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WWW.BEVERLYPRESS.COM
INSIDE
• Mural ordinance
passes, pg. 3
• Teen killed on
Redondo
pg. 4
Temps in 80s,
sunny this
weekend
Volume 23 No. 36
Serving the West Hollywood, Hancock Park and Wilshire Communities
September 5, 2013
Violent Labor Day in Hollywood Chocolate tub narrative
offers sweet opportunity
n Three shot, three
stabbed during holiday
weekend
n Leon Prochnik’s Holocaust stories resonate with kids
By edwin folven
By AAron Blevins
Labor Day was marred by sporadic violence in Hollywood as
three people were shot and three
others were stabbed, one fatally, in
three separate incidents.
The violence erupted over the
weekend despite the efforts by the
Los Angeles Police Department to
increase patrols in the Hollywood
Entertainment District. Up to 60
additional officers have patrolled
the boulevard and surrounding
area after a homeless man stabbed
a woman to death near Hollywood
Boulevard and Highland Avenue
in June. Those officers have been
deployed indefinitely. In response
to the violence late Sunday and
early Monday, the LAPD temporarily called in 40 additional
officers to patrol the entertainment
district on Labor Day.
“We are not sure what caused it.
It’s hard to judge,” said Lt. Marc
Reina, with the LAPD’s
Hollywood Division. “We always
expect an increase in people coming to Hollywood during a holi-
Park La Brea resident Leon
Prochnik is taking the story of his
“chocolate tub” national, in hopes
of relaying his unique Holocaust
narrative to children across the
country in a memorable way.
For the last seven months,
Prochnik, now in his 80s, has spoken to children at the Los Angeles
Museum of the Holocaust in Pan
Pacific Park and the Museum of
Tolerance. The overwhelming
response — including hundreds of
See Chocolate page 20
photo by Edwin Folven
Three people were shot outside of Joseph’s Cafe on Monday. All
three suffered non-life threatening injuries.
day. It may have been a combination of the hot holiday weekend
and the large amount of people
that triggered it.”
The first incident occurred at
approximately 1:05 a.m. on Sept.
2 outside Joseph’s Café, near the
corner of Yucca Street and Ivar
Avenue. Reina said a party was
being held by an outside promoter
who rented the space, and some
patrons became involved in an
argument. As the crowd was leaving, a suspect pulled out a handgun and opened fire, striking three
people, described as two men and
a woman in their late 20s to early
30s. Reina said the unidentified
victims were a sister and brother,
photo courtesy of Leon Prochnik
Leon Prochnik’s Holocaust story, presented through the eyes of a sixyear-old boy, has struck a chord with area young people.
See Violence page 22
Millennium Hollywood
Prang hopes to reform assessor’s office developers sued again
If elected, West
n
n Coalition files
Hollywood City Council
seat would be vacated
lawsuit less than one
week after W Hotel
By edwin folven
West
Hollywood
City
Councilman Jeffrey Prang has
declared he will run in the 2014 race
for Los Angeles County assessor,
and has vowed to reform the office
that was embroiled in scandal last
year after Assessor John Noguez
was charged with multiple counts of
misappropriating funds.
Prang, who has served on the
West Hollywood City council since
1997, would be forced to relinquish
his position on the council if elected
next year. A primary election is
scheduled in June, followed by a
run-off election — if necessary — in
November. The longtime West
Hollywood resident has worked in
the Los Angeles County Assessor’s
See Prang page 20
By AAron Blevins
West Hollywood City Councilman Jeffrey Prang has opted to run for the
Los Angeles County assessor position in 2014.
Less than one week after attorneys representing the W Hotel
filed a lawsuit against the
Millennium Hollywood project,
an attorney representing a coalition of neighborhood groups has
followed suit.
Last week, Robert P. Silverstein
filed the lawsuit against the city
and Millennium Hollywood LLC,
accusing both entities of corruption, endangering human lives,
collusion
and
California
Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) violations.
Like the W Hotel attorneys,
Silverstein also challenged the
project’s environmental impact
report (EIR) and expressed severe
concern over the allegation that
the project site sits on top of the
active Hollywood Fault.
“You would think that the city
council would hesitate for a
moment,” he said of the council’s
project approval amidst seismic
concerns. “Instead, the fix is in.
It’s a rigged game, and the city
council shows that their attitude is
damn the facts, damn the law,
damn the state of California,
damn forty community groups in
Hollywood and L.A. that are
protesting this and damn the
threats to human life by the city
council’s actions — and full speed
ahead with approval of the project.”
The lawsuit states that the
developer’s geologist, the Los
Angeles Department of City
Planning
and
the
city’s
Department of Building and
See Millennium page 21
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
2 September 5, 2013
Calendar
5 Rosh Hashanah
H
ollywood Temple Beth El, a
Conservative Ashkenazi synagogue, is holding High Holy Days services led by Rabbi Norbert Weinberg
and Cantor Alexander Berkovich.
Rosh Hashanah services are scheduled
today, Sept. 5 at 9 a.m.; and Friday,
Sept. 6 at 9 a.m. Kol Nidre services
will be held on Friday, Sept. 13 at 6:45
p.m. Yom Kippur services are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14 at 9 a.m.,
with Yizkor at 11:30 a.m. 1317 N.
Crescent Heights Blvd. (323)6563150, www.htbel.org.
be seen in the award-winning film,
“Laughing Matters...More”, and her
own standup comedy special, “You
Can Take the Girl Outta Texas...”.
General admission is $25. 1125 N.
McCadden Place. (323)860-7300,
www.lagay-center.org/theatre.
Downtown Tour
E
xplore the forgotten stories of
downtown Los Angeles with
Esotouric’s bus tour titled “Hotel
Horrors and Main Street Vice” being
held on Saturday, Sept. 7 from noon to
4 p.m. The “Hotel Horrors” section is
steeped in true crime stories and oddities, with visits to the Alexandria,
Hayward, Barclay, King Edward and
Cecil hotels. The “Main Street Vice”
section is a social history lesson celebrating downtown’s old promenade,
which was once the site of everything
from sophisticated steak houses to tattoo parlors, wax museums and pawnbrokers. Cost is $58. Tour departs from
The Daily Dose, 1820 Industrial St.
(213)373-1947, www.esotouric.com.
High Holy Days
T
emple Beth Zion is holding High
Holy Days services conducted by
Rabbi Jack Shechter and Cantor Janis
Guralnick. Rosh Hashanah services
will be held today, Sept. 5, and Friday,
Sept. 6 at 9 a.m. Kol Nidre services are
scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13 at 6:30
p.m., and Yom Kippur services will be
held on Saturday, Sept. 14 at 9:30 a.m.,
with Yizkor at approximately 11:30
a.m. 5555 West Olympic Blvd.
(323)933-9136, www.templebethzionla.org.
6 Markus Zusak
M
arkus Zusak, author of five
books such as the award-winning “I Am the Messenger” and the
bestseller, “The Book Thief” will
appear for a free discussion and book
signing on Friday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. at
Pilgrim School. “The Book Thief” has
been translated into over 30 languages
and has been on the New York Times
bestseller list for over five years.
Zusak will discuss his work and
answer questions in the Main
Sanctuary of First Congregational
Church, adjacent to the Pilgrim School
campus, followed by a book signing.
540 S. Commonwealth Ave. (213)3857351, www.pilgrim-school.org.
‘Ah, Wilderness’
P
laywright Eugene O’Neill’s idyllic
comedy, “Ah, Wilderness” runs
from Friday, Sept. 6 through Oct. 13 at
the Actors Co-op’s Crossley Theatre in
Hollywood. The comedy play follows
a story of a young man, young love
and his coming of age. Showtimes are
at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 2:30
p.m., Sunday. Tickets are $30.
(323)462-8460, www.actorsco-op.org.
photo courtesy of KCCLA
Experience the splendor of Korean dance in a program titled “2013
Korea in Motion — Fanta-Stick” on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. at the
Ford Amphitheatre. The Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles and
Korean Tourism Organization L.A. are sponsoring the program. The
show is a non-verbal, all dance musical comedy, and the title is a play
on the words “fantasy” (representing the fantasy world created by string
music) and “stick” (representing the drumming elements of the show).
The production is inspired by the love story, “Jamyeonggo”, which is considered a classic Korean version of the Shakespearean tragedy, “Romeo
& Juliet”. Tickets start at $25. The Ford Amphitheatre is located at 2580
Cahuenga Boulevard East. For information and tickets, call
(323)GO1FORD, or visit www.fordtheatres.com.
7 Legal Clinic
V
olunteer attorneys from the
Beverly Hills Bar Association
Barristers will answer legal questions
during a free legal aid clinic on
Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. to noon
at the La Cienega Park in Beverly
Hills. Small claims, wills and trusts,
business disputes, consumer law and
landlord-tenant law will be discussed.
8400 Gregory Way. (310)601-2422,
www.bhba.org.
The Bells of West 87th
J
uliet Landau, James Marsters, Carol
Locatell, Robert Towers and
Dagney Kerr star in the world premiere of “The Bells of West 87th”, an
off-beat new comedy by Elin
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Hampton, running from Saturday,
Sept. 7 through Oct. 13 at the
Greenway Court Theatre. Audiences
may remember Landau and Marsters
as Spike and Drusilla on “Buffy the
Vampire Slayer”. Showtimes are at 8
p.m., Friday through Sunday. General
admission is $34. 544 N. Fairfax Ave.
(323)655-7679 ext. 100, www.greenwayarts.org.
LGBT Comedy
C
omedienne Vickie Shaw performs
an evening of standup comedy on
Saturday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. at the L.A.
Gay & Lesbian Center’s Renberg
Theatre at the Village at Ed Gould
Plaza. Shaw, a native of Texas, is one
of the hottest lesbian comics. She can
Japanese Language
Courses
P
eople interested in learning to
speak Japanese are invited to “JF
Nihongo Tea Time” on Saturday, Sept.
7 at 1 p.m. at the Japan Foundation,
Los Angeles on Wilshire Boulevard.
Visitors can learn about the foundation’s resources and language programs, and enjoy tea and light snacks.
5700 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 100.
(323)761-7510, jpcourse@ jflalc.org.
Classical Fundraiser
T
he Salastina Music Society kicks
off its new season with a special
fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 8
p.m. at Thayer Hall at the Colburn
School. Classical KUSC’s Brian
Lauritzen hosts an exploration of
Richard Wagner’s personal declaration
of love for his wife, titled the
“Siegfried Idyll”, in its original version
for 13 musicians. The performance
begins with an original arrangement of
“Hungarian Dance No. 5” by Wagner’s
contemporary, Johannes Brahms.
Advance tickets are $28; $35 at the
door. 200 S. Grand Ave. www.salastinasociety.org.
Shakespearean Play
A
Noise Within theatre company
presents the launch of its new season with a production of William
Shakespeare’s “Pericles, Prince of
Tyre” running from Saturday, Sept. 7
through Nov. 24 in Pasadena. The
romantic fairy tale is an action-packed
hero’s quest spanning decades and
continents. Tickets start at $34. 3352 E
Foothill
Blvd
(626)356-3100,
www.anoisewithin.org.
8 ABBA Sing-a-Long
S
ing-a-long to hits such as “Mamma
Mia”, “S.O.S” and “The Winner
Takes It All” during “ABBA Fest” on
Sunday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. at the
Hollywood Bowl. The Swedish ABBA
tribute band Waterloo will perform,
along with the a capella groups, The
Scattertones (UCLA), SoundCheck
(Chapman University) and The SoCal
VoCals (USC). Tickets start at $15.
2301 N. Highland Ave. (323)8502000, www.hollywoodbowl.com.
Worship Music
F
ans of multi-platinum selling
Christian music artist Michael W.
Smith won’t want to miss his performance on Sunday, Sept. 8 at the Greek
Theatre. Smith will perform his fan
favorites, as well as beloved worship
hymns. Special guest Nichole
Nordeman will also perform. Doors
open at 7:30 p.m.; tickets start at $35.
2700 North Vermont Ave. www.greektheatrela.com.
10 Bike Lane
Meeting
L
os Angeles City Councilman
Mitch O’Farrell invites stakeholders to a community meeting on the
Virgil Village Bike Lane Proposal on
Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at
Lockwood
Elementary
School.
Representatives from the Los Angeles
Department of Transportation will discuss the installation of bike lanes on
Vigil Avenue. 4345 Lockwood Ave.
(323957-45000,
[email protected].
12 Ballet Benefit
T
he American Ballet Theatre presents its annual “Stars Under The
Stars: An Evening in Los Angeles”
benefit on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the
Beverly Hills home of Jeanne and
Anthony Pritzker. Guests will enjoy
dinner and a special performance by
the artists of American Ballet Theatre,
such as principal dancers Gillian
Murphy and Cory Stearns, and soloists
Misty Copeland and James Whiteside.
Tickets are $500. Location provided
upon reservation. (323)904-4400,
[email protected].
3 September 5, 2013
L.A.’s gray days may be over Construction begins for
The Desmond on Wilshire
n Council approves
mural ordinance,
details to be finalized
n Structure slated for completion in 2015
By AAron Blevins
By AAron Blevins
With the Los Angeles City
Council’s approval of the mural
ordinance last week, the city may
again explode in color after a
decade-long hiatus, though officials are still working out details.
The council approved the ordinance by a vote of 13-2 on Aug.
28, prompting many art advocates to rejoice. Though it has
issues with some elements of the
ordinance,
the
Mural
Conservancy of Los Angeles
(MCLA) is excited to see L.A.
regain its title as “Mural Capital
of the World”.
“It’s been eleven years,”
MCLA executive director Isabel
Rojas-Williams said. “Our
muralists have been prisoners of
this unfair decision that murals
were not allowed on private property. We are very excited about
that part. …This is very important for the cultural landscape of
Los Angeles.”
The ordinance will provide
regulatory oversight for new
murals, while officially recognizing existing murals. To enjoy the
full rights of the law, artists will
be required to register their mural
with the city’s Department of
Associated Estates Realty Corp.
has begun construction on The
Desmond on Wilshire, a sevenstory apartment structure being
built on former parking lots behind
the historic Desmond’s Tower.
The project is slated to bring 175
units and five levels of parking, two
of which are above grade.
Representatives of the Ohio-based
company hope to have the building
completed by the summer of 2015.
Associated Estates acquired the
Desmond’s Tower at 5500 Wilshire
Blvd. in May 2012, and represented the company’s first expansion
into Southern California. Since
then, Associated Estates has also
acquired property downtown in the
Arts District.
“What’s not appealing? We love
that area. We love Los Angeles,”
said Jason Friedman, Associated
Estates’ vice president of acquisitions and development. He said the
area has excellent access to various
areas in Southern California. “It’s
very centrally located with a lot of
photo by Aaron Blevins
Murals, such as this one on La Brea Avenue near San Vicente
Boulevard, are expected to thrive once again in Los Angeles after the
ban is removed.
Cultural Affairs, pay a registration fee, complete a form and
undergo a 45-day waiting period
in which the public can review
and comment on the proposal.
According to MCLA, once
installed, the mural cannot be
removed or altered for two years,
except in “particular circumstances.”
As proposed, murals would be
allowed on all private properties
with two or more units. However,
council members are currently
working with the city attorney to
include language in the ordinance
that allows communities that
want to allow murals on singlefamily residences to “opt-in.”
amenities, restaurants, museums.
It’s very attractive. We couldn’t be
more happy to have this first entry
to the Southern California market.”
When Associated Estates purchased the property, it has already
received approvals for two towers
for 175 units, Friedman said. The
company went through a revised
entitlements process for the structure, and received approvals for the
seven-story building, he said.
Friedman said the apartments
will offer high-end fixtures, as well
as hard surface floors. The Ushaped project will also offer a
pool, spa, fitness center and rooftop
amenities, he said.
“I think really the thing that will
set this project apart is the exceptional amenity spaces we’ll have,”
Friedman added.
He said Associated Estates is
“thrilled” at the opportunity and
praised the city, which has been
“fantastic” to work with.
Jim O’Sullivan, president of the
Miracle
Mile
Residential
Association, said the original
See Desmond’s page 22
See Mural page 21
Beverly Hills reorganizes public works department
The city of Beverly Hills Public
Works
and
Transportation
Department has been reorganized
into two departments in order to
bring about improvements in efficiency, communications and customer service.
The new Public Works Services
department will be headed by
George Chavez, formerly the
city’s building official. His new
responsibilities are utilities,
including water and solid waste,
infrastructure maintenance and
parking operations. David Yelton,
the plan review and inspection
manager, will serve as interim
building official until recruitment
is completed.
The newly formed Capital
Assets department, headed by
deputy city manager David
Lightner, is responsible for project
administration, civil engineering
and property management. This
group will manage city infrastructure projects and city-owned real
estate.
The Traffic and Transportation
Engineering Division has moved
from Public Works to Community
Development under director Susan
Healy Keene
“I believe that this new city
structure will result in a more
focused leadership and greatly
improve communications and customer service,” city manager Jeff
Kolin said.
City programs will remain
unchanged and all staff contact
information, including phone
extensions and email addresses,
are the same.
When completed, The Desmond on Wilshire, which will be located
behind the historic Desmond’s Tower, will bring 175 apartment units.
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4 September 5, 2013
Condom measure may go statewide
n Recent infections
renew calls for tougher
regulations
By edwin folven
A second adult film industry
performer announced this week
that he has been infected with
HIV, prompting renewed calls for
tougher enforcement and an
expansion of Measure B, which
requires the use of condoms in
adult films in Los Angeles
County.
The
AIDS
Healthcare
Foundation (AHF), which sponsored Measure B, has also filed a
formal request with Cal/OSHA,
which has reportedly opened an
investigation into the initial report
of HIV infection of adult film performer Cameron Bay. She
announced in August that she had
contracted HIV, likely from a film
shoot at the end of July.
The most recent news came on
Tuesday, when adult film performer Rod Daily, who is reportedly in a dating relationship with
Bay, announced on Twitter that he
is HIV positive. Daily and Bay
have performed in adult films, but
it has not been officially confirmed that either performer contracted HIV during filming.
Peter Melton, a spokesman for
CAL/OSHA, confirmed a complaint had been received, and said
the department is “looking into”
the issue. He said he could not
comment on the matter until the
investigation
is
complete.
Representatives of AHF viewed
the footage of the July shoot with
Bay, and confirmed no condom
was used, which is potentially a
violation of state workplace safety
regulations relating to bloodborne
pathogens. Measure B is only in
effect in Los Angeles County.
“It illustrates the
need for the
required use of
condoms in adult
films.”
Ged Kenslea
AIDS Healthcare
Foundation
“We are not saying that the
infections happened during that
shoot. What we are saying is we
looked at the film, saw no condoms were being used, which is
against the law,” AHF’s senior
director of communications Ged
Kenslea said. “It’s the second person in the last three weeks [who]
has tested positive for HIV. Then,
there is the recent syphilis scare
and a case of hepatitis C in per-
formers. It illustrates the need for
the required use of condoms in
adult films.”
However, the Los Angeles
County Department of Public
Health is investigating to determine if any performers in the Los
Angeles area had worked with
Bay, and may also be infected. A
spokesperson for the department
declined to be identified, but said
the county has not received any
information about Daily’s infection.
Kenslea said Bay tested negative for HIV prior to the film shoot
on July 31, then tested positive for
HIV approximately three weeks
later. The Free Speech Coalition,
an industry trade organization that
oversees adult film companies,
called for a moratorium on film
production in light of Bay’s
announcement. The coalition lifted the ban on film production on
Aug. 28 after all of the performers
who worked with Bay during the
period in question allegedly tested
negative for HIV. It is unclear
whether any partners who had
been involved in film production
with Daily have been tested.
The Los Angeles County
Department of Public Health has
issued a statement indicating that
the county continues to issue permits that require condom use in
film production, per Measure B.
Authorities are still working on
See AHF page 21
Teen murdered on Redondo Boulevard
By edwin folven
Investigators in the Wilshire
area are searching for two suspects
who shot and killed a 17-year-old
victim on Sept. 1 during a drive-by
shooting in the 1400 block of
South Redondo Blvd.
The shooting occurred at
approximately 11:35 a.m. on the
residential street, located south of
Pico Boulevard and approximately
three blocks west of La Brea
Avenue.
The male victim was not identified because he is a juvenile. A
second suspect was struck by the
gunfire, and was treated at the hospital for non-life threatening
injuries.
Det. Keyzer, with the Los
Angeles Police Department’s West
Bureau Homicide Unit, said the
exact motive for the shooting has
not been confirmed. Keyzer said
the decedent was not enrolled in
school and did not have any ties to
gangs. He lived in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred,
but it was not disclosed why he
was at the location on Redondo
Boulevard.
“There is no motive. It’s likely
[gang related], but we don’t know
for sure,” Keyzer said. “No arrests
have been made.”
The suspects’ vehicle was
described as a white, four-door
sedan. No additional suspect information was available.
Anyone with information about
the murder is asked to call Det.
Keyser at (213)382-9470. During
weekends and off-hours, call the
LAPD’s
hotline
at
(877)LAPD247. Anonymous tips
can also be made to Crime
Stoppers at (800)222-TIPS, or
texted to 274637. All text messages should begin with the letters
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Center announces season line-up
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts had
announced its inaugural season beginning with performances by the
Martha Graham Dance Company, which opens the 500-seat Goldsmith
Theater on Nov. 8 and 9, followed by the play “Parfumerie” by Miklos
Laszlo, adapted by Edward P. Dowdall and directed by Mark Brokaw,
from Nov. 26 to Dec. 22.
The romantic tale “Parfumerie”, inspired the films “The Shop
Around the Corner”, “In the Good Old Summertime” and Nora
Ephron’s “You’ve Got Mail”, as well as the Broadway musical “She
Loves Me”. As a special program, an exhibition on perfume entitled
“Timeless Scents: 1370-2013”, a history of iconic fragrances through
the ages is being created especially for The Wallis by Chandler Burr,
former New York Times scent critic.
Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, The Wallis Annenberg Center
for the Performing Arts will officially open its doors to the public in
October 2013. The new venue will transform a Beverly Hills city block
into a new cultural destination with two distinct, elegant buildings: the
historic 1933 Italianate-style Beverly Hills Post Office and the new,
contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the-art Goldsmith Theater. Within the
treasured Post Office, existing spaces are re-imagined into the 150-seat
Lovelace Studio Theater, a theater school for young people (opening in
2014), a café and gift shop. The Wallis, the first performing arts center
to be built in Beverly Hills, will be a home for artists from around the
world and audiences of every age.
Subscription tickets go on sale Oct. 1. The remainder of the 20132014 season will be announced in September. Ticket prices will range
from $25 to $199. For information or, visit www.thewallis.org.
6 September 5, 2013
Local legislators to vote on Syria
n Congress members
mull potential U.S.
engagement
By AAron Blevins
As the federal government
determines whether it will punish
the Syrian government for using
chemical weapons against its people, California Congress members
will have tough decisions to make
in the coming weeks.
President Barack Obama has
asked Congress to authorize the
use of force against Syria after
President Bashar al-Assad’s
regime reportedly used sarin gas
against its own people on Aug. 21,
killing approximately 1,400 people, including more than 400 children. Assad has reportedly denied
the allegations.
The country has been embroiled
in civil war since the Arab Spring
protests in the Middle East began
in late 2010 or early 2011. U.S.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said
the “very peaceful” protests in
Syria — mainly spurred by a lack
of economic opportunities and citizens having no say in governance
— turned violent when Assad
responded with military force.
“It just went from bad to
worse,” he said. Instead of opening dialogue, the military has
escalated its response from guns
and ammo to rockets and chemical weapons, Schiff said.
He said the evidence of Assad’s
use of chemical weapons against
his own people is now “overwhelming.” While Schiff has
“great skepticism” of such information following the “tremendous
failures” related to the intelligence
on Iraq’s weapons program, the
evidence has been presented by a
broad variety of sources, including respected non-governmental
organizations, aerial surveillance
and tissue samples, he said.
“To ignore it really means turning a blind eye to what’s going
on,” Schiff said. “I think we’ve
reached that point.”
Satisfied that the evidence is
solid, the congressman, a senior
member of the House Intelligence
Committee, said the only question
now is how the international community holds Assad accountable.
He said the current draft proposed by Obama’s administration
is “way too broad,” as it would
authorize anything from limited
cruise missile strikes to the creation of a no-fly zone to “boots on
the ground.”
“I don’t think that could fly in
the House of Representatives so
that’s going to have to be considerably narrowed,” Schiff said.
“The senate has already taken
steps in that direction.”
Although Americans are “rightfully leery” to give too broad an
authority following Iraq and
Afghanistan, the congressman
said its very important that the
international community enforce
military “norms.”
“This is an international norm
against chemical weapons that we
are trying to enforce, and I feel
like that should be an international effort,” he said, stressing that
the U.S. should not be the only
country to impose those norms on
Syria. However, the U.S. has a
“long way to go” to garner more
support.
Russian President Vladimir
Putin has reportedly warned the
U.S. to not strike Syria before
coming before the United Nations
Security Council. However,
Schiff said Russia, which has a
base in Syria and has been protecting the
Syrian government, has
vetoed any
attempt to
hold Assad
accountable.
“The UN
Security
Council is
Adam Schiff
not likely to
approve any
course
of
action
no
matter how flagrant the evidence,” he added.
Schiff said the Aug. 21 incident
is not the first time that Assad has
used chemical weapons — albeit
the most widespread use. He said
the cost of inaction is “very high.”
“There aren’t any good options
here,” Schiff said. “The consequences are never clearly foreseeable, so there’s good reason for
concern whether we sit idle or
whether we act.”
If the use of chemical weapons
becomes the norm, it could threaten the national security of the
U.S. and its allies, such as Israel,
he said.
Schiff said he does not know
when Congress will vote to
authorize the use of force, though
he anticipates that the vote will
occur next week.
The U.S. Senate will also vote
on the bill, and its Foreign Affairs
Committee was slated to review it
on Wednesday. He said he is
weighing the decision “very careSee Syrian page 21
Mitchell delivers signatures in support of AB 271
Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell
(D-Los Angeles) delivered 17,000
signatures to Kevin De León, chair
of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, on Aug. 28 in support
of her bill, AB 271.
The measure, designed to repeal
the Maximum Family Grant
(MFG) rule in the CalWORKs program, has been declared a priority
by California’s Democratic Party,
and has garnered support from 80
organizations who advocate for the
poor and social and reproductive
justice. AB 271 would repeal a law
passed
under
the
Wilson
Administration that denied basic
aid to infants born into a family
already receiving aid. Similar laws
were passed in several states in a
bid to reduce out-of-wedlock births
and, ironically, reduce childhood
poverty.
Now, 15 years later, many states
have repealed the law as all studies
have shown that this rule has
helped to create greater rates of
childhood poverty.
“The
evidence
is
that
CalWORKs families get poorer,
not smaller, when the state tries to
control family size by capping aid
for the needy,” Mitchell (D-Los
Angeles) said. “Driving families
deeper into poverty needs to stop
being state policy.”
Former Superintendent of Public
Instruction Delaine Eastin was
serving in the Assembly when the
original law instituting the family
cap passed by a slim margin in the
Legislature after a last minute, “gut
and amend.”
In a letter delivered to the Senate
Appropriations committee last
week, she wrote to the chairman of
the committee that the MFG
“remains in state law today as a
shameful vestige of a 1990’s war on
the poor that was both classist and
racist.” In the letter she urges the
committee to pass AB 271 to the
Senate floor for a vote of the full
body.
Alarming statistics about the
plight of families living in deep
poverty (less than 50 percent of federal poverty level) have prompted
online petitions demanding the
repeal of the MFG to go viral. One
in six Californians lives in poverty,
and almost one out of every four
children is growing up impoverished.
Judge rules VA misused property
Federal Judge S. James Otero
ruled on Aug. 29 that the
Department of Veterans Affairs
(DVA) violated federal law when it
leased portions of its sprawling
West L.A. campus to 11 businesses
and organizations for purposes
unrelated to providing medical care
or treatment for homeless and disabled veterans.
The ruling comes more than two
years after the ACLU Foundation
of Southern California, the Inner
City Law Center, Arnold & Porter
LLP and Munger, Tolles & Olson
LLP, and law professors Laurence
Tribe and Gary Blasi, filed suit
against the DVA on behalf of
homeless and disabled veterans,
who were often sleeping outside
the gates of the campus.
Today’s order found that federal
statutes governing the use of DVA
property unambiguously prohibit
the DVA from entering into landuse agreements with private parties
on the West L.A. campus unless the
agreements are directly related to
providing medical care or related
services to veterans.
The leases voided by the order
cover nearly one quarter of the 400acre property, which was originally
deeded in 1888 to the predecessor
to the VA for the exclusive purpose
of providing a home for disabled
vets. The order did not affect two
land-use agreements challenged in
the suit that had expired or lapsed.
The nine voided agreements
were for a 20-acre parcel for
Brentwood private school’s athletic
complex; a laundry processing
facility for nearby luxury hotels;
the UCLA baseball stadium and
facilities; Fox studio production
storage facilities; exclusive rights
for a community group to host
events on a 15-acre parcel; practice
fields for a private soccer club;
parking lots for surrounding businesses; and a farmer’s market.
The suit, Valentini v. Shinseki,
was filed in June of 2011.
According to data released by the
federal government earlier this
year, there are more than 6,000
homeless vets in Los Angeles on
any given night, more than any
other city or county in the U.S.
For information, visit www.aclusocal.org/?s=Shinseki.
AHF opens dental office downtown
After a year of planning and
just over a month of renovations,
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
(AHF) proudly opened the AHF
Downtown Dental Office on
Aug. 12 to fill a long-standing
need for oral health facilities that
specialize in the dental care of
people living with HIV. The
office is AHF’s first health center
that specifically offers an array
of oral health care.
The new dental clinic, which is
directly next door to AHF’s
Downtown Healthcare Center,
offers a full range of general dental services including, exams,
cleanings, x-rays, crowns,
bridges, dentures, partial dentures and extractions. The facility has a close relationship with
the USC and UCLA schools of
dentistry for specialty services
like root canals.
Los
Angeles
County’s
Department of HIV and STD
Programs has been scaling up the
offerings of dental care opportu-
nities to acknowledge the need
for more specific providers and
care for people living with HIV
and AIDS. The opening of
AHF’s clinic is part of a Phase
Three Expansion Project connected to that scale-up, according to Dr. Mark Davis, who
heads the medical team at the
new AHF Downtown Dental
Office.
Davis, a New York native,
graduated from the Georgetown
University School of Dentistry in
Washington, D.C. before beginning his career practicing in
South Florida. The clinic is
staffed by him and a second dentist, Dr. Cesar Zamora, as well as
three dental assistants, a dental
hygienist and a front desk staffer,
all of whom are bilingual in
English and Spanish.
The office is located at 1414 S.
Grand Ave., Suite 485. Office
hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday. For
information, call (213)744-1752.
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7 September 5, 2013
O’Farrell boosts support for river revitalization City councilmen author
anti-fracking measure
The Los Angeles City Council
has voted unanimously to support
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’
Los Angeles River Ecosystem
Restoration Feasibility Study and
its series of proposals to revitalize
the Los Angeles River. This marks
the first major opportunity to make
large-scale changes to the waterway’s
concrete
channel,
Councilmembers Mitch O’Farrell,
13th District, and Gil Cedillo, 1st
District, announced on Aug. 24.
The resolution, which was cointroduced by O’Farrell and
Cedillo, dramatically moves forward the city’s commitment in its
partnership with the Army Corps of
Engineers to restore the natural
resource value of the river.
“The unanimous decision by my
council colleagues today sends a
message that’s loud and clear —
Angelenos want and deserve more
for our river,” said O’Farrell, who
serves as chair of the Arts, Parks,
Health, Aging, and River
Committee. “This study is the culmination of decades of activism,
envisioning and planning for what
the river can become.”
Since 2006, the city has been
serving as the local cost-sharing
sponsor of the Corps’ Study — also
known as the ARBOR Study —
and the council’s action declared its
priority publicly for the first time.
The study has benefited from the
considerable support of Los
Angeles’s delegation in Congress,
led by U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-
The Los Angeles City Council has voted to support proposals to restore
the L.A. River.
Allard, who has championed many
years of appropriations. President
Barack Obama’s administration has
echoed its support by including the
study in the president’s last two
budgets. The corps is expected to
release the study to the public on
Sept. 20.
The corps, which began channelizing the river for flood control purposes in the 1930s, has taken the
lead on studying the viability of
restoring the river’s ecosystem
value, providing new wildlife habitat and public access along an 11mile stretch of the river between
downtown and Griffith Park.
The corps will choose among
Motion calls for the public to
receive notice on demolitions
On Aug. 21, Los Angeles City
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, 13th
District, introduced a motion that
instructs the city’s Department of
Building and Safety to develop a
public notification process for the
demolition of any structure.
Seconded by Councilman Tom
LaBonge, 4th District, the motion
states that, currently, demolition
permits are issued without a public
process — although the demolition
of a building can change the character of the surrounding community — leaving community stakeholders with no recourse.
!
“I value historic preservation and
community input on issues affecting the look and feel of our neighborhoods,” O’Farrell said in an
online post. “This motion that I
introduced today instructs Building
and Safety to develop a public notification process for the demolition
of any structure located in all zones,
and includes a thirty day on site
posting requirement.”
The motion also calls for an
increased fee structure to cover the
cost of demolition enforcement. It
has been referred to the council’s
Planning and Land Use Committee.
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four plans that have each been identified as potential “best buy” investments for the federal government.
A public meeting to present the
study and solicit feedback will be
held on Oct. 17 from 5:30 to 7:30
p.m. at the Los Angeles River
Center and Gardens.
Los Angeles City Councilmen
Paul Koretz, 5th District, and
Mike Bonin, 11th District, proposed a change to Los Angeles’
zoning code on Wednesday to
prohibit oil and gas well drilling
activities commonly known as
fracking, acidizing or gravel packing in the city.
The councilmen joined representatives from Food and Water
Watch, Physicians for Social
Responsibility, the Sierra Club,
Citizens for a Safe Community
and other consumer and environmental groups at Los Angeles
City Hall to discuss why they
were seeking to end the drilling
practice in Los Angeles.
“The quality of our water and
the safety of our neighborhoods
comes first,” Bonin said. “The
threat fracking poses to families in
L.A. is serious and I am proud to
join Councilmember Koretz in
proposing a moratorium on fracking in the city of Los Angeles and
along our water supply route.”
The group also called on Gov.
Jerry Brown to impose an immediate statewide moratorium on
fracking.
“On one hand, we’re all concerned that a strong earthquake
could destroy the Bay Delta levees
and contaminate one of L.A.’s
major water supplies with salt
water. On the other, fracking is
happening all over the state...”
Koretz added. “As a state, we have
to decide which it is. Are we protecting our water supply, or not?”
Fracking is a form of oil and
gas extraction that involves blasting water mixed with chemicals
into the earth to break up rock formations. The controversial technique is currently unregulated and
unmonitored by California officials, according to the councilmen. Oil and gas companies have
already begun using the fracking
process in the Los Angeles area,
most notably in the Inglewood Oil
Field, between the Baldwin Hills
and Culver City.
8 September 5, 2013
Fall movie preview: new films show promise
After a summer that fizzled out at
the box office just in time for a
treacherous heat wave, a change in
season can’t come sooner. But
much like this summer, there’s no
proof anything will stick –– just a
lingering hope like a gust of wind
— that things will get better
The Surefire Hits
Director Gary Ross might be out
for “The Hunger Games” sequel,
but Francis Lawrence is an equally
(if not more) capable director, all
but ensuring “Hunger Games:
Catching Fire” (Nov. 22) will be the
hit of the fall. And sure, the previous
“Hobbit” lacks the poetry and cohesion of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, but “The Hobbit: The
Desolation of Smaug” (Dec. 13)
will be another big one. It might be
a rough ride, but it will still be fun.
If you loved “Children of Men”
then prepare for master filmmaker
Alfonso Cuarón’s latest film,
“Gravity” (Oct. 4). Sandra Bullock
and George Clooney as astronauts
stranded in space coupled by a
Cuarón-esque 15-minute tracking
shot, yes please.
Let’s be honest, “Thor” was hardly amazing, albeit moderately entertaining, but “Thor: The Dark
World” (Nov. 8) appears to be much
darker and more willing to bask in
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki’s
(Tom Hiddleston) complex relationship. And since most of the film
won’t be on Earth but one of the
other Nine Realms, get ready for
fantasy-action madness.
In a visual style akin to
“Tangled”, “Frozen” (Nov. 27)
looks equally promising. The
details are foggy, but if the adorable
teaser holds true to the rest of the
film, it’s sure to be a delight. It
might not sound amazing, but Ron
Howard (“Apollo 13”) rarely makes
a bad film (save “The Da Vinci
Code”) and “Rush” (Sept. 27) —
based on the true story of Formula
One rivals James Hunt (Chris
Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda
(Daniel Brühl) — will at least prove
entertaining, even if European auto
racing isn’t your thing.
These last two films should work
out well, but fear always remains in
the shadows. “Anchorman 2” (Dec.
20) has a lot to live up to, and director Adam McKay has failed us in
the past. Here’s hoping Will Ferrell,
Steve Carell and Paul Rudd can
keep it together. Orson Scott Card’s
“Ender’s Game” (Nov. 1) has long
been due for a big screen debut. But
the man’s personal beliefs and the
film’s mediocre director leave much
to be desired.
The Bombs
photo courtesy Lionsgate Entertainment
Chris Hemsworth stars as the lead character in “Thor: The Dark World”,
to be released on Nov. 8.
I can’t imagine a break dancing
movie starring Chris Brown as a hit.
Sure, “Pitch Perfect” caught us all
photo courtesy of Disney Pictures
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutchinson star in “Hunger Games:
Catching Fire”, scheduled for release on Nov. 22.
off guard, but “Battle of the Year”
(Sept. 20) hasn’t got a prayer ... it’s
got Brown. And while Hugh
Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence
Howard and Viola Davis are stellar
performers, a thriller depicting a
missing child and a dad going vigilante on a potential suspect doesn’t
make “Prisoners” (Sept. 20) look
interesting, but desperate to be taken
seriously.
And then there’s “Escape Plan”
(Oct. 18), starring Sly and the previous “Governator”. I can’t say much
else.
sounds healthy. Ben Stiller directs
and stars in the latest remake of
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
(Dec. 25). With recent films like
“Zoolander” and “Tropic Thunder”
under his belt, something closer to a
high budget indie film is a welcome
change. David O. Russell is on fire
with “The Fighter” and “Silver
Linings Playbook”, so while
“American Hustle” (Dec. 25) looks
like your average heist movie —
starring Christian Bale and Bradley
Cooper — he’s far from an average
director.
The Quiet Victors
Sound Off
These three films will surely go
unnoticed by the masses, but they
just might be worth your time
nonetheless. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
shows off his directing chops in
“Don Jon” (Sept. 27), the story of a
New Jersey dude looking to porn
for inspiration for his love life. That
Between Ben Affleck, Justin
Timberlake and Tom Hanks,
“Runner Runner” (Oct. 4) and
“Captain Phillips” (Oct. 11) should
be able to muster up at least one
solid thriller. Keep an eye on “The
See Fall films page 9
9 September 5, 2013
!%
WeHo extends parking meter enforcement
The city of West Hollywood has
extended its parking meter enforcement hours, after a warning period
in August.
The longer enforcement hours
will allow for more turnover at
sparking spaces, according to city
officials, and will improve traffic
circulation. Additional funds generated from longer meter hours will
be used for additional sheriff’s
department and private security
patrols.
The new hours will vary throughout the city. On Sunset Boulevard
and surrounding streets, the meters
will be enforced from 8 a.m. to 2
a.m., Monday through Saturday,
and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on
Sundays. Throughout the city’s
Westside, on streets such as Santa
Monica and Beverly boulevards,
Melrose Avenue, Doheny Drive and
surrounding streets, the meters will
be enforced from 8 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday;
and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sundays. In
West Hollywood’s mid-city area,
along Santa Monica Boulevard
from La Cienega Boulevard to
Fairfax Avenue, the meters will be
enforced from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.,
Monday through Saturday; and 11
a.m. to 8 p.m., Sundays. Along
Santa Monica Boulevard from
Fairfax to La Brea avenues, the
meters will be enforced from 8 a.m.
to 8 p.m., Monday through
Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.,
Sundays. The cost for parking at
meters in West Hollywood is $1.50
per hour. Oscar Delgado, director of
public works for the city of West
Hollywood, said drivers who park
longer than the allotted time will be
cited. The city does not tow vehicles
parked at expired meters, Delgado
added, unless they are parked in
locations with peak rush hour
restrictions, such as La Brea Avenue
and Sunset Boulevard.
For information, call the city of
West Hollywood Parking Division
at (323)848-6375, or visit
www.weho.org/parking.
New meters installed in
Larchmont Village
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photo courtesy of the 4th Council District Office
New “coin and card” parking meters have been installed on
Larchmont Boulevard, replacing the 17 pay stations that required
motorists to pay at a single machine. City Councilman Tom LaBonge
(right), 4th District, recently held a ceremony marking the new meter
installation, and was joined by David Tiffin, parking meter technical
supervisor for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, as well
as Larchmont Village community members. The meters allow drivers
to pay at their space with cash or credit card. The pay stations, spaced
at different locations along Larchmont Boulevard, were installed in
2008, and left open the possibility that a motorist could be ticketed in
the time it took to wait in line and pay for parking. LaBonge said the
new meters will be “more convenient”, allowing drivers to pay where
they park.
“The people of our
state and nation
rely on the press to
expose private and
public corruption ...”
-Sen. Ted W. Lieu
Associated Press (AP) employees
by going after third-party vendors.
The wiretaps of AP phone
records included calls from several
East Coast bureaus and more than
20 lines, including personal phones
and AP phone numbers in New
York; Hartford, Connecticut; and
Washington D.C. The records
potentially revealed communications with confidential sources during a two-month period. Lieu said
his measure specifically applies to
third-party vendors. In the case of
AP, this would have required the
U.S. Justice Department to notify
AP at least five days ahead of time
that the communications firm handling AP phone records would be
subpoenaed. In addition to phone
companies, other third-party vendors that would be subjected to
reporting are Internet service
providers, hotels and car rental
agencies.
The Senate recently concurred
on amendments that conformed the
bill to recent guidelines adopted by
the U.S. Department of Justice.
Lieu said California already has a
shield law that requires law
enforcement agencies to give five
days’ advance notice to news organizations for subpoenas served on
the company or reporter. “But the U.S. Department of
Justice just gave a roadmap on
ways to bypass the shield law by
going after firms like telephone or
communications companies that
have personal and work related
information of journalists,” Lieu
said. “The people of our state and
nation rely on the press to expose
private and public corruption, to
keep government honest, and to
better inform our citizenry about
the events that shape our lives. It’s
essential for a free citizenry to have
a free, unhindered press.”
For information, visit www.senate.ca.gov/lieu.
Fall films offer a variety of viewing choices
From page 8
Wolf of Wall Street” (Nov. 15) and
“The Monuments Men” (Dec. 18)
for Oscar potential. Hopefully
Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor”
(Oct. 25) — starring Brad Pitt,
Cameron Diaz, Michael Fassbender
and Javier Bardem — works, but
the man has had a disjointed filmmaking record of late.
“Sin City” director Robert
!
'2/,584/'
Bill protecting news outlets sent to governor
The California State Assembly
and the State Senate have approved
a bill mandating that reporters and
their news organizations be given
five days’ notice of any subpoenas
of their records held by third-party
vendors. The bill will now be sent
to Gov. Jerry Brown for his
approval.
The records include phone calls
or other invasions of their newsgathering communications, according to Senate Bill 558, authored by
Sen. Ted W. Lieu (D-Torrance).
The legislation is sponsored by the
California Newspaper Publishers
Association.
“Recent government actions
have shown that government officials charged with protecting the
privacy of citizens have instead
crossed the line when it comes to
secret monitoring of our emails,
correspondence and phone,” Lieu
said. “[This] bipartisan vote sends
the message that state policymakers
are taking steps to help ensure protections we once took for granted.”
Lieu said he introduced SB 558 in
the wake of recent reports showing
the federal government secretly
collected the phone records of
$
Rodriguez’s grindhouse sequel
“Machete Kills” (Oct. 11) will challenge your understanding of reality
and lowbrow taste, for better or
worse. The “Jackass” spinoff “Bad
Grandpa” (Oct. 25) looks like an
odd hybrid, but it can work if it’s as
insane as its MTV predecessors.
And let’s hope “Carrie” (Oct. 18) is
half the film the original was so we
all have at least one good horror
flick for the Halloween season.
Spike Lee’s American adaptation
of Korean film, “Oldboy” (Nov.
27), is an odd choice considering
the sadism and obscure nature of the
material. Hopefully, Lee has the
threshold for pain required of a concept like this (confused, watch the
original, it’ll stick with you).
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10 September 5, 2013
City continues WeHo debuts art exhibit
support for
LGBT people
in Russia
In response to the recent antiLGBT law signed by Russian
President Vladimir Putin, ongoing
legal attacks and violent activity
against the LGBT population in
Russia, the city of West
Hollywood is continuing its multitiered campaign to assist and support LGBT organizations and individuals in that country.
In early August, the West
Hollywood City Council unanimously passed the resolution,
“Condemnation of Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s Legal
Attacks on the LGBT Community
and New Laws Targeting LGBT
Tourists and Winter Olympics
Participants”.
As the Russian government
refuses to back away from their
newest anti-gay laws, the city of
West Hollywood has responded by
publicizing, criticizing and condemning the discriminatory
actions of Russian President Putin,
the Russian legislature and the
non-governmental groups and
individuals who are attacking
LGBT people in Russia; providing
assistance to LGBT organizations
who are working to fight discrimination and advance equality for
LGBT people in Russia; and providing assistance to LGBT people
who want to leave Russia and
obtain asylum in the United States.
In June 2013, Putin signed a bill
banning the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to
minors.” Human Rights Watch
described the anti-gay propaganda
law as “a profoundly discriminatory and dangerous bill that is bound
to worsen homophobia in Russia.”
For information, contact Fran
Solomon, deputy to West
Hollywood Councilman John
Heilman, at (323)848-6460.
Little Ethiopia
hosts street fest
The Ethiopian community of Los
Angeles invites members of the
public to celebrate their New Year
(2006 on the Ethiopian Calendar)
during the annual Little Ethiopia
Cultural Street Festival on Sunday,
Sept. 8 from noon to 8 p.m. on
Fairfax Avenue, between Olympic
Boulevard and Whitworth Street.
Visitors can enjoy live performances, Ethiopian cuisine, dozens
of vendor booths and more. Explore
Ethiopian history, culture and food
ranging from the traditional and
folkloristic to the modern. Shops,
restaurants and booths along
Fairfax Avenue will invite visitors
inside to discover colorful arts and
crafts and authentic Ethiopian
clothing. There are an estimated
96,000 Ethiopians living in the Los
Angeles area, the second largest
population of Ethiopians in the
United States, behind Washington,
D.C. In 1992, the city of Los
Angeles designated the stretch of
Fairfax Avenue south of Olympic
Boulevard as Little Ethiopia. The
free festival is organized by the
Little
Ethiopia
Business
Association.
For information, visit www.littleethiopiabusinessassociation.com.
The city of West Hollywood
and artist Cosimo Cavallaro present “Love Your Bean”, an outdoor art installation in West
Hollywood Park.
The installation is part of the
city’s “Art on the Outside” program. It is comprised of three
large-scale sculptures designed in
the shape of jelly beans. An opening reception is scheduled this
evening, Thursday, Sept. 5 from
5:30 to 7 p.m. outside the West
Hollywood Library in the park,
647 N. San Vicente Blvd.
Cavallaro worked alongside fabricator Jack Brogan for a year to test
a variety of materials and methods
to refine the surface and intense
colors for the pieces. Some of the
works were recently presented in a
show titled “Voluminosity” at Nye
+ Brown on La Cienega
Boulevard (right).
Los Angeles resident Cavallaro
was born in Montreal in 1961 to
Italian immigrants, and spent his
childhood attending art schools in
Canada and Italy. After working as
a television commercial film
director throughout the 1980s and
1990s, Cavallaro focused his
attention back to the visual arts.
For information, please visit
www.weho.org/art call Andrew
Campbell, at (323)848-6883.
photo courtesy of Emily Arevalo/Nye + Brown
TARFEST returns to the Bill on earthquake warning system approved
Miracle Mile on Sept. 21
The Assembly Appropriations
Committee on Aug. 30 approved
SB 135, which would require that
California develop a comprehensive statewide earthquake early
warning system. The bill will now
go to the Assembly floor.
“SB 135 is moving forward. A
fully developed earthquake early
warning alert system will provide
Californians critical seconds to take
cover, assist loved ones, or pull
over safely to the side of the road.
…The bottom line is that it will
save lives,” said Sen. Alex Padilla
(D-Pacoima), the author of the bill.
California presently has a
demonstration earthquake early
photo courtesy of LAUNCH LA
LAUNCH LA and 88.5 FM KCSN will present Los Angeles’ 11th
annual music and art festival TARFEST 2013 at the historic La Brea
Tar Pits on Saturday, Sept. 21. The free, all ages festival will feature
music, live painting, food, drinks and more.
TARFEST 2013 will celebrate its 11th year from 2 to 8 p.m. on
Sept. 21 with local indie-rock bands Saint Motel, Nightmare Air,
Echosmith, Irontom and Tapioca and the Flea and live artist painting
from Greg “Craola” Simkins, AXIS and William Wray and sculptures by David O. Johnson.
The festival will include a Lagunitas Biergarten, California wine
bar, gourmet food trucks, outdoor sculptures, The Poem Store,
Japanese Foundation Los Angeles tent with calligraphy, origami and
samurai photos, interactive arts activities with the Petersen
Automotive Museum and more.
Excavating future culture on The Miracle Mile, the annual TARFEST festival utilizes Los Angeles’ historic Tar Pits and green space
to unite the local community in celebration of the city’s burgeoning
music and arts scene by showcasing some of the most talented upand-coming bands and artists. In past years, TARFEST has brought
together thousands of Angelenos with performances from bands like
Blondefire, The Steelwells, Helena, Everest and others.
The event is made possible in part by a grant from the city of Los
Angeles, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los
Angeles County Art Commission.
For information, visit www.tarfest.com.
warning system called the
California Integrated Seismic
Network. SB 135 would fully
develop this system, which would
process data from an array of sensors throughout the state, detect the
strength and the progression of an
earthquake, alert the public within
seconds and provide up to 60 seconds advanced warning before
potentially damaging ground shaking is felt. The beta-system worked
successfully in March, providing a
30 second warning to seismologists
of a 4.7 magnitude temblor centered in the Riverside County
desert.
Specifically, SB 135 would
State Senate approves measure
protecting LGBT seniors
The California State Senate has
approved a bill authored by
Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (DLos Angeles) that will help ensure
LGBT seniors get respectful and
competent elder care by integrating LGBT cultural competency
instruction into the training
received by residential care facility
administrators.
“I am pleased that the state legislature has taken this state another
step toward full equality and
opportunity for all members of the
LGBT community,” Gomez said.
The bill, AB 663, is sponsored
by the LGBT advocacy organization, Equality California, and the
California Senior Legislature.
Nationwide, there are an estimated
1.5 million LGBT elders, with that
number projected to double by
2030.
By integrating cultural competency training for residential care
administrators into the normal set
of classes, LGBT seniors will
worry less about being forced back
into the closet, according to John
O’Connor, executive director of
EQCA.
“LGBT seniors are amongst the
most vulnerable in our population,
and through Assemblymember
Jimmy Gomez’s leadership, we are
one step closer to better protecting
them,” O’Connor added. “LGBT
pioneers should live out their final
years with dignity, not go back in
the closet for fear of discrimination.”
The bill will next go to Gov.
Jerry Brown for his signature. For
information, visit www.eqca.org.
Governor announces solutions Rialto Jean Project launches new
website, expands help for CHLA
to prison capacity problem
Standing alongside law enforcement, local government officials
and victims’ advocates, Gov. Jerry
Brown, Assembly Speaker John
Pérez, Senate Republican Leader
Bob Huff and Assembly
Republican
Leader
Connie
Conway announced legislation to
comply with a federal court order
to limit state prison population to
137.5 percent of capacity, avoid
the early release of thousands of
prisoners and protect public safety.
The legislation will immediately expand prison capacity and
require the state to develop additional longer-term solutions with
stakeholders to address capacity
needs, prison population levels
and recidivism rates.
“This legislation will protect
public safety and give us time to
work with public officials and
interested parties to make thoughtful changes in the overall criminal
justice system,” Brown said.
A federal court has ordered
California to comply by Dec. 31
with a cap on the number of
inmates in state prisons.
The legislation would end in
three years and allow the state to
access additional prison capacity
to prevent early release of
inmates. Specifically, the legislation authorizes the Secretary of the
Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to expeditiously
lease in-state and out-of-state
prison capacity, including county
jails, and contract with community corrections facilities; suspend
the closure of the California
Rehabilitation Center in Norco;
and allocate up to $315 million for
implementation.
The state has already drastically
reduced the prison population by
more than 40,000 inmates since
2006. More than half of that
reduction has come since 2011,
when the state implemented
realignment (AB 109). The state
has also spent more than $1 billion
on medical and mental health care
upgrades, including the 1,700 bed
health care facility in Stockton.
The Rialto Jean Project
launched their new website —
www.rialtojeanproject.com —
on Aug. 30, marking a huge
launch for the socially conscious
denim brand.
The Rialto Jean Project denim
line comprises one of a kind,
hand-painted vintage jeans in a
multitude of cuts, hues and
styles, ranging from distressed
to skinny with stretch, shorts to
skirts, dark wash to lime green.
The Rialto Jean Project is not
just about fashion, however. It’s
also about philanthropy, the
guiding principle of the growing
brand. As the line continues to
grow, the mission will remain
the same: give back to the art
therapy community that inspired
the product line to begin with.
The Rialto Jean Project benefits children through art, working directly with hospitals and
organizations to support art therapy programs in Los Angeles.
The Rialto Jean Project
Endowment for Art Therapy will
enable the Children’s Hospital
Los Angeles to put even greater
emphasis on using art therapy to
aid the healing process and
enhance the lives of its young
patients.
Art therapy puts children in
charge of the art they create.
They are able to dictate the
materials they use, the images
they produce and the way a
piece of art will turn out. When
every other other aspect of life
feels out of control to the hospitalized child, having control
over something he or she has
created from the heart can be
enormously empowering.
It is the goal of both the Rialto
Jean Project and Children’s
Hospital Los Angeles to continue to bring this vital ray of sunshine into the lives of these
brave and deserving children by
supporting a program that provides a creative outlet of expression and comfort in their time of
need. For information, visiut
www.chla.org.
direct the Office
of Emergency
Services, in collaboration with
the California
Seismic Safety
Commission,
California Institute
of
Technology, the Sen. Alex Padilla
California
Geological Survey, the University of California
Berkeley, the United States
Geological Survey and others, to
develop a comprehensive statewide
earthquake early warning alert system in California. The Office of
Emergency Services would have
until Jan. 1, 2016, to identify funding for the system that would
include but not be limited to private
grants, federal funds, funds from
revenue bonds and local funds. The
initial cost estimate to build a
statewide system is $80 million.
“California is going to have an
earthquake early warning system.
The question is whether we have
one before or after the next big
quake,” Padilla said.
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Police Blotter
The following information was reported to the West Hollywood Sheriff’s
Station and the LAPD’s Wilshire Division between Aug. 28 and Sept. 2,
2013. If you are a victim of a crime, here are the telephone numbers of local
law enforcement agencies; Los Angeles Police Department, Wilshire Division
(213)473-0489 and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department West
Hollywood Station (310)855-8850.
The following crimes occurred in
West Hollywood and the areas
patrolled by the LAPD’s Wilshire
and Hollywood Divisions between
Aug. 28 and Sept. 2, and were
compiled from www.crimemapping.com.
theft in the 6300 block of W. 3rd at
3:30 p.m.
Aug. 28
An unknown suspect physically
assaulted a victim in the 8900
block of Sunset at 10:10 p.m.
At 12:05 a.m., an unknown suspect burglarized a vehicle parked
in the 5100 block of Wilshire.
An unknown suspect committed a
burglary in the 6200 block of
Sunset at 12:30 a.m.
At 9 p.m., a suspect assaulted a
victim during a domestic violence
incident in the 1200 block of
Harper.
At 11:45 p.m., an unknown suspect committed a robbery in the
6100 block of Santa Monica.
Aug. 30
petty theft in the 300 block of S. La
Brea at 9:35 a.m.
At 2 p.m., an unknown suspect
burglarized a residence in the
9000 block of Nemo.
An attempted robbery was reported in the 6200 block of W. 3rd at
5:50 p.m.
At 6:20 p.m., an unknown suspect
committed a petty theft near the
corner of Sunset and Ivar.
petty theft in the 100 block of S. La
Brea at 7 p.m.
burglarized a vehicle parked near
the corner of Orange and 2nd.
A suspect assaulted a victim during a domestic violence incident in
the 1000 block of Hayworth at
10:40 p.m.
Sept. 1
At 1 a.m., an unknown suspect
committed a burglary in the 500
block of N. Poinsettia.
At 1:39 a.m., an unknown suspect
physically assaulted a victim in the
8900 block of Santa Monica.
committed a petty theft in the 8600
block of Melrose.
An unknown suspect assaulted a
victim in the 8000 block of Santa
Monica at 2:52 a.m.
petty theft in the 6100 block of
Hollywood at 2:30 a.m.
block of N. Sweetzer.
block of St. Yves.
An unknown suspect assaulted a
victim in the 1700 block of N.
Cahuenga at 7:45 a.m.
An unknown suspect physically
block of Melrose at 7:30 a.m.
burglarized a vehicle parked in the
500 block of N. Gower.
At noon, an unknown suspect
block of N. Sierra Bonita.
burglary in the 600 block of S.
Wilton at 9:30 a.m.
An unknown suspect burglarized a
vehicle parked in the 400 block of
N. La Brea at 1:30 p.m.
At noon, an unknown suspect burglarized a residence in the 1400
block of Harper.
block of W. 3rd.
At 8:30 a.m., a suspect assaulted
a victim during a domestic violence incident in the 1000 block of
Laurel.
Harper at 3:30 p.m.
Hollywood at 3 p.m.
petty theft in the 8400 block of W.
3rd at 1:30 p.m.
block of S. Robertson.
committed a strong-arm robbery in
the 9000 block of Beverly.
1800 block of Las Palmas.
Santa Monica at 5:30 p.m.
Edgewood at 5 p.m.
Santa Monica at 8 p.m.
robbed a victim in the 7100 block
of Sunset.
block of Santa Monica.
At 10:45 p.m., an unknown suspect robbed a victim in the 700
block of N. Vista.
An unknown suspect stole a vehicle parked in the 700 block of S.
Spaulding at 8:30 p.m.
An attempted robbery was reported near the corner of Vine and
Afton at 8:30 p.m.
An unknown suspect stole a vehicle parked near Hollywood and
Wilcox at 11:10 p.m.
At 10:55 p.m., an unknown suspect assaulted a victim in the 1000
block of Crescent Heights.
block of N. Formosa.
Sept. 2
Aug. 29
600 block of S. Wilton.
residence in the 1100 block of N.
La Cienega at 6:30 a.m. A vehicle
burglary was also reported at the
same location at approximately the
same time.
block of Wilshire.
Harratt at 11:35 p.m.
petty theft near the corner of
Hollywood and Argyle at 2:30 a.m.
At 3 a.m., an attempted robbery
was reported in the 4800 block of
W. 4th.
petty theft in the 1100 block of N.
La Brea at 6 a.m.
At 8 a.m., an unknown suspect
committed a grand theft in the 700
block of Hollywood.
vehicle burglary in the 7000 block
of Hollywood at 8:10 a.m.
At 12:50 a.m., an unknown suspect assaulted a victim near the
corner of Hawthorn and La Brea.
Aug. 31
An unknown suspect committed
an assault in the 1700 block of Ivar
at 1 a.m.
At 12:51 a.m., an unknown suspect physically assaulted a victim
in the 8900 block of Santa Monica.
block of N. Fairfax.
burglary in the 8700 block of W.
3rd at 2:45 a.m.
An unknown suspect stole a vehicle parked in the 5500 block of
Wilshire at 3:55 p.m.
block of Hollywood.
block of Wilshire.
Miracle Mile resident gets 18
months for Medicare fraud
A defendant who resides in the
Miracle Mile has been sentenced
to 18 months in federal prison for
recruiting homeless people as
part of a widespread scheme to
defraud Medicare and Medi-Cal
by providing unnecessary health
services.
Estill Mitts, 68, was sentenced
by United States District Judge
George H. King. In addition to
the prison term, King ordered
Mitts to pay more than $9.8 million in restitution. The judge stated that Mitts’ conduct was
“fueled by greed to enrich himself,” and “breeds contempt for,
leads to a lack of confidence in,
and threatens the stability of” the
Medicare program.
Mitts pleaded guilty in 2008 to
conspiracy to commit health care
fraud, money laundering and tax
evasion. His sentencing was
delayed a number of times as he
provided assistance to the government’s investigation that has
led to 11 defendants being
charged and convicted. Mitts
reportedly recruited homeless
individuals on Skid Row as part
of the scheme. Known as “capping” — or illegal referral — the
scheme was discovered in fall
2006 after authorities observed
some patients discharged from a
local hospital being left on Skid
Row. The patients subsequently
reported that they had been paid
to go to the hospital.
Former resident pleads guilty to
making multiple bomb threats
A suspect who used to work for
United Airlines pleaded guilty
recently to making false bomb
threats against flights operated by
the international air carrier.
Patrick Cau, who is also known
as Patrick Kaiser, 40, recently relocated to Dallas from Los Angeles.
He pleaded guilty to one count of
providing false information before
United States District Judge Otis
D. Wright II, who is scheduled to
sentence the defendant on Nov. 18.
At sentencing, Cau faces a statuto-
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ry maximum penalty of five years
in federal prison.
On Oct. 4, Cau used a pay phone
near his home to call an internal
United crew-scheduling number
and stated that a United flight from
London to Los Angeles would be
bombed later that day.
The defendant has agreed to pay
$267,912 in restitution to the airline Cau is also expected to be
ordered at sentencing to pay a yetto-be undetermined amount of
restitution.
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vehicle parked in the 100 block of
S. Arden at 7 a.m.
At 12:20 p.m., an unknown suspect committed a petty theft in the
6800 block of Hollywood.
Mitts “was a ring-leader in a
significant, long-term, serious
crime that used the homeless as
fodder for exploiting the
Medicare and Medi-Cal programs,” prosecutors wrote in a
sentencing memo filed with the
court. He admitted that he
received more than $1 million in
kickbacks.
From 2004 until October
2007, Mitts operated the
Assessment Center, a facility on
East 7th St. in downtown Los
Angeles that was also known as
7th Street Christian Day Center.
“Mitts employed individuals he
called “stringers” to recruit
homeless people with promises
of small payments,” according to
the sentencing memorandum.
“The Assessment Center was not
a medical clinic, but a site that
defendant used for the purpose of
recruiting homeless Medicare
and Medi-Cal beneficiaries for
referral to three hospitals — City
of Angels Hospital, Los Angeles
Metropolitan Medical Center
and Tustin Hospital and Medical
Center. [The] Defendant and others working for him would
recruit homeless beneficiaries for
in-patient hospital admissions
whether or not such hospitalizations were medically necessary.”
Mitts is the latest in a series of
defendant to be sentenced in
relation to the Skid Row investigation.
Cops 4 Causes
hosts ‘Heroes
Helping Heroes’
9/11 benefit
photo courtesy of the Craft in America Center
Eudorah Moore, shown when she was curator at the Pasadena Art
Museum, is the focus of a new exhibit at the Craft in America
Center.
Craft center pays tribute to
‘visionary’ in design field
The Craft in America Center
presents an exhibit titled
“Eudorah M. Moore: the Journey
of a Visionary” running from
Saturday, Sept. 7 through Oct.
25.
Moore (1918-2013) advanced
the craft and design movement
through her leadership as curator
and director of the California
Design Programs of the
Pasadena Art Museum. She was
also an appointee to the National
Endowment for the Arts.
Moore brought voice to the
American Crafts Movement during the golden era of craft — a
period spanning the 1950s
through the 1990s. She had a
longtime love of objects, artists
and community and championed
traditional crafts, folk arts and
design, as well as newly emergent studio crafts.
The Craft in America Center is
honoring Moore’s legacy in the
exhibition, which will chronicle
her career. Visitors can view
objects, photo documentation,
filmed interviews, catalogs and
ephemera associated with
Moore’s California
Design Program, her founding of
the Pasadena Art Alliance
in1954, and her role as visual arts
coordinator for the NEA from
1978 to 1981. The center will
revisit the “Islands in the Land”
exhibition through a display of
original objects and photographs.
There will also be a celebration
of Moore’s “California Design
1910”, spotlighting its role as the
groundbreaking exhibition to
chart the California Arts and
Crafts Movement.
An opening reception is
scheduled on Saturday, Sept. 7
from 5 to 7 p.m. at the center,
located at 8415 W.3rd St. For
information, call (323)951-0610,
or visit www.craftinamerica.org.
Rabbi Naftoli Estulin, of the Chabad Russian Synagogue in West
Hollywood, is pictured in the Sept. 12, 1996 issue of the Park Labrea
News and Beverly Press at the beginning of Rosh Hashanah — the
Jewish New year. Rosh Hashanah began at sunset yesterday, and continues until sunset on Friday. Rosh Hashanah is one of the most joyous periods on the Judaic calendar, and it signals the beginning of the
High Holy Days, which continue through Friday, Sept. 13 with Yom
Kippur — the Day of Atonement — marking one of the most important and solemn dates on the Judaic calendar.
Community remembers
Alex Friedman
68. Home of “Countdown”
71. Lennon’s love
72. At sea
73. Bluejacket
74. Gathering clouds, say
75. Angioplasty target
Crossword Puzzle
Across
1. Short-tailed lemurs
7. Told all
11. Pork place
14. Parish dweller
16. Not just any
17. For surfers on the go
19. Pen filler
20. Sloth’s home
21. African flower
22. Step follower
24. Lapse
25. Intelligence
26. “The Office” network
29. Soupçon
31. Herd animal
Cops 4 Causes is holding its 2nd
annual “Heroes Helping Heroes”
benefit and concert on Wednesday,
Sept. 11 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the
House of Blues on the Sunset Strip.
Actor Jack Osbourne and actress
Pauley Perrette will host the event,
which pays tribute to women who
have made contributions to supporting the troops. This year’s Millie
Taylor Awards will be presented to
Tippi Hedren, Connie Stevens, Loni
Anderson, Kate Linder, Mellanie
Villareal and Michael Learned.
The special guests will be Lt. Col.
Bob Friend, of the Tuskegee
Airmen; Brad Burlingame, brother
of Flight 77 pilot Charles “Chip”
Burlingame; and World War II veteran Millie Taylor. There will be a
special concert performance by
Billy Duffy, of The Cult; Zakk
Wylde, of Black Label Society;
Steve Stevens and Billy Morrison,
of Billy Idol’s band; Mark McGrath,
of Sugar Ray; Franky Perez, of
Scars On Broadway; Tommy
Clufetos, of Black Sabbath; and
Blasko, of Ozzy Osbourne’s band.
Cops 4 Causes is an organization
of peace officers that supports children, adults and law enforcement
personnel with life threatening diseases. Proceeds will benefit the
Cops 4 Causes R.J. Cottle
Returning Heroes Veterans Fund,
the USO of Greater L.A., Protect
our Defenders and Operation
Gratitude. General admission tickets start at $50 for the public; $25
for law enforcement officers, firefighters and active duty military
personnel.
The House of Blues is located at
8430 Sunset Blvd. For information,
visit www.cops4causes.org.
Happy New Year!
33. Neighbor of Ida.
34. Teases
37. Copper coins
41. Family reunion fixtures
45. Set right
46. Break
47. Education acronym
48. Increase, with “up”
50. Young sheep
52. Cudjoe or Big Pine
53. Puente ___
56. “___ magic!”
59. Quote from Homer
61. Earth’s crust
62. Hack
64. Browning’s Ben Ezra, e.g.
Down
1. Pandora’s boxful
2. Ark builder
3. Copy
4. Marriage and others
5. Certain crustacean
6. Bit of a draft
7. Sound asleep?
8. Archer, at times
9. Household linen
10. Animal with curved horns
11. Inscribed pillar
12. Chuck
13. Nods
15. Make a scene?
18. Blotto
23. Buster
26. Deli order
27. Cup part
28. Transfer
30. Pastoral cries
32. Visa statement abbr.
35. Clock standard: Abbr.
36. ___-free
38. Woods part
39. Manitoba native
40. Make out
42. Sign up
43. Online magazine
44. Kind of page
49. Prey
51. More bloody
53. English race place
54. Jungle climber
55. Small drum
57. “___ Dreams” (Heart hit)
58. Wise one
60. Lacks, in brief
63. A shot
65. Dentist’s request
66. ___ War
67. May event, for short
69. Nigerian state
70. Itinerary word
See Answers Page 22
photo courtesy of Andrew Friedman
The community is mourning the death of Alex Friedman — father
of local attorney Andrew Friedman — who passed away on Aug. 18
at the age of 93.
Friedman grew up in Kiskunfelegyhaza, Hungary, where he was
one of six siblings. His family perished in the Holocaust, with the
exception of his brother, Naftoli. In 1944, Alex Friedman was deported from Hungary to the Dachau Concentration Camp, where he was
eventually liberated by American troops. After the war, he returned to
Hungary, where he found his brother and met the love of his life, Eva,
to whom he was married for 50 years.
Naftoli never married, and Alex and Eva made a place for him in
their home until Naftoli’s death in 1991. Alex’s only son, Andrew
Friedman, was born in Hungary in 1947. The family lived in
Budapest until the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, at which time they
immigrated to Los Angeles, where Alex Friedman became a successful businessman, operating a chain of drive-in dairies. He was the
president of numerous synagogues, including Congregation
Machzikei Hadas and Congregation Anshei Sfard. He was also the
heart and soul of Congregation Bais Naftoli, which was named after
his brother. He is survived by his son, Andrew; four grandchildren,
Chaim, Dovi, Deenie, and Arye; and 15 grandchildren.
Merry-go-round
celebrates a milestone
photo courtesy of the 4th Council District Office
Children marked the end of summer with free rides on the historic
Griffith Park merry-go-round on Aug. 29, courtesy of Councilman
Tom LaBonge, 4th District. The event also marked the 76th anniversary of the merry-go-round opening at Griffith Park. The attraction
was built in 1926 and brought to Griffith Park in 1937. The merry-goround is located near the playground, between the Los Angeles Zoo
and the Los Feliz Boulevard park entrance. For information, call (323)
665-3051, or visit www.laparks.org.
Hub holds Halloween contest
Halloween is creeping up and
boys and girls of all ages are invited
to participate in the Hub
Network’s“Hub Halloween Bash
Costume Contest” running through
Sept. 29.
Contest participants can express
their creativity for a chance to win
Disney classic to screen at
El Capitan Theatre
‘Exxopolis’ offers muti-sensory experience
The Music Center and Grand
Park are taking interactive arts
experiences to a new level with
“Exxopolis”, running Saturday,
Sept. 7 and Sunday, Sept. 8, and
Friday, Sept. 13 through Sunday,
Sept. 15. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6
p.m., daily.
The exhibition marks the first
presentation in Los Angeles of
“Exxopolis”, an inflatable walk-in
sculpture known as a “luminarium”
designed by Architects of Air.
Grand Park visitors will enjoy a
sensory experience of color, light
and sound. Inspired by Islamic
architecture and Gothic cathedrals,
“Exxopolis” has a luminous maze
of winding paths and rising domes,
creating an environment where the
visitor’s experience is influenced by
their own relation to space. The
structure’s translucent colored plastic material filters natural light,
which then reflects onto silver
opaque plastics to create a space
filled with colors and subtle hues.
In its Grand Park debut,
“Exxopolis” will feature “Random
Acts of Culture”, where visitors will
enjoy unexpected performances
inside the sculpture. The performances salute Los Angeles’ many
diverse communities and cultural
photo © Disney
traditions.
“We are honored to partner with
The Music Center and Grand Park
to give Los Angeles access to the
transformative experience associated with Exxopolis,” Architects of
Air founder, designer and artistic
director Alan Parkinson said. “Like
Grand Park, which provides an
oasis in downtown Los Angeles,
Exxopolis is a spectacular intervention into the urban environment.”
Access to Exxopolis is free and
walk-ups welcome. However,
guests are encouraged to register for
expedited entry. For information or
to RSVP, call (213)972-4396, or
visit www.musiccenter.org/air.
prizes. Participants are encouraged
to create costumes within one of six
categories, such as “Howl-arious”,
“Spook-tacular”, “Mad Genius”,
“Blast from the Past”, “Animal
Kingdom” and “Everyday Stuff”.
A winner from each state will be
flown to Los Angeles to participate
in The Hub Network’s inaugural
“Halloween Bash”, a televised
Halloween celebration on Oct. 19.
One winner will take home
$25,000 and will have a chance at a
walk-on role on the Hub Network’s
Emmy Award-winning series,
“R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour:
The Series”. Martha Stewart is
serving as celebrity judge for the
contest. For complete details on
registration, visit www.hubworld.com/halloween.
Films sought
for festival
The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood presents Disney’s Academy
Award winning film “The Little Mermaid” running from Friday, Sept.
13 through Oct. 13. It will be the first time the film has been presented in Disney Digital 3D. The exclusive engagement also features a
live, preshow sing-a-long with Sofia from Disney’s “Sofia the First”,
along with a special live appearance by Ariel after the movie. El
Capitan guests will also receive an exclusive giveaway at every show
from Disney Junior.
Additionally, the El Capitan will be showing Disney’s “The Little
Mermaid Second Screen Live!” every Thursday and Sunday at 7:30
p.m. El Capitan guests can bring their iPads to the movie and interact
with the film, play games, sing-a-long and find new surprises. The
movie will be shown in 2D, and iPad or iPad Mini with iOS 5.0 or
higher is required.
The El Capitan Theatre is located at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. For
information, call (800)DISNEY6, or visit www.elcapitantickets.com.
photo by Lamar Fancois
Visitors walk through the multi-colored structure in “Exxopolis”.
Aspiring filmmakers are encouraged to submit entries for the
upcoming 16th annual Arpa
International Film Festival, to be
held from Thursday, Sept. 26
through Sunday, Sept. 29 at the
Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
“Lost & Found in Armenia”,
which had its U.S. premier at the
festival last year, is currently
screening nationwide. This year’s
festival will focus on the feature
film genre and industry programs
aimed at helping filmmakers develop their projects.
The Egyptian Theatre is located
at 6712 Hollywood Blvd. For information and rules for submission,
visit affma.org.
Expires 10/31/13
Expires 10/31/13
7769 Santa Monica Blvd. West Hollywood
323-656-7028
www.tashmans.com
Chocolate tub story crosses generations
From page 1
drawings — has prompted him to
find ways to reach out to more
young people.
His new venture, “Hear It, Draw
It, Remember It Forever”, aims to
help more children find a link to the
Holocaust. After Prochnik addresses a class in person or online, many
students have drawn a picture related to his talk and sent it to him. This
gave Prochnik the idea to compile
these drawings into a keepsake
book for each participating child.
“The Holocaust becomes theirs.
…They become witnesses in their
own way to the Holocaust, and they
have the book forever,” he said,
adding that he doesn’t believe such
an initiative has ever been done.
Many of the drawings center on
the chocolate tub, which he would
think and dream about in the darkest of moments during his family’s
year and a half journey from Poland
to the U.S.
As a child, his family owned the
Polish franchise of Suchard
Chocolate, the second largest
chocolate factory in Poland. At the
factory, there was a tub of chocolate. When no one was looking, he
used to dip his arm into the tub up
to his elbow, and lick his arm clean.
That was a fond memory for
Prochnik, and during his family’s
exodus, he contracted an ear infection — “you know, like the kind
you die from.” With no medicine or
doctors available, he sought relief
in that majestic tub of chocolate.
“So the chocolate tub became
like my real friend,” Prochnik said.
“So whenever I felt very alone,
very scared, I would summon it up.
Sometimes, I would dream about it.
Sometimes, I would just think
about it.”
He always felt that the story was
too childish and personal, but as fate
would have it, he was asked to speak
to an elementary school class. After
that discussion, the teachers suggested that Prochnik reach out to the
Museum of the Holocaust. And he
did.
“They totally related to it — totally,” he added.
Prochnik said the Holocaust is a
tough thing for children to understand. He likened it to asking children how much they hold World
War I in their heart. The fact that 6
million people died during the
Holocaust is also difficult to grasp as
a young person.
“It’s too big a number. It’s too far
away. It’s too long ago. But when
they hear a story about a boy who
kept dreaming about the chocolate
tub, then the connection is made,”
Prochnik said.
During the 1-1/2 year journey, he
and 13 of his family members fled
Poland to Lithuania, then to Japan,
Canada and eventually the United
States. Prochnik recalls riding sleds
in 30-degree weather, sleeping in
peasant huts and never having
enough warm clothes.
“It was a very, very scary escape.
...We had to flee past the German
side border of Poland,” he said.
While awaiting a transit visa in
Lithuania, he attended a Jewish
school in the country for about six
months. Prochnik has a photo of his
class, and said that in all likelihood
all of his classmates were murdered.
During his time in Lithuania, he had
another dream of the chocolate tub,
but in this dream, his classmates
were trying to get in to the tub to
escape the Germans, but the walls of
the tub kept rising, he said.
“Because I thought of the tub as a
friend, I felt like that was a betrayal,”
Prochnik said, adding that he swore
to never dream of the tub again.
While laden with tragedy — his
father’s side of the family opted to
stay in Poland and almost all were
murdered — his story also relays the
humor involved in learning the ways
of a new country. For example, in a
hotel café in Canada, he believed
corn flakes were expensive because
he thought they were individually
created by hand.
Many of the students relate to
those out-of-place feelings, and it
shows on the drawings that they’ve
sent to Prochnik. While cornflakes
have little do with the Holocaust,
they represent one of many links in
his talks that allow children to
understand his story. And once they
draw it, it becomes their vision of his
experience, Prochnik said.
“Hopefully, they’ll treasure it forever,” he added.
Prang to seek county office in 2014
photo courtesy of Leon Prochnik
This is just a sample of the drawings that Leon Prochnik has received
over the past year. He cherishes the artworks, but would rather the
students hold on to them as keepsakes.
Prochnik, a former filmmaker
who lives in Los Angeles with his
wife, Mia, is hoping to raise money
for his newest venture. He has set a
5K Walk/Run to be held Sept. 22
From page 1
Office since April 2012 and is currently a special public relations
assistant to the assessor. He said he
had been with the assessor’s office
for three months before the Los
Angeles County District Attorney’s
Office served a search warrant as
part of the investigation into
Noguez. He said he was not aware
of any illegal activity occurring
under Noguez, and since the assessor’s arrest, has helped put the office
back on track as an assistant to former chief deputy assessor and interim manager Santos Kreimann, as
well as chief deputy assessor Sharon
Moller, who currently oversees the
office. Neither Kreimann or Moller
are running for the office.
“One of the big tasks, working
under Santos, was putting together a
strategic plan preparing for the next
three to five years,” Prang said. “I
want to work on transparency. The
most important thing is the trust of
the public. The reason I am running
is I lived through this traumatic
episode and played an important
role in trying to inject some competency in the office.”
Prang said he is very familiar with
the assessor’s office’s operations,
having also previously worked there
in the 1990s under former-assessor
Kenneth P. Hahn. The Los Angeles
County Assessor’s Office collects
data and establishes values for all
taxable property in the county,
which is used to formulate property
tax rates.
Prang acknowledged that he has
known Noguez for years, dating
back to the 1990s when Noguez was
a Huntington Park City Councilman
and president of the League of
California cities. Prang was serving
on the West Hollywood City
Council and was president of the
California
Contract
Cities
Association at the time. He said had
he known the extent of the allegations against Noguez when he was
hired, he would not have accepted
the position.
Noguez is accused of accepting
approximately $185,000 in bribes
from a tax consultant and campaign
fundraiser, Ramin Salari, and he
remains free on bail pending
upcoming court proceedings.
11-,0* )14
goal of $20,000.
For information or to donate, visit
w w w. i n d i e g o g o . c o m / p r o jects/504752/emal/4490253.
Noguez is still the county assessor
until due process is served, but he
accepted an agreement approved by
the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors that placed him on an
extended leave of absence and
removed him from day-to-day operations. Prang said that plan led to
Kreimann, and later Moller, being
brought in to lead the office.
“I have a very strong reputation
for integrity and hard work,” Prang
said. “I wasn’t there for very long
when it turned into a criminal investigation. When it became clear
John’s position as assessor was
untenable, because the allegations
were very serious, I felt it was in his
best interest to vacate the office. I
think he should have resigned. Had
John not gotten out of the office, I
would have been forced to resign.”
Prang said the Noguez scandal
was a major disruption for the
office, but since Noguez has been
removed, stability has returned. He
said the three to five year plan for
reform is moving forward, and he
will continue his work for the
office in policy analysis, legislative
$4%.(
Participants are being sought
for the Did Hirsch Mental
Health Services’ 15th annual
“Alive & Running 5K Walk/Run
for Suicide Prevention” being
held on Sept. 22.
The nonprofit Didi Hirsch
Mental Health Services has been
nationally recognized for its
Suicide Prevention Center and
mental health and substance
abuse services. Didi Hirsch
operates
a
24-hour
English/Spanish crisis line to
counsel callers. The Suicide
Prevention Center also provides
support for individuals who
have lost a loved one to suicide,
as well as outreach and training
to the community. Its Suicide
Response Team works with the
Mayor’s Crisis Response Team
and emergency responders to
provide immediate support at
the scene of a suicide.
The event kicks off at 8 a.m. on
Sept. 22 at West 88th Street and
La Tijera Boulevard. More than
2,000 runners, walkers spectators and volunteers are expected
to participate.
A free “Kiddie-K” will also be
held following the start of the
5K run/walk. Registration is $30
before Sept. 18; $35 from Sept.
18 through 22. For information
and
registration,
visit
www.aliveandrunning.org.
analysis and inter-government
relations. The official filling date
for the county’s June primary election does not occur until early next
year, but Prang said he announced
his candidacy to begin raising
funds.
His candidacy is endorsed by
congressman Adam Schiff (DCalif.), State Sen. Ted Lieu (DTorrance), Los Angeles City
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Attorney Mike Feuer and others.
Additional candidates who have
expressed interest in running for
Los Angeles County Assessor are
John “Lower Taxes” Loew,
appraiser Omar Haroon, deputy
district attorney John Morris and
John Wong, chair of the L.A.
County Assessment Appeals
Board, who lost the election to
Noguez in 2010.
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Millennium lawsuits piling up
From page 1
Safety hid the fact that an active
earthquake fault may sit on the site
of the proposed 35- and 39-story
towers. It cited several academic
studies that contradict the developers’ EIR.
“They’ve shown — and they
have never refuted — that the maps
were falsified, [and they have] suppressed critical information such as
the state of California’s 2010 active
fault map, which shows the
Hollywood fault running through
this property, and distorted unfavorable data that they found in their
own tests,” Silverstein said. “And
the Department of Building and
Safety was, at best, asleep at the
switch and, at worst, complicit in
this fraud.”
The lawsuit notes the California
Department of Transportation’s
(Caltrans) objection to the city’s
failure to study the project’s
impacts on the Hollywood (101)
Freeway, which was required under
CEQA. It states that as early as
May 18, 2011, the department
expressed concerns about the project’s impact on state facilities, but
the city failed to comply with
Caltrans’ requests to have the issues
addressed in the EIR.
“It’s a black and white violation
of CEQA. Just on that basis alone,
the entire thing should be overturned,” Silverstein said, adding
that CEQA states that agencies
have the ability to direct what shall
be included in an EIR.
Furthermore, the legal action
criticizes the city and developers
for having no “stable, accurate and
finite” project description; submitting documents with false information; committing due process violations; conducting inadequate seismic studies; ignoring state agencies; refusing to extend the public
comment period; and participating
in “legalized bribery,” as the developers have made several campaign
contributions to city officials and
spent more than $4 million in lobbying payments.
Lastly, the lawsuit states that the
development agreement added to
the project is voluntary and unenforceable, and that the Board for
Professional Engineers, Land
Surveyors and Geologists is investigating the developers’ geologists.
The board could not confirm the
investigation before deadline.
In a statement, Philip Aarons, of
Millennium Partners, called the
lawsuit “regrettable.” He said the
mixed-use, transit-oriented development was thoroughly reviewed
and designed to minimize impacts
on the surrounding area.
“We believe that the public benefits and jobs resulting from
Millennium Hollywood are substantial, as do the decision-makers
of the city of Los Angeles who have
called our plan ‘a game changer’
for Hollywood,” Aarons said.
“Millennium Hollywood has
always been first and foremost a
preservation project, earning the
support of the Los Angeles
Mural ordinance passes
From page 3
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell,
13th District, said the ordinance
was approved contingent on the
council setting up a joint meeting with the Planning and Land
Use Committee and the Arts,
Parks, Health & Aging
Committee. He said six amending motions were proposed during the council’s vote last week,
and the joint meeting aims to
address all of them.
“It’s imperative for me that
the issues brought up by my colleagues
are
addressed,”
O’Farrell said, adding that the
committees may find administrative solutions or send the ordinance back to the council with
recommendations. He said the
council should be able to iron
out the details in three weeks.
“Certainly, it will be soon.”
The councilman said Mayor
Eric Garcetti will not sign the
ordinance until the joint committee meets. He said the city
attorney will sit in on that meeting.
“I think it’s more important
that we move forward with an
ordinance that’s going to work,”
O’Farrell said, adding that the
council wants to ensure that
there are no unintended consequences. He would like to see
murals approved on the condition that they have anti-graffiti
coating.
The mural saga began as a
result of unintended consequences. The mural ban started
after the 2002 court nullification
of the city’s Comprehensive
Sign Code of 1986, which
sought to ban new, off-site commercial signs. Since then, the
city and artists have suffered, as
the city’s history has been literally white-washed, RojasWilliams said.
“We’re going to again have
magnificent murals in Los
Angeles as we had in the ‘80s,”
she said, referencing muralists
Kent Twitchell and Richard
Wyatt. “Many of today’s muralists have been inspired by those
muralists. ...I am very delighted
that the city officials have
restored the freedom of expression to artists and that we will
finally be able to lift the 2002
mural moratorium.”
Councilman Paul Koretz, 5th
District, was among the two
council members to vote against
the ordinance. He said his vote
was related to the comments he’s
received from his constituents.
“In my district, I have only
received feedback in opposition,” Koretz said.
While pleased with the recent
development, MCLA has been
busy restoring murals throughout Los Angeles. The organization has been aggressive and
active in restoring the murals
painted before the Olympic on
L.A.’s freeways. Rojas-Williams
invited the public and other
organizations to join the effort.
“We believe that this is the
legacy we have to leave for
future generations,” she added.
For
information,
visit
www.muralconservancy.org.
Conservancy. It has been designed
with the utmost safety in mind. It
will be built in strict accordance
with the local, state and federal
laws mandating such, including any
additional geotechnical investigations that may be warranted.”
He said the city’s Department of
Building and Safety has confirmed
that the developers have “gone
above and beyond” the requirements for most development projects in Los Angeles to conduct
seismic studies to demonstrate the
safety of the site.
“The allegations by Mr.
Silverstein to the contrary are specious,” Aarons said. “We have
complete confidence that the Los
Angeles Superior Court system will
uphold the city’s approval of
Millennium Hollywood, and we
look forward to the commencement
of construction.”
Like the W Hotel lawsuit,
Silverstein’s lawsuit came as no
surprise, Councilman Mitch
O’Farrell, 13th District, said. In a
previous interview, he said he
believes in the approval process,
and is eagerly awaiting the results
of the new seismic studies.
“All of us have said no one wants
to build a structure on top of a fault
line,” O’Farrell said. “That’s not
going to happen.”
Silverstein, however, said
O’Farrell’s claim that the councilman has confidence in city staff
and the integrity of the approval
process so far is “a joke.” He
rendering courtesy of Millennium Partners
A second lawsuit has been filed against the developers of the Millennium
project, a 1.1 million square foot development slated for Vine Street.
likened the situation to a fox guarding a hen house. O’Farrell said
Silverstein’s comments might
make good sounds bites, but
they’re not rooted in reality.
“I stand by the professionals that
I’ve known for many, many years,”
O’Farrell said, again stressing that
Los Angeles has “the strictest
building codes anywhere.”
The developers are planning to
build a trench to further test the
property for additional seismic
concerns. However, Silverstein
said the opponents would prefer a
neutral and unbiased expert, such
as the California state geologist,
who submitted concerns about the
project to the city council prior to
its vote.
Silverstein said he is confident in
the opponents’ ability to have the
project stopped. He said he has
been specializing in “this kind of
fight” for 17 years, and that he has
never seen a worse project than
Millennium Hollywood.
“I think our lawsuit is rock
solid,” he said.
The legal action was filed on
behalf
of
StopTheMillenniumHollywood.co
m, Communities United for
Reasonable Development, the
Beachwood
Canyon
Neighborhood Association and
George Abrahams, president of the
Argyle Civic Association and
director of the Beachwood Canyon
Neighborhood Association.
AHF looking to take Measure B statewide
From page 4
creating a system to enforce the
law. Violators could be fined.
Kenslea added that the recent
reports of HIV infections in San
Francisco demonstrate the need for
a statewide bill requiring condom
use in adult films. State
Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (DLos Angeles) had previously
authored a statewide measure
known as AB 332, which did not
make it out of committee as the
end of the current legislative session came to a close.
Last week, Hall revived the bill
by placing the provisions about
condom usage in a new bill — AB
640 — which will continue to
make its way through the
Assembly. Hall could not be
reached for comment, but issued a
statement.
“Reports of a second confirmed
HIV transmission of an adult film
actor should send a chilling message to the public and the adult
film industry. Enough is enough,”
Hall said. “The adult film industry
can no longer sit on the sidelines
while actors continue to be
exposed to injury, harm and potentially death. The adult film industry
should immediately reinstate its
filming moratorium that it recklessly lifted after only six days. All
actors or members of the public
that have been potentially exposed
to HIV should be tested by
licensed medical professionals to
determine the extent of this outbreak. Adult film production
should only resume with comprehensive workplace safety protocols
in place, including requiring condom use in all adult films.”
Syrian conflict forces tough decisions
From page 6
fully” and has appreciated the
feedback he’s received from constituents.
“These are the most difficult and
most important decisions you make
as a member of Congress,” Schiff
said.
U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-
Calif.), who could not be reached
for comment before deadline, was
among a group of legislators who
wrote a letter to Obama, urging the
president to seek an affirmative
decision from Congress prior to
any U.S. military engagement.
However, the letter did not specify
KLCS to air Sal Castro program
Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) Board member
Mónica García will host a television program devoted to the late
educator Sal Castro which will be
broadcast on airs on Tuesday, Sept.
17 at 8 p.m. on KLCS.
Castro launched a movement in
LAUSD schools in 1968 to
improve the educational, political
and social standing of MexicanAmericans. He taught social studies at Lincoln High School and led
the walkouts in high schools in the
late 1960s to protest district policies and practices that degraded
Mexican-American culture and
history. In addition to García, the
program includes Mario García,
professor of Chicano Studies,
University of California, Santa
Barbara and author of “Blowout!
Sal Castro and the Chicano
Struggle for Educational Justice”;
Dr. Robin Avelar La Salle, a former
student of Castro’s and CEO of
how the legislators felt about the
proposed military action.
U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.)
also could not be reached before
deadline, but she held a telephone
town hall with constituents about
the potential U.S. engagement in
Syria on Wednesday night.
The
Principal’s
Exchange
Foundation; and Haydee UritaLopez, an educator who specializes in contemporary Chicano society.
“We need to know our history
and our leaders,” said García, who
represents Board District 2.
“Students of today and tomorrow,
as well as teachers of all grades in
all cities, must know the courage
and struggle of a teacher, who
joined students to fight for their
rights.”
For
information,
visit
www.klcs.org.
Violence plagues Hollywood on Labor Day
From page 1
and their friend. Each suffered
“non-life threatening” injuries,
Reina said, and drove themselves to
the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles
Medical Center on Sunset
Boulevard. Police responded to the
scene of the shooting, and were also
notified by the victims’ friend and
the hospital. Investigators obtained
a vague description of the gunman,
who is described as African
American and in his mid-20s. The
promoter who organized the party
was not identified.
“There is no motive other than it
stemmed from an argument that
occurred earlier when there were
some comments made that were
believed to be gang related,” Reina
said. “We don’t know exactly how
it started. The suspect fled.”
The second incident occurred at
approximately 1:30 p.m. in front of
a pizza restaurant in the 6700 block
of Hollywood Blvd. Two victims
were reportedly eating at a table in
front of the restaurant when they
were confronted by four unknown
Hispanic male suspects, and an
argument ensured.
“It became two against four, and
one person in the group of four produced a knife and began stabbing
[the first] victim. [The second] victim intervened, and was also
stabbed,” Reina said.
Both of the unidentified victims
were taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center. One man suffered critical
injuries and remains hospitalized in
stable condition. The other suffered
minor injuries and was treated and
released, according to Reina. No
further description was available of
the suspects.
“Based on the comments, we
believe it was gang related,” he
added. “We are still investigating
and reviewing videotape to see
what happened.”
Police received another call of a
stabbing at approximately 6:30 a.m.
in the 2000 block of N. Highland
Ave. Reina said the arriving officers
found a male victim suffering from
stab wounds to his torso. The
unidentified victim was taken to the
hospital, where he later died.
“With this one, it was two individuals who knew each other, and
they became involved in a verbal
altercation over the loss of a cell
phone,” Reina said.
Officers determined the suspect
and victim were visiting friends
who were reportedly staying at the
Best Western Hollywood Plaza Inn.
They arrested Julio Caesar
Velasquez, 29, who was booked for
murder and is being held on $1 million bail.
Los Angeles City Councilman
Mitch O’Farrell, 13th District, said
he is concerned about the violence
that occurred in Hollywood on
Labor Day, as well as other issues
affecting the quality of life on the
boulevard. He said with the incident
outside Joseph’s Café and the stabbing outside the pizza restaurant, it
appears gang members from outside
the Hollywood area were involved.
O’Farrell said he is considering
authoring an ordinance that would
create a registry of event promoters
so the city could conduct screenings. Promoters who have previously been involved with events where
violence erupted could be restricted
from holding future events in the
city of Los Angeles. The city of
West Hollywood already has such a
registry, he said.
With the stabbing on Hollywood
Boulevard, O’Farrell said information has surfaced that it involved
gang members from Ventura
County. Situations such as those
would must be handled by the
LAPD, and O’Farrell said he plans
to continue working with the command staff at the Hollywood
Division to ensure there are enough
officers patrolling the boulevard.
He added that illegal vendors and
tour bus operators are also a concern, and on Wednesday, the Los
Angeles City Council approved an
ordinance that will prohibit sidewalk solicitation. When signed into
law within the next 30 days, police
A man was stabbed to death outside this Best Western on Monday
morning in Hollywood.
will be able to cite individuals who
commonly sell CDs or tickets to
sightseeing tours. Companies that
legitimately offer tours already have
kiosks or offices in the area. The
councilman added that he is in discussions with law enforcement and
the city attorney’s office about tightening restrictions on the costumed
characters who pose for photographs on the boulevard.
“It all concerns me,” O’Farrell
said. “I’ve had conversations with
the LAPD brass, and the captain and
lieutenant at the Hollywood
Division, and we are chipping away
methodically at these problems. My
mission for Hollywood Boulevard
and the Hollywood community is to
have a quality experience.”
Anyone with information about
the murder investigation is asked to
contact Dets. Carranza or Pierce,
with the LAPD’s West Bureau
Homicide Unit, at (213)382-9470.
Anyone with information about the
shooting or stabbing is asked to contact detectives with the LAPD’s
Hollywood Division at (213)9722967. During weekends and offhours, call the LAPD’s 24-hour hotline at (877)LAPD247.
IRS, treasury extend benefits to married gay couples ‘Oz’ to premiere at Pantages
Legally married same-sex couples will now be permitted to file
federal joint tax returns, according
to information released by the IRS
and U.S. Department of the
Treasury on Aug. 29.
The ruling allows same sex couples to receive the equal tax benefits that heterosexual couples do
when filing jointly.
The announcement comes on
the coattails of a historic decision
by the U.S. Supreme Court, which
overturned a portion of the
Defense of Marriage Act passed
earlier this year.
Many questions were raised
subsequent the high court’s decision on how the federal government would care for same-sex couples whose home states do not recognize same sex marriage.
The rules issued on Aug. 29 said
the policies would affect all legally married gay couples regardless
of where they live. The rules,
though, would not apply to domestic partnerships and civil unions.
“Today’s ruling provides certainty and clear, coherent tax filing
guidance for all legally married
same-sex couples nationwide. It
provides access to benefits,
responsibilities and protections
under federal tax law that all
Americans deserve,” Treasury
Secretary Jacob Lew said in a
statement.
Same Sex marriage families
finally have access to crucial tax
benefits and protections previously denied to them under the discriminatory Defense of Marriage
Act. Not all government officials
were on board with the decision.
Foundation to host some of sports’ greatest legends
Join the Joe Torre Safe At Home
Foundation for “Who’s On First?”,
an evening of memories, reflection,
wisdom and inspiration with some
of sport’s greatest legends on
Thursday, Sept. 19 at the Hotel BelAir.
The event is a benefit for the
foundation, which focuses on ending the cycle of domestic violence
and saving lives. Sports legends
such as Bob Gibson, Willie Mays,
Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bob Costas
and Torre will participate.
Torre suffered silently as a child
growing up in a violent home. With
guidance and support as an adult,
he was able to come to terms with
the harmful impact that domestic
abuse had on his own family. In
2005, the Foundation launched its
programming initiative, Margaret’s
Place, which provides a “safe
room” in schools and reaches more
than 8,000 middle and high school
students each year. Named in honor
of Torre’s mother, Margaret’s
Place is staffed by a full-time coun-
Desmond’s tower going up
selor and offers individual counseling to students, as well as group
sessions, school-wide anti-violence
campaigns, and educational forums
for school employees and parents.
All proceeds will benefit the foundation’s goal of expanding
Margaret’s Place programs in Los
Angeles.
A cocktail reception and silent
auction begins at 6 p.m., followed
by the dinner and program at 7 p.m.
Individual tickets start at $1,000.
Hotel Bel-Air is located at 701
Stone Canyon Rd. For information
and tickets email [email protected].
From page 3
Answers From Page 16
developers were seeking two towers that were 12 to 13 stories, but
some residents had issues with the
project. Then, the economy soured.
“It went south,” O’Sullivan said
of the original project.
Since the approvals are in place,
he said he didn’t have much of an
opinion on the development.
O’Sullivan said he was surprised to
hear that the construction had
begun, since he not heard any complaints about noise.
“Right now, I’m unaware of any
individual complaints,” he said.
“I’m sure as construction begins …
that will come up.”
It is unclear whether the
Desmond’s Tower will be restored.
In plans from 2011, prior to the
acquisition by Associated Estates,
the developers planned to restore
the tower. However, a press release
issued by Associated Estates made
no mention of any restoration
plans.
photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann
The Hollywood Pantages Theatre will be celebrating the launch of its
2013-2014 season with the L.A. Premiere of “The Wizard of Oz” running from Tuesday, Sept. 17 through Oct. 6, and the return of “War
Horse”, running from Tuesday, Oct. 8 through 13.
Developed from the MGM screenplay, the new production of “The
Wizard of Oz” contains the beloved Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg
songs from the Oscar-winning movie score. Guests will also see their
favorite characters and experience iconic moments, plus a few surprises along the way. New songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd
Webber are performed. The production will star Danielle Wade, as Dorothy, and film and theatre veteran, Cedric Smith, as The Wizard. Actor and choreographer
Mike Jackson plays the Tin Man, Lee MacDougall portrays the Lion,
Jamie McKnight stars as the Scarecrow; and Robin Evan Willis
appears as Glinda. Joining the cast as the Wicked Witch of the West
is Broadway veteran Jacquelyn Piro Donovan.
“War Horse” commemorates the bravery of service men and women
past, present and future, in conjunction with the 100th Anniversary of
the start of World War I. It follows the story of young Albert and his
beloved horse, Joey, and is told through life-sized puppets created
by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company.
The Hollywood Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Blvd.
For tickets and information, call (323)468-1770, or visit www.hollywoodpantages.com.

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