The Brief

Artist Gordon Henderson, who goes by the pen name Nib Geebles, has made a calendar with a cult following for 40 years.

The most recent editions capture Los Angeles’ “unknown landmarks.” Think quirky neighborhood monuments like the Chicken Boy statue in Highland Park and mom-and-pop taco shops, mechanics and liquor stores.

Henderson made the first calendar in 1985 as a last-minute Christmas gift for his then-girlfriend.

“It fell off the wall and it was lost, and by March of that year, it was gone and the relationship was on the rocks,” Henderson says. “But you know, the next year, I thought, 'Well, I have to do this again.'”

Gordon Henderson's latest show is partly a retrospective of 40 years of calendar-making. "Parade of Mortals" is on display at MorYork in Highland Park through Sept. 28.

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The calendars featured his predominantly pen-and-ink drawings, and every year had a different theme. They’ve included vacation, metamorphosis and glamour.

The calendars mark familiar holidays, but also ones of Henderson’s own invention.

They’ve included:

• Rethink your cherished stereotypes (Jan. 12)
• Feast of Paranoid rumination (April 26) — “That's not one that I encourage people to celebrate,” he says. “But we all do once in a while, whether we want to or not.”
• Our world is upside down but there’s still time for romance (Sept. 11)

“You can have it all if you're willing to settle for less,” on Feb. 28 is one of his favorites.

“It's sort of philosophical in a way,” Henderson says. “You can accept your situation and realize that it's pretty good.”

Not everyone has loved the holidays. A friend once wrote him a letter aghast that he included “Insult Someone You Love Day.”

“She said, ‘I don't need someone to tell me when to insult my loved ones, and I think I would like a calendar more like the Ansel Adams calendar,’” he recalls.

The show's eponymous artwork, "Parade of Mortals." "It's a sassy skeleton," Henderson says. "It's like we will all shuffle off this mortal coil, but I will have the last laugh."

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Gordon Henderson

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"Arrested Poets Levitate." "I particularly like poets as ... a form of protest," Henderson says. "I like the idea of them putting forth rational ideas and peaceably."

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Gordon Henderson

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Henderson, with production help from his life partner Abira Ali, was producing hundreds each year. For a spell, each shrink-wrapped calendar included a trinket such as a packet of mayonnaise or baggie of dirt.

In 2020, Henderson decided he was done. The 2021 calendar included the message:

“This is the 35th and final edition. Thank you for being part of the experience. Without you, there would be no point in making the calendars.”

He received about 50 messages in protest; many of them mentioned the calendar had become part of their holiday tradition.

“It was kind of an embarrassing moment for me,” Henderson says. “I'd thrown a tantrum. I'm gonna hold my breath here until I pass out. And then you pass out and you realize how everyone's around you and you realize that people love you.”

From 2022 on, Ali, who’s also an artist, helped breathe new life into the project and became the calendar’s co-creator.

The pair adopted the unknown landmarks theme. The paintings are drawn from their walks through L.A. neighborhoods.

Henderson and Ali made 1,200 copies of the latest Nib Geebles calendar.

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Gordon Henderson and Abira Ali

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They’ve documented scores of local businesses. Some are now gone. Altadena restaurant Fox's was in the 2025 calendar. The Eaton Fire destroyed the longstanding diner.

“The buildings … they're ephemeral,” Henderson says. “I've always been interested in change and the nature of life being so temporary.”

The calendars are, by nature, generally only useful for one year.

“Maybe that's … part of the drive behind making them year after year to keep it going because they die every year,” Henderson says.

Though Henderson recently realized his limited stock of 2017 Hansel and Gretel-themed calendars will work for 2026 — all the dates align.

Everyone else will have to buy the 2026 “Everyday L.A.” calendar.

See more in Highland Park

Show: Parade of Mortals

Address: MorYork, 4959 York Blvd, Los Angeles

Hours: Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. Sept. 27 and 28, noon to 6 p.m.

Special events:

• Sept. 20, 4 p.m.: The premiere of “Nib is My Pen Name," a short film on the history of the calendar by Robert Caruso.
• Sept. 28, 7 p.m.: Closing event and Henderson’s presentation on the calendar’s history.

Pro-tip: The 2026 calendars also will be on sale at the gallery, along with T-shirts.

Hear from the artist

LAist talked to Henderson about his alter ego, his career and his latest show at MorYork, which features art from past calendars. Henderson also is the voice of many of the underwriting spots heard on LAist 89.3 FM (“Support comes from …”). He’s worked here since 2006 and now is our production and promotions manager.

These excerpts from our conversation are edited lightly for length and clarity.

LAist: How did Nib Geebles come to be? 

Henderson: A lot of people have a silly side and a rational side. Mine has a name. I've fed that character, that persona or alter ego.

My other name, Gordon Henderson, that part of me goes to work and makes sure that I pay the LADWP bill and does all the kinds of polite things. Then the other side, which is less polite — but more free — that side is sort of contained.

What’s the theme of your latest show, “Parade of Mortals”? 

I knew it was going to be a tie-in to the 40-year calendar retrospective, but then different things happened. One was losing my mom in December, and then the fires happened in January. Also this year has been a terrible year of dread for so many people.

Art making has always been a way that I have kept dread at bay. It gives you balance. You put artwork into the world, and that gives people pleasure and it helps them relax.

So I was thinking about all the different artwork I had done that deals specifically with handling crisis. So that's predominantly what I chose to hang in this show is work that confronts crisis.

How did you start making art?

 I didn't really officially declare myself as an artist until I was 16. I was at a religious school, a Quaker school, and I wasn't thriving in that environment. But I did like the Bible class and I liked the Bible teacher who was a guy who I considered a mystic, and his name was Bill.

Bill told us that he told the class that one of his former students had rewritten the Bible and Bill had read the Bible and thought it was terrible.

And I was kind of inspired by that. Not so much that he had rewritten the Bible but that he had taken on this thing that was way bigger than he was, and he'd failed miserably at it.

It’s like Dante. I liked that idea. So I thought, ‘Well, I could do that, and it would be even worse.’

What I realized is this was a really good fit to write in journals and draw and create my own reality. And I'm really still continuing on that mission. I needed a mission and that was my mission.

You’ve said that as a teenager you smoked a lot of pot and felt like a “young person adrift.” 

 I was a teenage wise guy. I'd always been a misfit. I was always like 2 to 12 inches taller than every other kid that was around.

I always sort of stuck out.

 I was a young person adrift, and there are a lot of young people adrift right now, and they don't have something that they can really hold onto.

I'm a mature person now and I have lived a sober life. I'm really happy with that because I was able to have a family and a really good job and career. What made that possible was that I made that decision to make artwork and that imagination was gonna set me free.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.