It’s Father’s Day -- a time to give thanks and show some love to the men who have taken on one of the hardest jobs around: Fatherhood. The Sister City would like to give a shout-out to all the loving, caring, hard-working Dads who deserve lots of love and spoiling today.
A few of our favorite local Dads:
Jamiel Shaw, Sr. – Living through the nightmare of losing his beloved son, Jas, Jamiel Sr. did not fade quietly into the pain and desolation of grief and mourning. Instead, he became a pro-active leader in the push to stop the senseless loss of life on the streets of Los Angeles. With the introduction of
Jamiel’s Law (pdf file), Jamiel Sr. hopes to spare other families the horror of losing a loved one to violence at the hands of criminals who should not be on the streets of our city. We are also very glad to have Jamiel Sr. here as a contributor at MayorSam's. Our thoughts, prayers, support and love are with you on this day.
Joe Barrett – MayorSam blogger and father of two, Joe B. is the fearless leader of the
Sunland-Tujunga Alliance and the
No Home Depot Campaign. He is a dedicated and tireless worker for the people of Sunland-Tujunga. Joe Barrett is a fine man with so much heart and soul (and a million fabulous stories about all the great musicians he's worked with), Sunland-Tujungans are extremely lucky to have him on their side. We're extremely lucky to have him here at MayorSam's.
Artur Cybulski &
David Krassner --
Partners both personally and professionally, as well as the parents of two beautiful children, Artur and David have contributed to the lives of many
kids from all around the Los Angeles area. As directors of
Camp Bravo, the
y have made it possible for young people interested in the performing arts to attend camp in a beautiful outdoor setting (the de Benneville Pines Camp Facility in Angelus Oaks, California). Not only do kids get to camp, but they also get to experience a non-competitive environment in which to immerse themselves in the thrill of performing. Among some of Camp Bravo’s awards:
Educational Theatre Association Winner of the National Standing Ovation Award,
California Thespian Society Hall of Fame Award,
California Educational Theatre Association award for Outstanding Contribution to Educational Theatre. David and Artur can often be found at their children's school, helping with classroom productions, and at special school events -- sharing their amazing theatrical skills to delight of both students and teachers.
Jon Regardie -
LA Downtown News Executive Editor Jon Regardie, a bit of a horse racing fan, was recently spotted with his one-year-old daughter in tow at a local restaurant where racing fans have been known to follow ponies. Dad was there to take in the Preakness, and although daughter was clearly calling for the bottle, Jon was adroit enough as a dad to know to
withhold the bottle until the race itself. Daughter was getting crankier, but Jon refused to
show the bottle until the horses were being loaded into the gate. Then, as the ponies were loading up, Jon then
went to the bottle at last. Voila! A quiet and content baby, wire-to-wire!
Robert Cohn – Dude…
what are you thinking? A Valley resident, and active member o
f his community, Robert has agreed to take over as President of the exemplary Beckford Ave. PTA. In the PTA world (which is heavily Mom powered, and in which the ladies don’t always necessarily play nicely together), Rob’s been able to navigate around the landmines of personalities and has comfortably established himself as a leader among us
yentas... uhhh, I mean...
parents. He’s a stay-at-home dad, active at his temple, and an all-around Good Guy. While his children adore having Daddy around school, and as he is not
entirely bad to look at… the Moms enjoy having him around, too.
George Lopez - In 2001,
comedian (and dad) George Lopez became the first Latino to have headlined a keystone morning radio slot on an English-language station in LA—the nation’s top radio market. His career quickly shot up from there. A native son of the East Valley (there’s a
special plate named after him at the legendary San Fernando tortilleria,
Carrillos) George received the 2003 Imagen Vision Award, 2003 Latino Spirit Award for Excellence in Television and the National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Award. No hacker himself on the golf course, George was a featured celebrity golfer in The 2004 Chrysler Bob Hope Classic and the 2004 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Lopez and his pro partner finished third in the Pebble Beach event.
Gavin Rossdale – What can you say about a young, hot, hands-on Rocker Dad who enjoys being The Daddy while his equally
hot,
rock-star-
fashion-designer/icon-wife takes on the world -- other than “OH MY GOD GAVIN ROSSDALE IS SO HOT HOLDING THAT BABY!”
If you’ve ever spied Gavin and young Kingston out and about in L.A., you’ve No Doubt seen his sweet Dad Skills in action. Gavin is one of L.A.’s cutest and most doting Dads in town.
Wil Wheaton –
Self described “actor, writer, poker player, stepfather, and (relatively) long-time blogger”, Wil Wheaton may be more familiar to you as one of the young actors in the film
“Stand by Me”. Wil’s blog,
WWdN:In Exile , proves that Geeks, and especially unrepentant Geeky Dads, can be totally and unabashedly adorable. Love, love, love him!
And finally... okay, so maybe
technically he's not a father (that we know of) but in answer to the perennial question
Who’s Your Daddy? -- In L.A., and especially around City Hall, there is but one answer:
Zuma Dogg, beyotch (you better ask somebody)! Many a politico in this city has been
pwned by
Zuma with his tenacity and refusal to back down from an issue. His willingness to help, many times with issues dealing with kids and schools and the betterment of the pueblos (
plus, no one does Journey like Zuma does Journey; damn, homeboy even out-Journey’s Steve Perry!) makes
Zuma Dogg the Coolest Daddy-O in town.
To All Sister City Dads Everywhere -- have a
great day; you've earned it!
(special Father's Day xoxo's for Mr. Doll and Valley Dad -- love you!)
Labels: artur cybulski, david krassner, father's day, gavin rossdale, george lopez, jamiel shaw sr., joe barrett, jon regardie, robert cohn, wil wheaton, zuma dogg
