RLn 1-05-23

Helping People Find a Home After Being Homeless Herself

By Hunter Chase, Community News Reporter

Catalina Hinojosa knows what it’s like to face addiction, homelessness, even jail time. She wants to help other people who have experienced these things, which is why she is in the process of founding a nonprofit called San Pedro Recovery Alliance.

“I’ve been through the judicial system, I’ve been through treatment,” Hinojosa said. “If I didn’t go from jails to treatment, I would not have been able to get housing.”

Hinojosa now works as a homeless outreach worker for Homeless Healthcare LA, where she has worked since September 2021. She has worked in homeless services for six years. She has met many who have gone through addiction treatment but have nowhere to go.

“They’re falling through the cracks,” Hinojosa said. “There’s tons of resources for the homeless that are actually homeless on the street in tents. But for someone who is actually trying to change their lives, there’s nowhere for them to go.”

Hinojosa said that most of them have burned bridges with their families, and have no one who will take them in, so they end up back on the street. Her organization is writing grants to try to get funding for transitional housing.

Prior to working in homeless services, Hinojosa was in prison, and homeless beforehand for nearly a decade.

“Back then I had a record, like a mile long, I was messing up so bad,” Hinojosa said. “After my mother passed away … I lost it, put it that way. I needed to find my way back.”

She went through the Alternative Custody Program, which allows convicts to spend the last year of their sentences in community service. After she got out of prison, she went through a treatment facility, and worked for Homeboy Industries with an ankle monitor.

“After the first month, you’re in three days black-

Medicare Keeps Spending on COVID-19 Testing

By Anjeanette Damon, investigative report from Propublica Rep. Nanette Barragán

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to churn, Medicare spending on testing for the virus continued to increase in 2022 and is outpacing the two prior years.

Through Oct. 31, Medicare had spent $2 billion on COVID-19 tests in 2022, an amount that will surpass last year’s total as claims are filed, according to new data provided to ProPublica by CareSet, a research organization that works to make the healthcare system more transparent.

That compares to $2 billion for all of 2021 and $1.5 billion in 2020, a recent analysis by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General shows.

Fraud and overspending are contributing to the increases, experts say, because federal money for COVID-19 testing is not subject to some of the same financial and regulatory constraints as other tests covered by Medicare, the government insurance program for people 65 and older and the disabled.

The growing costs concern some of these experts, who say the need for financial incentives to expand the availability of testing has passed.

Early in the pandemic, testing was both critical to slowing the spread of the virus and in short supply. So the federal government enacted measures to make it more profitable to get in the COVID-19 testing business. Good for the duration of the public health emergency, which has not yet expired, the measures include a generous Medicare reimbursement rate, requirements for private insurance to cover testing — even compelling insurance plans to pay whatever cash price is demanded by out-of-network labs — and a hefty fund for testing those people who didn’t have insurance.

The measures succeeded in drawing new and existing labs into the COVID-19 business and helped ensure most people had access to testing, even if some faced excessive waits to get their results. But the incen-

tives also attracted price-gougers, fraudsters and people with no experience in the laboratory business. The result was a chaotic approach that ranged from bungled testing programs and confusion over new requirements to outright fraud.

“It was an unprecedented wave of fraud,” said Michael Cohen, an operations officer with the HHS Inspector General, which investigates crimes involving federal health care programs.

This year, ProPublica detailed how one Chicagobased lab, Northshore Clinical, used political connections in Nevada to speed its licensing and generated tremendous volume through agreements with school districts, universities and local governments. The story also detailed questionable billing practices that one insurance expert described as fraudulent. A study of Northshore’s testing on

the University of Nevada Reno

Catalina Hinojosa, founder of San Pedro Recovery Alliance. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala

Harbor Area

New

Programs

LONG BEACH — Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum recently welcomed Erin Stout, Ph. D to its museum community. Dr. Stout said she is “thrilled to join the team and looks forward to supporting the institution’s academic programs, enhancing access to the collection for student and faculty research, and advancing the Museum’s mission to foster community across and beyond campus.”

Dr. Stout earned a Ph.D. in Art History and Criticism at Stony Brook University where she wrote her dissertation on electronic art, experimental music and the audiovisual avant-garde. Before coming to the museum, she was a curatorial and research associate at the Jack & Shanaz Langson Institute & Museum of California Art at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Stout is also a community organizer and activist with The Greater Long Beach Mutual Aid Network.

South Bay’s Got Talent

Deadline for audition applications is coming up.

Open to all ages and performance genres. Deadline for audition applications is 5 p.m., Jan. 23. Auditions will be Feb. 5, 6 and 7.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/South-Bays-Got-Talent

City Launches New Homeless Services and Information Hub Webpage

LONG BEACH The City of Long Beach launched a new homeless services and information hub webpage developed in an effort to provide a onestop-shop of resources for the public and to offer a more open and transparent platform regarding homelessness in Long Beach.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/homeless-serviceshubpage

Year of Imagination: State of the Port

LONG BEACH — Attend an informative virtual presentation on the successes and milestones of 2022 and a look ahead at the State of the Port event Jan. 26.

Watch the live webcast at 12:25 p.m. on the page link below for a forecast of cargo trends, infrastructure projects and more as the port works toward attaining a zero-emissions.

Time: 11 a.m. to 1 :30 p.m., Jan 26

Cost: Free

Details: https://tinyurl.com/state-of-the-port Venue: Online

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute

CARSON — With keynote speaker Kevin E. Hooks, diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI expert, this event features live entertainment, essay contest winners and refreshments.

Time: 6:30 p.m., Jan. 13

Cost: Free

Details: 310-835-0212, ext. 1460

Venue: Carson Event Center, 801 E. Carson St., Carson

Mobilehome Park Rental Review Board Meeting

CARSON — The review board consists of seven members (two resident homeowners, two park owners, three at-large who are residents of the city and eight alternates).

The duties and responsibilities of the board include: Making any recommendations to the city council the board deems appropriate regarding the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter; hear rent adjustment applications and determine whether to approve, modify or disapprove a rent adjustment pursuant to the procedures set forth in CMC 4704.

Time: 6:30 pm, Jan. 11 and 6:30 p.m., Jan. 25

Details: https://tinyurl.com/2p8uee6v

Venue: City Hall, City Council Chambers, 701 E .Carson St., Carson

Vet Resource Center: Weekly Drop In WILMINGTON — Los Angeles Harbor College provides services to all military-affiliated students. LAHC has several eligible degree programs approved by the Department of Veteran Affairs for all chapters of their educational benefits.

Time: 1 p.m., Jan. 18

Venue: Los Angeles Harbor College, ADDRESS???, Wilmington

King Tides

Winter Tide Pooling and Why Scientists are Using Tides to Predict Sea Level Rise

By Seth Meyer, Contributor

You may not think about going to the beach in the wintertime, but it can be one of the best times to see local Southern California wildlife up close in their natural habitat without any effort at all. We’re talking about tide pooling! Finding animals living inside of pools created by the tides. Discover why the public and scientists alike are very interested in tide pools and the animals living within them.

So why is wintertime the best time to go tide pooling? Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun, and the times of these low tides and high tides change every day as well as season to season. In the summer, low tides are not as intense and occur only at nighttime while the low tides in the winter are more intense and occur during the day, providing great fun for people of all ages.

Along with the normal tides though, every year, the local shoreline experiences exaggerated high and low tides called king tides. These tides are the result of the moon and the sun being in the position with the most gravitational pull against the ocean, creating tides that groups like the California King Tides Project are using to visualize sea level rise. The California King Tide Project is adamant that these king tides are not related to sea level rise, but seeing the tides 2, sometimes 3 feet higher than the usual tides is indicative of what tides will look like on an everyday basis once the sea level rises. The numbers they give are not exaggerations either. A study done in 2018 projected San Francisco to see a rise of almost 3 feet by the year 2050, and by almost 7 feet in the year 2100. These numbers are estimates but the King Tide Project warns that the amount of sea level rise will depend on

how quickly we stop burning fossil fuels. Finding tidepools can be the first roadblock to experiencing this unfamiliar world. Luckily, right here on the Palos Verdes Peninsula there are some great places to explore, and if you feel less confident going on your own, places such as the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium offer public tidepool walks on days when the tides are optimal. Check out its website and click its calendar to see the next tidepool walk. The first week of January has walks almost every day and walks continue well into March.

When preparing for these tidepools, here are a few tips to help you have the most fun while you are out there. Tide pools are made within

the rocky shore, therefore, it’s rocky! Close-toed shoes that provide good ankle and sole support are recommended for walking on the rocks and helping you be comfortable while hiking around. Weather is always something you also want to check because you don’t want to hike out to the pools just to realize the waves are too strong that day or it’s cold and you only brought a light sweater. Typically, tidepools are a little bit colder and a little windier than the mainland.

Don’t let the weather deter you from walking down to the tidepools though. Carl Carranza, an educator from the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, expressed that “the cold, overcast drizzly days

Rep. Barragán Touts 2022 Health-related Budget Highlights for the 44th District

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

Last month, Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA, 44) held two end-of-year legislative briefings in San Pedro and Long Beach, just two of several such briefings she held throughout the 44th congressional district.

Barragán led the John Lewis National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Endowment Revitalization Act.

The law increases investments into schools conducting critical minority health and health disparities research, like Charles Drew University, and improves diversity in the scientific workforce. President Joe Biden signed this bill into law on March 18, 2022.

The Inflation Reduction Act makes historic investments and reduces costs, including capping out-of-pocket prescription drug expenses at $2,000 per year in Medicare Part D; lets Medicare negotiate prescription drug prices to reduce costs; and making vaccines free for Medicare recipients.

The PACT Act expands benefits for veterans by expanding access to Veterans Affairs health

services for veterans with toxic exposure during their service; and veterans now don’t have to prove their service led to illness for 20 or more illnesses, including many cancers.

If that weren’t enough, Barragán secured $925,000 for East Los Angeles College in South Gate to create a comprehensive training hub for healthcare workers; she secured $700,000 to upgrade clinical laboratories for Cal State University of Dominguez Hills’ College of Health, Human Services and Nursing; $50,000 to enroll and provide care to an additional 800 uninsured patients in a health services program and another $50,000 to purchase new equipment for clinical laboratories to provide testing to patients at a lower cost than commercial labs.

And these were just the health-related pieces of legislation Barragán got done last year.

The congresswoman said the briefings are the result of people asking her on the street what she and her congressional colleagues are doing in Washington.

The top three takeaways from the briefing were the Inflation Reduction Act; the Infrastructure Bill; and the 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Bill which includes $4 million to build a brand new Boys and Girls Club in the Harbor Gateway — a bill that got passed and signed into law before the new year had started.

Though the 2022 midterm elections went better than expected for the Democrats, that doesn’t mean we can expect a whole lot of good work to come out of the next Congress. Barragán said that if anything, there’s going to be a lot more Republican-led investigations.

“There certainly is not going to be legislation that really looks for how we improve the lives of the American people. [Instead,] it’s going to be more of what can we undo? Who can we investigate? I think that’s what it’s going to be. So it’s going to be a step backward in my opinion,” Barragán said.

She noted that people who weren’t on com-

Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 40 Years

Art Museum Welcomes

Curator of Academic

A tide pool at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. Photo by Carl Carranza, educator at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Real People, Real News, Really Effective

SP Recovery Alliance

out and then you can go work if you want,” Hinojosa said. “So, I started working, and I started focusing on doing what I’m doing right now. I knew where I wanted to be.”

Through Homeboy Industries, Hinojosa worked for Project 180, where she learned homeless case management. Then she worked for the People Concern, where she worked getting people from tents to housing.

Through the Los Angeles County probation AB109 office, she was able to find transitional housing and then a subsidy to help her find a permanent home. She has lived there for six years.

Hinojosa briefly worked for Harbor Interfaith, a nonprofit that operates in San Pedro and helps homeless people. With her organization, she hopes to help people that Harbor Interfaith is not able to.

San Pedro Recovery Alliance has a board of

nine people, one of whom coordinates a mobile doctor unit.

“We’re going to have one once a month, which will be dealing with mental health,” Hinojosa said. “They’ll be dealing with any type of medical conditions. They’re going to be helping those that are coming up to us and trying to get off of fentanyl.”

Hinojosa said she wants to have the first visit of the mobile doctor unit in January 2023.

Four people in her organization are writing grants, and they are trying to come up with ideas for fundraisers. Hinojosa is trying to get the organization into the Homeless Management Information System, or HMIS. She has been working with that system for years, so it won’t be that difficult. She has also requested for San Pedro Recovery Alliance to become an access center for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA.

Hinojosa went through the Fred Brown Recovery Services, and her organization has a working relationship with it. She intends for the San Pedro Recovery Alliance to house people after they make it through Fred Brown’s 12-step program. She has a few options in town for housing, and she is trying to acquire more.

In addition to housing, Hinojosa will be placing people into addiction recovery services.

“I do have different sober living facilities that I have access to, because I do that right now,” Hinojosa said.

Hinojosa has already gotten a lot of people into detox and other treatment, and placed them into housing. But this is something that she has done outside of San Pedro Recovery Alliance, as the organization does not have many resources yet.

Hinojosa hopes to imitate the organization she is currently working for, Homeless Healthcare LA.

“They’re so client-centered, and so staffcentered,” Hinojosa said. “It’s the only place I’ve ever worked at in my life where you’re not getting yelled at, or ending up with the extra stress.”

While working for Homeless Healthcare LA, Hinojosa has been running a contract with SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition, finding permanent housing for its clients.

“I housed 26 people in the last 12 months,” Hinojosa said. “Which is actually really good in our organization.”

Hinojosa said she is very passionate about her job.

“Watching somebody get their keys is the

Catalina Hinojosa, founder of San Pedro Recovery Alliance, meets with a homeless client. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala

Testing

campus found the company missed 96% of COVID-19 cases during December 2021.

The company submitted 600 pages of documentation to state regulators to support its claim that it fixed deficiencies noted by inspectors, but it ultimately asked the state to close its license and pulled out of Nevada before the investigation was finished. Northshore repeatedly declined to comment to ProPublica.

The OIG, which had been investigating Northshore in Illinois, expanded its probe to Nevada after ProPublica published its report.

Cohen said OIG investigators have faced challenges responding to the onslaught of suspected fraud — from a lack of additional resources to constantly evolving policies.

In April, the Department of Justice announced criminal charges against people in eight states who allegedly submitted more than $149 million in COVID-19 false billings to federal programs. The OIG has also performed analyses on Medicare data, including for a report released this month that found 378 labs had billed Medicare for expensive add-on tests at “questionably high levels” after testing individuals for COVID-19.

Attorneys general in a handful of states have taken action against labs for forging results, charging fees for “expedited results” that arrived days later and deceptive marketing practices.

Programs to pay for COVID-19 testing aren’t the only pandemic assistance funds that have attracted people seeking to profit. Paycheck Protection Program loans went to

includes not only testing and treatment but also direct support for individuals, businesses, schools and local governments. Adler said that may be why lawmakers haven’t revisited the incentives.

Still, testing — as funded by Medicare, private insurance and other federal assistance programs — was a lucrative corner of the pandemic response for many providers.

Labs with troubled operations reaped millions from Medicare, the CareSet data shows.

Northshore Clinical, for example, submitted $6.2 million in Medicare claims

for COVID-19 testing between Jan. 1, 2021, and Nov. 30, 2022. Doctors Clinical Laboratory, which is facing lawsuits filed by attorneys general in three states, billed $252,000 in 2021.

Doctors Clinical did not respond to requests for comment.

Curative Labs, one of the largest COVID-19 testing providers in the country, has billed Medicare $32 million for testing since Jan. 1, 2021.

Curative, launched in California by a 25-year-old college dropout, tapped political connections to land a no-bid

contract to test in Colorado’s nursing homes, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. But the state’s decision to use Curative tests on individuals without symptoms — a use the tests had not been authorized for — led to unreliable results, as Colorado’s nursing home death rate was the highest in the nation, according to CPR News. The Food and Drug Administration later revoked authorization for Curative tests and the state canceled its contract with the company.

Alliance

most satisfying feeling you could ever have,” Hinojosa said. “It’s not like this job pays a million dollars, because it really doesn’t. So, you got to love what you do to continue doing it.”

Hinojosa trains outreach workers to be more personable, and tells them to treat homeless people as if they were someone they just want to have a conversation with.

“You have to really want to reach these people,” Hinojosa said. “There’s no set way to run into a person who’s sleeping on a street, but if you walk up to them like a normal person and treat them like a normal person, with a lot of humanity, they respond a lot more.”

She has had clients tell her their whole life story, just because she said “hi.”

Hinojosa believes that her life experiences give her a unique perspective while working with the unsheltered.

“As long as you always remember where you’ve been, then your perspective is always going to be a little bit like you … have more of a connection to where people are at. And when I say I understand, they know I understand.”

fake businesses or were spent on luxury goods instead of keeping people employed, ProPublica and other news outlets have reported. Expanded state unemployment programs also saw unprecedented fraud that a partial accounting estimate is $57.3 billion

Tolerating some fraud is a necessary trade-off to attain legitimate public policy goals, said Loren Adler, associate director of the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy. But once the incentives and loose regulations boosted the availability of testing, they could have been revised to prevent abuse and overspending, he argued.

“We were in a very different world in April 2020,” Adler said. “We needed to overpay because we needed more capacity. Once we scaled up, it was no longer necessary. We could’ve saved a lot of taxpayer money.”

According to the data provided by CareSet, more than 2,300 new labs have enrolled as Medicare providers since the pandemic began and have been billing for COVID-19 testing, evidence of the increased capacity generated by the federal measures.

Total Medicare spending on COVID-19 testing is a small fraction of the $4 trillion federal response to the pandemic. That figure

Graphic by Terelle Jerricks and Suzanne Matsumiya

Joe Buscaino — Inventing a Legacy Before There Is One

And continuing the erasure of ones that took decades to create

By James Preston Allen, Publisher

To the shock and surprise of many on Dec. 9, 2022, the very first day of the new Los Angeles city council’s term, a motion was forwarded to the city council and subsequently placed on the City Council agenda by Council President Paul Krekorian requesting the Port of Los Angeles rename a portion of Harbor Boulevard after outgoing CD 15 representative Joe Buscaino. The one who thought he could be mayor of LA.

What is awkward about this is that this proposal did not go through the usual committees nor did any of the neighborhood councils have time to file community impact statements or for the public to wake up from their winter slumber to even comment on this political backslapping on the way out the door. The motion was not even discussed but passed on a voice vote on the consent calendar along with the naming of a few other streets for outgoing councilmen. Outside the flawed process and doubtful need to name anything after Buscaino, there has been no outcry calling for even so much as the renaming of the sidewalk in front of his house, much less a dozen blocks of a boulevard in his honor. I fail to see the point of this exercise.

And frankly, I believe there’s considerable public opinion that would support banning any public edifice or street being named in honor of any politician until after being out of office for 10 years or being dead. By comparison, there’s

nothing labeled with either former CD15 council reps Rudy Svorinich Jr. or Janice Hahn. There’s a park named for Joan Milke Flores and a boulevard named after John S. Gibson. The park and the boulevard were renamed long after either representative served in office. The latter served some 30 years on the city council, long before there were term limits. It should take a lot more than doing your job as a well-paid public servant to get such an honorific.

This kind of gratuitous naming of things at the whim of elected or appointed bodies strikes me as the height of arrogance and utter disregard for public sentiment or consent. It’s the same kind of process that got the historic Pepper Tree Plaza renamed Piazza Miramare or a piece of Sixth Street named Little Italy, while

ignoring other nationalities’ contributions and historical facts while inventing some fiction out of whole cloth to satisfy someone’s ego.

Show us one significant project that Buscaino accomplished. Perhaps the two temporary homeless shelters could be renamed the Buscaino Villas. As far as I can tell, he has spent the majority of his efforts in office chasing homeless residents off the streets while ignoring the aging sidewalks and curbs where the destitute reside.

Here in the central part of lower San Pedro, which has suffered the brunt of the crisis, we have the oldest portion of the public infrastructure in almost all of the 15th District and yet the only time anyone seems to get a new sidewalk replaced is when a developer is forced to do it. And this is even after the City of LA had a $1.2 billion settlement to repair sidewalks.

As of this week, the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council’s Port Committee passed a motion that strongly opposes the City Council’s request to rename portions of Harbor Boulevard “Buscaino Way’’ and implores the Board of Harbor Commissioners to deny said request. The request should immediately be sent back to the City Council for the appropriate level of review by committees, NCs and the public. For transparency, I’m the chairman of this committee, but I believe there will be overwhelming support for our motion once it comes to a vote with the full council.

Still, this self-aggrandizement ignores a number of things that should be named after our prominent citizens. For instance, Bartlett Square is just a sign at the corner of Beacon and 11th streets. It is in honor of Father Art Bartlett who was as close to a hero or saint as one could get here in San Pedro. In his eulogy at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church it was said, “Historically, he was very passionate about social justice … He founded Beacon House, a residential treatment and recovery program for men. He opened up the Elks Club to women and minorities and a few years ago, the city dedicated a square in town in his honor. He will be deeply missed and his impact on us and his love of this community and town won’t be forgotten.”

Bartlett Square deserves more than a sign to honor a great man and his legacy after serving

this community for 60 years.

Then there is Bea Atwood Hunt, a woman of singular focus and the one who fought the Port of LA for the removal of the Union Oil tank farm at the base of Crescent Street at what is now the 22nd Street Park. Bea worked tirelessly (and often single handedly) for over 30 years to get these toxic tanks removed. And she won the war, finally. By rights this park should be named in her honor as the community activist who took on the system and won — but sadly was never recognized before her death.

Are there others who haven’t had the privilege of being paid high-salaries to do good work in our communities? Yes, the list is longer than you would expect. And most of them wouldn’t be known to Krekorian or even Buscaino or any of the new residents who have moved into the high-priced apartments.

In the meantime, we have the ongoing erasure of local culture with the eviction of Utro’s Cafe similar to that of Ports O’ Call Restaurant, at what is now being reinvented with the misnomer, West Harbor. Utro’s Cafe is not unlike Walkers Cafe where the food was mostly burgers and beer but the memorabilia reeks of the history

and humor that only the locals get.

This “grand development” is being celebrated as the development that will “save San Pedro” while destroying what little is left of the old. The POLA and the Jerico Development have gotten rid of three of the highest grossing restaurants on the San Pedro Waterfront — Acapulco, the San Pedro Fish Market and Ports O’ Call. All of which hired hundreds of local workers and had long track records of success — and for what?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not adamantly against anything new. Just give me some good architecture, some significant public art and something with historically relevant context. This is not too much to ask in the largest and wealthiest city in California — being that San Pedro is still connected to the greater metropolis. Yet the lack of both historical perspective and inclusionary decision making brings the kind of insular solutions that are an impediment to any visionary change or consensus.

In the end, the Buscaino street naming needs to be stopped if only because his recent job announcement of working for Ballard Partners, a Florida-based lobbying firm with connections to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump!

look forward to in the new year. As a result, the top of our list includes

(

RE: National Amnesia and Other Mistakes of the Media

RLn, At Length, Dec. 22, 2022)

James, really nice thoughtprovoking, historical critique in your comparison of the treatment of Jefferson Davis to Trump. However, Grant’s “prescient quote” is not completely analogous to today’s polarized mentalities. This is because Trump and the “stolen election” rhetoric is grounded upon the theme of patriotism rather than sectional secession.

Peter Mirich, Rancho Palos Verdes

Dear Pete,

The prescient part of Ulysses S. Grant’s quote is this, “I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon’s (meaning between the North and the South) but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.”

The current problem is some people’s confusion over the meaning of “patriotism,” not understanding that it ishas

something fundamental to defending the U.S. Constitution.

James Preston Allen, publisher

A Personal Journey from Red to Blue

I grew up as a supporter of my father’s party. I remember Ike, supported Michigan Governor William Milliken, loved Lowell Weiker, and generally felt good about being a Republican.

If you had been in the Detroit area in 1972, you might have seen me as I was collecting signatures for Milliken’s property tax relief bill. These were much different Republicans than the ones I see today.

Yes, back in the day Republicans did stand for smaller government, and personal freedom, as well as personal responsibility. Republicans back then also supported the wealthy paying their fair share of taxes.

And, as much as I despised Richard Nixon, I still liked him when he went to Russia and China, and when he helped to create the EPA. I supported Ronald Reagan’s dealing with Russia, which helped the Berlin wall to come down, but at the same time I began to feel

uneasy about Reagan’s and GOP attacks on unions.

I was pretty upset when Reagan disbanded the flight controller’s union, but I still voted Republican. The change in my politics has taken a long time coming, but it has finally come. Yes, Bill Clinton did something impeachable when he lied about Monica, but I saw the trap the GOP had laid for him, and that got me questioning myself.

Still, I voted for Bush in 2000, and supported him until he lied us into Iraq. In 2004, I couldn’t vote Democrat yet, but I had had enough of Bush, who I lost trust that he would tell the truth. I voted Libertarian that year. In 2008, I voted for John McCain, who I saw as a hero (He eventually earned that with his thumbs down on dismantling Obamacare, which I actually supported).

In 2012, I voted Libertarian again, as I did in 2016. And that was the year my break with reality ended. Although I didn’t vote for Hillary, I could not vote for Trump, as I saw him as a con man and authoritarian who wanted to be King.

In 2018, I held my nose and voted for Democrats for the first time in my life, and began following Daily KoS more regularly than I had before (I was an occasional reader of Daily Kos

Darkness and Thanks

By Greg Palast, reporting from Georgia

I want to let you in on something personal. Kind of rare for me. Today felt really dark.

The press has been celebrating the “record voter turnout” in Georgia. But I know the terrible truth: Voter turnout plummeted by a million votes.

Why does it matter, and why do I care? Having one more story, one more fact, buried by propaganda — hey, that’s just another Tuesday in American journalism.

That’s not why the darkness seizes me.

It’s because I was there when the elegant, elderly African-American woman in a walker was told, “Your registration has been canceled” while her granddaughter broke down in tears. I was with the soldier who was refused his ballot at his military base. Fighting his emotions, he told me, “I couldn’t believe it. Not my country. Not now. Not this day and time.”

It’s when I think of the victims of these attacks, whose citizenship, whose humanity is denied; that sends me spinning into a frustrated rage. Frankly, after 22 years of this, I just wanted to quit. But, then, I get a text from Major Gamaliel Turner of Georgia, the soldier, thanking me for telling his story.

You don’t have to ask: The major is Black, his challenger is white.

The major did shed some angry tears — but then took action — hiring lawyers, traveling to Georgia with my crew to confront his accuser on camera. He’s a warrior, and his courage pushes me on even when I don’t see the point. Because he sees the point.

Then George Rhynes sent a note. Rhynes is the Black journalist who reports from rural Georgia where the county lines are marked with Confederate flags; from the “sundown towns” where signs once read, “No Negroes After Sundown.” The signs are gone but the threat remains.

In this brutal atmosphere, Rhynes insists on reporting on the state’s terrorizing of Black polling officials, handcuffed in raids ordered by the “moderate” Gov. Brian Kemp, and of lynchings long forgotten.

Rhynes, Major Turner, and so many others you’ve met in my films and books had been silenced. So they brought their stories to us. Because they know their stories remain unseen and never told by the reporters safely distant in Atlanta office towers, in five-star hotel suites, or in staged press conferences; reporters who will not venture to Coffee County or Forsythe or Valdosta.

I find myself going where CNN fears to tread, and now, I can’t walk away from what I’ve seen and heard and discovered.

And this: I found a note someone slipped into my pocket. I don’t know who wrote it. It reads, “Thank you.

For giving a voice to those without one.”

So, I’m kind of stuck. I’m obligated. I can’t turn my back on their stories.

I don’t want to give the impression that my work is all grim frustration. If you’ve seen me chase down some vote-thieving scoundrel of a governor; or when I hold up cold evidence in the lying face of some vote rustler as Zach’s camera closes in; when they run away like cockroaches from a flashlight … you know I really enjoy my job. This is certainly an odd year-end note.

But I want to tell you that all your kind comments, your donations, your passing my stories around — it just makes me humble and grateful.

Greg Palast is an investigative journalist and author of the New York Times bestsellers Armed Madhouse and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. Catch his films and reports at: gregpalast.com

country that I love. After Jan 6, and the election denying, along with the violence and threats that happened afterwards, I realized that I was no

longer a Republican, and this year I voted for Democrats up and down the ballot.

beginning in 2016). In 2020, I wanted to vote Libertarian again, but held my nose and voted for Joe Biden, as I was afraid of Trump and the damage he would do to the

Dana Elliott, Michigan

COVID-19 Testing

“During the pandemic, Curative provided millions of Americans with a safe, accessible and reliable way to test for the virus, including when it was extremely difficult to obtain a COVID-19 test,” a Curative spokesperson said. “Our teams deployed tests in an efficient manner, helping to prevent the spread of outbreaks in communities across the state of Colorado and throughout the country.”

Nomi Health, a lab startup in Utah, launched troubled testing programs in five states, according to a USA Today investigation. The Salt Lake Tribune detailed significant problems with Nomi’s operations in Utah. The company has billed Medicare a total of $1.9 million in 2021 and 2022. Nomi has challenged USA Today’s findings

“Nomi Health was one of the first partners to provide open accessible testing at scale on behalf of our partners,” Nomi’s co-founder and CEO Joshua Walker said in a statement. “We remain one of the few providers in the markets we serve providing important access to this needed service.”

Walker said Nomi continues to provide free tests for uninsured individuals despite the end of the federal program that paid for those tests. “We still feel strongly that open and easy access is an important part of keeping our communities safe and helping to drive our economy forward.”

The OIG’s Cohen said the most common crime investigated by his agency was identity theft. Nefarious labs would snag Medicare beneficiaries’ information and use it to bill for services not provided or expensive and unnecessary add-on tests.

“They would take it all. ‘We need your Medicare number. We need your Social Security number. Oh, we need credit card information.’ People

were giving up just tons of information because people were understandably clamoring for tests,” Cohen said.

Medicare wasn’t the only government program targeted for laboratory fraud.

Healthcare providers found quick access to money in the federal fund for testing people without insurance. The program, run by another federal agency, the Health Resources and Services Administration, was designed to get money out fast and with few restrictions.

“Bad actors bled the program for as much as they could,” Cohen said.

The program was initially funded by Congress with $2 billion. It ended up paying out $11 billion in testing claims. Congress opted not to allocate any more money into it and HRSA stopped accepting claims in March 2022 — leaving many uninsured individuals on the hook for COVID-19 care.

An HHS official said safeguards against fraud were put in place and any providers caught abusing the program could be subject to enforcement measures.

“The COVID-19 Uninsured Program was designed to ensure that every person in the United States had access to COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccines — regardless of insurance status — and has been successful in getting care to the most vulnerable among us,” the official said.

As the pandemic has evolved, how people test for the virus has changed too. Now, instead of getting lab tests, many patients opt to use at-home rapid tests. And that has opened up another opportunity for fraud, experts say.

And as investigators try to stay atop new scams, they’re busy investigating the old ones.

Highlights of 2023 event season are Cirque du Soleil’s new offering Corteo in the spring. Happening now is the immersive experience of King Tut’ s tomb. Look forward to seeing

Bring LA’s Cultural Events Into Your Life in 2023

Melina Paris, Assistant Editor

Usually, we run a year-in-review in the first edition of the year. But this time around we thought of running a list of what to look forward to in the new year. As a result, the top of our list includes audiovisual, immersive experiences of art, culture and history that are carving a niche into our encounters with culturalentertainment as technology begins to erase the distance between consumers and the experience. The Beyond King Tut Immersive Experience which began in October 2022 and was supposed to continue to Thanksgiving weekend, instead extended its dates through the end of February.

Without displaying any physical artifacts, Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience exhibition uses modern technology to tell an ancient story and takes guests on a trip into the Egyptian afterlife.

The creative producer of the exhibition, Mark Lach, called the immersive experience “a celebration and a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb.” The projection-driven project is on display now through Feb. 26, at the Magic Box in Los Angeles.

“The artifacts have traveled the world, but the actual artifacts have gone back to Egypt,” The creative producer of the exhibition Mark Lach explained while sitting outside the exhibition space last week. “So without the artifacts, how do we bring it to life?

Well, through the archives of National Geographic, their photos, their film library, their research, we put together something spectacular in a projection form.”

The actual relics of the boy-Pharaoh, Tutankamun were last exhibited in Los Angeles in 1962, 1978, 2005, 2008 and 2018 — five times in the 100 years since the relics were discovered. Immersive experiences highlight an all encompassing stimuli of color washed images and inspiring soundtracks, sometimes from local musicians, that while modern, provide a way to connect with the subject you are seeing. Envision history as it moves before you, while grasping places, times and events of each subject, Immersive Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., (last entry 3 p.m.) Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., (last entry 7 p.m.) Friday and Saturday, Now Until Feb. 26 Details: https://tinyurl.com/Immersive-King-Tut

Immersive experiences aren’t the only cultural events to look forward to in 2023. Check out the following:

WINTER

Speculative Poetry Reading and Discussion with Poets of the SFPA, Collage Science fiction is part of our world now, in literature, media, games and every form of narrative. It has a long history in poetry too, and some accomplished practitioners of the form will read and discuss their work at Collage. All are members of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, an international organization that celebrates the [See Events, p. 11]

film maker John Waters at the Luckman Theater at Cal State Los Angeles in April. File photos

ast month, the Utovac family posted a Facebook message that was prefaced with the words, “all good things must come to an end is a proverb that means nothing lasts forever…” The outpouring from local longshore workers and fishermen — or any San Pedrans for that matter — who got to eat a Devine Burger at the little burger joint at the edge of Ports O’ Call Village was similar to the one in July of 1989, when a condo development on 22nd and Mesa forced it from its digs there.

Utro’s closing this time was Dec. 30, 2022. The development of West Harbor was the culprit this time. The family’s brief comment that the leasing rates were going to be raised to costprohibitive levels after the old Fishermen’s Association building is remodeled from the inside out, and word on the grapevine was that the developers think they could fetch rental rates similar to what’s in Santa Monica or Redondo Beach without proof.

In 1989, Utro’s as this Harbor Area town knew it remained closed for about six years before reopening at Berth 73.

Before the cafe earned its stripes as a San Pedro institution and every bit of one as Walkers Cafe at Point Fermin Park, it was called Crest Cafe in 1955, owned by a married woman in Compton, Genevieve Wunderlich, who then sold it two years later to San Pedro resident Leah Blakeman. The elder Joe Utovac was just 29 years old when he bought the little restaurant that became Utro’s Crest Cafe.

The elder Utovac promised and delivered great hamburgers and cold beer. Los Angeles Times writer John McCafferty painted a picture of the old Utro’s Crest Cafe in a 1982 column entitled “Hamburgers, Beer, and Humor: Cafe Fortunately Lacks Any Ambiance:”

Squatting nakedly on an otherwise vacant lot above the harbor on 22nd Street is an eating establishment that fortunately has no style, verve, panache, class, or And a comfortable sense of humor that

BIG NICK’S PIZZA

Tradition, variety and fast delivery or takeout—you get it all at Big Nick’s Pizza. The best selection of Italian specialties include hearty calzones, an array of pastas and our amazing selection of signature pizzas. We are taking all safety precautions to protect our diners and staff. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on new developments. Call for fast delivery or to place a pick up order. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri.-Sun. Big Nicks’ Pizza, 1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-732-5800, www.bignickspizza.com

BUONO’S AUTHENTIC PIZZERIA

Family owned and operated since 1965, Buono’s is famous for award-winning brick oven baked pizza. Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and sauces based on tried-and-true family recipes and hand-selected fresh ingredients. Now limited

dine-in and patio service, takeout and delivery. Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Buono’s Pizzeria, corner of 6th and Centre sts., Little Italy San Pedro, 310-547-0655, www.buonospizza.com

HAPPY DINER #1

The Happy Diner #1 in Downtown San Pedro isn’t your average diner. The selections range from Italian- and Mexican-influenced entrées to American Continental. Happy Diner chefs are always creating something new—take your pick of grilled salmon over pasta or tilapia and vegetables prepared any way you like. Dine in or al fresco or call for takeout. Hours: Mon.-Wed. 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thurs.-Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #1, 617 S. Centre St., San Pedro, 310-241-0917, www.happydinersp.com

HAPPY DINER #2

worry about it.

Built on the success of Happy Diner #1, Happy Diner #2 offers American favorites like omelets and burgers, fresh salads, plus pasta and Mexican dishes are served.

Order online for delivery or call for pickup. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #2, 1931 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-9352933, www.happydinersp.com

HAPPY DELI

The Happy Deli is a small place with a big menu. Food is made-to-order using the freshest ingredients. Breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches include a small coffee. For lunch or dinner select from fresh salads, wraps, buffalo wings, cold and hot sandwiches, burgers and dogs. Order online or call for takeout or delivery. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 am. to 8 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Deli, 530 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 424-364-0319, www.happydelisp. com

PINA’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Pina’s Mexican Restaurant serves traditonal Mexican food from Michoacan for breakfast through dinner, and is known for specialty

Inside the little building, which is about 30 cheeseburgers wide by 120 long, is a small museum full of memorabilia, bric-a-bac, and cornball humor.

“Don’t throw your cigarettes off the

restaurant’s name, reading “Utro’s Cafe.”

Junior Joe Utovac said that the Berth 73 location “didn’t fully compare to the almighty Crest Cafe.”

That’s probably true. But the Utro’s at Berth 73 is what will remain in this town’s living memory.

The younger Utovac noted that the new Utro’s was truly an old-fashioned mom-and-pop cafe run by his parents, his sister Nicole and a colorful cast of characters, employees and helpful friends who kept the dream alive.

enchiladas, burritos, tacos and mariscos served in a comfortable, casual dining atmosphere. Pina’s now has a full bar and outside dining, so come on by for a real margarita! Party trays for any occasion. Hours: Sun. - Wed. 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Thurs. - Sat. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pina’s Mexican Restaurant, 1430 W. 25th St., San Pedro, 310-547-4621, www.pinasmexicanrestaurant.com

SAN PEDRO BREWING COMPANY

A micro brewery and American grill, SPBC features handcrafted awardwinning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, BBQ, sandwiches, salads and burgers. Order your growlers, house drafts and cocktails to go (with food purchase)! Open daily 12 to 8 p.m. for indoor or al fresco dining, takeout and delivery.. San Pedro Brewing Company, 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-831-5663, www.sanpedrobrewing.com

A battered sign on the sidewalk out front

Joe Utovac and his daughter, Nicole Utovac, owners of Utro’s Crest Cafe, pack up their things as the cafe closes. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala

A vintage photo of owner Joe Utovac working inside Utro’s Crest Cafe. Photo by Slobodon Dimitrov

form.

Time: 2 p.m., Jan. 15

Details: https://tinyurl.com/speculative-poetry

Códice Maya de México, The Getty Center

Around 900 years ago, a Maya scribe made the Códice Maya de México, a sacred book that tracked and predicted movements of the planet Venus. Today it is the oldest book of the Americas, one of only four surviving Maya manuscripts that predate the arrival of Europeans. A remarkable testament to the complexity of Indigenous astronomy, the Codice is on display in the U.S. for the first time in 50 years.

Time: Now to Jan.15

Details: https://culturela.org/event/codicemaya-de-mexico/2022-12-30/

Beastie Boys Exhibit at Beyond the Streets

Hey ladies! This new Beastie Boys exhibit is callin’ out to ya — and all Angelenos who love the iconic New York trio. Beyond the Streets’ flagship gallery on La Brea will host this exhibition with personal items, artifacts and ephemera (most of which has previously never been on public view) from Mike D, Ad-Rock and the late MCA. Admission is free, but you’ll need a timed ticket to visit — so don’t sabotage your chance to see it.

Time: Now to Jan. 23

Details: https://tinyurl.com/beastie-boys-streets

Judith F. Baca: The World Wall, The Museum of Contemporary Art

The Chicana muralist and Great Wall of Los Angeles artist brings her collaborative mural to the Geffen. A two-and-a-half-decade-long

project, The World Wall: A Vision of the Future Without Fear features nine 10-by-30-foot panels that Baca worked on with collaborators as they toured the globe, displayed here in a cathedrallike installation.

Time: Now to Feb. 19

Details: https://tinyurl.com/judith-baca-worldwall

Frieze Los Angeles

Taking place for the first time at Santa Monica Airport, the fair expands to feature more than 120 galleries, including new specialists in 20th-century art, alongside restaurants and Frieze projects spread across the multiple sites. Time: Feb. 16 to Feb. 19

Details: https://www.frieze.com/fairs/frieze-losangeles

SPRING

Cirque du Soleil: Corteo

This lively Cirque production loosely follows life after the death of a clown. After a brief run at the Forum during a 2019 tour, the spectacle returns to LA for a significantly longer stint at the Microsoft Theater. Despite the name, expect Corteo — Italian for procession — to be anything but funerary, with swinging chandeliers and bouncing beds among its acts.

Time: March 23 to April 30 Details: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/corteo

Depeche Mode at Kia Forum, Inglewood

The synth-pop pioneers return to LA for one of its first live shows in five years — and its first tour following the death of founding keyboard player Andy Fletcher. Expect darkly melodramatic and sleazy, stadium-scaled electro rock from Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, offset by the odd tender pop ballad, as only DM can pull off.

Time: 7:30 p.m., March 28 Details: https://www.depechemode.com

William Kentridge: In Praise of Shadows

At The Broad

See charcoal drawings, animated films, sculptures and theater models from the South African artist during this exhibition about the Broad, which focuses on Kentridge’s paradoxes of light and shadow.

Time: Now to April 9 Details: https://tinyurl.com/kentridge-praise-ofshadows

Regeneration: Black Cinema 1898–1971

This essential and energetic display at the Academy Museum spotlights an entire century of often-overlooked filmmaking and shows how Black artists have been a vital part of cinema since its inception.

Time: Now to April 9 Details: https://tinyurl.com/mwfrp23n

John Waters Returns to The Luckman

A celebrated filmmaker, director, and writer, John Waters has built a reputation for shocking his audiences. Many of the cult legend’s films satirize suburban America as well as many social conventions and attitudes. He started out making short experimental films in the 1960s, often using friends as actors and holding renegade, underground showings in offbeat locales.

Time: 6 p.m., April 23 Details: https://tinyurl.com/john-waters

Patrick Landeza & Sons at The Grand Annex

Enjoy two-time Nā Hōkū Hanohano winner (Hawaiian Grammy) and slack key guitarist featuring slide guitar phenom, Justin Firmeza. Plus take part in a “Slide Guitar: Myths & Truths in Music” workshop at 7 p.m.

Time: 8:30 p.m., May 20

Details: https://tinyurl.com/patrick-landeza

Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody

The specially ticketed Keith Haring: Art is for Everybody will explore the late New York artist’s artistic practices as well as his activism, including his work centered on nuclear disarmament, anti-Apartheid movements and the HIV/AIDS crisis. The Broad will examine this body of work in a museum setting with this display of more than 120 artworks and archival materials.

Time: May 27 to Oct. 8

Details: https://tinyurl.com/art-for-everybody SUMMER

Janet

Jackson: Together Again

Janet Jackson is back. The celebrated music icon behind All for You, Rhythm Nation, Nasty, That’s the Way Love Goes, and so many more headlines opening night at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus, the Grammy Award®-winning rapper Ludacris kicks off a night not to be missed.

Time: 8 p.m., June 10

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Janet-Jacksontogether

AUTUMN Survey DTLA Architecture

Take a fuel-efficient walking tour and cherish Los Angeles’ urban architectural heritage. On Saturdays, the Los Angeles

Conservancy walking tours take in the city’s top sights and most beautiful buildings, including downtown’s historic theaters and art deco buildings as well as the modern skyline. Be sure to reserve a place well ahead of time.

Time: Various, from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m., Saturdays Details: www.laconservancy.org/tours

MUSIC

Jan. 6

First Fridays at First

See Belgian pianist Steven Van Hauwaert and Canadian violinist Corey Cerovsek in part one of a recital in two parts.

Time: 12 p.m., Jan. 6 Cost: Free Details: 310-316-5574; www.palosverdes.com/classicalcrossroads

Venue: First Lutheran Church and School, 2900 W. Carson St., Torrance

’80s with Knyght Ryder

This ’80s tribute band will play live music, and DJ Jonney Miles will play between songs and after closing. Dancing and dining will be available.

Time: 9 p.m., Jan. 6 Cost: $15

Details: http://www.thegaslamprestaurant.com/ Venue: Gaslamp, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach

Live Blues at Harvelle’s

Harvelle’s presents Darnell Cole and the Vibe, the Chase Walker Band and Austin Thomason.

Time: 9:30 p.m., Jan. 6 Cost: $10, two drink minimum Details: https://longbeach.harvelles.com/ Venue: 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach

Jan. 7

Jeff Rosenstock & Joyce Manor

Joyce Manor will be performing with PUP, Jeff Rosenstein and Slaughterhouse. Toronto punk band PUP’s fourth studio record, The Unravelling of Puptheband, was recorded and mixed over the course of five weeks in the summer of 2021, in Grammy-Award winning producer Peter Katis’ batfilled mansion in Connecticut.

Time: 6:30 p.m., Jan. 7 Cost: $46.50

Details: https://tinyurl.com/puptheband

Venue: Terrace Theater, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

Bee Gees Gold

This show is a tribute to disco-era legends, and it will be performed

at the Gaslamp.

Time: 8:30 p.m., Jan. 7 Cost: $60 and up Details: https://tinyurl.com/ Bee-Gees-gold Venue: Gaslamp, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach

Celebrating the Music of Tom Petty

Driven by a deep love and admiration for Petty’s music, Devitt Feeley assembled a cast of top flight Los Angeles tribute musicians to faithfully and respectfully perform Tom Petty’s classics with great attention to detail and a heartfelt love of the music.

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 7 Cost: $20

Details: https://tinyurl.com/ petty-party

Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

The Redmoon Band

The Redmoon Band will be playing at Dipiazza’s with Bad Bodega and Rawnsley.

Time: 6:30 p.m., Jan. 7 Cost: Free

Details: https://dipiazzas.com Venue: DiPiazza’s, 5205 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach

Jan. 8

Elvis’ Birthday Bash With Graceband

Join in on the celebration of the king of rock ‘n’ roll’s birth-

day with the Graceband tribute band.

Time: 7 p.m., Jan. 8

Cost: $20

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Elvisbirthday-bash

Venue: Gaslamp, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach

Jan. 14

Southern California Slack Key Festival VIP Reception

Join an intimate mix-n-mingle with the artists and enjoy ‘ono food and prize giveaways. Note: VIP tickets do not include a seat at the show Jan. 15.

Time: 5 p.m., Jan. 14 Cost: $65

Details: 800-595-4849; https://www.slackkeyfest.com

Venue: The Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Jan. 15

2023 Southern California Slack Key Festival

Join the 16th annual celebration of ki ho’alu guitar in Redondo Beach. It’s the biggest Hawaiian music event of the year. Kala Koa Entertainment celebrates 16 years of bringing the biggest and brightest names in Hawaiian music to the mainland.

Time: 2 p.m., Jan. 15 Cost: $20 to $65 Details: https://www.slackkeyfest. com

Venue: Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach

Ruben Sings Luther

During his American Idol run, Ruben Studdard was hailed as “the next Luther Vandross.” See the Grammy nominee pay tribute to Vandross with the late legend’s timeless hits, including Always and Forever and Here and Now.

Time: 7 p.m., Jan. 15 Cost: $50 to $80 Details: 562-916-8500; cerritoscenter.com.

Venue: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos

Mike Keneally & Beer For Dolphins

Mike Keneally and his band Beer For Dolphins, along with renowned rock fusion trio Travis Larson Band, present an evening of musicianship, from artful rock to progressive rock to jazz-rock fusion to avant-garde fusion. Time: 4 p.m., Jan. 15 Cost: $30

Details: https://tinyurl.com/MikeKeneally

Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Jan. 18

Reverend Horton Heat & The Surfrajettes

Check out Reverend Horton Heat & The Surfrajettes along with some of their top tracks including Right String and Wrong Yo-Yo.

Time: 7 p.m., Jan. 18 Cost: $45 Details: https://tinyurl.com/RevHorton-Heat

Venue: Alex’s Bar, 2913 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach

Jan. 20

Gabble Ratche

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of Genesis’ classic album Foxtrot, Gabble Ratchet will be playing the full album along with an eclectic selection of other classic fan-favorites.

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 20

Cost: $25

Details: https://alvasshowroom. com/events/ Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Spinphony

Jan. 21

The dazzling female electric string quartet Spinphony is breaking down barriers between classical, rock and pop music, mixing and mashing catchy melodies into their own unique arrangements. Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 21 Cost: $35 and up Details: 310-781-7171; https://torrancearts.org/show/spinphony Venue: Torrance Cultural Arts, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance

COMEDY

Jan. 10

Stand-Up Comedy at Harvelle’s

Every Tuesday night Harvelle’s brings the top headliners and the industry’s top comedians and Burlesque performers.

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 10 Cost: $10, two drink min Details: https://longbeach.harvelles.com/ Venue: 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach

Jan. 21

Capitol Comedy

Political satire and musical comedy return to the stage. Featuring fresh parodies and timely original compositions, Capitol Comedy’s new show is a lively musical program skewing both sides of the aisle with hilarious and insightful political satire. From the White House to Congress, everyone is fair game.

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 21 Cost: $50

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Capitol-comedy

Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E Atherton St., Long Beach

THEATER

Jan. 6

Sweet Caroline

Enjoy a show starring Jay White as he pays homage to Neil Diamond, performing the legend’s hits from his 50-plus-year career.

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 6

Cost: $40 to $65

Details: cerritoscenter.com; 562-916-8500

Venue: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos

Jan. 7

Garrison Keillor Tonight

Join an evening of stand-up, storytelling, audience song, and poetry. One man, one microphone. There are sung sonnets, limericks and musical jokes, and the thread that runs through it is the beauty of growing old.

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 7 Cost: $40 and up Details: 310-781-7171; www.torrancearts.org/garrisonkeillor-tonight

Venue: Torrance Cultural Arts, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance

Jan. 10

Opera Talk

Join LA Opera educator Geoff Kuenning as he discusses Marriage of Figaro. Time: 2 p.m., Jan. 10 Cost: Free Details: Email SBuehler@TorranceCA.Gov by Jan.8. Venue: Zoom

Jan. 12

Cozy Cabaret: New Beginnings

Join in for an evening to bring in the new year with singing and excitement, all while supporting local theater. The Cozy Cabaret Series serves as a fundraising series to help P3 Theatre Company recover from the financial challenges presented by COVID-19 and continue to pursue its mission and vision to help make the world a better place through the arts.

Time: 7 p.m., Jan. 12 Cost: $20 Details: https://tinyurl.com/ ysrwj676

Venue: Aurora Theatre, 4412 E. Village Rd., Long Beach

Jan. 13

ART

Jan. 5

Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories

Over 40 artists will have work on display, as will a complementary exhibition, Together for Good: Caron Tabb and the Quilting Corner, a large-scale collection of keepsakes that respond to the pandemic.

Time: Now to March 12, 2023

Details: https://tinyurl.com/fabricof-a-nation Cost: $12

Venue: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles

Little Boxes

Using an assortment of Cuban cigar boxes and display boxes, Long Beach artist Kay Erickson provocatively and cleverly frames some villainous vignettes of the horrors currently haunting America, along with some calmer, more surreal scenes. The works will be on through January 2023.

Time: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday Cost: Free Details: 562.588.7075

Venue: Page Against The Machine, 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach

Stacking/Up

Group show of works by Phoebe Barnum, Nancy Voegeli-Curran, Eugene Daub, Anne Daub, Janice Govaerts, Eric Johnson, Jim Murray, Lowell Nicklel, Gregorio Nocon, Peggy Sivert, Michael Stearns, Mayra Zaragoza and Ben Zask. Time: Jan. 5 to Feb. 4 Cost: Free Details: https://www.loftartstudiosandgalleries.com Venue: The LOFT Gallery and Artist Studios, 401 S. Mesa St., San Pedro

Jan. 6

Celebrating the AAPI Community Through Art

Details: 310-541-7613; https:// pvplc.org/event/chesleybonestell/ Venue: Online

COMMUNITY

Jan. 7

Outdoor Volunteer Day: Agua Amarga Reserve

Volunteers can help prepare a Palos Verdes blue butterfly habitat by raking and removing invasive weeds. The event will be outdoors, so wear a mask, closedtoed shoes, bug spray, sun protection and bring drinking water and a snack.

Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Jan. 7 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/volunteer-Agua-Amarga Venue: 6937 Kings Harbor Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes

George F. Canyon Guided Nature Preserve Walk

You will be guided by a trained naturalist to discover a unique variety of wildlife in a canyon habitat with amazing views of the LA Basin. Meet outside on the back deck of the George F. Canyon Nature Center. Park in the preserve lot. Rain cancels the walk.

Time: 10:30 a.m., Jan. 7 Cost: Free Details: No RSVP required Venue: George F. Canyon Nature Center, 27305 Palos Verdes Drive East

Jan. 8

South Coast Cactus and Succulent Society

Dylan Hannon, a curator of conservatory collections at The Huntington Botanical Gardens since 2003, will speak about the succulent Othonna. Hannon will discuss the cultivation requirements of Othonna, which can be used in a rock garden or as an indoor houseplant.

Time: 1 p.m., Jan. 8 Cost: Free for members of the club and their guests

Jay Leno

Jay Leno began his comedy career while in college and by the age of 37, he was guest-hosting The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. When Carson retired in 1992, Leno took the reins. The comedian was honored with the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, considered the nation’s top recognition for humor and satire.

Time: 7:30 p.m., Jan. 7

Cost: $70 to $115

Details: 562-916-8500; cerritoscenter.com

Venue: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos

Best

Of The Best Show

& Behind

The Mask

happens when we take our masks off? Twelve local artists took a journey inward to learn more about themselves, their interactions with others, and how they show up in the world. Witness their creative expression using storytelling, spoken word, monologues, music and dance.

Time: 8 p.m., Jan. 13, 14, 2 p.m., Jan. 15 Cost: $20 Details: 562-494-1014 Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach

Jan. 22

Agnes Of God

A young nun who claims she gave a virgin birth is accused of murdering her child. A psychiatrist assigned to the case faces off with the mother superior. All three women explore questions of faith, memory and the meaning of sainthood.

Times: 8 p.m. Jan. 20, 21 and 2 p.m., Jan. 22 Cost: $20 to $24 student/senior/ military Details: https://lbplayhouse.org/ event/agnes-of-god Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach

An art show by local high school student Audrey Lin showcases art celebrating the AAPI community. The show aims to simultaneously celebrate the many diverse aspects of Asian culture and raise awareness about the recent hate crimes against the community. Time: Jan. 6 to Feb. 17 Cost: Free Details: www.celebratingaapi.art Venue: Peninsula Center Library Foyer, 701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates

Jan. 7

Creature Comforts

Creature Comforts by Brent Estabrook will be the inaugural solo museum exhibition of the Los Angeles-based artist. Best known for his large-scale oil paintings of stuffed animals, Estabrook approaches his work with a delightful playfulness while maintaining a sedulous painterly technique.

Time: 11 a.m., Jan. 7

Cost: $10 to $12

Details: https://artslb.org/event/ creature-comforts

Venue: Long Beach Museum of Art, 2300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

FILM

Jan. 29

Chesley Bonestell

Join the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy for a Zoom event with filmmaker and Rancho Palos Verdes resident Douglass Stewart, who will discuss the amazing life and career of Chesley Bonestell. Price includes home delivery of the DVD, which participants can view in advance.

Time: 4 to 5 p.m., Jan. 29 Cost: $30 per family

Details: https://tinyurl.com/SCCSS-Othonna Venue: South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes Peninsula

Jan. 9

Hike Peck Park Canyon Meet at the trailhead in the Peck Park lower parking lot. The walk will last from an hour to an hour and a half.

Time: 9 a.m., Jan. 9, 18 Cost: Free Details: 310-548-7580

Venue: Peck Park, 560 N. Western Ave., San Pedro

Jan. 14

Guided Nature Walk at Agua Amarga Reserve

Walk the trail, enjoy the view and appreciate the results of many volunteers’ trail and habitat restoration efforts in this quiet neighborhood.

Time: 9 a.m., Jan. 14

Cost: Free

Details: pvplc.org/calendar Location: Agua Amarga Canyon can be seen below Hawthorne Boulevard across from Ralph’s Market (30019 Hawthorne Blvd.) in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Jan. 16

MLK Jr. Day of Service

Join the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at White Point Nature Preserve. Help care for the White Point native plant demonstration garden by removing invasive weeds.

Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Jan. 16

Cost: Free

Details: Sign up at https://pvplc. volunteerhub.com/ Venue: White Point Nature Preserve, 1600 W. Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro

Exploring Tide Pools in Winter

we just had allowed us to see much activity in the pools.” Pools are affected strongly by the sun so when it is absent, animals are more comfortable and will move around more. Carranza mentioned that the overcast weather the last week made anemones, octopuses, sea hares and even nudibranchs become more active in the Point Fermin Tide pools. He said they have even seen dolphins swimming on the outside of the kelp forest four out of the last five times there have been walks. Life is teeming in tide pools and you have the ability to see these animals in their natural habitat without getting wet at all.

Speaking of getting wet, it is recommended not to step into the pools. These tide pool animals experience stress during a low tide so Carranza always tells his visitors not to step in pools as you are almost always stepping on an animal when you do so. He also warns that rocks are wet and pointy and running can be a quick way to a wet bum or a cut leg, so walking is a necessity.

Walking, standing still and being observant

LB Police and Fire Chiefs Receive the Spirit of St. Mary Award

is also the best way to find animals that are camouflaged and that you may miss if you are running or not paying attention. As mentioned before, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s tide pool walks are the best way to get familiar with tide pools for the first time and once you are comfortable, you can explore other areas around the peninsula such as Abalone Cove and White

While this may be a really cool opportunity

“When we call for help, you come,” said Carolyn Caldwell, president/CEO of Dignity Health - St. Mary

“You make

Beach a better and safe place to live, work and play!”

With that, Ms. Caldwell made the first-ever presentations of the Spirit of St. Mary Award.

More than 200 people attended the award ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach.

Chief Hebeish and Chief Espino spoke with emotion as each accepted the award. Both expressed gratitude for their departments’ long-standing relationships with St. Mary Medical Center.

“When our uniformed officers are injured, you are the ones who treat them,” said LBPD Chief Hebeish. “We honor the quality of the care they receive and the great compassion with which that care is administered.”

St. Mary chief philanthropy officer, Michael Neils, introduced the Spirit of St. Mary Award to the audience and explained its significance.

“Every human person is a unity of body, mind and spirit. This means that every person has the

power and potential to bring healing to others.”

The Long Beach Police Department was founded Jan. 30, 1888. It has 823 sworn officers and a total staff of 1,200. The department daily responds to approximately 590 calls for service, or 214,000 annually. The fire department was

founded on March 16, 1897. It is served by 405 professional firefighters; 25 marine safety officers; and 283 civilian employees, including ambulance operators and lifeguards. From 23 fire stations, the department responds to more than 5,000 calls (911) per month.

to see the animals, these tides are important for scientists using low tides and high tides to predict what the future might look like when considering global changes such as sea level rise. Citizens can get involved in this documentation with the King Tide Project as well. The more photos that the group receives, the more data they have to help find flood risk areas, compare models with predictions, and serve as a living record for future generations. The next king tides are Jan. 21 and 22 of 2023. For more information on king tides and how to get involved go to https://www. coastal.ca.gov/kingtides/, and to see upcoming

programs at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, go to https://www.cabrillomarineaquarium. org/.

On Dec. 9, Long Beach Chief of Police Wally Hebeish and Chief Xavier Espino for the Long Beach Fire Department were honored with the Spirit of St. Mary award.

Medical Center.

Long

Seth Meyer is a graduate of Long Beach State University’s marine biology program, with interests in science, photography, culinary arts and music.

Marine wildlife that can be found at Cabrillo Beach. Photos by Carl Carranza, educator at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Long Beach Fire Department Chief Xavier Espino, left, and Long Beach Chief of Police Wally Hebeish, right, receive the Spirit of St. Mary award from Carolyn Caldwell, president/CEO of Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center. Photo courtesy of Dignity Health - St. Mary Medical Center

JOB OPPS

RLNews is looking for freelance food and music writers who are knowledgeable about Harbor Area restaurants, culture and music scenes. Committment to writing to deadline is a must. Having a strong social media following and bi-lingual skills is a plus. Submit inquiries and any links to your writing to editor@randomlengthsnews. com or call 310-519-1442 weekdays.

HOME & GARDEN

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BCI Walk In Tubs are now on SALE! Be one of the first 50 callers and save $1,500! CALL 844-514-0123 for a free in-home consultation.

HEALTH

MISC.

JOB TRAINING

COMPUTER & IT TRAINING

PROGRAM! Train ONLINE to get the skills to become a Computer & Help Desk Professional now! Grants and Scholarships available for certain programs for qualified applicants. Call CTI for details! 888-281-1442 (M-F 8am-6pm ET). Computer with internet is required.

Attention Active Duty & Military Veterans & Family! Begin a new career and earn your Degree at CTI! Online Computer & Medical training available for Veterans & Families! To learn more, call 866243-5931. (M-F 8am-6pm ET). Computer with internet is required

BathWraps is looking for calls from homeowners with older home who are looking for a quick safety update. They do not remodel entire bathrooms but update bathtubs with new liners for safe bathing and showering. They specialize in grab bars, non-slip surfaces and shower seats. All updates are completed in one day. Call 866-5312432

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DirecTV Satellite TV Service

Starting at $74.99/month! Free Installation! 160+ channels available. Call Now to Get the Most Sports & Entertainment on TV! 877-310-2472

DISHTV $64.99 For 190 Channels + $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. Promo Expires 1/21/23 1-866-566-1815 (AAN CAN)

Spectrum Internet as low as $29.99, call to see if you qualify for ACP and free internet. No Credit Check. Call Now! 833-955-0905

LONG DISTANCE MOVING: Call today for a FREE QUOTE from America’s Most Trusted Interstate Movers. Let us take the stress out of moving! Call now to speak to one of our Quality Relocation

AUTOS

DONATE YOUR VEHICLE to fund the SEARCH FOR MISSING CHILDREN. FAST FREE PICKUP. 24 hour response. Running or not. Maximum Tax Deduction and No Emission Test Required! Call 855-504-1540

PETS

PEDRO PET PALS is the only group that raises funds for the City Animal Shelter and FREE vaccines and spay or neuter for our community. 310-991-0012.

Plants for Sale

Various sizes of Peruvian Spiral Cactus, mature Aloe Vera plants and Century plants $10 to $24.95 ea. Call or text

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

File No. 2022-276962

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Vorte Restoration Services 1323 S. Gaffey, San Pedro, CA 90731, County of Los Angeles

Registered owner(s): Bolanos Brothers LLC, 1123 Via Sebastian, San Pedro, CA 90732; California. This business is conducted by: a Limited Liability Company The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 01/2010 I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine

not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)). S/ Victor Bolanos Ortega, President of Bolanos Brothers LLC

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on December 27, 2022 NOTICE-In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except, as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. Effective January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of

Identity form. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et seq., Business and Professions Code). 1/5, 1/19, 2/03, 2/17/23

Public Notary

1300 S. Pacific Ave. San Pedro 310-510-1442

“The Best of 2022” — another year, another look back.

NOTICE INVITING BIDS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City of Long Beach, California, acting by and through the City’s Board of Harbor Commissioners (“City”) will receive, before the Bid Deadline established below, Bids for the following Work:

JOB ORDER CONTRACT at THE PORT OF LONG BEACH LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA

AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S3156

LEGAL NOTICES

Copies of all Port insurance endorsement forms, SBE/ VSBE Program forms, Harbor Development Permit Applications and other Port forms are available at www. polb.com/business/permits.

NIB -2 Pre-Bid Questions. All questions, including requests for interpretation or correction, or comments regarding the Contract Documents, must be submitted no later than February 7, 2023, at 5 p.m. Questions received after the pre-Bid question deadline will not be accepted.

Questions must be submitted electronically through the PB System. Emails, phone

Bid Deadline: Prior to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.

Bids shall be submitted electronically via the Port of Long Beach PlanetBids (PB) System prior to 2:00 p.m.

Bid Opening: Electronic Bid (eBid) results shall be viewable online in the PB System immediately after the Bid Deadline.

Contract Documents Available:

Download Contract Documents from the Port of Long Beach PB System Vendor Portal: www.polb.com/sbe Click on the POLB Vendor Portal

Register and Log In

Click “Bid Opportunities”

Double-click on respective bid Project Title

Click on Document/Attachment tab

Double-Click on Title of Electronic Attachment

Click “Download Now”

Repeat for each attachment For assistance in downloading these documents please contact Port of Long Beach Plans and Specs Desk at 562-283-7353.

The Contractor is required to complete each Detailed Scope of Work for the Job Order Price within the Job Order Completion Time.

The Work consists of detailed repair, alteration, modernization, maintenance, rehabilitation, demolition, and construction tasks per specifications that have established Unit Prices in a JOC Construction Catalog. The Work will be performed within the City of Long Beach Harbor District. However, if the need arises, the City reserves the right to require the Contractor to work at any location or facility under the jurisdiction of the City.

No single Job Order will exceed $500,000 or will be split or separated into smaller Job Orders for the purposes of evading the $500,000 cost limit.

NIB -5 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Contractor shall achieve Affidavit of Final Completion of the Project within one (1) year as provided in Paragraph SC – 6.1 of the Special Conditions, from a date specified in a written “Notice to Proceed” issued by the City and subject to adjustment as provided in Section 8.2 of the General Conditions. FAILURE OF THE CONTRACTOR TO COMPLETE THE WORK WITHIN THE CONTRACT TIME AND OTHER MILESTONES SET FORTH IN THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING THE ENGINEER’S APPROVAL OF AFFIDAVIT OF FINAL COMPLETION, WILL RESULT IN ASSESSMENT OF LIQUIDATED DAMAGES IN THE AMOUNTS ESTABLISHED IN THE SPECIAL CONDITIONS.

Bidder’s Commitment Plan does not demonstrate intent to meet the combined goal, the Bidder shall demonstrate that it made an adequate good faith effort to do so, as specified in the Instructions to Bidders. The Port’s SBE Program staff is available to provide information on the program requirements, including SBE certification assistance. Please contact the SBE Office at (562) 283-7598 or sbeprogram@polb.com.

You may also view the Port’s SBE program requirements at www.polb.com/sbe.

NIB -9 Prevailing Wage Requirements per Department of Industrial Relations. This Project is a public work Contract as defined in Labor Code Section 1720. The Contractor receiving award of the Contract and Subcontractors of any tier shall pay not less than the prevailing wage rates to all workers employed in execution of the Contract. The Director of Industrial Relations of the State of California has determined the general prevailing rates of wages in the locality in which the Work is to be performed. The rate schedules are available on the internet at http://www. dir.ca.gov/dlsr/DPreWageDetermination.htm and on file at the City, available upon request. Bidders are directed to Article 15 of the General Conditions for requirements concerning payment of prevailing wages, payroll records, hours of work and employment of apprentices.

NIB -12 Prequalification of Contractors. Prime Contractors eligible to bid on this project have been prequalified. Bids will only be accepted from the following prequalified Prime Contractors:

• Athena Engineering, Inc.

• Granite Construction Company

• Reyes Electrical Contractor, Inc.

• Thomasville Construction, Inc.

NIB -13 Bid Security, Signed Contract, Insurance and Bonds. Each Bid shall be accompanied by a satisfactory Bidder’s Bond or other acceptable Bid Security in an amount not less than ten percent (10%) of the Maximum Contract Value as a guarantee that the Bidder will, if Conditionally Awarded a Contract by the Board, within thirty (30) calendar days after the Contract is conditionally awarded to the Contractor by the City, execute and deliver such Contract to the Chief Harbor Engineer together with all required documents including insurance forms, a Payment Bond for one hundred percent (100%) of the Contract Price, and a Performance Bond for one hundred percent (100%) of

the Contract Price. All Bonds shall be on forms provided by the City.

NIB -14 Conditional Award of Contract and Reservation of Rights. The Board , acting through the Executive Director, reserves the right at any time before the execution of the Contract by the City, to reject any or all Bids, and to waive any informality or irregularity. The Conditional Award of the Contract, if any, will be to the responsible Bidder submitting the lowest responsive and responsible Bid. If the lowest responsive responsible Bidder fails to submit the required documents including insurance forms, bonds and signed Contract within thirty (30) calendar days after Conditional Award of Contract, the Board reserves the right to rescind the Conditional Award and Conditionally Award the Contract to the next lowest responsive and responsible Bidder.

NIB -15 Period of Bid Irrevocability. Bids shall remain open and valid and Bidder’s Bonds and other acceptable Bid Security shall be guaranteed and valid for ninety (90) calendar days after

the Bid Deadline or until the Executive Director executes a Contract, whichever occurs first.

NIB -16 Substitution of Securities. Substitution of Securities for retainage is permitted in accordance with Section 22300 of the Public Contract Code.

NIB -17 Iran Contracting Act of 2010. In accordance with Public Contract Code sections 2200-2208, every person who submits a bid or proposal for entering into or renewing contracts with the City for goods or services estimated at $1,000,000 or more are required to complete, sign, and submit the “Iran Contracting Act of 2010 Compliance Affidavit.”

Issued at Long Beach, California, this 24th day of October, 2022.

Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the Harbor Department, City of Long Beach, California

Note: For project updates after Bid Opening, please contact plans.specs@ polb.com

[Barragán, from p. 2]

Barragán

NonMandatory Pre-Bid Meeting:

Date/Time: January 19, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Location: Microsoft Teams (Virtual) – Join from the meeting link below: Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 281 191 203 676 Passcode: fnBsNq Or call in (audio only) +1 323-451-1087,,326454785# United States, Los Angeles Phone Conference ID: 326 454 785#

NIB -6 Contractor’s License. The Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class “B” or “A” California Contractor’s License to construct this project.

Project Contact Person:

Francisco Aragon: Francisco. Aragon@polb.com

Please refer to the Port of Long Beach PB System for the most current information.

NIB -1 Contract Documents. Contract Documents may be downloaded, at no cost, from the Port of Long Beach PB System Vendor Portal website. Bidders must first register as a vendor on the Port of Long Beach PB System website in order to view and download the Contract Documents, to be added to the prospective bidders list, and to receive addendum notifications when issued.

For the link to the Port of Long Beach PB System and for information on this Project and other upcoming Port projects, you may view the Port website at https://www.polb.com/business/business-opportunities

calls, and faxes will not be accepted. Questions submitted to City staff will not be addressed and Bidder will be directed to the PB System.

NIB -3 Non-Mandatory PreBid Meeting. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor Department will conduct a virtual pre-bid meeting at 10:00 a.m. on January 19, 2023 , via Microsoft Teams at the link provided above. Attendance is optional.

NIB -4 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract will be set forth in the Detailed Scope of Work referenced in each individual Job Order.

NIB -7 Contractor Performed Work. The Contractor shall perform, with its own employees, Contract Work amounting to at least 20% of each Job Order, except that any designated “Specialty Items,” as designated in each individual Job Order, may be performed by subcontract as provided in Paragraph SC – 35.7 of the Special Conditions.

NIB -8 SBE/VSBE. This project is subject to the Port of Long Beach (POLB) Small Business Enterprises (SBE)/ Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program.

The combined SBE/VSBE participation goal for this Project is twenty-seven percent (27%) of total bid value. The combined SBE/VSBE participation goal shall include a minimum zero percent (0%) of total bid value as VSBE.

POLB expects all Bidders to achieve the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. Award of the Contract will be conditioned on the Bidder submitting an SBE-2C Commitment Plan demonstrating the Bidder’s intent to meet the combined SBE/VSBE participation goal. If the

This Project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the Department of Industrial Relations. No Contractor or Subcontractor may be listed on a bid proposal for a public works project unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code Section 1725.5 (with limited exceptions from this requirement for bid purposes only under Labor Code Section 1771.1(a)). No Contractor or Subcontractor may be awarded a contract for public work on a public works project unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to Labor Code Section 1725.5.

In addition to providing Certified Payroll Records (CPRs) and labor compliance documentation to the Port of Long Beach, Contractors and Subcontractors must furnish electronic CPRs to the Labor Commissioner’s Office.

NIB -10 Project Labor Agreement. This project is not covered by a PLA.

NIB -11 Trade Names and Substitution of Equals. With the exception of any sole source determination that may be identified in this paragraph, a written request for an Or Equal Substitution using the form included in Appendix A together with data substantiating that the non-specified item is of equal quality to the item specified, may be submitted after Conditional Award and no later than fourteen (14) calendar days after City’s issuance of Notice to Proceed (NTP). Authorization of a substitution is solely within the discretion of the City.

mittees during the last Congress, members who promoted violence against members of Congress in days leading up to Jan. 6 and after, will have leverage over the incoming House speaker.

When a lot of this funding starts to hit the streets of America, the American people may get the impression that it’s the Republicans in Congress, rather than the Democrats who are responsible for this infrastructure spending because the contracts take time to roll out.

“It happens every time the Democrats get it done,” Barragán said. “It takes a year to implement. Then when the other party is in charge? Guess what they do? They absolutely act like they voted for it and supported it and made it happen. On the big items, like the inflation reduction act, we didn’t get any Republican support. It was all Democrats. So when you’re talking about capping at $35 on insulin for people on Medicare ... this wasn’t a bipartisan effort. The Infrastructure and Jobs Bill, we had maybe eight Republicans support it. The rest of them said, “no,” let’s not invest in America’s infrastructure they did say, but give me the money.”

Barragán agrees that the tactic is intended to make it look like the Biden administration isn’t getting anything done, but more importantly it’s a familiar play from a well worn playbook.

“It’s not just with this president,” Barragán said. “It happened with Obama where they said we’re going to obstruct, we’re going to stop things from happening, we are just going to say no regardless of the benefit to the American people. And that’s not a way to govern, and that’s not a way to make progress for the American people. And this is all about the people, right? Not corporations, nonprofits, but the people.”

Barragán is going into her fourth term, so it’s been six years. Her freshman term came right before the start of the Donald Trump administration in 2016.

“Those were some rough years. And what did they get done? They focused on cutting taxes for the rich top 1% and corporations. Not for the people, but for the corporations, the welloff and the well-to-do,” Baragán said.

Visit www.randomlengthsnews.com to see the full interview with Rep. Barragán.

Real People, Real News, Really Effective January 518, 2023