LONG BEACH —This holiday season, Dignity Health, a member of CommonSpirit Health, upheld its tradition of community service and healing by supporting over 15,000 families across California with thousands of presents and food for the holidays. Through the collective efforts of employees, physicians, volunteers, and community partners, Dignity Health provided 7,497 meals and delivered 17,042 holiday gifts to those in need.
“As healthcare workers, we have a unique opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve,” said Julie Sprengel, president of Dignity Health’s California Region. “Many families we encounter struggle to afford basic necessities like clothing, shoes, and food, let alone gifts for their children. For some, the gifts provided by Dignity Health are the only ones they will receive, and knowing we can spread humankindness beyond the walls of our hospitals during the holiday season is truly rewarding.”
In November and December, Dignity Health provided Thanksgiving meals to families in its communities and delivered holiday food boxes to multigenerational households and organized toy, coat and clothing drives that reached thousands of families.
St. Mary Medical Center partnered with non-profit organizations throughout Long Beach to
prepare meals for families, distribute toys to youths, and supply nearby shelters with pajamas for
community members. Throughout December, these efforts have reached over 1,500 individuals. “Supporting our local communities is at the heart of everything we do,” said Carolyn Caldwell, hospital president. ‘Our employees don’t just work here – they live here, raise their families here, and embody our mission of spreading humankindness every day, whether they’re caring for patients at the bedside or volunteering in our communities. Their dedication to serving others is truly remarkable.”
Dignity Health Brings Holiday Cheer with Acts of Kindness and Generosity
LASD Homicide Investigators Responded to a Death Investigation, 31000 block of Palos Verdes Dr, RanchoPalosVerdes
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Investigators are continuing their death investigation into the circumstances surrounding the discovery a deceased unknown adult in Rancho Palos Verdes. The incident occurred on Dec. 28, 2024, about 12:56 p.m.
Deputies from Lomita Sheriff’s Station responded to the 31000 block of Palos Verdes Drive South in Rancho Palos Verdes regarding a report of a person down the cliffside at the location. Upon arrival, deputies located an unknown adult several hundred yards down the cliffside at the location. L.A. Co. Fire paramedics responded and pronounced the unknown deceased on scene.
Investigators learned a hiker observed the unknown adult from a cliff above and immediately notified authorities. Investigators believe the origin of the fall down the cliff came from Dina’s Vistapoint. The location is above where the unknown adult was located. The unknown adult appears to have been deceased at the location for an extended period due to severe decomposition.
The incident is not related to recent events of found human remains along the shoreline.
The investigation is ongoing, and currently, there’s no additional information available at this time.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or anonymously, at 800-222-8477, http://lacrimestoppers.org
LASD is Asking for the Public’s Help Locating At-Risk Missing Person, Zakiyah Davis, Torrance
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department missing persons unit is asking for the public’s help locating at-risk missing person, Zakiyah Davis. She is a 40-year-old Black female, she was last seen on the 22000 block of Vermont Avenue in the city of Torrance on Dec. 31, 2024, at 8:30 p.m.
Zakiyah is 5’02”, 200lbs with brown eyes, and short black hair. She was last seen wearing a black shirt and blue pants.
Ms. Davis has a mental health disorder
There is concern for her well-being.
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, 800-222-8477, http://lacrimestoppers.org
Health Insurance in Crisis
ILWU Workers and Providers Struggle Amid Payment Delays and Rising Costs
By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Insurance rates, whether for vehicles, fire insurance, earthquakes, floods, or human health, have gone up for all of them, but without necessarily providing the equivalent increase in coverage. The consequences are denied claims in moments of crisis, as was the case with the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires during a moment when fire insurance providers have been leaving the California market and homeowners in the lurch.
In the case of the health insurance market, even employer-provided insurance is not immune to the vagaries of the wild insurance market.
The ILWU Coastwise plan, long considered the gold standard when it comes to health insurance, is showing strain as health providers who cover workers on the waterfront go out of business waiting to be paid because of claim denials.
One of those businesses that are on the precipice is Marina Sports Medicine, operated by Tim Ursich Jr. Founded more than 35 years ago by his father of the same name, the practice provides chiropractic, physical and massage therapy, and diagnostic services. The majority of his patients are longshore workers.
A few months back, Ursich showed RLn a banker’s box full of unpaid claims going back to October 2022. The current Longshore contract started in July 2022. With more than 2,000 denied claims, Ursich says the new third-party administrator Innovative Care Management (ICM) has disallowed more than $200,000 worth of claims.
Ursich noted that about 70% of his clients are longshore workers — something he acknowledges as a problem from a business standpoint, to be so reliant on a single demographic.
“You have to treat who comes in right? I’m a second generation [longshore working family] coming in treating who’s coming in. Because my dad grew up [in this town and worked on the waterfront] everybody in his life is a longshoreman … they congregate,” Ursich said. “I’d be the first one to tell you it doesn’t feel like you’re at a doctor’s office when you’re in our office. It’s like a reunion. We’re talking about everything that’s happening under the hook … [including] about somebody who got hurt during the night.”
However, the issues that Ursich and his clients are facing are partly similar to what others are facing, while others are specific to what’s happening with the ILWU. The issues relating to the ILWU are due to too many union members retiring or dying off without sufficiently passing on institutional knowledge as it relates to the ILWU Coastwise contract.
ProPublica Bombshell
About a week before Ursich spoke to Random Lengths about ICM, ProPublica published the findings of their joint investigation with Capitol Forum. In that story, ProPublica revealed how health insurers outsource prior authorization reviews to companies like EviCore, which profit by denying medical claims. EviCore, owned by the insurance giant Cigna, provides coverage to about a third of insured Americans. It employs an AI-driven algorithm, nicknamed “the dial,” to flag claims for review and adjust thresholds to increase denial rates. While EviCore claims to ensure safety and cost-effectiveness, critics, including medical professionals, argue that its guidelines often delay or deny necessary care. Contracts with insurers incentivize cost-cutting, making EviCore’s profit-driven practices a point of contention.
The investigation details how EviCore leverages its algorithm to maximize cost savings for insurers. The algorithm scores claims based on their likelihood of approval and adjusts the threshold to escalate reviews, increasing the chance of denials. Former employees have disclosed that this practice allows EviCore to manipulate outcomes to meet financial goals. Frustration among doctors over rigid and outdated guidelines has even led to mockery of the company online. Despite EviCore’s claims that its decisions are guided by evidence-based practices, the investigation found that internal policies often prioritize savings over patient care.
But the ProPublica investigation found that EviCore is not alone in this “denials-for-dollars” business; other companies like Carelon Medical Benefits Management also engage in similar practices. While prior authorizations are essential to prevent unnecessary treatments and fraudulent billing, the investigation raises concerns about the industry’s impact on patient care. EviCore defends its operations, emphasizing patient safety, cost reduction and adherence to medical guidelines. However, the findings suggest a systemic issue where financial incentives overshadow the healthcare needs of individuals, prompting calls for greater oversight and reform.
ProPublica detailed the experience of a 61-year-old former welder from Ohio, who, in 2021, began experiencing alarming heart symptoms. His doctor recommended a left heart catheter examination to check for blocked arteries, but the procedure was denied twice by his insurer, UnitedHealthcare, after consulting EviCore, a company specializing in prior authorization reviews. The denials left Cupp and his doctor with limited options, exemplifying the frustration many patients face in navigating healthcare decisions influenced by profit-driven insurers and third-party reviewers.
Critics argue that EviCore’s business model encourages excessive denials and undermines objective evaluations of medical requests. Former employees reveal that algorithms can be adjusted to increase or decrease approvals based on client demands or internal goals, leading to inconsistent outcomes. Experts and industry insiders question whether such practices meet legal and ethical standards, calling for greater transparency and accountability in the relationship between insurers, third-party reviewers, and patients. The case of Cupp underscores the human cost of a system that often prioritizes financial gains over timely medical care.
Lack of Transparency
As part of the ILWU benefit package, the Pacific Maritime Association pays $480 million on health care annually. During the last contract talks, the union replaced the third-party administrator EviCore with ICM.
A former ILWU Local 13 Safety and Benefits Officer Dave Beeman explained that during contract negotiations the change to ICM was made.
He noted that in contract negotiations, maintenance of benefits is the first issue that’s actively arbitrated until the union is satisfied. Until maintenance of benefits is achieved, no other portions of the contract can be negotiated.
“One of the problems that we had in these last negotiations was that it took so long for the company and the plan to agree to the terms that were put on the table by the union for the maintenance of benefits,” Beeman explained. “Once they claimed to have met the demand of maintenance of benefits, contract negotiations resumed and ultimately concluded during that period of contract negotiations. When that change was made, it violated the terms of maintenance of benefits because it is not maintenance of benefits to remove one provider and install another one.”
Beeman said that the bottom line is that the trustees failed the membership on this issue.
“I don’t know anybody that has the balls to stand up and say it in front of a group of people. I have nothing to lose. I’m retired,” Beeman said.
In the end, Ursich’s Marina Sports Medicine still hasn’t been paid after repeated attempts to appeal the denials and the ILWU leadership has been moot on responding to repeated requests for comments on the growing claim denials. As hard as the ILWU has fought to keep automation from taking union jobs, artificial intelligence may very pick their members’ pockets and short them on health benefits.
Long Beach Opera opens all-Pauline Oliveros season by eschewing opera
Photo courtesy of Long Beach Opera
The greeting on Long Beach Opera’s website is a bold pronouncement: Opera Like You’ve Never Seen It.
Some longtime subscribers may not appreciate the irony that opera (as in costumes, arias, a plot and an orchestral score…) is something they’re not seeing much of these days. To be sure, there have been a few since James Darrah took the reins just in time to steer the company through the COVID era — including a couple of greats — but the overall trend has been to narrow the scope of what Southern California’s oldest opera company is offering.
That trend will hold for the 2024-25 season, as Long Beach Opera is producing only three staged events, comprising a total of five performances, plus a two-day film festival — all showcasing the compositions of Pauline Oliveros.
The season opener, Earth Ears: A Sonic Ritual (at San Pedro’s Angels Gate Cultural Center — as fine a site for such an event as you could want), was about as narrow — and non-operatic — as it gets. Earth Ears has no score at all, only a series of guideposts for what indeterminate musicians (“Any instrument or voice capable of […] following the given instructions may be used”) should do. “First Cycle: Use only one tone, chord or sound in the pattern. (The pattern may be more or less complicated rhythmically.) Use only one option during the transition. Use only one sound/silence during the change.” Etc.
Under Darrah and Christopher Roundtree’s direction, this meant violin, harp, a few horns, and a couple of vocalists taking us through 70 minutes of minimalist improv as we sat in a room full of shredded newspaper (much more thoughtful and aesthetically pleasing than it sounds), which whispered with every move we made as an intentional and interactional part of the overall experience. “Deep Listening,” they call it, attending to every contribution to the auditory moment, whether a patron’s fiddling with her handbag or the cawing of seagulls on the wing.
If we think of music as a specialized subgenre of sound art with a particular emphasis on melody, harmony, rhythm, and structure, Earth Ears is less music than a type of aleatory exercise that is a sound-art commonplace. A special pitfall of such exercises is knowing when to say when. Something that at 15 minutes may be diverting and meditative may be tedious at a half-hour. After the performance I spoke with an attendee who had never experienced anything like this and so was turned on by the novelty — yet even she felt that Earth Ears dragged on too long. Another felt the same but was willing to forgive the self-indulgence in the hopes that the works to come this season may somehow redeem it.
Under Darrah’s leadership, Long Beach Opera doesn’t seem concerned about expectations that may come with having “opera” in your name and a history of delivering full-blown spectacles year in and year out. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It comes down to what you’re doing in place of living up to those expectations.
But another irony of today’s expectation-breaking Long Beach Opera is that their best work over the last five years has been actual operas, not the alternate programming they’ve offered. Hopefully February’s El relicario de los animales (which isn’t billed as an opera per se) and April’s The Library of Maps (which is) will add to that list.
Reflections on 45 Years
I have often been asked over the years by various people, “Just how did you get into journalism?” The answer: It was a long and circuitous route that started when I was just 14 years old. I started publishing the only off campus, unauthorized, student newspaper on mimeographed paper and distributed surreptitiously so I wouldn’t be expelled from school. That was against the rules at that time. I’ve always been a rebel with a cause and it started early in my life and apparently, it’s never stopped.
In 1964-1965 after the assassination of JFK and the expanded war in Vietnam, there was quite a bit to rebel against — it wasn’t just that war but the hypocrisy of the entire nation starting with our school administration’s restrictions on long hair, girls wearing blue jeans, corporal punishment by coaches and restricting student free speech. I rebelled against it all — the war, the oppression of black people, police abuse, the failures that we still see today and there was the particular hypocrisy of being forced to say the pledge of allegiance with the part of “one nation under God… with liberty and justice for all.” All of this was splattered on the cultural backdrop of rock n roll: Chuck Berry, the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Buffalo Springfield —“What a field day for the heat. Thousands of people in the streets,” the Watts riot and smoking pot. All of it fueled a cultural revolution that hasn’t stopped. Instead, it is still being fought over today.
Many of those culture war battles have been won: like legalization of marijuana in many states but many are still in dispute. Women’s bodily autonomy had been won, then challenged and then lost again. The Vietnam War was lost, but the military industrial complex continued on with wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and now Gaza. Some fought with American surrogates but with U.S. arms. In my opinion the only war that we should be supporting is Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion, as defense of one’s own country to preserve democracy and resisting authoritarian rule is the only excuse.
I see it as my patriotic duty to resist American follies in foreign wars that do not support democracy at home, to not fall victim to the incessant sabre rattling of blind allegiance to military aggression and what I call false patriotism. I was a conscientious objector in the Vietnam War and know full well the brutality of warfare. I knew at a very young age that going halfway around the world to kill people who didn’t look like me for very suspect reasons was morally wrong. It wasn’t like our country was invaded but we invaded theirs — they had a right to defend themselves.
My life has been one of planting the flag of free speech with every issue we’ve printed and standing behind that freedom— defending it against all accusers, detractors and ignoramuses. I’ve been doing it for so long that it has come second nature to me. That the corporate owned media hasn’t become any better at pushing back against the American state of hypocrisy is still a particular annoyance to me and has built a groundswell of distrust among many citizens. However, the misnomer of “the liberal media” is so completely inaccurate because most of the media is now more conservative than it was 60 years ago because of the influence of far right Fox News (a true threat to our democracy), media consolidation and far right talk radio. For all the media it’s about chasing the money and/or who owns the media, not about truth telling but the slant of the news.
TV news is infamous for its car chases, murders and violent crime reporting (especially if they involve celebrities), while ignoring larger truths. For instance, on any given day the vast majority of the 10.4 million residents of LA County (and many more if you include everywhere else south of Santa Barbara to the border) are actually law-abiding citizens. Outside of the frauds, petty crimes and white collar grifts which rarely get reported on the evening news. Now it’s all about pretty faces reading the news, ratings and infotainment with sexy girls reading the weather reports. Aren’t the graphics wonderful these days? The truth would be boring if the headlines didn’t bleed exaggerating violence or perhaps not if the media corporations actually did real investigative reporting like Democracy Now! does, a rarity these days. The real truth is 99.99% of our population are relatively law abiding except for the incessant double parking and running stop signs.
There are reporters still dedicated to telling the other side of the news–the under reported, the censored or covered up stories that the corporate media and far right influencers aren’t going to expose. Some of these courageous reporters are right here at RLN and they need your support, your subscriptions to our publication and donations on our website, and for you to tell our advertisers to continue, for our reporters to continue giving you the news.
This paper can only remain independent and free with your support, especially in the years to come with a fascist dictator in the White House and a country confused between left and right. The real alternative to the liberal/conservative conundrum still is Progressivism. It’s still a revolutionary idea here in America, but the foundations of it are with us in the form of Social Security, Medicare, child labor laws, the eight-hour work day, disability benefits and every environmental regulation (all of which are massively popular). It is also the foundation for voting rights laws and all of women’s rights to control their own lives and bodies. I believe that Progressive rights are what was intended by the Founding Fathers of this nation who believed that all people derived their rights from Natural Law, not biblical law or a king’s dictates. This is still a revolutionary idea not only here but around the world. And whenever those among us transgress the Natural Law it is up to those of us with the courage and vision to rebel against it, to expose it and resist it in every way possible.
Remember that freedom in every era takes eternal vigilance and that is what honest, truthful and diligent reporting needs to be — a vigilant witness to our times. Keep reading my friends and don’t be lulled to sleep by the din of the digital rain.
New Years Eve Events
Random lengths News has gathered several local and Los Angeles area events to help you celebrate your New Years Eve and ring in 2025 with music, dance and community.
New Years Eve Bash in San Pedro with The Harbor Groove Band
Get ready to ring in the new year with an unforgettable celebration at the vibrant Principe and Nightclub for an amazing evening filled with dancing music and cherished memories. Doors will swing open at 7 p.m. Celebrate together whether you’re coming as a couple or flying solo feel free to bring your own food or snacks to share the joy. let’s make this New Year’s Eve A Night to Remember in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.
Time: 7 p.m., Dec. 31
Cost: $25 to $40
Details: Call 310-547-0795 for reservations
Venue: El Principe Night Club, 115 N Pacific Ave San Pedro
NYE @ Club Disintegration
DJ perksandkisses hosts a special New Year’s Eve edition of Club Disintegration, a dark and dreamy danse gala @ Que Sera in Long Beach. Bring in the new year and party to the most dansy tunes of goth, darkwave, new wave, synth, post-punk, dark-alt/indie and passionate tunes from the 80s to today. Savor a few drinks and enjoy complimentary champagne at one of the coolest dance bars in Long Beach for count down to 2025
Time: 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., Dec. 31
Cost: $21.05
Details: https://tinyurl.com/Que-Sera-Club-Disintegration
Venue: Que Sera, 1923 E 7th St, Long Beach
New Year’s Eve Countdown with John Robinson plus Jake Martin & Arvin Aberilla
Ring in the New Year with a live music celebration in Torrance
Time: 7 p.m., Dec. 31
Cost: $137.03
Details: https://tinyurl.com/NYE-Countdown-Party
Venue: View Music Bar, 1431 W. Knox St., Torrance
New Year’s Eve with D-Nice and Friends
Time: 7 p.m., Dec. 31
Cost: $74 and up
Details: https://tinyurl.com/NYE-With-D-Nice-and-Friends
Venue: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
Gloria Molina Grand Park’s NYELACountdown-to-2025
This New Year’s Eve, there’s only one place to be.. Get Ready for an unforgettable night of live music, delicious foods and so much more. Gloria Molina Grand Park will feature two epic stages of performances, mouthwatering trucks and a midnight countdown spectacle..
Time: 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Dec. 31
Cost: Free
Details: https://tinyurl.com/NYELA-Countdown-to-2025
Venue: Gloria Molina Grand Park, 200 North Grand Ave., Los Angeles
Purveyors of Culture Discuss the Importance of RLN and its 45 Years
RLN hears from Laurie Steelink, Ron Linden, Andrew Silber, Andrea Serna
Random Lengths News had the privilege of speaking with four esteemed cultural purveyors in San Pedro on the special occasion of the newspaper’s 45th anniversary. They are artist and curators Ron Linden and Laurie Steelink, restaurateur and chef Andrew Silber and editor and former RLn arts writer Andrea Serna. We’ve shared their words below.
Laurie Steelink
Steelink is the owner of Cornelius Projects, an artist-run project space founded in 2012 in San Pedro. She noted that there aren’t too many publications that have listings and promote the very local art and music scenes in San Pedro, and that highlight what’s happening in town in such a way that is “very honest and real.”
“[Random Lengths] is something that quite a few people that live in the Harbor Area can get their hands on in this area to learn about what’s happening here,” said Steelink. “It’s an important source of information. I’m very appreciative of any of the coverage that has supported any of the arts organizations here in San Pedro including Cornelius Projects. It’s a great source for listings and the arts.”
As an artist, Steelink describes the San Pedro arts district as very unique.
“San Pedro is unique because it’s not only focused on artists’ studios, it brings people down here who may be interested in experiencing the town and the culture of the town,” Steelink said. “I lived in Venice for a while and they did have [an] event around culture, but I really have nothing to compare [San Pedro] to honestly.”
Steelink, who lived in Los Angeles and worked at Track 16 at Bergamot Station when Tom Padjet and Wayne Blank were the general managers of Bergamot, described it as a really vibrant art scene. The artist noted it was because it was a location where there were mainly art galleries.
“You could drive to one location, park for free and go to 10 or 15 openings in one night … It’s very unique. San Pedro is isolated and there are pros and cons with that. The one complaint I have is that I couldn’t convince the arts district to bring the trolley down to Cornelius Projects. I wish the art walk would extend further, beyond 6th and 7th streets. Maybe they could include House1002 or The Sardine, if there were a means of transportation to shuttle people.”
Steelink asserted that the arts district here is almost relying on LAHA (Los Angeles Harbor Arts or the former Lofts) Gallery and Gallery 478 for changing exhibitions in downtown San Pedro.
“That’s coming from me as an artist,” she said. “For work that’s engaging at a particular level for offerings, it would be great to have more exhibition spaces with changing exhibits. It would be a benefit to the public in terms of education and culture.”
Ron Linden
Linden was director of Los Angeles Harbor College fine arts gallery and the Warschaw Gallery in San Pedro. In 2009, he founded TransVagrant Gallery. He has lived and worked in San Pedro since the 1990s and was an instrumental part of forming the San Pedro arts district.
“My thoughts [are], ‘own up to where we are,’” said Linden. “San Pedro is an outlier.
“Large parts of the LA art community have some phobia about travelling south of the 405.
But Random Lengths has been instrumental in not just exposure but its support of the artists.”
Linden said there are [at least] 21 or 22 serious practicing artists in San Pedro.
“And without Random Lengths and your coverage, I think we’d be in dire straits here,” Linden said. “My hat’s off to the paper. The publisher is an artist himself and Suzanne Matsumiya is artful in her design and construction of the paper. It’s done an amazing job in the current journalistic environment which doesn’t [care] about visual art whatsoever or performance art. I feel personally indebted to the paper. God knows it has given me some really good coverage of my endeavors as both an artist and a curator. There are abundant examples of what the newspaper has meant to the community here. When it gets right down to it, RLN does a better job of having a literary conversation about what goes on in our arts community here than LA Times does.
“Kudos to Melina, to James [Preston] Allen and Suzanne and even Terelle Jerricks who’s done pieces on arts and culture. It helps artists and it helps the community too. I’m sure that others would share my point of view on this.”
“We have a business improvement district that doesn’t [care] about the arts. A waterfront arts district … no matter what [RLN] tries to do to support these things, they go their own way.
“I think that RLN is like the linchpin of cultural endeavors here. That’s how I really feel about it.
“A good thing happening here is that the Palos Verdes Art Center is featuring San Pedro artists over the course of the next couple years and that is testimony to the fact that San Pedro artists make a contribution outside San Pedro. And also the arts district be damned, when I worked at Warschaw Gallery and at Gallery 478, even when I worked at the modest Harbor College gallery, we attracted more people from out of town than any other events that were going on. So, there’s a value to what artists do and I think it’s absolutely underrated, undervalued and underappreciated here.
“But we can’t do anything about that. The same people are sitting in the same chairs everywhere. I’ve been involved in it a long time. Eric Johnson’s place, The Ranch, is a good example and Peter Scherrer’s solo. Gallery. Artists are making the effort but they’re not recognized, or reimbursed or supported outside of RLN.”
Andrew Silber
Silber owned and operated San Pedro’s beloved Whale & Ale restaurant for more than 30 years. Now a gastropub, Whale & Ale has recently reopened under new ownership. He has also been involved in the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce and the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District.
Silber said, unlike the LA Times or Daily Breeze, our local independent newspaper Random Lengths is funded and operated by people who live in our community.
“It’s reported, edited and written by people who spend vast amounts of time and energy researching and investigating local issues with direct impact on my life and the lives of those who work, live or vacation here,” said Silber.
“This community newspaper keeps the town informed on the arts in San Pedro, gallery openings,
exhibitions, art sales, studio tours and awards. It also covers elected officials’ activities, good and bad, festivals, restaurants, ILWU activities, local acts of daring and much more — too much to list here.
“Inside each issue is a beautiful yet informative microcosm of the culture of San Pedro and nearby harbor cities,” he said.
Silber added his own bullet point list of RLN attributes.
Local newspapers are vital to local arts because they:
Educate the public on local issues, encouraging civic engagement.
Serve as a reliable source of information on crime, taxes, local government activities, schools, local politics, jobs, community/neighborhood events, social services and more.
Highlight local artists, musicians and writers, preserving and promoting local talent
Provide information about basic public services, local issues, shared rules of policies and community, history and culture.
“Other papers aren’t doing this,” Silber said. “If you want that kind of interaction you’re not going to get it from the Daily Breeze or the Los Angeles Times. [They’re] not going to cover local issues like RLN does. It’s a very unique newspaper. As far as I know, there is nothing really like RLN. It certainly provokes a lot of feelings from people, positive or negative. It’s good. That’s what newspapers should do and what the arts are supposed to do, is to wake people up.”
Andrea Serna
Serna, who wrote for RLN during the 2010s and has recently edited a soon-to-be-released book on San Pedro sculptor Eugene Daub, said local newspapers provide a platform for the community to express their concerns and their hopes for the future through opinion pieces, letters to the editor and feature stories.
“So, it opens up a way to advocate for discussion and local changes,” said Serna. “We are painfully aware that our local papers are going down the drain. I’m heartbroken about the LA Times. We’ve got only a few small papers that are not connected to these large corporate media networks. But as far as local news, you can’t get any more local than RLN. [It] keeps us informed of what is going on and all the changes, especially with buildings and roads and bridges that are significant here in San Pedro.”
As far as art, Serna said RLN reflects the identity of the community.
“[Another publication’s] focus is more on schools, sports, etc., which is great,” Serna said. “But San Pedro has different cultures here, labor, art and culture, people who have lived here for generations, it all comes into play in San Pedro. Through promoting the arts, there are many people in San Pedro who aren’t even aware there are so many artists, so much art activity and so much talent and how much they have achieved, such as Eugene Daub.”
Serna noted that RLN covers the arts in every issue and she knows the local artists really appreciate that. Hopefully, she said, it opens the door to invite the community in through art openings, art shows and the First Thursday ArtWalk.
“We are very fortunate in San Pedro to have a paper with more than four decades of serving the community. It’s very rare.”
Letters to the Editor
Deserving Beacon House
Our office was corresponding with Archie Hoggan from the Beacon House Association of San Pedro, who showed us the recent article (“Good Works That Actually Work”) mentioning the Assemblymember’s check of funds for the Bartlett Center.
I handle District communications for the Assemblymember, and we thank you for this mention and the deserving topic.
Anyway, much appreciated!
Daniel Hom
Office of Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson
65th Assembly District
Two Judges and Two Juries Confirm Trumps Lawlessness
The Washington Post on July 17, 2023 printed a story entitled “Judge Clarifies: Yes, Trump Was Found to Have Raped E. Jean Carroll.”
Donald Trump is a sex predator.
About 26 women have accused him of sexual assault. The latest is a woman journalist who interviewed Trump at Mar-a-Lago and was sexually assaulted by him, with his wife Melania in the house at the time.
You can Google that article.
This passed Saturday, Dec. 14, I heard on KNX News Los Angeles, a CBS affiliate, a news report that concluded there was no rape, only sexual assault.
When Judge Lewis Kaplan and jury made their ruling there was a pause that lasted multiple days, he then clarified that the sexual assault was rape.
A second jury under another judge, Judge Juan Merchan convicted Trump on 34 felony charges, wire fraud and other charges. These two juries established Trump’s criminal record. It is the duty of the U.S. media to give us a complete picture of who Donald Trump really is. By omission, simply not mentioning the two jury rulings, the media has failed to inform us, the voters.
This is deceit pure and simple and they must be held accountable.
Lawrence McMannus
San Pedro
Warner Grand Theater Renovations Finally Set to Begin After Two-Year Delay
Work on the Warner Grand Theater is set to begin on Dec. 18 after nearly two years of delays. Councilman Tim McOsker would argue that work has already begun with workers removing asbestos in the early going as part of dotting the “i’s” and crossing all the “t’s” so that there are no delays.
The councilman also had to find an additional $7 million to add to the overall $22 million budget given the rise in cost estimates since the Warner Grand Theatre renovations plan was released.
On Dec. 17, about a hundred fans of the Warner Grand attended the last Warner Grand Theatre walk-through before it closed for renovations for the next two years.
After about an hour of attendees milling about the century-old lobby and stairs, allowing their eyes to rest on the art deco interior design before it closes for the next 500 days, attendees were ushered outside as councilmember McOsker credited everyone involved in getting the theater renovations to the starting line, from the architects to the Department of Cultural Affairs and his last three predecessors.
“There was so much work being done that we had to inspect all of the sites where we thought there was asbestos to make sure that the contract… I didn’t want the contractors to start finding asbestos and have a delay,” said McOsker.
“Some of that money we’ve secured was used to cut holes and do a special review,” McOsker explained. “So I’d call that work started.”
“We know that findings are going to come back but the Sacred Grounds space is going to remain a cafe space,” McOsker said. “There’s going to be some work done in there, but we’re working with the contractor to keep Sacred Grounds in as long as possible.”
McOsker explained that there will be a coffee house in that space, but that there will be a process to determine how it will reopen.
Chef Ronald George Tracy, proprietor of Sacred Grounds said he was confident that Sacred Grounds will be returning, which was a far cry from the pessimism he expressed last year around this time when asked about the coffee shop’s return.