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Historic Warner Grand Theatre slated for digital makeover, won’t reopen until 2027

Greggory Moore
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Historic Warner Grand Theatre slated for digital makeover, won’t reopen until 2027

In January 1999, San Pedro’s Warner Grand Theatre was added to the National Register of Historic Places. On page 7 of its NRHP Registration Form, the following line comes in the first paragraph of the narrative detailing why the property qualifies for the distinction: “The Warner Grand […] retains its exterior and interior form and features essentially intact from its original construction.”

But the theater’s historic exterior is slated to change in a big way, as the City of Los Angeles has decided that a digital marquee will replace the classic sort that’s been there since the theater opened in 1931.

This replacement was not planned when the theater closed for renovations at the end of 2024. In fact, the approved plans’ only reference to the marquee indicated the contrary: “MARQUEE TO REMAIN, RESTORE DECORATIVE PAINT BEHIND NEON TO ORIGINAL COLORS, REPAIR AND REPLACE NEON AS NEEDED TO RESTORE NEON SIGNAGE.”

But the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), which operates the Warner Grand, claims that difficulty obtaining replacement marquee letters necessitates going digital.

“Yes, there will be a modification to the marquee,” replied DCA’s Nicki Genovese to a concerned area resident. “Snap Lok letters will soon be obsolete, and replacements will [no] longer [be] available. Additionally, placing the letters on the tracks has always been an awkward — and occasionally dangerous — task. Only the panels of the marquee will be converted to LED, making it possible to replicate the Snap Lok look of the old marquee, as well as providing opportunities for more creative signage, including high-res graphics and designs. The marquee itself, and the vertical sign will not be affected, although we do hope to be able to ‘refresh’ the paint colours.”

The Bureau of Engineering, the City department responsible for the renovation, confirms the change.

“DCA found out that Snap Lok letter manufacturing has been winding down since the pandemic, making replacing the old letters difficult, if they were to fall off or become damaged, which happens frequently,” says BOE Director of Communications Mary Nemick. “Because of this, we will need to convert to a digital sign, much as the City did at the Vision Theatre Performing Arts Center and the Madrid Theatre. These marquees provide the option of replicating the look of Snap Lok letters as well as displaying more elaborate signage graphics.”

However, a simple web search for “Snap Lok letters” yields over a dozen vendors saying they have Snap Lok letters in stock, along with dozens more apparently selling generic versions. (Snap Lok is a trademarked brand.)

Nonetheless, plans for the replacement have proceeded so quickly that the nonprofit Grand Vision Foundation, the “Official Friends’ Group to the Warner Grand Theatre,” somehow not only acquired the Warner Grand’s marquee letters but was advertising their sale in promotional material for a theater fundraising event to be held on September 19: “At ‘A Wunderfully Grand Evening,’ you can buy a letter of your very own — to support the Warner Grand Theatre.” The Grand Vision Foundation also posted an Instagram video featuring Executive Director Liz Schindler Johnson touting the sale, showing off several of the letters, complete with what she said were “certificates of authenticity.”

But questions quickly arose about the ownership of the letters and permission to sell them. When contacted by a concerned constituent, Councilmember Tim McOsker stated that he had “asked my Chief of Staff, Jeanne Min, to get background information on whether and when Cultural Affairs might have donated the letters to the nonprofit. I will know more after they have reviewed that history and authority.” (Min did not reply to RLn’s request for comment.)

However, DCA spokesperson Juan Garcia said that prior to being contacted by Random Lengths News for this article he was unaware that such a sale was taking place and promised to investigate the matter.

For her part, Johnson declined to comment on whether the Grand Vision Foundation has obtained either ownership of the letters or permission to sell them. In any case, it appears the sale has been canceled, at least for now: last week the above-mentioned video was removed from Instagram, and days later all references to the marquee letters and their sale were scrubbed from online promotional material for “A Wunderfully Grand Evening.”

According to the City, although presently there is no cost estimate for a change order covering the installation of a digital marquee, the contingency fund built into the project should cover the additional cost.

The City estimates that this additional element of the renovation will extend the project duration by two to three months. But because of the City’s consistently mixed messaging regarding the project duration, it is unclear when the renovations will be complete. Between 2020 and 2023, the figure generally circulated by the City was that the project would take “18 to 24 months.” However, internal communications revealed that in October 2023 project manager Marcus Yee estimated that the renovation would take a full two years. Nonetheless, by summer 2024 the City’s standard line was that the project would take “approximately 500 calendar days,” even though as of November 2024 the Project Information Report listed the “Expected Duration [as] From 9/20/2024 to 11/1/2026,” or approximately 770 days. In January, the PIR was updated to correspond to “approximately 500 calendar days.”

Most recently, the expected duration has been updated to “9/20/2024 to 8/1/2026,” or approximately 680 days. By this estimate, considering that the renovation work did not commence until January 2025, the theater is not scheduled to reopen prior to January or February 2027.

West Coast States Issue Unified Vaccine Recommendations

Reporters Desk
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West Coast States Issue Unified Vaccine Recommendations

 

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Governor Tina Kotek of Oregon, Governor Bob Ferguson of Washington, and Governor Josh Green of Hawaii Sept. 17 announced coordinated winter virus vaccination recommendations through the West Coast Health Alliance or WCHA. These recommendations include the 2025–26 COVID-19, influenza, and RSV vaccines.

In addition, Governor Newsom signed AB 144, authorizing California to base future immunization guidance on independent medical organizations rather than the CDC’s increasingly politicized advisory committee on immunization practices.

Vaccination is safe, effective, and the best protection available against respiratory viruses like COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. Seasonal vaccination is also a critical public health tool to reduce serious illness, community transmission, and strain on hospitals.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZlMGLeCtK1E

States stepping in

Alliance states are fighting back against the Trump administration’s assault on science — sharing a commitment to ensuring that health recommendations are guided by safety, efficacy, transparency, access, and trust. To develop these recommendations, health officers, who are all medical doctors, and subject matter experts from each of the WCHA states reviewed guidelines from national medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics or AAP, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or ACOG, and the American Academy of Family Physicians or AAFP. Our alliance believes that all clinically recommended vaccinations should be accessible to the people of our states.

The WCHA will continue to build its structure, evaluate new evidence and recommendations as they become available, and determine how to ensure the review process is transparent. WCHA will share any updated assessments with its communities.

Details: To learn more about these updated recommendations, click here.

Port of Los Angeles August Cargo Remains Strong as High Volume Continues

Reporters Desk
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Port of Los Angeles August Cargo Remains Strong as High Volume Continues

 

LOS ANGELES — After reaching new cargo heights in July, Port of Los Angeles volume remained strong in August. The port processed 958,355 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), nearly the same as last year’s robust performance.

“The Port of Los Angeles moved nearly 2 million containers in July and August combined,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said at a media briefing. “That’s the best two-month stretch for any port in the Western Hemisphere. Retailers and manufacturers have continued to bring goods in early, both to get ahead of holiday demand and to hedge against any shifts in trade policy.

“Looking forward,” Seroka added, “I expect container volumes to ease through the rest of 2025—especially against last year’s unusually high benchmarks. That’s because much of the year-end holiday cargo has already arrived. And economic signals like slowing job growth and lingering inflation are making both importers and consumers a bit more cautious.”

Vincent Iacopella, President of Trade and Government Relations at Alba Wheels Up International, joined Seroka for the briefing. An experienced customs broker and freight forwarder, Iacopella helps shippers navigate trade and supply chain challenges.

WATCH BRIEFING HERE

August 2025 loaded imports came in at 504,514 TEUs, 1% less than last year. Loaded exports landed at 127,379 TEUs, a 5% improvement from 2024. The port processed 326,462 empty container units, 1% less than last year.

Eight months into 2025, the Port of Los Angeles has handled 6,934,004 TEUs, 4.5% more than the same period in 2024.

L.A. County Releases Draft Election Plan: Registrar Seeks Public Feedback

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L.A. County Releases Draft Election Plan: Registrar Seeks Public Feedback

 

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk or RR/CC Dean C. Logan announced that the 2026 Draft Election Administration Plan or EAP is available for public review and comment on LAVOTE.GOV/EAP.

The EAP outlines how Los Angeles County administers elections under California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA). It provides details on how vote center and ballot drop box locations are identified, accessibility and language assistance services, and the county’s voter education and outreach programs.

The EAP is focused on how the provisions of the VCA are implemented in L.A. County. The intent of the plan and public hearings is not to review or reconsider election laws, but to hear from the community on how elections are administered, how outreach is conducted, and how services can be improved.

“The Election Administration Plan is a blueprint for how we conduct elections in the nation’s largest and most diverse voting jurisdiction,” said Dean Logan, Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. “We encourage residents, community organizations, and advocacy groups to review the draft plan, attend a hearing, and share their feedback to ensure the plan reflects the needs of all voters in Los Angeles County.”

The RR/CC will host a series of public hearings from September 29 through December 4 to gather input on the Draft EAP.

Details: Hearing schedules, RSVP instructions, and comment submission options are available at LAVOTE.GOV/EAP.

UnTapped Legislative Water- Workshop

Reporters Desk
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UnTapped Legislative Water- Workshop

 

Assemblyman Mike Gipson has partnered with Water Education for Latino Leaders or WELL to host an important conversation on water in the City of Compton. This event will bring together local stakeholders to discuss challenges and solutions shaping the community’s future.

WELL is a statewide nonprofit that engages local elected officials on California’s most pressing water issues. Hosted by graduates of the WELL UnTapped Fellowship program, this workshop provides an in-depth conversation about the future of water in Los Angeles County, exploring workforce development, emerging technologies and innovative stormwater capture projects in our schools.

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sept. 20

Details: RSVP through this form is required: https://tinyurl.com/3m4j4wxx

Venue: Douglas F. Dollarhide Community Center, Room 217301 N. Tamarind Ave., Compton

Hahn Pushes for Transparency on LA County’s Nov. 4 Special Election Readiness

Reporters Desk
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Hahn Pushes for Transparency on LA County’s Nov. 4 Special Election Readiness

LOS ANGELES —The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Sept. 16 approved a motion introduced by Supervisor Janice Hahn directing the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk to provide the Board of Supervisors with a detailed update on preparations for California’s Nov. 4 statewide special election.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called the special election on Aug. 21, just 75 days before Election Day, after signing into law a package of bills designed in response to unprecedented partisan redistricting efforts in Texas and other states.

“As the largest county in the nation, Los Angeles County has to run elections at a scale no one else does,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Normally, our Registrar begins planning a year in advance. This time, we have less than three months. We have a responsibility to our voters to make sure this special election is carried out smoothly and securely—even on a compressed timeline.”

The compressed timeline means vote centers must be secured in just 65 days, and vote-by-mail ballots mailed within 45 days. Beyond those immediate deadlines, election officials must also onboard temporary staff, order supplies, secure systems, install drop boxes, recruit and train election workers, prepare vendors, and launch voter education and outreach campaigns.

Hahn’s motion directs the LA County Registrar-Recorder to report back to the board publicly at its Oct. 7 meeting. The update will specifically address:

State funding

Vote-by-mail ballots

Ballot drop boxes

Vote centers

Election worker recruitment and training

Voter education and outreach

Details: Read the full approved motion here: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/supdocs/207362.pdf

photos from the edge19 – BERKELEY’S STUDENT AND WORKING CLASS HISTORY

David Bacon
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photos from the edge19 – BERKELEY’S STUDENT AND WORKING CLASS HISTORY

Berkeley’s famous leftwing politics was a product of the civil rights and student movements of the 1960s, and students left the local high school campus to join the thousands in San Francisco protesting racism in hiring at the Sheraton Palace Hotel, and later the auto dealerships on Cadillac Row. When student leader Tracy Sims was suspended on their return, the students struck the school to win her reinstatement. Radical photographer Paul Richards took a famous photograph of Sims in a voter registration demonstration, one of the many causes she championed.

That protest tradition continued into the 1990s, when students blew out of class at Berkeley High to fight Proposition 187, which would have made education and health care illegal for undocumented immigrants. That walkout was one of many immigrant rights demonstrations that followed in the years since.

But Berkeley also has a working class history that is much less discussed. In the years after World War 2 it was an industrial city, with factories along the edge of the bay. After the wreckage of deindustrialization of the 1980s and 90s, the biggest one left was the huge Pacific Steel foundry on Second Street. As long as it was up and running, the workers there were militant strikers for better contracts, and supporters of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. In the foundry’s final years they fought the plant’s impending closure, and marched against a “silent” immigration raid in which over 200 workers lost their jobs. Today Pacific Steel is an empty shell covered in graffiti, waiting for a developer with deep enough pockets to clean up the contaminated soil beneath it and build condos or biotech labs.

Meanwhile, the city’s working class protests surrounded what became its largest employer, the University of California. Many bitter strikes swept through the campus, finally winning union rights and contracts over the years. The same working class upsurge brought fast food workers into marches down Bancroft Way, part of the national movement for $15 an hour and a union. When the pandemic hit, the workers of the city, especially immigrants and workers of color, made the coffee, dumped the garbage bins, and did the essential tasks that made life possible for everyone else.

Berkeley’s activist students and workers are the real reason why the city’s progressive politics became well known. Their history today is celebrated in the poetry of Rafael Jesus Gonzalez, founder of the Mexican and Chicano Studies program at Laney College and the city’s first poet laureate. In Lompoc Federal Prison for trying to block a test of the MX Missile at Vandenberg Airforce Base, he wrote (https://marshhawkpress.org/rafael-jesus-gonzalez-the-gasp/):

I am here for the unfinished song,
the uncompleted dance,
the healing,
the dreadful fakes of love.
I am here for life
& I will not go away.

This history will be celebrated in an exhibit, “Berkeley’s Latino Community” organized by the Berkeley Historical Society and Museum, starting September 21 at 2pm, at 1931 Center Street. Some of the following photographs are part of the exhibit.

 

Mexican and Chicano students lead a blowout at Berkeley High School in protest of Proposition 187, which would have prevented undocumented students from going to school and their families from receiving healthcare. Blowing out of classes is a form of protest with a long history at the school.

 

Before a meeting of the Berkeley City Council activists and public officials protest efforts to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for immigrants.

Rafael Jesus Gonzalez, Berkeley Poet Laureate.

Antoniio Junio, a journeyman molder at Macauley Foundry, learned his trade at the Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines.

 

Workers at Pacific Steel go on strike to win a better union contract.

 

 

 

A protest at Pacific Steel against the threatened closure of the foundry, which led to the loss of hundreds of union jobs, most of which were held by Latino and Black workers. Ignacio Dela Fuente, leader of the Molders Union, and Calvin King, chief union steward at the plant, led the protests.

 

 

 

 

Workers from Pacific Steel march from City Hall to the foundry on Second Street, protesting the firing of hundreds of workers because of their immigration status. Then-council member Jesse Arreguin was one of many public officials who spoke at the workers’ rally at city hall. Metzli Blanco Castaño, daughter of a fired worker, spoke in front of the plant.

Incarnacion “Chon” Rivera drove a truck picking up recycled trash for the Ecology Center during the coronavirus crisis, an “essential” job.

Martin ran the espresso machine in the first months of the pandemic, when there were no masks, and he made one out of a paper towel.

Latino workers laying asphalt for new paving on Jefferson Street.

A Mexican worker sets tiles in the yard of a Berkeley house.

 

Fast food workers march down Bancroft Way to protest discrimination against Latinos and demanding better wages.

 

 

A march at the University of California to protest injustice against Latino and other blue collar campus workers.

 

 

 

 

 

Day laborer Fidel Antonio negotiates with a local gardener on Hearst Street, where many workers wait for jobs. He and other day laborers eat lunch at the Multicultural Instiute, before he goes back to his one-room home.

Mayor Bass Announces Mitch Kamin Will Serve As New Chief of Staff

Reporters Desk
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Mayor Bass Announces Mitch Kamin Will Serve As New Chief of Staff

 

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Sept. 12 announced Mitch Kamin will serve as her new chief of staff. In this role, Kamin will continue the mayor’s momentum moving Los Angeles in a new direction, building on decreases in homelessness, historic lows in homicide totals, comprehensive improvements in citywide safety and the fastest disaster recovery in state history.

Mitch Kamin is a second-generation Angeleno who is an effective and experienced leader in the nonprofit, commercial, and public sectors. Kamin led Bet Tzedek Legal Services and grew the organization to serve thousands of low-income and elderly people across the city and the nation. He was a founding partner of the Los Angeles office of Covington & Burling, helping to build the branch from the ground up. During his tenure with the firm, he successfully defeated the Trump administration in court on behalf of the City of Los Angeles, stopping the Department of Justice from tying federal resources to immigration enforcement. Both are alumni of Hamilton High School.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Mayor Bass at this critical time for our City,” said Mitch Kamin. “I look forward to helping Mayor Bass execute her vision – accelerating progress on homelessness, public safety, and the responsiveness of City Hall, among other pressing goals.”

Creator: rawpixel.com

LA: Public Health Reports Soil Test Results; Hospitals Charity Care Expands Access to Finacial Assistance

Terelle Jerricks
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LA: Public Health Reports Soil Test Results; Hospitals Charity Care Expands Access to Finacial Assistance

Public Health Releases Final Findings of Soil Testing in Fire-Impacted Areas

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released the final findings from representative soil sample testing in and around the Eaton and Palisades fire areas, confirming a higher percentage of soil samples with lead levels above health-based screening thresholds from parcels with intact homes downwind of the Eaton Fire.

The final findings also confirmed localized chemical impacts to soil above health-based screening thresholds are present in the Palisades fire area, but there is no evidence of widespread contamination from fire-related chemicals.

Details: Find a full report on the Public Health website.

County Releases Report on Hospital Charity Care and Expands Access to Financial Assistance

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Sept. 16 released a report showing how hospitals provide financial assistance to patients and introduced new tools to strengthen charity care practices across the region.

LA County Department of Public Health found that hospitals in Los Angeles County reported $426.5 million of financial assistance in 2023. The four county operated Department of Health Services hospitals, which serve 16% of the Medi-Cal population, accounted for 38% of all financial assistance awarded. County hospitals awarded 4% of their gross patient revenue as financial assistance and nonprofit hospitals and for-profit hospitals awarded 1%. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, a nonprofit hospital in historically underserved South Los Angeles, awarded 11% of its gross patient revenue as financial assistance, the highest in LA County.

The analysis, based on federal and state data, comes amid the burden of medical debt on more than 880,000 residents—one in nine adults—who carried over $2.9 billion in debt last year. Even insured patients are affected, often facing food insecurity, unstable housing, and delaying care due to unpaid bills. Nationally, only 29% of patients with unaffordable hospital bills are able to learn about, apply for, and receive financial assistance.

To help close this gap, the Los Angeles County Medical Debt Coalition has developed new model documents for hospitals, which will increase awareness and make programs easier to access for patients. The model documents include a simplified application, a clear policy, and a plain language summary. With this effort, Los Angeles County joins a small number of jurisdictions that have modernized financial assistance materials to improve consistency across hospitals.

Details: publichealth.lacounty.gov/PreventMedicalDebt

County Probation Dept. Announces Court-Ordered Youth Transfers From Los Padrinos

Reporters Desk
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County Probation Dept. Announces Court-Ordered Youth Transfers From Los Padrinos

LOS ANGELES — Pursuant to the May 16, 2025 order from Judge Michael Espinoza, the Los Angeles County Probation Department has begun the transfer of youth identified for placement in Secure Youth Treatment Facility or SYTF programs from Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall or LPJH to Barry J. Nidorf or BJN.

As of Sept. 15, 39 youth have been transferred as part of this process. Additional movements will continue to comply with the court-ordered department’s depopulation plan.
Due to safety and security concerns, advance public notice of the relocations will not be provided. Upon arrival at BJN, all youth received orientation, and their parents and attorneys were promptly notified.
The probation department will implement the court-ordered plan with transparency and will continue to apprise the board of supervisors and stakeholders of significant developments.

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