LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS April 26, 2010
Volume 39, Number 17
INSIDE
Bargain Lunches 13
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Pot clinic break-ins, a tower revival, and other happenings Around Town.
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The readers have their say on a variety of Downtown issues.
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
Dozens of Olvera Street Merchants Withhold Portion of Rent
A big sale for a big building.
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Major upgrade at the Natural History Museum.
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city editor
T
he battle between Olvera Street merchants and the management of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument has heightened in recent weeks, as more than 40 merchants have refused to pay their full rents, which increased on April 1. The move, which means the cash-strapped city is short more than $72,000 of what is owed, could lead to eviction notices being sent to the tenants, though it is unclear if those would be pursued. Robert Andrade, El Pueblo’s general manager, said that tenants could face a three-day notice to pay rent or face the consequences. The move came after 43 tenants on April 1 delivered only the amounts they had been see El Pueblo, page 11
Timeline to the State of the City Jefferson Davis, Dwight Eisenhower And a Political Sophie’s Choice by Jon Regardie executive editor
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A ‘Bengal Tiger’ with a surreal roar.
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very so often, a speech is described as “the most important” of a politician’s life. That
the regardie report
phrase, however, will never be affixed to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 2010
State of the City address. “Most depressing speech of the spring” might apply, as would “first ever State of the Anything speech to generate only one applause line.” To call it grim, even if the tone was appropriate given that Los Angeles has about 80 cents in the bank, was an understatement. Heck, see State of the City, page 8
Going to the Chapel Forty Years of Downtown Weddings A beautiful musical Blasting Company.
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19 CALENDAR LISTINGS 21 MAP 22 CLASSIFIEDS
The owner of Casa La Golondrina, a popular Olvera Street restaurant, opted to pay only about half of her April rent. More than 40 Olvera Street business owners made a similar move, leaving the city $72,000 behind on what it is owed.
photo by Gary Leonard
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by Richard Guzmán
by Richard Guzmán city editor
W
hen Angelica Herrera’s boyfriend of seven months proposed to her in February, the 34-year-old did not want to waste any time. “He might change his mind, so I had to jump at the opportunity,” she said with a laugh. A quickie wedding in Vegas was out of the question — too far and too tacky for her taste. And while
the couple plans to hold a big wedding in their native Mexico one day, she wanted something fast, but still classy and romantic. So the couple headed to Downtown, to a Broadway building where, for nearly 40 years, thousands of couples have tied the knot. “It’s really nice. They accommodate you with everything,” Herrera said a week after her Friday afternoon ceremony at Guadalupe Wedding see Guadalupe, page 10
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa delivered his fifth State of the City address on Tuesday, April 20.
photo by Gary Leonard
Urban Scrawl on the Downtown sports scene.
photo by Gary Leonard
Partial Payments, a Protest to Rate Hikes, Could Lead to Eviction Notices
After a seven-month courtship, Angelica Herrera and her new husband Gerardo took the plunge at Downtown’s Guadalupe Wedding Chapel.