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Daily News Early Sunday, February 15, 2015

PAGE 9

BASKETBALL

MANUFACTURING

Looking at Bruins’ chances for the NCAAs

Robots will replace workers at a faster pace

Sports

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HORSE RACING

5,000 wins for legendary jockey Gary Stevens

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Sports

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VALENTINE’S DAY

SUN.

H: 84 L: 49

MON.

H: 83 L: 48

H: 81 L: 49

dailynews.com

LABOR DISPUTE

Closure Save the day worsens gridlock at ports Last-minute date ideas can . . .

Candlelight dinners, do-it-yourself wine tastings trump drugstore stuffed animals and chocolates anytime

By Josh Dulaney josh.dulaney@langnews.com @JoshDulaney on Twitter

Her boyfriend presented her flowers, candy and a homemade card that featured a photo of a couple in love. There was only one problem on that Valentine’s Day six years ago, according to Amy Armstrong, while heading for a coffee in downtown Long Beach recently.

“He shows his gifts and explains, ‘no, this is for my mother,’” Armstrong said.

The photo was of his parents.

He even got a heart-shaped toy for his Dalmatian. Armstrong nodded her head and pursed her lips, as she remembered giving him a camera and receiving nothing in return.

“I think he literally forgot I existed for a second,” she said.

Armstrong can laugh about it now. But there may be a few couples out there where a partner is waking up to what he thinks is just another Saturday and can’t be counted among the millions of American men who, according to a National Retail Federation survey, will spend an average of $190.53 on their sweethearts this Valentine’s Day. The NRF reports that total spending for Valentine’s Day this year will reach a record $18.9 billion.

Shipping yards are ‘chock full’ of cargo midway through long holiday weekend work shutdown From staff and wire reports

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are bracing for increased congestion during Presidents Day weekend, with work partially halted amid a labor dispute between port employers and the dockworkers’ union, harbor officials said Friday.

As of early Friday morning, as many as 27 ships waited at anchor outside the two ports, with just as many at berth, according to Port of Los Angeles spokesman Phillip Sanfield.

The shipping yards — “chock full” of cargo — are 95 percent full, well beyond the “efficient” ideal of 80 percent, he said.

The ports are at a “breaking point,” and there are fears that this latest labor dispute could drive companies like Wal-Mart, Target and others to shy away from West Coast ports, opting instead for Canadian, Gulf Coast and even East Coast PORT » PAGE 8

IDEAS » PAGE 5

A CLOSER LOOK

WEATHER

$190.53

Local ski resorts feel the heat but push through warm spell

The average a man will spend on his sweetheart this year, according to a National Retail Federation survey.

$18.9B

By Beatriz E. Valenzuela beatriz.valenzuela@langnews.com @BeatrizVNews on Twitter

The total amount that will be spent this Valentine’s Day.

Despite Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow this Groundhog’s Day, signaling a longer winter, unseasonably warm temperatures this week have made it feel more like summer in the Southland rather than well into the ski and snowboarding season.

And local ski resorts are feeling it.

“This has been an unnaturally warm period,” said Chris Riddle, spokesman for the Bear Mountain Resorts in Big Bear Lake. “But we’re actually in really good shape. Both mountains are open and all of the lifts are available.”

The resorts have nearly sold out of many of its special packages, including one billed as a

INSIDE: VALLEY COUPLE RENEW THEIR VOWS ON THEIR 62ND ANNIVERSARY. PAGE A3

WEATHER » PAGE 8

OBITUARY

NATION+WORLD

ACADEMIC DECATHLON

ONLINE VIDEO

Longtime TV newsman Stan Chambers dies

Islamic State fighters killed by Iraqi forces

Granada Hills Charter wins LAUSD title

Five people surrender following standoff

His more than six-decade career at KTLA made him one of the most recognizable faces in Southern California. PAGE A6

An attack on an air base where U.S. and coalition troops are training Iraqi forces ends in death for fighters. PAGE A14

All-time team record is set for any regional, state or national competition in U.S. Decathlon’s 47-year history. PAGE A3

A police special weapons team fired tear gas into a Hawthorne house, prompting the surrender. HTTP://BIT.LY/VID0214

INDEX

Bridge ............ D12

Comics ...........A12

Lottery ............A2

Obituaries .......A6

! Homebuyer e e Fr

PuzzlesA13,D6,12

TV listings..... A14

Classifieds ......D6

A

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1

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Daily News Friday, October 11, 2013

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NLCS: Greinke, Kershaw will be L.A.’s 1-2 punch

MOVIES

Hailee's journey from 'True Grit' to 'Juliet'

Exclusive: 4-page pullout section

Your Weekend

PLENTY OF SUNSHINE Sports

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DEBT CRISIS

Garcetti, impatient with pace of change, takes action

By Dakota Smith dakota.smith@langnews.com @dakotacdsmith on Twitter

Los Angeles Fire Chief Brian Cummings, who faced scrutiny over emergency response times during his two-year tenure, is being replaced, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday.

Garcetti said he is not satisfied that the Los Angeles Fire Department has done enough to improve response times or employ new technology. “I have been impatient with the pace of that,�

Garcetti said. “I think people saw that as a council member, and as council president. And as mayor, I continue to have a sense of urgency.�

The department has been in the spotlight following revelations in 2012 that fire officials released inaccurate response times, data that was used by the City Council — which then included Garcetti — to support budget cuts. Cummings also faced anger from the firefighters’ union for supporting the council’s plan to alter deployment to shift more firefighters to ambulance duty.

By Kevin Smith kevin.smith@langnews.com @SGVNBiz on Twitter

Inside: The Dow Jones industrial average climbed more than 300 points in reaction to news of a possible debit limit extension. PAGE A10

dailynews.com

LAFD chief shown the door

Hopes increase for a temporary extension of the U.S. debt ceiling and an end to the shutdown

CRISIS Âť PAGE 8

Âť

CITY HALL OVERHAUL

AS TIME RUNS OUT...

A partial government shutdown is already in effect, but the United States is fast approaching a bigger problem with far broader implications.

If Congress and the president fail to reach an agreement to raise the nation’s debt limit by Oct. 17, the U.S. will lose its ability to borrow and will default on its debts. With no final resolution certain, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has called on lawmakers to pass legislation that would reopen the government and increase the nation’s $16.7 trillion debt limit.

House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday offered a six-week extension of the debt ceiling if President Obama would sit down with Republicans and negotiate over the budget. The offer stopped short of ending the partial government shutdown.

Later, Republicans modified their proposal and offered to reopen the government and raise the debt limit for as long as three months, according to The Washington Post.

The White House has said previously Obama would negotiate “once Republicans in Congress act to remove the threat of default and end this harmful government shutdown.�

The White House denied a news report that Obama had rejected the latest House GOP proposal outright, saying that “no specific determination was made� after the presentation, the Post said.

After the most recent GOP plan was disclosed, the Post quoted White House spokesman Jay Carney as saying Obama was happy that House Republicans agree that a federal debt default is not an option, but added that the president would prefer a longer extension of the debt limit.

The hint of a possible compromise proved enough to lift the stock market, which had been spiraling downward since

High: 78 Low: 49 Âť PAGE A13

CHIEF Âť PAGE 8

STUDIO CITY

Harvard-Westlake parking garage plan ignites controversy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

House Speaker John Boehner offers a debt limit extension.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Obama has not rejected the GOP proposal outright.

BY THE NUMBERS

$16.7 trillion The current debt limit of the U.S. government.

$30 billion

The amount of money the U.S. government will have on hand on Oct. 17.

$60 billion

How much the government spends some days to keep operations going.

By Dana Bartholomew dana.bartholomew@ dailynews.com @DN_DanaBart on Twitter

In its welcome to prospective students, Harvard-Westlake School says it’s hard to make a “small� school “big,� but it’s figured out how to make a “big� school “small.�

Neighbors battling the Studio City school’s plans to erect a massive parking garage and ball field on oak-walnut habitat with a sky bridge over Coldwater Canyon Avenue may disagree. “The biggest problems with this are safety and the environment,� said Sarah Boyd, of Studio City, who co-founded Save Coldwater Canyon! to oppose the plan. “I think there’s a risk of human life and property, because of this massive engineering project. “The city now needs to step up, scrutinize very carefully, the safety of the hillside.�

Faced with increasing demands for parking and athletic fields, the Studio City prep school seeks SCHOOL Âť PAGE 11

MOVIES

SCOTT CARPENTER, 1925-2013

COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT

GALLERY

Tom Hanks is a brilliant 'Captain Phillips'

Second American to orbit Earth dies at 88

Garcetti launches his Great Streets program

Muslim pilgrims arrive in Mecca for hajj

Gripping chronicle of a merchant ship takeover by pirates shows how extraordinary ordinary men can be. YOUR WEEKEND

Scott Carpenter was guided by two instincts: overcoming fear and quenching his insatiable curiosity. PAGE A6

Forty L.A. roadways get renewed attention, with a panel ensuring all projects are approached strategically. PAGE A3

The hajj, which is one of the world’s largest human assemblies, begins on Oct. 13.

INDEX

Bridge ..............D4

Comics ............ L9

Lottery ............A2

Obituaries .......A8

Opinion ...........A12

Puzzles .D2,4,L10

TV listings....... L8

BIT.LY/MECCA1011

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8

Today’s Web bonus » Explore Oscar diversity in this interactive. bit.ly/oscars0219

Every picture tells a story.

Daily News Thursday, February 19, 2015

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Visit our online Media Center today.

NBA

ECONOMY

Lakers ‘unlikely’ to make a deal by trade deadline

Federal Reserve is in no hurry to raise rates

Sports

Business » A15

FACEBOOK.COM/LADAILYNEWS

photos.dailynews.com

SUMMIT

Obama says world must fight radical ideologies

TODAY

Nation+World » A17

See the full weather forecast » PAGE A18

»

TWITTER.COM/LADAILYNEWS

FRI.

H: 75 L: 44

SAT. H: 73 L: 42

H: 70 L: 42

dailynews.com

EXCLUSIVE REPORT

CSUN frat hit with penalty

ENTERTAINMENT

ALTHOUGH HISPANICS MAKE UP MORE THAN 25% OF MOVIE TICKET BUYERS, HOLLYWOOD STILL HAS FEW . . .

ROLES FOR LATINOS

Tau Kappa Epsilon is suspended following investigations into alleged hazing, sexual misconduct

By Bob Strauss bob.strauss@langnews.com @bscritic on Twitter

By Brenda Gazzar brenda.gazzar@langnews.com @bgazzar on Twitter

Latinos seem to be doing all right in the movies. This week, anyway.

Mexican filmmaker Alejandro G. Inarritu is a front-runner to win the best directing Oscar at Sunday’s Academy Awards, and his film, “Birdman,” is a good bet for best picture.

A rare major studio movie with a predominantly Hispanic cast, Disney’s “McFarland, USA,” opens Friday, followed next week by the charming indie comedy “Ana Maria in Novela Land” and the Salma Hayek-starring shoot-’em-up “Everly.” January saw the release of the Jennifer Lopez-Ryan Guzman erotic thriller “The Boy Next Door” and the George Lopez-headlining “Spare Parts.”

Don’t let appearances fool you, though. Latinos remain especially underAlejandro represented in front of and Gonzalez behind movie cameras. A Inarritu USC study released in August of last year found that only 4.9 percent of the speaking parts in the 100 top-grossing movies of 2013 went to Hispanic actors. This despite the group making up more than 16 percent of the U.S. population and, more to the point, over one-quarter of the country’s movie ticket buyers.

By comparison, black actors had 14.1 percent of the 100 films’ speaking parts.

“Hispanics clearly are the most underserved racial/ethnic group by the film industry,” the USC report noted.

“Hispanics, just like other racial and

After halting all Greek pledging activity indefinitely last fall, Cal State Northridge has now suspended a third fraternity due to alleged hazing months after 19-year-old Armando Villa collapsed on a fraternity-sponsored hike and died, university officials said.

Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) was suspended effective Jan. 21 through July 20, 2018, following university investigations into al- Armando leged hazing at an off-campus re- Villa treat and sexual misconduct, according to a university spokesman and William Watkins, CSUN’s vice president for student affairs and dean of students.

“CSUN has a zero-tolerance policy regarding

4.9%

Kevin Costner and Carlos Pratts, top, appear in “McFarland, USA.” Edy Ganem, middle, and Luis Guzman, bottom, are seen in “Ana Maria in Novela Land.”

of the speaking roles in the 100 top-grossing movies of 2013 went to Hispanic actors Source: USC study

CSUN » PAGE 12

PUBLIC SAFETY

Blast at ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance shakes neighborhood

INSIDE Despite making up nearly 51 percent of the United States population, there are still few woman directors in the industry.

By Larry Altman and Nick Green Staff Writers

An explosion and fire in a gasoline-processing unit rocked the ExxonMobil refinery Wednesday in Torrance, injuring four workers, sending flames and ash into the sky and fueling fears that gas prices will rise quickly.

Homes shook in the city when the blast occurred about 8:50 a.m. Caltech’s earthquake researchers in Pasadena said the explosion was equivalent to a magnitude 1.7 temblor.

Flames were visible from the refinery on 190th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard, and residents reported ashlike debris and cloth that appeared to be insulation landing like snow on their cars and

PAGE A9

LATINOS » PAGE 8

“Perhaps it’s a bigger picture issue. The academy is just a subset of what goes on in Hollywood. The question is why is it happening?”

— U.S. Rep. Tony Cardenas, D–North Hollywood

EXPLOSION » PAGE 6

MARK WHICKER

WASHINGTON

TRADITIONS

DINING OUT

Golf’s young guns play at Northern Trust Open

Obama taps insider to lead Secret Service

L.A. prepares to greet Chinese New Year

Dig in at Barrel and Ashes in Studio City

The Riviera tourney features some of the young players who are shaking up the game, like Justin Thomas. SPORTS

The agent the president installed temporarily in the wake of security breaches will become the new director. PAGE A19

Chinatown's Golden Dragon Parade is second only to the Rose Parade in the amount of people it attracts. PAGE A4

Barrel and Ashes is a sophisticated barbecue joint where you can still get your hands dirty. HTTP://BIT.LY/BARRELBBQ

INDEX

Bridge ..............D4

Comics ... A14, D4

Lottery ............A2

Obituaries ......A12

My Husband Used To Snore This May Be Covered By Your Health Insurance “When we tried to sleep in the same bed, I was constantly annoyed because his snoring would wake me up. Neither of us were sleeping or happy. Since he was treated at the Calabasas Dental Institute, we can actually sleep in the same bed! We both wished that he had gone there a lot sooner.”

FREE PPO InsuranceVerfication

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 310 • I4 •SNORE •2 7 6 6 7 3 2

Opinion .......... A16

Puzzles ..A13,D1,4

TV listings......A12

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Jamzilla » Avoid NB 405 in the Sepulveda Pass, Friday, 6 p.m.-Tuesday, 6 a.m.

Daily News Friday, February 14, 2014

$1.00

MOVIES

PGA

WEATHER

Snow forces businesses, schools to close

MOSTLY SUNNY AND WARM

Your Weekend

Sports

Nation+World » A7

High: 88 Low: 55 » PAGE A12

Kevin Hart finds love in ‘About Last Night’

Dustin Johnson takes lead at Riviera

FACEBOOK.COM/LADAILYNEWS TWITTER.COM/LADAILYNEWS

VALENTINE’S DAY

»

dailynews.com

ENTERTAINMENT

Cable merger raises concern PHOTO BY JONAS JUNGBLUT

Jeanette Schlesinger and Ira Durlester met four years ago at Eisenberg Village and have been cruising ever since.

Timeless love Ira Durlester, 86, and Jeanette Schlesinger, 88, prove that age is no barrier to Cupid’s arrows

You will find the lovebirds this Valenfound a copy of Playboy stuck in a stack of tine’s Day in room 226 — cuddling on the National Geographics. bed watching an old film on Turner Classic “Anyway, one thing led to another that Movies, and whatever. night, and, well, you know,” Ira says.

“Let’s just say things transpire,” says Yeah, we know. One Lakers game they 86-year-old Ira Durlester, a former travelnever got around to watching led to another ing home-goods salesman who still Lakers game they didn’t watch, and makes a pretty good pitch. before you knew it they were seaIra met 88-year-old Jeanette son ticket holders living together in Schlesinger four years ago at taroom 226. ble 26 in the dining room of the Los “It was never my style to flirt, Angeles Jewish Home’s Eisenberg but Ira seemed like a nice guy,” JeaVillage in Reseda. They hit it off, nette says. “He said if we moved and a few weeks later Ira went in to in together we could cut our rent Dennis close the deal after dessert. in half and use the extra money to McCarthy “You want to go up to my room take a cruise. So we did, to Hawaii.

Columnist and watch the Lakers game?” he “We’ve been cruising ever since.” asked.

Every Saturday and Sunday “Sure, why not?” Jeanette said. morning, the lovebirds skip breakShe liked basketball. fast in the dining room for a little “cuddle” So Ira walks Jeanette up to his room, time, they call it. turns on the TV, and sits down in the only “We just lie in bed cuddling, watching chair in the place. Sly devil. an old movie on Turner Classics, and what“She had to sit on the bed,” he said last ever,” Jeanette says. week, grinning like a teenage kid who just MCCARTHY » PAGE 5

Deal between Comcast and TWC is likely to draw scrutiny from consumers and federal agencies

By Gregory J. Wilcox greg.wilcox@langnews.com @dngregwilcox on Twitter

The $45.2 billion merger of Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable, the nation’s two biggest cable providers, will likely draw an intense review from federal regulators, while TWC customers could see new technology and improved service, officials said Thursday.

Comcast Chairmen and CEO Brian L. Roberts said in a teleconference Thursday that he believes the deal would pass a review with the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice.

“On the regulatory front we think the transaction is approvable. It’s pro consumer ... and in the public interest, Roberts said. “It will not reduce competition in any market because our markets do not overlap. We don’t compete in even one ZIP COMCAST » PAGE 8

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Promotora is part of drive to tell Latinos about health benefits

By Susan Abram susan.abram@langnews.com @sabramLA on Twitter

Helicopters roared above. Trucks rumbled by. Dark clouds threatened rain.

The world around Victoria Mercel seemed to be against her on a recent morning as she prepared to speak about health care insurance to a group of day laborers near Sunset Boulevard.

But for Mercel, a mother of five who lives in Los Angeles, the noise and cold were small inconveniences. Her greatest challenge was to convince the dozen men and women bundled in hoodies and hungry for work, that even if they don’t qualify for health insurance under Obamacare, they play an important role.

“Even if they don’t qualify, they will take the inHOLLYWOOD »

PROMOTER » PAGE 6

S O CHI 2014

Full coverage today in Sports

THE MEDALS

THE PREVIEW

THE RECAP

THE WEB BONUS

All-American finish

What to watch for

Russian’s run ends

Get the latest online

Americans grab the gold, silver and bronze for a sweep in slopestyle skiing.

Highlights to keep an eye on today include ski jumping, Alpine skiing and men’s figure skating.

Evgeni Plushenko, Russia’s record-setting figure skater, calls end to his career after an injury.

For photo galleries, video and the latest news and results from Sochi, go to DAILYNEWS.COM/OLYMPICS.

Puzzles .D3,5, L11

A

INDEX

Bridge ..............D5

Classifieds ......D3

Comics ...........L10

Lottery ............A2

Opinion ........... A11

TV listings....... L5

NEWSPAPER 6 04259 00002

8

Web bonus  Check out our blog all about L.A.’s aviation. insidesocal.com/aviation

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1.800.343.7707 DECORATING

RUSSIAN HOLIDAY

STREAMING

Netflix hikes prices for new subscribers by $1

LOW CLOUDS

Home+Garden

Nation+World Âť A8

Business Âť A13

High: 79 Low: 50 Âť PAGE A17

Turning a water tower into a home in Pasadena

Putin hails ‘return’ of Crimea on historic day

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TOP OF L.A.

dailynews.com

STERLING FALLOUT

NBA picks interim CEO for Clippers New leader is ex-chief of Citigroup, Time Warner

By Mark Medina and Jack Wang Staff Writers

The NBA appointed Dick Parsons as the interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers, league commissioner Adam Silver announced Friday, marking the next step toward the organization’s post-Donald Sterling future.

Pa r s on’s a r rival as a seasoned business executive should provide an anchor for the Clippers in sorting out their management Richard hierarchy, espe- Parsons cially as Donald’s wife Shelly Sterling continues fighting for her stake in ownership.

The 66-year-old Parsons is a former chairman of both Citigroup and Time Warner, and is a senior advisor at Providence Equity Part-

PHOTOS BY DAVID CRANE — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Griffith Observatory, which sits high above the city in Griffith Park, has been a Los Angeles landmark for nearly 80 years.

A LIFETIME OF GAZING AT THE HEAVENS Griffith Observatory:

Dr. Edwin C. Krupp, director for 40 years, is a star in his own right

CLIPPERS Âť PAGE 16

Inside: Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks out against Shelly Sterling keeping Clippers ownership. PAGE A6 For playoff coverage, go to SPORTS

HEALTH

Insurers just say no to medical marijuana

By Dana Bartholomew Âť dana.bartholomew@langnews.com Âť @DN_DanaBart on Twitter

GRIFFITH PARKÂť As a “blood moonâ€? was gobbled by the Earth’s shadow last month, a wizard appeared at Griffith Observatory to lead thousands in a plea toward the heavens. Âś An ancient monster was devouring the lunar spotlight above Los Angeles. And observatory director Dr. Edwin C. Krupp, in a wizard gown and hat that towered over his bristly mustache, led the chant to keep the city stage light on. Âś “Dragon be gone,â€? the wizard chanted from the observatory’s north steps, his voice rising with the throng. “Dragon be gone. Dragon be gone!â€?

OBSERVATORY FACTS

• Col. Griffith J. Griffith, moved by a glimpse of the cosmos, gave the city $100,000 to open a public observatory in Griffith Park • Griffith Observatory opened on May 14, 1935, with the only planetarium on the Pacific Rim. • Dr. Edwin C. Krupp became its fourth director in 1974. • After a five-year $93M renovation, the observatory reopened in 2006. • Griffith Observatory now beckons 2 million visitors each year.

The whimsical nod to ancient beliefs about the blood moon lunar eclipse was led by L.A.’s biggest showman of the stars, Krupp, who has been director of the planet’s most popular observatory for 40 of its almost 80 years.

On Monday, the renowned astronomer, globetrotter, author and bon vivant of one of the city’s greatest icons will be feted at a champagne sunset picnic at Griffith Observatory. “The “Stellar Evolution� bash, hosted by Friends of the Observatory to honor Krupp and the Griffith Park landmark’s approaching 80th year, will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tickets, from

Online: To see more photos of the Griffith Observatory, go to PHOTOS. DAILYNEWS.COM .

GRIFFITH Âť PAGE 6

By Tom Murphy The Associated Press

Patients who use medical marijuana for pain and other chronic symptoms can take an unwanted hit: Insurers don’t cover the treatment, which costs as much as $1,000 a month.

Once the drug of choice for hippies and rebellious teens, marijuana in recent years has gained more mainstream acceptance for its ability to boost appetite, dull pain and reduce seizures in everyone from epilepsy to cancer patients.

Still, insurers are reluctant to cover it, in part because of conflicting laws. While 21 U.S. states

Dr. Edwin C. Krupp, observatory director, shows the Foucault pendulum, which demonstrates the rotation of the Earth.

HEALTH Âť PAGE 10

GARDENING

BABY NAMES

HEALTH

TIMELINE

Drought-friendly flower is a beautiful addition

Noah, Liam, Sophia and Emma top 2013 choices

Puppy love providing a national pick-me-up

A look at Rose Parade grand marshal’s life

African blue basil, which needs little water, is almost too good to be true. Find out more. PAGE HOME+GARDEN

Noah claimed the top spot for boys names and Sophia is the No. 1 girls name for the third straight year. PAGE A8

A tour bus full of pooches is traveling across the country, making stops at six cities to help cheer people up. PAGE A3

Take an interactive tour of the life of Louis Zamperini, the 2015 Rose Parade Grand Marshal. BIT.LY/RPGM0510

INDEX

Bridge ..............D5

Classifieds ......D3

Comics .......... A14

Lottery ............A2

Obituaries .......A6

Puzzles .A15,D2,5

TV listings..... A16

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

LEO JARZOMB — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Love is in the air: Danny Leclair, left, and Aubrey Loots wed on the prizewinning AIDS Healthcare Foundation float, “Love is the Best Protection.”

SARAH REINGEWIRTZ — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Destination: Yohgues Nyowan Suko Utomo waves from Republic of Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism “Wonderful Indonesia” float, honored for artistic merit.

2014 Rose Parade

Floats featuring same-sex wedding, orcas among Rose Parade winners offering a variety of examples of culture, creativity and “Dreams Come True” theme

LEO JARZOMB — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

For the fairest: Dole Packaged Foods’ entry, “Sunrise at The Oasis,” wins the Sweepstakes trophy for “most beautiful entry” with “outstanding floral presentation and design.”

By Frank C. Girardot » frank.girardot@langnews.com » @FrankGirardot on Twitter.com

Experience to share: Parade Grand Marshal and voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers Vin Scully rides in a 1950 Oldsmobile 98 Coupe Convertible.

PASADENA » Rose Parade officials Wednesday announced that a float celebrating same-sex marriage and one depicting captive orcas were among 20 award winners in the annual parade. ¶ The AIDS Healthcare Foundation float, which featured a cake topped by two men celebrating their marriage, earned the Isabella Coleman Award for the “Best Presentation of Color & Color Harmony Through Floral Use.” ¶ San Diego’s SeaWorld was honored with the President’s Award for “Most Effective Floral Use and Presentation.” ¶ Other winners included the Singpoli Group’s “Connecting Cultures, Delivering Dreams.” Singpoli, a Pasadena-based business, earned the Extraordinaire prize as the annual parade’s “Most Spectacular Float.” ¶ Here are the winners:

PAST PRESIDENTS’

For: Most Creative Design & Use of Both Floral & Non-Floral Materials Winner: Western Asset Management Co. Title: So close, yet Safari away Builder: Phoenix Decorating

GOVERNOR’S

For: Best Depiction of Life In California Winner: City of Glendale Title: Let’s Be Neighbors Builder: Phoenix Decorating

SWEEPSTAKES

For: Most Beautiful Entry in Parade With Outstanding Floral Presentation & Design Winner: Dole Packaged Foods Title: Sunrise at The Oasis Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats

THEME

For: Excellence In Presenting Parade Theme Winner: Donate Life Title: Light Up the World Builder: Phoenix Decorating

MAYOR’S

For: Most Outstanding City Entry — National or International Winner: Sierra Madre Rose Float Association Title: Catching The Big One Builder: Self-Built

EXTRAORDINAIRE

For: Most Spectacular Float (Including Floats That Do Not Retract To 55 Feet) Winner: Singpoli Group Title: Connecting Cultures, Delivering Dreams Builder: Paradiso Parade Floats

BOB HOPE HUMOR

For: Most Comical & Amusing Entry Winner: La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association Title: Dog Gone!

Builder: Self-Built

JUDGES’ SPECIAL

For: Most Spectacular In Showmanship & Dramatic Impact Winner: Stella Rosa Wines Title: Stellabrate Good Times Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats

CROWN CITY INNOVATION For: Best Use of Imagination & Innovation To Advance The Art Of Float Design Winner: Cal Poly Universities Title: Bedtime Buccaneers Builder: Self-Built

DIRECTORS’

For: Outstanding Artistic Merit In Design & Floral Presentation Winner: Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Republic of Indonesia Title: Wonderful Indonesia Builder: Artistic Entertainment Services

TOURNAMENT VOLUNTEERS’

For: Best Floral Design of Parade Theme For Floats Under 35 Feet Winner: Shriners Hospitals for Children QUEEN’S Title: Love to the Rescue For: Most Effective Use And Display of Roses In Concept, Design & Builder: Phoenix Decorating Presentation FOUNDERS’ Winner: Miracle Gro For: Most Beautiful Float Built & Decorated By Volunteers From A Title: Grow Something Greater Community or Organization Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats Winner: Downey Rose Float AsLATHROP K. LEISHMAN sociation For: Most Beautiful Non-ComTitle: The Glass Slipper mercial Float Builder: Self-Built Winner: Kaiser Permanente FANTASY Title: First Steps to Total Health For: Most Outstanding Display of Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats Fantasy & Imagination

SARAH REINGEWIRTZ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Winner: Burbank Tournament of Roses Association Title: Lights! Camera! Action!

Builder: Self-Built

Winner: AIDS Healthcare Foundation Title: Love Is The Best Protection Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats

INTERNATIONAL

PRINCESS’

GRAND MARSHAL’S

CRAFTSMAN

For: Most Beautiful Entry — Outside of 50 United States & D.C. Winner: China Airlines Ltd. Title: Taiwan Dreams Rising Builder: Artistic Entertainment Services For: Excellence In Creative Concept & Design Winner: Public Storage Title: Adventures in Space Builder: Paradiso Parade Floats

PRESIDENT’S

For: Most Effective Floral Use & Presentation Winner: SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment Title: Sea of Surprises Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats

ANIMATION

For: Best Animation & Motion Winner: Underground Service Alert 811 Title: Protecting Your Dream, Right In Your Own Backyard Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats

ISABELLA COLEMAN

For: Best Presentation of Color & Color Harmony Through Floral Use

For: Most Beautiful Float 35 Feet And Under Winner: Lutheran Layman’s League Title: Jesus Welcomes All Builder: Phoenix Decorating For: Exceptional Achievement In Showmanship & Dramatic Impact For Floats Over 55 Feet Only Winner: The Lucy Pet Foundation Inc. Title: Lucy’s Performing Rescue Dogs Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats

TOURNAMENT SPECIAL

For: Exceptional Merit In Multiple Classifications (Including Floats That Do Not Retract To 55 Feet) Winner: Lion’s Club International Title: Lions Built Matteo’s Dream Builder: Phoenix Decorating

NATIONAL

For: Best Depiction of Life In U.S.A. — Past, Present Or Future Winner: Wingtip to Wingtip Association Title: Our Eyes Are On The Stars Builder: Fiesta Parade Floats

THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 2014

DAILYNEWS.COM

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SARAH REINGEWIRTZ — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A splash of color: Pasadena City College Tournament of Roses Honor Band’s flag bearers offer colorful entertainment to the audience on Colorado Boulevard.

Dreams fulfilled Taking flight: Singpoli Group’s “Connecting Cultures, Delivering Dreams” float won the Extraordinaire Award for most spectacular float.

The Pasadenabased small businesses’ entry depicts a dream scene inspired by Chinese legend.

LEO JARZOMB — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

On the road: American Honda’s nearly 300-foot-long “Keeping Dreams on Track” fantasy train depicted historic and traditional forms of transportation.

LEO JARZOMB STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

SARAH REINGEWIRTZ — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

ANDY HOLZMAN — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Riding and roping: The Martinez family heads down Colorado Boulevard in traditional charro attire on horses of various breeds. This is the family’s 32nd appearance in the event.

Roaring 2014: A flapper-style dancer performs with Wells Fargo’s equestrian entry Wednesday. The company’s history in California dates back to the Gold Rush Days.

KEITH DURFLINGER — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Marching to the beat: The 258-piece Banda de Música Herberto López Colegio José Daniel Crespo, from Panama, performs during the parade.

Royalty on parade: The 96th Tournament of Roses Rose Queen Ana Marie Acosta and the six princesses ride on Macy’s “Presenting the Royal Court.”

LEO JARZOMB — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Online: For a gallery of photos from the 125th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, go to HTTP://BIT.LY/PARADE2014.

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MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014 MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014

DAILYNEWS.COM

86TH ACADEMY AWARDS

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86TH ACADEMY AWARDS

Star breaks retweet record

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

This image tweeted by Ellen DeGeneres shows actors in the front rows.

llen DeGeneres was busy hosting the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday night in Los Angeles. Not only did she keep the laughs coming throughout the award show, but she also set out to make history.

DeGeneres wanted to break a record for the most retweeted photo. So how did she go about doing so? She took a selfie with as many A-listers as she could fit into the frame.

Those in the photo included Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Jared Leto, Lupita Nyong’o Kevin Spacey, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, and more...

Within seconds of posting the photo to Twitter, the social media site was having technical issues.

Not even 25 minutes later, the photo had already been retweeted 442,912 times and was named a favorite more than 350,000 times.

According to HollywoodLife, a photo of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama taken shortly after his inauguration used to hold the record with more than 500,000 retweets.

DeGeneres’ announced on the show that the selfie had set a new re-tweeting record.

— Stephanie Cary

JOHN MCCOY — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Wolfgang Puck on the red carpet at the Oscars on Sunday.

JOHN MCCOY — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on the red carpet at the awards show.

Honoring the best of Hollywood

THE WINNERS Best picture

“12 Years a Slave”

Best director

Alfonso Cuarón, “Gravity”

Best actor

Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best actress

Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”

Supporting actor

Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Supporting actress

Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”

Animated feature film “Frozen”

Cinematography “Gravity,” Emmanuel Lubezki

Costume design

“The Great Gatsby,” Catherine Martin

Documentary feature Amy Adams

Jennifer Lawrence

Portia de Rossi

“20 Feet from Stardom”

Lupita Nyong’o

Documentary short subject

Bold colors, shimmer and shine lit the red carpet

“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”

Film editing

“Gravity,” Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger

Foreign language film

“The Great Beauty,” Italy

Makeup and hairstyling

“Dallas Buyers Club,” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews

By Sandra Barrera » sandra.barrera@langnews.com » @SandraBarrera18

A

Olivia Wilde

Cate Blanchett PHOTOS BY JOHN MCCOY STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Online: For a gallery of photos from the red carpet and the awards show, go to

PHOTOS.DAILYNEWS.COM .

rguably the most watched red carpet in the world, Sunday’s 86th Annual Academy Awards was a whirl of escapist glamour.

Movie stars wafted over the rain-soaked carpet outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood showcasing elaborate evening wear in trend-forward bold colors, exquisite details and timeless silhouettes drawn on a myriad of inspirations.

Gowns came in red, blue and purple. Lupita Nyong’o wore a stunning, slightly sparkly Prada dress in a light blue with a plunging V-neckline and a flowing pleated skirt. The shade of blue, she said, was inspired by her hometown of Nairobi in Kenya.

Presenter Viola Davis wore an asymmetrical Escada gown in her “go-to” emerald green. Amy Adams — who styled herself — wore a strapless Gucci couture in navy blue that captured the bygone 1950s, with turn-back folds at the bust.

A pregnant Kerry Washington was enveloped in orchid.

Jennifer Lawrence wore a strapless red Dior dress.

“People like to wear colors, especially if they’re nominated,’” says Leslie Fremar, stylist to Charlize Theron and Ask.com contributor. “That’s the way to help enhance their moment and make them stand out.

“And sometimes black is color on some people,” she adds. “It’s about skin tone and what works on that person. Sometimes you wear this magnificent black dress and it really stands out on someone who has fair skin, light hair and even dark hair and light eyes. There’s a lot of trial and error to find out what’s right for that person.”

Theron — who tried on one dress, and one dress only — wore a black gown in a simple 1950s silhouette with invisible straps and draped fabric at the back. A pregnant Olivia Wilde also wore a highnecked, sleeveless black Valentino. Julia Roberts wore a black peplum dress with a piece of black lace.

Actresses embraced surface decorations like beads that often cover the entire gown and touches of lace. Some wore sculpted creations full of drama, including Kristin Chenoweth’s gold strapless Roberto Cavalli, Cate Blanchett’s flowing nude Georgio Armani covered in beads and applique and Naomi Watts’ capsleeved white Calvin Klein with all-over beading, and a “spider web” Bulgari necklace. Watts carried a little clutch bag with black and white geometric lines added to that special look. Portia de Rossi wore a patterned nude Naeem Khan dress that had cut outs of stars and various other shapes.

Men usually are overlooked on the red carpet, but not this year.

Pharrell Williams’ tuxedo shorts weren’t the only head turners.

Many leading men rocked on the red carpet in white tuxedo jackets, including Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto.

Leto came in an old-school shawl collar tuxedo jacket paired with a burgundy bow tie.

“I never really ever wear suits, so it’s a fun opportunity to wear an old school classic,” he told Ryan Seacrest who wore a similar look by Burberry.

Shawl collars are expected to be a big trend for men this season, says celebrity stylist Jeanne Yang who partnered with Gillette for the Oscars.

“What you’re seeing are not the extremes of each decade but rather the most classic, clean, perfect silhouettes,” Yang says. “These are pictures that will live forever, so you don’t want to take any crazy fashion risks. People want to have something they know will look amazing and that they’ll feel comfortable with.”

How influential is the red carpet on fashion?

Tremendously, Fremar says.

“It’s amazing to see what happens at home when people are watching it on TV, and how women are following these trends or loving what they see,” she says. “It’s so exciting for me to see that reaction from people.

You’re reaching a really huge audience.”

Best original score “Gravity,” Steven Price

Original song

“Let It Go” from “Frozen”

Production design

“The Great Gatsby,” Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn

Animated short film “Mr. Hublot” JOHN SHEARER — INVISION/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Director Steve McQueen, left, celebrates with the cast and crew of “12 Years a Slave” as they accept the award for best picture during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday.

Oscars FROM PAGE 1

Naomi Watts

Despite gloomy skies, the rains didn’t come, so this year’s ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, was a sunny affair for the best-acting winners.

After sweeping so many other awards. Matthew McConaughey seemed practiced in accepting the best actor statuette. He played the real-life Ron Woodroof, an electrician and small-time homophobic rodeo rider who after being diagnosed in 1985 as HIV-positive, changed his tune as he tries to survive. The actor thanked God and his family for his win.

He then told a story about chasing the hero he would be in 10 years. He then threw in the oft-quoted first line from his Golden Globe acceptance speech, “All right, all right, all right.”

“Sit down — you’re too old to be standing,” the popular Cate Blanchett told the audience after being named best actress for Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.” In the film, she played a Blanche DuBois-style character, a fallen socialite forced to move in with her divorced sister. After amusingly praising her competitors, Blanchett thanked Woody Allen, who has been beset with controversy over 22-yearold child-molesting allegations Upon accepting his best director’s award, Mexican filmmaker Cuarón joked that making a film can be a transformative experience.

“For a lot of people that transformation is wisdom. For me, it was coloring my hair.” On his first time up to the stage for the best editing trophy, which he shared with Mark Sanger, he didn’t get to speak. So to get in all his thank yous the second time, He had to switch to Spanish at the end.

Jared Leto got the first award of the evening as best supporting actor.

The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman

portrayed Rayon, an AIDS patient and transsexual with a drug problem in “Dallas Buyers Club.” It was his first role in nearly six years.

Wearing a white tuxedo and bow tie, Leto said he was in awe of his fellow nominees. He then talked about his mother, whom he brought to the show.

“I love you, Mom, thank you for teaching me to dream.” He also mentioned the political struggles in the Ukraine and Venezuela. He and McConaughey become the fourth pair from the same film to win best actor and best supporting Oscars.

Lupita Nyong’o was named best supporting actress, beating last year’s best actress winner, “American Hustle’s” Jennifer Lawrence. “Thank you, academy. It doesn’t escape me that the joy in life is due to the pain of someone else,” she said, referring to the tortured slave Patsey she played in “12 Years a Slave.” It was only the second film for the actress, who turned 31 on Saturday, John Ridley won his first Oscar in the best adapted screen for “12 Years a Slave.” In an emotional speech. He talked about how he started out in sitcoms. “All the praise goes to Solomon Northup. Those are his words,” said Ridley.

After four nominations, Spike Jonze got an Oscar. He won best original screenplay for “Her,” a whimsical yet serious take on love in the computer age. He then gave a whimsical speech talking about his imaginary inspirations.

David O. Russell’s “American Hustle,” which had 10 nominations, won nothing. It was the same for Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

The 81-year-old Kim Novak, a glamorous star of the 1950s and 1960s in films like “Vertigo” came out with McConaughey to present the awards for animation.

As expected, Disney’s hugely popular “Frozen” was named best animated feature, winning first Oscars

for Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho. In true collaboration, the trio split up the thank-you speech.

On Sunday, “Frozen” crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office, becoming only the second animated feature ever to achieve that milestone after “Toy Story 3.”

The showstopper “Let It Go” from “Frozen” was named best song. Broadway star Idina Menzel, who did it in the movie, performed it on Sunday night’s ABC telecast. It was written by “Book of Mormon” duo Kristen AndersonLopez and Robert Lopez who is one of rare people with an EGOT (an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). The pair sang a little rhyme in their acceptance speech.

“I dedicate this to the 21 million people still in slavery.”

— Steve McQueen as he accepted the best picture award for “12 Years A Slave”

The best score went to Stephen Price for “Gravity” It was his first Oscar.

“Alfonso, you inspired every note I wrote,” said the British film composer.

The modest French animated short “Mr. Hublot” was a surprise winner, beating Disney’s 3-D “Get a Horse!,” which had played with “Frozen” in theaters.

An obviously popular choice, “20 Feet From Stardom,” the story of top backup singers, took home the best documentary award for director Morgan Neville, the late Gil Friesen and Caitrin Rogers. Neville noted that Friesen had the original idea for the film, and then turned over the microphone to one of those great artists — Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Darlene Love.

She then belted out, “I sing because I’m happy.”

“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” won the best documentary short. It is about pianist Alice Herz-Sommer, who died eight days ago in London at age 110. She was at the time the oldest-known survivor of the Holocaust and a woman who inspired people with music.

The Italian film “The Great Beauty” was named best foreign film. The surreal Fellini-esque story from director Paolo Sorrentino is the first winner from Italy since 1998’s “Life Is Beautiful.”

Catherine Martin won her third and fourth Oscars for costume design and production design for her work on the lavish production of “The Great Gatsby.” Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews won their first Oscars for their makeup and hair work in “Dallas Buyer’s Club.” Oscar producers seemed to be looking for a middle-ofthe-road show this year. James Franco’s indifferent performance as cohost in 2011 sent the Academy scurrying back to ’90s favorite Billy Crystal in 2012. Then they tried to draw a younger audience with Seth MacFarlane, whose “We Saw Your Boobs” song last year had many feeling uncomfortable. This year it was the comfort food presence of daytime talk show DeGeneres as host. She last hosted in 2007.

DeGeneres’ humor can have a slight edge without being cutting or offensive.

Wearing a sparkly tuxedo, DeGeneres opened with a joke about the rains in Southern California, and then acknowledged the nominees in the audience with good-natured ribbing, like Jennifer Lawrence tripping on the way to get her Oscar last year. A running bit was getting pizzas delivered, and trying to get a selfie re-Tweeted. (They did. The Academy claims the Oscars has a worldwide audience of a billion, although that has never been verified.)

As usual the show strutted out plenty of stars — Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Bill Mur-

ray, Brad Pitt, Sidney Poitier.

The recent deaths of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Harold Ramis, Sid Caesar and Shirley Temple made the “In Memoriam” montage difficult because they all died this year. Usually, it is only reserved for those who died in the past year. (A notable exception was Heath Ledger.) As it turn out, the four were included in the segment introduced by Glenn Close. Others remembered were Peter O’Toole, Julie Harris, Joan Fontaine, Annette Funicello, James Gandolfini, Paul Walker and Ray Harryhausen. Bette Midler then sang “The Wind Beneath My Wings.”

Music was a big part of show. Pharrell Williams, who had a big night at the recent Grammys, was first up with a lively performance of his upbeat “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2.”

Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs sang “The Moon Song” from “Her,” which she co-wrote with director Spike Jonze. Irish rock legends U2 did “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.”

Judy Garland’s three children — Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft — were on hand to mark the 75th anniversary of the iconic “The Wizard of Oz,” which starred their mother, but it was pop star Pink who sang “Over the Rainbow.”

Undoubtedly, as the night wore on some of the Dolby Theatre crowd of around 3,000 were probably getting impatient to get to the post-event parties. Some would first head to the top floor of the Hollywood & Highland shopping center complex for the Governors Ball where John Legend was scheduled to perform. The more elite bunch — about 1,000 — would do the 2.1-mile drive to the Vanity Fair Party at the Sunset Tower, and later to more exclusive private shindigs. Some 6,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — overwhelmingly white and male body with an average age of 62-63 — voted to select the nominees and winners.

Live action short film “Helium”

Sound editing

“Gravity,” Glenn Freemantle

Sound mixing

“Gravity,” Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro

Visual effects

“Gravity,” Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould

Adapted screenplay

“12 Years a Slave,” screenplay by John Ridley

Original screenplay “Her,” written by Spike Jonze

What’s so funny?

By The Associated Press

What interrupted Jennifer Lawrence’s presentation of the best actor trophy?

That would be Ellen DeGeneres and the cast of “Dallas Buyers Club.”

As the “American Hustle” actress waltzed on stage, DeGeneres cautiously exited, making sure last year’s best actress winner didn’t take another tumble before DeGeneres, who had earlier teased Lawrence about falling, got off stage.

While most of the crowd didn’t catch the joke, Jared Leto, Matthew McConaughey and their cohorts laughed loudly, causing Lawrence to go off script.

McConaughey had the last laugh. He won the best actor prize seconds later.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM » PRESSTELEGRAM.COM

| SPOTLIGHT

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FOOD

BEST SOUPS

IN THE SOUTHLAND

COURTESY OF LOLA’S

The Pozole Blanco at Lola’s Mexican Cuisine in Long Beach is served with a spicy peanut sauce on the side.

By Richard Guzman » richard.guzman@langnews.com » @richword on Twitter

Soup — the underrated meal that can be thick and creamy, hot or cold, light or meaty. It’s a dish with many flavors and backgrounds. While January was National Soup Month, it got us thinking about where to find the best soups in the Los Angeles area. So with that in mind, here is a list of various soups and the best places to find them.

Chicken soup

El Nopal, 10426 National Blvd., Los Angeles; 310-559-4732; elnopallosangeles.com.

The first thing people will notice when they see the bowl of chicken soup at El Nopal in Palms is what’s not there.

The soup looks plain with no vegetables, carrots, big chunks of potato or much of anything else people are used to seeing in this familiar soup. But after a taste, people will likely wonder where all of the flavor is coming from in this deceptive dish.

“It may look like plain soup but there’s a lot of taste to it,” said Ivan Vasquez, owner of the Oaxacan restaurant.

The unexpected rich, earthy flavor comes from the mix of oregano, grilled tomatoes and thyme leaves used to make the COURTESY OF BRENT’S DELI Oaxaca-style soup, which is The matzo ball soup at Brent’s Deli in Northridge boasts softball-size matzo balls made in-house with schmaltz. called guisado de pollo on the menu. There is, however, a chunk of chicken in the soup that nicely absorbs the flavor of the broth.

Matzo ball soup

Brent’s Deli, 19565 Parthenia St., Northridge; 818-886-5679; brentsdeli.com.

A bowl of matzo ball soup is a comforting meal and done well at many delis and restaurants in Los Angeles including wellknown spots like Langer’s Deli in the Westlake area or Canter’s Deli on Fairfax Avenue.

The chicken broth-based soup has long had a home in the San Fernando Valley, too, at Brent’s Deli in Northridge, which has been around since the 1960s.

The matzo balls here are softball size and encompass almost half the bowl. They’re made daily inhouse with schmaltz (chicken fat), which makes the firm dumpling stand out, said Crystal Coreas, the general manager at the deli.

“It tastes like something your grandmother would make,” she said. It’s likely a lot of grandmothers shop at Brent’s too, since it sells a lot of the house schmaltz to customers who want to re-create the soup at home.

PHOTO BY RICK POON

PHOTO BY BRAD GRAVERSON — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

lots of onions.

The entire thing is baked in an oven for a bit to give the cheese a golden crisp layer that adds to the overall texture. It’s one of the most popular items at the 24-hour diner, which has been open since 1973.

“This soup has been served at the restaurant longer than the 23 years I’ve been here,” said Jeff Byron, general manager at The Kettle. “It’s one of the things we are expressly not allowed to ever be out of.”

Pozole

French onion soup

Lola’s Mexican Cuisine, 2030 E. Fourth St., Long Beach; 562-3435506; lolasmexicancuisine.com.

It’ll take a little bit of effort to get to the actual onion soup served at The Kettle in Manhattan Beach.

It’s under a thick, gooey layer of cheese that crowns the unusually thick broth underneath. The top layer is a combination of Swiss, Jack and grated Parmesan cheeses.

Underneath is the thick broth and

Traditional Mexican pozole, the hominy-based stew, is usually served as a rich reddish broth with chicken or pork.

At Lola’s in Long Beach, the dish is given a makeover with a twist.

The restaurant makes a Pozole Blanco, which is light in color and served with a spicy peanut sauce on the side that can be added to the bowl at the table.

The restaurant also serves a

The Kettle, 1138 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach; 310-545-8511; thekettle.net.

Chef David LeFevre uses freshly steamed clams in every bowl of clam chowder, above, at Fishing with Dynamite in Manhattan Beach. At left, a thick layer of cheese tops the French onion soup at The Kettle in Manhattan Beach.

Pozole Verde, served with cab- bites, is a must when ordering the bage, onions, cilantro and rad- boiled fish with green pepper sauce ishes on the side. at Chengdu Taste in Alhambra.

The stew is incredibly spicy, Beef noodle soup made with Szechuan and SerPine & Crane, 1521 Griffith Park rano peppers and bean sprouts Blvd., Los Angeles; 323-668-1128; over chunks of fish in a steampineandcrane.com. ing bowl of chicken stock. This is a case when too much spice is a At Pine & Crane in Silver Lake, good thing, because the spicy heat owner Vivian Ku makes the beef is so overwhelming that it numbs stock in-house and uses vegetables your mouth enough to enjoy the from her family farm in Bakersfield taste. for dishes like her beef noodle soup, which is generously flavored with Vegetarian soup The Gourmet Soup Kitchen, soy sauce to give it a dark color.

The dish is a combination of 23229 Saticoy St., West Hills; herbs and spices like fennel, clove, 310-393-6902; thegourmetsoupcinnamon and Chinese licorice kitchen.com. root. The noodles are thick and springy and the braised beef is The Gourmet Soup Kitchen served in thick tender chunks with has more than 30 vegetarian a few pieces of bok choy. soups covering Italian, American, Indian and Asian cuisines.

If you’re craving chowder, Fish stew then go with the corn chowder, Chengdu Taste, 828 W. Valley which is made with corn, low-fat Blvd., Alhambra; 626-588-2284. milk, herbs and olive oil.

Or go old school with the Old A love of spicy food, or at least World lentil, a mix of brown lenthe guts to get through the first few tils, onions, carrots, tomatoes

and other vegetables.

The soups are sold in 16-ounce to-go servings at various farmers markets on Sundays in Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Larchmont Village and at Canyon Gourmet in Topanga and Urban Radish in Downtown L.A. There is also a retail location in West Hills.

Pho

PhoShow, 4349 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City (and various other locations); 310-398-5200; phoshow.net.

Golden Deli, 815 W. Las Tunas Drive, San Gabriel; 626-308-0803; goldendelirestaurant.com.

Whether it’s served in tiny, loud hole-in-the-wall spots or trendy sleek restaurants, pho, the ubiquitous Vietnamese street food, doesn’t stray much in terms of its basic makeup.

It’s made with rice noodles, herbs, a generous portion of broth, slices of beef, chicken, tripe, brisket or other meats.

At PhoShow in Culver City, the atmosphere leans more toward the trendy side with a relaxing patio and late-night hours (until 2 a.m.).

The pho is fresh and modernized a bit with vegetarian broth and tofu as options. Rare steak is a solid option, too.

At San Gabriel’s Golden Deli, things are more old school. It can be hectic and busy with a menu that has about 200 items.

Keep it simple with dishes like pho tai, rice noodle soup with rare beef, or pho ga, rice noodle soup with chicken.

Clam chowder

Fishing with Dynamite, 1148 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach; 310-893-6299; eatfwd.com.

Respected chef David LeFevre has earned plenty of praise in his career and even the coveted Michelin Star.

In Manhattan Beach he’s been getting a lot of praise for his New England clam “chowdah.”

It’s a refined dish at Fishing with Dynamite, where he prepares it with smoky Nueske’s bacon from Wisconsin, his home state.

The soup has clams in the shells and house-made oyster crackers.

“I like to keep our chowdah a bit lighter by not using such a heavy roux so that we keep a nice bright and clean clam flavor,” LeFevre said in an email. “We use freshly steamed clams in every bowl in place of chopped meat, and don’t want the chowdah to get too thick or murky.”

Wine and beer tastings The Wine Country: Wine tasting, 4:30-6:45 p.m. Thursday. Theme: Sensuous & Adventurous White Varietals. Cost $10. 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Theme: Begin (or Affirm) Your Love Affair With Champagne. Cost $60.

Reservations only. Wine tasting, 1-4 p.m. Saturday. Theme: The Romantic Reds of Italy. Cost $20. 2301 Redondo

Ave., Signal Hill, 562-597-8303. www. thewinecountry.com The Wine Crush: Wine tasting, 4-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Theme: Napa Valley. Cost $20. 3131 E. Broadway, Long Beach, 562-438-9463. www. thewinecrush.com Bacchus Wine Made Simple: Wine tasting, 1-7 p.m. Thursday, 1-8 p.m.

Friday and Saturday, 1-6 p.m. Sunday.

Five wines. Cost $10. 1000 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach. 310-3722021. www.bacchuswinesla.com Total Wine & More: Wine tasting, 1-7 p.m. Friday, noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Cost 10 cents. 1505 Hawthorne Blvd., Redondo Beach. 310-5421460. www.totalwine.com

The Vintage Shoppe: Wine tasting, noon-7:30 p.m. WednesdaySaturday, noon-4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Four wines. Cost $15-$20. 3500 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 140, Manhattan Beach. 310-546-9463. www. bigwino.com WineShoppe: Wine tasting, 5-8 p.m.

Thursday-Saturday. Six wines. Cost

$15. 2733 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite D, Torrance. 310-539-1055. www. wineshoppe.net

Send information about wine and beer tasting events to Mike Petersen at LAWineTasting@ gmail.com.

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SPOTLIGHT |

LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM » PRESSTELEGRAM.COM

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

MUSIC

Rotterdam Philharmonic to begin tour Canadian conductor will lead ensemble through concerts on the West Coast

By Robert D. Thomas

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, one of the hottest conductors in classical music right now, will lead his Rotterdam Philharmonic at Cal State Northridge’s Valley Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, the beginning of an eight-concert tour that will include six concerts on the West Coast.

At the center, Nézet-Séguin’s meaty program will pair the fifth symphonies of Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. On Wednesday the ensemble shifts to the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, where the program will include Tchaikovsky’s Sym-

phony No. 5 and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, with Hélène Grimaud as soloist.

The tour moves on to Palm Desert on Thursday, San Diego on Friday and then up north for appearances in San Francisco on Feb. 15 and 16 before heading to the Midwest.

At age 39 (he turns 40 on March 6), Nézet-Séguin has been rocketing up the orchestra ladder steadily for the past decade. A native of Montreal, he studied piano at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec in his home city but decided at age 10 that he wanted to become a conductor.

At age 19 he met, and was invited to follow, the legendary conductor (and for-

mer Los Angeles Philharmonic music director) Carlo Maria Giulini in rehearsals and concerts for more than a year. Eventually, Nézet-Séguin moved on to Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J., to study choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt.

Nézet-Séguin’s first orchestra post was as music director of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain in 2000. Although this ensemble has remained below the radar of the better-known Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, it allowed NézetSéguin to hone his craft and he continues as the Orchestre Métropolitain’s music director even as he has gained growing popularity on the podium.

He got his international break in 2005 when he was invited to conduct the Rot-

ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC

to be the perfect choice for an esteemed orchesWhen: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. tra emerging from bankWhere: Valley Performing Arts Center, 8111 Nordhoff St., ruptcy and seeking to reinNorthridge. vent itself, and the orchestra announced Jan. 30 that Tickets: $40-$65 (online purchases, add $11.50-$12.50 his contract has been exper ticket).

Information: 818-677-3000, www.valleyperformingarts.org tended through the 20212022 season.

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Nézet-Séguin has also Where: Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for made quite a name for himthe Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. self conducting opera, parTickets: $30-$98. ticularly at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera, where Information: 714-556-2787, www.scfta.org; 949-553he debuted on Dec. 31, 2009, 2422, www.philharmonicsociety.org leading a riveting perforterdam Philharmonic. Af- era’s music director — from mance of Bizet’s “Carmen” ter he returned to lead the 1983 to 1991. that was subsequently teleNetherlands ensemble the In 2008, Nézet-Séguin vised in motion picture thefollowing year, he was in- made his first appearance aters across the U.S. vited to become the orches- in front of the Philadeltra’s principal conductor phia Orchestra and two Robert D. Thomas is a beginning in the 2008 sea- years later became that freelance music writer. son, succeeding renowned fabled orchestra’s eighth Send him email at BobTatRussian conductor Valery music director, beginning FORE@aol.com. More of Gergiev. It’s a post held by, in the 2012-2013 season. his reviews can be found among others, James Con- The young, charismatic at www.insidesocal.com/ lon — now Los Angeles Op- conductor has proved classact

MID-CENTURY DESIGN

MODERNISM TAKES CENTER STAGE

“Range Anxiety” by Twerps CD REVIEW

Twerps deliver in new album

Quartet offers memorable melodies on ‘Range Anxiety’

By Sam Gnerre sam.gnerre@langnews.com @samgnerre on Twitter

The Palm Springs Modernism Show and Sale features designer showcase rooms that capture the look and feel of a mid-century modern living room.

By Suzanne Sproul suzanne.sproul@langnews.com @SuzanneSproul on Twitter

Cool. Iconic. Modern.

Those are the three words organizers are using to define the 10th annual Palm Springs Modernism Week, which will take locals and visitors alike back in time to when cheese was best out of a can, tiki drinks were all the rage and Frank Sinatra topped the charts.

The yearly 11-day celebration of mid-century modern fashion, design and culture takes over the desert city for an interactive history lesson that includes 150 events from architectural tours — expanded to Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert — and film screenings to lectures, cocktail parties and even more parties.

All the fun begins Thursday with a 9:30 a.m. Tennis Club Enclave Historical Walking Tour ($35) and a 10th anniversary opening night Electric Dance Blast “Throwback Thursday” party at 7 p.m. ($125). The festivities are expected to attract 50,000 people during the Modernism Week, officials said.

“For many baby boomers Palm Springs and Modernism Week represent a nostalgic look back and a chance to relive a happy time,” said Chris Mobley, chairman of Modernism Week and owner of Just Modern Inc. in Palm Springs. “For younger people it’s new and interesting and something they want to explore.”

Modernism Week also serves as a vehicle for the nonprofit organization to provide scholarships to Palm Springs students pursuing careers in architecture and design as well as fund local and state preservation efforts aimed at saving modernist architecture.

Among the most anticipated new additions to the program this year is CAMP, also known as the event’s Community And Meeting Place. Think of this spot as the “you are here” location. It comprises 25,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor space and serves as a hub in downtown Palm Springs.

Goldenvoice, the Los Angeles-

Modernism Week attracts thousands of visitors to parties, exhibits, lectures and double-decker bus tours of the city of Palm Springs and notable sites. based production company behind the desert’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and Stagecoach Country Music Festival, is a Modernism Week partner again and this year has been instrumental in developing CAMP. For $20, participants can buy a five-day pass that gives them access to films, music. lectures and happy hours all in one location or $30 for a 10-day pass.

“It was developed as a taste of Modernism Week for newbies.

Here you can get a feel for all the events and it will help you navigate your way through all the many, many events,” said Mobley. “It’s designed to be similar to a hospitality venue with a room and board lounge, cafe and a retail tent. Here, individuals can attend lectures, enjoy entertainment and the daily happy hours from 3 to 6 p.m. and simply meet like-minded people.”

Most of the programs and activities require a ticket, but there are free events as well, including a nightly light show titled “Illuminated Modern,” which uses projectors and vivid lights to highlight historic and notable buildings along Palm Canyon Drive; a Vintage Car Show at the Palm Springs Convention Center; an Architectural Doll House and Furniture Show; and a Modern Yard Sale.

“We’ve tried to diversify our programs so there really is something for every generation during Modernism Week,” Mobley said.

Then, of course, one of the staples of Modernism Week is the annual Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale. The event is marking its 15th anniversary at the Palm Springs Convention Center and is considered the largest event of its kind in the nation with 85 premier international and national dealers participating, including Southern California galleries Fat Chance, A La Mod and Reform Gallery. The show opens Saturday.

Dennis Boses, owner of Off the Wall in Downtown Los Angeles, has been with the show since the beginning and has garnered a reputation for showcasing something new each time. This year he plans to bring large vertical stone walls with tiles reclaimed from a Sacramento mall that was demolished to make way for a new sports arena, as well as 4,000 salvaged terra-cotta tiles from that job, some abstract pictorials and a polished aluminum grand piano.

“The city is an international mecca of mid-century modern architecture and design. Our show and Modernism Week help showcase that,” said Rosemary Krieger, director of the show’s production company, Dolphin Promotions.

PALM SPRINGS MODERNISM WEEK When: Thursday-Feb. 22. Events and times vary daily.

Where: Throughout the desert city with everything from architectural and double-decker bus tours to lectures, exhibitions and parties at the Palm Springs Art Museum’s Architecture and Design Center, the Palm Springs Public Library and buildings along Palm Canyon Drive. Includes a 10th anniversary Electric Dance Blast party, 7-10 p.m. Thursday.

Tickets: Some events are free, but tickets/reservations to events are $10-$200. Electric Dance Blast, $125.

Information: www.modernismweek.com

THE 14TH ANNUAL PALM SPRINGS MODERNISM SHOW & SALE When: 15th anniversary preview reception, 6-9 p.m. Friday. Show hours 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturrday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Feb. 16.

Where: Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N. Avenida Caballeros.

Tickets: Preview reception, $75.

Show, $20.

Information: www.modernismweek.com

Please say you’ll give Australian band Twerps a chance despite the unflattering band name.

There’s nothing at all twerpy about the Melbourne quartet’s second album of winning guitarcentric pop-rock, “Range A n x iet y.” (OK , maybe that delightful organ riff bouncing through the insanely catchy “Back to You,” but that’s it.)

Guitarist-vocalist Martin Frawley handles most of the singing. He brings enough of a bemused dryness to slower tunes such as “I Don’t Mind” and “Love at First Sight” to recall the classy pop feel of his countrymen the Go-Betweens, to whom Twerps often are compared.

Second guitarist-vocalist Julia McFarlane only sings lead on three tracks, but they’re all superb. The hard-edged folk-rocker “Stranger” tops them, with McFarlane’s creamy alto floating atop a bed of crisply jangling guitars.

“Shoulders” is almost as good, with a chorus so memorable you’ll swear you’ve heard it before. It’s backed up by more superb ensemble guitar interplay, an asset in plentiful supply throughout “Range Anxiety.”

Twerps have the versatility to stretch out into more expansive mood pieces like on the album closer “Empty Road,” but the band repeatedly knocks it out of the park on the series of sharp, punchy tunes that form this superb album’s core.

The Twerps will be on the bill at the two-day Burgerama festival sponsored by Burger Records on March 28-29 at The Observatory in Santa Ana.

TWERPS

★★★★ Album: “Range Anxiety” Genre: Rock Label: Merge Online: Watch the “Back to You” video from “Range Anxiety” at http://bit.ly/1C3M3n4

A3

LOCAL NEWS

Volume 104, issue 36

»

Thursday, February 5, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/LADAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/LADAILYNEWS

dailynews.com

BURBANK

Firm: No fault in Plitt’s death

MUSIC AWARDS

Grammy’s menu bursts with flavor

Beverage company that’s under investigation says fitness expert killed by train was not an employee

By Brenda Gazzar brenda.gazzar@langnews.com @bgazzar on Twitter

PHOTOS BY DAVID CRANE — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Levy Restaurants Executive Chef Joseph Martin shows off one of the miniature carrots to be served Sunday.

B

C

A

D A. Vietnamese Hand Rolls B. Chef Matt Ramirez prepares ahi tuna BLT sandwiches C. Nueske’s Wrapped jumbo prawns D. Grammy cookies and candies

Chef Matt Ramirez prepares miniature vegetables Wednesday to be served to guests and artists at this year’s Grammy Awards on Sunday at Staples Center.

Online: To view a photo gallery of the dishes on the Grammy Awards menu, go to PHOTOS.DAILYNEWS. COM.

PLITT » PAGE 6

NORTH HOLLYWOOD

SANTA CLARITA

MARCH ELECTION

Teacher is focus of police inquiry

Garcetti endorses 6th District councilwoman in an about-face

By City News Service

By Dakota Smith dakota.smith@langnews.com @dakotacdsmith on Twitter

A staff member at the Albert Einstein Academy in Santa Clarita is under investigation for alleged inappropriate behavior with minors, the Los Angeles Police Department announced Wednesday.

The investigation began when several students reported improper conduct from a staff member at the high school. As soon as detectives became involved, they worked to ensure that the staff member was not in contact with the students, officials said.

The alleged behavior was initially reported to the Sheriff ’s Department, but when it was determined that the alleged crimes occurred in Tujunga, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Sexually Exploited Child Unit took over the case.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact detectives at 213-486-0580.

An executive of a beverage company under investigation by state workplace safety investigators in connection with fitness expert Greg Plitt’s Metrolink train death in Burbank said it bears no responsibility and is fully cooperating with the probe.

The 37-year-old bodybuilder, Bravo reality TV star and popular fitness trainer was struck about 4:05 p.m. Jan. 17 by a southbound Metrolink train approaching the Burbank station during the filming of a sports drink promo, police said. He was running away from the train at the time he was struck.

Plitt is a part-owner and spokesperson of the WheyUp protein brand, a product of the Phoenix-based Shadow Beverages and Greg Plitt Snacks Co., but he’s not an employee of the company and did not get a separate check for being a spokesman, said George Martinez, Shadow Beverages’ president and chief operating officer.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which deals with the state regulations that govern employee/employer relationships, is investigating the death that authorities have called an accident. Burbank police, with assistance from the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, are also investigating.

“From a legal standpoint, an employer would be providing direction and compensation for ... a certain activity. We didn’t do that. Greg didn’t take direction from us on this fitness routine or how to film his image or content,” Martinez said.

“From a compensation standpoint, we weren’t paying for activity like that.”

A Burbank police spokesman said Wednesday that they “do not have anything from the com-

for City Council District 6.

Montanez won the primary in that race but lost to Martinez by 10 points in the general election.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Montanez said in an inGarcetti has endorsed Los terview last month she Angeles City Councilwoman didn’t expect to get GarcetNury Martinez in her March Nury ti’s backing again. council race against chal- Martinez “I expect the mayor to lenger Cindy Montanez.

In a statement released Wednes- stay with the incumbent ... everyone day by Martinez’s team, Garcetti else has,” Montanez said.

Powerful groups that backed Moncalled the councilwoman the “best candidate” for the northeast Val- tanez in 2013, including the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, have ley seat.

“Nury Martinez has done an in- shifted allegiances to Martinez.

“As a rule, the Democratic Party credible job of restoring our Valley neighborhoods, by working to re- doesn’t turn against incumbents,” pair roads, clean up graffiti and crack Los Angeles County Democratic down on prostitution,” Garcetti said. Party Chairman Eric Bauman said Garcetti’s endorsement is a rever- Wednesday, “unless they do somesal: The mayor endorsed Montanez thing wrong, and Nury won the and appeared at one of her fund- election fair and square, and she’s raisers in the 2013 special election doing her job quite well.”

Council OKs $250,000 in wrongful death

Settlement ends suit filed by mother of pedestrian killed by ex-Alarcón aide

By Dakota Smith dakota.smith@langnews.com @dakotacdsmith on Twitter

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to approve a $250,000 settlement to end a lawsuit over the death of a pedestrian killed by a onetime city aide.

Gary Woodford, 55, was killed in North Hollywood in 2012 after he was struck by a Toyota Prius driven by Manuel “Manny” Figueras, then a field deputy to City Councilman Richard Alarcón.

Woodford was crossing a stretch of Vineland Avenue with no marked crosswalk when he was struck by Figueras’ car. Woodford had a blood alcohol level of 0.28, an autopsy revealed.

Woodford’s mother sued the city and Figueras last year, alleging negligence and wrongful death.

City attorneys agreed to the settlement late last year.

Separately, Figueras was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and three years’ probation.

ONLINE PHOTO GALLERY

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

OUT AND ABOUT

LOCAL MEETING

Mike Tyson shows he’s a real-life birdman

Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and poet

Black History film series today at NoHo Library

Tomato gardening talk tonight in Canoga Park

The four-time heavyweight champ — a lifelong pigeon fancier who still owns nearly 2,000 — launched the 93rd Grand National Pigeon Show, with some 8,000 pedigreed birds from 21 countries.

Quotes: “Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend but it requires a very fine nature ... a true Individualist — to sympathise with a friend's success”; and “Punctuality is the thief of time.”

The Thursday movie series kicks off with “Remember the Titans” (2000), 2 p.m.; “A Raisin in the Sun” (1961), Feb. 12. North Hollywood Regional Branch Library, 5211 Tujunga Ave. 818-766-7185.

San Fernando Valley tomato blogger Bill Anderson discusses the fruits of his labor, SFV Iris Society, 7:30 tonight.

Doors open, 7 p.m. Canoga Park Women’s Club, 7401 Jordan Ave. 818-346-8679.

PHOTOS.DAILYNEWS.COM

OCT. 16, 1854-NOV. 30, 1900

WWW.LAPL.ORG

SOCALTOMATOES.BLOGSPOT.COM

A2

NYT STUDENT JOURNALISM INSTITUTE TUCSON SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013

A Rise in Valley Fever May Be Linked to Climate Change Animals Are Victims Of Valley Fever, Too

By MARIA CAMILA BERNAL

LISA F. SHUBITZ, THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

Coccidioides enters the body through the lungs. Here, a mature spherule in the lungs is ready to release endospores and spread.

It began with unusual headaches and neck aches.

But then, Mark D. Elson, an archaeologist working in Tucson, Ariz., had to stop for breaths during his usual short walks.

Elson was told he had Valley fever, a disease fairly unknown to most of the U.S., but prevalent in the Southwestern states.

Incidents of Valley fever, a fungal disease that lives in spores in the soil, are fluctuating without an explanation.

Researchers know little about the disease, which has no cure and no vaccine. And many people may not even know they have it: While about 22,500 cases were reported in 2011, some health officials believe as many as 150,000 people in the U.S. get Valley fever each year.

Most of the cases are found in the arid Southwest, where conditions encourage the fungus, Coccidioides, to grow. But researchers wonder whether the disease might be spreading beyond the Southwest, possibly because of climate change.

Many who suffer from Valley fever go through long periods of flu-like symptoms and eventually overcome the disease, often without medical treatment.

But in one-third of the reported cases, the fungus disseminates throughout the body, causing serious respiratory problems, skin lesions and even death, researchers say.

Although some research indicates that African-Americans, Filipinos and pregnant women have higher rates of serious symptoms of dissemination, anyone can get it.

When a spore from the fungus becomes airborne, it takes only one breath for someone to be infected.

Certain activities that involve digging in the soil, such as gardening and construction work, increase the possibility that someone can get the disease.

And archaeologists are at greater risk of being infected.

“Valley fever is a very real threat to archaeologists, and many of us have had it, probably more than is recognized,” said Elson, whose job includes digging at various sites in the Tucson area. “I had a particularly bad case, involving mostly fatigue, but also headaches and a lowgrade fever.”

Despite archaeologists’ daily exposure to the disease from working in the soil of dry, low rainfall areas, Valley fever isn’t generally covered by workers’ compensation programs. Some archaeologists are told that they cannot prove exactly how and where they contacted the illness.

Elson has been part of the efforts to include Valley fever in workers’ compensation in Arizona, and leads a focus group in Tucson that teaches professional archaeologists the risks and effects of Valley fever.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 40 percent of pa-

DON R. HECKER Institute Director, The New York Times Company

DESIREE DANCY Chief Diversity Officer & Vice President, The New York Times Company

Valley Fever Is Most Common in Arizona Valley fever, a fungal disease spread by spores in disturbed soil, infects thousands of people a year, nearly all in the Southwest. The number of reported incidents is fluctuating for reasons that are not clear.

LEGEND Total number of cases in 2011

APACHE

COCONINO

0 - 50

500 - 1,000

50 - 100

1,000 - 5,000

100 - 500

5,000 +

MOHAVE NAVAJO

Flagstaff

How it shows itself Valley fever symptoms are not always present. In some cases, the fever may affect the lungs, or disseminate throughout the body, affecting various organs.

YAVAPAI

LA PAZ MARICOPA

PINAL

YUMA

60%

GILA

Phoenix

ASYMPTOMATIC

GREENLEE

By MARIA CAMILA BERNAL

GRAHAM

Tucson

35%

DISSEMINATED

PIMA

PULMONARY

5%

COCHISE

chronic

SANTA CRUZ

5%

95%

acute

Jackson, a 6-year-old Boston terrier and pug mix, has one last chance for survival.

Eight months ago, he tested positive for Valley fever, a fungal disease that has raged through human populations in California and Arizona in recent years.

However, few know that the disease affects animals, too.

For Jackson, the available medications — most of which are intended for humans — have failed to help him. And though research on Valley fever has historically been underfunded, experts say, money to find a cure for animals is virtually nonexistent.

“My cases have been really bad this year in terms of treatability and I have no idea why,” said Dr. Lisa Shubitz, a veterinarian who researches Valley fever. “I’m seeing cases that I can’t treat and I feel terrible about it.”

The only option Jackson has left is Amphotericin, an antifungal medication injected through a vein in his left leg.

He is undergoing 15 to 18 sessions of about two hours each in hopes of getting rid of the fungus.

“The hardest thing has been seeing him be sick and in pain and discomfort,” said Jackson’s owner, Bobbi Jane Tucker. “It’s been really stressful for both him and I.” Just like humans, animals contract Valley fever from exposure to airborne spores of the fungus, which lives in the soil. While Tucson researchers and veterinarians do not know exactly how many animals are infected with Valley fever, they say they have seen an increase in the severity of the cases in recent years.

Shubitz has been trying to educate vets, raise awareness and study the disease in animals.

Despite her efforts, she has received little funding for research. The majority of the money goes to human research, and still, the money is scarce.

“This is the Valley fever hot spot of the universe, or so it feels likes it,” Shubitz said of Tucson. “It would be nice if people outside of Arizona thought it was important enough to consider that the disease needs attention and funding.”

Dogs comprise the majority of animals who suffer from Valley fever, but cats, monkeys, marine mammals and other zoo animals can contract it, too.

Symptoms for infected animals are similar to those exhibited by humans: They experience coughing, fever, weight loss, lack of appetite and lack of energy. The fungus starts in the lungs, but can spread to bones, skin and other parts of the body.

Veterinarians can prescribe oral medications, designed for humans, which cost $2 per pill.

But the drugs are not always effective.

Since November, Tucker has spent about $2,500 in treatment, she said.

Some animals survive Valley fever on their own, said Jackson’s vet, James Boulay.

But others can’t shake the illness because their immune system fails to recognize that the fungus is a problem.

“Sometimes we can control it and we can treat it. Some of them get over it,” Boulay said. “But if they have it in the bones or limbs, they have to be treated.”

So far, Jackson has undergone two rounds of treatment and has responded well.

But Valley fever is known to relapse in both humans and dogs.

The disease is not contagious, but Tucker cannot help but worry.

“I was concerned and just as a precaution I went to get the test — I didn’t have Valley fever,” Tucker said.

“But it does make you look at it differently. When you know someone who has Valley fever or your pet has Valley fever, you become very aware of the chronic illness that it is.”

22,500 20,000

Valley Fever Cases by Year Data over the years show an increase in Valley fever cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control. In the area where the fever is endemic, Arizona has the most cases.

17,500 15,000

Total endemic area

Arizona

12,500 In 2009 reporting methods were changed at major Valley fever testing facilities

10,000 7,500 5,000 2,500

MARIA CAMILA BERNAL/NYT INSTITUTE

0 ’98

’99

’00

’01

’02

’03

’04

’05

’06

’07

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arizona Department of Health Services

ONLINE: MORE ON VALLEY FEVER

An interactive map of Valley fever infections and more photographs: tucson13.nytimes-institute.com

tients who get ill from Valley fever will require hospitalization, at an average cost of $50,000 per visit.

Valley fever is “an occupational hazard,” Elson said, “but also something that we cannot do much about.”

But the disease can also affect those who don’t dig for a living.

Linda Warren, a Phoenix resident, said she grew up thinking that the disease was something common and unimportant. But after going through her third relapse of Valley fever, it has become very real.

“I thought it was just getting a cold and then you move on,” said Warren, who got diagnoses in 1990, 2007 and 2012. “But when I got it a third time I was con-

cerned. That’s when I really found out how devastating it can be.”

Warren’s Valley fever began as pneumonia but has now spread all over her body. She has severe muscle and joint pain, fever and rashes. She takes antifungal medication and works with an infectious disease doctor.

“It has changed my life dramatically in the last year,” said Warren, who has had to give up advances in her human resources job because of the disease.

“It’s hard to deal with family members who don’t have it. There are days when you are dragging and hurting, but your family gets tired of you being fatigued.”

In a recent study, the CDC said Valley fever cases in Southwestern states rose sharply, to 22,000 in 2011 from 2,265 in 1998. Some of the increase may be from a 2009 change in reporting methods.

But Arizona, the state with the highest number of Valley fever cases, actually had a decline in 2012. State health officials have

’09

’10

’11

VANESSA MARTÍNEZ/NYT INSTITUTE

no explanation why.

“It’s complicated,” Dr. John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence, said of the difference in numbers.

“However, year to year variation is routine. The problem is not going away.”

Nathan Enns, a professional pilot living in Bakersfield, Calif., knew about Valley fever before getting a diagnosis. But when he became terribly ill, he never suspected it could be Valley fever.

The disease is commonly mistaken, misdiagnosed and unknown by doctors across the states, researchers say.

Enns initially tested negative for Valley fever but later discovered that the test was wrong. He was hospitalized, and doctors told his family there were slim chances of survival. He overcame Valley fever, but now has to go through extra setbacks at his job.

“This just adds another level of stress in my life,” said Enns, who needs to take extra medical

The Staff The New York Times DEBORAH ACOSTA RICHARD L. BERKE ANJALI B. BHOJANI LASHARAH BUNTING DEAN CHANG TIFF FEHR JOSE R. LOPEZ SUZANNE MIZESKI ARON PILHOFER ANGELICA ROGERS SONA PATEL JOE SHARKEY

’08

Jackson is undergoing 15 to 18 sessions of antifungal treatment in the hopes to rid him of the fungus. tests to be certified to fly. “Now I’m always in danger of being sidelined.”

In California, the state with the second largest amount of Valley fever illnesses, cases also decreased in 2012.

“However, it is too soon to know whether this decrease will continue,” said Corey Egel, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health. “Public and health care providers in high incidence areas should be aware that Valley fever remains an important public health concern.”

Researchers say that not enough money is being spent to study Valley fever.

The National Institutes of Health has funded research but also recognizes the difficulties in studying Valley fever, said Dr. Dennis Dixon, chief of the bacteriology and mycology branch.

“In general, fungi are very difficult to study,” he said. “There are specialty labs necessary to work with it and it slows down the

experiments.”

In order to avoid being infected, Dr. Lisa Shubitz, who has been researching the disease by injecting rats, is working in a laboratory designed with special ventilation technology. She wears disposable masks, gloves and gowns.

“It’s a really big deal here, but boy, you leave the state of Arizona and no one has ever heard of Valley fever,” said Shubitz, who said she has had a hard time finding funding to study the disease.

She is interested in studying climate changes and global warming, which she said are possibly one reason for Valley fever’s expansion beyond the Southwest.

Currently none of the drugs that treat Valley fever actually kill the fungus. Vaccines are in development but it is uncertain how successful any might be.

In the meantime, there are still many unanswered questions about Valley fever.

“I just tell people, ‘Don’t breathe,’” Shubitz said.

About The Institute The Boston Globe AKILAH JOHNSON MARTINE POWERS University of Arizona WILLIAM E. SCHMIDT NANCY A. SHARKEY

The New York Times Student Journalism Institute, established in 2003, is held in the last two weeks in May each year. In odd-numbered years the Institute is offered in conjunction with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists for student members of that organization. In even-numbered years (including 2014) it is offered in collaboration with the National Association of Black Journalists and is open to student members of that group and to students at historically black colleges and universities.

Arizona Daily Star SARAH GARRECHT GASSEN

Further information about the Institute is available by contacting the director of the Institute at hecker@nytimes.com or by calling (212) 556-1576.

Consultant MERRILL PERLMAN

© 2013 The New York Times

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NYT STUDENT JOURNALISM INSTITUTE TUCSON SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013

ALEX WROBLEWSKI/NYT INSTITUTE

Inside Biosphere 2, top, simulated ecosystems include ocean, center, and savanna, above. Since its self-sustaining mission ended, Biosphere 2 has been used for other research purposes.

A Changing Climate at Biosphere 2 The Giant Greenhouse in the Desert Uses Its Five Living Zones to Study Global Warming

By HANNAH WINSTON In the desert about an hour north of Tucson, a lush rainforest presses its emerald canopy against a glass ceiling. Yards away, separated by a plastic partition, artificial waves from a million-gallon ocean creep on to the 4-foot shore. Underneath, in the “Technosphere,” concrete tunnels weave around air vents, wires and power sources to run the oversized, science fiction-like greenhouse above.

Built more than 20 years ago, Biosphere 2 was intended to replicate the planet’s ecology and sustain life for a better understanding of our world, as well as be a model for living outside the original Biosphere 1 — earth.

Now, as a University of Arizona research facility, it is a laboratory for the study of climate change as well as other ecological projects.

But it also serves as an educational and tourist destination.

Tourists trickle down the 2.5mile road off state Route 77, some wondering why it exists, others telling the receptionist and ticket table that they had “read all about it online.” Infamous or not, the

idea of a 3.14-acre alien-like world replicating our own attracts almost 100,000 people a year.

John Adams, assistant director at the facility, said there is nothing like Biosphere 2 in scale or venture.

It’s been 20 years since the original mission; Eight researches lived in its airtight bubble for two years until the mission was aborted because of an imbalance in carbon dioxide and oxygen.

In a New York Times article from 1991, Ed Bass, the financier behind the project, was asked what he thought about using the Biosphere 2 model on Mars.

The project, Bass said, could be the model future scientists would use to create sustainable societies — or it could just be a flop.

Humankind wasn’t going to Mars, or even to the moon again, in the 1990s — let alone now.

When Biosphere 2 was created, Adams said he spoke with scientists who said that attempting to recreate the natural process was a humbling experience, but that anyone who thinks they can recreate it is foolish.

Now, instead of a push to

build a habitable alternative to Earth, one focus of the facility is testing different ways to make established cities sustainable.

Since researchers are not able to “shut down half the grid” of a major metropolitan area, Adams joked, they use Biosphere 2 as a miniature city.

“We’re like a large test animal

‘What can we do here that they can’t do anywhere else?’. for medical research,” he said.

He described research in the facility as a “niche scientific endeavor.” With five kinds of miniature climate areas — desert, marsh, ocean, rainforest and savanna — it provides the chance to see reactions across the world.

Adams said research about earth science doesn’t really have a specific way to test research the way other fields of science do.

“If you look at astronomy, we have large telescopes and we put them in space,” he said. “In physics we have the Hadron Collider.”

He explained that Biosphere 2 tries to be the middle ground between controlled experiments in a traditional lab setting and experiments open to the elements in larger, natural settings, like rainforest excavations.

With all the energy put into sustaining life and the climates in the different environments of the dome, someone has to pay. The energy bill — electricity and natural gas—runs around $550,000, about half the cost when it was self-enclosed, Adams said.

With financing from billionaire Edward Bass, the original project funder; National Science Foundation; the university; grants; and the tickets for the tour, the bills are taken care of. Annuals costs are about $5.5 million.

But the Biosphere isn’t the end-all-be-all for understanding how the earth works and why.

Even with all of the data collected, it is not representative. To attempt to balance this, researchers weigh their data against that

taken outside of the dome from The National Critical Zone Observatory Program, which measures sustainability of the zone from soil to rock that supports life.

Even so, Adams said one question keeps bringing researchers back: “What can they do here that they can’t do anywhere else?”

Among the experiments under the dome have been how different types of plastic disintegrate in ocean water over time. A researcher is testing the way small changes in temperature affect the canopy of the rainforest, and soon will check how the environment works during droughts.

One of the biggest projects at the dome is Landscape Evolution Observatory, better known as the LEO project. The researchers aim to gain a better understanding for the way water moves through landscapes and how, or if, it evolves with climate change — things like how much rain from a mountaintop ends up downstream.

What they do is take apart the traditional system of dirt, plants and other living organisms and

ONLINE: MORE BIOSPHERE IMAGES

More images from Biosphere 2 in the Sonoran Desert, by Alex Wroblewski: tucson13.nytims-institute.com

strip it to a simpler form. Then, once they get enough information from that sample, they will add in plants to see how the water is retained and reacts to the temperature changes.

“We’re putting it back together,” he said about the landscape.

Millions of pounds of dirt sit on an artificial slope — the underbelly of the oversized planter covered in thousands of sensors measuring temperatures and moisture — to replicate the mountainside.

Instead of using current soil from mountainsides in Tucson, though, the “new soil,” broken down to near-mineral form, is from northern Arizona.

When asked how new the soil was, Adams laughed.

“Geologically: It’s only 10,000 years old.”

Seeing the Moon From Here and There

By JOSEPH A. W. FITZGERALD Few people on Earth have seen the moon quite the way moonwalkers have. But that is beginning to change, thanks to an astronaut who decided to become an artist.

“A lot of people think the moon is just black and white, but the surface actually has a cast of orange,” said Alan Bean, an Apollo 12 astronaut who returned to Earth and felt compelled to paint the colors that he and only a few others have seen up close.

In 1981, 12 years after he walked on the moon, Bean traded in his wrenches and flight control dials for a paintbrush. His new mission was to correct a mistaken view: The moon, he said, is not the color you think.

In fact, the surface has a lot of subtle color, Bean said.

The misconception began in a time when the entire world was looking.

From their TVs, citizens of Earth stared rapt as the Apollo 12 rocket hurtled through the sky.

The year was 1969, and viewers saw Bean and his fellow astronaut, Pete Conrad, walk on the moon — repeating the historic walk made four months earlier by the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. But the world was no less enthralled.

Bean’s work was on display through the Memorial Day weekend at this year’s Spacefest V, a convention in Tucson, Ariz., featuring astronauts, artists and scientists.

The annual convention has been held in Tucson since 2011 at the Starr Pass Resort & Spa. Bean said he aspired to be history’s greatest space artist and wanted to recreate what he saw on the moon in ways that cameras cannot.

Bruce McCandless II, an astronaut also at Spacefest, performed humanity’s first untethered spacewalk in 1984. A photograph of him floating miles above the striking blue of Earth while strapped to a jet pack for safety is one of the iconic images of space travel.

McCandless was also at the convention in Tucson, and said that human imagination often struggles to see space the way he and other astronauts saw it.

“If you think about the constellations, they are the reasonably brighter stars in the sky,” he said.

In space, there is no atmosphere to block out the dimmer stars. “You turn the background way up.”

In a sense, the universe comes out to say hello.

“It’s beautiful — and confusing,” McCandless said.

Bean saw the universe from orbit, too. In 1973 he was aboard Skylab for its 59-day orbit, which set a record at the time.

The majority of his more than 150 paintings are of moonwalks.

The difference between what he saw on the surface and what the cameras picked up is mostly a matter of color.

“You don’t know the complexity,” he said.

Although the fans — some of whom came as far as Switzerland — came to see the astronauts, NASA experts and physicists, the hidden star of the reception may have been Bean’s paintings.

At first look, his paintings do not seem that different from any other lunar mission artwork. In “Cernan, Gnomon, and Crater,” for instance, a suited astronaut faces the canvas head on, his arms outstretched reaching for a camera’s tripod.

The background, however, was anything but gray. Behind him lay purple, green and orange stripes of moon.

Some paintings use color more subtly. In “New Glory for Old Glory,” Bean depicts Gene Cernan, the last astronaut who walked on the moon, saluting in his spacesuit while holding the American flag. The flag is the star of the show in this piece, as blue and red pop from the frame.

This moon’s surface has a more restrained use of orange.

Bean works with a man named Ernesto Avila, who used his iPhone to show one of Bean’s works in progress: a self-portrait.

“I wanted him to draw himself,” Avila said. But the self-portrait isn’t of the man’s face or profile, or anything that would clearly identify Bean.

Bean instead painted a NASA spacesuit and the gold tint of a helmet’s screen reflecting astronauts not depicted in the painting. The earth hangs large, half visible from the top of the frame.

MICHAEL STRAVATO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Long after I’m gone, other artists will venture far enough into space to see the Earth as I have seen it, and they too will be inspired to paint it.”

ALAN BEAN | Astronaut and artist, shown at his home in 2009

Avila said he believed it was how Bean sees himself. “Alan’s most famous for being the fourth man on the moon and for ruining a camera on the moon — he pointed it at the sun.”

Avila wanted him to paint the camera for the portrait but said he “didn’t have the heart to tell him.”

Bean said he sees his work through the lens of history.

Though the space race is long past and humanity’s fervor for space travel has cooled, Bean sees a future when humans will routinely travel — and paint — among the stars.

In his written description of “A Bright Christmas Tree Ornament,” a painting of Earth as seen from the moon, Bean illustrated his view of the future.

“As the centuries unfold, long

after I’m gone, other artists will venture far enough into space to see the Earth as I have seen it, and they too will be inspired to paint it,” he wrote. “As the first artist in all history to leave our planet and paint images that no other artist has ever seen, what I have created will probably be compared to the works of those artists that follow. I want mine to be the most beautiful.”

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NYT STUDENT JOURNALISM INSTITUTE TUCSON SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013

Clockwise from top: Warnings in different languages on the rusting door of a Boeing 737; Bryce Whitford, left, and Charles Tucker, structure technicians, in a hangar at Marana Aerospace Solutions; the empty engine cowling of a Boeing 747-200; the underbelly of a Boeing 747-200.

BITS AND PIECES

Where Old Planes Go to Rest, or to Die PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANIBAL ORTIZ AND STORY BY JAMES BARRAGAN The white van pulls to a slow stop in the middle of a road.

The driver, Betsy Shaw, turns and asks, “Do you know why I stopped here?”

Silence.

“Because we don’t have an active tower and that’s the runway,” she said, pointing to an isolated strip of road in the 1,200 acres of Pinal Air Park.

“I’m checking for planes.”

Hundreds of commercial and private planes are flown onto this runway every year, but most do not carry passengers. They are flown to the airfield to be repaired or overhauled. Others are simply grounded for months on end, casualties of the budget cuts airlines have made since 2008.

Some of the planes that land here are headed for a much more ominous fate — the “end-of-life” service provided by Marana Aerospace Solutions, the company in charge of the site.

The process is exactly what it sounds like: The planes, Boeing 747s or Airbus A318s among them, are marked with a red “X” on their noses and stripped of their metal and valuable parts.

“Once all components are sold, the haul is bunched up to pieces this small,” Shaw said, forming a circle with her index finger and thumb. “Then they are melted down and repurposed.”

Their bodies will be disassembled and individual parts sold to other air industry merchants. At some point, Shaw said, the parts become worth more than the actual plane.

Two years ago, Relativity Capital LLC purchased the airfield, which was initially built as a World War II army base. The company turned the site into a stand-alone maintenance, repair and overhaul business under the new name of Marana Aerospace Solutions.

On a scorching day in the Arizona sun, all of

WAITING

Workers pass an Airbus A330 undergoing maintenance inside the hangar at Marana Aerospace Solutions. Planes are overhauled or dismantled at the site.

SHIFT CHANGE

the commercial planes in the fleet undergo a process the Marana employees call “venting.”

When the temperature hits 90 degrees and above, the doors of all the planes are opened to let air in and prevent the plastic inside the planes from melting. At the end of the day, a small crew of no more than six staff members is given the task of closing the doors to the hundreds of commercial airplanes in the fleet.

Grounded Boeing 737s, as well as regional jets by Embraer and Bombardier, can be found on other areas of the site.

There’s even an Airbus A330 in the air hangar getting a paint job and sheet metal

work done.

Some of the aircraft have aluminum covers over their cowlings, designating that they have had their engines removed.

Once they are ready for flight again, they will receive a new engine and undergo inspections by the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure they are safe to fly.

But these, some may say, are the lucky ones.

These planes will one day have engines again, and be able to take off down the runway — an opportunity not shared by those with a red “X.”

A change in texture and tones on the side of a Boeing 737. On hot days, workers open the doors of planes so the plastic inside doesn’t melt.

NYT STUDENT JOURNALISM INSTITUTE TUCSON SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013

A3

Civil Union Ordinance Could Give Bisbee More Reasons to Grow

By JAMES BARRAGAN

ANIBAL ORTIZ/NYT INSTITUTE

Wines of the world line the wall behind the barrel room of Dos Cabezas WineWorks, one of a dozen wineries in the area.

Sonoita Offers Charm, Food and Wine

By FAUSTO GIOVANNY PINTO Along the drive south to the small town of Sonoita, Ariz., it is difficult not to be struck by the sheer beauty of the landscape, where the Tucson desert falls back and gives way to an expanding prairie dotted with ranch houses.

The closer you get to Sonoita, its charms — and even its existence — can get called into question, as civilization fades with each passing mile.

The town doesn’t come into view until Route 82 hits Route 83 at what might pass for the center of Sonoita. There is a cafe, which serves traditional comfort food, and a cowboy-themed restaurant, popular among the bikers who stop for gas at the nearby Sonoita Mercantile, the town’s only gas station.

And yet Sonoita, a town of 800 people about 30 miles from the Arizona-Mexico border, has become a burgeoning tourist magnet, as unlikely a candidate as any along the country’s many off-the-beaten paths.

The area boasts 12 wineries, a growing number of bed-andbreakfasts, a clear night sky that attracts stargazers, and one of the top Navajo quilters in the nation.

The latest addition to Sonoita will be one of Phoenix’s top-rated chefs, Greg LaPrad, who is leaving his two restaurants there, Quiessence and Morning Glory, to open one in Sonoita.

Looking out of the seating area of LaPrad’s yet-unnamed restaurant along Route 82, the lure of Sonoita is apparent. Diners will be able to see the picturesque 20,000-acre expanse of the Vera Earl Ranch, and LaPrad will be able to tap into the area’s rich soils, livestock and local wine — fitting with his farm-to-table philosophy.

“I love the idea of being off the culinary beaten path,” said the 31-year-old LaPrad. “I love the area. It is completely different and beautiful.”

LaPrad said he planned to open his restaurant by mid-August, in time for the Labor Day rodeo at the fairgrounds. He already has customers from Phoenix promising to make the two-and-a-half hour trip.

Of the 48 wineries in Arizona, a dozen are in Sonoita and a nearby town, Elgin, which have the distinction of being in the state’s only American Viticultural Area, a federally recognized wine grape growing region.

Around here, there isn’t a cactus in sight. Sitting at about 5,000 feet above sea level, the area’s cool temperatures have made it an ideal place for farmers, ranchers and winemakers.

On the road to Callaghan Vineyards in Elgin, it is not uncommon to drive by burros, antelope or alpacas. As you approach the property, the red clay soil underneath lush green vines falls against a backdrop of

ANIBAL ORTIZ/NYT INSTITUTE

Chef Greg LaPrad visits Dos Cabezas WineWorks in Sonoita, Ariz. He is leaving two restaurants in Phoenix for Sonoita, where he plans to open a farm-to-table restaurant in the fall.

Sonoita at a Glance Although populated by only 818 people, Sonoita’s contrast from Arizona’s deserts has attracted tourists, especially wine lovers.

1:68 wineyards to people

30

miles to the Mexico border

10.5 square miles Source: U.S. Census VANESSA MARTÍNEZ/NYT INSTITUTE

the Southern Arizona mountains, offering a view that stuns.

“The wine here has a distinct taste. It’s tannic, stringent and built for aging,” said Kent Callaghan, 47, who started the vineyard with his parents in 1990. “There is diversity for taste, interesting tastes.”

The first vineyard in Arizona was opened in 1979; Gordon Dutt, a soil scientist at the University of Arizona, was given a grant to study winemaking conditions in the four corner states, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

Dutt found the area in Sonoita

optimal, and opened his vineyard there.

When the Callaghans started, they were one of three local vineyards. Most of the vineyards have opened within the last couple of years, but Callaghan said he doesn’t mind the competition. He said the wineries help the region to grow, as people come back to visit a new one, or make a weekend out of their visits.

Visitors can stay at the Sonoita Inn, which resembles a large barn and has a maximum occupancy of 75. The Inn can sell out during events like the Quarter Horse Show, the rodeo and the Santa Cruz County Fair, which are held at the nearby Sonoita Fairgrounds.

A number of B&B’s on ranches are also available, including the Guest Walker Ranch, whose amenities include racquetball, a pool and a spa. Horses can also be accommodated for an extra $20 a night.

Busy season in Sonoita is from October through November and February through April, but motorcycle enthusiasts can be seen regularly. Bikers favor State Routes 82 and 83 for their winding paths and views.

“We drive from Nogales to Tombstone and make this trip about three to four times a year,” said Miguel Anguidano, as he was refueling his Harley. “The scenery is beautiful on 82.”

Anywhere from 200 to 300 bikers can ride through town on a summer day, according to a clerk at the Mercantile. And they do not merely stop for gas.

Kief Manning, the 30-year-old co-owner of Joshua-Kief Vineyards, said that motorcycle clubs often visit his Tucson-themed winery for Sunday brunch and tastings.

Less than a mile up the road from LaPrad’s restaurant is Arizona Hops and Vines, a vineyard and soon-to-be brewery run by two sassy sisters in their 30s from Orange County, Calif.

Wines with names like Imbibe,

A Phoenix chef defects to an area with a dozen wineries.

First Crush and Moxy are paired with potato chips and Cheez Doodles. Farm animals like Kevin Bacon the pig and Clint Eastwood the donkey wander around a small petting zoo for children.

With its themed events, the vineyard has been drawing a younger and hip crowd than many vineyards. Recently the sisters became the first growers of hops in Arizona, and will soon sell them to local breweries as well as create their own beer (they said their first will be an India Pale Ale). A practice batch of hops yielded a hops-fermented wine called the Drag Queen, the bottle laced in a net stocking.

“I am really happy they are catering to the young crowd and stepping out the box,” said Selene Gastelum, 24, an attendant at the Sonoita Inn who moved to Sonoita two years ago from Tucson.

Another worker in Sonoita said that it always feels like Sunday there, and that notion seems to be catching on.

“We are laid back and rural, and city people are liking it,” Callaghan said.

After months of heated debate and the threat of a lawsuit from the state’s attorney general, this small mining town-turned-artistcommunity is one step away from approving a civil union ordinance that would be the first of its kind in Arizona.

It falls short of the original ordinance that the Bisbee City Council passed in March — a move met with swift opposition from state Attorney General Tom Horne, who argued that the ordinance violated state law by allowing same-sex couples the same rights afforded to married couples, a privilege reserved for the state.

In response, the Bisbee City Council decided to revise its original ordinance to address Horne’s concerns but to still recognize a union between same-sex couples in the city.

Bob Klein and Jeff Trujillo have been together for 14 years.

They live and run a business together, the Doublejack Guesthouse, described as “a gay-friendly, gay-operated business” — the “only one of its kind” in Bisbee, Klein said.

Trujillo said the ordinance would legitimize their relationship in a cultural way.

“Having this in place is an acknowledgment by the straight community of our relationship,” he said. “It puts us on the same level as everybody else in an overt way.”

If approved at the council’s June 4 meeting, Bisbee would offer a contractual agreement that provides a checklist of rights bestowed upon partners in a civil union.

The ordinance also recognizes civil unions as an official partnership within the city limits, much like domestic partnership registries in other Arizona cities like Tucson and Phoenix.

In essence, Bisbee’s civil unions are no different from a contract drafted by a private attorney.

Eugene Conners, the city councilman who proposed the ordinance, said, “The city is simply making a statement by providing it for you.”

But for the Bisbee residents like Andrew Nelson, the ordinance is about taking a stand for what they believe is a civil rights issue. “It’s just about doing the right thing,” he said. “It’s kind of surprising that it’s blown up into this.”

But not everyone in town is in favor of the ordinance.

The “call to the public” section of the March meeting where the ordinance was first discussed lasted three hours, and two city council members out of seven voted against the proposal.

Conners said he estimated that about three-fourths of the town was in favor of civil unions, but added that opponents have been vocal.

Residents call their town “a blue dot in a sea of red” in reference to the city’s divergence from the state’s Republican leanings.

The publicity the ordinance has generated could help the small town boost its economy.

Bisbee is tucked into the hills of southeastern Arizona, within sight of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The former copper mining small

town of about 5,000 residents has evolved into a blend of artist spaces, shops, and bed-andbreakfasts that attracts about 60,000 visitors annually.

As Conners, or “Gene-O,” as he likes to be called, walks around town, people greet him and ask for updates on the ordinance.

Conners replies that it’s moving along and peppers his language with “dudes” and “groovies.”

“The civil union ordinance, even though its scope is limited and it’s a far cry from granting equal marriage rights to the GLBT community, is likely to draw people to the city to show their support, attend civil union ceremonies, and perhaps even move here to take advantage of our welcoming atmosphere.”

In 2000, when Vermont became the first state in the nation to allow civil unions, the state awarded 1,704 civil union certificates. The following year, that number continued to grow; most of the unions were celebrated by couples who did not reside within the state.

At that time, same-sex couples

Residents of a liberal town call it ‘a blue dot in a sea of red.’

did not have many options, and Vermont was the only state that allowed civil unions, said Lee Badgett, executive director of the Williams Institute at UCLA, which researches sexual orientation, gender identity law and public policy.

Now that same-sex couples can legally marry in nearly 25 percent of the states, not many people will travel somewhere for a civil union.

But for Bisbee, the tourist draw is not the main concern.

Kathy Sowden, a local business owner who lives in town with her partner, said the ordinance could encourage more people to move to Bisbee.

Klein, who runs the business side of Doublejack, said he has already received reservations from across the country that specifically point to the ordinance as their reason for visiting.

“It stands to draw more retiring LGBTs to the community,” Sowden said. “Somebody gay in Tucson might prefer to retire in a more accepting place.”

And that matters more to Sowden than an influx of tourists because an increase of residents could help the small city pay for public services.

Even if the ordinance helps the economy, its proponents say the issue is first and foremost one of equal rights.

If approved June 4, it would go into effect July 4.

Supporters, like Trujillo, hope it will be an example for the rest of the nation.

“If a small town like Bisbee in a red state like Arizona can do this, then maybe a bigger city in a bigger place can take the lead of 5,100 people.”

JAMES BARRAGAN/NYT INSTITUTE

Bisbee, known for its Old Western charm, attracts tourists from all over the world. Resdents hopes more people will move there.

Tucson’s Hot and High Extremes, Seen From Two Wheels Up Mount Lemmon

By MARINA VILLENUEVE

As the sun rose at the Madera Village Shopping Center, a flock of bicyclists in neon spandex circled a portion of an otherwise empty parking lot in Northeast Tucson.

At 5:30 a.m. on any given Saturday or Sunday, hundreds of bikers begin to arrive in the plaza to traverse the winding Catalina Highway, passing leafy mountain forests and canyons spilling out into broad deserts.

“It’s got a tree miles up, and with the sun at your back, you can see the rocky shafts of Mount Lemmon,” said Bob Wickliffe, 62, an engineer who bikes with

a group of co-workers from Raytheon.

“You go through about four different climates as you bike up,” Wickliffe said, noting the quick changes in elevation, which ranges from 3,000 to 9,000 feet.

Before their rides, cyclists meet in the parking lot in front of Le Buzz Café, most of them returning for pastries after the ride.

“It’s a whole cycling community, everyone helping each other out,” said Jennifer Jen, an accountant who has biked for the past three years.

“I started off as a runner and took up cycling. We’re a pretty random group of people, all different,” she added.

They have a lot of choices for their rides. Tucson was recently ranked as America’s most bikefriendly area, beating Minneapolis and Portland, according to The Atlantic.

Of the 7,000 top neighborhoods in the U.S., three from Tucson made the top 25: Pie Allen at No. 9, Iron Horse at No. 18 and Armory Park at No. 22.

The Atlantic analyzed WalkScore.com’s rankings based on bike lanes, hills, destinations and road connectivity, and bike commuting.

Duncan Benning, who works at Sabino Cycles in Tucson, said bike trails still had room for improvement, including adding bi-

cycle railings, and widening and smoothing existing bike lanes.

“There’s a lot that can be done with driver education,” he said.

“People in the U.S. know little about other users in the road and that by being in a car, you have a responsibility to be aware of bikers, pedestrians and other users on the roadway.”

Few bicyclists are dissuaded by the heat in Arizona in May. Temperatures can reach close to 100 degrees during the day, prompting some people to set out earlier to bask in the coolness of 60-degree rides.

Lorna MacQuarrie, 55; Rick Taylor, 50; Andy Rothschild, 51; and Wickliffe use an email list to

organize their group of a dozen bikers, though only five to seven typically show up.

“It’s great, terrific,” said Wickliffe, taking a swig of water.

“And painful,” added Taylor.

Preparation is essential, said MacQuarrie, a manager at Sabino Cycles.

“You hydrate before you go, and you drink and eat water and get a lot of sleep the day before,” she said. “You need electrolytes, because plain water will just flush you out.”

Nearby, Lisa Abramson, 56, did calf stretched while waiting for a friend.

“I’ve been biking for 15 years,” she said. “Biking you can do for-

ever, until your 60s or 70s. Well, if you don’t fall or hurt your back.”

Abramson said she hoped to spot the full moon before it disappeared.

Garry Segerman, 44, organizes a separate group of 30 bicyclists.

He said people ride with coworkers, friends, families and grandchildren.

Patrick Sisson, part of the group, moved to Tucson in 2006 and bought his first bicycle a year later.

“I quit smoking and thought I would make it up Lemmon Mountain the first day,” Sisson said. “Well, I couldn’t. A 14-yearold flew by me. It’s part of my lifestyle now.”

MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT COMMITMENT TO VALUE

As the distributor turns 10, it continues to build relationships to release popular franchises and revamp catalog titles

I

n 2002, Mill Creek Entertainment entered the home video market with a line-up of 50-movie sets that rapidly became popular with retailers and consumers. Fast forward 10 years, and that commitment to value still remains, as well as the popularity of the 50-movie collections along with hundreds of additional DVD and Blu-ray titles.

Mill Creek has built its business with a focus on product and the consumer, establishing a reputation of being able to breathe new life into catalog collections and franchises.

“We put titles in the most compelling form possible,” said Ian Warfield, president, COO and co-founder of the company. “Part of that means packaging the titles at retail for as little as $5 to $10 to drive the best value for the consumer.”

Starting out with primarily public domain content, the company was founded in October 2002 from humble beginnings. Mill Creek has since grown to be a force in the industry, with distribution deals with such studios as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

As Mill Creek has grown, the company has licensed a variety of cinematic, television, kids, fitness and special interest content.

Through relationships with companies such as Cookie Jar Entertainment and Classic Media, the company has a release schedule of products driven by franchises such as “Johnny Test,” “Richard Scarry,” “The Archies,” “Heathcliff” and “He-Man.” Through a continually aggressive slate of releases, the company continues to capture market

«WE HAVEN’T LOST SIGHT OF OUR ORIGINAL MISSION OF ALWAYS GIVING EXCEPTIONAL CONSUMER VALUE .»

—IAN WARFIELD, PRESIDENT, COO AND CO-FOUNDER share and boasts an incredible kidvid animation library.

The company has also made a splash with television programming, distributing such popular series as “That ’70s Show,” “21 Jump Street,” “Roseanne,” “Hunter,” “3rd Rock From the Sun” and “Wanted: Dead or Alive” from companies such as Carsey-Werner, Stephen J. Cannell Productions and others.

Additionally, Mill Creek has produced original content for its own line-up of documentary and special interest programming, resulting in a steady stream of bestselling titles. Some of these top-selling titles are America’s Serial Killers, Hollywood Versus the Mob, Up From Slavery and the “America’s National Parks” series.

“Mill Creek Entertainment’s success has been due to a relentless focus on providing the maximum amount of consumer entertainment into a value product line that can satisfy every facet of the DVD and Blu-ray marketplace,” Warfield said.

Staying on top of the digital evolution of the business, Mill Creek has both ad-supported and subscriptionbased streaming channels on multiple plat-

forms as well as content on iTunes, Hulu and Amazon.

The company has two channels on the Roku platform: a subscription video-on-demand war documentary channel called America’s Wars and a top-ranked fitness channel, All Fitness TV. Mill Creek also has four other channels in the works for Roku and across 17 other digital platforms.

That’s not to say Mill Creek is moving away from packaged media. The company manufactures and distributes tens of millions of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs quarterly in support of its retail network of more than 30,000 stores.

With warehousing and pick, pack and ship facilities in Minneapolis and Los Angeles, the company fulfills products to a variety of retail and distribution partners.

And there’s more to come from Mill Creek this year.

Retailers and consumers can expect more TV programming, feature films, documentaries and special interest products at great prices, Warfield said.

Launching Aug. 7 is a brand new, original pop culture documentary series “The Decade You Were Born,” which has a separately sold collection for each decade from the 1940s to the 1980s, featuring documentaries that delve into the pop culture of each 10-year period.

“We’re extremely proud and happy to have survived 10 years in a challenging industry,” Warfield said. “We haven’t lost sight of our original mission of always giving exceptional consumer value. We are looking forward to the next 10 years of staying true to our mission.”