Thirst for knowledge (PW article)

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Thirst for knowledge

Local geniuses teach gifted students in need of a challenge at South Pasadena's Institute for Educational Advancement

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 2/21/2013

While some mentoring programs meet the needs of students who are struggling through school, the Institute for Educational Advancement serves a very different need. For gifted students who may not be challenged by a traditional classroom setting, the Institute's Academy in South Pasadena fills that gap.

Students from greater Pasadena and throughout Southern California take advanced classes year round at the Institute (IEA) to feed their hunger for learning. During the school year classes are held on Saturdays, and during summer they are held all day. Currently, classes include chemistry, astronomy, calculus, self-paced math, ecology and humanities, with fun classes like Games and Theory, Playwriting and the Female Hero in Myth and Literature.

IEA was founded in 1998 by Elizabeth Jones, former associate director of The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and Jim Davis, former Superintendent of La Canada Unified School District. The nonprofit organization receives funding from individual donors, corporations and foundations.

"IEA is dedicated to supporting our nation's brightest students in pursuing their full academic and personal potential," says program coordinator Jen Mounday, adding that the Academy provides "programs that help gifted children balance intellectual ability with social, emotional, physical and spiritual growth."

Mounday said students accepted into the Academy do not necessarily need to be identified as a GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) student. Their application takes into account an array of factors to determine a child's ability, including extracurricular activities, test scores, parent feedback and the student's own interest.

"It's a completely different dynamic, because it's for kids who actually want to be here, who are capable of taking in more than what's given to them at school," says Tony Travouillon, who teaches astronomy and self-paced math at IEA and has a doctorate in astrophysics from Caltech. "In terms of social and intellectual skills, there's such a spectrum, so it makes it tough because you have to reach everyone in different ways. You want them to keep coming back each week. Enjoyment is important," he says.

According to Mounday, IEA began after-school and weekend enrichment classes for gifted youth in response to funding cuts for gifted education in California public schools.

"Our brightest students weren't being challenged in school and were looking for alternative education," says Mounday. "Based on a gifted education concept called 'telescoping'--taking an advanced class and compressing it into a short-term experiential unit of study--IEA built its program. Many of our students admit to being bored in school and enjoy coming to a small, focused classroom setting where they can learn creatively at an accelerated pace with other exceptional minds."

The Academy also provides an outlet for gifted students struggling to make friends with like-minded peers. As Mounday pointed out, many students develop lasting relationships at the Academy, bonding over topics like neuro-energy and chemistry. It's also a place where professors from such institutions as Caltech and UCLA can do some extra teaching.

"It's a good way for me to do more education, which I like," says Travouillon. "And the kids are amazing, because they're very proactive. They're here because they want to know more, so they're always pushing me. I have to come up with the right pace and keep up with as much as they're willing and capable of learning. And with most kids here, it's a lot."

IEA also offers scholarships for Pasadena-area students. For more information about the Academy and to learn how to apply, visit educationaladvancement.org, or call (626) 403-8900.

Addicted to writing (PW article)

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Addicted to writing

Prolific Jerry Stahl releases a flurry of fiction exploring the ‘maniacal workings of an addicted brain’

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 2/14/2013

Fresh off a successful script for HBO Films, “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” which premiered last year, author Jerry Stahl is ready to take a step back from Hollywood for a moment to focus solely on fiction. 
 
“I’m just working nonstop on fiction,” said Stahl, who has written screenplays for several television shows and movies. “It’s pretty great, just to kind of walk away from Hollywood for awhile, or for the duration. We’ll see. Just to work on prose has really been a luxury.”
 
Stahl, 59, has also written a half-dozen books and countless columns and articles for a slew of newspapers and magazines. He has contributed several short stories to various literary magazines and won the Pushcart Prize.
Stahl’s latest book, a novella called “Bad Sex on Speed,” is a rapid treatise that details the inner workings of a mind on methamphetamine and entire lives affected by a drug that seems to be everywhere these days. In it, Stahl utilizes second-person narration, a rare but fitting literary device, which he says was completely unplanned, yet works with the subject matter.
 
“I was typing for a few pages and realized, ‘Jesus, fuck, I’m in the second person. Alright then.’ There’s an immediacy with it. There’s a nonstop narrative on that drug, kind of a hyper-awareness where it’s like, ‘You’re doing this, you’re doing this now, now you’re doing this.’ I was trying to tap into that kind of, really, just relentless self-awareness.”
Stahl is clearly on a roll, with several projects already out or on the way, all while having his second daughter at the ripe young age of 58, an experience he blogs about for Rumpus.net. Those posts, under the title “OG Dad,” will be released as a collection sometime in 2014. Meanwhile, HarperCollins is putting out his new book “Happy Mutant Baby Pills” in September.
 
“Among other things,” Stahl explained, “it’s about a very radical woman with a backdrop of Occupy who wants to protest the debilitating and demeaning influence of capitalism by taking every kind of medication, over the counter, under the counter, huffing paint, whatever, basically trying to have the most mutant child she can as a protest. As like this thing, ‘See? This is what America does. This is what GMOs do. This is what capitalism does.’ It’s a lighthearted romp, as you can tell.”
 
Stahl recently edited and contributed to “The Heroin Chronicles,” a collection of original short stories by authors such as Gary Philips and Jervy Tervalon of Altadena, who co-edited “The Cocaine Chronicles,” the first in Akashic Books’ drug series. Stahl also contributed to “The Speed Chronicles” in 2011, but not the forthcoming “The Marijuana Chronicles.”
“I did not make it into the Marijuana, Aspercreme, Testosterone, or Skin-Tag Away (Chronicles), as far as I can tell,” said Stahl, known for his dry but always witty sense of humor.
 
Stahl will be reading from “Heroin Chronicles,” along with other authors who contributed to the collection, and discussing “Bad Sex on Speed” tomorrow night at Stories Books & Café in Los Angeles.
 
As an editor, he had the opportunity to choose the writers he wanted to include in the collection. He decided not to go after famous people so much as those who might not have had the chance to be in print. The “encyclopedia of bad behavior,” as Stahl refers to it in the introduction, includes hilarious and harrowing stories from both veteran and first-time short story writers.
 
“It’s nice to be able to give somebody a shot, no pun intended,” joked Stahl. “I think when it comes to heroin, there’s something for everyone. Everyone can enjoy a good heroin story. Ultimately, the stories, in the same way that being a drug addict is never really about drugs, you know, the subject may sort of, on one surface level, be heroin, but below that there’s sort of a universal level of desperation and confusion and striving and loneliness that sort of transcends being a drug addict. It’s just focused through that lens.”
 
Addiction is a running theme in Stahl’s work, having played a role in nearly everything he’s written, but it is by no means all he has to offer. Stahl’s writing penetrates all that is held sacred in American society, turning normal upside down and inside out to expose the strangeness of reality, as if to say, “Don’t kid yourself, this is what life really is.” His novels are refreshing and honest literary adventures in a tired world of popular fantasy books like “Harry Potter” and “Twilight.”
 
“There are great stories to mine from addiction,” said Stahl. “It might be a go-to place now and again, but I think it’s more about the mindset behind addiction. Like in this new book, ‘Bad Sex on Speed,’ it’s not really about addiction, per se, it’s about the maniacal workings of a brain that I was trying to chronicle. I was trying to write inside that head. So it’s not so much about the physical act of being addicted, as a few levels below that is just the kind of insanity that seems normal as you are in the grips of addiction, or in that world. Or what seems insane to a non-addict is just meat and potatoes to an addict.”
 
In 1995 Stahl penned “Permanent Midnight,” a haunting and candid memoir of his heroin addiction that was turned into a movie starring his friend, Ben Stiller, who called the book “funny and honest and scary.” It was a decidedly different role for Stiller, who hung out with Stahl for nine months while the studio was trying to get financing for the movie.
 
“Having Jerry there was invaluable to me, because he gave me the confidence to be this guy who was going through experiences I had never gone through,” Stiller told the Weekly after an earlier story about Stahl appeared in this paper in 2005. “He supported me in it fully and it really made the difference.”
 
One reason Stahl’s writing resonates so powerfully is because he’s not afraid to hold a mirror up to America’s addictive habits.
 
America seems to be an addiction-heavy place, he said, “although to all kinds of crazy drugs. It’s just non-stop. It’s just ridiculous. Doesn’t even need to be a substance. Addicted to addiction. It’s kind of a lost country. The great thing about addiction is it consolidates your obsessions. If you’ve got to be addicted to something, writing’s good. It’s slightly easier than life.” 

Jerry Stahl will read, sign and discuss “The Heroin Chronicles” and “Bad Sex on Speed” from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Stories Books & Café, 1716 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. For more, call (213) 413-3733 or visit storiesla.com.




Changing the conversation (PW article)

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Changing the conversation

Reducing the stigma of mental illness begins with education, dialogue and increased awareness

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 1/3/2013

Mental illnesses have historically been viewed, studied and treated as behavior influenced by one’s environment. Only recently has society begun to understand that many such illnesses are biological in nature and not simply the result of an individual’s choice to behave in a socially unacceptable way. 
 
However, people with mental illnesses continue to be stigmatized by society. It is a complicated subject, and despite the fact that nearly one in five people experience some sort of mental illness in their lives, it remains a subject most people know little about. 
According to clinical psychologist Dr. Ronda Hampton of Diamond Bar, education, dialogue and increased awareness about signs and symptoms are essential to reducing the stigma commonly associated with mental illness. “In recent years, there has been a shift in our understanding of the etiology of mental illness, and there is a recognition that many disorders have a biochemical basis,” said Hampton. “With this understanding, there has been an improvement in medications to treat psychiatric disorders and improved psychological interventions to assist individuals and their families in dealing with psychiatric disorders. When we begin to view mental health as a part of our overall health, the stigma associated with mental illness will be reduced and individuals will not be ashamed to seek evaluations for mental health conditions.”
 
Separating mental health and physical health is also detrimental because, historically, mental illnesses were not seen as health issues that required treatment. This has led a large number of people to self-medicate. 
 
Aurora Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena has been dealing with both mental illness and drug dependency for the past century. With 118 licensed acute care beds, plus 38 residential treatment beds, Aurora Las Encinas offers a wide range of behavioral health care treatment options to patients with psychiatric problems, chemical dependencies, or co-occurring disorders. Psychiatric services include inpatient, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs. Chemical dependency treatment is available for adults, and includes inpatient detox, rehab, residential treatment and intensive outpatient programs, according to the facility’s Web site. 
 
Aurora Las Encinas Hospital is at 2900 E. Del Mar Blvd., Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 795-09901, or visit lasencinashospital.com.
 
“As a psychologist, I will always ask if there is substance abuse,” said Hampton. “Sometimes that’s masking a larger health problem. Drugs and alcohol dependency isn’t always about addiction. People are ashamed of mental illness because society is not accepting of it.”
 
It’s important to realize that within the major categories of anxiety, mood, schizophrenia, somatoform and personality disorder there are more than 300 different psychiatric conditions, each calling for different treatment approaches. Hampton believes it is very important to recognize the wide range of mental illnesses that exist, as opposed to lumping them all into one category.
 
Beyond that initial approach, there are several misconceptions about how mental illnesses affect people. One of the biggest, in Hampton’s view, is that people with mental illnesses cannot lead productive lives.
 
“Just like any health issue, there are various forms of treatment for those who have mental illness, which can range from improved diet and exercise to a combination of medication and psychotherapy,” she said. “Most of the time, you don’t even know who has a mental illness. Only 2 percent of those who suffer from psychiatric disorders are so mentally ill that they can’t ever take care of themselves.”
 
Another misconception that Hampton has noticed, especially after the horrific shooting in Newtown, Conn., is that all mentally ill people are violent and dangerous. She said that while the public tends to link violent acts with those who suffer from mental illness, they are more likely to inflict harm on themselves rather than other people.
 
“The bottom line is that we need to have an increased understanding of mental illness so that people will seek help,” said Hampton. “One in five Americans have or will suffer a mental illness at any given time and there are treatments available, so it is not necessary for people to suffer.”
 
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation’s largest nonprofit mental health education, advocacy and support organization, is located right here in Pasadena, providing countless resources for people to learn about the signs and symptoms of mental illness. 
 
Visit nami.org for more information. 

Overcoming addiction (PW article)

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Overcoming addiction

Pasadena rehab centers help address the real reasons behind drug and alcohol addiction

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 1/3/2013

A lot remains to be understood by society when it comes to alcohol and substance addiction. It can be difficult, even for those addicts who desperately want help to seek it out, because there is a good deal of blame directed at them for their choices. 
Fortunately, there are a large number of rehabilitation options right here in Pasadena.
 
Larry Burton has helped hundreds of people move forward in their lives using holistic techniques to deal with underlying and lingering issues surrounding addiction. While he wholly endorses traditional 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, he believes a combination of approaches is necessary to address those deep-seated issues that don’t go away the second someone stops drinking alcohol or using drugs.
 
“Part of the challenge of recovery is that you can help someone get off drugs, but how do you help them cope with stress, anger, guilt and shame?” Burton asked. “You can take away their drugs but what have you given them? We work through the body’s subtle energy system, through scientifically established principles of psychology. I think everything at its core is a form of energy. The pain is disrupted energy, and you need to balance that out in order to resolve the underlying issue and remove the source of the pain. Then you no longer need the drug.”
 
For the past three years, Burton has worked with Jubilee House in Pasadena, a sober living facility serving female addicts in recovery. Many women he has worked with carry shame stemming from sexual abuse or assault. 
 
David Ripley, associate director of programs at the Pasadena recovery home Casa de las Amigas, agrees with Burton that addicts, especially women, need to combine traditional approaches to recovery with other options, such as counseling and group work. Casa de las Amigas offers residential treatment services for women.
 
“Casa de las Amigas approaches addiction by treating the whole woman,” said Ripley. “More often than not, individuals struggling with chemical dependency begin using as a result of trauma or attachment issues stemming from childhood. As a result, they develop co-occurring disorders, such as anxiety or depression. Twelve-step recovery programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, can be very beneficial, but I would also recommend individual and family therapy.
 
While Burton believes it is possible for people to overcome their physical addictions by themselves outside of any program, he said that what typically happens is they develop a different kind of addiction.
 
“First of all, it’s much more difficult,” he said. “Also, they may have stopped using, but they still haven’t dealt with the underlying issues that led them to use. They’re just finding other ways to deal with it.”
 
If you are suffering the pangs of addiction, make it a priority this year to re-evaluate and deeply reflect on why you started using, why you continue to use, and what you stand to gain by overcoming your addiction forever. Figure out what is missing in your life — mentally, emotionally, psychologically, as well as tangibly — and immediately chart a path toward obtaining whatever that is. 
All it takes is a shift in perspective. Empower yourself into believing that you are capable of controlling the decisions you make. If you think it’s hopeless, it will be.
 
Reach out to those who love you. Strengthen your support network. Do not be afraid or embarrassed to ask for help. Pasadena is literally chock-full of rehabilitation options. 
 
Burton’s Pondera Process helps people to neutralize and eliminate the emotional and psychological blocks that may limit their personal and professional success. Call (877) 487-3462 or visit coachingwithlarry.com for more information.
 
Casa De Las Amigas is a 24-hour alcohol and drug residential treatment center for women, located at 160 N. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. Amigas emphasizes the abstinence of alcohol and other mind-altering substances and the need for physical, mental and spiritual growth in the recovery process. Women 18 years of age or older (or emancipated minors) are provided a safe, clean and sober environment to help them reach the goal of becoming alcohol and drug free. Call (626) 792-2770 or visit casadelasamigas.org.
Other rehabilitation centers include:
Impact House — Located at 1680 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, Impact House is one of several local facilities with outpatient and residential treatment options in addition to group, individual and follow-up counseling. Call (323) 681-2575 or visit impacthouse.com.
 
Pasadena Recovery Center — Located at 1811 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, the Pasadena Recovery Center has developed a reputation for being a place for recalcitrant celebs down on their luck. It’s also been featured prominently on VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab” with Dr. Drew Pinsky. However, this recovery center has helped thousands of people since the late psychiatrist Dr. Lee Bloom founded it in the 1970s. Today, the facility continues Bloom’s tradition of holistic healing with 12-step programs, counseling, residential services and mind-body activities. Call (866) 663-3030 or visit pasadenarecoverycenter.com. 
 
Eaton Canyon Treatment Center — Located at 3323 Fairpoint St. in Pasadena, this accredited treatment center focuses on creating individualized treatment plans for men and women. Call (888) 798-0150 or visit eatoncanyon.org.
 
Walter Hoving Home (for women) — Located at 127 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, this nonprofit residential facility for women 18 and over incorporates a spiritual approach to sober living in a 12-month program. Call (626) 405-0950 or visit walterhovinghome.com.
 
The Gooden Center (for men) — Located at 191 N. El Molino Ave. Pasadena, this accredited drug and alcohol treatment center guides adult men and their families through the painful process of detoxification and long-term sobriety. A 12-step recovery process addresses the psychological, spiritual and emotional underpinnings of addiction. Call (626) 356-0078 or visit goodencenter.org. 



Floating on flowers (PW article)

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Floating on flowers

Behind the scenes with the Rose Parade’s award-winning float builders

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 12/27/2012

The end of the year is nigh, which means the float industry is gearing up for its big show on Jan. 1. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people line Colorado Boulevard and 72 million people in nearly 200 countries tune in to watch what has been dubbed "America's New Year's celebration" to experience flowers and music. But the crown jewels of the operation, now in its 124th year, are the floats.

In warehouses across San Gabriel Valley, and throughout Greater Los Angeles, year-round builders are putting the final touches on 42 enormous floats as thousands of volunteers cover every square inch of the moving structures with organic material, from a variety of flowers, beans and rice to seeds, grains and even produce. A Tournament of Roses Association liaison is assigned to inspect each float moments before it is displayed to the world.

The flowers, which come from all across the globe just two days before the parade, are the very last things to go on the floats to ensure their freshness. Besides the crowds of volunteers who help decorate, at least 30 employees work hard year round at each of the two main award-winning float building companies, Fiesta Parade Floats and Phoenix Decorating Co. That number can reach 200 come December.

"One of the biggest misconceptions about the Rose Parade is that we take three months off every year, put some metal on some wheels, slap on some flowers, and we've got a parade float," said Brian Dancel, media relations manager of Phoenix. "Absolutely not. Our deconstruction begins Jan. 3. We don't reuse anything except the banner float; these all get broken down, all the metal thrown into recycling, all of the natural materials thrown into the trash, and we begin again right away for next year."

The first sales meetings between the float builders and sponsors occur in early January. By March, most of the designs are finalized and construction begins on the first wave of floats. According to Tim Estes, president of Fiesta, the designers, builders and sponsors work very closely on every step of the process.

"We really work closely with each and every client to develop the design that they want," said Estes. "It's a working relationship that takes anywhere from three weeks to as much as eight weeks to come up with the design. Once the design's done, we're able to convert it into a rough construction model, do blueprints and start the construction. The design element is the hardest part in the whole process."

Even though Fiesta's designs are ultimately drawn up by internationally renowned artist Raul Rodriguez, the final product is the result of a collaboration of Estes, Floral Director Jim Hynd and Rodriguez working directly with clients.

The clients of all four float companies--from cities like Los Angeles, Glendale, South Pasadena and Sierra Madre, to companies like Dole, Miracle Grow, Farmer's Insurance and Honda, the main sponsor of the Rose Parade--all enjoy very healthy returns on their investments, with float costs ranging from about $100,000 to $400,000.

"These floats are not rolling commercials," said Dancel. "However, they do get 45 seconds of coverage on live television in what is the second most-watched event in the United States every year behind the Super Bowl. It's a fraction of the price with more bang for your buck. You're talking about an outreach to a lot of people. It's one of the smartest business decisions that any company could make."

Estes, who has been in the float industry for nearly 50 years, has seen positive and negative changes in float making in the past few decades. From a design standpoint, clients want more of a message involved, as opposed to just having a pretty float with their name on it.

"With respect to actual construction, we're finding easier and better ways to come up with creating the figures and components that go on the float," he said. "The materials we're using today are not the same materials we used on floats 30 to 40 years ago. Animation has also certainly made some good, positive steps with respect to using more hydraulic power."

However, Estes has watched the parade be cut down from two and a half hours to two hours, and the toal number of floats from 60 to 42. The parade has also been shortened to accommodate TV broadcasting schedules. Both Fiesta and Phoenix would rather see more floats restored to the parade.

"Since the Rose Parade is so well known, due to the great floral floats that are created by some very creative artists, float builders and the self-built floats, perhaps we could try to eliminate a couple bands and equestrian units and increase the parade by about 10 floats," said Estes. "One large band equals approximately two to three floats in overall length, so get rid of one band and you can bring in two or three more floats."

The variety and craftsmanship among the remaining 42 floats, however, is quite a sight to see even before the flowers are attached. Oen of Fiesta's floats will have a 30-foot real flame shooting out the top of a 26-foot volcano. Rodriguez and his bright blue Hyacinth Macaw, Sebastian, will be riding on that float, sponsored by Dole. Farmer's Insurance sponsored a float that will host the first wedding ever broadcast live during the Rose Parade right at TV Corner at Colorado and Orange Grove boulevards. Virginia couple Gerald Sapienza and Nicole Angelillo won a Facebook contest and will say "I do" atop Farmer's Insurance's "Love Float."

From a giant Cat in the Hat to a 40-foot slide that kids will ride during the parade to Jesus standing at the pearly gates, there's something everyone can enjoy during the 2013 Rose Parade.

"There's a lot of variety of people who will be riding, things that we're honoring; you name it, we've got it here," said Dancel. "It doesn't get any larger on New Year's Day than the Tournament of Roses Parade. We're just happy to be a part of it."



The fight of their lives (PW article)

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The fight of their lives

Art Aids Art celebrates 10 years of empowering South African women

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 12/6/2012

For 10 years, Dorothy Garcia and Tom Harding have dedicated themselves to a poor township in South Africa. Their Altadena-based nonprofit organization, Art Aids Art, has done invaluable good for the people living in Khayelitsha, an unfortunate lingering remnant of the apartheid era situated on the outskirts of Cape Town. In 2003, Garcia and Harding began buying beaded artwork made by otherwise unemployed South African women. They sold the artwork at home parties in Altadena and Pasadena and reinvested the profits back into Khayelitsha. Today, with more than 100 events held nationwide, the organization has helped generate more than $200,000 for the township community.
 
Five years after their first venture, with a group of Harvard students, they helped design and build a community center, eKhaya eKasi, which provides essential art, education and economic development programs that have become an instrumental backbone for the township. 
 
On Dec. 2, Mountain View Mausoleum in Altadena hosted a solo, chamber and vocal music concert to celebrate Art Aids Art’s 10th anniversary. The event also exhibited works by iconic South African artists such as Peter Clarke, considered one of the 10 greatest living artists in South Africa, and Jurgen Schadeberg, a German-born photographer whose early photos of Nelson Mandela and the struggle against apartheid were featured in the Weekly, the Pasadena Central Library and Pasadena City College’s Shatford Library, as well as internationally. More than 100 people attended the celebration, participating in a silent auction and purchasing South African art and handicrafts.  
Back to the motherland
In March, the Weekly traveled with Art Aids Art to South Africa to see the organization in action. Khayelitsha, home to 1 million people living in abject poverty, is one of the biggest townships in Cape Town. Most of its residents come from the Eastern Cape, a province of South Africa. The most depressing and unfortunate thing about the townships is that they still exist nearly two decades after the end of apartheid. 
 
There are different styles of housing in the townships. Some are government built and subsidized with satellite dishes on the roofs, while others are squat shacks crammed together over winding hills, providing a heartrending view of a tragically beautiful way of life. People living there can’t afford to leave the township, and this creates a palpable sense of a community based on survival. The lack of transportation, a system which has not changed much since apartheid, is especially difficult for women, which inspired Garcia and Harding to launch the Wheels for Women campaign. This program will bolster self-sufficiency for women in Khayelitsha looking to expand their small businesses.
 
“We’re going to start by getting a vehicle at eKhaya eKasi,” said Harding. “We have a whole community of women there coming up with design ideas and training each other, but when they need materials or try to go market their stuff, they have to rely on some man who owns a car or a taxi. So that independence they’re achieving is derailed by this lack of transportation.”
 
Every day across the small road from eKhaya eKasi, which opened on World Aids Day, December 1, 2008, a queue of women wait to have their beadwork and other craftwork judged by one buyer, who decides if she will purchase their artwork and then resell it at a market at a higher price. The problem is that there’s no opportunity for growth among the artisans.
 
At the modern, two-story eKhaya eKasi, it’s a different situation. Formerly unemployed women take classes, learn vital skills and develop their businesses at the locally run community center. Art Aids Art has also promoted artistic education, including fabric painting, silk-screening, beading and felting.
A global battle
One of the major issues facing residents of the townships is HIV, which remains a difficult subject to address. Following the 6th Annual HIV/AIDS Action Summit in September at City of Hope in Duarte, hosted by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, keynote speaker Mondo Guerra teamed up with Art Aids Art to do just that.
 
The winner of Lifetime Television’s Project Runway All-Stars, who announced his HIV positive status on the show, Guerra placed an order with a group of South African mothers to make a limited edition pin of his Pozitivity design, a print he created that helped him win the show. The handmade pins, part of Art Aids Art’s Beads of Change initiative, can be purchased on his Web site, mondoguerra.com.
 
“Art has always helped me overcome difficulties in my life,” Guerra said.  “I’m proud to support Art Aids Art to empower people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS through their art.”
 
The Art Aids Art founders are particularly proud of this collaboration, knowing it will make a difference for those living with HIV in South Africa as well as raise awareness here in the United States.
 
“It’s just an incredible collaboration between these people who are involved in the struggle against AIDS on opposite sides of the planet,” said Harding. “How great to see the women’s entrepreneurship being carried so far.”
Learning independence
Each year, Art Aids Art leads a group of volunteers to Cape Town to provide assistance to those affected by HIV and poverty. In January, several occupational therapists will be working with universities in South Africa. In the past, a group of Blair High students traveled to the township.
 
“I got so excited about seeing so much participation from Blair,” said Garcia. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to take a group of public school children to see life in Khayelitsha?’ I think that’s really important. It gives them a chance to apply their skills in a situation that, like it did for me, can really change their lives. That’s another big fantasy from (Art Aids Art), to send people there and keep trying to make the connections, and keep trying to create common language.”
 
Experiencing the daily hardships that many South Africans live everyday can, indeed, be a transformative process. Garcia and Harding also strive to make sure the programs at eKhaya eKasi are locally run.
 
“The goal is not for us to be in charge,” said Garcia. “Using a parental analogy, you do what you need to do to have it hold itself up. That was its intention. It’s about finding ways to disassociate and, at the same time, be as structurally supportive as possible.”
This remains especially important as the organization gears up for the next decade. Harding noted that they try to make sure they’re not pulling all the strings from their headquarters in Altadena.
 
“Part of the excitement and anticipation of the next 10 years is to know that the people who are there are going to be just fine running the project, and the combination of the local community and the international contributions and energy that are coming in,” Harding said. “Who knows what the future holds?”




Something Wal-Mart this way comes (PW article)

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Something Wal-Mart this way comes

Opponents strategize as giant chain store discusses a second outlet in Altadena

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 7/12/2012

Without public hearings or adequate notice about Wal-Mart’s controversial plans to open a grocery store early next year at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Figueroa Drive in Altadena, the company has added fuel to a growing fire by negotiating a second location for another store on an empty lot at Lake Avenue and Calaveras Street.

A spokesperson with the company told the Pasadena Weekly on Friday there were no current plans to open a second store in Altadena, but a representative of Supervisor Mike Antonovich confirmed in two separate phone calls that Wal-Mart was looking at a second site as well.

The impending arrival of Wal-Mart has divided the community, with many claiming the store will mean the end for a number of independently owned businesses.

Supporters say the store will bring jobs and money to the bedroom community.

“Nothing’s been signed yet, but they are very, very interested in ruining our community,” said former Altadena Town Council member Steve Lamb. “All the stuff that Wal-Mart’s using to sell people on why it’s a good idea to have them in town — those things aren’t true. You end up with a net loss in jobs, a net loss in sales tax.”

The Town Council, which has no decision-making power and acts mostly as an advisory board to Antonovich, has not yet met publicly regarding the issue. However, a number of the council’s 16 members, including Brent Musson and Tecumseh Shackelford, have said as individuals that they support the opening of a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in West Altadena.

A flyer was delivered to several homes in the area last weekend listing the “Altadena Town Council, Tecumseh Shackelford and Brent Musson” inviting the community to an informational meeting, though Town Council chair Sandra Thomas said she had not been informed about the meeting and that the council has not yet taken a position.

“We hope that any future tenant would reach out to the community and express their desire to work within the context of being a good neighbor, and to elicit support for any potential developments in Altadena,” said Antonovich spokesman Tony Bell. “It’s the community’s needs that come first. Any potential tenant needs to engage the community so they can meet their needs.”

Arman Gabay, the Beverly Hills-based developer who owns both properties, could not be reached for comment on this story.

The Altadena Chamber of Commerce has met with Wal-Mart representatives but has taken a neutral position on the company’s plans, according to Lori Webster, owner of Webster’s Fine Stationers and a member of the chamber’s board of directors.

As a small business owner, Webster is part of an opposition group called Save Altadena, comprised of residents, former Town Council members, local business owners and other community leaders, which has begun planning opposition to both stores.

“Having two Wal-Marts in Altadena is definitely going to put a hurt on the small businesses in town,” said Webster. “It’s basically going to be a vice. Since they’re bypassing all county review, how is the community supposed to react to it? What can we do about it if we don’t want it? That’s why Save Altadena is trying to educate people about Wal-Mart and the negative effects it has on small businesses.”

Save Altadena members are not the only ones who oppose Wal-Mart opening stores in their town. According to a City News Service report, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 770 announced last week that they jointly filed a lawsuit against the LA City Department of Building and Safety for failing to inform the public of its decision to allow a Wal-Mart store in Chinatown to proceed without environmental review. The lawsuit also seeks to stop construction at the store.

Wal-Mart has announced plans to open new grocery stores in Los Angeles and Ventura counties in commercial zones that don’t require a conditional use permit as long as the store does not sell alcohol. Once the stores open and become established, however, they could then easily apply for a liquor license.

One of the tools Save Altadena is utilizing is peer-reviewed studies conducted by institutions such as Cal Berkeley’s Labor Center. The documentary “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices” will be screened July 21 at Coffee Gallery Backstage in Altadena. Visit nowalmartaltadena.com for more information.

“There is nothing like the facts to stir up a discussion and make people think twice about supporting Wal-Mart in any way,” Jeanette Lamb, Steve’s wife, wrote in an email.

While Arkansas-based Wal-Mart is celebrating its 50th anniversary July 2, citations for sobering statistics used in that documentary assert that Wal-Mart currently faces lawsuits in 31 states, including several in California, for such issues as wage and hour abuses potentially involving hundreds of thousands of workers.

Supporters of Wal-Mart stores planned for Altadena maintain that they will provide jobs in the economically depressed areas of West Altadena and North Lake Avenue (Wal-Mart representatives have promised 64 new jobs at the Lincoln and Figueroa store alone), reduce crime in the area and attract more businesses to Altadena.

However, according to several peer-reviewed studies, these arguments don’t hold up. Wal-Mart has been shown to cause a loss of 1.4 jobs to the community for every job available at Wal-Mart, meaning the first store will cost the community 89.5 jobs. Among other negative effects, these academic studies have shown that local area retail store sales and overall sales tax revenue are reduced and crime increases when a Wal-Mart moves into town.

“Unless we address the drug and gang problems, no retail store in the world is going to solve the crime problem,” said Webster. “That’s up to the community and the Sheriff’s Department. There are no Wal-Marts close by, so it will attract people from outside Altadena, but does that mean they’re going to patronize other businesses in Altadena? Not likely.”