Thank you!
Plant 1
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m74/angelnine9/bc4b0743.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m74/angelnine9/c28c9ae5.jpg

Plant 2
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m74/angelnine9/23e29e88.jpg

The second plant is either a Calathea or Stromanthe..Cal and Stro are related.
You might as well check for mites..Calatheas need quite a bit of humidity, circulating air and kept away from heating vents.
Do you keep a humidifer on in winter? Weekly showers help. I spray/mist my Cals and STros daily. Keeping plants on trays filled w/stones or pebbles and a little water, 'water shouldn't hit the bottom of pot,' will help, too.
For the time, check both plants for webbing.

Both plants 'leaves' need a shower, to start. Toni

Plant 2

On second thought, I'd chop that palm up and stuff it into a plastic bag. If you put it on the curb, some poor soul might take it home and try to revive it, lol.

Try this test. Place a white sheet of paper under palm leaves..Tap leaves in different sections. After a few taps, check paper. If you see teeny-weeny dots, 'slow movers,' these are mites. They come if a few colors. Depending on your eyesight, you may need a magnifying glass. Mites are really tiny.

Both plants need high humidity. Truthfully, your palm is going to require work, including pruning. Your Calathea is fine. It just needs trimming off brown, 'leave about 1/8" of brown on edges,' and spray/shower.

Do your plants stand where you took the pictures? Any windows?
Tom, both plants need medium light, humidity and fresh, circulating air.
What's the temp in Long Beach? If it's warm, and your plants are confined indoors, open a window.

You asked, 'what else might it be?'
What I'm seeing looks like mites. I wish I could say, reduce or increase water and your palm will look like it'd just came from the nursery..:)

Rhizo agrees your palm has mites. She works with plants, and I respect her opinion.

If you don't find insects on the white sheet of paper, perhaps different pictures, a couple views, will help..Toni

Mites aren't fussy where one lives. lol.

Try this test. Place a white sheet of paper under palm leaves..Tap leaves in different sections. After a few taps, check paper. If you see teeny-weeny dots, 'slow movers,' these are mites. They come if a few colors. Depending on your eyesight, you may need a magnifying glass. Mites are really tiny.

Both plants need high humidity. Truthfully, your palm is going to require work, including pruning. Your Calathea is fine. It just needs trimming off brown, 'leave about 1/8" of brown on edges,' and spray/shower.

Do your plants stand where you took the pictures? Any windows?
Tom, both plants need medium light, humidity and fresh, circulating air.
What's the temp in Long Beach? If it's warm, and your plants are confined indoors, open a window.

You asked, 'what else might it be?'
What I'm seeing looks like mites. I wish I could say, reduce or increase water and your palm will look like it'd just came from the nursery..:)

Rhizo agrees your palm has mites. She works with plants, and I respect her opinion.

If you don't find insects on the white sheet of paper, perhaps different pictures, a couple views, will help..Toni

Mites aren't fussy where one lives. lol.

I would also read Rhizzo's profile, because once you do, you will know why she is valuable to us..

If that is mite damage, I would certainly throw that palm to the curb too...There is no point in keeping a plant that hides these critters on you, since they might catch you off guard again..You might be able to get away with the others with a lot of determination and consistancy if you are up to the task..If not, throw those to the curb too and wash all surrounding of the areas where these plants were...I am not sure how long one would have to wait though until they can introduce new plants to the same locations as those are sitting at..?

By the way, who says that the only sign of mites is to wait until webbs appear? They can do all that damage before you even see webbs...
I have had severe infestations years back and I definately know the nursery nearby is having an awaful time with them and I have yet to see webbs..I think for some plants, by the time the webs come, the plant has been sucked to death to provide any nourishment for the mites, as they leave that plant and move onto another..

Mike

Nothing else. It's mites. Obvious webbing appears very late in the game, and isn't a for-sure thing.

The bleached look is a dead give-a-away. And mites are almost a guaranteed pest of indoor palms in Long Beach. Do as others have suggested: Destroy the palm and obtain a healthy replacement.

Forget the tap-it-over-white-paper test to determine if it's mites. Instead, obtain a strong magnifying glass and look closely at the underside of the leaves where there's a reasonable amount of green remaining. You'll see tiny, slow-moving things, and what appears to be dust - the remains & skins of mites. You'll likely alps see lots of very fine webbing.

The other plant is suffering from the high level of soluble salts in your tap water; such a condition is considered "normal" for SoCal.

Other things that can make thing worse:
if the pot lacks a drain hole
- if you water just a little bit rather than watering enough to allow at least 10% of the water to run out the drain hole.
- if you don't leach potted plants every 3 to 4 months (Water thoroughly & let stand for 30 minutes; then repeat 3 more times.

Jean,
who gardened for 30-some years in Long Beach, CA

I have been here long enough to not doubt Rhizzo nor Jean when it comes to pest's...Their credibility is very strong with many here..

Toni also has years of experience and has taught me large amounts of information..

You have been given the best advice from thus far..I would apply it asap.

Mike

Maybe you're new here & so don't know yet, but generally one posts a new, separate thread for new questions.

African Violets are VERY different than the Houseplants being discussed here. It may help you to know there is a separate forum for African Violets (AVs for short).

"It does not seem to be dying but it has stopped blooming, but it seems to be thriving. It is very ugly, I am ready to toss it."

Seems contradictory, stopped blooming, but you say it's thriving but ugly ... hum.

Pls. remove ALL the leaves w/ the brown spots, sounds like some kind of rot & may spread. Could you have gotten water on the leaves accidentally? If you're top watering, pls. try bottom watering.

As to AVs, I propagate them well, but don't grow them that well. Other than the thoughts I've shared, I suggest you try the AV forum (see the top page here) for further assistance. They will know much better than I. Also, there's some friendly & helpful folks over there, who I'm sure will be happy to try & help you.

PS: they don't necessarily bloom ALL the time, I hope you don't think that's cause to discard it.