Palisades-News-July-8-2015

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Page 6 Palisades News July 8, 2015HeardAbout TownGood Citizen Sets ExampleI spotted a resident with her grandchildcleaning up the trash along SwarthmoreAvenue next to Palisades Ele men tary.When I thanked her for cleaning up (shehad a full trash bag), she said, “I’m justhelping the environment.” Praise andthanks to all of the people like her in thePalisades—and what a good example shewas setting for the little one, who lookedto be about five.The Alma Real FlagThe twisted flag has finally been takendown on the 881 Alma Real building, butthere is no replacement. It would seemlike the building owner would want one.Doesn’t the American Legion providefree ones?Too Scary for MeCommunity alert specialist HaldisToppel sent an e-mail on June 20 titled“Awesome pictures of hoist operation atTemescal Canyon trail,” showing theLAFD copter lifting an adult male fromthe trail to the copter before setting off forthe hospital, at about 5:35 p.m. Great tosee a successful rescue like this, but if I fellon the trail and was injured, I’m not sureI would want to be hoisted up like that,so high in the sky. Yikes!Mysterious GroupSeveral times on a recent Saturday wesaw a group of about 15-20 of collegeagepeople walking up and down Bienveneda.They stayed close together, hadbackpacks, and one of them carried anAmerican flag at the front. Any idea whothey were? We called St. Matthew’s andthey said these people didn’t belong toany church-related event there.Identity Theft AlertSeveral cars were broken into (again)on the El Medio bluffs. Nothing wasgone, except for the car registration papers,which people normally keep in theglove compartment. A few people calledthe police, but not everyone. Someonementioned that this might be a way forcriminals to do identity theft. Just thoughtI’d make you aware of it.Grocery HelperI was carrying several heavy bags ofgroceries home from Gelson’s and a guystopped his car and asked if I needed help.Since I was almost home, I declined, buthe made my day. It’s nice to know we livein a town where people will offer help.———————If you’d like to share something you’ve“heard about town,” please email it tospascoe@palisadesnews.comANN CLEAVESSmall-Town America at Its BestBy LAUREL BUSBYStaff WriterWithin the little slice of heaven thatis 90272, there is a new service. Youcan farm out your worrying—tome—a just-past-midlife-frumpy-übervolunteer-former-film-producerwith enoughprivilege, time and neurosis to worry abouteverything so you don’t have to.The Fourth of July is a time when PacificPalisades opens its arms to the world and says,“Come in! Let’s be friends!”For one day, Pacific Palisades isn’t a tonyenclave on the outskirts of Los Angeles that istoo expensive for most Americans to afford.Instead, the Palisades is a representative ofsmall-town Americana that celebrates beingone with the rest of the country.Residents seem to bubble with joy as theyrun into old friends and give the world aglimpse of the warm and inviting aspects oflife as a Palisadian on its most celebrated dayof the year.The parade route is crowded with localfolks enjoying the festivities, but people fromother parts of Southern California and evenother states pop by for the day.The parade begins with an old frienddropping out of the sky, when skydiver CareyPeck, who grew up in the Palisades and nowlives in Malibu, returns each year with hisAmerican flag waving behind him.I went to a party after the parade and metPalisadians, but also people visiting fromCamarillo, Altadena, Plano (Texas), PhoenixVIEWPOINTand Chicago.Then, there was my family, who had comefrom Culver City to enjoy the day Palisadesstyle.My 10-year-old son had decorated hisbike and ridden with the Kids on Bikes in theparade. He had loved waving to the crowd ashe rode by and having an opportunity to bepart of the day.He told me afterwards, “I never just want towatch the parade. I always want to be in it.”There is something so heart-warming abouthow open Pacific Palisades is to celebratinganyone who wants to join the parade, whetherit is a kid from Culver City, a Lt. General inthe Marines, or the local citizenry.And then, the celebration goes on all daywith plenty of opportunities for each personto enjoy it in whatever way feels good tothem. There is the Will Rogers Run, the paradeand the evening concert. There are parties andthe beach.We visited the recreation center playgroundafter the parade, and there were familiesenjoying the park—some with their Fourth ofJuly clothes on—but also teenagers hangingout and sometimes chasing each other aroundthe play structures while some college studentsoccasionally stopped by to swing.And of course the day ends with a literalbang. Eyes turn upward as the sky explodeswith color and light. Thousands of people fillthe Palisades High School stadium for thefireworks, while others enjoy the display fromparties at nearby homes. Yet, everyone istogether—enjoying the town, the country andsimply sharing their lives for a moment.Thought to Ponder“Life’s tragedy is thatwe get old too soonand wise too late.”― Benjamin FranklinFounded November 5, 2014———————15332 Antioch Street #169Pacific Palisades, CA 90272(310) 401-7690www.PalisadesNews.com———————PublisherScott Wagensellerswag@palisadesnews.comEditorSue Pascoespascoe@palisadesnews.comFeaturesLaurie RosenthalLRosenthal@palisadesnews.comGraphics DirectorManfred HoferDigital Content and TechnologyKurt ParkAdvertisingJeff Ridgwayjeffridgway@palisadesnews.comGrace Hineygracehiney@palisadesnews.comJeff Parrjparr@palisadesnews.comAdvisorBill BrunsContributing WritersLaura Abruscato, Laurel Busby,Tyler Keckeisen, Libby MotikaContributing PhotographersBart Bartholomew, Shelby Pascoe———————A bi-monthly newspaper mailed on thefirst and third Wednesday of each month.14,500 circulation includes zip code 90272and Sullivan, Mandeville and Santa Mon -ica Canyons.All content printed herein,and in our digital editions, is copyrighted.Online:palisadesnews.com
Palisades NewsJuly 8, 2015 A forum for open discussion of community issuesPage 7EDITORIALThe Thrill of Victory and the Agony of DefeatBy the time this paper comes out, hopefully theU.S. Women’s soccer team will have beaten Japanand taken the World Cup title.For those of us who scheduled work and interviewsaround Cup games, nothing was more agonizing thenwatching English defender Laura Bassett lay sobbingon the ground after she scored an own goal in the lastminute of stoppage time on July 2.Bassett, who had performed flawlessly throughoutthe tournament as a center back, had a miss kick, andinstead of clearing the ball, which was her intention, itwent the other direction.That goal broke the 1-1 tie between England andJapan, which up until then looked like they were goingto go into overtime.It was the first time an English women’s team had reachedthe semi-finals in the World Cup and the first nationalteam of either gender to make it that far since 1990.For those of us who will never be world-class athletes,or perform on the world stage, there are still stronglessons to be taken away.Even if you give 100 percent effort and really wantHomeless Threaten PeopleWho Use the PCH Tunnel(The following letter was sent to Senior Lead OfficerMichael Moore on June 23 about the undergroundtunnel that connects Santa Monica Canyon to Will RogersState Beach.)Could you please keep the homeless encampmentsaway from the Tunnel Access? The citizens are afraid touse the access and are being harassed by large groupsstoring their bikes and smoking dope in the tunnel andnear the tunnel wall.Could you patrol this hot spot in late afternoon whenit seems to be a problem? Photos were taken yesterdayby neighbors and me. The last photo shows the guysmoking weed near the kids volleyball camps. Not good!!Sharon KilbrideFred Wolf Was aCommunity TreasureMany thanks for the Fred Wolf obit in your June 17issue, a fitting send off for a Holocaust survivor and areal treasure in our town.Fred, a bagger at Gelson’s, liked to come out andchat as we had lunch there, and then keep on chattingand chatting while the checkout line got longer andlonger. He would chat away, until fetched back in bythe manager.With his many friends, Fred was surely the best ofGelson’s baggers or perhaps the worst for those waitingin the checkout line.My favorite Fred story is when Fred told us of hisimpending wedding. He was in his 80s and we teasedhim by asking if he HAD to get married. He fired rightsomething to happen, it might not be granted to you—I have a stack of screenplays in the closet to prove it,and I still keep rewriting my Oscar acceptance speechin my head.Whether it is divine intervention, karma or not yourpath in life, you may be denied the thing you wantmost. That means you may have to pick yourself up,like Bassett, who played two days later, and start anew.(England beat Germany 1-0 on July 4.)For example, some jobs like writing are solitary. Notmany television cameras follow authors around, waitingto see a misspelled word pop up on the computer screenor watch as a comma is “thrown” in the wrong place.There are no commentators analyzing whether artificiallight might have had something to do with the error orto entertain lively speculations such as:“Do you remember when she got her fourth rejectionletter in a month?” one might say.“It was a particularly cruel, hand-written piece ofprose,” the imaginary commentator might say.“Hand-written, not a form letter?”We, unlike Bassett, may never have the eye of theLETTERS TO THE EDITORback, “Not this time.”We miss that guy, and I still get a chill rememberingthat number on his forearm.Ted MackieKalp’s Work Spurs SafetyWork at McClure TunnelThanks to local resident Amy Kalp for taking theinitiative to spur action on a dangerous stretch of highspeedroadway so close to home. Caltrans’ announcementof the $3- to $4-million project to address the perils ofthe westbound entrance to McClure Tunnel is a winfor all. (“Unsafe at Any Speed,” June 3.)Maryam Zar, J.DDirector of Communications:LA Chapter UN Women—USNCCheck to See if YourContractor Has a License(Editor’s note: L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer postedthe following notice on Next Door Palisades on June 5.)Today our office launched a new public awarenesscampaign to alert homeowners about fraud beingperpetrated by unlicensed contractors. If you are havingany work done on your house or in your yard, makesure the contractor you’re using is licensed by theCalifornia Contractors State License Board. Visit:cslb.ca.gov to check their license.Unlicensed contractors are victimizing homeownersthroughout LA—devastating them financially, doingshoddy unsafe work, not finishing projects and takingterrible advantage of seniors, too.A new scam involves unlicensed landscapers installingworld following us, the replay of the goal shownrepeatedly or go down as a footnote in history, which willbe pulled out in media analysis at future soccer matches.But that’s why our heart goes out to the Lioness soccerplayer. We all know we make mistakes, but most ofours are hidden from the world.Everyone will at some time make a mistake in life orat the job. The challenge will be to not make excuses,but to maintain dignity, and to know there is a reasonfor everything—even if it makes no sense.The other important lesson we take away from Bassett’sown goal is time. Everyone on the sideline was planningfor the future. Even the audience was already thinkingahead to the two 15-minute overtime periods and thepossibility of penalty kicks. Then a goal was scoredseconds before the game was over.Everything can change in the blink of an eye. Onemisstep and everything you have can be gone. That’swhy we do not text when we drive—or drink and drive.One moment everything is perfect, everything flowing.One errant step, and we deal with tragedy. Then,nothing is the same.drought tolerant landscaping with plants that aren’t evendrought friendly and charging thousands more thanthey are allowed to. Landscapers that charge more than$500 for a project must be licensed.Unlicensed contractors are also enticing homeowners,especially senior citizens, through low priced duct cleaningfor air conditioning and heating systems. The low servicecall prices are to entice people to call and when thecontractor shows up at house they often find more thatneeds to be done, and taking homeowner for thousandsof dollars in work that doesn’t need to be done.This fraud is pervasive. In the past year, we have filed32 cases of unlicensed contractor fraud and are currentlycollecting restitution on 39 unlicensed contractor cases.Just this week we’ve filed 5 criminal charges againstunlicensed contractors too. And there are many chargesin the pipeline, unfortunately.Attached is list of red flags to look out for when hiringa contractor: 1) knocks on your door and offers a free inspection;2) says he has materials remaining from anotherjog and offers a really good deal, but only if you commiton the spot; 3) asks for cash only or to write a check in theperson’s name rather than a business name; 4) says he willdo the job “off the books” to save you money; 5) asks youto pull your own building permit or says he will do thework to code without a permit; and 6) doesn’t have acontractors’ license (verify the license [800] 321-2752).Please share this information with neighbors,homeowners’ associations, neighborhood watches andneighborhood councils. Unlicensed contractors talk avery good game and are great at taking people’s money.But really the only thing they’re good at is fraud.Palisades News welcomes all letters, which may be mailed tospascoe@palisadesnews.com. Please include a name, addressand telephone number so we may reach you. Letters do notnecessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Palisades News.
Page 1 and 2: THESE BOOTSWERE MADEFORROCKIN’Vol
Page 3 and 4: July 8, 2015 Palisades News Page 3T
Page 5: July 8, 2015 Palisades News Page 5R
Page 10 and 11: Page 10 Palisades News July 8, 2015
Page 18 and 19: Palisades NewsPage 18 July 8, 2015S
Page 22 and 23: Palisades NewsPage 22 July 8, 2015J
Page 28: Page 28 Palisades News July 8, 2015

Palisades-News-July-8-2015

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?