p
The first Domenick Miretti award winner on legacy and maritime industry p. 4
Teacher and honoree Errol “Rod” Sanborn.
Unsung Heroes in Education honored p. 3 Christine Brown in Chefs Studio p. 12
Let’s Explore Trump’s Collapse, Contradictions By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
“We will immediately repeal and replace Obamacare —and nobody can do that like me. We will save $’s and have much better healthcare!”
— Donald Trump, Feb 9, 2016
“I’ve never said repeal and replace Obamacare within 64 days. I have a long time.”
— Donald Trump, March 24, 2017
By James Preston Allen, Publisher
[See Contradictions, page7]
L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn joined leaders from across the South Bay at Redondo Beach’s Veterans Park in February to promote homelessnesscombating Measure H. Photo by David Mendez, courtesy of Easy Reader News
O
[See Hahn, page 4]
March 30 - April 12, 2017
She was ecstatic about Measure H, the recently passed quarter-cent sales tax. “I am so happy this passed with some 69 percent approval,” she said. “In Inglewood, it was like 84 percent.” Although a sales tax is a regressive form of taxation, it was one of the few options the Los Angeles Supervisors had to address the $350 million cost of providing services for homeless people in the county. In the past, these costs included the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arresting and detaining the homeless. The LASD reported that it was spending $120 million annually on this, which is more than the $80 million that the City of Los Angeles spends. Hahn explained that Measure H is the one campaign that officials didn’t need to “educate the voters on” as every part of the county now has experienced people living on the streets in their neighborhood. Hahn admitted that there were other sources of money which could have been used, like taking the $120 million out of the sheriff’s budget.
President Donald Trump is still trying to notch a clear victory after 10 weeks in office and 13 trips to a golf course. File photo
n a recent Wednesday evening, newly-elected Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn sat looking out over the main channel of the Los Angeles Harbor. She was relieved she won’t have to commute to and from Washington, D.C. anymore. She was relieved she isn’t in Congress anymore, fighting hundreds of other representatives for every item for her district; now, she has to convince only two other people on the five-member Board of Supervisors to get something passed. Hahn does have doubts about the size of the supervisors’ districts and how representing 2.5 million constituents probably should be changed to either 9 or 11 supervisors, representing about one million. Yet, she admitted that passing that change would be a challenge. “If you ask people if they want more representation, they’ll say, ‘Yes,’” she pondered. “If you ask them if they want smaller districts, they’ll say, ‘Sure.’ But ask them if they want more politicians, they say ‘No’.”
The Local Publication You Actually Read
In September 2015, Donald Trump said, “We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with the winning.” It’s a mantra he would countlessly repeat throughout the campaign. He’s now president, but he’s yet to win anything on a single front so far. So, the question is starting to grow: what does so much losing mean? The collapse of GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare represent a colossal failure, capping off a long string of Trump administration failures, as noted in a flood of commentary. But the full depth and reason for that failure — and how it reflects on a broader failure of Western liberal democracy — was far more difficult to discern. The same week, in a House Intelligence Committee hearing, FBI Director James Comey confirmed that the FBI is investigating possible coordination between the Trump
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Community Announcements:
Long Beach Advisory Commission on Disabilities Transportation Town Hall
The Long Beach Citizen’s Advisory Commission on Disabilities will be hosting a public town hall meeting regarding transportation issues. Time: 12:30 p.m. March 31 Venue: Cesar Chavez Park, 401 Golden Ave., Long Beach
Monthly Beach Cleanup
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium invites the public to participate in its monthly beach cleanup. Volunteers learn about coastal habitat, the growing amount of marine debris within it, and the benefits of protecting this ecosystem. Time: 8 to 10 a.m. April 1 Details: (310) 548-7562 www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro
Pathways to Employment Youth Event
This annual event is designed to assist Harbor Area youth ages 16 to 24 with the skills they need to apply for jobs, get hired and successfully navigate everyday work life. Time: 9 a.m. April 1 Details: http://nwsanpedro.org/pathways-toemployment Venue: San Pedro High School John Olguin Campus, 3210 S. Alma St., San Pedro
Public Safety Meeting
A public safety meeting is scheduled to address community concerns and questions. Time: 8 to 10 a.m. April 1 Details: (562) 570-7777; district7@longbeach. gov Venue: Long Beach Job Corps Center, 1903 Santa Fe Ave., Long Beach
POLA Community Investment Grant Program
People’s State of the City
Long Beach Rising Coalition is hosting the 6th Annual People’s State of the City. Time: 5 p.m. April 5 Details: www.bhclongbeach.org/lbrising Venue: First Congregational Church, 241 Cedar Ave., Long Beach
PCM Los Angeles Art Build San Pedro
Hero in Education. As a teacher at Eagle Tree Continuation HS, he is instrumental in the credit recovery efforts for every student. With over 10 years of service to students and stakeholders at Eagle Tree, his leadership in the past two has propelled the school community in several school
improvement outcomes. As a teacher of three core subject areas (LAUSD A-G graduation requirements), Mr. Sanborn has personally contributed to an increase in credit recovery rate and graduation rate, not just for students at Eagle Tree, but for students in [See Heroes, page 5]
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Bring a résumé and dress to impress for this annual job fair. Participants must be 17 or older. No children allowed. Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 12 Cost: Free Details: SpringintoSummer7.eventbrite.com Venue: Carson Community Center, 801 E. Carson St., Carson
Los Angeles Unified School District’s District 7 Board member, Richard Vladovic, helped present Eagle Tree Continuation HS teacher Errol “rod” Sanborn with the Heroes in Education Award at a ceremony held at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of LAUSD
7th Annual Spring into Summer Hiring Spree
On March 24, Los Angeles Unified School District board member Richard Vladovic honored his district’s best, brightest and often unacknowledged educators of the Los Angeles Harbor Area at Crafted in San Pedro. The event reminded me of Random Lengths News’ Change Agent series, which I started several years ago. The series highlights people, groups and organizations contributing to the communities within our circulation area. Vladovic’s Heroes in Education dinner was bigger and more grand. The dinner was close to a black tie and gown affair; all of the stops were pulled. It included a huge spread of delectable cuisine, live musical and choreographed performances by this district’s most talented students, as well as special words from LAUSD’s Superintendent Michelle King. The unsung heroes included principals, teachers, cafeteria workers, other noninstructional employees, parents, volunteers and supporters of the district. “I know it takes all kinds of heroes to help our students throughout the Los Angeles Unified District, and the folks recognized at this event represent all that is good about community and education,” Vladovic said. “This ceremony is an overdue thank you for all of their hard work.” “Every day these heroes roll up their sleeves and engage in the transformative but challenging work of empowering our students to reach their full potential,” said King, the keynote speaker. “These heroes never seek recognition or credit, which is why it is so meaningful that we come here today to honor them.” This wasn’t the first time Vladovic put on such an event. But ceremonies like this are rare and even rarer outside of District 7. Looking around through the sea of students and their parents, educators and community leaders, I spotted a familiar face: Errol “Rod” Sanborn, a former RLn editor who left more than 10 years ago to follow his passion as a teacher. I cautiously drew the man’s attention, “Hey Rod, is that you?” I couldn’t be absolutely sure it was Rod. After all, it had been like a decade since I’d seen him. He left and earned his teaching credential. He then went to work at Eagle Tree Continuation School. When he turned to see who was calling him, he looked about as surprised to see me as I was to see him. “Hey, Terelle, how are you doing?” he said smiling. “I see you’re still at the paper. I know because I still read the paper.” As an editor, Sanborn was always one of the smartest people in the room, but his intellect was centered in warmth and grounded in the pure joy of learning and sharing it with others. Even then, he seemed better suited for the classroom than the newsroom, but the staff at Random Lengths News was happy to have him for the short time that we did. I later found a program for the event, which included words from either the principal or a school’s committee of an peers as to why their honoree was chosen. The following is what was said of Sanborn: It is with great pleasure that our school community recognizes Mr. Sanborn as a
a in
South Bay LA 350 is one of the partner groups participating in the People’s Climate Movement March and Rally at Banning Park in Wilmington on April 29. South Bay LA 350 is meeting to create flags, banners, posters, props and other art for the family-friendly rally and march. Time: 1 to 5 p.m. April 8 Cost: Free Details: (310) 833-3336 Venue: Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1350 W. 25th St., San Pedro
By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
The Local Publication You Actually Read
Applications for the Port of Los Angeles Community Investment Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2017-18 are now available. Up to $1 million in grants will help support initiatives, programs and events benefiting the Los Angeles Harbor communities. Applications are due Monday, May 8 by 5 p.m. Interested applicants can attend grant workshops to learn more about the program and ask questions. The first will take place April 4 at 6 p.m. at Banning’s Landing Community Center at 100 E. Water St. in Wilmington. A second workshop will take place April 5 at 6 p.m. at the Port of Los Angeles Administration Building boardroom, 425 S. Palos Verdes Street in San Pedro. Details:www.portoflosangeles.org
District Praises Unsung Education Heroes
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Building a Maritime Legacy By Kym Cunningham, Contributing Writer
Although many South Bay residents live less than 10 miles from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, few understand how integral the maritime industry is to the California economy. Indeed, the very history of California is one mired within its coastal passages, as reflected on the sailing ships featured in the state’s seal. This multi-million dollar industry does not stay afloat on its own. It requires the work of many passionate leaders to maintain the attitudes of diplomacy and collaboration which have allowed the industry to sail smoothly for the past few hundred years. Two names hover particularly noticeable among these oft-unspoken titans of the maritime industry: Domenick Miretti and Norman Fassler-Katz.
Honoring the Titans
For 15 years, Norman Fassler-Katz was a constant source of leadership for the maritime industry, serving on many different councils and committees. Now, the Center for International Trade and Transportation, or CITT, wishes to
Norman Fassler-Katz.
honor Fassler-Katz with the first Domenick Miretti Award for the prominent role Fassler-Katz has played in the unification of labor, industry, government and educational leaders associated with the California goods movement industry. CITT will present Fassler-Katz with this
award on March 30 at the 2017 State of the Trade and Transportation Industry Town Hall meeting. Fassler-Katz was stunned when he heard about the award. “It was a complete and utter surprise,” FasslerKatz said. “People who know me will find this unbelievable, but I was absolutely speechless…. Then once it sank in, I couldn’t help but feel how humbled and honored I was to be not only the recipient but also the very first.” This award is named after the late Domenick Miretti, a lifetime labor activist who worked to merge the longshore labor union with leaders in technology and academia. Miretti worked tirelessly to promote collaboration between these groups, serving as ILWU liaison for the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles as well as establishing the International Trade Program at East Los Angeles College, where he worked as a professor. Miretti was also a key architect of the CITT. “[Miretti] spoke my language,” FasslerKatz said. “[He] had the passionate vision of an industry that could find common ground and work together to accomplish solutions to its problems. That’s exactly what I believed from the very beginning of my work in the industry and 18 years later, I still feel the same way.” [Hahn, from page 1]
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A Cheerleader for the Ports
During his career with the California state legislature, Fassler-Katz lobbied unremittingly for California’s stake in the maritime industry, operating as senior consultant on two committees integral to the California trade industry: the Assembly Select Committee on California Ports and the California State Senate Transportation Select Committee on California Ports and Goods Movement. In May 2002, Fassler-Katz organized the first Maritime Transportation Month celebration hosted at the state capitol. Although FasslerKatz retired in 2015, the California Maritime Leadership Symposium continues the tradition of this event. Fassler-Katz also was a key strategist in gaining five seats for California on the National Freight Advisory Committee, marking California as a leader within the freight industry. Today, California is the only state to hold more than two seats on this committee.
A Late Start
Although Fassler-Katz is now widely recognized throughout the California maritime industry, he did not begin working with the ports [See Legacy, page 10]
development,” Hahn stated matter-of-factly. “I wanted to make sure that everyone had the opportunity to [have a say in] what it should be and why it’s so important.” I suggest that the highest and best use was for it to still be a courthouse as this was something promised to the San Pedro community when it was consolidated into the City of Los Angeles back in 1909.
However, she didn’t think that voters would have supported that solution. The other supervisors didn’t want to use the county’s emergency funds for this crisis, she explained. “This measure is about getting results, not just number crunching and if this is an emergency, then we should use the emergency fund,” Hahn said. There weren’t enough votes on the board to support that. A significant part of the six-prong implementation of Measure H is the creation of a coordinated system that relies on the Affordable Care Act. If Congress had passed their “replace and repeal” American Health Care Act that went down in flames on March 24, Los Angeles County would have Supervisor Hahn has called for two meetings for public input regarding been left with a giant hole in development of the San Pedro Courthouse building. File photo the budget, one that Hahn has asked the Department of Health and Human “I think there are a lot of promises that the city Services to report back on with options. Luckily, has reneged on over the years,” she responded. that won’t happen this budget year. “What I want is for there to be buy in [on this There is still the problem with Ben Carson, the project]. We can’t make a decision without going secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to the public first.” who has proposed cutting his department’s The courthouse development was rushed budget by $48 billion. This would affect the through in the last months of Hahn’s predecessor motel and rent subsidies that the county receives Don Knabe at the urging of Los Angeles City from the federal government. Councilman Joe Buscaino. Like so many of his “It’s a problem, one that I’m going to talk to attempted projects, there was very little public all these people about [in Congress] when we go input and no public process. back to D.C. at the end of April,” Hahn said. With Hahn back in Southern California on Looking at a copy of Random Lengths a full-time basis, we can now return to some News with a picture of Paul Ryan and other semblance of democratic consensus building and conservatives on the cover, she commented, community outreach that’s been sorely lacking “I know all of these people,” implying that her these past five years. years in Congress may have some influence on The public input that Hahn wants will come these Republicans. from meetings in San Pedro. They will take place I am not so sure. on April 5 and 15 at POLA High School at 6 and 10 a.m., respectively. Hahn said that The San Pedro Courthouse Deal p.m. community feedback on the project is important “The first thing I did when I got into before the developers give us their solutions. office was to put the brakes on the courthouse
[Heroes, from page 3]
Heroes
the Carson HS Complex. Mr. Sanborn is absolutely a Hero in Education.
The Heroes in Education dinner was a good reminder to honor the people that have touched our lives while they’re here with us in the here-and-now, instead of just relegating them in the dustbin of the fond memories and “do-you-remember-when conversations.”
By Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter
The rights of thousands of children with special needs in the Los Angeles Unified School District are at stake in a lawsuit that’s bounced between the U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for four years. LAUSD is the defendant in the class action suit filed in 2013 by several parents with special needs children. At issue is whether the LAUSD is complying with a 1975 federal law and a 1995 consent decree. “The LAUSD has routinely been violating the rights of the special needs children,” charges attorney Eric Jacobson via e-mail. Jacobson represents the parents who, on behalf of their children, allege the LAUSD has engaged in a district-wide pattern of improper activities in violation of the 1975 federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by forcing students with special needs into general education schools. Often referred to as IDEA, the law says each student with special needs must be assessed as to the “least restrictive” placement on an individual basis. The parents argue that for their children, a special education center is the least restrictive environment. The parties are primarily at odds over the interpretation of a portion of the consent decree that was renegotiated and modified in 2003. The court filing alleges that, “The District has been engaged in a district-wide pattern of improper activities to comply with Renegotiated Outcome 7 which violate IDEA” and the modified consent decree. The court could hold the district in contempt for violating the modified consent decree but so far, technicalities and appeals have resulted in no clear outcome. The LAUSD has been closing special education schools and mainstreaming thousands of special needs students into general education for several years. The lawsuit alleges this is in violation of not only IDEA but also the Chanda Smith Modified Consent Decree. Chanda Smith was a special needs student in the LAUSD during the 1990s and the plaintiff in a federal case that resulted in a consent decree named after her. Now, the issue is whether the LAUSD violates IDEA and the Chanda Smith Modified Consent Decree by placing students in general education without changing their individual assessments
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the student assessments which IDEA mandates]. They are also mandated by the Chanda Smith Modified Consent Decree,” Efron argued. She speaks as a former principal (now retired) at Frances Blend. It was closed in 2013 and the students placed in what LAUSD called an “integrated learning community” at Van Ness Elementary. Efron said that around 2012, the Chanda Smith Modified Consent Decree “morphed into a move to close all special education classes.” She added that since the LAUSD began closing special education schools in 2013, blind students now receive only about 45 minutes of education in Braille per month. In response, some parents, including Mina Lee and April Munoz, representing special needs [See Needs, page 10]
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and without proper parental permission. Jacobson was involved in mediation that led to the Modified Consent Decree in 2003. The LAUSD has still not met the requirements to get out from under it. Jacobson said around 2002 the American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the Chanda Smith lawsuit, began arguing children with disabilities must be mainstreamed into the general student population. Some parents represented by Jacobson and another lawyer, Steve Masada, went to mediation with the district to settle the dispute in 2003. “Starting in 2012 or so the ACLU and the LAUSD joined forces [to mainstream disabled students into general education],” Jacobson said. “What’s at stake is the right of the parents of the disabled to guide their education for their children.” Joy Efron is a LAUSD educator who disagrees with the district closing special education centers. “The ACLU and some other civil rights groups consider special schools for children with disabilities as segregated,” Efron stated in an email. “Nothing could be further from the truth.” She said for many years LAUSD housed some classes for non-disabled students at schools such as Frances Blend, for years the only school for the blind in the district. A few years ago the district moved the non-disabled students out — then argued special schools for the disabled were “segregated.” “LAUSD has special schools for gifted kids, pregnant minors, performing arts [and] at-risk youth,” Efron explained. “Only those schools for disabled kids are [labeled] segregated.” “Special schools are mandated by the federal government as part of a continuum of options [in
The Local Publication You Actually Read
What struck me was the number of honorees with the warmth, generosity and love of learning that Rod Sanborn embodies. Port of Los Angeles High School geography teacher, Jose Ongpauco, is one such example. The school nominators wrote a brief narrative about why they recommended him for the honor: “Jose is a selfless, passionate, dedicated educator who not only excels in the classroom but volunteers more of his personal time than any other educator I have ever known.” However, dig a little further, and you’ll learn that he’s not an ordinary educator. Ongpauco holds a bachelor’s degree in history and two advanced degrees in education and American history. If that weren’t enough, he is pursuing a graduate degree in policy studies at the Robertson School of Government while teaching. He is also member of several professional and academic associations, such as the American Historical Association. I mention all of this because the description of his accolades suggests he spends a great deal of time getting to know his students’ career goals and connecting them to resources to help them fulfill those goals. While teachers have a role to play in the furtherance of education, advisors play an integral role beyond the classroom. Adela Retana has taken that role to another level. At Phineas Banning High School, she helps to accelerate the academic achievement of English learners, low-income students and foster youth as the school’s target student population advisor. Her school had the following to say about her: In addition to exceeding in meeting her job responsibilities, Ms. Retana also assists in creating opportunities for students’success, supports and leads implementation of new programs and spends a considerable amount of extra time to assist with school needs.
Rights of Special Ed Students at Stake
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LBPD Announces Promotions
LONG BEACH — On March 16, the Long Beach Police Department announced employee promotions at the Long Beach City Hall Council Chambers. The employees and their new ranks are: Lt. Jeffrey Berkenkamp was promoted to commander; Paula Gallegos was appointed to be a personnel administrator; Sgts. Darren Lance and Ty Buford were promoted to lieutenants; Officer Adam Sturgeon was promoted to sergeant; and Special Services Officer III Manuel Flores and Andrew Gonzalez were promoted to special services officer IV.
Queen Mary Needs About $300 Million for Repairs LONG BEACH — A recent marine study found that the Queen Mary is at risk of its hull collapsing and flooding due to corrosion. Corroded pillars also could lead to the collapse of an area of the ship. Should that happen, there are no watertight doors or working pumps to remove the water. Flood prevention requires more than $5 million in immediate repairs and somewhere between $235 million and $289 million in work over the next five years to prevent internal collapse. At the request of Long Beach officials, naval architects and vessel experts conducted the survey to assess the structural condition of the ship. About $23 million has been approved to address the most urgent repairs. A plan to build entertainment around the ship would generate the tens of millions of dollars needed to do more repairs. The ship was built in the 1930s in Clydebank, Scotland. Long Beach purchased the Queen Mary about 50 years ago after it was retired. The ship now is a floating hotel with shops, restaurants and event areas.
LA Joins Amicus Brief Against Travel Ban
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LOS ANGELES — On March 14, City Attorney Mike Feuer announced that Los Angeles has joined a coalition of local municipalities opposed to President Donald Trump’s revised executive order commonly known as the travel ban. Chicago, New York and Los Angeles joined with jurisdictions across the nation in an amicus brief in State of Washington, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. Prompted by reports that visa and green card holders were detained or denied entry at LAX, Feuer sought to intervene with federal officials at LAX the night of Jan. 28. When Feuer’s efforts were rebuffed by these officials, Feuer sent this letter to top federal authorities seeking answers regarding the unlawful treatment of legal immigrants at LAX. Feuer’s office joined an amicus brief in February opposing the original travel ban.
Brown Named Acting U.S. Attorney
March 30 - April 12, 2017
LOS ANGELES — Sandra R. Brown has been named the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. The position is the top federal law enforcement official in the most populous federal district in the nation. Brown took charge of the office March 18, after former U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker resigned. For the past year, Brown was the First Assistant U.S. Attorney – the number two position in the office. As an assistant U.S. attorney, Brown represented the government in a wide range of matters in federal and state courts, including criminal, civil, appellate and bankruptcy matters. She has been with the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 1991, and she was chief of the Tax 6 Division from 2004 through 2016.
After Oroville, Rancho LPG’s Risks Become More Visible Communities Face Multitude of Deadly Risks By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor The near-collapse of the Oroville Dam’s containment structure on Feb. 13 sent almost 200,000 residents fleeing for their lives — despite more than 15 years of advanced warning from environmental organizations and local governments. These groups have unsuccessfully sought significant flood-control upgrades since 2001, including challenges to the dam’s relicensing process, which began in 2005. The years of ongoing risk and regulatory neglect make for a chilling parallel to San Pedro’s situation with residents organizing to shut down Rancho LPG — and a frightening glimpse at what can happen if no action is taken. Both fit the “disaster roadmap,” developed from decades of studying more than 600 infrastructure system disasters, UC Berkeley risk management expert Bob Bea (nicknamed “the Master of Disaster”), told Random Lengths. In both cases, the original designs did not match how the systems were used, operators failed to respond to new risk factor information and regulators failed to reanalyze risks decades later when petitioned to do so. At 770 feet, the Oroville Dam is the tallest dam in the United States, almost 50 feet taller than the next tallest, Hoover Dam. The main spillway suffered severe erosion on Feb. 7. After several days of coping efforts, water flooded down the emergency spillway, rapidly eroding the hillside almost to the point of undermining the concrete wall atop the dam. Paving the emergency spillway was the key upgrade authorities refused to consider. “Fortunately, nobody yet has died,” said Ron Stork, a senior policy advocate with Friends of the River, a leader in that upgrade effort. “But we were within minutes of that happening.” Local residents have repeatedly sought a complete re-evaluation of Rancho’s risks as well, also without success.
Reactive Risk Management
The dependence on catastrophe — or possibly a near miss — before taking action is all too common, Bea said. “In the United States, we seem to be stuck in a cycle, ‘I call reactive risk management,’” Bea said. “We, in essence, wait until the system fails. At that point, we react or we fix it and then return back to our own normal lives.” But even then, the systems are far from truly safe. The American approach stands in stark contrast to the approach taken by The Netherlands, whose precarious situation — most of the country is below sea level — leaves no room for simply letting systems fail. “There are three fundamental risk assessment approaches: Proactive (before major activities are performed); reactive (after major activities are performed); and interactive (during performance of major activities),” Bea said. Following a disastrous national flood in 1956, the Dutch devoted significant resources to both proactive and interactive measures; other countries in Europe and elsewhere have since followed their lead. “The relicensing was a perfect opportunity to perform interactive risk assessment — to detect new challenges to the system, to analyze what
Oroville Dam spillway damage, February 27, 2017. File photo
had been detected, to determine what should be done to properly address the ‘new’ risks that had been detected, and then, implement corrective measures to reduce the risks to be ‘as low as reasonably practicable,’” Bea said. Thus, flood control upgrades should have been implemented in conjunction with the dam’s relicensing for a 50-year period in 2007, especially given how much had changed since the dam opened in 1968. This included increased flood prospects due to global climate change (which were explicitly ignored) and the failure to build the Marysville Dam, whose presence was assumed in the dam’s original flood control planning. But water contractors, most notably the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, opposed paving the emergency spillway for financial reasons. Community input was summarily brushed aside. Potential environmental impacts that should have been considered and mitigated were ignored. In sharp contrast, much more has been spent — almost $1 billion — on an auxiliary spillway at the nearby Folsom Dam, a federal facility proactively upgraded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. As of 2015, 678 of California’s 1,250 dams were deemed “high hazard” because of the consequences of their failure, according to Association of State Dam Safety officials.
A Better Grasp of Risk
Bea and his colleagues define risk as “the ‘combination’ of likelihoods and consequences,” which he said “helps keep attention on the uncertainties and on the management of the two key variables.” Mapping likelihood on one axis and consequences (potential fatalities) on another creates a two-dimensional plane with regions of intolerable and tolerable risk. One can clearly compare different sorts and sizes of entities: levee systems, refineries, pipelines, dams, etc., all within a similar framework. Even after systems have been corrected, Bea found that they generally were “sitting pretty close to the dividing line between the risks that are tolerable and the risks that are not tolerable.”
Very few American examples are truly safe — as one might expect, given that the latest “Infrastructure Scorecard” from American Society of Civil Engineers, issued in early March, gave American infrastructure an overall grade of D-plus, with a suggested $4.6 trillion investment needed by 2025 — compared to only $2.5 trillion in projected spending. The shortfall is much larger than the $1 trillion within 10 years initially promised by Donald Trump. Moreover, from a safety standpoint, Trump’s promise to roll back regulations would actually leave Americans more at risk from infrastructure failures, as described in the “disaster roadmap.” It shows that potential infrastructure failures derive from four kinds of uncertainty producing unexpected results, Bea explained. These uncertainties are: first, natural variability in weather, earthquakes, materials, etc.; second, uncertainty in models; third, uncertainty involving “human task performance and organizational task performance”; fourth, “uncertainty posed by our knowledge, how we acquired it, and how we use it.” His insight into the last two variables came from working with Dr. Ed Wenk Jr., the first science advisor to Congress in the 1960s before going to the White House. “Engineers want to believe the planet is not inhabited,” Wenk once told Bea. As a result, they tend to overlook these crucial sources of uncertainty. Using this analysis, Bea and his colleagues came up with what they called the 80/80 rule: “80 percent of those uncertainties are human or organizational, 80 percent show up in the last cycle of the infrastructure systems,” which Bea termed “infrastructure geriatrics.” They also learned that 60 percent of geriatric problems were baked into the construction process. Read more about the parallels to San Pedro’s risks with Rancho LPG online at www.randomlengthsnews. com
[Contradictions, from Page 1]
Trump’s Contradictions
campaign and Russia’s attempts to influence the election, shooting down Trump’s ludicrous, distracting claim that Obama had wiretapped him. But GOP committee members turned themselves into a Trump defense committee. First they tried to make the hearing all about leaks, rather than Russian interference. Then, later that week, the committee chairman, Devin Nunes, hosted two brief press conferences alleging the existence of evidence to support Trump’s claim, before walking his claims back amidst a series of confusing and contradictory statements. All of it had the effect of distracting attention away from the key question of TrumpPutin collusion — a question that ultimately threatens Trump with impeachment. Whatever the degree of collusion may have been, the deeper problem is why democracy has been so weakened that such an opening existed in the first place — an opening Putin has already exploited in multiple European countries. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich said it all in a series of tweets. “Trump has accomplished less of his agenda in his first nine weeks than almost any of his predecessors since World War II,” Reich tweeted. His 10 examples started with “Repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act: Dead” and ended with “Bring a ‘business discipline’ to Washington and ‘whip government into shape’
The House Republican leadership announced March 27 that the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act is back on the agenda after President Donald Trump said he was going to move on to other priorities. Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price looks on as Trump briefs the press in the Oval Office after the bill was pulled from a vote. File photo
Just the opposite. His White House is in chaos, the executive branch is barely functioning, and Congress is a total mess.” In between, Reich noted, the Muslim ban, the border wall, infrastructure investment, re-negotiating trade deals — all have gone nowhere. Draining the swamp? He’s done just
the opposite. Still, the meaning, extent, and significance of the failure remains clouded, especially since there are no clear winners, either. The multifaceted anti-Trump mass mobilization has clearly won victories in the political sense. Staving off catastrophe is vitally important, but it’s not yet actually winning anything positive in terms of new policy.
Healthcare and Taxes
Compiled by Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
The Supreme Court
March 30 - April 12, 2017
[See Contradictions, Page 19]
Gorsuch is also far outside the mainstream on a wide range of issues. People For the American Way, a progressive advocacy group that fights right-wing extremism and defends constitutional values, concluded this in a February report that examined Gorsuch’s dissenting opinions on workers rights, corporations and consumers, abuse of government authority, criminal law and other constitutional issues. But the details of such cases, as well as the law involved, often make it hard to publicly demonstrate how extreme a justice can be. Sen. Al Franken managed to do just that, in questioning Gorsuch about one workers rights case, the so-called “frozen trucker case.” The trucker, Alphonse Maddin, was
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On Feb. 1, Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. On Feb. 9, appeals court declined the administration’s request to restore Trump’s executive order restricting refugees and travel by immigrants from a number of Muslim-majority countries. The Appeals Court said the administration failed to offer “any evidence” to justify the ban, which the president said was necessary to keep the United States safe from terror attacks. On Feb. 13, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s lies about his pre-inauguration conversations with the Russian government were exposed, leading to his resignation. On Feb. 28, Trump addressed his first joint session of Congress. Pundits said he sounded “presidential” as a compliment of his performance. On March 2, Jeff Sessions announced he would recuse himself from any probe into the presidential election campaign following newly revealed meetings he had with Russia’s ambassador before the election. Sessions denied any impropriety or that he lied about those encounters in his Senate confirmation hearing. On March 4, Trump posted a series of tweets accusing former President Barack Obama of wiretapping him during the 2016 elections. On March 6, Trump signed a new travel ban, but this time exempted Iraq. On March 16, press secretary Sean Spicer suggested Obama used British intelligence agency GCHQ to surveil Trump. On March 22, the Associated Press revealed Paul Manafort’s pre-inauguration ties to Russia in which he was paid $10 million in the mid-2000’s to lobby on behalf of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska in a way that would “greatly benefit” Russian President Vladimir Putin. Manafort, who was Trump’s unpaid campaign chairman from March until August 2016, has been a leading focus of the U.S. government’s investigation into whether Trump associates coordinated with Moscow to meddle in the 2016 presidential election. On March 23, the vote on the American Health Care Act was delayed, following days of reports that the bill did not have the votes to pass the House. The Republican House Freedom Caucus’ refusal to get behind the bill was mainly responsible for the delay. On March 24, House Speaker Paul Ryan pulled the AHCA altogether following the continued refusal of the House Freedom Caucus to support the bill. Also on March 24, Carter Page, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone volunteered to be interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russia’s election-related meddling. Page was a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign; Manafort was the Trump campaign manager and Stone is Trump’s confidant.
On the healthcare front itself, Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives have readied themselves to change that. “We have got to have the guts to take on the insurance companies and the drug companies and move forward toward a ‘Medicare for all,’ singlepayer program,” Sanders said on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, after the repeal effort was pulled on March 24. “And I’ll be introducing legislation shortly to do that.” There are good reasons the healthcare fight could be seen as a turning point, especially paired with mounting evidence of Russian election meddling and possible Trump campaign collusion. But there are also good reasons to the contrary. The Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Neil Gorsuch to the seat stolen from Merrick Garland this past year is a case in point. Gorsuch’s views are far outside the mainstream, just as the GOP’s healthcare plan was. But what’s acutely missing is comparable political mobilization against Gorsuch. On healthcare, a Quinnipiac poll released recently showed that only 17 percent approved of the GOP plan (6 percent strongly), while 55 percent disapproved (43 percent strongly), although Republicans alone approved, 41-23. But when it came to some of the most telling specifics, even Republicans were opposed. When asked about cutting funding for Medicaid, the public was opposed 74-22, more than 3-1, and even Republicans opposed it 54-39. When asked about cutting funding for Planned Parenthood, Republicans supported it overwhelmingly — until they learned the funding had nothing to do with abortions. After that, Republicans opposed the funding cut, 60-32, compared to 80-14 among all Americans. Perhaps most tellingly, hardline conservatives, like the Freedom Caucus, opposed
the very idea of government involvement in healthcare, but 97 percent of Republicans said it was very or somewhat important “that health insurance be affordable for all Americans,” and they thought the GOP plan would cover fewer Americans, rather than more, by 32-17. Thus, GOP voters’ support for the plan appeared to depend on not paying much attention to what was in it, which is why the massive outpouring of activism against the bill publicizing how it would hurt millions of Americans, was ultimately so effective. This reflects a long-standing, if underappreciated, truth about American politics: conservative ideological rhetoric is relatively popular (“free markets,” “small government,” etc.), but specific liberal programs to meet practical needs (Social Security, Medicare, minimum wage laws, etc.) are even more popular. After seven years of successfully attacking Obamacare with ideological rhetoric, Republican efforts fell apart when faced with an overwhelming number of people who had experienced its practical benefits, including remaining alive. The idea of healthcare as a right, not a commodity, has gradually been established in the public mind with Obamacare, and once that idea has been established, it’s virtually impossible for it to be undone. Trump’s budget proposals were similarly unpopular, Quinnipiac found, with GOP voters joining the rest of the public in opposing Trump proposals to cut funding for medical research, for new road and transit projects, and for afterschool and summer school programs, as well eliminating the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, 79-17. Another set of proposals drew modest GOP support, while the rest of the public sharply opposed them. This includes cutting funding for scientific research on the environment and climate change, eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and eliminating funding for public broadcasting. These two categories of cuts are problematic for both Senators and Congress members seeking re-election, especially in the face of the energized anti-Trump movement that’s increasingly organized at the local level, as seen in numerous viral videos of town hall meetings. Which is why Trump’s budget was widely seen as “dead on arrival.” But the cuts are also far too small to pay for the massive tax cuts for rich that both Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan have in mind. For that, they need to cut entitlements, which, of course, Trump promised he would not do. That’s a promise he broke with the $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid contained in the GOP healthcare plan. These contradictions may be even harder to hide in the days and months ahead.
7
Time for a Change, Already
The advantage goes to ones who have the guts, courage and a plan By James Preston Allen, Publisher
March 30 - April 12, 2017
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We are just over the 60-day mark of Trump’s first 100 days in office and he has yet to do anything that would make the nation or the galaxy think, “Hey, he’s making America great.” As for his legendary deal-making prowess, his repeal-and-replace health care legislation that went down in flames speaks for itself. There are those, however, who continue to shout the refrain, “Give him a chance.” Clearly that’s not an option for the nearly 66 million who voted against Trump. As we’ve seen from the day of his inauguration, there are just a whole lot of Americans who are not going to just sit back and take what #45 is dishing out — at least, not without a fight. The Democrats are finally starting to look like they have some fight left in them — from sanctuary cities to the state house, to Gov. Jerry Brown saying that Trump “doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about” on health care. OK, so now that the Dems have finally got their nerve back up, who’s actually got the lead on the resistance? Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn) on the Senate Judiciary Committee tore into Republicans for their contradictory positions on blocking President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, saying their arguments reminded him of his past life as a comedian on Saturday Night Live. “I used to make a living identifying absurdity,” Franken said at the top of fiery remarks in the committee hearing. “I’m hearing a lot of it today.” But even satire can’t slap some folks into governing with common sense. It will take more political craft — something that is in short supply as the Republican majority in Congress splinters between fiscal conservatives, Freedom Caucus right-wingers and GOP moderates. All the Democrats had to do was hold tight and stay loyal to core liberal values, while the Republican infighting imploded party unity. Trump is still looking for someone to blame. The universe, it is said, abhors a vacuum, including the somewhat curious part of it known as Washington D.C. where the vacuous arguments about government seem to be spiraling dangerously out of control. At this point, the idea that healthcare is a right and not a privilege (an idea proposed back in 1944, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed the Second Bill of Rights), now seems to have passed its latest test of survival. Roosevelt’s argument was that the
8
“political rights” guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights had “proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.” His remedy was to declare an “economic bill of rights” to guarantee these specific rights: • Employment, food, clothing, and leisure with enough income to support them • Farmers’ rights to a fair income • Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies • Housing, medical care, Social Security and education It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that these are the core issues opposed by the Tea Party Freedom Caucus and the antithesis of which the Republican Party stands. It is curious that one of the few Democrats who has clearly taken the lead on these issues is former presidential candidate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who continues to be the sole Independent in Congress to huddle with the Dems. In the wake of the Republican failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act, leading figures in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party — Sanders among them — are rallying behind a single-payer health insurance. These lawmakers and grassroots leaders have long believed that the problems plaguing the ACA are rooted in the original health care law’s attempt to accommodate, rather than gradually replace, the private, for-profit health insurance system. “We have got to have the guts to take on the insurance companies and the drug companies and move forward toward a ‘Medicare For All,’ singlepayer program,” said Sen. Sanders on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes on Friday night after the vote failed. “And I’ll be introducing legislation shortly to do that.” Sanders’ call “to have the guts … for a singlepayer program” is the clarion call to action to progressive Democrats as well as old New Deal Democrats to act while the confusion in the Republican Party reigns. For the Senate to pass this bill, they would only have to convince five moderate GOP senators to switch sides, but in the House of Representatives they’d have to find 44 — a daunting challenge. The success of this strategy comes down to whether the Dems are better at the “craft” of governance (and deal-making) to overcome the current political warfare that has ruled Washington for the past six years. The advantage in this situation goes to the ones who have the guts, courage and a plan to lead rather than just oppose. Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya Managing Editor
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Trump By the Numbers
The Best of (New York) Times and the Worst of (New York) Times By David Snyder, On Access
Journalism in the age of Trump, as told through some key numbers and a familiar Dickensian device: Story #1 (the best of times) • In the last quarter of 2016, the New York Times had 276,000 new digital subscriptions, the largest three-month jump in six years, and in February the Times exceeded three million paid print and digital subscriptions. • Large newspapers and magazines are reporting similar surges across the board. • Contributions to nonprofit journalism outlets have soared and show no sign of coming down. Story #2 (the worst of times) • Americans’ trust and confidence in the mass media “to report the news fully, accurately and fairly” recently dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with just 32 percent saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media. • Six percent of people say they have a great deal of confidence in the press, about the same level as Congress. • Just 23 percent of American adults agree with the statement that “overall, the news media tries to report the news without bias,” while 74 percent disagree. Can these two tales be reconciled? It seems inconsistent, at least, that Americans
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simultaneously think the media is only slightly more trustworthy than Congress, that they feel that way more so than at any time in decades, and yet are also consuming (and paying for) news at a rate unseen in many years. A third set of numbers offers one way to understand both stories: Preliminary polling suggests that, as much as the American public distrusts the media, they distrust the current occupant of the White House even more — a remarkable development, given that the president typically commands approval ratings far greater than the press, which are usually in the basement with Congress and lawyers. In February, the Quinnipiac poll found that 52 percent of Americans say they trust the media more than Donald Trump to tell the truth about important issues, while only 37 percent trust Trump more. Several weeks later, the number was essentially the same — 53 percent to 37 percent. Now, there is at least one poll suggesting the gap is not so wide. But entertain the notion that the recent boom in reader interest reflects a deeper, and potentially longer-lasting phenomenon: a desire for a corrective to the fact-free bluster emanating from the White House, which mirrors and amplifies the bluster and falsehoods found so often on social media platforms, talk radio and the like. [See Numbers, p. 9] Random Lengths News editorial office is located at 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, (310) 519-1016. Address correspondence regarding news items and news tips only to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email to editor @randomlengthsnews.com. Send Letters to the Editor or requests for subscription information to james @ randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, all Letters to the Editor should be typewritten, must be signed, with address and phone number included (these will not be published, but for verification only) and be kept to about 250 words. To submit advertising copy email rlnsales@randomelengthsnews.com or reads@randomlengthsnews.com. Extra copies and back issues are available by mail for $3 per copy while supplies last. Subscriptions are available for $36 per year for 27 issues. Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right to express those opinions. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Reporting Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2017 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.
RANDOMLetters Letter to the Torrance City Council
My wife, Anita, and I have lived in North Torrance, about one mile from the refinery, for over 50 years and are greatly concerned for the safety of our community. Hydrogen fluoride (HF) and modified hydrofluoric acid (MHF) pose an extreme hazard should it be released due to a refinery accident, a natural disaster such as an earthquake or a terrorist act. I worked for the City of Beverly Hills Fire Department for 30 years, the last 14 years as chief of the cepartment. I have also served as president of the South Bay Fire Chiefs Association (2 years), The Los Angeles County Chapter of the California Fire Chiefs Association (2 years) and the California League of Cities Fire Department (2 years). I have performed the duties of firefighter, engineer, paramedic, captain and battalion chief. I have a concerned interest in the safety of our
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Public Meeting on Wilmington Waterfront Development
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This is a wonderful tiny home idea but you say the cost would up to $75,000 each. This amount of money (for the type shown in article’s photo) is a no-no. The real costs should be about $15,000 or even less. Moreover, the granny flat idea shouldn’t be just for residential areas, but also include churches, high schools and other offices and businesses, where the back or side lots could be used for tiny homes with additional income to the property/business owners. Care-taking responsibilities could also go along with the grant to the homeless family, and that could help create a closer bond with the property owner and community. We live in Depoe Bay and about
Another possibility: the surge in monetized interest in the press is nothing more than a temporary “Trump bump” — that Trump’s presidency, with all of its self-created chaos and acrimony, is like the proverbial train wreck: People can’t take their eyes off it, though they may not believe what they see. They will adjust and so will the numbers. This appears to be the conventional wisdom, and it may be correct. But the public’s clearly heightened interest in reading the news — now sustained for more than three months — suggests that people have not yet given up on the media, or on the idea that there is such a thing as objective fact. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. These numbers tell us that the press has a long, long way to go.
March 30 - April 12, 2017
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn wants to hear your thoughts on the land use options for the San Pedro Courthouse site. RSVP by April 3. Time: 6 p.m. April 5 or 10 a.m. April 15 Details: heartofsandpedro@ dpw.lacounty.gov Venue: Port of Los Angeles High School Multipurpose Room, 250 W. 5th St., San Pedro
use a bathroom that isn’t in the middle of a park, business district or residential neighborhood. Los Angeles has more than 9,000 pieces of unused property. Tell me that something couldn’t be done now rather than later. James Preston Allen Publisher
Help Reinvent the Heart of Downtown San Pedro
It’s possible — just possible — that the American public is waking back up to the critical role the “mainstream media” plays in our Democracy, and that by simply doing their jobs journalists are providing an increasingly valuable commodity in a world of “alternative facts”: the pursuit, flawed though it may be, of objective truth. It’s folly to draw sweeping conclusions from a smattering of polls, of course, and the “real” story won’t be clear for quite some time. But if this story is right and if Trump’s credibility continues to fall, it could be that Trump becomes the best thing to happen to journalism in years — a startling possibility, given the president’s vigorous and unprecedented self-declared “war” on the press.
Richard, The homeless crisis, as it has been called, is a complex problem, but one that can be solved if people stop saying that the only solution is for permanent supportive housing. That solution is ten years or more in the making. Your suggestion of tiny units can be an interim step. But first, there have to be enough emergency shelters —places for people who are living in their cars to park and
Granny Flats for the Homeless
[Numbers, from page 8]
Numbers
50 percent of the homes here are second homes and vacant most of the year. Absentee owners may really get behind this year-round idea. Richard Pawlowski Depoe Bay, Ore.
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The Port of Los Angeles will host a public meeting on the status of the Wilmington Waterfront Development Program, from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 30, at Banning’s Landing Community Center — the cornerstone of the project — at 100 E. Water Street in Wilmington. Attendees will get a detailed update on the Wilmington Waterfront Development Program and Wilmington Waterfront Promenade. Key elements of the design are public access and connectivity to the water’s edge. The port encourages attendees to participate in the question and answer forum. Simultaneous Spanish translation service will be provided. In February 2017, the Harbor Commission approved T.Y. Lin International Group to design a pedestrian bridge on the Wilmington Waterfront, the Avalon Promenade and the Gateway. Later this summer, the port will host additional public meetings to gather community input on the design of those elements. Details: lawaterfront.org.
community both as a citizen and as a fire service professional. While serving as fire chief, I responded to two major incidents at the refinery with my chief’s car, turn out gear and served as a Staff Officer to the Incident Commander. Following the second incident, the Torrance City Council wrote a letter to the Beverly Hills City Council in appreciation of my assistance. The Beverly Hills Mayor at the time, Charles Aronberg, presented me with a city tile in recognition of my service to show their appreciation. Having seen the overwhelming amount of evidence exposing the dangers of modified hydrofluoric acid (MHF), I strongly recommend that the City take action to stop the use of large quantities of MHF at the Torrance Refinery. The danger presented by MHF to our community should a serious release of a HF toxic cloud occur could be similar to what occurred in Bhopal, India where 15,000 persons perished and over 100,000 were injured as a result of the release of a toxic volatile gas, Methyl isocyanate or New York City’s World Trade Center tragedy where almost 3,000 persons perished including 343 firefighters and 6,000 persons were injured. In 1989, the City of Torrance’s own Public Nuisance Lawsuit claimed that 100,000 persons could be killed and double that injured should there be a HF release in our community. The danger is still the same today as what the City of Torrance claimed 27 years ago! The mitigation barriers that the industry touts as adequate measures of protection are not in the least bit adequate. You must take action now to prevent the City of Torrance from being remembered for incurring a similar tragic incident as what has occurred in New York City and in Bhopal, India. It is irresponsible to continue
to expose the citizens of our city and surrounding cities to the hazards posed by a release of HF or MHF especially when an inherently safer chemical, sulfuric acid, is available. It is equally irresponsible to ask our first responders, firefighters and police officers to respond to HF or MHF incidents at the Torrance Refinery knowing that you, the City Council, could have taken action to prevent their exposure. Yes, they will respond, even knowing the danger, they will respond. That is what we do to protect our community. Do not be mistaken, it is equally your duty to provide for the safety of our citizens and our first responders to the best of your ability. Take action now to stop the use of HF and MHF at the Torrance Refinery. Bill Daley Torrance Bill Daley, According to our sources there are only two refineries in all of California that use HF and MHF — the Torrance refinery and the Valero refinery in Wilmington. James Preston Allen Publisher
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[Legacy, from page 4]
Legacy
until he was 60 years old. Fassler-Katz had been friends with Rep. Alan Lowenthal for more than 40 years when the congressman asked him to work on a select committee with the ports. “He knew I was a political junkie and t hat I wanted to go work in the capitol,” Fassler-Katz said. Although Fassler-Katz admitted he knew nothing about the ports at the beginning of his maritime career, he realized that Lowenthal valued his passion and dedication. “It didn’t take me long to really believe that [the maritime industry] was an incredibly valuable asset to the state of California, and at the same time, it was an undervalued industry in the state of California,”
Fassler-Katz said. “I committed myself … to try to change that paradigm.” It is this commitment that has rendered Fassler-Katz a leader in the maritime industry. At the same time, Fassler-Katz realized that he wasn’t the only person in California who did not understand the importance of the ports. “Helping people understand the complexity of the goods movement industry is a very hard task,” Fassler-Katz said. “I also wanted people to understand … that we all have to be good neighbors because we were impacting these communities of Los Angeles and Long Beach astronomically with the growth of the industry.”
An Uphill Battle
Although Fassler-Katz knew that he would have to work hard, he did not realize how difficult it was to pass legislation to help California’s
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ports. Fassler-Katz attributed this difficulty in progressive legislation to a lack of knowledge concerning the ports and their importance to the state’s economy. “For an industry that is bringing millions and millions of dollars into California … people didn’t grasp both the benefits and the challenges [associated with the ports],” said Fassler-Katz. “I wanted to be the cheerleader for the goods movement industry in California. And, I wanted the image of this industry changed in the eyes of the legislature.” The image of the ports that Fassler-Katz wanted to project was one of progress, especially concerning the environmental impact of the goods movement industry. “The ports were the bad guys when we started off,” said Fassler-Katz. “Then, they spent millions of dollars on reducing emissions at the ports. They reduced emissions by 80 percent in a very short period of time at a very high cost to them and … to their tenants. And to this day, the ports have not gotten the credit for that leadership that they deserve.” In order to promote the new, environmentally friendly image of the ports, Fassler-Katz founded the California Marine and Intermodal Transportation System Advisory Council, or CALMITSAC, which counted the CITT among its six charter members. It was within this context that Fassler-Katz met Domenick Miretti, as both men worked to form collaborative bonds between the various public and private industry sectors.
Envisioning Environmental Impact
It was this vision that led Fassler-Katz to constantly push for environmentally friendly measures, including cleaner fuel options and a short sea shipping system to replace trucking along the West Coast. Although the latter was unsuccessful, Fassler-Katz remains hopeful that one day California will also create a pattern of coastal shipping routes to mirror those already in use on the East Coast. “The idea of short sea shipping makes sense in taking trucks off the road, given the huge number of trucks that are on the road both in Southern and in Northern California,” Fassler-Katz said. “I don’t think that all the parties involved were able to come to some compromise to make it happen and therefore it dissipated …. But, like in anything else, if all the parties were to come in and approach each other on an even footing, I think that anything is possible.”
Spreading Awareness
More than anything, Fassler-Katz worked to spread knowledge of the maritime industry’s role in California affairs. He spoke of the difficulty he encountered when he began his work with the maritime industry almost two decades ago. “The legislature knew very little about what the ports did, despite the efforts of the California Association of Port Authorities and other agencies,” Fassler-Katz said. To address this lack of knowledge, Fassler-Katz proposed a conference-like event for maritime leaders, government officials, and agencies to explain policy matters to one another, bridging the gap between government and industry. This event grew into the California Maritime Leadership Symposium, the least expensive conference in the maritime industry and one of the few that offers complimentary admission to legislative and agency staff. “It started off on a one-day basis and it seemed to be successful,” said FasslerKatz. “Then, we decided to raise the bar and turn it into a full-blown two-day maritime symposium where a broad range of subjects were taking place.”
Good Work is Never Finished
Although Fassler-Katz officially retired in 2015, he remains active in the maritime transportation industry. “I’m still involved with the symposium,” Fassler-Katz said. “I’m still involved with the work of CALMITSAC and I’m available for consultation to the ports. I just figured that I had this tremendous body of knowledge that would be silly, just because I retired, to let it go by the wayside. I have too much invested.” It is this strong commitment that made Fassler-Katz the perfect recipient of the first-ever Domenick Miretti Award. The award is meant to inspire future industry leaders to continue Miretti’s work, ensuring the perpetuation of Miretti’s legacy through the principles of finding common ground amongst all collaborating groups. “It’s something that will remain forever,” Fassler-Katz said. “[It] means so much more to me than I could have envisioned.”
[Needs, from page 5]
Special Needs
children, filed a Motion to Intervene in federal court in 2013. The lawsuit charges the LAUSD moved “solely to meet the quota requirements” to comply with the Chanda Smith Modified Consent Decree. “Every child with a visual impairment is being assigned to schools regardless of special needs,” Jacobson argued. “Kids are being forced to attend schools that do not have bathroom facilities that they can use. Blind children are being moved to schools that are dangerous.” In 2014, Judge Ronald Lew denied the motion to intervene on grounds of timeliness and failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The decision was appealed. In February 2016, the appeals court overruled Lew’s decision and ordered intervention. The case has since gone back and forth between Lew’s court and the court of appeals at least twice. In June 2016, the LAUSD petitioned the appeals court for a rehearing. Subsequently, some parents pleaded with the LAUSD board at a June 14 meeting to withdraw the request. The majority — Steve Zimmer, Monica
Garcia, Monica Ratliff and Ref Rodriguez — voted against withdrawal. The appeals court turned the LAUSD down. In August 2016, Lew granted motion to intervene but only to the parents actually named, not the entire class, and denied an injunction on another technicality. The parents appealed again. Both sides filed appeals briefs early in 2017. Jacobson said in a phone interview that the appeals court decision could come at any time. If the appeal is successful, the case will likely be sent back to Lew again. He said that if the appeal is not successful, the parents must go back to the independent monitor charged with enforcing the modified consent decree who, he maintains, is representing “only parents who believe in full inclusion.” The LAUSD declined to comment. Littler Mendelson, the law firm representing the district in this case, also declined to comment.
ECT Unearths the Truth of Love in
Romeo and Juliet By Stephanie Serna, RLn Contributing Writer
Elysium Conservatory Theatre Director Aaron Ganz speaks with passion when he describes his production of Shakespeare’s play about the young star-crossed lovers. It runs from March 31 to April 30 at the company’s new site — San Pedro’s historic Ante’s Restaurant. “There’s no greater ‘juice’ when it comes to the poetry of theater and language than Shakespeare working at his finest with Romeo and Juliet,” Ganz said. But Ganz is quick to note that such a production requires the extra juice of raw truthfulness because of audiences’ “gloss of familiarity” with the story. “The thing about Romeo and Juliet is: Why would you do that again?” Ganz wonders aloud. “Everybody has done it! It’s not only theatrically performed, but it is so done that it
has permeated other disciplines (music, dance, film) — and other aspects of culture.” For Ganz and the entire Elysium company, the answer is: “Romeo and Juliet is the truth of Love.” I’ve had the privilege to watch ECT rehearse their interpretation of the exquisite Shakespearean play and see it evolve over the past two months. What a beautifully alive experience it has become. My advice is to see it as often as possible to rediscover each time more intimately and deeply the love of Romeo and Juliet — and all the characters. “This company is at a place where we want to tackle that raw complicated humanity that comes with the fullness of love,” Ganz said. “And not just the romantic love that [See Love, page 12]
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Gerard Alvarez as Romeo and Ria Gaudioso as Juliet in Elysium Conservatory Theatre’s production of Romeo and Juliet directed by Aaron Ganz. ECT will perform the Shakespeare play March 31 through April 30 at its new theater in the historic Ante’s restaurant building in San Pedro. Photo by Stephanie Serna.
March 30 - April 12, 2017
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Gain Confidence in the Kitchen at Chefs Studio By Richard Foss, Cuisine and Restaurant Writer
The dining public rarely sees chefs at the everyday practice of their trade. There are occasional exceptions, such as restaurants with open kitchens, but even there the view is usually of the backs of working employees. Many
The gregarious chef gained confidence in her teaching skills over the course of wine dinners and culinary events at her restaurant. She was recently front and center at a cooking class for the Chefs Studio series in San Pedro.
March 30 - April 12, 2017
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
Chef Christine Brown, left, and Chefs Studio proprietor, Patti Kraakevik are excited about the new cooking classes being offering in Kraakevick’s demonstration kitchen. Photo by Richard Foss.
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chefs like it that way because they can focus on cooking without interruptions. Christine Brown, who owned the famed Restaurant Christine, was different. Restaurant Christine brought adventurous dining to Palos Verdes. “At my restaurant, I used to have a station right by the dining room where I could chop and cook and still talk to customers,” Brown said. “I wasn’t teaching them about techniques, but it did give me a chance to interact with them oneon-one and answer questions.” [Love, from page 11]
Truth of Love Romeo and Juliet feel,” Ganz said. “But human love, family love, love of friendships, love of life, love of God, love of destiny and taking care of your family’s fate, standing up for loyalty.” The play has many of the wonderful markings of an Elysium production — the delicious use of modern music, engaging choreography, interactive moments with the audience, and creative use of the now beautifully expansive space. The latter two attributes are the key ingredients of how they’ve been able to stage productions that felt real. And it doesn’t resort to gimmicks as has been found in “modern” productions in order to make the classic play more accessible to current audiences — like changing the setting to outer space or New York City or changing the language to modern vernacular. Instead, the company’s strength lies in the discovery of truth and aliveness in the moment. Most people know Shakespeare as a brilliant playwright in history but few refer to the historical context of his time when the Church of England considered playwrights and actors to be of immoral character. As Ganz points out,
Brown sees these classes as a chance to educate a segment of the population that has lost the skills of preparing food, or possibly never learned them, and that are now discovering that something is missing in their lives. “Up until about six years ago, a lot of people were just dining out, getting take-out orders, or buying prepared food,” Brown said. “There has been a whole resurgence of people wanting to learn to cook, whether for community with [See Chefs Studio, page 13]
“Elizabethan audiences stood at the ready for guards to burst in and shut down the production for questionable acts and/or words performed — It was alive! It tingled! The story was something that was felt!” “Our mission here at Elysium is that theater needs to be FELT, it has to be experienced, not watched,” he said. “And so, we use that nature of trying to unlock the taste of love — the raw truth, the complicated truth of love. We try to unlock it theatrically here using the spine of Shakespeare’s language, embracing the story without changing it an iota but asking ourselves how do we as an audience today — how do we as performers today — taste love?” Ganz assures his audience that they do not have to have complete understanding or even appreciation of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan poetic language, but rather just allow it to guide and speak to their soul. “Shakespeare is the language of the human soul,” he said. “There’s nothing more satisfying than the poetry of Shakespeare’s words. They speak the truth he was able to anticipate. It’s the best dance partner that knows just what you’re going to feel in the moment and just gives you that ‘flick’ — that little jolt that shakes out your truth and lets it be heard in the most beautiful poetry possible.” Details: www.fearlessartists.org
[from page 12]
Chefs Studio
friends or as a familial thing. Those who have learned to appreciate food in restaurants want to nourish themselves now and they want to do it well at home.” Family dinners and dinner parties used to be common events for everyone, but the default now is to invite people out to dinner, not invite them to enjoy something we make, or to ask them to contribute. Asked how to encourage such a return, Brown said that she takes an active role. “You have to initiate it, because people don’t take the time,” Brown said. “They’re too busy to have dinner parties once a week, because everyone’s working. There’s no time, the way there was when you had one person in the family staying at home. We have a group of friends that gets together once a month. There are six couples and we do six courses, and everybody brings a bottle of wine to suit one course.” Before you do something like that, of course, you have to be confident in your own skills at cooking. That’s where the classes come in. The Chefs Studio series is presented in an art deco space on Pacific Avenue that was once a Montgomery Ward department store. The concept came from a chance meeting at a concert in the building’s basement theater. A chef named Mario Martinoli attended an event there, and after the show he started chatting with Patti Kraakevik, who co-owns the building. Martinoli didn’t know it, but there was a beautiful and lavishly equipped kitchen upstairs, which opens to a living room big enough to easily seat 50 people with a good view. As Kraakevik tells it, Martinoli also didn’t know he was talking to someone with a passion for the culinary arts. “I had wanted to do this for a long time but didn’t know how to go about it,” Kraakevik said. “I showed him our kitchen, he thought it
would work, and that’s how it got started.” Kraakevik is different from Brown and Martinoli in that not only had she never run a restaurant, she hadn’t learned to cook when she was young. “My mother wasn’t a great cook when I was growing up, but in her later years she decided to buy cookbooks and wanted to learn how to cook,” said Kraakevik. “Her health didn’t allow it, but she would look at the books… After she passed away, I had more cooking equipment and cookbooks than you could imagine. I just decided, ‘Why not use them?’” Kraakevik developed a passion for cooking. She will be co-leading a class with collaborator Rexx Lipman later this year. She shares Brown’s assessment of the importance of social entertaining and retold a story of a recent encounter with people who are ignorant of the culinary arts. “I had tenants at one of my properties who lived there for three years,” said Kraakevik. “After they moved out, I looked and there was dust in the oven. They ate fast food every day, and I can’t imagine that. They are not the only example…. There are a lot of people out there who might want to learn how to cook but don’t know where to start. Rexx and I have thought about doing a class about boiling water — what can you do with boiling water? All kinds of things!” Kraakevik’s enthusiasm for running this program and teaching was so evident that it seemed natural to ask if she’s planning a career change. Her answer was negative, though there was a slight hesitation before she spoke. “I’m not ready to retire; I like what I do,” Kraakevik said. “Still, after up to 70 hours a week doing real estate appraisals, I need a creative outlet.” The next class at Chefs Studio is scheduled for April 17 and will feature Asian inspired receipess. The $65 class fee includes dinner and wine. For reservations and more information, call (310) 387-3460, info@chefsstudio101.com.
Daily Special Combos served 11am-4pm MONDAY
incl. Fries & Lrg. Drink
$ 99 2Taco Combo
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Burger Combo incl. Fries & Lrg. Drink
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376 W. 6th St., San Pedro • (424) 287-0645 • www.BeachCityGrill.net Open: 11 am to 8 pm Tuesday-Saturday • Closed Sunday & Monday
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Chicken Sandwich Combo
March 30 - April 12, 2017
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A RT G A L L ERIE S | O P EN S TUDI O S | L A TE DININ G & S H O P P IN G | L IVE M U S I C O N THE S TREET S
Michael Stearns Studio 347
Construction and Confabulation
Studio Gallery 345
new works on paper and canvas
Michael Stearns, Horizontal Altar, mixed media. 32 x 96 x 8 inches.
Construction and Confabulation is a show of sculptural works by Michael Stearns. Stearns approaches the subject matter, the statement and the message intellectually, while he handles the treatment of the work viscerally — approaching the work through the primal side with color and shape. Open on First Thursday, April 6, 6 to 9 p.m. Michael Stearns Studio 347, 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro. www.michaelstearns studio.com
PacArts art tank
Regina Argentin
Pat Woolley
Gloria Lee and Pat Woolley of Studio 345 Gallery present a show of color in the media of acrylic and printmaking. Open First Thursdays and by appointment. Books, boxes and unframed paintings, as well as other items are on display and for sale. For information, contact Gloria at (310) 545-0832 or Pat at (310) 374-8055 or artsail@roadrunner. com. 345 W. 7th St.; San Pedro, www.patwoolleyart.com
Join us at PacArts for the closing reception for Art Tank, 6 to 8 p.m. April 6. Art Tank features the work of seven different artists including resident muralists Luis Sanchez and Regina Argentin, who created the mural in the Lilyan Fierman Walkway by the Warner Grand Theatre. In May, Regina will open her solo show at Pac Arts called Unseen Forces. PacArts, 303 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro. For more information (562) 436-0700; www.engagedaging.org
South Bay Contemporary at the LOFT
March 30 - April 12, 2017
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
Mother Naturalist: The State of Artist as Mother
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First Thursday Special
4
of Pizza $ 99 Slice + Draft Beer From 3 pm to close
(310) 514-2500 A Slice of Pedro!
Sat Apr 1
SEASONS (France, 2015) Calida Rawles, Little Swimmer, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches
Many artists are confronted with the challenge, “What do my identities of both artist and mother mean for my practice?” The emergence of a child can be both a positive and disruptive force upon one’s art practice. Mother Naturalist is a psychological reflection of the motherhood experience with works by Julia Barbee, Camilla Lohren Chmiel, Calida Rawles and Megan Schvaneveldt, curated by Denielle Johnson. The show previews on First Thursday, April 6. A reception for the artists will take place on April 8, 4 to 7 p.m. The show runs through May 20. The Loft, 401 S. Mesa St., 3rd floor, San Pedro. (310) 4290973; www.southbaycontemporary.com
Return to when the cycle of seasons was established with Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy latest film in the Beauty of Nature series. 5:30 p.m. Tickets: $10 available at pvplc.org or (310) 541-7613.
Sat Apr 22
Skyfall, Titanic, And Other Hit Songs from Films
Golden State Pops Orchestra’s 15th Anniversary celebration. 8 p.m. Tickets and information at GSPO.com.
Sat Apr 29
Singin’ in the Rain (MGM – 1952) A musical classic starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor. Presented by San Pedro Int’l Film Festival 7 p.m. Tickets: $10 at Spiffest.org or at the door. The Warner Grand Theatre is a facility of the City of Los Angeles, operated by the Dept of Cultural Affairs assisted by Friends Group Grand Vision Foundation.
347 W. 6th St., San Pedro www.PhilieBsOnSixth.com
The Space:
A Cutting Edge Community Venue By Melina Paris, Music Columnist
ENTERTAINMENT March 31
Sing Sea Shanties Lift your voice and give 21st century life to rollicking songs of days gone by with the Whale and Ale’s talented Sea Shanty group, which meets on the last Friday of each month. Time: 8 p.m. March 31 Cost: Free Details: www.whaleandale.com Venue: The Whale & Ale, 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro
The Buttertones The Buttertones combine classic surf tones and enough garage, basement punk and blank generation goth to keep it interesting— like “may you live in interesting times” interesting. Time: 7 p.m. March 31 Cost: Free Details: (562) 433-4996 Venue: Fingerprints, 420 E. 4th St., Long Beach Ron James in The Space on Pacific Avenue, San Pedro. Photo by Melina Paris.
ends. He said he specializes in “conscious media,” which is distinctive from mainstream media. In his opinion, mainstream TV and organizations that produce content are in the business of selling a product. The entertainment and content are nothing more than filler for the ads. “We have a situation where we have squandered the largest human communication resource the planet has ever seen on dumbing down the population and turning us into a bunch of consuming slaves,” James continued. “There are people who want more from the media that they enjoy. They want it to apply to their personal lives.” That’s where The Space’s communitycentric internet show San Pedro Now comes in. The show creates an online visitor information loop where people can go to a website and watch original San Pedro programming with commercials from local businesses and attractions. Artists, business owners and activists can come and do a segment on the show. Their plan is to grow this show into the San Pedro Television Network streaming online. The theater is used for live-streaming, during which James hosts various speakers. It’s [See Space, page 16]
April 1
Missing Persons, Anabella Come out to the ‘80s 4 Life Music Festival featuring legendary ‘80s artists Missing Persons, Anabella “the original” Bow Wow Wow, Djoir Jordan, Kenny Charles, Unit 287, The Companies and Rockford at the Gaslamp in Long Beach. Time: 5 p.m. April 1 Cost: $20 Details: gaslamptix.com Venue: The Gaslamp, 6251 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach Elton, the Early Years Elton, the Early Years has wowed audiences across the state and was recently hand-picked to be featured on Ryan Seacrest’s network AXS TV show, The World’s Greatest Tribute Bands. Time: 8 p.m. April 1 Cost: $25 to $30 Details: www.grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
April 2
Allan Holdsworth Regarded as one of the 20th century’s most prominent guitarists, Allan Holdsworth is one of a handful of musicians who has consistently proven himself as an innovator in between and within the worlds of rock and jazz music. Time: 4 p.m. April 2 Cost: $25 to $30 Details: www.alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1415 W. 8th St., San Pedro Street Corner Renaissance Street Corner Renaissance’s soulful, velvety voices blend together in the classic a cappella doo-wop melodies of the 1950s and 1960s. Time: 7 p.m. April 2 Cost: $20 and $25 Details: www.grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
G R A ND
VI S I O N
P RE S ENT S
Sunday, April 2
6:30 pm Door • 7 pm Concert
Award winning a capella group transfixes with their soulful blend of doo-wop classics Tickets & Info:
310.833.4813 | GrandVision.org
The Grand Annex | 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
April 8
Gabble Ratchet Gabble Ratchet has been the West Coast’s premier Genesis tribute band since 1999. This
Jim Curry Jim and Anne Curry deliver the multi-platinum hits of the great John Denver in an evening full of familiar songs. Time: 8 p.m. April 22 Cost: $25 to $30 Details: www.grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
THEATER March 31
Carousel Musical Theatre West presents Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical masterpiece. Carousel explores the timeless messages of love, hope, forgiveness and redemption. Time: 8 p.m. March 31 and April 1, 6, 7 and 8; and 1 p.m. March 26, and April 2 and 9 Cost: $20 Details: (562) 856-1999, ext. 4 www.musical.org, Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach Romeo and Juliet Elysium Conservatory Theatre opens in their new home with a fantastical reawakening of the greatest love story ever told, William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Time: 8 p.m. March 31 Cost: $25 Details: (424) 535-7333 info@fearlessartists.org Venue: Elysium Conservatory Theatre, 729 S. Palos Verdes St., San Pedro
April 2
True Tales from The South Bay The Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation is proud to present its own local storytellers along with experienced crowd-pleasing guest tellers. Each performance will have a new set of local stories and “all-star tellers.” Time: 7 p.m. April 2 Cost: $10 Details: www.TorranceArts.org Venue: George Nakano Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance
April 7
The Promise Romeo and Juliet meets Puerto Rican black magic. In a Puerto Rican enclave in the United States, over-protective and superstitious Guzman finds out that his daughter has fallen in love with his rival’s son and he formulates a treacherous scheme using black magic. Time: 8 p.m. April 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 21 and 22, and 2 p.m. April 9 and 23 Cost: $10 to $15 Details: www.csudh.edu/theatre/tickets Venue: Edison Studio Theatre, California State University Dominguez Hills, 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson
FILM
April 2
Lunafest Mark your calendar for the Junior League of Long Beach’s 6th annual Lunafest, a film festival featuring nine short films made by, for and about women, as well as a fundraiser to support the league’s upcoming year. Time: 11 a.m. April 2 Cost: $55 Details: www.jllb.org Venue: Art Theatre Long Beach, 2025 E. 4th St., Long Beach [See Calendar, page 16]
March 30 - April 12, 2017
Street Corner Renaissance
April 22
April 7
Amicus Trio This top ensemble emerged from the USC Thornton graduate program. It is comprised of violinist Melody Chang, cellist Coleman Itzkoff, and pianist Alin Melik-Adamyan. Time: 12 p.m. April 7 Cost: Free Details: (310) 316-5574; www.palosverdes. com/ClassicalCrossroads/FirstFridays.htm Venue: First Lutheran Church and School, 2900 W. Carson St., Torrance
will be the band’s first performance in two years and will feature Genesis material mainly from the early Peter Gabriel/Phil Collins era of the 1970s. Time: 8 p.m. April 8 Cost: $25 Details: www.alvasshowroom.com Venue: 1415 W. 8th St., San Pedro
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The first time I attended an event there I was struck by the venue’s size, the different activities and multiple mediums employed inside. It’s genius! Known as The Space, it accommodates a theater, live television studio and even a spaceship. The stretch of buildings on the east side of Pacific Avenue on which The Space resides is bookended by the Warschaw Building on 6th Street and the 8th Street Loft building on 8th Street. This stretch of Pacific has been trying to become an arts, culture and entertainment anchor for the San Pedro Arts District for years. Thus far, it has failed. The Warschaw Gallery was home to the curated shows of TransVagrant, which opened in 2006. Somewhat contemporarily, the ground floor of the 8th Street Lofts was transformed into a food court. By 2013, a kind of arts district trifecta was completed when comedian James Blackman III opened the San Pedro Theater Club at 624 S. Pacific Avenue. Today, 8th Street Lofts is empty and TransVagrant no longer operates out of the Warschaw Building. James Blackman and his San Pedro Theater Club disappeared almost a dozen months after opening. Ron James used The Space to fill that void, building up a venue where multiple artistic and elaborate endeavors happen. I made it a point to return for a sit down interview to learn more about The Space and how James is making his theater and studio available to artists and businesses. He wants to provide a resource, which they do not have. The full name of the facility is The Ivolve Media Arts Center. James said it really is all about a combination of cutting edge media approaches. James’ main business is creating online programming for internet TV. He produces nine original shows, several of which are in the world mystery field. His show The Bigger Questions explores what science is now beginning to tell us about things that we can’t explain, such as life after death and the nature of reality. “My entire media career is based on … the most important questions facing humanity, [such as], ‘Are we alone in the universe?’ ‘Is there life after death?’” James said. “I believe that once the answers to those questions are cemented into the collective psyche, it’s going to be a paradigm shifting event for humanity that could very well illuminate the path that we need, to have a positive outcome without calamity.” Every piece of media James creates is about exploring those
Arts Cuisine Entertainment MAR 30 - APR 12 • 2017
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[Calendar, from page 15]
Arts Cuisine Entertainment MAR 30 - APR 12 • 2017
April 6
The Jungle Book Part of the ship’s ongoing Salon Series community services program, the complimentary Jungle Book screening will be presented in the beautiful art deco Britannia Salon. The film is a live-action remake of the original animated classic produced in 1967 — the same year the Queen Mary first arrived in Long Beach. Time: 6 p.m. April Cost: Free Details: www.eventbrite.com/e/salon-seriesthe-jungle-book-tickets-32518569918 Venue: Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach
ARTS April 1
Knockdown Dash and Broken Ground Angels Gate Cultural Center hosts two new exhibitions that address distinct issues concerning housing and development in Southern California. Time: 1 to 4 p.m. April 1 through May 22 Cost: Free Details: http://angelsgateart.org Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 Gaffey St., San Pedro
March 30 - April 12, 2017
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
April 3
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Threesome The exhibition Threesome featuring multimedia artist Brian Bernhard, ceramic artist Nora Chen and mixed media and digital artist Miyuki Sena opens at the Artists’ Studio Gallery at the Promenade on the Peninsula. There will be an opening reception from 4 to 8 p.m. on April 8. The exhibition continues until May 14. Time: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, through May 14 Cost: Free Details: (310) 265-2592 artists-studio-pvac.com Venue: Promenade on the Peninsula, 550 Deep Valley Drive, #159, Rolling Hills Estates
April 6
Visions of Peru Explore Peru through the photographic exhibit of featured artist Monique Pineda together with poetry reading of Cristina Acha and the melodious music played by young talented violinist Chelsea Ayllon. Time: 6 to 9 p.m. April 6 Cost: Free Details: (310) 833-0103 Venue: Croatian Cultural Center, 510 W. 7th St., San Pedro Artist/Mother Artist/Mother is a multi-media exhibition that presents the works of Calida Rawles, Julia Barbee, Camilla Løhren Chmiel and Megan Schvaneveldt. Time: 6 to 9 p.m. April 6 through May 20 Cost: Free Details: (310) 429-0973 www.southbaycontemporary.org Venue: South Bay Contemporary at the Loft, 401 S. Mesa St., 3rd Floor, San Pedro
Continuing Exhibitions
Frank Brothers: The Store That Modernized Modern The exhibition relates the story of Southern California’s largest mid-century retailer of modern furniture and design. Based in Long Beach from 1938 to 1982, Frank Bros. embodied the optimistic postwar ethos of the American consumer. Date: 12 to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, through April 9 Cost: Free Details: csulb.edu/org/uam Venue: California State University Long Beach, University Art Museum, 1250 Bellflower Blvd.,
Long Beach Wearable Expressions Wearable Expressions explores the unbreakable bond between art and fashion portraying boundary-pushing works by creative minds from around the globe. Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays, through April 16 Cost: Free Details: wearableexpressions.com Venue: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 W. Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes
Ann Weber, Sculpture TransVagrant and Gallery 478 present Ann Weber, Sculpture. Ann Weber’s organic sculpture is abstract, formally elegant, and composed of inelegant salvaged cardboard. Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, through April 30 Cost: Free Details: (310) 600-4873 www.transvagrant.com Venue: Gallery 478, 478 W. 7th. St., San Pedro Dreamland The Museum of Latin American Art presents a retrospective of the work of Frank Romero in the exhibition titled Dreamland. Romero’s most iconic works address life in the barrios of Los Angeles. Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, through May 21 Cost: $7 to $10 Details: (562) 437-1689; molaa.org Venue: Museum of Latin American Art, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach
COMMUNITY April 1
Lowrider Lowdown: A Brief History On April 1, professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at CSU Northridge Denise M. Sandoval and world-famous tattoo artist Mister Cartoon will provide a brief history and cultural context of lowriders. Also see an exhibition of lowriders and a hydraulics demonstration, courtesy of the original Danny D’s Custom Paint & Pinstriping. Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. April 1 Cost: $10 Details: molaa.org Venue: MOLAA, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach Autism Resource Fair Join the 5K run or walk to raise awareness on resources available to families members with autism. There will also be resource booths, games and entertainment. Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 1 Cost: $10 Details: (310) 835-0212, ext. 1470 Venue: Veterans Park, 22400 Moneta Ave., Carson
April 7
Discovery Lecture Series Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and Altasea present a lecture by Dr. Kristy L. Forsgren of CSU Fullerton on the importance of understanding fish reproduction as a key to protecting the world’s fisheries. Time: 7 p.m. April 7 Cost: Free Details: lecture@cmaqua.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro
April 8
Fantasea Step aboard for a celebration of mystifying magic and imagination as world class magicians and award-winning illusionists come together for one spellbinding day. Enjoy parlor shows and close up magic World Famous Magic Castle magicians. Time: 12 to 6 p.m. April 8 Cost: $29 to $99 Details: (310) 833-3336 Venue: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach
Harmonizing Forms Inhabit Sculptural Exhibit By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer
The figures at the Transvagrant Gallery imply a sense of undulating bulbous forms. Your instinct wants to interpret them as representational of familiar forms, while your eyes remind you that this is an abstraction. The figures make up Ann Weber, Sculpture; it is a reflection through a looking glass. “As nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t,” said Alice in Alice Through the Looking Glass. There are abundant hints of figuration and recognizable objects — think chess pieces, balloons, human torsos, plant forms and graphic ciphers. Weber’s sculptures are organic. Even though they are created from discarded cardboard, fished out of dumpsters along her walks, they come across as abstract and elegant. She cuts, strips and staples the retrieved material until it requires a keen eye to see that none of her work requires paint or any other form of enhancement to create works of beauty. Weber is a transplant to the San Pedro art community. In 2015, she relocated to San Pedro after living and working for 30 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. In a chance meeting with another artist, she was encouraged to visit Los Angeles. She was told that the city had recently built a reputation as a formidable place for the arts. Her friend had more attention in eight months in Los Angeles than he had in 12 years in San Francisco. She began researching studio spaces in Los Angeles almost immediately. Another sculptor, Eric Johnson, invited her to visit his studio in San Pedro. She was dazzled by what she saw. “It was just so incredibly beautiful,” Weber [Space, from page 15]
The Space
also used for live jazz concerts, which they have recently started presenting in partnership with Thin Man Entertainment. All of their equipment is state-of-the-art and includes livestream virtual reality. They can utilize The Space where they are pre-wired and streaming wherever necessary. “I build and create online television networks,” James said. “I have two of them right now, Ivolve TV and MUFON TV (Mutual UFO Network), which is a joint venture with the people behind the show, Hangar One. It’s one of the very first shows that’s ever been shot in the spaceship.” James has written, produced and directed more than 250 of his own DVD productions. He has worked on documentaries as a producer, camera man or key player in major music shows. He also produced and associate produced award-winning films including, Travis: The True Story of Travis Walton. The film won both People’s Choice and Best UFO Feature Film awards in the 2015 EBE Film Festival (Extraterrestrial Biological Entity). Endeavors at The Space include documentaries and music videos. Angelica Bridges from television show Baywatch is shooting a documentary on the extraterrestrial phenomenon in the space ship. Grammy winning artist Kendrick Lamar also shot the music video Ain’t That Funkin Hard on You? in the ship. James also works with hip-hop legend Dame Dash.
Ann Weber’s oddly elegant sculptures are made out of discarded cardboard.
said. “This is what I had set my heart on. Nothing makes my heart pound faster than seeing the industry and those beautiful Trojan horses of the cranes. The things that inspired me were the ships and the port and the big pile of nets.” Mixed in with the natural beauty of the ocean and city scapes, it began to fall in place. All this came together to inspire her show. The work was created in the two years she has lived in the port city. Pieces such as Moon Over San Pedro, which shows a dark moon reflecting on the harbor waters, display the influence of her new environment. With Hallelujah, the intertwining appendages in her sculptures reach out to grasp each other, imparting not only a sense of joy but of awe. The towering stately figures in Personages, Santa Monica are contrasted by the embrace of Personages, San Pedro.
[See Weber, page 17]
“[Dash] helped found Rockefeller Records with Jay-Z,” James said. “He and I have a show we do together called no lines. It’s like the uptight white guy meets the godfather of hip-hop and we talk about anything from two completely opposing viewpoints. “We put together good shows about things that people care about …. We might have a small audience but we have the ability to produce content cost effectively. I’ve designed an entire production pipeline [that] cranks out good quality content very inexpensively.” James’ content includes raw food, science fiction and esoteric, new age content like feng shui and tantra. The latter focuses on how to bring a spiritual aspect to your relationship. “There’s a growing market for this type of content which large entertainment companies don’t cater to because the audiences are too small,” James said. Much of The Space’s programming is under subscription only websites, where they can track viewers. James also puts content on YouTube and on distribution outlets like Film On. “When I moved to San Pedro I was looking for a space, saw this theater and thought, ‘Wow! I could combine this all and succeed in doing it’,” James said. “This place provides all the resources I need for the next level of programming that I produce. So my message to the community is to come by The Space and see what we have to offer.” Details: http://thespaceonpacific.com, http:// consequenceofsound.net
[Weber, from page 16]
Weber
Weber quickly came to the attention of Ron Linden, curator of the newly relocated TransVagrant Gallery. Linden says her technique is disarmingly direct, referencing arte povera’s preference for unconventional materials. Much of Weber’s inspiration for her art came from her radical move. Leaving the community that she had called home for 30 years left her conflicted over the positive and negative aspects of her choice. “I started playing with the conflict of the positives in coming to Los Angeles and the negatives of leaving my homeland,” Weber said. “A lot of pieces that are in this show have
to deal with positive and negative space.” Walking through the exhibits, you notice areas that seem to have a space cut out, leaving a void in the background. It began to look like portals that you see in ships, but Weber said that the word portal refers to the door to a new place. She is working with both the environment and events in her own life, creating a metaphor for her life experiences. Ann Weber, Sculpture runs through April 30. TransVagrant Gallery is hosted in Gallery 478 for this exhibit.
Museum of Latin American Art Announces New President
Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, through April 30 Details: (310) 600-4873; www.transvagrant. com Venue: Gallery 478, 478 W. 7th St., San Pedro
Saturday, Apr 8
Original Glass Family members, Jim Callon and David Capilouto take the stage with a new band. Hear their 1968 originals and tunes from The Doors and The Stones, plus more
The Museum of Latin American Art recently announced that it has selected Lourdes I. Ramos to serve as president and CEO. Ramos will bring an international perspective to MOLAA, having spearheaded partnerships with major international institutions and alliances during more than 20 years in the museum field. Prior to her tenure at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, she was the director of the San Juan City Museum and the National Collection of Puerto Rico at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. She received a master’s degree in fine arts from Illinois State University and a doctorate in the same subject from the University of Barcelona in Spain. She also is an accreditation commissioner for the American Alliance of Museums, which is how she first came to the attention of the board at MOLAA. Her résumé includes financial management of the Museo de Arte along with curatorial experience. The museum has been without a director since Stuart Ashman left in July 2016 to join the Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe in New Mexico. She will be the first woman to serve as CEO and president for MOLAA. Her first day on the job at MOLAA will be May 1, 2017. —Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer
The 1968 LP ELECTRIC BAND reissued on double vinyl available now at JDC Record Store, 447 W. 6th St. San Pedro
434 W. 6th St. San Pedro Tickets & Info:
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DBA FILINGS Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017046025 The following person is doing business as: (1) HAVIC IT, (2) H.A.V.I.C. IT, (3) Home Audio Video Integration Consulting, 664 1/2 21st Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County.
Articles of Incorporation or Organization Number: AI# ON: 3927176 Registered owners: Rafael Ruvalcaba, 664 1/2 21st Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by a corporation. The registrant started to transact business under the
OBITUARY
Danny Villanueva, 1955 - 2017
Beloved son who was predeceased by parents, Jaun and Feliza Villanueva. He had two siblings and was loved by his aunts, uncles, numerous cousins and many friends. He was a kind, gentle and generous person. He leaves behind his dog child “son, Nino.” Nino has found a new forever home where he will be loved and cared for by Dan's cousin. His two cats are being adopted and cared for by a kind friend and neighbor. Although he is greatly missed we all take comfort in knowing he has finally found peace in God's loving hands.
fictitious business name or names listed above: 02/2017. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/. Rafael Ruvalcaba, President. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 2017. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of
[Continued on page 19]
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Across
1 A-list notable 6 “Big Blue” company 9 Exudes affection 14 Tell jokes to 15 Perrins’s partner in sauce 16 TV host with a book club 17 Slow reaction to making tears? 19 1980s attorney general Edwin 20 157.5 deg. from N 21 Insurer’s calculation 22 Gave bad luck to 23 ___ Lingus (carrier to Dublin) 24 Red-sweatered Ken from a 2016 presidential debate 25 Voracious “readers” of old audiobooks, slangily? 31 Responsibility shirker’s cry 32 Coyote’s cries 33 Gulf Coast st. 35 Bitty amount 36 Test versions 37 Ditch 38 “All Things Considered” cohost Shapiro 39 Ninja Turtles’ hangout 40 ___ and variations 41 Three fingers from the bartender, for instance? 44 John’s “Double Fantasy” collaborator 45 Blackhawks and Red Wings org. 46 Montana moniker
49 1978-’98 science magazine 51 “___ death do us part” 54 Act histrionically 55 What the three longest answers are actually held together by 57 XTC’s “Making Plans for ___” 58 Adjust, as a skirt 59 Corset shop dummy 60 Newspaper piece 61 Creator of a big head 62 React to Beatlemania, perhaps
Down
1 Ill-bred men 2 Auckland Zoo animals 3 Fortune founder Henry 4 Strong following? 5 Doctor’s orders, sometimes 6 Societal woes 7 Bird’s bill 8 Could possibly 9 Franchise whose logo has three pips 10 Letter tool 11 “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” rockers 12 Facility 13 Leave hairs everywhere 18 Britain’s neighbor, to natives 22 Prominent part of a Nixon caricature 23 K2’s continent 24 Haunted house warning 25 Brewer of Keystone and Blue Moon 26 Top floor
27 “Quadrophenia” band 28 Pacific Northwestern pole 29 Craftsperson, in steampunk circles 30 Nickelodeon’s green subtance-in-trade 31 Actress Vardalos 34 “George of the Jungle” creature 36 First name mentioned in “Baby Got Back” 37 Jewish house of prayer 39 Carmichael who coined the phrase “black power” 40 Cannon fodder for the crowd? 42 Seafood in a “shooter” 43 Elsa’s sister 46 Folds and Harper, for two 47 Unreal: abbr. 48 Type of dancer or boot 49 “In My Own Fashion” autobiographer Cassini 50 Sticky note note 51 Pasty luau fare 52 ___ facto 53 “Sex on Fire” group Kings of ___ 55 “Weekend Update” cohost Michael 56 Haul a trailer ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers go to: www.randomlengthsnews.com
DBA FILINGS [From page 18] section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. Effectively January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 03/16/2017, 03/30/2017,
04/13/2017, 04/27/2017
04/13/2017, 04/27/2017
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017063976 The following person is doing business as: Quicksilver Drafting, 2272 Eucalyptus Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Quetzal Silver, 2272 Eucalyptus Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806. This Business is conducted by an individual. The registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 02/22/2017. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/. Quetzal Silver, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on March 14, 2017. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.Effectively January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 03/30/2017, 04/13/2017,
04/27/2017, 05/11/2017
It’s Easy! $
135
310-519-1442 Remember, you must renew your DBA every 5 years.
Strengthening the power of money over the power of individual voters is precisely the core problem that’s now threatening the collapse of Western liberal democracies. As money-driven campaigns shift focus ever farther away from the lives of citizens and their everyday concerns, faith
March 30 - April 12, 2017
DBA Filing & Publishing
fired for making a commonsense decision to save his own life — and to protect others as well. Gorsuch, alone among all the judges who ruled on the case, thought that firing Maddin was perfectly fine. Indeed, it was the only legal conclusion he could possibly reach — a conclusion Franken called “absurd.” Franken talked Gorsuch step-by-step through the facts of the case, vividly underscoring Maddin’s perilous condition. “It is absurd to say this company is within its rights to fire him because he made the choice of possibly dying from freezing to death or causing other people to die possibly by driving an unsafe vehicle.” Franken concluded. “That’s absurd!” “Now, I had a career in identifying absurdity,” Franken added and the room briefly burst out in laughter. “And I know it when I see it.... And it makes me question your judgment.” As People For the American Way’s analysis showed, there were many more cases like that, just not quite as vivid. This is how conservatives have managed to gain such a stranglehold on the courts over the years. Perhaps most tellingly is a report from Demos, a progressive research and policy center founded in 2000 which noted that Gorsuch is wildly at odds with public opinion on the matter of reclaiming democracy from the moneybags who would buy it for themselves. “More than 90 percent of voters (including 91 percent of Trump voters) think it’s important that President Trump nominates a Supreme Court justice who is open to limiting the influence of big money in politics,” Demos reported. But Gorsuch’s only ruling in this area “puts him among the ranks of justices extremely hostile to this issue, such as Thomas and Scalia.” Rather than limiting the influence of big money, Gorsuch believes in strengthening it. The progressive think tank noted that “Gorsuch expressed openness to providing a higher level of constitutional protection to a donor’s right to make political contributions than the Court currently affords the right to vote.”
hard to rebuild it. Nothing proves that more directly than his nomination of Gorsuch, a giant slap in the face at all those working class voters who believed him when he said, “I am your voice.” Like the case of the frozen trucker, it underscores the need for those voters to find their own voices — as some have already begun to do, in the town halls which helped stop Trump/ Ryancare in its tracks.
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017069202 The following person is doing business as: Barba Services, 717 W 33rd St., #207, San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Joshua Barba, 717 W 33rd St., #207, San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 03/02/2017. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/. Joshua Barba, owner. This
04/27/2017, 05/11/2017
Contradictions
in democracy and government steadily erodes. Multiple polls over the years have depicted this erosion. The philosophy Gorsuch embodies is a prime contributor to that decline. Donald Trump got elected by pretending to stand up on behalf of forgotten citizens. But he’s actually just another Mr. Moneybags, eager to tear democracy down even farther, rather than working
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017052148 The following person is doing business as: (1) Tony’s Plumbing, 25039 Vermont Ave., Harbor City, CA 90710. Los Angeles County. Articles of Incorporation or Organization Number: AI# ON: 3953446 Registered owners:Tony’s Plumbing, Inc., 25039 Vermont Ave., Harbor City, CA 90710. This Business is conducted by a corporation. The registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 10/11/2016. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/. Antonino Sanzone, President. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on March 2, 2017. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.Effectively January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 03/16/2017, 03/30/2017,
statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on March 20, 2017. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.Effectively January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 03/30/2017, 04/13/2017,
[Contradictions, from page 7]
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