Soft Reporting on the Final Scoping Meeting
I found this Daily Breeze article interesting, not for what was stated, but for what was left unsaid, especially regarding Fred DiBernardo's comments -
San Pedro Realtor Fred DiBernardo said San Pedro needs more shops, restaurants and other attractions.
"Why is it I have to leave town to go someplace nice?" he said.
And also Joe Gatlin's comments -
San Pedro Realtor Fred DiBernardo said San Pedro needs more shops, restaurants and other attractions.
"Why is it I have to leave town to go someplace nice?" he said.
Those of us who were present at the meeting recall that it was not pointing out the poor retail development in Pedro (which is evident throughout the town to anyone not hydrocephalic) that mad DiBernardo's comments noteworthy, it was his not-so-well-thought-out advocacy for making Gaffey and Pacific into one-way streets, and how he refused to keep his comments to three minutes, in the end being shouted down by almost the entire room.
And also Joe Gatlin's comments -
"We'd like to have some jobs (for the community) out of this," said longshoreman Joe Gatlin, a member of the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council.
I find it interesting that Joe Gatlin is identified as a member of the Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council, rather than the curch group who's 1400 member endorsement of the maximum development plan he stated he was representing. Given that he was one of only two or three speakers who actually endorsed that particular boondoggle/red herring/petty bargaining tactic, I would consider that to be much more significant than a bland statement about maybe getting some jobs out of the development.
16 Comments:
The Daily Breeze has been worse than useless in its coverage of this issue. All they (or rather, Donna Littlejohn, who seems to be the only reporter working this story) can seem to provide is "he said, she said" reporting, and nothing more. They were thoroughly shamed (which is not to suggest that they felt any shame) a few months ago by the article in the Los Angeles Times, which was clearly the result of some actual investigative reporting--an activity apparently unheard of at the Breeze.
Of course, that's not surprising. What is a bit of a surprise is how disappointing the Random Lengths coverage has been, considering their longstanding self-image as a fearless, uncompromising voice of the underrepresented. Are there no journalists left in the Harbor area who are willing and/or able to do legwork beyond attending public meetings and turning in middle-school-level book reports on what was said?
Yeah, this story is a tremendous opportunity for both the Breeze and the Lengths to make full use of their immersion and connections within the community to really get to the meat of the matter, and neither of them seem to have taken that step. There's a lethargy attached to the endless meetings, and the small community of players who currently have active interests or influence over the process, and I think it's affecting the media, as well as the public. I'm really suprised that the Lengths hasn't taken a more active stance on the project.
What's sad, and likely to continue to be sad is the total lack of reporting on the underinvolvement or on the interests of the Latino community and the commmunity of working poor in San Pedro, regarding Bridge to Breakwater. I'd much rather hear their opinions on jobs to be created by any project, rather than Joe Gatlin, who has led a comfortable existence as a Longshoreman for many years. I know that my opinion on jobs is far different than the promise that Bridge to Breakwater has to offer, especially since I have a job that is directly tied to the proper development of open space and parkland.
You'd think that if the lethargy and tedium of the meetings had any effect on a real journalist, it would be to make him or her want to do some digging into the real story/stories behind this thing. Like, how did a plan to connect a community to its waterfront turn into a giant development project connecting one set of cruise terminals to another? Who lobbied the Port for this part of the plan? How did they get the Port to go along with it? Are they major campaign contributors to any of the politicians who have, or had, sway over how the project gets funded and built? Who actually came up with the Supermax plan, at whose behest, and in response to what? What is/was the strategy behind that plan? What kind of conversations have been taking place behind the scenes at the Port, and between the Port and such players as Janice Hahn; Mayor Villaraigosa; the Chamber of Commerce; and the Papadakis/Euro-shill types, since the objections raised by the community have come to light? What connection is there between the seemingly extreme cruise-ship orientation of B2B and the Port's plans to award a multimillion dollar design plan for a new cruise terminal to CH2MHill? What sort of campaign contributions has CH2MHill been making, if any, to people with influence over this project?
Getting answers to these questions would require some true investigative reporting--doing legwork, searching public records, finding well-placed sources willing to speak on background --but it would get the reporter out of those damned stuffy meetings for a while, wouldn't it? More to the point, it would represent real journalism, as distinct from the passive stenography that the Breeze (and even the Lengths) has offered so far.
These comments are so thoughtful and insightful that it's a tough act to follow.
"Why is it that I have to leave town to go somewhere nice"? I wonder if Fred has ever heard of Ante's, The Whale and Ale, Marcello's, Phil Trani's, Raffaello's or Papadakis Taverna? There you go John, a free plug from one of "those low density people".
My wife really likes Ports O' Call. We went there last night and had a very nice meal, in really pleasant surroundings. The waiter was even gracious enough to point out the "Sunset Specials", which are a really good deal. You have to practice a bit of denial about being in the Diesel Death Zone, but we're pretty good at that in San Pedro.
I would think that the proprietors of these businesses would be a bit upset by such a know nothing comment.
I have been taught by professional planners that the last thing you want to do in community redevelopment is to create new businesses compete with the existing ones and drive them out of business. Here we have some of these business owners shilling for the Port. What's that about?
That, my friend, is the 64 zillion dollar question. The only thing I can figure is that a lot of those people must be major property owners in town, and they (misguidedly) think that the B2B will jack up their property values to the point where they can go out of business and retire in style.
Apart from that, I truly can't fathom the support that some of these local businessmen have for a project that will likely drive many of them out of business. They can't possibly be so gullible as to believe that cruise ship tourists and out-of-town visitors, their bellies full from visits to the P.F. Chang's / Claim Jumper / Quizno's conveniently installed right next to the cruise terminals for them by the Port, will take postprandial strolls up Sixth Street to have second dinners at Papadakis Taverna / The Jolly Burrito / Downtown Subs & More. Can they?
Some of those comments rank right up there on the stupidometer with Taso Papadakis's recent quote in the media to the effect that "we really need a Starbucks" in downtown San Pedro. Because, you know, it's not like we already have a coffeehouse here, or anything.
As to Ports O' Call: if you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that Mr. Calamari and I have had some back-and-forth on the issue of what to do with that place. Personally, I think that what motivates a lot of the "let's knock down Ports O' Call because it's old and yucky and nobody goes there" sentiment is pure old-fashioned racism. The place is packed to the gills on weekend nights, but because the people who pack it have brown skin and speak Spanish, many of POC's detractors have the nerve to claim publicly that it's deserted...a ghost town...tumbleweed city. It doesn't get much nakeder than that, folks.
I am in agreement with the assertation that we don't have many quality resaurants in Pedro. Especially at the lower end of the price range. We also don't have the variety that picky foodies like me demand in a decent society. I routinely drive an hour to go get great food in this city. I'm not in agreement that anything related to Bridge to Breakwater is the solution to Pedro's crappy dining, especially late night dining, situation.
Oh, I figure John would be more than happy to move his operation right down to the waterfront, no problem there. I'm sure that the downtown establishments won't lose any income if Bridge to Breakwater develops. Commercial activity in downtown would increase, and they would still make a buck selling lunch to the workers and locals.
So many things unsaid in this town. It can't possibly be a secret that many of the folks working hardest to develop this project or shilling for it are some of the folks who's well-offness is directly tied to rising property values. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, all of the commercial real estate in Pedro is being tightly held and kept off the market at the moment. People are waiting for the dollars to roll in on their equity. It's sad when a large part of a town's business is simply praying for greater equity.
It's widely known that is dislike Ports O' Call immensely. It needs to be re-developed, regardless of Bridge to Breakwater. I'm not in favour of knocking it down because it's a failure and an eyesore, I'm in favour of knocking it down because something much better could be in it's place, that served both locals and non-locals. I think we can have an even better Ports 'O Call that attracts even more Latinos, and that is a great thing. You are totally right that much of the critisism of Ports 'O Call is rooted in the general racist attitudes held by an aging and increasingly irrelevant minority population. The new business people of San Pedro, the ones who actually are doing things are either Latino themselves, or are like Andrew Silber or myself, we see the Latino population as one of the cornerstones of the community we are doing business with.
Don't forget, even with the weekend interest from the Latino community (which is awesome and a testament to the financial power of Los Angeles' growing Latino middle class - a sack of crabs ain't cheap), Ports O' Call is a ghost town on weekdays, an empty expanse of parking lot and empty or half-assed stores. We really deserve an asset that's of everyday use to locals, more than we need a weekend attraction for tourists.
I totally forgot that Sacred Grounds has a webpage. I think the theatre & coffeeshop combo will work out really well for both of those businesses, but I'm very disenheartened by the empty business where Sacred Grounds used to be.
I'm not sure why you find it necessary to try to paint the crowds at Ports O' Call as the "Latino middle class." I've been there, dude, and the majority of the folks I see are as working-class as they come. And what's wrong with that? Don't people who get their hands dirty for a living deserve to have a nice meal on a Sunday afternoon?
In parts of Mexico and Central America that are close to fishing ports, the long Sunday seafood meal is a tradition for people of all income brackets. Don't let the fact that these people are dropping a few bucks on a crab plate fool you into assuming that they're all a bunch of newly bourgeoisified bond brokers or something. For a lot of them, this is a weekly splurge--a way to enjoy a little bit of the good life with their families and friends before hitting the salt mines again on Monday morning.
I admit that none of that has much to do with whether Ports O' Call should be preserved. I just find feelgood platitudes about the "emerging Latino middle class" to be almost as patronizing as the attidudes of the people who treat the Spanish-speaking crowds at POC and the fish markets as though they didn't exist.
But as far as POC is concerned? Sorry, but I just can't get behind the idea of leveling the place just so that you can be a "picky foodie" without doing what hundreds of other picky foodies do without complaint: either move to the cosmopolitan cultural center of the city you live in, or be prepared to make some long drives. Hell, read the LA Weekly and look at how far Jonathan Gold travels to get some of his meals--and I'll bet he doesn't live in a far-flung blue collar suburb of Los Angeles like we do, either. San Pedro is never going to be West Hollywood or Silverlake. If you think you're going to turn it into a gourmand's paradise somehow, you're smoking something, and it ain't bobwhite quail with yams and pistachio vinaigrette, either.
Oh, and fuck Andrew Silber, that prissy carpetbagging little dandiprat. I know that's irrelevant and mean, but it just feels so darned good to say it.
From my experience on Sundays at Ports O' Call, I'm calling middle class on the visitors. There are a lot of new cars in that parking lot, people with incomes, hopefully homeowners, that's middle class to me. Sure there's a mix of people there, but what I think is interesting is that the Sunday seafood meal is just as important to established second or third generation immigrants as it is to new ones.
What's wrong with the fact that more and more Latinos are establishing themselves in the middle class. They are a demographic like anyone else, and dammit they deserve success and comfort just like the rest of us do.
My "picky foodieness" has nothing to do with a desire to level Ports O' Call. I'm just stating a fact - San Pedro has a crappy dining scene. On one hand that's a testament to the number of locals that actually cook their own food, often ethnic food, from a UN worth of nation, which is great. On the other, going out to dinner in San Pedro can be a painful and disappointing experience. The other night I was having dinner with my roommates, a couple from England and a couple who live in Echo Park. Our choices after 9 PM for a place to have a sit down meal (without going into the poor house, and close to downtown) were the Brewing Company and the Grinder. The Brewing Company's endless dedication to under-service was on our nerves, so we went to the Grinder, knowing that despite the blandness of the food, it would at least come within the hour. I'm not talking small plates or any other dollar burning, novel eating exercise, I'm just talking about a solid selection of quality restaurants, which we don't have, and we should have.
If I lived in Venice, Redondo Beach or Long Beach, I wouldn't have to drive so far. Those cities have good, solid restaurant choices, I don't see why we shouldn't have them as well. We don't need to live in a cave and eat rocks to maintain our Pedro tough town fantasy.
That was an irrelevant and mean thing to say about Andrew. It's not just irrelevant, it's uninformed and ignorant. He's no carpetbagger, he's an immigrant, and deserves the same respect you'd give to a chef from El Salvador who sets up a Pupuseria on Pacific. I've known Andrew for a long time, and he is one of the most professional, generous people I know. He knows how to run a restaurant and he supports so many important causes in a quiet and reliable way. Yes, he is a businessman, and he gives a damn about Pedro, which is something that I've noticed about most of the people who have come here to start new lives or businesses, they often care a lot more about this town than those who have lived here for generations.
Wow, more thoughtful and insightful comments. What a refershing change from other blogs where nastiness and insults rule the day.
When I mentioned Ports O'Call, I was referring to the restaurant only. Like many people in San Pedro, I have sort of given up on the place, but my wife drags me back from time to time and I am always pleasantly surprised. Maybe Jayme Wilson is a good influence on the place.
We go to the Boardwalk
Cafe sometimes out of friendship for Jayme, and the cool West African/Jamaican shop once in a while, but the rest of it could fall down tomorrow and we wouldn't notice or care.
As to the village, it is another whole story. I believe that the demographics of the customers of the village are the same as the present and future demographics of southern California, so anyone who plans to remain in business had better deal with same. If businesses don't exist to serve customers, regardless of race, they won't survive long, and rightfully so.
My modest proposal in 2001 was to preserve all of the viable, ongoing businesses, tear down the empty buildings, and plant grass. This would open up the sightlines to the water, and give the place a bit more ambiance. The Port actually started to do this, which I believe was a big improvement, but they soon dropped it.
Rafique Kahn of the CRA proposed building a parking structure at Ports O'Call, and turning the surface parking area thus freed up into a park. What a concept. He suggested building a bridge across the railroad tracks to reconnect the street grid of S.P. to the top of the parking structure and hence the waterfront. He even suggested that Pacific Corridor tax increment could help to pay for it. The Port, as part of their turf mania, refused to consider any such thing.
The Fish Market seems to do pretty well on a sort of a weekend only basis, so maybe there is a business model that works that way. What do I know?
Alas, the Port and its friends cannot relate to these simple, small scale, type of approaches. A good friend of mine once told the Harboer Commission that everything the Port does can be explained in one word, and that word is GREED. Thus the famous Bridge to Breakwater.
It is a relief to see that others see this monstrosity for what it is. Thank you.
Actually, my wife also goes to the Ring Works which has done some really creative things with her modest jewelry.
If I keep this up, I am going to start sounding like a Ports O'Call Village fan!
Aside from my poor efforts, this is really brilliant stuff. I think that it cries out to be placed into the public record.
Would anyone object if I somehow printed all of these comments out and included them in my scoping letter on the "B to B"?
I could probably redact f__k Andrew Silber somehow if you wanted me to. I'm not much on electronics, but I do pretty good with scissors and a copy machine.
You could just include the most relevant portions of these comments as excerpts, rather than putting the whole thing in. That way, nobody has to read the entirety of my lengthy diatribes, or be subjected to my off-topic, mean-spirited attacks on Andy Silber, who I'm sure is a lovely chap who sends his mum flowers at Christmas and all that. Also, you'll be doing Calamari a favor by not letting the entire world know that he thinks only middle class people drive new cars.
Just copy all the text into a new text file, and use your mouse and the delete key to delete the irrelevant stuff.
I have no problem with anything from this blog gets linked, copied, pasted or printed out, and I do not see why anyone else might object. That reminds me that I have to E-mail my comments in this week...
Hey, I have always driven crappy used cars, every car I have owned has been at least 10 years old, the two main cars I have owned were 20 years old when I got them. IMHO power windows are luxury features. I may be mistaken but just like you basically have to be a doctor to buy a house these days, it seems like you must be making at least 50k a year to buy a new car, probably even more if you have kids.
I always assume that anything I post to somebody else's website is fair game unless I go out of my way to copyright it or something.
I may be mistaken but just like you basically have to be a doctor to buy a house these days, it seems like you must be making at least 50k a year to buy a new car, probably even more if you have kids.
You're kidding about both of those things, right? Tell me you're kidding.
I'm not kidding. What were the basics of American life 30-40 years ago, attainable by any working man, union or not, blue collar or white, now appear to be unattainable, except at great personal scrifice and risk. The economy has been totally screwed up since the early 70's and nothing seems to have turned things around yet. Even if you can qualify for the tremendous debt load that cars and homes now carry, your sacrifice will be much greater in porportion to your income than it was 40 years ago.
I've never paid more than 3k for a car, in cash, and I couldn't imagine paying much more than that today. Don't you have to make like 130k a year in Los Angeles to aviod a house now or something? Unless you have a fantasy of being in a reverse mortgage or someting equally unadvisable. Given the prices on new cars, I can't imagine buying one and making less than 50k. Otherwise you are working all week to pay for your car. The cars I'm seeing at Ports O' Call on Sundays aren't just new cars, they are decent new cars. I'm not seeing a row of brand new geo metros. I'm talking full size sedans and SUVs. That's middle class transportation to me.
I've always lived in lower class neighborhoods, packed with renters and used car owners. Only a few people in my neighborhood have new cars. I'm just going by my experience, the crowds I'm seeing at Ports O' Call are not the same working crowds that I hang out with at the taco truck, they seem much better off.
Not to beat a dead horse too severely, but...you must be living on a very slightly different planet from the one I live on. One where people speak the same languages, and the sky is still blue, and water is still wet, and all that, but there's no such thing as credit. Because on the planet where I live, new cars and houses both are ridiculously easy for people of all income levels and almost all credit ratings to purchase on the installment plan.
Granted, the house part of it is a historical aberration and will cease to be as soon as the real estate bubble bursts. But for the time being, buying a house is literally easier than renting an apartment for some people, and new cars continue to be quite easily obtained, even for folks who have to wear nametags at their jobs, by signing on the dotted line. Now, whether or not it's a good idea for some of these people to take on such debt just to be able to claim "ownership" of a car or (especially) a house is something else again...
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