p
San Pedro Intersection Named Misty Copeland Square p. 2 Activists Call for Return of Port Oversight p. 3 Star Fisheries Workers Strike Before Christmas p. 13
An Irregular, Not Quite Random, Retrospective
T
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor, and Erik Kongshaug, Former Editor
[See Retrospective, page 4]
By James Preston Allen, Publisher
I
n every crucible where there are actors with competing interests, there is conflict. Without conflict there can be no resolution, let alone an end to a crisis. Random Lengths has played critical and important roles in most of the crucibles that have transformed the Los Angeles Harbor Area in the past 35 years. The first crucible, which proved momentous in this paper’s history before it was even founded, occurred on the night of Dec. 17, 1976. At the time, I had just moved into a new place I rented on 32nd Street, overlooking Cabrillo Beach and the West Channel, just a half mile from berth 46 at the Port of Los Angeles. My friend Patrick was setting up my stereo in time for my birthday party. As he tinkered with the sound system, a glimpse out a living room window facing the bay caused him to excitedly call me over. “Wow, James, you’ve got to come see this!” He said it with such intensity that I immediately ran to see what he was witnessing. Outside, across the channel was a ball of fire rising above a dark column of smoke, hundreds of feet into the sky as a Liberian oil tanker, called the S.S. Sansinena, exploded. [See Masthead, page 8]
stories—whether familiar, forgotten or even hidden—together in new ways. This is the reason for this retrospective.
Public-Interest Journalism Key to Saving a Diverse and Vibrant City
The Local Publication You Actually Read
hirty-five years is an eternity in the news business. When Random Lengths was launched, during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, there was no cable news, no Internet and no text messaging. People were distracted the old-fashioned way: Politicians lied to them and newspapers printed the lies as facts. This is where Random Lengths came in, taking aim at those lies, one at a time. The pace and volume of those lies have increased dramatically since then, requiring more thoughtful and diverse responses. Sometimes it’s shining light on a neglected or hidden story. Sometimes it’s setting the record straight about very public proceedings—from neighborhood councils and the Harbor Commission to the state legislature, the Congress, even United Nations conferences, like the recent climate change “Conference of Parties” in Paris. Sometimes it’s reporting from an unexpected perspective, showing things in a whole new light. Sometimes it’s taking a very familiar subject, story or point of view and discovering something more. Sometimes it’s being right up to the minute, as new developments cast old certainties into doubt. And, sometimes it’s recovering history, putting old
President of the San Pedro-Wilmington chapter of the NAACP, Dr. Cheyenne Bryant presents American Ballet Theater principal ballerina Misty Copeland with a lifetime membership to the NAACP. The pair are flanked by Councilman Joe Buscaino, Wolf Bradley of local band 20 Eyes and Copeland's former ballet instructor and director of San Pedro City Ballet, Cindy Bradley. Photo by Zamná Ávila.
December 24 - January 6, 2016
1
Community Announcements:
Harbor Area Christmas Tree Recycling Program
There are two ways to drop off your tree in Long Beach: You can take it to one of 12 locations from Dec. 26 through Jan. 8. Visit www.longbeachrecycles.org/recycling/tree_recycling.htm to find out where. Or on Jan. 9 there will be tree pick up from home where refuse is regularly collect. Put your tree out where your trash is normally collected by 7 a.m. Jan. 9. All decorations must be removed. Cut trees over 12-feet tall in half. Flocked trees will be accepted. Details: www.longbeach-recycles.org
Road Closures
Pico Avenue underpass at Ocean Boulevard (Gerald Desmond Bridge) will be closed in both directions. Additionally, the westbound Ocean offramp to Pico will be closed. From downtown Long Beach to reach northbound Pico Avenue: Use Shoreline Drive or Ocean to northbound Interstate 710 to the “Long Beach” off-ramp. Follow signs to return to southbound Pico. From downtown Long Beach to reach southbound Pico: Use Magnolia/ Queensway Drive and follow signs to Port of Long Beach/Queen Mary/Cruise Terminal. From Piers A to C to reach Piers E, F and G, H, J: Use southbound Pico to reach westbound Ocean and continue west to the State Route 47 or SR-103 off-ramp. Return on eastbound Ocean and exit at Pico. From Piers E, F and G, H, J to Reach Piers A-C: Use northbound Harbor Scenic Drive to northbound I-710. Exit at Anaheim Street or Pacific Coast Highway. Return on southbound I-710 and exit at Pico. Time: 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Dec. 28 through Jan. 8
Veterans’ Job Fair
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
The StubHub Center in collaboration with the Marine Corps Semper Fidelis will host a Veterans’ Job Fair.The event is free and features positions that are both full- and part-time. Candidates should bring at least 10 copies of résumés for employers. Time: 11 a.m. Jan. 3 Venue: StubHub Center, 18400 Avalon Blvd., Carson
2
Protect Yourself from Fraud This Holiday Season
The Long Beach Police Department sends along a holiday season recommendation that consumers take certain precautions to lower the chances of becoming victims of fraud. The surge in credit and debit card use at this time of year is mirrored by an increase in reported domestic and international fraud schemes, making it more important than ever to secure personal information. Here are a few prevention tips to help minimize risk: • Monitor automatic teller machine or debit card transactions. • When entering a personal identification number shield the keypad with your other hand • Make certain the ATM card reader is securely attached to the machine. If unsecured, alert the financial institution. • Be vigilant in monitoring account(s) online or by telephone • Track and review all bank and credit card statements for irregular activity • Use the credit card feature at the gas pumps; a zip code, not a PIN, is required • Never disclose to anyone over the telephone or online, your Social Security number, PIN number, bank account numbers or date of birth • Do not respond to emails requesting you to “confirm,” “update,” or “provide” account information • Do not imprint social security or driver’s license numbers on your personal checks • Request a copy of your “Consumer Credit Profile” Report from the credit reporting agencies—you may also obtain a copy at “www.annualcreditreport.com.”ˆand review for unusual activity. • Use a “cross-shredder” to destroy sensitive documents. Details: (562) 570-7330
Misty Copeland Square Dedicated On Dec. 21, Los Angeles officials renamed the corner of W. 13th Street and S. Pacific Avenue “Misty Copeland Square.” The designation and ceremony honor the American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, who developed her talents at the San Pedro Ballet School, near that intersection. Copeland welcomed the honor near a mural with her image at the school. Photo by Zamná Ávila.
Seeds of Compassion Share Christmas Cheer at Plaza Park Nora Hilda Vela, Chef Basil Kimbrew and Chef Gwendolyn Cross of the local homeless advocacy group Seeds of Compassion received congressional certificates of recognition from Rep. Janice Hahn’s office after the group’s Dec. 20 Christmas Dinner at the Park at Plaza Park in San Pedro. More than 400 homeless and low-income people were provided with dinner at the event. About 300 toys were given to children. Local partner, 110 Barber Shop donated free haircuts. Photo by Terelle Jerricks.
Local Ministry Donates More than 600 Domestic Violence Survival Hand Bags The Sisterhood Ministry at Mount Sinai Baptist Church secured 612 handbags for domestic violence survivors at their Dec. 12 forum on the issue.The handbags were donated to the representatives of local service centers assisting survivors of domestic violence including: SHAWL House, Rainbow Services, and Joint Efforts. Call the National Domestic Violence hotline first. It’s faster than the county hotline. Calls are confidential and immediately refers survivor to a provider near them anywhere in the United States. Details: (800) 799-7233; www.thehotline.org. Photo by Ray Richard.
Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 30 Years
Activists Urge City Council to Restore Port Oversight After China Shipping Debacle By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
settlement is so egregious that I would urge the plaintiffs to seek appointment of an overseer or receivership for the Port of Los Angeles with regard to compliance with all environmental laws and court approved settlements,” Warren said. “This is not the first time the Port of LA has ignored laws,” Gunter pointed out. “Until this agency is properly reprimanded, the port will never feel the pressure to actually follow the laws set down for it.” She urged the council members “to call for a criminal investigation by the federal government for this agency,” in order to demonstrate “your genuine concern about such a flagrant disregard of the law.” “When you conspire to violate state law, that’s a crime,” Pettit said. “When Ms. Gunter says that crimes have been committed, I think that’s not a wild statement.” What’s more, there was good reason to suspect a much larger problem, and the NRDC was beginning to examine other agreements. Beyond that, “The solution I think we need is some kind of public oversight,” Pettit said. “Experience has now shown that the port frankly can’t be trusted to manage these mitigations [See Oversight, page 4]
The Local Publication You Actually Read December 24 - January 6, 2016
Plaintiffs in the China Shipping lawsuit accused the Port of Los Angeles of breaking the law and called for new oversight structures to be put into place at a city council committee meeting on Dec. 15. They spoke of reinstating the Port Community Advisory Committee, PCAC, or a similar independent entity to ensure the port’s future compliance with its legal obligations. The committee was investigating the port’s longsecret failure to enforce 11 mitigation provisions contained in the environmental impact report, which allowed the China Shipping terminal to expand. It met in closed session to discuss its options after hearing public comments and testimony. The port’s failure to meet clean truck obligations alone “has put the port in the position where it’s looking at maybe $200, $250 million liability,” said David Pettit, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which represented those plaintiffs. “They’re looking at another may be $75 million liability to come up to snuff on the yard equipment,” he added, as well as other costs from unmet past obligations “that could be another $50 or $100 million.” “What transpired is in fact criminal,” said Janet Gunter, one of three initial China Shipping plaintiffs. “It was [an] executive director of a public agency that willfully violated a court mandate.” “There is no doubt in my mind that the PCAC [environmental impact report] and Air Quality subcommittees would have discovered the China Shipping failure to meet the EIR mitigation measures,” said Chuck Hart, president of San Pedro Peninsula Homeowners United, a China Shipping plaintiff. “Therefore it is reasonable to assume PCAC’s demise was necessary to pull off this conspiracy—and that’s exactly what it is. It’s a conspiracy, from the highest levels of the city government to the lowest. It cannot happen again.” It was not just a conspiracy of silence, Andrea Hricko, a professor at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, pointed out. “Officials from the Port of LA, including Geraldine Knatz and Chris Cannon, including the mayor of Los Angeles regularly made comments after 2009 implying or specifically stating that China Shipping was meeting all of its mitigation measures,” she said. “Locals used to joke that the port only listened to San Pedro and Wilmington residents if we sued them,” said port activist Peter Warren. “Turns out the port doesn’t even abide by courtapproved settlements and EIRs.” “We are committed to seeing that something like this never happens again,” POLA’s Executive Director Gene Seroka told the committee, but said nothing about how to ensure that — particularly after his tenure ends. “The noncompliance and withholding of information and violation of the court-approved
3
Harbor Area in Retrospective
[Retrospect, from page 1]
towards genuine social and environmental justice. Early in the past decade they sought out the National Resource Defense Council and won a groundbreaking legal victory: community empowerment over the global economy through direct community mitigation of the expansion of the China Shipping container terminal at the foot of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, near Knoll Hill. But recently it’s been discovered that the Port of Los Angeles lied to everyone about the mitigation measures, failing to implement 11 of them (see “Activists Urge City Council To Restore Port Oversight After China Shipping Debacle,” p. 3). What can or will be done to remedy this breach of trust—and violation of law—remains
22nd Street Park was unveiled in January 2010. It was the former site of the GATX petroleum products storage tanks. File photo
From our family to yours…
Happy New Year!
The First Thread of Issues with the POLA
Random Lengths was born immediately following the Port of Los Angeles’ December 1979 completion of its Port Master Plan. It drew a metaphoric line in the landfill of port expansion with its lead article, “GATX Chemicals Endanger Harbor Area Residents.’’ The detailed article drew public attention to a mis-zoned chemical tank farm on Crescent
Avenue. Random Lengths investigated and the Harbor Department was admonished for disregarding the tank farm’s volatile and toxic chemicals. Spearheaded by activist Bea Atwood, the fight over the tank farm’s removal took a decade; the fight over the toxic cleanup took another decade. Most of the following decade found the site embroiled in conflict over the nature of waterfront development, questioning whether the development should be community serving or corporate serving. A 16-acre park was opened on the site—significantly smaller than previously promised in the “Bridge-to-Breakwater” planning process—on Jan. 10, 2010. Nonetheless, it was a regionally significant park. The lesson was [Oversight, from page 3]
Oversight Urged Your health and well being are our top priority!
Chiropractic • Acupuncture • Massage Therapy
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Mon.-Fri. 9 am to 7 pm Sat & Sun. 9 am to 1 pm
310.514.3740
l Dr.
o Capit
Dr.
Western Plaza
Crestwood
a
ie Trud
N Western Ave.
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
4
to be seen, but it underscores the never-ending nature of the struggles we’re engaged in, the need for constant vigilance, for questioning, for skepticism, for courage in challenging bland assumptions as well as outrageous lies.
[See page 5]
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
From the beginning, Random Lengths has stepped quite consciously in the footsteps of muckraking author Upton Sinclair 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. Stanbery was running to replace the powerful, conservative Los Angeles District 15 Councilman John S. Gibson. Stanbery, a young liberal in the Kennedy mold, was a far cry from the more radical Sinclair (who was only narrowly defeated in the race for governor of California in 1934). However, he forced Gibson’s only runoff race ever in 1977 and symbolized to the five original editors, the first real chance for a change from the political conservatism that dominated our district for decades. For decades more, however, the conservative climate reigned supreme. Then, after a local change at the state level in 1998, city representation finally shifted back to moderate liberalism, even as the federal government veered to the extreme right with the stolen national election of 2000. Now, after 35 years, the legacy of those original Point Fermin activists has come full circle. Today, those same Point Fermin activists who created Random Lengths in the late ’70s are middle-aged San Pedro homeowners like generations before them. But they are “activist homeowners,” who have begun to push California’s traditionally self-centered, “notin-my-backyard” politics of vested self-interest
rn
r Pa
te es kW
Park Plaza
Peck Park
. Dr
Rivera Chiropractic
29211 S. Western Ave., Rancho Palos Verdes www.EastviewWellness.com
it’s agreed to under [California Environmental Quality Act, the law governing environmental impact reports], and that we need to go outside the port, whether it’s PCAC reconstituted or some other outside body. I think to restore the credibility to the port and avoid what may be a storm of litigation for the city and the port, there needs to be some kind of outside oversight and transparency.” “A knowledgeable community committee with financial support to hire experts such as the EIR committee under PCAC must monitor the future agreement at the very least,” Warren said. “These meetings need to be Brown Acted [subject to state open meetings law], and the port should provide all necessary monitoring information as well as financial support, as with PCAC, to hire experts.” For a cost of less than $100,000 a year, when PCAC was dismantled, the port could have avoided liabilities more than a thousand times that today.
[Retrospect, from page 4]
simple: miracles can happen—after 30 years of struggle. In December 1988, the Port of Los Angeles released its dutifully corporate-friendly “Plan 2020,” which called for the construction of Piers 300 and 400. It also called for creating the infrastructure for the Alameda Corridor intermodal railway. This time, Point Fermin activists, headed by the late Greg Smith, took on the port in the planning stages. Not by accident, the month Plan 2020 was released, Random Lengths started publishing two issues per month, and began to assess global issues more systematically, always within a local context— issues involving South America, the Pacific Rim, the geopolitics of petroleum, and such ominous acronyms as NAFTA and GATT. The coal and petroleum coke facility next door to GATX was another local issue involving global forces. Before Kaiser was closed in the late 1990s, the Los Angeles Export Terminal, LAXT—created through Plan 2020—had surpassed by tenfold Kaiser’s toxic payload. Beginning in 1996, through Random Lengths’ uncompromising coverage of the LAXT as a multinational experiment in government privatization, the community forced the construction of domes to cover the coke piles and their easily airborne particulates. LAXT soon went belly up as East Asia soon found its own coal reserves. Meanwhile, the port abandoned the earlier promise of Pier 400 as “energy island”— relocating hazardous liquid bulk facilities as far away from residents as possible—with the opening of the Maersk container terminal instead. When the Alameda corridor was completed in 2002, its promise of local community jobs remained empty, its safety and toxic mitigation were still suspect and the dream of reducing future truck traffic had vanished behind clouds of diesel fumes. Almost immediately, far-sighted activists started saying that it needed to be fully electrified—the first such call for a zeroemissions system that’s since become a statewide policy goal, yet remains elusive on the ground.
agreement, based on the LAX expansion model. In addition, as the CAAP was being formulated, the Coalition for Clean and Safe Ports emerged to advocate on behalf of forgotten and disposed truckers misclassified as “independent owner-operators.” The coalition included a wide array of local, regional and even national organizations— environmentalists, labor, community activists, public health advocates, people of faith and others. It was part of coastwide effort, matched by another East Coast coalition. The initial effort to protect and empower truckers through the CAAP was thrown out by the
[See Retrospect, page 6]
LBPD Kills Knife Wielding Man
LONG BEACH—On Dec. 14, Long Beach Police Department officers shot 39-year-old Mharloun Saycon of Carson at the historic Looff’s Lite-A-Line gaming establishment, where they said he was waving a knife from a chair. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office reported Saycon died at the scene The incident took place at about 10 p.m. at Looff’s Lite-A-Line Casino Game of Skill on the 2500 block of Long Beach Boulevard. Witnesses said Saycon had been thrown out of the business before returning and waving his knife. Police officials said that when LBPD officers arrived Saycon disregarded their verbal commands to drop the weapon. The officers then tried an electronic control device and baton. When neither of those methods worked, officers shot Saycon. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to call (562) 570-7244.
LB Council Approves New Civic Center
Truck drivers have pushed back against wage theft by employers who misclassify them as independent contractors. Photo by Slobodan Dimitrov.
LONG BEACH— On Dec. 15, Long Beach City Council unanimously approved a 10-year plan to build a new Civic Center. Construction for the new center is expected to take about 7 years. The project was laid out by City Manager Pat West, and will cost the city about $14.7 million annually. The project will demolish the current city hall, main library and old courthouse. Developers will build a complex anchored jointly by City Hall and Port of Long Beach headquarters and also featuring a new Main Library, a redesign of Lincoln Park and further plans for a private sector tower. The city expects that the project will generate more than 8,000 jobs.
Morad Family Files a $30 Million Lawsuit Against Long Beach
LONG BEACH—On Dec. 16, the family of a 20-yearold Feras Morad, a student shot and killed by a Long Beach Police Department officer in May, filed a $30 million lawsuit against Long Beach. The fatal shooting took place at about 7:30 p.m. near the 4600 block of 15th Street. Morad, who was under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms, had a violent reaction that led him to jump from a second- story window, Police arrived to find Morad injured, unarmed and disoriented. They reported that Morad kept walking toward them in a manner that an officer believed to be threatening. The officer opened fire against Morad, killing him.
Omnibus Passage Guarantees Port Policy Priorities
WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Dec. 18, the House of Representatives passed the omnibus spending bill. The omnibus legislation included Rep. Janice Hahn’s provision to better secure ports from cyber attacks as well as increasing port funding from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund The bill instructs the Department of Homeland Security to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities at the nation’s 10 most at-risk ports. It also allocates $1.2 billion from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to go back to the ports. Large ports like the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will get a greater percentage of this funding than they did previously.
The Local Publication You Actually Read
Inspired by the example of activists organized around LAX expansion plans, the heirs to Greg Smith’s legacy—like June Burlingame Smith and Noel Park—got all mayoral candidates in 2000-2001 to commit to forming what became the Port Community Advisory Committee, PCAC, in the specific form chosen by the winner, James Hahn. Soon it was given additional responsibilities flowing from the landmark 2002 California Appeals Court victory overturning the port’s approval of the China Shipping Terminal. This combination finally lead the port to begin seriously addressing the problem of portgenerated air pollution. However, it listened far less attentively after Antonio Villaraigosa defeated James Hahn’s bid for a second term as mayor. Villaraigosa pledged to go even farther than Hahn’s “No Net Increase” plan, which produced the first comprehensive analysis of port pollution problem, and expanded the effort in partnership with Port of Long
Beach, producing the Clean Air Action Plan, CAAP, adopted in November 2006. However, Villaraigosa simultaneously undercut the citizen involvement that originally drove the process. His new harbor commission immediately stopped receiving direct reports from PCAC and began a long slow process of undermining, dismantling and eventually disbanding PCAC. This, at the very time the port was privately violating the China Shipping agreement PCAC was intended to oversee (see story, p. 3). However, activism didn’t disappear. A broadbased coalition challenged the approval of Trapac’s terminal expansion in December 2007, eventually resulting in a community benefits
December 24 - January 6, 2016
5
[Retrospect, from page 5]
A Not Quite Random Retrospective
courts. But a broader national effort building on labor law, strongly supported by the Teamsters Union, has built a powerful movement, which has grown rapidly in the past few years. The movement has had hundreds of legal victories and an escalating series of short-term strikes, which is strongly reminiscent of the 1934 birth struggles of the ILWU—even before it was an independent union. Not surprisingly, no other publication has told the story of this struggle quite the way that Random Lengths has told it. Finally, waterfront development has been a key port-community issue since 2000, both in San Pedro and Wilmington. Since it ties together two different threads, we deal with it below in the thread of issues with the land.
The Second Thread with Municipal Issues
Within its first few issues, the original editors of Random Lengths had to decide whether to remain a sectarian political publication or to engage more broad-ranging political discussions from a non-sectarian viewpoint—the path they ultimately chose, which Random Lengths has followed ever since. From Stanbery’s 1980 “Neighborhood Associations Drive,” to the emergence of the inter-community 15th District Community Coalition candidacy in 1996, to the complicated legacies of a contradictory secession attempt, compromised charter reform and the watered-down-but-still evolving neighborhood council system that shapes district politics, Random Lengths has kept local news first and foremost as the honest measure of the health of local electoral Randomdemocracy. Lengths was launched at the
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
start of the primary season that swept erstwhile California Gov. Ronald Reagan into the presidency. When George Bush, The First, took over in 1988, Random Lengths, in its new biweekly format, began covering deeper political issues—the Iran-Contra scandal, the Lockerbie airline bombing, and the first Iraq war—in a distinctively critical manner. Setting aside the corporate media fixation on President Bill Clinton’s sexual pecadillos, Random Lengths, instead, probed his bombing of Sudan and the geopolitics of NATO’s bombing of Kosovo. After 9/11, we documented the misinformation and concealed abuses leading into and through the second Iraq war of George W. Bush, which ultimately gave birth to ISIS, devoting countless pages to an eclectic mix of skilled, original analyses and information that never surfaces in the mainstream press. From Hurricane Katrina onwards, Random Lengths News has repeatedly probed different ways global warming is already threatening our lives — particularly in terms of prolonged droughts, wildfires and rising sea levels. And, in multiple other cases—from malathion spray, to the CIA-crack connection, to the Multilateral Agreement on Investment; from the Savings and Loan crisis, to the Walmart-driven union-busting of the local supermarket strike—history has justified the paper’s conclusions. In its early issues, this paper sharply criticized conservative pro-business Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, who succeeded John S. Gibson in 1981, yet her office maintained open lines of communication as befitted a public servant. Such was not the case with her similarly-minded successor, 6 Rudy Svorinich Jr., who finally beat her in
Above Wilmington environmental justice advocate, Jesse Marquez has been a constant presence in the past issues of Random Lengths News’ 35-year history. Two other constant issues are waterfront development (represented by the rendering of the Downtown Harbor on the top right and in reality as of 2014) and the community fight against the POLA’s energy company tenants such as Rancho LPG, below left.
failure to fill the gap left by PCAC’s disbanding. Similarly, during Hahn’s first term, the paper covered the long efforts of the politically stymied Harbor Area secessionists and later that decade it covered efforts to restrain downtown-centric power, including a proposed charter amendment cutting back city council pay scales. 1993. By the mid-1990s, Svorinich’s office took the unprecedented measure of refusing to provide any public information press releases to Random Lengths, the Harbor Area’s only community newspaper, while also refusing to return our phone calls. That actively obstructionist impasse continued until Svorinich was termed-out of office. His subsequent defeat in a run for state office was brought about to some degree by our never-ending scrutiny, documenting his frequent evasions of direct and open democracy. With the turn-of-the century election of Janice Hahn to the council office and her brother, James, to the mayoralty, Random Lengths’ again had a decision to make: return to its initial position as a sectarian political publication or continue with its independent, non-sectarian point of view. Staying true to its original mission statement, Random Lengths chose the latter. But it was also forced to sharpen its critical acumen, to adjust to the increasing complexity of participating in whatever direct democratic empowerment was in store—not only criticizing abuses of power but also praising the responsible exercise of reform whenever it emerged. These two poles of engaged critique were already seen regarding Janice Hahn’s first elected service on the Elected Commission for Charter Reform. Random Lengths praised her initial efforts for a proportionally elected, legally empowered neighborhood council system, then chastised the new charter she ultimately supported for its evasion of direct democracy, for its backroom deal to bypass the voters and create a disempowered version of the neighborhood council system that the electorate had once mandated Hahn to create. The various strengths and weaknesses of the neighborhood council system have been frequent subjects for similar critiques ever since, including its evident
Random Lengths also repeatedly reminds its readers that the Harbor Area’s largely Latino, mainly immigrant majority must be included in political debates, beginning with the very emergence of issues to be debated, not only within the neighborhood council system and in Los Angeles’ municipal government as a whole, but increasingly in other Harbor Area communities. Random Lengths has remained critical of the continuing inequities faced by Wilmington, Harbor Gateway and Watts in their smaller-scale economic development projects. Since 2000, we have also paid increased attention to Carson and Long Beach, communities in which Latinos and other minorities still struggle for equitable treatment on many fronts. Attention to labor struggles of mostly Latino hotel workers in Long Beach and truck drivers at both ports has been reinforced by broader coverage of endemic wage theft in the low-wage economy regionwide, and the fight for a $15 minimum wage over the past several years.
The Third Thread: Issues with the Land
Publisher James Preston Allen has said, “If you want to see a good San Pedro street fight, just hold a meeting on land use!” Inextricably bound to issues of port expansion and of city governance, local land use issues lie at the heart of why Random Lengths was first created. The Byzantine legal interconnections between apparently isolated battles over this or that piece of public property over the past 25 years are mind boggling. They have been further complicated by the decommissioning of military property following the Vietnam War, which included Angels Gate and White Point Parks, and properties related to the Long Beach Naval Station’s closure. Since late in the Richard Riordan administration, land-
use conflicts have repeatedly erupted around waterfront development, both in San Pedro and Wilmington. Although the port had created a brand-new master plan when Random Lengths’ first issue appeared in 1979, the community of San Pedro had no such plan for itself, thanks to business forces (working through Councilman John Gibson) who ensured that San Pedro’s General Plan hadn’t been updated since 1962. Random Lengths began with a land use “revolution’’ among Point Fermin neighborhood residents, who were determined to create a San Pedro land use plan democratically at a grass roots level. The fact that the public Cabrillo Beach was not destroyed by the port’s expansion of its marina and has now been restored as a community center is just one direct result of their efforts. Although the “San Pedro Plan’’ became a campaign issue in 1981, with all candidates—including Flores— favoring it, it was never allowed to come to legal fruition. Nonetheless, the grassroots structure of the “revolution” remained in place, and each time a new issue sprang up, Random Lengths has been there to put it back into its larger context. The survival of any open spaces or low-income housing through San Pedro’s development frenzy in the 1980s and 1990s is largely due to the information and analyses Random Lengths has steadfastly provided. From the eviction of Park Western residents in 1980 to the foundation of the Angels Gate Cultural Center in 1981, to the marina and the battle over Navy housing at White Point, to the socalled “Pedro 2000” plan to eliminate the Rancho San Pedro housing project, to the struggle over Taper Avenue housing, to Recreation and Parks’ eviction attempts at Angels Gate and Hernandez’s Ranch on the basis of a “master plan’’ that never was, to the port’s “eminent domain” at Knoll Hill and its first scuttling of the Pacific Avenue corridor redevelopment project; from John S. Gibson Field, to Joan Milke Flores Park, to Svorinich’s unrequited efforts to get a park or a field or a something named after himself, the story remained the same. [See Retrospect, page 9]
We provide the best value possible for brake and auto services. We offer everyone a complementary 27-point vehicle inspection. No obligations. No games. We're family owned and operated, and provide a personal level of service that's just not possible at larger shops or dealerships.
The Local Publication You Actually Read
Professional Automotive Care You Can Trust Since 1931
Are you ready for El Ni単o? Wiper Blade Special
any regular tune up includes: throttle body & intake service & 27-point inspection RLn Exp. 1-22-16
SET OF WIPER BLADES with oil change.*
*with 27-point inspection. Subject to availability. Some vehicles extra. $30 value. RLn Exp. 1-22-16
35 OFF
$
any brake service includes 27-point inspection RLn Exp. 1-22-16
Wheel Alignment Special
50 OFF
$
any major tune up includes: regular tune up services & spark plug replacement RLn Exp. 1-22-16
Present coupons upon order. Specials not valid with any other offers.
December 24 - January 6, 2016
FREE 25 OFF
$
Brake Service Special
Tune Up Special
7
[Masthead, from page 1]
Thirty-five Years at the Masthead
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
As light travels faster than sound, we stood there in awe for several seconds before we were hit by the concussion of the explosion. All of the windows of my new apartment were turned into glass shards, barely missing my face as I ducked for cover. It was a night indelibly etched into my mind without having to go to the emergency room. The ship was built in 1958 and had just discharged its cargo of crude oil into the tanks of Union Oil that were once located at 22nd Street and Harbor Boulevard. The Sansinena was taking on ballast and fuel when the massive explosion split the ship in half and obliterated multiple port buildings. The blast shattered windows for miles around and triggered a fire that spread across the dock and in the water around the tanker. The L.A. Fire Department soon arrived on the scene to contain the blaze and rescue the survivors— casualties included six dead, three missing (but presumed dead) and 46 injured. The Coast Guard investigation later concluded that the incident was caused by flammable vapor buildup on the deck of the ship. The ignition source was never identified. This happened just three years before the first edition of Random Lengths hit the streets in December of 1979. The front-page headline of that edition read: “GATX Chemicals Endanger Harbor Area Residents, Government Shields Conglomerate in Effort to Bypass Zoning Regulations.” Another crucible was when the port’s attempt to raze Knoll Hill in order to expand berths 97-102 during Mayor Richard Riordan’s administration—berths now occupied by China Shipping terminal. The port’s continued purchase of property on this small knoll overlooking the main channel near the Vincent Thomas Bridge portended the hill’s ultimate demise. This was to be just another one in a long line of port excavations of small hills of San Pedro to accommodate port industrialization. An off-the-record phone call by a harbor commissioner tipped me off to the coming crisis precipitated by an impending action by the Harbor Commission board. The loss of one more hill to port expansion and the further encroachment of industrial port operations with its air pollution on the community was just the last straw for some activists. The acting port director, Bruce Seaton, responded to community concerns with an “aw shucks- let’s go have some Busy Bee sandwiches” approach, and was seen as patronizing and was rebuffed.
8
Only after a community forum—sponsored in part by this newspaper—did port staff began to realize there was significant community opposition. Private meetings were set up, but devolved when it became apparent that the port was bent on bulldozing its way through the hill and the community. The community responded with a lawsuit. The San Pedro Home Owners Association, lead by Janet Gunter, Andy Mardesich and Noel Park with the help of the Natural Resources Defense council alerted the community and sued the port and won a game-changing appeal. That one major victory over the industrial expansion of the Port of Los Angeles ended what one harbor commissioner, John Wentworth, termed the “100-year war” with the community. From that first story on the toxic GATX storage facility for petroleum products to the battle over the Port of Los Angeles petroleum coke export terminal to this story and most recently the redux of the China Shipping terminal dispute and settlement, Random Lengths has been on the side of the community reporting on the issues that affect this area the most, and in the process, giving voice to hundreds of community activists who have fought for years, often decades, to have economic and environmental justice issues settled, redressed or significantly mitigated. These storylines started the 35-year editorial trajectory of this publication, going from reporting on the crisis to covering the ensuing conflicts, addressing issues of environmental injustice and the Port of Los Angeles’ responsibility of maintaining as sacrosanct local residents’ connection to their waterfront. Along the way, Random Lengths has stood fast to its principles of free speech, open government and protecting the rights of the greater harbor area community. This has not ever been an easy job. Also, on the front page of that inaugural issue was the paper’s mission statement, which read in part: “What you read here you are not likely to find in other local newspapers, for we are not afraid of being controversial. On the contrary, we are committed to promoting an open dialogue on the important questions concerning our community [and] unlike other papers, we invite your participation, and in fact we depend on it.” With the distance I now have from the writing of that mission statement and from my memory of having been at the masthead of this publication over the ensuing years, I can say with confidence that we have stayed true to that mission. The Los Angeles Harbor Commission meeting on Dec. 17 is a crucible that brings Random Lengths full circle. Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com
“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 Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg Vol. XXXVI : 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.
Assistant Editor Zamná Ávila zamna@randomlengthsnews.com
“The first crucible, that proved momentous in this paper’s history before it was even founded, occurred on the night of Dec. 17, 1976.” The explosion of the Sansinena in San Pedro Bay proved to be a catalyst for the founding of Random Lengths a few years later. File photo.
“
From that first story on the toxic GATX storage facility for petroleum products to the battle over the Port of Los Angeles petroleum coke export terminal…and most recently the redux of the China Shipping terminal dispute and settlement, Random Lengths has been on the side of the community reporting on the issues that affect this area the most, and in the process, giving voice to hundreds of community activists…”
The Saving San Pedro’s Waterfront group, made up of local realtors, led by John Papadakis, is critical of Jericho Development and Ratkovich Co. The developers signed a 55-year lease with the port. It only develops 150,000 square feet of Ports O’Call Village. During the public comment period, Papadakis remarked before the commission that, “This century began...with two great mayors in Richard Riordan and James Hahn...both had hearts of true servants when they adopted the Bridge to Breakwater promenade plan and began to plan and build it. “They understood that our greatest resource our waterfront must be used to create prosperity, not poverty,” he said. “That the sea signifies life not the bringer of environmental crimes; that the people are the true owners and have the right of primary access to the water line, the highest and best use of the public shores that all people must economically benefit from the use of the waterline—not just one industry.” Papadakis continued his scathing remarks. “This, the wealthiest port in the western hemisphere is housed in the only seaside slum in America,” he said. “That is a civic crime, commissioners. You’re crucifying this community on the iron cross of the cargo industry, by the orders of so-called leaders who are really public cannibals feeding on the dying carcass of the Harbor Area—for shame—by violating emission standards by intentionally choosing a deficient
Columnists/Reporters Lyn Jensen Reporter B. Noel Barr Music Dude Lori Lynn Hirsch-Stokoe Food Writer Gina Ruccione Restaurant Reviewer Andrea Serna Arts Writer Melina Paris Culture Writer Calendar 14days@randomlengthsnews.com Photographers Terelle Jerricks, Phillip Cooke, Tommy Kishimoto, Slobodan Dimitrov Contributors Erik Kongshaug, former editor
Cartoonists Ann Cleaves, Andy Singer, Matt Wuerker Design/ Production Suzanne Matsumiya Ashley Wright Advertising Representatives David Johnson rlnsales@randomlengthsnews.com Ashley Wright reads@randomlengthsnews.com Editorial Intern Arlo Tinsman-Kongshaug Display advertising (310) 519-1442 Classifieds (310) 519-1016 www.randomlengthsnews.com
and unproven development team for the prime commercial opportunity at Ports O’ Call.” Harbor Commissioner Dave Arian shot back. “It’s hard to sit up here and listen to this crap,” Arian said. “You live up there on the hill and you’re the slumlord in this town.” He then went on to say that, “If you want a fight, you got one and so do all you realtors.” These remarks are reminiscent of those reported in the Daily Breeze almost 8years ago in an article titled “Revised L.A. Port plan derided at meeting” staff writer Donna Littlejohn wrote, “At last. It appears that the Port of Los Angeles has finally found consensus on its latest waterfront plan revision. Nearly everyone hates it.” She proceeded to explain, “The new, scaleddown version unveiled at a public meeting this week drew scathing criticism, raising questions about the future of the 5-year-old dream of recreating San Pedro’s west channel with commercial and recreational uses.” This continuing to echo what Papadakis envisioned as the grand “Bridge to Breakwater” plan. This clearly sets the stage for the next conflict to come as the plans for the Ports O’ Call development have not been discussed publicly for over two years. It also brings into focus the decades-long debate over the future of the Los Angeles waterfront that we have covered from the very beginning and brings some things almost full circle. The crisis of conflict continues. Random Lengths News editorial office is located at 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, (310) 519-1016. Address correspondence regarding news items and news tips only to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email to editor @randomlengthsnews.com. Send Letters to the Editor or requests for subscription information to james @ randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, all Letters to the Editor should be typewritten, must be signed, with address and phone number included (these will not be published, but for verification only) and be kept to about 250 words. To submit advertising copy email adv@randomelengthsnews.com or reads@ randomlengthsnews.com. Extra copies and back issues are available by mail for $3 per copy while supplies last. Subscriptions are available for $36 per year for 27 issues. Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right to express those opinions. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Reporting Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2015 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.
RANDOMLetters
[Retrospect, page 7]
Retrospect
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on Jan. 31, 1865. The amendment was ratified by the required number of states on Dec. 6, 1865. On Dec. 18, 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaimed
[See Letters, page 10]
December 24 - January 6, 2016
Random Lengths’ commitment to the local preservation of civil rights was crucial. Coverage of port expansion, local government and land-use
Today’s anniversary of the 13th Amendment presents us with a timely moment to affirm our stand against inequality and intolerance. President Obama’s eloquent words remind Angelenos, and all Americans, that covenants of hope and the march toward justice are essential to the national character. It is our obligation as citizens to resist any call to divide ourselves, one against
The Final Thread: Civil, Human Rights Issues
On the 150th Anniversary of the 13th Amendment
its adoption. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the Civil War. Slavery had been part of the original Constitution through provisions such as Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, commonly known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which detailed how each state’s total slave population would be factored into its total population count for the purposes of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives and direct taxes. Though many slaves had been declared free by President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, their post-war status was uncertain. On
The Local Publication You Actually Read
While much improved during Janice Hahn’s tenure, no community generated general plan for San Pedro yet exists. As one result, the endless struggles over waterfront development have seen more twists and turns than any street on the Palos Verdes peninsula. Since planning began during Riordan’s last year in office, there were more versions of plans and public processes than anyone could keep track of—except for Random Lengths. Something approaching a community generated general plan emerged in response to the port’s waterfront environmental impact report: the Sustainability Plan originally supported by the Sierra Club, the TraPac Appellants, two neighborhood councils and the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce. The port’s intransigent opposition eventually reversed the chamber’s support—once again sacrificing local business interests for outside mega-corporations—most notably, the cruise ship industry. When the final EIR was approved in September 2009, in the depths of the Great Recession, the controversial outer harbor cruise terminal was already an obsolete economic fantasy, while the far more resilient Sustainability Plan hadn’t even been seriously considered. Economic reality killed off the port’s worst excesses, but no coherent replacement was allowed to emerge. The severely scaled-back nature of the Ports O’ Call redevelopment project, made public this past year, is symptomatic of the diminished possibilities, as was the suspension of the Red Car Line in September 2015, after 12 years in service. Wilmington’s waterfront development had a much slower and torturous start, beginning with organizing against the expansion of the TraPac terminal and proposed erection of a shielding wall. This organizing saw the birth of Communities for a Safe Environment, and the emergence of its founder and executive director Jesse Marquez as a passionate, knowledgeable and incredibly detail-oriented advocate for environmental justice. His activism has taken him to the highest levels of global deliberations on port-related policies. But it took the entire Wilmington community pulling together, plus the election of Antonio Villaraigosa, to not just halt the original expansion plans, but to create the 30acre Wilmington Waterfront Park, which opened in June 2011. Another significant Wilmington development is the 3-acre Wilmington Marina Parkway, financed with China Shipping mitigation funds, which opened in 2014. Finally, local concerns about the dangers of the Rancho LPG facility surged to the surface again following the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion in 2010. From re-examining the error-plagued process that allowed it to be built without permits in the 1970s, to exploring the legislative and regulatory history that allows this danger to persist to following activists’ efforts to have it closed or relocated, Random Lengths has explored this public threat from every angle— aided especially by the expertise and experience of retired oil industry consultant Connie Rutter. It’s a struggle reminiscent of the decades-long tank farm fight. Five years on, it’s only just begun.
struggles didn’t degenerate into narrow-minded NIMBYism. The headline of the Fall 1980 edition of Random Lengths read: “Violent Clash At Peck Park: Citizens Demand Investigation of Police Misconduct.” In an unprovoked sweep, the Los Angeles Police Department, wielding batons, attacked 85 to 100 mostly young Chicanos assembled to socialize and watch a baseball game. Since then, our vigilance on behalf of civil rights has taken many forms, fighting against discrimination based on race, class, or gender in familiar forms, as well as newly emergent ones, such as the environmental racism evident in the disproportional impacts of port pollution on communities of color, of refineries in and around Wilmington and Carson, and related off-port impacts in communities of color up the 710 Freeway and Alameda Corridor and out the Inland Empire. The newspaper has both covered and given voice to the emergence of environmental justice as an organizing framework for building a better world for all. Its vigilance has focused on a wide range of specific struggles. Examples include our coverage in defense of the Ralph M. Brown Act open meetings law, where publisher James Allen was threatened with arrest, and demanding the uncensored distribution of the newspaper at the San Pedro Hospital or at City of Los Angeles public buildings. It has supported the ILWU’s proud tradition of standing in solidarity, defending the rights of others, such as the ILWU’s right-to-work stoppages staged in solidarity with Australian dockers and in opposition to the Iraq War. It’s also vigilantly supported other workers facing much harsher odds. There was the monthslong union-busting lockout of grocery workers. There was the decades-overdue struggle to organize hotel workers in Long Beach, working for poverty wages and suffering wage theft after decades of municipal subsidies to the tourist industry of hundreds of millions of dollars. There are the broader efforts of the last few years to raise the minimum wage and empower low-wage workers, in fast food and other industries. These later efforts dovetail with a more specific struggle of port truckers misclassified as “independent owner-operators” to preclude them from union organizing, while facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars of wage theft. Abuse of police power has been a recurrent concern, from mass illegal arrests and police violence in Seattle at the World Trade Organization in 1999, or the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles the following year, to the May Day police riot in MacArthur Park in 2007, and police suppression of the Occupy Movement in 2011. But they also include individual violations, such as our coverage of the unjustified arrest of Derrick Evans, here in San Pedro, which finally prompted his release. They also include the multiple arrests of witnesses to the police murder of Roketi Su’e in north Long Beach. Aspects of both mass and individual violations merged with the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., which fueled the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement. Also, over the past decade or so, our vigilance has focused on the struggle for equality, especially as expressed within the Long Beach lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Random Lengths has always affirming that “an injury to one is an injury to all,” viewing local, regional and national events through the greater human lens of civil and human rights.
another, for political expediency or any motivation that is beneath the dignity of all who call this nation home. On this and every day, we should seek new opportunities to live the values that draw us closer as friends and neighbors, brothers and sisters. Mayor Eric Garcetti Los Angeles
9
RANDOMLetters [Letters, from page 9]
April 8, 1864, the Senate passed an amendment to abolish slavery. After one unsuccessful vote and extensive legislative maneuvering by the Lincoln administration, the House followed suit on Jan. 31, 1865. The measure was swiftly ratified by nearly all northern states, along with a sufficient number of border and “reconstructed” Southern states, to cause it to be adopted before the end of the year. Though the amendment formally abolished slavery throughout the United States, factors such as black codes, white supremacist violence, and selective enforcement of statutes continued to subject some black Americans to involuntary
labor, particularly in the South. In contrast to the other Reconstruction Amendments, the 13th Amendment was rarely cited in later case law. The 13th Amendment applies to the actions of private citizens, while the 14th and 15th Amendments apply only to states. The amendment also enables Congress to pass laws against sex trafficking and other modern forms of slavery. James Preston Allen, Publisher
You’re the Fascist
I liked your two cartoons in the latest Fascist Issue, so take that as a compliment. However you should know that radical enviros are Fascists...job killers are Fascists... PC Practitioners are Fascists...Feminazis are Fascist, hence the name...open borders
folk are Fascists...sheeple who want to silence, punish and torture people like me are Fascists...James, you know Fascists would if they could not hire people like me for any job, in fact would if they could torture me. Thank God... Fascists do not respect other religions, they only protest the predominant one...I want a PT job @ RL to counter Fascism...I said PT so we can adhere to Obomber’s new economy which
matches his Fascist government...we can agree the Federal Reserve Board is Fascist and Jewish, can’t we? Same goes for ABC, CBS, NBC & CNN for starters, and their Boards. Jean Froh La Habra Dear Jean Froh, I do think you have your definitions confused please refer to the standard American dictionary for the correct
use of the term “FASCISM” As per Merriam Webster: 1. often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition 2. a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control As for your offer of working part time at this newspaper, which is quite generous of you, I somehow think that it just wouldn’t work out for both of us. James Preston Allen, Publisher
Father Art
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
Great thoughts regarding Father Art Bartlett. Did not know him as long as you but thankful for the times I had. Had great insights in people, processes, and San Pedro. Jack Boyt San Pedro
10
Their work cost them their lives In the 1940s and ‘50s, workers came from all over the world to snatch up the good-paying jobs at the Harbor Area’s shipyards, factories and refineries. For many, the jobs afforded a way of life not previously experienced, allowing them to provide homes for their families and education and opportunities for their children. Unfortunately, the cost for too many workers has been a diagnosis with asbestos cancer or mesothelioma from asbestos inhaled on the job decades earlier. Even more unfortunate is the number of family members who develop the illness from contact with asbestos brought home on the worker’s clothes, boots and skin. The Law Office of Worthington & Caron, PC is standing by to help persons diagnosed with asbestos cancer. We can help you get quick access to the most effective medical treatments from the world’s top mesothelioma specialists. We can also help identify the companies responsible for your asbestos exposure and get you the compensation you deserve. Call us toll free at 800-831-9399 or visit our website at www.mesothel.com for a free consultation and evaluation of your claim.
Attorneys John Caron & Roger Worthington
Since 1991 we have helped recover over $2.5 billion for our clients
800-831-9399 • www.mesothel.com The Law Offices of Worthington & Caron, P.C. 273 W. 7th St., San Pedro, CA 90731
Kamasi Washington’s
The Epic, a Homecoming Show By Melina Paris, Music Columnist The show started one hour late. Maybe it was jet lag from a just-concluded world tour or that he was on crutches. Yet, the moment saxophonist Kamasi Washington and his 29-piece band hit the stage, the audience’s frustration vanished. The Dec. 10 party, at Club Nokia, was on. I’m reluctant to call the assortment of talent assembled in support of Kamasi “his band” because, as he has explained, the eight core musicians — known as The Next Step — are his early childhood friends. They grew up together in South Central Los Angeles. Each one of them has projects, but they frequently come together to play events. Kamasi was a significant part of albums released by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar this year.
This collective is more a gathering of bonded musical souls, which is evident on Kamasi’s record, The Epic. Hearing them come together live is a spirit-raising musical elixir. It’s a free expression of sound and energy embodied in jazz but traversing through funk, rock, acid jazz, classical and global music. It is performed by some of the best young musicians in Los Angeles. The eight-piece string section — violins, violas and cellos
Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment >> INDEPENDENT AND FREE
Kamasi Washington at the Nokia on Dec. 10. Photo by Debi Del Grande
— was led by multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer and producer, Miguel Atwood Ferguson. Behind them was an eight-voice chorus, one of them coming from Nia Andrews. The stage was also populated with a disc jockey, drummers Tony Austin and Ronald Bruner Jr., Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner on electric bass, Miles Mosely on upright bass, Brandon Coleman on keyboard, Cameron Graves on piano, Ryan Porter on trombone, Rickey Washington on sax and flute, Dante Winslow on trumpet, and the vocals of Patrice Quinn. And, those crutches? Washington offered a cartoonish account of the event then afterward, he joked, “That sounds better than ‘I tripped and fell on a cobblestone street.” Washington propped his leg on a stool as he opened with “Change of the Guard,” one of 17 songs on his new recording, and it sounded just like the record, enhanced times 10. The audience signaled approval with bopping heads and raised hands. Despite the number of instruments making music, the mix allowed each player to be heard distinctly, especially Washington. Anyone who’s heard him knows how his horn can pervade a room. He blows so powerfully the music seems to course through you. But his is not just a loud horn. Washington’s sax has a large, beautiful tone. His projection is vigorous, potent and intense, somehow grabbing more of your attention, although you thought you had given it to him fully. Backed up with not only an orchestra but a chorus felt like riding ocean waves, buoyed by beautiful chords, scales and changes filling the atmosphere. Henrietta Our Hero followed. Patrice Quinn has a voice of velvet. Washington wrote the song for his grandmother, and this rendition featured his father, Rickey Washington, on flute. Quinn captures [See Epic Homecoming, page 15]
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
11
12
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Advertise Here
for as Low as
(310) 519-1442
$35/mo
INDEPENDENT AND FREE >> Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment
Star Fisheries Workers Strike before Christmas By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment >> INDEPENDENT AND FREE
At one minute after midnight on Dec. 18, about 30 truck drivers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 572 went on strike against Star Fisheries after working without a contract for 22 months. Steve Badger, the Teamsters Union Local 572 business representative, called the strike. He cited the ongoing lack of a contract and the obstacles to negotiating a new one--Star Fisheries’ proposals to stop paying pension benefits altogether, to force workers to contribute $400 to $600 per paycheck towards their health insurance and to provide only a 35-cent per hour wage increase in a two-year deal. Star Fisheries President Jolene DiMaggio took over the business when her husband, Anthony died in 2010. Star Fisheries has beern family-owned since it was founded in 1921 by Andrew Fistonich. Fistonich’s son-in-law Neno DiMaggio joined the company, eventually took over and rapidly grew the business. Neno’s son, Anthony, followed his father into the business and became the next head of Star Fisheries. In 1952, Louie Bozanich Sr. joined Neno at the company. His grandson, and namesake Louie, is the third generation calling Star home. Since then, the company has gone through changes that have negatively impacted union workers. “As of today, we do not have a contract,” Badger explained. “The owner would not come back to the table and has put a very inferior proposal on the table
for us. We once had full benefits in health and eight workers inside.” Badger also noted that the company wants to welfare she (Jolene DiMaggio) came back and end medical benefits for its retired workers and said, ‘We’re not going to offer that.’” Before negotiations began, Badger said rejected the union’s request for retro pay for the DiMaggio sent a letter to his office that thanked months the drivers worked without a contract. Badger acknowledged that the retro-pay the union for its service but that their relationship would have been expensive considering that the was finished. A significant number of the workers on the drivers worked a considerable amount of overpicket-line worked for the company for more than time. The company, in response, has deployed non20 years. Drivers deliver prepackaged seafood, both frozen and fresh. The seafood is packages union drivers to replace the striking drivers. “She has hired scab drivers to deliver the based on the order from the store. The product could come from anywhere in the world. Any- loads,” Badger said. “They’ve restructured how thing you can imagine fish-wise. They debone they reload the trucks to make it easier. We talked to them about doing this, years ago, but now all and fillet fish here. of a sudden they could “She has told us at do it, but couldn’t do it the table that she does before. not like the union,” “They are taking Badger said. “When the trucks to another loher husband was alive cation, the scab drivers ... I had no problem getare there. They drive ting a contract. We’d the trucks there and the sit down together and scab drivers get in and knock the contract out they give the scab drivin less than 30 days and ers the routes,” Badger we’d have a contract for said. three to four years…. Workers at Star Fisheries The company serThe contract has exon strike after 22 months vices Ralphs, Stater pired, of course.” without a contract. Brothers and Trader With the exception Photo by Terelle Jerricks Joe’s. Badger noted of a short-term contract negotiated with the company’s human resources that Ralphs is their biggest account. “We don’t want to do it but she forced our manager after the elder DiMaggio passed, the union has been in an uphill battle to get a contract hand,” Badger said. Though the strike has been largely peaceful, with the company. Badger said the family hired a union busting tensions between management and workers are legal team based in Irvine, Payne and Fears, to high. Badger said one of the company owners with a scab driver bumped into one of the picketde-unionize the company. “We floated an offer and it was rejected along ing workers at about 5:30a.m. “The owner was on a cell phone and yelling with our strike authorization at the same time,” Badger said. “We have two contract offers, one and just acting crazy and he starts edging up as for the dock workers and the workers that work the striker crossed the crosswalk. As he edged inside, and one for the drivers. We only have [See Strike, page 14]
House Draft Pints........... $4 House Wines.................. $4 Jagerbomb..................... $6 All Signature Cocktails... $6 House Draft Pitchers......$14
...and an American Grill 331 W. 6th St. San Pedro, CA 90731 (310) 831-5663 Open @11:30 Daily
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Handcrafted Ales & Lagers...
13
[Strike, from page 13]
INDEPENDENT AND FREE >> Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment
Big Nick’s Pizza Tradition, variety and fast delivery — you get it all at Big Nick’s Pizza. The best selection of Italian specialties include hearty calzones, an array of pastas and, of course, our amazing selection of signature pizzas, each piled high with the freshest toppings. Like wings or greens? We also offer an excellent selection of appetizers, salads, beer and wine. Call for fast delivery. Hours: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Fri. & Sat. Big Nick’s Pizza • 1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro • (310) 732-5800 • www. facebook.com/BigNicks Buono’s Authentic Pizzeria A San Pedro landmark for over 40 years, famous for exceptional award-winning pizza baked in brick ovens. Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and sauces based on tried-andtrue family recipes and hand-selected ingredients that are prepared fresh. You can dine-in or take-out. Delivery and catering are also provided. Additionally, there are two locations in Long Beach. Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. • Buono’s Pizzeria • 1432 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro • (310) 547-0655 • www.buonospizza.com Happy Diner The Happy Diner isn’t your average diner. If you pay attention to its special menu on blackboards, it’s almost a certainty you’re going to find something new each week. The cuisine runs the gamut of Italian and Mexican to American continental. The Happy Diner chefs are always creating something new. They believe that if an item is good, its reputation will get around by word of mouth. You can even find items normally found at curbside lunch trucks. You can take your pick of grilled salmon over pasta or tilapia and vegetables, prepared any way you like. Try their chicken enchiladas soup made from scratch. Happy Diner • (310) 241-0917 • 617 S. Centre St., San Pedro
Waterfront Dining December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Boardwalk Grill
14
Casual waterfront dining at its finest! Famous for slabs of Chicago-style baby back ribs, fish-n-chips, rich clam chowder, cold beer on tap and wine. Full lunch menu also includes salads, sandwiches and burgers. Indoor and outdoor patio dining available. Proudly pouring Starbucks coffee. Open 7 days a week. Free Parking. Boardwalk Grill • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 519-7551
Niko’s Pizzeria One of downtown San Pedro’s signature restaurants features a full Italian menu, huge selection of pizzas, Greek specialties and a beer and wine bar featuring a wide selection of beers on tap and by the bottle. Watch sporting events on plasma TV screens throughout the restaurant. Delivery service to all of San Pedro, Port locations and hotels. 399 W. 6th St., San Pedro (at the corner of Mesa and 6th sts.) • (310) 241-1400 PHILIE B’S ON SIXTH Owner Philie Buscemi welcomes you to Philie B’s on Sixth, where New York–style pizza, Sicilian rice balls and pizza by-the-slice are the specialties. Fresh hot or cold sandwiches, gourmet pizzas and fresh salads are also served. Try the “white pizza” with smooth ricotta, mozzarella and sharp PecorinoRomano cheeses topped with torn fresh basil. Extended hours accommodate San Pedro’s unique lifestyle and work schedules. Catering and fast, free local delivery ($15 min.) available. Philie B’s On Sixth • 347 W. 6th Street, San Pedro (310) 514-2500 www.philiebsonsixth.com San Pedro Brewing Company A microbrewery and American grill, SPBC features handcrafted award-winning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, bbq, sandwiches, salads and burgers. A full bar with made-from-scratch margaritas and a martini menu all add fun to the warm and friendly atmosphere. Wi-Fi bar connected for Web surfing and email—bring your laptop. Live music on Saturdays. Hours: From 11:30 a.m., daily. San Pedro Brewing Company • 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro • (310) 831-5663 • www.sanpedrobrewing.com Sonny’s Bistro and Think Café Sonny and Carly Ramirez are the husband and wife team behind Sonny’s Bistro and Think Café. They operate both establishments: Sonny works in the kitchens and Carly attends the front of the house. The hands-on attention to detail makes their restaurants so successful, in both PORTS O’ CALL WATERFRONT DINING Since 1961 they’ve extended a hearty welcome to visitors from every corner of the globe. Delight in an awe-inspiring view of the dynamic L.A. Harbor while enjoying exquisite coastal California cuisine and varietals. Relax in the plank bar or outdoor patio for the best happy hour on the waterfront. With the award-winning Sunday champagne brunch, receive the first Spirit Cruises harbor cruise of the day free. Open 7 days, lunch and dinner. Free Parking. Ports O’Call Waterfront Dining • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 76, San Pedro • (310) 833-3553 www.Portsocalldining.com
quality of food and service. Sonny’s Bistro’s lunch and dinner menus feature dishes made from locally sourced and hand–selected meats, seafood and seasonal vegetables. Try the $10 lunch menu served Mon. through Friday. Think Café serves breakfast in addition to lunch and dinner with fresh egg dishes, omelettes and griddlecakes. Both restaurants have a fine selection of wines and beers that complement the dishes. Sonny’s Bistro • 1420 W. 25th St., San Pedro. Hours: Mon-Fri, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat and Sun. from 4 p.m. • (310) 5484797. Think Café • 302 W. 5th St., San Pedro • Hours: Mon-Sat. 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.- 2 p.m. • (310) 519-3662. The Whale & Ale San Pedro’s British gastro pub offers comfortable dining in an oak–paneled setting, featuring English fish & chips, roast prime rib, sea bass, rack of lamb, beef Wellington, meat pies, salmon, swordfish & vegetarian dishes. Open for lunch & dinner, 7 d ay s / wk; great selection of wines; 14 British tap ales, & full bar. Frequent live music. First Thursdays live band & special fixed price menu. Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri. 11:30 a.m.-midnight Sat. & Sun. 1-10 p.m. Bar open late. The Whale & Ale • 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro • (310) 832-0363 • www. whaleandale.com Stripe Café Stripe Café Executive Chef Brett Hickey’s focus is on plant-based fare, with farm-to-table option highlighting his conscious cuisine. The quality food is fresh, organic and natural. Everything is made in-house and brings the seasons in, while having good prices. Hickey’s menu is full of delightful surprises: salmon smoked each day, Nutella latte, lavender-infused olive oil cake topped with lemon curd, and daily fresh soups. The café is open for lunch, but pop-up dinners have already become highly anticipated special events. Reservations for October 8, 9, 10 dinners being taken now. Stripe Café • 5504 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes • Mon-Sat 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., • (310) 541.2479 SPIRIT CRUISES
An instant party! Complete with all you need to relax and enjoy while the majesty of the harbor slips by. Their three yachts and seasoned staff provide an exquisite excursion every time, and all-inclusive pricing makes party planning easy! Dinner cruise features a three course meal, full bar, unlimited cocktails and starlight dancing. Offering the ultimate excursion for any occasion. Free parking. Spirit Cruises • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 548-8080, (562) 495-5884 • www.spiritmarine.com
Include Your Restaurant in the Dining Guide In Print & Online • (310) 519-1442
into the crosswalk he bumped into the striker. The striker wasn’t injured,” Badger said. The Los Angeles Port Police said they received a call regarding an alleged battery with a vehicle but there was no claim of injury. No arrest was made, but port police detectives are still investigating. Badger noted that Star Fisheries drivers are already paid below the average rate in the industry but stressed that the union isn’t asking for exorbitant wages. “We just want a deal,” Badger said. “This is a bad time of year. To go on strike is a tough thing because everybody loses. I’m not here to break the company because that affects me and my job. What we are asking for is a fair contract.” The union plans to picket the company’s biggest client, Ralphs stores, beginning Dec. 19. Picketers will hand out information to improve public understanding about what’s at stake, hoping that the information translates into pressure to return to the negotiating table. “This is a union town; this shouldn’t be happening in San Pedro,” said Lucas Valenzuela, one of the workers picketing Star Fisheries. “For 45 years we’ve been doing pretty good,” said Badger. As of press time, Star Fisheries’ legal representative, Payne & Fears LLP, had not returned telephone calls requesting comment for this story.
[Epic HomeComing, from page 11] the deep respect this composer has for his elder as she sang,
This band of players is generous, openly sharing the spotlight. Cameron Graves on keyboard followed with his own number called, The End of Corporatism. The funky number blended orchestra, synthesizer and vocals starting with powerful staccato beats. It morphed into a psychedelic vibe reminiscent of Edgar Winters’ Frankenstein then transformed again into exotic sounds, as if the band were speaking another language, foreign, funky and free, and entirely as one. A masterful combination closed the first set. A live DJ spun with a bass and clap as the band provided a back beat of rousing funk. Floating above it all, a crystal clear, passionate, flamenco stylized viola was featured.
Our minds, our bodies, our feelings They change, they alter, they leave us Somehow, no matter what happens I’m here. The time, the season, the weather The song, the music, the rhythm It seems, no matter what happens I’m here.
Details: http://www.kamasiwashington.com
New years Eve Happenings Community Dec. 26 Azar Lawrence at the Seabird Lounge Jazz saxophonist Azar Lawrence is known for his contributions as sideman to McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw. Time: 9 p.m. Cost: $15 Details: http://seabirdjazzloungelbc.com Venue: Seabird Lounge, 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach Circus of Sin Fire dancers, contortionists, aerialists machinate in a femme fatale cabaret. Time: 9 p.m. Cost: $15 to $25 Details: http://longbeach.harvelles.com Venue: Harvelle’s, 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach Dec. 27 Jazz Angels at the Seabird Lounge The Seabird Lounge opened its stage to young budding musicians to blossom. Time: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cost: Free Details: http://seabirdjazzloungelbc.com Venue: Seabird Lounge, 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach Dec. 29 The Dirty Little Secrets The Dirty Little Secrets are an underground comedy and burlesque. There is a two-drink minimum. Only guests 21 years old or older are admitted. Time: 8:30 p.m. Cost: $10 Details: http://longbeach.harvelles.com Venue: Harvelle’s, 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach Dec. 30 William Porter House Band This versatile jazz, blues band that’s played with the greats is playing at the Seabird Lounge. Time: 8 p.m. Cost: $10 Details: http://seabirdjazzloungelbc.com Venue: Seabird Lounge, 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach Dec. 31 NYE at San Pedro Brewing The band, Magic Bullet Theory, is bringing in the New Year for 2016. Time: 9 p.m. Cost: $5 Details: www.sanpedrobrewing.com Venue: San Pedro Brewing, 331 6th St., San Pedro
New Year’s Eve Aboard the Queen Mary Celebrate the launch of 2016 under a fireworks-filled sky on the legendary decks of the Queen Mary. Toast the New Year in style and enjoy an unforgettable evening of great food, drinks and live entertainment. Only guests 21 years old or older are admitted. Time: 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Cost: $99 to $199 Details: www.queenmary.com Venue: Queen Mary Address: 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach 6th Annual Red Hot New Year’s Eve Creating A Remarkable Event’s New Year’s Eve Celebration brings all of the elements of the V.I.P treatment under one roof. Red carpet, tantalizing appetizers, deluxe casino gaming, free parking, confetti pop at midnight and more! Lounge by the tranquil fireplace uniquely positioned in the middle of the room, while dancing into 2016 with DJ JiJi Sweet! Time: 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Cost:$55 to $85 Details: https://carenye6.eventbrite.com Venue: Carson Center, 801 E. Carson St., Carson New Year’s Eve at Alpine Village Dance through the decades with continental music of every era then countdown to 2016 with a champagne toast. Attire is formal or semi-formal. This is a great chance to get dressed to the nines and treat yourself to a classic night out! Time: 6 p.m. Cost: $45 to $75 Details: (310)327-4384 ext. 401 Venue: Alpine Village, 833 Torrance Blvd, Torrance NYE at the Whale and Ale Still haven’t finalized your plans for New Year’s Eve? Join us at the Whale & Ale. We will have champagne specials all night and will also be featuring a special New Year’s Eve menu. At 4pm, we will be celebrating the New Year as it strikes across the pond, start the night off right by celebrating early at the Whale and Ale Time: Dec. 31, 2p.m. Details: http://www.whaleandale.com/ Venue: Whale and Ale, 327 West 7th Street, San Pedro Jan. 2 American Monster Burlesque and Blues This fun burlesque and blues show guarantees a jaw-dropping good time for anyone 21 years old and older who can handle a two-drink minimum. Time: 9 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. Cost: $15 to $20 Details: (562) 239-3700; http://longbeach. harvelles.com Venue: Harvelle’s, 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach
[see Calendar, page 16]
Victorian Christmas at Banning Museum
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
NYE at the Seabird Lounge The Palmer Jazz Project is going to ring in 2016 with fellow jazz lovers. Champagne and hor d’oeuvres will be served. Time: 7 p.m. Cost: $40 Details: http://seabirdjazzloungelbc.com Venue: Seabird Lounge, 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach
Grand Park’s New Year’s Eve L.A. This event includes music and dancing, along with a spectacular interactive countdown, featuring 3-D digital video on two sides of City Hall. All Ages are welcome. Time: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Cost: Free Details: http://grandparkla.org/event/newyears-eve-la/ Venue: Grand Park, Downtown L.A., 200 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles
Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment >> INDEPENDENT AND FREE
Can I tell you a story Of a lady, so near From her battles alone with love. Had no armor, no weapons, No desire to flee. But a power so deep inside, Brings life to us all Henrietta our hero shining fearless and bright Can you see her? Her light is here.
This is where tonal vibrations arise from the stage. In our interview this summer in RL, Washington described moments like this, of freedom that The Next Step has when they perform together. In the second set, special guest Terrace Martin on alto sax joined the band, performing For Free off Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. Washington took a moment to talk about To Pimp a Butterfly. He remarked on how blown away he is by all of his friend’s talent right before featuring a wickedly funky solo with Miles Mosely on upright bass. Mosely, using his hands on the bass this time, transformed that upright into a rough and raw electric guitar. This was followed by The Epic’s The Magnificent Seven opening with a long interlude from both drummers. Austin on the right, Bruner on the left played simultaneously, first in a call and response followed by perfectly timed synchronization. We were immersed in surround sound, as if the two were one amazingly powerful set of drums. Closing with the beautiful number, The Rhythm Changes, Washington began with a solo, Graves followed on piano. Quinn’s vocals radiated the captivation expressed in this song. The lyrics soothe and inspire. If one wonders what or who Washington is talking about in this number, could it simply be, the rhythm?
15
[Calendar, continued from page 15]
[Calendar, from page 15] Jan. 7 Madman’s Paradise In a world of film noir soul, twisted tales are told by the City of Angels’ fallen angel, Toledo. Time: 9 p.m. Cost: $10 to $20 Details: http://longbeach.harvelles.com Venue: Harvelle’s, 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach Community Dec. 25 Diana: Legacy of a Princess This exhibit showcases a priceless collection of Diana’s gowns and cherished memorabilia. It provides an in depth look at other major members of the British Royal Family—those who actually visited or sailed on The Queen Mary. These include King George V and Queen Mary; the Duke and Duchess of Windsor; The Queen Mother; and Queen Elizabeth II. Time: Dec. 25 to 27 (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) Cost: $13.95 to $39.95 Details: (877) 342-0742 Venue: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway
INDEPENDENT AND FREE >> Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment
Dec. 26 Whale Watching Go to sea any day of the week through mid-April in search of migrating Pacific gray whales and a host of other marine life including dolphins, seals and sea lions. Whalewatch naturalists, trained by the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the American Cetacean Society, lead two-to-three-hour boat trips from various landings (fees vary). Time: 10 a.m. weekdays; 12:45 weekends Cost: $16 to $33. Children younger than 5 get in free. Details: www.spiritmarine.com Venue: Spirit Cruises, 1200 Nagoya Way, San Pedro Weekend Tidepool Walk CMA’s Educators conduct tours of the Point Fermin tidepools. Attend an informative slide show in the John M. Olguin Auditorium, then come along on the naturalist-led ramble on the rocks to see animals in their natural habitat. Outdoor clothing and sneakers advised. Young children must be accompanied by adults. Time: 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Cost: Free Details: 310-548-7562 Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Dec. 29
16
Disney On Ice Presents Frozen Enter a fantastical winter wonderland beyond imagination at Disney On Ice presents Frozen. The heartwarming Academy Award®winning tale you love is now live and skating in your town. Time: Dec. 29 to 30 7 p.m.; Dec. 31 12:30p.m. 4:30p.m.; Jan. 1 to 4 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Cost: $15 to $140 Details: http://www.longbeachcc.com Location: Long Beach Arena, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach
Arts Jan. 2, 2016 Sam Ross Sextet The group will mainly play selections from Sam’s upcoming jazz-influenced debut album, with styles ranging from funk to soul to swing etc. In addition to the album tunes, the group will premiere several of Sam’s new compositions that are not on the album. Time: Jan. 2, 8p.m. Cost: $15 Details: (310) 519-1314 Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W 8th St. San Pedro Jan. 3 Creative Images Capture Waterfront Wonder Beauty is not often the first word that comes to mind when discussing the industrial views of the Port of Long Beach. However, that’s exactly what photographers have captured in this year’s Port of Long Beach Photogallery. The photographs featured in the Photogallery are the result of a workshop taught by POLB photographers that was followed by a twilight shoot during a special harbor boat tour. Eighty beginning, amateur and professional photographers participated. Both the workshop and behind-the-scenes Port tour took place in August. The participants then submitted their best pieces for the juried gallery exhibit. Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Jan. 3, 2016 Cost: $6 to $9 Details: www.molaa.org Venue: Museum of Latin American Art, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach Jan. 9 Mary Poppins the Musical Come see your favorite Disney classic film come to life on the Warner Grand stage in January! Featuring audience favorites such as “Step in Time,” “A Spoonful of Sugar” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” this show will delight audiences of all ages. Mary Poppins is directed by the brilliant Summer Cacciagioni, with choreography by Jorie Janeway (straight from the National Tour of “Hairspray”), vocal direction by Mike Walker and featuring the beautiful costumes of Cheryl Ortiz. Watch as Bert tap dances on the clouds, Mary flies through the air and the Banks family learns the value of family. Time: Jan 9, 15 and 16 at 7:30pm; Jan 10 and 17 at 2pm Cost: General Admission $34 Details: encoreentertainers.org/tickets Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro Jan. 20 Warner Grand Theatre 85th Anniversary Birthday Party The San Pedro Chamber of Commerce and Grand Vision present the Warner Grand’s 85th Birthday Party, on the Occasion of the 85th Anniversary of the Theatre’s Grand Opening on January 20, 1931. Bring your good cheer and community pride. Time: Jan. 20, 5p.m. Cost: Free Details: encoreentertainers.org/tickets Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro
New Seafood Restaurant to Open in the Old Papadakis Taverna Building By Gina Ruccione, Cuisine and Restaurant Writer There have been a few restaurants to grace us with their presence since the Papadakis Taverna closed in 2010. We’ve seen them come and go under abrupt and sometimes even tragic circumstances, so it’s about time we see a little life at the corner of 6th and Centre Street. Maybe it’s time for that space to embrace something that does well in San Pedro—seafood. Enter Greg and Yunnie Kim Morena, a Santa Monica-based couple who together have more than 30 years of entrepreneurial ventures between them. Their most recent venture was inthe takeover of SM Pier Seafood, a mainstay and seafood staple on the Santa Monica pier. Kim Morena took the helm from her parents, who first opened the restaurant the 1977. Her parents, who emigrated from Korea, arrived in the United States with hardly any money and managed to lease a space on the Santa Monica Pier. They got in just in time. It was only a couple years before that the pier was at the brink of being shut down, but only to be replaced by a bridge leading to a man-made resort island. With unwavering protests within the Santa Monica community, the proposed bridge idea was soon
Picture This! Twenty Years of Landmark Art By Lyn Jensen, Contributor
shut down. After taking the helm, the Morenas changed the name to The Albright in reference to the nautical Albright Knot, which symbolizes tying together two generations of a local, family-run business. The Albright now remains the longest running restaurant on the Santa Monica pier. This spring the couple plans to open Pappy’s—a seafood restaurant boasting a fresh, locally sourced fare and craft beer, which should prove to be an exciting addition to San Pedro’s dining scene. So, what can we expect from Pappy’s? If it’s to be anything like The Albright, think rusticchic fish house; a perfect combination of a lowkey atmosphere with high-quality design making it both upscale yet approachable. This would no doubt suit downtown San Pedro quite well. And what’s with the name Pappy’s? Fun fact and I’m glad you asked. Here’s a little bit of history: Popeye the Sailorman was supposedly inspired by spinach-chomping and rather aggressive sailor, who used to hang around the Santa Monica Pier. Just recently The Albright acquired the license for Popeye. Both Popeye’s father and John Papadakis, the long time owner of the San Pedro property, share the same nickname--Pappy. For more information about The Albright, visit: http://thealbright.com/ Gina Ruccione has traveled all over Europe and Asia and has lived in almost every nook of Los Angeles County. You can visit her website at www.foodfashionfoolishfornication.com. poetry/spoken word or song, artists share their feelings through their unique art forms.” Shows are juried. If you’re an artist who’d like to exhibit at Picture This in 2016, start creating now. Gomez’s space doubles as a custom framing shop, so anyone who needs art, photography, or artifacts framed is welcome, too. Address: 1430 Norse Way, Long Beach, CA 90808 Hours: Tuesday to Friday 12 to 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appt. Details: 562-233-3726 http://picturethisgallery.weebly.com
“I had a vision, while I was in high school, to own an art gallery, providing a space where various artists could get exposure,” says Marisol Gomez, who subsequently opened Picture This Gallery & Custom Framing, which in 2016 marks its 20th anniversary as a landmark of the Long Beach art scene. 2016 schedule of exhibits at Picture This: Gomez is once again offering her annual schedule of “LOVE/HATE” artists share emotions Jan/Feb art exhibits including what’s through art, poetry/spoken word or song. long been her most popular Open Media (no theme) - All Art Welcome. March event—a tribute to Frida Kahlo in September and Oc“The VOODOO That You Do” - New Orleans. April tober to coincide with Latino Heritage Month. Art events The “Motivational Teen” Exhibit - encouraging May at Picture This also often inat-risk youth to be involved in the arts and clude music and poetry. giving back to the community. First on the gallery’s schedule for 2016 is LOVE/ “Animal House” - Fundraiser for the voiceless. June HATE, from mid-January to mid-February, timed to coin“In God We Tru$t” - artists expressing their poJuly litical messages. cide with Valentine’s Day. Gomez says, “Love and “Catadores” - Cigar art and Long Beach Fire August hate are two of the most pasDepartment Fundraiser for Sparks of Love. sionate emotions a person can feel. They can both cause The FRIDA KAHLO Artists Exhibit - artists paySept/Oct strong outcomes, sometimes ing tribute and celebrating Latino Heritage. even insanity. Most everyone has felt either the profound November Dia de los MUERTOS - a traditional celebration happiness or that intense of life. hurt because of love. February, the Valentine month, is December “La VIRGEN” - The Virgin Mary, la Guadalupana. Artists’ depiction of Mary, along with SHOP a great time to share these ART/ART SHOP: Shop SMALL from various artemotions. Through paintists and artisans. ings, photography, sculpture,
A r t O p e n i n g s | OP E N S T U D I O S | F i n e Di n i n g | L i v e M usi c | S p e c i a l Pe r f o r m a n c es | F o o d T r u c ks
Michael Stearns, Primal Pond #3, acrylic on canvas, detail.
Michael Stearns Studio 347 PRIMAL POND
Sudrak Kuongpuang, One Find Day with Friends, oil on canvas, 2015, 80 x 120 cm. detail.
THAILAND: Grown Up Sudrak Khongpuang: Paintings from Thailand and Matthew Thomas: Lightening in the Dark also Scott Trimble: Recent Paintings
South Bay Contemporary at the Loft is pleased to present the works of three artists. In the main gallery, Thai artist Sudrak Khongpuang shows oil paintings of the Thai countryside as she remembers from her childhood. A prolific practitioner of naïve surrealism, she is known for her use of vibrant colors to document the Thai rural way of life. Matthew Thomas, who is also showing his drawings, moved from Los Angeles to Thailand four years ago and became friends with Sudrak, encouraging her to make the trip to L.A. for this exhibition. Scott Trimble, an artist from Hermosa Beach will show a selection of his work in SBC studio as part of SBC featured artist program. The shows are curated by Peggy Zask. Opening reception First Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, 6 - 9pm. Hours: 1-5pm, Thurs.-Sat. or by appt. The show runs through Feb. 14. South Bay Contemporary at the LOFT, 401 S. Mesa St,, 3rd floor, San Pedro, (310) 429- 0973. www.southbaycontemporary.com
TransVagrant @ Warschaw Gallery Warschaw/Winter II
TransVagrant and Warschaw Gallery are pleased to present Warschaw/Winter II, a group exhibition of works by Craig Antrim, Merwin Belin, Arnée Carofano, Ray Carofano, Katy Crowe, Christopher Hernandez, Nate Jones, Hyung Mo Lee, Ron Linden, Marsha Mack, William Mahan, Jay McCafferty, Elizabeth Medina, Zac Roach, Regine Rode, Yong Sin, Gary Szymanski, Marie Thibeault, Ted Twine, and HK Zamani. Winter II runs through Jan. 30, 2016. Gallery hours are Monday - Saturday, 10 AM - 6 PM, and by appointment.TransVagrant at Warschaw Gallery is located at 600. S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro. For additional information, call 310-600-4873.
Studio Gallery 345
new works on paper and canvas
Pat Woolley and Gloria D Lee continue showing new work including abstracts, children’s book and unique jewelry from France as well as other small gifts. Open 6-9 pm on 1st Thursday and by appointment. For more information call Gloria at (310) 545-0832 or Pat at (310) 374-8055, artsail@roadrunner.com 345 W. 7th St., San Pedro.
Arts • Cuisine • Entertainment >> INDEPENDENT AND FREE
South Bay Contemporary at the Loft
This series addresses the original source of life force in the beginnings of the microscopic primordial soup or at the macroscopic level of the entire universe. Open during First Thursday Art Walk and by appointment drop-ins are always welcome. Michael Stearns Studio 347 is located at 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro. www.michaelstearnsstudio.com
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
17
CLASSIFIED ADS WRITERS WANTED Theater Writers Wanted Random Lengths News is seeking freelance writers to cover theater and film. Candidates must have a strong command of the English language and be knowledgeable about literature and have experience in writing about theater. The successful candidate will be required to arrange his or her own transportation to cover stories. The successful candidate needs to have a thorough knowledge of what’s happening in the theater and film scene, particularly in the Harbor Area. At least two years experience writing for print or online media required. In addition, the successful candidate should have: The ability to write with flair Excellent organizational skills Strong initiative Great time management skills
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
Working hours are flexible, but you will be encouraged to attend biweekly editorial meetings. Send your resume and a few samples of your writing to Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks, at editor@ randomlengthsnews.com or drop by the office at 1300 S. Pacific Ave. in San Pedro.
18
Carson Reporter Wanted Random Lengths News is seeking a freelance reporter to cover issues in the City of Carson. Candidates must have strong command of the English language, and knowledge or interest of
community issues and politics in Carson. The successful candidate will be required to arrange his or her own transportation to cover stories. Candidates must be able to research, understand and convey the happenings in the city. At least two years experience in print or online media is preferred. The successful candidate must have strong organizational skills, initiative and time management. Working hours are flexible. Writers are encouraged to attend biweekly meetings. Send work samples to Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks at editor@randomlengthsnews.com or drop by the office at 1300 S. Pacific Ave. in San Pedro.
Help WANTED Experienced, mature ArtistManager to develop, implement and run programs for artists and their families. Experience working with children, adults and computer competency are essential; Spanish-speaking a plus. Must have car, current driver’s license and auto insurance. Part time, 15 hrs./wk. mostly evenings and Sats. in San Pedro. Compensation: $17/hr. Email inquiries to: engagemkt@gmail.com Start your humanitarian career! Change the lives of others while creating a sustainable future. 1, 6, 9, 18 month programs available. Apply today! www.OneWorldCenter.org 269-591-0518 info@ oneworldcenter.org PAID IN ADVANCE! Make $1000 A Week Mailing Brochures From Home! No Experience Required. Helping
Bulletin Board
home workers since 2001! Genuine Opportunity. Start Immediately! www.TheIncomeHub.com (AAN CAN)
The animals at the Harbor Animal Shelter have ongoing need for used blankets, comforters, pet beds.* Drop off at Harbor Animal Shelter, 957 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro. 888-452-7381, x 143 PLEASE SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PET! *In any condition. We will wash and mend.
Don Marshall CPA, Inc.
Golden West Realty
Career Training
Serving San Pedro and the entire South Bay since 1980
AIRLINE CAREERS begin here–Get started by training as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 800725-1563 (AAN CAN)
DUPLEX FOR SALE
This duplex on Gaffey Street consists of 2 one bedroom, 1 bath unit. Each unit is approximately 750 square feet. There is a small back yard and 4 one car garages off the back alley.
2 HOUSES ON A LOT
$3300 / 2200ft2 Office Space Available (San Pedro) Beautiful 7-8 team member office space available. 2,200 sq ft , 2 private offices, conference room, receptionist area, additional copier/work room. Close to Port of LA, and easy freeway access! Available Dec. 1. Call M-F, between the hours of 8 AM 5 PM, 310-241-1500 x2207.
Great opportunity to own 2 houses on a lot. Front house is 2 bedroom, 1 bath, spacious kitchen and dining area, partial basement. Back house is a 2 story with living area upstairs that includes 2 bedroom, 1 bath, large kitchen. Downstairs has storage rooms, laundry area and direct access to a two car garage.
For more information call Golden West Realty
Real Estate FOR RENT
Real Estate SERVICES
DBA Filing & Publishing $135 (310) 519-1442
310.548.2881
www.goldenwestsanpedro.com 1 5 1 7 S . G a f f e y S t . • San Pedro, CA 90731
Business Opp
Wish Your Car Could Pay You Back? Get paid to help us advertise by helping others do the same. Make up to $4,600 monthly + bonuses. Call Kim 831-2386448 (AAN CAN) NEW BIZ OPPORTUNITY— but only the adventurous need apply. New Free report reveals the secrets to success in today’s hottest growth industry. www.moneyop.com (800) 679-1959 (AAN CAN)
FINANCIAL SERVICES ATTENTION BUSINESS OWNERS – Get up to $250K of working capital in as little as 24 Hours. (No Startups)– Call 1-800-426-1901 (AAN CAN)
11-16
Are you in BIG trouble with the IRS? Stop wage & bank levies, liens and audits, unfiled tax returns, payroll issues, & resolve tax debt FAST. Call 844-753-1317 (AAN CAN)
Local Notary Service • Payroll • Income Tax
(310) 833-8977
Don Marshall, MBA, CPA Specializing in small businesses CPA quality service at very reasonable rates
www.donmarshallcpa.com
Get CABLE TV, INTERNET & PHONE with FREE HD equipment and install for under $3 a day! Call now! 866-353-6916
MISC.
DISH TV Starting at $19.99/ month (for 12 mos.) SAVE! Regular Price $34.99 Ask About FREE SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now! 888992-1957 (AAN CAN)
AUTO INSURANCE STARTING AT $25/ MONTH! Call 855-977-9537
Real Estate FOR LEASE
One bedroom/1 bath apt. in San Pedro with hardwood floors, kitchen and small laundry room. Comes with 1-car garage. No pets. $925/mo. 435 W. 12th St. Email inquiries to fred.allen@cox.net
Odor free. Works for men or women. Free month supply on select packages. Order now! 844-244-7149 (M-F 9am-8pm central) (AAN CAN)
DBA/legal filings
EARN $500 A DAY As Airbrush Makeup Artist for: Ads . TV . Film . Fashion. HD . Digital 35% OFF TUITION One Week Course Taught by top makeup artist & photographer Train & Build Portfolio. Models Provided. Accredited. A+ Rated. AwardMakeupSchool.com (818) 980-2119 (AAN CAN)
Real Estate Investor seeks to purchase commercial or multi-unit residential properties in San Pedro. No Agents please. 310-241-6827
Please help!
Reach 63,000 Harbor Area Readers
Just Relax Tax Service
870 W. 9th St., Ste. 100A, San Pedro
310.221.0034
VEHICLES CASH FOR CARS: Any Car/ Truck. Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You! Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www.cash4car.com (AAN CAN)
ADOPTION PREGNANT? THINKING OF ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions. 866-413-6293. Void in Illinois/New Mexico/Indiana (AAN CAN)
ROOMMATES ALL AREAS ROOMMATES. COM. Lonely? Bored? Broke? Find the perfect roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at Roommates. com! (AAN CAN)
HEALTH \Viagra!! 52 Pills for Only $99.00. Your #1 trusted provider for 10 years. Insured and Guaranteed Delivery. Call today 1-888-403-9028 (AAN CAN)
Struggling with DRUGS or ALCOHOL? Addicted to PILLS? Talk to someone who cares. Call The Addiction Hope & Help Line for a free assessment. 800-978-6674 ELIMINATE CELLULITE and Inches in weeks! All natural.
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2015291781 The following person is doing business as: A to Z Anti aging Wellness, 2840 Peck Ave, San Pedro, Ca 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Amanda Vallejo, 2840 Peck Ave, 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: 10/21/2015. 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/. Amanda Vallejo, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 2015. 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. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.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: 11/26/2015,
12/10/2015, 12/24/2015, 01/07/15
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2015303140 The following person is doing business as: Rand Architecture, 4010 Palos Verdes Drive North Suite #200 D, Rolling Hills Estates, Ca 90274. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Rand Denina Relatores, 1203 Big Canyon Place, San Pedro, Ca 90732. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 01/01/1993. 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/. Rand Denina Relatores, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 1, 2015. 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. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration.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: 12/03/2015,
12/10/2015, 12/24/2015, 01/07/15
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2015288975 The following person is doing business as: 1. RADD, 2. Radd Auto Parts 3. R.A.D.D. 4. R.A.D.D. Auto Parts, 5. R.A.D.D. Sales 6. Radd Sales, 7. Rafael Alex Desi Distribution 9. Rafael and Desi Discount Auto Parts, 10. Rafael and Desi Distributors, 22108 S. Vermont, Suite 107, Torrance, Ca 9502. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Rafael Ruvalcaba, 664 1/2 21st Street, San Pedro, Ca 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Rafael Ruvalcaba, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Dec. 1, 2015. 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. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. 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: 12/10/2015, 12/24/2015, 01/07/16, 01/28/2016
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2015243618 The following person is doing business as: Able Design and Fabrication, 1550 W. Mahalo Place, Rancho Dominguez, CA 9220, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: ADF Inc., 1550 W. Mahalo Place, Rancho Dominguez, CA 9220. This Business is conducted by a corporation. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above:12/07/1993. 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/. Louis Mannick, President. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Sept. 22, 2015. 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. were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 10/01/2015, 10/15/2015, 10/29/2015, 11/12/2015
The Local Publication You Actually Read December 24 - January 6, 2016
19
20
December 24, 2015 - January 6, 2016
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area