Dominique Fernandez, Poised for Great Discoveries

Dominique’s mother told her “You have to do what you have to do, in order to someday do whatever you want to do.”

A senior at West Adams Preparatory High School, Dominique Fernandez is President of College Ambassadors and Bible Club, Treasurer of Thespian Society and a member of Senior Cabinet.

Dominique has served in two internships -- at Iridescent Learning, a summer engineering camp and through the LA-HIP program, at Saban Research Institute, a biomedical research lab affiliated with the Children’s Hospital. LA-HIP gives opportunities to Hispanic and African-American students. Out of about 100 applicants, only 16 are chosen for the prestigious program, which pays for transportation, food, and SAT test preparation. For six weeks Dominique worked in the lab studying the regeneration of zebra fish hearts at the end of which she had to present her research in front of the hospital’s employees, family and friends.

“I learned that at juvenile stages, the species of zebra fish have this rare ability to regenerate their heart. After an induced injury, the regenerated heart shows no scars, as though an injury was never performed. Mammalian hearts, such as our hearts, are vulnerable to heart disease and heart attack nearly always causing death, and they definitely do not have the ability to regenerate. The regenerative processes of the zebra fish are far along the line from when it may help us discover something new about human hearts but there is a possibility that someday in the future, this study might be the answer our human race has been looking for.”

“School or education has always had a place in my heart,” explains Dominique. “Although, school can definitely be challenging sometimes, I always think about my future and how my hard work will pay off. My favorite subject is math. I am currently taking AP Calculus BC” (in other words, advanced calculus). She prefers math because it is “EXACT.” “I think that aspect makes students work harder to get an answer or solve a problem because there are no in-between answers,” Dominique explains.

She also enjoys public oration, frequently speaking in front of students, staff, college reps, and even at the 2012 Gala of the organization LA’s Promise. The busy 17-year old has also appeared in the high school musical productions of Little Shop of Horrors and Hairspray.

Dominique hopes to become an engineer and is currently applying to several private colleges, including Stanford, USC, CalTech, Harvey Mudd, and possibly Smith.

TNN Saulutes You!

 

Kyle Pratt from Kinney Heights, Climbing New Heights

Alaska’s Mount McKinley stands at 20,320 feet, making it far and away the highest mountain in North America. To climbers and locals, however, it is better known by its Athabaskan name, Denali. Like many American and international mountaineers, the challenge Denali offered piqued my imagination.

Despite being shorter than other Himalayan peaks, Denali is located farther north, and the mountain presents comparable if not more unforgiving cold and weather than peaks in Asia. So in the spring of last year, I recruited two friends and climbing partners to make a summer attempt on Denali.

In June, we arrived in Anchorage, AK and took a two hour train ride inland and north to Talkeetna, a small town in the Alaskan lowlands that is the universal fly-out point into the Alaska Range. From the airstrip in Talkeetna, a ski-equipped plane took my team and our equipment and dropped us off at an elevation of 7,000 feet on the Kahiltna glacier. As we approached, our first view of Denali’s hulking south face both amazed and petrified us all. We were eye to eye with the largest mass of rock and ice in the world, and at that moment we felt delusional in our desire to summit.

The cure to this fear turned out to be thinking in small steps, often quite literally. Moving from Base Camp to an intermediary camp at 8,000 feet, we found looking up at high camp irresistible, but demoralizing. Looking 14,000 feet up at the summit reminded me of the pain that it would take to get there, and it seemed overwhelming. Instead, my partners and I made sure to keep focused on each moment, in making each day and each step our collective masterpiece. Resisting the urge to look towards the summit, we found ourselves in the main camp at 14,000 feet in only a week. From here, we only needed a few days of good weather to reach the top.

Perhaps our most difficult day involved the move from our comfortable, even plush camp at 14,000 feet towards the high plateau at 17,000 feet that served as the final stop before a summit attempt. This day, essentially divided into two segments. First came fixed lines – a set of pre-placed ropes that we could clip into in order to climb up a thousand feet of steep ice. The famous “16 Ridge” was next. Many Denali veterans say that climbing 16 Ridge is the most breathtaking and unsettling leg of the climb, owing both traits to the 3000-foot drops on either side of the ridge. As we began up the ridge, however, a small storm developed, whiteout fog swallowing both the ridge and us. Even worse than the weather was that Jacob, my teammate, was getting high-altitude sickness. We were all scared to see the warning signs – shaky hands, struggling for breath – begin to settle in. In the worst conditions, with high camp seeming perpetually far-off, I walked up to Jacob and promised that we would reach high camp, that when we got there we would keep him safe. That small gesture of assurance made all the difference, and as the bright orange tents of high camp were just visible on the other side of the ridge, the whiteout cleared, and we were in bright sunlight looking down into a sea of clouds.

A few days later, we were dividing our rope and tightening our harnesses to try for the summit. As I write now, I can’t remember or hope to describe the sensation of pain and fear that set into my body above 18,000 feet. All I can recall is the hopelessness of feeling my body slow down and still understanding that the summit ridge was, for all intents and purposes, light-years away. Our group split up briefly and regrouped at our most worried moment. Sitting together on a rock pile at 19,000 feet we confided our fears to one another but were able to push ourselves through those final, painful hours. Fatigue and an intense pressure to stop, to head down set in, but we were able to use our team’s greatest potential for support and unity, to continue. Because of this, the three of us summited together and remain great friends.

L- R    Jacob Iverson, Kyle Pratt, Jackson Armstrong

 

Alexa Bates & Nina Milligan.

Local Junior Olympic Stars

Mid-City was proudly represented at the recent Jr. Olympics thanks to the accomplishments of local teen sports champs Alexa Bates, a USATF National Silver Medalist in 2009  and Nina Milligan, both residents of Lafayette Square.  On July 23rd - 29th they competed for the fourth straight year in the Junior Olympics held in Baltimore and are on a clear fast track to becoming Olympians in their twenties.

L-R  Bottom - Autumn Wright, Nina Milligan; Top - Alex Haley, Kenndi Adkins

Alexa’s team ‘Southern California Running Cougars’ competed in the 4x100m relay. Alexa also served as an alternate for the 4x400m relay. Unfortunately the Cougars missed advancing by 1/100ths of a second and did not qualify for the finals. There was a dramatic turn of events when the score board initially had them winning the race, then was suddenly revised, putting them in 2nd place. Her coach submitted a protest and the officials had to pull the photo, which shows the other girls torso crossing the line just before Alexa’s.  Still an extraordinary show of talent on Alexa’s part and TNN salutes you!

Nina’s relay team the LA Jets is ranked third in the nation, with Nina in the top ten in her personal event. Their hard work won the gold this year in the 4x400m relay making them the fastest Youth Girls 4/400 relay team in the country.  Three Cheers! --Alexa Bates pictured running in front--

When asked what they think about when competing, the two girls answered like the serious athletes they are:  “I am mostly focused on catching the person ahead of me and not letting the person behind me catch up to me,” replied Alexa. Similarly Nina stated, “I get a little nervous but then realize I just have to do what I do, -- that if I fall to the level of my training, I’ll do fine.”

Read more...

Bella Hutchinson. Making a Difference in Haiti

I grew up in a very creative family; my father, Ron Hutchinson, is a writer, my mother, Alisa Taylor, worked in the entertainment business and was a dancer, and my elder brother, Nick Hunt is also a writer.  Therefore it was pretty much expected that I would become a writer/artist too.

However, I had a pretty drastic change of heart during 9th grade.  Now, applying to colleges, I am looking not for a great art school, but a school with fantastic international and pre-med programs.

I have been on many medical trips, but my latest was a 10-day trip to Haiti with a team of about 30.  The team included three doctors, a bunch of med students, a handful of residents and a couple of paramedic/EMTs.

I have my EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and first responder qualifications and a lot of experience in the field, however it was still a surprise to me when I was put as the head of wound care for the team.  This meant I was in charge of all the wounds presented.  I would have to clean them, apply medicine, wrap them up and even occasionally stitch them up.

Now at this point you’re probably wondering if that’s even legal.  Trust me, I did too.  But, working in a third-world country with little to no healthcare provided, things like legalities seem trivial.  The wounds I dealt with, while big enough to warrant a trip to the ER in the United States, weren’t big enough that I could make a mistake and hurt the person further.  Most needed just a quick squirt of alcohol, a swipe of antibiotic cream and a nice bandage accompanied by the occasional lecture about keeping the area dry and clean, applying the medicine we supplied daily, not picking at it, etc.  More intense injuries included a saline rinse, stitches and sometimes,anesthesia. 

I learned to administer Lidocaine in the back of a bus meant for about 10 people instead of the 20 standing around watching, not including the kicking child I was working on, and three assisting medical students (all at least five years older than me) calming him down and holding him still.  I use the term “learned” loosely; it was more like the doctor handed me a syringe and said, “go.”  Nevertheless, I have mastered the task of sticking people with needles pretty well and have ever since been the go-to person when the doctors are too busy or overwhelmed to do it themselves.

Read more...

Youth On Fire, Juana Molina and Erron Harris

Most 19 year-olds are focused on completing their general college requirements, their next date, or losing their ‘freshman fifteen.’ 
Juana Molina and Erron Harris on the other hand are preoccupied with opening up their second church site.

Juana and Erron are the starters and leaders of a novel church in the Vermont/Washington area.  Titled Youth on Fire, their ministry focuses on empowering young people through Christ.

Raised in the Exposition and Slauson areas, Juana and Erron’s spiritual quest began in high school when they began attending a local “Simple Church.”  Evolving in reaction to the bureaucracy and trappings of large organized religions, Simple Church is a contemporary evangelical movement concentrating on pure faith and one’s relationship to Christ and each other.  But Juana and Erron were troubled by seeing teenagers fall away from church after high school and so decided to develop their own Youth on Fire church as a congregation kids could connect with.

Read more...

Iby Lopez-Glynn, Three Cheers!

In the film “Bring It On” Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku argue over the merits of cheerleading:
“I’m a hardcore gymnast. No way jumping up and down yelling “Go Team Go!” is gonna satisfy me” claims Eliza’s character 

“We’re gymnast except no beams, no bars, no vault.”
counters Kristen.
This gutsy athleticism perfectly describes award-winning cheerleeder, 15 year-old Iby Lopez-Glynn from West Adams Avenues.

Gavin Glynn and his partner Juan Lopez began fostering Iby at age six and Gavin immediately enrolled him in three months of all style dance classes for $5 a month at “Everybody Dance”. Iby’s  natural gifts became apparent and he went on to receive full scholarships from Crossroads Musical Theatre program, LA Brea Dance Academy and Lula Washington’s Studio.

After participating with The Towne Street Theater Youth Conservatory in their production of “The Wiz” at The Stella Adler Theater in Hollywood, and in “The Chocolate Nutcracker” at Glendale Community College, Iby got his first professional gig this past winter with the renowned Joffrey Ballet Co. at the Music Center’s production of “Cinderella”.

Despite all the kudo’s he has received as a dancer, Iby has his own ideas and his passion is clearly focused on his true love, cheerleading.  Formally adopted by Gavin and Juan at 10 years old,  Iby is now 15 and a current member of the world champion cheerleading team, the LA Dreams Allstars, a competitive cheer circuit squad comprised of students from various high schools. He has received medals in perfect toe touches and tucks/flips at the Sharp International Competition, and was recently selected out of thousands of cheerleaders at The American Cheerleading Competition to perform at the NFL Pro half-time next February ‘11 in Hawaii.

But he is a teen and his favorite pastimes are hanging with his three dogs and four older siblings,  ipodding, shopping vintage, and giving back as a volunteer at Project Angel Food.  His career goal is to become an entertainment attorney.


TNN cheers another hard working Neighborhood News Teen!


UPDATE AUG 2012 by Gavin Glynn

Iby trained at "Everybody Dance" with Luis Del Cid and I was the carpool dad for these two guys to go downtown to VAPA HS everyday before Luis left for PA. In the meantime, Iby competed against 5 solo finalist in Anaheim this past Spring 2012 including FL, OH, TX, AZ,and NOCA and he won the First Place as the National Champion of the The American Championships. Having support from the Neighborhood News keeps the fire in the belly of these young athletes/dancers. West Adams Got Talent!

 

Texting. What IS the Point?

“I know we’re excited about vacation, but please do remember that we still are in school. NO TEXTING!” says my physiology teacher before winter break.

Texting, a form of communication unique to today’s youth. But seriously, what’s the point? “OMG” “TTYL” What does all of that mean, what is the purpose of typing a message that could be said in a fraction of the time? Texting is slowly eliminating phone conversations. What’s the point of making an actual human connection when a simple message can be sent without the hassle of conversational etiquette? Most teens, myself included prefer texting. Texting is almost addictive accompanied by fancy highly developed gadgets such as Blackberries and iPhones.

Parents may look at their teenagers with puzzled looks, because a simple phone call is much easier than putting one’s hands at risk for painful carpal tunnel. Texting doesn’t make sense, texting it isn’t about efficiency but more so convenience. In certain situations one isn’t always in the position to call. For instance, a kid can’t make a phone call during class, but he or she however can send a text message. Sometimes people don’t feel like talking or waiting for the recipient of the phone call to answer the phone. Unlike a phone call, a text message is very short. It is extremely rude to make a phone call and give a request before even saying ‘Hello’. In a text message one can get their point across very quickly. Along with that there is a specialized language of abbreviations that accommodates those who would prefer not to type the full word or phrase. ‘OMG’ meaning Oh my God, ‘LOL’ short for laugh out loud, ‘WTF’ an abbreviation for what the f%@!. There is a long list of abbreviations for commonly used phrases, which makes communication shorter, and allows a  message to fit into a restricted set number of characters. This language is unique to teens and people who use instant messaging, giving them a sense of uniqueness in having a language of their own to communicate, without prying ears or eyes being able to decipher what was said.

Texting may be convenient, but there are some drawbacks. Texting can be expensive depending on the cell phone carrier. Before texting gained so much popularity, messages cost ten cents to send and sometimes to receive messages. Cell phone carriers such as Sprint and T-Mobile are beginning to offer unlimited plans to attract heavy cell phone users. Texting may be a means to eliminate teens from communicate verbally in class, however texting has become a vehicle for cheating. Depending on how small a cell phone may be, teens can get away with sending answers to a test to a friend while in class without attracting a teacher’s attention. As technology advances schools are becoming keener on the activity of teens and aren’t permitting cell phone use in class and if those rules are broken students run the risk of having their phones taken away. Physically texting puts teens at risk for carpal tunnel, because of the rapid repetitive motion. I myself am living proof; I’m merely 16 and have had my fingers lock up because of years of repetitive motion which have only increased after recent increased texting. Texting forces people to strain their eyes to read very small print glowing from a small screen depending on the phone. Texting is addictive for some teens because to continually have messages in an inbox makes them feel important because someone is trying to reach them. Crazy is it not?

LOL- laugh out loud

LMAO- Laugh my ass off

LMFO-Laugh my mfing ass off

TTTYL- talk to you later

W.E.- whatever

BTW-by the way

W.- with

L8R- later

Y- why

SMH- shaking my head

ILY- I Love you

ILY2- I love you too

OMW- on my way

 

 

Do You Know a Teen Who Has Something to Say?

We invite submissions from all Teens who want to share their thoughts, ideas, perceptions and points of view.  Send your submissions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or register to this website and you can submit your blogs directly. Submissions may be subject to editing for clarity.

 

NEXT! Dianne V. Lawrence on wrapping up the hard copy of The Neighborhood News

SEPT21portrait2webFor 13 years, Dianne V. Lawrence has helmed The Neighborhood News, highlighting noteworthy community members, holding local politicians accountable, and bringing important news and historical stories to the eyes of Mid-City/West Adams readers. It’s not been an easy job printing 14,000 copies of the paper every two months for the majority of those years; editing, designing each issue, generating advertisements, reporting, assigning stories, and even at times delivering the paper herself, . But it was one she was meant to do. TNN writer Chelsee Lowe sat down with Dianne at Papa Cristo’s to reflect on her years with the paper, why she's ending the hardcopy, and what’s next for Dianne.

Photo by Dawn Kirkpatrick 

TNN:  How’s Papa Cristo?

Dianne:  It's great to see him again. He's in fine shape.  He was one of my first advertisers and his support in the early years helped me a lot.  I hadn't seen him since the height of Covid-19 because he couldn’t come to work, so it’s great to say hi and “We survived it!” He just said the nicest thing to me. "You know what, I don't think you got enough credit for doing that magazine." And I said, "Well, maybe not, but I'll tell you that people I run into, consistently tell me how much they love it and read it cover to cover." And he said, "And they love you, too." "Well, most of them," I laughed. “There are a few out there who are a bit cranky about me.”

ADPapacristoInsert




TNN:  It is a bit of a thankless job to run a community paper.

Dianne: You certainly don’t do something like this for the kudos. I did get thanked in the most important way – the local businesses kept advertising with me. This gave me great freedom to focus on what I felt was important and useful and it also allowed me to leave the magazine without any debt. The support of my ongoing and new advertisers gave me the freedom to take a deep dive into a community I loved and have lived in half my life. It allowed me to help people and I got to meet and become friends with so many different people. I really loved that part. Most importantly, it allowed me to indulge my passion for connecting people with useful information.

TNN:  So are you ready for the next chapter in your life?

Dianne: Pretty much. It was my plan to do the magazine until I was 70, which I turned this summer, then go back to my life as an artist. I knew I would be heading into the last quarter of my life or eighth or whatever and I want to go back to my joyful art-self.  I’ve started writing non-fiction short stories, goodness knows, I have a cornucopia of characters and situations to draw from!

www.diannevlawrencewriter.com

And I’ve already started a new series of paintings.

TNN: Weren’t you a painter to begin with?

Dianne: Yes, for nearly four decades.   

www.diannelawrence.com

www.dianneVlawrenceportraits.com

Dianne V Lawrence Artworks, (Facebook page)


I got to a point where I hit a wall professionally, so when the idea for the magazine became a reality, it was clear I had to give up painting for a while but I knew I would eventually go back to it.


Oct21MaskLast year I coincidently got chosen to paint one of the electrical boxes along Pico Blvd. They assigned the Redondo/Pico box to me. which happened to be on the opposite corner of the storefront art studio I lived in when I first moved to LA in the late 70s so I took it as an omen. My studio was where the furniture shop is now, on the northwest side of Redondo. The mural box is on the northeast side of Redondo. Those four corners were filled with artists in storefronts in the late 70s early 80s. Robert Therrien and Robert Wilhite lived there. Chris Burden was staying with Wilhite and shooting guns into the air in the alley. Slash Magazine was started by Steve Samiof, who lived in the studio next to me. Bob Biggs, who sublet his studio to me, started Slash Records that helped get the early 80s LA punk scene off the ground. Anyway, while working on the murals I realized how much I missed painting and how much it missed me. So I've begun the transition. I’ve already started a new series (symbolic metaphors for political, spiritual and psychological realities) and will take up portraiture again.

TNN:  Did you have a career as a painter?


Dianne: I was part of the art scene here for many years. I'd been in some group shows and a one-person show. I taught at the Museum of Contemporary Art, I taught in their first artists in schools program. I taught art in men and women’s prisons, sponsored by UCLA Artsreach program and LA Theatreworks. I used to drive out to prisons with Lulu Washington, Roger Guenveur Smith, and Tony Abetermarco. I've taught up at Esalen in Big Sur and I taught an elective at Art Center School of Design in Pasadena.  I sold work.  A lot of portrait commissions.  Dan Akroyd commissioned a series of portraits of blues singers for the House of Blues. I did Leonard Cohen’s portrait for his 1979 album "Recent Songs," which got a record design award. I designed his hummingbird logo that he used for the rest of his life. Stuff like that. But as I got older it wasn’t sustaining me financially. Very hard to do. When I started the magazine I got an immediate financial response and was able to grow it so it was like a calling. It had to happen.

TNN: You aren’t nervous about making such a big change and letting go of the magazine?

Dianne:  I've lived my life by getting a very strong feeling to do something and then doing that thing. And I've been very lucky because things tend to work out. Like moving to LA. from Toronto with $500 right into that art studio that cost $350 a month. I've had my own band and I've sung music from the twenties and thirties and was able to play all over LA, first as Bertha D. Blues and the Lost Boys of Jazz then as Storm Taylor and Her Ex-Husbands.  I even sang in Paris once. I discovered late in life that my genetic father was a jazz musician so that explained alot. I wanted to teach and ended up teaching in all these amazing places.  I wanted to do a magazine and it lasted 13 years. I was able to get a law changed making it illegal to tether dogs up in the yard as a lifestyle (it turns out my great-grandfather R.G.L Paige was one of the first black delegates to the Virginia legislature after the Civil War and was always fighting for causes). That took six years. I wanted to train dogs and now have a dog training business.  Someone nicknamed me Tenacious D! Now the strong feeling is to let the magazine go and begin painting and writing my own stories. Also I got a very strong feeling to get involved in Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) and have begun my training. There's a hard rain coming and I want to know how to help.

TNN: Why end the magazine now?

Dianne: There were a lot of signs. I successfully fought off cancer twice in 2020, which took a hit on my energy. But I was lucky in that it coincided with the pandemic that shut everything down, so I had time to heal without the pressure of the magazine, which I had to stop. Nowhere to distribute it.  Today I’m cancer free. Also there has been a change in the kind of community we now live in, with new commercial development, new housing development, out of control homeless issues, new political issues, gentrification with all the good and bad that brings, new representation at City Hall. It’s a different community and I honestly don’t think I have the bandwidth to take it on. The pandemic felt like a timeout and a transition time.  I feel like the magazine fulfilled its purpose.  So yes, I’m taking a leap but it feels right.


TNN: What about the website? It would be a shame to see everything disappear.


Dianne: Don't worry, I’m not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I will keep that going. It won’t be as a content everyday sort of thing, not so labor intensive, but as it is, the website

www.theneighborhoodnewsonline.net

is a historic archive, a snapshot of the Mid-City and West Adams community during a certain transitional period,  it’s history, architecture, the amazing people who have lived here.  We have uploaded every story that appeared in the magazine on our website then we send out links to the stories to our registered readers. Anybody who is new to our area can go there and find out a lot about our community because many of the stories are evergreens (can be read at any time).  And who knows, I might do a special hardcopy edition around election time.  We'll see.

But I do want to keep the website current so I’m looking for people to contribute to it regularly and I’m beginning to find them.  If you are reading this and would like to contribute story ideas, if something happens in your neighborhood, please send it along. Or if you would like to write for us and get an assignment (there will be pay involved) email me

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I’ve been especially proud of having local people contribute stories about things going on in their community.

TNN:  Will you continue to write about and for the community, somehow or somewhere?

Dianne: I'm hoping to focus on interviews that I will upload to our site and I'll likely be able to contribute them to CityWatchLA.  Ken Draper. the editor, is interested and we’ve talked on and off for awhile.  He was inspired to create a Neighborhood Politics category because of The Neighborhood News. CityWatchLA has always been generous in allowing us to post their stories. I will be sharing the pertinent ones on our website.

TNN: Are you worried about the financial hit of shutting down the hard copy?

Dianne: It’s always a bit nerve-wracking making a big change financially, but back in the day I used to do a lot of dog rescue and studied with an amazing trainer.  So at the beginning of the magazine, when I realized I had to supplement my income, I got back into the business of dog training. (www.whatagooddogla.com) I wanted to have my dog training business up and running by the time I left the magazine so I’d have a source of income.  It looks like it’s going to work out that way. I have five-star reviews on Yelp, got a Neighborhood Favorite shout out on Nextdoor and have begun to get consistant calls.  Although a big change is always risky, I’ve learned that if it feels right it works out in some way.

TNN: Did you try and sell the magazine?

Dianne: I tested the waters, but it’s very difficult to sell a business when you are the person who does everything.  I was editor, writer, assigned stories, designed the magazine, developed content, oversaw the distribution.  They would have to hire a variety of people to do all that, so it would not be profitable, and as you know, it’s getting more difficult to get people to put down their phones and pick up a hard copy.

TNN: Now that you aren’t tethered to the magazine will you stay in Mid-City?

Dianne: I have no plans to move. I love where I live.

TNN: What keeps you here in our community?

Dianne: I’ve always favored living in this kind of historic community.  In '79 I moved to LA  from an historic community in Toronto called Cabbagetown, which is now gentrified.  I moved into that storefront art studio on Pico and Redondo. Then I moved to another storefront studio on the corner of Harcourt and Washington. Then I moved to Hollywood for a New York minute and lived in the coach house of one of the first farmhouses in Hollywood. I moved back to this neighborhood because I was friends with Leonard Cohen, and the Zen Center he belonged to was in Kinney Heights. I wanted to get out of Hollywood and I asked if he knew of anything for rent down around here because I knew it would probably be inexpensive. He said, "Darling, you don't want to live here. It's too dangerous." It was pretty sketchy then. But a few years later I ended up moving into their Zen rooming house. Since then I’ve lived in four different rental units within a few blocks of each other.

Gentrification and rising rents got me pushed out as landlords used shenanigans to bypass rent control restrictions in order to get rid of tenants and increase their rents. But the Spirit of the community always stepped in to help. I really got lucky with my current home, which is still in my beloved neighborhood. The landlady is nice and my neighbors are terrific. So, my 40-year history in CD10, along with all the connections I’ve made with incredible people here in the community, makes this my home.

TNN:  Do you have any last words to your readers?

Dianne:   I feel sincerely fortunate to have been given this amazing opportunity to contribute to my community in this deeply satisfying way.  I want to especially thank the readers who picked it up regularly either off their doorstep or from a local spot and, as they often tell me, read it cover to cover. I hope they will keep in touch with their community and subscribe to our website list for updated article notifications. (See end of article for contact info).

I do want to sincerely thank the businesses that kept me in business, especially our ongoing advertisers who have been consistently with us for years - David Raposa, Spirit Early Education, Surfas, Peace Awareness Labyrinth, Real Estate Collective, Delicious Pizza, Print Plus, Bethel Lutheran Church, and Karen Hughes over at DWP. They gave me the freedom to publish the things I thought were important.

I also want to thank the women who stepped forward to assist, provide support, and made ongoing contributions to the paper just when I needed them the most. Carla Pineda, you - Chelsee Lowe, Dawn Kirkpatrick, Laura Meyers, Renee Montgomery,   I want to thank community members Gavin Glynne who was always ready to step in and help when needed and provided a good ear for community talks, Kendal Credi who has helped with online technical tasks and will continue to do so, Chin Thammasaengsri who kept our community up to speed on safety issues, Shannon Vale who has been our proofreader, and Scott McNeely who stepped in at the beginning to help set up my website and show me how to navigate it.  So many others to thank who contributed stories, encouraged me and were willing to discuss issues with me.

Dianne


But I think the most important information I want to leave my readers with is...I have come to see how serious electing your local city representative is, and yet only a small percentage of our community actually shows up to vote.  Did you know that Los Angeles city councilmembers are some of the highest paid politicians in the country? They make $184,610 a year while most members of Congress make $174,000 a year.  Given that information, do you think your representative is earning their salary? Or are they using your goodwill to advance their own ambitions? Are your concerns really their concerns? Do you see real improvements in your community during their time here?  Are your phone calls and emails being responded to?  Does the deputy assigned to your community go out of their way to help or do they do the least amount required?  Please take a hard look at who is running to represent you and vote according to what you come to know about them, not simply name recognition.  Once they are elected, there is not much you can do. We will continue to hold them accountable on our website.

In my opinion there are two kinds of politicians.  Most are a mix of both, with some skewing to one or the other type. One type really likes the power, the glory, and the money, and who in the end, do what they need to do to consolidate power to serve their ambitions. It's not a new story.   A person at City Hall told me that most politicians act like they are rock stars. Then, there are the ones who actually want to make a difference, are accessible and connected to all their constituents, and really want to serve. They make themselves available to All not just favored constituents, through continuous outreach, returned calls and emails, by assigning deputies that work hard to help you, not just phone it in and collect their check. They keep their websites current and informative to your concerns as a community.

Unfortunately, politicians who skew to the first group are more likely to get elected and stay in office usually because they are willing to do whatever it takes to win (including shenanigans) and hold on to the power. They know that people don’t like change and will vote because of familiarity rather than do their homework and find out who they are voting for. Politicians win with the old “Vote for me, go back to tv and let me be.”  Is it any wonder City Hall is mired in so much corruption and has a reputation of being one of the most corrupt (based on the number of lawsuits filed against them)?  But as our community is experiencing, change happens and your informed vote will play a role in whether or not those changes are for better or for worse.

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Keith Corbin. From the Projects to Head Chef

Keith Corbin is the Head Chef and creator of the remarkable cuisine at Alta, an explosively popular new restaurant located at 5359 W. Adams and Burnside in the West Adams Corridor. The Corridor is located west of West Blvd and connects Historic West Adams to the Culver City arts district. It is fast becoming the neighborhood go-to place for coffee, a cool pizza hangout, art galleries and now the upscale Alta with a masterful soul food menu created by Chef Corbin. Keith’s talent and innovative soul food recipes have been extensively written about and celebrated. After hearing about Keith’s background, TNN decided to focus on his remarkable history and journey from roots in the projects and gang life to heading one of the hottest restaurants in L.A. and a destination for foodies from all over the city.  Stories from people who make this kind of transition - from a difficult background to a position of strength through the successful mastering of their talents -  are always fascinating. 

Dec18Keith3 TNN:Keith, how long have you been a chef? 
Keith:  I've been cooking since I was a kid, but as far as the title of chef, it’s new. Since I’ve started working at Alta.

TNN:And how did you get that title?
Keith:  I was given the title by Daniel Patterson, a good friend of mine, my mentor and someone who helped me in my transition and gave me opportunity and a chance.

TNN:How did he find you? 
Keith:  I applied for a job at the restaurant that he and Roy Choi had just opened in my community, Watts.  It was called Locol.  I applied and first got the position as a line cook, then was moved up to manager, and then shortly was asked to join the executive body. Things happened really fast.

TNN:How fast from the time you went to apply till the job today?
Keith:  Not even four years.

TNN:Amazing! What was going on with you prior to finding that job?
Keith:  Well, actually I had just come home from prison where I had been incarcerated for 10 years.  I found a job working at the oil refinery, but my background caught up to me and they laid me off. “Oh you were in prison, we can't have you working here.” Then about a month later, I was driving through the neighborhood and I seen them hiring at the job fair. They was hiring on the spot pretty much. They really wasn't seeking out people with experience. They were seeking out people that needed opportunity, that needed a second chance. No background check.  No experience needed. Daniel and Andrew Miller had committed to training the staff.  All you had to do was want to be willing to work. So I filled out an application and things went from there. I started as a line cook first.

TNN:Why did they give you that job?
Keith:  They didn't know too much about me at that point or about my cooking background. They were pretty much just hiring people for positions and that position was open.

TNN:And they just gave you the cooks job?
Keith:  No experience was needed.  So I just happened to go by this place, see the sign that said we're looking for help, walked in and got hired as a line cook, and before I even was able to start the position as a line cook, I was asked to be a manager.

TNN:Wow. That is such a good story. But you actually did have experience with food.  Tell me about that.
Keith:  Well, I just grew up cooking with my granny and then I grew up in a community where you're like, you raise yourself. You know, either your parents or your mom or your dad is working so many hours that they're not present or they out, they strung out on drugs or whatever the case may be, I was in a community where we raised ourself. Kids raised each other. The streets raised us, or your granny raised you. I was fortunate to have my granny for most of the time and she taught me how to cook. Then I transitioned to raising myself, so I had to cook, and then the fellas that I ran with, I cooked for them. So I was the one that always was in the kitchen.

TNN:So the people that you were hanging out with, they were in a similar situation. Lack of parents.
Keith:  That's the norm down there. That's the norm in our community.

TNN:Where is that communiity?
Keith:  Watts and the Jordan Down housing projects.

TNN:Your friends must have really appreciated you.
Keith:  I mean, well you know, everybody had a role. You know, I just enjoyed it, so when we all got together, I always wanted to make something. I always cooked, I would find things. You know, it wasn't like it was groceries in the house, so you create from what you have and that's why I picked up my ability to create flavor and to actually use anything.

TNN:Well, in order to have a feeling or sense of what tastes good and what spices make something taste great, usually you had to have eaten really, really good food.
Keith:  Like I say, for most of the time, I was raised by my grandmother, and she's from the south and so yes, I grew up eating really great food. And that's kind of like when I cook now, I channel that, so I try to recreate them flavors. So growing up, having my granny, gave me that sense of flavor. She gave me that sense of taste and something to hone in on. Then being on my own, I learned the ability to take in different things. I don't have to have the exact recipe that she used. I can use alternative things and expand. 

TNN:I do artist meals, which are basically made up of whatever I have left in the fridge when money is tight.
Keith:  Yes, and that's the case for me. I'll say it's nothing to eat if the house is empty. If the kitchen's bare, but if there's any two or three things in there, I can create something from it.

TNN:I'm also curious about the fact that you ran with a rough crowd, because you ended up going to prison.
Keith:  Yes. I grew up in the projects, and it's a gang and drug infested area and there's no opportunity, there's no jobs, there's no resources, no income, no support. So, I mean you gotta get out there and make ends meet. And you can only act off what you know, right? If you don't know anything else... you only can practice what you know.  So if you're watching people selling drugs, if you're watching people gambling, if you're watching people robbing, if that's what you're taught, if that's what you see, if that's your education on how to make ends meet, then of course, you're gonna choose one of them paths. Right? And that was just the case. I chose my path and my path ended me up in prison for 10 years. But I was fortunate to get a job in the kitchen. So it was like this kitchen thing was just, like, my destiny. I always landed in the kitchen somewhere.  Not aiming for it or going after it, it's just like that's where I winded up landing.

TNN:You know people talk about a Higher Power and I believe an aspect of  it is one's talent. It guides you to  places where it can grow, like jobs that end up teaching skills necessary to its growth. 
Keith:  That was true with my previous lifestyle, like I had the ability to lead. I had the ability to communicate. I had the ability to problem solve. I had the ability to crisis thinking. I mean, I learned all these things, right? It may not have been taught at school...

TNN:You were given the opportunity to exercise what you instinctively knew.
Keith:  Exactly. Those things are present today, like I still have to practice. I still use those things, those qualities, no matter how I obtained them, it's what carried me through the day and it's what people notice. And also showing up, constantly knowing that other people are relying on you.

TNN:  That's why I think what you're doing is remarkable. A lot of  people want to repeat the old patterns. You were able to say, no, I'm willing to take on these new patterns, a new way of being. Did all the people who started out with you continue to function and keep the job and learn the skills or were there dropouts, problems?
Keith:  Well, like with every job, you have some that stay, you have some that can manage it. You have some that try and don't make it, but the majority of my team here at Alta started with me at Locol.  I managed them, I trained them, I taught them, I worked closely with them and now that Locol's no longer operating as a storefront, I brought them over here with me.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's been a struggle for me. It has. And the support I have around me has been very, very patient. They know I’m growing and I appreciate that. I mean, you know, I have kids. I have grandkids. My whole thing was to change my legacy.  I wanted to change the conversations that people would have about me in regards to my life. So I had to make a decision, like if I had passed away at that moment three years ago, I wouldn't appreciate the conversations that my kids would have heard in regards to me, so that's what I've really been striving for, just changing my story.  Having these stories told about me, these new narratives, that's priceless. I've actually accomplished my goal, everything else is just like cherries on top.  If I pass today, I'm proud of the narrative my kids will have.... That's it. I've accomplished my goal. I've done it.




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Established in August of 2008 by writerartist Dianne V. Lawrence, The Neighborhood News covers the events, people, history, politics and historic architecture of communities throughout the Mid-City and West Adams area in Los Angeles Council District 10.

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