The Brief

At a warehouse in an industrial corridor of downtown Los Angeles, a handful of technicians are hunched over their brightly lit workstations, tinkering with saxophones, violins, and pianos.

This facility is one of the only remaining publicly funded repair shops for musical instruments in the country. Thousands of cases lay neatly stacked across tall shelves, ready to be shipped to schools across the nation's second largest school district, Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD). These district-owned instruments and the repairs are a free service to students here.

"The shop is a jewel for the school district," says Steve Bagmanyan, who started here in 2003 as a piano technician and now supervises the shop.

In a school district where about 80% of students come from low-income backgrounds, the repair shop helps create equitable access to quality instruments, he says, which can be expensive to own and maintain.

And it's a huge help for educators, too. "For teachers not to think about what to do with a broken instrument, to think 'where am I going to find repairs?'... That is all extra stress on a teacher."

Steve Bagmanyan began working at the repair shop in 2003 as a piano technician. Now, he supervises the shop, which was founded in 1959.

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Bagmanyan and the technicians work quietly in the background, ensuring that about 120,000 instruments in circulation throughout the district are in working order. "That's the magic of this place," he says.

The repair shop was, for many years, largely invisible to students and families. That changed when it was featured in the documentary The Last Repair Shop, which won an Oscar last year. Since then, letters have been pouring in from students sharing their gratitude. "That's our Oscar," says Bagmanyan, pointing to a wall decorated with the notes. He says he's seen the shop struggle and shrink in the past, during times of financial strain for the school district.

Now, the facility is getting a $1 million donation from legendary musician, producer and philanthropist Herb Alpert, who got his start playing trumpet in this very school district.

A potential game-changer in a child's life

Technician Paty Moreno puts finishing touches on a baritone horn that came into the shop with sticky valves. She pulled it apart, cleaned it with specialized machines and reassembled it.

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Technician Paty Moreno has sat at the same workstation for over 21 years, where she primarily repairs brass instruments.

"People think, 'I can play an instrument, so I can fix it too.'" But repairing delicate and sophisticated implements, she explains, requires special skills and tools. She considers it a dying craft.

As she puts finishing touches on a baritone horn that came into the shop with sticky valves, she says, "It's a strange connection between us and the students."

A few feet away, Duane Michaels is soldering a dented saxophone: "It's going to be somebody's grandkid, somebody's kid, right? And so you kind of think of it that way, and you want it to play easily and in-tune to give the kid the best opportunity to succeed on it."

Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen is a professor of music education at UCLA and says, "When students have an instrument that's not working for them, it can be incredibly frustrating. It causes them to think music's not for them." So, she says, for a student to have access to free repairs "takes away that burden on families and lets [students] put their energy into just creating music."

Music can play a role in children's development, she adds, and helps with various aspects of their education. "Students learn to work with each other, learn to problem solve," she explains. "When you learn music, you're really activating all parts of you as a person. Your physical, kinesthetic awareness, your artistic and creative side and your analytical side."

"You never know where a genius is"

Repair facilities like LAUSD's once existed in several major public school districts, according to Craig Anderson, a retired technician who belongs to The National Association of Professional Band and Instrument Repair Technicians. He says that over the years, financial constraints and technicians retiring led many around the country to downsize or close down completely.

That is partly why Alpert, an eight-time Grammy winner who was once an LAUSD student himself, is investing in the repair shop. He considers it to be an essential part of the district's music program.

"You never know what's going to come out of a student who's coming from a [low-income area] and picks up an instrument," he says. "You never know where a genius is."

Steve Bagmanyan (left) and technician Duane Michaels (right) with musician and philanthropist Herb Alpert (middle), who is donating $1 million to the repair shop.

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If he hadn't come across a trumpet at Melrose Elementary School back in the 1940s, Alpert says, he wonders whether he would have found his path to music.

"Lucky me, I was 8 years old in my grammar school and there was a music class and there's a table filled with various instruments … and I happened to pick up the trumpet."

Alpert says he couldn't make a sound at first, but eventually the instrument became his voice.

"I'm a card-carrying introvert, and this trumpet was saying the things I couldn't get out of my mouth. And I liked that, it was a good feeling … and I thought, 'Man, I had this magical opportunity for myself when I was 8 years old. I'd like to pass that on.'"

"Everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves"

At San Fernando High School in L.A., 11th grader Maximiliano Segura says he, too, had his first run-in with a trumpet at school when he was around 8.

"It was cool and shiny," he says with a laugh. "It really appealed to me when I first saw it. Like I knew it was a part of many genres like jazz or mariachi."

Maximilano Segura, a high school junior, started playing the trumpet in the third grade.

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Segura has been playing ever since, including in his school's mariachi band.

He has always used a free, district instrument, but says that until he watched The Last Repair Shop, he hadn't even considered that his instrument was also getting repairs for free all these years.

"To know that people from my background [have access to] instruments and music itself, it's amazing."

He often practices before, during and after school. And he's already started saving to buy his own trumpet after graduation.

"I love music. I express myself through it, I think it's just one of my best therapies that I could ever have. And I feel like everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves."

Sergio Alonso instructs the San Fernando High School mariachi band.

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Herb Alpert agrees: "Music should not be a privilege, it should be a part of the public education system." He hopes more visibility around the repair shop will encourage other school districts to re-invest in such facilities, too.

While Alpert's donation is part of a long career filled with philanthropy, he says the current political climate makes the investment feel more urgent. "I say, 'why are public funds not being spent on this?' This is a crucial part of a child's development."

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On Friday Southern California Edison filed lawsuits against Los Angeles County and several other agencies over their alleged roles in the Eaton Fire.

Two lawsuits were filed.

In one suit the utility company alleges Southern California Gas delayed shutting off gas in the burn area for several days after the fire, making the blaze worse.

“SoCalGas’s design and actions caused gas leaks, gas fires, reignition of fires, gas explosions, and secondary ignitions during the critical early stages of the Eaton Fire,” according to the suit.

The claim goes on to say this contributed to the spread of the fire and made firefighting and evacuation efforts more difficult.

In the second suit the utility company alleges the Eaton Fire was made worse by the local government response, “including due to the failures of LASD, LACoFD, OEM and GENASYS in issuing timely evacuation alerts and notifications,” the claim reads.

The same filing says that L.A. County was to blame for vegetation and overgrown brush in the Eaton Canyon area that fueled the blaze.

It also named the City of Pasadena, and its utility system Pasadena Water and Power, the City of Sierra Madre, Kinneloa Irrigation District, Rubio Cañon Land & Water Association, Las Flores Water Company, and Lincoln Avenue Water Company as parties responsible for water systems running dry in Altadena as the fire broke out.

Edison says hydrants running dry compounded the extent of the disaster.

Those claims will be heard in the L.A. County Superior Court, which is also handling L.A. County’s lawsuit against SoCal Edison.

Edison itself is the subject of hundreds of lawsuits from survivors of the Eaton Fire, which could cost the company billions of dollars in settlements.

Edison has said its equipment likely sparked the Eaton Fire, and filed these suits, in part, because it believes these various entities should share some of the blame for the disaster, which resulted in the destruction of thousands of buildings and the deaths of 19 people.

A compensation program Edison for fire survivors who forgo suing the company has made settlement offers to more than 80 of those who applied.

A new organization is taking over production of the MLK Day Parade, almost 40 years after the first parade was held in South L.A. to commemorate the civil rights leader.

Bakewell Media, publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper (a partner of The LA Local), was granted the permit in September to organize the parade for the first time by the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. Formerly called the Kingdom Day Parade, the parade has been rebranded as the Los Angeles Official Martin Luther King Day Parade. The parade was previously produced and organized by Adrian Dove and the L.A. chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality California (CORE-CA).

With less than a week before the parade kicks off, LA Local reporter LaMonica Peters sat down with Danny Bakewell Jr., president and executive editor of the LA Sentinel, to discuss the details and what attendees should expect.

This Jan. 12 interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Why did you decide to produce the MLK Day Parade this year?

Bakewell: It all started because Adrian Dove, who was the previous promoter, had announced that he was retiring. When he announced he was retiring, LAPD, city council offices and other people said, “Hey, we still want to do the MLK Day parade. Would you guys be interested? You have the infrastructure to put it together.” And we said yes.

What’s different about this year’s production?

We’re going to start the parade with a singer performing “Lift Every Voice.” We’re going to play the message from Bernice King at the start of the show. Obviously, we have Cedric the Entertainer as our grand marshal to add the entertainment value, but the community has always been and will continue to be a major part of this parade.

Is ABC 7 covering the parade this year? 

It’s still going to be televised by ABC. We’re working diligently on how the show is going to be, but ABC has been a great partner.

What was the preparation for this parade?

Thanks to our corporate sponsors, we have a number of bands. The truth is, particularly in LAUSD at this time, and other school districts, they don’t have the funding to just get a bus and get here. I can’t say enough about Airbnb to Bank of America, all of our corporate sponsors, who are supporting all of the youth organizations.

Were there any unexpected challenges while preparing for this parade? 

This [The LA Sentinel office on Crenshaw Blvd.] is usually our command center during The Taste of Soul. It dawned on me last week that we’re going to be a mile away [from the parade route]. So, we made the decision to bring in a trailer to be our office at the corner of King and Crenshaw boulevards.

Any special guests this year besides the grand marshal?

I’m working on a surprise guest to be the singer for the national anthem. No matter what, we will give tribute to the Black national anthem “Lift Every Voice” as loud as we can next Monday.

What’s the long-term vision for this parade, if Bakewell Media continues to produce it?

We see the MLK Day Parade, and we want the world to see and expect to see this parade, the same way they see the Macy’s Parade, the Hollywood Parade or the Rose Parade. BET has come in this year as a partner. So there’s an opportunity to possibly do a national broadcast on BET. Not that we would lose our local television, but we see this as a major parade in this community and in the national African American community, celebrating the great work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. So, we are very excited.

Bits of conversation drift out of Aladdin Used Books as people lined up at the register with stacks of books.

The bustle of activity is bittersweet as the Koreatown bookstore will close its doors at the end of January after 13 years in the neighborhood.

Jina Lee, store manager, said declining sales at the Koreatown branch led to the decision to close the store. In recent years, staffing at the 5,000-square-foot store on the third floor of Madang Mall dropped from six to two, Lee said.

“This was a happy place for everyone,” she said, “but we were struggling.”

On a recent January afternoon, the shop looked lively as customers took advantage of the clearance sale on Korean and English books, CDs, DVDs and other media.

Koreatown resident Jin Lee wishes he visited the bookstore more often.

“It would have been great if it had been this crowded all the time,” Lee said. “But nowadays, people don’t read paper books and prefer devices, so it’s hard for all bookstores.”

Some customers traveled from as far as Orange County and the Inland Empire to visit one last time.

Minjung Kim, who moved from Koreatown to Fullerton five years ago, still made trips to the bookstore after she moved away.

“It’s the only place that sells this many new and used Korean books,” she said.

Each visit to the bookstore was important to David Artiga of Pomona, because it gave him a chance to connect with friends over literature.

“I feel like this is really negative for the community,” he said. “The importance of having a well-versed society, keeping in touch with literature and art is so important. And now this place is just going to be gone.”

South Korea-based Aladdin Used Books opened its first U.S. brick-and-mortar store in Los Angeles in 2013. The store carries around 50,000 new and used books, with a majority in Korean.

Customers will still be able to order books through Aladdin’s website after the store closes.

Ken Derick, a Koreatown resident, walked around the store aisles with a stack of books.

“It’s like we’re kind of moving towards a new technology, like everything’s virtual and online,” he said.

Longtime customer Anthony Kim said he’s enjoyed looking for gems in the English-language shelves.

“My Korean ability is rather limited but I’ve always enjoyed browsing their English language sections,” he said. “And now that I have a niece and nephew, their children’s book section has always been a great place to pick up new books for them.”

Valerie Laguna perused the shop’s CD section, a bygone experience in the era of streaming.

“I really like their CD collection and their literature collection they have in English,” she said.

“I was so sad about it, I immediately texted my friend,” she said. “I’ve gotten so many of my favorite books and my favorite CDs from this place. I feel like losing a place like this is just so sad and makes a huge dent in the community and culture.”

Less than a mile away on Western Avenue, Happy Bookstore owner Jung Jae-seung said it has been difficult for bookstores for some time now. His Korean-language bookstore is also struggling in an era when so many people have abandoned print media.

“It’s really about how long printed books can survive,” Jung said. “From that point of view, it’s hard to be optimistic.”

South L.A. or South Central? More than 20 years ago, that question came with high emotions for some residents who were sick of the stereotypes they saw in media coverage of their neighborhoods.

So in 2003, the Los Angeles City Council renamed the collection of communities south of the 10 freeway in an attempt to cut ties with the connotations of poverty and crime that some believe came to represent South Central after the turbulence of the 1980s and ‘90s. Today, you see South L.A. on official documents, maps and even historical and cultural districts.

Even though city officials moved to wipe away the old name, some locals never stopped calling the area South Central — a name that for them represents history, resilience and Black and Latino culture.

“I think it will always be South Central for its residents and for the people that were born and raised here,” said Evelyn Alfaro-Macias, a social worker who was raised in Historic South Central and whose office is on Hoover Street. “It means home. It means culture. People should respect the name South Central.”

What and where is South LA, anyway?

By the early 2000s, television news and pop culture had given South Central a reputation for violence and chaos that some were eager to shake.

Helen Johnson, a resident of Vermont Square, helped lead the campaign to change the name.

“I think the media can make you or either break you,” 72-year-old Johnson told reporters in 2003 after the city council approved the name change, according to the L.A. Times. “This is what you’ve done to us. You’ve broke us.”

Supporters of the change included then-Councilmember Janice Hahn, who is now a county supervisor and said at the time that the South Central name had become “mostly derogatory.”

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who was working then as executive director of the nonprofit Community Coalition, said the area’s image problem wasn’t just about its name.

“If the media paid a little more attention to covering positive things in the community, that will also help,” Bass said, according to an L.A. Times report.

The LA Local has reached out Bass and Hahn’s offices, as well as L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson.

The exact borders of South Los Angeles, or the area formerly known as South Central, are fuzzy.

The South Central name originally only applied to the neighborhood around Central Avenue south of downtown Los Angeles, but it spread west as populations grew.

City planning documents today designate a strip of neighborhoods between Interstate 110 and Arlington Avenue as South Los Angeles and tag the Central Avenue neighborhood as Historic South Central. Others, including academics and the city tourism board, use a map of South Los Angeles that stretches to the border of Culver City.

This is what the community told us

Some businesses in the area adopted the South L.A. name, notably South LA Cafe, the coffee shop that has grown to five locations and become a local institution.

More recently, some groups have made a concerted effort to embrace South Central, like the South Central Run Club or South Central Clips, an Instagram-based group that sells skatewear-inspired “South Central” apparel. (Even South LA Cafe today sells some merch with the South Central name.)

Several locals told The LA Local the official designation never changed anything for them.

“It’s South Central for me. That’s where my roots are,” April Brown said. “When you go anywhere across the country, across the world and you say South Central, they know exactly what you’re talking about.”

To Emily Amador, the name change erases the history of South Central, including “the Black migration that occurred, redlining that created what we know today to be South Central and the demographics, which are here today, which is Black and brown and undocumented.”

Ulysses Alfaro, who was born and raised in the Historic South Central neighborhood, said he uses South L.A. with people from out of town but South Central with locals.

South L.A. is a geographic designator, he said, but he considers South Central to be an identity: “That’s where the grinders are, the hard-working people that work their butts off, their asses off. The ones that keep the city running.”