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Hall Faces True Challenger for Rep. Hahn’s Seat pg. 2 Tongva Allies with Homeowners to Fight Plains All American pg. 3 Cock Challenges Rigid Notions of Identity pg. 11
Nanette Barragan
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By James Preston Allen, Publsher and Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
[See Townsend, page 6]
Camilla Townsend at the site of the future home of AltaSea, has been at the center of recent changes roiling local nonprofits. Photo by Terelle Jerricks.
Pope Francis Speaks Out on Climate Change
The Local Publication You Actually Read
interviewed Camilla Townsend a few weeks ago about vision, consensus building and leadership—particularly in light of her work with the Port of Los Angeles High School and the on-dock marine research center, AltaSea. In my most recent editorial, I wrote about the high turnover of executive directors in the local nonprofit sector, including Angels Gate Cultural Center’s former executive director, Debra Lewis; former San Pedro Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, Betsy Cheek and Port of Los Angeles Executive Director, Geraldine Knatz; and most recently Marymount California University President Michael Brophy. What each of these organizations has in common is that they are structured as corporate nonprofit organizations. The decision making of the individuals that make up the boards of these nonprofits is, at various times, less than transparent. Camilla Townsend, on the other hand, strikes me as an example of engaged leadership. In the past 12 months, Townsend was drafted twice to navigate nonprofits in some state of crisis. The first was POLAHS after the homegrown charter school was rocked by teachers organizing for labor representation this past fall, and student demonstrations staged amid financial impropriety allegations against Executive Director Jim Cross. The second was when Townsend was tapped to become the chairwoman of the board of directors of AltaSea after Rachel Etherington, the chief executive officer, unexpectedly stepped down on April 28—to the surprise of almost everyone.
‘Hear both the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor’
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By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
hear both the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor,” it states. “Mine is therefore an appeal for responsibility, based on the task that God has given to man in creation: Till and keep the garden’ in which he was placed. “I invite everyone to accept with open hearts this document, which follows the church’s social doctrine.” The Archdiocese of Los Angeles sent out an email in support of the encyclical, saying, “Today, Pope Francis called on world leaders and everyday people to come together to tackle climate change.” He urged people to “echo the Pope’s call for climate action! Call on world leaders to reach a meaningful climate agreement in Paris.” The encyclical completely undercuts the climate denialism prevalent with the GOP, which is often camouflaged in religious hand-waving. Typically, the two Catholics running for [See Climate, page 5]
June 25 - July 8, 2015
n 1891, Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical, Rerum Novarum, examined the suffering of the industrial working class, endorsed labor rights such as the freedom to form unions, and laid the foundation for Catholic social justice doctrine and activism that continues to this day. On June 18, Pope Francis issued a new encyclical, Laudito Si’ (“On Care For Our Common Home,”) which could potentially rival Rerum Novarum in terms of its sweeping impact on human affairs. “Our house is going to ruin, and that harms everyone, especially the poorest,” Pope Francis said, on the eve of releasing Laudato Si’. The theme of interrelated social and ecological harm runs throughout the document. “[W]e have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to
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