manage the creation andofre-ordering all of your business communithe restoredoflandmark. jazz and world music. cations. In one location, yourCicada PIP consultants bring together all the resources you need, including: Cicada• Printing Restaurant, 617 S. Oliveposters St., (213) 488-9488 or sunday, april 4 • Signs, and banners • Copying • Digital printing cicadarestaurant.com. California African American Museum • Online ordering • Graphic design Sundays, 6-11 p.m.: The restaurant is transformed 600 State Dr., (213) 744-7432 or700 caamuseum.org. Wilshire Blvd. into a vintage, old Hollywood-style dance club every 11 a.m.-5 p.m.: The museum presents “Hattiph: 213-489-2333 fax: 213-489-2897 tude: Brims, Bonnets and Chapeaus.” Visit the mu- Sunday. Come out to appreciate the big band, swank piparco@sbcglobal.net seum with your favorite hat and participate in a hat costumes, dinner and cocktails. Visit cicadaclub.com. parade. Tea and treats, along with music and fashion Club Nokia show, will be presented. Workshops for children and Corner of Olympic Blvd. and Figueroa St., clubnokia.com. adults until 3 p.m. March 29, 11:30 p.m.: The Black Eyed Peas ofMOCA Grand Avenue ficial after show party celebrates two sold-out Staples 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-1745 or moca.org. 1-3:30 p.m.: Graffiti dates back to ancient Egypt Center shows with DJ sets by the multi-platinum and Rome. In this family and youth-oriented work- and Grammy Award-winning group’s will.i.am and shop, investigate graffiti inspired artwork in “Collec- apl.de.ap, plus LMFAO and DJ set by RedFoo. April 2, 9 p.m.: The crude, the hilarious, The Dan tion: MOCA’s First Thirty Years.” Band. We’ve got the solution. Whether one customer or appealing Aprilgoing 3, 7 after p.m.:just Honor Society with Just Kait and to a mass market, we’ll help you capture Ashlyne Huff. those sales opportunities. In one location, your PIP consultants bring together all the resources you need, Downtown Independent Grammy Museum including: • Printing • Signs, posters banners or 251 S. Main St., downtownindependent.com for L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213)and 765-6800 • Copying • Digital printing showtimes. grammymuseum.org. These shows take place in the • Graphic design • Online ordering March 30, 8:30 p.m.: In the700 3D Train From No-Blvd. museum’s Sound Stage theater. Wilshire where, the LA3DClub teamsph: up213-489-2333 with the Downtown March 31, 7:30 p.m.: Guitarist John 5 has played fax: 213-489-2897 Independent to present screeningspiparco@sbcglobal.net of independent with Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth, Salt-N-Pepa, 3-D movies in Los Angeles. Lynyrd Skynyrd and Rob Zombie. He will demonThrough April 1: West of Pluto paints a portrait strate his techniques, break down his signature gear, of the high-school experience in suburban Quebec; talk about life on the road and perform songs from it follows the experiences of 10 teens. his latest album, Requiem.

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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. Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6000 or nokiatheatrelalive.com. April 2, 8 p.m.: The actress, singer and talk-show host Mo’Nique. April 3, 8 p.m.: The Men of Soul Tour, featuring Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo Bryson, Freddie Jackson and Howard Hewett. Redwood Bar & Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 680-2600 or theredwoodbar.com. March 30, 10 p.m.: The Neurotics and Stab City. March 31, 10 p.m.: Adam Mackintosh. April 1, 10 p.m.: Dante Vs. Zombies, Stabbings, Beggars and Crystelles. April 2, 10 p.m.: Ole Californio and I See Hawks in L.A. Seven Grand 515 W. Seventh St., sevengrand.la. March 29, 10 p.m.: Robby Marshall Group. March 30, 10 p.m.: The Makers. March 31, 10 p.m.: Sista Sherry Blues. Staples Center 1201 S. Figueroa St., staplescenter.com. March 29, 7:30 p.m.; March 30, 6:30 p.m.: The Black Eyed Peas are in the house for two nights.

CLASSICAL MUSIC Tuesday March 30 Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S. Grand Ave., musiccenter.org. 8 p.m.: Emanuel Ax and the L.A. Phil perform Brahms’ String Quartet No. 3, Schumann’s Piano Quintet and Janacek’s “Mladi.” Thursday april 1 Walt Disney Concert Hall 111 S. Grand Ave., musiccenter.org.

8 p.m.: Conductor Semyon Bychkov leads the Philharmonic in Mahler’s seminal Symphony No. 5. Also at 8 p.m. on April 3 and 11 a.m. on April 2. Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., colburnschool.edu. 7 p.m.: The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra plays Mozart’s Overture to Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute); Durante’s Concerto for Strings No. 8; and Ferrandini’s “Mary’s Lament.”

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 May 2: “Harlem of the West, Jazz, Bebop and Beatnik” celebrates the Fillmore District of San Francisco in the 1940s, ‘50s and early ‘60s where Bebop cross-pollinated with the Beat Movement and avant-garde film making to make a dynamic scene. Through May 2: “An Idea Called Tomorrow” was co-conceived by CAAM and the Skirball Cultural Center and showcase works by twelve contemporary artists that imagine what a civil future looks like. Through June 6: “Dance Theater of Harlem” is a multi-media exhibit exploring the choreography,

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20 Downtown News

March 29, 2010

Twitter/DowntownNews

Listings

We Got Games

Continued from previous page

Winding Down for the Clippers, Ratcheting Up for the Kings Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7100 or nba.com/lakers. April 2, 7:30 p.m.; April 4, 12:30 p.m.: Andrew Bynum is out with a strained Achilles heel, but the loss of the young center hasn’t slowed the Lakers as they zoom toward the close of the regular season. The Purple and Gold start the week on the road, first taking on New Orleans (March 29), then visiting the exciting Atlanta Hawks (March 31). The Lakers return home to host another hot team in the Utah Jazz, and then a rematch versus the aging Spurs. Los Angeles Kings Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., 1 (888) KINGS-LA or kings.nhl.com. April 1 and 3, 7:30 p.m.: The Kings are still clinging to their playoff hopes as the NHL regular season nears its end, but diehard fans aren’t ready to celebrate yet. Though the squad seems headed for the postseason, the Kings are no stranger to the late season meltdown. Anze Kopitar is, again, the leader on the ice, along with Dustin Brown. They face the Minnesota Wild (March 29) and Nashville Predators (March 30) on the road before hosting the Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks at Staples.

Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7100 or nba.com/clippers. April 4, 6:30 p.m.: The Clippers are on the road for most of the week, looking to slow down a trio of playoff bound squads: The upstart Milwaukee Bucks (March 30), the Toronto Raptors (March 31) and the Denver Nuggets (April 3). After the trip, the Clips returns to Staples for an Easter showdown against another struggling team, the New York Knicks. —Ryan Vaillancourt

photo by Gary Leonard

Anze Kopitar is leading the Kings into the postseason, but diehard fans know better than to count their chickens.

costuming and dancers of the famed dance company. The exhibit also takes a close look at the company’s founders Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, who started DTH in 1969. California Science Center 700 State Drive, (323) 724-3623 or californiasciencecenter.org. Through May 2: “America I Am” celebrates nearly 500 years of African American contributions to America and the world. Through artifacts, multimedia and programs, visitors explore the influence and innovations of African Americans. Ongoing: The Science Center’s permanent exhibits are usually interactive and focus on human innovations 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 30: “Hollywood Chinese: The Arthur Dong Collection” is an exhibition of movie memorabilia collected during the 10-years of research for Arthur Dong’s documentary on the Chinese in American feature films. Explore the filmmaker’s archive of over 1,000 items, including posters, lobby cards, stills, scripts, press material, and other artifacts dating from 1916 to present-day. 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.

See Complete Listings on the Web at ladowntownnews.com/calendar.

2your EvEnt info Easy ways to submit

4 wEb: LADowntownNews.com/calendar/submit 4 EmaiL: Calendar@DowntownNews.com

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

THE ANSWER TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

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

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

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22 Downtown News

March 29, 2010

Twitters/DowntownNews

CLASSIFIED

place your ad online at www.ladowntownnews.com

FOR RENT

L.A. Downtown News Classifieds Call: 213-481-1448

“Be wary of out of area companies. Check with the local Better Business Bureau before you send any money for fees or services. Read and understand any contracts before you sign. Shop around for rates.”

Classified Display & Line ads Deadlines: Thursday 12 pm REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL

retail space lease/sale

Real Estate Services CONSIDERING Foreclosure? Are you late in payments? A short sale may be your solution. Call Lady Rodriguez, Realtor 310-600-7534. Represent both buyers and sellers.

lofts for sale

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REAL ESTATE COMMERCIAL

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Call 213-625-1313

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

FOR RENT

Walking distance to Metro Station, Social Security Office, Immigration Office, and Jewelry District. Close to 110 &101 Fwy. On site security guard.

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Free ReNT SPECIALS @ the Medici. Penthouse 1 & 2 bdrm apts. Granite kitchens, washer/ dryers, business center, 2 pools, spa! Visit TheMedici.com for a full list of amenities. Call 888886-3731.

OVIATT BUILDING

2 offices for rent, all hook-ups, partly furnished. 530 sqft. flex lease.

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Rosslyn Hotel the loft expert! group

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Downtown since 2002

Don't settle for anyone less experienced! Call us today!

Unfurnished rooms starting at $480 a month Laundry on site. All utilities included. 112 W 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 213.503.7449 • www.rosslynstudios.com

Bill Cooper • 213.598.7555 • TheLoftExpertGroup.com Fully furnished with TV, telephone, microwave, refrigerator. Full bathroom. Excellent location. Downtown LA. Weekly maid service.

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Furnished single unit with kitchenette, bathroom. Excellent location. Downtown LA. Weekly rate $275 inc.

Commercial Space TWO GREAT ARTIST’S work studios. Sunny, 16’ ceilings, gated parking, wi-fi. Close to downtown and freeways. 240sf for $390/mo, 300sf for $485/mo. WORK ONLY/NOT LIVE-IN. 213-509-4403 Condos/unfurnished

• By the 10 Fwy • Close to Cal State LA 2 Bdrm w/2 parking, house to share, top of the hill w/view. $550/mo. for each room $1000/mo. for 2 bdrm Diana (323) 867-6404

ALA 99¢/Sq. Ft. High Rise Office Space

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$1600 (310) 215-0788 vacation rentals

Tahoe Cabin Great location, great for families. 3 bdrms/2 baths, Large deck, BBQ. Close to beach, casinos stables, boat launch.

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Tutoring

MATHEMATICS & CHINESE A full hour of mathematics or a full hour of Chinese is often too much for young students. A half hour of mathematics and a half hour of Chinese often go well together. I can tutor your children in BOTH mathematics & Chinese. I’m a woman who is kind to children, and fluent in Mandarin Chinese, has a B.S. in Math, a Masters from Taiwan, has taught Chinese at elementary & college levels in Bangkok, and was employed last year by L.A.C.C. to tutor college students in the math lab. I will come to you in the Downtown area. I charge $80/hr. My name is Veena. 323-559-2097

Loft/Unfurnished Exquisite Top Floor 1br Loft. ALL AMENITIES INCLUDED. Pets OK. Hardwood FLRS. W/D in Unit. Pool, Gym, Rec Room, 1-Car Parking. (310) 890-2442. REAL ARTIST LOFTS 11501650 Sq. Ft., $1700-$1985/mo. High ceilings, hardwood floors, kitchen/bath, fireplace, pool/spa, gated parking, laundry, sorry no dogs, Open House Sundays 12-3pm @ 1250 Long Beach Ave. 213-629-5539.

EMPLOYMENT Caregiver/Aide/CNA CARE TAKER and more. If you need help. Call Rik Martino Masseur/Trainer 323-850-8580 youtube.com Drivers COMPANY DRIVERS (Solos & Hazmat Teams) * Great Pay* Great Miles * CDL-A Required. We also have dedicated & regional positions available. Call 866-789-8947. Swift. (CalSCAN) HIRING: Team Drivers for fast turning freight lanes! Hiring: Solo Drivers OTR West states exp/hazmat end, great miles/ hometime. Andrus Transportation 1-800-888-5838, 1-866-8065119 x1402. (Cal-SCAN) NATIONAL CARRIERS needs O/Os, Lease Purchase, Company Drivers for its expanding fleet. Offering Regional/OTR runs, Outstanding Pay Package, excellent benefits, generous hometime. 1-888-707-7729. www.NationalCarriers.com. (Cal-SCAN)

SLT NEEDS Class A Team Drivers with Hazmat. $2,000 Bonus. Split $0.68 for all miles. Regional contractor positions available. 1-800-835-9471. (Cal-SCAN) General AUTOMOTIVE Great jobs in downtown LA! Full time or part time. Two blocks south of the Staples Center at Figueroa & Venice. Toyota Central is growing! Sales Associates - all levels. Internet Associates. Service Technicians. Service Consultants. Drivers. Cashiers. Receptionists. Bilingual Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Middle Eastern and women encouraged to apply. Great compensation package and employee benefits. Please call 800-597-5516 or send resume to autosuccess@ aol.com. EOE. HELP WANTED, Movie Extras. Earn up to $150/day. People needed for background in a major film production. Exp. not required. 888-366-0843 JOBS. JOBS, JOBS! No experience. Get paid to train. California Army National Guard. High School JR/SR & Grads/GED. Up to 100% tuition assistance. Part-time work with full-time benefits. www.NationalGuard.com/ Careers or 1-800-GO-GUARD. (Cal-SCAN) Health Care “ACUPUNCTURIST - MS in Acupuncture req’d. Mail resume to Kang’s Acupuncture Clinic 3700 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 460, Los Angeles CA 90010” Acupuncturist MS in Acupuncture req’d. Mail resume to Guasha Research Institute 3242 W 8th St #101, Los Angeles CA 90055”

SERVICES Education

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HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA! Graduate in 4 weeks! Free Brochure. Call Now! 1-866-5623650 ext. 60 www.SouthEasternHS.com. (Cal-SCAN)

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Income and Program Guidelines Apply. Call for Details. High Rise Apartment, Pool, Fitness Center, Subterranean Parking (Additional), Great Location, 2 blocks to Staples Center. Call Toll Free 1-888-810-9608

madison hotel Clean furnished single rooms. 24-hour desk clerk service. •Daily, $25.00 •Weekly, $99.00 •Monthly, $295.00 (213) 622-1508 423 East 7th St.

(2 blocks west of San Pedro St.)

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

March 29, 2010

Downtown News 23

DowntownNews.com

attorneys

FInanCIal servICes

ABOGADO DE IMMIGRACION! Family, Criminal, P.I. for more than 20 yrs! Child Support / Custody Necesita Permiso de trabajo? Tagalog / Español / Korean

get your green Card or CItIZensHIp Law Office of H. Douglas Daniel Esq., (213) 689-1710

LAw OffICEs Of gordon & gordon Injured at work? Stress at work. (310) 474-8100 10801 National Blvd. #106 Los Angeles, CA 90064 24 hours

Home Improvement

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Since 1972 • FREE estimate Reroof, Repairs • Lic. #C-39-588045

323-229-3320 (C) 323-722-1646 (B) advertIsIng ADVERTISE ONLINE in a network of 50-plus newspaper websites. Border to Border with one order! $7 cost per thousand impressions statewide. Minimum $5,000 order. Call for details: (916) 288-6010. www. CaliforniaBannerAdNetwork. com. (Cal-SCAN) CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING in 240 Cal-SCAN newspapers for the best reach, coverage, and price. 25-words $550. Reach over 6 million Californians! Free email brochure. Call (916) 2886019. www.Cal-SCAN.com. (Cal-SCAN) 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. (CalSCAN) CleanIng CONCEPTO’S CLEANING Crew. Professional, experienced, cleans apartments, homes, offices and restaurants. Call for a quote. 323-459-3067 or 818-409-9183.

SAFELY INCREASE Any U.S. Bank CD Rate ... Immediately! “Earn 12-16% immediately”. Receive 6% annual distribution paid monthly. Average yield 9.3% yearly. Maturing in 3 years or sooner. 1-888-601-5950. (CalSCAN) loans LOAN OFFICERS - Now is the Time To Work for a direct lender. 85% Commission (W-2), FHA, VA Reverse Mortgages. For info go to www.OakTreeFunding. com click Virtual Agent. (CalSCAN)

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY BusIness opportunItIes ALL CASH VENDING! Be Your Own Boss! Your Own Local Vending Route. Includes 25 Machines and Candy for $9,995. MultiVend LLC, 1-888-625-2405. (Cal-SCAN) ATTENTION: Construction Professionals: Economy got you down? Generate new business, partner with an expanding, green multimillion dollar company. No money down! EarthWise Technologies www.bEarthWise.com 1-800-707-0858. (Cal-SCAN) EARN $500 DAILY Providing a simple service for Home and Business - Dry Tech #CL28547. 8920 Quartz Ave. Northridge, CA 91324. 1-800-507-7222.

2006 SLK280 Black/Beige. Certified (118314/4635c). $26,995. 888-319-8762 2006 TOYOTA TACOMA stock NI3477-1 VIN #6Z297822. $22,999. Call 888-838-5089. 2007 AUDI A4 premium pkg., leather, moonroof, certified VIN #7A149635. $19,888. 888-5830981 07 CARRERA S CABRIOLET SILVER/BLACK, TIPTRONIC, ONLY 20K MILES, CERTIFIED, VIN 776462, $69,888. CALL 888-685-5426 2008CHEVROLETCOLORADO Extended cab, auto, air, ABS, tow pkg., UC488 / 102567. $11,887. 888-879-9608.

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

autos Wanted 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) 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)

PETS/ANIMALS adopt a pet ADOPT (OR FOSTER) your forever friend from Bark Avenue Foundation. Beautiful, healthy puppies, dogs, cats and kittens available at Downtown’s largest private adoption facility. Call Dawn at 213-840-0153 or email Dawn@BarkAveLA.com or visit www.Bark Avenue Foundation. org.

ITEMS FOR SALE

LEGAL

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.

Sell Your Car!

Expose your auto to Downtown Los Angeles. With one of the fastest growing residential areas Los Angeles Downtown News gets results.

Call 213-481-1448

NEW NORWOOD SawmillsLumberMate-Pro handles logs 34” diameter, mills boards 28” wide. Automated quick-cyclesawing increases efficiency up to 40%! www.NorwoodSawmills. com/300N 1-800-661-7746 ext. 300N. (Cal-SCAN) mIsC. Items NEW APPLE 1POD Nano 8GB camera $100. 213-884-7284.

ANNOUNCEMENTS speCIal events Gay & Lesbian Speed Dating in Downtown LA! Visit LA Lords Presents at www.lalords.com for events & details! 213-683-8387.

pre-oWned

Free Rent! ELEGANT WORLD CLASS RESORT BRAND NEW APARTMENT HOMES

Orsini

IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY! studios from $1,685* • 1 bedroom from $1,818* • 2 bedroom from $2,212* *Availability and prices are subject to change at any time.

• Lavish Fountains and Sculptures • Free Tanning Rooms • Concierge Service • 24 Hour Doorman • 24/7 On-site Management • Free DSL Computer Use Available • Free Wi-Fi • Magnificent City Views • On-Site Private Resident Park with Sand Volleyball Court, Workout Stations, BBQ’s and Jogging Track

• Brunswick Four Lane Virtual Bowling • Full Swing Virtual Golf • 3100 Square Foot Cybex Fitness Facility • Massage Room, Sauna and Steam Room • Rooftop Pools with Dressing Room • Free Abundant Gated and Garage Parking • Business Center, Conference Room • Directors Screening Room

doWntoWn l.a. auto group

08 GTI 2.0 TURBO CARFAx 1 OWNER. 24,221 MILES, GRAY VIN 257476. $18,888. 888-7818102

Fictitious Business name statement File no. 20100278441 The following person is doing business as: 1) LADowntownNews.com 2) DowntownNews. com, 1264 W. First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026, are hereby registered by the following registrant: CIVIC CENTER NEWS, INC. 1264 W. First Street, LA CA 90026. This business is conducted by a corporation. . Registrants began to transact business under the fictitious

laWn & garden/Farm equIp

AUTOS

POrSChE VOLkSwAgEN AudI MErCEdES-BENz NISSAN ChEVrOLEt CAdILLAC

FICtItIous BusIness name

business name or names listed herein on April 3, 2000. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on March 2, 2010. NOTICE—This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the county clerk. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411 et. seq. Business and Professions Code). Pub. 3/8, 3/15, 3/22, 3/29/2010

UNITS FEATURE: Private Washer and Dryer • Fully Equipped Gourmet Kitchens Maple European Style Cabinetry • Granite Counter Tops Natural Stone Marble Counter Baths On Spring St.

Spring Tower Lofts:

1900 sqft, open LOFT w/views $2950/mo. • 17 ft ceilings • Live/Work space • 14 story Bldg. • Rooftop garden terrace w/city view • Pet friendly

Premiere Towers:

3 bdrms/2 bath, $2100/mo. • Rooftop garden terrace/GYM w/city view • 24 hr. doorman • free (1) parking

City Lofts:

800 sqft, 13 ft ceilings, $1425/mo. • Granite marble top • Stainless steel appliances/ refrigerator etc. • Pet friendly

I c o n I c B e au t y S e e k S S t y l i S h M at e

We are located in a prime area in Downtown LA nice neighborhood w/ salon, market, café etc. Wired for high speed internet & cable, central heat & A/C

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ROOFTOP GARDEN RETREAT WITH BBQ AND LOUNGE GRAND LOBBY • FITNESS CENTER • SPA MODERN KITCHEN w/CAESAR COUNTERTOPS HIGH SPEED INTERNET DESIGNER LIVING SPACES • PET FRIENDLY • DRAMATIC VIEWS WALKING DISTANCE TO RALPHS SUPERMARKET

756 S. Broadway • Downtown Los Angeles 213-892-9100 • chapmanf lats.com Pricing subject to change without notice.

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Take us home ADOPT (OR FOSTER) your forever friend from Bark Avenue Foundation. Beautiful, healthy puppies, dogs, cats and kittens available at Downtown’s largest private adoption facility. Call Dawn at 213-840-0153 or email Dawn@BarkAveLA.com or visit www.Bark Avenue Foundation.org.

Casaloma L.A. Apartments Clean unfurnished bachelor rooms with shared bath at $550/mo. with private bath $695/mo.

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From $1,250’s/mo. Free parking

Orsini

550 NORTH FIGUEROA ST. LOS ANGELES, CA 90012 OPEN DAILY

Additional Features: Kitchen Facilities, All Support Services, Great Views, Free Conference Room Hours, Fully Trained Staff, Cost Effective.

Jenny Ahn (213) 996-8301 jahn@regentBC.com www.regentbc.com

downtownnews.com

Includes utilities, basic cable channels, laundry room on site. Gated building in a good area.

877-267-5911

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MILANO LOFTS Now Leasing! • Gorgeous Layouts • 10-15’ Ceilings • Fitness Center • Wi-Fi Rooftop Lounge • Amazing Views

208 W. 14th St. at Hill St. Downtown LA

For English Call Pierre or Terri 213.744.9911 For Spanish Call Susana 213.749.0306

6th+Grand Ave. • milanoloftsla.com • 213.627.1900

Children’s Performing Group

LOFTS • RENT • LOFTS • RENT

Sunshine Generation Singing, dancing, performing and fun! For boys & girls ages 3 and up!

SunshineGenerationLA.com 909-861-4433

SPECIAL MOVE IN -

TWO WEEKS FREE RENT AND LOW DEPOSIT. Real Artist Lofts available in original 18 unit Downtown Artist Loft bldg. close to Southern Cal. School of Architecture. Starting at approximately 1200 to 2100 Sq. ft. large open space with new kit and bath. Laundry, gated parking and intercom entry from $1200.

1427 E. 4th St. Contact Julie at (323) 261-1099

24 Downtown News

March 29, 2010

Twitter/DowntownNews

Health Fair Coming to Sports Arena More Than 10,000 Expected to Receive Free Treatment by Jon Regardie executive editor

n the half century since it opened, the Los Angeles Sports Arena has hosted basketball games, track and field events, concerts, raves and even a presidential nomination. But next month, it will bring in thousands of people for something completely different: health treatment. A cadre of health and civic officials last Wednesday announced that a clinic run by the organization Remote Area Medical will come to the arena in Exposition Park from April 27-May 3. A similar event held last year at the Forum in Inglewood drew more than 6,300 people who waited hours for free treatment. The Downtown venue is anticipated to serve more than 10,000 people, and officials hope that 500 doctors, dentists, optometrists, nurses and others will be involved. All healthcare providers and most of the support staff volunteer their time. “This event could not be more timely,” said County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas during the March 24 an-

nouncement of the event, which came the day after President Barack Obama signed the national healthcare reform bill. Officials said that many of the attendees will be either people without insurance, or those whose insurance does not include dental or vision coverage. Former state Speaker of the Assembly Karen Bass said that 8.2 million people in California lack health insurance. Los Angeles County has 2.1 million uninsured people. “L.A. County is essentially ground zero for the uninsured in this state,” Bass said. During the seven-day event, health industry professionals will offer free medical, dental and vision care; for the latter, eyeglasses can be manufactured on site. The clinic will not involve any taxpayer dollars, said organizers. The nonprofit Remote Area Medical has put together more than 600 free clinics around the world, said Stan Brock, the organization’s founder. Brock said that the idea to bring RAM to Los Angeles came from Jerry Moss, the philanthropist and co-founder

of A&M Records, and his wife Ann. In the month leading up to the event, a key focus will be finding medical professionals to volunteer. “The more doctors, the more people we can help,” said Ann Moss. Volunteer information is at ramfreeclinic.org. Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.

photo by Gary Leonard

Remote Area Medical founder Stan Brock (left) and County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas last week announced that a free mega-health clinic will take place at the Sports Arena in Exposition Park from April 27-May 3.

Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore!

Grand Tower 255 south Grand avenue Leasing Information 213 229 9777

Promenade Towers 123 south Figueroa street Leasing Information 213 617 3777

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

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

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

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

Now For Call n Specials Move-I

8 7 7 - 2 65 - 714 6

museum Tower 225 south olive street Leasing Information 213 626 1500

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

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

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

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

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

TOWERS T H E

A PA RT M E N T S

www.TowersApartmentsLA.com

MAID SERVICE • FURNITURE • HOUSEWARES • CABLE • UTILITIES • PARKING RESIDENCES: SINGLES • STUDIO • ONE BEDROOM • TWO BEDROOM