RLn 2-4-21

Gascón’s First 100 Days LA’s new DA meets stiff resistance from deputy district attorneys

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

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inety-two days into George Gascón’s first term as Los Angeles County district attorney, he’s making good on his campaign promises by redressing the harm that longtime systems of law enforcement and incarceration have done to certain communities. The former Harbor Division commander of the Los Angeles Police Department also inspired a rebellion among his deputy prosecutors and a lawsuit against him by their union, Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles County.

The union alleged that the dramatic changes Gascón brought to the nation’s largest prosecutorial office have defied state law and forced rank-and-file prosecutors to violate their oaths of office.

Gascón made his most controversial policy change — halting prosecutors’ practice of filing gang enhancements, 5-year and 3-year prior enhancements and three strikes enhancements — during his first day on the job.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón faces union criticism for proposed criminal justice reforms.

[See 100 Days, p. 5]

Murky progress reported with Clean Air Action Plan p. 2 Mayor Lula DavisHolmes takes the helm of Carson p. 3

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

more on how it worked than what it argued) will emerge to take up where it has faltered. Because, make no mistake, QAnon not only played a vital role in Trump’s failed coup, it’s still helping to keep Trump’s hold on the GOP intact. One of its earliest boosters — newly elected Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — has emerged as the embodiment of Trumpism’s spreading stranglehold on the party.

Two Classic Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories

February 4 - 17, 2021

QAnon conspiracy cult. It may be severely shaken by having suffered the ultimate disconfirmation of its central prophecy — “The Storm” in which Trump vanquishes all his enemies.

“Trump did not declare martial law in his final minutes in office; nor did he reveal a secret plan to remain in power forever,” NPR’s Camila Domonoske noted.

“President [Joe] Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were not sent to Guantánamo Bay. The military did not rise up and arrest Democratic leaders en masse.”

But the storm had repeatedly failed to occur before when it should, only for new interpretations to appear.

So that could still conceivably happen once again. More likely, something similar, but new (perhaps modeled

Now open for dining— The impossible task, the unreasonable demands p. 10

Aftermath of A Coup: The Threat Lives On At its core, QAnon is a combination of two classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories As Donald Trump’s failed coup recedes slowly in time, Republicans are working furiously to bury it much faster. But they can’t, for the simple reason that Trump is still there — not in the White House, not even on Twitter, but looming everywhere they might think to look, like an ancient, sinister eldritch, otherworldly terror from a combined product of William Randolph Hearst and H.P. Lovecraft. And he has the tentacles to prove it: his easily riled-up fan base.

How Trump’s impeachment trial will play out is anybody’s guess, there are simply too many variables. A huge factor standing in the way of it resembling justice is the lingering impact of the

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

Other policy changes include: • End the charging of minors as adults • End cooperation requirements for survivors • Extend victim (survivor) services to families of those killed by law enforcement

At its core, QAnon is a combination of two classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, slightly reformulated [See Threat, p. 8]

COVID-19 Cases in the U.S. as of Feb. 3, 2021: 27,101,847 • U.S. Deaths: 460,398 Los Angeles County Cases: 1,124,558 • Deaths: 17,057 • For up-to-date stats: www.randomlengthsnews.com

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Community Announcements:

Harbor Area County of Los Angeles Food Resources

To connect individuals and families with fresh, healthy food during the coronavirus pandemic, LA Controller Ron Galperin released a guide to 141 food resource locations throughout the greater LA area where residents in need can go pick up food.

Details: Click here to view the map: https:// storymaps.arcgis.com/food-resources

North Gaffey Road Closure

Due to the Clearwater Project, the sanitation department closed Gaffey Street between Anaheim street and Westmont Drive (North of Home Depot) on Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for five weeks. Local access is still provided.

Details: www.drive.google.com/clearwaterupdate-for-NW-San-Pedro

Residents Urged to Sign Up Through VaxLB for Availability Updates

The City of Long Beach continues to administer COVID-19 vaccinations as supply becomes available and is now encouraging all residents to sign up for VaxLB notifications to receive eligibility and future appointment information.

The updated VaxLB portal will now notify groups that are currently eligible for vaccines, such as healthcare workers and older adults, and provide notifications to other groups as they become eligible for vaccination.

Details: www.forms.office.com/vaccination-LB

LB Launches Unite Us Online

February 4 - 17, 2021

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

Long Beach announced the launch of a new online resource and referral platform, powered by Unite Us, that will help residents connect to city and community programs that support residents during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. In addition the city is helping expand Unite California, a coordinated care network of health and social care providers.

Long Beach residents can request a variety of services through the Unite California network by completing an electronic form that is available on the city’s website. Available resources offered through the platform include COVID-19 support, connections to food resources, programs for older adults and referrals to other Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act programs in the city.

Details: 562-570-4636 option 5; www.california. uniteus.com

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State of the Port of LB to Recap a Historic 2020 The annual State of the Port of Long Beach address will take place virtually this year. Port officials will discuss how the port dealt with the challenges of the global pandemic.

Time: 9 a.m. Feb. 4 Details: www.polb.com/stateoftheport, www. polb.com/statistics.

Long Beach Convention Center Vax Super Site Opening

The Long Beach Convention Center Vax Super Site recently opened its doors. The city has started to vaccinate folks 65 and older, city emergency response workers and police. The next group up for vaccinations are teachers and educators, who will be scheduled through their school sites. If you live in Long Beach and cannot get vaccinated through your employer, the city will work to get you vaccinated.

Register if your group is up to be vaccinated, or if you want to be notified when you are eligible for a vaccine.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/vaccinationlb

Learn about Free Community College, Attend a Virtual College/Career Expo

Learn about financial aid, choosing a major, and how your students can attend free community college. Join free webinars hosted by the Los Angeles Education Consortium.

Details: https://calsoapla.org

Long Beach Extends Free, Low-Cost Youth Programs Through February

Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine will [See Announcements, p. 4]

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

Murky Progress Reported With Clean Air Action Plan

By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach did their best to put a positive spin on the progress of their joint Clean Air Action Plan at the 11th quarterly Implementation Stakeholder Advisory Meeting, hosted online on Jan. 27.

They highlighted new and ongoing demonstration projects — for trucks, vessels, and cargo-handling equipment — noted the difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and touted progress with the Clean Trucks Program, including the March 9 approval of a $10 per 20-foot equivalent unit fee, projected to generate about $90 million per year to provide incentives for buying zero- or near-zero-emission trucks.

“Despite setbacks and delays due to COVID, the ports have been busy managing existing demonstrations rolling out new port equipment and trucks as well as planning for future demonstrations and deployments,” said Rose Szoke, environmental specialist for the Port of Long Beach.

But the aforementioned fee is still being worked on, and won’t be implemented until the second half of this year, according to Chris Cannon, director of Environmental Management at the Port of Los Angeles.

“The zero emissions trucks will always be exempt from the rate, we’re working on exemptions for low NOX trucks,” Cannon said. “We’ve been talking to different stakeholders and trying to come up with a program of exemptions and incentives that will be helpful, and so that still is being discussed.

“A rate collection mechanism contract is close to being finalized. We hope to bring that to our boards within the next month, add six months to that, and that’s when we can begin collecting the rate. ... We will be developing incentives and other program elements, the exemptions I referred to.”

“What we’ve seen over the past several months, since the pandemic started is that the ports have been really focused on economic uncertainty as a reason to delay their environmental initiatives,” Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Heather Kryczka told Random Lengths News afterwards. “But we’ve seen over the

The Port of Los Angeles touts progress with its Clean Trucks Program. File photo

couple of months that the ports of LA and Long Beach have had record-breaking cargo volumes.”

Long Beach finished with a record-breaking yearly total, after being “significantly down in the first half of 2020,” said Long Beach Director of Environmental Affairs, Heather Tomley.

“We had a big surge in the second half of the year,” Cannon said, though not quite enough to set an annual record.

“At the same time, this increasing cargo means there’s more activity around the ports and more air pollution in communities and that results in real public health impacts for community members,” Kryczka said. “Of course, this is in the context of a global pandemic where studies are showing that exposure to air pollution corresponds with increased COVID-19 complications.”

Emissions numbers are still being crunched.

But beyond container volume there were contrasting trends and complications described by Cannon. The tanker activity at the Port of LA was down 42% from the year before, while transient activity — tankers in the bay not calling at either port (essentially used as floating storage) — was up 25%. But the latter is only included in the state’s emissions inventory, not either port’s. “[With cruise ships, our passenger volumes went through the floor,” Cannon said, but high anchorage activity “caused the overall omissions

to be similar.”

The issue of incentivizing near-zero trucks was also a concern Kryczka cited — and the only significant cause of stakeholder disagreement.

Kurt Pruitt, vice president of Pacifica Trucks, called renewable natural gas “the only technology that’s feasible today,” but said his company’s investments were on hold “because we have no real clear idea of what the ports’ position is. Is it EV [electric vehicle] only? Or is it actually low emissions?”

In contrast, long-term activist Richard Havenick, who now serves on the board of the Harbor Community Benefits Foundation, graciously dissented.

“I love all natural gas myself,” he said, but “3% by volume leaks as methane” and “we must keep that foremost in our minds.”

“I understand the excitement and hope regarding more immediate transition to natural gas because of immediate significant benefits, until you consider the potential longer term damage that may result from increasing greenhouse gas,” Havenick told Random Lengths News afterwards.

“We should not invest in a solution that results in worse damage [in the] longer term.

“I’ve reviewed countless papers on the subject in the past year and I support caution regarding [See CAAP, p. 15]

AQMD Approves Oil Tanker Pollution Capture Project, Seemingly Violates Its Own Rules On Jan. 8, The South Coast Air Quality Management District Board approved a $10 million contract to develop and demonstrate a “capture and control system” for oil tankers with STAX Engineering, a start-up with no previous manufacturing record. The decision could be defensible, but the process seems fatally flawed, and could face litigation.

Advanced Environmental Group, which began developing similar systems (first for locomotives, then for container ships) more a than a decade ago, was initially contacted by AQMD for participation, but dropped without explanation, according to AEG President Ruben Garcia. STAX was founded by a former AEG

employee, Bob Sharp, who claims to have “an independently developed technology” that is “several generations more advanced than existing technologies.”

While plausibly defensible on its merits, AQMD circumvented the normal open bidding process, which its own procurement and policy procedures require “unless the Executive Officer waives the bidding requirements of this Section based upon a written documentation justifying a sole-source award.” After weeks of inquiry by Random Lengths News, AQMD finally clarified that the documentation relied upon was the staff letter to the board concerning the item,

the relevant passage of which was just three sentences totaling 55 words. They are: STAX has extensive knowledge and experience in developing the C&C technology that are needed to successfully complete this project. The manufacturers will utilize their proprietary technologies in the development of precommercial and commercial C&C that expended. This demonstration project will be cost-shared

by STAX and other project partners, as discussed in the Resource Impacts section.

Whether that qualifies as “documentation” rather than assertion, seems questionable, at best.

Madame Mayor Takes the Helm of Carson

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

After Lula Davis-Holmes’ election as mayor of Carson, her first order of business was her vacant seat on the city council. The city recently switched from an at-large system to a districtbased one. Davis-Holmes is keenly aware of the new circumstances.

Davis-Holmes said that a process will have to be formed to fill the seat given that the city now has district voting. Each district has more than 20,000 residents and the city is working out how to function under the circumstances. Under the new state of affairs, the electeds will have to be more conscious of the particular needs of their districts while the mayor’s focus as the chief executive will be focused on how Carson will function as a city.

“Well … that means you don’t run all over the city ... [it means] you have your district with specific interests,” Davis Holmes said. “But our commonalities will remain [the] city as far as the big developments ... coming into the city and parks. My desire is not to say, ‘OK, now that you’re in District 3 you get less revenue than another district.’”

Davis-Holmes explained that she had already begun working with consultants on how to govern going forward.

“What I’m going to be asking when we start appointing commissioners and board members is that they come from all over the city,” DavisHolmes said. “As a resident and if you’re my elected official, I’d want to know that I’m

Newly elected mayor of Carson, Lula Davis-Holmes.

Photo courtesy of the City of Carson

represented in your district and how are you going to govern.

“We’re going to start having workshops, once I’ve laid down the bones. This is not new to other cities. I will look at how other cities function, but we’re not LA. We’re not that big.

We have 14 parks in the city and they all will remain beautiful.”

Due to the census, a change in the population could change the political boundaries. Davis-

Holmes noted she opposed changing the city’s governance to a district-based system so quickly.

“Like I told my colleagues last night, I’m not a last-minute person,” the new mayor said.

“Those districts were picked, even though we looked at them because of the lawsuit.”

Davis-Holmes was referring to the lawsuit filed by the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project used to push for districts in Carson in 2019.

“In my mind, we should have fought it because no judge has yet told us that we were in violation. We jumped the gun,” Davis-Holmes said. “At the end of the day, everything they were trying to do, it didn’t happen. We still have the same elected officials.”

Davis-Holmes noted that if she wanted to be divisive she could ensure there are four AfricanAmericans on the city council instead of three.

“My seat is open,” Davis-Holmes said. “All we need are three people to say ‘OK, appoint this person.’ That is my district and I’m going to have a lot to say on who gets elected or appointed to that seat. I want a diverse council because it’s so diverse.”

When asked about what’s needed to have the council to be even more reflective of the city it serves, she replied that residents need to get involved.

“You must take ownership of what’s going on in your city and not just come to council to tell us what a terrible job we’re doing,” she said. “What are you doing to help change that?”

Davis-Holmes noted the city has put out a call for residents to submit applications to serve on the city’s advisory boards.

“We have over a hundred applications in right now today.” Davis-Holmes said. “I want new blood in and I want new people. I’m gonna have some of the old ones because they have the knowledge and expertise, but you got to get involved in your city.”

Helping small businesses through the pandemic

On helping small businesses through the pandemic, Davis-Holmes noted that Carson has been receiving community development block grants and directing them to small businesses.

The new mayor said the city council was looking to help 50 businesses with the money but is tasking staff with reducing some hurdles in the application process.

“What I’m asking my consultant to now do is to streamline the process...” Davis-Holmes explained. “The [application process for the] CDBG money is so cumbersome. You have to have all your data in order. What I’m finding is that with our small businesses, they don’t have all that information, the whos, whats and whens in order.”

Affordable housing and struggling families

Another of Davis-Holmes priorities is wrestling with the question of how the city is going to live after the pandemic.

“The city is not going to look the same and we need to address homelessness, even though we don’t have a large [homeless] population,” Davis-Holmes said.

She pointed to the city’s rental assistance pro[See Mayor, p. 13]

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

February 4 - 17, 2021

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Life After Mother

Community Announcements:

Sorry, USC, My Mother Two-Timed You

By Lyn Jensen, Reporter

My mother willed her body to medicine — twice — first to University of Southern California’s School of Medicine. Apparently without withdrawing that donation (which is supposed to be done in writing, or at least with witnesses), near her life’s end she turned around and donated herself to UC Irvine School of Medicine.

When I tried to talk to my mother about the USC donation — the only one I was certain about — I only got, “No! No! Not USC! UCI! UCI!” When I asked about the change, that only got more, “UCI! UCI!” When I asked about a phone number or paperwork, “You don’t need that! UCI! It’s UCI!”

I knew about the USC donation because I remembered my parents discussing it. Motivated more by the possibility of a tax write-off than altruism, they agreed to donate their bodies to USC in 1977. My father, when facing his last days, was at least conscientious enough to give me a phone number.

When a hospital employee asked me about the disposition of my mother’s body, I could only guess a donation to UCI best represented her wishes. I didn’t have a phone number but the hospital provided one.

When I called the number and explained, there was a pause, a clicking of keys, then, “She’s

not in our system.”

I was about to hang up and call USC, when the person on the other end of the line said they could take the information and make arrangements over the phone. So I did.

USC had offered me the option of returning my father’s remains. Getting his remains back and determining their final resting place proved complicated. I weighed my options: scatter his ashes and dispose of the container myself, pay a professional service such as the Neptune Society, or inter the ashes in a cemetery. Since he was entitled to be interred in a veteran’s cemetery, all expenses paid, that’s what I did.

My mother wasn’t covered by veteran’s benefits, but this time the solution was simple.

UCI doesn’t offer the option of returning the remains. It sees to the scattering of the ashes.

I found records of the donations to both schools only when I moved into my mother’s house and tackled the job of clearing away a lifetime of papers. The USC paperwork is dated May 18, 1977 and witnessed by the next-door neighbors at the time. The UCI paperwork is dated Dec. 8, 2013 and witnessed by the current next-door neighbor and his wife — the one my mother insisted she didn’t know. Under next-ofkin, my mother put, “Self.” A donor card was provided to be carried in one’s wallet, billfold, or purse. Obviously it wasn’t.

Two things bother me: that the UCI woman couldn’t find my mother in her system — perhaps the paperwork was never properly processed — and that I had to apologize to USC for my mother stiffing its willed-body program.

Harbor Area [Announcements, from p. 2] offer more sessions through February. for four important programs that safely engage youth.

Details: www.longbeach.gov/parks-recreation

City of Carson Animal Services Change

Effective Feb. 1, 2020, the City of Carson will respond to calls for service for animal services Monday through Thursday, not including holidays, during the hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. City of Carson residents should contact their Public Safety Department at 310-830-7600 for service during these times.

Weekend, after hours, and holiday service response will be provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.

City of Carson residents should contact DACC at 310- 523-9566 for service during these times.

Water Lab: A Digital Learning Experience

West Basin continues to offer free online classes and family-friendly resources available to the community. All webinars will be live-hosted

by West Basin staff or in partnership with other subject-matter experts and participants will be given the opportunity to ask questions during and after each presentation.

Know Your H2o Webinar Series—Water Recycling Facility Virtual Tour: Take a peek behind the curtains of a world-class recycled water production facility. Take an in-depth look into one of life’s most important resources: water. Webinar participants learn about one of four topics.

Time: 10 to 11:30 a.m. Feb. 6 Details: www.westbasin.org/community/westbasin-water-lab/know-your-h2o-webinar

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February 4 - 17, 2021

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[100 Days, from p. 1]

First 100 Days

• Review officer-involved use of force and officer- involved shootings, and re-open cases dating back to 2012 • End the practice of deputy district attorneys requesting cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felony offenses

by Jan. 1, 2021 • Re-evaluate and re-sentence thousands of cases including all those who have served more than 20 years in prison, those with sentence enhancements, those who are at high risk of COVID-19 and those tried as adults when charged during childhood • End the pursuit of the death penalty

Random Lengths News solicited the perspective of Long Beach Superior Court judges and an active deputy district attorney, who we dubbed John Q. The sources cited ethical concerns about speaking on the record. They requested that their identities be withheld due to the sensitivity of the subject matter.

One judge expressed concern about a memo from Gascón’s office requiring deputy district attorneys to report on judges refusing to strike priors of dismissed cases that have already been filed upon his simple oral motion, with mention of “flipping them” (the judges) in the next election.

“Once a case is filed, a judge has a duty to see that the law is followed,” the judge said. “The judges who I know well are expressing concern over this tactic.”

John Q acknowledged the existence of this memo, but noted that the memo didn’t mention anything about flipping judges and attributed the assertion to social media chatter from Gascón’s

“

Nobody is opposed to shifting more resources to both rehabilitation and community development, but we also have to protect the community. We can do both and still offer the proper amount of justice for people who kill Black and Brown victims as we do White victims.”

— Anonymous Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney

supporters.

There are a number of legal professionals who believe Gascón’s concerns have merit, that there is a draconian aspect to the three strikes law.

Some of those (deputy prosecutors) agree with Gascón and are opposed to capital punishment and that bail is unconstitutional. But the way Gascon has gone about changing the system, they argue is counterproductive.

“Gascón, as an executive branch official, may or may not have the ability to choose not to implement a law that he doesn’t like,” one judge said. “Ultimately, that issue may have to be resolved at the appellate court level.

“Trump, as an executive branch official, may have the ability to pardon whomever he wants.

Some, however, dispute the appropriateness of certain executive branch actions, believing that these issues are more appropriately addressed by the legislative branches of our state and federal governments.”

John Q noted that the District Attorney’s Office already had a prohibition against seeking three strikes and 25-year-to-life sentences. John Q further explained that prosecutors found the prohibition on filing enhancements, which at one time included hate crimes and child and sex crimes enhancements as well as the strike priors, to be the most problematic.

He argued that this was one of the significant reasons why the District Attorney’s Union filed suit. It was to fight the prohibition against strike priors.

John Q believed District Attorney Jackie Lacey was unfairly attacked, opining that she was not pro cop versus the Black community and that she personally wanted to prosecute officers who unlawfully shot someone. He said she made a fatal miscalculation about meeting with Black Lives Matter and discussing individual police shootings.

“There were folks in her administration who felt differently,” John Q said. “She felt personally attacked by BLM and hurt that it was Black women taking the lead against her.”

John Q noted that most of Gascón’s Day One initiatives were already policy under Jackie in some form or another.

John Q cited Gascón’s ending cooperation requirements for survivors’ benefits as an example.

“The LADA [Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office] never required survivor cooperation to access assistance funds,” John Q said. “That’s a state rule since the bulk of that money comes from the state. Gascón wants to get money from the county to do that but that’s just a proposal at this point.”

Gascón has issued about nine directives, one of which applied to misdemeanors. There are many who believe that the directive will result in many of these cases not being filed and the probationary period being limited to one year.

One Superior Court judge outlined the issues that could arise from a judge not considering prior misdemeanors.

“By and large the misdemeanors that arise include drunk in public, disturbing the peace, interfering with a peace officer, firefighter or lifeguard in the performance of his or her duties, being under the influence of cocaine, meth, etc., bar room brawls, petty thefts, vandalism (graffiti), joyriding golf carts and vessels, and driving without a driver’s license or driving on a suspended driver’s license,” he said. “To simply do nothing about these cases means that accountability for one’s actions is ignored.

“What about the victims in these cases? What about the court’s function in assuring restitution to victims of these crimes? One year often is not a long enough period to assure that a victim has received restitution.”

“Judges often attempt to focus on rehabilitation, hoping that the court’s intervention will have a real positive impact, not only for the defendant, but for society as a whole,” said one jurist who asked to remain anonymous. “Without court intervention in the ‘drug addict’ type cases, are we throwing in the towel on trying to do something that may end up providing fellow human beings and the least of our brethren a better life?”

John Q broadly agreed noting that lessening enhancements will mostly affect Black and brown victims of crime.

“The policy of not charging 17-year-olds as adults will result in gangs using juveniles as [See Gascón, p. 15]

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

February 4 - 17, 2021

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California is Getting Played, Again Don’t fall for the Recall Newsom scam James Preston Allen, Publisher

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

The California GOP, after having no majority in the state legislature and none of the statewide offices for the last decade on top of the embarrassing defeat of their dear fascist leader for president, they return to a very old ploy — blame everything on the Democrats.

The recall Gov. Gavin Newsom campaign is none other than a replay on how the Republicans got rid of Gov. Gray Davis in 2003 over the energy crisis and got Arnold Schwarzenegger elected. Come to think about it, it’s the same kind of game that was run on President Jimmy Carter by Ronald Reagan with the Iran hostage crisis. The Republican’s motto should be “never let a bad crisis go to waste.”

Newsom’s problem is that the state has been hit with three crises simultaneously: COVID-19, the economic shutdown and chronic homelessness — a problem exacerbated by the other two crises. And up until Jan. 20, there has been no federal coordination on a unified response to any of the crises. If one takes the long view of history, you might come to the conclusion that the Republicans create the calamities that the Democrats inherit and then blame them for not fixing them. Think of the last four economic recessions, the 9/11 wars on terrorism and now this damn pandemic. No, Trump didn’t create the disease, but he sure didn’t do what was necessary to either defend the nation against it in the first place nor have a plan other than “let the states deal with it” and “let the nation get infected.”

What we have come to learn lately is that for all of Trump’s boasting about “Warp Speed” vaccine development was that it was just as much a campaign ploy as his maskless rallies, because when Joe Biden became president (and yes he did get elected with more votes than DJT), the distribution plan for those vaccines was nonexistent. His predecessor didn’t have a plan — other than play golf, incite the traitorous insurrection with false allegations of “voter fraud” and fuel conspiracy hoaxes for the next 70 days after Nov. 3 until Twitter finally realized that Trump had gone mad. This is something we’ve known for a long time.

Most of the very same devotees of the voter fraud conspiracy are the same people behind “Recall Newsom.” This is nothing

less than an extension of the mindset that fueled the insurrection.

Given the current volatility and frustration in places like Huntington Beach about wearing masks and the general aggravation about restaurant closures, along with the small number of anti-vaxer protesters, QAnon conspiracy nut jobs and white supremacist groups, I’m surprised that they don’t just storm the state capital. This is beginning to resemble Jan. 6 in which a minority of disgruntled people attempt to overthrow a legitimately elected government.

Some will recall that Newsom won the general election in 2018 with the largest majority since Gov. Earl Warren did in 1950. He did it with 7,721,410 votes, nearly 62%. It takes 12% of the total votes cast for both candidates in that election to even hold a recall vote, which are 1.495 million signatures. Newsom has already weathered one failed recall attempt in 2019. Now they’re back for a second bite at the orange. Will the Republicans be successful in this second attack on a governor who is more popular than even Gov. Jerry Brown?

The game is afoot.

The election of Newsom in 2018 marked the first time Orange County favored a Democratic candidate since Jerry Brown in 1978, and the first time Democrats have won three consecutive gubernatorial elections in the state’s history.

This recall effort probably has more to do with the Republican minority becoming desperate to stay relevant in the political game as their party registration of late has them ranked third behind decline-to-state. Ouch!

On Feb. 2, former San Diego Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer showed up in front of Cabrillo Elementary School in San Pedro to announce his run for the governor’s seat. It was reported on KCAL 9 and CBS 2 News. How he snuck into a blue working class town that voted 65% for Biden and Harris without so much as a protest from either labor or progressives we may never know, but it was certainly odd in an era of oddities. Had this newspaper been at this press conference, I would have asked him if he: 1. Supported the insurrection at the US Capital, 2. Whether he thinks Joe Biden stole the election and 3. When was the last time he had dinner with Republican supporters at a restaurant with more than his immediate family?

February 4 - 17, 2021

Publisher/Executive Editor James Preston Allen james@randomlengthsnews.com

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Assoc. Publisher/Production Coordinator Suzanne Matsumiya

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

—Mark Twain Vol. XLII : No. 3

Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communities of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach. Distributed at over 350 locations throughout the Harbor Area.

Managing Editor Terelle Jerricks editor@randomlengthsnews.com Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg paul.rosenberg@ randomlengthsnews.com Internship Program Director Zamná Àvila

This recall effort is nothing more than a dangerous charade fed by right wing conspiracies, Republican fears of being completely locked into the dustbin of irrelevancy for the foreseeable future because of their failure to diversify their base and their embrace of Trumpism.

Don’t get me wrong, I have my disagreements with Gov. Newsom too. But I’m not stupid enough to spend the next six months refighting the same issues that got Trump dumped,

impeached twice and to then have some bozo from San Diego go all Gov. DeSantis on our state just to position himself for the Republican ticket for president and name recognition. Perhaps they need to call Rudy Giuliani to lead the charge and file a lawsuit against Newsom for holding an “illegal dinner” at the French Laundry in Napa.

Onward Christian soldiers. Storm the parapet of democracy and throw out the infidel Democrats!

Ha, I say!

Smart Ports Act Will Improve Air Quality and Create Good Jobs

By Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán

In many ways, the Port of Los Angeles is the economic engine of our community. It provides many jobs for our neighbors and the goods that pass through it help power the entire American economy.

Unfortunately, the port is also a major source of air pollution, with serious public health consequences, particularly for communities of color who live nearby. The people in these neighborhoods live close to working diesel trucks, ships, trains and cargo-handling equipment spewing poisons into our air and water. And we’ve paid the price. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause lung cancer, increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes and may impact pregnancy.

Even though air pollution from the ports has been cut in recent years, the nearby neighborhoods in my district still have our region’s highest cancer risk from air pollution and they have much higher rates of asthma than other areas of

Columnists/Reporters Melina Paris Staff Reporter Hunter Chase Staff Reporter Send Calendar Items to: 14days@randomlengthsnews.com Photographers Arturo Garcia-Ayala, Terelle Jerricks, Raphael Richardson, Chris Villanueva

California.

This week I reintroduced the Climate Smart Ports Act, a bill that would reduce the pollution that severely harms the people in our neighborhoods. It would combat environmental injustice and fight climate change by creating the first federal program to green our nation’s ports. The Climate Smart Ports Act would invest in zeroemissions technology and infrastructure, protect dockworkers, fight climate change, address a source of environmental injustice and create good-paying green jobs.

The Climate Smart Ports Act would create a $1 billion-a-year zero-emissions ports infrastructure program to assist ports and port users with the following: • Replacing diesel-burning cargo handling equipment, port harbor craft, drayage trucks and other equipment with zero emissions [See Smart, p. 7]

Design/Production Suzanne Matsumiya, Brenda Lopez

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Community Alerts

One San Pedro Specific Plan Public Scoping Meeting

A public scoping meeting will be held in an online format using Zoom to share information regarding the One San Pedro Specific Plan development for Rancho San Pedro, the environmental review process and to receive written public comments regarding the scope and content of the environmental analysis to be addressed in the Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact Statement.

Staff, environmental consultants and project representatives will be available and a brief presentation is scheduled. HACLA encourages all interested individuals and organizations to attend this meeting. Written comments may be submitted during the project review period, but there will be no verbal comments or public testimony taken at the public scoping meeting. No decisions about the project will be made at the public scoping meeting.

A separate public hearing on the underlying project approvals will be scheduled after the completion of the draft EIR/EIS. If you have questions about this Notice of Preparation, please contact Jessica Frazier at 213-219-1401 or jessica.frazier@hacla.org.

Time: 10 a.m. Feb. 6 Venue: Virtual meeting via: tinyurl.com/4557eew7 Meeting ID: 942 4945 7658, Passcode: 639556 Dial by phone: +1-408-6380968 or + 1-669-900-6833 Meeting ID: 942 4945 7658 Find your local number: https:// zoom.us/u/aeEM1qQ8kr

Property Tax Postponement Program Deadline

A Little Gratitude Goes a Long Way

My husband and I are generous to the local community nonprofits. We do this because we are blessed: roof over head, food on the table and money in the bank. I went back through my donation receipts from last year, which were substantial in numbers, if not in dollars. Especially Giving Tuesday. We gave to most who asked. I received about 30 printed tax forms and two hand written notes. My children and those two organizations who had the time to hand write a note (whether it was for $5, or $5,000) are going to be happy. I have reached a point in my life where kindness and gratitude are essential.

Buy some note paper and have your children write notes, send a photo, do something personal to be remembered.

Arlene Dickey San Pedro

Absurd Prop. 19 Deadline

I am writing to express extreme displeasure with the legislature’s decision to impose a Feb. 16 deadline on California homeowners to transfer property to their children, or face massive property tax increases. Giving families a three-month window to decide whether to transfer their homes, in the middle of a global pandemic and national vaccine rollout is, quite frankly, absurd. This short window of time shows how clueless our Sacramento legislators actually are.

How can anyone find out the necessary information to learn about a 35 year old rule change in the middle of a pandemic? All of the county’s offices are closed to the public! Some estate planning firms are charging anywhere from $1,000 to $2,700, just for the consultation alone. One local law firm estimates that getting the ac-

tual work done for Prop. 19 planning is a minimum of $12,000. Is it reasonable to expect low or middle income families to be able to seek adequate counsel at these prices in the middle of a global pandemic and national vaccine rollout?

Why not extend the deadline until families can better understand how these changes will affect them? The Los Angeles County Assessor said on Friday this rule change is the biggest change to property tax administration since Prop. 13 was passed in 1978! The additional stress created on families to meet this ridiculous deadline is unfair and inappropriate, and any legislator who voted in favor of ACA 11 should be ashamed of themselves.

Christopher Yang San Pedro Prop. 19 has now passed in California, and with it brought changes to how property tax is reassessed for some purchases, effective April 1, 2021. The new law replaces Prop. 60 and Prop.

90, affecting replacement property by homeowners who are over 55, severely disabled, or whose home has been substantially damaged by wildfires or natural disaster. It allows the homeowners to transfer their original home’s taxable value to a replacement property. It’s unclear as of yet how properties sold prior to April 1 will be treated if the replacement purchase occurs after this date. Regardless, the replacement purchase must occur within two years of the original property’s sale. Under prior law, this type of reassessment could only be applied if the purchase was made in the same county as the prior residence or in specific counties. Under new law, it applies throughout California.

Additionally, prior law required the replacement home to have equal or lesser value than the original home. Prop. 19 has provisions for an adjusted rate in a circumstance where the value is greater. The adjusted rate is calculated as the original home’s taxable value plus the difference between the

[Smart, from p. 6]

Climate Smart

equipment and technology • Funding the installation of shore power for docked ships, and electric charging stations for vehicles and cargo equipment • Developing clean energy microgrids onsite at the ports to power their facilities • Authorizing an additional $50 million a year for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, specifically for reducing emissions at ports.

From the folks who brought us the Dodger Stadium anti-vaxxer protest—now the recall Gavin Newsom Petition.

They’d rather have Ron De Santis as our governor. Funny there’s no mention of Saturday’s Dodger Stadium protests. They got press coverage all over the world: WAPO, NYT, CBS, ABC, NBC, BBC, Al Jazeera, Jerusalem Post RT, Democracy Now!, India Times I did screenshots of the news. coverage if anybody wants them.

They got all that coverage but not a word appears about their event on Saturday in this, their latest email blast.

No LAPD Arrests like the ones on Xmas and New Years either.

The covidiots are organized.

Charles LaMont San Pedro

Death for Donald

Jan. 6, 2021 — a day that will live in infamy! Or should I say — insane stupidity? Speaking of infamous idiocy, traitor Donald Trump deserves to die.

Now, let me be clear — I am not calling for anyone to do anything, nor would I ever be willing to be the hand of fate myself. But rest assured, unless Orange Hitler and his crackpot criminal family hide out in Nazi-friendly Argentina for the rest of their washed-up lives, demonic Donald and/or his evil brood will eventually pay the ultimate price.

It’s about time we had an honest, unfiltered public conversation about

whether or not demagogue Donald Trump deserves the death penalty for his treason against our democratic republic and for his treacherous crimes against humanity.

Trump unofficially implemented a genocidal strategy of herd immunity during the still worsening COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to deranged Donald’s disastrously failed, lunatic lynch mob coup d’etat attempt by his murderous, marauding, hateful hillbilly fascist fan club.

Hundreds of thousands of your fellow Americans are now needlessly dead, because demented Donald Trump wanted it that way!

The still grieving family members deserve swift justice, not the usually disgraceful, typical outcome whereby rich psychopaths are able to buy their way out of any and every crime they commit.

The day domestic terrorist traitor Donald Trump dies by natural causes or otherwise, there will be a spontaneous, massive worldwide party and all are invited, except for you inbred, insurrectionist neoConfederate Nazi creeps.

Considering the fact that the blood of so many Americans is on the tiny hands of genocidal domestic terrorist Donald Trump, the death penalty for diabolical Donald is absolutely necessary!

The only question left now is the method of execution. Firing squad on 5th Avenue, perhaps? Wouldn’t that be ironic?

Jake Pickering Arcata, CA [See Letters, p. 15]

February 4 - 17, 2021

Nanette Diaz Barragán is proud to represent California’s 44th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Carson, Compton, Florence-Firestone, Lynwood, North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, San Pedro, South Gate, Walnut Park, Watts, Willowbrook and Wilmington.

Anti-Vaxxer Protest

Implementing strong labor provisions to protect dockworkers from automation, require a prevailing wage for installation work generated through grants, and encourage the use of union labor and local hiring.

This past year, the Climate Smart Ports Act passed the U.S. House as part of the Moving Forward Act, legislation that invests in the country’s infrastructure. I am optimistic we can build on that momentum and pass it into law this year.

We are often given a false choice between a clean environment and a strong economy. With the Climate Smart Ports Act, we don’t have to choose.

replacement home’s purchase price and the original home’s sale price.

This reassessment can be applied up to three times, or indefinitely any time that it is applied under the provisions for substantial property damage. With Prop. 19 also came a change to intergenerational transfers. Previously, a child or grandchild could inherit a property with no change to the property tax amount. Effective Feb. 16, 2021, that exemption from reassessment applies only while the heir is using the property as their primary residence, and only if the heir claims a homeowner’s or disabled veteran’s exemption within one year of the transfer.

The new law also requires that the property continue to be used as the child or grandchild’s primary residence. Once the property is no longer their primary residence, the property will be reassessed.

If the value of the inherited property is more than $1 million greater than the original purchase value, there will be a partial reassessment. Essentially, the heir is allowed to use the original purchase value, plus $1 million as the baseline property value. Above that, normal property taxes are applied.

In addition, family farms are now also included in properties that can retain their taxable value when transferred. Farms are not subject to the primary residence test, however all other qualifications and exemptions apply.

By Marlowe Clark from BeachChatter

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

LOS ANGELES — The state controller’s office administers California’s Property Tax Postponement Program that has a deadline for applications of Feb. 10, 2021, and applications will be processed in the order received. Eligible homeowners, which include seniors, who are at least 62, are blind, or have a disability and meet income, equity and other requirements, may be able to postpone payment of property taxes on their primary residence. It’s important to file an application by Feb. 10, 2021.

As of last year, manufactured homes are also eligible for property tax postponement.

Only current-year property taxes are eligible for deferment of payment.

Participants must reapply each year and demonstrate they continue to meet eligibility requirements.

Details: https://sco. ca.gov/ardtax_prop_tax_ postponement.html; 800- 9525661; postponement@sco. ca.gov

RANDOMLetters

7

[Threat, from p. 1]

Threat Remains

February 4 - 17, 2021

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

for the post-modern age: The oldest is the medieval blood libel, the false claim that Jews kidnap and murder Christian children to use their blood for ritual purposes — primarily as an ingredient in the baking of Passover matzah (unleavened bread).

The earliest such ritual murder charge took place in Norwich, England, in the 12 century, two centuries before similar sorts of charges ignited witch hunts across the European continent. The second is Protocol of the Elders of Zion: the claim that a small coterie of Jews is secretly controlling the fate of nations, if not the world.

QAnon — first hatched on a neo-Nazi infested message board (functionally similar to a Yahoo chat or Facebook group) — combines elements of both conspiracy theories. It alleges that a cabal of Satanworshipping cannibalistic pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring (recycling the earlier discredited “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory) and plotting against U.S. President Donald Trump, who is allegedly fighting the cabal. The very first QAnon post implicitly claimed Trump was secretly working with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the exact opposite of Mueller’s openly stated purpose.

An earlier post by another anonymous pseudoinsider, claimed “Hillary Clinton will be arrested between 7:45 AM - 8:30 AM EST On Monday — the morning of Oct. 30, 2017,” to which Q responded. “HRC extradition already in motion effective yesterday with several countries in case of cross border run.... Expect massive riots organized in defiance and others fleeing the US to occur.”

What actually happened on Oct. 30 was the exact opposite of what Q claimed. Mueller’s initial indictments were against Trump’s former campaign

8

POLB Moves a Record 8.1 Million TEUs in 2020

Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), known for spreading discredited conspiracy theories and being a QAnon supporter, is sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). File photo

chairman, Paul Manafort and Manafort’s former business partner, Rick Gates. Yet, Q continued to promise that Mueller was working with Trump.

This was the first in a seemingly endless pattern of discredited claims reinterpreted after the fact.

As indicated above, a key element of the theory is that Trump is planning a day of reckoning known as “Storm,” when thousands of members of the cabal will supposedly be arrested. That first post was the first glimpse of what the Storm promised to be. The vast majority of QAnon believers conflated the Jan. 6 insurrection with the Storm, and, of course, Trump leaving office puts the Storm beyond the realm of possibility.

Gaming’s evil twin

But it’s long been understood that cults can survive the disproof of central beliefs, and can

actually grow stronger, by creatively reinterpreting events. Although unlikely for QAnon, something remarkably similar in spirit is very likely to emerge in some form. To understand why, we need to view QAnon as seen by the alternate reality game — sometimes called ARG — community, several members of which have described QAnon as intentionally creating an alternate reality, just as alternate reality games do.

The most chilling of these analyses, A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon by Reed Berkowitz, described QAnon as “gaming’s evil twin. A game that plays people.”

“It is the differences that shed the light on how QAnon works and many of them are hard to see if you’re not involved in game development,” he went on to say. “QAnon is like the reflection of a game in a mirror, it looks just like one, but it is inverted.”

Take for example apophenia, “the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas).”

“In most ARG-like games apophenia is the plague of designers and players, sometimes leading participants to wander further and further away from the plot,” Berkowitz explained.

But QAnon thrives on just such wandering.

“In real games there are actual solutions to actual puzzles and a real plot created by the designers. It’s easy to get off track because there is a track,” he explained.

QAnon is a mirror reflection of this dynamic. Here apophenia is the point of everything. There are no scripted plots. There are no puzzles to solve created by game designers. There are no solutions.

QAnon grows on the wild misinterpretation of random data, presented in a suggestive fashion in a milieu designed to help the users come to the intended misunderstanding. …

There is no reality here. No actual solution in the real world. Instead, this is a breadcrumb trail AWAY from reality.

The “reality” that people think they are finding is actually one they’re creating. But it’s one they’re creating around an identifiable core of “almost pure propaganda,” that’s deeply manipulative.

“That IS the sole purpose of this. It’s not advertising a product, it’s not for fun, and it’s not an art project,” Berkowitz writes. “There is no doubt about the political nature of the propaganda either. From ancient tropes about Jews and Democrats eating babies (blood-libel re-booted) to anti-science hysteria, this is all the solid reliable stuff of authoritarianism. This is the internet’s repurposing of hatred’s oldest hits.”

Read the online version of this story to learn of QAnon’s origins and its connection to gaming culture at https://tinyurl.com/Aftermath-of-a-coup/.

LONG BEACH — Workers at the Port of Long Beach moved more than 8.1 million cargo container units in 2020 — the busiest year the port has ever recorded — an impressive accomplishment in the face of economic uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing trade war with China.

The 8,113,315 TEUs, 20-foot equivalent units that were moved in 2020 represent an increase of 6.3% over 2019. Imports rose 6.4% to 3,998,340 TEUs. Exports totaled 1,475,888 TEUs, up 0.2%, while empty containers increased 9.9% to 2,639,088 TEUs. The port exceeded the previous annual record set in 2018 by 22,292 TEUs. The San Pedro Bay ports complex — Long Beach and Los Angeles combined — had 104 canceled sailings in the first half of 2020, 37 of which were destined for Long Beach. That was up from 41 canceled sailings for both ports in the first half of 2019.

During the second half of 2020, preliminary estimates show that the port had 104 unscheduled container ship calls that made up for voyages canceled earlier in the year, more than quadrupling the unscheduled sailings reported during the same period in 2019.

The port processed 2,406,010 TEUs from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, a 23% increase from the fourth quarter of 2019. It also topped the previous record set during the third quarter of 2020 by 131,740 TEUs. Trade was up 22.6% in December compared to the same period in 2019.

Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 815,885 cargo container units in December.

Imports grew 25.6% this past month to 406,072 TEUs compared to December 2019 and exports increased 5.6% to 132,374 TEUs. Empty containers headed back overseas jumped 26.3% to 263,852 TEUs.

Water Replenishment District Revokes Title of Former President

CARSON — The Water Replenishment District stripped Vera Robles DeWitt’s title as board president on Jan. 29 after attempting on three separate occasions to hire the former City of Carson mayor, Albert Robles, as general manager. WRD’s Southern California board voted 3-1 in favor of the move, citing that her actions were legally questionable and left the district with inadequate representation.

Board member John Allen replaced DeWitt.

He had just been elected as the board’s vice president this past election cycle. Sergio Calderon, who also serves on the board, was chosen to replace Allen.

Dewitt released a response disagreeing with the board’s action, but she didn’t challenge it. Instead, she said she’s looking forward to continuing her work with the WRD for the next four years.

Damon Jones Selected to Serve as New Carson Sheriff Station Captain

CARSON — Capt. Damon A. Jones, a 25-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, has been selected as the new captain to lead Carson Sheriff’s Station. Capt.

Jones assumed his role at the Carson Station Jan. 24.

Jones’ career with the sheriff’s department began in 1996. As a deputy sheriff, he was assigned to the Century Regional Detention Facility and custody headquarters operation safe jail, where he worked as a jail gang deputy. He later worked patrol at Carson and Century Station.

He was promoted to sergeant in 2009 [See News Briefs, p. 13]

Review

By Arturo Garcia-Ayala, Community Reporter

N

February 4 - 17, 2021

[See Heroes, p. 11]

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

inety-five years ago, American author Ernest Hemingway’s short story, A Soldier’s Home, made post-World War I societies further aware of what had been well known since the dawn of human civilization — the post traumatic stress of the warfighter is a real mental condition. In Hemingway’s time, when the field of psychology was still in its infancy, it was known as “shell shock.” During World War II the condition was known as “battle fatigue,” yet still not understood or accepted.

Succeeding generations of people who endured the horrors of war slowly sought help for their altered mental states instead of dismissing them as a form of cowardice. It was not until 1980 that the American Psychiatric Association definitively acknowledged post traumatic stress disorder as a diagnosable condition based on research with Jewish Holocaust survivors, sexual trauma victims and returning Vietnam veterans.

Diagnosis and treatment for veterans suffering from PTSD has greatly improved since then, especially following the wars in the Middle East after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

A segment of modern Americans are suffering from the same mental stressors that their ancestors did when they fought the Axis powers half a century ago.

Filmmaker Michael Gier argues in his soon-to-bereleased documentary, Wounded Heroes, that many combat veterans are still not receiving the proper treatment necessary to reintegrate into society.

Set for release on streaming platforms on March 5, Wounded Heroes portrays the struggles combat veterans have to endure for mental recovery. Gier wrote, produced and directed the documentary over three years.

Wounded Heroes is informative and highlights treatments that could be of real help to soldiers who return home suffering. Gier deftly interviews a diverse array of engaging veterans of past conflicts and medical professionals about the failures of health support systems such as the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Wounded Heroes also addresses the problem of over-medication in PTSD cases and argues that many medications prescribed to stabilize severe mental conditions are having the opposite effects. Gier highlights alternative non-drug recovery programs, like equine therapy, that are now available across the U.S. But at its core, the film argues for changing the classification of PTSD to something else.

Gier suggests dropping the word “disorder” from post traumatic stress. He argues that doing so would remove a cultural stigma by recognizing that post traumatic stress is a natural mental response to witnessing and being a part of traumatic events; he advocates treatment via cognitive community support.

9

F

February 4 - 17, 2021

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

or reasons that are inexplicable, California has outdoor dining again. Gov. Gavin Newsom says his sudden reversal of the ban has nothing to do with the recall effort that was sparked by pandemic closures, but he hasn’t been able to muster a coherent alternate explanation. Given recent reports of more contagious variants of COVID-19, ICU occupancy rates topping 85% across the state and short supplies of vaccines, there certainly hasn’t been any rational reason to reduce caution.

As is often the case when something happens for opaque reasons, a variety of individuals and organizations are claiming credit. A group of winery owners who filed a lawsuit demanding the end of restrictions are claiming this as their victory. This is despite the fact that the lawsuit is generally regarded as a public relations stunt with almost no chance of success. Restaurant associations, entertainment companies and other pressure groups have also cited the change as evidence of their clout.

It’s convenient for them that there’s no way to disprove their claims.

Though the decision to open has been made, it’s worth considering the arguments on both sides. At one end of the spectrum are people who see the decision to relax restrictions as a cave-in to special interest groups and a setback for getting the disease under control. They’re not likely to patronize restaurants inside or out, but are affected if they are called back to work and threatened with job loss if they don’t show up. On the other end are people with many reasons for advocating reopening. Some are fans of conspiracy theories that the pandemic is a hoax concocted to justify dictatorship.

Some advocate “herd immunity” despite the unanimous horror of the medical profession, and others are restaurant and small business owners who are desperate to pay their bills.

The most extreme of these are rebels who defiantly did what they opened their businesses to do: serve food to customers who came there to dine. The owners said they had no choice, because revenue from serving everything to go was too low. They railed against regulations they characterized as “one size fits all,” so that their outdoor tables are treated differently than the same seating in a nearby park.

Resistance to these restrictions ranged from subtle to confrontational. When outdoor dining was allowed, some restaurants skirted the rules, defining indoor spaces with big windows as outdoor patios and serving until they got caught. Governor Newsom’s lavish dinner in just that sort of environment got him a well-deserved slagging in the press while giving ammunition to his critics.

Some didn’t even pretend to follow the rules. Dana Tanner at Restauration in Long Beach openly and publicly defied the orders, going so far as to publicize a New Year’s Eve dinner with a DJ and open bar.

Other owners took legal action, like a Bay Area coalition that filed a lawsuit claiming

10

Now Open for Dining:

The Impossible Task, The Unreasonable Demands

By Richard Foss, Culinary Reporter

Open again for outdoor dining at Kalaveras on 5th Street and in front of Compagnon Wine Bistro on 7th Street in San Pedro. Photos by Arturo Garcia-Ayala

unequal treatment because malls and big box retailers were allowed to remain open.

Regulators and law enforcement leaders counter these arguments by pointing out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies show a high correlation between dining out and disease spread. They point out that interactions in retail stores can be arranged with little or no contact between employees and customers, and a mask can be worn at all times in a retail store, neither of which is true in a restaurant dining situation.

After looking at both arguments in detail, one comes to an uncomfortable conclusion: they’re both right.

On the restaurant side, there’s no question that overall traffic is much lower, and customers who order takeout are spending much less in each transaction. In a normal dining situation people around a table will order extra appetizers, sides, desserts and drinks as the meal progresses, and restaurants lose those impulse buys in a to-go environment. Alcohol sales, which are the difference between profit and loss for many establishments, have been particularly affected. So have sales of fresh seafood and shellfish, which are high-ticket items almost everywhere they are served. When it comes to the dining environment, eatery owners argue that a blanket ban on both indoor and outdoor dining is unfair, because it doesn’t take the situation at their establishment into account.

Regulators counter that the problems with decreased traffic aren’t their prime concern while public health is. Most agree that closing

all restaurant dining areas isn’t a perfect solution and point to the impossibility of assessing risks and enforcing bans on an individual basis.

Suppose someone devised a metric by which restaurant spaces could be judged on airflow, distance between diners and other concerns, and those that were judged safe were allowed to have on-site dining. The amount of data that would need to be collected and the number of in-person inspections required to verify that data are insurmountable barriers. They would involve measurements taken in each area of each room of every restaurant, plus all outdoor

spaces and waiting areas.

Given that there were 70,000 eating and drinking establishments in Los Angeles County at last count, the number of inspectors that would be required to conduct evaluations is enormous. Restaurants currently only see a health inspector between one and three times a year, and that is to conduct a far less rigorous survey of health conditions.

The most confrontational restaurant owners now face a business risk rivaling the pandemic closures thanks to their actions. Regulators have been citing scofflaws, revoking health permits and having utilities turned off. It’s an open question whether those businesses will have their service restored. It’s also an open question how long the reopening will last, since a closure that was both enacted and repealed on short notice may be reinstated again.

If it is, the group of winery owners will undoubtedly resurrect their lawsuit, but its prospects are questionable. An attorney who has looked at the case, David Bosko, says “I don’t think the restaurants’ argument is that strong,” even though “Pandemic fatigue has infiltrated judgment, even within the judiciary.

The government cannot act in an arbitrary and capricious way, but this is not exactly arbitrary and capricious. We know that people getting together increases risk. The mere fact that life is not fair, and that some things are open and some

things are not, may not be sufficient to show this is arbitrary. The government is doing its best. It cannot close everything so it closes what it can.”

When asked about the difference in customer behavior between restaurants and retail environments, Bosko affirmed that it is a weak point in their case. “[The lawsuit] boasts that coalition members have provided masks and mandated them for customers and employees. But it says nothing about the point you raise — that customers simply cannot wear their masks while eating [See Open, p. 11]

[Open, from p. 10]

Open Again

and drinking. This is another significant reason supporting the argument that the ban is not arbitrary and capricious that I would expect a court to consider.”

The argument on both sides is escalating in stridency and theatrical strategies. Even during the complete closure, some restaurants went underground and ushered customers inside via back doors and alleyways, after covering their windows so passers-by couldn’t see inside.

Because these culinary speakeasies are illegal and hidden, the windows are shut tight and the risk of disease transmission is correspondingly

Tradition, variety and fast delivery or takeout—you get it all at Big Nick’s Pizza.

The best selection of Italian specialties include hearty calzones, an array of pastas and our amazing selection of signature pizzas. We are taking all safety precautions to protect our diners and staff.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated on new developments. Call for fast delivery or to place a pick up order. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri.Sun. Big Nicks’ Pizza, 1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-732-5800, www.bignickspizza.com

BUONO’S AUTHENTIC PIZZERIA

CONRAD’S MEXICAN GRILL

Conrad’s reflects the cuisine of Oaxaca with a focus fresh on local, seasonal ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now Conrad’s features Peruvian dishes, as well as an inventive Mexican vegetarian and vegan menu. Dine outdoors or order online for curbside pick up and delivery. Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. S. Conrad’s Mexican Grill, 376.

W. 6th St., San Pedro • 424-264-5452, www.conradsmexicangrill.com

HAPPY DINER #1

HAPPY DINER #2

Built on the success of Happy Diner #1, Happy Diner #2 offers American favorites like omelets and burgers, fresh salads, plus pasta and Mexican dishes are served. Order online for delivery or call for curbside pickup. Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #2, 1931 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 310-935-2933, www.happydinersp.com

HAPPY DELI

The Happy Deli is a small place with a big menu. Food is made-to-order using the freshest ingredients. Breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches include a small coffee. For lunch or dinner select from fresh salads, wraps, buffalo wings, cold and hot sandwiches, burgers and dogs. Order online or call for takeout or delivery.

Hours: Mon. - Sat. 6 am. to 8 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Happy Deli, 530 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 424-364-0319, www.happydelisp.com

SAN PEDRO BREWING COMPANY

A micro brewery and American grill, SPBC features hand-

Equine therapy is one alternative to drug therapy for returning soldiers featured in the documentary Wounded Heroes.

March 5 through the Amazon, Google and iTunes streaming platforms.

Arturo Garcia-Ayala was an active duty U.S. Army Infantry Rifleman in 2002 for six years. He was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq while assigned to the 10th Mountain Division.

crafted awardwinning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, BBQ, sandwiches, salads and burgers.

Order your growlers, house drafts and cocktails to go (with food purchase)! Open daily 12 to 8 p.m. for al fresco dining, takeout and delivery through Grubhub, Postmates and Doordash. San Pedro Brewing Company, 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-831-5663, www.sanpedrobrewing.com

WEST COAST PHILLY’S

Welcome to West Coast Philly’s Cheesesteak and Hoagies where authentic Philly cheesesteaks meet the waterfront in San Pedro. Along with serving the classic cheesesteak, West Coast Philly’s puts its unique twist on its cheesesteaks and hoagies. Also on the menu are subs, burgers, wings and salads. Order online or call for pickup in the rear parking lot or delivery via Postmates, Doordash and Grubhub. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. West Coast Philly’s, 1902 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, 424-264-5322, www.westcoastphillys.com

Support Independent Restaurants • Dining Guide online: www.randomlengthsnews.com/dining-guide [See Calendar, page 16]

February 4 - 17, 2021

The Happy Diner #1 in Downtown San Pedro isn’t your average diner. The selections range from Italian- and Mexicaninfluenced entrées to American Continental. Happy Diner chefs are always creating something new—take your pick of grilled salmon over pasta or tilapia and vegetables prepared any way you like. Dine al fresco or call for takeout. Hours: Mon.-Wed. 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thurs.-Sat. 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sun. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Happy Diner #1, 617 S. Centre St., San Pedro, 310-241-0917, www.happydinersp.com

Heroes

Gier questions the established illness model, noting that it has not worked for many combat veterans. The documentarian interviewed pioneers in the field of mental recovery to discover how their alternative methods help soldiers heal. A major part of the treatment seems to be teaching returning soldiers that what they are enduring is not a disorder, but a “natural human reaction to traumatic events.”

In terms of its presentation, the film felt at best like a high school health film, and at worst like a long infomercial. This reviewer half-expected Gier to turn to the camera and say, “I want to sell you my new product.”

Hopefully the presentation won’t detract from the overall message of Wounded Heroes. The methods demonstrated in the film may one day enhance current treatments so warfighters have a better chance at a full mental recovery.

Wounded Heroes will be available on

Family owned and operated since 1965, Buono’s is famous for awardwinning brick oven baked pizza. Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and sauces based on tried-and-true family recipes and hand-selected fresh ingredients. Takeout, delivery and patio dining. Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Buono’s Pizzeria, 222 W. 6th St., San Pedro, 310-547-0655, www.buonospizza.com

Richard Foss is a journalist, author, culinary historian and lecturer based in Southern California.

You can read more of his work at https://richardfoss. com

[Heroes, from p. 9]

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

BIG NICK’S PIZZA

greater. The staff are in a bind; they have bills to pay so keep working but live in fear of both the knock at the door that means a shutdown, and the fever that indicates that they worked one shift too many.

Outdoor dining is permitted for now, but as health professionals advocate for tighter restrictions, restaurateurs are surely working out strategies to evade them. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that, like the pandemic itself, the argument about how to react to it won’t be over any time soon.

11

FEB 4 • 17 • 2021

MUSIC Feb. 6

Ayline Artin Drawing inspiration from artists such as Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and Journey, Artin has been working on her second album for the past 18 months, which will without a doubt take you to the “fields of rock ‘n’ roll.”

Time: 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 6 Cost: $25 to $40 Details: www.eventbrite.com/e/ ayline-artin-in-concert Venue: Online event

Feb. 12

Seven Limbs Featuring Nels Cline and the Aizuri Quartet Seven Limbs sets these five expert musicians in a landscape that is slightly unfamiliar — where the ground under their feet is always shifting in unexpected ways. This requires musical alertness and philosophical openness to whatever the moment brings, an outlook that parallels the Buddhist practice.

Time: 7 p.m. Feb. 12 with video on demand: Feb. 14 and 21 at 7 p.m.

Cost: Free Details: www.online.cap.ucla. edu/upcoming-programs/videos/ douglas-j-cuomo-seven-limbs

THEATER Feb. 5

February 4 - 17, 2021

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant

Celebrate Black History Month with Musical Theatre West Celebrate Black History Month

12

with a series of programs honoring Black Broadway artists.

Featuring three complementary components, this month-long tribute takes audiences on a virtual tour of some of the most important moments in Black musical theater history as well as introducing audiences to the talents that helped create the Broadway musical as we know it. Access to these programs is available on Facebook @musicaltheatrewest, Twitter @musicalthtrwest, and Instagram @musicaltheatrewest.

Time: 7 p.m. Feb. 5 – Florence Mills, Broadway’s Queen of Happiness Feb. 12 – Show Boat, Porgy and Bess Details: 562-856-1999; www.musical.org

Feb. 6

Black Broadway Choreography Join 30-minute choreography classes focusing on the work of an influential Black choreographer, Camille A. Brown. Pre-register via Zoom, pay what you can, $15 donation recommended. All donations go directly to the teaching artists.

Time: 11 a.m. in Feb. 6.

Details: www.musical.org/ celebrate

Feb. 14

TOCA To GO Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. It’s always difficult to find the perfect gift to show others how you feel about them, but Torrance Cultural Arts can help. How about

sending them a personal message delivered through the language of music? With TOCA To Go, you can have a personal performance by one of our artists delivered by email or in person. This year, when showing your love to someone, share some of that love with the arts and artists.

Details: www.torrancearts.org/ toca-to-go

FILM

Feb. 5 Necessity: Oil, Water and Climate XRUS, in conjunction with other climate justice partners, is organizing a two-week fundraiser for Indigenous water protectors and an educational panel on Frontline work at the Minnesota Line 3 resistance sites. The online movie fundraiser will take place Feb. 5 to 21. Registrants can donate on a sliding scale and then watch at their leisure during those hours on specific days within that time frame. Proceeds will go to Indigenous water protectors in the Giniw Collective and Miigizi Camp.

Time: 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily Feb. 5 through Feb. 21 Cost: Free Details: www.eventbrite.com

ART

Feb. 14 Tour Barcelona’s Picasso and Gaudi Museums Travel to one of most popular cities in Spain and virtually explore two of the most celebrated museums in the world. A live virtual tour of the Picasso Museum will begin with a brief discussion on the life of Pablo Picasso before exploring some of the most celebrated

works of art inside the museum.

Once the home of famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi (until 1925), today it has become one of the most popular museums throughout all of Europe Explore the unique art, furniture and objects located throughout the museum.

Time: 3 to 6 p.m. Feb 14 Cost: Free Details: https://www.facebook. com/eventspicasso-and-gauditours

Feb. 18

Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK is a GPS-enabled work of public art that uses music to illuminate the natural environment. The work has been intricately mapped to the varied terrain of Los Angeles’s Griffith Park. All that is needed is an app download and a sense of adventure. There is a $20 and up suggested donation.

Time: Feb. 18 Details: www.cap.ucla.edu/ calendar/details/soundwalk

COMMUNITY Feb. 5

Rhythm In Black: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow A fully virtual Black History Month celebration invites the public to Interact with speakers from throughout the community, enjoy performances from local artists and musicians, and be immersed in the Black experience from all corners of the diaspora.

Details: www.eventbrite.com/e/ rhythm-in-black-celebration Creative Storytelling Workshops LA County Library and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art are hosting a series of free virtual

workshops and programs held every other week on Fridays through June. Creative storytelling workshops will feature a live story reading by an LA County Library librarian. Geared towards children, each workshop will center around a different theme.

The library will also include a booklist that corresponds to each of the themes so participants can explore further. Registration is required.

Time: 4 p.m. Feb. 5 Details: LACountyLibrary.org/ LACMAprograms.

Feb. 10

Seaside Chats Webinar Manta Rays: The Mysterious Giants in our Backyard explores some of the most poorly studied ocean giants, which are threatened by fisheries, ship strikes, habitat degradation and a suite of other human impacts.

Many populations around the world are in decline, and the species was recently listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the IUCN red list. Meanwhile, an undescribed species of manta ray has been hiding in plain sight in the Atlantic, including at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. What are these rays doing off the coast of Texas? What are scientists learning about this population, and what remains to be discovered? Join this webinar to find out.

Webinar ID: 495-666-987 Time: 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Feb. 10 Cost: Free Details: www.attendee. gotowebinar.com/register/mantarays

Feb. 11

Rancho Los Cerritos Bird Count Each February, the world comes together for the love of birds. Join

RLC and count as many birds as you can find and report them to the Great Backyard Bird Count.

These counts help scientists better understand global bird populations before one of their annual migrations.

Details: www.rancholoscerritos. org/upcoming-event/birdingopportunity

Feb. 12

Pyramids and Egyptian Museum: Ancient Egypt Virtual Guided Tour In this virtual guided tour, an Egyptologist will explore the significance of the pyramids of Giza and the mysteries that surround them. The tour guide will also explore the famous Cairo Egpytian Museum and its many ancient relics. The museum will be explored with a 3D reconstruction.

Time: 7 a.m. Feb. 12 Cost: $10 Details: tinyurl.com/i3azsizf

Feb. 15

Shared Science Family Activity Shared Science will be at Rancho Los Cerritos for a Long Beach history and STEM lesson.

COVID-19 safety precautions are in place. This family activity takes place outdoors. Class size is extremely limited, some spots are still available. It costs $10 per person, which pays for the cost of materials and instruction.

Time: 1 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 15 Cost: $10 Details: www.campscui.active. com/orgs/

[News Briefs, from p. 8]

and was assigned to the Inmate Reception Center and Carson Station, where he worked as the field sergeant, watch sergeant and as the community relations sergeant. He was later assigned as a sergeant at the Audit and Accountability Bureau and personnel administration recruitment.

Jones was promoted to lieutenant in March 2015 and assigned to Twin Towers Correctional Facility and Transit Services Bureau, where he was a watch commander.

He also worked as the mental health liaison and access to care lieutenant.

Jones has worked at the Advocacy Unit and as the Division Aide at Professional Standards Division. Jones has been a member of the Sheriff’s Response Team since 2007 and the newly comprised Superspreader Task Force.

He previously served as a deputy and sergeant at the Carson Station.

Carson Station oversees Carson and unincorporated areas in Harbor Gateway, Harbor City and East Rancho Dominguez area.

Carson Luxury Apartment Complex Becomes 150 Units of Workforce Housing

New Carson Mayor

home coach was for $85,000.

“Now we have some people that’ve been in that mobile home park who paid $35,000 for their coach, so you’re gonna walk away with $85,000 in relocation fees and the opportunity to come back,” the new mayor said.

“I’ve also asked and the Faring Company has been very amenable to me,” Davis-Holmes said. “I have some seniors who cannot move and are never going to move. I don’t want them stressed out.”

In response to the organizing efforts of mobile home park residents, she believes it is the doing of Donald Trumpsupporting outsiders.

“What we have right now going on is a lot of outsiders coming in, you know, the Trump mentality inciting them,” DavisHolmes said. “The park across the street, Avalon, they got wind of the offer, because

Read the online version of this story to learn what Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes had to say about the City of Carson’s relationship with Cal State University of Dominguez Hills and Dignity Health Sports Park at https://tinyurl.com/Madame-Mayor-ofCarson.

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gram and expressed shock that only 10 people applied for the assistance, which offered $1,000 a month for three months for struggling renters.

“Are you kidding me?” DavisHolmes asked incredulously. “It’s like I told the city manager (Sharon Landers, the first female city manager in the city’s history), if you have not identified every apartment building where there are renters, then you have dropped the ball. Not everybody is on social media.”

Davis-Holmes described seeing lines wrapped around the corner filled with struggling Carsonites and a number of them mobile home park residents, during recent food giveaways during the pandemic.

“We got some 20 mobile home parks in the city. Are you telling me those people don’t need help paying their rent?” asked Davis-Holmes, rhetorically. “I don’t believe that. But they’re in line three days a week for food.”

The four-time former city councilwoman recounted the circumstances of one resident she encountered.

The resident was behind four months in lot rental fees for her mobile home and found the process for rental assistance to be too cumbersome.

“I don’t want to be the person, or the city staff that’s keeping you from paying your mortgage when we know we have $3,000 we can give you,” Davis-Holmes said. “There are a lot of people out there ... we’re having a party, but nobody knows we’re having it.”

The new mayor noted that the city only has so much power to stop the sale of a mobile home park.

“There is a process that you must go through,” Davis-Holmes said.

“Once the owner meets that criteria the park is for sale, but we as a council, we can’t stop it.”

With that said, Davis-Holmes explained that there are things the city can do to protect residents. She cited the Imperial Mobile Home Park as an example.

“Never in the history of a sale of mobile home parks have residents received a package like we’re putting together,” Davis-Holmes said.

“My request for them was this ... if you take this park (and they could have told me no), I want you to allow x number of people to move back in at the same rate that they were paying right now.”

The residential housing complex being planned for the site is going to be a senior city. Davis-Holmes requested that Imperial’s residents be given relocation expenses and that they be allowed to move into the residential complex and allowed to stay there as long as they live. DavisHolmes noted that the cheapest price the developer can purchase a mobile

need to look at where we’re spending our money. Our monies are going outside Carson. I want our dollars to stay here in Carson. We live, work and play in Carson.”

“My philosophy is to wait and the right developer will come along,” the mayor said. “I’m waiting on a project right now that everybody says is going to be a landfill. But as soon as I won the election....”

Davis-Holmes refrained from saying the name of the developers, who’ve shown interest in the city. But she described Carson as more than just a warehouse city or a low-income city.

“We need to attract those businesses that will bring those high-end technology jobs into our city,” she said. “If they can do it in Silicon Valley, we could be the Diamond of the South Bay.”

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

CARSON — A $78 million deal closed in December by the California Statewide Communities Development Authority, or CSCDA, will turn Carson’s first downtown luxury apartment complex into 150-units of middle-income affordable housing or “workforce housing.”

“Workforce housing” indicates a program targeted at households with incomes between 80% and 120% of the area median income for the metropolitan area.

The CSCDA is a statewide joint powers authority with over 500 governmental bodies in California, including Carson. It created an affiliate authority to be able to acquire these types of projects and commit, through a regulatory agreement, to support, preserve and provide low, median and moderate-income rental housing.

The Renaissance in Carson is the first property in Southern California to be acquired under this program.

No existing tenants would be displaced under the program, and existing tenants are allowed to be “over income,” or could eventually see their own rents decrease if they fall into one of the qualified income categories.

The Carson City Council members noted in past several years the city and its Housing Authority have facilitated the development of 160 new low-income units in the city for seniors, veterans and artists all of which are at capacity because of the high demand, but there had not previously been an opportunity to address the middle-income households.

Details: www.ci.carson.ca.us/ content/files/housing/rental/ Emergency-community-block-grant

[Mayor, from p. 3]

they were upset too. But when they realized the package that we as a council had put together to assist our residents, they said we want that same package.”

Davis-Holmes concluded that it’s a good deal and noted that it’s changing the landscape because the City of Carson is changing.

While the city is replacing its affordable housing stock, Mayor DavisHolmes has pledged to refocus her attention on middle-income housing.

The mayor noted that she has been approached by a developer wanting to purchase the Renaissance at the City Center and retooled a bit for middleincome buyers.

“We have to look at all of these, but we also need to know that to be a viable city our residents have to have some disposable income,” Davis-Holmes said.

“Because we’re talking about bringing in retail and these restaurants, we have to have people with the disposable income and I think Carson is that city.

“We are the fifth highest-grossing income level in the South Bay. You

13

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The animals at the Harbor Animal Shelter have ongoing need for used blankets, comforters, pet beds.* Drop off at Harbor Animal Shelter 957 N. Gaffey St.,San Pedro • 888-452-7381, x 143 PLEASE SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PET! *In any condition. We will wash and mend.

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Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2020223575 The following person is doing business as:(1) Girls in Focus, 2039 Trudie Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Girls in Focus, 2039 Trudie Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes 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/. Dunja Merell Djordjevic, President.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on 12/22/20.

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: 01/07/21, 01/21/21,

Los Angeles on 12/11/20.

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: 01/07/21, 01/21/21, 02/03/21, 02/17/21

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2020213812 The following person is doing business as: Blady’s Local Handyman, 242 W 11th StreetSan Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County.

Registered owners: Bladimir Olando Diego Garcia, 242 W 11th StreetSan Pedro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual.

The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/.

Bladimir Olando Diego Garcia, Owner This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on 11/10/20.

Notice--In accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from

02/03/21, 02/17/21

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2021004790 The following person is doing business as: (1) TL On

[continued on p. 15]

“I’m Gonna Have Some Words”--themeless time again!

© 2020 MATT JONES, Jonesin’ Crosswords

02/03/21, 02/17/21

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2020213812 The following person is doing business as: (1) Livid Media, 29505 S Western Ave, Suite #104, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Kenneth Roy Brewer, 924 Wycliff Ave, San Pedro, CA 90732. Meri Gyetvay, 524 W Hamilton Ave., 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: 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/.

Kenneth Roy Brewer, General Partner.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of

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: 01/07/21, 01/21/21,

For answers go to: www.randomlengthsnews.com

WANTED

ACROSS

1 Underscores?

6 Belt holders near belts?

15 Establish by law 16 Subject of a constitutional clause 17 Culminated in 18 Porcelain, when around electricity 19 “Must have been ___ news day” 20 Fall apart 21 Expand 22 Semiconductor classification whose first letter stands for “negative” 23 “Remove plastic,” e.g.

25 Wagering venue, for short 26 ___ Webster (Twain’s “celebrated jumping frog”) 27 BBC’s Italian counterpart 29 Like some hours 30 Salty snack from an air fryer, maybe 36 Popeye, as the theme song goes 37 Passive-aggressive message header implying you should’ve read 42 Projectile at some bars 43 Formula One racer Vettel,

to fans 44 Aberdeen resident 46 Spinning stat 47 Spoil, with “on” 50 Search engine input 51 Slacker’s sin 54 Edge 55 Store-hours word 56 Restoration site of 2019 58 Stops on ___ 59 Kind of phenomenon that explains why Ouija board planchettes move 60 1996 presidential candidate Alexander 61 Edge 62 Powers portrayer

DOWN

1 College founder Stanford 2 It’s the least you can rate 3 Phrase said with a downcast look 4 “Ghostbusters” stuff 5 Author Harriet Beecher ___ 6 Beneficiaries of some trust funds 7 “___ telling anyone” 8 Medium that was often psychedelic in the 1960s 9 Reason for a winter shot 10 Former Brazilian president ___ da Silva

11 “Diary of ___ Black Woman” (2005 film) 12 Put in writing 13 Tangled 14 Rave flashers 24 ___ d’Or (prize at Cannes) 28 Mosque leader 31 “The cow ___ [mooooo]” (pull-string toy output) 32 Like some bathrooms 33 Full of detail 34 “┐Por quΘ no los ___?”

35 When Easter falls 37 It’s “like a carrot doused in perfume,” according to cookscountry.com 38 Go boom 39 More out-of-the-way 40 Hockey player’s concern 41 Producers of “Dallas,” “Falcon Crest,” and “Knots Landing” 45 1840s First Family 48 East ___ (nation since 2002) 49 Nail file material 50 Feeling of uneasiness 52 Enterprise counselor Deanna 53 Natural rope fiber 57 Exclamation often prompted

by Bart Simpson

[CAAP, from p. 2]

CAAP Update

natural gas until we can prevent methane slippage, otherwise resolve natural gas’s actual contribution to greenhouse gases, or go directly to zero emission.”

Kryczka agreed, calling natural gas, “a false solution.”

“There is both the problem of natural gas having additional impact throughout the lifecycle of the fuel, as well as the problem of it detracting from the zero emission goal,” she said. “We don’t have the time or resources to have two transitions, first to natural gas and second to zero emissions. So, from our perspective it’s important to be investing in the long-term zero emission goal that the community has really been asking for. And for a long time and it’s also what the ports have committed to. And the mayor and the governor as well.”

The ports could tell a more clearcut positive story when it came to demonstration projects, fighting adversity, but still making progress. A presentation slide on the COVID-19 impacts it faced listed the following: • Labor shortages.

• Technology manufacturers operating at reduced capacity, which have contributed to a slow-down in equipment production and schedule delays.

• Limited access to terminals and

facilities for equipment and emissions testing.

• COVID travel restrictions.

But their deployed demonstrations include: • Two Tier 3 ships • Two zero-and two near-zero emission on-road trucks • 26 zero-and 20 near-zero emission port equipment

In addition, Szoke noted the ports have “funded the deployment of over 20 on-road trucks that are currently in service within the South Coast air basin.”

Jacob Goldberg, environmental specialist at the Port of Los Angeles, discussed these in more detail.

“The first of two ERTG cranes conversions was successfully placed into revenue service at SSA, Pier J, in the third quarter, 2020,” he reported. “The port’s receiving positive feedback from operators.”

Preparations are underway for the second one.

“Both ports have projects demonstrating zero-emission Taylor-built top handlers,” Goldberg said, with POLA’s “coming up on the one year mark.” On the plus side, “Overall operator feedback is generally good, as they performed the services expected, operating roughly one shift on the

whole charge.” However, “Both sides [ports] have had charging infrastructure issues, on and off again throughout the entirety of the demonstration, but on the POLA side we’re hopeful to have made some breakthroughs recently as we’re coming to the end of this demonstration.”

Regarding electric yard tractors at POLA, “The terminal is overall satisfied with their performance, and will continue using them going forward,” he reported, though a second generation, with new charging technology is already being developed.

Goldberg went into more detail about the challenges encountered, but Kryczka directed attention to a broader, bigger problem.

“It’s difficult to assess their progress because they haven’t established any interim milestones for what they need to do to be on track to meet their cargo handling equipment goal,” Kryczka said.

Quantifying progress has been problematic since before the beginning of the No Net Increase Plan that preceded the Clean Air Action Plan. But now that specific zero-emission target dates have been set, it’s become imperative for that problem to be solved.

DBAs & LEGAL NOTICES [from p. 14]

clare 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/. Simran Arun Mahtani, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on 01/07/21.

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: 01/21/21, 02/03/21, 02/17/21, 03/04/21

NOTICE OF BID INVITATION FOR BRANDYWINE HOMES C00100 Notice is hereby given that the Offsite Purchasing Manager of Brandywine Homes will receive bids for: Carson Landing Traffic Signal Installation Improvements on Central Ave and Aspen Hill, City of Carson Tract # 78226

To access this bid package please contact Vince McLean vince@brandywine-homes.com.

Sen. Rand Paul is trying to do a clever maneuver to supersede our laws and regulations and hide behind the Constitution to avoid addressing one of the most serious violations of our Constitution and misbehavior of any president in history. Rand Paul is using his faulty statements in order to avoid impeachment for Donald Trump.

This is brute force politics in which in which former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republicans have practiced for over 5 years. McConnell had closed the Senate until Jan. 19, preventing a second Trump impeachment trial from beginning while the former president trump was still in office.

This political maneuver was a moot point because in 1876 when President Grant’s Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, resigned just before he was to be impeached for corruption, the House went ahead anyway and so did a Senate trial, neither of which actions fit Paul’s reasoning.

If the Republican senators acquit the former president on spurious jurisdictional grounds, they have neglected their highest duty to our constitution which they are sup[Gascón, from p. 5]

Gascón shooters again and that was the reason

why the law was enacted in the first place,” John Q explained.

The long time deputy district attorney noted that the vast majority of Gascón’s enhancement policy will result in less time for individuals who have committed crimes against people of color.

“These are all very serious offenses, like the man who decapitated his children in Lancaster,” John Q said. “San Fernando is very different from Los Angeles. It’s smaller and has no gang violence.”

Referencing the rise in Los Angeles’ homicide rate, John Q believes prosecutors need every tool in their toolbox to address the problem.

“You know that there are gang wars raging in the south of the county, in particular South LA and the Harbor Area,”

Let’s Hope...

Thanks for the Random Lengths’ insightful news coverage of the national election.

Congratulations to President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris does not have a good record on civil rights, fair housing or police reform. I hope that is not the reason she was elected. I had personal litigation experiences with her in 2016 when as California Attorney General she opposed my efforts to assure full and equal housing privileges for tenants across the state.

It will take more than a change of two leaders at the White House to make a difference in the status quo and its trickle down effect. Let’s hope that the Vice President’s heritage and gender will help her to become a better elected official than is expected. Good luck to us all.

G. Juan Johnson Los Angeles

John Q said. “We need every tool we have to combat gang violence.

“Nobody is opposed to shifting more resources to both rehabilitation and community development, but we also have to protect the community now. We can do both and still offer the proper amount of justice for people who kill Black and brown victims as we do White victims.”

John Q said he knew Gascón was bound to meet resistance as he rolled out his policy initiatives, but noted that the way Gascón did it made bitter enemies against him within the office before he was even there a month.

“You just can’t have a defense attorney threatening to tell your boss on you to get you fired,” he said referencing a policy that request public defenders to turn in a form when a deputy district attorney does not follow Gascon’s policy changes. “It’s not good leadership and it’s undermining his policy changes.”

February 4 - 17, 2021

Prospective Contractor questions (R.F.I’s) due 2/22/21 at 12:00 p.m. Bids due 3/2/21 no later than 2:00 p.m. Bids must be submitted in person at Brandywine Homes Corporate Office.

All questions or Requests for Information regarding this solicitation must be submitted via email to vince@brandywine-homes. com.

Trump’s Trial is Constitutional

02/17/21, 03/04/21

Fictitious Business Name Statement File No. 2021004783 The following person is doing business as: (1) Thats My Desi Life Shop, 850 E Ocean Blvd., Long Beach Ca 90802. Unit 1204, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: (1) Shiksha Arun Mahtani., 850 E Ocean Blvd., Long Beach Ca 90802. (2) Simran Arun Mahtani, 850 E Ocean Blvd., Long Beach Ca 90802. This Business is conducted by a copartners. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 09/2020. I de-

[Letters, from p. 7]

posed to uphold. The Constitution demands that they act to preserve our democracy for future generations. Impeaching and trying Trump are the first steps toward ending domestic terrorism and restoring civil order.

John Winkler San Pedro

Real News, Real People, Really Effective

Time Delivery Corp., 452 W. 21st Street, San Pedro, CA 907361-5510, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: TL On Time Delivery Corp., 452 W. 21st Street, San Pedro, CA 907361-551.

This Business is conducted by a corporation. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: 03/2020. 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/.

Thomas R. Lassiter, President. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on 01/07/21.

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: 01/21/21, 02/03/21,

RANDOMLetters

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February 4 - 17, 2021

Real News, Real People, Totally Relevant