KOREANS CALL VILLARAIGOSA ON CONSULATE CAPER: Recent Korean-language media reports had South Korean consul general Jae Soo Kim saying that his government is pulling out of a proposed partnership with the city on the so-called “Super Block” development. The plan called for a number of Korean-related government, business and cultural offices in the area around the Asian nation’s local consulate at Wilshire & New Hampshire. Sources say that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made a big splash about the proposed project at a press conference during his trip to Asia a couple of years back, taking the locals by surprise with grand ideas and assurances of the city’s involvement. Wags in K-Town say that too little has happened to back up the initial talk in the eyes of South Korean government officials, adding that Hizzoner has lost some credibility on the other side of the Pacific Rim… 41 YEARS AND A DAY: That’s not a prison sentence—it’s how long the A&H Olympic Service station has been on the job over in the Produce District. The place recently shut down its auto-repair services in advance of a renovation that’s expected to bring a convenience store to the location (see related story, home page). Owner Chuck Simmons opened the service bays at A&H on August 14, 1967, and closed them on August 15 of this year. He really wanted to make it an even 41 years, but it would have fouled up payroll processing for his employees. Simmons knows how to do business, but here’s a little secret: He cares too much about his workers to have them wait on their pay just to catch the exact date on the anniversary of the shop’s opening…DOWNTOWN’S OWN A-ROD: He won’t lead any league in home runs like his counterpart with the New York Yankees, but the other Alex Rodriguez recently got a nice bit of recognition from his boss Brad Luster over at Major Properties, a leading commercial and industrial real estate broker in the Downtown area. Major Properties recognized the local A-Rod as Agent of the Week in an ad the firm runs right here in the Garment & Citizen. We tip our hat to all of the Major Properties agents who have been so honored—just thought we’d have a little fun with the A-Rod angle…HOPE THEY AIR THE PLACE OUT OVERNIGHT: What else to say about plans by New City Church to move Sunday morning services to Club 740 on Broadway?...BEST SLOGAN SO FAR: Spotted recently on a utility box in Echo Park: ‘08ting for Change. Sounds like a nod to Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama, but the vandal/author left that to up to you…HAL’S BUGGY PALS: This isn’t the typical sort of wisdom that Hal Kaltman—longtime Downtown textile pro and regular guy—usually passes along. Kaltman’s forecasts on industry conditions are generally sharp, but somehow a recent conversation turned to gardens and the spiders that make homes in them around this time of year. Kaltman says June bugs will take care of the spiders in a natural, circle-of-life sort of way. He adds that many garden shops sell June bugs by the cup. Sounds as though trees really do grow in Brooklyn (see related Sanity’s Sake column, home page).
garmentandcitizen.com
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The washing machine hums, the cat meows, the wind chimes chime.
The Los Angeles Garment & Citizen is the community newspaper for Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods, including the Arts District, Chinatown, Echo Park, Little Tokyo, Pico-Union, Silver Lake and Westlake.The Garment & Citizen reaches more than 20,000 readers weekly, an audience that spans the demographic makeup of the city and serves as the leading edge of statewide and national trends.
