Spurred by the local group Compassionate Pomona in response to continued increases in violent acts and hate crimes toward minorities, the resolution reaffirms the city’s “commitment to compassion, equitable treatment and the condemnation of hate, racism and other acts of violence toward minorities,” according to a staff report prepared for the City Council.

The decision this month to publicly denounce such acts comes two years after Pomona councilmembers adopted a similar resolution condemning violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and hate and xenophobia against all persons.

Included in the latest resolution is the acknowledgment that while Pomona is not immune to untoward incidents, “the Pomona City Council wishes to promote an atmosphere of acceptance, tolerance, compassion, and mutual respect in the community.”

Pomona follows nearby Claremont in sending such a message, the latter doing so in February after flyers targeting the Jewish community were circulated around town.

A few months earlier, the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations reported a 23% increase in hate crimes in 2021 over the previous year, the highest number of such acts in 19 years.

• 

  Two sailors chat in the Expo area on Sunday, May 29, 2022, at LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Visitors pose with Marines on Sunday, May 29, 2022, in the Expo area on the third day of LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer).

• 

  Ayden Zhang, 9, of Glendora, and his 7-year-old brother, Austin, play atop a Marine reconnaissance vehicle on Sunday, May 29, 2022, at LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Visitors walk through the Expo on Sunday, May 29, 2022, the third day of LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  San Pedro City Ballet’s Mia Canosa-Carr performs a solo to “I’ve Got Rhythm” on Sunday, May 29, 2022, at LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Members of the San Pedro City Ballet perform on the expo’s main stage on Sunday, May 29, 2022, the third day of LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A Los Angeles Fire Department Agusta AW-139 helicopter performs a demonstration on Saturday, May 28, 2022, over the USS Iowa at LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A chance to interact with military personnel, vehicles and equipment drew big crowds to the expo area on Saturday, May 28, 2022, at LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  AJ Lark of Oceanside sits inside a UH-60 Lime, Blackhawk on Friday, May 27, 2022, the first day of this year’s LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Visitors tour the USS Iowa on Friday, May 27, 2022, the first day of LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Representatives of the Naval History and Heritage Command greet visitors in the expo area on Friday, May 27, 2022, the first day of this year’s LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Marines man an amphibious combat vehicle in the expo area on Friday, May 27, 2022, the first day of this year’s LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A Navy diver inside a tank interacts with youngsters in the expo area on Friday, May 27, 2022, the first day of this year’s LA Fleet Week in San Pedro. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

LA Fleet Week will return to San Pedro this Memorial Day weekend, with sailors, aerial flyovers, live entertainment — and the always-popular free public tours of active-duty U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships.

Featuring what’s billed as a “massive public expo along the LA Waterfront,” the annual four-day celebration is free and honors the nation’s Sea Services, with activities running from Friday to Monday, May 26-29. The main expo venue, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, will be set up alongside the Battleship USS Iowa, at 250 S. Harbor Blvd., near First Street in San Pedro, just south of the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

This year, there will also be events planned throughout the Los Angeles region: a Hollywood “neighborhood activation” event will take place on Wednesday, May 24, and service members will visit several communities throughout the region, including downtown L.A. on Thursday, May 25; Brea on Friday, May 26; and Venice on Saturday, May 27. Those events will feature free band concerts, service projects and other activities.

LA Fleet Week, which officials say is the largest Memorial Day weekend event in Southern California, will feature family-friendly festivities, including live music and entertainment, ship tours, aircraft flyovers and exhibits from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Army.

“There’s no better place than the Los Angeles area to recognize the importance of our nation’s Sea Services,” Jonathan Williams, president and CEO of the Battleship Iowa Museum and the National Museum of the Surface Navy, said in a Fleet Week news release. “We are a maritime nation and Fleet Week gives us the opportunity to salute all of those who ensure the freedom of the seas.”

Military branches will again compete in Dodgeball (10:30 a.m. Saturday) and Galley Wars (noon Sunday).

An outdoor “Welcome Home” concert for members of the military, featuring Ambrosia, will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, 211 W. 22nd St.

The concert space is limited, though, and those attending need to have official passes or active duty military identification for entry. Additional public viewing areas, however, will be available along the waterfront promenade and 22nd Street as space allows.

Ambrosia, a five-time Grammy Award nominee with roots in the South Bay — and, specifically, San Pedro — will perform some of its classic hits, including “Biggest Part of Me,” “Baby Come Back” and “How Much I Feel.”

This is the second year LA Fleet Week is being held over Memorial Day weekend.

The event first launched in 2016 as a Labor Day weekend festivity. It moved to Memorial Day weekend last year to take advantage of the cooler weather. And those cooler temperatures appear to be on tap this year, with forecasts predicting temperatures in the 60s.

Memorial Day also coincides with what was already one of the largest annual holiday events held on the Iowa since the historic World War II battleship’s June 2012 arrival in San Pedro as a floating museum.

Visiting ships are expected to be announced early this week. The tours on board those ships are free and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once again, the ships will be anchored in San Pedro’s Outer Harbor; trolly service will be the only way visitors can access the site.

This year’s event kicks off a day early, with a preview welcome party in downtown San Pedro from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, featuring music, food and drinks to welcome visiting sailors and other service members. That event will take place on Sixth Street, between Mesa and Centre streets.

Included in the festivities will be a beer and wine garden, dessert food trucks, live music, swing dancers and a free photo booth. The U.S. Navy Band, will perform, as will Midlife Crisis, a nostalgia band that will finish the evening with favorites from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

A Wilmington welcome party is also planned from 5 to 10 p.m . Friday at the Banning Residence Museum in Banning Park, 401 E. M St.

When the event officially opens on Friday, visitors will find military displays, multiple veteran and military information booths, and other family activities at the expo site, along with many local restaurants offering specials throughout the nearby historic downtown San Pedro district.

Visitors are urged to arrive early in the day; parking will be available in and around downtown San Pedro within walking distance of the expo.

Sunset cruises will also be available on the Los Angeles Maritime Institute’s Tall Ships, docked at the Downtown Harbor — off of Harbor Boulevard at Sixth Street. And the Los Angeles Maritime Museum next door to that will also be open so folks can learn more about the harbor’s history.

The U.S. Navy holds Fleet Week events at ports throughout the United States, with Los Angeles’s event coinciding with New York’s on Memorial Day weekend. The events offer residents a chance to tour active-duty ships, talk with sailors and learn more about the Navy.

Due to security and traffic constraints, vehicles will not be permitted to travel past 22nd Street and pedestrians will not be admitted into the ship tour area. They must be brought by shuttle from the expo area.

More information, including daily highlights and more detailed schedules, can be viewed at lafleetweek.com.

Chen knew nothing of Uyematsu or his legacy, which the monument iterated. So he began looking into it.

And what he discovered was tragic. It was also cinematic.

Uyematsu, Chen learned, was a Japanese immigrant. He was a farmer who grew cherry trees, camellias and other plants in the San Gabriel Valley, successfully selling them wholesale during the first half of the 20th century. His agricultural and business acumen made him a millionaire — during the Great Depression. Then, in 1940, Uyematsu, looking to expand, bought 120 acres of land in Manhattan Beach.

But then the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. America joined World War II. And the United States launched the policy of internment, which incarcerated more than 120,000 Japanese Americans nationwide.

Uyematsu and his family were among them. They were interned at the Manzanar War Relocation Center — and lost virtually everything.

Mira Costa High now sits on 40 acres that was once part of Uyematsu’s 120-acre Star Nurseries.

“I think it’s really important to have an understanding of what’s been sacrificed,” Chen said in an interview, of “what’s been lost.”

And so, when Chen, a nascent filmmaker, needed a project for a summer documentary course at USC last year, he knew what his subject would be:

Uyematsu — and what he lost because of internment.

The result was the short documentary “Grandpa Cherry Blossom,” which has been on the film festival circuit of late —- winning several awards — and was screened at the Hermosa Beach Museum last week in recognition of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Once it’s off the festival circuit, Chen said, the seven-minute film will likely be posted to YouTube for free, so folks can learn about Uyematsu — and the cost of internment.

‘Camellia King’

Francis Miyosaku Uyematsu came to the United States from Japan in 1904. He was 22 years old.

He initially worked at a farm in Salinas, but moved to the Los Angeles area a few years later. Uyematsu began importing and breeding Japanese camellias and cherry trees, according to Chuck Currier, a former Manhattan Beach teacher and local historian, who described the farmer’s life in a speech during the 2021 dedication for the Mira Costa monument. Currier is one of two people Chen interviewed for his documentary. The other was Uyematsu’s granddaughter, Mary Uyematsu Kao.

In 1910, Uyematsu bought five acres in Montebello. The next decade, he bought land in Sierra Madre. But his business, Star Nurseries, kept growing. And so, in 1940, Uyematsu bought 120 acres in Manhattan Beach for $60,000 — the equivalent of $1.3 million today.

Uyematsu, who also married and started a family during this time, was a pioneer in new methods of breeding and cultivating flowers, Currier said. He was so successful that he gained the moniker, “Camellia King.”

But then the bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred in December 1941. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 shortly after, establishing the policy of internment, which called for the removal of Japanese Americans from their homes and into camps.

The policy particularly decimated Japanese American communities in Southern California.

About 800 inhabitants of a Japanese fishing settlement on Terminal Island, for example, were rounded up, with their community razed.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula, meanwhile, had more than 200 Japanese American families farming there before the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Many of those families ended up in internment camps. Some returned after the war, refusing to be deterred from the lushness of the Peninsula — but the community never reached its former heights.

As for the Uyematsu family, which by then numbered six, it was sent first to the Pomona Assembly Center, a temporary facility at what is now the Fairplex. The clan was later moved to Manzanar, more than 200 miles away.

But before the family was shuttled there, Currier said, Uyematsu sold a significant number of his beloved camellias. After alll, he wouldn’t be able to operate his business while in the camp — and he’d need cash.

Manchester Boddy, then the publisher of the Los Angeles Daily News, and Richfield Oil Company President Charles S. Jones bought 300,000 camellias from Uyematsu. Those blooms, which were planted on Boddy’s property in La Canada Flintridge, later became the first signature collection for Descanso Gardens.

The Uyematsu family spent three years in the internment camp. During that time, to make ends meet, the patriarch was forced to sell most of his 120 acres in Manhattan Beach.

By the time WWII ended, in 1945, the farmer only had 40 acres left.

“My grandfather held on to some (land),” Kao said in an interview this week, “because he was planning on and he did try to continue the nursery business after he was sent to the concentration camp.”

But Uyematsu couldn’t recapture his former success.

Eventually, he had to sell what remained of his Manhattan Beach land.

Then, in 1947, according to Currier, Uyematsu also had to sell the final 40.

He did so in 1947, selling the land to the local school district — Manhattan Beach Unified didn’t yet exist — for the same price he aquired the original 120 acres.

Mira Costa High School opened three years after that, on Sept. 30, 1950.

His family continued operating the nursering for another four decades, though the business never regained its former glory, Currier said. The final nursery, which closed in 1988, was in Ontario.

Uyematsu died in 1978.

And now, not much remains of Uyematsu’s legacy — except, Kao said, at Descanso Gardens.

Kao said her grandfather’s legacy is still at Descanso Gardens.

“Quite a few of those (camellias) continue to exist at Descanso Gardens today,” Kao said. “We’re working with Descanso Gardens in terms of trying to give him proper recognition.”

There is, of course, also the monument at Mira Costa.

Uyematsu monument at Mira Costa

Currier, a 1972 graduated of Mira Costa, spent 24 years teaching economics and social studies, and coaching football there. He retired in 2018.

But 14 years before he retired, Currier began researching how Mira Costa was built and financed. He found the research interesting and would be worth writing and publishing, Currier said. But that idea wouldn’t pick up speed for another decade.

In 2014, Currier began researching the property and the Uyematsu family in earnest. He became hooked on the history. Even after he retired.

Currier, in fact, helped spearhead the installation of Uyematsu’s monument at Mira Costa in 2021, with the encouragement of another grad, Dennis Keene.

“(Keene) got me going on the Uyematsu plaque back in 2020, when I mentioned it to him,’ Currier wrote in an email, “and he said, ‘What are you waiting for?’”

Currier designed the monument and worked with Assistant Superintendent Dawnalynn Murakawa Leopard on the final wording. Murakawa’s grandparents were also sent to camps during WWII, Currier said.

MBUSD’s Board of Trustees approved the monument on March 31, 2021, and and appropriated $5,000 to construct it, though the final cost was higher, Currier said.

The moment was dedicated in October 2021.

And the next year, Chen, the student filmmaker, would look at that monument — and, soon after, decide to tell Uyematsu’s story in film.

Cinematic journey

Chen’s family has lived the immigrant experience as well.

His grandparents on both sides of his family came to the U.S. from Taiwan.

His father’s side is mainly Chinese, while his mother’s side is Taiwanese, said Chen, who has a younger brother, Hudson Chen, who is a freshman at Mira Costa.

Chen’s family moved to Hermosa Beach in 2018 from New York, when he was in the eighth-grade.

But it was at Mira Costa where Chen developed his interest in film. He took cinematic art classes there all four years.

“Before going into high school, I didn’t really know if I wanted to do film at all,” said Chen, who is also co-president of the school’s Cinema Club. “So it was a great introduction for me to film.”

The USC filmmaking course in non-fiction filmmaking, which Chen took last summer, is where he started working on his short documentary. He kept at it after the class ended.

Chen finished the most recent cut in October. He then started submitting the short to various film festivals to get his name out there, to have something to put on his resume — and, he said, to “spread the word” about the documentary.

“Grandpa Cherry Blossom” had its world premiere at the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival in Eugene, Oregon, in March. Recently, it was screened at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival in downtown L.A. and the NewFilmmakers Los Angeles festival earlier this month.

Chen, who will graduate Mira Costa in June, will attend New York University in the fall. he plans to study film and television production.

Yet, making “Grandpa Cherry Blossom” showed him “just how significant documentary filmmaking is,” Chen said.

“It’s definitely something that people don’t have much of an emphasis on usually,” Chen said about studying film. “But I just love film in general; I want to try out everything.”

His talent certainly impressed at least one of his interview subjects.

“I’m a teacher, but on this journey, I was the one receiving the lesson,” Currier said about Chen’s documentary. “Maddox has used his incredible creative talents as a young film maker to bring something so overwhelmingly large, the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans 81 years ago, and reduce it to the life story of one individual, Francis Miyosaku Uyematsu.

“In doing so, he has given us a ground-level view of the depth and breadth of not only the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans,” he added, “but Uyematsu’s entire experience after arriving in San Francisco in 1904. It’s a compelling story.”

And it all began when Chen walked past the monument to Uyematsu.

“When I do walk past the plaque, it usually does feel kind of strange,” Chen said. “It serves as a link between Francis Uyematsu and the school, a connection that is always going to be a little peculiar to me. I still have a difficult time grasping the idea that the ground that I walk on and go to class in every day was land that was unfairly seized and is filled with such a rich history.”

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Brandon Tsay, speaks during an event outside of Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where in January, he disarmed a mass shooter who already killed 11 people, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Lloyd Gock, 67, of Alhambra, right, who survived the mass shooting at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, dances with Karen Hahn, 62, of Pasadena during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed the same shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Paul, left, and Millie Cao perform during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Lloyd Gock, 67, of Alhambra, right, who survived the mass shooting at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, dances with Karen Hahn, 62, of Pasadena during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed the same shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Charmeen Wing, left, and Pavel Balykin perform during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Lloyd Gock, 67, of Alhambra, left, who survived the mass shooting at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, dances with Karen Hahn, 62, of Pasadena during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed the same shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Millie, left, and Paul Ca0 perform during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Kristi Semochko, left, and Vlad Ogurtsov perform during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Vlad Ogurtsov, left, and Kristi Semochko perform during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  A special community dance was held at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Brandon Tsay, poses for photos during a community dance event outside of Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where in January, he disarmed a mass shooter who already killed 11 people, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Performers wait to hit the dance floor during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

• 

  Millie, left, and Paul Ca0 perform during a special community dance at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed a mass shooter in January inside of his family’s dance studio, on Saturday, May 20, 2023. The event was coordinated between Tsay and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)

Old friends reconnected. Strangers laughed alongside each other. And on Saturday, May 20, they danced into the night on an Alhambra dance floor.

It was here, at Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio, on the eve of Lunar New Year, where just four months ago a young man wrestled a gun away from a man who just minutes before, in neighboring Monterey Park, had caused what is the deadliest American mass shooting of 2023. It was here where Brandon Tsay foiled a second attack.

On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered at the site to celebrate the Asian American heritage, to laugh, eat and enjoy an evening of dance – where each step is step toward telling a different story, one about a peaceful, tight-knit community that finds smiles, friendship in their beloved ballroom dance halls.

The free community dance — co-hosted by the Tsay family, which owns the studio, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice — was an evening of remembrance during a month devoted to celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage. But it was also an opportunity for people to lean on each other for support in the aftermath of a tragedy that rocked many to their core, according to some of the event’s attendees.

Among those in the crowd were families of victims, as well as people who were physically injured and emotionally scarred by the tragedy.

For some, getting back to the dance floor was not easy thing. For some it was imperative to get back soon.

Charmeen Wing was still reeling from the loss of her mom when Mymy Nhan, a close friend of hers, became the first of 11 people to die at the hands of the gunman at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on Jan. 21.

“I was so sad. I didn’t really know why I was dancing anymore,” she said.

But upon the invitation of the event organizers, Wing decided to pick up dancing again, something she hasn’t done since 2019.

“This has brought me back to life,” Wing said. “It brought me back to old friends that I haven’t seen in years because of the pandemic, and then obviously new friends.”

Wing, who had trained and danced at both Lai Lai and Star Ballroom for more than 10 years, described the ballroom community as tight-knit and filled with “loving, giving people”.

“What’s so interesting is many people we don’t know, maybe their names, or maybe only know their first names, but we recognize each other from seeing each other in the ballroom for years, and we support each other and we cheer each other,” she said.

Organizers were keenly aware of that solidarity as difficult memories of Jan. 21 linger.

“This event is a celebration of Alhambra and Monterey Park and our communities and our victims and our allies,” said Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Southern California (AJSOCAL). “It’s also a love letter to ballroom dancing, and to all of the community members here. We want to celebrate the strength and resiliency of our community.”

Two months after the tragedy, President Joe Biden visited Monterey Park to talk with families of the victims and survivors. During that trip, Biden also announced an executive order that seeks to increase background checks to buy guns, encourage safe storage of firearms and address the loss and theft of guns during shipping, among other things.

While national gun reform legislation remains elusive, even after several subsequent American mass shootings, people on Saturday said unity is vital in the road toward recovery.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, said Saturday’s event was an important moment on that road.

“It’s been four months since the shooting happened, and it was devastating and numbing to this community, but we have been starting to process this,” she said. “Of course, we will never forget what happened, but what we can do is unite and be strong before it.”

Lloyd Gock, in attendance on Saturday, echoed that strength.

He was roughly 10 feet away from Huu Can Tran, 72, when Tran opened fire at Star Ballroom Dance Studio. Gock fell to the ground just as bullets flew over his head, he said. Although he survived the incident, it took him a long time to heal mentally because many of those killed were his close friends.

But Gock was determined not to let the gunman deter him from doing what he loves most – dancing. He hit the dance floor barely a week after the shooting because he doesn’t want the gunman “to win”, Gock said.

“I am very happy to see many people are back here dancing again, and hopefully with time, lives will go back to normal again,” Gock said.

The 20 to 30 survivors formed a WeChat group and hold monthly meetings to check on each other, Gock said.

Recently, he noticed that more members of the group have begun to recover from the incident.

Meanwhile, Brandon Tsay, who was also in attendance Saturday, has become an American hero, but also has gone about using his newfound notoriety to call for communities to work together for greater compassion and building bridges to each other as the community heals.

Saturday’s event itself, and the support of Lai Lai in the area, seemed evidence of that compassion.

Brenda Tsay, who runs the Lai Lai dance studio with her brother and father, said many people and organizations have reached out to the family in the aftermath of the shooting. The free event was made possible with the support of neighbors, restaurants and elected officials, she said.

“We think that this community needs it,” she said. “They need a day where they can celebrate being Asian-American. They need a day where they can celebrate their culture. Also, also, they need a day to just enjoy themselves after what happened in January.”

Gock was determined to have many days to enjoy, and to heal.

“If we stop dancing, the gunman will get what he wants, but if we continue to dance, he will no longer be able to terrorize us,” Gock said.

Fans packed the grounds of the Brookside at the Rose Bowl golf course early in the day to hear a mix of vintage acts that either broke out in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s or younger bands for whom that sound and style is a primary influence.

In the former group you had bands such as Berlin, which played early hits such as “The Metro” and “Take My Breath Away,” as well as one-hit wonders like the Vapors of “Turning Japanese” fame.

“OK, we’re going to play that song now,” announced Modern English singer Robbie Grey as the band kicked off its biggest hit, “I Melt With You” on a day hot enough to melt everyone everywhere all at once.

Later in the day Cruel World had bigger names on tap including Billy Idol, Iggy Pop, Love and Rockets, and Echo and the Bunnymen.

But the biggest draw was headliner Siouxsie of Souxsie and the Banshees playing solo now. Cruel World is only her sixth show anywhere since 2008 when she last appeared in the United States.

The excitement for her set was clear from the T-shirts on fans Saturday, a plurality of which featured her face and name.

Check back for updates on the Cruel World Festival.

As she took in the scenes of families staking out their spots on sidewalks, banners festooned on light posts and military vehicles lined up along Torrance Boulevard, Chasteen felt inspired.

“Sign me back in,” she said.

But first, she had more pressing duties to attend to.

Mid-parade, Chasteen was promoted to a two-star officer, becoming the first African American woman to become Master Chief Petty Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard.

“She’s big time and we’re so proud of her,” said Vince Patton, a retired master chief who flew in from Washington, D.C., for the occasion. “This is history.”

About 500 new recruits also took the oath of installation for all six branches of the United States Armed Forces Saturday in a rare public show led by the parade’s grand marshal, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Carola List.

The parade was the highlight of Torrance’s three-day celebration of the Armed Forces, which began Friday and returned in full for the first time in three years; it was nixed in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and then pared down last year. About 100,000 people were expected to attend the celebration over its three-day run.

Torrance boasts the nation’s longest running city-sponsored military parade – and it’s also one of the few sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Crowds lined Torrance Boulevard as the parade made its way from Crenshaw Boulevard to Madrona Avenue, waving at soldiers, sailors, World War II veterans and local politicians. They also gawked at military vehicles, cheered for marching units and horse regiments, and stared in awe at least three flyovers, from a B-25 bomber, three T-6 planes and a World War II-era PT-17.

This year’s honored service was the Coast Guard.

As such, Petty Officer First Class Andres Pulido, of Coast Guard Base Los Angeles/Long Beach, served as honorary grand marshal, while actor Beau Bridges, who served in the Coast Guard Reserve, was the celebrity grand marshal.

But the Coast Guard wasn’t the only military branch represented.

Gloria Diaz of Torrance said she was grateful for the VIP seats the Torrance Police Department reserved for her father Alberto Pacheco, 92, who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

“His picture is on one of the banners here, too,” the proud daughter said, “and I wanted him to have this opportunity to see the parade.”

Her father repaired guns and other munitions in the frontlines of the Korean conflict. In 1962, with help from the Veterans Administration’s home loan program, Alberto Pacheco bought a house on Fiat Street in Torrance, where he and his wife, Marielena, raised their five children. He still lives there today.

“I’m very lucky,” he said. “As an American, I’m proudest that we have a chance to get ahead. Everything is here. We’ve done pretty good.”

Pacheco took photos with Lorry Rose Vaca, 92, who served in the Marines from 1950 to 1954, graciously commending her service – despite his Army loyalty.

Vaca lived in Torrance for more than 50 years before moving to Hawthorne. Many members of her family, including her children and grandchildren, participated in past Armed Forces Day Parades as part of the Junior ROTC, or their school marching bands.

“I’ve been to almost every parade,” Vaca said. “I love it. I get so excited seeing everything. It makes me feel very patriotic and connected to my community. And my favorite part every time? The Marines, of course!”

U.S. Air Force veteran and Torrance Treasurer Tim Goodrich, meanwhile, celebrated a small victory days before the parade: He tried on his old uniform, which he first wore 24 years ago – and it still fit. Goodrich wore the freshly dry-cleaned uniform as he rode a red convertible in the parade.

Goodrich, a 16-year Torrance resident, said the three-day celebration honoring the U.S. military was a chance to show pride in the Armed Forces and celebrate the community.

“It means a great deal of respect for our servicemembers, people coming together,” Goodrich said. “It’s an incredible honor.”

Goodrich’s son marched in the parade as a member of Cub Scout Pack 851. Sitting in the grandstand was Goodrich’s wife, who was expecting their second child in a few days.

Torrance’s soon-to-born newest resident, Goodrich said, won’t miss the festivities next year.

“We’ll bring her here for sure,” he said.

Bonta, the state’s 34th attorney general and the first person of Filipino descent to occupy the office, also congratulated the 730 graduates of CSUDH’s College of Business Administration and Public Policy for overcoming myriad challenges and for advocating for societal change during a commencement address on Saturday afternoon, May 20.

“No one pursuing a college degree expects it to be a walk in the park,” Bonta said, “but what each of you had to endure over the last few years,it was unprecedented.”

The coronavirus pandemic; a rise in xenophobia, homophobia and racism; the specter of mass shootings; and the conequences of climate crisis were among the challenges the attorney general mentioned.

“But your generation hasn’t let that hold you back,” Bonta said. “Instead, you’ve declared Black Lives Matter, March for Our Lives, demand real climate action. You’ve been impatient for change and rightfully so.”

Bonta spoke at the second to last of six commencement ceremonies that took place on Friday and Saturday at Dignity Sports Health Park’s tennis stadium, in Carson. In all, there were more than 3,300 graduates.

“I’m excited to complete this journey and begin a new one,” said Jasmine Jones, who received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Jones also said she was excited to hear the attorney general speak at her ceremony.

“It’s a big deal that he’s taking time out of his day to come and speak with us and give us encouraging words because I’m sure pretty sure once he was in our shoes,” she said, “and to show us how far we can go.”

Bonta began his speech by encouraging graduates to soak up the moment — but also to continue fighting for change.

“I urge you, keep being impatient for change,” he said. “Keep being intolerant of injustice because you aren’t just the leaders of tomorrow. You’re the leaders of today, and you’re inspiring all of us to do better to be better.”

Bonta was born in Quezon City, Philippines, but immigrated to California with his family as an infant. During his speech, he shared how his passion for justice and fairness was instilled in him by his parents, both of whom were frontline activists on behalf of United Farmworkers and the civil rights movement.

Bonta decided to become a lawyer to help right historic wrongs and fight for people who have been harmed, he said. He worked his way through college and graduated with honors from Yale University, then went on to attend Yale Law School.

When he was a student, Bonta said, there was a lot of uncertainty and doubt, financial struggles, and family problems that tried to get in the way of him finishing college.

“When you hear my bio, it sounds like I followed a linear path,” he said. “I didn’t. It weaved around obstacles and detours and I learned and grew along the way.”

After he was admitted to the California Bar in 1999, Bonta became a deputy city attorney in San Francisco. He then served as an Alameda city councilmember for two years before being elected to the California State Assembly, where he had been a strong advocate for corporate accountability, workers’ rights and stronger environmental protection policies.

He has also fought for criminal justice reform, the end of private prisons and detention centers, and the elimination of cash bail across the state.

Bonta went on to tell graduates to believe how far they have come, and gave them advice on how to silence any fears of not belonging.

“I’ve learned the best way to silence impostor syndrome and make that voice of doubt fade away is to find a calling that you love so much that it doesn’t feel like a job and then focus on the work,” Bonta said. “If you do, you’ll be so focused on what you’re doing that you won’t have time for doubt. It’ll be something different for each of you. For me, it’s public service.”

The many doors that will open for the graduates, Bonta said, will be both exhilarating and paralyzing. His advice for the class of 2023 was to channel their calling and focus on the work they are passionate about.

“Each of you have the ability and responsibility to fight injustice wherever you see it,” Bonta said. “When I look at you, I see an impatient ambition and unlimited potential to make our world a better place.”

Cooke, the former South Carolina star who the Sparks selected with the 10th pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, scored 14 points in 15 minutes off the bench in the team’s 94-71 season-opening victory over Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“It couldn’t have went any better. We were able to get a team win,” said Cooke, who finished 5 for 6 from the field and scored all of her points in the second quarter. “I think individually, we all did really well. We were all able to perform at a high level and I think this is something that we want to continue to do.”

Sparks coach Curt Miller, who spent the past seven seasons as the head coach/general manager of the Connecticut Sun, credited Cooke for being a spark off the bench.

“I’ll give a shoutout to our rookie Zia Cooke. Without her we may not be sitting here with this result, without her first half,” Miller said. “We were struggling and that bench really propelled us. Everyone off that bench, but Zia in particular, really made some plays for us in that first half. What a rookie debut for her.”

Cooke, whose college coach Dawn Staley was on hand to see her debut, thinks the work she put during training camp helped her stay confident and loose on opening night.

“I think it all comes with the hard work that I’ve put in,” Cooke shared. “Training camp was definitely tough for me being able to adjust to a lot of different things but something my teammates always tell me, just go out there and be me, be myself and have fun. I think that’s what I did (Friday night) for sure was told myself to have fun and let the game come to me and let everything flow for myself.”

The Sparks trailed by 11 points in the first quarter but battled back with a dominant second quarter and had a 13-point lead by halftime to send them on their way to an easy win.

“I think it’s this league and fortunate I have veterans in that locker room that have been around way too long that know that this game has flow and this game has runs,” Miller told the Southern California News Group. “That’s why I brought in as many veterans in camp to win a spot and be a part of this team but I give them a lot of credit, they could have gone away early and that lead could have gotten away from us. We could have never felt like we could battle back but they really did.

“Again, it was that second unit. It was Zia Cooke. It was Karlie Samuelson (13 points). It was Joyner Holmes got a couple of offensive rebounds there when we were struggling to get extra possessions so pleased that bench really sparked us.”

Sparks team captain Nneka Ogwumike, who scored a team-high 17 points, also appreciated Cooke’s stellar debut.

“Everyone knows what Zia can do,” Ogwumike said. “What I love about her is really her innocence. She’s so surprised by things that don’t go well but I love it. She’s a ball of positive energy. She wants to do well. She wants to be ready and for her to come in here and just be herself is amazing. That’s really the types of people that we have on this team.

“People are out here working hard without any guarantees. That goes unnoticed every day and we have a group of people, especially (Friday night), no matter how they made it here that have earned their spot in this win.”

Cooke’s next game will be against the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, who are led by another former South Carolina star – two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson.

“That’s going to be fun,” Cooke said while rubbing her hands together. “I have to do my scout really well for that one but it’s going to be a lot of legends. Candace Parker, that’s going to be crazy but I’m definitely going to soak in the moment. I think this year, I’m soaking in everything because I’m here and this is my dream.”

We love to see itttt@dawnstaley came to support @zia_cooke in her first W game, and Z did NOT disappoint pic.twitter.com/mDgKXG3UQK

— WNBA (@WNBA) May 20, 2023

The new restaurant will be located at 3340-3358 Santa Anita Avenue, the corner of Santa Anita and Brockway avenues, and construction is scheduled to begin this summer, according to the city’s announcement Friday, May 19.

“This development signifies our ongoing efforts to cultivate a business-friendly environment that fosters economic prosperity,” said El Monte City Manager Alma Martinez in a statement. “The arrival of Chick-fil-A will bring new job opportunities to our residents and contribute to the growth of our city’s economic landscape.”

City officials called the arrival a “landmark project” that will create several jobs during the construction, and once open will bring 80 to 120 full- and part-time positions to the city.

According to the city, the new eatery will generate $67,000 to $113,000 in annual sales tax revenue.

“This milestone accomplishment is the result of a collaborative effort between our City staff and Chick-fil-A, and we take great pride in seeing this project approved and now coming to fruition,” said Mayor Jessica Ancona said in a statement accompanying the city’s announcement.

Officials said the Chick-fil-A I-10 & Santa Anita will encompass 4,851 square feet, featuring an interior with 98 indoor seats and 44 outdoor patio seats. It will also include a drive-thru lane capable of accommodating up to 29 vehicles at a time and ample parking space for 100 vehicles.

“We eagerly anticipate the positive impact it will have on our local economy and the enjoyment it will bring to our residents,” said El Monte Council Member Richard Rojo.

That impact will being in the summer, when the project is set to break ground, city officials said.

The Atlanta-based Chic-fil-A food franchise, known for its chicken sandwiches, nuggets and shakes, appears to be making moves in a cluster of San Gabriel Valley cities.

One Chick-fil-A opened April 20 at 820 W. Huntington Drive, in Monrovia under operator Lamar Turner.

And another was set to open on April 13 at 200 S. Vincent Ave, West Covina, near the I-10 Freeway and Barranca Street, under the leadership of operator Daniel Hernandez, a spokesperson for the company said.

The company has been riding a kind of high, topping the American Customer Satisfaction Index Restaurant Study for the eighth consecutive year last year.

Locally, yet another restaurant is under construction in Pasadena, at 790 N. Lake Ave., a site of what was once a Carl’s Jr. The new restaurant will join an already existing Chick-fil-A on East Colorado Boulevard, near Pasadena City College.

The opinion filed on May 17 by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant found that the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s proposed restoration project used incorrect flood risk standards and didn’t commit the organization to specific enough performance criteria for preserving wildlife.

The Ballona Wetlands Ecological Preserve is a 577-acre area of salt and freshwater marshes just south of Marina Del Rey that is home to birds, coyotes, fish, lizards and butterflies, including at least seven endangered species.

The state’s plan called for excavating more than 2 million cubic yards of soil to allow tidal flows to penetrate more areas, and construction of nearly ten miles of bike and foot paths. That project cannot proceed until the department submits a new EIR that addresses the concerns highlighted by Chalfant.

Jamie Hall, a lead attorney who represented Protect Ballona Wetlands, one of four environmental groups that filed suits against the state plan, said, “This EIR was not ready for primetime. They just did not have the necessary information in order to evaluate, and disclose, and mitigate the environmental impacts.”

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) stands behind its restoration plan.

“This restoration project remains the best mechanism to revitalize the Ballona Wetlands for many future generations of Angelenos. It will bring outdoor space for connection with nature to a city center where it is deeply needed,” said Jordan Traverso, CDFW deputy director of communications, education and outreach.

“Although the court’s decision is disappointing, the bottom line here is that CDFW prevailed on the majority of claims brought by the petitioners. Facts matter: Petitioners raised 10 claims and CDFW won completely on eight of them,” she added.

Chalfant’s decision settles four similar lawsuits that all sought to halt the state’s proposed restoration plan due to concerns about how it would impact the environment, wildlife and habitats.

Attorney Hall noted, “One of the things that disturbs me most is that it was not going to be realistically possible for them (the state) to achieve what they said that they were going to do—i.e. relocate or trap animals to ensure that they didn’t perish—while they’re bulldozing and grading this land, in order to create artificial habitats.”

Sabrina Venskus, another lead attorney who represented the non-profit Ballona Wetlands Land Trust, said she was satisfied that Judge Chalfant ruled that the state’s flood calculations were incorrect.

“My firm … appreciated his recognition that use of the wrong flood conveyance standard in the project designs posed not only a potential flood risk, but also a potential risk of further fragmentation of critical habitats” in the Ballona Wetlands, she said.

Traverso, who is a spokesperson for CDFW, said the organization plans on resolving the flood control issues in the next design phase and “welcomes the Court’s instruction on this limited part of the ruling.”

The state’s restoration plan was released in 2017 and was immediately divisive, with some environmentalists lauding it and others lambasting it.

At the time, its supporters included several prominent environmental organizations including Heal the Bay Foundation, Los Angeles Waterkeeper and the Surfrider Foundation.

Supporters praise the state’s restoration plan to create greater public access to Ballona Creek–the last surviving major undeveloped wetland in Los Angeles County—as well as what they see as ecological benefits by increasing tidal flow to more habitat areas.

Ben Harris, staff attorney for LA Waterkeeper, said that the organization maintains its strong support for the restoration project as outlined in the environmental impact report.

“This project is one of the best opportunities we have to restore critical wetland habitat in all of Southern California,” said Harris. “While we are disappointed that the project will be delayed by this court decision, we support the principle that the environmental review process should be thorough.”

“We hope the parts of the environmental review that the court found insufficient can be addressed quickly to allow this needed project to move forward as expeditiously as possible,” he added.

Heal the Bay Director of Science and Policy Katherine Pease, Ph.D, said the organization is currently reviewing the court ruling to understand its implications.

“The need for restoration of the Ballona Wetlands is clear and supported by science,” she said. “Heal the Bay continues to advocate for a healthy, functioning coastal wetland ecosystem.”

Detractors believe that the plan is too heavy-handed in its manipulation of the natural environment and seek a restoration strategy that would be less disruptive and could be implemented faster.

Walter Lamb, president of the Ballona Wetlands Land Trust, said he is worried that the CDFW’s plan will take too long to complete and wants the state to pivot to near-term conservation strategies.

“With urgent issues of sea level rise, environmental justice, and declining biodiversity, we can’t wait another ten or 20 years waiting for an overly massive project that is not likely to ever be implemented,” Lamb said, referring to CDFW’s plan.

Community organizer Marcia Hanscom, who has worked to protect the Ballona Wetlands since 1995, was surprised and delighted by the court ruling.

“We’ve been up against some very challenging and powerful forces, including some environmental groups who were somehow persuaded that it’s okay to bring bulldozers into a fragile wetland ecosystem,” Hanscom said. “I’m just gratified that the court listened to us.”

The debate over how to best care for Ballona has been ongoing for more than three decades.

During the 1990s environmental activists campaigned for the state to acquire the land, which it did in 2003. Then in 2004 the State Coastal Conservancy began convening stakeholder meetings to discuss preservation efforts, and in 2005 the wetlands were officially designated a State Ecological Reserve.

Since then many visions for the land have come and gone including a controversial 2013 proposal to build a pet hospital on the site. CDFW came forward with its vision for restoration in 2017 and its EIR was certified in 2020, but that plan was put on hold when the four lawsuits were filed.

Chalfant issued his ruling on March 17. The state’s plan will be on pause until a revised EIR is certified.

“We are hopeful that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will reset the process for future management of this special place, truly involve all stakeholders, and determine a new baseline of what the ecosystem includes,” said Hall, “especially since so many more rare species have returned to Ballona since this plan first was considered.”

There have been improvements in the health of the wetlands in recent years. But challenges remain, such as the spread of invasive species and pollution from RV encampments on the edge of the wetlands, said Venskus, the attorney for the Ballona Wetlands Land Trust.

The environmentalists in the Defend the Ballona Wetlands group have put forward their own 20-point gentle restoration plan. Their plan calls for convening an indigenous tribal council for guidance on conservation efforts, improving and expanding walking trails, targeting habitat restoration for endangered species, fostering animal breeding sites and removing invasive species.

“Next up we are calling on the governor,” said Marcia Hanscom, who helped develop the gentle restoration plan and was part of the lawsuits. “We would like to see him withdraw the project and have his administration work with the stakeholders who are here, who love this place, to figure out together what is really needed.”

CDFW has expressed no interest in significantly altering its plan, which the state department maintains is the best way to revitalize and preserve the Ballona Wetlands for generations to come.