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Vol. 1, No. 10 • <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> Uniting the Community with <strong>News</strong>, Features and Commentary Circulation: 14,500 • $1.00<br />

INSIDE THIS ISSUE<br />

SUMMER<br />

CAMPS<br />

AND<br />

SCHOOLS<br />

Pfannkuche to Leave<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> YMCA<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

After nearly 10 years as executive director<br />

of the <strong>Palisades</strong>-Malibu<br />

YMCA, Carol Pfannkuche is leaving<br />

to accept a similar position at the Ketchum-<br />

Downtown YMCA on Hope Street.<br />

“She’s fantastic and we hate to lose her,”<br />

said YMCA Board Chair Layth Carlson,<br />

who was on the board when Pfannkuche<br />

was hired in 2005. “She is dedicated, tireless<br />

and selfless. She was like a quarterback of<br />

the Y, meeting with elected officials, community<br />

activists and members. She was<br />

even-keeled and always had a smile.”<br />

Said Pfannkuche, who has lived in Pacific<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> for 20 years, “When I came to the<br />

YMCA, I had been a community organizer<br />

and worked with nonprofits. My kids<br />

took swimming lessons at the Y Pool [in<br />

Parade Theme<br />

Sought for<br />

Fourth of July<br />

Ever since American Legion Post 283<br />

revived the Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Fourth<br />

of July parade in 1961, a theme has<br />

helped define the parade. This year is<br />

no different, and PAPA (<strong>Palisades</strong><br />

Americanism Parade Association) is<br />

asking your help to pen a clever, witty,<br />

poignant or memorable theme.<br />

Last year’s winner was Kim Traenkle’s<br />

entry, “Star-Spangled <strong>Palisades</strong>.”<br />

Submit your best idea(s) to info@<br />

pali sadesparade.org, by Friday, April 3.<br />

The winner will be selected at the next<br />

PAPA meeting on April 6.<br />

If your theme is selected, in addition<br />

to bragging rights, you can also ride in<br />

the parade aboard a fire engine (with<br />

selected family members) and Pali -<br />

sades <strong>News</strong> will feature you in a story.<br />

Temescal Canyon] and had gone through<br />

the Y Guides program with my husband.”<br />

Last summer, Pfannkuche said, when<br />

she attended the YMCA World Council in<br />

Estes Park, Colorado, “I was moved by the<br />

amazing mission work the Y is doing in<br />

countries around the world. The move<br />

downtown was inspired by that. I want to<br />

use what I’ve learned here to move the<br />

mission forward in Los Angeles.”<br />

Given that executive director positions<br />

do not often come open within the YMCA,<br />

Pfannkuche felt it was important to capture<br />

this opportunity to move up to a larger facility<br />

with top-notch facilities. A new pool<br />

opened in November and there’s a massage<br />

service, a sauna, steam rooms, and a café<br />

that serves healthy foods, including shakes<br />

and wraps.<br />

More interesting to Pfannkuche, “It<br />

serves a diverse area and includes the second<br />

largest homeless population in the nation.<br />

Plus, nearly 56 percent of the people<br />

who work downtown, now live there.”<br />

Rob Lowe, a Y-board member during<br />

Pfannkuche’s employment, credits her with<br />

the creation of Simon Meadow; expanding<br />

the Y’s reach into the community (continuing<br />

the <strong>Palisades</strong> High School community<br />

service program); and guiding the Y through<br />

tough economic years in 2009 and 2010.<br />

“She truly believed in and cared about<br />

creating a Y with a mission to serve needs<br />

that were both unmet and would be valuable<br />

to the community,” Lowe said.<br />

Pfannkuche, a graduate of USC with a<br />

degree in public administration, established<br />

a Youth and Government program in the<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> that has grown from five students<br />

three years ago to more than 70 this year.<br />

The Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> resident who grew<br />

up in Manhattan Beach, was hired May 2,<br />

2005. At that time, Y board member Duke<br />

Osteroff told this reporter, “We have a good<br />

one. She lives in the community, she’s smart<br />

and she knows everyone.”<br />

Six weeks after she took the position, the<br />

(Continued on Page 4)<br />

Monument at Albright Is<br />

Closed through <strong>March</strong> 23<br />

Soil remediation on the north side of<br />

Swarthmore that began in mid-February<br />

required relocating a storm drain under<br />

the property and under the street, resulting<br />

in complete street closures on upper<br />

Swarthmore.<br />

The intersection of Monument and Albright<br />

was completely closed to traffic on<br />

<strong>March</strong> 9. It will reopen Monday, <strong>March</strong><br />

23. North- and south-bound traffic on<br />

Monument remains open.<br />

Play<br />

Ball!<br />

Actor/comedian and<br />

former Saturday Night<br />

Live star Bill Hader<br />

(right) threw out the<br />

ceremonial first pitch<br />

Saturday, before leaving<br />

to fly to Texas with Will<br />

Ferrell. Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

Baseball Association<br />

Commissioner Bob<br />

Benton (left) told Hader<br />

to tell his friend that<br />

even though Ferrell<br />

played all nine positions<br />

for ten Major League<br />

teams in five games in<br />

one day, it was Hader<br />

who had the greater<br />

honor, kicking off the<br />

PPBA season. See<br />

story on Page 15.<br />

Photo: Sue Pascoe<br />

When Caruso Affiliated first entered<br />

into a purchase agreement with <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

Properties in 2012, inspectors discovered<br />

that the former Emerson-LaMay Cleaners<br />

on Swarthmore had for decades poured<br />

toxic material into the soil, which now requires<br />

cleanup.<br />

Part of that remediation involved relocating<br />

the storm drain. The City is overseeing<br />

the storm drain work from 8 a.m.<br />

to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.<br />

Presorted Standard<br />

U.S. Postage<br />

PAID<br />

Pasadena, CA<br />

Permit #422<br />

**************ECRWSSEDDM*************<br />

Postal Customer<br />

Local resident Lynn Borland submitted this photo of Swarthmore with the note, “As I was<br />

walking by, the skip loader backed into M. Giraud’s table (on the deck) and you might<br />

note the parking meter is listing to starboard. A double whammy!” Photo: Lynn Borland


Page 2 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

ANTHONY MARGULEAS<br />

310.293.9280<br />

Recent Donations<br />

The Kitchen Community - $5,000 (on behalf of Chuck T.) - impacts school children daily with 200 Learning Gardens<br />

Helping Hands Orphanage - $6,750 (on behalf of Krishna N.) - provides shelter and care for those in need<br />

St. Paschal Baylon School -$600 (on behalf of Suzanne D.) - encourages students to be self-motivated learners<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Village Green -$5,000 - helps maintain the Village Green in the center of town<br />

- $1,029 (on behalf of Mark and Liza-Mae C.) - nurtures children and prevents child abuse<br />

Will your favorite charity be next?<br />

<br />

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Sellers Ask how we can get you top dollar for your home.<br />

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WWW.AMALFIESTATES.COM<br />

Contact Anthony now if you are thinking of buying or selling a home.<br />

310.293.9280 Anthony@AmalfiEstates.com CalBRE#01173073


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 3<br />

Jump Aboard the<br />

July 4 Celebrations<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

Join the local residents and businesses<br />

who have already made a commitment<br />

to PAPA (<strong>Palisades</strong> Americanism Parade<br />

Association). Last year the <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

Fourth of July parade, concert and fireworks<br />

cost close to $150,000. The projected<br />

cost is the same this year.<br />

At PAPA’s first <strong>2015</strong> meeting on <strong>March</strong> 9<br />

at the American Legion Hall, second-term<br />

president Daphne Gronich said that she has<br />

already received commitments from the following:<br />

The Yogurt Shoppe (Kids on Bikes<br />

and Happy Hour donations), Realtor Joan<br />

Sather (Most Patriotic Home decorating<br />

contest, Spectrum Athletic Club (manager<br />

Diane Poff), On Stage Talent (Matt Barnett),<br />

Fran Flanagan Realty, White & Co. insurance<br />

(Dennis White), Gelson’s (will allow<br />

checkout donations), UDO Real Estate and<br />

Sunset La Cruz (Elliot Zorensky), Robert<br />

Munakash (Village 76), Coldwell Banker<br />

(Anne Russell), the Donald and Nancy de<br />

Brier family and the American Legion.<br />

Gronich is in communication with several<br />

other entities and individuals about<br />

their planned support, as well.<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> has also committed to donate<br />

a percentage of all parade advertising<br />

to the parade committee, so that people taking<br />

out ads in the official parade program<br />

produced by the <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong>, will also be<br />

helping the Fourth of July events.<br />

It is not too early to start thinking about<br />

parade entries. “We would love new entrants,”<br />

Gronich said. “It’s more interesting<br />

for residents to see different bands and<br />

floats in the parade, and we encourage people<br />

to put them together.”<br />

A search is on for a parade grand marshal,<br />

as well as a headline band for the<br />

evening concert at <strong>Palisades</strong> High, which<br />

was attended by 7,000 people last year.<br />

Lawyer, <strong>Palisades</strong> resident and concert organizer<br />

Keith Turner said that he has already<br />

heard from local bands that would like the<br />

opportunity to play on the second stage.<br />

The day, which also features the 5/10K<br />

Will Rogers Run, a parade, a concert and<br />

fireworks, is made possible by volunteers<br />

and community donations.<br />

Gronich says that the celebrations wouldn’t<br />

be possible without all the local volunteers<br />

who work hard to make July 4th the<br />

best day possible for the entire community.<br />

Many of these people have worked for years<br />

Kids on Bikes was a colorful entry in last year’s parade.<br />

with PAPA People leader Sylvia Boyd.<br />

In addition to parade banner carriers,<br />

volunteers are especially needed at the Pali -<br />

Hi stadium starting at 4 p.m., after the parade,<br />

where there are food trucks and<br />

activities for kids, prior to the concert and<br />

fireworks.<br />

If you would like to donate directly or pay<br />

Photo: Tom Hofer<br />

to sponsor a parade entry such as a band,<br />

please e-mail info@palisadesparade.org.<br />

Parade theme suggestions can be submitted<br />

to the same email address by April 5.<br />

The next volunteer meeting will be<br />

held at 7 p.m. on April 6 at the American<br />

Legion when a theme will be selected. The<br />

public is invited.<br />

Advisory Board Seeks Parking Change<br />

The Park Advisory Board (PAB) has<br />

proposed changing the parking<br />

hours at the <strong>Palisades</strong> Recreation<br />

Center on Alma Real Drive from four to<br />

two hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday<br />

through Friday.<br />

The four-hour limit would remain in effect<br />

after 3 p.m., in order to accommodate<br />

park patrons who are involved in afternoon<br />

and early-evening sports leagues and other<br />

park programs.<br />

“Through spot checks and interviews with<br />

City employees and others, it was determined<br />

that up to half of the individuals using the<br />

The Park Advisory Board for the <strong>Palisades</strong> Recreation Center is recommending changing<br />

parking from four hours to two hours.<br />

parking spaces at the Park were not using the<br />

park at all,” said PAB member Robert Harter.<br />

“The individuals who were parking illegally<br />

had apparently chosen to park at the<br />

Rec Center because it was a free and convenient<br />

alternative during the work week to<br />

the nearby metered and fee-based parking.”<br />

In a letter to the <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> (see page<br />

8), Harter notes that “The lack of parking<br />

at the Park is not a new issue. In fact, the<br />

upcoming change in parking hours will<br />

culminate an inclusive and deliberative<br />

process that began in 2013,” through community<br />

surveys and PAB meetings, which<br />

are open to the public.<br />

The <strong>News</strong> contacted Superintendent of<br />

Recreation and Parks Charles Singer about<br />

these proposed parking changes. He responded<br />

on <strong>March</strong> 3: “As far as the parking<br />

situation, ultimately, only the Department<br />

can request and/or approve a change in the<br />

parking structure. Depending on what is<br />

being requested, it may also involve other<br />

city agencies and/or the Departments<br />

board of commissioners.<br />

“Superintendent [of Rec and Parks Operations]<br />

Joe Salaices has been receiving<br />

proposals from the <strong>Palisades</strong> PAB regarding<br />

proposed parking changes. I believe at<br />

this juncture, the Department’s position<br />

is to only review and no action is being<br />

contemplated.”<br />

Library Book Sale<br />

Saturday, <strong>March</strong> 21<br />

The Friends of the <strong>Palisades</strong> Branch Library<br />

will hold a gently-used book sale in<br />

the parking lot of the library, from 8:30<br />

a.m. to 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, <strong>March</strong> 21,<br />

at 861 Alma Real Dr.<br />

Due to the generous donations from<br />

community members, there is an excellent<br />

collection of well-priced books, DVDs and<br />

CDs. Sales depend on the continuing support<br />

of volunteers, and the library benefits<br />

from the time and energy they provide. In<br />

case of inclement weather, the book sale will<br />

be postponed until the following Saturday.<br />

Atria Offers Cooking<br />

Demonstrations<br />

Atria Park of Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>, located<br />

just west of the Shell Station at 15441<br />

Sunset, invites all <strong>Palisades</strong> residents to<br />

participate at its cooking demonstration<br />

on Thursday, <strong>March</strong> 26, at 6 p.m.<br />

The theme of the demonstration is<br />

“The Growing Popularity of a Plant-<br />

Based Diet.” Participants will learn how to<br />

make delicious meatless meals that can<br />

ward off chronic diseases and help with<br />

weight control.<br />

Please RSVP (310) 573-9545. Visit<br />

atria-pacificpalisades.com.


Page 4 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Pfannkuche<br />

(Continued from Page 1)<br />

Coastal Commission okayed the Y’s right<br />

to exercise its option on a 4-acre parcel in<br />

Temescal Canyon, at the entrance off Sunset.<br />

Pfannkuche told the <strong>News</strong> that her subsequent<br />

accomplishments in Temescal were<br />

all part of a “relay” race. “It was because<br />

Corwin Davis, Everett Maguire, Duke and<br />

others had been fighting for the right for<br />

the Y to buy the property.”<br />

She also credits the Simon family. “Certainly<br />

Simon Meadow would not be what<br />

it is without Bill and Cindy feeling strongly<br />

about a place for families to get together,” and<br />

making a major donation towards that goal.<br />

Pfannkuche also remembers reaching<br />

out to several individuals, including Kelly<br />

Comras, Rob Lowe, Randy Young and<br />

Volunteers Sought<br />

At Village Green<br />

The monthly Village Green “spruce up”<br />

will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday,<br />

<strong>March</strong> 21, at the triangular park located<br />

between Sunset Boulevard, Swarthmore<br />

Avenue and Antioch Street.<br />

Residents who have never volunteered before<br />

are welcome to join the “regular” Village<br />

Green crew. Those participating are asked to<br />

bring clippers and gloves. High school students<br />

can receive community service hours.<br />

YMCA Executive Director Carol Pfannkuche with board member and contributor<br />

Everett Maquire in Simon Meadow.<br />

Photo: Shelby Pascoe<br />

David Card, in order to achieve effective<br />

landscaping at Simon Meadow.<br />

She was asked about the Temescal Pool,<br />

which closed during her watch. “The facility<br />

was 50 years old and the pipe structure<br />

needed to be replaced. We were willing to<br />

raise the money to do it, but our contract<br />

[with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy]<br />

only allowed for routine repairs<br />

and maintenance. We asked if we could do<br />

the repairs, but we were declined.”<br />

Pfannkuche said that several members<br />

of the pool committee wanted to sue for<br />

the right to make the repairs, but the legal<br />

costs and the possible ill will resulted in a<br />

decision not to go ahead.<br />

When Pfannkuche arrived at the Y, the<br />

exercise equipment was mismatched and<br />

not of professional grade. State-of-the-art<br />

equipment is now leased and renewed on<br />

a regular basis.<br />

“What the Y offers, in addition to top<br />

equipment, is a personal relationship,” she<br />

said. “It’s those relationships that help people<br />

become successful in fitness programs.<br />

My staff is friendly and knows everyone—<br />

it’s hard to find that anywhere else.”<br />

While serving as director, Pfannkuche<br />

has looked at other possibilities to build a<br />

new facility in town, but that quest remains<br />

elusive.<br />

“Every Y has to ask what the community<br />

needs,” she said. “This community is short<br />

of playing field space for kids and Simon<br />

Meadow has turned out to be great for that.”<br />

She believes that bringing in a new director<br />

will help “give the Y a new perspective”<br />

on what to do about acquiring or building<br />

a larger facility.<br />

Pfannkuche, who starts full-time downtown<br />

April 1, is currently working at both<br />

locations.<br />

She and her husband Tony, a management<br />

consultant in the health field, have<br />

two daughters. Molly is working on a graduate<br />

degree in clinical exercise physiology<br />

at the University of Wisconsin and Katie<br />

is majoring in psychology at Cal Poly San<br />

Luis Obispo.<br />

Although the Pfannkuches might like<br />

to move downtown in the future, Carol is<br />

grounded here with an <strong>18</strong>-month-old<br />

golden retriever named Princess Bella<br />

Samantha Cupcake (her girls couldn’t decide<br />

on the name), and presidency of the<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Rotary Club, starting in July.


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 5<br />

Stress Can Provide Insight<br />

By LAUREL BUSBY<br />

Staff Writer<br />

Earlier this year, stress expert Amanda<br />

Enayati asked an assembly of about<br />

500 Marquez Elementary School<br />

students to say “bad” if stress could be really<br />

bad.<br />

“The entire assembly erupted,’” she said.<br />

“I then asked the kids to say ‘good’ if stress<br />

can be really good. Nobody said anything.”<br />

And yet, Enayati, who has written on the<br />

subject for CNN, NPR and the Washington<br />

Post, has found that stress can actually be<br />

beneficial on many levels, and it’s our cultural<br />

view that stress is always bad that is<br />

the problem.<br />

In her new book, Seeking Serenity: The<br />

10 New Rules for Health and Happiness in<br />

the Age of Anxiety” (Penguin Publishing<br />

Group), Enayati discusses ways to help<br />

people take advantage of stress and turn<br />

life’s challenges into growth experiences.<br />

“There is good stress. Stress helps you be<br />

more creative. It helps you recover from<br />

wounds better,” said Enayati, who moved to<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> two years ago. It is important<br />

that “we try to see stress in the right way<br />

as a path to evolution, a path to growth.”<br />

Enayati became an expert on stress in<br />

part through her own life experience. She<br />

was flooded with adversity. At nine years<br />

old, while growing up in Iran, she lost her<br />

home during the Iranian Revolution and<br />

for five years became a refugee living in various<br />

parts of Europe without her parents.<br />

In September 2011, she was in New York<br />

City and saw the World Trade Center collapse,<br />

which caused severe post-traumatic<br />

stress disorder owing to her childhood experiences.<br />

Most recently, when her children<br />

were toddlers, she developed cancer, which<br />

she has fought successfully.<br />

Strangely enough, the latter event put<br />

Enayati on the path that led her to her current<br />

jobs—writing about stress for CNN<br />

Health and PBS Media-Shift. In the process,<br />

she became an expert on the role stress<br />

plays in our lives, which resulted in book.<br />

“Seeking Serenity” is full of fascinating<br />

insights about stress. For example, in one<br />

section, Enayati talks about post-traumatic<br />

growth—”the ability not only to bounce<br />

back from adversity, but also to flourish.”<br />

As an example, she describes the experience<br />

of Major Rhonda Cornum, a young<br />

flight surgeon who survived a Black Hawk<br />

helicopter crash with two broken arms and<br />

a bullet in her back only to be sexually assaulted<br />

and imprisoned, but who then triumphed<br />

through the adversity and is now<br />

a brigadier general who has helped de-<br />

Amanda Enayati<br />

velop a program to teach resilience skills<br />

to other soldiers.<br />

Statistically, the human response to extreme<br />

stress tends to lie on a bell curve,<br />

according to Dr. Martin Seligman, whose<br />

work Enayati describes. On one end are<br />

people who have an intense, long-lasting reaction<br />

and may suffer from depression, anxiety<br />

and PTSD with a higher risk for suicide.<br />

In the middle are those who are mostly<br />

resilient and may have a hard time for<br />

several months, while on the far end are<br />

those who emerge from the trauma even<br />

stronger than before it—experiencing<br />

post-traumatic growth.<br />

This skill for resilience is not necessarily<br />

in-born; it can also be learned, and Enayati<br />

provides readers the tools to develop it<br />

themselves.<br />

Drawing from scientific studies, philosophy<br />

and individual stories, she also details<br />

other ways to enhance positive<br />

reactions to stress.<br />

Her book has chapters on the power of<br />

belonging, the benefits of giving to others,<br />

and the importance of creativity. She describes<br />

skills using meditation and mindfulness<br />

that can help with handling every day<br />

stresses, such as traffic and the demands of<br />

our modern world.<br />

In addition, she delineates the physiology<br />

of stress and the stories that we tell ourselves<br />

about the inevitable stresses of life.<br />

“What can make stress dangerous is the<br />

way you see stress,” said Enayati, who has<br />

two children, Mina, 10 and Rohan, 8, with<br />

her husband Jaime Uzeta. “It’s those stories<br />

that pave the way for whether we evolve<br />

and learn and grow instead of saying<br />

‘Why me?’ and ‘Why is this adversity happening<br />

to us?’”<br />

(Amanda Enayati’s tips for helping kids<br />

handle stress can be read on Page 3 of the<br />

camp section in today’s paper.)<br />

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Page 6 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Heard<br />

About Town<br />

ANN CLEAVES<br />

Monitor Your<br />

Sprinkler System<br />

If we get another rainstorm this spring,<br />

remember to turn off your lawn sprinklers<br />

or ask your gardener to do so. Cali -<br />

fornia’s water supply thanks you.<br />

(Editor’s note: If you’ve lost the directions<br />

to how to turn off the sprinkler system,<br />

many of those instructions can be found<br />

online.)<br />

Smoking in the Park<br />

I observed students going behind the<br />

maintenance building at the park and<br />

smoking. The ground is littered with pine<br />

needles and abuts property along Alma<br />

Real. With the towering eucalyptus<br />

nearby, it seems that fire danger could<br />

be a real problem.<br />

(Editor’s note: We’ve alerted Recreation<br />

Center director Erich Haas about the situation.)<br />

Movies in the Library<br />

Once a month the <strong>Palisades</strong> Branch Library<br />

offers a free movie. Last Saturday,<br />

I saw the movie about Stephen Hawking<br />

that was up for an Oscar [The Theory of<br />

Everything]. It seems that more people<br />

would like to know about this opportunity.<br />

High School Show<br />

The <strong>Palisades</strong> High show Nickel and<br />

Dimed was great. The director was Nancy<br />

Fracchiolla, who now teaches at Pali. She<br />

used to do shows all over town for kids.<br />

Why don’t you do a story about her?<br />

No Hand-held Devices<br />

On Sunday at the farmers market, I<br />

watched a woman try to turn a pickup<br />

and the horse trailer hooked to it into the<br />

bank parking lot. Although she didn’t<br />

have her phone to her ear, she was holding<br />

it in one hand, talking into it as she<br />

was trying to steer the truck—probably<br />

had it on speaker. I don’t want to be judgmental,<br />

but maybe she should have taken<br />

the call after she was safely parked.<br />

Incline Fears<br />

After last Saturday and all the traffic<br />

backed up on Pacific Coast Highway, I’m<br />

really worried about the summer and the<br />

California Incline closure. I may never<br />

make a Dodger game unless I get a hotel<br />

room downtown.<br />

(Editor’s note: The closure really shouldn’t<br />

impact PCH traffic, because the light<br />

at the Incline will be mostly green.)<br />

———————<br />

If you’d like to share something you’ve<br />

“heard about town,” please email it to<br />

spascoe@palisadesnews.com<br />

Read the Labels Carefully<br />

By JULIA M. BREITMAN<br />

Despite the rise in consumer awareness<br />

about food processing and labeling,<br />

many people have no idea that our<br />

personal-care products (such as shampoo,<br />

conditioner, soap, lotion, sunscreen, deodorant,<br />

toothpaste, makeup) and household cleaning<br />

products can be toxic, too.<br />

Just as with our food, we need to read labels<br />

on our personal-care and household products,<br />

as many contain harmful ingredients that were<br />

banned in other countries years ago but are<br />

still allowed in the United States.<br />

I discovered this more than 10 years ago<br />

when I was trying to figure out why three of<br />

my children had developmental delays and<br />

special needs and what was causing my own<br />

thyroid and infertility issues.<br />

My research revealed that there are many<br />

products on the market that contain harmful<br />

ingredients and toxins our bodies don’t know<br />

what to do with. My family’s health issues were<br />

directly linked to these toxins. We changed our<br />

food, household cleaning products and lastly,<br />

our personal-care products when I discovered<br />

that what we put on our skin goes directly into<br />

our bloodstream and reaches every major<br />

organ within 26 seconds!<br />

Our skin is our largest organ and the primary<br />

method by means of which our bodies detox.<br />

Unlike food that travels through the gastrointestinal<br />

tract where toxins are filtered through<br />

the liver and kidneys, personal-care products<br />

aren’t filtered when applied to our skin.<br />

The average child uses five products a day<br />

and an adult uses 15—but many of us are<br />

above-average. A little toxin every day during<br />

VIEWPOINT<br />

the course of a lifetime adds up and has been<br />

linked to cancer, hormone and reproductive<br />

issues, autoimmune diseases and other health<br />

issues. This is why we have to be so careful to<br />

place pure, safe products on our bodies.<br />

Some harmful chemicals in common<br />

personal-care products include petroleum/<br />

mineral oil/baby oil (a byproduct of gasoline<br />

that prevents skin from detoxing), formaldehyde,<br />

parabens (linked to cancer and early puberty),<br />

sodium lauryl sulfates, propylene glycol, PEGs,<br />

dioxin (found in triclosan), phthalates, and<br />

artificial color and fragrance (leading case of<br />

skin irritation).<br />

There are more than 1,000 ingredients still<br />

allowed in personal-care products in the United<br />

States that were banned years ago in other<br />

countries.<br />

There’s so much we can do to heal our bodies<br />

simply by using safer food and products around<br />

the home. As a result of my family changing our<br />

lifestyle, my children recovered from their special<br />

needs, I had a fourth child without any health<br />

issues, and my own health issues disappeared.<br />

This journey encouraged me to start my own<br />

business to teach others about healthier choices<br />

and to offer safer alternatives for personal-care<br />

products used regularly in the home.<br />

The reality is that most people don’t care<br />

about healthier products until they or someone<br />

they love has health issues or their doctor tells<br />

them they have to change their lifestyle. My goal<br />

is to reverse this mindset with education—<br />

one family at a time.<br />

(Brietman is an executive area manager for<br />

Arbonne International and a mother at Marquez<br />

Elementary.)<br />

Thought to Ponder<br />

“‘Thank you’ is the best<br />

prayer that anyone could<br />

say. I say that one a lot.<br />

Thank you expresses<br />

extreme gratitude,<br />

humility, understanding.<br />

― Alice Walker, American<br />

author and activist<br />

Founded November 5, 2014<br />

———————<br />

15332 Antioch Street #169<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>, CA 90272<br />

(310) 401-7690<br />

www.<strong>Palisades</strong><strong>News</strong>.com<br />

———————<br />

Publisher<br />

Scott Wagenseller<br />

swag@palisadesnews.com<br />

Editor<br />

Sue Pascoe<br />

spascoe@palisadesnews.com<br />

Graphics Director<br />

Manfred Hofer<br />

Digital Content and Technology<br />

Kurt Park<br />

Advertising<br />

Jeff Ridgway<br />

jeffridgway@palisadesnews.com<br />

Grace Hiney<br />

gracehiney@palisadesnews.com<br />

Advisor<br />

Bill Bruns<br />

Contributing Writers<br />

Laura Abruscato, Laurel Busby,<br />

Danielle Gillespie, Libby Motika<br />

Contributing Photographers<br />

Wendy Price Anderson,<br />

Bart Bartholomew, Shelby Pascoe<br />

———————<br />

A bi-monthly newspaper mailed on<br />

the first and third Wednesday of each<br />

month. 14,500 circulation includes<br />

zip code 90272 and Sullivan, Mandeville<br />

and Santa Monica Canyons.<br />

Online: palisadesnews.com<br />

All content printed herein, and in our<br />

digital editions, is copyrighted.


<strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong><br />

<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> A forum for open discussion of community issues<br />

Page 7<br />

Daylight-Saving Time Rationale Questioned<br />

If someone told you a national policy would increase<br />

the risk of having a heart attack and getting into a<br />

traffic accident, would you blithely go along with<br />

it? Never question it?<br />

Welcome to Daylight-Saving Time. Repeated studies<br />

have shown that traffic accidents increase on the Monday<br />

following the start of DST, and the risk of having a heart<br />

attack increases in the first three days after switching to<br />

DST. Maybe California should join Arizona and Hawaii<br />

and leave the clocks alone.<br />

DST was called “fast time” when President Woodrow<br />

Wilson signed it into law in 19<strong>18</strong> to support the war effort.<br />

Writing for the History Channel (“8 Things You May<br />

Not Know about Daylight-Saving Time”), Christopher<br />

Klein points out, “In fact, the agriculture industry was<br />

deeply opposed to the time switch when it was first<br />

implemented. The sun, not the clock, dictated farmers’<br />

schedules, so daylight saving was very disruptive. Farmers<br />

had to wait an extra hour for dew to evaporate to harvest<br />

hay, hired hands worked less since they still left at the same<br />

time for dinner and cows weren’t ready to be milked an<br />

hour earlier. Agrarian interests led the fight for the 1919<br />

repeal of national daylight-saving time, which passed<br />

after Congress voted to override President Woodrow<br />

Wilson’s veto. Rather than rural interests, it has been<br />

urban entities such as retail outlets and recreational<br />

Hard Facts about<br />

Measles Vaccination<br />

Ryan Morelli’s letter [“Objections to Editorial and<br />

Cartoon about Measles”] in your <strong>March</strong> 4 edition<br />

suggests that the measles vaccine has caused more<br />

deaths than measles itself between 2004-<strong>2015</strong>.<br />

While I do not know Mr. Morelli’s background, I have<br />

been a pediatric RN since 1989 with an advanced degree<br />

in health service administration. I am currently a pediatric<br />

triage nurse at Cedars-Sinai. I feel I am qualified to<br />

comment on his letter.<br />

The writer quotes his facts from the VAERS database,<br />

which is co-sponsored by the CDC and the FDA. What<br />

he fails to cite is that VAERS clearly states that “no cause<br />

and effect relationship is established between vaccines<br />

and resulting deaths. The event (of severe adverse<br />

reaction/death) may be related to underlying disease or<br />

a condition, by concurrent meds or by chance.”<br />

According to data from the World Health Organization,<br />

15.6 million deaths from measles were prevented by the<br />

vaccination between 2000-2013. The National Vaccine<br />

Information Center, which uses data obtained from<br />

VAERS, states that since 1990 there have been 329<br />

deaths linked to the measles vaccine. Those statistics<br />

are overwhelmingly in favor of vaccination.<br />

There is no money to be made on vaccines for the<br />

physician. The only vested interest health professionals<br />

have in pushing vaccines is that they save lives and<br />

prevent debilitating complications.<br />

The reason there were no cases of measles in the U.S.<br />

between 2004 through the start of this year is because<br />

EDITORIAL<br />

businesses that have championed daylight saving over<br />

the decades.” Despite the repeal, some cities—including<br />

Pittsburgh, Boston, and New York—continued to use<br />

DST. During World War II, DST was called “War Time”<br />

and was implemented after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.<br />

After the war, states and localities were free to choose<br />

when and if they would observe DST. Time confusion<br />

led Congress to establish the Uniform Time Act of 1966,<br />

stating that DST would begin on the last Sunday of April<br />

and end on the last Sunday of October. States could pass<br />

a local ordinance to be exempt.<br />

The current DST schedule was introduced in 2007<br />

and follows the Energy Policy Act of 2005, starting on<br />

the second Sunday in <strong>March</strong> and ending on the first<br />

Sunday in November.<br />

How much energy does the country save by moving<br />

clocks an hour ahead in the spring and one hour back in<br />

the fall? In the 1970s, a U.S. Department of Transportation<br />

study concluded that total electricity savings associated<br />

with daylight saving time amounted to about one percent<br />

in the spring and fall months.<br />

By contrast, in the summer months, economists at<br />

UC Santa Barbara have calculated that Indiana’s move to<br />

statewide daylightsaving time in 2006 led to a one-percent<br />

rise in residential electricity use through additional<br />

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR<br />

measles was eradicated due to the vaccine.<br />

Guess what? It’s back and it is time to start protecting<br />

our babies, our children who cannot get the vaccine,<br />

and our immune-compromised friends and neighbors.<br />

There is no downside unless you have a medical reason<br />

to not get the vaccine. Please vaccinate. The alternative<br />

can be tragic.<br />

Sue Marguleas, RN, MPA<br />

Dog Also Attacked<br />

Thanks for the article, “Doggy Politics in the ‘Hood’”<br />

by Marci Slade Crestani, February <strong>18</strong>.<br />

My 12-pound dog has been attacked by large off-leash<br />

dogs three times. I asked a man to leash his dog this<br />

morning; he ignored me. I asked a man last week to<br />

leash two dogs; he ignored me. I now carry pepper<br />

spray whenever I walk my dog.<br />

Patty Detroit<br />

Cost for Technical Support For<br />

Incline Project Is Outlandish<br />

I thought I had become inured to the outlandish price<br />

tags on public projects, what with the surcharges for<br />

nepotism, graft, fraud, mismanagement and downright<br />

incompetence.<br />

Even I was shocked, however, to learn, from the<br />

cover story in the February 4 issue [“California Incline<br />

Update”] that Wallace, Roberts & Todd will be paid<br />

“almost $3 million” [according to Santa Monica City<br />

records] to provide 365 days of “technical support” to<br />

demand for air conditioning on summer evenings.<br />

Additionally, there are no current studies to document<br />

the increased demand for energy during evening hours<br />

for electronic devices such as cell phones and computers.<br />

There are no studies to document the effect on the<br />

increasing number of people who work split and<br />

evening shifts and the amount of energy savings, if any.<br />

The California Energy Commission did a report on the<br />

effects of Daylight-Saving Time on California electricity<br />

use in 2001. The study concluded that both winter<br />

daylight-saving time and the summer season double<br />

daylight-saving time would probably save marginal<br />

amounts of electricity.<br />

That same year, the California state legislature sent a<br />

Senate Joint Resolution to the White House and Congress<br />

asking to be allowed to extend DST year-round, but it<br />

was never acted on.<br />

A 2007 California report stated that DST effects had<br />

no statistically significant effect on total daily electricity<br />

use in the month of <strong>March</strong> 2007. And according to a 2013<br />

Rasmussen Report, only 37 percent of Americans see the<br />

purpose of DST, compared to 45 percent the year before.<br />

Maybe it’s time to re-examine a policy instituted<br />

during World War I that today has questionable energy<br />

conservation effects.<br />

the Incline project as “engineer of record.”<br />

Apparently, the time and expertise of this firm is worth<br />

$8,219 per day or $1,027 per hour for an eight-hour<br />

workday. Given that the median income, even among the<br />

affluent, highly-educated citizens of the <strong>Palisades</strong>, is less<br />

than $100 per hour, I am left to wonder how those elected<br />

to represent our interests sleep at night after approving<br />

such high expenditures of our hard-earned tax dollars.<br />

Lisa Wolf<br />

In Response to<br />

‘No Monday Breakfast’<br />

I read in the <strong>March</strong> 4 “Heard about Town” column<br />

that locals are bummed about the lack of places to eat<br />

breakfast. Please let Palisadians know that The Yogurt<br />

Shoppe on Swarthmore is open for breakfast.<br />

We offer 20+ different cereals (and yes, some healthy)<br />

along with regular and flavored yogurt, granola options,<br />

oatmeal, a wide variety of fresh fruits and choice of milk<br />

(oh, and we also offer shakes). Open daily for breakfast<br />

7 to 10 a.m. and 8 to 10 a.m. on Sunday.<br />

Kevin Sabin<br />

(Editor’s Note: Additionally, Tivoli owner Sohail<br />

Fatoorechi has started opening at 8 a.m. daily for people<br />

who need a meeting place for breakfast.)<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> welcomes all letters, which may<br />

be mailed to spascoe@palisadesnews.com. Please<br />

include a name, address and telephone number so<br />

we may reach you. Letters do not necessarily<br />

reflect the viewpoint of the <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong>.


Page 8 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Park Advisory Board<br />

Proposes Parking Changes<br />

(Editor’s note: The Park Advisory Board is proposing<br />

changes for parking at the <strong>Palisades</strong> Recreation Center.<br />

See related news story, page 3.)<br />

In order to increase available parking at the Recreation<br />

Center on weekday afternoons after 3 p.m. and lessen<br />

the impact on neighborhood streets, the Park Advisory<br />

Board is proposing the following changes:<br />

First, the hours for the main lot accessed from Alma<br />

Real will be changed from a maximum of four hours to<br />

a maximum of two hours between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.<br />

on Monday through Friday.<br />

Second, parking hours for the tennis lot accessed<br />

from Frontera Drive will be changed from a maximum<br />

of two hours to a maximum of four hours.<br />

All parking spaces at the Park will continue to be exclusively<br />

available to patrons of the Park. Equally important,<br />

the Department of Transportation will<br />

enforce these parking restrictions by issuing citations<br />

to those who violate the posted limit.<br />

The lack of parking at the Park is not a new issue. In<br />

fact, the upcoming change in parking hours will culminate<br />

an inclusive and deliberative process that began in 2013.<br />

That year, the Park Advisory Board held two wellpublicized<br />

meetings to receive comments from the<br />

community on the improvements that should be<br />

implemented at the Park. Residents made it clear that a<br />

major ongoing concern was the lack of available parking.<br />

Through spot checks and interviews with Park<br />

employees and others, the PAB determined that up to half<br />

of the individuals using the parking spaces at the Park<br />

were not Park patrons. These individuals had apparently<br />

chosen to park there because it was a free and convenient<br />

alternative during the workweek to metered and feebased<br />

parking. As a consequence, many Park patrons<br />

attempting to use the Park were unable to find a parking<br />

place.<br />

At its quarterly meeting in January 2014, the PAB,<br />

including the Park Director and parents and officials<br />

actively involved in baseball, soccer and other Park<br />

programs, thoroughly discussed the parking enforcement<br />

issue. The Board concluded that a plan should be<br />

implemented that would make more spaces available for<br />

Park patrons by discouraging people from using parking<br />

spaces for non-Park purposes. The agreed upon solution<br />

is what I described earlier.<br />

Following this meeting, the community was notified<br />

that the Department of Recreation and Parks would<br />

consider the recommendation that parking hours be<br />

changed, and that the subject would be on the PAB<br />

agenda last July. All residents were invited to comment<br />

on the proposed change.<br />

The <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> editor has questioned whether<br />

the change in parking hours will help solve the parking<br />

problem. We believe it will have a positive influence by<br />

limiting the number of illegally parked cars at the Park<br />

after 3 p.m., when various after-school programs and<br />

youth sports begin to impact the parking lot.<br />

I believe we can all agree that there are people working<br />

in the offices and stores near the Park who, given the<br />

choice of paying for metered parking or parking in the<br />

Park lot all day for free, will choose to park for free. Our<br />

spot checks showed an average of 33 cars parked illegally<br />

on the three days we counted cars.<br />

If there are only 20 cars in the lot at some point before<br />

3 p.m. and those cars remain there for the remainder<br />

of the day, this presents a real problem because there<br />

are only 92 generally available spaces. It means that 20<br />

Park patrons are deprived of the spaces to which they<br />

are entitled. The new two-hour limit will discourage<br />

car owners from parking at the Park all day because it<br />

will become inconvenient for them to keep moving<br />

their car.<br />

Bob Harter<br />

Vice Chair, Park Advisory Board<br />

Vandalism on the Green<br />

Is Disheartening and Evil<br />

On <strong>March</strong> 4, a group of dedicated volunteers put<br />

colorful, handmade quilts on the trees, branches,<br />

benches, and light poles on the Village Green, a project<br />

headed by Michelle Villemaire.<br />

This effort was in honor of Women’s History Month,<br />

as explained in the poster and signs on the Green.<br />

Passersby seemed to enjoy this colorful decoration,<br />

smiling as they walked by our little private park. It<br />

brought surprise and joy into folks’ daily lives.<br />

Unfortunately, on <strong>March</strong> 11, between noon and 4:30<br />

p.m., some damage was done to this display: the yarncovered<br />

bike was thrown down, the quilt on the grass was<br />

covered with food scraps; some blue foam-like substance<br />

was sprayed around; and some of the explanation papers<br />

were ripped up and tossed around.<br />

It is very sad to think of the unhappy folks who did<br />

this. Some would say that kids who gather on the<br />

Green after school might have had something to do<br />

with this, as they are often seen abusing this park. I<br />

would ask them to consider the time and effort of this<br />

project, done by local volunteers for the enjoyment by<br />

all, than a place to vandalize. Perhaps they didn’t know<br />

that these quilts will be washed and sewn together and<br />

donated to the women’s shelter downtown, to help<br />

others in need.<br />

Betsy Collins<br />

John Closson,<br />

Vice President<br />

and Regional<br />

Manager of<br />

Berkshire<br />

Hathaway<br />

HomeServices,<br />

congratulates<br />

Dan on<br />

being the<br />

Top Producing<br />

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Pacific<br />

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office<br />

for 2014.<br />

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881 Alma Real Drive, Suite 100, Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>, CA 90272<br />

S PECIALIZING I N PACIFIC PALISADES, MALIBU, SANTA M ONICA


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 9<br />

Nahai to Speak at Library<br />

About The Luminous Heart<br />

When<br />

your<br />

toaster<br />

turns<br />

into<br />

a pyro.<br />

We’ve e go<br />

ot an agent for that.<br />

You’re finally on your own and real life takes over. What do you do? Start by getting car<br />

insurance from someone tha<br />

t gets you—your own State Farm ® agent. Then get renters<br />

insurance for just a dollar or two more a month*.<br />

®<br />

Like a good neighbor, S tate Farm is there.<br />

CONTACT AN AGENT TODAY.<br />

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s tatefarm.com<br />

Festa Insurance Agcy Inc<br />

Rich Festa, Agent<br />

Insurance Lic#: 0786049<br />

festainsurance.com<br />

Bus: 310-454-0345<br />

Best-selling author and University of<br />

Southern California creative writing professor<br />

Gina B. Nahai will speak about her<br />

new book, The Luminous Heart of Jonah S.,<br />

at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, <strong>March</strong> 19, in the<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Branch Library community<br />

room. The free event is sponsored by the<br />

Friends of the Library.<br />

Nahai, author of Cry of the Peacock,<br />

Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith, Sunday’s<br />

Silence and Caspian Rain, will discuss her<br />

new novel, set in Tehran and Los Angeles.<br />

It is the story of an immigrant family<br />

caught in a murder mystery and a multigenerational<br />

feud.<br />

Nahai’s novels have been translated into<br />

<strong>18</strong> languages and have been selected as<br />

“One of the Best Books of the Year” by the<br />

Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune.<br />

Nahai’s writings have appeared in the Los<br />

Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the San<br />

Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles magazine<br />

and the Huffington Post. She writes a<br />

monthly column for The Jewish Journal of<br />

Greater Los Angeles and has twice been a<br />

finalist for an L.A. Press Club award.<br />

Call: (310) 459-2754 or visit friendsofpalilibrary.org.<br />

Jerry J Festa Ins Agcy Inc<br />

Jerry Festa, Agent<br />

Insurance Lic#: 0477708<br />

15129 Sunset Blvd<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>, CA 90272<br />

* Estimated cost per month for $10,000 in renters insurance coverage with purchase of auto insurance from State Farm.<br />

State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm General Insurance Company, Bloomington, IL<br />

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Indemnity I Company, Bloomington, IL<br />

The Spolin Players have been entertaining audiences with their improvisational skills<br />

for more than 30 years.<br />

Spolin Players at Pierson<br />

If you need a good laugh, or many laughs<br />

and maybe even a few belly laughs,<br />

come watch the Spolin Players perform<br />

at 8 p.m. on Saturday, <strong>March</strong> 28, at the Pierson<br />

Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd.<br />

This improvisational troupe plays the<br />

theater games of Viola Spolin, “the High<br />

Priestess Of Improv,” who created the techniques<br />

used by the cast of Chicago’s Second<br />

City in the early 1960s, as well as every other<br />

improvisational comedy troupe since.<br />

The Players, who include Palisadian Gail<br />

Matthius plus Casey Campbell, Donna<br />

Dubain, Jim Staahl, Danny Mann, John<br />

Mariano, Anna Mathias, David McCharen,<br />

Edie McClurg and Pat Musick, were among<br />

the last group to study with Spolin, who<br />

died in 1994 at the age of 88.<br />

The hour-long, completely improvised<br />

show is based solely on audience suggestions.<br />

Every show is completely different<br />

and original. No sets, no props, no costumes,<br />

and yet you “see and hear” all three.<br />

Audiences are asked to bring their imagination<br />

and suggestions.<br />

“We’ve had very successful shows in<br />

years past,” said Matthius, explaining that<br />

the group has been together off and on for<br />

almost 30 years and every member is a<br />

working actor. “We haven’t been in the Pali -<br />

sades for almost four years, so we wanna<br />

pack the house with our fellow Palisadians<br />

and leave ‘em laughing!”<br />

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at<br />

the box office or through www.brownpapertickts.com<br />

or call (800) 838-3006.<br />

Dark Street Corners? Pacific<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Takes Second Place<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> and Southeast Los Angeles<br />

have something in common. They are<br />

among the neighborhoods where street light<br />

bulb replacement takes the longest.<br />

According to an investigative piece written<br />

by Mike Reicher for the Los Angeles<br />

Daily <strong>News</strong> in February, it takes an average<br />

of 7.1 days to repair a lightbulb in Southeast<br />

L.A., and 7.5 days in the <strong>Palisades</strong>.<br />

The slowest place for replacement was Silver<br />

Lake/Echo Park/Elysian Valley at 8 days.<br />

The place for fastest street bulb replacement<br />

was the Port of L.A. (0.2 days), followed<br />

by Sherman Oaks (2.3 days). On<br />

this side of the hill, Westwood averaged 3.8<br />

days, LAX 3.9 days and Venice 3.9 days.<br />

Reicher analyzed city data, obtained<br />

through the state open records act, from<br />

January 2009 through early October 2014.<br />

He wrote: “Over those years, the bureau averaged<br />

a five-day repair time. Broken poles<br />

and incidents of multiple outages were excluded<br />

from the analysis, which focused on<br />

single lights turned dark.<br />

“Bureau of Street Lighting officials blame<br />

the delays on equipment, geography, copper<br />

theft and budget cuts. Some neighborhoods<br />

have 90-year-old systems and the<br />

bureau doesn’t stock replacement parts;<br />

crews have to wait for orders.”<br />

The City has only two maintenance<br />

yards: one is in North Hollywood, the second<br />

is in Sun Valley. Reicher found “officials<br />

installed new LED lights there before other<br />

districts. From the complaint to the repair,<br />

it took an average of three days to fix a light<br />

in the Valley.”<br />

His report said that the City collects<br />

about $42 million of annual property assessments<br />

for its streetlight maintenance<br />

fund and a typical homeowner pays $70 to<br />

$95 a year through an annual assessment.<br />

Since expenses are projected to exceed<br />

revenue in coming years, the bureau is<br />

planning a citywide ballot proposition to<br />

increase assessment rates.


Page 10 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Martin Town Center Promotes Transit<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

Rendering of the proposed Martin Expo Town Center project proposed for the intersection<br />

of Olympic and Bundy Avenues in West Los Angeles.<br />

Bumper-to-bumper traffic on the<br />

westbound 10 Freeway in the a.m.<br />

and the eastbound 10 in the p.m. is<br />

causing many Westside residents to avoid<br />

the area near the 405/10 intersection during<br />

peak hours.<br />

Therein lies a major challenge for the<br />

proposed Martin Expo Town Center project<br />

at the corner of Bundy and Olympic.<br />

If ultimately approved by the City of<br />

L.A., the Center would include 516 residential<br />

units, 67,000 square feet for retail<br />

and restaurants, and a 12-story office<br />

building anchored by the Martin Cadillac<br />

showroom.<br />

The five-acre development, which currently<br />

includes a Martin Cadillac showroom<br />

and a body and repair shop on the<br />

site, has generated controversy because<br />

many people feel that it will add to traffic<br />

congestion.<br />

“Studies have shown that if transit is<br />

available, more people will use it,” said<br />

Philip Simmons of the Simmons Group, a<br />

land and development management firm.<br />

“There is a huge jobs/housing imbalance in<br />

this area. There are close to 10,000 workers<br />

and little housing for them.”<br />

Located only a half block from the upcoming<br />

Expo/Bundy light-rail station, the<br />

Town Center project is called a Transient<br />

Oriented Development (TOD). People living<br />

near this station will be able to go from<br />

Santa Monica to downtown L.A. and beyond<br />

on public transportation.<br />

“In the first two months the apartments<br />

are available, we will open them up to people<br />

who work within a quarter of a mile of<br />

the complex,” Simmons said. There will be<br />

studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments,<br />

at market-value, with an affordable housing<br />

component.<br />

Riot Games [video game producer of<br />

League of Legends] and its 1,200 employees<br />

are moving from Santa Monica into the<br />

area just north of Martin Cadillac.<br />

“They’ve talked to us several times and<br />

are interested in the project because they<br />

would be close to public transit and there<br />

would be housing for their employees,” said<br />

Martin Cadillac CEO Dan Martin and a<br />

Brentwood resident.<br />

He added, “This [TOD] project has been<br />

an educational process.” As part of his research,<br />

he visited Germany, London, Paris,<br />

Russia and Sweden, and lived in locations<br />

near mass transit. “I wanted to see how it<br />

worked. I walked everywhere, I never had<br />

to use a car.”<br />

In California, if people rent an apartment,<br />

they expect at least one free parking<br />

space, but that would not be the case at the<br />

Town Center apartments.<br />

“Parking will be available, but just like in<br />

Manhattan (New York City) it will be decoupled<br />

from the rent and people will pay<br />

more to have a parking space,” Martin said.<br />

“The reality is people will not have to buy a<br />

car and there will be a car-share program<br />

on site.”<br />

Martin was asked about the counterintuitiveness<br />

of a Cadillac dealer promoting<br />

(Continued on Page 11)<br />

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<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 11<br />

Martin<br />

(Continued from Page 10)<br />

a development that promotes public transit<br />

rather than car ownership.<br />

“We need to modernize for employees<br />

and customers,” he said. “With a more attractive<br />

store, we will sell more cars. But we<br />

also need to support the alternative.<br />

Martin also noted, “There are almost no<br />

lunch places around here. People have to<br />

get in their car and drive to Brentwood or<br />

Westwood just for lunch.”<br />

The Town Center would have amenities<br />

needed for living within walking distance.<br />

Additionally, there are plans to rent office<br />

space to creative companies, whose employees<br />

generally work off-hours.<br />

If the development is approved, construction<br />

could start in 2016 and be completed<br />

in 20<strong>18</strong>.<br />

In the environmental impact review for<br />

Martin Expo Town Center, which just<br />

closed for public comment, traffic impact<br />

was analyzed. Not surprisingly, many of the<br />

intersections that may be affected already<br />

have failing grades during at least one of the<br />

peak times. (http://cityplanning.lacity.org/<br />

eir/MartinExpoTownCenter/DEIR)<br />

JUMBLE SOLUTION<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

The Martin family has owned and operated<br />

Martin Cadillac for three generations.<br />

The dealership was founded in Santa Monica<br />

in 1947 by Clarence Daniel (“Dan”)<br />

Martin, Jr. after he returned from World<br />

War II as a naval officer.<br />

While running Martin Cadillac, Dan<br />

served as Undersecretary of Commerce for<br />

Transportation, working as the principal<br />

adviser to Presidents John F. Kennedy and<br />

President Lyndon Johnson on national<br />

transportation policy.<br />

In 1974, Dan relocated his dealership to<br />

West Los Angeles. Nephew Dana took over<br />

as CEO in 1976 and he and his wife Mary<br />

raised their four boys (Dan, Chris, Brian<br />

and Matthew) in Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> (and still<br />

live here). They have been active members<br />

of St. Matthew’s Parish for more than 40<br />

years. Dana’s son, Dan, said the impetus<br />

for the Town Center started when General<br />

Motors strongly encouraged all dealers to<br />

participate in an “image enhancement”<br />

program by modernizing facilities and<br />

showrooms.<br />

“Complying with this program required<br />

a significant capital investment,” Martin<br />

said. “That became hard to justify given that<br />

we’re on an oversized property of five acres,<br />

where we only need about three. With the<br />

arrival of the Expo line just 500 feet from<br />

the corner of Martin Cadillac, these two<br />

factors caused us to step back and rethink<br />

the vision for the property and for transportation<br />

in general. We asked, ‘What is the<br />

right thing to do?’”<br />

NEXT ISSUE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1<br />

Send us your comments and suggestions to<br />

spascoe@palisadesnews.com<br />

Get Your Advertising in Place Now!<br />

Contact Jeff, (310) 573-0150 or jeffridgway@palisadesnews.com<br />

or Grace at gracehiney@palisadesnews.com<br />

THANK-YOU TO OUR ADVERTISERS!<br />

Please patronize them, and tell them<br />

you saw their ad in the <strong>News</strong>!<br />

“Wavegirl,” a painting by Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Art Association president Annette Dugdale-Alexakis.<br />

Dugdale-Alexakis Art on<br />

Exhibit at <strong>Palisades</strong> Library<br />

The paintings currently on the walls<br />

of the community room at the Pali -<br />

sades Branch Library were done by<br />

Annette Dugdale-Alexakis, and are availa -<br />

ble for viewing through <strong>March</strong> 21.<br />

The 43-year <strong>Palisades</strong> resident, a selftaught<br />

artist, attended a Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

Art Association (PPAA) meeting, which<br />

has been in this community since 1947, to<br />

learn more about art. “I wanted to better<br />

my technique,” said Dugdale-Alexakis, who<br />

runs a full-time pet-care business.<br />

Five years ago, she became the organizing<br />

force for the Art Association, taking<br />

over from Ellen Travis, Susan Coddington<br />

and Carol Gee, and is currently the president.<br />

In addition to seeking new members<br />

and organizing shows, Dugdale-Alexakis<br />

finds speakers and art demonstrations for<br />

the club’s monthly meetings.<br />

She also co-chairs the annual Village Green<br />

Art Show and Sale with Terri Brom berg<br />

and arranges scholarships for art students<br />

at <strong>Palisades</strong> High School’s Showcase night.<br />

Annette credits her brother Eric Dugdale,<br />

husband Glenn, and sons James and<br />

Christopher for helping her make the<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>, Brentwood,<br />

Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Venice<br />

CalBRE#01437780<br />

The Agency<br />

(424) 400-5921<br />

www.TheAgencyRE.com<br />

events happen.<br />

The PPAA, which is open to all ages,<br />

meets on the fourth Tuesday of most<br />

months (with the exception of December,<br />

June, July and August) at the Woman’s<br />

Club. Members gather for lectures and<br />

demonstrations on oil painting, sculpting,<br />

watercolor, photography and animation.<br />

Membership is $50, and those interested<br />

do not have to live in Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> to<br />

join. Contact: palisadesart@gmail.com.<br />

Blood Drive <strong>March</strong> 22<br />

Dr. Mike Martini is organizing a community<br />

blood drive, sponsored by Providence<br />

St. John’s Health Center. The event<br />

will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday,<br />

<strong>March</strong> 22, at Corpus Christi Hall, 890<br />

Toyopa Dr. For an appointment, call (310)<br />

829-8886 or e-mail sherry.arroyo@providence.org.<br />

Donors are reminded to eat a nutritious<br />

meal beforehand, drink plenty of fluids<br />

and bring a photo identification. Donors<br />

will receive a coupon for a pint of Baskin-<br />

Robbins ice cream.<br />

Ninkey Dalton<br />

Your Local Neighborhood Agent


Page 12 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

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Connect With Us<br />

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®<br />

©<strong>2015</strong> Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved.<br />

Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage office is owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered<br />

service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.<br />

Broker does not guarantee the accuracy of square footage,<br />

lot size or other information concerning the condition or features of property provided by seller or obtained from public records or other sources,<br />

and the buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that<br />

information through personal inspection and with appropriate professionals.<br />

* Based on information total sales volume from California Real Estate Technology Services, Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS, SANDICOR, Inc. for the period 1/1/2013 through 12/31/2013 in Los Angeles, Orange,<br />

Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego,<br />

Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. Due to MLS reporting methods and allowable reporting policy,<br />

this data is only informational and may not be completely accurate.<br />

Therefore,<br />

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage does not guarantee the data accuracy. Data maintained by the MLS’s may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.


<strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong><br />

<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> Page 13<br />

Ogden Cleaners Changes Hands<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

Daniel and Yanna Sapozhnikov<br />

closed a chapter of their lives on<br />

Saturday, February 28, after selling<br />

Ogden Cleaners on Sunset Boulevard to<br />

Tommy Goullais.<br />

The following Monday, the couple was<br />

in the store, helping with the transition and<br />

saying goodbye to customers and friends.<br />

“I’m sorry, I’ll miss you,” said long-time<br />

customer Helena Lara. “Who’s going to do<br />

my pants? Don’t go, I don’t like change.”<br />

Long-time customer, Norman Beegun,<br />

said: “I’ve become friends with Daniel and<br />

Yanna. We’ve gone out to dinner with<br />

them; gone to services with them. They’ve<br />

become part of the community.”<br />

Beegun was one of many who praised<br />

Daniel’s tailoring ability on that Monday.<br />

“My son would come in with a pair of<br />

pants and say he needed them tomorrow<br />

and Daniel would do it,” Beegun said. “He<br />

would never say no. He just altered a<br />

tuxedo I hadn’t worn in 20 years and<br />

couldn’t get into, but now it fits.”<br />

Fran Dunner, who has three daughters,<br />

said her youngest, Susie, would typically<br />

buy something in the morning and need<br />

it that evening, but that Daniel always<br />

came through with the alteration.<br />

Daniel remembered Patty Pappas as his<br />

first alteration customer when the couple<br />

took over the cleaners in 1997.<br />

“We had a special arrangement,” said<br />

Pappas, the mother of three girls. “Daniel<br />

would always agree to the shorter hem<br />

length they sought,” she said, “but when he<br />

altered it, he always let it down lower.”<br />

After the Sapozhnikovs took over the<br />

cleaners, Daniel estimates business grew by<br />

100 percent. He said that several thousand<br />

Temescal Garden<br />

Cleanup <strong>March</strong> 28<br />

The Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Garden Club and<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Beautiful co-sponsor the beautification<br />

efforts at the N/E/X/T/Garden in<br />

the northeast corner of Temescal Canyon<br />

Park. This new acronym for the long-established<br />

garden area spells: Native/Environmental/Xeriscape/Temescal.<br />

Hands-on help is needed with various<br />

gardening tasks on Saturday, <strong>March</strong> 28 from<br />

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. People can come any time<br />

and volunteer as long or short as they want.<br />

Street parking next to the site (just south<br />

of Bowdoin) is available on Saturdays.<br />

Contact: ppgardenclub@verizon.net or<br />

call Barbara Marinacci (310) 459-0190.<br />

Daniel and Yanna Sapozhnikov welcome Tommy Goullais, the new owner of Ogden<br />

Cleaners on Sunset.<br />

Photo: Bart Bartholomew<br />

people went in and out of the shop’s door<br />

every week—and he knew most of them<br />

by their first name.<br />

The owners were asked if the Caruso<br />

Affiliated purchase of nearby Swarthmore<br />

influenced the sale. “It didn’t have anything<br />

to do with it,” Daniel said. “It was just time<br />

to let it go.”<br />

He cited his difficulty with finding good<br />

help because of the town’s geographical<br />

location. “I’m sure many businesses have<br />

the same problem.”<br />

The Sapozhnikovs live in Tarzana, and<br />

six days a week would fight the traffic on<br />

the 405 going and coming from the <strong>Palisades</strong>.<br />

He said even when he was away<br />

from work, “my head was thinking of work,<br />

of situations, of people.”<br />

Daniel said Yanna wants him to rest,<br />

read a book, go to the beach, travel, and<br />

“do all of the things I haven’t done in the<br />

past 17 years.”<br />

Before coming to the <strong>Palisades</strong>, he sold<br />

a previous dry-cleaning business, but stayed<br />

home for a only month before he couldn’t<br />

take the inactivity.<br />

“This time I’m going to try to stay home<br />

for six months,” Daniel jokingly said, but<br />

then reflected: “I may have a hard time<br />

doing it.” The couple has a three-year clause<br />

that does not allow them to open a similar<br />

business in Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>.<br />

Daniel and Yanna shed tears as customer<br />

after customer gave hugs and asked for<br />

their phone numbers so they could stay in<br />

touch.<br />

“It’s too emotional about leaving,” said<br />

Yanna whose mother is suffering from dementia,<br />

which is demanding more of<br />

Yanna’s time and is another reason for<br />

selling the shop.<br />

The couple have two grandchildren, ages<br />

1 and 3, and would also like to spend more<br />

time with them.<br />

“If I had known it would be this difficult,<br />

I’d reconsider,” Daniel, 63, said.<br />

Goullais, the former owner of Fame<br />

Cleaners on La Cienega, was helping at the<br />

counter. “I enjoy a service business,” he said,<br />

noting that he doesn’t plan to make any<br />

changes at Ogden’s. The Woodland Hills<br />

resident will continue pickup and delivery,<br />

as well as the environmentally friendly<br />

cleaning processes the cleaner uses.<br />

The new owner will retain all of the<br />

current employees, including the women<br />

at the front counter, Jesse Hernandez and<br />

Gina Vargas and tailor Fernando Pena,<br />

who worked with Daniel. A second tailor,<br />

Enio Aguilar, who worked at Fame Cleaners,<br />

has been added.<br />

“We just wanted all our customers to<br />

know we appreciated their business. We<br />

weren’t able to tell everyone in person, but<br />

please tell them ‘thank you,’” Yanna Sapozhnikov<br />

said.<br />

Winning Strategies for Buyers in a Bidding War<br />

By MICHAEL EDLEN<br />

Multiple offers” occur either when<br />

a seller receives more than one<br />

purchase offer at the same time<br />

or receives another offer before a counteroffer<br />

is presented to the first buyer. This<br />

has occurred fairly often since 2012 and has<br />

created a frustrating environment for wellqualified<br />

buyers who repeatedly are outbid<br />

in their attempts to buy a home.<br />

The following suggestions are based on<br />

my having participated in hundreds of<br />

multiple-offer negotiations and observing<br />

the various dynamics that can occur.<br />

• Ideally, being an “all-cash” buyer with the<br />

cash available or, at a minimum, being<br />

fully approved for financing before<br />

writing an offer, will usually give you<br />

the advantage.<br />

• Know the market inventory well by attending<br />

open houses and becoming familiar<br />

with what has recently actually sold.<br />

• Have a family or personal photo to be<br />

presented with your offer, as well as an<br />

introductory letter which your agent<br />

can help you prepare.<br />

• Be as rational and disciplined as you<br />

can, willing to either step up or pull<br />

back depending on the circumstances.<br />

• Take the long view. Remember that you<br />

may be living in this neighborhood for<br />

many years. The house can often be<br />

changed in various ways, but the location<br />

cannot.<br />

• Ask your agent to counsel you on contract<br />

details that may improve your position<br />

at little cost or risk to you. A<br />

seasoned agent will know ways to make<br />

your offer stand out over others.<br />

• Be prepared to make decisions in a<br />

short amount of time, as timing your<br />

offer and any responses to the seller is<br />

essential to success.<br />

• Select an agent who has successfully<br />

guided many other buyers in multipleoffer<br />

situations.<br />

Although the highest and best offer usually<br />

succeeds, it is not uncommon in this<br />

market that a seller will receive more than<br />

one strong offer. The seller will at times ultimately<br />

select the buyer based upon personal<br />

or other nonfinancial reasons rather<br />

than one who offers a higher price.<br />

Michael Edlen has been involved in hundreds<br />

of multiple offer negotiations since 1987,<br />

including several that had 20-35 offers. He<br />

and his team have carefully developed strategies<br />

for multiple offers when working with<br />

both buyers and sellers. More tips and information<br />

are available at MichaelEdlen.com.<br />

He can be reached at (310) 230-7373 or<br />

michael@michaeledlen.com.


Page 14 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Parking Kiosk Design Ongoing<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

We were all astonished when we<br />

saw it,” said a member of the<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Design Review<br />

Board at its <strong>March</strong> 11 meeting, referring to<br />

the new parking attendant kiosk in the lot<br />

next to Bank of America on Sunset.<br />

At meetings on last October 8 and 22, a<br />

Broker Associate<br />

Fine Home Specialist<br />

30+ Years Experience<br />

Happy LA to Host<br />

Hudson Trunk Show<br />

Happy LA, one of Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>’ premiere clothing boutiques, will be the<br />

site of a Spring <strong>2015</strong> Trunk Show, debuting Hudson Jeans’ spring collection.<br />

“This will be our first Hudson trunk show,” said boutique owner Dawn Baker.<br />

“But we’ve been carrying the product in the store for more than seven years.”<br />

Hudson Jeans is one of the top leading denim brands in the world and carries<br />

a variety of cuts for all body types including: super skinny, skinny, straight leg,<br />

baby boot, bootcut and flare.<br />

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday, <strong>March</strong> 26, at the store,<br />

542 <strong>Palisades</strong> Drive in the Highlands Plaza. Hors d’oeuvres and champagne will<br />

be served.<br />

“We are looking forward to a fun day and there will be a gift with purchase<br />

on the day of the event provided by Hudson Jeans,” Baker said.<br />

Call (310) 459-5511 or visit dawn@ happy-la.com.<br />

representative from TOPA, which manages<br />

the parking lot, came to the board with a<br />

proposed kiosk design, to replace the one<br />

knocked over by a vehicle in June.<br />

The DRB is an advisory board, appoint -<br />

ed by Councilman Mike Bonin, Council<br />

District 11, operating under the Brown Act<br />

and tasked with reviewing exterior design,<br />

site layout, landscapes, signs and other design<br />

elements governed by the Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

specific plan.<br />

The kiosk does not fall under DRB pur -<br />

view, but members were delighted that<br />

TOPA had come to them for suggestions.<br />

“They didn’t need to, because they didn’t<br />

need a permit,” DRB President Barbara<br />

Kohn explained. But members discussed<br />

it at length and made suggestions that included<br />

color, size, windows and even the<br />

possibility of landscaping to make it more<br />

attractive.<br />

When the kiosk was installed, DRB<br />

members found that many suggestions had<br />

not been implemented.<br />

“We thought they were going to put a<br />

window where the wall was,” said member<br />

Sarah Griffin, “and a sliding door on both<br />

sides so that Roman [the attendant] could<br />

access ingoing and outgoing cars easier.”<br />

Also, the giant air conditioner on one side<br />

of the building, in addition to being unattractive,<br />

had other issues. “It’s oversized,”<br />

said member Donna Vaccarino. “The line<br />

going to it doesn’t have the correct power,<br />

so in order for it to operate, they would<br />

have to put in a new electrical line.”<br />

“There were good suggestions given by<br />

everyone around the table,” said Kohn, who<br />

contacted TOPA management and discovered<br />

that they agreed with the need to revisit<br />

the kiosk design and implementation.<br />

This kiosk has come under fire for its design.<br />

She and DRB member Kelly Comras<br />

met with TOPA on <strong>March</strong> 13 to discuss<br />

what happens next, and they are confident<br />

that several improvements will be made,<br />

but caution that implementation will take<br />

a couple of months.<br />

“Communications and the relationship<br />

with TOPA continues to be highly cordial<br />

with ongoing meetings in an effort to resolve<br />

the issue,” Kohn said on <strong>March</strong> 14.<br />

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<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 15<br />

90404 Changing<br />

Film Hosted by<br />

Conservancy<br />

The historically culturally diverse Pico<br />

neighborhood of Santa Monica is the subject<br />

of the film, 90404 Changing, to be presented<br />

by the Santa Monica Conservancy<br />

on Thursday, <strong>March</strong> 26, at 6:30 p.m. in the<br />

Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium at the<br />

Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd.<br />

Admission is free but seating is limited.<br />

Producer/director Michael Barnard will<br />

introduce the film, and after the screening<br />

he and leading cast member and co-producer<br />

Paulina Sahagun will conduct a Q&A.<br />

The film captures the once historically<br />

rich and culturally diverse neighborhood in<br />

the 90404 zip code. It follows a local Latina<br />

teacher and an African-American poet in<br />

their quest to piece together the history of<br />

this area.<br />

Blending narrative and documentary storytelling,<br />

90404 Changing includes a wide<br />

range of personal stories of former and current<br />

residents, clergy and business owners.<br />

Founded in 2002, the Santa Monica<br />

Conservancy is a nonprofit organization<br />

dedicated to promoting understanding<br />

and appreciation of the cultural, social,<br />

economic and environmental benefits of<br />

preserving the historic resources of Santa<br />

Monica’s unique urban landscape.<br />

Visit: www.smconservancy.org.<br />

I. Roman Accounting Services<br />

Ilana Roman<br />

Providing tax preparation, financial and<br />

management services to businesses<br />

and individuals.<br />

• Bookkeeping & Payroll Services<br />

• QuickBooks Pro Advisor<br />

310.230.8826<br />

fax: 310.454.8917<br />

7 Aloha Drive<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>, CA 90272<br />

www.ilanaroman.com • iroman@ilanaroman.com<br />

Coco Kennedy sang the National Anthem.<br />

PPBA Kicks Off Season at Park<br />

Record heat did not stop players,<br />

coaches, former coaches and even<br />

former fans from attending the Pacific<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Baseball Association’s 63rd<br />

annual pancake breakfast on Saturday<br />

morning at the <strong>Palisades</strong> Recreation Center.<br />

Alice Wroblicky may be the event’s big -<br />

gest fan: this was her 54th pancake breakfast.<br />

Her husband Emil, now deceased,<br />

coached teams in the 1960s, when their<br />

three boys played. She had attended every<br />

breakfast since then until last year, when<br />

Emil was sick.<br />

On Saturday, Alice was wearing a jacket<br />

and explained, “I know it’s supposed to be<br />

hot, but I remember when the wind came<br />

up the canyon, I’d freeze, sitting in the<br />

Introducing Danielle’s Skin Care<br />

Located inside Spa dMarie in the Highlands<br />

20% Off Any Skin Care Service<br />

for First Time Clients<br />

1515 <strong>Palisades</strong> Drive • (310) 890-4468 for appointments<br />

OPENING DAY <strong>2015</strong><br />

Tim McCaffrey, a member of the PPBA Board,<br />

with wife Natasha and daughter Carly. Son Jake is<br />

a second-year Tiger Pinto.<br />

bleachers.”<br />

A group of 11 <strong>Palisades</strong> men, all former<br />

Troop 223 dads who walk together every<br />

Saturday and coached AYSO, basketball and<br />

baseball when their boys were younger,<br />

stopped by for the breakfast. They included<br />

Andy Breech, who coached the Phillies<br />

from 1991-2001; former Unocal station<br />

owner Frank Jakel, who sponsored a team<br />

for 35 years and coached the Indians from<br />

1985 to 1990; and Bud Kling, the longtime<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> High tennis coach, who helmed<br />

the Dodgers in 1995.<br />

Rich Wilken, who once coached the Phil -<br />

lies, said: “I had a perfect record, we went<br />

0-17—totally unblemished by a single victory.”<br />

He remembered how actor David<br />

Matt Moore’s brother Asher is a Pinto<br />

Yankee.<br />

Photos: Sue Pascoe<br />

Niven, who had a son on the team, would<br />

show up with his silver case and then mix<br />

martinis. James Arness would join Niven<br />

in the bleachers.<br />

Susan Samama, her son Shane and<br />

grandson Mason (5) were in attendance.<br />

Shane recalled playing with Peter Wallin<br />

and Bill Bruns as his coaches. “We won<br />

every year,” he said, noting that his brother<br />

Mark also played in the PPBA. “We’ll have<br />

Mason in the line-up soon.”<br />

Coco Kennedy, a fifth grader at Corpus<br />

Christi School, sang the National Anthem.<br />

Baseball commissioner Bob Benton afterwards<br />

told Coco, “You hit a homerun.”<br />

Eon Sullivan was recognized for selling<br />

the most pancake tickets and will be a batboy<br />

for one UCLA game. The PPBA board<br />

was recognized, as well as Oscar Gonzales,<br />

who works nonstop on field maintenance.<br />

Then it was time for Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

actor/comedian Bill Hader to throw the<br />

first pitch to the waiting glove of Pinto<br />

Cub Jett Teegardin, and the <strong>2015</strong> PPBA<br />

season was underway.<br />

Michael C. Solum, Principal<br />

Insurance and Financial Services Agent<br />

881 Alma Real Dr., Suite T-10<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>, CA 90272<br />

(310) 454-0805<br />

msolum@farmersagent.com<br />

PaliInsurance.com<br />

License #OG51003


<strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong><br />

Page 16 <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Hoops Coach Johnson Savors City Title<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

After winning the City Section Open Division<br />

championship on <strong>March</strong> 7, <strong>Palisades</strong> High girls<br />

basketball coach Torino Johnson said, “I’d like<br />

to make a new dictionary. I’d put in the word team,<br />

and below it I’d put a picture of my girls. They define<br />

that word.”<br />

By the same token, many would put down the word<br />

“coach” and then put Johnson’s photo next to it. This<br />

soft-spoken coach, who works as a special education aide<br />

at PaliHi, has helmed the girls program for eight years.<br />

The Dolphins beat Narbonne 60-56 in the final,<br />

winning the first open-division basketball playoffs in<br />

City history. Johnson said the new division was created<br />

to allow the best teams to play more competitive games.<br />

Johnson was reflective before practice, preparing for<br />

his team’s State playoff opener by watching a taped game<br />

from early November. The large City trophy sat on his<br />

desk in a closet-sized office.<br />

“We don’t need hardware to be champions,” he said.<br />

“We control our own destiny by winning or losing.”<br />

To make it to the finals against Narbonne, <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

overcame a 17-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat<br />

Fairfax. Johnson was asked what he told his team during<br />

a key timeout. “I told them to have fun,” he said. “Playing<br />

should be fun, it shouldn’t be a job.”<br />

Johnson’s philosophy was tested two days after their<br />

championship game. As a Section winner, the Dolphins<br />

were scheduled to open the State playoffs at home<br />

against second-seeded Mater Dei, the number-one<br />

ranked girls team in the nation. Mater Dei had been<br />

PaliHi head girls basketball coach Torino Johnson looks<br />

for challenges for his team, and in the process pushes his<br />

girls to success.<br />

Photo: Bart Bartholomew<br />

The Dolphins celebrate the 60-56 win over Narbonne, which clinched the first City Section Open Division championship.<br />

Photo: Bart Bartholomew<br />

upset by Chaminade. But Monday afternoon, Johnson<br />

was told the game had been moved to the Monarchs’<br />

court in Santa Ana.<br />

“In one way it’s a lack of respect [to take away the<br />

home advantage], but I get it,” Johnson said. “If Mater<br />

Dei loses to Chaminade, is that an actual loss? I can’t<br />

get involved in the politics. We will go to their place and<br />

do what we can do. We look at this as an opportunity,<br />

rather than an adversity.”<br />

Reflecting the life lessons he tries to impart on his<br />

players, Johnson said: “We can’t control the place or<br />

time, but we can control how well we shoot and how<br />

well we play.”<br />

A graduate of Manual Arts and USC (2005), Johnson<br />

doesn’t back down. “I never schedule bad teams—there<br />

are no cream puff games here,” he said. His young team<br />

had only three seniors when it played Mater Dei in the<br />

second game of the season and was thrashed, 74-32.<br />

He called the second chance to play Mater Dei, “an<br />

exciting position for us,” despite his team’s underdog<br />

status. At Mater Dei, a private school, athletics is king<br />

and money is pumped into the program and facilities—<br />

everything is state-of-the-art. “They care about athletics,”<br />

Johnson said.<br />

At <strong>Palisades</strong> High, that same level of support for<br />

facilities and equipment doesn’t exist. This is the first<br />

year the girls have had a locker room, but as Johnson<br />

points out, “We won a championship without it.”<br />

Mater Dei defeated Pali, 99-73, after taking a 32-12<br />

first-quarter lead. Although PaliHi outscored the<br />

Monarchs in the second and third quarter, in the fourth<br />

quarter Mater Dei came back with a vengeance.<br />

“We worked very hard and although the score will tell<br />

a story of us losing, we played hard and put ourselves in<br />

a very good position throughout the game,” Johnson<br />

said afterwards.<br />

The Dolphin scoring was led by junior K. Merrill-Gillett<br />

(23 points), senior Bianca King (21) and sophomore<br />

Chelsey Gipson (16).<br />

Johnson also praised players that don’t always get press,<br />

such as, “Chaniya Pickett has to guard the opposing<br />

team’s best ball handler, and Sammy Spanier (Fr.) Rita<br />

Herbstman (Sr.), Julia Ide (So.), Hannah Akahoshi (Jr.)<br />

and Arianna Haghani (Sr.) because they always work<br />

hard in practice, helping us to get good.”<br />

Pali does have a major advantage that many other<br />

programs lack: Coach Johnson, but he gives all the credit<br />

back to the girls. “We have a really great group of girls<br />

who are creating their own destiny. They’re champs.”<br />

He works with his players year-round. “The kids are<br />

dedicated student-athletes who sacrifice weekends,”<br />

Johnson said, noting that the girls who are on varsity<br />

or trying to make the team practice Monday through<br />

Saturday.<br />

In addition to drills, the girls do weight training,<br />

conditioning and skill building. “We partnered with<br />

the football team and did the Navy Seals training with<br />

them,” said Johnson, who is also strict about girls keeping<br />

their grades high. His players are routinely recruited:<br />

Dominique Scott went to USC, Nicole Flyer to the<br />

University of Michigan and Molly Ross to Carleton.<br />

“Study hall is mandatory during lunch and at seventh<br />

period (2:27 to 3:08 p.m.) and sometimes they stay<br />

until 4 p.m.,” Johnson said. This means some players<br />

have to miss practice time to make sure their grades<br />

are kept high.<br />

His team doesn’t go unnoticed on campus. “This is<br />

one of the best climates of one of the best programs at<br />

the school,” said journalism teacher and former<br />

sportswriter Lisa Saxon. “The girls support each other,<br />

they know how to bring the best of each other on and<br />

off the court.”


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 17<br />

Wrestlers Fail to<br />

Advance at State<br />

SUMMER CAMPS<br />

& SCHOOL<br />

PROGRAMS<br />

Special Section—<br />

April 15, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Place Your Ads NOW in the<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong>!<br />

Full-Color Pages, Full-Color Ads<br />

Distribution to the entire 90272 <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

Community (by US Mail to 13,300 addresses<br />

& 1,200 distribution around town)<br />

Special Section Pricing—<br />

PLUS, additional ads on the Camps Page<br />

in a following issue available (call for details)<br />

Make your Ad Reservation Today!<br />

Ad Space Reservation Deadline: April 6<br />

Camera-ready Ad Artwork Deadline: April 7<br />

(ads must be supplied by advertiser)<br />

Contact for Information:<br />

Jeff at (310) 573-0150<br />

jeffridgway@palisadesnews.com<br />

Grace at (310) 454-7383<br />

gracehiney@palisadesnews.com<br />

The top 40 wrestlers at each of the 14 individual<br />

weight classes participated at the<br />

CIF State meet in Bakersfield on <strong>March</strong> 6<br />

and 7.<br />

Among those participating were Pali -<br />

sades High School seniors David Rheingold<br />

(115 pounds), Brad Boorstein (170 pounds)<br />

and Kenny Jones (heavyweight), who qualified<br />

by taking first in their weight class at<br />

City Section finals. They made history by<br />

being the first PaliHi wrestlers to achieve<br />

this goal since the program was started<br />

three years ago by Randy Aguirre, who<br />

passed away in January.<br />

Although no one advanced to the semi’s<br />

or finals, Coach Aldo Juliano cited lack of<br />

experience at large venues as one of the reasons.<br />

Six matches went on at the same time<br />

and the bleachers were filled to capacity.<br />

Rustic Canyon Offers<br />

All-Ages Tennis Classes<br />

“There were no fish there.” He was asked<br />

about the term. “A fish is someone who is<br />

easy, who flounders around. If you want<br />

fish you came to the wrong pond.<br />

“Kenny should have won,” Juliano said.<br />

“He got a bad call and that changed everything.”<br />

Juliano said the person who beat<br />

the PaliHi senior heavyweight went onto<br />

take third.<br />

“David Rheingold lost his first match,<br />

then won his second, before dropping the<br />

third,” the coach said. “It’s a whole mind<br />

game, you could see the more seasoned<br />

wrestlers handle the crowds and noise.”<br />

Boorstein lost his first match, won his<br />

second, and lost in his third to a wrestler<br />

who went to the finals. “It’s a luck of the<br />

draw,” Juliano said.<br />

The tennis courts at Rustic Canyon<br />

Park were resurfaced last year<br />

through a fundraising effort by the<br />

community and are in impeccable condition,<br />

according to Santa Monica Canyon<br />

resident Debbie Alexander. “The vibe is relaxed,<br />

shady and mellow,” she reported.<br />

Weekly one-hour tennis classes for adults<br />

and children are $165 and provide a variety<br />

of options depending on age and skill level.<br />

Tiny Tot classes geared to three- and<br />

four-year-olds are now offered. They serve<br />

as an introduction to the sport, and classes<br />

are Tuesdays at 1, 1:30 and 2 p.m.<br />

Peewee classes (ages 6 to 9), are offered<br />

at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday<br />

and Sunday.<br />

A beginner/intermediate class for kids 9<br />

to 13 teaches the basics of play, how to keep<br />

score, serve and play for points. Classes are<br />

4 p.m. Tuesday, 2 p.m. Wednesday and Saturdays<br />

and Sundays at 10:30 a.m.<br />

Adult classes for beginners, advanced<br />

beginners and intermediates are held on<br />

Tuesday and Wednesday under the direction<br />

of tennis pro Park Liu.<br />

An adult tennis workout class is held on<br />

Monday and Friday from 9 to 10:30 p.m.<br />

and the fee is $<strong>18</strong>0 for 10 weeks.<br />

A Rustic Canyon Tennis Club has been<br />

formed. The program is uninstructed and<br />

participants must be of USTA level 3 or<br />

higher to register. The club meets Monday,<br />

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m.<br />

to 1 p.m.<br />

The Rustic Canyon Live Ball Tennis Club<br />

meets from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and is<br />

uninstructed. The cost is $15 and participants<br />

are asked to bring a can of balls on<br />

the first day of class.<br />

An adult advanced drills class involves<br />

a half-hour lesson, then an hour match<br />

play with the instructor. Fee is $<strong>18</strong>0 for 10<br />

weeks, 10 to 11:30 a.m. every Tuesday.<br />

Adult drills intermediate class is a halfhour<br />

lesson to serve and volley, then an<br />

hour instructed play. Fee is $<strong>18</strong>0 for 10<br />

weeks, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays.<br />

On-line registration is closed. Walk-ins<br />

can go to Rustic Canyon Park, 601 Latimer<br />

Road, to register before the start of<br />

the new session on April 12, which runs<br />

through June 6.<br />

Contact park manager Tracy Field at<br />

(310) 459-7594.<br />

Visit: rusticcanyon.rc@lacity.org.<br />

Texas Hold ‘Em Poker<br />

Coming on May 9<br />

The second annual Rotary Texas Hold<br />

‘Em Poker Tournament will be held from<br />

5 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, in Janes<br />

Hall at the Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Presbyterian<br />

Church. Proceeds will benefit the <strong>Palisades</strong>-Malibu<br />

YMCA and the Rotary<br />

Club of Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Foundation.<br />

The prize pool will be more than<br />

$5,000. The initial buy-in is $200 (includes<br />

dinner) and the maximum number<br />

of players is 100. The deadline is May<br />

1, unless player spaces are sold out sooner.<br />

Contact Pete Crosby at (310) 454-6387<br />

or pcrosby@cgrmc.com; or Perry Akins at<br />

(310) 459-8551 or perry@perryakins.com.


Page <strong>18</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

A Home with Architectural History<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

There’s something reassuring about a<br />

home built decades ago with architectural<br />

insight and graciousness<br />

that people don’t instantly feel the need to<br />

renovate it or tear it down. Those buildings,<br />

like grand dames, have a history and are the<br />

more interesting for it.<br />

One property that fits into that category<br />

is the Trippet House at 13535 Lucca Dr. in<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>. The Los Angeles Times featured<br />

this historic French Tudor house in<br />

December 2006 and it is now on the market<br />

for $8.15 million.<br />

“Gerard Colcord was only 29 when he<br />

designed the Trippet House in 1930,” the<br />

story read. “Inspired by farm houses in the<br />

Normandy region of France, its exterior<br />

is rough field stone masonry. A dramatic<br />

high-pitched roof drives the design. Thick<br />

stone walls lend an air of stolidity and give<br />

the impression of a house built to last for<br />

generations.”<br />

Two years later, the house was featured in<br />

the entire first chapter of Bret Parsons’ book<br />

Colcord Homes (Angel City Press, 2008).<br />

Parsons wrote: “Rough fieldstone masonry<br />

veneer exemplifies the picturesque<br />

quality of Trippet House. A massive masonry<br />

wall with no window openings facing<br />

the street emphasizes the fireplace and<br />

the solidarity of farm buildings that were<br />

designed to be protective.<br />

“Colcord often modified traditional details.<br />

For example, the steel-easement windows<br />

in Trippet House were generally found<br />

only in the most expensive residences—<br />

not farmhouses. Even the proportions of<br />

the thin steel-framed windows are quite<br />

different from the heavier wood-framed<br />

casement windows found in a French<br />

farmhouse.”<br />

When Parsons published his book, he<br />

received a phone call from actor Harrison<br />

Ford, who owned two of the architect’s<br />

houses. Other celebrities who have owned<br />

Colcord homes included Tom Jones,<br />

Dean Martin, Tony Curtis, Debbie<br />

Reynolds, Richard Chamberlain and<br />

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The <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> welcomes submissions of obituary notices<br />

for Palisadians, past and present. Notices must be 400 words or<br />

less. A photo may be sent for possible inclusion. There is no charge<br />

for the notice, nor the photo. For questions, or to submit, please<br />

e-mail editor@palisadesnews.com. The desired deadline for submissions<br />

is Thursday before the intended publication date (the<br />

first and third Wednesday of the month).<br />

The historic Trippet House in the Riviera neighborhood of Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> is now on the market.<br />

Reese Witherspoon.<br />

“Every owner I talked with said they love<br />

having guests over,” Parsons wrote. “The<br />

problem is they don’t want to leave because<br />

they feel so comfortable.”<br />

There is some notoriety about the Trippet<br />

House’s second owner, Dr. Ernst C.<br />

Fishbaugh, a physician to the oil-rich Doheny<br />

family.<br />

In February 1929, Edward “Ned” Doheny,<br />

36, and his friend and assistant<br />

Theodore Hugh Plunkett, were found dead<br />

in the Greystone mansion in Beverly Hills.<br />

Historical accounts vary but Fishbaugh<br />

may have helped up cover up a crime surrounding<br />

the possible murder/suicide of<br />

the two men.<br />

According to the doctor, “I received a call<br />

at the Hollywood Playhouse from my maid<br />

at 10:30 p.m. and was told to go to the Doheny<br />

home immediately. Upon my arrival<br />

there, one of the watchmen let me in the<br />

house . . . As I entered, Mrs. Doheny was<br />

standing in the middle hallway approximately<br />

eight feet back from the door and<br />

greeted me. She said her husband was in a<br />

guestroom on the first floor, to the left of<br />

the hall leading from the front entrance.<br />

“Both Mrs. Doheny and I started down<br />

the hall, side by side. A door, which partitions<br />

the hall, was slightly ajar, and I saw<br />

Plunkett walking toward it. ‘You stay out of<br />

here,’ he shouted at me and slammed the<br />

door shut. I then heard a shot. ‘You go back,’<br />

I told Mrs. Doheny, and she returned to the<br />

living room, which was about 75 feet away<br />

from the guest room. I pushed the door<br />

open and saw Plunkett lying on his face<br />

opposite the door to the bedroom where<br />

I later found Mr. Doheny. Plunkett, to the<br />

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best of my recollection, was fully clothed.<br />

The door to the bedroom was open, and<br />

when I looked in I saw Mr. Doheny lying<br />

on his back, a chair overturned between<br />

him and the bed.”<br />

An ensuing media storm soon called<br />

Ned Doheny a hero because of a rumor he<br />

was trying to help a troubled friend, and<br />

had been killed for his efforts.<br />

The forensic investigator, Leslie White,<br />

doubted Fishbaugh’s story. He found a smoldering<br />

cigarette in Hugh’s fingertips, who<br />

supposedly had just killed his best friend<br />

and then himself. The gun used in the murder<br />

lay under Plunkett’s body, very warm,<br />

as if someone had heated it in the oven.<br />

Indeed, the doctor was caught in several<br />

lies, including withholding the fact that<br />

Ned had been alive when the doctor burst<br />

(Continued on Page 19)<br />

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<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 19<br />

Trippet House<br />

(Continued from Page <strong>18</strong>)<br />

into the room. White also observed that<br />

Ned had been shot at very close range,<br />

Hugh had not.<br />

The case initially hit all of the local papers,<br />

but 36 hours later District Attorney<br />

Buron Fitts officially closed the investigation,<br />

killing any further investigation.<br />

Several theories had been floated, including<br />

that the two men were lovers, but there<br />

was also a financial aspect that cannot be<br />

discounted.<br />

The elder Doheny had become involved<br />

in the Teapot Dome scandal, in which Doheny,<br />

Albert Fall [U.S. Secretary of State]<br />

and oilman Harry Sinclair were charged<br />

with conspiracy. Earlier, Ned and Hugh had<br />

gone to New York and after withdrawing<br />

$100,000 from a banking account, gave<br />

the money to Fall.<br />

Doheny was acquitted in December<br />

1926, but was later charged again, this time<br />

with bribery.<br />

Ned and Hugh had been called to testify<br />

in the upcoming bribery trials of Albert Fall<br />

and E.L. Doheny. And although Ned had<br />

been assured immunity, Hugh had not.<br />

After the murders, Fishbaugh purchased<br />

the Trippet House.<br />

Today, the 4,976-sq.-ft. home has 6 bedrooms<br />

and 5.5 bathrooms on a 20,877-sq.-<br />

ft. flat lot in the Riviera, plus a guest house,<br />

a pool/spa and an outdoor kitchen. The listing<br />

agent is Palisadian Anthony Marguleas,<br />

who can be contacted at (310) 293-9280.<br />

Documentarian Brian Ivie Will<br />

Speak at ‘Food for Thought’<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

Documentarian Brian Ivie is the<br />

next speaker in the monthly “Food<br />

for Thought” series on Thursday,<br />

<strong>March</strong> 26, after the free luncheon at 11:30<br />

a.m. in the <strong>Palisades</strong> Presbyterian Church’s<br />

community room, Janes Hall. Ivie will<br />

speak about The Drop Box, which opened<br />

at 750 theaters on <strong>March</strong> 3.<br />

Clips will be shown from this featurelength<br />

documentary, which tells the story<br />

of one man’s efforts to protect and care for<br />

newborn babies who might have otherwise<br />

been abandoned on the streets of Seoul,<br />

South Korea.<br />

Pastor Lee Jong-Rak built a “baby<br />

box”—a safe harbor to welcome and care<br />

for these babies. So far, more than 600 babies,<br />

many of whom have disabilities, have<br />

been helped. A portion of the film’s proceeds<br />

will go to support Pastor Lee’s ministry.<br />

He has been quoted as saying, “They<br />

aren’t the unnecessary ones . . . God sent<br />

them here for a purpose.”<br />

“The Drop Box is a profoundly moving<br />

documentary that sheds much-needed<br />

light on the inherent dignity and mission<br />

of each human person, especially those<br />

with a serious disability. In a world that<br />

Teen Poets Can Win Book Deal<br />

The Los Angeles Public Library is offering<br />

free creative writing workshops for<br />

teens, culminating in the opportunity to<br />

become the Los Angeles youth poet laureate<br />

and to secure a book deal to publish a first<br />

book of poems.<br />

Attend any or all of the workshops at<br />

the <strong>Palisades</strong> Branch Library from 3:30 to<br />

5:30 p.m. on Monday, <strong>March</strong> 23; Tuesday,<br />

<strong>March</strong> 31; and Monday April 6 and 13 with<br />

Rachel Kann. During the workshop, teens<br />

will also be able to work on their professional<br />

resumes.<br />

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the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program<br />

since 2008 and is a TEDx Poet who has<br />

performed her work at venues from Royce<br />

Hall to San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts.<br />

She has won a James Kirkwood Award for<br />

fiction.<br />

After attending a workshop(s), teens<br />

(ages 13 to 19) will write five poems and<br />

fill out the resume form at urbanword.org.<br />

The top poets will perform at the L.A.<br />

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often emphasizes the need to be perfect,<br />

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life, and the unique giftedness of every<br />

human being,” said one reviewer, Jeanne<br />

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“Through this movie, we’re hoping that<br />

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A graduate of the University of Southern<br />

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became interested in the hidden world of<br />

child abandonment in South Korea and<br />

other countries. While making the film, he<br />

became a Christian.<br />

Afterwards, he co-founded the nonprofit<br />

Kindred Image, which works on preventing<br />

abandonment, meeting mothers in crisis<br />

and offering alternatives to abandonment<br />

in unsafe places and providing long-term<br />

solutions for single mothers and children.<br />

The nonprofit is committed to holistic solutions<br />

through counseling, care packages<br />

and adoption support.<br />

Ivie is a published film critic and recreational<br />

songwriter; he was the only white<br />

male in the Saved by Grace Gospel Choir.<br />

With four other like-minded individuals,<br />

Ivie founded Arbella Studios, whose mission<br />

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<strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong><br />

Page 20 <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

J.W.M.<br />

Turner:<br />

Master<br />

of Sea,<br />

Mist and<br />

Light<br />

By LIBBY MOTIKA<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Contributor<br />

If the renowned <strong>18</strong>th-century British<br />

artist J.W.M. Turner could have slipped<br />

into the eye of a hurricane, he most certainly<br />

would have rendered the power and<br />

intensity of the storm looking from the inside<br />

out, with an emotional intensity that<br />

seemed impossible with paint on canvas.<br />

But this was the man who claimed that<br />

he was tied to the mast of a ship on the<br />

night of a storm and witnessed it for four<br />

hours. When looking at the finished painting,<br />

“Snow Storm: Steamboat off a Harbour’s<br />

Mouth,” the viewer is caught up in<br />

that very vortex.<br />

Turner was captivated by natural phenomena—sunrises,<br />

fog and the mutable skies—<br />

J.M.W. Turner self-portrait<br />

“The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, <strong>18</strong>34.”<br />

and he was obsessed with natural catastrophes,<br />

raging storms and conflagrations.<br />

Turner was captivated by natural phenomena—sunrises,<br />

fog and the mutable<br />

skies—and he was obsessed with natural catastrophes,<br />

raging storms and conflagrations.<br />

“When the Tower of London was burning<br />

down in <strong>18</strong>21, Turner applied to the<br />

Duke of Wellington to go into the Tower<br />

and make studies, but he was denied. So he<br />

made the studies from across the water,<br />

which are so incredibly fresh to our eye,”<br />

says Julian Brooks, co-curator of the exhibition<br />

“J.M.W. Turner: Painting Set Free”<br />

at the Getty Museum through May 24.<br />

The 60 watercolors and oil paintings on<br />

view represent the last 15 years of Turner’s<br />

life. Remarkably, these are the most expressive,<br />

dynamic and innovative of his life’s<br />

work, says Timothy Potts, director of the<br />

J. Paul Getty Museum.<br />

“This is an exhibition with a thesis,” Potts<br />

continues. “It wants to look at Turner’s late<br />

work and understand it going back to the<br />

end of the <strong>18</strong>th century and early 19th century<br />

when he is consciously drawing on the<br />

work of other great landscape artists. Then<br />

you have this flourish that is so totally different.<br />

Instead of defining and representing<br />

reality in a traditional way, the artist’s late<br />

work is much more expressive. It flows between<br />

solid and liquid, air and wind and<br />

sea—all these elements of nature in a very<br />

expressive and atmospheric way. That’s<br />

what appeals to modern audiences.” It has<br />

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art: The John Howard McFadden Collection, 1928<br />

been seen as, in a sense, proto-modern.<br />

Turner was born in London in 1775 and<br />

lived as the Industrial Revolution was transforming<br />

England from hand production<br />

methods to machines. He showed an early<br />

talent for drawing and watercolor and was<br />

admitted to the Royal Academy of Art in<br />

1789 at age 14. During these early years, he<br />

developed the custom of traveling throughout<br />

Britain, producing a wide range of<br />

sketches for working up into studies and<br />

watercolors.<br />

Throughout his life, Turner continued to<br />

travel every summer on his own, often on<br />

foot, having no retinue carrying his bags. He<br />

had his boots resoled and re-heeled countless<br />

times, but he was just driven to carry<br />

on. This was where his subject matter was.<br />

He expanded his itinerary to the Continent,<br />

after the end of the Napoleonic wars in<br />

<strong>18</strong>15 when Continental travel was possible.<br />

Venice was one of his favorite places<br />

and it was easy to see why. It was all about<br />

(Continued on Page 21)<br />

“Venice at Sunrise from the Hotel Europa, with Campanile of San Marco,” about <strong>18</strong>40.<br />

Photo © Tate, London 2014


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 21<br />

“Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth,” exhibited <strong>18</strong>42. Photo © Tate, London 2014<br />

whole career focuses on the sea. These maritime<br />

scenes capture more than just pretty<br />

seascapes, but rather show his intensely<br />

emotional observations of the play of light<br />

on the water and the radiance of the skies.<br />

“In ‘Snow Storm,’ the steamboat is absolutely<br />

at the mercy of the elements,”<br />

Brooks says. “This new technology (steam<br />

power) is nothing compared to the power<br />

of nature. Here you can’t even see the horizon,<br />

it’s a vortex. These veils of spray that<br />

come up, you feel it also in the coloring,<br />

there is hardly any blue or green—the normal<br />

colors you’d find in a maritime picture.<br />

It’s really black and white; you feel a seeth -<br />

ing power of the ocean underneath.”<br />

Critics were outraged by this exhibition.<br />

One opined, “It’s just a load of soapsuds<br />

and whitewash.” Turner replied, “Well, I<br />

wish I’d been in it.”<br />

Notably eccentric, Turner had few<br />

friends, except for his father, who lived with<br />

him for 30 years until his death in <strong>18</strong>29.<br />

While he never married, later in life Turner<br />

lived with Sophia Caroline Booth, in whose<br />

house he had rented a room in the seaside<br />

town of Margate. The two lived together<br />

in Chelsea until his death in <strong>18</strong>51. (Mr.<br />

Turner, director Mike Leigh’s film currently<br />

in theaters, received high marks from the<br />

director of the Tate Galleries, who said:<br />

“Mike Leigh and star Timothy Spall’s great<br />

achievement is showing us how the artist<br />

approached the physical business of painting.<br />

But they also convey the spirit of a man<br />

whose reputation as a curmudgeon is un-<br />

(Continued from Page 20)<br />

atmosphere. As he said to John Ruskin,<br />

the leading English art critic at the time,<br />

“Atmosphere is my style.”<br />

Success followed Turner’s recognized talent,<br />

which allowed him financial independence.<br />

His early works stayed true to the<br />

traditions of English landscape, but as he<br />

aged he began to push the envelope by introducing<br />

new subject matter that his contemporaries<br />

weren’t painting.<br />

“He painted contemporary scenes and<br />

much more assiduously than his contemporaries,<br />

who were generally working on<br />

medieval subjects or pure landscapes, descriptive,<br />

photographical landscapes,”<br />

Brooks says.<br />

By <strong>18</strong>35, when Turner was 60 years old,<br />

he was at the top of his game, had made a<br />

great deal of money, and could have easily<br />

settled into a quiet life, but continued to<br />

paint. Everything in the Getty exhibition<br />

is what he did after that period.<br />

About half of his subject matter over his<br />

warranted, given his passionate interest in<br />

people and the world around him.”)<br />

Turner left the majority of his works,<br />

over 19,000 works on paper and 200<br />

paintings, finished and unfinished, to the<br />

English nation, which are housed at the<br />

Tate Britain. The Getty exhibition is the<br />

first major exhibition on the West Coast<br />

devoted to Turner’s paintings, organized<br />

by Tate Britain.<br />

On Tuesday, April 14, at 1:30 p.m., Assistant<br />

Curator of Paintings Peter Bjorn Kerber<br />

and Curator of Drawings Julian Brooks<br />

will lead gallery tours of the exhibition.<br />

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Page 22 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Local Teachers Featured in Photography Show<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> High School teachers Steve<br />

Engelmann and Paula Riff will be<br />

featured in a Los Angeles Center of<br />

Photography exhibition entitled “f16–New<br />

Photographic Visions.” The opening reception<br />

is 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, <strong>March</strong><br />

21, at the Center, 1515 Wilcox Ave. in Hollywood.<br />

The exhibition is free and runs<br />

through April 17.<br />

This fine art photography collection includes<br />

multiple processes and highlights the<br />

Steve Engelmann uses multiple negatives to<br />

combine the human form with the twisted<br />

heartwood of the ancient bristlecone pine.<br />

varying points of view of artists: Maureen<br />

Bond, John Bosma, Tom Carmichael, Ladini<br />

Conder, Cindy Crane, Sheri Determan,<br />

Beth Dubber, Engelmann, Carol Erb,<br />

Samantha Geballe, Crystal Dickerson-Hancock,<br />

Shari Yantra Marcacci, Maureen Price,<br />

Riff, Anne Slattery and Isabella Vosmikova.<br />

Engelmann, who teaches AP environmental<br />

science and coaches the Environthon<br />

team, received a bachelor’s degree in<br />

marine biology from UCLA.<br />

A lifelong Palisadian (his parents moved<br />

here in 1962), Engelmann started taking<br />

photos when he was a student at Paul Revere<br />

Junior High. He continued studying<br />

photography with Rob Doucotte at PaliHi,<br />

graduating in 1982.<br />

In addition to the L.A. Center of Photography,<br />

Englemann’s work has been exhibited<br />

many times at the Santa Monica<br />

College Photography Gallery and at the<br />

Happening Gallery in Marina del Rey.<br />

Englemann was the sole artist featured<br />

at SMC in a 2012 show “Natura Humana,”<br />

with the theme of how human beings relate<br />

to nature—in each photograph, he<br />

juxtaposed two images into one.<br />

In an earlier interview, he explained, “I<br />

isolate a form from nature and incorporate<br />

a human shape or detail within. Each image<br />

has a complement with either a positive or<br />

negative background. The duality of these<br />

pairings emphasizes the struggle to find a<br />

new equilibrium.”<br />

The photographer said that people have<br />

difficulty deciphering both images. “People<br />

see something totally different, like psychology’s<br />

figure-ground tests.”<br />

The environmentalist added that he is<br />

“exploring our senses as our connection to<br />

natural elements. Nature feeds us, quenches<br />

us, nurtures us, heals and soothes us, and<br />

yet we increasingly insulate ourselves from<br />

our environment. What does ‘natural’<br />

mean to our mind and senses today, as they<br />

are continually altered by new technologies<br />

and the built environment? I am fascinated<br />

by our changing perceptions, subconscious<br />

contradictions and the conflicts that ensue.”<br />

Englemann’s wife, Diana, is an English<br />

professor at SMC. The couple have two<br />

children, Sasha and Elliott.<br />

Paula Riff has worked as a special education<br />

teacher at PaliHi for the last five years.<br />

She grew up in Ohio and attended UC<br />

Berkeley, where she majored in Japanese<br />

language and studies.<br />

After college, she lived in Tokyo for several<br />

years. When she returned to the U.S.,<br />

Riff became an interpreter for Japanese film<br />

production companies in Los Angeles.<br />

As a self-taught photographer, Riff<br />

switched careers, landing an internship in<br />

the photo department at the Los Angeles<br />

County Museum of Art. Although she<br />

had a fairly successful career shooting<br />

This is one of nine photographs that are part<br />

of a larger series called “Russian Postcards”<br />

by <strong>Palisades</strong> High teacher Paula Riff.<br />

portraits and hand-coloring photographs,<br />

she entered graduate school and received<br />

a teaching credential.<br />

Riff often hand-colors her black-andwhite<br />

photographs using a subtly colorful<br />

palette. She recently purchased a digital<br />

camera, but still prefers film.<br />

Visit: f16newphotographicvisions.blog -<br />

spot.com/or juliadean.com.<br />

ELLEN MCCORMICK<br />

JUST LISTED<br />

Offered at $1,595,000 | 631 Baylor St., Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>. 3 BR, 2 BA | www.631Baylor.com<br />

Move right in to this jewel box of a home. 3 BR, 2 BA, family room, updated kitchen & baths, large yard.<br />

ELLEN MCCORMICK<br />

Distinguished representation of the<br />

Westside since 1984.<br />

ellenmccormick.com<br />

(310) 230-3707 | ellen@ellenmccormick.com<br />

CalBRE# 008725<strong>18</strong><br />

©<strong>2015</strong> An Independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC.


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 23<br />

April Group<br />

Show Seeks<br />

Art Entries<br />

The Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Art Association<br />

will host its April Group Show, featuring<br />

painting on canvas, painting under<br />

glass and sculpture. This show is open<br />

to all paid members. Art may be submitted<br />

at the <strong>Palisades</strong> Branch library<br />

from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday,<br />

<strong>March</strong> 25.<br />

The entry fee is $10 per item and<br />

there is a maximum of three entries<br />

in each category. All work must have<br />

a sturdy hanging wire across the<br />

back, with a maximum size of 42<br />

inches on any side. Framing should<br />

be of professional quality or canvases<br />

may have wrapped sides. Sculpture is<br />

picked up after judging, about 1 p.m.<br />

<strong>March</strong> 25, and brought back for the<br />

reception only.<br />

A reception and awards ceremony<br />

will be held on Saturday, April 4,<br />

from noon to 2 p.m. Ribbons will be<br />

awarded in each category. (The show<br />

in November will include art in the<br />

mixed-media, photo, print and drawing<br />

categories.)<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Postal Worker<br />

Sentenced for Hit-and-Run<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> postal worker Marguerite<br />

Dao Vuong, 67, was sentenced<br />

to three years in prison for a December<br />

2013 hit-and-run crash that killed 23-<br />

year-old David Pregerson. Her husband,<br />

Michael, 67, received one year in jail and<br />

three years’ probation for claiming he drove<br />

the vehicle at the time of the crash.<br />

At the sentencing on <strong>March</strong> 6, Deputy<br />

District Attorney Marna Miller told Los<br />

Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathryn<br />

Solorzano that Marguerite Vuong, who was<br />

driving to work at the Post Office facility on<br />

La Cruz, turned her vehicle around after<br />

it struck Pregerson. Miller said it was clear<br />

that Vuong drove back by his body before<br />

she went home and switched cars so she<br />

could drive to work without notifying authorities<br />

about what had happened.<br />

Judge Solorzano was also told that<br />

Vuong’s husband was responsible for having<br />

the car’s windshield replaced after the<br />

crash, resulting in destruction of evidence.<br />

Pregerson, a recent UCLA graduate, a son<br />

of U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson and<br />

a grandson of U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals<br />

Judge Harry Pregerson, was walking<br />

on the 600 block of Chautauqua Boulevard.<br />

According to the L.A. Times, “The victim,<br />

drunk after a party, was struck as he<br />

was walking home about 3 a.m. For<br />

months, the case went unsolved, but surveillance<br />

videos from homeowners in the<br />

residential area where the collision took<br />

place helped lead police to identify Marguerite<br />

as the driver. He was found later<br />

in the bushes by the side of the road by a<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Patrol officer, transported to the<br />

hospital and died four days later.<br />

“In a secret recording made at the police<br />

station, Marguerite told her husband<br />

to ‘lie about everything.’”<br />

A City <strong>News</strong> Service report noted the<br />

victim’s father called what had happened<br />

a “horror” and said his son had been “annihilated<br />

by a three-ton vehicle.”<br />

“You never get over the loss of a child,” he<br />

said. “Every day is just pain management.”<br />

Dean Pregerson wondered, “What kind<br />

of person is capable of leaving a broken<br />

body on a highway?” The family and the<br />

Los Angeles City Council each offered<br />

$50,000 rewards for information leading to<br />

the driver’s arrest and conviction.<br />

Dao Vuong’s son Andrew, an emergencyroom<br />

physician, told the Pregersons how<br />

deeply they were affected by the tragedy<br />

and that his parents were not evil, but had<br />

made mistakes, and asked for forgiveness.<br />

Another of the couple’s sons, Johnny,<br />

said his parents came to the United States<br />

from war-torn Vietnam. “They are not<br />

monsters,” he said. “Ultimately they are<br />

imperfect people.”<br />

In addition to her state prison sentence,<br />

Marguerite Vuong’s California driver’s license<br />

will be revoked for a one-year period that will<br />

begin when she is paroled from state prison.<br />

Rain Report<br />

The February 28 drizzle plus the <strong>March</strong><br />

1 downpour resulted in 1.01 inches of rain,<br />

per an official Los Angeles County rain<br />

gauge, located at Carol Leacock’s home on<br />

Bienveneda Avenue.<br />

Deputy assistant rainmeister Ted Mackie<br />

said normal to date is 12.48 inches; currently<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> has received 7.59<br />

inches. Last year’s total at this time was 5.94<br />

inches. He reminded us that 2006-2007 was<br />

the driest year in recent history, when only<br />

4.11 inches of rain were reported.<br />

STYLE FOR EVERYONE<br />

20% OFF FOR FIRST TIME CLIENTS<br />

Full-service hair, skincare, and beauty studio serving the<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong>, Malibu, and Westside community. With adjacent<br />

blow-dry bar and professional beauty supply store.<br />

Blow Dry - $40+<br />

Coloring - $75+<br />

Cuts & Design - $95+<br />

Men's Cuts - $50<br />

Children Styles - $30+<br />

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Page 24 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

The Fine Art of Paint<br />

Cox Paint, Santa Monica<br />

1130 Santa Monica Blvd.<br />

310.393.7208<br />

Cox Paint, Culver City<br />

11153 Washington Blvd.<br />

310.838.2284


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 25<br />

Fundraiser Showcases Top Fashion Lines<br />

Servicing<br />

Westside Communities<br />

from the City to the Beach<br />

BRETT DUFFY<br />

REAL ESTATE<br />

BRETT C. DUFFY<br />

Cindy Jones is in BOCA clothing.<br />

The Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Woman’s Club<br />

hosted its annual fashion show and<br />

luncheon on <strong>March</strong> 3. More than<br />

120 guests watched as <strong>18</strong> models strutted<br />

down a runway in clothing provided by<br />

BOCA Man, BOCA and Vivian’s Boutique.<br />

The tradition began more than 30 years<br />

ago, as not only a way to showcase local<br />

stores and available fashions, but also as a<br />

fundraiser for the club.<br />

This year the organizing committee responsible<br />

for securing fashions, finding<br />

models and decorating the room included<br />

Nichelle Toomire, Stephanie Smith, Terri<br />

Webb, Dr. Jane George, Terri Lyman,<br />

Haldis Toppel, Roberta Donohue and<br />

Brook Dougherty.<br />

Smith crafted the ceiling floral overhangs,<br />

using flowers from her own garden,<br />

and joined with Toomire to create floral<br />

centerpieces for the tables.<br />

The normally drab yellow curtain on<br />

the stage was partially pulled to reveal a<br />

colorful backdrop hung by Smith. Once<br />

she had selected the material for the backdrop,<br />

she used that color theme to design<br />

invitations, banners and the menus<br />

tucked into the napkins.<br />

Toomire and Smith chose Taste restaurant<br />

in the Highlands to provide the food.<br />

Guests were able to select from a Mexican-style<br />

salad with chicken or a roasted<br />

vegetable salad. Wine was donated by club<br />

members. Dessert, also from Taste, included<br />

a selection mini-cupcakes, chocolate-chip<br />

cookies and brownies.<br />

Servers were from the Midnight Mission:<br />

men who are honing skills in food services.<br />

The nonprofit offers a self-sufficiency path<br />

and job opportunities to men and women<br />

who have lost everything. The Mission provides<br />

the accountability and structure that<br />

homeless individuals need to rejoin their<br />

communities. After securing a job, participants<br />

gradually move into the Midnight<br />

Mission’s Transitional Housing Center or<br />

back into the community.<br />

Palisadian Greg Alper performed on<br />

his saxophone, providing live background<br />

music.<br />

Dr. George was in charge of securing raffle<br />

items. Webb arranged and wrapped the<br />

items, aided by Phyllis Nelson, Judy Grosh,<br />

Sharon Kanan and Cathie Yonke. Guests<br />

dropped tickets into jars placed in front<br />

of the items they wanted to win; during<br />

the show, tickets were drawn and winners<br />

announced.<br />

Jean Aroeste and Donohue worked on<br />

reservations and table seating, while<br />

Woman’s Club president Lyman, Toppel<br />

and Dougherty worked behind the scenes<br />

to ensure that the event ran smoothly.<br />

In addition to the clothing, Flash Jewelry<br />

Gallery donated jewelry for models to wear.<br />

Club member Holly Surya sold jewelry in<br />

the lobby before the show.<br />

Vivian Foster, owner of Vivian’s Boutique<br />

on Via de la Paz, served as the emcee<br />

during the fashion show. Male models were<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Chamber of Commerce<br />

CEO Arnie Wishnick, personal trainer Rigo<br />

Manzanares (Gelson’s former wine manager),<br />

Dr. Shannon Watson and Caruso<br />

Affiliated executive Rick Lemmo.<br />

Modeling for Vivian’s and BOCA were<br />

Robin Fuchs, Jan Gentry, Ingrid Vinje,<br />

Krystyna Kaszubowski, Dr. Susan Crane,<br />

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices<br />

881 Alma Real Drive, Suite 100<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>, CA 90272<br />

(310) 230-3716 / brettduffy@bhhscal.com<br />

©<strong>2015</strong> An Independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. CalBRE# 01241284<br />

Photo: Bart Bartholomew<br />

Dr. Shannon Watson wears BOCA Man.<br />

Photo: Bart Bartholomew<br />

Carol Pfannkuche, Reny Cantu, Sue Pascoe,<br />

Frances Sharpe, Brooke King, Cindy Jones,<br />

Marie Tran, Sarah Ketelhut and Dana Glover.<br />

Everyone attending received a gift bag<br />

containing shampoo, lotion and other cosmetic<br />

samples. There were gifts from Flash,<br />

Vivian’s and Marie Tran in every bag.<br />

Proceeds from the event will be used<br />

towards the $1.5-million clubhouse renovation.<br />

Bryan’s Smile Focuses<br />

On Drug Awareness<br />

When Santa Monica dentist Melanie<br />

Gullet lost her 26-year-old son Bryan to<br />

drug addiction, she formed Bryan’s Smile,<br />

a nonprofit organization dedicated to<br />

bringing awareness about addiction and<br />

depression.<br />

“The ‘not my child’ and the ‘not me’ attitude,<br />

along with the lack of knowledge<br />

about addiction and depression, have created<br />

a disturbing increase in deaths of<br />

America’s young,” Gullet said. “Our mission<br />

is to bring awareness and communication<br />

about what is being called an<br />

epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control<br />

and Prevention.”<br />

On <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, April 16 and May 14, there<br />

will be programs from 6 to 9 p.m. at St.<br />

Martin of Tours, 11955 Sunset Blvd., in<br />

ATRIUM<br />

HAIR SALON<br />

Is Here to Serve You<br />

Men • Women • Kids<br />

Free Toy w/ Kid’s Cuts<br />

Walk-Ins Welcome • Senior Discount<br />

_______________________________<br />

Voted “Best Haircut”<br />

Tues-Sat 9-5<br />

– LA Magazine..<br />

860 Via de la Paz 424.272.9267<br />

Reny Cantu wears clothing from Vivian’s.<br />

Photo: Bart Bartholomew<br />

Brentwood. Participants will follow the fate<br />

of a fictitious teen addicted to drugs, which<br />

includes arrest, jail and ultimately a funeral.<br />

Each attendee will be given a drug-abuse<br />

profile to adopt during the program, so<br />

he/she can become familiar with different<br />

addictive drugs and gateway drugs. Participants<br />

will hear from an addict in recovery,<br />

and Gullet will speak.<br />

The organizations believes that the best<br />

way to prevent substance abuse is to prevent<br />

it from happening in the first place.<br />

The program is open for youth ages 10<br />

to 17, who must be accompanied by a parent.<br />

The event is free and advanced registration<br />

is necessary because space is limited.<br />

RSVP bryanssmile@bryanssmile.com.<br />

Visit: bryanssmile.com<br />

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Page 26 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

DINING WITH GRACE<br />

Idiscovered the Glendon Bar & Kitchen restaurant a<br />

year or two ago for a quick dinner before I went to<br />

the Geffen Playhouse. The Glendon is handily just<br />

down the street from the Trader Joe’s parking lot where<br />

the Geffen gives ticketholders free parking.<br />

Before performances I always enjoyed sharing a salad<br />

and a crispy rustic pizza, or bourbon buffalo wings or<br />

sliders. However, this time my friend and I enjoyed a<br />

leisurely dinner and a chat with Chef and Managing<br />

Partner Nicholas Jacobs.<br />

It is always fascinating to see young chefs like Nick,<br />

almost 30, who was a working chef in New York before<br />

opening the Glendon about five years ago.<br />

After eating the excellent food, it is clear why the<br />

restaurant has been a success.<br />

The setting is attractive, with a large bar, tables<br />

throughout and banquette seating with tables along<br />

one wall. Two elegant chandeliers hang from the high<br />

ceilings, and the back wall features handsomely framed<br />

mirrors. Upstairs, there is a separate dining room for<br />

private parties and special occasions.<br />

With glasses of wine came crispy cheese bread sticks<br />

and a small dipping sauce. My friend and I shared a<br />

Hilgard salad composed of baby arugula, strawberries,<br />

candied pecans, gorgonzola and a fine balsamic Dijon<br />

vinaigrette. This was a delicious salad, especially with<br />

the strawberries and the superb vinaigrette.<br />

My friend had ‘The Marc” pasta, consisting of penne<br />

pasta with grilled chicken, parmesan and fresh basil<br />

Hike with Mike<br />

Councilman Mike Bonin invites<br />

constituents to join him on a hike in<br />

Temescal Canyon from 9 a.m. to noon<br />

on Saturday, <strong>March</strong> 28. Chat with the<br />

councilman about issues, and hear<br />

about the work he is doing for local<br />

neighborhoods.<br />

Meet at the north side of Sunset<br />

Boulevard at Temescal Canyon. Parking<br />

is $7 in the lot. Be sure to stop<br />

completely at Stop signs, so you don’t<br />

receive a ticket from the Santa Monica<br />

Mountains Conservancy. Please RSVP<br />

for the hike at 11thDis trict.com/Hike_<br />

with_Mike_Mar28.<br />

310.230.7377<br />

hollydavis@coldwellbanker.com<br />

www.hollydavis.com<br />

BRE #00646387<br />

THE GLENDON BAR & KITCHEN<br />

1071 Glendon Ave., Westwood • (310) 208-2023<br />

along with sun-dried and grape tomatoes, and toasted<br />

almonds, all accented with nutmeg, freshly cracked<br />

pepper and light cream. It was excellent, tasty and not<br />

overpowering but quite scrumptious.<br />

The fresh fish, a sesame crusted mahi-mahi with<br />

lemon, was superb. The accompanying sautéed spinach<br />

side I ordered was perfect with the fish.<br />

Prices are moderate: the mahi-mahi or fresh Alaskan<br />

salmon were $14.50, while the pastas ranged from $16.50<br />

for The Marc to $17 for a truffle tequila farfalle pasta<br />

with grilled flank steak.<br />

Newport Farms Angus beef New York steak is $16.50,<br />

and a free-range chicken breast is $13.50. All salads come<br />

with a suggestion of various added proteins, such as<br />

chicken, grilled steak, seared ahi and salmon. The salads<br />

were $13 to $15.50, with the protein additions only $2<br />

to $3.50 more.<br />

The Grand Marnier baked brownie with candied<br />

pecans and ice cream was served on a berry-painted plate.<br />

This succulent rich dessert was good to the last bite, even<br />

though my guest and I usually have only one bite each.<br />

Desserts, such as the banana-bourbon bread pudding,<br />

or the cobbler, or a warm cookie trio with bourboninfused<br />

whipped cream, are $8.<br />

The Petit Plates dinner menu (which I selected before<br />

theater at the Geffen) offers more than a dozen items<br />

in the $7 to $12.50 price range. There are sliders (a duo<br />

is $9.50 and a trio $12); chicken spring rolls ($7.50);<br />

fried asparagus ($11); baked mac’n cheese ($8.50); a<br />

Library Bookstore Open<br />

The Friends of Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Library’s<br />

bookstore continues to offer “new” books<br />

that are shelved almost daily. Many of these<br />

books are in mint condition, and most can<br />

be purchased for less than $2, perfect to take<br />

traveling. Unlike a library book, if you forget<br />

it in a hotel, there are no fines or replacement<br />

costs; rather it is the hotel maid’s gain.<br />

Store hours are Monday through Friday<br />

from 1 to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m.<br />

to 5 p.m., in the library’s converted back<br />

patio. Proceeds from sales are used to purchase<br />

new books for the <strong>Palisades</strong> and other<br />

branch libraries. If you would like to volunteer,<br />

visit: friendsofpalilibrary.org.<br />

HOLLYDAVIS<br />

PREVIEWS ESTATES DIRECTOR<br />

Whether you are buying or selling a home,<br />

condominium or income property, I will produce<br />

the results you are looking for and have the<br />

right to expect.<br />

crispy rustic pizza ($14); and burgers and sandwiches<br />

($13 to $14.50).<br />

Furthermore, they have specials such as Margarita<br />

Monday, when margaritas are $5 from 7 to 10 p.m., or<br />

Wine Wednesday, with 50 percent off the bottle list from<br />

11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.<br />

Happy Hour prices are from 4 to 7 p.m. and from 10<br />

p.m. to midnight. The restaurant/bar is open Monday<br />

through Friday from 11:30 a.m.; Saturday and Sunday<br />

the restaurant opens at 4 p.m. They also validate for<br />

parking next door at the Palazzo ($4 or $5 validation<br />

depending on the hour).<br />

Moderate pricing is always a good thing, but excellent<br />

food is another, and here they go together. A winner!<br />

Tivoli<br />

Café<br />

PALISADES<br />

Serving the <strong>Palisades</strong> since 1989<br />

NOW OPEN FOR BREAKFAST<br />

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Offering Juices from PRESSED JUICERY<br />

And Tivoli’s POWER BOWL – vegetables, quinoa,<br />

chicken and egg whites in a light tomato sauce – $14.99<br />

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Breakfast served Monday through Friday 8-12,<br />

Saturday and Sunday 8 to 3<br />

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Hours: Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-10 p.m. • Sat. & Sun. 8 a.m.-10 p.m.<br />

310.459.7685<br />

15306 Sunset Boulevard, Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Page 27<br />

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Page 28 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

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B”H<br />

CHABAD JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER OF PACIFIC PALISADES WISHES YOU A<br />

Happy Passover!<br />

MARCH <strong>2015</strong> |<br />

15 STEPS TO<br />

THE SEDER<br />

PAGE 2<br />

www.Chabad<strong>Palisades</strong>.com<br />

Supplement to the <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong>


GO BLUE OR GO HOME PICNIC<br />

AUTISM AWARENESS DAY<br />

AT THE PACIFIC PALISADES PARK<br />

EVENTS<br />

THE NATIONA<br />

ONAL WOMEN’S<br />

WELLNESS RETREAT<br />

LAG B’OMER<br />

FAMILY BBQ<br />

Sunday, April 12th at 11:00am<br />

April 19-21<br />

Thursday, May 7th at 5:30pm<br />

SHAVUOT DAIRY BUFFET DINNER<br />

& ICE CREAM PARTY<br />

CGI SUMMER CAMP<br />

NOW ENROLLING<br />

SCHOOL YEAR <strong>2015</strong>-2016<br />

Sunday, May 24th at 5:30pm June 22-August 7<br />

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.CHABADPALISADES.COM<br />

www.chabadpalisades.com ~ 310-454-7783


SPECIAL SECTION<br />

Summer Camps<br />

& Schools<br />

<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong>


Page 2 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Special Section — Summer Camps & Schools <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong>


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Special Section — Summer Camps & Schools Page 3<br />

Local Expert Offers Stress Tips for Parents<br />

By LAUREL BUSBY<br />

Staff Writer<br />

Children today are often under pressure<br />

to “do things faster, better and<br />

earlier,” stress expert and author<br />

Amanda Enayati says. Whether it’s walking,<br />

talking, or learning to read, parents<br />

may feel pressure to help their kids move<br />

forward in building skills instead of simply<br />

enjoying the fun of childhood.<br />

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Parents<br />

can act as “protective barriers” between our<br />

competitive society and their kids—allowing<br />

children more time and space to play<br />

and relax, while also helping youngsters<br />

develop resiliency in handling life’s stresses.<br />

Here are Enayati’s top stress tips for parents<br />

and kids that she has discovered in<br />

her years investigating the subject for<br />

CNN Health, PBS Media Shift and other<br />

media outlets.<br />

1. Playtime, downtime and family time:<br />

“The young child’s job is to play,” Enayati<br />

says. “Even when kids have a moment, we<br />

try to get them to do something constructive<br />

and formal, but we need to build<br />

wide-open spaces in their day where they<br />

have nothing to do but play.” This play<br />

would also be gadget-free with things like<br />

blocks and Legos, instead of using the instant<br />

gratification of phones, iPads, computers<br />

and television.<br />

2. Build an unconditionally loving family:<br />

In her research, Enayati learned that the<br />

strongest predictor of high achievement<br />

and low behavioral problems is family<br />

On the Cover<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Elementary fourth graders<br />

(left to right) Letizia Oetker, Gabriella<br />

Bose, Sofia and Sasha Shull, Olivia<br />

Rodeno and Claire Monaco jumped<br />

rope to show support for American<br />

Heart Month. The annual event<br />

promotes exercise and a healthy diet, as<br />

well as awareness of a national event<br />

to prevent heart attacks and strokes.<br />

Photo: Bart Bartholomew<br />

meals. “The importance of family time<br />

and being part of a family cannot be emphasized<br />

enough. Family doesn’t have to<br />

be defined a certain way just as long as the<br />

child feels like they are part of a community<br />

or family.”<br />

3. Resting, rejuvenating and relaxing:<br />

Sleep is vital. “Lack of sleep is coordinated<br />

with high levels of anxiety and depression,”<br />

Enayati notes. She suggests maintaining a<br />

child’s routine with parts of the day to anticipate<br />

happily, so that no matter what<br />

stresses might be affecting the parents, the<br />

child still has a stable schedule.<br />

4. Teach children the art of distraction:<br />

Stress is an inevitable part of life, and part<br />

of childhood is learning to handle life’s difficulties.<br />

One way to deal with stress is simply<br />

to turn one’s attention away from it. If<br />

children practice this with a parent, they<br />

can eventually learn to do it for themselves.<br />

5. Problem solving: In discussions with<br />

children about a problem, try asking openended<br />

questions, such as “Tell me what’s<br />

happening.” Then discuss any misunderstandings<br />

a kid may have and brainstorm<br />

strategies that may help solve the problem.<br />

If similar situations have occurred in the<br />

with Sinjin<br />

Smith<br />

Amanda Enayati<br />

past, aid a child in recalling what was beneficial<br />

then that might also help now.<br />

6. Validate children’s feelings: It is important<br />

to say “I know how that feels” instead<br />

of saying “You shouldn’t be feeling that<br />

way,” Enayati says. By doing this, the parent<br />

alleviates stress and helps a child learn<br />

empathy. Another good question during<br />

conflicts is simply “How do you think the<br />

other person feels?”<br />

7. Treat children like children: “Kids are<br />

not mini-adults,” she says, so it’s important<br />

to make certain that they are not<br />

being exposed to inappropriate media, inappropriate<br />

ways of dressing or inappropriate<br />

adult issues.<br />

8. Some stress is good: It’s vital that kids<br />

learn to handle some adversity, so that<br />

they can develop resiliency and coping<br />

skills as they encounter stress throughout<br />

their lives. “There has to be some degree<br />

of legitimate suffering—not abuse . . . but<br />

growing and failing and learning from<br />

that,” Enayati says.<br />

9. Ask the big important whys: A good<br />

question to ask ourselves is “What is our<br />

value system as a society and as a family?”<br />

she said. Each family has its own value system,<br />

and it is worth taking a look at what<br />

that is. Sometimes, the value system itself<br />

may be causing stress, so identifying the<br />

value system may help address the stress.<br />

If some values aren’t what you want<br />

them to be, then alter them to what is truly<br />

important to your family. “It’s never too<br />

late. Put your stake in the ground and live<br />

your values,” Enayati says. “Sometimes that<br />

causes suffering and difficulty, but that is<br />

the good kind of suffering. You’re asking<br />

the big whys.”<br />

(Amanda Enayati’s book, Seeking Serenity:<br />

The 10 New Rules for Health and Happiness<br />

in the Age of Anxiety, was published<br />

this month, and an article about her and the<br />

book is featured on page 5 of this paper.)<br />

Optimist Club Seeks Grant Applicants<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> Optimist Club, whose<br />

motto is “Friends of Youth” and whose<br />

goal is “Bring Out the Best in Kids,” will<br />

once again make annual grants to youth<br />

organizations based in Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> or<br />

those that provide services that benefit<br />

youth in this community.<br />

Grants may be used for funding of a specific<br />

event, for equipment, a facility or service,<br />

and must be spent this year. Grants are<br />

not given to organizations that request continuing<br />

financial support. The application<br />

must be received no later than <strong>March</strong> 31.<br />

Award decisions will be made within<br />

two months, and grant recipients will be<br />

notified and, if possible, receive their<br />

awards at the weekly Tuesday breakfast<br />

meeting of the <strong>Palisades</strong> Optimists.<br />

Interested organizations, schools and<br />

clubs may send queries to grant committee<br />

chairman Bill Skinner (ibeeel@aol.com)<br />

or call (310) 459-8286 to receive an application<br />

and grant guidelines.<br />

Applications are also available at the<br />

Chamber of Commerce at 15330 Antioch<br />

Street. They may be returned to the Chamber<br />

or mailed to Grants Committee Chairman,<br />

Optimist Club of Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>,<br />

P.O. Box 211, Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> 90272.<br />

Santa Monica - 2030 Ocean Avenue – Beach Lot #4 south<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> - Will Rogers State te t<br />

Beach ( Tower <strong>18</strong>)<br />

June 8th thru August 28th<br />

Beach Volleyball Camps: 9:00am to 12:00pm (M-F)<br />

Sand & Sea Beach Camps: 9am-12pm and, or 12-3pm<br />

(M-F)<br />

REGISTER ONLINE<br />

AT<br />

Boys & Girls ages 7-<strong>18</strong>.<br />

All skill levels welcome!<br />

www.beachvolleyballcamps.com<br />

For more information call<br />

310-940-7166<br />

or email us at info@beachvolleyballcamps.com<br />

Summertime<br />

Pool Fun<br />

After group swimming<br />

lessons, this happy<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong>-Malibu<br />

camper was allowed to<br />

play in the <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

High School swimming<br />

pool.<br />

Photo: Courtesy of<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong>-Malibu YMCA


Page 4 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Special Section — Summer Camps & Schools <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Camps Should Be Fun<br />

By LAUREL BUSBY<br />

Staff Writer<br />

As the school year came to a close last<br />

year, my then-nine-year-old son<br />

announced that summer would be<br />

his rest time, so he wouldn’t be participating<br />

in any activities.<br />

When I list the number of activities he<br />

had been participating in, you might think<br />

that he had a point that it was all a bit much.<br />

He did gymnastics, chess, saxophone,<br />

drama, chorus, Chinese, strategy games, art,<br />

soccer and an occasional nature class.<br />

On the other hand, he didn’t have to go<br />

to school, because he’s a homeschooler. At<br />

home, we took a laid-back approach to<br />

homeschooling. We read books, did some<br />

casual math when he was in the mood,<br />

played board games and explored science<br />

kits. He also had lots of time to draw, make<br />

his own cards and otherwise engage in activities<br />

that called to him. In addition, we<br />

went on field trips to plays and museums.<br />

He was also tired of the field trips,<br />

though, and was insistent that he just want -<br />

ed to hang out at home. So we did . . . for<br />

a while, and it was nice. He listened to audiobooks<br />

and made cards. He created an<br />

origami animal game where he was the<br />

game master, and he made teams of animals<br />

and special power boosts for them.<br />

We also watched some movies and continued<br />

to play board games. We didn’t<br />

even plan a vacation.<br />

I have to admit that I was exhausted, too,<br />

and cherished the down time. We both<br />

needed a break from driving all over the<br />

L.A. basin to so many activities. But what<br />

about camp? I had loved camp as a kid and<br />

didn’t want him to miss out on the fun.<br />

He turned down my suggestion that he<br />

might like the camp that his chorus director<br />

had created. Even though he enjoyed<br />

chorus, he thought a singing and acting<br />

camp would be too much for him.<br />

He eventually agreed to try the same<br />

Chinese camp that he had attended the year<br />

before. He enjoyed it, and he was ready to<br />

try another camp. He did so, and we also<br />

decided to travel a bit, venturing to San<br />

Francisco and Yosemite for a laid-back vacation.<br />

Both the camps and the trips<br />

seemed to inspire him to want a bit more<br />

in the way of activities again.<br />

Not too many, though. For the fall, we<br />

scaled back. He dropped chorus and<br />

drama. I decided that the drives I had been<br />

making for chess, art and saxophone were<br />

just too long for me, so those were dropped<br />

too. Instead, Chinese, gymnastics, soccer<br />

and the occasional nature class or field trip<br />

became the remaining regular activities.<br />

Suddenly our lives were more manageable.<br />

In the process of overdoing it and perhaps<br />

at times underdoing it, I discovered<br />

Linus Busby Thompson works on his gymnastic skills.<br />

that for both our sakes, we needed to pick<br />

and choose activities with a bit more attention<br />

to burnout. As spring approached, my<br />

son realized that he was missing chorus,<br />

while soccer came to an end. So he rejoined<br />

the chorus. He also was ready to add back<br />

chess and was intrigued by the gymnastic<br />

sport, Parkour, so he began sporadically<br />

attending a class.<br />

The whole family did a bit of volunteering—working<br />

at a state park to help remove<br />

invasive plants and install native ones, and<br />

we all felt enlivened by it. Over the holiday<br />

break, my son tried a winter camp, which<br />

was a big hit with him. He has already asked<br />

to attend more summer camps this year.<br />

Strangely enough, during the previous<br />

school year, my husband had been experiencing<br />

the same thing at work—too<br />

much work and too little downtime—and<br />

the combination was affecting his health<br />

and well-being.<br />

So, now we all are on the lookout for<br />

burnout. We cherish our moments at<br />

home, and we take more time just to be together.<br />

We also take care to pick and choose<br />

our activities with more thought, so that<br />

we choose those that we really want to do.<br />

My son was right. He needed a rest time.<br />

We all did.<br />

(Editor’s note: Laurel Busby, a veteran<br />

newspaper writer, lives in Culver City.)


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Special Section — Summer Camps & Schools Page 5<br />

Fitness by the Sea: Endless Possibilities<br />

Kids should have fun in the summer: a camp<br />

should not be another job for a child, it should<br />

be a break from a structure schedule.<br />

Fitness by the Sea is a place kids love to go because<br />

“We encourage children to ‘learn by doing’ and our<br />

experienced staff members are there to serve as mentors<br />

and participants during all activities,” said camp founder<br />

Eric Colton. “While we call it ‘Growth, Caring & Endless<br />

Fun’ . . . the kids just call it ‘the time of their lives!’”<br />

Who wouldn't want to boogie board, swim with the<br />

dolphins, jump over the gymnastics vault, get their faces<br />

painted as their favorite animal, and just have a fun day<br />

on the beach? Fitness by the Sea offers this and more,<br />

right here locally at Will Rogers State Beach.<br />

Designed for children from 4 to 14, campers are<br />

allowed to choose from more than 80 activities.<br />

Physical sports such as baseball, volleyball, kickball<br />

and capture the flag help kids develop interdependence,<br />

confidence and sportsmanship.<br />

Arts and crafts, dance, face painting, and music help<br />

foster creativity, imagination and self-expression, while<br />

surfing, swimming and boogie boarding promote an<br />

active lifestyle, self-esteem and perseverance.<br />

Gymnastics, boxing, cheerleading and martial arts<br />

all cultivate self-discipline, determination and courage.<br />

“We believe that active kids are happy kids,” Colton<br />

said, noting that many of the kids who have come to his<br />

program proclaiming not to have an interest in sports,<br />

once encouraged to try something new, find a niche that<br />

they love.<br />

Founded in 2000, Fitness by the Sea has become synon -<br />

ymous with excellence in the field of day camps. The FBS<br />

formula for success blends an experienced and spirited<br />

Eric and Billie Colton, owners of Fitness by the Sea, with twins<br />

Maia and Willow and sister Violet. Photo: Courtesy of Eric Colton<br />

staff (average age 28) with dynamic and creative activities,<br />

offered in an encouraging, nurturing environment.<br />

With the camp’s growing popularity with children,<br />

Fitness by the Sea has expanded to four locations:<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> at Will Rogers (June 8 to August 28), <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

North (June 15 to August 21), Santa Monica (June 8 to<br />

August 28 and at the Jonathan Club (June 15 to August<br />

21—members and sponsored guests only.)<br />

Safety is a number one priority. “The former Chief of<br />

LA County lifeguards called FBS the safest beach camp<br />

he’s ever seen,” continued Colton. “A staff to camper ratio<br />

of 6 to 1 is strictly maintained, and during surfing, we<br />

maintain a ratio of 3 to 1 to further improve our safety<br />

measures.” Sunscreen is applied liberally and often.<br />

The Coltons, who are Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> residents,<br />

have three children. Twins, Maia and Willow are 8 and<br />

younger sister Violet is 5. The sisters are often amongst<br />

the campers at the Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> camp location.<br />

Because they are also parents, the Coltons understand<br />

the importance of allowing campers to make their own<br />

choices. A recent study by the American Camp Association<br />

revealed that kids need more opportunities to practice<br />

leadership and decision-making and that is available at<br />

Fitness by the Sea.<br />

Campers are encouraged to become involved in<br />

activities and staff members watch kids on the sidelines<br />

and work to bring them in. It goes without saying that<br />

teasing and bullying is not allowed.<br />

This is a place a kid can reinvent him/herself. Many<br />

come to the came with labels, such as nerd or jock.<br />

Encouraged to try other activities, they discover that<br />

they may not only be good at basketball, but also good<br />

at painting, something they had never tried.<br />

Counselors constantly work with kids, encouraging<br />

them to go outside of their comfort zone, which ultimately<br />

results in increased self-confidence.<br />

Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with extended care<br />

available in the mornings and afternoons from 8:30 a.m. to<br />

5:45 p.m. Parents can register their children for a minimum<br />

of five days and these do not have to be consecutive days.<br />

Call: (310) 459-2425 or visit: fitnessbythesea.com or<br />

e-mail: info@fitnessbythesea.


Page 6 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Special Section — Summer Camps & Schools <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Library Story Telling<br />

Let your children experience the joys of<br />

having another adult read them a book at<br />

the <strong>Palisades</strong> Branch Library, 861 Alma Real.<br />

STAR (Story Telling and Reading) times:<br />

Mondays: 10 a.m.-noon (Grandma Peggy)<br />

Mondays: 3-5 p.m. (Uncle Mark)<br />

Tuesdays: 2-4 p.m. (Tutu Bobbie)<br />

Wednesdays: 2-4 p.m. (Grandmom Judy)<br />

Thursdays: 2:30-4:30 p.m. (Grandma Lou)<br />

Fridays: 10 a.m.- noon (Aunt Ashley)<br />

Fridays: 2-4 p.m. (Granny Stephanie)<br />

Saturdays: 10 a.m.-noon (Momma Flo)<br />

45th Annual Young<br />

Artist Competition<br />

High School Art Sought for Competition<br />

Each spring, the Congressional Institute<br />

sponsors a nationwide high school<br />

visual-art competition to recognize and<br />

encourage artistic talent. Since the competition<br />

began in 1982, more than<br />

650,000 high school students have participated.<br />

Congressman Ted Lieu invites all students<br />

in his district to enter the competition.<br />

The submission deadline is 5 p.m.,<br />

Friday, April 10, at 5055 Wilshire Blvd.<br />

Suite 310, L.A. 90036.<br />

The winner will receive a trip to Washington,<br />

D.C. to attend the national awards<br />

ceremony, where work will be displayed<br />

for one year at the U.S. Capitol. There<br />

are also district prizes for second and<br />

third place.<br />

Artwork must be two-dimensional and<br />

each framed artwork can be no larger<br />

than 28 inches long, 28 inches wide, and<br />

4 inches deep. No framed piece should<br />

weigh more than 15 pounds.<br />

Accepted mediums include: paintings<br />

(oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.); drawings<br />

(colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels,<br />

charcoal); collages (must be two-dimensional);<br />

prints (lithographs, silkscreen<br />

MUSIC SCHOLARSHIPS<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Symphony is seeking students,<br />

in grades 1 through 12, who are able to perform<br />

a movement of a concerto with orchestra,<br />

to audition for monetary awards<br />

and the opportunity to play with the Pali -<br />

sades Symphony in concert on June 14.<br />

The concerto performed must be from<br />

the standard repertoire, memorized and<br />

with orchestration readily available.<br />

There are three categories, and former<br />

winners may not apply with the same instrument<br />

in the same grade level. In grades<br />

1 through 6, first place will win $100; grades<br />

7 through 9, $200; grades 10 through 12,<br />

$200. The Alfred Newman Memorial Schol -<br />

arship for $1,000 and the Chamber Music<br />

<strong>Palisades</strong> Award for $500 will also be awarded.<br />

Auditions will be held on the afternoon<br />

of <strong>March</strong> 31 in Mercer Hall at <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

High School.<br />

Applicants should write their name,<br />

address, phone number, age, school and<br />

grade, a brief biographical sketch that includes<br />

musical training and teacher and<br />

send that information to <strong>Palisades</strong> Symphony,<br />

P.O. Box 214, Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>. A<br />

$10 application fee must be included. The<br />

deadline is <strong>March</strong> 23. Call (310) 454-8040.<br />

Philharmonic Scholarships<br />

For Young Musicians<br />

The Westside Committee of the Los Angeles<br />

Philharmonic annually awards scholarships<br />

varying from $100 to $500 to music<br />

students in grades 6 through 12.<br />

Students must have studied at least three<br />

years on the instrument they play, perform<br />

a piece of classical music of three to five<br />

minutes, have a written recommendation<br />

from their teacher, live in Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>,<br />

and block prints); mixed media; computer-generated<br />

art; and photographs.<br />

Each entry must be original in concept,<br />

design and execution.<br />

Congressman Lieu will host a reception<br />

and awards ceremony for his district<br />

on April 20, at the Fantasea Yacht Club,<br />

4215 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey.<br />

Call Ashley Fumiko Dominguez at<br />

(323) 651-1040 or e-mail ashley.domin -<br />

guez@mail.house.gov or David Leger at<br />

(323) 651-1040 or e-mail david.leger<br />

@mail.house.gov. Visit: lieu.house.gov/<br />

services/art-competition.<br />

Santa Monica, Brentwood, Malibu or<br />

Topanga and be available to perform at a<br />

Committee meeting during the year.<br />

All auditions will be in the afternoon on<br />

either <strong>March</strong> 30 or 31, starting with the<br />

youngest students. The exact time and location<br />

will be announced. Students must<br />

bring their own accompanist.<br />

Students trying for the Philharmonic<br />

awards and also the <strong>Palisades</strong> Symphony<br />

must fill out different applications for the<br />

different awards, but need only audition<br />

once. The deadline for received applications<br />

is <strong>March</strong> 23.<br />

Call (310) 454-8040 for an application.<br />

Fitness by the Sea<br />

Celebrating our 16th Year!<br />

Sign up by the Day!<br />

“FBS is the safest beach camp I have ever seen.”<br />

- Chief of LA County Lifeguards<br />

2 Locations<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong> . Santa Monica<br />

Ages 4-14 ... Over 60 Activities!<br />

Surfing . Swimming . Capture the Flag<br />

Martial Arts . Gymnastics . Boogie Boarding<br />

Volleyball . Soccer . Arts & Crafts . Dance<br />

10% Discount<br />

ends May 1st<br />

6:1 Ratio . Older Staff (Avg. Age 28) . 310-459-2425<br />

Enroll at www.FitnessByTheSea.com<br />

Rated by LA Parent as the<br />

Best Value Beach Camp<br />

on the West Side<br />

“Still one of the best values in camps<br />

on the west side.”<br />

- Susan A.<br />

Los Angeles<br />

“I felt so very safe with my kids in the<br />

ocean with their amazing staff.”<br />

- Tara M.<br />

Santa Monica<br />

“The only camp my kids ask to go<br />

back to every summer. Unbelieveable<br />

courselors and staff!”<br />

- Gloria K.<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong><br />

“By far my daughter’s favorite camp.”<br />

- Jennifer B.<br />

Pacific <strong>Palisades</strong>


<strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong> <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Special Section — Summer Camps & Schools Page 7<br />

Hike, Swim at YMCA Camp<br />

Registration for the <strong>Palisades</strong>-Malibu<br />

YMCA summer day camp is now<br />

open and parents are encouraged to<br />

enroll early because last year the camp was<br />

full. Sessions run from June 8 through<br />

August 6.<br />

Not only is it one of the most competitively-priced<br />

camps, it is also located at one<br />

of the premier locations in the country, at<br />

Simon Meadow, at the corner of Sunset<br />

Boulevard and Temescal Canyon Road.<br />

Situated on a landscaped four-acre park<br />

at the entrance to the Santa Monica Mountains,<br />

this camp takes advantage of its location.<br />

A mile from the beach, a quarter of a<br />

mile from the <strong>Palisades</strong> High School swimming<br />

pool and near hiking trails, campers<br />

are able to have the best of all worlds.<br />

The camp spotlights the three f ’s—<br />

friends, freedom and fun. Everyday activities<br />

include archery, arts and crafts, hiking,<br />

football, soccer, dodge ball, moon bounce,<br />

mini-golf and party games.<br />

Once a week, campers enjoy splash time at<br />

the PaliHi pool; children will be provided<br />

with group swim lessons by certified instructors<br />

at no additional charge. Private swim lessons<br />

are also available for an additional fee.<br />

Older campers go to the beach once a<br />

week, and have fun playing in the sand<br />

and water.<br />

Campers try a variety of sports at the YMCA Camp.<br />

Special groups come to Simon Meadow<br />

weekly to offer a variety of activities, such<br />

as visiting with exotic animals, playing outdoor<br />

laser tag or trying a rock-climbing<br />

wall. Enrichment classes at camp this year<br />

will include cooking, Spanish, Mad Science,<br />

nature and STEM (science, technology,<br />

engineering and mathematics).<br />

Children are divided into groups, with<br />

Photo: Courtesy of <strong>Palisades</strong>-Malibu YMCA<br />

the youngest campers (3 to 5 years old),<br />

encouraged to play in the moon bounce,<br />

learn camp songs, try arts and crafts, experience<br />

water play and make friends.<br />

Kindergarten and first grade students<br />

are part of the Mountain Cub group and<br />

join their elder peers in scavenger hunts,<br />

team building activities and trips to the<br />

pool and the beach.<br />

Second and third graders are grouped<br />

into the Coyotes and fourth and fifth<br />

graders are Hawks.<br />

Coaches are sixth and seven graders who<br />

are offered a unique position of being both<br />

a counselor and a camper. Middle school<br />

students work directly with the YMCA<br />

staff to guide their younger peers, but are<br />

also able to participate in activities with<br />

other Coaches.<br />

More than activities, the Y Summer<br />

Camp experience provides a caring environment<br />

for all children; encourages posi -<br />

tive peer interaction; offers creative activities<br />

and helps all kids developed self-esteem.<br />

The Y has received an American Camping<br />

Association accreditation, which means<br />

the camp went through a thorough (up to<br />

300 standards) review of its operation—<br />

from staff qualifications and training to<br />

emergency management.<br />

The American Camp Association collaborates<br />

with experts from the American<br />

Academy of Pediatrics, the American Red<br />

Cross, and other youth-serving agencies to<br />

assure that current practices at camp reflect<br />

the most up-to-date, research-based standards<br />

in camp operation.<br />

Contact Ashley Russell, YMCA Youth &<br />

Family Director, (310) 454-5591 or ashley -<br />

russell@ymcaLA.org.<br />

SUMMER CAMPS &<br />

SCHOOL PROGRAMS<br />

Special Section — April 15, <strong>2015</strong><br />

Place Your Ad NOW in the <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong>!<br />

Full-Color Pages, Full-Color Ads<br />

Distribution to the entire 90272 <strong>Palisades</strong> Community<br />

(by US Mail to 13,300 addresses & 1,200 distribution around town)<br />

Special Section Pricing (call for details)<br />

Make your Ad Reservation Today!<br />

Ad Space Reservation Deadline: April 6<br />

Camera-ready Ad Artwork Deadline: April 7<br />

(ads must be supplied by advertiser)<br />

Contact for Information:<br />

Jeff at (310) 573-0150 • jeffridgway@palisadesnews.com<br />

Grace at (310) 454-7383 • gracehiney@palisadesnews.com


Page 8 <strong>Palisades</strong> <strong>News</strong> Special Section — Summer Camps & Schools <strong>March</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2015</strong><br />

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881 ALMA REAL #115 •<br />

PACIFIC PALISADES<br />

310/454.3731 • www.GrozaLearningCenter.com<br />

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.com

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