Rl 09 03 15 edition

Residents vent about homeless and rumors p. 3 ILWU pensioners line up behind Sen. Sanders’ KOPPA bill p. 5 Sen. Isadore Hall chases political destiny p. 7 QFilm Festival returns to Long Beach p. 17

September 3 - 16, 2015

[See Hill, page 14]

INSIDE:

Graphic: Suzanne Matsumiya

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this debate. Social media has become a platform for throwing proverbial smoke signals for the natives to gather rocks, clubs and lynching ropes both in a real and in a figurative sense. At least that’s the impression that’s been made in preparation for the Sept. 3, San Pedro forum on homelessness.

I recently asked a Joe Hill Memorial Committee member and this town’s official labor historian, Art Almeida, why remembering Hill is important at this period in time.

“I suppose [it’s about] observing the centennial of Joe being with us and [show] that he hasn’t been forgotten,” Almeida replied.

“He’s as much alive today as he was 100 years ago. Surprisingly, a lot of people don’t know much about him. But that’s what happens with history. Things sort of just fade away.”

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ov. 19 marks the centennial of Joe Hill’s execution by firing squad in the state of Utah. The state said he was guilty of a double murder. But, he was actually killed because he was a Wobbly. The authorities of that era would throw all sorts of charges at the Wobblies to see which ones would stick.

I was thinking about Joe Hill partially because a group of San Pedro artists, labor historians and volunteers, called the Joe Hill Memorial Committee, are organizing a commemorative event in November to celebrate Hill’s life and work. As a labor icon, Hill’s legend has only grown since his death.

Another reason Joe Hill and the Wobblies have been on my mind these past few weeks is the ongoing debate about homelessness in San Pedro and the level of incivility accompanying

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Four Years Strong

September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

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The desire to bring back a hardware store to South Shores is what drove me to open Ace Hardware four years ago. Walk into South Shores Ace Hardware store today and you’ll see that the same customer service lives on.

It is something at once tangible, but not as obvious as our convenient location or the warm welcome when you walk through the door–we’re the community’s independent hardware store. My employees are here for you. Our shop at 25th and Western is determined to continue this service.

To hear our vision of South Shores Ace Hardware’s future, it’s almost too simple. We’ve kept it that way with three goals in mind: To remain local, stock the best inventory, and uphold the highest quality of customer service.

That is why we couldn’t be happier with this co-op with Ace Hardware. Ace Hardware recently won the J.D. Power and Associates award for highest customer satisfaction for its ninth consecutive year.

Ace Hardware’s level of dedication, along with our ability to operate as an independently owned store has allowed us to keep the needs of the community in mind. It gives us the freedom to make decisions based on local demand and fill our shelves with the necessary items.

A lot of our neighbors make small home repairs, so we stock what they need, but we remain San Pedro’s convenience store for a reason.

You’ll find almost everything you need whether you’re a professional or tackling a weekend project. That’s what a convenience store should be; an everyday store so you don’t have to run to the big-box corporation for your home repairs.

We partnered with Ace Hardware because they’re the Number 1 hardware co-op in the country. We did all of this, and I do all of this, for the neighborhood. It’s our way of letting you know we’re here for the long run.

—Terry Katnic, owner South Shores Ace Hardware, Second generation San Pedran

For the 9th consecutive year, Ace ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores” —J.D. Power

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Community Announcements:

Harbor Area San Pedro Forum on the Homeless

As the entire City of Los Angeles struggles with an epidemic of homelessness, District Councilman Joe Buscaino would like to bring the community together to discuss the issue, offer perspectives, answer questions and attempt to give a sense of understanding of what is possible, both short-term and long-term, what is legal, and what residents can do to help.

Three panel members will offer their perspective on the issue. They include Greg Spiegel, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “homeless czar;” Los Angeles Police Department Senior Lead Officer Deon Joseph, who has spent the past 17 years policing downtown’s Skid Row; and Shari Weaver, director of the Family Resource Center at Harbor Interfaith.

The panel will share valuable expertise in addressing the homeless issue and offer an accurate insight into the problem, followed by audience questions and answers.

Time: 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 3 Details: (310) 732-4515 Location: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St, San Pedro

LA/LB Harbor Labor Coalition Solidarity Parade Bring the whole family for the 36th annual Labor Day Parades on Sept. 7. The march starts at Broad Avenue and E Street in Wilmington.

Parade participants will assemble at 8 a.m. The march will begin at 10 a.m. followed by a rally at Banning Park at 12 p.m. There will be live music, shuttle buses, free food and soft drinks.

Time: 10 a.m.

Details: (562) 595-1891 Venue: Banning Park, 1331 Eubank Ave., Wilmington

Spanish as a Second Language for Seniors

Water, Power Rates Community Meetings

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is proposing a 5-year rate action that seeks modest water and power rate increases each year based on: replacing aging water and power infrastructure; transforming water and power supplies; improving customer service; and keeping rates competitive.

Time: 6 p.m. Sept. 10 Venue: Wilmington Senior Center, 1371 Eubank Ave., Wilmington

Central SPNC Committee on Homelessness

Harbor Brass Quintet

Harbor Brass is a California South bay Brass Quintet looking for help with rehearsal space and music. The group is comprised of experienced members of several local wind ensembles and orchestras. Your support will help pay for music and rehearsal space for the next year.

Details: www.facebook.com/HarborBrass

By Ivan Adame, Contributing Writer

Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council hosted a full house Aug. 25 at the Elks Lodge’s bungalow.

The purpose of the meeting was to hear the public’s opinions regarding homelessness in San Pedro. For more than 90 minutes, about 25 members of the public from all over San Pedro spoke civilly about a variety of concerns, including public safety concerns, the public perception of homelessness and the behavior of advocates on both sides on social media.

Several speakers brought printouts of exchanges on Facebook in order to call out specific people.

But the most commonly brought up issue that evening were concerns that the proliferation of homeless people in San Pedro was due to them being transported by local charities.

“If they want help, get back on that bus and go to Long Beach or go back to where you came from,” said one speaker. “We’re willing to take care of our own, but shouldn’t have to take the burden of neighboring communities.”

“If you move them from San Pedro to somewhere else, that’s because their problem is not solved,” said another speaker. “If we move them, then it will be the next town and the next town and the next until someone can brainstorm what to do with them. But they are human beings. [They] could be anyone here, you know, tomorrow. I would implore people to think of that first, [then to find] a solution.”

However, despite the popularity of this conspiracy theory during the meeting and in social media, there isn’t any substantial evidence to support claims that homeless people are being bussed to San Pedro.

“I’m not aware of any [buses],” said Richard Hildebrandt, director of Christian Care at Mary Star of the Sea parish via phone at a later date.

“If I were aware of any, I would be talking to those agencies that would do that. I can’t imagine them doing that. It’s wrong. [I think] these people who are saying that are making it up out of whole cloth.”

The public comments were followed up by a Q-and-A from two former homeless people, along with Shari Weaver of Harbor Interfaith, and Sgt. Catherine Plows, who is in charge of Community Relations for the Los Angeles Police Department Harbor Division.

Plows said that Harbor Division has two officers and a car dedicated to quality of life matters, establishing relationships with the local homeless.

“The reason I say ‘establishing relationships’ as opposed to arresting homeless, is that we don’t really get anywhere [by arresting],” Plows said.

Plows said that it comes down to a simple cycle: continually ticketing homeless people, knowing that it will lead to a warrant, an arrest and a weekend in jail only to be back on the streets to do it again. It is a waste of time and resources.

“What’s the definition of insanity?” Plows asked rhetorically. “Doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same result…. My

A homeless encampment on Palos Verdes Street.

Photo by Adam Adame.

hope is with meetings like this… something will actually get done. “ In her research, she has cited cities like Olympia, Wash. and Houston, which have built tiny villages.

“These are all public-private partnerships that cost a lot of money,” Plows said. “It’s something to consider.”

Concluding the meeting, neighborhood council President James Dimon said that this won’t be the last meeting of its kind and that he expects to build a larger forum with a larger crowd.

“We’ve learned a lot from both sides,” he said. “The important experience is to understand what is really going on because [at first,] I was the ‘put ‘em on a bus and get them out of town’… I was the first to admit it. I got involved… I started to educate myself… as I’ve gone down this road, my opinion has changed. I tell you, we’re going to solve this problem. Working together with this community is the only way that works.”

September 3 - 16, 2015

The Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council Committee on Homeless is presenting a roundtable discussion exploring resources available to respond to the needs of our neighbors without shelter and those at risk of losing their shelter.

Time: 5:45 p.m. Sept. 15 Venue: San Pedro Regional Library, 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro (venue may change)

Locals Vent about Homeless at Coastal SPNC Meeting

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The Long Beach Senior Latino Club is hosting weekly beginners Spanish as a Second Language classes for seniors at the Long Beach Senior Center. The next semester starts Sept. 8.

Instructions by Rosa Ruiz focus on reading, writing and speaking Spanish. The classes are open to people 50 or older. The 12-week session costs $25. Prior registration is mandatory with a one-time $10 registration/supply fee required from first-time participants.

Space is limited, register at the Latino Club office, Room 107-H. Time: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 8 Cost: $25 Details: (562) 570-3514 Venue: Long Beach Senior Center, 1150 E. 4th St., Long Beach

Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 30 Years

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Republican Port Performance Act a Target on Union Backs

September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

Washington, D.C.—Though the International Longshore Warehouse Union was able to walk away with a contract this past April, the union also walked away with a bigger legislative target on its back. This past May, Republican senators introduced comprehensive transportation legislation as part of the Port Performance Act. In May, Republican Sens. Cory Gardner and John Thune made floor speeches asking the Senate to support their efforts to punish the union for the disruptions in the goods movement chain during the several months of contract negotiations after the last contract expired.

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The legislation would mandate that the federal government monitor productivity and gather statistics on port productivity.

Some of the language in the Port Performance Act was included in a recent comprehensive transportation bill passed by the Senate.

Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii attempted to attach an amendment that would have struck the port metrics section from the bill, but Republican Senate leaders refused to allow it on the floor. The Senate Republican leadership also slipped in a provision that would allow automation costs to be funded through federal government grants to ports.

Contract talks had concluded in May. Since then, shippers and other employers along the goods movement chain have tried to blame the backups on labor rather than the changes that have taken place in the industry over the past few years, which even industry press reports have blamed for the problems: shippers divesting themselves from their chassis pools, the emergence of shipping alliances, and megacontainer ships.

The ILWU Washington office and the ILWU grassroots legislative action committee are lobbying to defeat the measures.

NLRB Votes Against Recognizing College Football Players Union

Washington, D.C.—On Aug. 17, the National Labor Relations Board dismissed a Northwestern football players’ petition seeking to unionize. The ruling essentially denied the player’s claim that they are university employees and should be allowed to collectively bargain.

The board did not rule directly on the central question in the case—whether the players, who spend long hours on football and help generate millions of dollars for Northwestern, are university employees. Instead, it found that the novelty of the petition and its potentially wideranging impacts on college sports would not have promoted “stability in labor relations.”

In the decision, the board held that asserting jurisdiction would not promote labor stability due to the nature and structure of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. By statute the Board does not have jurisdiction over state-run colleges and universities, which constitute 108 of the roughly 125 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter announced that Northwestern football players to form the first labor union for college athletes January 2014. File photo.

In addition, every school in the Big Ten, except Northwestern, is a state-run institution.

As the NCAA and conference maintain substantial control over individual teams, the board held that asserting jurisdiction over a single team would not promote stability in labor relations across the league.

Though the board’s unanimous decision was a clear victory for the college sports establishment, [See Briefs, page 8]

Keep Our Pension Promises

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

On Aug. 11, Luisa Gratz, president of ILWU Local 26, sent out a letter to ILWU locals, pensioners, auxiliaries and friends, urging them to get involved in the struggle against pension cuts for millions of retirees. The letter was in support of a resolution passed at the recent June 8 through 12, 36th ILWU convention hosted in Hawaii.

“We in the ILWU know that resolutions don’t make changes, people do,” Gratz wrote. “We are asking ILWU members, retirees, families, friends and neighbors to get involved in this protest to keep our pension promises.”

More precisely, she asked people to support the “Keep Our Pension Promises Act (KOPPA),” that Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced on June 18, 2015 as Senate Bill 1631, and as House Resolution 2844 that Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat of Ohio authored, and included “a draft letter for review, copy or signature(s) to send in so that our voices are heard—loud and clear.”

The act repeals provisions of the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014 enacted at the end of the most recent Congress. It allows the trustees of certain financially-troubled, multiemployer pension plans to reduce benefits for retirees, widows and widowers, which were previously guaranteed, under the federal private pension law, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which was passed in 1974. These are all pensions earned by retirees, and owed in lieu of deferred wages. An estimated 1.5 million retirees and survivors will be immediately impacted, with millions more in harm’s way in

the near future. Keep Our Pension Promises Act will prevent this, ensuring continued payment of full benefits. The necessary funding is provided by the elimination of two tax breaks for wealthy individuals and estates, making the act revenue neutral.

“Hard-working retirees should not ever have to doubt their retirement security,” Sanders said in a press statement announcing the bill. “We made a commitment 40 years ago to workers in this country that companies will never renege on a pension promise. We need to restore that commitment.”

One of the two largest plans affected is the Central States Plan, the biggest pension fund within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Teamsters President Jim Hoffa was in Washington, D.C. for the announcement of the Keep Our Pension Promises Act, along with other union leaders, retirees and pension rights advocates.

“Retirees and workers who have played by the rules should receive the benefits they were promised,” Hoffa said in a Teamster statement of support that same day. “The Teamsters thank Senator Sanders and Representative Kaptur for taking steps to ensure the government repairs [See Pension, page 26]

Asbestos Exposure—A Hidden Threat Workplace injuries are an unfortunate reality for many Harbor Area workers. Most injuries are known shortly after a triggering event. Asbestosrelated injuries are different. It takes a minimum of 10 years, up to 50 years or more, for conditions such as asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma to develop after exposure to asbestos.

This means those who worked at Harbor Area shipyards, refineries and factories, as well as those who worked in construction and automotive trades from the 1950s throughout the 1990s may be at risk for developing asbestos-related illness. So, too, are their spouses and children who were exposed to asbestos brought home on work clothes and boots.

Call us toll free at 800-831-9399 or visit our website at www.mesothel.com for a free consultation and evaluation of your claim.

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Attorneys John Caron & Roger Worthington

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September 3 - 16, 2015

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September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

Chasing Political Destiny:

From State to Federal, Hall Aims to Prove He Can Serve Port and People

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In Random Lengths News

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor and Lyn Jensen, Reporter Although Isadore Hall III has only recently begun representing Senate District 35, which encompasses a group of diverse South Bay communities ranging from Carson to San Pedro, he is already campaigning to succeed Janice Hahn in Congressional District 44 in November 2016. How Hall handles port issues in San Pedro will play an important role in whether he can win the District 44 seat.

matter to the Federal Elections Committee and left it at that. The Federal Elections Committee has not taken action.

After taking office in December 2014, Hall made sure to stay visible in San Pedro, first by being a vocal advocate of the ILWU at the height of tensions during contract negotiations in January, and then “opening a Senate District 35 field office to downtown San Pedro

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State Sen. Isadore Hall, second from right, stood in solidarity alongside Rep. Janice Hahn, front, with the ILWU during the union’s Jan. 2 press conference following the Pacific Maritime Association’s announcement that they were going to cut the night shift during contract negotiations. From left, Long Beach Councilman Roberto Levanga, Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell and Long Beach Councilman Rex Richardson also lent their support. File photo.

[See Hall, page 8]

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this year.

“One of the biggest blessings that I have is the fact that I can now have San Pedro,” said Hall at his new San Pedro field office. “I’m very huge in the area of ports and goods movement. Making sure that we are providing opportunities for expansion…making sure there is security…making sure that there’s a plan for economic development for the port.” These were not issues he faced when he represented Carson and nearby communities in the state assembly.

When asked about the biggest difference between working in the California Assembly and the state Senate, Hall not only mentioned how his district now includes San Pedro and the port, but also spoke about SB 63, which he authored and introduced less than a month after he took office.

“I’ve introduced [SB 63] with Joe Buscaino that allowed for infrastructure development and enhancement,” he said. “Also another piece of legislation for the ports that allowed for the ports to be creative in how it’s financed…because when the government took away redevelopment from the communities, there was an unintended consequence that took out a component that allowed for the ports to expand and to have an apparatus where they could financially and economically expand their ports.”

Hall argued that this bill corrected a problem created by the dismantling of California Redevelopment Agencies.

“There was a finance component in the redevelopment bill that excluded the ports from being able to expand or to use a financing component to be able to bond or finance expansion and economic development on the port,” Hall explained. “What our bill did was reverse it so we excluded the ports from what was taken away; thereby giving the ports an opportunity to expand, to develop, to finance economic projects.”

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Random Lengths recently covered Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka’s efforts to redevelop Ports O’ Call Village, providing for congestion relief in Seroka’s vision of the port’s future. Bill Orton, a rival Democratic candidate for District 44, suggested that Hall had “logrolled” portrelated legislation to get Los Angeles Councilman Joe Buscaino’s endorsement.

The allegation stemmed from a San Pedro Chamber of Commerce event at which Buscaino allegedly boasted that he wouldn’t give anyone his personal endorsement without favorable state legislation affecting his district.

This boast allegedly came in July, during the same time period as the Ports O’ Call lease agreement and Hall’s pending legislation that amended the state Tidelands Trust Act, which extended the ability of cities to grant waterfront leases up to 75 years. Those bills are SB 399 and 63.

Hall’s congressional campaign spokesman, Dave Jacobson, told Random Lengths that the allegations were untrue. Jacobson said Orton has since apologized and it appears the allegation has since been removed from Orton’s page and website.

Buscaino’s spokesman, Branimir Kvartuc, also denied the charge against Orton, saying pending legislation had nothing to do with his endorsement, which he called a “no-brainer.”

The reason the councilman endorsed Hall was because he “knows he can work with him and has worked with [him] while he’s been in the state legislature,” Kvartuc said.

Kvartuc noted that both Senate bills 399 and 63 were being drafted long before Hall’s congressional run.

“The only scenario in which the councilman would have withheld his endorsement is if he was running for the seat himself,” Kvartuc said.

Orton told Random Lengths that he referred the

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[Hall, from page 7]

Isadore Hall Chasing Destiny

September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

Hall makes the case that his senate term has allowed him to add port-related issues to his curriculum vitae that already lists housing, healthcare, economic development and education. He said that before now, he didn’t have a constituency that paid attention to port issues.

“The inland communities never really worry about port because they’re more concerned about goods movement,” Hall said. “But there was never really an emphasis on ports… I still do the work [such as] healthcare, education, economic development, for career vocational technology programs, [and] environment[al] issues.

“Forty percent of all goods movement in the United States of America comes through our Port of Los Angeles. You saw what happened when the port slowed down. And how that impacted not just California but it impacted the nation. We have an opportunity now to work on something that is [not only] significant to San Pedro and California but the nation.”

He said his priorities as both a state senator and vice chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus are not limited to one group of people.

“Our issues are not just [about] empower[ing] African-Americans, but to empower minorities as a whole,” he said. “One of those things would be our environment.”

As example, Hall pointed to his favorable vote on SB 32, a bill that aimed to reduce toxic emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Given that his campaign donors include oil companies, this could be an indication that he does not necessarily vote as those donors may wish.

“I think that’s important not just for the state of California but particularly in our geographical area,” Hall said. “It’s very important. A lot of the oil companies are not necessarily in line…but I think it’s a healthy bill.”

The bill was authored and sent to the floor on

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Jan. 15. It has since passed through the Senate and has been sent to the assembly’s appropriations committee.

While Hall’s position makes him one of the most powerful African-American politicians in California, the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color has been an issue no major portion of America can ignore.

Hall cited the reams of legislation that have been put forth in both the Assembly and the Senate addressing the divide between law enforcement and communities of color. He particularly highlighted Sen. Holly Mitchell’s SB 227.

“Holly Mitchell had a bill…where [if] you had a law enforcement agency that had committed violence on a person, that law enforcement person is able to go through the same level of a jury as anyone else and not hide under the guise of a grand jury.”

With his background as a reserve deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Hall aims to balance support for law enforcement while acknowledging that there’s still work to be done.

This may at least partly explain his expression of gratitude that recently Los Angeles didn’t see the same level of unrest as other parts of the country, when he said that Los Angeles learned its lesson following the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Those stemmed from a Ventura jury’s decision to acquit four Los Angeles Police Department officers for the 1991 beating of Rodney King.

The beating was caught on videotape but the jury still bought completely into the defense’s

[Briefs, from page 4]

the board noted decision is narrowly focused to apply only to the players in this case.

Board Issues Decision in Browning-Ferris Industries

CALIFORNIA—On Aug. 27, National Labor Relations Board announced the refinement of its standard for determining joint-employer status in a 3-2 decision involving Browning-Ferris Industries of California.

With more than 2.87 million of the nation’s workers employed through temporary agencies in August 2014, the board held that its previous joint employer standard has failed to keep pace with changes in the workplace and economic circumstances.

In the decision, the board applies longestablished principles to find that two or more entities are joint employers of a single workforce if,(1) they are both employers within the meaning of the common law; and (2) they share or codetermine those matters governing the essential terms and conditions of employment.

argument.

“In every organization, there’s a bad apple,” Hall said. “It’s a matter of weeding out the bad apple, be it in a hospital, in law enforcement, in a fire agency, at a school… in every agency, you’ll find a bad apple.

“We just have to make sure they’re not in a place where they can hurt the individual or a community... I think that’s what the legislature is doing, particularly with the community.”

This view may seem out of sync, however, with the fact that Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department problems were more systemic and institutional than the presence of a few bad apples would suggest. The department was forced to accept federal oversight following the settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought by jail inmates who said they were beaten by guards, along with reports of continuing abuse despite promises to reform over the past three decades.

Vocational training is another issue Hall appears eager to address. Such education has become an increasingly potent issue over the past several years as civic and business leaders question the wisdom of steering all students toward four-year colleges.

“The obvious thing is that not everybody’s going to go to a four-year university, unfortunately,” Hall said. “If only 10 or 15 percent of the folks from high school are going to college, what are we doing for the other 85 percent… who are not?”

Hall recalled when wood, metal and mechanic shop classes were still common in California high schools as recently as the 1980s.

“When we graduated from high school, we In evaluating whether an employer possesses sufficient control over employees to qualify as a joint employer, the board will—among other factors—consider whether an employer has exercised control over terms and conditions of employment indirectly through an intermediary, or whether it has reserved the authority to do so.

In its decision, the board found that BrowningFerris Industries was a joint employer with Leadpoint, the company that supplied employees to Browning-Ferris Industries to perform various work functions for Browning-Ferris, including cleaning and sorting of recycled products. In finding that Browning-Ferris Industries was a joint employer with Leadpoint, the Board relied on indirect and direct control that BrowningFerris Industries possessed over essential terms and conditions of employment of the employees supplied by Leadpoint as well as BrowningFerris Industries’ reserved authority to control such terms and conditions.

Business groups condemned the decision, portraying it as the latest example of the National Labor Relations Board blatantly favoring unions during President Barack Obama’s tenure.

The board ordered that within 14 days the ballots that were impounded on April 25, 2014 shall be counted and the appropriate certification issued.

had some type of skill or trade or something that you could get into to help you make some money,” Hall said. “All of that’s been taken out of schools now.”

To address that, Hall said he is working on legislation with Sen. Ben Allen and Assemblywoman Autumn Burke to make sure we invest in career vocational and technical education.

Hall noted that major portions of workforces at Boeing and other companies in the aerospace and computer industries are going to be retiring by 2020. Even though Boeing recently announced layoffs at their El Segundo satellite division, the five-year timeline for retirements will still have to be dealt with.

“There’s going to be a backfield that’s going to be needed like you’ve never seen it before,” Hall predicts. “These employees are going to be folks who’ve gone to career-tech, voc-tech training programs.

“The Black Caucus is very happy to support the career-tech voc-tech programming, putting dollars back into our communities.”

Hall also touted his and the Legislative Black Caucus’ commitment to increase the number of slots for children enrolled in early childhood education, which was accomplished in the Budget Act for fiscal year 2015-16. In addition to the expansion of early childhood education, Hall worked to secure an additional $3.1 billion for the University of California and California State University systems to expand access to students throughout his district.

Google Express Workers Vote to Join the Teamsters

Palo Alto, CA—On Aug. 21, the Teamsters announced that 150 Google Express workers in Palo Alto, Calif. voted to join Teamsters Local 853. But the announcement came the day after the online shopping-delivery service said it plans to close the delivery hub where they work, as well as one in San Francisco.

Google did not comment on whether that decision was related to the union vote. Adecco, the staffing agency that technically employs the workers and campaigned hard against the union, [See Briefs, page 9]

Americans’ Support for Labor Unions Returns

[Briefs, from page 8]

said in a statement that while it believed “our associates are better off directly dealing with us as their employer rather than involving a union,” it was “supportive of any direction freely chosen by our associates.”

Workers’ complaints included wages too low for them to afford housing in the Bay Area and supervisors who follow them into the bathrooms to make sure they’re not spending too much time.

Princeton, N.J.—According to the latest Gallup poll released this past month, almost six out of every 10 Americans supports labor unions—a five-point increase over the previous year.

Americans’ approval of labor unions stands at 58 percent, the highest it has been since 2008, when 59 percent approved. The image of organized labor had suffered between then and now, sinking to an all-time low of 48 percent in 2009.

Gallup first asked Americans about organized labor in 1936, a year after Congress legalized private-sector unions and collective bargaining.

At that time, 72 percent of Americans approved of unions. Support remained high into the 1960s, but then dipped through the 1970s until it reached 55 percent in 1979. It has since varied, reaching

DEMOCRATS HONOR LABOR.

as high as 66 percent in 1999 and as low as the 48 percent in 2009.

The latest results are from the 2015 installment of Gallup’s annual Work and Education survey, conducted Aug. 5 through 9.

Consistent with the recent increase in approval of unions, the percentage of Americans saying they would like labor unions to have more

MARITIME TRADES DEPARTMENT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PORTS COUNCIL, AFL-CIO

JEFF B. TURKUS, PRESIDENT

AFFILIATES

310-508-9234 juliandburger@gmail.com

LARRY BARRAGAN, VICE PRESIDENT

LOUIE DIAZ, SECRETARY-TREASURER Sheet Metal Workers International Association, Local #105 (AFL-CIO)

American Maritime Officers Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers, Local #31 (AFL-CIO) California Association of Professional Employees International Association of Machinists, Local #1484 (AFL-CIO) International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local #11 (AFL-CIO) International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local #13 (AFL-CIO) International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots Offshore Division (AFL-CIO)

310-367-7186 rwbrandin@aol.com

influence in the country has also been rising. It now stands at 37 percent, up from 25 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, the percentage wanting unions to have less influence has declined from 42 percent to 35 percent, although it remains higher than it was from 1999 through 2008. Instead, fewer today say they want unions’ influence to stay the same.

Iron Workers, Local #433 (AFL-CIO) Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building & Construction Trades Council

Marine Engineers Beneficial Association District No. 1, MEBA (AFL-CIO) Operating Engineers, Local #12 (AFL-CIO) Operating Engineers, Local #501 I.U.O.E. (AFL-CIO) USW, Local 675 (AFL-CIO) Pile Drivers, Local Union #2375 Sailors Union of the Pacific (AFL-CIO) Seafarers International Union AFL-CIO & IWD (Stewards) (AFL-CIO) Seafarers International Union Atlantic Gulf Lakes and Inland Waters District (AFL-CIO)

Teamsters Automotive Industrial & Allied Workers, Local #495 Teamsters Local Union #572 Teamsters Local Union #848 Teamsters Local Union #952 UA Local 250, Steamfitters and Refrigeration (AFL-CIO) United Food & Commercial Workers, Local #324 (AFL-CIO) United Food & Commercial Workers, Local #770 (AFL-CIO) United Industrial Workers Union (SIU, AFL & IWD, AFLCIO) United Teachers Los Angeles (AFL-CIO) Wilmington Branch Pacific Coast Marine Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders & Wipers Association (AFL-CIO)

This Labor Day, we call on labor leaders, union members and working people to unite behind the candidate that working families need— a President who will answer to the 99 Percent.

• Rebuild crumbling infrastructure—create 13 million good paying jobs

• Reverse climate change—lead in Green energy industries and create millions of sustainable jobs • Grow the Union Movement • Pay equity and raise the minimum wage—end working class poverty

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Stand With Bernie

• Fair Trade—end disastrous trade policies • Take on Wall Street—break up Too Big To Fail banks • Make college affordable—free tuition at public colleges • Demilitarize police forces—reorient law enforcement training with input from community leaders, organizations like Black Lives Matter

To learn more visit www.BernieSanders.com Paid for by Friends of Bernie (not an official Sanders campaign organization). To volunteer: volunteersinsocal@gmail.com

September 3 - 16, 2015

• Single-payer Medicare for All health care system

9

Anatomy of a Facebook Uprising The Neighborhood Council Motion that Sparks Citywide Reaction

By James Preston Allen, Publisher

Disclaimer­—Nothing in this editorial or in the pages of this newspaper should be taken as the official position of the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council to which I was elected president in 2014. Nor does it reflect the opinions of any of its board members. The opinions expressed here are solely my own, which I will defend as follows.

I

September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

t began with the addition of a motion supporting the idea of building “tiny shelters” for the homeless on Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council’s formal agenda on the Friday before the Aug. 8 meeting.

By Saturday, a disgruntled former board member was ringing a three-alarm fire bell on Facebook about the item.

By Monday, Daily Breeze reporter, Donna Littlejohn picked up the scent and posted a story with the screaming headline “‘Tiny houses’ for the homeless create backlash in San Pedro.”

On Aug. 10, Littlejohn said the meeting was “sparking an uproar among critics who charge that the wooden ‘shacks’ are not only eyesores but will quickly become a haven for crime.”

I’m not sure if her reporting was the cause or the effect of the “uproar,” but what is clear is that just the announcement of the item to support the tiny homes caused the office of Councilman Joe Buscaino to panic and call the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, the part of Los Angeles that advises neighborhood councils, to find out if this motion was legal.

He then submitted a motion through the Public Works and Gang Reduction and Homeless committee of the Los Angeles City Council to the city attorney’s office to “report on the legality of the placement of such structures in both the public right-of-way and on private property and recommend removal protocol.”

This was probably the fastest action the council office has ever taken with regard to a neighborhood council action. As yet, there is not an adopted legal opinion on this issue.

Meanwhile, on the social media front, days before the actual meeting, public commentary on the issue was building fast and furiously—spreading wild accusations and half-truths. It is my suspicion that the “tiny homes” opposition message was boosted by Buscaino’s officer of propaganda, Branimir Kvartuc, since it was reported in his weekly eNews that week.

10

The TV news caught wind of the uproar via the City News Service and KCAL9 dispatched a reporter to the meeting. Even the Los Angeles Times sent a reporter and the word spread that “something was happening,” even if they didn’t know what that something was.

The attendance at the Central’s council meeting was, to say the least, nearly triple the average count. During the public comment portion of the meeting, some 14 individuals spoke both for and against the motion, which read as follows: CSPNC supports the tiny homes initiative, not with any financial support but as a policy, and that we continue to look for alternative spaces for these tiny homes to be placed that are not on city streets, and urge the city to assist in the search for alternative locations.

The community comments were split, but the vote of the council was unanimous. Afterwards, the room quickly emptied by two-thirds. Later, Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Catharine Plows commented that the city attorney advising them told her that the tiny homes violated several municipal codes.

Yet, two weeks later, upon review of the ordinances that might apply to these structures, legal counsel for two separate city council committees were still trying to craft legal language that would hold up in court.

The Daily Breeze miraculously reported in its Aug. 24 story that, “Senior Assistant City Attorney Valerie Flores told the panel that the structures are illegal on public property, including sidewalks, streets, alleys and parks. Under city law, they are considered bulky items and can be picked up and destroyed by city sanitation workers.”

As of press time, there seems to be no consensus on whether they are legal or not.

The very next day, Buscaino’s office announced that it was hosting its own homeless forum on Sept. 3 at the Warner Grand Theatre.

Then, Xavier Hermosillo posted a flyer on Facebook after the neighborhood council meeting announcing, “San Pedro’s Biggest Meeting Ever!!!... Don’t let our San Pedro become another Skid Row...Let your voice be heard!!!”

This, after he claimed Long Beach is dumping their homeless on us.

The forum was set for First Thursday, right in the middle of the Art District’s monthly art walk, conveniently scheduled the week before the Central’s next meeting, and 13 days before that Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com

“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it.”

—Mark Twain Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg Vol. XXXVI : No. 18 Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach. Distributed at over 350 locations throughout the Harbor Area.

Assistant Editor Zamná Ávila zamna@randomlengthsnews.com

council’s own Sept. 15 forum on homelessness.

Another problem the council office has is that it has curtailed any public comment during their forum, fearing that some of the uglier kinds of commentary that has been appearing on Facebook would be aired. As a result, they have only accepted written questions prior to the Warner Grand Theater meeting.

The outrage was further fueled by TV reports, radio interviews and incendiary Facebook commentary, mostly accusing the neighborhood council of “building the tiny homes” and enabling homeless criminals, pedophiles and drug addicts, suggesting that these miscreants be run out of town or worse.

I was most shocked and amazed by the vitriolic foaming-at-the-mouth Facebook commentary demonizing an entire class of people with the misfortune of being without a home in our community.

What most of these opponents of little shelters never realized in all of this outrage is that this sudden “explosion” of homelessness on our streets didn’t come from Long Beach or downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row. This explosion was one of the unintended consequences of the gentrification of Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park and the Port of Los Angeles and Caltrans expansion of the Harbor and SR-47 freeway exchange.

It’s not that most of this population of homeless just arrived from some other place or were “dropped off” here, as is rumored. What I have learned is that some 167 homeless folks at Harbor Regional Park and some 40 or more near the freeway exchange were evicted from those encampments in preparation for the work by the government itself. The hypocrisy of this situation is that the homeless problem was

Columnists/Reporters Lyn Jensen Carson Reporter B. Noel Barr Music Dude Lori Lynn Hirsch-Stokoe Food Writer Gina Ruccione Restaurant

Reviewer Andrea Serna Arts Writer Melina Paris Culture Writer Calendar 14days@randomlengthsnews.com Photographers Terelle Jerricks, Phillip Cooke, Tommy Kishimoto, Betty Guevara Contributors Ivan Adame, Jim Hightower

Cartoonists Ann Cleaves, Andy Singer, Matt Wuerker Design/ Production Adam Adame Suzanne Matsumiya Advertising Representatives David Johnson rlnsales@randomlengthsnews.com Adam Adame reads@randomlengthsnews.com Editorial Intern Arlo Tinsman-Kongshaug Display advertising (310) 519-1442 Classifieds (310) 519-1016 www.randomlengthsnews.com

acceptable (tolerated even) when it was invisible from public view. But once it spilled into the public domain, the residents became enraged and they had no one to blame.

Next came the political attack of the deceptive Change.org petition directed at recalling members of Central’s council, including myself and two other board members—as if we alone had caused the tiny homes to be built. This petition was posted on various Facebook pages and shared on Buscaino’s page, then promoted by my “good friend” Josh Stecker on San Pedro Today’s page.

Isn’t underhanded subterfuge in local politics and publishing just amazing? But even in both of the editorials in SPT, Stecker and Buscaino all condescended to say that the tiny homes were wellintentioned, then offered no long or short-term solutions before ending with a meek invitation to Buscaino’s “Biggest Meeting Ever!”

This, I’m sure didn’t quell the Facebook vigilantes’ wrath, nor the demonizing of the homeless or the neighborhood council. Even more accusations came flooding in on Facebook threads, where some commentary tilted toward slander, accompanied with some profanity and a whole lot of stupid.

The outrage continued up to the point where I shared a news story about a homeless man shot on the Venice boardwalk.

“Is this what you want?” I was asked. The Facebook lynch mob seemed to back away and then change the subject to less hostile, but still personal, remarks. Everybody has some outrage, and far be it from me to stop the expression of free speech. But this was like someone had yelled “Fire!” in a theater and then stepped back to watch the panic.

Well, to tell you the truth, I’m outraged too.

[See Facebook, page 11]

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 adv@randomelengthsnews.com or reads@ randomlengthsnews.com.

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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 2015 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.

RANDOMLetters Coastal Page Regarding Homeless

The Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council did us all a favor with their actions to frontand-center the homeless issue.

Without Central there would be NO meeting, and we would continue to do nothing about securing our community.

Street people are people and have rights. At the Coastal Public Safety Forum in 2014 Senior Lead Officer Eve Wight reminded one indignant questioner of that when there was a demand to do something about homeless panhandling at the freeway ramps in San Pedro.

The City of Los Angeles has lost repeatedly in federal court with regard to rights denied to prisoners and the homeless by its officials.

The result can be receivership and settlements to enforce those rights.

If we want to secure our property values and improve our community we need a comprehensive plan to work with the street people. There will be no LEGAL solution that says street people must accept care or get off the street or get out of town.

Peter M. Warren San Pedro

Round of Applause for Homeless Coverage

I applaud you and your writing staff for keeping the spotlight on the homeless problems in San Pedro and LA. The time has come for tiny houses in San Pedro. The Tiny Houses Project is a good idea, but it resembles a dog house and isn’t executed properly. It is too undignified for everyone but it actually served a great purpose and showed everyone the need for something better—which I think would be better designed and attached to a bike. I call it the ShelterPod/ShelterVet concept.

They would be much more dignified and easier for the localvocals to accept. They would help the homeless as well. The concept originated in San Pedro after I saw an old woman pushing a stone cart on Western Ave. More info at http://www.bikebillboards.com/ shelterpod.html From 1,200 miles away from San Pedro, in Depoe Bay Oregon. I still read your paper.

Richard Pawlowski Depoe Bay, Ore.

Fighting City Hall is a Futile Battle

I like Jan Han [sic], Jo [sic] Buscaino, Chief Beck, Jim Hahn, Nuch Trutanich and Rudy Svornich

[sic]—all good people, but you can’t fight City Hall.

When Jim Hahn lost the major race to Mayor Villaraigosa, Villaraigosa cut the Harbor Division Police a payback because San Pedro voted for Hahn. Now, look at what we have, a new police station [but] can’t use the jail.

Police officers have to transport people to 77th Street for booking.

We have an empty court house.

Locals have to go to downtown Los Angeles or Long Beach. San Pedro always had a jail and a court house. Now, northwest San Pedro is not in the 15th District. That’s Janice Hahn’s base.

Look what San Pedro has: two mental health hotels, countless halfway homes, sober-living homes, voucher hotels, Section 8 houses, plus three projects. Now, Los Angeles and other cities are sending homeless people here. San Pedro is small. We can’t handle all these people. Some are dangerous; some are weird.

Let’s get real. Look at the cities around us: Palos Verdes, Lomita, Carson, Torrance, Redondo Beach.

They have everything—their own police or sheriff, police station, jail, courthouse, city hall. These cities are clean.

We should try again to be our

own city and get northwest San Pedro back in the 15th District. We have the talent, ex-mayor, chief of police, ex-DA, councilman and soon-to-be Supervisor Hahn. Don’t know how to do it, but I guess if all neighborhood councils took a poll in their neighborhood you would get enough signatures to put on a ballot. Speak for many. We have nothing to lose.

Mike Puliselich San Pedro

Terminal Island Book

In reference to Aug. 20 edition of Random Lengths News ‘At Length’ column: It was a very nice piece… thank you… now you know what I spent the first year of retirement doing! Actually, I am doing a follow-up to that book with Angel City focusing on the bohemian community and separately a history of the Port of LA covering the period 1907-1967. This will be

an academic publication—more like Cunningham’s but with notes and references.

Geraldine Knatz, Ph. D. Los Angeles

Terminal Island History

Great article on Terminal Island. I had no idea that Terminal Island was such an incredible [See Letters, page 12]

[Facebook, from page 10]

Facebook Uprising

September 3 - 16, 2015

is as naïve as it is simplistic.

He and others just don’t get that these organizations are stretched to the max with what they can do already. There are no more beds at the inn for these homeless. Section 8 vouchers are depleted and, even if they do qualify for subsidized housing, it could take 90 to 120 days just to get in the system.

What people don’t get is that our very small problem with just 375 or so homeless people pales in comparison to the 6,292 living in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row or that the entire Council District 15, which ranks 6th in largest homeless population in the city, has some 1,544 people without shelter. If this were a natural disaster, the Red Cross and FEMA would have already provided shelter. Even Reggie the Alligator, who got caught at Harbor Regional Park, was given a home and treated better than those evicted by Los Angeles Recreation and Parks.

Finally, what I do know is that we, as a city and a community, have both the talent and compassion to solve this most basic of human problems.

We can and will do this just as soon as we stop playing the blame game and stop using the homeless issue as a political football. This is not a problem that we can arrest our way out of. It’s more complex than that.

The Local Publication You Actually Read

But for different reasons.

I’m enraged that in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, in the most powerful nation on earth, in the second largest city in the nation, overlooking the largest port complex in North America, we have a population of people who are so desperately poor that they have no place else to live, but on the streets and in the parks.

But here’s the difference. I don’t blame them for their own collective impoverishment. I realize that as a community and a civil society, we are judged not by the great wealth of the few or how much money corporations make, but by how we treat the least of our citizens.

I know that San Pedro has a very big heart. It is home to some 100 nonprofit organizations that do a tremendous amount of good work, that hire hundreds of employees and address a multitude of social, cultural and economic issues. A community that supports and benefits from this much goodness just doesn’t turn its back on this sort of human crisis.

We would do well to remember the ILWU’s motto, “An injury to one is an injury to all” and that this ethos doesn’t just hold true for the workers on the waterfront.

Stecker believes that these nonprofits just need to “step up their game” to do more to solve this human crisis. This response

11

Facing San Pedro’s Homeless Crisis

By Nora Vela, founder and director of Helping The Homeless In Need—San Pedro

September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

Daily Breeze reporter, Donna Littlejohn, reported correctly in her Sept. 2 story that we have suspended building the temporary transitional shelters, also known as tiny homes.

Littlejohn, however, was incorrect to call our organization a “business.” We are not, and never were a business.

Our funding exists mostly off of Fernando Escobedo’s paycheck; he works more than 60 hours a week. We also get help from private donations as well as the proceeds from selling my artwork.

We are honest people. We pay taxes. We pay rent and are not wealthy by any means. We are just people who care.

Our goal was to educate, connect and give hope to people working their way through Los Angeles County’s Coordinated

12

Entry System.

The way we see it, if someone is drowning in the ocean, we throw them a life preserver instead of just encouraging them to hang on.

When we formed Helping the Homeless In Need, we saw a void and attempted to fill it.

We began with handing out 12 tacos to people who looked hungry in a park. The more we handed out food, the more need we saw. It became apparent that while there were a number of shelters for people dealing with addiction and mental health issues, there were no shelters for individuals who were not addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Currently, certain elected officials and civic leaders are trying to buy time to develop permanent housing for the homeless. But right now what is

needed are acceptable temporary housing solutions.

The homeless in our community are exposed to many dangers, including: illness, theft, and assault. They are particularly prone to having their property stolen—property such as cell phones, identification cards, and other important documents— documents that have to be replaced every single time.

Our intention behind the temporary transitional shelters was not to offend or harm anyone, but to get people into a safer environment.

Any sort of 6-month shelter with running water and toilets would be the first step to giving people back dignity and selfworth and make them feel a productive part of society again.

Due to our electeds and civic leaders not addressing the issue

of homelessness and not providing enough resources to assist local service agencies in San Pedro, we are now facing a crisis that can’t be swept under the rug anymore.

This coming winter is going to be a harsh one.

If we as a community can build shelters where proper services can be administered, we will be able to avoid expenses such as unnecessary ambulatory calls, visits to emergency rooms, hazmat clean ups, storage facilities for personal belongings and police trips to downtown Los Angeles jails.

We are keeping our options open to any positive solutions that can improve our community for both the short and long term.

We all love San Pedro and want to clean it up and keep it clean by positively empowering each other.

Let’s work together toward a brighter future.

RANDOMLetters [Letters, from page 11]

destination spot. I can’t wait to read the book. What an incredible tradeoff that was back then (not all good, sadly), and even now the port never seems to stop growing. Too bad the mitigation process was started at such a late time in comparison to the expansion.

Frank Pereyda San Pedro Frank, What is amazing is that this book becomes a historical document on our collective loss of access to our waterfront, which is an argument that the environmentalists and community activists have been using for at least 20 years without knowing the complete truth of the matter.

James Preston Allen, Publisher

John Farrell Memorial

I am attaching a poem I wrote and read at John Farrell’s memorial service on August 15. The event was a signal send-off to a singular longtime South Bay resident and writer. He was also a fine human being and a good friend. I titled the poem after your publication, as he was an arts and entertainment contributor of Random Lengths for many years. I hope you like the poem and have permission to publish it in your paper if you wish.

Johnny death call both expected and shocking.

Both poetic and cruel (Nobody deserves to die, but everyone does) Brother Ed carrying his bundle of

canes like the 10 of wands and dropping the Load on a grey couch offers us (Sleepy and I) one as well as a pince-nez and case from his Casually curated collection. We journeyed here down the coastroute 1 Scouting locations for a film noir King Lear Fiasco Films (If it’s a film it must be a fiasco)— Bill Bard in Morro Bay. Ed pulls up a small cardboard box marked John Farrell Jr. “Not to get morbid or anything” he half-grins.

A B.C.E. Roman theater program called for three Tragedies followed by a play with satyrs. Johnny’s review: “Timely, as in long, but don’t miss act four.”

Johnny’s hat.

An entire Dickens novel could be written about that hat.

When Ed showed it to me, I knew he was gone.

And I laughed too, inside when I saw a fresh looking pink lily Sticking up from the brim. And cried inside when I smelled that sorrow and sweat and city dirt In the crown. As well as two cane, three pince-nez and two fountain pens, We drove away with two damaged computers, A dead ten dollar cell phone in a box, some cables and A few lifelines To anyone anyone anyone Who might need them.

Jack Prizmich San Pedro

The Local Publication You Actually Read

September 3 - 16, 2015

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[Hill, from page 1]

Joe Hill: The Man Who Didn’t Die When the Wobblies, otherwise known as the Industrial Workers of the World, formed in 1905, its founders envisioned a bigger and more inclusive union of the entire working class. This movement didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was built on the experience of a class of people who had been exploited and used up by industrial capitalism. They found a version of socialism, the idea of the One Big Union, to be a natural detour around capitalism’s inequities.

Harry Bridges, the founder of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, was a Wobbly for a short while during the early years of the IWW. He didn’t stay in that union, but he was profoundly influenced by it and it affected how

earthquake and he was a resident of San Pedro in 1910.

During the three years he lived in San Pedro, Hill wrote some of his most well-known songs: “The Preacher and the Slave” and “Casey Jones—A Union Scab.”

His songs, appearing in the Wobblies’ Little Red Song Book, addressed the experience of virtually every major Industrial Workers of the World group, from immigrant factory workers to homeless migratory workers to workers on the railroad.

September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

IWW poster from 1919.

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the ILWU was built. It was from the Wobblies that the idea, “An injury to one is an injury to all,” emerged.

Back in January of this year, thousands of Los Angeles Harbor Area residents rallied on Harbor Boulevard in support of the ILWU during the darkest moments of the contract negotiations. The rally represented all strata of San Pedro. Business owners and wage earners, elected officials and civic leaders, homeowners and residents of public housing all marched in those streets.

It was a moment in which the entire community stood behind the union as the Pacific Maritime Association was cutting nighttime and holiday shifts, all the while blaming the union for the backup of unloaded shipping containers.

Whether anybody knew it or not, Joe Hill’s spirit was alive and well that night.

San Pedro wasn’t always that open to Hill’s Wobbly spirit. William Adler’s definitive biography on Joe Hill, The Man Who Never Died, and Almeida’s Wobblies in San Pedro, reminded me of that.

A Swede, Hill landed in New York at the age of 23—three years before the Industrial Workers of the World formed. While little is known about Hill’s whereabouts between the time he arrived in the United States in 1902 and 1905, Hill was already a singer and songwriter, with a gift for playing a variety of musical instruments, when he arrived.

What is known is that he was in Cleveland, Ohio in 1905, in San Francisco during the 1906,

His music influenced generations of folk artists, including Paul Robeson, Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger and others, who wrote songs that told of the common man’s struggles.

Hill was also a reflection of the people he wrote about in his songs. He was the secretary of San Pedro’s IWW local strike committee and a veteran of the rebel forces during the Mexican Revolution. He also squatted in a tar-papered shack on the docks, which was much like the tiny houses that are causing such an uproar among San Pedro residents these days.

The Wobblies would probably not look too different from the homeless today, except for the fact that much of the unskilled jobs connected to industrial capitalism are gone. The Wobblies were foreign-born, transient, uneducated and to a certain degree, rootless because they went wherever there was work.

In fact, Wobblies’ practiced a meat-andpotatoes kind of unionism. Theirs was an activism that fought private employment agencies that were taking advantage of the unemployed. Theirs was an activism that fought free speech battles in the face of local government attempts to censor their speech.

Local governments, the chambers of commerce, religious institutions, and employeroperated dispatch halls were the forces against the union.

Anti-vagrancy and anti-syndicalism were the laws arrayed against them. Trumping up and [See Hill, page 26]

The history of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the record of its origins and traditions, is about workers of all races and beliefs who built a union that is democratic, militant and dedicated to the idea that solidarity with other workers and other unions is the key to achieving economic security and a peaceful world.

The origins of the ILWU lie in the longshore industry of the Pacific Coast—the work of loading and unloading ships’ cargoes. In the old days of clipper ships, sailings were frequently unscheduled and labor was often recruited at the last minute by shoreside criers calling: “Men along the shore!”—giving rise to the term “longshoremen.” The work was brutal, conditions unsafe, employment irregular and the pay too low to support a family.

September 3 - 16, 2015

Robert McEllrath, President Ray Familathe, Vice President-Mainland Wesley Furtado, Vice President-Hawaii William E. Adams, Secretary-Treasurer Ray Ortiz Jr. & Leal Sundet, Coast Committeemen

The Local Publication You Actually Read

These were the days of the shape-up, kickback, blacklist, goon squads, wage cuts, speed-ups and staggering accident rates. Among the lessons the longshoremen learned, to be recalled when they rebuilt their union in 1934, was that any discrimination weakens a union organization. They also came to understand the wisdom of the principles of worker unity, internal democracy and international solidarity advocated by members of the militant Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)—principles summed up in the famous IWW slogan that the new union would adopt, “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

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September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

Shado (Thishiwe Ziqubu) and Asanda (Petronella Tshuma) kiss for the first time in, While You Weren’t Looking. The movie is one of the featured films at this year’s QFilms Long Beach Festival, which takes place Sept. 10 through 13 at the Art Theatre in Long Beach.

qfilm festival line ups relevant features

I

ByZamná Ávila, Assistant Editor

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

t may seem as if the United States has reached an unprecedented level of equality, now that it is moving toward a society that no longer struggles for marriage equality, but the battle is far from over. The Long Beach QFilm Festival, which takes place Sept. 10 through 13, reminds us that there are still intersectional struggles that remain, such as wealth inequality, racism and sexism—not to mention acceptance of transgender identities.

Among the plethora of QFilms being showcased, there are three that make this point in particular: How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) from Thailand; While You Weren’t Looking from South Africa; and Liz in September from Venezuela.

Each of these films grapples with intersectional themes of privilege, race and sexual fluidity—issues that the American LGBT community must continue to address.

The Josh Kim-written and directed film, How to Win at Checkers (Every Time), stands out as one of the best selections at the festival.

If you are like me, watching subtitled films can be a task, but How to Win at Checkers definitely merits your time. Set in modern Bangkok, the film takes an endearing look at the love between two orphaned brothers. What’s fascinating about the film is that, while there are gaythemed elements to the film, the storyline is universal and the cinematography is superb. Based on the short stories Draft Day and At the Café Lovely by Rattawut Lapcharoensap, the characters can speak to many peoples’ experience of struggle in the confines of familial devotion.

Most of the film takes place in the past, when Oat (played by Ingkarat Damrongsakkul), the main character, is only 11 years old. His older brother, Ek (played by (Thira Chutikul), has stepped up to the plate to help their aunt rear him.

Because Thailand decriminalized homosexuality in 1956 and ended the ban on gays in the military in 2005, homophobia doesn’t play a large role in this film. Instead, the lens is focused on the social stratification–wealth in equality and corruption–that leads to the climax of the story in a world where you do what you have to do to survive.

Ek, who just happens to be gay, has reached the eligibility age to be drafted by the military.

He must submit to Thailand’s annual military draft lottery. As with many other countries that utilize the draft system, whether one is drafted or not has more to do with privilege than luck.

Oat inadvertently learns this lesson when tries to save his brother from the draft. Checkers, like the red and black lottery balls that determine whether someone is drafted or not, are symbolic.

In the game of checkers, someone has to lose when someone jumps ahead. So, the game of checkers are what open Oat’s eyes to learn that sometimes you must “do everything you need to win, even if it means someone else loses.”

The essence of family, struggle and social inequity also takes center stage in While You Weren’t Looking, directed by Catherine Stewart. The film looks at modern South African society’s haves and have-nots.

Through two separate but related storylines, While You Weren’t Looking challenges its audience to look beyond marriage as the pinnacle of equality.

My only criticism is the realism of the film’s un-ending. As it is in real life, there is no clear conclusion that resolves the issues. The ending is abrupt and I like conclusions, even if they aren’t happy endings. However, this might be purposeful to show how things tend to stay the same, and people, for one reason or another, stay in their own bubbles.

Callous, “legally” gentrifying, real estate developer Dez (Sandi Schultz) and Terri (Camilla Lilly Waldman) are living the life of wealth, complete with a beautiful home and a maid. Their wealth even shields them from discrimination. While their marriage includes a beautiful 18-yearold daughter and a steamy sexual relationship, Dez’s eye still wanders, and she philanders.

Asanda (Petronella Tshuma) has the world at her feet: two loving mothers, a protective maid, [See QFilm page 20]

September 3 – September 16, 2015 September 3 – September 16, 2015

17 17

What sets RLn apart from the rest?

Alternate Angles an Improvisational Experience

By Melina Paris, Music Columnist

Independent And Free.

A keen curiosity follows me when it comes

to renowned vocalist Dwight Trible’s projects.

So, when it came to the improvisational music ensemble Alternate Angles, which he led during an Aug. 23 performance at KRST Unity Center of Afrikan Spiritual Science, I was intrigued. I was about to witness Trible perform in what seems to be 100 percent his element: total improvisation.

An extraordinary vocalist, Trible always performs with an eclectic variety of extremely talented musicians. The group also includes Shay Lyn, with her expressions of melody, rhythm and word on Tibetan gong bowls and vocals; Maia on flute, piccolo and vocals; and Carlos Ninos on percussion.

KRST is a center for people who teach and practice ancient Egyptian spirituality and science in Los Angeles. The instrumentation, including vocals, gave this foursome many endowments.

Trible, a baritone known for his vocal virtuosity, can also reach very high octaves. He sings with an entirely unique sense of spirit which comes through him wholly.

Maia is a multi-instrumentalist (flute, vibraphone, piccolo and folk harp) and an accomplished vocalist who has played throughout Los Angeles.

Lyn comes from a family of vocalists. She accompanies herself on the Tibetan singing bowls.

Her influences include the harmonic and throatsinging voices of Tibet, Mongolia and Tuva. She is self-taught in the use of diatonic singing, pararhythmic vocal phrasing, and throat-singing.

Percussionist, composer and educator Carlos Ninos has performed and recorded with the biggest recording artists of our time. The esteemed list includes Madonna, Quincy Jones, Tito Puente, Pharaoh Sanders, Eartha Kitt, Arturo Sandoval,

Gypsy Kings, Jose Feliciano and Grupo AfroCuba de Matanzas, as well as Mariah Carey and Sade.

Together, this ensemble is more an experience than a group to sit and listen to. Though the listening is intriguing, you never know what’s coming next. Chances are you will be amazed at their execution in timing and unity in their use of improvisation.

Lyn opened with a welcoming into the space of “love and oneness,” followed by Ninos’ playing on various means of percussion and Lyn on Tibetan singing bowls.

Trible, in a quiet baritone, started with a query: “Are you ready?” Maia responded in a chant which evolved into the declaration, “Music is a healing force of the universe.”

As this chanting, music and sound progressed, Trible’s vocal acrobatics sounded like a standing bass. Esoteric at first Trible slowly moved into song. Performing their improvisational rendition of “Summertime,” with Maia on flute and Trible injecting lyrical pieces of jazz, they played within an alternate rhythm. A sort of deconstruction and a view from the inside of this

song looking out. It worked wonderfully.

Maia followed with a reading of Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise,” which this audience appreciated. Watching Alternate Angles perform is to see the budding of an inspiration bloom into a full expression of deep intuitive sounds.

This is especially true with Lyn, who transforms her voice into a didgeridoo (aboriginal wind instrument) sound.

Later in the show, Trible spoke to his audience of both friends and fans about his favorite place to play.

“Something where we don’t know exactly what we’re going to do,” Trible said. “Vibrate on the spirit in this room. It is really good and conducive. Meditate into what it is we’re doing.

Probably foreign, but something about it that feels at home.” Maria came up with the name “Alternate Angles,” Trible believes that it means a different form of expression.

This project has been in the making for the past 10 years.

“I’ve been looking to get some people together of the right spirit that could understand the vibration of improvising and also the respect of knowing how to be in when it’s time to be in but also to back off and all of those things,” Trible said. “Finally, I think I’ve got the people [who] can pull that off.”

Review: Charles Bukowski – The Laughing Heart SPIFF’s Entertaining 6-hour Tribute Honors San Pedro’s Most Enduring Literary Figure

“B

By Ivan Adame, Contributor

uk’s dead,” said the poet RD Armstrong, also known as “Raindog,” bluntly while on stage during the San Pedro International Film Festival’s 95th birthday tribute to Charles Bukowski. The words seemed to teeter between bewilderment and amazement at Bukowski’s continuing influence. It has been 21 years since Bukowski died in San Pedro.

Like him or not, Bukowski remains appealing to readers because of his depictions of sex, alcohol, poverty, and endurance with—or without—those things. They can be fleeting, working-class portraits for some, or affirmations for others.

Much like one of his few acknowledged

influences, Ernest Hemingway, Bukowski had gained an eccentric persona.

For Harbor Area locals, his appeal would be very difficult to question. Downtown San Pedro is simultaneously within arms reach of art, booze, and poverty. In other words: it’s all still here, and not very much has changed.

Much like some spiritual, literary retreat, the 6-hour long, Aug. 17 sold-out tribute Charles Bukowski – The Laughing Heart was attended

by Bukowski’s friends and fans, all bundled together at the Grand Annex. They were fittingly surrounded by the sweaty summer heat and the lingering smell of alcohol.

The festival comprised of several poetry

September 3 – September 16, 2015

[See Bukoswski page 23]

18

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

September 3 – September 16, 2015

19

[QFilm, from page 17]

QFilm Festival Big Nick’s Pizza Tradition, variety and fast delivery; you get it all at Big Nick’s Pizza.

The best selection of Italian specialties include hearty calzones, an array of pastas and of course, our amazing selection of signature pizzas, each piled high with the freshest toppings. Like wings or greens? We also offer an excellent selection of appetizers, salads, beer and wine.

Call for fast delivery. Hours: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.Thurs., 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Big Nick’s Pizza • 1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro • (310) 732-5800 • www.facebook.com/BigNicks

Independent And Free.

Buono’s Authentic Pizzeria A San Pedro landmark for over 40 years, famous fo r exc e p t i o n a l award-winning pizza baked in brick ovens. Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and sauces based on tried-and-true family recipes and hand-selected ingredients that are prepared fresh. You can dine-in or take-out. Delivery and catering are also provided. Additionally, there are two locations in Long Beach. Hours: Sun.-Thurs.

11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. • Buono’s Pizzeria • 1432 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro • (310) 547-0655 • www.buonospizza.com Happy Diner The Happy Diner isn’t your average diner. If you pay attention to its special menu on blackboards, it’s almost a certainty you’re going to find something new each week. The cuisine runs the gamut of Italian and Mexican to American continental. The Happy Diner chefs are always creating something new. They believe that if an item is good, its reputation will get around by word of mouth. You can even find items normally found at curbside lunch trucks. You can take your pick of grilled salmon over pasta or tilapia and vegetables, prepared any way you like. Try their chicken enchiladas soup made from scratch.

Happy Diner • (310) 241-0917 • 617 S. Centre St., San Pedro Nazelie’s Lebanese Cafe Nazelie’s Lebanese Cafe is a favorite of the neighborhood for the terrific kabobs, beef or chicken

Waterfront Dining

September 3 – September 16, 2015

Boardwalk Grill

20

Casual waterfront dining at its finest!

Famous for slabs of Chicago-style baby back ribs, fish-nchips, rich clam chowder, cold beer on tap and wine.

Full lunch menu also includes salads, sandwiches and burgers. Indoor and outdoor patio dining available. Proudly pouring Starbucks coffee. Open 7 days a week. Free Parking. Boardwalk Grill • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 519-7551

shawarma, lamb dishes and falafel. Nazelie’s chicken and rice soup with lemon is like a warm embrace—it takes chicken soup to a whole new level. Nazelie uses a recipe handed down in her family for generations, starting with homemade chicken broth, and adding a refreshing touch of lemon for taste and nutrients. Nazelie’s Lebanese Café, 1919 S. Pacific Avenue, San Pedro. (310) 519-1919 Niko’s Pizzeria One of downtown San Pedro’s signature restaurants features a full Italian menu, huge selection of pizzas, Greek specialties and a beer and wine bar featuring a wide selection of beers on tap and by the bottle.

Watch sporting events on plasma TV screens throughout the restaurant. Delivery service to all of San Pedro, Port locations and hotels. 399 W. 6th St., San Pedro (at the corner of Mesa and 6th sts.) • (310) 241-1400 PHILIE B’S ON SIXTH Owner Philie Buscemi welcomes you to Philie B’s on Sixth, where New York– style pizza, Sicilian rice balls and pizza by-the-slice are the specialties. Fresh hot or cold sandwiches, gourmet pizzas and fresh salads are also served.

Try the “white pizza” with smooth ricotta, mozzarella and sharp PecorinoRomano cheeses topped with torn fresh basil.

Extended hours accommodate San Pedro’s unique lifestyle and work schedules. Catering and fast, free local delivery ($15 min.) available.

Philie B’s On Sixth • 347 W. 6th Street, San Pedro (310) 514-2500 www.philiebsonsixth.com

The hands-on attention to detail makes their restaurants so successful, in both quality of food and service. Sonny’s Bistro’s lunch and dinner menus feature dishes made from locally sourced and hand–selected meats, seafood and seasonal vegetables. Try the $10 lunch menu served Mon. through Friday. Think Café serves breakfast in addition to lunch and dinner with fresh egg dishes, omelettes and griddlecakes. Both restaurants have a fine selection of wines and beers that complement the dishes. Sonny’s Bistro • 1420 W. 25th St., San Pedro. Hours: Mon-Fri, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat and Sun. from 4 p.m. • (310) 548-4797. Think Café • 302 W. 5th St., San Pedro • Hours: Mon-Sat. 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.- 2 p.m. • (310) 519-3662.

The Whale & Ale San Pedro’s British gastro pub offers comfortable dining in an oak–paneled setting, featuring English fish & chips, roast prime rib, sea bass, rack of lamb, beef Wellington, meat pies, salmon, swordfish & vegetarian dishes. Open for lunch & dinner, 7days/wk; great selection of wines; 14 British tap ales, & full bar. Frequent live music. First Thursdays live band & special fixed price menu. Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri. 11:30 a.m.-midnight Sat. & Sun. 1-10 p.m. Bar open late. The Whale & Ale • 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro • (310) 832-0363 • www. whaleandale.com

San Pedro Brewing Company A microbrewer y and American grill, SPBC features handcraf ted award-winning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, bbq, sandwiches, salads and burgers. A full bar with made-fromscratch margaritas and a martini menu all add fun to the warm and friendly atmosphere. Wi-Fi bar connected for Web surfing and email—bring your laptop. Live music on Saturdays. Hours: From 11:30 a.m., daily. San Pedro Brewing Company • 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro • (310) 831-5663 • www.sanpedrobrewing.com Sonny’s Bistro and Think Café Sonny and Carly Ramirez are the husband and wife team behind Sonny’s Bistro and Think Café. They operate both establishments: Sonny works in the kitchens and Carly attends the front of the house.

PORTS O’ CALL WATERFRONT DINING S i n c e 1 9 61 t h e y ’ v e extended a hear ty welcome to visitors from every corner of the globe.

Delight in an awe-inspiring view of the dynamic L.A. Harbor while enjoying exquisite coastal California cuisine and varietals.

Relax in the plank bar or outdoor patio for the best happy hour on the waterfront. With the awardwinning Sunday champagne brunch, receive the first Spirit Cruises harbor cruise of the day free.

Open 7 days, lunch and dinner. Free Parking. Ports O’Call Waterfront Dining • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 76, San Pedro • (310) 833-3553 www.Portsocalldining.com

SPIRIT CRUISES

An instant par ty!

Complete with all you need to relax and enjoy while the majesty of the harbor slips by.

Their three yachts and seasoned staff provide an exquisite excursion every time, and all-inclusive pricing makes party planning easy! Dinner cruise features a three course meal, full bar, unlimited cocktails and starlight dancing. Offering the ultimate excursion for any occasion. Free parking. Spirit Cruises • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 548-8080, (562) 495-5884 • www.spiritmarine.com

Include Your Restaurant in the Dining Guide In Print & Online • (310) 519-1442

Courtesy photo: Liz in September

a clingy boyfriend and an interesting, genderbending, queer studies course that she takes. That is, until she meets Shado (Thishiwe Ziqubu), an androgynous woman who “packs” objects in her pants so that people believe she is a man.

“For protection, you know how hard it is to be a woman around here,” Shado explains to her grandmother.

Her point is proven when, later in the film, a man threatens to rape her and Asanda.

A careful observation of the relationships among Dez and Terri—a middle-aged, mixed race couple—their daughter, Asanda and Shado —Asanda’s love interest—shows viewers that when it’s said and done, patriarchy and privilege are still issues that need to be tackled.

While many elements have moved the equality pendulum forward, classism remains. There are many examples that prove that Asanda and Shado are from two different worlds. When Shado visits Asanda’s home in the city, she is greeted by a maid who tells her she does not belong in there.

In fact, the maid later tells Terri that people “like her” are not welcome members of the community she is from. When Terri correctly assumes that the maid is referring to Shado’s sexuality, the maid tells her that Terri is different, because of her social status.

When Shado takes Asanda to Khayalitsha, the town where she lives, Asanda also is confronted with culture shock. She doesn’t know the dialect and she is viewed as a rich outsider by people of the same skin tone but totally different culture.

Their differences are even underscored by their own interactions during moments of intimacy.

“Have you ever been on an airplane,” asks Asana, who plans to study abroad.

“No, but I’ve been to an airport,” Shado responds.

This film could easily be staged as a multifaceted play that tackles both socioeconomic issues and sexuality. As I mentioned earlier, Asanda had a boyfriend at the beginning of the film, but on her 18th birthday she meets Shado and kisses her, thinking Shado was a man.

Parts of the film take place in a class Asanda is taking. The instructor challenges the class to think beyond social confines. For example, he makes reference to a 2010 statement from the minister of culture, who decries “social cohesion and nation-building.”

“The nation is heterosexual,” the instructor declares as he presents his students with queer and gender identities. “If we can queer gender, we can queer identity, culture, nature and subject.

And, that’s freedom.”

By contrast, Liz in September (based on the classic lesbian play, Last Summer at Bluefish Cove) is more of a classic romance with a solemn but happy ending.

[See QFilm, page 24]

A Delicious Stripe Appears at the Palos Verdes Art Center

By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer

The historic Palos Verdes Art Center has

Courtesy photo from Stripe Café

salmon smoked each day, Nutella latte, lavenderinfused olive oil cake topped with lemon curd, and daily fresh soups. The chef’s favorite is tomato soup made with imported San Marzano tomato, roasted in-house with roasted garlic. A carrot–ginger soup made with miso and lemongrass is also a standout.

Are you hungry yet? Well I am. So I think I will be going back for Gabriela’s tacos. Each morning Hickey makes a stop at a Long Beach tortillaria to pick up fresh masa for his handmade tortillas, and gives you a choice of delicious fillings: short rib, organic chicken or shrimp.

I suggest you make this your next lunch date.

Time: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday

Details: (310) Venue: Stripe

541.2479; pvartcenter.org Café at Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

brought an exciting new addition to the culinary scene on the peninsula.

Since its renovation two years ago, much has changed at the Art Center. The new executive director, Joe Baker, was there to oversee its redesign. For visitors to the art center, a new eating establishment Stripe Cafe was part of the revamp.

Stripe Café Executive Chef Brett Hickey’s.

The focus is on plant-based fare, with farmto-table options highlighting his conscious cuisine.

“We really see this as a place to bring the community together by using food,” Hickey said. “In a sense, going back in time, where food is fresh, organic and more natural. We want everything to be made here; we make everything in-house and we bring the seasons in, while having good, quality food and good prices.”

The grilled vegetable tartine sandwich is a perfect example of Hickey’s commitment to highlighting vegetables on his menu. The sandwich, made with whole grain bread, features an avocado goat cheese smear nestled under fresh grilled vegetable, piquillo peppers and baba ghanoush.

“It’s a sandwich that will make staunch meat eaters love vegetables” the chef said.

Not to say that this is a vegetarian restaurant.

The most popular item on the menu is the shortrib grilled cheese sandwich. The restaurant braises the ribs for 24 hours, adding caramelized onions and grated, fresh horseradish root to highlight the flavor.

Every restaurant needs a hamburger on the menu. At Stripe, the hamburger patty is made with a mixture of short rib, chuck and hangar steak, ground fresh in-house to provide a unique flavor profile. Each burger is served with a house-made aioli on fresh-baked focaccia bread to absorb all the juices. Add duck fat potatoes and you just may glimpse culinary heaven.

Hickey grew up in Long Beach and left when he was 18 to spend four years training at Johnson and Wales Culinary College in Denver. Upon completion, he traveled to Europe and spent time cooking in Italy and Croatia. Through his school he enrolled in a study-abroad program in Peru.

“Because my mom worked for the airlines, I

have had an opportunity to travel and sample many different cuisines,” he said. “California is the best place in the world for food and produce. I love going to the Long Beach farmers market each week and looking for what’s best.

The cafe is open for lunch, but pop-up dinners have already become highly anticipated special events. The June dinner menu included saltroasted pork and clams, grilled octopus and seared scallops.

Hickey’s menu is full of delightful surprises:

September 3 – September 16, 2015

21

Berlin Coffeehouse: A Unique Long Beach Café that Promotes Local Business

Y

LONG BEACH LABOR DAY WEEKEND 2015

NEW BLUES FESTIVAL II

2 DAYS! 2 STAGES! 30 BLUES ACTS!

SATURDAY

JAMES HARMAN - BARBARA MORRISON BERNIE PEARL - 2000 LBS OF BLUES TEDDY LEE HOOKER - SEAN LANE UNION HOBOS - RAY GOREN

Independent And Free.

SUNDAY

CARAVAN OF ALL STARS - LAURIE MORVAN NEW BLUES REVOLUTION - THE 44’S SHERRY PRUITT - DELGADO BROTHERS DAVE WIDOW - GEORGE FOSTER BAND - CHASE WALKER FOOD COURT! BEER GARDEN! VIP LOUNGE! VENDER VILLAGE!

SATURDAY & SUNDAY

SEPT. 5TH & 6TH

EL DORADO REGIONAL PARK 7550 E SPRING ST, LONG BEACH

September 3 – September 16, 2015

www.newbluesfestivalcom - (562) 762-8317

22

By Gina Ruccione, Cuisine and Restaurant Writer

ou could ask anyone in Long Beach about the food at Berlin by Portfolio Coffeehouse and the answer is always the same: “the food is absolutely amazing.”

Everything is organic, locally sourced, seasonal and served with a creative, fresh flare.

Berlin is unique in many ways, but it also bears an air of nostalgia for me. It’s reminiscent of my high school days in Italy, where I would spend afternoons lingering in cafés, snacking and sipping coffee until late in the evening. So it Courtesy photos from Berlin Coffeehouse comes as no surprise that with more finesse than Kerstin Kastner at Berlin, the concept was inspired by European cafés. It’s meant to be a place to hang please let me know. She’ll give anyone a run for out, drink great coffee, snack and then stay a their money.

Her business optimizes the “localism” while. Beer and wine are also available, so that mantra that other restaurants strive to achieve. also helps the process.

She partners with several other businesses in If there’s anything I like about living in Long Long Beach and has formed synergistic and Beach and the surrounding Harbor Area, it’s the collaborative relationship that I have yet to see sense of community. People have a tendency to eat local, shop local and there is a sense of pride anywhere else. They have partnerships with five with regard to supporting the community. As different local coffee roasters and seven different someone who has lived in almost every nook of pastry vendors. They Also feature local artists’ Los Angeles County, I can tell you that it’s a rarity work on their art on the walls. Adjacent to Berlin anywhere else in the county. Many of the places is Fingerprints, a funky, retro record store that that I choose to frequent in Long Beach and San sometimes hosts musicians and features free Pedro actually have owners who work side-by-side concerts. Of course, Berlin has collaborated their employees. If there’s anyone who does it [See Bistro, page 23]

[Bistro, from page 22]

Time: 6

to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays

7 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays Details: (562)

435-0600;

Venue: Berlin

Bistro, 420 E. 4th St., Long Beach

http://berlincoffeehouse.com

Gina Ruccione has traveled all over Europe and Asia and has lived in almost every nook of Los Angeles County. You can visit her website at http://www.foodfashionfoolishfornication.com.

[Bukowski, from page 18]

Charles Bukowski – The Laughing Heart Bukowski is paying off,” he said.

Another highlight of the readings belonged to poet Alexis Rhone Fancher, whose highoctane, erotic poetry provoked cheers from the audience.

Sue Hodson, curator of the Huntington Library and Art Collections, presented highlights from its acquisition of Bukowski’s manuscripts, letters, and literary and pornographic magazines, some of which contained rare glimpses into his talent as a cartoonist.

Also during the presentation, Hodson drew parallels from Bukowski poems to that of Walt Whitman.

“They’re very much of one mind, even if they’re a century apart.” Hodson said.

During the panel, each of the panelists gave their own insights as to how Bukowski was perceived by the academic and literary establishment. While Michael C. Ford believed that the academics patronized him as “the poet laureate of skid row,” Hodson believed that he took it in stride.

“He was proudest of a letter that came to him from some inmates in some prison in Australia who said that his book was the only book that got passed from cell to cell,” Hodson said.

The day long Charles Bukowski – The Laughing Heart was a moving tribute to the poet, capturing much of Bukowski’s complexities as a person, while asserting that his work is very much alive in our local and literary character.

Sept. 5

American Monster Burlesque and Blues Show This amazingly fun burlesque and blues show guarantees a jaw-dropping good time. For guests 21 years and older only. There’s a two-drink minimum.

Time: 9 p.m. Sept. 5 Cost: $10 Details: (562) 239-3700; http://longbeach.harvelles. com Venue: Harvelle’s, 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach New Blues Festival II Stellar headliners James Harman, Barbara Morrison, Kid Ramos, Caravan of Allstars and many more are going to be the New Blues Festival II in Long Beach, as well as 30 great bands on two stages over two days.

Time: 9 a.m to dusk, Sept. 5 and 6 Cost: $25 for one day; $40 for two days Details: www.newbluesfestival.com Venue: El Dorado Park, 7550 E. Spring St., Long Beach

Sept. 12

Nili Brosh Band Israeli born artist Nili Brosh has performed with Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson), Guthrie Govan (Asia), Andy Timmons (Danger Danger, Olivia Newton-John) and the Iron Maidens (world’s only allfemale tribute to Iron Maiden) Time: 8 p.m. Sept. 12 Cost: $20 Details: (800)403-3447; http://alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro Andy and Renee with Hard Rain The South Bay’s favorite rockers, Andy & Renee tour extensively as a duo or with their band, Hard Rain. Their original music shows their passion for the founding masters of folk-rock – Dylan; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Laura Nyro and Neil Young.

Time: 8 p.m.

Cost: $25 and $30 Details: www.grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Sept. 13

Mindless Groove Mindless Groove is a high-energy, six-piece contemporary jazz group formed in the South Bay. The band finds influences from groups like the Rippingtons, Jeff Lorber Fusion and Fourplay.

Time: 8 p.m. Sept. 13 Cost: $20 Details: (800) 403-3447; http://alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Sept. 18

Paula Santoro Brazilian singer Paula Santaro is one of the greatest of her generation. With four albums released to her credit, her discography features dozens of collaborations from artists including Guinga, Nivaldo Ornelas, Pacífico Mascarenhas and Eduardo Neves.

Time: 8 p.m. Sept. 18 Cost: $20 Details: (800) 403-3447; http://alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Community/Family Sept. 5

Shoreline Jam Don’t miss the 5th annual Shoreline Jam at the Queen Mary Waterfront Events Park on Labor Day weekend.

The event includes food, lawn games, two stages, vendors. Join headliners Matisyahu and The Green as they rock the house along with many others. Entry for children 4 years and younger is free.

Time: 2 to 11 p.m. Sept. 5 and 6 Cost: $45 to $200; parking is $20 Details: www.queenmary.com Venue: 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, Light at the Lighthouse Celebrate Labor Day Saturday at Point Fermin Park at the 11th Annual Light at the Lighthouse. There will be music, food trucks, a graffiti art demonstration, a BMX performance and activities for children.

Time: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 5 Cost: Free Details: (310) 241-0684 Venue: Point Fermin Park, 807 W Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro

Sept. 11

Oktoberfest It’s never too early to start planning Oktoberfest.

Be a part of Southern California’s longest running Oktober festival with live band Happy Franconians. For 21 and older people only. Bring your own stein: (glass or easily shattered material not permitted). Parking is free.

Time: 6 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. Sept. 11 through Oct. 31 Cost: $12 to $60 Details: www.alpinevillagecenter.com Venue: The Alpine Village, 833 W. Torrance Blvd., Torrance

Sept. 12

Long Beach Drive Electric Celebration Electric vehicle advocates including Plug In America, Sierra Club, and Electric Auto Association, are hosting a national weekend of electric vehicle events. There will be electric buses, cars, 18-wheelers, bicycles, lawn equipment and motorcycles as well as information about all the benefits of electric propulsion.

Time: 9 a.m. 12 pm. Sept. 12 Cost: Free Details: http://tinyurl.com/LB-Electric-Vehicles Venue: Houghton Park, 6301 Myrtle Ave, Long Beach

Sept. 13

White Point Home Tour Join the 2015 White Point Home Tour for a selfguided tour of distinctive San Pedro homes. Enjoy a lively reception with wine, appetizers and live music at the White Point Nature Preserve. Bid on art, jewelry, vacation homes and, local excursions during a silent auction.

Time: 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 13 Cost: $60 in advance, $70 on the day of the tour Details: http://tinyurl.com/White-Point-HomeTour Venue: House 1002, 1002 Pacific Ave., San Pedro

Sept. 16

Bilingual Lottery Night Have fun learning and playing “lotería” which means lottery in Spanish. Lotería is a game, which originated in México, and is very similar to bingo.

This event is for all levels of Spanish and English learners. Children are welcome. Earn one-time credit for bringing a friend and another one for bringing a dish or snacks to share through the Long Beach Time Exchange.

Time: 6 to 7:30pm Sept. 16 Cost: Free Details: (562) 786-6081 Venue: Building Healthy Communities, 920 Atlantic Ave., Suite 102, Long Beach

Sept. 19

Folk Revival Festival 2015 Get ready for a good old-fashion jamboree complete with beards, banjos and craft beers. The third annual Long Beach Folk Revival Festival is going to serve up a slice of “true American music” for every member of the family.

Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sept. 19 Cost: $20 to $60 Details: folkrevivalfestival.com Venue: Rainbow Lagoon Park, E. Shoreline Drive, Long Beach

Theater/Film Sept. 11

Chuck Alvarez: Our World 33 See Chuck like you’ve never seen him before in a one-man inspirational play, Our World 33. Written

by Larry Heimgartner and Chuck Alvarez, Our World 33 is part of a series of original plays by Heimgartner called The Our World Project. The plays deal with problems that young people are facing today … HIV, women’s rights, sexual identity and much more. The plays are informative, deep, and often life-changing.

Time: 8 p.m. Sept. 11 Cost: $20 Details: (800) 403-3447; http://alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Sept. 11

Joan of Arc The summer flagship production of Theatre Elysium San Pedro Rep’s 2015 season is the next original, theatrical adventure from artistic director Aaron Ganz (Lady of Shalott, Wouldn’t It Be Lovely, Cymbeline). Utilizing his trademark style of passionate storytelling by interweaving theatre, dance, visual art, and music, Ganz turns to the epic story of Joan, a young French girl, met

by God, destined to lead an army and pay the

September 3 – September 16, 2015

readings, a live presentation, a lively panel discussion and several film screenings, all of which were a testament to Bukowski’s enduring influence.

The film adaptations of two poems, “Love is a Dog From Hell” and “Nirvana” were brief and vivid. However, Bent Hamer’s 2005 feature adaptation of the novel, Factotum, was neither brief nor vivid. No matter how intentional its perpetual slackness was, the feature could not save itself from tedium. It has a few redeeming, deadpan moments, but Bukowski’s prose style was poorly translated into film.

Los Angeles Poet Laureate Luis Rodriguez read from his own poetry, and concluded with Bukowski’s ever-popular “So You Want To Be A Writer.”

Poet and Cal State Long Beach professor, Gerald Locklin, read his published account of Bukowski’s funeral. He told an amusing anecdote about the specific location where Bukowski once vomited at the college’s parking lot.

Guest poets Raindog, Alexis Rhone Fancher, and Michael C. Ford read from their own work, working common Bukowski themes.

One of the poetry highlights belonged to Raindog, who read a sardonic and autobiographical poem about a cashier at a Long Beach supermarket who, by dumb luck, asks if he’s familiar with Bukowski. After telling her that “Me and Buk go way back,” she gives him a discount on his jar of peanut butter. “At last, my association with

Entertainment

ACE: Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment

with Fingerprints to accommodate the crowds that swarm in the evenings to watch the live music.

Quickly adapted into dinner and a show, it truly boasts a community effort.

Perhaps the most interesting partnership is that with Farm Lot 59, a local, sustainable garden in Long Beach that grows fresh produce and flowers.

When I first learned of the relationship between the two businesses, I was intrigued. I met Kastner at the garden one morning to scope out the scene.

Berlin sources as much produce as possible from Farm Lot 59, which is probably why its food tastes so wonderful. Farm Lot 59 was founded in 2010 and is tucked away in a somewhat industrial area in Long Beach. The urban, one-acre farm grows its produce and flowers the old-fashioned way, without all of the horrible pesticides. Best known for its rare items like micro greens, herbs and tomatoes, Farm Lot 59 also grows many other items and even has farm fresh eggs from its hens.

Much of the produce that is sourced from Farm Lot 59 has piqued an interest in the community and, as Kastner explained, it has adapted into a somewhat educational process for those who eat at Berlin, because many of the items can’t be found anywhere else in Long Beach. Farm Lot 59 also inspires Berlin to create different daily specials and allows it to get very creative with menu items.

The morning I spent with Kastner at Farm Lot 59, I watched in awe as she sorted through different kinds of rare heirloom tomatoes. I’m incredibly picky about tomatoes and most of the time they don’t taste right. These were incredible. However, I was most intrigued by the sprouts, which are grown from corn kernels. I’d never seen anything like it and the sprouts are sweet and crunchy, not bitter in the slightest.

A couple of days later, I went back to Berlin to check out some of the new specials. I was pleased to see grilled halibut on the menu featured with the same heirloom tomatoes and corn sprouts I sampled earlier. That was truly my first farm-totable experience.

I’ve never had a bad meal at Berlin. And, I do mean never. Aside from the daily specials, popular menu items include the Earth salad and Halibut in ginger broth. The salad incorporates interesting sprouts and radishes, which adds just the right color and crunch. Dressings are all made inhouse and I typically add the steak, which comes from grass-fed and antibiotic-free beef (as if you had to ask). The halibut is beautifully executed, pan-seared and served in a ginger broth. It’s light and full of flavor. If you just want a light snack, I would recommend the smoked salmon flat bread.

The combination of the red onion, dill-­cream cheese, capers and lemon oil really compliments the salmon.

Berlin is open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner.

23

ultimate price for bravery and sacrifice.

Time: 7:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays Sept. 11 through Oct. 4.

Cost: $25 Details: www.sanpedrorep.org Venue: Theatre Elysium San Pedro Rep., 311 W. 7th St., San Pedro Fences This is August Wilson at his best: challenging the American dream through a poetic, powerful and deeply personal story. It’s 1957 and Troy Maxson is a strong man, a hard man. He has had to be — to survive. Maxson has stepped up to the plate too many times in his life only to go down swinging.

Shut out of the big leagues by prejudice, the former Negro League home run king is now a garbage collector with little future. He tries to do right by his family, but when his youngest son Cory shows promise on the high school football team, Troy must come to terms with his past disappointments or risk tearing his family apart.

Time: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sundays, through Sept. 13 Cost: $46 to $48 Details: http://ictlongbeach.org Venue: International City Theatre, 330 E. Seaside Way, Long Beach

Sept. 25

Independent And Free.

Henry IV, Part I Often considered Shakespeare’s most perfectly crafted play, the story follows Prince Hal through his early years as a cut-purse and companion to the drunken Sir John Falstaff. As the action moves from political sparring between the king and the rebellious Hotspur, to the clash of swords in battle, the prince begins a journey toward his heroic reign. A talk with the cast and director will take place Oct. 18.

Times: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m.

Sundays, Sept. 25 through Oct. 24 Details: www.littlefishtheatre.org Venue: Little Fish Theatre, 777 S. Centre St, San Pedro Sondheim on Sondheim Sondheim on Sondheim is an intimate portrait of the famed songwriter in his own words… and music. Through exclusive-interview footage, famed composer Stephen Sondheim (creator of Tony Award-winning musicals Company, Sweeney Todd, Follies, Into the Woods, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and more) shares his personal life and artistic process.

Time: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 14 to Nov. 8 Cost: $34 to $54 Details: http://ictlongbeach.org Venue: International City Theatre, 330 E. Seaside Way, Long Beach

Art Sept. 3

New Constructions and Assemblies if you missed the grand opening, come by on 1st Thursday after you get bored with the public forum at the Warner Grand Theatre. For those who didn’t know, yes, James Preston Allen does art work. Stop by, have a drink and enjoy New Constructions and Assemblies through Nov. 2, at Michael Stearns Studio 347.

Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 3 and Oct. 3, and 12 to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturday through Nov. 2 Cost: Free Details: (562) 400 0544; www.michaelstearnsstudio.com Venue: Michael Stearns, 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro

September 3 – September 16, 2015

Be the Change: The Corita Experience Be the Change: The Corita Experience, surveys the reflective works of legendary artist, activist, and educator—Sister Corita Kent. For several years, Sister Corita dedicated herself to teaching and creating a body of work that advocated profound messages of peace, spirituality, social justice, and the celebration of life. Amidst a turbulent era in American history plagued by war, racism, and oppression- she was able to leave behind a message of hope. Each of the pieces on display come together to reveal the power of art as an instrument for change, in order to inspire us all to be the change. First Thursday Gallery Reception 6:30 to 9 p.m., on Sept. 3.

Time: Sept. 3 to 25 Cost: Free Details: corita.org Venue: MCU Marylyn & Chuck Klaus Center for 24 the Arts, 430 W. 6th St. San Pedro

Sextet TransVagrant and Warschaw Gallery are pleased to present Sextet, a group exhibition of paintings

by Katy Crowe, William Mahan, Yong Sin, Gary Szymanski, Marie Thibeault, and Ted Twine. Crowe is an abstract painter of lyrical, reductivist leaning whose gentle meditations on natural and geometric shapes and structures belie a stubborn, complex and informed aesthetic. Veteran Los Angeles artist Mahan is known for large-scale works based on real-life places and events. In Sin’s work, the simple becomes unexpectedly elaborate. Szymanski breaks the silence of his geometric pursuits by presenting selected text pieces, which have been a parallel concern of the artist. In Thibeault’s paintings landscape functions as a metaphor. Twine’s work engages the viewer in a tug-of-war between abstract and figurative.

Time: Through Sept.19 Cost: Free Details: (310) 600-4873; www.TransVagrant.com.

Venue: Warshaw Gallery, 600 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro A Garden of Excesses: Ángel Ricardo Ricardo Rios’ massive paintings and deft drawings blend organic, vegetal forms with allusions to the erotic in fantastic displays of sensual excess. Expressed in vibrant colors with a quick, sure hand, or made using his body to apply paint, his meld of Expressionist and neo-Baroque explorations appear part abstraction and part dreamscape, recalling the theatrical presence celebrated in the Spanish Baroque.

Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 4 Cost: Free Details: (310) 541-2479; pvartcenter.org Venue: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes Collaborations: Prints from Mixografia Works on paper by Helen Frankenthaler, Ed Ruscha, Kiki Smith, Rufino Tamayo, Donald Sultan, Jason Martin, Mimmo Paladino, Joe Goode, Kwang-Young Chun and Kcho. The exhibit is presented by the Palos Verdes Art Center in partnership with Beyond Borders Art Exchange and Mixografia Workshop.

Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 4 Cost: Free Details: (310) 541-2479; pvartcenter.org Venue: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes Watts: 50 Years After Rebellion Explored in Exhibition Through a collection of publications, correspondence, reports and books chronicling and analyzing the six days of destruction in the Watts community in 1965, set alongside an intimate portrait of Watts today, California State University Dominguez Hills has put together an archive and photography exhibition, Watts: Then and Now, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Watts rebellion.

Time: Through Jan. 28, 2016 Cost: Free Details: (310) 243-3895 Venue: Library Cultural Art Center at CSUDH, 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson

Courtesy photo: How to Win at Checkers (Every Time) [QFilm, from page 20]

QFilm Festival The story takes place in lesbian resort, where Eva (Eloísa Maturén) shows up after being stranded when her car breaks down. Eva is on her way to meet her husband in Carracas. You can assume that her marriage has been rocky since the death of her son, who died of cancer.

Like While You Weren’t Looking, Liz in September explores sexual fluidity through the eyes of Eva and Liz. Liz is a womanizer losing her fight against cancer, and Eva is a grieving mother, hungry for love. “Death is the betrayal of God,” but one that help these two women find love and comfort in each other’s arms.

While many people maintain that sexuality is rigid the bond between two people often transcends those assertions.

“There are shades of gray but nobody takes

them in consideration.”

At the beginning of the film, Liz (played by the beautiful supermodel and activist, Patricia Velasquez), states she was born gay.

“Without any doubt, and then when I started having experiences with girls I became even more gay,” said Liz at the beginning of the film. “I like women very much.”

When Eva arrives her friends dare Liz to seduce her but Eva is the won that ends up winning Liz’s heart, despite attempts by another character to seduce her. Other films to keep an eye out for at the QFilm Festival are the documentary Upstairs Inferno, Velociraptor, a low-budget apocalyptic film, and Those People, a feature about a tight-knit group of friends confronting adulthood.

Check out the full schedule of features and shorts at http://qfilmslongbeach.com.

The Art Theater of Long Beach, 2025 E. 4th St., Long Beach.

Venue:

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[Hill, from page 14]

Joe Hill Lives On

Join the Parade Real History: The Rebellious Spirit of Matthew McGuire’s First Labor Day

By Jim Highttower

I

The Real History

Matthew Maguire, a 19th century New York machinist and an unrelenting activist for higher wages and shorter hours, was the one who first proposed a daylong solidarity rally to focus the forces of labor on reclaiming the democratic rights of workers and gaining a fair share of the wealth they create. Known as “the dauntless Maguire,” he was secretary of the fledgling New York Central Labor Union. And, in May 1882, he called for all 56 unions in the vicinity to make “a public show of organized strength.” The Central Labor Union agreed and set the date of Tuesday, Sept. 5, for a “Mammoth Festival, Parade and Pic-Nic.” Adding to the audacity, the union council unilaterally declared that the day was to be a holiday for all workers who wanted to leave their jobs and join the action. Doing so was beyond bold, for it could get them fired—the bosses ruled workplaces with an iron hand, compelling 12-hour days, six days a week, for $2 a day.

Sure enough, as the 10 a.m. start time approached, only 80 union members had mustered at city hall. But then came a faint sound of horns and drums—200 members of the jewelers union from Newark were just minutes away, coming with a 35-piece marching band. This small starter group kicked off the parade, and after a few blocks, 400 bricklayers merged with them from a side street, moving in step behind wagons bearing artistic arches of brick

26

[See Hightower, page 28]

September 3 - 16, 2015

Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

t’s a bit odd that, in America’s thoroughly corporatized culture, we have no national day of honor for the captains of industry, and yet we do have one for working stiffs: Labor Day! Where did it come from? Who gave this day off to laboring people?

History books that bother mentioning Labor Day at all usually credit President Grover Cleveland with its creation. He signed a law in July 1894 that proclaimed a holiday for workers in Washington, D.C. and the federal territories.

Cleveland? Holy Mother Jones! He was an extreme laissezfaire conservative, a “Bourbon Democrat” who never lifted a presidential pinkie to ameliorate the plight of exploited workers. To the contrary, in that same month of 1894, Cleveland enshrined himself in Labor’s Hall of Eternal Infamy. At the behest of robber baron George Pullman and other railroad tycoons, he ordered some 12,000 army troops in to crush the historic Pullman Strike, which was being led by union icon Eugene V. Debs. Thirty workers were killed, Debs was arrested on trumped-up charges of conspiracy, and all workers who supported the strike were fired and blacklisted.

Far from being a gift to workers, Cleveland’s recognition of Labor Day was a desperate political ploy to mollify the anger of the union movement he had just decimated. He and his Democratic Party rushed the federal holiday into law only days after his military assault on Pullman strikers. In fact, this day was not “given” by anyone in power—it was taken by laborers themselves. In a bottom-up act of democratic audacity, this was our first national holiday to be put on the calendar by ordinary people. And they were not doing it just to get a day at the beach, but to get into the faces of power.

manufacturing charges was another tool. If that didn’t work, police allowed or encouraged vigilante attacks on Wobblies.

The most significant example is the 1924 raid on the Wobblie hall on 12th and Centre streets, where a dozen or so Wobblies were beaten, and several were tarred, feathered and driven out of town.

Though I have yet to come across a lynching in San Pedro, in that era, it was not an uncommon sight for a Wobbly or other “undesirables” to be strung up by a noose in

California. In many respects, the way we treat our undesirables has not changed all that much.

Still Waiting for ‘One Big Union’

Today, the hobos, transients and squatters are still treated as “undesirables.”

In recent years, the undesirables has become more visible. Social media has become the place where social violence is perpetrated, and sometimes, that violence manifests in the streets.

[Pension, from page 5]

Pension Promise

some of the damage done by big banks to these retirement plans.”

Among the attachments Gratz included with her letter was an article by economist Michael Hudson, “The Coming War on Pensions,” published online in Counterpunch, on Jan. 5. In it, Hudson explained how these plans’ problems are part of the larger fabric of problems created by Wall Street’s takeover of the economy.

“Pension funds will fall further and further behind what they

Case in point: Well before the emergence of the tiny homes project, the rising visibility of homelessness already had San Pedro’s attention—particularly with homeless encampments between Beacon and Palos Verdes streets, and between 8th and 10th streets. A photo that was widely shared on social media of an encampment in front of the now-closed Antes Restaurant on Palos Verde Street, caused anxiety and prompted police action. Within a couple of weeks, Councilman Joe Buscaino ordered the encampment cleared, following 72-hour notices. Buscaino got Facebook kudos, and his face on television and in newspapers as an elected who was doing his job. At least, until the encampments came back.

As these makeshift homesteads gained media attention, the social media

responsible for the upcropping of tiny homes, reported assaults by rock-throwing assailants amid increased harassment by opponents of the project.

When the housing bubble burst in 2007, leading to a global recession, millions of homeowners became renters, and those already financially on the brink became desperate.

I received anecdotal reports from service providers of middle class people showing up at the local food pantries to stock their shelves, and going to the local community clinic to replenish available medication.

At the time, fewer cargo containers were moving through the ports. Therefore, there were fewer shifts available on the docks. Annette McDonald, a longshore worker who is now aide to Rep. Janice Hahn’s campaign for Los Angeles County supervisor,

Sen. Bernie Sanders in front of a crowd of 28,000 supporters. File photo.

need to pay retirees if they do not make the impossibly high returns of 8.5 percent,” Hudson wrote. “The guiding philosophy of pension funds has been that instead of making employers pay enough to cover the pensions they have promised, funds can make money purely financially—by Wall Street sharpies.”

Before the Great Recession hit, this had often been possible.

But not any longer.

“The problem is that safe interest rates today are less than 1 percent for Treasury bonds. Everything else—stocks, corporate bonds, and hedge fund derivatives—are much more risky,” Hudson explained.

State and local pension funds are in danger, as in the case of Detroit.

“Many corporate pension funds also are behind,” not for lack of money, but “because companies are using their record profits to pay higher dividends and to buy back their stocks to create price gains for speculators,” Hudson said. “But the funds most under attack are union pension funds… The fight is not merely to scale back pension funds…but to break the power of unions to attract members or to defend them.”

The root cause, simply put, is that employers haven’t paid for the benefits they’ve agreed to. Workers bargained in good faith, taking lower wages to secure those benefits. They had a contract. How many times have we heard how sacred that is?

For 40 years, the federal government backed that contract with the promise to make good any shortfall. It’s time to renew that promise—not renege on it.

IWW poster of Joe Hill by Wobbly artist and poet Carlos Cortez.

Right, Joe Hill on the eve of his execution in Salt Lake City, Utah.

vitriol increased.

The first of the tiny houses was completed on July 25.

Sources told me that within 24 hours, the occupant was beaten by unknown assailants and his home was destroyed. But in the following weeks, several more tiny homes were built.

In August, the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council voted to turn an ad hoc committee on homelessness into a standing committee. The neighborhood council voted unanimously to support—in concept—the tiny homes project.

During that same month, Helping the Homeless In Need volunteers, the group

had founded Hands Open Wide with Toberman Neighborhood Center to deliver groceries to casual longshore workers who were working only once every couple of months.

I bring this up because I don’t recall a great deal of distinction being made between [See Hill, page 27]

Activists Want to See New Zero Emissions Plan Strengthened

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

[Hill, from page 26]

Joe Hill

the Harbor Commissioners will direct that when this is presented to the Commission.”

As the letter explains: “The current approach simply takes a stab at what staff thinks is politically feasible and sets targets from there. This paradigm must shift to the following framework. First, the Port should set a goal of zeroemission equipment powered by renewable energy portwide by 2030. Second, staff should explore how to get there for all terminals. For some types of equipment, subsidies may be the strongest options. For others, it may make more sense to

tariffs and leases; developing turnover plans where zeroemission technologies are now available, and having more frequent board updates (every six months rather than yearly), as well as “a stakeholder process that includes ample representation from community groups and environmental groups.”

The letter also suggests considering the hiring of an outside consultant to aid in the project, and recommends developing a robust legislative and regulatory priority list and committing resources to push for them.

“The port needs to move [See Emissions, page 28]

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the deserving and the undeserving poor at the time.

Today, however, the solution that a few Facebook activists have to offer in dealing with homelessness include chasing the homeless with continuous sweeps until they either leave or don’t want to be homeless anymore.

Common refrains on social media include: “People who give money to panhandlers are enablers;” “People who purchase food for the homeless are naive;” “People who help the homeless are attracting more homeless like flies to garbage.”

This town still has Joe Hill’s spirit, and has adopted the “Injury to one is an injury to all” Wobbly ethos. But there certainly exists today still some of the same fervor that drove Joe Hill out of San Pedro 100 years ago—into a Utah firing squad.

environmental justice and global warming issues drafted a detailed comment letter, not only urging more intensive action, but a whole different framework for moving forward, including a timeline for achieving 100 percent zero-emissions by 2030.

“Advancing zeroemission freight technologies at the port is one of the most important environmental challenges this Harbor Commission will need to achieve,” said Earthjustice attorney Adrian Martinez, principal drafter of the letter. “We need a bold, smart vision, and we hope

letter as San Pedro Peninsula Homeowners Coalition vice president. “If the port is reluctant to acknowledge this obligation, timelines will continue to be abandoned and rewritten, goals will continue to act as tools for expansion but not change, and community health will continue to be abused by the port’s statements of overriding considerations.”

In addition to calling for a new framework, other major points the letter makes involve considering life cycle emissions for all equipment; considering a wider range of means to push zero-emission technology, including the use of port-wide

The Local Publication You Actually Read

In mid-July, the Port of Los Angeles released its draft Zero Emission White Paper, soliciting comments before consideration

by POLA’s board, originally scheduled for Aug. 20, but now postponed until September.

“While we’ve made great strides in reducing emissions and greenhouse gas emissions over the last decade, the Port of Los Angeles continues to look for new opportunities to further cut pollutants, especially greenhouse gas,” said Chris Cannon, POLA’s chief sustainability officer and director of environmental management, in a press release.

“We think zero-emission technology in key operational sectors has strong potential to help us achieve these reductions.”

According to the white paper, POLA “is committed to expanded development and testing of zero emission technologies, identification of new strategic funding opportunities to support these expanded activities, and new planning for long-term infrastructure development.”

In addition, “By 2020, the Harbor Department hopes to have facilitated testing and development of up to 200 additional zeroemission vehicles at the Port of Los Angeles, and to have these vehicles evaluated using a standardized testing protocol developed in partnership with a regional stakeholder group.”

But a group of 10 organizations concerned with port pollution,

do port-wide programs. The plan must include timelines, benchmarks, and other guideposts to be effective.

Finally, the plan should include a comprehensive infrastructure planning component” Other signatories include the Natural Resources Defense Council, Communities for a Better Environment, Coalition for a Safe Environment, San Pedro Peninsula Homeowners Coalition, and East Yards Communities for Environmental Justice. These are many of the same folks who first pushed the ports into the clean air era in the first place, so their perspective carries a good deal of weight.

“The largest port in the nation must recognize that it has the largest obligation to push for this change, plan for this change and implement this change,” said Kathleen Woodfield, who signed the

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[Emissions, from page 27]

Emissions Plan

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Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area

into the driver’s seat by lobbying for zero-emissions regulation both on a state and national level and stop using the lack of such regulation as an excuse for inaction,” Woodfield added.

“Overall, we are deeply supportive,” the letter read. “We fully endorse the white paper’s conclusion that ‘zero emission container movement technologies show great promise for helping to reduce criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions in the future.’”

It went on to note that “Transition to zeroemission technologies is now the well-established consensus goal across the state,” citing a July 17 executive order by Gov. Jerry Brown, as well as the California Air Resources Board’s “Sustainable Freight” document from April.

Brown’s order directs relevant state entities to “develop an integrated action plan by July 2016 that establishes clear targets to improve freight efficiency, transition to zero-emission technologies and increase competitiveness of California’s freight system.”

This freshly-declared broad unity of purpose provides hope that, rather than faltering, as has happened in the past, the port can be moved to strengthen its efforts to achieve a zero-emissions system.

On the plus side, the organizations praised POLA’s broad view of driving concerns: “We are pleased that the white paper anchors the discussion of this important modernization effort in three main objectives: 1) reducing toxic health risk from Port operations; 2) reducing harmful criteria pollutant emissions (i.e., NOx, SOx, VOC, PM); and 3) reducing harmful GHG emissions.”

But they expressed deep disappointment that “significant commitments to push zero-emission equipment” that were included in POLA’s 20122017 Strategic Plan, were dropped from the 2014 update. Specifically cited was the dropped commitment to “[i]ncrease zero-emission truck trips to and from the port to 50 percent including 100 percent of the trucks to and from the near dock rail yards through the development of an action plan to be completed by 2014.”

They called for both the reinstatement of those interim commitments, along with a longer-term commitment to 100 percent zero emissions by 2030.

Next, they argued that “near-zero” emission technologies shouldn’t be allowed to divert attention from the larger goal. They reject the white paper’s rationale that “healthrelated benefits are likely attainable on a larger scale, at lower cost, and within a much shorter timeframe” via “near-zero” technologies and therefore are worth prioritizing. They point out that this approach is inconsistent with another assessment in the white paper that, “[e] conomies of scale may eventually lower the prices for zero-emission equipment, but for large-scale production—and the consequent lowering of prices—to occur, a market must develop.”

They continued, “Overall, a two-phase investment approach of moving to non-hybrid, ‘near-zero’ emission equipment now will likely only distract from developing the equipment necessary to ultimately resolve the problems the port seeks to tackle,” particularly since “There is no technology overlap between non-hybrid combustion technologies and zeroemitting technologies.”

“The white paper should reflect a real sense of urgency and a meaningful plan for moving to zero-emissions technology starting now, not sometime in the future,” Woodfield said.

“We have outlined opportunities for immediate change that the port should start implementing 28 without hesitation.”

[Hightower, from page 26]

Hightower on Labor Day

as testaments to their skills. At nearly every cross street, more marchers joined: longshoremen in checkered jumpers; frame makers wearing beaver hats, carrying huge axes and escorting a large wagon proudly

displaying furniture the framers produced; cigar makers with red banners, a red-sashed official, and a singing society belting out ballads; and piano makers marching with a float bearing one of their trade’s well-crafted instruments and a union member enthusiastically pounding out tunes. Thousands of workers paraded—row after row of laborers, marching six abreast with verve for miles through what was then the most ostentatious corridor of wealth and power in America.

In a 1982 article, historian Richard Hunt described the wondrous incongruity of this mass of working-class Americans striding so purposefully up Fifth Avenue.

“They passed August Belmont’s house; they trudged on past the tonish Burnswick Hotel; past the uptown Delmonico restaurant; past the elegant new Union League Club; past the

mansion of Vincent Astor. Mrs. Astor—along with many of her millionaire neighbors—was in Newport for the season.

Nonetheless, if the consciousness of capitalism was not penetrated, its precinct was.”

The day culminated with a frolicking festival attended by 25,000 at Elm Park, which included the city’s biggest beer garden, a dance pavilion, playgrounds for children and ample picnic areas.

(Note to present-day organizers: If you want people to turn out, follow this 1882 model of providing beer, music, food, and fun—so people will want to come.)

It was from this march and festival that both the concept and name of “Labor Day” was born.

Afterwards, New York’s Central Labor Union resolved to do it annually. Of course, barons and bosses damn near swallowed their $10 cigars at [See Hightower, page 29]

employers and local police.

The “guests” can only work for the employer that sponsored their visa. Plus, employers often (illegally) confiscate the workers’ passports.

Why doesn’t the government do something to stop these outrages? Because Congress protects corporations, not people. Even though the Labor Department, which administers H-2 visas, found violations of the guest worker law in 82 percent (!) of the cases it investigated last year, Congress funds so few investigators and enforcement agents that the vast majority of companies bringing foreign workers to our Land of the Free are not monitored. If a company is prosecuted, fines are minor, and even repeat violators can keep getting new workers through the program.

Almost none of the abusers are ever charged with a crime.

[Hightower, from page 28]

Hightower

such effrontery and tried to forbid it. Editorialists decried it as rank ingratitude to the “job creators” of the day, and the establishment’s politicians warned that labor’s show of strength was anarchy on parade. But workers had found their voice and a measure of class consciousness in a day to focus the public on their cause, and unions quickly spread the idea to other cities across the country. By 1894, when Grover Cleveland finally sanctioned the federal holiday, 23 states had already set aside September’s first Monday as labor’s own day.

The H-1B and H-2 People

H-2: Low-tech Labor

H-1B: High-tech Labor

At the opposite end of the guest-worker scheme are visas reserved for brand-name corporate giants wanting to import collegeeducated workers with specialized information technology skills. But wait—don’t we have a lot of top-notch IT specialists born and reared on our own soil? And, aren’t the high-tech fields of science-technology-engineering-math (STEM) a priority of the U.S. educational system, already producing twice as many university graduates as there are jobs? Yes and yes. But the royals of high tech—companies such as Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard, Intel and Microsoft— don’t want to pay the market rate of salaries, benefits and promotions that good IT employees can command.

So to break the workers’ power, the industry’s public relations specialists first concocted a “crisis” by screeching that America’s educational system fails to produce the number and quality of STEM graduates that their corporations must have, thus creating a brainpower shortage that threatens tech innovation. Second, their lobbyists, using ample campaign donations as

September 3 - 16, 2015

The government’s H-2 visa category is a boon to corporations dependent on manual labor but unwilling to pay high enough wages to attract American workers. The handy H-2 “rent-a-worker” program lets these companies import more than 100,000 low-wage workers a year from impoverished communities in Latin America, Asia and elsewhere. The workers clean rooms in luxury resorts, peel crawfish in seafood plants, do the sweaty things for landscape outfits and otherwise toil at our economy’s bottom rung, usually paid minimally (or less) by companies that profit from their labor.

Our “guests” tend to be treated as the indentured servants of their corporate sponsors.

In a stunning new report this July titled,“The New American Slavery,” Buzzfeed.com found that H-2 workers are commonly cheated on pay, made to work extremely long hours with no overtime wages, forced to pay illegal fees, housed in squalid and dehumanizing conditions (such as horse trailers), sexually harassed, not allowed to travel, and kept under constant surveillance by

by a new batch of disposable foreigners.

High-tech execs insist they wouldn’t think of misusing the program to fluff up their own profits, but—oop!—just this year it’s been revealed that both Disney Inc. and Southern California Edison have fired hundreds of their U.S. technology employees after getting the OK to import temporary foreign workers. Then the corporations required the displaced Americans to train their replacements as a price of getting any severance pay.

Meanwhile, industry lobbyists are demanding that Congress triple the number of high-tech workers they can import each year.

The Local Publication You Actually Read

Anyone still believing that workplace atrocities are things of the past needs to meet some of the immigrants in our country. And not just undocumented workers. Much more attention should be given to the outright abuse of people who not only have the proper paperwork, but who are actually corporate-sponsored.

Two distinct groups of foreign workers are being brought here under special U.S. visas to be (WARNING: Ridiculous Orwellian euphemism straight ahead) “guest workers.” Both sets of guests are imported for one reason: to inflate the bottom lines of powerful, very profitable corporations by giving them a cheap, easily exploitable workforce. This artificially distorts the labor supply, suppresses wages and redistributes income from the many to a rich few.

a lubricant, keep convincing Congress that the only solution to this national emergency is to let the corporations import more tech workers from abroad.

This phenomenally rich industry is presently allowed to bring 65,000 foreign workers to their campuses each year. In violation of federal laws, the corporations do not “make every effort” to find qualified U.S. employees before seeking H1-B workers, nor do they pay the prevailing U.S. salary to these workers. The temporary visa holders generally don’t get promotions or retirement benefits, and after being used for three years or so, they’re sent back home to be replaced

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The Local Publication You Actually Read

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