Niche Marketing

Spent Wednesday night at the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel in Pomona. Thursday morning I discovered the hotel was hosting an indoor dog-show for Yorkshire Terriers.


I guess the Yorkies are too precious to compete outdoors.


After my breakfast meeting in the San Gabriel Valley I made my way to San Pedro for a mid-day meeting. Following my second presentation of the day I had lunch at the delightful Whale and Ale -- a British-style pub on Seventh Street in downtown San Pedro.


Next I went down the block on Seventh Street for dessert at Mishi's Strudel, a Hungarian Bakery and Cafe. I can't say that I'm a strudel expert, but Mishi's sure was good.

Clearly the Sheraton was prepared for its four-legged guests.

Shocked!

Obviously I didn't hear any of the evidence in the Dolla Murder Trial, but I did listen to mini-Opening Statements from the Prosecution and the Defense before getting booted from the Jury Pool so I'm blown away by how this trial ended.

Here's the article from Saturday's L.A. Times:


Man acquitted in rapper's shooting death



Aubrey Berry said he fired at Dolla at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles in self-defense.


By Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times


May 22, 2010


A man who shot and killed an up-and-coming rapper at the Beverly Center last year was acquitted of murder Friday in a case that focused in part on the victim's violence-laced gangsta rap lyrics.


Aubrey Berry, 24, was hugged by his defense attorney as the last of the not guilty verdicts was read in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. Friends and family of rapper Dolla, whose real name was Roderick Anthony Burton II, wailed and sobbed in the audience.


"Obviously, what happened on May 18, 2009, was a horrible tragedy for everyone," Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor told the lawyers in court. "The jurors have spoken."


Berry testified last week that he opened fire in self-defense in the parking garage of the upscale mall. He said Burton, 21, threatened to kill him near the valet desk and reached toward his back as though he were drawing a gun. Police found no weapon on Burton, who was shot once in the left biceps and three times in the back.


Berry testified that Burton had been part of a group of men who kicked and punched him 11 days earlier at an Atlanta nightclub.


Minutes before the shooting, the two men saw each other again while dining separately at P.F. Chang's in the Beverly Center. Berry said he left the restaurant in fear and watched Burton leave a minute later and run at him.


Berry had a concealed handgun on his hip, a weapon he said he routinely carried after being the victim of several violent crimes. He had a permit to carry the firearm in Georgia and other states but said he did not realize the permit did not apply to California.


Jurors deliberated less than two days before rejecting murder or manslaughter charges in Burton's death and assault charges in which Berry was accused of firing at two men who were with Burton at the time of the shooting. Only Burton was struck by gunfire.


Outside court, defense attorney Howard R. Price hailed the jury for carefully weighing the evidence and faulted the district attorney's office for pursuing the shooting as a murder, calling the decision "absurd."


"This is clearly a case of justice being done," he said.


During the trial, Berry told jurors he had learned about Burton through online research after the Atlanta assault. He said he viewed an Internet video in which Burton stood with alleged gang members and boasted about breaking a man's jaw. And he listened to one of Burton's songs in which the rapper glorified gangs and bragged about always carrying a gun.


Price described Burton as a violent gang member and played both the video and the song — "Is You Holdin'?" — during closing arguments this week. He said they showed that Berry was justified in fearing for his life when he shot Burton.


"His music is horrendous, offensive," Price said Friday as he waited for his client to leave court. "I don't think he engendered any sympathy."


Deputy Dist. Atty. Bobby Grace said he was disappointed by the verdict but felt prosecutors presented a compelling case. He said he was unsure whether the rap lyrics swayed the jury.


"You'd hate to think that was the tipping point," he said outside court.


Jurors told the judge they did not want to speak to reporters and were escorted from the courthouse through a secure exit.


Prosecutors argued during the trial that Burton's music was irrelevant. They said his lyrics were simply entertainment: part of a gangsta rap genre that went mainstream years ago. And they accused the defense of victimizing Burton again by characterizing him as a thug.


Prosecutors told jurors that Berry was lying about the shooting and argued that ballistics and blood evidence showed the singer was running away when the fatal shots into his back were fired.


But Price disagreed, saying Burton was stationary and posing a threat when he was shot. The lawyer said the ordeal of the last year had taken a toll on his client, who was housed in isolation in jail to ensure his safety from gang members.


Price said he believed that Berry, who had no criminal record, was the key to his own acquittal.


"He was such a lovable, likable person that I think people understood and accepted his version," Price said. "Aubrey could never have won this case if the jury did not believe him."

The New Bellagio Fountain in Oklahoma

I wonder if they've ever seen anything like it?

What's at the End of the Rainbow in Fresno?

The Chicken Pie Shop, what else?

Does it seem odd there's a cat in the hallway of my hotel?

An Unexpected Remembrance

My sister, Andrea, and I had brunch today in Santa Monica at Chez Mimi, an excellent French country restaurant.

The owner/chef, Micheline (Mimi) Herbert, was a long-time friend of our late Mother so Andrea thought it would be an appropriate place for us to have brunch.

Neither of us had seen Mimi in years so it was delightful visiting with her in her little office off the kitchen. It doesn't seem like Mimi has changed one bit.

Mimi's cooking is just outstanding, especially the desserts. And I'm really glad Andrea suggested going there because we learned that Mimi has sold the restaurant and the new owners are taking over in June. Mimi plans on opening a new restaurant somewhere on the Westside.

Instead of delivering a check to our table, the waitress brought us a note from Mimi that read, "In Loving Memory of your Mother, you are my guests today."

What a delightful and touching surprise!

Made my way to Fresno this afternoon and had dinner at Bobby Salazar's just north of downtown.

I didn't know anything about the restaurant, just thought it looked good from the outside. My food-dar rarely lets me down and tonight was no exception. The food at this Mexican restaurant was excellent.

I guess dinner at 8:15 is pretty late on a Sunday night in these parts. But I wanted to see 60 Minutes before heading out. Sure glad I didn't miss Andy Rooney's take on Lady Gaga.

Customer Retention

Well, I got a new car today at Galpin Ford -- a Ford Fusion.

It's the fourth car I've leased in the last decade and three of those times I've ended up doing business with Galpin -- the No. 1 volume Ford Dealership in the World.

I wouldn't say I'm a repeat customer at Galpin because I'm particularly loyal to Galpin -- rather, I'm loyal to my wallet. And three times out of four Galpin has offered the best deal (as far as I could tell).

Regular readers may recall that Galpin angered me a couple of months ago when they sent me a letter offering to end my current lease early and put me in a new Mustang for less than my expiring lease. But when I got to the dealership they couldn't live up to their own offer.

I blogged about my experience and Galpin's General Manager, Terry Miller (photo above), quickly called me to apologize. And he promised that when I was ready for a new car he'd personally handle the deal if I'd give Galpin another chance. So that was nice.

I approached car shopping a little differently this time. In the past I've put a lot of energy into negotiating the "price" of the car -- I'd get the Consumer Reports information that details exactly how much a car cost the dealer (after the dealer holdback). I'd start by offering the dealer $100 above what the car really cost them and we'd negotiate from there. But then when it came time to finance the lease I'd lose control of the deal. Between setting the residual value and the money factor (equivalent to the interest rate) it always seemed to me the leverage shifted back to the dealership.

This time I identified three cars I was interested in (Mustang convertible, Mustang coupe and a Fusion). I figured out exactly how I wanted each type of car equipped. I created a grid listing the three cars vertically and then three different lease durations (2 years, 3 years and 5 years) horizontally.

I emailed my worksheet to about 8 Ford dealerships in Los Angeles County and asked them to complete the sheet by entering the lowest monthly lease payment they would offer for each of the nine options. Ultimately, it's the monthly payment that represents how much a leased car costs me, not the sales price.

A couple of the dealers didn't respond at all (including Sunrise Ford where I'm a past customer). Three of the dealers offered prices completely not competitive. And three of the dealers were pretty close at the low end of the range.

Worthington Ford ("Go see Cal") had the lowest price and I was ready to get a Fusion from them but then it turns out they "inadvertently" calculated their offer incorrectly and wanted to raise it. At that point the offer from Galpin became the best one.

In the last 48 hours a couple of dealers tried desperately to convince me their deal was better (it wasn't). I simply told them I was done "shopping and negotiating" but I'd be back on the market in three years and they should make a note of my name and next time simply make me their best offer from the get go.

In the meantime, I'm pretty excited about the Ford Fusion (Motor Trend's Car of the Year). Seems to have lots of cool electronic bells and whistles I'm looking forward to figuring out.

It looks like I'm driving to Fresno tomorrow, so we'll see how it does going over the Pinnacle.

Desert Nosh

Thursday I was down in the desert for a meeting and I stopped off at one of my favorite downtown Palm Springs haunts: Sherman's Deli and Bakery. Just me and my peeps enjoying the Early Bird dinner specials.

On Wednesday I was in Westchester by LAX and the googie architecture of Pann's Restaurant did what it is supposed to do: catch the driver's eye and draw them into an inviting atmosphere visible through large windows.

Knock It Off!

Yeah, this is cute but all I can think while watching it is, "I sure feel sorry for the people who live downstairs." That would drive me nucking futs!

Familiar Turf

I'm not a fan of the gangsta rap -- this is more my style.

A Fugitive from Justice

Today I was excused from the jury in the murder trial of gangsta rapper "Dolla."

Here's some information on his slaying last May from AllHipHop.com:

The man killed during a high-profile shooting at the Beverley Center in Beverley Hills, California today was Atlanta rapper Dolla, sources have confirmed with AllHipHop.com.

Dolla, born Roderick Anthony Burton II, hailed from East Atlanta and Los Angeles. He was signed to Akon’s Konvict Muzik imprint.

The rapper was shot and killed shortly after 3:00 PM near the La Cienga Boulevard entrance, after a fight between a group of individuals broke out.

Witnesses report that a woman was seen firing a handgun. Another source said a male suspect was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport as he attempted to board a flight.

Dolla was originally a member of Hip-Hop group Da Razkals Cru, before he landed a gig for Sean “Diddy” Combs as a model for Sean John.

Dolla had gained a buzz via his track "Who The Heck Is That?" which featured T-Pain and Tay Dizm.

The rapper was reportedly working on his debut solo album titled a Dolla & A Dream.


The defendant in the case, a different "rap artist," was arrested at LAX a few hours after the shooting with a semi-automatic weapon in his undershorts.

I can't say I'm upset about not being on the jury for what the judge said would be a two-week trial.

The defense attorney didn't seem to like it when I challenged his suggestion that it's OK for jury selection to go on as long as necessary to secure a fair jury. I said there was a point at which it would simply be dragging it out.

I was the first juror excused by the judge (other than a few jurors who were excused for extreme hardships). It took me all of thirty seconds to get out of the courtroom.

During the lunch break I ate at one of my favorite Downtown Los Angeles restaurants, the Nickel Diner. Located on Main Street (formerly known as Skid Row), it's remarkable how much that part of Downtown has improved in the last few years.

Civic Duty

Spent today in Downtown Los Angeles in the Criminal Courts Building doing jury duty.

I'm currently on a panel of prospective jurors being considered for a trial set to begin next week. I'm not allowed to write about the trial now but I can after I'm excused or the trial is completed.

What I can write about is how much Los Angeles County has improved the jury duty experience since I last was called about five years ago.

They've completely switched over to the one-day jury service system. Jurors are "on-call" for up to five days and if you have to report for jury service you only have to serve for one day or one completed trial.

Two improvements worth noting -- 1) Jurors now can check their status on-line instead of having to call-in. The on-line service is really easy to use and convenient. And 2) -- and this is the big one -- jurors now can complete the orientation on-line. Those who do the on-line orientation are allowed to report to the Courthouse 90 minutes later than other jurors. When you're fighting traffic to Downtown Los Angeles the difference between having to get there at 8 a.m. vs. 9:30 a.m. is huge.

They have a system in place to make sure you really do complete the on-line orientation -- it's timed so you can't blow through it completely and you have to answer a few quizzes to insure you've absorbed the information.

It's not like the questions are really hard. For instance, one question was "In which County will you be performing your Jury Duty?" I'd say that's not setting the bar too high.

Here's one other interesting tidbit I picked up today: Judges aren't allowed to be on Facebook. Never thought about it before, but I guess it makes sense.

Another improvement is the free parking for jurors has moved from an awful Tonka Toy parking structure to the glamorous Walt Disney Concert Hall.

I know Los Angeles County owns the parking lot underneath the WDCH and I'm glad to see they're putting it to good use.

I've been reading about a new restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles that just serves macaroni and cheese. During my lunch break I took the Dash bus about nine blocks to 8th and Spring check it our for myself.

"Mac & Cheeza" was a huge disappointment. If you're only going to serve mac and cheese then at least it ought to be good mac and cheese. This wasn't. It was goopey and flavorless.

And the place is so tiny they don't even have tables -- just a couple of benches available if you don't mind balancing your mac and cheese on your lap.

New York City has a tremendous mac and cheese only restaurant (in the East Village I think).

This round goes to NYC.

Quit Taking My Picture!