Monday, October 6, 2025
spot_img
spot_img
Home Blog Page 489

Art Focuses on Mental Health Throughout The Harbor Region

Reporters Desk
-
0
Art Focuses on Mental Health Throughout The Harbor Region

Long Beach and San Pedro to host “Bridge Wellness” Through Art and Healing

“Bridging Wellness” is a series of community pop-ups generously supported by WE RISE LA and Arts Council for Long Beach. “Bridging Wellness” is a collaborative effort with partners Angels Gate Cultural Center, Compound LB, 10 other organizations and numerous artists in the Harbor region. County wide pop ups can be found on the WE RISE website and all “Bridging Wellness” local pop ups can be found on the Arts Council for Long Beach website.

WE RISE encourages well-being and healing through art, connection, community engagement and creative expression throughout May, Mental Health Awareness Month. WE RISE includes Art Rise, a series of 21 art experiences; Community Pop-Ups, hyperlocal activities across Los Angeles County neighborhoods; and a robust Digital Experience, offering original programs that can be enjoyed from anywhere. All installations and activities are meant to be participated in online or viewed from a distance individually or in small groups, in order to remain COVID-safe, per county health guidelines, while fostering community connection and collective healing.

“We are grateful to receive support from county partners to help communities heal through the arts. It is more important than ever to create opportunities for artists to intersect with local nonprofits,” stated Griselda Suarez, executive director for Arts Council for Long Beach.

For more information:

Details: https://artslb.org/bridging-wellness/ and https://whywerise.la/community-pop-ups/

Sanctuary Of The Aftermath Healing Centered Art: Many Paths To Wellness 

Healing Centered Art: Many Paths to Wellness explores how the creation, sharing, and utilization of art can enhance our mental health and wellness, and help heal individual and community trauma.The interactive discussion will be an exploration of our path through the overlapping mental health impacts of pandemic losses, racial trauma, and other stressors in the last year. An opt-in, healing self-reflection/community care time will be offered. Participants will be invited to create during a brief art expression. Attendees can utilize any simple art supplies available at home.

The interactive panel discussion will be led by Tiombe Wallace, MS MFT,  a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 23 years of experience as a Black intersectional feminist therapist, educator, and activist.

Panelists include artists Nica Aquino, Jason Jenn, Rosalyn Myles and Vojislav Radovanović, whose work is on view in Sanctuary of the Aftermath at Angels Gate Cultural Center. The panel will discuss how the artists’ paths uncover the universal in a therapeutic process and invites viewers to share in their experience through immersive art. Eventbrite registration is required to join the virtual event.

Time: 6:30 to 8 p.m., May 26 Online

Details: Eventbrite registration is required to join the virtual event. www.eventbrite.com/e/we-rise-healing-centered-art-many-paths-to-wellness-tickets

Masking Requirements Remain in L.A. County

Reporters Desk
-
0
Masking Requirements Remain in L.A. County

While the County’s metrics continue to remain low and stable, there continues to be COVID-19 transmission in California, particularly among those who are not fully vaccinated. For that reason, the State will be keeping its current masking guidance until June 15, and Los Angeles County will do the same and remain in alignment with the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order of May 3. It is important to note that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC announcement last week was not meant to eliminate current safety modifications at local and state levels, and the CDC acknowledged the importance of maintaining local protections.

Masks are still required for everyone at:

  • Large events, public transportation, retail, and business establishments
  • Workplaces (under Cal/OSHA masking/distancing requirements)

Masks are still required for all unvaccinated people:

  • Outdoors anytime distancing cannot be maintained

Masks are still not required for fully vaccinated people:

  • Outdoors unless attending crowded events
  • Indoor and outdoor visits with other fully vaccinated people and with unvaccinated people from one household without high risk people

To find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

Details: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

Chileans opt for ‘outsiders’ to draft post-Pinochet constitution

Reporters Desk
-
0
Chileans opt for ‘outsiders’ to draft post-Pinochet constitution

Sebastián Piñera says outcome of election shows his government and political parties are not “attuned to the demands and aspirations of citizens.”

Buenos Aires Times

Chileans voted at the weekend for people not aligned to political parties to form the bulk of a 155-member body that will rewrite a dictatorship-era constitution widely blamed for deep social inequality.

A new constitution was a key demand of 2019 protests that left several dozen dead but paved the way for what has been labelled Chile’s most important election since its return to democracy 31 years ago.

The outcome of the vote on Saturday and Sunday was interpreted as a rebuke of the ruling right and of traditional political parties.

Read more at, https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/chileans-opt-for-outsiders-to-draft-post-pinochet-constitution.phtml

LBCG Seeks Artist Submissions For Coming Together: An Exhibition of Small Work

Reporters Desk
-
0
LBCG Seeks Artist Submissions For Coming Together: An Exhibition of Small Work

The Long Beach Creative Group presents an open call for small works. LBCG is interested in work that reflects current artistic trends. Artists who reside in Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood, and San Pedro, or who grew up in these communities, are eligible. Original works of art in all media are welcome: painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, textiles, digital art, wall-mount sculpture, and mixed media. All submissions must not exceed 16 inches in any direction, including the frame.

Each artist may submit a maximum of 3 small works. Images should be in a JPEG format that is no larger than 5MB, with a minimum of 1200 pixels on the longest side.

The submissions will be reviewed by two jurors, Asia Morris and Brian Trimble, who will select the work to be included in the exhibition. Morris is a Long Beach artist and, for many years, covered arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. Dr. Trimble is the Board President of the Arts Council for Long Beach, served in many leadership roles at the University Art Museum, and Assistant Professor of Art Education, both at CSULB. Artists will be notified of their decisions.

The deadline to submit work is June 6. Artists will be notified after June 14th. Work must be dropped off at the gallery on June 27. The exhibition will open on Saturday, July 10, and will run through August 14. Artists must be present on August 14 to collect their work.

All work must be professionally presented. This means it will be delivered ready to hang. Works on paper, including photographs, should be framed. For artists who are exhibiting for the first time, help with framing is available upon request.

The LBCG/Rod Briggs Gallery will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. No appointment is required. To schedule a viewing outside of those hours, call 562-400-5166. More information about the group, the gallery and the show can be found at LongBeachCreativeGroup.com. Follow them at facebook.com/LongBeachCreativeGroup.

Time: Deadline to submit works June 6

Details: To submit, send the images to LongBeachCreativeGroup@gmail.com.

Venue: Long Beach Creative Group, 2221 East Broadway Long Beach

LBCG is also hosting its second annual exhibition. Details are below.

The Long Beach Creative Group presents its Second Annual Exhibition

Now through June 20, featuring artists Marka Burns, Donald Tiscareno, Heather Werner Cox, Dorte Christjansen, Michiel Daniel, Greg Fritsche, Mic Burns.

Time: 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday May 27 to June 20

Details: www.longbeachcreativegroup.com

Venue: Long Beach Creative Group, 2221 E. Broadway Long Beach

Alleged Local Drug Dealers Charged with Providing Opioids that Led to Fatal Overdoses

Reporters Desk
-
0
Alleged Local Drug Dealers Charged with Providing Opioids that Led to Fatal Overdoses

         LOS ANGELES — Federal authorities today announced 11 criminal cases against alleged drug dealers who sold or provided narcotics to users who suffered fatal overdoses from opioids such as fentanyl or fentanyl analogues.

       As a result of the operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, each of the 12 defendants named in the 11 cases is charged with distribution of narcotics resulting in death. If convicted, each defendant would face at least a 20-year mandatory minimum prison sentence and a potential maximum sentence of life without parole in federal prison.

       The cases are the result of investigations by the DEA’s Overdose Justice Task Force, which was created to address opioid-related deaths in the greater Los Angeles area, most of which are caused by the synthetic opioid fentanyl. Under the Overdose Justice program; DEA’s Los Angeles Field Division, DEA agents collaborate with local law enforcement to analyze evidence to determine if there are circumstances that might lead to a federal criminal prosecution, and, if so, proactively target the drug trafficker. Since the start of the Overdose Justice program in 2018, the DEA has worked with an ever-expanding list of local police agencies to obtain approximately one dozen federal indictments that specifically charge death resulting from narcotics trafficking. The 11 cases announced May 13 add to that list of prosecutions. The Task Force is investigating other incidents and expects to file additional criminal cases in federal court.

       Local cases are summarized below.

U.S. v. Fulton

William Vaughn Fulton, 39, of Torrance, was named in a five-count indictment filed May 11,  accusing him of distributing fentanyl that caused two deaths on consecutive days in Redondo Beach hotel rooms. In addition, Fulton is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and being a felon in possession of ammunition.

The indictment alleges that Fulton distributed fentanyl on October 10, 2020 to a person who died, and the next day he allegedly distributed fentanyl at another hotel where another person died after ingesting the drug. When he was arrested on Oct. 13 by the Redondo Beach Police Department, Fulton allegedly possessed more than two ounces of fentanyl and over 2.5 ounces of methamphetamine. Police also seized two 9mm “ghost guns” and 12 rounds of ammunition Fulton allegedly illegally possessed because, from 2004 through 2017, he previously had been convicted of 24 felony offenses.

       Fulton is in state prison after pleading guilty to related charges. The United States is seeking a writ to bring him into federal custody. 

U.S. v. Wilson

Alexander Declan Bell Wilson, 20, of Rolling Hills, was arrested May 12, after being indicted on May 11 on one count of distributing pills containing fentanyl that led to the death of a 15-year-old boy on May 15, 2020. Law enforcement reviewed Snapchat conversations between the two that show the victim thought he was buying oxycodone, a commonly used and widely abused semi-synthetic opioid.

Wilson is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment May 13.

Meeting: Achieving 100% Renewable Energy in Los Angeles

Reporters Desk
-
0
Meeting: Achieving 100% Renewable Energy in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study or LA100 is complete and confirms that a 100% renewable power system is achievable. LA100 also highlights the importance of customer participation in programs like energy efficiency, electric vehicles and solar in order to meet L.A.’s clean energy targets.

Join an upcoming virtual community meeting later this month to learn more about the LA100 results: key findings, costs, next steps and more. 

Times: LA100 Results: Key Findings, Costs and Next Steps

10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. May 18

6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. May 20

10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m May 22

A Deeper Dive: Topic-Specific Meetings

Customer Electricity Use & Efficiency

6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. May 25

Renewable Energy Supply

6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. May 26

Environmental Benefits

6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. May 27

Details: To register ladwp.com/LA100

Jay McCafferty—In Memoriam

RLn
-
0
Jay McCafferty—In Memoriam

Feb. 21, 1948 – March 21, 2021

Jay McCafferty, one of Los Angeles’s most important and convention-defying artists, died March 21 at his home north of Santa Barbara. He was 73. 

Although commonly known as a Minimalist, he was also grouped with the Post-Minimalist tendencies of Conceptual and Process art. His working method remained constant — focusing rays of sunlight through a magnifying glass to achieve perforated surfaces of great variety; from early works resembling transgressive, cigarette-sized burns on various grounds and later to delicate, complex compositions on pigmented papers.

McCafferty was born and raised in San Pedro, where he lived and worked for his entire life — with sojourns in Santa Barbara, California.  As a young artist, McCafferty won the LA County Museum of Art’s New Talent Award and received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship grant.  His art has been exhibited locally, nationally and internationally, in well over 100 exhibitions between 1971 and 2019.  McCafferty’s work is held in numerous public collections including the Getty Museum, LACMA and the Museum of Modern Art.

After graduating San Pedro High School, McCafferty studied for a brief time at Los Angeles Harbor College in Wilmington. Subsequently, he attended Chapman College where he also studied on the World Campus Afloat before attending California State University, Los Angeles. There, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in Art. In 1973, he received a master of fine arts degree from the University of California, Irvine. At UCI, McCafferty studied with such artists as Craig Kauffman, Ed Moses and Tony DeLap. His classmates included Charles Christopher Hill, John Knight, Richard Newton and Alexis Smith. McCafferty presented his first solo video exhibition in 1974 at the Long Beach Museum of Art. It was described by the Getty’s Glenn Phillips as “a suite of truly humorous and poetic single-channel videos.”

McCafferty was an associate professor of art and head of the art department at Harbor College from 1976 to 2019. For 30 years starting in 1966, he also worked as a lifeguard on beaches from San Pedro all the way north to Ventura County. 

During a teaching career spanning more than four decades, McCafferty taught and inspired multiple generations of artists, teaching everything from ceramics to painting to art appreciation. 

He is survived by Ellen Montgomery McCafferty, his wife of 41 years.  Ellen wishes to thank Dr. Marston, Laura Guerrero, Susan Clark and Alex Velazquez from VNA in Santa Barbara for their extraordinary care of Jay. A memorial will be held at a later date. Please make any donations to VNA of Santa Barbara in Jay’s name.

Garlic Chives: The Allium Stallion

Ari LeVaux
-
0
Garlic Chives: The Allium Stallion

He who bears chives on his breath, is safe from being kissed to death.

— Marcus Valerius Martialis, Epigrams 80 A.D.

They look like scallions, but my farmer friend, Nancy, calls them “Chinese chives.” She would know, being from northern China, which, it turns out, is the ancestral homeland of this plant. Its Latin name translates to “root garlic, but it’s more commonly known as “garlic chive.” A native to the Siberian steppes of northern China and Mongolia, Allium tuberoseum now grows throughout the temperate zones of the world. It is easy to start from seed, and spreads by root clumping. Nancy cuts as close to those clumps as she can, for maximum white part.

The bunches of chives Nancy sells at the farmers market are about 14-inches long. Green and flat at the tips, they widen and whiten toward the roots like young onions. I deploy the white and green parts at different junctures, as you would a leek or scallion, and they perform like stallions, filling my food with a sweet, green, pungent flavor that seems to encompass everything good about onions, garlic, leeks, ramps, shallots and all the other edible members of the Allium (garlic) genus.

Nancy uses the white parts to make scallion omelets and the green parts to make ginger/pork/chive dumplings. She also separates the in-between white and green parts for another egg dish that I didn’t entirely understand, other than she and her husband enjoy it as a late-night snack.

I love ginger pork dumplings, especially when somebody else makes them. I will surely get around to using Nancy’s chives in my own dumplings at some point, but in the meantime I have been taking my chive greens elsewhere. It’s not hard to find places to use them. Sweeter and milder than the white part, they still pack a lot of garlicky flavor. I dust them on linguine, rice, clam chowder or toast, simmer them into ramen, substitute them for basil in caprese, scatter them upon scallops and skordalia (potato garlic sauce), and munch behind a mouthful of just about anything savory. Those garlic chive greens improve every bite.

Nancy told me how to make her omelet, and I have tried to follow her way faithfully. The language barrier is such that I may never know for sure what she does, and that’s fine. Meanwhile, I’ve added some things that I know she doesn’t use, like butter. I also use the chopped raw green parts, by beating them into the raw eggs. They get just a hint of heat, and stay bright green. And those in-between white and green parts that Nancy uses for late night eggs, I don’t separate them out. I just chop my chives in half, and call it good.

Chive Nest Eggs

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 bunch (100 grams) garlic chives, minced, with white and green parts kept separate

2 eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Heat the fats on high in a lightweight omelet pan. When sputtering, add the minced chive whites. Spread them around in the oil evenly. Add four tablespoons of chopped greens to the beaten egg. For extra fanciness lay a few whole chive leaves in the pan, in some kind of pattern among the chopped bits. After about a minute of sizzling, add the eggs, slowly pouring them in a circular motion over the pan. Tilt the pan around for even coverage. Keep shaking the pan to keep the omelet moving lest it stick.

From here the exact cook time will depend upon how hot your burner is, how thin your pan is, and how well you like your eggs cooked. For me, after about 2 minutes the omelet is ready for flipping. It’s all in the knees, not the wrist — just bend your knees and you will catch it. Or use a spatula to fold the omelet in half. Or chopsticks to roll it, Chinese style. Or grind it around the pan with a fork and call it good.

Collect the eggs on a plate and douse with soy sauce. Serve with coffee.

Random Letters: 5-14-21

RLn
-
0
Random Letters: 5-14-21

Treat Trump Like Noriega

“Listen, let’s call vaccine hesitancy what it really is:  willful stupidity.” — Jimmy Kimmel

A recent NPR/PBS/Marist survey found that only 6% of Democratic men are declining to be vaccinated against COVID-19, whereas a whopping 49% of Republican men are refusing to be vaccinated.

What’s up with these Republican snowflakes?  Chuck Norris should kick y’all in the teeth for being such a bunch of bozos!  That is if the GOP’s current party leaders — Larry, his brother Darryl, and his other brother Darryl  — have any teeth left at this point, since Kamala Harris’ left jab and Joe Biden’s right cross have left these lunatic losers looking totally toothless as of late.

Speaking of late, how much longer is it going to take for recalcitrant Republicans to get a clue about that racist Russophile Donald Trump’s so-called “Kung Flu” that was supposed to fade away, according to Don the con, “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.”

Of course what actually disappeared were the lives of 580,000 innocent Americans, in addition to deranged diabolical dimwit Donald Trump disappearing from the White House in defeat and disgrace, thanks to over 81 million patriotic American voters collectively reclaiming their democracy by firing that fascist fool in landslide fashion.

Jake Pickering, Arcata, Calif.

An Open Letter to Buscaino’s Office on His Grants

I went over all of the grants over the weekend and I am trying to understand why there is an organization from Long Beach applying in Wilmington? And why were the organizations allowed to apply for every community when we can only vote for one. That doesn’t seem fair. Some of these organizations who applied for Harbor City I have never heard of and have never seen them do any work in Harbor City. If you can only vote for one organization? And there’s $3 million allocated out of the $12 million. Five communities capped at $100,000 does not equal $3 million. So how many organizations is your office actually giving money to or already allocated money to? 

I have to be completely honest, this whole process does not seem fair or transparent. Were the organizations told that they could have applied in all the communities in CD15? I read City Lights’ proposal and it says in the boundaries of CD15 not only Harbor City. Their proposal should have also been included in all of them like the “Do Good Family” who received a million dollars from the ELLEN Show. How is this fair to the organizations within our district that ACTUALLY care about our community? Not just looking for an opportunity. 

Lastly, it’s pretty sad that the money from LAPD is supposed to be invested into disadvantaged communities of color which BLM and other advocates fought for and your report does not include exactly where this money came from. I had to dig and look for that information.

Danielle Sandoval, President of the Harbor City Neighborhood Council

High Speed Rail Con Job To Taxpayers

When Gov. Gavin Newsom said that he was not going to abandon the High Speed Rail, and continue to build-out the Merced to Bakersfield route, he must have forgotten that there already is a train that services that area.

Newsom said we are going to hold contractors and consultants accountable to explain how tax-payers dollars are spent.

We already know that answer, as the H.S. Authority has significant flaws in the rail authority contract oversight.  It failed in the beginning to complete many critical planning tasks before moving forward with the construction.  The rail Authority failed to acquire sufficient land for building upon; therefore many lawsuits and regulations to overcome.

Bottom line is that California taxpayers did not vote for the departure of a High Speed train to no-where.  The H.S. rail is not high speed, it is over-budget, no connections to L.A. and S.F. and no one from those areas will be riding it.

John Winkler, San Pedro

Life After Mother — Making Painful Decisions Easier

Lyn Jensen
-
0
Life After Mother — Making Painful Decisions Easier

By Lyn Jensen, Columnist 

“People your parents’ age, they seem to think the longer they put off making end-of-life decisions, the longer they’re going to live,” a lawyer once told me. My mother, a great procrastinator, put off making end-of-life decisions until she was no longer capable of doing so — meaning the decisions were made for her. 

I can’t say I blame her; such decisions may require painful questions and painful answers. Putting off painful decisions is simple until it’s not. The time to address what may happen — to you and your family and property — is before you’re facing a life-threatening experience, from COVID-19, dementia, cancer, or anything else.

Complicating the process are an array of legal and medical documents with confusing names. Some fulfill similar purposes but with slight variations. Decisions must navigate “Power of Attorney for Health Care” or “General Durable Power of Attorney” or “Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care” or “Power of Attorney (Disability).” Add “Do Not Resuscitate” or “Physician’s Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment” or “Living Will” or “Instructions for Health Care.” It’s understandable why someone may be reluctant to address so many very personal issues.

A “Power of Attorney” (POA) by whatever title legally authorizes another person to manage your financial affairs (including your property) or your healthcare should you become unable to do so. A POA for healthcare provides for another to make decisions regarding your healthcare and only your healthcare, for situations that may range from dementia to being on a ventilator. A different POA designates another to make decisions regarding only your finances and property. Both carry force of law and are for your protection.

In California an Advance Healthcare Directive (aka Advance Health Care Directive) combines two important legal documents involving end-of-life decisions. The first part contains a power of attorney for healthcare. The second part, “Instructions for Health Care” (title may vary slightly) is where you state your wishes for end-of-life care. It’s similar to a “Living Will.”  

My father only signed a financial POA when facing the final weeks of his life. Had he done so earlier I may have been able to stop some women from plundering his accounts and property. By the time I was legally authorized to take action it was too late.

I don’t even want to contemplate what might have happened had I not persuaded my mother to sign a healthcare POA, how much additional misery would have haunted her final weeks. She never did sign a financial POA. That made managing her finances a bigger headache, both before and after her death — and more than a year later I’m still hacking through the tangled thicket her financial affairs made.

1...488489490...937Page 489 of 937

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

Real people. Real news. Random Lengths is the Los Angeles harbor area's remaining independently owned progressive news magazine. We cover news in Carson, Wilmington, Long Beach, Lomita, Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro.

Contact us: letters@randomlengthsnews.com

FOLLOW US

© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv