DOWNTOWN W THE SPIRIT OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
WWW.DTLAWEEKLY.COM VOL 16. NO. 02 DEC 23RD - DEC 29TH, 2021
DTLA
VIP NYE 2022 at
Cl i fton's Republic People's DTLA Opens in the Fashion District MUSIC CENTER HIT HARD BY
COVID SCROOGE MAP INSIDE Murder at Bank of America Stadium
THE CURIOSITY OF DOWNTOWN WEEKLY
VOL 16 NO 02 - DECEMBER 23RD - DECEMBER 29TH, 2021 DTLAWEEKLY.COM
ON THE COVER
MODELS:
COCO TIKI ENTERTAINMENT
CLIFTON’S REPUBLIC Gary leonard photo by :
THE STRAY CATS
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murder at the bank of california stadium... lapd first filipino american deputy...4 Clifton's Republic new years eve 2022....6 music center hit cancellations..... people's dtla opens on la street ....9 Get2DTLA Event guide....11 DTLA WEEKLY
editor and chief KERI FREEMAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
awaya oswald KERI FREEMAN christopher floch marissa harris
photography GARY LEONARD
VIDEO Production
@kerieatsdtla design and layout @kerieatsdtla
social media
@kerieatsdtla
Special thanks to... MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES & council district 14 THE CITY OF LA ARTS DISTRICT CHINATOWN CIVIC DISTRICT BUNKER HILL EXPO/USC HISTORIC CORE LITTLE TOKYO FASHION DISTRICT FINANCIAL DISTRICT SKID ROW SOUTH PARK WAREHOUSE DISTRICT THEGRAWN ARTWALK NEWS
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Murder at Banc of America Stadium by Jackson Roberts
L
ast Saturday, West Coast rapper Drakeo the Ruler was fatally wounded in an altercation just before his performance at the Once Upon a Time Festival held at Banc of America Stadium at Exposition Park.
However, police are now hinting that the rapper may have been ambushed. Right before Drakeo was to perform, a huge fight broke out around 8:30 p.m. Video shows Drakeo caught in a scuffle in the roadway behind the staging area while trying to escape a melee of punches. While members of his entourage managed to escape through an opening in the fence, Drakeo is seen being dragged back into the brawl, where he’s jumped by a crowd of men only to sustain a fatal wound to the neck with a sharp object. Officers from the California Highway Patrol (CHP), Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and Los Angeles Fire Twenty-eight-year-old Drakeo, whose real name was Department responded. Darrell Caldwell, was admired Drakeo wa transported by many for his lyrical talents. to the local hospital, where After years of being in trouble he would later die from his with the law for felony crimes injuries. Live Nation decided to end and recently being released the concert early. Snoop from jail in 2020, he had Dogg stated publicly; he left made public statements about getting his life in order. the premises immediately Focused and now performing following the cancellation. As concertgoers took to in front of thousands of social media, more eyewitness people, he was looking forward to a promising career accounts were made public. Some tweets and posts and a chance to leave his claimed the event, peppered gangster feuds behind him. with rival gang affiliates, was Amongst his peers, with fans awarding him the title of a potential powder keg with long waits in line for food and LAs face of Hip Hop, Drakeo beverage, unscrutinized covid was headed towards major protocols, and areas with fame and stardom. latent gaps in security. On this day, Drakeo would Others claimed they felt share the stage with over safe, were honored by the 50 of West Coast Hip Hop’s biggest legends, including the concept, and the opportunity to witness such legendary show’s co-producer Snoop performers, United by p Dogg, along with 50cent, Ice Cube, Too Short, Bone Thugs three separate stages that, N Harmony, Cypress Hill, and for the most part, from 11am to 8:30pm, went on without Parliament-Funkadelic. incident.
Meet LAPD's First FilipinoAmerican Deputy Chief LAPD Chief Michel Moore has announced the upcoming promotion of Commander Donald Graham to the rank of Deputy Chief.
C
ommander Graham will become the first Filipino-American Deputy Chief in the Los Angeles Police Department’s history. Commander Graham was born in Manhattan, New York, and came to California when he was a teenager. His family moved to the San Fernando Valley in the City of Los Angeles. After high school, he attended Los Angeles Valley College. In 1992, he was elected President of the Student Union. He became the president and chief lobbyist for the California Students Association of Community Colleges, representing the nearly quartermillion community college students in the 14 campuses of the Southern California Region. During his final semester at Los Angeles Valley College, he went to work at the Campus Police Office and discovered a new way to serve his community. The experience of working around police officers led Commander Graham to join the Los Angeles Police Department in November 1995. Commander Graham has worked in all four bureaus of the Department and has taken on numerous assignments. He was part of the architect team that revamped the Safer Cities Initiative (SCI) in Skid Row to the Resources
Enhancement Services and Enforcement Team (RESET), creating a template for the CityWide creation of the Homeless Outreach and Proactive Engagement (HOPE) team. At HOPE, Commander Graham worked with numerous government and private agencies to stem the tide of violent crime against people experiencing homelessness. On December 25, 2016, Commander Graham was transferred to North Hollywood Area and promoted to Area Commanding Officer. During his two and a half years at North Hollywood, he worked with a strong leadership and supervisory team, a supportive community, and strong volunteer corps, as well as a staff of hard-working and dedicated officers who presided over two straight years of crime reduction. On July 31, 2019, Commander Graham became the first Filipino-American to be sworn in as a Los Angeles Police Commander. He was appointed by Chief Moore to be the Department’s Homeless Coordinator under the Office of Operations. Commander Graham is currently the Commander of Transit Services Group.
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DTLA HAPPIEST HOURS BY KERI FREEMAN VOL 16 NO 02 - DECEMBER 23RD - DECEMBER 29TH, 2021 DTLAWEEKLY.COMCOM
VIP NEW YEARS 2022 at CLIFTON'S REPUBLIC
All Aboard! The most anticipated NYE party of the year is, by far, the reopening of Clifton’s Republic. With VIP treatment, ringing in new beginnings at Clifton’s with an open bar, legendary DJs, live entertainment, buffet, and passed bites signifies the resilient spirit of Downtown Los Angeles. Founded in the 1930s by humanitarian Clifford Clinton; Clifton’s Republic, formally known as Clifton’s Brookdale, was the oldest surviving cafeteria-style eatery in Los Angeles. During the depression, Clifford Clifton would use donations collected from the main room’s fountain, along with leftovers, to feed the poor. At Clifton’s, no one went hungry. Clifford Clifton also took on corruption in City Hall and fought world hunger before his death in 1969. As time took its toll on Clifton’s old building, time traveler and father of Downtown restoration, AndrewMeieran took on the famed cafeteria in 2011 with a promise to restore it to its original glory. Rightfully so, there was no one better suited for the job than Meieran, whose passions in previous years had led to the successful restoration of the Edison Lounge, located in the basement of the historic Higgins Building. When the remodeling was complete in 2018, Meieran reopened the doors to a fantastic new wonderland.
Inside Meieran’s Clifton Republic, guests were encircled with curiosities on four different levels, each as fantastic as the next, all with the ability to transport them to another time and place. Peacocks, preying mammals and prehistoric beasts, as frozen in time as were some of Clifton’s 200-year-old time clocks. Here was a place where antique murals, Champagne, and billion-year-old meteorites were associated. A place reminiscent of a time made lively by tunes played on the phonograph, yet in modern-day Clifton’s Republic, stages of live bands could easily tempt one into dancing the Charleston.
Lions and Champagne and bears oh my!
Clifton’s Republic is three parts campground, five parts museum, two parts Speakeasy– and as a whole, extraordinary. At Clifton’s Republic, there were so many gathering coves delightfully decorated with Meirien’s priceless collections, chandeliers, Edison lamps, antique furnishes, taxidermy, and paintings; each visit becomes a new experience, a new land of discovery. One could spend time exploring every turn within the massive multi-level, multi-room fantasy or nest themselves quietly high above, hidden within the branches of Clifton’s soaring four-story Monarch Redwood Tree.
Meieran's Clifton’s Republic was a hit!
Tragicall of Covid, y, because a successfu fter years of l captivatin festivities, g and live m burlesque, the days usic from o Clifton’s h f yesteryear, closed to ad remained th public … e general until now .
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What’s in Your Cards? There will be plenty of parties to choose from this New Year’s Eve, but only one with enough splendor, excitement, romance, and jubilee hidden behind every door. VIP tickets include expedited access, an OPEN BAR featuring Champagne and Cocktails (subject to legal restrictions and requirements), as well as a specialty dessert buffet, and passed small bites throughout the evening.
Dapper attire and happy feet required! CocoTiki LAs most popular live Polynesian entertainment company and their wondrous array of performers, dancers, and dazzling aerialists return to Clifton’s to stun and amaze this New Year’s Eve. Within the Brookdale Ballroom overlooking Broadway, guests will discover swing scene high
kicker, DJ Sailor Mike, and live performances by werewolf skeletons Marquis and the Rhythm Howlers! Behind the looking glass, within the VIP Pacific Seas Tiki Room, Lexi Stellwood and DJ Svetlana Voice promise to transport guests to a tropical oasis. When the clock strikes 12, Rob Garza (Thievery Corporation) will spin following opening sets by SAAND and Johnnie King at the base of the iconic Monarch tree! The Reopening of Clifton’s on such a special night around the world not only reminds us who we are, but establishes what we are willing to become in the years ahead. Clifton’s will be announcing their full public re-opening later in January– with the reintroduction of the fabled cafeteria and nights of wonder within the long awaited Shadowbox coming soon! @cliftonsrepublic
10 GREAT GIFTS PART 2
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TO BE OR NOT TO BE?
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More Cancellations at Music Center as Covid Scrooge Vows to Ruin the Holidays
People’s DTLA Opens on Los Angeles Street
O
n Monday, December 20th, The Music Center announced the cancellation of the live audience portion of the 62nd annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration.
T
he Holiday Celebration was to be a free, non-ticketed experience taking place at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The annual event attracts upwards of 6,000 people, many of whom come and go throughout the course of the threehour program. Instead, out of an abundance of caution, no the program will now be broadcast on PBS SoCal on Friday, December 24 and stream on PBSSocal.org. KCET.org and holidaycelebration.org
Bah Humbug
On Friday, December 17th, the extravagant Bunker Hill performance venue announced the production of “A Christmas Carol” was to be put on halt. This announcement came after additional breakthrough COVID-19 cases were detected within the Los Angeles company of “A Christmas Carol”
necessitating the cancellation of additional performances through December 26 for the health and safety of our guests, cast and crew. A spokesperson for the Music Center stated, “We regret any disappointment or inconvenience this may cause. Ticket holders will be contacted shortly with rebooking or refund options and should contact their original point of purchase with questions.” Performances were scheduled to resume on Tuesday, December 28 but later cancelled the event all together.
Countdown to a New Era…
Avoiding large crowds inside and outdoors during the most festive time of the year, Music Center/ Grand Park’s NYELA will remain closed to the general public admitting only invited City and County frontline and essential workers to attend. For all others, Grand Park’s NYELA, powered by The Music Center, will ring in the new year by with a live one-hour special broadcast and streaming event.
People’s dispensary aka People’s DTLA has opened on Los Angeles Street.
In California, Unrivaled Brands operates five dispensaries, a state-wide distribution network, and two cultivation facilities, and has one additional cultivation facilities and four dispensaries under development. In Oregon, Unrivaled operates a state-wide rought to Downtown by distribution network. Among Unrivaled Brands, Inc., the grand opening of the other brands, Unrivaled Company’s downtown location Brands is home to Korova, the will offer a wide selection of the market leader in high potency products across multiple Company’s leading cannabis product categories, currently brands in an immersive and available in California, Oregon, modern retail experience. Arizona, and Oklahoma, as Unrivaled Brands is a multiwell as Sticks and Cabana. state vertically integrated Unrivaled Brands Vice company focused on the President of Business cannabis sector with Development Cassandra Ochoa operations in California and stated, “We are pleased to Oregon. announce the grand opening Situated in the Fashion of People’s DTLA ahead of District on 11th and Los schedule. Angeles, People’s will become The grand opening unrivaled fifth west coast celebration offering live art and location joining the few food from local artists, brands dispensaries in downtown and food and beverage vendors Los Angeles with dedicated took place, December 18th at parking. 1149 S. Los Angeles St., Los @peoplesdtla Angeles, CA 90015.
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More Cancellations at Music Center as Covid Scrooge Vows to Ruin the Holidays
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