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The Local Publication You Actually Read July 25 - August 7, 2014

rowing up in Wilmington, Kenneth Castillo has always had an affinity toward urban stories.

It’s no wonder that he’d end up writing and directing six feature films that center around

the urban Latino genre. Angels with Dirty Faces, Boyz ‘n the Hood, Goodfellas and Boulevard Nights were among the films that inspired his career path.

“I’m not going to say they are all about gangsters and cholos. They are about the people [who] live with that on a day-to-day basis,” Castillo, 40, said. “I’m not focused necessarily on the bad elements of an urban neighborhood, but I’m focused on the people [who] deal with that on a daily basis. So, it’s mostly about the families [who] are in these communities.”

He said that his characters all stem from some truth. That also is true of his latest film, La Guapa, which

tells the story about a salon owner blackmailed into becoming a hit woman by her estranged husband.

“The main character was definitely taken from a character who I knew, now whether or not she was a hit woman and was married to a drug dealer, those are things that I just kind of filled in,” Castillo said. “She was a salon owner. She was this beautiful, classy, very intelligent…One of the classiest cholas I’ve ever met.”

But the roots of his stories, or even the message of his stories, are not always apparent. Many times he realizes where his stories come from while on set or during the editing process. In fact, his first three films were all based on people he knew growing up. Castillo was not a gang member, but in his neighborhood there was always a friend or an older brother of a friend who

By Zamná Ávila, Assistant Editor NavyDays Returns After One Year HiatusHearts, Minds and Science Education is the Mission By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor

an Pedro wasn’t prepared when NavyDays came to town in 2011. Forty-two-thousand visitors arrived, creating snarling traffic jams on San Pedro’s main thoroughfares to and from the 110 Freeway. Thousands were trapped in long lines and stifling

heat to the NavyDays expo. The Port of Los Angeles corrected the problem in 2012 with the

creation of an advanced pre-registration process. In 2013, NavyDays was put on hiatus due to federal budget cuts.

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NavyDays Returns with a Mission/ to p. 3 Urban Storyteller/ to p. 4

Carson Mayor Dishes on Why Anti-Bullying Ordinance Failed p. 5

I-710 FWY Expansion: Advisory Committee Push for Full Spectrum Mitigation p. 8

Greater Influx of Artists Are Calling San Pedro Home p. 9

Filmmaker Kenneth Castillo Photo by Terelle Jerricks.

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

A houseful greeted the new members of the Long Beach City Council during July 15 mayoral inauguration ceremony at the Terrace Theatre.

The city swore in its youngest, first openly gay and first Latino mayor.

“As mayor I want to lead our city into the future,” said Mayor Robert García, 36, who was sworn in at the ceremony. “I want us to embrace our destiny as a great international city with good goals and with good peoples.”

García committed to passing a responsible budget, strengthening the city’s educational ties with the university, the community college and the school district. The goal is to strengthen public safety services and parks, he said. He wants to create a more sustainable city, which he envisions also would be innovative.

“We will move our city into the new century and we’ll do it together,” García said.

He also made a commitment to working with labor organizations and fighting poverty in the city.

“There are one in five of every one of our neighbors that tonight is struggling between finding healthcare for their children, childcare, food, or a roof over their head,” he said. “And, I believe that no matter what you do or where you live, we are all in the business of helping. We all

want to help.”Five out of nine new council members, a vice

mayor, a city attorney, a city prosecutor and a city auditor, also were sworn in during the ceremony.

Former García Chief of Staff Lena Gonzalez, now District 1 Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez,

was among the new council members sworn in that night. Her district includes part of the Port of Long Beach, the Wilmore historic neighborhood and parts of downtown Long Beach.

The diverse district has prospered in the past few years under the leadership of former Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal and former Councilman Robert García. However, it still faces challenges with regard to poverty, pollution from the port, and crime. Recognizing these challenges, Gonzalez made a pledge and a request to her constituents.

“I ask one thing of myself and I ask one thing of our first district residents: Let’s continue striving, but let’s also not underestimate ourselves,” Gonzalez said. “We are one of the most…complex, most wonderful districts.”

Newly elected District 9 Councilman Rex Richardson, whose district faces similar crime and poverty challenges, correlated these struggles to his personal experience.

“Our family, we’ve seen the ups and downs that life has to offer, from being born on an Air Force base in Bellville, Ill. to being raised in the backwoods of Pickets County, Ala., to finding and owning a home and setting roots here in the great City of Long Beach,” Richardson, 30, said.

“I was the kid who barely graduated high school. Statistically, I shouldn’t be here. And, you know, I went on to become the student body president in college and now the youngest councilman…in recent history. My story is not unlike many Long Beach families. It can be very different or it could be very similar. That’s what’s beautiful about our city: Its diversity.”

Indeed, the diversity in the nine-district city is evident not only in its leadership, but also in its geographic area, each having common and unique concerns, from public safety and traffic, to crime and poverty, to business and art support, to pollution and airport concerns.

City Auditor Laura Doud, who was re-elected and sworn in at the ceremony, used a metaphor to describe the city’s diversity and collaboration necessity in order for the city to prosper as a whole.

“Our beautiful, majestic California redwoods can grow up to 300 feet tall,” Doud said. “They can grow and weigh more than a million pounds, but their root system only grows down about 3 to 6 feet. You wonder, ‘What holds these trees up?’…Well, their root systems extend out, instead of going down, they close together and their root systems link together. So, ‘What holds them up?’ They hold each other up. The strength of the redwood trees is in linking themselves together.

“Truly, that is the strength of the City of Long Beach, how we end up all linked up together to support and strengthen each other as we strengthen this wonderful city.”

Long Beach Gets New Mayor, City Council By Zamná Ávila, Assistant Editor

State Attorney General Kamala Harris, right, swears in Long Beach Mayor-elect Robert Garcia, July 15 at the Long Beach Convention Center’s Terrace Theatre. Photo courtesy of the City of Long Beach.

District 9 Councilman-elect Rex Allen Richardson Jr. was sworn in by outgoing Councilman Steven Neal. Photo courtesy of the City of Long Beach.

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The Local Publication You Actually Read July 25 - August 7, 2014

Community Announcements:

Harbor AreaFrom Aug. 5 through 11, two active duty naval ships will make a port-of-call to San Pedro. Of the seven days the ships will be in the Los Angeles Harbor, five of those days will be dedicated to inspiring and encouraging youth to become interested in science, technology, engineering and math education, which are often jointly referred to as STEM.

NavyDays is an event organized by NavyDays–LA, an affiliate of the U.S. Navy League, an organization whose mission is to educate citizens about the importance of sea power while cultivating civilian support for its overall priorities.

The promotion of STEM education is one of those priorities following numerous studies that the United States is falling behind the rest of the world in math and science, leading to deficit in the number of American-born engineers and scientists.

In fact, sign-ups are available now for youth and school groups (5 to 18 years old) interested in participating in STEM Expo. That includes free ship tours. The expo also includes booths manned by high-tech military contractor companies. Neither the Port of Los Angeles nor NavyDays-LA would release the names of the ships visiting the port nor the military contractors who will be present at the Expo before Random Lengths went to press.

A look at the Navy League’s vision, reveals an organization that keeps a close eye on American military preparedness from now into the distant future, saying:

We are the primary, trusted source of information regarding the requirements of our Sea Services for the American people and their elected officials. Our advocacy is instrumental in obtaining the

support the Sea Services needs to operate effectively in defending the country, ensuring our economic security and protecting our citizens from both natural and man-made disasters. Our efforts help to ensure the strength of our Sea Service families. Our support of the Naval Sea Cadet Corps and other youth programs is recognized as an important contribution to the development of the next generation of Americans into productive members of society. This explains NavyDays-LA specific call to

the Boys Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Sea Cadets, Police Activities League, YMCA, JROTC and others that are interested. This is basically a public relations-recruitment exercise.

On these STEM Expo tours, groups of children from these organizations will enter the Expo Building in assembly line fashion and spend 4 minutes in front of each of the 10 to 12 corporate booths listening to the company’s high-tech product message. Every 5 minutes, a horn will sound and all groups will move down the line to the next corporate booth and a new message. This will repeat until each group visits all booths and exits the building to tour the ships. The Expo Building will be the Port of Los Angeles World Cruise Terminal.

Visiting ships in the past include the USS Wayne E. Meyer, USS Abraham Lincoln, and USS Gary. The public tours will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 9 and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 10.Details: http://tinyurl.com/NavyDaysLA

When a Road is Too FatThe Department of Transportation is

reconfiguring Pacific Avenue along the corridors of Cabrillo Avenue, Barton Hill and 15th Street elementary schools in San Pedro, in what they call a “road diet.”

This reconfiguration of the lanes and the stripping is an effort to improve pedestrian safety. Recently, the Department of Transportation presented the details of the plan to the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council. On July 28, representatives will repeat the presentation at the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the Cabrillo Marina Community Building.

The Pacific Avenue “road diet” has already started with the repaved portion south of 15th Street.

Fun Dental Care

FUNtastic Dental and Orthodontics will be offering free dental care for children younger than 17 years old, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 31, at its office in Long Beach.

Lines will begin at 7 a.m. This free day of dental care is a part of the Dentistry From The Heart event, created by Dr. Vincent Monticciolo.Details: www.FUNtasticDental.com, www.dentistryfromtheheart.orgVenue: FUNtastic Dental and OrthodonticsLocation: 2700 N. Bellflower Blvd., Suite 217, Long Beach

Future Leaders of North Long Beach

Learn how to become a leader in your community through the North Long Beach Leadership Training, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. through Aug. 3, at the Light & Life Church in Long Beach.

Government structure, community advocacy, public speaking and an overview of the community’s resources will be among the subjects taught in the workshops.Details: (562) 216 4645; FLivingston@lbcap.org.Venue: Light & Life ChurchLocation: 6465 Cherry Ave., Long Beach

Permits and Licensing WorkshopLearn the basic permits and licenses needed

to start a business in Los Angeles at the City of Los Angeles’ Permits and Licensing Workshop at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 5.Details: (310) 221-0644Venue: Harbor Business SourceLocation: 455 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Ducking the issue in TorranceMallard ducks are wandering within

residential areas and city parks. Torrance Animal Control is reminding residents that federal law strictly prohibits interfering with nesting ducks—or any other native or migratory breeding birds.

Allow them to continue on their way and do not try to guide or divert them. While most people associate ducks with ponds—they will seek for and use any water source available.

If your pool is selected as a water source, place a screen in front of your filter opening so the ducklings will be not be harmed.

If you encounter a sick, lethargic, injured, or dead duck, Torrance Animal Control Office will respond to pick-up the duck. Details: (310) 618-3850.

Critical Home Repairs for Veterans

Habitat for Humanity of Los Angeles is offering critical home repairs to qualified Los Angeles military families.

Qualified and selected home owners receive a variety of exterior home repair services including, but not limited to, exterior painting, landscaping, ramps, roofing, window and door replacements. Interior home repairs are available to households with a veteran, active service member or widow of a veteran residing in their home through the Habitat for Heroes Initiative.

Home owners participate in their repairs by contributing sweat equity volunteer hours if physically able. All home repairs are led by trained crew leaders To find out if you qualify and how to apply, contact the Homeowner Relations Department at (424) 246-3640.

NavyDays Returns with a Missionfrom p. 1

A student aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer during the NavyDays-LA 2012. Photo courtesy of the Port of Los Angeles.

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was a member of a gang. “And, I was someone who watched a lot,

even as a young child, I just always watched and picked people apart,” he said. “I used to work at my dad’s store. My dad used to have a lot of interesting characters come into his auto parts shop in downtown Wilmington and I would just watch and see how people would interact.”

To keep him out of trouble, his father sent him to Bishop Montgomery, a Catholic high school in Torrance. The experience has also contributed to his career.

“I had more growing up than the kids in my neighborhood, but I had less than the kids I went to school with,” he said. “It’s great to draw on all these things as a writer. I was always kind of in the middle of what I call a social and economic and cultural clash.”

Yet, Castillo had no idea he would grow up to become a filmmaker. He didn’t grow up among artists, but he loved movies his whole life. He describes his younger self as daydreamer who didn’t really fit anywhere.

While there were signs of what the future

held for him, such as his participation in a high school field to trip to a USC filmmaker conference. It wasn’t until graduating from high school, attending Los Angeles Harbor College for a year, completing an acting academy at Los Angeles City College and starting up his own theater production company with his wife, that he realized he was a filmmaker. He did not particularly care for the audition process.

“It was in the pursuing of acting that I realized that I was a director,”

are cartoons,” he explained. “They are not three- dimensional. They are the bad guys. There is a great scene in that movie where they are having a party and the cops show up at the party. This little boy has a crate and all the gangsters are throwing all the guns in the crate and he goes in the house. Well, that’s where my stories start. My stories start with that little boy in that house and who is there. It starts with that family and having to deal with these people in my backyard.”

Castillo pans and tracks his stories with a familiar, but unspoken, tagline, “It’s not a small world; it’s a small neighborhood.” To him, it is the neighborhood, not the gangs, which defines the urban genre.

“I’ve always had problems with the words ‘ghetto’ and ‘barrio.’ It was the neighborhood, ’cause that is something everybody can relate to. Everybody has grown up and there’s always been some level of danger in certain urban neighborhoods, no matter what the neighborhood was.”

Castillo explores causality and the ripple effect that his characters have on the overall community. This is especially true in the film’s main character whose actions trigger events in the connected lives of others in the community.

Two films that have helped transform the way he tells his stories are City of God and Pan’s Labyrinth.

“Both of them are similar in the sense that they take some very ugly elements and create something beautiful out of it, but they don’t diminish the ugliness and grittiness that’s in

those films,” he said. Castillo loves the Day of the Dead. He

invokes elements of the festivity into all of his works. Such is the case with his award-winning short film The Misadventures of Cholo Chaplín: Episode V, for which he was honored with an Imagén Award. The film was shown at the Warner Grand Theatre. Inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s silent films, The Misadventures of Cholo Chaplín is a series of short films that he created. There is a twist: the main character is a Latino with skeleton-painted face.

His second film, Ghostown, based on the Wilmington neighborhood known as Ghostown, also won the Best Dramatic Feature Award from the 2010 Reel Rasquache Film Festival. In 2013, the same festival awarded him the Trailblazer Award for Counterpunch, starting actor Danny Trejo. The movie was based on the life of Alvaro Orlando, a former boxer and repeat actor in Castillo’s films, who dealt with a bipolar type 2 diagnoses.

But his film trek is not without challenges. Castillo, a father of two, works part time as a mixologist to help supplement his income, while pursuing his filmmaking career.

The success of one film has helped get him funding for the next film. Moreover, financing his projects often proves difficult, from the initial funding to staying on budget, trying to get into film festivals, getting distribution and building an audience.

“It’s always difficult,” he said. “I’ve done six films, each one of them was at some point impossible. Each one of them was not going to get financed at some point. It’s hard raise money…for films that you care about, because Hollywood is only making a certain type of film and they are only going to market a certain type of film. And, my films aren’t necessarily it.

“It’s the worst thing you can possibly get into, but I love it,” he said. “I’m a storyteller I love it…I have a job, I have two kids and I have a wife, and I’ve still been able to do it as an artist.”

Castillo’s next project, which he is shooting in August, is about a single mom raising her daughter in a room in a garage. The single mom is trying to better herself by going to school. The little girl has to stay there during the summer because her mother cannot afford to have her anywhere else. The child creates her own world. She makes something very beautiful in a very ugly place.

Urban scripts will always be an element of his stories.

“As long as I have a story to tell in that genre, I’m going to,” he said.

Urban Storytellerfrom p. 1

develop.”Those experiences helped

him come across many of his actors. He also was able to find “diamonds in the rough” through acting services and referrals. One thing he doesn’t use at all is casting directors.

“The very specific reason for that is that having been an actor and been through the casting process, I don’t necessarily need them,” he said. “What my process does in terms of auditioning actors is to weed out the great auditioners from the great actors…actors come in and give me a horrible audition but I’ve seen something in them. So, I’ve given them a second chance and tried to nurture their audition. Now, most casting directors won’t take that time.”

Castillo tries to make his characters “three-dimensional.” To him, three-dimensional characters go beyond the dichotomy of good and bad through his recollection of the movie End of Watch.

“The gangsters in that film

Castillo said. “I didn’t go to film school. I didn’t take any directing classes. It was just something that was there and it took a long time for me to

Filmmaker Kenneth Castillo directing his film La Guapa. Photo by Terelle Jer-ricks.

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The Local Publication You Actually Read July 25 - August 7, 2014

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In Random Lengths News

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

Dear: Why Model Anti-Bullying Ordinance FailedBy Lyn Jensen, Carson Reporter

Being a schoolteacher by profession, Jim Dear has considerable experience dealing with the subject of bullying. As mayor of Carson, he wanted his city to be the first in the nation to adopt an anti-bullying ordinance. In an exclusive Random Lengths interview, he argued such an action is necessary because students need to understand the consequences of behavior that harms others.

Dear explained that in school, bullying may get a trip to the dean or a call to the parents but, “The same type of behavior [in school] that harms other people, when you’re an adult, you run up against the justice system.”

“So having an anti-bullying ordinance doesn’t just help the child who’s the victim, it helps the perpetrator--because it brings serious and professional intervention,” he asserted.

This spring Carson’s city council originally supported such an ordinance, then reversed itself. As an alternative, an anti-bullying workshop is tentatively scheduled for August but details are still being worked out.

Originally the council unanimously supported the item at its May 6 meeting. Over the next two weeks, three votes disappeared. As required by state law, there had to be a second reading—a second vote.

At the May 20 meeting, the proposal unexpectedly died when three council members switched sides. Dear and Mike Gipson voted, “Yes,” but Lula Davis-Holmes, Albert Robles, and Elito Santarina switched and voted “No.” A politician voting “yes” and “no” on the same item is a common ploy—but usually not between the first and second reading.

Explaining why the council majority reversed itself, the mayor provided some background. He said the original suggestion came from the city’s Human Relations Commission and was the result from several months of work.

Tina Keely, the Human Relations Commission chair, said Carson’s effort to pass an anti-bullying ordinance began about three years ago. “We want the adults to take more control,” she asserted, noting that Gipson declared his support during a parents’ conference several months ago. She added that had Carson’s model ordinance passed, it would have been the first of its kind, and that Rancho Santa Margarita is also considering such a law.

Dear recalled, “There are some anti-bullying organizations that exist throughout the country and a couple of those organizations--there were speakers at the meetings and they showed up and they had a rally at a park for anti-bullying efforts, and a press conference.” Carson’s proposed ordinance was essentially a response to these groups’ lobbying.

“Between the first reading and the second reading, a majority of the council members changed their minds,” Dear explained. Davis-Holmes reneged, while Robles and Santarina sided with her.

Keely said Davis-Holmes switched because, “the language

she wanted wasn’t in there.”“One council member had a relative that

was accused multiple times of being a bully, and she didn’t want the relative to have a [criminal] record,” Dear complained. He insisted the original proposal was watered down and compromised but Davis-Holmes still switched.

Davis-Holmes was not the only party who expressed dissatisfaction. The Los Angeles Times put its criticism into a May 9 editorial, “Carson would be better off hiring a trained civilian intervention officer to visit both families in cases of serious bullying.”

Construction Delayed

For many years the city has been trying to construct a major commercial-residential development, the Boulevards at South Bay, on the site of a former brownfield by the 405 freeway. Construction has been delayed several times. Dear blames the ongoing effects of the Great Recession of 2008-2009.

“It’s been moved back from 2016 to 2017,” Dear explained. “They’ve done the excavation, they now have to drive the piles, build the platforms, build the utilities and the buildings, and the parking lot, of course.”

Gipson’s Potential Move to Assembly

In the campaign to represent Assembly District 64, Mike Gipson won a comfortable majority of votes over three other candidates in the June primary. With the situation looking like he’s going to

elected to the Assembly come November, his seat on the council will open up.

Dear explained the council may then appoint someone to serve out the remaining two years of Gipson’s term or hold a special election. If they decide on the second option, it may be scheduled to coincide with the city’s regular March 2015 election. Dear says no obvious candidate for Gipson’s council seat has yet emerged.

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“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 CallLori Lynn Hirsch-Stokoe Food WriterAndrea Serna Arts WriterMalina Paris Culture WriterCalendar

Publisher/Executive EditorJames Preston Allenjames@randomlengthsnews.com

Assoc. Publisher/Production CoordinatorSuzanne Matsumiyainfo@graphictouchdesigns.com

Managing EditorTerelle Jerrickseditor@randomlengthsnews.comAssistant EditorZamná Ávilazamna@randomlengthsnews.com

14days@randomlengthsnews.comPhotographersTerelle Jerricks, Michael Justice, Robin Doyno, Phillilp Cooke

Contributors Greggory Moore, Peter Sheer, Danny Simon

Matt WuerkerAdvertising ProductionMathew Highland, Suzanne MatsumiyaAdvertising RepresentativeMathew Highlandreads@randomlengthsnews.comadv@randomlengthsnews.comEditorial Intern Joseph Baroud, Justine McCarthy Potter

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

—Mark TwainVol. XXXV : No. 15

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 loca-tions throughout the seven cities of the Harbor Area.

CartoonistsAnn Cleaves, Andy Singer,

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 adv@randomelengthsnews.com or reads@randomlengthsnews.com.Extra 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 2014 Random Lengths News. All rights reserved.

continued on following page

The public has grown accustomed to “pay to play” scandals and other misconduct at CalPERS, the nation’s largest public employee pension plan with more than $300 million in investments. Still, the former CEO’s guilty plea entered in federal court this past week was shocking even by CalPERS’ standards. Frederico Buenrostro, CalPERS’ top official from 2002 to 2008, acknowledged in his plea agreement with the government that he had taken $200,000 in cash bribes, delivered in paper bags and shoe boxes, to influence CalPERS’ investment decisions in private equity funds.

The paper bags and shoe boxes are a nice touch.

CalPERS and other public employee pensions, struggling to meet soaring obligations to retirees, have turned increasingly to alternative investments, and in particular to private equity deals, in order to boost their overall rates of return. Financial experts disagree about whether this strategy (also popular among college and

university endowments) is sound or poses too much risk for “defined benefit” pensions promising specific benefit payments upon retirement. (Think Social Security.)

Regardless of the outcome of that debate, there is no debating that private equity investments lack the transparency of investments in stocks, bonds and other publicly traded securities. There is very little that the public doesn’t know, or can’t easily find out, about CalPERS’ investments in publicly traded securities: their value, performance, amount of leverage (and other measures of risk), fees paid, officers’ compensation–to name just a few. But little, if any, of this information is available for private equity deals.

The “private” in private equity means secret. And secrecy in government decisionmaking, rarely a good thing, is especially dangerous when it hides an agency’s decisions about billions of dollars of investments. The secrecy surrounding CalPERS’ private equity investments, combined with the

Time to Shed Light on CalPERS’ Private Equity InvestmentsPeter Scheer, Executive Director of the First Amendment Coalition

I believe that the Founding Fathers of our republic enshrined the free exercise of religion, protection of free speech and freedom of the press in the Bill of Rights because they were the liberties that were the first to be abused.

History has proven them right and nothing has really changed. Free speech is still the first victim of an overreaching government.

Take for example a letter I received from the Los Angeles Superior Court’s Executive Officer Clerk Sherri R. Carter just a few days after our front page story ran, “Stop Or We’ll Shoot” (July 11-24, 2014 RLn). This story challenged the use of force policy at the Long Beach Police Department, whose chief, Jim McDonnell, now is running for Los Angeles County Sheriff.

The letter, titled “Re: Removal of all publications from the courthouse,” was prefaced with the following:

The Los Angeles Superior Court is concerned with ensuring the safe and orderly use of court facilities, maintaining proper judicial decorum in the courthouse and minimizing the activities which may disrupt or interfere with the orderly and peaceable conduct of the court business in a neutral forum free of actual or perceived partiality, bias, prejudice or favoritism. The court has a long standing General Order (copy attached) designed to achieve these goals in a content-neutral fashion.

It appears they are aiming to achieve this faux impartiality by excluding newspapers from the

more than a year ago, this newspaper hasn’t been distributed inside a courthouse. And, that the last time anyone distributed papers inside of the Long Beach Courthouse was when I was last called to jury duty, which predates the San Pedro closure. Some of you may recall me writing about my exercise in judicial dysfunction when I told the truth, under oath, to the judge about two black

defendants not getting a fair trial in the Long Beach court.

However, Random Lengths News is not the only publication that is targeted by this General Order. All publications are being targeted unless the publication is sanctioned as acceptable by a third party vendor inside the courthouse. So now, our press freedoms are being adjudicated by a commercial vendor? This has

got to be completely unconstitutional. The real crime here is not the outright censoring of what gets written, but the censoring—through prohibition—of the free distribution of ideas in a public space. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to fight this battle. Judges, school principals and city bureaucrats are often wanton to “control the dissemination” of publications, whose content they can’t control by other means.

It doesn’t stop there, the General Order goes on to prohibit “Demonstrations, Distributions, Solicitation and other Expressive Activity,” meaning that all of you who might also wish to otherwise petition the government for a redress of your grievances can’t do it at a public courthouse or anywhere “within 25 feet from either side of, or in front of the intersection of a courthouse walkway, let alone the public sidewalk near a courthouse. Read the full text of the General Order and the accompanying letter on our website.

My complaint is with the terms: distributions, solicitations and other expressive activity in the General Order. This language is overly vague and does not in any way accomplish the intended goal of providing, “ a neutral forum free of actual or received partiality...etc.”

With the advent of WiFi access at many courthouses and the universal availability of the Internet on any smartphone, this General Order is impossible to enforce, yet the presiding Judge David S. Wesley, insists upon enforcing it on traditional press distribution methods and other forms of protected speech such as newspapers, flyers and people demonstrating. This is an affront to our common liberty of free speech. It is an erosion of our fundamental right to read

First Amendment in JeopardyCensorship of Freedom at Los Angeles Superior Courts RevealedJames Preston Allen, Publisher

courthouse.Carter attached a copy of the General

Order reflecting the rules pertaining to news publications in court houses. The document was date stamped Feb. 22, 2013. This, of course, immediately calls into question the part of this being a “long standing General Order.”

The letter goes on to state that the court conducted a survey of facilities, revealing, “that numerous magazines and periodicals, including yours, are being distributed at one or more courthouse locations in violation of the General Order. Carter’s office then requested that we remove any news racks, stands or similar dispensers not later than Aug. 1, 2014.

The curious part of this “survey” is that since the closing of the San Pedro Courthouse,

what we choose and where we choose. This is an affront on our right to pick up such publications unfettered by the edicts of an overzealous government, no matter how cloaked it is in black judicial robes.

Judge Wesley’s General Order is a violation of our right to free expression enunciated in

our Bill of Rights. His order is so vaguely written and prejudicial in its enforcement that it constitutes a prima facie case of government sponsored censorship. This General Order just calls out for some exquisite form of civil disobedience to reverse this miscarriage of judicial administration.

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The Local Publication You Actually Read July 25 - August 7, 2014

RANDOMLetters

temptations facing CalPERS’ investment staff and directors, and the incentives of private equity managers and their agents, creates a climate in which (to put it mildly) the public interest is almost certain to be subordinated to private interests.

Excessive secrecy made it possible for Buenrostro to take bribes from his friend and former CalPERS’ director, Alfred J.R. Villalobos, and for Villalobos, who is also under indictment, to solicit multi-million-dollar finder’s fees from private equity firms for facilitating CalPERS’ investments in their funds. More recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission has raised questions about whether some private equity firms have ripped off their investors, including public pension funds, by accounting improperly for fees paid to related firms. This emerging scandal is also made possible by excessive secrecy–in particular, the secrecy surrounding CalPERS’ partnership agreements with private equity funds.

Secrecy serves the interests of private equity firms far

more than the interests of their investor-clients. Nonetheless, public pensions in California–not only CalPERS, but also CalSTRS, the pension fund for public school teachers, and the University of California’s endowment (which funds faculty pensions, among other things)–prevailed on the Legislature in 2007 to enact, for their private equity deals, secrecy protection that is excessive, unnecessary–and, consequently, dangerous. (The law, an amendment to the Public Records Act, is Government Code section 6254.26).

Although some degree of legal protection may be justified for genuine trade secrets and competitively sensitive business strategies (sections 6254.26(a)(1)&(4)), there is no basis for sealing up specifics on the legal and financial arrangements between CalPERS and its private equity funds. (Section 6254.26(a)(6)). The funds, of course, want to keep these records secret so investor A won’t be able to find out if investor B got a better deal. That certainly doesn’t benefit CalPERS (unless you believe,

CalPERS’ Investmentsfrom previous page

Editorial On Iraq “Slanted?”

I found Arthur Schaffer’s editorial on the events surrounding Iraq to be one of the most accurate accounts I have read.

Apparently, just because you did not agree on his opinion that President Bush did not lie about the “weapons of mass destruction,” you found it necessary to attack his character. I found that odd for a paper that brags about providing a free platform for debate. Must every letter writer hold your personal political beliefs in order to pass muster?

On the issue of whether the President lied or not I’m sure that as a journalist you are aware of the facts. Following the war 38 separate investigations were initiated in an attempt to prove that the President did indeed lie about the “weapons of mass destruction.”

Not one of these studies indicated the presence of a cover up or that any false claims were made. And the fact that the weapons were not there could have been the result of many scenarios. So, if any ones remarks were “off the cliff” as you charged they were yours, not Mr. Schaffer’s.

Ed KaufmanWilmington

Dear Mr. Kaufman, President George W. Bush has

said that the biggest regret of his

presidency was “the intelligence failure” in Iraq.

Even the Senate Intelligence Committee found in 2008 that his administration “misrepresented the intelligence and the threat from Iraq. The key CIA informant in Iraq admitted that he lied about his allegations, “then watched in shock as it was used to justify the war.”

In a speech before the World Affairs Council in Charlotte, N.C., on April 7, 2006, Bush stated that he “fully understood that the intelligence was wrong and [he was] just as disappointed as everybody else” when U.S. troops failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

“Of course, Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction to eliminate. Hundreds of thousands dead or wounded and trillions of dollars spent later and, according to Dick Cheney’s own metric, the United States ended up right back where it started in Iraq.” This last quote is from none other than Fox News—Go figure!

And, now it is reported that WMDs were finally found near the Syrian border, one might just want to ask “to whom do they belong?”

Clearly Bush and Cheney lied about what they knew before they invaded Iraq; that only now someone stumbled across a stash of somebody’s WMDs is beside the point. And, obviously not

everybody has to agree with our editorial positions or opinions.But facts are still facts. You have a right to your own opinions but not, as I said, to your own facts.

James Preston Allen, Publisher

Good People d. boon was way into this:“I hate a song that makes you

think that you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you are too old or too young or too fat or too slim too ugly or too this or too that. Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck or hard traveling.

I am out to fight those songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood. I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built.

I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work.”

—Woody Guthrie on songwriting

Me too, damn straight.Mike Watt San Pedro

MH 370 RevisitedThere are many theories as to

what happened to Malaysia Flight 370, although if you follow the money and see who the key players

are you can come to a logical conclusion as to what happened.

The jetliner disappeared in Singapore Airspace, which is a joint arrangement with Singapore Military and Israel intelligence that share headquarters in Singapore. The facility has radar and satellite surveillance. Both governments also share an Air Base in the Outback in North Perth, Australia called Bullsbrook. The connection for the missing jetliner is Israel Air and Space Wing, as they are the ones that put the hijacking all together. The motive for the hijacking was all about stealing technology!

Australia appears to being

going along with the cover-up as the Malaysian government has been paying for much of the search effort. This hijacking has been an embarrassment for the US as well as the Malaysian Government because there is little they can do. Obama Administration has little or no connection with Israel and it appears that they are looking the other way. We saw the same thing happen on 9/11. It was obvious that the truth was never exposed as to who was involved in letting 9/11 happen. In a similar situation, government intelligence agents want you to believe that the jetliner ran out of fuel and crashed in the Indian Ocean without any evidence

or proof.If the Malaysia Flight 370

would have completed its flight to Beijing, China would have had the technology that would have been damaging to both Israel and the U.S.

In conclusion, the Israel military is planning their next move in protecting their country from hostile neighbors. For more details about the high-tech cargo and what Israel plans to do with it, please see: “MH 370 Revisited: Malaysians Defy Zionist Disinformation”

John WinklerSan Pedro

against all odds, that CalPERS always negotiates the best deal.)

More important, secrecy for legal and financial deal terms puts CalPERS at a huge disadvantage in monitoring its private equity investments. The fund managers know everything about the fund investments, while CalPERS knows almost nothing. This all but assures that if an investment is experiencing severe but undisclosed financial difficulties, CalPERS won’t learn of it (until too late). And, this all but assures that if CalPERS is getting ripped off—whether due to fraud or mistake, whether on the part of the private equity firm or third-parties—that CalPERS will never detect it.

There is no substitute for transparency to uncover and deter abuse in financial investments. It’s time to shed some light on CalPERS’ private equity deals.

Peter Scheer is executive director of the First Amendment Coalition. The views expressed here are his alone; they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of FAC’s Directors.

See more at: http://f i r s t a m e n d m e n t c o a l i t i o n .o r g / 2 0 1 4 / 0 7 / t i m e - s h e d -light-calpers-private-equity-investments/#sthash.ymdJ05FE.dpuf

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n July 17, the 710 Community Advisory Committee once again affirmed its support for including a community-friendly

alternative, known as Community Alternative 7, in the upcoming Interstate 710 expansion environmental impact report or environmental impact statement evaluation. The California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, is expected to complete the evaluation by 2016.

The alternative devotes significant resources to alternative transportation—bikes, pedestrians, mass transit—as well as the Los Angeles River restoration and hiring of low-income workers, a truly holistic approach to dealing with the cumulative impacts of local and regional transportation projects of the past, present and future.

Advisory Committee Member Angelo Logan noted Caltrans tried to tell the board they couldn’t include the alternatives in their analysis.

“But at the end of the day, a lot of their rationale had nothing to do with why,” he said.

It’s just the latest example of the adage that “Caltrans starts at no.” The July 17 incident is just the latest phase of a prolonged struggle that began around 2000, when Caltrans’ original 710 planning process brought forth a proposal that would have destroyed hundreds of homes, while worsening the air for vulnerable communities. The high rates of asthma and other respiratory impacts have in recent years become community rallying points.

“It’s been a long, long journey,” said Joan Greenwood, an environmental consultant with a background in chemistry who also represents Long Beach District 7 on the Community Advisory Committee. In the course of that struggle, community activists and their allies formed the Coalition for Environmental Health and Justice, also known as CEHAJ, which was responsible for developing and promoting Community Alternative 7. In turn, the alternative has been supported by local elected officials and state representatives.

Lawmakers on the 710 Project Committee are expected to make a final decision on the project at the July 31 meeting. But even that body is only advisory. The state legislature passed a bill in both houses to force Caltrans to consider the Alternative 7 this past year, but Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the bill. Logan said Brown got “bad advice” from his staff.

Caltrans continues to insist that Community Alternative 7 includes elements that are either impracticable, illegal, or both. In a July 17 letter it cited four principle areas of disagreement: “Aggressive transit improvement strategy,” “Revitalization and restoration of the Los Angeles River,” “Targeted hiring measures to environmental justice populations,” and “Comprehensive pedestrian and bicycle element.”

But CEHAJ’s legal team responded with a detailed rebuttal of the legal arguments, and the practicability questions are just the sort of thing that an EIR/EIS is supposed to evaluate, Logan and other Community Advisory Committee members argue.

For example, Caltrans claims that both the transit and Los Angeles River proposals lie outside its authority to act.

“When they were considering putting utility

lines in platforms in [over] the river in first EIR/EIS, as an alternative, they did not claim they could not do that because it was in the jurisdiction of the Army Corps of Engineers,” Logan noted.

But community opposition is not Caltrans’ only problem, noted Carrie Scoville, who represents San Pedro on the Community Advisory Committee.

“This will be the third EIR,” she pointed out. “They couldn’t go from the last EIR into a final EIR because the market had changed so drastically.”

In particular, Scoville cited the shift in trucking patterns. Companies find it less costly to locate distribution warehouses close to the ports, reversing the trend that has produced so much truck traffic to the Inland Empire.

There’s also the impact of the Southern California International Gateway, the projected rail yard expansion.

“The SCIG project is going to take 1.5 million trucks off the I-710 and into the neighborhoods,” Greenwood noted. “Then, maybe we don’t need to do as much on the I-710.”

Other port projects, such as the Gerald Desmond Bridge, have impacts as well, Greenwood noted.

“Fundamentally, because of the time frame it takes to do a project of this magnitude and the number of communities involved, your typical 180-day cycle for an EIR/EIS just doesn’t apply,” she said. “Many of the technical studies done in mid-2000s that were defined and were given to the consultants to develop as part of developing the draft EIR/EIS became outdated.”

But community concerns expressed in draft EIR comments played a role as well, Greenwood said.

“The feeling was, you couldn’t adjust the issues that came out simply by responding to comments,” she said. “They had to update a lot of the technical studies.”

Greenwood has a two-sided view of the process. On the one hand, the fact that it has taken so long and has changed so much has already made it a much better project.

“I would say it’s the best example we’ve ever seen of CEQA really working for the community as it should,” she said.

But on the other hand, as a strong advocate of Community Alternative 7, she believes it has farther to go.

“CEQA [California’s Environmental Quality Act, the law governing the EIR process], unlike our other programs for hazardous materials, is really a more flexible, dynamic approach to mitigation,” Greenwood said. “And the question is, ‘Do you set precedents?’ Well, in setting precedents in CEQA, you do it by lawsuits. And so, to a certain extent, the project, because of the community involvement, really is setting a precedent under CEQA and what it gets back to, is how do you define a project? And, if you define a project as building a freeway, then the only way or thing you can mitigate is the direct impacts of the freeway. And so, this is probably the crux of the debate: is how do you define a project?”

The answer for Caltrans is relatively simple, Greenwood notes.

Full Spectrum Mitigation Pushed For 710 ExpansionCaltrans Still Resists Considering Community Alternative 7By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor

710 Mitigation/ to p. 19

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Continued on page 16.

In the past few years several successful artists have moved from the crowded and costly habitats of Santa Monica and Venice to the port town of San Pedro.

Their motivations vary slightly. Some Santa Monica and Venice Beach artists fled metropolitan congestion. Others were fleeing oppressive studio rental prices. But most commonly, their move to San Pedro was just a fresh start in a creative environment.

Much of the impetus has been the chaos thrust upon the arts community by the arrival of the Metropolitan Transit Line to the Bergamont Station arts complex. Traffic congestion and noise from the construction has impacted the quality of life for many artists trying to live creative lives in the area.

To compound the crisis, rents in and around the site recently increased by 200 to 300 percent. Hungry developers and city managers have identified the potential for additional retail space at the location. The well-known Track 16 Gallery at Bergamont Station was one of the first—after 18 years in operation—to receive an eviction notice. The gallery was located immediately in the path of the new train station. Now relocated to Culver City, the gallery has a reputation for hosting contemporary exhibitions with a punk vibe.

Track 16 curator Laurie Steelink was living in Mar Vista while working in Santa Monica. She seized the opportunity to reassess her life. Her mind recalled past visits to San Pedro. Various friends connected her to a studio on Pacific Avenue, which she calls ‘Cornelius Projects’.

“One of the reasons that I call it Cornelius Projects is because I want people to know that I am going to have exhibitions when the time is right,” Steelink said. “I want to do it when the subject and material that I have gathered is right.”

She launched her ‘project’ with This is Not An Art Show: Stencils, Zines and Flyers by Craig Ibarra. That show was followed up with The Mind of Joe Baiza. Cornelius Projects, located across the street from Harold’s Bar, seems to have plugged right into the

By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer

their move to San Pedro was just a fresh start in a creative environment

© 2014 John Van Hamersveld/Coolhous Studio

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A r t O p e n i n g s | F i n e D i n i n g | L i v e M u s i c | s p e c i A L p e r F O r M A n c e s | F O O D t r u c k s

Studio Gallery 345it’s suMMertiMeColor hot, color cool. Come on down. Pat Woolley and Gloria D Lee present paintings, cards, books, and monoprints. Open 6-9 pm on 1st Thursday and by appointment. For more information call Gloria at 310.545.0832 or Pat at 310.374.8055 • 345 W. 7th Street San Pedro

The Loft GalleryLOcAL cOLOrPresented by Randy Higbee and Carol Hungerford.Loft Artists: Candice Gawne, Carol Hungerford, Sam Arno, Daniel Porras, Murial Olguin, Jan Govaerts, Anne Marie Rawlinson, & Nancy Towne Schultz. • Open First Thursday 6–9 p.m. Open Saturdays & Sundays 2-5 p.m. • 401 S. Mesa St. • 310.831.5757

Michael Stearns Studio 347

richArD Á. LOpez; YOseMite YeArsThis month I am showing the work of my dear friend Richard Lopez. Richard left us very unexpectedly last year, but he left behind a vast body of work, much that has never been seen. Pieces in this show date back to his artist residency in Yosemite National Park. It is a lush exhibit of landscape and contemporary abstract work. Opens during First Thursday Artwalk, Aug. 7 from 6 - 9 pm. at Michael Stearns Studio 347 located at 347 W. 7th St., San Pedro.

National WatercolorSociety

2014 ALL MeMber exhibitiOnRuns through August 17. Regular gallery hours are Thursdays through Sundays, 11am - 3pm. 915 S. Pacific Ave. www.nationalwatercolorsociety.org

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www.SanPedroBid.com

Theater Elysium San Pedro Repertory company is one of the new kids on the proverbial block.

They moved into San Pedro less than a year ago and converted a former doctor’s office on Seventh and Centre streets into their headquarters for acting classes and productions. The productions so far have been based on George Bernard Shaw, Alan Jay Lerner and Fredrick Loewe versions of Hamlet and the critically acclaimed Wouldn’t It Be Lovely, A Modern Fairytale, with the productions

spilling out from the theater into the backyard of their locale.

Both of these productions pushed the envelope a little. Hamlet, one of the greatest plays in the English repertory, was a remarkable gamble for a new company just trying to establish itself. Wouldn’t It be Lovely was equally challenging, mixing music and Shaw convincingly, and its success was a testimony to the vision of Aaron Ganz, the company’s artistic director.

By John Farrell, Curtain Call Columnist

TE San Pedro Rep PresentsThe Lady of Shalott

Continued on page 15.

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

Enjoy Dinner Before the

Show At:

Into the WoodsFrI–sun 8/15–17 | 2 & 7pmWelcome back The Troupe with Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning musical that weaves together stories and characters plucked from some favorite childhood tales (Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel & more). $5-$27. Troupescoop.com.

Guys and dollsFrI-sun 8/8–10 | 2, 4, & 8pmOur young “Scalawags” return with Frank Loesser’s award-winning musical of gangsters, gamblers and characters from the New York underworld. $25 and $15. Tickets & info at www.scalawagproductions.org

The Warner Grand Theatre is a facility of the City of Los Angeles, operated by the Department of Cultural Affairs. For Information and Tickets, Please Visit WarnerGrand.org or GrandVision.org. Events, dates, show times and ticket prices are subject to change without notice.

Graphic courtesy of TE of San Pedro Rep

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entertainment

Calendar continued on page 15.

BoardWalk GrIllC a s u a l w a t e r f r o n t d in ing a t i t s finest! Famous fo r s l a b s o f Chicago-sty le baby back ribs, fish-n-chips, rich clam chowder,

cold beer on tap and wine. Full lunch menu also includes salads, sandwiches and burgers. Indoor and outdoor patio dining available. Proudly pouring Starbucks coffee. Open 7 days a week. Free Parking. Boardwalk Grill • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 519-7551

Buono’s authentIc pIzzerIaA S a n P e d r o landmark for over 40 years, famous for except ional a w a r d - w i n n i n g pizza baked in brick ovens. Buono’s also offers classic Italian dishes and

sauces based on tried-and-true family recipes and hand-selected ingredients that are prepared fresh. You can dine-in or take-out. Delivery and catering are also provided. Additionally, there are two locations in Long Beach. Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. • Buono’s Pizzeria • 1432 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro • (310) 547-0655 www.buonospizza.com

el cuco restaurantP l a y a E l C u c o i s t h e quintessential El Salvadorean beach and El Cuco Restaurant s e r v e s quintessential

Salvadorean cuisine right here in San Pedro. A wide variety of pupusas-made fresh daily-plus empanadas, platanos, pastelitos, as well as authentic Mexican favorites. Wine and imported and domestic beers. Breakfast, lunch and dinner served 7 days a week. Free parking. El Cuco Restaurant • 234 N. Pacific Ave., San Pedro • (310) 521-9509

happy dInerThe Happy Diner isn’t your average diner. If you pay attention to their special menu on their blackboards (yeah plural, they have about three), it’s almost a certainty you’re going to find something new from week to week. The

cuisine runs the gamut of Italian and Mexican cuisine to American continental. The Happy Diner chefs are always creating something new. They believe that if an item is good, its reputation will get around by word of mouth. You can even find items normally found at curbside lonchera trucks. You can take your pick of grilled salmon over pasta or tilapia and vegetables, prepared anyway you like. Another item that’s emerged from their flair for the creative is their chicken enchiladas soup made from scratch, a soup Roman describes as very thin and flavorful. Happy Diner • (310) 241-0917 • 617 S. Centre St., San Pedro

the orIGInal las BrIsasLas Brisas #2 is family owned and operated. All the food in made in house, down to the chips and salsas. Las Brisas is known for its Al Pastor meat

and Signature Dishes created b y c h e f G i l b e r t o D e Haro. Catering a v a i l a b l e . Breakfast, lunch a n d d i n n e r served 7 days

a week. Free parking. Las Brisas #2 • 1110 N. Gaffey St. (Channel & Gaffey) • San Pedro • (310) 833-4395

lIGhthouse caFeThe favorite local cafe for the point Fermin area of San Pedro great b r e a k f a s t s , l u n c h e s a n d ev e n d i n n e r s .

Serving traditional offering for breakfast along with specialty omelets, espresso and cappuccino. Lunches include a delicious selection of soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches with hearty portions as well as Chef’s Creations. Dinners feature Top Sirloin Steak or Prime Rib as well as a kids menu. Beer and wine are served. Free Wi-Fi and is pet friendly on the patio. Open 7 days a week 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. close to Cabrillo Beach and the Korean Bell, Point Fermin area. Lighthouse Cafe • 508 West 39th St., San Pedro. 310- 548- 3354

mIshI’s strudel Bakery Mishi’s is a fragrant landmark on 7th S t r e e t , w h e r e it is possible to f ind Nirvana by following your nose. The enticing aroma of baking strudel is impossible to res is t , and the café is warm and welcoming like your favorite auntie’s house. Aniko and

Mishi have expanded the menu to include homemade goulash, soups and a variety of sweet and savory Hungarian strudels, crépes and pastas. Take a frozen strudel home to bake in your own kitchen and create that heavenly aroma at your house. Mishi’s Strudel Bakery and Café, 309 W.7th St., San Pedro • (310) 832-6474 www.mishisstrudel.com

nazelIe’s leBanese cuIsIneN a z e l i e ’ s L e b a n e s e C u i s i n e i s a favorite of the neighborhood for the terrific kabobs, beef o r c h i c k e n s h a w a r m a , lamb dishes and

falafel. Nazelie’s chicken and rice soup with lemon is like a warm embrace—it takes chicken soup to a whole new level. Nazelie uses a recipe handed down in her family for generations, starting with homemade chicken broth, and adding a refreshing touch of lemon for taste and nutrients. Nazelie’s Lebanese Café, 1919 S.Pacific Avenue, San Pedro. (310) 519-1919

phIlIe B’s on sIXthOwner Philie Buscemi welcomes you to Philie B’s on Sixth, where New York style pizza, Sicilian rice balls and pizza by-the-slice are the specialties. Fresh hot or cold sandwiches, gourmet pizzas, and fresh salads are also served. Try the “White Pizza” with smooth ricotta, mozzarella and

sharp Pecorino-Romano cheeses topped with torn fresh basil. Extended hours accommodate San Pedro’s unique lifestyle and work schedules. Catering and fast, free local delivery ($15 min.) avai lable. Philie B’s On Sixth • 347 W. 6th Street, San Pedro (310) 514-2500 www.

philiebsonsixth.com

ports o’call WaterFront dInInGSince 1961 we’ve extended a hear ty welcome to visitors from every corner of the globe. Delight in an awe-inspiring view of the dynamic LA Harbor while enjoying exquisite

Coastal California Cuisine and Varietals. Relax in the Plank Bar or Outdoor Patio for the best Happy Hour on the Waterfront. With the Award-Winning Sunday Champagne Brunch, receive the first SPIRIT CRUISES Harbor Cruise of the day FREE. Open 7 days, lunch and dinner. Free Parking. ports O’Call Waterfront Dining • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 76, San Pedro • (310) 833-3553 www.Portsocalldining.com san pedro BreWInG company

A mic robrewer y and American gr i l l , SPBC features hand-craf ted award-winning ales and lagers served with creative pastas, bbq, sandwiches, salads and burgers. A full bar with made-from-scratch margaritas and a martini menu all add fun

to the warm and friendly atmosphere. WI-FI bar connected for Web surfing and e-mail—bring your laptop. Live music on Saturdays. Hours: From 11:30 a.m., daily. San Pedro Brewing Company • 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro • (310) 831-5663 • www.sanpedrobrewing.com

spIrIt cruIsesAn instant party! Complete with all you need to relax and enjoy while the majesty of the harbor slips by.

Our three yachts and seasoned staff provide for an exquisite excursion every time, and “all-inclusive” pricing makes party planning easy! Dinner Cruise features a 3-course meal, full bar, unlimited cocktails and starlight dancing. Offering the ultimate excursion for any occasion. Free Parking. Spirit Cruises • 1199 Nagoya Way, LA Harbor - Berth 77, San Pedro • (310) 548-8080, (562) 495-5884 • www.spiritmarine.com

the Whale & aleSan Pedro’s British Gastro Pub offers comfortable dining in oak paneled setting, featuring Engl ish f ish & chips, roast prime

rib, sea bass, rack of lamb, beef Wellington, meat pies, salmon, swordfish & vegetarian dishes. Open for lunch & dinner, 7days/wk; great selection of wines; 14 British tap ales, & full bar. Frequent live music. First Thursday live band & special fixed price menu. Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri. 11:30 a.m.-midnight Sat. & Sun. 1-10 p.m. Bar open late. The Whale & Ale • 327 W. 7th St., San Pedro • (310) 832-0363 • www.whaleandale.com

July 25Kofi Baker, Fran Banish, Robertino Pagliari Kofi Baker, Fran Banish and Robertino Pagliari are scheduled to perform at 8 p.m. July 25, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. As the son of legendary drumming icon Ginger Baker, Kofi Baker has a name that’s synonymous with drumming excellence. Kofi lives up to his name with his outstanding skills, drive and dedication, continuing the great Baker legacy. Suggested donation is $20.details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom.comVenue: Alvas ShowroomLocation: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

RevolverRock Band Revolver will be at San Pedro Brewing, starting at 10 p.m. July 25. The cover is $3.details: www.sanpedrobrewing.comVenue: San Pedro Brewing Co. Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro

Hell’s Belles Burlesque ShowCheck out the Hell’s Belles Burlesque Show, starting at 9 p.m. July 25, at Harvelle’s in Long Beach. Hell’s Belles Burlesque is an all girl dance review that blends modern dance cabaret and classic pin-up burlesque. The cover is between $15 and $30 for people 21 years or older. There is a two drink minimum.details: http://longbeach.harvelles.com/Venue: Harvelle’s, Long BeachLocation: 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach

July Birthday Bash with Joe KincaidJoe Kincaid and the Soul Brothers Band will perform with special guest artist Hank Carbo, July 25, at Roscoe’s Seabird Lounge in Long Beach. There’s no cover and there is free parking.details: www.seabirdjazzloungelbc.com/Venue: Roscoe’s Seabird LoungeLocation: 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach

JuLy 26Sir Sultry QuintetThis night Alvas is presenting a special Jazz Flamenco treat, the Sir Sultry Quintet, starting at 8 p.m. July 26. The suggested donation is $20.details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom.comVenue: Alvas ShowroomLocation: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

The Voodoo Fix’s EP Release Party The Voodoo Fix’s EP release party will take place starting at 9:45 p.m. July 26, at Harvelle’s in Long Beach. The Voodoo Fix built a style that sounds like the bastard son of The Rolling Stones and Funkadelic. Southern California rockers, Robert Jon and the Wreck, have been together since 2011. The cover is $10.details: www.longbeach.harvelles.com/Venue: Harvelle’s, Long BeachLocation: 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach

July 27Music by the SeaThe last weekend of this year’s Music by the Sea will take place, from 12 to 5 p.m. July 27, at Point Fermin Park. The event feature such bands as The Hellhounds, The SuperFreaks and TJ Rox. In its 19th year, this annual musical event is free and set up to benefit the nonprofit organization, the Harry Bridges Institute with concert goer donations. Just make your check out to “Harry Bridges Institute” and put Music by the Sea in the memo spot so that it gets applied to us. Mail it to: Michael Caccavalla, P.O. Box 736, San Pedro, CA. 90731.details: http://www.musicbythesea.orgVenue: Point FerminLocation: The end of South Gaffey, San Pedro

Funkface Funkface will perform, starting at 4 p.m. July 27, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. Funkface is a funk and jazz fusion thing, 70s vibe featuring Tim Campbell on bass, Grammy winner Anton Pukshansky on guitar, Kevin Maloney on keys, Lyndon Rochelle on drums, and Charles Pollard Jr. on trombone. The suggested donation for the event is $20.details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom.comVenue: Alvas ShowroomLocation: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

July 28Broadway undergroundBroadway Underground will take place, starting at 8:30 p.m. July 28, at Harvelle’s in Long Beach. Broadway Underground is a modern artistic revolution —a cultural revival featuring local music, avante-garde artists and drink specials every Monday night. The cover is $5

July 25 – August 7, 2014ACE: Arts •

Cuisine • Entertainm

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Now he is attempting another innovation, turning Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s dramatic poem “The Lady of Shalott” into a play, with performances beginning Aug. 8 and running through Sept. 21.

“First and foremost, we are artistic adventurers at TE San Pedro Rep,” said Ganz, in an email conversation. “As a company, we strive to push the boundaries of storytelling, seeking to bring to life the sharpest elements of the human condition.

“In the fall, we took on the classic story of Hamlet; in the spring, we tackled the beloved My Fair Lady story; and now we present The Lady of Shalott as a window into the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.”

“The Lady of Shalott” is one of the best-known poems by Tennyson, a work that has been interpreted, in paint and in drawings, in literary works and in music, in the almost 200 years since Tennyson first published it.

It tells the story of the Lady who can only watch the world of Camelot pass by in a mirror, until she faces the curse and looks directly at the world and the knight, Sir Lancelot. She then takes a boat and glides down the river to Camelot, dying before she arrives. The story is simple: The ramifications of artistic vision, of artistic isolation and of final passion can be fascinating.

This is “the story of a woman trapped in a tower by a curse that has wiped away all of her memories, yet she suddenly comes to life and overthrows the curse when she hears Lancelot singing from a distance,” Ganz said. “How does she know Lancelot? What ties does she have to Camelot and the world of King Arthur and the Round Table? Who is this lady? It’s a poem that leaves us with more questions than answers and questions inspire artistic curiosity. They’re a blank canvas of a sort, waiting for creative interpretation. As I wondered at who this woman could be, I started pulling on that thread and she revealed herself to be the key that unlocked a deeper understanding of the world of Camelot.

“The poem is a jumping off point. It’s the beating heart of this woman’s story, and as Tennyson was the author and the creator of her world, we’ve chosen to use his poetry from “Idylls of the King” as a textual spine that binds the interdisciplinary mediums of artistic expression that are prevalent in this production. Our telling of The Lady of Shalott will come to life in front of your eyes through poetry, dance, music, song, shadow work and more, all in service of honoring that great distinction between live theater and film. Theater brings the story alive in front of you, within you. We’ll weave our audience into the story’s ‘magic web’ to ensure that each audience member has a visceral experience of the full weight of this legend.”

TE San Pedro Rep moved to San Pedro from an earlier home in a gymnatorium in La Crescenta.

“But then the building was sold out from underneath us and we had to search for a new

Continued from page 13.

home,” Ganz said in an earlier interview. “We searched all over but couldn’t find a place. I hadn’t even heard of San Pedro at that time.”

Ganz is originally from Toronto. “We started exploring the area and found

restaurants, bars, the Little Fish Theatre right next door,” he said. “It felt like San Pedro was the right next step from La Crescenta. It has been a love affair for us ever since.”

He seconded that this weekend. “For the first time in the history of our

company, we have truly found an artistic home here in San Pedro,” he said. “The sincere support that our surrounding community has shown us more than matches the hope we came here with just one year ago.”

Ganz said the theatre group has drawn its largest audience ever since moving to San Pedro as they contine to increase their roster of sponsors throughout downtown San Pedro.

“We couldn’t be more proud to be a part of what San Pedro is building and we have been welcomed as an important contributor to San Pedro’s rise to becoming a truly unique cultural destination,” Ganz said.

“In fact, many of the stylistic choices that shaped our telling of The Lady of Shalott have been inspired by the artistic community around us.”

Ganz said that Shalott at its core is an eclectic theatrical experience that brings an art gallery of exhibits to life, thereby celebrating the conglomeration of theater companies and art galleries present in the neighborhood.

TE San Pedro Rep plans to include a guest director coming in the fall to explore the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripedes. Next season, there will be more productions, starting with Much Ado About Nothing, the Joan of Arc story and “a dive into the world of Chekov,” Ganz said.

The Lady of Shalott opens Aug. 8 and runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through Sept. 21. Previews are Aug. 8 through 11. Tickets for previews are $20. Regular performances begin Aug. 15. No performances are scheduled for Aug. 29 through 31. Tickets are $25 and $20 for students.Details: (424) 264-5747; www.sanpedrorep.orgVenue: TE San Pedro RepLocation: 311 W. 7th st., San Pedro

The Lady of Shalottfor people 21 years old and older. There’s a two drink minimum. details: http://longbeach.harvelles.com/Venue: Harvelle’s, Long BeachLocation: 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach

JuLy 29Arrogant Bastard underground ComedyArrogant Bastard Comedy Underground will take place, starting at 9 p.m. July 29, at Harvelle’s in Long Beach. The cover is $5 for people 21 years old and older. There’s a two drink minimum. details: http://longbeach.harvelles.com/Venue: Harvelle’s, Long BeachLocation: 201 E. Broadway, Long Beach

JuLy 30Magic Bullet TheoryMagic Bullet Theory will perform, starting at 8 p.m. July 30, at Godmothers Saloon in San Pedro. The jazz, funk band is known on both sides of the Harbor. There’s no cover. details: www.godmotherssaloon.comVenue: Godmothers SaloonLocation: 302 W. 7th St., San Pedro

JuLy 31Mark de Clive-Lowe at Historic union StationJazz meets the dance floor with Mark De Clive-Lowe and his musicians, from 7 to 9 p.m. July 31, at Downtown Los Angeles’ Union Station. One of the key musicians in the broken beat and nu jazz movements, Mark de Clive-Lowe blends jazz, ethnic music and urban grooves into a 21st-century sound. details: metro.net/unionstationVenue: Fred Harvey Room, Union StationLocation: 800 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles

Live Band KaraokeLive band karaoke takes place at 8 p.m. July 31, at Godmother’s in San Pedro. Sing your favorite songs backed by a live band. The playlist include rock, and rhythm and blues selections. details: www.godmotherssaloon.comVenue: Godmothers SaloonLocation: 302 W. 7th St., San Pedro

auGust 1Carl Verheyen GroupThe Carl Verheyen Group will perform, starting at 8 p.m. Aug. 1, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. Carl Verheyen is commonly regarded as a guitar virtuoso capable of playing any style of music with remarkable mastery and conviction. The suggested donation is $20.details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom.comVenue: Alvas ShowroomLocation: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Tres HombresRock band, Tres Hombres will be performing, starting at 10 p.m. Aug. 1, at San Pedro Brewing Co. The cover is $3.details: www.sanpedrobrewing.comVenue: San Pedro Brewing Co. Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedro

auGust 2James kimo West & FriendsJames Kimo West & Friends will perform, starting at 8 p.m. Aug. 2, at Alvas Showroom in San Pedro. Spend an Evening with Hawaiian Slack Key Master, Jim “Kimo” West featuring hula by Amanda Taketa and Kevin Tsutsui and special guests. The suggested donation is $20.details: (800) 403-3447; www.alvasshowroom.comVenue: Alvas ShowroomLocation: 1417 W. 8th St., San Pedro

Sure Shot RockersReggae band Sure Shot Rockers will be performing, starting at 10 p.m. Aug. 2, at the San Pedro Brewing Co. The cover is $3.details: www.sanpedrobrewing.comVenue: San Pedro Brewing Co. Location: 331 W. 6th St., San Pedr

auGust 7Rock on the Dock with Michael BradfordFaragher Product ions presents b lues , rock musician and songwriter, Michael Bradford, from 7 to 11 p.m. Aug. 7, at the Grand Annex in San Pedro. Bradford has worked with Madonna,

Kid Rock, and Ringo Star and now he’s bringing his grooves to San Pedro. Soul pop artists David & Devine share the stage and The Neighborhood Bullys open the show. details: www.grandvision.org/Venue: Grand AnnexLocation: 434 W. 6th St., San Pedro

July 25Fiddler on the RoofFiddler is based on Sholem Aleichem’s stories by special permission of Arnold Perl. Set in the little village of Anatevka, Tevye, a poor dairyman, tries to instill in his five daughters the traditions of his tight-knit Jewish community in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia. Rich in historical and ethnic detail, Fiddler has touched audiences around the world with its humor, warmth and honesty. The universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality and religion, leaving audiences crying tears of laughter, joy and sadness.Production runs until Aug. 16, Fridays and Saturdays at 8p.m. on Sundays at 2 p.m.details: http://www.lbplayhouse.org/Venue: Long Beach PlayhouseLocation: 5021 E. Anaheim Street Long Beach

The Threepenny OperaWritten by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Eric Hamme, and musical direction by Ellen Warkentine, the Threepenny Opera is Brutal, scandalous, perverted; yet humorous, hummable, and with a happy ending. Bertolt Brecht’s revolutionary masterpiece is one of the earliest and most successful attempts to introduce jazz into the theatre. Dig it! Runs from Aug. 1st – Aug 30, 2014 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Admission on opening night is $20. General admission after the first night is $18, and $15 for students/seniors/teachers.details: http://thegaragetheatre.org/Venue: Garage TheatreLocation: 251 E. 7th St, Long Beach

JuLy 29Man of La ManchaMan of La Mancha is playing, from July 29 through Aug. 24, at the San Pedro Theatre Club. This is musical adapted from Dale Wasserman’s non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s 17th century masterpiece Don Quixote. It tells the story of the “mad” knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. details: (310) 773-4964; www.thesanpedrotheatreclub.comVenue: The San Pedro Theatre ClubLocation: 624 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

auGust 1Movie on the WaterGather at the Downtown Harbor for a showing of Big, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Aug. 1, at a barge on the water. Bring your chair and find a seat on land to watch the movie. It’s free.Venue: Downtown Harbor PlazaLocation: 5th at Harbor Boulevard, San Pedro

auGust 8time stands stillA moving story of relationships, midlife crises and the ties of friendship. After barely surviving a bomb blast in Iraq, photojournalist Sarah Goodwin returns home into the care of her long-time lover James. Sarah is caught off guard by his desire for family and amused by the simple domestic life pursued by Richard, her editor, and his much younger girlfriend Mandy. All seats open seating except for season subscribers. No late seating. Runs from Aug 8. to Sept. 6, Fri & Sat at 8 p.m. and Sun Aug. 24 at 2 p.m.details: http://www.littlefishtheatre.org/, (310) 512-6030 or text (424) 226-6030Venue: Little Fish TheatreLocation: 777 S. Centre St., San Pedro

Theater/Film

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Still photo of a scene in The Lady of Shallot. Photo courtesy of TE San Pedro Rep

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Calendar from page 15.

punk history of San Pedro. Moreover, because of her Westside connections, Steelink has been able to pull art and music lovers down the 405 into the Harbor Area. Her exhibits have been reviewed by L.A. Weekly and KCRW. Punk rocker Henry Rollins showed up for The Mind of Joe Baiza.

Recently, the arrival of John Van Hamersveld and his wife and business partner, Alida Post, to the former Williams Bookstore location on 6th Street has created a flurry of excitement for downtown San Pedro.

Hamersveld has had a legendary career as a graphic artist. His autobiography Drawing Attention, records the amazing journey. It is impossible to overstate his impact on popular culture. His very first success, while still attending school at the Art Center in Los Angeles was the iconic “DayGlo” poster image from the Endless Summer surf film in 1963. At the same time he helped to create an incredible visual impact for Surfer Magazine, a publication that helped to distract millions of young teenagers of the day. As a teenager, my own bedroom walls were covered with these images.

It was an incredible beginning to a 50-year career that led to images familiar to millions around the world.

He naturally migrated to the music industry. In 1972 Van Hamersveld created the album cover for the Rolling Stones’ masterpiece, Exile on Mainstreet. The album, covered with an

assortment of circus freaks perfectly represented the Stones notorious reputation at the time. He continued to create cover art for Cream, Bob Dylan and many more.

Infamous street artist Shepard Fairy cites Van Hamersveld’s Jimi Hendrix poster ‘Pinnacle Hendrix’ as a “perfect image, impossible to improve upon.” Fairey has said Hamersveld’s posterized black and white style informs much of the street art of today.

Van Hamersveld and Post moved their studio to San Pedro after reaching a point of total frustration with life in Santa Monica.

“It just became a nightmare,” Post said. “We were so trapped. I called it the Donner Pass, trying to get past the 405. It was a quality of life issue. I was looking for a place to live in a city that I didn’t want to live in.”

In the middle of their search for a way out of Santa Monica they came to San Pedro to look at the Bank Loft building. Although they found the lofts attractive, the apartments were too small for a studio. However they noticed the abundance of available rentals on 6th and 7th streets.

Eventually, they found a classic mid-century house above Western Avenue. After buying the home, they discovered the newly vacated Williams Bookstore location on 6th Street. They realized that they could use the location as a work studio for Van Hamersveld and a venue for Post to open her project: Post-Future, a store for art, books

DrawIng attentIon

JuLy 26The Summer Show lll The Summer Show III takes place, from 7 to 9 p.m. July 26, at Stone Rose Gallery in Long Beach. More than 60 of the finest local artists from Long Beach, San Pedro and beyond will be displaying their works in the third annual summer exhibition. Stone Rose is known for fine contemporary art and this is expected to be a major show. details: stonerosegallery.com Venue: Stone Rose GalleryLocation: 342 E. 4th St., Long Beach.

auGust 1 Los Angeles Quilt Show and Fiber Art FestThe inaugural Los Angeles Quilt Show and Fiber Art Fest takes place, Aug. 1 through 3, at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles. The fest provides a venue for quilters of all levels to show their work in a public space, participate in a professional and peer-juried competition, and interact with quilting guilds, supply companies, teachers and fiber artists of all kinds. Patsy Johnson will curate the event.detail: www.laquiltshow.com/the-show/Venue: Crafted at the Port of Los AngelesLocation: 112 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

auGust 2All Themes ConsideredAll Themes Considered takes place, from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 2, at the South Bay Contemporary Art Gallery in Rolling Hills Estates.detail: www.southbaycontemporary.com/Venue: South Bay Contemporary GalleryLocation: 550 Deep Valley Dr., Rolling Hills Estates

AuGuST 3What We Censor, What We Don’tEl Imagenero’s show, questioning censorship rules in our current society, opens from 4 to 9 p.m. Aug. 3, at the Croatian Cultural Center of Greater Los Angeles. It starts with a VIP hosted reception and the music of Rebecca Lynn. Venue: Croatian Cultural CenterLocation: 510 W. 7th St., San Pedro

auGust 7First Thursday ArtwalkCelebrate fine art and enjoy live music in Downtown San Pedro.Venue: San Pedro Waterfront Arts DistrictLocation: Downtown San Pedro

Life FormsLife Forms will be exhibited, from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 7, at Angels Ink Gallery in San Pedro. Daniel du Plessis, Nancy Grenier, Kimiko Myoshi, Michael Paieda and Jamie Sweetman explore plant and animal beings and systems, and their interconnectivity to human beings. details: (310) 541-4354Venue: Angels Ink GalleryLocation: 366 W. 7th St., San Pedro

Lenchner GlassOriginal fused glass art from Lenchner Glass will be featured, from 5 to 10 p.m. Aug. 7, at Gallery 741. Selected works by San Pedro Candice Gwane and Pat Wooley will be on display. details: lenchnerglass.comVenue: Gallery 741Location: 741 S. Pacific Ave., San Pedro

AuGuST 9Ernest HemmingwayLecturer Gregorio Luke brings Ernest Hemmingway to his outdoor lecture series, starting at 8 p.m. Aug. 9 at Granada Beach in Long Beach. This is a free, outdoor, multimedia presentation.details: (562) 305-0133Venue: Granada BeachLocation: Granada Avenue at Ocean Blvd., Long Beach

auGust 102014 san pedro all Grades student art CompetitionSan Pedro Art Association invites the public to attend an artists reception and award presentation Aug. 10, at Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles. View art work from students in high school, middle school and grade school categories.details: (310) 831-2928Venue: Crafted at the Port of Los AngelesLocation: 110 E. 22nd St., San Pedro

and education. Post is especially interested in connecting with the elementary and high schools in town.

The plus for them was the historical connection to the bookstore.

“I decided I have got to grab this so nobody can destroy it,” said Post, an avid reader and admirer of Charles Bukowski. “We came from a place that wasn’t what it was anymore. Then we came here and everything about it reminds us of what we loved about growing up in Los Angeles.”

Post was raised in Los Angeles and Van Hamersveld grew up in Lunada Bay. During his early years he surfed the local waters, which explains his early influence in surf culture.

Artist Elwood Risk had been living and working in the Westside for 20 years when economics triggered his search for a new location.

Risk’s abstract works are based in his industrial background as a drywall hanger and house painter. Today, he is represented by galleries in Los Angeles, New York and London. Connections to television and movies have also provided him with a collector base.

“What facilitated my move was my landlord sold my space,” Risk said. “I had to start looking for a new space. I looked at Mid-city and Jefferson corridor. It was just not doable because of the amount of space I needed for my work.”

Searching through Craigslist, he found a 4,500- sq. foot industrial space on Harbor Boulevard. He hit it off with landlord Yvetta Williams, who formerly owned the Shell Store. He walked away the same day with the keys to a massive space with a view of the ships in the Harbor, the Vincent Thomas Bridge and the Gateway Fountains.

“For me the big difference I noted immediately was the lack of traffic,” Risk said. “I have great views of the bridge and the ships coming and going.”

All of the artists interviewed for this story said that they were only vaguely aware of the deeply rooted arts community in San Pedro.

“I wasn’t really aware of all the history of it,” Risk said. “I heard over the years that people had moved down here, but I wasn’t really aware. Like everybody else on the Westside, it is such a bubble. All the years I lived there, I rarely went east of Lincoln. Now all my artist friends in Venice are starting to talk about San Pedro. San Pedro and Oxnard seem to be the areas that artist’s (from the Westside) are looking at.”

Artists have been migrating south to San Pedro for decades. Many well established and world renowned artists arrived years ago. Early attempts to establish an arts colony date back to the mid-1950s and even a movement in the 1970s.

Each influx has enriched the area. Many of these artists have discovered an ideal environment, with beautiful landscapes, moderate prices and an already existing art community to support their work.

One exciting benefit for San Pedro is a 20-foot tall mural installation that will be coming soon to 6th Street. Famed artist Van Hamersveld is creating his very first mural project to be placed downtown. The arrival of this work will bring an announcement that artists in San Pedro are living, working and creating world-class art. But we already knew that. Didn’t we?Details: www.corneliusprojects.com, www.ellwoodtrisk.com, www.johnvanhamersveld.com

artArtist Ellwood Risk

July 25 – August 7, 2014ACE: Arts •

Cuisine • Entertainm

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hot and perfectly flavored as the saltiness of the goat cheese worked to make the dish savory and add some tang to the squash. It is similar to how the proletarian dish of fried zucchini with ranch dressing works.

Next up was the artichoke and sun-dried tomato number, which first caught our attention. It had perfect presentation: the plucked artichoke leaves formed a flower with the sun-dried tomatoes as the bloom — just beautiful!

I popped a leaf with some sun-dried tomato on it in my mouth, and . . . it didn’t work, the acidity of the tomato overwhelmed the artichoke’s subtlety. As with the mussels, tastes fought each other, the wrong one winning, rather than working together to enhance the flavor profile.

Coming out and checking on us, Aubrey nodded receptively as we gave her our input about the artichoke being overpowered by the sun-dried tomatoes. But we also let her know that the squash and goat cheese were BFFs.

Dessert was peach cobbler with pepper and whipped cream with ginger. Again, presentation didn’t miss. It was served in a child-sized skillet. And the dish worked. The contrapuntal tang of the pepper’s finish provided a pleasant surprise to the

peaches, while the whip cream benefited from the understated ginger note. Plus, the crumbles on top delivered the perfect dichotomous crunch to the peaches’ firm, but soft texture.

Service throughout the meal was neighborhood friendly. For instance, our initial server was going off and made sure the transition was smooth. And, yeah, the executive chef talking to us and actually caring about our opinions was muy bueno.

My overall take on The Social List? Confused.

I’m uncertain about what sets this place apart from the proliferation of other gastropubs in SoCal.

My suggestion: figure out what you want the restaurant to be and wail with it. Maybe it’s a cross between Congregation’s and the Alibi Room. Pair The Social List’s eclectic and thoughtful collection of beer (as opposed to Congregation’s expansive list) and wine with a menu that contains a few envelope-pushing plates that work (Alibi’s) and a perfectly finished standard (Congregation’s rib-eye burger) or two.

That, and the open air, neighborhood feel of the place would make me want to get on the list.

The Social liST: A List You WAnt to Be on?

Food is “the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people,” said Karl Marx, more or less.

I’d seen the new place going up on 4th Street’s Retro Row, in Long Beach, and talked to the workers one night as I was walking by.

“What are you guys [bringing] into here?” I said.

“Oh, i t ’s a res taurant ,” the worker responded.

I later read about the restaurant in different publications and discovered that Luis Navarro, his sister Erica Norton and their partner Brenda Rivera — creators of Lola’s Mexican Cuisine — were behind The Social List. I like Lola’s.

I’d noticed none of the local rags had reviewed the new place. Instead, the local paper allowed the chefs and owners to describe the restaurant’s offerings and theme before the restaurant opened.

After they opened, I waited a month before going in to give them time to solidify their menu, service and staff.

The Social List restaurant commands prime property east of the Art Theatre, across the street from Lola’s. When I got there at 5 p.m. on a weeknight, it was too hot to sit outside, and the place was still closed up. Inside, I was told to sit anywhere I wanted. After picking a seat, I ordered the “house made” orangeade, while cringing at the pretentiousness of “house made.”

The décor is nice, but nothing special: sturdy wood tables, open brick walls and beam ceilings. I’ll take comfortable over gimmicky, though — and the chairs and tables were that.

I was sipping on my drink and waiting for my date. (It may have been a first date thing, but I can neither confirm nor deny that was the case.) The big double doors and windows in front of the bar seating were thrown open. I immediately fell in love with the space as soon as the fresh air started circulating on this balmy summer evening.

I’d ridden my bike from downtown, so I was

hot and sweaty. The orangeade was cold and so refreshing. But the orange barely came across. There was too much sugar and not enough citrusy bite.

My date arrived and we looked over the menu, planning our first move. I’d told her I was doing a review on The Social List and she was game.

She ordered the House Marinated Spanish Olives and they did ’em right, throwing in enough spice to punch them up, but not enough to overwhelm their briny green goodness. And a whole clove of pickled garlic: Mmm . . .

We agreed it was time to see what the chef pulled off with a complex collection of ingredients so we ordered Mejillones con Jamón Serrano. The broth was a mix of Serrano ham, garlic, white wine and cream. The broth worked well with the banana peppers, giving a piquant zing as a finish.

But when I ate a mussel with one of the peppers (I presumed they went together since the fluorescent yellow, serrated ring had landed right in the center of a mussel), no way! It was all banana pepper and no mussel.

Nearing the end of our adventure we noticed that Executive Chef Aubrey Neuman and her staff were at a nearby table, huddled over a plate with an artichoke concoction on it.

“We’ve got to try that,” my date said. We asked what it was and next thing we knew,

Aubrey had joined us. We started chatting with her and she explained that she was revamping The Social List’s menu.

“For instance, the Rustic Chicken Pâté, I do everything in house, but it seems like customers just didn’t get it,” Aubrey said.

Amiable and earnest, Aubrey went on to explain tonight’s specials-slash-test dishes.

We picked three: The fried squash with goat cheese, the artichoke with sun-dried tomato and peach cobbler with pepper.

The fried squash with goat cheese came to the table. The squash was in crispy golden slices with a dollop of goat cheese on top. I snapped off a bite, making sure to get some cheese. It was perfectly

By Mick Haven, Guest Columnist

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File No. 2014154058The following person is doing business as: Auntie ida’s Cookies, 1360 W. Capitol Drive, Suite 143, San Pedro, CA 90732, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: IDA B Sut-ton, 360 W. Capitol Drive, Suite 143, San Pedro, CA 90732. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all informa-tion 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.) S/. Ida B. Sutton, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 6, 2014. Notice--In Ac-cordance 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 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 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 Professions code).Original filing: 06/12/14, 06/26/14, 07/10/14, 07/24/14

Fictitious Business Name statement

File No. 2014153888The following person is doing business as: Wav properties, 3320 S. Denison Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Virginia Kohl, 3320 S. Denison Ave., 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: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant who declares as true informa-tion which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Virginia Kohl, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 6, 2014. Notice--In Ac-cordance 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 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 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 Professions code).Original filing: 06/12/14, 06/26/14, 07/10/14, 07/24/14

Fictitious Business Name statement

File No. 2014149646The following person is doing business as: screen shop,

1135 Pacific Ave., San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: John Pre-vatt, 940 W. 8th Street, San Pe-dro, CA 90731. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fic-titious 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 informa-tion which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. John Prevatt, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 6, 2014. Notice--In Ac-cordance 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 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 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 Professions code).Original filing: 06/12/14, 06/26/14, 07/10/14, 07/24/14

Fictitious Business Name statement

File No. 2014144475The following person is doing business as: Cycle san pedro, 848 Crestwood,, San Pedro, CA 90731, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Tommy G Spencer, 848 Crestwood,, San Pedro, CA 90731. Rachel L Spencer, 848 Crestwood,, San Pedro, CA 90731.. This Busi-ness is conducted by a married couple. The date registrant started to transact business

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under the fictitious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all informa-tion 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.) S/. Tommy Spencer, owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on June 6, 2014. Notice--In Ac-cordance 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 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 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 Professions code).Original filing: 06/12/14, 06/26/14, 07/10/14, 07/24/14

Fictitious Business Name statement

File No. 2014178401The following person is do-ing business as: Hi perfor-mance Auto service, 23210 Mariposa,Torrance, CA, Los Angeles County. Registered owners: Eric Hamlet, 5619 A Chestnut Ave,. Long Beach, CA 90805. This Business is conducted by an individual. The date registrant started to transact business under the fic-titious business name or names listed above: N/A. I declare that all information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant

19

The Local Publication You Actually Read July 25 - August 7, 2014

who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false is guilty of a crime.) S/. Eric Hamlet, Owner. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Los Angeles on July 2, 2014. 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 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 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: 07/10/14, 07/24/14, 08/07/14, 08/21/14

DBA FILINGSfrom previous page “I think the old adage if you have a hammer,

every solution is a nail,” she said. “And, if you are Caltrans, every solution is a freeway, because that’s their mission.”

But for communities heavily impacted by regional transportation impacts, a much broader project description seems appropriate: One that includes mitigation for past developments, which failed to fully mitigate their impacts while contributing to the need for 710 expansion in the first place.

It also means mitigating all the new environmental impacts from the entire integrated system. Greenwood cites the example of the SCIG railyards to make this point.

“They say they don’t have to mitigate the impact of trucks coming to them, because they’re a railyard,” Greenwood notes. “[They’re saying] the impact of the trucks is not something we have to mitigate.”

But, she adds, “To me, that totally undermines the whole fundamental core of CEQA, which is to protect the environment and the people who are living there.”

Turning back to the 710 project, she notes, “There’s a strong group with articulate attorneys that are arguing to set new precedent. So you can pretty much be sure that if we don’t resolve it now, at this level, there will be lawsuits filed with the I-710 project, which will then delay it again.”

Roberto Cabrales also sits on the advisory committee and he contrasts the low-income communities of color, who will be most impacted by 710 expansion, with the affluent, mostly white community of South Pasadena, which has

successfully fought off 710 extension for more than 40 years. In short, there are decades of cumulative impacts to mitigate.

“Before we do anything with expansion, let’s address the pollution problems that we have now,” Cabrales says.

In the same spirit, whatever decisions are taken now need to mitigate impacts equally far into the future as well. He cites the cautionary example of the Alameda Corridor, “which promised to relieve traffic on the 710,” but “now is only being used at about 50 percent of capacity,” despite the fact that container throughput is up significantly over what it was when the corridor was first proposed.

“Fifty years ago, the planners of the freeways didn’t think we were going to be in this situation,” Cabrales argues. “The projects we’re dealing with are the result of planning from 50 years ago.”

Fifty years ago, planners didn’t realize how much building new freeways, in turn, generated more freeway traffic. Now that we know that—and so much more, from 50 years of experience—Cabrales thinks its time we started planning from a holistic perspective, precisely what Caltrans, as an institution, is still fiercely fighting against. Their bureaucrats and engineers “don’t have a stake” in the projects they’re building Cabrales says. “None of them are living in the [710] corridor.”

Those who are living there, are the best judges of what real mitigation actually means. That’s what this 14-years-and-counting struggle has been all about.

But energized by more than a decade of struggle, the communities involved do not appear ready to roll over and play dead. An epic lawsuit seems far more likely, unless Caltrans chooses wisely.

710 Mitigationfrom p. 8

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