RLn 01-10-13 Edition

1

The Local Publication You Actually Read January 11 - 24, 2013

By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

Assessing a year that’s been two steps forward, three steps back, with no way to turn yourself around is pretty hard. President Barack Obama was re-elected, the war on women is still hot though relatively quiet compared to this time last year. State-wide, Democrats have a super majority for the first time, but it doesn’t necessarily mean getting things done will get any easier. And, if that weren’t enough, we had to contend with the rumors that the world was going to end. So in this year-end review, I focused on as many highlights as I could fit in this space.

Marijuana Warsven as the feds stepped up enforcement of anti-marijua-na laws, proponents of legalization pushed even harder this past year.

In 2012, it seemed that a week never passed without a re-port of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire Arms and Explo-sives bust of a California medical marijuana dispensary. Na-tionally, medical marijuana was approved in Massachusetts, while state-regulated sales were approved in Washington and Colorado, but defeated in Oregon.

On Jan. 18, 2012 the California Supreme Court agreed to review three Court of Appeal decisions dealing with medi-cal marijuana dispensaries. This came a day after the Long Beach City Council decided to postpone until Feb. 14 its vote on whether to ban medical marijuana dispensaries all together when all of the council members were expected to be present.

On Feb. 14, the Long Beach City Council banned the sale of medical marijuana within the city, almost two years after the legislative body adopted a medical marijuana ordinance regulating it. Councilwoman Rae Gabelich was the lone op-posing vote. Dispensaries that had complied with the medical marijuana ordinance were given a six-month exemption with a provision to reconsider the exemption after four months. In addition, dispensaries that went out of business during that

E

Other side of the Apocalypse/ to p. 4

Ports O’Call Developer Selected, Optimism Grows p. 3

Les Misérables: A Success Desiptes Its Failings p. 11

Beer Enthusiast Bobby Trusela Highlights Classic Beers for 2013 p. 12

p

Graphic: Mathew Highland

2

Janu

ary

11 -

24, 2

013

Ser

ving

the

Seve

n Ci

ties

of th

e H

arbo

r Are

a

Committed to independent journalism in the Greater LA/LB Harbor Area for more than 30 years

HARBOR AREA

Major projects and redevelopment issues played a prominent role in local news this past year.

These projects and issues were haunted by the ghost of ill-conceived past decisions, embod-ied in the controversial Rancho LPG facility. The facility’s ongoing threat to public safety was the subject of numerous stories throughout the year, chronicling ongoing activist attempts to get the facility closed or relocated. These stories also reported myriad bureaucratic legal hurdles stand-ing in their way.

The ongoing Rancho story vividly illustrates the challenge of dealing with the past and learn-ing lessons for moving forward. While it’s still a discouraging story, so far, the same could be said about most of our optimistic stories in their gen-esis. Indeed, the desire to learn from and avoid past problems helped shape other major planning efforts impacting the community, including the Los Angeles Planning Department’s San Pedro Community Plan and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Department’s new Clearwater Waste-water disposal plan.

We began our Rancho coverage by continuing our look back at the 1977 pioneering reporting of Larry Prior and highlighting the legal efforts of attorney Anthony Patchett. We also heard from Reps. Janice Hahn and Laura Richardson.

In February, we described how Connie Rutter, a retired oil and gas industry expert, had joined the fight. She explained some fundamental mis-understandings of the science involved in making the facility so dangerous. In late June, we report-ed on Rutter’s withering critique of Rancho’s risk

management plan, citing dozens of errors, topped off by a “worst case analysis” limited to a half-mile radius—rather than the 3-mile radius—and dictated by the laws of the physics involved. The actual area at risk is 36 times larger than Rancho admits under law.

A March 8 accident, involving a semi-truck and a train at the corner of Westmont Drive and Gaffey Street, further highlighted the potential dangers involved and gave renewed impetus to efforts to revoke Rancho’s month-to-month rail permit—a move recommended by the Port Com-munity Advisory Committee, which the Harbor Commission rejected at its June 7 meeting.

Activists were initially excited at the pros-pects of a safety drill, scheduled for April, that Rancho agreed to perform, under the eyes of the Environmental Protection Agency. But the drill never happened.

In May, Councilman Joe Buscaino formally requested a Public Safety Committee hearing on Rancho LPG. But the meeting, which took place June 27, left community activists and represen-tatives deeply dissatisfied, despite the wide range of agencies who presented testimony.

“Nobody’s looking at the big picture,” con-cluded Diana Nave, president of Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council.

In the interim, Hahn convened a less formal meeting May 24, which local residents found sim-ilarly frustrating. However, one long-time Ran-cho employee, Tom Vuoso, revealed that Rancho had been “ready to move for years” and had been amenable to relocation on Energy Island—the original rationale for building Pier 400. Speak-

ing of which, in November, we reported that Plains All American, which now owns Rancho, was pulling out of its planned terminal on Pier 400, an announcement tucked away in the details of its third quarter shareholders report.

San Pedro redevelopment news started off on a sour note with the closing down of the state’s community redevelopment agencies fol-lowing a state supreme court decision.

“I believe redevelopment law can work and I think San Pedro’s an example of it,” said past president of the San Pedro

concern addressed in the plan’s Environmental Impact Report, but not in its baseline planning, staff explained.

These same concerns had a much bigger im-pact on the proposed Southern California Interna-tional Gateway intermodal railyard. The new cen-sus data was just one source of new projections which caused the recirculation of the Gateway’s draft environmental impact report, or DEIR. At the November public comment meeting, commu-nity, environmental and health activists all com-plained that the revisions still did not make the proposal community-safe. They were joined by the Air Quality District, which criticized the plan on several grounds, not the least for violating the ports’ own Clean Air Action Plan.

On the other hand, several projects faced relatively smooth sailing, with mostly positive public comment meetings, and little controversy around their DEIRs. This included the USS Iowa, the APL Terminal Expansion and the Al Larson Boat Shop renovation. The Los Angeles County Sanitation District’s Clearwater Program—in-tended to meet all waste water or recycling infra-structure needs through the year 2050—fell half-

Local Year in Review—A Focus on Land Use and the EnvironmentBy Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

Chamber of Commerce, Jayme Wilson, for all of the model’s flaws.

We followed up by reporting on efforts to compensate for the loss, particularly by continu-ing design practices, which help preserve San Pe-dro’s historical distinctiveness. These concerns feed into the creation of a new community plan by the city Planning Department—a process un-derway since 2006—which moved into its final stages beginning over the summer. We reported on various concerns discussed by the neighbor-hood councils in a series of stories. We followed-up by reporting on the public comment meeting that took place in December, where there ap-peared to be general satisfaction with downtown planning, including historic preservation and support for integrating waterfront and downtown development. The overwhelming focus of con-cern turned to subarea 260, the commercial one centered at 25th Street and Western Avenue. How-ever, the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council continued to raise issues about projec-tions for future growth and the potential for large developers—such as Ponte Vista—to monopo-lize the available future capacity. The use of 2005 data, rather than 2010 Census data was a major

Top, Jayme Wilson, center, long time general manager of Ports O’Call Village, at an event during his campaign for 15th District City Council. Above, the Rancho LPG facility on North Gaffey St. File photos.

continued on following page

3


Community leaders appear cautiously op-timistic in response to the Port of Los Angeles’ announcement selecting the Los Angeles Water-front Alliance as the developer for the Ports O’ Call opportunity site.

“It’s really nice that they have a partner that is local,” said Diana Nave, concisely expressing a common sentiment. Nave is president of North-west San Pedro Neighborhood Council, but was speaking as a private citizen; the council has yet to consider the proposal.

POLA Executive Director Geraldine Knatz announced the selection at a special meeting of the Harbor Commission on Dec. 20, 2012. Ap-proval of the selection is expected this month. This means that the port will enter into an exclu-sive negotiating agreement, but does not guaran-tee that the development will take place. Public input will be sought in developing the final form of the proposal, a point whose importance was stressed by Harbor Commission President Cindy

Miscikowski and Vice President David Arian; but the actual form, scope and depth that it will take remains unclear. Port staff declined comment for this story, pending further action by the board.

The selection process remains controversial and worrying to many because of its secretiveness and exclusion of the community, even though the end result has initial support. The port used a “request for qualifications” process, rather than “request for proposals,” but as Knatz’s presenta-tion made clear, the proposals themselves played a major role in determining who was selected.

“It’s an unusual process,” said Whale & Ale proprietor Andrew Silber, who’s participated in the waterfront development process for more than a decade now. “Doesn’t mean it won’t work… It’s not what we’re used to seeing in the way of choosing a developer.”

June Smith, co-chairwoman of the Port Com-munity Advisory Committee, found the process

Cautious Hope for Ports O’ Call RedevelopmentBy Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

way in between, as we reported on the project and the March 8 public comment meeting. Some serious concerns were raised about the preferred alternative path for the new outfall pipeline, but county staff appeared much more serious, open and diligent in taking steps to minimize poten-tial impacts. Port staff continued its sharply con-trasting secretive, insular approach with respect to plans for redeveloping Ports O’ Call, with an opaque process excluding public participation as we reported in mid-October and again in Decem-ber, but the design concept and developer select-ed appeared to match community concerns better than the rejected alternatives, as we reported in the last issue of the year.

Farther afield, but still closely tied to local concerns, in August we reported on plans for the 710 Freeway. These seemed destined to repeat its past history of a narrow planning perspective,

failing to meet future needs. We also reported on community, environmental and health activist groups proposing a much more comprehensive alternative in tandem with the 710 DEIR public comment meeting.

Although not a development plan, per se, the Air Quality Management District also merited attention with its latest update of its Air Quality Management Plan—its first update since 2007. Although refreshingly candid about the unhealthy air we breathe locally, AQMD had surprisingly good news about our ability to come into compli-ance with the Clean Air Act with regard to soot pollution by 2014, rather than seeking an exten-sion, which is allowable under federal law. It also reported on the substantial improvements in port pollution, but made it clear that much more remains to be done. This requires an aggressive approach toward developing zero-emissions tech-nologies and deploying them as soon as possible.

POC Developer/ to p. 4

from previous page

4

Janu

ary

11 -

24, 2

013

Ser

ving

the

Seve

n Ci

ties

of th

e H

arbo

r Are

a

ILWU Rejects EGT Contract International Longshore and Warehouse

Union members rejected a contract offer from Northwest grain terminal owners by 93.8 percent on Dec. 21 and 22, 2012, nine days after talks ended.

The labor dispute involves six terminals using a single agreement with the ILWU. About 3,000 people have been working without a contract since Sept. 2012.

Terminal owners, known as Pacific Northwest Grain Handler’s Association, want to secure a similar contract to one that Export Grain Termi-nal, or EGT, made in January 2012 in Longview, Wash.

Both sides say their disputes are about work-ing conditions, not wages. Employers state that wages for ILWU members will increase to a range of $34 to $36 an hour. With an additional $30 an hour in benefits, the combined wages and ben-efits of the union members will be $64 to $66 an hour.

The EGT contract permits mandatory 12-hour shifts, limits control room operations to manag-ers, and gives management broad latitude to make new rules, change methods and discipline employees, without workers’ input. The EGT con-tract allows the company to make permanent hires and requires the union to keep a list of work-ers who can be hired and fired at management’s discretion, as well as allowing stiff sanctions for strikes and other on-the-job protest actions. It also allows for fewer employees to load ships, flexibility to use elevator employees to assist in ship-loading; ability to eliminate the practice of paying employees a half-hour’s wages for work-ing as little as six minutes; to hold the union to its agreement not to engage in work stoppages during the term of the agreement; and greater flexibility in start/stop times to meet production needs, among other stipulations.

Grain terminal owners have been laying the legal groundwork for a possible lockout, bring-ing replacement workers who are willing to cross picket lines into the area. Three owners—Louis Dreyfus Commodities, Marubeni Corp. and Mit-sui & Co.—notified the union that they planned

to implement the rejected contract at 6 a.m. Dec. 27, 2012.

Union workers, who are free to strike, con-tinued to show up for work without a union contract, knowing well that employers also are free to replace them.

A fourth employer, TEMCO reportedly is maintaining the old contract terms at its ter-minals in Tacoma and Portland.

Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council Comments Critical of Ponte Vista Project

“While this DEIR is an improvement over the document prepared by the previous de-veloper, it is seriously flawed,” the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council said in its official comment document subitted on the new Ponte Vista proposal.

“The proposed project does not appear to be a good fit for the community nor for this geographically unique property. We have problems with the underlying assumptions and conclusions in the DEIR mainly relating to traffic, social services, utilities and service sys-tems. Because the analysis is built on faulty assumptions, it is in effect a ‘house of cards,’ and all conclusions based on the analysis are also faulty,” the document said, before going into more specific details, including:

The rezoning request will impair the or-derly implementation of Regional Plans, City’s General Plan, and two Community Plans.

The DEIR incorrectly identifies the project

irregular as well. “I disagree with that process,” she said.

“But I hope that the one that they have chosen addresses most of the community concerns and will be the vehicle that will allow us to craft the correct filling out of that proposal.”

Smith added that she was encouraged that the two top commissioners had both stressed the need for community involvement. She also pointed out as PCAC co-chair that “we’ve had a lot of experience in doing this and we are ready to serve in that capacity again.”

“The selection team did a good job,” said Sue Castillo, a professional planner who chairs the Planning and Land Use Committee for Cen-tral Neighborhood Council, adding that she was “happy to see that they quickly dismissed the concepts that were obvious misfits.”

But she did express some concerns. “It will take a sharp analysis to convince

me that moving the port’s administration of-fices to Ports O’Call is a good idea,” Castillo said. “They are heavily invested in their cur-rent building, which fits them pretty well as far as I can see... Would a new occupant be found for their existing building that would con-tribute to our downtown, or would this very large building just become another gaping hole in our urban fabric?”

Silber, for one, shares her concerns. “I’d like to see development that enhances

and does not draw from retail traffic to down-town San Pedro,” he added.

“I have similar reservations about the bou-tique hotel and conference center,” Castillo continued. “I don’t doubt that it could generate financial returns in Ports O’Call, but I fear that its success be at the expense of our downtown Crown Plaza Hotel and its conference spaces. We cannot afford that!”

period were not to be allowed to re-set up shop.In the following days and weeks, the Califor-

nia’s Secretary of State announced that several proponents of marijuana initiatives were given permission to begin collecting signatures for their measures, but ultimately they failed to make the ballot. One of the initiatives would have estab-lished a new regulatory agency that oversees the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing and sale of medical marijuana, as well as impose fees and a 2.5 percent tax on medical marijuana retail sales. The proponents ultimately abandoned the effort after failing to raise enough money to col-lect the signatures, but vowed to work with state legislators to accomplish their long term goals.

Medical pot was often a litmus test issue, forc-ing candidates in local races from Long Beach City Council Candidate Daryl Supernaw to can-didate Jackie Lacey to stake a position whether they would have power over enforcement or not.

On Sept. 17, the Los Angeles City Clerk veri-fied that petitioners had received 110 percent of the requisite 27,425 signatures needed to force a referendum on the ban which was enacted by the Los Angeles City Council this past July.

This led to the city council repealing the ban on pot dispensaries a short time later in a 11-2 vote on Oct. 2. Councilman Joe Buscaino’s vote was one of the minority. The council’s move kept a referendum on the ban off the March 5, 2013 ballot, when Angelenos will head to the polls to vote on—among other things—who will replace Antonio Villaraigosa as the city’s next mayor.

Perhaps what was most interesting is the di-versity amongst the ranks of proponents. Previ-ously, we have heard from patients, pot dispensa-ry owners and even recreational users, but who’d ever consider members of law enforcement?

In the July 26 edition of Random Lengths, we ran a profile on Stephen Downing, an executive

board member of Law Enforcement Against Pro-hibition, or LEAP. The organization led a multi-state caravan this past summer to bring attention to legalization efforts.

Nevertheless, the federal government con-tinued raiding pot dispensaries and schools that provide training in cannabis agriculture such as the one in Oakland, Calif.

War on Women Comes to Town

wenty-twelve was the year the cold war against women turned hot. Radio personal-ity and defacto mouth piece of the national

Republican Party Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke, a law student, a “slut,” when she gave congressional testimony advocating for contra-ception to be covered by a health care bill. Per-sonhood movements in Midwestern and South-ern states were gaining ground, a movement that would give even unimplanted fertilized eggs—millions of which die naturally every year—rights that supersede those of mothers. This occurred within the same context of Planned Parenthood being defunded by Congress as a result of false-hoods and half truths.

In the April 19 edition, Random Lengths cov-ered the local end of the backlash against this Republican war on women when we profiled the efforts of Sherry Anne Lear, along with com-patriots Nanette Harrison along with core volun-teers, Deborah Favorite and Melissa Stephens.

Lear, a San Pedro resident and civil litigation lawyer, noted that her awakening as a women’s rights activist came when she saw colleagues defending Limbaugh after his verbal assault on Fluke. From then on, running skirmishes over abortion rights and personhood legislation across

from p. 1

Other Side of the Apocalypse

Harbor Area Year in Review/ to p. 6

News Briefs/to following page

from p. 3

POC Developer


T

5


Silber, on the other hand, felt that a boutique hotel would be too little, rather than too much.

“I’d like to see a large hotel, not a boutique hotel on the waterfront,” Silber said. “We have a shortage of ho-tel rooms in San Pedro...When you want to attract a large convention or a conference, you can’t because there aren’t enough rooms for it.

“I’d like to see something big. I’d like to see some-thing tall, that is kind of a beacon or landmark that you can see from miles away, and think, ‘Oh yeah, that’s on San Pedro’s waterfront,’” he elaborated. “Whether that ever comes to be, I doubt very much, because it requires vision and imagination.”

Doug Epperhart, who was involved with Long Beach development in the 1980s and 90s, understands these ob-jections, but says they don’t fully take into account how successful development actually works.

“If you’re a good developer you don’t come in to steal business. You come in with the idea that it’s a growing market,” said Epperhart to allay Castillo’s concerns.

On the other hand, he doesn’t see competing with Long Beach’s convention business as a viable alternative, either.

“You are never going to compete with Long Beach, Long Beach is a different animal,” he said. “They have an

arena, they have tons and tons of convention space. They have full-blown theaters available. All of that across the street, literally, from a lot of hotel rooms. You’re not going to have a single entity, facility that’s going to, in any way shape or form, compete with Long Beach.

“Unique works a lot better than modelling off of somebody else,” he concluded.

And, that’s exactly the main thrust of the Urban Land Institute study that community leaders have re-peatedly referred to—and that, encouragingly, port staff also highlighted in talking to potential develop-ers.

Which brings us back to the boutique hotel con-cept, and how to best integrate it into a complete compelling package that synergizes well with the rest of the waterfront—and with downtown as well. A museum component—perhaps an annex to the Ca-brillo Aquarium, Epperhart suggested—could syner-gize with the Maritime Museum and be a better non-profit presence than relocating POLA’s headquarters, for example.

Whatever the outcome, it’s clear that community members have plenty of ideas, as well as important questions that need answering.

“Now is the time for people to really weigh in

from previous page

from previous page

as being in keeping with the surround-ing neighborhoods. In fact, it ignores the shortfall in San Pedro for single-family homes.

The proposed project is not a good fit for the location. It is not in a tran-sited oriented area. The gated commu-nity and mix of housing types are not appropriate.

The DEIR does not adequately con-sider the alternatives.

Random Lengths will continue Ponte Vista coverage in our next issue.

East Coast Ports Contracts Extended to Jan. 28

A 30-day extension on the contract between International Longshore-men’s Association and the East Coast Ports was reached Dec. 28, to give more time to come up with a better contract and avert a strike.

The two sides are still far apart on container royalties and guaranteed hours. The association wants to keep the same arrangement as in the last contract, while the U.S. Maritime As-sociation wants to put a cash ceiling on how much money is put into the Container Royalty Fund for current longshore workers and ultimately end the Container Royalty Fund altogether in 25 years.

The Container Royalty Fund was created to make up for the jobs lost due to the onset of containerization.

with what they want,” Nave said, “If there’s anything I would say it’s the importance of people following the public process and be-ing involved in it.”

When you need help, think local. Support the Independents.

In Random Lengths News

Coppa Woodworking, Inc.310.548.4142

www.coppawoodworking.com

CUSTOM PRINTING

803 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro (310) 519-1656

[email protected]

Grand OpeningGreat Deals!

Great for Gifts & Special Occasions

• Custom Shirts• Custom Embroidery• Car Decals & Stickers

• Signs & Banners• Picture Printing

1302 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

(310) [email protected]

DESIGNS

• Custom Printing• Union Printing• Graphic & Logo Design• Email Marketing

Van Buren & Associates

Tax & Accounting Solutions

George A. Van Buren, EA, [email protected]

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Income Taxes & Dieting.

At least we can make one of these easier.

1536 W. 25th St., Suite K San Pedro, CA 90732Phone: 310.519.8600

Fax: 310.519.8008

46% of independent shopping dollars goes back into the local economy. Make the Pledge to support independent retailers & services whenever possible.

Don’t stress out aboutIncome Taxes!

Let Just Relax Tax Service help you with your personal or

business income tax preparation & filing. Make an appointment

today.

Palma Mattera Mejia, EA870 W. 9th St., Ste. 100A, San Pedro

310.221.0034• Payroll • Tax • Notary Service

Pharmers ChoicePatient Collective

Proudly Serving Pedro’s Finest Medication

New Patients Welcome!!

310-732-1617600 S. Pacific Ave., Ste. 104See menu at WeedMaps.com

Enter through the Warschaw Art Gallery on

the corner of 6th & PacificHours: Sun.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Fri. & Sat. 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

First Time Patient Special

Bring in this coupon to receive1 FREE g of any

Top Shelf Flower& Top Shelf Cone

Min. $25 donation • Exp. Feb. 7, 2013

# #

##

6

Janu

ary

11 -

24, 2

013

Ser

ving

the

Seve

n Ci

ties

of th

e H

arbo

r Are

a

the country popped up on her radar constantly. Though Obama was elected, a number of

states succeeded in defunding Planned Parent-hood, even though it hurt their state’s efforts in providing basic health care needs. Other states have succeeded in passing legislation banning abortions after 19 weeks.

Labor on the Movewenty-twelve was an up and down year for the labor movement.

At the beginning of the year, the move-ment still had the momentum gained after Gov. Scott Walker bum-rushed a bill that ended pub-lic employees’ right to collective bargaining 16 months previously. Thousands of union folk and every day citizens marched on the capital in dem-onstration of their displeasure.

Walker and several state senators quickly found themselves on the recall chopping block. But in June, the recall failed and the measures stuck, leading pundits to believe this would em-bolden other states to alter public employees col-lective bargaining rights.

Disappointed but undaunted, labor organizers regrouped by connecting and assisting allies.

The ILWU called out Clean Harbors for the damages they’ve caused to the environment, as well as the fact they don’t use ILWU labor.

On July 20, ILWU Local 56 Scalers Union and other labor demonstrators hosted a press conference outside the Clean Harbors Environ-mental Services LLC facilities as a warning to clean up their act.

A long history of environmental violations

trail the Massachusetts-based environmental services company, ranging from the Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Air Re-sources Board and the state’s Water Resources Board.

“We’re here to warn the Harbor community that Clean Harbors has a spotty record when it comes to protecting workers and the public,” said Ruben Hurtado, business agent and dispatcher at Local 56.

On Aug. 11, Warehouse 52 – 57, in San Pe-dro, was filled with classic cars, inflatable jump-ers, carnival games and face painting. The event included a stage for live music performances as well as food and lemonade stands.

Like dozens of similar events across the country, between late July and August, this event was in support of Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a non-profit organization committed to raising money for childhood cancer research. This was also the ILWU’s first of what will be an annual “Walk the Coast” fundraiser for the anti-cancer nonprofit organization.

The pediatric cancer charity was named for Alexandra Scott, who developed childhood can-cer only days before reaching her first birthday. Alex was afflicted with neural blastoma, a com-mon infant cancer that grows out of immature nerves. More than 90 percent of those diagnosed with the cancer are younger than 5. Alex never went into remission despite going from one treat-ment to the next.

On July 28, Wilmington residents, the ILWU, elected officials and the family of Labor icon Harry Bridges celebrated his life with the grand

opening of the Harry Bridges Span School. The school was a long time in the making, but one of the ultimate messages that was delivered during the ceremony was the importance of teaching the upcoming generation about labor history and culture. The other message deliv-ered was the importance of vocational training and education as an alternative to universities. In April 2012, Toll Group truck drivers voted 45 to 15 to unionize under the Teamsters Union, capping a yearlong effort to get recognition and improve working conditions.

Toll Group is a global Australian-based lo-gistics company with a Wilmington distribution yard. The company handles brand-name fashion imports in Los Angeles to Long Beach.

Employers across industries, like Toll Group, misclassify their employees as independent con-tractors to cut costs and avoid paying taxes. The result of this misclassification is that these dis-guised employees are left outside the protection of most labor and employment laws.

The Obama administration has been crack-ing down on misclassification. On the state level in California, Senate Bill 459 was implemented. This levies fines on employers that willfully mis-classify their workers.

On May 22, the Long Beach City Council vot-ed 8–0 to put the proposed hotel worker’s living wage ordinance on the November ballot, which overwhelmingly passed. Shortly afterward, some workers complained of retaliation by the hotels, when they were laid off in mass.

If the June primary result knocked the wind out from labor, then the fight against Proposition 32 and the mobilization of the nationwide Black Friday walkout on Walmart brought labor back in the swing of things. Obama’s re-election and win of Prop. 30 and defeat of Prop. 32, were just the preliminary signs that the labor movement was undaunted by the year’s earlier set backs. Near the year’s end, the Office Clerical Unit of the ILWU, in a 8-day strike shut down the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to spur stalled contract negotiations. The strike was widely con-sidered a test run on the larger fight of industry practice of outsourcing jobs to non-union labor.

And, if that weren’t enough, the nearly 80-year-old union has thrown down the gauntlet in its battle against the international grain conglomer-ate, Export Grain Terminal rejecting their best and final offer in contract negotiations by 98 percent. Not surprisingly, considering the grain terminal was requesting about 750 changes to a contract that’s stood for three quarters of a century.

This came during the same time frame as when

Longshore workers in the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard threatened to go on strike to kick-start stalled contract negotiations. In both the Pacific Northwest and the East and Gulf Coast ports, the union pushed for more negotiations by either extending previous contract or choosing the use strike vote as an option of very last resort.

Occupy Rhetoric of the 99 Percent Effects National Conversation

t the start of 2012, Random Lengths’ Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg marked the 10th an-niversary of George W. Bush’s signing of

the “No Child Left Behind” education “reform” with his coverage of Diane Ravitch’s lecture on her 2010 bestseller The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. In that lecture, she repeatedly contrasted the humanistic calling of education with the soulless approach of corporate reformers, ultimately invoking the Occupy framework of the 99% vs. the 1%.

But it wasn’t just the inequity in access to quality education that was viewed with this lens, the pay of state college presidents was affected as well. In August 2011, California State University Board of Trustees approved a 25 percent salary increase sparking a firestorm that led to reform of CSU presidents’ pay. The new CSU President Midlred Garcia (formerly of Cal State University at Dominguez Hills) and CSU East Bay president Leroy Morishita were the first to be affected.

At the local level, K-12 school districts were getting ready to sacrifice adult education to make up for the shortfalls caused by the state’s budget crisis. Citywide, students mobilized against the district to prevent the cuts. Ultimately adult edu-cation was spared, at least in part. Schools got a further boost when the Gov. Jerry Brown got Prop. 30 on the ballot and got it passed in the November election. The measure raised taxes to restore monies cut from education, as well as to pay for other priorities for the several years that follow.

San Pedro Development and Evolving Identity

n the development front, 2012 was a year where many forward steps were taken while changes on how we initiate these developments were dismantled. As San

Pedro continued transforming itself, bits of San

from p. 4

Harbor Area Year in Review


T

A

O

The ILWU Local 56 Scalers Union and other labor demonstrators held a press conference outside the Clean Harbors Environmental Services facilities on July 20, 2012, highlighting the environmental cleanup company’s record. File photo.

7


Pedro’s past rose to the surface. In March, a 40-pound slab of fine polished granite engraved with the words, “San Pedro City Hall 1907.” This was one of several such plaques found at a Lomita dumpsite. Before the discovery, few knew that San Pedro had more than two City Hall buildings in its history.

A search of archived records at the San Pedro Historical Society indicates five or six and maybe more Old Town granite placards that have been uncovered in old landfills such as Fayal Valley and Stingaree Gulch in north San Pedro. That’s a good country mile from where the relic dated 1907 was unearthed, near the corner of North Gaffey and Gatun streets in March.

Random Lengths News reporter Art Vinsel searched archived records at the San Pedro His-torical Society that indicate five or six and maybe more Old Town granite placards that have been uncovered in old landfills such as Fayal Valley and Stingaree Gulch in north San Pedro.

As San Pedro continues its transformation process, news items such as these tend to force locals to reassess its identity as a community. Occasionally, San Pedro attracts attention from the outside, sparking the imagination of writ-ers, artists and journalists, leaving San Pedro’s identity to be shaped by outsiders, from Joseph Wambaugh’s new police thriller, Harbor Noc-

turne, about a recovering Croatian longshoreman to the San Pedro Squeeze Accordion Festival at the Grand Performances, of which none of the accordion players had anything to do with San Pedro.

When San Pedro isn’t being defined by non-locals, it seems that locals aren’t making the most of the opportunities that fall in to their lap.

In July, the Cevapcici fes-tival was off and so was San Pedro’s designation as a “des-tination spot” in Southern California AAA travel maga-zine, Westways.

This past year, the Taste in San Pedro was canceled, though the official terminol-ogy from the sponsoring San Pedro Chamber of Commerce was “indefinite postpone-ment.” What we did see was the arrival of the USS Iowa and the opening of CRAFTED in old port Warehouses 9 and 10. Each achieved moderate to great success, but neither has met expectations. Then again, the removal of some and re-

the 100-plus vendors they were trumpeting in the months before the opening, attracting instead no more than 75 vendors.

And, if it wasn’t missed opportunities, there were moments of confusion of what we want to be. The presence of gourmet food trucks at San Pedro’s First Thursday event is one example.

“Is it an artwalk or is it a food truck festival?”

ducing of other parking meters in downtown Pedro that occurred this past year hasn’t really fulfilled hopes. The USS Iowa has drawn thousands of visi-tors, but downtown Pedro businesses have com-plained they haven’t seen the resulting increase in foot traffic they’d hoped for. While attendance has been steady at CRAFTED since it’s August 2012 launch, the crafts venue has not been able to attract

from previous page

The Other Side of 2012/ to p. 17

Left, the USS Iowa’s arrival was greeted by thousands. A month after its arrival, the USS Iowa was receiving 10,000 visitors per week and has maintained a steady stream of visitors since. Photo: Terelle Jerricks. Above, CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles opened in August. Though it hasn’t yet met expectations set before it launched, it has reached a certain equilibrium with its 75 vendors and steady stream visitors that may grow as CRAFTED evolves. File photo.

http://a-deltarealty.com

8

Janu

ary

11 -

24, 2

013

Ser

ving

the

Seve

n Ci

ties

of th

e H

arbo

r Are

a

“A newspaper is not just for reporting the news as it is, but to make people mad enough to do some-

thing about it.”

Columnists/ReportersLyn Jensen CarsonB. Noel Barr Music DudeJohn Farrell Curtain CallGretchen Williams EntréeAndrea Serna Arts WriterMalina Paris Culture WriterKevin Walker Community NewsTami Jackson Community News

Publisher/Executive EditorJames Preston [email protected]. Publisher/Production CoordinatorSuzanne [email protected]

Managing EditorTerelle [email protected] EditorZamná Á[email protected]

Senior Editor Paul Rosenberg

Calendar [email protected] Jerricks, Diana Lejins, Betty Guevarra

CartoonistsAnn Cleaves, Andy Singer, Matt Wuerker

Random Lengths News editorial office is located at 1300 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, (310) 519-1016. Address correspondence regarding news items and news tips only to Random Lengths News, P.O. Box 731, San Pedro, CA 90733-0731, or email to editor @randomlengthsnews.com.Send Letters to the Editor or requests for subscription information to james @randomlengthsnews.com. To be considered for publication, all Letters to the Editor should be typewritten, must be signed, with address and phone number included (these will not be published, but for verification only) and be kept to about 250 words. To submit advertising copy email [email protected] or [email protected] copies and back issues are available by mail for $3 per copy while supplies last. Subscriptions are available for $35 per year for 27 issues.Random Lengths News presents issues from an alternative perspective. We wel-come articles and opinions from all people in the Harbor Area. While we may not agree with the opinions of contributing writers, we respect and support their 1st Amendment right to express those opinions. Random Lengths News is a member of Standard Rates and Data Reporting Services and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. (ISN #0891-6627). All contents Copyright 2012 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.

Advertising ProductionMathew Highland, Suzanne MatsumiyaAdvertising RepresentativesMathew Highland, Chad [email protected]@randomlengthsnews.comEditorial Intern Joseph Barould

Display advertising (310) 519-1442Classifieds(310) 519-1016www.randomlengthsnews.com

—Mark TwainVol. XXXIV : No. 1

Published every two weeks for the Harbor Area communi-ties of San Pedro, RPV, Lomita, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson and Long Beach. Distributed at over 350 locations throughout the seven cities of the Harbor Area.www.randomlengthsnews.com

Contributors Danny Simon, Arthur R. Vinsel, Paul Kiel

The Independent Foreclosure Review was supposed to be a full and fair investigation of the big banks’ foreclosure abuses, and it was trum-peted as the government’s largest effort to com-pensate victimized home owners. Federal regula-tors, who designed the review, forced banks to spend billions to carry it out. Millions of home owners were eligible and hundreds of thousands submitted claims. But Monday morning, the very regulators who launched the program 18 months ago announced that it had all been a massive mis-take and shut it down.

Instead, 10 banks have agreed to pay a total of $3.3 billion in cash to the 3.8 million borrow-ers who had been eligible for the review. That’s an average of around $870 per borrower. But typical of a process that’s been characterized by confusion, delays and secrecy, regulators said the details of how the money will be doled out were not yet available.

The headline number for the settlement is $8.5 billion, but that includes $5.2 billion in “credits” the banks will receive for actions they take to avoid foreclosures, such as providing loan modifi-cations. That’s very similar to the separate $25 bil-lion settlement reached this past year between five banks, 49 states and the federal government. That settlement has been criticized for awarding credit to banks for things they were already doing.

Officials from Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, one of the federal regulators that ran the review and negotiated the new settlement, did not say how they arrived at the $3.3 billion in cash. Pressed on this question during a confer-ence call with reporters on Monday, an official would only say, “The best way to think about that is that it was a negotiated amount. It represents an acceleration of payments to consumers that results in more consumers getting more money in a much quicker time frame.”

Critics had assailed the original review since it was launched. Regulators required each bank to hire an “independent” consultant to review the case of each eligible homeowner, evaluate if the bank had committed errors or abuses and, if so, determine how much money, up to $125,000, that the bank would have to pay the borrower.

But those consultants turned out to be compa-nies that had other contracts with the banks and so relied on them for business, causing consum-er advocates and some members of Congress, among others, to question how independent the consultants could be. Fueling suspicion was the fact that many details of how the banks and the consultants actually worked together were kept secret. Last year, ProPublica published a series of articles revealing that the banks’ own em-

Vague $8.5 Billion Settlement Replaces Foreclosure ReviewBy Paul Kiel, ProPublica

It has been a year of “sad passings,” we like to say. It’s a euphemism we use because of our dif-ficulty in talking about death. And, 2012 seems to have had a significant amount of that, from the great and famous to the innocent and humble and close to home. Many friends and even my own family have lost dear loved ones this past year. I just wish we had some other form of social greeting other than, “Happy New Year” when there is this sense of loss. Happy isn’t quite what I’m feel-ing. Perhaps, “Glad it’s over,” could be used instead.

Still, we have to move on, grief and all. It helps to share your grief. Perhaps with all of the high profile killings that have occurred lately, we should just declare a na-tional week of mourning and get it all out. Even now, just reading this it would be appropriate to leave some space for a moment of silence for those who have gone before us.

But one of the things that happens when the elder matriarch or patriarch dies, at least it has in my family, is that you start to look around the table to see who is left and who is the oldest.

The cold days of winter don’t seem to make it any easier. Shaving in the mirror, I look at myself and think that just a while ago, I was 30 years old and suddenly I look around and I’m one of the elders. I’m not sure I’m that much wiser, but I do have a much greater context to work from. It is often said that people get better with age, kind of like fine wine or a good Scotch. But one of my readers put it like this, “You don’t get better

ther the blame or responsibility for righting the wrongs of mine or my parents’ generation. For I don’t think that the next generation is any better or lesser equipped to deconstruct the problems of mankind or their own community than we were,

no matter how digitally connected, social-media networked or how good their test scores may be. None of the global access to information in this new age makes anyone in particular better at solving problems or curing any malaise of mankind. None of the new technology has made life any simpler—just faster.

Fast is convenient, but not al-ways better. In our instantaneous

world of news and fast food there’s plenty of room for corruption and errors. Efficiency of time doesn’t always bring quality. And even though we’d like our government to act quickly, espe-cially in a crisis, we’d all like to have great deci-sions made with a certain quality of due process, like considering the effects of an environmental impact report or a court verdict on a persons life or the liberties we give up in the Patriot Act or the closure of our local courthouse. Even automated trading on Wall Street using sophisticated algo-rithms to conduct millions of electronic trades hourly has become its own kind of curse and caused some very “rational” fast catastrophes.

In fact, making things faster really seems to only work in scientific research, like using par-ticle colliders to discover the elusive sub-atomic Higgs Boson particle, or figuring out how to send a rocket to Mars, or getting your cell phone to work better, which by the way doesn’t actually helps us communicate any better with each other. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had the meanings of digital messages mistaken by recipients. However, discovering the X factor, or the unknown, is more than an American Idol ex-ercise in celebrity creation.

How do we discover what we don’t know? When we stop being curious about what we don’t know… When we stop trying to solve the prob-lem for X… And when we stop applying what we learn to solve the next problem, that’s when we’ve truly become too old.

And there’s a lot of people I’ve known for years, who are much younger than I, who have been too old for a very long time. Stay curious, but slow down to mourn. Glad this one is over!

with age. You just become more.” Meaning you just become more of whatever it was you were before and, I think that rings true.

So you know you are getting older when your children are reading in history books about events that you actually remember liv-ing through. You know that you are getting older when you spend a significant amount of your social time attending funerals, memori-als and wakes, as opposed to birthday parties and rock concerts.

And, you know you are getting old when you look around a meeting table and realize that everyone else is younger than you. But I refuse to ever get so old as to not raise hell when I believe an injustice has occurred. And I refuse to lay off on the next generation ei-

A Year of PassingsDiscovering who is the oldest person at the table and still trying to find the meaning of XJames Preston Allen, Publisher


9


RANDOMLetters

Community AlertClean Water Public Hearing

The Los Angeles County Flood Control District is hosting a public hearing to consider a proposed clean water and clean beaches measure, at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 15, at the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room in Los Angeles.

The Board of Supervisors will receive oral and written testimony about the proposed clean water free.

Any property owner may testify or file a written protest with the Executive Officer of the Board of Supervisors before or at the end of the hearing. A written protest must identify the parcel address and assessor’s parcel number, and must be signed by the owner or authorized representative.

The Board of Supervisors may continue the hearing to a future date. If the board has not received written protests against the fee by a majority of property owners before the end of the public hearing, it may authorize an election to approve the fee.

Protest forms may be mailed to: Executive OfficerBoard of Supervisors, P.O. Box 866006, Los Angeles, CA 90086.Or hand delivered to: Executive Officer, Board of Supervisors, Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, 500 W. Temple St., Room 383, Los Angeles, CA 90012

The public hearing will take place at: Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 500 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012Details: (800) 218-0018; www.LACountyCleanWater.org

POC DevelopmentWake up San Pedro—the lat-

est from the Port staff is they have decided WHO they want for POC development. The McArthur Glen Group I guess was too good for San Pedro. This group has outlets in Florence, Rome, Naples, Milan, London, Athens— just to mention a few. Look them up on your com-puter and see what the Port does not want us to have. What an as-set this would be for San Pedro and would put us on the map.

How sad and then they wonder why no one wants to spend much time here.

Joyce HallSan Pedro

Regarding “At Length”

I marvel at your skills in writ-ing and try to collect and save your articles.

I aspire to be a writer myself. I am jealous of your intellectual competence in the responses you give in Random Lengths.

What troubles me about this

article you wrote was your quot-ing President Franklin Roosevelt on “the Second Bill of Rights.” The President then must have been drawing on the principles that all men are created equal in that they posses the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I don’t think he was implying “you go left and I will go right”, or “that’s right and you’re wrong”.

What then is a human right? A right to life means no one should take from you your life, and Liberty your freedom. It also implies one can not take another’s life. It also implies the right to defend one’s life and liberty. Note, that it does not require other to do anything other than in a negative way “don’t tread on me.” The right to the activity such as a free press or freedom to worship or not to believe, places no burden on another person.

However, in your article I was not sure what you believe is a hu-man right? Do jobs, homes, medi-cal aid, food and property come to person with out the productive effort of another person? Do not these things have to be produced by someone? And if you had a right to it, would that not mean, it must be provided to you. Can this be possible that one does not have to work for it … it must be provided by others. This unrealis-tic idea, like in the Communistic Philosophy would it not lead to the enslavement of all mankind if we can get the populous to believe they are entitled?

The Founding Fathers made it clear, that you have a right to the pursuit of these needs and one would have to work, negotiate, trade and produce what we need to live. The right to life implies the right to the pursuit of property. The right to life and liberty would not be possible with out the right to pursue the private ownership of property. Yet this is the first thing the Communist Manifesto and So-cialist believe, that all property is theft. We work, we purchase food. The implied contract is solid, and just. Now eat my food, was the property of the government and it is only on their permission you

can use it. A system of control used some 3 million years ago called Hydraulic Despotisms. Are we not going in that direction?

Was President Roosevelt wrong? Yea, but I think he wanted to express the humanitarian beliefs that we should help others survive. Unfortunately real wealth is cre-ated by the productive effort of people who are free to produce in a Country that protects contractual rights; it does not come from the Federal Treasury Printing Press. I do hope enough people wake up to the truth of what is going on.

While I have your attention wishing you the best in the New Year & my regard to the whole staff that produces Random Lengths, Happy New Year to All.

By the way, have you heard the “Theory of the Stolen Concept?”

An educator Nathaniel Brandon wrote that the statement “all prop-erty is theft” is a logical contradic-tion. The idea that the ownership of property makes possible the concept of theft, if no property ownership existed whence comes a concept of theft? It could not exist, because it genetically depends on the concept property that it tries to steal.

A recommended read is the book “Objectivist Epistemology” by Ayn Rand.

Salvador Cassano Moreno Valley

Response to “A Hunt-er’s Perspective”

I was shocked to see an opin-ion piece from a hunter in a pro-gressive publication like Random Lengths. And, I’ll wager that what he said didn’t win any hearts and minds. In the many years since I swore off any consumption/use of animals and animal products, I’ve not been able to understand the mind of hunters. Sure, I appreciate that folks who live at a subsistence level will kill an animal to survive. But, what I’ve heard about such people—particularly those who are indigenous—is that they take only what they need and give thanks to the animal for its sacrifice. You don’t see them writing columns in newspapers to justify wanton kill-ing and they don’t pose in pictures with their trophies.

Sandrita Mason

Recalling POCI liked the small article on

Ports O’ Call in the Dec. 14 Issue, it brought back many memories.

Ports O’ Call for me was the place my grandfather would walk me to get ice cream on the ferry boat and watch a puppet show, an arcade where you went with your older brother to play pinball and the place you went to buy your mother a Mother’s Day gift. For many of my friends it was where you went for your first job.

As I grew older and Ports O’ Call went into its great decline I would learn in my travels through the city of Los Angeles that Ports O’ Call was a weekend destination for many family’s all over the city. People would go to look at the in-

icon. Although he was originally

from Tennessee, Huell loved Cali-fornia more than most natives. His long-running television program, California’s Gold, shared with au-diences the best our state has to of-fer. Huell would travel anywhere to show viewers the beauty and variety of the Golden State, from its most famous landmarks to the least known sights. And his boundless enthusiasm and curiosity was infec-tious, making us all see these places with the same amazement he did.

His death is a loss that will be felt throughout Los Angeles and California. He will be greatly missed.

Mayor Antonio VillaraigosaLos Angeles

ployees were heavily involved in the supposedly independent review, calling into question its fundamental integrity.

Regulators dumped the review and struck a deal for two main reasons, Office of the Controller of the Currency officials said on the Monday conference call with journal-ists. The officials spoke on the condition they not be named.

First, they said, the reviews had taken far too much time. That was great news for the consultants that had been hired by the banks to conduct the re-views, because the banks have paid them more than $1.5 bil-lion. But all that work has not resulted in a single payment to

a borrower.Second, months and per-

haps years from now, when the consultants finally finished their work, most borrowers still would not have received com-pensation. The officials said only 6.5 percent of the case reviews completed so far had produced evidence of harm to the borrower.

Given the flaws in the re-view, it’s questionable whether that rate is “remotely accurate,” said Alys Cohen of the Na-tional Consumer Law Center. “Because the reviews were flawed,” she said, “basing a to-tal settlement number on them would grossly understate the harm and really be an abdica-tion of responsibility on the part of regulators.”

teresting shops, and buy fresh sea-food to eat there or to take home.

I hope the Port of Los Angeles takes all of these things into con-sideration when rebuilding

Ports O’ Call, the new Ports O’ Call, like the old one should be a destination for every one in Los Angeles, a Port of Call.

Joe BucciSan Pedro

On the Passing of Huell Howser

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued the following statement re-garding the passing of KCET-TV personality Huell Howser:

I’m saddened to hear of the death of my friend Huell Howser, a Los Angeles treasure and California

from previous page

Settlement

http://www.lacountycleanwater.org/

http://www.lacountycleanwater.org/

10

Janu

ary

11 -

24, 2

013

Ser

ving

the

Seve

n Ci

ties

of th

e H

arbo

r Are

a

The Extinguished Lights of 2012

Jenni Rivera July 2, 1969 – Dec. 10, 2012

Born in Long Beach, Jenny Dolores Rivera Saave-dra became an icon of banda and norteña music in the United States and Mexico.

The mother of five and grandmother of two, died in plane crash along with six others, about 60 miles from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Her songs reflected social issues and her personal struggles. She was a supporter of immigrant and women’s rights issues.

Gwendolyn “Cindy” RutherfordFeb. 27, 1946 – Nov. 8, 2012

Born one of 14 children in Birmingham, Ala., Gwendolyn “Cindy” Rutherford was widely known for her spunk and humor.

The owner of Century Motorcycle, a San Pedro business founded by her grandfather “Wild Bill” Cot-tom, lost her battle against ovarian cancer after two years fighting the disease, at the age of 66.

John Retsek July 4, 1937-Nov. 1, 2012

San Pedro resident, creator KPFK’s The Car Show and longtime KCET producer.

John GreenwoodJan. 9, 1945 – Oct. 11, 2012

Former Los Angeles Unified School District board member and president of the Coro Foundation, John Greenwood, died of a heart attack in his sleep.

Greenwood served 8 years as an LAUSD trustee and was known as the founding president of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council. He also served as president of the Gang Alternatives Program

Geoff AgisimJune 13, 1946 – Oct. 10, 2012

San Pedro sea chantey master Geoff Agisim lay down his banjo at the age of 66, after rejecting the treatment rigors of a late stage of pancreatic can-cer.

He hit San Pedro in 1967 with a banjo and a head full of tunes and humor, staying convinced of the good that street performers do for people.

Mervyn DymallyMay 12, 1926 – Oct.7, 2012

Dymally, of mixed Indo-Trinidadian and Afro-Trin-idadian heritage, was the first Trinidadian to serve California as state senator and lieutenant governor.

Lee M AndersonOct. 4, 1924 - Sept. 24, 2012

Longtime political insider in local and state politics and widow of the late Congressman Glenn Anderson.

Alexander CockburnJune 6, 1941 – July 21, 2012

A radical journalist who wrote for The Nation and the Village Voice, and co-founded the political news-letter CounterPunch.

Helen Frances Stark AllenMarch 2, 1914 – March 24, 2012

Born near Stevensville, Mont., Helen Frances Stark Allen’s Family moved to Los Angeles during the Great Depression.

In 1968, she helped the first black family purchase a home in the then-all white Rolling Hills Estates. Stark Allen reared four children, became director of the Palos Verdes Coop Nursery School, a founding

We lost a number of trailblazers, standard bearers and legends in 2012. Though their stars have faded from view, the legacies they left behind will continue shine.

Geoff Agisim

Harold Plople

Though there was only one casualty from the war in Afghanistan in 2012, we still remember the sacrifices made by hundreds of others in the past 10 years of President George W. Bush’s wars in the Middle East. Below are the names of the fallen.

Operation Iraqi FreedomTotal Deaths: 4,422 Killed in Action: 3,489

Operation Enduring FreedomTotal Deaths: 2,165 Killed in Action:1,715

Operation New DawnTotal Deaths: 66 Killed in Action: 38

728 California War Dead: Los Angeles and Harbor Area War Dead: 52Los AngelesAyres III, Robert “Bobby” T., Sept. 29, 2007Barnes, Rocco M., June 4, 2009Carrillo, Alejandro, January 30, 2007Catalan, Romel, June 2, 2007Curreri, Joseph F., Oct. 27, 2007Figueroa, Luis A., Nov. 18, 2004Gagarin, Greg P., June 3, 2007Garcia-Arana, Juan de Dios, April 30, 2005Gonzalez, Benjamin R., May 29, 2004Hizon, Rudolph R., February 28, 2011Lopez, Edgar Edelberto, Aug. 28, 2004Lu, Victor R., Nov. 13, 2004Marshall, John W., April 08, 2003Martinez-Luis, Trinidad R., Nov. 28, 2004Menyweather, Eddie E., Nov. 23, 2003Monzon Jr., Milton M., July 24, 2005Muy, Veashna, June 23, 2005Nason, Christopher G., Nov. 23, 2003Nunez, David, May 29, 2008Pena Medina, Abraham D., April 27, 2004Perez, Geoffrey, Aug. 15, 2004Pineda, Carlos , June 24, 2005Razani, Omead H., Aug. 27, 2004Regalado, Jose, Nov.12, 2008Sandoval-Flores, Felipe D., April 02, 2006

Sims, Kafele H., June 16, 2009Tello, Jhanner A., Dec. 10, 2009Villanueva, Joselito O., Sept. 27, 2004Young, Christopher D., March 2, 2007

Long BeachCastellano, Stephen A., Jan. 28, 2005Collins, Randy D., May 24, 2005Davis Jr., Anthony J., April 23, 2005Garcia, Israel, July 13, 2008Guerra, Ernesto R., July 29, 2005Harvell, Andrew W., Aug. 6, 2011Hutchison, Steven Long Beach May 10, 2009Macpherson, Thomas R., Oct. 12, 2012Marcus Jr., Lyndon A., May 3, 2004Martinez Salazar, Roberto L., Feb. 4, 2006Sunsin-Pineda, Astor A., May 2, 2007Toomalatai, David T., Jan. 27, 2007Torres, George D., April 11, 2004Whitaker, Joshua R., May 15, 2007

CarsonCagle, Daniel P., May 23, 2007

LomitaDiaz Varela, Sergio R., Nov. 24, 2004Gutierrez, Jose, March 21, 2003

Harbor CityCazarez, Roberto, March 30, 2012

TorranceAnzack Jr., Joseph J., May 23, 2007Daclan Jr., Edgar P., Sept. 10, 2004Ferrara, Matthew C., Nov. 9, 2007Roque, Lester G., Nov. 10, 2007Wood, Brian M., April 16, 2004

Al Kaye

member the Peninsula Democratic Club and the Pa-cific Unitarian Church.

Harold Plople Sept. 24, 1947 – March 15, 2012

San Pedro artist Harold Plople succumbed to his battle with cancer.

Plople, a Vietnam veteran who also battled with mental illness, addiction and homelessness, was known as right, witty and clever. His peers saw his most recent curated work, American Characters in 2011, as an incredible breakthrough in comparison to his earlier work.

Al KayeFeb. 7, 1928 – Feb. 9, 2012 “Cheerful” Al was a fixture in downtown San Pedro as owner of San Pedro’s Union Surplus store.

John RoyalJune 24, 1922 – Feb. 8, 2012

John Royal served as a Merchant Marine during World War II and became a member of the Fisher-man’s Union Local 33 ILWU in 1946. In 1957, he was elected executive secretary-treasurer of the union, a position he maintained until August, 1995. He fought vigorously for the rights of the fishing in-dustry. Other posts he held included president of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission.

John Retsek

OFF started the year 2013 by marching and chanting at the annual Rose Parade in Pasadena with "Giant Mr. Monopoly Man" on a wagon on the 5-mile route following the Parade. Occupy Los Angeles organizer, Carlos Marroquin said that the reason for marching at the Rose Parade is not only to protest illegal foreclosure practices of the major banks but also to create public aware-ness and spread the word about banks' fraudulent actions.

Occupy Fights Foreclosure Float at the Rose Parade

Janice Hahn is Sworn in for 44th Congressional DistrictSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner, left, officially swore in Rep. Janice Hahn on Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C., as the representative for California’s new 44th Congressional District in the 113th Congress. File photo.

January 11 – 24, 2013ACE: Arts •

Culture • Entertainm

ent

11

January 11 – 24, 2013Support Your Com

munity. Shop Local.

11

Les Miz Continued on page 16.

by: B. Noel Barr, Contributing Writer

Les Miserables, the new musical film about the Victor Hugo’s classic, is a story of Hollywood, theater and the common man.

This has to be the greatest musical to date put to film. The acting, particularly that of Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway is stellar in so many ways. The mental and physical investment of these two actors is beyond reproach. Russell Crowe as the nemesis Javert, in this tale is stoic, reserved and very subtly filled with rage. The supporting actors Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham-Carter played to the film, not to the musical.

This is the blessing and the curse of the entire project. On one hand, we have a film that stands to be one the most innovative of its kind made to date. On the other, the producers missed the boat completely. You see this musical theater hit is played to a live audience and invites the people onto the stage of 19th century Paris. Les Miserables is operatic in nature. This is a production of full-voiced singing, not the nuanced styles of pop singing.

The medium of film in and of itself is intimate and does not call for the characters to be as over the top in film as they would be on stage.

There lies the problem.Jackman, who has had musical theater experience but does not have the vocal chops of

everyone else, played the part of Jean Valjean and saves himself through his acting. Though his singing comes out of his acting, the emotions there carry the day in the end.

Anne Hathaway, who is a trained Soprano and theater actor, is the best of this star powered cast. She delivers a riveting performance, which should garner her an Academy Award nomination.

Then there is Russell Crowe, acting-wise he plays the part as he should. Here he plays to the film, instead of the musical. Nevertheless, he cannot sing his part, which is normally played by a baritone. He sings like a second level Aussie rocker, which is what he is. Thankfully, he is a much better actor and in his final scenes, the rage and emotion come out.

For years I have listened to Les Miserables. I cannot get through the first few minutes without weeping. I questioned whether I could physically stand seeing this in the movies. I did and I loved it. It was this marvelous story come to life. The grit and the reality of Paris in the 19th century transport’s you in this film. The opening scene, which is shown

in trailers, is breathtaking. The pain and agony of Jean Valjean, Fantine and the wasted youth offering themselves up for a higher cause speaks volumes.

The score and the supporting singers are beyond reproach. The addition of the original Valjean, Colm Wlikinson, playing the priest who changes our hero’s fate, adds tons of credibility to the piece.

In the end, this is the story of a common man. It is the willingness of this Jean Valjean to rise and meet his destiny with all the tragic twists and turns of great literature.

Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, I think, might have made Victor Hugo proud. By not having the best singers in the world perform, he may have made a movie for everybody. If you have seen the musical on stage or have listened to it all quite frequently for over 20 years, as I have, then there may be some disappointment.

This musical was something that was an intimate part of my life with my children. It was

Les Miserables: A Film Review

Janu

ary

11 –

24,

201

3Su

ppor

t You

r Com

mun

ity. S

hop

Loca

l!

12

• Happy Hour •Blu Bar at Crowne Plaza • $4 Drinks and half off appetizers. (310) 519-8200, 601 S. Palos Verdes St., San Pedro

The Chowder Barge • Try the 34oz. captain’s mug! (310) 830-7937, 611 N. Henry Ford, Leeward Bay Marina, Wilmington

Godmother’s Saloon • Live jazz from Mike Guerrero Trio: 7 p.m. every Wed. (310) 833-1589, 302 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Iron City Tavern • Happy Hour 1/2-price appetizers & drink specials: 4 to 6 p.m. Mon. to Fri. 589 W. 9th St., San Pedro; (310) 547-4766

June’s Bar • Happy Hour: Mon. to Fri., 4 to 7 p.m. $1.00 Off drinks. (310) 521-9804, 1100 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

Ports o’ Call • Happy Hour: Mon. to Fri., 3 to 8 p.m. Taco Tuesdays. Oyster shooter & bloody mary Wednesdays. (310) 833-3553, Berth 76 Ports O’ Call Village, San Pedro

San Pedro Brewing Co. • Happy Hour: 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., Mon. to Fri. (310) 831-5663, 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Trusela’s • Happy Hour: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tues. to Sat. (310) 547-0993, 28158 S. Western Ave., San Pedro

Whale & Ale • Happy Hour: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Mon to Fri., 4 to 7 p.m. on Wed. Late Night Happy Hour: 10 p.m. to Midnight, Fri. Only. (310) 832-0363, 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Happy Hour Listings Are Paid Advertising

by: Bobby Trusela of Trusela’s Restaurant

Entertainment

The Belgian Trappist:

World Class Classics You Never Tried

Belgian Trappist continued on next page.

Hours: Mon, Tues 11am - 3pm Wed, Thurs 11am - 8pm

Fri, Sat, Sun 9am - 8pm611 N. Henry Ford,

Leeward Bay Marina, Wilmington310-830-7937 • www.ChowderBarge.com

Breakfast at The Barge Weekends

9am Eggs Benedict

Best Chowder in the LA Harbor!

The Indian Pale Ales has been dominating the market in popularity, appearing in pubs, breweries, and restaurants almost to the exclusion of everything else. But that’s beginning to change as enthusiasts have begun experimenting with Belgian Trappists ales, driving an underground

popularity of these beers. We’re now beginning to find these beers in places that used to have only Indian Pale Ales on tap. And, the interesting thing about this fact, is that they’re being brewed in Napa Valley, the heart of California’s wine industry.

The Belgian Trappist style has been growing steadily in popularity in recent years, and the brands grown in Napa Valley have begun influencing younger generations of beers in the state.

Orval Trappist beer, Westmalle Tripel, and Rochefort 10 are three examples of this beer.

The Orval has a light firm body with an acidic dry finish. This sort of beer is perfect as a before or after dinner aperitif with its earthy sage flavors. The wild Belgian yeast brings out the traditional characters and flavors this beer is known for.

The Westmalle Tripel has an orangey gold color with a complex combination of flavors and aromas. It has fruity orange peel taste with spicy coriander sage. It has a relatively high alcohol content of 9.5 percent. This is an amazingly drinkable beer.

One major cool fact of this beer is that it’s brewed by a Catholic order of monks called the Cistercian Trappists. This was a full on lifestyle ingrained in their lifestyle of prayer, community, and work. They contribute the proceeds to rebuild monasteries, communities and other charitable works.

The top fermented ales are generally bottle-conditioned, particularly the Trappist beers. A level of technically brewed beer that modern brewers try to match today.

The Rochefort 10 is legendary in beer circles after winning hundreds of competitions over the past few decades. It has been consistently crowd judged online on beer blogs such as ratebeer.com with five stars.

The Rochefort 10 represents the “strong dark” and/or “Quadrupel Belgian “style with its dark

JAnuAry 11Louie Cruz BeltranThe Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation: Studio Cabaret Series presents Louie Cruz Beltran, Jan. 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. Dinner will be available from the Red Car Brewery. Louie Cruz Beltran and his ensemble perform a variety of music from Brazilian style to Afro-Cuban rhythms. Tickets go on sale for $30 and $27. Details: (310) 781-7171; www.louisecruzbeltran.comVenue: George Nakano TheatreLocation: 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance

JAnuAry 12Eric SardinasAmerican blues-rock slide guitarist, Eric Sardinas, will be performing live at Harvelle’s, Jan. 12 at 9:30 p.m. Eric is known for his electrical guitar and his passionate on-stage performances.Tickets are $12 and no persons under the age of 21 will be allowed to enter due to a two-drink minimum purchase.Details: (323) 454-1172; www.longbeach.harvelles.comVenue: Harvelle’s Long BeachLocation: 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach

richard Sears and Josh nelsonThe piano duo, Richard Sears and Josh Nelson, will be performing at Alvas Showroom Jan. 12, at 8 p.m. Sears and Nelson will play tunes from their original composition, as well as familiar jazz ones. The admission fee is $20.Details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom.com/Venue: Alvas ShowroomLocation: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Calendar continued on page 15.

http://www.whaleandale.com



ent

13

S U S H I B A R

Japanese RestaurantSushi Bar

380 W. 6th St. • 832-5585

478 W. 6th St. • Historic Downtown San Pedro • 310.548.2493

FALL OF THE HOuSE OF uSHErJAn 27 | 2PmFEB 2 | 8PmFEB 3 | 2PmPHILIP GLASS. One of Edgar Allan Poe’s most unsettling stories. Glass’ haunting and suspenseful music provides the soundscape. Long Beach Opera returns with, “...a journey to the edge of madness.”$160 - $29www.longbeachopera.org

SEuSSICAL THE muSICALJAn 18 & 19 | 7:30PmJAn 20 | 2PmEncore Entertainers presents the zany world of Dr. Seuss. Seussical is presented through a special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). Encore Entertainers is a non-profit corporation dedicated to education in the performing arts. $15 - $20.www.encoreentertainers.org

THE ryAn rOSSI/ELIZABETH CArTEr mEmOrIAL COnCErTFEB 9 | 8PmUnite to Fight Blood Cancers presents ONE WORLD, AZURE and ONE TEN SOUTH to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Emcee Jason Love.Advance: $27 / $20Door: $30 / $25.experiencesp.com

GIrLS’ nIGHT OuT: Bridesmaids (2011)FEB 15 | 7PmGirls just wanna have fun, right? Plan a night out once a month with your girlfriends for dinner and a movie. Tickets $8 Series subscription available— tiramisu & a glass of wine for subscribers.www.brownpapertickets.com

ruby to dark brown coloring with a thick creamy head. There’s a finesse to this beer with its silky smooth mouth feel and rich deep flavors. Dark fruits, coffee, cocoa, classic Belgian yeast, spice notes, and malty sweetness, finishing off creamy. This beer enters the double digit alcohol levels at 11.3 plus percent.

These beers are a must drink from either their official monastery glass, the wide mouth goblet styled mug, or snifter styled brandy glass.

With all the history and culture that is imbued in these beers, I sometimes imagine myself in the dark ages drinking beer from a local monastery from a medieval wide-mouth goblet.

If you’d like to get an idea of what the Belgian Trappist beer taste like, pick up a Belgian or Trappist inspired beer at Trusela’s restaurant, or a fresh brewed version of this style at Monkish Brewery in Torrance.

Belgian Trappist continued from previous page.

Angels Gate presents Into the Wilderness: The Journey Within, from 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 27 through April 17, showcasing art that gives you an appreciation for the wilderness.

The galleries are based on the vibrant, yet natural marvel and creativity of the wilderness itself, broadcasting its artwork via multi media and textile media.

Artists Heather Hoggan, Eloisa Guanlao, Mary Coyne and Keith Rocka Knittel contributed and created the galleries.

Forest, For the Trees, the gallery Heather Hoggan features, is a built environment installation using standard, recycled and unusual materials, responding to the human threat of the destruction of our environment. This exhibition hopes to portray the wonders and the perils of the forest by creating an environment that is at once unique and

fantastic. You can visit http://tinyurl.com/heatherhoggan to see some of Heather’s work.

Wilderness Infostructure, presented by Eloisa Guanlao, looks into the attitudes of locals, by setting up a water-truck alongside various food-trucks, conducting water-surveys and giving out maps of local water sources. Her survey results aim to uncover a human impact on the natural distribution and process of the water cycle. After this small seminar, people attending will be able to determine the costs and benefits of water usage in Southern California. You can find various information on Eloisa, her background and her work at http://tinyurl.com/eloisaguanlao.

Mary Coyne presents Searchin’: Los Angeles and the Quest for the Sublime. Searchin’ considers critical engagements with the theoretical sublime viewed through academic studies and the artists’ personal journeys. Mary Coyne is a curator from the Los Angeles area. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Southern California. She is interested in intersections between contemporary art, theory and performance.

Keith Rocka Knittel will be presenting the

Los Angeles National Forest gallery. The Los Angeles National Forest exhibition is constructed from a 7’ x 7’ x 7’ room with a 3’ x 5’ entryway into a planned wilderness. It considers the methodologies of contemporary art, theme restaurants, parks and interior design. With Los Angeles constructed with so many different landscapes intertwining with the desert and what it used to be, what is the natural landscape? Details: http://keithrocka.com.

Over the course of the next year artist and curators will engage the term wilderness, from multiple perspectives ranging from ecological to introspective in the hopes of considering how our concept of wilderness defines contemporary life, and deciphering between physical and imaginary geographies. The creation of this show was inspired by environmental activist John Muir’s poetic and adventurous outlook on the wilderness. Details: (310) 519-0936; www.angelsgateart.org.

Angels Gate Goes Into The Wild

by: Joseph Baroud, Editorial Intern

http://www.plazaautomotive.com

http://tinyurl.com/heatherhoggan

http://tinyurl.com/heatherhoggan

http://tinyurl.com/eloisaguanlao

http://tinyurl.com/eloisaguanlao

http://keithrocka.com/

http://keithrocka.com/

Janu

ary

11 –

24,

201

3Su

ppor

t You

r Com

mun

ity. S

hop

Loca

l!

14

In December, after numerous invitations to check out The Blue Cafe, I heard Family Wagon. Their music was intense, alive, and powerful. It was rock ‘n’ roll in its youngest and purest form. In four words: I was blown away.

The San Diego-based band consists of Calen Lucas on vocals, Gareth Moore on bass, Bryan Bangerter on guitar, Jarel Paguio on piano and Steve Serrano on drums. Together just four years now, they bring together blues and funk with some psychedelic sounds and 60s and 70s rock. Quite often they sound reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, injecting soulful lyrics with eclectic sounds.

In 2012 the band went to Austin, Texas to perform at the esteemed South By Southwest Festival. They performed five shows in four days and have been invited back again this year.

Serrano, the manager and drummer, admires The Band and Spoon and growing up he listened to Led Zeppelin. His drumming comes through powerfully and distinctively.

“We stay with the rock and roll aspect,” Serrano said. “We haven’t gone over into using electronic tracks. One thing I feel about rock and roll music is it’s about the imperfection of it as much as the perfection.”

The band’s name came from a van that Moore lived out of when he was taking a break from

college, after his freshman year. When he returned, his friends welcomed him with humorous reactions to his adventure.

“I still had the van and another band member remarked, ‘You still have the family wagon,’” Moore recalled. “It stuck. That van’s been with us for a long time.”

Family Wagon’s latest extended play album, Last Drag, is evidence of the group’s diverse elements. Last Drag, which was released this past July, was recorded at The Compound in Long Beach.

The first cut, “Hard Times” has a bluesy undercurrent and soulful organ that carries along the infectious melody. Lucas is believable when he asks:

“When did the good sorts become bad? he affirms;

I look for love in the hard, hard times, even if it takes me my whole lifeDon’t lose sight in the hard, hard times.”

Then, there is a stirring female background vocal that’s reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” This song’s hook makes its way into your head and stays there indefinitely. The guitar and bassist Moore’s funky style makes this song live up to it’s lyrical message of not loosing

sight. Moore cites influences as Jimmy Hendrix, Ravi Shankar and The Black Keys. He projects raw high energy and he’s powerful.

Lucas has his own special brand of charisma and his intense stage presence comes naturally. He has a sweet, clear voice that he can change over into a howl when needed. He was trained in opera, classical music and choir growing up. Before he started college he sang and listened to Christian rock. Jim Morrison and The Rolling Stones influenced him later in life, both of whom he exudes naturally on stage.

Deeply soulful is the best way to describe keys player Jarel Paguio, unabashedly boogying and bopping at his keyboard. The keys seem to administer an electrical charge that possess his fingers, his arms, his body and his mind. He comes from a music education and jazz piano background in college. Growing up, he listened to a lot of Beatles music and his biggest influences are jazz giants Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson.

Within the title song, “Last Drag,” the lead guitar has a Southern rock sound. Paguio’s organ performance draws out the emotional power that you hear in church music. The result is a melodic story of an on and off again relationship declaring:

FAMILY WAGON

A SoCal Band Ready to Igniteby: Melina Paris, Contributing Music Writer

Family Wagon continued on page 16.

1110 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro

FAST DELIVERY!310–732–5800

FAx: 310-732-5804

SuNDAY–THuRSDAY10AM-11PM

FRIDAY & SATuRDAY10AM–11:30PM

Family Wagon. File photo.



ent

15

Devin C.A. Carter has been rapping for almost a decade. Rapping for Carter first began as a hobby, but later, he developed that pastime into a craft, a paying one at that. With the airwaves and music stores being flooded with albums by people who can’t seem to have enough of themselves and their wealth, Devin hopes to be a refreshing change of trend, focusing on the realities that we face in our day-to-day lives.

I recently sat down with the local San Pedro artist to discuss the background of his music, his motivation and influences.

Joseph Baroud: Give me a little about you and what you do.

C.A.: I go by C.A., San Pedro born and raised. I used to go by Young Ace at a younger age. I make music, rap, songwriting, just trying to be a good performer for San Pedro. [I] try to be a[n] outspoken voice for a lot of people other than the ballers, for the average individual.

J.B.: What do you discuss in your music?C.A.: Mainly, what I have been focusing on is

San Pedro lifestyle, relaxing, having a good time; my views on politics, the way I feel on how the streets are, from entertainment and the way we see it on television. I’m just trying to be a different type of voice that you really don’t hear.

J.B.: What is your reason for creating music?

C.A.: Well, my father used to be a rapper. He [was], actually, one of the first groups signed on

the West Coast, a group called 783, and he helped produce the group Cyprus Hill. So, I guess it is just in my blood. At a young age I just started throwing raps together. I think [in] my first rap, I got mad at a girl in class and I actually wrote a diss song about her and got in trouble for it.

J.B.: Well, yeah, that’s when you usually write your best music, when it’s coming from the heart and you are feeling it at that moment.

C.A.: Hell yeah, pissed off and everything. So moms saw it and said I could never rap again and that pushed me to be stronger and I’ve been doing it ever since. I started probably putting out mix tapes at age 16, in high school. Pushed them throughout the high school, probably sold a good 200 through San Pedro High. It was a cool little profit, a dro boyz movement.

J.B.: Do you feel your lifestyle literally correlates with your music?

C.A.: Yeah, especially what I’ve been talking about now. I have a project in the past that’s about partying and having a good time and I’m the big dude on campus. But what I’ve been working on now, is I have an EP, and it’s just basically everything that happens around me. From what happen to friends, you know the gang violence out here in San Pedro to us just taking a trip to the coast just to relax, and chillin at Ports O’ Call and getting some good seafood. [I] just try to correlate my whole life and what I’ve been raised on and what I’ve seen in my life and translate it into music and have people see a side on San Pedro that they

might not know about.

J.B.: When you write your music are there any painful memories that come to mind?

C.A.: uh yeah, I have a friend that passed away, his name was Kyle Pickle. He was always a big supporter. I would have to say, if he was still alive, he would probably be my manager right now because he would just run all over San Pedro like, “You gotta hear my boy rap.” So every time I rap, I make sure I dedicate a lot of time to him and just put the whole movement, my dro boyz movement, which we started together, and make it into a mainstream thing for him. He had to have his life taken at a young age and I always feel bad about that. I wanna be able to get everything in life that he never saw and just do it for him. You know what I mean?

J.B.: That’s right. Well, when do you most feel in your comfort zone when writing and are you always in that zone when you make your music?

C.A.: I have to be just focused. Like I kind of go into another realm and you see me just looking at different images with just a blank stare because all I’m doing is thinking of lyrics. My best comfort zone is a feeling, it’s not really any place I could be. I have to hear a good sound and sometimes, I don’t even hear beats. I just have a melody in my head and I just

What You Wouldn’t Expect From San Pedroby: Joseph Baroud, Editorial Intern

Unexpected continued on page 16.

Big Drum/Small World With Jazz reachThe Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation: Guest Artists Series presents Big Drum/Small World With Jazz Reach, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. This music aims to show how jazz continues to unite us and exemplify our increasingly interdependent world. This will include performances by recognized jazz composers from places around the world. Tickets will be on sale for $30 and $27.Details: (310) 781-7171; www.jazzreach.orgVenue: James Armstrong TheatreLocation: 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance

JAnuAry 19Joe La Barbera QuintetAlvas Showroom will host Joe La Barbera and his quintet of jazz musicians, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m. La Barbera has enjoyed a long music career and has played with jazz greats along the likes of Bill Evans. La Barbera has entertained many across the world and now has given you the chance to reap those same rewards. The admission will be $20. Details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom.com/Venue: Alvas ShowroomLocation: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

JAnuAry 20Continuum - Chris GarciaThe Improvisational music band, Continuum, led by Chris Garcia, will be playing at Alvas Showroom, Jan. 20, at 4 p.m. Looking for a new and different sound? Continuum’s strengths, being their variety of music and personnel, might be the right fix. The admission will be $15.

Calendar continued from page 12.

Calendar continued on page 16.

San Pedro rapper, Devin C.A. Carter. File photo.

Janu

ary

11 –

24,

201

3Su

ppor

t You

r Com

mun

ity. S

hop

Loca

l!

16

from page 11.

Les Miz

from page 14.

Family Wagonfrom page 15.Calendar continued from page 15.

Unexpected From San Pedro

through Les Miz that I taught my children of music theater and a bit of myself to them. We have loved this music and story for many years. All of my children have seen this now and they have their opinions as well. As a family, we discussed this work. The movie stands alone. It is an equal to West Side Story, to a lesser extinct Oliver. The only difference is the singing; but these others do not deliver the scope of a tale like this, which is spread over 50 years in this one part of Hugo’s masterwork.

This also maybe the case of selling Hollywood star power, over the art of this great piece of music theater. Go see it and make up your own mind, I loved it despite its failings.

“I’m the cigarette without the last drag, by the time you figure out who you want me to be, I’m gone again.”

Bryan Bangerter’s guitar expresses the emotion that’s in the lyrics, telling the story of a worn out relationship and the freedom gained from ending it.

“Wonder if She Knows” is a sweet ballad. It leads with an acoustic guitar and kick drum, with Lucas’ voice coming through crystal clear. It’s a soft song that speaks of a man taken by a woman he’s trying to understand. The song builds to a crescendo, bringing together more instruments including the organ, bass, drums, cymbals and vocals, giving the song a quality of purity and loveliness, before quieting again to a soft close.

“Keeper of the Medicine” is a hard driving electric, psychedelic song. Lucas sings as if he were a sage weaving together warnings of life’s pitfalls against the backdrop of Bangerter’s furious guitar chords. One can almost envision smoke swirling around him as he prophesied.

In addition to being the guitarist, Bangerter is a drummer and the main songwriter of the group. His parents were musicians and he grew up on funk and soul artists such as James Brown, The Jackson Five and Stevie Wonder. He said that it was important for his parents to expose him to these artists. The connection to these great artists’ poetic verses is carried through in Family Wagon’s meaningful lyrics.

Each one of these musicians stands out.“Freedom to create, express, get loud and

have a good time: That’s the freedom of rock ‘n’ roll,” said Lucas about what glue holds the members together.

For the month of January, Family Wagon has a residency at Casbah in San Diego every Monday night and have invited other bands to share the bill with them.

Yo u c a n f i n d t h e m a t : w w w.familywagonmusic.com

start writing to that. So, to me it’s really just the vibe in the air.

J.B.: Have there been any other events that have influenced your music?

C.A.: Yeah, not only Kyle Pickle, but I have another close friend named Joseph Lewis who was murdered and that was a very tragic thing. I was out of town when that happened. That was another person I put on board as well as L.T. It’s just a lot of friends, a lot of kids that have been taken from us and I try to take their influence and their past and friends that are locked up, their past and try to translate it into a viewable message, a positive message at the end of the day.

J.B.: So what would be your main influence?

C.A.: I would say my family and friends. I never got into this rap because I wanted to be, having the girls, cool guy, having chains and cars. I mean, it’s a good lifestyle, It’s cool to have, but my thing is my family. I want to be able to take care of my family and friends. From my moms, my little sister, I have a family to take care of and that’s what really influences me to make sure I could be more professional and business orientated with this music, so I could get them out of their situation as well as myself.

J.B.: So what do you love so much about your city?

C.A.: I mean I love everything about my city man. I love how everybody knows everybody, which could be a downfall at times but it is a good thing to have. I love just the vibe of San Pedro. It’s a very chill relaxed city in my opinion. We just like to kick back, chill, have a good time, listen to music, probably drink a couple beers, smoke. I love everything, it’s very family orientated. A lot of people grew up here and their generations and their next generations; a long list of names. And not only that, we have a beautiful bridge, the Vincent Thomas Bridge, you could go to sleep and look at the blue lights every night. So, I love everything man, if I could change something it would just have to be the gang violence, honestly.

J.B.: Would you like to tell me a little about the Dro Boyz?

C.A.: We actually started back in high school. We had different phases. We da dro boyz, it consist of me, my boy Oso, my boy Profane, Take-off, Rebel and a few list of other names who are in the background. We just a group of artist that are trying to come together and talk for the city of San Pedro. We have so many versatile people and artist within our group. I am one of the more lyrical entertainers. We have a hip hop dude, we have a Caribbean dude. We have a dude who makes trap music and talks about his gang lifestyle. The Dro Boyz is basically a sound that everybody in the Dro, whether you gang bang, whether you’re just the kid on the corner that wants to rap with the backpack on, whether you want to be that cool kid on campus. Whatever you want, we kind of push that in our music.

J.B.: How have you dealt with performances on stage? Are they nerve-wracking or do you enjoy it?

C.A.: I really enjoy it. Some of it is nerve-wracking. Cuz, you know, you got to develop a

plan on how to go on stage rather then just grab a mic and just start rapping the song. So it’s always nerve-wracking to see if your plan is gonna go down as well as you planned it. But, I feed off it, it’s really an adrenaline rush for me. My favorite drug is seeing the passion of the people in the crowd. Especially when we have a whole crowd of Dro town people and just, we don’t have a lot of artist for them to stand up for. We have a few, I can name a few, like Triggz, 110 To The End is coming in development but there’s not too many people where you could just see somebody from San Pedro, and be like, “Damn dat boy is doing his thing on stage” and just roots for him and have his back.

J.B.: What places have you performed at recently?

C.A.: Recently we performed at Blue Café, I’ve opened for Kendrick Lamar at the Whiskey Go Go. I performed at the Pig N’ Whistle down in Hollywood, the Dragonfly in Hollywood. Back when I was like 17, I performed at the Warner Grand. I still want to try and get a venue there, that would be a great positive movement if we just get high security and make sure everything is locked down, and nothing goes down too bad.

J.B.: Yeah, that’s really a famous site in San Pedro.

C.A.: Yeah, I think it would be a great look, you know what I mean? We could have San Pedro artists open and then have Miguel in the headliner. I think that would be a wonderful thing to see for the city of San Pedro. But, that’s just a few place’s, as well as The Chop House, down there in San Pedro—can’t forget that one.

J.B.: OK, are you looking to produce something or own a record label eventually? Or, are you just trying to be a rapper?

C.A.: I think one day I’m going to go into production. I can’t lie. Start making beats, I have an interest for it now. I just don’t have the equipment. As for the record label, I believe we could have one. I’d like to be one of the top people to at least give people with talent, and not necessarily money and a musical buzz the opportunity to have their talent heard. There’s just a lot of stuff that’s behind the scenes that you don’t see and that’s why a lot of these artist who weren’t really full of talent are so famous to this day.

J.B.: Have you put out any albums or anything?

C.A.: Yeah, I have one album, it’s called, By The Way My Name is C.A. I have them available, pressed-up. I’m actually gonna start giving those out. I feel like it’s an old album. It’s a lot of things that change about me, just in my personal and my outlook. It’s a two-year-old album. If you go to youtube.com, type in Devin C.A. Carter, you could check out the by-the-way video, the official video. It’s a very good video, a lot of streams, good graphics that you wouldn’t expect from somebody out of San Pedro.

J.B.: Well that’s about it with me, is there anything else you’d like to add?

C.A.: To hear more of my music check droboyz.com, that’s d-r-o-b-o-y-z.com. And we plan on just, having San Pedro be a movement, from Dro Boyz to 110 to The End, to a whole grip of other artists. We just want to have that little dot on the globe that says, “San Pedro.” You know what I mean?

Deta i ls : (800) 403-3447; h t tp ://www.alvasshowroom.com/Venue: Alvas ShowroomLocation: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

JAnuAry 12Think Clean, Go Clean! Eco Art Contest The South Coast Air Quality Management District and JPy Magazine present Think Clean, Go Clean! Eco Art Contest and Festival, Jan. 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is an event for the whole family to learn about air quality initiatives and healthy living. The event will feature exhibits, an art contest, entertainment and food. Admission is free.Details: (310) 781-7150Venue: Torrance Cultural Arts CenterLocation: 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance

Pre-Parade Clean upCome help clean the Martin Luther King Jr. parade route, Jan 12., from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Everybody participating will meet at McBride Park. Details: (562) 570-6816; www.longbeach.govVenue: McBride ParkLocation: 1550 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., Long Beach

6th Annual martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Peace marchThe 6th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Peace March will be held, Jan. 12, at 5 p.m., at the Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Come join the community in commemoration of what he stood for, with a candlelight peace march. There is free parking across the street from the park, at Long Beach City College.Details: (562) 570-6816; www.longbeach.govVenue: Martin Luther King Jr. ParkLocation: 1950 Lemon Ave., Long Beach

The GiftNew Generations, is sponsoring a local gift drive, Jan. 12, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Local residents can attend to receive free food, clothing, services and accessoriesDetails: (562) 570-6816; www.longbeach.govVenue: Washington Middle SchoolLocation: 1450 Cedar Ave., Long Beach

JAnuAry 13Stunt Dog ExperienceThe Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation: Guest Artists Series presents Stung Dog Experience, at 2 p.m. and at 6 p.m. Come see amazing tricks, big air stunts, comedy antics, dancing and athleticism. Tickets are on sale for $20 and $18.Details: (310) 781-7171Venue: James Armstrong TheatreLocation: 3330 Civic Center Dr., Torrance

JAnuAry 14Dance For PeaceThe event is aimed to be an evening of dance and art in motion, with performances by local Long Beach artists, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Details: (562) 570-6816; www.longbeach.govVenue: Manazar Gamboa Community Theater, Homeland Cultural CenterLocation: 1323 Gundry Ave., Long Beach

JAnuAry 15mLK Jr. Peacemaker AwardsCity Hall will present Peacemaker Awards, Jan. 15, at 4 p.m. The intention of the reward, in the honor of Dr. King, is to recognize community leaders that have continued his message for peace.Details: (562) 570-6816; www.longbeach.govVenue: City HallLocation: 333 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

JAnuAry 16Vision of PeaceThe Long Beach Human Dignity Program will sponsor, Vision of Peace, from 6 to 8 p.m. The event will include an evening of poetry and short story readings.Details: (562) 570-6816; www.longbeach.govVenue: Martin Luther King Jr. ParkLocation: 1950 Lemon Ave., Long Beach

JAnuAry 17A Day In the LifeThe California Conference for Equality and Justice will host, A Day In the Life, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. A panel of community members who knew the late Dr. King, share their personal stories. Details: (562) 570-6816; www.longbeach.govVenue: Martin Luther King Jr. ParkLocation: 1950 Lemon Ave., Long Beach

Community/Family

http://www.familywagonmusic.com/



17


is the question dividing downtown San Pedro business owners. The trucks have been successful in bringing foot traffic downtown, but without an offi-cial economic impact study, the ben-efits of the food truck on events such as this is still questionable.

This past December, Ports O’ Call Village, one of the crown jewels of the waterfront, is finally being developed, with the selection of a developer. How-ever, the speed and secrecy of the port selected proposals has left many in the community suspicious about the rede-velopment direction of one of San Pe-dro’s most important destination points.

Redistricting and the Super Majority

alifornia Democrats came out of the redistricting process in 2011 with a stronger grip on

the capitol than ever before. The Nov. 2012 elections was a fulfillment of that process, giving Democrats a super majority in the state legislature. More importantly, it was shown that with Democrats holding a 2-1 advantage over Republican in voter registration, the state’s Grand Ole Party is on its way to irrelevancy if nothing changes.

Democrats, with its embarrass-ment of riches, were forced to deal with the specter of Democrats running against Democrats. One of the more high profile races was the Rep. Janice

Hahn vs. Rep. Laura Richardson for the newly formed 47th Congressio-nal District. Weakened by an ethics investigation that ruled against her, Richardson lost the primary. But due to changes in California’s elec-tion system, Richardson had to stick around because she was the second top vote-getter. Needless to say, she didn’t do much better in the run-off than she did in the primary.

Democrat and former Torrance school board member Al Muratsuchi defeated perennial Republican can-didate Craig Huey for the state legis-lature and state Sen. Alan Lowenthal defeated Republican Gary DeLong for Congress.

This past year was politically no-table for Los Angeles for a number of reasons, one of which is the fact that it’s the last year of Mayor An-tonio Villaraigosa’s term in office. This has led to a whole new crop of candidates to replace him, including Councilwoman Jan Perry, Council-man Eric Garcetti, City Control-ler Wendy Greuel and a number of lesser known candidates.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich ran for the District Attorney’s office, raising more than $1 million. He amassed a more than 2-1 advantage over his nearest competitor. Never-theless, he came in third, with Assis-tant District Attorney Jackie Lacey succeeding her former boss, District Attorney Steve Cooley.

C

s is usually the case every four years, presidential election politics played a prominent role in our na-

tional political coverage. In fact, one can usefully think of

our national political coverage as deal-ing with two types of stories: those that are within the range of presiden-tial electoral politics and those that highlight the limits of that range. In one case in particular—the issue of voter suppression—we saw an issue that was initially relegated to the po-litical margins that get forced to center stage. Meanwhile, the more general constraint on U.S. politics—the perva-sive dominance of the one percent—was dealt with on various occasions. Tipping our hats to how crazy U.S. politics have become in recent years, we also ran three stories dealing with cognitive issues in politics.

In May we published “ALEC Nor-malizes Corruption In Statehouses Across the Land,” in which we ex-plored how a relatively obscure net-work of corporate special interests and conservative activists—the American Legislative Exchange Council—has been rewriting state laws in secret for decades, while passing them off as “common sense” and “grassroots” ex-pressions of popular will.

“Bills get considered and passed individually, but ALEC develops them like product lines, with carefully crafted cumulative effects that go far beyond what first meets the eye,” Ran-dom Lengths reported.

ALEC’s tentacles extended into two other major stories we highlight-ed. First: their longstanding alliance with the National Riffle Association, which played a key role in promoting the spread of kill-at-will laws that were made notorious by the murder of Tray-von Martin in Florida. Second: their extensive role in the corporate takeover of public education. Education consul-tant and activist Jeff Bryant pointed to Maine as an example. He cited 13 edu-cation bills with ALEC ties.

In February, we reported on a Diane Ravitch speech. Ravitch is the nation’s most prominent opponent of corporate “education reform.” She ultimately framed her argument in terms of teach-ing as a humanistic calling versus the soulless approach of corporate reform-ers, representing the 1 percent.

“The culture of testing and ac-countability has dominated American education now for 20 years,” Ravitch said. “This is the status quo. The sta-tus quo has failed. It’s time for fresh thinking.”

In April, we ran an article by Bruce

Dixon, managing editor of Black Agen-da Report, “Trayvon Martin, Troy Davis and the 2012 Election,” which was highly critical of how mainstream black political activists focus on emo-tional symbolic struggles, while ne-glecting the fundamentals of real po-litical power. He noted, as an example, that “2000 Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore lost both Florida and his home state of Tennessee by margins far greater than the number of black voters disqualified by the felony restriction alone.”

In the end, however, the Tea Party-enthused Republicans were defeated by their own overreach in their to at-tempt to suppress the vote of minority communities—a gambit that backfired, stirring up a storm of grassroots anger. This helped ensure President Barack Obama’s re-election.

We featured two stories on these efforts in October, tracing back to our earlier coverage starting with the 2004 election. One of those stories was, “The Wolf Who Cried Wolf,” which highlighted the activities of GOP op-erative Nathan Sproul. His consulting firm actively engaged in destroying Democratic voter registration forms and otherwise attempted to prevent voters from casting their votes. We first reported on Sproul’s activities in 2004, particularly in Nevada. But in 2012, the GOP pretended to be shocked at his methods. We discussed the Tea Party vote suppression efforts and provided statistics on the overwhelm-ing efforts of Republican lawmakers to restrict ballot access in dozens of states. We also discussed the long his-torical background of expanding and contracting voting rights with Harvard historian Alexander Keyssar.

In our last pre-election story, we debunked Romney’s desperate “mo-mentum” narrative, reminding people how Republicans had used a similar strategy in 2000 to spin the media in advance of stealing that election--this in addition to highlighting potential voter suppression trouble spots. In our post-election follow-up, “An Historic Election Foretold,” we highlighted the role of changing demographics in overwhelming voter-suppression ef-forts. Yet, the failure of one voter sup-pression strategy contrasted with a re-lated, much more successful strategy: The intensive gerrymandering of con-gressional districts in swing states that Obama carried handily. But that gave the GOP a 2-1 edge in representatives they sent to the House.

The depression-level unemploy-ment and under-employment rates tearing the middle class apart and de-stroying the hopes of those fighting their way into it were probably the most important but most neglected is-sues. We took the issue head-on in a story about “prosperity economics,” an inclusive alternative to the domi-nant obsession with austerity, which

is based on the actual history of how American prosperity was built in the first place.

We covered the impact of austerity policies on a more nuts-and-bolts level with our story on National Low Income Housing Coalition’s annual report last year, “Out of Reach 2012.” The report showed that minimum wage workers simply can’t afford to live in most plac-es in the United States. In six states, in-cluding California, it takes at least three minimum wage jobs to pay the rent. We also ran stories revealing evidence that the Department of Homeland Security was involved in nationally coordinated efforts to suppress the Occupy move-ment. And, we talked about the Occu-py-inspired movement to replicate the example of North Dakota’s publicly-owned state bank.

In “The Psychologists’ Guide to the Republican Brain” we used the psychoanalytical framework of ego de-fense mechanisms as an advance guide for the Republican National Conven-tion, to help categorize the various pat-terns of evasive thinking that would be on display. Displacement, for example, we described as “redirecting negative emotions, ideas, actions, etc. to a (less threatening) substitute target,” add-ing that, “Absolving Wall Street for destroying the economy, then turning around and blaming teachers, firefight-ers and police officers for local budget deficits—that’s a perfect example of displacement in action.”

In “Don’t Buy It!” we reviewed the book by the same name, written by linguist Anat Shenker-Osorio. While Americans generally support the vi-sion of a broadly egalitarian society—even Republicans would rather live in a Sweden-like economy, accord-ing to one study—they usually end up supporting something much more unequal. Much of the blame lies with how we think and speak about the economy, she explains.

The reason is that conservatives rely on the concept of the economy as a self-determined entity that can only

be made worse by outside meddling, as in the South Park episode, where residents discover that the economy is a vengeful and angry god. Progres-sives tend to flail about more, but there is a consistent progressive alternative available: the economy as a human-made object in motion, most typically, a vehicle. If progressives learn to be more self-conscious in talking about the economy, she argues, then per-haps they could drive that discussion as well.

Finally, we did two stories on global warming. The first, for Earth Day, was primarily a review of Chris Mooney’s book, The Republican Brain: The Sci-ence of Why They Deny Science, which

from p. 7

The Other Side of 2012

The National Year In ReviewBy Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

A

focused particularly on its applica-tion to climate science. The second story, following the election and Hurricane Sandy, which brought the suppressed issue of global warming back front and center, was reminiscent of a story we did seven years ago, following Hurricane Ka-trina. As in that earlier story, we in-terviewed a climate scientist from a global reinsurance company. This time, though, the company, Mu-nich Re, had just issued a 277-page report on the extreme weather im-pacts that have already happened in North America over the past 30-plus years.

“The number of natural ca-tastrophes per year has been ris-ing dramatically on all continents since 1980, but the trend is steep-est for North America,” the report noted, where costs total more than one trillion dollars for this period, with 30,000 lives lost, mostly due to heat waves. The number of loss events has nearly quintupled since 1980. Hurricane Sandy is just a nickname, you know? Her real name is Cassandra.

President Barack Obama stood on the victory stage again, winning an electoral college landslide over Republican chal-lenger Mitt Romney, despite Republican efforts to suppress the vote. Republican operative Nathan Sproul, right, one of the instruments of voter suppression, seemingly got caught red handed after reports emerged of employees throwing away Democratic registration forms. File photos.

18

Janu

ary

11 -

24, 2

013

Ser

ving

the

Seve

n Ci

ties

of th

e H

arbo

r Are

a

Adopt A pet from the Harbor Care Center, 957 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro. 888-452-7381.

Help Wanted!!! Make $1000 a week mailing brochures from home! FREE Supplies! Helping Home-Workers since 2001! Genuine Opportunity! No experience required. Start Immediately! www.mailing-central.net

A C T O R S / M O V I E E X -TRAS Needed immediately for upcoming roles $150-$300 /day depending on job requirements. No ex-perience, all looks needed. 1-800-560-8672 for casting times /locations. (AAN CAN)

Movie Extras, Actors Mod-els Make up to $300/day. No Experience required. All looks and ages. Call 866-339-0331

Bulletin Board

CLASSIFIED ADSReach 63,000 Harbor Area Readers

employment

CAreer trAining

Sales

Vintage Auto & Motorcycle Storage

25 indoor & outdoor stalls

• Armed Response Alarm System• Web-based Video Monitoring• Electronic Access Control• 24-Hour Availability • Self-Serve Free Hand Wash • WIFI Hotspot• Free Charging Station

(310) 707-2207www.8thstreetgarage.com

Random Lengths is looking for an expe-rienced advertising/print salesperson. We are the Los Angeles Harbor Area’s oldest independent news-paper. We are a stable and growing com-pany, open for over 30 years. The candidate should have 2 or more year’s experience in outside sales. Bi-lin-gual is a plus. Please email resume and cover letter with sal-ary history to james@randomlengths news.com. Monthly base salary and commis-sion. EOE

dAting ServiCeS

petS

Please helP! The animals at the Har-bor Animal Shelter have ongoing need for used blankets, comforters,

pet beds.* Drop off at harbor

animal shelter, 957 N. Gaffey st.,san Pedro.

888-452-7381, x 143Please sPaY/NeUTeR

YOUR PeT! *In any condition. We will

wash and mend.

Don Marshall CPA, Inc.(310) 833-8977

Don Marshall, MBA, CPASpecializing in small businesses

CPA Quality Service at very reasonable rateswww.donmarshallcpa.com

Automotive

eduCAtion

Commerical real estate For lease

SAn pedro – For leASe

S.Pacific Ave. office suites & retail space in the “Arts District”. Several choices

available. A-delta realty 310/831-6670

BuSineSS oppAdoption

PREGNANT? CONSIDER-ING ADOPTION? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families nationwide. LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adop-tions 866-413-6293 (AAN CAN)

CAr oWnerS eArn $600/ montH.Safely rent out your car anytime you are not us-ing it. You control the price, times & people for each rental. RelayRides provides insurance, driver-screening & support. Text (415)868-5691

roommAteSBread & HyacinthsThis is the book that explains why the city of Los Angeles is the way it is. Bread and Hyacinths: the Rise and Fall of Utopian Los Angeles is the grip-ping, little-known saga of the great battle between Job Harriman, the West Coast’s leading socialist, and General Harrison Gray Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Times—a battle for the future of Los Angeles.Written by Lionel Rolfe, Nigey Lennon and Paul Greenstein, Bread and Hyacinths was originally

Buy it now at Williams Bookstore,

Random Lengths News office and The Tobacco Leaf at Western & 25th

published in 1992 by California Classics Books. It is reprinted by Random Lengths News and available for $15.

CASH FOR CARS: Any Car /Truck . Runn ing o r Not! Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You! Call For In-stant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www.cash4car.com (AAN CAN)

ATTEND COLLEGE ON-LINE from Home. *Medical, *Business, *Criminal Justice, *Hospitality. Job placement assistance. Computer avail-able. Financial Aid if qualified. SCHEV authorized. Call 800-481-9472 www.CenturaOn-line.com (AAN CAN)

DBA filing and publishing $120(310) 519-1442

Teach English Abroad! 4-week TEFL course in Prague. Job assistance worldwide. We have over 1500 graduates teaching in 60+ countries! www.teflworldwideprague.com [email protected]

EARN $500 A DAY. Airbrush & Media Makeup ArtistsFor: Ads - TV - Film - Fash-ion. Train & Build Portfolio in 1 week. Lower Tuition for 2012.

AIRLINE CAREERS – Be-come an Aviation Maintenance Tech. FAA approved training. Financial aid if qualified – Housing available. Job p lacement ass is tance . CALL Aviat ion Inst i tute o f M a i n t e n a n c e 8 7 7 -4 9 2 - 3 0 5 9 ( A A N C A N )

reAl eStAte

REAL ESTATE INVESTOR seeks to

purchase commercial or multi-unit residential

properties in San Pe-dro. No Agents please.

310-241-6827

ROOMMATES.COM. Browse hundreds of online listingswith photos and maps. Find your roommate with a click of the mouse! Visit: http://www.Roommates.com. (AAN CAN)

pSyCHiCS

10/12

need loving Caregiver?Experienced with excel-lent referenes. Reasonable rates. Located in Harbor Area. Leave message for Susan, (310) 548-3771.

For SAleTAKE VIAGRA? Stop pay-ing outrageous prices! Best prices... VIAGRA 100MG, 40 pills+/4 free, only $99.00. Discreet shipping, Power Pill.1-800-374-2619

STEEL BUILDINGS: 6 only 20x20, 25x30, 30x38, 40x54, 45x74, 60x140. Must Move Now! Selling for Balance Owed! Still Crated/Free Deliv-ery! 1-800-211-9593, x30.

Home ServiCeS

Commercial Bldg. for Rent

2300 sqf - $1300 mo.803 Palos Verde St.,

San Pedro (310) 707-2207

$$$HELP WANTED$$$ Ex-tra Income! Assembling CD cases from Home! No Expe-rience Necessary! Call our Live Operators Now! 1-800-405-7619 EXT 2450 http://www.easywork-greatpay.com (AAN CAN)

A reWArding CAreer that lets you earn money while helping others! Want to be your own boss, set your own hours? Indepen-dent Consultants needed for Restaurant.com. Unlimited Earning Potential. No previ-ous sales experience req’d. Tools & full training provided. Learn more at http://sales.restaurant.com/nan.

Wish Your Car Could Pay You Back? Get paid to help us advertise by helping others do the same. Make up to $4,600 monthly + bonuses. Call Kim 831-238-6448 (AAN CAN)

Money 4 All: 11,011 days! Au-tomated. Easy. 831-238-6448

WAntedNEW inventions and Product IDEAS WANTED! Free info & confidential consultation on your idea at DAVISON. Call toll free at 1-800-428-5116 Today. Fee-based service.

E r o t i c E n c o u n t e r s .com Where Hot Girls Share thei r pr ivate fantas ies! Instant Connections. Fast & Easy. Mutua l Sat -i s f a c t i o n G u a r a n t e e d . Exchange messages, Talk live 24/7, Private 1-on-1. Give in to Temptat ion, call now 1-888-700-8511

reACH 5 million hip, forward-thinking consum-ers across the U.S. When you advertise in alternative newspapers, you become part of the local scene and gain access to an audience you won’t reach anywhere else. http://www.altweeklies.com/ads (AAN CAN)

Help Wanted! make extra money in our free ever popu-lar homemailer program, includes valuable guidebook! Start immediately! Genuine! 1-888-292-1120 www.howtowork-fromhome.com

Groceries Delivered: Or-der today. Delivered to-morrow. Get paid to help advertise. 831-238-6448

Golden West Realty310.548.2881

www.goldenwestsanpedro.com1517 S. Gaffey St .• San Pedro, CA 90731

Golden West RealtyServing San Pedro and the entire South Bay since 1980

For more information call

UPPER VISTA DEL OROLovely 4 b e d r o o m home in Upper Vista Del Oro. Situated on a cul-de-sac with nice curb appeal. B e a u t i f u l corner lot with covered patio Perfect home for entertaining. Offered at $595,000

A UNIQUE CLASSICG o r g e o u s 1927 Classic S p a n i s h with Harbor View. Prime area of San Pedro. Large 3 bedroom, 3 bath home on a beautifully

landscaped 13,499 square foot lot. This is a special one-of-a-kind home. Offered at $875,000

Local Notary Service• Payroll • Income Tax

Just Relax Tax Service870 W. 9th St., Ste. 100A, San Pedro

310.221.0034

for details+ special offer. Free to join. www.RelayRides.com/Car (AAN CAN)

WANTED TO RENT: 3 Rooms: Bed/Living, bath, ktichen. Can pay up to $725./mo. Call (310) 408-3140.

20 ACRES FREE. Buy 40-Get 60 acres. $0-Down, $198/month. Money backguarantee. NO CREDIT CHECKS. Beautiful views.

Roads/surveyed. Near El Paso, Texas. 1-800-843-7537 www.SunsetRanches.com (AAN CAN)

http://www.mailing-usa.com

http://www.mailing-usa.com

19


Jeffrey Michael Mirich passed away with his immediate family at his side. Born and raised in San Pedro, Jeff was a recent resident of Canyon Lake, CA.

A graduate of San Pedro High School, Jeff competed in swimming and diving. He life guarded for several years for the City of Redondo Beach and often surfed early mornings at Royal Palms before school or work. He was active in the Izaak Walton League. Jeff received a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts from California State University Long Beach and a master of arts in business administration from the University of Redlands.

Jeff enjoyed a 19-year career with Northrop Grumman Corporation, where he held managerial positions in engineering, manufacturing, business development, research and mergers and acquisitions. He joined Disney Studios in 1997 as the CIO of Imagineering and became known as the soul of the Hollywood Information Technology Society comprised of CIOs of Hollywood studios. Earlier this year, he was presented with an unprecedented Variety “HIT Maker” Award for IT leadership. Jeff was a visionary and a relentless warrior, driving collaboration among the studios and their service providers. He was instrumental in providing business and technology systems

that supported film, music, live stage production, marketing and distribution operations on a global scale.

Jeff regularly lectured at local universities on topics ranging from information technology to intellectual property management within the media and entertainment industry. He was a past board member on UCLA

Anderson School’s IS Associates and WINMEC University-Industry Partnership, USC’s ETC/IMF sponsorship group, HP’s Communications Media & Entertainment Board of Advisors, the CIO Leadership Network, Southern California CIO Executive Summit Governing Body, The Business Forum, The Hollywood IT Summit, and served on Sierra Venture’s CIO Advisory Board.

Jeff was sought out as a motivational speaker for several cancer research organizations. Refusing to let his own terminal illness interfere with his family and friendships, he continued a lifestyle of camping, surfing, water skiing, and motorcycle riding—always with his dedicated wife and son at his side. Only days before his death, he could be seen driving past Palm Springs in a motor home while attached to an IV. He is survived by his wife Charlene, son Jeffrey Charles, stepdaughter Carey Jones (Josh), parents–in-law Chuck and Rose Schiada, and brothers Pete (Kathy) and Stephen.

Jeffrey Michael MirichOct. 1, 1956 – Dec. 11, 2012

Fictitious Business name Statement

File no. 2012230019The following person is doing busi-ness as: Champion data Sup-ply, 28364 S. Western Ave Ste #2, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Brandden F. Blackwell, 1316 Paseo del Mar, San Pedro, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: Jan. 1, 2012. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Carmen Moen, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Nov. 16, 2012. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920 were to expire 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Profes-sions code).Original filing: 11/29/12, 12/13/12, 12/27/12, 01/10/12


File no. 2012217235The following person is doing busi-ness as: San Pedro Spotlight, 800 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Miguel Gonzalez, 658 W. 22nd St. #4, San Pedro, CA 90731. This business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the ficti-tious business name or names listed above: Aug. 1, 2012. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Carmen Moen, Owner.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS FILINGSThis statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on Oct. 31, 2012. Notice--In Accordance with subdivision (a) of section 17920. A fictitious name statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the county clerk, except as provided in subdivision (b) of section 17920 were to expire 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see section 1411 ET SEQ., Business and Profes-sions code).Original filing: 11/29/12, 12/13/12, 12/27/12, 01/10/12

Statement of Abandonment of use of Fictitious Business name

File no. 2012238002File no: 20080895010; Date Filed: 05/20/08Name of Business(es) nick’s li-quorStreet Address, City, State, and Zip Code: 510 N. Pacific Coast Hwy, Re-dondo Beach, CA 90277. Registered Owners: Brook Zewdie, 2005 Speyer Lane Unit #B, Redondo Beach, CA 90278. Tseday Kiwfe-Micahesi, 2005 Speyer Lane Unit #B, Redondo Beach, CA 90278. Business was conducted by a husband and wife. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A regis-trant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime).This Statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los An-geles County on Nov. 30, 2012.


File no. 2012 253805The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: 1. San pedro Healing Arts med Clinic, 2. San pedro physical therapy, 3. Healing Arts medical Clinic, 1366 W. 7th Street, Ste 4B, San Pedro CA, 90731. County of Los Angeles, 1952 Galerita Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275.Registered owner(s): San Pedro Healing Arts Inc., 1366 W. 7th Street, Ste 4B, San Pedro CA, 90731. This business is conducted by Corpora-

tion. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 1992. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true infor-mation, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) San Pedro Healing Arts Inc. S/ Dr. Maria Baez, President. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on December 24, 2012. Notice- In accordance with Subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Business Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Statement must be filed before the expiration. The fil-ing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et. Seq., Business and Profes-sions Code). Amended (New Filing): 01/10/13, 01/24/13, 02/7/13, 02/21/13


File no. 2012254805The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: get it-got it Concierge, 3431 Muldae Ave., San Pedro, CA 90732. County of Los Angeles. Reg-istered owner(s): Charles G. Abbott, Jr., 3431 Muldae Ave., San Pedro, CA 90732. This business is conducted by a General Partnership. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true information, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Charles G. Abbot, Jr., owner/general partner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on December 26, 2012. Notice- In accordance with Subdivi-sion (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Business Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any

change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Statement must be filed before the expiration. The fil-ing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et. Seq., Business and Profes-sions Code). Amended (New Filing): 01/10/13, 01/24/13, 02/7/13, 02/21/13


File no. 2012240722The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: 1. vB management marketing Services, 2. vB manage-

ment, 17809 Osage Ave., Torrance, CA 90504. County of Los Angeles. Registered owner(s): Stephen A. Robbins, 17809 Osage Ave., Tor-rance, CA 90504. Carol B. Robbins, 17809 Osage Ave., Torrance, CA 90504. This business is conducted by husband and wife. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above 1/10/2000. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true infor-mation, which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime.) Stephen A. Robbins owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on December 26, 2012. Notice- In accordance with Subdivi-sion (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious

Business Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the office of the County Clerk, except as provided in Subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Statement must be filed before the expiration. The fil-ing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or common law (See Section 14411 et. Seq., Business and Profes-sions Code). Amended (New Filing): 01/10/13, 01/24/13, 02/7/13, 02/21/13

20

Janu

ary

11 -

24, 2

013

Ser

ving

the

Seve

n Ci

ties

of th

e H

arbo

r Are

a

RLn 01-10-13 Edition

Documents

Transcript of RLn 01-10-13 Edition