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The Orange Felon Booed at Madison Square Garden ― More Circuses to Come for the Clown Show

James Preston Allen
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The Orange Felon Booed at Madison Square Garden ― More Circuses to Come for the Clown Show

If it were up to the New York Knicks fans, the President would have been Eighty-Sixed out of the game. With his picture on the Jumbotron with the national anthem playing, ABC couldn’t mute the disapproval of the fair-weather New Yorker that they have come to disdain. One writer at the digital publication, Jezebel, wrote, “At Monday’s NBA Finals, Trump was as much of a good luck charm to the Knicks as a fork is to a toaster.”

This past Sunday, NBC broadcast the most deranged interview of Meet the Press that the Orange Felon has given to date. On a one-hour show where there are normally three or four guests, they gave him 40 minutes to basically lie on national TV, berate, and patronize journalist Kristen Welker. And then stormed off when he was challenged about his assertions of “election fraud” in California. AND he’s still going on about the 2020 election that he has challenged and lost in court over 60 times.

NBC owes the country an apology and, out of fairness, equal time to the opposition to counter all the lies and prevarications he was doling out from the war on Iran to the effects of the war on the economy to midwestern farmers, and finally on California elections.

It’s far past time for the national press corps to hold this corrupt president accountable at every interview, press conference, and rally! Why? Because freedom of the press matters.

Free speech is the first right that guarantees all the others. That’s what the Founding Fathers knew and understood. However, it erodes fast every time this corrupt tyrant exclaims, “fake news!”

Over the last year, we’ve seen hundreds of teachers, professors, and other employees fired for speaking out online. Federal officers have wounded, jailed, and deported journalists for their coverage of the immigration crackdown. Trump himself has insulted the press. He’s launched frivolous lawsuits against reputable news outlets. And he’s pushed to further polarize the country and co-opt the very meaning of the phrase ‘freedom of speech.’

In recent years, the United States has suffered assaults on its democracy the likes of which we have never before seen. It has been documented in multiple documentaries that the search for insight into this most basic First Amendment right that so many of us have taken for granted has been threatened time and again. Most recently, by the Trump administration’s culture wars on PBS, American colleges, and the press in general, we have seen the violent responses to protests against ICE in LA, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis.

And for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the Orange Felon has built a giant MMA ring on the White House lawn to celebrate violence with spectacle, rather than freedom from tyranny! This has echoes of Caligula and the ringmasters of the Roman Coliseum forcing gladiators to fight to the death to entertain the masses. The problem is that so much of our national sports, reality TV, and other forms of entertainment have become spectacles meant to satiate the masses and keep us distracted. And just what are we being distracted from: the Epstein files, the grift on the national treasury by the Trump family, and the gutting of all the national programs that keep Americans safe and informed.

This is what America gets for electing a fake billionaire-reality TV celebrity who is a convicted felon and who should probably be in prison, not the White House.

Distraction from local matters
As the Trump circus dominates the national consciousness, it’s becoming easier to be distracted from local matters and to become less focused. The Fred Brown proposal for Western Avenue and the POLA High School proposal for the LA County Courthouse site come to mind. As the national narrative becomes more combative and vitriolic, we should remember that we are all still neighbors here. This community has accomplished many good things over the years to house the homeless, feed the poor, and to clean up the environment.

I have witnessed when people of good faith come together with a joint mission to do what is best for the greater good. And finding that “greater good” is what is mostly argued about – but that is a worthy argument.

What we have now is a lack of vision about just what this greater good needs to be for the San Pedro Bay community. That’s the missing element. People can complain about this project or that proposal, but never offer a reasoned alternative that draws consensus and not division. We have so many small-town personal prejudices that we can’t see what is good for the whole town without petty turf wars breaking out. And the truth be told, that is what has stopped San Pedro from achieving its dreams.

I will be posting this part of my editorial on Facebook and will be asking you, the readers, for solutions to the problems of this place. Not just what’s good for you but for the whole town, because we are a unique village – put away the pitchforks and let’s find some common ground.

Reach Beyond the Stars―SPHS Grad Lands NASA Internship in Houston

Reporters Desk
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Reach Beyond the Stars―SPHS Grad Lands NASA Internship in Houston

By Hannah G. Morris, Reporter

San Pedro High School class of 2026 graduate, Jurnee Weaver, a STEAM Magnet student, will be working as an intern with NASA in Houston, Texas, this summer. Weaver graduated with National Honor Society recognition and spoke at the graduation ceremony on June 9.

Passionate about the STEM field, Weaver expressed interest in aerospace engineering, computer science, and 3D modeling, noting that her NASA internship is “mostly related to simulations and 3D modeling” and aligns with her career goals. This fall, Weaver will study aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California.

In her graduation ceremony speech, Weaver said to her fellow graduates, “We know that with courage, hard work, vigor, perseverance, and determination, we can reach beyond the stars.”

As the child of a military veteran mother, Weaver has long been engaged in military-related community service. She recalled making Easter baskets for military children, among other service activities. In 2023, Weaver was the first teenager to speak at a Women’s History Month event on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., hosted by the Women Veterans Public Policy Caucus.

Regarding her graduation ceremony speech, Weaver expressed gratitude for her past public speaking opportunities, as well as her participation in the Academic Decathlon representing San Pedro High School, a district, state, and national level competition that includes public speaking. Weaver said that the background provided a “comforting” environment for practicing public speaking.

Weaver also noted that the classes and STEM projects offered in the STEAM Magnet, such as Rock the Project, which partially involves presentations and speeches, “really helped prepare for going up into fields related to sciences and engineering.” She added that she especially enjoyed her math and computer science classes.

When asked about advice she would give STEM-aspiring students, Weaver said that if students come “with one goal in mind, you have something that makes you push on, that makes you work harder [and] really want to continue….” She added that her own goal was, mostly, to “expand [her] knowledge of aerospace engineering.”

Weaver looks up to women such as former NASA employees Katherine Johnson and Mae Jemison and aspires to work for NASA in her future. In summer 2025, she had the opportunity to attend a summer program with NASA in Houston and see the construction of Artemis, which is part of an ongoing initiative to return humans to the moon and build a path to Mars.

“I’m quite excited for where life’s gonna take me,” Weaver said.

“What Are They Hiding?” ―Torrance Refinery Action Alliance Sues LA, Torrance Over Hidden Refinery Reports

Paul Rosenberg
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“What Are They Hiding?” ―Torrance Refinery Action Alliance Sues LA, Torrance Over Hidden Refinery Reports

After almost two years of stonewalling by the Los Angeles and Torrance fire departments, the Torrance Refinery Action Alliance has filed suit to compel the release of crucial reports on the last two California refineries that still use dangerous hydrofluoric acid in their refining process.

While the manner of stonewalling differed between the two, the end result was the same: state-mandated reports, due in 2022, were illegally withheld from public disclosure under California’s Public Records Act. By law, the reports, known as HCAs (Hierarchy of Hazard Control Analysis), must include analysis of risks and safer alternative processes, which TRAA has been advocating for since the 2015 Torrance Refinery explosion, which came within five feet of producing a mass casualty event threatening thousands of lives.

“Unfortunately,” TRAA said in a press release, “the administration of both cities seems to be collaborating with these refineries to keep these documents secret, begging the question, ‘Why? What are they hiding?’”

Perhaps they’re hiding analysis showing that safe alternatives are quite feasible. Or perhaps they’re hiding that they never performed the analysis at all, as required by law. We simply don’t know.

“A properly conducted HCA report would reveal both inherent dangers of the current alkylation units, with their tanks of hydrofluoric acid and refill deliveries being trucked in, as well as the fact that safer, commercially viable options exist and are in use at other refineries,” TRAA’s public records specialist Ian Patton explained. “In other words, if their HCA reports were in compliance with the law, they would require the refineries to admit these facts, which they otherwise will not publicly admit.”

It’s hardly the first time regulators have sided with the refineries against the public interest. In 2019, the board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District derailed a regulatory plan developed by its staff over two years in favor of a last-minute promise from the refineries to make voluntary safety improvements.

At the time, Supervisor Janice Hahn, who voted against the move, called it “a sad excuse for the agreement that I thought we were working towards.” TRAA board member Steve Goldsmith said the AQMD board “caved into the pressure by the oil industry” and this “leaves South LA County residents exposed to catastrophic danger.”

The fire departments have regulatory responsibility for the refineries, including for HCAs, and while both of them stonewalled in apparent collusion with the refineries, they did so in different ways.

In the Los Angeles case, collusion with the refinery is clearly documented, as noted by Patton. After the Los Angeles Fire Department denied TRAA’s initial request for the HCA, they filed a broader public records request, including staff communications, which revealed an email, sent shortly after that 2023 request, from LAFD inspector Alvin Dong to the Valero Wilmington Refinery operations manager, Michelle Doran:

“Just a random question—as far as I remember, your facility was on schedule to have completed all your HCAs as required under Program 4?

you may just call me with an answer—if you don’t want to write it down.

As Patton explained, “Not only did this email reveal that Dong had failed to ensure that the HCA report was completed on time, he also invited Doran to take their communication off email (‘if you don’t want to write it down’) so that there would no longer be a documentary record, obtainable via the Public Records Act or otherwise.”

Torrance, on the other hand, did release the HCA after some delay, but with “a hundred percent Epstein file-type redaction” as Goldsmith described it, while Patton called it simply “a joke.” Not only were all the analyses and all the recommendations redacted, but even the number of recommendations were redacted. The bulk of the report — more than 200 pages — was contained in appendices, one of which was heavily redacted (with only questions asked visible and no responses), while four others were entirely missing, and even the names of two of them were redacted.

But prior to releasing the redacted version, Torrance initially refused to release it, Patton noted, “by citing the justification that, ‘Disclosure of the Record would also significant harm the Refinery’s privacy and financial interests, which greatly outweigh any public interest in disclosure.’”

The message was loud and clear, Patton said, “To us, that sounded a lot like an admission that the refinery’s financial interests trump public safety, as far as the City of Torrance was concerned.”

A subsequent public records request exposed more evidence of that, it “revealed that a small MHF release had actually been detected at the refinery and that the refinery had requested that it not be classified as a ‘major incident,’” Patton said.

“The 2015 incident garnered public awareness and led to the creation of TRAA,” he explained. “The 2023 minor incident was successfully shielded from public view before our request for internal communications.” Perhaps the two incidents combined “put a bit more pressure on the City of Torrance,” leading to its eventual release of the redacted report, he said.

The LAFD took a different approach, arguing that it didn’t have a copy of the HCA, so it wasn’t a public document, and thus, they couldn’t turn it over. But, as TRAA’s attorney, Kelly Aviles, noted in a January 2024 letter to LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, “The fact that the City claims to have not taken possession of a copy of the HCA report (and possibly others) intentionally to avoid public disclosure requirements is alarming.

“However, it has no bearing on whether the document is a disclosable public record.”

Aviles went on to explain, “Since the City has oversight obligations of the Refinery and has admitted to reviewing the inspection reports, including the HCA Report, its actual possession of the record is irrelevant to whether the record is a public record.”

What’s more, she explained, “The CPRA defines the term ‘public records’ to include ‘any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.’” [emphasis added]

The information in the HCAs could be very useful, Goldsmith explained. “It isn’t just that we want to know it for the sake of knowing, or putting it on our website or something. We want to use this in court and in federal legislation.”

In court, TRAA is hoping to be added to a federal lawsuit brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council to require the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a regulation to eliminate unreasonable risks from hydrofluoric acid at refineries. A hearing on the EPA’s motion to dismiss that case was held on June 10, the results of which Random Lengths will report in the near future.

Legislatively, there’s a bill by Maxine Waters, co-authored by all local representatives, which would prohibit the use of hydrofluoric acid at petroleum refineries, and for other purposes. With the GOP in control of the House, the bill is stalled, but if Democrats win the midterms, it will be very much alive.

Meanwhile, the MAGA majority on Torrance’s city council has been solidly defeated, though the mayor’s race remains too close to call. As a result, Goldsmith said, there’s a good chance the new council could order the release of the unredacted HCA. A new LA City Attorney could produce similar results after the November election, but TRAA is hoping for a much quicker result in court.

Summing up, Goldsmith said, “This is all smokescreen to hide the fact that there are vastly safer commercially proven alternatives to the use of the exceptionally deadly HF used in a highly dense environmental justice burdened community, in a facility subject to human error, fires and explosions, natural disasters like earthquakes, and intentional acts by bad actors.”

 

Bike Palace Reopens in New Home After Devastating Fire

Reporters Desk
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Bike Palace Reopens in New Home After Devastating Fire

 

By Chris Villanueva, Reporter

Just six months after a fire gutted the San Pedro bicycle shop’s longtime Pacific Avenue location, owner Tony Jabuka reopened The Bike Palace in a smaller storefront on Summerland Avenue, thanks in large part to loyal customers whose donations helped sustain the business and its employees during months of uncertainty and rebuilding.

The beloved community institution held a soft opening June 1 at its new location, 1485 W. Summerland Ave. in Northwest San Pedro.

The bike shop had operated for more than 50 years at 1600 S. Pacific Ave. before it was destroyed by the fire in December 2025.

“Community outreach has been great. It’s been hard — we lost 95% of the store. Thank goodness we found a shop going out of business in Lake Forest and were able to buy everything we needed,” Jabuka said.

The community rallied behind the business through a GoFundMe campaign organized by Jabuka’s daughter. The effort raised about $70,000, enough to keep employees on staff and paid during the six months it took to find a new location and work through the insurance process.

“Have patience with us. The new shop is small, and restocking will take some time. We only have room for about 40 bikes at a time, including repairs,” Jabuka said. “But we can still order bikes, and we will still sell bikes. Most vendors can get orders within three to five days.”

“Our new shop is in a very visible location, but the parking isn’t great. We’re working on that, too,” he said.

“We’re hoping to do a grand opening once we’re a little more organized, but we don’t have a set date yet,” Jabuka said.

Reflecting on the loss of the longtime location and the challenges of rebuilding, Jabuka said he is focused on moving forward.

“It’s a lot of work, and there’s some new learning to be done, but I’m doing OK keeping one foot in front of the other,” he said. “I’ve got good employees who have been with me for years, and they love to work on bikes and care for people. That’s the main thing — caring and doing the best we can.”

The former building at 16th Street and Pacific Avenue, where the fire occurred, will likely be demolished, according to Jabuka. The approximately 100-year-old structure was completely gutted by the blaze. The Bike Palace had operated at that location since 1973.

The iconic Bike Palace sign has been removed and is expected to be displayed at the San Pedro Historical Museum in the near future.

“You have to be willing to put yourself in harm’s way”: Congressman Robert Garcia on resisting Trump

Greggory Moore
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“You have to be willing to put yourself in harm’s way”: Congressman Robert Garcia on resisting Trump

Organizers of the Black History Month event in Long Beach had been asked not to pre-announce Congressman Robert Garcia’s appearance — because of threats against him.

That’s what happens in today’s America when you’re a highly visible and vocal opponent of Donald Trump. The federal government itself has even gotten in on the threats (however thinly veiled), targeting Garcia as part of “Operation Whirlwind,” a supposed investigation into threats against public officials, after Garcia told CNN that he felt Elon Musk was “harming the American public in an enormous way” and that “the American public want us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight, […] an actual fight for democracy.”

One of the weapons Garcia has wielded in that fight is his position as ranking Democrat on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. And if the Dems manage to take the House of Representatives in November, Garcia is likely to chair that committee, which would mean a lot more firepower at his disposal — and with it, undoubtedly, more threats.

But Garcia knows that’s part of the job right now — though it’s certainly not what he envisioned.

RANDOM LENGTHS NEWS: When did you first think about running for the House?

GARCIA: [During] my last year as mayor, [then-Congressman Alan Lowenthal] said, “There’s a possibility that I will not run for re-election.” When he mentioned that to me, I began to think about it as a real option. […] I had 13 years total as mayor and on the city council. You’ve got to have new ideas and new people; I think that’s important. It felt like the House would be a good place to bring my values, and I felt the country was at such a crossroads. We had survived the first Trump administration, and there was so much going on around issues of affordability and immigration, so it just felt like the right decision.

Did you imagine that Trump might be re-elected, or did you think, “There’s no way we’ll do that again?”

I knew it was always a possibility, but honestly, I thought there was no way we would re-elect this man. I mean, we had already seen it once — how could we vote for him again?! […] A lot of folks realize this second term is even more horrific than the first — and, unfortunately, more effective for him and the extreme parts of his base.

You’re doing a lot of different things in office, but a significant percentage of your energy is going toward resisting Trump — you’re out front doing that — which is obviously not what you expected you’d be doing when you went into the House.

That’s right. I went in thinking I was going to spend my first few years really focused on transportation and infrastructure issues. I had requested to be on [that] committee. That was really what I was focused on: “How can I support some good government measures? How can I support bringing back federal dollars to the cities and communities I represent?” But obviously, things changed so fast.

How disappointing is Trump’s presidency for you personally — not just in terms of the country, that we’re doing [a Trump presidency] again and what’s being done to the republic — but in terms of your lived experience in Congress? Because [resisting Trump] is not what you wanted to do.

Obviously I’m very disappointed in our country that we re-elected Donald Trump. That was a really hard moment, I think, for all of us. But then I just didn’t really dwell on it — I just moved on. It became more of: “We have to fight back. We have to be aggressive and tough, and we have to stop and slow the [Trump] agenda as much as possible.” I immediately understood the stakes […] and was urging everyone to understand how serious this challenge would be and that we couldn’t just do things the way we’ve always done them.

What sort of threats have you received from Trump supporters?

I’ve been receiving a lot of threats — death threats. I had a guy show up to my office in D.C. who threatened to slit my throat [and] got arrested. I’ve had people call the office who’ve been investigated by Capitol police and the authorities . . . It’s pretty common. I think one of the unfortunate parts of all this is that the louder and stronger and bolder one is against fascism, the more threats you’re going to get. I also think (and I told this to my team) that that’s not a reason not to be loud. There are only 435 members of the House. The Constitution is very clear about who is supposed to check the president — and right now the courts aren’t always doing it. So what else do we have? You have to be willing to put yourself in harm’s way, if necessary — and if you’re not willing to do that, I think you have to reconsider whether Congress is the right job for you at this time.

In a documentary I saw about Winston Churchill, there’s a bit where they say that, although, of course, by no stretch of the imagination was Churchill glad that Hitler and World War II came about, he was gratified to be in a position to take on that challenge. Do you have any of that sort of feeling?

I don’t know what I’ve thought about that. What I have thought about is that I am glad that right now there are folks being elected to Congress that are fighters and younger and come from working-class backgrounds, because I think that we understand the danger and come from communities that are the most harmed by Donald Trump. The fact that I’m an immigrant and gay and come from a working-class background gives me a [particular] perspective on these fights. […] You get to Congress, and you realize that there are a lot of millionaires here who may not see that the impacts [of government action] directly affect their families every time. I’m grateful that I can use my voice and my experience in the fight. I think it’s important, and I think there needs to be more folks who are engaged in this type of experience.

There are a lot of people in Congress who, in some sense, might not know better when it comes to their support of Trump’s agenda. But I think there’s a particular evil in people like Mitch McConnell, for example, who, whatever their genuine beliefs, do know better morally and ethically, yet go along with Trump regardless of what he does to further their own ambition or power-grab or whatever. It’s hard for me to imagine what it’s like to have to work with these people who you know know better and yet are selling out the republic.

Yeah, that’s very hard. […] There are folks in Congress who are genuinely just really bad people. They’re harmful, they’re selfish, they’re not there to help others, and it’s a real shame. There are folks in Congress who are genuinely homophobic and xenophobic and don’t think that folks like me should have rights — [or] even be in Congress because I’m an immigrant. They’ve been very public about that. Then there are those folks who are smart and have experience working with all sorts of folks but are basically putting on an act because they know that Donald Trump controls their party. And I think that is a real disservice to the country and a shame. And it’s hard because some of them will even admit to you, “Well, I don’t agree with this, but I have to do it” — but these actions are destroying our democracy and our country! I have no patience for that. Oftentimes, people will say, “Well, we should be focused on bipartisan solutions,” but I’m like, “It’s not the time for that right now.” Right now is not the time to kum ba yah with the folks that are destroying our institutions and our democracy. The country’s on the line; this is not just another moment in time. It’s a slow boil. Donald Trump is so effectively enacting decades of planning by some of the most extreme forces that want a very different form of government in our country. That’s something we have to take very seriously.

What do you think the Democrats haven’t done in the past or aren’t doing right now to better resist?

We should be able to be critical of our own party and the mistakes. Coming into Congress, it was very clear to me that Democrats were not fighting hard enough, that there needed to be change, that we needed to uplift younger people, and I think we need to be honest about that the fact that the Democratic Party has failed the country in being active in aggressively pushing back against Trump and the destruction of our agencies and our government. We have to be honest about that. It’s one of the reasons I challenged the seniority system. I mean, I’m a sophomore [in the House]. There hadn’t been a [Democratic] sophomore elected [as ranking member] on a committee in 102 years. We need to throw out the seniority system [mandating] when you’re next in line you get the job regardless of your ideas. That’s wrong. When I ran to [be the ranking member on] Oversight, people were like, “You can’t do that, because the person who is the most senior is going to get it — that’s the way we do things around here.” But I don’t play like that. More Democrats need to challenge the way things have always been done — because it doesn’t work anymore.

I’m sure you’ve read or at least been well-briefed on the Democratic National Committee’s 2024 election autopsy. One of the things it says in there is that the Democratic Party is too focused on “identity politics” — that the Party should “focus less on abstract issues and identity politics, and connect with voters on the issues they say matter most.” My great philosophical hero, Richard Rorty, diagnosed this problem in the ‘90s, saying that whereas at one time the progressive left was expending all its energy on programs and policies to make life better for non-elites and the oppressed, starting in the late ‘60s there was a shift in focus from action to talk, with Left “collaborat[ing] with the Right in making cultural issues central to public debate” [Achieving Our Country (1998), p. 14]. And it’s increased exponentially since then. I’d like to hear you address that.

I think the criticism is more broad. I actually think recognizing issues around representation [and] racial justice should be part of political dialogue and the way we frame issues because of the injustice, especially that Black Americans have faced and certainly other communities and immigrants. However, what has not been central to our argument that has to be is class solidarity and class politics. That argument has been so absent […]. One thing that all these communities share is […] coming from the working class and being underserved and under-resourced. I think what’s happening now — and it’s continued to grow — is people understanding that there is a coalition that needs to be strengthened that unites working-class people. That includes working-class White communities, folks that are being continuously ripped off by the very, very rich, the billionaires and large corporations that have so much control over our government. That matters, and I think that’s where the Party needs to grow, to reflect on and to adjust.

As you said to Politico in February, “Trump commits an impeachable offense every week” — and yet you say that when you come home to Long Beach, you get asked about the Epstein files more than almost anything else. You’ve been out front using that tool as a wedge issue against Trump and his minions. Why do you think this is the issue that’s galvanized the most general pushback?

I think it’s a couple of different things. One is that it has really resonated with women — [not just] young women, but women all across the spectrum — because what it really is is a failure of government to protect women when they have been brutally raped, abused, trafficked . . . When they go to the government to ask for help, the government turns its back and instead chose to protect those that did the abuse. And that speaks to people across this country. When your sister or daughter goes and talks to law enforcement about abuse, they should be heard, and the government should respond. In addition to that, the broader Epstein investigation is also about this class of people that can get away with anything. This same group of people that have abused and trafficked women […] can [also] get away with stealing all your hard-earned tax dollars and getting huge tax breaks — and they’re [suffering] no consequences, but instead getting protection from the government. What we’re seeing is that the very rich and the very powerful in this country can get away with anything, including doing the most heinous, horrific things to children. That speaks to why people care so much about this investigation.

Aside from voting, what would you like to see average Americans doing that can make a difference?

Look, the fact that [California] passed Proposition 50, while a lot of the country was slow-walking this [sort of resistance], is such a testament to us. That was a huge deal. […] We’re also a state that spends a lot to help candidates and causes across the country. I’ve been inspired by the way so many communities have come together to support the programs for undocumented people just to protect them, whether it’s been putting together whistle packets, mutual-aid programs, food drives, rapid-response programs, watching out for ICE or DHS officers. […] The protests, the active, supportive communities, the mutual aid — all of that stuff actually works. We’ve seen it in action. […] Even things as simple as putting together care packages or being parts of rapid-response teams — that’s about resisting and slowing this administration and their harms. The actions of those people helping communities, especially those that are in need because of what Trump’s doing, to me that’s the most powerful thing that people can do right now. We have two-plus years left of Donald Trump, and we have to slow and stop his agenda as much as possible. Part of that is supporting the people he’s harming. That’s really critical. Politically, getting involved in campaigns, supporting candidates you believe in — all this stuff really matters. We’re seeing that across the country, where progressives and Democrats are winning elections. That’s something that people can really have an impact on.

Justice, Care and Opportunities Department Launches D.O.O.R.S Long Beach to Expand Virtual Reentry Services

Reporters Desk
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Justice, Care and Opportunities Department Launches D.O.O.R.S Long Beach to Expand Virtual Reentry Services

 

 

LONG BEACH — The Los Angeles County Justice, Care and Opportunities Department or JCOD launched Developing Opportunities and Offering Reentry Solutions or D.O.O.R.S Long Beach on June 8, expanding virtual access to reentry services for justice-impacted individuals and families in the Long Beach region.

D.O.O.R.S Long Beach provides virtual service navigation and referrals to help participants connect with resources that support successful reentry, stability and long-term well-being. Through the virtual model, participants can access support without having to travel, helping reduce barriers related to transportation, work schedules, family obligations or other challenges.

The program provides individualized support and referrals in key areas that are essential to successful community reintegration, including:

  • Housing navigation and stabilization services
  • Employment and workforce development opportunities
  • Legal assistance and record-clearing support
  • Referrals to community-based organizations and specialized programs

D.O.O.R.S Long Beach is expected to serve more than 2,500 individuals annually and builds upon the success of existing D.O.O.R.S locations in South Los Angeles and Antelope Valley. Together, those sites have already assisted thousands of justice-involved individuals in accessing life-changing services and support, demonstrating the effectiveness of a coordinated, person-centered reentry approach.

Community members, justice-involved individuals, family members, service providers and referral partners can access D.O.O.R.S Long Beach services virtually through:

Referral Portal: [Justice Care And Opportunities]

Pier B Rail Facility Project Update Meeting Set for June 24

Reporters Desk
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Pier B Rail Facility Project Update Meeting Set for June 24

 

The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility project team will update the public on the status of the Port of Long Beach project during a virtual community meeting at 10 a.m. June 24.

Click here to register. You can join this virtual meeting from a computer, phone and other mobile device. A recording of the meeting will be posted at polb.com/PierB for those unable to participate. Requests for translation must be received by June 15. Contact Alice Castellanos at 562-283-7720 or alice.castellanos@polb.com for translation or assistance registering for the event. Comuníquese con Alice Castellanos al 562-283-7720 o alice.castellanos@polb.com antes del lunes 15 de junio para obtener servicios de interpretación o asistencia con el registro.

The planned Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility is the centerpiece of the Port of Long Beach’s rail capital improvement program. It will shift more cargo to “on-dock rail,” where containers are taken to and from marine terminals by trains. Moving cargo by on-dock rail is cleaner and more efficient, as it reduces truck traffic. No cargo trucks would visit the facility.

The facility will be built in phases and as each is completed, they will enhance capacity and operations. The project began construction in 2024 and completion of the entire project is expected in 2032. View the project fact sheet and more information at the project page.

Small Businesses Awarded $54 Million in Port Contracts

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Small Businesses Awarded $54 Million in Port Contracts

 

A Port of Long Beach program to broaden access to the hundreds of millions of dollars in competitive contracts it awards each year continues to be successful.

Last fiscal year, $54.4 million, or almost 45% of port funds spent on eligible contracts through the Port’s award-winning Small Business Enterprise Program, went to purchase needed services and materials from companies defined as “small business enterprises” and “very small business enterprises.” Port staff participated in more than 40 outreach events throughout the year to boost participation in the program.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are more than 36 million small businesses in the United States, which account for 99.9% of all businesses nationwide. The goal set for small business enterprise participation at the Port, which is the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is 27%, one of the highest when compared to other California ports and local municipal agencies. The Port’s 44.6% utilization in the 2025 fiscal year is the third-highest since the SBE/VSBE program was founded in 2004.

“Our vision to double our cargo to 20 million containers annually by 2050 and build the Port of the Future is going to take a big team,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Dr. Noel Hacegaba. “We want to make sure smaller businesses – the backbone of the U.S. economy – are equipped with the knowledge and ability to compete and win port-related construction and professional services contract opportunities.”

The thresholds of annual receipts and number of employees for classification as a small business vary widely by industry. The very small business eligibility is equivalent to the state of California’s microbusiness designation – businesses with $5 million or less in annual gross sales, averaged over the last three fiscal years, or manufacturers with 25 or fewer employees.

Aspiring contractors for the Port apply for posted contracts on the Port’s “Planet Bids” online system, where the business owners can pre-register their companies and check back for posted bids. Go to polb.com/businessopportunities and click on “Access the POLB Vendor Portal.”

For those interested in seeing the complete SBE utilization report for fiscal year 2025, please go to polb.com/sbe.

City of Rancho Palos Verdes to Pay Tribute to Late Founder Ken Dyda

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City of Rancho Palos Verdes to Pay Tribute to Late Founder Ken Dyda

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes will pay tribute on July 7 to city founder and longtime former Mayor and Councilmember Kenneth J. Dyda, whodied in January following a brief illness.

Mr. Dyda, 94, will be honored with video tributes and remarks from elected officials, community leaders, and members of the public that evening during the city council meeting. The public meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in McTaggart Hall at Hesse Park and will be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel, @rpvchannel33. A reception will follow.

Mr. Dyda’s private funeral was held June 6 at St. John Fisher Catholic Church, where he was a longtime parishioner. A native of New Jersey, he moved to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1961 with his wife, Lorraine, residing in their Grandview Estates home overlooking the “Queen’s Necklace” view of Santa Monica Bay until his death. The aerospace engineer became active in the Save Our Coastline movement that led to the incorporation of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes in 1973, the year he was elected to the inaugural city council. He went on to serve a combined 18 years on the council until 2022, including two turns as mayor in 1978-79 and 2016.

“Ken Dyda dedicated his life to preserving the beautiful community that generations of residents have enjoyed since he and others succeeded in their long-fought effort to incorporate the City of Rancho Palos Verdes,” said Mayor Paul Seo. “His vision and life’s work are written into the heart of our community, and his legacy will continue to guide us forward.”

Mr. Dyda led or played a significant role in countless city projects and initiatives overthe decades. He sat on over two dozen commissions and committees, co-founding the Rancho de los Palos Verdes Historical Society. His dedication to addressing the Portuguese Bend Landslide was a particular passion. Mr. Dyda authored pieces of state legislation that modified the voting process for incorporation and led to the creation of geological hazard abatement districts, of which there are over 50 statewide today. The Rancho Palos Verdes Civic Center was renamed in his honor in September 2022 to recognize his tremendous legacy of service to RPV.

“Ken Dyda was a friend of mine and a professional colleague who cared deeply about his family, friends, community, and faith,” said City Manager Ara Mihranian. “He was civic-minded and believed in giving back to his community by volunteering countless hours of his life and personally investing in the City he lived in. Ken’s profound dedication to the community he lived in and founded has left an indelible mark for generations to come.”

In addition to his civic accomplishments, Mr. Dyda had a long career in aerospace, including 35 years at North American Aviation (now The Boeing Co.) and five years at Northrop Grumman, managing the flight simulation labs for both companies. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, did graduate-level study in math, physics, and astrodynamics at UCLA, and was an instrument-rated private pilot. Mr. Dyda consulted with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the U.S. Naval Training Devices Center, the U.S. Air Force, and Flight Safety Inc. Among numerous professional affiliations and accomplishments, he lectured at Cambridge University and was recognized on the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Wall of Honor.

Mr. Dyda is preceded in death by his high school sweetheart and wife of 70 years, Lorraine. He is survived by his daughter, Beverly; son, Bruce, and daughter-in-law, Debra; granddaughter Melinda and her husband, Kelly, and great-granddaughters Kaitlyn and Emily; and granddaughter Megan and her husband, Eric.

After his final term on the city council ended in December 2022, Mr. Dyda remained active in city matters, speaking at council meetings and visiting and speaking to Mr. Mihranian weekly until his health declined.

In October 2025, Mr. Dyda was paid a surprise visit at his home by a group of 40 city and community leaders who wished him a happy 94th birthday. It was a joyous and memorable moment for all who attended. He was in great spirits, expressing his delight and gratitude for the birthday surprise and wasting no time diving into the latest city issues, including the landslide.

Those who wish to honor Mr. Dyda with a monetary donation may contribute to the newly formed RPV Community Foundation, the city’s nonprofit which will alleviate costs burdened by the city for capital projects and support programming to enrich the quality of life in RPV. The donation link is available on the city website at rpvca.gov/foundation.

Coalition Demands ICE-Free World Cup as Protesters Rally Outside SoFi Stadium

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Coalition Demands ICE-Free World Cup as Protesters Rally Outside SoFi Stadium

By Mark Friedman, RLNews contributor

One hundred and fifty community residents, activists, and members of UNITE Local 11 joined a June 7 protest days ahead of the opening World Cup games to demand that no ICE agents be present.

The Boycott Home Depot coalition has been protesting Home Depot’s permission to allow ICE agents on their property to detain suspected undocumented day laborers.

Home Depot has been one of the sites statewide where ICE officials have targeted immigrant workers, arresting hundreds throughout California and violating their liberties and legal rights.

The Boycott Home Depot Coalition says it’s standing in solidarity with the 2,000 United Local 11 union members who work as support staff at SoFi Stadium. The union is fighting for higher wages and the right to strike if ICE enters UNITE-organized workplaces.

ICE has offered its services to Inglewood police, and the Inglewood City Council just voted to purchase $6 million in drones, cameras, and riot equipment.

The action included members of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), Union del Barrio, unionists from the Roofers and Waterproofers local, the International Association of Machinists, and high school and college students.

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