Alumni News & Info.-Lincoln High, Los Angeles

"LHS QuickNotes" late news
90th Anniversary Information

More about the L.A.City election... Tuesday, March 8, 2005.

There was the last minute campaigning going on by the candidates.Mayor Hahn, appearing before another group of voters on election eve, was uncharacteristically lively, vowing that he would come out on top.

Check the Steve Lopez column for Monday 3/7/05, in the L.A. Times.He writes a light but insightful piece about the election, the issues and the surrounding disinterest.Lopez’ past columns about the mayoral election are linked on the L.A. Times pages.

The rest of the candidates-

Bob Hertzberg, was the state Assembly speaker of the house in Sacramento, successor to former speaker Antonio Villaraigosa.His major points are the “Commuter Bill of Rights” that aims to help the commute for workers.Many of the workers come from out of the city and are not eligible to vote, so this might not mean too much, but it’s another angle to get votes.Hertzberg, a strong candidate in the San Fernando Valley, is a proponent of breaking up the L.A.UnifiedSchool District into separate districts.He is lively and has a lot of backing from special interest groups, as do most of the major candidates.

Richard Alarcon, a former city councilman, now in the State Senate, is from the San Fernando Valley.He is a candidate without major financial backing, saying that he wants to represent the people not special interests.He is a former school teacher and comes from a working class family in the San Fernando Valley.The voting turnout will be a factor, and his chances of making a runoff election will be improved by more voters coming out.

Bernard Parks, the former police chief and present city councilman, is another opponent of Mayor Hahn, who worked to replace Parks as police chief.Parks has done a credible job in the city council, but may have some problems getting some voters to back him because of the problems of the LAPD during his tenure as chief.He has strong support from many African American voters, a group who supported Hahn in the last election, enabling him to beat Villaraigosa.Parks has integrity and sincerity in his favor, but he may not have the numbers to make the runoff.

Walter Moore, an attorney, as is Hahn and Hertzberg, is the only Republican of the six candidates listed here.He has been kept out of the series of debates, and been largely ignored by the media.Moore declares he cannot be bought, and has no special interest financial backing. His platform, from his website, includes- ending "pay-to-play," obscene waste and "welfare for the rich;" hiring enough police to make all neighborhoods safe; fighting illegal immigration; repealing the business tax; establishing a dog beach and making our animal shelters "no-kill" immediately; fighting high-density development; and opposing any new taxes or bonds.

There should be some impact here, even if he does not make the runoff. He will be taking votes away from either Hertzberg or Hahn, but will probably not be attracting voters from either the Alarcon or Villaraigosa supporters.

By Moore’s calculation, 125,000 votes will get him into the runoff.Interesting consideration, but very much the underdog.

The Turnout

The news reports have predictions of a 33% turnout of the registered voters.There are estimates of 1.5 million eligible voters who are NOT registered.So for every 100 registered voters, less than 33 will be coming out to elect the mayor, with a likely runoff in May for the two top vote-getters.You see the candidates out hitting all sorts of groups, some seemingly very small, but this small turnout will make votes coming from people in these small groups even more significant in this election.

One calculation from an article in the website, The Angelino, figures that about 16% of all potential voters will be responsible for this election’s results.

I still am not certain who I will vote for, but I do not expect my candidate to win, so the vote is going to be just to make a statement that even Hertzberg and Villaraigosa would not be my first choice and, not the first choice for many other voters, as well.

The more interesting election results generally tend to be the races and issues on the local levels, where your vote does seem to have more of an impact, and the outcome is something that you actually may care about, with issues that you may even be informed about. The political process is looking more and more dismal over the years, and there still does not appear to be any really good prospects for President yet identifiable. Time will tell. The Electoral (careful not to say "Electorial") College is a process that has its source in the Constitution. Because of this odd process, the votes that are cast for President do not really count as a total for the candidate as a national count. Instead, the voters of each state are in a "winner take all" condition by which the state's electoral college votes ALL go towards the winner. There is no apportionment of those votes. A change here might be something to think about, but we have been using this process for so long, and an amendment is such a cumbersome process, that it looks like it will go on and on for an equal number of years into the future.

Homcoming: Lincoln v. Franklin- Franklin won. The home team just couldn't match the continual push of Franklin's offense, but still provided a good show, with lots of action. The Homecoming Court was announced at half-time and the time-honored tradition of the Homecoming Dance was held as planned to make up for any disappointment that the game may have cast over the home team's crowd.
Next game: Away at Eagle Rock High, Friday, Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. - This will be the last away game, and then we will have our last home game on Friday, November 12th at 7 p.m., which will have LHS hosting the Marshall High Barristers. A reception honoring our Veterans is planned to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Girls' Gym before the Varsity game.

CAREER DAY is scheduled at LHS for Thursday morning, November 4th, with a luncheon to welcome and thank the attendees for their support of this program. I do not have much information personally on this year's event to pass on, but the idea, as in the past, is to share what you, as a member of the alumni, are doing, how you got their, what the Lincoln years meant to you and how you might have some suggestions for our current students in their preparation for getting out from the shelter of the school. It seems that very few of our students have any strong sense of the value of the education that they can receive at school. High School is going to be the last time that they will have any school for free, since post-high school education will cost them cash for their college, vocational or other training that they intend to pursue.

HIGH SCHOOL TODAY AND IN TIMES PAST: You might consider what you thought about when you were high school age. For those that have a vision of what they will be doing or want to do in the future, good luck and keep going. There is already some motivation there to move forward with their education. For the rest- the wake up call is hoped to come sooner than later. Just how to help our younger members of society to improve their education- from their side of the equation, that is, not from the institution's side- will be the eternal question. The school and the system will be whatever it's going to be. The way the students handle it is about the only variable to count on in the immediate future to influence an improvement in their activities.

What is different now? Ourown high school experience was different than it would be today. We had gangs, a drop out problem, and just the regular clash of students' ideas vs. the adults ideas. But I don't think anyone felt there was an "out of control" condition present. However, there seems to be a lot larger negatives present today. We have gangs and a higher level of violence present. We have a closer tie to death with this violence, and this has served to harden the sensitivities of many young people. A culture with so much actual, not just perceived, violence has created more attitudes that accept, almost to a fatalistic level, the risk of injury or death coming randomly to young people today.

A big change: We have another issue as important, but concerning life, not death. Actually, it's new life- pregnancy. We have a continuing issue of teenage pregnancy, but it is now an "acceptable" situation, or so it seems, in contrast to the times past when it was something that you wanted to avoid at all costs. It was a sign of a big "mistake" whenever it happened in the past. No one wanted to talk about it, especially at a personal level when we were in school. Times have changed.

What will the future bring? Now, the attitude among many students is one of acceptance, and surprisingly, some view it with envy. Children having babies will never be a good outcome. If we learn from our parents, what will these parents have that they will teach to their babies? How does the teenage pregnancy problem happen? Biologically, the answer is simple, but the question posed here is one of how is it considered so lightly, why is it treated so casually? We all have our opinions. Some young parents carry out their newfound parenthood with responsibility, but I suspect that it is handled less capably by the majority of the young parents.

Enough of that issue for now. Just something to consider. There are lots of things different in high school, generally, and at Lincoln, particularly, as compared to the times when you and I were students here. And this is true regardless of how many years it has been since you left Lincoln.

Wednesday, October 27, 2004: This is Homecoming Week at LHS, with a night game coming up on Friday against Franklin High School. The Homecoming Dance will be starting right afterwards in the Gym. The Lincoln varsity team is coming off of a big scoring effort last week, away at Los Angeles High School in a long-awaited victory for this team. The last home game was a week earlier in front of a good-sized home audience. Lincoln faced the formidable opponent and historical rival, Wilson High. Wilson had been accumulating a string of wins this year, with lots of scoring as their trademark.. Lincoln's varsity was putting on a good show that evening for the home crowd, with the defense and offense much improved over earlier games. Wilson, fielding a very strong team this season, came away winning the game but not as easily as some had anticipated. The Tigers were up for the game and managed to get some scoring action developed finally after too many shut-outs. Lincoln's defense kept Wilson's offense in check most of the game, stopping many of Wilson's drives. Even though we lost, It was a good game and Lincoln was able to stay close where many of Wilson's earlier opponents could not.

Our Homecoming Game is going to start at 6 p.m., an hour earlier than usual. JV's will play at 2:30 at home. Tickets are $5.00 at the gate, enter thru the North Broadway side of the field. There was a good crowd at the Wilson home game, and there is still a lot of room for more, so come on down. This is our second year with home games under the lights, and it sure is different from the day games most of the alumni remember. Lincoln will have this game and one more home game on the home field, so come and visit while you can. Remember our Veterans at the Friday, November 12th Football game. Come to the Reception in girls' gym before that game. All Veterans invited

There will be food stands operated by various Lincoln High organizations to handle your appetite and thirst. Be sure to stop by the Alumni Association's food operation by the "visitor's" side of the field (by the entrance to the Girls' Gym), good food and good prices.

Lincoln High's "Parent Conference Night" will be coming up Wednesday, November 10th, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., on the evening before the Memorial Day holiday. Aside from this special date, all parents are invited to come by and visit the classrooms and the teachers who spend each day with your children. Start off with a quick visit on Parent Conference Night to get an idea of how things are going at LHS for your student. A visit will show your support for your children and you can find out more about what you can do to make their time at Lincoln as productive as it can be.
Parents are able to visit classrooms usually anytime during the school day by just calling the particular teacher or the school and arranging a time to come by. It can be for 15 minutes or a half an hour, or you can check a couple of rooms out on one visit. Parents can benefit by seeing what goes on in our classes. It shows your children you care and you can see how they are doing in school. Your visit also helps the teachers know more about what you want for your children and these visits can really help the morale for everyone involved.

Thursday, September 23, 2004: As noted in the "Lincoln High Notes" weblog on this page, there is a home game on Friday at 7 p.m. for the Varsity kickoff, where the Tigers will try to capture a second victory on the home field this season. Tickets are $5.00 at the gate. Parking is ample, available on North Broadway and side streets. As attendance was on the light side for our first game, those of us coming to the games find no parking problems- UNLESS there is a handicapped access situation. For details on that, please call the school office during business school day hours for arrangementsmore information.

A NOTE TO THE OLDER ALUMNI, in the late 50's and continuing into the '60's, AM-Radio was the main connection to our daily source of music. KRLA-1110, KHJ-930, and KFWB-980 were the big stations at various time during this time, as you may remember. One of the true radio pioneers in radio locally was BILL BALLANCE. None of this may be understood by younger generations, having been brought up in the later age of technology.

I received the following message from Don Barret of LA Radio.Com informing me that he has passed away earlier today at the age of 85:

I had the pleasure of meeting him at a conference in November 2001 at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills, along with Dave Hull, the Hullaballoer, and many other major figures in local radio of those times. I heard him from the KFWB'S "Bill Ballance Teen Topics" on Sundays up to the talk radio "Feminine Forum" of the '70's which set off a nation-wide trend of copy cats. He was gifted with an ability to listen, talk and weave many a vivid image in our minds with his remarkable use of the English language. During my meeting with him after the program, I was able to recall many of his past moments from my time in school and he was able to elaborate on many of them. He was an officer in the Marine Corps. before working in L.A. radio, and was a Civil War History buff, with a vast collection of books in his personal library.

I can listen to the radio now and the phrases and cliches that Bill used are continuing to be used by these current assortment of radio people. Of course, in most cases, they do not have any awareness of where so many of these colorful remarks which they use had their origin, and neither are they aware of how much more cleverly such words or phrases were so aptly applied by this language artist. Bill had not been on the air in the L.A. area since the 70's, having moved and then retiring to the San Diego area. For his contributions to the radio industry and his keen ability to make the most of the medium referred to as "The Theater of the Mind," he certainly left his mark and will be fondly remembered by those who knew him, either personally or by hearing him on the air, which was, after all, also to know him. //
/r.g.

Tuesday, August 31, 2004: Reunion, The Summer and Winter Classes of 1964 will be having their 40-year reunion on Saturday evening, October 16, 2004. Join them and get the ticket orders done now. See the event information and order form.

Other alumni and school events: Come to the Sock Hop on Saturday, September 18th, at Girls' Gym, LHS, 7pm to 11 pm ; Football, first game for 2004, Friday night, September 10th. Another home game Friday, September 17th at 7 p.m. You may have noticed the LHS Football poster is up at Dino's. (Also up is Roosevelt's Football Poster- we will play them this year, too.) I don't have a copy of the schedule yet, but have information coming in this summer, segment by segment.

Mark this date, Friday, November 12th, which will be the date for LHS's football game, when the Alumni Association will be hosting a Reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Girls' Gym to honor our veterans and currently enlisted personnel. Historically, LHS has a high amount of alumni going into military service. Many of our younger people may have no idea their friends, relatives and neighbors service to their country.

As a related matter- Some of our vets might consider sharing the times and events of their past to enlighten our youth about the past. A little information here and a little there will serve to pass on our living histories. This goes for everyone, not just the vets and current service men and women. Share information to replace ignorance. Ignorance is such a problem. Ask yourself what you did and thought about during your own high school times. I would guess that you have some different thoughts about those things now. Becoming informed, experienced, educated and more open-minded probably had a lot to do with that.

Young people often have very little or no perception of what those experiences were all about, whether they be good or bad memories. Just think about your own grandparents or great grandparents and think about the stories they told you. What? Yours did not tell you stories or you did listen when they did? Well, now all that information is gone. There is no other equivalent for that unique source. And it was First-Hand information which you could have asked questions about right there adn really learned a lot about your family, about the past or your relatives.

This is the source of our cultural history that is very important at any level of sharing.. So formally educated or not, each person has some knowledge that they can share with younger people. Many people ask what they can do to make the younger generation better. That's a start. A big start.

So it comes down to a special very simple form of communication- Talking. Of course, someone has to want to LISTEN, but working on that part is the challenge. Find a way, talk about how things were when you were young (or "younger" if you are still young). Ask young people what they want to do and how they are going to do it and compare it with the way you did things. Lots of young people have not thought about the future much and might be helped by opening up such topics. So little of an element can help to change people a lot. We can all teach something, and that's important since teachers in schools cannot teach everything to everyone.

Taking some time to pass on some of what you learned can make things and life better, fun, more interesting, or safer for some or many of these younger people. They don't have to be your own children for this to be effective. In fact, many times children will take a story or advice from a non-parent more seriously than if it came from a parent. For example, think about all the things your parents told you "for your own good." What did you think about it? Did you say, "O.K., Mom," or "Sure, Dad," to humor them and then go on and ignore the words.

I remember how my friends used to listen to what my father said more than I did when we were in his shop. I was so used to hearing him, I guess, that I didn't always pay as much attention as I could have. So sometimes other sources than parents can or may carry messages more easily to the younger folks. Try it.

If anyone has comments or experiences that they have about any of this- That these ideas are either good or bad, wrong or right, and want to tell me about that, please share that by email. Maybe there are some suggestions of your own that you would like to add. Let me know. Reduce my level of ignorance and enlighten me all at one time.

People can do a lot more than they think they can. And why not? So think about it.

LHS students begin another academic year on Thursday, September 9th. Have fun this last part of the summer and get ready to come back.

Changes coming at LHS: Progress is reported to be made on observance and enforcement of a Dress Code this year. Parents- pay attention to what your children are wearing. Notices will be provided to parents, but think about it now as you shop for clothes or some students may risk being sent home to change. More on this as it develops.

Completion of Modernization has brought the school air-conditioning everywhere, some elevators to make the campus buildings handicapped-accessible, including wheelchair ramps, restroom changes and so on. Parking for teachers will return as the portable classrooms (trailers) have been taken away during the summer. More on these things later.
/rg

Casino Night Fundraiser a successful event. The Casino Royale Night of Saturday, March 27, 2004, at the facilities of "After the School Bell Rings" in Alhambra, co-sponsored by that program, the Lincoln High School Football Team, and the Lincoln High Alumni Association, was an entertaining event, satisfying the gambler in so many of the guests and supporters of these programs. The food was great and the gaming tables were packed. Refreshments were reasonably priced, plentiful and well-crafted by the head bartender, Dan Ramirez, and his staff of volunteers. It was a good opportunity for many to meet up again with old friends, have some fun and provide some financial support to these organizations. Thanks to the many people who helped make this an enjoyable and productive outing.

Baseball program underway at LHS. The varsity and JV teams are in the midst of a busy season. The Varsity team is being ably coached by Mike Jaramillo and Rudy Martinez, both current LHS faculty members and each with some extensive background as players. The Varsity has been very successful, especially considering the many young players on the roster who will doubtlessly be improving as they get more experience under their belts.

If you get a chance, come to a game and take in a few innings. Home games are played at Rose Hills, usually with a 2:30 start time and limited to 7 innings. Lincoln in recent years has not been known for its baseball teams but this should be changing as the players continue to work together and gain more experience. At a time when many schools have had their baseball programs diluted by the increased interest in other sports, namely soccer, the renewed interest in the baseball program should give the school another opportunity for making its mark on the city sports scene.

Friday, October 31, 2003: Late news, HOMECOMING GAME WILL NOT BE HELD TONIGHT. The game date has been moved by the LAUSD to Monday at 2:15 p.m. Unfortunately, the decision on this item was made by the Board of Education because of poor air quality from fires. (This is for entire district, although there's little or no problem apparent locally with today's air. Our 3rd night game will have to wait.)

The Homecoming Dance for the students will continue tonight, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The Lincoln High Gala 90th Anniversary Reunion and Dance will be held tomorrow at the Biltmore Hotel. Tickets $75.00, Registration and cocktails at 6 p.m., and sit-down dinner to be served at 7 p.m. Dancing to the music of the Chico Band and D.J. Marc Anthony for the evening. If you haven't already reserved tickets, at door purchase available; Tickets for dance only will be $35.00, available after the dinner.

Saturday, October 4, 2003: Lincoln's next home game will by against Belmont next Friday. The first game at night on our home field was a real experience. Roosevelt's team was very tough and won that game against our Tigers. It was good to see a very close neighbor as the opponent, which doesn't always happen now with the way the leagues are set up.

Gala Reunion Dance at Biltmore Hotel, Saturday, November 1st. Pre-Event price: $75.00, $80.00 after some date- see flyers for this.See "90thAnniversary Information," for more details on event. All Alumni Committee members have tickets to sell, and, yes, there will be food, it's just not a sit-down event. There will be food stations and cutting stations for the meat items; you will have tables, as well, so let's not wait until the last minute to act. Get tickets now.

Alumni Registration table will be set up at the Game on Sept. 19th. Get more information there.
Alumni Career Share Day is coming up in October. Volunteers (all the participants are "volunteers") are asked to come to tell students what you did, what you do and what they might do. Luncheon follows.

Since the field lights are now installed at Lincoln, please stop waiting to buy your tickets for this NIGHT game on Friday, September 19th. O.K., some of you were waiting to see if it was really going to happen. (If you have any doubts as to whether they will work, come and see on 9-19.)
NOW, Please see information on this event "90th Anniversary Information" link in the box above Several package deals for the upcoming "Ribbon Cutting" event that evening. Please call Connie & Alfred Alderrete to see if there are more of the special package items still available. There was a cut-off date of 9-1-03, but you might be able to squeeze in some orders if you act quickly. It's now time for those nocturnal-natured Tiger fans to get out to a game.

The missing musical link from last week: The music of our years, from "Home Page of Anthony Hom" and his record charts is here, Pop Charts. Sorry about the mystery; the actual url was noted in the "Lincoln Quick Notes" right after the omission was noticed, but the link is now here for your convenience. ( I again direct you to the 60's, with 1966 as my pick for a milestone year- what an eclectic mix. You won't have all those songs played together again on any radio station like we had then.)

ALUMNI MEETING tomorrow, upcoming events are the main subject. Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at LHS, See Room 201, or if not available, then in the Aud. Call LHS to get updated on that location. Telephone: 323-223-4021.
/r.g.

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