DOWNTOWN
NEWS
Freedom From Frank!
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downtownPUBLICARTwalkingtours For more information and to download the tours visit
crala.org/art
W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
November 7, 2011
Volume 40, Number 45
PODCASTS
LOS ANGELES
BAKERS’ DELIGHT
INSIDE
Downtown Gets a New Batch of Businesses Making Fresh Desserts and Breads Another chance for a cleantech project.
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Scenes from a Downtown Halloween.
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A Health section look at diets.
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photo by Gary Leonard
Sean Brennan in front of the Arts District’s The Pie Hole. The bakery and cafe that opened last month has been an instant hit. by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR
“Demand has increased every day,” said Brennan last week during a visit to his Traction Avenue bakery and cafe. “We can’t make enough of anything right now.” Brennan isn’t the only one learning about Downtown’s appetite for fresh-baked sweets and breads. At least seven baked-goods purveyors have opened since the summer of 2009, with four of them firing up their ovens in the last two months. Shops like The Pie Hole, MF Gourmet at Grand Central Market, the Historic Core’s Semi Sweet
Bakery and a revamped Clifton’s bakery aren’t breaking any new ground. Downtown’s stalwarts include Chinatown’s Queens Bakery, which has been selling its rice puffs since 1961, Phoenix Bakery, in business since 1938, and Gourmet L.A. Bakery, a 22-year-old Broadway business that caters to a mostly Latino clientele. Those involved with the current group of bakeries say the new sweet fixation is just part of Downtown’s emergence as a restaurant destination. see Bakeries, page 10
An adored Peruvian joint closes.
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A dance inspired by skateboarding.
State Prison Shift Puts Skid Row at Risk
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hen Sean Brennan opened the doors to The Pie Hole in the Arts District on Oct. 18, he knew he was on to a good thing. Still, he was unprepared for the response. By noon on opening day, Brennan and his business partners, Matt Heffner and Rebecca Grasley, had sold out of their first batch of pecan, peanut butter pretzel and other pies. The second batch was depleted by 4:30 p.m.
Officials Fear That ‘Realignment’ Could Cause Spike in Felons and Addicts by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
Taper mounts a death comedy.
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18 CALENDAR LISTINGS 20 MAP 21 CLASSIFIEDS
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n September 2006, city officials launched the Safer Cities Initiative, a plan to crack down on petty crime in Skid Row. The bolstered police presence led to a plunge in criminal activity and steep reductions in the number of people sleeping and dying on the streets. Five years later, the progress has eroded. There are more parolees on the street. Crime is edging back up. Homelessness is again on the rise. Some local officials fear the situation may soon get worse, as a new prison reform law is poised to send more felons to the area. The reason for the fear is Assembly Bill 109, the plan to reduce overcrowding in California prisons largely by shifting how the state deals with drug offenders, who comprise 41% of the inmate
population. The measure that went into effect Oct. 1 sends certain non-violent felons to county jail, where early release guidelines dictate that they’ll do less time behind bars than they would have in state prison. It also shifts post-release supervision duties from the state parole system to the County Probation Department. Upon release, those offenders will be steered toward substance abuse programs and other rehabilitative services — the kind found in Skid Row. Last year, 47,000 inmates served 90 days or less in state prison, most of them on a parole violation. The education, addiction and other supportive services provided in state prison don’t start until after 90 days, so those inmates had little chance at meaningful rehabilitation. “The fact is, prison does not do well with these short-term offenders,” said Matthew Cate, secre-
The Voice of Downtown Los Angeles
tary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “We have to change the way we do business.” If the so-called realignment plan works, officials say, more people will access rehab services, break their habits and ultimately reduce the state’s 67.5% recidivism rate. State lawmakers, who were ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to reduce overcrowding, say the plan will translate to 33,000 fewer prisoners by 2013. The question on the mind of stakeholders in Downtown is, what if it doesn’t work? Service providers and police officials expect that released offenders will flock to Skid Row, and although some will seek treatment, others will look for drugs. Non-Violent, Asterisk Officials point out that AB 109 applies only to see Skid Row, page 8