12-01-08

LOS ANGELES

DOWNTOWN

NEWS Volume 37, Number 48

INSIDE

December 1, 2008

Office Party On! 20-23

2

Bicycle sharing, a Blue Line fatality, and other happenings Around Town.

6

The Resident Advisor finds that life is different when you borrow a dog.

W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M

L.A. Live Arrives The second phase of AEG’s $2.5 billion project opens this week. What’s there and what does it mean for Downtown? See stories on pages 9-19.

Urban Scrawl on an art world tumble.

4

Meet the man who makes EIRs happen.

7

Stay healthy with The Body Shop.

24

Holiday shopping for kids and babies.

26

MOCA takes a Bourgeois spin.

28

Five great entertainment options.

29

photo by Gary Leonard

29 CALENDAR LISTINGS 32 MAP 33 CLASSIFIEDS

(l to r) Anschutz Entertainment Group President and CEO Tim Leiweke, L.A. Live Managing Director Lisa Herzlich and AEG Executive Vice President Ted Tanner at Nokia Plaza.

Since 1972, an independent, locally owned and edited newspaper, go figure.

2 Downtown News

AROUNDTOWN Drago Opens $7 Million Restaurant

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rago Centro, the $7 million contemporary Italian restaurant from chef Celestino Drago, was scheduled to hold its grand opening Saturday, Nov. 29 (after Los Angeles Downtown News went to press). Located on the ground floor of City National Plaza, the establishment occupies a former bank. Drago is the chef behind Santa Monica’s Drago Ristorante and Enoteca Drago and Il Pastaio Ristorante in Beverly Hills. A separate lounge and bar area serves Italian-inspired cocktails and upscale snacks. Designed by the L.A. architecture firm Felderman + Keatinge Associates, the 9,500-square-foot establishment features stone walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. The focal point is a 16-foot, glass-encased wine tower at the center of the main dining room. “We want to make sure that the Italian experience is recreated here Downtown,” General Manager Matteo Fernandi told Downtown News during a tour of the space in August. “We want to be an extension of your home dining room.” The restaurant, at 525 S. Flower St., suite 120, is open for lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.2:30 p.m. and dinner Monday-Saturday, 5:30-10:30 p.m. Reservations at (213) 2288998 or dragocentro.com.

Old Bank District Hosts Block Party

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n Saturday, Dec. 6, Old Bank District developer Gilmore Associates will host its first holiday block party, and it’s free and open to the public. The celebration,

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com ecutive chef. The menu and prices will remain the same, he said. on several blocks around Fourth and Main streets, will run from 6 p.m.-midnight.

Festivities will include an outdoor, Parisinspired light installation and other decorations, a beer and wine garden, a local art and gift bazaar, live bands presented by Little Radio, restaurant and retail specials at local businesses (which will continue through the month and benefit Downtown charities) and live jazz in Harlem Place Alley.

“We thought that this would be a great way to jumpstart the holiday and get the whole community involved,” said Renatta Tellez of Gilmore Associates.

A Separation At Church & State

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ess than two months after the opening of the long-awaited restaurant Church & State, the French bistro’s executive chef, Greg Bernhardt, has left the Arts District eatery. Owner Steven Arroyo said he could not comment on the details of the departure. “It’s unethical for me to talk about what happened and I do have a legal responsibility not to discuss it,” he said, adding that, “It just didn’t work out.” Although he could not be reached

by Downtown News, Bernhardt, who had worked with Arroyo for the past three years at various restaurants, commented about his departure to the food blog Eater LA, saying, “I could not sit quietly while observing the calamity of the opening process with an inexperienced and under-committed management team comprised of novice investors rather than the restaurant professionals necessary to give our clients the experience they deserved.”

Arroyo has no plans to replace Bernhardt and said the kitchen may operate without an ex-

metro.net

Bike Sharing At Good Sam

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ood Samaritan Hospital in City West has launched a bike-sharing program that allows its approximately 1,500 employees to borrow bicycles for traveling around the hospital campus and nearby destinations between 7 a.m. and dusk. The hospital currently has three bikes available for use, but may expand the program if it proves popular, said Good Samaritan President and CEO Andy Leeka. The bike-sharing plan is meant to complement existing programs at Good Samaritan focused on employee wellness, including on-campus exercise and weightloss classes and healthy cafeteria food. “We can’t really espouse to our community to stay healthy if we don’t set the example ourselves,” said Leeka, who bikes 30 miles to and from work three times a week. “A bicycle is the most efficient means of transportation out there, and it’s non-polluting.” Good Samaritan also hosts the annual Blessing of the Bicycles each May.

Man Dies After Being Struck by Blue Line

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54-year-old man who was hit on the evening of Nov. 22 by a southbound Metro Blue Line train in Downtown died last week from his injuries, officials said. The man, whose name was not released, stepped in front of a southbound train, south of the Pico Metro Station on Flower Street, near where the train goes under the Santa Monica Freeway, Metro spokesman Rick Jager said. The Los Angeles Police Department is investigat-

ing the incident. The victim was transported to California Hospital Medical Center, where he died from his injuries early on Nov. 23, Jager said. “We try to do everything we possibly can to ensure that both buses and trains are operating in a safe fashion,” Jager said, “but it’s a two-way street…. The pedestrians need to abide by the laws in terms of the right of way for trains and they need to stop, look and listen.”

Two Downtown Events Looking for Guests

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owntowners have two unique lunch options this week. As part of its Leader’s Luncheon series, the Los Angeles Athletic Club at 431 W. Seventh St. will host Majestic Realty Co.’s John Semcken and Reon Roski at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, to discuss the company’s plans for a new NFL stadium in the city of Industry.

Semcken and Roski, the son of company founder Ed Roski, are slated to deliver the same presentation that they gave to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The two will also answer questions about the ongoing effort to bring an NFL franchise back to the Los Angeles area. To reserve a seat, call (213) 630-5200. On Friday, Dec. 5, the Los Angeles Headquarters Assn., a coalition of individuals and businesses that work to promote economic growth in Los Angeles, will host its annual Children’s Christmas Party at the Omni Hotel at 251 S. Olive St., at noon. The organization is looking for sponsors to support its tradition of recognizing the scholastic achievements of students from the Utah Street School in East Los Angeles. Students will receive awards at the event and will entertain guests with Christmas carols. For more information call (213) 291-8137.

RY VE in !

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This season, give the gift of entertainment.

Metro Briefs Bus, Rail Projects Get Go-Ahead Funding Metro is gearing up plans for a series of bus, rail and other transportation improvements throughout the county thanks to the recent passage of Measure R. Voters approved the funding plan that is expected to generate $40 billion for tra;c congestion relief projects over the next 30 years.

Red Line Hours Extended For Holidays Enjoy LA’s hottest night spots until the wee hours during the holidays and don’t worry about missing your train home. The Metro Red Line is running until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays only through December 27. Restaurants, nightclubs and businesses along the route are sponsoring the extended service.

Rosa Parks Human Rights Day December 1 Metro celebrates December 1 as Rosa Parks Human Rights Day, paying tribute to the spirit and memory of Rosa Parks. We urge all citizens throughout Los Angeles County to rea;rm their commitment to practicing tolerance and promoting diversity.

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December 1, 2008

Downtown News 3

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LIGHT OF THE ANGELS

DECEMBER 4TH – 31ST NIGHTLY ON THE HOUR AT L.A. LIVE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC This week at L.A. LIVE Monday, December 1

Saturday, December 6

STAPLES Center – Kings vs. Toronto – 7:30PM

Wednesday, December 3

Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE –GRAMMY Nominations Concert LIVE!! – 6PM Club Nokia – GRAMMY Nominations After-Party – 8PM Tickets still available - www.lalive.com

Nokia Plaza – Art in Action – 12, 1 and 2PM - FREE Nokia Plaza – Paperback Hero – 6PM - FREE Nokia Plaza – Light of the Angels – Nightly on the Hour - FREE STAPLES Center – Kings vs. Columbus – 7:30PM Club Nokia – Belanova – 7:30PM Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE – John Mayer – 8PM Grammy Museum – Opens to Public – 10AM-6PM Conga Room – Toby Love – 8PM

Thursday, December 4

Sunday, December 7

Tuesday, December 2

STAPLES Center – Celine Dion – 8PM

Nokia Plaza - PREMIERE of Light of the Angeles – 7, 8, 9 & 10PM - FREE STAPLES Center – Oasis – 7PM Conga Room – Olga Tañon – 8PM Club Nokia – Keb Mo and America – 8PM

Friday, December 5

Nokia Plaza – Art in Action – 12, 1 and 2PM - FREE STAPLES Center – Defenders vs. Tulsa – 2:30PM STAPLES Center – Lakers vs. Milwaukee – 6:30PM Nokia Plaza – Light of the Angels – Nightly on the Hour - FREE Club Nokia – Bret Michaels – 7PM

GRAMMY Museum Ribbon Cutting – 10AM Nokia Plaza – Keb Mo – 5:30PM – FREE Nokia Plaza – Light of the Angels – Nightly on the Hour - FREE Club Nokia – Frank Caliendo – 7PM STAPLES Center – Kings vs. Edmonton – 7:30PM Conga Room – Olga Tañon – 8PM KEB’ MO’ Keb’ Mo’ draws heavily on the old-fashioned country blues style of Robert Johnson, but keeps his sound contemporary with touches of soul and folksy storytelling. He writes much of his own material and has applied his acoustic, electric, and slide guitar skills to jazz- and rock-oriented bands in the past as well.

L.A. LIVE is owned and operated by

PAPERBACK HERO Paperback Hero beat out more that 115 other acts to win the third installment of 98.7 FM’s “Rock Star 987” contest. The four piece rock band from Los Angeles formed in 2005 and has supported rock legends Alice Cooper and Styx on tour.

ART IN ACTION Brian Olsen’s Art in Action is an explosion of paint, music, energy and passion. Booming popular music guides his performance as he uses both of his hands and often multiple brushes to create up to four paintings in less than an hour.

Across from STAPLES Center between Olympic and Figueroa – lalive.com

4 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com

EDITORIALS Save MOCA, Even if it Hurts

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os Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art is in major financial trouble, and trustees are scrambling to right the ship while artists and observers are furiously debating the state of the institution. Much more discussion and finger-pointing will take place in the coming weeks and months, but even as that occurs and blame is apportioned, one thing is clear: MOCA must retain its Downtown Los Angeles headquarters on Grand Avenue, and that facility must continue to stay open most weekdays and on weekends.

In other words, do whatever it takes, short of selling pieces from the collection, to keep the building open to the public.

We would prefer an independently owned and operated museum, but if it’s a merged institution versus none at all, we’ll take the former.

The financial troubles, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, hit like a bombshell. At this point, no one seems to know exactly how much the museum has been damaged

and how depleted are its coffers. It appears that operating costs were increasing at the same time that the endowment was shrinking, the nonprofit equivalent of the perfect storm.

Making matters worse, the tumble seems to have begun well before the recent Wall Street crisis.

Certainly the situation needs to be examined, and MOCA Director Jeremy Strick, along with the museum’s board, owe the public and the museum’s many donors an honest assessment of what happened and whether anyone was watching the henhouse. If the dire tales turn out to be true, and there is every reason to believe they will, we expect that someone, and probably more than one person, will lose their job. This is not a statement we make lightly, but there will need to be accountability, the kind that does not come with a golden parachute.

While that accountability must come, the most pressing matter is to ensure that MOCA remains open and active on Grand Avenue. The loss of the Temporary Contemporary

LETTERS Keep Focus on Skid Row Dear Editor, hanks in part to the Safer Cities Initiative, Skid Row is in fact becoming safer, but the Los Angeles Mission agrees with the Los Angeles Downtown News that it still is no place to raise children (the Editorial “Rescue Children and Families From Skid Row,” Nov. 10). Just the other day, one of our staffers bent over in front of our main gate to help a small child as she tried to navigate her doll cart through the sidewalk. We are indeed facing tougher economic times, and perhaps seeing children on these “mean” streets is a byproduct of the times. But it is still shocking. This is why, whenever we are faced with a need by a family here or at the Anne Douglas Center for Women, we try to refer them to a facility far away from Skid Row so they can receive services in a more child-friendly atmosphere.

Yes, Skid Row is safer than it was several years ago, and people can and do conduct business safely in our neighborhood. However, this area is now facing an influx of families, and that’s not good. The answer? Maybe by making our community more aware of this issue, as

T

Urban Scrawl by Doug Davis

Downtown News and others of us are trying to do, more appropriate service locations will be made available. We at the Los Angeles Mission will continue to do our best, by providing hope that heals a hurting community.

—Herb Smith, president/CEO, Los Angeles Mission

Brewer on the Rocks Dear Editor, oug Davis’ cartoon of the tugboat with Ramon Cortines pulling the big LAUSD Navy ship with Admiral Brewer at the helm is cute (Urban Scrawl, Nov. 17). The cartoon is a bit ambiguous in that, although Cortines is tugging along, one does not really know how the big LAUSD ship got stuck on the four damaging rocks of a) the budget crisis; b) the teachers union; c) the school board; and d) the dropout rate, when the ocean Davis draws is so big and wide. Of course, the whole ocean that the ship and tugboat and rocks are in is not labeled.

I would like to add to Davis’ fun cartoon the fact that the ocean might be labeled the polluted “Sea of Sacramento.”

—David Tokofsky, former LAUSD board member

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space in Little Tokyo would be significant and one we’d regret, but again, if forced to choose between the evils of losing both facilities or saving one, we’ll grit our teeth and take the latter.

MOCA is important to Downtown for many reasons. The institution was founded in 1979, and the $23 million Grand Avenue space, designed by Arata Isozaki, arrived in 1986.

In the 22 years since its debut, it has become a focal point of cultural life on Bunker Hill, drawing tens of thousands of people every year. It has hosted numerous important exhibits, among them retrospectives of Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and has provided Angelenos their first glimpse of many rising or lesser-known artists. In the process it has given not just the community, but the entire city, a prominent place in the contemporary art world.

MOCA has also prefaced the Grand Avenue project, establishing a cultural beachhead that was reinforced five years ago with the arrival of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The $3 billion Grand Avenue development has already been delayed many times due to difficulties in securing a construction loan and various market forces. While MOCA’s demise would not put a nail in the coffin of that project, it could be seen as an ugly signal to the investment community and the rest of the world about the area’s viability as a destination, rather than just bad management.

Considering that museum officials are guarding the financial situation tightly, it is hard to recommend what steps should be taken. The investigation must be extensive and speedy. As that occurs, we have to grasp the idea that MOCA officials may have blundered so badly that the museum can no longer go it alone. While the concept of such mismanagement will make many seethe, it could turn out that MOCA does not have the money to survive. Businesses of all sizes across the country are learning the same harsh lesson, and a museum must operate competently as a business.

This is going to be tough. Hard-working staffers may lose their jobs and there could be a drop in the quantity and quality of future exhibitions. That is not a happy eventuality, but the only thing worse would be having no Downtown MOCA at all. Save the museum, even if it hurts.

Then make sure there is accountability.

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, Andrew Haas-Roche, Sam Hall Kaplan, Howard Leff, Lisa Napoli, 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 AssistANt sAlEs MANAGEr: George Caston 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.

One copy per person.

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Adventures in Petsitting Life Downtown Changes When You Borrow a Dog

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y fling with Dexter started a few weeks ago. We’d been on several walks through Downtown together. Some were early morning romps that were playful and sweet, while others lingered late in the evening when the lights of City Hall cast lovely shadows on the grass below.

A mix of Shepherd, Akita and Chow, he’s a gorgeous specimen with silken blonde hair, warm, amber-colored eyes, and an imposing presence that makes people step aside and stare in appreciation.

To be honest, I got a bit of an inferiority complex walking next to him. Not an outing went by when

he didn’t receive at least half a dozen compliments.

He was extremely popular with the ladies, especially the elderly women in Little Tokyo who gushed over him like nothing I’ve ever seen. Even the construction workers at the new police headquarters whistled at him as we passed.

He’s quite the alpha male. But most just call him a dog.

Dexter belongs to my brother, who’s studying at Stanford at the moment and needed a petsitter for a few days. I agreed to take care of Dexter partly because he’s so easygoing and partly because I wanted

Kathryn Maese

RESIDENT a d v is o r

December 1, 2008

to experience what it is like to have a pet in the city. For about a year I tried to wheedle my husband into agreeing to a dog. But now that we have an 8-month-old, we have precious little time.

This seemed like the perfect way to see how the pet-owning side of Downtown lives. According to the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, nearly half of the new wave of Downtown residents have dogs. The Central City is extremely liberal when it comes to having a pet, and only a handful of residential buildings don’t allow animals. But I’ve often heard complaints about the lack of pet-friendly amenities like dog parks and green spaces for Fido to run off-leash or do their business in peace.

My first few days with Dexter passed quickly, and we developed an easy routine of 6:30 a.m. walks, then a break after lunch to get a cup of coffee and a long stroll in the evening.

My husband took him out one last time before bed, often with our neighbor’s dog, Yao, whom he befriended. It was a great break from the computer and a way to get some exercise, and I swear I had lost a few pounds by the time he left.

I immediately saw the social aspect of having a dog in the city. I ran into my neighbors more often and finally spoke to people I’d seen dozens of times but never said a word to.

Strangers would come right up and pet Dexter, and we’d invariably strike up a conversation about his breed or what kind of dog they had.

I immediately saw the social aspect of having a dog in the city.

I ran into my neighbors more often and finally spoke to people I’d seen dozens of times but never said a word to.

Other Downtown dog walkers generously shared a few choice spots for taking Dexter to relieve himself, or flashed a friendly smile as our canines sniffed each other. I began to learn which dogs were not well behaved, which owners didn’t pick up their poop and which routes to take. I usually traveled north on Spring Street past the L.A. Times parking garage, where a strip of groundcover has become a makeshift dog park, and then made my way up to City Hall and into the park on the south lawn.

Nothing personal against our lawmakers, but Dexter had a thing for taking his business right to the steps of City Hall, especially if there was an urgent matter on his agenda. After a while, I started to think maybe it was his way of staging a silent protest, urging our representatives to do something about the lack of parks.

Our route took us through Little Tokyo and looped back around on Second Street past the wide promenade of trees and landing of sparse grass littered with evidence of frequent use.

We’d pass the Higgins Building, where we saw a constant stream of Chihuahuas, weenies, pits and mutts, then back home.

One thing I liked about having Dexter with me when I took the baby out in her stroller was the added sense of security. In addition to his blonde good looks, he’s nearly as big as a horse (okay, a small pony). He lets kids jump all over him and pull on his hair, but there’s the sense that you don’t want to mess with him or his human companions. I felt like I could walk more freely Downtown, and even later at night by myself.

Thanks to the explosion of new residents and their dogs, there’s no shortage of pet services Downtown, from Lofty Dog to Bark Avenue to Pussy & Pooch. When it came time to give Dexter a bath, I made an appointment at Muttropolitan in Little Tokyo’s Honda Plaza. They have some of the most affordable rates for a dog his size, and he came out looking like a fluffy, blow-dried rock star.

By about the sixth day I was starting to see just how much work a dog takes, and I was ready for a break. There were a few times in the evening when I was so tired that walking a dog was the last thing I wanted to do. I thought about how nice it would be just to sit somewhere while Dexter ran around. Some buildings have a rooftop dog park or dog run, but many don’t.

I wondered how the professionals do it, the walkers I’ve seen around the neighborhood with six dogs. I called David Cerwonka from Walk Fido, a 3-year-old Downtown walking service, to get his thoughts.

Cerwonka says it’s simple, really. The urban landscape is one big adventure for dogs, who instinctively want to roam for long distances, explore new places and experience a satisfying sense of exhaustion and accomplishment at the end of the day.

It makes sense. The same can be said of all of us, I guess.

Contact Kathryn Maese at kathryn@downtownnews.com.

December 1, 2008

Downtown News 7

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The ABCs of EIRs

than they are now. And with air quality, with greenhouse gases, we’re seeing statewide that is becoming a really huge issue.

Chris Joseph Shines a Light On the Murky World of Environmental Impact Reports

Q: Have you ever encountered an environmentally unfeasible project?

A: Not in Downtown that I recall. Almost all of the stuff we’ve worked on Downtown has been approved. Not all of it has been built, of course. In Santa Monica we worked on a couple of projects years ago that got [rejected] because of environmental and political reasons.

by Anna Scott staff writer

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ost people glaze over when they hear about an Environmental Impact Report. But anyone who has spent time at City Hall knows that these dense, seemingly impenetrable documents are a necessary part of getting most developments built. As the name suggests, they predict and analyze the environmental impacts of proposed projects. They take months to compile and must be approved before the first shovel hits the ground.

Christopher Joseph, founder and owner of the environmental planning and research firm Christopher A. Joseph & Associates, has been in the business of writing EIRs for more than 20 years. His 90-plus person firm has analyzed more than two dozen Downtown Los Angeles developments, including the recent Colburn School expansion, the proposed L.A. Memorial Coliseum renovation and the anticipated Grand Avenue project. Recently Joseph, 51, spoke with Los Angeles Downtown News about the murky world of EIRs. Los Angeles Downtown News: What goes into actually preparing an EIR? Christopher Joseph: We study subjects ranging from traffic, which is the key thing in Los Angeles, to air quality, noise, infrastructure and historic resources. We do work for the city, we do work for developers; in all cases we try to give an objective analysis of these subjects. Our job is to provide unbiased information. We look at every project the same and what the impacts will be. Everyone wants their applications approved quickly, but the EIR process is not quick. The quickest I’ve ever seen is six months. Typically, it’s a year to 15 months.

Q: Has it surprised you how much politics overlaps with the EIR process?

A: I tell people who come to work for us just out of college that if they want to get into planning, they should become a politician. Ultimately, it’s the politicians who decide what goes where and what’s going to be developed and not developed.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

photo by Gary Leonard

Chris Joseph has performed more than two dozen environmental impact reports, or EIRs, for Downtown projects, including the Colburn School expansion (shown here).

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Q: Do you do most of that work at the proposed site, or do you analyze things from afar?

A: It involves both. Definitely it involves some fieldwork, whether it’s taking pictures or doing noise measurements.

We ourselves don’t do traffic studies, but for our sub-consultants it would involve doing traffic counts. But the bulk of our work is in the writing and in the analyzing, which mostly takes place in the office.

Q: How did you get into this line of work?

A: My education is a bachelor’s degree in geography from Cal State Northridge and a master’s in environmental planning from UC Riverside. The first part of my career, in the early ’80s, was working for Unocal. I was doing environmental work for them. I left there in about ’84 and went to work for a consulting firm, which is where I learned how to write Environmental Impact Reports. In ’87 or ’88 I decided to go out on my own…. It’s turned out okay.

Q: What’s the price range for an EIR, and what influences the cost?

A: It could range from $100,000 to $3 million. It depends on a variety of factors: the complexity of the project, the location, whether it’s public or private, the level of controversy. Any project that’s proposed anywhere in West Los Angeles is going to be controversial because of traffic; it’s getting more and more that way in Downtown too. Where the level of controversy comes in is, the public has an opportunity to comment on the draft EIR when it goes public. Often the public will hire their own land use attorneys and consultants and try to shoot holes in the EIR. Responding to those comments requires a great deal of effort.

Q: What’s the most challenging project you’ve worked on in Downtown?

A: They’ve all been challenging to a certain extent. But in terms of community opposition, it hasn’t been too bad. If we were evaluating these same types of projects in West L.A. or Santa Monica, they’d be hugely controversial. But in Downtown, which is welcoming this type of development, they’ve been relatively easy. The challenge sometimes comes from trying to meet the deadlines of an applicant or of the city.

Q: What environmental issues are particularly relevant to Downtown?

A: The two big ones are traffic and historic resources. There are a lot of nice buildings Downtown that people understandably don’t want touched. The two emerging issues, I think, are shadows and air quality. On shadows, I jokingly tell my clients that they are creating the opposition of the future for all the people who are going to move in Downtown. In five or 10 years, shade, shadow and loss of views will be much bigger issues

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Downtown News 9

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Alive, But Kickin’?

AEG Rolls Out $2.5 Billion L.A. Live Amid Uncertain Economy

by Anna Scott staff writer

A

nschutz Entertainment Group has built it. Now, amid one of the toughest economies in recent history, the question is, will they come?

The it, of course, is the $2.5 billion L.A. Live, which the developer, local business leaders and city officials tout as a transformative project that will attract new business to Downtown and enliven the city’s historically lackluster convention industry. Yet its immediate impact is uncertain.

Unfolding on 27 acres around Staples Center in South Park, L.A. Live this month will debut a nightclub, a museum, office space and five new restaurants. Five more restaurants, as well as an ESPN broadcast center and a 14-screen Regal Cinema are scheduled to open between January and November of next year. A 54-story, $900 million Convention Center headquarters hotel with 224 condominiums, currently under construction, is scheduled to cap off the project in 2010 (for a full lineup of L.A. Live attractions and opening dates, see page 19).

Meanwhile, consumer spending last month in the form of retail and food service sales dropped 3% nationwide from the previous year, said Jerry Nickelsberg, senior economist for UCLA’s Anderson Forecast. Officials at L.A. Inc., the city’s convention and visitors bureau, report that tourism has also taken a downturn in the past few weeks.

“Locally, we don’t know the magnitude of it,” said Nickelsberg of the dip in spending. “The impact is negative, but we don’t know how deep it’s going to cut.”

Still, officials at AEG — who broke ground on the project in 2005, when the economy was in a boom cycle — remain optimistic.

“It’s unusual to develop a project like this in an area that has an engine like Staples Center that generates so much traffic,” said L.A. Live Managing Director Lisa Herzlich.

“We’ve got 4.3 million people that come to Staples each year, and they don’t really have any dining options before or after games and events. We’re not unaware of the economy, but we feel that there is less supply and more demand in Downtown.”

Drawing on Crowds A key to L.A. Live, AEG officials say, is its status as a live music and event destination.

The project’s first phase, the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre, opened in October 2007 and has attracted events including the Emmy Awards, the “American Idol” live finale and the American Music Awards. Meanwhile, the 2,350-capacity Club Nokia opened Nov. 9 of this year and has a full slate of concerts scheduled.

Eventually, the L.A. Live district, which includes Staples Center and the Convention Center next door, is expected to host 600 events and 20 million visitors each year, Herzlich said. That is good news for L.A. Live’s restaurants, bars and other attractions, including the recently opened Lucky Strike Lanes, and the Conga Room nightclub and Fleming’s Steakhouse, which debut this month.

“More people means more business for everybody,” said Herzlich.

Jack Kyser, senior vice president and chief economist of the L.A. County Economic Development Corporation, agrees that an event-driven approach could help L.A. Live weather the economic storm and sagging tourism. The Grammy Museum, opening Dec. 6, will be another unique draw, he added.

“Next year, the consensus is international travel will be down, domestic travel will be down, but in-state travel will be the bright spot,” he said. “They’re opening into a tough market, but a lot of their potential market is local. They have a lot of things of interest, especially the Grammy Museum. I think there’s going to be a huge curiosity factor.”

The other major component to L.A. Live is the Convention Center hotel, which includes an 878-room JW Marriott hotel, a 123-room Ritz-Carlton hotel and 224 condominiums named the Ritz-Carlton Residences (priced from $1 million-$10 million), plus 80,000 square feet of meeting space.

“The hotel is really the foundation of this project,” said Herzlich, as well as “a critical part of what will make L.A. a more viable convention destination.”

Since the structure broke ground in June 2007, tourism officials report booking 53 conventions and 650,000 room nights for the next few years — an 800% increase in room nights since 2005. “The big issue we used to have was there used to be nothing to do Downtown,” said Michael Krouse, senior vice president of sales for L.A. Inc. “These conventions could not happen without the partnership with L.A. Live.”

Whether all of the bookings hold up remains to be seen.

Many conventions in the financial services, auto and insurance sectors have been cancelled in recent months, said

Brenda Anderson, chair of the Virginia-based Convention Industry Council.

“What you’re going to see in this next phase is second-tier cities are going to do really well, because oftentimes they’re less expensive,” she said. Although Los Angeles does not fit that category, she noted that the new hotel might help the city buck that trend. “When you have a hotel connected to a convention center, there’s a functionality factor built in,” said Anderson. “Accessibility is important.”

AEG officials expect L.A. Live to help the Convention Center stay strong. “Whenever you bring a group somesee L.A. Live, page 18

photo by Gary Leonard

Lisa Herzlich, managing director of L.A. Live, at the $2.5 billion South Park project. Five restaurants, office space and the Grammy Museum open this month, with another five restaurants coming online next year.

The capstone, the 54-story Convention Center hotel, will arrive in 2010.

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December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com

Opening Wide A Host of Free Entertainment in Nokia Plaza

by AnnA Scott StAff writer

W

hen the second phase of the $2.5 billion L.A. Live project opens this week, there will be something for everyone — including those who are tightening the purse strings this season.

The kickoff event on Wednesday, Dec. 3, is tied to the announcement of the Grammy nominees, followed by a fundraiser for the Grammy Museum. The free festivities begin Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., when some special guests will light the L.A. Live Christmas tree. But don’t

expect a traditional evergreen: The 50-foot, 37,500-pound tree is covered with 11,000 LED lights, which will project light shows and other footage throughout the month. “It’s the first LED Christmas tree ever built,� said Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of L.A. Live developer the Anschutz Entertainment Group. “It’s absolutely amazing.� He added that the tree cost “a ton of money.�

The same evening, the plaza will host the premiere of “Light of the Angels,� a seven-minute, multimedia presentation featuring video, light and special effects that will repeat nightly on

the hour until 10 p.m. through Dec. 31.

The next day, Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m., blues singer-songwriter Keb Mo kicks off the first of several free live performances in Nokia Plaza that will continue through Dec. 19. The shows will take place throughout the afternoon most days, with early performances beginning at 12 or 1 p.m. and later shows starting at 5:15 p.m.

The early shows for the lunch crowd begin Dec. 6 with performance artist Brian Olsen, known for creating portraits of rock stars and other luminaries in front of live audiences, doing just that at noon, 1 and 2 p.m. Rock band Paperback Hero plays that day at 6 p.m.

Other upcoming daytime performers include the L.A. Music Academy on Dec. 8, 9 and 10, the Colburn School for the Performing Arts on Dec 16 and 17 and the Agape Children’s

Choir on Dec 18. Schedules vary, but most shows begin at noon or 1 p.m.

Later performers, which start at 5:15 p.m., include the Gay Men’s Chorus of L.A. on Dec. 9, the eclectic, youth-driven Berklee City Music Network L.A. on Dec. 8, 11 and 12, and students from the Silverlake Conservatory of Music on Dec. 17 and 18.

Other free events at Nokia Plaza this month include the Conga Room Conga Line on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. and the Coca-Cola Parade on Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. “L.A. Live is really made for the Nokia Plaza to be a gathering place for the Los Angeles and Southern California community,� said L.A. Live Managing Director Lisa Herzlich.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

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DowntownNews.com

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An Icon From the Ground Up AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke Opens Up on the Project He Has Been Working on for 14 Years

by Jon RegaRdie executive editoR

T

o understand Tim Leiweke’s thoughts about L.A. Live, the $2.5 billion mega-development in the heart of Downtown, consider not a specific answer, but rather a single word: iconic. In the space of a 30-minute interview about the project, the second phase of which opens this week, Leiweke says “iconic” five times, such as when he comments, “This is one of

the most iconic projects ever built in any downtown community.”

This is probably not hyperbole. The 5.6 million-square-foot development spread across 27 acres is one of the largest ever undertaken in Downtown Los Angeles, and Leiweke, the president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, has been involved in it for 14 years, starting back when Phil Anschutz and Ed Roski began working on plans for see Leiweke, page 14

photo by Gary Leonard

Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, has been working on the Staples Center/L.A. Live campus for 14 years. When the facility opens this week, AEG’s headquarters will take up office space in the new project.

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DowntownNews.com

Leiweke Continued from page 12 Staples Center, the arena that opened in 1999 and sits adjacent to L.A. Live.

Last week, Leiweke sat down with Los Angeles Downtown News to discuss L.A. Live’s progress, its 12 restaurants, the 54-story high-rise with hotel rooms and Ritz-Carlton condominiums that cost up to $10 million, and his vision for how the project will improve not just Downtown, but the entire city.

Los Angeles Downtown News: Through timing completely beyond your control, you are opening one of the biggest projects in Downtown’s history during one of the worst national economic crises of the last century. How do you make L.A. Live work at this time?

Tim Leiweke: We were fortunate to find good partners that view the world the same way we do, which is that projects like this are iconic and they live for hundreds of years, not two years. If we were building a project that was for two years I’d be very nervous, because this is a bad period of time to be spreading risk out over a short period of time.

That said, this project will be around long after all of us

leave. So we look at this as a marathon, not a sprint. Our founding partners are all long-term deals, with Coke and Toyota and Wachovia and American Express and Target and Anheuser-Busch. That’s good for us. Our leases are all long-term deals, and obviously Nokia Theatre and Club Nokia, we own.

ESPN’s here; this is their West Coast headquarters. This is a huge establishment for them. And although ESPN, like every other company, is certainly going to be affected by this recession, ESPN isn’t going anywhere.

Q: You have long referred to the Convention Center hotel as the linchpin of this project. Why is it so important?

A: We no longer have to speculate and I no longer have to spin: We booked 54 [conventions] this year at the Convention Center for upcoming years, and I think if you go back and ask L.A. Inc. why did they just have the best year in the history of the organization, they’ll tell you one reason: that hotel. If you look at [video game convention] E3 coming back to town, it’s 8,000 room nights each and every night. If you look at the bids we are submitting to bring the NBA and NHL All-Star games back here, and yes, we are actively working and pursuing bringing a Super Bowl here at some point or another in the future, we couldn’t do any of that, none of that, without this hotel.

When you can combine, let’s just say for the sake of argu-

ment 20 major events a year: the Grammys, the American Music Awards, an NBA or NHL All-Star game, E3, another half dozen big conventions, the Pac 10 basketball tournament, what you begin to see is it is those kinds of events that ultimately will continue to help us as a community create new jobs, create a positive economic impact and be able to have additional developments that create additional jobs that create additional sales tax revenue.

Q: You probably could have had any entity you want in L.A. Live, yet were very purposeful in who you took. We’re not talking about major chains in most cases. Why go this route? What was the strategy?

A: ESPN is here because [company president] George Bodenheimer is one of my best friends and someone I greatly admire and respect. George and I have been talking about this project for 10 years. So some of that’s natural.

Target has been a company I have had the pleasure of doing business with since I was in Minnesota opening the Target Center. So some of this is just based on partnerships, relationships, friendships.

For others, [AEG executive vice president] Ted Tanner did a phenomenal job of going out and getting a wide mix of different restaurants, and unique ones: To have Trader Vic’s down here, believe me, we were really aggressive in saying we will do what we have to do to get them into this mix here. We

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picked Wolfgang Puck because I wanted Wolfgang to cater the campus, and he is.

We essentially went out and found none of the 12 [restaurants] overlap. Yeah, there is some duplication, i.e. Katsuya has a couple of other locations in town, but this Katsuya here will be world class. Same with Fleming’s and same with Yard House. We picked brands that ultimately will draw from the region, above and beyond the 20 million people a year that are just going to walk through the campus because they happen to be coming down for a convention or Staples or the Nokia Theatre.

Q: How do you make this part of Downtown so it doesn’t end up fortress-like, like the Music Center. How do you get the community involved?

A: That’s why, although we were heavily criticized, we pushed the neighborhood associations to go after bond money to fix the Figueroa Corridor. Now I’m going to give you some controversy: I know there are some people who think Grand Avenue is the most important avenue in Downtown, but that’s not true. The Figueroa Corridor is the most important corridor, because it hooks up USC, which is one of the top 10 educational institutions in the country, and I think a huge part of the future of Southern California is that university. So you have this iconic educational campus here. And then on the other end of it you have that brand called Dodgers, and Dodger Stadium. And I think we have to hook the Central Business District up with the Convention Center and L.A. Live, with USC, with Dodger Stadium.

If we can fix the Figueroa Corridor, make it livable — trolley systems, better walkways, better lighting, better landscaping, better bus shelters, a better DASH system — then it makes Downtown livable. That’s what we all have to concentrate on now: We need to set a goal of having 100,000 people live in and around Downtown Los Angeles in the next 20 years.

So the last thing we’re going to do is make this a fortress.

It is critical to us that every restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles, every hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, prosper, because it is going to take all of us combined as a village to be successful here. You can’t have 8,000 visitors to E3 and live off of L.A. Live. We only have 1,000 hotel rooms. So we need for Downtown to prosper.

Q: In preparing for Staples, you had some pre-construction problems with the community. There was no opposition this time. What did you learn from building the arena and how was it applied here?

A: We formed coalitions before we went to the Council. So whether the neighborhood coalition we created, or affordable housing or labor, they’re all our partners now.

We did a much better job of consensus instead of dictation; not dictation from our standpoint, but the politicians’.

We weren’t going to let the Council ultimately put covenants upon our entitlement process. We were going to go to them and have a process that was already positively impacted by us forming these partnerships.

So the neighborhood coalition, the Central City Association, certainly the unions, all played a huge role. And look, we still have our bumps in the road occasionally, but for the most part this has been a process that has been about partnership and a vision, not a leverage or dictation by the City Council, and I think it makes for a much better project if you get in front of it.

Q: Who’s going to live in the Ritz-Carlton condos?

A: I can tell you who’s going to be living there, because we have half of them sold. You’re going to see businessmen who work Downtown. Some of them only work down here three or four days a week and then live in Newport Beach or Montecito or Santa Barbara. So they have a condo here because ultimately it’s the most convenient and certainly a very nice way to live.

We have families whose kids go to USC that are buying condos for the families or the kids. We have people who commute into L.A. from New York or San Diego or San Francisco for business. You have people that work full time in Downtown Los Angeles, like me, that love the ease of having a place here.

You have Lakers fans, huge Lakers fans, that are spending, I don’t know, a quarter of a million dollars a year on tickets, and they know this is just a fantastic way to enjoy the whole experience and never have to worry about traffic.

You have people in Mexico, South Korea, Japan, China, even as far away as Qatar, that have bought this to have as a second, third or fourth home. And then finally, what makes me most excited is young, urban professionals.

Q: They must be pretty successful urban professionals?

A: Yeah, but you know what? For a million dollars, which is what some of the condos start at, there are lawyers, investment bankers, even people who work here, that are young

Downtown News 15

SearchDowntownLA.com and successful but are single and look at this and say, “Look, I can walk everywhere now.”

It’s a good mix. That’s what I like about these condos: We’re not reliant on one classification or one kind of customer. We are very diverse in the kind of people who are buying here, and that makes us happy. In fact, we’re right in the middle of closing one of the penthouse units for $9 million.

We range in price from $1 million to $10 million and we’re selling all levels of the condos.

Q: You’ve been working on this campus for more than a decade.

As you look out there, what goes through your mind, knowing you’re close to finishing it, and that within a year and a half you’ll be done?

A: Well, because we’re not done, nothing goes through my mind but staying after it. I’ve been getting up earlier and going home later. I’m part nerves, part fear and part determination, and zero joy right now.

Q: Really? No joy?

A: None. Not yet. We’re not done yet. There will be a moment I’m sure where we can all take a step back and appreciate what we’ve done, but now is not the time to smell the roses, ’cause the roses have thorns and we should be cautious.

We have work to do here.

That said, just me personally, it occurred to me the other day I have spent half of my adult life working on this, and so I think for Mr. Anschutz and Mr. Roski, and certainly for myself and the guys that have been here, like Ted Tanner, almost since day one, I am sure there will be a time we step back and begin to appreciate what 14 years of hard work and $2.5 billion worth of risk created here. And the fact that it’s going to be successful, despite the economy, is a wonderful tribute, especially to Mr. Anschutz, who never blinked on this project. Never. That says something. This took guts.

Contact Jon Regardie at regardie@downtownnews.com

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16 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com photo by Gary Leonard

Boom Goes the Room Conga Room Gives L.A. Live a Latin Flair

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

O

photo by Gary Leonard

n a recent afternoon, workers outside the Conga Room were busy installing signs and checking electrical systems as people lined up nearby, filling out job applications to work at the 15,000-square foot Latin-infused nightclub and restaurant.

When owner Brad Gluckstein walked through the club, the cacophony was even louder, and the sounds of construction crews racing to finish the last details filled the empty dance floor.

Things will get even busier, and yes, even louder, when the Latin-infused celebrityowned nightclub and restaurant holds its official opening Dec. 10 (a soft opening is scheduled for Dec. 4). It is one of the most significant parts of L.A. Live, the $2.5 billion Downtown Los Angeles project developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group.

“This is just the calm before the storm,” said Gluckstein as he looked around the dance floor and prepared for opening day. “I think the Conga Room provides, if you will, the color to the district.”

The Conga Room originally opened in

1998 in the Miracle Mile section of Wilshire Boulevard. It immediately struck a chord, garnering a reputation as the “Latin House of Blues.” With a long list of celebrity investors that included Jimmy Smits, Jennifer Lopez, Paul Rodriguez and Sheila E., it became known as a place where serious salsa lovers could dance, where famous bands and singers could perform in an intimate setting and where trendy Latin themes were celebrated by mainstream audiences.

Now it will bring those elements, along with 100 jobs, to South Park.

“I think the Conga Room is the most iconic live brand in the Hispanic/Latino marketplace,” said Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of AEG. “So I think if you are talking about Latino and live music, there is no better club than the Conga Room.”

The 1,000-person capacity club is a significant part of AEG’s focus on turning Downtown Los Angeles into a musical center for the city. The area already hosts the Grammy Awards and the American Music Awards, and another new element of L.A. Live is the $34 million Grammy Museum.

“We’re going to have 500 nights of mu-

The 15,000-squarefoot space includes a 90-seat restaurant.

The design reflects Caribbean, Mexican and South American influences.

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Brad Gluckstein in the Conga Room, which originally opened in 1998 in the Miracle Mile. The 1,000-person capacity venue will bring 100 jobs to L.A. Live.

sic here a year between the Conga Room, Club Nokia, Nokia Theatre and L.A. Live.”

Leiweke said.

Location, Location, Location The Conga Room closed in 2006 because of financial difficulties, though even then plans to reopen at L.A. Live were in the works.

Gluckstein, an avid salsa dancer, said L.A. Live was a natural choice when it came time to find a new location for his club. He expects to draw not just people coming to the club on their own, but also those attending games at Staples Center and people taking in other concerts at the Nokia Theatre or Club Nokia.

“We also have tourism, which we never had at the old Conga Room, and Downtown traffic, both residential and business,” said Gluckstein, who also this year opened Bixel at Fifth, a Downtown housing project. “We’re a block from the Convention Center, from big hotels and a district that will be a tourist destination.”

The club won’t just be a place to dance, he said. Rather, it will encompass Latin dance, music and food while widening its lineup to include more hip sounds.

“We wanted to extend beyond Latin and produce a global beat. We’ll produce nights that are Latin, inclusive of all genres — tropical, rock en Español, some regional and we’ll also do some soul, R&B and jazz, but we’re principally a Latin venue.”

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Belzberg, principal of Belzberg Architects, local muralist Sergio Arau and artist Jorge Pardo to design a contemporary environment with Caribbean, Mexican and South American influences.

Inside the colors are bold and rich, with reds, yellows and deep purples dominating a dark wood floor and modern design. The aim was to combine them in “a holistic view of what a Latin environment could be when brought to the 21st century,” Belzberg said.

One of the most striking elements is the ceiling, which begins with a vertical pattern at the entrance. It rises like an upside-down cascade, morphing and then taking the shape of a collection of white flowers. Along with the visual aspect, it helps mitigate sound, Belzberg said.

“We worked with an acoustic engineer to balance the sounds. This not only creates kinetic energy, it also absorbs and reflects sound.”

While the club is in an entertainment area, sound was an issue the designers focused on — they needed to ensure that music did not spill out into the plaza or neighboring offices or residences.

Although the club has not opened yet, area stakeholders are already singing its praises.

“This is something the neighborhood has been waiting for,” said Mike Pfeiffer, executive director of the South Park Business Improvement District. “It’s going to fit in the see Conga Room, page 18

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Downtown News 17

SearchDowntownLA.com

A 10-Year Vision Comes Alive With L.A. Live, Downtown Architecture Firm RTKL Goes From the Page to the Street

by Richard Guzmán city editor

T

en years ago, when Downtown-based architecture firm RTKL was hired to design the master plan for L.A. Live, company Vice President Jay Clark saw a chance to regenerate Downtown. Last week, that long-ago vision became reality.

As he stood on the busy Nokia Plaza, where construction was moving swiftly in preparation for this week’s grand opening festivities, Clark looked around at the bright LED screens flashing busy images. He could see the sign being installed for the Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge and the final touches being put on the Conga Room.

“It’s so satisfying to see people come and enjoy the space and the events that have happened here in the plaza already.

It’s very rewarding as an architect to see people using the spaces and enjoying them,” he said.

photo by Gary Leonard

Jay Clark, vice president of RTKL, the architecture and planning firm that designed the master plan for L.A. Live. The company began work on the project a decade ago.

Working closely with L.A. Live developer Anschutz Entertainment Group, RTKL’s team of more than 25 architects was responsible for deciding the placement of all of the venues at the 27-acre site, from the hotel to retail and office space. The firm also oversaw the exterior look of the complex.

Although RTKL has a long history in Downtown Los Angeles — the company moved to the community in 1986 and was the architect on local projects such at the Market Lofts and the recently opened 717 Olympic apartments — L.A. Live has by far been the firm’s biggest undertaking in the area. Not surprisingly, there were clearly defined goals.

“We wanted it to be modern, contemporary and urban, and I think that’s what we achieved,” Clark said. “There’s been very little changes to that original plan.”

Ted Tanner, executive vice president of AEG, said the design fits the purpose of the project.

“It’s alive, it’s vibrant,” Tanner said. “The architecture really is supportive of all the content and activities that are happening in and around the buildings.”

Mike Pfeiffer, executive director of the South Park Business Improvement District, said the visual aspect of the project invites the evolution of the neighborhood.

“It’s a beautiful design, and when you put it in the context of the hotel rising behind it and then the [Nokia Theatre] on Olympic and you look at the kind of developments that will start to unfold, it just marks the beginning of a great evolution,” said Pfeiffer.

The design also aims to enhance pedestrian traffic, Clark said. He noted that accessibility was key.

The point was echoed by Tanner, who said the buildings were set back an additional eight feet from the property lines to allow for 23-foot-wide sidewalks on Figueroa and Olympic.

“That enables us to get a double row of street trees. It’s also part of the whole effort on our part to make sure each of the restaurants has an outdoor dining presence and activity outside, which we think contributes to the vibrancy of a pedestrian district,” he said.

Creating Energy Looking at the bright LED screens, some say L.A. Live takes its design cue from New York’s Times Square. Clark countered that the similarities are more in the realm of energy than aesthetics.

“I think it’s the vitality of the area,” he said. “This public plaza creates energy in this 1-acre park. It’s a center for people of Los Angeles to come gather. There’s that energy with the LED screens and, yes, a little bit of Times Square components.”

While working on the plans a decade ago, RTKL was aware of the uses destined for each space. That, said Clark, made it

easier to design an area that would encourage pedestrian traffic.

The paseo along Figueroa was designed to allow drivers and pedestrians a full view of Nokia Plaza, with restaurants and retail on the ground floor for enhanced visibility. Venues that attract their own audiences, like the Conga Room and bowling alley Lucky Strike, are on the upper levels.

“It’s been very true to the original vision and form first developed by AEG, and that’s what’s so exciting to see right now,” Clark said. “The residents are coming, you’ve got Staples Center, the L.A. Convention Center. It’s all coming together and it’s very exciting to be part of that.”

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

L.A. Live Continued from page 9 where, one of the things they would rather not have to do is travel out for their evening activities,” said Herzlich.

“Now there will be a destination with more than a dozen restaurants, a bowling alley and more to keep those people Downtown for a longer amount of time than just the convention.”

Local Interest In addition to capitalizing on large events and conventions, L.A. Live aims to become a community focal point, Herzlich said.

To that end, Nokia Plaza, a courtyard off the complex’s main entrance on Chick Hearn Way, is hosting free performances and holiday-themed entertainment

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com photo by Gary Leonard

18 Downtown News

AEG’s project is a 5.6 millionsquare-foot development spread across 27 acres of South Park.

Company officials expect that ultimately 20 million people a year will visit L.A. Live and the adjacent Staples Center and Convention Center.

throughout this month. During the rest of the year, Herzlich expects the project to thrive on the lunchtime crowds generated by more than 450,000 Downtown workers, as well as students from USC and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

As much as L.A. Live will feed off Downtown, local business leaders expect it to usher new investment to the area, potentially in the form of additional residential development.

“Investors all over the world are aware that billions have been poured into this project and this neighborhood, and that speaks volumes about the continued growth of Downtown Los Angeles,” said Carol Schatz, president of the Central City Association. “L.A. Live bolsters the Downtown real estate market as a whole and in particular the South Park neighborhood.”

Yet in the current climate, those effects may not be immediate, experts said, with Kyser pointing to the tough residential real estate market. He does not expect an immediate economic bounce.

Herzlich agreed that it will take time to gauge L.A. Live’s ultimate impact on Downtown.

“It’s a long-term investment,” she said. “There will be short-term gains, there will be short-term bumps, but it’s a long-term investment. If you fast forward to when the hotel opens, hopefully the economy will turn around by then, and in the years after that this city’s going to thrive.”

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com.

Conga Room Continued from page 16 neighborhood very well. It’s what everyone planned it to be.”

Another highlight is the Papaya bar, designed by Pardo to resemble a papaya that is cracked open. There is also art on the walls and columns from Arau. His familiar, pop-Latin images include legendary wrestlers, a portrait of Mexican painter Frida Khalo, Day of the Dead skulls and Aztec mariachis.

Dancing and Dinner Along with the music and live acts, the Conga Room will feature pan-Latin food from Executive Chef Alex Garcia at the 90-seat restaurant Boca.

“I think we have the potential to be the best Latin restaurant in town,” said Garcia, who owns Calle Ocho in New York and relocated to Los Angeles to run Boca.

A glass wall surrounds the restaurant, allowing diners a full view of the club. But thanks to the acoustic efforts, the sounds of salsa won’t ruin, well, your salsa.

“It’s an acoustical isolation, but you still feel like you’re part of the nightclub. You can be a part of it but still dine in a very friendly audio environment,” Belzberg said.

With its celebrity partners, Gluckstein expects the Conga Room to be a haven for famous faces. With that in mind, he has included two VIP rooms that are dedicated to the memory of Celia Cruz, the late queen of salsa, who sang at Gluckstein’s wedding in the old Conga Room.

Even with all the lights, glitter and hype surrounding the opening of L.A. Live, Gluckstein said the Conga Room will still stand out.

“Outside of us we have restaurants and theaters,” he said. “There’s not a hybrid venue that is a nightclub, concert venue, a restaurant and an event space. We’re presenting a lifestyle experience.”

The Conga Room is at 800 W. Olympic, (213) 7490445 or congaroom.com Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnew.com.

December 1, 2008

L.A. Live’s Lineup The Details on 19 Additions to Downtown

Downtown News 19

SearchDowntownLA.com nally opened in New York. The first West Coast outpost will offer traditional and nouvelle Mexican food in a contemporary modern restaurant designed by David Rockwell.

Wolfgang Puck Catering, opens Nov. 2009: For those who require a more personal experience, L.A. Live’s exclusive caterer with an on-site kitchen has all the ingredients for a fine meal. The company will cater numerous events.

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

W

ith so many different venues in phase two of the $2.5 billion L.A. Live project, it could be difficult to keep track of all the eating and entertainment opportunities. Thus, here is a handy list of all the outlets, their opening dates and information on each.

Club Nokia, opened Nov. 9: The 2,300-seat concert venue will showcase about 150 performances annually. So far acts like alternative rocker Beck, hip-hop artist Lupe Fiasco and Latin alternative-reggaeton band Calle 13 have graced the stage.

Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge, opened Nov. 22: Mixing 18 lanes of bowling with a cool lounge atmosphere and a decent menu, the lanes attract a hip crowd to an old-school sport.

Lucky Strike also boasts a VIP suite called Luxe, pool tables, DJs and funky light displays.

ESPN Zone, opened Nov. 28: For those who can’t tear themselves away from the game for even a second, the two-floor restaurant will be a Mecca for sports fans. It features all things sports, with giants screens tuned to various games, a screening room and the Sportscenter Super Store.

Regal Cinemas, opens Nov. 2009: If the LED screens at Nokia Plaza aren’t broadcasting anything you like, then the 14-screen megaplex is just a few steps away.

Convention Center Hotel, opens early 2010: The 54-story tower will feature an 878-room JW Marriott hotel, a 123room Ritz-Carlton hotel and 224 Ritz-Carlton condominiums, with prices from $1 million-$10 million.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

photo by Gary Leonard

Lucky Strike Lanes and Lounge brings bowling and beverages to Downtown Los Angeles.

Introducing Medici...

In The Heart of The City

New Zealand Natural Ice Cream, opens Dec. 1: It will be easy to cool off at the shop selling ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbets, smoothies and shakes. It’s one of the first New Zealand Ice Cream shops to open in the country.

The Conga Room, opens Dec. 4: Often called the House of Blues of Latin Music, the 15,000-square-foot nightclub/ restaurant will focus on Latin music like salsa and rock en Español, and will mix in occasional R&B, jazz and soul.

The Grammy Museum, opens Dec. 6: The museum features four floors of permanent and traveling music exhibits. Also on tap are educational and public programs with films, lectures and performances.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, opens Dec. 8: The steakhouse is well known among meat lovers, but don’t overlook the Fleming’s 100, which offers 100 wines by the glass.

Lawry’s Carvery, opens Dec. 15: The deli specializes in quick meals. Orders can be placed over the phone and picked up.

The Farm of Beverly Hills, opens Dec. 15: Serving three solid meals a day, the restaurant showcases farm-fresh products and features an indoor/outdoor fireplace, a bar, patio and a private dining room that holds 25 people.

Yard House, opens Dec. 21: Known for its extensive selection of beer and yard-long drinks, the bar and eatery also features classic rock music and even a transparent keg for those who want to make sure they know what they’re drinking.

ESPN West Coast Headquarters, opens early 2009: The cable sports giant will house its Los Angeles production center at L.A. Live and will broadcast numerous events from its Downtown television and radio studios.

Rock ’N Fish, opens Jan. 2009: First opened in Manhattan Beach, this restaurant is an ideal place for seafood lovers, with fresh catches delivered daily. They also serve steaks for the land lovers.

Katsuya, opens spring 2009: Master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi brings his culinary talents to L.A. Live in this Japanese restaurant. The chef is partnering with designer Phillippe Starck.

Expect a classic menu featuring signature dishes like sesame tuna cones and spicy albacore sashimi.

Trader Vic’s, opens spring 2009: The tiki temple enjoys a second life in Downtown Los Angeles. Expect live entertainment, signature drinks and, of course, that famous decor and atmosphere.

Wolfgang Puck Bar and Grill, opens spring 2009: The famed chef brings his name and familiar fare to a new restaurant. Puck is teaming with designer Tony Chi to create a modern bar and grill serving signature items like smoked salmon pizza and a grilled prime burger.

Rosa Mexicana, opens spring 2009: The Mexican Rose origi-

M W

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20 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com

Last Minute Office Parties

I

t’s almost never too late to plan a holiday party.

Really. Even today, you can make a successful event happen, whether you want it to take place tomorrow or Dec. 24.

The later it is, however, the more flexibility you need.

Los Angeles Downtown News spoke with four Downtown restaurant and party planning experts on the secrets to making a last-minute office party seem like one you’ve been putting your heart and soul into for months. We asked each of them the same 10 question to get advice on everything from menus to alcohol. While their answers differed, they all agreed that, if you’re willing to be open, you can make it work.

photo by Gary Leonard

Ten Tips For Holiday Parties

Saved by the Planner Point Moorea Adds a Tiki Touch to Last-Minute Events

by Richard Guzmán city editor

W

ith so many parties under their belts and experience handling last-minute situations, the staff at Point Moorea can make an event go off without a hitch even if planning starts as late as the day before, said Sara Storrie, general manager of the lounge in the Wilshire Grand Hotel.

With a tiki-inspired theme and space for 300 people, along with VIP rooms, the lounge is one of the most popular spots to throw holiday parties in the hotel. Storrie let Downtown News in on some of her secrets.

1: With so little time before the holidays, how can you pull off a successful last-minute party?

Sara Storrie: My staff is so accustomed to working these parties and we’re so accustomed to booking them we just knock them out. All we need is a phone call for booking and we can make it work.

2: If you’ve waited this long, what is the key to making it work? Do you have to give some flexibility, lose some things you may have wanted?

A: It’s not too late; you really don’t have to give up anything. You can book a DJ, get a room rental, staff it. We can order all the alcohol, we can be completely prepared last-minute. If someone were to book even a day before we can arrange it.

3: With the economy tumbling and budgets limit-

ed, what can you do to have a fun office party while still watching costs?

A: It depends. If it’s a hosted bar and you’re taking care of all the bar costs we can restrict that to just beer and wine. Usually we try to book the party, get them in the door and if that means waiving a room rental fee or giving them — usually I don’t do happy hour appetizer prices for parties, but if they’re not going to book because of the appetizer prices, then I’ll give them those. I’ll work with them, if they’re a budget-conscious group, to get the party through the door. There’s a lot of flexibility.

4: At this late point, is a full party realistic, or should someone be aiming for a holiday luncheon?

A: You can still do either. For us that’s the luxury of being in a hotel. We can get the food from the bar menu, which is traditional bar food like buffalo wings, quesadillas, popcorn shrimp, or we can go through the banquet department, which has an extensive menu of appetizers and full dinner buffets. Either is still a possibility, it just depends on the budget of the group and what they want to have.

5: What kind of food comes off best?

A: For a holiday party it can be anything from the banquet or the bar. Bar food is great. We serve platters with a variety of six appetizers per platter, so there are about 20 servings, and we can do 20 of those platters for 100 people and that will satisfy all the guests so they’ll have something to eat while they drink.

6: How should you prepare for vegetarians?

A: For vegetarians you can always have salads on the menus or cheese quesadillas. Companies can assume we have that and we can work with them.

7: What suggestions do you have regarding alcohol service at an office party?

A: I always prefer a hosted bar. People drink more if they don’t have to pay for it.

8: At this point in the game, are formal invitations required, or is an email okay?

A: Either is fine. If they want to send out an evite, inter-office is fine. If they have more time and they send out something via the postal service, that’s more conservative and elegant. But either one would suffice.

Continued on next page

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December 1, 2008

Last Minute Office Parties

Throw One More on the Grille photo courtesy of Pacific Grille

There’s Still Room to Party at the Pacific Grille

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

A

lthough prime days may be booked up for holiday parties, it’s never too late to throw a good event if you know what you want, said Aileen Watanabe, owner of Pacific Grille.

The Financial District establishment caters to a mostly business crowd, but has a friendly, decidedly non-corporate vibe.

They are also used to hosting office parties, and as long as you can dictate a list of your wishes, Watanabe said it’s never too late to make them come true.

Continued from previous page 9: Dress up or casual attire?

A: For us either one is fine; we’re a very casual bar. It’s a classy place but we don’t have a restrictive dress code as far as sneakers or jeans or anything like that.

People can come as they please.

10: When should I have started to plan this?

A: The ideal time is 10 to 14 days in advance.

Point Moorea in the Wilshire Grand Hotel is at 930 Wilshire Blvd., (213) 8335100 or wilshiregrand.com.

Contact Richard Guzmán at richard@downtownnews.com.

1: With so little time before the holidays, how can you pull off a successful last-minute party?

Aileen Watanabe: There’s still time, just call me. All I need is the budget, the time, the day and what they want and everything else is pretty much done with us.

Availability-wise, our Thursdays and Fridays are booked up, but if they want to do it on a Monday or Tuesday and they call me preferably the week before, we can pull it off.

2: If you’ve waited this long, what is the key to making it work? Do you have to give some flexibility, lose some things you may have wanted?

A: Not really. Last year we got a call the day before and it was done. It may be that you don’t get the day you want and you’ll have to settle with a day that is open with

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us. Food-wise, no, that’s easy; anything can be done.

3: With the economy tumbling and budgets limited, what can you do to have a fun office party while still watching costs?

A: We have noticed a lot of companies change from having dinners to lunches.

We have a lot of lunch parties in house and off site, even cocktail parties. We also do off-site catering, so a lot of firms are hiring us for the food and the staffing but they’re taking care of the bar, so they’re saving a lot of money. They’ll bring their own drinks and that saves them a lot.

4: At this late point, is a full party realistic, or should someone be aiming for a holiday luncheon?

A: A full party is still definitely a realistic goal. We’ve worked with all sorts of budgets. Our dates didn’t start filling up until last week, so you can really still choose what you want.

5: What kind of food comes off best?

A: Appetizers and easy servable stuff. We usually do a buffet. You have to make it a “get it and go” kind of thing so that people aren’t in front of the food. Things seem more casual this year. I know some companies have laid off people so it’s kind of hard to celebrate, but companies still need to appreciate their employees.

6: How should you prepare for vegetarians?

Downtown News 21

A: That’s pretty easy — we have a lot of vegetarian items. Usually about 10% of your food should be vegetarian. We have our regular customers and firms and we know some of them are vegetarians, so we’ll have stuff they want. And it never goes to waste because meat eaters also like the vegetarian options.

7: What suggestions do you have regarding alcohol service at an office party?

A: I think just having beer and wine is fine.

I know this year is more of a beer and wine crowd. If I were to throw a party for my staff I would limit it to beer and wine, but if someone wanted a martini or a margarita, I would probably end up picking up the check.

8: At this point in the game, are formal invitations required, or is an email okay?

A: I love sending out invitations, actual invitations. I think it’s more personal and a lot nicer. I think the evite thing, people can look and forget. But sending out a nice invitation would be my choice.

9: Dress up or casual attire?

A: I love to dress up, so dress up. Not black tie or evening gown, but dressy. It makes it more special.

10: When should I have started to plan this?

A: As soon as possible. I had some people call me and book our first few nights back in June.

Pacific Grille is at 601 S. Figueroa St., (213) 485-0927 or pacific-grille.com.

Contact Richard Guzman at richard@downtownnews.com

22 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

Last Minute Office Parties

Make It Special

doing that lately. Or opt for a buffet instead of a sit-down dinner. You can also just do appetizers and platters, as opposed to, again, a sit-down dinner.

J Restaurant Has Advice on Everything From Food to Dress photo courtesy of J Restaurant & Lounge

by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR

I

1: With so little time before the holidays, how can you pull off a successful last-minute party?

Malinda Riesberg: My first thought would be just to call a restaurant or venue, some place that is used to putting on these sort of things. They already have the decor done, the food, the drink, it’s all there for you. It’s a one-stop shop.

2: If you’ve waited this long, what is the

key to making it work? Do you have to give some flexibility, lose some things you may have wanted?

A: Definitely. I think a lot of times the people that are the early planners tend to get the prime dates. At this point you’ll probably have to have it on, say, a Wednesday as opposed to a Saturday.

3: With the economy tumbling and budgets limited, what can you do to have a fun office party while still watching costs?

A: Little things like, instead of providing a full open bar, maybe do one or two drinks per person. I’ve noticed a lot of people

LA Downtown News_2811107_2 11/13/08 2:55:29 PM - 1 -

5: What kind of food comes off best?

A: Being that it’s the holiday season, comfort food is generally expected. Also, a lot of times holiday parties are in the evening, when people are normally going home for dinner, so usually heavy comfort food will keep them there longer.

6: How should you prepare for vegetarians?

A: You at least have to have an option there.

Definitely ask to see if the kitchen can prepare something or at least have the option ready.

You can also do simple things like putting out crudités or putting out a salad option. It’s always something that should be thought about.

7: What suggestions do you have regarding alcohol service at an office party?

A: A lot of times it depends on the company.

There are certain companies that have strict policies. From what I’ve noticed, especially with the economy, it works very well to have

8: At this point in the game, are formal invitations required, or is an email okay?

A: I think email invites are plenty sufficient.

Formal invitations are nice, but an email invitation does the trick and it helps you keep your cost down.

9: Dress up or casual attire?

A: I think that, for the most part, with holiday company parties people tend to want to dress up. They want the reason to go out.

Maybe try a business-casual thing, but I don’t think completely casual will make the party feel like it’s a special event or a party.

It won’t promote in their heads that it’s a special event.

10: When should I have started to plan this?

A: I get a lot of people who started planning their party immediately after the one last year.

But a month or two out, when people are starting to get in the holiday season frame of mind, is probably when you should book a date at the very least.

J Restaurant & Lounge is at 1119 S. Olive St., (213) 746-7746 or jloungela.com.

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

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f you are still planning your holiday party, flexibility is a must, especially when it comes to scheduling, said Malinda Riesberg, who coordinates special events at South Park’s J Restaurant & Lounge. Hoping for a weekend party, but haven’t booked a venue yet? It’s probably too late, she said.

But once you find a place and a date, there’s at least one detail you can control: attire. Riesberg recommends specifying a dress code to signify that the event is special.

4: At this late point, is a full party realistic, or should someone be aiming for a holiday luncheon?

A: As long as there’s some flexibility with the date or even with the time, there are a lot of restaurants and venues where if you get creative you can probably pull off a full holiday party.

just beer and wine hosted. And also what’s fun is asking the bar to come up with signature cocktails and give them names related to your company. That’s a good way to tie the party into the company and it’s also a little conversation starter.

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Downtown News 23

Last Minute Office Parties

photo courtesy of L.A. Prime Restaurant

Catering to the Audience Westin Bonaventure Hotel Offers a Customizable Menu and a Variety of Spaces

by Anna Scott

have a good idea of what you’re looking for and what you’re willing to spend.

staff writer

T

he Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in the Financial District is not only Downtown Los Angeles’ largest hotel, it also offers a plethora of options for last-minute holiday parties. With party rooms ranging from 1,200 to 26,000 square feet, plus the 34thfloor revolving BonaVista cocktail lounge and the L.A. Prime steakhouse on the 35th floor available for private affairs, the Bonaventure can accommodate almost any size gathering.

And, as the hotel’s director of catering sales, Yvonne Chang, tells us, almost any menu.

1: With so little time before the holidays, how can you pull off a successful last-minute party?

Yvonne Chang: I would say be flexible with your dates, know the number of people you’re looking to have and really know your budget so you can make decisions quickly and get the most bang for your buck.

2: If you’ve waited this long, what is the key to making it work? Do you have to give some flexibility, lose some things you may have wanted?

A: When you take a look at your budget, give the hotel a good idea of what you want to spend and see what they can customize. That way, you’re not looking at pages and pages of menus. Anything’s possible as long as you

3: With the economy tumbling and budgets limited, what can you do to have a fun office party while still watching costs?

A: You could ask what decorations the hotel may include as part of the package. Also, hotels are usually dressed up nicely on the exterior and in their public lobby spaces for the holidays, so that can add to the party as well.

We provide a holiday tree or wreath in every room. We also have a gingerbread house in the lobby and an 18-foot Christmas tree. You don’t necessarily need a lot of decor to make it a fun holiday party.

4: At this late point, is a full party realistic, or should someone be aiming for a holiday luncheon?

A: You could absolutely do a full evening party right now. Going back to the budget, there could be a price difference, but it also depends on what is ordered. We do have some daytime parties that are as costly as evening events.

5: What kind of food comes off best?

A: You want to stay away from some things that are really common with regard to allergies, like nuts or meats that are less common.

Seafood too. Seafood and nuts are the largest allergies. We try to stick to beef or chicken for big parties. We don’t usually recommend veal or lamb because of the number of objections.

8: At this point in the game, are formal invitations required, or is an email okay?

A: I see more and more of our planners steering toward email because it’s a faster response time.

6: How should you prepare for vegetarians?

A: We always offer a vegetarian option.

Usually, you’ll find it’s about 3% of your group. We do a roasted vegetable timbale with a tomato fondue. We also do a really nice wild mushroom ravioli.

Because we’re such a large property, we do accommodate all different types of requests. For example, we have a kosher kitchen for anyone who wants their food prepared kosher.

9: Dress up or casual attire?

A: It depends on the company. We see mostly business casual attire, but we do have our share of very high-end black-tie events. Usually the black-tie events are on Saturday nights.

7: What suggestions do you have regarding alcohol service at an office party?

A: It depends on the policies of the company. A lot of companies will only allow two or three drinks per person for liability reasons, but also it comes down to the overall budget of the event.

10: When should I have started to plan this?

A: I would say about maybe six weeks ago.

You need to make menu selections and decor selections, and usually holiday parties for companies are put together by committee. You need to plan a couple of times for the committee to get together, so our usual recommendation is six weeks.

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites is at 404 S. Figueroa St., (213) 624-4808.

Contact Anna Scott at anna@downtownnews.com

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24 Downtown News

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It’s the Season to Give Make a Difference With a Little Spare Change

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ince this is the holiday season, we feel that the foremost need most people have is for food and shelter.

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Thought provoking news deserves thoughts.

Give us yours.

DowntownNews.com Now with reader comments.

We quickly recognized that providing shelter is beyond our means, but food is not. Therefore, after being inspired by a letter from our youngest daughter, Stephanie Rudolph, we have placed a five-gallon water jug in our store to collect change for that purpose.

We will add 10% to all that is collected and submit it to a local food bank that is located in Downtown Los Angeles with a provision that all of the money must go toward buying food.

We also encourage other businesses and organizations to start thinking in these terms.

What has made America great is that people have always pulled together during times of difficulty. We believe that all of you will agree we are certainly at a crossroads in our nation’s history. We also ask you to spread this idea. It’s a very simple idea that could go a long way in alleviating the problem that is rampant in our country.

Thank you for participating with us in this ongoing process. We know that this sounds simple, but we feel that the simplicity of it will make it work.

We will also post the amounts and the name of the food bank in future newsletters.

This is the letter from our daughter that inspired the food drive: Dear Friends and Family: I am writing this letter because the economic, political and social climate of our country has made me feel help-

less and hopeless, and I am tired of feeling like there is nothing I can do.

I was talking to my sister and she was telling me about a program called “Pennies for Peace,” based on the book Three Cups of Tea, and how her child’s school is collecting money to help support this charity.

Living in a society where many of us feel there is so little we can do to make a difference, I started thinking about this idea of pennies. There are so many needs in our own cities, communities, states and country. What if every school, community center, religious establishment, business, and the like started collecting spare change to donate to specific needs of our own communities and/or nation? So much attention goes to well deserved needs outside of America, but so few grass roots efforts are made where even the

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Downtown News 25

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for Better HealtH youngest child can make an effort to feel like they are doing something to make their community and country a better place to be.

So I am sending this letter out to all of you as a challenge. I am working to start a grass roots effort called “Communities for Change.” I wonder what kind of difference it would make both locally and globally if each of us were an ambassador to a specific targeted community working with schools and any other local establishment you wanted to include, helping them target a charity or need near and dear to them as a community, and then set up a water jug or other container where the students, parents, teachers, neighbors and other affiliates drop spare change into it every day for a specified number of weeks or months.

Once the money is collected, we will work with a bank in the area willing to count the money, waiving any fees attached to bringing in bulk change, and then have the district, business or religious establishment write a check to the chosen cause.

This is not a fundraiser and money collected shouldn’t go to specific needs of a school or other money-raising establishment. Those needs should come from the PTA, organizational board or other specific fundraisers.

This is more based on the idea of pay it forward, collecting money for a more global cause, making our communities, state and country a better place to live.

It is just a thought, but if you ponder it for a bit, and start doing calculations in your head about how much spare change you take in a week that goes into a bowl, mug or dresser drawer, rarely to be touched, and you combine that with other families in your neighborhood, could this amount to some significant change? It would certainly be an interesting experiment.

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26 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com

OLIDAYS HOPPING H No Chimney?

No Problem Downtown Stores Have a Variety of Toys That Will Make the Kids Feel All Right

by RichaRd Guzmán city editoR

T

here may not be many chimneys in Downtown Los Angeles for Santa to climb down on Christmas Eve, but that doesn’t mean local babies and children will be left out of the holiday gift bonanza.

Here are a few places where you can shop for gifts for the tots.

1) I Pity the Toy: Mr. G’s for Toys in Macy’s Plaza has nearly everything for every age, from Barbies to Hot Wheels to crafts. For the wee ones (under a year), the store offers choices such as the Busy Bee Discovery Flower ($34.99), which looks like a flower with bees that the baby can open and close all day long. To help entertain and calm down those in the terrible twos range, the store offers the Baby’s First Music Set ($24.99), which includes a CD, as well as lots of things that make noise and that your baby

can hit. It may be a loud gift, but it’s better than hearing them cry. At 750 W. Seventh St., (213) 688-7512 or mrgstoyscatalog.com.

2) Hip Baby: Downtown babies may be young, but they have to be fashion forward, so My Blankee, a Hill Street store that sells plush hypoallergenic blankets, robes, hooded towels, bedding and seat covers is a good place to shop. The designs can be funky with leopard and other animal prints, or traditional with soft colors like light blue and pink. Everything at My Blankee can be custom designed, meaning you can choose different materials and mix the prints. There’s also a celeb quotient, as the store lists celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani and Tori Spelling as customers. At 742 S. Hill St., (213) 955-4516 or myblankeeinc.com.

3) Mega Deals: Downtown has several toy distributors, but most are closed to the public.

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Mr. G’s for Toys in Macy’s Plaza is one of a handful of Downtown shops where you can find gifts for babies and kids.

Megatoys is, happily, the exception. The store has a factory in China and manufactures and imports its own toys, which it distributes from its Second Street location. The warehouse is open to the public and the prices are significantly lower than mainstream stores.

They have everything from dolls to kidsized furniture. No matter what age or what your child’s favorite toy is, chances are, in a warehouse full of toys, you’ll find something for him or her. At 905 E. Second St., (213) 6171353 or megatoys.com

with a flying unicorn (a toy unicorn, in case you’re wondering). At 409 Wall St., (213) 613-0468.

5) Cuddly and Safe: When Santa’s helpers are busy in the North Pole, Downtown resident Karine Silverton, a designer for local plush toy company Moncalin, steps in to help with a few handmade toys of her own. The soft creations, which are only sold online at moncalin.com, include kid-friendly animals and blankets. The items, which start at about $75, are produced in Silverton’s Downtown studio with materials purchased in the Fashion District, and safety and cuddliness are priorities.

“We design everything with safe fabrics and stuffing,” Silverton said, adding that there are no beads or buttons on the toys and each is made with hypoallergenic materials. Another selling point is the items appear cartoonish and friendly. They also can take the rough treatment kids dish out. “You can drag them by the arms, the ears; they’re very easy to carry around and they’re machine washable.” At moncalin.com.

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4) A World of Toys: Bargains are everywhere in the Toy District, where mom and pop shops offer low, low prices. Some of the best deals can be found at Victory Toys, a small wholesale business that is also open to the public. The store sells everything from cars to tea sets to educational toys, said manager Jeff Tsai, with discounts that could mean a 50% savings over other stores. Tsai said one of the most popular items for older kids this year is a remote-controlled helicopter ($19.50), while hot baby gifts include LegoFruit Sundae type building blocks ($2.50). A big seller for girls is Geni the doll Fruit ($6), which comes Sundae

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Downtown News 27

CALENDAR

Behind the Music At the Grammy Museum, The Recording Studio Is the Star

by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR

Y

ou’ve heard of Herbie Hancock, but who’s Larry Klein?

Amy Winehouse probably rings a bell too, but what about Mark Ronson?

Recording professionals and music diehards know Klein and Ronson as widely successful producers, treasured in the industry for the work they do behind the sonic scenes.

But the curators of the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, which opens Sunday, Dec. 6, have turned that paradigm on its head. While the venue showcases plenty of artifacts related to the awards show and its recipients, the museum is just as much a celebration of the creative and scientific path to the golden gramophone, said Ken Viste, the museum’s chief curator.

“We’ve underestimated, I think, how important recording is,” Viste said. “At least in the modern age, recording isn’t just somebody sitting down with a live mic and just going for it like a live performance. There’s a craft to it. You create a record. You create a fixed performance in time and we want not only to demystify that but help you learn about it.”

Bob Santelli, the new venue’s executive director, knows a thing or two about music museums. He was a curator at Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the mid-1990s and, more recently, helped run the Experience Music Project in Seattle.

With the $34 million Grammy Museum, which took more than two years to plan and compile, Santelli was looking to create something different from those venues and the other major American music museum, the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

The other venues focus more on artifacts like Jimi Hendrix’s guitar or Bob Dylan’s notebooks scrawled with lyrics. The Grammy Museum pays tribute to American music heroes with artifacts too: Items include Luciano Pavarotti’s concert jacket, Miles Davis’ trumpet and Elvis Presley’s family Bible, among others.

But in the Grammy Museum, technology

and information trump memorabilia.

“I wanted to have artifacts, but iconic ones, and I wanted to have technology and make this place an active experiential place especially for young people,” Santelli said.

A long table with a touch-screen surface known as the “Crossroads Table” greets guests in the first gallery, which is on the top floor of the museum (visitors progress from top to bottom). The machine is essentially a vast, digital catalogue of American music, organized by genres.

Museum-goers can put on headphones and, using a finger, navigate among audio examples and educational text on genres from Blues and Jazz to Krautrock, Skiffle and Intelligent Dance Music. There are 160 genres in all.

“This was an opportunity to do a very quick but deep, substantial overview of the depth and diversity of American music and its related roots and ethnic music forms,” Santelli said.

Other exhibits include a series of smaller touch-screen monitors that invite viewers to study key moments in American music history by geography. By tapping certain cities, the viewer brings up information about key musical decades in that locale. From the Newport Jazz Festival in 1950s Rhode Island to the explosion of Southern rap from artists like Outkast in 1990s Atlanta, there’s a vast amount of research at the touch of one’s finger.

The use of technology has impressed Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of L.A. Live developer Anschutz Entertainment Group, who called the Grammy Museum the “best space in the district” partly because it reinvents museums.

“Museums in the minds of people, especially kids, are places where you go look at something on a wall,” Leiweke said. “The Grammy Museum is completely interactive, very educational and I believe for kids is going to be an incredible experience…. I think it’s going to shock people.”

The Making of a Grammy The museum’s second floor dives into the

photo by Gary Leonard

Grammy Museum Chief Curator Ken Viste at a recording studio in which visitors can get tips from experts. One exhibit allows museum-goers to receive hip-hop instruction from producer Jermaine Dupri.

science of recording, tracing the evolution from Thomas Edison’s earliest recording and playback equipment to the latest 5.1 surround sound systems.

One listening booth plays recordings of songs, such as Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” as if they were originally recorded on a wax cylinder, then a shellac 78, a vinyl album, an 8-track, a cassette, on up through the iPod. The progression shows the steady improvement in fidelity over the years, or at least until the iPod, which plays mostly compressed digital audio files that chop off higher and lower frequencies.

“The iPod is an important part of our culture, but you have to understand it’s not perfect because it has compressed music,” Santelli said.

“We want to remind listeners that when you really have a serious piece of music that you want to listen to, you want to sit down with a serious piece of equipment that will give you the best potential of hearing it in its richest highs and lowest lows.”

The museum also includes 80 interviews with songwriters and producers about the creative process. One gallery features original short films that, using interviews with the artists and producers, document the life of recordings like the “The River,” Herbie Hancock’s jazz take on the Joni Mitchell song, and Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel.”

The bottom floor includes a tribute to the Grammy itself. A small gallery details everything from the history of the awards show to the individual who hand-makes the trophies in Ridgeway, Col. The Grammy Museum is at 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite A245, and is open from 10 a.m-6 p.m. Monday-Sunday. Admission is $14.95 for adults; $11.95 for senior citizens and students with ID; and $10.95 for children.

Members and children 5 and under are admitted free. Information at (213) 765-6800 or grammymuseum.org.

Contact Ryan Vaillancourt at ryan@downtownnews.com.

I Rap, Therefore I Am

D

photo by Gary Leonard

Bob Santelli, executive director of the Grammy Museum, with a collection of microphones. The $34 million South Park facility uses various exhibits to trace the evolution of recording technology.

uring a pre-opening visit to the Grammy Museum, I found myself making a rap record with famed hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri, in his personal studio at the museum.

Sort of.

The museum floor dedicated to the recording process holds eight listening stations featuring lessons from producers, engineers and artists. But in Dupri’s “studio,” where he talks to visitors via a flat-screen television, the lesson goes beyond how-to. If you step into this sonic laboratory, you’re not walking out until you make some music.

Less than a minute after entering, Dupri plays me a song, “Stepped on My J’s,” by rapper Nelly.

“Familiarize yourself with all the parts,” Dupri tells me, as I fiddle with a small touch-screen that allows me to adjust the sound levels of the vocals, backup vocals, bass, drums and melody. I’m hardly familiar with the track, but with the help of a karaoke-style lyric prompter, I’m soon nodding my head and rapping along. I do one take, the “scratch,” and Dupri is not impressed. My cadence was off and I was clearly a little timid.

But Dupri is encouraging enough, even if it’s by way of a prerecorded message that thousands of others will also hear.

Always be confident when coming into the studio, he tells me, and “learn your part first.”

—Ryan Vaillancourt

28 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com

photo by Christopher Burke

Artist, Heal Thyself MOCA Show Is a Rare Window Into the Life of Louise Bourgeois

by Kirk Silsbee

S

ome artists are spoken of and revered, though their work doesn’t circulate widely. For many a seasoned art observer, the oeuvre of 97-year-old Louise Bourgeois is one they know through books and magazines, rather than through intimate encounter. This is partly because the scale of her pieces forbids casual showings. Another factor is their originality, which often preclude facile placement in theme shows.

A rare, traveling retrospective of Bourgeois’ work is cur-

© Louise Bourgeois, photo by Raimon Ramis

“Couple IV” (top right) is one of the works on display in a retrospective of 97-year-old Louise Bourgeois. (above) Bourgeois appears with her 1970 marble sculpture “Eye to Eye.”

rently housed at MOCA Grand Avenue, and continues at the Downtown Los Angeles space through Jan. 25. It’s the first local all-Bourgeois show in memory and is a good opportunity to explore a major artist who has quietly operated outside of the art world’s spotlight.

Bourgeois is very forthright in her work. A Janus-like dichotomy permeates much of her art. Surfaces, shapes, colors and textures are often warm, sensual and inviting. Yet they can also be connected to something so personal, so confessional and so internal as to be profoundly discomfiting. There is much to admire in this well-assembled show, yet it often comes at a squishy price to the viewer.

The Paris-reared Bourgeois is from a family whose heritage is steeped in craft. Her father’s family was involved in stonemasonry and carving; her mother’s were fabric artisans and restorers. (Both of these traditions surface repeatedly in the work, and in many cases, unexpectedly.) The 10-year affair that her father had with the family’s live-in nanny has given Bourgeois enough emotional turmoil and material to process for a lifetime. Her long history as an artist (the earliest pieces in this grouping date to the late 1940s) can be seen as self-therapy. Still very active as an artist (though the newer work is clearly executed by facilitators), Bourgeois appears to be processing to this day.

Her work has traversed many styles over the years, and encompassed many sets of materials. The early, Parisian drawings and paintings come out of the surrealist tradition. A suite of nine engravings, “He Disappeared into Complete Silence” (1947-50), share a linear simplicity with Max Ernst and nod to the structure of de Chirico. Buildings, specifically houses, are a recurring motif in her work. The concept of enclosure runs through Bourgeois’ entire output. Feminine forms insinuate themselves onto houses, creating hybrid architecture. “Femme Maison” (1947) is a drawing that grafts a woman’s hips and legs onto an elevated building.

Legs, too, often resurface — always spindly and unsure.

Art Deco, and the polished surfaces of sculptor Constantin Brancusi (whom she met in 1950) are a profound influence.

Bourgeois’ marble pieces almost always have smooth surfaces on voluptuous shapes, suggesting both male and female. “Na-

courtesy Cheim & Read, Galerie Karsten Greve, and Hauser & Wirth;

ture Study” (1984-94), with its swelling and repeated breast shapes, suggests an emergence at the top and a retreat on the bottom. A black marble display of spherical projections invites touch like few other inanimate objects.

A quietly arresting part of the show is a raised platform of standing totems. They invoke both the primitive and the ultramoderne. The forms are vertical, minimal in detail and on a human scale. A stack of painted wood pieces casting an elegant contour is illuminated by its title, “Femme Volage” (“Fickle Woman”). One sleek, black figure shows a smart reinterpretation of African sculpture.

The show doesn’t move chronologically; it begins with a recent large installation of a room-size spider. Steel legs encompass a mesh cage with household objects inside and suspended as if from a web. Bourgeois finds something cozy about the forbidding. Other installations are bedrooms, which can only be viewed through cracked doors and mirrors. Freud would have a field day with this work.

Bourgeois once told an interviewer, “I am unable to hide my fears or my frustrations. I become violent, and suffer like a devil afterwards because I am so ashamed of myself.… And the sculpture undoes the guilt.”

We often hear that art can save lives, and this one almost surely was saved by it.

Louise Bourgeois continues at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., through Jan. 25, 2009. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thurs.; 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sat.-Sun., (213) 626-6222 or moca.org.

“Hail-A-Taxi” Program begins December 8, 2008

Anytime, Anywhere Downtown* (Except Bus Zones) Be Safe – DON’T Step into the Street Short Trips are OK • Be Green!

Don’t Drink and Drive Downtown is a Big Place, so Hail-A-Taxi!

DowntownLA.com

www.downtownla.com

www.lacity.org

*Expect to see most taxis cruising on MAJOR streets within the following boundaries: Temple Street on the north, 12th Street on the south, 110 Freeway on the west and Main Street on the east

December 1, 2008

Downtown News 29

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LISTINGS The

EVENTS SponSored LiSting FIDM Trunk Show FIDM Museum Shop, 919 S. Grand Ave., (213) 624-1200 or fidm.edu.

Dec. 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Tired of the same stores for your holiday shopping? More than 30 alumni designers from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising will offer a wide array of jewelry, scarves, accessories, jeans, quilts, handbags and other gifts at the school’s Museum Shop. The annual “Trunk Show” is one day only.

List

December Kicks off With Dancing, Flowers and More

by AnnA Scott, StAff writer

1

Tuesday, dec. 2 Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org.

Noon-2 p.m.: Acoustic music from Zephro.

Live Figure Drawing Downtown Art Gallery, 1611 S. Hope St., (213) 2552067 or downtownag.com.

7:30-10:30 p.m.: Downtown Art Gallery hosts a live figure drawing session for $12 every Tuesday.

Contact gallery prior to attending and bring your own materials.

A 28-year holiday tradition continues Saturday, Dec. 6, as Los Angeles Master Chorale Music Director Grant Gershon conducts a sing-along of the Chorale’s Messiah. But most of the Grammy-winning chorus won’t be there. Instead, the 7:30 p.m. event at Walt Disney Concert Hall will feature the audience as choir (though four professionals from the Chorale will sing the solos — whew!). Tickets are $24-$78, but group rates are available, so rally up some friends or co-workers to help belt it out. It can’t possibly be any more embarrassing than last year’s karaoke office party. A second sing-along will take place Monday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (800) 787-5262 or lamc.org. photo by Gerald S. Ackerman

Monday, dec. 1 Zero Film Festival Various Downtown locations, zerofilmfest.com The Zero Film Festival kicks off Monday and runs through Dec. 6 with dozens of independent film screenings at the Downtown Independent theater and various warehouse spaces. The festival focuses on a critical yet traditionally ignored niche in the independent film community: exclusively self-financed, zero budget films from filmmakers all over the world. For schedule and film information, visit zerofilmfest.com.

In 1928, dance legend George Balanchine completed his signature ballet, set to composer Igor Stravinsky’s Apollo. Fiftyfour years later, choreographer David Gordon re-imagined the piece, using the same music for a dance inspired by conversations overheard in a New York subway. In case you missed it in 1982, Gordon is bringing back his “anti-signature” work, Trying Times, for a five-night run at the REDCAT theater. The performances, which begin Wednesday, Dec. 3, mark the first time in Gordon’s 40-plus year career that he has restaged one of his early works.

The show runs through Sunday, Dec. 7. REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., (213) 237-2800 or redcat.org.

Wednesday, dec. 3 Think Green Fashion Show Versus nightclub, 618 S. Spring St., (213) 251-3636 or artinstitutes.edu.

9 p.m.: With the theme “Think Green,” students of The Art Institute of California-Hollywood, partnered with Versus nightclub, are hosting a nontraditional runway show featuring seven designers who have donated collections of their work made entirely of eco-friendly materials. All proceeds will benefit the Miguel Rocha, Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o EDMC Education Foundation.

2

3

During an economic downturn, the holidays are a time to get creative. In the Flower District, you can find decorations, gifts or personal pick-meups all in one place — and for wholesale prices, if you know where to go.

Find out Saturday, Dec. 6, by taking a Flower District Tour sponsored by Descanso Gardens. The tour will walk participants through various vendors and provide tips on selecting the freshest florals, how to properly cut flowers and where to shop for vases and other accessories to punch up your bouquets. To reserve a spot and receive a map of the tour, call (818) 949-7980 by Nov. 28.

photo by Gary Leonard

Thursday, dec. 4 NFL in Los Angeles Los Angeles Athletic Club, 431 W. 7th St., (213) 6252211 or laac.net.

11:30 a.m.: The Los Angeles Athletic Club Leaders Luncheon Series features Majestic Realty Co.’s John Semcken and Reon Roski, who will give the same presentation that the company gave to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about bringing a franchise to Majestic’s proposed Los Angeles venue.

Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org.

Noon-2 p.m.: Singer songwriter Mike Schmid entertains.

Thursdays at Central Central Library, 630 W. 5th St., Meeting Room A, (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org.

12:15-1 p.m.: Licensed pharmacist and certified health coach Christine Gonzalez discusses, “How to stay healthy when you travel.”

MOCA Grand Avenue MOCA, 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-1745 or moca.org.

7-10 p.m.: Arts collective Finishing School presents “Finding Joy,” in which participants build small DIY radios that will be used to detect prerecorded transmissions located throughout the museum. To generate audio content prior to the event, Finishing School will interview members of the MOCA community about what brings them joy. The public is also welcome to share their thoughts by phone. To participate, call the Finding Joy Hotline at (213) 4552926 and follow the instructions. Hors d’oeuvres and cash bar will be available.

Light of the Angels L.A. Live, Nokia Plaza, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 763-5483 or lalive.com.

7 p.m.: As part of the opening ceremonies for L.A. Live, the venue kicks of a free, nightly performance series called “Light of the Angels.” Blues rocker Keb Mo gets the party started with a free concert at 5:30 p.m., then at 7 p.m. the specially commissioned “Light of the Angels” production combines over one million Continued on page 30

‘Don't Miss’

4

This week, the Museum of Contemporary Art brings new meaning to the phrase “finding joy.” The phrase was originally World War II code for securing radio contact in the midst of battle. On Thursday, Dec. 4, from 7-10, MOCA Grand Avenue’s sculpture garden will be open to adventure-seeking members of the public, who are invited to build small radios and then use them to locate specially recorded transmissions that explore perceptions of joy. The event is part of a series of public art gatherings titled Engagement Party. Future Engagement Party events, to be presented in the Ahmanson Auditorium and other public spaces near MOCA, will coincide with the museum’s Free Thursdays extended hours and Downtown’s monthly Art Walk. MOCA Grand Avenue, 250 S. Grand Ave., (213) 626-6222 or moca.org,

5

Speaking of World War II, in honor of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the puppet theater production The Pink Dress, based on creator Leslie Kitashima-Gray’s mother’s experience in a Japanese-American internment camp, returns to Little Tokyo with two performances this weekend. The show, presented by the nonprofit Triumvirate Pi Theatre, features a variety of puppetry, including 3-foot tall bunraku puppets. The story focuses on a girl who eschews the drab green uniform required for junior high graduation in favor of, surprise, a pink dress. The show premiered at the Japanese American National Museum in 2005 and has since toured schools all over the county. This week’s performances will be Saturday, Dec. 6, at 2 p.m. at JANM, 369 E. First St., and Sunday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. at the Centenary United Methodist Church, 300 S. Central Ave. Contact JANM at (213) 625-0414, and CUMC at (213) 617-9097. photo courtesy of Japanese American National Museum

30 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

LADowntownNews.com

But Wait, There’s More!

Additional Event Information on the Web

DOWNTOWNNEWS.COM/LISTINGS : EVENTS | ROCK, POP & JAZZ | CLASSICAL MUSIC | THEATER, OPERA & DANCE ART SPACES | FILM | BARS & CLUBS | MUSEUMS | FARMERS MARKETS | TOURS

Listings Continued from page 29 lights, holiday music, 11 giant video screens, live performances and special guests. The show is free to the public with four nightly performances taking place on the hour beginning at 7 p.m. Through Dec. 31.

ALOUD at Central Library 630 W. 5th St., (213) 228-7241 or lapl.org.

7 p.m.: Mark Doty, Dana Goodyear and Timothy Steele—three distinctive voices in contemporary American poetry—read their work and engage in an informal group discussion on their craft with Robert N. Casper, programs director of the Poetry Society of America.

Friday, dec. 5 Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org.

8-10 p.m.: King Washington & Janks provide an alternative pop soundtrack.

Saturday, dec. 6 Weekend Recess for Grown-Ups Tolberman Recreation Center, 1725 Tolberman St., (213) 610-3233 or extremebootcamp.com.

10 a.m.-noon: Remember how much fun you had at recess in elementary school? Regain that feeling at this weekend adult recess in bouts of dodgeball, kickball, freeze-tag and handball. Hosted by Extreme Boot Camp, Downtown L.A. Every Saturday, except holiday weekends.

Bukowski Tour with Esotouric Meet at Philippe the Original 1001 N. Alameda Ave., (323) 223-2767 or esotouric.com.

Noon-4 p.m.: Offbeat bus tour company Esotouric rolls out its occasional Charles Bukowski bus tour, “Haunts of a Dirty Old Man.” The tour spans Bukowski’s personal city, from the Skid Row bars where he tuned his young writer’s ear to the voices of old rummies to the once-genteel Crown Hill apartments where he fought with his first love Jane.

Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org.

1 p.m.: A special kids program, with Gilli Moon and J Walker Skillz for Life at 1 p.m. and the Squee-

gees at 2 p.m.

Book Signing at Metropolis Metropolis Books,440 S. Main St., (213) 612-0174 or metropolisbooksla.com.

4 p.m.: Downtown Los Angeles Author Diana Leszczynski will sign her debut Children’s novel, “Fern Verdant and the Silver Rose.”

Old Bank District Holiday Party Corner of 4th and Main St. 6 p.m.-midnight: Downtown developer Gilmore Associates is holding the first annual Old Bank District Holiday Block Party, with a free evening bash under a new light installation and to the sounds of live music presented by Little Radio. Ten percent of all restaurant proceeds will be donated to participating local charities including Chrysalis, The Salvation Army and Midnight Mission, which will also be accepting toy donations. The event also includes a beer garden and art bazaar. Streets will be closed to vehicle traffic on 4th St. between Spring St. and Main St. as well as on Main St. between 4th St. and 5th St. (except for local residents and event parking).

Lucky 7 with Create:Fixate Premier Events Center, 613 Imperial St., (310) 590-7199 or createfixate.org.

7 p.m.-2 a.m.: Arts organization Create:Fixate will celebrate seven years of art and music at their anniversary event “Lucky 7.” The event will take place at the Premiere Events Center, where two large warehouses will be filled with artwork and music provided by more than 40 local artists, DJs and musicians. Parents are encouraged to bring the whole family between 4-7 p.m. and take advantage of the Kids Kreativity Zone, a supervised arts and crafts space for youth.

Sunday, dec. 7 Tour the LA Flower District Descanso Gardens, (818) 949-7980 or descansogardens.org 7 a.m.: Descanso Gardens is sponsoring a walking tour of the Flower District, where participants will learn about various vendors, how to select the freshest products, how to condition cut flowers and where to go for supplies. The major bonus is that participants will get wholesale prices. Pre-registration with Descanso Gardens required.

Sustainable Sunday Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Park Blvd., (213) 763-3532 or nhm.org.

10 a.m.-4 p.m.: The Natural History Museum has a full day of programming oriented around sustainability. Throughout the day local urban planner and community activist James Rojas’ “Building Sustainable L.A.” will be on display. At 12:30 p.m. Rojas will talk about Latino settlement patterns in the U.S. and at 2:30 p.m., biologist Robin Moore talks about the important role of frogs in documenting changes in the environment.

Swedish Christmas Fair Shrine Expo Center, 700 W. 32nd St., swea.org/losangeles.

10 a.m.-5 p.m.: For a taste and a touch of the true North this Christmas season, check out the 29th annual Swedish Christmas Fair. Experience an authentic Lucia Pageant with candles and joyous chorals, taste Swedish delicacies and staples of the traditional holiday smorgasbord and mingle around the timehonored watering hole, The Glögg-Bar. Exposition Park Chess Club Exposition Park Library, 3900 S. Western Ave., (323) 290-3113 or chess.expoparkla.com.

1 p.m.: The Exposition Park Chess Club hosts an open, free, unrated three-round chess tournament at the Exposition Park Library.

Ice Skating at Pershing Square 532 S. Olive St., laparks.org.

2-4 p.m.: The rink is open all day, with Swingin’ Ho-Dads performing their brand of swing tunes for two hours in the afternoon.

Drug Dogs and the Science of Smell California Science Center, 3rd Floor, 700 Exposition Park Dr., (213) 744-2019 or californiasciencecenter.org.

2-3 p.m.: Because a dog’s sense of smell is 50-100 times more powerful than our own, they play an important role in drug enforcement. Watch a drug dog demonstration and try to match their capabilities in a lively scavenger hunt.

ROCK, POP & JAZZ 2nd Street Jazz 366 E. Second St., (213) 680-0047, 2ndstjazz.com or myspace.com/2ndstreetlivejazz. Music usually starts at 9 or 10 p.m.

Tuesdays: Jazz jam session.

626 Reserve 626 S. Spring St., (213) 627-9800 or 626reserve.com.

20% OFF * Lunch Special Combinations with FREE ICE CREAM Starting at $5.95 & up

(213) 613-0100 Mexico

Bring Mexico a little closer to Donwtown LA

aurant t s e R a d a n Ense

BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER

KABOB/GYRO BUFFET

Daily Lunch Special $5.00 also w/FREE Ice Cream

313 E. 1st. St., L.A., CA 90012

Sushi & Japanese Food

Tuesdays, 6 p.m.: Live music with Goh Kurosawa.

Thursdays, 6 p.m.: More live sounds, this time with Jessie Torrez.

Bar 107 107 W. Fourth St., (213) 625-7382 or myspace.com/bar107.

Tuesdays: A classic island mix of reggae with attitude. Jah! Wednesdays: The world famous (or at least in L.A.) Bar 107 Karaoke Gong Show. Come join the fun and help the judges vote for the best act of the evening.

Sundays: DJ’s choice with 107’s Matt Dwyer, the comic-actor genius who plays music while serving the meanest drinks (in the nicest way) Downtown.

Blue Velvet 750 S. Garland Ave., (213) 239-0061.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 p.m.: Live music and DJs. Casey’s Irish Bar and Grill 613 S. Grand Ave., (213) 629-2353 or bigcaseys.com.

Fridays: Live Irish music.

Chop Suey Café 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 landmark.

Cicada Cicada Restaurant, 617 S. Olive St., (213) 488-9488 or cicadarestaurant.com.

Thursdays, 8-11 p.m.: The velvet-voiced Max Vontaine recreates the sounds and styles of rat packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. His smoking jackets and tunes are vintage; his bawdy repartee is less so. Keep a close eye on the unlit cigarette.

Sundays, 6-11 p.m.: The restaurant is transformed into a vintage, old Hollywood-style dance club every Sunday. Come out to appreciate the big band, swank costumes, dinner and cocktails. Visit cicadaclub.com.

Club Nokia Corner of Olympic Blvd. and Figueroa St., clubnokia.com.

Dec. 5: Comedian Frank Caliendo, whose impersonations range from John Madden to George W. Bush and the Donald.

Dec. 6: Belanova, the Mexican synth-pop band.

Dec. 7: Bret Michaels, he of reality TV love and hair (extension) metal.

Conga Room L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic, (213) 749-0445 or congaroom.com.

*dinner only with this ad.

Exp. 11/30/08

Tue-Thurs 11:30am-2:30pm & 6-10:30pm • Fri 11:30-2:30 & 6pm-12am Sat. & Sun. 12pm -2am • Sun 12pm-12am

Downtown LA

Listings for additional concerts, exhibits and more in Downtown Los Angeles can be found on our website. Go to downtownnews.com/listings for full information, including time and location, for all the happenings in Downtown.

PAPA CRISTOS GREEK GRILL phone: 323-737-2970 fax: 323-737-8416 www.papacristos.com

Regent China Inn Authentic Chinese Cuisine in Chinatown

catering specials available!

Lobster Special

Lunch Special

12.95

4.95 Saturday & Sunday 11-3 Weekdays 11-5

$

$

DELIVERY • DINE-IN • TAKE-OUT • CATERING

Open: Mon.-Thurs. 9a.m.-10p.m., Fri.-Sun. 8a.m.-10p.m.

316 E. 1st St. • (213) 626-4046

517 S. Spring St., LA, 90013 • 213.489.2950 • Find us on “SearchDowntownLA.com”

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An Extensive Seafood Menu including Dim Sum at Moderate Prices Relaxed Dining in an Elegant Ambiance Live Lobster Tank

Free Parking Next to Restaurant

700 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 | Tel: 213.617.2323 | Fax: 213.617.0065

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739-747 N. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 Tel: 213-680-3333 • Fax: 213-680-3507 www.regentchinainn.com

F r e e P a r k i n g

Famous Huli Huli Chicken HawaiianChicken.com

F i n e H awa i i a n F u s i o n

Find us at these .

Farmers Markets..

Free GaraGe ParkinG aFter 6PM (Closed thursday & sunday)

L.A. Central Library - Wed. 11am-3pm City Hall Farmer’s Mkt. - Thurs. 10am-2pm Bank of America Plaza - Fri. 11am-3pm

Happy Hour 3-7 M-F & Karaoke 7-Close Fri-sat Catering • Fundraisers • outdoor Patio Beer & wine Bar

686 North SpriNg St., LA, chiNAtowN •

213.626-1678

December 1, 2008

Dec. 4, 5:30 p.m.: Blues rock outfit Keb Mo and America performs a free concert in the plaza as part of the LA Live opening festivities.

Dec. 6, noon-3 p.m.: Local rockers Paperback Hero.

Nokia Theatre 777 Chick Hearn Court, (213) 763-6000 or nokiatheatrelalive.com.

Dec. 3: Grammy Nominations Concert Live. This show will announce nominations in at least six categories, feature performances by past Grammy winners and nominees including Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, B.B. King, John Mayer and Taylor Swift.

The special also marks the first time nominations for the annual Grammy Awards will be announced live on primetime television. Following the one-hour live telecast, guests will experience a one-hour exclusive concert by one of the evening’s performers in celebration of the grand opening of the Grammy Museum.

Dec. 6: Blues and pop crooner John Mayer.

Orpheum Theatre 842 S. Broadway, (213) 622-1939 or laorpheum.com.

Pete’s Café and Bar 400 N. Main St., (213) 618-1759.

Tuesdays, 10 p.m.-1 a.m.: Pablo Calogero and Fabiano Nacimento play Brazilian jazz.

Redwood Bar & Grill 316 W. Second St., (213) 680-2600 or theredwoodbar.com.

Dec. 1, 10 p.m.: NYC Ladyfingers is the alter ego of eccentric New Jersey-born artist Adam Weiner. His music is a spastic brew of lo-fi rock, rockabilly, punk, and cabaret stylings. He’s at Redwood with his stinky piano all week. On Monday, with Jake LaBotz.

Dec. 2, 10 p.m.: NYC Ladyfingers.

Dec. 3, 10 p.m.: NYC Ladyfingers.

Dec. 4, 10 p.m.: NYC Ladyfingers.

Dec. 5, 10 p.m.: NYC Ladyfingers.

Dec. 6, 10 p.m.: Helle’s Belles Annual Toy Drive.

Dec. 7, noon: Brunch with Truly Lover Trio, Buddy Dughi Combo, Brian Jay & The Last Call Boys.

Rerax Fridays at Señor Fish 422 E. First St., (213) 625-0566 or senorfishla.com.

Fridays, 9 p.m.-3 a.m.: Music, art, VJ performances, silk screening and photos.

Royale 2619 Wilshire Blvd., (213) 388-8488 or royaleonwilshire.com.

Mondays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: A live musical showcase

Cellar

cameratapacifica.org.

8 p.m.: The Santa Barbara-based chamber music ensemble returns to Zipper Hall for a program featuring Huang Ruo’s Clear Sky, Dark Road; Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 94; VillaLobos’ Capriccio, Op. 49; and Brahms’ Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 60.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org 8 p.m.: Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil, his future band, in a program of Kutag, Mozart (Piano Concerto No. 23) and Strauss (Alpine Symphony).

Friday, dec. 5 Colburn School Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-1050 or colburnschool.edu.

7:30 p.m.: The Colburn School presents the Calder Quartet with special guest pianist Gloria Cheng at Zipper Concert Hall. The performance includes Thomas Adès’ Piano Quintet; Mozart’s String Quartet in C Major, K. 465, “Dissonance”; and Bartók’s String Quartet No. 5.

Los Angeles Philharmonic Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., (323) 850-2000 or laphil.org 11 a.m.: Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil, his future band, in a program of Kutag, Mozart (Piano Concerto No. 23) and Strauss (Alpine Symphony).

CLASSICAL MUSIC Monday, dec. 1 Colburn School 200 S. Grand Ave., (213) 621-1050 or colburnschool.edu.

7:30 p.m.: Conservatory student performances in Thayer Hall.

Wednesday, Dec. 3 Los Angeles Chamber Singers Vibiana, 210 S. Main St., (310) 575-9790 or lacs.org.

7:30 p.m. The Los Angeles Chamber Singers fill Vibiana, formerly St. Vibiana’s Cathedral, with the 16th and 17th Century sounds of choral music’s golden age with a concert of old holiday music.

Please email Your event info To submit events for this section, please email a brief description, street address and a public phone number to calendar@downtownnews.com.

Web addresses are welcome. Listings are due 10 days before publication date. Because of time constraints, submissions without full information cannot be considered for publication. Inclusion in the listings is at the discretion of the L.A. Down­ town News. Sorry, we cannot accept follow­up calls about event listings.

Thursday, dec. 4 Camerata Pacifica Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., (805) 884-8410 or

Calendar

Monday Night Football 2 Hot Dogs & Chili Bowl $5 6-9pm Japanese C uisine & Ar t Gallery

Power LunCh eS roManTiC Din nerS PrivaTe ParTie S

Wednesday Night Martini Night 4-8pm

Dine In & Take Out

Appetizers always half price during happy hour (4-8pm).

Private Parties: Reservations Accepted

Check our web site for more calendar info.

Vo te d B e s t S u s h i Re s ta u ra n t In D o w n to w n L .A .!

Lunch. Mon-Fri 11:30a-2p Dinner. Mon-Thurs 5:30-10p, Fri-Sat 5:30-11p Closed Sunday

1880 Century Park East #102, Los Angeles, CA 90067

phone: 310-277-1584 fax:310-277-1580

11

(213) 687-7178 • 923 E. Second Street, Ste. 109 Los Angeles, CA 90013 • R23.com

www.TheCellarBarAndGrill.com

Validated Self Parking on 2nd & Garey, Valet Parking Available

0

10

1

Garey

Tuesday Night Karaoke 6-9pm

Rose

Fabulous American Food with a Fun Bar

Hewiitt

Bar & Grill

Catering & Party Planners

with bands, a DJ and an Eastside vibe.

Tuesdays, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: An acoustic live set in the historic Royale lounge. A DJ spins between sets.

Wednesday (second of every month), 9 p.m.-2 a.m.: A fusion of spoken word and acoustic musical melodies.

Sundays, 9 p.m.-midnight: Rat pack protégé Max Vontaine.

Standard 550 S. Flower St., (213) 892-8080 or standardhotels.com.

Nightly DJs at both the lobby bar and rooftop lounge.

Wednesdays, 8-11 p.m.: DJs spin in a swank, but still comfy, lobby. And yes, there’s a bar right there.

Saturdays, noon-8 p.m.: Local DJs unleash indie, rock and electronica at “Diss.”

Suede Bar and Lounge 404 S. Figueroa St., (213) 489-3590 or suedebarla.com.

Nightly DJs and pop music in this upscale lounge at the Westin Bonaventure.

Tranquility Base Restaurant and Lounge 801 S. Grand Ave., (213) 404-0588 or tranquilityla.com.

Every other Saturday, 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m.: There’s a new gay lounge night called The Hideout, with house and dance music, drink specials and an awesome outdoor lounge with cabanas and a fire pit.

Alameda

Dec. 4, 5: The return of the Conga Room is anointed by Grammy and Latin Grammy Awardwinning merengue and latin pop artist Olga Tañon.

Dec. 6: Get ready to pop those hips to the bachata sounds of Toby Love. e3rd Steakhouse and Lounge 734 E Third St., (213) 680-3003 or www.myspace.com/therhythmsectionla.

Second Saturdays: The Rhythm Section brings in DJs and live acts to this Arts District restaurant, playing eclectic selections in nujazz, soul, rare groove, soul and hip-hop.

J Restaurant and Lounge 1119 S. Olive St., (213) 746-7746 or jloungela.com.

Tuesdays: Live acoustic performances in the lounge.

Wednesdays: Salsa in the City features complimentary salsa lessons at 8 p.m. At 9 p.m., a batch of live musicians takes over for a jam session.

Fridays: Live bands on select dates.

La Cita 336 S. Hill St., (213) 687-7111 or myspace.com/lacitabar.

Mondays, 9 p.m.: Mustache Mondays is a gay/ mixed theme night with the best in electro, dance and live performances.

Tuesdays, 9 p.m.: Cheap Souls, featuring DJs spinning funk, soul, old school and electro dance.

First and third Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: Mucho Wednesdays are dance nights with Latin music.

Second and fourth Wednesdays, 9 p.m.: Full Frontal features big-time DJs from LA and beyond. $5 cover.

Thursdays, 9 p.m.: Dance Right, voted Downtown’s best dance night. Free if you RSVP, $5 otherwise. So duh, RSVP. Fridays, 9 p.m.: Punky Reggae Party. That’s right: punk plus reggae equals party. Free before 11 p.m.

After that, it’s $5.

Saturdays, 6 p.m.: Hacienda Nights features live tejano, norteno and cumbia music. Cover $10.

Sundays, noon-10 p.m.: Hacienda Nights again, $8.

Mountain Bar 475 Gin Ling Way, (213) 625-7500 or themountainbar.com.

Every Tuesday “Broken Dreams” is DJ’ed by China Art Objects’ Steve Hanson and the Red Krayolas’ Tom Watson.

Nokia Plaza L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., lalive.com.

The

Downtown News 31

SearchDowntownLA.com

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A HAndy MAP RefeRence To food, ATTRAcTions & enTeRTAinMenT F

Where to Eat

_

Where to Shop

§ Where to Live

§F § §

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Grand Tower • 255 S. Grand Ave. Museum Tower • 225 S. Olive St. Promenade Towers • 123 S. Figueroa St.

229-9777 626-1500 617-3777

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B8

The Metropolitan Apartments • 950 S. Flower St.

489-3300

7+FIG • 7th & Figueroa Sts.

955-7150

Ernst & Young • 725 S. Figueroa St.

955-7100

EF m C6

The Millennium Biltmore Hotel • 506 S. Grand Ave.

624-1011

FF_ C6 E#

California Plaza II • 4th St. & Grand Ave. • Watercourt • 4th St. & Grand Ave.

687-2001 687-2190

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• Angels Flight Railway • 4th St. & Hill St.

626-1901

F m B7 F F F

Wilshire Grand Hotel • 930 Wilshire Blvd.

• Cardini Ristorante • Seoul Jung • Kyoto

688-7777 896-3822 688-7880 896-3812

F Where to Office

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Points of Interest

Downtown Dental Office • 255 S. Grand Ave., Suite 204

620-5777

Kyoto Grand Hotel & Garden • 120 S. Los Angeles St.

629-1200

Frying Fish Restaurant • 120 Japanese Village Plaza Mall

680-0567

Uptown Drug & Gift Shop • 444 S. Flower St.

612-4300

The Los Angeles Athletic Club • 431 W. 7th St.

630-5200

☞ Services E ☞ C8

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B3

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Bunker Hill Real Estate • 800 W. 1st St., #401

680-1720

§

A7

☞

B6

Dr. Silvia Kasparian DDS • 601 W. 5th St., Suite 1110

892-8172

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A7

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CBS Seafood Restaurant • 700 N. Spring St.

617-2323

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Clifton’s Brookdale Restaurant • 648 S. Broadway

627-1673

F C5

Far East Plaza/Wing Hop Fung • 727 N. Broadway

626-7200

☞ B7

Tommy’s • 2575 W. Beverly Blvd.

389-9060

FF_ C2 P

F NA

E Entertainment

P Free Parking with Validation

The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising/FIDM FIDM Museum Galleries & Shops • 919 S. Grand Ave.

624-1200

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels • 555 W. Temple St.

680-5200

El Pollo Loco • 260 S. Broadway Orsini Apartments • 505 N. Figueroa St. Gus’s Drive-In • 1657 W. 3rd St.

626-7975 877-267-5911 483-8885

Glo • 1050 Wilshire Blvd.

866-216-2101

Medici • 725 S. Bixel St.

888-886-3731

Cecil Hotel • 640 South Main St.

800-896-5294

Carl’s Jr. • 254 S. Broadway

625-1357

PIP Printing • 700 Wilshire Blvd.

489-2333

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SearchDowntownLA.com

December 1, 2008

Downtown News 33

CLASSIFIED

place your ad online at www.ladowntownnews.com

L.A. Downtown News Classifieds Call: 213-481-1448 Classified Display & Line ads Deadlines: Thursday 12 pm for rent 959 WHITE KNOLL DRIVE: Downtown duplex with view: 3 br, 1.5 ba, fresh paint, carpet, stove, secured parking, include water. $1,700/Mo. Call Bob 213321-5818.

FLOWER ST. LOFT in Southpark. 3 bed, 2 bath, approx, 1450 SF in Live/Work Zone. Previously occupied by entertainment executive w/hi-tech custom furnishings like motorized 2-way blinds w/remote, designed illumination, custom buildouts for maximum storage, private, secure access, in-house alarm and way more! $3,400 with rebate. 310-5256005 by appt.

OFFICE WITH VIEW of city in three office suite w/reception area in newly remodeled building for rent. Walking distance to all downtown courts; freeway close.

Option to use experienced bilingual secretary & all office amenities. Rent negotiable depending on needs. Great opportunity. Call 213-626-3100

HIGHLAND PARK - 2 bed, 2 bath, fireplace, washer-dryer, garage, gated community, pool, sauna, $1,700. Call 323-8049007, lourdes974@sbcglobal. net.

The Medici 1 & 2 Bdrm Apts.

Granite Kitchens, Washer/Dryers, Business Center, 2 Pools, Spa! Visit TheMedici.com for a full List of Amenities. Call 888886-3731 for Specials!

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 1 month free! (O.A.C.) New downtown luxury apartments with granite kitchens, marble baths, pool, spa, saunas & free parking. 888-736-7471

lease MARINA DEL REY STUDIO. Parking, pool, gym, on site Restaurant/Bar. 818-359-2073

“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.”

Lofts Buying, Leasing or Selling a Loft?

TheLoftGuys.net LA’s #1 Loft Site

Call 213-625-1313

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

BUILD YOUR DREAM RANCH: Why buy “Out of State” land you will never use! 90 min. from Downtown L.A. gorgeous 40 ac.

Ranch sites from $265K Terms.

Deer, quail, some snow, 1 mi from golf, 9 mi from ski lodge.

310-505-0352 edpeters01@sbcglobal.net BULK LAND SALE 80 ACRES - $39,900. Take advantage of the buyers market and own beautiful mountain property. Price reduced on large acreage in Eastern Arizona. Won’t last! Good access & views. Wildlife abounds at Eureka Springs Ranch by AZLR. Financing available. ADWR report.

1-888-854-7403. (Cal-SCAN) MONTANA LAND New Acreage Available -20 Acres near Round Up w/ Road & Utilities -$69,900.

-40 Acres w/ New Cabin near Winnett -$89,900. Approved by TV hunter Celebrity TRED BARTA! Excellent area for horses, hunting and ranching. Financing available. Western Skies Land Co. 877-229-7840 www.WesternSkiesLand.com (Cal-SCAN)

LAloft.com

LAND/ACREAGE PRICED TO SELL! Newly Released Colorado Mountain Ranch.

35 acres- $44,900. Majestic lake & Mountain views, adjacent to national forest for camping or hiking, close to conveniences. EZ terms.

1-866-353-4807. (Cal-SCAN)

NEW TO 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)

COLORADO FORECLOSURE40 acres $29,900. Outstanding Views. Access to BLM Canyon Rec Land. Financing Call 1-866696-5263 x4843. (Cal-SCAN) NEW MEXICO SACRIFICE! 140 acres was $149,900, Now Only $69,900. Amazing 6000 ft. elevation. Incredible mountain views. Mature tree cover. Power & year round roads. Excellent financing. Priced for quick sale.

Call NML&R, Inc. 1-888-2049760. (Cal-SCAN)

real estate for sale

OFFICE SPACE

real estate

Prime Office Spaces As Low As 99¢/sqf.

AMERICA’S BEST BUY! 20 Acres Near Booming El Paso, Texas. (#1 Growth State!) $15,900. $200/down, $159/ month. Roads, Views. Owner Financing. Free Maps/Pictures.

1-800-343-9444.

(10%/209 mths) (Cal-SCAN)

High-Rise Building on Olive St. Near Metro (train), Surveillance Video Camera, New Elevator System. Air Condition.

213.892.0088

Under New Management

Continued on next page

Single Building (5000 SF) or 2nd floor (2500 SF) 1227 W. Temple St. (Close to 101 & 110 Fwy) Ample Parking, Security Gate 3 year lease min.

310-293-7455

Sell your items under $300…

12 words, 2 weeks it’s FREE!

THE ANSWER Downtown since 2002 Don’t settle for anyone less experienced!

TO LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE

Call us today!

Bill Cooper 213.598.7555

TheLoftExpertGroup.com

ONE OF A KIND 1BD/1BA! Bunker Hill. Highly upgraded.

High floor. Great view. Marble floors. In-room Jacuzzi & Sauna. $499,000. 213-210-9943.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

34 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com

Continued from previous page

real estate CONsUltaNt

real estate apartmeNts

help WaNteD Teams earn Top dollar

MILANO LOFTS

ULTIMATE LIFE LIVING Residential Real Estate Downtown LA

plus great benefits.

Now LeasiNg!

BUY / SELL or RENT !

Solo drivers also needed for Western Regional

■ Gorgeous Layouts ■ 10-15’ Ceilings ■ Fitness Center ■ Wi-Fi Rooftop Lounge ■ Amazing Views

call us now:

213 626 5433

Werner enterprises

1 (800) 346-2818 x123

6th + Grand Ave. www.milanoloftsla.com

ULTIMATELIFELIVING.COM info@ultimatelifeliving.com

213.627.1900

DowntownNews.com

CONTROLLER Masters in Accounting, Business Administration or related required. Fax resume (213) 747-6808. Textile One Inc., Los Angeles.

DRIVER- $5K SIGN-ON Bonus for Experienced Teams with HazMat. Dry Van & Temp Control available. O/Os welcome.

Call Covenant 1-866-684-2519 EOE. (Cal-SCAN)

BRAND NEW 3 Miles from downtown Ask About Our Move-In Specials!

ImmedIate move -Ins!

DRIVER - CDL TRAINING: $0 down, financing by Central Refrigerated. Company Drivers earn average of $40k/year.

Owner Operators average $60k/ Year. 1-800-587-0029 x4779. www.CentralDrivingJobs.net (Cal-SCAN) DRIVERS-ASAP! Sign-On Bonus. 35-41 cpm. Earn over $1000 weekly. Excellent Benefits. Need CDL-A & 3 months recent OTR. 1-877-258-8782. www.MeltonTruck.com (Cal-SCAN) MECHANICS: Up to $20,000 bonus. Keep the Army National Guard Rolling. Fix Humvees, Strykers, etc. Expand your skills through career training. Be a soldier. 1-800-GO-GUARD.com/ mechanic (Cal-SCAN) OVER 18? available to travel?

Earn Above Average $$$ with Fun Successful Business Group!

No Experience Necessary. 2wks Paid Training. Lodging, Transportation Provided. 1-877-6465050. (Cal-SCAN)

jObs WaNteD ELDER -HELP. I do cooking/ driving, etc. Part-time. Downtown area. Judith 213-620-5725.

bUsiNess serviCes A BEST-KEPT CLASSIFIED Advertising secret! A 25-word ad costs $550, is placed in 240 community newspapers and reaches over 6 million Californians. Call for more information (916) 2886010; (916) 288-6019 www.CalSCAN.com (Cal-SCAN) LOOKING FOR A COST efficient way to get out a news release? The California Press Release Service is the only service with 500 current daily, weekly and college newspaper contacts in California. Questions call (916) 288-6010. www.CaliforniaPressReleaseService.com (Cal-SCAN)

LOFT LIVING Your number 1 source for Loft sales, rentals and development!

LADowntownNews.com

1-bedroom apartments starting at $1900 2-bedroom apartments starting at $2685

• Elegant Courtyards Pool/spa Putting greens Zen Garden • Clubhouse Lounge Pool Table Large Flat Screen TV Snacks

bUsiNess OppOrtUNitY ABSOLUTELY RECESSION proof! Do You Earn $800 in a Day? Your Own Local Vending Route Includes 30 Machines and Candy for $9,995. MultiVend LLC, 1-888-625-2405. (Cal-SCAN) EARN UP TO $500 DAILY providing a simple service every home and business needs.

Dry Tech code CL13003. www. drytechsystems.com.

aUtOs WaNteD

aUCtiONs DONATE YOUR CAR: Free auction information. 100s of Southern California auctions. For up-to-the-minute free auction information, visit www.SoCalAuctions.org 1-800-352-5572. (CalSCAN)

massage

Star Holistic Spa Massage

(2 hr.) $60.00 2551 W. Beverly Blvd.

LA, CA, 90057 (Beverly Rampart)

Tel: 213-383-7676

EZ SHIATSU & MASSAGE

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.

(Cal-SCAN) 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)

60 min. massage (Reg. $60) $20 OFF w/this ad

Mon.-Fri. 10am-6pm Sat. 10am-3pm 400 e. 2nd st., #205 la Ca 90012

(Honda Plaza Mall) 1st Visit Only.

213-680-4970

COmpUters FRUSTRATED BY computers?

For services or solutions for home or business, call 213-4586873.

Offices • Offices • Offices • Offices

• Exclusive Business Center fax and copy machines, computers, and private conference rooms • Exclusive fitness center State of the art LIFE FITNESS equipment • Luxurious Lobby 24-hour Attendant

ADVERTISE EFFECTIVELY! Reach over 3 million Californians in 140 community newspapers.

Cost $1,550 for a 3.75”x2” display ad. Super value! Call (916) 288-6010; (916) 288-6019. www.

Cal-SDAN.com (Cal-SCAN)

On Spring St.

213 . 381. 50 0 0 918 South Oxford Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90006

Ve r s a i l l e s L i v i n g . c o m

Take Your Game to the Next Level Learn Course Management

3 Learn while you play 3 Shot visualization 3 Mastering club selection

3 Driving strategies 3 Mid/long iron techniques 3 Short game fundamentals

In golf, its you versus the course. Learn to manage the entire game, not just the mechanics of your swing. Learn course management and improve your game.

Steve Andelich Professional Golf Instructor

818.618.2099

Catering to Intermediate/Advanced Players

Do you have something to sell?

Spring Tower Lofts:

2bdrm/2bath, 2300 sqft, $3000/mo. • Live/Creative work space • 14 story bldg. • Rooftop garden terrace w/city view • Pet friendly

Premiere Towers:

2 bdrms/2 bath, $1750/mo. • Rooftop garden terrace/GYM w/city view • 24 hr. doorman • free (1) parking

City Lofts:

880 sqft, 13 ft ceilings, $1650 • 680 sqft, 16 ft ceilings, $1550 • Granite marble top • Stainless steel appliances/ refrigerator etc. • Pet friendly We are located in a prime area in Downtown LA nice neighborhood w/ salon, market, café etc. Wired for high speed internet & cable, central heat & A/C

Please call 213.627.6913 www.cityloftsquare.com

MOVE-IN SPECIAL REAL REAL ARtist Lofts foR LEAsE foR LEAsE

Ad prices

Wood fireplace, Wood floors, floors, New kitchen, fireplace, high room, pool. pool. high ceilings, ceilings, jacuzzi, jacuzzi, laundry room, Gated Downtown.

Gated Parking.

Parking. View of Downtown.

Check $

Zip Credit Card $

Ads must be pre-paid by cash, check or credit card.

Certain classifications excluded.

Deadline: Thursday at noon for next issue.

Ad Copy: _________________________________________

________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

Beautiful Offices For As Little As $400 Fully Furnished/Corporate ID Programs Flexible Terms/All New Suites Services Include: • Reception • Mail • T-1 • State-of-the-Art Voice Mail & Telephone • Westlaw • Fax • Photocopy • More Additional Features: Kitchen Facilities, All Support Services, Great Views, Free Conference Room Hours, Fully Trained Staff, Cost Effective.

Jenny Ahn

Open Open House House Sunday Sunday 12:00pm-3:00pm 12:00pm-3:00pm 1250 Long Ave. L.A. L.A. 1250 Long Beach Beach Ave.

State

Locations Nationwide

jahn@regentBC.com

All ads run for 2 weeks. Ads may be renewed ds get results! after two weeks for 50% off the original With a circulation of 49,000, our classifie price of the ad.

Name: (Marketplace and Automotive Categories ONLY): Address: • Items under $300…12 words, 2 weeks FREE! City • Items $301 to $500…15 words, only $11.50 • Items $501 to $1200…15 words, only $14.00 Phone: • Items $1201 to $2000…15 words, only $16.50 Cash $ • Items $2001+…15 words, only $19.00 Credit card #: Restrictions: Offer good on private party ads only. Exp. Date:

Burbank • Brentwood Century City • Downtown L.A. Woodland Hills

(Friendly (Friendly Fun Fun Community) Community)

(213) 996-8301 www.regentbc.com

Environmentally Concious

GREEN INTERIORS FREE Estimates

Partial or Complete Remodeling for: • Office TI • Residential • Work/Live Lofts

LEED Certification Available Member US Green Building Council

renovate@ecocentricrenovations.com www.ecocentricrenovations.com 213-316-0153

Sorry Sorry No Dogs 1100 $1750–$2500 1100Sq Sq Ft Ft –– 2000 2000 Sq Sq Ft. Prices from $1750–$2500 Includes Includes 1 Pkg space.

Call Emily Emily (866) 425-7259 Call

Luxury Rooms in Downtown Monthly Rents Start at $880 1 & 2 Bedrooms Available • Fully Furnished • 100% Utilities Paid • • Refrigerator, Microwave & TV In Each Room • • Wireless Access Throughout Bldg. • Gym • • Close to USC & Loyola Law School • • Presidential Suite with Kitchen • Parking Available Onsite

Special STUDeNT RaTe! $780 1 person

$100 OFF on 1st months Rent Exp. Dec. 31st, 08

Mayfair Hotel 1256 West 7th street

Simin (213) 484-9789 Ext. 555 or (213) 632-1111

Fully furnished with TV, telephone, microwave, refrigerator.

Full bathroom.

Excellent location.

Downtown LA. Weekly maid service.

Monthly from $695 utilities paid.

(213) 627-1151

December 1, 2008

Downtown News 35

SearchDowntownLA.com

laundry services Let us do the dirty work!

Beverly's Laundromat Drop Off

25% OFF 1st time customers only. Minimum 25lb

FrEE Pick-up & Delivery

volunTeer oPPorTuniTies HelpIng KIdS heal. Free Arts for Abused Children is looking for volunteers to integrate the healing power of the arts into the lives of abused and at-risk children and their families. Today is the day to get involved! Contact Annie at volunteers@freearts. org or 310-313-4278 for more information.

Kids PerforminG scHools CHIldren’S performIng Group! Singing, dancing, performing and fun! For boys & girls ages 3 and up! See SunshineGenerationLA.com or call 909861-4433.

miscellaneous pregnAnT? Considering adoption? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families nationwide. Living Expenses Paid. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 1-866-459-3369.

(Cal-SCAN)

WWW.DOWnTOWnnEWS.cOM

with minimum 35lb

610 S. rampart Blvd. @ 6th St (213)804-0069 Open Daily 7 a.m.-10 p.m. • Free Parking

services

ABOGADO DE IMMIGRACION! Family, Criminal, P.I. for more than 20 yrs!

Familiar o Amigo Arrestado?

Necesita Permiso de trabajo? Tagalog / Español

NOW YOU CAN USE THE WORDS

Get your Green card or ciTiZensHiP Law Office of H. Douglas Daniel Esq., (213) 689-1710

STUCK WITH Merchandise??? www.SurplusLiquidator.net. 323465-5749 call Christine.

ICONIC BEAUTY TO DESCRIBE YOUR NEW PLACE

NOW YOU CAN USE THE WORDS

Available Immediately 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

THAI MASSAGE SPECIALIST VIP Room Available. The Best Way For Business Meetings & Entertainment

ICONIC BEAUTY TO DESCRIBE YOUR NEW PLACE Now you can lease a brand new flat with historic Angeleno character. The Chapman is one of the most beautiful new residences in downtown - and one of the most popular, with more than eighty-percent leased in just five months.

The Chapman features brand new designer living spaces, an exquisite rooftop retreat, and an energetic downtown location at 8th & Broadway. It’s a home like no other at a price like no other.

So discover downtown’s fastest-renting loft today.

Now you can lease a brand new flat with historic NOW LEASING Angeleno character. The Chapman is one of the most beautiful new $1600 residences in downtown - and one of theMOVE-IN most popular, FROM / MONTH with PARKING : $99 SPECIAL with more than: 756 eighty-percent leased: in just five months.

213-892-9100 S. BROADWAY CHAPMANFLATS.COM The Chapman features brand new designer living spaces, Developer/seller reserves the right to change amenities anddowntown pricing without notice. an exquisite rooftop retreat, andfeatures, an energetic location at 8th & Broadway. It’s a home like no other at a price like no other.

So discover downtown’s fastest-renting loft today.

Professional massage for men & women. Services include Thai Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Swedish Oil Massage, Foot Massage, Sauna, Steam, and more. Lounge area.

HealtH Dept. rank a for 7 ConseCutive Years

HBODY

MASSAGEH

First Professionally Licensed Massage Shop in L.A. County.

3386766 0119

saKura HealTH Gym & sauna, inc.

111 N. Atlantic Blvd. Ste #231-233 Monterey Park, CA 91754 (626) 458-1919 [Corner of Garvey Ave.]

ARTIST LOFTS FOR LEASE Live/Work in Downtown Fashion District 700 to 1500 Sq. Ft. Lofts.

High ceilings, skylights, cable, kitchen, bath+shower, laundry room, elevator, controlled access, sub. parking. Sorry no dogs.

Call George: 818-634-7916 or 310-275-9831 x24

fictitiOus

Business

name

statements:

Only

$ 85.

fOr 4 insertiOns Call (213) 481-1448 for details.

(Note: The Downtown News does not perform filing services)

TWO MONTHS FREE!

Driven to

save?

NOW LEASING FROM $1600 / MONTH with PARKING : $99 MOVE-IN SPECIAL 213-892-9100 : 756 S. BROADWAY : CHAPMANFLATS.COM

I’M THERE

Developer/seller reserves the right to change features, amenities and pricing without notice.

Rent

Move-in Special 1/2 Month Free Single rooms starting from $550/mo.

Includes utilities, basic cable channels, laundry room on site, street parking, 1 yr lease.

208 W. 14th St. at Hill St. Downtown L.A.

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

madison hotel Clean furnished single rooms. 24-hour desk clerk service.

•Daily, $25.00 •Weekly, $99.00 •Monthly, $295.00 (213) 622-1508 423 East 7th St.

(2 blocks west of San Pedro St.)

Every day, over 4,000 drivers switch their car insurance to State Farm® for average annual savings of $369.* Next! Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.®

Bunker Hill real estate Co, inC. FOR REnT: EstablishEd 1984 ❏ Promenade West-2 Bed. 2 Bath. 5th Floor. $2,200 Month ❏ Bunker Hill Tower-2 Bed. 2 Bath. City View. $2,200 Month ❏ Westchester-2 Bed.2 Bath Condo. Vu. Wood Floor. $2,000 Month FOREcLOSuRES-LOS AngELES ❏ 4 Bed, 2 Bath. Pasadena. Semi Circular Driveway. Price $424,900. ❏ 3 Bed, 2 Bath. Pasadena. Great For Growing Family. $419,900 ❏ 3 Bed. 2 Bath. Pasadena. Upgrades. 3 Car Gar. Big Lot. $624,900 ❏ 3 Bed. 3. Bath. Lawndale. Tri-Level Townhouse. Large $354,900

Promenade West Condo

2 Story Townhouse. West Facing With Downtown City View. Upgrades. Large Patio. Very Elegant.

Asking $599,900

Ramon Pantoja, Agent Insurance Lic. #: 0F70474 712 W 1st Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Bus: 213-225-0655

Mirza alli

(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.

CALL MY OFFICE FOr A quOtE 24/7.

Broker/Realtor leasing-salesloans-refinance

Monthly from $595 utilities paid.

(213) 612-0348

P080090 05/08

*Average annual household savings based on national 2007 survey of new policyholders who reported savings by switching to State Farm.

Daily average based on 1.5 million drivers switching to State Farm in 2007.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Indemnity Company, Bloomington, IL

You never know what you’ll find in the…

downtown news

Classified

downtownnews.com

the keys to your new home.

Find them here in classiFied!

™

Place your classified ad online, its safe and secure at DowntownNews.com/classified. Or call 213.481.1448

36 Downtown News

December 1, 2008

DowntownNews.com

We Got Games More Hockey, More Basketball Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or nba.com/lakers.

Sunday, Dec. 7: The Lakers are on the road most of the week, with road games in Indiana (Dec. 2), Philadelphia (Dec. 3) and Washington (Dec. 5).

They’ll return to their home court at Staples Center on Sunday to face Michael Redd and the Milwaukee Bucks.

Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or nba.com/clippers.

Remember all that preseason talk about the new-look Clippers? Well, their look is even newer now, with the recent addition of Zach Randolph, the big man formerly of the Knicks. They traded Cuttino Mobley and Tim

Thomas to get him. The even-newer-look Clippers are on the road all week with games in Dallas (Dec. 2), Houston (Dec. 3), Memphis (Dec. 5) and Minnesota (Dec. 6).

Los Angeles Kings Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., (213) 742-7340 or kings.nhl.com.

Monday, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.: Anze Kopitar and the Kings are home three times this week, hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Edmonton Oilers and the Columbus Blue Jackets. In between is a road game against those wily Phoenix Coyotes (Dec. 2).

USC Trojans Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 3939 S. Figueroa St., (213) 740-4672 or usctrojans.cstv.com.

The Trojans play their final regular season game against cross-town rivals UCLA (Dec. 6). It may technically be a road game, but it’s only a few miles away at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. No matter the record of either team, this is always a fun one.

—Ryan Vaillancourt

photo by Gary Leonard

Anze Kopitar and the Kings have three home games this week.

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

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

It’s our business to make you comfortable...

sauna and recreation room with kitchen.

Far below are a host of businesses ready to

at home, downtown. Corporate and long term

Beautiful views extend from the Towers’ lofty

support your pampered downtown lifestyle.

residency is accommodated in high style at

homes in the sky. Mountain vistas and slender

Even the most demanding tastes are satisfied

the Towers Apartments. Contemporary singles,

skyscrapers provide an incredible back drop to

with gourmet dining, shops, theatres and

studio, one bedroom and two bedroom

complement your decor.

the cultural events that make headlines.

apartment homes provide fortunate residents with a courteous full service lobby attendant,

Downtown, it’s not just big business anymore.

heated pool, spa, complete fitness center,

Visit the Towers Apartments today.

SINGLES, STUDIO, ONE BEDROOM & TWO BEDROOM RESIDENCES

MAID SERVICE FURNITURE HOUSEWARES CABLE UTILITIES PARKING WWW.GKIND.com