LB Council Fails to Pass Hotel Workers Ordinance p. 5 Medicare-For-All Emerges as Attacks on Obamacare Fail p.6 SoundWalk Group is PUMPing Up Long Beach Art Scene p. 11 Fourth & Olive: Where Those Who Have Served, Serve p. 12
DASHED DREAMS AND
Ports O’Call Merchants Sue Port for $25 Million
By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
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Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
BROKEN PROMISES
Wayne Ratkovich, left, with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka at the March 2, 2016 unveiling of the San Pedro Marketplace plans. File photo
irginia Pavkovich has operated the Mexilatin Gifts at Ports O’ Call Village since 1962. “I have the most unique gifts from Latin American countries,” the long time proprietor explained. “I’ve been here for more than 50 years. This is my bread and butter. I can’t be thrown out into the streets just like that. We’ve been here long enough to deserve some respect.” Akibu Jamal, owner of the African American Gift Shop for the past 28 years, expressed similar sentiments. “They act as if we were nothing,” Jamal said during the Sept. 19 press conference at which he and his fellow shop owners announced they were suing the port over its handling during the redevelopment of Ports O’ Call. “They asked us to leave and left the big shops alone ... to stay…. We’re both here doing business [referring to the larger tenants such as the San Pedro Fish Market and Spirit Cruises]. They shouldn’t discriminate. If they wanted to demolish this then everyone should have to go. This is America.” Pavkovich and Jamal, like more than a dozen other small Ports Sala and Ted Lee are the proprietors of Candy Town O’ Call business owners, thought the Port of Los Angeles was going at Ports ‘O Call in San Pedro. to negotiate in good faith with “successful” businesses that wanted to continue operating in the new San Pedro Market Place. What they got instead were recurring conversations about relocating elsewhere with no promise of return to the San Pedro Waterfront, while the San Pedro Fish Market, Spirit Cruises and Port’s O’ Call Restaurant were guaranteed space in the new San Pedro Market Place. Everything came to a head this past June when the port issued eviction notices to 15 shop owners that would be
September 28 - October 11, 2017
African American Gift Shop proprietor, Akibu Jamal spoke during a Sept. 19 press conference announcing a lawsuit against the Port of Los Angeles. Right, Virginia Pavkovich is the operator of Mexilatin Gifts at Ports ‘O Call Village in San Pedro. Photos by Jesse Marquez
[See Broken Promises, p. 4]
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Community Announcements:
Harbor Area Community Workshops for General Plan Land Use Element
Long Beach will be conducting new and expanded public outreach for the General Plan Land Use and Urban Design Element update process. The update to the general plan is aimed at guiding Long Beach into a more sustainable future over the next 23 years and to meet new state requirements and development principles. Four new and expanded public outreach community workshops will be offered. Residents and property owners are urged to attend. The workshops are intended to educate people about the directions Long Beach is considering and to collect feedback from them. In addition, residents can obtain more information about the plan, or comment and give feedback online at http://tinyurl.com/ LBGeneralPlan. The time and venues for the meetings are as follows: 3 to 5 p.m. Sept. 30 at Veterans Park Community Center, 101 E. 28th St., Long Beach 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 4 at Whaley Park Community Center, 5629 E. Atherton St., Long Beach 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 14 at Best Western Golden Sails Hotel, 6285 Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18 at Expo Center, 4321 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach
Gathering for the Gathering Teach-In, Art Offering, Fundraiser
Come learn about the history, purpose and return of the Many Winters Gathering of the Elders. An intimate exhibition of art works by contemporary indigenous artists from the Los Angeles area will be on view and offered in a silent auction to benefit the Many Winters Gathering of the Elders. There [See Announcements, p. 10]
Committed to Independent Journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for More Than 30 Years
New Community Air Pollution Fenceline Monitoring Regulation By Jesse Marquez, Contributing Reporter
On sept. 21, the South Coast Air Quality Management District hosted a public meeting in Wilmington on its new proposed Rule 1180, Refinery Fenceline and Community Air Monitoring. More than 20 residents from Wilmington, San Pedro, Carson, Long Beach, Torrance and Rancho Palos Verdes shared their concerns and demands with the district at the Banning Park Senior Center. The new rule is a result of regulations adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016; those regulations are derived from a legal pre-court settlement with environmental justice organizations who filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s failure to update its refinery regulations for more than a decade. The Clean Air Act requires that regulations be reviewed and updated every four years. The Coalition For A Safe Environment in Wilmington was one of the original plaintiffs. If the rule is adopted, this will be the first time in U.S. history that oil refineries will be required to have fenceline air monitoring. Environmental justice organizations consider this a major victory for communities with oil refineries as well as those that border refineries.
Oil refineries are among the largest stationary sources of criteria pollutants, volatile organic compounds, toxic metals and other toxic compounds in the South Coast basin. These chemicals and compounds are known to cause health problems including asthma, sinusitis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and both neurological and physical developmental problems. The new rule will require real-time fenceline and community air quality monitoring. Public meetings are being hosted to determine which chemicals should be monitored, what type of equipment and technologies should be used, and what type of reporting and community alert notification system should be required. Anabell Chavez, a pregnant Wilmington mother, testified before the district. “[I am] concerned that hospitals are not provided information on what types of chemicals have been released in the community so that patients can be treated properly,” she said. “All chemicals used at a refinery should be monitored and Long Beach does not receive any AQMD alert notifications [now], ” added
Whitney Wilson of Long Beach. The new rule will require each oil refinery to prepare a plan for fenceline monitoring, community monitoring, public information and independent oversight, which must be approved by the SCAQMD. Rule 1180 will also have to be updated as a result of Cristina Garcia’s July 2017 passage of Assembly Bill 617, another more in-depth air pollution and greenhouse gas monitoring law. That law will no longer allow AQMD’s to use its discretion on what is appropriate air quality monitoring and reporting. Instead, the state will establish uniform criteria and mandatory community participation. The bill will include monitoring of all oil refineries and all major stationary sources of air pollution. It also requires air quality management districts to identify and mandate the use of the best available pollution control and retrofit technologies. Environmental justice organizations have long waged a war over this issue, identifying that AQMD and the California Air Resources Board have failed to mandate the use of the best air pollution reduction and [See Monitoring, p. 10]
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant September 28 - October 11, 2017
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[Broken Promises, from p. 1]
Broken Promises: POC Merchants Fight Eviction effective Oct. 2. In response, the shop owners filed a $25 million lawsuit against the port for intentional and negligent misrepresentation and false promises, among other charges. One after another, the tenants said they were mislead, if not downright lied to about their ability to stay after the redevelopment was completed. Among the items the shop owners are calling for are: • Relocation to a temporary location at Ports O’ Call during the construction, noting that there are two large potential lot space areas available: one north and one south. • The temporary location to be made up of 15 portable mobile offices or bungalows ranging from 500 square feet to 1,500 square feet.
• Signage at all streets and freeway exits leading to Ports O’ Call Village for visitors
• That the developer rebuild the historical Ports O’ Call Village about 1,500 square feet in the new development project • That shop owners have the first right of refusal in the new development.
• Assurance that the new project shops rent will be reasonable to current San Pedro area market rates.
• Some assistance in moving to the temporary location.
Long time Wilmington resident and community activist Jesse Marquez recounted his and his family’s 40-year history with Ports O’ Call as customers and his decision to help the shop owners.
September 28 - October 11, 2017
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
Top, the merchants’ attorney Anthony Patchett stood with Botanica Mystical Shop proprietor Fernando Diaz showing the complaint filed against the Port of Los Angeles Sept. 8. Above, Lawanda Hawkins, founder of Justice for Murdered Children, has office space at Ports O’Call was incensed by the port’s eviction of tenants. Photod by Jesse Marquez
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“Me and my family have visited Ports O’ Call not only for its restaurants but its shops,” Marquez said. “What we have here is international, multiethnic fare that offer products and gifts that [are] available to everyone. These shop-owners were supposed to be a part of Phase 2 which isn’t scheduled to start until two years from now. They weren’t to be evicted now.” Marquez said the group has secured 1,200
petition from visitors that visit the shops Monday through Sunday advocating that the shops remain at Ports O’ Call through construction and come back when the redevelopment is complete. What wasn’t made clear at this past year’s public meeting was that all the shops would be demolished. Lawanda Hawkins, founder of Justice for Murdered Children, who has office space at Ports O’ Call Village was particularly incensed by the port’s treatment. “I don’t know why they have taken this position that they feel they have to get rid of all of these tenants,” Hawkins said. “Especially when there are empty spaces that they could have put them in, but chose not to. It’s like they don’t care. ‘Get them out by any way and any means necessary,’ [is they’re saying] and that scares me when they say, ‘by any means.’ A lot of us may not speak the language and not understand what you’re saying.” Hawkins recounted that just weeks prior, port officials visited each individual shop owner with port police to impress upon them their eviction status. “Do you know how terrorizing that is? Being here and the port coming down here with the police telling you that have to get out of here,” Hawkins said. “This is their livelihood. “People don’t just come down here for the restaurants for them to decide to only leave the restaurants and close down all the small businesses? That says a lot. When you negotiated that deal with the developers, why didn’t you negotiate for everyone? Vice president of the San Pedro and Wilmington chapter of the NAACP, Joe Gatlin, while speaking in support of the small business owners, recalled the initial push for the Bridge to Breakwater redevelopment with John Papadakis almost 20 years ago. “After 10 years of good hard work, we were promised $1.2 billion of redevelopment for this area,” Gatlin explained. “They promised us a promenade that’s great for everyone…. Right now, it’s a shadow of that…. With that redevelopment we were promised none of this would have happened. Everyone here would have benefited ... the community would have benefited … the state would have benefited. “Now, for some reason, those of lesser means and those of color are being stepped on. This is not right.”
CityWatch LB
Hotel Workers Ordinance Fails to Pass By Zamná Ávila, Assistant Editor Elida Aguirre, representing the Campaign to Stand with Women, told the Long Beach City Council she has worked at the Maya Hotel in Long Beach for 19 years. “I am here because I am a housekeeper and I know what it feels to be woman when faced with the threat of sexual harassment from guests,” Aguirre said. “Sometimes we have to work in our areas and if something happens to us we don’t know if someone will hear us if we need help. I have marched in the streets many times and come to city council meetings more times than I can count…. I am tired of asking for support without a clear answer.” Sept. 19 was no different. The city council voted 5-4 against a measure that would have provided hotel workers with greater safety tools against harassment and established workload limitations. Voting no were District 3 Councilwoman Suzie Price, District 4 Councilman Daryl Supernaw, District 5 Stacy Mungo, District 6 Councilman Dee Andrews and District Councilman 8 Al Austin. The measure, which concerned hotels with 100 or more rooms, failed to pass despite support from politicians such as Rep. Alan Lowenthal and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. Attendees left the council chambers screaming, “Shame on you!” The item would have directed the city manager to draft an ordinance that required
such hotels to provide panic buttons, notices about harassers or sex offenders to employees, notices in guest rooms about the law concerning harassment, notices of employee rights concerning verbal or physical sexual misconduct by guests, and humane workloads that would have required the managers to pay a full shift’s worth of overtime to housekeepers who work on 4,000 square feet of floor space in a day’s work. The Long Beach Police Department reported of at least two attacks against hotel workers in 2016. One was a sexual battery against a woman in the hotel industry, the other was a battery against a man. “It is important that our folks are safe,” said Alex Montances of the Filipino Migrant Center before the meeting. The proposal was presented as a both a woman’s issue and an immigrant’s issue. “This definitely is a woman’s issue,” said former Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga during public comment. “It is also an immigrant issue. When you talk about the majority of housekeepers being women and being from immigrant backgrounds, then this is an immigrant issue. Don’t pussyfoot around. This is what it is.” But the majority vote and opponents of the ordinance believed the comprehensive motion was too broad and lacked proper vetting. Price said her concern with the proposed
ordinance was that it singled out one class of worker, female housekeepers, but ignored other types of workers in the industry. “We can’t say ‘yes’ to one class of employees,” she said. “What about the janitors, chefs, and people who work the front desks?” Industry opponents cited the way ordinance was written as point of contention. “We absolutely are diligent in making sure we have safe workplace for our people,” said Greg Keebler, general manager of the Hilton Long Beach Hotel. “The difference is in the wording of this ordinance and the things that are so prescriptive that they have been written to not allow for a resultant outcome, which may be worse than what you expect. They are written by people who have not spent 37 years in the industry to know what is up on the board is ... [not] possible.” “Tonight’s item is just bad public policy,” said Jeremy Harris, senior vice president of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. “The chamber for years — if not decades — has made it a point to ensure that government does not hinder the progress of private sector…. At a minimum we’ve asked in the past to compromise, when we cannot agree. Tonight’s item is an example of the exact opposite. There is no compromise here.” Prior to public comment, the proposal’s cosponsor, District 2 Councilwoman Jeanine Pearce addressed those types of remarks. “We’ve been at this point before when business said, ‘We can’t do that because we’ll go broke,’” Pearce said. “This policy has vision; it fits the needs of Long Beach; it’s measureable and it’s something that we can be really proud of…. In the letter that we got from the Chamber, it says, ‘Just come to us, just come to us and talk to us’…. Well, people have.”
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Maria Elena Durazo, national vice president of Unite Here hotel and restaurant workers, noted the council members were asked to take sides. “It is much more significant to all of the Long Beach housekeepers and immigrants who are forced to live in fear: Fear of the whims of a pathological president, fear of what is on the other side of a hotel guest door, fear of having an unreasonable workload demanded of you and not having the power to say, ‘Ya basta!’” Instead, that majority voted 5-4 to draft an alternative resolution to support safe workplaces throughout the hotel industry, protections for women, unionization, technology safety, and promoting diversity. But the resolution has no enforcement bite.
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September 28 - October 11, 2017
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POLA and GE Transportation Honored for Innovative Digital Shipping Solution
After the Port Information Portal Project and GE Transportation won two awards for innovative collaborations that have improved goods movement and cargo efficiency at the Port of Los Angeles, , the port announced Sept. 18 that the pilot programs for both digital solutions will be expanded to all container terminals and shipping lines. Consequently, the Port and GE Transportation agreed last month to new commercial agreements of up to $12 million to extend the pilot to other shipping lines and terminals at the port over the next five years.
LA Can’t Destroy Public Records, Anymore
Unchecked destruction of public records in the City of Los Angeles — and the corresponding losses of transparency and to local history — has been impeded by a Sept. 22 out-of-court settlement in a suit brought by the not-for-profit First Amendment Coalition. Traditional laws and customs regarding public records have been challenged on many fronts amid the new realities of the digital age, and L.A.’s attorneys had asserted that California cities are not legally obligated to retain records for any specific period of time. But under the settlement terms, the city agreed that records must be retained for at least two years. “The people’s right of access to public records is meaningless if the government destroys those records before the public can see them,” FAC Executive Director David Snyder said.
Wilmingtonian OK’d For LA Harbor Commission
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
Lucia Moreno-Linares became the first Wilmington resident in almost a quarter century to serve on the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission. She was unanimously confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council on Sept. 20. Nominated by Mayor Eric Garcetti to fill a vacancy created when Patricia Castellanos resigned to pursue another career opportunity, Moreno-Linares’ qualifications range from the professional (former CEO of Family Federal Credit Union) to the personal (sister of longtime port employee) to political (president of Wilmington Neighborhood Council) to public service (YMCA Board of Directors). She also contends that her experience as a Wilmington resident will inform her insight into the pollution problems at the port. “I’m a resident of Wilmington and I live the consequences of (being near) a port that is so successful,” said Moreno-Linares, who was born in Baja California Sur and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1971. “I also see the benefits we all have.” Her first Harbor Commission meeting will be Oct. 6.
September 28 - October 11, 2017
Panel Explores Widening and Worsening Conditions for Journalists
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Washington, D.C. — This journalism gig isn’t easy, and really never was -- and the current Trumpian custom of calling “fake news” every time things get a little hot for your sycophants, lackeys and henchmen, while certainly insulting and undermining, isn’t really the worst of it. So said a distinguished panel of journalists assembled for a Sept. 22 panel discussion that detailed the various means of attack and oppression faced by journalists at home and mostly from outside the United States. The most recent predicament is that of Mexican journalist Martin Mendez, who is seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing death threats in the Mexican state of Guerrero, where he worked for the Novedades de Acapulco newspaper. Despite months of advance notices and a letter of support from an El Paso congressman, the Department of Homeland Security denied Mendez entry to the U.S., even with a guarantee he would return to Mexico.
Medicare-For-All Emerges as Attacks on Obamacare Fail By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
A
last-ditch GOP attempt to “repeal and replace” Obamacare which would deprive tens of millions of Americans of healthcare collapsed on Sept. 26, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced they would not pursue a vote on the measure. The ability to act with a simple majority in the Senate — which Republicans could not muster — expires at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The frenzy of the past two weeks only serves to underscore how severely the politics of healthcare remains in flux. Yet, the Donald Trump administration still seems fully committed to doing everything possible to undermine Obamacare in order to build the GOP case that it’s “a failure.” On Sept. 13, Democrats struck back by going on offense. Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced his Medicare-for-All Bill, along with 16 cosponsors. The sponsors included several potential presidential candidates for 2020: Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker. At the same, Republicans formally announced their now-abandoned, last-ditched attempt to “repeal and replace Obamacare,” which some, including cosponsor Sen. Lindsey Graham, portrayed as a direct response to Medicare-for-All. “This is the only process left available to stop a march toward socialism,” Graham told reporters the following week. The logic was questionable. “It’s weird that Graham [...] are making the argument it’s their bill or single payer,” MSNBC’s Chris Hayes tweeted. “It’s the opposite! Killing ACA paves way for SP.” Above all, people want health care for their families. The means are secondary. If Medicare-for-All is the only way they can get it because Republicans have destroyed everything else. That’s what they will demand. In fact, one health insurance group — America’s Health Insurance Plans — cited “potentially allowing government-controlled, single payer healthcare to grow” as one reason for opposing Graham’s bill.
Failing the Jimmy Kimmel Test
But it was Graham’s cosponsor, Sen. Bill Cassidy, who drew far more attention when talk show host Jimmy Kimmel called him out in a monologue on his Sept. 19 show. “This guy, Bill Cassidy just lied right to my face,” Kimmel said. Conservatives then attacked Kimmel for his lack of expertise. While virtually all the experts in the field lined up against the bill, and the GOP refused to hold any hearings to receive their testimony. But Kimmel’s real function was to draw attention to the deeply unpopular sneak attack the Republicans were trying to pull of before an aroused public could notice. He succeeded. Kimmel first became involved on May 1, when he opened his show with an emotional 13-minute monologue on the birth of his son with a life-threatening heart defect, who was
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a single-payer health care bill on Sept.13. File photo
doing fine thanks to the high-quality medical care Kimmel could afford. At the end, Kimmel urged Americans to come together and hold politicians accountable for their healthcare decisions, saying it wasn’t a partisan issue. “If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make,” Kimmel said. “That’s something that whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?” On May 5, Cassidy told a reporter that a bill would have “pass the Jimmy Kimmel test” in order to gain his support. “I want to make sure folks get the care they need,” he pledged. On May 8, Kimmel had Cassidy on his show. “Since I am Jimmy Kimmel, I would like to make a suggestion as to what the Jimmy Kimmel test should be,” Kimmel said. “I’ll keep it simple. No family should be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can’t afford it. Can that be the Jimmy Kimmel test? As simple as that?” Cassidy agreed. “Tell the American people to call their senator to endorse that concept,” he said. Cassidy went on to add some further commitments after that, all of which, Kimmel noted, he had now abandoned. “This new bill actually will pass the Jimmy Kimmel test, but a different Jimmy Kimmel test,” Kimmel said. “This one, your child with a pre-existing condition will get the care he needs, if and only if his father is Jimmy Kimmel. Otherwise, you might be screwed.” Kimmel then recalled what Cassidy had promised. “These were his words,” Kimmel said. “He said he wants coverage for all, no discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, lower premiums for middle class families and no lifetime caps. And guess what? The new bill does none of those things.” He then ticked through the list, adding just enough detail to let viewers know the basic games being played with the bill: Coverage for all? No. In fact it will take about 30 million Americans off insurance.
Pre-existing conditions? No. If the bill passed, individual states can let insurance companies charge you more, if you have a pre-existing condition. You’ll find that little loophole later in the document, after it says they can’t. They can, and they will. But will it lower premiums? Well, in fact, for a lot of people, the bill will result in higher premiums and as far as no lifetime caps go, the states can decide on that, too, which means there will be lifetime caps in many states. So, not only did Bill Cassidy fail the Jimmy Kimmel test, he failed the Bill Cassidy test. He failed his own test. “Why won’t @jimmykimmel leave policy talk to the healthcare experts?” The National Review tweeted indignantly in response, linking to an article that failed to cite a single fact that Kimmel had gotten wrong.
Experts Echo Kimmel, Not Conservative Critics
In fact, everything Kimmel said was echoing healthcare experts. The Commonwealth Fund, the Brookings Institution and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities all said that GrahamCassidy would lead to at least 32 million losing coverage after 2026, with first-year losses of 15 to 18 million people in 2019, according to the Commonwealth Fund. In California alone, the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education estimated that 6.7 million Californians could lose coverage in 2027 under Graham-Cassidy. In the Harbor Area, 166,300 people would lose coverage in the 44th Congressional District represented by Nanette Barragán, and 132,000 would lose coverage in the 47th represented by Alan Lowenthal. As for pre-existing conditions, the title of a Sept. 15 report from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said it all: Cassidy-Graham’s Waiver Authority Would Gut Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions. “While insurers would still be required to offer coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, they could offer them [See Medicare, p. 17]
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Blind Allegiance is Not Patriotism
NFL players have as much right to protest as anyone else–and the president doesn’t have the power to say when or where By James Preston Allen, Publisher
September 28 - October 11, 2017
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
I have been thinking lately that I should be reading a book on the fall of the Roman Empire as the Twitterer-in-Chief is waging wars and picking fights with kneeling NFL football players while significant portions of our country are being submerged by massive hurricanes and historic floods — as if his own twitter-storms haven’t stimulated enough resistance to his unpopular reign of error. No. 45 still hasn’t drained any swamps in Washington D.C., Texas or Florida. That there’s a swamp in his own administration is laughable. A couple of years ago, Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake released a report on the $53 million the Department of Defense paid to professional sports for the inclusion patriotic displays during games between 2012-2015. We still have performers singing the national anthem, color guards leading crowds in the Pledge of Allegiance and parachute drop-ins from planes to start the games says that taxpayer money is still being doled out. I have written previously about my support for Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest. I am even more inspired by the growing solidarity across the spectrum of professional sports such as the NFL, NBA and even Nascar. Local high school teams are “taking a knee” and linking arms as the national anthem is played. This is a powerful statement on the national stage of sports TV that will engage a whole set of beer drinking fans to question the meaning of overt flag waving and blind patriotism. This, however, is nothing new. Some will remember heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali’s protest of the Vietnam War in 1967 when he refused to be drafted. Ali lost his title and was convicted of draft evasion. In the following year at the summer Olympics in Mexico City, track medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave their iconic black fist salute when our anthem played — both were powerful statements on the world stage of sports. These acts of protest and resistance took courage and sacrifice on the part of these athletes and others and it cannot be overlooked that the majority of them are black Americans. That white America is still shocked, amazed or upset only begs the question, why?
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It seems to also go slightly unnoticed, but in clear view of anyone paying attention, that these displays of patriotism are not so subtle forms of national propaganda to inspire recruitment into our armed forces and making military service “heroic” if not fundamental to “being an American.” The same might be said of the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Week enterprise that hosts the public at almost every major U.S. port once a year including San Pedro. It’s great to see the sailors and to open up our town to the publicity, but the underlying propaganda of this event is only questioned by some. Few ask, “Why do we need to spend $54 billion more for defense when our schools, healthcare and infrastructure need it more?” This of course opens the door to even larger questions about the cost of maintaining American military dominance and why it is necessary. The Pentagon and related spending totaled $598 billion, about 54 percent of the fiscal year 2015 U.S. discretionary budget. For FY 2017, President Barack Obama proposed the base budget of $523.9 billion, which included an increase of $2.2 billion over the FY 2016-enacted budget of $521.7 billion. And yet, when the Republicans in Congress look to cut taxes and spending, the military is a sacred cow, or more precisely a permanent expenditure to maintaining empire. Ultimately, it will be the defense budget, not Social Security or Medicare, that bankrupts our country. In all of the protest and controversy over the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, Attorney General Jeff Sessions defends the Twitterer-in-Chief’s stance on NFL players not standing for the national anthem, but comes out swinging for free speech for conservative speakers on campuses. What rankles Sessions and Trump the most is that these famous sports stars who are looked up to by millions of fans still have a conscience about injustice in America even while they make huge salaries entertaining them. So maybe, just maybe, we need to rethink our national anthem. Some suggest Woodie Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land — as it is called the “people’s anthem” or might we invite the ghost of Jimi Hendrix to play his instrumental version without the lyrics at the next Super Bowl? Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya
racism in America to the height that Trump has in just 8 months! And just for complete transparency, I haven’t said the Pledge of Allegiance since I was 17 years old at the height of the Vietnam War. Blind allegiance to a flag doesn’t make one more of a patriot, nor does it secure the liberties enshrined in our constitution. Kneeling during the National Anthem doesn’t make you less of a patriot either.
It’s a Lousy “Anthem” Anyway!
By Harvey Wasserman The immensely powerful, deeply moving, and historic protests of our nation’s athletes against the absurd rantings of our great dictator make one thing abundantly clear: the diversity of this nation is not going away. The Star Spangled Banne, however, should. It’s a lousy song with a racist message. We need a new anthem — or to acknowledge many anthems. Likewise, we can do better than that dotard illegitimately occupying the White House. So let’s combine the campaigns. The Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key, a slaveowner. His song commemorates the failure of the British to conquer Baltimore in the War of 1812, an utterly useless conflict. The Brits had just burned our nation’s capital, partly in response to the U.S. military burning their Canadian headquarters at York, now today’s Toronto. As Jason Johnson has shown in his “Star Spangled Bigotry,” buried in the lyrics was a
Columnists/Reporters Lyn Jensen Reporter Christian Guzman Reporter Richard Foss Restaurant Reviewer Andrea Serna Arts Writer Melina Paris Culture Writer
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“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. 20 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.
In the end, Grand Apprentice Trump has made America more divided over the symbols of Americanism and accomplished nothing of substance to improve the lives of the majority. He is the best example of why making government work like a business is such a bad idea —particularly when the guy who gets elected is so atrociously bad at business himself. And yet, with all of the intelligence and frankness that Obama exhibited as president in his 8 years in office, he could not raise the public discourse on
Editorial Intern Photographers Terelle Jerricks, Raphael Richardson Nicolas Guzman
clear racist put-down of freed slaves fighting for the English; those lyrics were then set to a drinking tune, To Anacreon in Heaven. The Navy adopted the song in 1889, followed by Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Wilson was stirring up fervor for U.S. entry into World War I, which the majority of Americans strongly opposed. He used the war as cover to crush the Socialist Party, which had millions of supporters. He jailed our greatest labor leader, Indiana’s Eugene V. Debs, for daring to speak against a war that killed at least 10,000,000 people and accomplished nothing. Congress turned down the song a number of times before it was officially adopted in 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression. Then the iconic version came from Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock in 1969. He did it with no lyrics. But in the midst of the useless, worthless war in Vietnam, he inserted a version of Taps. Right-wingers freaked out and branded him [See Anthem, 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 War of Words
I suggest you reconsider your animal farm logic, some more equal than others, in the War of Words free speech essay in your paper [RLn 9/14/17]. That is, unless you’re simply making excuses for the violent response to speech; violence in response to violence, never to speech. The free exchange of ideas is necessary for differing groups to reach consensus and coexist. Carl Berryman San Pedro Mr. Barryman, I don’t think I am arguing that some are more equal than others. What I did say is that some forms of speech are not protected and that when certain kinds of speech are used to intimidate or threaten other people’s civil liberties it crosses the line of civility. James Preston Allen Publisher
Public letter from Northwest San Pedro Council
Dear Mr. Nastri, The Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council writes to express deep dissatisfaction with your decision to approve the Tesoro [Anthem, from p. 8]
Anthem
the massive wave of grassroots social democracy that rocked our country just a year ago. Hopefully it will help propel its revival. John Nichols shows in his Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse that Trump’s antics are a clown’s distraction while his corrupt cronies loot our public treasure, financially, ecologically, spiritually. His despotic rantings echo Wilson’s brutal, unconstitutional assault on the farm-labor movements for social democracy a century ago, when he first pitched this anthem, and then stuck us with a catastrophic intervention that killed more than 110,000 Americans and devastated Europe. The killing in war is glorified in The Star Spangled Banner. [B]lood has wash’d out the[ British] foul footstep’s pollution.
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave …
Harvey Wasserman’s History of the United States is at www.
I had low expectations for Donald Trump’s fitness for office. And for seven months, we’ve watched day by day as he has diminished his office and our nation’s standing in the world. Each day brings a new level of disbelief. But this week he sank to a new low, standing behind the presidential seal and giving his implicit support to the idea that white supremacists, Klansmen and Neo-Nazis have legitimate views
Trump’s comments, immediately (www.tedlieu.com/petition?utm_ campaign=dsntseemreal&utm_ medium=email&utm_ source=tedlieu). By joining together, we will send a strong message to the GOPcontrolled Congress that they cannot hide from their responsibility to our nation. They must stand up and rebuke the President who is their party’s standard-bearer, or they will forever be tainted by his shameful words. We stand on the side of America. Let’s tell Congress that they need to join us. U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu CA District 33 [See Letters p. 19]
Community Announcement
Public Meeting: Palos Verdes Reef Restoration Project
On Oct. 11, there will be a meeting that will provide update community members on the Palos Verdes Reef project and an overview of the Trustees responses to the public comments received on the Draft Environmental Assessment/ CEQA Initial Study and Environmental Checklist. The project proposes to create 40 acres of new rocky-reef habitat in the Palos Verdes area and build the reef offshore of Bunker Point within the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the southeastern part of Santa Monica Bay. The newly created reef will provide habitat for fish, marine algae, and marine invertebrates and create a productive rockyreef ecosystem in the area. Historically, the existing reefs in this area were buried by heavy sedimentation from landslides and impacted by sewage effluent. The project plans place 70,300 tons of quarry rock on 40 acres of sandy ocean bottom within a 69-acre site located 0.3 miles offshore. The official public comment period for the Environmental Assessment document ended March 22, 2017. Time: 6 to 8 p.m., Oct. 11 Venue: Malaga Cove Library Gallery Rm. 2400 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates
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Those racist lyrics are rooted in contempt for social justice, an inability to handle human diversity, an embrace of for-profit militarism. Our national anthem is awful, both as a song and for what it celebrates. Let’s get rid of it, along with that bum in the White House.
It Doesn’t Seem Real
that deserve to be heard. Make no mistake, these are people who have sought to defeat our nation, murder our people and destroy our way of life. Trump’s failure to reject these evil ideologies, without equivocation, is a shock to the conscience and an insult to every American, especially those who are veterans, who have stood up and fought back in defense of our nation’s values. When the White House is occupied by a person who refuses to defend our values and gives comfort to our nation’s enemies, we need to respond. Therefore, I am asking you to sign my petition demanding that Congress publicly and forcefully repudiate
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
to the best interest of the public it is supposed to serve. Raymond Regalado, President On behalf of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council
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“unpatriotic.” But unlike most of them, Hendrix had actually served in the military. Now his version is played at Fourth of July celebrations everywhere. I use it to start all my college history classes. Nobody stands. According to political scientist Bob Fitrakis, in the 1930s American farmers and workers celebrated our country with Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land. There are other candidates … and many heated opinions. The great activist Sheila Parks says: “I am hoping you will listen, again perhaps, to these songs and see what they have to say about white people and Native American Peoples.” Buffy Sainte Marie: My Country ‘Tis Of Thy People You’re Dying Johnny Cash: From Bitter Tears — As Long As the Grass Shall Grow Someone also could write a new anthem. Or celebrate our diversity by adopting different songs for different events and different teams. Sweet Caroline seems to work for the Red Sox. We Shall Overcome would do well for many public rallies. Hey Hey, Goodbye will serve beautifully at upcoming impeachment hearings. The athletes’ rebellion fits
Los Angeles Refinery Integration and Compliance (LARIC) project, the merger of the Tesoro and BP refineries in Wilmington and Carson. In approving this project, you have demonstrated a lack of commitment to accurate information. A recent study conducted by your own agency has shown that Tesoro has grossly underreported emissions. In particular, the joint Swedish/ AQMD study 1 released on April 11, 2017, found that the Carson/ Wilmington refineries emit 43 times more benzene, a known cause of leukemia, and 6.4 times more Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), smog precursors that aggravate asthma and other illnesses, than previously reported. The study also states that 2/3 of total refinery emissions are generated from storage tanks — an especially alarming fact considering that Tesoro plans to double its current storage tank capacity with the approval of this project. Further, your agency has refused to include in its analysis the fact that, with the approval of this project, Tesoro will bring North Dakota crude oil and Canadian tar sands to Los Angeles. This switch to such carcinogenic and highly
explosive oils was not addressed in the environmental impact report approved on Friday, May 12, 2017, thus undermining the District’s credibility in this decision. Mayor Eric Garcetti sent a letter on Dec. 15, 2016 to your agency. In such letter, the mayor expressed similar concerns regarding the inadequacy of the recently approved EIR, saying, “The potential increase in air and water pollution, upstream greenhouse gases, and international safety hazards related to the use of Bakken Crude require a broader environmental analysis through your recirculation process.” Additionally, State Senate President Pro Tem Senator Kevin De León and Congresswoman Nanette Barragán have expressed opposition to the LARIC project. These representatives join the voices of nearly 10,000 people who marched in Wilmington in opposition to the project on April 29, 2017. The Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council finds your alignment with the current administration’s regressive fossil fuel policy to bring more volatile and toxic Bakken and tar sands crude oils into Southern California, without accurate assessment of the risks, both alarming and shameful. We demand that the SCAQMD use currently available scientific data to make decisions according
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Community Announcements:
Harbor Area
[Annoncements, from p. 3]
will be native singing, drumming and dancing, as well as the traditional laying down of a blanket for donations. Time: 2 to 5 p.m. Oct. 1 Details: (310) 266-9216; www.facebook.com/ ManyWintersGatheringofElders Venue: Cornelius Projects, 1417 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro
Diversity Panel Discussion with Breast Cancer Survivors
Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center is partnering with Susan G. Komen of Los Angeles County to offer the community a free Breast Cancer Awareness Lunch and Learn. The panel discussion will feature breast cancer survivors. Reservations are required. Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 23 Cost: Free Details: (888) 478-6279 Venue: Health Enhancement Center, 1050 Linden Ave., Long Beach
Walk at the Tide Pools
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Tie your shoelaces, roll up your sleeves and join with countless fish, jellies and an intertidal load of strange sea creatures in a wet, squiggly walk toward a place and time where there isn’t any polio, anymore. Sound like a longshot? Don’t believe it! Instead, believe the Rotary Club of San Pedro and friends, which can tell you about the world’s oceans and children all over the globe who are not disabled today because of fundraising and awareness raising events. Time: 7:30 to 11a.m. Oct. 21 Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M White Dr, San Pedro Details: www.cabrillomarineaquarium.org
Keeping Guns Out of Schools By Lyn Jensen, Contributing Reporter
Another school year and, on Sept. 13, another school shooting — a sharp reminder that public schools must address potential gun violence. On that day, a student brought guns to Freeman High, near Spokane, Wash., and shot four classmates, killing one of them. Subsequent revelations showed the student had a history of threatening behavior, which apparently did not receive an adequate response until after he acted upon his threats. “These are senseless and tragic events that really don’t need to happen,” said Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich at a news conference on the day of the shooting. “We need to figure out what’s going on in society that children think they need to take weapons to deal with the issues they’re facing.” As a gauge of the potential for gun violence in local schools, Random Lengths News utilized the California Public Records Act to request data on students concerning weapons and related offenses from three school districts — Los Angeles, Long Beach and Compton. According to statistics provided by the Los Angeles Unified School District, there were 181 incidents involving possession of a firearm and 136 instances of assault with a deadly weapon from 2012 to the present, a five-year period. But the numbers showed that guns do not represent the only potential for school violence. The district reported 1,445 instances of knives, 12 instances of explosives and 164 possessions of a
“dangerous object” over the same five years. With more than 640,000 students at more than 900 district campuses, hundreds of schools reported no incidents at all — but 10 reported five or more incidents during the five-year period. Bell High reported the most incidents (52). Rounding out the top five: West Adams Preparatory (33), Bethune Middle School (33), Washington Preparatory (30) and Polytechnic Senior High School (29). The numbers from some local campuses: Narbonne Senior High (23), Gardena Senior High (18), Wilmington Middle School (14), San Pedro Senior High (12) and Rancho Dominguez Preparatory (9). [Monitoring, from p. 3]
Monitoring
retrofit technologies in their Title V permits and environmental impact reports. One excellent example is to require the use of vapor recovery systems to prevent flaring; flaring is the intentional combustion of excess gases building up at refineries to prevent equipment damage. Research has shown that flaring emissions were exceeding the oil refinery annual manufacturing emissions. The SCAQMD and CARB have feared legal challenges by the petroleum industry; this caused them to fail to include this certified, proven, cost-effective and off-the-shelf feasible technology in their air pollution management plans and state implementation plans. At this time, the SCAQMD has its best available control technology rule also up for review, update and public comment. Rule 1180 could undergo another update, SB1646 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi has passed both the Assembly and Senate and awaits
As for the district’s response, policy bulletin BUL-5799.0, issued July 16, 2012, outlines administrative procedures governing school violence and threats that involve students. It provides for a threat assessment team and an appropriate action plan. The district’s policies concerning “bullying” and “hate-motivated violence” are cross-referenced, more fully addressed in other bulletins. A portion of the district website contains an “Overview of the School Site and District Threat Assessment/Management” guidelines and protocol. It states, “In 1999, LAUSD established guidelines for assessing and managing threats at schools. The Threat Assessment Team is comprised of an administrator, a mental health professional, and school police [who] … assess whether an individual poses a risk of violence at school and develop an action plan to mitigate that risk. The threat assessment process is based on the landmark study of 37 school shooters conducted [See Schools, p. 19]
the governor’s signature. If signed, oil refineries must implement major incident emergency alert systems for the public. That kind of system had the support of meeting attendees. “If police can issue an Amber Alert for a child kidnapping, AQMD and oil refineries can also issue an informative community alert,” said Steve Salas. “AQMD can also tie into community group text messaging,” added Magali HallSanchez, member of Communities for a Better Environment. Communities impacted by environmental injustice have fought the industries that pollute their air for decades. Rule 1180 signals that tangible progress is beginning, which is in part due to communities supporting and electing concerned community residents to elected offices who want to fix constituents’ problems. Governmental regulatory agencies like the SCAQMD will be watched closely to prevent them from being significantly influenced by toxic industries and their political lobbyists.
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Christine Hudson covers an area of the floor with more than 100,000 handmade porcelain teeth, intended to be traversed by foot, evoking emotions relative to personal grief and discomfort. Below, Songbook for Sculpture/Sculpture Orchestra is Cathy Hsiao’s improvisation-based work that transforms sculptures and molds into performative objects by activating their interior spaces and surfaces.
O
By Greggory Moore, Contributing Writer running it was the city’s most unique arts event. But a decade is a long time, enough for sound art to move from the fringes to the mainstream — well, sorta. It became big enough for the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles to host a soundart exhibition of its own. So FLOOD decided to close the book on SoundWalk. FLOOD promised to return in 2015 with “a more expansive and more daring event that [would] explore and respond to the synaesthetic
experience in which cognitive boundaries dissolve and the senses converge.” When that didn’t happen as scheduled, SoundWalk devotees couldn’t be blamed for some pessimistic nostalgia. But this past June, FLOOD suggested that perhaps the best is yet to come. It introduced soundpedro, a reconceived SoundWalk in indoor and outdoor spaces at San Pedro’s 36-acre Angels Gate Cultural Center. Staged
with a commanding 360-degree hilltop view of the horizon as a background, soundpedro’s dozens of fixed, mobile and interactive installations were so well received that another was immediately green-lighted for 2018. But soundpedro was a detour on the way to fulfilling FLOOD’s original promise, which will be honored in full beginning Oct. 7 with PUMP — an acronym for Public Urban Multisensory Presentations. PUMP will encompass an array of exhibits, sculptures, environments, installations, site-responsive works, [See PUMP, p. 14]
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n a temperate October night in 2013, the artist and curatorial collective called FLOOD transformed Long Beach’s East Village Arts District into an indoor and outdoor gallery of sound-art installations. Four square blocks of downtown were converted into one big audiovisual playground; people leisurely explored about 40 installations. The experience was unique for each visitor: simple novelty, deep meditation on sound as a transformative environmental factor or a chance to get stoned and trip out in Long Beach’s closest approximation to Burning Man. It was called SoundWalk (soundwalk.org), and for 10 years
1601 E. Anaheim St. Wilmington Open daily — M-F: 6 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sat.: 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. Sun.: 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.
With coupon. Dine-in only
September 28 - October 11, 2017
(310) 518-1030
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Fourth & Olive:
Where Those Who Have Served, Serve By Richard Foss, Culture & Cuisine Writer
Fourth and Olive chef and co-owner, Alex McGroarty is known for his house-made sausages, braised meats, pretzels and sauerkraut. Duck liver mousse and pickled vegetables (right). File photos.
pickled and smoked salmon and a spring bean cassoulet topped with a fried egg. The German pancake isn’t like any American variant; it is a cross between an omelet and a custard baked in a skillet. The pancakes have a crust at the edge with a fluffy, soft center and are a mildly sweet, decadent delight. Though it’s a bit light as a meal, one of these and a side of housemade sausage would be a great breakfast. My companion ordered the venison hash after ascertaining that it was just what it claimed to be, since some places that list an exotic meat use pork or beef as filler. This was indeed a hash of deer, potatoes, onions and mild seasonings. The venison was not overshadowed by the other ingredients, which my companion appreciated. The lean meat can be tough unless cooked slow and moist, but it came out surprisingly well in this pan-fried preparation. I ordered the vegan I with deep suspicion, since this slow-cooked bean dish is usually laden with pork sausage and trimmings. The meat was replaced with mushroom, eggplant and a rich vegetable-onion and bean liquor stock. While it was not an exact substitute for a traditional cassoulet, it was enjoyable on its own
September 28 - October 11, 2017
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i, I’m Don, and I’ll be your Navy veteran server.” That’s not a greeting you’re likely to get at local restaurants, except for one: Long Beach’s Fourth & Olive. Owner Dan Tapia is also a veteran, he strives to hire veterans at his restaurant. He’s even helping to start a garden program so he can use vegetables grown by vets with post-traumatic strees disorder. There’s only one sign of this dedication in the restaurant itself: a shrine-like table in a corner that is always set but never occupied, in honor of those who are missing in action. Otherwise, Fourth & Olive is just like any other Greater Los Angeles restaurant that specializes in the cuisine of Alsace, which is to say that Fourth & Olive is unlike any other Los Angeles restaurant; it alone serves the recipes of that French region on the borders of Switzerland and Germany. Alsatian cuisine is hearty and unfussy, rich in varieties of sausage, smoked meats and pickles. The region also makes superb Riesling wines and malty lager beers. Not many Alsatians moved to the West Coast, so this cuisine is undeservedly obscure. On my first visit it was happy hour and I zeroed in on two specials: housemade duck liver mousse and a bacon and leek tarte flambé, the Alsatian equivalent of pizza. Tarte flambés originated as a way of testing a woodfired oven to see if it was ready; bakers would slide in a sheet of very thin dough to see how quickly it turned brown. And as long as they were cooking dough, why not put something on top of it? In Alsace, where most people are bilingual, it is also called a flammkuchen, which means “flame cake.” But the crusts are nothing like a cake. Some are made with a flaky pastry, and others are a thin, crisp biscuit, like those found here. Either way, they’re a treat, and the ones here benefit from housemade apple-smoked bacon that has a slightly sweet character. Whatever else you try here, you should get a tarte flambé — among the ones available is one made with stinging nettle leaves, which is less weird than it sounds because the nettles taste a lot like spinach. The duck mousse paired nicely with the tarte, as the richness of the meat spread was balanced by housemade pickled onions and cucumbers on a toasted whole grain baguette. Get these two at happy hour and you’ve spent about 18 bucks for a very good dinner. Of course, you might feel inclined to have some wine or beer; I enjoyed a very good pinot blanc and a glass of riesling and still left without spending much. I went back for brunch a few days later with friends and tried a German pancake as a starter, followed by venison hash, house-
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merits. Those seeking a slightly lighter meal might prefer the salmon, which was smoked and pickled like Scandinavian gravlax and served on a baguette with housemade soft cheese and a topping of dill, sorrel and arugula leaves. This puts all the focus on the craftsmanship of this kitchen — how many other local places attempt anything approaching this? The skill is consummate, showing that the veteran in the kitchen deserves the title in more ways than one. The restaurant was short-handed that morning but our server, Don, kept everything moving despite being almost alone on the floor. We didn’t get a chance to talk to him before we left and wanted to respond to his initial greeting, so here goes: Hi from Richard and Janice, both offsprings of World War II Navy vets. Thank you for your service to the country and the good service you provided to us that morning. Both are deeply appreciated. Keep up the good work. Fourth & Olive is at 743 E. Fourth Street in Long Beach. Beer and wine are served. Reservations are accepted. Details: (562) 269-0731; 4thandolive.com
OCT 5 A R T G A L L E R IE S | O PEN S T U D I O S | L A T E D ININ G & S H O PPIN G | L I V E M U S I C O N T H E S T R EE T S
Michael Stearns Studio 347
Diasporagasm: Curated by Beyoncenista (aka April Bey)
Duane Paul, Monica, mixed media, 201314.
South Bay Contemporary Gallery in conjunction with Michael Stearns Studio 347 presents a co-located multi-media exhibition Diasporagasm, which brings together artists working in Los Angeles, Haiti, Ghana, the Caribbean and West Africa. The works in this exhibition will be from 15 artists who identify as black, but examine what it means through individualism to be black, geographic differentiations in culture and how all the baggage carried comes through in artist’s work. Diasporagasm opens on First Thursday, Oct. 5 with a reception from
6 to 9 p.m. at Gallery 347. the show is sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Michael Stearns Studio 347, 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro. For more details call (310) 429-0973 or (562) 400-0544.
Studio Gallery 345 ALL ABOUT COLOR
Pat Woolley
Studio 345 presents work by artists Pat Woolley and Gloria D Lee. All About Color, watercolors, acrylics and mixed media. Open 5 to 9 p.m. on First Thursday or by appointment. Studio 345, 345 W. 7th St., San Pedro. For information, call (310) 545-0832 or (310) 374-8055; artsail@roadrunner.com or www.patwoolleyart.com.
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Shadow Lands
Reflections on some people I’ve known 12 POEMS
By James Preston Allen
Available now at Grand Emporium 323 W. 7th St., San Pedro or by mail order: Send check for $10 plus $1.50 s/h payable to Beacon Light Press, P.O. Box 731 San Pedro, CA 90733
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September 28 - October 11, 2017
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[PUMP, from p. 11]
PUMP
projections, interactions and performances tailored toward isolating or linking our senses and methods of perception in Long Beach. If you ever went to SoundWalk, you have some sense of the delights in store with PUMP. If you never went, it’s time to find out what you missed. FLOOD’s impetus for PUMP is not merely to celebrate art for its own sake, but to combat what the group views as “local communities’ and governments sometimes dismissive attitude and stance towards arts and culture, [which has] result[ed] in waves of arts scenes coming and going throughout Long Beach history.”
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Join us for Pumpkin Paint Night Oct. 19 from 8 to 10 p.m. Includes one cider from our spiced pumpkin keg, paint, pumpkin and materials. $35/person.
[See PUMP, p. 15]
Local independently owned hardware store carrying paint, tools, plumbing supplies, propane and other essentials for home improvement. Key duplication service.
Redondo Ave.
A social house where fine food, craft cider and mead set the stage for conversation between old and new friends. Happy hour menu and drink specials Tues. though Friday, 4:30 to 7 p.m.
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FLOOD stated on its website that this pattern affects artists lives frequently: “[T]hose artists who are able to make the transition from bohemia to the ‘Art World’ no longer, literally or figuratively, count Long Beach as home, with some pulling up stakes and moving elsewhere and others residing but no longer exhibiting here. [PUMP] recognizes our city’s identity as a point of artistic origin while, at the same time, attempting to explore the possibilities of making Long Beach an end point and destination for artists and art lovers.” The dismissive attitude that artists have felt is one of the reasons SoundWalk is no more. “People are still talking about
Neil Mathis’s Thoughtitarium is an eight foot diameter sound-modulating hemisphere fabricated with burlap, plaster, and water.
[PUMP, from p. 14]
PUMP
(If You’re a Climate Denier) By Greggory Moore, Curtain Call Columnist
We all know that climate change is happening and that humans have a hand in it. “We all” is an overstatement, of course, but less so than the wrongheaded talking heads on the right would have us believe. The body of evidence is so solid now that climate-change-denial has more to do with willful cognitive dissonance — for money, for votes, for a foolish need to preserve the status quo — than good-faith belief that there’s no consequence to rain-forest-razing and airborne particulate matter.
inconsistency, which is disorienting enough to cause even the actors to flub a few pertinent lines. A bigger problem lies in the metafiction itself. When handled skillfully, metafiction can be a magical ingredient. Finnigan, however, is way too explicitly self-conscious with his self-interpolations, often lecturing the audience. Although these sidebars drive toward an ironic twist that partly redeems his frequent derailment of the action, by play’s end the audience is left with the feeling that we could have arrived at
Kill Climate Deniers will be at the Garage Theatre until Oct. 7. Photo by FreshFrameFoto.com
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Story Road Friday, October 6
7:30 pm Door • 8 pm Concert
Four dynamic musicians performing tunes from the rich traditions of Ireland and Scotland Tickets & Info:
310.833.4813 | GrandVision.org The Grand Annex | 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
September 28 - October 11, 2017
our destination by a smoother, more elegant road. This bumpiness is exacerbated by the show’s multimedia tech elements. This is a production with plenty of music and lighting cues, plus pre-recorded video bits, a few with which Allen interacts. While Finnigan sometimes loses track of how long is too long to stay with these asides, their execution was the bigger problem at the premiere. From volume to 1st Thursday Artwalk transitions, this performance was rough. Hopefully future Oct. 5th nights will go better, but it Four-piece Jazz Band appears that the Garage may The Swinging Whalers have overextended themselves in trying to make the most of Finnigan’s vision. For all this, the bulk of Kill Climate Deniers concerns the concert’s takeover and what leads up to it. On this count the show is stronger. Susan E. Taylor plays Gwen Malkin, the government’s environment minister. She has a measly 1,600 Twitter followers and always trips up during
But to audiences willing to lay good money down to see the world-premiere staging of Kill Climate Deniers, climate denial is a source of humor rather than the object of real debate. With a plot as message-heavy as its title, David Finnigan’s ironic fantasy about a live-streamed eco-terrorist takeover of a celebrity and government official-laden Fleetwood Mac concert exemplifies the old cliché of preaching to the choir. This largely renders moot the question of how thought-provoking the play is; so, the only practical consideration is entertainment. And, the answer on that front is mixed. Kill Climate Deniers has a certain charm and wit, but its overdose of rhetoric and ham-handed metafiction keeps it from being all Finnigan wants it to be. The play opens with this overwrought metafiction — aplay calls attention to itself as a work of fiction. Finnigan made himself the narrator (but played by Ashley Elizabeth Allen, who co-directs with Matt Anderson). From the chronological perspective of 2047, (s)he begins to tell us the story of this play and the uproar it caused back in 2017 — first by way of its inflammatory title, then with how it catalyzed the act of terrorism that constitutes the play’s dramatic action. Three of the production’s most ragged points are introduced here. The most minor is a curious bit of gender confusion. Finnigan’s script calls for an all-female cast (for no particular reason, it seems). The Garage Theatre is faithful to this directive, even though the production has three male characters — a liberal politician, a conservative talk show host and the playwright — all of whom are explicitly referred to as “he.” The fact that these men are real-life people doesn’t dissipate the
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SoundWalk, but it became logistically impossible to keep doing it downtown,” said FLOOD member Marco Schindelmann, who is the vicepresident of the Arts Council for Long Beach. “As the economy recovered [from the financial crisis of 2007–08], businesses weren’t as generous with accommodating installations. But Amy Eriksen [executive director of Angels Gate Cultural Center] was a big fan of SoundWalk and offered up Angels Gate. That’s how we were able to put on soundpedro.” Unlike SoundWalk and soundpedro, PUMP is a series of events spread across two weeks. While some works can be experienced at various times during the entire two weeks, others will happen only once. PUMP venues and spaces include the Packard, the Icehouse, the East Village Arts Park, the Collaborative, WE Labs, the Artist Co-Op Gallery and Studios, the Pacific Court Apartments and galleries and studios at 3rd and Elm streets. Although neither the Packard nor the Icehouse was originally conceived as an arts venue, Schindelmann said this typifies the city’s art history. “A lot of art in Long Beach happens in places that were not designed to feature art but have been adapted to do so,” he noted. Aside from its extended physical and chronological footprint, PUMP will also have more of a multisensory thrust. Even though many SoundWalk and soundpedro installations had a strong visual component, Schindelmann said PUMP aims “to move from multimedia to the synaesthetic,” more fully merging sensorial experience — with increased emphasis on the tactile and even the olfactory — rather than giving sound top billing. That being said, attendees will not be lacking for aural stimulation. PUMP kicks off on Oct. 7, featuring no less than three opening receptions, which include performances and installations by more than 30 separate artists and groups. As with SoundWalk, soundpedro and every other event FLOOD has ever staged, all aspects of PUMP are free to the public. This is part of FLOOD’s mission to make art accessible. FLOOD will be able to stage PUMP’s installations largely thanks to two producers, Michelle Molina and John Chiang. Molina is well known for supporting the arts in Long Beach. While Chiang is less well known around town, the five cavernous floors of the Icehouse give FLOOD an opportunity in terms of scale that the Long Beach arts scene has never seen. “Without knowing exactly who we are, Michelle and John are letting us do what we want to do,” Assadi said. “We couldn’t afford these spaces based on our budget.” While FLOOD co-founder and President Kamran Assadi expressed pragmatism about the great seismic shift Long Beach needs, he knows from experience how things can take root and grow in the city. “I was talking years ago with people about doing this and they called me crazy,” he said. “But SoundWalk started with just three or four of us talking about how nice it would be to bring sound art to Long Beach and by the end it had become an internationally known sound-art event and a signature event for the city.… We’re not expecting Long Beach to become an arts mecca from just one event, but hopefully PUMP will help change the dynamic.” For all things PUMP visit lbpump.org.
When the Messenger Wants to Shoot You
interviews when she goes off script, which she can’t help doing because of course she knows that anthropomorphic global warming is real. Jenney McAfee is Bekken, Malkin’s press advisor, who aims solely to improve her boss’s media profile. When the two of them happen to be in the loo as the terrorists make their move (part of Kill Climate Deniers hews awfully closely to Die Hard), Bekken knows a golden opportunity when she sees it. There isn’t a weak player among the supporting cast. As one of the aforementioned bloggers, Rachel Star Albright brings instant joyousness to the stage simply by holding a big fake smile as she contorts through a series of mic-holding poses while peppering Malkin with inflammatory questions. Victoria Dunn delivers one of the production’s cleverest acting choices by raising the pitch of her scream during a switch from slo-mo to real-time. In Finnigan’s final monologue, (s)he tells us that in 2047 they now know that anthropomorphic climate change wasn’t real, that 97 percent of scientists were wrong, etc. This fact reframes both the play’s 2017 events and all of our current lefty beliefs about climate change. It’s the most effective bit of metafiction — and of social commentary — in the whole play because of just how absurd that possibility is, an absurdity that somehow has enough traction in today’s world to keep it on course for cataclysm. That’s Finnigan’s main point, and it’s a good one. But Kill Climate Deniers won’t change a single mind. Finnigan knows this, so it’s all the more puzzling why his play is crammed with so much rhetoric. A little less preaching might have gone a long way to keep Kill Climate Deniers more engaging for the audience — people who are already singing Finnigan’s tune. Kill Climate Deniers is playing at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, through Oct. 7, at the Garage Theatre, 251 E. 7th St., Long Beach. The cost per ticket is $15 to $20 (Thursday tickets are two for one). Details: (562) 433-8337; thegaragetheatre.org
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17 SEPT 28 - OCT 11 • 20 ENTERTAINMENT Sept. 29
Swing Party Long Beach’s dance-friendly, deco supper-club The Sky Room hosts its swing sextet. Time: 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Sept. 29 Cost: Free Details: (562) 983-2703 Venue: The Sky Room, 40 S. Locust Ave., Long Beach Paul Gormley Trio Enjoy a delicious meal while you listen to the cool jazz of the Paul Gormley trio. Their music ranges from bebop, to Sinatra, to the Beatles Time: Fridays from 7 to 9 p.m. Sept. 29 Details: (310) 832-0363 Venue: The Whale & Ale, 327 W. 7th. St., San Pedro
Sept. 30
September 28 - October 11, 2017
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
Everyday Outlaw Down from the High Sierras, this Tahoe-based country band kicks up the best of Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and George Jones with a traditional honky-tonk lineup of acoustic guitar, telecaster, pedal steel, bass and drums. Time: 8 p.m. Sept. 30 Cost: $20 Details: www.grandvision. org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
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Fredy Boy Fredy Boy will be performing debut album Tail of the Shark. Fred Beato on drums; Tom Croucier on bass, guitar and vocals; Iliana Rose on keyboards; Kerry Chester on keyboards; Pablo Padilla on guitar. Time: 8 p.m., Sept. 30 Cost: $20 Details: www. alvasshowroom.com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
The Fred Schreuders Project Makule Productions is proud to announce the next monthly event offering the best in jazz, featuring the Fred Schreuders Project. Time: 8 p.m. Sept. 30 Cost: $20 Details: (310) 320-8802 Venue: Ohana Club Room, 21718 S. Vermont Ave., Torrance Stones & Stewart Stones & Stewart takes the audience back to this magical time in the 70s and 80s. Jumping Jack Flash as the Stones and Gregory Wolfe as Sir Rodney deliver the one-two rock ’n’ roll knock-out punch. Time: 8 to 11 p.m. Sept. 30 Cost: $17.50 to $22.50 Details: http://tinyurl.com/ stones-gaslamp Venue: Gaslamp Long Beach, 6251 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach
Oct. 6
Story Road with Colleen Raney Hear the time-honored traditional music of Ireland and Scotland with a wee contemporary twist.
Openers: Lyons Academy of Irish Dance. Time: 8 p.m. Oct. 6 Cost: $20 Details: www.grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
Oct. 7
AJ Croce Ivory-searing New Orleans-style pianist, guitar player and blues vocalist taps into the rich roots of Americana, carrying forward a musical legacy. Time: 8p.m., Oct. 7 Cost: $25 general admission Details: http://www.grandvision. org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro Colour My World Rock band Colour My World will grace the stage at Alvas Shoowroom. Time: 8 p.m. Oct. 7 Cost: $35 to $40 Details: www.alvasshowroom. com Venue: Alvas Showroom, 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro
Oct 13
EL Twanguero Back by popular demand! Once called a “fire-breathing guitar hero” by U.S. press, Grammy and Goya award-winning guitarist Diego Garcia puts a Spanish twist on American rock ’n’ roll stylings of Chet Atkins, Carl Perkins and Les Paul. Time: 8 p.m., Oct. 13 Cost: $20 Details: www.grandvision.org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
THEATER Sept. 30
All in the Timing The Studio Theatre proudly presents All in the Timing by David Ives. This critically acclaimed, award-winning evening of comedic short plays combines wit, intellect, satire and just plain fun. Time: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. Through Sept. 30 Cost: $14 to $24 Details: (562) 494-1014; www.lbplayhouse.org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
Oct. 6
Blood Wedding The classic Spanish play by Federico Garcia Lorca erupts into a deadly dance of love and deception, family and revenge, beauty and betrayal. Time: 8 p.m. Oct. 6, 7, 13 and 14, and 2 p.m. Oct. 8 Cost: $10 to $15 Details: (310) 243-3589; www.csudh.edu/theatre/tickets Venue: California State University Dominguez Hills’ University Theatre, 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson
Oct. 7
Kill Climate Deniers The global premiere of playwright and activist David Finnigan’s hyper-real story for the stage told in the style of an action film that looks squarely into our battle against man-made extinction. What happens when the unstoppable force of climate change meets the immovable object of politics?
rebidishu III Los Angeles Harbor College Fine Arts Gallery present recent paintings by Katy Crowe. Abstract art is often seen as carrying a moral dimension, in that it can be interpreted to stand for virtues ranging from order and purity, to simplicity and spirituality. In the case of Crowe, virtue is obtained by process and intuition. Time: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, through Nov. 30 Cost: Free Details: (310) 233-4411 Venue: Los Angeles Harbor College Fine Arts Gallery, 1111 Figueroa Place, Wilmington
COMMUNITY Be the Change: Los Angeles Protest Photographs by Cindy Bendat is at CSUDH University Art Gallery through Oct. 10 Time: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturdays, through Oct. 7 Cost: $15 to $25 Details: www.thegaragetheatre. org Venue: The Garage Theatre, 251 E. 7th St., Long Beach
Oct. 14
Cabaret From the enigmatic Emcee, to the wounded Sally Bowles, to a mature couple dealing with the difficulties of the prevalent antisemitism that flourishes around them, these familiar characters will reignite the sense of despair and danger so commonly found in fascist regimes. Time: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 14 through Nov. 18 Cost: $20.00 to $24.00 Details: www.lbplayhouse.org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
Oct. 21 Boeing Boeing A zany French farce featuring the swinging bachelor Bernard and his three stewardesses – all engaged to him without knowing about each other. Turbulence abounds when airline schedules change and they all end up at his Parisian flat at the same time. Time: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturday, through Oct. 21 Cost: $23 to $45 Details: https:// shakespearebythesea.secure. force.com Venue: Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre St., San Pedro Dracula Celebrate the Halloween season with the Long Beach Playhouse in the company of the most classic monster ever to roam through literature, film, and stage — Count Dracula! Time: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 21 Cost: $20 Details: (562) 494-1014; www. lbplayhouse.org Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach
ARTS Oct. 5
Diasporagasm South Bay Contemporary Gallery in conjunction with Michael Stearns Studio 347 presents a co-located multimedia exhibition Diasporagasm that brings together artists working in Los Angeles, Haiti, Ghana, the Caribbean and West Africa.The opening reception is from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 5. Time: Oct. 5 through Nov. 18
Cost: Free Details: (562) 400-0544 Venue: Gallery 347, 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro
Oct. 7
PUMP 2017 FLOOD, the artist group that brought Soundwalk to Long Beach for 10 years and recently inaugurated “soundpedro” at Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro, is pleased to announce PUMP (Public Urban Multi-Sensory Presentations). This arts festivalwill highlight works by over 50 emerging and mid-career artists from throughout Southern California. Time: Oct. 7 through 21 Cost: Free Details: lbpump.org Venue: Various locations in Long Beach
ART CONTINUING
Be the Change: Los Angeles Protest Photographs by Cindy Bendat, 2003-2017 The exhibition features 58 timely and incisive protest photographs by California photographer Cindy Bendat, whose works reveal the visual power of people taking action in major protest movements in Los Angeles. Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, through Oct. 10 Cost: Free Details: (310) 243-3588 Venue: California State University Dominguez Hills’ University Art Gallery, 1000 E. Victoria St., Carson 17th Annual Frida Kahlo Artist Exhibit Enjoy this Frida Kahlo-inspired exhibit featuring several artists at Picture This Gallery. Time: 12 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, through Oct. 31 Cost: Free Details: (562) 233-3726 Venue: Picture This Gallery, 4130 Norse Way, Long Beach
blink•point TransVagrant Projects and Gallery 478 are pleased to present blink•point, recent work by Ellwood T. Risk. Risk appropriates, alters, re-contextualizes, shoots (here and there) and re-presents the ordinary in unanticipated iterations. Time: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, through Nov. 25 Cost: Free Details: (310) 600-4873; (310) 732-2150 Venue: TransVagrant Projects and Gallery 478, 478 W. 7th St., San Pedro
Sept. 28
Dark Harbor on The Queen Mary The normally placid Long Beach Harbor transforms into a seaport of pure Halloween horror as the Captain and the other Dark Harbor Sinister Eight Spirits return to prey on any mortals who dare to enter their realm after dark. You’ll make your way through spine-tingling mazes on and around the haunted Queen Mary, including for the first time a fourth maze aboard the ship. Time: Sept. 28 through Oct. 9 Cost: $12 Details: http://tidd.ly/aa6af0ea Venue: Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Way, Long Beach Light The Night Help celebrate the new colorful Ferris wheel at The Pike Outlets at the Light the Night event. The iconic Ferris wheel at The Pike Outlets got a colorful makeover. Time: 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 28 Cost: Free Venue: The Pike Outlets, 95 S. Pine Ave., Long Beach Southern California Boat Show The Southern California In-Water Boat Show is making a big splash at Cabrillo Way Marina in the heart of Los Angeles Harbor. Come aboard and compare a large selection of new boats, as well as some of the finest brokerage vessels on the Pacific Coast. Time: 12 to 7 p.m. Sept. 28-Oct.1 Cost: $15 Details: www.socalboatshow.com Venue: Cabrillo Way Marina, 2500 Miner St., San Pedro
Sept. 30
2017 Yatai Festival Bringing the community together for a cultural experience, Japan Alliance is proud to co-host the 2017 Yatai Festival alongside the City of Los Angeles! We are shutting down the streets to bring you Japanese food (with a beer garden), live entertainment, and Japanese and Japanese American culture. Time: 3 to 9 p.m. Sept. 30 Cost: Free Details: japanalliance.org Venue: 186th Street, between Harvard and Denker Street, Gardena Oktoberfest at the Wigwam Dust off your lederhosen and dirndls, the Annual Oktoberfest returns to the San Pedro Wigwam! There will be traditional German fare, including brats, sauerkraut, German potato salad, pretzels and beer. There will also be music, stein holding, yodeling, polka and more. Time: 4 p.m. Sept. 30 Cost: $14 Venue: San Pedro Wigwam, 543 Shepard St. San Pedro
Oct. 1
Sustainable Seafood Expo 2017 Learn how to choose the right fish for your dish — one that’s good for your body and for the environment. Throughout the Aquarium, you’ll be able to enjoy scrumptious seafood samples, meet top chefs, learn during cooking demonstrations, explore informational booths, watch educational movies in the auditorium and sip an ice-cold beverage or two. Time: 12 to 5 p.m. Oct. 1 Cost: $10 Details: (310) 548-7562, https:// sustainableseafoodexpo.org Venue: Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, 3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro
Oct. 5
5th Annual San Pedro International Film Festival Fifth annual festival featuring an eclectic mix of feature length and short films, including 1987’s Some Kind Of Wonderful (Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.), documentaries, panel discussions and special events. Time: Oct. 5 through 15 Cost: $10 Details: http://spiffest.org Venue: Grand Annex, 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro
Oct. 7
Jessica Lang Dance The award-winning choreographer and artistic director of Jessica Lang Dance seamlessly incorporates striking design elements and classical ballet vocabulary into artfully crafted, emotionally riveting, contemporary works. Time: 8 p.m. Oct. 7 Cost: $99 Details: (562) 985-7000; www. CarpenterArts.org Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach Filipino American History Month Celebration This month-long celebration in Carson showcases amazing talents and performing artists in music, creative arts, and other varied forms of entertainment from the Filipino-American community. Headlining this year’s event are The Filharmonic and Geneva Cruz. Time: 9 a.m. Oct. 7 Cost: Free Details: (310) 952-1743 Venue: CJMM Community Center, 801 E. Carson St., Carson
Oct. 12
Many Winters Gathering of Elders The Gathering of Elders Committee is excited to announce the revival of the annual Many Winters Gathering of the Elders. Indigenous elders from across Turtle Island will visit Tongva territory to share their traditional teachings and medicine. Time: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 12 through 15 Cost: Free Details: http://angelsgateart. org Venue: Angels Gate Cultural Center, 3601 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro
[Medicare, from p. 6]
It’s Time for Medicare-For-All
Millionaires vs Medicine
The Road Ahead
No one knows for sure what’s next, but there are at least three things to keep your eyes on. First, to look out for is the continued undermining of the Affordable Care Act. Trump has repeatedly threatened to destabilize the ACA marketplaces by abruptly halting subsidies to insurers. His Health Department has used taxpayer funds intended for advertising to encourage Obamacare enrollments and spent them on ads promoting the law’s repeal. His administration signaled that it might not enforce the tax penalty for those who don’t sign up for insurance. Then,
Long Beach Says ‘Yes’ to Sanctuary
The Long Beach City Council was overflowed with residents for about eight hours on Sept. 19. The agenda included a hearing on the Southeast Area Specific Plan, of which all related items passed unanimously, the drafting of an ordinance to protect hotel workers, which failed, and the drafting of a policy establishing Long Beach as a sanctuary city, which passed. Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy.
for pro-immigrant policies. “As the daughter of immigrants, myself, I know firsthand the value immigrants bring to the City of Long Beach,” Gonzalez said. “This is our sanctuary policy. Long Beach Values Act is what we are calling it…. Not only does it provide protections, it will provide resources for our immigrants.” “DACA came forward as a response to Congress’ inability to pass a Dream Act,” District 7 Councilman Roberto Uranga said. “The Dream Act, as many of you might know, provides a pathway toward citizenship, something that I guess Congress has a hard time dealing with. But, I guess we are dealing with it now.” After Donald Trump’s order via his Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to end DACA within
six months, Dreamers are now in limbo, especially newer applicants. “The repeal of DACA by the administration proposes to break up families and I think it’s absolutely the wrong way to go,” said District 8 Councilman Al Austin. “DACA affects a lot of students who want to continue their education,” Uranga said. “There are some examples of people who have gone through our educational system and have become doctors, but are afraid to practice because of their status.” The policy of the Long Beach Values Act, which is being written in collaboration with local immigrant rights organizations and educational institutions, will be presented to the council after 60 days. 17 September 28 - October 11, 2017
By Zamná Ávila, Assistant Editor On Sept. 19, chants from outside the overflowing Long Beach City Hall could be heard throughout the almost eight hours it took the city council to hear a motion that would help its undocumented community. “What do we want?” “Sanctuary!” “When do we want it? “Now!” “Sí se puede!” “Let us in!” “We want to see a real commitment that [the council members] are going to protect every resident,” Alex Montances of the Filipino Migrant Center said before the item was presented by the council. “Folks can say it’s symbolic, but it means more to us…. It is a show of support…. We understand that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] will do whatever they can.” The Long Beach Values Act of 2017 is a pledge to adopt and expand state Senate Bill 54, which protects undocumented people by prohibiting state personnel from sharing information with federal immigration enforcement agencies, such as ICE. The Long Beach City Council voted, 7-1, with Councilman Daryl Supernaw absent and Stacy Mungo opposed to the item. “I support Dreamers; I support state law, but I really wish we would follow our own process,” said Mungo, who wanted the item to go through the city’s legislative committee. District 1 Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez, who put the motion on the agenda, specified that she wanted the policy to include protecting local Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Dreamer students, preventing future deportations of local residents, examining county partnerships, protecting the information of local immigrant residents and advocating
There was only one clearly identifiable constituency in favor of Graham-Cassidy: multimillionaire GOP donors. A late-June story in The Guardian, “Koch network ‘piggy banks’ closed until Republicans pass health and tax reform,” laid things out clearly: At a weekend donor retreat attended by at least 18 elected officials, the Koch brothers warned that time is running out to push their agenda, most notably healthcare and tax reform, through Congress. One Texas-based donor warned Republican lawmakers that his “Dallas piggy bank” was now closed, until he saw legislative progress. “Get Obamacare repealed and replaced, get tax reform passed,” said Doug Deason. “Get it done and we’ll open it back up.” The Koch network’s budget for 2018 was $300-$400 million — a lot of motivation for lawmakers, regardless of what anyone else wants. But polling on Graham-Cassidy was brutal when it finally arrived on Sept. 21. PPP found 24 percent of respondents favoring Graham-Cassidy, and 50 percent opposing it, with 27 percent “not sure.” That was followed a few days later by a CBS News Poll, which found 52 percent disapproval
and just 20 percent approval. Even Republicans fell short of giving majority approval. On Sept. 22, Arizona Sen. John McCain announced his opposition, leading many to conclude the bill was dead. Some last-minute tweaks were made in hopes of buying off one or two votes, but after the Congressional Budget Office released its score on Sept. 25, Maine Sen. Susan Collins announced her opposition as well. That same day, when the Senate held its only public hearing on the bill, 181 protesters were arrested, most of them disability activists with ADAPT, a national grassroots community that organizes disability rights activists. Videos of them being arrested quickly spread across social media. Graham-Cassidy appeared to be finally dead.
directions. Arguments against — raising taxes and giving government too much control — could raise opposition as high as 62 percent, while arguments in favor — reducing administrative costs and ensuring healthcare as a right — could increase support to 72 percent. But the longer the current state of endless struggle continues, the more opportunity there is for single-payer arguments to advance. Critics have argued that “Medicare-For-All” is a dangerous idea for Democrats, just the same as “repeal and replace” was for Republicans. But it’s an argument that’s full of holes. Yes “Medicare-For-All” is a slogan, just like “repeal and replace.” But that’s where the similarities end. “Repeal and replace” was just a slogan. There was never any unified concept of what it stood for. “Medicare-For-All” is a concept rooted in the existing Medicare system that can be implemented in a variety of ways. By giving concrete form to the ideal of universal healthcare — something every other advanced nation takes for granted — MedicareFor-All also encourages other ideas that might actually achieve the same result. Shifting the debate from the endless finger-pointing of where it is now to “how do we cover everyone?” is arguably the biggest shift in healthcare thinking that our country can make. It’s what the “Jimmy Kimmel test” is all about. In that sense — as a concept, at least — “Medicare-For-All” is an idea whose time has come.
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
plans with unaffordable premiums of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars per month,” it went on to state. “For consumers, an offer like that is no different than a coverage denial.” As for premiums, Graham-Cassidy would “increase individual market premiums by 20 percent,” the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities stated. But older Americans would be even harder hit. Graham-Cassidy “threatens to make healthcare unaffordable and inaccessible for millions of older Americans,” the American Association of Retired Persons warned. “For a 60-year-old earning $25,000 a year, premiums and out-of-pocket costs could increase by as much as $16,174 a year if they wanted to keep their current coverage.” The Commonwealth Fund also confirmed what Kimmel said about many states imposing lifetime caps. Even beyond that, Graham-Cassidy involved massive Medicaid cuts which would decimate the system. In the early years, it shifted money from states that had expanded Medicaid under Obamacare to Republican-dominated ones that hadn’t. But in the long run, it reduced Medicaid funds for every state — even as its coauthors claimed to be giving states more control. A bipartisan group of governors disagreed and urged the bill’s defeat. The national board of state Medicaid directors opposed it as well. They weren’t alone. Opposition in the healthcare field was virtually universal. As Kimmel said in his monologue, “Don’t take my word for it. Here are just some of the organizations who oppose the GrahamCassidy bill: The American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, the Arthritis Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis, the ALS Association, the March of Dimes, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Children’s Hospital of LA — basically any group that you’ve ever given money to thinks this is a bad idea.” In addition, doctors, nurses, hospitals and even insurance companies opposed it, both individually and through their most venerable institutions.
in late summer, it cut Obamacare’s advertising budget by 90 percent, as well as cutting funding for the law’s outreach groups by 40 percent. Such sabotage efforts are only likely to get worse over time. Also watch the bipartisan efforts to fix Obamacare. Despite GOP propaganda to the contrary, Democrats have never pretended that Obamacare was perfect. No major piece of legislation ever is. After the GOP’s first few efforts to kill Obamacare failed, lawmakers in both houses started working on bipartisan efforts to address issues that both could agree upon. These were halted in September as GOP leadership sought to force its members to fall in line. But now that Graham-Cassidy has failed, there could be a revival of these efforts. Third, and perhaps most importantly, there’s the Medicare-for-All discussion. It’s not going to become law anytime soon, but it is already changing the conversation and altering the realm of the possible for the future. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll in June found that there’s now a 53 percent majority supporting it, with independents’ support at 55 percent, up 12 percent since 2008/9. Support among Democrats — at 64 percent — will surely rise if the leading 2020 primary candidates all support it. And with a majority of independents supporting it, it could be a key campaign issue in the general election, regardless of who the Democratic candidate is. Of course, nothing is certain. The Kaiser poll found that support could be shifted in both
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DBA FILINGS Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017153521 The following person is doing business as: (1) Lost Harbor Tattoo, 950 N. Avalon Blvd., Wilmington, CA 90744, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Oscar Montez, 751 Gladys Ave., Apt. 3, Long Beach, CA 90804. Luciano Munoz, 1816 Cabrillo Ave., Unit A, Torrance, CA 90501. This Business is conducted by a general partnership. 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/.
Oscar Montes, partner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 14, 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 where it expire 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself
authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 08/17/2017,
08/31/2017, 09/14/17, 09/28/17
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017195463 The following person is doing business as: Dreamy’s Ice Cream and Bakeshop, 285 W. 6th St./ 610 S. Centre St. San Pedro, CA 90731. Los Angeles County. Mailing Address: 1846 Trudie Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275. Articles of Incorporation or Organization Number: AI #ON : 4021358.
[continued on p. 19]
© 2017 MATT JONES, Jonesin’ Crosswords
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Across
1 Leave out 5 Manufacture skillfully 10 “Dear” columnist 14 Austrian physicist Ernst 15 Vietnam’s capital 16 Like leafless trees 17 Burn-soothing plant 18 Beermaking phase 19 BBQ side dish 20 Puts the past behind with fond memories 23 Dorm floor supervisors, for short 24 Driveway goo 25 Brownish eye color 28 Curve in the water? 34 Annoyed persistently 35 Certain collars or jackets 36 Dict. spelling designation 37 “Who is John ___?” (“Atlas Shrugged” opener) 38 Rattles off 39 Say nay 40 Jackie O’s husband 41 It’s propelled by a paddle 42 Europe’s “The ___ Countdown” 43 It’s usually used to cross your heart 45 Bohemian 46 Chicago hub, on luggage tags
47 Green Day drummer ___ Cool 48 Hightail it 56 Shiraz, for one 57 Egger-on 58 “Garfield” beagle 59 Musical Redding 60 Make amends (for) 61 “Livin’ La Vida ___” (#1 hit of 1999) 62 Brightness measure 63 “Siddhartha” author Hermann 64 Ran away
Down
1 “The Wire” character Little 2 Bamako’s country 3 Computer program symbol 4 Epithet for Alexander, Peter, or Gonzo 5 Mass confusion 6 Barilla rival 7 Have ___ to pick 8 Times New Roman, e.g. 9 Uses an Allen wrench, maybe 10 Suck up 11 Shagger’s collectible 12 Country singer Paisley 13 Archery bow wood 21 Caramel addition, in some ice cream flavors 22 Corn purchases 25 “Horrible” Viking of the comics
26 Arcade console pioneer 27 1983 Woody Allen mockumentary 28 Isabella II, por ejemplo 29 “Let’s do this!” 30 Cast ballots 31 Decathlon tenth 32 Moms’ moms, affectionately 33 In a boring way 38 “Well, ain’t that just something!” 39 Ice Age canid that shows up on “Game of Thrones” 41 PC key below Shift 42 Subway rider’s payment 44 “I kid you not!” 47 Number of bears or pigs 48 Multiple award-winner Moreno 49 Dram or gram, e.g. 50 McKinnon of “The Magic School Bus” reboot 51 Love, personified 52 Bills picturing Hamilton 53 Megacelebrity 54 Delightful 55 Drained down to 0% 56 “Impressive!” ©2017 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) For answers go to: www.randomlengthsnews.com
DBA FILINGS
RANDOMLetters [Letters, from p. 9]
Reply to Kamala Harris’ Letter
You wrote a great letter. The latest incident in Charlottesville, Va., shows the United States exactly what the President, Senate Republicans, Congressional Republicans, Republican governors and legislators really are. Joy Reid of MSNBC was a guest on Chris Hayes’ show this past July. She stated exactly what our republican government is, that is they have a king (Trump), who the republican couturier, “Senate, Congress,” can’t tolerate but put up with because they want his help to do things against the “commoners” whom they couldn’t give a damn about. Kamala, this presentation by Joy is so great that every election commercial by the Democrats should include this video. Kamala, I hope you or your staff read Random Lengths News. Damian Walters San Pedro
Qualified or Milli Vanilli
[from p. 18]
09/14/2017, 09/28/2017, 10/12/2017
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017265888 The following person is
10/12/2017, 10/26/2017, 11/09/2017
Dear Mr. Saaty, That we can agree Mr. Trump is neither “sufficiently qualified nor trustworthy to be president,” is a good start. However, all of the blaming of the DNC, Hillary and the Clinton Foundation, along with Bill can, at
[Schools, from p. 10]
Schools
by the Secret Service and US Department of Education.” LAUSD’s Parent-Student Handbook states that students found in possession of firearms on campus are subject to arrest and expulsion in accordance with the Federal Gun Free Safe Schools Act and California law. It also states the district takes a strong position against bullying, and that school administrators may use “education, direct intervention, expulsion or arrest … to keep the school drug, alcohol, tobacco, and violencefree.” Long Beach Unified School District provided a letter from Chris Eftychiou, its public information director, which read, in part, “LBUSD has 84 schools. During the past three years, School Safety has responded to 76 reports of students in possession of knives, and two reports of possession of firearms.” Such numbers indicate an
average of 26 incidents per year. Eftychiou did not state which campuses were involved or provide any other details. Rather, she insisted, “School Safety concludes that it is not possible to determine which schools have the most violent incidents because of the rarity of violent acts involving weapons on our campuses.” “Tactical procedures are in place to respond to reports of students involved in acts of violence or potential acts of violence using weapons,” Eftychiou also asserted. “Such procedures, counseling and preventive information are governed largely by California Education Code and contained in our school district’s annual Guidelines for Students and Parents Booklet.” Compton Unified School District acknowledged the receipt of Random Lengths’ request for information, made under the California Public Records Act. But despite being given a lengthy amount of time before deadline, CUSD never complied by producing any actual data or information. 19 September 28 - October 11, 2017
Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2017232465 The following person is doing business as Agua Vida, 734 N. Fries Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744. Los Angeles County. Mailing Address: 1180 W. 7th
doing business as Radisic Plumbing, 26340 Western Ave.,Lomita, Ca 90717. Los Angeles County. Mailing Address: P.O. box 347 Harbor City, CA 90710. Registered owners: Jennifer Maire Radisic, 1817 256th St., Lomita Ca 90717. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: Sept. 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.) Jennifer Maire Radisic, owner This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Sep. 18, 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 where it expire 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 09/28/2017,
09/14/2017, 09/28/2017, 10/12/2017
St. #1, San Pedro, Ca 90731. Registered owners: Virgilio Gutierrez, 660 W. 11th St., #4, San Pedro, Ca 90731, Ghilbeys Gutierrez, 660 W. 11th St., #4, San Pedro, Ca 90731, Rodel Filio, 1180 W. 7th St. #1, San Pedro, Ca 90731. This Business is conducted by a general partnership. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: Aug. 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.) Rodel Filio, partner This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Aug. 23, 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 where it expire 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 08/31/2017,
this point, be seen as just more political slandering. In American politics, such as it is, we have often been offered the choice of the lesser of the two evils. Think Lyndon B. Johnson versus Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon versus Herbert Humphrey or Bill Clinton versus Bush Sr. and the list goes on. The very best rarely rise to the top; those with political connections, money and cunning generally do. If there is a single defense for Hillary over Trump is that within the first six months of Trump’s presidency, he has had more violations — both criminal and ethical — than Hillary has had over the past 25 years. She knows what it takes to be president — he doesn’t; she has the guts and courage to both dish it out and take it — he doesn’t. It is a world stage dominated by the old boys’ club that has been out to sabotage Hillary since she was the first lady who refused to simply smile and bake cookies. She may be a flawed candidate, but then who among us wouldn’t be exposed as “flawed” if our entire lives were inspected under the Fox News microscope? Frankly, I don’t take many of the hit pieces published about Hillary and Bill seriously. Just remember, when it came down to impeaching Bill, the only thing they could actually charge him with was lying about receiving fellatio, something I’m sure none of the men reading this column have ever done. As for Comey’s bungling of the email investigation and how those emails were revealed to the press — as well as who hacked into the Democratic National Committee computers — we will come to a conclusion far too late to make a difference in the most recent election. However, the term “impeachment” does start to sound intriguing. However, let me ask you one final question in rebuttal to all you’ve written — if you had a really expensive car and you were given the choice between giving the keys to either a guy who had never driven a car before or a woman who has gotten a few tickets for driving too fast, which would you chose? James Preston Allen Publisher
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant
Registered owners: TR Yamada, Inc., 1846 Trudie Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275. This Business is conducted by a corporation. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 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/.Terry R. Yamada, CEO. TR Yamada, Inc. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on July 24, 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 where it expire 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Professions code). Original filing: 08/31/2017,
In your June 8-21 issue, you said Trump is neither “sufficiently qualified nor trustworthy to be President.” I agree, but how can you think Hillary Clinton is any more qualified and trustworthy? You have characterized her email scandal as “bogus,” presumably because FBI Director James Comey did not recommend that she be indicted. However, he did say that their investigation found that during a three-month period she used a completely unsecured personal email server for all her government emails, 110 of which were classified, including 22 top secrets. He said that she was “extremely careless” in her handling of “very sensitive, highly classified information.” Yet, despite all that, Comey said she wouldn’t be indicted because they found no evidence of intent. This was pure politics. He knew that the charge of “gross negligence” is available to prevent a perpetrator from getting off scot-free when intent is suspected but difficult to prove. If “extremely careless” doesn’t amount to “gross negligence,” then what does? YouTube video “Hillary Clinton vs. James Comey: Email Scandal Supercut” shows her several lies about her email server. That Hillary nevertheless got off scot-free on the email scandal should make one reconsider her and Bill’s innocence in previous alleged scandals. Many believe she had a private server to shield her emails from any Freedom of Information Act requests to the State Department pertaining to the Clinton Foundation, because emails from her server obtained by Judicial Watch show the foundation was a payto-play operation (JudicialWatch.org: “New Abedin Emails Reveal Hillary Clinton State Department Gave Special Access to Top Clinton Foundation Donors”). This is further evidenced by the fact of the Clintons’ shutting down the foundation after her loss. The email scandal and the payto-play foundation are just two of many crimes of the Clintons. Haiti is another. Bill as UN special envoy and Hillary as Secretary of State together controlled the disbursement of $13 billion that the United States and
other countries contributed so the Haitians could rebuild after the 2010 earthquake. Little of that money went to help the Haitian poor; most went to Clinton cronies. Last August, Haitian Americans protested in Philadelphia against Hillary’s candidacy (YouTube: “What Hillary Clinton Did to Haiti Will Scare You to Not Vote for Her”). Note: Haitian Americans are not party to any “vast right-wing conspiracy” against the Clintons. This and other crimes are exposed in the “Clinton Cash” video. And finally, these life-long progressives said the following about Hillary: Eric Zuesse blogged “I’m a Bernie Sanders Voter: Here’s Why I’ll Vote Trump”; Ralph Nader said he would vote for neither Trump nor Clinton, saying the Clinton Foundation was pay-to-play, and that she is a corporatist and a militarist who “actually scares the generals”; Cornel West said she is “a neoliberal disaster” and “a Milli Vanilli of politics;” and Susan Sarandon said she is “more dangerous” than Trump. Bernie Sanders strongly supported Hillary, but that was part of the deal of the Democratic Party allowing him to run as a Democrat. That Trump became President is entirely the fault of the Democratic Party’s establishment. Bernie polled much better than Hillary against Trump before the primary; yet the DNC cheated him and nominated a deeply-flawed candidate, alienating many Democrats who also felt cheated. Neil Saaty San Pedro
20
September 28 - October 11, 2017
Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant