BECERRA CABINET-BOUND?: Word on the street has 31st District Congressman Xavier Becerra under consideration for a high-level job in President-Elect Barack Obama’s upcoming administration. Becerra backed Obama early, has raised a lot of money for fellow Dems in the House of Representatives, boasts a sterling academic pedigree, and has shown a patient ambition in Washington. A cabinet post would catapult him to the upper ranks of Latino/American political figures nationally…IS HIZZONER HERE TO STAY?: It might be time to start taking Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at his word when he says he’s focused on his current job. Political operative Ace Smith, a longtime Villaraigosa guy, recently signed on with San Francisco DA Kamala Harris’ run for attorney general in 2010. Smith also seems to be a Jerry Brown guy, so this appears to all but confirm that Brown will run for governor rather than a second term as attorney general. Where does that leave Smith and Villaraigosa? Looks like Villaraigosa has made it clear to Smith that he really doesn’t want to run for governor—or the two have decided to part ways on the 2010 race…IS THIS A SYMPTOM OF THE SLOWDOWN: A tipster says there have been more shoppers than usual at the Downtown Ralphs and other relatively upscale grocers around the 1st & 15th of each month lately—and smaller turnouts in between. Could be an indication that the upper crust is feeling the economic downturn enough to time their grocery runs around bi-weekly paydays—a standard pattern in blue-collar neighborhoods in good times and bad…BLUE CHRISTMAS FOR BROWN: A veteran UPS driver with a route in the Fashion District reports that the Christmas rush that usually begins by the end of October hasn’t materialized so far this year. The good news is that he says that he’s about as busy now as he was last month. The bad news is that businesses in the Fashion District count on everything to be much busier from the start of November through Christmas, when the apparel industry makes much of it’s dough for the year...ALLEY INDICATOR TAKES ONE MORE TUMBLE: We check in again with our friend Pedro, who serves as a key economic indicator at street level as he goes about his work of gathering discarded cardboard from businesses in and around Downtown and selling the material to recyclers and exporters. Just a month or so ago Pedro’s biggest problem was the dwindling amounts of cardboard, with his route off by 50% from last year, a sure sign that businesses activity has fallen dramatically. Now Pedro reports that the price of cardboard has plummeted from around $100 a ton just a short while ago to $10 in recent weeks. Seems the global nature of the recession has hit Downtown, and the Asian markets that had been snapping up the cardboard to recycle into new boxes and cartons for their merchandise are also hitting the skids. A recent story in the Los Angeles Business Journal confirmed Pedro’s grim math, examining the larger effects of the trend and providing a “gee whiz” reminder that cardboard and scrap paper are the largest-volume exports through the ports of L.A. and Long Beach.
garmentandcitizen.com
Community Calendar - 08/11/2020
Showtime at Pershing Square
Where the Ice is Nice: That’s Pershing Square at 5th and Hill Streets, home of Downt ... [ Full Story ]
Face Off in the Fashion District - 12/12/2008
LAPD Vows Rule of Law on Counterfeits
The recent beatings of two Fashion District Business Improvement Distr ... [ Full Story ]
Telling the Tale Again for New Cops - 12/12/2008
Calling Out His Column: Garment & Citizen Editor & Publisher Jerry Sullivan addressed the December 5 graduating class ... [ Full Story ]
Guest Commentary - 12/12/2008
Councilmember Critiques Commentary, Champions Broadway Initiative
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.
