There are nearly 51,300 homeless youth in Los Angeles county, according to the LA County Office of Education, whose categorization of homelessness includes families who are living in substandard housing, couch surfing or sharing an apartment with other families in order to afford rent.
Education has long been acknowledged as an important potential pathway out of poverty for young people experiencing homelessness, and unstable housing is known to negatively impact their access to education and academic performance.
For alternative transport provider EverDriven, improving homeless youths’ access to education starts with creating safe and reliable means of transportation.
“Transportation can really make or break regular school attendance and stability,” said Megan Carey of EverDriven. “If they’re not getting to school, they’re not getting the education that they need. … Lack of transportation leads to chronic absenteeism, lack of access to meals, free and reduced lunches, breakfasts. Sometimes that’s the only meal that these kiddos are going to get.”
EverDriven’s role in addressing absenteeism is to partner with school districts and utilize its network of trained and vetted drivers of small capacity vehicles to provide rides to and from school. The company provides this supplemental student transportation service to more than 600 school districts in 27 states across the country.
“This year alone, we actually vetted over 7,000 drivers. … We work with around 100 school districts here in California alone,” Carey said. “In the LA market, we have a lot of drivers that are ready and that are vetted, so when the district calls and says, ‘Hey, we need to get going right now, there’s a kid that’s moved,’ we’re able to accommodate those needs.”
In the past two years, EverDriven has seen a 33% increase in trip requests for homeless youth. Carey explained that this trend correlates with the number of school districts requiring more resources to help students experiencing homelessness.
“(The school districts) might have 100 buses on the road that are trying to keep up with those fixed routes,” Carey said. “When all of a sudden you have a kiddo that’s moved overnight, or a kiddo that has a specific school that they’re going to that’s 20 minutes down the road, what we see is that it’s very difficult for those districts to keep up with the ever-changing dynamics of the needs of the kiddos.”
Carey explained that consistency is key in students’ lives, which is why the company aims to provide its riders with the same driver every day. It’s a need that is heightened when the students are experiencing homelessness.
“When we’re transporting students that are experiencing homelessness, I would say they’re very vulnerable. They typically just need a little bit more help and a little bit more consistency with the drivers,” Carey said. “They might be in a shelter one day or might be at grandma and grandpa’s next week, so it’s really hard to keep up with those very transient populations.”
There has been legislation passed, namely the McKinney-Vento Act signed into law in 1987, that has acknowledged the importance of providing access to school for homeless youth. It
requires that all local educational agencies ensure that homeless students have access to the same public education provided to other children.
The act has been criticized, though, for lacking resources and facing barriers to implementation in schools, as it can be difficult to identify students experiencing homelessness and students may be either reluctant to disclose their homeless status or unaware that they’re eligible for help.
EverDriven remains a supplemental resource for schools to provide access to vulnerable students, particularly those whose housing circumstances remain uncertain. Carey said that their aim is to find solutions tailored to each individual student.
“We say, ‘Focus on the one,’” she explained. “Focus on the one kid that’s in front of you right now that we need to make sure that we have a good solution for.
“Research has actually found that students experiencing homelessness who are able to avoid chronic absenteeism or transferring of schools midyear have a 90% graduation rate. … Quite frankly, if these kids aren’t in school, they’re not having a consistent education that they need.”
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As the Writers Guild of America Strike enters its second month, other Hollywood guilds begin to weigh in. The strike began May 2, following an ongoing labor dispute between the WGA, representing 11,500 writers, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
On May 23, WGA held a multiunion rally at Figueroa and 12th streets. Thousands of members from other unions, including Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Service Employees International Union 721 and SEIU 1000, attended in solidarity.
The strike’s focus revolves around artificial intelligence and residuals from streaming media, with the WGA claiming that residuals have fallen drastically compared to a decade ago. In negotiations, writers also wanted to limit AI tools such as ChatGPT to research as
Chris Mortenson/Staff
opposed to using AI as quasi-screenwriters.
Early morning on June 3, the Directors Guild of America said it had reached an agreement with the AMPTP. The threeyear contract includes many of the behests made by the WGA, including improvement in wages and streaming residual, in addition to parameters around AI.
“For a lot of writers, it’s frustrating. The things that AMPTP dealt with the directors on, they didn’t even respond to when they were negotiating with us,” said WGA writer Susan Hurwitz Arneson, a lot coordinator for WGA picketers at Sony Pictures Studios. “(AMPTP) have a history of a divide and conquer way of handling negotiations.”
This deal echoes the last WGA strike in 2007-’08, during which directors negotiated their own contract, which some felt weakened the writers’ position, causing them to fall in line with the terms agreed to by the
The LA City Council approved a motion on June 6 to instruct city departments to work toward establishing an Office of Unarmed Response.
It will say what that office might look like regarding scope, funding, staffing and objectives.
The measure was introduced by Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez, Nithya Raman, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and then-Councilmember Mike Bonin in 2020 following national response to George Floyd’s death.
“Over the past two years, the city of Los Angeles has responded by taking several important initial steps to shift responsibility for calls related to homelessness and emergency crisis response to unarmed, civilian personnel and to implement alternatives for traffic safety enforcement that do not rely on armed
law enforcement,” the motion stated.
The LA City Council now instructs the chief administrative officer to create a performance management and evaluation program for the Unarmed Model of Crisis Response Pilot within the next 120 days. The city has already piloted programs in unarmed response, including CIRCLE, which was recently expanded from Downtown LA to the Westside at the beginning of the year.
“It’s important to realize we are already doing a lot of alternative interventions more than most cities anywhere, and we are such a large city that it kind of gets lost in all the different pieces,” Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who also chairs the Budget and Finance Committee, said. “So, putting it all together under one roof and moving us forward to the point where we’re going to be diverting 911 calls is really important.”
The Los Angeles Police Department must report to the council within 90 days with a list of 911 calls that could have been appropriate to transfer to unarmed response teams to gauge how much staffing and funding the new office might require.
In January, following the deaths of three civilians in LAPD encounters, Dawson and Blumenfeld filed a motion to expedite the Office of Unarmed Response; the council subsequently approved an initial sum of $1 million in
funding. In the 2023-23 budget recently approved by the LA City Council, the city allocated $14 million to create the new office.
The intent behind the new Office of Unarmed Response, is to “reimagine and transform” public safety throughout the city while acknowledging the “long road ahead.”
“This motion is the beginning of that work, and it is reflective of all the contributions that members have made,” Rodriguez said.
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The Los Angeles City Council’s recent adoption of the DTLA 2040 Community Plan Update (DTLA 2040) was a major milestone in a nearly decadelong process to create a long-range land use plan and guiding policy document that will advance Downtown’s vibrancy and growth through the year 2040.
Drafted by city staff with input from many stakeholders, DTLA 2040 doubles the area in Downtown where housing can be built, eliminates parking requirements and implements the city’s new zoning code for the very first time.
Of particular note, DTLA 2040 builds on the Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (ARO), a policy driven by the Central City Association (CCA) and aimed at promoting the revitalization of historic build -
ings. Enacted in 1999, ARO has played a significant role in the transformation of DTLA into a thriving urban center. It facilitated the conversion of older, economically distressed or historically significant buildings, many of which are DTLA’s most beloved icons, to apartments and hotels.
In doing so, the ARO enabled the creation of over 12,000 new housing units in the two decades after its enactment — accounting for more than a third of all the units added in Downtown over that time period. Among the many noteworthy conversions to housing are DTLA’s Eastern Columbia, Farmers and Merchants Bank and Mobil Oil/General Petroleum buildings.
Despite its success, the ARO had limitations that constrained more widespread use. For instance, ARO required buildings that were constructed after 1974 had to undergo a more onerous,
lengthy and risky discretionary review and approval process. The ARO also limited flexibility in conversions and presented financial challenges for developers by imposing specific minimum and average unit size requirements.
DTLA 2040 includes updates to the ARO that CCA recommended to make adaptive reuse even more effective in its goal of unlocking greater opportunities for creating housing, promoting sustainable development and preserving historic buildings. DTLA 2040s updates include removing minimum and average unit size requirements and allowing buildings built as recently as 10 years prior to conversion to be eligible for the provisions of ARO.
The updates also allow basements and rooftop features to be used and not count against how much can be built
Iwas 15 years old and on a summer trip to Sharon, North Dakota, where my family hails from. I rarely got to sit alone with my Grandma Aline and just chitchat. It was easy to do since she was pretty much a heat-seeking talker. Her modest dining room was crammed to the gills with china and gewgaws. Looking back, I wish I’d asked her more questions.
Grandma Aline launched into a classic reminiscence. “When they started the Rural Route Delivery mail service, I didn’t understand it. Going into town to pick up the mail was good enough for me. Why should they waste gas just to come out to the farm?”
“Wasn’t it convenient, though, while saving you gas?” I asked.
“I liked going into town once a week. I’d have a cup of coffee and a piece of rhubarb pie at the café. I caught up with folks.”
Sharon, North Dakota, is now a ghost town, but during grandma’s time, the town had a large grain elevator, a teeny movie theater, and a popular pool hall and bar. Woo-hoo! The main street was even paved! In addition to being irked at the postal service, grandma also thought that moving from party telephone lines to single-user lines was unnecessary. I’m guessing she enjoyed eavesdropping on the other people who shared the line. grandma was squarely in the “what we’ve got is already good enough” category of folks.
It’s a strange transition, but here we go: this brings me to Apple’s latest innovation. I had barely gotten through the door when my husband, who is a decades-long diehard Apple guy — his business name is The Tech Daddy — hit me with the latest tech
news. He could barely contain his geeky excitement over the introduction of what Apple claimed was one of the most significant breakthroughs in decades: the new Apple Vision Pro “spatial computing” system. (That’s an “augmented reality / virtual reality headset” to the rest of us.)
“They say it could change how we live, just like the iPhone did.”
“Oooh, kaayyyy,” I say.
“You might want to write a column about it,” he said. And indeed, here we are.
The Apple Vision Pro … it’s hard to know where to start. They look like a large-ish, fancy pair of ski goggles controlled with just your eyes, voice and fingers; no controller is needed. However, wearing them will make you look like you have a giant bug’s head.
I’m thinking, “Isn’t walking around with my computer — er, smartphone — in my hand good enough?” as I echo Grandma
Aline’s sentiments. And, aren’t we already exposed to enough screen time without having to wear one on our face?
Experiences can be so immersive with Vision Pro that watching movies will be like you’re in them. However, when a family member walks into the room while you’re “communing” with your Vision Pro, the shading on the “The Fly”-looking goggles will clear up enough for you to see them and for them to see your eyes so they know that you know they are there. Then, presumably, you can continue to ignore them as rigorously as before.
A feature I appreciate is that I can now sort through my thousands of cloud-synced photos and, just with my eyes and voice, sort them into albums … voilá! Nice.
I can hear the ca-ching of the mental cash registers going off in the porn industry. The headset can get people up close and intimate without worrying about actual bodily contact — perfect for our post-COVID world! I’m sure they already have body odor plugins on the drawing board.
Meanwhile, I keep thinking of all the mental power that went into this invention while thinking, “Wow, this really is fiddling while Rome burns.” Although the predictions of global habitability are so dire, the elite can move their lives entirely indoors (or deep in their bunkers) while making out on their facial goggle screens. But really, Apple, how about herding all your nerd power into solving the global climate crisis… or cancer… or thwarting right-wing wacko world domination plans?
The price tag is a way to keep out the hoi polloi. The device starts at $3,499! I heard “only $34.99,” and for a second, I thought, “Wow! A little less than $35!” Yeah, no.
As far as I can tell, when it comes to inventions, whether the telegram, the railroad, the horseless carriage or spray cheese in a can, people fall into at least three basic categories:
1) Can’t wait!
2) Why bother? (the “good enough” folks), and
3) The Doomsday Conspiracy people, including those who think Satan is behind almost all innovation.
And there are people like me who fall into an amalgam of those categories. I can’t wait to try on a pair of these goofy goggles which are totally unnecessary and could possibly cause the end of the world. What can I say? I like to cover all of my bases. My Grandma Aline would think we’re all good enough “as is.”
2023 marks the 30th year Ellen Snortland has written this column. She has an LA Press Club nomination for Journalist of the Year. She also teaches creative writing online and can be reached at ellen@beautybitesbeast.com. Her award-winning film “Beauty Bites Beast” is available for download or streaming at vimeo. com/ondemand/beautybitesbeast.
Downtown News wants to hear from people in the community. If you like or dislike a story, let us know, or weigh in on something you feel is important to the community. Participation is easy. Go to downtownnews.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Letter to the Editor” link. For guest opinion proposals, please email christina@timespublications.com.
The famed dramatist, activist and journalist Lorraine Hansberry used her writing as a beacon of truth, sparking deep reflection on the African American experience. Her play “A Raisin in the Sun” was a watershed in American theater as the first play on Broadway by a Black woman and continues to be the most-produced American drama following its debut in 1959.
The national tour of The Lorraine Hansberry Initiative’s “To Sit A While” installation pays tribute to Hansberry’s legacy and will be on display at Gloria Molina Grand Park for nearly three weeks following an unveiling on Wednesday, June 14. The unveiling will include the WACO Theater Center’s rendition of Hansberry’s “To Be Young Gifted and Black,” arranged by Adrian Dunn. After Grand Park, the installation will move to the A C Bilbrew Library before leaving Los
Angeles on Monday, July 31.
“To Sit A While,” by Los Angeles-based artist Alison Saar, features a life-size likeness of Hansberry surrounded by five movable bronze chairs representing aspects of her life: playwriting, journalism, civil rights, feminism and LGBTQ activism. The installation invites the viewer to do as its name suggests — to sit with Hansberry and reflect. The title harkens to the iconic “A Raisin in the Sun” quote, “Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.”
“So I invite you to take a seat,” Saar said in a statement. “Congregate with friends to read poems or sing songs of resistance. Gather with strangers to share ideas and dreams. Come alone and be inspired by the brilliance of Lorraine Hansberry. Be inspired to find your own brilliance, be inspired to contribute to the Lorraine Hansberry Initiative to support women and non-binary artists of color, gift them the time and the space … to sit
“To Sit A While” was first unveiled last summer in Times Square and has since traveled across the country, with recent stops in San Francisco, Minneapolis and Detroit. After LA, “To Sit A While” will relocate to Spelman College in Atlanta until the permanent installation is ready in 2024. The sculpture will be permanently displayed on the South Side of Chicago, Hansberry’s childhood home.
“(The sculpture) is not there for us to just stare at; it’s an invitation to become part of the work itself and sit,” said Julia Jordan, executive director of the Lilly Awards Foundation, who spearheaded the initiative.
The Lorraine Hansberry Initiative was launched under the auspices of the Lilly Awards Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting women in theater. The foundation began 13 years ago when only 12.5% of plays produced in New York City were by women. After a concerted effort to bring awareness to the disparity, that number jumped to 40% in just one year, “the highest it’s ever been,” Jordan noted. 2022 featured the most plays produced on Broadway by Black and women writers
than ever before.
In addition to its national tour, the initiative is launching a scholarship program to invest in those following in Hansberry’s footsteps. This yearly $25,000 grant will cover living expenses for three female or non-binary dramatic writers of color entering graduate school, ensuring recipients have protected time to write and immerse themselves in their studies. Even with a full scholarship, many students cannot afford accommodations in large cities, forgoing graduate school. Each year, the program will add two students. This year’s scholars will be announced in conjunction with the LA installation in June.
During its tenure at the park, the installation will host an all-ages movement and writing workshop on Tuesdays, June 20 and June 27, and a theater workshop on Sunday, June 25, presented by Center Theater Group. The family-friendly movement and writing workshop will include storytelling exercises and elements of dance and poetry as participants interact with the sculpture. The theater workshop will create a collaborative movement piece inspired by the installation.
WHEN: 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 14
WHERE: Gloria Molina Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
COST: Free
INFO: grandparkla.org
WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays, June 20 and June 27
WHERE: Gloria Molina Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
COST: Free
INFO: grandparkla.org
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, June 25
WHERE: Gloria Molina Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
COST: Free
INFO: grandparkla.org
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American Contemporary Ballet Director Lincoln Jones has waited his whole career to produce George Balanchine’s ballet “Concerto Barocco,” choreographed to Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor.”
“Concerto Barocco” will begin on Thursday, June 15, closing out ABC’s 11th season on Sunday, June 25. The performance will include Jones’ newest ballet, followed
by an artist reception with live music and refreshments.
“(‘Concerto Barocco’) is one of the ballets that made me want to become a choreographer. … Balanchine knew how to make music into dance better than perhaps anyone else in history,” Jones said. “Balanchine and Bach are both artists on the level of Michelangelo, and so here you have them working together, and the result is absolutely intoxicating.”
The ballet company’s nontraditional venue — the 28th floor of City National
2CAL, a skyscraper soaring over Bunker Hill — sports cityscape views and an intimate stage where dancers and the orchestra are mere feet away from the audience.
“There’s a visceral impact of the ballet being so close up,” Jones said. “It makes it, in some ways, more familiar to contemporary audiences because we’re used to watching movies, which are gigantic on a big screen, and this sort of gives that same effect but in three dimensions.”
Unlike most well-known ballets like “Swan Lake,” “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty, “Concerto Barocco” does not follow a plot line; instead, the choreography stands on its own and imbues meaning through movement.
Often referred to as “the father of American ballet,” George Balanchine is among the most influential choreographers of the 20th century.
“Balanchine realized that the beautiful thing about dance was the dance itself,” Jones said. “He made dances to music
that were just simply that, dances that reflected the music deeply. It took away that fourth wall of story and just allowed you to enjoy the dancer’s beauty.”
Along with “Concerto Barocco,” the company will perform Jones’ new ballet to an organ concerto by another Baroque composer, George Frideric Handel. The organ creates “rhapsodic, angelic musical images” when played in symphony with the orchestra.
“It’s just something that we don’t hear much today, so creating a ballet to that was exciting,” Jones said. “There is a special kind of beauty to the sensibility of Baroque music. It counts for some of the most popular and enduring pieces of music that are listenable and relatable despite how long ago they were composed.”
In typical ABC fashion, the night will conclude with wine, music and specially curated desserts from Bottega Louie, a gourmet bakery and cafe. There will also be perfumes supplied by Scent Bar, inspired by each dancer.
“Concerto Barocco”
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, June 15 to June 24, and 2 p.m. Sundays, June 18 and 25
WHERE: City National 2CAL, 350 S. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
COST: $40 to $110
INFO: acbdances.com
DGA and end the strike.
“(The DGA deal) was all too predictable. This is what they do — they use our strike as a ramp to getting themselves a deal,” said WGA writer Aaron Vaccaro, who remains cautiously optimistic. “Our guild is more unified than ever. There isn’t as much overlap in our issues as in past negotiations with the DGA. All of our current issues still stand as points we need to rectify going forward.”
Although writers have lost a potential bargaining ally with the DGA, on Monday, June 5, actors represented by the SAG-AFTRA voted to strike if negotiations with AMPTP fail before their contract expires Friday, June 30.
SAG-AFTRA negotiations involve increased base compensation, which has been undercut by streaming services and inflation, AI curtailment, benefits and selftaped auditions, a financial burden that used to be fronted by casting and production.
If actors strike, Hollywood, already in a precarious position following the writers’ strike, would be all but hobbled, unable to resume production or promote completed projects.
“(An actors strike) would bring the studios to their knees,” said Vaccaro.
Even the unscripted reality and games shows, which do not require writers, that the studios are pushing for the fall often have
actors as hosts. Writers are hopeful that if actors join them in striking, negotiations will swiftly follow.
Since the strike, countless shows have halted production, including “The Penguin,” “Duster,” “The Last of Us,” “Hacks,” “Stranger Things,” “American Horror Story,” “Severance” and “Daredevil.”
“The strike is showing the importance of what writers bring to the business,” Hurwitz Arneson said.
“We’re not a bunch of rich writers in giant mansions; we’re working-class journeyman writers who are unable to make a living and live here in LA. That speaks to people across all careers.”
“We’ll be out here as long as it takes till we get the fair deal we need,” she continued.
For the past two decades, The Music Center’s “Dance DTLA” has introduced audiences to new dance genres and rhythms through free beginner lessons and themed activities under the stars. On Friday, June 23, the beloved summer series returns to Downtown LA.
“It really is about having a way for the residents of LA to come and experience different kinds of dance genres firsthand,” said Caroline Chang, who spearheads the “Dance DTLA” series. “Sitting and watching a show is really amazing and wonderful and a beautiful experience, but we wanted to give audiences different ways of interacting with dance or art and different ways of learning about different types of dance genres that are really prevalent, prominent and celebrated in the LA region.”
This year’s “Dance DTLA” series, which runs for nine consecutive Friday nights
through Aug. 18, will feature returning favorites like hip-hop, salsa and country line dancing, along with newly introduced genres like West African dance, reggaeton and Afro-Cuban rumba and Cuban rhythms. Chang described the new additions as “strong and vibrant” representations of their respective dance communities in LA.
“I’m super excited for them. The artists we have lined up are really amazing … experts and professionals in their field, but super fun to learn from,” Chang described. “Some of the dance instructors have been with us for almost a decade, if not more.
… They have such a love and a passion for what they do. That’s kind of the first thing I look for in an instructor: they have the ability to really share with people the beginner dance lessons for a very large group of par-
nice introductory experience to the dance genre, and they all continue to teach throughout LA throughout the year. So, if people want to learn more, they can go to these folks to really dive deep.”
Alongside the dance lessons, the series will have live DJs, an open dance floor and food and beverages available for purchase. There will also be artistic activities and experiences for all ages, including art making and demos, photo booths and more.
“We’ll have a lot of different activities going on at some of these events with some of our artist partners, so I would encourage folks to visit our website to learn about what those are each week,” Chang said. “It will give a unique experience outside of the dancing to each of the events.”
The Friday night events will be held at The Music Center’s Jerry Moss Plaza, which was renovated in 2019 and saw little use during the pandemic. Chang described it as a “transformed … beautiful wide-open space” with trees and picnic tables, and the perfect place for people to express themselves.
“I want it to be a place that is really welcoming and open and people can feel like they can just be themselves and dance however they like, in whichever way of the
music moves them,” Chang said. “No dance experience is necessary. … It’s not about having the perfect moves or getting down the choreography, it’s just about moving to the music however you want, and doing it together.”
Chang emphasized that the most important part of the Dance DTLA experience is for people to feel comfortable and energized as they learn more about the city’s artistic genres and communities.
“(It’s) a place where folks can … meet new people, learn new things in a new space and really feel the energy,” she said. “It’s really indescribable the energy you feel from a Music Center ‘Dance DTLA’ event. And now that we can really be together in this space, I’m excited to have everybody feel that energy and fun atmosphere again.
“There’s nothing like the experience of doing something like this with a large group of people. … A lot of people meet new people at the event. I’ve seen people celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, retirements, have their first dates, met their partners at ‘Dance DTLA’ and got married.
I think it’s not just a place to dance, it’s a place to celebrate what LA is together.”
“Dance DTLA” at The Music Center
WHEN: 7 to 11 p.m. Fridays, June 23 through Aug. 18
June 23 hip-hop
June 30 salsa
July 7 West African dance
July 14 reggaeton
July 21 country line dancing
July 28 samba
Aug. 4 Afro-Cuban rumba and Cuban rhythms
Aug. 11 disco
Aug. 18 Bollywood
WHERE: Jerry Moss Plaza, 135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
COST: Free
INFO: musiccenter.org/dance
“Shortly after classes began, my employer recognized how the Project Management Certificate Program increased my value within the company and immediately promoted me.”
-Lea FukutakiWednesday evening and Saturday morning class schedules to choose from.
Love and Rockets drummer Kevin Haskins feels blessed. He lives in a “little house on a hill” in LA, where he’s preparing for hometown shows at the Ace Theater Monday, June 19, to Wednesday, June 21.
“I have hummingbirds in my garden. Coyotes come through. I saw a bobcat once,” he said.
“It’s very exotic for me, coming from a small town in England. I loved the trees and foliage, and it can be really quiet. Then, I can drive down the hill and, in 10 minutes, be in the thick of it.”
Love and Rockets — which also includes Daniel Ash and David J — recently played Cruel World Festival with ABC, Adam Ant, Animotion, Billy Idol, Echo & the Bunnymen, Gang of Four, Gary Numan, Iggy Pop, Modern English, Siouxsie, The Human League, The Motels and
The Vapors.
Love and Rockets formed in 1985 after the first split of their band Bauhaus, announcing itself with a creative take on the Temptations song “Ball of Confusion.” Finding success in clubs, Love and Rockets have since released seven albums.
When Love and Rockets performs, fans can expect to hear songs like “Ball of Confusion,” “No New Tale to Tell,” “All in My Mind” and “So Alive.”
“We’re going to add more songs to the set for our headlining tour,” he said. “There’s one song called ‘My Dark Twin’ that was never released.”
The song was released June 9 as part of its Beggars Arkive reissue series. 2023 has seen the release and near-immediate sellout of a limited-edition box set containing Love and Rockets’ six Beggars Banquet albums on colored vinyl, the announcement of the first Love and
Rockets show in 15 years at Cruel World Festival in Pasadena followed by additional tour dates, and the continued reissuing of their six Beggars albums.
“Beggars Banquet LA is rereleasing all the albums this year,” Haskins said. “They didn’t know we were going to be playing live. That’s kind of a very obscure deep cut that we’re hoping to play there. I think we’re going to do some songs that have not been aired before for a long time.”
Haskins said he’s been practicing the songs so fans will be happy with what they hear.
“I have an electronic kit, which I started using with Bauhaus last year,” he said. “From the ’80s on, I started triggering samples and using samples in the studio.
“When we played with Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, it’s nostalgic. Fans want to hear the music pretty close to how the record sounds. I usually go in and sometimes I’ll sample snare beats and create samples just to kind of fill in those holes that are there. It’s something I enjoy doing.”
With his kit, he can change the sounds of every drum, creating reverb on the snare for songs like “Holiday on the Moon.”
“I really enjoy playing the drums, even if I don’t have a show coming up,” he said. “It’s fun and it’s good exercise, which is a bonus. I’ve been listening to (producer) Rick Rubin’s book on Audible and it’s all about creation and the creative spirit. He claims everyone is creative, which I believe.”
Haskins has been drawn to music since he was young; when he saw David Bowie perform on “Top of the Pops” in England. Every punk and post-punk
WHEN: 8 p.m.
musician would call that a life-changing moment, he added.
“It was so inspiring and sensational and intriguing,” Haskins said.
“I think you have to be driven to succeed. It’s difficult breaking through and it takes a lot of hard work and commitment. I was born with it, and it never goes away.”
Love and Rockets found success, too, because the musicians swore to be innovative.
“None of us had anything in the way of lessons,” Haskins said with a laugh. “So, we were limited, but we all had the great idea to use those limitations to great effect.
“I’ve never been technically proficient. I could not do a drum solo to save my life. With Bauhaus, especially, I wanted the drumbeat in each song to sound different from the next one. I think we all had that idea in mind.”
In Rubin’s “The Creative Act: A Way of Being,” Haskins agreed with the notion that musicians are conduits.
“I used to compose film music,” he said. “I did that for about 10 years. I was working on this piece and the next day I came to listen to it. I thought, ‘How did this happen?’ When I’m in the creative flow, I’m lost in another world.
“There could be an earthquake and I probably wouldn’t realize it. I can’t figure out how I pulled all these elements together and had it sound so great. I had this really strong voice come in my head: ‘This is not you. This is from somewhere else. This is the universe and you’re just channeling this.’ I like that idea. It takes all the ego away. It felt re ally true, and I think, maybe, that’s what we do as artists.”
Love and Rockets
June 19, to Wednesday, June 21
WHERE: Ace Hotel Los Angeles, 929 S. Broadway, Los Angeles COST: Visit website for ticket information INFO: axs.com, acehotel.com
on a site. In addition, the updates provide for a greater range of uses, like enabling parking structures to convert to any new uses permitted by the new zoning code, such as housing, office or retail. With these updates, DTLA 2040 offers pathways that can usher in the next generation of adaptive reuse and build off its past successes in the heart of the city.
In tandem with these thoughtful zoning reforms, it is important that the city also consider how building codes and
financial tools can be aligned to fur ther support the economic feasibility of adaptive reuse projects. CCA and its members will continue to play a leading role alongside other stakeholders, and we invite others to help re-imagine our neighborhood’s buildings and build on our dynamic city center.
Nella McOsker is the president and CEO of the Central City Association of Los An geles, the premier advocacy organization in the Los Angeles region and leading visionary on the future of Downtown. For more information, visit ccala.org.
Astar in the Netflix comedy-drama
“Ginny & Georgia,” Chelsea Clark can be described in a lot of ways: Actor. Writer. Director. And, of course, international dragon boat racing champion.
“Dragon boating has a deep history rooted in China that spans thousands of years and has a place historically and ceremonially,” Clark explained.
“Today, it’s evolved into this international sport that focuses on 20 paddlers paddling in sync with the drummer at the front of the boat — meant to represent the heartbeat of a dragon — while being steered by a steersman in the back. This sport has been such a great experience in terms of discipline, teamwork and realizing how much stronger we are together than alone.”
A native of Toronto, Clark started acting at age 6 while also blossoming as a musi-
cian at the same age. She worked in local productions and upon turning 11 years old, she got an agent.
Things quickly took off from there in a very difficult, demanding and challenging industry. But it was while in college — the 24-year-old is still working to finish her degree in anthropology at the University of Toronto — in which the unique sport came into focus for Clark.
“I think the team aspect really drew me into the sport,” she said. “Once I had a group to go to practice with, and workout with, I realized that it was really nice to be a part of something bigger than myself. Plus, I love the water, so being able to do a sport that put me in the water three times a week was a huge plus.”
Spending quality time on the water for Clark is becoming more and more of a challenge. In addition to the hectic filming schedule of “Ginny & Georgia,” where Clark plays the character Norah,
the peacekeeper of Ginny’s friend group known as “MANG,” Clark has a strong interest behind the camera. Splitting her time between Los Angeles and Toronto, she serves as a writer, director and producer for the Canadian television cult classic miniseries, “Ezra.”
“Ever since I was little, I always loved performing and I’ve been really lucky to be able to pursue it and keep pursuing it throughout my life. I love the technique that goes into acting,
but the raw emotion that is involved in it as well,” Clark said.
“The entertainment industry in Toronto is such a different beast than that of Hollywood. … Growing up in the Toronto scene definitely has allowed me to build more of a network here and also see fellow actors grow up. Hollywood is somewhere where I’m excited to continue to grow friendships and see where it takes me.”
Clark’s career took a significant step forward after being cast in “Ginny & Georgia,” which rapidly became a hit and cultural phenomenon among young adults and adults alike when it debuted in 2021.
The ensemble cast works as a team. It makes sense to Clark.
“The best thing about ‘Ginny & Georgia’ is that there is something in it for everyone. The struggles of a mother-daughter relationship, the nuances of high school, the drama of love triangles/squares. ‘Ginny & Georgia’ is truly a show like no other, and I am so proud to be a part of such a pivotal show for content created by women for women and all.
Clark added that she sees a lot of similarities between working together on
camera and working together as a team rowing a 40-foot-long boat, where she participated in an international Dragon Boat racing competition in Hungary and helped lead her team in gold and bronze medal award winning races.
“Truly anyone can be a part of a dragon boating team,” she said. “I think that the skills which help the most were communication and commitment. It’s hard to give up if you’re tired when you have 21 other people relying on you to keep paddling.
“And communication is key when the only way to get the boat to move is to make sure all 22 people are in sync. It’s a really cool sight to see when everyone is in cohesion.”
Clark, who also starred in the show “Rookie Blue” and garnered even more notability playing Esme Song (portraying a high school student again) in four seasons of ‘Degrassi: Next Class,’ seamlessly transitions from job to sport.
She has also quickly adapted to Southern California, where she said the dragon boat racing scene in particularly strong in Long Beach.
In LA, there is so much for Clark and friends to enjoy, on or off water.
“Some of the first things on my bucket list were getting some hiking in, visiting the El Rey and getting to the water. I love the Griffith Observatory hike and getting over to Santa Monica,” said Clark, 25.
“I love coffee so my favorite thing truly is to go around the city and finding all the best coffee shops. I’ve found some great ones in Hollywood and WEHO and I just think it’s a great way to explore the city.”
By Juliette Cheatham
LA Downtown News Contributing Writer
Siesta Day Club & Juice Bar @ 101 Cider House isn’t the typical picnic table-laden brewhouse, slinging IPAs and loaded tots.
Mark McTavish — CEO of Siesta and the two beverage brands, 101 Cider House and Pulp Culture Hard Juice — opened the doors to the day club in August 2022 as a tropical respite.
Lush tropical gardens boast human-size bird of paradise plants and a forest of black
bamboo usher guests through the front door and into comfortable daybeds. Ambient noise of soft house music and Jonny Alexander’s hand-painted mural of the native California coastline from Catalina Island to Point Dume will lull drinkers into relaxation.
“I grew up in Toronto, and despite the weather, it seemed to have a limitless supply outdoor drinking and dining options,” McTavish said.
“When I relocated to LA, I was shocked by the lack of rooftops and patios the city had to offer. We have such an opportunity for
day drinking here with the year-round supply of sunshine, the constant influx of vacationers and the entertainment industry’s irregular work schedule.”
Inspired by trips to Spain, McTavish sought out to recreate a California version of the country’s beloved natural cider. A particular trip to Asturias, the autonomous region in northwest Spain that produces 80% of the country’s cider, piqued McTavish’s interest.
He observed a plethora of healthy, fit and well put together patrons indulging in hard
cider every day like clockwork during siesta. And so began the journey to bring naturally fermented, no sugar added, probiotic-rich, natural cider to the people of Los Angeles.
In addition to constructing his day drinking sanctuary, McTavish wanted to create the healthiest alcohol beverage options possible. 101 Cider House is cold-pressed apple juice left to wild ferment for three months. Each unfiltered blend has zero sugar, zero carbs, is gluten- and sulfate-free, keto-friendly, vegan, non-GMO, and packed with naturally occurring probiotics.
For added complexity, varietals are aged in gin or bourbon barrels, feature tropical fruits infusions and even detoxifying charcoal.
“We desire complexity as human beings, we like things that are layered. Our goal with the cider flavors is to offer an intricate drinking experience,” McTavish said.
McTavish’s other canned concoction, Pulp Culture, is hard-pressed juice, enhanced by apoptogenic mushrooms and superfoods. Each unfiltered flavor has zero sugar added and, similar to 101 Cider House, natural fermentation unlocks a living beverage that is loaded with billions of probiotic organisms.
Cider House and Pulp Culture are also available at Whole Foods, BevMo!, Erewhon and Total Wine.
“Our beverages can also be shipped to most states in the United States,” McTavish said. Looking to stay local? 101 Cider house is on tap at neighborhood establishments like Barbara’s at the Brewery, Mohawk Bend
and Spoke Bicycle Café.
McTavish preaches mindful consumption.
“Drinking and drunk do not have to coincide,” he said.
“In a weird way when you talk about day drinking people think you’re talking about the next Olympic sport. It’s just about enjoying the best part of the day every day when the sun is high in the sky shining down on your face.
“My philosophy on drinking is based on three things: Why am I drinking? What am I drinking/what am I actually putting in my body? How much should I have? In short, I use alcohol, it doesn’t use me.”
Day drinking can be relaxing and fun, he said.
“I want to show people that alcohol can be a great thing. At Siesta we’re changing the culture of alcohol consumption from drinking to get drunk, to drinking to enjoy the day. In a culture of extremism, maybe all we need is a siesta.”
Jinya Ramen Bar is introducing new seasonal specials that run through August.
Among the offerings are karaage chicken ramen with chicken broth base and thin noodles, green onion, spinach, seasoned egg, nori (dried seaweed) and topped with crispy chicken dressed with chili sauce; and garlic shrimp spring rolls tucked in a spring roll wrapper.
In addition to these offers, Jinya is bringing back summer drinks like the cucumber chiller and watermelon delight.
As for entrées, the summer marks the return of Hiyashi cold ramen, signature thick noodles served chilled with pork chasu, seasoned egg, bean sprouts, cucumber, kikurage and red ginger. It is
topped with a guest’s choice of sweet soy sauce or sesame sauce.
“We’re always looking for ways to enhance the guest experience and offer innovative and delicious new dishes,” said Tomo Takahashi, Jinya founder and chief executive officer.
“These summer specials are a celebration of the season and showcase the diverse flavors that our guests have come to expect from us. Whether you’re in the mood for something hot and hearty or light and refreshing, we’ve got you covered.”
Takahashi founded Jinya in 2010; 12 years later he was named one of the most influential restaurant CEOs in the country by Nation’s Restaurant News.
Jinya Ramen Bar has nearly 50 restaurants with multiple new locations in the pipeline.
It’s once again time to show your favorite DTLA businesses some love!
From May 23rd to June 23rd, you can vote for your favorite DTLA businesses simply by going to ladowntownnews.com – look for the Best of DTLA “VOTE” button. You can vote one time per device per day!
Voting starts at noon on May 23 and closes at noon on June 23.
If you have a business and would like to be involved in the Best of DTLA this year, please contact Catherine Holloway at 213-308-2261 or Michael Lamb at 213-453-3548.
