by LA1 News

   San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputies responded on Easter Morning to a 911 report of shots fired in the Deep Creek Hot Springs area of Apple Valley. The report came in to the Victor Valley sheriff's station of over 100 shots fired by men "wearing turbans." An aerial search was conducted due to the rugged terrain, which located a group of 17 men. They were allegedly found in possession of several handguns, one rifle and a shotgun.

   The men were, according to "Victor Valley News," interviewed by a local FBI agent and subjected to records checks. With no outstanding warrants or criminal histories, and weapons "registered with the Department of Justice except for the rifle," the detainees were let go. Despite interviews with several hikers in the area, no evidence was found to support the original 911 report of a crime of shots fired.

   Local online comments on the issue were to the point. Apple Valley, home of American western icon Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans, is an all-American town promising "A Better Way of Life." One comment thread reads: "released? are you kidding me? The terrorist that shot up IRC had his friggen wepons registered. Time to pertect [sic] ourselves, Next time i think its time time shoot back. or mybe us americans will get arrested for pertecting ourselves! Another more docile resident countered with, "It seems some anti-american second amendment haters walk their dogs out there... or something. Maybe the people who called the cops are really the terrorists... We better start arresting people for what they might do!"

from Brooklyn&Boyle:

by Abel Salas

The Water of Life Remains in the Dead, Maria Nieto. Moorpark, CA: Floricanto Press & Berkeley Press, 2012. Pp. 198. $19.95 (paper)

   With her second Alejandra Marisol mystery, author Maria Nieto—a real life biologist who teaches in the Bay Area and, as such, has an understandably more informed appreciation for the forensic sciences—has reached into a reserve of deft humor and a lifetime of personal observation to generate a proto-Chicana super-sleuth that we can as proud of as we are entertained by. Meet Alejandra Marisol, the intrepid protagonist of Nieto’s first two outings as a mystery suspense writer.

   A Los Angeles Times reporter with gumption, Nieto’s unlikely gumshoe tools around town in a powder blue Volkswagen Beetle named Azulita and is pulled into solving a series of grisly murders that seem connected to the case she helped the authorities break in a previous novel, The Pig Behind the Bear. More than a sequel, however, The Water of Life Remains in the Dead is both allegory and a fast-pasted roller coaster ride through the underbelly of LA’s darker and less savory environs, even as it subtly explains how LA’s powerful political, economic and religious elite have long conspired to swindle, exclude, oppress and marginalize it’s large Mexican American population.

   Outside of her dual life as a professor of natural science and a newly published fiction author, Nieto is the daughter of a strident Chicano activist and the step-daughter of a Mexican American LAPD officer who was one of the very first Latinos ever promoted to detective during the tumultuous 1970s. So she really does know where the bodies are buried and who those skeletons rattling around in the closet belong to. Because of it, her narrative, though written in the clipped, direct language of the modern L.A. noir novel, is loaded with tragic truths and the kind of unbelievable plot turns that would be far-fetched from anyone else.

   As the nerdy science geek who spent her childhood in Highland Park navigating back and forth between disparate worlds, each as rife with danger as the next, Nieto is witty and imaginative. The puns and inside—occasionally bilingual—jokes fly fast and frequently. The history lessons come as natural aspects of Alejandra’s search for answers in a fictional mystery that unfolds in 1971.

   Iconic LA settings such as Clifton’s in downtown, St. Basil’s Church on Wilshire and Belvedere Park in East LA are juxtaposed with the true circumstances of several still obscure (perhaps by design) historical events such as the peaceful Católicos Por la Raza protest at St. Basil’s that ended in police violence against pacifist demonstrators, church collusion with the displacement of Chavez Ravine residents in favor of land speculators as well as other oft-buried, uncomfortable nuggets are peppered throughout the story.

   Of course, LA’s reputation as a city of glittering contradictions only serves to enhance the plausibility of the indelicate realities Alejandra Marisol’s journalistic investigations uncover each time another layer of truth is laid bare. With her savvy knack for connecting the dots and a fearless yearning to ensure the guilty are brought to justice, our heroine is aided and abetted by a cast of colorful characters that include “Gato,” in a return appearance as the black cat who exhibits eerily human behavior, Alejandra’s one-legged aunt Carmen, who isn’t “going anywhere,” despite her cancer diagnosis and a number of lovable extended family members who are on Marisol’s side as she chases the scoop no matter where it might lead.

   Filled with Fellini-esque humor and a plot that surprises with an unexpected ending, The Water of Life is a quick read. The sophomore effort endears us even more to Alejandra Marisol. As an introduction to the irrepressible reporter, it makes us want to read the preceding novel. It also leaves us wanting more, because we have long needed a Chicana hero with moxie to root for. The spunky, upstart LA Times reporter fits the bill. She seems ready-made for a television series or a movie of her own.

   Too bad Hollywood and those elite powers that be still aren’t willing to let go of their own notoriously backward notions of what Mexicans and Mexican Americans can or should be allowed to do. A producer with real creative vision would do well to option these books as an episodic production. Said producer would also do well to consider hiring a director inclined to cast an actual Mexican American woman in the lead role. In the immortal words of Marvel’s Stan Lee, “Nuff said!”

by David R. Bloom

   The perfect reason to stay loyal to Highland Park occurs every last Saturday of the month. The Arroyo Book Club meets at the Highland Park branch library at 3pm, and it is a good reminder of how a strong community endures despite the changes all around.

   On a Saturday afternoon, in a perfect world, I would be best put to task out gallivanting around for the evening’s dinner. I might be searching, in my wife’s mind, for a favorite cheese, or perhaps even heading out on my own free will wasting time to seek the perfect apéritif. Passing the library at the right time two weeks ago was a welcome diversion from both.

   The book club meeting is held downstairs in the community room. I walked in sheepishly, feeling the pressure of a former failed student at Franklin High School coming home to a room full of people who in comparison were sure to be intellectuals. Most likely of the Mount Washington vine. There were a few folks at the back of the room, so I took a seat at the front, which had me facing away from them. Better to be a fly on the wall.

   Discussions behind me waned from children and gardens to books and deceased relatives. “We used to call it the ‘sixty-dollar orange,’” an elderly lady fondly recalled. It was she and her husband’s first fruit bore from a tree for which they paid $60 in total to plant and grow at their home. Her name is Socorro Taylor. She and her husband worked hard on that orange tree, before he passed away not too long ago. “This year 10 oranges came off that tree. It was a real bumper crop,” she says.

   Mr. and Mrs. Taylor went on to grow a grapefruit tree which never really produced much, but ever since Mr. Taylor’s passing has also kicked into overdrive and she now has enough to share with her friends.

   It was all enough to bring me in from the cold. I approached the table as Ms. Sarah Moore arrived in the door. She is the librarian at Highland Park branch as well as the leader, organizer and de facto referee for the book group. Just before she began speaking, I noticed a person’s head lean back to look at me from the other side of Ms. Moore. It was Mrs. Taylor. She was smiling ear to ear, offering me a grapefruit.

   The joy continued. Each one of us was encouraged to share our email address by writing it on a sheet of paper. There was perhaps one person who had not lived in Highland Park for at least the past 15 years, judging from the welcome feeling put out by the group members. It was like Highland Park’s version of The Breakfast Club. As we moved on to introductions in the round, the parallel was too much not to notice. As a former Franklin wrestler, I nearly blurted out that I was there doing detention for taping Larry Lester together, but I resisted.

   The group was a wonderful mix of die-hard Highland Parkers who just like books and also like meeting with good people to talk about stories from the book, and stories from home. It is delightfully simple. There was an elderly Asian man whom one could deduct was a longtime resident. He stayed for most of the meeting and then courteously excused himself for needing to depart early for home, carrying two grapefruits. A lady who was raised in Highland Park was also there. She comes from out in the Pomona area to attend the meetings at the site of the old library building where she studied as a kid.

   About 12 people in total attended the meeting. Comments on the book covered topics such as the author’s switch from first and second and third person accounts weaved throughout the story, to the significance of an end of story prayer. Afterward I walked home, and book club member Tim Mellin was heading the same way. Come to find he has lived near me for the past 15 years, he in back of KFC, and me across from the 99-cent store. My wife commented to me immediately following my arrival and debriefing that Mrs. Taylor’s grapefruits are sweet.

   If you wanted to find a casual meeting based on hometown camaraderie, the Arroyo Book Club meetings are a good starting place. Don’t fear an uppity crowd made up of persons who look down from the end of their nose. Cookies are passed around for free, and people don’t really mind that much if you grab yours with a napkin or with your bare hand. Grab a second one, they suggest. The goal is comfort and respect.

For more information about the Arroyo Book Club, visit: http://www.lapl.org/whats-on/events/arroyo-book-club-3

from LA Progressive:

by Steve Hochstadt

   Long after the juvenile Republican presidential campaigns and campaigners of 2016 are forgotten, President Barack Obama’s movement toward normalization of relations with Cuba will still be talked about. That overdue effort is another reason why Obama’s practical and cautious foreign policy is superior to the bombastic and outdated belligerency of the Republicans.

   The history of American domination of Cuba presents a textbook case of the anti-democratic brutality and stubborn ideological self-interest of 20th-century American foreign policy. After Cuba won its independence from Spain in 1898, the US military repeatedly landed on the island to promote American economic interests against the protests of poor peasants, whose land had been taken by giant landowners, many of whom were US citizens. Repressive dictatorships were put into place and supported by American armed forces against all popular Cuban attempts to create more democratic systems.

   Fulgencio Batista represents the essence of 20th-century American policy in Latin America. From his base in the Cuban army, he overthrew the authoritarian government of Gerardo Machado in 1933. Supported by Franklin Roosevelt, Batista encouraged American economic interests in Cuba as he manipulated elections to dominate Cuban politics into the 1950s. After Batista overthrew another government in 1952, President Eisenhower threw full US support behind his corrupt and repressive regime.

   Fidel Castro and others tried unsuccessfully to overthrow Batista in 1953, and were captured and jailed until 1955. Castro resumed the struggle from Mexico, and then landed in Cuba in 1956 and created a small guerrilla army in the Sierra Maestra mountains. The US government withdrew its support of Batista and after a three-year struggle, Batista fled the island and Castro’s forces entered Havana in January 1959.

   Within two months, the CIA formulated plans to overthrow Castro, fearing the spread of communism in Latin America. CIA clandestine intervention had already been “successful” in the 1954 coup against the elected Guatemalan government of Jacobo Arbenz. Thirty years of dictatorship followed, including the deaths or disappearances of about 250,000 people.

   After a series of escalating measures by both sides, the Cuban government nationalized property held by foreigners, mostly Americans, in August 1960. The Eisenhower administration responded by freezing Cuban assets in the US, cutting diplomatic ties, and instituting a commercial, economic, and financial embargo in October 1960. After John F. Kennedy took office, he allowed the Cuban invasion plans to proceed, leading to the disastrous Bay of Pigs fiasco in April 1961.

   The Bay of Pigs may have been a failure, but US-sponsored regime change, military intervention, and suppression of democratic opposition as “communist” continued to be basic elements of our Latin American foreign policy. After failing to destabilize the elected government of Joao Goulart in Brazil with a propaganda campaign, the CIA supported a military coup in 1964. The result was the suspension of civil liberties and abolition of political parties for the next 21 years, supported by widespread torture. In 1973, the CIA supported a military coup by General Augusto Pinochet against Chile’s elected government, leading to 17 years of military dictatorship in which thousands were killed or tortured. In 1976, the US supported a coup by Argentina’s military against the elected government, which led to 7 years of “Dirty War”, in which 30,000 people were “disappeared”. After 1968, both Republican and Democratic administrations gave “Operation Condor” technical and military assistance, helping right-wing dictatorships in Latin America to use state-sponsored terror to silence opposition. As many as 60,000 people were killed.

   Just before his assassination, President Kennedy had been exploring the possibility of a meeting between Cuban and American representatives. He told French reporter Jean Daniel, who was on his way to Cuba: “I believe that there is no country in the world including any and all the countries under colonial domination, where economic colonization, humiliation and exploitation were worse than in Cuba, in part owing to my country’s policies during the Batista regime. . . . Batista was the incarnation of a number of sins on the part of the United States.”

   The embargo Eisenhower initiated was a product of that immoral American foreign policy, which justified smashing democracy in Latin America because it threatened American interests. It has been continued for 55 years with the ironic justification that the Cuban government violated human rights, while we supported far more repressive and deadlier regimes throughout Latin America.

   American foreign policy in Latin America surrounding the time when the Cuban embargo was instituted has become an embarrassment. President Obama had to acknowledge American support for the military dictatorship and our role in the Dirty War when he visited Argentina last week.

   No balance sheet could possibly justify American encouragement for dictatorship, torture and mass murder across Latin America. The admission that we, much more than the Castro brothers, are responsible for human rights violations is long overdue.

   Ending the Cuban embargo is one necessary step in creating a real “good neighbor policy.”

   The following events listing is published each week on Thursday, and is often times updated after its original publication date. It identifies for residents the events occurring within their L.A. City community, with occasional listings from outside the city. To have your event included in our free listing, provide a flyer or picture file and a 50-word summary, and email them to: editor@la1news.com.

Friday, 4/22 (Earth Day)

Yours Cruelly at Jimmy's Place

WHEN:            Friday, April 22 - 8pm
EVENT TYPE: Live Music
LINK:              https://www.facebook.com/events/1717393008479041/
LOCATION:     Jimmy's Place (1623 San Fernando Rd. Burbank, 91504)

   We don't always recommend traveling outside the city to see a rock and roll show, especially one promoting acoustics sets. This one is different. L.A. band Yours Cruelly, led by the voluptuous female pirate Madelyne Cruelly, is always a sure bet. Variety is the spice of life and seeing the trio in acoustic form gives this gig a go.

Saturday, 4/23

Boyle Heights Street Cleanup

WHEN:            Saturday, April 23 - 9am to 12pm
EVENT TYPE: Community
LINK:              http://www.bhnc.net/calendar/#/?i=1
LOCATION:     Meet at Boyle Heights City Hall (2130 E 1st St. Boyle Heights 90033)

   Organizers are looking for 8 to 10 people to assist as cleanup crew members. Cleanups begin at 9am and end at 12pm. Organizers provide the tools, gloves, bags, and bulky item bins, in order to clean as much area as possible. The Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council will cover Cummings St. from 1st to 4th. From 12pm to 2pm, a BBQ and environmental fair will occur for all of the volunteers at Boyle Heights City Hall.

Mid-River Cleanup

WHEN:            Saturday, April 23 - 9am to 12pm
EVENT TYPE: Community
LINK:              http://www.folar.org
LOCATION:     L.A. River

   This year there is an urgent need for the 27th Annual Great Los Angeles River CleanUp. The dramatic El Niño swept through the watershed washing trash from surrounding areas into the channel which needs to be removed. April is Earth Month you have three Saturdays – April 16th, 23rd, and 30th – and fifteen sites to choose from along the entire course of the LA River. This Earth Month do your part – sign up for the CleanUp today! To participate you must register and turn in a completed waiver at the CleanUp. The mid-river cleanup on April 23rd will hit the following areas: Arroyo Seco Confluence | Fletcher Dr & Bowtie Parcel | The Frog Spot | Los Feliz Blvd Marsh Park | Steelhead Park | Sunnynook Footbridge.

Sunday, 4/24

The Sixth-Annual Kite Festival

WHEN:            Sunday, April 24 - 10am to 3pm
EVENT TYPE: Recreation
LINK:              https://www.facebook.com/events/1217434991641382/
LOCATION:     Ascot Hills Park (4371 Multnomah St, El Sereno 90032)

   Councilmember Jose Huizar and the LA-32 Neighborhood Council invite you to celebrate Earth Day with free arts and crafts and kite flying in the hills. There will be 500 free kites given to children under 18 years of age and 500 free commemorative participant medals. A picnic area is reserved with live jazz playing from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Bring your picnic basket, blanket and low chairs to enjoy some sunshine and music. Solar-powered video games will also be available for play.

Monday, 4/25

High School Baseball Franklin at Eagle Rock

WHEN:            Monday, April 25 - 2:15pm
EVENT TYPE: Sports
LINK:              http://tinyurl.com/hmqmsrf
LOCATION:     Eagle Rock High School (1750 Yosemite Dr, Eagle Rock 90041)

   The Eagle Rock Eagles baseball team has a home conference game vs. Franklin on Monday at Eagle Rock. Franklin has an overall record of 12-6, while the Eagles' overall record is 8-9. Both teams have a league record of 5-3. This cross-town rivalry game will provide bragging rights for the winner.

Tuesday, 4/26

Major League Baseball Miami Marlins at Los Angeles Dodgers

WHEN:            Tuesday, April 26 - 7:10pm
EVENT TYPE: Sports
LINK:              http://tinyurl.com/hjvystw
LOCATION:     Dodger Stadium

   Former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is in town. Tonight is 'USC Night.' The Dodgers take on the Marlins for the second of four games against Miami at home. The Dodgers are in first place in the NL West, with San Diego trailing by a game and a half. Cold weather lately so dress warm or wait until tomorrow's 'Fleece Blanket Night' giveaway. 'UCLA Night' on Thursday.

by LA1 News

   Council District 1 Field Deputy Melinda Ramos-Alatorre has apparently called it quits. She wrote an email to local stakeholders on Monday, April 18, announcing that her last day would be today. Alatorre is known in her area as a responsive public representative who eventually showed herself to be sensitive and open to grassroots causes. Although described initially as green by would-be detractors, she evolved to balance the tightrope between being a public face to the Cedillo's controversial agendas and the loyal deputy she was hired to be for him.

   Is Ramos-Alatorre jumping a sinking ship? With the pending loss of communications director Fredy Ceja that could be the case. Highland Park business owner Jesse Rosas, who ran third behind Cedillo and Gardea in the last CD1 election, has pulled papers for the 2017 contest for CD1. Local pundits are also throwing names like Monica Alcaraz and Josef Bray-Ali into the contest hat. Cedillo announced on March 19 of this year, a week after Ceja's arrest for Suspicion of DUI, that Figueroa Street would become the safest street in Los Angeles. It was a nod of support to the bike lane enthusiast crowd he dumped just after the election.

Alatorre's departure email reads:

Good Morning,


   I hope this message finds you well. My last day with Council District 1 will be Friday, April 22nd. Conrado Terrazas will be taking on my major projects until a permanent replacement is found. He can be reached via email at Conrado.Terrazas@lacity.org. Please continue to send all of your case work needs to Pedro Ramirez at Pedro.Ramirez@lacity.org,


   The last two years have truly been a learning experience, and I have each and every one of you to thank for that. I thank you for continuing to work on Making Council District 1 Number 1!

In Unity,

--
Melinda Ramos-Alatorre

by Heberto M. Sanchez

   The financial crisis of 2008 is but a memory to most consumers and many voters. Yet to those who still remember, it is a painful memory of what happens when greed takes hold and the public is uneducated in finances. Since 2008, we have seen legislation and programs at the national and state levels intended to improve financial literacy for both adults and young students.

   President Obama proclaimed April 2015 as National Financial Capability Month, and in 2011 Congress established United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to protect and educate consumers. As gallant as these efforts are, they and various other initiatives are still accessed by only a few people, and even fewer minorities. This is due to the fact that financial literacy classes, especially those aimed at students, are abstract and provide little to no practical concept to support responsibility for one's own finances. There are indeed some well conceived programs that establish bank accounts for students to teach them how to balance their check books, which is an encouraging first step. That is not enough, however, as the core principals of finance, lending and borrowing, are missing. Financial literacy, directed to students, should be thought using practical financial applications.

   Teaching students about personal finances is only part of the battle. The next step is teaching them how to start and run their own businesses. In addition to financial literacy classes, schools and organizations should consider linking those financial literacy lessons with entrepreneur or small business courses. The goal would be to teach students how to start their own businesses (i.e. how to write a business plan, how to get a loan, how to manage employees, etc). Many of these small business courses are available through the US Small Business Administration and community colleges, and could be designed for middle and high school curriculums as well.

   Innovative ideas are what is needed. Schools should be encouraged to think outside of the box. Schools should consider starting student loan boards on campus. These boards would be managed by students, similar to the associated student body, and would administer funds through loans to school programs. These loans would help supplement athletic programs, clubs, or student projects such as snacks delivery during final exam times, car wash services, etc. These loans are then repaid with interest by the programs activities fundraising efforts. The money earned would be recycled back to these programs each year from the repayments plus interest. The goal would be to allow students to receive hands-on experience on how the loan process works from the standpoint of banks and loaning agencies. The Student Loan Board format is currently being applied locally here in Los Angeles.

   Just as education is a high priority, so should the financial education of our youth be our priority. Although many people still consider personal finances a private matter to be taught by parents, the subprime mortgage crisis showed us that even parents may need a lesson in finances. Our children need to know how money is created and how it works if they are going to have a chance at living the “American Dream.” Until schools incorporate practical financial literacy and entrepreneur courses into their curriculum (teaching practical finance strategies and monetary policy), we run the risk of experiencing a far larger financial crisis. This is especially true when related to student debt repayment default, which may lead to fewer small businesses due to students not having the credit score or funding to start a business due to their student debt.

Heberto M. Sanchez is the Founder and President of the Latino Educational Fund, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded to help Latino students improve their lives.

by David R. Bloom

   Thirty-eight-year-old Tony Infante, an American citizen of Mexican descent, has lived with his wife at 4930 Echo Street in a rent-controlled Highland Park apartment for the past three years. The couple pays their $1,000 rent on time each month, yet in March their landlord’s “handyman,” a side of beef by the name of Jacob Avila, claimed the money simply never got to them, Infante says.

   Tony Infante understands their landlord to be a man named simply “Rabbi Goldstein,” whom Infante has never met and only spoke with briefly over the phone once. Tony offered to Rabbi Goldstein to travel immediately to the management office to correct the rent check situation, but Infante says Rabbi Goldstein told him not to bother. "We are turning the place over," Infante claims the rabbi said. After that, Infante and his wife began receiving eviction threats, he says. Avila offered Infante three months of rent and his security deposit back on behalf of the management company, in exchange for moving out. One of Infante's dogs started barking at the moment he refused Avila's offer, and Infante says Avila then told him, "See, right there. You have animals. That's a cause for eviction." Infante says that when he broke out his lease agreement to show that his unit is pet friendly and he had the required animal deposits, Avila said, “Well things are going to get real ugly then.”

   Infante received a letter from his management company in April, stating that work needed to be done in his apartment the following week, from Monday through Thursday. But when Avila arrived at Infante’s unit that day to start the work, he was refused entry. Infante claims that Avila then called the cops, reporting him as a man with a gun. Northeast police officers arrived to investigate the claim, but wisely saw through the money grab and let Infante go. To say it’s hard to keep a rent-controlled apartment in Highland Park these days is like saying there’s some division in this lovely community of over 57 thousand people. It’s too well known a fact to even mention anymore.

   Immediately after the refusal to accept his rent in March, Infante hired an attorney from East Los Angeles named Christopher Lauria. It was Lauria who instructed his client to refuse the demands of the work notice in April. Infante also hired a daytime house sitter to cover the place while he and his wife were away at work. The house sitter was outside the day the cops came. She told Infante after they left that she watched from outside as the cops entered his home in search for the reported gun that was never found. Additional police officers stood guard outside armed with assault rifles, she said. The house sitter says she heard Avila tell the police that Infante had a gun, and that Avila “was pacing around out there alongside the police the whole time,” Infante says.

   Since then, Infante also contacted a sergeant Zavala of the LAPD, and Zavala gave him useful information on how to protect himself from future victimization. Infante also noticed a recent news article posted in his laundry room, written by Highland Park activist Armando “Mando” Medina. In his article, Medina described gentrification and racism as going hand in hand. Infante called Medina right away, who put him in touch with LA1 News.

   On Wednesday, April 20, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at Figueroa Street and Avenue 50, to celebrate the start of construction of a new condominium complex for the community. While the big-wig party ensued, Infante says Avila arrived at his unit and began doing some of the repairs anyway. Infante says Avila broke a cracked bedroom window from outside, resulting in shards of glass atop his bed when he arrived home from work. Avila had changed out the window and left the mess, Infante claims.

   Tony Infante met his wife at the University of San Francisco in 2004. He was an English Literature major, then switched to Political Science, finally graduating with a degree in Philosophy. She studied Psychology. Love came next, and in 2013 they agreed to move to Highland Park to get married and live closer to her father’s home in Pasadena. They have two small dogs, Chuy and Duquesa. “I never imagined a situation like this happening to me and my family,” he says. “We are very abiding people who really cause no trouble. I am not sure why we are being targeted the way we have been.”

   Calls by LA1 News to Infante's ladlord at R&E Management, with messages to a Jacob Goldstein there regarding this situation, have not been returned.

by Bryan Santamaria

   Jeff De Rosas is a local young man of Highland Park who is most happy when he's out skating. Unfortunately, we will not have the luxury to see Jeff skate with us anytime soon. Jeff suffered an injury to the head a couple of months back. His injury resulted from a stray bullet during a drive-by shooting. Jeff received the injury while attending a house party in Highland Park.

   According to several witnesses at the party who remain anonymous, Jeff and his friends were inside the house when someone in a passing vehicle fired the shots. As one witnesses recalls, "Once the commotion cleared, they noticed Jeff." He was merely an innocent bystander who only wanted be out around friends. Yet he lay down shot that night for reasons he could not control.

   In solidarity with our friend, Jeff, the skate community has come together to pay respect for the battle he is taking on. In need of brain surgery, he does not have to fight alone. His fight is our fight, and standing alongside the De Rosas family we can overcome the hatred and violence in our communities. By supporting the cause, we can help to heal and build towards a better future, where innocent people like the De Rosas can live happy.

   On Saturday, April 30 from 2pm to 6pm, the skater community and our wonderful vendors and supporters with gather once again at Garvanza Park. There will be music, a skateboarding contest, prizes, raffles and much more. Just like we did it for Carlos “Ekeh” Arellano in September 2014. Together, we will overcome the hatred and violence and gather in peace and loving support of our community. All proceeds will be donated to the De Rosas Family.

A Fundly page has been set up for Jeff De Rosas. https://fundly.com/pray-for-jeff-de-rosas

#prayforjeff

   The following events listing is published each week on Thursday, and is oftentimes updated after its original publication date. It identifies for residents the events occurring within their own City of Los Angeles community, with occasional listings from outside the city. To have your event included in our free listing, provide a flyer or picture file and a 50-word summary, and email them to: editor@la1news.com.

Friday, 4/29

DJ DUSK • The 10 Year Re-Birthday Reunion

WHEN:     Friday, April 22 - 8pm
EVENT TYPE: DJ
LINK:     www.facebook.com/events/249064842109112/
WHERE:     Oddville - 734 S. Main St. DTLA 90014

   This event is a celebration of the life of DJ Dusk (Tarek Habib Captan). His friends are hosting a bash in his honor, 10 years after his death. Described as "the original 'Mash Up' DJ," DJ Dusk blended music, art, culture, community, friends, love and taste, his friends say. From their FB event page: "Ten Years Ago our tremendous loss, was also, in many ways our tremendous gain. His Inspirational example of showing love and support indiscriminately. As well as taking time to make everyone in a room remember that they are important and accepted. And that this is only possible through hard work and dedication, and love."

Saturday, 4/30

Pray for Jeff Skate Event

WHEN:     Saturday, April 23 - 9am to 12pm
EVENT TYPE:    Community
LINK:     tinyurl.com/jswdncu
LOCATION:     Garvanza Skate Park 513 N. Avenue 63. Garvanza 90042

   The close riends of Jeff De Rosas, a Highland Park skateboarder who was tragically struck in the head by a bullet from a drive-by shooting, have organized a skate event to support him. De Rosas is in the hospital in need of brain surgery, and his friends are doing everything they can to help Jeff De Rosas and his family during this time. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Jeff De Rosas is the victim of senseless violence in our communities. If there is one fundraiser you support in Highland Park this year, this might make the top of your list. Skate trick contest, giveaways, and more.

March for Babies 2016

WHEN:     Saturday, April 23 - Registration: 6:30am; Start Time: 8:30am
EVENT TYPE:    Philanthropy
LINK:     www.marchofdimes.org/california/events/10306_3137373337.html
LOCATION:     Exposition Park - 700 Exposition Park Drive, Los Angeles 90037

   March for Babies is March of Dimes' largest fundraiser. Each year nearly 4,000,000 babies are born in the United States and March of Dimes touches each one of them. March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Premature birth is the #1 killer of babies in the United States. In the U.S. one in ten babies are born too soon. Babies who survive an early birth may have lifelong health problems such as cerebral palsy, vision and hearing loss, and learning disabilities. Help raise funds to prevent premature birth and birth defects by walking in March for Babies.

Sunday, 5/01

Craft & Folk Art Museum

WHEN:     Sunday, May 11a-6p
TYPE:    Art
LINK:     www.cafam.org/visit/
WHERE:    5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles 90036

   The Sunday admission cost at the Craft and Folk Art Museum is "pay what you can." On regular days, general admission is $7, students and seniors (65+) is $5, with veterans and active military free! Children under 10 are always free. We like their Sunday price plan and their respect for seniors, veterans and service members.

Tuesday, 5/03

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

WHEN:            Tuesday, May 3 - 9:30am to 5pm
EVENT TYPE: Museum
LINK:              http://www.nhm.org/site/calendar
LOCATION:     Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County - 900 Exposition Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90007

   With the Natural History Museum's 'Wells Fargo Free First Tuesdays,' Admission cost is also FREE admission to the museum the first Tuesday of each month (except July and August) plus free admission every Tuesday in September. Wells Fargo Free First Tuesdays gives Museum visitors free general admission on the first Tuesday of every month (except July and August), and free Museum admission every Tuesday in September. We recommend reserving tickets in advance to guarantee Museum entry and to skip the line, as we experience high attendance on these days. Please note there is a maximum of 8 tickets per reservation.

from Brooklyn&Boyle:

by Citlalith Pérez

   Reprising the inaugural community-wide, multi-media homage to “Lucha Libre,” the Mexican wrestling sport characterized by larger than life characters, theatrical showmanship, acrobatic virtuosity and a perennial parade of masked wrestlers, Exodus Events is pleased to present the second annual edition of LA’s most authentic homage to the internationally popular tradition. The event takes place Saturday at Plaza De La Raza at Lincoln Park.

   Part sport and part made-for-TV entertainment, the classic Lucha Libre wrestling legacy—the unique cultural expression which originated in Mexico and went on to spawn the wildly successful World Wrestling Federation (now the publicly traded World Wrestling Entertainment) media juggernaut—has inspired a growing legion of fans even as it has stoked the imaginations of countless aficionados drawn to its pageantry, near comic book hero iconography and all-American fun.

   The brain-child of artist Antonio Pelayo, founder of Exodus Events, “La Bulla” began as an effort to honor the creative artistry that defines the Lucha Libre pantheon of heroes and villains. For him and many others like him, the rotating cast of colorful masked combatants—who battle in the ring as mortals without the advantage of super-powers—represent the hopes and aspirations of regular people who struggle heroically day in and day out to claim their fair share of the American Dream.

   “I grew up with Mil Mascaras and Blue Demon,” says Pelayo, La Bulla creator/producer and award-winning graphite artist who has worked as an illustrator at Disney Studios for over two decades. For him, as an immigrant born in Mexico and raised in the U.S., those two masked wrestlers were the embodiment of a will to survive and triumph against all odds in an adopted country built on dreams and the determination to succeed. “Last year we sold out,” Pelayo says. “We were actually surprised that so many people have the same appreciation for the spirit of Lucha Libre that we do.”

   Many U.S.-born aficionados of the distinctly Mexican sport found their way there through horror movies, pulp novels, wrestling magazines and occasional trips to visit relatives outside of the states. Their fascination for the masked wrestlers, who are human representations of the universal struggle between good and evil, transcends time and place. Pelayo is part of a vast community of fans from across the spectrum of nationalities and ethnicities that share a passion for the sport and all of its playful, largely improvised drama, its understated humor and often timely commentary on current social concerns and even politics.

   Beyond its popularity, which has led to network and cable-network cartoons, television shows, graphic novels, live theater, local wrestling leagues, Lucha Libre, with its elaborate masks and dramatic, almost cinematographic visuals as well as storylines, has also inspired fine artists such as Pelayo himself and many others whose work will be exhibited at the Plaza de la Raza Boathouse Gallery this month as a major element of La Bulla—originally the name of a luchador (masked wrestler) Pelayo admired as a child and for whom he was nicknamed and now—the title of the Lucha Libre tribute he spearheads for the second consecutive year.

   The art, music and live wrestling event will be held on April 30th at Plaza de la Raza, a community arts center which has operated in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood for over 40 years. The art exhibition, guest curated by internationally acclaimed graffiti artist and legendary Crewest Gallery founder Alejandro Poli AKA “Man One,” will feature Lucha Libre-themed works by 100 artists. This year, the “Lucha Libre experience,” as Pelayo describes it, will be hosted by model Yasmin Ferrada and filmmaker-playwright Richard Montoya, a founding member of the famed Culture Clash comedy troupe.

   La Bulla will also feature a performance by LA’s favorite cumbia-rock all-stars El Conjunto Nueva Ola, a band which has garnered a cult-following in record time and whose members often don Lucha Libre wrestling masks on stage. The La Bulla multi-media spectacular will also include, for the first time ever, a selection of film screenings organized by programming staff at the Hola Mexico Film Festival, which brings the best of Mexico’s contemporary independent cinema to Los Angeles yearly.


Tickets for La Bulla can be purchased online at www.labulla.eventbrite.com.

Plaza De La Raza
3540 North Mission Road
Los Angeles, CA 90031

(Photo courtesy: Santino Bros. Wrestling Academy)

from Brooklyn&Boyle:

by Abel Salas

The Water of Life Remains in the Dead, Maria Nieto. Moorpark, CA: Floricanto Press & Berkeley Press, 2012. Pp. 198. $19.95 (paper)

   With her second Alejandra Marisol mystery, author Maria Nieto—a real life biologist who teaches in the Bay Area and, as such, has an understandably more informed appreciation for the forensic sciences—has reached into a reserve of deft humor and a lifetime of personal observation to generate a proto-Chicana super-sleuth that we can as proud of as we are entertained by. Meet Alejandra Marisol, the intrepid protagonist of Nieto’s first two outings as a mystery suspense writer.

   A Los Angeles Times reporter with gumption, Nieto’s unlikely gumshoe tools around town in a powder blue Volkswagen Beetle named Azulita and is pulled into solving a series of grisly murders that seem connected to the case she helped the authorities break in a previous novel, The Pig Behind the Bear. More than a sequel, however, The Water of Life Remains in the Dead is both allegory and a fast-pasted roller coaster ride through the underbelly of LA’s darker and less savory environs, even as it subtly explains how LA’s powerful political, economic and religious elite have long conspired to swindle, exclude, oppress and marginalize it’s large Mexican American population.

   Outside of her dual life as a professor of natural science and a newly published fiction author, Nieto is the daughter of a strident Chicano activist and the step-daughter of a Mexican American LAPD officer who was one of the very first Latinos ever promoted to detective during the tumultuous 1970s. So she really does know where the bodies are buried and who those skeletons rattling around in the closet belong to. Because of it, her narrative, though written in the clipped, direct language of the modern L.A. noir novel, is loaded with tragic truths and the kind of unbelievable plot turns that would be far-fetched from anyone else.

   As the nerdy science geek who spent her childhood in Highland Park navigating back and forth between disparate worlds, each as rife with danger as the next, Nieto is witty and imaginative. The puns and inside—occasionally bilingual—jokes fly fast and frequently. The history lessons come as natural aspects of Alejandra’s search for answers in a fictional mystery that unfolds in 1971.

   Iconic LA settings such as Clifton’s in downtown, St. Basil’s Church on Wilshire and Belvedere Park in East LA are juxtaposed with the true circumstances of several still obscure (perhaps by design) historical events such as the peaceful Católicos Por la Raza protest at St. Basil’s that ended in police violence against pacifist demonstrators, church collusion with the displacement of Chavez Ravine residents in favor of land speculators as well as other oft-buried, uncomfortable nuggets are peppered throughout the story.

   Of course, LA’s reputation as a city of glittering contradictions only serves to enhance the plausibility of the indelicate realities Alejandra Marisol’s journalistic investigations uncover each time another layer of truth is laid bare. With her savvy knack for connecting the dots and a fearless yearning to ensure the guilty are brought to justice, our heroine is aided and abetted by a cast of colorful characters that include “Gato,” in a return appearance as the black cat who exhibits eerily human behavior, Alejandra’s one-legged aunt Carmen, who isn’t “going anywhere,” despite her cancer diagnosis and a number of lovable extended family members who are on Marisol’s side as she chases the scoop no matter where it might lead.

   Filled with Fellini-esque humor and a plot that surprises with an unexpected ending, The Water of Life is a quick read. The sophomore effort endears us even more to Alejandra Marisol. As an introduction to the irrepressible reporter, it makes us want to read the preceding novel. It also leaves us wanting more, because we have long needed a Chicana hero with moxie to root for. The spunky, upstart LA Times reporter fits the bill. She seems ready-made for a television series or a movie of her own.

   Too bad Hollywood and those elite powers that be still aren’t willing to let go of their own notoriously backward notions of what Mexicans and Mexican Americans can or should be allowed to do. A producer with real creative vision would do well to option these books as an episodic production. Said producer would also do well to consider hiring a director inclined to cast an actual Mexican American woman in the lead role. In the immortal words of Marvel’s Stan Lee, “Nuff said!”

by LA1 News

   San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputies responded on Easter Morning to a 911 report of shots fired in the Deep Creek Hot Springs area of Apple Valley. The report came in to the Victor Valley sheriff's station of over 100 shots fired by men "wearing turbans." An aerial search was conducted due to the rugged terrain, which located a group of 17 men. They were allegedly found in possession of several handguns, one rifle and a shotgun.

   The men were, according to "Victor Valley News," interviewed by a local FBI agent and subjected to records checks. With no outstanding warrants or criminal histories, and weapons "registered with the Department of Justice except for the rifle," the detainees were let go. Despite interviews with several hikers in the area, no evidence was found to support the original 911 report of a crime of shots fired.

   Local online comments on the issue were to the point. Apple Valley, home of American western icon Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans, is an all-American town promising "A Better Way of Life." One comment thread reads: "released? are you kidding me? The terrorist that shot up IRC had his friggen wepons registered. Time to pertect [sic] ourselves, Next time i think its time time shoot back. or mybe us americans will get arrested for pertecting ourselves! Another more docile resident countered with, "It seems some anti-american second amendment haters walk their dogs out there... or something. Maybe the people who called the cops are really the terrorists... We better start arresting people for what they might do!"

by LA1 News

   Robert “Bob” McGibbon was back in town this weekend. He stopped by the shop to square away a few things before the big move to Arizona. McGibbon, the owner of “McGibbon’s Auto Body" on York Blvd in Highland Park, certainly deserves the break. He served his country honorably during Vietnam then served his community as an honest businessman and 35-year member of the American Legion’s Highland Park Post #206.

   Bob McGibbon says he purchased the site of McGibbon’s Auto Body for $15,000 back in 1965. “It was still a lot of money back then,” he says. “Plus we bought the two-bedroom house a couple years later.” Asked how much he sold the auto body shop for now, McGibbon replied with a price of $1.5 million. “I sold it to the guy down the street who bought the pool hall recently,” he said.

   The pool hall owner McGibbon refers to is Dustin Lancaster, who owns The Hermosillo and Highland Park Brewery along with two other partners. Lancaster recently launched an attempt at live music at the pool hall, and has a number of other projects going on west of the LA River and in the Valley.

   What will McGibbon’s Auto Body become now? Bob McGibbon says the new owner is continuing with the property as-is for now. “He’s having some trouble getting the permits he needs, but it’s going to be an auto body shop,” McGibbon said, concluding with, “I’m going to Arizona, but I’m not retiring.”

by LA1 News

   It was a pleasant day of 78 degrees when LA1 News set out to cover the story yesterday. The sun was bright in Highland Park and energy was in the air, apparently. As we turned the corner at Avenue 55 and Figueroa Street, DOT workers were scattered in among a throng of city suits with lots of hair gel. Traveling northbound on Avenue 55, we pulled over to park just before Monte Vista Street. Highland Park Post #206 former commander and Vietnam veteran Larry Wible came walking out. He was alongside Helen Weston of Northside Inn, Richard’s Hofbraü and Mr. T’s bartending fame.

   Invited by Council District 1 to bear witness, Larry, Helen and the post commander headed to 55 and Fig for the new street light installation ceremony. As the Legion folks strolled down the east side of the street, a group of young school children from Monte Vista Elementary School walked on the opposite side, led by their teacher and trailed by the teacher’s aide. The kids wore Indian-style headbands with the proverbial feather creatively replaced by a cute traffic signal.

   Everything was fine with the approach to the community event, until just past the Gold Line tracks. Suddenly, from her porch, a female Latina yelled out at Helen the Legion bartender, “What the hell are you doing here, you white bitch? This is a Mexican neighborhood! Get out of here!” With advice from Wible about considering the source, and Helen not showing the mood to display her famous temper, the walk went on as planned.

   Arriving on scene, most of the North Figueroa mainstays were already there. Cheryl Johnson from Bob Taylor’s office came out. Heinrich Keifer was there with his wife. Librarian Sarah Moore brought the new “Book Bike” to the event, and Misty Iwatsu of the North Figueroa Association showed up sporting her North Figueroa t-shirt.

   It was an impressive display of outreach and the resultant local support. The event was noble, in the name of public safety. Still, the ugly stain of the verbal abuse unleashed by the troll on the porch hung in the air. After all, Highland Park is a tinderbox of racial tension these days. Not long from now, it could all explode.

   The kids from Monte Vista made a rhyme for the event. “Red means stop. Green means go. Yellow means wait, even if you’re late.” Gil Cedillo took to the microphone to thank the entire crowd and express regret for the loss of lives on North Figueroa over the years, due to vehicles striking pedestrians. Yolanda Lugo was killed at this very intersection this past September. Three months later, 17-year-old Andres Perez was struck and killed at Avenue 60 while walking to school. War veteran Bill Matelyan was killed at Avenue 26 in 2014, Jose Luna at Marmion Way in 2015, all at streets intersecting North Figueroa.

   While the loss of lives due to traffic in Highland Park is significant, a larger problem exists. The entire community is now disjointed with small fiefdoms in battle against each other. Having the historic community split in two separate council districts only complicates the issues. Cedillo was elected by the smallest of margins, only to have his very own Latino constituency turn against him for being too friendly to development, and gentrification. Huizar and the folks up on York have apparently found a new name for the historic York Valley community. They’re calling it York Village now, to nobody’s notice.

   Jesse Rosas, who ran against Cedillo in 2013 and then endorsed him on the promise of a chief of staff job that never came, is running against him again next year. Rosas has his own business association on North Figueroa to counter the North Figueroa Association. In the old days, the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce boasted business owner/members from both main drags. There were monthly mixers at the Ebell Club and other venues in the neighborhood. The chamber only exists in name now.

   Josef Bray-Ali put his name in the hat last week, and has pulled papers to run against Cedillo next year. Bray-Ali, initially a Cedillo supporter, is the owner of Flying Pigeon Bicycle Shop and collective and is Cedillo’s biggest critic nowadays. Contacted by LA1 News this week, he described any future hopes of a bike lane on North Figueroa as “dead in the water.” Bray-Ali says he is now running on separate platforms like responsible development and stakeholder responsiveness.

   The area of Highland Park is going to continue to either flourish or decline, depending on individual opinion. However, the community of Highland Park is going to continue to disappear, and it may very well be gone forever unless someone can step up to bridge the divide. Responsible, inclusive community events need to be held, much like the street light event put on by Cedillo, who has surprisingly kept his head up amidst the tugs and pulls from all sides along the way. Next week we return to the troll on the porch at Avenue 55 to see what's the matter. We will keep you updated.

by Heberto M. Sanchez, MPA

   It has been said that Latinos are the “sleeping giant” in the realm of US politics. Some will even argue that this giant is now slowly awakening. The historic sleeping giant analogy has also been used in reference to Latinos’ purchasing power and our ability to affect trends. Most frequently, the term is applied in these instances as a reference to Latinos becoming small business owners in increasing numbers. According to the US Department of Commerce, in 2012 there were 3.3 million Latino-owned businesses generating $474 billion in revenue. Today, there are an estimated 4.1 million Latino-owned businesses generating $661 billion in revenue. The entrepreneur spirit is alive and growing within the Latino population of the United States.

   Although Latinos are increasing the number of small businesses and play a substantial role in local job creation and economic development, there is still a misperception or even a lack of knowledge of small business loan programs among Latino entrepreneurs. This is especially true among those owners who run businesses considered too minute to be called small, and are instead considered micro-businesses. These include “mom and pop” storefronts, taco stands and street vendors, but nonetheless exist as an engine for economic development within their communities. Micro-businesses offer upward mobility into the middle class and flexibility that provides Latinos with a sense of pride and accomplishment. This is especially true for Latinas. Therefore, micro-businesses are becoming too important within the Latino community to ignore and making access to capital available for them is paramount.

   Even with the increase in Latino business owners, some Latinos are weary of obtaining loans. Yet while many Latinos fear losing control of their businesses, even more are simply unaware of the various federal grants and loan programs available to them. The Small Business Administration (SBA) increased it’s lending to Latino entrepreneurs by nearly 21 percent in the past year. For small-dollar loans (under $350,000) the increase in Latino entrepreneurs was 27 percent. Still, according to the White House, well-known federal funding programs for small businesses like the SBA Small Business Investment Company, SBA Small Business Innovation Research and SBA Micro-Lending programs are not well known to many Latino business owners. Therefore, I believe that better outreach needs to be done to Latino business owners, including those micro-business owners who are often in desperate need of funding. Many of these micro-business owners go to family and friends for financing instead of mainstream institutions or nonprofit lending associations. Additionally, I believe more government funding should be allocated for micro-lending, in order to help micro-business owners take the leap from micro “mom & pop shop,” to small business owners.

   The Latino market continues to steadily increase, and the federal government should assist mainstream financial institutions to better serve this market with increased micro-lending programs. This is especially true since a majority of these community members already sit on the fringes of the banking system due to a lack of credit or legal status. We as a nation must encourage the growth of micro-businesses and small businesses not only among Latinos, but all micro-business owners of every race in order to preserve and sustain the American Dream for future generations.

Heberto M. Sanchez is the Founder and President of the Latino Educational Fund, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded to help Latino students improve their lives.

by David R. Bloom

   Memorial Day is almost here. Just about this time, various groups in greater Highland Park get their priorities straight and start talking about sprucing up Veterans Memorial Square. The Square is a public space created largely through the efforts of longtime 14th District City Councilman Art Snyder, now deceased. Its original design consisted of the still existing flagpole and an assortment of bronze plaques inlaid into the ground. Each plaque listed the names of the Franklin High School students who went on to die in WWII.

   In 1999, the office of 14th CD Councilman Nick Pacheco sealed the deal on an improvement project started by his predecessor Richard Alatorre, who joined with the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce, Franklin High School Historical Society and American Legion Highland Park Post #206, to add an Arroyo Seco stone fountain to the site. The names on the previous plaques were added to a single, larger bronze and an additional plaque was added to include the names of NELA community members who served in Vietnam. Smaller plaques were also conspicuously placed to honor Snyder and Alatorre for their services to the veteran community.

   The US Flag at the historic Square is unserviceable and was taken down a week ago. A campaign to purchase a new, all-weather flag of impressive size has been launched, and the public is asked to follow the link below to submit a donation to this cause.

https://www.gofundme.com/24mfgepw

from Brick Wahl:

by Brick Wahl

   I see a Filipino has made it onto the FBI’s ten most wanted list. I believe that is a first. You know you have made it when one of your own makes it onto the ten most wanted list. For years it was all Irish and Italians. We knew we’d made it. Anyway, this guy committed a particularly heinous murder right in the neighborhood, just a couple miles away, on Virgil Avenue. South of Sunset, as they say. It’s actually smack dab in the middle of Virgil Village, but they’re calling it East Hollywood in the news stories. To be honest that stretch of Virgil is a lot closer to Silver Lake and is road dieted and everything, two big empty bike lanes just like in my part of Silver Lake, but it’s only Silver Lake adjacent when you are trying to sell a house or open a Vegan restaurant there. If it’s homicide, it’s East Hollywood. No need to drag the good name of Silver Lake into it. Anyway, the guy split for the Philippines where the new president will probably want to hang him. He was driving a BMW. That’s right, he drives a BMW and makes the Ten Most Wanted List. If that ain’t Silver Lake adjacent then nothing is. Astig!

from LA Progressive:

by Lawrence S. Wittner

   Democratic socialism used to be a vibrant force in American life. During the first two decades of the 20th century, the Socialist Party of America, headed by the charismatic union leader, Eugene V. Debs, grew rapidly, much like its sister parties in Europe and elsewhere: the British Labour Party, the French Socialist Party, the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Australian Labor Party, and dozens of similar parties that voters chose to govern their countries.

   Publicizing its ideas through articles, lectures, rallies, and hundreds of party newspapers, America’s Socialist Party elected an estimated 1,200 public officials, including 79 mayors, in 340 cities, as well as numerous members of state legislatures and two members of Congress. Once in office, the party implemented a broad range of social reforms designed to curb corporate abuses, democratize the economy, and improve the lives of working class Americans.

   Even on the national level, the Socialist Party became a major player in American politics. In 1912, when Woodrow Wilson’s six million votes gave him the presidency, Debs―his Socialist Party opponent―drew vast, adoring crowds and garnered nearly a million.

   This promising beginning, however, abruptly came to an end. Socialist Party criticism of World War I led to a ferocious government crackdown on the party, including raids on its offices, censorship of its newspapers, and imprisonment of its leaders, including Debs.

   In addition, when Bolshevik revolutionaries seized power in Russia and established the Soviet Union, they denounced democratic socialist parties and established rival Communist parties under Soviet control to spark revolutions. In the United States, the Socialists fiercely rejected this Communist model. But the advent of Communism sharply divided the American Left and, worse yet, confused many Americans about the differences between Socialists and Communists.

   Although the Socialist Party lingered on during the 1920s and 1930s, many individual Socialists simply moved into the Democratic Party, particularly after its New Deal programs began to steal the Socialist thunder.

   The Socialist Party’s situation grew even more desperate during the Cold War. With the Communists serving as cheerleaders for the Soviet Union, Americans often viewed them as, at best, apologists for a dictatorship or, at worst, subversives and traitors.

   And the Socialists were often mistakenly viewed the same way. By the 1970s, the once-thriving Socialist Party was almost non-existent. Some of its remaining activists, led by Michael Harrington, broke away and organized the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, which later morphed into Democratic Socialists of America―a group that dropped third-party campaigns, called attention to the value of democratic socialist programs, and worked with progressive forces in the Democratic party to secure them. But, for several decades, it made little headway.

   And, then, remarkably, democratic socialism began to revive. Of course, it had never entirely disappeared, and occasional polls found small-scale support for it. But, in December 2011, a startling 31 percent of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center said that they had a positive reaction to the word “socialism,” with young people, Blacks, and Hispanics showing the greatest enthusiasm. In November 2012, a Gallup survey found that 39 percent of Americans had a positive reaction to “socialism,” including 53 percent of Democrats.

   Why the rising tide of support for socialism in recent years? One key factor was certainly a popular backlash against the growing economic instability and inequality in America fostered by brazen corporate greed, exploitation, and control of public policy.

   In addition, college-educated young people―saddled with enormous tuition debt, often under-employed, and with little recollection of the Soviet nightmare―began to discover the great untold political story of the postwar years, the remarkable success of European social democracy.

   Of course, Bernie Sanders played an important role in this public reappraisal of democratic socialism. Once a member of the Young People’s Socialist League, the youth group of the old Socialist Party, Sanders forged a successful political career as an independent, serving as a popular mayor of Burlington, Vermont, a U.S. Congressman, and, eventually, a U.S. Senator.

   During these years he consistently attacked the greed of the wealthy and their corporations, assailed economic and social inequality, and stood up for workers and other ordinary Americans. For many on the American Left, he provided a shining example of the continued relevance of democratic socialism in America.

   Sanders’s plunge into the Democratic Presidential primaries, though, drew the attention of a much larger audience―and, as it turned out, a surprisingly sympathetic one. Although the communications media were quick to point out that he was a socialist, a fact that many assumed would marginalize him, he didn’t run away from the label.

   Perhaps most important, he presented a democratic socialist program in tune with the views of many Americans: universal healthcare (Medicare for All); tuition-free public college; a $15/hour minimum wage; increased Social Security benefits; higher taxes on the wealthy; big money out of politics; and a less militaristic foreign policy.

   This sounded good to large numbers of voters. In June 2015, shortly after Sanders launched his campaign, a Gallup poll found that 59 percent of Democrats, 49 percent of independents, and 26 percent of Republicans were willing to support a socialist if he were the candidate of their party. This included 69 percent of Americans 18 to 29 years of age and 50 percent of those between 30 and 49 years of age.

   To the shock (and frequent dismay) of the political pundits, Sanders’s poll numbers rose steadily until they rivaled those of Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democratic nominee, and he won 20 of the Democratic state primaries and caucuses conducted so far. Indeed, polls showed that, if he became the Democratic nominee, he would win a landslide victory in the race for President.

   But whether or not Sanders reaches the White House, it’s clear that democratic socialism has made a comeback in American life.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Lawrence Wittner is a prominent American historian who has combined intellectual life with activism for peace and social justice.