South LA loses trees in Crenshaw/LAX Metro line construction



Construction for the new metro rail line on Crenshaw blvd.

Construction for the new metro rail line on Crenshaw blvd.

The new 8.5 mile Crenshaw/LAX light rail line could change the look of South L.A. by bringing an influx of businesses and pedestrian traffic. It could change the South L.A. landscape in another way, too: By cutting down about 100 trees along a two mile stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard between Exposition and 48th street to make room for the train.

Romell Pace, a local who sells shirts at the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson Boulevards, said the trees need to stay.

“Once the trees are removed… it’s going to be slow on business,” he said. “I believe that the trees should stay there because they are landmarks.” [Read more…]

Mike the Poet calls South LA “the blood and bones” of Los Angeles



Mike the Poet interacting with students after the open mike session| Photo credit: Sinduja Rangarajan

Mike the Poet interacting with students after the open mic session | Sinduja Rangarajan

Mike Sonksen patted a student’s back, bumped fists with another and hugged a third as he took swift, long strides across the California State University Los Angeles campus on a recent afternoon.

The lanky 40-year-old, popularly known as “Mike the Poet,” had just finished hosting an open mic session that brought together poets, singers and songwriters from across the campus. Sonksen performed during the session, but only briefly. He was focused instead on encouraging the next generation of artists. Beyond crafting poems, Sonksen, who is also a journalist and performer, considers himself a mentor to upcoming poets in the city.

[Read more…]

Earlez Grille relocates to make way for Crenshaw/LAX line



Earlez sign | Ela Bernal

Earlez Grille sign at Crenshaw and Exposition. | Ela Bernal

There’s something special about a place that adapts to changing times while remaining true to its origins. For more than 25 years, Earlez Grille in the Crenshaw district has done just that.

Earlez owner Duane Earl said his secret recipes for hot dogs, burgers and chili have less to do with ingredients than simply “paying attention to how you cook” and using “common sense.” Oh, and one more thing: “People can tell when you don’t put love into food.”

Hear the sizzle of the Earlez grill in an audio piece from Annenberg Radio News:

[Read more…]

Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX line brings promise of jobs, revitalization to South LA



Metro's Expo Line | Intersections

The new Crenshaw/LAX line will connect to the existing Expo line | Intersections

Raymond Castro, a 44-year-old unemployed worker, is woefully familiar with Los Angeles’ infamous traffic snarls. Castro has been working construction for more than 30 years and has spent a considerable amount of time — sometimes more than two hours — commuting to various work sites. Now, a hiring provision recently implemented by Metro could make it possible for Castro to stay in his South Los Angeles neighborhood for work.

Castro said he hopes the Project Labor Agreement “opens up opportunities for myself and others” living in the community.

The 8.5-mile Crenshaw/LAX light rail line, approved for construction in 2012, promised to connect the Crenshaw Corridor to other parts of the city, such as the South Bay and the Los Angeles International Airport. And in 2011 when Metro passed the Project Labor Agreement, a measure aimed to designate a percentage of the construction jobs to local residents, residents presumed the line construction meant an opportunity for employment. [Read more…]

L.A. Finally Legitimizes Rebel Green Thumb



Originally published on Neon Tommy.

Ron Finley has emerged as a powerful community leader in South Los Angeles. | Flickr/Anna Hanks

Ron Finley has emerged as a powerful community leader in South Los Angeles. | Flickr/Anna Hanks

Just a few weeks ago, Ron Finley was best known for his highly visible, and nutritious, acts of civil disobedience. To combat the growing problem of malnutrition facing many throughout South Los Angeles, the Crenshaw-based fashion designer planted gardens full of strawberries, dill, thyme and other edibles in unused parkways.

For his admirable efforts, which were against the Los Angeles’ “residential parkway landscaping guidelines” at the time, the city of Los Angeles issued a Finley a citation. The community joined Finley in appealing the citation. The matter was only dropped after the dispute generated enough media attention.

Finley took his story to TED talks in Long Beach, California earlier this year. The video of Finley’s presentation propelled the guerilla gardener to Internet stardom and generated over 1.5 million views. The talk also compelled the media into examining a bureaucratic system that viewed Finley’s agricultural endeavors as illegal. [Read more…]

South LA welcomes new retail center



District Square | Photo Credit: KGTY

District Square | Photo Credit: KGTY

A new 300,000 square-foot retail center is set to hit the Crenshaw District and will replace businesses that have been in the community for decades.

The project, titled District Square, is set to replace a Rite Aid, Ralph’s and Cleaners, which have been community staples for over a decade. The two-story center will bring a host of new retailers to the Crenshaw District, which spans over five miles of South Los Angeles. It is expected to include a Target, Ross, Marshall’s and leasing space for other vendors and retailers.

The project manager for engineering company KGTY couldn’t comment on the project’s timeline or budget, but the website confirms that its client, The Charles Company, has designed the location to include both upper and lower level parking with access to retail stores on all levels. Although a deadline for the project’s completion is unknown, community members and leaders have expressed excitement about a brand-new center coming to the dilapidated neighborhood. [Read more…]

Expo Line business opportunities; Inglewood rapper Skeme introduces his city



Snapshot of The Crenshaw Mural | Crenshaw District

Snapshot of The Crenshaw Mural | Crenshaw District

A roundup of South L.A. in the news…

Businesses seek opportunity at Crenshaw/LAX  line summit (LA Wave)

USC students sick of gates (LA Curbed)

Candidates square off in 54th assembly district forum (LA Wave)

Inglewood rapper Skeme attemps to bring his city to the world (LA Weekly)

 

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in South LA



By Claire Pires
Annenberg Radio News

In honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, “In the Meantime” provided free HIV testing and distributed condoms to the community.

image“We spend time in the black community because it’s one of the communities that’s most at risk in the United States. We’re talking about 12% of the population that’s responsible for 40% of the new infections,” said James Vellequette, director of condom-provider Condom Nation.

At the protest, USC student Kai Green rallied the crowd when he spoke of how he stands with the people “who dare to fight and say I am black and gay.”

Local South L.A. resident Vanessa Robinson was more skeptical of the movement because she does not want her son to grow up in “that type of environment,” and says she grew up attending church.

Homosexuality has not always been accepted in the church, but Reverend Russell Thornhill, co-pastor of the Unity Fellowship of Christ Church, urged the crowd to “stand” and support this new pro-gay movement. image

“It’s a call that says that we won’t stand for the transmission of HIV and AIDS in our community,” said Reverend Thornhill.

Members of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and TrueEvolution, Inc. also spoke and urged protestors and listeners to get tested for HIV in the buses behind them.

As they chanted in front of a bus covered in a large poster with “We get tested” printed next to two shirtless men embracing, the protestors waved posters and cheered with honking cars as they advocated to end discrimination against African American gay men.image

Black History in LA webcast



The Los Angeles Urban League (LAUL) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) have teamed up to present on February 8, 2013 a free interactive webcast with civic leaders who will share insight on Black History in LA. The “There is Black History in LA” webcast will take place from 1:30pm – 2:30pm PT and will feature new LAUL CEO and President Nolan V. Rollins, Reverend Cecil “Chip” Murray and community activists “Sweet Alice” Harris and John W. Mack.
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The webcast (which can be accessed at http://engage.vevent.com/rt/twc~90builtla) offers an opportunity for the LA community to interact with the aforementioned individuals and host Josefa Salinas of KTLK am 1150 and HOT 92.3, and learn more about the history of civil rights in LA. It builds on an exhibit – “The 90 That Built LA” – at the Museum of African American Art (MAAA http://www.maaala.org/) which opened on December 12, 2012 and celebrated LAUL’s 91 years of existence by honoring 90 individuals who have fought for civil rights and equality. In addition to the webcast and other Black History Month events (see Facebook post), LAUL will co-present a panel featuring USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Dean Ernest J. Wilson III, Mack and USC Dornsife African Studies Director Francille Rusan Wilson, who will discuss the PBS special “The PowerBroker: Whitney Young’s Fight for Civil Rights” after it is screened at the USC Annenberg Auditorium on February 11. (http://annenberg.usc.edu/Events/2013/130211Powerbroker.aspx)

LAUL VP of Marketing & Communications Chris Strudwick-Turner said her team had the vision for the exhibit, which features the tagline “We Built LA” to assert the contributions of Blacks and other minorities to LA’s development, several years ago and was able to turn it into reality thanks to TWC. “Like us, they saw the vision of what this exhibit could be and they have been with us every step of the way as a presenting sponsor to put this exhibit together for the community,” said Strudwick-Turner in a December statement to the press.
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Members of the TWC Diversity and Inclusion team recently visited the exhibit–located near Leimert Park at the MAAA’s space at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall’s Macy’s third floor–on February 1, 2013 to commemorate 15 months of partnership between LAUL and TWC and promote the aforementioned webcast. TWC Regional VP of Operations Debi Picciolo said in a press statement her company was “proud of our long term partnership with the Los Angeles Urban League, and delighted we could help bring this exhibit to the community.”

One of the most notable aspects of the webcast and exhibit is the rare opportunity for young people in LA to delve deep into Black history in the city thanks to the presence of individuals like Reverend Chip Murray. Murray, who grew up in the South during segregation and whose insight on civil rights movement like the 1992 LA uprising was featured in a 2012 Intersections South LA story (http://www.bit.ly/UDlnGw), will answer questions from webcast attendees and discuss the struggle that made equality possible. Murray and his fellow panelists plan to highlight trailblazers from the distant past such as Biddy Mason–a slave that walked several hundreds of miles to LA to gain her freedom–in addition to former LA Mayor Tom Bradley, who made history in LA as the first Black mayor of a major American city.
imageAngelenos can discover historic art and photos commemorating LA trailblazers in fields such as cinema, civil rights, music and media; Sir Sidney Poitier, Cesar Chavez, Ella Fitzgerald and Paula Madison, respectively, at “The 90 that Built LA” exhibit through March 7, 2013.

Elias Kamal Jabbe is the Founding Editor of MulticulturalMatters.org (http://MulticulturalMatters.org).

Walmart renovation aims to bring affordable produce to Crenshaw



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Listen to an audio story from Annenberg Radio News

The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Walmart celebrated a 5-month-long renovation this morning with a ribbon cutting, messages from community leaders and special reopening-day deals.

Clad in Walmart-blue uniforms more than 100 Walmart employees heard from company executives and community leaders.

“When the Walmart organization selected Baldwin Hills and the Crenshaw area as a location for its store,” said Bishop Charles E. Blake of the West Angeles Church in Crenshaw. “It was a significant turning point for our community an a significant investment.”

Walmart continued its legacy of investing in the community with a $50,000 grant given to Friends of the Expo Center — a nonprofit that serves the Exposition Park community.

The renovation included a new produce section, a sewing and crafts department, home furnishings and a redesigned floor plan for more convenient shopping. It’s part of a larger remodel of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. Capri Urban Baldwin, the company that manages the mall, has invested more than $35 million to transform the plaza.

The project has paid for a myriad of projects including new restaurants, such as Post and Beam, the new Rave Cinemas movie theater, a new children’s play area and family restrooms.

One of the most significant changes to the Walmart is the addition of a fresh produce section that community leaders said will lead to better health and longevity in the community. The area lacks adequate access to fresh fruits and vegetables, according to the CDC.

Shopper Teresa Worrell said the Walmart will help her get healthy food to feed her daughter, who attends elementary school in the area. “We had limited fruits in the store for years in Walmart,” said Teresa Worrell, a Crenshaw resident who was shopping for yogurt and milk in the new dairy section. “This is very, very helpful you know financial and health-wise.” image

“We are excited to welcome our neighbors and community members back to our newly remodeled store,” said store manager Synetria Peterson. “It will be a brand new shopping experience for the community, and one we are thrilled about. We look forward to serving our customers by focusing on what is important to them.”

But not everyone believes in Walmart’s mission. Several groups have protested Walmart’s presence in Crenshaw. “Walmart is anti-union, it pays low wages, in fact it doesn’t even pay living wages,” said Najee Ali, the founder of Project Islamic H.O.P.E. “And certainly Walmart employees can’t afford to buy into medical or dental insurance.”

Similarly, numerous groups are fighting a Walmart that is going to be built in Chinatown. “What we call mom and pop businesses are essentially put out of business because the Walmart prices are lower than the smaller businesses in the community,” Ali said.

But Councilman Bernard Parks, who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony, said that type of thinking is flawed. “The grocery industry has not invested in our community,” Parks said. “The mom
and pop stores cannot carry the burden of the needs in the community and if you look at the crowd here today they look like the community.”

imageLocal business owners weren’t as concerned about the Walmart as they were with the fact that people just aren’t buying groceries as much as they are eating out.

The Walmart, which opened in 2003, was one of the first businesses to open in the Crenshaw district after the 1992 LA Riots that devastated the area. Parks credits the store for major economic development. “They stepped in and hired locally from the community,” Parks said. “They also stepped in and began to be a part of the community because of their investment in the community.”