CicLAvia Comes to the Los Angeles Harbor p. 3 Proposed Postal Service Reductions to Impact San Pedro Residents, Businesses p. 5 San Pedro Awarded a State Cultural Arts District Designation p. 15
InterVIEW
How Los Angeles Became the Capital of Incarceration
When an Addiction Epidemic Becomes a White Collar Crime
Q-and-A with UCLA history professor Kelly Lytle Hernández on her new book City of Inmates
By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor and Charles Ornstein, Propublica
By Jessica Wolf, UCLA Newsroom
F
Graphic by Suzanne Matsumiya
Kelly Lytle Hernández: Migra! is a story about race and policing in the United States, specifically the rise of the U.S. Border Patrol in the U.S.-Mexican border region and the border patrol’s nearly exclusive focus on policing unauthorized immigration from Mexico. After completing it, I wanted to examine another dimension of race and law enforcement. Living in Los Angeles, I knew that Los Angeles operates the largest jail system in the United States. In fact, some researchers say no city on Earth jails more people than Los Angeles. Therefore, Los Angeles, the City of Angels, is, in fact, the City of
July 20 - August 2, 2017
[See Opiate, p. 7]
Jessica Wolf: When you were writing your first book, Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol, were there elements that sparked your interest in digging deeper into the prison and jail system of the United States and Los Angeles specifically?
ourteen licensed Southern California medical professionals were indicted July 13 by a federal grand jury for prescribing controlled drugs, including oxycodone. They were among the hundreds caught in a nationwide sweep of those who allegedly prescribed and distributed opioids and other dangerous narcotics. Justice Department descriptions of these cases allege health care fraud and kickback schemes involving compounded drugs, home health services, physical therapy, acupuncture, Medicare Part D prescription drugs, diagnostic sleep studies and hospice care. They are also the face of the latest drug addiction crisis gripping the country. One of the 14 who were indicted, 57-year-old Laguna Beach resident Dr. Jeffrey Olsen surrendered to authorities on July 11 after he was indicted the previous week by a federal grand jury on 34 counts of illegally prescribing controlled drugs, including oxycodone. Olsen allegedly sold prescriptions to addicts and drug dealers in exchange for fixed cash fees without any medical basis for the prescriptions. During the investigation, Olsen also sold hundreds of prescriptions to addicts in other states, such as Oregon, without conducting in-person examination of these patients. In court filings, the Justice Department said Olsen allegedly told customers, via text message, that he would write prescriptions for whatever drug they wanted for fees that ran as high as $3,000. Olsen allegedly sold more than 1.2 million pills of narcotics, which were almost
The Local Publication You Actually Read
For the past several years, UCLA history professor Kelly Lytle Hernández has been reaching into Los Angeles history, back before the city was even a city or California was even a state, to unearth evidence of how local and national governments, police and jail systems operate as a formalized machine of conquest and elimination targeting native, poor and non-white people. Her new book, City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and The Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles 1771– 1965, concludes just before the Watts Rebellion to reveal the deep roots of mass incarceration in the city — the time period since 1965 that has filled Los Angeles’ and the nation’s jails and prisons to bulging and continues to bring police and community relations to a boiling point. Lytle Hernández’s book, which was released in April, lays a historical foundation for the story of Los Angeles’ systemically discriminatory structure of incarceration.
[See Incarceration, p. 6]
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Community Announcements:
Harbor Area Gerald Desmond Bridge Closures
All eastbound lanes of Ocean Boulevard will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., through July 21. Detour route is eastbound on Ocean Boulevard to State Route 42, exit and get back on Pier T. Harbor Scenic Drive at Ocean Boulevard will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., through July 21. The detour route is southbound on Pico Avenue. A lane on Pico Avenue at Broadway will be closed during the same time. The westbound lanes on the Gerald Desmond Bridge will be reduced to one lane from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 22, and the eastbound lanes will be reduced to one lane during the same times July 23.
2017–2018 Arts Council for Long Beach’s Annual Grant Applications
The Arts Council for Long Beach is excited to announce that the 2017–2018 Annual Grant Cycle Applications and Guidelines are now available. All grant applications due or postmarked by this date and delivered to Arts Council for Long Beach, 350 Elm Ave., Long Beach, CA 90802. Time: 5 p.m. July 31 Details: http://www.artslb.org/grants Venue: Arts Council for Long Beach, 350 Elm Ave., Long Beach
Central Needs to Fill Vacant Seats
The Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council has four vacant seats to be filled at the Aug. 8 meeting. Deadline to apply is Aug. 1. Details: www.centralsanpedro.org
Long Beach Third Annual National Night Out
Be a part of the national campaign for safer neighborhoods. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, better places to live. Neighbors participate across thousands of communities from all 50 states, United States territories, Canadian cities, and military bases worldwide. Time: 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 1 Details: https://natw.org/about Venue: Admiral Kidd Park, 2125 Santa Fe Ave, Long Beach
Monthly Beach Cleanup
CicLAvia Comes to the Harbor By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Street closures in August are going to transform the Los Angeles Harbor Area towns of Wilmington and San Pedro into safe spaces for pedestrian and bicycle traffic and everything in between. CicLAvia produces temporary car-free days that transform streets into safe spaces for thousands of people to explore the city by foot, bike and other forms of non-motorized transport. This CicLAvia event is produced in partnership with the City of Los Angeles, Metro and CicLAvia Inc. (a non-profit). After 21 events, CicLAvia has become one of the largest open-streets event in the country. It is modeled after Bogota, Colombia’s aim to promote a bike friendly city dominated by automobiles. The city closed the streets and filled them with performances and different community-based activities happening on the sidewalks. As in the city of Bogota, CicLAvia aims to fill the sidewalks with community participants, from vendors to local nonprofits and community residents. In Bogota, there was music, turning the event into a full-blown festival. Here is the Harbor Area, cyclists and pedestrians are encouraged to travel in both directions while spending time at four different hubs spread throughout the route including Banning Manning and Waterfront Park in Wilmington, the Port of Los Angeles Building on 5th and Palos Verdes streets and 22nd Street and Pacific Avenue. These hubs will feature food trucks and kid zones and serve as stops for repairing bikes.. There will be media kick off event staged at the Port of Los Angeles hub. The CicLAvia route (see map), will be closed to car traffic from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 13. Also parking will not be allowed on the CicLAvia route from 1 a.m. to 6 p.m. These restrictions will be enforced and vehicles will be towed starting at 1 a.m. Additional street parking Year-Round Whale & Dolphin Watching Cruises near the route may be restricted for residents Scenic Harbor Cruises & Private Charters and non-residents alike. Driveways on the route will be blocked and inaccessible beginning at 7 a.m. Check posted parking restrictions in your neighborhood. CALL 310-547-9916 for schedule & rates Vehicles will not be allowed on the route from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be, however, crossing points at several intersections for vehicles. Buses that usually run along the CicLAvia route will Make reservations be detoured. To limit further traffic confusion, NOW for July 4th CicLAvia organizers are submitting the road closures to Google maps and Waze for those that Fireworks Cruise normally spend their Sunday afternoons at Ports O’ Call Village. For those unlucky residents or workers Search for these awe-inspiring scheduled to work that day who have to come animals aboard a two-hour out of pocket to pay for parking, they will be cruise with on board naturalists. reimbursed for up to $20 per vehicle incurred from 8 p.m. on Aug. 12 through 6 p.m. on Aug. 13. Just mail a copy of your parking receipt and proof of residence or employment to CicLAvia, at 525 S Hewitt St, Los Angeles, CA 90013 for reimbursement. Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 13 Details: ciclavia.org, metro.net
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The Local Publication You Actually Read
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium invites the public to participate in our monthly beach cleanup. Volunteers learn about coastal habitat, the growing amount of marine debris within it, and the benefits of protecting this ecosystem. Not only will volunteers help make a real difference in cleaning up our heavily impacted shoreline, but they will have the opportunity to participate in sizing and sorting the plastic pollution we find! We welcome volunteers of all ages and abilities. Following a morning of conservation efforts, visitors can extend their experience by visiting the aquarium’s Exploration Center, Aquatic Nursery, Virginia Reid Moore Marine Research Library and the Susanne Lawrenz-Miller Exhibit Hall. The Aquarium displays local marine life of Southern California and will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Plan to stop by CMA’s volunteerrun gift shop for a wide selection of gifts and books. The Aquarium is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and is supported by Friends of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Time: 8 to 10 a.m. Aug. 5 Details: For additional information, group reservations or events calendar, call (310) 5487562 or visit www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org. Venue: 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro
Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 30 Years
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WORDHas It SpaceX coming to South West Marine, Marymount College moving out of San Pedro, Buscaino is courting Live Nation By James Preston Allen, Publisher
July 20 - August 2, 2017
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
This past June, SpaceX successfully launched one of its rockets once again from a barge out of San Pedro and landed it on a barge that is now berthed on Miner Street, near AltaSea. The partnership between the aerospace industry and the Port of Los Angeles has been lauded far and wide as a first step in spurring new tech development-driven employment in the Los Angeles Harbor Area. A source revealed to Random Lengths News that SpaceX is now in secret negotiations with POLA on leasing the former Southwest Marine industrial shipyard site on Terminal Island, just across the main channel from Ports O’ Call Village. This is within eye shot of where the Los Angeles Waterfront Alliance has a lease option to build a $100 million project. While Jerico Development — the local Los Angeles Waterfront Alliance partners — Eric and Alan Johnson have confirmed that they signed the lease for the Ports O’ Call site in March 2016, there is still some question as to whether their lease is just an option or a commitment to build. Mike Galvin at the POLA explained that the lease agreement directs the port to prepare the site for the developer, and then there are certain things that the developers must do in return. As yet, Jerico has not released any new details about the development or announced that it has an anchor tenant or the capital funding to move forward with the project. POLA on the other hand, recently hosted a meeting with the tenants of the existing village and told them that they have until October of this year before they will be evicted, which will effectively close 15 small businesses and put as many as 200 employees out of work. This will happen even though the work to construct the new waterfront promenade will only take up 32 feet closest to the waterline and the original plan called for development to start at Berth 79, the current home of the San Pedro Fish Market. Saved from the wrecking ball for the time being will be the San Pedro Fish Market and Ports O’ Call Restaurant, which will remain open pending the construction of new facilities if and when the “new development” gets built. Currently, the Los Angeles Waterfront Alliance developers are reported to have offered the San Pedro Fish Market, which serves more than 1 million meals a year, only 25 percent of its current foot print in the new development. Ports O’ Call restaurant is reportedly not in the first phase of construction. Just down Miner Street from SpaceX, at Berth 53, the port has been showboating the Kaiser Point location to concert promoter, Live Nation, with the intention of getting them to produce one or more major concerts or festivals on the waterfront. This reportedly could attract as many as 25,000 people per event. This may happen as early as this fall but more likely would happen next year, if the logistics of Harbor Boulevard are worked out. This idea has Councilman Joe Buscaino’s fingerprints all over it as he has been pimping both the Warner Grand Theatre and the waterfront as “ideal locations” for his “LA Live on the Waterfront” promotional idea, which as of late seems to be going nowhere. The good news is that Molina Medical is moving to 222 W. 6th Street and bringing with it some 400 new workers to downtown, the
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[See Word Has It, p. 10]
Defending Women’s Health Care By Mark Friedman, Science Educator
Countering a nationwide campaign targeting Planned Parenthood, thousands of women and men, most of them young, turned out across the United States on June 28 to defend a woman’s right to choose. The action at Los Angeles City Hall numbered more than 350, with many people of color and more than a dozen organizations voicing their support for the continued funding of Planned Parenthood. These actions demonstrated the possibility — and necessity — of organizing a broad public campaign of action, state by state, to push back the growing array of restrictions on women exercising the fundamental right to control their own bodies. Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court
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Demonstrators defend Planned Parenthood at a June 28 protest in Los Angeles City Hall. Photo by Thabo Ntweng.
ruling which decriminalized abortion, this question has been both the center of assaults on the social and economic gains of women and a part of the rulers’ broader attacks on the rights and living conditions of working people. Growing restrictions on access to abortion and laws that force clinics to close especially affect working-class women and those living in rural areas. A broad array of speakers, including representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Service Employees International Union, focused on the important health services Planned Parenthood offers to working people and youth, who would not have access to health care without it. Here are services provided to Californians that would be at risk if Planned Parenthood were defunded: • Contraception to almost 631,000 patients • Almost 307,000 emergency contraception kits • 97,000 cervical cancer screenings • Hundreds of thousands of pregnancy tests • More than 75,000 breast exams • More than 1 million tests and treatments for sexually transmitted infections As a longtime physio-anatomy teacher, I can personally attest to the importance of Planned Parenthood in educational efforts concerning birth control, STI’s, healthy relationships and LGBTQ rights promoted within inner city schools.
Carson and Tesoro Enter into Community Benefits Agreement By Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter
Concerns about hydrofluoric acid may be traced to an explosion at the Torrance Refinery in 2015, when debris narrowly missed a tank. If the tank had ruptured and the acid it contained had been released, a toxic cloud could have killed as many as 330,000 area residents, including many in southern and western Carson.
Proposed Postal Service Reductions to Impact Residents, Businesses
By Zamna Avila, Assistant Editor This past month, businesses in San Pedro received a notice from the U.S. Postal Service informing them of its intent to consolidate business mail services into the Torrance office. “In our continued effort to eliminate redundancies in our system and provide efficient timely service to our mailers, the Los Angeles District has made the decision to consolidate acceptance points for Business Mail,” stated a letter signed by Lily Pamanian, USPS Business Mail Entry manager. “As a result we are looking to reduce the number of locations where mail can be dropped.” The letter, dated June 1, sold the decision as service enhancement, citing a bigger and wider Business Mail Entry Unit — the area of a postal facility where bulk, presorted and permit imprint mail is presented for acceptance — with longer hours and a larger staff. The letter also solicited public input to be considered until July 1. Random Lengths News Publisher James Preston Allen expressed dismay and disappointment. “When we learned that the San Pedro Business Mail Entry Unit was going to be consolidated, we were shocked that once again our post office is losing more services,” Allen said. “What’s next? Will you stop selling stamps at the windows as well?” Not so, said Teresita Lim Chua, Business Mail Entry supervisor for the post office. “As of this moment there is no decision made,” said Lim Chua on July 13. “Please understand, the post office is not going to close; the retail is not
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going to stop.” Allen said that cuts to the local postal office in recent years have included cutting the staff by half at the Beacon Street post office. He cited a PBS report explaining that these decisions resulted from a 2006 congressional mandate that requires the agency to pre-pay into a fund that covers health care costs for future retired employees. These prepayments, PBS stated, are largely responsible for the USPS financial losses over the past four years.
The Local Publication You Actually Read July 20 - August 2, 2017
After recently declaring a fiscal emergency, the the franchise fees, subject to an annual Consumer City of Carson announced July 6 its commitment Price Index adjustment within the 15-year term. “The City and Tesoro have been involved to a 15-year “Community Benefits Agreement” — essentially, a peace treaty — with the oil company since 2013 in discussions over a series of issues and disputes,” the July 5 staff report states. Tesoro. City officials believe the arrangement will “The major disputes involve the environmental provide Carson with a projected total of $45 impacts of the integration of the Carson and million for what the city calls “community Wilmington Refineries, the use of a 60-acre parcel for a trucking and container storage yard and the mitigation projects.” “The city and Tesoro have entered into transfer of oil pipeline franchise agreements.” It further states South Coast Air Quality separate agreements resolving all outstanding disputes,” a press release from the city stated. Management District prepared an EIR for “The value of these other agreements to the city the refinery integration project, but Carson, is $36 million.” The latter accounts for most of concerned over the lack of community benefits, the money. As for the remaining $9 million, the agreement describes it as tied to milestones surrounding a Tesoro project to integrate the Carson and Wilmington refineries to form a Tesoro Los Angeles Refinery. The project’s environmental impact report, or EIR, was disputed by the city earlier this year. “The [Community Benefits Agreement] is designed to provide a stable source of funding over a 15year period,” states a July 5 staff report to council. “It is not uncommon for refineries to make … payments to their host communities.” The staff report cited El Segundo Tesoro refinery in Carson. File photo as an example. The agreement follows the council declaring threatened to sue, claiming the EIR was deficient. a fiscal emergency at its June 20 meeting. At Tesoro disputed the claimed deficiencies in the that time, staff suggested the council generate an EIR and has since agreed to mitigate the city’s additional $350,000 of revenue, including lifting concerns. The Carson City Council on July 5 voted the cap on the Utility Users Tax, reducing service levels and adding or increasing revenue sources. unanimously to approve the community benefits Carson has been experiencing financial agreement and transfer the pipeline franchises to difficulties since the Great Recession of Tesoro. A separate resolution, passed at the same 2008. In 2011 redevelopment agencies were dissolved statewide when the state transferred meeting, resolved a years-long zoning and redevelopment funds to the public schools to permit dispute over Shippers Transit Express on close the state budget deficit (partly due to the Sepulveda, concerning a lease on Tesoro property. It involves a retroactive payment of $900,000 to Great Recession). According to city documents, that action the city for development impact fees and $250,000 cost Carson $30 million in redevelopment funds annually for the next two years. The agreement annually. Since 2011 the city has deferred street calls for closing the truck yard in 2018 and putting maintenance and reduced its workforce by 20 in four petroleum storage tanks. For Tesoro’s Los Angeles Refinery Integration percent, firing 60 employees. The fiscal emergency is not simply due to and Compliance Project, the company plans to lack of redevelopment money. Revenue exceeded invest $460 million in facility improvements to expenditures between the fiscal year 2010-11 upgrade its Wilmington and Carson refineries. The and fiscal year 2012-13. Since then, the city’s project aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, expenditures have exceeded revenue and the city’s in what the South Coast Air Quality Management District estimates is equivalent to removing 13,500 reserves are rapidly dwindling. In 2009, the council granted a franchise to daily passenger vehicles from local roads. Construction is expected to begin later this Tesoro for three non-public utility pipelines. A dispute over the pipelines arose after Tesoro year, with an anticipated completion date of purchased the refinery in 2013. A fourth pipeline March 2021. The project would connect the refineries by was discovered that had not been properly pipelines, according to a city document, to allow documented. “The parties hereby agree that, for the calendar the closure of the older gasoline production years 2017 to 2031, Tesoro shall pay to Carson facility in Wilmington, switching production to the full amount of electricity users tax [and] gas the newer and more efficient gasoline production users tax,” the Community Benefits Agreement facility in Carson. Carson states it will deposit the payments from states, waiving the requirement that the council would need to declare a fiscal emergency to get Tesoro into the general fund to provide a series of existing and future community benefit programs, such payments. The Community Benefits Agreement would including a green streets program for compliance also amend the oil pipeline franchises to increase with the Dominguez Watershed Plan.
The city sought a stable funding source for its stroke center, emergency response center, bike paths, street resurfacing, and an environmental capital improvement program to renovate street landscaping medians. As part of the Community Benefits Agreement, Tesoro also agreed not to build or operate a hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit at the integrated refinery.
5
[Incarceration, from p. 1]
POLA Ends Fiscal Year with Western Hemisphere Record Volumes
SAN PEDRO — The Port of Los Angeles closed its 12-month fiscal year with total cargo volumes of 9.2 million twenty-foot units, or TEUs. This is a new annual record for most container throughput for a Western hemisphere port. Volumes increased 8.1 percent in June, compared to the same period this past year, marking the second busiest June in the port’s 100-year history. June loaded imports increased 4.7 percent to 372,272 TEUs. Loaded exports rose 3.5 percent to 145,527 TEUs. Along with an 18.6 percent rise in empty containers, overall June container volumes were 731,032 TEUs. Previously, the strongest June in port history was 2014, when 736,439 TEUs moved through the port’s terminals. Through June, total 2017 cargo volumes are 4,482,548 TEUs, an increase of 8.4 percent compared to the same period in 2016. The 12-month period for the 9,205,755 TEU record corresponds with the port’s July, 2016 through June 30, 2017 fiscal year. The port is on track to end the 2017 calendar year exceeding this past year’s record volumes. In 2006, Los Angeles was the first port to surpass an annual throughput of 8 million TEUs, a decade-long record that was broken with current year 2016 volumes of 8.8 million. Current and historical data is available at www.portoflosangeles.org/maritime/stats.asp.
Hahn Releases Results of San Pedro Courthouse Survey — Mixed Use Favored
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
SAN PEDRO — On July 4, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn released results of a survey on the future of the old San Pedro Courthouse site. Community members supported mixeduse development and ranked entertainment, commercial and cultural uses as top choices. The survey, distributed by the County Department of Public Works, was available online and at two public meetings. Out of 677 respondents, 64 percent supported mixed-use. Seventy percent ranked cultural space, commercial space or entertainment space as the aspect most important to them in this project. Forty-six percent preferred the new building to be mid-rise (3 to 7 stories), while 40 percent preferred low rise and 13 percent preferred high rise. The department of Public Works has also released a “word cloud” presenting the most commonly mentioned ideas. Restaurant, community center, parking, movie theater and mixed-use were mentioned most frequently. Hahn will be presenting these results to Holland Partner Group, the developer which will enter a six-month exclusive negotiating agreement with the County of Los Angeles to redevelop this property.
July 20 - August 2, 2017
LB Council Approves Support Team for Molina Healthcare
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LONG BEACH — On July 11, the Long Beach City Council unanimously voted to approve a recommendation to request that the city manager assemble a business support team for Molina Healthcare. The team would develop a strategy and identify benefits and opportunities to attract and retain Molina Healthcare key operations and services in Long Beach. The business support team will report back to the council on its findings within 120 days. The request came from District 6 Councilman Dee Andrews and was cosponsored by Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez, Councilman Daryl Supernaw and Vice Mayor
[See News Briefs, p. 17]
Los Angeles: Incarceration Capital
Inmates, the punitive capital of the world. But we know very little about the making and meaning of incarceration in Los Angeles. It is a history that has never been told. So, I began to research how Los Angeles, my hometown, built one of the largest systems of human caging that the world has ever known. What I found in the archives is that since the very first days of U.S. rule in Los Angeles — the Tongva Basin — incarceration has persistently operated as a means of purging, removing, caging, containing, erasing, disappearing and otherwise eliminating indigenous communities and racially targeted populations. I tell this tale with six stories that demonstrate how incarceration was used to first clear Tongva and other indigenous populations from the region and then cage up a variety of racially marginalized populations, ranging from the itinerant white males disparaged as “tramps and “hobos” to Chinese immigrants, African Americans and Mexican immigrants. JW: You is in fact conforming particular
reveal that mass incarceration mass elimination of these nongroups. Why is Los Angeles’ history so illustrative of this?
KLH: Los Angeles opens a window to see untold histories of incarceration, namely those that can best be told from the perspective of the American West. And what the American West teaches us about the rise of incarceration in the United States is that conquest matters. In particular, the 19th-century efforts to expand the United States across the North American continent and to build white settler communities on the nation’s western frontier are deeply imprinted in the nation’s police and incarceration practices. By focusing on the western town that built the nation’s largest jail system, City of Inmates unlocks how the dynamics of conquest shaped, and continue to shape, the priorities and tactics of human caging in the United States. History is rife with the stories of powerful nations engaging in conquest and subjugation of the conquered. JW: Why is elimination so endemic to the U.S.? KLH: In the United States, settler occupation of native lands is not over. Therefore, the need to eliminate indigenous sovereignties and define belonging within the settler community endures. Indeed, conquest is a persistent dynamic in our social relations and institutional practices, including incarceration. JW: Your book is the result of a painstaking effort to mine what you call a “rebel archive” because of a lack of official documentation from Los Angeles government archives. As a historian, was this infuriating or energizing? KLH: I was angry when I learned that city authorities have destroyed almost all of the LAPD’s historical records. The destruction of LAPD records undermines our ability to research and understand one of the largest and most significant public institutions in Los Angeles, one of the largest cities in the world. But that anger fueled my determination to turn over every stone and open every archival window to somehow find the story. So I spent years searching the city, nation and indeed, the world for records that document the history of incarceration in Los Angeles. What I learned was that the people who fought the rise of incarceration in Los Angeles created and
UCLA history professor Kelly Lytle Hernández. File photo
saved reams of records. I’ve used their deeds and words to chronicle the rise of incarceration in LA. JW: At what point in your research did you decide to make your own contribution to this rebel archive with the Million Dollar Hoods project? KLH: As the rebel archive dragged me to the chilling conclusion that incarceration is a system of elimination working across centuries, communities and tactics to purge targeted populations for land and life in the United States, I felt stunned, overwhelmed and confused. But I also knew that many people continue to challenge incarceration and its impacts upon targeted communities. So I reached out to the rebels who are now hard at work dismantling
mass incarceration in Los Angeles, the nation’s carceral core. At a meeting with the Los Angeles No More Jails Coalition, organizers from Californians United for a Responsible Budget and Dignity and Power Now! discussed how difficult it is to acquire jail data from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Having had my own struggles with accessing LAPD records and as a researcher based at UCLA, the city’s largest public institution of higher education, I decided to pursue the LAPD and sheriff’s department jail data. It was not easy. The sheriff’s department denied my requests multiple times. The LAPD approved my requests but [See Incarceration, p. 10]
GOP Effort To Strip 20 Million+ of Health Insurance Falls Apart Echoing strategy in the House, GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell responded to an earlier healthcare legislative failure by moving farther to the right, betting that moderates could be pressured to go along. But the effort failed on July 17, when two more senators joined the first two who initially rejected it on July 13. Two were the most McConnell could afford to lose. It didn’t go far enough to get Rand Paul’s support, and moderate Susan Collins, of Maine, immediately signaled her opposition. “We should not be making fundamental changes in a vital safety net program that’s been on the books for 50 years, the Medicaid program, without having a single hearing to evaluate what the consequences are going to be.” Collins said. One more vote against would again kill the bill. The most significant change was the socalled “Cruz Amendment” that would allow insurers to sell cheap, stripped-down plans without coverage for essential health benefits, such as mental health services and protections for pre-existing conditions. The move drew immediate opposition from the insurance industry it was supposed to help. America’s Health Insurance Plans and BlueCross BlueShield Association sent a harsh joint letter to Senate leadership, urging them to strike the amendment. “It is simply unworkable in any form and
would undermine protections for those with preexisting medical conditions, increase premiums and lead to widespread terminations of coverage for people currently enrolled in the individual market,” the letter said. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities hosted a press conference call on July 14, underscoring the bill’s continued failings — including loss of coverage for at least 20 million people. “Senate Republicans haven’t even purported to address any of the big problems senators identified in the last version of the bill,” Center Senior Advisor Jacob Leibenluft said. “There are no changes to the phase-out of the Medicaid expansion, no changes to the deep and growing cuts to the rest of the Medicaid program, no changes to the deep cuts in financial assistance that will raise premiums and deductibles for millions of people in the marketplace, and only further weakening of protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Instead, there are series of scattershot provisions that may help some particular states, so that supporters of the bill can claim to address some limited problem but none of these provisions do anything to stem the bill’s enormous coverage losses.” Massive public resistance was key to defeating the effort, and organizers are not letting up, fearing it could be revived again. — Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
[Opiate, from p. 1]
Opiate Epidemic entirely at maximum strength, in addition to hundreds of thousands of pills of other controlled drugs such as the sedatives Xanax and Soma. The case against Olsen is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Barron and Bryant Yang in the Southern District of California. The July 13 indictment announcement was accompanied by a new report by the Inspector General of the Health and Human Services Department, providing additional details and context to illustrate the significance of the case.
More than half a million beneficiaries received high doses of opioids for at least three months, meaning they took the equivalent of 12 tablets a day of 10-milligram Vicodin. The figure does not include patients who have cancer or those who are in hospice care, for whom such doses may be appropriate. Almost 70,000 beneficiaries received what the inspector general labeled as “extreme amounts” of the drugs — an average daily consumption for the year that was more than two-and-a-half
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July 20 - August 2, 2017
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times the level the CDC recommends avoiding. Such doses put patients at an increased risk of overdose death. Extreme prescribing could also indicate that a patient’s identity has been stolen, or that the patient is diverting medications for resale. Some 22,000 beneficiaries seem to be doctor shopping — obtaining large amounts of the drugs prescribed by four or more doctors and filled at four or more pharmacies. All states except for Missouri operate Prescription Drug Monitoring Program databases that allow doctors to check whether their patients have received drugs from other doctors before writing their own prescriptions. More than 400 doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants had questionable prescribing patterns for the beneficiaries most at risk (meaning those that took extreme doses of the drugs or showed signs of doctor shopping). One Missouri prescriber wrote an average of 31 opioid prescriptions each for 112 patients on Medicare. Four doctors in the same Texas
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In Illinois, a different Medicare enrollee received 73 prescriptions for opioid drugs from 11 prescribers and filled them at 20 different pharmacies. He sometimes filled prescriptions at multiple pharmacies on the same day. The Office of the Inspector General’s report found that heavy painkiller use and abuse remains a serious problem in Medicare’s prescription drug program, known as Part D, which serves more than 43 million seniors and disabled people. The findings showed that of the one-third of Medicare beneficiaries in Part D (or roughly 14.4 million people) who filled at least one prescription for an opioid in 2016, some 3.6 million received the painkillers for at least six months. The report was consistent with data released during the week of July 4 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reflecting wide geographic differences in prescribing patterns. Alabama and Mississippi had the highest proportions of patients taking prescription painkillers — more than 45 percent each — while Hawaii and New York had the lowest — 22 percent or less.
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Neighborhood Council Follies Going Coastal, Using the Pledging Allegiance as a Wedge By James Preston Allen, Publisher
July 20 - August 2, 2017
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council’s July 10 agenda-setting meeting turned out to be a rowdy affair. Some 20 stakeholders got riled up over the proposed standing rules change that removed the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the meetings and voted against every item proposed until a resolution keeping the Pledge was placed on the agenda for the next meeting. This rule was passed by the previous council and, as it turns out, was not always adhered to. Yet now, after the former council members are no long serving, they are insistent that the pledge be retained. The opposition, led by George Palaziol and Brian Vassallo with Bob Milling — all former Coastal board members, including former council President James Baeza, who resigned while under pressure from the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, joined in to stop the newly elected council from taking any substantive actions. They claimed the new council was acting illegally. The agenda setting meeting ended leaving board members with the dilemma of how to run the next board meeting without being able to elect officers. This was their first after the June election. After consulting with the DONE General Manager Grayce Liu and a lawyer, it was decided that Liu would convene the board meeting and conduct the election as per their bylaws. But first there was the Pledge of Allegiance which the opposition boisterously shouted out as both a challenge and a protest to the coming action by the board. Doug Epperhart was unanimously elected to be president and Dean Pentcheff as vice president by the same vote. The meeting then proceeded to public comments. The only caveat was that the new leadership was not going to stand for mob rule and was going to enforce the California Code 403 which makes disrupting a public meeting without authority, illegal. Three Los Angeles Police Department officers and two Los Angeles Port Police officers were on hand. With this admonishment announced, Palaziol shouted something out and was warned. Others chimed in to protest the proceeding, claiming it “illegal” and two or three from the Saving San Pedro faction were dutifully ousted from the meeting with the help of the officers. This did not end the grousing, yet the
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board did get to business and passed several of the agenda items with complete unanimity, unlike the previous council. Bob Milling afterwards wrote in a Facebook post he was “So profoundly disappointed in a number of people I had a great deal of respect for just this time last month.” He was one of those evicted from the meeting. It was at the point of being forcibly removed from the meeting that one of the opposition came to me asking why “I wasn’t going to defend their free speech” This seemed quite odd since these were the very same people who came to the meetings at Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council two years ago and disrupted meetings I presided over, claiming I was acting illegally. They also said I should be removed without cause and did everything in their power to intimidate, slander and cyberbully my board. To this point specifically, I say there is some speech that is not defendable! And boisterously disrupting a public meeting in an uncivil manner, unless there is some overriding moral issue at stake, I will not defend. Of the many issues that confront this community, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before the start of a neighborhood council meeting as a standing rule is by all accounts a divisive distraction. One female veteran attending the meeting noted that service men and women don’t usually find themselves reciting the Pledge of Allegiance when they are on active duty. This assessment was confirmed to me by another veteran and said that the oath all military and other federal officers recite is similar to the following: I, _____, having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.” (DA Form 71, 1 August 1959, for officers.) It might help those who, as Council President Epperhart says, “are using the pledge as a wedge,” to remember that veterans served to defend the Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com
“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do something about it.” —Mark Twain Senior Editor Vol. XXXVIII : No. 15 Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach. Distributed at over 350 locations throughout the Harbor Area.
Paul Rosenberg Assistant Editor Zamná Ávila zamna@randomlengthsnews.com
U.S. Constitution — not the flag. In the end, it was apparent that the Saving San Pedro faction, who rose up against the homeless, was incapable of governing after having only lasted a year in power on the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council. “I can’t account for their behavior,” Epperhart concluded. Is their aim “to tear down government or just cyberbully? I don’t know.
Perhaps they just need peer recognition?” At the very end of a very long meeting, the motion over the Pledge of Allegiance was taken up as a separate item and discussed exhaustively and passionately. And when the vote was tallied the pledge was retained with a divided vote of 8 to 6 showing that our nation, if not our community, is very “divisible” if not over liberty and justice, but over the symbolism of patriotism.
Carson-Tesoro Community Benefits Agreement —
Accomplishing What the SCAQMD Could Not By Carson Mayor Albert Robles
Carson followed its precedent-setting council meeting of this past month, during which we became the first city in the United States to unanimously commit to support the Paris Climate Accord. We also approved a historic multi-year Carson-Tesoro Community Benefits Agreement. The South Coast Air Quality Management District gave regulatory approval for Tesoro’s Los Angeles Refinery Integration and Compliance project earlier this year. We worked closely with our trusted City Manager Ken Farfsing and City Attorney Sunny Soltani to mitigate the project’s impacts on Carson residents. The agreement paves a responsible path forward to ensure a safer and healthier quality of life for Carson residents. However, some environmental friends are not pleased. Here are the facts, you decide if this is a good deal for Carson.
Columnists/Reporters Lyn Jensen Reporter Christian Guzman Reporter Richard Foss Food Writer Andrea Serna Arts Writer Melina Paris Culture Writer
Cartoonists Ann Cleaves, Andy Singer, Matt Wuerker
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Photographers Terelle Jerricks, Phillip Cooke, Jessie Drezner
Design/Production Suzanne Matsumiya
Editorial Intern Raphael Richardson, Robbie Diffendaffer Contributors Display advertising Kym Cunningham, Mayor Albert (310) 519-1442 Robles, Ari LaVaux, Mark Friedman, Classifieds Jessica Wolf (310) 519-1016 www.randomlengthsnews.com
First, the reported $45 million within 15 years is actually more like $50 million, because it does not include $1.2 million from the Tesoro Foundation that Carson received earlier this year to build one of the first fully accessible playgrounds for children of all abilities. And, if you have a special needs child or know someone who does, I don’t have to say anything more. In addition, we expect continued financial support from the Tesoro Foundation for other community needs. LARIC will also increase Tesoro’s assessed property valuation, which will generate more revenue for Carson. Thus the aggregate total is more than $50 million. Mind you, that this does not include the revenues from construction and ongoing jobs. Some friends may still think that pursuing an environmental CEQA lawsuit to challenge the [See Carson, p. 9] Random Lengths News editorial office is located at 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, (310) 519-1016. Address correspondence regarding news items and news tips only to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email to editor @randomlengthsnews.com. Send Letters to the Editor or requests for subscription information to james @ randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, all Letters to the Editor should be typewritten, must be signed, with address and phone number included (these will not be published, but for verification only) and be kept to about 250 words. To submit advertising copy email rlnsales@randomelengthsnews.com or reads@randomlengthsnews.com. Extra copies and back issues are available by mail for $3 per copy while supplies last. Subscriptions are available for $36 per year for 27 issues. Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We welcome articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right to express those opinions. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Reporting Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2017 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.
RANDOMLetters Not My Belt Buckle: Supervisor Hahn Responds
I write in response to a June 22nd Letter to the Editor [RLn vol. Xxxviii No.13] regarding the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s decision to spend a reported $300,000 on new belt buckles for deputies’ uniforms. I have to agree that this did not strike me as a good use of taxpayer money. However, while the Board of Supervisors oversees the Sheriff’s Department’s $3 billion budget — the sheriff has discretion when it comes to spending their general funds on things like uniforms. The author claimed that my office did not respond to her [Carson, from p. 8]
Carson
To Richard Foss
I have really been enjoying Richard Foss’ reviews and articles. He seems to really appreciate good food, and reading one of his reviews is like being there with him. His commentary on dining etiquette and dining in general really make you think. John Mattson San Pedro
Community Alerts
Thanks for SCAQMD Protest Article
Thanks James and Terelle for your efforts. I think all local “elected” officials should be investigated by FPPC commission for public disclosure of possible campaign finance violations/not properly disclosing campaign donations, too — i.e., Los Angeles City Councilman Joe B., Carson Mayor Albert Robles, Assemblyman Mike Gipson & others. Follow the trail, follow the money, and see who is in whose pocket? Ricardo Pulido Carson, former Carson Commissioner
A Note About Impeachment
Let’s talk about impeachment. There’s more than enough evidence to begin an impeachment inquiry to remove Donald Trump from office. The three previous impeachment inquiries in the House (involving presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton) rested on less evidence than is already publicly known about Trump — and on issues far less serious than the Trump team’s possible collusion with a foreign adversary to win the election and Trump’s subsequent [See Letters, p. 10]
POLA Seeks Comments on Draft SEIR for China Shipping Container Terminal Project
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Public comment has been extended through Sept. 29 on the China Shipping on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), created by the Port of Los Angeles as companion to the certified “Berths 97-109 [China Shipping] Container Terminal Project Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR). The container terminal is located at Berths 97-109 in the West Basin at the Port of Los Angeles and is operated by West Basin Container Terminal. The comment period began on June 16. The document is available for public review at the following locations: • Port of Los Angeles website (portoflosangeles.org) • Port of Los Angeles Environmental Management Division • 222 W. 6th Street, Suite 900, San Pedro • Los Angeles Public Library, San Pedro Branch, 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro • Los Angeles Public Library, Wilmington Branch, 1300 N. Avalon Blvd., Wilmington • Los Angeles Public Library, Central Branch, 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles Comments on the Draft SEIR must be submitted in writing by the end of the 45-day public review period and postmarked by July 31. Comments sent via email should include the project title in the subject line and body of the email in letter format. Please submit written comments to: Port of Los Angeles Chris Cannon Director of Environmental Management P.O. Box 151 San Pedro, CA 90733-0151 ceqacomments@portla.org Questions about this notice or project should be directed to Lisa Ochsner, project manager, Port of Los Angeles Environmental Management Division, at (310) 732-3412. For more information, visit portoflosangeles.org.
SCAQMD have a meeting here in Carson this year so our residents could express concerns about our air quality and the project, but SCAQMD staff ignored us. However, when Torrance residents made similar requests, SCAQMD accommodated their requests and hosted two meetings in Torrance. Again, WTF is right! So yes my friends, Carson could have fought and fought and ended up with nothing but delays. In the meantime, Carson would still not know the true nature of our local air quality. But under this agreement, we achieve two major objectives for residents in addition to getting $45 million: 1. Carson will not have to worry about Tesoro resorting to the use of the much cheaper and highly toxic volatile compound hydrofluiric acid, or any of its modified evil twin chemicals, that plague and worry Torrance residents who live near that refinery. Under our agreement, Tesoro is forbidden from ever using these highly toxic volatile chemicals. 2. With the $45 million, we can do our own environmental mitigation improvements, i.e., installing air quality monitoring devices and not have to wait upon the whims of SCAQMD staff to do the right thing for Carson residents. Without a doubt, this agreement is good for Carson residents. Thank you, City Attorney Sunny Soltani and City Manager Ken Farfsing for helping us make Carson a better place to live, play and work. However, our fight for a better and healthier environment is not over, we must continue fighting SCAQMD and demand they put air quality monitoring devices around the perimeter of all refineries everywhere. Everyone deserves clean air.
and identifies organizations and programs that we can help. Janice Hahn Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors member
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adequacy of the environmental reports was the better course. If, however, at the end of such a lawsuit Carson prevailed what would Carson residents win — nothing but a new environmental report. That’s all! A CEQA lawsuit victory would not result in a single dollar for Carson. In other words, there would be no money judgment, no additional powers or authority over the project or Tesoro. There would be absolutely nothing. A favorable ruling would simply require SCAQMD to order Tesoro to re-do its environmental report, which I guarantee SCAQMD would subsequently approve again. In the meantime, Carson would get nothing then, now or later! If there is anyone who is deserving of disapproval, it is SCAQMD — where in my opinion the staff is unapologetically beholden to big business interests. It is obvious to me that the lives of Carson residents do not matter to SCAQMD. How else do you explain the fact that Torrance, with only one refinery, has SCAQMD air quality monitoring devices for the protection of Torrance residents, but Carson, with two refineries has no SCAQMDmandated any air quality monitoring devices for our protection. Even worse, when LARIC is completed and Carson becomes home to the largest refinery in the entire Western United States, SCAQMD still will not require a single air quality monitoring device in Carson. But wait, it gets better. Long Beach with no refineries, has SCAQMD-mandated air quality monitoring devices. WTF is right! As Mayor of Carson, I wrote letters requesting that
dozen phone calls complaining about the issue. While I will admit that it took some time to find the answers she wanted, my office did respond to her inquiries. I take issue with the author’s characterization that the County of LA spends taxpayer money “willynilly.” I take the responsibility of spending tax money very seriously. The Board of Supervisors follows a rigorous budget process, complete with a hearing open to the public and opportunities for residents to comment. In fact, we just passed a Fiscal Year 2017-2018 budget that is balanced, is responsible and directs tax money to the most basic and vital government responsibilities — things like public infrastructure improvement,
the homelessness crisis, healthcare for low income residents and services for foster children. I agree with the author that funding new uniforms for the Dana Middle School marching band is a worthy cause, although the money the Sheriff’s Department used for those belt buckles could not have been used for this purpose, as the author seemed to imply. However, as far as I know, my office did not receive a formal request for funding from the school. I encourage local organizations to come to my office with funding proposals. I have a great team that vets all proposals
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RANDOMLetters [Letters, from p. 9]
attempted cover-up. But impeachment is a political process. Republicans will support impeachment only if they think that they’ll lose their jobs by enabling Trump’s transgressions. And even if it does take Democrats until the 2018 elections to take back control of the House and pass an impeachment resolution, we have to start pushing now and be ready to go the moment we take back power. That’s why I was thrilled that last week MoveOn joined the call for Trump to be impeached. We need MoveOn to help build and sustain a massive amount of pressure on vulnerable Republicans to impeach Trump. It’s not going to be easy, but the very future of our democracy hangs in the balance. I hear some progressives say, “But Mike Pence is
just as bad as Trump.” Yes, Pence is ultra-far right. As a progressive, I disagree with him on absolutely everything. But we know what to expect from Pence, and we can fight him on the issues. He’s not the irresponsible and unpredictable man who currently sits in the Oval Office. (And, anyway, getting to the bottom of Trump’s web of lies and cover-ups could very well take down multiple people in the White House, including Pence, or in the case of a Trump impeachment or resignation, leave a greatly diminished, compromised, lame-duck Pence in his stead.) And some Democrats in Congress say that we have to wait to pursue impeachment until Democrats take back the House in 2018. Rubbish. It’s absolutely the reverse. The path to winning in 2018 (and thereafter) begins with Democrats in Congress showing the American people that they have the courage and
backbone necessary to take back our nation. It means calling for the impeachment of Trump and holding politically accountable every single person in his administration and in the House and Senate who have enabled his disgrace of a presidency. And it’s not clear if America can wait for the midterm elections, followed by what’s likely to be a long and drawn-out impeachment investigation, followed by a trial in the Senate. Just look at the damage Trump has done in just 151 days as president. We need to act now. Plus, I’m in the camp that the “right” time to impeach isn’t about when it’s feasible in Congress — but about when the person in the Oval Office has committed high crimes and misdemeanors and recklessly and repeatedly violated the Constitution. And here are the added benefits of starting right now: If MoveOn campaigns now for impeachment, there’s a real chance we can derail Trump’s disastrous agenda by eroding GOP congressional (and public) support.
It’s go time on impeachment. MoveOn staff just briefed me on their plans for their impeachment campaign, and I’m impressed. Their plans include the following: · Exposing and shining a spotlight on the hypocrisy of Republicans who cover up for Trump and his team — with a particular focus on the 23 Republicans in districts that voted for Hillary Clinton last year. These lawmakers are vulnerable when they run again next year, so much so that Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida took care to point out to the media that he was “the first Republican to mention impeachment.” · Continuing to drive down Trump’s popularity. Already, Trump’s unpopularity is at a record high, not far from where Nixon’s was at the time of his own resignation. The fact is that when Trump is an albatross around the neck of Republican politicians, they will turn on him, making impeachment a political reality as well as [See Letters, p. 19] [Incarceration, from p. 6]
Incarceration
July 20 - August 2, 2017
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
failed to deliver complete data sets. I am now a lead litigant in an ACLU case demanding LAPD compliance with the California Public Records Act. However, with persistence we took the bits of data we did win to develop a public education project called Million Dollar Hoods, which shows who is being arrested in Los Angeles, on what charges and how much LAPD and the Sheriff’s Department spends per neighborhood to lock them up in the local jail system. In some neighborhoods, LASD and LAPD spend more than $1 million per year on incarceration, making those neighborhoods Million Dollar Hoods.
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JW: As are most books that deal with troubling historical events, the book is as alarming as it is enlightening. You end it with messages from modern leaders in the push for criminal justice reform. Was this intended instill a sense of hopefulness, a call to action? KLH: Yes. I wanted to lift up the fact that although elimination is a persistent dynamic in U.S. life, so, too, is rebellion. Therefore, we live. We love. We laugh. We endure. And we have continued to do so against extraordinary odds. Rebels across time have often led this charge of life. So the end of the book is reserved for their words and work.
WORDHas It [Word Has It, from p. 4]
bad news is that Marymount California University is reportedly discussing moving out of that very same location and has placed the Klaus Center building up the street on the market. The Klaus Center, you may recall, was donated to the college some years ago by Marylyn Ginsberg-Klaus to be used as a fine art facility to augment the downtown San Pedro Arts District. Its sale will be yet another part of the failed promise of the revitalization effort of downtown San Pedro’s arts district under the leadership of Michael Brophy, the previous university president. Brophy left Marymount to become the new president of Benedictine University in Illinois two years ago. After helping Marymount become a four-year university, he also steered the college into investing more than $1 million in a distant piece of property in Lake County, Calif. It has been reported but not verified that Brophy has been involved in purchasing this very same property from Marymount.
Here’s a Concept:
Quality Radio in Español A By Zamná Ávila, Assistant Editor
few months ago, I stumbled upon a radio station playing Celia Cruz’s hit song, Carnaval. I lingered on the dial hoping to catch some more cumbia, merengue or salsa. (I grew up listening to tropical rhythms.) Yet, instead of the next rhythm to get me moving and singing in my car, the station’s program hosts came on. They began recapping the Oscars from the night before. As you may recall, Faye Dunaway announced the wrong winner for Best Picture at the end of the night, awarding the trophy to La La Land when it actually was supposed to go to Moonlight. One of radio hosts jokingly referred to a black man in Moonlight as “carbon” (charcoal). He later said he didn’t care for Mexican award-winning actor Gael García Bernal’s speech on immigration because he’s kissed “vatos” (dudes), referring to some of the characters García Bernal has interpreted on screen. Whether he was referring to the director Barry Jenkins or Mahershala Ali, the Best Actor Oscar winner, it doesn’t matter. The very fact that the hosts would use racialized language to denigrate the film’s actors and directors was problematic. Strike two: propagating the homophobia that is already deeply-rooted into Latino culture. I tried speaking to someone at Entravision, which owns that station, but none of my several calls were returned. In all fairness, La Suavecita 107.1 FM is not the only station that gets laughs at the expense of others. Hell, English-language programming is not that much better. Sadly, with about 15 Spanish-programming stations in Southern California, we don’t get much of a selection. Spanish programming varies from reggaetón to regional Mexican to Christian formats. Much of the music these stations play is followed by “entertainment” shows hosted by radio personalities. On any given day you can also encounter a psychic telling a husband his wife is cheating on him and putting the married couple on the air, reminiscent of a Jerry Springer Show. Many of these shows focus on celebrity gossip such as the custody battle of Argentine actor Julian Gil’s child, sprinkled with pre-recorded laughter to compensate for unfiltered jokes.
Graphic by Suzanne Matsumiya
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[See Radio, p. 16]
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July 20 - August 2, 2017
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Iberian Attitudes Live in Downtown Long Beach By Richard Foss, Cuisine and Restaurant Writer
I
July 20 - August 2, 2017
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
don’t usually eavesdrop on neighboring diners, but the guy on the cell phone at the next table made it impossible not to. He had the kind of voice that carries across a room. He was doing his level best to get a friend to join him. “Hey buddy, I know you’re feeling down right now but you really ought to get out some,” he said. “I’m sitting at a good restaurant with some wine in front of me; you want me to have to drink it alone? And I ordered some food, the plates here are good-sized, and there’s gonna be plenty. Why don’t you come and join me?” The accent was pure New York, but the restaurant was Spanish and so was the attitude. The Iberians have great faith in the restorative power of food, wine and companionship. It was charming to hear a champion of the idea in full evangelical mode. My wife and I were sitting at an outdoor table at Sevilla in Long Beach, one of a chain of restaurants specializing in Spanish food and paella. We had considered dining inside amid dramatic décor that recalls Dali and Picasso, but the light breeze on the shaded patio was too delightful to resist. Every meal here starts with tapas, a category that originated in Spain. In the 1800s these were snacks of cured meats and cheeses that were put on top of bread. When you ordered wine, they
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The bar is bustling spot at Sevilla in Long Beach. Above, small plates or tapas start the meal and below, too good to pass up, is Sevilla’s bread pudding. Photos by Richard Foss.
were served atop your wine glass, hence their name, which means “lid” or “cover.” As time went by, they became more substantial and started being served on little plates but were still intended to accompany leisurely meals with many glasses of wine. We started with three fairly traditional items:
bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with cabrales blue cheese, octopus and potatoes with garlic and paprika, and a tortilla Española. That last item confuses lots of people who order it and expect some kind of flatbread but get a potato omelette. Both the Mexican and Spanish tortilla are named for their shape, as the word means ‘little cake.’ This one hardly fits that definition as it’s the size and geometry of a generous slice of pie, topped with roasted and pickled bell peppers and mushrooms. It’s delicious, but almost too much as a starter for two. The order of dates was daintier, but still substantial: the fruits were skewered and grilled and then topped with herbs and a sweet and sour glaze. It’s an appetizer that anybody can make at home but few people do, because it’s timeconsuming, but it hits all the sweet, salty, fruity and umami buttons. The octopus with potatoes was a surprise because my wife actually liked it. She finds most paprika harsh or metallic, and I had ordered this figuring that I’d eat it all. Although there was plenty of paprika, it had an unusually mellow flavor, warm and slightly smoky rather than hot. She usually tries a bite, shudders slightly and moves on to other things, but we shared this equally. We had arrived during happy hour, which is arranged differently than usual here. For every dollar you spend on drinks before 7 p.m., you get a dollar toward food, which is a very generous program. We tried some sangria variations with our starters and wine with dinner, as Spaniards would, and saved a fair amount on our bill. For our main course, we shared a small “six sausage” paella, which actually had five sausages and some rabbit medallions if you want to get technical about it. This is a remarkable bargain for a main course because a $24 pan feeds at least two hungry people. Having been to Spain several times, I can say that it tastes just like it’s supposed to. The sausages and rabbit had abundant and varied
flavors and the rice cooked in herbed stock was moist and flavorful and just a bit caramelized in the bottom of the pan. They serve six varieties of paella here, including seafood and vegetarian versions. I just may have to come back and try them all. We were tempted by the cheese platter but were too full, and might have skipped dessert except that they offered a bread pudding with rum-soaked figs, apricots, cranberry and banana. This particular combination of fruits baked into a cake or custard isn’t traditionally Spanish, but the general idea is and the execution was superb. It had a slightly crisp top and wasn’t overly sweet. The topping of ice cream and drizzle of chocolate were nicely calibrated to match the flavors. It’s one of the best desserts I’ve had in a long time and I taste a lot of desserts. The service by a waiter named Rogue was excellent, but there were evidently some problems in coordination with his support staff on the day we were there, as some items arrived late or mistimed. Our experience was very good but the management should watch this aspect of things. Our dinner for two ran about $75 with four drinks, which was remarkably reasonable. As we departed, the guy at the table next to us was still hopefully waiting for his buddy to show up. I hope he did, because the experience lightened our moods and might have done the same for him. Sevilla is at 140 Pine Avenue in Long Beach. Details: (562) 495-1111
AR T G A L L ER I E S | OPEN S T U D I O S | L A T E D I N I N G & S H OPP I N G | L I VE M U S I C ON T H E S T REE T S
Cornelius Projects
FROM THE DESERT TO THE SEA: THE DESOLATION CENTER EXPERIENCE
Pac Arts Gallery
Michael Stearns Studio 347 LIFE LINES BY KARENA MASSENGILL
YOUNG AT ART
Pac Arts features the works of Alexis Velasco and other young and emerging Pac Arts ar tists. Velasco studied art at the Ramon Cortines High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, where she recently graduated. She plans on attending CSU East Bay in the fall. Skylark and Skylark Echo by Karena Massengill.
Rick Potts, Incident Near Mecca-Mojave Auszug, 2017. Acrylic on canvas. 16 x 20 inches.
Before Burning Man, Lollapalooza and Coachella, Desolation Center drew punk and industrial music fans to the Mojave Desert starting in April of 1983. Cornelius Projects pays tribute to Desolation Center’s pioneering vision with an exhibition featuring painting, photography, sculpture, video and ephemera. Take a walk-through of the exhibit with co-curators Stuart Swezey and Mariska Leyssius on July 29 at 4 p.m. Closing reception on Aug. 27 with live performances at 2 p.m. Regular hours are Thursday through Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m. or by appointment. Cornelius Projects is at 1417 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro. (310) 266-9216, www.corneliusprojects.
Karena’s mixed media sculpture incorporates metal, glass, casting and fabrication. She begins with a drawing created while engaging the subconscious, accessing visceral, instinctive and at times, emotional ideas, reflecting life’s difficult and fun stages. The evocative sculptures, paired with mirrored images on paper result in three- and two-dimensional works. Life Lines runs through Sept. 23. Michael Stearns Studio 347, 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro, www.michaelstearns studio.com
Live, In-Store Performance
Glass Family Band
Studio Gallery 345
Aug. 3 • 7 pm
new works on paper and canvas
447 W. 6th St., San Pedro • (424) 264-5335
CABARET NIGHT
at Elysium
8-10 pm EVERY First Thursday Open Mic. Open Stage. Open Hearts
Elysium @ Ante's
Pat Woolley
729 Ante Perkov Way
The Local Publication You Actually Read
Studio 345 presents watercolors and acrylics of France and beyond by Pat Woolley and imaginative works in water media and collage by Gloria D. Lee. Open First Thursdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and by appointment. For information, contact Gloria at (310) 545-0832 or Pat at (310) 374-8055 or artsail@roadrunner. com. 345 W. 7th St., San Pedro, www.patwoolleyart. com
Opening reception for Young at Art will be on First Thursday, Aug. 3, Alexis Velasco. 6 to 8 p.m. PacArts, 303 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro. For more information (562) 4360700, www.engagedaging.org.
1st Thursday After Party 9 p.m. to midnight
Wine Wednesdays
1/2 off bottles after 6 p.m.
Daily Happy Hour 3 to 6 p.m.
July 20 - August 2, 2017
LIVE JAZZ SUNDAYS, 3 to 6 p.m.
13
Cost: Free Details: www. grandperformances.org Venue: Grand Performances, 300 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
July 24
JULY 20 - AUG 2 • 2017 ENTERTAINMENT July 21
Sidestepper and Buyepongo Dance your face off with electro-cumbia from Colombia and other global sounds. Time: 8 p.m. July 21 Cost: Free Details: www.grandperformances.org Venue: Grand Performances, 300 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
FYF Explore the lineup at the FYF Fest, featuring Missy Elliott, Bjӧrk, Frank Ocean and Nine Inch Nails. Time: 5 p.m. July 21, 2 p.m. July 22 and 23 Cost: $109 to $549 Details: https://fyffest.com Venue: Exposition Park, 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles
Serving the Seven Communities of the Harbor Area
July 22
Sean Lane Join the band on a journey through time and hear everything from the foundational raw Delta style that started it all to the electrified blues-rock that it has become. Time: 8 p.m. July 22 Cost: $15 Details: alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St. San Pedro
July 23
Caress of Steel Rock to this Rush tribute band. Time: 4 p.m. July 23 Cost: $20 Details: alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St. San Pedro Mark Mackay Band Get a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n' roll at Polliwog Park, Manhattan Beach. Time: July 23 Cost: Free Details: http://tinyurl.com/ MB-Summer-Concerts Venue: 1601 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach
July 20 - August 2, 2017
July 25
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iPalpiti Orchestra The iPalpiti Orchestra performs selections from the 20th iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates. Orchestra iPalpiti (ee-PAHL-pit-ee, Italian for "heartbeats") is unique in that it draws its members from top prize-winning laureates of international competitions. Time: 7:30 p.m. July 25 Cost: Free Details: (310) 316-5574 Venue: Rolling Hills United Methodist Church, 26438
Crenshaw Blvd., Rolling Hills Estates
July 27
Sean Watkins American tunes feature a celebration of Paul Simon with a great lineup of musicians. Time: 8 p.m. July 27 Cost: Free Details: http://tinyurl.com/SeanWatkins-Friends Venue: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles
July 28
La Charanga Cubana Enjoy traditional Cuban dance music, then stuff your face with food from the market. Time: 7 to 9 p.m. July 28 Cost: Free Details: www.farmersmarketla.com Venue: The Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles
July 29
Mothership Landing Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Parliament-Funkadelic’s groundbreaking release. Time: 8 p.m. July 29 Cost: Free Details: www.grandperformances.org Venue: Grand Performances, 200 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
July 30
Hard Day's Night You’ll swear The Beatles are in the South Bay. Time: 5 to 7 p.m. July 30 Cost: Free Details: http://tinyurl.com/MBSummer-Concerts Venue: Polliwog Park, 1601 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Manhattan Beach Rob Garland’s Eclectic Trio Rob Garland’s Eclectic Trio plays original high energy instrumental and vocal music with funk, blues, jazz, fusion and rock. Time: 4 p.m. July 30 Cost: $10 Details: alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St. San Pedro
Aug. 3
Ibibio Sound Machine Experience African and electronic jams inspired by the golden era of West African funk, disco and postpunk. Time: 8 p.m. Aug. 3 Cost: Free Details: www.skirball.org/programs/sunset-concerts/ibibiosound-machine Venue: Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles
THEATER July 21
Annie Join the irrepressible comic strip heroine as she takes center stage in one of the world's best-loved musicals. Time: 7:30 p.m. July 21, 22 and 29, and 2 p.m. July 23, 29 and 30 Cost: $39 to $60 Details: www.grandvision.org/ warner-grand/events.asp Venue: Warner Grand Theatre, 478 W. 6th St., San Pedro The Taming of the Shrew For Shakespeare by the Sea’s 20th anniversary season, community members will be able to enjoy William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew. Time: 7 to 9 p.m. July 21 Cost: Free Details: www.shakespearebythesea.org/wp/calendar Venue: Marine Mammal Care Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., #8, San Pedro Mary Poppins Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins brings the practically perfect nanny to life on stage. Mary Poppins is nothing short of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Time: 8 p.m. July 21 and 22, 2 p.m. July 22, and 1 and 6 p.m. July 23 Cost: $67 to $137 Details: musical.org Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach
July 28
La Linea A multimedia story of everyday life on the Mexico-U.S. border with music by Panoptica. Time: 8 p.m. July 28 Cost: Free Details: www.grandperformances. org Venue: Grand Performances, 300 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
July 29
Dark Moon Elysium Conservatory Theatre presents an epic re-imagining of The Ballad of Barbara Allen. Set in the Appalachian Mountains, Dark of the Moon is an immersive thriller that follows John the Witch Boy and Barbara among the terrifying worlds of witches and equally colorful residents of Buck Creek. Time: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 p.m. Sundays July 29 through Aug. 27 Cost: $10 to $25 Details: www.fearlessartists.org/ box-office-1 Venue: Elysium Conservatory Theatre, 729 S. Palos Verdes St., San Pedro
Aug. 5
Guys and Dolls Set in Damon Runyon’s mythical
Grunion Run Schedule Take Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s Fish-tival and celebrate all things grunion. Grunion may be collected by people with a valid 2017 California Fishing licence and by hand only. No license is required for those younger than 16. Time: 10:30 p.m. July 24 Cost: Free Details: www. cabrillomarineaquarium.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro
July 29
The exhibition The Desolation Center Experience at Cornelius Projects in San Pedro includes a walk-through with co-curators Stuart Swezey and Mariska Leyssius on July 29, 4 p.m. Closing reception on Aug. 27 with live performances, 2 p.m. New York City, Guys and Dolls is an oddball romantic comedy. Gambler Nathan Detroit tries to find the cash to set up the biggest craps game in town while the authorities breathe down his neck. Time: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sunday, through Aug. 5 Cost: $14 to $24 Details: lbplayhouse.org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
Aug. 13
Peter y La Loba Enjoy another telling of Peter and the Wolf, this time with Latin Grammy Award winners Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam. Time: 3 and 4:30 p.m. Aug. 13 Cost: Free Details: www.grandperformances. org Venue: Grand Performances, 300 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
ARTS
July 24
Disruptions The Art of Eliseo Art Silva features 20 works which embrace sparring ideas to intentionally disrupt the expected and bring attention to new ideas and conversations. Time: 5 to 8 p.m. July 24 Details: (310) 514-9139 linda@sbcglobal.net Venue: The Arcade, 479 W. 6th St., Suite 107, San Pedro
Aug. 19
Third Saturday Artwalk Explore San Pedro’s diverse art scene, featuring 30-plus open galleries, open studios, live music and eclectic dining. Free art walk tour starts at Siren’s coffee house. Time: 2 to 6 p.m. Aug. 19 Cost: Free Details: www.SanPedroBID.com Venue: Siren’s, 356 W. 7th St., San Pedro PVAC Faculty Exhibition Showcasing the talent of the com-
munity of artists who teach at The Studio School and Youth Studio at Palos Verdes Art Center / Beverly G. Alpay Center for Arts Education. Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays, through Aug. 19 Cost: Free Details: http://pvartcenter.org/ exhibitions/pvac-faculty-exhibition Venue: Palos Verdes Art Center, 5504 West Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes
Aug. 25
Audrey Barrett: Available Light Gallery 478 and TransVagrant Projects are pleased to present Audrey Barrett: Available Light, an exhibition of photography and auction benefiting City of Hope Metastatic Breast Cancer Research. Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, through Aug. 25 Cost: Free Details: (310) 732-2150 Venue: Gallery 478, 478 W. 7th St., San Pedro
Aug. 27
The Desolation Center Experience Before the era of Burning Man, Lollapalooza and Coachella, Desolation Center drew punk and industrial music fans to the far reaches of the Mojave Desert. Time: 12 to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, extended through Aug. 27 Cost: Free Details: (310) 266-9216 Venue: Cornelius Projects Gallery, 1417 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro
COMMUNITY July 22
Her Voice: Sultana, Meklit and Ulali Celebrating women’s voices from Indian, Pakistani, Ethiopian and Native American traditions. Time: 7 p.m. July 22
Sinister Circus The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor proudly presents Sinister Circus, the first-ever haunted summer costume ball aboard the Queen Mary. Time: 8 p.m. July 29 Cost: $29 to $34 Details: http://bit.ly/DHSinisterCircus Venue: Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach
July 30
Peter & The Wolf The childhood classic told with live music. Time: 3 to 4:30 p.m. July 30 Cost: Free Details: www.grandperformances.org Venue: Grand Performances, 300 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
Aug. 12
Iowa by the Sea Picnic All Iowans and people who love the great state of Iowa are invited to this year's fun event. Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 12 Cost: $12 to $35 Details: (877) 446-9261 www.pacificbattleship.com Venue: Battleship Iowa, 250 S. Harbor Blvd., Berth 87, San Pedro
Aug. 13
Ciclavia Comes to SanPedro/ Wilmington CicLAvia is bringing the latest of its car-free days to Wilmington and San Pedro, transforming our vehicularly clogged streets into safe spaces for thousands of people to explore on foot, bike and other forms of non-motorized transport. CicLAvia (pronounced SICK-laVEE-ah) takes place on Aug. 13 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.. No parking will be allowed on the CicLAvia route from 1 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 13. Parking restrictions will be enforced and vehicles will be towed beginning at 1 a.m. Details: www.ciclavia. org/ciclavia_sanpedro
Aug. 18
Movie Under the Guns Battleship Iowa invites you to a free screening of Guardians of the Galaxy. Time: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 18 Cost: Free Details: (877) 446-9261 www.pacificbattleship.com Venue: Battleship Iowa, 250 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro
T
he San Pedro Waterfront Arts District was among the 14 designated cultural arts areas the California Arts Council announced on July 13. The council’s announcement aims to celebrate California’s diverse and abundant cultural treasures, while bringing technical assistance and other support in developing a brand and promotional strategy to those arts districts. “Our goal with the pilot launch of this new program was to support a group of districts that met high but broad standards of coherence — ones that could set an example for districts that will follow as the program develops and grows,” the California Arts Council declared. “This recognition, in the inaugural year of this new state program, recognizes the unique profile of San Pedro as an artist community juxtaposed with industry, against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean.” The districts were selected with variety in mind. Districts range developmentally from emerging to established. The choices were made to include an emphasis on cultural consumption, production and heritage. They are in urban, suburban and rural areas. “It’s a natural progression from where we started, to grow into a state-designated cultural district,” explained Linda Grimes, managing director of the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District. Back in 1936, the historic downtown area of San Pedro established itself as an arts district with the founding of the San Pedro Art Association. A small gathering of artists took inspiration in the location surrounded by fishermen, canneries and magnificent ocean
San Pedro Awarded Cultural Arts District Designation By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer
views. In 1953 Jay Mueser established his art studio on 7th Street. Mueser was a vaudevillian, a port worker, a local news cartoonist and later an abstract painter. Since then, San Pedro has acquired the reputation of a deeply-rooted proficient arts community. Mueser’s old studio is still occupied by working artist J.J. Geary, who opens the studio each month during the art walk. Throughout the years, many artists have stepped up to imbue the neighborhood with the personality that makes it extraordinary. The San Pedro Arts, Culture and Entertainment District, which was the precursor to the current nonprofit arts district, was originally funded with a $500,000 grant from the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles. In 2003, it was formed with the vision and leadership of James Preston Allen, the publisher of this newspaper, in collaboration with the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce and the cooperation of the arts community. Today, the Waterfront Arts District, headed by Linda Grimes along with a board and advisory council, represents not only San Pedro artists but also the waterfront area’s many cultural organizations. In the new arts district, you will need to take a trolley to see everything.
Flash in the Pan
Pesto Rules By Ari LaVaux, Guest Columnist
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310.833.4813 | GrandVision.org The Grand Annex | 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
July 20 - August 2, 2017
As with pesto, the first batches of mayo were made in a mortar and pestle, too. And while I am a sucker for any implicit or explicit reference to mayo, I also can’t get behind a pesto that does not contain chlorophyll. It was a batch of spinach pesto that solidified my thinking. I made it because I had too much spinach on my hands, and pesto has a way of making large piles of leaves become very small. This batch — made with olive oil, parmesan and cashews — was oddly satisfying, despite the fact that the flavor of spinach is so much subtler than that of basil. But spinach is about as high in chlorophyll as a leaf can get, and the resulting pesto, a dark, deep shade of green, was full of it. Since then, maxing out the chlorophyll density has been my goal when making pesto. Basil is a wonderfully aromatic vessel for chlorophyll. It is probably still my favorite leaf from which to make pesto, but spinach is a close second. After that, I prefer the weeds, like lambs quarter, or wild plants like nettles, both of which have bold, chlorophyll-dense flavors. Mixing and matching your leaves adds complexity to the pesto and is highly recommended. Add enough oil to create a smooth vortex in your food processor, and the basil gets pureed as quickly as possible. What you don’t want to do is skimp on the oil, such that the pesto looks like a half-digested hairball the cat spat up. This basil will become dark in the freezer, if not black, and won’t store well. I pack into half-pint mason jars,
freeze, and let them thaw out slowly in the fridge before using. To convert this freezer-stable basil mixture into proper pesto, I make a paste of the missing ingredients, nuts, cheese and garlic in the food processor. It makes sense to leave these out of the freezer, because they don’t age well in the fridge, and their flavors are much more vivid when used fresh. As for nuts, pine nuts are the classic Genoese choice and you cannot go wrong with them. But the list of alternative nuts that are acceptable outside of Genoa is almost as long as the list of leaves. Walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, cashews, pecans and almonds can be used, to name a few. I recently made a batch with Italian lemon almonds. It was so successful that I’ve been grating lemon zest into my pesto ever since. So consider this a call to action. Now is your chance to pestare while the leaves are green. That frozen chlorophyll will come in handy about six months from now.
Hidden Hairpin
The Local Publication You Actually Read
In Genoa, Italy, the birthplace of pesto, it goes without saying that the sauce is made with basil — Genoese basil, to be exact. Pesto is so big in Genoa that the airport had to loosen its rules, allowing travelers to bring more than three ounces of the liquid in their carry-on baggage. They screen it with the machine used for medicine and breast milk. I did a “-basil” web search for “pesto” (A search that screens out any hits that mention “basil”), and found recipes for pesto made from parsley, cilantro, spinach, kale, asparagus, garlic scapes, chard, dill, onion tops, fennel greens, mizuna, beet greens, mint, turnip greens, arugula, collard greens, broccoli, watercress, radicchio and even lettuce. In other words, you can essentially toss the whole darn garden salad into your blender, add olive oil, garlic, cheese and nuts, and presto, you’ve got pesto. You can do the same with many of the weeds you pull from your garden — the dandelion, plantain, purslane and lambs quarter — as well as the wild plants growing in your neighborhood like nettles, wild mustard, ramps and miner’s lettuce. The word “pesto” comes from the Italian pestare, which means “to crush, grind, pound.” It’s derived from Latin pisto, which means “I pound.” In addition to being the root of “pesto,” this etymology also gives us the word “pestle,” which was, along with the mortar, the tool of choice for pesto making back in the day.
The district, as recognized by the California Arts Council, travels from the USS Iowa up to Pacific Avenue and south to the Point Fermin Lighthouse. It may be a big chunk of town, but includes key organizations such as the San Pedro City Ballet, Angels Gate Cultural Center — home to 50 artists’ studios — the Warner Grand Theatre and the new AltaSea at the Port. Seventh and 6th streets between Pacific and Mesa remain the heart of the art district and the focal point of the popular 20-year-old First Thursday Art Walk. This new designation is important news, not only for the art community, but for all of San Pedro. The Art Walk, a lowcost event, draws 2,000 to 5,000 people each month to the downtown area. Art enthusiasts from Silverlake, Venice and Orange County have put this day on their calendars as an opportunity to view and collect work from artists who employ varied mediums. With the support of the California Arts Council, an even broader audience will know about San Pedro arts. A study by Americans for the Arts documents the economic impact of the arts on national and local economies. This study reveals that communities investing in art reap the additional benefits of jobs, economic growth and an improved quality of life. Arts-related
spending by event attendees pumps revenue into hotels, restaurants and local businesses. Nationally, the arts generate $30.1 billion in revenue in return for $4 billion in money invested. That is a spectacular 7 to 1 return on investment, which should thrill Wall Street. “The mission of the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District is to promote San Pedro’s authentic arts, culture and entertainment character through advocacy, marketing and education activities,” the Waterfront Arts District described in its application to the California Arts Council. “We are nestled between a gritty industrial port complex and the stunning natural beauty of the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula geography creates an end-of-the-world feeling and our very close-knit community is comprised of a variety of ethnic influences. We are proud of our small town atmosphere, while belonging to the nation’s second largest city.” The selection for the California Cultural Districts was conducted through open call for initial letters of intent, a peer panel review, site visits for semi-finalists and an invited finalist application. The only other Los Angeles community to win this designation is Little Tokyo. Other cultural districts rounding out the state’s selections are Balboa Park and Barrio Logan in San Diego, The BLVD in Lancaster, The Calle 24 Latino and SOMA Pilipinas in San Francisco, downtown San Rafael, Eureka, Grass Valley/Nevada City, Oceanside, Redding, Rotten City-Emeryville and Truckee Cultural District.
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[Radio, from p. 11]
Radio Embedded
Tuning Down A Segment
Sure, the masses may be entertained by crude jokes and “edgy” music, but it’s a disservice that keeps some of us tuning the dial. Take for example my college buddy, Javier Delgado. These days he rarely listens to Spanish-language radio. “I’m not able to identify with the characters or the callers on the radio,” Delgado said. “The people who have on the radio are there because their spouses are cheating on them or are wanting to catch someone cheating on them.” He’s also offended by the repetitive jokes about people’s sexual orientation and nonHispanic cultures, or the all-too-often jokes about the hated mother-in-law. “Twenty years ago, we were more ignorant, but it’s no longer the view of most of society,” Delgado said. “When we allow people in a minority group to be picked on, eventually, it will come back to us.” While English-language radio can also border on offensive, it seems to Delgado that the programming has come around with the times. It’s a pity because he does enjoy music in Spanish, especially the older music from artists such as Juan Gabriel, Mexico’s recently deceased Elton John. “It’s has to do with what we grew up with,”
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Of course, these shows would never be able to survive if they did not have a following. In fact, the shows are often a reflection of a community. While Latino culture offers rich hues of food, art, fashion and music, it’s not without its shortcomings. Embedded in Latino culture are remnants of colonialism that foster discrimination. Recently, comedian George Lopez was heckled for making a joke saying that, “There are only two rules in the Latino family — don’t marry somebody black, and don’t park in front of our house.” He never finished his joke before he was called out as a racist by an audience member, who he cursed out. Whether or not Lopez was racist is not the point. What is the point is that sadly, there is some truth to his joke. Many Latinos can be quite discriminatory toward other groups and subgroups of people. Case in point, a few months ago I went to a soccer game between two Mexican teams and I cringed when I heard the crowd scream “puto!” in unison to the referee (which loosely translates to the word “faggot” to denote not just homosexuality, but cowardice). The term is seemingly acceptable to the general public; nobody even winces at the sound of its use. It’s acceptable language, even in some of the most liberal Latino homes. There just seems to be lack of choice when it comes to Spanish-only entertainment programming.
Latinos are multifaceted. Some of us are born in the United States, others have gained citizenship through the naturalization process and some are, indeed, undocumented. We come in different colors, accents and preferences. We want to be entertained but we also long to be informed about nutrition, mental health, law, politics, the environment and a cornucopia of interests.
16
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Hugo Noé Morales is the Executive Director and cofounder of Radio Bilingüe, a transnational satellite community radio service in Spanish, English and Mixtec. File photo.
said Delgado, a third-generation Chicano. “The older music is about love, relationships and heartbreak. It’s like being transported back to a time when things were more innocent.” These days, many stations play music that reference narcotraficantes. “I’m sure that there is music out there that doesn’t glamorize drug lords and has changed with the times,” he said. U.S. natualized citizen, María Cortez, can’t help but listen to Spanish language radio. It is her primary language. The 75-year-old listens to La Ranchera on the 96.7 FM dial. “Because it’s Mexican and I am Mexican,” said Cortez. “It plays music from my times, the 60s. There’s news; there is a little bit of everything.” Nevertheless, there are times she feels compelled to change the radio station. “I change the station when they have Humberto Luna because he says a bunch of obscenities,” said Cortez in Spanish. She is referring to the radio personality’s salacious jokes that often objectify women. “He and Doña Kika are very unpleasant,” she said. “They talk about the intimacies of women and men.” These days, you hear a lot of soccer games and remedies that are often confusing to the listener, Cortez said. She would like to hear more advice on nutrition and health.
La Diferencia
A few shows within mostly English formats offer intelligent entertainment, such as KPFK 90.7’s Canto Sin Fronteras, which means Song Without Borders. Canto Sin Fronteras offers a progressive forum dedicated to the diffusion of Latin-American folk, trova, nuevo canto, and world music with social-political themes. NPR’s Latino USA gives a critical voice to the diversity of the American experience through storytelling. The closest I’ve found in entertainment with less talk is Mega-96.3. Although it plays a variety of genres, it often stagnates on reggaeton and bachata. Very few stations offer both 24/7 Spanish format and quality radio. Radio Bilingüe is one radio organization that does offer intelligent programming sensitive to diverse communities that is both entertaining and informative. “That’s why Radio Bilingüe was founded 36 years ago,” said María Eraña, director of broadcasting operations. “A platform where
the voices of the community could be heard was needed…. People have a voice. We are a platform to empower Latinos and other underserved communities.” Radio Bilingüe is a nonprofit radio network with Latino/a control and leadership. Unfortunately, Radio Bilingüe is based in the Central Valley and its airwaves don’t travel all the way down to Southern California. Here, most stations care about one thing. “Commercial radio is just looking at the bottom line, especially [at the expense] of people who are different or perceived to be different … [and the] FCC isn’t listening much,” Eraña explained. “They blend these types of cheap entertainment with trash talk and tickets to dances and giveaways. It’s an easy way to make money or [at least that’s what] they seem [to think].” Radio Bilingüe has tried to break into the Los Angeles market but has been unsuccessful because the full power FMs are very expensive and the available frequencies often are taken by religious groups. “So the status quo continues,” she said. “In LA it’s very hard to get into the market but people keep asking for [us].” Public radio stations often don’t recognize the need for better programming because of the amount of existing Spanish-language stations. Those that do include programming in Spanish cover the communities from an outsider’s perspective, Eraña said. Many of the corporations that provide that perspective are not owned by Latinos. They have Latino producers but not executives who make decisions. “There is room for much more,” Eraña said. “When we talk about issues, we talk about us.” In fact, Radio Bilingüe not only offers programming in Spanish and English, they also offer programming in Mixtec, recognizing the needs of indigenous followers in an effort to contribute to their sense of pride. Their programming incorporates materials on how to access education, health services, immigration issues and civic engagement. The music varies, showcasing rock en español, Mixteco, Tejano, traditional banda and salsa. They don’t play narco corridos, which often glorify drug traffickers. It’s not that the station bans certain music, but they discourage using music that, for example, might condone violence against women. “Music should be creative quality,” she said. “We don’t play songs that demean people…. There is a lot of beautiful music.” This is where media has the power to catalyze change within its audience. Mass media, in general, offers a platform for voices to engage its public and generate understanding. In Latina/o culture, family is very important. It’s beyond me how someone would invite a guest, such as a radio show and its hosts who condone violence against various communities, into one’s home, instead of a guest who promotes intelligence and understanding, and who people benefit from the presence of his or her company. Elevating the conversation to enhance the status of its target audience is a goal for which every radio station should aim. And yet, it seems the only time that happens is with the topic of immigration. Wake up, step away from the herd and demand quality over the airwaves. We deserve true choices. “Send letters,” Eraña advised. “I don’t know if they will completely change their format but they might be a little more careful.”
[Opiates, from p. 8]
Opiates
[News Briefs, from p. 6]
January 21, 1922 - June 24, 2017 Rev. Alfred Henriksen, a Unitarian Universalist minister, died peacefully on June 24, 2017 at the age of 95. Although Rev. Al often voiced his desire to reach age 100, he did not want his life prolonged by artificial means and his family respected his wishes. He was cared for at home by his wife, Georgianne Declercq, under the Kaiser Permanente Hospice Program. Rev. Henriksen was predeceased by his wife, Ruth Baxter Henriksen, who died in 1987. Al and Ruth had three children, all of whom are living: James Peter (JP) Henriksen of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Carl Henriksen who lives in Papua New Guinea with his wife, Beverly Thacker; and Heidi Henriksen who resides in Lafayette, Colorado, with her husband, Neal Conner. Rev. Al was very proud of his six grandchildren: Erik Henriksen (wife, Emily); Nini Henriksen; Teddy Henriksen; Becca Henriksen Reeve (husband, Alec); Rueben Conner, and Bryce Conner. There are four great-grandchildren: Cary, Cedar,
Indigo Reeve and Elias Henriksen. Rev. Al and Georgianne have been together since 1994 and Al was privileged to have Erika Declercq Sweet and Renee Declercq Ackley as step-daughters. Erika’s husband, Jeff, was an important part of Al’s life and he considered their children, Kevin and David to be his grandchildren. Although he did not see Renee and her
daughter, Stephanie as much, he was very fond of them and also considered them family. Rev. Henriksen was born in Boston and grew up in Quincy, Mass. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in divinity from Bangor Theological School in Maine and a master’s degree from Tufts University in Summerville, Mass. He also earned a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Iowa. Henriksen was the minister at Pacific Unitarian Church in Rancho Palos Verdes for 24 years, from 1963 to 1987. He was very active in fighting for many social issues during the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s. He previously served Unitarian churches in Augusta, Maine; in Iowa City, Iowa and Corpus Christi, Texas. A memorial service to celebrate Rev. Henriksen’s life is scheduled for Aug. 13 at 2 p.m. at the Pacific Unitarian Church, 5621 Montemalaga Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes. Special thanks to the Kaiser Hospice team who gave such special care to Al these last few weeks.
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Rex Richardson. The 35-year-old company recently expanded its operations and signed an 11-year-lease in 2013 on Pine Avenue in the old Press Telegram Building. Also recently, Molina’s board of directors fired the founder’s sons J. Mario Molina as the CEO and John C. Molina as the CFO. The two are still part of the board of directors. Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said he met with Joseph White, Molina’s interim CEO. “[White] wanted to be clear in our conversation and I was clear with him that Molina Healthcare is 100 percent committed to Long Beach and Long Beach is 100 percent committed to Molina Healthcare,” Garcia said. However, Molina Healthcare recently decided to relocate 400 jobs to San Pedro.
Rev. Alfred James Norman Henriksen
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practice ordered opioids for more than 56 beneficiaries who seemed to be doctor shopping. “The patterns of these 401 prescribers are far outside the norm and warrant further scrutiny,” Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson said. To be sure, many seniors suffer from an array of painful conditions, and some opioids are seen as more harmful and addictive than others. Tramadol, often used to treat chronic osteoarthritis pain, was the most frequently prescribed opioid and carries a lower risk of addiction than other opioids, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Moreover, the CDC report shows that painkiller use is ticking downward after years of explosive growth. Still, officials in the inspector general’s office said more can and should be done to combat the problems they observed, even if the numbers are beginning to subside. “What we’re saying here is this is still a lot of Medicare beneficiaries,” said Jodi Nudelman, regional inspector general for evaluation and inspections in the New York regional office, who supervised the report. “Regardless if you are turning a corner, you’re still at these really high levels.” The inspector general previously has called for Medicare to use its data to focus on doctors who are prescribing drugs in aberrant ways. The inspector general’s numbers differ somewhat from an April report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as CMS. The report stated that 29.6 percent of Part D enrollees used opioids in 2016, down from 31.9 percent in 2011. The inspector general pegged the 2016 figure at 33 percent but did not offer any historical comparisons. It was unclear why the two agencies came up with different figures. In a statement, CMS stated that
opioid abuse is a priority for the Donald Trump administration. “We are working with patients, physicians, health insurance plans, and states to improve how opioids are prescribed by health care providers and used by patients, how opioid use disorder is diagnosed and managed, and how alternative approaches to pain management could be promoted,” it stated. Officials have known for years that opioid prescribing has been a problem in Medicare. ProPublica first highlighted the problem in 2013 when it published data on the drugs prescribed by every physician in the Part D program. Following that report, CMS put in place what is called an Overutilization Monitoring System, which tracked beneficiaries at the highest risk for overdoses or drug abuse. It asked the private insurance companies that run the drug program under contract on its behalf to review the cases and provide a response. In a memo released in April, CMS stated its monitoring system has been a success. From 2011 to 2016, it said there was a 61 percent decrease in the number of beneficiaries who were labeled as “potential very high risk opioid over-utilizers.” People were flagged in this way if they were taking high doses of opioids for 90 consecutive days and received prescriptions from three or more doctors at three or more pharmacies. But the agency also said it would be implementing changes in January to better target those at highest risk of abuse. Separately, in 2014, CMS told health providers they would have to register with the Medicare program in order to prescribe medications. That way, the government could screen them and take action if their prescribing habits were deemed improper. Up to that point, doctors could prescribe drugs to Medicare patients, even if they weren’t registered Medicare providers. Delay after delay has pushed back the requirement until 2019. Dr. Cheryl Phillips, senior vice president for public policy and health services at LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit service providers for older adults, said managing pain in seniors is complex. Seniors are more likely to have conditions, such as orthopedic problems, cancer or degenerative joint disorders, which result in chronic pain. They sometimes don’t react well to nonprescription pain relievers, such as Tylenol, aspirin or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medicines. Health care providers like nursing homes are still evaluated, in part, on how well they manage pain, creating an incentive to turn to drugs. “We have to challenge the notion that being pain free is a goal,” Phillips said. “It’s not that I want to see people suffering, but being pain free is perhaps a myth that not only society has been seduced with but physicians have as well.”
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DBA FILINGS Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017139299 The following person is doing business as: EC Construction Consultants, 14616 Eastwood Ave. #6 Lawndale, CA 90260. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: John Grimes, 14616 Eastwood Ave. #6 Lawndale, CA 90260. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 05/17/2017. 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 Grimes, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 31, 2017. 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.
Effectively January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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: 06/08/2017,
06/22/2017, 07/06/2017, 07/20/2017
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017153156 The following person is doing business as: Fast
[continued on p. 19]
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Across
1 Be furious 5 Everglades beasts 11 Letters on a bucket 14 High hair 15 Home state of the Decemberists 16 Former Fighting Irish coach Parseghian 17 A look inside Mr. Gladwell? 19 Dorm supervisors, briefly 20 “The magic word” 21 Do bar duty 22 “The Two Towers” creature 23 Like a cooked noodle 25 Medium capacity event? 27 “Yeah!” singer 30 Busy ___ bee 33 Song with the lyric “she really shows you all she can” 34 Author Harper 35 By title, though not really 38 “Let me know” letters 41 ___ Khan 42 It shows the order of songs a band will play 44 Disney Store collectible 45 Force based on waves? 47 Top-of-the-line 48 Took a course? 49 Orangey tuber 51 Gridiron units, for short 52 Run off, as copies 54 Compadre from way back
57 Diplomat’s forte 59 Kickoff need 60 The haves and the have-___ 63 Pointer on a laptop 67 “Shallow ___” (Jack Black movie) 68 The dance of talk show employees? 70 More than -er 71 Aim high 72 Not-so-sharp sort 73 “The Crying Game” actor 74 Crystal-lined stones 75 Ovine moms
Down
1 Displace 2 Gem mined in Australia 3 Monty Python alum Eric 4 Place setting? 5 Automaton of Jewish folklore 6 Biceps’ place 7 SMS exchange 8 Shrek talks about being one a lot 9 Chestnut-hued horses 10 Original “The Late Late Show” host Tom 11 Award for “Five Easy Pieces” actress Black? 12 Monetary unit of Switzerland 13 Unit of social hierarchy 18 God of the Nile 24 Canned goods closet
26 Inhaled stuff 27 ___ Bator (Mongolia’s capital) 28 Maker of the Saturn game system 29 Weighty river triangle? 31 Type of bar with pickled beets 32 In the center of 36 Battery terminal, briefly 37 Suffix similar to “-speak” 39 President’s refusal 40 Suffix for movie theaters 43 Common campaign promise 46 Talk too much 50 It may be also called a “murse” 53 One of their recent ads features “an investor invested in vests” 54 Different 55 Tenant’s document 56 Almost ready for the Tooth Fairy 58 Parcels of land 61 “Ed Sullivan Show” character ___ Gigio 62 Racetrack trouble 64 Winter forecast 65 Eye rakishly 66 Breaks down 69 “Able was I ___ I saw Elba” ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers go to: www.randomlengthsnews.com
RANDOMLetters
DBA FILINGS [from p. 18] Forward Distributors LLC, 2117 Caddington Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Fast Forward Distributors LLC, 2117 Caddington Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275. This Business is conducted by an Limited Liability Company. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 04/28/2017. 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/. Kevin J. Herrera, managing member. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on May 31, 2017. 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. Effectively January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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: 06/22/2017, 07/06/2017, 07/20/2017, 08/03/2017
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017148369 The following person is doing business as: Velaska’s Insurance Services, 548 E. Sepulveda Ste# A. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Valdivia Maria Velaska,528 W. 2nd Street, San Pedro, Ca 90731. This Business is conducted by an Individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Valdivia Maria Velaska, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 8, 2017. 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. Effectively January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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: 06/22/2017, 07/06/2017, 07/20/2017, 08/03/2017
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017148300 The following person is doing business as: ROC Photo Solutions, 445 W. 38th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Ryan Origel, 445 W. 38th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an Individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 5/13/17. 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
[Letters, from p. 10] be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Ryan Origel, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 8, 2017. 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. Effectively January 1, 2014, the Fictitious Business Name Statement must be accompanied by the Affidavit of Identity form. 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). 06/22/2017, Original filing: 07/06/2017, 07/20/2017, 08/03/2017
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a Constitutional necessity. · Urging Democrats to demand the truth — matching the passion I’m seeing in the grassroots base. Robert Reich Berkeley
My Ocean
I live at the land’s end I see the horizon, I see the sun drop into the orange water I live at the ocean with its morning coldness and fog I am awakened by the sound of ships’ horns which signal new persons in town! At my ocean the sun shines through the fog to create light, I become optimistic Iia day I will remember all my life, a day that there will always be enough time The ocean is me, it is my soulmate I am salty air, the greenish algae I am the sand and the breakwater I am the ocean’s mystery, a story untold The ocean is my solitude, it is my sense to slow my brain my mind asks, “do the waves ever stop?” Do the waves become
repetitious blurs? Never to be understood the ocean waves are white noise, at a California beach, never speaking, but knowing all The waves can tell of my dreams, my success, my failure, and urge me to cope John R. Gray San Pedro
A Tortured Metaphor
As summer heats up, ice cream will refresh us. But with corruption and corporate control in Washington hotter than ever, we’ll need more than ice cream to revive our democracy. If you think we tortured that metaphor, it’s nothing compared to how Big Money is torturing our democracy. Whether you care about affordable, accessible health care, the climate, private prisons, military spending or an economy that works for everyone (not just the rich guys), there’s one thing that connects all these fights: It’s Big Money vs. the rest of us. That’s why we’ve partnered with MoveOn to offer you a way to speak out against Big Money a thousand times over: a stamp to mark your dollar bills with the message, “Resist Big Money in Politics: Amend the Constitution.” MoveOn members have been sending that same message through
phone calls, rallies and petitions for years. Now, you can join 65,000 STAMPeders (Ben’s the Head Stamper) who have been spreading that message by turning money into media. Look, we’re tired of being on defense: fighting against Trumpcare, fighting against the Muslim ban, fighting against a corporate giveaway called an “infrastructure plan” and a massive transfer of wealth to the 1 percent in the form of a Draconian budget, fighting against climate-change denial and fighting against Trump’s reckless abuse of power over his team’s ties to Russia. We’d rather be fighting for a few things that we believe in. Medicare for All! Debt-free college for all! A game-changing investment in clean energy! Equality for all Americans! But we won’t win fights FOR any of these things until we deal with the elephant in the room: the destructive force of Big Money in politics. So let’s take matters in our own hands ... literally. Money is the original viral marketing. As it moves from hand to hand, the average stamped bill gets seen by 875 people. So taking 15 seconds to stamp your bill is a lot of “bang for your buck!” Seriously, though, stamping is effective and fun. Your message gets through because putting it on money is disruptive. And with what we’re facing from Washington and corporate media, we’ll have to use every tool we have to get our message out. —Ben & Jerry MoveOn.org
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July 20 - August 2, 2017
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