Ride free on New Year’s Eve

Don’t drink and drive–time-honored advice, but too often ignored unless you’re hoofing it or have a designated driver at the ready.

This New Year’s Eve, that designated driver just might be wearing a Metro uniform.

Revelers can party to their heart’s content and still get safely and responsibly home without spending a dime. Metro is offering free passage for all passengers, whether they’ve been drinking or not, on its entire public transit system between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day morning.

In addition to regular surface street bus service, the free rides are available on the Orange Line Busway, which traverses the Valley between Warner Center and Universal City, and the Silver Line, a guided busway between the Artesia Transit Center and El Monte Station.

The free service also includes a trio of light-rail systems: the Metro Gold Line, running between Pasadena and East Los Angeles through downtown; the Metro Blue Linebetween downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach; and the Metro Green Line, connecting Norwalk and El Segundo. And those who prefer the subway can hop a free ride on the Red Line from downtown’s Union Station to North Hollywood, or the Purple Line, from Union Station to Western Avenue.

Here are detailed routes, stops and schedules of all the lines. For more specific information, please call (323) GO-METRO (466-3876) Cheers!

Posted 12/29/10

A slam dunk for mental health

No doubt, millions of viewers nationwide thought Ron Artest was simply having another Ron Artest moment.

The NBA veteran had long been known for his slightly—or largely—off-kilter comments and behavior on and off the court, including a violent charge into the stands in Detroit and an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in just his boxers.

So when an ABC reporter asked the first-year Los Angeles Laker for a comment just minutes after he’d sparked his team to a Game 7 triumph over the Boston Celtics, he let loose with a winner. He thanked his psychiatrist.

Yes, it was indeed a Ron Artest moment—but one that he says was premeditated and timed for maximum impact to let people know—especially the young people out there—that therapy had helped him work through many difficult chapters in his life. “I was doing it for a good reason,” he says of his expression of gratitude. “I didn’t know what was going to happen but I wanted it to take off.”

And take off it did.

Artest’s remark quickly set in motion an unusual collaboration that led on Tuesday to the debut of a public service announcement from Los Angeles County’s Department of Mental Health.  (See video below.) Called “You Can Do It,” the spot features Artest on the court and was produced by the Hollywood executive behind the movie “The Soloist,” the story of L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez’s relationship with homeless musician Nathaniel Ayres.

Artest openly credits an array of therapists and counselors with helping him relax and mature during a career that, for a time, brought him more notoriety than respect. He’s seen marriage counselors and parenting experts and therapists who specialize in the pressure-packed world of professional sports.

Artest says he also knows from growing up in the rougher neighborhoods of Queens how easy it is to be swept up in the criminal life or to simply lose your way in a family that is broken or abusive. “Some kids,” Artest says, “aren’t as mentally tough.”

This is the audience that the player and the mental health department hope to reach in the public service announcement, filmed last month at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo. (See photo gallery and extended video interview with Artest below.)

Orchestrating the effort for the county has been clinical psychologist Dr. Alysa Solomon. She says that the minute she heard Artest give a shout-out to his “psychiatrist” (actually a psychologist), she dove for her Blackberry to e-mail her boss, mental health director Dr. Marvin J. Southard. “I was overexcited,” she says. “It was a universal jaw dropping moment.”

For nearly two years, Solomon had been leading the mental health agency’s “social inclusion” campaign, underwritten by California’s so-called Millionaires’ Tax and aimed at ending the stigma that too often stops people from seeking the psychological help they need. One way to do that, she thought, was to recruit celebrities who’d be willing to be interviewed by her about their own mental health issues—new territory for a department steeped in a culture of confidentiality.

First up was actor Tom Arnold, who has spoken widely of his battle with drug addiction and his life in recovery. The interview was filmed but lawyers for the actor blocked it from being seen, Solomon says, because the legal paperwork didn’t make clear that the county could not profit from the effort. “Our county counsel is not an entertainment law firm,” she says. “But we learned the process.”

In the meantime, Solomon had begun developing a friendship with violinist Ayres, who by then was receiving services from the mental health department. Solomon thought Ayres and Lopez would be perfect for the anti-stigma campaign. So she reached out to “The Soloist’s” producer.  In him, she found a kindred spirit and a savvy ally.

From the earliest days of “The Soloist’s” journey from a book by Lopez to the big screen, producer Gary Foster was committed to infusing it with a sense of authenticity by shooting scenes in the heart of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Although Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx would be the marquee names, the supporting cast would be the people of the streets.

“We thought it would be wrong to just be the circus that came to town and exploit what was going on down there,” explains Foster, who says the movie’s real-life characters were paid for their performances.

Throughout the filming, Foster and others involved with the project spent days in the teeming courtyard of a Skid Row housing and mental health agency called Lamp Community. There, he got to know the human beings behind Los Angeles’ homeless statistics and their daunting challenges with mental health. After his movie disappeared from theaters, Foster remained passionate about ways to communicate the need for psychological care to sufferers in all strata of society. He took a seat on Lamp’s board.

When Solomon pitched her idea for public service announcements, Foster says, it was a natural—“a great way for me to use my skills to further the mission.” Among other things, he’d know who to tap for help, such as Mob Scene Creative + Productions, an award winning entertainment marketing company that would take the lead in making the PSA.

But the anticipated starting lineup would need to be changed, with Ayres and Lopez taking a seat on the bench, thanks to Artest’s out-of-the-blue post-game comment and a highly publicized appearance at an East L.A. school, where he encouraged the kids to seek counseling if they were having troubles in their lives.

“Ron fell into our lap,” says Solomon, who was thrilled because of the athlete’s natural appeal to a demographic the mental health department had targeted—young teenage boys who might be too embarrassed or afraid to reveal their psychological struggles.

By mid-September, a short script had been jointly created by officials in the mental health department and advocates in the community. They dreamed of hearing Artest say: “I got help and got better, you can get better too. Take that first step and be a champion!”

Foster and Solomon then sent an e-mail to Artest’s publicist and friend, Heidi Buech, saying they’d “be honored to have Ron participate in our PSA program.” Within 24 hours, he was on board.

“Here’s one of the most unique celebrities in Los Angeles sports and he’s brave enough to talk about his personal life,” Foster says. “I think it’s going to have great therapeutic effect.”

Artest, for his part, says the decision was easy.

“People need to be educated,” he says of those who denigrate the value of talking to professionals. “People think you’re crazy or weak but that’s not true.” More specifically, he says, “I’m trying to help build confidence and a support system for kids that don’t have one.”

Although he wanted to create a bit of a stir by thanking his Houston-based sports therapist after the NBA finals, he says he never intended to be “one of the faces of the movement.” He says he “inherited” it.

“Once I said what I said, it was like, wow!”

And there’s more to come.

On Christmas night, Artest will announce the winner of a raffle for his first and only championship ring. The proceeds from “Win My Bling,” which amount so far to almost $600,000, will go to a number of mental health charities and to Artest’s Xcel University, a foundation he established to help at-risk kids build self respect and overcome their difficult environments.

Then in February, he’ll be headed to Washington D.C. to testify on behalf of HR 2531, a bill sponsored by Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-Ca.) that is aimed at boosting mental health services in schools.

“It’s like going into the NBA,” he says. “I never dreamed I’d be in the NBA. And I never dreamed I’d be going to The Hill. Ever.”

And that’s something to talk about.

The Ron Artest/ Los Angeles County public service announcement.

http://zev.lacounty.gov/videos/RAP_BeAChampion30_TEXTED_FINAL_HD-Fixed.f4v

An extended interview of Artest by Dr. Alysa Solomon of the mental health department.

 

A photo gallery from the PSA filming in El Segundo.

Posted 12/12/10

Audit calls out DCFS cell phone abuse

The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services dialed up at least $514,000 in “potentially unnecessary and inappropriate” cell phone service charges in 2009—part of a pattern of loose oversight and lax management of the phones uncovered in a new county audit.

The report, released today by Auditor-Controller Wendy L. Watanabe, found that the department, which spends $2.2 million a year on cell phone services, had at least 250 phones for which it could not identify the users. It also paid monthly service fees for more than 1,400 cell phones and 220 broadband cards that were sitting idle in 2009.

Moreover, the department footed the bill for employees’ personal international long distance charges as well as other potentially inappropriate charges for roaming, directory assistance and call forwarding.

“Our review disclosed significant weaknesses in DCFS’ controls over its cell phones,” Watanabe said in a summary of the audit’s findings filed with the Board of Supervisors.

Watanabe’s report to supervisors said that the department’s management already is beginning to take corrective action by updating their cell phone inventory, cancelling service for unused phones and changing the ways in which they review monthly bills.

Among the questionable cell phone use cited in the audit:

–One employee racked up more than $2,000 in personal international long distance bills between December, 2008, and November, 2009, and did not reimburse the department.

–Another claimed to have lost her phone but didn’t report it missing. Over the course of 14 months, the department paid $8,000 in service charges on the phone, including roaming charges from Mexico.

–An employee ran up $2,827 in texting charges from December, 2008 through November, 2009. In all, the department paid $21,000 for employee texting in 2009.

–Employees dialing directory assistance from their cell phones cost the department more than $54,000 in 2009, and $9,000 for call forwarding charges between December, 2008 and November, 2009. A single employee accounted for $2,533 of the call forwarding charges during that period.

The audit recommends that DCFS management begin keeping an accurate cell phone inventory, including up-to-date records on who’s using the phones. It also urges the department to deactivate unassigned and unused phones and broadband cards and to institute monthly reviews of cell phone and broadband bills.

And it recommends tighter controls to ensure that extras such as directory assistance and texting are needed—and that employees who use those services for non-business purposes reimburse the county.

Posted 12/21/10

Sweet Honey rocks the Broad

Since 1973, the a cappella vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock has been carrying its musical message of hope, justice and peace throughout the world. Taking its name from a passage in the 81^st Psalm, this five-member female ensemble, always accompanied by a sign-language interpreter, taps into African-American singing and storytelling music traditions. Through the years they’ve earned multiple Grammy awards for their recordings and deeply touched audiences with their compelling live performances.

This weekend, the group brings its special brand of inspirational holiday cheer to the Broad Stage in the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, located on the school’s Madison Campus at 1310 11th St. in Santa Monica. It takes place on Sunday, December 19, 2010, at 7:00 p.m.

And here’s another sweet holiday treat: kids 12 and under get in for half-price.

 

Order tickets online, and here is information on directions and parking.

Posted 12/16/10

Holiday Celebration’s fun and free

Something old (childhood holiday memories) and something new (wristbands) are on the program at the county’s 51^st annual free Holiday Celebration, which takes place on Dec. 24 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Along with a lineup of choirs, dancers and other acts, the celebration also will feature a couple of short movies submitted by the public on the theme of childhood holiday memories.

The show runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. This year, for the first time, wristbands will be needed to get in. The new system is a response to the shorter running time; in most previous years, the Holiday Celebration has clocked in at six hours.

The wristbands will be handed out beginning at 11:30 a.m. and will be distributed one per customer, so everyone who wants to attend will need to show up in person. After snagging their wristbands, patrons can leave to grab some lunch, explore downtown, or stick around to check out an array of entertainment on the Music Center Plaza. The doors will open at 2:30 p.m. Those without wristbands, meanwhile, can wait for seats to open up in the auditorium as the concert progresses.

And everyone can watch the program live on the Music Center Jumbotron. It’s also airing live on KCET-TV, with a rebroadcast from 8 p.m.-11 p.m., and will be streamed at www.kcet.org.

Parking is free, too. And the Music Center is close to public transportation.

The celebration is a gift to the people of Los Angeles from the county Board of Supervisors—a tradition inaugurated by the late Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.

Posted 12/16/10

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