Aloe Blacc Visits Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center: Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Aloe Blacc visited the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center (FPCAC) in Leimert Park earlier in the year. He gave advice on songwriting and led singers according to their pitch and range. From keyboardists, percussionists, vocalists, and saxophone players, he took a few at a time to show them the ins-and-outs of a recording session. An accomplished artist and USC graduate, Blacc encouraged students to continue to practice their craft. “Practice everything that you love, perfect it and then develop your own style out of that.” (file photo)
Iconic Panel Comes To BHCP: Seven music supervisors from hit shows, including “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, “Greenleaf”, and “Entertainment Tonight”, shared their industry knowledge during a live panel at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Oct. 2017. The event was geared towards educating current and aspiring music supervisors in their quest to better understand the job and the varied paths to getting there.(file photo)
City National Bank Comes to Crenshaw: City National Bank announced this year that for the first time it will open a full-service banking office in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles. Located at 3739 South Crenshaw Blvd., the new office will deliver City National’s relationship-focused personal and business banking capabilities to individuals and their families as well as small businesses, nonprofit organizations, professionals and investors. The new banking office will offer a full range of financial services, including wealth management, mortgages and traditional business loans, as well as Small Business Administration, or SBA, loans. (file photo)
Dorsey High STEAM Embarks on Tour: The Dorsey High School Coding with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) students were unable to attend the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2017. The Dorsey STEAM decided to create their own tour which includes visits to Google, Microsoft and Uber. The three mega-companies heard about the plight of the Dorsey students and provided funding for their career-day tours of the facilities. (file photo)
New Museum Finds Home in Exposition Park: It was revealed this year that the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art would call Exposition Park home in the future. It would join a variety of world-class museums and iconic institutions like the California Science Center, California African American Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. The museum will benefit the entire community, helping to inspire the next generation of artists, makers and storytellers. (file photo)
Harriet Finished Drilling: The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) celebrated the end of tunnel excavation for the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project. Harriet, the tunnel boring machine (TBM), completed digging the second of the twin tunnels for the light rail line in April. The 950-ton, 400-foot-long TBM advanced an average of 60 feet a day through soil and rock under Crenshaw Boulevard. Installation of rail tracks has began in the southbound tunnel. The 8.5-mile light rail line is scheduled to open in fall 2019. (file photo)
L.A. Office Furniture Closes: Frank Denkins, owner of L.A. Office Furniture (LAOF), closed his store. He had been in business with his store in the Crenshaw District for over 2 decades. LAOF has serviced the community supplying new and used office furniture to L.A-based businesses. They have supplied furnishings for many well-known organizations such as the Urban League, Crenshaw Christian Center, First AME Church, One United Bank and Walsh Shea just to name a few. (file photo)
Mystery Patient Reunited with Family: An unidentified man who was hospitalized at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for more than five months after being picked up by paramedics in South Los Angeles was reunited with his family, thanks to media and public response to the Department of Health Services’ plea for help in identifying the patient. The man, unable to communicate his identify and carrying no ID cards, was found by paramedics at South New Hampshire and West 112th Street in South Los Angeles on November 5, 2016. (file photo)
Taste of Soul Thanks Vendors and Partners: The first annual Taste of Soul Vendor and Partner Appreciation Reception took place in November at the Museum of African American Art (MAAA). Sponsored and hosted by City National Bank, the reception was held to celebrate the amazing collaboration of food and non-food vendors and partners who make Taste of Soul an economic empowerment engine that over 350,000 people attend annually on Crenshaw Blvd. Food and beverages were served by Hawkin’s Burgers, dessert was provided by Don’t Forget the Sugar, Kobbler King and Cupcakes by Crystal, and music was provided by DJ JiJi Sweet. City National Bank closed the reception by speaking with vendors about opportunities for their businesses. (file photo)
L.A. Watts Summer Games Return After Four-Year Absence: USA City Games brought back the Summer Games in a one-day kickoff celebration and competitions that took place at the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in June 2017. The event was free and open to the public. This year’s event was a celebratory pre-cursor to the 50th anniversary of the USA City Games, a project of The Giving Back Fund, in 2018 and marks the return of the Games for the first time since 2013. Exhibition games were showcased at this year’s kickoff including 7-on-7 football, basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, soccer and track & field. Up to 1,000 youth athletes participated. The original L.A. Watts Summer Games were conceived to bridge racial barriers after the 1965 L.A. Watts Rebellion. (file photo)
