Community Concerns Remain, Despite Port’s Greatest Hits Waterfront Development Show By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
Hello, You Must Be Going
Student walkouts ahead of March For Our Lives p. 2
POLA Evicts POC Restaurant Just as they Receive Offer to Stay By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
City of Carson vs. CSUDH goes more rounds p. 5
supporters held a press conference, where they alleged widespread corruption at the port in the public process, offering hundreds of supporting documents. They called for investigations by federal, state and local authorities, Port spokesman Phillip Sanfield called the allegations “baseless and without merit,” but these events, leading up to the long-delayed public meeting on waterfront development on March 20 (see story above), once again cast the port’s credibility into question. “The port gave me a notice terminating our lease effective March 1,” Wilson told Random Lengths News. “We countered to the port, ‘No, the [environmental impact report] states [See Going, p. 6]
March 22 - April 4, 2018
Debris surrounds Ports O’Call Restaurant as demolition crews tear down surrounding buildings. Photo by Jessie Drezner
For months, the Port of Los Angeles told Ports O’Call restaurant owner Jayme Wilson that a lease agreement couldn’t be negotiated with him until he had a letter of intent from the LA Waterfront Alliance, the developers who are overseeing the San Pedro Public Market project; it will erase and replace all of Ports O’Call Village. Wilson was in the process of negotiating with those developers, and finally received their letter of intent on March 6. But on March 7, the port served him eviction papers. It was yet another example of thinly-veiled hostility from the port in the decades-long process of waterfront development, though the exact nature of what was involved remains shrouded in secrecy. On March 12, a broader group of Ports O’ Call tenants—mostly ethnic minorities—and their
The Egyptian Lover on hip-hop’s West Coast origins p. 11 Chef Paul Buchanan and Palos Verdes Art Center’s wild event p. 12
Demonstrators came out in force March 20 to protest the loss of all the small businesses, including Ports O’ Call Restaurant as the port readies the site for redevelopment. Photo by Casey Warren.
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On March 20, more than three months after an initial presentation at the San Pedro Yacht Club ended unexpectedly amidst sharp questioning from local residents, developer Wayne Ratkovich finally made his long-delayed Warner Grand Theater presentation to the general public of the final plans for redeveloping the Ports O’ Call Village site. Prior to the meeting, more than 50 community members marched boisterously in support of keeping the iconic Ports O’Call Restaurant open. More than 1,000 people have signed a petition in support. “It brought tears to my eyes, seeing all the employees and community supporters marching in support of our restaurant,” owner Jayme Wilson told Random Lengths News. [See Doubt, p. 7]
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Community Announcements:
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March For Our Lives — Long Beach
On March 24, the students and families of March For Our Lives will take to the streets to demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that America end gun violence and mass shootings in its schools today. Members invite everyone to the march in Washington D.C. or encourage participation in marches in their own communities. Time: 10 a.m., March 24 Details: https://marchforourlives.com/ Venue: Bixby Park, 130 Cherry Ave., Long Beach
Rising Tide Summit Convenes at AltaSea
AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles will host the Rising Tide Summit on March 28 convening business leaders, thinkers and innovators to discuss and identify rapid solutions for ocean conservation. The conference will feature panel discussions, keynote presentations, Q&A sessions and workshops with science experts, investors, business leaders, ocean advocates and foundation executives. Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 28-29 Details: www.risingtidesummit.net. Venue: AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles, 2456 Signal St., San Pedro
Clean Air Action Plan Advisory Meeting
An advisory meeting concerning progress of the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) is set for March 29 in Long Beach. This is the first of up to four stakeholder advisory meetings per year, which are required as part of the CAAP update approved by the Long Beach and Los Angeles boards of Harbor Commissioners in 2017. The CAAP 2017 Update is a comprehensive strategy for accelerating progress toward a zeroemission future while protecting and strengthening the ports’ competitive position in the global economy. It is open to the public. Time: 10 a.m. to 12p.m., March 29 Details: www.cleanairactionplan.org Venue: Port of Long Beach, 4801 Airport Plaza Dr., Long Beach
Student Walkouts Ahead of March For Our Lives March By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Students throughout Southern California participated in the national school walkout on March 14 in a display of solidarity with the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and faculty were killed and many more injured in a Feb. 14 shooting. In the weeks since, students and teachers have called on national, state and local governments to pass legislation to protect students’ lives. At San Pedro High School, students placed 17 chairs near the campus flagpole and put up a “call wall” with the phone numbers of lawmakers, and an expression wall where students could write messages. Instead of stricter gun laws, President Donald Trump has called for the arming of teachers to help protect students in the case of a school shooting. In an attempt to seize the momentum created by the student walkouts, a delegation of lawmakers and gun control advocates representing Southern California organized a press conference in Washington, D.C. to urge congress to pass gun safety legislation two days ahead of the March For Our Lives march. It will be in D.C. and other cities on March 24. There are three bills currently pending in congress, including S.B. 2521, S.B. 1212 and
its companion bill, H.R. 2598. S.B. 2009, known as the Universal Background Checks bill, would require a background check for every firearm sold. The Assault Weapons Ban of 2017 would
Red Cross Seeks Volunteer Drivers
March 22 - April 4, 2018
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Another way to support the lifesaving mission of the American Red Cross is to become a volunteer transportation specialist. These volunteers play a very important role in ensuring an ample blood supply for patients in need by transporting blood and blood products. Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through March 30 Details: rdcrss.org/driver Venue: Providence Little Company of Mary, 1300 W. 7th St., San Pedro
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Port of Long Beach Community Sponsorship Program
The Port of Long Beach is accepting applications for its community sponsorship program until March 30. The Harbor Department provides sponsorship funds to local groups for community events and programs that help inform residents about the Port of Long Beach’s role as an economic engine and a leader in environmental sustainability. Time: Deadline is March 30 Details: www.polb.com/sponsorship
Help Kids Sail Tall Ships
The tall ships serve the youth of Los Angeles and beyond, teaching them life lessons while encouraging ocean conservation. Help students sail the boats and perform science experiments. We’ll teach you all you need to know to help students shape better lives for themselves. Details: (310) 833-6055; email: volunteercoordinator@lamitopsail.org
Port of Los Angeles Call for Community Investment Grant Program Applications The Port of Los Angeles is accepting applications for its community investment grant program. The program distributes up to $1 million per [See Announcements, p. 3]
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Top, San Pedro High School students face 17 chairs with shoes on top representing those who died during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Above, a student demonstrator during protest for gun control on March 14 at San Pedro High School. Photos by Raphael Richardson
amend the federal criminal code to make it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon or large capacity ammunition feeding device. The press conference was also staged to promote Extreme Risk Laws, which are state laws that work like domestic violence restraining orders. They give family and law enforcement a way to prevent an individual in crisis from harming themselves or others by temporarily removing firearms and prohibiting the purchase of another gun.
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Long Beach’s Road to Sanctuary Status By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Be Safe When Filing Taxes
On March 13, the Long Beach City Council passed a resolution that creates legal defense fund for immigrants facing deportation. Photos by Diana Lejins
potential seed money for a legal defense fund, mandating that a police department policy be distributed to the public and the department require all city department heads to sign a letter pledging to adhere to the resolution. The fund would seek non-profits and philanthropic donations to reach the amount needed to fully represent the number of undocumented persons likely in Long Beach. To qualify for assistance a person would have to live in the city, have an income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and be facing a number of immigration-related legal issues. A separate motion for the funding mechanism of the legal aid fund was requested by Third District Councilwoman Suzie Price, who supported the protections of the act, but cited the city’s charter in stating that it was likely illegal for the city to use taxpayer dollars to defend non-city employees in individual suits. A separate report
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on the feasibility and funding opportunities for the legal defense fund is expected to come back before the council in the coming months.
Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer has launched a public education campaign to help tax e-filers keep their information safe from scammers. The education campaign recommends that tax-filers: • E-file, or for paper filing, choose direct deposit. To avoid mail theft, it is best to e-file tax returns using a secure internet connection, and have refunds directly deposited into your bank account. • Avoid phishing scams. Personal information should never be shared over the phone or on the computer. Never click on email links that claim to be from the IRS. The IRS does not make contact via text, email or social media. Taxpayers should, however, respond as soon as possible to legitimate mail from the IRS. • File early. The IRS recommends filing taxes as early as possible to ensure that someone doesn’t steal your identity and file a fraudulent tax return in your name. • Protect personal information. Taxpayers using tax preparation services should verify the tax preparer identification numbers and ask them about their data security policies. • Report suspicious activity. Taxpayers should monitor their bank accounts, credit reports and the mail. Details: https://www.lacityattorney.org
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year in funding for initiatives, programs and events which benefit the Los Angeles Harbor community. Completed applications are due by 4 p.m. May 7. There will be two workshops to provide details about the application process. To apply, organizations must have 501(c)3 nonprofit status. The Port awards grants in three categories: small (up to $5,000), medium ($5,001-$99,999) and large ($100,000 or more). The program is not taxpayer-funded but paid for exclusively from Port shipping and lease revenues. Time: 6 p.m., April 3 and 4 Details: (310) 732-3508.
The council seeks applicants for seven seats on its board of directors for a three year term starting July 1. Eligibility requirements: you must be at least 16 years old and live, work, own property or a business, attend school or have children who attend school, or be involved in a non-governmental organization, such as a church or service club that is active within the boundaries of Northwest San Pedro. You do not need to be a United States citizen or a registered voter to apply. Applications open until April 24. Time: 5 p.m. April 24 Details: (310) 918-8550, www.nwsanpedro.org Venue: Peck Park Community Room, 560 N. Western Ave., San Pedro
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[Announcements, from p. 2]
NW San Pedro Neighborhood Council Seeks Candidates
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Long Beach took another step toward on March 13 the Long Beach City Council created a legal defense fund for immigrants facing deportation and passed a resolution that builds upon state laws banning local law enforcement from coordinating with federal immigration officers by expanding that to all city departments. It’s a sanctuary city. Officially titled the Long Beach Values Act of 2018, the non-binding resolution puts the city’s support behind state legislation like Senate Bill 54, which legalized and standardized statewide policies of non-cooperation between California law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. Long Beach council members passed the measure, which had been in the works for a year, exactly one week after United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions filed suit against California, claiming it’s sanctuary stance is interfering with the federal government’s immigration policies. At its essence, the Long Beach Values Act prohibits all city agencies from sharing personal information with United States Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE). But a majority of the large crowd residents who filed council chambers exhorted their representatives to imbue the resolution with even stronger protections through amendments that would eliminate a variety of so-called carveouts -- exceptions under which undocumented immigrants could still be deported. The carve-outs in SB 54 are mostly violent felonies, including rape, hate crimes, torture and gang-related offenses. But many in attendance argued that other crimes in the bill, -- such as vandalism, money laundering and felony driving under the influence -- don’t belong there. “Some of the carve outs and some of the crimes, I don’t see them reaching that level of having to be deported,’ said Councilmember Roberto Uranga. “For example…a DUI, embezzlement, forgery. I see those as perhaps white-collar type crimes and there are some people in jails now who I wish I could deport, who are white. You know, go back to Europe. Switzerland. Wherever.” The council voted to provide $250,000 as
Community Announcements:
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Weekend Conversations with Mayor Robles Via text message, the Carson mayor lays out his beef with the D.A.’s office and critics By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Carson’s mayor, Albert Robles, has been on a roll for the past year in finding and securing new streams of income for the city. The only thing that’s getting him any attention, however, is his ongoing battle with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office to stay in his two elected offices. But rather than send random tweets from the wee hours like our official Twitterer-inChief in the oval office, Mayor Robles sent me text messages airing out his grievances. When received his first text on Feb. 28 at 10:22 p.m., I couldn’t tell from whom it came. It read: Many folks talk about supporting our Veterans, but few actually do like the City of Carson. Check this article out and you will see I am not wrong. http://comptonherald. org/carson-veterans-village/
But if u wanna read the judge’s report, and all the bad things the DA makes up about me, it’s in this link. http://2urbangirls.com/judge-temporarilyremoves-mayor-of-carson-from-waterboard-seat This time I knew who it was. Robles didn’t ask for our exchange to be off the record and I never assumed it was. Instead, I took the opportunity to get his thoughts on some of the most pressing issues facing the city of Carson and him. So for the next three days, from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning, we exchanged text messages about his fight with District Attorney Jackie Lacey and his efforts to get energy companies based in Carson to, as he has put it, “pay their fair share.”
The link led to an announcement for the March 1 groundbreaking ceremony for Carson’s Veterans Village project. Robles’ telephone number is actually in my phone’s contact list, but due to some minor formatting differences, his name did not come up with his number. So I ignored it. On March 10, two days after Random Lengths ran Lyn Jensen’s report on Robles’ Feb. 27 court date, I received another text message at 2:10 p.m.: Here is some “fake news,” as not only have I not been removed from WRD (Water Replenishment District), but i am about to kick ass on April 17th, my new trial date.
The following is the result of our conversation via text message. Random Lengths News (March 10, 2:43 p.m.): Just out of curiosity, since 2014 have you ever said that you were going to step down from WRD for any reason? And second, what are your thoughts about criticism that the city is engaged in too much litigation without a clear payoff for the city in the end? Mayor Albert Robles (March 10, 4:01 p.m.): Too much litigation? For too long the city has not stood up for the residents, and i am honored to lead that fight. Terelle, that is a complaint made by lyn jensen and other jim dear kool-aid supporters.
Robles (March 11, 2:25 p.m.): 1. For first time ever, carson stood up against the refineries and we got a $45 million settlement. Compare that to [the] past mayor who sold us out for a campaign contribution while [the] city just got more unmitigated pollution.
Carson’s Mayor Albert Robles, center, taking part in the March 1 groundbreaking ceremony for Veteran’s Village with Carson City Clerk Donesia Guase Aldana and Councilman Cedrick Hicks. File photo
2. We had to settle numerous employee lawsuits that occurred on jim dear watch — look at [the] record, none have occurred under my watch. Furthermore, the one and only lawsuit that can be attributed to me was at the behest of jim dear and was dropped/dismissed the week jim dear was about to be deposed — yes, literally the very same week, and only if u believe in the Easter bunny do u think that is just a coincidence. 3. I became mayor and current professional and respected city manager hired. He has been our city manager for almost 3 years. Under previous mayor we had 5 city managers in 3 years. Wtf is right. So stop believing the b.s. from Jensen.
RLn (March 11, 4:17 p.m.): Back when the DA’s office began to come after you in earnest over holding overlapping offices, you accused the DAs office of racism ( first under Cooley then under lacey) particularly of how that office was going after elected Latinos of small cities in Southeast Los Angeles. Could you explain what you meant? Robles (March 11, 6:21 p.m.) : It is a proven fact that Steve cooley was the most racist DA of our generation. And while we may have hoped that the racist persecutions would end upon the election of the current DA, it obviously did not. In case anyone has been asleep and needs proof, consider that police officer killings of innocent Black and Brown citizens continue to go unprosecuted in the face of overwhelming evidence. Even when the police chief and investigation demands it. She will pursue cases against Black and Brown elected officials for holding 2 offices but not against white elected officials and her explanation is “because no one complains
[See Robles, p. 5]
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Mora Chosen Principal of POLA HS
SAN PEDRO ― The board of trustees for Port of Los Angeles High School has selected the current dean of students, George Mora, as the charter school’s new principal. Mora has served 12 years in a variety of leadership positions at POLAHS. He will be the third principal in the school’s history. Mora holds a masters degree in Education from Claremont Graduate University and an Administrative Services credential from California State University, Long Beach, where he also earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history.
Shari Weaver is Pioneer Woman of the Year
SAN PEDRO ― On March 9, Shari Weaver, of the Harbor Interfaith Services, received the Pioneer Woman of the Year Award from the Los Angeles City Council. The award was presented to Weaver by Councilmember Mike Bonin, District 11, in the absence of Councilmember Joe Buscaino, District 15. Buscaino was in Washington, D.C. on official city business. The Pioneer Woman of the Year Award honors leaders who champion gender equity in Los Angeles. The Commission on the Status of Women and Buscaino selected Weaver for her work as the Director of the Coordinated Entry System for Service Planning Area 8 (SPA8). Directed from Harbor Interfaith Services, SPA8 serves the 5,000 plus homeless people in the South Bay. The Commission on the Status of Women advances the general welfare of women and girls in the Los Angeles community to ensure that all women have full and equal participation in city government.
Dodger Stadium Express to Returns
Christopher Hawthorne Appointed as Chief Design Officer
LONG BEACH ― After a record breaking January [See News Briefs, p. 10]
“Because CSU and/or Cal State Dominguez propose(s) to engage in development or facilities or improvements which are not exclusively related to educational purposes, the same are therefore subject to the City’s plenary land use authority,” the lawsuit reads. The city’s argument also maintains the university must be compliant with the city’s building and zoning ordinances. A city staff report further argues the university has a conflict of interest and that Carson should be designated the public agency with general land use authority. Echoing this theme in a recent Random Lengths News editorial, Carson’s mayor, Albert Robles, complained the development is not being undertaken for exclusively educational purposes and “this massive for-profit project obviously must be extensively reviewed for its impacts on the city.” “The City’s legal actions have had no effect on our planning,” Jay Bond, a planning consultant at the university, responded via e-mail. “The city attempted to stop us from developing the EIR, but the courts have said we can continue.” According to court documents, on Dec. 22, 2017, the city sent the university a cease-anddesist letter demanding that any environmental review cease pending the resolution of the lead agency dispute. On Jan. 4, the university’s
[Robles, from p. 4]
development that is 100% within our city is based on one of bully and victim — CSUDH runs roughshod over us and demands Carson kowtow like a servant obediently. Let me be clear, I want CSUDH to prosper and grow as an educational facility. In fact [this past] year they just completed their science building, the largest improvement to CSUDH in [more than] 20-years and not only did I support and welcome its construction, but the city did not do any to stand in its way — nothing. But the new massive private retail/ commercial development is different and out of fairness must be handled just like any other private development.
Robles via Text
about them.” Yes her office actually said this. She prosecuted Black (Sen. Wright) and Brown (councilman Alarcon) electeds for residency, but she hypocritically did not live in LA County when she ran for DA. WTF is right. She waste public money pursuing political vendettas but rape kits go untested? She is not the worst D.A. ever, only because Steve Cooley preceded her.
RLn (March 11, 8:56 p.m.): In regards to the CSU University Village, what is the ideal relationship between a college campus and the city and how is the current one between csudh and Carson different from that ideal? Robles (March 12, 6:52 a.m.): The ideal relationship between CSUDH and its proposed massive development consisting of [1] almost 2000 market rate apartment (i.e., housing not exclusively for students or faculty), [2] about 100,000 square feet of retail (i.e., buildings in pursuit of profit not education) and [3, more than] 30 acres of commercial space (i.e., not educational facilities) with Carson should be the same as with any other major stakeholder and based on mutual respect. And this is the way it would be in any other city, but here in Carson residents have historically always gotten screwed. Maybe in the past Carson had no choice but to get screwed, for example like with the IKEA store not paying any sales taxes to the city for 20-years (yes, that was the deal and in case your readers do not know, cities’ main source of revenue is sales taxes). But, those times are gone, as Mayor I will not settle for anything less than fairness for Carson, just like what any other city would expect. But here, inexplicably however, the relationship in regards to this massive
RLn (March 12, 7:07 a.m.): Does the rest of the council get what you’re trying to do or are there some with similar mindsets as the Carson chamber president whom you sparred with over the continuation of the utility users tax (I think). Robles (March 12, 7:13 a.m.): Some councilmembers are hesitant and others just opposed to insisting Carson be treated fairly.
RLn (March 12, 7:13 a.m.): Do you believe you can coax the hesitant to form a majority in order to pass the measures needed to get Carson it’s due? Robles (March 12, 7:53 a.m.): So far so good.
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lawyers informed Carson that the planning and environmental review would continue while awaiting determination from the Office of Planning and Research regarding the lead agency designation. By the time the office again designated the university to be the lead agency on Jan. 26, Carson had filed another lawsuit on Jan. 24. Bond commented on why the university is pursuing the development, “The state no longer provides the CSU with capital dollars for the development of campus facilities. The CSU must find other ways to meet those needs. The development of this vacant land gives CSUDH a significant resource it can leverage to meet those academic needs.” According to a financial impact analysis the university shared with the city at an Oct. 25, 2017 meeting, the University Village development could generate as much as $1.9 million in annual tax revenue for Carson. Bond further commented the purpose of an environmental impact report is to analyze impact upon the community, “We will also be responsible for our fair share of the costs involved in mitigating any negative impacts. While the benefits of University Village will be available to the community, the ultimate beneficiary of the development is strictly the educational mission of California State University, Dominguez Hills.” The university’s master plan may be accessed via the following links: https://www.csudh.edu/Assets/csudh-sites/ fpcm/docs/campus-master-plan/csudh_2018draftmasterplan_report_final-draft_4aug17.pdf https://www.csudh.edu/Assets/csudh-sites/ fpcm/docs/campus-master-plan/csudh_2018draftmasterplan_appendix_final-draft_4aug17.pdf
March 22 - April 4, 2018
Port of Long Beach Shipments Jump Ahead During Lunar New Year
For the third time, the City of Carson is taking legal action against California State University, Dominguez Hills due to a plan to develop a piece of university property. The city continues to argue it should be designated the lead agency for conducting the required environmental review of the proposal to build thousands of square feet of retail, industrial and business space; more than a thousand residential units are also proposed. The developments would be on the east side of the 344-acre campus, which is located entirely within Carson city limits. The most recent case was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 24, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for May 22. Besides CSUDH, defendants named in the lawsuit include California State University and the State of California, acting by and through [Governor Jerry Brown’s] Office of Planning and Research and Kenneth Alex, the office’s director. Two previous lawsuits ended with the Planning and Research Office determining the university as lead agency for the environmental impact report. The controversy involves an updated university master plan for the eastern third of the campus. It includes a “University Village” that would consist of up to 2,000 market-rate residential units, 94,300 square feet of retail space and 721,188 square feet of industrial and business parks.
LOS ANGELES ― Christopher Hawthorne, former Los Angeles Times architecture critic and architecture professor has been named Los Angeles’ first Chief Design Officer by Mayor Garcetti on March 12. The new position was created by the mayor to improve the quality of civic architecture and urban design across the Los Angeles area. In this role within the mayor’s office of Economic Development, Hawthorne will help bring a unified design vision to projects that shape Los Angeles’ urban landscape, through collaboration with city departments and public agencies. The goal is to promote welcoming, economical and ambitious architecture and design.
By Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
LOS ANGELES ― Dodger Stadium Express bus service continues to run through the 2018 baseball season. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn and LA Metro have decided to continue the Dodger Stadium Express bus service to South Bay through the 2018 baseball season. The Dodger Stadium Express picks up passengers at the Harbor Gateway Transit Center before all Dodger games and travels on the I-110 Harbor Freeway Express Lanes. The service is free for all game ticket holders and $2.50 for those without a ticket. The service will begin with exhibition play between the Dodgers and Anaheim Angels on March 26, and for regular season play beginning March 29 for the season opener against the San Francisco Giants. Service from the Harbor Gateway Transit Center will be provided beginning two hours prior to the start of the games and ending 45 minutes after the game is over.
Carson vs. CSUDH Goes More Rounds
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Going, Going, Gone? [Going, from p. 1]
March 22 - April 4, 2018
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that existing businesses will be relocated,’ and those discussions continued, to no avail.” “Parallel discussions were going on with the Ratkovichs and the Johnsons,” partners on the development team. “We met with them in December, I think we met with them again in January, because the port had said they can’t work on an interim plan for you, Jamie, until you have a deal with, a letter of intent with the developers,” Wilson explained. “So we spent the last couple of months getting that done, and we received a letter of intent, in draft form, the end of February, and they said the final form, the final letter would be released on March 6, which is a Tuesday,” Wilson said. “We received that letter signed by Mylan Ratkovich, and basically said that they would like to have Spirit Cruises and Ports O’Call Restaurant in the new development,” with construction starting in 2020, and occupancy in late 2021.
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“The next day, we get served by the port that we have to vacate the restaurant immediately,” Wilson recounted. “That of course is a legal matter, and we responded on Monday [March 12].” At the same time, “The port decided that the boat docks are not designed to have boats, which doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “There have been boats at those since my business started 35 years ago, but in trying to avoid a dispute with the port, we have complied, and we moved the boats.” The court requires settlement efforts before any hearing, and Wilson was hopeful at first. “Our belief is the EIR is clear, that states that the project will be built in phases, and existing tenants will be relocated to the newly completed phase, after the construction starts,” he said. “Clearly that is what they decided to do for the Fish Market and Crusty Crab and International Café and Harbor Breeze operations. I believe that we should be treated the same way.”
Ports O’ Call Restaurant employees have carried on despite the demolition of surrounding businesses. Photo by Jessie Drezner.
The broader group of tenants that called for an investigation feels similarly. “I have been part of Ports O’Call Village for [more than] 20 years and I cannot believe that this has happened in America,’ said Akibu
Jimoh, owner of African American Gifts. “We have sadly discovered that the Port of Los Angeles manipulated the San Pedro Waterfront Project Developer selection process, selected the least qualified bidder, illegally changed the approved project Environmental Impact Report 7 years later and then evicted only the ethnic minority-owned tenants, an act of discrimination and racism,” said Jesse N. Marquez, a spokesman for the tenants. While Wilson has been intent on trying to work with the developers, this broader group alleges substantial improprieties in the developer selection process, as well as in the reshaping of the development since its approval in broad outline in the 2009 Waterfront Development EIR. “Eviction due to construction is a core complaint common to both, running directly contrary to what had been publicly announced on multiple occasions, until this past September, when things abruptly changed — at least, in terms of what the public was told.” Wilson said. “So we’re really befuddled by what’s happening right now. Why are they not doing the project in phases like they promised the community? Why are they taking the largest restaurant, the oldest restaurant in San Pedro, choosing to push us out, when the developer wants us as part of the project?” As Wilson now understands things, the crucial change in the port’s planning occurred over this past summer. “Something happened between spring of ‘17, and the fall of ‘17 where the entire thing was turned around and the Fish Market gets put where Ports O’ Call Restaurant is,” he said. “When that happened, I don’t know. I know we weren’t told until September that everything is being demolished at once, and the development is going to start at the south end instead of the north end, but something happened through that process.” While the port and the developers seemed to send conflicting signals,
they were obviously in close contact, as revealed in documents obtained by Random Lengths under the Public Records Act, which further cloud the picture of who was responsible for what. “Fundamentally, we believe it to be in our mutual best interests to have a professional relationship with Wilson that limits public and political debates while preserving the port’s rights and our development opportunities,” Wayne Ratkovich wrote to POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka in a December 27 email. “Wilson has requested the opportunity to operate his Ports O’ Call restaurant through 12/31/18 and to have the use of slips for his Spirit Cruises to continue in operation.... If the port can accommodate this request without budget or scheduling impact, we think it would go a long way toward limiting conflicts among the involved parties.” On Dec. 22, Seroka responded in a letter saying that “allowing Ports O’ Call Restaurant and Spirit Cruises to continue to operate through Dec. 31, 2018 would impact both the budget and scheduling of the construction” but that POLA “would consider allowing these entities to continue to operate” under a set of conditions, including having the developers pay for the added construction costs, releasing the port’s “obligation to timely deliver the premises,” and “to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless” the port and city for any costs related to the delay or to lawsuits from other, minority-owned Ports O’Call Village tenants, resulting from treating the restaurant different from them. “My understanding is that LA Waterfront Alliance, LLC has declined to accept these conditions for allowing Ports O’Call Restaurant and Spirit Cruises to continue to operate past March 1, 2018,” Seroka’s letter continued. “As a result, I consider any negotiations regarding this matter to be concluded and the Harbor Department will proceed to meet its obligations under Lease No. 915 by vacating the premises currently occupied by Ports O’Call Restaurant and Spirit Cruises as soon after March 1, 2018 as [See Going?, p. 10]
[Shrouded, from p. 1]
Shrouded in Doubt
“The fact of the matter is that the Port of L.A. has stated that they will not allow him [Jayme Wilson] to come back. They do not want him to come back, and so that was not brought up,” said Jesse Marquez, a leading advocate for the smaller tenants being evicted. “We learned early in the process that Pedro would not be Pedro without a wide diversity of opinion,” Ratkovich acknowledged. Left unsaid was how hard community members had worked—in multiple public meeting processes from 1999 to 2009— to create a plan The March 20 Waterfront Development town hall meeting at the Warner Grand Theatre opened to a full house. Richard Kennedy of framework acceptable James Corner Field Landscape Urban Design was one of the presenters. Photo by Casey Warren. to all, which the current plans now violate. As Marquez pointed out, that kind of process continued in Wilmington. “Right now, we have a developer, architect, coming [and] showing here’s what we think the vision is, without any San Pedro resident participation in what that would be, in contrast to the Wilmington Waterfront project,” Marquez said. “We have discussions with architects, and some of the designers as to what kind of themes do we want for our Wilmington Waterfront Park, and then what were some of the detailed design elements in the Wilmington Waterfront Park. Call or email: (310) 519-1442 or And so we got to participate, and we got to make Sales1@RandomLengthsNews.com recommendations as to what we wanted in it. And that’s a vast difference from the San Pedro community not having any voice whatsoever in what the design elements are.” “There doesn’t seem to be an overarching theme,” Smith added. “What collectively will the Market be featuring?” In contrast, the Crafted presentation did convey a coherent shared sensibility and spirit. “The development concept and its steel shed architecture lack imagination, soul and most importantly a significant ‘draw’ to capture any enduring interest,” homeowner activist Janet Gunter said. “The name is disastrous,” Smith said. And Ratkovich’s explanation revealed deeper problems. “The name change was simply essential for us to succeed in financing the development,” he said, noting that “the decline [in] conditions… compelled us to give the development of a new name.” But the Port helped engineer that decline. It took over the village in 2001, and has neglected it ever since, despite repeated pleas from tenants. And choosing a name based on generic financing concerns has resulted in a generically-named project with some genuinely great ideas, but a lack of historically informed coherence and relationship to the community.
Real News, Real People, Really Effective March 22 - April 4, 2018
“This is our third presentation to you in this historic theater,” Ratkovich said, but he and his teams’ half-hour presentation took up just one quarter of the port’s two-hour presentation, which was overloaded with a plethora of promotional feel-good videos, presided over by Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka. There was a video for almost every facet of waterfront development and associated community engagement, including longtime youth-serving community favorites like the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the Los Angeles Maritime Institute. The public was understandably supportive of the overall thrust of the evenings’ presentations, but the devil was hardly hidden in the details, and the actual fate of some key community concerns—Ports O’ Call Restaurant and the Red Car line—remained shrouded in doubt. “ [During his introductory remarks] Seroka boasted about all the community meetings and input,” community activist June Smith noted. “That referred to the days of PCAC [the Port Community Advisory Committee], which pushed the promenade. But he made it sound as though the whole design had lots of community input...NOT.” Wilson and Smith served as community cochairs of PCAC, but it was disbanded by the port before any specific planning to redevelop Ports O’ Call began. Organizers of the public meeting used a combination of tactics to effectively destroy the pretense of a real community partnership. Those included repeatedly delaying the meeting until all eviction notices had been served, loading up the agenda with roughly a dozen other presentations that could have been made 12 months earlier or later, and denying community residents any opportunity to raise questions and articulate objections. Even neighborhood council representatives were excluded from the program. “It is another case of city government and the port being disinterested in what the residents of San Pedro want to see on their waterfront,” longtime neighborhood council activist Peter Warren told Random Lengths afterwards. He argued that the event was a propaganda show, not a true town meeting. “If the port leadership wanted to hear comment, they would have invited one more harbor commissioner to the meeting, making it an official meeting of the board and requiring public comment under state law for public meetings,” Warren said. But comments were only heard second-hand, at best. “Your comments and suggestions have been overwhelmingly positive,” Ratkovich told the crowd. “Only a few have been critical.” Perhaps that’s been true in privately curated settings, as it was at the last public presentation more than two years ago. But plans for the redevelopment have changed radically since then. It was telling that Ratkovich’s presentation scored its biggest applause when he announced that he was in negotiations with Jayme Wilson to keep Ports O’Call Restaurant as part of the new project, and when he indicated an intention to bring back the Red Car line—if the project’s success could support it. Retaining those two elements had long been taken for granted by the community. Both remain questionable, at best.
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Town Hall It Was Not
Demolition of Ports O’ Call Village comes at the same time POLA reveals plans By James Preston Allen, Publisher
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
Six months ago, the Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, agreed with my suggestion to hold a public meeting updating the harbor community on the various waterfront plans and projects. I even offered to help him plan it. The date was postponed at least six times and was finally held March 20 at the Warner Grand Theater, the site of the last presentation on the Ports O’Call development. People have been waiting a long time for this “update” with considerable misgivings and misinformation abounding. A curious crowd of 800 people showed up. This time there were some 50 demonstrators marching outside, calling into question the eviction and intended demolition of the popular Ports O’Call restaurant. The port’s public relations team was noticeably on edge, having expected an overwhelming positive response. That is not what this very well-crafted PR presentation received. Just one week before, at the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development committee, chairman Tim McOsker called the meeting to order with the admonishment that this was neither the forum nor the venue to debate the issue of Ports O’Call evictions or development even though two presenters on the agenda were the port’s Director of Waterfront and Commercial Real Estate, Mike Galvin and Alan Johnson of Jerico Development. Both gave only limited oral reports on what was presented in previous meetings and one week later in full widescreen formats. There was no discussion of the salient points of this development, silence on the growing criticism and only one remark from Mr. Johnson, who has stayed mute on this for months, on why the entire waterfront is being demolished. “It’s in the [2009] EIR,” he said, which according to some is a patently wrong reading of the document. Only later when Elise Swanson, the director of the Chamber of Commerce addressed the issue of the 150 displaced workers (and by my estimation it’s probably double that number when you add up Acapulco, the Asian Village, the 20 village shops and Ports O’Call Restaurant) I questioned why the businesses were not offered relocation fees to move into
the downtown business district. Her response resembled someone expressing aghast that they should be given something “for free.” A curious remark, in as much as the San Pedro Market Place team is receiving five years of free rent on an unheard of 65-year lease. No one raises an eyebrow about such largess. While McOsker, who is also now CEO of AltaSea, may be right that chamber’s Economic/ Development committee doesn’t have purview to decide much, it does retain its standing as an unofficial arbiter and influencer on all things related to development in San Pedro. As such, it has often been the place where projects and proposals go before the general public even gets a hint of what’s in store and where developers and government officials go even before coming before the neighborhood councils — governing bodies that actually have standing in the City of Los Angeles. These meetings are only open to chamber members or invited guests. These meetings have become a platform from which a few in the business arena are able to manufacture a kind of consent based upon very limited perspectives. On Jan. 11, two months before either of these meetings took place, the public spoke out against the demolition of Ports O’Call, the eviction of the small shop owners, the lack of transparency and the dislocation of workers (a kind euphemism for losing their jobs due to development). At that time, Mr. Galvin said that the retention of any tenant was at the sole discretion of the developers — a statement that he later retracted at the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council meeting in February. What was not revealed at this meeting was that Ports O’Call Restaurant had been in negotiations since at least December 2017 (and possibly as far back as October 2017) over their continued operation and inclusion in the development. But nothing was said publicly, nor would it be revealed until an eviction notice was served on Jayme Wilson at Ports O’ Call Restaurant at the very same time that he received a Letter Of Intent from the Ratkovich group, the senior partners of the San Pedro Market Place. Now, I’m not a big believer in magic, but this appeared to be a poor imitation of a sleight-ofhand trick by the port to not include this tenant or any tenant that they deem unacceptable to remain on the waterfront — regardless of community
March 22 - April 4, 2018
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support. This became even more obvious when it was later revealed that some seven current tenants have been just as magically chosen to remain while others have not. This does not resemble the original promise made by both the port and developers at the first public meeting a few years ago when the Ports O’Call development was proposed “in stages” and promises were made that businesses would remain open and then moved when work was to begin. Oddly something changed last summer. But at this point, neither the port nor the developers will admit to exactly what changed. What is even more concerning to me is how those who owe a certain fealty to POLA either by patronage, lease holdings or charitable donations are quietly manipulating the discourse on this very significant development and silencing any form of dissent or public debate. POLA, with its new “waterfront partners” can exert the same kind of influence with commercial real estate development that it has had for the past century with international trade and cargo infrastructure development. Everywhere except at neighborhood councils or unaffiliated groups. What is called for here is a new Citizen Advisory Panel on Port Development, made up of neighborhood councils and not the chambers of commerce nor others loyal to the port in any form. It needs to be independent of Council District 15 and the Los Angeles City Council. This has been needed ever since the port canceled the previous Port/Community Advisory Committee (PCAC) unilaterally. Regardless of what some Chicken Littles in the area are exclaiming about the consequences of stalling the San Pedro Waterfront development at this point — in particular the Ports O’Call Restaurant bungled deal — the real success of economic development lies in the hands of both
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AltaSea and the newly announced SpaceX deal proposed for the Southwest Marine Shipyard site across the main channel. Where the San Pedro Market Place may only create some 700 mostly service jobs when fully built out — this according to Eric Johnson of Jerico development — the other two projects are bound to bring in three times that number of much higher paid positions. And that’s the real promise of the future of waterfront development — the creation of high-tech, green jobs that create a second industry based in the San Pedro Bay. Now that’s a public discussion that’s worth having.
Trump’s Alien Voter Claim Goes to Court
By Greg Palast The mainstream media has simply missed the voting rights trial whose outcome could unleash the newest mass vote suppression weapon, the invention of Donald Trump’s chief vote suppression tactician, Kris Kobach of Kansas. On March 6, the trial of the lawsuit by the League of Women Voters against Kobach, Kansas’ Republican Secretary of State, began in a Kansas City courtroom. The league sued to block the state’s law, drafted by Kobach, requiring all new voters to show proof of citizenship. Kobach’s law blocked an astonishing 1 in 7 [See Kobach, p. 9]
Random Lengths News editorial office is located at 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731. Address correspondence regarding news items and tips to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email: editor@randomlengthsnews. com. Send Letters to the Editor to james@randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, letters must be signed with address and phone number (for verification purposes) and be about 250 words. For advertising inquiries or to submit advertising copy, email: rlnsales@randomlengthsnews.com. Annual subscription is $36 for 27 issues. Back issues are available for $3/copy while supplies last. Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2018 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.
Say it Loud, Say it Clear, Trumpism Not Welcome Here By Sara Corcoran, Washington, D.C. Correspondent In the wake of Donald Trump’s March 13 fundraiser in Los Angeles, the juxtaposition of hundreds of rowdy anti-Trump protesters and a drum circle against the backdrop of a hyper-manicured Beverly Hills Park was oddly appropriate. Unlike the smoky air rising from some corners of the event, their message was clear: Trump is not welcomed here. With all the chanting, you would be forgiven for wondering if the messaging memorandum
was prepared by Vitruvius —not the famous Roman who gave us perfect proportion theory, but The Lego Movie character voiced by Morgan Freeman, who defended his prophecy that the villain would be defeated by saying, “... all this is true because it rhymes.” Chanting “Build the wall, we’ll tear it down / Donald Trump is a stupid orange clown” may not be the stuff of sound policy — it risks colorshaming at the expense of constructive dialogue
[Kobach, from p. 8]
requirement, Kobach told the court the requirement blocked 30,000 non-citizens from voting in Kansas. However, he has been unable to prove that even a single one of the 35,314 voters blocked by the law is an illegal immigrant. Just after the 2016 election, Secretary Kobach called me to confirm he was the source of Donald Trump’s claim that a million aliens voted in the 2016 election. (Kobach also confirmed it was his idea to force Mexico to pay for Trump’s border wall.) Noting to Kobach that he is the nation’s only Secretary of State with the power to prosecute illegal voters, I asked if he planned mass arrests of alien voters. (Kobach claimed on Fox News, for example, that “50 Somalians are stealing my vote!”) Kobach told me, “Just wait! Convictions are coming.” I’ve waited. But so far, his manhunt, begun five years ago, has produced just a single conviction of a non-citizen voter out of 1.8 million Kansas registrants. Nevertheless, tens of thousands of Kansans are blocked because they cannot produce the evidence—an original birth certificate or passport or naturalization papers— his law requires.
Kobach
RANDOMLetters Losing Business to Redevelopment
John Winkler San Pedro
Unleash the Leash
Correction
On March 8, 2018, Random Lengths News published a community notice headlined, “Wake Up San Pedro!” in which a letter written by San Pedro Bay Historical Society president, Mona Dallas Reddick, PhD, was improperly excerpted. We regret the confusion caused by this error.
March 22 - April 4, 2018
For many years, local area residents have enjoyed having various places where they could walk their dogs off leash. Three such places are Friendship Park, Joan Milke Flores Park and a spot the locals call “Stargazer.” Despite the posted signs, there has always been a tacit understanding amongst the people who use these areas that well-behaved dogs should be allowed to run free as long as their owners picked up after them. Recently, the Sheriff’s Department and LAPD have made it clear that they intend to enforce the leash laws. Not only are they issuing warnings, they have started to issue tickets as well, with each ticket costing $281. While the police and sheriffs are quick to point out that there are a few designated dog parks in the area, none of these are adequate for walking purposes and they all pale
in comparison to these three sites in terms of size. I believe those whose taxes pay for the parks and beaches should have a say in this matter. If you believe one or more of these areas should be designated a leashfree zone, I urge you to sign my petition. Anyone interested in signing can contact me at: (310) 833-8977. If I don’t answer, leave a message and I’ll call you back. Thank you for your support. Don Marshall San Pedro
I believe that Rafique Khan got it right. The Port [of Los Angeles] coming in and telling Ports O’Call restaurant to take a holiday for two years then come back and continue your business. You work real hard to build up a clientele and then you have to start over! That does not make much sense. Of course we are talking about the port and they have been known to waste money. A good example of losing clientele is “Jersey Boy” car wash on the corner of Miraflores and Gaffey Street. Before they remodeled the car wash, they were always busy. It was closed for almost a year as they remodeled with new equipment. When you go by there today, there are only a few cars. The competition ate them up as there are two other car washes within a block. What happened was that the car wash is not the same and people go other places for better
service and price.
Greg Palast is an author and a freelance journalist who often works for the BBC and The Guardian. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but has also worked with labor unions and consumer advocacy groups.
[See Trumpism, p. 19]
This was just one of the signs that greeted President Donald Trump on his March 13 fundraising trip to Los Angeles. Photo by Sara Cocoran.
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
new registrants from voting in the state because they did not satisfy his citizenship paperwork requirement. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the League of Women Voters, sent in its top litigators. The team is led by its voting rights director Dale Ho, because of the nationwide implications of the case. If Kobach’s law is upheld and spreads to other GOP controlled states, about one million Americans could lose their right to vote by 2020. Oddly, Kobach has chosen a lawyer with little courtroom knowledge—himself. Judge Julie Robinson was not amused by what many see as a publicity stunt. Robinson, the chief justice of the federal district for Kansas, excoriated Kobach for not knowing “Evidence 101,” and curtly coached Kobach’s amateur team on the correct procedure for cross-examination. Buffoonish antics in the courtroom drew some laughter. But the partisan result of Kobach’s law is deadly serious. According to the ACLU’s expert witness, University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, nearly half (44.6 percent) of the voters blocked are young, 18 to 29 years old. It cannot be lost on Kobach, former Chairman of the Kansas GOP, that young Americans voted overwhelmingly Democratic, 55 percent for Clinton and only 36 percent for Trump in 2016. To justify the paper proof-of-citizenship
— but it seemed crowd-pleasing when delivered through a bullhorn by one of the alphas of the Los Angeles resistance. The guy asked to be called “Jim,” as in music icon Jim Morrison. Jim was one of many who covered their faces with bandanas to mask his identity. Another one of Jim’s protest slogans: Education, not deportation! While en route to the mega-fundraiser, it’s
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[Going?, from p. 6]
Going?
March 22 - April 4, 2018
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
possible.” Nonetheless, the developers subsequently did send Wilson the letter he had been waiting for, in order to negotiate staying open with the port. Was this all just an exercise in obfuscation? It still remains unclear. “The decision to lease to existing businesses in the new development is solely a developer decision.” Sanfield told Random Lengths. “However, the port and the developer must mutually agree on final project phasing including accommodating existing tenants during construction.” He added that decision was made for the following reasons: • The economic importance to the project to maintain an operation expected to have generated close to $25 million in gross receipts for calendar year 2017. • Maintaining ongoing operations will assist in financing and maintaining economic activity during construction and • Adjacent location of these businesses with the San Pedro Fish Market provides opportunity to maintain a small core of businesses during construction without increasing project cost or risk of project delays. None of this, however, addresses the underlying question: why, how and when did the port decide to fundamentally change the approach toward redeveloping Ports O’ Call? And why has it never felt the need to explain this in public? It is hard—if not impossible—to imagine that San Pedrans would have accepted the 2009 EIR, if it had contained this plan for wiping out and replacing Ports O’ Call Village, rather than the now-broken promises it made.
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[News Briefs, from p. 5]
at the Port of Long Beach, the increased cargo volumes continue historic highs for February. In February alone, 661,790 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) moved through the port, at a 32.8 percent increase compared to February of last year. This marks the first time Long Beach terminals have handled more than 600,000 cargo containers in the month. Imports climbed 37 percent in February, to 342,247 TEUs. The Port handled 130,916 outbound containers, up 9.3 percent. Thriving import markets drove up numbers of empty containers needed overseas, rising by 46.5 percent to 188,628 TEUs. Detailed cargo numbers are at www.polb. com/stats.
Pamela Seager Assumes Emeritus Role and New Executive Director Named
LONG BEACH ― After serving 30 years as executive director of Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens, Pamela Seager assumes a new position as executive director emeritus/site historian on April 1. Filling the position of executive director will be Pamela Young Lee, the Rancho’s current associate director. Seager is well known as the founding executive director of Rancho Los Alamitos. She stepped in at the request of Preston Hotchkis, grandson of the property owner and rancher, Fred Bixby. The Bixby family brought Seager in to help formalize a public, private partnership between the Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation and the City of Long Beach to restore and manage the site as a museum and educational institution.
By Melina Paris, Music Columnist
From Europe, East Asia and back through the United States, Greg Broussard, aka the Egyptian Lover, has been on tour since 2018 began. He is bringing the West Coast electro sound of the 1980s to the world. And he’s still rolling. On his brief return to the states and just ahead of Long Beach’s 13th annual Freestyle Festival in May, the turntable master spoke to Random Lengths News about the emergence of the early ‘80s local hip-hop scene and the upcoming festival. Broussard got his start after he was promoted to main disc jockey with Uncle Jams Army, the Los Angeles based hip hop crew. Their singles What’s Your Sign, Dial-a-Freak, and Yes, Yes, Yes influenced electro, old school hip hop, and early West Coast hip-hop. Uncle Jams Army partied locally at The Penthouse in L.A. and The Playpen in Carson, which is no longer open, Alpine Village, Veteran’s Auditorium in Culver City and hotel parties at The Holiday Inn in downtown Long Beach, to Pomona Fairgrounds. Students even got up close and personal with the group at many high school parties. [See Egyptian Lover, p. 16]
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
Egyptian Lover performed in February in Athens, Greece. Photo by Katerina Giannapolous, www.clubber.gr
March 22 - April 4, 2018
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O
n March 16, the Palos Verdes Art Center hosted an examination of the natural environment of its Peninsula by artists of two unrelated disciplines. One was visual art: the opening of a show of plein air works painted amid nature, tranquil landscapes that are sometimes sun-drenched, sometimes brooding. These are exhibited near technical drawings by the Olmsted brothers, the property developers who shaped the peninsula into the place we know. Together they highlight the way a rugged, treeless hill was sculpted into a Mediterranean fantasy, an overlay of one continent on another. The other element was food: a dinner utilizing both foraged and farmed items from the same neighborhoods in the paintings. To Chef Paul Buchanan, who consulted Tongva tribal culinary historian Craig Torres, the pairing makes perfect sense. “The style of plein air is about a sense of place. You’re painting something in its own location… As plein air involves capturing the sense of a place with paint, we’re doing it with food.” For Buchanan, the foraged ingredients are the elements of his art, while to Torres they are connections to his culture. The Spanish systematically broke the links between native peoples and their traditional foods to make them dependent. The farmed vegetables and proteins supplanted a culture of sustainable harvesting. Torres is lyrical when he reflects on his people’s traditional practices. “Our life cycle was dictated by the seasons, what we harvested and gathered. The Los Angeles basin was our world. We had variety because the area probably has the most diverse flora of any place in California. You can go
Sight, Taste and Place
Paul Buchanan and the Palos Verdes Art Center’s Wild Event By Richard Foss, Dining and Cuisine Writer
[See Wild, p. 13]
ten miles in any direction and end up in a different environment. Our culture was based on alliances, intermarriage, and trade, and there was something in every ecology [to barter].” The flavors of California native plants weren’t as varied as the crops that were brought by the conquerors, he admitted. “My ancestors’ diet would be regarded as
Chef Paul Buchanan, above left, presented a dinner of foraged and farmed foods at PVAC. Above, prickly pears grow in abundance along the Peninsula. File photos.
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March 22 - April 4, 2018
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pretty bland today. We didn’t have a lot of ways to spice our food, or any items that had much sweetness. It wasn’t part of our culture, so we savored the simple, natural goodness of what we foraged and grew. To introduce people to traditional foods we come up with recipes that mix them with familiar things, but we focus on the simple flavors in their basic form. We want people to transition to rediscovering things that are usually covered up. It’s almost like developing a relationship with your food, because you learn about those flavors over time.” Striking a balance between the simplicity of the native diet and our modern cravings was Buchanan’s job, and he is particularly qualified to do it. He met Torres at a native cooking event in downtown Los Angeles about a decade ago, and the two developed mutual respect. Buchanan is the founder and chef of Primal Alchemy catering, based in Long Beach. As he describes it, “We were local, seasonal, and
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[Wild, from p. 12]
Wild
By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer
Dr. Lourdes I. Ramos-Rivas arrived at the Museum of Latin American Art at an auspicious moment in its 22-year history, and in her own. To become the museum’s new director, the native of Puerto Rico left behind a homeland poised to be hit by a catastrophic hurricane. Meanwhile, a triumphant exhibition, Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago, was just opening at MOLAA. The connection signified a positive omen. Relational Undercurrents, curated by Tatiana Flores, was arguably the highlight of the 2017-2018 PST LA/LA exhibitions, a farreaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art. In her first year, Ramos has shown that she is well prepared for the position she filled. She came to the museum with a vast resume that included 12 years as the director and chief curator at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. She is also an accreditation commissioner for the American Alliance of Museums, which is how she first came to the attention of the board at MOLAA. She is the first Latina to hold the post. Ramos is focused on bringing concrete progress to MOLAA, which has struggled to establish credibility since its founding in 1996. After years of adhering to a rigorous process the museum was finally accredited by the American Alliance of Museums in 2016. Carrying forth the initial success of the Relational Undercurrents exhibit, Ramos has arranged for the show to travel to four other museums this — Walach Art Gallery in New York City, Florida International University
in Miami, Portland Art Museum in Maine and the Delaware Art Museum. “We have worked hard to [share] the values of Latin American art, also different aspects of the culture, including music, food and design,” Ramos said recently during an interview with Random Lengths News. Many in the art world are starting to take note The Museum of Latin American Art’s executive director, Dr. Lourdes I. of the museum’s new Ramos-Rivas. File photo direction. A notable milestone in donor support for MOLAA was Add to this a significant partnership forged achieved with a bequest valued at $1 million with noted Chicano art collector Cheech Marin from the estate of Dr. Michael E. Brown, a and MOLAA shows the maturity of a real Los committed arts patron and lifelong resident Angeles art institution. of Long Beach. The museum also received Outside the walls of the museum, Ramos several important art donations in 2017, believes that MOLAA must be a vital part of the including, most notably, Camilo Ontiveros’ local community. Pink Lady Kenmore Dryer (2009), which was “I would like to see the museum drive donated by art collector, actor and comedian values for the community—to be a facilitator for Steve Martin, a former student at CSULB. [See Future, p. 16]
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March 22 - April 4, 2018
meat. Season pan and add Oil the baking Serves: 6 a salt. Add se d y leaves an ok with rosemar with bell lid. Co r ve Co . Ingredients oil d the wine an b meat the text above. in ed rib 5 pounds lam sc de the way it is toes ion and apple 2 pounds pota tomatoes, on Cut potatoes, tes, turn the inu m 45 t 2 tomatoes ou in half. After ab s. Cover with ble ta ge ve d 1 apple d ad ntinue bakmeat over an s co d ion an on ain ge ag lar 2 als s until the s bell and hot co ur ve ho lea e y or ar m m 5 1. rose for about 1 to y and ing isp cr ste ta es to to ltta sa e po sea t is golden, th or water ea m ne wi ite wh 1 cup ft. koviç vegetables so —Tamara Nova er oil 5 tbsp sunflow
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sustainable before it was a fad.” The chef, who spent his youth in Thailand, trained in San Francisco along with a cohort of chefs who explored the flavors of foraged items and neglected crops; Buchanan adopted and extended their ideas. In the case of Palos Verdes, that involves highlighting the flavors of ingredients that most people don’t consider to be food. “The prickly pear is everywhere, and we made a vinegar out of it for the ceviche. The stinging nettle is delicious in soup and there is a local guy here who brings them to the farmer’s market when we ask for them,” Buchanan said. “He may regard me as the guy who buys weeds, but he’s happy to sell them and I’m happy to buy.” Those crops are generally available, though obscure, but there are problems with trying to present wild foods in a commercial setting. A sudden cold snap or unexpected rain can shift what is available, scrambling the plans of a chef who has a particular dish in mind. It’s a problem Torres knows well, as he has sometimes had to improvise when presenting programs about the indigenous diet. He is a member of a Tongva tribal group called the Chia Café Collective that started as a seed and food bank for tribal elders. The workers talked and traded recipes, learning so much that they eventually collaborated on a cookbook called Cooking The Native Way. Despite the name the group doesn’t own a restaurant, or want one, both for practical and ideological reasons. “We don’t have enough of our traditional foods to supply our own communities, much less start a food business. I tell people that we aren’t caterers or cooks, we’re not a nonprofit; we’re a philosophy. We’re trying to get people to refocus their cultural lens on some questions. What is their relationship to their environment, to the indigenous here that have survived for thousands of generations? We’re asking people to renegotiate their relationships with nature. We want them to eat things from here instead of thousands of miles away. We encourage people to rip out their lawns and put native plants there, and then they can eat from the land. It looks like it’s about food, but it’s about your relationship with the world.” Interviewed separately, Buchanan echoed some of the same themes in equally passionate language. “We want to remind people that there is food right at their feet, and most of us don’t open our eyes and look at it. There’s mallow growing everywhere and it’s a great green, less bitter than arugula. I’ve got kids in my Days of Taste class that I teach every year, and when they find that this weed is edible they eat it by the handful. It’s a great resource, one of many that we don’t use. That’s what this PV Wild event is, a look at the resources that were historically there and how they were used.” The painters, chef and cultural historian all had things to say about the natural landscape of the Peninsula, and each hopes to continue the dialog in their own way. The plein air exhibit runs through April 22. Chia Café Collective events may be found on their Facebook page.
The Future Comes to MOLAA
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Brought to you by the artists and restaurants of the Downtown San Pedro Waterfront Arts District
PacArts Gallery NOVEL CONCEPTS
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Studio Gallery 345
DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS
Michael Stearns, Dreamtime #1 Michael Stearns Studio 347 is now Michael Stearns Studio at The Loft. The inaugural show will feature recent works by Michael Stearns, many of which have never been shown in a gallery setting. I Prefer Living in Color opens on April 5 with a reception from 5 to 9 p.m. The Loft is located at 401 S. Mesa St., San Pedro (enter on the 4th Street side). Details: (562) 400-0544; www.michaelstearsstudio.com Regina Argentin, Dead in Hollywood
Pat Woolley, Ports O’Call
Studio 345 presents drawings by Pat Woolley and mixed media work and paintings by Gloria D Lee. Open 5 to 9 p.m. on First Thursday and by appointment. Studio 345, 345 W. 7th St., San Pedro. For information, call (310) 545-0832 or (310) 374-8055; artsail@ roadrunner.com or www.patwoolleyart.com.
A new body of narrative paintings by Regina Argentin illustrates three graphic novels she created. Her new work illustrates the film noir style, dystopian stories in her novels but are intended to stand on their own, as well. The paintings highlight moments and overlapping themes of the graphic novels. Novel Concepts opens with a reception for the artist on April 5, 6 p.m. at PacArts, 303 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro. Details: (562) 436-0700, www.engagedaging.org.
Dekor Gallery
Dekor Gallery presents two photo exhibitions: Mythic/Pacific, recent photographs of San Pedro, Palos Verdes, South Bay and L.A. Harbor by Tim Truby and Eternal Ephemeral Mojave, photographs by J. Marie Huston. Each photographer examines the transformative experience of landscape. Turby’s work delves beneath the kitschy beach culture and focuses on mythic ocean landscapes. For Huston, the Mojave National Preserve is a landscape of extremes — land forms that have been evolving for billions of years, wildflowers that wait 100 years to bloom and live mere days. Both shows will be open April 5, 5 to 9 p.m. Meet the artists on March 24, 12 to 6 p.m. The shows run through March 31. Dekor Gallery, 445 W. 6th St., San Pedro. Details: (310) 831-1800; www.dekorgallery.com
March 22 - April 4, 2018
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MYTHIC/ PACIFIC AND ETERNAL, EPHEMERAL MOJAVE
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Live Entertainment March 24
I Am Woman Rena Strober (Les Miz on Broadway), comedian Wendy Hammers (The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm), and Amy Simon (star of the solo play, She’s History) join up for an evening that celebrates and elevates women. Time: 8 p.m., March 24 Cost: $20-$30 Details: (310) 781-7171. www.torrancearts.org Venue: James R. Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance
March 25
Fiesta Flamenca 2018 Celebrate 14 years of dance with the annual flamenco showcase for the Rina Orellana Flamenco Academy. Hosted by Rina Orellana Flamenco Academy, the event is kid-friendly. Time: 2 to 5 p.m. March 25 Cost: $35 Details: www. alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alva’s Showroom, 1417 W 8th St., San Pedro, (310) 833-7538
March 31
Theater March 23
Quartet at Little Fish Theatre In this funny and poignant play, Cecily, Reggie and Wilf live in a home for retired opera singers, where they take part in an annual concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday. Time: 8 p.m.Fri-Sat; 2 p.m. Sun. Runs from March 23-April 8 Cost: $23 to $27 Details: www.littlefishtheatre. org Venue: Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre St., San Pedro
March 25
The Balcony Alvin is a historian who believes the world is declining into chaos and has taken refuge in his apartment. Karen is a diehard optimist with a high pressure job who moves in next door. They meet on their adjoining balconies and form a friendship that sets their two worlds on a collision course. Time: 8 p.m., Wed-Thur; 2 p.m. Sun., March 25-April 5 Cost: $23 to $27 Details: www.littlefishtheatre. org Venue: Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre St., San Pedro
March 31
Eden Espinosa One of the most exciting voices of her generation, Eden Espinosa has wowed audiences in Broadway’s Wicked, Rent, and Brooklyn. The Anaheim native returns home to perform an intimate evening of Broadway and contemporary favorites as part of Musical Theatre West’s Broadway in Concert series. Time: 7 p.m., March 31 Cost: $45 to $120 Details: www.musical.org, or (562) 856-1999 Venue: Beverly O’Neill Theatre, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach
Shrek Jr., The Musical Everyone’s favorite ogre leads a cast of fairytale misfits on an adventure to rescue a princess and find true acceptance. Time: 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., April 6- 8 Cost: $22 to $28 Details: (310) 781-7171 Venue: Torrance Cultural Arts Center, James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance
Art
March 24
Through Another’s Eye There will be an opening reception for the solo show, Through Another’s Eye, on March 24 for the solo show by Ashley Adams at the Gina M. Woodruff Gallery. Time: Exhibit runs from March 24-April 16 Cost: Free Details: www.ginamwgallery. com, (562) 519-1614 Venue: Gina M. Woodruff Gallery, 555 E. Stearns St., Ste. 203 Long Beach
March 31
Mission Murals Lecture and Book Signing Photographer Richard Evans presents his new book The Mission, which highlights the stunning murals that make this historic San Francisco neighborhood unique. Time: 2 p.m., March 31 Cost: $10; Members and children under 12 are free Details: www.molaa.org Venue: Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), 628 Alamitos Ave, Long Beach
April 5
San Pedro First Thursday This laid-back monthly promotion of San Pedro’s arts scene features more than 40 galleries and studios. Live music and late dining hours at various venues throughout the Arts District. Official art walk tour starts at 6:30 from the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce. Time: 5 to 10 p.m,. April 5 Cost: Free Venue: Downtown San Pedro
Ongoing
Bulky Item/Curb Alert A location specific study and
Cornelius Projects presents a location specific study and installation accessing the photographs and collected objects of Sheridan Lowrey, whose collection of photographs of San Pedro’s castoffs allow views into the otherwise shuttered interiors and private lives of city residents. For details: www.corneliusprojects.com installation accessing the photographs and collected objects of Sheridan Lowrey, whose photographs of San Pedro’s castoffs allow views into the otherwise shuttered interiors and thus the private lives of city residents. Exhibit runs through March 31 Time: By appointment Cost: Free Details: corneliusprojects.com, (310) 266-9216 Venue: Cornelius Projects, 1417 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro Robert Irwin: Site Determined Robert Irwin’s exploration of light as a medium in art and his association with the early California conceptual movement, established him as a member of the post-war avantgarde. Exhibit runs through April 15. Time: Sun.- Thurs., 12 to 5 p.m. Wed.,12 to 8 p.m. Cost: Free Details: csulb.edu/universityart-museum Venue: University Art Museum, CSULB College of the Arts, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach
Flim
March 24
Lunafest 2018 The Junior League of Long Beach presents the 7th annual Lunafest. This year’s theme is Cinema Under the Stars. Lunafest is a unique fundraising film festival showcasing films by, for and about women. Proceeds will be used to fund JLLB community programs. Time: 6 p.m., March 24 Cost: $50 to $70 Details: www.jllb.org, Venue: Rancho Los Cerritos, 4600 N. Virginia Rd., Long Beach
Community March 23
4th Fridays on 4th Street Fourth Friday attendees can enjoy extended store hours, food and drink specials, discounted merchandise, pop up shops, art shows, live music and bike valet. Walking or biking to the event is encouraged. Time: 6 to 9 p.m., March 23 Cost: Free Details: https://tinyurl. com/4thfridayslb Venue: 4th Street from Temple to Cherry in Long Beach Musicians and Poets Meeting Meeting is open to the sober community every Friday night. Bring instruments, poems, jokes and creative talents. Time: 8 to 9:30 p.m., March 23 Cost: Free Details: (424) 345-4937 Venue: San Pedro Alano Club, 807 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro
March 24
Environmental Health Fair and Family Pearcrun Day Learn how to have free solar power at your home. Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., March 24 Cost: Free Venue: Burbank Elementary 501 Junipero Ave., Long Beach
March 29
Project Censored and the Independent Press Random Lengths News hosts authors Michael Huff and Andy Lee Roth of Project Censored to the Project Censored organization, which educates journalism students and the public about the importance of a truly free press for democratic self-government. Time: 6 p.m., March 29 Cost: Free
Whale and Dolphin Watching Cruise in Long Beach An educator from the Aquarium of the Pacific will guide you as you marvel at whales and other majestic creatures, like the distinctive humpback, orcas and several kinds of dolphins. Time: 3 to 6 p.m. March 31 Cost: $30 to $45 Details: harborbreezecruises@ gmail.com, (562) 432-4900 Venue: Harbor Breeze Cruises, 100 Aquarium Way, Dock #2, Long Beach
April 1
Paint and Sip at Willmore Wine Bar Join us for a fun paint and sip event at Willmore Wine Bar. Two hour course led by an expert artist from Italy to guide you through the creation of a painting. No experience needed. Supplies are provided. Time: 1 to 3 p.m., April 1 Cost: $44.28 Details: www. willmorewinebar.com Venue: Willmore Wine Bar, 3848 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach
April 6
Aquarium of the Pacific at Night Submerge yourself in the Aquarium of the Pacific after hours, when darkness descends and the ocean’s most wondrous creatures begin their nocturnal activities. The entire aquarium will be open during this special afterhours entry time except for Lorikeet Forest. Time: 5 p.m., April 6 Cost: $17.95 to $29.95 Details: www. aquariumofpacific.org Venue: Aquarium of the Pacific, 100 Aquarium Way., Long Beach
Surf, Sand, and Silversides: Research and Outreach with California Grunion Meet Dr. Karen Martin, professor of biology at Pepperdine University at the Discovery Lecture Series presented by AltaSea and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Time: 7 p.m., April 6 Cost: Free Details: https:// aprildiscoverylecture. eventbrite.com to RSVP, (310) 548-7562 Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Dr., San Pedro
March 22 - April 4, 2018
April 5
First Thursday Open Mic Night Open mic at the Grand Annex allows musicians to showcase their work. Sign-ups begin at 6:30 p.m. All ages, 21+ for the bar. Time: 7 p.m., April 5
Denise Donatelli Jazz vocalist Denise Donatelli, whose past three albums have received Grammy nominations, headlines the latest installment of the Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation’s Studio Cabaret Series. Time: 7:30 p.m., April 6 and 7 Cost: $33 to $48 Details: www.TorranceCA.gov/ TCACTickets, (310) 781-7150 Venue: George Nakano Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance
March 31
Candide Hosted by Cal State Long Beach Bob Cole Conservatory Choral, Vocal and Opera Studies. Time: 12 p.m. Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun.; 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., April 6-8 Cost: $25 Details: www.web.csulb.edu Venue: CSULB University Theater Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach
Azar Lawrence Azar Lawrence is a prolific and transcendent jazz saxophonist, composer and interpreter of music. His group, The Azar Lawrence Experience will feature music from his latest release, Bridge Into the New Age and his March 31 release, Elementals. Time: 9 p.m., March 31 Cost: Details: www.azarlawrence. com Venue: Roscoe’s Seabird Jazz Lounge, 730 E. Broadway Long Beach
April 6
April 6
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The Jive Aces Back by popular demand, the U.K.’s number one jive band brings the swing in a show that takes on classics by the likes of Louis Prima and Cab Calloway. Time: 2 to 4 p.m., March 25 Cost: $40 Details: www.carpenterarts. org Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E Atherton St, Long Beach
Cost: $5 Details: www.grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
Details: www. facebook.com/ events/1545513122242621 Venue: Random Lengths News, 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro
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[Future, from p. 13]
The Future Comes to MOLAA
the community,” Ramos said. Towards this goal, she has created collaborations and partnerships with several Long Beach arts institutions. MOLAA now boasts two murals on the external walls of the building which were created by the international street art group Pow Wow! One mural (appropriately) covers the wall that was used for many years to present Gregorio Luke’s popular Murals Under the Stars lectures. The world-renowned Long Beach Opera performed Frida in the outdoor setting of the sculpture garden, while in the galleries the museum displayed Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray. The museum also welcomed a new tenant on their campus, Leadership Long Beach, which has mentored civic leaders since 1989. Partnerships with the Long Beach Aquarium and the Arts Council for Long Beach are ongoing. The proof of Ramos’ efforts is in the
numbers. Attendance was up 40 percent in 2017. This includes 6,175 school children who received tours and art workshops, and 200 teachers who were trained during educator nights. “For me, it is a priority,” Ramos declared. “I don’t see how the museum can serve the community without these alliances. We believe strongly in community engagement.” In August 2018, MOLAA will present another history-making exhibition with Judith Hernandez: A Dream is the Shadow of Something Real. Hernandez was a founding member of the Chicano Art/Los Angeles mural movement. She will be the first Latina to have a solo show at MOLAA. Venue: Museum of Latin American Art, 628 S. Alamitos Ave., Long Beach Hours: Wed. Fri. Sat. Sun. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thurs. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Cost: $10 General admission. $7 Students and Seniors Details: (562) 437-1689 or molaa.org Editor’s Note: Writer Andrea Serna was the membership manager at the Museum of Latin American Art from 2000-2008. GRAND
VISION
PRESENTS
Dana Louise & the Glorious Birds Thursday, April 12
Doors 7:30 pm / Show 8 pm
From Fayetteville, AR, Dana Louise & the Glorious Birds take flight, bringing fresh Americana to the west, with band members from award-winning duo, Trout Fishing in America. Tickets & Info:
310.833.4813 | GrandVision.org
March 22 - April 4, 2018
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
The Grand Annex | 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
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Join us for our monthly meeting on Mon., March 26, 7 p.m. • Endorsement for Judge Seat 4 • Speaker on Propositon 69 (transportation taxes) • Ports O’Call Development update • Open discussion on June ballot propositions At Ports O’Call Restaurant 1200 Nagoya Way, Berth 77, San Pedro For details: (916) 837-0920
The Egyptian Lover at JDC Records in San Pedro in December 2017. Photo by Raphael Richardson [Egyptian Lover, from p. 11]
Egyptian Lover is Loved
As the ‘80s began, their popularity progressed so fast that a bigger venue was needed to house their parties. Alpine Village became the site of the groups Breakout Dances, which garnered attendance that got them dubbed the Number One Dance Promoters in Los Angeles. By 1983 the group expanded its roster recruiting underground DJs and MC’s who were creating a cult following. The most well known was the Egyptian Lover. Uncle Jams Army played in such iconic halls as the Bonaventure Hotel, the Biltmore Hotel, and the Los Angeles Convention Center. Ultimately they performed at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in front of 10,000 people. Hip-hop being fairly new, Uncle Jams Army was the first on the West Coast to play fresh singles by Run DMC and Houdini before anyone knew who they were. At that time, rap was pretty new to everyone, Broussard said. “Everyone wanted to hear that music loud and the only way to hear it loud was to go to parties.” And Southern California fans liked the parties. Still do. There is a lineup of nearly 20 bands at the Freestyle Fest, but Broussard has only performed with the West Coast groups flavored with hip-hop and rhythm-and-blues. One of those outfits is Freestyle Evolution (formerly Freestyle), of Don’t Stop the Rock fame. They were the first ones to use the term “freestyle.” Broussard is used to performing for a couple hours at a time. He performed for at least that long this past December at Jim Callon’s JDC Records in San Pedro, and his groove-inducing style of electro funk kept a full house of fans, notably including millennials, dancing to his beats. Though Broussard’s set at Freestyle will be shorter, he is aiming to bring his best. So
what can one expect from the Egyptian Lover’s performance? “I am going to rock the house and kill the show,” said Broussard. “When I bring my 808 live, it’s going to leave a memory for everyone at that show.” That 808 is his Roland 808 drum machine from the ‘80s which he still uses for his music. “When you hear this analog drum machine through the speakers, live, it’s like nothing else you’ve ever heard in your life,” Broussard said proudly. Broussard returns to JDC Records in August to celebrate the release of his new record, 1985. His album, 1984 is out now. He calls it 1984 because he recorded it the same way he recorded his first album in 84, in the same studio and on the same equipment. 1985 comes with a few old school surprises, featuring songs with two more artists who enjoy fame around the world, including Newcleus, who produced Jam On Revenge (The Wikki Wiki Song) and Juan Atkins, who started the group Cybotron. The last leg of Broussard’s international tour included stops in Munich and London. He noted that European fans really do their homework on the artists they pay to see. “The fans in Europe really love the music,” he said. “It’s all new to them, even though it’s from the ‘80s. The kids hear the drum machine for the first time and they lose their minds. They will do more research on the artist, find out how many records he has, what studios they recorded in and they know the words to the songs.” While this will be the first Freestyle Fest for Broussard, he stays in demand, touring every month except December. He has a performance in South Korea on March 22, followed by a couple dates in Johannesburg, South Africa before his return to Long Beach for the Freestyle Festival. Details: http://ticketstripe.com freestylefestivallongbeach2018
Curtain Call:
Cambodian Rock Band Adds a New Verse to the Old Khmer Song
‘M
By Gregory Moore, Curtain Call Columnist
usic is the soul of Cambodia,” says Duch after briefly reviewing the country’s vibrant early ‘70s rock scene. “[…] But that’s not what you think of when you think of Cambodia, is it? […] You think of everything that came after, once the shit hit the fan.” He’s talking about the Khmer Rouge, of course, and the genocide that enveloped the entire nation from 1975 to 1979. It’s a tragedy with reverberations still so loud that every narrative work related to Cambodia seems somehow about the Khmer Rouge. Cambodia Rock Band squarely fits that bill. But what makes the journey worth taking are the musical side roads that connect the well trodden Cambodia-coming-to-terms-with-its-past plot tropes with the country’s all-but-forgotten rock ‘n’ roll soul. Phnom Penh, 2008. Despite Cambodian ancestry, Neary (Brooke Ishibashi) is for all intents and purposes an American. But two years ago she arrived in-country for the first time as part of an effort to bring the first successful indictment of a Khmer Rouge leader and overseer of S-21, a notorious prison camp from which there were just seven survivors. But she may have discovered an eighth, and that development could prove crucial to landing a conviction. Just as this news is about to break, Neary’s father, Chum (Joe Ngo), pays her a visit and for the first time opens up about his youth in Cambodia, both as a musician and a prisoner of the evil regime. The less closely you examine the plot of Cambodian Rock Band, the better. Too much of the action is motivated by playwright Lauren Yee taking shortcuts to where she wants to go (rather than dictated by the play’s internal logic), and you see too many of the bends in the road from miles away. (Chum’s arrival runs into both problems.) There’s also one character that
Jane Lui and Brooke Ishibashi in South Coast Repertory’s world premiere production of Cambodian Rock Band. Photo by Jordan Kubat/SCR.
exists almost solely for the sake of exposition— something there’s generally too much of in the script. “[H]ow come you don’t start with brother number 2, 3, or 4 instead of brother number 562?” Chum asks Neary in questioning the prosecution of the S-21 overseer. “[…] He helped brother number one — Pol Pot — kill two million of his own people,” she rejoins, as if Chum might not know who brother number one was. No character has much of an arc. Chum is the exception because we get to see him both as the middle-aged man with a past he’d like to forget and (in the 1970s flashbacks) the youth who made the fateful decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Ngo is effective playing the two eras against the other, giving each version of Chum the deportment apt to his life experience at that moment in time. Duch (Daisuke Tsuji), though, doesn’t need
an arc to be compelling. In what may be the play’s only surprise twist, our highly charming narrator/master of ceremonies is revealed to be a dark figure. This is Yee’s strongest conceit, and Tsuji is perfect for the role, making us like Duch even though we kinda shouldn’t. The only character rivaling Duch is the music. Cambodian Rock Band wouldn’t be much without a Cambodian rock band. In the context of 1975, that is Chum’s band, The Cyclos (whose repertoire consists of material by real-life 21st-century band Dengue Fever, ably rendered by the actors, all of whom do double duty as musicians). But most of the music comes at us not straight out of the action but off an emotional carom, communicating the spirit of the story and the people living it. This is another strong conceit, and Yee applies it so smoothly that you don’t realize how easily this could have been a big mess. Plus, when the music’s over once the Khmer Rouge takes control, the silence is that much more crushing for all the sound that’s come before. For the most part, director Chay Yew serves the script well enough, but a few sections feel like they need more work. Chief among these are the scenes with young Chum at S-21. If two characters conversing in a prison camp are explicit about how imperative it is that no-one hear them, they shouldn’t spend those entire scenes yelling their lines. Why not talk excitedly in hushed tones? Suspension of disbelief is one thing, but when what should be the quietest dialog in the entire play is the loudest, something is amiss. As with every single South Coast Repertory production, the technical elements here are firstrate. We get just enough neon to give a sense of modern Phnom Penh, and video projections of Khmer Rouge victims are employed with
perfect restraint. On the aural front, while a rock band could easily be loud enough to neuter the unamplified dialog that comes between songs, Mikhail Fiksel’s sound design makes it all balance out. Cambodian Rock Band imbues the muchvisited tragedy at its center with a novel spirit of humanity. Despite its shortcomings, as a result of its music, humor, and heart, you’re likely to come away satisfied. Time: Runs thru March 25, Tues.-Sun., 7:45 p.m; Sat.-Sun., 2 p.m. (no evening show March 25). Cost: $23 to $83 Details: (714) 708-5555 Venue: South Coast Rep., Julianne Argyos Stage, 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa
Real News, Real People, Really Effective March 22 - April 4, 2018
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HEALTH CARE
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REAL ESTATE SERVICES REAL ESTATE INVESTOR seeks to purchase commercial or multi-unit residential properties in San Pedro. No Agents please. 310-241-6827
March 22 - April 4, 2018
18
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2018052390 The following person is doing business as: W.C. Triplett Cleaners, 2138 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Willie Cameron,
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03/22/2018, 04/5/2018, 04/19/2018
658 W. 22nd Street, #1, San Pedro, Ca 90731. Luz Cameron, 658 W. 22nd Street, #1, San Pedro, Ca 90731 This Business is conducted by a husband and wife. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 1996. 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/. Willie Cameron, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on March 2, 2018. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, were to expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pur-
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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: 03/08/2018,
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2018048278 The following person is doing business as: Depot Painting, 26 Rockinghorse Rd, RPV, CA 90275. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Dulux Painting, 26 Rockinghorse Rd, RPV, CA 90275. This Business is conducted by a corporation. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: Jan. 30, 2018. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. John Mantikas, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Feb. 27, 2018. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the
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DBA FILINGS
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310-519-1442
ACROSS
1 Young ‘un 6 “Monsters, ___” (2001 Pixar film) 9 Prehistoric squirrel in “Ice Age” 14 “SNL” alumna Cheri 15 “Boyz N the Hood” actress Long 16 Coffeeshop lure 17 START OF A ONE-LINER 20 Road shoulder 21 Plays first 22 Helper, briefly 23 PART 2 OF THE ONELINER 26 “The Wind in the Willows” creature 27 Scouring items 28 Part of the acronym NASCAR 31 Shingle replacer 35 “Mr. Holland’s ___” (1995 movie) 36 Adjust, as text 40 Comedian Chappelle 41 Classic Chevy, for short 43 PART 3 OF THE ONELINER 44 Hit the floppy disk icon
45 Mag. positions 46 Growing-sprouts-on-terra-cotta gift 49 Hosp. facilities 50 Held up 52 “All in the Family” creator Norman 54 END OF THE ONE-LINER 57 British comedian known for his one-liners (like this one) 60 Laughfest 61 Plane steerer 63 Chemistry class model 64 “If all ___ fails ...” 65 23rd of 50 66 ___ pot (sinus-cleaning apparatus) 67 Ending for pun or hip 68 “Watching the Detectives” singer Costello 69 Nicholas II was the last one
DOWN
1 “Today” co-anchor Hoda 2 “Am ___ only one?” 3 John with a green-and-yellow logo 4 Eugene O’Neill, for instance 5 Ending for human or planet 6 Place for two (or more) peas 7 S.F. NFLer
8 It makes felines go nuts 9 2012 AFTRA merger partner 10 Vanilla-flavored soft drink 11 “Arrested Development” actress Portia de ___ 12 “Caught a Lite Sneeze” singer Tori 13 President with a specially made bathtub 18 Big trip 19 Heavenly home of the Norse gods 24 Jake Busey, to Gary Busey 25 “Much ___ About Nothing” 28 Go from place to place 29 Impersonated 30 Doesn’t hold back 32 They may get played 33 At all times 34 Baby ___ (some potato options) 37 ___ tai (rum cocktail) 38 Period for the history books 39 Kathmandu’s country abbr., if they were in the 2018 Winter Olympics 42 ___ Cooler ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers go to: www.randomlengthsnews.com
DBAs & LEGAL NOTICES [from p. 18] suant 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: 03/08/2018, 03/22/2018, 04/5/2018, 04/19/2018
03/22/2018, 04/5/2018, 04/19/2018
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2018068669 The following person is doing business as: Hair Force One Staffing, 884 W. 12th St., San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Ricardo Salinas, 884 W. 12th St., 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: January 2018. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Ricardo Salinas, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on March 20, 2018. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, 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: 03/22/2018, 04/5/2018, 04/19/2018, 05/03/2018
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2018057371 The following person is doing business as: Paul Original Shoe and Working Boot MFG, 631 S. Mesa St.,, San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Jose L. Rivera, 424 W. 3rd St., #10, 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: Jan. 1, 2018. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Jose L. Rivera, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on March 8, 2018. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, 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: 03/22/2018, 04/5/2018, 04/19/2018, 05/03/2018
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2018 The following person is doing business as: Excel Funding R.E.S., Inc, Excel Funding RES, Inc., 28924 S. Western Ave, STE 110, San Pedro, CA 90732. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Excel Funding Real Estate Services, 28924 S. Western Ave, STE 110, 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: 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/. Frances T. Baldwin, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on March 20, 2018. Notice-In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, 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: 03/22/2018, 04/5/2018, 04/19/2018, 05/03/2018
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, the City of Los Angeles Harbor Department (Harbor Department) has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for Berths 167-169 [Shell] Marine Oil Ter-minal Wharf Improvements Project (Project). The proposed Project consists primarily of wharf improvements and a new 30-year lease to allow continued operations of its existing marine oil terminal. The Draft EIR identifies significant and unavoidable impacts associated with the following environmental resource areas: air quality, and greenhouse gases. All other Project-level impacts were determined to be less than significant or less than significant with mitigation. The proposed Project includes facilities and sites that are identified on the
State of California Hazardous Waste and Substances Site List (also known as the Cortese List, compiled pursuant to California Government Code 65962.5). Availability: The Draft EIR is available for review at: the Harbor Department’s Environmental Management Division, 222 West 6th Street, Suite 900, San Pedro, CA 90731; Los Angeles City Library, Central Branch, 630 West 5th Street, Los Angeles CA 90071; Los Angeles City Library, San Pedro Branch, 931 South Gaffey Street, San Pedro, CA 90731; Los Angeles City Library, Wilmington Branch, 1300 North Avalon, Wilmington, CA 90744. The entire Draft EIR is also available on the Port of Los Angeles’ web site: http:// www.portoflosangeles.org under the Environment tab. Public Meeting: During the 45day comment period, the Harbor Department will conduct a public meeting on April 11, 2018, at 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the Harbor Department Administration Build-
[No Trumpism, from p. 9]
No Trumpism
Written comments on the Draft EIR must be postmarked by May 10, 2018, and should be mailed to the following address. City of Los Angeles Harbor Department Christopher Cannon, Director Environmental Management Division 425 S. Palos Verdes Street San Pedro, CA 90731 Comments may also be sent via email to: ceqacomments@ portla.org. Please remember to send your comments in letter format as an attachment to the e-mail and use the project title as the e-mail’s subject line. For additional information, please contact Erin Sheehy, the Harbor Department’s Project Manager at (310) 7327693. CN947383 SCH2015061102 Mar 22, 2018
If there was a slight urge to succumb to temptation by noting their arguments lacked rhyme or reason, it was better to let it go. After all, you don’t find political debate at a sanctioned park protest of a Beverly Hills fundraiser. Even so, it seemed the resistance remains focused on stuff my friends and I debate: protecting DACA recipients, rejecting racism, guarding California’s right to self-govern, including its affinity for marijuana. Those intramural debates seemed a bit out of place among some of the more fringe elements at the park, especially amid the antifa and anti-Israel voices. When I spoke to some of the people who claimed to represent these elements, it was hard to see past the hidden faces cloaked by bandanas. While I understand the desire to avoid whatever detection program “The Man” has in place, it seems to illustrates that anti, like white supremacists, are hardly mainstream. Maybe it’s just me, but hidden faces matched with violent rhetoric is just not a great look. Such musings were suddenly shattered. Jim, the bandana-wearing namesake of Jim Morrison mentioned earlier, assertively offered the megaphone to all of the cool people in the crowd. But he obviously pointed at me. What does he know? Why me? I didn’t even have a vape in my hand or a cloud of smoke following me. I begged off, telling Jim I couldn’t take the megaphone because I was covering the event. Given time, he might have argued that anyone ready to share their views with thousands of readers should be prepared to defend them in the here and now... but megaphone and rhyme games are not the stuff of “given time.” Maybe I should have wondered aloud and amplified, “Will the next election will be about how many of the resistance turn out, or how many nonactivist ‘swing voters’ we convince?” Because there at Beverly Hills Park, it seemed there was plenty of the former that could hurt us with the latter in the old voting booth, and that’s the truth. 19 March 22 - April 4, 2018
highly unlikely that Trump caught even a glimpse of the surprisingly well-crafted super-sized effigy of him grasping a Klan mask. Yet setting the couplet caucus aside for a moment, he would do well to listen to the voices most critical of him; he could learn the most from them. Politically, it seems clear and likely that Angelenos would largely reject Trumpism, but what further steps do they plan to take? It remains to be seen if the resistance as illustrated at Beverly Hills Park can select the next Democratic presidential nominee with our neighbors in more conservative Arizona and Nevada. But snarky animated movie references aside, another demonstrator, Mr. Fujimora, told me his parents were sent to Japanese internment camps during World War II. His presence at Trump’s fundraiser — really, his resistance — was profoundly personal. “I am against Donald Trump’s immigration policy,” Fujimora asserted. “He’s telegraphed a lot of what he plans to do, and it isn’t good.” Demonstrator, Adnan Alvarez of Teamsters Union Local 396, spoke to the same point. “Trump has proven himself to be a racist ... who has put our democracy at great risk.” Taking my own advice, it seemed fair to seek out some minority opinions — starting with the debonair man dressed in a long red coat, white gloves and top hat, he assured me that “Donald Trump is going to be reelected in 2020 because he’s done great things for our economy.” Another pro-Trump voice came from Alicia Lopez, who came to the demonstrations from Orange County. “Americans need to give Donald Trump a chance to implement his agenda,” Lopez argued. “He’s only had a year and half. Many of these protesters don’t give him any credit for the good things he has done.”
ing, 425 South Palos Verdes Street, San Pedro, CA 90731.
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2018046613 The following person is doing business as: LA Ilusion Catering, 1631 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1833, San Pedro, CA 90733. Registered owners: Jacqueline G. Bravo, 1631 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to trans-
03/22/2018, 04/5/2018, 04/19/2018
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF A DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR BERTHS 167-169 [SHELL] MARINE OIL TERMINAL WHARF IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT (SCH#2015061102)
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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2018046612 The following person is doing business as: Jackie’s Multi Services, 1300 1/2 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1833, San Pedro, CA 90733. Registered owners: Jacqueline G. Bravo, 1300 1/2 N. Gaffey St., 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: 02/01/2013. 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/. Jacqueline G. Bravo, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Feb. 26, 2018. Notice-In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, 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: 03/08/2018,
act business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 02/01/2013. 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/. Jacqueline G. Bravo, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Feb. 26, 2018. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920, 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: 03/08/2018,
20
March 22 - April 4, 2018
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant