Kobe Promotes HomeWalk 2011
(Client: Home For Good)
By Kevin Ding, OCRegister.com
Will Kobe Bryant play in Los Angeles, Bologna or Pluto this season? (It’d be so sad if Pluto missed its one-time-only opportunity to land a disgruntled Bryant in 2007, wouldn’t it?)
If it’s Los Angeles, Bryant will be able to stay more committed to his new project: eradicating the local homeless problem (51,000 homeless in Los Angeles) through the work of the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation.
Below is Bryant’s new public-service announcement promoting the Nov. 19 United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ HomeWalk 2011. Over the past four years, HomeWalk has raised $1.7 million and funded organizations that have moved 9,000 people into permanent housing.
Vital Juice LA – Tired of Salt? Try This
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Business TF Advances Services for Homeless
(Client: Home For Good)
By JERRY NEUMAN and RENEE WHITE FRASER
AFTER one year of implementation of the Los Angeles Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness blue- print, Home for Good, there is much good news. There is also a golden opportunity for the business community to make the news even better.
The task force’s initiative to end chronic and veteran home- lessness in our region in five years consists of two equally important components. First, Home for Good seeks systemic changes that will enable the large number of local, regional, state and federal agencies to not only work together but also in concert with public and non-profit social service providers.
Second, Home for Good relies on the targeted use of existing permanent supportive housing and an increase in the total num- ber of those essential units available to homeless people.
The task force has made significant strides toward the first goal. The most welcome progress flows from sweeping support for Home for Good. Nearly the entire homeless services sector has joined countless elected officials and thousands of individu- als to implement Home for Good. There is a powerful commit- ment to change the way we address homelessness.
That resolve has produced impressive results. At a meeting convened by the task force, representatives from local and regional agencies met with senior federal officials. Together, they hammered out a list of specific procedural and systemic changes that the local participants sought from the federal agen- cies. Within a few weeks, all of those changes were under way. That process replaced an often contentious and counterproduc- tive atmosphere with one that is more cooperative and generates results.
Similarly, a boot camp that the task force and Community Solutions convened for those who work with homeless veterans achieved a remarkable feat. Those in the room found ways to reduce the time veterans wait for housing from 168 days to 30. Other systemic efforts are also moving forward. For example, progress is being made in the implementation of a single, uni- fied homeless data collection system. On the systems side, Home for Good is moving forward as planned.
On the housing side, the housing stock needed to fulfill the year-one goal of the plan has been realized, and we are optimistic that the region can stay on track to meet the long-term objective of the plan. The year-one number isn’t as large as it will grow in the next four years, however, so the task force has created a dynamic entity to produce permanent supportive housing.
The Home for Good Funders Collaborative is the first of its kind in our region. The concept is simple: The collaborative aligns housing seed money from all sources – foundations, gov- ernment agencies and corporate contributions. In the coming months, the collaborative will release a request for proposals to create permanent supportive housing, inaugurating a one-stop process for housing providers.
Where those who develop permanent supportive housing currently careen from one funding source to another, all with different applications and calendars, they will soon have a con- solidated path to pooled sources. For new development projects, this collaboration has the potential to ultimately decrease the housing production process from five years to two.
More importantly, the collaborative will greatly enhance the power of the funds it disburses. The housing generated by the sum total from the funding collaborative will be far, far greater than those of each participant’s contribution can ever be.
The spirit of cooperation that has infused the task force’s campaign is evident in the collaborative. Government agencies have committed funds to the process. So have foundations including the Hilton Foundation, with a challenge grant for $1 million of the $5 million the collaborative seeks in its first year. Several high-net-worth individuals have made substantial con- tributions and thousands of everyday folks brought in more than $500,000 with their participation in United Way’s Home Walk in November.
The collaborative represents the ideal path for corporate and business participation in the Home for Good campaign. It is, after all, good for business: Eliminating chronic and veteran homelessness will improve the business climate, save tax dol- lars, and create incentives for growth and expansion.
We all have a stake in reducing, rather than merely manag- ing, the nation’s largest homeless population, but few have a larger stake than the business community. From tourism to entertainment and restaurants to retail, business gets better where homelessness is sensibly and efficiently addressed.
The Home for Good Funders Collaborative offers a sound and practical way for the business community to join virtually everyone else in our region, all working to implement Home for Good together. It will also deliver a gift that is beyond value, replacing the ravages of life on the street with a home.
Jerry Neuman is an attorney with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. Renee White Fraser is president of Fraser Communications. They co-chair the Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness, a joint project of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
Hit the Road
Client: The Original Farmers Market
It sounds nutty but at Magee’s House of Nuts in the Farmers Market, the same 1880s still-working peanut butter-making machine has entranced tourists for more than 75 years. President Eisenhower once stopped by and posed with the contraption, his photo now hanging up above. There’s a hand-scrawled note from other famous visitors: “Thank you for the peanut butter. It was fab,” gushed The Beatles in 1964.
You’ll feel in a time warp at L.A. ’s original Farmers Market, a charmingly funky and bustling warren of 100 eateries and shops. Inside this historic landmark, the kindly 95-year-old owner of Kip’s Toyland sells yo-yos to another generation; 88-year-old Bob Gill for the 75th year creates fruit basket molds out of ice cream, and an artisan candy maker concocts English toffee in an open-window kitchen that’s barely changed since 1946.
This is also the place to feast on New Orleans-style fried alligator tail filet. With a hodgepodge of stalls offering 16 kinds of ethnic chow, foodies can have a field day. You’ll savor around-the-world delicacies while sitting in sometimes-dented mint-green metal foldout chairs around laminated patio tables, as a people parade passes by.
Later, prepare to journey to another world. The eclectic Farmers Market adjoins the upscale Grove shopping center, so old-school kitsch blurs into a modern wonderland inhabited by Nordstrom and Forever 21. Visitors can walk or hop on the free double-decker trolley to The Grove’s Disneyland-esque twinkle-lit main street which features designer boutiques, a multiplex, piped-in Sinatra music, dancing 60-foot-tall fountains and an American Girl doll store where Katie Holmes splurged with Suri.
The Farmers Market touts a rich Hollywood history — stars such as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall strolled the aisles and James Dean supposedly ate breakfast there the morning of his fateful drive. The Grove, too, is a celebrity magnet – tabloid fodder such as Michael Jackson’s children and Kim Kardashian have been spotted strolling past the faux Art Deco storefronts and on weekdays the gossip TV show “Extra” tapes live from its park.
And to think cows once chewed grass on this land. In the early 1900s, rancher Arthur Gilmore ran a dairy farm here until he struck oil. The Farmers Market launched in 1934 when 18 farmers sold fresh produce from trucks parked on vacant Gilmore property and then built permanent stalls.
From 1939 to ’57, the Hollywood Stars baseball team — owned by Bing Crosby, Barbara Stanwyck and Cecil B. DeMille — played at nearby Gilmore Field which is now CBS studios. The Farmers Market was not only frequented by Tinseltown royalty, it was the neighborhood grocery store.
“A lot of my customers are fourth generation,” said silver-haired Phyllis Magee, whose mother-in-law Blanche opened the market’s first stall in 1934. “As kids they stood on chairs and watched the peanut butter being made. Now they bring in their grandchildren who stand on the same chairs.”
Although a Starbucks and a Pinkberry have invaded the ranks, many of the businesses remain family-owned. Bob Tusquellas, 69, now bakes dinosaur-shaped dunkers and cinnamon buns at Bob’s Coffee & Doughnuts, but he started at the Farmers Market at age 11 slicing bacon in his father’s since-sold meat stand.
“I think the Farmers Market is the least changed place in Los Angeles. It’s totally authentic — you couldn’t even build this thing today,” the apron-wearing proprietor observed.
Over the years, new novelty shops sprouted — Light My Fire sells 1,200 different hot sauces including “Slap Ya Mama” and Shine Gallery offers vintage goods.
But the lasting allure of the Farmers Market — in this fast-paced, mall-crazed, aloof city — may be merchants like 95-year-old Irwin Kipper who can be found daily at Kip’s Toyland where he’s helped customers for 65 years.
Kipper has shunned electronic toys, stocking shelves with classics like Lincoln Logs, Etch-A-Sketch and Ant Farm.
“Everything is pretty much the same as it’s always been,” said the humble elfish toy man. “You’ll always get a lot of personal attention here.”
To see the full story at U~T San Diego click here
Salvaged Stock
Client: Farmers Market
By Olga Khazan
EcoXOXO fills shelves with goods made with recycled items.
When most people shop for gifts, they’re after something brand new. But at EcoXOXO, a new shop in the Original Farmers Market, they’ll likely get something salvaged from the recycling bin.
John Cole, a longtime apparel buyer, opened EcoXOXO at the Fairfax District market in July to fulfill both his green-living mission and desire to sell unique, hand-made goods.
The shelves of the tiny kiosk are stocked with bags made from bicycle inner tubes, baskets made from electrical wires and rugs made from trash bags – to name a few. While some goods are designed locally, many are made in developing countries by cooperatives of crafts people who receive a cut of sales.
“There are amazing stories behind these item. And they sow people that we don’t have to make everything out of plastic,” said Cole, who acquires the items at trade shows and through his personal network.
An L.A. native, Cole owned a high-end leather goods store in Manhattan before returning to Los Angeles and opening the store with his own money. He said demand at the tourist destination has been good, with some items selling at a rate of about 100 a month.
Ilysha Buss, marketing director at the historic venue, said EcoXOXO fits well among the location’s eclectic mix of shops and restaurants.
“The Farmers Market prides itself on having unusual, eye-catching items, and there aren’t too many stores like his in the country,” Buss said.
Cole added it makes sense to offer his inexpensive products – which range from an $8 key ring made from a bicycle chain to a $170 picnic basket made by Mexican prisoners – in an economic downturn.
“We don’t need another $1,000 handbag,” he said. “But we all need gifts, and we’ll still share with others.”
KTLA Stranger Change Her Get That Job!
Client: The Original Farmers Market
Stranger Change Her is back on KTLA Morning News and taking the work force by storm, one make over at a time. We selected Toni Barsh of Burbank to receive a makeover that would help her land a new job. Having moved from Wisconsin four years ago, Toni came to California seeking a fresh start and left her work wardrobe behind. In between four children, ages 19 to 30, volunteering at a foster care organization, and raising animal rights awarenesss, Toni decided it was time to land a great job in hopes of saving enough dough to buy her own farm. Stranger Change Her reporter Crystal Fambrini stepped in to style Toni for success.
The make over began at the Original Farmers Market where Toni stood before a marketplace full of people who gave their opinion on what Toni should change about her look.
Get the full article here
Freebie: Tuesday’s Best
(Client: Farmers Market)
Never mind that summer’s pretty much over. Here in LA, it’s always in season to be outdoors. And the Original Farmers Market hopes to entice you with “Tuesday’s Best,” a culinary series of free food sampling, cooking demos with the Market’s chefs, retail specials and live music. Going on every Tuesday night (September 20-October 11) from 5pm to 9pm, each week will highlight a different theme starting with International Cuisine on September 20 and ending with Potpourri on October 11. The best part? You don’t have to don your Sunday’s best to this casual fest.
Get the full schedule here.
The Flavors of Farmers Market
(Client: Farmers Market)
A popular snack-on-everything event is returning; get tickets now.
By Alysia Gray Painter, NBC LA
“Meet Me at Third & Fairfax” may be the celebrated slogan of the Original Farmers Market, but that phrase tends to change up a bit during the landmark’s annual Taste of Farmers Market.
“Meet me at the table in front of Bob’s Donuts” and “I’ll see you buy the windchime place after I go get my sliders” and “Meet us in like ten minutes by the middle bar” tend to be heard more often than the venue’s famous phrase. That’s because the try-a-little-of-everything event has groups of friends moving about the market, snacking at different stops, and negotiating various reunion points after various sampling runs have wrapped.
Yeah. It’s a good night.
Taste of Farmers Market is set for Tuesday, July 12, and tickets are now on sale. Swing by the Market office and nab a few, because these go fast. Fast like a plate of Huntington Meat-made sliders go fast.
Even if you’re not a slider fan, bet you’ll find something else. There will be about 50 different stalls and market vendors offering tidbits of what they do and make best.
A dine-only ticket is $35; buy a ticket for $45 and get two beer or wine tickets.
It’s the third Taste of Farmers Market, but the icon of hanging-out-ness turns 77 in July. Which means probably millions of people have taken heed of that “Meet Me at Third & Fairfax” suggestion over the years. Which is fantastic. Fantastic x 10.
Copyright NBC Local Media
Grand Opening of The Courtyards
(Client: Clifford Beers Housing)
The Long Beach Housing Development Company, nonprofit developer Clifford Beers Housing, Inc. and the office of Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell hosted the grand opening of the new “scatter site” housing complex, The Courtyards in Long Beach, on May 19. The $12.8 million Courtyards project includes rehabilitated courtyard-style apartment properties at 1134 Stanley Ave., 1027 Redondo Ave., 1045 Redondo Ave. and 350 E. Esther St. The project provides 44 studio-style units catered t6 low-income and homeless individuals with mental illness.
Pictured, front row, from left: Julia Moore, Community Housing Management Services; Sally Lang, Wells Fargo Bank; Patrick Ure, Long Beach Housing Development officer; Anna Ulaszewski, board member for The Long Beach Housing Development Company; Frankie Watson, Courtyards resident; Yolanda Christian, Courtyards resident; Pat West, Long Beach City Manager; Crystal Wong, Egan Simon Architecture; Fabiola, Egan Simon Architecture; Sarah White, senior project manager with Clifford Beers Housing, lnc., and James Bonar, executive director of Clifford Beers Housing. Middle row, from left: Jacqueline Wagooner, Enterprise Community Loan Fund; David Howden, Corporation for Supportive Housing; Reina Turner, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health; Dr. Marvin J. Southward, director of Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health; Patrick O’Donnell, 4th District councilmember for the City of Long Beach; Norma Lopez, Long Beach Development project manager; Dave Pilon, president of Mental Health America of Los Angeles; and Lance Simon, Egan Simon Architecture. Back row, from left: Gary Sycalik, KDG Development and Construction Consulting; John Bohling, Westport Construction, Inc.; John Egan, Egan Simon Architecture; John Howell, Egan Simon Architecture; ond Potrick Brown, choir of The Long Beach Housing Development Company. (Long Beoch Business Journol photogroph by Carlos Delgado)
Housing Caters to Formerly Homeless
(Client: Clifford Beers Housing)
By Jonathan Van Dyke, Gazettes.com
More affordable housing took root this year in Long Beach – this time it caters to the formerly homeless and those with mental health issues.
The Courtyards in Long Beach, a “scatter site” project that includes four different apartment complexes, will provide a much needed service to the city, said Norma Lopez, development project manager for the Housing Services Bureau. Its grand opening celebration is this Thursday.
Nonprofit developer Clifford Beers Housing, Inc. approached the city to do work on the project for low income and special needs residents, Lopez said. All the units are reserved only for people who make 50% or less than the median income.
“When the developer came to us, the buildings were very deteriorated and were in need of a complete rehabilitation,” Lopez said. “The rehab of all the buildings included restoration of the original architecture. We tried to bring back some of those original features (from the early 1900s). They did such a wonderful job with these buildings.”
The buildings are located at 1134 Stanley Ave., 1027 Redondo Ave., 1045 Redondo Ave. and 350 E. Esther St. Together, the buildings will provide 46 studio-style units.
New electrical, plumbing, HVAC systems, windows, doors, landscaping and interior and exterior surfaces were installed.
“It’s now in its operation phase and it’s going quite well,” said Sarah White, senior project manager of Clifford Beers Housing. “We’re very pleased.”
She said the company tried to restore, modernize and use environmentally-friendly installations with the four buildings.
The entire project cost about $12.8 million – $2.271 million provided by the Long Beach Housing Development Company and the rest through other funding, including money from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“Out of the 46 units, 23 are reserved for residents who are formerly homeless or have mental health issues,” Lopez said. “It’s a great opportunity to serve a vulnerable population and a great opportunity to serve affordable housing, which is a great need here in Long Beach.”
Construction began in March of 2010 and concluded during December. The project had been delayed for about a year due to the economy, White said.
“During a time of economic uncertainty, it was really important to have the affordable housing community active,” she said.
According to White, the construction process employed about 80 people.
The Village (also developed by Clifford Beers Housing), which is located at 456 Elm Ave., will provide services to The Courtyards. The Village is known for its recovery services, White said, delivering mental health, physical health, financial and educational services.
“In each of our developments, we seek to create housing for the special needs population that combines housing with services,” she said. “The services focus on their goals for recovery.”
The point of having the buildings only be 50% recovery citizens is so that they may strive to integrate back into society, White said. There will be a service coordinator from The Village monitoring progress at the buildings and helping where they can.
There still are several units available. Parties interested may call Community Housing Management Services at 597-6200 to inquire.
There will be a grand opening event from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 at 1134 Stanley Ave. Tours will take place from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. RSVP to cbh-rsvp@mhala.org.