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Rail Project Virtual Meeting, Sept. 2

Reporters Desk
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Rail Project Virtual Meeting, Sept. 2

LONG BEACH -The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility project team will update the public during a virtual community meeting at 11 a.m. Sept. 2.

You can join this virtual meeting from a computer, phone and other mobile device. For registration information, click here. The meeting will be recorded and posted at the Pier B project page for those unable to attend.

The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility is the centerpiece of the Port of Long Beach’s $1 billion rail capital improvement program. It will shift more cargo to “on-dock rail,” where containers are taken to and from marine terminals by trains, significantly reducing truck trips throughout the region. No cargo trucks would visit the facility. Instead, smaller train segments would be brought to the facility and joined together into a full-sized train.

The first arrival, departure and storage tracks are expected to be completed in 2024, with additional tracks coming online in 2030, followed by project completion in 2031.

Details: www.polb.com/pierb.

CeSPNC Bylaws Committee Meeting

Reporters Desk
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CeSPNC Bylaws Committee Meeting

Zoom Virtual Meeting

Please join the Zoom Webinar Online at: https://zoom.us/j/92828599426 or By Telephone by Dialing 833-548-0282 (Toll Free) Then Enter Webinar ID: 928 2859 9426 and Press #.

Instructions on how to sign up for public comment will be given to listeners at the start of the meeting. Generally, participants joining from the Zoom platform may select “raise hand” at the bottom of the screen or press *9 (star nine) on the telephone.

Time: 5:30 p.m. Aug. 28

AGENDA

1. Call to order

2. Zoom protocols for this meeting

3. Roll call

4. Public comment

5. Review of missing items from standing rules or additions

6. Review of corrected Standing Rules

7. Organizing of Policies and Procedures

8. New business.

9. Adjourn

NOTE: Anything on this Agenda Could Result in a MotionDetails: https://centralsanpedronc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Bylaws-Committee-Meeting-8-28-20.pdf

Lobbyist Agrees to Plead Guilty in City Hall Bribery Scheme in Which Jose Huizar Supported Developer in Exchange for PAC Donations

Reporters Desk
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Lobbyist Agrees to Plead Guilty in City Hall Bribery Scheme in Which Jose Huizar Supported Developer in Exchange for PAC Donations

            LOS ANGELES – Federal prosecutors Aug. 25, filed a criminal information charging a longtime Los Angeles City Hall lobbyist and close associate of City Councilman Jose Huizar with participating in a bribery scheme in which he brokered deals where a developer client agreed to make $50,000 in political donations in exchange for Huizar’s official actions for the developer’s benefit.

               Morris Roland Goldman, a.k.a. “Morrie,” 57, of Porter Ranch, was charged Aug. 17, with one count of conspiring to commit bribery and honest services mail fraud.

               In a plea agreement also filed Aug. 25, in United States District Court, Goldman agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense and cooperate in the government’s ongoing investigation.

               According to the court documents, Goldman was a lobbyist for “Company M,” which had a pending development project in the city’s Arts District. Goldman was one of several people who established two political action committees, one of which purportedly supported a variety of causes, but actually was created to primarily benefit the City Council campaign of Huizar’s relative, known in court papers as “Relative A-1.” If elected, Relative A-1 would help Huizar and his associates “maintain a political stronghold in the city,” according to court documents.

               In his plea agreement, Goldman admits that in September 2018 he agreed with Huizar and a Company M executive that the developer would contribute $50,000 to a PAC established to support Relative A-1’s political campaign. In exchange, Huizar would vote against a union appeal of Company M’s project in the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, which he chaired at the time.

               Court documents also outline how Goldman secured commitments from Company M to contribute to PACs at Huizar’s request prior to September 2018.  Between November 2016 and March 2017, Company M contributed a total of $50,000 to a PAC used to benefit Huizar’s political causes. In June 2018, Goldman secured a $25,000 contribution to the PAC designed to elect Relative A-1, as well as a commitment for an additional $25,000 contribution. Company M’s project ultimately received significant benefits in the city approval process. For example, the City Council’s approval of Company M’s request to reduce the project’s availability of low-income housing – despite its proximity to Skid Row – netted the company approximately $14 million in savings, court papers state.

Out of the $150,000 in donations agreed to by the developer, $75,000 was actually paid, with the final payments being derailed by an FBI search of Huizar’s home and offices in November 2018.

               Goldman is now the sixth defendant to be charged as a result of Operation “Casino Loyale,” an FBI investigation into corruption at Los Angeles City Hall. Four defendants, including former Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, have pleaded guilty and await sentencing.

On August 3, Huizar pleaded not guilty to charges in a 34-count racketeering indictment that alleges he led a criminal enterprise designed to enrich himself and his associates, give favorable treatment to developers involved in the payment of bribes, and elect his relative to preserve the enterprise’s power when his term expired at the end of this year. Huizar’s trial is scheduled for June 22, 2021.

Goldman has agreed to surrender in this case and make his first court appearance on Sept. 23. Once he pleads guilty to the conspiracy count, Goldman will face a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.

Fighting for the Right to Vote by Mail

Reporters Desk
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Fighting for the Right to Vote by Mail

Fighting to uphold the Constitutional right to vote, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas urged the Board of Supervisors to oppose the Trump Administration’s cost-cutting efforts at the United States Postal Service, calling it a brazen attack on Americans’ ability to vote by mail.

Acting on his motion, Board Chair Pro Tem Hilda Solis issued an Executive Order authorizing County Counsel to join litigation as amicus curiae (friend-of-the-court). The Board is expected to ratify the Executive Order when it reconvenes on Sept. 1.

“We’ve fought too hard to have our voices heard on Election Day, and we cannot allow the Postmaster General to suppress our right to vote by mail and undermine a pillar of our democracy,” Supervisor Ridley-Thomas said. “It is imperative that we take a stand so voters can cast their ballots without having to go to a polling station during a pandemic.”

US Rep. Karen Bass, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, expressed support for the motion during a Facebook Live conversation with Supervisor Ridley-Thomas on leadership and community organizing. She is among the leading Congressional representatives calling for the resignation of the US Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, and for the Trump Administration to cease any “operational initiatives” that will have an impact on election mail.

Supervisor Ridley-Thomas has fought for voting rights for decades. He founded the African American Voter Registration, Education, and Participation (AAVREP) in 2002, the largest organized effort to register African American and urban voters in California. This after a decade of service as the Executive Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, whose national organization was founded by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

More recently, Supervisor Ridley-Thomas has worked with Susan Burton, founder of the nonprofit A New Way of Life, to support L.A. Free the Vote, aimed at increasing the civic engagement of people in the justice system.

“As a formerly incarcerated person, I know that my vote matters. I depend on the Post Office to deliver my vote to the County Registrar Recorder’s Office,” Burton said. “We are appalled at the Trump administration’s attempt to disrupt the United States Postal Service during such a critical time.” A New Way of Life helps formerly incarcerated women successfully reenter society by connecting them to supportive services. It works to restore the civil rights of formerly incarcerated people, including their right to vote.

The USPS has always played a central role in the functioning of American democracy but has become even more critical amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people rely on mail not only to cast ballots but also to receive life-saving medications and other supplies during a time when it is incredibly risky to gather in one place, stand in line, and touch the same election machinery. 

Despite that, Postmaster General DeJoy recently, and just months before the November 3rdGeneral Election, decided to implement changes at the USPS without first seeking authority from the Postal Commission, and despite acknowledging that the service reductions would result in “mail left behind.” DeJoy, a Republican Party and Trump campaign donor, later canceled some of the changes after a public outcry. The USPS, however, has already removed many mailboxes from service across several states.

The Attorneys General of Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin have all filed lawsuits opposing the changes. The Attorneys General of Pennsylvania, with California, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York, are also expected to challenge the changes in court.

Keeping Courthouses Clear of COVID-19

Reporters Desk
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Keeping Courthouses Clear of COVID-19

LOS ANGELES — On Aug. 4, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called for stronger health and safety measures in Los Angeles County courthouses to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus. 

When the courts reopened, July 6, after weeks of closure prompted by COVID-19, the presiding judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, began implementing a range of health and safety measures recommended by the Los Angeles County public defender and endorsed by the Board of Supervisors. Additional measures may be necessary given the recent surge in infections.

Supervisor Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl’s motion instructed the county CEO, in collaboration with the public defender, sheriff, and the directors of the Department of Public Health, the Correctional Health Services within the department of health services, the Internal Services Department and the alternate public defender to report back to the board in 14 days with recommendations on:

A pre-screening process, including temperature checks and symptom and exposure questions, for entering courthouses;

Hourly patrols to ensure compliance with masking and social distancing protocols;

Public health inspections of lockup spaces in every courthouse

Whether and when incarcerated individuals should be tested before a court appearance;

The feasibility of rapid testing for incarcerated individuals;

The feasibility of testing jurors;

Expanding video conferencing technology to allow incarcerated individuals access to attorneys, clinicians, and the courts; and

Recommending protocols for responding when there is a known positive COVID-19 test from any individual who has been in a courthouse, including how to issue notifications and whether to impose a quarantine.

Random Letters: 8-20-20

RLn
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Random Letters: 8-20-20

Boycott Fox

I call it the Fox-Trump Conspiracy Cycle. It’s vicious, it summarizes the last four years really well, and it goes a little something like this …

Fox News recites right-wing conspiracy theories, often pulled off the internet.

Trump repeats Fox News talking points to the press.

Fox News invites Trump on air to repeat talking points.

Right-wing groups post Trump-Fox clips on Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook and Twitter’s mysterious algorithms serve this content to people who are most susceptible to racism and misinformation.

Right-wing conspiracy theories spread like wildfire on the internet.

Lather, rinse, repeat. Fox, Trump, Fox, social media — it’s viral conspiracy-theory gold.

Just last week, Trump called into Fox News with a dangerous lie that trivialized the very real threats the pandemic poses to children. This time, Facebook and Twitter took steps to block the Trump-Fox clip (after millions of people had already seen the video),1 but nothing could stop it from spreading across the internet and our media system. Some may try to dismiss Fox News as a fringe network, but let’s be clear: Fox’s ratings are consistently high and its audience is only growing.

The network’s audience is primarily made up of the 80+ demographic, a group at extremely high risk from COVID-19, which the network has downplayed all year. But last week, Fox announced that since the pandemic hit, it’s seen a surge in younger viewers — helping it lure new advertisers to back its toxic brand of racism and disinformation.

MyPillow, a top advertiser on Tucker Carlson Tonight, has made it clear that the notoriously racist Fox News host can say whatever he wants, but what about Google, Dell, TalkSpace and Samsung?

Fox’s toxicity could cost lives — any company whose advertising dollars are propping up the network should know that they are enabling the spread of hatred and disinformation.

Candace Clement, Freepress.net

Setting the Record Straight

This past week, as my staff and I were delivering city services, providing food to those in need, and working on solutions to homelessness, a local TV personality ignited “The Lie Heard Round the World” and it likely made it to your computer or television screen.

 I am writing to let you know it is absolutely and demonstrably false.

Last week, an on-air personality at Fox 11 tweeted what he claimed was proof that I have repeatedly called LAPD to respond to my home, often to protect me from protesters. That is absolutely false. His so-called evidence showed nothing of the sort. LAPD has confirmed I have not asked for patrols or special protection, and have never called 911. And I have written documentation specifically asking LAPD not to send units to my home, noting that officers have far better things to do.

It is a lie, and it has had remarkable legs, making its way to local media, British tabloids, and the Fox News Channel. You can read the truth and see all the details discrediting this false report at this link. You can also see the LAPD letter debunking the report there, too.

This false report coincides with recent attacks on me by the local police union, which has been upset with me since I challenged them for advocating slashing vital city services and even reducing neighborhood patrols by 200,000 hours, in order to pay for their raises. And when George Floyd was murdered, and hundreds of thousands of Angelenos took to the streets calling for reimagining how we provide for public safety and keep our neighborhoods safe, I supported that call. The attacks from the police union, including a mailer that many of you received in your homes recently, is meant to send a message to all elected officials: Question the police union at your own peril.

I refuse to be bullied or intimidated. I promised you when I first ran in 2013 that I would always do what I felt was right and that together we would move Los Angeles forward, do good, and get things done. No police union, no shoddy journalist, no false and malicious rumor will get me to break that promise to you.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, Venice, 11th District

Rep. Gohmert Pyle (R-Tx)

Lunatic fringe fascist fool Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is without a doubt the dumbest, most worthless member of Congress, and considering the laughably low intelligence level of the average lazy Republican racist officeholder these days, that’s really saying something!  Rep. Gohmert is an imbecile and a sick scumbag, not to mention corrupt.

Lamebrain Louie Gohmert needs to resign from office immediately and begin preparing his legal defense against the multiple lawsuits headed his way for Gohmert maliciously forcing his staff members (by forbidding them from wearing masks or from working at home) and his colleagues (by Gohmert refusing to wear a mask while at work) to become infected with Gohmert’s COVID-19 disease, all because whiny little clueless conservative crybaby Gohmert the goofball has apparently been taking his medical advice from traitor Trump’s White House witch doctor named Dr. Demon Seed.

Resign, Louie Gohmert — you’re an idiot!  And if dishonorable dimwit Louie the loser isn’t man enough to resign, just vote the Moscow-loving moron out of office on November 3rd right along with Gohmert’s god Donald Trump otherwise better known as Vladimir Putin’s puppet.  Send sick psycho Louie Gohmert and his partner in crime demonic Donald Trump to Russia where those anti-American bigots belong.

Jake Pickering, Arcata, Calif.

Barragán Urges COVID-19 Vaccine Trials in Racially Diverse Communities

Reporters Desk
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Barragán Urges COVID-19 Vaccine Trials in Racially Diverse Communities

Washington, D.C. —  Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) Aug. 25,  urged National Health Institute Directors Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci to ensure COVID-19 vaccine human trials are conducted in racially diverse communities to ensure people of color are adequately represented in the trials.

In a letter sent to Doctors Collins and Fauci today, Rep. Barragán raised concerns that current trial locations do not support participation from diverse communities and could result in treatments with disparities in effectiveness for communities inadequately represented in the trial.

Rep. Barragán wrote in the letter: “Due to the urgent nature of this pandemic, it is vitally important that we develop effective treatments and vaccines to minimize the virus’ impact and ultimately eradicate it. While I am encouraged about the progress of vaccine development for COVID-19, I am concerned that those living in underserved communities, especially communities of color like mine, will not be able to easily participate in these trials.”

The COVID-19 crisis affects everyone, but it is the latest disease to infect and kill communities of color at higher rates than the rest of the population. California’s 44th Congressional District is 90 percent Latino and African American and has experienced disproportionate numbers of cases and deaths from COVID-19 compared to predominantly white areas of Los Angeles County.

Those who are low-income or living in underserved communities may face barriers impeding their ability to participate in these COVID-19 vaccine and treatment trials. These communities are more likely to experience limited access to transportation, face long travel times on public transportation, and find it more burdensome to take time off work to participate. Barragán is adamant that it is critical that the locations of these trials comprehensively include, and do not systematically exclude, communities of color.

Congresswoman Barragán went on to make a specific request regarding the trial location in Southern California. “I strongly urge you to consider an additional site in Los Angeles closer to, and more accessible for, my demographically diverse constituents – representing populations that are desperately needed to participate in these trials.”

Rep. Barragán concluded the letter by saying, “The only way to decisively defeat COVID-19 is to guarantee that every American, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, has access to the full range of treatments, and that these treatments are comprehensively proven to be safe and effective.”

A PDF of the full letter is available here.

http://barragan.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Vaccine-Trial-Locations-Barragan.pdf

Heirloom Addiction

Ari LeVaux
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Heirloom Addiction

The brief, glorious moment when tomatoes are everywhere marks the culinary apex of summer. This drawn-out, tomato-ey solstice is especially fleeting for heirloom tomatoes, the high-maintenance wing of the tomato clan. Too watery and delicate to preserve, heirlooms can only be enjoyed raw. Which means they must be enjoyed now.

Heirlooms have shorter shelf lives than “normal” hybrid tomatoes and they are harder to grow and less productive, making them more expensive. The heirlooms at my farmers market are worth every penny. I’ve been a big spender all summer, and finally my own patch is starting to ripen.

I’ve got Ox Heart, Black Krim, Brandywine, Thirsty Girl, White Peach, Striped German and others. These aren’t the lipstick-red, perfectly round, normal-looking slicers that you’d put on a sandwich, or the dense, dry paste tomatoes that in a few weeks I’ll simmer into large batches of sauce.  Heirlooms come in as many shapes as clouds, as many colors as the rainbow, with mildly tangy flavors and sweet, earthy aromas.

I keep my heirlooms closer than my friends and enemies, organized like perishable jewels, usually on a large plate but not in a pile, keeping track of which ones are soft. I don’t refrigerate or cook my heirlooms. They are for room-temperature enjoyment only.

I can’t think of any more delicious way to enjoy a summer heirloom — and summer itself — than a plate of caprese, the Italian salad that pairs a slice of tomato with a slice of mozzarella and a leaf or two of basil. These accompaniments flatter the heirloom, as lime and salt complete a shot of tequila, and just as intoxicating. Beyond this three-ingredient caprese quorum, most renditions will include salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, either red or white —  white balsamic is made from white grapes and lately, because of trademark issues, goes by White Italian Condiment. Whatever we call white balsamic, I prefer it to the red. It’s just as aromatic but less dominant. And, call me crazy, but I prefer tucking the basil between the tomato and the cheese. On top of the tomato, that basil leaf deflects the oil, salt and vinegar. And in so doing, it blocks the proper flavor from developing.

After weeks of studying, preparing, consuming and  obsessing about caprese, my garden was depleted, and I went to the farmers market to buy more ingredients. While gathering bunches of basil from a vendor I barely knew named Jamie, I heard him mention that I looked like a man with caprese on his mind.

As Jamie was so tuned in to the caprese wavelength, I asked how he serves it at home.

He mixes purple and green basil on alternate pieces of caprese, along with different colored tomatoes. It makes a more colorful plate he says.  He’s also a stickler for balsamic reduction, rather than the straight vinegar. He likes the syrupy consistency of balsamic reduction, how it sticks to the cheese and tomatoes and doesn’t so easily run off.

To make your own balsamic reduction, simply heat a quantity of red or white balsamic in a heavy bottomed saucepan until it’s reduced by at least half. Some recipes call for sweetening the reduction, but I find it sweet enough.

But if there is a bit of minced garlic, or thin-sliced onion, or even a caper or two, I won’t complain. Sometimes I’ll place a peach atop Mt. Caprese.

It’s usually served as some kind of towering pile, but you can also chop the basil, mozzarella and tomato into utensil-sized bits and sprinkle with salt, olive oil and some kind of balsamic — red or white, vinegar or reduced.

Fresh mozzarella is about as cheap as fresh heirloom tomatoes. Unless you have a cow, a cheese shop or a trust fund, your caprese consumption might be limited only by your budget. But if ever there was a time to lighten up, take it easy and fill your belly with caprese, this is it.

FILM SET FOR A CHICANO NOIR

David Bacon
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FILM SET FOR A CHICANO NOIR

Photographs by David Bacon
https://davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2020/08/film-set-for-chicano-noir.html

As night falls in Fresno, shooting stills for a video is like being inside a Love and Rockets comic by the brilliant Los Bros Hernandez. If they were still drawing maybe these pictures would inspire them. One can only hope.

Join Southern California Chefs in 20CHEFS

Terelle Jerricks
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Join Southern California Chefs in 20CHEFS

Beacon House of San Pedro announced two well-known Midwestern chefs to its 20CHEFS fundraising roster: the Food Network’s Andrew Zimmern (Minneapolis) and Jeremy Martindale, executive chef for The Alexander Hotel, the luxury boutique property in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. The center was recently named by U.S. News and World Report a “Top 200 Treatment Center” in the country. 

Zimmern and Martindale join Southern California chefs such as event co-chairs Michael Shafer (The Depot) and Christine Brown (Restaurant Christine), Victor Juarez (Fuego at Hotel Maya) and others to raise needed funds for the 115-bed treatment and rehabilitation facility for men in San Pedro.

Additional chefs include: 

• Paul Buchanan/ Primal Alchemy (caterer)

• Peter Carpenter/ Gourmet to You (caterer)

•Betty Fraser/ As You Like It Catering, formerly of Grub, Hollywood

• Kashi Aghilipour/ Think Prime 

• Trina Mendoza/ Babouch
• Andrew Monterrosa

• Jennie Trinh

Private Dining at:

• Compagnon Wine Bistro

• Pappy’s

• Big Nicks

More chefs will be added throughout the summer.

Because of the pandemic, Beacon House Association of San Pedro had a $225,000  shortfall  to assist those with alcohol and drug addiction issues. On the website, visitors are encouraged to purchase private dinners with a selected chef starting at $5,000. The meal will be prepared and served at the buyer’s residence or at the chef’s restaurant with the location and date to be agreed upon by both parties. The number of guests shall be limited to 10. Dinner purchases end Oct. 11. Dining purchases can also be made via email at the 20chefs@beaconhouse.org.

“We feel encouraged by the outpouring of support and love to help these men. Addiction is one of the greatest scourges,” said Beacon House Association of San Pedro’s Executive Director,  Brian Smith. “Our center allows these men to rejoin their loving families and become willing participants in their communities.”

Details: www.thebeaconhouse.org/20chefs/

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