by LA1 NEWS:

Once engaged in the long walk from Figueroa Street toward the neighborhood celebration of life at Garvanza Skate Park (GSP) this past weekend, some folks might have taken pause in the sheer volume of it all. There was a booming sound system in the coming distance with a punk band playing high-volume music into the air. A local skater rolled by with long brown hair down to his waist. He had a plastic bag under his left arm and a deep frown on his face. It seems that he was regretfully making the early skate home after winning one of the 20 new Baker boards donated toward the raffle for his deceased friend. A local mother went walking by, too. She had her three young girls in tow and may never know the significance of what took place on Saturday across the street from her home.

Just outside the park gate, volunteer Joseph Avanian was posted at his normal spot at the GSP skate shack. He had the same stoner hat on and that ever-present smile on his face despite it all. It's the smile that Ekeh always had on despite everything that was going on in his short life. As fate would have it, this final goodbye held by his skater friends to raise funds for his family fell on Ekeh's birthday. He would have been 23 on Saturday, says his sister Joanna, had he not been killed over his honor and skateboard in Echo Park. 

Carlos Arellano was born and bred in Highland Park. Everything about him was influenced by the neighborhood in which he was raised. His parents rented the beautiful white Craftsman home next door to the American Legion on Avenue 55 for several years, before it was razed in what some politicians touted as the development of over 1,000 "new affordable housing units." Ekeh attended Monte Vista Elementary School, Luther Burbank Middle School, and Franklin High School. He completed his high school education by following through at Highland Park High School continuation, and finally enrolling in the ROTC program at Highland Park's Academia Avance charter school. When he was about 10 years old, Ekeh worked behind the register and stocking the shelves at "Chiquita Market," a tiny store at York and Figueroa which his parents owned. Ekeh and Joanna would run the store by themselves as his parents made continuous trips to Costco before picking up their sister from school.

Inside the skate park, GSP employee Amaury Hernandez was mingling with Brian Santamaria. Ekeh's father, Adan Arellano, peacefully held court on his family's side of the crowd while proudly holding Ekeh's niece, "AJ," on his arm. When the DJ called for shout-outs, Cesar "Ceez" Gomez, who grew up two houses away from Ekeh on Avenue 55, said to the massive crowd of over 500 people, "I smoked for the first time with Ekeh. I ate posole with Ekeh. He loved posole. Ekeh was my best friend. I love you, Ekeh!" When asked about what she wanted the Northeast community to remember most about her brother, Joanna Arellano replied, "His uniquness. His free spirit. His smile."

Ekeh's smile was everywhere on Saturday afternoon. You just had to be there to see it. 

by LA1 NEWS:

When it comes to Lincoln High School (LHS) and the entire Lincoln Heights community, well-organized events have always been the name of the game. From the historic Honorary Mayor competition to cultural events at Plaza de la Raza, right on down to the dances inside the LHS gym, generations of LA residents have enjoyed positive memories of Lincoln Heights. It is like a multi-layered blanket of a community, still there after all these years to warm the people calling it home. 

Friday night's 'Kenny Washington Memorial Game' at Lincoln High School was traditional American high school football in an authentic family atmosphere. The annual matchup pits Lincoln versus Marshall High School in a replay of the historic 1935 City championship battle, during which time LHS senior #13 Kenny Washington gained all but six of the total yards earned by Lincoln during the game to secure the school's only undisputed City championship. Washington went on to become a groundbreaking two-sport player of color at UCLA who was eventually drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1946, ending a longtime ban on black players in the NFL.

Kenny Washington grew up on S. Avenue 19 and was raised by his aunt and uncle. He was once awarded a trophy by the Helms Athletic Foundation during a 1949 Los Angeles Rams halftime event, to recognize his high school football accomplishments at Lincoln. Washington gave the trophy to LHS to keep, and the Kenny Washington Award has been given to the best LHS varsity football player each year since.

The game bearing his name was conceived in 2011 after organization of the Kenny Washington Stadium Foundation. The group is made up of mostly Lincoln Football alums and family, and has an ongoing goal to raise enough funds to build the proposed state-of-the-art Kenny Washington Football Stadium at Andrus Field, and other athletic improvements at Lincoln. Several distinguished members of the Tiger Football squad have been located, contacted and transported in support the annual event. Tony Kochinas was present on Friday alongside his wife and brother. Tony Rosas, a veteran of the 1962 battle City title game against Manual Arts which resulted in a 0-0 tie, showed up last year. Sadly, Rosas died in May of this year at his home in Highland Park. 

Lincoln was ahead 14-0 during Friday's game, just as a Tiger ran into the red zone for another Lincoln touchdown. The team took 21-0 lead at halftime. Foundation board member David Duran, a National Guardsman and community pillar, thanked us for coming. "We have a lot of plans for this field," he said. "A new stadium with artificial turf is planned. The scoreboard will be replaced with a modern video screen." While the changes may sound a bit much for a former student particularly fond of the old scoreboard above the boys gym, the football crowd up on the cold hilltop has been out of sight and mind for many years. A new stadium seems more mandatory than warranted. 

During the halftime show, support was given to the military veterans in the crowd. A 98-year-old Japanese-American LHS alumnus named Jack was brought up in his wheelchair. Jack served the United States military in WWII working in military intelligence. He is the oldest-living Lincoln Tiger. CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo was there to present Jack with a brand-new LHS letterman sweater, to the delight of his family and the entire crowd. Proclamations were given to various volunteers from the offices of the Mayor of Los Angeles and Council District 1. High-quality engraved awards, so nice they drew a gasp from the audience, were also part of the halftime plan.

The Tigers went on to score another 21 points in the second half on Friday to trounce the Barristers 42-0.

by LA1 NEWS:

The Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the signing of numerous veteran-related bills into law today. Particularly interesting is Assembly Bill 935 by Assemblymember Jim L. Frazier Jr. (D-Oakley) The bill allows veterans to apply for a driver's license or identification card featuring a Veteran designation, which could be a legitimate replacement to the State's failed Veterans License Plate program. Below is a summary from the Governor's Office's press release:

AB 13 by Assemblymember Connie Conway (R-Tulare): Requires the California Community Colleges and the California State University to update in-state tuition rate policies for eligible veterans to ensure compliance with the federal Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 and state law. Requests these updates of the University of California as well.

AB 186 by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (R-San Diego): Requires Department of Consumer Affairs licensing entities to provide military spouses and domestic partners licensed in another state with a 12-month temporary license to practice their profession in California if they meet certain conditions.

AB 585 by Assemblymember Steve Fox (D-Palmdale): Requires the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) to develop a prioritized list of uses for unused or underutilized nonresidential real property it owns.

AB 614 by Assemblymember Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside): Ensures that a veteran with 70 percent or more service disability receiving intermediate care or skilled nursing care in a veterans home shall have their account deemed paid in full by the amounts paid on their behalf by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

AB 919 by Assemblymember Das G. Williams (D-Santa Barbara): Permits veterans who are itinerant vendors to receive a refund of sales taxes paid to the Board of Equalization between April 1, 2002 and April 1, 2010.

AB 935 by Assemblymember Jim L. Frazier Jr. (D-Oakley): Allows veterans to apply for a driver's license or identification card featuring a Veteran designation.

AB 1397 by the Committee on Veterans Affairs: Requires the California Department of Human Resources to collect and report on data regarding the veterans preference system in state hiring.

AB 1453 by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton): Requires CalVet to cooperate with local government bodies in Orange County to design, construct and equip a state-owned and operated Southern California Veterans Cemetery in the City of Irvine and establishes eligibility for interment.

AB 1509 by Assemblymember Steve Fox (D-Palmdale): Requires CalVet to develop a transition assistance program for veterans who have been discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state.

AB 1518 by Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton): Authorizes the California National Guard Adjutant General to receive federal funding to implement a National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program.

AB 1589 by Assemblymember Jim L. Frazier Jr. (D-Oakley): Requires an elections official to arrange electronic delivery of a ballot to a military or overseas voter who makes a standing request for all elections, eliminating the requirement that the individuals renew their email address every two years.

AB 1821 by Assemblymember Richard S. Gordon (D-Menlo Park): Establishes the Medical Foster Home Pilot Program and authorizes USDVA facilities to create a medical foster home not subject to licensure or regulation as a residential care facility for the elderly.

AB 2215 by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (R-San Diego): Allows a veteran’s family or legal representatives to file a copy of a veteran’s military discharge document with a county recorder without the consent of the veteran.

AB 2263 by Assemblymember Steven Bradford (D-Gardena): Authorizes a veterans service organization to volunteer as a veterans service advocate at California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facilities.

AB 2664 by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton): Transfers all funds in the California Military Family Relief Fund to the California Military Department Support Fund.

SB 842 by Senator Stephen T. Knight (R-Palmdale): Requires the California Department of Transportation to construct directional signs on state highways for each veterans home in the state.

SB 1110 by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara): Requires the court to inform active duty or veteran status defendants of restorative relief rights available to them and requires the Judicial Council to include information about the provisions in its military service form.

SB 1113 by Senator Stephen T. Knight (R-Palmdale): Extends the statute of limitations for a veteran with a 100 percent service disability to claim a disabled veteran property tax exemption refund from four to eight years.

SB 1226 by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana): Expedites the Department of Consumer Affairs boards and bureaus’ initial licensure process for veteran applicants who were active duty and stationed in California and authorizes prospective proprietary private security officers to submit verification of military training in lieu of a course in security officer skills.

SB 1227 by Senator Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley): Authorizes a court to create a diversion program for active duty military personnel or veterans who commit misdemeanors and who are suffering from service-related trauma or substance abuse.

SB 1440 by Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis): Requires that non-veteran spouses living in the Veterans Homes of California pay the same fees as veteran residents.

For full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

by LA1 NEWS:

The annual battle for the Bell between Highland Park's Franklin High School and El Sereno's Wilson High School was completely one-sided this year, with Franklin taking the Bell from Wilson to a final score of 45-7. The first half was a Franklin domination, with Wilson scoring a touchdown just before the end of the half to make what appeared to be a game at 14-7. 

Twenty-eight-year-old Franklin Coach Narciso Diaz and his team were coming off a disappointing one-point loss to Bell High School in a non-conference game on Sep 12 and a sound 49-19 defeat by South Gate one week later. He must have instilled the fear of God in his young men during the halftime break because the mighty Panthers came out of their training room fuming and ready to play.  

Franklin defended to start the second half. Wilson worked the ball upfield, but the team finally turned the ball over on downs at the Franklin 24-yard-line with 10:20 left in the third. At 7:59 Franklin attempted a punt but the ball was hiked over the head of the kicker, and Wilson regained the ball at the Franklin 20-yard-line with 6:16 on the clock. Wilson tried a crossing pass next, but a Franklin defender broke up the play. An overthrown pass came next, and then two unsuccessful runs leading to a Wilson punt.

With 5:19 left in the third quarter, Franklin's versatile wide receiver/outside linebacker #80 Cesar Jimenez received a 15-yard pass from FHS Quarterback Robert Maldonado resulting in a long run to a touchdown, making it 21-7 Franklin. Then, WHS attempted a long pass which was intercepted by Panther wide receiver/safety #8 Alan Rodriguez and returned to the Wilson 34-yard-line. A series of handoffs were given to #2 David Telles in order to take time off the clock, followed by a couple of incomplete passes which left Franklin with a 30-yard field goal attempt with 1:44 left in the third quarter. The field goal was good and Wilson then ran the clock out. The Panthers enjoyed a comfortable 24-7 lead at the end of the third. 

By the 8:25 mark in the fourth quarter, it became clear that the Panther defense was proving too much for the Mules. At the 6:50 mark, however, Wilson recovered a Franklin fumble and the Mules began to ring the Bell loudly. But at the 5:51 mark, the WHS offense had nowhere to go. A running touchdown by Panther #2 David Telles came at 5:11 left in the game, which was followed by yet another Telles run-in just before the end of the game giving Franklin the resounding win over the Mules with a final score of 47-7.

The Franklin win comes at a vital time for the Franklin community. Former Panther footballer Bernie Mancia passed away this week. A car wash to the former player is scheduled for tomorrow morning beginning at 9am at Academia Avance Charter School. 115 N. Avenue 53; Highland Park 90042.

from OUR TOWN EL SERENO:

by Annette Cruz --

Tony "Piñata King" Dominguez was driving down Alhambra Avenue in El Sereno last month when he recognized one of his art pieces. In this case, a giant paper maché calaca holding a cup of coffee. It stood next to the gold tower on the rooftop of Holy Grounds Coffee and Tea. Curious to know how they obtained it, Tony called Holy Grounds and asked to speak to the owner. Incidentally, Steve Boland (owner of Holy Grounds) and Tony had worked together 10 years ago at Para Los Niños. Steve was Program Director for School Age and Youth Services at the time and brought in Tony to conduct paper maché workshops for the local youth. The kids that attended the center often told this urban legend of a fireman ghost that haunted the building so Tony suggested they create a giant paper maché fireman calaca in his honor. After the Para Los Niños youth center discontinued its programming (and several years in storage) Steve moved the calaca art piece to Holy Grounds. He donated its original fire hat to local fire station #16 on Eastern Avenue but kept the calaca for his new business venture. After adding a coffee cup prop, he dubbed it “Holy Ghost.”

Our TownEl Sereno caught up with Tony on the roof of Holy Grounds recently. Tony was there to reinforce Holy Ghost. If you are not familiar with the art of Tony Dominguez, he started making piñatas as a child, a craft he learned from his neighbor babysitter with whom he would make piñatas with after school at his home in East LA That craft eventually led to Tony’s own piñata company that he started in his early twenties. From there his skills grew into building giant paper maché puppets and other paper maché art. Fiesta Broadway and Neederlander requested his work. Tony even showcased his creations at Beck and Café Tacuba concert in 2000 as part of the stage production at The Greek Theater. 

In 1999, Tony Dominguez founded Festival de la Gente, providing a platform for local artists and musicians in East Los Angeles to showcase their talent and help preserve the Mexican tradition of celebration that honors our ancestors. The final Festival De La Gente took place at Barker Block on Hewitt Street in downtown LA in 2008, but the most memorable were those that took place on the 6^th Street Bridge that connects Boyle Heights to Downtown. The 6^th Street Bridge Festivals attracted over 170,000 attendees. Tony was also involved in the inaugural Dia de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever Cemetery but did not continue on with that group.

OTES: When you started 'Festival De La Gente' did you envision the Day of The Dead holiday and Day of The Dead festivals becoming as popular as they have?

TD:  Yes. I spent some of my early adult years working for an ad agency so I understood the importance of branding. At the time I really thought because of my love for music, my community and producing events, I would start my own record label. But in reference to the question, I always knew. I’m a very calculated person and I set my intentions. Ad agencies would buy into the Hispanic advertising market for 30 days in September for Latino Heritage Month and now because of the growing interest for the Dia De Los Muertos, they extend their marketing season well into Halloween and into the month of November.

His vision worked. In addition to ad agencies picking up on the holiday, Disneyland Park has been celebrating Dia De Los Muertos since 2007. During Halloween time, Rancho Zocalo Restaurante in Frontierland displays a tribute to honoring the dead with an area that features cheerful skeletons and brightly colored altars with marigolds and sugar skulls. The Walt Disney Studio’s failed attempt at trademarking “Dia De Los Muertos” is another example of how popular the holiday has become.

Even though Tony no longer produces Festival de La Gente, that hasn’t stopped him from sharing the celebration with the public. In 2011, La Muerte Vive! premiered at The Los Angeles Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. Billed as “rock opera meets cabaret style shows,” the production is also written and directed by Tony and features a large collection of giant Judas style paper maché puppets, a creative adaptation and music score by Santos de Los Angeles and special burlesque performances by Miss Ruby Champagne. This year, La Muerte Vive! comes to MOLAA (Museum of Latino American Art) in Long Beach on October 25^th and November 1^st. It will feature a special exhibition of celebrity-inspired altars curated by Tony Dominguez. La Muerte Vive! is now on its fourth run and is also scheduled to hit a few additional cities this year. Tony will also lead a Calavera Mask-Making workshop in the Art Studio at MOLAA. It’s free for kids 12 and under on Wednesday, October 29 from 3 to 5pm. For more details and ticket information, check out http://museum-of-latin-americanart.myshopify.com/collections/events. All ticket proceeds from La Muerte Vive! benefit The Museums arts education programs. 

In keeping with tradition, El Sereno is preparing for its own 5^th annual Dia De Los Muertos event (in its 2^nd year with the opening of the pedestrian tunnel art gallery). The celebrations continue with a 2 week altar display in the store front windows along Huntington Drive from October 25 through November 8^th. On November 1, the El Sereno Tunnel Art Gallery hosted by Two Poets From El Sereno will open up from 3 to 8pm and display an 11-altar art walk in addition to music and poetry inside the pedestrian tunnel at Pueblo and Huntington. From 3 to 10pm, a street fair will be spearheaded by Red 67, El Sereno Community Arts and Hecho en Mexico Restaurant. The fair will boast a grand community altar, food booths of local restaurants (a taste of El Sereno), community booths, vendors, art for sale, and fashion trucks on Huntington Drive between Pueblo and Portola. The Eastside Bike Club will also have a ghost bike memorial and launch their 6^th annual Dia De Los Muertos bike ride from their altar site. This year’s entertainment schedule includes community acts and live music by Viento Callejero, Buye Pongo and others.  

by LA1 NEWS:

The past couple of weeks were relatively quiet when it comes to how popular it can get among the mostly homeless folks hanging out at Highland Park Veteran's Memorial Square. That changed Wednesday morning with the sudden appearance of two separate tags of spray paint graffiti. One person had the nerve to claim the gang "Highland Park" by writing "HLP" in blue paint on the concrete wall of the memorial fountain at the Square and, in doing so, partially covered a portion of the historic bronze panel listing the names of servicemembers from Northeast LA who sacrificed with their lives for the United States in Vietnam. 

Most of the folks normally occupying the Square overnight have recently begun camping nearer to the Starbucks coffee location, alongside the fence surrounding the senior citizen center. One of those persons is Gary Sheffield, a US Navy veteran. Local stakeholders got him back on his feet about two years ago with a nearby apartment and a VA claim which included months of back pay, yet Sheffield was back near the Square again within a few months. He now has the respect to sleep across the street from the memorial and not at it. "I prefer to live outdoors," Sheffield claims, while admitting that the responsibility of buying money orders and paying rent on time are just too much for him. "I saw the guy who wrote the graffiti from way back here," Sheffield says, "but I couldn't begin to be able to describe the person in detail." Asked how as a veteran he would allow someone to deface a memorial to veterans, Sheffield cited his recently ailing health. "I'm feeling pretty under the weather these days," he said. 

Two hours later, LA City dispatched a fire truck to a small brush fire at the encampment alongside the senior citizen center fence. It was burning close to the apartment building directly behind Starbucks. A couple of the regulars were pointing fingers at each other when LA1 News arrived. Sheffield was sprawled out on his mattress away from the location of the fire. "I didn't see what happened," he said. "I was sound asleep."

The memorial fountain at Highland Park Veterans Memorial Square has been spay painted in the past. Despite ongoing landscape improvements by groups such as the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council and the Chamber of Commerce, the ongoing attitude at the Square that anything goes makes the site a source of repeated wastes of valuable City resources. The Office of Council District 1 was immediately notified of the recent graffiti. If the offensive paint is still there by 1pm tomorrow, local veterans have vowed to be there to remove it themselves. 

by LA1 NEWS:

Council District 14 Councilmember José Huizar has donated a brand-new all-weather nylon US Flag for the Highland Park community. It is his third Flag donation since taking the CD14 office. Huizar was contacted by Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council President Monica Alcaraz on Thursday afternoon and took action the next day. The Flag was raised on Saturday night by American Legion Post #206 Judge Advocate General Tony Howard and his daughter. The request to Huizar for another Flag came at the culmination of a series of delays and detours in a plan by local community groups to have a properly-lit Flag installed at Highland Park Veteran's Memorial Square. The donation comes just in time for Veterans Day, and the Northeast Veterans Day Parade which ends its procession this year at Veterans Memorial Square on November 9.

The Square was fenced off and closed by former CD1 Councilmember Ed Reyes near the end of his term after serious homelessness and all-night party issues there. The fence was eventually taken down, but the lights to keep the Flag lit at the Square were suddenly inoperable. Reyes reached an agreement, he said, with LA City Recreation and Parks to have the parks department take over responsibility for maintenance and security at the Square in the future. When Councilmember Gil Cedillo took office, he was approached by local patriotic groups to install a properly lit Flag at the Square. 

After months of hand-wringing over the details, the Office of CD1 was finally able about a month ago to get the City street lighting department to get a single light working out of the three mounted around the Square. The others, including some of the actual street lights on the property, were still mysteriously inoperable after the street lighting workers checked them out. Community members were also told during a recent meeting held by the Northeast Patriotic Committee that the camping restrictions posted in signs at the Square, after the efforts by Reyes to put the property under the parks department, lacked enforcement criteria because the switch was never made through an official City Council motion.

Just this past Wednesday, graffiti at the Square spurred action. CD1 Field Representative Melinda Alatorre stepped up to have the graffiti abatement team remove the blight, and then a Twitter blast on the issue revealed an ample supply of community members willing to purchase a Flag with their own money. Huizar was approached by Alcaraz, who delivered his donated 8' by 12' Flag to the American Legion, which the Howard father and daughter combination hoisted up together on Saturday evening.

Looking north from York Boulevard, the Flag is lit by the single operable light and stands out as a glory to see after going so long without one. There are two more lights to fix and the next Flag could be a bit larger, but the community is off to a good start now. Highland Park is now ready to host the Northeast Veterans Day Parade.

by LA1 NEWS:

If you are one of those folks who truly believes that Echo Park and Silver Lake are part of the “Eastside” of Los Angeles, please stop reading this article. We have already lost you anyway. For the rest, LA1 News would like to offer a bit of advice on the topics of geography and sociology in communities east of the LA River.

Anyone growing up east of the River pretty much knows how it goes. Even if we were raised in a place like Highland Park, we withstood above and below breath comments from various friends, co-workers and even from our dates living and working in places like Downtown and Hollywood. "Hey Bob, you still living over there in East LA?" or "You went to Cal State LA, right? How was it going to school in East LA?" Highland Park is not East LA and it is not Eastside, either. It is Northeast. Cal State LA is not East LA, and it is not El Sereno. It is Eastside.

Cal State LA is in an Eastside neighborhood called "Metro." Someone living in Metro would never say that they live in El Sereno, because El Sereno was somewhat rival territory to them growing up whether they liked it or not. Gangs made that decision for them. Residents up in the homes atop the hills of Metro, just across from Cal State LA, organized about 20 years ago to form the community of "University Hills." University Hills, what remains of Metro and Cal State LA are all within the City of Los Angeles and are located in LA's "Eastside" along with Boyle Heights and Hazard.

Just across the freeway from Metro, the hills called City Terrace and all the other unincorporated areas between Boyle Heights and Monterey Park are located in the area which is actually named "East Los Angeles," or “East LA” and "EastLos" for short. As unincorporated areas they have to deal with the Sherriff’s deputies and therefore deserve that distinction more than the rest of us anyway. Yet at one time in our history the entire area east of the River as far north as Five Points in Lincoln Heights was simply known as East Los Angeles, until the unicorporated area officially adopted the name. Eastside is a term used to describe the LA City areas east of the River like Boyle Heights, Hazard, and the original historic Clover section of Lincoln Heights. 

Places like Boyle Heights, Hazard, Metro, Cal State LA, County-USC Medical Center and University Hills are in LA’s true Eastside, but City Terrace and all the unincorporated areas are East LA. Lincoln Heights, El Sereno, Montecito Heights, Highland Park and everything north including Toonerville are Northeast. Frogtown, Chinatown, Echo Park and Silver Lake are not Eastside and they are not Northeast, because they sit west of the River. Honestly, we are surprised this conversation is even going on.

One remaining question might be, "What is the dividing line between Eastside and Northeast?" Longtime veteranos confirm to LA1 News that the dividing line is the railroad tracks, which separate County-USC Medical Center from the lake at Lincoln Park. The same tracks separate Hazard from Hillside Village, and El Sereno from Metro. Eastlake Juvenile Hall is in Eastside, but just over the wall and across the same tracks into Lincoln Heights, on the north side of Main Street, it is Northeast.

by Mando Medina:

In a small community just northeast of downtown Los Angeles known as Highland Park (in NELA), crime has been skyrocketing over the past year. According to Commander Sandoval of the Northeast LAPD Division, in the past year 2015 violent crime has jumped 23% (violent crimes consist of homicide, rape and robbery). According to the LA Times crime stats, over the last three months, Highland Park averaged 4.8 violent crimes and 15.2 property crimes per week. That’s an average of two property crimes per day. In the last six months, in Highland Park the rate of 91.1 crimes per 10,000 people is higher than in nearby Glassell Park and lower than Lincoln Heights, Montecito Heights, Eagle Rock, Cypress Park and Mount Washington.

January started with a 19-year-old male identified as Kaelyn Michael Tarin discovered shot to death inside of his tent on Sunday, January 17, 2016, on the grounds of Sycamore Park on North Figueroa Street, near Ramona Hall. Preliminary findings is that Tarin may have sustained multiple gun shot wounds to his torso area. Tarin had been residing in the park area for some time and is the second homeless person killed in this same area within a six month time span. Was it a drug deal gone bad like the police are now claiming? Was it gang rivals entering another's territory to see where people are from? We may never know. This investigation remains ongoing.

In October, two young women found murdered in Debs Park. Investigators said the two women were fully clothed and did not appear to have been sexually assaulted. Rumors have it the girls were attacked by guys from their home area who heard they were dating guys from the other side of the hill. Like with all deaths to those some consider marginal, the truth may never be known to us in the public. Police believe the females, Gabriela Calzada and Briana Gallegos knew each other and were killed at the location at which they were discovered.

In December, authorities were looking for up to five men who followed undercover LAPD officers and then fired on the officers’ vehicle in a high-crime area of Rose Hills just south of Montecito Heights, near where Caldaza and Gallegos were found about two months earlier. The undercover officers were patrolling around Ernest E. Debs Regional Park about 3:30 p.m. when the men fired on them.

Also in December, two women were being sought after a 24-year-old man was found fatally stabbed in Highland Park, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Bryan Wilfredo Najarro, 24, was found suffering from multiple stab wounds and pronounced dead at the scene by Los Angeles Fire Department officials, according to the LAPD.

There was the fatal stabbing of 34-year-old Olugbenga Oni, whose body was found in an alley near Figueroa Street and Avenue 60 last January. Detective Ubaldo Zesati with the LAPD Northeast Division said the victim was stabbed in the upper torso and was killed in or near the alley. Police don’t believe that Oni, a black male who was found lying face-down in the alley at about 9:30 p.m., lived in the area but at this point they don’t have much information or a motive.

Allen Jay Milton, 43, was arrested and said to be the man responsible for the fatal stabbing of another man on a Metro bus in Highland Park on November 9, 2015. He is believed to be one of three men who boarded bus line 81 at Avenue 57 and Figueroa about 10:40 p.m. The men walked to the rear of the bus and began arguing with a man who was sitting alone, authorities said. That’s when Milton allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the man in the chest.

In November, Los Angeles police were searching for a man who attempted to sexually assault a woman on a busy Highland Park street on a Thursday evening. Officers responded to the area of York Boulevard and Toledo Street around 6:30 p.m. after a female victim was attacked, Los Angeles Police Department announced. Lt. Shah of the LAPD described the incident as an assault with the intent to commit rape.

Crime and homeless numbers have risen in the small town of Highland Park despite the unending attempts at gentrifying the community. As more people are being displaced, more people become homeless and head to the Arroyo only to be kicked out and forced to find another campsite. There is also a huge meth problem in Highland Park that adds to all the problems the area faces today. Council members Huizar and Cedillo and the HHPNC have not done much to solve the crime and homeless problem in the community. In my opinion, it seems they are more focused on gentrifying the community other than solving the problems Highland Park is facing today.

by Ric Sarabia:

Okay, perhaps it's still a bit early to tell. But I thought I felt a sense of warmth in the air today. It reminds me of last spring, and the rites of walking around Highland Park. Last April I’m walking home by the Gold Line station and there are these four skater kids there, and I didn’t have to walk by them but I thought - what are these guys even talking about?

One of them, maybe 17, bigger than me, steps in front of me and asks me if I want to trade hats with him. I had no idea what his move meant in that moment, but I totally did not think it would be asking to trade hats.

I looked at his - possibly a Brooklyn Dodgers cap - it’s an old-timey “B” on blue with back pointy bits. I told him I didn’t want his hat (it was kind of sweaty, actually) but if he wanted my hat, here it is dude.

He couldn’t believe it. I said take it. His buddies could hardly contain themselves as I walked away (it was only a couple of blocks home on this sunny day and I could easily survive being hatless).

I had just visited the Fallas Paredes store in Santa Maria - the two-story one - you should go - the week before, where I purchased three white fedoras for just under $11, one of which I just shared with a kid who will it remember this day.

I was on the Gold Line platform a couple of days later and I saw that skater kid wearing my hat. I pointed to him and he pointed to me.

Ric Sarabia is a 16-year resident of Highland Park. He is an actor.

by LA1 News

The NELA Catholic community was dealt a seriously negative blow alongside other California parishes with the news on Tuesday of the arrest of “Father” Erwin Mena for fraud. His alleged deceit in Los Angeles includes misrepresentation as a priest at Saint Ignatius Parish in Highland Park and Saint Bernard Parish in Glassell Park.

The Vicar for Clergy Office for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles cannot verify the status of “Father” Erwin Mena, whose full name is shown as Erwin Arnoldo Mena Castro, and who uses any combination of those names.

Mena is alleged to have embezzled funds here, in San Bernardino, and even up in Stockton. He is said to have organized trips and performed wedding rites with parishioners at Saint Ignatius Parish and elsewhere, resulting in the embezzlement of over $15,000 from his victims.

Mena has claimed affiliation with the Diocese of San Bernardino, the Jesuits, the Salesians and the Divine Word Missionaries, among others. He has told people that he is from, or was ordained in, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and California.

He was arrested on suspicion of grand theft and committing perjury and is being charged by prosecutors with 22 felonies and 8 misdemeanors.

The North Korean regime today announced that it had successfully launched a satellite into space atop a Kwangmyongsong-4 missile. The missile was launched despite a UN Security Council resolution and international condemnation, yet deemed a success by the communist dictatorial regime. Video footage from Japan and South Korea showing a trail in the sky consistent with a missile all but verified the successful three-stage launch.

North Korea claims the Kwangmyongsong missiles are developed for scientific purposes, and that the satellite from today’s launch is for “Earth observation.” However, it is widely known that North Korea is actively seeking a missile system capable of reaching the west coast of the United States. Los Angeles is an obvious first choice in terms of targeting, when one considers the fact that L.A.’s Koreatown is the largest Korean ethnic population center outside of Seoul.

The United Nations Security Council announced an emergency meeting today on how to respond to the latest episode. Last month North Korea completed a test of a nuclear device that it claimed was a hydrogen bomb. Hydrogen bombs are smaller than atom bombs and capable of being developed small enough to fit atop their current missile systems.

Today’s missile launch signifies North Korea’s transition from a medium-range missile development state to a long-range missile nation, and an increasing threat to our city and our veteran community. In the City of Los Angeles, 4.6% of the population is veterans. Los Angeles County is home to the largest veteran population in the United States, with over 300,000 living vets. Many of them are our uncles or grandfathers.

The time has come for the leaders in Los Angeles to unite and make a stand against North Korea’s goal of developing a nuclear missile capable of hitting our home. The South Koreans are asking us to deploy our Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) missile interceptor system to protect their nation and our city as well. It will be interesting to hear what our city’s members of Congress will say, if anything, about this threat to our home.

by David Bloom

The "scientific" satellite which North Korea claims it launched into orbit atop the Kwangmyongsong-4, long-range missile Saturday was apparently a success. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has officially added the satellite to its list of official devices in orbit around the Earth, and it is passing over the state of Louisiana right now.

Actually, according to NORAD, North Korea now has two satellites circling the Earth. The first satellite, which the regime claims to be the result of its third successful long-range missile launch into space, was placed into orbit in 2012. Saturday's second successful satellite launch was North Korea's fourth venture into space. Launched for "weather forecasting" and other scientific purposes according to the regime, it is also likely to be collecting images when it passes over the United States.

Kwangmyongsong 4, has the NORAD catalog number 41332 and Kwangmyongsong 3-2, launched in 2012, is 39026. Both North Korean satellites can be tracked an the website www.N2YO.com under the names KMS-4 and KMS 3-2.

by LA1 News

The band Parquet Courts is headlining two nights at Highland Park American Legion hall on Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28, from 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. A Brooklyn, New York band made up of Texas transplants playing a satisfying blend of punk rock occasionally infused with country influence, the group has sold out for the first night. The second night will be sold out before the day of the show. The band is playing with psychedelic rock heartthrob Chris Cohen on Saturday. Cohen is the child of a former music business executive Kip Cohen and former Broadway actress Lynn Carlisle. His sister is public radio reporter and host Alex Cohen. On Sunday's show Parquet Courts will play with "special guests," according to the event's flyer.

The two-show residency at the Legion is the result of a continuing outreach by the Spaceland Productions (from the owners of Spaceland and The Echo rock clubs in Echo Park) to other venues. Most of the outlying shows booked by Spaceland Productions to date have been held at the Regent Theater. The Parquet Courts shows will be the first shows promoted by Spaceland Productions in the live music-starved community of Highland Park. We local crowd will have to judge for themselves whether the music they hear is valid Sonic Youth New York punk, or a softened gentrification of the sounds so suitable to Brooklyn and Highland Park these days.

A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to Highland Park American Legion Post #206, a charitable nonprofit veteran service organization.

by LA1 News

   The line of recreational vehicles taking up residency across the street from Sycamore Park have returned. The campers were towed last month, in what one of CD1 Council Member Gil Cedillo's staff aides described as a public health hazard. Some local residents had been calling for their removal for over a year. Parents and staff at Arroyo Seco Museum Science Magnet School have described walking with their students past the area, witnessing disgusting sights of urine and feces-filled buckets outside the vehicles, and open drug use. After the murder of 19-year-old homeless youth Kaelyn Michael Tarin on January 17, just 200 meters or so away from the staging area, it appeared that enough was enough. The vehicles were quickly towed away one morning, forcing the vehicle owners to find somewhere else to go.

   Local homeless advocates were up in arms. They described a situation where displaced residents with nowhere else to go wound up taking refuge in one of the only places left, their campers, at perhaps the last stretch of street in greater Highland Park without parking restrictions designed to keep them away. Local council member staff, however, claimed the camper owners were given notice about 30 days prior to the tow action. Yet even today, street parking signs indicating which times are appropriate to park have yet to be installed.

   Will the campers be forced to move or towed yet again? Has Cedillo's office given in? Will City-sponsored RV and vehicle parking areas ever be provided? These are questions perhaps only the office of CD1 can best answer. One thing is known: The temporary shelter at All Saints Church at Avenue 56 and Monte Vista Street will close on April 1, leaving homeless persons temporarily sheltered there with nowhere else to go, except perhaps for Sycamore Park or the growing crowd squatting at the Veteran's Memorial Square at York and Figueroa.

by LA1 News

   CD1 Council member Gil Cedillo’s communications director, 36-year-old Fredy Ceja, was arrested for DUI just after midnight on Saturday. LAPD announced the arrest on the following Monday morning. He was arrested at Sixth and Spring streets. Cedillo’s office released a statement about Ceja’s arrest, calling the incident a private matter.

   “The incident involving Mr. Ceja was off hours and did not involve any City resources, as such it is a personal matter. In regards to his employment, this is a personnel matter and the privacy rights of all employees must be respected. I assure you, this will be handled appropriately once we are aware of all the details.”

   The incident occurred five blocks away from City Hall and at the intersection where Ceja's home is located. The arrest is a huge misstep for Ceja, who has shown himself to be a person known to overcome obstacles throughout his life. Despite being raised by a single mother alongside six siblings, Ceja overcame the odds and graduated from Cal State LA. He went on to become a leading activist on AIDS awareness in the Latino community. He has been open about his own diagnosis from the start. Ceja eventually worked his way up from that temporary obstacle to become Cedillo’s senior field deputy when his boss was a member of the California Assembly. This pitfall to Ceja’s career is going to be difficult to him to overcome.

   Ceja's most recent tweet reads: "RIP Nancy Reagan. But also let us not forget the many people that died due to the Reagan's inaction on AIDS. RIP."

   Gil Cedillo is scheduled to open the FigJam event this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. with welcoming remarks. He will give his remarks at the live music stage located at Avenue 58 and Marmion Way, the site of the Highland Park Farmers Market on Tuesdays.

A square dance group will play upstairs, with local rock and punk groups performing downstairs at the "Alternative FigJam" event in Highland Park this Saturday. Although the actual FigJam outdoor art and music festival starts at 11:30 a.m. the same day, this event will happen just north of Figueroa Street on the same evening, just after the outdoor event on Figueroa concludes. The event was inspired by local activists concerned with a prevalence toward embracing the new in Highland Park versus retaining the historic community which promoters say took decades to develop, yet mere months to nearly tear down. The residents who can afford to remain in Highland Park and surrounding neighborhoods, including the post-Mr. T's Bowl live music scene holdovers, decided to host their own event.

The event is being held at 227 N. Avenue 55, and music begins at 6 p.m. Further information about the event can be found by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/The-Alternative-FigJam-1680399255547514/

from IQ Multimedia:

by Bertha Rodríguez Santos

   While awaiting the arrival of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to help celebrate historic North Figueroa Street alongside developers, merchants and property owners, a group of activists overran the "FigJam" event on Saturday to denounce the displacement of hundreds of local families. Many of the displaced are Latino families that had to move to other areas or have become homeless due to urban development and gentrification. In the end, the mayor was a no-show for the event, but the activists conducted their street performance anyway and distributed information amongst those who did attend the festival.

   The FigJam event was created using a grant program tied to the "Great Streets Initiative," heralded by Mayor Garcetti at the beginning of his term. It is essentially a "seed fund" to encourage urban development, and which seeks that members of the Highland Park community and the entire Northeast Los Angeles area combine efforts to achieve a so-called "revitalization" of the area.

   "The Great Streets Initiative is about strengthening neighborhoods one 'main street' at a time," said Garcetti. "Angelenos are looking for dynamic and safe places to meet, to shop, to spend time with their families. This is what the Great Streets Initiative is all about." The idea is to host day-long celebrations on streets and sidewalks, without the presence of vehicles, so that people could walk around and have fun along the major streets of LA.

   But for Melissa, a 27-year-old born and raised in Highland Park, the reality is that, as a result of the arrival of businesses and residents with greater purchasing power, she has seen an increase of almost 100% in rents, with several families left homeless. A similar situation is faced by small business owners, many of whom had more than two decades of operating in the city but are now seeing the need to move away or close. "We want to make people aware that although people say we are living in vibrant times, the future brings plans to develop even more shops and cafes. What they are not bringing to light is the fact that rents have doubled, and people are being displaced," she says. "This also affects small businesses, the so-called 'mom and pop' stores whose owners have had their leases increase by a few thousand dollars per month. So what [the owners] are really saying is 'everybody out.'"

   The members of the Northeast Los Angeles Alliance (NELAA) traveled during their march on Saturday along several streets nearby to North Figueroa, and made a stop in front of an apartment building on Avenue 55 where 22 families were summarily evicted. Along the way, activists shouted the addresses of the former occupants who had to leave. 6415 Garvanza Avenue and 119 N. Avenue 51 were part of the list of more than 20 properties put on the real estate market to make room for development.

   The protesters also visited the winter shelter for the homeless at All-Saints Church where the residents, many of whom were left homeless by rising rents, will be left homeless once again when the shelter closes down in the spring season. They also stopped at the mural art space "Quetzalcoatl" by Andy Ledesma, which was inspired by the Zapatista struggle in Mexico. The mural has existed in Highland Park for over 15 years. The march ended at the alleyway next to the mural, at Avenue 60 and Figueroa. Protesters shared their testimonies together at the end, while listening to information put out by the Union of Tenants of Los Angeles.

   "The people affected here in Highland Park are low-income communities, Latin-American families, immigrants," Melissa says. "But the most vulnerable members of the community are its tenants because they are the first to be directly affected by the phenomenon of urbanization and urban development," said the young activist, whose parents are Mexican immigrants.

   The members of NELAA say that with gentrification life is harder for the local community. Street vendors have suffered the confiscation of their goods, young Latinos are labeled as gang members for not dressing like new residents, and displaced families are adding up by the hundreds. Melissa believes that some of the alternatives that would help alleviate the crisis generated by the urban development process is that the city could implement a new rent control policy in which rents do not rise with the value of properties. Also, the city could encourage "community land trusts," she says, where community groups could create and sustain communal housing.

   Another alternative is to ensure that members of the city council actually hear the voice of the community and ensure that developers are not allowed to come in without agreement by the community. "What we see today is that [city council members] are "pro development" because that is where the money is coming from," Melissa says. "This will not work if there is only one progressive city council member," adding, "therefore, we have to replace all of them." The activist invites other residents of Highland Park to participate in community meetings in order to have the neighborhood council boards halt evictions at homes and businesses. She says the community also needs to band together to file lawsuits like the one started by the "Friends of Highland Park" organization. Their lawsuit successfully stopped the proposed "Transit Village" development project. "Environmental impact reports need to be conducted to show how future development projects affect those nearby, whether they be renters, homeowners, or people who are running commercial spaces."

   NELAA tenants rights workshops are hosted in community libraries. The workshops connect people with attorneys who can help them to obtain economic resources for relocation. They have also organized four separate protests to date which highlight the artistic creativity of their participants. "Art is our medicine," Melissa says. "With it we can loosen the heavy loads we carry, be they racism or classism. For us, going out dancing and screaming in the streets is a release. At the same time, it creates a consciousness and knowledge."

Photo by Leopoldo Peña

from Our Town El Sereno:

by Annette Cruz

   2016 marks the fourth year of production for "Chicanas, Cholas Y Chisme," a series of shows written, directed, and produced by Los Angeles-area Latinas. They launched their latest series of short plays on March 11th at Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights. The series runs through Sunday, April 3rd.

   The idea for Chicanas, Cholas Y Chisme was conceived by Josefina Lopez who also founded Casa 0101 in 2000 as a non-profit arts organization dedicated to providing vital arts, cultural and educational programs. She has programs in theater, digital filmmaking, art and dance, easily accessible to residents in Boyle Heights and its surrounding communities. The Chicanas, Cholas Y Chisme program debuted in 2013 and was designed to foster more Latina creative work and build a community of Latina artists and producers.

   This year, the production features 14 new one-act plays written by emerging and experienced Chicana and Latina playwrights. Each play runs about 5 minutes. There are two acts with 7 plays in each, separated by a brief intermission. There are 10 actors, 3 of whom are male. The cast varies from one play to the next, with all the actors portraying different characters in several shorts. This gives the actors a chance to show their flexibility and diversity as they transform from one role and into another. Along with the 14 writers and associate producers, there are eight directors and a 14-person production team. The stories presented covered a wide array of women’s struggles. Death, love, family, immigration, abuse, coming of age, sexual identity and dating are just some of several more topics that the plays touched upon.

   The power in these short performances was evident right from the start, engaging the audience with a myriad of feelings as the stories began to unfold. It immediately punches you in the gut. The actors deftly navigated the complex material with powerful and emotional performances that moved the audience from tears and gasps to bursts of laughter. The emotional impact of these tales was immeasurable. As a third generation Mexican-American, I related to these stories. As did my Costa Rican husband, who just became an American citizen 5 years ago. With the mention of local establishments like Eastside Luv and the taco truck on York Boulevard, the stories had a familial quality that made me feel right at home, as if they were being performed right in my own living room.

   Two members of this year’s Chicanas, Cholas Y Chisme production, Ana Bernal and Sylvia Chavez, each of whom is also part of Las Lunas Lucas, a local women’s writing club that meets weekly at Here & Now healing center in El Sereno. According to Josefina Lopez, who also serves as Artistic Director for this production, “We mentor women at our theater to create the opportunities needed for women to take their rightful place as writers, directors and producers and not just as actresses so that there will someday be equity in the American Theater. I mentor women because the process of making art is just as important as the results of making art, and all our voices need to be included in every aspect of the creation of art so women and humanity can truly be free.”

   The lack of opportunities afforded creative women of color is an issue that truly merits this endeavor, and the women (and men) of Chicanas, Cholas Y Chisme deserves our gratitude, our support, and our applause. In order to achieve their “well oiled” live stage production, CASA 0101 hosts a series of writing workshops beginning in the fall and continuing into winter with directing and production workshops, all in preparation of the festival. Over the course of seven months, the women artists involved with Chicanas, Cholas Y Chisme, who are also professionals in other fields and often have families to take care of, devote themselves to bringing their creative vision to life. Their tireless efforts come to fruition with a magic and love that lights up the stage.

   This production swells with authenticity and cultural pride in a way that is both unifying and welcoming. It highlights the love and humanity that is found in the everyday stories of the people living in our vibrant neighborhoods and celebrates the lives that make up the fabric of our diverse communities. Do yourself a favor and bring the whole family to witness the magic these women have created. You’ll be glad you did.

Photo by Annette Cruz

from IQ Multimedia:

by Bertha Rodríguez Santos

   A dozen members of the National Lawyers Guild were arrested on Monday, March 21 in Los Angeles during an act of civil disobedience against U.S. immigration policy. Their demand was for President Barack Obama to the stop deportations of undocumented families, as the humanitarian crisis relating to our current immigration policy is adversely affecting the lives of millions of people. Supported by community members and organizations specializing in immigrant rights, the lawyers blocked a vehicle entrance to the Federal Detention Center at the Roybal Federal Building.

   The attorneys were released later in the afternoon and must appear in court to face charges. However, they stressed their success in sending a clear message: the community will do everything in its power to stop the separation of families. Before being detained, lawyer Betty Hung said the Department of Homeland Security should provide a humanitarian response to the crisis caused by immigration deportations. "We demand that the Department of Homeland Security to respond to the Central American and Mexican migration as an urgent humanitarian crisis. Investigate the causes of migration and the effective ways to counter it."

   "Many Central Americans and Mexicans are fleeing the violent conditions of their countries, and they should qualify for asylum. The Department of Homeland Security should consider other protective measures, in addition to providing temporary protected status, or TPS, to more Central Americans already in United States," she said.