RLn 12-19-19

Jim Stanbery and the Campaign to Change District 15

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

Most people involved in current San Pedro Harbor Area politics have long ago forgot Jim Stanbery’s campaign for the Los Angeles City Council. Some locals only know of him as a teacher at Los Angeles Harbor College. But back in 1977 and then 1981 Stanbery had a vision for a different kind of city, and decades later some of it actually came to pass. Some of the issues touched on are still with us today.

Ten years ago, former Random Lengths News editors Eric Kongshaug and senior editor Paul Rosenberg wrote about the beginnings of RLn for its 30th anniversary, noting that:

ior S en

[See Impeachment, p. 8]

[See Stanbery, p. 2]

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

, erg “Democrats brought a gavel to an enb s o R l u impeachment gun fight.” That was the headline a

By P of a weekend op-ed by Kurt Bardella, a former spokesperson Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who switched parties in 2017. Democrats might have all the facts on their side—as 17 witnesses had previously confirmed — but they were failing miserably at messaging.

Not one of those witnesses contradicted the basic structure of Trump’s scheme to extort a phony investigation of Joe Biden out of Ukraine, illegally withholding military aid to accomplish it—a damning fact record that, thanks to GOP obfuscations, has failed to fully sink in with the public. A Fox News poll showed that only 24 percent of Americans thought such actions were OK, versus 60 percent who said they weren’t. But almost double that number—45 percent—thought that Trump shouldn’t be impeached and removed for it, versus 50 percent who said he should.

The Fox poll doesn’t tell us what’s going on in so many people’s heads, but it does tell us there’s an enormous disconnect—and that Trump’s political survival almost entirely depends upon it. In between those two figures, Fox found support for both articles of impeachment. By 53-38 they agreed that Trump had abused his power and by 48-34 they agreed that he had obstructed Congress. So, the more focus there is on what actually happened, the worse it will be for Trump. Creating a theater of partisan fighting— distracting from the underlying facts—is Trump’s surest line of defense. And no one understands this better than former Republicans like Bardella.

From left to right: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Los Angeles Rep. Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, Rep. Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, acting chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee.

or Edit

Random Lengths published a few stories on Stanbery’s 1981 attempt to win the 15th council district seat. When the editors of 2015 looked back at the Stanbery of three decades earlier, they described him as a young liberal in the Kennedy mold who in 1977 forced the seemingly invincible Councilman John S. Gibson into runoff. Just a few years later, in the early 1980s, Stanbery was described as a populist.

A quick perusal of Random Lengths’ coverage of Stanbery’s candidacy bears this out. More importantly, a perusal of RLn’s Stanbery coverage reveals the degree to which his platform and his ideas anticipated the ills our communities still face or rather how entrenched our communities are in the ills fostered by the city of Los Angeles. Stanbery anticipated the growth of neighborhood councils and community policing (though he doesn’t attempt to take credit for the development of either), community planning and renters’ rights. Stanbery even anticipated the trajectory of conservative attacks on international institutions such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization and NATO. Kongshaug and Rosenberg didn’t spend a great deal of ink on Stanbery’s candidacy or his activism, focusing instead on the large sweep of history that carried this newspaper forward.

Gibson was a Christian fundamentalist who loathed laws and regulations he felt hampered free enterprise; his probusiness, pro-growth views often angered environmentalists

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From the beginning, Random Lengths has stepped quite consciously in the footsteps of muckraking author Upton Sinclaire and his populist paper Epic News.

Sinclair funded and wrote that historic newspaper to wage his political campaign to “End Poverty in California” (EPIC); the founders of Random Lengths began with a $2,000 donation from liberal candidate Jim Stanbery, then a resident of Point Fermin.

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[Stanbery, from p. 1]

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

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Stanbery: Campaigning for Change

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and tenants seeking protection through rent a given neighborhood would meet as often as control and condominium conversion ordinances. possible with these neighborhood associations Gibson also blocked a community plan for San and they would share any concerns that members Pedro for nearly 20 years because he opposed of the association would bring up over this or that incident,” Stanbery said. government-mandated controls on growth.

In turn, the community would get a response In clearer terms, Gibson was an obstacle to from the officers regarding San Pedrans who wanted to any incident and explain what remove volatile gas tanks happened from their point of from their neighborhoods; view or admit a mistake if he opposed the creation of a mistake was made by the any city plan that hindered police. growth.

As part of his effort to Stanbery said he educate 15th district council doesn’t pay close attention residents, Stanbery and to the politics that affect his allies made a recording the Los Angeles Harbor Area, noting that his involvement in politics has explaining the neighborhood associations and mailed the recording to 10,000 recipients so that dropped off significantly over the past 20 years.

But at 76 years old (40 years after his two people could hear instead of trying to read it runs for City Council), Stanbery is now about somewhere.

The neighborhood councils of today have the same age as Gibson was when he won his final term in office in 1977. I recently interviewed Stanbery, a retired Los Angeles Harbor College history professor and got him to reflect on his work and the peculiar historical moment mostly associated with Donald J. Trump as our president.

Stanbery agrees with the statement, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’’ The words were first popularized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and later by former President Barack Obama.

This quote originally came from Unitarian theologian Theodore Parker. Stanbery agrees with this statement even now under Trump, in a moment where facts and truth are under assault.

“I don’t think it’s a constant move forward,” Stanbery said. “I would say it is more of a cycle... sometimes it feels as if you’re going backwards. But the drift of the cycle is to the left.”

A former Peace Corps volunteer, Stanbery has always been regarded as ambiguous in terms of his politics. In earlier times, Stanbery’s reply to this Jim Stanberry during his campaign for Los Angeles City Council in 1981. RLn file photo assessment went like this: trended it in the direction that Stanbery and I could have won as a Democrat, but his allies advocated for 40 years ago, but he being a Peace and Freedom candidate believes that if he were elected back then, the closes all the right doors. It’s my freedom, neighborhood councils would have aligned even the guarantee of my integrity. more strongly with what he envisioned.

“In ‘77, I would have been 34 years old,” Stanbery’s politics are at once socialist and libertarian. He has spent a great deal of time Stanbery said. “I had written a book called the considering the relationship of the citizen to their California 2000 Campaign looking forward at elected government and the responsibilities of the year 2000 as a sort of breaking point and it spelled out goals in 10 different areas.” the individual as a citizen.

Stanbery said that many of these goals could “I think there has been some movement in that direction. The neighborhood councils we only have been completed at the state level.

“But some could have been approached on have now are much bigger than the neighborhood the citywide level and that was the rationale for associations I was advocating,” Stanbery said.

On the issue of community policing, Stanbery running for city council,” Stanbery said.

On populism, the professor notes that the said he initially believed that police departments would engage the neighborhood associations by term is used in many different ways—to the point delivering reports on crime and other policing that Donald Trump is referred to as a populist.

“There’s a formal definition of populism issues in the neighborhoods, very much the same way senior lead officers do now at the which I taught in my classes,” Stanbery explained. “But the sense I was trying to espouse neighborhood council stakeholder meetings.

[See Stanbery, p. 5] “I felt that the police officers involved in

Community Announcements:

Harbor Area Amended Election Administration Plan Available for Public Comment

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County RegistrarRecorder/County Clerk Dean C. Logan has announced that the county’s amended Election Administration Plan is posted and available for the public to provide input.

The EAP has been developed to describe the county’s strategy to: • Administer elections under the California Voter’s Choice Act, • Communicate the county’s voter education and outreach plan and identify and operate vote centers located throughout the county.

Details: www.tinyurl.com/election administrationplan.

2020 Census Recruitment

The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting workers to fill many positions across Long Beach and surrounding areas to assist with the 2020 Census count. The census is hiring for a variety of temporary jobs, including census takers, recruiting assistants, office staff and supervisory staff.

It is very important to have an accurate count for the census so that future programs and resources can be appropriately funded.

Details: www.2020census.gov/jobs; 1-855-JOB2020.

Torrance Refinery Public Meeting

Torrance Refining Company LLC will host a community meeting to provide information about the Torrance Refinery’s fenceline air monitoring system that will be implemented January 2020 to comply with South Coast Air Quality Management District Rule 1180. The draft portions of the Refinery Fenceline and Community Air Monitoring plans are available to view at www.aqmd.gov/ Rule1180.

Time: 6 to 8 p.m Dec. 18 Cost: Free Details: 909-396-3283; or Rule1180@aqmd.gov Venue: North High School Library, 3620 W. 182nd St., Torrance LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles City Council approved the Emergency Renters Relief Program to assist renters facing exorbitant rent increases and to prevent displacement of renters and families by providing a temporary subsidy to prevent evictions for non-payment of rent through Dec. 31, 2019.

Complete a HAR packet for their assistance with this process. “If we can assist other tenants through our Emergency Renters Relief Program - especially now - as the holidays approach, that could represent a lifetime to keep families from falling into homelessness at the worst time imaginable,” said Councilwoman Nury Martinez.

Details: 866-557-RENT

Neighborhood Council Roundup:

DONE Thwarts Central SP Neighborhood’s Council’s Attempt to Oust Three Officers

By Hunter Chase, Reporter The Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council was set to remove three of its officers at the Dec. 10 meeting, including the president, the vice president and the outreach chair. But then the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment intervened.

Council president, Maria Couch, had resigned in the middle of the November stakeholder meeting. But at the Dec. 10 meeting, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment general manager Raquel Beltrán informed the board that Couch was rescinding her resignation, which wasn’t submitted in writing in the first place.

Beltrán reported that Couch and apparently others had filed a harassment complaint with the Labor Relations Division of the city attorney’s office, but she only admitted this much after arguing with one of the board members over her refusal to divulge which officers filed the complaints.

Beltrán told the council not to remove any officers from their positions, saying this would alter the Labor Relations Division’s investigation going forward. DONE sent a notice of preexhaustive efforts to the board, meaning that DONE might take complete control of the board, including running their meetings, if the board went through with the removal of the officers. Beltrán said this was her decision, so that the board would know how serious the allegations were.

Beltrán explained that the harassment allegations stemmed from board members pressuring complainants. Beltrán never explained the nature of the pressure.

Couch had frequently come into conflict with other members of the board since her elevation as president in July. One of the chief sources of conflict was the redesign of the council’s website.

Board secretary Louis Caravella told RLn that during the redesign, Moore Business Results only gave Couch, Vice President Jane Castillo and Outreach and Communications Officer Khixaan Obioma-Sakhu access to the website.

Due to divisions on the board, the three officers

refused to post agendas to the website —Brown Act violations to be sure.

Board treasurer Linda Nutile said that Couch also authorized Moore Business Results to provide outreach services to which the board did not agree. The conflict over this led to Couch’s resignation at the November meeting.

Prior to this kerfuffle, Couch unilaterally cancelled the board’s August stakeholder meeting. She defended the move by saying she didn’t believe the board would reach quorum, since she and a few others announced they couldn’t go to the scheduled meeting. The remaining board members, not wanting to deprive stakeholders as a chance to be heard, held two special meetings that month. Neither of these meetings were able to reach quorum.

Couch did not attend or acknowledge either.

Caravella told RLn that prior to the Dec. 10 meeting, the board was already aware that Couch had not formally resigned in writing due to an email sent to all board members by DONE representative Thomas Soong. However, Soong did not make it clear if Couch was rescinding her resignation from the board or just rescinding her resignation as board president, Caravella said.

The reason that the motion to remove Couch from the board was on the agenda was both to make official her public resignation from a month prior and because the board was ready for new leadership, Caravella said.

The other officers whose removal from office was on the agenda had not been to several of the prior meetings and had not been running meetings for committees they were chairing.

Castillo had last attended the board’s September meeting. Obioma-Sakhu, the outreach and communications officer, last attended the July meeting, meaning he had been absent from the board’s meetings for six months.

The council ultimately decided to postpone the motion to remove the officers in question until the Jan. 14 stakeholder meeting. Board member Linda Alexander expressed doubt the investigation would be completed by that time.

Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council

At the Nov. 18 meeting of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council, the council unanimously voted to oppose a proposed

[See Roundup, p. 4]

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Emergency Renters Relief Program

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

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

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[Roundup, from p. 2]

Roundup

apartment development on 2111 Pacific Avenue because of a lack of parking spaces. The building will only have 61 parking spaces for 101 units.

The project has a density bonus that allows one space for every two bedrooms. The council ruled that it would support the project on several conditions: • The building provide one parking space for each bedroom • The building be limited to three stories not exceeding 30 feet • The amount of affordable housing be increased from 11 units to 24

• The building be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified

• The project incorporate native plants into the landscape of the building

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

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• The building be redesigned to be more compatible with the surrounding neighborhood This project joins another apartment development at the site of the old La Rue Pharmacy and the former Dancing Waters venue on 14th Street and Pacific Avenue.

Board secretary Kathleen Martin reported that the San Pedro United Methodist Church would be hosting mobile showers for the indigent once a month. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office is funding the mobile showers. They were available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 18.

Senior Lead Officer Paul Winters of the Los Angeles Police Department reported that crime in the coastal San Pedro region went up by 18 percent in Oct. 2019 over Oct. 2018. Since crime is already low, it will eventually increase, Winters said. During Oct. 2019 there were 14 cases of grand theft auto, seven aggravated assaults, one robbery and no homicides or rapes.

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Winters also told the council of an assault that took place on Nov. 10 at around 10:40 p.m. on 33nd Street and Carolina Street. A man around 28 to 30-years-old dressed all in black and wearing a bandana attacked a young woman who was walking her dog. He pushed her against a wall and attempted to stab her with a pair of scissors. The woman screamed and grabbed the man’s hand, making him drop the scissors. The man fled.

Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council

At the Dec. 9 meeting of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, the council voted 10-0 to support the extension of the beer and wine permit of Chipotle at 920 N. Western Ave.

However, they voted to not support Chipotle’s request for a full liquor permit. When Chipotle previously received its beer and wine permit from the city, the permits had expiration dates, but they do not any longer, said Diana Nave, chair of the Planning and Land Use Committee.

Once they renew their permit they will not need to do so again. Chipotle asked for a permit that will allow them to serve a full line of alcohol.

However, if it is approved, that means the permit is approved for the property and any business that operates on that property in the future will be authorized to serve a full line of alcohol. The board supported Chipotle’s bid to extend its hours of operation by two-and-a-half hours to 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Its current hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Bagakis Appointed to LA Harbor Planning Commission

SAN PEDRO—The San Pedro Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors announced Dec. 13 the appointment of Vice-Chairman John Bagakis to the City of Los Angeles Harbor Area Planning Commission.

Bagakis, a business owner and committed community member, will be one of five Harbor Area Planning Commissioners. The commission serves as an appeals board for actions taken by the City of Los Angeles Planning Department or the Zoning Administrator on matters such as

Car Drives Off Cliff at Sunken City

Councilman Joe Buscaino and John Bagakis, owner of Big Nick’s Pizza, in City Council Chambers. File photo

A woman was slightly injured after driving off a cliff at Sunken City in San Pedro, on Dec. 15.

Firefighters responded to reports of a car over a cliff at around 8:10 p.m., LAFD Spokesperson Brian Humphrey stated. Arriving firefighters located a burning sedan around 25 feet down into the cliffs, after it had jumped the curb on Pacific Avenue and gone through the fence. Firefighters quickly put the fire out, preventing it from spreading to the surrounding brush.

Firefighters located the driver, who got herself out of the burning car a few feet away from the wreck. She was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Humphrey stated. It is not known why she drove off the cliff. Police are investigating the crash. Photo by Raphel Richardson

conditional uses and variances. The commission also acts as original decision makers when authorized by ordinance on zoning matters and advises the City Planning Commission and the Planning Department on changes to the General Plan affecting their geographical areas.

The commission holds public hearings to hear evidence that forms the basis of its decisions.

HPEC Files Notice of Claim Against POLA and City of Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES—On Dec. 13, the Harbor Performance Enhancement Center filed a Notice of Claim implicating the Port of Los Angeles or POLA and certain leaders of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in a coordinated multi-year scheme to harm HPEC. Selected in 2015 to develop vacant land, HPEC signed a series of agreements, engaged in years of negotiations, and devoted thousands of man hours and millions of dollars on project planning and environmental approval processing.

Yet, POLA attempted recently to terminate the project. HPEC believes the termination stems from backroom deals between the Port, the ILWU and potentially an ILWU employer. The Notice of Claim stated, despite the fact that ILWU labor participation at the site was never mentioned in POLA’s bid documents nor in any of the project agreements between POLA and HPEC, POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka demanded that HPEC grant ILWU exclusivity over the project, and ultimately terminated the project without any public hearing. In June, HPEC filed a writ petition in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to reverse Seroka’s decision. The court rejected a City of Los Angeles request in September to dismiss the case.

POLA and the City have 45 days to respond to The Notice of Claim allegations before HPEC can file its lawsuit.

Details: HPECforthePort.com

Study Asserts Plan to Rebuild SoCal’s Rail System by 2050

LOS ANGELES — Southern California can expect an economic jolt of 1.3 million jobs and an increase to the gross regional product of almost $684 billion through 2050 as the result of Metrolink’s Southern California Optimized Rail Expansion or SCORE Program, states a new Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation study. LAEDC presented the findings at a recent meeting of the [See Newsbriefs, p. 5]

[Stanbery, p. 2] [Newsbriefs, from p. 4]

Metrolink Board of Directors.

In advance of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games, SCORE is a 10-year, $10 billion capital improvement program implemented to upgrade regional rail infrastructure to better and more safely serve Southern California residents in the future while improving commute times and air quality.

California was the first funding partner for the SCORE program and Metrolink has secured $1.8 billion in funding to deliver preliminary designs and environmental studies for critical projects.

Metrolink will break ground on the SCORE program in 2020.

Details: metrolinktrains.com/SCORE

Stanbery

it in a campaign was that it wasn’t traditionally left or traditionally right.

“On the two basic issues of politics which are the civil and moral issues on the one hand and the economic issues on the other… Populism would be considered to the left on economic issues but Libertarian on social issues.” Stanbery said.

“That is to say complete minimum government interference on the civil issues.”

Jim Stanberry, retired political science teacher at L.A. Harbor College. Photo by Terelle Jerricks

November Cargo Volumes Dip In Long Beach

LONG BEACH—Cargo volume at the Port of Long Beach was 3.5 percent lower in November 2019 than November 2018. The evidence suggests that restrictive tariffs will continue to encumber the national supply chain.

Dockworkers moved 599,985 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) this past November.

Imports slid 8.3 percent to 293,287 TEUs, while exports were up 6.9 percent to 123,705 TEUs. Empty containers sent overseas decreased 1.7 percent to 182,992 TEUs. Despite the downturn, the 6.966,771 TEUs that dockworkers moved during the first 11 months of 2019 put the Port of Long Beach on track for its second-busiest year, albeit 5.2 percent down from 2018’s record-setting pace.

POLA Moves 728,918 TEUs in November

Court Okays Feds’ Probe on California Refinery Blast

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

TORRANCE—Torrance Refinery Action Alliance has reported that the federal government secured a legal win Dec. 10 against Exxon Mobil Corp.

Following the 2015 explosion injuring four workers at the Torrance Exxon refinery, a federal district court denied a petition from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board to enforce a set of document and information requests.

Exxon Mobile argued that those requests exceeded the federal government’s authority.

Federal government attorneys challenged the decision in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appellate court agreed Dec. 10 that the board should be able to enforce five of the rejected requests, which pertained to the unit of the refinery where the explosion took place.

The court wrote in its decision that although the district court did an admirable job, as evidenced by the narrow scope of this appeal, it erred in finding these five requests unenforceable.

The dispute stems from the federal government’s investigation of a release of flammable hydrocarbons and ash, combined with fiberglass and other debris, from a unit within Exxon’s Torrance, Calif., oil refinery.

Court documents show the explosion shuttered part of the facility for 15 months.

Exxon said it is reviewing the ruling.

Details: www.tinyurl.com/traa-refineryexplosionresiden

Stanbery said he believes Trump allowed himself to be incorrectly described as a populist in the early stages of his 2016 campaign before it became clear that he would be a standard rightwinger on both the civil and economic issues.

“I think it’s important to remember as the impeachment proceedings come to a climax, compared with previous impeachments there’s actually much more public support for impeachment at this stage than there were in earlier ones,” Stanbery said.

“In Nixon’s case for example, the public was strongly against impeachment until the release of the tapes where John Dean’s testimony, which had been denied, it had been verified in the taped conversation almost verbatim. And then all of a sudden the pendulum swung toward impeachment.”

Nixon had decided to resign about a year before he actually did.

“There were Republicans crossing over making it impossible for him to stay in office,” Stanbery said. “But the point I’m trying to make here is that public support for impeachment did not go over 50 percent until the John Dean stuff, which was really late in the game.”

Stanbery noted that in Clinton’s case, support never approached 50 percent for impeachment.

So the fact that impeachment now is supported by nearly 50 percent of the voters means there’s more public support for impeachment than was ever the case this early in the game during prior impeachments.

There was never any chance of Clinton being convicted and it looked like that would have been the case with Nixon as well. At that point the Democrats controlled the Senate, but they didn’t control it by a two-thirds majority. It was only in the last weeks of the summer of ‘74 that the pendulum swung and key Republicans led by Sen. Barry Goldwater went to Nixon and said look, you didn’t just lie to the American people, you lied to us. So we can’t sustain you any more.

Citing polls he saw a few days prior to our interview, Stanbery noted that Trump was losing narrowly to all of the Democratic contenders, including Elizabeth Warren.

“I think the really extraordinary thing about Trump’s presidency is that normally the President’s approval ratings correspond to how well the economy is doing,” Stanbery said.

“The economy is doing comparatively well, yet Trump’s approval ratings remain where they

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

SAN PEDRO — The Port of Los Angeles moved 728,918 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) this past November, a 12.4 percent decrease compared to 2018. After 11 months of 2019, total volumes have increased .4 percent compared to 2018, which was the busiest year on record.

November imports decreased 12.2 percent to 371,350 TEUs compared to the previous year.

Exports declined 9.2 percent to 138,545 TEUs. It is the 13th consecutive monthly decline of exports. Empty containers also declined 14.8 percent to 219,024 TEUs. Combined, November volumes were 728,918 TEUs.

were all along, down in the 40s.”

Stanbery admitted that this doesn’t mean Trump can’t win reelection. He notes that in 2016, a lot of people didn’t approve of him but still voted for him because they liked Hillary Clinton even less.

“It’s important to remember that Donald Trump did not win the popular election. He lost by 3 million—so he started 3 million votes behind to begin with,” Stanbery said. “I think that if the Democrats remain focused on their own message they have every likelihood of winning.”

It’s cyclical. It works out on average to a political breakthrough, once in a lifetime.

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Impeachment for Christmas —

Will Someone Just Give Him a Shovel?

By James Preston Allen, Publisher

“The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

— U.S. Constitution, Article II, section 4 ‘Twas two weeks before Christmas and the nation was hoping not for a tweet When the donkeys in the House of Congress decided it wasn’t time to sleep.

There was ruckus and commotion from both the Dems and Reps It was like a mouse escaped in the circus that elephants keep They trumpeted their accusations as though this was unfair About the ring leader who is emblazoned with orange hair They stomped their feet and shouted and asked But the only response was that the Dems had the facts.

S

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

o at this writing it’s the night before the impeachment vote and the president sent a six-page letter to the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi protesting this as an “invalid” action. This while the U.S. Constitution clearly states above that it is the “sole power” of Congress to impeach. Even with this 11th hour attack, Donald Trump keeps reiterating the false accusation that this process is a “witch hunt” and the letter is littered with at least 19 false statements or exaggerations as annotated by the New York Times.

The reading of Trump’s letter is quite astonishing as it reveals the alternate reality he is living in or that he wants us to believe; and with every lie and exaggeration he just seems to dig himself deeper into the same hole he has already dug for himself. He just can’t seem to stop and he wants everyone else to join in on digging the hole deeper. If the consequences of his official actions didn’t have dire results, like caging children at the border, one could find the humor in this like some Shakespearean farce — but no it’s a tragedy of historic import.

Clearly there are a few dozen causes for impeachment that Trump has racked up since he first started his campaign for the presidency, not the least of which is the hush money to Stormy Daniels and the Playboy model. But the Democrats have narrowed it down to just two articles — abuse of power (encompassing the federal crimes of bribery and wire fraud) and obstruction of Congress.

I suppose they are trying to keep it simple both for the public, which is just getting ready for a long winter’s nap and for his simplistic

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defenders, who are all given their tweeted talking points hourly, or possibly minute by minute, as Trump monitors the action on Fox News.

This singular source of “news” with its far right slant along with the echo chamber that follows its lead is probably more responsible for the rise and deification of the Trumpster into an idol of historic proportion than anything else in America today. He outrageously believes that he can do no wrong, can’t be prosecuted or investigated for any wrongdoing while sitting in the Oval Office. Yet the leaks and the whistle blowers keep letting the light in through the cracks. What is it that President Abraham Lincoln said, “You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all the people all the time”? Well it’s Don’s time in the barrel.

If you take a deep historical dive into the intent of the framers of the Constitution, Congress puts Trump’s actions in the context of today’s anti-bribery laws, noting that “criminal bribery occurs when a public official: • ‘demands [or] seeks’ • ‘anything of value personally,’ • ‘in return for being influenced in the performance of any official act.’ Additionally, the public official must carry out these actions, • ‘corruptly.’”

The judicial committee report walks through these elements one by one, showing how Trump’s actions meet the standard for criminality. This of course is just what the Republicans were asking for when they kept repeating, “but where’s the crime?”

[See Shovel, p. 7] Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya

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

—Mark Twain Vol. XL : No. 27

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

A Holiday Message in Support of Port Drivers’ Fight for Justice

By Nelson L. Castorillo and Paul Michael Neuman When we heard port truck drivers were going on strike again this past September to protest many egregious labor abuses, we wanted to support them. We had heard heartbreaking personal stories of families struggling to survive on drivers’ insufficient pay and lack of basic health care. We were truly outraged over the crass exploitation and deprivation of rights that these drivers endure with little protection and reward.

So we certainly wanted to express our concern.

But instead of walking a picket line at the harbor, we found ourselves on a plane to Salt Lake City.

We were headed to the North American corporate headquarters of Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining companies.

Rio Tinto operates mines all around the planet, extracting copper, iron and gold, plus the world’s largest borax mine in the California town of Boron. While Rio Tinto may not be a household name, its products are — the minerals from their Boron mine are found in everything from flat screen TVs and smartphones to laundry detergent and cosmetics.

Yet, while Rio Tinto made over $40 billion in revenue last year, the dedicated truck drivers that haul the heavy containers of borax from their mine in the Mojave Desert to the ports of LA and Long Beach are not even paid minimum wage for every hour worked and the hours can be long and hazardous.

These drivers work for a company called

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 Nelson L. Castorillo, Mark L. Friedman, Ari LeVaux, Greggory Moore, Paul Michael Neuman, Gretchen Williams

California Cartage Express (CCX), which is a subsidiary of NFI Industries, a massive logistics corporation based in New Jersey. Rio Tinto is NFI/CCX’s only customer and has a clear responsibility towards these drivers — especially since Rio Tinto has its own standards for companies it partners with, outlined in its “Supplier Code of Conduct.” The drivers walked off the job in September to protest unfair labor practices as part of an ongoing battle to get NFI/ CCX to end the wage theft that deprives these workers of income they have fairly earned – and we joined them in getting the message across to Rio Tinto.

While their coworkers set up picket lines up at the NFI/CCX truck yard in Los Angeles and at the Rio Tinto mine in Boron, two NFI/CCX drivers — Flavio Acosta and Jesus Maldonado — took their concerns straight to Rio Tinto’s headquarters in Salt Lake City.

We joined Flavio and Jesus at Rio Tinto’s sparkling corporate campus in Salt Lake City to deliver a petition with 5,000 signatures from allies around the globe. The petition urges Rio Tinto to do the right thing and stop doing business with NFI/CCX due to its violation of Rio Tinto’s Supplier Code of Conduct, which expressly demands that sub- contractors follow the law and respect the human rights of workers in the U.S. and around the world.

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[See Rio Tinto, p. 14]

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RANDOMLetters A Successful Thanksgiving

Thank you for your support.

Our thanksgiving community lunch was awesome, thanks to you, Random Lengths, we feed over 150 people. The flyer in your paper brought the community out!

Lawanda Hawkins Justice for Murdered Children San Pedro

Seven Years in Pedro

[Shovel, from p. 6]

Give Him a Shovel

Trump’s Gaslighting

In your most recent editorial, you continue to bemoan Trump for his positions and erratic attitudes, including the reactions by most people while citing the current manipulating efforts by him as “gaslighting,” a term otherwise manufactured by a professional “spinner.” If the truth were recognized, however, one would notice that the symptom is not “Gaslighting” but a genuine belief that a massive manipulation has been going on from both sides of the political spectrum and by Congress, as well as the other two branches of government.

What is fascinating about this new reality is that both progressives, as well as globalists, have joined forces with each other while spouting out divisive pap intended to make their decades-

this election-nullification scheme — yet your spiteful actions display unfettered contempt for America’s founding and your egregious conduct threatens to destroy that which our Founders pledged their very lives to build.

Even worse than offending the Founding Fathers, you are offending Americans of faith by continually saying, “I pray for the President,” when you know this statement is not true, unless it is meant in a negative sense. It is a terrible thing you are doing, but you will have to live with it, not I!

List of people impeached https://history.house. gov/Institution/Impeachment/Impeachment-List/ Trump’s letter to Congress protesting impeachment https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/17/ us/politics/trump-pelosi-letter.html

LA Maritime Institute’s Mission

It is easy to be distracted by all that is before us in our communities: homelessness, hyperpartisanship, the future of work, trade wars, immigration, energy sources, plastics in the ocean, social justice, climate change, citizenship, and the list goes on.

For us, our mission is clear, the better we prepare our youth, regardless of their circumstances, the better they will be able to successfully navigate all of the issues confronting us as a society.

Our programs are designed and delivered by our passionate, driven, and inspiring crew to increase young peoples’ self-reliance and self-confidence, develop their leadership and communication skills, awaken their connection to the environment, and prepare them with Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) foundational instruction. These are core competencies necessary for our youth and our society to be more resilient to the unpredictable times ahead.

For the last six years, LAMI has seen sequential growth in the number of student sailing days and is now well over 7,000 per year. But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to meeting the positive development needs of the youth in our underserved communities. To do our part, LAMI is expanding our transformative programs and aims to more than double our services to young people — committing in our fiveyear strategic plan to increase the number of annual student sailing days to over 15,000 by 2023. To achieve this ambitious goal, LAMI is growing its capacity, including the number of educational tall ships in our fleet. After two and a half years of restoration, the three-masted schooner American Pride received her USCG Certificate of Inspection, COI, [See Letters, p. 14]

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

And his denial goes on, shovel by shovel, for six pages. No evidence to dispute the facts that were supported by sworn testimony of 17 witnesses — just his “alternative reality” with a “perfect” phone call.

So, please wrap up your shovels, friends, and send them to Donald’s defense fund at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500. Perhaps if he digs deep enough, he can get to China to sign a trade deal by Christmas 2020.

Dear Mr. D’Altavilla, The very convoluted picture of the “new reality” you paint shows that you too have been gaslighted– not that you are wrong about the military industrial complex, or the globalist offshoring of jobs but in how you get it mixed up with who to blame. Clearly you believe that

Trump is attempting to go back to some golden era of American dominance, yet you can trace the long slide of decline in the rust belt and elsewhere in America’s heartland to the same kind of trickle-down economics that are now being promoted as saving us.

Reaganomics, Clinton’s neoliberal NAFTA and Bush II’s tax cuts have brought us nothing but a decline in middle class standard of living, ever larger Wall Street profits, off-shoring manufacturing and tax breaks for the wealthy.

Trump talks populist rhetoric to stir up his base but he is nothing more than elitist bully who is only loyal to those who give him money and his own exaggerated self reflection.

James Preston Allen Publisher

Even though the media keeps saying that there’s only been three presidential impeachments, excluding Nixon who resigned before it could happen, Congress over the years impeached and convicted federal judges, some quite recently.

Some of them just for being drunk on the bench.

Where does the wire fraud come in? Because Trump “knowingly and willfully orchestrated a scheme to defraud the American people of his honest services as president of the United States.

In doing so, he betrayed his position of trust and the duty he owed the citizenry to be an honest fiduciary of their trust. That offense is codified in the federal criminal code, which imposes up to twenty years’ imprisonment for public officials who (by mail or wire fraud) breach the public trust by participating in a bribery scheme.”

The evidence is in the telephone transcript.

So just to my point of digging a deeper hole into another universe, Trump writes: By proceeding with your invalid impeachment, you are violating your oaths of office, you are breaking your allegiance to the Constitution, and you are declaring open war on American Democracy. You dare to invoke the Founding Fathers in pursuit of

Dear Cassandra Heredia, I’ll only suggest that the concept that “change is inevitable” doesn’t necessarily mean that it is either progress or good.

James Preston Allen Publisher

long destruction of America, through outsourcing our economy, turning vast tracts of the country into veritable rust belts and pauperizing the people and all of this occurring with the connivance of several administrations and active criminal participation of Congress, [which] instead of representing America and the American people, continue representing globalists and spurious interests that have nothing to do with the “National Interest.”

Ironically, they have now decided to impeach the executive but failing to institute an impeachment process on themselves!

By their distorted definition, “National Interest” is now the interest of globalists. Sadly, all [of this] happening with the supine approval of the media!

And perpetrating, in the process, the biggest scam on the American people to financially support and fund a monstrous Military Industrial Complex, inimical to the best interests of America.

Roger D’Altavilla San Pedro

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

When I moved to Pedro in 2013 I had a practical reason and a sentimental reason. The practical reason is that I work at LAX and the crawl through the Sepulveda Pass from Sherman Oaks five days a week was making me age before my years. The sentimental reason was that my mentor from El Camino College had moved here from Boston and never looked back. That rubbed off on me. She spent over 25 years in the same apartment building over by White Point before she fell asleep one night in her favorite chair and let go of this world and the Parkinsons that was causing her body to fail.

I treasured her friendship for 20 years. She loved the breeze, the pelicans and the small town sense of community. When I wanted to move I decided that of all the places between here and the Valley, no matter how pretty or even ubertrendy they seemed to be, they didn’t feel right. I love going to the boutiquey restaurants or strolling the Promenade but when I come home, ‘San Pedro’ is where I want to be.

My first apartment was over by what is now Crafted and BW and I had a roommate who was usually gone on business. There was something very special about keeping my windows open so I could hear the buoys, Taps at 9 p.m. and foghorns from the channel. I would walk over to the

Alhambra in the afternoons and see older veterans order a whiskey and a beer.

Their hats tell a story of where they’ve been and those stories were important to me, especially the ones identifying the Korean War, which is where my dad went at 18 years of age. He got the Purple Heart within a year of service but it changed how he saw the world and I can’t know how much because I’ve never been a soldier. These men I didn’t know reminded me of him.

The first time I went in there I’ll never forget how comfortable I felt, like I was stepping into some vintage movie. A cheerful woman with auburn hair sat at the bar, selling Avon, accompanied by her cat, Handsome. The bartender was friendly but definitely in charge.

Even though I’ve learned this is not considered the best part of town, I never felt unsafe. I come from a very small town in Washington State that still has no airport, no train station, Greyhound comes three times a week and moose cross the road, so this scene is familiar to me. Unpretentious. Genuine. Real.

I’ve been in Pedro almost seven years now and in many parts of Los Angeles that sounds like a long time if someone isn’t a native.

In Pedro, people are proud of this town and that their roots are here.

The kids go to the same schools as their parents and even grandparents did ... third generation Croatian, Sicilian, Mexican, Greek and others I’m sure I just don’t know yet.

My hairstylist told me her son has the same first grade teacher she had. Who says that anywhere else in L.A.? While much of SoCal strives to remain progressive and embrace change — which is not always bad but is sadly sometimes to a community’s disadvantage — it only focuses on looking forward.

For me Pedro helps me keep in

mind where we’ve been. It keeps me honest. Pedro really is like an anchor for me while sometimes the rest of LA feels like a wave.

Pedro is quirky, unique and wonderful, but it is not Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice or Long Beach. I feel so fortunate that we have new places downtown like Sebastian’s and La Buvette to enjoy a good meal or glass of wine with friends, but I also love places like The Whale & Ale and Niko’s, especially if a game is on.

I know that change is coming and change always has to come, one way or another. I guess it’s like the rolling tide — it’ll come whether you want it to or not. You can either fight it or learn to ride it, but at least you still get to pick the board.

Cassandra Heredia San Pedro

7

[Impeachment, fromp. 1]

Impeachment Reality

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

“Every attack line deployed by Republicans can be neutralized by throwing their own words against them,” Bardella wrote — primarily words they used when trying to investigate Obama-era “scandals” (Benghazi, anyone?). Using Republicans own arguments against them may not be a magic bullet, but it does tend to disrupt the tribal messaging strategy Trump and his congressional allies rely on so heavily.

That messaging matters mightily, as hypocritical GOP claims of an unfair process in the House are now being used to justify an actually unfair process in the Senate—one that will keep the public in the dark about the massive weight of evidence against Trump and confused about what’s actually going on. Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have different visions of how to pull this off as Trump faces impeachment on two counts—Article I: Abuse of Power; soliciting Ukraine’s election interference; and Article II: Obstruction of Congress — directing “the unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by the House.”

8

As explained in the House Judiciary Committee’s final report, “Although President Trump’s actions need not rise to the level of a criminal violation to justify impeachment, his conduct here was criminal.” There is a detailed description of two federal crimes involved in abuse of power: bribery and wire fraud. The report also argues that Trump poses a continuing threat if left in office, as “he has shown no remorse or regret, but rather insists that his conduct was ‘perfect’ and continues to engage in misconduct.”

In response, as if to prove this very point, Trump wants to turn the tables with a circus-like Alice in Wonderland trial that goes after Joe and Hunter Biden, continuing the main thrust of the very conduct he’s being impeached for. Trump wants total vindication—as a narcissist always does—and total chaos, which he thrives on.

McConnell wants a lightning-quick trial with no new evidence, no chance for anyone to think of anything, and minimal exposure of his members’ venality, with another election so near.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. File photo

Neither wants a full airing of the facts. There will be no witnesses like acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney; former national security adviser John Bolton; and Michael Duffey, a top official at the Office of Management and Budget— all of whom have first-hand knowledge of Trump’s illicit scheme and were on a witness list Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer included as part of a package of procedural demands for a fair and focused trial.

Trump and McConnell might seem irreconcilably at odds—but both are agreed on some sort of fix. Neither wants what Schumer is asking for, a genuine fair trial, since the facts are so fatal for Trump. So, on Dec. 12, after a meeting with Trump’s lawyers, McConnell proudly announced “There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position in how to handle this,” in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. Trump impeachment advisor Pam Bondi defended this, days later, to Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday: “We weren’t given a fair trial in the House at all. It now goes to the Senate and these senators. The president deserves to be heard. We should be working hand-in-hand with them.”

Thus, the actual nature of the fixed trial has yet to be decided, but the rationale is fully baked in advance: Whatever we do is fair, because they were unfair to us. It’s tribal messaging 101. And — as Bardella notes — it’s utter bullshit.

He’s hardly the only former Republican who can’t ignore the hypocrisy. The most recent prominent one is Bryan Garner, Editor in chief of Black’s Law Dictionary and coauthor of two books with Antonin Scalia, as well as a memoir of their friendship.

“I’ve always called myself Republican,” Garner tweeted on Dec. 14. “But as of today, I’m switching parties. Over impeachment.

The Republican positions aren’t consonant with intellectual honesty. As of today, I’m an Independent.”

Another lifelong Republican to speak out was William Webster, the only man to head both the FBI and the CIA. He didn’t respond to impeachment directly, but to related attacks on the FBI to bolster’s Trump’s false allegations of a deep state witch-hunt — allegations which also absolve Russia of election interference in 2016. In a New York [Impeachment from p. 14]

The GOP’s Foolish Four ‘Alternative Facts’ In Defense of Trump’s Abuse of Power Trump and House Republicans had no facts on their side in the question of Trump’s abuse of power as he sought campaign interference from Ukraine. But they did have “alternative facts,” four of which they repeatedly hammered. Here’s a quick debunking of them, as stated by Jim Jordan: 1) Claim: “The call transcript shows no quid pro quo.” Reality: It shows no use of the term “quid pro quo,” but the demand is summed up in just 10 words, “I would like you to do us a favor, though.”

2) Claim: “The two individuals on the call, President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump, have said [there was] no pushing and linking between money and an announcement of an investigation.” Reality: Trump is a liar, who’s simply denying criminal conduct. Zelensky’s still dependent on Trump and knows damn well his country will suffer unimaginably if he angers Trump.

3) Claim: “Ukrainians didn’t know at the time of the call that the aid had been held up.” Reality: Multiple witnesses have refuted this. They not only knew it was held up, they were asking about it.

4) Claim: “The Ukrainians took no action, no start of an investigation, no promise to start an investigation, no Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zel- announcement on CNN, via tweet, no announcement ensky got caught in the middle of whatsoever that there was going to be any type of investigation into Burisma or the Bidens to get the aid Trump’s mob-like tactics. File photo released.” Reality: Zelensky had planned to make the announcement on Fareed Zakaria’s show on CNN on Sept. 13, but the story became public two days earlier. No action was taken because they got caught in the act.

Curtain Call

Brisk A Christmas Carol, Good to Give Your Dickens Fix B

By Greggory Moore, Curtain Call

efore A Christmas Story, before the classic claymation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, even before It’s a Wonderful Life, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol established itself as a holiday staple. You know the story; Scrooge, rich in pocket but poor of heart, is shown the error of his ways via a series of visitations, then turns it all around in the St. Nick of time, and “God bless us, everyone!”

I used that same opening paragraph exactly one year ago in this newspaper when Long Beach Playhouse staged an entirely new, in-house adaptation of Dickens’s classic. But this year they’re giving us a straightforward take, so there goes my Xmas present of getting paid to simply reprint an old review. Bah! If you’re not put off by the fact that this iteration of perhaps the all-time classic Christmas story brings nothing new to the table and simplyneeds to satisfy your traditionalist jones, you’re in good hands here. Gregory Cohen, ‘Phie Mura and director Evan Battle’s adaptation barely

[See Curtain Call, p. 11]

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

deserves the term—I’m only using it because they put it on the program—so straightforwardly do they tell the tale.

Despite the fact that he didn’t write A Christmas Carol for the stage, Dickens himself would likely see this take as a natural retelling; it even includes the original narrative voice in the person of Julian Bremer, whose easy charm and eloquence make him perfect for the part.

And surely Mr. Dickens would be delighted by the way Robb Tracy brings his most famous character to life. Probably the production’s most novel element is how funny Tracy makes him. Without sacrificing any of the humbuggery, Tracy finds numerous laughs between the cracks, providing effective comic relief. Aiding the mood-lightening is Carlos G. Rodriguez as Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. I’ve not seen a Fred quite so confident and breezy (and I’ve seen plenty), a turn that makes for an especially believable dynamic. Because really, how seriously can you take a relative as crabby as Scrooge?

Although there’s little to criticize about this staging, I could not shake the nagging feeling that perhaps Cohen/ Mura/Battle cut too much. Clocking in at a mere 70 minutes, perhaps there’s not quite enough time spent establishing mood? Are we missing a few lines we really ought to have? I’m not quite sure, but the feeling persists, so… My other minor complaint concerns the Ghost of Christmas Future. Portrayed by a simple but very fine-looking puppet, the initial image is fabulous, but for the rest of this leg of Scrooge’s journey I kept wishing it was more active,

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

Scrooge (Robb Tracy) is visited by ghosts on Christmas Eve in Long Beach Playhouse’s production of A Christmas Carol.

9

T

he roast beast may be the main event on most holiday tables and typically, that’s the responsibility of the host. But since on any given night we are statistically more likely to be a guest at the party than the host, it helps to have a few side dishes in the toolbox.

Here are three of my go-to dishes for when somebody else is baking the bird.

Roots that Rock

This recipe produces spuds with a pleasing, crunchy skin that swells around the molten potato flesh inside. Drier potatoes, like russets or Yukon golds, will outperform waxy types like fingerlings or reds. My favorite potatoes to roast like this are purples, which blow up like purple puffy blimps full of atomized starchy bliss.

Ingredients 3 pounds potatoes 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon smoked paprika 1 tablespoon black pepper 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin 4 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons salt

Optional sauces: fresh garlic and butter for tossing; ketchup, mayo and hot sauce for dipping.

Add 2 tablespoons salt to a gallon of water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, boil for ten minutes and drain. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, along with a tray.

Mix the cumin, black pepper, garlic powder and 1 tablespoon salt and add two tablespoons of this mixture to the still-warm roots and stir them around roughly, to help disintegrate the soft, starchy exteriors. Add the olive oil and stir again.

The Sides of December

By Ari LeVaux, Contributor

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the tray and inspect. Turn each piece so a different side faces down and bake again, removing pieces periodically and testing them, until you decide they are done.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts and cauliflower over mustard crème fraiche makes For a tangy, spicy dip, a striking side to roasted meats. Photo Ari LeVaux. mix equal parts mayo Ingredients and ketchup and add hot sauce to taste.

2 cups (8 oz.) Brussels sprouts, evenly sized For the garlic herb butter dressing, melt the 2 cups (8 oz.) cauliflower florets, broken or butter in a pan and saute fresh garlic and green cut into 2 inches or smaller on a side herbs, like parsley, sage, rosemary and/or 1 quart fry oil thyme. Toss the roots in the garlic herb butter ½ cup (2 oz.) cured pork belly lardons (or 2 and serve. slices bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch wide pieces) This is a side dish that will steal the show.

The crispy Brussels sprouts and cauliflower are balanced by the piercing notes of a cider vinegar reduction and the spicy richness of a mustard crème fraiche. Makes 2 servings.

Blanch the Brussels sprouts for about 2 minutes.

Transfer immediately to ice water for another 2 minutes, then drain. They should be completely dry before going into the oil.

Heat a quart of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or deep pan. The oil should be at least 2 inches deep and at least 3 inches from the rim. When it reaches 350 degrees, turn the heat down to hold it there.

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

Fry the lardons for a minute or two, until they are golden brown. Remove and let drain. Add the cauliflower and Brussels sprouts and fry for about 3 minutes — until the cauliflower is

Stir the vinegar, buttermilk and lemon juice into the cream; let it sit for four hours. Stir in the mustards. Keep refrigerated until needed.

Cider Vinegar Reduction 1 large onion, chopped 2 tablespoons oil 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 quart cider vinegar

Heat the oil in a pan and “caramelize the crap out of the onions” on low heat for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the sugar, salt and vinegar and cook until the volume reduces by two-thirds. Let cool and blend until smooth. Strain out the (very tasty) onion sludge.

Keep the cider reduction refrigerated until needed.

Crème Anglaise

This rich, luxurious drink will outclass the finest eggnog. The French are spoiled, as they can buy it in cartons at the supermarket. And they love it so much they are loathe to export it. Makes two cups 1 cup milk 1 cup cream 3 yolks 3 tablespoons sugar 2-inch section vanilla pod, split Combine milk and cream and heat slowly with the vanilla pod. Meanwhile beat the yolks and sugar together.

When the milk is about to simmer, with bubbles forming on the edge of the pot, add it in a very slow, thin stream to the yolks, beating furiously the whole time with an egg beater or immersion blender. You want the yolks to heat up very slowly as the milk is incorporated. If at this point it doesn’t look like scrambled eggs, continue.

Put the mixture back in the milk pan (sans vanilla pod) and heat very slowly, stirring often. Swirl the mixture around in the pot and look at the bottom. As soon as a layer of custard starts to build on the bottom of the pan, turn off the heat, pour it into a vessel and allow it to cool. It only takes a few seconds, and is easy to overdo at this point. Alternatively, wait until it coats a spoon and you can streak it with your finger.

This is the thick stuff, restaurant-grade and it is meant to be poured on top of something similarly decadent. Amazingly, you can make it even richer and thicker by going full cream. And if you want to add some Kalua, I won’t stop you. ‘Tis the season, after all.

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

10

Toss the Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and lardons in salt.

Mustard Crème Fraiche 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon buttermilk 1 teaspoon cider vinegar 1 teaspoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons ground mustard

Spread the potatoes upon the hot tray and hear them sizzle. Put as many pieces on the tray as possible without letting any of them touch.

Crispy Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower

brown and the Brussels sprouts puff up. Remove and drain.

50% OFF BREAKFAST Buy 1 Breakfast Entrée & 2 Drinks, Get 1 Breakfast HALF OFF

Of equal or lesser value. With coupon. Exp. 1/15/20

[Curtain Call from p. 9]

Curtain Call

more alive.

Everything else is spot-on. The rest of the cast is great (well, there is one little girl who needs to learn to project a bit more, but never mind), Rebecca Roth’s costumery is exactly what it should be and David Zahacewski’s lighting design is noteworthy for its unexpected brightness, streaming down from a variety of

angles like shafts of sunlight slicing through shifting cloud banks. Battle’s direction wants for nothing, with blocking that utilizes the entire mainstage space.

Perhaps you’ve seen A Christmas Carol so many times you don’t see the point of seeing it again. But if you feel that ‘tis the season to be explicitly reminded that “[i]t is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen” so that we might “think of people below [us] as if they

really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys” (gosh, I love that line!), Long Beach Playhouse is here for you again this year.

Time: 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday; 8 p.m.

Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 22.

Cost: $14 to $24 Details: 562-494-1014; LBplayhouse.org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach

Brought to you by the artists and restaurants of the Downtown San Pedro Waterfront Arts District

JAN 2 5-9 pm

Michael Stearns Studio@The Loft

Studio Gallery 345

ANOTHER DIMENSION

Michael Stearns, Vinter

Pat Woolley

Details: 310-545-0832 or 310-374-8055; artsail@roadrunner. com or www.patwoolleyart.com.

Details: 562-400-0544

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

Studio 345 presents paintings by Pat Woolley and Gloria D Lee. Open 5 to 9 p.m. on First Thursday and by appointment.

Studio 345, 345 W. 7th St., San Pedro.

The process of sculpture and the use of natural materials has been consistent in the work of Michael Stearns. This collection of sculptures incorporates organic materials along with urban components, with the goal of creating communication out of discord. Exhibit runs Jan. 2 through Jan. 26. Artist’s reception, Jan. 5, 2 to 5 p.m. Michael Stearns Studio@The Loft, 401 S. Mesa St., San Pedro. Enter the Loft at the loading dock on 4th St.

Art supplied

$65 (plus tax)

RLn BRINGS YOU DEDICATED COVERAGE OF THE ARTS IN THE HARBOR AREA. FOR ADVERTISING, CALL 310. 519.1442

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

1ST THURSDAY SPECIAL 1,000 FULL COLOR POSTCARDS 4 x 6”

11

A MUSIC Dec. 20

Egyptian Lover Egyptian Lover performs his annual holiday concert at JDC Record Store.

Time: 7 p.m. Dec. 20 Cost: Free Details: 424-264-5335 Venue: JDC Record Store, 447 W. 6th St., San Pedro Legends of the Queen Mary Travel back in time and meet the ghosts and legends of this historic ship. Feel the touch of a ghostly hand. Hear the voices of those long gone. Witness the apparition of the spirits who haunt the hallowed halls of the Queen Mary.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 20 Cost: $45-$60 Details: https://www.queenmary. com/ Venue: Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach

DEC 19 - JAN 8

ARTS CULTURE ENTERTAINMENT

return with the extraordinary tribute to Rob Zombie. The lineup includes all the favorite Bombshells along with a rotating list of guest performers.

Time: 9:30 p.m. Dec. 26 Cost: $15 Details: awin1.com Venue: Harvelle’s Downtown Long Beach, 201 E Broadway, Long Beach

Dec. 27

Fourth Fridays at Page Against The Machine MBT [MajicBulletTheory] will be burning up Retro Row in front of Page Against The Machine with funky jazz.

Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 27 Cost: Free Details: 562-588-7075 Venue: Page Against The Machine, 2714 E. 4th St., Long Beach

Dec. 28

Baila Reggaeton y Mas Vesos presents Baila Reggaeton y Mas! This is Long Beach’s newest 21 and over night spot.

Time: 9:30 p.m. Dec. 20 Cost: Free Venue: Baila Reggaeton y Mas, 140 Pine Ave., Long Beach

(Almost) End of the Year Bash Get ready to party with Fartbarf, TV Heads, Assquatch and TKF. Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 28 Cost: $10 Details: http://www.alexsbar.com Venue: Alex’s Bar, 2913 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach

The Scorch Sisters Come get some down home soul food at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles and enjoy some cocktails with LA’s all female blues soul and jazz band.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 20 Cost: $10 Details: roscoesjazzlounge.com/ Venue: Roscoes Seabird Jazz Lounge, 730 E. Broadway Ave., Long Beach

Mick Adams and The Stones Named one of the top ten tribute bands in the world by Backstage Magazine, Mick Adams and The Stones®, are an authentic recreation of The Rolling Stones, live in concert. Endorsed by former Atlantic Records President, Jerry Greenberg, this band must be seen to be believed.

Time: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 28 Details: www.alvasshowroom. com Venue: Alvas Showroom. 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

24K Magic Come out for Bruno Mars tribute band 24K Magic and shake that thang on the dance floor.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 21 Cost: $20 Details: GaslampTix.com, 562-596-4718 for dinner or bottle service RSVP Venue: Gaslamp Lounge, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach

December 19, 2019 - January 8, 2020

Holiday Pops Spectacular!

2019 The Golden State Pops Orchestra’s Holiday Spectacular makes its triumphant return with joyous music and high spirits.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 21 Cost: $27 to $75 Details: www.tinyurl.com/ holidaypopsconcert Venue: Warner Grand Theater, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Dec. 21

12

Holiday Slack Key Show Join Alvas Showroom for the annual Hawaiian Holiday Slack Key Show with Jim “Kimo” West. Time: 8 to 10 p.m. Dec. 21 Cost: $20 Details: www.alvasshowroom. tix.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Dec. 26

Living Dead Girls The Bootleg Bombshells

Circus of Sin It’s femme fatale cabaret, it’s film noir, it’s contortionists, aerialists, moving to the backdrops of violins, mandolins, bass guitar and drums.

The best live band performance in the west!

Time: 9 p.m. Dec. 28 Cost: $15 Details: longbeach.harvelles.com Venue: Harvelle’s Downtown Long Beach, 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach

Dec. 31

Chess Pie New Years at the Alhambra Hosted by Persena’s Other Daughter and the Alhambra Cocktail Lounge, the oldest bar in San Pedro, the Chess Pie Allstars will return to the Alhambra Cocktail Lounge for a New Year’s Eve celebration.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 31 Cost: Free Details: 310-548-4000 Venue: Alhambra, 216 W 11th St., San Pedro New Year’s Eve: Past & Present The Queen Mary’s New Year’s Eve Past & Present invites revelers to travel back in time and voyage throughout the ship’s uniquely-themed decks and ballrooms for spectacular live music, DJ’s, dancers and strolling entertainment.

Time: Dec. 31 Cost: $120 Details: queenmary.com Venue: Queen Mary, 1126

Queens Highway, Long Beach Windy’s NYE Party in Pedro Windy City Entertainment presents Windy in concert with her All-Star Band. This will be the party of the century in Pedro.

Time: 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 31 Cost: $100 Details: 310-872-8012; WindyBarnes.com Venue: Janny’s Showroom At People’s Place, 365 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Jan. 2

First Thursday Dixieland Jazz Enjoy the downtown art walk and music with New Whalers fivepiece dixieland jazz band.

Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 2 Cost: Free Details: www.whaleandale.com Venue: The Whale and Ale, 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Jan. 3

First Fridays at First Beverly Hills National Auditions winners, soprano Anastasia Malliaras and guitarist Aaron Haas perform original repertoire as well as transcriptions that reinterpret the classic art song. A reception follows.

Time: 12:15 p.m. Jan. 3 Cost: Free Details: 310-316-5574; www.palosverdes.com/ ClassicalCrossroads/FirstFridays. htm Venue: First Lutheran Church & School, 2900 W. Carson St. Torrance Jerry’s Middle Finger Jerry’s Middle Finger (JMF), a Los Angeles-based band, is the west’s best Jerry Garcia Band tribute experience, performing and celebrating the music of the Jerry Garcia Band with unbridled energy and passion.

Time: 9:30 p.m. Jan. 3 Cost: $12 Details: longbeach.harvelles.com Venue: Harvelle’s Downtown Long Beach, 201 E Broadway, Long Beach

Jan. 4

Warfest 2020 Warfest lives on with punk rock greats Agent Orange, Guttermouth and Authority Zero along with special guests Amerikan Made, Dissension, Chaser, Mr. Firley and Infamous Stiffs. The event is for all ages.

Time: 5 p.m. Jan. 4 Cost: $20 Details: GaslampTix.com, 562-596-4718 Venue: Gaslamp Lounge, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach Celluloid Heroes Start out the new year right with Celluloid Heroes presenting an evening of Kinks classics, including all the hits and fan favorite LP tracks.

Time: 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Jan. 4 Cost: $15 Details: www.alvasshowroom.tix. com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Jan. 5

Frankie Avalon and Chubby Checker Two of the biggest stars in the

entertainment industry will have you dancing in the aisles. Jam with Frankie Avalon and Chubby Checker.

Time: 7 p.m. Jan. 5 Cost: $70 to $95 Details: 562-916-8500; www.cerritoscenter.com Venue: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 18000 Park Plaza Drive, Cerritos Maria Puga Lareo Celebrated Argentinian vocalist Maria Puga Lareo and Bob Sheppard, jazz saxophone player and woodwind recording artist, interpret the best of the jazz American songbook, Brazilian music and some of their original compositions.

Time: 4 to 6 p.m. Jan 5 Cost: $20 Details: www.alvasshowroom. com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

THEATER Dec.19

A Moment In a dive bar in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, Milo has decided his life isn’t worth living. But before he can leave, the imposing and peppy bartender Lucy engages him in conversation. What begins as a trivial exchange quickly turns into a night of possibility for both of them, confirming it’s a wonderful life.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 19; 2 p.m. Dec. 20 Cost: $24 to $28 Details: www.littlefishtheatre.org/ pond/a-moment Venue: Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre St., San Pedro

DANCE Dec. 21

The Nutcracker Dance West Dance Studio/ Metropolitan Ballet Company presents The Nutcracker in the James Armstrong Theatre.

Time: 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 21 Cost: $18 to $20 Details: 310-781-7171; torranceca.gov Venue: James R. Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance

ARTS

Dec. 22 Farewell by Ben and Peggy Zask This is the last chance to visit Farewell by Peggy Sivert and Ben Zask. Artillery Magazine said there is “Beautiful work in Farewell—from the graceful equine sculptures and haunting dark paintings of Sivert, to Zask’s intricate full-wall panel installation of found and repurposed objects.”

Time: 2 to 5 p.m. Dec. 22 Cost: Free Details: www.michaelstearns studio.com Venue: Michael Stearns Studio at the Loft, 401 S. Mesa St., San Pedro

Jan. 2

San Pedro First Thursday Artwalk On the first Thursday of every month, over 40 galleries and studios host public receptions and food trucks are on the street for the First Thursday Art Walk. There is live music at many venues and an official tour starts at 6:30 p.m. from the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, 390 W. 7th St. Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Jan 2 Cost: Free Details: sanpedrochamber.com Location: Downtown San Pedro Arts District, 6th and 7th streets

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

FILM

Dec. 20 Winter Movie at Malaga Cove Library Enjoy a special winter movie presentation of Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn. This musical gem from 1942 features Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire and Marjorie Reynolds, directed by Mark Sandrich. Seating is limited to 50 chairs and is on a first-come, firstserved basis. Light refreshments will be provided.

Time: 6:30 p.m Dec. 20 Cost: Free Details: 310-377-9584 Venue: Malaga Cove Library, 2400 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates

Dec. 22

It’s A Wonderful Life Frank Capra’s timeless holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life will screen at the historical Warner Grand Theatre. Bring the whole family and see it on the big screen.

Time: 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 22 Cost: $13 Details: www.spiffest.org Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St.,San Pedro

WELLNESS Dec. 29

Meditation Join an open meditation and book study with either guided mindfulness, dakini or 4 immeasurables practice each week. Offered on a donation basis, suggested amount $5.

Time: 9 a.m. Dec. 29 Cost: Free Details: www.angelsgateart.org Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro

COMMUNITY Dec. 20

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Holiday Shopping Skip long lines with terrible parking at the mall and enjoy a leisurely after hours shopping experience with free snacks and drinks.

Time: 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 20 Cost: Free Details www.friendsof cabrilloaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro 3rd Fridays Christmas On Pine On Pine presents a night of live Christmas music and free cookie and ornament making, in addition to Christmas card making for local veterans. The night will feature musicians and Kress Market will have tacos for sale.

Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 20 Cost: Free Details: onpine@gmail.com Venue: Kress Market and Deli, 443 Pine Ave., Long Beach

Dec. 21

Outdoor Volunteer Day Help beautify the Nature Center’s native demonstration garden and surrounding habitat.

Time: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Dec. 21 Cost: Free Details: pvplc.volunteerhub.com Venue: White Point Nature

Preserve, 1600 W. Paseo del Mar, San Pedro Family Nature Walk The whole family will enjoy a naturalist-guided walk through the Tongva Demonstration Garden.

Learn how early inhabitants used native plants for survival. Walk through a beautifully restored coastal sage scrub habitat with views of Catalina.

Time: 11 a.m. Dec. 21 Cost: Free Details: RSVP www.pvplc.org Venue: White Point Nature Preserve, 1600 W. Paseo del Mar, San Pedro Family Outdoor Volunteer Activity Put on your grubbies and take part in kid-friendly activities to plant seeds, care for native plants and track butterflies. Children of all ages will begin to understand the role that humans play in efforts to conserve and restore natural areas. RSVP. Time: 11 a.m. Dec. 21 Cost: Free Details: www.pvplc.org, Venue: George F. Canyon Nature Center, 27305 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rolling Hills Estates Shoreline Village Holidays 2019 Spend your Holidays at Shoreline Village offering free Santa Claus photo ops and costumed characters, free front row seating to Shoreline Yacht Club’s 37th Annual Christmas Boat Parade.

Time: 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 21 Cost: Free Venue: Shoreline Village, Long Beach City of Carson WinterFest Celebrate the holiday season with some festive family fun featuring DJ Lela B from Radio Disney Enjoy train rides, jumpers, holiday crafts, a s’mores station, a visit from Santa, and a snow run for the kids.

Time: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 21 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl.com/ carson-winter-fest Venue: 22400 Moneta Ave., Carson Long Beach Symphony: Holiday POPS! with The Copa Boys Ring in the holidays with The Copa Boys as they reunite to spread holiday cheer singing famous holiday tunes and Rat Pack standards. The POPS! Series is a fun and friendly way to enjoy an entertaining night out.

Time: 8 p.m. Dec. 21 Cost: $30 to $50 Venue: Long Beach Arena. 300 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach The Holiday Follies at the Queen Mary Enjoy a holiday show and a threecourse dinner aboard the Queen Mary with the Holiday Follies—a fun-filled musical journey through the holidays.

Time: 7 to 10 p.m. Dec. 21 Details: www.queenmary.com Venue: Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach

Dec. 22

SoCal Etsy Guild Market at the Del Amo Fashion Center Enjoy a day of handmade fun with handmade artisan vendors, artists, food, live art and giveaways. All vendors will be located below the movie theater, near Forever 21 and a main mall entrance.

Time: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec 22 Cost: Free Details: www.socaletsyguild markettorrance.eventbrite.com Venue: Del Amo Fashion Center, 3525 Carson St., Torrance

Dec. 25

Christmas Day Brunch Your “presents” is requested! Join a festive Christmas Day brunch for our LGBTQ families and friends. Brunch and beverages will be provided, and there will be vegetarian and vegan options available for guests. Eat, drink, be merry and celebrate the holiday season with The Center.

Time: 12 to 3 p.m., Dec. 25 Cost: Free Details: https://www.centerlb.org/ Venue: The LGBTQ Center Long Beach, 2017 E. 4th St., Long Beach

Dec. 28

Butterfly Gardens Help attract butterflies and other pollinators to your garden with local native plants grown in the conservancy’s nursery. Purchase colorful, drought-tolerant native plants that make fertilizers and insecticides virtually unnecessary and require little or no water.

RSVP. Time: 11 a.m. Dec. 28 Cost: Free Details: www.pvplc.org Venue: George F. Canyon Nature Center, 27305 Palos Verdes Drive East, Rolling Hills Estates

Dec. 29 So-Cal Cycle Swapmeet The So-Cal Cycle Swap Meet is the largest monthly gathering of riders in the United States.

Held every month at Long Beach Veteran’s Stadium, the So-Cal Cycle Swap Meet is an “All Brands” event with over 500 Vendors and over 1,000 bikes for show and for sale. This event is for riders and collectors from all ends of the bike hobby, including Harleys, cruisers, choppers, vintage and more.

Time: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 29 Cost: $10 for cars, $9 for motorcycles or bicycles, cash only.

Details: https://www.facebook. com/groups/CMCEventGroup/ Venue: Long Beach Veteran’s Stadium, 5000 Lew Davis St., Long Beach

Dec. 31

The Zen Den Come celebrate Noon-Years with us at The Zen Den San Pedro, we will have crafts, snacks and a count down to high noon with an apple juice toast to start the year.

This is followed by the classic movie Rudolf’s Shiny New Year!

This is for kids from ages of 4 to 8 years old. RSVP Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 31

Cost: Free Details: www.zendensanpedro. com Venue: Zen Den, 360 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Jan. 1

Polar Bear Swim Come join the Cabrillo Beach Polar Bears for the first swim or dip of 2020 and the crowning of the new King and Queen of the Polar Bears on New Year’s Day. Free coffee and hot cocoa.

Time: 11:30 a.m. Jan. 1 Cost: Free Details: www.cabrillobeachpolar bears.com Venue: Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro

Jan. 7

We Can Do It Open Mic Join a spectacular kickoff night of the official We Can Do It. Curated open mic is hosted by singer, songwriter and poet Melissa Lussier. This month’s featured guests include rock star Shy But Flyy, acclaimed spoken word and Tedtalk speaker Tiffany Dawn Hasse and live painting by artist nadia f. alamah.

Time: 7 to 10 p.m. Jan. 7 Cost: Free Details: www.madebymillworks. com/pages/elinordrinkery Venue: Elinor, 250 N. Tribune Ct., Long Beach

Publishes January 9 and 23, 2020 Deadline Jan. 3 and Jan. 17

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[Rio Tinto, from p. 6]

Rio Tinto

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

As we delivered the petition, Flavio and Jesus shared with Rio Tinto management their firsthand reports about the long hours they work each day and how NFI/CCX steals their wages and violates their rights.

For instance, the California Labor Commissioner has found in the case of 14 drivers that NFI/CCX owes them $3.7 million for wage theft — like forcing drivers to pay the costs of owning, maintaining and repairing expensive big rigs, not paying drivers for all hours worked and failing to provide drivers with meal or rest breaks. On top of that, NFI/CCX does not provide health insurance to its drivers — an aging workforce performing one of the most dangerous jobs in the country.

At the end of our visit, Rio Tinto management took the petitions and told us they are investigating the issues but didn’t commit to anything. Today, Rio Tinto continues to do business with NFI/CCX and the drivers are still fighting for their rights, at their workplace and in the courts.

We were moved by the accounts given by Flavio and Jesus’and their bravery. We continue to Support their quest for justice. As members of Our People Our Port Coalition, which includes concerned community members, worker rights activists, immigrant rights advocates and faith

leaders, we put our values and our faiths to action, not just because it is morally the right thing to do; these drivers are members of our communities, our congregations and our city and we all benefit from their hard work.

Global giants such as Rio Tinto who profit off the backs of workers and our natural resources have the responsibility not to partner with lawbreaking companies and to enforce their own codes of conduct. It is appalling that Rio Tinto continues to do business with NFI/California Cartage Express when they are well aware of the rampant and documented violations.

We are left wondering if corporate codes of conduct actually mean anything. Are they just empty words on a piece of paper that companies like Rio Tinto have no intention of enforcing?

Rio Tinto, we are asking you to enforce your own code of conduct and stop partnering with lawbreaking companies. This is about following through on your own principles and integrity as a company.

Nelson L. Castorillo is a Senior Pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Wilmington. Paul Michael Neuman is a Co-Founder of the East Area Progressive Democratic Club and Chair of the 43rd Assembly District of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and they are members of the Our People Our Port Coalition.

RANDOMLetters [Letters, from p.7]

and became operational on March 11, 2019. We have quickly ramped up her services to students since. LAMI has also made exceptional progress in the reconstruction of the organization’s original educational tall ship, the Swift of Ipswich, with the launch of the vessel on Dec. 6, 2019. We anticipate her returning to service before the end of next year.

One life lesson learned onboard a sailboat is that the path from point A to point B is seldom a straight line—it [Impeach, from p. 8]

Impeach

Times op-ed, Webster wrote:

I know firsthand the professionalism of the men and women of the F.B.I. The aspersions cast upon them by the president and my longtime friend, Attorney General William P. Barr, are troubling in the extreme. Calling F.B.I. professionals “scum,” as the president did, is a slur against people who risk their lives to keep us safe. Mr. Barr’s charges of bias within the F.B.I., made without providing any evidence and in direct dispute of the findings of the nonpartisan inspector general, risk inflicting enduring damage on this critically important institution.

QUICK RESPONSE TIME!

that threaten our national security, while ignoring a much broader range of constitutional violations, such as Trump’s multiple egregious violations of the Emoluments Clause.

In sharp contrast, Ralph Nader and two constitutional scholars, Louis Fisher and Bruce Fein, wrote a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi in late November, calling for impeachment on 12 counts. “Several of the counts are per se impeachable and need no more fact-finding,” they wrote. These include:

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Barr’s charges of bias were made to directly undercut the findings of Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who found no political bias motivating the FBI’s opening an investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 election—a finding that directly contradicts one of Trump’s most desperately cherished conspiracy theories. “Don’t look at my crimes, look at the horrible bias of those people investigating me” has been a pillar of Trump’s defense from the very beginning. The more that other Republicans like Barr and House Republican leaders, echo his false accusations, the more they reinforce a tribal warfare frame that prevents the kind of sober fact-finding and deliberation that ought to take place in making such a weighty decision.

Democrats have tried to combat this by keeping their impeachment charges narrowly focused on abuses

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commitment to grow our capacity to meet the critical needs of young people that our appeal to you, our supporters, takes on particular importance this year.

We take significant pride in the positive impact LAMIis having and are keenly aware of the ever-increasing challenges life presents to our young people. LAMI is motivated by a passionate disquiet to do more. We hope you will join us to celebrate our accomplishments and also help us continue to empower our youth and prepare them for the future with a generous donation during our annual appeal.

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requires course corrections due to encounters with changing winds, unfavorable seas, and unexpected hazards. This experience is not unique to sailing at sea — we all adjust to unforeseen circumstances as we navigate toward our goals. As a nonprofit organization, LAMI is particularly sensitive to the adjustments our supporters need to make due to their situations, whether it is government rollbacks or funding priority shifts for foundations.

As a seasoned sailor sets their eye on the horizon, LAMI remains steadfast in our mission and our commitment to our youth. We are prepared to respond to these changing conditions with agility, innovation, and care. It is from our

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Defiance of congressional subpoenas and oversight; spending billions of dollars on a southern border wall not appropriated for that purpose; continuing or expanding presidential wars not declared

by Congress; exercising lineitem veto power; flouting the Emoluments Clause; and, playing prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner to kill any person on the planet based on secret, unsubstantiated information.

And they added, “Hearings to educate the public about the alarming consequences of such per se violations is imperative to fortify the full constitutional legitimacy of the impeachment charges.” But it’s a bit late to start educating the public now, when Republicans are all in on pushing the partisan warfare frame. Those arguments should have been forcefully advanced from the moment of Trump’s initial violations. Bringing them up now only feeds into the GOP narrative of “Democrats desperately seeking an impeachment rationale” — a narrative most effectively countered with a simple request for all the witnesses to be heard, and all the facts considered.

If Trump is so innocent, what does he have to hide?

That is the question that GOP Senators will have to face in the new year. A mere four defections would make it impossible for Moscow Mitch McConnell to impose his Trump-protecting rules, whatever form they ultimately take.

But whether there will even be one defection is anybody’s guess.

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ACROSS

1 Tres ___ cake 7 Dangerous reptiles 11 Indicted Giuliani associate Parnas 14 Breathe out 15 Monument Valley state 16 Windows file extension 17 100% correct 18 It may be an acquired taste 20 Comment about a loud blockbuster after thinking it was a Chaplin movie?

22 “___ Tu” (1974 hit song) 23 Shoe bottom 24 “Nailed It!” host Nicole 26 Mountain suffix 27 Permit 29 “Beefy” Trogdor feature 31 Academic URL ender 32 Fake device 34 “Where did ___ leave off?”

36 Phrase you won’t hear from me or other solvers?

39 Winding 41 Den-izens?

42 Planned Airbnb event in 2020 43 Throw in 46 “A Dream Within a Dream” writer 47 “Charlie’s Angels” director, 2000

50 “That ___ funny” 52 Island with Pearl Harbor 54 Country singer McCann 55 Like the most lenient newspaper ever?

59 Word before band or papers 60 2001 A.L. MVP Suzuki 61 Pint at a pub 62 Service rank 63 Home-___ (local athlete) 64 “That’s it” 65 Steering wheel adjunct 66 Finely decorated

DOWN

1 Apartment renter 2 Become invalid 3 Irascibility 4 Has no love for 5 Tesla CEO Musk 6 Airmailed 7 Pub quiz round format, maybe 8 “A Streetcar Named Desire” shout 9 Four-time Masters champion 10 It’s between the knee and the ankle 11 2020, for one 12 Goes beyond 13 “Oy ___!”

19 Summer cookout leftover 21 Aperture setting on a camera

25 9-to-5 grind 27 “Threepenny Opera” star Lotte 28 “Baudolino” author Umberto 30 Creator of Piglet and Pooh 32 Driver’s license agcy.

33 “The King and I” star Brynner 35 “___ Miserables” 36 Hematite and pyrite 37 Close, as a jacket 38 Exhibit site 39 10% of MXX 40 High-end 44 Two-ended tile 45 De Niro’s wife in “Meet the Parents” 47 Smallest possible quantities 48 Bordeaux red wine 49 Aplenty 51 “American Chopper” network 53 Hulkamania figure 54 “Mean Girls” actress Lindsay 56 “Trouble’s in store” 57 “Mambo King” Puente 58 “Happy Birthday” writer 59 Indy 500 month

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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 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,

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