Content is King

I still read several newspapers every day. I watch the morning news before I go to work, and I try to catch a few highlights at night. I listen to the top headlines on the radio, and I traverse the Internet searching for more. I’m always connected to the world on my iPhone, which gives me access to as much information as I can find.

I don’t know if we’re spoiled in today’s information age, but if we want to know something right now, we can. Think about where we’ve come in our lifetimes. If you wanted to find out about something that happened in the past, you could only hope that information was included in your family’s encyclopedia collection. Otherwise, it was off to the library to look it up in books or on microfiche.  News that happened today wouldn’t be known to the world until tomorrow morning, unless it was big enough for the television news. In the pre-ESPN days, we’d wait until 11:25 p.m. to get a few baseball scores. Jim Hill’s “Sunday Sports Final,” gave us a full 15 minutes of sports highlights once a week on Sunday nights after the regular late news. When I was young, I used to race my dad to get the morning newspaper so I could read the sports section first.

Still today, one of my favorite things is to read the local high school football coverage in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin on fall Saturday mornings. Unfortunately, because newspapers have merged or folded, local papers like the Daily Bulletin are more regional. So those local football stories include games 30 or 40 miles away. The local paper isn’t as local anymore. And because the coverage area is much bigger and there has been a dramatic increase in the number of schools, most of the games only get a paragraph or two. Sometimes, the scores don’t even get in.

When I was still in college, I covered local high school and college sports for the Pomona Progress Bulletin, which later merged with the Ontario Daily Report to become the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. The newspaper’s circulation area went about as far east as Cucamonga and west to San Dimas, but coverage expanded beyond those areas to include every school in the leagues that were located in the Pomona Valley. Even with a full-time sports staff of four or five guys, they covered almost every local high school game. That’s because there were plenty of “stringers” like me, working for $15 a game. We all did it for experience, because our journalism teachers told us we should. I ended up covering high school football and basketball for about four years. It certainly wasn’t for the money. I loved it, because I’ve always loved sports, no matter what the level of competition. In fact, I still go to high school sporting events regularly from September through May, and I rarely miss a Friday night of football.

We didn’t have laptop computers when I strung for the Progress Bulletin, so we had to write the story back at the newsroom. When I first started, the newsroom didn’t even have computers. We keyed the stories on Selectric typewriters, with special codes that were picked up by the machines that would covert the text for the typesetters.

By the time an evening football or basketball game ended, the building was locked up for the night. I’d have to ring a doorbell and hope somebody would hurry down while I waited on the corner of Third and Thomas streets in downtown Pomona. It wasn’t the best neighborhood, although I think it was pretty lively in its heyday. I always remembered when I was much younger going to the movies at the Fox Theater a block away on Garey Avenue. It was a great place then, but by the time I was in college, the area had changed dramatically. I never had problems as I waited to get into the building, but there were plenty of times I held my breath as I stood on the empty, dark streets and a car would slowly cruise by. Once inside the massive front door, the long, majestic old staircase on the right led to the newsroom upstairs. The vast open room filled with desks was mostly empty at that hour, except for the sports staff and stringers, along with a reporter or two covering the police beats.   

That night’s game pairings were all written on a whiteboard, and each reporter filled in the score from his game as he came in. If it was an important game late in the season, the sound of the typewriters fell silent as all eyes watched with curiosity as the reporter posted the numbers. Assistant sports editor Don Bradley would inevitably get mad at somebody, and he’d end up yelling at a coach calling in to find out scores of other games. Then it was back to business, because the deadline was near. I usually had less than an hour to compile the game stats, format a box score and then write my story. Adrenaline took over and we all got it done. I think the “rush” that came from writing on deadline was what kept me going back year after year. Seeing my by-line only a few hours later on the front page of the sports section (and sometimes the front page of the entire newspaper) certainly added to the personal satisfaction as well.

The beauty of local sports coverage was that it used to be truly confined to the surrounding communities. The local newspaper would pick up the Associated Press coverage of the professional and major college teams, but they’d also send their own reporters to cover those games on occasion, too. Don Bradley often went out to the big games, but usually only to watch the game and eat the free press box food before returning to print the AP story of the game he just attended. But for the most part, the readers in the Pomona Valley got the perspective from the reporters who lived in their community or the one next door. You felt like you knew the local kid who made it big.

Mark McGwire was one of those guys. I covered some of his basketball and baseball games when he was at Damien High, and then later when he played on the Claremont American Legion team that played for the state championship. Although his acclaim to that point had come as a pitcher, he started hitting home runs at a frantic pace that summer for the American Legion team. He hit a ball out of the Claremont McKenna College field that went over the tall juniper trees that lined the outfield fence. He later went to play at USC, where our paths would occasionally cross while I was there as a graduate student. I’d also go watch games at Dedeaux Field on campus, where another Claremonter, Randy Robertson was also on the team, as was a tall, raw left-hander named Randy Johnson. Since I continued to contribute to the Prog, sports editor Bill Langley asked me to write a feature story on McGwire. I was living in L.A. at the time, but I came home to file the story on a day when Langley was off and Bradley was in charge. My story ran longer than Bradley wanted, and he barked at me that McGwire would never be big enough to deserve that much attention.  

I wish we still had the local sports coverage, but the newspapers are struggling to survive, and their financial and personnel resources are limited. Still, you’d think that since the greatest appeal of a local newspaper is its local news coverage, there would be a higher priority on “backyard” stories and less on the wire-generated stories that anybody can find almost anywhere online. The local stories are what make the local media unique. Aside from local game coverage, the best thing in the current Daily Bulletin sports section is Louie Brewster’s weekly column.

Today’s newspapers are fighting a losing battle. I love them, but unless you grew up reading them, there is no logic in starting now. Unlike free online content, newspapers cost money only carry yesterday’s news.

Instead of sending out reporters to cover all of the local games, sports editors today rely on coaches to call in their scores and game highlights. If a coach doesn’t call, then the game didn’t happen.  Like it or not, coaches now have the responsibility of being a reporter, too – or at least assigning it to someone else. The good thing is that today there are other alternatives to the daily newspapers, including a host of online sites. Most colleges and high schools have their own athletics websites, with separate sites for every sport. And MaxPreps is a great one-stop site that has information from every high school in the nation. It not only includes scores, but also box scores from every game and complete statistics, as well as league leaders and standings. MaxPreps has become the best option for fans wanting quick information. In most cases, it’s the only alternative. But if the content on MaxPreps isn’t kept current, or if individual team websites aren’t providing up-to-date information, then the technology is useless. It’s like not updating your blog in a timely manner.

No matter how technology changes the world, the medium that best delivers the information will be the most relevant, because it is the content that matters, not the method of delivery. It’s true: content is king.

Fair Concerts

The Los Angeles County Fair announced its 2009 End of Summer Concert Series and Adrenaline Nights lineup today. The Fair starts on Saturday, Sept. 5, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 4.

Check out the Fair's concert Web page for ticket information and show details.

Here's the lineup:
Sept. 5 Al Green and the Spinners
Sept. 6 Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert
Sept. 7 Jaguares
Sept. 10 Monster Truck Madness
Sept. 11 Peter Frampton and Kansas
Sept. 12 Good Charlotte
Sept. 13 Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sept. 17 Creedence Clearwater Revisited
Sept. 18 WAR and Average White Band
Sept. 19 LeAnn Rimes
Sept. 20 Mariachi USA Fiesta
Sept. 24 TBA
Sept. 25 Donna Summer
Sept. 26 Ciara
Sept. 27 The Beach Boys
Oct. 1 Demolition Derby
Oct. 2 Charlie Wilson and the Gap Band
Oct. 3 World Championships of Freestyle Motocross
Oct. 4 Shinedown, Puddle of Mud and Saliva

Down The Stretch They Come

LA Sketchbook's Steve Greenberg in LA Observed

The Los Angeles Times wrote recently that Hollywood Park racetrack could soon give way to a $2 billion real estate development.

While rumors of the demise of Southern California’s major horseracing venues have been making the rounds for several years, this time it might actually happen. Given the state of the economy it’s no surprise that Hollywood Park ownership would rather invest in a development project that could bring big returns, as opposed to sinking more money into a sport that continues to decline.

The Inglewood City Council on June 3 approved the final environmental impact report for a proposed development on the Hollywood Park property, thus replacing the racetrack with a retail center.

The next step is for the council to approve an ordinance for the development agreement, and that is scheduled to happen on July 8.

I watch this with interest, not only because Hollywood Park was where I had my first “real” career job out of college, but because the closure of the 71-year-old racetrack would be another nail in the coffin for the sport in Southern California. Or, it could mean that the horse racing industry will try to stay alive by looking elsewhere to fill the void. And if it does, then Fairplex Park in Pomona could be a possible candidate.

For that to happen, the track probably would likely have to be expanded from its current 5/8-mile configuration, to a main-track oval of at least a mile. And the grandstand, which was constructed in 1933, would have to be rebuilt. Of course, that takes money, not only to expand the track, but also to raze or relocate the current structures that stand within the footprint of the bigger track.

I suspect that if the industry wants thoroughbred racing to continue in Southern California, it will find the bucks to construct what would essentially be a brand new racetrack. If not, then the sport will probably continue its slow decline, trusting fans will still visit the old venues at Santa Anita and Del Mar, plus the Los Angeles County Fair meeting at Fairplex thrown in every September (recently shortened to 15 days). Without something to attract new fans and rejuvenate the faithful followers, I don’t know that there would be enough to keep horse racing alive. A new track and grandstand could make Fairplex Park the premier racing venue in California.

But would that be enough to revive horse racing? Hollywood Park had to cancel a day of racing earlier this season, and the track is now running four days a week instead of the traditional five. Del Mar and Fairplex Park have had reduced the number of days they race, too. Santa Anita is reportedly in bankruptcy protection, and the track is for sale.

Since I haven’t worked at Fairplex in many years, I don’t know if the Fair Association even wants to expand the track to a mile anymore. If it makes good business sense, then I’m sure they’ll consider it. But it will take OPM (other people’s money) to make it happen, and I have no idea if it’s a priority. The investment will have to come from the various sources throughout the horse racing industry. And it won’t be cheap.

The idea of expanding Fairplex Park to a mile has been tossed around for years – as far back as 1995, when I still worked there. Back in 1985, the track was expanded from one-half-mile to 5/8-mile, which was fine for the Fair meeting, but not for a regular horse racing season like those held at the major racetracks. So engineers and architects plotted out the new track configuration, and experts estimated the construction costs at around $10 million. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same project today is 10 times that price, if not more. Just a few years ago, Fairplex Park officials presented a new expansion plan to the California Horse Racing Board.

The cost was the prohibitive factor years ago, and there wasn’t interest from the industry or other investors to add another racetrack to the Southern California circuit back then, either. Nor was there a need. The industry had other priorities than to spend money to expand a perfectly good track that was only used for a few weeks of racing every September. Without outside interest in building a new mile-long track at Fairplex and granting the racetrack additional racing dates, the Fair Association considered dropping the sport completely.

But horse racing during the Fair has remained a money-maker, even with the limited schedule and bullring track. Even with today’s continued downward spiral in popularity, I assume horse racing still contributes greatly to the bottom line. And so the idea of expanding the track probably still has merit. Only now, it appears that it’s the horse racing industry that needs Fairplex Park, rather than the other way around.

Last year, Blood-Horse magazine speculated that if Hollywood Park should close, the Inglewood track’s dates could be moved to Pomona. The article noted that legislation was in the works to provide financial assistance for a proposed Fairplex Park expansion plan.

No racetrack will ever relive the pre-satellite wagering days when the grandstands would be packed for horse racing, but the Pomona track has an incredible advantage over other tracks in reaching out to potential new fans. There are tens of thousands of people on the grounds every day during the Los Angeles County Fair, and usually more than 100,000 every weekend day. All they have to do is go inside to watch the horses run. The wagers will follow.

Seems simple enough, but the current configuration of the facility doesn’t exactly say “come on in.” But back in 1933, the people who built the place were probably trying to keep the masses out instead of bringing them in. They had no trouble filling the house and had to turn people away.

But trends change. This time around, architects and industry experts need to take a careful look at their audience and the state of their sport. Horse racing needs to reinvent itself if it wants to survive. Some traditions are fine, but this is an activity that’s gasping for air. It needs a big shot of something strong.

The architectural design of the physical plant can make Fairplex Park the boost the industry needs -- an entertainment destination that separates itself from the racetrack grandstands throughout Southern California that were built in the 1930s. It needs to be so unique that it is a lure for those people already on the fairgrounds, but also for anyone looking for a leisure-time alternative. Done right, it would be more than a racetrack. It would be the entertainment anchor to support the addition of other developments at Fairplex like restaurants and retail outlets, and it would boost the Fair, NHRA drag races and the other events at the complex.

Whatever direction this goes, the idea of expanding the Fairplex Park track is either a really great one, or an incredibly bad one. There’s no middle ground (unless, of course, it really is done with other people's money). It would be a risky move, but it might be more of a risk for the horse racing industry to not do something like this.

So before I get too much farther ahead of myself, especially in this economy, let’s see what happens next in Inglewood. These things never seem to happen fast, but Southern California horse racing needs a big stretch run before it gets clipped at the finish line…or even worse, comes up lame around the turn.

Stay tuned.

Things That Aren't Here Anymore

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin columnist David Allen will occasionally include columns in the newspaper or on his blog site about restaurants and businesses that have closed, been replaced or are simply not there anymore.

I started thinking about some of the places I’d go with regularity around Claremont and the Pomona Valley when I was younger. It’s surprising just what isn’t here anymore.

For example, way back when I was really young, there was a restaurant on the corner of Foothill and Garey in Pomona called Henry’s, where you could park and the carhops would take your order and serve you in your car. It had an elaborate dining area inside, which seemed like a contradiction to the pre-fast-food approach outside. That place was long gone well before I could drive, so I never really experienced it much. It gave way to a series of other restaurants, including Tiffany’s, the Northeast Corner and the Odyssey Disco before becoming a strip mall.

My family would often shop in the center on the southeast corner of Garey and Foothill, where we called the Thriftymart grocery store “The Big T” because of the huge “T” sign. There was Owl Drug, Sprouse-Rietz, a pet store, a baseball card shop and a Keds shoe store that was run by midgets. Across Garey was the bowling alley, which was one of the few places kids could go hang out, along with the old miniature golf course on the corner of Foothill and Lynoak (where Dave Bosson was successfully convinced to switch girlfriends—for a couple of days).


The movie theaters were still single-screen theaters, except for the one behind the Montclair Plaza that had three separate theatres. Claremont had the Village Theater, which was the one and only form of nightlife in downtown Claremont at the time. The streets shut down early, including the few downtown restaurants. At night, Claremont was a ghost town, except for the Village Theater.

Pomona had the Fox Theater and the United Artists Theater. The Fox is still there, but it hasn’t been the Fox in probably 40 years – although it is currently being renovated. The Mt. Baldy Drive-In at White and Foothill in La Verne went away 20 years ago, but was always great fun on a summer night.

When the “new” Albertson’s opened on Towne and Foothill, we found ourselves venturing a mile east for some of our shopping. And in the same center sprang up a Value Fair, where you could find pretty much anything. All of those places – gone.

The other grocery store in town was the Stater Bros. on the southeast corner of Foothill and Indian Hill. There were tunnels that went under those streets so pedestrians wouldn’t have to cross in heavy traffic on the way to the old Claremont High School. I can barely remember when that was a campus, but I remember the previous iteration of shops that replaced the classrooms, as well as the Griswolds’ Restaurant. The old gym was known as “the Pavilion” before it became the Candlelight Pavilion, and we had quite a few dances and other events over there.

For a quick dinner, we’d go to Tugboat Annie’s or Magic Towers on Foothill. My friend Mike Radlovic’s dad owned Magic Towers, and I think most kids who grew up in Claremont around then remember the day when Batman and Robin made guest appearances.

We’d often eat at Jongs Chinese restaurant in Cucamonga, which is now a Vince’s Spaghetti restaurant (we always went to the Ontario Vince’s too, but that is still there). Any trip to the east meant a ride over "the dips" on Baseline just east of Padua. Those were flattened as the road was widened from the Piedmont Mesa area just west of Claremont east through Upland and beyond.

Even after the dips were gone, I still remember being in high school and driving home late from Jim Moore’s place in Upland, and not feeling the need to stop at any of the few stop signs scattered between Mountain Avenue in Upland and my house in west Claremont. There was nothing but orange groves on both sides of the street, and no traffic. The stop signs served little purpose late at night. There wasn’t a stop at Baseline and Towne until my senior year, and when they finally put one up, Jim wanted to take an axe to it.

All of those orange and lemon groves brought an incredible and memorable smell to the entire area. That is what I remember about summer nights in Claremont, but that strong but welcome aroma doesn’t exist here anymore, either.

When I got into high school, my friends and I would venture off campus for lunch down at the In-N-Out on Towne Avenue just north of Arrow, or across the street to Jack in the Box. Sometimes we’d get a burger over at the Orange Julius at Foothill and Berkeley, where lots of Claremont High people worked. Those are all gone.

There were all sorts of after-game Claremont hangouts that aren’t around anymore, like Betsy Ross (where I worked in high school), Sambo’s, the Railroader, Straw Hat Pizza (now Eddie’s Pizza). We’d go there when we weren’t headed to the after-game dances, which they don’t hold anymore, either.

Back when Claremont High was an open campus that operated with a college-style “module” class system, we’d frequently pass time by going to the Sportsman sporting goods store owned by Bim Jollymour and Rhino Records in downtown. Rhino is still around, but it has moved twice since then, now occupying the old Bentley’s market. Then we’d go look for more records at the Wherehouse and Music-Plus stores on south Indian Hill, and then go test stereo equipment at Pacific Stereo. I eventually worked there, too. Another place I worked, the Pomona Valley Creamery on Mission in Ontario, is also gone.

Indian Hill was an interesting street, too. I remember when my mom would drive past the bank in the downtown area, where the fountain was always filled with soap suds. It got to be such a problem that they filled the fountain with dirt and it became a planter. Up the street was Memorial Park, which we’d pass going to and from Little League games at College Park. It was during the 1960s, and I remember all of the hippies sitting in a circle smoking weed in Memorial Park, and we couldn’t go there because it was dangerous.

College Park is still the home of Little League in Claremont, but back then there were two leagues. They shared the fields, but Claremont National played its major league division over at St. Ambrose field, which was on Mountain Ave. south of the church on Bonita Ave. It’s been an apartment complex for probably more than 30 years now.

There were also a couple of Pony League fields in Claremont. They were the baseball fields from the old high school, just south of what is now the CHS football field. Those had to be the absolute worst baseball fields ever, but I bet Claremont school officials wish they had the land back to expand their athletic fields. Instead, the fields are now the site of town homes and weed-filled parking lots.

Looking back, the other thing people probably remember are the places they could buy beer before turning 21. There were a bunch of them, but I don’t think any of them exist today -- probably because they sold beer to minors. There was North Hills Liquor on Towne, right next to the Driftwood Dairy. Both were very lax about asking for IDs. Bourbon Street and Lasagne Liquor in Claremont were a little harder, as was the Liquor Locker in La Verne. But the best place was the 7-11 on Garey and Harrison in Pomona. It was a sure thing (except for Doug Jollymour). Everybody called the owner “Ali-Baba,” because he wore a turban (well before the days of being politically correct). Ali had to know he was selling beer to minors, because the pricetags seemed to change every time we’d go in. He knew he could get away with hiking up the price. Simple economics, until he got caught too many times and was shut down.

When I reached college and beyond, we'd go to drink and eat at now-defunct local places like Sneaker's, Lord Charlie's, El Gato Gordo and a few places in La Verne that seemed to change names and ownership every six months. Those have all disappeared, except the Buffalo Inn, which is still a reliable venue for a cold beverage.

I'd meet friends there after our softball games or after covering local sporting events for the Pomona Progress Bulletin. That was great experience and a lot of fun. The newspaper merged with the Ontario Daily Report many years ago. The old “Prog” building is still there in downtown Pomona, but it’s no longer used for the newspaper business. That’s another industry that has seen its better days, and may not be around too much longer, either. That’s because people can find all they want by reading blogs and such. And so it goes.

I’m sure there are a lot of other places and things that I’m forgetting about. If you have memories of these places, or of other things that aren’t here anymore, please leave a comment.

The Alumni Club

Colleges, universities and high schools all have alumni associations to stay connected with their graduates. The organizations give the former students an avenue in which they can find out about the latest news from their old schools. Even if they never go back for a reunion or other function, the alumni can stay in tune with their old campus, favorite professors and former classmates.

The benefit to the schools, of course, is that they have a built-in group to tap for fund-raising and advocacy purposes. Who better to tap than people who already have a vested interest in your institution?

So why don't other organizations create alumni groups? We've all had jobs where we left (on our own terms) and we still have old friends and an interest in the well-being of the company. And most companies are in the business of friend-raising -- finding a few people to speak on their behalf at the local city council meeting or with other groups. And every non-profit organization is certainly looking for more "financial prospects" to cultivate.

Why not start at home? No, I don't think former employees are especially anxious to be hit up for money by their former employer, but if the workers left on good terms and a good experience, then it makes sense for companies to keep the bridge intact. When somebody leaves a company, they clearly have a different view than they did when they worked there. Perhaps that input can be valuable.

Of course, this approach doesn't work for everybody, but it still makes sense. Several years ago the Los Angeles Dodgers held a reunion for former and retired employees. Former owner Peter O'Malley hosted the event at Blair Field in Long Beach at a Long Beach Armada baseball game. The team plays in the independent Golden Baseball League, but nobody really cared about the action on the field. The fun was in visiting with former co-workers. The setting was different, but it was much like going back to a high school reunion. Former front office personnel traded stories with ex-players and coaches, just like the walls seem to come down between the high school band geeks and cheerleaders at their reunions. It was a great way to bring people back.

No, the Dodgers don't have an alumni association for former employees, but they do have one for former players. They go to reunions and things like that, and some of them are part of the team's speakers' bureau (at least they used to be a couple of ownerships ago).

I'd love to see the same thing at Fairplex. I'd go to the reunions and speak on behalf of the organization. And if it was done right, I'd likely give a few bucks, too.