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• Laurel School
offers 7th grade.
pg. 3
Partly cloudy,
with temps
around 65º
• Hit & Run suspect
sought. pg. 4
Volume 20 No. 21
Serving the West Hollywood, Hancock Park and Wilshire Communities
Tinsel Town Shining Bright
n Tourism Booming in
Hollywood
May 27, 2010
Students Slip Through
Cracks of Voter Rolls
n Deadline to Register for June Primary Passed
BY AMY LYONS
BY IAN LOVETT
A
s the summer months
approach, Vahid Sapir,
president of Starline Tours
– those double-decker bus jaunts
that attract out-of-towners to
celebrities’ homes in droves – is
feeling optimistic.
“The economy is doing much
better and we are seeing that
here,” Sapir said. “Things are
much better this year than they
were last year. We had a great first
quarter.”
Sapir is not alone in his sunny
outlook. A score of business owners in tinsel town are excited
about the coming months, a feeling that jibes with a May 20
Gallup Poll that showed
Americans’ spending rose significantly in the first two weeks of
May.
According to the poll,
Americans’ self-reported spending averaged $72 per day in the The Madame Tussauds Museum is
week ending May 16, up 18 per- ving tourism in Hollywood.
cent year-over-year. Gallup found
Vapir said part of the boom in
a similar 16 percent increase during the prior week when spending Hollywood is due to the 50th
Anniversary of the Hollywood
averaged $73 per day.
“I think business will continue Walk of Fame.
“We are all trying to get the
to move upward,” Sapir said. “We
have recently seen an increase in word out about the big annivergroups from Germany, Asia and sary of the Hollywood Walk of
Fame,” Vapir said. “It helps when
the U.K.”
O
rhan Yneri, a 17-year-old
junior at Hollywood High
School, first started registering his classmates to vote before
the 2008 presidential election. As a
member of the Social Justice small
leaning group, Yneri sat at a booth
on the quad for a week, offering
voter registration forms to other
students.
“It was fun, because we gave
people the opportunity to have a
say in which people got elected,”
Yneri said. “At first everybody was
a little bit scared to register, a little
skeptical. But after we talked to
them, and told them why they
should register, they’d say, OK, and
that’s how we got people to vote.”
The deadline to register to vote in
the California primaries this June
photo by Amy Lyons
one of the attractions that is dri-
everyone has the same message.”
The Hollywood Chamber of
Commerce, the organization that
oversees the Walk of Fame, is promoting the 50-year milestone at
Walk of Fame star ceremonies.
The Chamber is holding a festival
passed last week, and as high
school seniors prepare to graduate,
many of them remain unregistered.
According to Claire Conlon,
executive director of the California
Young Democrats, the Secretary of
State’s office requires all California
public schools to inform students
that they can register to vote. In
practice, however, whether students
are registered to vote, and by
whom, varies greatly by school,
and even by class.
“The school has to provide the
materials and tell them about registering when they turn eighteen,”
Conlon said. “We’ve found that
some schools are a lot better about
doing that than others.”
The Los Angeles County
Registrar visits high schools to
recruit poll workers, but, according
See Voter Registration page 20
Publishers Honored at
State Capitol
See Tourism page 21
Marlborough Multi-Tasker is Valedictorian
BY AMY LYONS
W
hen Colleen Loynachan
steps up to the podium on
Thursday to give her
Valedictorian speech for the
Marlborough High School class of
2010, she’ll talk about what it
means to view the world through
many different lenses. The 18-yearold has the highest overall grade
point average in her class at
Marlborough, but she doesn’t rely
solely on her stellar academic
photo by Amy Lyons
Marlborough High School Valedictorian Colleen Loynachan is the editor
of the student newspaper, an intern at CHLA and an usher at The Wiltern.
record while navigating the world.
A desire to interact with all types of
people and help pay her tuition at
Marlborough drove her to get a job
as an usher at the Wiltern Theatre.
She’s seen Bob Dylan in concert
there three times, all the while balancing an internship in a lab at
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
(CHLA), where she is currently
researching the pathogenesis of
necrotizing enterocolitis, a gastrointestinal inflammatory disease
found in premature infants.
Turning down an eight-year, full
scholarship at the University of
Southern California, where she was
pre-accepted to medical school,
Loynachan is instead headed to the
Massachusetts
Institute
of
Technology (MIT), where she’ll
pursue a course of study involving
math and biomedical engineering.
A pre-med track and photography
minor are also part of the plan.
“It was a really hard decision, but
it’s so hard for me to commit right
"&*%".
!
$),'-$#" ' "'(,+
! ! " See Valedictorian page 22
photo courtesy of the 42nd Assembly District Office
P
ark Labrea News & Beverly Press publishers, Michael and
Karen Villalpando, were honored on Tuesday, May 25 as “Small
Business of the Year” by Assembly member Mike Feuer, 42nd
District, at a ceremony in Sacramento.
“I’m pleased to honor the Park Labrea News and the Beverly Press
as the 42nd Assembly District’s Small Business of the Year. In this era
of shrinking media outlets and ‘soundbyte’ news stories, the
Villalpandos continue to provide thoughtful, robust coverage of local
events and issues,” Feuer said.
“It is my honor to recognize today two highly distinguished small
business owners, two highly distinguished journalists, for helping keep
a very far flung community in Los Angeles knit closely together,
Karen and Michael Villalpando,” Feuer said as he presented the couple with a commemorative plaque.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
2 May 27, 2010
28 A Composer’s
Only Concerto
L
A Philharmonic associate conductor Lionel Bringuier will lead
the Los Angeles Philharmonic and
violinist Julian Rachlin in three performances of Jean Sibelius’ Violin
Concerto, Friday, May 28-Sunday,
May 30. The piece is Sibelius’ only
concerto, though it is widely thought
to be one of the best in the genre. All
three concerts also feature Igor
Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” and varied additional pieces. The concert
begins at 8:00pm on Friday, 2:00pm
on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are
$42 -$160. 111 S. Grand Ave;
(323)850-2000. Calendar
families, will be held on Saturday,
May 29 from 6:00pm – 9:00pm at
James Gray Gallery at Bergamot
Station in Santa Monica. The proceeds from opening reception sales
will go to local LGBT advocacy organizations. The theme of “Beloved” is
the importance of gay and lesbian
families and relationships. 2525
Michigan Ave., Santa Monica; (310)
315-9502.
Music and
Brotherhood at Ford
W
orld music band, Huayucaltia,
will present a special night of
music, brotherhood and culture on
Saturday, May 29, when the Ford
Theatre Summer Series kicks off its
25th anniversary. “Audiences will
have a rare opportunity to experience
Huayucaltia’s unique approach in taking musical elements from Latin
America and fusing them with jazz,
rock and classical to create a new
World Beat sound evoking a deep
emotional connection to the immigrant experience in the US. The show
starts at 7:00pm. For tickets, call
(323) 461-3673. The Ford is located at
2580 Cahuenga Blvd.
Fun With Soda Pop
and Prom Night
T
he Knightsbridge Theatre’s Youth
Company will present a 1950s
musical comedy, prom-night spoof
opening Friday, May 28 at 8:00pm.
Don’t miss the fun as these teenagers
scramble to get a date for the prom, all
the while crooning doo-wop tunes.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for students and seniors. Knightsbridge
Theatre, 1944 Riverside Dr.;
(323)667-0955.
Improvised Variety
Show
A
new variety show is coming to
the Los Angeles Theatre Center
on Friday, May 28 at 8:00pm. “The
Vault”, a rebelliously genre-bending
blend of original live music, performance art, movement and sketch
comedy, will feature new material
during each week of its four-week
run. The show will comment on pop
culture, politics, and technology, finding inspiration in local and global
news. Tickets are $20. 514 S. Spring
St.; (213)489-0994.
A Double Dose of
Bad News Bears
O
n Friday, May 28 at 7:30pm, a
double feature of “The Bad
News Bears” and “The Bad News
Bears in Breaking Training” will be
presented on the big screen at the
Aero Theatre. In the first film, Walter
photo by Brent Dundore
A Wicked Shakespeare Festival
From left, Lisa Wolpe, John Achorn and Katrinka Wolfson star in “The
Importance of Being Earnest”, which is part of the Wicked Wilde
Shakespeare Festival, opening Saturday, May 29 at The Miles Memorial
Playhouse in Santa Monica. The five-week summer fest offers streamlined, gender-bending versions of beloved plays from Los Angeles
Womenʼs Shakespeare Company. 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica.
For a full list of productions and schedules, call (800)838-3006. Tickets
are $15.
Matthau stars as drunken ex-minor
leaguer, Morris Buttermaker, coaching a team of misfits in a highly competitive little league division. In the
sequel, the underdog team have
become little league champions of
California, a ranking that necessitates
a trip to the Houston Astrodome to
play the polished local champs.
Tickets are $11, with discounts for
students, seniors and members. 1328
Montana Ave., Santa Monica;
(310)260-1528.
29 LGBT Families
in Art
A
n opening reception for
“Beloved”, an exhibit of photography and poetry depicting LGBT
Long Lost Love
A
production of the Tony Awardwinning play, “Skylight”, will
open at Fremont Center Theatre on
Saturday, May 29 at 8:00pm. In
David Hare’s 1995 play, there’s a
reunion of two lovers who broke off
their extra-marital affair years ago.
Can they reignite the old flame now
that neither one is married? Tickets
are $25. Fremont Centre Theatre,
1000 Fremont Ave., Pasadena;
(866)811-4111.
31 Summer Concerts
at Belmont Village
B
elmont Village of Hollywood
Hills will kick off a summer concert series on Monday, May 31 at
3:30pm. Celebrate all summer long by
listening to some of the best local
musicians in Los Angeles. Five sepa-
rate concert events will be held from
May through September on the
grounds, with a barbeque dinner
immediately following. RSVP to
(323)874-7711. On Memorial Day,
the theme is patriotic, so wear red,
white and blue. 2051 N Highland
Ave.
Memorial Day at
Forest Lawn
F
orest Lawn-Hollywood Hills will
host its 14th annual Memorial
Day program on Monday, May 31 at.
Veteran NBC weathercaster, Fritz
Coleman, will serve as Master of
Ceremonies,
while
Lieutenant
Colonel Kurt Schlichter, of U.S.
Army’s 40th Infantry Division, will
give the keynote address.
Los
Angeles City Councilmember Tom
LaBonge, 4th District will read the
Presidential Proclamation. A wreath
laying, color guard ceremony and
music will all be part of the festivities. Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills,
6300 Forest Lawn Dr.; (800)2043131.
2 Cosby Seeks
Giggles
T
he Hello JELL-O “Give it a
Giggle” Tour will be at
Hollywood
&
Highland
on
Wednesday, June 2 at 10:00am. The
tour seeks people interested in having
their giggle on television. Bill Cosby
will select the best giggle of the group
and it will be featured in a national TV
spot. Hollywood & Highland Center,
6801 Hollywood Blvd.; (323)4676412. The Maids at
Eclectic Theatre
A
production of Jean Genet’s “The
Maids” will be produced at the
Eclectic Company Theatre, opening
Saturday, May 29 at 8:00pm. Two servants who are also siblings, Solange
and Claire, fantasize about killing
Madame, their employer, having
already contrived to have Madame’s
lover, Monsieur, temporarily jailed.
It’s a thrill-ride of mystery and
revenge seeking plots. Tickets are
$18. 5312 Laurel Canyon Blvd.;
(818)508-3003.
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www.cathedralchapelschool.org
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
3 May 27, 2010
Green Ogre Spotted
in Hollywood
Proposed Buildingʼs Design is Wired for Sound
n Electronics Firm
Seeks to Build
Hollywood Highrise
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
A
20-story building with a corner facade designed to look
like a vintage microphone has
been proposed at the corner of
Argyle and Selma Avenues in
Hollywood.
The building would be located
on property owned by Ametron
Electronics, a family-owned business specializing in audio and
video equipment that has been
located in Hollywood since 1953.
The proposed building, which
would also be the new headquarters for Ametron, is across the
street from the new W Hollywood
Hotel and Residences. It is also
located just a block from other
high-rise buildings such as the
House of Blues corporate headquarters and the Sunset/Vine
Tower, and near the location of the
proposed 28-story Columbia
Square project on Sunset
Boulevard. Fred Rosenthal, the
owner of Ametron electronics,
said the project has been planned
for the past three years. He
believes it would be well suited to
photo courtesy of Joey Shimoda
the area because the site is near
other high-rise buildings, public The Ametron Electronics building would have a design feature at its
transportation hubs, and it will fill corner that resembles a vintage microphone.
the need for office space in
Hollywood.
space, as well as ground-floor the Office of Los Angeles City
“There is a lot of housing all retail space. The office space Council President Eric Garcetti,
around, but it seems it is office would be built over a seven-story 13th District.
space that is needed right now,” garage with 770 parking spaces.
Rosenthal said the design pays
Rosenthal said. “I think the land, An architectural design has been tribute to the history of the
the way it is right now, is not completed, and the next step will audio/video industry, with a corbeing used to its full potential, and be to open discussions with the ner facade constructed to look like
the time is right to move forward local neighborhood councils and the wind screen of a vintage
with this project.”
submit formal plans to the city’s microphone, and an exhibit in the
The building would include planning department. Rosenthal lobby featuring an extensive col220,000 square feet of office has already submitted the plan to
See Ametron page 22
photo by Amy Lyons
T
housands of fans donning green ogre ears crowded into the courtyard of Madame Tussauds on Thursday to witness Shrek, the
loveable, big-screen green giant, get the 2,408th Star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mike Myers, the voice of Shrek, and
Antonio Banderas, the voice of Puss-in-Boots, appeared alongside the
famous cartoon character as his star was unveiled. An Academy
Award winner for the first ever awarded Best Animated Feature
Oscar, “Shrek” became a phenomenon upon its release in 2001. Its
sequel broke records in 2004, becoming the highest grossing animated film of all time. “Shrek The Third”, featuring Justin Timberlake,
Julie Andrews and John Cleese, ranks as the 6th biggest opening of all
time, earning nearly $800 million worldwide. Combined, the Shrek
franchise has brought in an unprecedented $2.2 billion in movie ticket sales globally. The fourth and final chapter of “Shrek” will be
released on May 21.
Laurel Elementary School
Will Offer 7th Grade
BY IAN LOVETT
L
aurel Elementary School will
be offering a 7th grade for the
2010-2011 school year.
The school, which already teaches students from kindergarten
through 6th grade, will be the first
middle school in the City of West
Hollywood to offer a 7th grade. The
following year, Laurel will also
offer 8th grade, though in the long
term it remains uncertain whether
the school will house kindergarten
through 8th grade, or transition to a
middle school only.
“This is a groundbreaking development,” said Laurel Elementary
Principal Phyllis Scadron. “We are
going to offer a middle school
experience for these students, and
we’re very excited to get new families involved.”
Los Angeles Unified School
Board Member, Steve Zimmer, 4th
District, said just two weeks ago
that Laurel would have to enroll at
least 70 students to add a 7th grade
for the 2010-2011 school year. But
although only 45 have enrolled thus
far, Scadron said they have been
given the go-ahead for next year.
“We made a promise to the parents of West Hollywood, and the
board felt there were enough students and enough interest, knowing
that that interest is only going to
grow,” Scadron said. “I really want
to thank the City of West
Hollywood, which was so instrumental in getting this done.”
Enrollment for 7th grade at
Laurel will remain open through
June 30, and will open again
August 2. For more information on
enrollment, call (323)654-1930.
Some Think WeHo Sewer Rate Hike Stinks
n City Council Will
Hold Public Meeting
on June 7
BY AMY LYONS
I
n an attempt to update an aging
sewer system, the West
Hollywood City Council is proposing to raise the annual sewer rate for
property owners in the city by
approximately 75 percent. A public
hearing about the rate hike will be
held on June 7.
The current rates for the sewer
service charge were established in
2006 and are usually increased
annually in accordance with the
Consumer Price Index (CPI), which
generally results in a one to four
percent hike, according to West
Hollywood city engineer Sharon
Pearlstein.
According to the notice of public
hearing issued by the city for the
rate increase, the council is propos-
ing a hike beyond the CPI because
the reserve fund that the city inherited from the County of Los
Angeles is nearly depleted, and new
state laws require the city to
enhance its sewer inspection and
repair programs. Pearlstein said the
sewer system is 90 years old and in
need of upkeep.
“The rates have been unreasonably low for years,” West
Hollywood City Clerk, Tom West
said.
The new rates, which are
assessed on property tax bills, are
$37.90 per single family home (up
from $21.66) and $22.75 per unit
for multi-family units (up from $13
per unit).
The Apartment Association of
Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA), a
group representing landlords and
property owners, is opposing the
increase. According to the notice of
public hearing, if written protests
are filed by a majority of property
owners that would be impacted by
the hike, the council will not adopt
the proposed increase. AAGLA is
trying to get those protests filed.
“One of our members in West
Hollywood got a notice about the
proposed increase and contacted
us,” said Art Nasta, a spokesperson
for AAGLA. “We are sending out emails and asking people to stop this
increase. It’s a huge burden, especially on multi-family building
owners.”
The West Hollywood City
Council will hold a public hearing
to consider the proposed increase on
Monday, June 7, at 6:30pm in the
West Hollywood Park Auditorium,
647 N. San Vicente Blvd. At the
public hearing, the council will hear
and consider all objections or
protests to the proposed increase.
Property owners may mail or deliver a written protest against the proposed increase to the City Clerk at
West Hollywood City Hall, 8300
Santa Monica Blvd., West
Hollywood, California, 90069.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
4 May 27, 2010
Shooting in Hollywood Still Under Investigation
WeHo Chamber of Commerce
Selects New Leadership
n Incident was Linked
to Custody Battle
BY IAN LOVETT
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
T
T
wo people were shot during a
domestic violence incident in
Hollywood on May 20 that prompted an officer involved shooting.
Officers from the LAPD’s
Hollywood Division received a call
shortly before 2:00pm about an
assault with a deadly weapon at an
apartment building in the 1200
block of N. Las Palmas Avenue.
When they arrived, they found a
suspect armed with a handgun, firing at a male and female victim in
one of the apartments. One of the
officers, Eric Horton, fired multiple
rounds, but the shots missed the
suspect. Det. Kevin Becker, with
the LAPD’s Hollywood Division,
said an investigation is still ongoing
to determine whether it was the
shots fired by the suspect or the
officer that struck the male victim.
Becker said what is certain is that
the suspect, Gennady Galayan, 42,
was involved in a custody dispute
photo by Edwin Folven
An officer- involved shooting occurred on May 20 at an apartment on Las
Palmas Avenue.
with his wife, and shot her multiple
times. She was treated at a local
hospital and had been released by
Wednesday.
“Thank goodness they missed all
the vital organs, and she will survive,” Becker said. “The other vicSee Custody page 21
Driver Sought in Hit and Run
on La Cienega Boulevard
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
T
he family of a 22-year-old man
who was struck and critically
injured during a hit and run collision
on La Cienega Boulevard on May
19 is offering a $10,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest of
the driver.
The victim, Benjamin Zelman,
was crossing La Cienega Boulevard
just north of Melrose Place around
10:40pm when he was struck by an
early 1970s model Volkswagen
Bug. The collision threw Zelman
into the air and on to the pavement.
He was taken to Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center, where he remains
!" %
" " !""
' " " in critical condition. Officer
Zachary Hutchings, with the Los
Angeles Police Department’s West
Traffic Division, said Zelman suffered major head injuries.
“It’s one of those unfortunate
accidents, but it is something that
happens all the time,” Hutchings
said. “This kid was just standing out
there for some time trying to cross
the street before he was struck. A lot
of other vehicles apparently saw
him, but one driver apparently didn’t.”
Hutchings said several people
witnessed the collision, but very
few waited around to speak to
police. He said investigators located
footage from a nearby surveillance
camera that captured the collision,
which is how they determined
Zelman was struck by a
Volkswagen Bug. Hutchings
See Hit and Run page 21
he shakeup in leadership at the West
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce continues.
At the beginning of May, Genevieve Morrill, a
longtime member of the Chamber Board of
Directors, took over as interim president and CEO
of the Chamber. She has since been named to the
position permanently.
In addition, tomorrow, Amy Anderson will work
her final day as marketing director for the Genevieve Morrill
Chamber.
Anderson will begin a new job at O.N.E. Natural Experience, and
will work as a freelance consultant for marketing and public relations.
“My time here has been rewarding and fulfilling,” Anderson said.
“Meeting such an amazing array of local businesses, working and
watching the community of West Hollywood…grow and thrive.”
Letters to the Editor
Council Should Have
Addressed Budget
Deficit Long Ago
R
egarding the article “City
Lays Off 700 to Cut Budget
Deficit” in the May 20 issue, it is
unfortunate that our leaders need
to lay off so many people to deal
with the pending budget deficit,
especially in times of high unemployment in our city. Over three years ago, the Los
Angeles City Council was aware
that there would be a budget
deficit. At that time, the council’s
Budget & Finance Committee was
looking at a deficit of $225 million; now it has grown to $485
million. That was the time for
them to be seeking cut backs in
government operations, reducing
waste and fraud, finding new efficiencies, and new sources of revenues for the city. George Epstein
Detroit Street
20 issue, thanks to the Beverly
Press for coming out to interview
the ladies from the Downtown
Women’s Center. It is a new event
in the L.A. area, and everyone is
so excited to be able to make the
event happen.
issue, I live in Los Angeles and
spent much time this past year
filming the homeless, up until I
was almost knifed. The journey
through
“Homeless
in
Hollywood” was mesmerizing!
Claragale Garcia
Marcia McDonald
Clifford McDonald,
Patch Home Fashion
Jill Abrams
Los Angeles
Bike Week Coverage
Promotes Ridership
R
egarding “Bike Week Begins
With Blessing” in the May 20
issue, thank you for covering the
7th annual Blessing of the
Bicycles held at Good Samaritan
Hospital on May 18. Your coverage encourages people to get out
on their bikes.
Andy Leeka
Good Samaritan Hospital
Thanks for the Article
on the New Models
Story About
Homeless Registry
was Mesmerizing
R
R
egarding the article titled
“Novice Models Walk the
Catwalk With Dignity” in the May
egarding
the
article
“Homeless Registry Gauges
Local Needs” in the April 29
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5 May 27, 2010
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WEST HOLLYWOOD
852 N. LA BREA
(Corner of La Brea and
Willoughby, North of Melrose)
HOLLYWOOD
5270 SUNSET BL.
(2 Blks. E. of Western at
Hobart)
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
6 May 27, 2010
St. Vincent Donates Billboards Defined History of the Sunset Strip
5,000 Pounds of Food
n Special Signs are
Recognized in
West Hollywood
BY IAN LOVETT
B
illboards around Los Angeles
have been called many names
during the past several years — a
blight, a crime, a dangerous distraction for drivers. There are a few
other names for them, though: history and art.
On Tuesday night, the City of
West Hollywood’s annual Historic
Preservation Celebration paid
homage to the billboards of the
Sunset Strip.
“It may seem strange that we’re
honoring billboards – advertising
art – at a preservation event,” said
Gail Ostergren, a member of the
Historic Preservation Commission.
“We think of historical preservation
as things that are long-lived, whereas billboards are commercial and
inherently ephemeral. But when
you ask people what they think of
when they think of the Sunset Strip,
you get two answers: nightlife and
photo by Edwin Folven
S
t Vincent Medical Center donated 5,000 pounds of non-perishable
foods on May 20 to five schools and parishes with food pantries
located in the community surrounding the hospital at 3rd and
Alvarado Streets.
The food was donated the previous week during a food drive held
among staff members at the hospital that coincided with National
Hospital Week. The five recipients included St. Vincent’s Parish, Casa
de Amigos, Mother of Sorrows Elementary School, Our Lady of Talpa
School and Pantry, and Our Lady of Miraculous Medal School and
Pantry.
“We held the food drive because with the economic situation, we
have a lot of people unemployed or underemployed,” said Sister
Patricia Miguel, vice president of mission integration for St. Vincent
Medical Center. “We have had an increase of people who are needing
more. It’s caring for others, helping each other and for those who are
most vulnerable.”
Miguel said this was the second year the food drive was held, and
800 more pounds of food were collected than in 2009. The hospital
plans to make it an annual event, she added.
City Council Passes Ordinance to
Protect Foreclosures from Neglect
T
he Los Angeles City Council breeding grounds for mosquitoes
approved an ordinance on May and are dangerous for children,
21 that will levy large fines against while overgrown yards present a
financial institutions that do not fire hazard. The ordinance will
properly take care of properties establish a centralized registry of
foreclosed homes, and those in
that have gone into foreclosure.
The ordinance, which was pre-foreclosure status, and will
authored by Los Angeles City require banks to provide the city
with a local conCouncil President
person or
Eric Garcetti, 13th
“To make sure tact
company
that
District,
is
designed to reduce banks get the could fix problems. Failure to
the number of
homes falling into message, this comply with city
maintenance regudisrepair after they
ordinance
lations
would
are seized by
banks.
Derelict levies fines of incur fines of up to
$1,000 per day,
properties can drag
up to
per
violation.
down the surround$100,000.”
Registry, inspecing neighborhood’s
tion, enforcement
public safety, quality of life and prop-City Council President and other costs
erty values, accord- Eric Garcetti, 13th District will be paid by the
banks.
ing to Garcetti.
“This ordinance
“This ordinance
is about keeping banks from seiz- will put the burden of maintaining
ing homes and then neglecting blighted foreclosed homes on
them to the point where they those who are responsible for
become magnets for trash, vermin them,” said City Councilmember
and crime,” Garcetti said. “To Greig Smith, 12th District. “If they
make sure banks get the message, don’t maintain these properties, it
this ordinance levies fines of up to will cost them.”
Los Angeles residents are
$100,000.”
Garcetti added that neglected encouraged to report neglected
swimming pools can become homes by calling 311.
photo by Robert Landau
A billboard advertising a David Bowie concert illustrates how the signs
were used to promote musical entertainers over the years.
billboards. The pictures and the ads
constantly change, but the billboards themselves are fixtures.”
“We used to be called the
Cultural Heritage Commission,”
said Bruce Kaye, chair of the
Historic Preservation Commission.
“Part of our mandate is to preserve
culture. Even though billboards are
meant to be very temporary, there
are certain billboards that live on in
people’s minds. It’s part of the culture we don’t look at fondly now,
but for a generation, it was defining.”
Photographer Robert Landau
first began documenting the billboards on the Sunset Strip in the
1960s, when, he said, most of them
were hand-painted. Between
Woodstock, in 1969, and the dawn
of music videos in 1981, Landau
said billboards enjoyed a “golden
age” whose pinnacle was seen on
the Sunset Strip, where the billSee Billboards page 20
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
7 May 27, 2010
Walk Focuses on Public Safety Mayor Honors Historic Preservation Panel
in the Miracle Mile Area
W
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
A
pproximately 35 community
members joined officials from
the
Los
Angeles
Police
Department’s Wilshire Division on
Tuesday for a Safety Walk designed
to address crime and quality of life
issues in the Miracle Mile area
The event was organized by the
Mid City West Community Council
(MCWCC), and included participation by members of the Melrose
Action Neighborhood Watch and
other community groups. The walk
began at the Marie Callenders
restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard,
and proceeded along a loop west on
“It comes down
to the tried and
true philosophy
of prevention.”
-Capt. Eric Davis, LAPD
Wilshire Division
Wilshire, north to 6th Street, east to
Burnside Avenue, and back to
Wilshire. Capt. Eric Davis, the
commanding officer of the LAPD’s
Wilshire Division, led the walk and
discussed some of the public safety
concerns in the area.
Davis said the neighborhood has
a very low crime rate, but one of the
biggest concerns is auto thefts and
burglaries. He said that while officers proactively search for suspects,
they are difficult to catch in the act.
Davis added that vehicle owners
can prevent many of the burglaries
by taking precautions.
“It comes down to the tried and
true philosophy of prevention,”
Davis said. “Don’t leave valuables
in plain sight, lock the vehicle and
be preventative. These guys (burglars) are on a time clock, and they
may come to the area and pass by
Rent Freeze
Sent Back to
Committee
BY IAN LOVETT
L
ast Friday, the Los Angeles City
Council voted to send the rent
freeze ordinance, which would
have imposed a four-month moratorium on rent hikes in many apartment buildings across the city, back
to committee.
Though the council had approved
the moratorium just two weeks earlier, Council President Eric
Garcetti, 13th District, and
Councilmember Bill Rosendahl,
11th District, both changed their
votes, citing a desire to wait until a
study of rent control had been completed before taking any action.
Tenants in rent-controlled buildings of more than five units will
now face rent hikes of up to three
percent in July.
The council’s change of heart
sparked loud outbursts from
renter’s rights advocates. The police
were called in to deal with the situation, and attempted to forcibly
remove the protesters from the John
Ferraro Council Chamber. Three
protesters were arrested, and one
was injured in the scuffle.
looking for things that are left out.
If they pass by a row of cars and
don’t see anything, they move on.”
Paul Lerner, co-chair of the
MCWCC’s public safety committee, said the event was the third
Safety Walk held since last spring,
and added that each time, the council plans to focus on a different
neighborhood. He said the turnout
was good, and he hopes more people will participate in upcoming
safety walks.
Lerner added that one of the
See Walkers page 20
est Hollywood Mayor
John Heilman (right)
recently honored Bruce
Kaye, chair of the West
Hollywood Historic Preservation
Commission, in recognition of
National Historic Preservation
Month in May. The commission
is responsible for updating the
city’s Historic Resources Survey
and recommending buildings and
properties for designation as cultural resources. The Historic
Preservation Commission meets
the fourth Monday of each month
at 7:00pm at West Hollywood
City Hall. For information, visit
www.weho.org.
photo courtesy of Richard Settle
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
8 May 27, 2010
Four Fairfax High Seniors Win Epstein Scholarships
T
photo courtesy of Howard Katzman
he Board of Directors of
the Los Angeles Chapter
of the Society for the
Advancement of Material and
Process
Engineering
(SAMPE) presented scholarships to four Fairfax High
School seniors on Tuesday.
The recipients of the Irene
Epstein
Memorial
Scholarship were Michelle
Yoon (left), Yeasul Ha,
Evelyn Sanchez and Esther
Lee. The scholarships are
awarded annually to students
who express a desire to pursue
careers in the engineering,
mathematics or medical
fields.
Get a Hair Cut at
the Market
T
he Los Angeles County
Transportation Authority
(Metro) has received a $415,000
grant from the California Energy
Commission to explore ways to
make it easier for drivers of electric cars to charge their vehicles
at Metro facilities.
The program is designed to
encourage commuters to take
Metro lines to work while their
car batteries recharge.
The grant will fund a pilot project to assess the feasibility of
installing electric vehicle charging stations at Metro transit stations. There are currently four
It’s Grillin’
Season!
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6333 W. Third St. • Farmers Market
323.938.5131
Family Owned at the Farmers Market for 65 Years
Everything to Fill Your
Memorial Day Picnic Basket
T
he Barber Shop Club has
opened at the Original Farmers
Market, reviving a tradition which
is part of the Market’s history, a
social, practical, friendly community barber shop.
The new shop is owned and operated by Woody Lovell, Jr., whose
experience in the trade includes the
operation of several highly respected shops in Los Angeles and
Beverly Hills. Lovell also has significant credentials as a barber to
the stars. The Barber Shop Club
offers shaves, cuts, coloring, styling
and more. In addition, the shop
offers a wide range of products and
accessories, a line-up which Mr.
Lovell notes will draw a clientele
slightly different from the expected.
The Barber Shop Club is located in
stall #116; (323)931-9916.
electric vehicle charging bays at
Union Station in downtown Los
Angeles. Metro will be upgrading those plug-in chargers, while
also installing charging facilities
at the Metro Rail Universal City
station on the Metro Red Line,
and at the Sierra Madre Villa terminus station on the Metro Gold
Line.
There will also be plug-in
chargers installed at the
LAX/Aviation Metro Green Line
station and the Canoga Station
on the Metro Orange Line.
For
information,
visit
www.metro.net.
Burgers & Dogs for
Memorial Day BBQ
Get Jazzed at
the Original
Farmers Market
T
he Original Farmers Market,
corner of 3rd and Fairfax, will
launch its “Thursday Night Jazz”
and “Friday Night Music” series
on May 27 and 28.
The Thursday Night Jazz series
begins on May 27 with the return
of the jazz and Latin quintet, Elliott
Caine. The series runs through
September, and several other performers will be returning, including Bobby Matos, Bill Watrous
with Rob Stoneback, Rob
Kobayashi, and Sydney Weisman
and
the
Chicago
Trio.
The Friday Night Music series
launches on May 28 with Eddie
Baytos & The Nervis Bros.
Numerous other bands will perform throughout the summer, with
musical styles ranging from flamenco and swing to country, roots
rock
and
gypsy
swing.
The Original Farmers Market is
located at 6333 W. 3rd St. For
information, visit www.farmersmarketla.com.
Metro Makes Electric Car Charging Easy
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
9 May 27, 2010
Some Light Shed on Mystery
Man in ʻMore Lies About Jerzyʼ
J
Mad About Theater
erzy Kosinski was something of
a mystery man. Born in Poland
to Jewish parents in 1933, his name
was originally Jozef Lewinkopf,
but his father gave him a new identity when WWII raged in Poland.
Hiding in plain sight, he and his
family spent the horror years of the
War and the Occupation in comparative normality, sheltered by
Catholic families and the church.
He emigrated to the United States
in 1957 and became an American
citizen in 1965, going on to write
several heavily awarded novels and
treatises, and several screenplays
that
became
award-winning
movies. He died in 1991, apparently of suicide. Mysteries abound
about his often reckless, endlessly
productive life.
The truth about Jerzy Kosinski
may be forever hidden. Playwright
Davey Holmes has chosen to add
another layer of curiosity to the legend/mystery of Kosinski by naming
by Madeleine Shaner
his charismatic lead character Jerzy
Lesnewski “because it freed me to
make up his life”, he is reported as
saying. Much of “More Lies About
Jerzy” deals with the facts, or nonfacts of Kosinski’s life, specifically
during the Nazi occupation of
Poland in the 1940s during the
Holocaust, as recounted in
Kozinski’s first book, “The Painted
Bird”. Doubt still exists as to
whether the novel is actually autobiographical, or a celebrated work
of pure fiction. After the war, old
neighbors of the Kosinkis surfaced,
photo by Enci
From left, Chet Grissom, Jack Stehlin and Neil Vipond share stage time
in “More Lies About Jerzy”.
putting the lie to many of the incidents in the book, claiming that
wasn’t the way things were.
Kosinski was shaken, but not
stirred from his contention that the
book was purely autobiographical.
Was it life, or was it art?
Holmes says in discussions of his
own work, and in artistic partnership with Kosinski/Leznewski’s
work: “We all invent our lives”.
“We fictionalize the past to make it
as exciting as possible.” Which is
Jack Stehlin
does a
phenomenal job
as the writer who
is bashed and
discredited.
doubtless what Kosinski did to ballast his own insecurities. The arguments for and against the earthshaking first novel of an unknown
author, whose English was minimal, and whose work was at the
mercy of translators and editors, are
at the core of “More Lies”.
Jack Stehlin does a phenomenal
job as the writer who is bashed and
discredited at the same time as he’s
being awarded and lauded for a
work of genius, which is maybe an
autobiographical miracle, or possibly a tissue of lies. By all accounts,
Kozinski was a clever conniver, a
beguiling centre of the upscale
social whirl of New York and
Hollywood, and a bit of a decadent
rascal besides. Stehlin does it all –
he appears made for the role, mischievous, angelic and evil by turns,
a conniver and a bon-vivant, an
egoist and a brat, a stern taskmaster
and a flirt, with a fair share of peaks
and hollows in his flagrant personality. Whether it’s truth or fiction,
playwright Holmes, director David
Trainer, and a sparkling cast of consummate actors make it all happen:
A Beautiful Benefit for Special Children
C
hai Lifeline’s 11th Annual
Beauty Day was held on May
16 at the Tipperary Beauty Salon in
Beverly Hills. Beauty Day is a way
to help ill children feel special and
pampered. Stylists donate their
time and services to make the event
special for children living with
leukemia, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy. Cardillo, who stars
in Disney Channel’s “The Suite
Life on Deck”, made a surprise special appearance this year.
photo by Enci
Jack Stehlin and Kristin Malko star in “More Lies About Jerzy”.
Chet Grissom and Neil Vipond in a
number of roles, Jordan Lund,
Adam Stein, Kristin Malko, and the
glorious Cameron Meyer, Jerzy’s
amiable and long-suffering wife,
whose golden voice rings clearly all
the way to the back row of the theatre (a quality devoutly to be
wished on many actors who are
Hollywood, but not theatrically
trained).
Davey Holmes’ play opens doors
to a whole new vision of a controversial life story and a bookshelf
full of previously unread books (by
Kosinski, not Lesnewski), that may
expand that vision. A Bibliography
would include “The Painted Bird”,
“Steps”, “Being There”, “The Devil
Tree”, “Cockpit”, “Pinball” :The
Hermit of 69th Street” and many
others, several made into movies.
Presented by Circus Theatricals at
The Hayworth Theatre, 2511
Wilshire Blvd.; Fridays, Saturdays
8:00pm through June 26. (323)9607788
or
www.circustheatricals.com.
“Serious illness, and the medical
treatment needed to cure or contain
it, exact a heavy toll on a girl’s self
image as much as on her physical
health,” said Randi Grossman,
director of Chai Lifeline West
Coast. “Beauty Day gives them an
emotional and social boost.”
For 25 years, Chai Lifeline has
provided emotional, social and
financial support to families coping
with the short and long-term repercussions of life-threatening and
lifelong pediatric illness. For more
information about Beauty Day,
contact Randi Grossman at Chai
Lifeline West Coast, Sohacheski
Family Center at (310)274-6331.
%#$% # *!&# !
Photo courtesy of Chai Lifeline
Rina, a 12-year-old who suffers from Crohnʼs disease, worked on an
arts and crafts project with Disney Channelʼs Erin Cardillo at Chai
Lifelineʼs 11th Annual Beauty Day on May 16.
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Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
10 May 27, 2010
Final ʻShrekʼ Film Brings
Bittersweet Closure
O
ur favorite green monster is
back for his fourth and last cinematic installment. While a triumph compared to “Shrek the
Third”, “Shrek Forever After” hits
a few high notes but remains a
three-chord dummy for most of the
film.
It’s like “The Wizard of Oz” with
the moral conclusion of “It’s a
Wonderful Life”. Nothing says, “I
didn’t realize what I had until it was
gone,” like a magical contract with
Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn) that
goes south, turning “Far, Far Away”
into a crooked land policed by
witches and ruled by a troll doll.
Shrek (Mike Myers) innocently
wishes for a single day as a stressfree, family-free ogre, but the magical request backfires. Our rougharound-the-edges hero once again
must win over his friends, Donkey
(Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots
(Antonio Banderas), and his former
love, Princess Fiona (Cameron
Diaz), if he wants things to go back
to the way they were. But if he
doesn’t, his existence is yet to be
determined. Get ready for some
new fairy tales to come to life and
even more ogres to make their way
into the “Skrek” story.
The premise of the original two
films remains fantastic: an ogre
with a heart of gold teams up with
an atypical damsel in distress and a
talking donkey. We’ve got some
regular players like Pinocchio,
Three Blind Mice, Three Little
Piggies, and the Gingerbread Man.
Come “Shrek 2”, Puss in Boots
made an entrance with some of the
cutest cat eyes around. Sadly, films
three and four in the franchise survive because of the former days of
glory, providing scant new material.
Using the alternate reality escape
route to neatly wrap up an epic
photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Shrek (Mike Myers ) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) rediscover their love of
adventure in “Shrek Forever After”.
‘Heights’ Original Star Hits L.A.
photo by Joan Marcus
Show creator and original Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda will
reprise his role as Usnavi for the Los Angeles premiere of the
Tony Award-winning musical, “In the Heights”, at the Pantages
Theatre, which will open on June 22. The show was recently
extended through July 25. Martin Wiviott, General Manager of
Broadway/L.A. and the Pantages Theatre said Mirandaʼs decision
to star in the Los Angeles engagement boosted interest in the
show. The musical is a journey into a vibrant Manhattan community where the rhythm of three generations of music fills the air.
Tickets for the final two weeks of dates will go on sale on Sunday,
June 6th at 10:00am. Tickets for all other performances are available now at www.BroadwayLA.org and by phone at (800)9822787. The Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Blvd.
story is a risky wager. When you
basically say to your audience,
“none of this really happened”,
then character development takes a
backseat. When we spend the entire
film watching a character do things
he’s already done before, it just gets
old. “Been there, done that” and
“play it again, Sam” are the clichés
of choice here.
The franchise began its downhill
slope when director Adam
Adamson left after “Shrek 2” for
ill-received attempts at live-action
directing for both “Narnia” films.
Rookie director Chris Miller made
“Shrek the Third” the joke it’s
become and plans to do about the
same with a Puss in Boots spin-off
next year (may this never happen).
And then director Mike Mitchell
takes a stab (too many jokes to
make, but we’ll just move on) at
“Shrek Forever After”, adding digital animation film to his charming
batch:
“Deuce
Bigalow”,
“Surviving Christmas” and “Sky
High”. It’s like Dreamworks wants
these movies to fail.
For all its downfalls, “Shrek 4”
still maintains a faint hint of
engagement. Seeing the whole
gang together for one last hurrah is
at least nostalgic and brings back
memories of happier times. Frank
photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
As Fiona (Cameron Diaz) sleeps peacefully, Shrek (Mike Meyers) has
trouble doing so in “Shrek Forever After”.
Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” told
a riveting tale of one man on the
edge. For “Shrek Forever After”,
trying to make a similar statement
about the “horrors” of domestication just seems trite. Concluding
that life’s worth living because
“you don’t know what you got”
doesn’t actually solve anything but
actually becomes demeaning and
condescending for anyone who
may face the stresses of family life.
And the moral of the story is…love
your family because if you don’t,
Rumpelstiltskin and his witches
will make things worse, causing
you to lose your family, your
friends and perhaps even make you
disappear at the end of the day. If a
film wants to take the characters to
the next level and show life after
the daring adventures are over, then
do it. All “Shrek 4” shows us is that
the big green guy has one more
adventure in him before he hangs
up his axe.
Supposedly, creating a family is
an adventure, just not one worth
showing on the big screen.
The contradiction of this one
comes in what isn’t shown, the
family he claims to love.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
11 May 27, 2010
LAUSD Named Collaborator in Federal Funding Application
T
he Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) is part of a
coalition of seven districts that are
included in California’s application
for Phase 2 of the federal Race To
The Top (RTTT) funding. The State
of California asked LAUSD to
partner with the other districts to
strengthen the state’s application
“I am very pleased that the focus of
this application is on collaboration,
support and flexibility,” LAUSD
superintendent Ramon C. Cortines
said. “We will work with our collective bargaining partners to
encourage their support for the
application. If successful, this
application will provide us with the
resources necessary to accelerate
the work that we are doing in L.A.”
The Race To The Top Funds are
awarded to states at the forefront of
education reform, and those that are
achieving significant improvements in student achievement and
“I am very
pleased that the
focus of this
application is on
collaboration,
support and
flexibility.”
- LAUSD superintendent
Ramon C. Cortines
high school graduation rates. The
LAUSD is partnering with the
Long Beach, Fresno, San
Francisco, Clovis, Sanger and
Sacramento School Districts on the
application.
California is eligible to receive
up to $700 million, and funding
will be awarded by late August or
early
September.
The LAUSD has created several
programs designed to improve education and help the state qualify for
Race to the Top Fund. They include
adopting standards and assessments
that prepare students to succeed in
college and the workplace, and to
compete in the global economy;
building data systems that measure
student growth and success;
recruiting and retaining effective
teachers and principals; and turning
around the lowest-achieving
schools. Reading Scores Improve for 4th and 8th Grade Students
F
ourth and eighth grade students
in the Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD) are
showing steady improvements in
reading scores, according to results
for the 2009 school year that were
released on May 20 by the National
Assessment
of
Educational
Progress (NAEP).
The study found that 40 percent
of fourth grade students in the district performed at or above the
NAEP basic level in reading, while
13 percent of the students performed at or above the NAEP pro-
ficient level in reading. Among
eighth graders, the percentage of
students reading at or above the
NAEP basic level improved to 54
percent in 2009. The percentage of
eighth grade students performing at
or above the NAEP proficient level
was 15 percent. While the LAUSD
reported steady increases in reading
scores for both fourth and eighth
grades, scores differed significantly
between ethnic groups, evidence
that the achievement gap remains a
challenge within LAUSD. In 2009,
African-American fourth grade stu-
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dents had an average score 27
points lower than Caucasian students, while Hispanic fourth grade
students had an average reading
score 29 points lower than that of
Caucasian students.
Partying in the Name of Milk
photo courtesy of Jerry Digney
More than 700 people gathered on the rooftop of Madame
Tussauds Museum in Hollywood on May 22 in celebration of the
first Harvey Milk Day. Titled “The Milk Party 2010, A Celebration of
Life, Love, Pride and Freedom”, the event benefitted the Harvey
Milk Foundation and the Gay American Heroes Foundation.
Several celebrities, members of the entertainment industry and
public officials attended, including Dan Jinks (left), producer of the
film, “Milk”, and Elliot Graham, editor for “Milk”. Other attendees
included actor Bruce Vilanch; Speaker of the California Assembly
John A. Perez; Stuart Milk, nephew of Harvey Milk and founder
Harvey B. Milk Foundation; and Scott Hall, founder of Gay
American Heroes.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
12 May 27, 2010
RESTAURANT
NEWS
Dominickʼs Does
New Orleans
D
ominick’s is celebrating crawfish season. New Orleans
native Chef Brandon Boudet is
opening the restaurant’s patio for a
special crawfish boil on Saturday,
June 5 from 2:00pm – 6:00pm. The
special event will feature New
Orleans specialties such as po’ boys
and Creole-boiled artichokes with
remoulade. Guests will enjoy an
afternoon of Boudet’s secret recipes
highlighting the flavors of
Louisiana. Crawfish, served with
potatoes and corn will be just $7 a
pound and oysters on the half shell
will be $2 each. French fries, onion
rings, beer and wine will all be part
of the boiling pot of fun.
8715 Beverly Blvd.; (310)6522335. Burger and Pie
Specials at Marie
Callenderʼs
O
n Friday, May 28, Marie
Callender’s is kicking off a
sale on burgers and pies. Through
June 30, get any whole pie for
$6.99. Regularly priced between
$10.49-$15.49, the pies are on sale
for up to 55 percent off. Choose
from a selection of cherry, chocolate satin, French apple, kahlua
cream cheese and a slew of other
pies that put Callender’s on the
map. Before you bite into a slice of
pie, why not order a specialty hamburger? New burger combo offerings at Marie Callender’s will also
kick off on May 28 and the combos
include the Cabo San Lucas burger;
the mushroom, onion and Swiss
burger; the BBQ cheddar burger;
and pepper-crusted gorgonzola
burger. Get a juicy burger with
French fries and a slice of pie for
just $8.99. 5773 Wilshire Blvd.;
(323)937-7952.
Meatless Mondays
at Locanda del
Lago
L
ocanda del Lago is going meatless on Mondays. The new
Monday offerings will differ weekly, and will all be prepared with no
meat or meat-related products
including butter, cheese and milk.
“With ‘Meatless Mondays’ we
are pleased to be the first Santa
Monica restaurant to join a movement that proposes to help the environment by reducing demand for
meat products,” said Lago’s coowner West Hooker-Poletti.
The Monday menu includes a
choice of salad of Dungeness crab
with arugula, baby artichokes and
button mushrooms; pumpkin ravioli with extra virgin olive oil and
sage; and Tasmanian trout. 231
Arizona Ave.; Santa Monica;
(310)451-3525.
Jar Restaurant
To Go Menu
C
hef Suzanne Tracht, at Jar
restaurant in West Hollywood,
just began making great lunches
and dinners to go. Tracht’s gourmet
lunch and dinner boxes are perfect
for summer picnics and road trips.
Entrees include wild Alaskan
salmon with caper berry relish,
New York strip steak, whole-roasted herb Jidori chicken, a BLT with
applewood smoked bacon and
more. Order at (323)655-6566 or
email [email protected]. 8225
Beverly Blvd.
Theatre and Dinner
on the House at
Pantages
T
he Pantages Theatre has a great
new dining program that lets
theatre-goers eat for free at participating restaurants. You have to buy
a ticket to a Tuesday, Wednesday, or
Thursday evening performance at
the Pantages to partake of the dining offer and there are special, prefix meals to choose from. Enjoy
meals from Blue Palms Brewhouse,
Citizen Smith, East Restaurant &
Lounge, Fabiolous, Ivan Kane’s
Café Was, or Katsuya – all located
right in the heart of Hollywood,
within blocks of the Pantages.
Customers will receive one dinner
voucher for each valid ticket purchased. Call the restaurant to make
a dinner reservation and, upon
arrival, the voucher must be presented to receive the prix-fix dinner. Gratuity is not included.
Offer applies to top-price tickets
only, while supplies last. For information,
visit
www.BroadwayLA.org/Dinner.
A HOLLYWOOD
LANDMARK
SINCE 1919
Finest Cuisine
11AM to 11PM
Closed Sunday
& Monday
(323) 467-5123 • (323)467-7788
6667 Hollywood Blvd.
Available for Private Parties Mondays
Award-Winning Restaurant
Ojai by Foot, Bike
and Trolley
Tastes of Spring at Andazʼs RH
I
f you’re looking for a place to
dine, walk, shop and have relaxing fun, Ojai is a best bet. Ojai
Avenue, the main street in Ojai, is
filled with distinctive shops and
restaurants, many located in the
Spanish-style arcade in the heart of
town. Browse through stores filled
with original art, boutique clothing,
home furnishings and metaphysical
gifts. Grab a cone at Ojai Ice Cream
or get your caffeine fix at Java &
Joe’s. Those who want to sweat
have the option of hiking the Ojai
Valley Trail, with sections that wind
through wooded areas and snake
past the Ventura River. At the end of
the day, sip some wine and relax at
the Casa Barranca Tasting Room,
featuring handcrafted wines from
organic grapes. Cyclists can pedal
along the Ventura River Preserve or
opt for a beach tour. Lake Casitas,
just a few miles from downtown
Ojai, offers cyclists lake views and
a glimpse of some wildlife.
Horseback riding options also
abound in Ojai, so don’t miss out
on this adventurous little town.
Those seeking a weekend getaway
have plenty of options for exquisite
accommodations,
including
Chantico Inn & Suites, Emerald
Iguana Inn, Su Nido Inn – and
many more. Ojai is a 90-minute
drive north of Los Angeles. Call 1888-OJAI-NOW.
photo courtesy of the Andaz
R
H, the restaurant at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood, is
introducing a new menu, featuring Michelin Star-chef Sebastien
Archambault’s spring cuisine. The colorful menu boasts authentic
Southwest of France flavors that are specialties of Chef Sebastien.
New creations include roasted Holt Farm green asparagus, and
Prince Edward Island mussels in a sauvignon blanc parsley and garlic sauce. Also, the appetizer escargot à la Perigourdine is an old
family recipe handed down by Archambault’s grandmother. Spring
offerings on the breakfast, brunch and lunch menus include diver
scallops Florentine with bacon, spinach and hollandaise sauce;
Lompoc Farm grilled spring vegetable salad with fresh cabecou goat
cheese and sage vinaigrette; and a perigord spring fava bean soup.
For the complete menu, visit www.andaz.com. 8401 W. Sunset
Blvd.; (323)785-6090.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
14 May 27, 2010
May 18
POLICE BLOTTER
The following information was reported to the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station
between May 13 and May 20, 2010. If you are a victim of a crime, here are the
telephone numbers of local law enforcement agencies; Los Angeles Police
Department, Wilshire Division (323)485-4022 and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department West Hollywood Station (310)855-8850.
WEST HOLLYWOOD
PROPERTY CRIME
May 13
At 9:00am, the owner of a business
in the 8700 block of Holloway
reported that an unknown thief had
stolen a desktop computer, valued
at $2,000, from her office.
Two unknown Caucasian male burglars entered a business in the
1100 block of La Brea at 2:35pm,
stole a cellular phone valued at
$60, and fled in a vehicle.
At 5:22pm, an unknown Caucasian
male thief stole a suitcase, clothing
and jewelry from a residence in the
1000 block of Kings. The loss was
estimated at about $2,305.
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During the evening, an unknown
burglar entered an apartment in the
1100 block of Gardner and stole a
laptop computer, bass guitar and
tennis shoes, all valued at about
$2,870.
May 14
At 1:08pm, following a traffic collision in the 1200 block of Ogden, a
male Caucasian driver was arrested for driving under the influence of
alcohol.
A woman reported at 4:36pm that
an unknown burglar had entered
the parking garage of her residence in the 7500 block of
Lexington and stolen her electric
wheelchair, valued at $3,500.
May 16
At 1:00pm, an unknown thief stole
an unattended purse from a booth
at a restaurant in the 8400 block of
Sunset. The purse and contents
had an estimated value of about
$156.
At 10:45am, a woman inadvertently left her wallet on a counter at a
restaurant in the 8300 block of
Santa Monica. When she
returned, she discovered an
unknown thief had stolen the wallet, which was valued at $500 and
contained identification, credit
cards, $50 cash and miscellaneous
items.
May 19
After a license plate check in the
8100 block of Santa Monica
revealed a reported stolen vehicle,
an African-American male driver
was arrested at 4:40am for taking
a vehicle without the ownerʼs consent.
At 12:15pm, an unknown female
Caucasian thief entered a retail
store in the 8400 block of Melrose,
stole three shirts, valued at about
$580, and fled on foot.
May 20
Following a traffic stop in the 7300
block of Santa Monica for a vehicle
code violation, a Caucasian male
driver was arrested at 11:12pm for
possession of a loaded firearm and
several other charges.
During the week, four suspects
were arrested for burglary or theft
after being observed shoplifting at
three local retail businesses.
During the week, eleven vehicles
were burglarized by unknown suspects. Total estimate of damage
and articles taken was $9,293.
May 17
Following a traffic stop at Santa
Monica and Laurel for a vehicle
code violation at 12:00pm, an
Asian male suspect was arrested
for possession of marijuana for
sale and other charges.
During the week, four reported
stolen vehicles were recovered
and the owners notified.
At 6:50pm, unknown thieves stole
two bicycles, valued at about $250,
that were locked to a pole at the
rear of an apartment building in the
900 block of Sweetzer.
During the week, twenty five vehicles were impounded for thirty
days since they were being driven
by an unlicensed driver or a person
with a suspended or revoked
license.
K-town Burglar Hit at Least 20 Cars
T
he Los Angeles Police
Department’s
Olympic
Division has released surveillance footage of a suspect
responsible for a rash of car
break-ins and one car theft in the
Koreatown area.
Investigators believe the lone
Investigators
believe the
lone suspect
caught on
camera was
involved in at
least 20
break-ins.
suspect caught on camera was
involved in at least 20 break-ins
over the past five months.
The break-ins occurred in the
parking areas of apartment
buildings
throughout
Koreatown.
Detectives say the suspect targets vehicles in subterranean
parking lots where he would
smash the car owner’s rear window and remove property.
The suspect is described as a
Hispanic male between 20 and
30 years old.
He is five-feet-eleven-inches
tall and weighs approximately
250 pounds.
He was last seen wearing eyeglasses, a gray shirt, a gray
hoodie, black shorts and white
tennis shoes.
Video footage of the suspect
was captured on tape and is
available at www.lapdtv.org.
Anyone with information
about this crime is asked to call
Olympic Division property
crime detectives at (213) 3829370.
TÇwÜxã YÜ|xwÅtÇ
Attorney at Law
Business Law • Personal Injury
Wills • Probate
124 N. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 931-2476
(323) 656-5847
(Fax (323) 931-7514
Juvenile Shoots 15-year-old Girl
L
os
Angeles
Police
Department Wilshire Area
Homicide detectives arrested a
16-year-old boy for fatally shooting a 15-year-old girl believed to
have been his girlfriend.
On May 23, at 5:45pm,
Wilshire Area patrol officers
received a call of a possible
shooting in the 1800 block of
Wellington Road. When they
arrived at the scene, officers discovered a 15-year-old girl suffering from a gunshot wound.
Arriving officers detained the
juvenile subject.
Paramedics from the Los
Angeles City Fire Department
responded and took the victim to
a nearby hospital where she died
a short time later.
Detectives established probable cause to believe that the 16year-old boy was responsible for
the shooting and arrested him for
murder and taken to Central
Juvenile Hall, where he was held
without bail.
Anyone with information
regarding this case is asked to call
Detective Frank Carrillo at (213)
473-0446.
Two Shootings in Two Days Downtown
L
os Angeles Police Department
detectives are investigating a
late-night shooting in downtown
Los Angeles, during which a 50year-old man was seriously wounded. The shooting was the second in
as many nights. Local residents reported hearing
several gunshots near the intersection of 7th Street and Main Street
on May 20, at 11:00pm. Patrol officers arrived quickly and detained
two men near 7th Street and Spring
Street.
Meanwhile, paramedics rushed
the wounded man to a local hospital where doctors operated on him
to remove a bullet. The man,
whose name will not be released,
was expected to recover from the
injury.
“We’ve had two shootings, one
block apart, over the last two
nights,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, commanding officer of the Central
Detective Division. “It’s difficult to
say whether the two shootings are
related.” Detectives will compare ballistics to determine any relation.
The earlier shooting occurred in
front of the Huntington Hotel, 752
South Main Street, when a blue van
drove by. The van’s occupants fired several
rounds at the front of the hotel. By
the time police arrived, all parties
had scattered and no one reported
seeing the shooting.
“We don’t see very many shootings downtown at all,” Vernon
said. “So we take every shooting
very seriously, and we solve the
majority of them. We want to thank
the witnesses who were willing to
step forward and provide information.”
“We don’t see
very many
shootings downtown. So we
take every
shooting very
seriously, and
we solve the
majority of
them. We thank
the witnesses
who stepped
forward.”
--Lt. Paul Vernon,
LAPD Central Division
There have been seven shotsfired incidents downtown this year
compared four for the same period
the prior year. Five persons have
been injured, one of them fatally.
In spite of this spate of shootings,
aggravated assaults and robberies
remain below last year’s numbers.
The public is encouraged to
report information to Det. Thayer
Lake at 213-842-0727. Santana Pleads to DUI Charge
L
os Angeles City Administrative
Official Miguel Santana pleaded no contest on Tuesday to misdemeanor driving under the influence
of alcohol (DUI), the District
Attorney’s Office announced. Deputy District Attorney Casey
Jarvis of the West Covina Area
Office said Santana was immediately sentenced to three years probation and was ordered to pay
$1,737 in fines and penalty assessments. West Covina Superior Court
Commissioner, Harold Mulville,
additionally ordered Santana to
enroll in a six-month drinking-driver program and ordered him to
participate in the hospital and
morgue program. The morgue program exposes DUI offenders to victims of alcohol-related incidents.
Under the terms of a negotiated
plea agreement, a second count, driving while having a .08% or higher
blood alcohol, was dismissed.
15 May 27, 2010
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
Shuttle from Zoo to
Hollywood Bowl
Closed for Summer
Mayor Tom Bradley
Tours Park La Brea
Wellness Community Holds
ʻTribute to Human Spiritʼ Awards
T
he L.A. Zoo Shuttle Lot for
transportation to the Hollywood
Bowl is closed for the entire summer season due to construction.
Alternative shuttle lots, as well as
Park and Ride options, can be
accessed at several locations.
The Bowl Shuttle lots include the
Ventura and Ventura Annex lots, as
well as the parking lot at the
Hollywood & Highland shopping
complex. The Park and Ride lots for
L.A. Philharmonic performances
are located in the cities of Sherman
Oaks, Westwood, Chatsworth,
Westchester, Pasadena, El Monte,
Torrance, Santa Monica, East L.A.,
Lakewood, Downey, Culver City,
Arcadia and Rowland Heights. Park
and Ride lots for leased events at
the Hollywood Bowl are located in
Sherman
Oaks,
Westwood,
Chatsworth, Pasadena, Torrance
and Lakewood.
Patrons who use the services are
encouraged to call ahead, as other
closures may be necessary. For
information, call the Hollywood
Bowl box office at (323)850-2000,
or visit www.hollywoodbowl.com.
photo courtesy of Vince Bucci
The Wellness Community, West Los Angeles (TWC-WLA), a nonprofit organization that provides support, education and hope to people affected by cancer, held its 12th annual “Tribute to the Human
Spirit” awards gala held recently at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Human
Spirit Award honorees included Evan “Indy” Moore and his wife,
Julie; Claudia Sangster; and Susan and Mark Burger.
Proceeds from the gala will be used for TWC-WLAʼs free programs,
which help people with cancer regain strength and a sense of control
while learning about specialized treatment. For information, visit
www.twc-wla.org.
LAUSD Rescinds More Than 500 Layoff Notices
T
Former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley was featured on the cover
of the May 29, 1980 issue of the Park Labrea News during a visit to
Park La Brea. Bradley was pictured with residents Miriam Allenstein
(left), Mildred Berger and Sylvia Kaplan. The visit was part of a tour
Bradley was taking of the Hollywood and Wilshire areas to meet with
residents and discuss issues. Bradley, who passed away in 1998,
was the first African American mayor of the City of Los Angeles. He
served five terms, the longest tenure of any mayor in the cityʼs history.
he Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD)
rescinded 522 layoff notices for
elementary school teachers on
May 25.
The reduction was made possible by teacher furlough days and
funding from School Site
Councils, which determine how
many teachers are needed at each
school.
“This is what can happen
when our unions and the district
work together to save jobs,”
LAUSD Superintendent Ramon
C. Cortines said. “This furlough
day sacrifice on the part of
employees has preserved class
sizes and spared some of our
teachers from losing their jobs.
Unfortunately, with the State’s
current fiscal crisis, we still have
more than a thousand teachers
who still face layoffs.”
United Teachers Los Angeles
and Associated Administrators of
Los Angeles members agreed to
shorten the school year this June
by five days, and the next school
year by another five days.
As a result, the district rescinded 1,280 permanent elementary
teacher, 85 secondary counselor
and 56 nurse layoff notices.
In addition to savings from
furlough days, approximately
$100 million in federal stimulus
funding enabled School Site
Councils to open positions for
teachers, counselors and other
support personnel at their campuses.
School Site Councis are made
up of students, parents, teachers,
staff and principals, and make
decisions about staffing based on
their particular schools’ specific
needs.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
16 May 27, 2010
Calling All Art Lovers
T
he Los Angeles County
Museum of Art (LACMA)
presents “Cell Phone Stories”, a
series of narratives and essays
that will be disseminated via cellular phone from Saturday, May
29 through September 6.
The information will be circulated exclusively through mobile
phones by writers, designers,
artists and actors who were commissioned to provide input on
the museum and its audience.
The project was conceptualized
by artist Steve Fagin, who also
invites members of the public to
participate. People can sign up
by texting LACMA to 67553.
Five cell phone stories will be
told over the three-month period,
and include contributions by
Rainn Wilson and Kate and
Laura Mulleavy, of the clothing
company, Rodarte.
“We are very interested in
engaging artists to help reconsider and reframe the experience of
looking at art,” LACMA CEO
and Wallis Annenberg Director
Michael Govan said. “Cell
Phone Stories takes on Steve‘s
idea of mobilizing the visitor to
experience LACMA as a social
space where multiple stories are
happening at once. He created an
unprecedented project that
reconsiders the museum‘s accessibility and reflects the various
ways in which we are circulating
stories and information.”
Cell Phone Stories is inspired
by the popularity of Japanese
“keitai shosetsu”, text-based cellular phone narratives. The keitai
genre, usually known as “thumb
novels”, is immensely popular
among teenagers in Japan. For
Cell Phone Stories, Fagin seeks
to engage museum visitors
through new ways of experiencing LACMA. The stories will be
“We are very
interested in
engaging
artists to help
reconsider and
reframe the
experience of
looking at art.”
- Michael Govan, LACMA
CEO and Wallis Annenberg
Director
circulated via mobile phone as
text messages that will link to
projects on LACMA‘s Twitter
site
at
www.twitter.com/LACMA, and
at www.facebook.com/LACMA.
Visit www.lacma.org/art/cellphone-stories.
Rhode’s First L.A. Exhibit Lands at LACMA
T
he Los Angeles County
Museum
of
Art
(LACMA) is holding an
exhibit titled “Contemporary
Projects 12: Robin Rhode”
running through June 6. The
museum also presents a performance
by
pianist
Christopher O’Riley on
Thursday May 27 in celebration of the exhibition.
The exhibit includes
numerous examples of the
artist’s recent work, includ-
“Robin Rhode is
an artist with a
unique vision
who embraces
play and
whimsy as
unlikely means
to deal with
serious contemporary topics.”
- LACMA curator,
Leslie Jones
ing “Juggla” (2007), which
was inspired in part by a
famous Cape Town Carnival
in his native South Africa.
The exhibit also includes
photo compositions, video
animation, sculptures and
charcoal drawings representing urban street culture.
“Robin Rhode is an artist
with a unique vision who
embraces play and whimsy
as unlikely means to deal
photo courtesy of LACMA
with serious contemporary topics,” LACMA curator Leslie
Jones said.
Born in Cape Town in 1976,
Rhode moved to Johannesburg in
1984, where he studied art 8 and
film. This is the artist’s first
museum exhibition in Los
Angeles. LACMA is located at
5905 Wilshire Blvd. For information, call (323)857-6000, or
visit www.lacma.org.
We provide services you may need
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Los Angeles, CA 90048
323.655.2023
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
17 May 27, 2010
APLA Raises Funds At Exhibit
Beverly Hills Bar
Honors State
Supreme Court
Justices
MLA Partner Schools Honor
Marshall and Kennedy at Fundraiser
T
photo courtesy of Joshua Nantais
AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) held a reception on May 23 for
an exhibit by artist John Lloyd Young that benefits the organization.
Some of the attendees included Jai Rodriguez (left), of “Queer Eye
for the Straight Guy”, Young and Allee Willis, owner of the Willis
Wonderland, which hosted the event. The Willis Wonderland,
which is located in Valley Village, is home to “the worldʼs largest collection of kitsch”, and includes numerous exhibits by Willis, a
Grammy Award winning songwriter and artist. Proceeds from the
event will benefit the APLAʼs Necessities of Life Program, the
nationʼs largest network of free food pantries for low-income people
with HIV and AIDS. For information, visit www.apla.org. JFS Holds Annual Awards Dinner
photo by Jewish Family Service
Jewish Family Services (JFS) held its annual awards dinner on May
23. Pictured at the event were JFS CEO Paul S. Castro; dinner cochair Roz Goldstine; JFS Board chair Jeff Nagler; Rabbi Elliot Dorff;
Ken Klee; JFS director of Volunteer Services Doreen Klee; and dinner co-chair Shana Passman.
he
Beverly
Hills
Bar
Association (BHBA) is hosting
its 56th annual luncheon honoring
the justices of the California
Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 1
at 11:30am at the Beverly Hills
Hotel. All seven of the state supreme
court justices are scheduled to
attend, including Chief Justice
Ronald M. George, and Associate
Justices Joyce L. Kennard, Marvin
R. Baxter, Kathryn Mickle
Werdegar, Ming W. Chin, Carlos R.
Moreno and Carol A. Corrigan.
George will provide comments on
the state of the judiciary. Proceeds
from the event benefit the Beverly
Hills Bar Foundation scholarship
program, which provides scholarships to economically disadvantaged law students.
Civil rights activist Sylvia
Mendez, whose family’s legal
efforts
helped
desegregate
California schools, is the featured
guest speaker. Mendez is the oldest daughter of
Mexican immigrant Gonzalo
Mendez and Felicitas Mendez, who
were plaintiffs in the landmark
case, Mendez v. Westminster
School District (1947), which
ended school segregation in
California. In 1943, students of Mexican
descent were required to enroll in
schools separated from white children. When Mendez was in the third
grade, she and her siblings were
denied admission to the segregated
school near their Westminster
home, so the Mendezes, along with
four other Latino families, fought to
integrate the school. Their 1947
victory led to the desegregation of
public schools in California, which
became a precedent to the broader
decision of Brown v. Board of
Education.
The Beverly Hills Hotel is located at 9641 Sunset Blvd. For tickets
and information, call (310)6012422,or visit www.bhba.org.
photo courtesy of Alex Berliner/BEImages
MLA Partner Schools, a non-profit organization working to improve
schools in Los Angeles, honored producers Frank Marshall and
Kathleen Kennedy at the MLA Promise Gala dinner. Actor Tom
Cruise presented the award, while Grammy-nominated British pop
singer and songwriter, Natasha Bedingfield performed. MLA Partner
Schools creates high performing urban schools that combine innovation, equity and access, with the goal of offering a college-ready
education to every child. For information, visit www.mlapartnerschools.org.
Reiner Appointed CEO of LAHSAC
F
ormer Los Angeles County
District Attorney Ira Reiner has
been appointed as the president and
CEO of the L.A. County Homeland
Security
Advisory
Council
(HSAC).
HSAC is a voluntary, non-partisan coalition of business, government, law enforcement and academic leaders who are dedicated to
improving homeland security and
emergency response capabilities in
Los Angeles through public-private
partnerships.
Reiner was district attorney from
1984-1992, and also previously
served as Los Angeles City
Attorney and L.A. City Controller.
Reiner is currently on the visiting
faculty of IDC Herzliya University
School of Government and
Diplomacy in Israel, and a member
of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s
Commission on Homeland Security
and Disaster Preparedness.
Reiner will assume begin in the
new position at the helm of LAHSAC on June 1.
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Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
18 May 27, 2010
Vocalists Honor Natalie Cole Mayor Appoints
Seven New City
Commissioners
ʻHear Musicʼ at Hollywood Bowl Museum
M
Natalie Cole will be honored by the Society of Singers with the “Ella
Award”.
T
he Society of Singers (SOS)
will honor vocalist Natalie
Cole with the “Ella Award” on
June 1, at the Beverly Hilton
Hotel. The award is given to
musical artists by their peers, and
previous recipients include Ella
Fitzgerald, Celine Dion, Frank
Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Tony
Bennett.
“To be honoring Natalie is a
great, great privilege,” said SOS
president and CEO, Jerry F.
Sharell. “She is absolutely magnificent.”
Co-founded in 1984 by philanthropists Ginny Mancini and
Gilda Maiken Anderson, the
Society of Singers offers emer-
gency financial support for
singers, and also provides scholarships for education in the vocal
arts. Numerous celebrities
are scheduled to perform at the
awards ceremony, including Patti
Austin, Babyface, Macy Gray,
James Ingram, Gladys Knight,
Dave Koz and Nikki Yanofsky. On September 9, Cole released
the
recording
“Still
Unforgettable”, which won two
Grammy Awards for Best
Traditional Pop Vocal Album and
Best Instrumental Accompanying
Vocalist.
For information, please call
(818)995-7100,
or
visit
www.singers.org.
Osbourne Women to be LA Pride Grand Marshals
C
hristopher Street West (CSW)
has announced that Sharon and
Kelly Osbourne will be the grand
marshals for the 40th anniversary
“The
Osbournes’ meaningful support of the LGBT
community goes
beyond simply
making appearances.”
--Rodney Scott
CSW President
LA Pride parade on Sunday, June 13
in West Hollywood. The Osbournes are passionate
advocates for human rights, according to CSW President Rodney
Scott.
Sharon Osbourne is a successful
manager, mother, author, producer
and philanthropist, and most
recently appeared on the television
program,
“The
Celebrity
Apprentice”.
Kelly Osbourne is a television
personality, singer, actress, fashion
T
he Hollywood Bowl Museum
presents an ongoing exhibit
titled “Soundscape – Hearing
Music at the Hollywood Bowl”.
The exhibit answers questions
such as how can you “see” a
sound wave?; when you’re sitting
somewhere in the middle or the
top of the Bowl, why is there a
delay between what you see and
actually hear?; and how did people hear the music at the Bowl
before microphones and speakers
were used?
The display uses hands-on
exhibits developed in partnership
with the Exploratorium in San
Francisco. Visitors can talk or
sing into the sound spectrogram
and see a moving picture of their
voice, or talk into an echo tube
that stretches 100 feet around the
museum. Other displays include
an oscylinder scope, which
explores the nature of sound by
directly translating the vibration
pattern of musical strings into visible waves, as well as a computer
simulator that allows visitors to
place themselves anywhere in the
Hollywood Bowl to demonstrate
the speed of sound.
The Hollywood Bowl Museum
is located on the grounds of the
Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N.
Highland Ave. It is open every
night before concerts, and from
10:00am to 5:00pm on weekdays.
Call (323)850-2058 for information, or visit www.hollywoodbowl.com.
Bass Receives Kennedy Award
S
tate Assembly Member Karen
Bass, 47th District, received the
2010 John F. Kennedy Profile in
Courage Award on May 24. The
award is presented annually to public servants who have made decisions of conscience without regard
for the personal or professional consequences. The award is named for
Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Profiles in Courage”,
which recounts the stories of eight
U.S. senators who risked their
careers by stands for unpopular
positions.
“What John F. Kennedy believed,
what this award promotes, is that
we can make things better,” Bass
said. “That responsible government
can be a force for good; that public
officials can find the courage to do
what’s right; that we can come
together when it counts. We have to
stay focused until we get the job
done.”
Bass was honored for her leadership last year while serving as
Assembly Speaker in overcoming
$42 billion in budget shortfalls.
Bass helped preserve a safety net
for residents, including protect children from losing health care, restoring cuts to domestic violence programs, and helping Californians
remain eligible for continued federal unemployment benefits.
" !
$ #$ designer and model who currently
writes a weekly column for the UK
magazine, “Closer”. “The Osbournes’ meaningful
support of the LGBT community
goes beyond simply making
appearances,” Scott said. “Sharon
and Kelly speak out for social
issues that educate and encourage
increased participation.”
For
information,
visit
www.lapride.org.
' &! "'#! '
%$
photo courtesy of Hollywood Bowl Museum
“Soundscape - Hearing Music at the Hollywood Bowl” will be an
ongoing exhibit at the Hollywood Bowl Museum.
photo courtesy of Kwaku Alston
ayor Antonio Villaraigosa
recently appointed seven new
city commissioners, including Rob
Carpenter to the Board of
Transportation Commissioners;
Angela Haskins to the Police
Permit Review Panel; Christopher
Lee to the West Los Angeles Area
Planning Commission; Jamie Lee
to the Quality and Productivity
Commission; Irma Munoz to the
Santa
Monica
Mountains
Conservancy; Daniel H. Suh to the
Central
Area
Planning
Commission; and Jill Werner, to the
Board of Recreation and Parks
Commissioners.
Carpenter is founder and CEO of
Friendgifer, Inc., the world’s first
social media and mobile e-commerce company, and was previously executive director of Building
L.A.’s Future, a non-profit organization focused on transportation in
Los Angeles County.
Haskins is a civil litigator and a
partner at Baker, Keener & Nahra,
LLP in Los Angeles. She specializes in the defense of physicians, as
well as other medical and healthcare personnel and facilities.
Christopher Lee is an independent consultant and the former
senior vice president of Forever 21,
Inc., a Los Angeles-based apparel
retailer. Lee played an instrumental
role in the company’s financial initiatives and investments and led the
development of a consulting arm
for the company.
Jaime Lee serves as executive
vice president and counsel for
Jamison Services, Inc., where she
oversees a commercial real estate
portfolio with 135 properties.
Munoz currently serves as co-chair
of the LA. Green’s Urban
Ecosystems Work Group, chairs the
Alianza de los Pueblos del Rio, and
is a board member of Amigos de
los Rios and the Southwest Voter
Registration Project.
Suh currently serves as the president of DHS Investments, Inc.,
SYS Hospitality, LLC, and S&S
Resort Management, Inc. Troy
Werner is the president and CEO of
Federated Linen and Uniform
Services, and is a member of the
Board of Directors for both the Los
Angeles Parks Foundation and
People for Parks Los Angeles.
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Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
19 May 27, 2010
Gorky Represpective Opens at MOCA WeHo Launches
Office to Promote
Local Filming
Hammer Hosts Hernandez Photography
T
photo © 2010 Estate of Arshile Gorky/Artists Rights Society, New York
Artist Arshile Gorkyʼs “The Artist and His Mother” (1926–36) is
included in the exhibit at MOCA Grand Avenue.
T
he
Museum
of
Contemporary Art, Los
Angeles (MOCA), presents an
exhibit titled “Arshile Gorky: A
Retrospective” running Sunday,
June 6 through September 20 at
MOCA Grand Avenue.
The major traveling retrospective celebrates the life and work
of Gorky, a seminal figure in the
movement toward abstraction
that transformed American art in
the middle of the 20th Century.
“Gorky
courageously
re-shaped
European
modernism into
the foundations
of abstract
expressionism.”
--Paul Schimmel,
MOCA Chief Curator
The exhibit is the first fullscale display of the artist’s works
since 1981, and includes more
than 120 works spanning the
artist’s 25-year career. It features
the artist’s most significant paint-
ings, sculptures and works on
paper, including two masterworks from MOCA’s permanent
collection titled “Study for The
Liver is the Cock’s Comb”
(1943) and “Betrothal I” (1947).
It is also the first major museum
exhibition to highlight the artist’s
Armenian heritage and examine
the impact of the Armenian
Genocide on Gorky’s life and
work.
“As the only West Coast
venue, MOCA is proud to present the work of this historically
important artist who developed a
unique and deeply influential
visual language,” MOCA chief
curator Paul Schimmel said.
“Gorky courageously re-shaped
European modernism into the
foundations of abstract expressionism. He inspired a new generation of artists demonstrating
that the act of painting alone was
enough to be both poetically
charged and powerfully tragic.”
The exhibit will be presented
in a general chronological
sequence, with groupings representing each phase of Gorky’s
career. The artists underwent a
metamorphosis as he incorporated techniques by earlier masters
and art movements and utilized
them in his own artistic development.
MOCA Grand Avenue is located at 250 S. Grand Ave. For
information, call (213)626-6222,
or visit www.moca.org.
Dodgers Offer ThinkCure! Rewards
T
he Los Angeles Dodgers have
announced that fans who
donate to the Dodgers’ charity,
ThinkCure!, in advance of
“ThinkCure! Weekend” on June 11
and 12, can have their photo and
personal message displayed at
Dodger Stadium and on television.
A donation of $50 or more is
required, which will be used for
cancer research. Online donations
can
be
made
through
www.thinkcure.org through Friday,
May 28.
Donor photos and messages will
be shown as part of a photo montage on the DodgerVision screen at
Dodger Stadium before the
ThinkCure! Weekend games, and
on PRIME TICKET as part of live
programming for the ThinkCure!
Weekend telethon.
In addition to donating online,
fans can help fund cancer research
by calling (866)554-CURE, or by
texting CURE to 50555 to make a
$10 donation through their mobile
phone bill.
he West Hollywood Marketing
& Visitors Bureau and the City
of West Hollywood’s Film Office
are launching a new initiative titled
“Film West Hollywood”.
The program is designed to promote filming in the city by connecting location managers with West
Hollywood venues. The centerpiece
of the program is a website,
www.filmwesthollywood.com,
which highlights businesses interested in pursuing filming opportunities. More than 125 businesses are
included, including numerous
hotels on the Sunset Strip, restaurants, nightclubs and retail businesses.
“We have so many extraordinary
and unique destinations that are
great venues for filming,” West
Hollywood Mayor John Heilman
said. “West Hollywood is truly the
film industry’s back lot.”
The Film West Hollywood initiative will also keep people informed
about the latest incentives and programs of West Hollywood’s Film
Office, which is expected to offer
reduced filming fees for low impact
film production later this summer.
For more information, contact
Terry House at (323)848-6489, or
visit www.weho.org/film.
photo courtesy of Anthony Hernandez
The Hammer Museum and the UCLA Department of Art present a
discussion with artist Anthony Hernandez on Thursday, May 27 at
7:00pm.
Hernandez, who is the UCLA Art Councilʼs chair this spring, has
been exhibiting his photography since 1970. His books include
“Landscapes for the Homeless”, “Sons of Adam: Landscapes for
the Homeless II” and “Waiting for Los Angeles”. In 2009, a survey
of his work was shown at the Vancouver Art Gallery and he was
awarded a United States Artists fellowship. The event is being held
in conjunction with a current exhibit of Hernandezʼ works.
The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd. For information, call (310)443-7000, or visit www.hammer.ucla.edu.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
20 May 27, 2010
Voter Registration Deadline Passes
From page 1
to spokesperson Marcia Ventura,
the registrar’s office does not necessarily run voter registration drives
in conjunction with its poll-worker
program.
“The program is specifically for
high school poll worker recruitment,” Ventura said.
In addition, representatives of
both
the
Democratic
and
Republican parties in Los Angeles
said there is little they can do register kids inside the schools, because
districts are hesitant to let one party
on campus without the other.
In some cases, non-profit groups
step in to register students. At
Fairfax High School, Youth Vote
came to a recent day of senior testing and registered a number of students.
Minar Mustafiz, an 18-year-old
senior, registered at the Youth Vote
event.
“I think voting is a duty to my
country,” he said. “The voting age
used to be older, and people were
being drafted into the army, and
they said if they were old enough to
die for their country, the should be
old enough to vote. So in that
respect, I think it’s my job to pick
the right people to go into office. I
have some choices now.”
In other cases, however, the onus
of educating high school students
about their voting rights, and registering them to vote, often falls to
the students themselves.
Naomi Hecht, a junior at
Hamilton High School, is president
of the California High School
Young Democrats. She said the
Young Democrats at Hamilton
High are planning a voter registration drive before the end of the
year, to try to register as many people as possible before they leave for
the summer.
“We especially want to get all the
seniors, so that before they leave
they can at least know that they’re
registered,” Hecht said.
Yneri said the Social Justice
“There is no
systemic,
school-wide
effort to register
students.”
-Fairfax High School Principal,
Ed Zubiate
small learning group is preparing to
set up another voter registration
booth within the next several
weeks. Yet, despite helping register
“a bunch of people” at school – he’s
not sure exactly how many – Yneri
himself is not registered to vote, nor
is he entirely sure if he’s allowed to
register yet, since he’s only 17.
In 2008, on the heels of the presidential election that saw record
turnout among young voters around
the country, a new California State
Assembly bill was passed allowing
17-year-olds to “pre-register” to
vote, with the registrations automatically taking effect when they
turn 18. The bill, however, does not
go into effect until July. Until then,
17-year-olds can register only if
they will be 18 at the time of the
next election. But even among the
most civically-engaged high school
students, confusion remains about
when and how they can register.
Young people remain one of the
most underrepresented demographics at the polls. In Los Angeles
County, only 413,000 of the
4,250,274 registered voters are
between the ages of 18 and 24.
Susan von Manske, the lead
teacher for the Social Justice program at Hollywood High, said it is
especially important to register students before they leave school.
“We’re hoping to catch all kids
who will be eighteen,” she said.
“There seems to be a lot of interest
in this election, due to the heating
up of the immigration issue. It’s a
really good opportunity to register
them before they go out into the
world. Believe it or not, a lot of kids
are really nervous about voting.
They’ve never voted before, and
maybe their parents don’t vote, and
they don’t have a lot of people
around them who vote. For some of
them, this is the best chance they
have to learn about the process.”
Every election cycle, Von
Manske holds mock elections with
her classes. No school- or districtwide policy, however, ensures that
other teachers do the same with
their classes.
Fairfax High School Principal,
Ed Zubiate, said he wasn’t aware
of any requirement to educate stu-
photo by Ian Lovett
Joseph Euisung Oh, the student body vice president at Fairfax High
School, registered to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles when he
applied for his driverʼs license.
dents about their voting rights.
“There is no systemic, schoolwide effort to register students,”
Zubiate said. “The only efforts that
might happen would be through
social studies classes.”
Zubiate said he hoped to be able
to teach Fairfax High students
more life skills, like civic engagement, in the coming years.
“I think it’s really important, but
it’s such a deep discussion about
what the purpose of high schools
is,” he said. “The new Obama leg-
islation says our job is to get kids
ready not only for college but also
for careers. That means teaching
them life skills, like teamwork,
and their responsibilities as citizens. Right now, our curriculum is
so dominated by state academic
standards, other types of standards
haven’t really been put in place
yet. We don’t want to throw away
those academic standards, but we
want to weave in those life skills.
That’s what will really benefit
these kids.”
Billboards Are Part of Sunset Strip’s History
Walkers Get Safety Tips
From page 6
From page 7
boards documented a specific
moment in music and culture.
“For record companies, the billboards and the Strip seemed like a
match made in heaven,” Landau
said. “Never mind that it didn’t
seem to make a lot of sense economically to spend a great deal of
money on signs that are up for a
few weeks and then disappear. The
billboards were only reaching a
small segment of the market, but it
felt like the right segment. The Strip
was ground zero for a large youthful population that had money and
was only too eager to embrace new
artists.”
Landau said that as new artists
were breaking new ground musically, the billboards also began to
evolve, with iconic images appearing without any ad copy.
“All trends of art eventually filtered through billboard design,”
Landau said.
Famous pop artists like Andy
Warhol designed billboards for the
Sunset Strip, and soon companies
began to run “sequential campaigns,” which involved renting a
single billboard for an extended period of time, and slowly altering or
replacing the original message. For
instance, before the release of Pink
Floyd’s album “The Wall”, a billboard showing a plain brick wall
went up, and the bricks were slowly
chipped away to reveal an image
underneath.
“The sequential campaigns
assumed the same viewer would
pass the same billboard multiple
times to get the full message, which
created a time lapse conversation
between the board and the viewer,”
Landau said.
Viewers also engaged in dialogue
with the billboards through graffiti.
“Sunset Strip billboards were not
often defaced for the hell of it with
random graffiti,” Landau said. “But
they often did evoke strong reactions, and people felt compelled to
respond.”
After the Beatles broke up, John
Lennon put up a billboard that read
“John Lennon is Available.” At the
bottom, someone added, “So is
Yoko Ono,” in black spray paint.
Once, in 1977, a billboard lay fallow snd whitewashed for more than
a couple of days, and someone
sprayed on the question, “Can this
be art?”
“Of course! Why not?” Landau
said. “Anything can be art if an artist
does it. Billboards are a medium,
and can be used in many ways.”
According to Landau, the golden
age of Sunset Strip billboards came
to an end with the rise of MTV,
which gave record companies a new
medium in which to visually market
music.
However, the Strip has remained
home to some of the city’s most
iconic billboards. The West
Hollywood City Council agreed to
allow digital billboards and supergraphics on the Strip, but not anywhere else in the city.
Even Dennis Hathaway, author
of the BanBillboardBlight blog,
said he doesn’t mind the huge 21st
century advertisements on the strip.
“It’s kind of historic,” Hathaway
said. “It’s like Times Square.
They’re legally permitted, and
that’s fine. My main issue is proliferation. A couple months ago, the
city had a proposal to allow supergraphic signs outside the Sunset
Strip for the first time, and I think
that’s a bad idea, because they
won’t be able to stop it once it
starts. It just turns buildings into
advertisements.”
Though the billboards are no
longer hand-painted, Landau said
he still thought they could serve an
artistic function, even the digital
signs.
“Do not fear the billboards,” he
said. “They are, after all, just big
pictures.”
photo by Robert Landau
Billboards for “Heaven Can Wait” and Marlboro were showcased at the
event recognizing Sunset Strip billboards.
photo courtesy of Paul Lerner
Capt. Eric Davis, commanding officer for the LAPDʼs Wilshire
Divison, discussed crime trends during the safety walk in the
Miracle Mile area on Tuesday.
issues of concern is transients
living in the Miracle Mile area.
The group passed a doorway on
Ridgeley Drive where a transient
was staying, which prompted
questions about how the police
address issues involving the
homeless.
“A person living in a doorway
is not an encampment, but it is
something that is an issue for
community members. There is
no quick fix for the homeless
problem, and while we recognize
it is an issue, there is no one-sizefits-all solution,” Davis said.
“Every situation is different, but
we work with non-profit groups
to try to find out what people
need and how we can get them
help. There are a small number
of transients who are involved in
crimes, and we definitely address
those issues.”
Liz Sterbenz, a member of the
MCWCC who lives on Genesee
Avenue north of Beverly
Boulevard, said another issue of
concern was people parking long
distances from their residences
because of a lack of parking. She
said sometimes crimes occur
when people have to walk several blocks, especially late at night.
Davis said the best thing to do
is to park in a well-lit area, and to
walk in groups if possible. He
said very few muggings occur in
the Miracle Mile area, but people should always be aware of
their surroundings. Davis added
that it is important for people to
talk with their neighbors, and
share information about crimes
when they occur.
“When you do hear about a
crime in that area, it should bother you, and that raises awareness,” Davis said. “The more
people that are aware of their
community and what’s going on,
the more people can safeguard
themselves. It’s a very good lesson, and remember, when you
see something suspicious, call
the police.”
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
21 May 27, 2010
Tourism Makes a Comeback in Hollywood
From page 1
in July in honor of the anniversary
and planning for a grand gala in
November.
Leron Gubler, CEO of the
Hollywood
Chamber
of
Commerce, said his members are
showing a general feeling of hope
about the financial future. He also
said that, in addition to the popular
restaurant at the W Hotel,
Delphine’s, at least five restaurants
have opened in Hollywood in the
last year: La Vida, District,
Mercantile, Dylan’s Irish Pub, and
Tender Greens.
“Madame Tussauds is coming up
on its one-year anniversary in July,
the new W Hotel is doing a booming business, better than they originally forecasted. The Hard Rock is
coming to the Hollywood and
Highland Center in July and the
Rolling Stone restaurant will be
there in the fall,” Gubler said.
Jim McPartlin, general manager
of the W Hollywood, confirmed
that the hotel has garnered more
business than expected.
“It has been amazing. We opened
the doors on January 28 and it was
like a hurricane blew through and
never left,” McPartlin said, adding
that many of the hotel’s visitors
come from New York, Miami, San
Francisco, London and Australia.
He attributes the W’s success to a
combination of brand and location.
“Our passion is fashion, entertainment and design,” McPartlin
said. “We have a top flight nightclub and a great restaurant. I’m
involved with the Hollywood
Chamber and the BID…any business that is good for Hollywood is
good for us.”
In the courtyard of Madame
Tussauds Wax Museum, evidence
of high tourism rates was obvious
last week, when the cartoon charac-
said. “Most importantly, our customer satisfaction scores are very
high and our guests are telling us
how much they are enjoying the
attraction and the 120 figures
inside. We are very excited about
our new experiences such as our
pop icons room and new figure
additions including Iron Man and
Robert Pattinson.”
Though anecdotal evidence is
plentiful about rising rates of
“It has been
tourism in Hollywood, there is also
some hard research in the works. In
amazing. We
an effort to track tourism rates and
opened the
get a better snapshot of people visiting the area, the Hollywood
doors on
Chamber of Commerce is partnerJanuary 28 and ing with the Hollywood
Entertainment District (HED) and
it was like a
the Sunset & Vine Business
hurricane blew Improvement District to conduct
the Hollywood Demographic
through and
Research Project. The project aims
to better understand the characterisnever left.”
tics of the visitors, residents, work-Jim McPartlin, ers, students and investors that
general manager of the comprise Hollywood. According to
W Hollywood Katie Zandona, of the HED,
research efforts are being spearheaded by firms BW Research
ter Shrek got his star on the Walk of Partnership and True North
Fame and the crowd caused a sig- Research. The HED and Sunset &
nificant slowing in traffic along Vine BID have each allocated
$25,000 to conduct the research.
Hollywood Boulevard.
Amanda Baker, a spokesperson Once the data is collected, anafor Madame Tussauds, said the first lyzed and summarized, the groups
will use it for strategic marketing,
ten months have been successful.
“We have been very busy,” Baker community planning, and to help
Hit and Run Driver Sought
From page 4
described the vehicle as likely as a valet in the area where he was
being a 1974-’76 model, yellow struck. He did not know the name
with a black convertible top.
of Zelman’s employer. A press
“We are talking to people at the conference will be held today near
local body shops to see if anyone the site of the collision to
has come in. It probably has dam- announce the reward and appeal
age to the driver’s
for help from the
side front fender,”
public.
Hutchings added. “This kid was
“There were a
“With the surveillot of people
just standing there, so somelance video, we
were able to clearout there for body probably
ly see the vehicle,
saw something,”
some time
but we don’t have
Hutchings added.
a license number.” trying to cross “We need them to
Hutchings said
come
forward
the street
Zelman was crosswith information
ing mid-block, and before he was so we can find the
was not in a crossperson responsistruck.
walk. Traffic was
ble.”
heavy at the time,
Anyone with
but the vehicle that -Officer Zachary Hutchings, information about
struck
Zelman LAPD West Traffic Division the collision is
appeared to be
asked to contact
going
approxiOfficer Zachary
mately 35 mph,
Hutchings
at
which is the speed limit on La (213)473-0238. During weekends
Cienega Boulevard.
and off-hours, call West Traffic
Hutchings added that the victim Division
investigators
at
is from Santa Monica and works (213)473-0222.
ʻClick it or Ticketʼ During
Memorial Day Weekend
T
he Los Angeles Police
Department will be aggressively targeting drivers who don’t wear
seatbelts this Memorial Day weekend a part of the 2010 “Click It or
Ticket” campaign.
“Keep your friends and family
safe by buckling up no matter
where you’re going,” said Capt.
Tom McDonald, commanding officer of the LAPD’s Emergency
Operations Division. “We will be
looking for motorists throughout
the area who are not buckling up.”
Seatbelt violators will receive
citations, not warnings, McDonald
said. Currently, California has a seat
belt usage rate of 95.3 percent.
Properly restrained drivers, passengers and children have a 50 percent
better chance of surviving a crash
than unbelted occupants. Funding
was provided by a grant from the
California Office of Traffic Safety.
photo by Amy Lyons
The W Hotel and Residences and the Delphine Restaurant are helping
to bring visitors back to Hollywood.
plan services. It will also be a tool
for advertising and promotion, and
is expected to help recruit investment and development, along with
preferred restaurants, retailers, and
other providers of goods and services to Hollywood. The data will
be available later this summer.
Custody
From page 4
tim had minor injuries and has
also been released from the hospital.”
Becker declined to identify the
male victim or say why he was at
the scene, but described him as a
“good Samaritan” who tried to
intervene in the argument.
Galayan has been charged with
attempted murder and remains in
custody. The LAPD’s Force
Investigation Division is investigating the officer-involved
shooting, and Becker said it may
take several days or weeks to
complete.
photo by Edwin Folven
LAPD spokesman Sgt. Gus Villanueva addressed the media after the
shooting on May 20.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
22 May 27, 2010
Valedictorian Has Bright Future
From page 1
now to an eight-year program and
to know whether or not I definitely
want to go to medical school,”
Loynachan said. “Also, when I visited MIT, it seemed like every person I met there had done something
to change the world.”
Loynachan received a partial
scholarship to MIT and she has
already landed a job at the House
of Blues, Boston, to contribute to
the cost of college tuition.
Additional scholarship money
came from the Los Angeles Music
Center’s Spotlight Awards, which
granted her a $4,000 prize for a
photo she snapped of a birdcage in
her backyard. She credited her
father, a muralist, with inspiring
her with his backyard studio in
Silverlake.
“I get a lot of ideas just walking
around in my backyard,”
Loynachan said. “But I never
thought that photo would win me
four thousand dollars.”
This attitude of doing things for
the joy of doing them is what drives
Loynachan’s
success.
Curiosity, she said, combined with
the urge to solve problems, makes
her tick. A sense of gratitude also
propels her toward excellence.
“I’m at Marlborough on scholarship and I wouldn’t be here without
the scholarship, so I feel like I just
want to do really well,” she said.
“One of the most amazing things I
have found at Marlborough is the
honors research and science program. I am so glad to have been a
part of that program this year.”
Through the school-based program, Loynachan garnered her
internship in the lab at CHLA. But
it was her passion for journalism
“She has this
overall balance
about her that
makes her
really
admirable.”
-Fellow Marlborough High
student Julie Huh
that drove her to the editor’s position at the school newspaper, the
Ultra Violet.
To see Loynachan typing away
in the newsroom of the Ultra
Violet, you’d place bets on her pursuing a career in journalism. The
newspaper’s
advisor,
Mark
Krewatch, has been working with
Loynachan since she joined the
staff in eighth grade.
“It’s hard to say how she has
grown because the strengths she
has today have always been her
strengths,”
Krewatch
said.
“Incredible energy, incredible self-
lessness, multi-talented…those
things have always been there. I
think what you see more of now is
her confidence and leadership
skills.”
Krewatch referred to Loynachan
as a “do-everything” student and
went on to say that her talents at the
school newspaper mirror those talents essential to any reporter in the
real world.
“She understands how to write a
story in an hour, make the phone
calls, and get it done,” Krewatch
said. “She has an incredible eye for
design and is an incredible photographer.”
The opportunities at the newspaper, said Loynachan, seemed endless. Networking and getting to
know as much as she could about
her school and the surrounding
community were invaluable experiences that she said she may not
have had without the paper.
“It connected me to so many
people,” Loynachan said. “I have
interviewed almost every faculty
member and I get all of the background information about what’s
going on. I’ve created great personal relationships with teachers just
by working on the newspaper.”
Fellow student and editor, Julie
Huh, said Loynachan’s understanding of how to lead a diverse life is
inspiring.
“She knows how to balance academics, yet also do so much cool
Ametron Plans Hollywood High Rise
From page 3
lection of vintage microphones
and sound equipment that
Rosenthal has collected over the
years. Joey Shimoda, CEO of
Shimoda Design Corporation,
which designed the building, said
he believes the building will fit
well in the community.
“It’s a little taller than the W
project, but in scale, it is very sim-
photo by Edwin Folven
A collection of vintage microphones and sound equipment would be
displayed in the lobby of the new building.
ilar to the other buildings in the
area,” Shimoda said. “We wanted
to create an identifiable building
that will add to the skyline, not just
a generic box.”
Shimoda added that it would be
a LEED-certified building with
environmentally friendly features.
Rosenthal said the building would
be suited to tenants from the entertainment industry, and because it
is located one block from Metro’s
Hollywood/Vine Station, would
be easily accessible.
“The city wants to build around
the Metro stations, and they want
high-density, so we incorporated
that vision in our plan,” Rosenthal
added. “We have some very tall
buildings around us, so we think
this corner lends itself to a very
iconic, high-level tower.”
Yusef Robb, a deputy for
Garcetti, confirmed that Ametron
had submitted preliminary plans,
but Garcetti has not made a decision on whether to support the
project. Robb added, however,
that the council president does
support building near transportation hubs.
Rosenthal said he may seek a
collaboration with a development
company for the project, and
hopes to have the building completed within the next couple of
years.
“We are in the electronics business, but we happen to own a lot
of real estate. We may do it on our
own, or we may seek a joint venture,” Rosenthal added. “We are
going to go out to the neighborhood councils, talk to the city
some more. We want to make sure
our development is consistent with
the Hollywood community plan,
and that is something that will
benefit the entire community.”
photo by Amy Lyons
Marlborough School Valedictorian Colleen Loynachan is excited about
attending MIT.
stuff,” Huh said. “She has this
overall balance about her that
makes her really admirable. We
bonded through the newspaper and
we stay really late all the time. We
became really good friends through
the newspaper. She’s going to
Boston and I’m going to
Chicago…I’m really going to miss
her.”
Metro Brings New Top Planner
Aboard for Measure R Projects
L
os
Angeles
County
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (Metro) CEO Art Leahy
has announced the hiring of architect and urban planner Martha
Welborne to the agency’s top planning job.
Welborne, who has been involved
with transportation projects in the
Los Angeles region and the nation,
will join Metro on June 1 as the
“To be part of
the team that
will bring this
about is both
compelling and
exciting.”
- Martha Welborne, executive
director of planning for Metro
photo courtesy of Metro
Martha Welborne will be responsible for moving Measure R projects
forward at an accelerated pace.
Committee, a public/private partnership focused on revitalizing the
civic and cultural districts of downexecutive director of planning. She town Los Angeles. She will continwill play a key role in accelerating ue to spearhead the effort over the
projects funded by Measure R, the next six months as she transitions
into her post at Metro.
half-cent sales tax initiative.
“Los Angeles is on the cusp of
the most significant improvements Answers From Page 16
in public transportation in its history,” Welborne said. “To be part of
the team that will bring this about is
both compelling and exciting.”
Welborne’s work has ranged from
individual building design to largescale projects such as Los Angeles’
surface transit project, an effort that
led to the creation of the Metro
Rapid bus system. She served as
director on the Exposition Metro
Line Construction Authority Board
from May 2005 to February 2006.
Welborne is the currently managing director of the Grand Avenue
23 May 27, 2010
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
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