Monterey Peninsula - 65° Magazine
Monterey Peninsula - 65° Magazine
Monterey Peninsula - 65° Magazine
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SCENE<br />
03<br />
04<br />
07<br />
08<br />
01<br />
11<br />
02<br />
05<br />
06<br />
09<br />
10 12<br />
Photography by D.M. TROUTMAN and JESSE ROBERT 01. Debbie Palomo, Ryan Phinny 02. Lace Galuppo, Denny LeVett, Jordan Gustafson, Katana Godden 03. Patrick Mulvey, Linda Almini, Hunter Finnell<br />
04. Robert Jesse, Michael Troutman 05. Richard Perez-Pacheco, Andrea Stuart, Lenny Shapiro, Jeremy Stuart, and <strong>65°</strong> supporters 06. Anthony Muniz and friend, Christine Chin, Kurt Grasing 07. Cheryl Savage, Patricia Richardson<br />
08. Rob Weakley, David Bernahl 09. Michael Cayen, Soraya Cayen, Jeanne Johnston 10. Todd Tice, Carol Denson 11. Steve Moseley and Zoe Alexander 12. Rich Medel, Michael Cayen, and <strong>65°</strong> supporter.<br />
<strong>65°</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> Launch Party, CARMEL<br />
Cypress Inn
<strong>65°</strong> DEPARTMENTS<br />
PERSONA<br />
Jersey on the Plate<br />
BY Kristin A. Smith<br />
From Calligraphy to<br />
Conception<br />
BY Kristin A. Smith<br />
Wheeling Through Life in P.G.<br />
BY Jennie Tezak<br />
SCENE<br />
<strong>65°</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> Launch Party<br />
EVENT<br />
The Worth of White<br />
BY Michelle Oles<br />
COLUMNS<br />
Publisher’s Note<br />
Montoya’s Mountain<br />
BY Jeanne Johnston<br />
STAY<br />
Destination Renovation<br />
BY Andrea Stuart<br />
COVER<br />
Photography: HEMALI ACHARYA,<br />
HEMALIPHOTOGRAPHY.COM, 415-513-8066<br />
Direction: RICHARD PEREZ-PACHECO,<br />
BLACKSHEEPCA.COM, 925-478-6207<br />
Location: BERNARDUS LODGE<br />
415 Carmel Valley Road, Carmel, 888-648-9463<br />
Wardrobe: PACIFIC TWEED, 831-625-9100
PUBLISHER<br />
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER<br />
EDITORIAL<br />
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR<br />
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS<br />
COPY EDITOR<br />
PROOFREADERS<br />
ART<br />
CREATIVE DIRECTOR<br />
CREATIVE TEAM<br />
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS<br />
ADVERTISING<br />
SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE<br />
Richard Medel<br />
rich@65mag.com<br />
Linda Almini<br />
linda@65mag.com<br />
Andrea Stuart<br />
andrea@65mag.com<br />
Jeanne Johnston<br />
Michelle Oles<br />
Kristin A. Smith<br />
Jennie Tezak<br />
Michelle Oles<br />
Charleen Earley<br />
Jennie Tezak<br />
Richard Perez-Pacheco<br />
richard@blacksheepca.com<br />
Leonel Calara<br />
Clarissa Perez-Pacheco<br />
Hemali Acharya<br />
Robert Jesse<br />
Kevin James Thomas<br />
D.M. Troutman<br />
Katana Godden<br />
katana@65mag.com<br />
A WONDERFUL MYSTERY<br />
We just wanted to thank you and Michelle Oles for the<br />
nice tribute to John Lombardo in your [Fall 2009] issue.<br />
We were casual friends with John from kidding<br />
with him at Casanova, but became close in a short<br />
period of time. We’d reminisce with him about his<br />
boyhood in Jersey City—the ‘Stanley Theatre,’ the<br />
‘White Mana Diner,’ his home on Booraem Avenue,<br />
and ‘the Res’ (a reservoir near his house)—and other<br />
trivia and pictures I picked up on the internet about<br />
his home turf. We all had such enjoyable times, not<br />
realizing he was sick. He was not one to complain.<br />
When we returned to Carmel, we were shocked to<br />
find out he was gone.<br />
Your tribute to John was well done. It captured our<br />
feelings, and your closing quotation from<br />
Mr. Georis was especially apropos. John was a<br />
wonderful ‘mystery.’<br />
Thank you,<br />
Ron & Sue Lewis<br />
OPPORTUNITY SMILES<br />
Being the “Leader of the Pack” in the winter 2009<br />
issue was a great honor. I was surprised to be asked,<br />
we all were, I mean my family and I. I was glad the<br />
picture was taken in the Carmel High Gym with my<br />
basketball team and I’m pretty sure they enjoyed<br />
it as well. The article brought a lot of new faces<br />
my way, people I had seen but never really talked<br />
to. People stopped me and told me they saw my<br />
story in the magazine. This came my way my senior<br />
year and I often look back on this opportunity and<br />
smile. I have now moved on to <strong>Monterey</strong> <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
College and hope to do well. Thank you for putting<br />
my article on a plaque and for featuring me in your<br />
magazine; it was great.<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Will Rudolph<br />
IN-BOX<br />
HEADQUARTERS<br />
MAILING ADDRESS<br />
<strong>65°</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
P.O. Box 6325<br />
Carmel, CA 93921-6325<br />
PHONE<br />
EMAIL<br />
ONLINE<br />
831.917.1673<br />
info@65mag.com<br />
www.65mag.com<br />
PHONE<br />
EMAIL<br />
ONLINE<br />
57° <strong>Magazine</strong><br />
415.999.9716<br />
info@57degreesmag.com<br />
www.57degreesmag.com<br />
We love to hear from our readers.<br />
Send letters to editors@65mag.com<br />
SUBMISSIONS: For article submissions email proposal to editors@65mag.com<br />
<strong>65°</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> is published quarterly, P.O. Box 6325, Carmel, CA 93921-6325. Subscription rate: $40,<br />
payable in advance. Single copies $4.99. Back issues if available, $15 (includes shipping and handling).<br />
POSTMASTER send address changes to <strong>65°</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>, P.O. Box 6325, Carmel, CA 93921-6325.<br />
Entire contents © 2010 by <strong>65°</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> unless otherwise noted on specific articles.<br />
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited without Publisher permission.
y Richard Medel<br />
PUBLISHER’S NOTE<br />
To identify this decade as an impetuous one would be an understatement. When we tally all of<br />
the financial and economic challenges that our country and local communities have experienced,<br />
there is some splendor as we enter 2010 with optimism.<br />
Our economies are in the process of being restored, and individuals are infusing life and energy<br />
back into their communities and local neighborhoods. We at <strong>65°</strong>/57° <strong>Magazine</strong> feel there is<br />
no better way to celebrate the turn of a decade than by highlighting those individuals in our<br />
communities that not only rally groups together, but selflessly offer their time and energy to<br />
enhance the day to day lives of others.<br />
One of those tireless individuals is Rachel Lopez, an 83-year old woman who spends countless hours volunteering her time to the<br />
<strong>Monterey</strong> <strong>Peninsula</strong> chapter of Meals on Wheels. My time with Rachel was not only enjoyable but enlightening, as I listened to her<br />
commitment and her passion for others.<br />
Another is household name Gary Radnich, San Francisco’s most notable sportscaster, long known for his candid and spontaneous<br />
conversation and interview style. I have always been a devoted fan of Radnich’s radio show, but I must admit that in the few days<br />
following the 9/11 attack on our nation, Gary’s sensitivity and talk style left a lasting impression on me. Recognizing how hard- hit<br />
our nation and his viewers were by the atrocity, he used his show to console his listeners. Shortly thereafter, it became his personal<br />
mission to offer a reprieve to those that wanted to step away from the tragedy if even for an hour by offering responsible comic relief<br />
along with a bit of Gary’s signature banter. He was masterful with his self-professed assignment of brightening his listener’s lives.<br />
Therefore, it comes of no surprise that we felt it fitting to feature Gary Radnich in our first issue of 2010.<br />
Mirroring the pattern of good spirit, we are also happy to share the story of Richard Pepe, a New Jersey transplant, who has not only<br />
brought his Italian roots and obsession of food to the table, but has recently launched Pepe & Pants which donates the bulk of its<br />
proceeds to charity; Stacey Montoya, a young woman who has campaigned to recover from her own personal tragedy by using her<br />
assured energies to improve the lives of children who have been abused, abandoned and neglected, in addition to giving hope to<br />
children with life-threatening illnesses; Mike Poppleton, whose artistic eye moved him from designing automobiles to creating exquisite<br />
furniture; and Tatiana Sorokko, who some will note may be the best thing that came out of Sarov, Russia since the atomic bomb.<br />
In closing, I would like to thank Denny Levett for offering us the Cypress Inn for our first magazine launch party. His warm hospitality<br />
and generosity is always appreciated by not only the magazine but by his community as well. A special thanks to everyone that<br />
assisted and attended…it was wonderful to see downtown Carmel alive and hopping. Happy New Year! °
PERSONA<br />
Jersey on the Plate<br />
BY Kristin A. Smith<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY HEMALI ACHARYA
Pepe found a place that was in juxtaposition to where he was raised—from<br />
the hard knocks ’whatcha gotta be‘ of Hoboken to a new relaxed lifestyle.<br />
PERSONA<br />
Rich Pepe was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, a<br />
stone’s throw away from Frank Sinatra, who was a<br />
family friend. Like most Italian immigrant families,<br />
the Pepe home revolved around the kitchen—a<br />
pot of fresh sauce boiling on the stove at all times,<br />
sometimes crab fetched from the Hudson River.<br />
It was there, in his grandparents’ kitchen, alight<br />
with the smell of basil and oregano, that a young,<br />
scrappy, street-savvy Pepe learned to appreciate<br />
home-cooked meals, an appreciation that he tries<br />
to instill in the customers of his various restaurants<br />
and culinary businesses.<br />
“It seemed I was more interested in food than<br />
the other kids, but I was also more hungry,” jokes<br />
Pepe. “You got a little extra if you hung around the<br />
kitchen.” In a large family—consisting of 28 aunts<br />
and uncles, and the same number of first cousins—<br />
you had to be tenacious to get what you wanted.<br />
It was perhaps this same tenacity that led Pepe<br />
to seek adventures far beyond the stoop-filled<br />
blocks of Hoboken and into the terra incognita<br />
of the West Coast. He was one of the few who<br />
moved away. “My family likens me to the grandparents<br />
who left their families to pursue new<br />
lives,” says Pepe.<br />
In Pepe’s mind, California was the place to start<br />
anew. He says he wanted to find a place that was<br />
“in juxtaposition to where [he] came from—from<br />
the hard knocks ‘whatcha gotta be’ of Hoboken to<br />
a new relaxed lifestyle.” He found it in <strong>Monterey</strong>.<br />
Drawing on his skills as a baker that he developed<br />
in his family’s shop growing up, Pepe, then 21<br />
years old, took a job at a <strong>Monterey</strong> bakery. And<br />
he’s been on the <strong>Peninsula</strong> ever since. Today he<br />
owns Carmel Bakery, along with two restaurants, a<br />
budding wine company, and a homemade sauce<br />
company.<br />
It’s the new sauce company that Pepe seems most<br />
excited about. Pepe & Pants, named after himself<br />
and his childhood best friend, Joey Pantoliano,<br />
is a relatively small operation and risk compared<br />
to running two restaurants—Little Napoli and<br />
Peppoli. With this new business, everything on a<br />
Pepe restaurant table will be proprietary, just like it<br />
was at his home growing up. Pepe and Pantoliano<br />
have been in business together before, but this is<br />
the first time they’re working on something that<br />
reminds them of their childhood. “We’re really<br />
excited about this, and much of the proceeds are<br />
going to charity,” says Pepe.<br />
But it’s not just the sauce-makers who are excited<br />
about the project. Even the Kennedy family has<br />
gotten on the Pepe & Pants bandwagon. Pantoliano<br />
lives near Bobby Kennedy, and when<br />
Bobby and Mary Kennedy needed to cook for an<br />
80-person Kennedy family reunion, they called on<br />
Pepe & Pants to help them out. Ethyl Kennedy<br />
especially loved the sauce and talked with Pepe<br />
for hours. “She is fascinated by cooking. Some of<br />
the top people in the world are just fascinated by a<br />
guy who can cook,” he boasts.<br />
It’s more than just his culinary skills that bring<br />
people to Pepe. He’s got that East Coast extroversion<br />
that we often long for on the West<br />
Coast. Pepe is magnanimous, the way that you<br />
want your Italian chef to be, singing and yelling<br />
jovially from the kitchen, walking out to greet his<br />
regular customers with a warm handshake. And he<br />
knows this about himself. “I like making friends.<br />
Sometimes you just gotta go knock on the door<br />
and say ‘hi’ and ask what do we have in common?”<br />
The answer is usually food. °<br />
Photo Direction:<br />
Shot on Location:<br />
Richard Perez-Pacheco<br />
Carmel Bakery and Pepe Wine Bar<br />
Advance booking for 2010 AT&T Pro Am and U.S. Open transportation<br />
101 Express – 831.373.4811 l MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA l 101XPRESS.NET
Come Hungry and Come Often<br />
Nestled among downtown Carmel’s storybook cottages, sits the town’s newest French restaurant, Le St. Tropez.<br />
With a sunny disposition akin to the French Riviera, Le St. Tropez serves as a haven for French savories and libations.<br />
Jean Hubert and his wife Mary created the restaurant to exemplify the warmth and friendliness or the Riviera. Trained in<br />
Lyon, France, Jean prepares modern and classic French fair including French-style seviche, escargot, onion soup, and<br />
table side crepe suzette flambé. Take a reprieve; unwind with a bowl of soup and a glass of wine, or come in for lunch<br />
or dinner. Don’t worry about dressing to the nines, at Le. St. Tropez they like you just the way you are: hungry.<br />
Le St. Tropez<br />
East Side Of Dolores<br />
Between Ocean And 7th, Carmel<br />
(831) 624-8977<br />
www.lesttropez.com
PERSONA<br />
From Calligraphy to Conception<br />
BY Kristin A. Smith<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Robert jesse
I always sketched cars as a little kid; anything that was moving I loved.<br />
PERSONA<br />
As a child, Mike Poppleton practiced calligraphy. It<br />
was part of his Japanese heritage and the foundation<br />
for his appreciation of design that would carry<br />
him through his college years and into his professional<br />
life as a designer and retailer.<br />
“In calligraphy, you have to consider the balance,<br />
the overall impact and aesthetics,” explains<br />
Poppleton, who sits among his expansive furniture<br />
store in <strong>Monterey</strong>. The collection that surrounds<br />
him echoes his appreciation of design—there are<br />
Italian imports, hand finished and ornately etched,<br />
as well as a collection of jaw-dropping antiques.<br />
But Poppleton’s Furnishings & Interior Design<br />
wasn’t always Poppleton’s, the eponymous shop<br />
housed on Lighthouse Avenue. Before it was<br />
Poppleton’s, the largest retailer of furniture on<br />
the <strong>Monterey</strong> <strong>Peninsula</strong>, it was Butcher Block and<br />
Barstools, a small furniture store in Capitola.<br />
Twenty-seven years ago, Poppleton acquired<br />
Butcher Block and Barstools through an ad in the<br />
Businesses For Sale section of the Wall Street<br />
Journal. “It was only one year old and a small<br />
store so I bought it,” tells Poppleton. “From there<br />
it just kept growing.” As the store transformed,<br />
its original name no longer fit with the upscale<br />
inventory. “It came down to Poppleton’s and<br />
Dovetails. I wanted Dovetails, but the staff said<br />
Poppleton’s is better, so I said ‘okay, let’s do it.’”<br />
Poppleton trusts his employees. He humbly<br />
says that hiring excellent people is one thing he<br />
can take credit for. Poppleton has 13 people<br />
on payroll, which he says is “not bad for a Mom<br />
and Pop shop.” But it’s really just a Pop shop, as<br />
Poppleton oversees it all himself.<br />
Poppleton wasn’t always a retailer. Before selling<br />
highly stylized goods, he made them. With a<br />
degree in Industrial Design from San Jose State<br />
University, Poppleton pursued car styling. He had<br />
a love of cars even as a child. “I always sketched<br />
cars as a little kid; really anything that was moving,<br />
I loved,” he says. His love of cars continued into his<br />
teen years when he dreamed of being a car stylist.<br />
A summer internship program at GM made that<br />
dream a reality, and shortly after college GM hired<br />
him to work on their design team. Among his<br />
favorite tasks was converting a Cadillac Seville for<br />
the Geneva Auto Show. “We put in Rolls Royce<br />
leather and modified the interior, the exterior,<br />
and shipped it to Geneva,” exclaims Poppleton,<br />
whose voice fills with excitement as he talks about<br />
the project.<br />
While he liked the job at GM, he hated the<br />
weather and looked for a reason to move back<br />
to California. He found it in a Wall Street Journal<br />
ad, and thus Mike Poppleton the designer was<br />
replaced with Mike Poppleton the retailer.<br />
But before there was Mike Poppleton the designer,<br />
there was Mike Poppleton the child in Washington<br />
State, and before that, Hawaii, and even<br />
before that he was a little boy named Manibou<br />
Arai (Manibou translated means to study and<br />
learn) living in Japan. Mike Poppleton acquired<br />
his current name through his stepfather, Sydney<br />
Robert Poppleton, who was in the Navy and met<br />
Mike’s mother during the war. The family took<br />
Poppleton as their surname and began a new life<br />
in the United States.<br />
Despite being given the name by his stepfather,<br />
Mike Poppleton has made a name for himself. From<br />
his teen years as the National Judo Champion of his<br />
division (his success got him a scholarship to SJSU)<br />
to his adult years as proprietor of his namesake<br />
shop, Poppleton is fully Poppleton.<br />
And his store seems to reflect all the parts of<br />
himself. There’s the gorgeous leather couches,<br />
reminiscent of his early GM days, Asian-inspired art<br />
hangs on the walls, and most notably, hand-drawn<br />
tags adorn each piece of his furniture. Poppleton<br />
sketches each piece of furniture on a small card<br />
and hand-writes a history of the product. He says<br />
he draws the tags to make it easier for him to keep<br />
track of sales, but like the calligraphy he learned as<br />
a child, the strokes perform double duty as both<br />
art and story. °<br />
Photo Direction:<br />
Shot on Location:<br />
Richard Perez-Pacheco<br />
Poppleton’s Furnishings & Interior Design<br />
THE ENDLESS BRUNCH<br />
Your Choice of Brunch Entree + UNLIMITED MIMOSAS<br />
All this for only $19.95!<br />
Grasing’s Coastal Cuisine<br />
6th & Mission St., Carmel-By-the-Sea<br />
www.grasings.com • (831) 624-6562<br />
Kurt’s Carmel Chop House<br />
5th & San Carlos St., Carmel-By-the-Sea<br />
(831) 625-1199
We appreciate your ongoing support. Well wishes for a bright 2010.<br />
THE CYPRESS INN – 800.443.7443 l LINCOLN & SEVENTH, CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA l CYPRESS-INN.COM
PERSONA<br />
Wheeling Through Life in P.G.<br />
BY Jennie Tezak<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Robert jesse
PERSONA<br />
Meals on Wheels volunteer Rachel Lopez bashfully<br />
lowers her head when talking about herself,<br />
but as her story unfolds it’s clear that she has<br />
led a life of accomplishments. At 83 years old,<br />
Lopez has volunteered at Meals on Wheels for 13<br />
years, working in the kitchen chopping food and<br />
doing prep work. It’s apparent that Lopez is well<br />
respected by the staff at Meals on Wheels.<br />
“She comes in almost every day and will do<br />
whatever you want her to do,” said Meals on<br />
Wheels Chef Barbara Rivers, who has known<br />
Lopez for seven years. “She works on the cold line<br />
or the hot line. She is very nice to work with.”<br />
Lopez was born in San Diego but was<br />
predominantly raised in Mexico City as the<br />
youngest of nine children. It was difficult being<br />
the last child. She left school in the 7th grade to<br />
work in a jewelry store and at a pharmacy owned<br />
by a relative. However, her adolescence was not<br />
without its enjoyable diversions.<br />
Lopez’s voice was a familiar sound at church<br />
and at parties. She also participated in a school<br />
play when she was seven years old. One time,<br />
she answered an advertisement in a Mexican<br />
newspaper for a singing contest. “I was nervous<br />
when I auditioned,” Lopez admitted.<br />
The judges were wowed. She won the contest<br />
and was offered a recording and movie contract,<br />
but her older brother decided that a life in the<br />
entertainment world was not suitable for a young<br />
girl. The prize went to the person who came in<br />
second place. “I was sad when I couldn’t do the<br />
movie contract,” Lopez said. “I like performing.”<br />
On Lopez’s dresser sits a glamorous photo of her<br />
that was taken for the movies. She thoroughly<br />
enjoyed getting all dolled up. “I liked having my<br />
hair and makeup done,” said Lopez. “I got to wear<br />
pearls and flowers in my hair.”<br />
Lopez met her husband in the 1940s, was married<br />
for 40 years, and raised three children with him,<br />
two of whom now live on the <strong>Monterey</strong> <strong>Peninsula</strong>.<br />
She was divorced in 1985 and now lives in Pacific<br />
Grove in an apartment attached to her daughter<br />
Cindy’s house. “I love it here,” Lopez said.<br />
Despite spending time in the kitchen at Meals on<br />
Wheels, in her free time Lopez takes pleasure in<br />
cooking, especially Mexican food, once a week.<br />
And word has it; she has a talent for it.<br />
Lopez just can’t sit still. The former Pilates<br />
devotee currently takes tap dancing classes at<br />
Meals on Wheels, while maintaining her strong<br />
desire to help others. “She is very nurturing and<br />
goes out of her way for people,” Cindy divulged.<br />
“She helps the underdog and gives people the<br />
benefit of the doubt. She has a strong belief that<br />
everyone is good.”<br />
Lopez suffers from Parkinson’s disease and<br />
arthritis but refuses to submit to their demands.<br />
Instead, she indulges in long walks, dines out, and<br />
even does her own grocery shopping. “She says,<br />
‘What else can you do?’” Cindy said.<br />
“Rachel is a gentle, unassuming lady who is<br />
modest in everything that she does,” said Jean<br />
Hontalas, an Alliance on Aging volunteer and<br />
friend of Lopez’s. “She’s very proud but doesn’t<br />
take credit for all that she does.”<br />
Hontalas said that Lopez was one of the front<br />
runners for the Alliance on Aging Lifetime<br />
Achievement Award when she was putting the<br />
list of nominees together. “Rachel came to mind<br />
when she told me all she’d done with her life,”<br />
Hontalas recalled. “She is very comfortable at<br />
Meals on Wheels, and she has found something<br />
worthwhile to do. Everyone could take a lesson<br />
from her.” °
STAY<br />
Destination Renovation<br />
BY ANDREA STUART PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT JESSE & HEMALI ACHARYA
Carmel Valley Ranch<br />
One Old Ranch Road, Carmel<br />
831-625-9500<br />
Nestled against the northern reaches of the Santa<br />
Lucia Mountains lies the historic Carmel Valley<br />
Ranch. Currently undergoing a major renovation<br />
and expansion, Carmel Valley Ranch is blending<br />
new state-of-the-art facilities and historic ranch<br />
buildings within the beautiful and tranquil natural<br />
setting of the valley.<br />
“The goal for the design of the Ranch is to really<br />
capture the relationship between Carmel’s<br />
history, architecture, and natural beauty,” said Sal<br />
Abaunza, the resort’s new General Manager. “For<br />
example, the character of the new sports center<br />
will take inspiration from architectural details of<br />
the neighboring historic farmhouse buildings,<br />
while capitalizing on sweeping mountain views.”<br />
More than a renovation, the reinvention of Carmel<br />
Valley Ranch will include a major upgrade of all<br />
139 guest suites, the creation of a beautiful spa,<br />
two separate resort pools with outdoor dining<br />
and natural fire pits, and a vineyard surrounded<br />
by lavender fields and an organic chef’s garden.<br />
A demonstration kitchen will anchor a naturally-lit<br />
event and meeting space, and a major expansion<br />
of the sports and fitness facilities will establish a<br />
new benchmark for family-friendly resorts.<br />
Upon completion, resort guests and club<br />
members will enjoy ample world-class tennis<br />
facilities, a Pete Dye-designed championship golf<br />
course, miles of hiking trails on property, and an<br />
outdoor yoga facility.<br />
“The Ranch will emerge as a completely new<br />
destination, where guests will have the luxury of<br />
choice and space. Some will choose to engage in a<br />
wide range of activities—some very familiar, some<br />
less familiar—while others will simply disconnect in<br />
a romantic, wooded setting,” said Abaunza.<br />
STAY
STAY<br />
HIGHLANDS INN<br />
A HYATT HOTEL & VACATION<br />
CLUB RESORT<br />
120 HIGHLANDS DRIVE, Carmel<br />
831-620-1234<br />
The Highlands Inn has long been known as a destination<br />
for those who would like to feel a million miles away<br />
from their ordinary lives. Perched atop Highlands Drive<br />
with cascading birds-eye views of the ocean surf and its<br />
dramatic capes, Highlands Inn continues to etch itself<br />
into the hearts of local vacationers and travelers alike.<br />
In celebration of Highlands Inn’s luxury accommodations<br />
and unique location, the resort has made some exciting<br />
improvements, including a renovation project for its<br />
guest rooms. Beatrice Girelli is the Principal Designer<br />
of Indidesign, the luxury hospitality and high-end<br />
commercial interior designer that is heading the<br />
renovation. “Because of the size of the rooms and<br />
configuration of the hotel, it was important to provide a<br />
cozy residential identity for the guest rooms and suites,”<br />
said Girelli.<br />
Taking inspiration from the natural landscape and colors<br />
of the area, Indidesign used a palate of light taupe, steel<br />
blue accents, and rich browns highlighted with deep<br />
caramel tones. The rooms were re-conceptualized with<br />
a comfortable contemporary style. Particular attention<br />
has been given to the use of renewable, sustainable, and<br />
recyclable products. The eco-friendly choices include<br />
water efficient faucets and energy efficient lighting, as<br />
well as sustainable textiles made of fibers obtained from<br />
recycled products.<br />
The resort’s restaurants and lounge have undergone<br />
some exciting changes as well. Pascal Castiau, Assistant<br />
Food and Beverage Director at Highlands Inn, says the<br />
new menus for Pacific’s Edge and Sunset Lounge feature<br />
seasonal, local produce, and are drawing attention.<br />
“We’ve created very approachable menus. People used<br />
to think that Pacific’s Edge was only for special occasions.<br />
If the day ends in a “Y” it’s the perfect occasion to dine<br />
here,” insisted Castiau.<br />
In addition to bringing back house favorites such as<br />
the tender 20 oz. Bone-In Rib Eye, Executive Chef Mark<br />
Ayers has included exotic choices such as succulent<br />
<strong>Monterey</strong> Bay Red Abalone with Garlic Flan and Lemon<br />
Coulis. The menu also features edible indulgences by<br />
Pastry Chef George Fritzsche, kid-friendly portions, and<br />
an extensive Under $70 wine list. Sommelier Don Mallery<br />
provides choice pairing options for dinner. For a more<br />
casual experience, Sunset Lounge is a comfortable spot<br />
to grab a mid-afternoon or evening cocktail—perhaps<br />
Sunset Lounge’s signature Kiwi Lemon Drop—features<br />
a family-friendly menu, and offers music on Friday and<br />
Saturday evenings.<br />
Highlands Inn’s new Resort Manager, Jonathan P.<br />
Doepke, has been with Hyatt for eight years, and enjoys<br />
Highlands’ unrivaled characteristics. “This is a very<br />
unique destination. There is no resort like it, and it’s only<br />
getting better.”
Hyatt Regency <strong>Monterey</strong><br />
Hotel & Spa<br />
1 Old Golf Course Road, MONTEREY<br />
831-372-1234<br />
Situated on 22 acres of soaring <strong>Monterey</strong> pines, the<br />
newly renovated Hyatt Regency <strong>Monterey</strong> Hotel &<br />
Spa on Del Monte Golf Course is a destination hotel<br />
providing the discerning traveler with the quintessential<br />
<strong>Monterey</strong> experience.<br />
Reaching a new plateau of excellence with its $65<br />
million renovation, the hotel has transformed the<br />
lobby, Fireplace Lounge, TusCA Ristorante, all 555<br />
guestrooms, and introduced the new 12,000 squarefoot<br />
Accista Spa.<br />
Designed to draw connection between the indoors<br />
and outdoors, Accista Spa acquires insight from the<br />
seasonal continuum of nature and the native people’s<br />
respect for the seasonal rhythm of harvest, rest, renewal<br />
and abundance. Incorporating environmentallyconscientious<br />
design, the spa draws on renewable,<br />
sustainable, and recyclable resources. Their Signature<br />
Seasonal Scrubs gathered from the area’s seas, shore,<br />
meadow, mountains, and oak groves, demonstrates<br />
the property’s eco-conscious philosophy. The Accista<br />
Spa also features 10 spa treatment rooms, six spacious<br />
single-treatment rooms, and four couple’s spa suites.<br />
Boasting warm, natural light, a fireplace and relaxation<br />
area for two, and side-by-side massage tables, the<br />
nearly 350-square-foot couple’s suites are the only ones<br />
of their kind on the <strong>Monterey</strong> <strong>Peninsula</strong>.<br />
Complementing the experience are a spacious fullservice<br />
hair and nail salon, and men’s and women’s<br />
locker facilities that each offer custom sauna and steam<br />
rooms. Located adjacent to the spa is a 2,000 squarefoot,<br />
newly-refurbished outdoor pool and hot tub, and<br />
the recently completed 2,000 square-foot fitness facility.<br />
“The Hyatt Regency <strong>Monterey</strong> has been a proud<br />
member of the <strong>Peninsula</strong>’s business and social<br />
community for over 40 years,” said Mark Bastis, General<br />
Manager. “Our $65 million renovation signals the<br />
importance Hyatt Hotels Corporation places on the<br />
<strong>Monterey</strong> peninsula.”
Smile! It can light up a room and warm the heart.<br />
The memory of a beautiful smile lasts forever. Dr. Jeanette Kern helps people from all over the <strong>Peninsula</strong> improve the health and appearance<br />
of their teeth. Dr. Kern is an expert dentist who has completed post-doctoral training in cosmetic and restorative dentistry. She is a compassionate<br />
practitioner with 25 years of experience and a commitment to community service. At Dr. Kern’s office you’re treated like a VIP. To<br />
make visits especially comfortable, Dr. Kern designed a zen-inspired office space with creature comforts like paraffin hand dip and entertainment<br />
systems. New patients are welcome, and smile consultations are always complimentary.<br />
Jeanette Kern, DDS<br />
660 Camino Aguajito<br />
Suite 201, <strong>Monterey</strong><br />
(831) 372-8011<br />
www.jkerndds.com<br />
Schedule by calling (831) 372-8011 or at www.jkerndds.com.
Montoya’s Mountain<br />
BY Jeanne Johnston<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY HEMALI ACHARYA<br />
PERSONA
It was at that very moment that Montoya determined that she would<br />
make the rigorous 19,340 foot climb to say goodbye to her husband.<br />
PERSONA<br />
Personal tragedies—all things that knock<br />
individuals off their centers and interrupt life’s<br />
course—can manifest differently in each person.<br />
One may wrap themselves in a pseudo-cocoon of<br />
various emotions, while another may dive into the<br />
development of a grassroots organization to pay<br />
tribute to the loss of a loved one.<br />
Stacey Montoya, originally from Santa Cruz and a<br />
long-time resident of the <strong>Monterey</strong> <strong>Peninsula</strong>, is a<br />
graduate of Santa Catalina Girl’s School and has<br />
lived much more than her 38 birth years.<br />
In fall of 2001, when tragedy took the life of her<br />
36-year-old husband, whom she married just three<br />
months earlier in the Chapel at Santa Catalina,<br />
Montoya’s youthful bravado was stripped from<br />
her. The strong independent woman with an<br />
MBA in Finance, who once worked with the U.S.<br />
International Trade Commission, found herself lying<br />
in bed day after day, without focus. These were the<br />
embryonic stages of Montoya’s eight-year journey<br />
up her mountain of healing.<br />
Living in Boston, away from her family support<br />
system and suffering from post traumatic stress<br />
disorder, Montoya felt angry and without closure.<br />
Her home became a revolving turnstile for five<br />
of her committed friends who scheduled visits to<br />
ensure she would never be alone.<br />
In March of 2002 Montoya’s devoted cheerleaders<br />
insisted that she participate in a girl’s night out<br />
to the IMAX theatre, where the feature was<br />
Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa. During the film,<br />
it was said that the locals refer to the summit of<br />
Kilimanjaro as “where the heavens meet the earth.”<br />
As these words resonated in Montoya’s mind,<br />
she turned to her friends and said “that is where I<br />
will need to go.” It was at that very moment that<br />
Montoya determined she would make the rigorous<br />
19,340 foot climb to say goodbye to her husband.<br />
Montoya hopped from Boston to London where<br />
she worked and tried to mend, but with little<br />
success. She returned to the <strong>Monterey</strong> <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
in 2004 and threw herself into an 80-hour work<br />
week. Work became her life until Montoya had<br />
an epiphany.<br />
Montoya realized that lives can be called short<br />
without the courtesy of a whistle warning. She<br />
noticed that many people put their “real” lives on<br />
hold while subscribing to careers that offer prestige<br />
and larger salaries at the sacrifice of putting<br />
personal relationships on hold.<br />
This realization metamorphosed into the thought<br />
that there were young children—exposed to<br />
terminal and predisposed illnesses, abuse,<br />
and neglect—living in the world with no vote or<br />
second chance.<br />
In the following weeks she resigned from her job.<br />
She focused on training for her trek up<br />
Mt. Kilimanjaro, and on her commitments to<br />
children’s agencies on the <strong>Monterey</strong> <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
such as the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Court<br />
Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA).<br />
In January of 2007, Stacey Montoya, joined by<br />
three other seasoned climbers, made the climb up<br />
Mt. Kilimanjaro. In her backpack she carried a<br />
5-pound natural heart-shaped stone, and when<br />
she reached the summit on the 7th day she<br />
respectfully buried her “heavy heart” in the snow<br />
of Kilimanjaro. You could liken the experience to<br />
a tattoo removal, with eight years of sadness and<br />
grief finally behind her.<br />
Today Montoya resides on the <strong>Monterey</strong><br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> and is more committed than ever to<br />
giving a voice to children who have been abused,<br />
abandoned and neglected, and hope to children<br />
with life-threatening illnesses. She is the <strong>Monterey</strong><br />
Area Coordinator as well as Wish Grantor for the<br />
Make a Wish Foundation. She also serves on the<br />
Board of Directors for CASA and is a devoted<br />
advocate for them. Additionally, she has worked<br />
with the World Harvest Ministries, and in her<br />
travels to India, Ethiopia, and Columbia she visits<br />
the cities’ orphanages.<br />
She recently completed courses in viticulture and<br />
oenology at UC Davis to pursue her secondary<br />
passion, wine-making. In June of 2008, she<br />
established her boutique winery named Chateau<br />
Bellamonte. The tag line on each label says,<br />
“Where the Heavens Meet the Earth.” °
Find Your Solid Self<br />
BY Andrea Stuart<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT JESSE<br />
Single-dom. It’s not a plague. In fact, Cheryl Ann<br />
Savage, a <strong>Monterey</strong> Bay Area success and dating<br />
coach, is hitting the subject head-on, dispelling<br />
the myths of what it means to be single by working<br />
with women to help them realize their full potential<br />
as individuals.<br />
Whether a woman has entered a new phase of<br />
her life through divorce, the loss of a spouse, or<br />
because she has spent her life in a career, it’s never<br />
too late to rebuild the foundation for happiness.<br />
Savage assists women by empowering them to look<br />
past their preconceived notions and expectations<br />
and to apply different strategies to living life.<br />
Step 1: Analyze.<br />
When re-emerging in the dating scene, women<br />
often feel like wallflowers at a junior high school<br />
dance. Many women haven’t dated in years<br />
and aren’t familiar with the “rules” of dating or<br />
being a single woman. Savage says this is a time<br />
to get in touch with your younger, curious, and<br />
excited side. You can stay out late! You don’t<br />
have to check in! And, you can date multiple<br />
people simultaneously! That’s right! It’s a time for<br />
reflection, to look into the self, and learn about<br />
who you are and what you want. Savage tells<br />
women to stop dwelling on the disappointments<br />
of the past and, instead, encourages them to ask:<br />
Who am I? What am I doing? What do I want?<br />
What are my concerns? The answers to these<br />
questions help Savage assist women in refreshing<br />
and renewing. This means discovering new<br />
activities, making new friends, taking long-put-off<br />
trips, going back to school, and more.<br />
Step 2: Brainstorm.<br />
Savage understands that the idea of something can<br />
seem easier than putting it into fruition. That’s why<br />
she coaches women on how to set up and follow<br />
through with their goals. If a woman is interested in<br />
dating again, Savage offers a road map and tools<br />
for successful dating. She helps women tackle<br />
the “what-ifs” and the “dos and don’ts” of each<br />
dating scenario, guiding them to become openminded.<br />
Though, Savage warns that many women<br />
don’t really know how to date. “We all judge ideas,<br />
ourselves, and others according to other people’s<br />
rules. I teach women to tailor their expectations<br />
based on where they are now,” said Savage. “It’s<br />
also about not taking things so seriously. It’s about<br />
having fun and exploring new possibilities.”<br />
Step 3: Action.<br />
Dating takes practice. The best way to become<br />
more independent is by getting out there. Savage<br />
insists that women who want to date must rid<br />
themselves of previous ideas. And they must not<br />
compare any man they date with the ones before.<br />
“This step is about recognizing feelings that come<br />
up, and empowering responsibility,” Savage<br />
explained. The end result is the emergence of an<br />
independent woman who can go out by herself<br />
with confidence.<br />
“I can give tools, techniques, and teach the<br />
process, but women need to have fun, be light<br />
hearted, and loving.” said Savage. “They need to<br />
work on themselves to become what they want. It’s<br />
important to have more joyful women out there.<br />
We are nurturers. We must find our inner selves<br />
and be happy.”<br />
Cheryl Savage<br />
Success and Dating Coach<br />
831-521-8762<br />
www.cherylannsavage.com<br />
ADVERTORIAL
EVENT<br />
The Worth of White<br />
BY Michelle Oles<br />
Everyone likes to have fun, take time away from their busy<br />
schedules, and indulge in the finer things life has to offer.<br />
How much better is that leisure time when it also benefits a<br />
worthy cause? That is the epiphany Anthony and Cameron<br />
Davi had eight years ago when they attended their first<br />
White Party in San Francisco. They already loved throwing<br />
parties for their friends; once they saw the theme of all-white<br />
attire, they felt inspired to do the same while adding a little<br />
twist of their own.<br />
The Davis decided to have people purchase tickets or make<br />
donations in order to raise money for the children’s charities<br />
of their choice. “We try and find charities that aren’t as<br />
recognized on the peninsula,” explained Cameron. “[We<br />
want] to do something where we all have a nice time but also<br />
help out the local children,” Anthony added. The couple<br />
chooses an organization to support, and after two years<br />
pass, they choose a new one. Although it’s difficult to leave<br />
behind the bonds created, the Davis want to help as many<br />
charities as possible. They first worked with My Museum,<br />
a children’s museum with hands-on exhibits. Last year and<br />
this year focused on helping Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS),<br />
which provides steady role models for children who don’t<br />
already have one.<br />
The White Party “starts out as a cocktail party and once it<br />
gets dark, it turns into a dance party,” Anthony shared. The<br />
more reserved crowd shows up earlier, and then the party<br />
animals stay late into the night. But you can’t get in unless<br />
you’re on the invitation list. How does one secure their spot?<br />
It’s part luck, part charisma. Anthony revealed that when he’s<br />
enjoying lunch out or running errands around town, he will<br />
invite complete strangers that he encounters. If someone<br />
seems amiable or has a charming personality, he’ll tell them<br />
about the party and ask if they’d like to go. His list is up to<br />
400 people, both local and out of town. Though attendance<br />
is usually around 200 because of distance; some individuals<br />
send money in their place.<br />
This year’s event took place on September 11. Sponsors<br />
such as Tiffany & Co., Pacific Tweed, and Finlandia Vodka<br />
helped raise $27,000, along with the 210 people who<br />
attended the party, which took place at Anthony and<br />
Cameron’s home. Marc Russo, Executive Director for BBBS<br />
of <strong>Monterey</strong> County, divulged that “funds raised go towards<br />
the staff time to recruit and background check and train<br />
volunteers as a one-on-one mentor for children,” something<br />
that otherwise would be difficult to do. The White Party<br />
is an opportunity for organizations such as BBBS to make<br />
themselves known in the community and to receive financial<br />
aid that would be tough to collect on their own.<br />
Money always helps, but it’s the friendships that are<br />
formed through Anthony and Cameron’s event that are<br />
truly priceless. °<br />
For information about The White Party Pebble Beach visit<br />
www.whitepartypb.net.
Rombauer Vineyards<br />
800.622.2206 l 3522 SILVERADO TRAIL, ST. HELENA, CALIFORNIA l WWW.ROMBAUER.COM
57° DEPARTMENTS<br />
PERSONA<br />
Off-the-Cuff and In the Rough<br />
BY Andrea Stuart<br />
Tatiana Sorokko: Russia’s<br />
Most Stylish Import<br />
BY Andrea Stuart<br />
SCENE<br />
Inside KNBR 680 Radio<br />
Hotel Luca, Napa<br />
CONTRIBUTORS<br />
SPECIAL<br />
City Lickers<br />
BY ALESSANDRO DE SOGOS<br />
COVER<br />
Photography: KEVIN THOMAS,<br />
REPRESENTED BY WHITE CROSS, 818-880-1026<br />
Photo Direction: RICHARD PEREZ-PACHECO<br />
Location: Fisherman’s Grotto No. 9, San Francisco
CONTRIBUTORS<br />
01 Hemali Acharya,<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
“<strong>Monterey</strong> is a beautiful city; I enjoyed shooting<br />
heart-warming and inspiring people of this city.”<br />
~ hemaliphotography.com<br />
05 Kevin Thomas, PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
“Working with San Francisco icons like Tatiana<br />
Sorokko and Gary Radnich is what makes this<br />
magazine great. More please!!”<br />
~ kevinthomasphotography.com<br />
01<br />
02<br />
03<br />
05<br />
06<br />
07<br />
02 Jeanne Johnston, Writer<br />
”The quality and sincerity of the profiled<br />
individuals that fill the pages of this issue will<br />
leave our readers eagerly anticipating every<br />
publication in 2010”<br />
~ jeannejcarmel@gmail.com<br />
03 ROBERT Jesse, PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
“I learned a lot this issue. Thank you <strong>65°</strong><br />
<strong>Magazine</strong> for the opportunity to work with<br />
such a creative staff, and meet such wonderful<br />
people.”<br />
~ robertjesse.com<br />
04 Kristin A. Smith, Writer<br />
“Rich Pepe’s stories about his childhood made<br />
me reminisce (and hunger) for my East Coast<br />
upbringing.”<br />
~ kristinaurorasmith.com<br />
06 Jennie Tezak, Writer<br />
“Talking to Rachel Lopez was extremely<br />
gratifying. She is a truly accomplished, giving,<br />
and humble person.”<br />
~ jennie.tezak@gmail.com<br />
07 D.M. Troutman, PHOTOGRAPHER<br />
“I’m very excited about the new Scene section<br />
on www.65mag.com; it’s a great way to see the<br />
events that the magazine is involved in!”<br />
~ dmtimaging.com<br />
08 Michelle Oles, Writer<br />
“The act of giving should be prevalent in our<br />
lives, especially during this season. A small<br />
amount truly can multiply into greatness.”<br />
~ oles.poet@gmail.com<br />
04<br />
08<br />
BALI LIMOUSINES<br />
888.677.3776 l 100 Produce Avenue, South San Francisco l WWW.BALILIMO.COM
Off-the-Cuff and<br />
In the Rough<br />
BY Andrea Stuart<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN THOMAS<br />
Writhing to free itself from his lips is the sonic boom known<br />
as Gary Radnich’s voice. For years, Bay Area radio listeners<br />
have become familiarized with the vocal force that has taken<br />
over the airwaves of KNBR 680 weekday mornings. Some<br />
have developed a fondness for the anecdotes and offensive<br />
pleasantries that Gary pulls from his archive of relatable life<br />
stories. Others maintain a love-hate relationship with his<br />
foursquare broadcasts. One thing is undeniable, whether<br />
you’re a fan or a critic; he’s ubiquitous within the sports<br />
community, especially on the streets of San Francisco where<br />
passersby shout spot remarks to him. Nevertheless, Gary is<br />
simply the product of a prosaic upbringing, living off of his<br />
parents’ aphorisms and daily examples.<br />
He and Bugs Bunny are analogous: both are armed with<br />
quips and personalities deep in complexion. Gary can<br />
either send you to the moon on laughter, or leave you<br />
contemplating the arteries between his words. He’ll tackle<br />
any subject, confront nearly any situation, and he’ll do so<br />
with a sense of humor and trenchant levity that loosens<br />
your equilibrium.<br />
PERSONA<br />
“Chris, listen to me,” Gary provokes a caller during a<br />
discussion about hate between Dodgers and Giants fans.<br />
“Once the game is over, what good does it do to hold<br />
onto that negativity or hate? Do you teach your kids to<br />
hate, Chris?” Punctuating the statement with a humorous
I’ll never be able to sell an autobiography. I don’t have the<br />
hardship story that many others have.<br />
PERSONA<br />
undercurrent, Gary winks before “Chris” concedes<br />
the point. The fact is there’s a little threat of truth<br />
in each of Gary’s repartees, from his seemingly<br />
innocent comments about sports, to his purposefully<br />
placed witticisms about the state of culture today.<br />
Gary is keen on what’s going on around him, and<br />
he’s not afraid to call a spade a spade.<br />
Growing up in San Jose, California as the son of<br />
laborers and entrepreneurs, Gary lived a life that<br />
might best be recapped through a collage of<br />
sports highlights. In frame one, Gary is a two-yearold<br />
swimming diaper-free in the muddy irrigation<br />
ditches of the family’s apricot and pear orchards. In<br />
frame two, nine-year-old Gary and his dad return<br />
to the orchards from a Little League game. Gary<br />
watches his dad irrigate the orchards by the car’s<br />
headlights. In frame three, 10-year-old Gary picks<br />
up a basketball, shooting hoops in the driveway for<br />
hours on end each day until his skills eventually take<br />
him to high school, then college.<br />
“I’ll never be able to sell an autobiography. I don’t<br />
have the hardship story that many others have,”<br />
Gary confesses. “I observed my parents’ hard work<br />
and devotion to the family, and just did my best to<br />
mimic it.”<br />
Gary is the child of Evelyn and Bill “Willie” Radunich<br />
(Gary dropped the “U” to preserve the name’s<br />
proper pronunciation). He credits them as his role<br />
models, having been taught more by example than<br />
by lecture. “One thing Dad did say was, ‘unless<br />
you really know a person, don’t idolize them,’”<br />
Gary says. Years ago, his father recounted a story<br />
about former Giants announcer, Lon Simmons, and<br />
how he once snubbed a young Gary after asking<br />
for Simmons’ autograph. “The irony is, I had him<br />
on my show a couple of times,” he shrugs. “But,<br />
whatever.” Gary let’s most things roll off of his back,<br />
believing that the only opinions that matter are of<br />
the people closest to him.<br />
Family customs are another key ingredient in<br />
“recipe Gary.” The Radnich’s are longtime Bay Area<br />
sports habitués. Evelyn, Willie, and the kids would<br />
head to dinner at the Fisherman’s Grotto—where<br />
Gary takes his family today—following games. Tito,<br />
one of the Grotto’s waiters, remembers Gary when<br />
he was just a sprout. “I knew Gary when he was just<br />
this high,” he says, flattening his hand at waist level.<br />
Folded into the nooks and crannies of Gary’s values<br />
are the observations that inspired him to become<br />
an “old-fashioned kinda guy.” At 89, Gary’s mother<br />
has built a life around volunteerism and still refuses<br />
to miss Gary’s shows. As for Gary’s father, up until he<br />
passed away at 86, Willie was known for trimming<br />
the trees at a convent in Los Gatos for no other<br />
reason than because he enjoyed helping. Willie was<br />
also a pragmatic man. Tending the orchards often<br />
required the assistance of farmhands. And on a few<br />
occasions, hands were caught sleeping in trees,<br />
their limbs draped over the branches like willows.<br />
One time, “Grandpa Willie” took matters into<br />
his own hands. Grasping the trunk of the tree, he<br />
shook those Sleeping Beauties to the ground. Alicia<br />
Radnich, Gary’s wife, refers to that day as “a true Ma<br />
and Pa Kettle moment.”<br />
Just about the only thing Radnich didn’t inherit<br />
was his dad’s aptitude for craftsmanship. “Dad<br />
always said he might as well do a job himself<br />
because he’d just have to do it again anyhow,”<br />
Gary chuckles. “At home, I can fix light bulbs. I try<br />
to fix other things too. But ultimately, Alicia comes<br />
along and corrects it.”<br />
Over the decades, life has peppered small parodies<br />
of its lessons around Gary. He has reconciled these<br />
experiences and connected life philosophies to his<br />
every move—in the studio, in the home, and in his<br />
conduct—all while living an abstemious lifestyle.<br />
“My mom may be Scottish, but I don’t drink<br />
alcohol,” Gary admits. Aside from not liking the<br />
taste, Gary says that if you want to be a wise guy for<br />
a living, you have to be clear headed. “TV viewers<br />
will occasionally accuse me of being drunk when<br />
they disagree with what I say,” Gary admits. “Guess<br />
the joke is on them.”<br />
Gary has accumulated more than two decades of<br />
experience in the sports industry, including coverage<br />
of dozens of Super Bowls and World Series. He also<br />
serves as KNBR talk show host for The Gary Radnich<br />
Show, as KRON 4’s evening sportscaster and as<br />
co-host of the 2009 49ers Postgame Live with Willie<br />
Brown and Eric Davis. Regardless, he claims to lead<br />
a “neighborhood” life. “I go to work. I take the kids<br />
to school. I pick them up. We eat dinner. We go to<br />
bed. Then, do it all again the next day,” he says,<br />
matter of fact. And what’s wrong with that? He’s Gary<br />
Radnich, the indiscriminate voice of the Bay Area.<br />
He’s off-the-cuff and in the rough, but he’s also the<br />
kind of man you can take home to Mother. °<br />
INSIDE KNBR 680 RADIO, SAN FRANCISCO<br />
Photography by KEVIN THOMAS
SCENE<br />
02 03<br />
04 05<br />
01<br />
06<br />
HOTEL LUCA, NAPA VALLEY<br />
01. David & Kathleen Fink, James DeLuca 02. Lauren Mondavi & Alison Parks 03. Bonnie Miller, David & Kathleen Fink 04. Cyril Chappellet Jason Balestrieri, Joe Schoendorf<br />
05. Cyril Chappellet, Jason Balestrieri] 06. Dave & Nancy Yewell, Sonya & James DeLuca
SPECIAL<br />
nourish by SPA CHAKRA<br />
415.923.5014 l 333 O’FARRELL STREET, SAN FRANCISCO l NOURISH-SPASF.COM<br />
City Lickers<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALESSANDRO DE SOGOS
Tatiana Sorokko:<br />
Russia’s Most<br />
Stylish Import<br />
BY Andrea Stuart<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN THOMAS<br />
You could say that the best thing to come from<br />
Sarov, Russia since the atomic bomb is Tatiana<br />
Sorokko. Having grown up in the isolated nuclear<br />
community with her parents, both scientists at<br />
the renowned Russian Federal Nuclear Center,<br />
Sorokko was practically a product of the Russian<br />
Manhattan Project. With intentions to follow in<br />
her parents’ footsteps, she planned to become<br />
a scientist and attend the Moscow Institute of<br />
Physics and Technology. However, destiny had a<br />
different idea for her.<br />
Sorokko was never a typical child, not physically or<br />
otherwise. People often ask how she became so tall,<br />
to which Sorokko jests that her five-foot eleven-inch<br />
frame and her brother’s six-foot four-inch trunk are<br />
the results of radiation exposure. “We grew like<br />
nuclear mushrooms,” Sorokko says. Her accent is a<br />
seductive wash over Russian-spiced syllables.<br />
PERSONA<br />
As Russia opened up to the world—Sorokko’s first<br />
concert as a teenager was Bon Jovi—she jumped<br />
outside of the box. While attending the Moscow<br />
Physics Institute, Sorokko learned that model<br />
agent Marilyn Gauthier of the eponymous Paris<br />
Model Agency was scouting new talent in Russia.<br />
Of the thousands who tried out, Sorokko was the<br />
pearl that emerged from Russia’s oyster. By March
and produced photo shoots with the likes of<br />
Elizabeth Taylor and Nancy Pelosi, among others,<br />
Sorokko is currently researching and writing a book<br />
about the iconic American fashion designer, James<br />
Galanos. She’s also preparing for an exhibition<br />
at the Moscow Textiles Museum dedicated to<br />
her personal style and featuring her collection of<br />
couture garments. The Exhibition is scheduled to<br />
open in Moscow in April, 2010.<br />
“Though I am obviously of Russian descent, I am<br />
one hundred percent Westerner,” Sorokko says.<br />
“My adult years were developed in the West,<br />
where I formed my values. In Russia, we speak<br />
the same language, but we don’t really speak the<br />
same language.”<br />
PERSONA<br />
of 1990, she was transplanted from the ashen pallet<br />
of the former Soviet Union—where residents often<br />
waited in lines for food and lackluster clothing—to<br />
the kaleidoscopic worlds of Paris, London, Milan<br />
and Tokyo, where luxury tickled the fingertips. Her<br />
first photo shoot was with the legendary French<br />
photographer, Guy Bourdin.<br />
“I was always a creative person, which was not encouraged<br />
in Russia,” Sorokko’s voice eases into a<br />
semi-whisper. “I was suspended from school many<br />
times.”<br />
In addition to being athletic—basketball and volleyball<br />
were just two high school pastimes—her<br />
urge to experiment with fashion motivated her<br />
to do things such as redesign school uniforms by<br />
shortening the skirt, adding ruffles, cutting her<br />
bangs, and perming her hair.<br />
“In the Russian language, the word for perm is the<br />
same as for chemistry: khimiya,” Sorokko explains.<br />
“After seeing me with my new hairstyle, my<br />
chemistry teacher told me that ‘chemistry belongs<br />
inside of your head, not on your head,’ then<br />
suspended me from class.” Thus, Sorokko became<br />
a true fashion victim, suffering the teacher’s wrath<br />
for her fashion forwardness. Little did her parents<br />
know that this “phase” would turn into a fullfledged<br />
career.<br />
Sorokko says she is drawn to fashion in particular<br />
“because it allows people to express their individuality.”<br />
Curiosity is an integral part of success,<br />
according to Sorokko. She believes that crises<br />
often produce opportunities for people to become<br />
doubly inspired and apply their inspiration to<br />
everyday life. “Now may be a great time for new,<br />
creative, inspirational fashion. I do not consider<br />
myself fashionable, but am always thrilled to hear<br />
that my personal style may have inspired a particular<br />
trend in fashion.”<br />
Though Sorokko has retired from modeling, she<br />
is still very much involved in fashion and has been<br />
included multiple times in the World Best Dressed<br />
List by both Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue magazines.<br />
In addition to holding a contributing editor<br />
position with Harper’s Bazaar, having interviewed<br />
One language she does share with her Russian<br />
ancestors is the language of food. Her Russian dill<br />
pickles, adopted from her grandmother’s recipe,<br />
have become infamous. Invited to make them<br />
before a live television audience on The Martha<br />
Stewart Show, she received praise from celebrity<br />
chef Wolfgang Puck among others. When asked<br />
what makes her pickles so special Sorokko says,<br />
from behind the fallen curls of her champagne hair,<br />
“The road to a Russian soul is paved with pickles.”<br />
Cooking Russian food is her way of remembering<br />
her grandmother.<br />
Sorokko never dreamed that she’d be a California<br />
girl, describing the experience as “almost extraterrestrial.”<br />
But, having made her home in Mill Valley<br />
with husband, art dealer and real estate developer<br />
Serge Sorokko, she’s melted into the lifestyle like<br />
butter onto hot bread. °<br />
Shot on Location: Old Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Cathedral<br />
and Legion of Honor
Black Sheep Design’s Expression of Gratitude<br />
BY RICHARD PEREZ-PACHECO<br />
blacksheepca.com<br />
For the last two decades I have<br />
developed everything from toy<br />
packaging, to annual reports and<br />
national ad campaigns. But never<br />
have I plunged into an enterprise<br />
as prodigious as this. Seventeen<br />
months ago, my agency embarked<br />
on a new project to re-design the<br />
look of <strong>65°</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>. This occurred in concert with the birth of my son<br />
“Little Richie.” And, I must admit, I’m enjoying both rides.<br />
Since this is the first issue of the New Year, I decided to use this opportunity<br />
to bestow special recognition upon the people who have made<br />
an impact on me throughout my involvement as Creative Director of<br />
this magazine.<br />
A hearty thank you to Denny Levett, Nancy Slade, and Amanda Levett<br />
of Cypress Inn for welcoming me to your place; you treat your guests<br />
like royalty, and your espresso martini is unlike any other. Thank you to<br />
Pino Spinoso, owner of the best Italian restaurants in the City including<br />
Belden Place. You are a true cigar aficionado and the only “Mayor<br />
of Belden Place.” Sincere thanks to JP Doepke, General Manager of<br />
Highlands Inn. My wife and I treasure the luxury accommodations and<br />
the arresting seaside views offered by your resort.<br />
I am grateful to know Stacey Montoya, an inspiring woman whose<br />
passion and emotive soul are as obvious as they are contagious. In<br />
the high fashion scene, Sean Murphy of Pacific Tweed embodies a<br />
true family man who loves a good hike. Its’ an honor to know Michael<br />
Cayen and the “Young Guns” gang, including Giuseppe Panzuto and<br />
Ryan Phinny; your charisma enlivens the peninsula.<br />
During this issue, I was most humbled by Gary Radnich and his lovely<br />
wife, Alicia. On our way to San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Grotto I learned<br />
that we hold the same core values: A belief that it is important to be<br />
different from others while remaining true to one’s self.<br />
However, it is only with the contributions of a talented crew that we are<br />
able to breathe life into the magazine. I impart special gratitude to the<br />
collective talent of <strong>65°</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong>.<br />
Photographers Greg Harris and Christine Muro, two Brooks Institute<br />
Alumni; you capture images that complete the essence of the<br />
magazine. Michael Troutman, you are an impassioned professional.<br />
Bravo! And, I am honored to work with super model turned<br />
photographer, Kevin Thomas. Your persona speaks volumes to the<br />
excellence in your craft. Also, I thank new discoveries Hemali Acharya<br />
and Robert Jesse. Keep up the good work.<br />
Tremendous thanks goes to Editorial Director Andrea Stuart, and her<br />
committed editorial team whose stories imbue the photography with<br />
purpose. Thanks, Andrea.<br />
And, I can’t forget my dedicated and gifted designer/day trader,<br />
Leonel Calara. Thanks for performing the grunt work.<br />
Finally, I thank my wife, best friend, copy editor, business partner,<br />
and my left brain, Clarissa Perez-Pacheco. In an attempt to avoid any<br />
clichés told by husbands about their wives, I simply say, your smile is<br />
addicting, and your heart is everlasting. I love you. Little Richie, you’re<br />
the reason.<br />
Thank you to everyone. Have a great 2010!<br />
Suchada Traditional Thai Massage<br />
38 Bryant St. SF, CA 94105 at The Embarcadero l 415.644.0808