Scenes from Christmas 2015 in Los Angeles

Christmas Eve brings quite a few traditions to the Franklin Avenue Four: It's also the Blogger Kid's birthday, so the morning is devoted to celebrating his special day via breakfast (at Square One boathouse) and paddle boats at Echo Park. Then it's off to do last minute prep (which means braving the Trader Joe's madhouse), followed by children's mass at downtown's Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels; then the last hour of the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration at the Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (that's the Music Center Christmas tree above) and then celebrating with family in the Valley.

Some pics from a 2015 Christmas in L.A.:


Echo Park


Christmas Eve at Trader Joe's is not recommended. The parking lot is a war zone, and nerves are on edge. (The guy screaming to managers about someone sneaking more items into the 10 Items or Less line was a special treat.)


Peace on Earth


At the Cathedral


The free L.A. County Holiday Celebration has been a local Christmas Eve tradition for 56 years.


Citrus Singers (40-member voice ensemble with handbells)


Aloe Blacc performs two holiday standards


Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles


Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles (all-female mariachi band)


As tradition, the show ends with the performers and audience members singing "Silent Night."


Straight from City Hall, Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Christmas in Los Angeles, 2014

Merry Christmas from Franklin Avenue! A few pics from our annual Christmas Eve traditions:



Paddle boats at Echo Park (which, sadly, is still a bit murky because of run-off from recent storms, but still nice on a warm, sunny L.A. Christmas Eve). Preceded by a delicious breakfast at Square One dining's Echo Park boat house location. It's a favorite of the Blogger Kid, who turned 10 on Christmas Eve!



4 p.m. Family-friendly Christmas Eve mass at downtown's Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.



The Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration. An annual free three-hour event (3 p.m. to 6 p.m.) at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, telecast live on PBS SoCal. We stop by to enjoy the last hour after church.



Highlight this year was the Mariachi Sol de Mexico de Jose Hernandez performing "The Nutcracker" songs.



The weather outside is windy... but inside the Yule Log on KCAL-9 is keeping us warm!

L.A. County Holiday Celebration Drops KCET, Moves to PBS SoCal

In yet another blow to L.A.'s once-mighty (but now underdog) former PBS station KCET, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission is moving its Emmy-winning annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration to rival KOCE-TV ("PBS SoCal") effective this December 24.

KCET had broadcast the annual event, one of Los Angeles County's most popular (and free!) traditions, since 1965. (The late Kenneth Hahn founded the free show, held for the people of the County every December 24, in 1959.)

But KCET isn't the station it once was since splitting with PBS and going independent. And this year, the County decided it would be best to go with KOCE/PBS SoCal, which is now the Los Angeles market's primary PBS station. "The Arts Commission decided to work with PBS SoCal because they are the primary PBS station for the greater Los Angeles area," a spokesperson tells us. "They offered a more robust partnership - larger financial contribution to the production of the show, stronger marketing support, broader Southern California audience. The production itself will not change."

We attend the event every year -- check out our past coverage here. It's a nice way to celebrate Christmas Eve. Details, in case you've never been:

The three-hour holiday event features choirs, music ensembles and dance companies representing the diverse cultures and holiday traditions from throughout Southern California. Approximately 5,000 people attend the live show each year.

The 55th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration is presented by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission on behalf of the Board of Supervisors, and produced by CDK Productions. The complete list of performers will be announced in October. The 54th Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration is the recipient of a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award.

Christmas Eve in Los Angeles (PHOTOS)

Before the holidays get too far away, a quick look at our Franklin Avenue tradition on Christmas Eve: Children's mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, then a quick walk to the Music Center, where we catch the end of the annual free Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration show.







Another tradition: News vans parked outside the Cathedral, to get live shots for their evening newscasts.



Outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion







The view of Grand Park, facing City Hall

Glendale: "We're No. 4! We're No. 4!"

Among Glendale's bragging rights over the years: The fact that the city, at around 200,000 strong, is the third largest in Los Angeles County, behind only L.A. and Long Beach.

Well, that's about to change, as Santa Clarita goes on an annexation spree. According to the Glendale News-Press, as Santa Clarita gobbles up more surrounding unincorporated area, its population is set to surpass Glendale:

On Wednesday, a county commission in charge of annexing unincorporated land approved adding seven more communities to Santa Clarita, bringing the city's population of 176,000 to roughly 192,000, in line with Glendale.

And by year's end, Santa Clarita is slated to annex more land, boosting its population to just above 200,000, a marker Glendale had claimed for years.

The U.S. Census had pegged Glendale's population at 194,973 as far back as 2000, but the California Department of Finance, using estimations in the interim, long had the figure above 200,000. That all changed after the 2010 Census results were released.

Glendale will still be a prominent regional player among city governments, but it stands to lose a long held byname. Glendale officials have repeatedly referred to the city's No. 3 ranking when touting its political importance, and it has appeared in nearly every major community description for years.

Glendale, are you going to take this lying down? Or are you going to finally annex La Crescenta? Go go go!

A Very Los Angeles Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve hasn't been the same for us since the Blogger Kid was born on that day -- which means we have to cram in a birthday, last minute shopping, Christmas mass and the big extended family Christmas gathering, all in the same day. Whew. And yet, we've managed to pull it off and create some traditions along the way.

You probably know us well enough that several of our traditions revolve around L.A. and downtown. As we have the past few Christmas Eves, we hit the early 4 p.m. Children's Mass at the Taj Mahoney (a.k.a. the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels), before hopping across the street to catch the tail end of the free annual Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration (held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion). This year we even got extra ambitious and threw in an afternoon ice skate at Pershing Square's Downtown on Ice.

Ice skating under the sun in 80 degree weather? Yep, sounds like A Very Los Angeles Christmas Eve. Some highlights:


I hate to give away this secret, but the normally crowded Downtown on Ice attracts a smaller crowd on Christmas Eve -- giving the Blogger Kid and I more room to skate.


Zamboni clears the ice at Pershing Square.


This was the first Christmas that new Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez (who replaced Cardinal Roger Mahoney) presided over the archdiocese.


Christmas mass clears out at the Cathedral.


Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, decked out for the holidays. Like last year, the L.A. County Celebration (normally a much longer affair) was cut down to just three hours due to budget concerns. That actually benefits us, as we were able to get inside to see the last four acts.

(In case you're not familiar with the celebration, here are details from the PR team: "Each year since 1959 the Arts Commission has produced a free Holiday Celebration on December 24th on behalf of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Community and professional choirs, music ensembles, and dance companies representing the diverse cultures and holiday traditions of LA County perform in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center while the program is broadcast live on KCET. More than 5,000 people attend the program each year and about a million Southern Californian households tune into the live broadcast.")


Dancers at the LA County Holiday Celebration.


The Gay Men's Chorus of LA cracks the crowd up with "Hanukkah in Santa Monica."


Lisa Haley and the Zydekats ended the show, including a N'awlins-style rendition of "Silent Night" (the traditional LA County Holiday Celebration closer).


View of City Hall, from the Music Center

Hard to believe that another holiday has already come and gone. We're getting old, people. Hope you and yours have a fantastic holiday season.

Another Year of the L.A. County Holiday Celebration

Budget cuts mean the popular L.A. County Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion will once again be just three hours this year -- but I'm just grateful that it continues at all. The free event, L.A. County's annual gift to residents, is part of our annual Christmas Eve tradition (we've stopped by the Dorothy Chandler the past two years after Mass at the Our Lady of the Angels cathedral).

This year, more than 20 choirs, music ensembles and dance companies will participate. KCET-TV will broadcast it live, while KPFK will play the audio and KCET.org will stream the show.

Here are some of this year's highlights:

--Liturgical Afro-Cuban drumming and song from ADAAWE, an all-women’s African music ensemble

-- Traditional dance from the Mexican state of Durango from the Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company

-- The Jazz Tap Ensemble with a holiday-inspired tap dance and an ensemble of live jazz musicians

-- A modern interpretation of the traditional Korean fan dance from Kwan Gyu Lim Dance Company

-- Classic Hanukkah songs – Klezmer style – with The Shpil

-- Prime Note Ensemble, an all-male Filipino choir singing in English and Tagalog

-- Lisa Haley and the Zydekats celebrate the holidays Americana/Cajun/Zydeco style

-- La Santa Cecilia with a holiday hybrid of Latin culture, rock and world music

-- Mandrill, one of Funk and R&B’s most progressive bands and an important pioneer on the world music scene, will perform their 1970 hit “Peace and Love”

--Holiday hip hop from Versa-Style Dance Company

--Pop culture humorist and author Charles Phoenix returns as HC’s holiday reporter, hosting five videos featuring holiday traditions celebrated in L.A. County

LA County Holiday Festival Saturday, December 24, 2011 from 3 pm to 6 pm Doors open at 2:30 pm Patrons may come and go throughout the three hour performance Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center 135 N. Grand Ave. Los Angeles 90012

Mediterranean Geckos Find a Home in L.A. County

The Mediterranean House Geckos are here! The Mediterranean House Geckos are here!

When the Natural History Museum launched its "Lost Lizard of Los Angeles (LLOLA)" survey this spring, it held a "lizard hunt" at both Exposition Park and Hancock Park.

After the event, attendees Will Bernstein and his son Reese decided to keep on hunting in their neighborhood. Their result: The discovery of a population of non-native Mediterranean House Geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus) in the Chatsworth region.

"As their name implies, Mediterranean House Geckos are not native to the area. But they have been widely introduced throughout the U.S. (including Hawaii), particularly in the southeast," the museum said.

Those findings will be shown this weekend, during the second annual Reptile and Amphibian Appreciation Day on Sunday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Details:

The day’s mission is to raise Museum visitors’ awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the often maligned vertebrate group — reptiles and amphibians. Events include up-close animal encounters, live music (with a nature-themed, family friendly band), art projects, hands-on activities, and plenty of interaction with professional herpetologists and “herp” enthusiasts. Various rescue groups, educational organizations, professional herpetologists, veterinarians and artists will have booths and displays.

The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles
Open daily from 9:30 am to 5 pm
$9 for adults, $6.50 for children

Ugh, Philippe's, What Happened?

(Flickr pic by mseratt99.)

One of our favorite L.A. landmarks, downtown's Philippe the Original restaurant -- home of the French Dip -- has been temporarily shut down due to a, um, cockroach problem.

Yuck.

As the Los Angeles Times reports that "health inspectors discovered the problem about 11 a.m. Wednesday after conducting an inspection prompted by citizens’ complaints, said Angelo Bellomo, director of environmental health for the Los Angeles County Public Health Department."

More:

He said the restaurant typically receives high scores during routine inspections. County inspectors conducted such an inspection Wednesday, in addition to the probe based on the complaint, and the business scored in the low 90s, Bellomo said.

But inspectors had to close the restaurant for 48 hours to allow the vermin to be removed.

"When you have a violation like a live cockroach infestation, it doesn't matter how good the score is," Bellomo said.

Philippe's could reopen by noon on Friday, inspectors said.

Other recent, notable restaurant shut downs:

Cafe Stella (Silver Lake), Dec. 17-19
California Science Center IMAX (Downtown), Jan. 7-11 (really!)
Cindy's Restaurant (Eagle Rock), Nov. 13-15
Little New York Gourmet (West Hollywood), Dec. 12-14
Main Kitchen - Wilshire Grand (Downtown), Dec. 4-6
Taqueria Jalisco (Mid-City), Nov. 12-17
Three Drunken Goats (Montrose), Feb. 2-4
Ye Coach and Horses (Hollywood), Jan. 22-25

More here.

Will Calorie Counts Work?

(Flickr pic by Weighty Matters.)

Back in May, I wrote about the calorie counts on New York fast food (and coffee shop) menus, and wondered whether the idea would make it out West.

Turns out it did. As the L.A. Times reported last week, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has adopting a similar plan in unincorporated portions of L.A. County.

The paper writes:

"Most people do not have a clue how many calories they are taking in when they have a milkshake or a double hamburger with cheese and fries," Yaroslavsky said. "This is an incentive for people to make the right dietary choices."

The proposal would require chain restaurants in unincorporated parts of the county to include a caloric breakdown for all their offerings. The issue is expected to come before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday; the supervisors will be asked to call for the drafting of an ordinance. If all goes smoothly, the measure could be in place by the end of the year, Yaroslavsky said.

The California Restaurant Assn. does not oppose the measure, although it has concerns about how it would be carried out.

"We understand that consumers want it," said Jot Condie, president and chief executive of the organization, which represents 22,000 chain outlets in the state.

But he said it should be up to restaurants to decide how best to make this information readily available to consumers. He said he also wants to see a uniform policy applied throughout the state to cut down on retailer and consumer confusion.

First taco trucks, now this! Fine, Zev, we get the hint. Hello, Jenny Craig?

Taco' The Town

I've seen some confusion on the whole taco truck issue, so a reminder via Blogging.la: The new L.A. County law only regulates taco trucks in unincorporated portions of the county. That means your favorite truck in Highland Park, Eagle Rock or downtown is OK... but if you live in the unincorporated East Los Angeles (or in those unincorporated portions of south L.A. County), then your fave truck indeed has a problem on its hands.

Prior to the proposal becoming law, a Blogging.la reader received this response from County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who drafted the law:

"Thank you for contacting my office to express your views regarding the proposed changes to the Los Angeles County peddling ordinance. Please be aware that this ordinance is effective only in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.

The proposed changes to the ordinance allow peddlers to remain in one location in a commercial zone for one hour. The current ordinance permits 30 minutes in one location. For your information, vending from a sidewalk has never been permitted in Los Angeles County. Our ordinance will protect the health and welfare of our residents and respect the needs of our business community.

Nonetheless, the folks at Save Our Taco Trucks are concerned that L.A.'s unique taco truck culture may start to disappear under Molina's law, which was passed last week. They've put together a petition:

Let’s send Gloria Molina and the L.A. Board of Supervisors a message that we cherish our local vendors and don’t want to see them move away. This new law needs to be repealed!

According to the L.A. Times, ground zero for the taco truck debate is East L.A., where brick and mortar restaurants brand the trucks a "nuisance." The paper writes:

Some taco trucks park in the same place all day, despite an existing law that requires they move every 30 minutes. But because the fine is only $60, many truck owners view it as a cost of doing business.

The new restrictions, proposed by Supervisor Gloria Molina, increase the penalty for violating the law to a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and/or a six-month jail sentence. To soften the blow, however, she would extend the time a catering truck can be parked in one place from 30 minutes to an hour.

Restaurant owners have long complained to county officials that taco trucks have an unfair advantage: If customers don't come to them, they can drive to the customers. And because they are small and mobile, their overhead costs are comparatively low.

But taco vendors see it differently: They say they provide good and affordable food to communities that sometimes lack places to eat.

After the law passed last week, taco truck owners told the L.A. Times that they won't budge:

"They can try to move us, but we're not going to go," said Aleida De La Cruz, whose taco truck has been a family business for 20 years. "What are they going to do, take us all to jail?"

Is carne asada a crime?

Taxing Times

It's that time of year... a friendly letter from Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector Mark Saladino that it's time for the first installment of your property tax bill.

For those of us who bought our house in the past few years, that's a pretty hefty bill. It doesn't help things that thanks to the infamous Prop. 13, I pay more tax on my tiny house than I know plenty of people pay on beautiful, large homes three times the size of mine in more ritzy neighborhoods. Bastards.

That's why I'm starting to wonder whether it's time yet to evoke the "decline in value" statute in the assessment process:

"If you have evidence that the market value of your property on January 1, 2007 is less than the assessed value shown on this tax bill, you may request a review for the 2007-2008 fiscal year. The filing period is January 1 through December 31, 2007."

Well, because it falls on Jan. 1, probably not. The housing market didn't really collapse until this summer. And besides, with so few homes selling right now, I'm not even sure how an appraiser would go about determining house value.

Now, next year, the county should probably brace for a whole lotta "decline in value" submissions. Because if the market continues to decline, I'm sure as hell not going to continue to reward the county just because I had the unfortunate luck of finally having enough money to buy a house in 2004.

Angeleno of the Week: King-Harbor Hospital

In the end, King-Harbor Hospital just couldn't get its act together. The Willowbrook medical center known by the not-so-flattering nickname "Killer King" learned Friday that it had failed a review by review by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and would lose the annual $200 million it receives from federal funding.

With that, King-Harbor -- known until recently as King/Drew -- shut down its emergency room on Friday afternoon, and will close down completely (at least for the time being) in two weeks. The L.A Times reports:

Community leaders say their biggest worry is the closure of the emergency room, which saw about 47,000 patients last year.

But, in a community that has long battled for its fair share of basic services, King-Harbor stands for more than just healthcare.

"It's a very personal relationship this hospital and the community have," Lark Galloway-Gilliam, executive director of Community Health Councils, said between sobs.

"People fought to have this place built, and it's been employment for some people. It's been a symbol that our community is somewhat whole, that the resources are there that you need when you want them," she said.

"So much has been taken away, so much has been taken away, it just breaks my heart," she said.

For the families who lost loved ones after medical lapses at the hospital, however, King-Harbor had come to symbolize betrayal, and Friday's news brought bitter satisfaction. Several had shared their stories with The Times in 2003 and 2004. Since then, each new tragedy at the hospital had rekindled the hurt and anger.

King/Drew failed its last inspection in 2006; rather than shut down, it dropped its association with Drew University and decreased its bedcount.

It didn't help. Making matters worse, the account of a woman who died after being ignored in the emergency room lobby for 45 minutes gained national attention.

The final straw, though, was this final inspection. According to the Times, inspectors cited the hospital for things such as a "failure to properly clean bronchoscopes -- devices used to look into the lungs -- which put patients at serious risk of exposure to contagious diseases. In addition, the hospital staff also could not demonstrate its ability to respond to a pediatric emergency, failing to locate critical equipment or even properly calculate how much medication to give a critically ill child."

The County will now look for a private operator or will try to reopen the hospital itself within the next 12 to 18 months, the paper said. Cheers to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for really messing this up and still not taking real responsibility here... and, by the way, for wasting all of property tax dollars on some real useless "solutions."

Angelenos of the Week: Yvonne Burke and Victor Taracena

Burke (left) and Taracena. (Pics by the L.A. Times.)

The summer of scandal continues in Los Angeles, where we're giving other municipalities a run for their money. While the Rocky and Mayor Tony V broohahas continue to percolate, two more surfaced this week.

Let's start with Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke. Burke represents a huge, huge swath of L.A. county, including some upscale neighborhoods. Yet she just couldn't bring herself to live within her district. That's an obvious no-no.

As the L.A. Times reported this week (doing a good-ol' fashioned stake out), Burke keeps a condo in Mar Vista -- where she spends about five minutes a day. Instead, she lives and sleeps in a gated Brentwood house with her husband:

In an interview with The Times two weeks ago, Burke said it was only on weekends and special occasions that she used her Brentwood home — a 4,000-square-foot residence with a swimming pool and tennis court that she and her husband have long owned. She said she lived at a 1,200-square-foot townhouse in Mar Vista, on a busy street just inside the border of her district.

But over a three-week period in which she was observed by Times reporters, Burke spent every weekday evening at her Brentwood house, in the district of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. When confronted by reporters Wednesday, Burke changed her story and acknowledged that she has rarely slept in the Mar Vista townhouse, which she has declared as her primary residence since she purchased it more than a year ago.

Asked whether voters would consider her primary residence as the place where she sleeps, Burke replied: "So I'll start sleeping here if that'll make you happy."

Snippy, snippy! Burke then contradicted herself again, sending out a press release claiming that she did indeed live within the district.

If it's proven that Burke doesn't live in her district, she'll lose her chair (which she's retiring from next year anyway.)

Meanwhile, Victor Taracena was recently fired from his high-level managaer job at the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles after he sent nearly $800,000 in contracts to his brothers and three politically connected firms.

The L.A. Times writes that Taracena sent over 150 contracts to companies run by his brothers, which more going to pals of his:

These firms — all with ties to current or former Los Angeles City Council members from the Eastside — won their contracts in bidding processes fraught with irregularities. In one case, a losing bid was submitted by a nonexistent company. Other such bids came from actual companies which, when contacted by The Times, said they were surprised to learn that bids had been submitted in their names.

How sloppy was this? According to the paper, some of the fake bidders didn't correctly spell their own names.

And the Summer of Scandal rolls on...