RLn 12-5-19

For corporate media, it’s ‘Anybody but Sanders or Warren’ p. 6 Forget Trump— Impeach the party that enables his lawlessness p. 8 Peedrow Boogie Woogie: Where sculpture meets jazz p. 9

An Ocean’s Worth of Genetic Diversity in a Cup Scientists collect specimens from coastal waters for DNA registration technology

By Hunter Chase, Reporter

T

December 5 - 18, 2019

On Nov. 21, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners approved several amendments to contracts associated with the San Pedro Public Market, a planned commercial waterfront development expected to begin construction in 2020.

Two years after granting the Los Angeles Waterfront Alliance a 50-year lease on the former Ports O’ Call Village, the commission further lengthened the lease to 66 years. The first phase is expected to be completed in September 2021.

The commission also finalized several other agreements with the San Pedro Public Market’s developers, including approval of a supporting resolution that gave Osprey Investors, LLC a maximum of 80 percent ownership interest in the Public Market’s lease terms and officially expanded the Waterfront Alliance from two members to three. When Osprey put $30 million in equity financing into the $150 million project earlier this year, the two original developers — The Ratkovich Co. and Jerico Development — made room at the drafting table where the San Pedro Public Market is going to be born.

For many projects, increasingly favorable conditions like those the Harbor commissioners keep creating for the Public Market might heat up momentum, perhaps generate some action, at least a little news. But the developers have remained mum on potential anchor tenants aside from the two — San Pedro Fish Market and Harbor Breezes at the Public Market — announced at the outset.

Likewise, there’s no indication on whether there will be some real investment in transportation infrastructure that won’t keep San Pedrans trapped in a cul de sac once this gentrifying-machine on the waterfront is complete.

When the commissioners shared their microphones during the public comment period, Ratkovich Co. founder Wayne Ratkovich spoke on the importance of extending the lease terms from 50 to 66 years. He explained an extension would stimulate continued investment in the San Pedro Public Market, thus preventing it from suffering a similar fate as Ports O’ Call Village.

Maybe so, but Ratkovich’s words might have

[ See Genetic Diversity, p. 5]

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

Research biologist for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Dean Pentcheff, worked alongside a team of taxonomists studying genetic diversity of species in the coastal waters around the Los Angeles Harbor.

Photo by Terelle Jerricks

hose who regularly attend the meetings of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood know Dean Pentcheff as the man who represents waterfront residents in San Pedro. But Pentcheff, the council’s vice president, is also is very familiar with non-human creatures that live in the water or near it; he’s a research biologist for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

This past Aug. 19 to Sept. 2, Pentcheff was among a team of taxonomists who studied the genetic diversity of species in the coastal waters around the Palos Verdes Peninsula as well as the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. The intensive research project, which was run by the Diversity Initiative for the Southern California Ocean (DISCO), contributed to a database for a new technology called DNA barcoding, which allows the scientists to take a cup of seawater and analyze all DNA sequences inside. If any of the sequences correspond with DNA sequences of animals in a database, they will have a list of species present at the time the sample was taken.

“That’s an incredibly potent, quick and cheap way of serving the biodiversity of our coast, something that is increasingly important as our climate is changing,” Pentcheff said.

To give an idea of what the project was like, Pentcheff climbed down a ramp to a small dock adjacent to the AltaSea warehouses in the harbor and pulled up a rope that was submerged in the water.

Changes to San Pedro Public Market Lease Approved

[See Waterfront Changes, p. 4]

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Harbor Area

Homeless Count Volunteer Sign Up

Every year thousands of volunteers hit the streets to count homeless people throughout Los Angeles County. The results of the annual count provide a critical picture of the trends, progress, and scope of community members experiencing homelessness within the Los Angeles continuum of care and inform policy directed at ending the homelessness crisis.

This year San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City and Harbor Gateway will be counted on Jan. 22.

Watts and portions of Harbor Gateway will be counted on Jan. 23.

Details: www.tinyurl.com/homelesscountsignups

San Pedro Democratic Club Holiday Party and Officer Elections

The public is welcome to join in celebrating the accomplishments of the San Pedro Democratic Club at its annual holiday party and ramp up for the 2020 election cycle.

Time: 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 9 Cost: Members free, non-members $15 Details: www.spdemocrats.org Venue: Kalaveras Cantina Urbana, 383 W. 5th St., San Pedro

Relief for Renters

The Los Angeles City Council approved the Emergency Renters Relief Program to assist renters facing exorbitant rent increases to prevent displacement of renters and families by providing a temporary subsidy to prevent evictions for nonpayment of rent through Dec. 31, 2019. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, the Tenant Protections Act of 2019 will protect renters from excessive rent increases.

The Emergency Renters Relief program is intended to prevent tenant displacement until the new law becomes effective.

Details: www.hcidla.lacity.org/emergency-rentersrelief-program

LA Animal Services Announces Short Term Foster Program

December 5 - 18, 2019

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

LA Animal Services announces the launch of the Short Term Foster Program, which will allow the public to foster companion animals for a few hours via a Furry Field Trip, or up to a few weeks, providing dogs and cats with additional socialization and a better chance for adoption. “Short term fostering not only helps our adoptable animals available at our six LA Animal Services Centers, it also helps provide some much needed space for our centers,” said LA Animal Services General Manager Brenda Barnette.

Details: www.laanimalservices.com/ volunteer/foster-program.

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San Pedro High School Parent Community Meeting

In December 2015, the Board of Education approved the $178 million San Pedro High School Comprehensive Modernization Project. There will be discussion on project components, updated design, project timeline, tree removals and replacements, community participation, questions and comments.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2020 and consists of a new administration, food service and classroom buildings; new band and woodshop buildings, a new central plant, upgrades to science building, four new tennis courts, seismic retrofit of historic main administration building, classroom and home economics buildings, new campus drop off, new main entrance on Leland Street, classroom interior improvements, seismic retrofit of the old main gym, upgrade of site infrastructure and removal of portable classrooms. The project will also include upgrades to landscape, hardscape and parking and incorporate Adults with Disabilities Act improvements.

Time: 6 p.m. Dec. 3 Cost: Free Details: 213-241-1340; teresa.akins@lausd. net Venue: San Pedro High School Cafeteria, 1001 W. 15th St., San Pedro

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

Christensen Science Center Holds Open House

By Hunter Chase, Reporter The Vic and Bonnie Christensen Science Center, a longtime destination for field trips by Harbor Area students, held a soft reopening and open house on Nov. 21, which revealed a major change in its focus — from animals to plants.

Rather than chickens, goats, a pig and a Shetland pony named Peaches, the emphasis is on fruits and vegetables.

At the open house there were five plots near the front of the science center, each holding crops planted by various classes of fifth graders who had visited this past summer. Each student chose what to plant, so the plots contain a mix of vegetables, from cabbage to carrots. The students originally placed them in cups; staff later transferred them to the plots.

The science center also features banana, apple, nectarine and pomegranate trees. There are plots for potatoes, yams, tomatoes, different types of mint and more.

The animals have gone on to rescue homes— all except the pig, which died.

However, when the fifth graders visited in July, the Critter Squad was there with urban animals, including rats and a pigeon.

The site for the center was previously considered for a new middle school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, said Lou Mardesich, community of schools administrator for LAUSD Local District South. Plans for this were cancelled due to declining enrollment in LAUSD, Mardesich said.

Mardesich has an office at the Christensen Science Center, but doesn’t spend much time there, as he supervises the LAUSD schools in San Pedro, and is often on their campuses.

He wants the center to eventually house a hub for school police and nurses. They will reside in one of two buildings on the property. The one that contains Mardesich’s office is also used to train LAUSD teachers and principals, Mardesich said.

Both buildings have been renovated, but one is not being used by the staff as it still has a mold problem, said Terry Ball, director of Local District South.

The center never officially shut down, but stopped being used as frequently for tours about six years ago, Maredesich said. It was still used to store LAUSD equipment. It reopened in July on a small scale, when the fifth graders visited.

The staff receives help from the Willenberg Career and Transition Center, as volunteers come by twice a week to help with gardening,

Laurence Daniel, the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics technician at the Christensen Science Center, stands in front of plots of vegetables planted by fifth-graders. Photo by Hunter Chase

Ball said. Even a month before the open house the vegetation was overgrown, and several dumpsters full of vegetation had to be removed.

Victor Christenson, the son of Vic and Bonnie Christenson, whom the center is named after, is a part-time employee of LAUSD and has volunteered for the center in the past. He intends to continue doing so, but he has been unable to

lately since he does not have keys. He has been attending Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council meetings to keep the public informed of new developments.

While they have made a lot of progress, Daniel said there is always room for growth, and he wants to see the center live up to its full potential.

will be Played, SONGS will be Sung, DANCE will be Danced, JAZZ will be Sipped … THE GOOD TIMES WILL OLL! R Wine Young and Old alike Groove at Janny’s Showroom

Photo: Sabir Majeed

Community Announcements:

Find gifts for everyone on your list close to home this Holiday Season!

MARVIN GAYE THE BEATLES ROLLING STONES BOB DYLAN SADE SANTANA

BOB MARLEY EASTSIDE STORIES SUBLIME AMY WINEHOUSE MILES DAVIS SINATRA

CAROL KING Tapestry WU-TANG Enter the 36 Chambers MISFITS Static Age PINK FLOYD Dark Side of the Moon

pen

Now O

Open 11 to 5 Tues-Sun.

447 W. 6th St., San Pedro 424-264-5335

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

December 5 - 18, 2019

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[Waterfront Changes from p. 1]

Waterfront Changes

December 5 - 18, 2019

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

been more convincing if they’d had to compete with, say, the racket of a construction site? Ports O’ Call Village came down in 2013. The Ports O’Call restaurant was demolished in 2018.

Nothing has been put in its place since. The stillness on the waterfront makes it impossible not to hear the community grumble about the lack of progress on the San Pedro Public Market.

But during Mike Galvin’s turn at the podium, the port’s director of waterfront and commercial real estate characterized the dissatisfaction as the sound of misperception. He contended there has been a great deal of progress, even if invisible to the general public not privy to the day-to-day work that’s occurring.

However, the progress Galvin cited were the preparations to the site that were necessary for the port to hand it off to the developers, which included such things as the demolition of old buildings and soil remediation. Community concerns about

4

remediation, and speculations they were causing delays or work-around planning were mistaken, Galvin acknowledged some delays in the project — eight months of them in total — but expressed An early rendering of the San Pedro Market Place. Courtesy of the optimism going LA Waterfront Alliance town square and restroom facility as part of the forward.

Ultimately, the commission did its part, San Pedro Public Market.

In the summer, a bidding process for the voting unanimously, 6-0, for the changes.

The commission also awarded a $33 million town square took place, but bidding companies contract to Griffith Co. to construct a 1.9-acre, were either disqualified on technicalities or over 30-foot-wide public promenade, with a four-acre budget, which delayed the start of construction until March 2020. Construction was initially set to begin in September 2019.

A 6,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, to be operated by Nederlander Concerts, is also part of the development plans. The completion of the amphitheater is scheduled to coincide with the completion of Phase 1a of the San Pedro Public Market.

The developers will also be responsible for costs associated with the preparation of an environmental assessment to determine any changes in environmental impacts associated with the development of a concert venue at the San Pedro Public Market.

As for the investors partnering with the Los Angeles Waterfront Alliance, Osprey Investors LLC is an asset management company based in Spokane, Wash. It’s a privately held familyoperated company led by patriarch, Daniel Reiner.

LABOR Notes

RNs Picket Centinela Hospital

By Mark Friedman, Reporter

Registered nurses walked a picket line outside Centinela Hospital to highlight concerns about patient safety, unsafe staffing and poor working conditions.

“As nurses, our education and our calling is to protect our patients, but we can’t do that when corners are cut on staffing,” said Siraze Bawa, a RN in the emergency room. “We need to be able to focus on our patients—especially when they are extremely ill or injured. Prime Healthcare should be investing in staffing enough nurses to safely care for our patients and stop putting profits above people.”

Centinela Medical Center nurses on the picket line on Nov. 25, highlight the dangers caused by recent staffing cuts. Photo by Mark Friedman

He explained that management wants to ”contract out nursing positions. Six people quit in the past week in a single unit. Recent college graduates are training the same, so there are few experienced nurses on staff. Management has done nothing to keep seasoned nurses.”Along with staffing, nurses say other major patient safety issues that inspired the picket are: • Nurses are required to cover colleagues’ patients, due to lack of break and resource nurses, putting nurses at twice the number of patients they should be caring for according to California’s safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratio law.

• An increased number of patients are falling or experiencing life-threatening delays in care due to ongoing short staffing and lack of resources.

Nurses say unsafe working conditions at the hospital are part of a larger trend of corporate greed on the part of Prime Healthcare, the parent company of Centinela Hospital. Prime Healthcare and Prime CEO Prem Reddy were recently forced to enter into settlements of $65 million with the U.S. Department of Justice over knowingly submitting false claims to Medicare.

“The issue is the turnover rate, about 50 percent each year. We are short staffed and there is a lack of training. This makes dangerous conditions for patients,” Denora Williams said, The hospital has been unable to retain experienced registered nurses, due to poor working conditions and sub-par wages not competitive with area hospitals.

“There’s a saying, ‘If nurses are outside, something is wrong inside,’” said Bawa.

“We’re holding this informational picket to inform the community about unsafe staffing and overall poor working conditions at Centinela. We’re asking them to stand with us in demanding change because that’s what our patients deserve.”

The California Nurses Association has 100,000 members statewide and is affiliated with National Nurses United.

[Genetic from p. 1]

Genetic Diversity in a Cup On the rope were a variety of species, including mussels, sea squirts, sponges, marine worms and worm tubes. People who worked on the project took plenty of specimens from ropes lowered into the water such as these.

Mussels tend to settle gregariously, said Pentcheff, as an explanation for why they were tightly packed together. Pentcheff took a small invertebrate that resembled a mollusk and held it in his hand. Pentcheff was not able to identify the species just by looking at it, but remarked that it looked angry as it repeatedly opened and closed its mouth.

Pentcheff said that while an average person could take home of one the creatures found on

big part of the reason it was granted.

Pentcheff presented some of the project’s findings at the Sept. 16 meeting of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council. Twentyseven taxonomists from all over the country participated, as well as some from Canada.

The main purpose of the project was to build a database of DNA sequences for the marine invertebrates of Southern California.

There are about 3,000-5,000 species of marine invertebrates in this area, Pentcheff said.

The project is contributing to the BarCode of Life Database, an international database of DNA sequences from different species. It has millions of reference sequences, but poor representation

Coming Up: Jan. 9 and 23, 2020

RLn’s Health & Fitness space today: Guide Reserve Sales1@RandomLengthsNews.com

USC undergraduate Ania Webb working with Natural History Museum research staff to take genetic samples from some of the thousands of marine specimens collected. Photo by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

the rope, it would be illegal for him to take it for scientific study. The only reason DISCO was allowed to collect samples was because they had a permit from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that lasted for two weeks. It is unusual for the department to grant a permit allowing the collection of so many species, but the educational nature of the project, and the fact that all data will be made publicly available, is a

of marine invertebrates, Pentcheff said. Their work will dramatically increase the coverage in said database for the Southern California area.

“The activities and things we did during it are what we do normally in the DISCO program,” Pentcheff said. “We are engaged in trying to move the science of environmental DNA forward.” Pentcheff said that by these [See Diversity, p. 11] Real News, Real People, Really Effective

December 5 - 18, 2019

5

Ghosts of Vietnam and Memphis

By James Preston Allen, Publisher

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

The era that we have come to know as the ‘60s actually started much earlier — 1955 to be exact. It began with simple act of defiance by a woman of color refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks would eventually become a national symbol for the civil rights movement and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. would become a Nobel Prize recipient before he was assassinated and martyred just as he began to speak out against the war in Vietnam and fight for economic justice for the working class.

In November 1963, I was just a month shy of turning 13 when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. It was a devastating shock to this nation. I’m not sure we have ever quite recovered from nor come to a full understanding of its significance. Yet, from that time through all of the riots, demonstrations and subsequent murders of political leaders that followed, it formed a national consciousness that remains to this day. It even influences those who were not yet born then. The end of the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal and the impeachment of a sitting president — Richard M. Nixon — punctuated this era of the 1960s. The echos of that impeachment is what’s resonating in the current congressional proceedings.

Recently, I was invited to lecture to a class at Los Angeles Harbor College to a class of students recently. Most of the students weren’t even born in the past century. I was asked to frame the history of the ‘60s in something other than a textbook version, something more personal. It could have been a lecture on the influence of rock ‘n’ roll, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who, but this was a history class.

So I started telling them about high school in 1964 ... about how some of my friends and I started the first “off campus” newspaper, which had to be published anonymously because it was not sanctioned by the school administration. In those days, student free speech was not protected and we all would have been expelled from school if we had been caught.

I recounted how one clever teacher, Mr. Wooten, figured out the identity of the main culprit behind the unsanctioned newspaper and convinced the school counselor to put me in his honors social studies class. It was

an honor my grades at that time didn’t support.

I was the kind of student he wanted in his class who would ask questions that others would not.

Looking back, much of what I read and discussed in that one class has informed me ever since.

It was during this same time that my father paid for me to take a trip to the United Nations in New York and Washington D.C., ostensibly to see how government worked. At the U.N. we saw the famous painting of Guernica by Pablo Picasso and the huge room of the general assembly. And then, it was off to the nation’s capital.

We arrived on April 3, 1968 and our chaperones had planned for us mostly white suburban kids to have an “interracial” dance party with some of the inner city kids from the District of Columbia. Just as the music started to kick up, the party was stopped by the news of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination that day in Memphis, Tenn. The women began to cry, the men shook their heads and the teenagers all stopped and held their breath. It’s the saddest dance party that I’ve ever attended.

The outrage in the neighborhoods surrounding the National Mall exploded that evening and our adult handlers evacuated us back to our hotel rooms with orders “not to leave.” By nightfall, the grief and the outrage escalated into riots and fires. The National Guard was called in to occupy the Mall and protect the national monuments. I didn’t sleep much that night. By the next morning, we were still under orders not to go outside, but in my usual sense of curiosity I snuck out, anyway, onto the National Mall. There, to my amazement, were rows of concertina wire and machine guns guarding the Supreme Court and the steps to the U.S. Congress. The smell of tear gas and smoke lingered in the air. There was a pregnant silence like a battlefield after the shooting stops and I thought to myself, “If my father wanted me to see how government actually worked, he really got his money’s worth!” This was history in the making and I took pictures with my square Kodak camera and never forgot this.

Back in Los Angeles, on June 4 of the same year, on the night of the California Democratic primary Robert Kennedy, the leading contender for nomination to run against Richard Nixon, was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel. Again the nation was in mourning and the question of

December 5 - 18, 2019

Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com

6

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. XL : No. 25

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.

Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg paul.rosenberg@ randomlengthsnews.com

where this nation would have gone if he, his brother, John, and Dr. King had lived still haunts us like a giant question mark.

My question to these mostly young people the other day (if not to ourselves generally) is whether our history is just circling back on us with issues unresolved from before? Racism and seemingly endless foreign wars and now a corrupt president who, very much like Nixon before him, is willing to flaunt the U.S. Constitution in order

to maintain power.

My answer is that it is up to each generation to protect the liberties enshrined in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For even as technology has changed, human behavior has barely evolved.

The ghosts of our past are very much with us today, even as they place a statue of Rosa Parks near the Montgomery, Ala. bus stop this week, where she was once arrested.

For Corporate Media, It’s ‘Anybody But Sanders or Warren’

By Norman Solomon

Anyone who’s been paying attention should get the picture by now. Overall, in subtle and sledgehammer ways, the mass media of the United States—owned and sponsored by corporate giants—are in the midst of a siege against the two progressive Democratic candidates who have a real chance to be elected president in 2020.

Some of the prevalent media bias has taken the form of protracted swoons for numerous “center lane” opponents of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The recent entry of Michael Bloomberg has further jammed that lane, adding a plutocrat “worth” upwards of $50 billion to a bevy of corporate politicians.

The mainline media are generally quite warm toward so-called “moderates,” without bothering to question what’s so moderate about such positions as bowing to corporate plunder, backing rampant militarism and refusing to seriously confront the climate emergency.

Critical reporting on debate performances

Columnists/Reporters Hunter Chase Reporter Adam R. Thomas Reporter Andrea Serna Arts Writer Melina Paris Staff Reporter Send Calendar Items to: 14days@randomlengthsnews.com Photographers Terelle Jerricks, Steven Guzman, Raphael Richardson, Chris Villanueva Contributors Mark L. Friedman, Greggory Moore, Ari LeVaux, Norman Solomon, Gretchen Williams

and campaign operations has certainly been common. But the core of the “moderate” agenda routinely gets affirmation from elite journalists who told us in no uncertain terms four years ago that Hillary Clinton was obviously the nominee who could defeat Donald Trump.

This year, Sanders has taken most of the flak from reporters and pundits (often virtually indistinguishable), serving as a kind of “heat shield” for Warren. But as Warren gained ground in polling this fall, the attacks on her escalated —to the point that she now has a corporate media bullseye on her political back.

The disconnect between voters and corporate media is often huge. Meanwhile, with fly-on-thewall pretenses, media outlets that have powerfully distorted proposals like Medicare for All are now reporting (with thinly veiled satisfaction) that voters are cool to those proposals.

The Washington Post, owned by the world’s richest person Jeff Bezos, has routinely spun

Cartoonists Andy Singer, Jan Sorensen, Matt Wuerker Design/Production Suzanne Matsumiya, Brenda Lopez Account Representative Benjamin Garcia Editorial Intern Joshua Samuel Display advertising (310) 519-1442 Classifieds (310) 519-1016 Fax: (310) 832-1000 www.randomlengthsnews.com 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731

[See Corporate, 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.

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Annual subscription is $36 for 27 issues.

Back issues are available for $3/copy while supplies last.

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All contents Copyright 2019 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.

RANDOMLetters Here’s a Story Idea: How a Church Snuck a Cell Tower Under Our Nose

I have a story idea about an important public safety issue impacting the health and wellbeing of children and adults — not only here in San Pedro, but across Los Angeles.

There is a cell site located in the bell tower of First Presbyterian Church at 8th Street and Averill Avenue. The church is home to Kids Kingdom, a newly-opened preschool enrolling about 30 students between the ages six months to six years old. The playground and classrooms are less than 40 feet from the cell site, which is partially hidden from public view in the bell tower.

There are broad concerns about the safety of cell sites and the emission of radiation, especially for residents who live and work near communications equipment. I am concerned about the health and wellbeing of my little boy, who is a student at the school, along with his classmates and teachers. Independent research has shown that prolonged exposure to cell site radiation can damage DNA inside cells, disrupt cognitive development and cause cancer.

I have included links to letters from a Harvard physician and the American Academy of Pediatrics

outlining a few of the health concerns.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has banned cell sites from being located at and near their schools. Private schools, however, are another matter. It’s common for churches to house private preschools and kindergartens. And as you can imagine, housing a cell site is big money for these churches. Cell phone companies pay tens of thousand of dollars each month for the facilities to house their communications equipment.

Parents were never notified about the cell site at First Presbyterian. The cell site, which is owned by AT&T, is not listed on any public database.

I believe the church and school have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to notify parents about the cell site and potential health hazards, so that they can make informed decisions. Despite my repeated requests, they have not yet notified parents.

I’ve asked Councilman Buscaino to introduce policy requiring all new cell sites be constructed at least 1,000 feet from schools, playgrounds and parks in Los Angeles, and that all impacted residents and parents be notified of existing cell sites that exist within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and parks.

A copy of the letter to the

[Corporate from p. 6]

councilman’s office is attached.

His office has not responded to my letter.

I am happy to talk more about this important issue, and go on record stating my concerns.

Thank you for your work and coverage of our city!

Doug Morino San Pedro Hey Doug, We appreciate the tip, but your neighbors, or at least the neighbors who lived in the vicinity of First Presbyterian in 2010 and 2011, fought this battle and ultimately lost. The arguments then mirror the ones you made above. The placement of the cell towers were intended to remedy the number of dropped calls, particularly amongst emergency personnel. There were a number of community meetings at which AT&T representatives explain the impacts of the towers.

AT&T argued at the time that the radio frequencies emitted were far below the legal limit and that there’s no evidence of harm due to long-term exposure. Many of the activists who protested the cell towers said they would pick-up their stakes and leave if the towers remain.

Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

from 1966-1971. Schultz was constantly encountering evidence that the inmates of the stalag prison camp were planning mayhem, as he frequently uses ignorance with the catch phrase, “I see nothing”, “I hear nothing,” and “I know nothing!”

Donald Trump does the same thing as he distances himself with anyone that breaks the law and says that he doesn’t know the person.

John Winkler

San Pedro

The five-year contract with FCI Terminal Island will begin on Dec. 1, 2019 and will continue through 2024. An all-male prison, FCI Terminal Island houses 1,129 total inmates and is one of thirteen federal prisons in the state of California. The new contract is the third facility awarded to Seven Corners in California this year.

In addition to the FCI Terminal Island win, Seven Corners has also renewed their contract with FCI Estill in South Carolina, an

all-male federal prison that holds 1,234 inmates. The renewed contract will begin Dec. 1, 2019 and continue through 2024. FCI Estill is one of four federal prisons South Carolina.

FCI Estill is the company’s 21st contract to provide comprehensive health care services for more than 29,000 inmates in the federal prison system.

Natalie Webber San Pedro

Seven Corners

I thought your readers would be interested in sharing the news that the Federal Bureau of Prisons recently selected Seven Corners as the medical services contactor for the inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Terminal Island, in addition to renewing their contract with FCI Estill in South Carolina.

Donald’s Heroes

Sergeant Schultz played a Master Sergeant in Hogan’s Heroes T.V. series, as it ran

Community Alert

Corporate Media

December 5 - 18, 2019

[See Media, p. 15]

SACRAMENTO — The Division of Boating and Waterways is accepting grant applications for shoreline erosion control and public beach restoration projects. The deadline to submit applications for funding in fiscal year 2021/22 is Dec. 16, 2019.

Shoreline erosion control and public beach restoration grants assist federal, state, regional and local government agencies by providing funding for projects that stop or reverse the impact of erosion on California’s shoreline.

Generally, agencies use shoreline erosion control grants to build structures that protect developed shoreline areas against wave erosion.

Public beach restoration grants are used to strategically place sand on eroded beaches.

The amount of available funding is not known at this time, but in fiscal year 2019/20 the program provided $750,000 for a shoreline erosion control project in Pacifica, and $231,000 for a public beach restoration project in San Clemente.

Details: 916-327-1787. http:// dbw.parks.ca.gov/ErosionRestorationGrants.

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

Medicare for All as some sort of government takeover. In a prominent Nov. 30 news story that largely attributed Warren’s recent dip in polls to her positioning on healthcare, the Post matter-of-factly—and falsely—referred to Medicare for All as “government-run healthcare” and “a government-run health plan.”

Such pervasive mass-media reporting smoothed the way for deceptions that have elevated Pete Buttigieg in polls during recent weeks with his deceptive “Medicare for all who want it” slogan.

That rhetoric springboards from the false premises that Medicare for All would deprive people of meaningful choice and would somehow reduce coverage.

In late September, with scant media scrutiny, Buttigieg launched an ad campaign against Medicare for All. Using insurance-industry talking points, he is deliberately confusing the current “choice” of predatory for-profit insurance plans with the genuine full choice of healthcare providers that top-quality Medicare for everyone would offer.

Mainstream media outlets are ill-positioned to refute such distortions since they’re routinely purveying such distortions themselves. Warren’s backtracking step on Medicare for All in mid-November was a tribute to media pressure in tandem with attacks from centrist opponents.

The idea of implementing some form of a substantial “wealth tax” has also been denigrated by many corporate-employed journalists. Countless pundits and political beat reporters have warned that proposals like a wealth tax, from Warren and Sanders, risk dragging Democrats down with voters. The truth is that such proposals are unpopular with the punditocracy and the extremely wealthy -- while it’s a very different matter for most voters, who strongly favor a wealth tax.

On the same day this fall, the New York Times and the Washington Post published stories on Democratic elites’ “anxiety” about the presidential election. The Post wrote that Democrats “fret” Warren and Sanders “are too liberal to win a general election.” (With disdain, the article made a matter-of-fact reference to “the push for liberal purity.”) The Times similarly wrote of

Shoreline Erosion Control and Public Beach Restoration Grants

7

Forget Trump —

Impeach the Party that Enables Him

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

Donald Trump almost certainly won’t be impeached and removed from office, despite overwhelming evidence he’s guilty of bribery. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be held accountable — along with the increasingly cult-like party that’s protecting him. That’s how activists like Peter Warren, a founding member of Indivisible San Pedro, see things.

The slim chances of ousting Trump from office were underscored recently at the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog: Of 223 presidents elected in 53 democracies between 1946 and 2007, 31 faced formal impeachment proceedings; 11 of those presidents were removed. …. Of those 223 elected presidents, only one was removed with the support of a majority of the president’s own party.

It wouldn’t quite take a majority of GOP senators to remove Trump from office, but it would be close. So the odds of it happening are virtually nil, regardless of what Trump has done.

“Law and Order” vs. “The X-Files”

December 5 - 18, 2019

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Meanwhile, back in reality, evidence against Trump is overwhelming. More than two months after the inquiry started, there are no good facts on Trump’s side, as one cover story, excuse, or distraction after another gets demolished by new information. Jennifer Mercieca, author of the forthcoming book, Demagogue for President: The

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Top right, Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland’s testimony surprised Rep. Devin Nunez (R-CA, 22nd District) who opened the Nov. 20 impeachment hearing with a statement that gaslighted a long list of allegations against President Donald Trump and his administration that have been proven to be factual or substantiated by additional evidence. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, right, until recently was a begrudging Trump defender.

Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump, described the proceedings as a battle between Democrats “relying on a law-and-order frame that tells Americans that the impeachment inquiry is legitimate and legally justified,” and Republicans “relying on a conspiracy frame that tells Americans that the impeachment inquiry is illegitimate and part of a plot to destroy America.”

Ukraine’s President Zelensky. While Trump “talks in code,” as his long-time lawyer Michael Cohen put it, the code wasn’t that hard to break, even if some took awhile to catch on. Calls to investigate “Burisma,” the energy company on whose board Joe Biden’s son served, was code for investigating “Biden”—the father as well as the son. Likewise, although Trump never explicitly called for a quid pro quo, his meaning was clear. “It was abundantly clear to everyone that there was a link” between military aid and investigations, Sondland said.

The GOP reacted in confusion to getting what they had claimed to have wanted the week before. Confronted with eyewitness testimony they had no coherent response, other than to baselessly accuse witnesses of lying under oath and simply repeat previous complaints, as Republican ranking member Devin Nunes did.

“The witnesses deemed suitable for television by the Democrats were put through a closed-door audition process in a cult-like atmosphere in the basement of the Capitol, where the Democrats conducted secret depositions, released a flood of misleading and one-sided leaks, and later selectively released transcripts in a highly staged manner,” Nunes fumed, spinning out a “nefarious intentions” narrative.

GOP embraces a fictional Russian narrative

While Mercieca focused on the rhetoric, we can see both parties operating consistently within those two frames: Democrats have proceeded with a step-by-step investigation and presentation of evidence, while Republicans have spun a series of conspiratorial speculations and accusations undeterred by whether they bear any relationship to established facts.

At times, they’ve completely given up asking witnesses any questions, and they’ve repeatedly railed at Democrats for not bringing in witnesses to pursue their conspiracy theories, in order to distract from what Trump did. They want to hear from the whistleblower, whose initial concerns have been repeatedly confirmed by the witnesses who have appeared. They don’t want to hear from Donald Trump or the parade of people close to him whom he’s forbidden to honor subpoenas.

But they do want to complain about the relative lack of eyewitness testimony. Their interest in what actually happened is virtually nil.

The evidence mounts

The first week of open hearings (reported in RLn on Nov. 21) was met by a new dominant complaint: there were no first-hand eyewitnesses; it was all hearsay, the Republicans claimed. But the second week brought a number of first-hand witnesses to testify, leaving Republicans dazed and confused.

The witnesses included Trump’s hand-picked ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, who had initially parroted Trump’s claim that there was “no quid pro quo.” But, by the time Sondland testified publicly, he’d become so hemmed in by the testimony of other witnesses, that he recanted. “Was there a ‘quid pro quo?’”

Sondland asked himself in his opening remarks.

“The answer is yes. We followed the president’s orders.”

“Everyone was in the loop,” Sondland said.

“It was no secret.”

The ambassador went on to admit he had directly communicated the “quid pro quo” to

But if Democrats had created such a false and misleading picture, Republicans should have had a field day exposing them, with the witnesses right in front of them. Instead, clinging to conspiracism blew up in their faces. While Nunes and other Republicans continued to echo accusations of Ukranian skullduggery, former Trump appointee Fiona Hill, a national security expert on Europe and Russia, blasted them for promoting a “fictional narrative,” aiding Russia in its attack on America.

“Even as they were accusing Republicans of colluding with Russians, the Democrats themselves were colluding with Russians by funding the Steele dossier, which was based on Russian and Ukrainian sources,” Nunes said in his opening remarks. “Meanwhile, they turn a blind eye to Ukrainians meddling in our elections because the Democrats were cooperating with that operation.”

But Hill would have none of it.

“Based on questions and statements I’ve heard, some of you on this committee appear to believe that Russia and its security services did not conduct a campaign against our country — and that perhaps, somehow, for some reason, Ukraine did,” Hill said. “This is a fictional narrative that has been perpetrated and propagated by the Russian security services themselves.”

Indeed, Russia has been engaged in widelydocumented hybrid warfare—combining military, paramilitary, espionage, cyber- and info-warfare—against virtually all European democracies, as well as America, in an effort to discredit liberal democracy as a political system, and empower its own criminal oligarchy, which is tightly tied to Vladimir Putin. Creating the conditions in which people lose faith in facts is a key part of this strategy — a strategy that Trump himself has long embraced—that’s now being echoed by others throughout the Republican Party. In fact, it’s become the central strategy in fighting against Trump’s impeachment.

The constitutional purpose of impeachment is, in part, to prevent just such a turn away from democratic accountability and toward authoritarian rule. Those are the stakes at the center of the impeachment fight—not the removal [See Enablers, p. 13]

R O W D E E I E P G BOO O GIE WO

T

hey’re organic, spherical and cylindrical, some life-sized—Ann Weber’s sculptures strike instantly familiar to the eye.

Feminine and masculine shapes pose — vibrant, upright and playful — jazzy like the name suggests. They are on view at Los Angeles Harbor College, Fine Arts Gallery until Dec. 19.

Weber’s environment is the inspiration for her abstract forms, made of discarded cardboard she forages and cuts into stapled together strips. Ron Linden, curator of LAHC Fine Arts Gallery, noted they are not unlike Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, who fell in

By Melina Paris, Arts and Culture Reporter love with American jazz, particularly boogie woogie.

The improvisational style and syncopated beats were close to his what Mondrian called in his own work, the “deconstruction of natural appearance; and construction through continuous opposition of pure means—dynamic rhythm.” Mondrian’s painting, Broadway Boogie Woogie is the inspiration for this exhibition.

Many of Weber’s pieces are metaphors for the balancing acts of life and her do-it-yourself that past has served her well.

In fact, Weber had a eureka moment, allowing her to make the best use of her tools. After experimenting with plaster and different materials for sculpting, she thought why not use the cardboard that the materials came in. So she bought a $20 staple gun and started to build forms, weaving and coiling card paper strips together, rounding their edges to make spherical forms out of a flat plane. Starting with spheres and cylinders she expanded to drawing a shape, then another and “slotted” them together. Peedrow Boogie Woogie sculptures emerge boldly in black and white or pop with a solo color. In others, earth tones saturate harmonious forms in bronze, gold, orange and green.

THE ART OF ANN WEBER AT LA HARBOR COLLEGE FINE ARTS GALLERY

December 5 - 18, 2019

[See Boogie Woogie, p. 11]

Top, artist Ann Weber with works in progress. Above, installation view of Peedrow Boogie Woogie at LAHC Fine Arts Gallery. Photos by Ray Carofano

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In her Nov. 13 talk at the gallery, Weber discussed her process and her life as an artist over the past 30 years. She began as a potter.

After graduating from Purdue University, Weber got married and she and her husband drove around the country together, ending up in Ithaca, New York, where they became DIY artists. They established a pottery studio with a showroom and amenities.

They also made their own kiln from directions in a book using the bricks from an old nearby school. Eventually she began her own pottery business in Greenwich Village.

Four years later and no longer married, Weber was encouraged to come west where she was told artists pushed the boundaries of ceramic art. She attended California College of the Arts, where a teacher told her to look at the work of Kandinsky, a pioneer in non-figurative painting. Her work shifted from functional to abstract. She found herself drawn to spheres and cylinders, describing them as “the most basic forms with the most power. The male and female forms from nature, from which all things come.”

It’s been a balancing act for her, revealed in many of her pieces, particularly the playful, life-sized Peedrow Boogie Woogie. Bright, primary colors circle and weave through a canvas of milk-white on the feminine squarish form. Its rounded

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W

e love to say we hate waste: we hate to waste time; we hate to waste energy; we really hate to waste money. Yet, produce that is less than perfect often won’t even make it to grocery store shelves.

The Natural Resources Defense Council found that 40 percent of this nation’s produce — the equivalent of $165 billion — is filling the depths of America’s landfills, even as 11.1 percent of U.S. households experience food insecurity at some time during the year.

The NRDC also noted that here in the Golden State, food insecurity is below the national average, but Californians still throw out 5.6 million tons of food every year. This accounts for 18 percent of the state’s waste.

Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland offered an even clearer vision of food waste in America when he noted that Americans waste enough food to fill Pasadena’s Rose Bowl every day, 365 days per year.

A recent report by consulting firm McKinsey ranks reducing food waste as one of the top three opportunities to improve resource productivity. Key prospects for change agents include: The U.S. government should conduct a

Wasting Food:

There’s No Excuse Anymore

By Joshua Samuel, Editorial Intern

December 5 - 18, 2019

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

Infographic from the NRDC report, Wasted: How America is Wasting 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill. The report examines the ways to waste less food and resources in every aspect of food consumption from households, commercial kitchens and supermarkets.

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comprehensive study for food losses in our food system and establish national goals for food waste reduction. One key action will be to standardize and clarify the meaning of date labels on food so that consumers stop throwing out items due to misinterpretation.

A waste reduction organization in the United Kingdom has estimated this type of clarification could prevent about 20 percent

of wasted food in households. State and local governments should lead by setting targets and implementing food waste prevention campaigns in their jurisdictions as well as their own operations.

One key opportunity for this is education alongside municipal composting programs.

Businesses should start by understanding the extent and opportunity of their own waste

streams and adopting best practices. For example, Stop and Shop was able to save an estimated $100 million annually after an analysis of freshness, shrink, and customer satisfaction in their perishables department. Americans can help reduce waste by learning when food goes bad, buying imperfect produce, and storing and cooking food with an eye to

reducing waste.

Food Finders, a Long Beach-based organization is working to solve the problem of food waste and food insecurity. Food Finders finds and donates perishable food to more than 400 nonprofit pantries and shelters throughout Southern California in order to reduce hunger and food waste. Some of the agencies Food Finders connects with are: Beacon For Him, I

Own It Today and St. Peter and Paul’s Poverty program.

During the past three decades, Food Finders has created a strong relationship with more than 700 food-related businesses to pick up food leftovers and provide the food. This year, they are on pace to distribute 12 million pounds of food.

“We have three paid truck drivers that use our refrigerated vehicles to rescue 10 to 12 pallets of products at a time, and we also have 250 weekly food routes that are operated by 150 community volunteers using their personal vehicles to rescue one to two shopping carts full of food,” said Lisa Hoffmaster, the organization’s fund development director. “All of that food is then immediately delivered to an agency for either a prepared meal service or a food pantry distribution on the same day.”

As of January 2018, California had an estimated 129,972 people experiencing homelessness on any given day, as reported by Continuums of Care to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Of that total, 6,702 were family households, 10,836 were veterans, 12,396 were unaccompanied young adults (18-24), and 34,332 were individuals experiencing chronic homelessness.

In addition to distributing more than 22,000 meals worth of perishable food daily, it puts on Chefs to the Rescue, an event that challenges local chefs to make sample size serving of creative dishes using food overages, and the holiday food drive, which runs from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31. During the drive, the organization places hundreds of collection bins in local businesses, schools, clubs and libraries. People at those locations can donate traditional holiday meal items, such as yams, gravy, stuffing and cranberries. They also collect money to purchase turkeys to distribute along with completed holiday meal boxes.

The first food distribution occurs the week before Thanksgiving. Food Finders host a huge volunteer event where all of the food is sorted and boxed, then the next morning all of the holiday meal boxes and frozen turkeys are delivered to different agencies for distribution to the food insecure people that they serve. This process is continued until the end of the year.

“On average, Food Finders collects more than 100,000 pounds of food and purchase some 1,600 turkeys to serve individuals, families and seniors during the holidays,” Hoffmaster said.

“This food drive is a success because of all the assistance we receive from the community.”

[Boogie Woogie from p. 9]

Boogie Woogie

edges and cutouts serve as catalysts for hands to grasp it and play with its prominent crowning orb. This piece is informed by Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie Woogie. Weber, on her Instagram page, said after Linden called her pieces jazzy, “…rushed back to the studio to take another look at Mondrian and — presto!— out comes this sculpture.”

Finding inspiration from graffiti in Los Angeles, Weber said it looks different here from other cities with its gothic script and the “pointy loopy” graphics. She has translated these impressions in energetic colors that exclamate her life force shapes resembling gourds, musical zig zags, human forms and even the galaxy.

[Diversity from p. 5]

Diversity

“If you get out of LA and work part time, you can learn how to support yourself while doing your art,” said Weber, who noted that she never supported herself from her art. She always had other jobs, working at art centers, renting out her extra room, living in places no one wants and getting help to fix things.

Weber has constructed the freedom for herself to create beautiful works on a monumental scale with next to no material cost, in true DIY form.

Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and by appointment, Cost: Free Details: 310-600-4873 www.annwebersculpture.com Venue: Los Angeles Harbor College, Fine Arts Gallery, 1111 Figueroa Place, Wilmington

Support your community this Holiday Season!

between different species.

“If you have the sequence of that one gene for an individual, you can attribute it to a given species, if and only if reference barcodes for that species have been registered somewhere,” Pentcheff said.

Divers would go out on boats, collect specimens, and bring them back on boats, sometimes docking right next to the makeshift AltaSea lab. Sometimes the boats docked at other berths and people working on the project drove to get them. Oftentimes the trucks carrying specimens were driven directly into the warehouse.

Pentcheff said they will not do the exact same project again, as if they did, they would likely collect a lot of the same species and data that they did the first time. They will likely do something similar, but focus on a particular groups or areas that they did not collect a sufficient amount of samples for the first time.

County.

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means, they can sample ocean water for DNA, and inventory and survey all the organisms in a given area.

While they are still sorting through the samples they collected, Pentcheff said they gathered roughly 4,300 specimen lots. They were collected by divers or nets from ships and brought back to a makeshift laboratory built in a warehouse at AltaSea, which allowed DISCO to use its property for free. Taxonomists identified the samples from the catch, photographed them while still alive, then took tissue samples for future analysis. The specimens were then sealed away for storage at the Natural History Museum.

The idea behind using genetic barcodes is to use a gene that is different among different species, but similar or the same within the same species.

“The challenge about a decade ago was to search through all of the sequences for all of the genes that have been derived across the animal kingdom and the plant kingdom and various others to find genes that had that really appropriate level of variability,” Pentcheff said.

“There is one gene that works really quite well for almost all animals, it happens to be the CO1 gene of the mitochondria.”

The CO1 gene has little or no variability On “Explore the Expedition” day, visitors were able to join Natural History within one species, but Museum staff on the floating dock at AltaSea to examine live specimens significant variability being collected. Photo by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

December 5 - 18, 2019

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A MUSIC Dec. 5

First Thursday Dixieland Jazz First Thursday will feature The New Whalers, a five-piece Dixieland jazz band.

Time: 7 p.m. Dec 5 Cost: Free Details: 310-832-0363; www.whaleandale.com Venue: The Whale and Ale, 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Dec. 6

First Fridays at First!

Organist Namhee Han has honed her naturally sensitive and fluid, technically robust music-making while working with renowned coaches.

Time: 12:15 p.m. Dec. 6 Cost: Free Details: 310-316-5574; www.palosverdes.com/ ClassicalCrossroads/FirstFridays. htm Venue: First Lutheran Church & School, 2900 W. Carson St., Torrance

Dec. 7 A Jazz Christmas with Frank Unzueta Join Frank Unzueta and his jazz trio for a night of Christmas favorites featuring music from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Joining Frank will be guest vocalist Terry Steele from a Luther Vandross Christmas Tribute.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 7 Cost: $30 Details: www.alvasshowroom. com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W 8th St., San Pedro

December 5 - 18, 2019

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Bob Malone Known for his high-energy solo concerts, Malone will bring his all-star band to The Grand Annex featuring The Christmas Collection in its entirety, along with the best of his one-of-akind blues-powered piano rock show.

Time: 8 to 11 p.m. Dec. 7 Cost: $27 to $32 Details: https://grandvision. secure.force.com/ Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro

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The Art and Study of Taiko The Los Angeles Taiko Institute present contemporary and traditionally inspired taiko repertoire in their end of year recital. Performances are interspersed with explanations of the roots and context of taiko and commentary on the challenges and joys of learning Japanese drums.

Time: 6 p.m. Dec. 7 and 2 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: $10 to $20 Details: www.TorranceArts. org Venue: James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance

Dec. 8 Lady in the Microfiche EP Release Show Lady in the Microfiche, a triphop, acid jazz collaboration of NatureboyRD and Ellen Warkentine will have their first live performance celebrating the release of their first EP

DEC 5 - 18 • 2019

ARTS CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT

Time: 6 to 10 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: $8 to $10 Details: https://longbeach. harvelles.com/ Venue: Harvelle’s Downtown Long Beach, 201 E. Broadway Long Beach,

Dec. 15

Barbara Morrison An ensemble of top jazz players are joined by a cast of singers, along with jazz vocalist Barbara Morrison.

Time: 4 to 6 p.m. Dec. 15 Cost: $10 Details: 310-547-2348 Venue: Janny’s Showroom, 365 W. 6th St., San Pedro

THEATER Dec. 6

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn features showstopping dance numbers, laughout-loud comedy and a parade of hit Irving Berlin songs.

Time: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1 p.m. Saturday; 6 p.m. Sunday Dec. 6 to 15 Cost: $20 and up Details: 562-856-1999; www.musical.org Venue: Musical Theatre West, 4350 E. 7th St., Long Beach

Dec. 7 A Christmas Carol For more than 175 years Charles Dickens’ memorable characters, including Scrooge, three ghosts, and the Cratchits, have reminded us that open hearts and goodwill toward others are the true gifts of the season.The show runs through Dec. 22 Time: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 6 p.m. Sunday Dec. 6 to 15 Cost: $18 to $24 Details: 562-856-1999; www.musical.org Venue: Carpenter Center for the Performing Art, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach A Christmas Carol The perennial favorite returns for its eighth incarnation at Long Beach Playhouse. In this quickpaced, highly theatrical re-telling of Charles Dickens’ classic tale.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 7 through 22 Cost: $27 Details: www.lbplayhouse.org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse , 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach The Plot to Overthrow Christmas This past year, Long Beach Shakespeare Co. has brought several villains to the Helen Borgers Theatre (Iago, Mephistopheles, and Tamora, just to name a few). Now, with The Plot to Overthrow Christmas, they bring more villains in a single dose than you’ve seen all year.

Times: 8 p.m. Dec. 7 and 14; 2 p.m. Dec. 8 and 15 Cost: $11.25 Details: lbshakespeare.org Venue: Long Beach Shakespeare Company’s Helen Borgers Theatre, 4250 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach

ARTS Dec. 5

Winter Ware TransVagrant at 478 presents a group exhibition of works by 23 emerging and established

artists in a variety of media. Runs through Jan. 25.

Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Dec 5 Cost: Free Details: 310-732-2150 Venue: TransVagrant at 478 , 478 W. 7th St., San Pedro Pinta*Dos Philippine Art Gallery Curator Edwin Ramoran said that featured artist Eliseo Art Silva’s paintings remind us that our memories have been shaped and over determined by many factors. The strength in these new paintings is how they present resistance on many levels.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 5 Cost: Free Details: www.pintadosgallery.com Venue: Pinta*Dos Gallery, 479 W. 6th St., Suite 108, San Pedro San Pedro Chamber of Commerce Boardroom Gallery Gracing the walls in the gallery space is Angels Gate Cultural Center Studio Artist, Tianlu Chen.

These spontaneous paintings will be showcased in the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce boardroom gallery will be open to visitors for the Dec. 5 and Jan. 2 FirstThursday ArtWalks.

Time: 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5 Cost: Free Details: 310-832-7272 Venue: San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, 390 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Dec. 6 Wall to Wall Working on a monumental scale outside, often on a time limit, with a skeptical public watching, street artists build a special relationship to their environment.

When the street meets the gallery, it presents a challenge for both artist and curator in devising the best ways to tell their story.

Time: 6 to 10 p.m. Dec. 5 Cost: Free Details: www.community artmachine.com Venue: Machine Studio, 446 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Dec. 7 Open Studios Day AGCC invites the community to Open Studios Day for a free, family-friendly event to tour artist studios and support local artists by purchasing original works of art.

More than 50 Angels Gate studio artists will open their doors to the community.

Time: 12 to 4 p.m, Cost: Free Details: www.angelsgateart.org Venue: Angel’s Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro

DANCE Dec. 7

Merry-Achi Christmas The celebration returns with Sol de México de José Hernández, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, and DanzArts Sabor México Dance Company. The cultural holiday event features seasonal songs, dance and festive merriment.

Time: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 7 p.m.

Dec. 7 Cost: $35 to $86 Details: 562-916-8500; www.cerritoscenter.com Venue: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park

Plaza Drive, Cerritos

Dec. 13 The Nutcracker San Pedro City Ballet, home of American Ballet Theatre superstar Misty Copeland, presents its 26th annual production of The Nutcracker, with artistic direction

by Cynthia and David Patrick Bradley. Join Clara on a dreamlike journey with a dancing Nutcracker, mischievous mice, sparkling snowflakes, and a magical Christmas tree.

Time: 7 p.m. Dec. 13; 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 14; 2 p.m. Dec. 15 Cost: $19 to $39 Details: www.sanpedrocityballet. org Venue: Warner Grand Theater, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Dec. 14 LB City Ballet There are more than 100 productions of The Nutcracker every year across the U.S. on stages big and small. And all of them possess their own Sugar Plum Fairy-fueled holiday magic.

But only one boasts live orchestral accompaniment, cool special effects and an Arabian horse named Rebel.

Time: 2 p.m. Dec. 14, 21 and 22’ 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 Cost: $27.50 to $54.60 Details: www.longbeachballet. com Venue: Long Beach Performing Arts Center Terrace Theater, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

LITERATURE Dec. 8

Frank Bruni in Conversation with Sarah Smarsh Bruni, Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times reflects on diverse topics including American politics, higher education, popular culture and gay rights. Smarsh is an author, educator, speaker, and journalist. Her book, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth examines historic economic inequality.

Time: 5 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: $28 Details: 310-825-2101; cap.ucla.edu Venue: Royce Hall, UCLA, 10745 Dickson Court, Los Angeles Lionel Rolfe Literary L.A. Cabaret celebrates the life and work of Lionel Rolfe and the California literary, music and arts bohemia.

Time: 7:30 to 9 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: $10 Details: 310-822-3006; http://www.beyondbaroque.org/ Venue: Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice

Dec. 14 Miraleste Book Club Miraleste Book Club meetings meet at 1 p.m. and new members are always welcome. December selection: Your choice! Read any book you want and share it with the group.

Time: 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 14 Cost: Free Details: 310-377-9584, x 452 Venue: Miraleste Library , 29089 Palos Verdes Drive East , Rancho Palos Verdes

WELLNESS Dec. 7

Crystals and Gemstones 101 This is the inaugural class for this monthly series, where we explore and discuss the spiritual and therapeutic qualities of gemstones and the uses and benefits there of.

For this class, we will be exploring

the powers of some of the most popular stones used for grounding and protection, centering and focus.

Time: 12 to 1 p.m. Dec. 7 Cost: $15 Details: www.zendensanpedro. com Venue: The Zen Den, 360 W. 6th St., San Pedro

COMMUNITY Dec. 6

Candy Cane Lane at Weymouth Corners San Pedro’s small town main street transforms into Candy Cane Lane, a magical and fun event for the whole family. Enjoy holiday crafts for the kids.

Time: 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 6 Cost: Free Details: www.sanpedrochamber. com Location: Corner of 8th Street and Weymouth Avenue, San Pedro Sea Star Wasting Does environmental stress lead to an autoimmune response?

Sea star populations of multiple species in western North America have been degrading and dying from an outbreak of an epidemic Sea Star Wasting Syndrome.

Time: 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 6 Cost: Free Details: http://tinyurl.com/ seastardying Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro

Dec. 7

Wilmington Winter Wonderland For a truly winter experience, grab the kids, mittens, and scarves and head to the port’s annual Wilmington Wonderland featuring plenty of snow, games, holiday crafts and face painting.

Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 7 Cost: Free Details: 310-732-7678 Venue: Wilmington Waterfront Park, W. C St., Wilmington Banning Museum’s Annual Victorian Christmas Enjoy period entertainment, a walk through of the Banning Residence decorated in holiday splendor, a visit with Santa Claus, free cookies and cider, a children’s craft, a blacksmith and a horsedrawn trolley ride.

Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 7 Cost: Free Details: 310-548-7777; www.thebanningmuseum.org Venue: The Banning Museum, 401 E. M St., Wilmington Outdoor Volunteer Day Join the outdoor volunteer day at Alta Vicente Reserve with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy. Help restore this critical habitat home to many endangered wildlife species.

Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Dec. 7 Cost: Free Details: www.pvplc.volunteerhub. com Venue: 31290 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes Family Nature Walk Families will enjoy this easy and educational walk withn a naturalist through this beautiful canyon preserve to discover the unique variety of birds, mammals, reptiles and insects that call it home. The walk concludes inside the Nature Center with hands on exploration of our exhibits.

Time: 11 a.m. Dec. 7 Cost: Free Details: 310-541-7613; www.pvplc.org Venue: George F Canyon Nature Preserve, 27305 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rolling Hills Estates

Family Science and Storytime Featuring the Peregrine Falcon Experience a hands-on-science exploration of the Peninsula’s Peregrine Falcon. Then listen as librarian, Carla Sedlacek shares related children’s literature. RSVP. Time: 11 a.m. Dec. 7 Cost: Free Details: www.pvplc.org Venue: 1600 W. Paseo del Mar, San Pedro

57th Annual LA Harbor Holiday Afloat Parade

The parade starts in the East Basin near Banning’s Landing Community Center in Wilmington and takes about 90 minutes to cover the entire parade route through the Los Angeles Main Channel. There will be pre-parade festivities at Banning’s Landing Community Center, at 4 p.m.

Time: 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 7 Cost: Free Details: 310- 847-7704 Venue: Banning’s Landing Community Center, 100 E. Water St., Wilmington

Dec. 8 Docent Led Nature Walk to Tidepool Enjoy a guided tour of Abalone Cove. Hike past the unique native flora and fauna and explore the tide pools teeming with fascinating marine life. The 1.5 mile hike difficulty is moderate to strenuous.

Rain cancels a hike.

Time: 1 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: Free Details: 310-544-5375 www.losserenos.org Venue: Abalone Cove Shoreline Park, 5970 Palos Verdes Drive South, Rancho Palos Verdes Home for the Holidays Enjoy family-friendly activities with music and Santa at Rancho Los Cerritos.

Time: 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: $5 Details: 562-206-2040 Venue: Rancho Los Cerritos, 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach Holiday Gifts at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Stop by to see our local artist and vendors, along with our books, holiday décor, hand-crafted and gift items. Gift wrapping services will be offered for a donation to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. All book sale proceeds benefit Episcopal Relief and Development Fund.

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: Free Details: 310-831-2361 Venue: St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Parish Hall, 1648 W. 9th St., San Pedro Baked Goodies Decorating, Join the 2nd Sundays at Miraleste Library seasonal baked goodies decorating demonstration and have fun with the whole family.

Time: 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: Free Details: 310-377-9584 X452 Venue: Miraleste Library Main Floor, 29089 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rancho Palos Verdes Swedish Women’s Educational Association Annual Christmas Fair Santa’s workshop for the kids will be available and even more Scandanavian vendors than before. Stroll around the cozy holiday decorated venue and look, taste, smell and enjoy true Scandanavian spirit.

Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 8 Cost: $10 Details: www.losangeles.swea. org Venue: Torrance Cultural Arts Center, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance

[Enablers from p. 8]

Enablers

of Trump himself, but reversing the authoritarian direction he has taken the country. If Trump’s grip on the GOP is too tight to be broken by facts, the GOP’s power over America is not—as reflected in the 2018 midterm elections.

Election will put Trump’s enablers on trial

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani — further expanding the list of people implicated in the scheme. At least one contact was facilitated by President Trump’s assistant, Madeleine Westerhout.

“We can see why Mike Pompeo has refused to release this information to Congress,” American Oversight Executive Director Austin Evers said in a statement. “It reveals a clear paper trail from Rudy Giuliani to the Oval Office to Secretary Pompeo to facilitate Giuliani’s smear campaign against a U.S. ambassador.”

Evers said it was only the beginning, as further Ukraine investigation lawsuits were proceeding. “The public should expect more disclosures, over the administration’s strong objection, for the foreseeable future.”

Congressional Democrats realize they can’t wait for everything to come to light before moving forward with impeachment. By the time those articles are drafted, voted on, and brought before the Senate, who knows how much more damning evidence those outstanding FOIA documents will reveal? Who knows what other unexpected sources of evidence may appear?

Three things are certain: First, if there are any documents absolving Trump of wrongdoing, they would have been released long ago.

Second, long after the Senate trial is over, evidence of Trump’s criminal wrongdoing will continue coming out, all the way up to the 2020 election, when the voters will have their final say.

Third—as with Iran/Contra—there’s even more evidence that won’t come out before the 2020 election. Just how much of it we will ever see will surely depend on whether voters put an end to Trump’s lawlessness on that day.

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And 2020 can be more of the same. “It’s a turnout election not a persuasion election,” said Indivisible’s Peter Warren.

This isn’t just idle, uninformed speculation.

Warren recently spent two hours calling Nebraska voters, seeking to reach people who would call Sen. Ben Sasse, and ask him to keep an open mind. Warren got fairly good at responding to the Trump talking points he encountered, but he realized, “The reason I am calling is not to persuade them. The Trump supporters I have spoken with are unpersuadable.” So turnout is the key.

“We had to target the 2018 election, win the House and the House would begin to shine a light on it [Trump’s lawlessness]. So that has happened and it’s leading to an impeachment, and it may lead to more than that. Because winning the House was our insurance policy,” Warren said.

“Now our insurance policy begins this time with impeaching Trump, which means everybody in Congress (House and Senate) has to go on record and vote ‘yes’ on Trump or ‘no’ on Trump. And that’s the magic ingredient for the election,” he said. “Everybody who votes will know where the people they’re voting for stand.”

And evidence of Trump’s guilt will only become more overwhelming over time. Those who stand with him will stand accused of covering up, excusing, endorsing or enabling all of his lawless acts, the full extent of which no one yet knows.

QUICK RESPONSE As compelling as the House TIME! Intelligence Committee hearings were, they were hardly the only source of new damning information in the case against Trump. Closed door testimony by Mark Sandy, a career employee at the Office of Management and COMPLETE Budget, revealed that two other PLUMBING SERVICE OMB career staffers resigned RESIDENTIAL/COMMERCIAL their posts rather than go along with Trump’s blocking of aid to (310) Ukraine, because it violated the law—the Impoundment Control Se Habla Español Lic. #748434 Act of 1974, which we should note — was passed in the wake of Watergate.

That revelation alone opens up a whole new line of investigation, and underscores that Trump’s refusal to allow testimony or turn over documents to Congress really is just a criminal coverup effort, an obstruction of Congress, and grounds for another article of impeachment.

In addition, as a result of a lawsuit, a freedom of information act [FOIA] request by American Oversight produced about 100 pages of State Department documents, including emails that confirm multiple contacts between

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PLEASE HELP! The animals at the Harbor Animal Shelter have ongoing need for used blankets, comforters, pet beds.* Drop off at Harbor Animal Shelter 957 N. Gaffey St.,San Pedro • 888-452-7381, x 143 PLEASE SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PET! *In any condition. We will wash and mend.

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REAL ESTATE SERVICES REAL ESTATE INVESTOR seeks to purchase commercial or multi-unit residential properties in San Pedro.

No Agents please.

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DBA FILINGS Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2019269762 The following person is doing business as:(1) 911 Rooter & Sewer Specialist, 25029 Vermont Avenue, Harbor City CA 90710 County of Los Angeles.

Registered owners: 911 Rooter & Sewer Specialist,, Inc, 1180 W 7th Street Apt #1, San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by a corporation.

The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 09/2018.

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/. Giuseppe Sanzone, President.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Oct. 9, 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

11/21/2019, 12/05/2019

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2019301480 The following person is doing business as: Muslim Democratic Club of Southern California, 744 W. 9th Street, San

Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Najee Ali, 744 W. 9th 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: 10/1926.

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/. Najee Ali Owner.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Nov. 18, 2018. Notice--In accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the

“Letter Imperfect”--I’ll try to spell it out.

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: 11/21/19, 12/05/19, 12/12/19, 12/19/19

© 2019 MATT JONES, Jonesin’ Crosswords

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address of the 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: 10/24/2019, 11/7/2019,

For answers go to: www.randomlengthsnews.com

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ACROSS

1 Mgr.’s helper 5 Bendy joint 10 Spongy toy brand 14 “The Avengers” villain 15 Word before firma or cotta 16 Wall mirror shape 17 Skill at noticing things (or, Item of interest) 19 Prefix with sol and stat 20 Out on the waves 21 Bad day at bat (or, One more than two) 23 British writer Ben known for his books of “Miscellany” 25 Chimney passages 26 500 maker 28 Find the secret code to get out, e.g.

31 Fifth of a series 34 Elite Eight org.

36 Divide by tearing 38 “Here, don’t get locked out” (or, Unlocking question) 43 “The Godfather” first name 44 Something ___ 45 Actor Penn of “Sunnyside” 46 “Wild Thing” band, with “The” 50 Outer jigsaw puzzle piece 52 “You’re pulling ___!”

54 Sets as a goal 58 Have a wide panoramic view (or, Country distances?)

62 “Swell” 63 Arm bone 64 “Watch out” (or, Boded disaster) 66 Salad bar veggie 67 PBS chef Bastianich 68 “___ not know that!”

69 “Smooth Operator” singer 70 “Oh jeez!”

71 Full of streaks

DOWN

1 Jennifer Garner spy series 2 Cinematic intro?

3 Smidge 4 Grow bored with 5 One of les quatre saisons 6 “Blade Runner 2049” actor Jared 7 “Garden State” actor/director Zach 8 Camden Yards athlete 9 Bewhiskered beast 10 Two-by-two vessel 11 In any case 12 Very uncommon 13 Mass of floating ice 18 Purpose of some apps with profiles 22 Investigator, informally

24 Food popular on Tuesdays 27 Body image?

29 Look at the answers 30 “Orinoco Flow” singer 31 Rugged wheels 32 “Get rid ___!”

33 Tolkien trilogy, to fans 35 “All in favor” answer 37 Cable modem alternative 39 Hotel posting 40 Supportive cheer 41 Meat-testing org.

42 Singer/songwriter Spektor 47 Place with a membership, often 48 In a slick-talking manner 49 Smartphone shot?

51 Food Network notable 53 Crystal-lined stone 55 Toksvig currently of “The Great British Bake Off” 56 Skipped the restaurant 57 “Hot” rum drink 58 2016 World Series champions 59 “Under the Bridge” bassist 60 Having no depth, in brief 61 Mumbai titles 65 When doubled, a guitar effect

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: ON-CALL SERVICES FOR FURNISHING AND OPERATING MINOR WATERBORNE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT at THE PORT OF LONG BEACH LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA AS DESCRIBED IN SPECIFICATION NO. HD-S3046A Bid Deadline:

available at http://www.polb. com/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 January 7, 2109, 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.

Prior to 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 14, 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.

Date/Time: December 17, 2019 at 9:00 a.m.

Location: Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility 1st Floor Meeting Room 725 Harbor Plaza Long Beach, CA 90802

Project Contact Person:

Deepen Upadhyay Deepen.Upadhyay@polb.com

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

Bidders are encouraged to RSVP for the Pre-Bid Meeting through the PB System; located under the “RSVP” tab of the Prospective Bidder

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

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

NIB -12 Prequalification of Contractors. 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.

[Media from p. 7]

Media

“persistent questions about Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s viability in the general election.” Contrary voices were absent in both news stories.

Assessing those articles, FAIR. org media analyst Julie Hollar pointed out: “The pieces interviewed a number of big donors and centrist party leaders, who fretted about their preferred candidate’s struggles and expressed hope for someone more corporate-friendly than Warren to enter the race and challenge her rise.

“The thinking of powerful people in the Democratic Party is worth writing about. But it’s crucial not to just take their claims at face value. . . . What establishment Democrats are really worried about, of course, is their own power in the party, which is threatened by a surging left wing.

Don’t look to their establishment media counterparts to report on that transparently.”

Part of the problem is the TV network that many Democrats (mistakenly) trust. MSNBC is becoming notorious for its hostility to Bernie Sanders, often expressed through egregious omission or mathematical fib if not direct antipathy.

Ongoing media analysis is crucial, but even more important is activist pushback against the 24/7 onslaught of corporate-minded propaganda, often couched as common sense and incontrovertible reality. These are the needed counterpunches: • Support progressive media outlets as they provide independent coverage of the presidential

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 13th 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.

campaign.

• Widely share, via email forwarding and social media, online pieces that you like. (Hopefully including this one.)

• Recognize, challenge, and organize against the corporate-media echo chamber that affects so many voters.

You shouldn’t have to be an active supporter of Bernie Sanders (as I am) or of Elizabeth Warren to voice outrage about corporate media biases. What’s at stake includes democracy—the informed consent of the governed.

History is unfolding in real time.

It’s not a product on the media shelf to be passively bought and consumed. As Bernie 2020 campaign co-chair Nina Turner says, “All that we love is on the line.”

Norman Solomon is cofounder and national coordinator of RootsAction. org. He was a Bernie Sanders delegate from California to the 2016 Democratic National Convention and is the coordinator of the relaunched independent Bernie Delegates Network. Solomon is the author of a dozen books including War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.

December 5 - 18, 2019

Copies of all Port insurance endorsement forms, SBE/ VSBE Program forms, Harbor Development Permit Applications and other Port forms are

NIB -5 Contract Time and Liquidated Damages. The Contractor shall achieve Affidavit of Final Completion of the Project within 2 years 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 -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.

to Proceed (NTP). Authorization of a substitution is solely within the discretion of the City.

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.

NIB -3 Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting. The engineering staff of the City’s Harbor Department will conduct a pre-bid meeting at 9:00 a.m., on December 17, 2019, in the 1st Floor Meeting Room, of the Port of Long Beach Maintenance Facility, 725 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802. Attendance is non-mandatory for the Contractors. It is not mandatory for Subcontractors but highly recommended. Each Bidder shall attend the mandatory Pre-bid meeting. EACH BIDDER MUST ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING. FAILURE TO ATTEND THE MANDATORY PRE-BID MEETING SHALL DISQUALIFY YOUR BID.

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.

NIB -4 Summary Description of the Work. The Work required by this Contract includes, but is not limited to, the following: Providing minor waterborne equipment for the Port of Long Beach on an on-call basis. Please see Technical Specifications.

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.

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting:

Detail. Following the meeting a list of Pre-Bid Meeting signed-in attendees will be available on the PB System.

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December 5 - 18, 2019

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant