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Finding hope in small things that can hold greatness
Last month, the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission recommended that the City Council designate the former print studio of Sister Mary Corita Kent, the “Pop Art Nun,” as an Historic-Cultural Monument — thus ending the year with a ray of hope. With all the challenges that our fair city has endured in the […]

Great theater is ephemeral — you have to be there; look to Juno
January, as Professor Know-It-All might have told us before he retired, is named after Janus, the Roman god of gates, doors, transitions and new beginnings. Representations of Janus show him looking simultaneously forward and backward, but, with only Google to rely on (or rather, DuckDuckGo) and not the inestimable Professor, it’s hard to know if […]

If you build it, they will come: St. Brendan Basketball
I never played basketball as a youth, so it was quite a learning experience when my friend Joe Byrne invited me to be his assistant coach on the Saint Brendan Basketball Association (SBBA) teams on which our sons were members. During one of the two seasons we coached together, the squad went undefeated, then it […]

Poker is like life — it takes skill, good decisions and a bit of gambling
As we begin another year, I thought we should take a break from our lessons on how to win more at the poker table. Instead, let us contemplate how much alike are the games of poker and life. Do you know who said: “Life is just like a game. First you have to learn rules […]

Local runners are eager for cross country season to begin
I wrestled in high school and college. It was no picnic. Cutting weight, the grueling practices, and competing with injuries made it extremely challenging. Distance running kept our cardio up, especially off-season. In high school, I ran cross country during the fall to help prepare for the wrestling season. Some days we’d run 10-15 miles […]

It’s been an honor to serve; see you on the Boulevard
Of all the columns I have sent to this paper over the years, this one is by far the most difficult to write — because this one will be my last as your Councilmember. It has been an honor to work with the neighborhoods of Windsor Square, Hancock Park, and Greater Wilshire, as well as […]