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Musical Theatre West’s “Into the Woods”: Smart art, well-delivered

Greggory Moore
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Musical Theatre West’s “Into the Woods”: Smart art, well-delivered

Speculations about who’s “the GOAT” — greatest of all time — are a bit silly even when it comes to sports, never mind in the far more subjective realm of arts. But no remotely rational debate about the GOAT of musical theatre could fail to include Stephen Sondheim, so layered are his creations, so smartly does he mine the work of the greats that came before him, so clever are his conceits, so witty and wry are both his lyrics and music.

Into the Woods is top-shelf Sondheim, so by simply choosing it to be part of their season, Musical Theatre West were halfway home. Now all they had to do was not screw it up — easier said than done, as Sondheim’s work can be some of the technically densest in the entire musical theatre canon.

But Musical Theatre West aren’t in the habit of screwing things up, and with Into the Woods they do far better than just get by.

Once upon a time there was a baker and his wife, and they were willing to do most anything to get a child of their own.. There was an impoverished mother and son who wished for better fortune. There was a downtrodden beauty who wished to go to the royal festival. And there was a girl who simply wished to safely navigate the woods to deliver food to her ailing grandma, woods where a long-haired maiden locked away in a tower wished to see more of the world.

If Into the Woods were nothing but Act One, which resourcefully brings the plots and dramatis personae of several classic fairy tales together in the deep, dark woods (à la Dante, a metaphor for life as a journey on which you can lose your way) before delivering an ostensible happily-ever-after, it would be an impressive achievement. But all that is just the set-up for what Into the Woods is really about, with 70% of its brilliance, not to mention the better part of its great music, saved for Act Two. This is musical theatre for thinking people — and no less entertaining for that.

No part of Act One is more entertaining than Antwone Barnes and Richard Bermudez as two princes in the “Agony” of their infatuations. Yes, it’s a funny number on paper, but perhaps more than any other in the entire show these yuks come down to the delivery, which is delightful here not only because of the singers’ efforts but also Christine Negherbon’s understated choreography.

Overall, the show’s brightest star is Daebreon Poiema as Rapunzel’s witching mother. Although she gets some big laughs in Act One, it’s after intermission that she truly shines, injecting an arresting intensity into the proceedings when things take a darker turn; and delivering the show’s most powerful solo with “Last Midnight”.

But Into the Woods is a true ensemble piece, where characters, songs, and themes are intercalated into a structure that ultimately reaches far greater heights than the sum of its building blocks. The construction touches the sky in “Your Fault”, where Poiema is joined by Derek Manson (as the Baker), Davide Costa (Jack), Amanda Angeles (Little Red Riding Hood), and Madison Claire Parks (Cinderella) in a scintillating rondo of recrimination. And the finale, “Children Will Listen”, has all the oomph it needs to serve as the capstone of such a magnificent edifice.

The cast’s only weakness shows itself in songs where soloists have to handle Sondheim’s quicker melodic passages. Into the Woods is crammed with vocal lines that rise and fall in such short, quick steps that even the smallest lack of tonal precision can cause things to sound a bit washed-out. But across the board the cast sings well enough together that such passages are generally great when delivered by two or more voices; and because the entire cast is so good with Sondheim’s staccato rhythms (generally more important in these numbers than their melodies), the overall effect is satisfying.

Although Kari Hayter’s direction is generally fine, she punted on how to show the tar-covered staircase that grabs Cinderella’s shoe by simply never showing the staircase, which makes the later reference to what happened there confusing for anyone who hasn’t already seen Into the Woods. And the Act Two death of a major character is, quite simply, weak. Then there are pesky details. For example, if the dialog is, “The silky hair of the corn, pull it from the ear and feed it to the cow quickly” — and much to-do is made about following these instructions exactly — why put the entire ear in the cow’s mouth? And why have a prop for a bag of gold pieces but only mime the magic beans?

Both Tom Buderwitz’s set and Brandon Baruch’s lighting do more with less, coupling functionality with atmospherics you might not even notice were it not for some nifty scrim work you might mistake for a video monitor and a striking moon against new colors in the sky in the darker second act.

*

No matter how attentively the little girl next to me sat through the 2.5+ hours in her glittery shoes and fabulous little red cape, she had zero chance of truly comprehending the intellectual side of Into the Woods, including its moral, a warning that filling kids’ heads with euphemisms and blanket optimism can be detrimental to their navigating the anfractuous journey of life. Even a teenager exiting the theater could be overheard complaining that “Act Two is so completely unnecessary!” But I hope these kids — and kids of all ages, from 1 to 92 — keep being exposed to smart entertainment, even when it’s too smart of them to understand just then. That’s part of how they/we get smarter. Filling our heads with pablum makes for a dumber world — and isn’t ours dumb enough already?

Careful the spell you cast
Not just on children
Sometimes the spell may last
Past what you can see
And turn against you…

Careful the tale you tell
That is the spell
Children will listen…

Into the Woods at Musical Theatre West
Times: Fri 8 pm, Sat 2 pm & 8 pm, Sun 1 pm; plus Thurs Apr 3, 8 pm and Sun Apr 6, 6 pm
The show runs through April 13.
Cost: starting at $20 ($15 for student rush tix)
Details: (562) 856-1999, musical.org
Venue: Carpenter Performing Arts Center (6200 W. Atherton, Long Beach)

California Plan Will Create High-Paying, Fulfilling Careers for More Californians, College Degree or Not

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California Plan Will Create High-Paying, Fulfilling Careers for More Californians, College Degree or Not

 

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom April 2 unveiled the master plan for career education to strengthen career pathways, prioritize hands-on learning and real-life skills, and advance educational access and affordability. In a meeting at Modesto Junior College, Gov. Newsom received the master plan, which provides a framework to respond to the complex challenges facing California’s labor market and education landscape and prepare all learners for the ever-changing workforce.

The plan, supported by proposed budget investments, will make it easier for Californians to receive college credit for their real-world experience — including veterans.

With input from agencies and community members, two central themes emerged to guide the creation of the master plan: enhance coordination and address structural barriers that make it difficult for Californians to navigate education, workforce training, and public benefit systems. By designing systems so they are accessible to all learners regardless of their varied needs and circumstances, California can simultaneously expand access for a wide variety of learners and free up resources to provide more customized support for specific populations. The Governor’s January Budget includes several proposals that stem from the master plan.

Career Passports and Credit for Prior Learning

To help Californians better showcase their skills, the state will launch career passports – a digital tool that combines academic records with verified experience from work, military service, training programs, and more. This skills-based record will help shift hiring away from degree-only requirements and open up more good jobs for workers of all backgrounds.

The plan also invests in expanding credit for prior learning or CPL, allowing veterans and working Californians to turn real-world experience into college credit. This statewide push is expected to benefit 250,000 people — including 30,000 veterans — and generate billions in long-term economic gains by speeding up time to degree and cutting costs.

To make career pathways more effective, the master plan calls for a new statewide collaborative to align education, training, and hiring needs. This body will help track labor market trends, reduce duplication, and build smarter workforce strategies.

Locally, the plan supports stronger regional partnerships — expanding paid internships, streamlining funding, and engaging employers to identify in-demand skills. The goal: create seamless, real-world pathways from the classroom to the job site.

Details: HERE

 

Port Expands Investment in Clean Trucks for a Greener Future

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Port Expands Investment in Clean Trucks for a Greener Future

 

As the Clean Truck Fund Rate program enters its fourth year, the Port of Long Beach plans to spend up to 70% of the fund’s annual budget on incentives for purchasing zero-emissions trucks. The move shifts the port’s focus back to fleet turnover now that numerous ZE charging and fueling projects are moving forward or already open.

“Over the past two years, numerous charging stations have opened in and around our Port and in the Inland Empire,” said Port CEO Mario Cordero. “Our trucking partners can now invest in more zero-emission trucks with greater confidence.”

The CTF Rate Program

Under the CTF Rate program, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles collect $10 for each loaded twenty-foot-equivalent-unit container hauled by truck through their marine terminals. Cargo owners pay the rate; ZE trucks are permanently exempt. Each port has its own rules giving temporary exemptions for cargo hauled by low-emission trucks.

The ports began collecting the rate on April 1, 2022, to fund incentives that help pay for ZE trucks and the infrastructure needed to charge and fuel them. The incentives were developed to lower the high upfront cost of a ZE truck to that of a new diesel model in order to accelerate transitioning the drayage fleet to ZE trucks by 2035. CTF revenue also supports technology demonstrations and pilots.

For the first year, the Port of Long Beach allocated 65% of its CTF spending budget for ZE truck purchases. But prospective buyers were hesitant to purchase new trucks without more fueling and charging stations to power them.

In response, the Port of Long Beach allocated 75% of its CTF spending budget for infrastructure projects during the program’s second and third years. Since then, 102 electric charging units have opened in the Long Beach harbor district, construction is underway for another 118 units, and the port is negotiating with other developers to build additional charging depots. Another 147 charging units are either operational or under construction at six locations near the Port or in San Bernardino County.

As of January 2025, the Port of Long Beach alone has collected $110 million in CTF revenues and distributed about 46% of the funding. More than $31 million has paid for new ZE truck vouchers, $18 million has helped fund charging and fueling infrastructure, and $1.5 million has supported technology demonstrations and pilots. An additional $20 million is allocated for additional charging infrastructure, pending contract approvals.

Pooling Resources and Getting Results

Where possible, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have leveraged their resources by joining with other public agencies and private partners to put more ZE trucks in service and build more charging and fueling infrastructure. Successful initiatives include combining the two ports’ incentive dollars with those available through the California Air Resources Board’s hybrid and zero-emission voucher incentive program.

Pooling resources has allowed the ports and CARB to offer vouchers that pay for up to 90% of a new battery-electric Class 8 truck, which averages more than $400,000, or a new hydrogen fueled Class 8 truck, which averages $750,000, funding 800 ZE trucks. A new diesel model costs about $180,000. Thanks to HVIP and other grant programs, more than 500 ZE drayage trucks are now in service and more are on the way. As of December, CARB had allocated all its HVIP funds.

The ports’ other public partners include Southern California Edison and the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reductions Review Committee. MSRC is made up of CARB, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and South Coast Air Basin transportation agencies.

In partnership with the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach continues to aggressively pursue its ZE truck goals despite regulatory and policy uncertainties changing the market for Class 8 ZE trucks. Although California’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year includes $45 million for drayage truck incentives, CARB’s advanced clean fleet regulation requiring all new trucks entering drayage service in California to be ZE models by 2035 is now on hold. Also, two hydrogen truck manufacturers have filed for bankruptcy.

Such challenges aren’t new to the San Pedro Bay ports, whose track record on cutting pollution from ships, trucks, trains, harbor craft and cargo handling equipment speaks for itself, Port CEO Cordero said. Under the clean air action plan, the Port of Long Beach has cut emissions of diesel particulate matter 92%, nitrogen oxides 71% and sulfur oxides 98% from all port-related sources while moving 20% more containerized cargo since 2005. The Port of Los Angeles has had similar success.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/clean-trucks-investment

Farmworkers and Unions Stand Together in Delano to Honor Cesar Chavez and Fight Deportations

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Farmworkers and Unions Stand Together in Delano to Honor Cesar Chavez and Fight Deportations

By Mark Friedman, member, International Association of Machinists #1484

Delano, CA― Five thousand unionists representing 50 unions and organizations marched three miles under the slogan of “Con Estas Manos/With These Hands” in the birthplace of the United Farmworkers Union. to exemplify work in all areas of society― from agriculture to service industries and health care. of these essential workers.

The march and rally represented the united labor response to Washington’s attacks on immigrant workers and free speech.

The action commemorated UFW founder Cesar Chavez and called for the defense of immigrant workers against Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement raids and labor solidarity regardless of color or national origin. Four hundred thousand farmworkers live and work in California alone. Most lack “legal” status and are undocumented immigrants.

The multi-generational crowd carried banners from scores of unions, and hundreds of red UFW flags were waved to the bilingual delivered speeches. The rally was chaired by California AFL-CIO president Lorena Gonzalez, who also comes from a family of immigrant workers.

UFW leader Carolina Sanchez opened the speakers’ list by describing the day’s march today in commemoration of earlier Delano marches that founded the United Farm Workers. She described a recent three-day strike for a contract containing clauses for fewer hours at higher pay and no forced weekend work.

Another UFW leader Alejandro explained, “Our work is hard but with the union, we have won more rights with the union; we have a voice. We need the unions now more than ever in these times.”

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) had the largest delegation of over 1,000 workers from San Diego to Sacramento and San Francisco representing all service areas: hospitals, home care, daycare, and healthcare. The march also drew several hundred participants from Los Angeles, organized into buses by the LA Federation of Labor.

David Huerta, SEIU Local 1000 president told the crowd “We have political power; we have economic power. It is in our hands and we need to fight for our country; all workers without any difference in country of origin.

“When any worker is afraid of deportation, it pushes down wages and working conditions for all workers. We reject the Trump administration’s campaign of terror, hate, and division — and we will (defend) every worker in America, whether against a boss who seeks to exploit them, or a President who seeks to deport them,” Romero said in a statement. “Farm workers feed America — and we will claim our rightful share of the bounty our hands harvest.”

Natasha Williams, Kaiser Permanente healthcare worker and SEIU activist discussed the need for the 110,000 healthcare workers in California, “To stand in solidarity with immigrant brothers and sisters. Nationally, millions of immigrants are healthcare workers and we will not stand by when ice raids hospitals and clinics.”

Airport worker Nestor Tope from San Francisco called on the crowd to carry on, “With the tradition of immigrant workers’ solidarity of Mexicans, Filipinos, indigenous people. Trump is attacking not only immigrant workers but all workers, so our answer has to be to organize. When we fight, we win!

Several industrial, construction, and building trades unions were in attendance including the United Auto Workers, International Association of Machinists, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers, and Allied Workers as well as teachers’ unions.

Rodrigo Flores representing the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, IBEW who works at a hydroelectric plant whose father worked in the fields told the crowd, “At the end of the day we are all workers it is not right to bash immigrants who are doing the hardest jobs.”

A delegation of nurses from the California Nurses Association, representing 184,000 California nurses was represented by Sandy Redding a working nurse in Bakersfield who told the crowd “Our nurses will protect our patients if you are ice or a cop don’t get between the nurse and her patient.”

United Domestic Workers was formed as part of the organizing efforts of the United Farm Workers and represents home and child care workers “We live in fear of ICE we are locked into detention centers where you disappear; no one should be illegal in this land that was stolen from Indigenous peoples. Fear will not break us; we will rise for human rights.”

A contingent of Justice for Janitors also participated with leader Teresa Barrios saying, “We come for dignity and respect not only survival. We must unite and march shoulder to shoulder to defend each other in the battles against the big companies, like Google, that recently offered us an insulting $0.25 an hour pay increase.”

Gloria Arrieta from the Pilipino Workers Center, tells this reporter of the importance of supporting Filipino farmworkers. Susan Garcia, a former migrant farmworker, expressed pride in returning to the fields where she once worked. “We still picked until I was 18. So, I have always worked for and supported the migrant farmworkers and wherever they are, I am with them.”

National president of the UFW, Teresa Romero, closed the rally by talking about the historic Delano Farm Workers’ battles for unionization where they were beaten and killed for standing up for their rights. “ Everyone here needs to show the courage to show solidarity with all workers no matter where they work or where they come from. We have also filed multiple lawsuits against the US border patrol to stop harassing farm workers in central California and we will continue mobilizing and marching and standing together till we win.”

Supporters of LA Hands-Off Cuba Committee, Building Relations with Cuban Labor and LAHOC member union, Roofers Local 36, distributed 1500 bilingual flyers, demanding an end to the US blockade and inviting workers to visit Cuba for Mayday.

County Supervisors Propose Hiring Pilot to Support People with Neurodiversity

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County Supervisors Propose Hiring Pilot to Support People with Neurodiversity

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors April 2 approved a motion authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn and co-authored by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell to explore the feasibility of increasing employment opportunities for individuals with neurodiversity. The county’s Department of Human Resources will work with the Departments of Aging and Disabilities, Economic Opportunity, Library, County Counsel, the Chief Executive Office as well as other relevant county departments and the Los Angeles County Commission on Disabilities to present a feasibility report on a potential Neurodiversity Hiring Pilot Program. The pilot program will align candidate skills with job requirements to help county departments appropriately match situations and solutions.

“If we want LA County to really be a place of equal opportunity for all, we have to close this gap for people with neurodiversity. Many of them have immense potential and valuable skills to offer but have simply been overlooked in the hiring process,” said Supervisor Hahn, who authored the motion. “This program is going to help us better put the county jobs they are qualified for within their reach.”

Neurodiversity describes the concept that people have different ways of thinking, learning, and behaving. It includes a broad range of conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, Dyslexia, Cerebral Palsy, Tourette Syndrome, Down Syndrome, speech or language impairment, and hearing loss, among others.

This motion directs the county departments to present a report to the board in 180 days that will include five categories:

  1. Findings related to the development of a pilot program, including best practices for implementing programs targeted at increasing employment opportunities for individuals with neurodiversity and with intellectual or developmental disabilities
  2. Assessment of reasonable accommodations needed to support neurodivergent individuals in county jobs, and conduct a cost analysis
  3. Identification of necessary resources, including internal county resources (e.g., staff and budget) and external support from partner organizations
  4. Sourcing and Recruitment of Job Applicants: In addition to collaboration between the county departments named in the motion, the supervisors are calling on them to work with external partners including community-based organizations, colleges, and vocational programs that work with individuals with neurodiversity to identify and inform potential applicants about job opportunities within the county
  5. Development of success metrics

By including a requirement for county departments to assess the effectiveness of reasonable accommodations for people with neurodiversity and disabilities of different kinds, the program is expected to also identify how they can make county employment more inclusive of people with physical disabilities.

Gipson Showcases Key Bills and Their Impact on Californians

Melina Paris
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Gipson Showcases Key Bills and Their Impact on Californians

 

Last month, Assemblymember Mike Gipson celebrated the signing into law five major bills he authored, at the Student Union at Los Angeles Harbor College. The event highlighted the impact the bills will have on the everyday lives of Californians.

The press conference honored partnerships that enabled Gipson to get the legislation signed into law. Gipson told his audience that his office listened to the constituents in 2024, and replied “We got you.”

The bills that were passed were AB1879 (Wet Signatures), AB2181 (Court Schools), AB2975 (Metal Detectors), AB2984 (D’Ancee’s Law), and AB3085 (Street Racing).

Los Angeles County Assessor Jeffrey Prang gave Gipson an assist by explaining that the Wet Signature assembly bill allows the public to sign state property tax forms with electronic signatures. The bill authorizes electronic signatures instead of manual, facsimile, or other signatures as long as certain requirements are met. A digital signature is a more secure type of electronic signature that uses encryption and a unique digital certificate issued by a trusted authority (e.g., DocuSign, Adobe Sign). It ensures the signature is authentic, tamper-proof and legally binding. Digital signatures are often required for government, legal, or high-security documents. Prang said this assembly bill allows for any property tax document requiring a taxpayer’s signature to be electronically signed by the taxpayer, and not just via a digital signature.

AB2181 expands opportunities for juvenile court school pupils to stay in high school to complete local graduation requirements and engage in A-G courses (courses that California students must complete to be eligible for admission to the University of California and California State University systems), dual enrollment, and career technical education opportunities. In short, AB2181 allows system-impacted youth to stay in school longer if they choose.

AB2975 (Metal Detectors) mandates that Cal/OSHA requires hospitals to use metal detectors to screen and identify instruments “capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury” at the main public entrance, the entrance to the emergency department and the entrance to labor and delivery.

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Assemblymember Mike Gipson signs AB2975 (Metal Detectors) Bill
Photo courtesy of Gipson’s office.

Two nurses, Guillermo Mendoza Lujan and Brittany Brandon, spoke on this assembly bill, explaining that hospital personnel will feel safer and that medical care will improve. Lujan noted that nurses are the ones who must check a patient’s belongings and screen for weapons, a task that could sometimes take up to an hour. Brandon, a union steward, added that this is a union-supported law. This comes as violence against healthcare workers is on the rise. KNX News reported in June 2024 that the bill would also require hospitals to document and retain “any written record of any violent incident against a hospital employee” for five years.

Under this bill, hospitals must also assign personnel, other than healthcare providers, to monitor and operate the devices. These personnel must receive at least eight hours of training on the detectors, de-escalation and implicit bias. The California Association of Highway Patrolmen president, Jake Johnson, spoke about Assemblymember Gipson.

Before discussing AB2984, D’Ancee’s Law, Johnson recounted his long relationship with the reserve police officer-turned assemblyman and said officers respect Gipson for standing by his principles, even when they disagree.

Johnson noted that D’Ancee’s Law was born from tragedy, alluding to when Gipson’s son, D’Ancee, was killed in a 1989 hit-and-run collision. Gipson has worked to remove the statute of limitations on hit-and-runs since 2015 when then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed his first bill into law. It allowed charges within one year of identifying a suspect, as long as it was within six years of the crime. Gipson hopes this prevents cold cases from closing and brings justice to mourning families.

AB3085 (Street Racing) expands the authority of law enforcement to impound a vehicle involved in street racing for up to 30 days upon a magistrate’s order even if the vehicle isn’t found until later. Specifically, a notice of the impoundment will be sent by electronic means with the consent of the defendant. It also requires the person or agency who executed the warrant or court order to receive notice of the post-storage hearing within 48 hours of impoundment.

Gipson closed the press conference by extending deep gratitude to all those who helped him get these bills passed. He also encouraged people to participate in the upcoming annual 65th Autism 5K run/walk on April 12, from 8 to 11:30 a.m. The assembly member added that this run is the reason local parks are friendly for children with autism. The run/walk starts at Wilmington Waterfront Park on C Street, in Wilmington.

Portions of press conference: https://tinyurl.com/Gipson-bills

Community Announcements: Library Reopening, Learn About Care Court & Medical Debt Relief Updates

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Community Announcements: Library Reopening, Learn About Care Court & Medical Debt Relief Updates

Local Library Reopens

San Pedro Regional Branch Library is set to reopen on April 7.

The library will be holding a grand reopening celebration at the branch on April 12.

at 12 p.m.

Venue: San Pedro Library, 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro

 

Learn How Care Court is Working in LA County

It has been 15 months since the Board of Supervisors launched CARE Court in LA County, a state mandated program that aims to better help people experiencing homelessness who are living with serious mental illness.

CARE Court is based in the Norwalk Courthouse and allows a family member, roommate, first responder, or healthcare professional to petition a judge to help get someone with untreated schizophrenia into treatment and housing. For too long, there was no one to turn to when someone was sick and suffering and it has only fueled the homelessness crisis.

CARE Court is still new and too few people know about it and are using it. The board is holding a town hall on April 4 to get feedback directly from family members who have submitted petitions to CARE Court, first responders, city officials and homeless outreach providers.

Come learn more about CARE Court and share your thoughts on how it can work better.

Details: Learn more about how to file a CARE Court petition, https://tinyurl.com/LA-County-Care-Court

 

Learn About the Medical Debt Relief Program

The Department of Public Health has partnered with the nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to provide medical debt relief for low-income Los Angeles County residents with unpaid medical bills. Residents do not need to apply for the Medical Debt Relief Program. Those meeting the program’s eligibility requirement will receive a letter from LA County and Undue Medical Debt notifying them of their debt cancellation.

Details: https://tinyurl.com/LACO-Medical-Debt-relief

 

LASD is Asking for the Public’s Help Locating At-Risk Missing Person Daniel Peter Chavez Carson

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LASD is Asking for the Public’s Help Locating At-Risk Missing Person Daniel Peter Chavez Carson

 

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department missing persons unit is asking for the public’s help locating at-risk missing person Daniel Peter Chavez. He is a 76 year-old male Hispanic who was last contacted on March 28 at 5:15 p.m. on the 21000 block of South Figueroa, in the city of Carson.

Daniel is 5’09” tall, 160lbs, with brown eyes, gray hair, and with missing fingers on his right hand. He was last seen wearing a brown beanie, black puffer jacket, pink shirt, and dark sweats.

Daniel is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Mr. Chavez’s family is concerned for his wellbeing and asking for the public’s help.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s missing persons unit at 323-890-5500 or, anonymously at 800-222–8477 http://lacrimestoppers.org

Stand Together! Join TRAA and Others at the Hands Off! Rally on April 5

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Stand Together! Join TRAA and Others at the Hands Off! Rally on April 5

Join at Torrance City Hall April 5 to help stop the destruction of the EPA and other institutions. Indivisible and other organizations have organized an event to tell the Administration to keep their “Hands Off” all the things Americans need. Care for the EPA? Protect our air, water and food quality? Keep the FAA funded so our planes can fly safely? Keep our National Parks, Monuments and Forests open? How about PBS and NPR? Or Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid? If any of these are important to you then show your support on April 5. This is one of many Hands OFF! rallies scheduled across the country. All are welcome. Bring your friends, and spread the word by posting the news on your social media.

Time: 12 to 2 p.m., April 5

Details: website and sign-up form

Venue: Torrance City Hall

Trump’s cruel rampage: why?

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Trump’s cruel rampage: why?

While Trump makes friends of enemies and vice versa internationally, at the heart of his pro-billionaire strategy is the demoralization of U.S. workers, including immigrants. He seeks to make the working class powerless to resist his onslaught on behalf of the top 1%.

By Andrea Bauer, April 2025

https://socialism.com/fs-article/trumps-cruel-rampage-why/

It’s perfectly understandable that people in the U.S. are tuning out the news these days. Chaotic mass firings, survival programs like Social Security and Medicaid in jeopardy, the Constitution being shredded: who wants to watch a real-life horror show?

What people do not get from the mainstream media purveyors of doom is a real explanation of why this is happening. Is there a motive to the madness?

The point is fear

Thousands of government employees have already lost their jobs and tens of thousands are living in the shadow of the ax. (See “Attacks on federal workers are an injury to all.”)

Sudden unemployment and the financial hardship that comes with it is devastating. Also hurtful is the cavalier and humiliating way the layoffs are being imposed. Donald Trump and his hatchet man Elon Musk are treating productive, longtime public staffers as just so much trash.

What is the purpose of such cruelty?

Uruguayan author and social justice champion Eduardo Galeano has said about torture, “The purpose is not getting information. It’s spreading fear.” The same is true about Trump’s firing of huge swaths of the workforce. It’s not about efficiency. It’s about spreading terror.

Trump’s goal is to get workers used to the arbitrary and inhumane exercise of power. To strip away any expectation that government exists to help them. And to soften them up for an even more extreme form of social control if the ruling class comes to believe this is necessary.

The U.S. is not yet under fascist rule. But Trump is encouraging the advance of fascist groups, and he and outfits like the Proud Boys are “standing by.”

Hand in hand with Trump’s campaign against ordinary workers is his purge of top leaders in the FBI, CIA, and military. Trump wants the whole government subservient to him to carry out his mission — protecting and enlarging the profits of billionaires — without impediment.

A fatally troubled economy

Consumer confidence and spending in the U.S. are falling, prices are still rising, unemployment is ticking upward, and the stock market is vacillating wildly, with huge drops based on Trump’s tariff chaos. Talking heads are beginning to raise the specter of recession.

In many other countries the situation is worse. Growth is stagnant in Europe; Germany, the region’s biggest economy, is especially struggling. (See “German far right surges with anti-migrant racism.”) Growth is slowing even in China.

Capitalism’s problems are not transitory, but built in. The profit system relies above all on the ability to expand. But today it is coming up against the barriers of finite resources and finite markets.

Decades of neoliberalism — “free” trade, deregulation, privatization, a race to the bottom in the areas of wages and labor and environmental protections — haven’t solved the problem. This failure means stepped-up international competition, from trade wars to hot wars.

Because of his extremism and his evil-clown persona, Trump can seem like a political outlier. His goal, however, is the same as every other president since the U.S. rose to global dominance: vie to keep the country on top. This explains his aggressively “America First” international policies, even though they will provoke still more economic problems. Whatever one might say about Trump’s intelligence, he understands that capitalism is a game of winners and losers.

Moreover, the ruling class is facing political challenges as well as economic ones. Class conflict has been rising since the militant, women-led, successful teacher strikes in Southern “red states” in 2018. So has popular discontent, exemplified by the massive Black Lives Matter protests against police violence after George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Strikes and labor organizing have increased dramatically over the past five years.

Trump’s illegal and undemocratic attacks aim to pulverize opposition from any quarter, from labor or feminist or LGBTQ+ activists to defenders of Palestine or voting, civil, and immigrant rights. But history shows that repression generates resistance. Trump is playing a dangerous game.

How did we get here?

First, let’s note that capitalist democracy is not “democracy” — at least not in the abstract or idealized way it’s presented to us. It’s democracy within the framework of class rule — meaning that ordinary people have only those rights that won’t upset the status quo.

On top of that, in a decades-long trend, the executive branch has been amassing greater power at the expense of the other branches of government. Handwringing over the “imperial presidency” is, unfortunately, nothing new — although Trump is pushing the limits beyond anything seen before.

Also leading to this crisis point is the lack of an independent political voice for working people. Life without a labor party means that voters’ only choices are Democrats or Republicans. Thus “lesser evil” politics prevail time and again while workers’ conditions worsen — until an angry and disenchanted portion of the electorate is ready to accept the promises of a strongman to come to their rescue.

There is no reason to despair. Workers and oppressed people have incredible untapped power. Alongside the multitude of legal challenges to Trump’s outrages — from his vicious deportations to his sellout of Ukraine — are the rumblings of a grassroots resistance. This is where the fight will be won, with the aid of democratic united fronts that bring together people of different political persuasions in the pursuit of a common working-class goal: dump Trump and stop fascism.

Finally, one more takeaway from this debacle: reforms are fragile. If we the majority want a good life on a planet that can sustain us, revolutionary change is the only answer.

 

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