Today on AirTalk, we get the latest on the Echo Park clearing. Also on the show, we talk with live entertainment venue owners and more.
The Latest From Echo Park As City Issues Deadline For Park To Be Cleared
The Los Angeles Police Department and city officials now say all unhoused people living at Echo Park Lake must leave by 10:30 tonight.
Early Thursday morning, city councilman Mitch O'Farrell issued a statement that said the city "has started the process of closing Echo Park, beginning with numerous intersections and freeway ramps around the facility. They are now closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic to protect public safety while crews begin the installation of the fence around the park." LAPD officers in riot gear descended on Echo Park Lake late Wednesday night as part of an operation to close the park — ostensibly for renovations. They were met by about 300 unhoused people and housing advocates who object to the removal of a large tent encampment. Late Wednesday, LAPD officers declared an unlawful assembly as they faced off with housing activists and residents of the longstanding encampment.
The councilman's statement also said the Echo Park property "has devolved into a very dangerous place for everyone there: drug overdoses, sexual and physical assaults, self-styled leaders taxing homeless individuals and vendors, animal abuse, families without shelter in the colder weather, and last fall shootings where one homeless individual was shot in the leg by gang members while children stood nearby. There have been four deaths in the park over the last year." But homeless residents of the park and advocates have pushed back, restarting a debate over the way the city handles homeless encampments like this one.
Today on AirTalk, Libby Denkmann joins us from Echo Park to set the scene following last night’s protest and to look ahead to what we might expect to see today.
With files from LAist
Guest:
Libby Denkmann, KPCC/LAist senior politics reporter who has been covering the story from Echo Park Lake; she tweets
State Of The Arts: When And How Live Music, Comedy And Entertainment Are Reopening
The pandemic has turned live music and entertainment on its head, like so many other sectors. Live music and entertainment venues at every level still don’t know what the future holds as businesses slowly begin to reopen.
Last year, promoters and fans turned to drive-in and virtual concerts as a creative way to keep live music alive. Comedians and other entertainers also had to turn to the internet amid shutdowns. Earlier this month, the California Department of Public Health released new guidelines for a number of industries. Los Angeles County currently sits in Tier 2 or the “red tier.” Movie theaters, live performance theatres have received some type of guidance for reopening. Concert venues remain closed. Today, as part of our weeklong series exploring how different sectors of the arts and entertainment industry are starting back up, we’ll talk about how local music and entertainment venues are coping and the challenges that lie ahead as owners and operators consider what reopening looks like. We also want to hear from you! Do you operate an entertainment venue? What are the challenges you’re facing and what do you imagine the future holds? Are you a musician, comedian or live entertainer? Tell us your experience by calling 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Dave Brooks, senior director of live music at Billboard; he tweets
Derrick Pipkin, owner of Pip’s On La Brea, a restaurant in Mid-City that traditionally offers live music nightly
Jamie Flam, co-owner and co-artistic director of Dynasty Typewriter, a comedy, theater and entertainment venue located in West Lake; he tweets