Talking Points
Nate 'n Al's Deli in Beverly Hills
Talking Points is an occasional roundup of short takes on the news and observations. Between posts follow LA Observed on Twitter.
Nate 'n Al's might be in play
Eater LA posted the
rumored news on Monday: venerable Beverly Hills deli
Nate 'n Al, open since 1945, may be close to being sold. Of there may be no deal, or there may be a deal struck to keep Nate 'n Al's in its longtime location on North Beverly Drive. Eater says the most solid report may be coming from LA food writer Jordan Okun, who first tweeted that the deli and hangout was sold, then that the sale is "almost done" with talk of moving to a new location, then followed with this:
Says Eater:
Whispers of a sale first appeared over the weekend, but so far there has been no confirmed report from the restaurant. Eater reached out to one of the owners directly, but has received no response back yet. Meanwhile a call in to the restaurant provided a terse “no comment,” though there is plenty of speculation happening on social media at the moment.
A potential sale would be a massive blow as one of LA’s most beloved, and longest-running restaurants. The first Nate ‘n Al Delicatessen opened in 1945, before expanding to multiple locations throughout Southern California over the years — including LAX. Now only the Beverly Hills restaurant prevails...
Founders Al Mendelson and Nate Rimer met in Detroit, and opened a 30-seat restaurant that continued to expand significantly over the years to make room for wealthy Beverly Hills types and folks from the entertainment industry. Today, Nate’n Al Delicatessen is operated by Mendelson’s grandsons, Mark and David.
Register finds culture of sexual abuse of underage U.S. swimmers
The Orange County Register's Scott M. Reid has landed another investigation into sexual abuse of amateur athletes by the sport's responsible adults.This time it's in the world of competitive swimming, with a mountain of documents providing details that echo the earlier alarms by Reid and others about the abuse of gymnasts.
Reid and the Register have been here before, reporting as early as 2004 on the sexual abuses of gymnasts.
New from the Register and the Southern California News Group:
Top USA Swimming executives, board members, top officials and coaches acknowledge in the documents that they were aware of sexually predatory coaches for years, in some cases even decades, but did not take action against them. In at least 11 cases either [Chuck] Wielgus or other top USA Swimming officials declined to pursue sexual abuse cases against high profile coaches even when presented with direct complaints, documents show. With some of the complaints, the decision not to pursue the case was made by Susan Woessner, USA Swimming’s current director of Safe Sport.
For example, three U.S. Olympic team head coaches, and a USA Swimming vice president were told in the 1980s that a world-renowned coach has sexually abused a female swimmer beginning when she was 12. Wielgus was informed of allegations against the coach at least three times in recent years. But not only did USA Swimming not pursue a case against the coach, it allowed him to continue to have access to USA Swimming facilities, U.S. Olympic and national team events, and the Olympic Training Center. USA Swimming even awarded the club owned and operated by him more than $40,000 in grants. The coach was only banned after pleading guilty to sexual assault, more than a quarter-century after the abuse was first brought to the attention of the Olympic coaches.
• In the more than 20 years since Wielgus took charge of USA Swimming in July 1997, at least 252 swim coaches and officials have been arrested, charged by prosecutors, or disciplined by USAS for sexual abuse or misconduct against individuals under 18. Those coaches and officials have a total of at least 590 alleged victims, some of them abused while attending pre-school swim classes.
Also this: "USA Swimming since at least 2010 has kept a list of more than 30 coaches and officials 'flagged'...after being arrested or accused by law enforcement of sex crimes including rape and child pornography, but not disciplined by USA Swimming. Some coaches and officials on the 'flagged' list have not been banned even after they have been convicted of felonies."
Here's a nice gesture on Twitter by Shelby Grad, the assistant managing editor at the Los Angeles Times — which is to say, the Register's rival.
'We must recognize that something profound has changed in our profession;
We must recognize that something profound has changed in our profession.
Journalism may not work as it did in the past. Our work’s anticipated impact may not materialize. The public may not process information as it did previously.
The president of the United States may well be on to something when he emphasizes, as he routinely does, his television ratings. Or when he explained, as he did in October, his behavior on Twitter by declaring, “You have to keep people interested.” Or when he remarked of the generals in his cabinet, immediately after his swearing-in on January 20, “I see my generals. These are central casting.”
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In fact, Trump’s showmanship goes incredibly deep. In the 1980s when his first marriage had collapsed, as one of The Post’s writers recently recalled, “Trump not only didn’t push back when tabloid newspapers turned the collapse of his first marriage into a daily soap opera; Trump actively participated in the scripting of the drama, calling gossip writers, dishing out salacious morsels almost by the hour.”
“The show is Trump,” he said then, “and it is sold-out performances everywhere.”
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Washington Post executive editor Martin Baron delivered a speech last week at the University of Oxford on the challenges facing reporters and the news media in the face of Donald Trump's attacks. He begins by wondering why so often now the facts reported by journalists are ignored by ordinary people in favor of impressions. Why the test of credibility is not a past record of making true statements, but the impression of sincerity, authenticity, vulnerability or attractiveness. Why Americans are increasingly choosing not just their own opinions, but their own facts.
One of the mountain lions under study in the Santa Monica Mountains killed a miniature horse Sunday morning in a family's corral in Newbury Park in Ventura County. The lion was chased off from feeding on the horse's carcass by sheriff's deputies firing bean bags.
The City Council in Montclair passed an ordinance in December that tries to ban walking while distracted, or at least crossing the street. The law says in part, "No pedestrian shall cross a street or highway while engaged in a phone call, viewing a mobile electronic device or with both ears covered or obstructed by personal audio equipment.”
