Perhaps many of you will remember the popular children’s television show, Captain Kangaroo; for those of you who don’t, it’s worth a Google! Mr. Green Jeans was the Captain’s soft spoken sidekick and taught us about the importance of taking care of the earth by planting seeds.
Ron Finley is definitely the quintessential “Mr. Green Jeans” of the 10th District. He is a talented artist of many disciplines but his greatest passion is advocating the planting of vegetable gardens in our community. He is one of the co-founders of an organization called L.A. Green Grounds whose mission is to plant gardens in communities where there is lack of access to fresh produce. He planted an unfenced garden on his local parkway and filled it with the most beautiful and colorful vegetables, everything from collard greens to red Swiss chard to purple Japanese eggplant and edible flowers. During a visit to his garden he tested my ability to identify vegetables by pinching off a leaf or an edible flower and urging me to taste it.
He engages his neighbors in conversation as people young and old walk by, fascinated by vegetables growing in a public place in the middle of the community. The garden generated conflict when the city questioned the legality of planting on the
parkway. The press including the L.A. Times and the Sundance Channel online blog, Sunfiltered, the 10th district Council office and most importantly, the community supported Ron and his garden and as of this date his hearing has been postpned indefinitely. Viewing this as a victory there is now an effort to plant gardens on parkways throughout the city. Ron believes gardens bring the community together, encourages healthy eating and lifestyles.
Want to start a garden in your yard or on your parkway? Email Ron at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and/or visit www.laGreenGrounds.org.
West Adams Heritage Association (WAHA) presented its annual Martin Weil Historic Preservation Award to longtime preservation activist Eric Bronson of Harvard Heights.
Eric approaches historic preservation in a low key but effective manner. He is always there when someone has a question whether it is the WAHA Board, the Historic Preservation Committee or a member. For many years he, with Tom Florio, headed the WAHA Zoning and Planning Committee. He has rehabilitated many homes in West Adams and lead numerous
Gracie Santana Celia Bell
Before her recent move to Las Vegas, forty-six year Council District 10 resident, Celia Bell, was a tireless community activist. Her work as creator and President of the Longwood Highland Neighborhood Watch, representative of Region 5 on the Mid City Neighborhood Council, and member of Women for Wesson allowed her to keep her local neighborhood informed, active and connected.
Celia had an active professional life working with the County for thirty-seven years as Head of Internal Affairs of the Department of Public Social Service. Longtime friend Lottie Taylor tells us
On Sunday, May 15, 2011, West Adams Avenue's Donna Jones was awarded the annual SHEro Award from Senator Curren D. Price, Jr. (26th Senate District). Donna was one of 26 women who received the honor based on her demonstrated leadership, volunteerism and commitment to her community. During the ceremony, Donna received her SHEro Award from Senator Price himself and was praised by Michaela Periera from KTLA-TV's Morning Show.
Behind the humble façade on Jefferson Blvd. you will find a humble man with a big name, Grandmaster Goode, founder and owner of World Championship Karate Sports Academy.
But the self-effacing Walter Goode has every reason to crow. He holds black belts in four karate techniques, is an inductee of the National Black Belt League Hall of Fame and elite Ninja Ryu Club, and 2007 Grandmaster of the Year, among other distinctions. Considered one of the #1 karate schools nationally, the walls of Goode’s studio are lined with his and his students’ numerous trophies from hundreds of tournaments.
Grandmaster Goode could have set up shop anywhere in Los Angeles and command large fees but he was on a spiritual mission. He wanted to give kids in underserved communities an alternative to gangs and wrong choices. It is his countless community awards that are most impressive.
Originally from New Jersey, Goode moved to L.A. in the 1980s to find greater opportunities and ended up on Venice Beach performing amazing brick-breaking techniques. He went on to open his own karate program in 1990 infusing his practice with Christian principles.
More than a martial arts instructor, Goode is also advisor and friend to his students, expecting to see the kids’ report cards, encouraging college attendance, and even visiting schools if his students are in trouble.
One of Goode’s adult students Connie White, an L.A. Police Officer, explains that Goode lets in many kids who can’t afford the academy tuition. “He has lots of respect from the community. Lots. He will even drive his students home if needed.”
Another pupil Latonya Edwards studies kickboxing at the studio while her two children, Jaedeh and Khaliah, take other martial arts classes: “It feels more like a family here than a studio. Grandmaster took time to bring my daughter Khaliah out of her shell. Now her self-esteem is constantly rising.”
“He’s just a big-hearted guy -- huge heart. He cares, he truly cares,” commends Officer White.
Goode’s mission is simple “To teach kids and adults greater wisdom and knowledge” This dedication has been honored by too many city, county and state awards to cite here but here are some examples...for “commitment and dedication to youth”, for “outstanding achievement,” for “community service”, for “pioneering accomplishments,” for “honors youth program,” and simply as “hero.”
When Goode is not teaching at the Academy, he instructs at the neighborhood Holy Name Catholic church school, and also serves as a celebrity bodyguard. Another bright Star in our community.
The World Championship Karate Sports Academy is located at 1994 W. Jefferson Blvd, phone (323) 620-1003
inspired Branton to study law at Northwestern, after traveling with a repertory company and military service. The tireless attorney who has won numerous distinctions and is a sought-after speaker, was one of the first to hire a consultant to psychologically profile juries and to demand fairer diversity of juries. Other legal distinctions include winning cases upon appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court level. His persuasive closing argument in the case of People v. Angela Davis (where he served as Chief Counsel) is still used for instruction in law schools. Branton is most proud of his 40 year effort to free death row inmate Robert Wesley Wells.
Although retired for ten years, Branton, continues to do pro bono work, graciously accepting cases for individuals arrested on bogus charges who cannot afford representation on their own. He points to a painting on his wall by renown artist Edward Biberman expressing the equality of working people despite color difference – one of many museum-quality artworks adorning his modest home, including works by Charles White. However despite his 62 year career in civil rights (Branton was awarded the ACLU’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009), it is his late wife, Geraldine Branton, which he credits as his greatest inspiration: “When she saw a wrong, she tried to solve it.” He encourages young black people to take better advantage of the greater opportunities achieved through the Civil Rights movement. Branton has three sons and grandchildren. Despite macular-degeneration, at age 88, the very vital and sharp attorney shows no signs of slowing down and is planning an autobiography.
As a young man growing up in Boston, David Raposa was always interested in architecture, checking out houses that were for sale or under construction, sketching the homes and floor plans he had seen and sometimes even creating his own designs.
Graduating from Harvard University in 1980 with a Masters in Business Administration, David became a CPA, working in New York City. He eventually found work with a large financial institution and soon found himself on a plane to Los Angeles to help manage their West Coast office.
With a mind for business and a love for beautiful things, David began buying property, a home on the edge of Palm Springs, a Spanish-style duplex in the Pico Robertson area and by 1986 he was devoting himself full time to real estate and historic architecture.His interest and his professional background merged when David purchased City Living Realty in the mid-1980’s.
It was an ad for vintage houses that brought David to the West Adams District.
Enchanted by the quality and diversity of design, he felt a connection to the community. David’s commitment to Historic Preservation has been more than mere rhetoric. Literally putting his money where his mouth is, David bought difficult homes and meticulously restored them to their original luster. The first property he purchased in West Adams was a house designed by noted architect FrankTyler, which had been chopped up into nine illegal units. David restored it to a glorious single-family residence. He rescued another neighborhood nuisance that had been used as a crack house. Another had been clad in aluminum siding, painted bright pink, and had serious foundation problems. Many of these are now listed as either City or National historic monuments.
David has served on the Board of Directors of West Adams Heritage Association (who recently awarded him the Martin Eli Weil Historic Preservation Award), the Los Angeles Conservancy and he currently serves on the Board of the North University Park Historic Preservation Overlay Zone. He and his partner, Ed, live in a beautifully restored Craftsman home designed by the Heinneman Brothers.
Who better to profile in the TNN than long time Mid-City resident and acclaimed local writer Gary Phillips? It was Phillips’ short story that was chosen to represent the Mid-City section of the best-selling anthology Los Angeles Noir.
Characters from several of his internationally-known novels operate from our area -- peppered with references to places like Oki-Dog, The Cork and the day laborers at Lucy’s drive-thru. In his blog, Phillips waxes eloquent about Magee’s Donuts, and Pico Boulevard, which he calls “The Boulevard of Desire” typifying how “this city grew in its slap-dash manner . . . a mélange of auto body and auto repair shops side-by-side with beauty parlors, yoga studios, tropical fish stores, and tony tchotchke shops,” . . . where one can get their “yard bird” on at Golden Bird Chicken.
When acclaimed screenwriter/playwright Ron Hutchinson describes his block in Kinney Heights in West Adams, he uses descriptions like “a web of relationships” and “a little family”.
If teenage daughter Isabella is dressed up for a party, she goes next door to model for the neighbors. When one of Ron’s plays ran in San Diego, the whole neighborhood turned out in a bus. When a neighbor moves, it’s to a different house on the block. Even the piano relocated within the neighborhood. And a stray cat seems to have miraculously found a home here out of the back of a van.
No amusing or profound detail of his tightly-knit community, past or present, is lost on Ron, widely considered to be one of our most important contemporary dramatists. Best known for the screenplays for John Frankenheimer’s Against the Wall and The Island of Doctor Moreau and Robert M. Young’s Slave of Dreams, other credits include Emmy Award-winning Murders Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, The Burning Season, The Josephine Baker Story, Fatherland, The Tuskegee Airman, Traffic (nominated for three Emmys in 2004), The Ten Commandments, and Marco Polo. Equally renown are Ron’s nearly two dozen plays, such as Moonlight and Magnolias (2004), Topless Mum in Dead Hero Shocker!! (2007) and Durand’s Line (2009). Now in his early sixties, Hutchinson continues to write prolifically with a musical in workshop soon in New York. He also teaches screenwriting at AFI and is a popular “script doctor”.
Ron’s plays are produced all over the world so he and his wife, former dancer, Alisa Taylor, could have chosen to live anywhere but they selected West Adams for its live-able urbanity. After doing a stint in Santa Monica and Venice Beach, the couple moved to Kinney Heights in 1990 so their family could be exposed to a greater diversity of people. Ron was born in Northern Ireland but lived in Coventry as a child and spent several years in the London theatre world before falling in love with Los Angeles when one of his plays was in production at the Mark Taper Center.
“Pumpkin” the adopted cat abandoned on Halloween, the neighborhood racoon, the joy of the sun sending its last rays of light down the street-- spend some time with the wry, creative Ron on his neighbor’s Porch Sitting Club and you’ll soon be immersed in engaging stories that reassure the spirit and confirm the uniqueness of our community.
It must be the Adams first law-of-physics that our charming neighborhood should attract a charming children’s book author. Barbara Bottner, five-year resident of Western Heights is the author and/or illustrator of over 36 books for children and young adults.
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