Andrew Khouri

Agustin Olivares owes a lot to his job.

As you walk through Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles, you'll eventually find the butcher, donned in a red and white uniform, complete with a black bow tie, and white hat.

Olivares has worked at Economy Meats since 1988.  Four years ago, he became manager.

The market has changed significantly during those 21 years.  And while the economy has affected business, the hard times began much earlier.

"[In] 1993, 1994 [business] started coming down, little bit ever year...but it's getting worse," Olivares said.

He blames the drop in business on changes the market has under gone.

As restaurants replaced produce stands, fewer people came to the market for groceries, and in turn fewer came to get meat, Olivares said. To make matters worse, mini marts and even a grocery store have entered the neighborhood.

Luckily for Olivares, the drop in business has not translated into a drop in pay.  However, others have not been so lucky.  His boss has trimmed the number of employees in half from the mid-1990s because of hard times.

Despite his steady paycheck, he could not make it if it wasn't for someone special.

Olivares met his wife, Maria, when she came to buy meat 18 years ago.

"She is my best friend," he said.

Maria works as a housekeeper on the Westside, and together they cobble up enough money to pay rent and support their family.

"Without her I can't make it," Olivares said. "My wife, she helps me a lot."

Their only daughter, Nelly, 16, attends Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet School in Los Angeles, and is thinking about becoming a doctor.

"I am so proud of my daughter," Olivares said,  "...she is trying to make her best in school." 

Olivares grew up in Toluca, Mexico, 40 miles outside of Mexico City.

As a kid, he enjoyed soccer, and got so good that he played center fullback for his town team.

When asked about Chivas USA, the counterpart to Chivas, his favorite team, Olivares simply laughs.

"It's not a tradition," he said, flatly dismissing the American club.

Today Olivares has traded his old hobby for a new one.  Two years ago, he hopped on a road bike after he gained too much weight. 

"I [was] gaining weight, I [was] getting fat, Jesus Christ," he said

Olivares started to run with a friend, but knee problems pushed both onto two wheels.

Once a week, Olivares bikes the 33 miles from his home in Lincoln Heights to Griffith Park. 

However, he has no desire to join the legions of Angelenos who battle cars in city traffic.

"It's always better to go to Griffith Park," he said. "They have very nice streams, very nice roads."

While active today, Olivares was not always so healthy.  In 2002, doctors found a malignant tumor on his kidneys. Fortunately the cancer remained confined to those organs, and doctors at USC Medical Center were able to remove the tumor.  Olivares has remained cancer free ever since.

"I am lucky, very lucky," he said with a concerned look on his face.

His cancer led to lifestyle changes, which include his weekly bike ride.

"Before I eat a lot of meat, right now not too much," he said.  "I have to take care of the blood pressure, my weight, everything is going to affect my kidneys."

Today Olivares is healthy, but the business is hurting.

He plans to bring in new meats and new cases to attract and keep customers.

"We're trying to do something," he said.

On the corner of Broadway and Third, in downtown Los Angeles, lies one of the city's gems.  Grand Central Market, which opened in 1917, is an indoor smorgasbord of flavor consisting of over 38 vendors.  Passing by, odors ranging from tacos to Chinese noodles waft onto Broadway luring in the hungry masses.  But fewer and fewer people find themselves overcome enough  by the aromas to enter the 92-year-old-marketplace.  Not detoured by the smell, but by the size of their wallets.  The economic downturn has hit the marketplace hard, some vendors estimate their business to be down almost 40 percent.  Despite hard times, the same tasty treats and lively atmosphere await anyone just down the block.

Luckily for Brian Williams, he was born in 1959, long before the advent of Facebook and tagged photos; born before one had to attend journalism school and write blogs about blogs. 

So despite his high profile nature very little embarrassing or controversial info on the NBC Nightly News anchor is available. 

That is not to say no information is available.  By spending a few hours on the Internet, one can learn a lot about the popular newscaster.  For instance, did you know Brian Williams is in love with food-courts and takes Lipator and Ambien?

He also held jobs before journalism. He interned at the Carter Whitehouse, something conservative commentators might find intriguing, and was also a volunteer fire fighter during the 70's and 80's.  A photo of him and his firefighter colleagues hangs above his desk.  Williams says he does so to keep in touch with his roots.

He attended George Washington University and then the Catholic University of America but did not finish.  Today he describes that decision as "one of my greatest regrets."

Williams grew up in a middle class family and struggled to become a journalist, often skipping meals because he couldn't afford it. Today, Williams does quite well for himself, reportedly about $9.7 million a year better than your average journalist.

The high-profile newsman has barely entered social media.  Williams has a Myspace but the page is professional and updated infrequently.  His last blog entry was April 20, 2008 and was originally published for another publication.  No embarrassing photos or drunken comments here. But the page does offer him a place to communicate with the public and his 3003 friends.

And what about the more up to date social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook?  Williams belongs to neither but is quite a popular topic on both.  Eleven Facebook groups are dedicated to the journalist and the volume of tweets is, well, incalculable.

His reluctance to join social media may be influenced by Williams' views on digital technology and has contributed to the absence of a significant and or embarrassing digital footprint.

One hundred and forty characters may not seem like much but recently small statements have made a big impact.  From the Iran elections to gossip, Twitter has brought into being the "many to many" conversation.  Now it is possible to publish, interact, or broadcast messages to the world for the price of a text message.  While most "tweets" are trivial nonsense, Twitter has shown itself to be a force in social and political mobilization.