June 2022
Vol. 2, Issue 6
What’s Up With Me?
I won the 1st place award in the Travel Reporting category at the 64th annual Los Angeles Press Club’s Southern California Journalism Awards yesterday for my story about Slab City in Culture Honey Magazine.
“Great descriptive writing, and the character of Jinxy Bonesaw really brings this quirky arts community to life,” the judges wrote about the article, “Off-Season in Slab City, USA.” “It allows for readers to become more invested in traveling to this place themselves, which accomplishes the intended goals of a travelogue.”
I also won two 3rd place awards in the TV/Public Affairs category for hosting the Pasadena news talk show “NewsRap Local with Justin Chapman” on Pasadena Media, and in the Entertainment Features category for my story about Paradise Springs in LAist, “The Hedonistic History Of Paradise Springs, Where Early Hollywood Went Wild.”
Watch the latest episode of the award-winning "NewsRap Local," featuring an interview with Pasadena Transportation Director Laura Rubio-Cornejo. We discussed the 710 stub relinquishment, the California Blvd./L Line grade separation, Complete Streets, and other transportation projects across the city.
I’ve written a 3-part series on Jack Parsons for Pasadena Now. Parts 1 and 2 are now out, and part 3 will be published next weekend. Parsons was a rocketry pioneer whose work helped lead to the founding of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena in the 1940s. He was also a believer of the occult, black magick, and sex magick, and was a disciple of Aleister Crowley. Parsons died at age 37 in a mansion on S. Orange Grove in Pasadena in 1952, 70 years ago this month. The first part of my series focuses on Parsons’ explosive death and examines the mystery of whether it was an accident, suicide, or murder. The second part explores his breakthroughs in rocket science and how he and Frank Malina from Caltech played key roles in the founding of JPL and the American rocketry program but federal investigations ended up dismantling their careers and robbing them of the credit they deserve. The third part looks at the occult world of Parsons and his double life.
Part 1: A Look Back at Jack Parsons on the 70th Anniversary of His Explosive Death
Part 2: How Jack Parsons and the Suicide Squad Created a ‘New Paradigm in Rocketry’
Stay tuned next week for the third and final part of the series!
A big thank you to Sheryl Turner and the Pasadena Media Foundation for providing some critical support of my journalism, as well as a number of other local reporters and media outlets. We need more people and organizations like them who care about local news. Visit savelocalnews.us to learn more.
Stories to Keep an Eye On
International: Tomorrow, Tories in the UK are expected to overturn Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland that have prevented a hard border with Ireland, which remains in the EU. If that happens, we can expect a return to the sectarian violence that marred the 1960s-90s, known as the Troubles. We’re already seeing violence on the loyalist side, because they were upset that Northern Ireland remained within the EU regulatory scheme after Brexit, creating customs checks for goods leaving Northern Ireland for other parts of the UK. In overturning the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol, the UK is violating its international agreement with the EU. The Good Friday Agreement and the fragile peace it created are at extreme risk.
National: What a shitshow this abortion decision from the Supreme Court is. We’ll now have a patchwork of various and confusing laws across the country, and people will be incentivized bounty-hunter-style to go after vulnerable women crossing state lines to seek medical care. And the reversal of our rights won’t stop there. Expect other rights—contraception, same-sex marriage, same-sex intimacy, even free speech and press rights—to be dispatched swiftly. This is a colossal step backward for this country, a ripple effect from the 2016 election. Elections have catastrophic, real-world consequences.
California: The LAPD is once again earning a reputation for mistreating journalists. On Friday, while covering an abortion rights protest in downtown LA, independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg was struck on the head by a police officer. Another officer then shoved her to the ground. She was clearly identified as press from her credentials around her neck. This is yet another incident in a years-long pattern of overly aggressive treatment of journalists by the LAPD, such as at the 2020 George Floyd protests and the 2021 protests against the clearance of homeless encampments at Echo Park Lake. This must stop.
Local: The Rose Bowl was not selected to host World Cup 2026 soccer games. Instead, FIFA chose the new SoFi stadium in Inglewood. This is a big blow to Pasadena’s stadium, which sorely needs the money to stay afloat. The Rose Bowl hosted the World Cup final in 1994, but apparently soccer officials felt they didn’t need two stadiums in Southern California. The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Great Reads
Here are some recommendations for great books I’ve read recently:
Nein, Nein, Nein! One Man’s Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust—Jerry Stahl
Jerry Stahl’s new book is coming out July 5. He sent me an advance copy, and it is amazing, as expected. As the subtitle describes, it’s about a bus tour he took of World War II concentration camps in Europe while dealing with his own personal and professional problems. It is a harrowing account of mindboggling realities such as the cafeteria at Auschwitz and the gift shop at Dachau. Jerry is hosting two book events in LA on July 5 at Stories Books and Cafe and July 28 at Book Soup. He is a Los Angeles staple. He has written 10 books and several TV shows and movies and is best known for his heroin memoir, Permanent Midnight, which was made into a movie starring Ben Stiller. The 92nd Street Y in New York recently hosted a conversation between the two. I know Jerry (I’ve written two stories on him for Pasadena Weekly, in 2005 and 2013) and I’m working on a new story about his new book for LA Daily News/Pasadena Star-News. Stay tuned.
Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion—Charles Townshend
This is a dense book but highly recommended for lovers of Irish history like me. The Easter Rising rebellion in Ireland in 1916 failed of course but led to the war of independence in 1919, the civil war of the early 20s, and ultimately Ireland’s republic status. The six counties of Northern Ireland remained in the UK, setting up a century of turmoil to come, from the aforementioned Troubles in the late 20th century to the Brexit problems of today. Read this book to learn how and why this whole mess was set up this way.
Spotlight on My Past Stories
Here’s more info on my 1st prize-winning article in Culture Honey Magazine, about Slab City. Slab City is known as the “last free place in America,” a decidedly anti-capitalist, nomadic art community in the desert near the Salton Sea where fringe members of society live rent free in makeshift camps. It is located on the site of an abandoned World War II-era Marine Corps artillery training base and barracks called Camp Dunlap, which was dismantled in the late 1950s. The state has essentially acted as an absentee landlord for decades, allowing drifters, squatters, loners, dropouts, fugitives, hippies, hobos, desert dwellers, gypsies, artists, freight-hoppers, nomads, drug addicts, and other fringe members of society to settle there and set up camp rent free, property tax free, and homeowner covenant free. Read the full article here.
And read all of my journalism here.
Support Sustainatoy
Mercedes Blackehart makes handmade, sustainable, all-natural toys. Check out her products here for the little ones in your life.