It took awhile after I woke up late Friday morning before I realized it was… Friday and not Thursday.
And that realization was only possible after I first ruled out it being Wednesday since I didn’t recall much of that day either. But that’s how mornings are when one is still getting used to a life filled with extended periods of sleep separated only by brief and often barely remembered moments of transitory wakefulness.
But then I realized something more. I had just slept though Art Walk. Both the day of it and the night. I had missed my first Art Walk since our inaugural event at which 17 of us - which is one of two or three official head counts - first showed up so seemingly many years ago.
I then realized I didn’t know if the new restaurant owners I had helped with their utility problem at 5th and Main got their lights so they could have their doors open on Art Walk night to say hi to all their new neighbors. Nor did I know how the brand new Art Annex at the Farmer’s and Merchant's Bank did. And I also didn't how the ladies with the 3-Day pop-up store in the Annex filled with hats, purses and jewelry - whom I had brought there to try out Main Street before they opened new a store of their own in our latest Main Street incubator – had fared.
I equally had no idea what had happened at the still new vendor’s parking lot or how the local band was in their new place or anything about any of the dozens of other places, events and people that make up our community of Art Walk other than knowing that – one way or the other – it all managed to work out.
So I did the only thing I could do.
I went back to sleep.
And I dreamed of cowboy days and fighting nights and a time when my brain had more dopamine than sense. And I silently smiled and awaited the day I would soon be happily back with them all in the longest sleep of them all.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 01, 2009
Communities Come Together to Celebrate Lesley Taplin
The above link at blogdowntown describes the Lesley Gilb Taplin Memorial Celebration last night at Vibiana. At some point I will be able to write about Lesley and what she meant to all of us Downtown, but not quite yet.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Dopamine, Dopamine, Dopamine
My brain's life long craving for dopamine has finally run out of options.
Meanwhile, I keep intending to lay out the whole history of that battle online to see if there is any doctor out there who has ever seen a case like mine - and who might know if there is anything that can be done about it.
The reality today, though, is that the last drug that worked well enough for me to be something resembling normal stopped working so long ago, I can't even recall when that was.
The last drug that did anything to help me maintain a level of 'alertness' finally stopped last summer. Next, a couple weeks ago, the last drug that even kept me awake stopped working.
And then when one drug yesterday seemed to be able to keep me awake, it turns out to spiked my blood pressure by over a hundred points within hours of my taking it. Or at least that seems to be how high by blood pressure jumped when I was out last night based on my blood pressure today that many hours after taking the drug. My actual memories of last night, though, are ... shall we say.... close to non-existant.
And the hope that I would be able to somehow activate my 'fight or flight' syndrome and wrestle my way out of my problems - as was predicted by Thelma Moss of UCLA back in 1966 - now seems to be a hopeless one as finding the right sparring partners at the same time my body is injury free enough to grapple, seems to be an impossible equation.
So this post is just to goad me into finally laying out the whole story of this dopamine battle in the hopes that some doctor somewhere - will have treated someone like me and have some idea of what to do next. And... hopefully... I can stay awake enough over the next week to do that.
Meanwhile, I keep intending to lay out the whole history of that battle online to see if there is any doctor out there who has ever seen a case like mine - and who might know if there is anything that can be done about it.
The reality today, though, is that the last drug that worked well enough for me to be something resembling normal stopped working so long ago, I can't even recall when that was.
The last drug that did anything to help me maintain a level of 'alertness' finally stopped last summer. Next, a couple weeks ago, the last drug that even kept me awake stopped working.
And then when one drug yesterday seemed to be able to keep me awake, it turns out to spiked my blood pressure by over a hundred points within hours of my taking it. Or at least that seems to be how high by blood pressure jumped when I was out last night based on my blood pressure today that many hours after taking the drug. My actual memories of last night, though, are ... shall we say.... close to non-existant.
And the hope that I would be able to somehow activate my 'fight or flight' syndrome and wrestle my way out of my problems - as was predicted by Thelma Moss of UCLA back in 1966 - now seems to be a hopeless one as finding the right sparring partners at the same time my body is injury free enough to grapple, seems to be an impossible equation.
So this post is just to goad me into finally laying out the whole story of this dopamine battle in the hopes that some doctor somewhere - will have treated someone like me and have some idea of what to do next. And... hopefully... I can stay awake enough over the next week to do that.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
LA Weekly On LA Cowboy As One of LA's 100 People!
LA PEOPLE 2009: URBAN COWBOY — BRADY WESTWATER
BY LINDA IMMEDIATO
Published on April 20, 2009 at 4:35pm
At a BOXeight Fashion Week show, you expect to find the standard batch of bony models, fashion-forward magazine editors and flamboyant buyers, but who’s the silver-bearded cowboy? That’s Brady Westwater, a.k.a the L.A. Cowboy, director of Economic Development for BOXeight. He was instrumental in getting the event off the ground. If he seems slightly out of place runway-side, Westwater is right at home downtown, where nearly every resident and business owner knows who he is. They call him “the unofficial mayor of downtown,” or the “go-to guy.”
Westwater serves pro bono on 29 boards and committees, but much of his day to day is spent doing what he calls, “curating downtown.” The nonpaying job involves a lot of leg work. On a recent weekday, we snake up and down Main, Spring and Broadway, for blocks on end, as he makes his usual rounds.
“I walk around, see what’s happening, ask business owners what they need, if they have any problems, see who’s new to the neighborhood,” he says, taking strides at a steady clip. “This is a place where the impossible happens every day. We’re the only neighborhood where businesses are still expanding. We’re bringing in new business. Of the 50 business I brought downtown, every single one of them survived.”
When Westwater says he “brought” businesses, he means everything from leaking the availability of a space to the right people before it goes on the market and advertising on craigslist to handling the responses and actually brokering a lease. “I hear about people who need a certain space, or people who have a certain space, and then I refer them, or negotiate the lease. It’s a lot of referrals. Did you know there are actually only three people in L.A.?” He laughs. “The rest is done with mirrors.”
Curating downtown, creating the perfect resident-business symbiosis for an organic vibrant artistic community, is a labor of love for Westwater, who has spent his entire life downtown. His father’s law office was on Third and Spring. “All the theaters on Broadway and the department stores were still open,” he says, scanning the old buildings. “I’m the last of the generation who remembers that.”
Along our sidewalk travels, one business owner puts in a request for a public parking structure, another asks about a vacant building, then someone else asks if Westwater knows where to get cheap mannequins. At a 9,000-square-foot space Westwater calls the “incubator,” leaseholder Jose Caballer comes out to say hello. “The city owes a lot to Brady,” he says. “I don’t know how they’re ever gonna pay him back. I guess his legacy will be in the history books.”
Westwater has a real-estate license but doesn’t use it, and refuses to take any money for connecting the dots. That has to do with living the cowboy way, an ethos he adopted one fateful night when he was 17. He had decided to drive to Owens Valley. He wasn’t sure why, but something told him to go. On the way, he picked up a hitchhiker, a man 6 feet 2 inches and about as wide. They got drunk and became fast friends, and the evening ended with Westwater losing his virginity in a brothel in Nevada. He became a part of this man’s posse, with whom he earned a living catching and breaking wild horses in Wyoming and Montana, repossessing airplanes in South America, and traveling the underground street-fighting circuit to Turkey and India. Part of the cowboy way is to be an independent contractor, a free agent, and Westwater, who roams downtown L.A. like it’s his own Ponderosa, has never had a steady job or been on a payroll. “The cowboy life,” he says, “ is just adventure. Every morning waking up and talking life.”
BY LINDA IMMEDIATO
Published on April 20, 2009 at 4:35pm
At a BOXeight Fashion Week show, you expect to find the standard batch of bony models, fashion-forward magazine editors and flamboyant buyers, but who’s the silver-bearded cowboy? That’s Brady Westwater, a.k.a the L.A. Cowboy, director of Economic Development for BOXeight. He was instrumental in getting the event off the ground. If he seems slightly out of place runway-side, Westwater is right at home downtown, where nearly every resident and business owner knows who he is. They call him “the unofficial mayor of downtown,” or the “go-to guy.”
Westwater serves pro bono on 29 boards and committees, but much of his day to day is spent doing what he calls, “curating downtown.” The nonpaying job involves a lot of leg work. On a recent weekday, we snake up and down Main, Spring and Broadway, for blocks on end, as he makes his usual rounds.
“I walk around, see what’s happening, ask business owners what they need, if they have any problems, see who’s new to the neighborhood,” he says, taking strides at a steady clip. “This is a place where the impossible happens every day. We’re the only neighborhood where businesses are still expanding. We’re bringing in new business. Of the 50 business I brought downtown, every single one of them survived.”
When Westwater says he “brought” businesses, he means everything from leaking the availability of a space to the right people before it goes on the market and advertising on craigslist to handling the responses and actually brokering a lease. “I hear about people who need a certain space, or people who have a certain space, and then I refer them, or negotiate the lease. It’s a lot of referrals. Did you know there are actually only three people in L.A.?” He laughs. “The rest is done with mirrors.”
Curating downtown, creating the perfect resident-business symbiosis for an organic vibrant artistic community, is a labor of love for Westwater, who has spent his entire life downtown. His father’s law office was on Third and Spring. “All the theaters on Broadway and the department stores were still open,” he says, scanning the old buildings. “I’m the last of the generation who remembers that.”
Along our sidewalk travels, one business owner puts in a request for a public parking structure, another asks about a vacant building, then someone else asks if Westwater knows where to get cheap mannequins. At a 9,000-square-foot space Westwater calls the “incubator,” leaseholder Jose Caballer comes out to say hello. “The city owes a lot to Brady,” he says. “I don’t know how they’re ever gonna pay him back. I guess his legacy will be in the history books.”
Westwater has a real-estate license but doesn’t use it, and refuses to take any money for connecting the dots. That has to do with living the cowboy way, an ethos he adopted one fateful night when he was 17. He had decided to drive to Owens Valley. He wasn’t sure why, but something told him to go. On the way, he picked up a hitchhiker, a man 6 feet 2 inches and about as wide. They got drunk and became fast friends, and the evening ended with Westwater losing his virginity in a brothel in Nevada. He became a part of this man’s posse, with whom he earned a living catching and breaking wild horses in Wyoming and Montana, repossessing airplanes in South America, and traveling the underground street-fighting circuit to Turkey and India. Part of the cowboy way is to be an independent contractor, a free agent, and Westwater, who roams downtown L.A. like it’s his own Ponderosa, has never had a steady job or been on a payroll. “The cowboy life,” he says, “ is just adventure. Every morning waking up and talking life.”
Thursday, April 16, 2009
LA Times Hosts LA Cowboy And LA Observed
When I walked into LA Times event last night, one of the first people I saw was frequent LA Times critic - LA Observed's Kevin Roderick. I then wondered if someone's head was going to roll in the morning once the powers that be realized someone had invited not just one of us - but both of us to the LA Times forum featuring Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But all the appropriate authorities seemed friendly enough when they greeted us, so hopefully there will be no more LA Times layoffs - at least this week.
As for what happened when LAT Opinion Editor James Newton interviewed Arnold - the above link will detail that - along with showing a photo of Bob Hertzberg - aka 'Huggy Bear' - hugging the Governator.
I, however, got a sharp punch in the shoulder from the former speaker of the Assembly when he greeted me in the buffet line - since his right hand was filled with Italian spring rolls. I then retaliated with a stiff left jab - and made my get away.
I next tracked down a number of people from the business community and the green movement to ask them each about their true, off the record, opinion of the Mayor's proposed Green Tech manufacturing corridor along the LA River. Strictly off the record - they each used the term - bull shit. I then asked them if they had told the Mayor or his staff that - and they all looked at me as if I had just landed from the planet Mars.
Finally, just before we went into the room to hear the speakers, I was cornered by UCLA Chancellor Gene Block - and one of his henchmen - and they politely demanded of me why I was wearing a Bruins Wrestling sweat shirt - and why was said shirt in red and gold - which are the USC colors.
I equally politely replied that I was a second generation - on both sides of my family - Bruin - but that I now lived in occupied USC - i.e., Downtown LA - territory. So once I saw this shirt on e-bay - I knew I had to get it just to screw with everyone's minds.
And so far - my plan has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.
But all the appropriate authorities seemed friendly enough when they greeted us, so hopefully there will be no more LA Times layoffs - at least this week.
As for what happened when LAT Opinion Editor James Newton interviewed Arnold - the above link will detail that - along with showing a photo of Bob Hertzberg - aka 'Huggy Bear' - hugging the Governator.
I, however, got a sharp punch in the shoulder from the former speaker of the Assembly when he greeted me in the buffet line - since his right hand was filled with Italian spring rolls. I then retaliated with a stiff left jab - and made my get away.
I next tracked down a number of people from the business community and the green movement to ask them each about their true, off the record, opinion of the Mayor's proposed Green Tech manufacturing corridor along the LA River. Strictly off the record - they each used the term - bull shit. I then asked them if they had told the Mayor or his staff that - and they all looked at me as if I had just landed from the planet Mars.
Finally, just before we went into the room to hear the speakers, I was cornered by UCLA Chancellor Gene Block - and one of his henchmen - and they politely demanded of me why I was wearing a Bruins Wrestling sweat shirt - and why was said shirt in red and gold - which are the USC colors.
I equally politely replied that I was a second generation - on both sides of my family - Bruin - but that I now lived in occupied USC - i.e., Downtown LA - territory. So once I saw this shirt on e-bay - I knew I had to get it just to screw with everyone's minds.
And so far - my plan has succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
DLANC Founder and Friend Lesley Taplin Killed In Car Crash
One of the founders of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, Lesley was killed early Tuesday morning in a car crash. The neighborhood council movement, all of Downtown - and every person who knew her had no greater - or more supportive or more loyal friend. There is so much more I would love to say about her - but I am still in too much shock to even believe she is no longer with us.
From: "Qathryn Brehm"
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:19:16 -0700
To: Qathryn
Subject: Lesley Gilb Taplin
Friends,
It is with a heavy heart I pass on the news of our friend, Lesley, who was killed in a freeway accident early this morning.
Lesley’s passion for life, her love for the whole of us she held so dear and the encouragement she showered on each of us will forever remain.
Details of a remembrance are being worked out. Please let me know if you wish additional information.
Qathryn Brehm
From: "Qathryn Brehm"
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:19:16 -0700
To: Qathryn
Subject: Lesley Gilb Taplin
Friends,
It is with a heavy heart I pass on the news of our friend, Lesley, who was killed in a freeway accident early this morning.
Lesley’s passion for life, her love for the whole of us she held so dear and the encouragement she showered on each of us will forever remain.
Details of a remembrance are being worked out. Please let me know if you wish additional information.
Qathryn Brehm
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Is Anyone Home At The Los Angeles Times? UPDATE! Over 24 HOURS Late - LAT Finally Posts The Rest Of The Story!
Liberals & Limbaugh
When this glitch first appeared on the Los Angels Times website - at least 24 hours ago - I was tempted to mention it - but didn't call it out since I assumed it would be shortly fixed. Well, now it's Sunday - and it's still not fixed. The below article is a challenge to four 'liberals' to listen to Rush Limbaugh - which I have to admit, I never have - and it then asked for their response.
And as you can see by the blank white space at the bottom of their proposal - evidently- not a one of them had a single word to say....
Yes, for 24 hours now there is not a single word there which means that for 24 no one at the LAT seems to have bothered to read the article on-line and notice that.
UPDATE - OK - after I finally called in the error to the weekend staff - it at last go fixed. But it was still the ultimate non-story that wasn't worth reading in the first place.
When this glitch first appeared on the Los Angels Times website - at least 24 hours ago - I was tempted to mention it - but didn't call it out since I assumed it would be shortly fixed. Well, now it's Sunday - and it's still not fixed. The below article is a challenge to four 'liberals' to listen to Rush Limbaugh - which I have to admit, I never have - and it then asked for their response.
And as you can see by the blank white space at the bottom of their proposal - evidently- not a one of them had a single word to say....
April 5, 2009
Last week in these pages, Andrew Klavan, a conservative who writes for the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, addressed himself to liberals, insisting that "whatever you claim, you still haven't listened to Rush Limbaugh."
He concluded with a proposal: "I am throwing down my gauntlet at your quivering liberal feet. I hereby issue my challenge -- the Limbaugh Challenge: Listen to the show. ... Ask yourself: What's he getting at? Why does he say the things he says? Why do so many people of goodwill -- like that nice Mr. Klavan -- agree with him?"
We asked four local liberals to take that challenge, and one fallacy in Klavan's argument quickly became clear: They all had already listened extensively to Limbaugh.
Here's what they concluded from the experience:
Yes, for 24 hours now there is not a single word there which means that for 24 no one at the LAT seems to have bothered to read the article on-line and notice that.
UPDATE - OK - after I finally called in the error to the weekend staff - it at last go fixed. But it was still the ultimate non-story that wasn't worth reading in the first place.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
New Downtown Ed Hardy Store Has Sneak Preview Sale!
The new Ed Hardy Store at 433 S. Spring - which is scheduled to open in about a week - is having an unadvertised two day only end of season warehouse sale from 10 - 6 this Saturday and Sunday. 25 item per person maximum.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Last Of The South Coast Cowboy Life!
The appellation cowboy is often used - but rarely earned.
One of the last local representatives of the old style breed is Steve Tellam of Ramona in San Diego County. The above linked story explains why he is the last full time traditional cowboy of his family - and likely one of the last in that part of San Diego County.
But the future of the American cowboy (though on my old range - cowhand - or just 'hand' - was preferred) is - fortunately - not restricted to the daily interaction of man and cow.
In my case, while I did my share of turning little bulls into little steers - though I declined to use my teeth for the task - and while I pulled more than my share of reluctant calves out of recalcitrant cow's rear ends - I found myself quickly gravitating to the catching and breaking of wild horses and - eventually - the training of rodeo stock.
But soon the ten of us found ourselves overseas and rather than roping up wandering cattle - we found ourselves lassoing stolen airplanes for insurance companies. And then - just when we thought we had gotten as far away from our Western ways as we could - there was the day that... well.... that's another story in the life of a 20th Century cowboy....
One of the last local representatives of the old style breed is Steve Tellam of Ramona in San Diego County. The above linked story explains why he is the last full time traditional cowboy of his family - and likely one of the last in that part of San Diego County.
But the future of the American cowboy (though on my old range - cowhand - or just 'hand' - was preferred) is - fortunately - not restricted to the daily interaction of man and cow.
In my case, while I did my share of turning little bulls into little steers - though I declined to use my teeth for the task - and while I pulled more than my share of reluctant calves out of recalcitrant cow's rear ends - I found myself quickly gravitating to the catching and breaking of wild horses and - eventually - the training of rodeo stock.
But soon the ten of us found ourselves overseas and rather than roping up wandering cattle - we found ourselves lassoing stolen airplanes for insurance companies. And then - just when we thought we had gotten as far away from our Western ways as we could - there was the day that... well.... that's another story in the life of a 20th Century cowboy....
Monday, March 23, 2009
Steve Hymon Out At Los Angeles Times!
Read Kevin Roderick's post above on just some of the reasons why the Los Angeles Times layoff of Steve Hymon is unimaginable.
What he doesn't say is that with the paper having more than a few reporters who know barely enough to even find their way around the city - and one LAT reporter in particular having proven himself - repeatedly - to be more interested in pushing his own personal agenda than telling the truth - the firing Steve Hymon is also morally indefensible.
What he doesn't say is that with the paper having more than a few reporters who know barely enough to even find their way around the city - and one LAT reporter in particular having proven himself - repeatedly - to be more interested in pushing his own personal agenda than telling the truth - the firing Steve Hymon is also morally indefensible.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Just Watched The First Ten minutes Of The New NBC TV Series - Kings....
But I'm having a hard time figuring out what language the script was so... badly.... translated from.
My guess is one of the more obscure tribal languages of the Southeast Asia mountains. That would explain why the syntax is totally unrelated to English.
But - on the plus side - with a little editing and the addition of a laugh track - it might be a real hit!
My guess is one of the more obscure tribal languages of the Southeast Asia mountains. That would explain why the syntax is totally unrelated to English.
But - on the plus side - with a little editing and the addition of a laugh track - it might be a real hit!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Tickets For BOXeight Fashion Week Shows Now Available!
The final line-up for BOXeight's fifth season of fashion shows once again at the Historic Los Angeles Theatre - this Friday, Saturday and Sunday - is now on-line and tickets are going fast!
FRI, MARCH 13
GEN ART LAUNCH EVENT*
7-10pm Gen Art's Official Launch of BOXeight Fashion Week
8pm Raquel Allegra
GRAI
Society for Rational Dress
10-2am BOXeight Afterparty Event
& KIN Pop-Up Nightclub
11pm Sonia Vera Swimwear
12am JGerard Presentation
*BOXeight ticket not valid for Gen Art, got to www.genart.org to attend 7-10pm shows)
SAT, MARCH 14
2pm Jen Awad
4pm Smoke & Mirrors
5pm David Alexander
6pm COA
7pm Future Heretics
8pm martinMARTIN
9pm LAEKEN
10pm SkinGraft
11pm UNIF + KIN (Young Hollywood Presentation)
10-2am BOXeight Afterparty Event
& KIN Pop-Up Nightclub
SUN, MARCH 15
3pm Mike Vensel
4pm Hayley Starr
5pm The Battalion
6pm Sahaja
7pm Yotam Solomon
8pm Sjobeck
9pm Maxine Dillon
10pm Li Cari by Jazmin Whitley
10-2am BOXeight Afterparty Event
& KIN Pop-Up Nightclub
FRI, MARCH 13
GEN ART LAUNCH EVENT*
7-10pm Gen Art's Official Launch of BOXeight Fashion Week
8pm Raquel Allegra
GRAI
Society for Rational Dress
10-2am BOXeight Afterparty Event
& KIN Pop-Up Nightclub
11pm Sonia Vera Swimwear
12am JGerard Presentation
*BOXeight ticket not valid for Gen Art, got to www.genart.org to attend 7-10pm shows)
SAT, MARCH 14
2pm Jen Awad
4pm Smoke & Mirrors
5pm David Alexander
6pm COA
7pm Future Heretics
8pm martinMARTIN
9pm LAEKEN
10pm SkinGraft
11pm UNIF + KIN (Young Hollywood Presentation)
10-2am BOXeight Afterparty Event
& KIN Pop-Up Nightclub
SUN, MARCH 15
3pm Mike Vensel
4pm Hayley Starr
5pm The Battalion
6pm Sahaja
7pm Yotam Solomon
8pm Sjobeck
9pm Maxine Dillon
10pm Li Cari by Jazmin Whitley
10-2am BOXeight Afterparty Event
& KIN Pop-Up Nightclub
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Oh, God! Please Shoot Me If Ever Read The LA Times Again! Now They've Misplaced The Plaza Church!
I realize this is my FIFTH post about an error in the LA Times this weekend - but - seriously - I had no choice! They made me do it!
Even though working on the upcoming Fashion Week and writing the new website for the Historic Downtown Los Angeles BID and a dozen other projects has left me with barely even time to skim over the LA Times website this weekend - every single time I have, well.... read below the latest crime against God, man and nature.
And just in case you were recently dropped into LA from another planet - or you are a writer for the Los Angeles Times - the old Plaza Church is - and has always been on Main Street.
Yes, no one at the Los Angeles Times can even tell the difference between Main Street - and Olvera Street.
Even though working on the upcoming Fashion Week and writing the new website for the Historic Downtown Los Angeles BID and a dozen other projects has left me with barely even time to skim over the LA Times website this weekend - every single time I have, well.... read below the latest crime against God, man and nature.
And just in case you were recently dropped into LA from another planet - or you are a writer for the Los Angeles Times - the old Plaza Church is - and has always been on Main Street.
Quinceañeras get a special Catholic prayer book
The new booklet, developed over a decade, has the Vatican's blessing, but few priests seem to know about it. The aim is to ensure religious meaning in what is often just a lavish celebration.
By Alicia Lozano
5:16 PM PDT, March 8, 2009
As she sat primly under a portrait of the Virgin Mary, 15-year-old Angelica Arroyo's silver tiara glistened against the gold-plated altar of La Placita Church on historic Olvera Street.
Yes, no one at the Los Angeles Times can even tell the difference between Main Street - and Olvera Street.
I Didn't Mean To Make This A What The Hell Is Happening At The LA Times Weekend - But - When Did Lincoln Height's Avenues Become Part Of Downtown?
With the 'ID the neighborhoods project' going on at the LAT - how can a man be killed in Downtown in one sentence - and then also killed in Lincoln Heights in the next sentence? And yes, that area is NEAR Downtown - but it is - as the story says - in Lincoln Heights.
Police are searching for killer of homeless man
4:42 PM | March 8, 2009
Los Angeles police are continuing to search for a suspect in the stabbing death of a 66-year-old homeless man downtown over the weekend.
Carlos Green was pushing a shopping cart on the sidewalk on Avenue 19 in Lincoln Heights about 11 a.m. Saturday when he was attacked by an unknown assailant who stabbed him several times, according to Los Angeles police.
Why Did The Los Angeles Times Withhold A Key Story Point Until The Very End?
In the above linked story, a family accuses the Army of covering up their daughter's murder by saying it was a suicide, and they present some compelling evidence. The article also suggests there might be a pattern of covering up such murders.
Then, further into the article, the Army makes its case and it seems hard to reconcile the two points of view. Then at the end of the article, it turns out the family also hired their own private coroner and in paragraph 41 of 48 paragraphs - if you are one of the few who have made it that far - you will find his conclusion:
Wow!
That is what the family's own privately hired coroner told them.
Now that is something if I had known earlier, I would have looked at everything else in the article ... a bit differently.
However - since their private coroner was still lacking some key evidence - his verdict is not a final answer to the story (and he does state that) - and there are other important issues the family does raise which still need to be addressed.
But by this point, I am just a little suspicious about everything I just read. When I read fictional murder mysteries, I always enjoy a good surprise twist at the end. But in news stories - not so much.
Then, further into the article, the Army makes its case and it seems hard to reconcile the two points of view. Then at the end of the article, it turns out the family also hired their own private coroner and in paragraph 41 of 48 paragraphs - if you are one of the few who have made it that far - you will find his conclusion:
"I saw no evidence that it was not self-inflicted," Graham said.
Wow!
That is what the family's own privately hired coroner told them.
Now that is something if I had known earlier, I would have looked at everything else in the article ... a bit differently.
However - since their private coroner was still lacking some key evidence - his verdict is not a final answer to the story (and he does state that) - and there are other important issues the family does raise which still need to be addressed.
But by this point, I am just a little suspicious about everything I just read. When I read fictional murder mysteries, I always enjoy a good surprise twist at the end. But in news stories - not so much.
Reason #4,673 Why Los Angeles Needs A Museum Of Its History!
In today's Los Angeles Times, Steve Harvey does his usual excellent job on the re-opening of the historic Cole's bar/restaurant in the old Pacific Electric Building - but he also repeats a few of the older urban legends of Los Angeles.
First, the building, as it states on the owner's own website - is nine stories tall and not ten.
Second, it was never the city's tallest skyscraper - or it's first one, as other sources have claimed. The Braly Building - which is now the Continental - at the SE corner of 4th and Spring - reached 174 feet in 1903. The City then passed a 150 foot height limit on all future buildings in 1904. But even though the PE Building was designed in 1903, built in 1904 and opened in January of 1905 (which is why those three dates are given in different sources) - it was still built well below even the new 150 height limit.
Third, as far as Cole's being the former home of horses for horse drawn street cars in a building opened in 1905, I have always heard that horse drawn street cars were all replaced first by cable and then by electric cars by the mid/late 1890's before Huntington bought any of his lines. And I do know that the last cable line was electrified in 1902, by which time there were no horse drawn lines. So it is impossible for Cole's to have ever housed any horse drawn street cars.
http://www.historyoftechnology.org/eTC/v48no4/post_v48n4.html
Lastly - one often quoted fact NOT stated is that the PE Building was the largest building in square footage west of Chicago for many years - though some sources have amended that by saying, largest office building. Now I have no idea if that is true or not, but it would seem to me that some building in San Francisco or Kansas City or St. Louis (if those last two cities are considered west of Chicago, of course) should been larger - but I'll leave that for someone else to fact check.
Update - I just did some very cursory research on the size of the largest office building in the major Western cities in 1905 - and it appears the PE Building... probably... was the largest Western office building in square footage.
FURTHER UPDATE - info on the last horse drawn street cars in Los Angeles - and the date of 1896 I had in my head - turns out to be pretty close - by a few months:
MORE UPDATES ON HOSRE DRAWN STREET CARS!
Cole's occupies the bottom floor of the 10-story Pacific Electric Building, the city's tallest skyscraper in the early 1900s and for years the terminus for the Red Car trolley line, which clacked over more than 1,000 miles of track in Southern California.
Founder Henry Cole moved into the former headquarters of some horse-drawn streetcars. One of the first things he did was sprinkle sawdust on the floor.
First, the building, as it states on the owner's own website - is nine stories tall and not ten.
Second, it was never the city's tallest skyscraper - or it's first one, as other sources have claimed. The Braly Building - which is now the Continental - at the SE corner of 4th and Spring - reached 174 feet in 1903. The City then passed a 150 foot height limit on all future buildings in 1904. But even though the PE Building was designed in 1903, built in 1904 and opened in January of 1905 (which is why those three dates are given in different sources) - it was still built well below even the new 150 height limit.
Third, as far as Cole's being the former home of horses for horse drawn street cars in a building opened in 1905, I have always heard that horse drawn street cars were all replaced first by cable and then by electric cars by the mid/late 1890's before Huntington bought any of his lines. And I do know that the last cable line was electrified in 1902, by which time there were no horse drawn lines. So it is impossible for Cole's to have ever housed any horse drawn street cars.
http://www.historyoftechnology.org/eTC/v48no4/post_v48n4.html
Lastly - one often quoted fact NOT stated is that the PE Building was the largest building in square footage west of Chicago for many years - though some sources have amended that by saying, largest office building. Now I have no idea if that is true or not, but it would seem to me that some building in San Francisco or Kansas City or St. Louis (if those last two cities are considered west of Chicago, of course) should been larger - but I'll leave that for someone else to fact check.
Update - I just did some very cursory research on the size of the largest office building in the major Western cities in 1905 - and it appears the PE Building... probably... was the largest Western office building in square footage.
FURTHER UPDATE - info on the last horse drawn street cars in Los Angeles - and the date of 1896 I had in my head - turns out to be pretty close - by a few months:
In "Street Railways and the Growth of Los Angeles," Robert C Post says that the Los Angeles Railway's last horse car line, West Ninth Street, last ran on 08-June-1896 (page 131). The Main Street & Agricultural Park's last horse car ran in April 1897. If there were other indepedent lines that converted later, I couldn't find them in the book.
By the way, it's been ten years since I wrote up the Los Angeles cable car lines on my website, so I've been updating the articles. This month I also added a nice article by James Clifton Robinson, General Manager of the Los Angeles Cable Railway/Pacific Cable Railway. I also added contemporary newspaper articles about the Second Street and Temple Street cable lines. Next month I'm updating my article about the San Francisco cable cars that ran around the parking lots at Knott's Berry Farm.
Regards,
Joe Thompson
The Cable Car Home Page (updated 01-Apr-2009)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/
San Francisco Bay Ferryboats (updated 30-Sep-2008)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ferry/
Park Trains and Tourist Trains (updated 31-Oct-2008)
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/ptrain/index.html
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion (updated erratically)
http://cablecarguy.blogspot.com
MORE UPDATES ON HOSRE DRAWN STREET CARS!
Here's a little more information, all from the Los Angeles Times archive, which includes the inevitable new questions that seem to accompany new answers.
The June 9, 1896 edition confirms Joe Thompson's mention of the West 9th St line, "Electric cars are now running regularly on the Ninth-street line. The work of tearing up the old horse-car track and replacing it with a heavy modern track of big ties and heavy rails has been pushed to its completion." And so on.
The May 5, 1897 edition seems to be pushing the Agricultural Park horsecar line's finale from April into at least May, 1897, "By the end of May, the Main-street car line will be entirely changed to an electric system. At present, the Main Street and Agricultural Park Railway Company's new electric cars are running as far as the corner of Grand Avenue and Jefferson Street. From that point, passengers are carried to the end of the line, at the entrance to Agricultural Park, by the clumsy little horse cars." It goes on to cite late delivery of rails as the reason for the delay, and the expectation that all would be completed "perhaps within fifteen days." I could not find the exact date on which it finally happened, but the article goes on to mention that this will be the last horsecar line in the city "except the old Mateo-street line which runs parallel with the Santa Fé tracks, beginning near the Santa Fe Depot."
A lengthy article about Agricultural Park on September 28, 1897 simply gives April 1, 1897 as the date on which the Main & AP electric line opened, so that may be a reason for the discrepancy about the date, not asterisking the trackage south of Jefferson and Main.
Looking for the Mateo Street horsecar line, I found a few Times references before and after April 1897.
June 14, 1896, "Reopening the Santa Fe-avenue Horse-car Line." "The new car service on the line of the Mateo street and Santa Fe avenue Street-car Company was inaugurated yesterday afternoon" and on, describing the 15-minute headway in each direction and 22-minute running time for the three-mile trip, and that "Fifteen unusually large and fine horses have been purchased, and good service is assured." It also says that "as soon as Mateo street has been opened [completed?] the line will be double tracked and electrized (sic)."
The following year, on June 5, 1897 is mentioned that the city Board of Public Works recommended that the petition "from the Mateo-street and Santa Fé avenue horse-car line" asking for an ordinance legalizing the "straightening of the track."
If anyone has maps and interest, the 6/14/1897 piece gives this line's route as being from the Santa Fe depot south to Le Grande street, then east to Santa Fe avenue, then south to the city limits. That is a head scratcher, since the Santa Fe La Grande depot was on Santa Fe Avenue, but who knows what the streets did at that time, or what became of Le Grande Street. It also states that the line passed "the Southern California's roundhouse [?], the Los Angeles Rolling Mills, the Crystal Salt Works, the Ninth-street Oil Refinery, the Stimson lumber yards, the Union Oil Company, the Producers' Oil Company, and the city crematory."
There is information about the Mateo street line in http://www.erha.org/railwayhis.htm which mentions in one place that its motive power was horses, and then says that the Los Angeles Railway acquired it in April,1901. It doesn't say whether it was horse-car, cable, or electric at that time, but a May 16, 1901 Times item talks about residents on Mateo between Le Grande Street and Palmetto wanting LARy to clean the street up, as the company tore it up and scattered dirt all over the street when they "electrized" the line. Did it remain horse-powered until 1901?
See, we're right back to the question we started with.
--
Paul Jackson
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Staggeringly Inaccurate Los Angeles Times Headline - And The Story Isn't That Much Better!
There has been a battle for up in the Owen's Valley Inyo County over - what else? - water rights.
But instead of the local residents fighting the City of Los Angeles for taking their water - they are battling a power company that wants to pump more water out of the aquifer which would lower water levels throughout the area, damage local rural resident's wells, possibly drain a lake owned by a hunting club and likely damage the entire rural environment. So the local water committee supported the rural residents and the hunting club and recommended that Inyo County reject the plan.
And that is what the story very clearly says. But what does the headline say?
Well....
Yes, the water is being taken FROM the rural residents - as well as from the hunters. It is not the hunters versus the needs of the rural residents.
And then there is the error at the end of the 2nd paragraph - the claim that the plant services the 250,000 homes in the area. Well, between Inyo and Mono County combined - they don't even have 20,000 households - much less 250,000. The power is all sold to Southern California Edison and just added to the grid.
And not mentioned in the description of the 'environmentally-friendly' description of this project is the fact that this plant will ultimately destroy the existing aquifer - just as in just 20 years it already almost completely destroyed the aquifer it has been drawing water from. And the reason why this destruction of natural resources is being allowed?
Well - it's the state requirement that we generate 20% of our power from renewable resources - even though - in the long term - this type of energy generation is more damaging to the environment than coal.
But instead of the local residents fighting the City of Los Angeles for taking their water - they are battling a power company that wants to pump more water out of the aquifer which would lower water levels throughout the area, damage local rural resident's wells, possibly drain a lake owned by a hunting club and likely damage the entire rural environment. So the local water committee supported the rural residents and the hunting club and recommended that Inyo County reject the plan.
And that is what the story very clearly says. But what does the headline say?
Well....
Inyo County weighs rural residents' water needs against hunters' interests
The Planning Commission is expected to vote next week on whether to back a geothermal plant's request to pump water from an aquifer that also supplies a hunting club's scenic lake.
By Louis Sahagun
March 7, 2009
The Inyo County Planning Commission is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to recommend approval of a permit that would allow a geothermal plant to pump water from an aquifer that is the lifeblood of a 50-year-old hunting club, Little Lake Ranch, and its wetlands along U.S. 395.
Coso Operating Co. said it needs an additional 4,800 acre-feet of water a year to keep operating what it calls environmentally friendly steam-driven turbines already providing about 250,000 homes in the region about 200 miles north of Los Angeles with electricity.
Attorneys for the club of mostly Southern California hunters have argued that the pumping would irreversibly damage their scenic lake, local wells and the surrounding environment within a few years. The Inyo County Water Commission agreed and recently recommended that the county reject the proposal.
Yes, the water is being taken FROM the rural residents - as well as from the hunters. It is not the hunters versus the needs of the rural residents.
And then there is the error at the end of the 2nd paragraph - the claim that the plant services the 250,000 homes in the area. Well, between Inyo and Mono County combined - they don't even have 20,000 households - much less 250,000. The power is all sold to Southern California Edison and just added to the grid.
And not mentioned in the description of the 'environmentally-friendly' description of this project is the fact that this plant will ultimately destroy the existing aquifer - just as in just 20 years it already almost completely destroyed the aquifer it has been drawing water from. And the reason why this destruction of natural resources is being allowed?
Well - it's the state requirement that we generate 20% of our power from renewable resources - even though - in the long term - this type of energy generation is more damaging to the environment than coal.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Roberta Smith On The Heirarchy Of American Art
New York Times art critic Roberta Smith indulges in the guilty pleasures of 18th and 19th Century American naive painting - and then bemoans the lack of imagination of museums in displaying pre-20th Century American art.
And I agree with every word.
And I agree with every word.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Jeremy Strick Deconstructs MOCA Disaster
CultureGrrl blogger, Lee Rosenbaum, has an exclusive interview with former MOCA Director, Jeremy Strick reachable by the above link.
The coda for this whole story is the time honored mantra - it seemed like a good idea at the time. The only real income MOCA had was donations for programming and if they cut back on programming, donations fell so they had to keep on programming.
But without major gifts, government funding or a large endowment, even in good times, they was never quite enough money to cover the bills and then when things got tough - things got very bad real quick.
The coda for this whole story is the time honored mantra - it seemed like a good idea at the time. The only real income MOCA had was donations for programming and if they cut back on programming, donations fell so they had to keep on programming.
But without major gifts, government funding or a large endowment, even in good times, they was never quite enough money to cover the bills and then when things got tough - things got very bad real quick.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Prop B Has Lost - But Times Still Has Hours Old Story On Website!
After earlier saying that Prop B was going to win, the Times' last update before everyone at the paper went to sleep was before the 'no' votes took the lead. And the article doesn't seem to understand that for an incumbent Mayor with not a single credible opponent -and unlimited funds - to only get 55% of the vote is a staggering upset.
Hopefully, this will be a wake up call to City Hall that the status quo has to change and the selling out of the city to campaign donors and special interest groups must stop.
Hopefully, this will be a wake up call to City Hall that the status quo has to change and the selling out of the city to campaign donors and special interest groups must stop.
PROP B - LOSES! With over 99% of the votes counted - Prop B appears to have lost!
The neighborhood councils of Los Angeles and the people of Los Angeles have defeated the lies and deceit and the money of the local power structure.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
If You Live In The City Of Los Angeles - Vote NO On 'B' - TODAY!
The above link has the Los Angeles Times editorial against the phony solar energy measure that's on today LA City ballot along with other editorial and articles explaining that besides possible costing us an extra billion dollars - or more - that this is the worst possible way to get green energy.
The fact that this is also one of the most corrupt actions every taken by the City of Los Angeles is yet another reason to oppose this measure.
NO on B!
The fact that this is also one of the most corrupt actions every taken by the City of Los Angeles is yet another reason to oppose this measure.
NO on B!
Monday, March 02, 2009
14 Pigs Spotted Flying In Sacramento!
Now that the state of California is tens of billions of dollar in debt - and the situation for the next two years looks even... worse.... the state Assembly has finally decided to investigate if - just possibly - there might be some fraud and waste in all the rapidly expanding entitlement programs. Now I have seen estimates that as much as 1/4 to even 1/2 of Medi-Cal expenditures are fraudulent - or unnecessary - but no one really knows.
But I do know that Medi-Cal pays for all drugs are being sold on street corners throughout this city by drug dealers and that vans drive into Skid Row ever day to pick up 'patients' for $5,000 or $10,000 work-ups and treatments.
I also know the local gyms are filled with weightlifters during the day who are collecting workman's comp since they are too injured to work and I also know many if not most of the local drug dealers live in government subsidized housing.
So if this is what can be learned just by walking down the street - do the math and figure out how much organized, sophisticate fraud there is going on in these programs. And it's not just the taxpayers who are paying for this fraud - it is also the people who rightfully deserve these benefits who are now seeing their benefits being cut.
Below are excerpts of George Skelton's LA Times column on the subject:
But I do know that Medi-Cal pays for all drugs are being sold on street corners throughout this city by drug dealers and that vans drive into Skid Row ever day to pick up 'patients' for $5,000 or $10,000 work-ups and treatments.
I also know the local gyms are filled with weightlifters during the day who are collecting workman's comp since they are too injured to work and I also know many if not most of the local drug dealers live in government subsidized housing.
So if this is what can be learned just by walking down the street - do the math and figure out how much organized, sophisticate fraud there is going on in these programs. And it's not just the taxpayers who are paying for this fraud - it is also the people who rightfully deserve these benefits who are now seeing their benefits being cut.
Below are excerpts of George Skelton's LA Times column on the subject:
New Assembly panel goes on a quiet hunt for Capitol waste
If it works, it could mean the budget deficit had one positive aspect.
George Skelton
Capitol Journal
March 2, 2009
From Sacramento — In a small hideaway hearing room at California's Capitol, something unique happened last week. A new legislative committee convened with the single goal of making state government more efficient and less costly.
The event drew no attention. There were more committee members (14) than people in the audience. No reporters.
But, unlike most low-profile committees, members here didn't duck out soon after a quorum was counted. They hung around attentively, participating for the entire two-hour hearing. They seemed to be curious about whether this committee concept might actually work.
Creation of the Assembly Accountability and Administrative Review Committee -- an eye-glazing name, unfortunately -- is at least one positive result of the state's deficit debacle.
Democrats now are acknowledging that waste -- if not its fabled cousins fraud and abuse -- exists throughout state government. And they intend to work hard at rooting it out. That's what they say.
It's the least Californians should expect after being told to dig deeper for $12.5 billion in higher taxes to help rescue the state from a $42-billion budget deficit. It's less about the dollar amount of any savings than about a sincere effort to eradicate government waste.
The committee chairman, Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate), describes government as "an onion," with politicians "layering on programs and pet projects layer after layer."
"Nobody ever doubles back and checks to see how the money is being spent and whether it can be spent better. This committee will be about looking back."
And why don't lawmakers reexamine their products?
"Term limits," replies De La Torre, who plans to run for state insurance commissioner when he's termed out next year. "Nobody cares to look back when your time is up in only six years. It's not sexy. It's the grunt work of government.
"Most politicians prefer to check the boxes. Do an education bill. Check the box. Do a public safety bill. Check the box. Do a healthcare. . . ."
The committee was De La Torre's brainstorm. "I'm a cheap progressive," he asserts.
The assemblyman was looking for a new gig last year after being fired as Rules Committee chairman by then-Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles). De La Torre had opposed Nuñez's proposal to provide "golden handshakes" for Assembly staffers who retired. The shakes were approved, and 55 aides grabbed them. Some were leaving anyway.
"I was cast out in the wilderness," De La Torre recalls. After Nuñez left, he proposed the anti-waste committee to new Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles). She endorsed it.
Republicans have been advocating such an effort for years. But they're perpetually the minority party.
The ranking Republican on the committee, Assemblywoman Audra Strickland of Thousand Oaks, says she's "very hopeful this will turn into an opportunity to look at the fraud, the waste, the abuse."
"I don't know why we can't make that No. 1," she says, "rather than always cuts in programs for foster kids and seniors and pink slips to teachers."
What fraud? I asked. She cited the filing of charges last summer in Los Angeles County against 21 people accused of bilking more than $2 million from a state-funded in-home care program for the disabled and elderly. Some defendants have pleaded guilty; other cases are pending.
"If that's the tip of the iceberg," Strickland continues, "we have a lot of work to do."
In fact, the state Senate is looking hard at the $1.6-billion program, called In-Home Supportive Services.
"It's one of the fastest growing programs and gets accused of having fraud, waste and abuse," says Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). "I feel very strongly about its need. When people can get support inside their home, they don't end up as often in nursing homes that cost the taxpayers a whole lot more money."
But Steinberg adds that Democrats who advocate such social services have an obligation to make sure they're run efficiently and as intended. So he has created a new Office of Oversight and Outcomes to investigate their effectiveness.
The Senate's new "strike force," as Steinberg calls it, also expects this year to look at Medi-Cal, prisons and education.
Legislators have a special motivation to probe costly programs. Hardly anyone expects the recent deficit-reduction plan to hold up. They're anticipating that hard times will continue and tax revenue will keep slipping below projections. So they'll be forced to make more spending cuts.
During the maiden meeting of the Assembly committee, it learned about one striking example of inefficiency and incoordination. The Legislature over the years has ordered up more than 2,800 reports from state agencies that still haven't been delivered. Some are "in the mail." Some have been ignored. Some no longer make sense, if they ever did.
"This is a snapshot of state government at work and some of its inefficiencies," observed freshman Assemblyman Curt Hagman (R-Chino Hills).
In truth, many report requests are sops to lawmakers whose bills have been killed and who, as a consolation, are allowed to order up a study.
The committee told the agencies to compile lists of useful and wasteful reports -- and report back for orders.
I suppose it's a start.
george.skelton @latimes.com
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Los Angeles May Still Not Be The Most Corrupt City In The Country
With the underhanded way Measure B - the fraudulent 'solar power' ballot measure (which exists only to payback to union bosses for campaign contributions) - was put on Tuesday's ballot - it would seem with this multi-billion dollar give way of money from the pockets of Los Angeles citizens, it would seem that LA does deserve the title of the most corrupt city in the country. But with the way public officials have their hands out in New York and Chicago at every level of government, we may still be a few years from claiming the title.
As an example - look at the 'pay for play' game as it is played in the Bronx. And the only reason this was even noticed in New York - is that the person who got the pay - is about to run urban policy for this country:
Much more at the above link.
As an example - look at the 'pay for play' game as it is played in the Bronx. And the only reason this was even noticed in New York - is that the person who got the pay - is about to run urban policy for this country:
Buildings sprang up as donations rained down on Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion
BY BENJAMIN LESSER AND GREG B. SMITH
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Updated Sunday, March 1st 2009, 1:35 PM
The man who is President Obama's newly minted urban czar pocketed thousands of dollars in campaign cash from city developers whose projects he approved or funded with taxpayers' money, a Daily News probe found.
Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion often received contributions just before or after he sponsored money for projects or approved important zoning changes, records show.
Most donations were organized and well-timed.
In one case, a developer became a Carrion fund-raiser two months before the borough president signed off on his project, raising more than $6,000 in campaign cash.
In another, eight Boricua College officials came up with $8,000 on the same day for Carrion three weeks before the school filed plans to build a new tower. Carrion ultimately approved the project and sponsored millions in taxpayer funds for it.
Carrion resigned as borough president effective Sunday and begins his new job as director of the White House Office on Urban Policy Monday.
Much more at the above link.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thirteen Things To Keep You Awake At Night
Even if you're not a science freak - these 13 mysteries... about how little we know about ourselves and the world we live in.... is pretty cool.
Can Jordan Downs - Or The Los Angeles Housing Authority - Be Saved?
First, the good news. One of the most crime ridden, dangerous, gang run housing projects may be demolished and replaced with a mixed income community - including the existing residents. This is a project that has long been asked by all of the Watts residents I know.
The bad news is that this will all be done by the Los Angeles Housing Authority - the single most corrupt, dishonest and incompetent of the local government agencies. And from my every dealing and encounter with anyone at this agency, I can verify that the corruption and incompetence in this agency has run from the very top to the very bottom.
It is also filled with people who are not there to serve the people of Los Angeles or the people who live in its housing - but only to push their own political agendas.
Supposedly, the revolving door of new leadership at the top has improved the situation - but some time ago I gave up dealing with the agency - after being unable to find even a single honest or competent person to deal with - so I can't personally speak for the present situation.
But merely changing the people who run the agency won't even begin to fix all the problems of that agency and - so far - I have not seen the slightest internal interest in even investigating much less fixing those problems.
So the only hope for the residents of Watts, is that the private developer is insulated as much as possible from any dealings with the housing agency's staff. Below is a brief description of the project - with the rest of the LAT story at the above link.
Again, the rest of the story is at the above link.
The bad news is that this will all be done by the Los Angeles Housing Authority - the single most corrupt, dishonest and incompetent of the local government agencies. And from my every dealing and encounter with anyone at this agency, I can verify that the corruption and incompetence in this agency has run from the very top to the very bottom.
It is also filled with people who are not there to serve the people of Los Angeles or the people who live in its housing - but only to push their own political agendas.
Supposedly, the revolving door of new leadership at the top has improved the situation - but some time ago I gave up dealing with the agency - after being unable to find even a single honest or competent person to deal with - so I can't personally speak for the present situation.
But merely changing the people who run the agency won't even begin to fix all the problems of that agency and - so far - I have not seen the slightest internal interest in even investigating much less fixing those problems.
So the only hope for the residents of Watts, is that the private developer is insulated as much as possible from any dealings with the housing agency's staff. Below is a brief description of the project - with the rest of the LAT story at the above link.
L.A. officials envision revitalization for Jordan Downs housing project in Watts
The city is making plans to replace the 700 rundown units with a $1-billion mixed-use development, in hopes that bringing businesses to the area will reduce the influence of gangs.
By Ari B. Bloomekatz and Jessica Garrison
February 28, 2009
Los Angeles officials are embarking on a $1-billion plan to tear down the notorious Jordan Downs housing project and turn it into a "new urban village" -- an effort aimed at transforming the Watts neighborhood that would be one of the city's largest public works projects.
The city wants to replace the project's 700 dilapidated units, which were built more than half a century ago, with taller "mixed-use" buildings that would house not just low-income residents but also those paying market rates. The new development could include as many as 2,100 units.
By creating a denser community that serves people of different incomes, officials hope to draw businesses to the complex, such as coffee houses, supermarkets and eateries. Officials believe this would help reduce the influence of gangs in an area that has long been the base of the Grape Street Crips and create better lives for Watts residents. Included in the price tag is a proposal to turn Jordan High School into what officials describe as a cutting-edge model campus.
"This will have a transformative impact not just on the Jordan Downs housing project but on the surrounding community as well," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "In order to make these communities thriving, you have to have a . . . retail component."
Already, L.A. officials have spent $31 million to purchase a 21-acre piece of land adjacent to the existing project on which they plan to expand. They have earmarked millions more for planning. The financing for the project would combine federal redevelopment money, state tax credits and private investments from retailers and developers of market-rate housing. Officials hope to get some money from President Obama's stimulus package and from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
City officials plan to hold their first meeting between the private planning firm they have hired, WRT-Solomon, and community members at Jordan Downs today.
What remains to be seen is whether Los Angeles and its housing authority, which until recently has been plagued by scandal and mismanagement, can carry out such a bold transformation, especially in such grim economic times. Past efforts to modernize Jordan Downs have ended badly, with housing officials fired or forced to resign amid allegations that they broke rules or embezzled funds.
City officials argue that they have turned the authority, the largest housing agency west of the Mississippi, around in recent years. And they argue that the bad economy actually helps their cause, because in tough times, private developers find government-funded projects a safer investment than the vagaries of the open market -- a point on which real estate experts agree.
Again, the rest of the story is at the above link.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Giant Theater Space Opening In Downtown Los Angeles!
I had heard the odd word about this project, but I had no idea it was of this scale- or this close to a public opening. Below is post by Sam Lubell at the ArchitectsNewspaper blog. Photos at the link above.
Last Saturday LA’s new X Repertory Theater Company (XRT) celebrated the opening of its mammoth headquarters—which they call Location X— on 1581 Industrial Street in the city’s Arts/Warehouse District. Members of the company spent weeks prior to the party sandblasting (yes, they did it themselves, respirators and all..) the 10,000 square foot former warehouse’s plaster walls to reveal gorgeous brick;and they’ve hired standout Venice firm Sander Architects to install mainstage and black box theaters, rehearsal rooms, offices, and a coffee bar/cabaret. The non-profit XRT, which officially opens on April 1, will be both a theater company and an acting school. Its space is one of several to recently open along the south edge of the Downtown Arts District, an atmospheric former wasteland that’s already the place to be for architecture school slackers and the rest of today’s Depression 2.0-era youth.
Posted by Sam Lubell: February 25th, 2009 under Other.
Why Are LACMA And MOCA Too Often Empty?
When you compare attendance figures of LA's two major contemporary and comprehensive art museums with their counterparts in New York and London - the difference is striking. Granted, they are much larger museums but even so when you are in them, it is rare that you will be even one room alone - much less in room after room in which you are the only person, as is too often the case at both MOCA and LACMA.
As for the reason why - as well as possible solutions - that is a subject for a later post. But below is one recent visitor's experience at LACMA:
As for the reason why - as well as possible solutions - that is a subject for a later post. But below is one recent visitor's experience at LACMA:
LAST NIGHT AT LACMA
posted by Beth Harris
The post below was co-written by Steven Zucker and Beth Harris
Spent the evening at LACMA , actually a small collection of museum buildings (including the new Broad Museum) separated by courtyards. The museums were all oddly empty. The exceptional exhibition of 20th century German Expressionism, a stunning new fabrication of Tony Smith’s Smoke, a terrific, if tiny Arts and Crafts exhibition, a well-represented collection of post-war American art, a European collection with some lovely canvases (including a great Gauguin), and two wondrous Serras were a treat but the empty galleries made us think perhaps the museum had closed and they had forgotten to shoo us out. Entrance to the museums was “pay as you wish” when we arrived in the early evening — so we knew the economy wasn’t the cause. Was everyone home watching Obama’s speech to congress?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Downtown Los Angeles Predicted To Be Among First Parts Of Nation To Recover From Recession!
According to WWW.GlobeSt.Com, Jack Kyser predicts Downtown Los Angeles will be one of the first areas of the nation to come out of the current business downturn.
And with the many new businesses moving to Historic Downtown along Main and Spring - and the number of existing businesses that are expanding - HIstoric Downtown is already leads the rest of Downtown.
For both last year and this year, we will have far more residents moving to the area - and far fewer vacant retail and restaurant spaces.
And with the many new businesses moving to Historic Downtown along Main and Spring - and the number of existing businesses that are expanding - HIstoric Downtown is already leads the rest of Downtown.
For both last year and this year, we will have far more residents moving to the area - and far fewer vacant retail and restaurant spaces.
Forecast Sees Faster Downtown Recovery
By Bob Howard
LOS ANGELES-Downtown L.A. could start its recovery from the recession sooner than other parts of the county, the state and the nation, thanks to its transportation links, the new L.A. Convention Center hotel and its stable commercial real estate markets. That is the gist of a forecast by Jack Kyser, founding economist for the Kyser Center for Economic Research at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., which recently presented a regional forecast as well.
Kyser, who presented his Downtown outlook recently at the Central City Association’s Ninth Annual Downtown Los Angeles Economic Forecast, tells GlobeSt.com that Downtown is uniquely positioned to come out of the downturn for a number of reasons. For one, upcoming events like the opening of the Gold Line rail extension from Union Station into East L.A. and the opening early next year of the Los Angeles Convention Center hotel will bring more people to and from the city.
Kyser estimates that the number of room nights Downtown will climb to 400,000 in 2010 from 245,000 in 2009 with the opening of the Marriott Marquis and the Ritz Carlton, which will make Downtown more competitive for major business shows and conferences. The hotels will attract business visitors as well as their families, Kyser notes. With the Metrorail connections available from Downtown, "There are a lot of things for those family members to see and do when they come to Los Angeles," Kyser explains, such as catching a train to Universal Studios or taking the Blue Line to Long Beach to the Aquarium of the Pacific or cruises to Catalina. In addition, the Downtown freeway system provides access to Los Angeles International Airport, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and other destinations.
Kyser cites the 1.1% vacancy rate in the Central L.A. industrial market and the county's overall 2.2% industrial vacancy as evidence of its strength. He points out that the office market, although it has weakened with office markets around the country, has not been hit as hard as many others. Downtown didn't have the exposure to the subprime lenders that caused such havoc in the Orange County office market, nor did it depend on the financial companies like those on the Westside of L.A., he explains. With office tenants now keeping an even keener eye on rents, the class A office rates offered in Downtown are attractive when compared to other areas of L.A. county including Hollywood, the West Side and Santa Monica, Kyser points out.
Although the recession will continue throughout 2009, Downtown will fare well in that its residential and worker demographics supporting Downtown businesses. The area currently has 39,000 residents with an average household income of $100,000 or more per year. Approximately 440,000 people also work in Downtown.
Commenting on Kyser's forecast, Carol Schatz, president and CEO of the Central City Association, says that the factors he outlines show that Downtown L.A. is "creating a strong and diverse economy." The Downtown renaissance is creating jobs and business opportunities as well as new housing, entertainment venues and options for shopping and dining, she adds.
Kyser expects to see a reversal of the downsizing that some law firms have undergone because of the slowing in mergers and acquisitions. The new business that will be generated by workouts, bankruptcies and the like should mean at least stability if not growth in the legal sector, which has long been a key office tenant base in Downtown.
Although his outlook for Downtown's recovery overall is positive, Kyser says that the road to recovery will include "some potholes along the way." He notes that many observers are concerned about the flood of residential product that has come on the market. A host of condominium projects have come on the market and found that there were not enough buyers, so some have been converted to apartments, he explains, and some projects--both condos and apartments--are still under construction.
"The concern is whether there will be enough demand over the next year or two," Kyser says of the Downtown housing market. A large part of the concern has to do with condos that came onto the market that are too expensive for most of the likely buyers Downtown. As Kyser explains, the main drivers of the Downtown housing market are "younger people who like a gritty environment and empty nesters who want the convenience," and both of those groups are usually looking for more moderately priced units.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Why I HATED The Oscar Show So Much - Or - Why PIXAR Should Produce The Oscars!
First. the above link goes to Nikke Finke's blog to show I am not alone in feeling the show was a failure
And I finally realized why I unexpectedly hated the show so much.
I liked the concept of almost everything they tried to do: the presentation order; the musical numbers (other than horrible singing over the obits you couldn't read due to bad direction); the idea of the set; the multiple presenters; and even the attempted style and tone.
My strong negative response was due to how far their execution fell from everything they tried to achieve. Other than the wonderful Tina Fey/Steve Martin presenter banter - the writing was stilted, the direction was confused, the set simply did not work in so many ways, the taped pieces were forced and the musical numbers were.... uniformly embarrassing.
It was just too easy to picture how much better every single part of the production, could have been when contrasted to what happened on the stage during the Slumdog production number and whenever the Slumdog winners were on the stage.
And as for Hugh Jackman - he was always professional, always in command of the stage - and he was never for a second a David Letterman or Whoopi Goldberg embarrassment. But he was also never for a moment a host who could hold together the show like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson - or Billy Crystal.
My solution? Next year have PIXAR produce the show.
And I finally realized why I unexpectedly hated the show so much.
I liked the concept of almost everything they tried to do: the presentation order; the musical numbers (other than horrible singing over the obits you couldn't read due to bad direction); the idea of the set; the multiple presenters; and even the attempted style and tone.
My strong negative response was due to how far their execution fell from everything they tried to achieve. Other than the wonderful Tina Fey/Steve Martin presenter banter - the writing was stilted, the direction was confused, the set simply did not work in so many ways, the taped pieces were forced and the musical numbers were.... uniformly embarrassing.
It was just too easy to picture how much better every single part of the production, could have been when contrasted to what happened on the stage during the Slumdog production number and whenever the Slumdog winners were on the stage.
And as for Hugh Jackman - he was always professional, always in command of the stage - and he was never for a second a David Letterman or Whoopi Goldberg embarrassment. But he was also never for a moment a host who could hold together the show like Bob Hope, Johnny Carson - or Billy Crystal.
My solution? Next year have PIXAR produce the show.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Los Angeles Times LA Neighborhood Maps Project Now On-Line!
After years of complaints from local bloggers - myself included - about the inability of the Los Angeles Times to get the names of our city's neighborhoods correct - or to even agree among themselves what any one neighborhood should be called - the Times now has a beta website up for Angelinos (a word which is, of course, spelled two different ways in this town) to debate what their neighborhoods should be called.
My comments in the article by Bob Pool are pretty much self-explanatory, but there were some underlying points I was trying to make. To begin with, different people call their neighborhoods by different names and many neighborhoods have been called different names at different times. This is an art and not a science.
But there are certain rules that should be followed. For one thing, in areas where the larger neighborhood does not have a commonly accepted name, expanding the boundaries of one of the sub-neighborhoods needs to be done very carefully.
Hancock Park is the poster child for that. Expanding it to include large parts of the former Mid-Wilshire (and Park Mile) district and parts of what are now Koreatown and Hollywood makes no sense. Hancock Park has large single family homes on large lots with exact boundaries defined by the subdivider. The same is true with the adjacent Windsor Square, which is also now part of Hancock Park.
In this case, the larger area needs to be called Mid-Wilshire or some other name that reflects the overall character of all the sub-neighborhood - and not the specific characteristics of the one sub-neighborhood.
The same problem occurs with moving the name Beverly Glen - which was originally a small lot subdivisions from the 1920's - with many much larger homes, too, and a newer planned community built in the mid/later 20th Century. Both of those characteristics are quite different from the nature of the former BHPO area now also called... Beverly Glen. Again, the larger name should correctly describe the larger area.
Finally, in the article, I took exception with taking a very distinct - and rather small area - Pico-Union - and expanding it far to the West - taking that name into areas that have nothing to do with the original neighborhood. Even I had to agree, though, that I had absolutely no idea what that area should be called, either. Just that it was not Pico-Union.
But I do want to commend the Times for taking the leadership on this issue (and, more specifically, reporter Bob Pool, California Editor David Lauter and LAT database Editor Doug Smith and his staff)and making it possible for us to have an open public debate on.... who we are and where we live.
Lastly, I have offered the neighborhood councils as a place where the debate can be started and I think the local home owners groups, neighborhood associations, block clubs and chambers of commerce should join in.
So let the debate being!
My comments in the article by Bob Pool are pretty much self-explanatory, but there were some underlying points I was trying to make. To begin with, different people call their neighborhoods by different names and many neighborhoods have been called different names at different times. This is an art and not a science.
But there are certain rules that should be followed. For one thing, in areas where the larger neighborhood does not have a commonly accepted name, expanding the boundaries of one of the sub-neighborhoods needs to be done very carefully.
Hancock Park is the poster child for that. Expanding it to include large parts of the former Mid-Wilshire (and Park Mile) district and parts of what are now Koreatown and Hollywood makes no sense. Hancock Park has large single family homes on large lots with exact boundaries defined by the subdivider. The same is true with the adjacent Windsor Square, which is also now part of Hancock Park.
In this case, the larger area needs to be called Mid-Wilshire or some other name that reflects the overall character of all the sub-neighborhood - and not the specific characteristics of the one sub-neighborhood.
The same problem occurs with moving the name Beverly Glen - which was originally a small lot subdivisions from the 1920's - with many much larger homes, too, and a newer planned community built in the mid/later 20th Century. Both of those characteristics are quite different from the nature of the former BHPO area now also called... Beverly Glen. Again, the larger name should correctly describe the larger area.
Finally, in the article, I took exception with taking a very distinct - and rather small area - Pico-Union - and expanding it far to the West - taking that name into areas that have nothing to do with the original neighborhood. Even I had to agree, though, that I had absolutely no idea what that area should be called, either. Just that it was not Pico-Union.
But I do want to commend the Times for taking the leadership on this issue (and, more specifically, reporter Bob Pool, California Editor David Lauter and LAT database Editor Doug Smith and his staff)and making it possible for us to have an open public debate on.... who we are and where we live.
Lastly, I have offered the neighborhood councils as a place where the debate can be started and I think the local home owners groups, neighborhood associations, block clubs and chambers of commerce should join in.
So let the debate being!
L.A. neighborhoods, you're on the map
In a city where one block is considered Hancock Park and the next Hollywood, The Times unveils an online map of the boundaries of 87 communities. If you don't like what you see, submit changes.
By Bob Pool
February 19, 2009
Nevermind where we're going. Question is: Where are we now?
"We're in Woodland Hills," said Anthony Tholberg as he stood outside his home late last week and mulled over that question.
Tholberg, 23, grew up in the mid-century modern house in the 19800 block of Friar Street. No wonder he was puzzled when he was handed a copy of a new map that labeled his 54-home enclave as being in the community of Winnetka.
The Los Angeles Times is unveiling the new map of neighborhoods today on its website at www.latimes.com/mappingla. Years in the making, it is designed to be a tool that will allow reporters and editors to be consistent when describing neighborhoods in news stories in a city that sometimes seems to change the names like most people change socks.
Dorothy Parker famously said Los Angeles was "72 suburbs in search of a city," so it's not surprising that residents take their neighborhood names so seriously. Those designations are part tradition and history -- but also part economic and political. Many residents see big differences in property value if you live in tony Hancock Park as opposed to more working-class Mid-City.
In the Valley, there's a grand tradition of seceding from traditional neighborhoods. Parts of gritty Van Nuys have become Valley Glen and Lake Balboa, while a portion of Canoga Park re-christened itself West Hills.
For its new map, The Times listed Winnetka, not Woodland Hills, as Tholberg's community. The dividing line followed Topham Street and the new Orange Line busway where they bear south from Woodland Hills' long-standing northern boundary, Victory Boulevard.
"We're going to keep calling ourselves Woodland Hills here," predicted the college student. "Our mail is addressed Woodland Hills and that's what everybody's always called it. We've always considered the intersection of Victory and Corbin as where Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Reseda and Canoga Park meet."
The "Canoga Park" that Tholberg referred to is labeled Winnetka too on The Times' map.
Fortunately, those who disagree with the map have a chance to persuade the newspaper's mapmakers to reconsider. Readers can use the interactive website to redraw any section of the map they feel is incorrect and submit the alteration for editors' consideration. And editors may be busy.
In Highland Park, the map uses Avenue 50 as the dividing line between that community and next-door Mount Washington. That may have plopped hundreds of homes and businesses into Mount Washington by mistake, according to locals.
"I think a lot of people in Mount Washington will be upset by this. It's going to hurt their real estate values," said David Robles, a 34-year-old math coach at Aldama Elementary School. The Times map says his campus is in Mount Washington.
"We're in Highland Park," he said. "A lot of people around here would love to be in Mount Washington, but they're not."
Robles and others at the school said the boundary should be at the base of the hill that gives Mount Washington its name.
Across town, salesman John Kim stood outside his apartment on Manhattan Place a few steps from Melrose Avenue and shook his head at the newspaper's map. It said he lives in Hancock Park.
"This should be Koreatown," said Kim, a 10-year resident of the area. "Hancock Park is a nice area. My landlord jokes this is the 'Koreatown Ghetto.' To me, Hancock Park doesn't start until past Wilcox. Koreatown should go west to Arlington."
Up the street, carwash cashier Leyda Pena suggested that the neighborhood should be considered Hollywood instead of Hancock Park. "The map shows Hollywood is on the other side of the street," she said, pointing to the north side of Melrose. "We should be too."
Pena said she lives in South-Central Los Angeles, an area The Times' map initially didn't recognize as a neighborhood. Instead, it broke South Los Angeles into places such as Exposition Park, Leimert Park, West Vernon, Harvard Park, Green Meadows and Vermont Vista.
Why is neighborhood naming so difficult? The city of Los Angeles has posted hundreds of blue street signs denoting scores of neighborhoods -- from Little Ethiopia to Little Tokyo to Little Armenia. But the city has never drawn the official boundaries of each district.
Los Angeles activist Brady Westwater, who in the past has been a vocal critic of what he has considered the misnaming of neighborhoods in news stories, acknowledged that nailing down names that everyone will agree on will be difficult.
"The first lynch mob is going to be coming down the hill down Beverly Glen Boulevard," he predicted as he studied the preliminary map. The area the newspaper is calling Beverly Glen includes upscale areas north of Beverly Hills that use a Beverly Hills mailing address.
"You'll also get some blowback from Van Nuys -- it's been chopped up. For some reason Pico-Union is being pushed west. No way west of Hoover can be considered Pico-Union."
Westwood historian Greg Fischer, who since the late 1980s has researched original Los Angeles subdivision tract names and sparked a campaign to memorialize them around town with officials city signs, noted that the neighborhood of Little Tokyo is missing from The Times' map.
"If Chinatown is there, Little Tokyo would certainly seem to have a place," Fischer said. "Rancho Park is not really a good name. It's actually 'South Westwood.' Beverly Glen is very suspect -- 'Beverly Crest' would probably be better."
There will be space for recognition of original housing tract names in a "sub-neighborhood" list that will be attached to each of the 87 communities the Times' map recognizes. Eventually, the map may become an electronic entryway to detailed neighborhood information -- crime statistics, census information, economic data and links to Times stories, said Times Database Editor Doug Smith, the map project's coordinator.
Smith, a veteran Times reporter, said the map was compiled with information drawn from such references as a mid-1990s mayor's office map, a 2001 Times map that plotted potholes in the city, the Thomas Guide, U.S. census tracts and Times staffers' personal experience and knowledge.
"To be honest, it's more seat-of-the-pants than scientific," Smith said. "We didn't go to original Spanish land grant maps. The authority is the collective wisdom of the L.A. Times."
California Editor David Lauter, who pushed to give readers an opportunity to review and comment on the project, urged that the map's basic communities be limited to 100. He said "sub-neighborhoods" could list historic or ceremonial names found in the city.
There was lengthy debate over many districts. "Mount Olympus" or "Hollywood Hills West?" Where does Porter Ranch end and Chatsworth begin?
Web designer Ben Welsh wondered whether a small section of the Los Feliz area should be singled out as a neighborhood that locals know as Franklin Hills. Cautioned researcher Maloy Moore: "I've met people who are very adamant that they live in Franklin Hills, not Los Feliz."
Smith said adjustments will continue to be made to the map when readers and users submit convincing arguments and as demographics and situations change.
Even as Smith spoke, his colleagues were incorporating some of Westwater's suggestions and rethinking such decisions as the use of the South-Central Los Angeles name.
"This will be a work in progress," Smith said.
bob.pool@latimes.com
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Excellent Article On Coming Crisis In Russia
What is happening today in Russia is only the beginning of their crisis - and ours. This is the best summary I have yet seen.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
OMG! More Hot News From Pravada! Hairy Yeti Women Seducing Russian Men!
Normally, I only read the financial news in Pravda - but once I followed the cat's eyes photos - I discovered the fascinating world of Pravda's inner National Enquirer. And, no, this is not an 'Onion' version of Pravda. It's the real deal:
Weird hairy females seduce hot-blooded Caucasian men
17.12.2008 Source: Pravda.Ru URL: http://english.pravda.ru/society/anomal/106840-weird_females-0
A sensational incident took place in the Chegemsky Gorge of the Northern Caucasus. Researchers found evidence to prove the existence of Bigfoot in the area. Local residents say that Yeti females – people refer to these weird creatures as the Almasty – come into contact with humans and even attempted to have a sexual intercourse with local men.
People say that they have had quite a number of encounters with yeti in the area around the town of Elbrus.
“There are many deserted barns over there with boulders and woods around. They most often spot the Almasty there. They come to town from there,” local resident Adelgery Tilov said.
The settlement of Elbrus is entirely surrounded by woods and mountains. Each resident has seen the Bigfoot at least once in a lifetime. Moreover, local women know some men, who communicate with the Almasty, with their females, to be more precise.
“A yeti female looks like a gorilla, of course, but she can definitely temp a man,” one of the elders, Kazi Khajiyev said. “The Almasty can bewitch a man. They say that a man, whom a wild woman tries to seduce, sees not the hairy ape-like creature, but the woman that he wants to see. It is something like hypnosis,” the man said.
The locals try to avoid a sudden meeting with the yeti. They traditionally put some of their food and drinks outside every night after dinner to feed the wild creatures.
“A wild human being is a human being, that is why we try to get along with them. My grandfather used to tell me that the Almasty have always lived here. They increased their population after the Balkars deserted their villages. The Almasty took their homes, that’s why they let humans see them so often nowadays,” Adilgery Tilov said.
Adilgery says that fire is the ultimate attraction to the yeti. Most of the encounters occur when people sit by the fire.
“I had to go to a neighboring village one summer day. I was supposed to stay there for a night so I accommodated myself in a deserted barn. I made a fire near the barn and fell asleep. I opened my eyes very early in the morning and saw someone sitting by the fire. A female yeti was giving me a very thoughtful look. She was not tall, a bit more than one meter in height. She was black and her fur was all messy . I was scared to death, and was lying there still, thinking what she was going to do next. She stayed there for about ten more minutes, got up and vanished in the woods,” the man said.
“Wild man does not like to be bothered. If someone offends the Almasty, they may respond in the most terrible way. One summer day children were playing games in our village. A wild woman was sitting not very far from the kids, basking in the sun. One of the boys ran up to the woman and pulled her by the fur. She did not move, but gave the boy a fierce look. The boy died from a strange disease several days later,” Tilov said.
Many locals say that the Almasty can cast an evil spell on humans. Nafisat Boziyeva is one of those who suffered from such a curse.
“I knew the story from my early childhood, but it could never occur to me that the story was true. It happened before the revolution. One of our ancestors encountered a wild woman in the woods. They developed affection to each other, and he even brought her to the village as if she was his wife. It was obviously a shock for the villagers. Many women were openly laughing at the wild female, and so she cursed them. There were several women of our clan among the cursed. Many of our female descendants have never been able to have their own families since then. They become either unhappily married or spend the whole life alone,” the woman said.
Life.ru
© 1999-2006. «PRAVDA.Ru». When reproducing our materials in whole or in part, hyperlink to PRAVDA.Ru should be made. The opinions and views of the authors do not always coincide with the point of view of PRAVDA.Ru's editors.
Even Pravda Has A Cat Photo Album On Its Website!
It's a far cry from.... http://icanhascheezburger.com/ - but the Russian paper of record now features a link to photos of cat's eyes on its website.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Broadway's Historic 'Tower Theater' Reopens This Saturday With Famed Edwardian Ball!
The Edwardian Ball
Descends on Downtown LA for the First Time
Following SF’s 9th Annual Weekend-Long Celebration (Jan. 23 - 25)
At Tower Theater
Saturday, January 31, 2009
LOS ANGELES, CA – Paradox Media, Vau de Vire and Cirque Berzerk presents The Edwardian Ball - Los Angeles on Saturday, January 31, 2009. A splendid San Francisco tradition flies south for the winter, presenting an elegant, turn of the century celebration of music, theatre, dance, circus arts, DJs, ballroom dance, fashion, technology, and of course, the art and stories of Edward Gorey. Costumed attire is requested! Held in the historic Tower Theater, and hosted by LA's own big top phenomenon Cirque Berzerk in partnership with Edwardian Ball co-creators Rosin Coven and Vau de Vire Society, the night promises an unforgettable blend of audience and performance with humor, darkness, and style. Also featuring Helios Jive, DJ Xian (LADEAD), Jill Tracy, Miz Margo, Dark Garden Corsetry, and many special guests.
Tower Theater is located at 802 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014. For more information on the venue please call 213-629-2939 or visit http://www.towertheaterla.com. Doors open and show begins at 8:00pm, and all ages are welcome. General admission tickets cost $25, and a limited amount of $75 VIP tickets are available that include reserved balcony seating and hosted absinthe bar, courtesy of Obsello Absinthe (21+ only). Tickets can be purchased at Necromance (7208 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046; 323-931-2997). For more information and online tickets, please visit http://www.edwardianball.com.
Since 1999 The Edwardian Ball has steadily grown from an underground club phenomenon into a full-fledged festival of arts and culture, focusing on the esteemed works of the late, great author/illustrator Edward Gorey. Now, with the blessings of The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, this one-night-only Los Angeles event of everything under the midnight sun reaches across cultural boundaries to include audiences of all ages and backgrounds, where literary fans are as welcome as goth club goers, where the high flying trapeze and steam-powered machines create the backdrop for elegantly dressed ballgoers waltzing their way into the antique portrait studio. Event producer/founder, Justin Katz, muses, “No one city can contain this celebration where the old-world meets the world-to-be with an unforgettable tip of the top hat, curtsey, and a splash of absinthe poured over a silver spoon… So we’re thrilled to bring the Ball to LA.”
For almost a decade, The Edwardian Ball has been featuring Gorey tales brought to life on stage. A truly prodigious and original artist, Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000), gave to the world over one hundred works, including The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest and The Wuggly Ump; prize-winning set and costume designs for innumerable theater productions from Cape Cod to Broadway; a remarkable number of illustrations in publications such as The New Yorker and The New York Times, and in books by a wide array of authors from Charles Dickens to Edward Lear, Samuel Beckett, John Updike, Virginia Woolf, H.G. Wells, Florence Heide and many others. His well-known animated credits for the PBS Mystery series have introduced him to millions of television viewers. Gorey's masterful pen and ink illustrations and his ironic, offbeat humor have brought him critical acclaim and an avid following throughout the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gorey).
Heralding dozens of various performers, Cirque Berzerk has been performing since 2005. Spearheaded by husband and wife team Kevin Bourque and Suzanne Bernel, Cirque Berzerk is a tight-knit family of performers who have banded together to put their unique spin on the face of contemporary circus theater. Complete with their own big top tent (and still buzzing from their sold-out, multi-weekend “Beneath” shows at the Los Angeles State Historic Park in summer 2008), they have performed for various types of events and clients including Carmen Elektra’s New Year’s Eve Bash at Paramount Studios, Best Buy, PlayStation3 Computer Entertainment System and a host of private shows at locations ranging from nightclubs to the Ritz Carlton. The troupe’s signature style blends hardcore circus choreography with the glamorous themes of cabaret and vaudeville. Stunts include aerial performance, contortion, various stunts involving fire and incredible stilt action. More information on Cirque Berzerk is found at www.cirqueberzerk.com.
A hidden gem in downtown LA's Broadway movie palace district, The Tower Theater was the first theater designed by renowned architect S. Charles Lee. The Tower opened in 1927 as the first movie palace in downtown LA wired for sound films, and was the sneak preview location for the Warner Brothers' classic, The Jazz Singer (1927). The theater's opulent exterior and interior feature French Renaissance motifs with lavish Spanish, Romanesque and Moorish influences. Popular with film industry location scouts but rarely used for live events, the venue owners saw how special this production was and on January 31st… so will enthralled audience members.
# # #
Descends on Downtown LA for the First Time
Following SF’s 9th Annual Weekend-Long Celebration (Jan. 23 - 25)
At Tower Theater
Saturday, January 31, 2009
LOS ANGELES, CA – Paradox Media, Vau de Vire and Cirque Berzerk presents The Edwardian Ball - Los Angeles on Saturday, January 31, 2009. A splendid San Francisco tradition flies south for the winter, presenting an elegant, turn of the century celebration of music, theatre, dance, circus arts, DJs, ballroom dance, fashion, technology, and of course, the art and stories of Edward Gorey. Costumed attire is requested! Held in the historic Tower Theater, and hosted by LA's own big top phenomenon Cirque Berzerk in partnership with Edwardian Ball co-creators Rosin Coven and Vau de Vire Society, the night promises an unforgettable blend of audience and performance with humor, darkness, and style. Also featuring Helios Jive, DJ Xian (LADEAD), Jill Tracy, Miz Margo, Dark Garden Corsetry, and many special guests.
Tower Theater is located at 802 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014. For more information on the venue please call 213-629-2939 or visit http://www.towertheaterla.com. Doors open and show begins at 8:00pm, and all ages are welcome. General admission tickets cost $25, and a limited amount of $75 VIP tickets are available that include reserved balcony seating and hosted absinthe bar, courtesy of Obsello Absinthe (21+ only). Tickets can be purchased at Necromance (7208 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046; 323-931-2997). For more information and online tickets, please visit http://www.edwardianball.com.
Since 1999 The Edwardian Ball has steadily grown from an underground club phenomenon into a full-fledged festival of arts and culture, focusing on the esteemed works of the late, great author/illustrator Edward Gorey. Now, with the blessings of The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, this one-night-only Los Angeles event of everything under the midnight sun reaches across cultural boundaries to include audiences of all ages and backgrounds, where literary fans are as welcome as goth club goers, where the high flying trapeze and steam-powered machines create the backdrop for elegantly dressed ballgoers waltzing their way into the antique portrait studio. Event producer/founder, Justin Katz, muses, “No one city can contain this celebration where the old-world meets the world-to-be with an unforgettable tip of the top hat, curtsey, and a splash of absinthe poured over a silver spoon… So we’re thrilled to bring the Ball to LA.”
For almost a decade, The Edwardian Ball has been featuring Gorey tales brought to life on stage. A truly prodigious and original artist, Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000), gave to the world over one hundred works, including The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest and The Wuggly Ump; prize-winning set and costume designs for innumerable theater productions from Cape Cod to Broadway; a remarkable number of illustrations in publications such as The New Yorker and The New York Times, and in books by a wide array of authors from Charles Dickens to Edward Lear, Samuel Beckett, John Updike, Virginia Woolf, H.G. Wells, Florence Heide and many others. His well-known animated credits for the PBS Mystery series have introduced him to millions of television viewers. Gorey's masterful pen and ink illustrations and his ironic, offbeat humor have brought him critical acclaim and an avid following throughout the world (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gorey).
Heralding dozens of various performers, Cirque Berzerk has been performing since 2005. Spearheaded by husband and wife team Kevin Bourque and Suzanne Bernel, Cirque Berzerk is a tight-knit family of performers who have banded together to put their unique spin on the face of contemporary circus theater. Complete with their own big top tent (and still buzzing from their sold-out, multi-weekend “Beneath” shows at the Los Angeles State Historic Park in summer 2008), they have performed for various types of events and clients including Carmen Elektra’s New Year’s Eve Bash at Paramount Studios, Best Buy, PlayStation3 Computer Entertainment System and a host of private shows at locations ranging from nightclubs to the Ritz Carlton. The troupe’s signature style blends hardcore circus choreography with the glamorous themes of cabaret and vaudeville. Stunts include aerial performance, contortion, various stunts involving fire and incredible stilt action. More information on Cirque Berzerk is found at www.cirqueberzerk.com.
A hidden gem in downtown LA's Broadway movie palace district, The Tower Theater was the first theater designed by renowned architect S. Charles Lee. The Tower opened in 1927 as the first movie palace in downtown LA wired for sound films, and was the sneak preview location for the Warner Brothers' classic, The Jazz Singer (1927). The theater's opulent exterior and interior feature French Renaissance motifs with lavish Spanish, Romanesque and Moorish influences. Popular with film industry location scouts but rarely used for live events, the venue owners saw how special this production was and on January 31st… so will enthralled audience members.
# # #
Monday, January 19, 2009
Los Angeles Times STILL Can't Get It's LA Neighborhoods Straight! UPDATE FROM LA TIMES! More Updates And Partial Correction!
How hard can it be for the Los Angeles Times to take a Thomas Guide, talk to some people who know something about this city - and then mark up that book with the correct names of our city's neighborhoods.
And, I am told by a veteran reporter, one such book once existed. So I would like to offer the LA Times the help of the neighborhood councils in drawing up a map of where our city's neighborhoods are.
Lately, the problem near Downtown has been that anything west of Downtown is automatically called - the Westlake District - no matter how far into Koreatown or Mid-Wilshire it is - or how close to Downtown it is - even when it's actually Pico-Union neighborhood - which is east of the Westlake District.
But now they've managed to screw this area up even worse.
The exact same street they used to say was in Westlake - Westmoreland Ave just east of Vermont - they are now saying is in the... Pico-Union neighborhood....even though the Westlake District is located between Pico-Union and Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown neighborhood that Westmoreland is actually located in. (Correction - Westmoreland this far south could be Koreatown - but NOT Mid-Wilshire. But all articles about Pico-Union clearly state Hoover is the furthest west the area goes so it is NOT Pico-Union).
So the Los Angeles Times has now decided there are not one, but two Pico-Union neighborhoods - one on each side of the Westlake District.
UPDATE!
Just got an email from California editor David Lauter - and the Times is now working on putting together an on-line map of Los Angeles neighborhoods; they will then invite the public to comment upon it.
And since the LAT isn't the only one who has trouble telling one neighborhood from the other, and since there are so many different potential boundary lines - this is a chance to get at least a semi-official guide to what is what and where the hell it is.
MORE UPDATE!
First, I forgot to mention the LA Times new project will use census blocks as the matirx for their neighborhood maps. Second, as one person below mentions - some maps DO list this as being in the Pico-Union neighborhood while others list it as being in Koreatown. And there is a legitimate question as to how far south Westlake goes and what the area below that is called if it is not Westlake.
But it is clearly NOT mid-Wilshire as it might be if it were a little further north (an area which the LAT has been increasingly calling... Westlake) and while it might be Westlake adjacent - possibly Harvard Heights might be a better description as the below poster suggests - or it might be the Harvard Heights neighborhood in the Westlake, Pico-Union or Koreatown... District.
Which brings us to the question - are neighborhoods parts of larger districts - and, if so - what would you then call the various East and West Los Angeles's?
My head hurts and I need to lie down now.
And, I am told by a veteran reporter, one such book once existed. So I would like to offer the LA Times the help of the neighborhood councils in drawing up a map of where our city's neighborhoods are.
Lately, the problem near Downtown has been that anything west of Downtown is automatically called - the Westlake District - no matter how far into Koreatown or Mid-Wilshire it is - or how close to Downtown it is - even when it's actually Pico-Union neighborhood - which is east of the Westlake District.
But now they've managed to screw this area up even worse.
The exact same street they used to say was in Westlake - Westmoreland Ave just east of Vermont - they are now saying is in the... Pico-Union neighborhood....even though the Westlake District is located between Pico-Union and Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown neighborhood that Westmoreland is actually located in. (Correction - Westmoreland this far south could be Koreatown - but NOT Mid-Wilshire. But all articles about Pico-Union clearly state Hoover is the furthest west the area goes so it is NOT Pico-Union).
So the Los Angeles Times has now decided there are not one, but two Pico-Union neighborhoods - one on each side of the Westlake District.
Apartment building partially collapses, injuring 4
Fire officials estimate 20 to 30 people were inside the Pico-Union building when the front portion collapsed. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening
By Scott Gold
January 19, 2009
The front of a small apartment building in the Pico-Union neighborhood collapsed Sunday night, injuring at least four people.
A portion of the building in the 1600 block of South Westmoreland Avenue collapsed shortly before 9 p.m. Fire officials said between 20 and 30 people were inside at the time.
None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. One woman was hospitalized with multiple lacerations. She was in stable condition, paramedics said.
UPDATE!
Just got an email from California editor David Lauter - and the Times is now working on putting together an on-line map of Los Angeles neighborhoods; they will then invite the public to comment upon it.
And since the LAT isn't the only one who has trouble telling one neighborhood from the other, and since there are so many different potential boundary lines - this is a chance to get at least a semi-official guide to what is what and where the hell it is.
MORE UPDATE!
First, I forgot to mention the LA Times new project will use census blocks as the matirx for their neighborhood maps. Second, as one person below mentions - some maps DO list this as being in the Pico-Union neighborhood while others list it as being in Koreatown. And there is a legitimate question as to how far south Westlake goes and what the area below that is called if it is not Westlake.
But it is clearly NOT mid-Wilshire as it might be if it were a little further north (an area which the LAT has been increasingly calling... Westlake) and while it might be Westlake adjacent - possibly Harvard Heights might be a better description as the below poster suggests - or it might be the Harvard Heights neighborhood in the Westlake, Pico-Union or Koreatown... District.
Which brings us to the question - are neighborhoods parts of larger districts - and, if so - what would you then call the various East and West Los Angeles's?
My head hurts and I need to lie down now.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A Park Comes To Historic Downtown Los Angeles!
At the CD 9 Quimby Fees Committee meeting today, it was announced that the parking lots on the east side of Spring Street between the El Dorado condos under construction and the just finished Rowan condos will no longer be the site of a hotel - but will instead become.. a park.
The city has just negotiated a price of $5,600,000 for the 36,518 foot site - which comes out to about $157 a foot - with a proposed closing date by the end of March. This still has to go to council for approval, but with Jan Perry's support, a willing seller and unanimous community approval at the meeting, this should be a no brainer.
This first ever acquisition of parkland downtown by the controversial Quimby fee program is a result of actions taken many years ago by the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council. After I introduced a motion at our Transportation and Public Works Committee asking.... What the hell was happening to your Quimby fees? - first that committee and now our Parks Committee has been asking that question non-stop. Jan Perry also quickly picked up the issue and for the past few years, she has been a strong advocate for us on this.
And for those not following the story, Quimby fees are in lieu fees paid by developers of single family home subdivisions or condo projects upon the recordation of their track maps. That money is then to be used to either buy new parkland - or improve existing park spaces. Their other option is the dedication of park space from the project which is commonly done in large subdivisions, but which is not feasible with most condo projects.
Our problem, though, was no one knew how much of that money had been spent - and no one seemed to know how much of that money was left. The skyrocketing prices of land Downtown also made it hard to either find a willing seller - or a seller willing to sell at a price the city could justify. And since the city can only what a property is actually worth - with no recent comps in the current down market, it was hard to justify any of the current asking prices for unimproved land. This new comp, though, will make it easier to negotiate other purchases.
The next steps are for the Recreation and Parks Department to get the necessary sign-offs on the purchase from the City while also looking for possible matching funds for the purchase (which will be unlikely to to the shortness of the escrow) and matching funds for the actual development of the park, a more likely possibility.
There will then be a series of public meetings so the community can have input on the uses and design of the park - and there will also need to be a business plan developed to maintain the park since Rec and Parks does not have the budget to maintain existing parks, much less new parks.
Among the possibilities discussed at this morning's meeting was a Mellos-Roos benefit assessment district where adjacent property owners will pay for part of the maintenance, a underground parking garage (and the new ones are a lot better looking than the Pershing Square disaster), and a restaurant whose rent would help cover maintaining the park as well as providing security for the park.
Among the uses very briefly discussed were recreation facilities for the growing number of toddlers in the community, a dog park, movie screenings on the blank wall of the Rowan Building and arts events to be held in conjunction with the Art Walk and Gallery Row.
This park will also complement the neighboring Gilmore developed properties by protecting the views from both the Rowan and the El Dorado - plus it should considerably help the sales on the February 8th action of just under half of the Rowan's units. Not only will many of the units have better protected views - but the entire complex will have direct access to a new park.
Lastly, among the other things that still need to be worked out is how this park will relate to both the easement driveway next to the El Dorado which provides access from Spring Street to the Gilmore garage on Main Street and how the park will interact with Harlem Alley on the eastern rear side of the property. There is a possibly that Harlem alley could be largely or partly converted to a pedestrian walkway with shops and cafes added to the already existing Lost Souls Cafe.
The city has just negotiated a price of $5,600,000 for the 36,518 foot site - which comes out to about $157 a foot - with a proposed closing date by the end of March. This still has to go to council for approval, but with Jan Perry's support, a willing seller and unanimous community approval at the meeting, this should be a no brainer.
This first ever acquisition of parkland downtown by the controversial Quimby fee program is a result of actions taken many years ago by the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council. After I introduced a motion at our Transportation and Public Works Committee asking.... What the hell was happening to your Quimby fees? - first that committee and now our Parks Committee has been asking that question non-stop. Jan Perry also quickly picked up the issue and for the past few years, she has been a strong advocate for us on this.
And for those not following the story, Quimby fees are in lieu fees paid by developers of single family home subdivisions or condo projects upon the recordation of their track maps. That money is then to be used to either buy new parkland - or improve existing park spaces. Their other option is the dedication of park space from the project which is commonly done in large subdivisions, but which is not feasible with most condo projects.
Our problem, though, was no one knew how much of that money had been spent - and no one seemed to know how much of that money was left. The skyrocketing prices of land Downtown also made it hard to either find a willing seller - or a seller willing to sell at a price the city could justify. And since the city can only what a property is actually worth - with no recent comps in the current down market, it was hard to justify any of the current asking prices for unimproved land. This new comp, though, will make it easier to negotiate other purchases.
The next steps are for the Recreation and Parks Department to get the necessary sign-offs on the purchase from the City while also looking for possible matching funds for the purchase (which will be unlikely to to the shortness of the escrow) and matching funds for the actual development of the park, a more likely possibility.
There will then be a series of public meetings so the community can have input on the uses and design of the park - and there will also need to be a business plan developed to maintain the park since Rec and Parks does not have the budget to maintain existing parks, much less new parks.
Among the possibilities discussed at this morning's meeting was a Mellos-Roos benefit assessment district where adjacent property owners will pay for part of the maintenance, a underground parking garage (and the new ones are a lot better looking than the Pershing Square disaster), and a restaurant whose rent would help cover maintaining the park as well as providing security for the park.
Among the uses very briefly discussed were recreation facilities for the growing number of toddlers in the community, a dog park, movie screenings on the blank wall of the Rowan Building and arts events to be held in conjunction with the Art Walk and Gallery Row.
This park will also complement the neighboring Gilmore developed properties by protecting the views from both the Rowan and the El Dorado - plus it should considerably help the sales on the February 8th action of just under half of the Rowan's units. Not only will many of the units have better protected views - but the entire complex will have direct access to a new park.
Lastly, among the other things that still need to be worked out is how this park will relate to both the easement driveway next to the El Dorado which provides access from Spring Street to the Gilmore garage on Main Street and how the park will interact with Harlem Alley on the eastern rear side of the property. There is a possibly that Harlem alley could be largely or partly converted to a pedestrian walkway with shops and cafes added to the already existing Lost Souls Cafe.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Neighborhood Council Activists Defeat Political Machine In Court Today!
It's only fitting that the first person to report today that activists gathered together by the neighborhood councils, under the leadership of city attorney candidate Noel Weiss, turned back a well financed attempt by powerful special interest groups to censor the "No on B" argument on the March ballot - was none other than David Zahniser of the Los Angeles Times.
Because if Zahniser had not uncovered the secret report that Eric Garcetti and other supporters of Measure B had kept hidden from the public and most of the city council prior the to city council putting this measure on the ballot - we would known know just how staggeringly dishonest the supporters of this measure were and continue to be.
Because if Zahniser had not uncovered the secret report that Eric Garcetti and other supporters of Measure B had kept hidden from the public and most of the city council prior the to city council putting this measure on the ballot - we would known know just how staggeringly dishonest the supporters of this measure were and continue to be.
Judge upholds wording of Measure B's ballot argument
He refuses to remove key passages warning that Los Angeles' solar energy initiative in the March 3 election would create a monopoly.
By David Zahniser
5:02 PM PST, January 8, 2009
A judge on Thursday refused to remove key passages used by neighborhood activists in their ballot argument against Measure B, the solar energy proposal heading to Los Angeles voters in the March 3 election.
Mitchell Schwartz, a political strategist who staged Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 2005 inaugural gala, had asked the judge to take out wording in the voter pamphlet warning that the solar plan would give a monopoly to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union that represents employees at the city's Department of Water and Power.
But Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe said the measure -- which has been embraced by Villaraigosa and the City Council -- is open to a range of interpretations. "The proposition is so vague and so encompassing that speculation about just about anything is fair game," he said.
Yaffe issued a tentative ruling that is expected to become final today. But his statements did little to end a heated debate over the solar proposal, which seeks to add 400 megawatts of solar energy to rooftops and parking lots by 2014.
Those who signed the argument against Measure B accused allies of the mayor of using expensive lawyers to squelch the opposition's political views. After Schwartz went to court, signers of the ballot argument against Measure B hired a lawyer -- city attorney candidate Noel Weiss -- and dubbed themselves "the Solar 8."
The group's members includes former DWP president Nick Patsaouras, now a candidate for city controller, and former Los Angeles Daily News editor Ron Kaye.
In his tentative ruling, Yaffe also refused to remove language that warned that "no competitive bidding" would be used by the solar program. And he declined to take out wording that warned that the DWP would use "outdated technology" for the initiative. "The judge did the right thing," Weiss said.
Schwartz, who served last year as state campaign director for President-elect Barack Obama, did not attend the hearing. But attorney Stephen Kaufman, who represented Schwartz, said opponents of Measure B had made false or misleading statements that would be corrected during the campaign.
In the opponents' ballot argument, "the implication is that this is a self-serving deal being foisted on the voters here, and that is simply not the case," Kaufman told the judge.
He said his client scored one important victory, by forcing opponents of Measure B to remove a passage stating that no public hearings had been held on the solar proposal. Instead, the argument will say that the DWP did not provide "engineering or operational input" before Measure B went on the ballot.
The measure was proposed by Working Californians, an advocacy group headed by two high-level officials from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The Measure B campaign paid for Schwartz's legal fees.
Schwartz, president of the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, was part of a select group that attended a Feb. 29, 2008, presentation on the solar plan by the union's Local 18 business manager Brian D'Arcy. His public relations firm, Bomaye Company, provided services to the DWP between 1999 and 2003. During that period, the firm helped promote the DWP's green initiatives, including one of its existing solar programs.
Schwartz's latest firm, skImpact, has a contract with CH2M Hill, a company that has been accused by the DWP of overbilling. But Schwartz said he is not doing any work related to the city or its electrical utility -- and only joined the lawsuit at Kaufman's request.
"I'm not part of the insider crew at all," he said. "I know them, but I'm not part of them. I just think the solar thing is really good."
david.zahniser@latimes.com
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
COAGULA - The Leading LA Based Art Journal - Goes 100% Digital!
COAGULA Art Journal has just become the first - that I know of - art magazine to completely abandon dead tree distribution - for the 100% digital world. Details in press release below.
And for those who are not currently readers of Coagula - now is the perfect time to start your addiction to the publication called everything from the National Enquirer of the Art World - to the only art world publication that is eagerly read cover to cover.
And I can still recall the day I found the very first issue on the staircase of an old loft building in the Arts District and the day soon after when I first met Mat Gleason, the founder and publisher of Coagula. Shortly later - on occasion - I wrote for it during its early days and Mat Gleason was the only person in 1998 then willing to print my expose of Mike Davis that started that multi-year literary war. (I was also - very briefly - a temporary trustee of the legacy - but that's a whole different story....)
I can also still recall when having a copy of it in Europe during the early 1990's could be traded for access to any party or event in the European art world, and it wasn't too bad in making friends with female of the species, either.
So click on the link above and read yourself a little Coagula. You may love it - or you may hate it - but you will never be bored by it.
And for those who are not currently readers of Coagula - now is the perfect time to start your addiction to the publication called everything from the National Enquirer of the Art World - to the only art world publication that is eagerly read cover to cover.
And I can still recall the day I found the very first issue on the staircase of an old loft building in the Arts District and the day soon after when I first met Mat Gleason, the founder and publisher of Coagula. Shortly later - on occasion - I wrote for it during its early days and Mat Gleason was the only person in 1998 then willing to print my expose of Mike Davis that started that multi-year literary war. (I was also - very briefly - a temporary trustee of the legacy - but that's a whole different story....)
I can also still recall when having a copy of it in Europe during the early 1990's could be traded for access to any party or event in the European art world, and it wasn't too bad in making friends with female of the species, either.
So click on the link above and read yourself a little Coagula. You may love it - or you may hate it - but you will never be bored by it.
January 7, 2009
Greetings, hope the new year is going well.
Coagula Art Journal enters its 17th year of publishing by going PRINT ON DEMAND this February! After 16 years of trudging thru galleries hoping that the stack of free Coagula magazines has not been exhausted, readers will now be able to freely download and peruse the latest issue of Coagula in its entirety, right at home.
A printable version will be delivered to individuals by the simple click of a mouse key. Rather than target 12,000 Gallery-goers across the U.S. art scene, the Print On Demand Coagula will be aimed at 100,000 art professionals and art fans, worldwide, who are a part of the contemporary art world that reads COAGULA from cover to cover. Our archives and art world news can be enjoyed any time at Coagula.com and, come February 1, all will be able to get their hands on the LowDown on High Art in the comfort of their own home or office. Acquiring the full-color glossy issue of our magazine will be just a couple of clicks away.
Beautiful full color, hugely expanded new audience, international in scope, with major growth in Los Angeles, New York and nationwide. No wonder we're excited about our new format. For years, avid readers complained that they can't find the magazine, since they get snapped up quickly, often within a few days of being delivered to galleries and museum.
We're up and running, working on the February/March issue right now.
Editorial Deadline: January 14th
Coagula is always open to your editorial suggestions - it is a large art world and our editorial staff appreciates being notified of interesting developments that you know about.
Advertising Deadline: January 20th
Does the gallery wish to reach a larger audience? Does your company offer goods and services to an upscale clientele? Have you got something going on? Would you like to let the art world know about the things you are doing or have available, or how to find you? Coagula Art Journal, Issue #96, deadlines on Tuesday, January 20th. Distribution throughout the art world begins on February 1st. Please contact us to advertise to our readership all activities taking place during February and March, or for general contact purposes and web traffic, etc. Or to publish an advance schedule.
Again: Monster Distribution in Beautiful Color
The art world's largest distribution.
The art world's ONLY 100% verifiable circulation/readership.
The art world's most cost effective and competitive pricing schedule.
Ad Space closes: Tuesday, January 20th.
We recommend earlier contact to reserve space.
Editorial information must be submitted by January 14th.
Reach the Art World.
Advertise in Coagula.
Contact Michael Salerno at 323.223.6089, MS@MichaelSalerno.com
Coagula Art Journal
The LowDown on High Art
The world’s largest free art publication is still free!
Feel free to forward this message to anyone you believe would appreciate its receipt.
As always, your comments and feedback on this service are welcome. If for any reason you no longer wish to be included, please let us know.
Thanks and best regards,
Michael
323.223.6089
MS@MichaelSalerno.com
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Support Your Local Literary Blog!
Anyone who lives in Los Angeles - or anywhere, for that matter - and who cares about literature is, of course, a regular reader of Mark Sarvas' blog - The Elegant Variation aka TEV. But if for some unfathomable reason TEV is not a regularly visited bookmark of yours - it should be. And you are not familiar with the site - here is a link:
http://marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/
The reason for this post is that Mark Sarvas is up for a weblog award for the best literature blog. However, unlike some of the other blogs, he has been characteristically remiss in promoting himself. So if you are not familiar with 'The Elegant Variation' - sample it now and then click on the hot link at the top of this page and vote. And you can vote once a day until the 13th.
http://marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/
The reason for this post is that Mark Sarvas is up for a weblog award for the best literature blog. However, unlike some of the other blogs, he has been characteristically remiss in promoting himself. So if you are not familiar with 'The Elegant Variation' - sample it now and then click on the hot link at the top of this page and vote. And you can vote once a day until the 13th.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Beijing Brings Back Broadway - Big Time!
While people in Los Angles debate whether or not even the handful of theaters on Los Angeles' Broadway can be reborn as legitimate Broadway theaters - China is about to build 32 - yes - thirty-two - legitimate theaters in one place to create their own Broadway theater district.
Huge theater complex set for Beijing
32 theaters hope to tempt audiences, musicals
By CLIFFORD COONAN
Move over Broadway -- China is looking to become the global destination of choice for musicals.
Theatergoers in the Chinese capital are hoping a giant entertainment project that will contain 32 theaters when construction is complete will rival the West End and Broadway, with some of the world's top musicals such as "Fame" and "The Lion King" running year-round.
Backers are spending $686 million on the project, and the main theater will seat 2,000 people, with the others accommodating auds of between 300 and 500.
Creative Beijing will be home to a complex of theaters for musicals in the Haidian district in the capital's northwestern suburbs. Local media have already dubbed it "China's Broadway," and it will be Asia's biggest base for the production of musicals.
"The capital is a traditional cultural center, with the biggest audiences and the best performing talents," Xu Feng, spokesman for developer Beijing Nederlander New Century Intl. Theater Management, told the China Daily.
Chinese auds have really taken to Western-style musicals such as "Hairspray," "Mamma Mia!" and "The Lion King," even though tickets can be expensive. Many musicals are being customized for local auds to run in the Mandarin language, often with big impresarios such as the Broadway's Nederlanders or Cameron Mackintosh involved.
Foreign producers are keen to make an impact in China to offset flagging fortunes in home markets that are feeling the pinch of the economic crisis.
Nederlander recently produced a Chinese version of "Fame" at the Central Academy of Drama, having brought "42nd Street" to China last year. Beijing Shibo Real Estate is putting up the coin, and marketing director Li Yanping expects the theaters to stage more than 100 musicals a year.
In 2007 British producer Mackintosh announced plans to stage shows such as "Les Miserables," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Miss Saigon" in China.
The organizers hope the new cluster of theaters will rival Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts in terms of ticket sales but also generates profits through the marketing of musical-related products and souvenirs and the operation of talent agencies.
Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997926.html
Rowan Building Auction Media Preview!
I just received a press release for the demonstration of how the auction will work at next months sale of close to half of the units at the Rowan Building at 5th and Spring. And those sales combined with whatever units have already been sold (though that part is still not clear) will equal over 50% of the units which will allow the new owners to close their escrows. T
Downtown Properties is inviting the media to attend a demonstration of a groundbreaking auction technology that will help homebuyers in the current real estate market. Media are invited to “test drive” the technology in advance of a residential Internet auction taking place at the Rowan Building downtown in February. The demonstration will take place on Friday, January 9 at 11 a.m. at The Rowan.
Please see the media advisory below for more information about the event.
Best,
Ashley
Ashley Greer
Casey & Sayre
310-473-8090
agreer@cswpr.com
MEDIA ADVISORY
HOMEBUYERS CAN OUTSMART REAL ESTATE MARKET BY SETTING THEIR OWN PRICES THROUGH HIGH-TECH AUCTION OF
DOWNTOWN LOFTS
Media invited to “test drive” groundbreaking auction technology January 9
LOS ANGELES – On Friday, January 9, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. Downtown Properties will unveil a groundbreaking technology to help homebuyers outsmart the current real estate market. Homebuyers will be able to set their own prices on 79 distinctive lofts in the historic Rowan Building downtown in the largest-ever simultaneous residential Internet auction on February 8.
Created by Nobel Prize nominee Dr. Charles Plott and auction pioneer William R. Stevenson, the auction technology allows buyers to bid on more than one unit throughout the auction and see what others are bidding on large bidding screens at the auction site or at home on their own computers. This technology gives buyers enormous versatility to switch their bids between multiple units and there is no pressure from an auctioneer calling a sale. The auction ends only when no bids have been submitted for a specified period of time. Built in 1911, The Rowan is located in the heart of the Old Bank District and has been meticulously converted into 206 designer live/work lofts which retain the elegance of the building’s original Beaux Arts style with modern luxuries.
WHAT: Demonstration of groundbreaking auction technology by Plott and Stevenson and tour of The Rowan’s distinctive loft residences
WHEN: Friday, January 9 at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: The Rowan, Ground Floor
460 S. Spring Street (corner of 5th and Spring Streets)
Downtown Los Angeles
CONTACT: Carolyn McEwen
310-473-8090 (o), 310-699-9800 (cell)
cmcewen@cswpr.com
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