Chad Byrnes

In their latest piece for L.A. Weekly, movie reviewer Chad Byrnes shares their thoughts on Catherine Called Birdy, Lena Dunham’s new PG-13 John Hughes-inspired comedy, set in the Middle Ages. With feminist throughout and a comic, Monty Python-esque undertone, the film is adapted from  from Karen Cushman’s 1994 children’s novel of the same name, and follows 14-year-old Catherine (Bella Ramsey), otherwise known as Birdy due to her winged pets.

“Dunham establishes a playful tone for a movie that feels like Clueless by way of Excalibur; electropop versions of songs by Mazzy Star and Rod Stewart play as the camera swooshes through mud-caked villages and dank castles,” writes Byrnes. “Birdy’s narration is quick-witted and sporadic as she introduces us to her family, servants, and friends, all of whom have title cards which list their virtues and iniquities. Sadly, these captions lose their charm quickly, as do a lot of stylistic choices in this movie.”

Read the full article on LAWeekly.com here.

Catherine Called Birdy Flails Mid-Flight

In their latest piece for L.A. Weekly, Food Editor Michele Stueven reports on how the Gaviña family helped kick start Los Angeles’ coffee revolution. A National Hispanic Heritage Month spotlight, this cover story tells the full story of how an immigrant family, the Gaviñas, fled Cuba in the early 60s and made their home and legacy in L.A., bringing their longstanding traditions and generational knowledge of coffee bean cultivation with them. For more than 150 years, the family have been coffee growers, farmers and roasters.

“My grandfather was born on the plantation,  and learned from his father how to cultivate coffee  and how to select the best beans for roasting to make an espresso, which comes from our Spanish heritage,” Lisette Gaviña, the Chairman of the Board and Managing Director  of  F. Gaviña and Sons, tells L.A. Weekly. “But by 1960 Fidel Castro came into power and things started to change.  The priests warned the family that the government was going to take their children away.  Farmers were being kidnapped from their properties, beaten up mentally and physically.  The government confiscated the farms. Operation Peter Pan was bringing in American planes and Cuban parents were handing over their children to American families because they would rather see their children grow up with freedom and opportunity than have them be indoctrinated against their parents or have children turn their parents in for overhearing anti-communist conversations. Some were reunited, some never saw their families again. ”

Read the full article on LAWeekly.com here.

Cover Story: How the Gaviña Family Helped Kick Start L.A.’s Coffee Revolution

 

In their latest piece for L.A. Weekly, staff writer Isai Rocha reports that President Joe Biden has announced his intention to grant full pardons for all persons federally convicted of prior marijuana possession. Citing the need to do away with jailing citizens for simple marijuana possession, President Biden has urged United States governors to grant pardons similarly.

“Just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either,” Biden said Thursday. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

Read the full article on LAWeekly.com here.

Biden Pardons All Federally Convicted Marijuana Possession Offenses

 

In their latest piece for Marina Times, journalist Susan Dyer Reynolds reviews the 2022 candidates for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office: Civil rights attorney Joe Alioto Veronese, incumbent DA Brooke Jenkins,  and private defense attorney John Hamasaki.

“In next month’s election, all San Francisco voters will use RCV [ranked-choice voting] to elect the assessor-recorder, district attorney, and public defender, while those residing in even-numbered supervisorial districts (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) will also elect members of the Board of Supervisors to represent them,” writes Reynolds. “According to the city’s Department of Elections, ‘With ranked-choice voting, voters rank their choices in order of preference — first choice, second choice, third choice . . .’ but what they don’t say is more important: If you feel strongly about a single candidate, you don’t have to vote for a second and third choice.”

Read more on Marina Times here.

San Francisco still needs big change

In their latest piece for Marina Times, writer Garey De Martini interviews Eileen Mougeot, a long-time real estate agent currently with Corcoran Global Living in San Francisco. She’s been in the business a long time, and has seen all the wild highs and lows of California real estate of the past decades. For those invested in the housing market, whether current or hopeful, this is an article that should be explored.

“On the first two properties I sold, interest rates were 16 and 17 percent. These were single-family homes in the $350,000 range, which was a lot of money in 1982. One was in the Marina, and one was in Cow Hollow,” writes Mougeot. “A few years later when interest rates went down to 12.5 percent I called both those clients and told them they had to refinance immediately! 12.5! Like this was a steal deal!”

Read more on Marina Times here.

The way it once was in real estate

In their latest piece for Marina Times, writer Michael Snyder reviews the films that we’ve come to associate with the Halloween season, for better or for worse. From classics of Halloweens past, to the anticipated opening days of this October’s silver screen, Snyder provides insight into the popular genre of film.

“If there’s a franchise for the studios to exploit such as the Halloween movies that feature the menace of masked serial killer Michael Myers, it shall be done,” writes Snyder. “So on Oct. 14, Universal Pictures is releasing Halloween Ends — starring Jamie Lee Curtis as suburban heroine Laurie Strode, who returns to face off against her nemesis Myers and complete a trilogy that served as a multipart sequel to 1978’s Halloween, the first of a dozen films spread over the course of 40 years. That makes Halloween Ends a lucky-for-somebody 13th. Talk about an unkillable thing.”

Read more on Marina Times here.

Screen scares in the air

In their latest piece for Marina Times, writer Sharon Anderson reviews an exhibition being displayed at the Haight Street Art Center, curated by famed U.K. artists Roger Dean and his daughter, Freyja Dean. Titled “The Secret Path: The Art of Roger and Freyja,” the exhibition includes more than 50 works that will furnish patrons with an imaginative and immersive experience that speaks to the challenges of the present while looking forward toward a positive future.

“Roger Dean’s career spans more than 60 years and his dazzling large-scale paintings, drawings and sculpture have cemented him a place in both popular culture and the world of fine art,’ writes Anderson. “Freyja Dean is the next generation of Dean family artists and has won international attention for her painting, sculpture, and fabric art. This exhibition connects all facets of the Deans’ wide-ranging and restless imagination.”

Read more on Marina Times here. 

‘The Secret Path: The Art of Roger and Freyja Dean’

In their latest piece for Marina Times, writer Michael Snyder ponders on the pranking atmosphere brought about by the Halloween season. From the mischief of his youth in Philadelphia, to the culture of jokes in today’s Bay Area, Snyder provides a fascinating review of various pranking holidays and their significance in cities around America. 

The phrase, “a cruel joke,” always comes to mind when I think of pranks. And I generally think of pranks every October—specifically on the evening of October 30. That’s the night when tricks become the treat for certain ne’er-do-wells in various parts of the country. It’s ostensibly a time for cheerful misbehavior, although the damage could get pretty intense in at least one urban area,” writes Snyder.

Read more on Marina Times here. 

Thanks, but no pranks

In their latest piece for Marina Times, writer Liz Farrell provides some practical parenting advice for those bringing up kids in today’s world. The topic of her column this week broaches the subject on how to teach our children to be their own advocates, stepping back as parents to allow them the space and opportunity to learn to be their own people.

“It is hard to see our kids struggle and to resist the temptation to jump in and help solve their problem,” writes Farrell. “But by doing this we are doing them a disservice, because we aren’t allowing them to build the skills to figure it out on their own. Teaching our kids how to advocate for themselves makes them more independent, confident, and self-aware adults. No matter the age or stage of your child, there are ways you can help them develop this skill.”

Read more on Marina Times here.

Teaching our kids to self-advocate

In their latest piece for Irvine Weekly, journalist Evan J. Lancaster reports that California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB1595, also known as the Orange County veterans cemetery bill, ensuring that the building of the long-awaited cemetery continues to progress forward. Writes Lancaster: as one of the authors of AB1595, Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva said the governor’s approval is a notable achievement for so many veterans, their families and legislators that have helped support their vision.

“I have fought alongside veterans, local leaders, community advocates and my legislative colleagues in support of a Southern California veterans cemetery site in my district since 2014. With Governor Newsom’s signage of AB1595, the last piece has fallen into place for the authorization of this much-needed and long-awaited final resting place in Orange County for the men and women who courageously served our nation in the armed forces,” she said.

Read more on Irvine Weekly here.