Smogdance Film Fest at the Fox

We almost forgot, but the Smogdance Film Society is holding their annual film festival today at the Pomona Fox Theatre beginning at noon. Tickets are $5.

The Smogdance fest returns to the Fox after using the Claremont Laemmle for last year's event. You may recall there was a bit of power struggle connected to Smogdance. Pomona's dA Center for the Arts accused former festival director Charlotte Cousins of hijacking the event.

Cousins is out of the picture now, and the dA is back in charge.

Weekend in Pomona

The Daily Bulletin tells us that the Pomona PD will conduct a DUI checkpoint from 9pm tonight to 3pm Sunday morning, as well as a "city-wide saturation patrol." So watch your drinking and driving if you're passing through Pomona tonight.

Besides making for safer streets, these checkpoints must be a money maker for cities. They're underwritten by federal grants, and they generate revenue from the citations the police hand out.

* * * * *

If you're looking for a family activity this weekend, John Clifford at M-M-M-My Pomona writes that there will be a screening of the original "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (the one with Gene Wilder) at the Fox Theatre in downtown Pomona tomorrow at 2pm. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for kids under 12. Doors open at 1pm.

Also, Clifford says that they'll be a whole lotta shakin' going on at the Fox on September 25 when Jerry Lee Lewis comes to the Fox for a concert. Tickets start at $30, and you get all the info here.

Chop House Update

Here's an update to our post from Saturday:

Daily Bulletin reporter Wes Woods II covered the Forks Chop House closure in today's paper. The article said the restaurant was unable to reopen following a December 2008 kitchen fire because its insurance company apparently denied the restaurant's business interruption claim, which would have reimbursed the owners for the business they otherwise would have transacted.

The Forks' landlord, Jeved Management, apparently wasn't able to hold the restaurant's space during the lengthy period the owners were trying to settle their insurance claim. Woods' article said:

The restaurant didn't have enough money to reopen because its insurance company refused to pay business interruption fees, co-owner Mark Bollinger said.

Restaurant officials didn't provide information about how much money is owed to them.

"In the meantime, the landlord came to us and said `I can't wait for an insurance settlement,"' Bollinger said. "`I'll have to pull the plug and get someone else.' "

Jeved Management, incidentally, is owned by the Tessier family, which also owns Arteco Partners, the developer that restored the Fox Theatre in Pomona, as well as the Padua Hills Theatre, and the Claremont Packing House where Forks was located. Jeved filed a lawsuit against Forks in Pomona Superior Court last year, possibly in connection with a lease dispute. It appeared to have resolved fairly quickly, according to the court's information:

Case Number: KC056128
JEVED MANAGEMENT INC. VS MICHAEL A. BOLLINGER

Filing Date: 06/25/2009
Case Type: ED/Commercial (not Drugs/Evict) (General Jurisdiction)
Status: Dismissed - Other 09/14/2009

-----------------------------------------
Future Hearings
None

-----------------------------------------
Parties

BOLLINGER MICHAEL A. - Defendant
JEVED MANAGEMENT INC. - Plaintiff
TESSIER VICTOR G. ESQ. - Attorney for Plaintiff
THREE FORKS STEAK HOUSE - Deft's DBA

-----------------------------------------
Documents Filed (Filing dates listed in descending order)

09/14/2009 Ord of Disml with prejudice
Filed by Attorney for Plaintiff

09/02/2009 OSC-Failure to File Proof of Serv
Filed by Clerk

06/26/2009 Notice-Case Management Conference
Filed by Clerk

06/25/2009 Complaint Filed


-----------------------------------------
Proceedings Held
None

Today's Bulletin article makes it sound as if Bollinger's claim now includes the entire value of the business, not just the income loss they suffered. Bollinger was also quoted as saying that the Forks' owners have retained an unnamed Claremont law firm to represent them.

We suspect that, if a bad faith suit with any merits is in the works, the law firm the Forks retained could be Shernoff Bidart Echeverria, which in 1979 was responsible for a landmark case called Egan v. Mutual of Omaha that allowed consumers to sue their insurance companies for wrongfully denied claims and to be compensated for emotional distress and punitive damages in addition to the value of the underlying claim. (Translation: mucho mas dinero.)

Shernoff's website explains that Egan created the whole practice area of bad faith litigation. If we were in the Forks' shoes, we'd sure want that firm representing us. SBE is not just the best in the business; they invented the business.

Pomona Lives

Pomona Public Library Image
We were in downtown Pomona last night, grabbing a bite to eat at El Merendero #2 and picking up some panes dulces for breakfast, and we noticed the Fox Theatre sign up and running in blue and red revolving neon. The marquee, too, was lit up and announced that the theater was having its sneak preview fundraiser tonight. It looked like the work wasn't quite complete, but, with all the shiny new neon, you couldn't help but feel transported back 60 or 70 years.

The non-profit Friends of the Fox Theater website tells the event is sold out, but the public will have plenty of opportunities to check out the new old Fox, beginning with the Smogdance Film Festival, which runs April 24-26.

The Daily Bulletin has plenty of coverage, including an an article by David Allen, who details the restoration work, including the job done by Pasadena-based ForSight Creations:

A crane with a 90-foot boom was used last August to haul down the sign, which was taken by the contractor to Pasadena for refurbishment.

ForSight Creations stripped, sandblasted and repainted the red sign. Workers also replaced all the neon, returning its original colors: red on one side, blue on the other.

They also rebuilt the motor that spins the sign, then used a crane to reinstall the sign in November.

ForSight, which in 2001 replicated historic signs at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, also restored the Fox marquee, which dates to 1947.

"It has over 1,100 pieces of new neon in it," ForSight president Rob Jobson said. "It's definitely the old-school theater marquee brought back to life."

John Clifford has more information over at M-M-M-My Pomona, and a comment from Meg says us that Gogol Bordello will be playing at the Fox come May.

Downtown Pomona Happenings

David Allen had a column in Wednesday's Daily Bulletin about the ongoing restoration at the Fox Theater. Allen took a tour of the restoration work and reported back, saying that the original Art Deco look is being lovingly resurrected, down to the carpets and chandeliers, the original color schemes, architectural flourishes, old murals, and even the exit signs. We love it that the old revolving neon sign at top the Fox's tower will actually turn again.

Allen likened the work to an archeological dig and gave some insight into the people behind the project:

Credit for the Fox's rescue goes to the band of brothers: developers Ed and Jerry Tessier and concert promoters Paul and Perry Tollett. They bought the Fox in 2007 and are spending more than $10 million to ready the theater for the 21st century, while keeping many 20th century details.

Preservationists watching the Fox's revival say they couldn't be happier. They're happy not only because of the theater's impending return but because of the amount of restoration.

At first, the Tessiers, who are handling the renovation, had planned to put off most of the historic touches for a later time, when they would be paid for by community fundraising events.

The Tessiers mostly concerned themselves with restoring the Fox to operation after three decades of disuse and misuse.

Instead, rather than doing 20 percent of the restoration as planned, the Tessiers ended up doing more like 80 percent, digging deeper to recreate the murals and most of the chandeliers ahead of schedule.

The Pomona Fox Theater is scheduled to have its first event, a fundraiser called Fox First Night, on April 18th. It's not cheap. Tickets for the event are $135 or $1,080 for a table of eight. You can get more info here on the Friends of the Pomona Fox Theater site.

The Fox Theater itself has a separate site with photo albums of the restoration work, along with historical photos of the theater. You can find the photos here.

The Tessiers, incidentally, have pretty strong Claremont connections. Their company Arteco Partners restored the Claremont Packing House and is in the process of doing the same for the Padua Hills Theatre. Ed Tessier is a Pomona alum, Jerry graduated from CMC, and Jerry's wife Nancy owns the Hip Kitty Jazz Club in the Packing House, one of the few new downtown businesses that seems to be doing well.

* * *

The blog for Claremont Colleges radio station, KSPC 88.7fm (who knew they had a blog?), has a post announcing a free hip-hop concert tonight in downtown Pomona's dA Center for the Arts. LA act Bambu is appearing, along with two from Pitzer: Pepe and Jerms.

The dA Center is located at 282 S. Main St. in Pomona. Doors open at 7pm, and the bands start at 9.

The KSPC blog says there's free transportation to the event for 5C students, but you have to reserve a seat in advance:

If you are a 5C student in need of transportation, The Sagecoach bus will leave from the intersection of 6th St. & College Way (between the Rains Center and Smith Campus Center) at 8:30 PM. Be prepared to leave when the show finishes, around 12 AM. To guarantee yourself a spot on The Sagecoach, please e-mail erica.tyron@pomona.edu ASAP.

Pomona Fox Theater News

The Pomona Fox Theater's 14-month-long restoration is approaching completion, the Daily Bulletin's Monica Rodriguez informed us earlier this month. Ed Tessier of Arteco Partners, the developer involved in the restoration, was interviewed for the article and explained what we can expect:

"We've created a multi-faceted venue," Tessier said.

Everyone from "two people to 2,200 people can find a good home for their special event," he said.

A ballroom, banquet facilities, a roof-top restaurant, a lounge, a place for a romantic dinner and other amenities are part of what visitors will find at the Fox.

The auditorium alone will accommodate groups of various sizes, Tessier said. As a banquet hall the auditorium will seat about 350; as a cinema 1,700; and as a concert venue 2,100.

The Bulletin has a photo gallery showing the restoration work in progress. You can also find out more information and can also donate to the Friends of the Fox Theater here.

Arteco Partners is also the company that restored the Claremont Packing House, and they are currently involved with the City of Claremont in the restoration of the Padua Hills Theatre.

Pomona Photo Blog

Ren, the blogger who also doubles as the photographer for Goddess of Pomona and the Pomona Historical Society, has closed his own blog and has a new one: Images of Pomona.

We've updated our local blog roll accordingly. Below is a sample of Ren's work showing the ongoing restoration of Pomona's Fox Theater by Arteco Partners, the same company that refurbished the Packing House in Claremont's Village West expansion. Arteco is also restoring the Padua Hills Theatre for the City of Claremont.

Photo Courtesy of Ren at Images of Pomona