by Jenny Zilliac
In the first couple of hours of Wednesday, August 9, gunfire erupted at the corner of MacArthur and 38th (and Adell Ct. and Excelsior and Canon (it's a complicated intersection)). Several buildings at the intersection were hit, including Southern Cafe and the Adel Court senior living facility, where the gunfire shattered a prominent window. The incident stoked fear and dismay among the Adel Court tenants as well as other neighbors.
In the discussion among neighbors that followed the gunfire incident, the topic of unwanted noise from Slapwagon Studios, a tenant across from Adel Court, dominated. While nobody that I am aware of produced evidence that the music studio tenants were involved in the gunfire, discussion quickly headed in the direction of, "We need them out of there!" Because that's where human nature leads us. And then phone calls and emails.
I reached out to our District 4 Councilmember, Janani Ramachandran, who happens to live about a block from the intersection where the gunfire erupted. Janani quickly reached out to the property owner, Daniel Lum, as well as the studio owner, Scott Kaminski, who Janani knows personally. Janani was concerned, and reasonably so, that a rush to judgment was underway.
Scott Kaminski proceeded to organize a Stop the Violence barbeque to bring neighbors together in solidarity. Many neighbors attended the barbeque and received tours of the two studios that make up Slapwagon Studios. I not only went on the tour, I got a cool souvenir photo of me in the recording booth!