Evan J. Lancaster

In their latest piece for Irvine Weekly, journalist Evan J. Lancaster reports that California Senator Tom Umberg has requested that the state Joint Legislative Committee perform an emergency audit on the Orange County Power Authority and its business practices. This is not the first time the Orange County Power Authority has found itself the center of third-party scrutiny, as both the City of Irvine and the O.C. Board of Supervisors have also filed separate audit requests as well. 

“There is deep concern, at this point, about the long-term viability of OCPA. It has failed to disclose actual revenues and expenses as measured against projections. Many public records requests from individuals and city council members have been ignored or denied. Many complaints from local businesses have also been received regarding a lack of notice regarding the process to opt-out of OCPA’s services,” a portion of Umberg’s letter read.

Read more on Irvine Weekly here. 

In their latest piece for Irvine Weekly, journalist Evan J. Lancaster covers Microsoft’s attempted acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard, and the roadblocks the two face in completing the deal. The historic merger, valued beyond $68 billion, is under scrutiny for the potential market monopoly that could be created should the two combine. 

“The worry is, given the notable reputation, experience and history of Activision Blizzard and Microsoft — independent from the upcoming merger — the convergence of the respective software and technology conglomerates would create an unfair advantage in the market that would become unattainable to competitors,” writes Lancaster.

Read more on Irvine Weekly here. 

In their latest piece for Irvine Weekly, journalist Evan J. Lancaster covers the opening of Viaggio Pizzeria, Bristol Farms’ first full-service pizzeria. Opened in conjunction with Bristol Farms’ massive new food hall experience full of half a dozen other fast-casual establishments, the pizzeria has been well received by the community.

“Don Evon, vice president of culinary and general manager of Bristol Farms Newfound Market, explained what benefits Bristol Farms saw in bringing this new concept forward,” writes Lancaster. “Simply put, ‘a love of pizza and passion for creating craveable foods,’ is what paved the way for this brand new concept from the well-known grocer, in one of Southern California’s most exclusive areas – Irvine, according to Evon.”

Read more on Irvine Weekly here.

 

In their latest piece for the Village Voice, writer Tracy Basile reports on the uproar caused by the latest collapse of a NYC carriage horse. The 26-year-old Standardbred gelding, Ryder, was worked till collapse on August 10, prompting an investigation by the NYC Department of Health. It was found that owner-operator Ian McKeever’s brother, Colm McKeever, co-owner of Ryder, had falsified veterinary records, changing Ryder’s age from 26 to 13 on documents he submitted. It was also discovered that the suffering horse was malnourished, underweight, and suffering from EPM, a neurological disease that may indicate poor stable maintenance caused by possum droppings.

“Many of NYC’s carriage horse laws seem to be too little too late,” writes Basile. “Donny Moss, an NYC-based animal rights activist who made the 2007 award-winning documentary Blinders, and still produces short videos on this controversy on his website, Their Turn, told me recently, ‘Enforcement has always been a problem. Lack of will. Lack of resources. At the end of the day, there are things about the industry that simply cannot be corrected…. No amount of regulation or restriction will make the carriage horse industry humane and safe. Even if every driver took the best care of their horse as they could, that wouldn’t change the fact that the industry is inherently inhumane.’”

Read more on the Village Voice here. 

In their latest piece for the Village Voice, writer Alessandra Schade reports on the past, present and future of burlesque. The art form, writes Schade, has gone through many transformations and challenges. From moving through censorship to feminist critique, queer culture, female empowerment, gym classes and modern reality shows, burlesque has touched all areas of culture. 

“More than a hundred years after its emergence in America as a scandalously popular form of taboo entertainment, burlesque has entered a new phase, where it can be said to be anything, adopted by everyone, and understood by no one,” writes Schade. “At its heart, burlesque has always been a practice of wildly theatrical experimentation with identity, a world of cross-dressing and disruptive sex play, where women have dared to defy the rules of social propriety to exploit and subvert the gazes of men, women, and culture. Now, though, the identity of burlesque itself is in crisis. As mass-market permutations of burlesque sweep through the gyms, streaming services, and night-school classes of mainstream America, serious burlesque performers who treasure the radical, destabilizing values of the art are feeling marginalized and misunderstood.”

Read more on the Village Voice here. 

In their latest piece for the Village Voice, writer Michael Cobb interviews Abiodun Oyewole, one of the first members of the influential group Last Poets. Established on Malcom X’s birthday, the Last Poets confronted racism and other social issues through spoken-word poetry and music. Writes Cobb, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Erykah Badu, and countless others cite The Last Poets as a major influence.

“The Last Poets began as a group when original members David Nelson and Oyewole shared their poems with each other. From that first album onward, they confronted listeners with volatile issues of the day, including urban decay, income inequality, and racism,” reports Cobb. 

Read more on the Village Voice here. 

In their latest piece for the Village Voice, writer T.J. English reports on Teresa Tapia, the widow of legendary International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) fighter Johnny Tapia and boxing promoter in her own right, and her impressive efforts to keep his legacy alive and thrive within the industry in her own right. 

“Since her husband’s premature death, 10 years ago, Teresa has not been idle,” writes English. “She has continued a journey in the male-dominated profession of boxing that she began while working as Johnny’s manager, overseeing a career that made the quixotic boxer one of the highest-paid acts in the sport. For more than 25 years, she has engaged in negotiations with many of the most powerful entities in boxing—HBO Sports, Showtime, Top Rank Entertainment—and, as a manager and promoter, she has stewarded dozens of fighters through a perilous profession with a high casualty rate. Few women have ever held such an exalted position in such a macho profession. No Latina in the history of the sport in the United States has ever managed boxing careers and promoted professional bouts at the level Teresa has—she is a unicorn. In 2003, she was presented with a special award for distinguished service from the World Boxing Hall of Fame. As CEO of her own company, Tapia Promotions, she is La Jefa.”

Read more on the Village Voice here. 

In their latest piece for the Village Voice, writer Allen Barra covers Yankee slugger Aaron Judge and his journey to potentially surpass the pre-steroid record for home runs. As of this article’s September 9, 2022 posting, Judge leads the MLB in Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Runs Scored, Total Bases, On-Base Percentage, Slugging Average, and more. “Most spectacular, of course, is the Yankee outfielder’s 55-home-run mark, a whopping 19 dingers ahead of second-place Kyle Schwarber, of the Phillies,” writes Barra. “Judge is having the kind of season where any stat he’s not leading the league in doesn’t matter.”

“There’s no doubt that Judge is the leading candidate for the American League MVP, even in a season where Shohei Ohtani, of the Angels, has hit 33 home runs and pitched 136 innings to win 11 games with a 2.58 ERA,” continues Barra. “As of today, the Yankees are currently leading the AL East by 4.5 games and are headed for the playoffs (despite their dismal performance since the All-Star Game). Without Judge, they would be more like the fourth-place Baltimore Orioles (10.5 games out of first place), wondering if they’d have any shot at catching the third-place Toronto Blue Jays.”

Read more on the Village Voice here. 

In her latest piece for L.A. Weekly, film reviewer Erin Maxwell writes her thoughts on Rob Zombie’s resurrection of the horror classic, Munsters. A self-proclaimed die-hard fan of the original show, Zombie’s retelling of Musters includes the origin of main character Herman, the story of his meeting wife Lily, and the family’s move from Transylvania to America. But does this homage pay proper tribute to the first?

“Fueled by dad jokes creature puns and Spirit Store camp and costume, Zombie’s The Munsters is a prequel made in homage to the original series,” writes Maxwell. “But like Frankenstein’s monster, it was built by a madman who created it because he could, and never stopped to think if he should…Starring Mrs. Zombie aka Sherie Moon as Lily, Jeff Daniels Phillips as Herman, and Daniel Roebuck as The Count (not yet Grandpa as the movie predates Eddie and Marilyn), the movie follows the love story between Herman and Lily. There are other small subplots involving Herman’s creator Dr. Henry Augustus Wolfgang (Richard Brake) and Lily’s brother Lester (Tomas Boykin), but those just fall by the wayside without a second thought. In fact, most of the plots, jokes, and characters fall apart quickly here, so pay them no mind. They only serve to confuse and distract.”

Read more on LAWeekly.com here.

Rob Zombie’s Munsters is no Resurrection

In her latest piece for L.A. Weekly, Art Editor Shana Nys Dambrot introduces readers to artist Flora Kao. A spatial lyricist, Kao works with natural elements to create drawings, sculptures and environmental installations. Her works can currently be seen at Gallery 1820 in Duarte (Persistent Garden with Ginger Van Hook). She is showing a giant origami lotus sculpture at the Geffen Playhouse through mid December as well.

“In drawings, sculptures, environmental installations and increasingly working directly in nature, artist Flora Kao explores the lyricism of spatial constructs of experience,” writes Dambrot. “From full-scale contact drawings of homes with personal and cultural significance, to sculptural objects invested with emotional and societal meaning, as well as taking a narrative interest in our cultivation of the natural world, Kao examines the liminal entanglement of memory and history. With data, ritual, storytelling, resilience, and transcendence in the mix, her gentle deconstructions of our feeble attempts to control the forces of nature and the courses of destiny reveal deeper poetic and somatic forms of insight regarding the unseen patterns we sense at play behind it all. An exhibition featuring her work within the idiomatic framework of the garden opens this week in Duarte.”

Read more on LAWeekly.com here.

Meet Spatial Lyricist Flora Kao