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California to Invest $1.4 Billion in EV Chargers and Propose New State Agency for Immigrant Affairs

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California to Invest $1.4 Billion in EV Chargers and Propose New State Agency for Immigrant Affairs

 

California Approves $1.4 Billion Plan to Build Thousands More Vehicle Chargers, Boost ZEV Infrastructure

SACRAMENTO — Thousands more electric vehicle or EV chargers are coming to California.

The California Energy Commission or CEC Dec. 11 approved a $1.4 billion investment plan that accelerates progress on the state’s EV charging and hydrogen refueling goals. These investments will help deploy infrastructure for light, medium, and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles or ZEV across California, expanding the most extensive charging and hydrogen refueling network in the country.

The plan details how the CEC’s Clean Transportation Program will spend $1.4 billion in state funding over the next four years, with at least 50% targeted to benefit lower-income and disadvantaged communities. The funding is part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s historic California Climate Commitment, which includes more than $10 billion for ZEVs and ZEV infrastructure. The state has also received billions from the Biden-Harris Administration for clean transportation.

Building ZEV infrastructure is a critical part of the Governor’s build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades across the state. Find projects building your community at build.ca.gov.

The funds approved today will result in nearly 17,000 new chargers for passenger vehicles statewide. Over 152,000 public and shared private chargers are installed. Combined with previous investment plans, funding from the federal government, electric utilities and other programs, the state expects to reach 250,000 chargers in the next few years. In addition to the public network, the state estimates that more than 500,000 private home chargers are installed statewide.

The funds will become available over the next four years and distributed to projects through competitive grants. Projects include direct incentive and rebate programs for businesses, non-profit organizations, tribes and public agencies.

 

Majority Leader Gonzalez Introduces Bill to Create an Immigrant and Refugee Affairs State Agency

SACRAMENTO — Majority Leader Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) Dec. 2 introduced legislation to establish a new state agency dedicated to immigrant and refugee affairs, (SB) 12. The agency, and its office of immigrant and refugee affairs would provide a permanent governmental framework focused on streamlining services, creating grant programs and engaging stakeholders to enhance support for immigrant and refugee families in California.

In the face of an incoming Trump Administration that has promised to take hostile actions against immigrant communities, California must be prepared more than ever before. Trump’s promises of mass deportations and the unprecedented threat of deploying the US Military to remove undocumented Americans would hurt not only immigrant families, but all California families, the economy, and the cultural and social benefits that new Californians bring to local communities.

Nearly half of California’s children have at least one immigrant parent, and 27% of the state’s population is foreign-born — the highest share of any state and more than double the national average. The consequences of malicious and heartless deportations would create widespread fear and division with devastating impacts on California’s social fabric and economy.

Establishing a state agency to provide greater access to critical resources, such as legal representation and policy updates, would be instrumental in combating misinformation and fear that have hurt communities in the past, when anti-immigrant policies were implemented. This agency would enable a more efficient, unified process for monitoring ongoing immigration issues in close collaboration with stakeholders, offering a tool to address the needs of California families as emerging challenges unfold.

Long Beach “downtown recovery” tour stop skimps on specifics, follow-up

Greggory Moore
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Long Beach “downtown recovery” tour stop skimps on specifics, follow-up

 

“Downtowns are struggling right now,” said State Assemblymember Matt Haney (San Francisco) while visiting Long Beach last month on the fourth of his Select Committee on Downtown Recovery’s eight-stop statewide tour. “A lot of people won’t come downtown. […] They don’t think it’s safe. They don’t think we’re dealing with homelessness. They’re worried about the vacancy rates. [… But] even though our downtowns have struggled during the pandemic, they’re coming back in many cases — like in Long Beach — even stronger, and they’re being reimagined in new and exciting ways.”

But the numbers show Long Beach has not come back stronger. Despite a decade-plus push to increase population density by building 5,000 new units — a goal which the city has overshot by 1,500 — according to the Downtown Long Beach Alliance’s (DLBA) two most recent annual reports, downtown’s stabilized occupancy dropped from 77% in 2022 to 66% in 2023, with average neighborhood retail occupancy plummeting from 92% to 77% — this despite the city’s being home to some of the cheapest retail and office space in Los Angeles County.

What is Long Beach doing wrong? Haney did not respond to questions for this article.

What Haney did say on his “walking tour” of downtown — which in total constituted two staged stops on the Promenade to hear from one business owner, one real-estate broker, and one landlord before terminating at the Long Beach Convention Center — is that the way forward largely hinges on “a statewide recovery plan, with real investments and real leadership from the state,” with his Select Committee’s findings leading to “the introduction of a set of legislation and investments to support our downtowns.”

Mayor Rex Richardson — who gave remarks and fielded questions before the tour began but did not come along — spoke of needing “a more inclusive [and] diverse economy in our downtown, [which is] what you’re seeing happening in our investments into entertainment, the 24/7 economy, housing — all of those things”; and that the best way to address “challenges” such as increased crime is to have “an activated corridor, an activated downtown. The more we activate it, the safer the community.”

Specifics, though, were not on the agenda. The closest anyone came was when Richardson and Haney spoke of the need to cut through state government red tape to make it easier to convert “empty buildings” that pre-pandemic were used to be office space into alternate/mixed uses.

“[T]here are some things in our state where we are getting in the way of solutions that our local leaders want to see,” said Haney. “[… I]n many cases there’s red tape in bureaucracy that the state is putting away that we need to get out of the way so that local leaders can get this done. […] We have to get people back into some of these empty buildings, particularly the ones that we have some control over, like the state buildings. […] If the state is not going to bring back the workers because they’ve now moved to remote work, then we should turn the buildings back over to somebody who’ll use it — like, use it or lose it. […] It’s been a couple of years now, and there is no plan to bring back those workers.”

But it does not appear this has anything to do with Long Beach.

DLBA president/CEO Austin Metoyer declined to comment on whether even a single such “empty building” exists downtown, but he more or less admitted that what Haney has in mind isn’t really applicable to Long Beach.

“Downtown Long Beach does not have many state-owned or occupied properties, but features a mix of ownership types, including state, federal and city government properties, with the majority owned by private organizations and individuals. The tour highlighted Sacramento as a comparison, but their downtown is very different. State-owned or occupied buildings in Downtown Long Beach include the George Deukmejian Courthouse […] as well as the CSU Chancellor’s Office, operated by the California State University system. I cannot comment on their utilization by state employees; however, both buildings are currently occupied, with the Courthouse notably resuming in-person cases.”

With regards to safety, Haney stated the obvious: “If people don’t feel safe, we’re not going to be successful anywhere — especially in our downtowns.” But speakers featured during the staged stops were not encouraged by where Long Beach is at. “Families aren’t coming downtown because they don’t feel safe,” said Clare Le Bras, general manager of the Ordinarie, a tavern on the Promenade. Sheva Hosseinzadeh, a principal broker with Coldwell Banker Commercial BLAIR, concurred: “I think [crime is] the one thing that’s deterring our businesses downtown right now. They just want better safety measures, and, you know, want the city to have some sort of initiative for the unhoused.”

Bob Ruth, founding partner of a commercial real estate and investment firm whose holdings include 211 E. Ocean Blvd., spoke of a long-term challenge to bringing new commercial tenants into Long Beach: area access.

“There are a lot of trucks on [the 710] freeway, there’s a lot of chaos […] And when we talk about trying to create large events in downtown Long Beach, we’ve got to find ways to make it easier to get in and out,” said Ruth. “[…] If we could get some assistance [from state government] on getting in and out, I think that would be very, very helpful.”

In response, Haney noted that in coming years state government will be making some transit decisions in light of the Olympics that could have long-term positive effects — but that there’s no time to waste.

“I hope this will be a moment, but the clock is ticking,” he said. “[…] I think the state has an even greater and more important role to play now that there’s some uncertainty around support from the federal government.”

 

Bass, Garcia won’t discuss McDonnell’s vetting process, record as LBPD chief

Greggory Moore
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Bass, Garcia won’t discuss McDonnell’s vetting process, record as LBPD chief

In Jim McDonnell’s half-decade as chief of the Long Beach Police Department, settlements and jury findings related to excessive force by officers spiked, costing the city over $5 million per year on average, although officers were almost never held to account.

McDonnell also had his officers stopping people on public streets for taking photos. He claimed literally no public records existed related to a hundred enforcement actions against medical marijuana dispensaries. On at least one occasion he provided the city council with false information.

If Karen Bass knew any of that — or whether she vetted his time in Long Beach at all — she isn’t saying. And although she is now in receipt of the information, she won’t comment on whether what she’s learned disturbs her or whether she expects better of McDonnell now that she has put him in charge of the LAPD.

On October 14, Random Lengths News contacted Mayor Bass’s office about an October article documenting the McDonnell era in Long Beach, along with questions concerning McDonnell’s vetting process and whether past actions such as providing false information to city council and failing to discipline officers for excessive force are of concern to her. Over the next month-and-a-half, RLn followed up numerous times and was twice asked by staff to resend the article and questions. But Bass never responded.

RLn also sought comment from U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, who was a Long Beach councilmember during McDonnell’s tenure as chief. As part of Mayor Bass’s October 4 press release about McDonnell’s appointment, Garcia called McDonnell “an excellent pick” for LAPD chief, “a leader of the highest ethical character,” and claiming “he earned the respect and trust of the community and his department.”

RLn submitted questions to Garcia asking whether Bass sought his counsel concerning McDonnell’s time in Long Beach — and if so, what information he provided beyond, including whether he noted any negative aspects of McDonnell’s chiefdom. Garcia was also asked whether the actions documented in the above-noted article comport with the actions of “a leader of the highest ethical character” who “earned the respect and trust of the community.”

Garcia did not reply.

As RLn noted in October, McDonnell provided the Long Beach City Council with misinformation in his effort to get the city to disallow medpot dispensaries. He also implicitly threatened to divert “resources in the gang detail and the enforcement of realignment, prohibited possessors, property crime, and human trafficking” if Long Beach continued to allow dispensaries to operate.

The culture under McDonnell was such that officers regularly employed what one judge decried as “strong-arm tactics to knock down the doors of the collective without a warrant and without exigent circumstances.” This included routinely smashing dispensary surveillance cameras, “deprivation[s] of property without due process of law” that are “violat[ions of] the Fifth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

During one 2012 raid, police failed to locate all the surveillance cameras and digital video recorders, one officer stepped on the neck of Dorian Brooks, a dispensary worker who had fully complied with police instructions and was lying face-down. The assault against Brooks cost the City of Long Beach a $50,000 settlement.

The offending officer, John Gibbs, was one of the only two officers disciplined for excessive force during McDonnell’s time as chief.

Los Angeles Briefs: Albertsons Kroger Meger Terminated and Viera Rosa Will Continue Leadrship at Probation Department

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Los Angeles Briefs: Albertsons Kroger Meger Terminated and Viera Rosa Will Continue Leadrship at Probation Department

UFCW Locals’ Stop the Merger Coalition Applauds Albertsons’ Decision to Terminate Merger Transaction With Kroger

LOS ANGELES — UFCW local unions representing more than 100,000 grocery store employees working at Albertsons and Kroger-owned stores in 14 states and the District of Columbia Dec. 11 released the following statement regarding Albertson’s decision to terminate their proposed merger with Kroger:

“Following yesterday’s court rulings blocking the proposed Kroger and Albertsons mega-merger, we welcome Albertsons’ decision to terminate the merger transaction, meaning there will be no further court appeals seeking to complete the merger. We encourage the leaders of both Kroger and Albertsons to invest resources in their stores by investing in adequate staffing so customers are better served and workers can safely and effectively operate the stores and stock the shelves. These investments will result in higher sales and improved satisfaction by shoppers and employees alike.

“Now is not the time to waste billions on share buybacks or expanded dividends to Wall Street investors. Albertsons already wasted $4 billion in their premature, massive payout to wealthy shareholders back in January of 2023 when the merger transaction began. Meanwhile, Kroger appears to have wasted more than $1 billion on costs associated with the failed merger transaction itself. Now is the time for Kroger and Albertsons executives to honor their promises to consumers and workers under oath during the trials by investing in lower prices, higher wages, and other investments to improve competitiveness.

“For over 100,000 Kroger and Albertsons workers across the Western United States represented by UFCW locals 7, 324, 770, 1564, and 3000 who are in the midst or about to start negotiating collective bargaining agreements, these billions of dollars will go a long way in resolving problems around staffing, safety, and low wages. It’s also money that could be well spent on cutting prices for customers who have suffered from price gouging over the last several years. This kind of strategic investment is one of the necessary steps to address the underlying inequities and injustices in our nation’s food supply system.”

 

Probation Department Statement on Chief of Probation’s Decision to Continue Leadership

LOS ANGELES — Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa has announced his decision to remain in his role as Chief of Probation for Los Angeles County, emphasizing his commitment to addressing the ongoing challenges within the county’s juvenile facilities.

Under his leadership, Viera Rosa has introduced several innovative approaches to improve operations, safety, and outcomes for the youth in the department’s care, as well as the thousands of people on probation supervision in the county. His decision to stay reflects his dedication to building on this progress and ensuring the department continues to forge collaboration among different entities and move forward.

“We face significant challenges, but I believe we are building a strong foundation, and there is more to be done,” said Chief Viera Rosa. “I remain fully committed to working with my staff, partners, County and State leaders to ensure we turn the tide on challenges the department has faced.”

Chief Viera Rosa Joined the department in April of 2023 as juvenile chief strategist and was formally sworn in as chief probation officer on Oct. 3, 2023.

New Homeless Audit Unveils Pathways to Permanent Housing Solutions

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New Homeless Audit Unveils Pathways to Permanent Housing Solutions

LOS ANGELES — City Controller Kenneth Mejia’s office audited how well LAHSA and the city did at getting people from shelters into permanent housing.

Shelters (AKA interim housing) are a critical pathway to permanent housing.
The audit covered city-funded shelters over a five-year period, fiscal years 2019-2023.
The audit provides information and recommendations in addition to, and not in place of, the most important solution to homelessness: expanding the supply of permanent housing. People cannot be placed into permanent housing when the housing does not exist.

In a five-year period for city-funded shelters:
• One in four beds went unused
• Cost of unused beds: $218M over five years
• Only one in five people in shelters got permanent housing
• Over one half returned to homelessness/unknown.

One in four city-funded shelter beds went unused, at an estimated cost of $218 million over five years.
Given that there’s a massive bed shortage, the contrllers office said this is unjustifiable.
Any bed that goes unfilled means an unsheltered person living on the streets is waiting longer than they need to move into a safer space and begin their path to permanent housing.

Nearly one in three people who expressed interest in a shelter bed were unable to secure one during FY22 and FY23.
16,000 people were removed from the shelter bed waiting list after an average of six months.

Fewer than 20% – that’s less than one in five – of people who entered city-funded shelters were able to move up to permanent housing.

More than 50% of people exiting city-funded interim housing returned to homelessness or unknown outcomes. (Unknown outcomes often means people went back to homelessness.)

People who were successfully housed were most impacted by high quality service and resources that bring stability.
Examples:
Consistent case management
Communicative case management
Housing navigation
Access to mental health services
Job training

Recommendations:
Recommendations are in addition to – not in place of – building more permanent housing. The most critical solution for homelessness is more permanent housing.

Formalize reservation policy: City offices reserve beds, based on location, before encampment cleanups and 41.18 enforcement operations. This leads to shelter beds going unused. And it compromises efforts to equitably & efficiently house people.

Data quality: Establish data quality standards that ensure that service providers report on beds accurately.

Performance: Develop performance-based incentives & ways to promptly identify underperformance

Corrective action policy: Develop a formal policy for dealing with underperformance

Housing navigators: Increase # of housing navigators

Outcomes: Monitor outcomes for people who move into housing after Time Limited Subsidies expire & for people permanently housed through other pathways

Improve group shelters: Explore how beds in group shelters could be more private and comfortable.

The aim of this audit is that the Mayor, city council and LAHSA will use it – in addition to building permanent housing and eliminating discriminatory barriers against unhoused people trying to rent apartments – to ensure that more people can secure a stable, safe and permanent place to live.

Details: Read the audit: https://tinyurl.com/LA-Homelessness-Audit

Rep. Barragán Champions Federal Investments in Water Infrastructure for South Gate, Carson, Lynwood, and Lakewood

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Rep. Barragán Champions Federal Investments in Water Infrastructure for South Gate, Carson, Lynwood, and Lakewood

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) Dec. 10 celebrated the passage of S. 4367 the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act or WRDA of 2024, in the House of Representatives. The bipartisan legislation is expected to soon pass the Senate and then signed into law by President Biden. WRDA authorizes critical investments in the nation’s ports, inland waterways, flood protection, ecosystem restoration, and other water resources infrastructure.

“WRDA 2024 authorizes federal dollars to support essential clean water and water conservation projects in communities across California’s 44th Congressional District, including South Gate, Carson, Lynwood, and Lakewood,” said Rep. Barragán. “All communities deserve access to safe, affordable, clean water, and the environmental infrastructure priorities authorized through WRDA will assist our communities in Southeast Los Angeles County and the South Bay to upgrade their infrastructure.”

WRDA 2024 includes several provisions for California’s 44th Congressional District that Rep. Barragán pushed to be included in the final bill, including $36 million in funding authorization for multiple projects in South Gate, Carson, Lynwood, and Lakewood to support the installment and improvement of water supply infrastructure. The authorization of funds for these jurisdictions in WRDA 2024 is the first necessary step to develop the following projects and secure the appropriation of funding in the future:

$5 million to remove PFAs contamination from an impacted water well in South Gate by installing a new treatment facility that will provide a clean drinking water supply.
$11 million to reduce reliance on imported water in Carson by expanding use of recycled water by 840,000 gallons per day to irrigate local parks.
$8 million to replace deteriorated sewer lines in Lakewood to prevent sewage backups and other potential problems in the local waste water systems.
$12 million to build a new water storage tank and pump station facility in Lynwood to increase reliability of groundwater supply, and to replace deteriorated sewer lines.

Gravesite of Renowned Abolitionist in Altadena Designated as L.A. County Historic Landmark

Terelle Jerricks
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Gravesite of Renowned Abolitionist in Altadena Designated as L.A. County Historic Landmark

 

A photo of Owen Brown’s gravesite (Photo credit: Owen Brown Gravesite Committee and Altadena Heritage. Downloaded from altadenaheritage.org)

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Dec. 10 voted to designate renowned abolitionist Owen Brown’s gravesite as a Los Angeles County Historical Landmark.
A commemorative rustic slab of stone and additional smaller stones placed to mark the presumed outline of Mr. Brown’s body currently identify his final resting place in Altadena on a hilltop at the northern end of El Prieto Road.
The landmark designation concludes a nearly year-long process that included a public hearing and administrative work by the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning.
“Honoring Owen Brown’s gravesite as a Los Angeles County historical landmark is a powerful reminder of our shared commitment to justice and equality,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “His fight against slavery and unwavering commitment to treating all human beings with dignity and respect reflects his courage and vision. I am proud that we will add his gravesite to our County’s registry of landmarks today. This will help preserve his memory so that future generations can pay homage to his life’s work.”

Unnamed 8
A photo of the dedication of the Owen Brown Granite Headstone taken January 29, 1898, with photo of Owen Brown inserted in lower righthand corner (Photo credit: Owen Brown Gravesite Committee and Altadena Heritage. Downloaded from altadenaheritage.org)

In February 2024, Supervisor Barger introduced a motion to formally nominate the Owen Brown Gravesite as a historic County landmark. The nomination was catalyzed by the grassroots efforts of local organizations including Altadena Heritage and the Altadena Town Council.
During her remarks, Supervisor Barger also commended the Altadena community for their role in the landmark’s designation. “I want to recognize and celebrate the bottom-up, community-driven approach that drove today’s landmark designation,” Supervisor Barger stated. “Altadena residents have a deep appreciation for the history of their community. Their efforts go beyond preserving a part of Altadena’s story–they are safeguarding a unique piece of American history. Today, we honor not only Brown’s life and contributions, but also the unwavering efforts of the community members and organizations who fought to preserve his legacy.”
Owen Brown was born on Nov. 4, 1824 in Hudson, Ohio. He was one of 20 children from his father’s (abolitionist John Brown) first family.
At the time of his death, Owen Brown was the last survivor of John Brown’s historic raid on Harpers Ferry. He died in Altadena on Jan. 8, 1889. When his funeral was held two days later, a local newspaper at the time reported, “It was a historic day in Pasadena.”

UFCW Locals’ Coalition Applauds Federal Judge’s Injunction Blocking Kroger-Albertsons Merger

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UFCW Locals’ Coalition Applauds Federal Judge’s Injunction Blocking Kroger-Albertsons Merger

UFCW local unions representing more than 100,000 grocery store employees working at Albertsons and Kroger-owned stores in 14 states and the District of Columbia Dec. 10 released the following statement applauding the decisions by both a federal judge and a King County judge in Washington state to reject the mega-merger of Kroger and Albertsons:
“The well-reasoned decisions today by both Courts make plain what union grocery workers have known all along – this mega-merger would be bad for workers who deserve a workplace where they can be paid well for their labor, be safe and be respected. It would be disastrous for shoppers who deserve competition that leads to better choices and lower prices. The merger would be detrimental to our communities, would harm farmers and suppliers who deserve a healthy balance to negotiate fair prices for their hard work. Instead, the proposed merger would create an out-of-balance system that drives up prices, drives out competition, and drives down wages and safety standards.
“We call on Kroger and Albertsons executives to abandon this misguided merger and turn their focus back where it belongs: operating grocery stores. They should redirect the billions of dollars that had been earmarked to pay off Albertsons’ shareholders to instead re-invest in our stores. Investing in better staffing to improve customer service, reducing long lines and out-of-stocks, and fixing the broken equipment that our members are forced to work with every day would allow Kroger and Albertsons to compete and grow market share and create lasting value for long-term shareholders, while meeting the needs of workers and consumers.”
While there has not yet been a decision in a third case in Colorado, these two decisions to block the merger today are very significant.
The group of UFCW local unions (UFCW 7, 324, 400, 770, 1564 and 3000) lead the Stop the Merger coalition of more than 100 organizations opposed to the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons since day one because it would have resulted in lost jobs, closed stores, food deserts, and higher prices with reduced food choices — all of which have been a death-knell for workers, consumers, and entire communities.

Hahn Celebrates Legacy of Longtime Executive Director of LA Harbor Boys & Girls Clubs

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Hahn Celebrates Legacy of Longtime Executive Director of LA Harbor Boys & Girls Clubs

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn Dec. 10 honored Mike Lansing, the longtime executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor who has retired after 30 years at the helm. Under his leadership, the organization grew from a single club in San Pedro to 25 club houses and school sites across San Pedro, Wilmington, and Harbor City, serving 2,800 kids every day.
“There are many of us in San Pedro who can’t believe that this day has come,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “We have always seen Mike as the leader, the face, and the champion of our Boys and Girls Clubs. He has not only transformed the lives of generations of kids in our community, but Mike has also inspired others to follow in his footsteps. I am grateful for his decades of hard work, and I wish him well in his much-deserved retirement.”
Mike Lansing is a second-generation San Pedro resident who grew up playing sports at what was then known as the San Pedro Boys Club. When Mike stepped into the role of executive director in 1995, he brought a clear vision: serve teens, expand the reach of the club, and prioritize comprehensive programming.
“One of the reasons we have been able to do more is the tremendous support that Supervisor Hahn has provided year in and year out,” said Lansing during today’s ceremony. “We all, in the communities, need grassroots, need to provide those services. I ask all the supervisors to continue their great support of all of our citizens because they deserve it.”
In addition to overseeing the organization’s expansion over the past three decades, Mike spearheaded the college bound program, a program that provides personalized guidance that helps students navigate the complex path to higher education. Each of the 550 teens enrolled annually receive support in building a belief that college is attainable, crafting a roadmap to achieve their dreams, and developing the skills to succeed. Of the students enrolled, 99% graduate high school and 97% enroll in college.
Mike also recognized that college is not right for every student and launched the career bound program, providing workforce skills and paid internships for those who want a promising career in construction, welding, plumbing, and other well paid, union strong jobs. Career bound partners with Harbor Freight Tools for Schools to give students hands-on training and certification and then works with local unions like the ILWU and IBEW, to place students into jobs that will support themselves and their families.
Mike Lansing handed the reins to his successor Peter Settlemayor in August and plans to stay on with the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor through the end of the year.

Insisting on Relevance, Urgently

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Insisting on Relevance, Urgently

Peter Carr: Artist for Survival

By Andrew Tonkovich

It is challenging enough to promote the work of an unknown artist, much less a long-dead one. Lately, my insistence on the relevance of So Cal painter, writer and activist Harry Lawson “Peter” Carr (1925-1981) feels like hoaxing, ancestor worship, or historical revisionism. I’m a talky old dude explaining the forgotten context of a life of creativity, struggle, and political engagement as curator of “Peter Carr: Artist for Survival” at the Cerritos College Art Gallery now through Dec. 13. Sure, Carr’s portrayals of everyday life and struggle in the Los Angeles Harbor and Long Beach regions are easy to apprehend, as in this honest if bleak take on industrialized Wilmington (1978), which might still ring true today.

Yet forgotten cultural history and once-ubiquitous political vocabulary referenced in a lot of the work requires the bespoke glossary I’ve composed for the show, definitions of then-popular expressions, jokes, turns-of-phrase, and political slogans which today
seem like a foreign language. Forgotten or purposefully erased, these inform Carr’s art and are often embedded in tableaus of people in collective struggle: anti-Viet Nam War protests, McGovern campaign, peace and anti-intervention organizing, and environmentalism. Basic vocabulary words of Left civic literacy correspond to defining touchpoints: “anti-nuke,” Alliance for Survival, Hiroshima Day, Trident, MX, Euromissiles, neutron bomb, Ronnie Raygun, Seal Beach Nuclear Weapons Station, Somoza Asasino!

Carr, my Comparative Literature professor at California State University Long Beach forty years ago, worked with the grassroots anti-nuclear Southern California Alliance for Survival, whose ambitious 1970s four-point program resonates now. Many activists committed it to memory. Imagine, or remember: Zero Nuclear Weapons. Ban Nuclear Power. Stop the Arms Race. Meet Human Needs.

PeterAmerica
PeterAmerica

Carr put his art in the service of citizen-run peace, justice, disarmament, and anti-war outfits for decades. The language of these movements appeared in thousands of paintings, posters and flyers, and in seven self-published books. A regional “outsider artist,” he chronicled political life in Southern California, embracing the idiom of people’s campaigns. Like the well-known Sister Corita Kent, who politicized pop art, or designer Arnold Skolnick, creator of the iconic Woodstock poster, Carr used not only visual language but communicated in the argot of the period. Even younger viewers will apprehend in this self-commissioned McGovern for President poster the reference to Phan Thị Kim Phúc, the napalmed Vietnamese girl in the famous June 1972 photograph “The Terror of War.”

McGovern72
McGovern72

Carr was a local. He rode the bus on PCH from his home in South Laguna to Cal State Long Beach, drawing and writing in his notebook. He painted the downtown bus station, showing work at the Alpert Jewish Community Center in Long Beach in an exhibit titled “Fast Food, Rapid Transit,” and assembled poems about human self-transport ritual punily titled Bus Rites. From his seat on the bus he saw the politics of wealth, poverty, and redevelopment even then, goofing on a famous painting parodying Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

TenEntryoftheRulingClass
The Entry of the Ruling Class

The mass assassin Anastasio Somoza was, of course, the corrupt US puppet president of Nicaragua. August 6, 1945, was once regularly marked in vigils and protests as the anniversary of the US bombing of Hiroshima, which killed mostly civilians. President Ronald W. Reagan escalated the Cold War, promoting absurdly dangerous and expensive boondoggle weapons systems (MX, Trident, neutron bomb), coercing European allies, while administering the largest transfer of public wealth to private hands in world history.

SurvivalSundayposter
Survival Sunday poster

Survival Sunday, on the other hand, was a glorious annual summer concert fundraiser attended by thousands at the Hollywood Bowl, a people’s celebration of peace and solidarity with musicians, scientists, actors, and anti-nuclear activists. That’s some of my old-guy explainer, a plunge into the water in which Peter Carr and so many of us once swam, and vigorously. San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (“SONGS,” perversely) was finally shut down. It was for decades the target of petitions, investigations, protests, peaceful civil disobedience, and citizen legal actions about which Peter Carr painted and wrote. He stood outside its gates with thousands of us,
holding our signs and pointing out the connection between the nuclear power industry and the planet-threatening nuclear arms race. The vision he captured, the images he composed, and the captions, titles, dialog, and vernacular of a people’s movement document, celebrate, corroborate and define an era. They also inspire and instruct, especially as we struggle against the newest iteration of Reaganism.
Oh, and though they were finally and publicly removed, the US military would, finally, never “officially confirm or deny” the obvious presence of nuclear weapons in Seal Beach stored for decades in bunkers right there next to the San Diego Freeway where Peter Carr and anybody could see them.

Peter Carr: Artist for Survival
Cerritos College Art Gallery
11110 Alondra Blvd. Norwalk, California 90650
Open Mon-Tues 11-7 Wed-Fri 11-4 Free. Parking $3 in Lot 10.

The exhibit ends Dec. 20.

Andrew Tonkovich is a Lecturer (retired), UC Irvine Department of English,
Member UCI/UC-AFT Local 1474, Editor, Santa Monica Review
Founding Editor, Citric Acid: An Online Orange County Literary Arts Quarterly
Host, Bibliocracy Radio on KPFK 90.7 FM

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

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