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Life & Times Transcript
10/07/05 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- Big changes for downtown Ventura. What will the new and trendy do to long-established mom and pop stores? Kitty Trueblood>> It's been bad. Now we're going to lose it. We don't see our friends anymore. Johnny Trueblood>> I just felt like I was part of the history of Ventura. I thought I was something special here. Val Zavala>> And then, they are nature's biggest land-based mammals. Does the Los Angeles Zoo have enough room for elephants? These stories and more straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Val Zavala>> Downtown Ventura is going through some major changes. What used to be a simple downtown with thrift shops and affordable stores is now becoming trendy and upscale. Now some people welcome lofts and lattes, but for others, it's not good news. Sam Louie has the story. Sam Louie>> Welcome to Ventura, California nestled along the coast between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. It's one of the oldest cities in the state. Founded in 1782, the city was named after the mission San Buena Ventura, which means good fortune. Brian Brennan>> Well, this is a classical picture of our downtown and, at the end of the street, is our mission right here. Sam Louie>> Ventura mayor, Brian Brennan, says the city's future lies in making the downtown thrive again as it did before the 101 cut through it. Brian Brennan>> Well, obviously, this is Ventura back in 1877. There's our pier which has been knocked down a couple of times over the past. But you can see there's no freeway through here at this time and really the freeway has divided the city so that it's disconnected us from the ocean. Sam Louie>> Brennan would like to see Ventura return to its roots as a thriving city by the sea. Brian Brennan>> It has residential and it has commercial. It has a vibrancy about it that relates both to the ocean and it relates to itself. It has arts and culture mixed into all that. Sam Louie>> With each passing month, new businesses and restaurants set up shop in the heart of downtown's Main Street. Rick Cole is the City Manager. Rick Cole>> I think in the twenty-first century we're going to see a new kind of revitalization of downtown that's more like the historic function of downtown as really the heart and soul of a community, not just a retail and entertainment destination, but the most important place where people live, where people come together and where people work. Sam Louie>> Tutti's Off Main is one of Ventura's newest trendy restaurants. It opened in mid-May. Owner Winston Sullivan relocated the restaurant from the affluent Montecito just south of Santa Barbara. Winston Sullivan>> We walked Main Street on two different occasions and just fell in love with the shops and everyone promenading. In the evenings and afternoons, the sidewalks are crowded and it was just an energy, a synergy, that drew us to the area. Sam Louie>> When we met up with him on a Monday, just days after the restaurant's grand opening, business was brisk. Winston Sullivan>> The reception has been overwhelming. We haven't done any advertising. We were trying to keep it as quiet as we could actually just to get our staff and cooking crew up to speed. It's going to be fun to be part of that growth in the expansion of Old Town. Sam Louie>> But not everyone shares the same enthusiasm. Some long-time shop owners feel the rapid redevelopment will bring an end to the historic charm and character known here in Ventura. Kitty Trueblood>> "The comics are half off, the stickers are thirty-five percent off, the dishes are half off." Sam Louie>> Kitty Trueblood and her husband, Johnny, are the owners of Trueblood Collectibles. They've been in business for thirty years, specializing in old and offbeat items. Johnny Trueblood>> We have about five thousand toys on display. We have probably five hundred knives, different knives, you know. We have probably thousands and thousands of different magazines, comic books, cars. I mean, it took so many years to put this place together and it's like a honeycomb. Everybody likes it for that reason. Sam Louie>> But the bitter reality for the Truebloods is that business is coming to an end. Their rent has soared since January of this year. Kitty Trueblood>> We started at three thousand, then it went to thirty-five hundred and now we're at five thousand. Sam Louie>> If they were to stay longer, their rent would likely go up even more to nine thousand dollars a month, so they decided to close their doors. They're now busy packing and slashing prices on what's left. The Truebloods say that moving out has been especially hard on them since the store has been a part of their lives for so many years. Kitty Trueblood>> Well, my grandkids grew up here. My son worked with us for ten years and he's got kids and they were raised in here, so it's been bad. Johnny Trueblood>> We just don't know how to take it. We've always been good people. We help you start your car out front. You know, I'll tell you stories of my life. I'll walk you through the rock and roll museum. You know, I just felt like I was part of the history of Ventura. I thought I was something special here. Sam Louie>> The Truebloods plan on taking a vacation and then deciding what to do after that. Johnny Trueblood>> We don't know if we'll be in this town or another town or where. I walk out this door and everybody says, "Hi, John", you know? You get used to that in life, you know. You go to some strange place, there's nobody there you know. Sam Louie>> City officials would like to see eclectic and funky shops like Trueblood's stay in business, but they also feel businesses must adapt. Brian Brennan>> We don't own the property. Do we just stop progress? I don't see government's role in that. Sam Louie>> If the Truebloods represent old Ventura, others like developer Ray Mulokas represent the new Ventura. [Film Clip] Sam Louie>> His company finished this mixed-use building two years ago in downtown Ventura. Ray Mulokas>> It's a place where people can live and work at the same time. We have some of the people that are doing that. "We have two master bedroom suites with a very large entertainment type kitchen." Sam Louie>> The building is a combination of thirty-three luxury condominiums and several small businesses. The condos range in price from four hundred thousand up to eight hundred thousand dollars each. Ray Mulokas>> That's the way of the future. This is smart growth. We're basically mimicking some of the things that are happening in New York or in Chicago where people live downtown, work downtown and recreate downtown. "Now we're coming out to see what makes all this work. This is the view all around. The ocean is where the fog is at. That's Main Street. . ." Sam Louie>> Mulokas says he chose to build in Ventura because of the city's re-emergence as a destination point for both visitors and new residents. Ray Mulokas>> Ventura was sort of a forgotten city. It was on the way to Santa Barbara and the freeway sort of destroyed Ventura from the beach, but it had a very beautiful downtown. It's one of the few cities that has a downtown very close to the beach. "We're trying to emulate the Old Town of Europe." Sam Louie>> But is this kind of housing too exclusive? At the time Mulokas built the building, he was exempt from an affordable housing requirement. Now developers must set aside fifteen percent of their units for people in low to moderate incomes. Ray Mulokas>> For a city to be vibrant, we have to have all mixes and that's what makes the city. That's what makes the fabric of the city, in other words, a variety of people. Sam Louie>> But finding affordable space in Ventura is tough and getting even tougher. That's because of growth limits called S.O.A.R. passed by voters in 1998. S.O.A.R. stands for Save Our Open Space and Agricultural Resources. Rick Cole>> Voters have approved a variety of measures that restrict outward sprawl, the suburban development where older areas are abandoned and brand new tract houses and shopping malls and business parks are built out further and further and further from the historic central areas of our cities. Sam Louie>> Because developers are restricted from sprawling development, Ventura's existing core of housing and businesses is more valuable. But the question is, will Ventura achieve a balance that other cities have not? Will older mom and pop stores survive next to new hip boutiques and restaurants? Will Ventura become another Santa Barbara, too exclusive for the average person? Or will it remain true to its past as an enduring city where progress can still include everyone? I'm San Louie for Life and Times. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> It's sometimes hard to remember when we're in the midst of a disaster that we aren't the only ones who have had to face massive destruction. Ninety-nine years ago, San Francisco went through a horrendous earthquake and fire. So what does history have to teach us? A lot. Vicki Curry talked with retired Professor of History, Gloria Ricci Lothrop, who sees some very interesting parallels between San Francisco then and New Orleans now. Vicki Curry>> As we see the destruction of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, historians here in California have begun making comparisons with the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Are there similarities between the two? Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> There are, very definitely. Of course, both of these events were the results of natural disasters. That's the first thing. But in both instances, there was a second phase which was far more destructive and unanticipated, of course, in both cases, associated with human error. In the case of the 1906 earthquake, of course, the smoke began to rise over the city and people who'd been cooking their breakfasts caused the igniting of the gas that was escaping throughout the city and the fire began from that. And, of course, the firefighters did the obvious. They began to attempt to extinguish the fires with the hoses attached to the hydrants and nothing came out of the hydrants. Vicki Curry>> Oh, no water available. Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> That's right. Some historians say water pressure, but what we learned through the trials later on, the graft trials, is that many of the hydrants had not been connected. It had just been slipshod work and therein lies the tragedy of the San Francisco earthquake and fire which destroyed ten square miles and displaced a quarter of a million people. Now going over to the other tragedy which we have right now, the Hurricane Katrina, some of the reporters at The Times-Picayune who knew the city so well began noticing that the water level was rising gradually and they realized that the unthinkable was occurring and that is that some of the levees had been breached. So that was the beginning of a tragedy and I say, in this case, man-made because there had been warnings and warnings about the fact that New Orleans had to be protected more carefully and more assiduously. Vicki Curry>> What are some of the other similarities that you see between the earthquake and the hurricane? Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> What surprises many is that, in both cases, the greatest burden fell upon the marginalized both in 1906 and, of course, as we've seen tragically in this hurricane situation. Of the three hundred seventy-eight approximately who died -- Vicki Curry>> -- in San Francisco. Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> In San Francisco, the majority were Chinese, Irish and Italian immigrants who were killed in their beds from falling debris and chimneys and so on from the earthquake itself. As far as reactions and attitudes, the differences are greater. The biggest one is that the people of San Francisco organized themselves very quickly and responded to the situation. A committee of fifty was appointed, almost self-appointed. They were the leaders of the community and they met with General Frederick Funston who was the head of the military unit at the Presidio. San Francisco was our leading port on the Pacific Coast and that's where we had our military troops and our material and that was to serve us well. It was very soon after Funston requested from Secretary of War Taft that supplies be sent that cots and tents and medicine and food, K-rations, all of this kind of thing were supplied to the people of San Francisco. Posters were placed all over San Francisco telling people that, if they looted, the police and the military were empowered to shoot to kill. Vicki Curry>> Really? So looting was an issue for them then too. Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> It was an issue, but it became a non-issue very quickly because of the very rapid response and a very forceful response which followed. Vicki Curry>> We're already seeing some of the immediate effects of Hurricane Katrina back in New Orleans and across the country. What were some of the immediate effects of the earthquake in San Francisco? Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> Well, what some people don't realize is that San Francisco was the eighth largest city in the nation in 1906. It had almost three hundred thousand people and it was the largest city on the Pacific Coast. To point, it was the major trading port on the Pacific Coast. It was a major -- in fact, after New York, San Francisco was the second major trading port in the whole United States. So suddenly that was completely stymied. There could not be any movement of grains or crops from the San Joaquin Valley, from the Delta area. All of that was stopped. The business people were not deterred. They moved their businesses to residences in different parts of San Francisco and the department stores of San Francisco were moved to some of the large mansions on Van Ness Avenue. So it was business as usual rather quickly. So there was a turnaround that was rather rapid in San Francisco. I doubt that we're going to see that in the large area affected by Katrina. Vicki Curry>> Well, as you say, it's going to have quite an impact on all of us and we're still projecting how much and for how long. But when we look back at the San Francisco earthquake, we can see what the long-term effects were in that situation. How did that play out? Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> The economic dislocation was tremendous. There were, of course, many bankruptcies, many foreclosures, people who were not covered by insurance. Beyond that, I mentioned to you earlier that there was a trial, an investigation into the corruption which perhaps had contributed to those disconnected fire hydrants. If there's one long-term effect that touches so many of us even today, it is that the corruption that was revealed as a result of the earthquake and the fire pointed to the need for reform in government and that gave a mandate, a clear mandate, to the growing progressive movement. So we have economic impacts. We have political impacts. But there's one that perhaps is less tangible: losing in part the institutional memory of one part of our country. Hopefully, not the spirit, but perhaps part of the substance. Vicki Curry>> Gloria Lothrop, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us about this. Gloria Ricci Lothrop>> A pleasure. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Val Zavala>> Should elephants be held in captivity? Should they ever be part of a zoo's collection? Even under the best of circumstances, can we give elephants the room they need to thrive? Those are the basic questions that are fueling a controversy at the Los Angeles Zoo and, as Hena Cuevas tells us, even a large new elephant exhibit isn't enough to satisfy some animal advocates. Hena Cuevas>> They're among the most popular animals at the Los Angeles Zoo, the elephants, those huge magnificent creatures that roam the wide open spaces of Asia and Africa. But here in the heart of the city, there is no roaming. The three elephants at the zoo live in an area smaller than many house lots, a quarter of an acre. It's been that way since the 1960's when the zoo was built, but now there are efforts to build them a much bigger home. John Lewis>> There was a small yard on the back side of this before and what we're doing is pushing up that direction and pushing way back on the back side. Hena Cuevas>> John Lewis is the Los Angeles Zoo director. He's overseeing the planning and construction of a new twenty million dollar elephant exhibit called The Pachyderm Forest. John Lewis>> So the new exhibit will take in all this space which is where the deep pool is for the animals to be submerged and then behind the barn to -- I guess it would be to the east northeast. The exhibit will take in the zoo meadows as well as what is existing, the reptile building, all the way up to what previously was the hippo yard. Hena Cuevas>> The Pachyderm Forest is expected to be a state of the art facility. At two and a half acres, the new exhibit is almost ten times bigger than the old enclosure, but that's where the problem lies. Some animal activists claim that's still not enough and they've gotten the attention of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who temporarily halted construction. He's requested a review of the plans. Les Schobert used to be a curator at the Los Angeles Zoo. He says he left because the animals weren't getting the attention they needed, especially the elephants. Les Schobert>> Zoos in general in North America are maintaining elephants in 1960's exhibits, 1940's exhibits. We've learned so much. Now it's time to change and apply that information that we have learned back into these exhibits. Hena Cuevas>> He argues that the existing plans which were approved two years ago don't go far enough in giving the elephants the space they need. Les Schobert>> If you build something that's minimal today and it's going to be three years before it opens at best, by then, is it going to be outdated then? So you're building something minimal. Why not build something that's going to be state of the art today than something minimal today? It seems like a waste of taxpayer money to me. Hena Cuevas>> So how much land is enough? Les Schobert>> It isn't two and a half acres. It isn't five acres. It isn't ten acres. Beyond that, you know, then I could begin to discuss things. Fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, fifty acres? Hena Cuevas>> But how realistic is it to get that amount of land in the middle of the city? According to Lewis, the zoo had to eliminate certain exhibits like the hippos to make room for the two and a half acre Pachyderm Forest. How challenging is this to try and accommodate all these animals on existing land and try pretty much to squeeze everybody in the same space? John Lewis>> Well, it is challenging, but challenging in a good sense. We're always learning new things. It is challenging, but during that process, we have to make decisions too. Do we keep everything that we have? I mean, this zoo itself over the last ten years has drastically reduced the size of its collection to respond to space needs and staff needs to make sure that the animals do have appropriate care. Hena Cuevas>> For the past twenty-five years, Jeff Briscoe has been in charge of the elephants. Jeff Briscoe>> Well, there's a lot of people that just are anti-zoo and an animal like an elephant is kind of a big high-profile animal. There's no question, you know, that the art of keeping elephants is constantly changing. It's changed a great deal in the last ten or twenty years, you know, in space. So, you know, there is something that did need to be changed and we've been making changes within the industry for all this time. Bigger space, better ways of managing them, increased exercise, better health care. So, in a sense, that interest and that push is helpful to everybody. Hena Cuevas>> For Briscoe, elephants need more than just space and the zoo is providing that. Jeff Briscoe>> You want to get all you can get, but it's really what you do with that space. For the last, I would say, eight years, we've had a very active exercise program here that we were looking forward to at least increase the exhibit. Every morning, we would take the elephants and literally walk them for several miles throughout the exhibit. John Lewis>> Is two acres enough? Well, maybe, but how many animals are we talking about? Because it's not only relevant to just general space. It's the management of the animals and how many you have there and what you're doing with them that's important too. Hena Cuevas>> Right now, the zoo has only three elephants with a fourth one temporarily in Tennessee, but that could change if the zoo adopts a breeding program and that potential increase in numbers is what concerns Gretchen Wyler of the Humane Society. Gretchen Wyler>> That would even increase the number of elephants now walking on the concrete of that exhibit. The two acres is now filled with not four females and one male, but maybe two babies. Now all of a sudden, you have seven. I mean, the numbers don't compute. Hena Cuevas>> Earlier this year, Wyler resigned from a zoo committee because of the elephant issue. Gretchen Wyler>> We are hoping that he will ask for a fifteen acre or twenty acre enclosure perhaps in the neighboring area, perhaps in Griffith Park somewhere. Short of that, I would like to believe that the popular opinion will say they shouldn't have elephants here. Hena Cuevas>> But Lewis says that losing the elephants would be a shame because of the animals' educational value. John Lewis>> We're not here just for entertainment. We're here for entertainment for the family and for the friends, but more importantly to get people to think about conservation, think about what's happening to the wildlife in the wild by seeing the animals here at the Los Angeles Zoo. Les Schobert>> Seeing one or two elephants standing in a concrete bunker or make it a two-acre bunker with nothing really to do except man-made objects and playing with a tire or a beer keg. You know, that isn't natural at all. Hena Cuevas>> Both Wyler and Schobert agree that the ideal location for a captive elephant is in a sanctuary like this one in Tennessee. Here, elephants wander over twenty-seven hundred acres. So the question becomes, is Los Angeles the best place for an elephant? But this isn't the only zoo where this debate is going on. All across the nation, zoos are asking themselves these same questions regarding their elephants. Recently, San Francisco transferred their elephants to a sanctuary and Chicago is trying to decide if they should even have any elephants at all. Gretchen Wyler>> Unless you can provide space needed to assure psychological and physical well-being, no, there shouldn't be that species. If they can make it have a life worth living, sure. John Lewis>> I don't think there are reasons why we shouldn't have the elephants here and, then again, the public would like to see them. Seeing them helps them build a conservation ethic, so I think it's important that we keep them. Hena Cuevas>> But is this a case of animal activists just not being happy seeing animals in zoos? Schobert says no. Les Schobert>> I don't have a problem at all with the zoos. I have a problem with quality of life and that is the issue. With elephants, it happens to be space and that's why there is so much resistance. Hena Cuevas>> What's going to happen if it's determined that the elephant exhibit is okay and it goes as is? Gretchen Wyler>> We're going to give it our best shot, but ultimately, you know who it's going to be? The people. The people are going to speak and I think they should. John Lewis>> Let me say that I'm optimistic that we'll be able to keep elephants. I certainly know that we need to be serious about answering the questions to the mayor as well as the public. They have to feel comfortable that these animals are well taken care of. Hena Cuevas>> The project is already a year behind schedule, but in this case, reaching a compromise, they require more patience than bathing an elephant. I'm Hena Cuevas for Life and Times. Val Zavala>> And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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