Los Angeles Times - 21.09.2019

CALIFORNIA

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019:: LATIMES.COM/CALIFORNIA

B

If you think of
life as a meal
served in
courses, Gio-
vanni Bolla has
been handed
plate after
plate piled
high.
Back in the days of beef
Wellington and baked
Alaska, Bolla was a caterer
to stars — offering “the
ultimate in haute cuisine”
by appointment in Beverly
Hills.
He was known for his
fettuccine with caviar, his
pheasant paté and his
grand buffets, decorated

with sculptures made of

butter and ice.

Success once bought

Bolla a house in the

western Hollywood Hills,

perched high on Hercu-

les Drive on Mount

Olympus.

But then came heart-

break and hardship and

wrong turns.

“I got really lost,” says

this very warm, slightly

rumpled man, who once

was at home in a crisply

pressed black tie.

Now at 71, he manages

to hold on to his tiny

Encino studio — at $1,

a month — only because

his landlord has the

GIOVANNI BOLLA, with daugher Isabelle, cuts tiramisu that the former caterer — who once fed the likes

of Richard Burton and Tom Bradley — makes and which helps him pay his rent. He gets 30 orders weekly.

Photographs by Gary CoronadoLos Angeles Times

CITY BEAT

Tiramisu, with a little

help from his daughter

Onetime Hollywood caterer who fell on hard times is finding his way

BOLLAputs the finishing touches on a pan of

tiramisu, which he delivers to customers in areas

such as Hollywood, Lake Balboa and Sherman Oaks.

NITA LELYVELD

[SeeCity Beat,B4]

Los Angeles County Dist.

Atty. Jackie Lacey’s office

has ended its investigation

into L.A. City Councilwom-

an Nury Martinez’s 2015

campaign, determining

there is insufficient evidence

to pursue a fraud case cen-

tering on her fundraising ac-

tivities.

Alan Yochelson, head

deputy of the district attor-

ney’s Public Integrity Divi-

sion, said in a memo Friday

that prosecutors had re-

ceived an allegation that

Martinez’s campaign had

engaged in fraud when it se-

cured more than $65,000 in

city taxpayer matching

funds for her reelection bid.

To qualify for that money,

the campaign relied on “nu-

merous” small donations —

many of them just $5 — from

residents of her district, the

memo said.

“While our investigation

proved that some of the $

donations were not made by

the purported donor, the ev-

idence was insufficient to

prove who was ultimately re-

sponsible,” Yochelson wrote.

Yochelson declined an in-

terview request. A spokes-

man for Lacey declined to

say how many people had

been incorrectly listed as

donors on Martinez’s filings

with the Los Angeles City

Ethics Commission.

Martinez, in an emailed

statement, said she was

“pleased” with the district

attorney’s decision. “We

pride ourselves on adhering

to the strictest ethical

standards, and we have hon-

ored that commitment,” she

said.

Martinez, who repre-

sents District 6 in the San

Fernando Valley that in-

cludes Van Nuys, Lake Bal-

boa, Arleta, Sun Valley and

Panorama City, was first

elected in a special election

in 2013. She won reelection

two years later.

Case closed

in Martinez

fraud inquiry

D.A. ends probe into

fundraising activities

by L.A. official, citing

insufficient evidence.

By David Zahniser and

Emily Alpert Reyes

[SeeInvestigation,B4]

GIFTS TONury Mar-

tinez’s 2015 campaign

were under scrutiny.

Michael Owen Baker

For The Times

They streamed into

downtown Los Angeles in

buses, trains and electric

cars, many toting signs

drawn on recycled card-

board.

From as far as Orange

County, South Gate, Long

Beach and the San Fer-

nando and San Gabriel val-

leys, thousands of youths

converged on Pershing

Square and marched to City

Hall, the local voices of glob-

al protests, demanding ac-

tion on climate change

ahead of a United Nations

summit Monday.

Many were high school

and college students who

walked off campus or

skipped class to send a mes-

sage to the older generation

that, as many signs read,

“There is no planet B.”

Others stayed at school

for “walk-in” demon-

strations, discussions on cli-

mate change and rallies like

the one L.A. Mayor Eric

Garcetti attended at Mar-

shall High School in Los Fe-

liz, where he announced that

he is forming a Youth Coun-

cil on Climate Action.

The actions were part of a

worldwide climate strike in-

spired by Greta Thunberg, a

16-year-old Swedish activist

who sailed across the At-

lantic Ocean in a zero-emis-

sion yacht rather than fly.

On Wednesday she met with

CLAIRE McCARTHY, center, joins demonstrators in front of Los Angeles City

Hall on Friday. The protest was part of a worldwide climate strike.

Gary CoronadoLos Angeles Times

Climate rally draws throng

of school-skipping youths

Thousands march

downtown to send

a message to their

elders: Do something.

By Sonali Kohli

[SeeClimate,B4]

B

arron Hilton loved playing poker, flying — in both

conventional aircraft and sailplanes — and own-

ing an upstart pro football team in an upstart

league, but when it came to seeking his fortune, he

chose the family business, the Hilton Hotel Corp.

It turned out to be a wise choice for Hilton, who was

more than financially able to indulge his passions — his

annual weeklong “soaring camp” at his Nevada ranch was

considered a “must do” by sailplane enthusiasts around

the world — the business, and, ultimately, the Conrad

Hilton Foundation.

Hilton died Thursday of natural causes at his home in

Los Angeles. He was 91.

In his 30 years as chief executive, Hilton built the hotel

brand into the best known, most successful and most re-

spected name in the industry. When it finally was sold in

2007, the Blackstone Group paid $26 billion for 2,800 ho-

tels with 480,000 rooms in 76 countries.

That same year, Hilton announced that he would leave

about 97% of his estate, estimated then to be worth

$2.3 billion, to the Hilton Foundation, an international

charitable organization begun by his father, Conrad

Hilton, founder of the hotel chain.

“The Hilton family mourns the loss of a remarkable

man,” said son Steven M. Hilton, chairman of the Hilton

Foundation. “He lived a life of great adventure and excep-

tional accomplishment.”

BARRON HILTON, 1927 - 2019

Hotelier begat

L.A. Chargers

By Mike Kupper

Kevin TerrellAssociated Press

MAN OF MANY INTERESTS

Barron Hilton, left, with Chargers owner Dean

Spanos in 2009. Hilton built his family’s hotels into

a global chain before launching the football team.

[SeeHilton,B6]

Beatriz Zaragoza and her
two children couldn’t wait to
see Thursday’s concert at
the Wiltern featuring the
Black Keys, one of their fa-
vorite bands that had been
on a years-long hiatus.
They bought tickets
through StubHub for more
than $700. They fought rush-
hour traffic to drive to the
venue from Boyle Heights.
They paid Koreatown prices
for parking and arrived at
the Wiltern two hours early,
at 5 p.m.
After more than two
hours in line, the family
made it through security
and entered the Wiltern’s
foyer, buzzing with pre-
concert excitement. Her
kids — ages 9 and 14 — were
finally going to see the band
whose songs they imitate at
home on their guitar and
drum set.
But one look at Zara-
goza’s mobile tickets and a
Wiltern employee turned her
away. He didn’t even scan
them. Zaragoza was told the
Black Keys were not accept-
ing tickets from third-party

Black

Keys’

ticket

lockout

By Alejandra
Reyes-Velarde

[SeeConcert,B5]

Over the last 50

years, it’s been

bye bye, birdies

North America has lost

billions of birds since

1970, boding ill for

ecosystems, a new

analysis says. B

Van Houten

is denied again

California appeals

court rejects the

70-year-old Manson

follower’s latest bid for

release from prison. B

Lottery.........................B