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[See Historic, p. 3]
Carson shake-up following Swearing-in Day p. 5 A miracle pop-up bar’s out of The Ordinarie Xmas cocktails p. 12
Redistricting Commission could divide San Pedro along Assembly lines By Hunter Chase, Community News Reporter
Pedro, most of coastal and I think pretty much all of central, would then go into an Assembly district with Wilmington and on up to Harbor Gateway and Compton. The Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council held an emergency meeting on Dec. 6 to pass a motion 14-0 to oppose splitting San Pedro between Assembly, Congressional and Senate districts. Ross called the meeting after attending the commission’s meetings and noticing the changes on Dec. 3. She also put out a petition stating the same thing, which has gathered 388 signatures as of press time. “I felt like it was urgent, that we … take a position and make a comment to ensure that all of San Pedro was in one Assembly district,” Ross said. “We get better representation, clearly, if we’re together, and we have one Assembly member. We’re stronger, and [have] larger voting numbers.”
The Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council also passed a motion 12-2, with two abstentions, urging that San Pedro be in only one district. Board members Craig Goldfarb and Cynthia Gonyea opposed the motion, John DiMeglio and Tom Norman abstained. The ILWU Southern California District Council released a press release opposing the splitting San Pedro between Assembly districts. “As a critical part of the local economy we should not have our political and community interests divided up for the political power of the few,” wrote Floyd E. Bryan, president of the ILWU Southern California District Council. “We have our own issues being a port community including air pollution, traffic, noise and light pollution from the shipping industry that surrounds our community. We deserve a singular
December 16 - 22, 2021
The 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission is proposing separating San Pedro between two Assembly districts, according to the Dec. 8 draft of the commission’s map. However, the commission is proposing unifying San Pedro in one congressional district, according to the Dec. 13 draft of the commission’s map. For the past ten years, it has been split between two congressional districts, said Dan Dixon, board member of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council. The commission had kept the entirety of San Pedro in the same Assembly district until Dec. 3, said Shannon Ross, president of the San Pedro Democratic Club. “The line for the Assembly districts runs up Western Avenue to 19th Street, over 19th Street to Gaffey, and then north on Gaffey,” Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council President Doug Epperhart said. “It essentially puts all of northwest into an Assembly district with Torrance and I believe Redondo Beach. The rest of San
Meet the Ellises — The principals of film production company, South Bay Talent Group, talk about creating opportunities p. 11
Splitting Up San Pedro
Charlie the Tuna, mascot for Star-Kist Tuna for 60 years.
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
he grand old Star-Kist Cannery, an iconic presence on the Los Angeles waterfront nearly 40 years after it was closed, has been targeted for demolition by the Los Angeles Harbor Department last month. The facility’s origins can be traced to 1918 when it was founded as the French Sardine Company by Yugoslavian immigrant Martin J. Bogdanovich and other prominent San Pedro families. The facility, renamed Star-Kist Tuna Cannery in 1952 and was the main plant, held the distinction of being the single-largest cannery in the world at the time. Star-Kist was the largest of several major tuna canneries, including Chicken of the Sea, which operated on Terminal Island for many decades and revolutionized seafood consumption through the introduction of canned tuna. There remain three tuna canning companies that were once American-owned that still dominate the industry today, all three are foreign-owned with headquarters in the United States. As of the 2017 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s report imports of canned tuna were 141,480 tons, up 8,882 tons (6.7%) from 2016. The value of canned tuna imports also increased by $108.9 million (20.8%) from 2016. Star-Kist closed its facilities on Terminal Island in 1984, and moved its operations overseas, but the buildings continued to represent a significant link to Los Angeles’ once-mighty tuna industry. The Star-Kist Main Plant is also significant for its design by John K. Minasian, a prominent engineer and designer who worked on projects at Cape Canaveral and Edwards Air Force Base and served as the chief engineer of the iconic Space Needle, which opened at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.
[See Redistricting, p. 17] 1