Former board members and volunteers wonder where all the money went By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
The Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro recently announced it is in dire financial straits and needs to raise $1 million by June. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn stepped up with $100,000 from her office, but that’s still a long way from the goal. “We are saving lives here at MMCC and these precious animals need our help,” said a prepared statement released by the organization. “But we can’t do this alone—it’s going to take a village. We need you to come together to save this incredible organization.” The statement attributed the Marine Mammal Center’s financial predicament to an increase in operating costs. In turn, those increases were said to have derived from an unusual mortality event that struck the California sea lion population between 2013 and 2017. The death of many sea lions created a population of their pups that were stranded on the beaches due to malnourishment. The event took a toll on staff, volunteers and the financial footing of the organization, according to the statement. This is all true, but to anyone who has paid attention to the Marine Mammal Care Center over the past 30 years, it would seem there’s more to this story. A lot of long-time observers, former board members and ex-volunteers say the whole thing sounds fishy. The questions are many, but the number one question is, “Has someone taken money from the cookie jar?” With the available evidence, it’s not exactly clear. But from the perspective
[See Mammal, p. 8]
New health trend: Intermittent fasting... is it right for you? p. 2
Buono’s grand opening and a new Western Avenue gem in Northern Cafe p. 10
On Jan. 6, legislation to create clear and present danger of climate a California Green New Deal was change,” said Bonta. introduced in the State Assembly Activists and scientists alike by Assistant Majority Leader Rob said the action was needed, but Bonta, along with 13 co-sponsors translating broad aspirations into from across the state. Like the action remains challenging. national version, introduced by “We need a Green New Deal Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a at the federal level,” said Sunrise Democrat from the Bronx, it aims Movement Bay Area organizer to address issues of racial and Isaac Silk. “But also, there’s a economic equity to ensure a just whole heck of a lot that California transition to a sustainable future, can be doing to go beyond what the with shared economic prosperity. current climate goals are to ensure “Just like with the original we have a viable future. Young New Deal by FDR in 1932 that Assembly majority leader Rob Bonta. people across the state and young lifted America out of the Great File photo people in Sunrise realize that Depression, we too must now California can be doing a lot more. UC Merced climate scientist LeRoy Westerling harness all of our people power, political capital and courage to meet today’s greatest challenge — the said the state should not wait for federal leadership
or appropriations. “Prosperity and economic and health security for all Californians depends on deepening our technological leadership in green, low-carbon technologies.” The state’s public universities, colleges and community colleges are important partners. “Large scale public investment is required to implement green technologies throughout the state’s economy,” Westerling said. “A highly-trained workforce is necessary for the development and management of green technology systems to manage our vulnerabilities to climate risks.” On the other hand, the costs of climate change — the costs of doing nothing — by 2050 “are on the order of hundreds of billions of dollars,” the bill’s statement of findings notes. “Adaptation efforts and resources to prepare communities and minimize climate impacts, particularly to disadvantaged communities, are needed to ensure the
January 23 - February 5, 2020
Dancing Waters and the demolition of San Pedro’s cultural history p. 9
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
Supervisor Hahn proposes new homeless shelter in San Pedro p. 3
A Green New Deal For The Golden State
[See California, p. 20]
1
Health News–
Intermittent Fasting A Popular Approach Weight to Loss By Laurel Leicht, WebMD Contributor
January 23 - February 5, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
You can eat mostly what you want on days when you don’t fast. But to lose weight and get the nutrients you need, you should stick to healthy foods and limit treats like dessert and
2
Guid e
Packaged food and meals? No.
H e al t h & F o t
In-person meetings: No.
Exercise: How much you exercise is up to you. But obviously, you’re not going to have a lot of energy for that on your fasting days. The creators of the Every Other Day diet studied people doing cardiovascular exercise (like biking) while on the alternate-day fasting plan and found that they were able to maintain muscle mass while fasting.
s
What You Can Eat and What You Can’t
processed foods. On fasting days, you’ll eat very little food or none at all. For example, the Every Other Day Diet says to eat no more than 500 calories during each fast day. A The 5:2 Fast Diet involves eating five days a week and fasting — no more than 500 calories for women, no more than 600 for men — for the other two days, The fasting limits are a quarter of the amount you likely eat on the days when you don’t fast. Whether you eat those calories in one sitting or spread them across micro-meals throughout the day is up to you. It’s not easy to skip most of your calories a few days a week and rely mostly on water, coffee and tea to keep you feeling full. You’ll need a balanced meal plan to eat in moderation on your so-called “feast” days, despite their name. You can indulge in a treat occasionally, but that’s about it if you want to see results. Cooking and shopping: You can continue your regular cooking and shopping, as long as you stick to mostly healthy foods.
es itn
Why cut back on food every day if you could drop pounds by watching what you eat only a couple of days a week? That’s the logic behind intermittent fasting, a weight-loss approach that’s become more popular over the past few years. There are different versions, but the general idea for all of them is that you eat normally on some days of the week and drastically reduce your calories on other days. Some plans encourage skipping food entirely for up to 24 or 36 hours at a time. Others, such as the Every Other Day Diet and the 5:2 Fast Diet, permit some food but reduce calories to only one-fourth of your regular calories. Some research shows that intermittent fasting works—at least in the short term. In some studies, people who followed this diet did lose weight and also had a decrease in some of the markers that show inflammation. The possible secret behind the diet’s healthboosting benefits: Fasting puts your cells under a mild stress. Scientists think that the process of responding to this stress, on your low-calorie days, strengthens cells’ ability to deal with stress and potentially fight off some diseases.
Does It Follow Restrictions or Preferences?
You choose what food you eat, so you can make it work with food restrictions — whether you’re vegetarian or vegan, high- or low-carb, avoiding fat, etc. But it’s worth noting that you could have side effects like fatigue, weakness and headaches.
What Else You Should Know
Cost: None beyond your shopping. In fact, because you will eat much less two to four days per week, your grocery costs should go down. Support: There are several books and websites detailing variations on the basic idea of
fasting a few days a week. So though there’s no single destination for support, there are plenty of resources once you’ve decided which version of the plan appeals most to you. Most of the intermittent fasting diets recommend cutting back to 500 to 600 calories on fasting days. In general, for many people this would be medically safer and easier than not eating at all on those days. Remember to drink enough on fasting days to prevent dehydration. And you’ll need to eat a healthy diet on days that you don’t fast.
Does It Work?
Several studies looking at intermittent fasting diets show at least short-term weight loss after following the diet for several weeks. Will the weight loss last over a longer time? That’s not clear.
Is It Good for Certain Conditions?
Some research shows that this type of diet may curb symptoms of asthma. Also, some studies, but not all, show improvement in the body’s use of insulin. If you have medical conditions, talk with your doctor before you try intermittent fasting. This diet is not recommended for children, pregnant women, people with eating disorders and some people with diabetes.
The Final Word
Following an intermittent fasting diet that recommends eating 500 to 600 calories on fasting days may work and be healthy for some people. This article was reviewed by Melinda Ratini, DO. She is a member of the WebMD medical review team and is responsible for ensuring the medical accuracy of WebMD’s news and feature stories.
Community Announcements:
Harbor Area Tax Preparers Provide Free Advice
The California Society of Enrolled Agents will be available to answer any tax-related questions. No appointment is necessary. Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m Jan. 25 Cost: Free Details: 310-781-7171 Venue: Torrance Cultural Arts Center, Garden Rooms A and B, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance
PVPLC Training Trail-Watchers
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy is training volunteers who wish to work as trail watchers, people who help protect the preserve, its habitat and wildlife by serving as its eyes and ears on the trails while enjoying the nature preserve. Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan 25 and Feb 1 Cost: Free Details: 310-541-7613 Venue: Ladera Linda Community Center, 32201 Forrestal Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes
Voter Registration with Torrance Democratic Club Help register voters at the Torrance Certified Farmers Market. Sign up for a two-hour shift, 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. or come support set-up at 7:30 a.m. Time: Jan. 25 and Jan. 28 Details: TorranceDems@hotmail.com; 424-571-2468 Venue: Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
Palos Verdes Art Center Welcomes Interim Executive Director and Trustees
The Palos Verdes Art Center will be hosting a reception and special meeting for its members and stakeholders to introduce new trustees and interim executive director, Daniela Saxa-Kaneko, who was appointed during the Jan. 7 board meeting. The event will take place at the center’s atrium. Time: 5:30 p.m. Jan. 30 Details: 310-541-2479; www.pvartcenter.org Venue: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes
Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 40 Years
Supervisor Hahn Proposes New Homeless Shelter in San Pedro By Hunter Chase, Reporter
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn proposed turning a vacant county building into a temporary homeless shelter in San Pedro, Hahn announced her plan at the Jan. 14 meeting of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. The proposed shelter will be at 122 W. 8th St. and the building has a large homeless encampment right outside its doors. During the Jan 14. meeting, Hahn and the four other supervisors were only able to discuss the shelter, but if approved, the county will award the contract for managing the facility to Harbor Interfaith, with the Los Angeles Department of Health Services serving as the contract administrator. The shelter will be open for three years and will have 40 beds, as well as roundthe-clock security, three meals a day and snacks. The shelter will also have wrap-around services to assist the people living there, including case management, mental health care and housing managers to assist the residents and connect them to long-term housing. “We’re in a crisis,” Hahn said. “The public generally looks at our vacant county property and wonders why we’re not using it as quickly as possible to bring people inside, to keep people off the streets. And that’s what this motion would do.” The building was formerly used by the L.A. County Public Health Department for storage space, but it is currently vacant, Hahn said. “They’re sleeping right up next to the building
and it just seemed to make sense to open that up and if all possible bring them inside,” Hahn said.
Ivan Sulic, field deputy for Janice Hahn, said he spoke with 10 of the homeless people that lived outside the building and they all said they [See Shelter, p. 4]
Explore the Coast on a Tall Ship
Interim Housing Zoning Code Update Open Houses
January 23 - February 5, 2020
The Long Beach Development Services Planning Bureau invites the public to join the conversation about updates to the city’s zoning code, particularly in the area of land use regulations that address interim housing, supportive housing and related supportive services. These updates will remove redundant or overly restrictive standards, while ensuring equal opportunity for these crucial services across the city. Both meetings will include opportunities to review and comment on specific updates. Join either of the following events: Time: 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 28 Venue: Long Beach Multi-Service Center 1301 W. 12th St., Long Beach OR Time: 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 30 Venue: Mark Twain Neighborhood Library, 1401 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach Details: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ interimhousinglb
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
Los Angeles Maritime Institute, with the support of the California Coastal Conservancy, is offering a coastal awareness educational experience and exploration sail on a tall ship during a 3-hour round-trip excursion. The ship departs from the San Pedro Ports O’ Call harbor, sails around the harbor and coastline and returns. There are on-board and hands-on scientific activities for families and children conducted in English and Spanish. Minors must be accompanied by an adult and children must be 10 years or older. Details: 310.833.6055; www.info@lamitopsail.org
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[Shelter, from p. 3]
Shelter
January 23 - February 5, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
would come inside the building if it was turned into a shelter. None of the people he spoke to refused. Part of the reason was because pets will be allowed in the shelter, Sulic said. He spoke to a woman who was willing to come in, but only if she could bring her dog. Hahn said that while it only has 40 beds, she believes it sends the message that the county is looking at every available asset to help homeless people. The City of Los Angeles says it will be opening its own 100-bed bridge home in San Pedro in a few months. However, the 525 N. Beacon St. Bridge Home shelter hasn’t even broken ground and may not be open on the promised June 15 deadline. On the other hand Hahn’s shelter is promised to be open in 45 days at a fraction of the cost. The most recent homeless count by the Los Angeles Homeless Authority recorded more than 600 homeless people in San Pedro, so neither comes close to offering the amount of beds that San Pedro needs, Hahn said. She described the shelter as being merely a drop in the bucket. Hahn’s motion directs the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s homeless services outreach team to work with the Los Angeles Police Department to conduct outreach efforts in encampments around the shelter. The building is large, but requires surprisingly little work, Hahn said. Her motion authorizes the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works to complete any repairs or remodeling. Hahn is hoping construction could take as little as 45 days, but doubted it would actually
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Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, right, speaks to the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council about her proposed homeless shelter in San Pedro. Photo courtesy of Supervisor Hahn’s office.
be done that quickly. The Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council voted 10-0 on Jan. 14, to approve the project, with one abstention, chairwoman Carrie Scoville. Hahn was present at the meeting. Hahn said that she is aware of the community’s concerns about enforcement and sanitation and that both could be problematic going forward. The LAPD does not think they have enough resources to do extra patrols near the shelter and LA Sanitation will not make cleaning up near the shelter a priority. However, Hahn spoke with the commanding officer of the Harbor Division of the LAPD. She said she might be able to make a deal that involves using county funding to pay for extra patrols. Harbor Interfaith was chosen because they are local and familiar with the people who live in the encampment.
“Harbor Interfaith already has a relationship,” Hahn said. “I’m not an expert on anything, but the biggest battle of getting our homeless friends
inside is relationships and trust and sometimes it takes years for them to trust anyone.” One of the biggest struggles will be for a provider to build trust with the people that live nearby to convince them to go into the shelter and Harbor Interfaith was chosen because they already have relationships with a lot of the people living outside the building. “This is the first time that the faith community, the business community and the Central SPNC have come together on this issue in over five years,” James Preston Allen, the former CeSPNC homeless chairman and publisher of this newspaper said,. “And it was our Homeless Committee that took the lead in making this happen. I am proud of the part our NC has taken in this and I look forward to Central playing a vital part in other critical issues in the days to come.” The Central Neighborhood Council also passed a concurring resolution to create a community advisory board to address neighborhood concerns with the operation of both shelters.
Neighborhood Council Round Up
DONE Fires Longtime Minute Taker By Hunter Chase, Reporter
The Department of Neighborhood Empowerment is firing Sheryl Akerblom from continuing her work as the minute taker for several neighborhood councils, Raquel Beltrán, the general manager of DONE, stated at the Jan. 13 meeting of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council. Akerblom is the minute taker for the Northwest, Coastal San Pedro, Central San Pedro, Harbor City and Harbor Gateway South neighborhood councils. She has also worked for other neighborhood councils in the past. And, she also does bookkeeping for Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council and Harbor Gateway South Neighborhood Council. Akerblom has been working for neighborhood councils for roughly six years. For the sake of transparency, Akerblom is also a contractor to this newspaper. Beltrán said it was ultimately her decision to terminate Akerblom, based on what was said by unnamed people who were also members of a neighborhood council. Beltrán refused to give their identities and said that she asked the people who accused Akerblom to come forward, but they refused. “The circumstances that they were sharing were just too important and too serious to act like it didn’t happen,” Beltrán said. “We were aware there were relationships, we are aware of the positive side of the circumstances, we took all of that into consideration.” The Harbor City Neighborhood Council voted to send to DONE a letter supporting Akerblom and asking DONE to reconsider its decision. The letter passed with seven yes’s, two abstentions and one no. Desi Sarcona, the only board member who voted against the letter, said she did not understand it, even though the letter was read out loud before the vote. Board members Mike Etter and Lori Bordenave-Arnold both abstained and Etter said it was because this was the first time he had seen the letter. Bordenave-Arnold refused to comment. Laurie Jacobs, vice president of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, said she had never been more disappointed in DONE at her council’s Jan. 13 meeting. “The way they’ve handled, or poorly handled, the administrative situation, the lack of communication, the lack of giving the
council the chance to speak up on the situation, is not acceptable to me,” Jacobs said. “[DONE is] handicapping the neighborhood councils tremendously.… It’s just not a person sitting there taking minutes. It’s someone who’s a part of our community, part of our neighborhood council family.” Akerblom was never told why DONE was not continuing her employment, either by DONE or either of the two staffing agencies that employ her, Akerblom said. On Nov. 21, a Los Angeles representative from Lloyd Staffing told Akerblom she could not currently cover any meetings for neighborhood councils. Akerblom believed this was temporary, but she had a special meeting for Central Neighborhood Council that day and she went to it anyway, since the council had no one else. That same day, she received a voicemail from a representative of Lloyd Staffing in New York. The representative spoke to her like she had been told that she could not work for any neighborhood councils. The representative told her that she would need to turn in all her assignments for the councils within 24 hours, which was not sufficient time because she had too many assignments pending. Since Lloyd Staffing told her this, Akerblom signed up with Apple One instead. However, on Dec. 12, she emailed Apple One to ask questions about operating its online portal, but she did not hear back from it until Dec. 17, when a representative told her she could not work for neighborhood councils. Doug Epperhart, president of Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council, said that Akerblom informed him of the situation, so he spoke to Beltrán and asked her to communicate with the neighborhood councils and tell them what was going on. On Dec. 19, Thomas Soong, director of outreach and communications for DONE, sent an email to the neighborhood councils about a “staffing change” and listed city-approved staffing agencies. Akerblom was not mentioned by name in the email. Epperhart spoke with Beltrán again afterwards and said he did not believe Beltrán was aware that Akerblom was more than just someone sent by a temp agency. Beltrán told [See Round Up, p.15]
LB Mayor Paints by the Numbers By Greggory Moore, Contributing Writer
“present[ation] of their new ideas and revised plans to the city and public on the development of the surrounding 40 acres.” As always, Mayor Robert Garcia’s primary aim at his State of the City event was to paint Long Beach in a positive light. But regardless of whether he is looking at the city he loves and leads through rosecolored glasses, there is no disputing the growth taking place on his watch.
Activists allege that the relationship between the SPCA Los Angeles and LB Animal Care Services is unproductive and needs to be remedied. They have been disappointed that Mayor Robert Garcia has not done enough.. Photo by Diana Lejins
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January 23 - February 5, 2020
homelessness will be the defining challenge of the next decade. We are aggressively building both affordable housing and homes for working- and middle-class families. But it’s still not enough, and we are not building fast enough.…Tonight I am asking the city council to pass and adopt a policy that ensures the creation of new affordable homes in every new development across our city.” Only Garcia knows whether these remarks were made with an eye toward the events of exactly a week earlier, when the city council voted down (by a 5-4 vote) Councilman Rex Richardson’s proposal simply to study the possibility of placing on the November ballot a bond measure to create a 0.025 percent property tax that would generate $298 million for the creation of affordable housing, crisis shelters, homeless services facilities and motel conversion programs. Garcia closed the event by revealing the city’s strategy for revivifying the Queen Mary, which has been figuratively sinking since long before he took office. “In the 1990s the ship struggled financially and lost a partnership with Disney,” he noted. “And in 2005 the ship’s operator went bankrupt.” But things began to change in 2016, when Urban Commons took over as operator and leaseholder, instituting “decades of deferred maintenance, renovation projects that were never completed and critical repairs that must be made to preserve and keep the ship structurally sound,” he said. Noting that a half-century of focusing on turning a profit has been a losing strategy, Garcia said that the path forward is to treat the ship “as a significant historic location and worthy of public investment.” To that end, he adumbrated three initiatives
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
Beach is compared to other big cities, the mayor is guilty, at best, of exaggeration. Despite his claim that “Long Beach is one of the safest big cities in America,” the numbers tell a different story. And, although Long Beach fares better in terms of violent crime, it still fails to crack the top 20 in this category. Long Beach barely makes the top 10 among the 15 California cities with 250,000 residents. Garcia went on with his Long Beach highlight reel. He touted the city’s business growth, particularly in the space industry. He extolled the renaissance of the Long Beach airport. He pointed out that Cal State Long Beach has become the seventh-most applied-to college in the country and will soon have a major downtown presence) He itemized the streamlining of various civic functions (e.g., from now on 562-570-5000 is the only number needed to connect to any city department) and he emphasized the importance of all residents participating in the 2020 census. Finally, Garcia arrived at what he has called his signature issue: homelessness. “I continue to believe the single largest challenge we face is the statewide homelessness crisis and its connection to housing affordability,” he said, before highlighting “substantial progress” the city is making on this front, “[O]ur city’s first year-round city shelter, [which] opens this summer, a navigation center to assist people with a place to store belongings and get services, our first Safe Parking Program to provide a safe place for people who are living in their cars, and the placement of a clinician in our jail and social workers in our libraries to make sure people experiencing homelessness get the resources they need. “Our work to end street
DESIGNS
Let’s be frank: Mayor Robert Garcia’s annual State of the City events are formulaic affairs. Each year there are musical numbers and statistics aplenty and each year we’re assured that things in Long Beach are great and getting greater. On Jan. 14, Garcia took the stage and gave the same old song and dance, saving his most substantive comments—the city’s new plans for the long-troubled Queen Mary—for the big finish, along the way highlighting the city’s undeniable growth. The mayor opened in a reflective mood, looking back on the area’s sometimes shameful history, including the “terrible injustices to the native peoples” such as the Tongva, then providing a brief area history lesson before arriving at the present day. “It’s the start of a new decade and I’m proud to report tonight, that the state of this city is strong,” Garcia said. He seemed to back up that assessment with a litany of statistics, unless you noticed most were sans context. OK, the 85 miles of streets that were repaired in 2019 sounds impressive, but what does that represent as a percentage of Long Beach streets in disrepair? He didn’t say, providing no way to know if we’re getting proper bang for our Measure A buck. Garcia focused on the sort of citywide progress that is evident to anyone who lives here: 50 more miles of bike lanes, 22 new or improved parks, enhancements to 10 libraries (including the all-new and admittedly impressive Main Branch), etc. Garcia then addressed a topic that always seems to be on the tip of Long Beach’s collective tongue: crime. “In the last several decades, crime has been reduced dramatically and continues to decline—especially violent crime,” he said. He offered stats to support his claim: from 8,000 incidents in 1990, violent crimes dropped to 3,200 in 2000 and to 2,700 in 2010, then beneath under 2,400 in 2019. “[L]et’s be crystal clear: our city is safer today than it was 20 years ago, 10 years ago, five years ago and is only getting safer.” But the mayor is well aware that in many circles this is not public perception. This is because of social media, he says. “Ten or 20 years ago, when someone stole a bike or a package from your neighbor a few blocks away, you probably never heard about it,” he noted. “Today, because of social media you are hyperaware of crimes not only happening in your neighborhood but in adjacent neighborhoods and across the city.” But the context Garcia omitted is the world beyond Long Beach. Turns out the decline in crime—particularly violent crime—is not specific to Long Beach’s city limits, but part of a nationwide trend. And, when Long
Urban Commons is slated to take: 1) “an economic impact study with Beacon Economics on the impact of the Queen Mary to Long Beach and the region in the next 60 days”; 2) “the development of a Historic Preservation Blueprint, accessible and transparent to the public, that will map out the preservation projects and they will make it available in the next 90 days”; and 3) by fall 2020
5
Senate Impeachment Trial
Trump’s Latest Surreal TV Show By James Preston Allen, Publisher
“The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
—U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 4
January 23 - February 5, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
I was eating lunch at Conrad’s Mexican Grill on 6th Street the day the Senate impeachment trial started. Conrad’s is one of the few restaurants in town with a big screen TV that still allows CNN to be on. Most of the local establishments long ago banned Fox News out of total disdain for their political misinformation and the disruption it caused, but when Donald Trump got elected his vocal minority around here became more embittered at CNN’s “fake news” as the president calls it. I can only count three out of the many restaurants and bars in my town that will now turn on anything other than sports. Great, every beer-drinking citizen knows who’s favored to win the Super Bowl and probably knows the odds of their particular betting pool against their team, but nobody is sitting on the edge of their bar stool betting on impeachment. The odds aren’t good for a conviction, or so I’m repeatedly told, but this isn’t a trial played out just in the U.S. Senate. It’s a trial held in the court of public opinion and the Republicans are doing their worst to ensure that you don’t see the facts. These facts keep coming out in the pesky “fake news” media. Damn the facts! “We know what you’re trying to do,” the Trump defenders scream. “You’re trying to overturn the 2016 election.” So, the U.S. Senate has finally taken up the impeachment articles of Donald J. Trump for abuse of power related to illegally blocking aid to Ukraine and for obstruction of Congress in his stonewalling the release of documents and witnesses that could prove his guilt or perhaps his innocence. However, if he were innocent, then why wouldn’t he just release the information and let his people testify? Common sense would argue that an innocent man would rely on the evidence and a guilty one attacks his accusers. The odds are that this isn’t going to be a fair trial based upon the facts even if they were allowed. This is going to be the surreal TV show trial starring Donald J. Trump in absentia. And the jury that Rep. Adam Schiff and his team of Democratic prosecutors are playing to is not the jury of U.S. Senators, but the American public, as it is clear that both sides have made up their minds. The
6
only question now is how much airtime this will get between 24/7 sports coverage, nightly infotainment programs and the incessant local weather coverage that gets three times as much time on local TV news as anything as essential as impeaching the president. We keep being reminded that impeachment has only happened three times in the history of our republic, as though this is a rare occurrence and that we are in uncharted waters. Yet, with a simple search on your computer you will discover that there have been at least 19 times impeachment articles have been approved and tried. Most of them were for federal judges. Only three were for presidents– Andrew Johnson in 1868, William Clinton in 1999 and now Donald J. Trump this past December. Richard Nixon resigned before he was impeached. It’s not like Congress doesn’t know how to do this. Yet the Republican-led senate has as of today blocked the admission of any evidence or witnesses that would make this look anything like court TV or the last time you served jury duty. Once again, this is a political trial that does have its roots in the undisputed fact that Russia did interfere in the 2016 national elections to help elect Trump. The subsequent investigation by special prosecutor Robert Mueller III indicted and prosecuted some 34 people. CBS News reported that Trump has called it “a witch hunt,” but special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has already resulted in seven guilty pleas and one conviction at trial, with a cast of defendants that include Trump’s former campaign chairman, ex-national security adviser and one time personal lawyer. In all, 34 people and three companies have been criminally charged as a result of the probe. Mueller was named special counsel in May 2017 by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and directed to investigate “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump” and “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.” The only problem with Mueller’s investigation is that it did not clear Trump of any culpability in this scheme, but as he testified the Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya
“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 Vol. XLI : No. 2
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.
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DOJ could not prosecute a sitting president— leaving this to Congress as it is now doing. Clearly, Trump and his criminal enterprises should have been stopped before they came to this point and why they haven’t, we may never know. But, this is the tipping point in which the once timid Democratic party must stand up against corruption. This is something of a challenge for those who are constantly looking for bipartisanship in a divided nation. As I’m finishing up my huevos rancheros at Conrad’s, with one eye on the Senate trial with the Republicans voting down any amendments
for witnesses or evidence, I notice a guy at the far end of the room. He’s got one eye on this plate and one on the TV and I’m thinking this is the American dilemma. Do we eat lunch or do we consume a surreal TV court drama that could change everything or change nothing? If this were Hong Kong or perhaps a dozen other countries, there would be millions demonstrating in the streets for Trump to be convicted but the debate is being argued on TV, the arbiter of our collective opinions and it is in that court of public opinion that Donald J. Trump will receive his just desserts.
US Hands Off Iran—
Remember the Lies of 2003 By Mark Friedman Covering the demonstration in San Pedro against the U.S. war actions against Iran, brought back old memories of long-ago demonstrations against an American campaign of deceit, fear and false pride that produced an earlier massacre in the Middle East. I became angrier and angrier as I remembered the lies about alleged weapons of mass destruction fed to us by almost all politicians and the news media (with few exceptions) to get our support for this massacre that began a 17 year U.S. involvement in destabilizing the entire regime, causing millions of deaths and scattering populations so that big oil could reap the profits and the U.S. government impose regimes to their liking. Then as now, I participated in demonstrations and urge all Random Lengths News readers to do the same.
As Washington prepares the public for an escalation of war in the Middle East we must all publicly and loudly denounce Washington’s assassination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani (no friend of working people in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria — or Iran).; Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a leader of the pro-Tehran Kataeb Hezbollah militia; and other militiamen near the Baghdad airport Jan. 2. The U.S. rulers act as judge, jury and executioner, trampling on the sovereignty of other nations — just as their cops do here every day to working people at home. Collectively we must call for the immediate, unconditional and total withdrawal of U.S. troops, bases, weaponry and armaments from Iraq, Syria and the region. Resolving the crisis
Columnists/Reporters Lyn Jensen Reporter Andrea Serna Arts Writer Melina Paris Staff Reporter Hunter Chase Staff Reporter Send Calendar Items to: 14days@randomlengthsnews.com
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[See Iran, p. 7]
Address correspondence regarding news items and tips to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email: editor@randomlengthsnews.com. Send Letters to the Editor to james@randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, letters must be signed with address and phone number (for verification purposes) and be about 250 words. For advertising inquiries or to submit advertising copy, email: rlnsales@randomlengthsnews.com. Annual subscription is $40 for 27 issues. Back issues are available for $3/copy while supplies last. 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. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2020 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.
Community Alert
State Historical Resources Commission Considers Two San Pedro Properties for Designation
Nobody likes Bernie except for his millions and millions of supporters I suppose. What she [Hilary Clinton] means is nobody in the ‘cigar and scotch’ circles she travels in likes him. [see CNN video] https://www. cnn.com/2020/01/21/politics/ hillary-clinton-bernie-sandersdocumentary/index.html Her saying she won’t commit to supporting him just tells you how crass she is. She is basically saying she’d rather support Trump— his personality and his policies—rather than Sanders. Clinton is dead to me. When you see the establishment really huddle it’s when someone who is TRULY for the people threatens their cocktail circuit hegemony. This only hardens the resolve of the lower financial classes, the masses and the progressives who want to see something actually done on climate change. [Iran, from p. 6]
Iran
U.S. rulers’ war policy is bipartisan While many Democratic
And in Response…
Clinton WON the popular vote by 3 million and for eight years she was Secretary of State for Obama. You and Bernie (and a few million supporters) clinging on to such a radical change that threatens what has been built for many years by us “old time Democrats” - isn’t going to be enough to get Trump out of office. Hillary sees a couple of stronger women in Warren and Amy and is throwing her support that way, now, rather than wait and see what happens with a few voters in Iowa and NH. In different words, she’s a lot smarter politically that you or me…and REALLY thinks farther ahead to the real politics that lie ahead. Bernie is too angry, grumpy and too far left. Bernie and Madero
Party politicians criticized the Trump administration for the attack, seeking partisan political advantage, in and out of office, they have joined in presiding over the U.S. wars there for more than 30 years. Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden said he agreed that Soleimani “deserved to be brought to justice,” complaining only that President Trump needed to give an “explanation” of how his administration plans to protect “our troops” and “our interests.” But there is no “our.” These troops are tasked with executing the goals of U.S. imperialism and their “interests.” Remember the famous picture of Biden, along with Pentagon officials and President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sitting in the White House War Room, avidly watching the special forces killing Osama bin Laden and his family at their compound May 2, 2011. The simple truth is that both the Democrats and the Republicans are the parties of imperialist war. Today the Trump administration is sending more troops to the Middle East. The people of Iraq have been fighting to regain their nation’s sovereignty, to find a way forward to unite working people and take control of their own destiny. The best way to demonstrate solidarity with them is for working people in the U.S. to demand U.S. hands off Iraq, Syria and Iran. Get out now!
Dear Jason and Richard, The disagreement between you expressed in this exchange is exactly what’s at stake in the Democratic primaries that are about to happen. It is actually more about what the core values of the Democratic party are and how those values will lead the nation out of the corruptions of Donald J. Trump and the Republican party. Yes, it matters who can win come November of this year but more importantly what is the real alternative to corporate greed. Whoever wins the nomination this year the Democrats have to get back to the foundational belief expressed in President Franklin Roosevelt’s Second Bill of Rights. The Second Bill of Rights was proposed by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt during his State of the Union Address on Jan. 11, 1944. In his address, Roosevelt suggested that the nation had come to recognize and should now implement a second “bill of rights”. Roosevelt argued that the “political rights” guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights had “proved
Of the seven rights listed above, only two have been passed into law by Democrats since this time. Clearly, it’s time to address the rest with this next election. James Preston Allen, Publisher
I See Pigs Flying
Hell is freezing over. I, Arthur Schaper, hard-core Trump supporter, am feeling the Bern. Bernie Sanders is the best candidate among the Democratic Party nominees. The Democratic Party has turned into a socialist party. Sanders really thinks that socialism is best for this country, and he tells you that straight up. Joe Biden is a creep. Elizabeth Warren is a pathological liar, worse than Hillary Clinton. She stole all her ideas from Sanders: Medicare for All, College for All, etc. Buttigieg is a white, gay version of Obama, way too corporate. Tom Steyer is a rich loser, just like Bloomberg. And who cares about Klobuchar?!
What Warren did to Sanders at the latest Democratic Party Debate was just disgusting. Sanders got a taste of what every Republican deals with from the corrupt, corporate media. I do not think for one second that Sanders said a woman could never be President. After all, he endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, even though she and her establishment cronies had screwed him over four years ago. The United States should have a final, clear-cut referendum on its future. The future will certainly be populist, but will it be a left-wing, socialist populism, or a rightwing, nationalist, free enterprise populism? I will be voting for the latter (aka Donald Trump), but Bernie Sanders deserves to make the case for his vision to the nation, too. He was robbed in 2016. He should win the chance to make his case in the general election in 2020. Arthur Christopher Schaper, Torrance Mr. Schaper, Well, I guess hell is freezing over as this is the one time that we agree on the premise of your argument – that the race is basically between which version of the future our nation supports. Sanders does represent the socialdemocracy alternative to Trump’s corporatist nationalism. The Green New Deal and all of Sander’s platform only appears “radical” if one has forgotten FDR’s Second Bill of Rights. See my comments above or look it up to inform your opinion. James Preston Allen, Publisher [See Letters, p.19]
January 23 - February 5, 2020
facing people across the Middle East is the business of workers and farmers there. Join protests against Washington’s escalation. The U.S. press, like the regime in Tehran, tries to present Soleimani as a leader who came to power as a result of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. In fact, his rise was part of a counterrevolution, one that pushed back the gains made by workers, women and oppressed nationalities by the 1979 revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of the Shah there. That upheaval was a deep-going, modern, popular social revolution. Tehran’s efforts to expand its counterrevolutionary reach have been the target of mass protests, in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. For several weeks, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have joined protests demanding an end to both Iranian and U.S. interference in their affairs. More than 450 demonstrators have been killed and thousands injured, many of them at the hands of the reactionary Shiite militias that Soleimani traveled to Iraq to help organize. But none of this excuses the U.S. imperialist intervention in Iraq and the region. There are over 50,000 U.S. troops on the ground and a massive arsenal of warplanes, tanks, missiles, drones and other armaments in the Middle East.
You say he’s been saying the same thing for 50 years. Guess what? He’s been right for 50 years. Jason Herring San Pedro
inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.” His remedy was to declare an “economic bill of rights” to guarantee these specific rights: • Employment (right to work) food, clothing and leisure with enough income to support them • Farmers’ rights to a fair income • Freedom from unfair competition and monopolies • Housing • Medical care • Social security • Education
Point Fermin Light Station This amendment to a 1972 nomination for only the lighthouse building constructed in 1873 expands the property as a district to include seven other contributing resources, including a coal house and privy, storehouse and cisterns. The property is significant for its architecture, its role in maritime transportation and its information potential. The Commission meeting will take place at 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the Natural Resources Building at 1416 Ninth St., Sacramento, 95814. Details: https://tinyurl.com/ pendingnominations
Who’s an Angry Old White Person, Hillary?
are both hard-headed socialists and kindred souls. He hasn’t always been right either. He has a no-middle-ground mindset and, his only claim to fame was his blinders-on approach (probably never started a business either). NO on Bernie…YES on Warren and Castro. :-) Richard Pawlowski Depoe Bay, OR (former resident of San Pedro)
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SACRAMENTO— The California State Historical Resources Commission, or Commission will consider eight historic places for federal historic designation at its next commission meeting Jan. 31 in Sacramento. The National Register of Historic Places is part of a federal program that coordinates and supports public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect America’s historic and archaeological resources. Some of the nominations being considered at the commission meeting include the Descanso Gardens and the Edmund Anderson House, both located in Los Angeles County. The two properties being considered in the Harbor Area are: Battery Osgood-Farley The updated documentation amends this Los Angeles coastal naval battery and lookout station's original nomination of a single building, creating a historic district that includes the central batteries—Osgood and Farley—radio compass generator building, base end stations and naval detection defense stations. Originally listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the battery is significant for its association with the nation's military defense system. In addition to the expanded boundaries and contributors, the nomination revises the Period of Significance to 19161944, from original construction of the battery to the date of its decommissioning.
RANDOMLetters
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a balancing act of raising funds and managing the contributions of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich while resisting the urge to ask for more. Resich noted that Harcourt Brace Jovanovich had expressed a desire to walk away many times but were persuaded to stay. Resich also lobbied for putting some of the money Mar3ine raised into an endowment. Mar3ine ultimately followed that advice. According to the nonprofit tax-exempt form in 2017, it had about $1 million in publicly traded investments, while Marine Mammal Care Center LA saw its investments decline precipitously over the two years according to tax records Random Lengths News was able to examine.
[Mammal, from p.1]
Mammal Care Center Crisis of some people close to the center, it looks more like interlopers tried to turn a volunteer nonprofit organization into a gravy train that employed too many people and gave themselves large salaries without raising enough money to allow the care center to both fulfill its mission and make payroll.
Understanding Marine Mammal Care Center in Context
It’s been about 33 years since the publishing company, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, which owned SeaWorld, bought and closed Marineland of the Pacific, which was in Palos Verdes where Terranea Resort now sits. With this move, Harcourt sowed seeds that could have bred enmity with local residents, which would last decades. What happened instead was the Marine Mammal Care Center was created to fill the care and educational void left by the old theme park entertainment structures. Marineland was home to Orky and Corky, two of the most famous orcas on exhibit at any aquarium at the time. Marineland was also home to the first pilot whales (“Bubbles” and “Bimbo”) ever captured for display, as well as dolphins, sea lions, harbor seals, sharks and a variety of other related sea creatures. In 1986, Harcourt purchased Marineland. For months prior to the closing of the sale, the publishing company said it wouldn’t close Marineland, which was, to the local community, more than an entertainment venue but a center for education and research as well as a place of convalescence for sick and injured marine animals. Six weeks after the sale, Orky and Corky and the rest of Marineland’s animal residents were transported to SeaWorld in San Diego under the cover of night. Adding salt to the wounds, SeaWorld poured cement into the storm drains so that nothing similar to Marineland would open there.
Marine Mammal Care Center Today
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn announced Jan. 13 that her office would provide $100,000 in funding to the Marine Mammal Care Center. New board president, Amber Becerra, left, accepted the check. Photo courtesy of Sup. Janice Hahn’s office
SeaWorld, at the time, was owned by the textbook publishing giant, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, which bought up a number of theme parks, including SeaWorld in an effort to diversify its business holdings. This set of events would have a number of repercussions, some of which happened early on. According to reports at the time, SeaWorld began incorporating Orky and Corky into its own routines without, reportedly, taking heed to any of the advice the Marineland trainers offered. Mar3ine was founded in 1984 by local activists concerned about marine animals. To gain perspective of the Marine Mammal Care Center
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as an institution and understanding as it evolved through the years, Random Lengths News reached out to former board members of Mar3ine. This nonprofit was put together by advocates who were actively concerned about the welfare of the animals at Marineland. To say they were angry about Marineland’s sale to SeaWorld and the subsequent news reports of the animals being mistreated resulting in trainer injuries would be a massive understatement. Mar3ine convinced Harcourt Brace Jovanovich to financially support what would become the MMCC, which was just a small marine mammal care center at a Dockweiler Beach substation before the facility was built at Fort MacArthur adjacent to Angels Gate Park. John Resich, Dennis Moore, Donald Zumwalt, Parker Stevenson and actress Kirstie Alley were the most significant figures at Mar3ine in the beginning. When John Resich and Donald Moore learned of the Marine Mammal Care Center’s current financial troubles, their initial reaction was puzzlement. Resich is a San Pedro-born attorney. Moore, a retired veterinarian, lives in Montana. One of the first questions Resich asked was, “Why is there a full-time veterinarian on staff?” Resich explained that prior to the fulltime veterinarian joining the care center, veterinarians from South Shores Pet Clinic (owned by Moore) would doctor the animals as necessary. The creation of protocols on the treatment of various animals allowed the veterinarian to hand off work to volunteers. “When they had taken all the animals, everyone was pretty upset,” Resich said. “Marineland was an entertainment [venue], but it was also an educational facility.” At the time, Moore asked John Greenwood, a community leader and Los Angeles Unified School District board member representing the 7th District, how much money LAUSD was spending on textbooks with Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Moore recalled it was $14 or $15 million a year. The pair to wrote a letter asking Harcourt Brace Jovanovich to do the right thing and place a new educational marine mammal care facility in San Pedro and pay for its management and operations. Resich described the relationship as
The Marine Mammal Care Center recently installed a new board and a new president. To former insiders, it looked as if Jeff Cozad, the former board president and executive director, had jumped off the train with a few others when the gravy was gone, leaving a financial mess for new president Amber Becerra to clean up. Becerra admits that the timing of the care center’s announcement about its dire financial straits seemed to come without warning. But the timing and speed of board changes were indicative of just how critical the care center’s crisis is. Cozad, invited Becerra to join the board. Cozad, a bankruptcy law clerk, was already familiar with Becerra, a bankruptcy attorney, through their professional circles. “When I joined the board, the board was relatively new and they had been asking for financial information around that time and were assembling it,” Becerra said. Becerra said she has experience assisting company reorganizations. When she started looking at the financials, which were assembled just before she joined the board, she came to the same determination as Cozad: that the care center had only a few months before it would have to close its doors. “Luckily, we have been bolstered by a great deal of community support [following the announcement],” Becerra said. “We are going to get there, but as a result of the review of the finances we set the goal of raising a $1 million in the next six months so that we can be very prudent and make sure that come June, the end of our busy season in 2020, we can make sure we can operate for another year through the next busy season of February 2021,” she said. Becerra suggested that the lack of transparency, particularly after the care center’s 501(c)3 was founded, contributed to the lack of financial warning. But now that the problem is known, Becerra said transparency is a top priority. Becerra said she hadn’t spoken with Cozad since he left the board. When news broke that the Marine Mammal Care Center was in financial trouble, a few questions came immediately to the fore: • What happened to the endowment the care center was supposed to have received from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich? • Why is the relationship between the official nonprofit arm of Marine Mammal Care Center and the Marine Mammal Care Center strained? • And, what happened operationally with the Marine Mammal Care Center to get to this point? Visit www.RandomLengthsNews.com/2020/01/23/ marine-mammal-care-center-in-crisis to read about how the Marine Mammal Care’s financial crisis began.
Dancing Waters and the Demolition of San Pedro’s Cultural History By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
[See Dancing Waters, p. 14]
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
For the longest time, we’ve clamored for more and cheaper. Now we’re getting it, at least the quantity part, although it remains to be seen if rental rates will stop increasing or even decrease. But I’m not so sure this new development should come at the expense of our cultural history. Notice has been given that a new apartment complex is going to be built on the 1300 block of Pacific Avenue, displacing the former La Rue Pharmacy, the Enigma Bar and the La Zona Rosa, the historical landmark of local punk music formerly known as Dancing Waters. This past August, it was reported that Root Real Estate had submitted plans for a mixed-use development on the 2100 block of Pacific Avenue and a few blocks north at the 1300 block of Pacific Avenue. The 1300 block development will replace all the commercial buildings including the La Zona Rosa. Plans call for a four-story building featuring 109 apartments, including 12 very low-income affordable units and an underground parking garage. In exchange for providing those 12 affordable housing units, developers requested density bonus incentives such as an increase in allowable height and floor area. Root Real Estate’s other project — a joint venture with Ketter Development— would replace a mostly vacant lot at 2111-2139 S. Pacific Avenue with 101 apartments and street-level commercial space. Although Root Real Estate’s 2100 block project is filling a mostly vacant lot and will include some commercial for retail, little is being done to ensure that Pacific Avenue corridor developments retain their retail presence or consider the impact of diminishing the corridor’s cultural and historic assets. Built in the 1940s, the Dancing Waters started off as a bowling alley, changing names at least once from Civic Bowling Alley to Pacific Bowling Alley before it was sold to Heho “Al” Cordeiro in 1969. He owned the Aquarius, a nightclub adjacent to the Harbor Community Clinic on 6th and Mesa streets. The two-story venue got its Dancing Waters name from a water feature that poured onto imitation rocks and plants behind the stage. The Dancing Waters has since been operated as a showplace for bands on the Lawrence Welk Show circuit, a “Latin nightclub” (which likely meant salsa/ tango club given the era), a top 40 rock ’n’ roll club; a roller disco and a nightclub that served the gay community. For a short period it was a venue that showcased some of the
January 23 - February 5, 2020
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January 23 - February 5, 2020
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he Northern Cafe is an undiscovered treasure on Western Avenue. Nestled in the shopping mall on the harbor side of Western and Trudy Drive, the Northern Cafe maintains a low profile while turning out exceptional Chinese dishes. The light and airy dining room is comfortable and inviting, though the steady flow of take-out customers tells of a very lucky neighborhood. Handcrafted dumplings have made the splendid reputation of the Northern Cafe, with the juicy pork dumplings heading the list of popular dim sum. Shrimp, pork, egg and chive dumplings are favorites, along with fish and chive dumplings. Lamb dumplings are unusual and speak of the Northern Chinese, who will use lamb as well as pork or beef. Vegetable dumplings are juicy and packed with flavor, making any vegetarian happy. Kung pao chicken is state-of-the-art here, spicy with jalapeño, onions, hot bean sauce and garnished with peanuts. Competing for zing, Chongqing crispy chicken has chili powder, onions as well as jalapeño to add heat. The true standout on the menu is the fish in hot chili oil. Tender white fish is poached and then “blessed” with hot chili oil, served on a thick bed of fresh bean sprouts and napa cabbage and served with steamed rice. The vegetable dishes are amazing at the Northern Cafe and braised eggplant with garlic sauce is a superb favorite. Mapo tofu is sautéed tofu with hot broad bean sauce, green onions and ground pork, a savory marvel, it is also delicious ordered vegetarian style without pork. Three-way tie is the only way to describe the phenomenal vegetable dishes at Northern Cafe. Sauteed string beans with black beans, garlic and onions are fantastic, cooked to perfect al dente’ texture. Fresh baby bok choy is crisp and light, steamed just right and great served hot or cold. Garlic broccoli rounds out the special trio with emerald green freshness, steamed to perfection and stir fried with garlic. Each of these veggies are money in the bank—take some home for building meals around later in the week.
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A New Dining Gem on Western Avenue By Gretchen Williams, Dining and Cuisine Writer
Northern Café’s Chef Han. "State of the art" Kung pao chicken served on a ceramic plate with reusable chopsticks. Photos by Benjamin Garcia.
Small plates are not small on taste. Do not miss the green scallion pancakes for one of the best things on the menu. Made to order, these savory pancakes are big on flavor and big on value as well—eight slices for $4.50. Potsticker dim sum are $8 for 10 pieces, a real deal. pork or shrimp wonton with spicy sauce are 10 for $6.50 and $7.50 — just made for parties! Northern Cafe, 29050 S. Western Ave., Suite 100, Rancho Palos Verdes Details: 424-342-9044
Buono’s Pizzeria Grand Opening Sunday afternoon in San Pedro always meant dinner at Grandmother’s house, and if you were lucky, she was called “Nonna”. The Italian island of Ischia was the birthplace of much of immigrant San Pedro and the island recipes came along. Nonna’s Sunday sauce was a hearty marinara, rich with ripe tomatoes and garlic, fragrant with basil and oregano. The fabulous aroma of simmering Sunday sauce made old San Pedro a wonderful place to be on Sunday morning. Nonna Teresa Buono came to San Pedro in 1965 from Ischia and her homemade Italian sausage, marinara and Bolognese sauces and enormous Torpedo sandwiches were legendary, making the grocery and deli a local favorite. Francesco and Teresa’s original neighborhood grocery became a pizzeria with son Frank’s installation of its first pizza oven in 1973. Generations of San Pedro people have grown up on Buono’s excellent pizza. Buono’s was a tradition for the afterschool slice. The large Torpedo was always good after a trip to Cabrillo Beach. Savory minestrone soup sustained suffering San Pedro during many bad winters. On Jan. 26, experience that Little Italy feeling with “Sundays at Mama’s House Buffet” at the new Buono’s location at [See Buono’s, p.11]
[Buono’s, from p. 4]
Buono’s Opening
6th and Centre streets. Frank Buono’s pride recently arrived from Italy—a pizza oven that can achieve 800 degrees. To celebrate, Buono’s is offering a fabulous feast for $10. You could be at Nonna’s house on Sunday afternoon, with delicious choices like farfalle alfredo with chicken and broccoli, rigatoni
al forno with that fabulous meat sauce, ziti with sundried tomatoes and mushrooms, eggplant parmigiana, meatballs in meat sauce, Italian sausage with peppers and onions, with scrumptious slices of the traditional pizza as well as Neapolitan style, with a crispy crust. Assorted breads and a fresh salad bar complete the menu. Happy hour will extend all day, with a selection of wines and local craft beers from San Pedro Brewing Company served for $3 (select
bottles) and $4 (select pints and glasses). Ask about the pizza oven—watch the pizza being created and then baked in brick pizza ovens. Buono’s strategic new location is in the heart of Little Italy with a large patio for al fresco dining and huge wrap-around windows looking out to the busy street. Abundant parking in the structure next door assures easy access. Buono’s traditional menu of favorites is available for dining in as well as take out.
Buono’s other locations in Long Beach are celebrating too. The downtown Long Beach Buono’s is at 250 W. Ocean Blvd. It features a lovely dining room as well as relaxing al fresco dining. The Wrigley District Buono’s charming restaurant and pizzeria is at 401 W. Willow St. Buono’s Pizzeria and Cucina Italiana is at 222 W. 6th St., “Little Italy” San Pedro Details: 310-547-0655
Brought to you by the artists and restaurants of the Downtown San Pedro Waterfront Arts District
Michael Stearns Studio@The Loft
Studio Gallery 345
NEW WORK—MAGGIE TENNESEN
GALLERY 741
INDIA—A PHOTO EXHIBITION
Pat Woolley, Tetons
Studio 345 presents paintings by Pat Woolley and Gloria D Lee. Open 5 to 9 p.m. on First Thursday and by appointment. Studio 345, 345 W. 7th St., San Pedro. Details: 310-545-0832 or 310-374-8055; artsail@roadrunner.com or www.patwoolleyart.com.
The dense population of lines in Maggie Tenneson’s work reflects an inner environment as well. Waves emerge in heapedup strings of consciousness, form, feelings, habits and thought. Exhibit runs Feb. 6 through March 5. Artist’s reception, Feb. 9, 2 to 5 p.m. Michael Stearns Studio@The Loft, 401 S. Mesa St., San Pedro. Enter the Loft at the loading dock on 4th St. Details: 562-400-0544
Solo exhibition of pictures taken by George Woytovich, during a trip to India in 2016. The work is an observation of the beauty of India and majesty of its people. George holds a BA in Fine Arts, California State University Northridge, with emphasis in photography, and cinematography. Artist reception Jan. 26, 5 to 8 p.m. The exhibition runs through April 19. Gallery 741, 520 W. 8th St., San Pedro. Details: 310-351-0070
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Maggie Tenneson, Surprised by Joy
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RLn BRINGS YOU DEDICATED COVERAGE OF THE ARTS IN THE HARBOR AREA. FOR ADVERTISING, CALL 310. 519.1442
January 23 - February 5, 2020
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A MUSIC Jan. 24
Andy & Renee Southbay favorite folk-rockers take to the stage with a full concert of their album KELP, an unusual collection of original funny songs. Time: 8 p.m. Jan. 24 Cost: $25 to $37 Details: www.grandvision.secure. force.com Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
Jan. 25 Toys That Kill You’re officially invited to Hal Badal’s birthday party, which is for people 21 and up. Time: 8 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: $5 Details: 424-287-2407 Venue: The Sardine, 1101 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro Burns Night at The Whale and Ale Celebrate the great Scottish poet Robert Burns. Poetry and Bagpipes will be performed throughout the evening. Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: Free Details: 310-832-0363 Venue: The Whale & Ale, 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro
January 23 - February 5, 2020
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Lady in the Microfiche Inspired by vintage technology, this show features a screening of the video and live performances by Lady in the Microfiche and Shiro. Time: 8 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: Free Details: 562-584-6233 Venue: Elinor, 250 Tribune Court, Long Beach
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Beatles with a Latin Twist The Beat Academy features three seasoned veterans of Latin jazz playing the music of the Fab Four like you’ve never heard it before. Timeless melodies intermingle with exotic rhythms from around the world as interpreted by three world-class musicians. Time: 7:30 to 10 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: $20 Details: www.tinyurl.com/ BeatleswithaLatintwist Venue: Casa Arjona, 4515 E. Harvey Way, Long Beach Bunny Brunel CAB Bunny Brunel puts out insane music executes pulsating rhythms on his bass with scary accuracy, flawless precision and hauntingly beautiful melodies. Time: 8 to 10 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: $35 Details: alvasshowroom.com/ events Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
Jan. 26
Blag Dahlia This show featuers performances by Herman Dune and Kill Your Ego. Time: 2 to 6 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: $5 Details: 424-287-2407 Venue: The Sardine, 1101 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro Salsa Sundays Most Sundays, Alpine Village
JAN 23 - FEB 5 • 2020
ARTS CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT offers Salsa lessons for $10 at the Alpine Restaurant for various levels. Instructors teach you in a small group format. Time: 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Jan. 26 and Feb. 2 Cost: $5 Details: www.alpinevillagecenter. com Venue: Alpine Restaurant, 833 W. Torrance Blvd., Torrance
Jan. 28 Global Music for Flute and Piano This concert by Kristi Lobitz, piano and Susan Greenberg, flute presents a cosmopolitan sampling of music from around the world. Time: 8 to 11 p.m. Jan. 28 Cost: $10 to $21 Details: www.elcaminotickets. universitytickets.com Venue: El Camino College. 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
Jan. 30 Latin Thursdays Join the Latin Thursday dance classes. Time: 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Jan. 30 Cost: $5 Details: www.alpinevillagecenter. com Venue: Alpine Restaurant, 833 W. Torrance Blvd., Torrance
Jan. 31 Beach Cities Symphony Orchestra BCSO’s Heartbreak & Homeland concert features guest conductor Paul Piazza and soprano soloist Erin Wood performing Holst’s Somerset Rhapsody, Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido, Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major and Puccini’s Vissi d’Arte. Time: 7 to 10:30 p.m. Jan 31 Cost: Free Details: 310-532-3670 Venue: El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
Feb. 1 Liz Gherna Band and Grievous Angels be a part of a night of original rock, hard folk and psychedelic reggae soul with The Liz Gherna Band followed by the Grievous Angels. This is a rare night of music that is not to be missed. Time: 9 p.m. Feb. 1 Cost: Free Details: 310-832-5503 Venue: Harold’s Place, 1908 Pacific Ave., San Pedro Piano Men This performance celebrates the musical influences of Billy Joel and Elton John by the father and son team of Terry and Nick Davies. Time: 8 to 9:30 p.m. Feb. 1 Cost: $40 to $50 Details: www.torrancearts.org Venue: James R. Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance
Feb. 7
One Love Cali Reggae Festival The performances include Dirty Heads, Sublime With Rome, Atmosphere, Rebelution, Stick Figure, SOJA, Slightly Stoopid, Damian “Jr Gong” Marley and Iration. Time: 2 p.m. Feb. 7, 12 p.m. Feb. 8, 9
Cost: $85 and up Details: www.OneLoveCaliFest. com. Venue: Queen Mary Park, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach
THEATER Jan. 24
Tommy in Concert Based on the rock opera album by music giants, The Who, the story of a deaf, dumb and blind boy on an “amazing journey” promises to mix rock concert with great theater in a sensory experience like no other. Time: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24, 25, 6 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: $35 to $70 Details: 310-544-0403; www.PalosVerdesPerformingArts. com Venue: Norris Theatre, 27570 Norris Center Drive, Rolling Hills Estates Day After Day, The Life and Music of Doris Day Take a deep and personal look into this star’s dramatic personal life while appearing as the quintessential “girl-next-door” in Warner Bros. musicals. Time: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 24 through Feb. 23 Cost: $35 Details: 800-595-4849; www.ernestborgninetheatre.org Venue: Ernest Borgnine Theatre, 855 Elm Ave., Long Beach Pick of the Vine-Talkback An exciting night of entertainment awaits you in these 7 to 15 minute short plays hand-picked by Little Fish Theatre from authors across the country. Time: 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 24, 25, Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 and Feb. 6 Cost: $28 Details: www.littlefishtheatre.org Venue: Little Fish Theatre, 777 S .Centre St., San Pedro
Jan. 29
Details: 310-351-0070 Venue: Gallery 741, 520 W. 8th St., San Pedro Michael Stearns Studio Closing reception for Us Another Dimension works by Michael Stearns. Time: 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: Free Details: www.michaelstearns studio.com Venue: 4ht Street Lofts, 401 S. Mesa St., San Pedro
Feb. 6 First Thursday Artwalk, San Pedro On the first Thursday of every month over 40 galleries and studios host public receptions and food trucks appear in the street for the First Thursday Art Walk. Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Feb 6 Cost: Free Details: 310- 832-7272 Venue: Downtown San Pedro, 6th and 7th streets, San Pedro Machine Studio Five Year Anniversary Art Show Machine Studio hosts its five year anniversary show during First Thursday Art Walk. All artwork in the show will be on their oversized 11x14” postal labels from lots of local artists. Time: 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 6 Cost: Free Details: 323-644-8200; www.communityartmachine.com Venue: Machine Studio, 446 W. 6th St., San Pedro Bite Collective A reception for an exhibition of works by Bite Collective. Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 6 Cost: Free Details: www.lbcc.edu Venue: Long Beach City College, 4901 E. Carson St., Long Beach Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow Join this Black History Month event featuring a multicultural, intergenerational community-wide celebration of art, music, culture, contributions, history, legacy and opportunities. Time: 4 to 7 p.m. Feb. 6 Cost: Free Details: 562-595-0081; www.expoartscenter.org Venue: Expo Arts Center, 4321 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach
Feb. 7
The Marriage of Figueroa Based on Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, the story is set in Mission Aguas Frescas where a wedding celebration for the powerful (and real) governor of Upper California, General José Figueroa, is underway. Time: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 29 Cost: Free Details: 310-329-5345; elcaminotickets.universitytickets. com Venue: El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
Gyre Like the center point of a gyre, each work is the locus of an encircling current of activities designed to encourage mindful looking and active engagement with art. The first artist of the series is Eugenia Vargas Pereira. Time: 12 p.m. Feb. 7 Cost: Free Details: 562-985-4111; kleefeldcontemporary@csulb.edu Venue: Kleefeld Contemporary, CSULB, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach
Feb. 2
Ongoing
Disney’s The Little Mermaid If you watched The Little Mermaid so much that the VHS tape fell apart, then this live production of the Disney classic is a dream come true. Time: 2 p.m. Feb. 2 Cost: $46 to $60 Details: www.grandvision.org Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
ARTS
Jan. 26
India Join an artist’s reception and photo exhibition by George Woytovich. Time: 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: Free
Recuerdos - Souvenirs Extended Pinta*Dos Philippine Art Gallery’s ongoing exhibit, Recuerdos Souvenirs: New Works by Eliseo Art Silva, has been extended to Jan. 31. Time: 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Friday. Jan. 23 to 31 and First Thursday, Feb. 6, 6 to 9 p.m. Cost: Free Details: www.pintadosgallery.com Venue: Pinta*Dos Philippine Art Gallery, 479 W. 6th St., Suite 107, San Pedro Skulls. Motorcycles. A moment of Impact From the early bikers, often soldiers returning home from World
War II, with a drive for excitement and camaraderie—with heavy metal, punk and other musical genres along the way—through to today’s skateboarders, making use of the human skull as signifier for risk-taking, youthfulness and rebellion, this exhibition focuses on the ubiquitous skull and relates it to these subcultures. Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday Jan. 23 to March 14 Cost: Free Details: 310-618-6388; www.torranceartmuseum.com Venue: Torrance Art Museum, 3320 Civic Center Drive, Torrance Women by Women 2020 SoLA Contemporary presents this group exhibition featuring depictions and interpretations of actual women and girls as subject by an all-female cast of Los Angeles-area artists Time: 11a.m. to 4p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday through March 7 Cost: Free Details: 323-903-5737 Venue: SoLA Contemporary, 3718 W. Slauson Ave., Los Angeles
FOOD
Jan. 26 Juicy Brews Beach Party Craft Beer Festival Join Hop Culture Magazine and some of their best brewery friends in Los Angeles for a beach partythemed craft beer festival at Brouwerij West. Time: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: $20 to $60 Details: www.eventbrite.com Venue: Brouwerij West, 110 E. 22nd St.,Warehouse No. 9, San Pedro Urban Foodie Experience LA The Urban Foodie Experience is the largest open-air food market in the South Bay area, attracting thousands of foodies each event. Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: Free Details: www.eventbrite.com Venue: Carson Civic Center, 801 E. Carson St., Carson
Jan. 26
Create, Sip & Nosh Temple Bethel Sisterhood invites all to join in the Create Sip & Nosh Program. Spend Sunday afternoons creating simple projects—from cooking demos to art to air plants; have a nosh and a sip of wine. Sunday’s demo is a cooking demonstration with Grant Perry, English scones and fresh berry tart with almond shortbread. Time: 10 a.m to 12 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: $18 Details: www.squareup.com/ store/temple-beth-el-sisterhood/ Venue: Temple Beth El, 1435 W. 7th St., San Pedro
LITERATURE Jan. 31
Rough Writers Book Launch and Reading Join the book launch and readings from Moments in Space and Time, an anthology by the members of the Rough Writers Toastmasters of Long Beach. A single piece of evocative artwork served as the initial inspiration for the 13 short stories in the collection, which then sprang a mix of themes and stories as eclectic and diverse as the group’s members themselves. Time: 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 31 Cost: Free Details: 562-588-7075 Venue: Page Against the Machine, 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach
FILM
Jan. 26 Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy presents the latest nation-wide tour of this film festival, dedicated to raising awareness of preservation issues in nature. Time: 4 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: $10 Details: www.pvplc.org Venue: West High School Performing Arts Center, 2401 Victor St., Torrance
Jan. 27
The Mona Lisa is Missing The Mona Lisa was stolen on Aug. 21, 1911. It was taken by an Italian immigrant who hid it in his dingy tenement room in Paris for more than two and a half years. Time: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 27 Cost: $12 to $14 Details: www.elcamino.edu Venue: Marsee Auditorium, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
Jan. 29
The Green Book When Tony Lip, a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley, a world-class black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Time: 10:30 a.m. Jan. 29 Cost: Free Details: torranceca.gov Venue: Katy Geissert Civic Center Library, 3301 Torrance Blvd., Torrance
Jan. 30 The Myths & Reality of Water in Long Beach The Historical Society of Long Beach currently features an exhibition entitled Water Changes Everything that includes a discussion and a short film, Rancho Los Alamitos & the Story of Water. RSVP. Time: 6:30 p.m. Jan. 30 Cost: Free Details: 562-424-2220; www.rancholosalamitos.org Venue: Rancho Los Alamitos, 6400 E. Bixby Hill Rd., Long Beach
Jan. 31 Oscar-Nominated Short Films The San Pedro International Film Festival was founded to celebrate the diverse culture and community of San Pedro with a wide spectrum of independent film, documentaries and shorts. Time: 7 p.m. Jan. 31 Live Action Shorts, Terrace Starlight Cinemas 7 p.m., Feb. 4, 7 p.m., Feb. 5 Cost: $12 Details: www.SPIFFest.org Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
DANCE Jan. 25
A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham Kyle Abraham’s acclaimed company A.I.M stuns with its diverse range of styles, as they present a mixed repertoire. Time: 8 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: $55 Details: www.carpenterarts.org Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach
Vicious Circle Dance Director and choreographer Valerie Cabag has adapted Chromotherapy Club Meeting into a full-length show. Chroma explores the use of chromotherapy (color therapy) and the effects that color has on the body. Time: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: $10 to $21 Details: elcaminotickets. universitytickets.com Venue: El Camino College, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance
Jan. 31
¡Cumbiahood! Cara Borracho has been killing it on the local scene with wild punky cumbia sounds. DJs rounding out the vibe are Ricardo Spirit Revelli of Listen Recovery, Dedos Sucias from Las Chicas Tristes and King Steady Beat. Together they will play a choice blend of Latin and old school dance classics. Time: 9 p.m. Jan. 31 Cost: $5 Details: www.tinyurl.com/cumbia inthehood Venue: Supply and Demand, 2500 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
Feb. 1 Ballet Folclórico Nacional de México Mexican dance and culture flourish with ballet Folclórico Nacional de México. Presenting the works of Mexico’s leading practitioners of folklore, dance, music and costumes, the troupe has been designated an “Ambassador of Mexican Culture.” Time: 8 p.m. Feb. 1 Cost: $50 to $85 Details: 562-916-8500; www.cerritoscenter.com Venue: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos
COMMUNITY Jan. 24
Back Issue Sidewalk Sale Join the last Saturday of the month for quarter and dollar back issues as well as $1 to $3 graphic novels. Time: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jan 25 Cost: Free Details: 562-386-2077; www.pulpfictionbooksandcomics. com Venue: Pulp Fiction, 3925 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach Docent-Led Hikes Tour the tidepools teeming with fascinating marine life. Time: 3 to 5 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: Free Details: 310-541-7613; www.lossorenos.org Venue: Abalone Cove shoreline Park, 5970 Palos Verdes Dr. South, Rancho Palos Verdes Lunar New Year at Billie Jean King Main Library Celebrate Lunar New Year and learn about the cultures that celebrate it. All ages are welcome, but there is limited space, so participation will be on a firstcome, first-served basis. Time: 1 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/ LunarNewYearBJK Venue: Billie Jean King Main Library, 200 W. Broadway, Long Beach POLA’s Lunar New Year Festival Celebrating the “Year of the Rat” this annual event will feature a host of cultural attractions, dance and musical performances, as well as culinary delights traditionally enjoyed during this annual Chinese holiday. The festival concludes with a fireworks display, weather permitting. Time: 3 to 7 p.m. Jan. 25 Cost: Free Details: 310-548-7562; www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro Festival of Human Abilities Join the Aquarium of the Pacific for its 17th annual Festival of Human Abilities, a celebration highlighting the creative talents and abilities of people with disabilities. Free admission for any person with a disability and one attendant. Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 25, 26 Cost: Free Details: 562-590-3100; www.aquariumofpacific.org Venue: Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach
SoCal Etsy Guild Market Torrance Join an amazing day of handmade fun. Local designers, live art, handmade vendors and more. Time: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jan 26 Cost: Free Details: www.SoCalEtsyGuild. com Venue: Del Amo Fashion Center, 3525 Carson St., Torrance 51st Annual Whale Fiesta Join the Whale Fiesta celebrating the migration of the Pacific gray whale and the beginning of Southern California’s whale watching season. Learn about marine mammal life with education stations, interactive activities, festive music, games, puppet shows, expert guest lecturers and marine mammal-related arts and crafts for all ages. Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: Free Details: 310-548-7562; www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org. Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro Torrance Antique Street Faire The Torrance Street Faire is hosted on the fourth Sunday of every month. Time: Jan. 26 Cost: $3 Details: festivalnet.com Location: Downtown Torrance, 1225 El Prado Ave., Torrance
Jan. 30 Check-It-Out: Music Lab Explore, create and make music with electronic instruments. Time: 3:15 p.m. Jan. 30 Cost: Free Details: www.torranceca.gov Venue: Southeast Branch Library. 23115 Arlington Ave., Torrance
Feb. 1 Youth of LA Celebrate 61 Years of Cuban Revolution Meet youth who recently returned from Cuba, including high school students who participated in the Cubambiente International Environmental Conference. Learn about opportunities to visit Cuba. Please RSVP. Time: 9:30 a.m. Feb. 1 Details: 310-350-7515 Venue: Hawthorne Public Library, 12700 Grevillea Ave., Hawthorne
Feb. 7
Discovery Lecture Series Dean Pentcheff and Dr. Regina Wetzer of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County explore new genetic approaches, using “environmental DNA”, to inventory our biological surroundings, including our coastal communities, with unprecedented detail and speed. Time: 7 p.m. Feb. 7 Cost: Free Details: 310-548-7562; www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org. Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro
January 23 - February 5, 2020
San Pedro Certified Farmers Market Every Friday at the Historic Downtown San Pedro Farmers Market is unique at this event which features local musicians. Shop for certified Californiagrown, farm-fresh fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers. Time: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 24 Details: sanpedrochamber.com Venue: 6th Street between Pacific Avenue and Mesa Street, San Pedro
Jan. 25
The Long Beach Yoga Festival and 5k Zen out and prepare for the new year on this fun 5k run and walk yogi experience. Following the 5k join the Long Beach Yoga Festival classes and sound meditations taught by local studios and shop at our mindful market vendor village. Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: Up to $45 Details: www.tinyurl.com/ LBYogafestival Venue: Alamitos Beach, 700 Shoreline Drive, Long Beach
Friday After School Fun Drop by for a fun activity each Friday: anything from book discussions, to cool crafts or silly science to movie screenings. Children in grades Kindergarten through fifth will start the weekend off right at the library. This week is the Chinese New Year Celebration. Time: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 24 Cost: Free Details: pvld.org/kids Venue: Peninsula Library, 701 Silver Spur Rd., Rolling Hills Estates
Jargie the Science Girl Explore the world through the eyes of Jargie the Science Girl and her lab assistant, Benjamin the penguin. Come visit her laboratory for an energetic, interactive scientific adventure that is sure to rattle the molecules of your mind. Time: 2 to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26 Cost: $10 to $20 Details: www.arts.torranceca.gov Venue: Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance
Jan. 26
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
Volunteer Open House Learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities at Rancho Los Cerritos, which are a great way to learn about Long Beach history. Volunteer opportunities include greeting visitors, leading tours, gardening, helping out at special events, working behind the scenes and representing RLC in the larger community. Time: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Jan. 24 Cost: Free Details: 562-206-2040; Rancho@RanchoLosCerritos.org Venue: Rancho Los Cerritos, 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach
Friends of the Library Book Sale The Friends of the Torrance Library offer a great selection of books on a vast array of topics, all at bargain prices. Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 24 to 26 Cost: $5 Details: www.library.torranceca. gov Venue: Katy Geissert Civic Center Library, 3301 Torrance Blvd., Torrance
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[Dancing Waters, from p. 9]
Demolition of Dancing Waters
January 23 - February 5, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
most important punk bands in the Harbor Area’s musical history. A good primer on the history of the South Bay’s punk music scene is Craig Ibarra’s A Wailing of Town: An Oral History of Early San Pedro Punk and More. The Lawrence Welk Show was a televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years starting in 1951, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 to 1971, followed by 11 years in first-run syndication from 1971 to 1982. A 1982 concert series at the Dancing Waters featured bands such as the Blasters, Salvation Army, Reuben Gueverra and The Minutemen (before founding member D. Boon died in an Arizona auto accident). The summer concert series apparently brought hundreds of fans to the neighborhood — as well as the problems that so often accompany a live music venue with a bar on each floor. The Blasters, a roots-rock band known best for rockabilly when they formed in 1979 in Downey, were anchored by brothers Phil and Dave Alvin (vocals and guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. More than 40 years later, they still are, although a Blasters gig today is a musical tour through rockabilly, early rock ’n’ roll, punk rock, mountain music and rhythm and blues. Salvation Army was the original name of the punk band Three O’ Clock headed by Michael Quercio. The original lineup was Quercio (lead vocals, bass), John Blazing (guitar) and Troy Howell (drums). By the end of the year, Blazing left and was replaced by Gregg Gutierrez, later known as Louis Gutierrez. Quercio reverted to his real name and this lineup of The Salvation Army signed with L.A. independent label Frontier Records and released a self-titled debut LP in May 1982.
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In the summer of 1982, legal problems with the actual Salvation Army forced the band to change their name. “The Three O’Clock” came from the time of day the band rehearsed. Almost exactly coincident with the August 1982 name change, Howell left the band and Mike Mariano (keyboards, ex-Great Buildings, ex-The Falcons) and Danny Benair (drums, ex-The Quick, ex-The Weirdos, ex-Choir Invisible, ex-The Falcons) joined. Frontier would later reissue the Salvation Army LP under the group name Befour Three O’Clock in 1986, and again in 1992. Rubén Funkahuátl Guevara is a singer, songwriter, producer, writer, poet, performance artist and impresario. He made his mark in music with his 1970s band Ruben & the Jets, who recorded two albums on the Mercury Record label, the first produced by the legendary Frank Zappa. D. Boon and Mike Watt formed The Reactionaries in 1978 before forming the Minutemen in 1980. They would play together with Greg Hurley until 1985 when Boon died. At the time, newspapers including this one probably paid more attention to the complaints generated by the concert series than the bands that played. After the benefit concert series, Cordeiro said he was going to turn the venue into a country and western club, but it’s not clear that came to fruition. Dancing Waters/ La Zona Rosa did become a norteño music format venue, catering to Spanish speaking audiences off and on. The bottom line here is that amidst a new development cycle that will likely decimate further the retail businesses along the Pacific Avenue corridor, there’s a music cultural history that could be turned to dust if the memories of these places aren’t preserved.
San Pedro Pirates Go to Washington, D.C. By Melina Paris, Arts and Culture Reporter
At the end of 2019, Darnella Davidson, band director of the San Pedro High School Golden Pirate Regiment learned that the Golden Pirate Regiment was invited to perform at the 2020 National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. Now, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán may have just helped this band director realize her ultimate goal and made San Pedro High School band students very happy. The Regiment was nominated by the congresswoman to represent the state of California in the 2020 National Memorial Day parade in the District of Columbia, Memorial Day weekend. The invitation came in the mail and Davidson spoke to Principal Jeanette Stevens about the idea. Stevens was in favor of supporting the Regiment to go on this exciting trip. “I’m thrilled San Pedro High School’s Golden Pirate Regiment will represent California and our amazing Congressional District in the 2020 National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. on May 25th,” the congresswoman said via email. “It was an honor to nominate them but now they need our help to get their regiment members to Washington, D.C. to show their exemplary skills and perform for our nation.” Barragán noted that it’s fitting that the theme of the parade is the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Not only because she was fortunate to travel to Normandy, France in 2019 to recognize the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion, but because San Pedro is the home of the USS Iowa, the first ship in America’s class of battleships built for World War II. “I have always dreamed of taking a group out of state,” Davidson told Random Lengths
San Pedro High School band leader, Darnella Davidson. Courtesy of Darnella Davidson
News in a 2016 story. “So when this nomination from Congresswoman Barragán came up, I really didn’t want to pass up this opportunity.” The hardest part is fundraising $125,000. Davidson said many people are excited for them and say they will help. “But it takes lots of effort to stay on top of reaching out to people to make the commitment while we are still making efforts to run a competitive band program,” Davidson said. “We have several fundraisers with yard and candy sales, plus families have been contributing to make the $1,350 per student cost for the 4-day experience.” That fee includes airfare, hotels and events. In addition, they will need to transport instruments across the country with a driver and trailer and hotel stay to make the three-day journey and back. SPHS Booster Club president, Kiok McCarthy said that they have been doing everything they can to raise funds. Karen Black, and her husband Henry, class of 1975 and ‘71 respectively, wanted to create a scholarship to help the students get to Washington, D.C. Kiok wrote on the Regiments Facebook page that they lost their son just over two years ago in active duty. Bryan C. Black joined the Army in 2009 and eventually earned a Ranger Tab and Green Beret. He was killed in action in an ambush in Niger, Africa on Oct. 4, 2017 at 35-years-old. The Black family’s donation will go toward helping three families get to Washington, D.C. A combination of good will and success will take the regiment far. The Golden Pirate Regiment successes have been plenty and continuing in that vein, Davidson has realized her hopes to build a drumline at the high school. Davidson’s drumline began with about five performers, the trill spread and now the group is a full ensemble with 19 students. To get the band rolling to D.C. it will take a village. For their part many local office holders have stepped up to the plate with donations. Now, they bring this effort to the community at large. “We have amazing kids, amazing parents and amazing support from our school and community,” Davidson said. The Regiment must raise $83,000 more to get to the 2020 National Memorial Day Parade, Memorial Day Weekend. To donate to fundraising efforts, Washington D.C. donations can be made via Facebook. Details: https://www.facebook.com/ thesanpedrohsgoldenpirateregiment
voted overwhelmingly to be represented by Long Beach-based Teamsters Local 848. All of them have now been fired. “They let us go right after we voted to form our union,” Saul Zuniga, an employee driver at Universal Intermodal and new member of Teamsters Local 848, said. Contributions to the Port Driver Hardship Fund can be made to Labor Community Services: Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFLCIO, 2130 W. James M. Wood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90006 Details: https://tinyurl.com/teamsters-AB5
LABOR Notes
Teamsters oppose ruling that AB 5 does not apply to port truckers
The Teamsters are minimizing the significance of Superior Court Judge William Highberger’s Jan. 8 ruling that California’s Assembly Bill 5 does not apply to port truck drivers: “While we believe Judge Highberger’s decision is wrong, the bottom line is that in every port trucker misclassification/wage theft case to date, the port truck drivers of NFI and indeed every port trucking company have been found to be employees, not independent contractors…,” said a statement released by the Teamsters. “Judge Highberger’s finding does not have practical effect on the employee status of these drivers. They are clearly employees.” AB 5 unequivocally makes it illegal to misclassify California’s truck drivers as “independent contractors,” “In at least 47 wage claims cases against NFI companies (Cal Cartage Express, K & R and CMI) at the California DLSE, the drivers have uniformly been found to be employees not independent contractors under the Borello test,” the Teamsters’ written statement continued. [Round Up, from p. 4]
Round Up
Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council
“The contention that Highberger’s decision is final is incorrect—he has essentially certified the case for appeal. It would still be immaterial to the fact that these drivers have been uniformly found to be employees under Borello, a test that has definitely been determined not to be preempted.” In a related development that Teamsters at the port consider a violation of AB 5, multi-billion dollar logistics company Universal Logistics
Holdings fired up to 70 port and intermodal drivers in at least three subsidiaries — Universal Intermodal Services, Universal Truckload Services and Roadrunner Intermodal Services. Drivers report that the company told them that if they buy their own trucks then they can come back to work as independent contractors. Universal’s action happens just weeks after 28 employee drivers at Universal Intermodal
the 110 freeway, where the driver noticed that he did not properly seal a cap on the truck. Phillips 66 informed Gulf Transport of the leak and Gulf Transport moved traffic on Anaheim Street away from the spillage. Sulfur solidifies quickly after touching the ground, so Gulf Transport was unable to remove it. Instead, it repaved the road over it to seal the sulfur inside. The company finished repaving the road by the end of the day.
and additional shade for picnic areas.
Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council
At the Jan. 14 meeting of the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council, the board elected Carrie Scoville as their new vice president. In addition, the board elected Pat Carroll as their new interim outreach committee officer in the absence of Khixaan Obioma-Sakhu, the previously elected outreach committee officer who had not attended a regular board meeting since July 2019. Both Carroll and Scoville were the only board members nominated for their respective positions, so the board did not vote on either. Board member Linda Alexander said that Carroll has experience on the outreach committee and that she can put into action plans for activities.
Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council
At the Jan. 15 meeting of the Harbor City Neighborhood Council, the Los Angeles City Planning Department gave a presentation on the Harbor Community Plans Update program, which includes Harbor City, Harbor Gateway and Wilmington, said Marie Cobian, a representative of the department. In 2017, Mayor Eric Garcetti tasked the department with updating all 35 community plans in the city of Los Angeles. Previous updates to the plan included only rezoning certain areas, but with the new update, everything in the community plan areas will get a new zone. Zones are what define what different parcels of land can be used for in the community and can allow residential, commercial use, industrial use, public facilities or open space. New zones are currently being developed as part of a re-coding project, which is a complete overhaul of the city’s current code. The new zones will be more flexible and userfriendly and will be accessible online.
Bonnie M. Christensen 1931 - 2020
Bonnie M. Christensen of San Pedro died peacefully on Jan. 3 due to complications of Alzheimer’s and intestinal ischemia. She was born the youngest child of Samuel and Resa Nelson on May 26, 1931, in Glidden, Iowa. Her parents and five siblings, as well as her husband Vic, predeceased her in death. She leaves behind her children, Ann Moore (Greg) and Victor, her two grandchildren, Heather Doornbos and Brayden Christensen, her great grandson, Maverick Doornbos and her longtime companion, Dr. Gerald Felando. Bonnie was a kitchen engineer and worked for Los Angeles Unified School District as a community liaison. She was San Pedro Woman of the year in 1987. She is the Bonnie of the Vic and Bonnie Math, Science and Technology Center and was a Camp Fire Girl leader for five years. Throughout her life, she was a volunteer, always wanting the best for the children. She was on the San Pedro Bicentennial Committee and earned many awards for community service from the military, Lions Club, Harbor-UCLA Biomed Research Institute, as well as state and local government officials. She received awards from various PTA’s from the schools her children attended, continuing service awards from the state PTA and was cofounder of the Harbor Association for Gifted and Talented students. The family would like to thank Donna Badger-Nell for her endless help these last three years. Bonnie has requested donations, in her name, to the Lions Project for Canine Companions for Independence, Julie Nicosia, 2550 Pacific Coast Hwy, Space 101, Torrance, CA 90505.
January 23 - February 5, 2020
The county of Los Angeles has been working on a project improving White Point Park for about a year, said Cesar Espinosa, planning specialist for the County of Los Angeles Beaches and Harbors Department at the Dec. 16 meeting of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council. This is the park’s first refurbishment since the late ‘90s. A landslide in 2011 damaged the sewer line that was connected to the park’s restroom, making it unusable and porta potties and trailers have been used since. The new project will include a new sewer line and a refurbished restroom. In addition, the walkway’s landscaping will receive a facelift. The design will remain the same, but cracks in the walkway will be fixed. The park’s parking lot will be resurfaced, said Stephen Zurek of the Department of Public Works of Los Angeles County. Other changes include the removal of sharp and prickly plants
Harbor City Neighborhood Council
There was nearly 30 percent decrease in crime in Northwest San Pedro in December 2019 in comparison to December 2018, said Senior Lead Officer Frank Lopez of the Los Angeles Police Department at the Jan. 13 meeting of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council. There were no homicides, robberies were down 25 percent, aggravated assaults were down 38.5 percent, rape was down 100 percent and burglaries were down 60 percent. The only spike was in grand theft auto, which increased by 33.3 percent. Burglary and theft from a motor vehicle also increased, it went up by 45.5 percent. Regular theft stayed consistent, as there were 15 in December 2018 and December 2019. On Dec. 13, at about 1 a.m. a third-party vendor picked up molten sulfur from Phillips 66’s refinery in Wilmington and around Anaheim Street it began to leak molten sulfur onto the roadway, said Ken Dami, public affairs manager for Phillips 66. The truck continued to leak molten sulfur until Figueroa Place near the entrance of
Members of Teamsters Local 848 gathered outside the Consulate General of France in Los Angeles. Photo courtesy of Tom Tullius.
“It’s about the solidarity, about everybody sticking together and staying together,” said Karla Schumann, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 104, as she stood at the picket line outside Asarco’s Mission Mine in Sahuarita, Ariz., on Dec. 29. “Outside of that, it’s community support, labor organization support.” Some 1,700 workers at four Asarco complexes in Arizona and its refinery in Amarillo, Texas, have been on strike since Oct. 13. Solidarity has been key to the workers’ determination to continue their fight. The Asarco bosses imposed their “last, best and final” offer Dec. 2 and have refused any further negotiations since. Their offer included a wage freeze for most workers, freezes in pensions, huge increases in health insurance costs and elimination of protections for union activity on the job. Mexico City-based Grupo Mexico, which owns Asarco, is the third largest copper mining company in the United States and the fourth largest in the world. The company brags that it produces copper more cheaply than any of its competitors. Grupo Mexico and Asarco—just like U.S. mine bosses—are well known for their disregard for the safety of their workers and those who live near their mines. Two Asarco workers were killed after the vehicles they were in were crushed by massive mining vehicles used in the company’s open pit mines, one in 2010 and the other in 2017. Strike supporters are encouraged to visit the picket lines. For strikers at the Mission and Silver Bell complexes near Tucson, send contributions to the Pima Area Labor Federation Community Services via paypal. me/palfcommunityservice.
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Epperhart that the councils could continue to employ Akerblom until the end of March. Epperhart spoke with Akerblom, then spoke to Beltrán again and suggested ways to fix the problem, but still allow Sheryl to work for neighborhood councils. Beltrán did not respond positively to this suggestion and she affirmed that Akerblom would be done by March. “My concern was that there would be longterm damage done within the Harbor Area and that Raquel [Beltrán] would not be trusted by Harbor Area neighborhood council people,” Epperhart said. “We’re kind of at that point now.” On Dec. 13, less than two hours before Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council’s meeting, Soong sent another email to all the neighborhood councils that employed Akerblom, this time explicitly stating that the city would not reimburse the councils for services rendered by Akerblom. Soong misspelled Akerblom’s name four times within the body of the email.
Solidarity crucial in striking Asarco workers’ fight
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2019320817 The following person is doing business as:(1) American Air, Heating & Cooling, 1134 W 21st Street., San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: William Sullivan, 1134 W 21st Street., San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. William Sullivan, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 13, 2019. 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 expire 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. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 01/09/20, 01/23/20,
Street, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Lorraine Maese, 679 W Oliver Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Lorraine Maese, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 23, 2019. 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 expire 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. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 01/09/20, 01/23/20, 02/06/20, 02/20/20
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2020004980 The following person is doing business as:(1) Lena Milos Photography (2) Salacia Jewelry, 3702 S. Meyler, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Lena Milos, 43702 S. Meyler, San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 12/2019. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares
as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Lena Milos, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Jan. 08, 2020. 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 expire 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. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 01/23/20, 02/06/20, 02/20/20, 03/03/20
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2019320817 The following person is doing business as:(1) The Spanish Swan Ballet, 679 W Oliver
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ACROSS
1 Spill it 5 Catchphrase from Barbara Walters heard a lot recently 15 Ceremonial observance 16 RZA’s group 17 During 18 Nearly done with the return trip 19 Uninterrupted sequences 21 Russian ruler of the 1800s 22 Messy Halloween prank 23 Former Rocket Ming 25 Paper promises 28 2014 drama with David Oyelowo and Common 29 Company whose founder recently left its board 30 “Watch somewhere else” letters 31 “I feel ___” 32 Like mortals? 33 Go fast 34 Protein for some sushi rolls 36 Communication where K and V differ only by a thumb 38 “Silent All These Years” singer Tori 42 Thomas who drew Santa Claus 44 Knock down ___ 48 Unvaried 49 Sucker 50 Kind of base or reserve
52 Ukraine capital, locally 53 He presided over the O.J. trial 54 At the location 55 “Open 24 hours” sign material 57 Turns used materials into something better 59 Missing comment? 62 Garment edges 63 Skincare company with a Hydro Boost line 64 Affirmative votes 65 First-person action-adventure game with a “Death of the Outsider” sequel 66 He worked with Branford Marsalis
DOWN
1 Prepares (for impact) 2 French city known for its porcelain 3 Feeling all excited 4 Occasion for storytelling 5 Nashville sound 6 “Pen15” streaming service 7 “Possibly” 8 ___ Tome and Principe (African island nation) 9 Available for purchase 10 Some P.D. officers 11 Rapper with the Grammynominated album “Based on a T.R.U. Story” 12 Medium-dry Spanish sherry
13 Bad hour for a car alarm to go off 14 “We Are Number ___” (song meme from “LazyTown”) 20 Far from meaningful 24 Use a SodaStream on, say 26 Area 51 sighting 27 Letters in some personal ads 29 Mark often used for metal? 35 Concluding with 37 2019 Max Porter novel about a whimsical boy 38 Part of AMA 39 Johnson’s predecessor 40 Menacing 41 Important interval in jazz music 43 Old Faithful, e.g. 45 Easter-related 46 Glare 47 Sentries at entries 51 Not as much 54 Pack of hot dog buns, often 56 Oaxacan “other” 58 Cone dropper 59 AFC South team, on scoreboards 60 Opus ___ (“The Da Vinci Code” group) 61 I, to Claudius
For answers go to: www.randomlengthsnews.com
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DBA FILINGS
LEGAL NOTICES 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: FIREBOAT STATION NO. 20 at PIER D, BERTHS D50-51 LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S2410 Bid Deadline:
Development Permit Applications and other Port forms are available at h t t p : / / w w w. p o l b . c o m / economics/contractors/ forms_permits/default.asp. 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 March 3, 2020, 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 calls, and faxes will not be
Prior to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. 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 1. Register and Log In 2. Click “Bid Opportunities” 3. Double-click on respective bid Project Title 4. Click on Document Attachments tab 5. Double-Click on Title of Electronic Attachment 6. Click “Download Now” 7. Repeat for each attachment For assistance in downloading these documents please contact Port of Long Beach Plans and Specs Desk at 562-283-7353.
Project Contact Person:
Date/Time: February 5, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. Location: Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility 1st Floor Meeting Room 725 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Christopher Greiner, christopher. greiner@polb.com
Please refer to the Port of Long Beach PB System for the most current information.
Copies of all Port insurance endorsement forms, SBE/ VSBE Program forms, Harbor
NIB-3 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting and Site Visit. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor Department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 9:00 a.m., on February 5, 2020, in the 1st Floor Meeting Room, of the Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility, 725 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802. Attendance is mandatory for the Contractors. It is not mandatory for Subcontractors but highly recommended. Each Bidder shall attend the mandatory Pre-bid meeting and the mandatory Site Visit, inspect and examine the Project Site and perform any observations and measurements to further document existing conditions and may
NIB -8 Mandatory SBE/ VSBE Participation. 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 mandatory participation requirement for this project is twenty percent (20%), of which a minimum of five percent (5%) must be allocated to VSBEs. POLB expects all Bidders to achieve the combined SBE/ VSBE participation requirements. Responsiveness of the bid will be conditioned on the Bidder submitting an SBE-2C Commitment Plan demonstrating the Bidder’s intent to meet the combined SBE/VSBE participation requirement. If the Bidder’s Commitment Plan does not demonstrate intent to meet the combined requirements, the Bid will be deemed nonresponsive. 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-4 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: Construction of Fireboat Station No. 20 at Berths D50-51, which includes two-story fire station building, fireboat bay enclosure supported on wharf, floating dock, positioning and fender piles, retaining walls, paving, earthwork, fencing, gates, lighting, existing quay wall repairs, security systems, communication systems, electrical systems, utilities, storm water system, domestic and fire protection water distribution systems, sewer and oily water systems, and emergency generator. NIB-5 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Contractor shall achieve Substantial Completion of Work within 710 calendar days and Affidavit of Final Completion of the Project within 790 calendar days 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. NIB-6 Contractor’s License. The Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class “A” California Contractor’s License to construct this project.
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-7 Contractor Performed Work. The Contrac-
This Project is subject to compliance monitoring and
NIB -10 P r o j e c t L a b o r Agreement. This project is subject to the requirements of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA), included as Appendix AA. The Contractor and all tier subcontractors must sign a Letter of Assent before commencement of construction and be bound by each and every provision of the PLA, including, but not limited to: payment of prevailing wages; payment of fringe benefit contributions to union trust funds on behalf of workers; use of union hiring halls as a source for workers; follow alternating referral procedures if employing Core Workers; and Local, Disadvantaged, and Veteran worker utilization goals. Per the Department of Industrial Relations, projects covered by a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) are exempt from the requirement to submit electronic CPRs directly to the Labor Commissioner’s Office. In lieu, the Contractor and all Subcontractors will be required to submit electronic or hardcopies of CPRs and labor compliance documentation to the Port of Long Beach. NIB -11 Tr a d e N a m e s and Substitution of Equals. With the exception of any sole source determination that may be identified in this paragraph, Bidders wishing to obtain City’s authorization for substitution of equivalent material, product, or equipment, are required to submit a written request for an Or Equal Substitution using the form included in Appendix A together with data substantiating Bidder’s representation that the non-specified item is of equal quality to the item specified, 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. 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: • Pinner Construction Co., Inc. • Tobo Construction Inc. • Ford E-C • SJ Amoroso • Bernards Bros Inc. • AMG & Associates • Icon West Inc. • 2H Construction, Inc.
NIB -13 B i d S e c u r i t y, 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 Base Bid 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 C o n d i t i o n a l 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 Condition-
ally 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 25th day of November 2019. 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.
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January 23 - February 5, 2020
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 http://www.polb. com/economics/contractors/ default.asp.
accepted. Questions submitted to City staff will not be addressed and Bidder will be directed to the PB System.
Bidders are encouraged to RSVP for the Pre-Bid Meeting through the PB System; located under the “RSVP” tab of the Prospective Bidder Detail. Following the meeting a list of Pre-Bid Meeting signed-in attendees will be available on the PB System.
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.
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.
tor shall perform, with its own employees, Contract Work amounting to at least 15% of the Contract Price, except that any designated “Specialty Items” may be performed by subcontract. The amount of any such “Specialty Items” so performed may be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees. “Specialty Items” will be identified by the City on the Schedule of Bid Items. The bid price of any materials or equipment rental costs from vendors who are solely furnishing materials or rental equipment and are not performing Work as a licensed subcontractor on this project shall also be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees.
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Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting:
use photography and/or video to aid in preparation of Bid Documents. The City makes no guarantee that existing construction and site conditions matches construction depicted on record reference documents. It shall be the Bidder’s responsibility to identify existing conditions during the Site Visit. Each Bidder must have a valid picture identification card (driver’s license or TWIC card), hard hat, steel-toed boots, and safety traffic vest to attend the Site Visit. Should a Bidder elect not to attend the pre-bid meeting, the Bidder shall not be relieved of its sole responsibility to inform itself of all conditions at the Project Site and the content of the Contract Documents. EACH BIDDER MUST ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING. FAILURE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING SHALL DISQUALIFY YOUR BID.
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LEGAL NOTICES 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: PIER T ZERO EMISSIONS PHASE 1: at CHARGING STATIONS FOR YARD HOSTLERS AND FORKLIFTS LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S3024 Bid Deadline:
Copies of all Port insurance endorsement forms, SBE/ VSBE Program forms, Harbor Development Permit Applications and other Port forms are available at h t t p : / / w w w. p o l b . c o m / economics/contractors/ forms_permits/default.asp. 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 18, 2020, at 5 p.m. Questions received after the pre-Bid question deadline will not be accepted.
Prior to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 25, 2020. 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 1. Register and Log In 2. Click “Bid Opportunities” 3. Double-click on respective bid Project Title 4. Click on Document/Attachments tab 5. Double-Click on Title of Electronic Attachment 6. Click “Download Now” 7. Repeat for each attachment
January 23 - February 5, 2020
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For assistance in downloading these documents please contact Port of Long Beach Plans and Specs Desk at 562-283-7353.
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Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting:
Project Contact Person:
Date/Time: February 4, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Location: Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility 1st Floor Meeting Room 725 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802 Fred Patricio, fred.patricio@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 http://www.polb.com/ economics/contractors/ default.asp.
Questions must be submitted electronically through the PB System. Emails, phone 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 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor Department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 10:00 a.m. on February 4, 2020, in the 1st Floor Meeting Room, of the Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility, 725 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802. Attendance is mandatory for the Contractors. It is not mandatory for Subcontractors but highly recommended. Each Bidder shall attend the mandatory Pre-bid meeting. The City makes no guarantee that existing construction and site conditions matches construc-
tion depicted on record reference documents. It shall be the Bidder’s responsibility to identify existing conditions. EACH BIDDER MUST ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING. FAILURE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING SHALL DISQUALIFY YOUR BID. Bidders are encouraged to RSVP for the Pre-Bid Meeting through the PB System; located under the “RSVP” tab of the Prospective Bidder Detail. Following the meeting a list of Pre-Bid Meeting signed-in attendees will be available on the PB System. Note that attendance at the prebid meeting can be used to satisfy a portion of a Bidder’s good faith efforts to meet the SBE/VSBE participation goals listed below. NIB-4 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: Upgrade Pier T on-site electrical distribution system extending from existing 105,000-kVA substation and install four (4) DC and two (2) AC charging stations, and thirty-three pull boxes with stub-outs for future charging stations at three locations within Pier T. Refer to Section 01 11 00, Summary of Work in the Technical Specifications. NIB-5 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Contractor shall achieve Substantial Completion of Work within 204 calendar days and Affidavit of Final Completion of the Project within 294 calendar days 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. NIB-6 Contractor ’s License. The Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class “A”, California Contractor’s License to construct this project. In addition, the Bidder or subcontractor(s) shall hold a current and valid Class “C-10”, California Contractor’s License to perform the following work: place, install, erect or connect any electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways, conduits, or any part thereof, which generate, transmit, transform or utilize electrical energy in any form or for any purpose. NIB-7 Contractor Performed Work. The Contractor shall perform, with its own employees, Contract Work amounting to at least 50% of the Contract Price, except that any designated “Specialty Items” may be performed by subcontract. The amount of any such “Specialty Items”
so performed may be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees. “Specialty Items” will be identified by the City on the Schedule of Bid Items. The bid price of any materials or equipment rental costs from vendors who are solely furnishing materials or rental equipment and are not performing Work as a licensed subcontractor on this project shall also be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees. 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 percent (20%), of which a minimum of five percent (5%) must be allocated to VSBEs. 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 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. 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 Contrac-
tor 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. Contractors and Subcontractors must furnish electronic Certified Payroll Records (CPRs) to the Labor Commissioner’s Office, and in addition, hardcopies or electronic copies shall be furnished to the Port of Long Beach. NIB -10 P r o j e c t L a b o r Agreement. This project is not covered by a PLA. NIB -11 Tr a d e N a m e s and Substitution of Equals. With the exception of any sole source determination that may be identified in this paragraph, Bidders wishing to obtain City’s authorization for substitution of equivalent material, product, or equipment, are required to submit a written request for an Or Equal Substitution using the form included in Appendix A together with data substantiating Bidder’s representation that the non-specified item is of equal quality to the item specified, 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. NIB -12 Not Used. NIB -13 B i d S e c u r i t y, 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 Base Bid 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 C o n d i t i o n a l 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 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: ON-CALL EMERGENCY WET UTILITIES SERVICES, PORTWIDE LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S3071 Bid Deadline:
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 25TH day of November, 2019. 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.
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 http://www.polb. com/economics/contractors/ default.asp. Copies of all Port insurance endorsement forms, SBE/ VSBE Program forms, Harbor Development Permit Applica-
Prior to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 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 1. Register and Log In 2. Click “Bid Opportunities” 3. Double-click on respective bid Project Title 4. Click on Document/Attachments tab 5. Double-Click on Title of Electronic Attachment 6. Click “Download Now” 7. Repeat for each attachment For assistance in downloading these documents please contact Port of Long Beach Plans and Specs Desk at 562-283-7353.
Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting:
Date/Time: January 28, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Location: Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility 1st Floor Meeting Room 725 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802
Project Contact Person:
Joseph Gunaranjan, joseph.gunaranjan@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
tions and other Port forms are available at http://www.polb. com/economics/contractors/ forms_permits/default.asp.
[continued on following page]
LEGAL NOTICES [from previous page] 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 11, 2020, 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 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 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting and Site Visit. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor Department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 10:00 a.m. on January 28, 2020, in the 1st Floor Meeting Room, of the Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility, 725 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802. Attendance is mandatory for the Contractors. It is not mandatory for Subcontractors but highly recommended. EACH BIDDER MUST ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING. FAILURE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING SHALL DISQUALIFY YOUR BID. Bidders are encouraged to RSVP for the Pre-Bid Meeting through the PB System; located under the “RSVP” tab of the Prospective Bidder Detail. Following the meeting a list of Pre-Bid Meeting signed-in attendees will be available on the PB System.
NIB-5 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Contractor shall achieve Affidavit of Final Completion of Work within two (2) years as provided in Paragraph
NIB-6 Contractor ’s License. The Bidder shall hold a current and valid Class “A” California Contractor’s License to construct this project. NIB-7 Contractor Performed Work. The Contractor shall perform, with its own employees, Contract Work amounting to at least 50% of the Contract Price, except that any designated “Specialty Items” may be performed by subcontract. The amount of any such “Specialty Items” so performed may be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees. “Specialty Items” will be identified by the City on the Schedule of Bid Items. The bid price of any materials or equipment rental costs from vendors who are solely furnishing materials or rental equipment and are not performing Work as a licensed subcontractor on this project shall also be deducted from the Contract Price before computing the amount required to be performed by the Contractor with its own employees. NIB -8 SBE/VSBE. The Port has established a Small Business Enterprises (SBE)/Very Small Business Enterprises (VSBE) Program to encourage small business participation on construction contracts.
Although an SBE/VSBE participation goal was not assigned to this contract, the Port strongly encourages all bidders to include such participation whenever possible, by utilizing small and very small business subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers. The Port also strongly encourages SBE/VSBE firms to respond to this solicitation as prime contractors. 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. 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. Contractors and Subcontractors must furnish electronic Certified Payroll Records (CPRs) to the Labor Commissioner’s Office, and in addition, hardcopies or electronic copies shall be furnished to the Port of Long Beach. NIB -10 P r o j e c t L a b o r Agreement. This project is not covered by a PLA. NIB -11 Tr a d e N a m e s and Substitution of Equals. With the exception of any sole source determination that may be identified in this paragraph, Bidders wishing to obtain City’s authorization for substitution of equivalent material, product, or equipment, are required to submit a written request for an Or Equal Substitution using the form included in Appendix A together with data substantiating Bidder’s representation that the non-specified item is of equal quality to the item specified, 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. NIB -12 NOT USED. NIB -13 B i d S e c u r i t y, 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 Base Bid 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 C o n d i t i o n a l 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 up to four (4) responsible Bidder(s) submitting the lowest responsive and responsible Bid(s). 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 9th day of December, 2019. 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.
RANDOMLetters [Letters from p. 7]
Denied a Turn at the Podium
It is always a pleasure to stay up to date with world events in the Random Lengths News! In politics, write-in candidates have won races for the well known like Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. I qualified on Jan. 6, 2020 as a certified write in candidate to run for Los Angeles Council District 10. Jan. 11, I was denied the equal opportunity to speak from the podium at a candidates forum by the Ethiopian Democratic Club of Los Angeles. I asked to be allowed to speak and they refused saying I was not on the “ballot.” (To this day the ballot has not yet been published). Non-writein candidates Grace Yoo, Channing Martinez, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Melvin Snell, and Aura Vasquez were allowed to speak at the podium. The situation repeated itself at another candidate forum on Jan. 12. I talked with the League of Women voters, the church, and West Adams Neighborhood Council, and they said I would not be allowed to speak on the podium with the other candidates. I told them that was not
acceptable. The hundred person plus crowd was told by the representative that I was “not qualified to speak as they said I was not on the ballot. I told them I was qualified. The other five candidates were allowed on the podium. Two church security guards physically assaulted me by pushing me twice as I persisted to speak. They threatened to call the Police but didn’t. The forum was cosponsored by the Community Action Mobilization Team, and Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP. The forum took place at Holman Methodist Church in Los Angeles. First African Methodist church advertises on social media that it will hold a Los Angeles candidates forum on Jan. 25. As a certified and qualified write in candidate, I have not been invited to speak on the podium at this event but I have requested to. I feel other candidates that speak may be engaged in unethical participation in violation of city ethics regulations. The Church is reminded that they must provide equal opportunity to all candidates or they may run afoul of IRS regulations. It is now 55 years after the Voting Rights Act was passed. The more things change, the more they stay the same. G. Juan Johnson, Los Angeles
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
NIB-4 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: Emergency repairs of existing water, sewer, and storm drain systems on an on-call basis.
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.
January 23 - February 5, 2020
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pollute our environment and harm our health,” Westerling said. “Improved and expanded transit systems and housing options can reduce our climate impact while greatly enhancing security and prosperity for all Californians.”
[California, from p. 1]
California Green New Deal resiliency of vulnerable populations in the state.” Westerling expressed something similar, “It is important that the public and our political leaders understand the burden that has been shouldered by our economy from decades of underinvestment in public education and infrastructure,” Westerling said. “This creates an opportunity: the right investments can make our economy more just, fair and efficient while also reducing our impact on and vulnerability to climate change, enhancing prosperity and security for all Californians.” The bill contains a broad statement of principles and goals, which are expected to be fleshed out in the legislative process, with discussions already under way. These include: • Accelerating reductions of air pollution by reducing emissions in the state to a rate that would be consistent with global warming goals by 2050.
• Increasing affordable housing and public transportation by doubling their current availability by 2030.
• Reducing disparate standard of living indices for historically impacted communities of color by 2030.
January 23 - February 5, 2020
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
The bill also provides for the creation of a high-level council, appointed by the governor, to develop specific recommendations by January 2022. Members would include the director of the Office of Planning and Research, plus the secretaries of six cabinet-level agencies:
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Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, Transportation, Health and Human Services, Labor and Workforce Development and Business, Consumer Services and Housing. California already has a rudimentary multifaceted approach to climate change. This past March, a Time article was headlined, California Already Has a Green New Deal. Here’s How It Works. But the central program cited — California’s cap-and-trade system of carbon emission credits — has serious problems due to oil and gas industry political influence and gaming, highlighted in a November report from ProPublica which found that industry emissions “actually rose 3.5 percent since cap and trade began.” 350.org supports the Green New Deal resolution introduced by AOC. “This includes phasing out the use of fossil fuels,” South Bay LA co-coordinator Sherry Lear said. “California is a huge oil-producing state and there has been a huge resistance to make any real commitment, in the time frame needed, to phase out oil extraction, refining, etc. in our state. The bill talks about a just transition for fossil fuel industry workers but does not set a timeline to phase out fossil fuel. Clearly, it would have no chance of passing if it did.” That may be the case right now, but public opinion is shifting rapidly and political activism — particularly youth-led — is sharply intensifying. The Yale Project on Climate Change Communication divides climate change attitudes into six categories, from “Alarmed” to
UC Merced climate scientist LeRoy Westerling. File photo.
“Dismissive.” From October 2014 to November 2019, the number of alarmed almost tripled from 11 to 31 percent — the largest group of all, while the number of dismissive shrank from 12 to 10 percent. As for what’s possible now, “It is great to see so many legislators from a broad range of districts signed on in support of Mr. Bonta’s bill for a California Green New Deal,” said David Weiskopf, senior policy advisor for NextGen California. “This bill recognizes that now is the moment to redouble our commitment to a rapid and equitable transformation away from an economy built on extracting value from people and the environment to a regenerative approach that reinvests in long-term prosperity.” This is just what Westerling is arguing for. “We don’t have to accept the status quo of countless hours wasted in gridlocked commutes to overpriced housing far from our workplaces that
This bill marks a timely opportunity for Californians to come together to re-envision a positive future for all of us. “We’re feeling really good about what Assembly member Bonta is trying to do,” Silk said. “Our conversations with him so far have made us feel real confident that he’s aware of the latest and best science and about how urgent action is.… But the devil is obviously in the details when it comes down to the policy.” “I am not naïve as to the pressures on elected officials and I really do applaud Bonta for working so hard on this and most of the language included is very good,” Lear said. But the existing time framework needs to shift dramatically. “The goals that are set are way too far away,” she said. “Our planet is already in a climate catastrophe and we are already experiencing climate change impacts. We do not have until 2045 to reach carbon neutrality.” The time is ripe for bold action, Westerling pointed out. “Federal tax rates are now at historic lows compared to the last century,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for the state to increase its revenue base without a significant economic downside and take control of its own destiny, setting its own agenda for large scale public investments to address climate, environmental and economic justice goals while laying foundations for prosperity and security for generations to come.”