LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
NEWS May 11, 2009
Volume 38, Number 19
INSIDE
Corporate Catering 12-17
Garage Gamble
StAff writer
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Urban Scrawl on Manny’s suspension.
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photo by Gary Leonard
Lots on the southern end of Broadway in Downtown filled up last week for three Van Morrison concerts at the Orpheum Theatre. An effort is underway to create a new parking garage on the street.
Picturing Chinatown’s Growth
Jack Weiss and Carmen Trutanich Get Nasty as They Go Down to the Wire
New Book Captures Evolution of Community With More Than 200 Photos
by Jon reGArdie
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A
fter spending a couple weeks slogging through the mudslinging party that is the 2009 Los Angeles City Attorney’s race, I am pleased to report that I have achieved what many believed impossible. ThE rEgarDiE rEpOrT
Top chefs cook for the Liver Foundation.
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Another side of Richard Neutra.
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22 CALENDAR LISTINGS 23 MAP 25 CLASSIFIEDS
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ourteenth District City Councilman José Huizar wants to build a 300-car parking structure on Broadway as part of his effort to revitalize the thoroughfare between Second Street and Olympic Boulevard. He has said the proposal, which could cost more than $50 million, will spur the area’s revitalization. Although the garage is a major component of Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway initiative, it has raised eyebrows at a time when the city is facing a $530 million budget deficit. Others wonder if the need truly exists; a city survey identified more than 5,000 parking spaces in the area. Huizar sees the garage as a key to attracting new business and retail to Broadway’s vast vacant space, and as a way to reactivate the street’s faded movie palaces. Currently, only two of the 12 host regular events: the Orpheum Theatre at 842 S. Broadway and the Million Dollar Theater at 301 S. Broadway. “There are some very well-known theater programmers” interested in the other Broadway venues, said Huizar, “but they say, ‘we need two things: a little more investment in your theaters, and second, some parking.’” The garage debate reveals a complex situation, one where area players are trying to plan for a revitalization that is years in the future, if it occurs at all. Then there is the question of see Broadway, page 8
Bunnies, Rats and The City Attorney executive editor
Cast a ballot for the Best of Downtown.
5
Finding the joy of public transportation in the Portland streetcar system.
by AnnA Scott
A Jewelry District renovation.
How to design a Downtown tower.
El Pueblo rent debate, bike thefts, and other happenings Around Town.
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
Proposed $50 Million Parking Structure Raises Eyebrows, Highlights Challenges of Broadway
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I have found something nice to say about either Jack Weiss or Carmen Trutanich: Whoever wins will get better and better as time goes on. Of course, there’s a kicker: With all that has transpired thus far, Weiss and Trutanich can’t possibly go any lower. I hope. Okay, maybe the praise is not as effusive as saying, for example, that handsome Jack Weiss has a heart so big that it makes angels jealous, or stately Carmen Trutanich is even more interesting than that Most Interesting Man in the World from the Dos Equis commercials. But darn it, in the past few months these guys have made it impossible to go, “Wow. He really displays the kind of class, grace and judgment that I want in my next City Attorney.” I understand that this is politics, and the only thing that matters is the result, but this race is getting more painful and squirm-inducing than sitting through Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (which, by the way, is not a documentary about Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa). Each time you’re con-
vinced one of the dynamic duo has scraped the bottom of the barrel, the other guy comes along and dynamites the barrel, making the crevasse they have fallen into that much deeper. Through their rhetoric Weiss and Trutanich have managed the seemingly impossible feat of each being more offensive than the other. If one thing makes it clear how bad the situation has gotten, it’s this: If whoever moves into the office on July 1 exhibits anything close to the panache they have displayed so far, then a year from now we’ll look back and consider the era of Rocky Delgadillo as the office’s golden age. On to the Runoff The race was never supposed to be this close or bitter. Weiss, the Fifth District City Councilman, has been running for the City Attorney’s post since about nine minutes after he was first elected. With his bosom buddy Villaraigosa in his corner and helping him scarf up $1.7 million in campaign contributions for the March primary, this was supposed to be the smoothest waltz since Strauss unveiled “The Blue Danube” in 1867. What Weiss overlooked, however, is that a lot of people like him just slightly more than they like swine flu. During his tenure, Weiss managed to be so aloof and unresponsive to his Fifth District constituents, in particular with regards to large see City Attorney, page 9
by richArd Guzmán city editor
T
he image of the young city of Los Angeles, shortly after it was incorporated in 1850, shows a few buildings surrounded by flat land and mountains edging the background. It’s a sight that was likely familiar to Ah Fou and Ah Luce, Chinese immigrants who worked as domestic servants.
The 1850 United States census recorded them as the only two Chinese individuals in Los Angeles. Of course, that would change and the community would not only flourish, but also move. The growth is chronicled in the book Chinatown in Los Angeles, by Jenny Cho and the Downtown-based Chinese American Historical Society ($21.99, Arcadia Publishing). It comes out see Chinatown, page 21
photo courtesy of Chinese American Historical Society
An image of Chinatown in 1948 showed what part of the community looked like before the construction of the 110 Freeway.
Since 1972, an independent, locally owned and edited newspaper, go figure.
2 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
DowntownNews.com
AROUNDTOWN
said, “It is a very, very tough budget.” The Council’s Budget and Finance Committee will consider the proposal during its Tuesday, May 12 meeting.
Rent Debate Continues At El Pueblo
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he debate over whether rents for Olvera Street merchants should be raised continued last week. At a May 7 meeting of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument’s Budget and Operations Committee, Assistant City Attorney Valerie Flores detailed her office’s failed efforts to raise rents at the city’s birthplace. “We spent hours trying to negotiate new leases and it didn’t go anywhere, but it wasn’t for lack of trying,” she told the committee, which is charged with reviewing rents at the monument and coming up with recommendations on what new rates should be. Merchants have long rejected the effort, saying El Pueblo officials first must deliver on past promises to improve services and amenities. Flores, who appeared at the request of Budget and Operations Committee Chair David Louie, was El Pueblo’s City Attorney representative in 2004 and 2005 when she undertook the task of reviewing leases at Olvera Street. Concerns have been raised about the practicality of giving 55-year leases to 17 merchants in the late 1990s, while the remaining 61 have not had new leases since 1987. “These leases are unusual contracts,” she told the committee. Flores also said that since the reasoning behind the long leases was to acknowledge the historical contribution of El Pueblo’s founding families, there is concern that some businesses may not be transferred to immediate family members. She said another issue is the leases could lead to one business having several owners, since they could be passed down to various family members. “You can go from having one tenant [per business] to having several tenants due to family growth,” she said. “These leases can become disadvantageous to a public entity.”
Principal Finally Hired For Arts High School
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fter months of searching for a principal to lead the $232 million High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, the Los Angeles Unified School District announced
Friday that it had hired Suzanne Blake to head the facility. Blake will leave her position as principal at Vista Middle School in Van Nuys, an LAUSD spokeswoman said. The selection comes after the district offered the job to principals of two highprofile East Coast arts high schools; both declined. The school is set to open in September under district control, after Supt. Ramon Cortines and Local District 4 Supt. Richard Alonzo blocked an effort by a coalition of education and business leaders to turn the school into a charter. Cortines and Alonzo have faced staunch criticism from charter supporters who argue that the district botched the planning of the school. District officials countered that the process was delayed by the battle for control of the school, and now that a principal is hired, Blake can proceed in devising an arts curriculum and hiring staff.
Neighborhood Councils Could See Deep Cuts
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s part of an effort to help close the city’s $530 million budget gap, the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee has proposed slashing neighborhood council budgets across Los Angeles by 75%. Total funding for the 90 neighborhood councils would be reduced from $4.5 million to $1 million next year, cutting budgets for individual neighborhood councils from $50,000 to $11,200. The proposal is more severe than Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s proposal to trim individual neighborhood council budgets by 10%, to $45,000. The Council proposal drew swift protests from Downtown neighborhood council leaders. Kim Benjamin, president of the Historic Cultural Neighborhood Council, which covers parts of Little Tokyo, Chinatown and other areas, said the cuts would leave barely enough money to pay for mailings, printings and other basic costs. Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council President Russell Brown said that if the cuts are made, “Every community program we do would be 100% eliminated, from the Skid Row Photography Club to work on sustainability issues.” BongHwan Kim, general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, which oversees the city’s neighborhood councils, agreed that the cuts would pose difficulties for the groups. However, he
Best of Downtown Voting Begins
D
o you have a favorite restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles? A favorite park? Is there a politician who you think does the best job representing the community? If you have thoughts on any of those, or on any of a few dozen other topics, then it is time to make your opinion known for Los Angeles Downtown News’ 21st annual Best of Downtown issue. Once again this year, all the voting is taking place online via a multiple choice ballot at votebestof.com. Also once again, those who fill out complete ballots have the opportunity to win prizes, including the mammoth grand prize, which offers two nights of executive-level accommodations at the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles, dinner for two at one of the hotel’s four restaurants, $200 spending cash, dinner for two at Morton’s The Steakhouse, a $150 Ticketmaster gift card and a Los Angeles Conservancy walking tour. Other prizes include a Nintendo Wii Fit, cash and gift certificates. Voting will continue through June 5 and the winners will be revealed in the Best of Downtown issue that publishes on July 20.
Police Looking for Bike Thief
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entral Division detectives are looking for a man recently caught on a security camera stealing a locked bicycle, LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon said. The suspect is estimated to be five-foot-nine, 25-30 years old and weigh about 220 pounds (a picture of the suspect is at downtownnews. com). The Trek-model bike, estimated to be worth $700, was taken at 11:40 a.m. on April 13 at 512 W. Sixth St., outside of Union Bagel, Vernon said. “We’ve seen more and more bikes Downtown over the last year,” Vernon said. “And these are high-dollar bikes that crooks are willing to risk jail to steal. It’s really worth investing in a good bike lock and everyone needs to be a good witness for their neighbor.” Thirty-one bicycles have been reported stolen in Downtown this year, or five more than were taken during the same period in 2008. A total of 98 bicycles were reported stolen last year, Vernon said. Anyone with information about the incident can call Det. Mike Mazzacano at (213) 972-1231.
metro.net
Metro Briefs It’s The Right Time to Save. Go Metro. In these uncertain economic times, you can create your own stimulus package simply by going Metro. Experts estimate you can save $8,416 annually by using public transit in LA instead of paying for gas and parking. LA is among the top 20 cities where you can save the most by taking public transit. Find your best route with the Trip Planner at metro.net.
Metro Adding 41 Buses For ExpressLane Project Forty-one compressed natural gas buses are being purchased by Metro for its ExpressLanes demonstration project aimed at maximizing freeway capacity. Next year the buses will provide additional transit alternatives on the carpool lanes along the I-10 (El Monte Busway) and I-110 (Harbor Freeway Transitway) corridors.
$315 Million In Stimulus Funds Proposed For LA Cities
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Metro is backing state legislation to disperse $315 million of stimulus funding for transportation improvements among all the cities in LA County under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Under the proposal, each city would get a minimum of $500,000 to preserve and create jobs for transportation-related projects.
See The LA Marathon 0n Metro Go Metro Rail to see all the action at the 24th Annual LA Marathon on Monday, May 25. The course starts in Universal City and winds through the heart of LA to >nish downtown. Be sure to check metro.net for information on extensive bus detours prompted by the race.
TAP Ready For Reduced Fare Customers Metro riders with Senior, College/Vocational or Student K-12 discount passes need to submit an application for a new reusable TAP card. You can get applications at Metro Customer Centers or online. Check metro.net/reducedfares for details or call 213.680.0054.
Now selling from $749,000 323-469-0883 • Fountain@Wilcox mastercraft HOMES GROUP Prices, terms, and conditions are subject to change. *Payment of $2,822 includes after tax mortgage payment, mortgage insurance, property tax, and hazard insurance. Example based on $749,000 purchase price with 10% down payment and 5-year ARM Interest Only and loan amount of $674,100 after state/federal tax credits. Offer only available from BlackStar Mortgage, LLC. Availability will vary based on buyer’s credit score. Buyer must meet underwriting guidelines, including evaluation of income, assets, and credit (a minimum credit score may be required).**More information on current homebuyer tax credits can be found at cbia.org. Solar tax credits up to $5,000. Consult a tax professional regarding impact on your individual situation. ©2009 MasterCraft Homes Group
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TheGatsbyHollywood.com
May 11, 2009
Making a Jewelry Building Glimmer photo by Gary Leonard
New Owner Undertakes a $4 Million Renovation
Andrew Chu of Mitaa Wilshire Investments is overseeing a $4 million renovation of a Downtown jewelry center. by Ryan Vaillancourt staff writer
I
n bleak economic times, there are certain goods that people prioritize and continue to spend money on: Housing and groceries are at the top of the list. Somewhere close to the bottom of that list is jewelry. Nobody knows that better than the thousands of workers in Downtown’s Jewelry District. The area is packed with ground floor retail malls and tiny shops in buildings where the upper floors house manufacturing, wholesale and office uses for jewelry companies. In addition to decreased consumer demand for jewelry, since January 2007, gold has risen from about $645 to $931 per ounce, according to Kitco.com, a website that tracks metal prices. Hundreds of companies are just hoping they can ride out the downturn. Despite a seemingly perfect storm brewing against the Jewelry District, one property owner, Mitaa Wilshire Investments, is breaking ground this week on a $4 million renovation of its building at 701 S. Hill St. Why launch the renovation during the recession? “To survive,” said Andrew Chu, Mitaa’s general manager for real estate. “We are in competition with other buildings, most of which were built between 1920 to 1930. If we want to be competitive with them we have to remodel. We cannot change any exterior shape because this is a historical building, but inside, we can do it.” The project is one of just a few major commercial real estate renovations being undertaken during the downturn. That makes it a welcome effort to local commercial contractors, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. “They’re sort of going against the grain because nobody is really doing anything in the way of commercial construction, either new or remodeled, but that reflects a shortage of capital,” Kyser said. “So obviously, [Mitaa] has money, which is good news for them. They’re probably looking ahead and saying, ‘We’ll position ourselves for when the economy recovers and we’ll have an attractive facility.’” Long-Term Investment Mitaa Wilshire Investments, a commercial real estate company that buys and manages buildings mostly along Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown, acquired the former Jewelry Design Center at the southwest corner of Hill and Seventh streets in June 2008 for about $25 million, Chu said. The company is led by CEO and Chairman Kyung Ku Cho, who also co-founded and maintains an ownership stake in Jamison Services, Inc., one of Downtown’s largest commercial landlords. Cho, who was overseas and unavailable for comment, launched Mitaa in 2005. Along with 701 S. Hill St., Mitaa owns a small office building Downtown at 1614 W. Temple St. (it owns another
DowntownNews.com property in Seal Beach). The company is also in escrow to purchase the nine-story One Crown Plaza building at 641 S. Olive St. for about $16 million, Chu said. That structure will house jewelry wholesalers, not retailers, he said. The 701 S. Hill St. building has been renamed the Mitaa Jewelry Center. The company expects to begin demolition this week on the ground floor and second floor. Construction is slated to begin in mid-June and wrap by the end of November, Chu said. When Mitaa bought the building, a McDonald’s occupied the largest ground floor commercial space. Three other spaces housed a couple dozen jewelry retailers. The McDonald’s lease expired in March, paving the way for Mitaa to gut and refurbish the entire first floor. It will be converted into a sleek, upscale jewelry center. The renovation will also merge the second and third floors with the ground floor via a series of escalators. Plans call for approximately 62 tenant spaces between the first and second
Downtown News 3
floors: Along the perimeter of the first and second floors will be showrooms ranging from 125-672 square feet. Scattered in the middle of the floors will be kiosks and booths from 103257 square feet. The showrooms will feature marble façades and tile floors. A rendering depicts an airy, mall-like facility, with a gleaming overhead skylight. In January 2010, Mitaa plans to turn the third floor into a food court with cafes and fast food restaurants. “If we don’t develop the first and second floors we still can survive because our occupancy rate is almost 70%, but we’d rather spend a little bit of money, make it better and try to collect more rent,” said Chu, who noted that the 14-story, 190-unit building currently has about 125 manufacturer and designer tenants on its upper floors. “Now is a bad time but the American economy is good and bad, good and bad. It’s a cycle. We’ll see the good times also. I hope soon.” Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.
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May May11, 4, 2009
DowntownNews.com
EDITORIALS Dining Hot Zone
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os Angeles Downtown News has been reporting on the area’s dining resurgence for months — the Dec. 22 story “Recession Not on the Menu” detailed the arrival of 15 new restaurants in a two-month span. That trend has continued, with at least another half-dozen establishments debuting in the past couple months. While the increase in quantity appeals to many who work or live in the area, even more important is the quality: The new Downtown Los Angeles eateries (which hit a variety of price points) are drawing crowds and attention for their inventiveness and high standards. The community that was once snubbed by restaurant snobs has become the hottest culinary scene in the region. Some of the city’s most prominent chefs are choosing Downtown. John Rivera Sedlar, a pioneer in the fusion food movement a few decades ago, selected South Park as the site for his restaurant, the Latin-oriented Rivera. Walter Manzke, who spent time at Bastide in
Hollywood and other restaurants, chose to head up the kitchen in the Industrial District bistro Church & State. Celestino Drago, who garnered a following with several Westside establishments and one in Pasadena, created a $7 million Italian restaurant, Drago Centro, in City National Plaza; it has since been joined by a Downtown location of the popular Chaya. Even Joachim Splichal, who with his Patina Restaurant Group saw the potential in Downtown long before most other chefs, is increasing his stake. The man behind Patina, Café Pinot and Zucca recently announced that he will open another restaurant in South Park. Word of the burgeoning culinary scene is spreading. Last month a Los Angeles Times story trumpeted “the hot new Downtown L.A. dining scene,” identifying 10 top spots. In addition to some of the above, it highlighted Bottega Louie on Seventh Street and Main Street’s Nickel Diner. The latter also was declared one of the top new restaurants
in the city by Los Angeles Magazine. The same publication awarded four stars to Rivera — in its 75 Best Restaurants feature a year ago, only six establishments received that rating. Other media and numerous blogs have discovered the dining scene as well, and there is frequent reporting on comings, goings and new additions. The result is that crowds at Downtown restaurants are increasing, and the scenario is having a snowball effect; with so many popular places to eat, more people are willing to make evening plans in the community, including a meal and then a show, a game or something else. The increased entertainment crowd then helps create demand for more restaurants. And so on. As we have said before on this page, it’s unlikely every new restaurant will make it, and there will be a tendency by Downtown bashers to blame the failures that occur on the community. But before that happens, hopefully people will remember that restaurants fail everywhere — the food business is one
of the most challenging industries around. It requires significant expenditures of time and money before establishments even open, and once they do there is always competition for dining dollars. Only time will tell if Downtown’s dramatic increase is too much too soon or if we’re reached some level of critical mass that will carry the restaurant community forward, as sometimes happens. The important thing is, the old reputation of Downtown as a dismal dining zone is gone. Prominent chefs, well-known restaurateurs and big crowds are here, and considering the breadth of evening entertainment and the number of residents that have sprung up in the past decade, the appetite for dining in the community is not going anywhere. In fact, the momentum will probably continue. This month, Downtown saw the arrival of another prominent establishment: Trader Vic’s, which gained legions of fans during its decades on the Westside, closed there, and instead has reopened in Downtown.
A Booming Niche
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eveloping a successful project anywhere in the world today is more challenging than it was five years ago. But that does not make it impossible. Sometimes the key involves trying something that is outside the mainstream. That is what occurred with the Los Angeles Fashion Center, a hulking edifice southeast of the core of the Fashion District. The $130 million complex by developer Crestpoint Group Inc. recently began move-ins for 150 of its wholesale fashion showrooms. Showrooms are not new (think California Market Center), but the fact that these are condominiums, meaning they are for sale as opposed to lease, is adding considerable momentum to a fairly new twist in the U.S. (Buyers for department stores and other shops visit showrooms, condominium or otherwise, to find goods, much of it women’s contemporary garments; they buy in bulk.) Although the developers could likely have sold the other 50 units in the project as well, they
Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis
are withholding them until the market recovers so they can charge higher prices than the $800,000-$1.2 million that the initial spaces fetched. Many people are unfamiliar with this kind of project, and most Downtown Los Angeles workers and residents rarely if ever find themselves around 1458 S. San Pedro St., where the 300,000-square-foot development has risen. However, the building, also known as L.A. FACE, has filled quickly, though again with a beyond-the-mainstream approach: Crestpoint worked with a trade group that represents Korean garment manufacturers, many of them based in Downtown. Virtually every unit sold so far was purchased by a member of the organization. This is far different than the activity that occurs in the heart of Downtown. The developers of most residential condominium projects would do anything to create the kind of buying fever L.A. FACE has enjoyed. Beyond that, the project will add to the city’s tax base and is inspiring additional devel-
opment; L.A. FACE is one of four new wholesale showroom buildings opening in that neighborhood in less than a year. Not every developer can create this kind of project; you only get L.A. FACE and others of its ilk by being intimately involved with a particular industry. But what the project reveals to a wider audience is that, even in this time of economic uncertainty, there are niches that can boom. They may not be instantly visible to everyone, but significant business opportunities still exist in Downtown.
How to reach us Main office: (213) 481-1448 MAIL your Letter Letters to the Editor • L.A. Downtown News 1264 W. First Street • Los Angeles, CA 90026 Email your Letter realpeople@downtownnews.com FAX your Letter (213) 250-4617 Read Us on the Web DowntownNews.com
Editor & PublishEr: Sue Laris GENErAl MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin ExEcutivE Editor: Jon Regardie citY Editor: Richard Guzmán stAFF writErs: Anna Scott, Ryan Vaillancourt coNtributiNG Editors: David Friedman, Kathryn Maese coNtributiNG writErs: Jay Berman, Jeff Favre, Michael X. Ferraro, Kristin Friedrich, Howard Leff, Rod Riggs, Marc Porter Zasada Art dirEctor: Brian Allison AssistANt Art dirEctor: Yumi Kanegawa ProductioN ANd GrAPhics: Alexis Rawlins ProductioN AssistANt / EvENt coordiNAtor: Claudia Hernandez PhotoGrAPhEr: Gary Leonard AccouNtiNG: Ashley Vandervort sAlEs MANAGEr: Dawn Eastin sAlEs AssistANt: Annette Cruz clAssiFiEd AdvErtisiNG MANAGEr: Catherine Holloway AccouNt ExEcutivEs: Vanessa Acuña, Robert Dutcher, Catherine Holloway, Kelley Smith circulAtioN: Norma Rodas distributioN MANAGEr: Salvador Ingles distributioN AssistANts: Lorenzo Castillo, Gustavo Bonilla The Los Angeles Downtown News is the must-read newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and is distributed every Monday throughout the offices and residences of Downtown Los Angeles. It is also distributed to the extended urban communities of Glendale, Hollywood, Wilshire Center, Los Feliz, Silver Lake & Larchmont Village.
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May 11, 2009
Portland Report An L.A. Resident Considers the Streetcar by AnnA Scott StAff writer
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any people in Los Angeles have a serious case of Portland envy. I recently spent four days there, and it’s easy to see why. During my time, I couldn’t help but think about why L.A.’s leaders seem to consider Portland the Shangri-La of urban REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
planning, particularly in terms of mass transit, and even more so when it comes to the streetcar. Fourteenth District City Councilman José Huizar last year launched an initiative to bring a streetcar back to Downtown after a 46-year hiatus. The effort, part of Huizar’s plan to revitalize historic Broadway, is partly based on Portland’s streetcar system, which opened in 2001 and is often held up as a model for other cities. A few user-friendly features of the Portland streetcar that L.A. would be wise to rip off struck me right away: riders can enter through several doors and use automated machines onboard to purchase tickets; it’s free within downtown; and it’s closely linked to other public transportation. On a single $2 fare one day, I took a bus from southeast Portland to a light rail station in the northeast Hollywood District (L.A. envy?), caught a westbound train that traveled over the Willamette River to the Pearl District, where I walked around a bit before riding the streetcar up to the northwest side of town. I also noticed a plethora of bike routes throughout the city and even designated bike areas on the streetcar. It’s hard to imagine that kind of mobility in L.A. Even if a Downtown streetcar gets built, I’m ashamed to say there is a good chance I will still drive the mere five miles to work most days because of the indirect and often unreliable bus service between home and the office. And while I love biking around town, braving clogged Glendale Boulevard on
Opinion weekday mornings is more than a little scary. Still, I hope that if and when it’s time to plot a Downtown streetcar route, planners will connect it to bus and subway stops such as the Seventh Street/Metro Center Station, and make it easy for bicyclists to get on and off. Granted, Portland is much smaller than L.A. The city’s population is about 537,000, compared to L.A.’s 3.8 million, according to 2006 Census Bureau statistics. Most of Portland’s single-family residential neighborhoods are fairly near the city center, and the streetcar’s eight-mile loop covers a lot of ground within its relatively compact downtown area.
While riding the Portland streetcar I noticed how pleasant most of the stops are, with small shelters, benches and sometimes greenery. An L.A. streetcar system with similar streetscape improvements could help make all of Downtown more walkable. While L.A. faces more obstacles in creating a comprehensive mass transit network, a Downtown streetcar could go a long way toward uniting the sprawling Central City. As it is, the idea of walking from South Park to Bunker Hill (the current proposed Downtown streetcar route) is daunting. While riding the Portland streetcar I noticed how pleasant most of the stops are, with small shelters, benches and sometimes greenery. An L.A. streetcar system with similar streetscape improvements could help make all of Downtown
Downtown News 5
more walkable. It could also help integrate the area in other ways. Let’s be honest — public transportation in Los Angeles is largely a socioeconomic issue: Most people only take it if they have to. While the DASH buses that circulate through Downtown see a good mix of riders, something as inviting and novel as a streetcar might encourage more people to utilize public transportation. In a recent interview Huizar noted, “There’s a demographic of people who will ride the streetcar but won’t ride a public bus.” To be sure, the L.A. streetcar has a long way to go. Its estimated $100 million budget is so far only 10% funded. Portland’s $112 million system was paid for through a variety of sources including city parking garage bonds (the bulk of the budget), local improvement districts, regional transportation funds, and federal and city funding, according to Patrick Sweeney, a senior planner with the Portland Bureau of Transportation. It is worth mentioning that for all of its handy public transportation and bike-friendly design, Portland is not gridlock-free. The eastbound streets out of the city center were bumper-to-bumper in the late afternoon every weekday I was there. But there does seem to be a willingness to plan ahead and put real investment behind even risky solutions. For example, in its 1975 Central City Plan, Portland established a cap on the amount of parking allowed in its downtown. It’s the opposite of what we currently do here in L.A., which is to impose minimum parking requirements on developers but no maximums. Even Huizar’s plan for Broadway includes not just a streetcar, but also a new $50 million parking garage. Yes, Downtown L.A. is far larger and holds many more jobs than downtown Portland, so that may not be a workable step here, but it represents the kind of bold move that L.A. will eventually have to entertain again to get most of its residents thinking of streetcars, buses and trains as real alternatives to driving. “The whole idea was to create an artificial scarcity to drive up the price of parking and encourage more people to use transit,” Sweeney said of the 1975 plan. “People working in the city know the city has a reputation for being progressive and pushing the envelope in terms of sustainability and livability. We’re always looking at what you do next to maintain that edge.” Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
DOWNTOWN LIVING WITH A TWIST (9th & Fig)
Soaring 30 stories over 9th & Figueroa, Concerto and its distinctive architectural “twist” announce a visionary new residential high-rise for Downtown. Surrounded by a full acre of green space, condominiums feature full-length glass walls, hardwood floors, European appliances and a unique fresh air ventilation system. Outside, take a dip in the saltwater pool, a stroll along the paseo or a class in the Tai Chi park. That’s downtown living, Concerto style.
concertodowntown.com
213.537.0007
6 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
DowntownNews.com
Changing the Skyline Architect David Martin Talks About Designing Downtown’s First New Office Tower in Nearly Two Decades by Anna Scott staff writer
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avid Martin, a principal at the Downtown-based architecture firm his grandfather founded in 1906, has his work cut out for him. Specifically, Martin, of AC Martin Partners, is designing Downtown’s first new commercial high rise in 17 years. The $1 billion hotel/residential/office complex to replace the aging Wilshire Grand hotel at Seventh and Figueroa streets was announced last month by Wilshire Grand owner Korean Air and developer Jim Thomas. The project is slated to include a 40-story hotel and residential tower, a 60-story office building and ground-floor retail space. They will be designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification standards and, despite the economic downturn, Thomas expects to break ground by 2011. Martin spoke with Los Angeles Downtown News about the project, sustainable design and the challenges ahead.
that makes a tremendous difference in the energy demands. We’ve done sun studies, so we know where on the building façade we can put photovoltaics [to capture solar energy]. We proposed 60 lineal feet of open-able windows. We’re also looking at the synergy between the hotel and office buildings. For example, the air-conditioning for the office building on a real hot day might generate a lot of heat… and the hotel needs heat for the water systems, as the biggest user of energy in a hotel is hot water. Q: How does the attention to being “green” affect the look of the towers? A: On the south elevation, we’ll have overhangs to protect the sun from beaming on the glass, and on top of them we’ll use photovoltaics. From below, it will look like a series of overhangs. In some of the renderings, the model looks all glass, and that’s not the intent. It would be glass and terra cotta, a material that is extremely durable. It’s baked earth, clay.
Los Angeles Downtown News: Downtown’s last new office tower, Two California Plaza, opened in 1992. How has the design process changed since then? David Martin: The basic physical dimensions, modules and numbers haven’t really changed much. What has changed tremendously is the thinking of how we build buildings. The buildings that we built 20 years ago were in a different world. Obviously, the whole idea of sustainability is a big thing. How do we organize these buildings so they consume much, much less energy? Once we get the basics down, we look at how to tune the shape and form of the building to be much more energy-efficient.
Q: How will this project connect to the neighborhood? A: The first thing that is interesting about the site is that it practically sits on a subway stop. We created the open space at the bottom to not only be connected to that, but also to be on the south side of the building, so it’s not always in the shade. And learning what we’ve learned over the years about how we organize retail and restaurants, the whole ground level should be about gathering and city life. We’re trying to avoid being too monumental at the base of the building. Sidewalks, street trees, land use around the plaza, where the sun shines, places to sit down and access to the subway are all part of our thinking.
Q: What are some of the environmentally friendly features planned for the project? A: We oriented the long part of the buildings, especially the office building, to more of a true north-south orientation and
Q: What visual impact do you want these towers to have? A: I think not since City Hall has there been such a building. One of the excitements of cities is the skyline. That’s particularly true of Los Angeles, and the way the buildings are not
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Architect David Martin of AC Martin Partners with a model of the proposed $1 billion replacement for the Wilshire Grand hotel.
uniform, but varied. This is a building that actually comes to a point instead of being squared at the top; it gives a more organic view to the skyline. It’s a more organic form than geometric. Q: What is the biggest challenge with this project? A: The biggest challenge, I think everyone would say, will be to have the building meet the marketplace. We’re assuming that out of the recession will come a period of growth, and I think there’s a lot of reason for optimism. One reason is the whole stature of Downtown — L.A. Live seems to be adding a lot of drama to the situation. But the biggest challenge will be to have those two ideas come together: a building for the future and a healthy market for that building. Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
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Fill out the ballot and your e-mail address will be entered in our drawing. The grand prize winner will receive a complimentary two-night stay in executivelevel accommodations at the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles, dinner for two at one of the hotel’s four restaurants, $200 spending cash, dinner for two at Morton’s The Steakhouse, a $150 Ticketmaster gift card, and a Los Angeles Conservancy walking tour. It’s a great package, if we do say so ourselves, worth $1,000. Additional prizes: Nintendo Wii Fit, cash prizes, gift certificates and more!
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8 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
DowntownNews.com 1
Broadway
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Continued from page 1 whether a street that is traffic-choked during the day really needs space for more cars. “On the surface, it certainly goes against the grain of less parking, not more, which in my heart of hearts I agree with,� said Emily Gabel Luddy of the city Planning Department’s Urban Design Studio. Though, she added, “I don’t think it’s been formulated in sufficient detail to say it’s a bad idea.� Good For Now A recent Los Angeles Downtown News survey counted more than 40 parking lots on Broadway, Hill and Spring streets between Fourth Street and Olympic Boulevard, making it a relatively short walk to the Broadway theaters. They range from 20-car facilities to the approximately 2,000-space Pershing Square garage at 530 S. Olive St. (which has a Hill Street entrance). A January report by Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller put the number of individual parking spaces serving that area (minus a portion of Spring Street) at 5,238, which many say more than meets the existing demand. The CLA report says those spaces are nearly full during business hours, and parking attendants in the area say that they typically doublepark cars in the daytime. However, currently there is little evening use of the area’s garages. The street may be more active than normal for six Wednesday evenings starting in late May, when the Los Angeles Conservancy hosts its Last Remaining Seats film series in three Broadway theaters. It generally draws about 2,000 people a night. Between Pershing Square, several structures near the Million Dollar Theater and surface lots surrounding the Orpheum, “there is sufficient parking,� said Conservancy Executive Director
5TH ST
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1. The Million Dollar Theater 2. The Roxie Theatre 3. The Cameo Theatre 4. The Arcade Theatre 5. The Los Angeles Theatre 6. The Palace Theatre
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9. The Tower Theater 10. The Rialto Theatre 11. The Orpheum 12. The United Artists Theatre
There are 12 historic theaters on Broadway. Only the Orpheum and the Million Dollar are used regularly for public events.
Linda Dishman. But if more of Broadway’s theaters host regular events in the future, she said, that would no longer be the case. “Given that there are 12 theaters on Broadway, if the majority are programmed on any given night, there is not enough parking,� she said. That is the first of many big “ifs� for the area. Another, voiced by garage proponents, is that many of the area’s existing parking lots are likely to disappear if the real estate market cycles back up to previous levels. Some could turn into development sites, such as a 136-space lot on the northeast corner of Ninth Street and Olympic Boulevard, which is entitled for a 158-unit housing de-
Starting at $1,400
velopment. Other structures could see spaces gobbled up by new residential conversions, like the once-public parking structure that now serves residents of the Chapman Lofts at 756 S. Broadway. A city-owned lot, some say, comes with advantages. “Half the lots are closed for the evening,� said Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council President Russell Brown. One of the community “trustees� on Bringing Back Broadway, he adds, “When special events come, they charge $20. The operators say they’ll be a good partner, but they’ve shown they’re not.� John Day, general counsel for L & R, the parent company to Joe’s Auto Parks, which operates most of the area’s parking lots, disputes the assertion. “We’ve been actively involved� in Bringing Back Broadway, he said, “and there’s no question that if the initiative is successful, there will be a need for more parking. The question is, do we want to put the investment now into a garage for a future need?� Disadvantaged Huizar sees the proposed structure as a bargaining chip to spur remaining theater owners to invest in their properties. In exchange for moving forward with the garage, he said, he will ask the landlords for a written commitment to renovate and reopen their venues. Michael Delijani, whose family owns Broadway’s Los Angeles, Palace, State and Tower theaters, has long cited a lack of parking as an obstacle to reactivating the properties. That is particularly the case, he said, between Sixth and Seventh Streets, where his theaters are located. Huizar’s office is attempting to purchase a potential garage site on the 600 block of Broadway. Huizar has said he expects to spend up to $27 million to purchase a site, and converting it to a space for at least 300
cars would likely cost another $25 million. Other area property owners say ample parking already exists on Broadway. “Parking is not really an issue for any of the venues here on Broadway,� said Orpheum owner Steve Needleman. “Numerous ones have had sold-out shows and they have had no problem with parking.� Robert Voskanian, a managing partner with the Million Dollar Theatre, agreed. However, he acknowledged, the Orpheum and Million Dollar “are the lucky ones.� The Million Dollar and the Orpheum sit at the north and south ends of the Broadway theater district, respectively, where most of the large parking facilities are concentrated. Needleman owns much of the surface parking immediately surrounding his theater, and the Orpheum boasts ample adjacent loading space — a rarity on Broadway. By contrast, the small stage door to the Delijanis’ Los Angeles Theatre abuts St. Vincent Court, where no parking is allowed, and a cramped, approximately 20-car lot. The State, Palace and Tower theaters also lack adjacent parking access and loading space. The new garage, Huizar’s office said, would address the loading issue by featuring high ground-floor clearance to allow trucks to get in and out with equipment for shows. By facilitating events, the garage could be a catalyst for the Delijanis, supporters say, and its proximity to the theaters would help lure patrons. “To spend even $3 million, $4 million renovating some of the theaters without that commitment is not realistic,� said Brown. He added, “When you go to Old Town Pasadena or the Third Street Promenade, you don’t mind walking five blocks because you feel safe. Right now, Broadway is not activated enough for that. It’s very much a chicken and an egg type thing.� Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
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Another Way to Pick Weiss or Trutanich
O
n Tuesday, May 19, voters in Los Angeles will go to the polls to decide whether they want Fifth District City Councilman Jack Weiss or attorney Carmen Trutanich to be the next City Attorney. If that seems too long to wait, then let your preference be known today on ladowntownnews.com. A poll question gives users the choice of picking Weiss or Trutanich, though you can also say you have not yet decided, or that you do not intend to vote. It’s just like real voting, except you don’t even have to get out of your chair. The poll, which will continue through Friday, May 15, can be seen on the front page of downtownnews.com. Scroll down and look on the left.
photo courtesy of the Trutanich Campaign
City Attorney Continued from page 1 developments proposed for the area, that a group of them launched a recall effort. That failed, but it showed that as Weiss was galloping to his victory party he was unaware of the huge bulls-eye on his back. That opened the door for Trutanich, a guy who, a year ago, was known to even fewer Angelenos than Laker Sun Yue (he is too on the team). Trutanich began raising money and hired some campaign staff who make Karl Rove look like a guy hosting a cupcake party. Then, voila, Trutanich pulled 27% of the vote in the March primary. Sure, that means that if you put 100 people in a Staples Center luxury suite 73 of them voted for someone else, but it was close to Weiss, who despite all his cash only managed to grab 36%. Since no one secured a majority, it was runoff time. Punch Out With the election on May 19, both Weiss and Trutanich are dropping the kinds of bombs that Manny Pacquiao used to decimate Englishman Ricky Hatton the other week. Of
Downtown News 9
DowntownNews.com photo by Gary Leonard
May 11, 2009
After garnering 36% of the vote in the March primary, Fifth District City Councilman Jack Weiss is in the May 19 runoff for the City Attorney’s post. He has repeatedly attacked his opponent Carmen Trutanich, calling on him to reveal his law firm’s clients.
Carmen Trutanich, a defense attorney and newcomer to politics, is running against Jack Weiss to be City Attorney. His website includes numerous antiWeiss links and articles.
course, for every legit shot, there are about four unseemly slaps to the back of the head or elbows to the kidney. In debates Trutanich has charged that Weiss is essentially a water boy for developers, while Weiss has cast his opponent as someone who wants to make sure that every American has the right to amass the kind of arsenal that would make them victorious at the Shootout at the O.K Corral II. Before the primary, Trutanich’s camp sent out a vicious mailer that depicted Weiss as a literal lapdog for Villaraigosa. Content to play when animals attack, Weiss didn’t flinch when a batch of supporters inflated a black rat outside of a debate and made it a Trutanich comparison. Weiss regularly blasts Trutanich, a defense attorney, for not releasing a list of his clients, and routinely references the gun lobby customers of Trutanich’s law partner. Trutanich, while a newcomer to politics, shows he is getting the hang of it, as he asserts that Weiss is ineffective on crime and points out Council votes that Weiss has missed. The two may claim they regret the way the race has turned and that the other guy started it, but each sets the tone for his campaign and has the power to change it at any time. Owl and Hoppy An interesting, if not the most accurate, indicator of who each is and how he operates may be gleaned by going to the source, and the websites for each pose some intriguing details.
At jackweiss.com (jackweissforcityattorney.com was cybersnatched and directs users instead to a Recall Jack Weiss site), the home page features one of the worst drawings in history, with an attorney, who kind of resembles Weiss if Weiss gobbled a dozen Amsterdam space cakes, speaking before a judge, who pretty much looks like a drunken Woodsy Owl. There is a sign in the drawing but the only word you can make out clearly looks like “Oppenheimer,” which brings to mind Robert Oppenheimer, inventor of the atomic bomb, and how this connection is supposed to indicate that Jack Weiss will be a good city attorney I have no idea. Meanwhile, Trutanich’s website, tru09.com, begins with a flotilla of stale slogans (“True to his word,” “defend what is true,” etc.) which, mercifully, you can skip. While the site provides his bio and everything else you expect, it is also filled with anti-Weiss articles and links, and the “Issues” section lists five areas in which Weiss supposedly falls short. Not that the whole site is negative. Under the “Initiatives” tab is a section on “Animal Welfare & Protection,” where one learns important tidbits such as that, as a child, Trutanich had a bunny rabbit named Hoppy. There is also a picture of him hugging a beagle named Lucky. How this is supposed to indicate that Carmen Trutanich will be a good city attorney I have no idea. Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.
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10 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
DowntownNews.com
The Downtown Challenge
Talking Trash Reporter Takes the Downtown Challenge, And Finds That Cleaning Up The Community Isn’t So Easy by Richard Guzmán city editor
A
s someone who has tried to avoid manual labor my entire life, I got a wakeup call when, as part of the new Los Angeles Downtown News column the Downtown Challenge, I spent the morning picking up trash and painting over graffiti with the young men and women of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. After ending my morning splashed head to toe in paint and heavily splattered by whoknows-what kinds of liquids (and I never want to know), I discovered there’s a very good reason for my natural avoidance of manual work — I’m just not very good at it.
But despite the unglamorous and sometimes nauseating work of emptying bags of trash from throughout Downtown, sweeping sidewalks and painting over graffiti, there’s an immense amount of pride in keeping the city clean, even if no one notices what you’re doing. And it was kind of fun. Off to Work Founded in 1986, the Conservation Corps provides employment, job counseling, training and mentoring to at-risk youth. They also operate three charter high schools and offer educational programs and scholarships for people ages 14-24. The 200 or so people in the group’s labor program include former gang members, kids
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photo by Gary Leonard
Richard Guzmán of Downtown News (center) gets covered in trashy liquid and paint, while Los Angeles Conservation Corps members Maty Molina (right) and Justin Wiley deftly avoid getting too dirty. The Conservation Corps removes about 100 trash bags a day from Chinatown.
with problems at school and those who want to learn job skills and get work experience. Most earn minimum wage. In Downtown the Conservation Corps has two centers and contracts with the Chinatown and South Park business improvement districts to pick up trash and keep the neighborhood clean, which these days often includes picking up dog poop. Thanks to them, the area looks tidy by the time most Downtowners start work. “These kids come to us from recreation centers, from word of mouth, and they’re all
interested in doing something for themselves and the community,” said Bruce Saito, executive director of the Conservation Corps. “It can be hard work and we work in all conditions — rain, in the heat, in the cold.” I didn’t like the sound of that. The hardest physical work I do is when I have to change the water tank in our office kitchen, which I actually do pretty well. Early Start The Corps members start at 7 a.m. with a strenuous group exercise session. They do sit Continued on next page
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Downtown News 11
DowntownNews.com the area each day, which they bring to a dump on Alameda Street. This was what I was waiting for. I put on latex gloves and we jumped out of the truck on Hill Street. I grabbed a bag and was instantly hit by the stench of spoiled food. You don’t really notice the smell when you walk by, but once you get close, you realize it is some nasty stuff. I was amazed that these kids pick up and throw away more than 2,000 pounds of it a day. Another thing you don’t expect is how wet trash is. As soon as I lifted my first bag, some kind of liquid dripped onto my arm. The horror on my face must have been obvious. “That happens a lot,” Wiley said matter-of-factly. I didn’t intend to let it happen again. But no matter how careful I was, how slowly I picked up bags, something almost always dripped on me. So I sped up, hoping that I could somehow outrun the liquids by tossing the bags as quickly as
possible into the truck. This was not a good idea, as one bag, lighter than I expected, sailed over the others. It looked like it was heading over the truck and onto the windshield of a white Honda Civic making a right turn in the next lane. Luckily, it hit the corner post of the wood panel truck and fell in line with the others. I ended the day a little stinky, covered in paint and grossed out by some of the things I saw in the garbage, which for the purpose of not losing any readers I will not describe. But it also felt good to do something that makes the neighborhood a better place. And it was nice to get a glimpse of something I never thought about before — who cleans up the area. It turned out to be a group of committed, enthusiastic kids, who all take so much pride in what they do. Got an idea for the Downtown Challenge? Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
photo by Gary Leonard
Lorena Alonzo is one of the approximately 200 people ages 14-24 who participate in the Conservation Corps’ labor program. They earn minimum wage and get job training.
Continued from previous page ups, jumping jacks and toe touches (which to me counts as strenuous exercise). Luckily, I got to their Chinatown office at about 7:15, a little too late to join in the workout. My first stop was South Park, where I met up with 19-yearold Elvis Carrillo. He was already busy painting over some ugly gang graffiti in an alley. “We make it look clean, better and it makes for a better neighborhood,” said Carrillo, an aspiring community activist. “It’s a different world for me now than when I was a youngster and getting into trouble.” Carrillo was going to teach me how to paint over graffiti, which sounds simple. His first lesson was how to get paint on the roller by dipping it into a bucket and gliding it over a strainer. He told me to roll it down, and not up, because otherwise it would splash. Somehow I misunderstood this basic concept and proceeded to roll the brush up and down the strainer as fast as I could. Right away I was splattered in paint from the top of my bald head to my shoes and everything in between. Carrillo had been there all morning and was clean as a whistle. I was there five minutes and already looked like a beige paint-spotted leopard. The rest of the work was pretty simple. We covered the graffiti with a couple of coats. It felt good to get rid of such an ugly act of vandalism. I could tell Carrillo liked it too. “You learn from your mistakes, and you know you have to change and become a mature adult, and this is helping me do that,” he told me. Garbage and Beyond After painting over the graffiti, I got into a truck with Alonso Torres, a supervisor, and Dominique Stanley, who has been with the Corps three months. They took me on a South Park trash can-emptying expedition. “We do this before people usually get to work in the mornings. Most people don’t even know we’re here, but if we weren’t, this place would be a mess,” Torres said. He and Stanley jumped out of the truck at various corners, pulled up bags filled with trash and tossed them into the back of the truck. We also rode through some alleys looking for something nastier than bags of garbage. “We get a lot of dog poop and even some human feces, which we also have to pick up,” Torres explained. “When it’s there for too long it can stain the sidewalks, so we have to power wash them out.” I was not looking forward to picking up anyone’s doo doo. I have a 2-year-old at home and do enough of that already. Luckily, we didn’t find any, and I was safe from getting too dirty. Or so I thought. Over the Edge My next stop was Chinatown, where I met up with Corps members Maty Molina, 27, and Justin Wiley, 18. Molina, also a supervisor, was hired permanently by the Corps after four years, but she plans on going back to school to study criminal justice. Wiley is working toward getting his high school diploma and hopes for a career as a biology teacher. He dropped out of high school to help with an illness in his family, he explained. He’s been getting help with his high school exit exam from the Corps. Molina and Wiley were ready to put me to work. “Here in Chinatown we get a lot of trash,” Molina informed me. “A lot of it is old food, and also a lot of cigarette butts all over the place.” Molina and Wiley pick up about 100 trash can bags in
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12 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
DowntownNews.com
The 10 Questions What are the secrets of planning and catering a perfect and effective corporate event? And, more importantly considering the state of the economy, how can you do it without breaking the bank? If you are in Downtown Los Angeles, there are a lot of options. In the following pages, we posed the same 10 questions to four area caterers and event planners, hoping to glean tips on how to bring off successful business events. They had a wealth of advice, from menu suggestions to staff training to last-minute arrangements. And, of course, they had ideas for those watching budgets.
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May 11, 2009
Corporate Catering
Downtown News 13
Zen and the Art of Catering Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens in Little Tokyo Can Host Corporate Parties in a Tranquil Setting by Richard Guzmán
[the entree] would be chicken or fish.
city editor
W
ith spaces up to 9,000 square feet, the Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens can be a perfect spot for corporate events. Those who want to add a relaxing element to the festivities can opt for the building’s tranquil Japanese garden. The garden was built using the seven principles of Zen, while the flexible menu features Japanese and American cuisine. Rachel Ferguson, director of catering sales for the Little Tokyo establishment, explained how the garden hosts corporate lunches and other gatherings. Los Angeles Downtown News: Given the state of the economy, what’s your advice for planning an affordable catered event? Rachel Ferguson: I would suggest letting the hotel or location know your budget and having them customize a menu for you. Customized menus are always the way to go. If you are looking at cutting back even more, I would say cut back on providing alcohol, which most people already do. Q: If you want to spend about $30 per person, what kind of food and other arrangements can you expect? A: You can get a three-course meal for that;
Q: What if you spend $75 per person? A: You can get a lot more things for $75. You can get hors d’oeuvres, you can get three courses, and possibly a one-hour bar. Q: What are people doing differently because of the economy? A: The thing that I noticed is that people are being straightforward with their budgets right away, so we have to customize a menu for them. Q: These days, how far in advance should you start planning an event? A: These days, people are doing it three months in advance. They’re not doing it way in advance anymore. The earlier the better, but you usually can get a better deal if you do it three months or less. If the availability is there the hotel is trying to fill open spots, but you are not guaranteed to get the date you want, so you have to be flexible. Q: With all the different preferences, and in particular keeping vegetarians in mind, what types of food should you have to satisfy all your customers? A: Definitely have vegetarian options and make sure you have their name and information before the event starts. That way the
photo by Gary Leonard
The Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens in Little Tokyo can host events for clients whether they want to spend $30 a person, $75 a person or more.
facility knows right away who to give that too. Chicken is always a safe thing to serve, since everyone loves chicken. Fish, on the other hand, isn’t, since a lot of people don’t like fish. Beef is always popular but you should always have an alternative entree, which is usually chicken.
Q: What size events do you handle and what’s your specialty? A: We do a lot of weddings. We do things in our garden, the Japanese garden. We do any type of VIP reception, ceremonies, those things.
Q: We’re talking corporate catering here: How do you strike the balance between businessappropriate and fun? A: What I’ve seen done a lot is interactive shows where people go around to the audience and get them involved in the show, like magicians or singers. Mystery dinners are popular to get people involved. These are the dinners where it’s like a whodunit mystery that you have to solve. There are also some events where they have opera singers going around or you could have a jazz band where you have, say, a saxophonist walk around and play to people.
Q: Besides the food, what can caterers provide to make an event successful? A: It would have to be the presentation of the table, the room as well, and the food. And of course the service staff. Q: What do you do with leftovers? A: They get tossed. Because of liability purposes the food does get thrown away. Information on catering and events at the Kyoto Grand Hotel and Gardens is at (213) 629-1200 or kyotograndhotel.com. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
14 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
Corporate Catering
A Healthy Business For Organic To Go, Flexibility Is Key by AnnA Scott StAff writer
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ulia Child famously once said, “I just hate health food.” For those who feel similarly, restaurant and catering company Organic To Go, with local catering headquarters in City West, is trying to prove that food created with fresh ingredients and without additives can go hand-in-hand with fine dining — and taste good. Julie Malcomson, OTG’s director of sales for Southern California, spoke about the company’s range of options. Los Angeles Downtown News: Given the state of the economy, what’s your advice for planning an affordable catered event? Julie Malcomson: My advice would be really look at portion sizes and approach things from that perspective. We are offering right now what we call an “orgo-nomic” buffet, so we’ve created budget-friendly buffets of some of our best food items because we realize a lot of people have lost their budgets. Q: If you want to spend about $30 per person, what kind of food and other arrangements can you expect? A: We could do something that’s completely appetizers: fun skewers, infusion rolls, fruit kebabs and Caprese skewers, which is fresh
‘We’ve literally gotten calls at 9 a.m. and pulled out 200 box lunches for an event that someone somehow forgot about.’ —Julie Malcomson, Organic To Go
mozzarella, basil and tomato with a pesto sauce. We could also do more of a formal sit-down dinner service, a buffet, and items could be anything from chicken, organic beef pot roast, to wild Alaskan grilled salmon and an assortment of sides. Q: What if you spend $75 per person? A: That means you could have the option
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of a plated dinner service, where people are actually coming and serving you a threecourse meal. It gives you more room with the extravagance of what you’re looking for as well. If you’re looking for more of a cocktailthemed party with servers, there are handpassed appetizers and you can dress it up. That also allows a larger budget for flowers and different decorations.
Julie Malcomson, director of sales for Southern California of Organic To Go, can help put together everything from boxed lunches to sitdown dinners.
figure out what it is that you need. For smaller events, we’ve pulled them off with 24 hours notice and less. We’ve literally gotten calls at 9 a.m. and pulled out 200 box lunches for an event that someone somehow forgot about.
Q: What are people doing differently because of the economy? A: Catering is one of those aspects of the corporate world that, when budgets go down, can also go down. People are ordering a little less frequently, but recently it’s been stabilizing. I’ve seen budgets that have gone down with companies, but we’ve been able to work with them and help them out.
Q: With all the different preferences, and in particular keeping vegetarians in mind, what types of food should you have to satisfy all your customers? A: It depends on the type of food you’re looking for. For vegetarians, we have a fantastic tofu stir-fry. We also offer pastas and an assortment of wraps. A lot of our appetizers are vegetarian and can certainly accommodate large vegetarian groups or at least those people in a group. Also with our buffets, typically your sides are vegetarian items: salads and green beans or grilled vegetables.
Q: These days, how far in advance should you start planning an event? A: If you want to do a large event with rentals and servers and all of those things, I think that two weeks is a good amount of time to play with menu ideas, do samplings, really
Q: We’re talking corporate catering here: How do you strike the balance between businessappropriate and fun? A: There are all sorts of different things that you can do. You can bring in outside things Continued on next page
May 11, 2009
Continued from previous page to make it more fun, or you can take it to a location that’s more fun. If it’s something on-site, really we just set the atmosphere. Q: What size events do you handle and what’s your specialty? A: We’re really flexible. We have done plated dinner services for 1,000 people. We do a lot of weddings. We also do a lot of hotel box lunches. The smaller events we do are corporate meetings. We do a lot with UCLA and USC. We’re doing a lot of their commencements this month, and some of those groups can be 20 people, some can be 300 people. Q: Besides the food, what can caterers provide to make an event successful? A: I do a lot of planning. I’ll go in and really figure out what time you want this to happen, what you want the atmosphere to look like. If you want lots of flowers, or fun things with the displays — we can cut up different vegetables sometimes and use them for serving sauces. I will very frequently meet with customers and provide them with color samples and take care of all their rentals for them. Q: What do you do with leftovers? A: We very frequently donate them to the food bank. Sometimes we’ll bring leftovers boxes so they can distribute it among the people that helped put together the event. A lot of times though we will volunteer to take things to the food bank, which people love. Organic To Go’s catering operation can be reached at (800) 304-4550 or organictogo.com. Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
Downtown News 15
Corporate Catering
Puck’s Platters How Wolfgang’s Catering Arm Satisfies the Corporate Crowds at L.A. Live by Jon RegaRdie executive editoR
W
hen it comes to corporate events, Sarah Bencivenga and her team at Wolfgang Puck Catering do not have an issue with size — they will work with parties from five to 5,000 people. Bencivenga, the vice president of catering sales, has been with Wolfgang Puck Catering for seven years. Based Downtown at L.A. Live, they are the exclusive caterers for event space at the sprawling campus, and organize gatherings at facilities including the Nokia Plaza and the Grammy Museum. She explained how they make it work. photo by Gary Leonard
Los Angeles Downtown News: Sarah Bencivenga, vice president of catering sales for Wolfgang Puck Catering, can handle events for up to 5,000 Given the state of the economy, people at the L.A. Live campus. what’s your advice for planning an affordable catered event? Sarah Bencivenga: My advice and experi- we are providing a quality product, and also meal or a buffet, where people would have a ence now is people need to see value in the a valuable experience. varied selection. You could get a variety of salproduct they order. The days of champagne ads. There are some real competitively priced and caviar are behind us. It is more prudent Q: If you want to spend about $30 per person, fish options, like a halibut, or a pan-roasted to provide hosted beer and wine, the elegant what kind of food and arrangements can you chicken or a nice variety of lighter fare. chicken or beef entree. People are going with expect? a more approachable menu that does not A: You could provide a very nice corporate Q: What if you spend $75 per person? see Wolfgang Puck, page 16 say we rolled out the red carpet, but instead experience for lunchtime, whether a seated
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16 Downtown News
Wolfgang Puck Continued from page 15 A: If you jumped up you might get hosted beverages in addition to some elegant stations that have a wider selection, such as a Shanghai lobster or a stir-fried action station. I would see that more as an evening reception, or immediately following a 6 p.m. business reception. Q: What are people doing differently because of the economy? A: I find that they are mostly going with short termbooking rather than planning something two or four months in advance. They are planning it six weeks to 30 days in advance. I think an average range these day would be $40-$75 per person. People used to come with ideas and the budgets were secondary. Now it is much more they come with a budget and you see how to meet that budget. Q: These days, how far in advance should you start planning an event? A: I think that is dependent on the venue. If you only have one ballroom to sell, then booking that space six months or a year out is much more important. When you look at smaller, more corporate events, whether recruiting events or something in the 100-200 person range, I think as a planner they have a lot more flexibility. Q: With all the different preferences, and in particular keeping vegetarians in mind, what types of food should you have to satisfy all your customers? A: I always accommodate for a gluten-free, a vegetarian and definitely the white meat options, preferable to the beef option. People with food preferences should all be accommodated for and should not have to ask for something special. Q: We’re talking corporate catering here: How do you strike the balance between business-appropriate and fun?
May 11, 2009
Corporate Catering A: As a rule I’m pretty conservative, so I try to appeal to the mainstream and allow my customers to introduce the elements of fun as they see appropriate to the audience. I love to push the envelope on food choice and give people something they may not have ordered in another corporate location. But I would not have a lady painted in chocolate on a dessert buffet. It’s not our style. Q: What size events do you handle and what’s your specialty? A: Our venues are so different. At Club Nokia we can accommodate 1,000 easily all the way up to 2,000. At the Target Terrace it is more intimate and 150-200 is perfect. On the event deck you want 2,000 of your closest friends because it is a large space. Q: Besides the food, what can caterers provide to make an event successful? A: Food is definitely one layer of that, but impeccable service is the experience the guest will take away. Having well-trained, informed staff that know where the restrooms and the ATMs are, and how to guide people to different flavors and food stations; every waiter should have the scope of the event at their fingertips. Coming in on budget is important, so not having surprise charges. At the end of the day, if your event is not on budget it is not successful, and if the event is not on budget you probably won’t have the opportunity to work with that customer again. Q: What do you do with leftovers? A: We work with a number of the food donation [groups]. We work with Angels Flight periodically. But obviously the goal, especially with budgets being a concern, is to order the correct amount of food so that at the end of the event the buffet looks abundant but not as if there will be waste. For information on Wolfgang Puck Catering contact Sarah Bencivenga at (213) 765-7098 or sarah.bencivenga@wolfgangpuck.com. Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com.
Big Hotel, Big Events The Westin Bonaventure Provides An Array of Services and Options by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
W
hen it comes to planning a business event, Michael Czarcinski, managing director of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, recommends that companies plan well in advance. But procrastinators are not totally out of luck. The sprawling Downtown hotel prides itself on fast preparation and making tall orders work. Czarcinski and Yvonne Chang, the hotel’s director of catering, explained their corporate catering strategy. Hint: They scent the air. Los Angeles Downtown News: Given the state of the economy, what’s your advice for planning an affordable catered event? Yvonne Chang: Number one, make sure that you have a very clear idea as to what your budget is and what your priorities are. Especially with corporate events, all types of different entities are adding their own two cents, but you want to make sure you’re getting across your message and the whole reason for having the meeting. Michael Czarcinski: The more information that the guest is prepared with up front, the better we’re able to help them out. And we’ll ask those screening questions. That’s what we’re there for. Q: If you want to spend about $30 per person, what kind of food and other arrangements can you expect? YC: For $30 a person, including service charges and taxes, because that does influence price, we have a package where you can get a modified continental breakfast, a midmorning refreshment break and then we can take the group and have them go through lunch at our Lakeview Bistro restaurant, which has fresh salads and sandwiches and soups. So essentially we could do almost an entire daytime meeting with that price. Continued on next page
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Continued from previous page Q: What if you spend $75 per person? YC: That gives you a full continental breakfast, with morning and afternoon breaks, with not just beverages but heavy scones and fresh fruit for your break, and your choice of any of our lunch buffets that will be rolled into your banquet room. Along with that a screen and projector package, a podium microphone and hotel directional signage. The food options are anything from a full deli display with four different salads and different cuts of meat to a hot steamed lunch. We give our customers the choice of a variety of different lunches. Q: What are people doing differently because of the economy? MC: It depends on the company. We have very reasonable value-added rates for our meeting clients, so we’re not seeing as much in the way of cancellations or attrition [lowering the group size]. We are seeing some of the future bookings not come in as quick, but it’s starting to come back now. I think people are sort of past the shock of the economic turndown and the banking crisis. Next week we’re sold out. From May 25 through June 6 we’re pretty much sold out and we’re starting to have inquiries for the summer. Q: These days, how far in advance should you start planning an event? MC: We always recommend as far in advance as your schedule permits, but we’re so fortunate that we have a large infrastructure here. Today one of our group meeting planners came in and they had a hot lunch and wanted to add sandwiches. This was at 11 a.m. for a noon lunch, so we made 300 sandwiches, but realistically we can be prepared within 24 hours if need be. Organizations have put off a lot over the past several months, so what we’re finding is companies are now realizing, OK, enough is enough. It’s time to have a meeting but, oh my gosh, we haven’t planned it yet. Q: With all the different preferences, and in particular keeping vegetarians in mind, what types of food should you have to satisfy all your customers? YC: What we’ve noticed is a trend away from the traditional one-course meals. Even during corporate meetings we make sure to have a variety of meals for all different palates, wheth-
Downtown News 17
Corporate Catering er it’s vegetarian or vegan or lactose intolerant. Also, especially for vegetarians, we have options that are not just the traditional pasta like they’re used to seeing. Our chef does a phenomenal Himalayan rice, puts it in a bamboo steamer, adds roasted vegetables. It sounds simple but the aesthetics are gorgeous and if you’re a vegetarian sitting next to someone with a steak you definitely don’t feel slighted. Q: We’re talking corporate catering here: How do you strike the balance between business-appropriate and fun? MC: With business appropriate, it depends upon the company and their company guidelines.
Q: What size events do you handle and what’s your specialty? YC: We handle anything from photo by Gary Leonard a two-person deposition to a Michael Czarcinski and Yvonne Chang of the Westin Bonaventure cater everything from two-person 2,500-person gala dinner fash- depositions to 2,500-person corporate meetings. ion show. MC: We really personalize the event to the company’s needs. That’s our specialty. Whether there’s the old trick where you cook the shrimp scampi in the it’s a group of executives, middle managers, a group of new lobby to make everyone hungry because of all that garlic. We hire trainees, you have to be flexible and have the facilities do it all. and resources to take care of each of their needs. Q: What do you do with leftovers? Q: Besides the food, what can caterers provide to make an event YC: We have a composting program here at the hotel. successful? MC: Typically we get guarantees 72 hours in advance from YC: We’re a large proponent of the idea that you actually eat our guests and we stay in touch right up to before the event, with all five of your senses, so it’s important that the ambi- so most of the time they have a good idea of how many peoence of the room is fitting for the event. We use scents too. ple are coming. So we prepare what’s needed and we really MC: At our front desk we use a green tea, that sort of sooth- don’t have a lot of leftovers. ing herbal scent that all Westins use. In the meeting rooms For information about catered events at the Westin — and you’ve got to be careful because sometimes people Bonaventure, contact the hotel’s catering department at (213) have allergies, so we use all hypoallergenic scents — we use 612-4808. lemon verbena. Citruses sort of invigorate the senses. Then Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.
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18 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
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HEALTH Big Chefs, a Big Cause And a Small Crowd Downtown Fundraiser for Liver Foundation Gives Participants a Close Encounter With Well-Known Restaurateurs by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
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elestino Drago is still preparing his special menu. He knows it will include some of the entrees that have made his Downtown restaurant Drago Centro one of the most popular new eateries in the city. But since it is not often that a chef gets to put on a performance for a small crowd, Drago is also planning a few surprises. One of the biggest may be that he is doing it not for money, but for a good cause that is often overlooked, sometimes with fatal consequences. Drago, along with nine other prominent chefs (including five from Downtown), will volunteer their time on Sunday, May 17, for the Greater Los Angeles Division of the American Liver Foundation’s third annual Flavors of Los Angeles. The event at City National Plaza in the Financial District (also home to Drago Centro) pairs some of the city’s most respected chefs with about 120
guest who pay $250 a head for a very personal night of dining. The money raised will go toward research, patient services and education for the foundation. Guest will be divided into 10 tables, with each holding about 12 people. The chefs will each host a single table, and will cook a five-course dinner tableside with wine pairings. The chefs will discuss how they prepare the dishes and talk about their cooking techniques. “It’s a great cause and a good chance to interact with people,” Drago said. “We’re going to cook right in front of them, each course. We’re going to set up the table like we do inside the restaurant, do a little lecture about the wine. I will talk about every single dish, the culture, the story behind each dish. We’ll make it very informative, fun, interactive and personal.” The Lineup The other Downtown-based chefs participating in the event are Shigefumi Tachibe from the recently opened Chaya Downtown,
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also at City National Plaza; Calvin Holladay of Fleming’s Steakhouse at L.A. Live; Kevin Meehan of Café Pinot at the Central Library; Gabriel Morales of Provecho in the Financial District; and John Rivera Sedlar of Rivera restaurant in South Park. Also participating will be Katie Hagan of Beso in Hollywood, David Lino of McCormick’s Beverly Hills, Andy Cook of The London West Hollywood and another chef to be named later. The event was 90% reserved last week, and with such a healthy representation of Downtown chefs, organizphoto courtesy of American Liver Foundation ers expect to reach capacity Six Downtown chefs will participate in Flavors of Los Angeles, quickly. a May 17 fundraiser for the Greater Los Angeles Division of the “There’s such a culi- American Liver Foundation. At the event, chefs host individual nary movement happening tables and prepare a five-course meal for about 12 people. Downtown, said Taly Fantini, vice president of the Liver Foundation’s Greater Los Angeles Division. Fantini said. “It seems to be the place where these fantas“What we hope to do is create awareness tic chefs are converging so it made sense for of the 100 liver diseases that exist and to the us to have the event Downtown and give many patients in our community that are Downtown restaurants an opportunity to impacted by these diseases,” she said. participate.” Michael Hausknost, the Liver Foundation The liver is a multitasking organ that is board president, said most people are only responsible for removing harmful substances aware of liver diseases such as cirrhosis of the from the blood, helping digest fat and storing liver, caused by excessive alcohol. Events like energy. the May 17 dinner help raise awareness for According to the Foundation, more than other kinds of ailmants that often go unno42,000 people nationwide die of liver disease ticed, like pediatric liver diseases, which cause every year. Hepatitis A, B and C are the most about 15,000 children a year to be hospitalized common form of liver disease. Many forms and can even lead to infant liver transplants. are preventable or can be treated if detected “It can be a very serious, life-threatenearly enough, which is why it is important ing ailment,” he said. “About 10% of the to get the word out about liver disease with American population has some sort of liver continued on next page the help of events like Flavors of Los Angeles,
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May 11, 2009
Downtown News 19
Health
A Rabbi, a Priest and an Imam Were Blessing a Bicycle… Event to Promote Safety for Cyclists Returns to Good Samaritan Hospital
O
ne of Downtown’s most unique events returns this week. It is also one of the city’s most unlikely happenings, bringing religious leaders, politicians and avid bicyclists together in one place. The sixth annual West Coast Blessing of the Bicycles takes place Tuesday, May 12, from 8-9:30 a.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital. In past years it has brought Catholic priests, Jewish rabbis, Episcopalian reverends, Buddhist monks, imams and others to the City West facility. About 100 bicyclists are expected to attend, including some as young as 3. In addition to receiving a blessing from the religious figures, the crowd will cycle around the hospital as a salute to those who have been injured or killed in bicycle accidents. At Tuesday’s event, City Councilman and avid cyclist Tom LaBonge will receive the Golden Spoke award, presented to biking advocates. Last year the inaugural Golden Spoke was given to former Mayor Richard Riordan. While the event on the surface has a bit of frivolity, a serious message underlies it: According to the U.S. National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, 698 bicyclists died in traffic accidents in 2007 (actually down from 773 in 2006). Another 43,000 people were injured in traffic accidents last year. In other words, cyclists can use all the blessings they can get. The West Coast Blessing of the Bicycles is Tuesday, May 12, 8-9:30 a.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital, 616 Witmer St. Information at (213) 977-2911 or goodsam.org.
photo by Gary Leonard
The Blessing of the Bicycles takes place at Good Samaritan Hospital on Tuesday, May 12. Leaders from different faiths will give their blessing to local cyclists in an effort to ensure that everyone has a safe ride.
A Woman’s Place Is In . . . - the Operating Room - the Emergency Room - the Exam Room
Continued from previous page ailment. It is a huge number but unfortunately it is one of those things not a lot of people know about and many of the diseases can go unchecked for [decades] before there are ever any symptoms.” But food is a great way to get people out and talking, Hausknost said. “What makes this so special is that each table is run by a premier restaurant; it’s a recreation of their restaurant,” he said. “It is one chef who hosts his or her table and has an opportunity to showcase their restaurant and culinary talent to a small group of people who get to have the restaurant all to themselves.” Flavors of Los Angeles is Sunday, May 17, at City National Plaza. Information at liverfoundation.org/chapters/greaterla or (310) 670-4624. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
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May 11, 2009
CALENDAR
Another Side of richArd neutrA
Central Library Exhibition Focuses on Architect’s Drawings, From Early Renderings to Travel Sketches by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
W
hen it comes to Mid-Century Modernism, Richard Neutra is largely seen as the quintessential California architect: Dozens of his sleek homes, schools and other buildings are scattered around Los Angeles. Perhaps more telling of his influence are the hundreds of buildings not designed by him but that nevertheless bear his signature aesthetic. Non-architecture enthusiasts might not know Neutra by name, but they likely recognize his style: mostly post and beam structures, flat roofs, heavy use of glass and a blurred distinction between indoors and out. Those with a taste for Mid-Century Modernism have a full plate of it in a new exhibition at the Central Library called Richard Neutra, Architect: Sketches and Drawings. The show, which opened May 3 and runs through Nov. 1 in the Getty Gallery on the second floor of the Financial District building, could have been titled Richard Neutra, Draftsman, as it focuses entirely on his drawings and sketches. Maybe so, said curator Thomas Hines, professor emeritus of history and architecture at UCLA and a leading Neutra scholar. But it was imperative to put “architect” in the exhibition title because like the library itself, the show is geared toward the general public, not necessarily Neutra nuts. “You have a general audience that doesn’t necessarily know a lot about architecture or Neutra or drawing,” Hines said. “We wanted to make that clear.” The show is comprised of 135 drawings on loan from the Special Collections at UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library, a treasure trove of historic documents and archives, Hines said. “These are things that scholars, historians and critics look at but it doesn’t get into public galleries very much, and that was the chief motivation for doing this,” he said. “The library gallery is an excellent place for this.” Special Collections As much as the show is a tribute to a particular architect and his drawings, it is also part of a continuum of exhibitions in the library that delve into special collections throughout the city in order to showcase and celebrate Los Angeles. The Neutra show follows L.A. Unfolded, an exhibition from the Central Library’s own collection of maps of Los Angeles. From October 2007 to January 2008, the building hosted a show dedicated to Julius Schulman’s Los Angeles, as seen through the work of the architectural photographer. The images in the Shulman show came from the Getty Research Institute. “These exhibitions are really about the treasures of Los Angeles,” said Gloria Gerace, director of exhibitions for the
Library Foundation of Los Angeles. “Los Angeles has such a rich history. We just don’t celebrate ourselves enough. That’s my theory and that’s the theory we’ve been using here.” Visitors to the Neutra exhibition can peruse the show while listening to short monologues about the architect from six other architects or Neutra experts. All that is required is a cell phone: Visitors call a number printed in the exhibition brochure and toggle through the different speakers. Ray Kappe, a well-known architect, urban planner and educator, recalls in an audio monologue moving to Los Angeles from Minneapolis when he was 13 years old and attending the Neutra-designed Emerson Junior High School in West L.A. Decades later as an architect, Kappe would be influenced by the prominence of glass and the open transitions from indoors to outdoors in his middle school. Neutra’s son and last business partner Dion Neutra talks about his father’s fastidious interviewing of clients. The elder Neutra sought to understand what people wanted and what they needed in a home or building, and it went beyond listing a preferred architectural style or characteristics. When a client said they liked arches, for example, Richard Neutra would ask what they liked about arches. A Steady Hand Born in 1892 in Vienna, Austria, Neutra worked for a few architects in Switzerland and Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1923. He moved from the Midwest to Los Angeles to work with Frank Lloyd Wright on Barnsdall Park in Los Feliz. In Los Angeles, Neutra partnered, and for a while lived with, another Austrian-born architect, Rudolph Schindler. One of Neutra’s most famous works is the Lovell “Health” House, a residence in the hills north of Los Feliz. Dion Neutra argues in the audio guide that his father was so skilled with a pencil that he could have been a fine artist instead of an architect. Works in the show range from playful travel sketches made during family vacations to presentation-quality renderings and elevation drawings of building projects. The architectural drawings resemble the finished products that many contemporary architects draft on computers. Hines’ decision to focus entirely on drawings was rooted in a desire to break from a trend of using photography to document Modernism. “Modern architecture, of which Neutra was a quintessential figure, has always relied heavily on photography as its primary medium,” Hines said.
By focusing entirely on drawings, Hines thought he could simultaneously spotlight the craftsman in Neutra and present a show that felt fresh from a curatorial perspective, especially for existing Neutra fans. His main hope for the show is that it will appeal both to aficionados and to average Angelenos who stumble upon it when wandering the halls of the library. “Everybody will come either with no notion or different notions of what they’re going to see or come away with and that’s fine,” Hines said. “The Neutra specialists I hope are just going to get another series of insights into his complex nature, his multi-sided genius. I would hope that people who come into this without a knowledge or interest in architecture will get interested, maybe get hooked.” Richard Neutra, Architect: Sketches and Drawings runs through Nov. 1 at the Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7272 or lapl.org. Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.
A Central Library exhibit features 135 drawings and sketches from Richard Neutra, an Austrian-born architect who came to the United States in 1923. Works on display include a 1917 selfportrait, a 1950 pencil and crayon drawing of the Heller House in Beverly Hills (top left), and a pencil sketch of the Universal Pictures Building from 1932-33.
images courtesy of the Department of Special Collection, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA
20 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
Downtown News 21
DowntownNews.com
Chinatown Continued from page 1 Monday, May 11. Highlighting the development over more than 150 years in 126 pages, the book explores the role of Chinatown as an ethnic enclave in Los Angeles. It offers more than 200 photographs that span the history of Chinatown and Chinese Americans in the city and culminates with the 2008 celebration of the 70th anniversary of New Chinatown. Cho, who also sits on the board of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, said she wanted to offer a visual history of a vital part of the city. “I wanted to show Chinese American history in Los Angeles, from the discrimination of the 19th century to today and becoming an empowered community and demographic,” Cho said. Searching through archives of libraries, historical societies, museums and even the private homes of Chinese Americans, Cho assembled a collection of photographs that show people young and old, as well as a very different Los Angeles. “It’s a great visual history of Chinatown, both old and new,” said Pauline Wong, executive director of the Downtown-based Chinese American Museum. Cho aimed to show the nuances and evolution of the community, in particular how the Chinese survived in the 19th century by working in industries such as railroads, laundry, agriculture, retail, grocery stores and barber shops. “Any way they could make a living, I wanted to show a snapshot of all that,” she said. She also wanted to detail the growing families, the discrimination and violence that Chinese and Chinese Americans faced, along with the empowerment that came with the creation of New Chinatown on June 25, 1938. It replaced the original settlement that was razed to make way for Union Station. “It’s a great resource for people who want to know more about our history,” Wong said. “These are pictures that are very rare and that most people would likely not have seen.” Humble Beginnings Despite the small 1850 census count, the local Chinese population quickly grew. A settlement soon developed near the present-day El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. By 1870, 200 Chinese were living in the area and working as laborers for the railroad companies and in various construction jobs. Chinese Americans also worked in agriculture, at restaurants, as domestic servants and
A
Scared
photo courtesy of Chinese American Historical Society
The paving of Alameda Street helped usher in use of the automobile. By the early 1930s, the horse and wagon were being phased out.
in other service industries. Early images show Chinese Americans working as miners during the gold rush, in fields and as vegetable peddlers. Old Chinatown is also prominent, as residents can be seen sitting in front of wooden buildings. Many of them were single men working to save enough money to send home and hoping eventually to return to China. Later photographs depict some of the early founding families of the New Chinatown, including a shot of a smiling SooHoo Leung, who in the 1890s opened the Sang Yuen Company general store on Apablasa Street in Old Chinatown. His son Peter SooHoo went on to co-found New Chinatown. Other images include a picture of members of the Los Angeles Lodge of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, which was established in 1912 to give a voice to the community; China City, a Chinese-themed tourist attraction developed by socialite and Olvera Street founder Christine Sterling in 1938; and George and Esther Wong, who in 1979 opened Madame Wong’s, which became a haven for Los Angeles punk bands. The book closes with a picture of the 2008 celebration of the 70th anniversary of New Chinatown, where thousands of people packed the community’s central plaza. “I wanted to end it with that because it was a celebration. It’s a good moment now for Chinese Americans,” Cho said. Chinatown in Los Angeles is available starting May 11 at arcadiapublishing.com or (888) 313-2665. Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.
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22 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
DowntownNews.com
LISTINGS EVENTS
The ‘Don’t Miss’ List
Monday, May 11 Bike to Work Week Kickoff Olvera Street, 845 N. Alameda, metro.net/biketowork. 8:30 a.m. L.A. City and County officials will invite the public to bike to work at least one day this week, and the bike-riding public is invited to roll up to this kickoff event.
Comedy, Kids, Plays and Bugs! by AnnA Scott, StAff writer
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Tuesday, May 12 Town Hall L.A. Millennium Biltmore, 506 S. Grand Ave., (213) 6288141 or townhall-la.org. Noon: Town Hall L.A. hosts Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for lunch. The city’s 41st mayor, who is in the throes of preparing a budget while facing a $530 million deficit, will give an address and take questions. Blessing of the Bicycles Good Samaritan Hospital, 1225 Wilshire Blvd., goodsam.org or metro.net/biketowork. 8 a.m.: The hospital hosts the annual Blessing of the Bikes in a non-denominational ceremony at 8 a.m. No confession necessary (but wear a helmet, darnit).
Look for the multi-colored kites atop the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center to find the 26th annual Children’s Day Celebration on Saturday, May 16. The festivities kick off at 8 a.m. with the Kids Fun Run and continue with an arts and crafts fair, Pan-Asian performances, games, food and more from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Family workshops on taiko drumming, sushi making and manju (Japanese steamed cake) making will be offered from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. 244 S. San Pedro St., (213) 628-2725 or jaccc.org.
photo by Susan Johann
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photo by Theresa Chavez
5
Bug out this weekend, in a good way, at the Natural History Museum. More than 60 vendors will be on hand Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, from 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. for the museum’s Bug Fair. This is one of the most popular and unusual events the Exposition Park facility organizes, and offerings will include books, entomological equipment, artwork, toys and more. Check out the live spiders and scorpions, start your own butterfly collection and pick up cooking tips from a world-renowned insect chef. Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-3466 or nhm.org. Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.
photo by Frank Delia
3
The Central Library gets down and dirty on Wednesday, May 13, at 7 p.m., when Aloud hosts Eric Bogosian (left). The actor and award-winning playwright, known for his gritty and sometimes hilarious one-man shows (though these days you can also catch him on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”), will discuss his latest book, Perforated Heart: A Novel, with writer and Permanent Midnight memoirist Jerry Stahl (right). The event begins at 7 p.m. The following night, eminent composer John Adams takes the stage at 7 p.m.; he’ll discuss his new memoir Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life with the L.A. Philharmonic’s Deborah Borda. Reservations for both are recommended; if they’re full, arrive early and you may get in from the no-shows. 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7025 or lfla.org/aloud.
Thursday, May 14 REDCAT 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800, redcat.org. 8:30 p.m.: Literary and media critic Samuel Weber explores visibility, invisibility and divisibility with Sande Cohen and James Wiltgen. Bike to Work Week Citywide, metro.com/biketowork. All day: Metro and other municipal transit agencies will offer free rides to bicyclists who use public transit. Bring a bike or bike helmet and ride free all day. Also, Metro is coordinating bike pit stops from 6-9 a.m. for cyclists to obtain free giveaways. For pit stop locations, go to metro.net/biketowork. Those who pledge at Metro’s website in advance to bike to work can participate in a raffle for a hybrid electric bike and other prizes. Downtown Art Walk Info and map at downtownartwalk.com. Noon-9 p.m.: The Downtown Art Walk is a selfguided tour that showcases the many art exhibition venues in Downtown Los Angeles — commercial art galleries, museums and nonprofit art venues. Walk, or ride one of Esotouric’s curated shuttles — the Hippodrome and Hazard’s Pavilion — for free between 6 and 9 p.m. ALOUD at the Central Library 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7025 or aloudla.org. 7 p.m.: Composer John Adams has now composed a memoir, “Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life.” He’s in conversation with Deborah Borda, president of the L.A. Philharmonic Association. LOL at the Alexandria 501 S. Spring St., (323) 883-1717 or companyofangels.org. 9 p.m.: The Company of Angels theater troupe and Karen Anzoategui present a night of standup comedy inside the Black Box at the Alexandria Hotel. Comics include Deon Williams, Lucy Craig, Christian Valenti, Laz Vicendo and Trenton Stuart Jones. Business Survival Skills in a Bad Economy Santee Food Court, 716 S. Los Angeles St., (213) 4883599 or info@downtownlaretail.com. 5:30-7:30pm: This free workshop offers tips that can improve how you do business and provide a framework for a more strategic approach to stabilizing and growing your business. Continued on page 24
photo courtesy of Goldenvoice
TWO photo courtesy of JACCC
Wednesday, May 13 Downtown Bike Ride Civic Center Metro Red Line Station, 101 S. Hill St., metro.net/biketowork. 8 a.m.: As part of Bike to Work Week, Metro, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and the Ketchum Downtown YMCA will lead a ride leaving the Civic Center Metro Red Line Station and rolling through Downtown, ending at City Hall. ALOUD at the Central Library 630 W. Fifth St., (213) 228-7025 or aloudla.org. 7 p.m.: Eric Bogosian, promoting his latest book “Perforated Heart: A Novel,” is in conversation with novelist Jerry Stahl. Architecture Book Signing Johnson Fain, 1201 N. Broadway, johnsonfain.com. 5-7 p.m.: Scott Johnson, partner in Los Angeles architecture firm Johnson Fain, and the Director of the USC Graduate Architectural Program, will sign his new book, “Tall Building: Imagine the Skyscraper.”
Two wild and crazy guys (but just one Festrunk brother — if you’re too young to know what that means, youtube it) will appear at L.A. Live’s Club Nokia on Monday, May 11, at 8 p.m. The performance, titled Steve Martin’s Big Bad Banjo and a Conversation with Dave Barry,, kicks off a new series from Central Library programmer Aloud and L.A. Live developer the Anschutz Entertainment Group. The event will benefit the Los Angeles Public Library. Comedian/actor/author Martin will perform songs from his recent bluegrass album and will take questions from humorist Barry. 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 765-7000 or clubnokia.com.
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700 S. Flower St, Ste. 1940 Los Angeles, CA 90017 213.327.0200 maps�cartifact.com
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DowntownNews.com
But Wait, There’s More!
Listings for additional concerts, exhibits and more in Downtown Los Angeles can be found on our website. Go to downtownnews.com/calendar for full information, including time and location, for all the happenings in Downtown.
Additional Event Information on the Web
DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM/CALENDAR : EVENTS | ROCK, POP & JAZZ | CLASSICAL MUSIC | THEATER, OPERA & DANCE ART SPACES | FILM | BARS & CLUBS | MUSEUMS | FARMERS MARKETS | TOURS
Listings Continued from page 22
Friday, May 15 Asian and Pacific Islander Festival Angelus Plaza, 255 S. Hill St., (213) 623-4352, ext. 317. 2 p.m.: The Angelus Plaza Senior Activity Center will present its 16th annual Asian and Pacific Islander Older Adult Festival to commemorate Older Americans Month. It will feature music, dance and ancient rituals from China, Japan, Korea, The Philippines and more. Saturday, May 16 Japanese American Cultural & Community Center Aratani/Japan America Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St., (213) 382-04886 or jaccc.org. May 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Rain or shine. Perhaps the most endearing Little Tokyo event ever. Now in its 23rd year, “Chibi-K” is a fun run down San Pe-
dro Street that kicks off the Children’s Day Festival. Bug Fair at the Natural History Museum 900 Exposition Blvd., (213) 763-DINO or nhm.org. 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m.: It’s Bug Fair weekend. Explore the world of insects and their arthropod relatives. See live spiders and scorpions, start your own collection of butterflies and stay for some great cooking tips from a renowned insect chef. Over 60 vendors will be on hand with books, entomological equipment and supplies, artwork, toys, clothing and more. Also on May 17. All About the Mayan and Belasco Club Mayan, 1050 S. Hill St., (213) 999-5067 or lathf.org. 10:30 a.m.: The Los Angeles Historic Theater Foundation continues its “All About” series with tours and presentations by theater historian Ed Kelsey on the Mayan and Belasco theaters. A restoration is currently underway at the Belasco to convert the theater to a night club and special event venue. The Mayan was converted into a night club almost 20 years ago. Free. “Got Game” Basketball Shootout and Free Throw Contest Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, 1200 Colton St.,
SHIers Original Revolving T SU S ead E R B s ew D VOTE. Downtown N Sushi Counter in LA! by L.A
Featuring
sashimi, yakitori, Tempura, different kinds of sushi open 7 days a week, 11 am - 10 pm 120 Japanese Village plaza (Little Tokyo)
(213) 680-0567
Validated Parking (Enter on Central Ave.) or use DASH Route A–Bus
(213) 484-3064. 8-4 p.m.: You the next Jesus Shuttlesworth? LAPD Rampart Division is hosting a basketball shootout and free throw contest for all ages. The event is all day, but the contest is from 2-3 p.m. Reading at Metropolis Metropolis Books, 440 S. Main St., (213) 612-0174 or metropolisbooksla.com. 4 p.m.: Author Diane Hammond will sign and discuss her book, “Hannah’s Dream.”
347 E. First St., (213) 617-9990 or chopsueycafe.com. Thursdays, 7:30-9:30 p.m.: Live jazz on the patio of the restored Little Tokyo landmark.
ROCK, POP & JAZZ Café Metropol 923 E. Third St., (213) 613-1537 or cafemetropol.com. May 15, 8-10 p.m.: Jazz crooning from vocalist Kalil Wilson. May 16, 7:30-10 p.m.: Vocalist Sara Gazarek is the venue’s May monthly pick. Casey’s Irish Bar and Grill 613 S. Grand Ave., (213) 629-2353 or bigcaseys.com. Friday: Fridays are for fiddles, as the bar hosts live Irish music. Somebody buy that fiddler a Guinness. Chop Suey Café
2
EAsy wAys tO submit yOuR
EvEnt infO
4 wEb: www.DowntownNews.com 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.
Regent China Inn
SUPER DISCOUNT
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catering specials available! Lobster Special
12.95
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DELIVERY • DINE-IN • TAKE-OUT • CATERING
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F r e e P a r k i n g
ELECTRONICS Full Computer Service Center Serving Downtown Los Angles Since 1993 12000 sf. Computer Sales and Service Facility • PC Repair / Upgrades • Laptop Repair / Upgrades • MAC Repair / Upgrades • Virus & Spam Removal • Computer Networking • Data Recovery • Printer Repair
Authorized Sales & Service: Sony • Lenovo • Toshiba • Asus • Cisco www.californiacomputer.com
3930 Broadway Place, Los Angeles, CA 90037
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Answers to last week’s puzzle on page 25
323-233-5300
May 11, 2009
Downtown News 25
DowntownNews.com
CLASSIFIED
pLACe your Ad onLine At www.LAdowntownnews.Com REAL ESTATE COMMERCIAL
l.a. downtown news classifieds Call: 213-481-1448 Classified Display & Line ads Deadlines: thursday 12 pm BUYER’S MARKET. New Mexico. Ranch Dispersal. 140 acres $89,900. River Access. Northern New Mexico. Cool 6,000’ elevation with stunning views. Great tree cover including Ponderosa, rolling grassland and rock outcroppings. Abundant wildlife, great hunting. EZ terms. Call NML&R, Inc. 1-866-360-5263. (Cal-SCAN)
REAL ESTATE RESIDENTIAL lofts for sale
COLORADO BANK Foreclosure- 35 AC $29,900. Enjoy 300 days of sunshine. Rocky mountain views, utilities. Excellent financing. 1st come, 1st serve!! Call Today 1-866-696-5263 x4938. (Cal-SCAN)
Downtown since 2002 Don’t settle for anyone less experienced!
Call us today!
Bill Cooper 213.598.7555
lofts for sale
TheLoftExpertGroup.com
Buying, Leasing or Selling a Loft?
TheLoftGuys.net
acreage/lots LAND FORECLOSURES IN New Mexico! From as low as $19,995 for 10+/- acre, phone, electric close, views. Guaranteed financing, low down! Going Fast! 888-812-5830. www.SWProperties.com. (Cal-SCAN)
apartments/unfurnisHed
“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.”
office space lease/sale
DOWNTOWN L.A. OVIATT BUILDING
2 offices for rent, all hook-ups, partly furnished. 530 sqft. $1,000 month, flex lease.
Homes for sale
213.623.7008 or 213.280.5452
LA County 2 & 3 bd homes starting at $83,000 up to $137,000. Call now 24/7
ALA 99¢/Sq. Ft. High Rise Office Space Walking distance to Metro Station, Social Security Office, Immigration Office, and Jewelry District. Close to 110 &101 Fwy. On site security guard.
888-873-4633 FORECLOSED HOME auction. Orange, LA, Riverside & More. 600+ Homes Must Be Sold! REDC | Free Brochure. www. Auction.com. (Cal-SCAN)
213-892-0088
South Park Furnished
downtownnews.com
Office Sublet 10-12 Workstations Great views
out of state 20 ACRE RANCHES!! $0 down!! Near Booming El Paso, Texas. $15,900, $159 /month! (10%/209 months) Beautiful Views. Money Back Guarantee. Owner Financing. Free Maps/Pictures. 800343-9444. (Cal-SCAN)
LA’s #1 Loft Site
Call 213-625-1313
FOR RENT
Sell your items under $300… 12 words, 2 weeks it’s FREE!
Professional service firm preferred
Contact Erin 213.553.1100
FOR RENT? FOR LEASE? FOR SALE? People are looking here, shouldn’t your ad be here?
MILANO LOFTS Now LeasiNg!
■ Gorgeous Layouts ■ 10-15’ Ceilings ■ Fitness Center ■ Wi-Fi Rooftop Lounge ■ Amazing Views
DOWNTOWN Los Angeles 2 Month’s FREE RENT! Studio $1688/ month Luxury at it’s finest! Granite counters, W & D 888-262-9761. SAN GABRIEL LARGE bright 2 br, 1 ba, lower, new paint, hardwood, blinds, enclosed garage, stove, refrig. $1195. 626-8238053 UP TO 2 MONTHS FREE! Panoramic downtown views. 1 bed/1bath starting at $1398. Washer dryer in unit, gated,Pool, spa and sauna. (888)265-1707.
6th + Grand Ave.
2 MONTHS FREE @ 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 888-8863731.
to LAst weeK’s puZZLe
TWO MONTHS FREE! (O.A.C.) Brand New Resort Apartments. Granite kitchens, washer/dryers, pools, spas, saunas, fitness ctr, free tanning beds & much more! 866-690-2894. UP TO 2 MONTHS FREE! (O.A.C.) New downtown luxury apartments with granite kitchens, marble baths, pool, spa, saunas & free parking. 888-736-7471.
(213) 481-1448
NO PENALTY Ask for details.
Locations Nationwide Beautiful Offices For As Little As $400 Fully Furnished/Corporate ID Programs Flexible Terms/All New Suites
Jenny Ahn (213) 996-8301 jahn@regentBC.com www.regentbc.com
noW leasing
from $1,300’s/mo. free parking ROOFTOP GARDEN RETREAT WITH BBQ AND LOUNGE • GRAND LOBBY FITNESS CENTER • SPA • MODERN KITCHEN WITH CAESAR COUNTERTOPS HIGH SPEED INTERNET • DESIGNER LIVING SPACES • PET FRIENDLY DRAMATIC VIEWS • WALKING DISTANCE TO RALPHS SUPERMARKET STAINLESS APPLIANCES INCLUDING REFRIGERATOR GATEWAY TO FASHION DISTRICT GROUND FLOOR DRY CLEANERS • KELLY’S COFFEE
756 S. Broadway • Downtown Los Angeles 213-892-9100 • chapmanf lats.com Pricing subject to change without notice.
TWO MONTHS FREE!
Starting at $1645 Bunker Hill real estate Co, inC.
EstablishEd 1984
For sale: bunker Hill Tower ❏ 1 Bedroom, 1 Bath. Elegant. Ready To Move In. South City Lights View. Recently Refurbished. Offered At $329,999. For renT: ❏ Prom. West. 2 Bed. 2 Bath. 7th Flr. Elegant Upgrades. Green House. Pride Of Ownership. $3,000 Furn. $2,800 Unfurn. ❏ Prom. West-1 Bed. 1 Bath Penthuse. Overlooks Pool
& Gardens. Greenhouse Windows And Balcony. Stunning! $1995 Month. ❏ Prom. West-2 Bed. 2 Bath. 5th Floor. Move In Now. $2,200 Month. ❏ 1 Bed. 1 Bath. Lafayette Park Place. Move In Now. 1100 Month. Foreclosures: ❏ 4 Bedroom, 2 Bath Pasadena. Upgrades. Large Deck. $477,800.
Promenade West Condo
2 Story Townhouse. West Facing With Downtown City View. Upgrades. Large Patio. Very Elegant. Asking $599,900
Mirza alli
Broker/Realtor leasing-salesloans-refinance
(213) 680-1720 e-mail us: info@bunkerhillrealestate.com
Call us for other condos for sale or lease Dwntwn & surrounding areas!!
www.Bunkerhillrealestate.com
Furnished single unit with kitchenette, bathroom. Excellent location. Downtown LA. Weekly rate $275 inc.
Monthly from $595 utilities paid. (213) 612-0348
OFFICE SPACE
office space & event space for lease! Beautiful, historic Banks Huntley building located in Gallery Row district of Downtown LA offering office space close to Federal Court House and City Hall – ideal for non-profits! Rental rate: $1.70-$2.00/sq.ft./month Full Service Gross. Ground-floor event and conference space also available in gorgeous art-deco setting, perfect for private functions, weddings, business meetings, etc. For further information, please contact Joe Dieringer at 213-629-2512 ext. 110
Fully furnished with TV, telephone, microwave, refrigerator. Full bathroom. Excellent location. Downtown LA. Weekly maid service.
Monthly from $695 utilities paid. (213) 627-1151
ENTIRE TOP FLOOR Historic buidling. 5400 sqft Day Studio/ No-Live. NChinatown. $3800/ Month. Shows M-F/9-5. Greg 323-343-9670.
THE ANSWER
IF YOU LOSE YOUR JOB, YOU CAN CANCEL YOUR LEASE
Additional Features: Kitchen Facilities, All Support Services, Great Views, Free Conference Room Hours, Fully Trained Staff, Cost Effective.
COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR lease. 1800 square feet. 804 E. 7th Street, L.A. $900 per month. 1st month free. 213-623-9090.
213.627.1900
NO WORRY LEASE
Services Include: • Reception • Mail • T-1 • State-of-the-Art Voice Mail & Telephone • Westlaw • Fax • Photocopy • More
commercial space
Continued on next page
www.milanoloftsla.com
Offices • Offices • Offices • Offices
Burbank • Brentwood Century City • Downtown L.A. Woodland Hills
APARTMENT FOR RENT: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, balcony. Downtown view, no pets. 562760-0101.
26 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
DowntownNews.com
Continued from previous page
FOR RENT Duplexes 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom duplex. $750.00 monthly. 4 minutes to downtown. Older retired couple or single professional preferred. Excellent credit required. 323-466-6666 http:// losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ apa/1147023194.html condominiums
Town Houses Monterey Hills 3 bdrm, 3 story townhouse. 1800 sq. ft. 7 miles to Civic Center. Many extras. $1750/Mo. 626-799-3104. Loft/Unfurnished
Old Bank District
Lofts from $1,100. High ceilings. A/C. Parking available. High speed internet/T1 & direct T.V. Pets no charge. Call 213-253-4777 LAloft.com
For Lease
promenade west Top floor luxury unit Large 1 Bdrm, Great view. 2 Patios, Newly renovated.
$2000/mo.
213-620-1125 213-300-3374
REAL ARTIST LOFTS 12002000 Sq. Ft., $1600-$2200/Mo. High ceilings, hardwood floors, fireplace, pool/spa, gated parking, laundry, sorry no dogs, Open House Sundays 12-3pm @ 1250 Long Beach Ave., L.A. 866-4257259, LAartistlofts.com.
HUGE LOFT FOR RENT. Beautiful live-work loft 4 rent in Downtown LA, 4000 sqft, skyline views, 25ft ceiling, pool. Concrete flrs, New AC/Heat, creative/prof tenants, Historic & more! www. CityViewLofts.info 213-216-3754
SERVICES laundry service
Let us do the dirty work!
Beverly's Laundromat Drop Off
20% OFF 1st time customers only. Minimum 25lb
Free Pick-up & Delivery with minimum 35lb
610 S. Rampart Blvd. @ 6th St (213)804-0069 Open Daily 7 a.m.-10 p.m. • Free Parking
PUBLIC NOTICE WESTLAKE RECOVERY REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT AREA COMMITTEE PROJECT AREA COMMITTEE (PAC) ELECTION MEETING JUNE 17, 2009 The Westlake Recovery Redevelopment Project Area will hold a Project Area Committee (PAC) Election Meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 , at 6:30 p.m., with voter/candidate registration from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A Pre-Election Meeting will be held on May 6, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Election and Pre-Election Meeting will be held at 2845 West Seventh Street, Los Angeles, CA 90005. A PAC is a community advisory committee formed to advise the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) on goals, priorities, and formulation of the annual work program and budget for the project area. Terms of office are for three years. PAC members must attend monthly PAC meetings and actively participate in all deliberations, and serve as liaison to the constituents they are elected to represent. PAC members must file a Conflict of Interest Financial Disclosure Statement. The general boundaries of the Westlake Recovery Redevelopment Project Area are: Third Street and Beverly Boulevard on the north; Witmer Street and Union Street on the east; Olympic Boulevard on the south; and Hoover Street and Benton Way on the west. (See enclosed Boundary Map.) Candidates are needed for a total of nineteen (19) PAC vacancies in the following categories and positions per category: RESIDENTIAL OWNER OCCUPANTS (4), RESIDENTIAL TENANTS (4), BUSINESS OWNERS (Non-Manufacturing/Non-Industrial) (4), MANUFACTURING/INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS OWNERS (4), and EXISTING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS (3) *. Community Organizations must submit all necessary documentation of eligibility ten (10) business days prior to the election. Voting is restricted by category, e.g. a Residential Owner Occupant may only vote for the Residential Owner Occupant category, except that all voters will have the opportunity to vote for representatives of Existing Community Organizations. Proof of eligibility to vote or stand for election must be provided for the category chosen. No absentee or “proxy” voting will be allowed. Eligible candidates or voters qualifying in more than one category must choose only one category in which to participate. Any person desiring to stand for election to the PAC, or to vote in a PAC election, must produce adequate evidence of eligibility. Proof of eligibility must include, in all instances, a form of current photo identification such as a passport, driver’s license or California identification card, in addition to the required proof relating to the specific categories. All voters and candidates must be at least 18 years of age. Persons without appropriate documentation will not be allowed to vote or be a candidate. Past service on the Project Area Committee or participation in previous elections will not be accepted as a substitute for providing proper documentation. Eligible candidates who register on or by Wednesday, June 3, 2009, will have their name printed on the ballot. Specific Criteria and Guidelines determining eligibility for candidacy and to vote will be distributed at the locations, dates and times listed below or a copy can be requested from Mr. Michael Cortez or Mr. Kenyon Price at the CRA site office located at 3055 Wilshire Blvd., Suite # 520, Los Angeles, CA. Pre-registration for voters and candidates will take place at the following locations, dates and times: PRE-ELECTION MEETING/ REGISTRATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2009 5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. CARECEN 2845 West Seventh Street Los Angeles, CA 90005 Second REGISTRATION Meeting WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2009 5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. CARECEN 2845 West Seventh Street Los Angeles, CA 90005 Third REGISTRATION Meeting WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2009 5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. CARECEN Los Angeles, CA 90005 ELECTION DAY WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2009 Election Date 5:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. - Final Registration Candidate speeches Voting CARECEN 2845 West Seventh Street Los Angeles, CA 90005 The Westlake community is encouraged to attend the meetings and participate in the election and redevelopment project plan implementation. If you have any questions concerning the PAC election, or care to obtain additional information regarding eligibility criteria, please contact Donna Vong or Aileen Villegas from the Office of the City Clerk, at (213) 978- 0440, Mr. Michael Cortez or Mr. Kenyon Price at the CRA site office (213) 977-2633 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Copies of the Redevelopment Plan, Procedures for the Formation and Elections of the Project Area Committee (PAC), and Project Area PAC By-laws may be obtained at the CRA site office, or at the Agency’s Records Department at 354 South Spring Street 5th Floor, Los Angeles, CA between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. * MUST ADHERE TO ESTABLISHED ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR EXISTING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS 5/4, 5/11/09 CNS-1567584#
attorneys
ABOGADO DE IMMIGRACION! Family, Criminal, P.I. for more than 20 yrs! Familiar o Amigo Arrestado? Necesita Permiso de trabajo? Tagalog / Español
Get your GREEN CARD or CITIZENSHIP Law Office of H. Douglas Daniel Esq., (213) 689-1710
tailor
EDDIES TAILOR SHOP Take your wardrobe to the next level! Same Day Service! Open 7 days a week! 115 E. 8th St. L.A. 90014 (213) 399-1177
eddiestailorshop.com
Advertising CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING in 240 Cal-SCAN newspapers for the best reach, coverage, and price. 25-words $450. Reach 6 million Californians!. Free email brochure. Call (916) 288-6019. www.Cal-SCAN.com. (CalSCAN) DISPLAY ADVERTISING in 140 Cal-SDAN newspapers statewide for $1,550! Reach over 3 million Californians! Free email brochure. Call (916) 288-6019. www.Cal-SDAN.com. (CalSCAN) NEWS RELEASE? Cost-efficient service. The California Press Release Service has 500 current daily, weekly and college newspaper contacts in California. Free email brochure. Call (916) 288-6010. www.CaliforniaPressReleaseService.com. (Cal-SCAN)
AUTOS & RECREATIONAL
Cleaning CONCEPTO’S CLEANING Crew. Professional, experienced, cleans apartments, homes, offices and restaurants. Call for a quote. 323459-3067 or 818-409-9183. Financial Services AMERICAN TAX RELIEF. * Settle IRS Back Taxes * Do You Owe Over $15,000? If So... Call us Now! * Free Consultation*. For Less Than What You Owe! Stop Wage Garnishments! Remove Bank Levies Tax Levies & Property Seizures! Stop Payment Plans That Get you Nowhere! Settle State and Business Payroll Tax Problems Eliminate Penalties, Interest Charges & Tax Liens! * Settle IRS Back Taxes * No Obligation! Confidential! Call American Tax Relief 1-800-496-9891 * Free Consultation *. (Cal-SCAN) CREDIT CARD RELIEF. * Free Consultation * Save Thousands of Dollars. Out of Debt in Months! Avoid Bankruptcy! Credit Card Relief. NOT A High Priced Consolidation Company or A Consumer Credit Counseling Program. Call Credit Card Relief 1-866-479-5353. * Free Consultation *. (Cal-SCAN)
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)
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Business Opportunities 100% RECESSION PROOF! 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)
EMPLOYMENT
Health & Fitness HEALTH & NUTRITION products for weight-loss results. Free coaching. 888-223-0457. www. diethelper4u.com. Music Lessons Children’s Performing Group! Singing, dancing, performing and fun! For boys & girls ages 3 and up! See SunshineGenerationLA.com or call 909861-4433.
Drivers
INDEPENDENT contractors & Company drivers. All 53’ Refrigerated. Various Lanes, 7 Western States. Contact Brent Redmond Transportation Safety Department for details, 1-800777-5342 or www.BrentRedmond.com. (Cal-SCAN) O/OS. NEW LOANES! Earn up to .95cpm + fuel surcharge. Regular routes between Newark, NJ, Atlanta, Chicago & Southern California. Hazmat end. & 2 yrs OTR required. Karen 1-800-3338393 x1121. (Cal-SCAN) General JOBS. JOBS, JOBS! No experience. Get paid to train. The California Army National Guard. High School JR/SR & Grads/ GED. Up to $15,000 bonus. 1-800-GO-GUARD.com/careers. (Cal-SCAN)
ANNOUNCEMENTS Musical Instruments WE PAY CASH for Guitars, Instruments, Records and accessories. If it’s musical and you want to sell it - then we’re the Guys to Call. 760-987-5349. (Cal-SCAN) Volunteer Opportunities
DRIVER - West Coast Regional new hiring area. Newest equipment on the road. Competitive Pay. Run the Western 11 States. On Site - Full Service Maintenance Shop. Reasonable Home Time. BCBS Insurance. Western Express - 22 yrs. old. Good MVR, EOE, CDL-A, 1 yr. OTR. Call Edna Today! 1-866863-4112. (Cal-SCAN)
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.
Do you have something to sell? All ads run for 2 weeks. Ads may be renewed after two weeks for 50% off the original price of the ad.
Ad prices (Marketplace and Automotive Categories ONLY): • Items under $300…12 words, 2 weeks FREE! • Items $301 to $500…15 words, only $11.50 • Items $501 to $1200…15 words, only $14.00 • Items $1201 to $2000…15 words, only $16.50 • Items $2001+…15 words, only $19.00 Restrictions: Offer good on private party ads only. Ads must be pre-paid by cash, check or credit card. Certain classifications excluded. Deadline: Thursday at noon for next issue.
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May 11, 2009 Pub. 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11/2009. DONATIONS JUST $5 can make yoU feel good. www.homelessinamerica. blogspot.com. make donations at www.servantsofthefather.org/ donation.
LEGAL FIcTITIOuS BuSINeSS NAme Fictitious Business name statement File no. 20090413274 The following persons doing business as: oTaaT, aTP., 2102 Hillcrest Drive, los angeles, ca 90016, is hereby registered by the following registrants: (1) alBeRT cHU, 2102 Hillcrest Drive, los angeles ca 90016, (2) amelIa STePHenSon, 818 S. lucerne Blvd., #101, los angeles, ca 90005. This business is conducted by a general partnership. Registrants began to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on november 1, 2008. This statement was filed with the county clerk of los angeles on march 23, 2009. 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. 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11/2009. Fictitious Business name statement File no. 20090499891 The following persons doing business as: Welcome, 1497 Beverly Blvd., los angeles, ca 90026, is hereby registered by the following registrant(s): laURel BRoUGHTon, 1497 Beverly Blvd., los angeles, ca 90026. This business is conducted by an individual. Registrants has not began to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein.This statement was filed with the county clerk of los angeles on april 7, 2009 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).
Downtown News 27
DowntownNews.com Fictitious Business name statement File no. 20090576138 The following persons doing business as: (1) THe coRVaRyS GRoUP, (2) Van PaRyS Team, 645 W. 9th Street, #416, los angeles, ca 90015. , is hereby registered by the following registrants: (1) mIcHael Van PaRyS, (2) RoSa coRneJo, 645 W. 9th Street, #416, los angeles, ca 90015. This business is conducted by Husband and Wife. Registrants began to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on april 1, 2009. This statement was filed with the county clerk of los angeles on april 21, 2009. 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. 5/11, 5/18, 5/25, 6/01/09 LegAL NOTIce notice oF DiViDeD PuBlication made Pursuant to Section 3381, Revenue and Taxation code Pursuant to Sections 3381 through 3385, Revenue and Taxation code, the notice of Power to Sell Tax-Defaulted Property in and for los angeles county, State of california, has been divided and distributed to various newspapers of general circulation published in the county. a portion of the list appears in each of such newspapers. notice oF imPenDinG PoWeR to sell taX-DeFaulteD PRoPeRtY made pursuant to Section 3361, Revenue and Taxation code notice is hereby given that real property taxes and assessments on the parcels described below will have been defaulted five or more years, or, in the case of nonresidential commercial property, property on which a nuisance abatement lien has been recorded or that can serve the public benefit by providing housing or services directly related to low-income persons when three or more years have elapsed and a request has been made by a city, county, city and county, or nonprofit organization that property will become subject to the tax collector’s power to sell. The parcels listed will become subject to the tax collector’s
power to sell on JulY 1, 2009, at 12:01 a.m., by operation of law. The tax collector’s power to sell will arise unless the property is either redeemed or made subject to an installment plan of redemption initiated as provided by law prior to 5:00 p.m., on June 30, 2009. The right to an installment plan terminates on June 30, 2009, and after that date the entire balance due must be paid in full to prevent sale of the property at public auction. The right of redemption survives the property becoming subject to the power to sell, but it terminates at 5:00 p.m. on the last business day before actual sale of the property by the tax collector. all information concerning redemption or the initiation of an installment plan of redemption will be furnished, upon request, by mark J. Saladino, los angeles county Treasurer and Tax collector, 225 north Hill Street, first floor, los angeles, california 90012. The amount to redeem, in dollars and cents, is set forth opposite its parcel number. This amount includes all defaulted taxes, penalties, and fees that have accrued from the date of tax-default to the date of June 30, 2009. I certify, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing is true and correct. Dated this 22nd day of april, 2009.
maRk J. SalaDIno TReaSUReR anD TaX col-
lecToR coUnTy of loS anGeleS STaTe of calIfoRnIa PaRcel numBeRinG sYstem eXPlanation The Assessor’s Identification number (aIn), when used to describe property in this list, refers to the assessor’s map book, the map page, the block on the map, if applicable, and the individual parcel on the map page or in the block. The assessor’s maps and further explanation of the parcel numbering system are available in the Assessor’s Office, 500 West Temple Street, Room 225, los angeles, california 90012. The real property that is the subject of this notice is situated in the county of los angeles, State of california, and is described as follows: PRoPeRTy TaX DefaUlTeD In yeaR 2004 foR TaXeS, aSSeSSmenT, anD oTHeR cHaRGeS foR fIScal yeaR 2003-2004 2846 $469.09 SeDlak,o aIn: 5535-020-012 2847 $139,847.17 HaIaZI DeVeloPmenT Inc c/o GReen anD maRkeR SITUS:1277 n WeSTeRn aVe loS anGeleS ca 90038 aIn: 5537-001-003 2848 $121.15 PenTocoSTal cHURcH of GoD SITUS:771 n VIRGIl aVe loS anGeleS ca 90029-3646 aIn: 5539-017-001 2849 $55,999.30 caSa BeRenDo SITUS:1247 n neW HamPSHIRe aVe loS anGeleS ca 90029-1678 aIn: 5540-015-010 Downtown news cn818556 553 may 11,18, 2009
Luxury Rooms in Downtown Monthly Rents Start at $780 1 & 2 Rooms Available
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Simin (213) 484-9789 Ext. 555 or (213) 632-1111
We’ve got what you’re searching for!
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For English Call Terri or Pierre 213.744.9911 For Spanish call Susana 213.749.0306
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en’s Performing Group Childr
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• Lush courtyards
Thinking about Leasing or Selling? Buyers visit us for... • SHORT SALES • FORECLOSURES • RENTALS • VIDEO TOURS
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.
On Spring St.
Spring Tower Lofts:
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(2 blocks west of San Pedro St.)
Learn Course Management
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Professional Golf Instructor
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• 24-hour doorman
Exclusively Downtown Since 2001,
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Looking for a new house, a car, a job, an antique? Take a closer look at the classifieds. Hundreds of terrific values are listed daily. Or if you’re looking for a way to make extra cash, sell it quickly in the Classifieds.
• FREE tanning bed
725 Bixel St., Los Angeles, CA 90017
Drew Panico
Dancers
• Study Library
888.886.3731 •TheMedici.com
Keller Williams Realty 877-452-5638
HeLp WANTeD
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close to l.a. live and nokia theater
Call 877-4LA-LOFTs Rent
• Fitness center with sauna
818.618.2099
Catering to Intermediate/Advanced Players
Available Immediately
The Alexandria
Top floor of 11 story (18,000 SF) historic building available now! Perfect for corporate hqtrs. Features separate executive suite(s). Stunning views of LA two blocks away from Staples Center and across the street from the new LA Live complex. The building also has approx 4,000 sq ft of beautiful contiguous space and some small offices available. These spaces can be viewed by appointment. Information available to qualified prospective tenants. Email request to mdavis@shammasgroup.com or call (213) 746-6300
is Now Leasing!
at 501 S. Spring St.
On-site laundry, free utilities, indiv. bathrooms, 24 hr. security & pet friendly. Close to metro, restaurants, farmers market & supermarket. Units starting at
$570/month
income & other restrictions apply.
call 213.626.1743 or stop by for a tour
28 Downtown News
May 11, 2009
DowntownNews.com
We Got Games The Lakers Show Some Muscle, Manny Shows Too Much Muscle Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or nba.com/lakers. Tuesday, May 12, 7:30 p.m.: Last year, the Lakers were ridiculed for being soft. They played with finesse, but not enough toughness to take home a title. Phil Jackson’s mandate that they play more aggressively may have sunken in too deep with guard Derek Fisher, whose “screen” on Rocket Luis Scola in game two looked more like a forearm shiver. But then, the Lakers won the game and seemed to get under the skin of Houston with their physical play. Last year, the Lakers could float like butterflies. This year, they know they have to sting like bees, too. Game five is scheduled for May 12 at Staples Center. If necessary, game six would be in Houston on May 14, then game seven would be back in Downtown L.A. on May 17.
Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Ave., (213) 224-1400 or dodgers.mlb.com. When Manny finally signed a new contract with the Dodgers after months of off-season negotiations, he joined the team for spring training and, wearing his eager grin, he proclaimed, “I’m baaaaack.” Now that Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, local sports radio stations are going to need a new sound byte. But amid all the Manny suspension hype, fans shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the Dodgers are humming right along with the best record in the league and that it’s been a wholesome team effort. And around mid-July, Manny will be baaaack. The Blue Crew is out of town all week, first travelling to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies (May 12-14), and then to Florida where they try to reel in the Marlins (May 15-17). —Ryan Vaillancourt
photo by Gary Leonard
Manny Ramirez is out for 50 games for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.
Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore!
G r a n d To w e r 255 South Grand Avenue
Promenade To w e r s 123 South Figueroa Street LEASING INFORMATION
LEASING I N F O R M AT I O N
Penthouse Available
M u s e u m To w e r 225 South Olive Street
(213) 229-9777
LEASING I N F O R M AT I O N
(213) 617-3777
(213) 626-1500
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sauna and recreation room with kitchen.
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