Maybe what I like most about Jackson Galaxy is that on the surface you’d judge him to be kind of a tough guy, but when you see him in action with kitties he is obviously a soft and kind-hearted soul—able to tame even the most savage felines.

Yeah, so? I feel like one of those feral felines right now.

Why? It’s not just because Nodal Seismic is cruising by my neighborhood for the second day in a row faux-earthquaking my house a bit and freaking out my cat,* but also because I am fired up about Long Beach City Councilmember Patrick O’Donell’s Snow Day–and not in a good way, either! Seriously, how much does this event cost the city’s taxpayers?

*Exaggeration: In fact, the shaking only lasted about 10 minutes and was no more earthquake-like than a heavy truck driving by on the main street.

CONTINUE READING LB CITY GIRL

Schou and Wielenga, publisher of GreaterLongBeach.com, were colleagues at OC Weekly from 1998 to 2003.

Schou, who lives in Long Beach, spent six months on the story, pursuing leads and interviews into offices of city officials, heavily armored cultivation spaces, storefront dispensaries raided by Long Beach Police without warrants—but strangely, with mid-level bureaucrat Erik Sund riding along.

His story, straightforwardly written to the rhythmic release of one hard fact after another, reveals a city council that acts on individual impulse, a City Attorney with his own agenda, a city staff that botched the lottery that awarded permits to investors when by buying the wrong sized ping-pong balls for the pneumatic machine and a hovering cadre of well-connected insiders hovering.

Schou will recount the twists and turns, dead ends and unexpected rewards of his investigation, including some of what he found that didn’t make the story. He will assess what he learned—about medical marijuana, but also about Long Beach government—and suggest what may be next.

Editor’s note: Award-winning investigative reporter and author Nick Schou of

**********

BY NICK SCHOU / OC WEEKLY

Except for the oversized green cross painted on the wall and the acrylic sign with the olive-colored marijuana seed inside the letter O, Avalon Wellness Collective looks exactly like all the other razor-wire-topped, one-story buildings that line the west side of the 710 freeway. Six months ago, the 8,000-square-foot, charcoal-gray building, located in an industrial neighborhood of north-central Long Beach, was just an empty warehouse; now, a state-of-the-art, one-stop cannabis cultivation-and-distribution center operates inside, built to exacting city specifications.

Everything within the walls of this building materialized in less than 90 days last summer, thanks to Trojan Builders’ Chris Cantella, whose regular work is a bit more rarified; a Newport Beach mansion he constructed won a seven-page spread in the August 2010 edition of Better Homes and Gardens. But the developer is proud of this dispensary, not least because he completed it just in time to qualify for a crucial certificate of occupancy from the city ofLong Beach that makes it currently legal. Cantella estimates he has sunk at least $400,000 into the construction project, money he can ill-afford to gamble: When the real-estate market bubble collapsed in 2008, his earnings dropped from $3 million per year to nothing.

“We had every city inspector here,” he says. “It was a long, tedious process, but we stuck in there and jumped through every hoop. I’m only here because the city ofLong Beachopened the front door and said, ‘Come on down.’”

But the city’s commitment to medical marijuana wasn’t as solid as Cantella had assumed. In the fall of 2011, just as Avalon Wellness Collective opened its doors, Long Beachbegan considering a ban on medical marijuana despite having legalized collectives a year earlier. City attorney Robert Shannon led the charge, citing an ongoing federal crackdown on storefront dispensaries in California that has seen the Obama administration launch unexpected raids and property seizures against growers and landlords. Shannon also cited a lawsuit filed by Ryan Pack and Anthony Gayle, two patients who had obtained cannabis from two clubs that failed to win in a controversial Nov. 20, 2010, lottery run by city bureaucrats, which picked several dozen locations (including Avalon Wellness Center) for permits to open dispensaries; those that didn’t win were raided and shut down. According to the plaintiffs, the city has no right to regulate a substance that is illegal under federal law.

So far, the council has voted twice to delay its vote, but if it bans storefront dispensaries, it will hardly be the most bizarre turn of events in Long Beach’s surreal war on weed, one in which the council members who favor medical marijuana voted against legalizing it, and those opposed to legalization voted yes, and where the city rakes in millions in pot-related fees and fines, simultaneously permitting and prosecuting various cannabis clubs. Perhaps the least surprising detail is that the FBI is reportedly investigating allegations of official corruption inLong Beach.

*     *     *

If anyone personifies the transition from good to bad vibes that has befallen Long Beach’s ill-fated foray into the medical-marijuana business, it’s John Morris.

CONTINUE READING AT OCWEEKLY.COM

Both races pit current Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives whose districts were redrawn, partially combined and renumbered.

Down here in Long Beach, where Laura Richardson and Janice Hahn seek to represent residents of the just-delineated 47th congressional district, financial statements indicate their combined cash-on-hand is $208,000.

Up in the San Fernando Valley, where Brad Sherman and Howard Berman are vying for the freshly cushioned seat in the 30th congressional district, records reveal their combined cash-on-hand is $6.6 million.

That’s right: $208,000 down here, and $6.6 million up there.

Comments?

Oops! Wait just a second! Neglected to mention a couple of important details that provide a more complete financial picture.

Although Richardson has $132,000 in spending money for this campaign, she faces $438,000 in debt from previous campaigns. Her overall financial standing is minus-$306,000.

And while Hahn has $76,000 she can allot to her effort to remain in congress, she has previous campaign debts of $157,000.

Meanwhile, Sherman and Berman: no campaign debt.

So in true-and-final comparison:

Up in the San Fernando Valley, the Democrats running for congress have combined campaign assets of $6.6 million.

Down here in Long Beach, the Democrats running for congress have combined campaign assets of minus-$387,000.

Why the stark contrast in contributions between two campaigns waged within 40 miles of one another, among candidates who are all incumbents and members of the same party? What does the difference in dollars  illustrate?  The comparative wealth of the residents? The quality of the candidates? Their financial acuity? A preference or advantage for men over women?

Are there other implications in the wake of the “Money Talks” decision rendered last year by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Citizens United case? It  ruled that  1) money is a form of speech, and 2) corporations are people, and cited the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech in removing restrictions on the amount of money/speech that can be contributed/spoken by any corporation/person to any political campaign.

Roderick’s stunned take: “It’s like they (Richardson and Hahn) are from another planet than Sherman and Berman, not the same party.”

Care to contribute yours?

And by “contribute,” of course, we mean that you may comment however you please—the First Amendment guarantees you can speak—but that sending $100 to GreaterLongBeach.com guarantees we will consider your comment … and post it.

“It’s Oscar season,” Crow explains in a tone suggesting this time of year renders him helpless against the compulsion to throw parties in support of the movies.

Perhaps so, but others would be well-advised to exercise a little more control over their cinematically celebrative urges, or February is going to be a long month. See, Crow isn’t throwing his Oscar Party until Feb. 26. Making the wait even more excruciating is that this year he’s got the Art Theatre reserved to watch the telecast on the silver screen amid contests, giveaways and surprises beginning at 4 p.m.

But here’s the catch—this year’s Oscar Party is  members-only—that is, nobody gets in without a Long Beach Cinematheque membership card.

The most pleasureable way to get one of those—and a discount to boot–is to get yourself and your wallet to one or all of the preliminary events. Coincidentally, the first one is tonight—a hoop-dee-doo at the Art Du Vin wine bar, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Adding to the coincidence, although some people think it’s freaky, is the location of Art Du Vin—right next door to the Art Theatre.

Stephanie Blakeslee and staff will be serving complimentary hors d’ oeuvres and giving 20 percent discounts off everything else—yes, certainly because they are wonderful people in general and very supportive of Long Beach Cinematheque in particular … but also because it really ratchets up the pressure to spring for those membership cards.

I know what you’re thinking—and don’t bother trying. Skipping out of Art Du Vin and bolting across the street to Lola’s Mexican Cuisine runs you right into owner Luis Navarro, who is a step ahead of you—he’s giving 20 percent discounts to people with Cinematheque membership cards, too.

Trust me when I say it’s going to be a good time. Crow and I inadvertently did a dry run of the Art Du Vin / Lola’s event last week, when we bumped into one another at Lola’s, and then at Art Du Vin, before we realized we were both there to attend the beautifully moving ceremony that anointed GreaterLongBeach.com as the media sponsor of Long Beach Cinematheque’s membership drive events. We both wept, Crow because that’s what he does when he drinks excellent wine, me because that’s what I do when I can’t.

The second half of the program will feature the people who are bringing the old schoolyard game of dodgeball to Long Beach—or bringing it back, in the case of those old enough to have played it in their schoolyards. The World Dodgeball Society is forming teams, figuring out schedules and tutoring newcomers in preparation for a two-month schedule that begins Feb. 7.

Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga is a weekly hunting-and-newsgathering expedition that explores the city’s most-important and fascinating stories through interviews with the people who are living them. The co-production of GreaterLongBeach.com and the Cal State Long Beach internet station KBEACH.org, is live on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and available for 24/7 listening in the station’s archives or via Podcast.

Rainey announced the withdrawal of her candidacy for the Board of Education at around midday on Jan. 13—the final day for finalizing ballots—to leave District 4 incumbent Jon Meyer unopposed for re-election. But when she failed to complete required paperwork, the LBUSD became legally obligated to conduct an election, anyway. LBUSD officials have estimated the error will cost taxpayers about $200,000.

Rainey, 62, the longtime president of the NAACP’s Long Beach chapter, has been widely criticized for her error. Her only response had been a statement released last week in which she advocated for the importance of elections in the United States’ system of democracy.

Today, however, Rainey issued this statement:

“I have hired the highly recognized law firm of Reed & Davidson, LLP. They specialize in election law. The firm will do everything legally possible to have my name removed from the ballot after I was unsuccessful in my attempts to resolve the issue with both the City of Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Voter Registrar’s Office.

“I believe in Democracy and urge constituents to press on with those issues that are important and to demand responsive governance. Ibelieve you must not let your leaders take you for granted. You must make sure that your elected leaders work hard for you everyday and are held accountable.

“I want to thank my family, friends, educators, business and religious leaders, and other members of the community that have been supportive, and did not rush to judgment. My main objective is to continue serving the community, especially the youth, disenfranchised, voiceless, and underrepresented. The decisions of my life will always be influenced by the needs of my family and God’s purpose for my life.”

[BEN BAEDER IS THE PUBLISHER OF DOWNEYBEAT.COM. THIS IS HIS OPEN LETTER TO THE GROUP OF KIDS WHO TAGGED UP A SIGN AT THE RALPHS' CENTER ON FIRESTONE BLVD., THEN THREATENED HIM]

Dear teenage boys,

I didn’t even mean to see you tag up that sign in the parking lot over by the FedEx Office and Ralphs. I just happened to be looking in that direction. So why did you ask my friends and me what I was looking at? I probably wouldn’t have called the cops on you if you had let me go on my way.

I have more questions:

 Why didn’t you leave when you saw me immediately pick up my phone after you stared me down?

And why did you sell out your friend so fast and lead the cop right to the orange spray can? No honor among vandals, I guess.

And why are you guys so comfortable with your mid-day tagging? Don’t people in Downey confront you? I don’t even live in Downey, but I’m not going to get threatened on a trip to make some copies.

I don’t think the cops arrested you, because they couldn’t get in touch with anyone at the westside-Los Angeles based Limited Partnership that owns the center. So I suspect you weren’t charged with anything. But I hope you all had a nice time talking to the five cops who responded to my call.

Honestly, even though you tried to scare me, I didn’t take it personally. You obviously have other things going on in your lives if you feel like you need to tag a sign to feel important. Here’s a tip from a person who has written a story about every type of person: Stop tagging.

I have never, ever met a happy, grown-up, well adjusted tagger. Even the “urban artists” who make a few bucks by painting the offices of hipster corporate dudes are miserable inside. All of them are still trying to figure out why their father left, or why their mom did drugs, or why even worse things happened.

I know you don’t want a sermon, so I’ll spare you. But get off the path you’re on. What if some idiot gangster decides to shoot you? What if you have kids someday, and you don’t want to explain to them why you ruined other people’s stuff because you felt weird inside?

CONTINUE READING AT DOWNEYBEAT.COM

I believe in the god of carnage, who has ruled uninterrupted since the dawn of time.

So says Alan Raleigh, an attorney doing everything he can to shield a pharmaceutical company from even admitting that one of its meds is dangerous (there’s no question of accepting liability), all while getting ready to present an unrelated matter in the International Criminal Court at the Hague—without caring much about ethics and implications in either case.

We meet Alan (David Nevell) and his wife Annette (Alet Taylor) in the home of Michael and Veronica Novak (Greg Derelian and Leslie Stevens), where the four have gathered to discuss, in a civilized manner, an incident in which 11-year-old Benjamin Raleigh hit schoolmate Henry Novak with a stick and knocked out two of his teeth.

The comedy—and philosophy, such as it is—in Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage trades on the possibility that Alan is basically right: civilization, for better and/or for worse, is merely a veneer we brush over our true, feral selves—and so how absurd to be taking seriously the attempt to have a “civilized” discussion about “uncivilized” behavior between two young boys?

For that matter, Alan doesn’t even regard as serious Veronica’s scholarship on the genocide in Darfur, work that is an outgrowth of her life’s effort to “stand up for civilization.” “It doesn’t matter,” he tells her flatly, looking right into her eyes. “It doesn’t matter.”

If that makes Alan sound simplistic, well, he is. As are all the characters in God of Carnage. Reza has given us a fairly good example of delivering comedic and philosophical nuggets in easily digestible portions. You never miss a joke or aphorism due to subtlety (for better or for worse).

And director caryn desai, in her first play as ICT’s artistic director, has her cast play it that way. It’s a school of acting ICT tends to favor: messages are broadcast, facial reactions echo five times longer and physiognomically louder than they do on faces in the real world. It means you don’t have to work as hard or pay as close attention to take in everything that’s happening onstage; it also means you’re less likely to forget that what you’re seeing onstage is a put-on.

It’s not the type of writing/acting I favor, but the combination of Reza scoring just enough amusement points and the cast’s sharply executing the maneuvers through which desai puts them meant I enjoyed myself in spite of myself. Of particular note is Taylor, who on a couple of occasions throws Annette into an entirely different gear, which helps the play to roll forward with a shift in energy that it probably needs at just that moment.

Ironically, the most serious philosophical consideration in the play is pretty much skated right by: Veronica calls Annette a phony, and Alan offhandedly agrees, before elaborating: “‘Phony.’ What does that mean, anyway, ‘being a phony’?” Is polite society inherently phony, or is it a human actualization of the “possibility of improvement,” an idea(l) to which Veronica desperately clings? Alan would argue that the only reason we go along with such programs is because it’s in our self-interest. It’s not a new question, but it’s not an uninteresting one, either.

I was somewhat surprised to read that God of Carnage won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play. It reminds me of the year Titanic won the Academy Award for Best Picture. That’s really the best 1997 had to offer? Seriously?

But one can enjoy Titanic without regarding it as great cinema. God of Carnage’s appeal is obvious. It may not have a gigantic boat, but Capt. caryn and crew don’t need one to get us safely to port after a simple pleasure cruise.

GOD OF CARNAGE INTERNATIONAL CITY THEATRE • 300 E OCEAN BLVD • LONG BEACH 90802 • 562.436.4610 • ICTLONGBEACH.ORG • THURS-SAT 8PM, SUN 2PM • $37-$44 • THROUGH FEB 19

Although there is a Board of Education election scheduled for April, voters will not determine who will get to sit in Barton’s seat because his term doesn’t expire until 2014.

On a panel that tends to look to Superintendent Chris Steinhauser for direction, it will be interesting to note the names that emerge as potential replacements and whether or not there will be any more contention for this seat than those up for consideraton in the primary election.

In April, voters will have an option only in District 2, where Ricardo Linarez is opposing School Board President Felton Williams.

GO TO LBREPORT.COM FOR THE COMPLETE STORY

As marchers ranging from small children on scooters to elderly anti-war activists walked more than two miles along Paramount Blvd and Firestone Blvd, cars were  squeezed cars into one lane and traffic to backed up for blocks. Nonetheless, dozens of inconvenienced motorists honked and offered support to protestors.

The march was organized by the Campaign to Stop Police Violence, which is a project of the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition. Organizer Doug Kauffman of ANSWER said police officers are rarely forced to explain in criminal court how and why they killed someone. The District Attorney almost never files criminal charges against police officers or deputies, he said.

“They kill, then they hide behind a veil of secrecy,” he said.

He hoped the march would let people in Downey know that citizens were watching police.

He also said the march was to support the families of Steven Bours, who was killed by Downey Police in March as he walked on Paramount Boulevard with a hatchet or hatchet-like tool. That shooting took place within a few hundred feet of where Nida was killed.

READ MORE ON DOWNEYBEAT.COM

STEAMPUNK’D: Mixed-media art show that doesn’t wonder, “What if Ashton Kutcher did that show in the 1880’s?” Warehouse 1333, LB, 11am-7pm, Free.

STAND UP FOR COMEDY: Debut of Long Beach Port of Comedy show, Club Cohiba, LB, 7 p.m., $10.

MARATHON PREP: Early registration for the Oct. 9, 2012, races is open and cheaper now.

THE DETAILS

LONG BEACH PORT OF COMEDY: Veteran British stand-up comic Dave Conolly and San Pedro’s own Brian Zuanich want to start a monthly comedy night with a local flavor, but tonight’s debut is imported from among the regulars at the Comedy Store in West Hollywood. Read Jimmy Dolan’s story.  THE LONG BEACH PORT OF COMEDY CLUB COHIBA • 110 E BROADWAY • LONG BEACH 90802 • FEATURING DAVE CONOLLY, BRIAN ZUANICH, SALLY MULLINS, JASON LONDON, PAULINE YASUDA • CLUBCOHIBA.COM 562.491.5220 • SATURDAY (JAN 28) • TICKETS $10 BZCOMEDY.COM • 7PM

STEAMPUNK MIXED MEDIA ART SHOW: Steampunk is a mix of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history and speculative fiction that involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or “Wild West”-era United States. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology, or futuristic innovations as Victorians might have envisioned them, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style and art. Featured artists are Pete Ramirez (whose Steampunk art is currently being exhibited at a Southern California museum) and Pete Buchan, Linda McClure, Kitty Brown, John Hicks, and Kathleen KaplanWAREHOUSE 1333 • 1333 REDONDO AVE • LONG BEACH 90804 • WAREHOUSE1333.COM 562.494.1333 • FREE  • THRU MARCH 17

LONG BEACH MARATHON REGISTRATION: Registration for this year’s race—well, races: there is a full marathon, half marathon, bicycle ride and a kids run—on Oct. 9 opened this week, and the entry fee is much less now than it will be as race day approaches. On the other hand, a lot can go wrong during the next nine months of training, and you could lose the money. Your call. Um, have you run yet today? LONG BEACH MARATHON

Menus for dinner and lunch are set at three prices. Dinner menus are $26, $34, or $44, and lunch menus are $16, $22, or $24.

Of the more than 300 restaurants participating in the 2012 DineLA Restaurant Week, nine are in the Long Beach area. While you may not have time to visit all of them, I’ve put together a list of the top three local restaurants based on quality and value in each of the price ranges.

But hurry. The first segment of Restaurant Week (Jan. 22–27) is already wrapping up. Part two is Sunday (Jan. 29) through Friday (Feb.3).

The Christy Krumm Three:

1. Lowest Price Range ($16 lunch):

Lola’s Mexican Cuisine 2030 East 4^th Street, Long Beach 90814; 562.343.5506: Lola’s is not offering a discounted dinner menu, but their lunch menu is an absolute steal. For $16, munch on bacon-wrapped jalapenos stuffed with cheese, then move on to their signature Mole Verde dish with shredded chicken, and a Tres Leches cake for dessert. To see the rest of Lola’s menu options for Restaurant Week, click here.

2. Midrange Price ($22 lunch; $34 dinner)

Ports O’Call, Berth 76, San Pedro 9073; 310.833.3553: For lunch, begin with fried calamari with lemon slivers, and then try the prime rib sandwich, followed by the Chocolate Suicide Cake for dessert. For dinner, have a crab cake to start, then indulge in top sirloin and shrimp scampi as an entrée with New Orleans-Style Bread Pudding for dessert. To see the rest of Ports O’Call’s menu options for Restaurant Week, click here.

2. Highest Price Range ($44 dinner)

 Michael’s on Naples Ristorante, 5620 East 2^nd Street, Long Beach 90803; 562.439.7080: Michael’s is only open for dinner, and obviously won’t be offering a discounted lunch menu. However, its Restaurant Week dinner menu is packed with high-end products that make it quite a bargain. Begin with foi gras and kumquat jam served over a house-made brioche. Next, move on to the seared duck breast and thigh confit, followed by Torta di Limone for dessert. To see the rest of Michael’s of Naples’ menu options for Restaurant Week, click here.

For further discounted dining, check out the fixed-price menus these other local restaurants are offering during Restaurant Week:

Café Sevilla Long Beach

Chelsea Chowder House & Bar at The Queen Mary

Gaucho Grill – Long Beach

Naples Rib Company

Russo’s Ristorante & Bar

Sir Winston’s at The Queen Mary

The program, recorded at Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. in the studio of KBEACH.org, on the bottom floor of the University Student Union, takes on tragedy first.

Jim Fleckenstein, a police officer-turned-private investigator who is scrutinizing several high-profile cases in the recent spate of police shootings in Southern California, presents the significance of what he’s discovered about the barrage of Long Beach Police Department gunfire that wounded Jonathan Cabrera while he was in his apartment with his wife, Elizabeth Bustamante, last May 14. Bustamante is also in studio. Cabrera stayed home, preparing for a court date he had the next morning (Jan. 26) tomorrow on a felony charge of obstructing an officer.

In the second half hour, two stand-up comics—one Briton, one Pedron … that is, the dude’s from San Pedro—talk about their quest to make the people of Long Beach laugh  at least once a month. David Conolly (the Brit)and Brian Zuanich (the Pede) are inaugurating  The Long Beach Port of Comedy—the first of what they intend to be monthly comedy nights—with a 7 p.m. show at Club Cohiba downtown. Conolly and Zuanich are regulars on the stages of the Comedy Store in West Hollywood, where they only have to worry about being funny. At Long Beach Port of Comedy, they are bookers, promoters and headliners—and if they fail at any of the three, nobody’s laughing after the show.

TO LISTEN CLICK HERE

The  group, joined by civil rights organizations such as the Answer Coalition petitioning city officials to reform public safety policies, has attended nearly every meeting of the Downey City Council since Nida, a 31-year-old father of four, was killed while on a date with his wife by police  responding to a report of an ATM burglary.

A half-dozen Downey Police officers removed about 30 of Nida’s supporters from Downey City Hall  Tuesday (Jan. 24) when their readings (from philosopher Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letters from a Birmingham Jail“) and chants (“No more killing, no more lies, shooting Mikey was a crime!)  interrupted the Council meeting for approximately 10 minutes. [Ben Baeder of DowneyBeat.com has a complete report on that story.]

Nida ran when police approached him and eluded them twice, but was shot four times after officers said he turned toward them  “in an aggressive manner.”

More than three months after the shooting, there has been no word from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating Nida’s killing.

Damien Ramirez, Nida’s best friend since childhood, told The Downey Patriot that Nida’s family understands the City cannot directly respond to the officer-involved shooting while the investigation is ongoing, but said they are hopeful the City will acknowledge the incident by embracing some reforms.

“This is an epidemic not limited to Downey but shocking how many shootings take place in Downey,” said Ramirez, 35. “It doesn’t make sense that there wasn’t any alternatives − they don’t have to kill you.”

 READ MORE AT DOWNEYBEAT.COM

AND IN THE DOWNEY PATRIOT

Does Orson’s Shadow have a similar problem? Is playwright Austin Pendleton unconsciously betting that our interest in Orson Welles — and Kenneth Tynan, and Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright, and Sir Laurence Olivier — is so great that he has neglected to bring his own oomph?

I didn’t think so when I left the theatre. But 48 hours later I’m less sure. What I do know is that I enjoyed Alive Theatre’s production quite a bit. That wouldn’t be possible for me if the script wasn’t at least decent; but the only thing about which I have absolutely no ambivalence is how staged the show is.

That includes, of course, the acting. Which includes, of course, Robert Edward as the eponymous shadow-caster. (Well, really it’s his magnum opus, Citizen Kane, that casts the shadow. But I won’t quibble about the title (except as I just did, apparently).) Do a play centering around Welles with a bad lead, and forget about it. But Edward is absolutely perfect. Can I use the “fucking” here? I can? Good—because he’s fucking perfect. A good portrayal of a historical figure is something quite different than an impression—although if there’s work to be had as Welles’ imitator, Edward’s got a nice side-business waiting for him—and Edward’s performance is damn-fine acting. Welles was a richly idiosyncratic personage, much bigger than life but human to the bone, and Edward gives us a memorable man in full flesh, a man the audience beholds in every one of Edward’s gestures, even if it’s something as passive as listening to actors run lines.

Edward gets to play such an action because the action of Orson’s Shadow centers around the 1960 theatrical collaboration between Welles and Olivier (played here by Tim Thorn) on a production of Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, with Welles directing and Olivier starring opposite Joan Plowright (Ashley Allen, in her first role since I raved about how bitchen she was in 2011).

Pendleton tells a nice story, made nicer by a cute flirtation with bad exposition by way of weaving into the dialog the breaking of a very flexible fourth wall, but I’m not sure I would have been all that interested without the first-rate staging. Director Ricci Dedola has put her pieces together in such a way that the pie she serves up tastes of genuine human interaction (but in a way that’s way better than this extremely messy baking metaphor). If anything, the onstage action is all about egos of various sorts—Welles and Olivier are large and overbearing (though each in his own unique way), Leigh (Cassie Vail Yeager) half-unhinged, Plowright and Tynan (Jonathan Lewis) understated—negotiating each other and themselves in their respective and collective marches through time. Dedola gives these egos all of the room to maneuver they need.

Occasionally Yeager might—and I emphasis “might”—be a little unsubtle in getting across Leigh’s mental disturbance. Lewis does a fine job, save an occasional overdone stammer; he is, however, probably too young to bring the proper gravitas to the role. Allen’s Plowright is the soul of patience, while Thorn’s Olivier rambles on and on to himself even when he’s talking to others (exactly as Pendleton has written him).

From an unfortunate experience of seeing an execrable production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia—gun-to-my-head, my very favorite piece of drama—I know all too well that even the very best play can be insufferable with the wrong director and cast. Then there are scripts that no troupe, no matter how spectacular, can save. And then we get something like Alive’s Orson’s Shadow, where a palatable piece of writing is made vivacious. That always makes for a fun night of theatre.

And while the onstage action is all about idiosyncratic egos, Pendleton’s ultimate theme is the very compelling idea of how we move forward in life when one moment in the ever-receding past unrelentingly dominates our present. “Once one has been labeled a living genius, one only exists to disappoint,” says Tynan of Welles’s dilemma.

Compelling real-life stuff, to be sure. But Orson’s Shadow works because of the people Pendleton has put on the page, and the way Alive Theatre bring them to life on the stage.

ORSON’S SHADOW ALIVE THEATRE at the LONG BEACH PLAYHOUSE • 5021 E ANAHEIM ST • LONG BEACH 90804 • 562.508.1788 ALIVETHEATRE.ORG • FRI-SAT 8PM, SUN 2PM • $20, $15 FOR STUDENTS/SENIORS; GROUP RATES AVAILABLE • COME FEB 4 AND STAY FOR A SHADOW-PUPPET SHOW BASED ON ‘RHINOCEROS’ • THROUGH FEBRUARY 5

“The only reason for this felony charge is the City of Long Beach wants Jonathan Cabrera to come to court for his civil case wearing a prison jumpsuit,” claims Jim Fleckenstein, the police officer-turned-private investigator scrutinizing the LBPD’s just-before-midnight visit to the central-city apartment in support of the civil suit Cabrera and his wife, Elizabeth Bustamante, have filed against the city. “There’s a hope that would possibly mitigate the damages that the City is looking at in a lawsuit for shooting someone who is innocent. There’s probably some intimidation, too—that is, if Jonathan dropped the civil suit, that felony charge also might go away.”

+++++++++++++++++++++

The legal case against Jonathan Cabrera was postponed Thursday at the request of the prosecution.

“We were ready, and they called us in at 8:30 a.m. on the nose, but we were out in five minutes,” said Elizabeth Bustamante, Cabrera’s wife. “I hope this is a good sign, but it is nerve-wracking. I have to remember that there is going to be a time when all of this is behind us. It’s testing my faith, but that’s just making me stronger. I am becoming a better, wiser, stronger person.”

The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22, which would put the case on track for a trial date sometime in March.

+++++++++++++++++++++

Cabrera received the felony version of the “obstructing or resisting” charge—as opposed to more typically applied misdemeanor version—for what he did after answering a loud, late-night pounding at his front door and seeing two men with guns, one of them pointed at his face. Cabrera slammed the door and ran toward the back of the apartment.

“I ran toward the bedroom where my wife was getting ready for bed, yelling to her to take cover,” Cabrera told GreaterLongBeach.com during an interview last July. “And that’s when all the shooting started.”

Cabrera says he was shocked and scared to see the gun. He admits he reacted on his instinct of self preservation, but suggests that this instinct is triggered a little more easily in the neighborhood—near the intersection of Orange Ave and 11th Street—where he lived.

“It’s not a bad neighborhood, but let’s say it’s not real unusual to hear about crime,” he said. “Two guys showing up at your front door with guns, one pointed in your face? You’re thinking home-invasion robbery. I sure was not expecting police.”

Cabrera and Bustamante say they were quietly winding down a long day, washing their faces and changing their clothes for bed, and were startled by the pounding at the front door. Bustamante covered up while Cabrera tentatively investigated.

According to police reports, the officers who came to Cabrera’s front door with guns drawn were responding to phone call from a nearby resident who claimed to hear loud voices and other noise that raised suspicion of domestic violence. In pre-trial statements, Adam Sturgeon, the LBPD’s lead officer on his call, said he approaches all domestic cases with his gun drawn.

“Domestics are dangerous situations for police—I had a partner who was killed while responding to a domestic dispute,” allows Fleckenstein, who worked about a half-dozen years for the Susanville (CA) Police Department, specializing in tactics and investigations and serving as its designated sniper.

“But there is a whole list of steps these officers should have taken—non-lethal measures, measures to protect others in the area. There are three other apartments in that building; none of the other residents were cleared. And when the shooting started, at least one officer was firing a shotgun.”

Reports filed by the police officers involved contend that Cabrera did more than slam the door in their faces. They say he cursed angrily, resisted arrest, threatened to kill them and moved his hand as though reaching for a gun.
Cabrera denies it all. He continues to recover from wounds he suffered during a spray of gunfire that he says “sounded like popcorn” and left more than two dozen bullet holes in their apartment building.

Bustamante was not hit, but says she has been gravely affected by the experience—especially because she has worked in the criminal-justice system for 10 years as a case manager for high-risk juveniles—and that she received her training at the Long Beach Police Department Academy.

“I was taught by the best,” Bustamante asserts proudly. “But what happened that night was nothing like what I was taught.”

Jim Fleckenstein, whose long career in law enforcement included a half-dozen years as a tactics and investigations specialist—and the designated sniper—on the Susanville Police Department, will be joined in the studio by Cabrera’s wife, Elizabeth Bustamante, who was also in their apartment when the shooting started.

In the show’s second half, stand-up comics David Conolly and Brian Zuanich, one a Briton, the other a Pedron—dude’s from San Pedro—and both regulars at the Comedy Club in West Hollywood, will talk about trying to start a little funny business in downtown Long Beach this Saturday. They’ve reserved Club Cohiba (Broadway & Pine Ave.) and are bringing in a slew of people they promise are funny for the first of what they intend to be a monthly series called the Long Beach Port of Comedy. (Check out story by Jimmy Dolan.)

Jim Fleckenstein has devoted nearly three decades of his professional life to studying, working and teaching various aspects of law enforcement. But his stint as a cop, when he earned multiple POST (Police Officer Standards and Training) certificates in tactics and investigations while working as the department’s designated sniper, is the most relevant to the work he’s doing now.

The year since Fleckenstein started his private investigation company has coincided with a series of high-profile cases in which police officers’ use of extremely violent—and often deadly—tactics are being questioned by the public and policymakers. He’s got so much work he moved his business from Modesto to Long Beach.

Among the cases Fleckenstein has investigated:

• Doug Zerby, unarmed when shot to death on Dec. 12, 2010,  by Long Beach Police Department officers who had been watching him in silence for several minutes as he sat drunkenly waiting for a friend on the steps of a Belmont Shore apartment, but claimed they still believed the water nozzle he was playing with was a real gun. When he made a move they considered threatening, they reacted with a barrage of bullets and shotgun pellets.

• Kelly Thomas, unarmed, homeless and mentally ill, who died in a hospital of the massive injuries he suffered when Fullerton Police Department officers subjected him to repeated Taserings and a severe beating.

• Ismael Lopez, 29, unarmed, partially paralyzed and walking with a limp, shot to death Aug 26, 2011, by an LBPD officer who claimed he was running from the scene of a gang fight.

• Mike Nida, 31, unarmed and on a date with his wife pn Oct. 22, 2011, when shot with a small machine gun by a Downey Police Department officers responding to a report of an ATM robbery. Nida was not involved in the robbery.

It was just before midnight last May 14 when a contingent of LBPD officers began to gather outside the central Long Beach apartment  Jonathan Cabrera and Elizabeth Bustamante shared near the intersection of 11th St. and Orange Ave.  Cabrera and Bustamante say they were unaware of the activity as they sleepily got ready for bed at the end of a long Sunday spent at church, then socializing with their pastor.

Suddenly, there was a loud pounding at the front door. Bustamante covered up while Cabrera tentatively investigated. As he opened the door, Cabrera says he was shocked to be staring down the barrel of a gun pointed at his face by an LBPD officer, who he says was backed up by a wide deployment of other officers, who had arrived on the scene in a phalanx of squad cars.

Terrified, Cabrera says he slammed the door and ran toward the back rooms of the house shouting warning to Bustamante as the bullets began to fly.

Police say they were responding to a resident’s report of domestic violence, that Cabrera cursed angrily, resisted arrest, threatened to kill them and moved his hand as though reaching for a gun. Cabrera denies it all.

He continues to recover from wounds he suffered during a spray of gunfire that he says “sounded like popcorn” and left more than two dozen bullet holes in their apartment building. Bustamante was not hit, but says she has been gravely affected by the experience—especially because she has worked in the criminal-justice system for 10 years as a case manager for high-risk juveniles. The couple has filed a civil lawsuit against the LBPD.

Fleckenstein, the private investigator, says he suspects the civil lawsuit is the major reason Cabrera will go on trial Thursday charged with California Penal Code 69 (the felony version of  ”obstructing or resisting an officer in the performance of duties”) rather than California Penal Code 148 (the more typically used misdemeanor version of that violation) … or rather than not charging him at all, considering that Cabrera’s “obstruction” or “resistance” amounted to an innocent man (he was not charged with anything else) shutting the door and running from a drawn gun in a rather dangerous area of town.

“The only reason for this charge is that the City of Long Beach wants Jonathan Cabrera to come to that civil trial wearing a prison jumpsuit,” says Fleckenstein. “There’s a hope that would possibly mitigate the damages that the City is looking at in a lawsuit for shooting someone who is innocent. There’s probably some intimidation, too—that is, if Jonathan dropped the civil suit, that felony charge also might go away.”

Cabrera is taking the risk—and Fleckenstein emphasizes that it is a risk.

“He’s a young man with a right to be nervous,” says Fleckenstein. “You never know what a jury going to do, and the prosecutino is throwing everthing against wall for a conviction. They have nothing to lose. A loss at this trial leaves the City in the same situation. Only a victory could change things. It’s their ‘Hail Mary’ into end zone.”

+++++++

Greater Long Beach Radio with Dave Wielenga has moved to Wednesdays at 7 p.m. for the start of its second season on KBEACH.org,  the Internet radio station at Cal State Long Beach. The hour-long show explores the most-important stories in Greater Long Beach—political, cultural, whateveral—through in-depth interviews with the people making the news … and sometimes just making noise. At the conclusion of the live broadcast, the show can be accessed 24/7 from the archives and as a podcast via links that will be provided on Thursday mornings at GreaterLongBeach.com.

In Long Beach, fans of proposals for 67-mile monorails and 12-story hotels at Second+PCH are feeling a bit jealous, and they quickly resume their moaning about how come we can’t get any business-friendly deals. Like that time someone proposed putting a movie studio in the old McDonnell-Douglas plant, remember that? Or that time Long Beach and Downey were vying for Tesla Motors to move into their competing old Boeing properties, remember that? At least we both lost out on Tesla.

 But this time the winner and loser are obvious, and the jealousy in Long Beach comes straight from the hard fact that we can’t seem to find a way to generate the 3,300 mostly retail and part-time and non-benefitted jobs that Downey claims will be created at Tierra Luna Marketplace.

Tierra Luna will replace Downey Studios, which the P-T article says has lost $13 million over the last few years. That’s right, $13 million. Reading that, I started to feel better. The thought occurred to me that maybe Long Beach hadn’t been so silly not to jump at a pie-in-the-sky plan like Long Beach Studios. I kept reading, trying to find the part of the story that explained how Downey Studios lost that $13 million. Nowhere. Thank God for Google.

I put “Downey Studios” in the search engine, a gazillion things came back and the seventh one down was this fascinating Los Angeles Times article by Richard Verrier—“Health Complaints Linked to Former NASA Site in Downey”—detailing the illnesses that movie industry workers claim they caught due to the toxic conditions at Downey Studios. The conditions became widely known throughout the film industry as the “Downey Flu.” I’m gonna guess that business at Downey Studios wasn’t improved by  producers worried about the risk of lawsuits from their employees.

It turned out that workers at next-door Kaiser Permanente were reporting the same mystery symptoms and illness.  The story I found about this was titled “How an L.A. Suburb Became One of the Most Toxic Towns,” and when I read it I was surprised to see someone named Mario had commented. For further reading on the topic just google “Downey Studios Lawsuit.”

There is good evidence that protests from workers’ rights groups and the families and friends of people who worked at Downey Studios may have influenced Tesla Motors’ decision to put its production line in Northern California. At least the Raging Grannies like to think so. They paid a visit to Downey Studios and Kaiser Permante, too. If you dare, Google that!

Of course, the official line from Downey officials isn’t to explain but to blame Tesla’s founder, Elon Musk, who is accused of being deceitful for backing out of his “promised deal.”  They say the land out there is all cleaned up. No question at all. Definitely.

Maybe I’m not so jealous after all.

Oh, by the way … Tierra Luna? Silly name.

“The Long Beach Unified School District should be having elections whether there is one person running or ten people running,” said Rainey, 62, who for three days this month was a candidate for the Board of Educaton and is the longtime president of the NAACP’s Long Beach chapter. ”It is the fundamental essence of democracy.”

Rainey’s  announced withdrawal from the Board of Education race at about midday on Jan. 13 left every  incumbent unopposed. However, because she did not  complete the necessary paperwork before the 5 p.m. deadline that day, her withdrawal was not official. This left the LBUSD with the legal obligation to hold an election, which district officials have estimated will cost $200,000.

Rainey has been heavily criticized for the situation, which has been widely presented as without appeal or option. But while signaling in her statement that there may yet be a way to extract her name as a candidate and cancel the election, Rainey insisted that shouldn’t be anyone’s objective.

“I have been approached with options to remove my name from the ballot,” Rainey revealed. ”Whether or not my name is removed, the school board should do more than provide citizens a forum. Citizens should be given a vote. We deserve a democratic election. Elections are not a mistake. They are the foundation of American democracy, and the right thing to do.”

Rainey said her statement was issued in response “to articles printed in the media regarding the school board election.” But she did not address why the statement was released via an e-mail account that listed the sender as the NAACP.

Although Rainey has been president of the NAACP’s Long Beach chapter for at least 10 years, the use of the civil rights organization’s e-mail account in this situation raises questions:

Is the statement the official position of the NAACP or its Long Beach chapter?

Was Rainey running for a seat on the Board of Education as the exclusive proxy of the NAACP? Or would she have been free to respond to the any constituent?

Here is the message in its entirety:

Naomi Rainey’s Official Response to Articles Printed in the Media Regarding School Board Election

January 23, 2012

Headline: Elections are Not a Mistake

Statement:
I believe in democracy. The cornerstone of democracy is the ability for citizens to vote their approval or disapproval of our government officials. From the President of the United States, to the school boards in our local communities, elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. Elections provide the foundation for citizens to not only voice their concerns to incumbents, but to back people’s voice in a way that cannot be ignored. The Long Beach Unified School District should be having elections whether there is one person running or ten people running. It is the fundamental essence of democracy. Our community has expressed to me their belief in having an electoral voice. Whether my name is on the ballot or not, citizens ought to have the right to vote their approval or disapproval of the people that will shape our education system in Long Beach for years to come. I have been approached with options to remove my name from the ballot. Whether or not my name is removed, the school board should do more than provide citizens a forum. Citizens should be given a vote. We deserve a democratic election. Elections are not a mistake. They are the foundation of American democracy, and the right thing to do.

Naomi Rainey

I showed up fashionably late—mostly owing to a dead car battery—to find the place packed. My fast scan of the living room spotted Bill Pearl of LBReport.com, set up and streaming live reports of the event on the Internet from a couch in the corner. I like Bill. But I love frittata. I kept my eyes moving. It didn’t take long.

Oh, what a frittata! Oh, how hungry I was! I could hear that frittata calling my name! But between me and Dan Pressburg’s “Famous” was a room full of people whose hands I must shake.

I did some calculations, and determined that my success depended on a simple equation: speed verses distance verses how much frittata Dan Pressburg had made. That meant I had to travel light. Yet I also realized that in a house full of politicians there might not be a secure place to stash my purse. Another fast assessment, then a strategic move, and … I was gone—my purse sitting in the field of view of Bill Pearl’s camera, which would get footage of anyone who tried any funny stuff.

The first candidate I encountered was Daryl Supernaw, who’s running for the 4th district seat on the Long Beach City Council. Unfortunately, I had to be polite to him—despite my low blood sugar—since he happens to be a neighbor of mine. By the time I escaped, my stomach was growling. Fortunately, I barely know Al Austin and Lillian Kawasaki, who are competing to replace the termed-out Ray Gabelich in the 8th district seat. After briefly shaking hands, I turned to find myself—in front of that frittata.

It was delicious! But this presented another challenge: I had to get the recipe! Next stop, Dan Pressburg.

Alas, between me and the man of the deservedly Famous Frittata was the imposing figure of Val Lerch, the former 9th district councilman who now works as a field representative for Congresswoman Laura Richardson. The guy is a talker! Truthfully, his stories are delightful—the one about how he met his wife is practically miraculous—but I was on a mission to acquire that Famous Frittata recipe. I was also very thirsty.

Under that guise, I headed toward the kitchen, grabbed some orange juice, then cornered Pressburg and began to talk frittata. He kept trying to talk about the importance of redevelopment, but I was persistent. We went on that way awhile, until I finally had to insist: I wanted the recipe.

Pressburg tried to act as if his frittata were no big deal—I hate it when cooks do that—but I stayed on point until he finally agreed to surrender the Famous Frittata’s secret ingredient:

CONTINUE READING THE LB CITY GIRL

Conolly spent last week on a brief Western-states tour, playing small comedy clubs in places called Wenatchee and Lewiston and Richmond. Tonight he’s in La Jolla. After that, Conolly has no shows until Saturday in downtown Long Beach, where he and San Pedro-born comedian Brian Zuinich have reserved Club Cohiba to open what they hope to develop into a monthly series called the Long Beach Port of Comedy.

The plan is to feature comics who are hand-picked by Conolly and Zuanich, along with other local talent. Conolly believes the market for comedy is so saturated in Los Angeles that Long Beach is a perfect location for some great comedians to do a full set, rather than “showcasing” for an industry crowd, or getting on a plane, or driving somewhere five hours away.

Connolly and Zuanich are on the bill for Saturday’s debut show, along with Sally Mullins, Jason London, and Pauline Yasuda. Club Cohiba opens at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7. Tickets are only $10—available through Brian Zuanich’s website.

If Saturday night’s show is successful, the Long Beach Port of Comedy will continue on the last Saturday of every month.

“You never really know what you’re getting into with comedy,” says Conolly.

Or more applicable to his situation, what you’re getting back into.

+++++++

Conolly considered himself a former stand-up comic in 2008, when he arrived in Los Angeles. Although he lives in Silverlake now, it was Hollywood that originally attracted him. Conolly and his wife, Hannah Davis, had achieved some filmmaking success with Mothers & Daughters (called Lovers and other Problems in the U.S.), a 2004 independent film they co-wrote and co-directed to much acclaim on the international festival circuit. The 2008 followup, The Understudy, received good notices, too.

But then, the economy. And then, the writers’ strike. The combination caused the collapse of Conolly’s financing studios, and consequently, his next film projects.

“I had to go back to my roots a little bit,” says Conolly, referring to his return to stand-up comedy, “and I thought ‘Let’s try it here’.”

Conolly knew better than to take the stage cold in a new country. He hooked up with Jerry Corley, founder of the “Stand Up Comedy Clinic” in Burbank, and they fine-tuned his routine for an American audience. Soon, Conolly was gigging at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood. Six weeks later he was at the World Series of Comedy in Las Vegas. “Bizarrely,” he reflects, “I was representing California.”

The result was more work for Conolly in clubs all over the country; he’s now performed for audiences from the Sunset Strip to Chicago to New York City—along with those little towns in states like Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona.

Although Conolly is bringing it back to California this weekend, Long Beach is unexplored territory for him. He acknowledges he’s leaning on Zuanich, whose born-in-Pedro connection to Greater Long Beach gives them a little better sense of what to expect. The men became friends and colleagues after meeting at Corley’s clinic. Now they’re partners in the Long Beach Port of Comedy.

“We’ve always been saying ‘Let’s find a club out in the Long Beach area,’” says Conolly. “Brian is a local guy, and whenever he’s at The Comedy Store, loads and loads of people from the Long Beach area go and see him.”

That’s no small loyalty.

“There’s the drive to get there, the cost of tickets, the price of parking in West Hollywood, and then they’ve got their two-drink minimum,” Conolly notes. “It’s an expensive night out.”

The hassle endured by comedy fans in Long Beach suggested to Zuanich and Conolly that there might be market for the Long Beach Port of Comedy. But it took a year-long search until they found a suitable venue.

“Brian rang me up while I was doing a gig,” Conolly recalls. “He said, ‘I’m having a drink in this place called Cohiba in Long Beach. It’s perfect.’”

Locally, Cohiba is widely known as Pine Avenue nightclub that on most nights is noisy, raucous and overflowing with people, but Zuanich and Conolly see something else.

“It looks like a comedy room that’s not being used,” Conolly says. “My first thoughts were that we could make this really work; we could make it like the Comedy Store…”

The stage and multiple rooms and bars convinced Zuanich and Conolly that Cohiba is the right venue for their stand-up.

Besides, throughout Conolly’s U.S. tour, he’s been playing all sorts of venues that weren’t originally meant for comedy, but which somehow provide the perfect atmosphere for it. They include everything from converted nightclubs like Cohiba to pizza parlors.

“People walk into a room and think ‘What’s this? Oh, yeah, wow—it’s a comedy room,’” Conolly says. “The great thing about comedy—stand-up comedy—is it’s just one man turning up and talking into the microphone. All you need is one microphone and you turn the lights down.”

THE LONG BEACH PORT OF COMEDY CLUB COHIBA • 110 E BROADWAY • LONG BEACH 90802 • FEATURING DAVE CONOLLY, BRIAN ZUANICH, SALLY MULLINS, JASON LONDON, PAULINE YASUDA • CLUBCOHIBA.COM 562.491.5220 • SATURDAY (JAN 28) • TICKETS $10 BZCOMEDY.COM • 7PM