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Dr. Felton Williams Honored with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award

Terelle Jerricks
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Dr. Felton Williams Honored with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award

 

On July 27, Dr. Felton Williams was honored with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award and a gold medal for his work as an educator in Long Beach Unified School District and his establishment of innovative programming designed to increase the number of African American students in Advanced Placement courses and higher education.

Dr. Williams, the second-ever African American board member in the history of the city school district, was given the honor by the nonprofit educational organization, Our Shades of Blue, on behalf of President Joe Biden, whose letter honoring several other recipients was read.

The San Pedro-reared educator expanded access to Advanced Placement courses. In years past, students were required to be in magnet programs to qualify for AP courses. Due to his efforts, more African American and Latino students have access to AP classes and by extension, gained a better chance of getting into college.

Dr. Williams, who has served on the Long Beach Board of Education for 16 years, has championed the lead on President Obama’s Boys to Men of Color Initiative through several citywide events for both the male and female academies. Students can access support systems, work in smaller groups, coaching on etiquette, and receive job training preparation.

During his tenure on the Long Beach school board, Dr. Williams was bothered by the low AP course participation rate for students of color. Advanced Placement classes became a top priority, giving many more kids a chance for educational choices they may not have been able to access otherwise.

He said as much during an interview with Education Week magazine when he retired in 2020.

“When I looked at the numbers district-wide, we were looking at 500 kids of color in AP. Now we’ve got over 3,000 today,” said Dr. Williams, who has also served as president and vice president overseeing the Board for the 74,000-student school system.

Shades of Blue is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and arranging internship and employment referrals for young people who desire to pursue science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, and design.

Letters to the Editor: Librarian’s Appreciation, UTLA on Encampments Clearance Order and Rising Energy Demands

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Letters to the Editor: Librarian’s Appreciation, UTLA on Encampments Clearance Order and Rising Energy Demands

 

Re: Turning Pages, Changing Lives-Ednita Kelly’s Passion for Books and Bikes in LA

Thank you Rosie Knight and Random Lengths News for this feature which introduces me to the Wilmington community through my history with the Los Angeles Public Library and my love of CicLAvia. *Yes, I really did play librarian when I was a kid.

Ednita Kelly, Senior Librarian at Los Angeles Public Library

Wilmington

 

UTLA Call Out Gov. Newsom and His Encampments Clearance Order

“Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order to clear homeless encampments without providing immediate, safe housing alternatives will devastate unhoused families and exacerbate the student homeless crisis in Los Angeles.

As educators, we witness firsthand how the housing crisis disrupts classroom instruction and hinders students’ educational progress. With a third of Los Angeles’ homeless population under the age of 18, the dire impact on our students is evident every day.

Amidst record-high cost of living expenses, a fiercely competitive housing market, and inadequate tenant protections, the lack of financial and mental support has made it increasingly difficult for families to maintain dignified living conditions. Governor Newsom’s cruel decision responds to none of the forces driving California’s cost of living to rise faster than the income of its working people. Furthermore, these actions disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and families of color who, due to decades of systemic racism, suffer from homelessness at significantly higher rates.

We believe every student deserves a safe place to sleep, and it is the government’s duty to ensure quality, accessible housing for all. We urge Governor Newsom to take immediate action to address this crisis, and its root causes, with compassion and justice, not punishment and neglect.”

Alexandra Catsoulis

United Teachers Los Angeles

 

Hoping for Self-Sufficient Power Grid to Tackle Rising Energy Demands and Emission Goals

I wanted to share this WSJ article with you. Our Homeowners have consistently testified to the need for the port’s to engage in the creation of their own power grid. It became obvious last year a few times during hot days when the Governor instructed ports to shut down access to electrical amping on the terminals that this is a big issue.

Many years ago now, an engineer from Austria promoted the concept of the ports employing a massive effort to engage in such a grid by using solar, wind and wave energy…..all of which could be easily accessed by their locations. He also promoted the idea of a mag lev train operation within the port complex that could generate energy from the metal to metal wheel contact on the rail tracks. The combined energy sources may well be enough to support port operations. If not, using these options could assist greatly in supporting energy needs. The Feds funding has now given the ports an opportunity to seize this option. Obviously, these electrical needs are only going to increase as more ships begin amping, and “if” we are sincere in the goal of reducing emissions ….including Carbon….then it becomes imperative that we take such an action.

I’m hoping that CARB, AQMD and the Ports themselves begin to move in a direction that will begin the process of serious implementation of this concept. If that does not happen then any progress that we have made with the amping of ships will fail to deliver the improved air quality and environmental gains we have all been aiming for.

I hope that you will carefully consider this action and push for establishing independent port electrical grids.

Janet Schaaf Gunter

San Pedro

Artists and Supporters Unite to Publish Book on Renowned Sculptor Eugene Daub

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Artists and Supporters Unite to Publish Book on Renowned Sculptor Eugene Daub

 

SAN PEDRO — A group of dedicated San Pedro collaborators are raising money to publish the first comprehensive book dedicated to the work of renowned sculptor and San Pedro resident, Eugene Daub. Titled,Portraits, Metals, and Monuments, this book documents Daub’s career, his dedication to capturing the profound humanity of historical figures, and his significant contributions to public art.

The Foreword of this 120-page book is authored by American Art critic Wolfgang Marby and it features more than 100 photographs of Daub’s public art work and is edited by Andrea Serna.

In 2021, Daub won the Marcel Jovine President’s Prize for a realistic work, in the form of a bas-relief of Civil Rights leader and legendary member of Congress, John Lewis.

In 2019, Daub completed a bronze statue of Harry Bridges. Within the past 30 years Daub has designed and created many public art commissions for the U.S. government, private foundations, universities and corporations and has exhibited in the British Museum and the Smithsonian Institute, among other locations.

In 2013, a monument he completed of another Civil Rights icon, Rosa Parks, was installed in the statuary hall of the U.S. Congress.

His previous commissions include Harvey Milk, young Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. The artist has built his reputation on classically styled figurative works. His accomplishments have been recognized through numerous awards in full figure, monumental and bas relief sculpture. He serves on the board of the National Sculpture Society and has taught sculpture around the country for years.

Daub’s first job in sculpture was for The Franklin Mint where he developed skills in relief sculpture. He taught at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco from 1993 to 2002. He has been an instructor at the Scottsdale Artists’ School from 1991 to the present and is the designer of the first Philadelphia Liberty Medal, which that city awards every year to a champion of world peace.

Daub has exhibited extensively and has works in numerous public collections including the Helsinki Art Museum, the British Museum; the Smithsonian Institution; The National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol, and the United States National Park Service. Daub has created more than 40 major monuments in the U.S. and is a fellow of the National Sculpture Society. He won both of the nation’s highest awards for excellence in medallic art: The Saltus Award from the American Numismatic Society, and the gold medal, from the American Numismatic Association. Daub also won the Medal of the year from the American Medallic Sculpture Association.

Despite his contributions to art and history, there has not been a single published source documenting Eugene Daub’s extensive body of work — until now. A dedicated team has spent over a year gathering materials to create this groundbreaking book. To bring this project to fruition, a fundraiser has been launched with a goal of $20,000, offering generous premiums for donors.

Donors to the fundraiser will be offered premiums that range from a complimentary copy of the publication to original sculptures by the artist, including a dinner at the artist’s studio. A complete list of donor levels and premiums can be made at the link below.

This book not only commemorates the remarkable work of Eugene Daub but also aims to educate and inspire future generations about the power of art in capturing and commemorating history. Join us in honoring an artist who has dedicated his life to celebrating American heroes through his profound work.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/Eugene-Daub-Art-Book

The Surprise of Kamala Harris

James Preston Allen
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The Surprise of Kamala Harris

 

In the iconography of the Enlightenment and the American Republic, the symbol of Lady Liberty stands out as the Defender of Freedom

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena to view a rare showing of the etchings by the famous Spanish artist Francisco Goya, the romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals and influenced important 19th and 20th-century painters.

His series of etchings called The Disasters of War has always caught my fascination as being particularly poignant, especially when I first saw the images during the Vietnam War. Even more so now. Yet seeing the originals up close in person was even more exciting. The one that stood out to me among the many was the image of a woman standing on top of a pile of bodies of the fallen. She is still firing a large canon, titled What Courage. I began to wonder about this image contrasted by all the other pictures of the violence of war only later to come across the image of a woman being mourned with the title Truth Has Died and the companion piece Will She Rise Again

Thinking about this, I remembered the famous French painting by Eugene Delacroix of the bare-breasted woman on the barricades holding the flag of the French Republic, called Liberty Leading the People, in the July 30 revolution that toppled King Charles X. It hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

My point is that in Western culture, strong women have come to symbolize Liberty, Freedom and Justice of the Enlightenment, which was the foundational philosophy behind our Declaration of Independence and American constitutional democracy. So much so that the Statue of Liberty has become one of the truly iconic images of America along with her sister, the goddess of justice blindfolded and holding the scales in one hand and a sword in the other. This image comes to us from the origin of Lady Justice or Justitia the goddess of justice within Roman mythology. Emperor Augustus introduced Justitia and thus the deity was the youngest in the Roman pantheon.

It has been adopted by almost every Western democracy over the last three centuries. So, the images of Liberty and Justice have been floating around consciousness for over two centuries here in the United States of America. And it was always about defending liberty and freedom against tyrannies. Now I find it symbolically significant if not culturally ironic that a strong independent woman is now leading American patriots against the threat of a Trumpian tyranny. That is the bottom line to this coming election, when you wipe away all the lies, fabrications, and disinformation of the MAGA Republicans. This is, as Kamala Harris has rightly tagged it, a battle for your freedoms against a tyrannical madman.

This is, in fact, a civil war at this point because of the Jan. 6 insurrection and Trump’s continued refusal to accept the results and the peaceful transfer of power. Even after all these months and the lost court cases, he persists. This is truly madness of the highest order and it now has come time for reason to rule over the absurdities of MAGA conspiracies and outright fabrications with a candidate that can effectively speak truth to populist Christian Nationalists.

The fabulist claims that America is and was founded on Christian values is a complete lie and there are entire books that refute the whole bit about Christianity being at the center of either the Declaration of Independence or the U.S. Constitution. Placing the biblical God above the law is antithetical to the very thinking of the founding fathers, their beliefs in the rights of man, and the inalienable rights of sovereign citizens to determine their form of government. Read The Founding Myth, Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American by Andrew L. Seidel. In his book, he concludes the letters and other documents written by the founders he studied, “Regardless of their personal religious beliefs, the founders chose to safeguard liberty by ‘building a wall of separation between Church & State.”

What we have today is not only an attack on the wall of separation by the white Christian Nationalists, and the Supreme Court, but the elevation of the orange man as some kind of savior of fundamentalist beliefs. As it was explained to me the other day, populist nationalism is in direct opposition to the beliefs of America’s founders. The pro-Trumpian nationalists are not American patriots, they are simply an insurrection, oftentimes waving Confederate flags — the one thing they get right about who they truly are.

Kamala Harris now comes to this battle for freedom standing on the barricades waving the flag of our republic. If that image doesn’t inspire you then I don’t know what will.

Albertsons Kroger Merger

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Albertsons Kroger Merger

 

Union Fights to Protect LA Communities from Fallout

By Rosie Knight, Columnist

As corporate mergers wreak havoc on workers — and the economy — across America, in Los Angeles, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) 770 are organizing to stop the Kroger / Albertsons merger from impacting communities and workers in the LA area.

Speaking to Random Lengths, UFCW 770 member Kim Sisson, who works at the Vons in Montrose and has been with the company for 11 years, nine of those as a supervisor, shared that she has already seen what a corporate merger can do to the people who work to keep our grocery stores running. She was an employee during the 2014 Safeway-Albertsons merger and saw the impact on her colleagues when the Haggen grocery stores were shuttered in 2015.

“It was horrible,” Sisson said. “So now with this Kroger Albertsons merger, that’s the first thing on our mind. Could this be another Haggen situation? That ruined lives. So it’s really terrifying to think that could happen.”

It’s especially scary for Sisson, as she works at one of the Vons locations that have been put on the divestiture list, meaning that if the merger goes through, her store would be one of over 500 sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

“All the Vons in my area are on the divestiture list,” Sisson said. “It’s terrifying, and the companies haven’t said anything to us except from the same PR that they give to the media.”

That lack of communication has made an already unsettling situation far worse.

“They haven’t come to talk to us. They haven’t even been giving our managers more information,” Sisson said. “When the divestiture list came out, our managers didn’t even know about it until 6:30 in the morning. They’re just not being transparent at all. I don’t see how they can expect us to trust them when they don’t trust us.”

Working under the threat of the merger makes an already intense job almost unbearable. “We’re all worried,” she shared. “We work at a store with a lot of long-time employees. This is their career, it’s the career they’ve chosen and they were planning on keeping that career. So the thought of losing that is incredibly stressful for everyone. We already have a hard enough time living — paying for everything — in Los Angeles. So the thought that the bulk of our income may be gone is incredibly stressful.”

The current state of the job market makes the whole thing even more worrying, as Sisson explained. “If the merger goes through, it’s not even like there’s going to really be places to get jobs.”

She also pointed out that it’s not like the companies are struggling.

“Both the companies are increasing their profits every year, over and over and over again. So I don’t understand why they think they have to merge to stay competitive. All they’ve been doing is posting profits and certainly not putting any of those profits into us or our stores.”

In an encouraging development on Aug. 2, UFCW 770 announced it had the support of many Los Angeles city council members, who introduced a resolution formally opposing the proposed $24.6 billion merger. Council members Traci Park, John Lee, Tim McOsker, Heather Hutt, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Marqueece Harris-Dawson presented the resolution and had some powerful statements to go along with it.

“We’re sending a clear message to our federal leaders that the City of Los Angeles is unequivocally opposed to the Kroger-Albertsons merger,” said Councilwoman Traci Park, one of the resolution’s signatories. “We can’t risk losing community-serving assets that provide pathways into middle-class jobs with union wages and good benefits.”

Our District 15 councilman, Tim McOsker, agreed.

“We can’t stand still as large national companies make decisions based on their bottom lines that harm our neighborhoods, our constituents and our families. The prospective Kroger-Albertsons merger is detrimental to our communities and our local workforce — both today and in the future. It is crucial for the City of Los Angeles to stand strong in our legislative policy to oppose this merger and prevent the erosion of good jobs and neighborhood-serving stores.”

Councilwoman Heather Hutt continued. “The merger between Kroger and Albertsons is bad for our consumers, our communities and our workers. The city must do what we can to protect our most vulnerable and stop this plan from happening.”

It’s a great step in the right direction and for now, the resolution has been referred to the Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee for further consideration.

If readers want to know how best to support the organizing workers as the fight continues, Sisson says that even small gestures make a huge difference.

“You can help by talking about it with people you know,” she shared. “A lot of people are still quite unaware of what’s going on. You can talk about it with the employees at your local grocery store and hear them out and hear how they’re feeling, and then spread that word so we know that we have support from the communities. You can contact your local government and say, ‘Hey, we don’t want this merger,’ so that our government continues to step in and stop this merger. And just let the employees know that you support them. That’s really big for us.”

You can help support the movement to stop the Kroger Albertsons merger by signing the petition at https://www.nogrocerymerger.com/

Pacific Coast Highway Protest

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Pacific Coast Highway Protest

 

Code Pink LA Advocates for Gaza Peace and Cuts in U.S. Support to Israel

By Daniel Rivera

On Aug. 3, Code Pink L A formed a caravan from Seal Beach to Hermosa Beach along the Pacific Coast Highway to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and cut U.S. arms and funds to Israel.

“I’m out here because this country that I work my butt off for, pay my taxes … are paying for the murder of my people, for the annihilation of us,” said Maha, who is of Lebanese and Syrian descent and is married to a Palestinian. She has resided in the United States for 40 years.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Israel has received $12.5 billion in aid since Oct. 7 of last year. This would amount to about a 229% increase from previous military aid packages provided to Israel, which were about $3.8 billion last year. They also say that Israel is the largest recipient of foreign aid as a major non-NATO ally.

Saturday’s action is Code Pink LA’s second caravan, as they previously formed a caravan going through LAX Airport.

“Today’s a little different, we won’t be giving speeches like how we did it at LAX because we are not going to be driving at like five miles per hour and people won’t be able to hear that message. So that’s why we have all these different flags that are facing oppression and all the counties in support of those countries,” Glo, an advocate with Code Pink LA, told Random Lengths News as they decorated their vehicles before setting off.

They had about eight cars with painted slogans on their windows, and flew flags along the length of the car, as they traveled along the Pacific Coast Highway. While they drove down the highway, they played music and honked at those who waved or held pro-Palestine signage.

Some flags on display were the Palestinian flag, the Lebanese flag, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mexico, Syria and some LGBTQ flags. All of those countries to one extent are facing instability from within and exploitation from without.

Over the last couple of weeks, President Joe Biden announced that he would no longer seek reelection and would instead back Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic presidential nomination. Harris has made multiple statements in either direction, criticizing the humanitarian situation on the ground while also promising to continue aid to Israel, which has left these advocates skeptical and without much hope for change in the United States’ stance toward Israel.

“She is just trying to make people believe in what she is saying so they can get votes,” Glo said about Harris’ statement on Gaza. Harris has expressed sympathy for Palestine in public statements but these advocates remain skeptical.

“And probably after they get those votes, she’ll be pro-Israel to the end,” Monica said after she and Glo both expressed that they do not believe that she will push any harder for a cease-fire than the current administration has so far.

IMG 8598
Caravan vehicle that was part of the Code Pink LA Pacific Coast Highway Protest
for a ceasefire in Gaza and cuts in U.S. Support to Israel

These advocates believe the United States has a responsibility to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the dust settles, due to their long support of Israel, many of the weapons and munitions being sent or paid for by the United States.

“The minimum the United States of America can do, after murder, maiming and destroying, the least they can do is the repair…” and, “How can they repair families that have been erased, how can you repair orphans that are left without parents, how can you repair children who are amputated,” Maha said.

The siege on Gaza began back in October of last year in retaliation for a surprise attack from Hamas, with a reported death toll climbing to about 35,000 Palestinians, several dead hostages, and no clear end in sight for the ongoing occupation by the Israeli Defense Force.

Code Pink LA is a feminist organization that has held several protests in Los Angeles County, protesting the military-industrial complex, and what they view as their interests.

They protest the further expansion of American military aid to Israel.

My Plan To Reform The Supreme Court And Ensure No President Is Above The Law

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My Plan To Reform The Supreme Court And Ensure No President Is Above The Law

 

By President Joe Biden

Originally published by the Washington Post, July 29, 2024

This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one.

But the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on July 1 to grant presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do. The only limits will be those that are self-imposed by the person occupying the Oval Office.

If a future president incites a violent mob to storm the Capitol and stop the peaceful transfer of power — like we saw on Jan. 6, 2021 — there may be no legal consequences.

And that’s only the beginning.

On top of dangerous and extreme decisions that overturn settled legal precedents — including Roe v. Wade — the court is mired in a crisis of ethics. Scandals involving several justices have caused the public to question the court’s fairness and independence, which are essential to faithfully carrying out its mission of equal justice under the law. For example, undisclosed gifts to justices from individuals with interests in cases before the court, as well as conflicts of interest connected with Jan. 6 insurrectionists, raise legitimate questions about the court’s impartiality.

I served as a U.S. senator for 36 years, including as chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today. I have great respect for our institutions and separation of powers.

What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.

That’s why — in the face of increasing threats to America’s democratic institutions — I am calling for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability to the court and our democracy.

First, I am calling for a constitutional amendment called the No One Is the Above the Law Amendment. It would make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office. I share our founders’ belief that the president’s power is limited, not absolute. We are a nation of laws — not of kings or dictators.

Second, we have had term limits for presidents for nearly 75 years. We should have the same for Supreme Court justices. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court. Term limits would help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity. That would make timing for court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary. It would reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come. I support a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court.

Third, I’m calling for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. This is common sense. The court’s current voluntary ethics code is weak and self-enforced. Justices should be required to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest. Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt.

All three of these reforms are supported by a majority of Americans — as well as conservative and liberal constitutional scholars. And I want to thank the bipartisan Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States for its insightful analysis, which informed some of these proposals.

We can and must prevent the abuse of presidential power. We can and must restore the public’s faith in the Supreme Court. We can and must strengthen the guardrails of democracy.

In America, no one is above the law. In America, the people rule.

LA City Briefs: Mayor Renews Entertainment Industy Support via Executive Directive and CD15 Land Use Update

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LA City Briefs: Mayor Renews Entertainment Industy Support via Executive Directive and CD15 Land Use Update

 

Mayor Bass Pledges City’s Renewed Support for L.A.’s Entertainment Industry, Signs New Executive Directive

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Aug. 7 pledged the city’s renewed support for L.A.’s entertainment industry by issuing her eighth executive directive to streamline and focus city department processes for local film and television production. The signing of this Executive Directive comes after Mayor Bass convened her inaugural Entertainment Industry Council to draw upon senior industry leaders’ expertise as she leads new efforts to support L.A’s entertainment industry last month.

“The entertainment industry is core to our economy and it is also core to our city’s identity and City Hall is going to do everything we can to support it,” said Mayor Bass. “This executive directive is my pledge that the City is renewing its support for the entertainment industry and is expected to provide the highest level of customer service as we work to make sure that Hollywood stabilizes.”

The executive directive is expected to improve city department processes by designating staff and resources toward supporting local production and film-permitting by requiring city departments to:

Meet with external industry stakeholders at least quarterly to address production-related challenges and solutions directly with departments.

Designate a film liaison staff member from key departments who will participate in the quarterly meetings and be available to the external industry to provide assistance with city processes.

Review internal department processes and make recommendations to streamline and facilitate the permitting and review process for filming.

In July, Mayor Bass joined industry and labor leaders to recognize the groundbreaking of East End Studios’ Mission Campus in the Arts District, a cutting-edge film soundstage and production studio campus that will help expand opportunities for local production. Under Executive Directive 4, Mayor Bass is working to eliminate barriers to business development, growth and creation. The city streamlined the permitting and inspection for seven new studios and soundstages to open on time and on budget. More than eight million square feet of soundstage, studios and creative space are in the pipeline.

 

CD15 Land Use Policy Update

LOS ANGELES — On July 31, Los Angeles City Council approved councilmember Tim McOsker’s motion to initiate a report from the Department of City Planning, in consultation with the city attorney, to draft and present an ordinance amending land use policies. While the district has many excellent community gardens in CD15 across various zoning areas, current land use rules, likely unintentionally, prevent the sale of produce grown on-site. McOsker proposes changing this rule to permit limited sales and distribution of produce directly at the growing site. Allowing such sales would benefit both the farmers and the surrounding community. An innovative solution might be implementing a permit system for local regulatory control, which McOsker noted, while unprecedented, could be highly effective.

L.A. County Gives $1 Hollywood Bowl Tickets a Boost with Promotional Campaign

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L.A. County Gives $1 Hollywood Bowl Tickets a Boost with Promotional Campaign

Do you know about The Hollywood Bowl $1 ticket program?

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Aug. 7 voted to support a motion introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger to elevate awareness about the $1 Hollywood Bowl tickets available to the general public for purchase.

The Hollywood Bowl is operated by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation in coordination with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It’s $1 ticket program is available for the public to enjoy L.A. Philharmonic concerts on any given Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the summer.

Supervisor Barger’s motion aims for more to be done to promote the $1 ticket program, along with the recently expanded and affordable park-and-ride and shuttle services now offered online with tickets as low as $7 per person.

“During these tough economic times, many L.A. County residents are focused on simply surviving, so attending arts performances may fall by the wayside,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “Attending the arts is a great way to unwind and reap the mental health benefits from immersing yourself in live performances. The Hollywood Bowl is a world-class venue that offers extraordinary opportunities to sing, dance, and help the community at large have fun and connect with one another. I want to make sure residents of all income levels know it’s affordable and within their reach.”

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is now tasked to work in collaboration with the L.A. Philharmonic to create a public information campaign.

The campaign will get the word out about the Hollywood Bowl $1 tickets via County departments that serve the general public, including the Department of Public Social Services, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Los Angeles County Public Library, among others.

To limit costs when attending shows, the Hollywood Bowl is one of the few venues across the County that allows patrons to bring in their own food and beverages. Attendees who purchase a $1 ticket, ride the shuttle to the venue, and bring their own food and drinks can enjoy a night at the Hollywood Bowl for a mere $8 total.

Rancho Palos Verdes City Council Urges Governor Newsom to Declare State of Emergency for Gas Shutoffs

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Rancho Palos Verdes City Council Urges Governor Newsom to Declare State of Emergency for Gas Shutoffs

Days after SoCalGas abruptly discontinued natural gas service to approximately 135 homes in the Portuguese Bend community due to land movement, the City of Rancho Palos Verdes is urging Gov. Gavin Newsom declare a state of emergency to help impacted residents.

On Aug. 6, the city council voted to declare a local state of emergency due to a sudden and severe energy shortage, as defined in the California Emergency Services Act. For more than one week, residents in the Portuguese Bend Community Association have been scrambling to find alternate means of heating water, cooking meals, and warming homes in preparation for a potentially rainy winter season. The day after gas service was cut, Southern California Edison put even more customers in the wider landslide area on notice that, due to land movement, it may discontinue electricity in the future, if conditions warrant. The city now faces two emergencies: the ongoing landslide and mass utility shutoffs.

In a letter (PDF) to Gov. Newsom, Mayor John Cruikshank requested a state of emergency be declared to make public and individual financial and in-kind assistance — such as from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — available to the community. The letter requested permitting requirements be waived or suspended for projects to help impacted residents.

At the Aug. 6 meeting, the council also voted to extend the city’s existing local emergency in the landslide area. Both local declarations must be renewed every 60 days to remain in effect. Watch a recording of the discussion, which included an update on property inspections, on the city website.

The city is exploring every avenue to slow the land movement and to assist residents impacted by this crisis.

Details: For additional information, email landmovement@rpvca.govor call 310-544-5200.

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