Hike the Peninsula with LAist

There's a great post over at LAist from a hike by blogger Henry David. Enjoy!

Open Studios at Angels Gate

They're here. I've already posted the long, long, detailed version of this over at the Center's blog, but here's the scoop.

40+ Artist Studios
2 Opening Receptions
Free demos and activities for kids and adults
1 beautiful view.

Download the .pdf event brochure here, for more details. Copies of the brochure with map will be available at the Center on the day of the event.



UPDATE - see the above image and many others in the Center's Flickr set for the event.

Elvis Lives!

And, he's apparently in favor of keeping Ponte Vista zoned R-1!

-- In related news --
Everyone, look who's coming to town! It's the geniuses at the Los Angeles Department of Transportation! LADOT is scheduled to offer some thoughts about Ponte Vista at the Community Advisory Committee's next meeting. Indeed, its representatives may find themselves on the defensive after a recent decision to sign off on Bisno Development's Draft Environmental Impact Report. The meeting will take place this Thursday night at the Crown Plaza Hotel on 5th Street at 6 p.m. Here's a recap of what happened previously.

We Jam Econo on Sundance Tonight

Just got notice of this via Watt. We Jam Econo is on Sundance at 9 PM tonight. Enjoy!

Baja Fish Market review at LAist

LAist's Carrie Meathrell spills the beans, proclaiming Baja Fish Market home to the best fish tacos in Southern California. Us locals have known this for years, but I get happy just reading about the place. Check out the review here.

Master Planning of Angels Gate Park - Let 'er Rip

Disclosure - I'm the Visual Arts Director for the Cultural Center, so this is from the shameless self promotion department. That being said, I'm really excited to see this process go forward. Below is our PR for the first public meeting.




Master Planning of Angels Gate Park:
Angels Gate Cultural Center announces
the first public workshop.

We need your ideas, thoughts and comments!

This event launches the process which will result in a Master Plan for Angels Gate Cultural Center and the 64-acre coastal Angels Gate Park. Stakeholders from the L.A. region are encouraged to attend and share your ideas regarding the future of this important cultural site. Please join us - your input is important!

Meeting Details

SATURDAY
APRIL 21, 2007
10:00 AM to NOON
Refreshments will be served

Angels Gate Cultural Center
Building H
Angels Gate Park
3601 S. Gaffey Ave.
San Pedro, CA 90731

Directions at www.angelsgateart.org/visiting.html

For more information visit www.angelsgateart.org/planning/index.html

I think we all saw this coming

From the Breeze

New Safety Measures Urged for San Pedro Cliffs

I have total sympathy for those who have accidentally fallen off of any of our local cliffs over the years. That being said, there is no way to make the area more secure. All additional fencing will do is isolate anyone who's injured on the opposite side of it, and create another hazard. The worst injury I've ever witnessed involved someone climbing a common chain link fence, slipping and essentially impaling his shoulder on the thing - he hung there bleeding out, until the paramedics came. We live at the edge of a cliff - there's a certain amount of danger that comes with that.

Look at the comments on the Breeze article - it's obvious that fencing off Sunken City or Point Fermin won't prevent people from dying there. It will either move the problem to the next cliff over, or create new ones.

Port News Roundup

There's a few tidbits of Port related news floating around this week, here's some quick links for your perusal.

From the Breeze - Bait Barge Agreement Reached, Bush Chided for Port ID Delays

Best quote from the ID story - TSA chief Kip Hawley defended the agency's efforts and said implementing the sophisticated technology on such a large scale will take time. "It is the network behind the card that is complex," Hawley told lawmakers.

So doing big government stuff is hard? Doh. I guess that's why some people think you're an idiot.

From the Times - SoCal ports agree to plan cutting diesel air pollution by 80%

Article says five years. I'm not holding my breath, but any movement on this issue is good.

And on the art front. We're playing ping pong with Curbed LA right now. They just responded to the Amsterdam container housing post by putting up a post on artist Matthew Cramer, who works with the Port as a landscape subject. That's one of his drawings at the top. Go to Curbed for more links.

UPDATE - The Breeze covers the Port diesel pollution initiative in today's edition.

UPDATE #2 - Breeze coverage on Port efforts to control recreational boating in the harbor.

Who's Cusine will Reign Supreme - Sandwiches

I don't think there's any doubt that San Pedro is rich in sandwiches. We're blessed. Sure, there isn't a decent Jewish deli that doesn't require a 45 minute drive, but the sheer volume of local sandwiches makes up for that fact.

My favourite Pedro sandwich of all time is the Busy Bee BBQ chicken, with no cheese, extra sauce and avocado. Goes great with a cactus cooler. It's been my "damn this is a long day at work" oasis for almost a decade, a point of reference that I can always rely on. I eat a lot of sandwiches, though - my next five favourites are, with #1 being the best and #5 being the 5th best:

1) Southwest Chicken Sandwich from the Sandwich Saloon. Firstly, the Saloon delivers, which can be a lifesaver when you're working and you just don't have the time to run around. I like mine on whole wheat, with no cheese, extra chilis and extra avocado.

2) The BTLA at Walker's - Walker's has great food, and it's worth the "you don't belong here" vibe to get it. I like mine on rye, they go heavy on the avocado and on the tomato. On weekdays, Walker's is a great chill out spot in the afternoon.

3) The Meatball at A-1 Market - Another place notoriously unwelcoming to strangers, A-1 Market on 8th street makes a nice meatball sandwich. They've got good olives on the side, too.

4) The Ahi sandwich at the San Pedro Brewing Company - If I'm going for a sit down lunch or dinner, this is my sandwich of choice. They seem to have a supply of pretty good tuna, and they know how to grill an onion. The real secret of the SPBC menu is that you can substitute their insanely good mac & cheese for their fries. Don't get me wrong, they've got good fries, but that mac & cheese is awesome.

5) The Turkey Sandwich at Kobe Grill - Before it was Kobe Grill, it was a sandwich shop. Very smartly, the new owners took over the business, and kept the sandwich menu. This is just a solid sandwich - all of their sandwiches are good, and this is a great place to eat with your picky eater friends when you've got a craving for eel bowl.

What sandwiches do you love, or hate? Is Busy Bee's "Best Sandwiches in Town" claim the holy truth, or does it ring false?

For the Container Lovers

Former San Pedran, Edith Abeyta, is in the Netherlands right now, in the midst of a three month artists' residency. She spotted the above student housing made from shipping containers while visiting Amsterdam. More photos and some chatter from Edith on her website.

More details on the other tower

I can' t recall if it's come up here before, but there's been talk of building a second high rise on the block directly below the Vue. Found this little blurb on Curbed LA this morning, which links to this "sparse on details, but at least it has some details" mention on CoStar Group's ( the developer) website. The details are thus - tallest building, 18 stories, 251 units, 4,00o feet of retail.

IMHO, other than furthering the okay-ness of building towers in Downtown, the most notable thing about this proposed project is that it would be the first major project in San Pedro to actively displace existing commercial tenants. That definitely puts the local development cycle in new territory.

Of course given the instability of the housing market right now, I have to consider all development proposals as being somewhat improbable. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see a lot of the condo units being built end up re-purposed as rental units. At least when this development tries to sell itself on it's "Palos Verdesness" it will be able to monopolize on the street name, unlike one other project that comes to mind.

San Pedro Artist's Community in MORE

I was hoping to get some feedback from all of our readers and loveable smart-ass word smiths of Life on the Edge about the recent cover article in the More, San Pedro.

I was very sad to hear about losing a few of our town's great artists to New Mexico and Inglewood because of the soaring rents. It's really scary to think about how it will effect many more of us in the coming months and years. I really don't want to move away from San Pedro; I love it here. Luckily, I have a studio at Angels Gate that is below the going commercial rate, but what about where I live? What happens when our rents sky rocket so high, we get pushed out? So far, the process has been very slow for me, but eventually I too will be faced with the same dilemma these other artists have been facing. Where else will artists go within Los Angeles if they can't stay here?

Artists have given the magic touch to so many great neighborhoods like Echo Park, Silverlake, Pasadena, East Hollywood, Eagle Rock, Highland park.... We start to put the cool into these places, then once Daddy Warbucks moves in, we get bupkis, and are pushed out with the working class poor, and the article touches on this ongoing phenomenon.

But the article ends with a fair dose of optimism. However, I am not so sure it's a very realistic, or inclusive stance on the artists who do not have a supplemental income. Most of the artists I know do not own property. They are not able to sell enough art to get by even if the rents weren't going up.

Marshall is quoted in the MORE as stting that art was bought hand over fist during the 1980s, but I'm not so sure this included all the artists we never heard of. I'm sure they did better than their previous average, but eventually most artists had to leave NYC too. Is it logical to think this is going to happen again with art anytime soon?

What kind of town are we looking at in a couple years from now? The lure that brought the investors down here will not be the one that made this town special in the first place. If the pioneers get the shaft and are ejected out of Pedro, then what will San Pedro be without it artists?

What do you think about this?

Woman Falls to Death off Point Fermin

4AM this morning - a 19 year old woman accompanied by her friends fell 50 feet to her death. Both the Times and the Breeze have the coverage.

Who's Cuisine Will Reign Supreme: Hamburgers!

I've traveled far and wide, and I've eaten a lot of hamburgers. I've driven down lonely roads looking for legendary burger stands with lightening striking all around (That Bobcat Bite burger up top is the very legend itself). I'm a burger snob who's easily inflamed when I can't get a burger so rare I can hear the echo of the cow's heartbeat. An annoying customer who forces lazy butchers to grind whole chuck roasts to get the perfect meat for his own evil experiments in hamburger excess.

Yet, I live in a burger desert. Sure I've eaten all of the local burgers, and I've got some junk food love for a few of them, but I have no love, no desire for any of them. I do not awake in the middle of the night, covered in sweat, hungry for any of them...

If I had to pick a favourite San Pedro burger, I'd have to choose In-N-Out. I'm not the In-N-Out devotee that many are - I think there are far better burger chains, but at least the kids up on Western can deliver something I can respect. Were there no In-N-Out in Pedro, I don't know what I'd choose.

So is there a burger in San Pedro that's worth jawing? Some secret spot I'm not aware of? A hidden gem that deserves another try?

Awesome Eagle News

From the general good news department, as seen in the Breeze. Eagle chicks were born without human assistance on Catalina Island over the weekend. Read the article for the scoop. Hooray for eagles! Eagles Good! DDT Bad!

Photo by biologist Peter Sharp, cribbed from the Breeze.