Janice Hahn -Neighborhood Councils are Here to Stay

Citywatch has a piece by our very own Councilperson, Janice Hahn, on her views regarding the current state of the Neighborhood Council system. While I still feel that the Neighborhood Councils are a dangerously vulnerable piece of Los Angeles city governance, Janice seems more enthusiastic.

Can anyone elaborate on this statement? What motion is she talking about and what is it supposed to accomplish? I'm in the dark on this one.

I recently introduced a motion meant to address the concerns raised by several of my colleagues, including some who are generally supportive of Neighborhood Councils. Many are concerned that Neighborhood Councils do not have enough ethical checks to ensure that their recommendations are not tainted or influenced by outside factors.

As always, follow the links to read it in detail.

Mike Watt's Top Ten Pedro Sunrises

Mike Watt takes the most amazing pictures of Pedro sunrises when he's out riding his bike and paddling his kayak around the harbor. Laist's Elizabeth Herndon put together an awesome post of Mike's top ten 2006 sunrises. Enjoy them here.

Weirdly Redundant Daily Breeze Article on Proposed Raffi Cohn Development

Not that it sheds any new light on anything but Donna Littlejohn has written her own article on the proposed 2nd Raffi Cohen development. What's going on at the Breeze that they did this story twice? And what's up with both writers using Sue Castillo as their main source for quotes? I know that none of the local papers seem to have teeny weeny Rolodexes when it comes to their sources for quotes, but the problem is really illustrative in these two articles.

Chuck Wright in Holiday Style

Chuck Wright personifies everything that's good in the world. His "can do"/"be prepared" attitude is awesome. He's one of my favourite Pedrans and he's always on the move. I caught him on the corner of 6th and Pacific, keepin' on.

Waterfront Master Plan Comment Period Commences

Gentlemen, start your bickering!

Today marks the beginning of a 66 day public comment period regarding the scaled back Waterfront Master Plan, as the beginning phase of the EIR. Will this never end? No. Your children will be clawing each others' eyes out over it, before anything of significance gets built. I'm still not seeing anything in the plan that's deserving of the amount of attention, hope or money that is proposed to be involved in this project. Where's the beef?

The first meeting is January 23rd at 6PM at the Crowne Plaza Hotel

The Breeze has the story.

View the Port's Press Release here.

You can submit comments by E-mail to both of the addresses below -

ceqacomments@portla.org and to spencer.d.macneil@usace.army.mil. If you have a lot to say or would like to lay out some kind of bullet point presentation, you should submit it to these guys, prior to the meeting. The process is about more that just watching bitterly divided folks take potshots at one another at a public meeting.

Say, did ya know about the Vue!

The good folks at Galaxy compiled a slew of media reports on the implosion of the Logicon building a few months ago. But I don't see any mention of the Carlyle Group in those media reports. I wonder why? Could it be because the Carlyle Group was so prominently mentioned in Fahrenheit 9/11 as one of the companies invested in by the Bin Laden family prior to 9/11?



Quotes to remember -
"Out with the old, in with the Vue!"
- Janice Hahn

"Sitting here you will have in 19 months a building standing right in front of the waterfront...right here standing up. It will be beautiful!"
- Raffi Cohen

Eat your heart out BISNO DEVELOPMENT!!


Look who's coming to town!

More Self-Referential Stuff From the Breeze

I don't know what direction the Breeze is headed in, but right now it's taking a page from Hip Hop with all of these self referential articles. Today's is Editor Phillip Sanfield's awkward sounding "what's up" article, called Owners change, but the Breeze focus is the same. Probably the most open to interpretation of any Breeze related stuff that's come out so far, this one is worth reading.

Six Car Fender Bender on Western

I ran into this bizarre six car fender bender up on Western this afternoon. How the heck do this many cars hit one another? A bunch of people, cops and firemen were milling about looking a little embarrassed to be associated with it. Sorry I couldn't get a better picture, but I was trying to drive my car and not hit anybody.

The Latest in Hot Medianews on Daily Breeze Action

Today's roundup of Daily Breeze sale related reading.

The Breeze itself has three articles about the sale:

Breeze begins a new era

Gaier returns to take helm of newspaper

Publisher retires after making a difference

video of Dean Singleton & Liz Gaier addressing the Breeze staff - after he introduces Liz Gaier and she starts taking questions, the first question she's asked is where are the cuts coming, and her response is non-committal.

The Times is running an article on the sale, pretty much a just the facts article, nothing particularly saucy.

The Long Beach Press Telegram has its own article.

LA Biz Observed has a commentary on Singleton's long quest to buy Copley's properties, back in 1998, before the News Pilot was shut down.

but what does it all mean? Pink slips, most likely, but I'm taking a wait and see approach to the whole affair.

Breeze Sale Goes Through

From the Daily Breeze itself. What will come of this? Who knows. Based upon the history of the buyer, pink slips will be the first sign of change. Publisher Art Wibel has already announced his retirement.

Pt. Fermin Lighthouse Gala

Blogging.la's Cybele (don't miss her diabetastic candy blog) just put up a great post on this weekend's 132nd anniversary celebration of the Point Fermin Lighthouse, which is doubly happy, as we get to celebrate the return of the lighthouse's long lost Fresnel lens, too. The celebration lasts from 10 - 4, there will be a parade with cake and ice cream at 1 PM, followed by speeches at 2 PM. The Fresnel lens will be on display in the lobby of the lighthouse.

As I commented, Huell Howser recently shot an episode at the lighthouse. I've got no idea when it will air, but keep your Public Television eyes peeled for it.

Found this in the Times

From a LA Times article about obesity in high school football, our very own San Pedro Pirates looking in very, very non-athletic shape.

LA Observed on the Breeze Sale

LA Observed has some perspective and further linkage on the Breeze sale, if you're into more Singleton on Breeze action.

LAXT suit settled

From the Breeze (who, on a side note, are now saying the sale goes through this Friday)- LAXT and their 117 acres of out of service petroleum coke terminals are finally going away and it only cost the Port 27.7 million dollars. The best part of the article is this great quote from attorney Roy Bell:

"This was not someone who was 80 years old and fell down in a supermarket on some ketchup and said, 'I can't have sex with my spouse so I'm entitled to a lot of money,' " he said. "This was a very real business dispute."

UPDATE - Also, the Times has its own article on the settlement.

Henry's - Yuppie Paradiso Now Open

I admit it - me and the roommates cruised up to Western to see what was up with tonight's grand opening shindig at the Henry's market - undeniably the first real sign of gentrification in Pedro, if only because the two incoming Starbucks haven't managed to open their doors yet. We didn't actually go inside, or even park, because Park Western Plaza was a disaster of traffic and parking.

What information did I manage to gather from this shoddy recon mission? Nothing food related - I presume that Henry's is a Whole Foods analogue and that's really all we need to know. What I did gain was the knowledge that more than our much propagandized "art district" or "historic downtown", the average Joe San Pedran desperately wants to shop till they drop in the same usual boring places that litter America. It's almost embarrassing - I see so much pride in things local, but I don't see the crowds at the events that are truly local. But for the opening of a supermarket on a street that has four of them already - everybody makes it their business to turn out.

Bean Gilsdorf and Dan Gilsdorf today at Angles Gate

I've neglected to properly self-promote here this week. Not only is there a good article on the San Pedro art scene in today's Times, but there's a blockbuster exhibition opening today at Angels Gate. at 2 PM today, we're having the opening reception for Bean Gilsdorf and Dan Gilsdorf a duo show by the husband and wife team of artists from Portland, Oregon.

First, a long aside:

I cannot begin to say how drop dead proud I am to be hosting their show. A few years ago, when I first came to the Center, I was hanging a fair amount of shows that I wasn't proud of - big, sloppy group shows with kitschy titles. There was great art in those shows, but the room was too crowded to see it, or we just didn't have the time to do things right. People would come up to me and whisper in my ear "The show is terrible but you really hung it well" or "thanks for making my piece look good", as all I could do was do the best that I could presenting and designing the shows I was given. There were some that were winners, sure, and I was proud to install them, but there was an air of amateuness that hung over us. At the time, there was little to nothing I could do to change things, and it was and it was tremendously frustrating.

Today it's a different Center. I have the authority and organizational support to do things properly (thank you Nathan!), a real budget, a properly implemented schedule, etc... We made a lot of improvements in our internal infrastructure in 2006, and I feel that the Center has finally fully recovered from all of the poor management that went on in the 1990's.

This show, is the finest looking show I have ever seen installed at the Center. Gallery A, for all of its bumpy walls and other warts, has never looked better. Even if you can't make it today, you should make your way up to the Center at some point in the next month or so - I really see this show as taking things to the next level. All of the accomplishments we made in the 2006 season are coming to maturation and I've never been prouder to host an exhibition.

- aside ended

Here's the deal about the show. Bean Gisldorf is a quilter, who's quilts are made from large pieces of printed and painted fabric. She prints from three dimensional objects using a brayer covered with ink. The bad boy of her work in this show is a thirty six foot long printed quilt of a Plymouth Valiant. Dan Gilsdorf is a kinetic sculptor - all of his work is mechanical in some way. He uses machines to make shadow projections of oil derricks and passing telephone poles. Ink bubbles through tubes, an endless train goes nowhere, a wire brush slowly wears down a plaster face and Chuck and Harriet Hum their Way Across America. It's really beautiful work.

The opening is from 2-4 today, and will be followed at 4 PM by an artist talk mediated by yours truly. Directions to the Center are here, if you haven't been before, or you just need a refresher. We're also having an exhibition of art made by homeless children as part of a partnership between our Harbor Youth Arts Initiative and the Harbor Interfaith Services Kids Club. See you there.

More Breeze sale news

LA Observed has a small item on the postponement of the Breeze's timecard switch. Probably means nothing of substance - just keeping the information train rolling.

The LA Times has a brief article covering the sale - nothing really new there.

Port tidbits

The LA Times has a short article on Port efforts to move potentially hazardous materials further away from populated areas and onto Terminal Island - fun quote in there by Janet Gunther about "holding a gun to the Port's head".

The NY Times has an article about expanded cargo scanning at all ports recieving cargo from Pakistan, Honduras and Southampton, England. Fun reading if you're into that sort of thing. (thanks: Defense Tech)

UPDATES:

The Breeze posts its article on the Port plans to move hazardous operations further from residential populations. The article stresses that these "plans" are only "concepts" at this time - is there any beef? Also, it goes into Port efforts to find ways to revitalize the local fishing industry.

The LA Times covers the expanded cargo scanning initiative. In addition to full scanning of all cargo hailing from Southampton, Honduras and Pakistan, some cargo will be scanned from Busan, Singapore and Oman.

The Breeze on the Breeze sale

The Daily Breeze is running their story on their pending sale. No really juicy details or any mention of potential staff cuts or anything. Only really specific detail is that the sale does not include the Breeze's real estate, which will be handled separately.

A San Pedro Holiday Gift Guide Part 1 - Art Bargains!

I just finished putting together a gift guide for Up at the Gate and I figured I should cross post that here & add some more general Pedro stuff. No matter what invisible superhero you do or don't venerate - I guarantee you'll be buying something for someone this year. If none of these ideas turns your crank, then there's always Union War for that Bowie knife or battleship you're looking for. I'll be following up this post with posts containing some book, movie and music recommendations later.

Art Bargains!

Artists are always doing small works shows this time of year - they know the holiday drill. There are two places you should hit this 1st Thursday, the Special Art Sale at Yong Sin's studio on 7th and The Women on Fire 3 ceramic show at The Loft on 4th & Mesa. I'm sure there's other bargains to be had - hunt them down.

Special One Day Art Sale - San Pedro artist Yong Sin is having a tidy small works show in her Downtown studio this 1st Thursday. Almost everyone in the show is either a current or former AGCC Studio Artist, looking at the names I can tell you that there will both be quality work and some well priced bargains to be had.

Artists - Edith Abeyta, Beth Elliott, Chris Elliott, Carol Es, Christopher Grinnell, Betsy Lohrer Hall, Kimiko Miyoshi, Lynne Mori, Florence Rothbart, Harold Rothbart, Howard Sacks, Yong Sin, Deborah Thomas, Matthew Thomas

When - Thursday, December 7th, 6 - 10 PM
Where - Yong Sin's studio, in the Cook's Kitchen building at 414 W. 7th St., San Pedro, CA 90731

Women on Fire 3 - works by Phoebe Barnum, Valerie Bechtol, Sharin Faltin, Jan Govaerts, Terry McHale, Marjorie Elliot Mendez, Patty Ogg, Susan Pritchard, Annemarie Rawlinson, Roxanne Roberts, Suha Sin, Nancy Webber and Art Weber. These guys put out an impressive array of good stuff in a variety of media, with a lot of ceramic work.

When - Tursday, December 7th 6 - 10 PM
Where - The Loft at 4th & Mesa

Roy's Clay Sale - every year, Yuichiro Roy Kunisaki has a direct to the public sale out of his Angels Gate Studio. Roy's work is so popular that other artists tag along and open their studios. While it's not an Open Studios, per se, I know for a fact that several other studio artists will be open this year, most notably Liz Blum, who's moving her studio to Calabasas at the end of December and will probably be sporting some bargains.

When - December 9th, 10 AM - 5PM
Where - Studio E-4 at Angels Gate (map and directions)

Poor Donald Can't Sell His Little Houses

Looks like I've returned to posting here just in time to mock The Donald for the ongoing tribulations of his RPV adventures. He may have won the battle to have his obscene and pandering flag stay in place (thank you, yellow bellied RPV council!), but only one of his overpriced McMansions has actually sold, and to a Trump business partner, no less. Trump's people claim three more are in escrow, but one of those has been in escrow for over two years - which a little unusual. Here's to the red ink in his balance sheet. The Breeze has the article.

San Pedro Punk Online

In 2005 I curated the exhibition History of San Pedro Punk at Angels Gate. In partnership with the Port, we produced a catalog for the show, a process which created a mountain of scans and images that need to be out there. I sat down with the old Photoshop and plowed through the fliers and show images. I've bulk uploaded the general show images to the Center's Flickr page, and they can all be found here in this set.

Over the next twelve months I'll be doing a feature on the Center's blog called "Today in San Pedro Punk", where I'll be featuring a flier or fliers from that same date in history. The first post "This Month in San Pedro Punk", containing a full scan of the 1995 December issue of the zine The Punch Line is up online and kicking it off - enjoy!

at top: Reactionaries D. Boon and Mike Watt, singing and playing. Photo by Victor Sedillo, probably from 1979.