Peninsula People January 2016
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Volume XX, Issue 7<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
PENINSULA PEOPLE<br />
P A L O S V E R D E S P E N I N S U L A M O N T H L Y<br />
ON THE COVER<br />
Headline<br />
Photo by David Fairchild<br />
(DavidFairchildStudio.com)<br />
Wayne and Jan Jay Judah, owners<br />
of Admiral Risty’s<br />
PROFILES<br />
Wayne and Jan Judah<br />
by Robb Fulcher<br />
As The Admiral Risty celebrates its 50th year owners Wayne<br />
and Jan Jay Judah shared their up-by-the-bootstrap stories.<br />
HIGHLIGHTS<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
CONTRIBUTORS<br />
David Fairchild ‘s photography is frequently seen in <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong><br />
and Beach magazines.<br />
Richard Foss is the Dining Editor for Easy Reader publications.<br />
Robb Fulcher is a journalist, stand up comedian and author of<br />
the children’s book, The Snake Who Would Not Bend.<br />
Esther Kang is a freelance writer and musician.<br />
Ed Solt is LA’s definitive surf beat writer.<br />
Bondo Wyszpolski is the Arts & Entertainment Editor for Easy<br />
Reader publications.<br />
4 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
28<br />
32<br />
36<br />
58<br />
Kyra Belle Johnson<br />
by Bondo Wyszpolski<br />
In the blink of an eye, Kyra Belle Johnson went from high<br />
school to starring in the national tour of “Mamma Mia!”<br />
Allen Bond<br />
by Esther Kang<br />
Palos Verdes Chamber Volunteer of the Year<br />
Scott Bredesen<br />
by Ed Solt<br />
Former <strong>Peninsula</strong> High surfing all-star finds himself riding<br />
very big waves.<br />
8 TMMC Holiday Fashion Show<br />
10 TMMC Holiday Gala<br />
12 Malaga Cove Homeowners<br />
14 Encore Circle<br />
18 Rotary<br />
22 NCL Operation Homefront<br />
26 PVP Realtors holiday party<br />
62 PTN Halloween bash<br />
38 Restaurant review: Corazon Mexican Kitchen<br />
40 Health Care Providers Guide<br />
43 Calendar<br />
52 Around & About<br />
64 Service Directory<br />
STAFF<br />
EDITOR<br />
Kevin Cody<br />
PUBLISHER<br />
Mary Jane Schoenheider<br />
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER<br />
Richard Budman<br />
DISPLAY SALES<br />
Adrienne Slaughter,<br />
Tamar Gillotti, Amy Berg,<br />
Shelley Crawford<br />
CLASSIFIEDS<br />
Teri Marin<br />
ADVERTISING<br />
DIRECTOR<br />
Richard Budman<br />
ADVERTISING<br />
COORDINATOR<br />
Teri Marin<br />
GRAPHIC DESIGNER<br />
Tim Teebken<br />
FRONT DESK<br />
Judy Rae<br />
DIRECTOR OF<br />
DIGITAL MEDIA<br />
Jared Thompson<br />
CONTACT<br />
MAILING ADDRESS<br />
P.O. Box 745<br />
Hermosa Beach, CA<br />
90254<br />
PHONE<br />
(310) 372-4611<br />
FAX<br />
(424) 212-6780<br />
WEBSITE<br />
www.easyreadernews.com<br />
EDITORIAL<br />
Pen<strong>People</strong>@<br />
easyreadernews.com<br />
ADVERTISING<br />
(310) 372-4611<br />
displayads@<br />
easyreadernews.com<br />
Please see the Classified Ad<br />
Section for info.<br />
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STATEMENTS (DBA’S)<br />
can be filed at the<br />
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business hours.<br />
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<strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> is a supplemental<br />
publication of Easy<br />
Reader, 2200 Pacific Cst. Hwy.<br />
#101., PO Box 745, Hermosa Beach,<br />
CA. 90254-0427.<br />
SUBSCRIPTIONS<br />
Yearly domestic mail subscriptions<br />
to <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> are $30, foreign<br />
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entire contents of <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong><br />
are copyrighted <strong>2016</strong> by<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong>, Inc.<br />
Chris Adlam<br />
310.493.7216<br />
www.chrisadlam.com<br />
Spectacular views from this Palos Verdes Estates home. Approximately 3,000<br />
square feet with 5 bedrooms and a large, flat backyard. $2,799,000
Gated Tennis Estate in PVE with 6250 square feet. $5,250,000 Rolling Hills Estates one level, sprawling 4,000 square foot home with pool. $2,400,000<br />
Palos Verdes Estates 5 bedroom, ocean view and pool. $1,899,000 Over 4,400 square feet, ocean views, 4 bedrooms in PVE. $2,599,000<br />
CHRIS ADLAM<br />
310.493.7216<br />
WWW.CHRISADLAM.COM<br />
CHRIS ADLAM<br />
310.493.7216<br />
WWW.CHRISADLAM.COM<br />
VISTA SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY<br />
VISTA SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY<br />
Rancho Palos Verdes 3 bedroom plus den with spectacular views. $1,399,000<br />
Lunada Bay, 4 bedroom, ocean view, pool and pool house. $2,499,000<br />
Rolling Hills 5 acre estate with stunning views and amenities $6,500,000<br />
Coming Soon.....Rancho Palos Verdes home with huge panoramic views.<br />
4,100 square feet, 5 bedrooms, large backyard, ocean view in PVE $2,795,000 Classic Old Spanish with over 2,400 square feet. Built in 1924. $2,198,000
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L<br />
Torrance Memorial<br />
Festival Fashion<br />
Show<br />
Parade of Sophisticated<br />
Fashion Designs<br />
1<br />
2<br />
A<br />
sold out high fashion runway show<br />
kicked off festivities at Torrance<br />
Memorial’s week-long 32nd annual Holiday<br />
Festival. The show featured creations<br />
by designer Mi Long Lee of the women’s<br />
luxury line “Emmelle.” The week of family<br />
activities is supported by hundreds of community<br />
volunteers who work throughout<br />
the year to make the event a success. Festivities<br />
included a Friday night Dinner<br />
Gala, which features a silent and live auction<br />
under the Holiday Festival tent.<br />
3 4<br />
1. Karly Rigg, Kim<br />
Rigg, Ruth Daniels,<br />
Kelly Rigg.<br />
8. Christine Gaudenti,<br />
Laura Schenasi and<br />
Chelsea Gaudenti.<br />
2. Terry Hohm,<br />
Phyllis Spierer, Peggy<br />
Winterrowd.<br />
3. Song Klein, Lori<br />
Baldwin, Tracy Livian.<br />
4. Lily Tan, Cathie<br />
Siegel, Debbie Uba.<br />
5. Courtney Zimmerman<br />
and Ann Zimmerman.<br />
6. David Buxton and<br />
Pat Brown.<br />
9. Jennifer Morgan,<br />
Allison Mayer, Ellen<br />
Smith, Kim Brothers<br />
and Randy Dauchot.<br />
10. Kelli Piken,<br />
Nadine Bobit, Linda<br />
Perry and Nina Tarnay.<br />
11. Nina Turpanjian,<br />
Bennett Turpanjian<br />
and Lori Muncherian.<br />
12. Judith Gassner,<br />
Patricia Sacks, MD<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
7. Sigrid Allman and<br />
Barbara Bartner.<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11 12<br />
8 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
Miracle-Ear Opens New Office in Palos Verdes<br />
By FRED EISENHAMMER<br />
Miracle-Ear Correspondent<br />
Hawthorne<br />
Blvd<br />
Silver Spur Road<br />
Miracle-Ear ®<br />
P<br />
Red<br />
Onion<br />
Crenshaw Blvd<br />
SPONSORED CONTENT<br />
Miracle-Ear is reaching out to its neighbors again.<br />
A new Miracle-Ear office has recently opened in Palos<br />
Verdes to provide the surrounding community with the<br />
best-known hearing-aid brand in the U.S.<br />
The office is located at 734 Silver Spur Road, Suite 301,<br />
Rolling Hills Estates next to Red Onion Restaurant.<br />
This will be the third Miracle-Ear in the neighboring<br />
area, joining offices in Redondo Beach and Carson.<br />
Miracle-Ear offers free hearing tests and consultations<br />
and its hearing aids come with a 45-day trial period, plus<br />
service, warranty and lifetime after-care.<br />
“Patients can be assured that they will have no financial<br />
risk because of the risk-free trial that Miracle-Ear offers,”<br />
said Tod Frueh, audioprosthologist of the Palos Verdes office<br />
and 17-year Miracle-Ear veteran.<br />
Miracle-Ear opened the Palos Verdes office to better<br />
serve the community. The new office provides better access<br />
to Miracle-Ear facilities for area patients.<br />
Frueh often cites the importance of good hearing with<br />
a memorable quote from<br />
American educator Helen<br />
Keller, who overcame the adversity<br />
of being blind and<br />
deaf to emerge as a leading<br />
humanitarian:<br />
“Blindness separates people<br />
from things; deafness separates<br />
people from people.”<br />
More than 36 million Americans<br />
suffer from some degree<br />
of hearing loss. The<br />
loss of hearing often is<br />
accompanied by depression,<br />
anxiety, isolation<br />
and even dementia.<br />
Miracle-Ear personnel<br />
have the experience and<br />
know-how to make a difference<br />
in people’s lives.<br />
Nine out of 10 people<br />
with hearing loss can be<br />
helped with hearing<br />
aids.<br />
“We sincerely try to<br />
help people,” said Frueh,<br />
one of the top specialists<br />
in California. “We know<br />
that if we do the best we can to help, they’ll feel it and<br />
they’ll appreciate it.”<br />
Miracle-Ear’s commitment to the community is personified<br />
by its Miracle-Ear Foundation, which joins with<br />
local Miracle-Ear offices and donors to provide free hearing<br />
aids and services to eligible adults and children.<br />
The Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach and Carson offices<br />
are all involved in the Miracle-Ear Foundation.<br />
There are more than 1,600 Miracle-Ear hearing-aid centers<br />
in the U.S. Miracle-Ear’s headquarters is in Minneapolis.<br />
Miracle-Ear is a subsidiary of Amplifon, the<br />
largest hearing-aid company in the world, which is based<br />
in Italy.<br />
For free hearing evaluation call<br />
310-363-7767.<br />
Miracle Ear Hearing Aid Center<br />
Rolling Hills Estates<br />
734 Silver Spur Rd. #301<br />
310-363-7767<br />
FREE<br />
Miracle-Ear ® ME-3175<br />
Buy 1, Get 1<br />
With this coupon. One coupon per client. At Rolling Hills Estates location only.<br />
Offer expires 2/29/16<br />
FREE<br />
Hearing Aid Charger<br />
with purchase of ME-1, ME-2,<br />
ME-3 solution package<br />
With this coupon. These coupons may be combined. One coupon per client.<br />
At Rolling Hills Estates location only. Offer expires 2/29/16
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L<br />
Torrance Memorial Gala<br />
Torrance Memorial announces<br />
$10 million gift at 32nd annual<br />
Holiday Festival Gala<br />
Torrance Memorial Medical Center announced<br />
a $10 million gift by O. Allen Alpay, a 45-year<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> resident and grateful former patient.<br />
The gift will name the O. Allen Alpay East Wing,<br />
which houses Torrance Memorial’s Emergency<br />
Department and Labor & Delivery Unit.<br />
The gift was formally announced during the<br />
hospital’s 32nd annual Holiday Festival Gala on<br />
Friday, December 4, 2015. In total, Holiday Festival<br />
2015 raised more than $11.2 million, which includes<br />
sponsorships and major gift<br />
announcements. More than 15,000 community<br />
members enjoyed the six-day event hosted under<br />
a 30,000 square-foot white tent on the Torrance<br />
Memorial campus. Festivities included a display<br />
of 32 themed decorated trees, a Fashion Show,<br />
Gala Dinner, Santa Lunch, two Seniors Days and<br />
the South Bay’s largest Holiday Shopping<br />
Boutique.<br />
1. Pat Theodora, Ellen<br />
Theodora, Gerald Marcil,<br />
Carol Marcil, Lee Minshull,<br />
and Sandii Minshull.<br />
2. Rich Lucy, Kak Mc<br />
Kinnie, Mark Lurie, MD,<br />
Pat Lucy and David Mc<br />
Kinnie.<br />
3. Ayne Baker, Jack<br />
Baker, Sigrid Allman.<br />
4. Kevin Theodora, Joy<br />
Theodora, Cami Evans,<br />
Don Evans, Dominic and<br />
Danica Iannitti.<br />
5. Drs. Oi-Lin and Tei-Fu<br />
Chen.<br />
6. Ofelia and Emmanuel<br />
David (third and fourth<br />
from left) and family.<br />
7. Phil Pavesi, Chris<br />
Pavesi, Song and Dave<br />
1<br />
3 4<br />
Klein.<br />
8. Jerry Unatin, MD, Judy<br />
Gassner, Mary Jo Unatin<br />
and Nick Silvino, MD.<br />
9. Front row: Richard and<br />
Melanie Lundquist; in<br />
back: Craig and Judy<br />
Leach.<br />
10. Ralph Scriba, Craig 5<br />
6<br />
Leach and Lorraine<br />
Scriba.<br />
11. Priscilla Hunt (front<br />
row, first from left) and<br />
family.<br />
12. Front row: Kirsten<br />
Chumley, Anna Mellor,<br />
MD, Sally Eberhard, Dell<br />
Fortune; Back row: Keith<br />
Chumley, MD, Eric Mellor,<br />
Mike Eberhard, Susan<br />
Haas, Steve Nash, David<br />
Haas, MD. 8<br />
9<br />
2<br />
7<br />
Russ Varon & Gina Doherty<br />
$10,000,000<br />
O. Allen Alpay<br />
$100,000+<br />
Billee and John Gogian<br />
Loraine and Ralph Scriba<br />
$50,000 - $99,999<br />
Sam and Rose Feng<br />
Russell Varon<br />
$20,000 - $49,999<br />
Ayne and Jack Baker<br />
Emmanuel and Ofelia David<br />
Sandii and Lee Minshull<br />
The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris<br />
Foundation<br />
Kirsten Wagner, DDS and<br />
Rick Rounsavelle, DDS<br />
Sunrider International, Drs. Oi-Lin and<br />
Tei-Fu Chen<br />
Ellen and Patrick Theodora<br />
Torrance Memorial Medical Staff<br />
TF Educational Foundation - Gerald and<br />
Patricia Turpanjian<br />
$10,000 - $19,999<br />
Sigrid and Ralph Allman<br />
COR HealthCare<br />
George and Reva Graziadio Foundation<br />
HealthCare Partners<br />
Priscilla and Donald Hunt<br />
Dominic and Danica Iannitti<br />
Keenan HealthCare<br />
Patti and Thomas LeGrelius, MD<br />
& Drs. Nicole and Ryan Lawrence<br />
Lenore and Irving Levine<br />
Lisa and Eric Nakkim, MD<br />
Nixon Peabody, LLP<br />
Owens & Minor<br />
Our Heartfelt Appreciation<br />
$5,000 - $9,999<br />
Association of South Bay Surgeons<br />
Jennifer and Brad Baker<br />
Philo and Raju Chhabria<br />
Emcor Services/Mesa Energy Systems<br />
Carole Hoffman<br />
Kak and David McKinnie<br />
Medline Industries, Inc.<br />
Eric and Anna Mellor, MD<br />
Roxanne and Ramin Mirhashemi, MD<br />
Murray Company<br />
John Rogers<br />
Sodexo<br />
Debra and Gerald Soldner<br />
Drs. Gelareh and Houman Solomon<br />
Jan and Ian Teague<br />
Torrance Emergency Physicians<br />
Torrance Radiology Medical Group<br />
Lucy Villanera<br />
$1,000 - $4,999<br />
2H Construction<br />
AD/S<br />
Valerie and Chris Adlam<br />
Morgan and Eric Aguirre<br />
Shaabini and Dave Alford<br />
Susan Arbour-Slay<br />
BCM Boehling Construction<br />
Tracy Bercu, MD and Peter Weinstein<br />
Peggy and Cliff Berwald<br />
Brigante, Cameron, Watters & Strong<br />
Betty Broughton<br />
Trudy Brown<br />
Ann and David Buxton<br />
Linda and Zan Calhoun<br />
The Cam Family, Vinh, Judy, Wilson and<br />
Melody<br />
Cancer Care Associates<br />
Cannon Building Services<br />
Joan and Chris W. Caras<br />
Cathy and Pat Carroll<br />
Bryan Chang, MD and Phung Huynh<br />
City National Bank<br />
Tracey and Ron Cloud<br />
Sandy and Tom Cobb<br />
Mei and Bill Collier<br />
Cross America Financials<br />
Lesley and Roy Dahlen<br />
Francesca and Doug Deaver<br />
Dept. of Radiation Oncology<br />
Digestive Care Consultants<br />
Suzann and Don Douthwright<br />
Betty Duong and John Abe, MD<br />
Sally and Mike Eberhard<br />
Carlin Edelstein<br />
Emcor<br />
Thyra Endicott, MD and Jonathan Chute<br />
Nancy and Len Fein<br />
Regina and Dan Finnegan<br />
Samantha Fox<br />
Jeannine and Dennis Frandsen<br />
Gelbart & Associates<br />
Jill Golden<br />
Kathy and Richard Goldstein<br />
Nora and Dan Graham<br />
Graystone Consulting<br />
Joseph Gregorio Family<br />
Nancy Griffith, MD<br />
Keiko and William Griswold<br />
Susan and David Haas, MD<br />
Laurie and Greg Halvorsen<br />
Steven L. Hansen<br />
Mary Hazzelrigg<br />
Renee and Doug Henry<br />
Heritage Rehabilitation Center<br />
Eve and Rick Higgins<br />
Terry and Joe Hohm<br />
Hub International<br />
Lisa Humphreys, MD and<br />
John McNamara, MD<br />
Internal Medicine Nephrology<br />
Medical Group<br />
Sandy and Karl Jackson<br />
Mary Rose and Tom Jeffry<br />
Judy and Parnelli Jones<br />
Keesal Young & Logan<br />
Vince Kelly<br />
Kay and William E. Kim, MD<br />
Song and David Klein<br />
Heather and Rick Kline<br />
kpff Consulting Engineers<br />
Judy and Craig Leach<br />
Jacqueline and Joe Leimbach<br />
Charlotte and Russ Lesser<br />
Lomita Post Acute<br />
Pat and Rich Lucy<br />
Barbara Demming Lurie and<br />
Mark Lurie, MD<br />
Ian and Marilyn MacLeod<br />
Kristy and Eric Maniachi<br />
Carol and Gerald Marcil<br />
Allison and Rick Mayer<br />
McCarthy Building Companies<br />
Catherine and Linwood Melton<br />
Sam and Fifi Menzelos<br />
Rolfe Metzger<br />
Ljepa and Vel Miletich<br />
Susan and Ralph Moore<br />
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney<br />
Morrow Meadows<br />
Navigant Cymetrix<br />
Oarsmen Foundation<br />
Payden & Rygel<br />
Kelli and Ed Piken, MD<br />
Carlene Ringer<br />
Twanna Rogers<br />
The Rouse Company<br />
Patricia Sacks, MD and Harvey Kushner<br />
Laura and Marc Schenasi<br />
Connie Senner<br />
Allyson and Alexander Shen, MD<br />
Laura and Thomas Simko, MD<br />
South Bay Gastroenterology<br />
South Bay Heart Clinic<br />
South Bay Orthopaedic Specialists<br />
Medical Center<br />
Ralph Scriba, Craig Leach, Loraine Scriba<br />
Torrance Memorial Medical Center wishes to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of the 32nd Annual Holiday Festival, which<br />
raised millions for the medical center’s North Patient Tower transformation.<br />
Pat & Ellen Theodora, Carol & Gerald Marcil, Lee &<br />
Sandii Minshull<br />
Emmanuel David Family Michael Zislis, Jeff Neu and friends Priscilla Hunt Family<br />
South Bay Pain Docs<br />
South Bay Plastic Surgeons<br />
Douglass Stewart<br />
Michele and Tim Stratton<br />
Rose Straub<br />
Amy Tan<br />
Stephanie Tang, MD<br />
Torrance Anesthesia Medical Group<br />
Torrance Memorial Neonatology<br />
Medical Group<br />
Torrance Orthopaedic Sports<br />
Medical Group<br />
Torrance Pathology Group<br />
Marshall Varon<br />
Voya Financial<br />
Wells Fargo Advisors<br />
Robyn and Scott Wilkes<br />
Alissa and Robert Wilson<br />
Kay Yamada<br />
Nancy and Roger Zapor<br />
Ann and Gary Zimmerman<br />
MAJOR IN-KIND<br />
BENEFACTORS<br />
Choura Events<br />
G.S. Gaudenti Brothers<br />
Melanie and Richard Lundquist<br />
Morgan's Jewelers, Russell &<br />
Marshall Varon<br />
Morrow Meadows<br />
Newport Printing<br />
Redondo Van & Storage<br />
Rolling Hills Flower Mart,<br />
Gaudenti Family<br />
Terranea Resort<br />
Toyota<br />
Mary Jo and Jerome Unatin, MD<br />
The Zislis Group, Andrea and<br />
Michael Zislis<br />
10<br />
11 12<br />
Thank you to all our donors.<br />
3330 Lomita Blvd., Torrance, CA 90505<br />
310-517-4703 - www.TorranceMemorial.org<br />
10 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L<br />
Malaga Cove<br />
Homeowners<br />
Association<br />
Holiday Party<br />
T<br />
he Malaga Cove Homeowners Association<br />
members, neighbors of<br />
La Venta Inn, enjoyed the hospitality<br />
of LaVenta for its third Holiday Party.<br />
Shown are some of the 200 people<br />
who attended on a most blustery (and<br />
clear!) evening for superb savory and<br />
sweet fare provided by the New York<br />
Food Company and host Mike Halish.<br />
Name tags showed the date of the<br />
wearer's arrival in Malaga Cove so<br />
that neighbors could meet neighbors.<br />
A great time was had by all.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
SOLD<br />
1. Larry and Nancy Bolton.<br />
2. Andrew and Yvonne Meinzer and,<br />
George Shoemaker.<br />
3. Mike and Ruby Kumagai with Betsy<br />
Treynor.<br />
4. Susan and Vince Nelson, Jon and Sally<br />
Landerville and Lola Hagerty.<br />
5. Jon and Sally Landerville, Lola<br />
Hagerty, Debbie Dinsmore, Edith and Bill<br />
Andrew and Shauna Hagerty Regan.<br />
3 4<br />
5<br />
V ilicich<br />
Watch & Clock<br />
Established 1947<br />
Independent Rolex Service<br />
Buy • Sell • Repair<br />
Service of Antique and Grandfather Clocks<br />
714 South Weymouth Avenue, San Pedro, CA 90732<br />
(310) 833-6891<br />
We Buy<br />
Watches!<br />
Offered at $5,500,000<br />
SOLD!<br />
Kathleen had the privilege and honor of representing both the Buyer and the Seller in the sale of this home.<br />
Enjoy my Virtual Tour with Aerial photos of the location:<br />
www.2112PaseoDelMar.com<br />
12 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 13
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L<br />
The Encore Circle<br />
Annual Holiday Party<br />
M<br />
embers of Encore Circle, one of<br />
the support groups for the Norris<br />
Center held their annual holiday<br />
luncheon in mid-December at Terranea<br />
Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes.<br />
The highlight of the afternoon was a<br />
dance performance by the students<br />
enrolled in the Education Department<br />
at the Norris Performing Arts<br />
Center.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
PHOTOS BY<br />
MARY JANE SCHOENHEIDER<br />
1. Sal and Melody Intaglita and Mary<br />
Kehrl and daughter.<br />
2. Hal and Anita Javitt.<br />
3. Sandra Sanders, Sophia Fitzmaurce,<br />
Myla Azer and Lotte Brasswell.<br />
4. Mr. & Mrs. Al Sheng.<br />
5. Maude Landon and Park and Lynn<br />
Densmore.<br />
6. John and Abby Douglas event co-chair<br />
with Maude Landon.<br />
7. Marylyn and Chuck Klauss.<br />
8. Bunny and Marty Rosenzweig.<br />
9. Jim Welch, Harlene Norris, Webb<br />
Castor and Allen and Dottie Lay.<br />
10. Dick Moe and Susan Hamilton.<br />
11. .Jim Hill and Pam Barrett-Hill.<br />
12. Dance Students from Palos Verdes<br />
Performing Arts.<br />
13. Norris Performing Art Centers Box<br />
Office Manager Jason Sluter performed a<br />
medley of popular show tunes.<br />
3 4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
10<br />
11 12 13<br />
14 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 15
Wishing You a Happy New Year!<br />
NEW<br />
LISTING<br />
WALLACE<br />
RANCH<br />
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LISTING<br />
paseo la cresta<br />
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Magnificent Gated Estate offering a Unique Combination of Luxury and Comfort<br />
Sweeping Ocean, Bay and Treetop views. Exquisite Finishes and Fine Appointments Throughout<br />
OFFERED AT $10,450,000<br />
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avenida corona<br />
RANCHO PALOS VERDES<br />
4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms, 3,860 sq ft Home, 25,396 sq ft Lot<br />
Beautiful Ocean, Mountain, Harbor & City Views from Most Rooms<br />
Newly Remodeled. Large Guest Quarter. View Deck. Quiet Neighborhood<br />
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4 Bedrooms + Office, 3.5 Bathrooms, 3,418 sq ft Home, 7,596 sq ft Lot<br />
Exceptional Queens Necklace Views from All Levels<br />
Remodeled in 2012, Beautiful Landscaping, Separate Guest Quarters<br />
OFFERED AT $2,950,000<br />
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Spectacular Coastline and Queen’s Necklace View in Malaga Cove<br />
Bring your Architect/Contractor for Major Remodeling or Rebuild<br />
3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, 2,365 sq ft Home on 8,102 sq ft Lot<br />
OFFERED AT $1,980,000<br />
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Crestridge Road<br />
RANCHO PALOS VERDES<br />
5 Bedrooms, 4 Bathrooms, 4,300+ sq ft Home, 1/2+ acre Lot<br />
Panoramic Los Angeles Basin City Light and Mountain Views<br />
Entertainers’ Delight both Inside and Out in a Lovely Secluded Setting<br />
OFFERED AT $1,899,000<br />
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310.721.7526<br />
KimHallHomes@gmail.com<br />
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310.971.0404<br />
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5 Grand Bedrooms Suites, 8 Bathrooms, 7,925 sq ft Home, 27,119 sq ft Lot<br />
This Magnificent Ocean Front Estate offers Luxury Living with Stunning Ocean & Sunset Views<br />
Custom Designed with Elevator, Home Theater, Gym, Entertainer’s Backyard & Many Superb Building Features<br />
OFFERED AT $6,300,000<br />
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4 Bedrooms, 4 Bathrooms, 3,684 sq ft Home, 8,229 sq ft Lot<br />
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Gourmet Kitchen, Dry Sauna, Steam Room, Elegant Living Space<br />
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OFFERED AT $1,895,000<br />
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alta vista<br />
RANCHO PALOS VERDES<br />
19,907 sq ft Mostly Flat Lot with 112 feet Frontage<br />
Catalina & Ocean View. Prestigious Neighborhood<br />
Near Los Verdes Golf Course, Park, Shops & Ocean<br />
OFFERED AT $1,599,000<br />
17th street<br />
san pedro<br />
5 Bedrms, 3 Baths, 2 Powder Rms, 3,200 sq ft Home, 5,010 sq ft Lot<br />
Vista Del Oro Neighborhood, Huge In-Law Suite Downstairs<br />
Balcony with Ocean & Harbor Views. 2004 Built & Sold for $870,000<br />
Now OFFERED AT $665,000<br />
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S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L<br />
Rotary Club of<br />
Palos Verdes<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
Annual Holiday Party<br />
The members, their spouses and<br />
guests enjoyed an evening of<br />
socializing and dinner this past<br />
December at the Palos Verdes<br />
Country Club.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
PHOTOS BY<br />
CLIX PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
1. PV Rotary President Les Fishman and<br />
Virginia Butler.<br />
2. In back row, Greg O’Brien, Sarah Ott,<br />
John Stillo, Henry Ott and in front Carolyn<br />
O’Brien, Santa and Bridget O’Brien.<br />
3. Kelly and Tom Intagliata.<br />
4. Donna and Don Duperon.<br />
5. Julia Parton Rosas, Stacey Dubowitch,<br />
Suzy Zimmerman.<br />
6. Lauren and Tom Spiglanin.<br />
7. Gail and Bob Johnson.<br />
8. Nancy Crawford with Santa.<br />
9. Suzi and Bob Gulcher.<br />
10. Wendy and Allen Bond.<br />
3 4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9 10<br />
18 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L<br />
National Charity League, INC.<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> Chapter<br />
Participate in Operation Homefront<br />
O<br />
n Sunday, November 8, the <strong>Peninsula</strong> Chapter of National<br />
Charity League, Inc. gathered moms and Ticktockers at Palos<br />
Verdes Intermediate School to help brighten the holidays for military<br />
families with Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront<br />
is an organization that provides assistance to military families.<br />
They offer relief during military family crisis and support<br />
wounded warriors when they return home. This was the third<br />
year NCL <strong>Peninsula</strong> participated in this event. Lesley Sklow, chair<br />
of the event, requested the membership to donate new toys and<br />
clothing for children ranging in ages from infants to teens. These<br />
gifts were wrapped at a wrapping party held in the multipurpose<br />
room at PVIS. Over 100 holiday cards and letters were also written<br />
to send to our soldiers serving overseas. The Army ROTC Color<br />
Guard from the University of Southern California opened the<br />
event along with Class of 2020 Ticktocker Gracey Thomas, who<br />
sang the National Anthem. On December 9, moms and Ticktockers<br />
delivered the wrapped gifts to the Naval Armory in Seal Beach<br />
for a Gift Giving Party where the members had the pleasure of<br />
meeting the families who were receiving the gifts. The Ticktockers<br />
helped children decorate cookies and Class of 2018 mom and professional<br />
photographer, Katrin Cooper, took family photos for their<br />
holiday cards. Santa also made an appearance.<br />
1. NCL <strong>Peninsula</strong> Chapter Senior Ticktockers<br />
& Patronesses with USC Honor<br />
Color Guard.<br />
2. NCL <strong>Peninsula</strong> Patronesses Michelle<br />
Spaulding and Jenny Litchfield.<br />
3. NCL Ticktockers wrapping gifts for Operation<br />
Homefront families from left,<br />
Amanda Kessaris, Caroline Armour,<br />
Rachel and Paige Freer.<br />
1<br />
4. NCL <strong>Peninsula</strong> Ticktockers at the<br />
Armory<br />
5. Gifts ready for military families at<br />
Operation Homefront from left, Liese<br />
Cooper, Colleen Thomas, Claire Litchfield,<br />
Kate Hoyne and Charlotte Litchfield.<br />
6. Face painting with the troops from left,<br />
Allyson Harder, Ally Wescott, Sydney Merchant,<br />
Caroline Turnbull and Caroline<br />
Decker.<br />
2 3 4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
22 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
3837 Crest Rd., Rancho Palos Verdes<br />
4 Bedrooms । 5 Bathrooms । 3610 Sq.ft.<br />
OFFERED<br />
$2,249,000<br />
3512 Newridge Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes<br />
4 Bedrooms । 4 Bathrooms । 2912 Sq.ft.<br />
OFFERED<br />
$1,599,000<br />
JERRYANDLAURA.COM<br />
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4 Bedrooms । 2 Bathrooms । 2613 Sq.ft.<br />
OFFERED<br />
$1,499,000<br />
1518 W. 15th St., San Pedro<br />
5 Bedrooms । 5 Bathrooms । 4000 sq.ft.<br />
OFFERED<br />
$1,699,000
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L<br />
PVP Association of Realtors<br />
Classic Hollywood on the <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
T<br />
he 22nd Installation of Officers and Directors of the Palos Verdes<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> Association of Realtors (PVPAR) honoring <strong>2016</strong> President<br />
Edward Barrios took place on Wednesday, December 9 at the<br />
Trump National Golf Club and was truly an evening of stars! The<br />
<strong>2016</strong> Board of Directors who were installed this evening were Officers:<br />
Edward Barrios, Jennifer Goorchenko, Sep Ebrahimi, and Mike Harper<br />
along with Board of Directors: Lynn Aglipay, Jason Buck, Virginia<br />
Butler, Jackie Crowley, Dalal Karama and Jolaine Merrill. Certificates<br />
of Appreciation and Distinguished Service Awards were presented to<br />
members who have demonstrated exceptional service throughout the<br />
year in support of PVPAR. Bill Ruth, Keller Williams–PV, was given<br />
the prestigious honor of being named 2015 Realtor of the Year and<br />
Andy Santonello, owner of Andy’s Pest and Termite Control was<br />
named 2015 Affiliate of the Year. A special tribute for a long time<br />
PVPAR member for his decades of service to the real estate industry<br />
which spanned from 1962-2015 at the local, state and national association<br />
level was given to Joe Barnett and his memory will continue at<br />
PVPAR with a Joe Barnett Scholarship to send selected PVPAR Realtor<br />
members to the State Legislative meetings held in Sacramento every<br />
year. Joe Barnett’s son, Tom Barnett and daughter, Nancy Barnett,<br />
were present to receive a Special Recognition Award. The evening was<br />
complemented with music by the incredibly talented jazz musicians<br />
fostered within the Freedom4U program.<br />
1<br />
3<br />
2<br />
1. Affiliate of the Year-<br />
Kara Wilkins (2014 Affiliate<br />
of the Year), Andy<br />
Santonello (2015 Affiliate<br />
of the Year) and Edward<br />
Barrios<br />
(2015/<strong>2016</strong> Board<br />
President).<br />
2. Joe Barnett Recognition<br />
Award-Tom Barnett(son),<br />
Nancy<br />
Barnett (daughter),<br />
Jackie Crowley, Edward<br />
Barrios.<br />
3. Dana Graham with<br />
1929 Packard Dietrich.<br />
4. Distinguished Service<br />
Award-Edward Barrios,<br />
Recipients: Allen<br />
Bond, Christi Carrillo<br />
and Moses Dennis.<br />
5. 2015/<strong>2016</strong> President<br />
Ed Barrios being<br />
sworn in by Steve Goddard.<br />
6. Certificate of Appreciate-Assemblyman<br />
Hadley presenting to<br />
Edward Barrios.<br />
7. Incoming <strong>2016</strong><br />
Board of Directors-<br />
Jason Buck, Dalal<br />
Karama, Jackie Crowley,<br />
Lynn Aglipay, Mike<br />
Harper, Virginia Butler,<br />
Sep Ebrahimi, Jennifer<br />
Goorchenko, Edward<br />
Barrios.<br />
8. Appreciation Award-<br />
Edward Barrios, Moses<br />
Dennis, Kim Hall, Jack<br />
McSweeney, Anthony<br />
Self.<br />
9. Realtor of the Year-<br />
Marion Ruth and Bill<br />
Ruth (recipient).<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9<br />
26 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
P E N I N S U L A P E O P L E | B U S I N E S S<br />
Jan and Wayne Judah. Photo by David Fairchild (DavidFairchildStudio.com)<br />
Two for the tiller<br />
by Robb Fulcher<br />
As The Admiral Risty celebrates its 50th year as a beloved, award-winning Palos Verdes eatery,<br />
owners Wayne Judah and Jan Jay Judah shared their up-by-the-bootstrap stories. Wayne, the<br />
longtime co-owner and general manager of The Admiral Risty, developed his love of hard<br />
work on the family farm. Jan, a longtime realty force in Palos Verdes and the South Bay, became a<br />
“worker bee” to rise above hard times early in her life.<br />
The two became full owners of The Admiral Risty last year.<br />
Tradition and change<br />
Wayne was raised on a farm in Florida, where the family grew cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers<br />
and citrus fruit, raised livestock and made their own butter. At age 12, he was driving a tractor.<br />
“It’s a bootstrap-type story,” he said.<br />
Wayne left the farm to attend the University of Florida, but as Jan related, he would soon return.<br />
“It’s like we’re throwing a party.<br />
...There’s entertainment, as well as<br />
meals and a view of the ocean.”<br />
– Wayne Judah<br />
“When his father passed away, when Wayne<br />
was in his late teens, he left college to go back<br />
to the farm and bring in the crops, to help his<br />
mother pay the bills,” Jan said. “That’s the kind<br />
of guy he is.”<br />
In the 1960s he was drafted into the U.S.<br />
army, served in Vietnam and was promoted to<br />
sergeant. He landed in San Pedro, where he was<br />
stationed at Fort MacArthur as a communications<br />
specialist. He also took on a weekend job<br />
that would give him his entry into The Admiral<br />
Risty.<br />
“I always felt I needed more income, and I had<br />
the time, so I went to the officers’ club, and they<br />
were willing to train me as a bartender,” he said.<br />
When his stint in the Army ended, Wayne<br />
took his bartending skills to the Risty.<br />
He also took flying lessons, and flirted with<br />
making his living in the air.<br />
“As a young kid I always wanted to be a pilot,<br />
so I got flying lessons on the GI Bill at the Torrance<br />
airport. I got my pilot’s license and I was<br />
working toward my commercial [license], but<br />
there weren’t a lot of jobs,” Wayne said.<br />
“A lot of people love to fly, but it’s not as exciting<br />
as I thought it would be. I liked dealing with<br />
people better. [The restaurant business] is a lot<br />
more fun, more entertaining. It’s a social thing.<br />
It’s a social business,” he said.<br />
His role in The Admiral Risty expanded as he<br />
began ordering its liquor, food and meat. In time<br />
he became co-owner and general manager, guiding<br />
the Risty through decades of carefully managed<br />
changes, within its traditions of quality and<br />
hospitality.<br />
“In the ‘60s when the restaurant opened, beef<br />
was king. We had one chicken dish and one fish<br />
dish, broiled sea bass. It was a much more limited<br />
menu than it is today,” Wayne said. “In the<br />
mid to late ‘70s people began to get into more<br />
healthy dieting,” which led to an expanding<br />
menu with a much greater emphasis on fish.<br />
But the mainstay signature dish, Risty’s flank<br />
steak, continues to be ordered as much as any<br />
other entrée.<br />
Other popular items include an award-winning<br />
cioppino, Belgian waffles with fresh compote<br />
for brunch, and salads with freshly-baked<br />
croutons and the restaurant’s blue cheese dressing.<br />
The Risty cold-cures its own gravlax, as well.<br />
Over the years the restaurant’s beverage list<br />
has been expanded to include more than 150<br />
California and imported wines.<br />
28 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
“We bake our own desserts and we bake our own breads,” Wayne said.<br />
“We have vegetarian dishes now. We’re always adjusting our menu.”<br />
The changes in Risty’s menu are made only with great care.<br />
“We worked with the bread for a year before we put it on the table. Some<br />
we would throw out, some we liked, some we needed to make adjustments<br />
to,” Wayne said. “We consulted with the best bakeries on the processes to<br />
use. We want to do it well if we are going to do it.”<br />
Five different entertainers work six nights a week in the restaurant’s<br />
lounge, where patrons can be served full meals as well as drinks.<br />
All the while, Wayne has been out front, greeting guests as they arrive.<br />
“It’s like we’re throwing a party, having a good time. It’s a very social<br />
environment. We have lots of fun, there’s entertainment, as well as meals<br />
and a view of the ocean,” Wayne said.<br />
“We enjoy people coming to see us. There are lots of rewards that are<br />
personal rather than financial.”<br />
He likened the cyclic nature of the restaurant to that of the old family<br />
farm.<br />
“It was a truck crop situation. You get the land prepared, you plant the<br />
crops, you fertilize the product, you till the soil, you spray the plants, you<br />
harvest the product, you start all over again.”<br />
At the Risty, “You get the raw materials, you process the materials, you<br />
take the product to the table, you service the product, and you clean up<br />
the plates.”<br />
“The restaurant business sounds glamorous, but it’s not all glamorous,”<br />
Wayne said. “A lot of investors think they want to go into the business, but<br />
they quickly find out what it involves. If the deep fryer breaks you have to<br />
get it fixed. If the dishwasher breaks, the hot water heater breaks, you have<br />
to fix that now, not later. There’s a lot of pressure on those things.”<br />
An ongoing 50th anniversary celebration at the restaurant includes a<br />
weekly drawing for a $50 Admiral Risty gift certificate.<br />
Of cats and milk crates<br />
Turning to the seemingly unrelated topic of cats, Jan revealed that Wayne<br />
can be “a real softie” when it comes to felines and other animals. She<br />
learned this as she watched him feed restaurant leftovers to a colony of<br />
feral cats in a then-undeveloped canyon next to the Risty.<br />
“I think I fell in love with Wayne the night I saw him sitting on a milk<br />
crate in the parking lot behind the restaurant with his favorite feline, Nigh<br />
Nigh, sitting in his lap basking in the affection that Wayne was supplying,”<br />
Jan said.<br />
“Nigh had been the toughest, most irascible member of the colony at<br />
one point but was now an older cat who would soon become stone deaf,”<br />
she said. “Eventually, he came to live with us after we were married, joining<br />
our other two cats Alli and Gator, and he enjoyed a stress free last few<br />
years with us at our then Malaga Cove home.”<br />
Working with veterinarian Cassie Jones, Wayne found homes for most<br />
of the rest of the cats.<br />
Real estate prowess<br />
Jan Jay Judah has been a force in Palos Verdes and South Bay real estate<br />
for more than three decades, specializing in corporate relocation in partnership<br />
with her son Evan Jay.<br />
Clients include TRW, Xerox, AIG, PepsiCo, MCI, Ernst & Young, Sony<br />
Corporation, Columbia Pictures, Boeing Corp., Herbalife, Activision and<br />
the FBI. The Jay-Judah Group is associated with REMax Palos Verdes and<br />
Execs.<br />
The partners have been recognized with awards including installation in<br />
the REMax Hall of Fame and the 100 Percent Club, which is reserved for<br />
agents closing more than $3 million in real estate transactions within a calendar<br />
year.<br />
Jan Jay Judah’s production places her within the top 5 percent of agents<br />
nationwide.<br />
Alaska gold<br />
“I was born in Seattle into a prominent, entrepreneurial up-from-thebootstraps,<br />
colorful cast of family characters,” Jan wrote in a thumbnail<br />
Risty cont. on page 54<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 29
LILY LIANG PRESENTS:<br />
PALOS VERDES’ FINEST HOMES & ESTATES FOR OVER 30 YEARS!<br />
IN<br />
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IN<br />
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$10,800,000 | www.3300PalosVerdesDrWest.com<br />
8 Ringbit Road East, Rolling Hills<br />
$2,999,000 l www.8RingbitRoad.com<br />
717 Via Bandini, Palos Verdes Estates<br />
$2,299,000 l www.717ViaBandini.com
P E N I N S U L A P E O P L E | A R T S<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> resident Kyra Belle Johnson is starring in the national touring production of<br />
“Mamma Mia!” It comes to the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood on Jan. 26. Photo by Bondo<br />
Wyszpolski<br />
Top: Kat Borrelli, Kyra Belle Johnson and Christa Eskridge<br />
in the national tour of “Mamma Ma!”<br />
Bottom: Johnson on stage soaking up the limelight in Abilene,<br />
Texas. Photos by Joan Marcus, 2015<br />
An Overnight In the blink of an eye, Kyra Belle Johnson<br />
went from Palos Verdes High School to starring<br />
in the national tour of “Mamma Mia!”<br />
Sensation<br />
Kyra<br />
by Bondo Wyszpolski<br />
Afew months ago Kyra Belle Johnson graduated<br />
from Palos Verdes High School and,<br />
guess what? She’s already touring the country<br />
as one of the leads in the popular musical<br />
“Mamma Mia!” Better yet, we can see her onstage<br />
for ourselves when the company performs <strong>January</strong><br />
26-31 at the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.<br />
Kyra Belle has lived in the same Rolling Hills<br />
home her entire life, except that at the moment<br />
she’s living out of a suitcase in Anchorage, Alaska,<br />
before jetting to Hawaii for a few days. But we’ll get<br />
to that later.<br />
So how did it all begin?<br />
This is how it began<br />
“The first show I remember seeing was ‘Oliver!’<br />
and it was at the Norris Theatre,” says Kyra Belle,<br />
sitting across from me in a pastry shop on a dreary<br />
afternoon. “I remember seeing it because there<br />
were kids onstage and they were my age and a little<br />
bit older.”<br />
So she turned to her mother and asked what those<br />
kids were doing up there. Her mother’s response<br />
was concise: They’re in the show. “And I’m thinking,<br />
well, I want to do that. Why can’t I be up there<br />
doing that?”<br />
Belle was about eight years old at the<br />
time and she was soon enrolled in dance<br />
classes. The next show that came up was “High<br />
School Musical,” and Kyra Belle auditioned for<br />
it. Well, no cigar, but her sister, Kendyl, who is<br />
two years older, also auditioned and got in.<br />
Next up was “Grease,” and Kyra Belle tried out<br />
for that one, too. Again, she wasn’t selected;<br />
again, her sister was.<br />
A few years later Kendyl went off to play<br />
water polo, leaving Kyra Belle as the only one<br />
in her family with an active passion for the performing<br />
arts.<br />
All right, she was 0 for 2, but so what?<br />
“You know,” she says, “it was a persistence<br />
thing. I’m a persistence kid, I don’t really stop;<br />
that’s just who I am.”<br />
And so Kyra Belle auditioned for “You’re a<br />
Good Man, Charlie Brown” and ended up with<br />
a small role. However, at the time it didn’t matter<br />
how little the part was because, she says, “I<br />
was so happy. I was like, ‘I’m in a show! Oh my<br />
gosh, I’m in a show!’”<br />
To this day, she remembers everything about<br />
it.<br />
“Stepping on stage, I had more fun doing that<br />
than I ever had doing anything else.”<br />
Kyra Belle’s been in a lot of shows since then,<br />
but up to now they’ve all been musicals such<br />
as “Annie,” “Legally Blonde,” and “Thoroughly<br />
Modern Millie.” Her knowledge of theater,<br />
straight drama in particular, has room for<br />
growth, but let’s give her a few more years,<br />
okay?<br />
From Fiona to Sophie<br />
When Kyra Belle Johnson was a junior in<br />
high school she was cast as Princess Fiona in<br />
“Shrek: The Musical.” It’s still one of her favorite<br />
roles: “Fiona is just hilarious and she’s<br />
strong, and that’s the type of character that I<br />
like to play.”<br />
PV High has been involved in a program, or<br />
competition, that might loosely be compared to<br />
the Tony Awards, but for high school theater.<br />
It’s called the JRAYs, the John Raitt Awards for<br />
Youth, and the Fullerton Civic Light Opera<br />
Music Theatre (FCLO) hosts it each year in the<br />
historic Plummer Auditorium, in Fullerton.<br />
About 20 high schools participate, including<br />
Mira Costa in Manhattan Beach. A panel of<br />
judges weighs in on everything from lighting<br />
and sound to acting and choreography. During<br />
the awards presentation on May 24, 2014, Kyra<br />
Belle was named Best Actress.<br />
Along with Eli Labinger, who was named<br />
Best Actor, Kyra Belle was flown to New York,<br />
32 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
to the Broadway Artists Alliance, where she participated in workshops<br />
with Broadway theater people. “At the end of the week,” she says, “they<br />
had a showcase in front of casting directors and agents.”<br />
That took place in July of 2014. And then? Nothing.<br />
Until <strong>January</strong> of last year, that is, when she received an email from someone<br />
at Joy Dewing Casting, the people finding actors for the “Mamma<br />
Mia!” tour. There was going to be an audition in March, and they wanted<br />
Kyra Belle to come and try out.<br />
Who wouldn’t jump at that opportunity? Well, Kyra Belle almost didn’t.<br />
When the day arrived she had second thoughts (“Nothing’s gonna happen”)<br />
but her mother pressed her: Just try. It’s your first professional audition<br />
for anything; just get out there and see what you can do.<br />
Or words to that effect.<br />
Kyra Belle cleared the first hurdle: The company (Work Light Productions)<br />
was definitely interested. But they had other concerns and questions:<br />
Would she be 18 by September? Yes. And was she mature enough to be on<br />
the road, away from home and parents?<br />
The concern for her well-being was reassuring, and so Kyra Belle knew<br />
what to expect before signing on with the company.<br />
The “Mamma Mia!” tour got underway in October, and Kyra Belle says<br />
they’ve done about 30 shows thus far, in maybe a dozen towns, most of<br />
them on the East Coast, but with a couple in Texas, one in Kansas, and a<br />
couple more in Florida. She might see a little of the town or city if the<br />
show is up for more than a day or two, and mentions a zoo in Abilene that<br />
had lions, giraffes, and a white Bengal tiger.<br />
Singing for her supper<br />
“Mamma Mia!” threads together numerous pop songs by the ‘70s<br />
Swedish group ABBA (“Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo,” “Fernando”), with a<br />
storyline that focuses on a young woman named Sophie (Kyra Belle) who’s<br />
about to be married. She’s the daughter of a single mom, Donna, and they<br />
live on a Greek island. Sophie has never known her father, but wouldn’t<br />
it be just super if he attended her wedding and walked her down the aisle?<br />
Yes, except that even her mother doesn’t know the identity of Sophie’s<br />
father because she slept with three different men during the months before<br />
Sophie was born. (In case you’re wondering, no one mentions DNA testing)<br />
Kyra Belle says she connects with the character of Sophie even though<br />
Sophie is 20 instead of Kyra’s 18.<br />
“I like to relate Sophie to Lucy from ‘I Love Lucy,’” she says, “because<br />
Sophie comes up with this plan where, You know what? I think it’d be a<br />
great idea to invite these three random men that I’ve never met before. I<br />
don’t even know if they’re real, but they’re in my mom’s diary so they<br />
must be. Let’s invite them for a weekend to my wedding, and let’s see how<br />
it goes. Then I’ll just know my dad when I see him.”<br />
Except that she doesn’t, and she finds she’s made a muddle of things.<br />
Sophie’s just a human being, Kyra Belle says, albeit with good intentions.<br />
“She’s not some perfect girl who’s getting married to this really hot guy<br />
and everything’s going her way. She’s just like, oh, I want my dad! She’s<br />
totally flawed, and she makes mistake after mistake in the show, but she’s<br />
also really sure about her choices.”<br />
What Kyra Belle also appreciates about her character is that Sophie doesn’t<br />
just sit back and sulk, but tries to get up and fix whatever’s wrong. And<br />
while she may not be the central figure in the show, that honor falls to her<br />
mother, Donna, “it’s Sophie’s charisma and her strength that pushes the<br />
show forward. I really admire that about her character, and I love tapping<br />
into that.”<br />
“Break a leg” is an old theater term that means go out there and do your<br />
darned best, and good luck to you while you’re at it. But sometimes actors<br />
break a leg in a more physical sense or, failing that, twist an ankle or come<br />
down with an exotic fever, and so that’s why there are two understudies<br />
for every role in this production of “Mamma Mia!”<br />
“If anything goes wrong,” Kyra Belle says, “someone’s ready to be there.”<br />
In her case, she’s appeared in every show thus far. She’s been asked if<br />
she gets along with her understudies or if she thinks they might try and<br />
do her in. Kyra Belle laughs “Those two girls are some of my best friends<br />
in the cast.”<br />
Johnson cont. on page 60<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 33
34 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 35
P E N I N S U L A P E O P L E | V O L U N T E E R O F T H E Y E A R<br />
Rotary’s Bond<br />
“You don’t do it halfway.”<br />
by Esther Kang<br />
Allen Bond, a 58-year-old Rancho Palos Verdes resident,<br />
has witnessed countless ribbon-cutting ceremonies on<br />
the Hill over the last two decades.<br />
Recently named 2015 Volunteer of the Year by Palos Verdes<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> Chamber of Commerce and incoming president for<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> Rotary Club, the father of four is a dedicated servant<br />
of the community.<br />
“My attitude is, anything you do, you don’t do it halfway,”<br />
Bond said. “Not just showing up for the picture at the end, but<br />
you’ve got to do the work in between.”<br />
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Bond moved to California<br />
after graduating from Temple University with a bachelor’s degree<br />
in accounting and a minor in computer science. A serious<br />
tennis player since age 13, he attended the university on a tennis<br />
scholarship. After graduating from school, he played tennis<br />
on professional satellite tours and participated in many tournaments<br />
throughout the East Coast while teaching on the side.<br />
In 1981, at age 23, he made the big move to California after<br />
visiting an old friend in Santa Monica and feeling sold on the<br />
Pacific coast.<br />
“I just kind of landed here,” Bond said. “I came to California with no job<br />
and no place to live.”<br />
He had vowed to quit teaching tennis upon his fresh start on the West<br />
Coast and put his accounting degree to use. He had always been a “numbers<br />
guy,” he said. But his prowess on the court is what landed him his<br />
first job and introduced him to the Palos Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong> community.<br />
At the <strong>Peninsula</strong> Racquet Club, which sits atop the cliffs of Rancho Palos<br />
Verdes and overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island, he became a<br />
full-time instructor for adults and children alike. The young man settled<br />
in Redondo Beach and continued the teaching job for about seven years.<br />
By the end of the seven years, he moved into a small condo in Lunada Bay.<br />
“I still play tennis at the Racquet Club about once a week and teach a<br />
little bit,” Bond said. “I’ve only taught there, and played there, pretty much<br />
my whole time in California. I still have friends I met when I first got here<br />
in ’81, and we still play tennis. We’re a little bit older now."<br />
In 1988, when the opportunity presented itself to work for a small mortgage<br />
business in Lawndale, Bond left the full-time post at the club and<br />
jumped onboard.<br />
“It seemed to be a pretty good vocation,” he said. “I enjoyed numbers<br />
and I enjoyed people.”<br />
Through mutual friends, he met his wife Wendy, who was in a similar<br />
line of business. In 1991, she founded a mortgage banking company called<br />
Palos Verdes Funding Group, and in 1993, Bond joined his wife’s company,<br />
which was located in Malaga Cove Plaza for a number of years, then<br />
moved to Silver Spur Road. They raised their four children — Mellissa,<br />
Matthew and twins Alexander and Colin — through the Palos Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
school system, where Bond coached their baseball, basketball and soccer<br />
teams in the true fashion of a Palos Verdes parent.<br />
In 2006, the business was sold to Countrywide Mortgage, which was<br />
later bought by Bank of America. At Countrywide, Bond worked as a retail<br />
sales manager for home loans.<br />
Today, he works for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage as a retail sales supervisor<br />
at the office on Deep Valley Drive in Rolling Hills Estates and in El<br />
Segundo. Wendy founded an independent escrow company, Guaranty Escrow,<br />
which has offices in Rolling Hills Estates, Redondo Beach and Manhattan<br />
Beach.<br />
“Even though mortgage is mortgages, you’re dealing with a different personal<br />
situation with every transaction, so it’s interesting in that light,” Bond<br />
said. “Hopefully I can help them or advise them on situations and how<br />
they can better their situation financially, and most importantly on the purchase<br />
side, to get someone in the home they want, their dream home. It’s<br />
extremely gratifying to do that."<br />
Bond is the quintessential Palos Verdes volunteer. In addition to being<br />
an active member of the <strong>Peninsula</strong> Rotary for over 20 years (he will take<br />
over as president this coming July), he has been involved in the <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
Chamber for nearly the same length of time. This is his seventh year on<br />
the board. He has previously chaired the Chamber membership committee<br />
and special events committee.<br />
“Twenty years ago, it was a lot more casual — it was a lot more about<br />
getting together with your friends,” Bond said.<br />
As chairperson in 2014, he oversaw programs such as the Young Entrepreneur<br />
Academy, a yearlong Chamber-sponsored after school program for<br />
middle and high school students who generate business ideas, conduct<br />
market research, write business plans, make pitches and launch their own<br />
companies. His main focus was to continue the tradition of the <strong>Peninsula</strong>’s<br />
tight-knit business community by helping to forge relationships.<br />
“I really try to work within the Chamber to help people, especially new<br />
businesses, to meet other old businesses and whatever people they’re going<br />
to work well with that will create a good synergy and for them to be successful,”<br />
said Bond, who volunteers to emcee at most events.<br />
He said that over the last two decades, he has observed great changes<br />
for businesses on the Hill, namely the addition of Terranea, the new open<br />
shopping area of the Promenade on the <strong>Peninsula</strong> and renovations at <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
Center. The Chamber will continue to encourage residents to shop<br />
local and bring regionally attractive businesses to the Hill, he said, but<br />
overall they’re headed in the right direction.<br />
“As far as people coming in, I think it’s real positive,” he said. “It’s a good<br />
influx of the kind of people that will continue to enjoy PV and keep moving<br />
forward the way it is.” PEN<br />
36 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 37
P E N I N S U L A P E O P L E | D I N I N G<br />
guacamole that arrived shortly afterward, and though it helped there was<br />
a subtle mélange of chili flavors here too. If you like the simple version that<br />
tastes mainly of mashed avocadoes with citrus you might find this a surprise,<br />
but we liked the overtones of onion, cumin, and spice.<br />
In a way it’s surprising that Mexican-style Caesars have taken so long to<br />
enter the mainstream — the salad was invented at an Italian restaurant in<br />
Tijuana, after all. Mexican versions have caught on recently, some of which<br />
involve spicy dressings or the addition of bell pepper. In my opinion those<br />
may be good salads but that aren’t really a Caesar any more. This version<br />
added shredded tortilla chips and some roasted pumpkin seeds, and was<br />
topped with queso fresco rather than parmesan. I found it slightly out of<br />
balance and a bit too mild; I like the traditional bold trio of garlic, pepper,<br />
and parmesan, and the Mexican cheese just didn’t have the depth of flavor<br />
to compete.<br />
The carnitas taco was a return to form with a bold and citrusy tomatillo<br />
sauce and a sprinkling of mango salsa. It wasn’t actually the style of meat<br />
that I prefer because the pork lacked a fried crust, but the sauces were so<br />
over-the-top good that I didn’t mind.<br />
On my two visits to Corazon I tried four main courses: chipotle-glazed<br />
salmon, chicken mole enchiladas, a carnitas burrito, and an unusual take<br />
on a chicken tamale. The traditional tamale is wrapped in either a cornhusk<br />
or banana leaf and steamed, and the wrapper keeps it moist and imparts<br />
some flavor. This looked more like lasagna, a square cornmeal cake topped<br />
with shredded chicken, “romero” sauce and topped with both jack and<br />
cotija cheese. Tamales aren’t usually topped with cheese or served sauced;<br />
this one seems to be a creation of the owner, Fernando Romero. There were<br />
so many unusual things about this that it took a moment to wrap my head<br />
around it and I briefly wondered if we had received the wrong order. Somehow<br />
it worked: the corn masa was silky and flavorful despite the lack of a<br />
wrapper, the chicken delicious despite being a topping rather than a filling.<br />
The other dishes I tried were conventional by comparison, but boldly flavored.<br />
Salmon isn’t a traditional Mexican fish but the rich and slightly oily<br />
meat stands up to a spicy, delicately sweet sauce very well, and the vegetable<br />
mix it was served with put it over the top. The squashes, corn, and<br />
onions had been sautéed with green herbs and put over seasoned rice, and<br />
there were enough different flavors to make every bite interesting. I was<br />
delighted with the sauce on the chicken enchiladas too — it was a black<br />
mole made with chocolate for a thick texture and richness and spiked with<br />
plenty of herbs and chillies. It’s rare to find a mole of this complexity outside<br />
places that specialize in Oaxacan regional dishes, and if there’s a better<br />
version ion the South Bay I haven’t had it.<br />
The burrito was the only main course we tried that was made in a purely<br />
traditional manner, and it was a solid rendition of a favorite item. The<br />
roasted lemon on the side was a nice touch, and gave a sweet and sour kick<br />
when squeezed over the mix of meat, rice, and beans. As a meal it had some<br />
extra zip thanks to the sides of corn on the cob with crema on a bed of<br />
lightly pickled purple cabbage.<br />
The drinks were slightly less reliable than the food — the “margaritas”<br />
were made with Korean soju rather than tequila, which is common in<br />
places with only a beer and wine license. I tried a cucumber-jalapeno margarita<br />
and without the tequila body and smokiness it was like drinking hot<br />
peppers with lime juice. Our server graciously replaced it with a sangria,<br />
which I liked a lot better. There are many wine-based drinks that complement<br />
Mexican food, and I think it would be better to do these well or experiment<br />
with agave wine drinks than serve an inferior margarita.<br />
To finish we shared freshly made churros with slightly bitter chocolate<br />
sauce and ice cream, which is the perfect end of any Mexican meal as far<br />
as I’m concerned. Meals at Corazon are reasonably priced for the quality<br />
and the elegance of the surroundings, with most entrees priced between<br />
$13 and $20. This Mexican restaurant is worth a drive, as they are certainly<br />
the best on the Hill and some distance beyond.<br />
CORAZON is at 767 Deep Valley Drive in RPV. Open daily at 11 a.m., close 9<br />
p.m. Sun-Thu, 10 p.m. Fri-Sat. Wheelchair access to some areas – mention when<br />
reserving. Beer and wine served, street parking, Sunday brunch, some vegetarian<br />
items. Partial menu at corazonmexicankitchen.com, phone 310-377-0580. PEN<br />
Palos Verdes Estates<br />
DRAMATIC..... RUSTIC CONTEMPORARY DESIGN<br />
Corazon’s Matt Briggs serves chipoltle-glazed salmon, one of the restaurant’s boldly flavored dishes. Photo by Brad Jacobson<br />
by Richard Foss<br />
From the heart of Mexico<br />
Corazon’s rich, bold flavors mark the arrival of<br />
one of the area’s finest Mexican restaurants<br />
It’s a sad fact that most Mexican restaurants<br />
around the South Bay serve food that is very<br />
much on the bland side. When I mention this<br />
fact, people have been known to ask, “Can’t you<br />
just add hot sauce?”<br />
Yes, I can, if heat is all I’m looking for, but a<br />
well-made Mexican sauce is richly savory and<br />
complex, and might include notes of dozens of<br />
spices and herbs. It may also use several kinds of<br />
peppers that may be fresh, dried, pickled, or<br />
smoked. You’re not going to replace that complexity<br />
with the typical hot sauce, which may contain<br />
nothing more than vinegar, salt, water, and red<br />
peppers.<br />
The local Mexican food scene has been gradually<br />
improving, and one place on the Hill has<br />
raised the standard: Corazon in Rolling Hills Estates.<br />
I’ll admit that I went in with low expectations,<br />
figuring that if I was going to find my spice level<br />
in some hole in the wall joint, not a location that<br />
has been many stylish high-end places. Corazon<br />
is still pretty sheik – there is a mix of modern and<br />
traditional Mexican art on the wall now, but the<br />
multilevel interior here is still quite attractive.<br />
At first glance the menu is a straightforward list<br />
of old favorites, but look closely and you’ll see differences.<br />
The cilantro Alfredo sauce on the<br />
shrimp enchiladas straddles Italian and Mexican<br />
ideas, and the calamari is marinated in buttermilk<br />
and served with cilantro aioli. A vegetable mix of<br />
zucchini, squash, onions, and corn is used as an<br />
accompaniment to several dishes; they’re all traditional<br />
Mexican ingredients, but rarely served<br />
this way.<br />
Before testing innovations we started with the<br />
basics: appetizers of guacamole, a Caesar salad,<br />
and a carnitas taco. Even before these arrived we<br />
had a clue: the salsa served with the chips. It’s<br />
thick and has greater depth of flavor than most<br />
served locally, with flavors of oregano, cilantro,<br />
and what I’d guess are both fresh and roasted<br />
chillies. We expected to cool the heat with the<br />
38 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
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<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 39
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40 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
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3330 Lomita Blvd, Torrance<br />
(310) 325-9110 • TorranceMemorial.org D<br />
310-325-6500<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 41
Prompt Professional Discreet<br />
eventcalendar<br />
CALENDAR OF COMMUNITY EVENTS<br />
Compiled by Mary Jane Schoenheider<br />
You can email your event to our address: penpeople@easyreadernews.com<br />
All submissions must be sent by the 10th of each month prior to event taking place.<br />
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www.PalosVerdesAgents.com<br />
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42<br />
CalBRE 01877303 / 00890714<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
On Going<br />
"New Creations" Exhibition<br />
Featuring painters Don Crocker and Parrish Nelson Hirasaki and bronze<br />
sculptor Errol Gordon, at the Artists' Studio Gallery #159, Promenade on the<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong>. Continues until February 21.<br />
Art Exhibition<br />
Palos Verdes Art Center / Beverly G. Alpay Center for Arts Education in partnership<br />
with Jonathan Art Foundation, California Art Club, and American<br />
Legacy Fine Arts to an exhibit will be approximately 28 oils and pastels by<br />
Theodore N. Lukits highlighting his atmospheric plein air landscapes and captivating<br />
Orientalist paintings.<br />
Accompanying the Lukits exhibition are pastels by Peter Adams and Tim Solliday,<br />
two of Lukits' notable students who continue his tradition.For further information<br />
call the Art Center at 310-541-2479.<br />
Saturday, <strong>January</strong> 30<br />
Jazz Pianist Hendelman in Concert<br />
St. Francis Jazz Series presents acclaimed jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman in<br />
an exclusive solo concert at 7 p.m. followed by a reception with light refreshments.<br />
The award-winning jazz pianist, composer and music educator has<br />
performed and recorded with Barbra Streisand, James Moody, Roberta Gambarini,<br />
Paul McCartney, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones and others. Hosted by<br />
KJAZZ Radio personality Bubba Jackson. No admission charge. A free-will<br />
offering will be taken to support the St. Francis Jazz Vespers ministry. St. Francis<br />
Episcopal Church is located at 2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes Estates. For<br />
more information, call 310-375-4617 or visit www.stfrancispalosverdes.org.<br />
Friday, February 5<br />
Joy of Law: LAW 101<br />
Dates and time are Feb. 5, 12, 26, March 4 and 11 at 11 a.m. to 12:30<br />
p.m. at <strong>Peninsula</strong> Center Library Community Room. The LAW 101 course will<br />
have lively discussions of a range of legal issues including Estate Planning<br />
and Federal Taxation with a focus on Trusts, Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney<br />
and Advanced Health Care Directives. It will explore the land of Tort liability<br />
(the reasonable person standard) to distinguish between civil and criminal<br />
laws. Topics will include intentional (e.g. assault, battery, invasion of privacy),<br />
negligent and strict liability (e.g. dog bites) torts. It will also examine the elements<br />
of a legally binding contract (OACLCS), including how contracts must<br />
be written, the three day rule, the validity of "not responsible clauses" and<br />
fine print paragraphs. The discussion will conclude with contract law by exploring<br />
guidelines for avoiding fraud. Readings may be assigned. Join retired<br />
USC Professor of Business Law, Dr. Dagmar Halamka, for this 5-week course.<br />
Sponsored by Palos Verdes Library District and the USC Emeriti Center College,<br />
these classes are free and open to the public. Registration is required.<br />
Contact Mary Cohen at mcohen@pvld.org or 310-921-7519 to register. The<br />
registration deadline is February 12. For further information, please contact<br />
the USC Emeriti Center College at 213-740-8841 or on the web at<br />
http://emeriticollege.usc.edu.<br />
Seaside Beaders Meet<br />
The Seaside Beaders, a special interest group of the Embroiderers' Guild of<br />
America is meeting at 9:30 a.m. They meet at St. Francis Episcopal Church,<br />
2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes Estates. Idele Gilbert will teach the square stitch,<br />
which is good for lettering. You may also bring your own project to work on.<br />
Calendar cont. on page 44<br />
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<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 43<br />
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eventcalendar<br />
Visitors are welcome. For more information, call 310-540-6104 or visit our<br />
web page at www.azureverdeega.com/bead_projects.com.<br />
Saturday, February 6<br />
Music & Memories Gala<br />
The stage is set for Palos Verdes Performing Arts’ 27th annual major fundraiser,<br />
the “Music & Memories” Gala, which will be held at the elegant Harlyne J.<br />
Norris Pavilion. The evening’s festivities will include stations with fine dining,<br />
prepared by Chef Michael Shafer; live and silent auctions; and a special performance<br />
at the Norris Theatre, filled with “Music and Memories” from the<br />
Center’s last 33 seasons. Celebrated jazz pianist/composer and five-time<br />
Grammy nominee David Benoit will be honored and perform, along with<br />
many surprise entertainers. For three decades David Benoit has reigned<br />
supreme as one of the founding fathers of contemporary jazz. His expansive<br />
career has included over 25 charting solo recordings, as well as several prominent<br />
Charlie Brown projects born from his lifelong passion for the music of<br />
original Peanuts composer, Vince Guaraldi. He played almost all of the piano<br />
solos for The Peanuts Movie, which was released in November. Tickets to the<br />
Gala are $200 per person, and VIP tables are also available. For more information<br />
about the Gala, or to purchase a ticket, please call 310-544-0403,<br />
ext. 224.<br />
Assistance League anniversary<br />
The Assistance League of San Pedro-South Bay will be returning to 1936 to<br />
celebrate its 80th anniversary. The evening will spotlight Mae West and many<br />
famous people of that era. The star studded evening will offer fabulous raffle<br />
prizes plus a silent auction. The celebration will be held from 5 - 10 p.m. at<br />
the chapter house at 1441 West 8th Street. Dinner and entertainment is $36<br />
per ticket. Tickets are limited. Contact Michele at 310 832-8355 ext.221 for<br />
further information.<br />
Saturday, February 13<br />
Guided Nature Walk<br />
By Palos Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong> Land Conservancy at Deane Dana Friendship Park,<br />
9 a.m. Enjoy some of the best LA/Long Beach harbor and Catalina views on<br />
the east side of the <strong>Peninsula</strong>. See PV blue butterfly habitat restoration area.<br />
This is a moderate walk. Park in the Nature Center parking lot, 1805 W. 9th<br />
Street, San Pedro. Free and open to the public. For more information, contact<br />
310-541-7613 ext. 201 or visit the website at www.pvplc.org.<br />
Trail Crew Class<br />
Introductory Class at PVPLC Offices, 9 a.m. to noon. Join the Trail Crew for<br />
monthly field practice in trail assessment and repair techniques. This Introductory<br />
class will give an overview to the 50-hour certification training program.<br />
Snacks, refreshments and good company provided! Sign up at<br />
http://pvplc.volunteerhub.com.<br />
Valentine’s Tea & Tunes<br />
Friends of Banning Museum will hold its eleventh annual Valentine’s Tea &<br />
Tunes on 1 to 3 p.m. This popular event will take place at The Banning Mueventcalendar<br />
Marriage Workshop<br />
At St. Peter's by the Sea, “Fanning the Flames of Marital Passion and Intimacy.”<br />
When "Happily Ever After" needs some encouragement. In a world<br />
of distractions and disconnection treat yourself and your marriage to a singleday<br />
presentation focusing on physical, emotional, and spiritual connection.<br />
Guest presenters will be Dr. Scott and Dr. Melissa Symington, both licensed<br />
clinical psychologists. Saturday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., $45, lunch included. 6410<br />
PV Drive South, 310-377-6882. StPetersPres.org.<br />
Tuesday, February 9<br />
Shrove Tuesday Luncheon<br />
Sponsored by the St. John Fisher Women's Council. The luncheon is their annual<br />
fundraiser for the local charities they support. Guest speaker will be Msgr.<br />
Kevin Kostelnik, the First Pastor of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles<br />
and former Associate Pastor at St. John Fisher Church from 1982-1987. Admission<br />
is $25. Reservations can be made in the Parish Office, 5448 Crest<br />
Rd. Rancho Palos Verdes, until Friday February 5. Call Elaine Sweers at 310-<br />
377-7704 for more information.<br />
PV High Project Runway<br />
The Palos Verdes High School Project Runway Fashion Show . Feb 9 and 10<br />
at 7 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation Greater Los Angeles.<br />
In the MPR (multipurpose room). 600 Cloyden Rd, PVE. Tickets are $15 regular<br />
and $30 VIP and tickets will be sold at the door. Instagram: PVHSPROJEC-<br />
TRUNWAY, questions email trevettm@pvpusd.net.<br />
Wednesday, February 10<br />
PV Woman’s Club Meet<br />
The Palos Verdes Woman's Club will meet at noon at Trump National Golf<br />
Club. Deborah Boland will entertain by singing Valentine's Songs. Husbands<br />
and significant others are invited. Cost of the luncheon is $32. For reservations<br />
call Beverly Teresinski at 310-378-1349.<br />
Palos Verdes Buddhism Club Meeting<br />
Once we achieve the true purpose of life, all suffering is repaid. Every tear<br />
shed comes back to us a pearl. What is the nature of the eternal happiness<br />
awaiting us? Listening to Buddhism is of utmost essence in finding that out.<br />
2:30 - 4 p.m. at Palos Verdes Library 701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates,<br />
Conference Room next to the Gift Shop. Also meets February 24. 818-<br />
571-3573.<br />
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44 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Calendar cont. on page 46<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 45
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eventcalendar<br />
seum, 401 East “M” Street, Wilmington. Guests will enjoy celebrating Valentine’s<br />
Day inside the Banning Museum’s historic Stagecoach barn. Presented<br />
in a vintage setting you will enjoy an elegant light luncheon served on exquisite<br />
fine china with a special selection of teas chosen for the occasion. There will<br />
be live entertainment provided by renowned harpist Katrina Saroyan as well<br />
as complimentary tours of the Museum, Transportation Exhibition and Visitor<br />
Center. A special exhibit featuring popular vintage fashions and accessories<br />
from 1864 to the 1920s has been assembled especially for this event. Don’t<br />
forget to don your hats, gloves and finery.Tickets sell out quickly for Valentine’s<br />
Tea and Tunes and space is limited. The cost is $65 for Friends of Banning<br />
Museum members and $75 for non-members. Please call Friends of Banning<br />
Museum at 310-548-2005 for reservations or for further information. Friends<br />
of Banning Museum is a nonprofit corporation founded to develop the historic<br />
Banning Museum. Our mission is to “Preserve History, Promote Education,<br />
and Inspire Entrepreneurial Spirit.” The Banning Museum is a facility of the<br />
City of Los Angeles, Department of Recreation and Parks and is operated in<br />
cooperation with Friends of Banning Museum.<br />
Sunday, February 14<br />
South Coast Cactus & Succulent Society<br />
Botanical Names Decoded by Marquita Ellias. Join Marquita on a delightful<br />
journey of discovery to learn why we use those Latin names, what they mean,<br />
and how really simple it is. Lecture is at 1:30 p.m., South Coast Botanic Garden,<br />
26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos<br />
Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong>. For more information visit southcoastcss.org.<br />
Second Sundays at Two Concert<br />
Stars of Tomorrow from USC Thornton School of Music featuring Alin Melik-<br />
Adamyan, piano; Philip Marten, violin; Coleman Itzkoff, cello. 2 p.m. Rolling<br />
Hills United Methodist Church, 26438 Crenshaw Blvd. Rolling Hills Estates<br />
(NE corner of Crenshaw & PV Drive<br />
North). Free admission. Donations<br />
appreciated. 100% goes to the<br />
artists. For information 310-316-<br />
5574.<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> Symphony<br />
Concert<br />
Maestro Gary Berkson and the<br />
<strong>Peninsula</strong> Symphony Association are<br />
excited to present their second concert<br />
of the 2015-16 season with an<br />
array of eclectic music. The evening<br />
will open with Japanese composer<br />
Yasushi Akutagawa’s Music for Symphony<br />
Orchestra, and will be followed<br />
by the ever-popular and lush<br />
Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar<br />
and orchestra by Spanish composer<br />
Joaquin Rodrigo. For this performance,<br />
we are thrilled and privileged<br />
to welcome Grammy Award-winning<br />
guitarist, Scott Tennant. After intermission,<br />
the Symphony No. 2 in<br />
D Major by Johannes Brahms. Doors<br />
open at 6 p.m.; pre-concert lecture<br />
by Maestro Berkson (for members<br />
only) at 6:15 p.m., and 7 p.m. for<br />
the concert. Redondo Union High<br />
School Auditorium, 631 Vincent<br />
Street in Redondo Beach (PCH at Diamond).<br />
Concert and parking are<br />
free. For further information, call the<br />
Symphony Office at 310-544-0320,<br />
e-mail music.pensym@verizon.net, or visit their website at Pensym.org.<br />
Wednesday, Feb.17<br />
PVP 4-H CLUB<br />
Community Meeting 6:45 to 8 p.m. at City of Rolling Hills Estates City Hall,<br />
4045 Palos Verdes Drive North, RHE. For more information about the 4-H Club;<br />
please visit our local website at www.pvp4hclub.org or call Dee Keese at 310-<br />
377-9773 or Peter Michel at 310-493-5559. You can also send an email to<br />
pvp4hclub@gmail.com or swimdude64@earthlink.net.<br />
Thursday, February 18<br />
Beach Cities Republicans Meeting<br />
This month's speaker will be candidates for Hermosa Beach City Council. 6<br />
p.m. Dinner (No Host-Dinner is required by all attendees), 7 p.m. Speaker. Sizzler<br />
Torrance, 2880 Sepulveda Blvd., Torrance (Between Crenshaw &<br />
Hawthorne blvds.) For more information please call 310-793-8647 or email<br />
at info@lagopclubs.com. Visit the Beach Cities Republicans Club Website at<br />
www.LAGOPCLUBS.com or www.BeachCitiesRepublicans.com for the Speaker<br />
information.<br />
South Coast Rose Society<br />
February meeting at South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Boulevard,<br />
Palos Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong>, at 7 p.m. when the Society will give a PowerPoint<br />
presentation on roses with Valentine themed names, i.e. Lasting Love, Careless<br />
Love, Truly Yours, etc. The public is welcome so please join us. For further information,<br />
please see us on Facebook.<br />
eventcalendar<br />
Friday, February 19<br />
Etienne Gara and his Sunset Club Trio<br />
RHUMC Main Concert Series is proud to announce a concert by internationally-heralded<br />
French-born violinist Etienne Gara, and his new group Sunset<br />
Club Trio, consisting of German virtuoso Ines Thome on electric guitar, and<br />
prize-winning Texan Michael Gratovich on flamenco guitar, These world-class<br />
musicians have joined together to produce a fresh approach to the classical violin<br />
and piano repertoire. They have carefully chosen a program where these<br />
instruments can shine--and the interesting combination enables them to revisit<br />
sound textures of the classical masterpieces, as well as newly commissioned<br />
ones to bring a whole new aspect and energy to the stage! The concert will be<br />
at 7:30 p.m. at the Rolling Hills United Methodist Church. Earlier in the day,<br />
Etienne Gara will also be conducting a Master Class of student violinists at the<br />
church from 3:30-5:30 p.m. The public is invited. Call 310-377-6771 for further<br />
information. This concert is free, donations are appreciated and all proceeds<br />
go to the artists.<br />
Pop Musical, 13<br />
The Palos Verdes Performing Arts Conservatory presents the musical comedy,<br />
“13” through February 28 at the Norris Theatre. With a blast of high voltage<br />
energy, the musical, which opened on Broadway in 2008, navigates the ups<br />
and downs of early adolescence, and features an explosive pop-rock score by<br />
famed composer Jason Robert Brown, with a five-piece on-stage band. The plot<br />
revolves around Evan Goldman, who has been uprooted from New York to a<br />
small town in Indiana, where he struggles to fit in, but soon discovers that cool<br />
is where you find it, and sometimes where you least expect it. Show times for<br />
Calendar cont. on page 48<br />
46 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 47
eventcalendar<br />
“13” are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., plus a<br />
2 p.m. matinee on Saturday February 27. Ticket prices are $15 for youth<br />
ages 17 and under and $22-$28 for adults. For more information or to purchase<br />
tickets call the box office at 310-544-0403 or go to www.palosverdesperformingarts.com.<br />
The Norris Theatre is located at 27570 Norris Center<br />
Drive in Rolling Hills Estates.<br />
Your New Year resolutions list just<br />
got bigger.<br />
The holidays are over and it’s time for a fresh start. But<br />
don’t forget your trusty clock, it deserves the same TLC<br />
you are about to partake in.<br />
A properly maintained clock not only extends its life indefinitely,<br />
it also insures its accuracy. Your clock has a complex<br />
mechanism of inter-working parts. Yet unfortunately this precious<br />
item does not warn you prior to any major malfunction,<br />
therefore it becomes imperative to maintain and service your<br />
clock regularly. Oil gets old and dry forcing the train of gears<br />
to work twice as hard to accomplish their goal. This results in<br />
damage that drastically shortens the life of a fine timepiece.<br />
Your clock reminds you of it’s presence every time you<br />
wind it, and if its accuracy is not what it used to be, or its<br />
chimes are not as healthy, or maybe it just stops. That means<br />
it’s talking to you, telling you that its endless life is in jeopardy.<br />
Michel Medawar has been extending the lives of timepieces<br />
for over fifty years as his father did fifty years before. He is<br />
the inventor of the first talking clock in the world. He is a<br />
graduate from Patek Philippe in Geneva, Switzerland, The<br />
Theod Wagner clock Co. in Wiesbaden, Germany, and the<br />
Howard Miller Clock Co. in Zeeland, Michigan. Call him so<br />
that he may come to your home the same day and offer you a<br />
free estimate for servicing your clock. Or bring your wall or<br />
mantel clock to our store to see our showroom and receive the<br />
same complimentary diagnosis.<br />
We are located at 810C Silver Spur Rd., in Rolling Hills Estates, Ca.<br />
90274. Or call us at (310) 544-0052.<br />
Open 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Tuesday - Saturday<br />
810C Silver Spur Road • Rolling Hills Estates • CA 90274<br />
Call 310.544.0052<br />
Saturday, February 20<br />
Your Story is the <strong>Peninsula</strong>’s Story<br />
Do you live, work or go to school on the <strong>Peninsula</strong>? The history of the <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
is YOUR STORY! Bring a favorite photo or two of people, activities or events<br />
that represent your connection to the <strong>Peninsula</strong>. Photos can be old, new, formal<br />
or snapshots (originals preferred). We scan your photos, you keep them, and<br />
together we preserve our shared history! This event is free and open to the<br />
public. 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., <strong>Peninsula</strong> Center Library Community Room,<br />
701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates. For more information call or email<br />
Monique Sugimoto at 310-377-9584 ext 213 or msugimoto@pvld.org.<br />
Star Viewing Party<br />
Enjoy a short lecture with an amateur astronomer at <strong>Peninsula</strong> Center Library<br />
roof and observe through a state-of-the-art telescope, the Milky Way, the moon<br />
and perhaps even a planet or two! No registration required. Admission is free<br />
and open to the public. For more Information call 310-377-9584 X601 or<br />
visit their website at www.pvld.org. All events subject to rain or heavy overcast<br />
conditions.<br />
Sunday, February 21<br />
Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival<br />
Palos Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong> Land Conservancy's Second Annual Wild & Scenic<br />
Film Festival On Tour, 4 p.m. Redondo Beach Union High School, 631 Vincent<br />
Park, Redondo Beach. Join us for a special selection of environmental and adventure<br />
films that illustrate the earth’s beauty, challenges facing our planet and<br />
what work communities are doing to protect the environment. Advance Tickets<br />
$10 or $15 at the door. Tickets and more information: www.pvplc.org or 310-<br />
541-7613.<br />
Monday, February 22<br />
Art Opening<br />
"Life's Treasures", featuring mosaic artist Robin Bott, watercolorist Margaret<br />
Mohr, and painter Jody Wiggins will open at the Promenade Gallery. The<br />
show will continue until April 3.There will be an opening reception for the<br />
artists on Sunday, February 28 from 2 to 6 p.m. Jody Wiggins will do a painting<br />
demonstration on Saturday, March 5 at 3 p.m.Robin Bott will show how<br />
she does mosaics on Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m. Margaret Mohr will demonstrate<br />
her watercolor techniques on Saturday, March 12 at 3 p.m.<br />
The Artists Studio Gallery at the Promenade is located at #159, Promenade<br />
on the <strong>Peninsula</strong>, 550 Deep Valley Drive, Rolling Hills Estates, 90274. Gallery<br />
hours are from 11 to 8 Mondays thru Saturdays and 12 to 6 on Sundays. For<br />
further information please call 310 265-2592 or log onto their website at<br />
www.artists-studio-pvac.com.<br />
Wednesday, February 24<br />
Mac Users Group Meeting<br />
Meets at Lomita VFW Hall, 1865 Lomita Blvd. 6:30 p.m. Beginners Q & A,<br />
8 p.m. Presentation by Mike Cowan of Mcgyver Tech. Admission is free. All<br />
Mac/iPad/iPhone/Apple Watch users and potential users are welcome. 310-<br />
644-3315; email: info@sbamug.com.<br />
Calendar cont. on page 50<br />
48 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
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eventcalendar<br />
Thursday February 25<br />
Embroiderers' Guild Meets<br />
The Azure Verde Chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild of America will be meeting<br />
at 9:30 a.m. at St. Francis Episcopal Church, 2200 Via Rosa, Palos Verdes<br />
Estates. The February program will be Idele Gilbert teaching an Assisi Cupid<br />
Heart which she designed. Or you may bring your own project to work on.<br />
Visitors are welcome. For more information, please call 310- 540-6104 or<br />
visit our web page at www.azureverdeega.com.<br />
Save up to $100<br />
on Radiesse Injections*<br />
Saturday, February 27<br />
Medicare 101<br />
Do you have questions about Part A, B, C, D, enrollment windows, cost sharing<br />
or “Extra Help”, the difference between Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage<br />
Plans and Supplement Plans? Join a presentation, Understanding Your<br />
Medicare Plan Options, with Carol Clement (CA License 0H80524) and have<br />
all of your questions answered. Sponsored by Palos Verdes Library District,<br />
this informational seminar is free and open to the public. This event is for educational<br />
purposes only. Medicare has neither reviewed, nor endorses, this<br />
information. 10 a.m. at <strong>Peninsula</strong> Center Library Community Room.Questions?<br />
Please contact Mary Cohen at mcohen@pvld.org or 310-921-7519.<br />
Land Conservancy Workshop<br />
Palos Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong> Land Conservancy 4th Saturday Workshop: Drought,<br />
El Nino and Water Reliability, 11a.m. Workshop on conservation, recycling<br />
and desalination with Ron Wildermuth, West Basin Metro Water District.<br />
White Point Nature Education Center, 1600 W Paseo Del Mar in San Pedro.<br />
RSVP recommended to info@pvplc.org or 310-541-7613.<br />
Daughters of American Revolution<br />
El Redondo Chapter is having its 51st Colonial Luncheon at Palos Verdes Golf<br />
Club - 3301 Via Campesina, Palos Verdes Estates. Social hour and Silent Auction<br />
Bidding begin at 11 a.m. and Lunch begins at noon. This is a fun way to<br />
renew and initiate friendships with sister members. The entertainment is Karin<br />
Frasier. She has a beautiful voice and performs as a soloist or onstage in musical<br />
theater and with orchestras. The reservation deadline is February 16.<br />
For more information and/or reservations contact Pat Husain, 2nd Vice Regent<br />
and Luncheon Chairperson, (pkhusain@aol.com) or Mary Haag, Reservations<br />
Chairperson, (maryhaag29@gmail.com). PEN<br />
*Save $50 on 1. 5mL syringe of Radiesse.<br />
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Insurance Lic#: OF71296<br />
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50 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
around&about<br />
around&about<br />
National Charity League<br />
n The Philanthropy Committee of the National Charity League’s <strong>Peninsula</strong> Chapter<br />
met to begin the process of researching philanthropies for the Chapter's annual<br />
grant awards . The committee consists of: Sharon Oda, Christine Pearson, Immediate<br />
Past President-Julie Long, Community Philanthropy Chair-Mary Schaefer, Chapter<br />
President-MaryBeth Kane, Chair-Valerie Real, Jennifer Townsend, Lynn Whitlock,<br />
Cathy Stain, Carol McFarland and President Elect-Janet Westergaard. Members<br />
Marymount California University offers new degree<br />
n Marymount California University co-presidents Ariane Schauer, PhD, and James<br />
R. Reeves announce the offering of a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice beginning<br />
in the fall semester of <strong>2016</strong>. This is the fifth bachelor’s degree offered by the<br />
university, which also offers bachelor’s degrees in business, liberal arts, media<br />
studies and psychology.For more information about the university visit www.MarymountCalifornia.edu.<br />
will research 21 philanthropies who have applied for grants. Once research is<br />
complete, the committee will meet in February to make recommendations to the<br />
NCL <strong>Peninsula</strong> Board of Directors. Money for grants comes from proceeds from<br />
the NCL Ticktocker Thrift Shop in San Pedro. In the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the<br />
NCL <strong>Peninsula</strong> Chapter awarded over $167,000 in scholarships and philanthropic<br />
grants to members of our South Bay Community.<br />
LA BioMed Researcher honored for<br />
distinguished teaching<br />
n John Michael Criley, MD, a Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA Bio-<br />
Med) researcher, will receive the <strong>2016</strong> Distinguished Teacher Award from the<br />
American College of Cardiology on April 4 at the organization’s 65th Annual Scientific<br />
Session in Chicago, IL.In notifying Dr. Criley of the award, the American<br />
College of Cardiology said he was being recognized for his “innovative, outstanding<br />
teaching characteristics and compassionate qualities. Because of these<br />
attributes, you have made major contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine.”“Congratulations<br />
to Dr. Criley for this recognition of the training and education<br />
he’s provided to more than 200 cardiologists who are improving the lives of<br />
patients around the country,” said David I. Meyer, PhD, LA BioMed president and<br />
CEO. “Dr. Criley is an LA BioMed legend, a leader in the field of cardiology for<br />
more than 50 years and an example of the institute’s physician-researchers who<br />
translate science and transform lives.” In addition to the more than 200 cardiologists<br />
he has helped train, Dr. Criley has taught cardiology to over 6,000 medical<br />
students, residents and nurses throughout his career. He has developed interactive<br />
multimedia programs in three languages that are<br />
used for medical and nursing education programs<br />
around the world.<br />
Palos Verdes Village<br />
appoints new Director<br />
n The Board of Directors of Palos Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
Village has appointed Colleen Cotter as Executive<br />
Director.Ms. Cotter has lived in Rancho<br />
Palos Verdes for 21 years, and has served in<br />
many volunteer positions on the <strong>Peninsula</strong>. She<br />
has managed grants for non-profits, assisted with<br />
many events, and worked with the PVP Chamber<br />
of Commerce.She will manage the day to<br />
day operations of the <strong>Peninsula</strong> Village office<br />
Colleen Cotter, Executive<br />
Director for<br />
Palos Verdes <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
Village<br />
and coordinate volunteers and services to ensure that assistance and programs<br />
are readily available to allow seniors to remain healthy, active and in their homes.<br />
The PVP Village office is sharing space with <strong>Peninsula</strong> Seniors.For more information<br />
about The PVP Village visit www.<strong>Peninsula</strong>village.net<br />
National Charity League, <strong>Peninsula</strong> Chapter<br />
to participate in Operation Homefront<br />
n On Sunday, November 8th, 200 the <strong>Peninsula</strong> Chapter of National Charity<br />
League, Inc. gathered moms and Ticktockers at Palos Verdes Intermediate School<br />
to help brighten the holidays for military families with Operation Homefront. Operation<br />
Homefront is an organization that provides assistance to military families.<br />
They offer relief during military family crisis and support wounded warriors when<br />
they return home. This was the third year NCL <strong>Peninsula</strong> participated in this event.<br />
Lesley Sklow, chair of the event, requested from the membership to donate new<br />
toys and clothing for children ranging in ages from infants to teens. These gifts<br />
were wrapped at an exuberant wrapping party held in the multipurpose room at<br />
PVIS. Over 100 holiday cards and letters were also written to send to our soldiers<br />
serving overseas. The Army ROTC Color Guard from the University of Southern<br />
California opened the event along with Class of 2020 Ticktocker, Gracey Thomas,<br />
sang the National Anthem. On December 9th, moms and Ticktockers delivered<br />
the wrapped gifts to the Naval Armory in Seal Beach for a Gift Giving Party where<br />
the members had the pleasure of meeting the families who were receiving the<br />
gifts. The Ticktockers helped children decorate cookies and Class of 2018 mom<br />
and professional photographer, Katrin Cooper, took family photos for their holiday<br />
cards. Santa also made an appearance.<br />
Around & About cont. on page 54<br />
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52 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 53
St. Francis Episcopal announces organist<br />
appointment<br />
St. Francis Episcopal<br />
Church located at 2200<br />
Via Rosa in Palos Verdes<br />
Estates is proud to announce<br />
the appointment of<br />
Dr. Hyunju Hwang as organist<br />
effective <strong>January</strong> 1,<br />
<strong>2016</strong>. Dr. Hwang received<br />
her Doctorate of<br />
Musical Arts Degree from<br />
USC with an emphasis in<br />
Organ Performance and<br />
Sacred Music. She has<br />
additional degrees from<br />
Westminster Choir College,<br />
Cleveland Institute for<br />
Music, the International<br />
Organ Academy in Harrlem,<br />
the Netherlands, and<br />
Yonsie University in Seoul,<br />
Korea. Dr. Hwang also accompanies<br />
music performance<br />
classes at Redlands<br />
around&about<br />
Organist Dr. Hyunju Hwang<br />
University and the Idyllwild<br />
Arts Summer Choir Festival.<br />
For more information, contact<br />
Jeannie Cobb at St. Francis Church at 310- 375-4617, Ext. 228 or email:<br />
jeannie.cobb@stfrancispalosverdes. PEN<br />
Risty cont. from page 29<br />
memoir.<br />
Her maternal grandfather Fred McCoy was a gold miner in Alaska during<br />
the Klondike era. He and a partner “actually hit pay dirt” with a successful<br />
claim that they later sold to a mining syndicate.<br />
That “made his fortune, and ensured that my mother grew up in a privileged<br />
environment,” Jan recalled.<br />
McCoy and Jan’s two uncles traveled frequently to Seattle, and Jan grew<br />
up hearing stories about the adventurers’ raft capsizing in a river, and the<br />
group being charged by a grizzly bear.<br />
“The ring my sister wears today was my grandmother’s wedding ring,<br />
which my grandfather won in a poker game while on a steam ship en route<br />
to Alaska,” Jan recalled.<br />
“Apparently, the family fortunes ebbed and flowed during the depression,<br />
and in ensuing years my grandfather and his sons built homes in Seattle<br />
and owned a grocery store,” she wrote. “But most of the mining fortune<br />
was dissipated long before I was born.”<br />
Her father, Bill Golden, was a journalist. Chet Huntley was his best man<br />
when he married Jan’s mother, Marjorie “Midge” McCoy.<br />
Her father became press secretary for U.S. Sen. Warren Magnuson, and<br />
the family moved to Washington DC and later returned to Seattle.<br />
Hard times, hard work<br />
When Jan was 10, her father died suddenly and her 16-year-old brother<br />
was killed in an accident. Her mother took a job in Anchorage, Alaska,<br />
“but had trouble coping with her losses,” Jan recalled. “As a 12-year-old I<br />
was pretty much on my own in a very rough environment during the year<br />
we spent in Alaska.”<br />
Through the rough times, the family managed to avoid homelessness,<br />
and Jan found solace in reading voraciously.<br />
Risty cont. on page 56<br />
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54 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
We reimburse UBER & LYFT up to $10<br />
HAPPY HOUR TUES-FRI 4-7PM<br />
Join Us Valentine’s<br />
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Risty cont. from page 54<br />
“The library was my sanctuary,” she said.<br />
“Alaska was still a territory – not even a state – at the time we were there,<br />
and it was not unusual to see an occasional moose stroll through the main<br />
part of town,” she said.<br />
The family moved to the Los Angeles area, and at 17 Jan began supporting<br />
herself with administrative and accounting work, while studying a full<br />
academic load at Santa Monica College at night.<br />
“Marriage interrupted my education and I had two sons, Evan, now my<br />
partner in our real estate practice, and Brad, who works in the insurance<br />
industry in San Diego,” she said.<br />
Later, as a single mom, she moved to Palos Verdes and began her real<br />
estate career.<br />
“I found having two mouths to feed to be highly motivating,” she recalled.<br />
“My sales career evolved slowly but steadily and the cliché ‘the harder<br />
you work, the luckier you get’ proved true for me,” Jan wrote.<br />
At different times, both her sons worked for Wayne at The Admiral Risty.<br />
“I remember once calling Wayne to complain about the number of hours<br />
my then-high-school-aged son was working and Wayne informed me, politely<br />
but firmly, that while he was sympathetic to my concerns – I quote<br />
– ‘Ma’am, I have a business to run,’” she recalled.<br />
“Basically, he shut me down in no uncertain terms. The upside though<br />
was that Wayne proved to be an outstanding mentor, not just for my sons<br />
but for generations of young people on the <strong>Peninsula</strong>.”<br />
“Even I was influenced by Wayne – and although I always worked hard<br />
prior to meeting and later marrying him – I found myself redoubling my<br />
efforts becoming a real worker bee just by being in his presence. I later established<br />
a second business as a travel agent while still working successfully<br />
at real estate full time.”<br />
After all their work, and their successes, the Judahs are in a great position<br />
to enjoy the fruits of their labors – and probably put in some more hard<br />
work. PEN<br />
56 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
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P E N I N S U L A P E O P L E | S P O R T S<br />
Chasing purple blobs<br />
by Eddie Solt<br />
“Surfing big waves isn’t only about the actual act of catching big waves. It’s about making<br />
the decisions to drop everything and be there at the right time.” - Scotty Bredesen<br />
Former <strong>Peninsula</strong> High longboarder Scotty Bredesen at Puerto Escondido, Mexico, winter 2015. Photo by Mariana Marenalma<br />
The buoys were banging. It was the first big<br />
swell of the season. Ocean Beach, just<br />
south of San Francisco cradles swells. With<br />
no natural barriers the break welcomes any<br />
ocean action, from ripples to mountains.<br />
Surfline.com called December 16, 2013 “Macking<br />
Monday.”<br />
“That day was my first time surfing giant<br />
Ocean Beach. It’s a heavy paddle out, like six to<br />
eight football fields out,” Scotty Bredesen said.<br />
“There are different zones you have to paddle<br />
through to get to the outside. I just squeaked by<br />
and scored an epic session.”<br />
Now when the buoys are banging, Bredesen<br />
can often be found making a cannonball run up<br />
the 5 with his Joe Bark guns piled in his vintage<br />
Chevy Suburban, sans surf stickers for discreteness.<br />
“Surfing big waves isn’t only about the actual<br />
act of catching big waves. It’s about making the<br />
decisions to drop everything and be there at the<br />
right time,” he said.<br />
The Palos Verdes native comes from a South<br />
Bay surfing family. His dad Chris was a Los Angeles<br />
County Lifeguard and in the ‘60s a member<br />
of the Greg Noll Surf Team. Today he is a member<br />
the Haggerty’s Surf Club and the Hap Jacobs<br />
Surf Team. Scotty’s older brother, Chris Jr., was<br />
seen all through the pages of the now defunct<br />
Longboard Magazine during the zine’s heyday, 15<br />
years ago, performing his progressive longboarding<br />
style. Chris Jr. is also a lifeguard and member<br />
of the Jacob’s Surf team.<br />
Every summer growing up the Bredesens vacationed<br />
on Maui with the Meistrell family, owners<br />
of Body Glove and Dive N’ Surf.<br />
“I learned to surf at Ka’anapali Point when I<br />
was five, after doing the whole boogie board<br />
shorebreak thing,” Bredesen said.<br />
In high school, Bredesen was on the <strong>Peninsula</strong><br />
High Surf Team, which dominated the South Bay<br />
until 2005 when the hill’s top surfers migrated to<br />
the newly opened Palos Verdes High. Bredesen<br />
was an anchor for the longboard team for four<br />
years and in his senior year won the All Star title.<br />
“Scotty was a pudgy, little short kid,” recalled<br />
longboarder Shawn O’Brien, who was a judge<br />
during Bredesen’s high school years. “After he<br />
won the all star meet, the judges threw him upside<br />
down in a trashcan.”<br />
But he traces his big wave obsession back to<br />
when he was nine years old and became a Los<br />
Angeles County Junior Lifeguard. “JG’s laid the<br />
foundation for my life,” Bredesen said. “It’s the<br />
reason I became a LA County Lifeguard.”<br />
Bredesen, now 29, has been a recurrent lifeguard<br />
for 10 years.<br />
“Becoming a lifeguard shaped me into being a<br />
complete waterman,” he said. “I grew up looking<br />
up to my dad and Uncle Wally Millican. I see myself<br />
emulating Lifeguard Captain Tom Seth when<br />
I’m older, having a loving family and being in<br />
shape.”<br />
Four years ago Bredesen was visiting a friend<br />
up in Cen-Cal. The surf report forecasted an epic<br />
swell, perfect for lighting up the region’s secret<br />
reefs. Bredesen borrowed Joe Bark’s back-up gun<br />
and paddled out in hammering, triple overhead<br />
surf.<br />
“I got caught inside and was thrown into full<br />
survival mode,” he said. “I never had been so<br />
sketched out in my life. That’s when I was<br />
hooked, especially after talking about the waves<br />
afterwards, over a few beers.<br />
The quest for big waves became the focus Bredesen’s<br />
life: lifeguarding in the summer and<br />
“chasing the dream” of the heavies in winter.<br />
“I remember when Scotty came up to me very<br />
serious, and said ‘Jamie, I want to do this,’” Jamie<br />
Meistrell recalled. “I’ve known him since we<br />
we’re in diapers. It was from there I saw him<br />
transform.”<br />
Another person Bredesen talked to was fellow<br />
Palos Verdes surfer Joe Bark. Bredesen grew up<br />
with a family quiver of Bark surfboards and paddleboards.<br />
“Your surfboard is the last thing you want to<br />
worry about in big surf,” Bredesen said. “Joe’s<br />
one of the best glassers and shapers in the world.<br />
I always see his boards at the top big wave<br />
breaks.”<br />
“He’s always believed in me and had my back,”<br />
Bredesen added. “He’s showed me a new love for<br />
the ocean.”<br />
With Bark and other sponsors, including Body<br />
Glove, Zico coconut water, and Freestyle watches<br />
58 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
(he was in the Freestyle Watch ad in the “big”<br />
June 2014 issue of Surfer Magazine), he feels he<br />
has to put himself out there.<br />
“The easy part is catching waves. Performing<br />
comes natural,” he said. “The anxiety is going<br />
somewhere expected but unexpected at the sametime<br />
and putting yourself in the spot to make that<br />
decision to paddle out.”<br />
Over the last four years, Bredesen has been<br />
chasing bomboras up and down the California<br />
coast, as well as in Mexico.<br />
Bredesen took his worst thrashing two winters<br />
ago at Todos Santos, 13 miles off Ensenada. The<br />
big, right hand point break was maxing out at 30-<br />
plus feet.<br />
“I took a set wave on the head and was swallowed<br />
into deep water and feeling the pressure<br />
on my ears,” Bredesen said. “Then I was dragged<br />
inside, into the rocks that are the size of Volkswagens,<br />
while being held under almost the entire<br />
way. I was gasping for air in the foam.”<br />
When the rescue ski picked him up he had a<br />
bloody nose and a snapped gun.<br />
While recovering on the boat, he questioned<br />
what he was doing there.<br />
The answer, he decided was “Chasing big<br />
waves, big dreams, experiencing the adventure.<br />
It makes you grow, not just as a surfer, but as a<br />
person.”<br />
He waxed up his full-on, 10-foot-6 Bark rhino<br />
chaser, a board he had yet to even paddle and<br />
jumped off the boat. Then he made the same mistake<br />
that had gotten him in trouble earlier in the<br />
day. He went for a small wave, got caught inside<br />
and took the next set on the head.<br />
But this time, he was able to get back out to the<br />
lineup.<br />
“Here I was with a few of my idols and for a<br />
moment I reflected, ‘Wow.’ Then I looked up and<br />
saw a set on the horizon. I was in the right spot.”<br />
“Dropping in I could hear the hoots and hollers<br />
from my fellow surfers and the boat crews,” he<br />
said. “I felt redeemed. I didn’t give up and it paid<br />
off.”<br />
Puerto Escondido is another barreling Mexican<br />
break that Bredesen has established himself, at a<br />
price.<br />
“The wave pops up and peaks out of nowhere<br />
and you can’t track it. The wave has to choose<br />
you.” he said. “You have to be at the right spot at<br />
the right time and hope the wave you’re pulling<br />
into doesn’t gobble you up.”<br />
Last May, on his fifth trip to Puerto, Bredesen<br />
found himself in a lineup of international surf<br />
stars.<br />
“Sharing a line-up with surfers whom I respect<br />
is mind blowing,” he said. “The local Puerto community<br />
is especially deserving of respect. Oscar<br />
Moncada and Coco Nogales are two of the local<br />
surfers I look up to.”<br />
After charging through the shorebreak, Bredesen<br />
mistimed his paddle out and was thrashed<br />
by a double overhead, pitching lip.<br />
“It felt like a cement truck was pouring down<br />
on me while I was pinned to the ocean floor,” he<br />
said.<br />
On his second attempt to paddle out, he barely<br />
pushed through to the outside.<br />
“Once I got my bearings straight, a set wave<br />
came to me and I found my rhythm,” he said.<br />
“You have to catch that one right wave to get the<br />
rhythm going.”<br />
A freak left peaked 20 yards south and coming<br />
straight at him.<br />
“My eye lit up. I dropped into a Hail Mary,” he<br />
said.<br />
He was swallowed up by the 20 foot, closing<br />
tube, slide slipping at one point and grabbing a<br />
rail while going for broke.<br />
“When I was spit out, I realized I had just<br />
caught the barrel of my life,” he said.<br />
Bredesen’s current goal is to get a bomb at<br />
Mavericks, California’s most fabled big wave<br />
spot. Qualifying for the World Surf League Big<br />
Wave Tour is another fantasy that plays in his<br />
head, but it’s not what motivates him.<br />
“There are 1,000s of surfers better than me. I’m<br />
not even in the ballpark with some of the great<br />
South Bay, big wave surfers,” he said. “Chasing<br />
purple blobs is about growing. Besides the obvious<br />
growth as a surfer – trying to pull in deeper<br />
and catch bigger waves – you grow as a person.<br />
When you come back from a trip, you’re not the<br />
same person you were when you left.” PEN<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 59
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Johnson cont. from page 33<br />
Not only that, she’ll be going to Hawaii with them after the Anchorage<br />
performances so they can work on their real tans. Since “Mamma Mia!”<br />
takes place in the Mediterranean everyone is supposed to look like they’ve<br />
soaked in a few rays, intentionally or otherwise.<br />
Kyra Belle is thankful that her first experience of being out on the road,<br />
and doing show after show after show, is with a musical where her character<br />
doesn’t need to scream or cry hysterically several times a week. That<br />
could be quite draining.<br />
Indeed, she says, “Pretty much every time you walk off stage you’re smiling<br />
because that’s what your character’s just been doing, and especially<br />
after the finale (when) we hit three of the most (popular) ABBA songs and<br />
the crowd, every single night, is up on their feet and dancing. You see people<br />
singing the lyrics back to you and waving their arms in the air, and you<br />
just walk off so happy and proud of the show.”<br />
The “Mamma Mia!” national tour ends in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 12,<br />
after which Kyra will have time to catch her breath. And after that? “I really<br />
don’t know,” she replies, and then adds with a playful laugh: “I just<br />
know in general my river is streaming towards performing.” In the meantime,<br />
let’s not forget, she’ll be shining like the star she is from Jan. 26-31<br />
at the Pantages Theatre. PEN<br />
Custom Concrete & Masonry<br />
CONTRACTOR REFERRAL • Fax 562-494-2069<br />
CONCRETE - For the Drought-Conscious<br />
• Pools, Spas, Fountains<br />
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• Firepits and Fireplaces<br />
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• Stone and Tile Patios<br />
] u<br />
t<br />
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LIABILITY INSURED • WORKERS COMPENSATION<br />
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60 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 61
S P O T L I G H T O N T H E H I L L<br />
Photos by Adrienne Slaughter<br />
PTN HALLOWEEN BALL<br />
20th Anniversary at The Depot<br />
T<br />
he 20th Annual Halloween Ball benefiting the Children<br />
of Pediatric Therapy Network was held Oct. 11th by<br />
The Depot restaurant owner and chef Michael Shafer.<br />
The Torrance center was founded in 1996 by therapists and<br />
parents to provide research and education for special needs<br />
children. For more information visit PediatricTherapyNetwork.org<br />
1. Annual attendees<br />
Linda James, Malissa<br />
Tober, Michael and<br />
Melinda Limas.<br />
2. PTN’s CEO Terri<br />
Nishimura, Deanne Hanson,<br />
Fran Day, PTN’s<br />
Heather McGuire and Trisha<br />
Handel Lopez.<br />
3. South Bay locals and<br />
huge Halloween Ball<br />
supporters Rick Learned<br />
and Siva Zhang.<br />
4. Dressed as Gum Ball<br />
Machines are Sue Kent<br />
and Kathy Traeger of<br />
Manhattan Beach.<br />
5. Jellyfish Ernae Mothershed<br />
and Yae-lan Chiang.<br />
6. Sugar Mama and<br />
Sugar Daddy Cindy and<br />
David Berry with<br />
Scooby-Doo’s “Daphne”<br />
Charlotte Svolos of Torrance.<br />
7. Lori Tanioka, Takuma<br />
Kishimoto of Torrance<br />
with Mavis Bruder of<br />
Henderson, Nevada.<br />
8. Susan and David<br />
Weber with Pediatric<br />
Therapy Network’s client<br />
Brandon Tanioka.<br />
9. Steve Napolitano,<br />
Senior Deputy to Fourth<br />
District Supervisor Don<br />
Knabe, joins PTN’s Tanesha<br />
Sandoz, Judith Diamond<br />
and Alysia<br />
Medina.<br />
10. Leilani Kimmel-<br />
Dagostino, Officer Darryl<br />
Tatum, Adrienne and<br />
Brett Gross with The<br />
Depot’s owner/Chef<br />
Michael Shafer.<br />
1 2<br />
3 4<br />
5 6<br />
7<br />
8<br />
9 10<br />
62 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
Classifieds Your Local Expert Community 424-269-2830<br />
AUTOS CONCRETE GARAGE DOORS HANDYMAN PLASTERING POOLS & SPAS<br />
Southern California<br />
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(310) 294-4999<br />
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COINS<br />
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next<br />
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Deadline:<br />
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Call direct<br />
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CONSTRUCTION<br />
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Call us to Discuss the<br />
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Retaining Walls,<br />
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310-212-1234<br />
www.LambConBuilds.com<br />
Lic. #906371<br />
Charles Clarke<br />
Local Owner/General Contractor<br />
Ph: (310) 791-4150<br />
Cell: (310) 293-9796<br />
Fax (310) 791-0452<br />
“Since 1990” Lic. No. 810499<br />
ELECTRICAL<br />
LYNCH<br />
ELECTRIC &<br />
General<br />
Building<br />
Contractors<br />
• Residential<br />
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• Remodel Specialist<br />
Scott K. Lynch<br />
P.V. Native<br />
Licensed & Insured<br />
Cell<br />
310-930-9421<br />
Office & Fax<br />
310-325-1292<br />
www.LynchElectric.us<br />
Lic 701001<br />
classifieds<br />
424-269-2830<br />
PLUMBING<br />
MATTUCCI<br />
FULL SERVICE PLUMBING • COPPER REPIPES<br />
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MUSIC<br />
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Vocal Technician<br />
Piano Teacher<br />
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Rancho Palos Verdes<br />
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310-544-0879<br />
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pfplumbing.net<br />
800-354-2705 • 310-831-0737<br />
ROOFING<br />
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310-847-7663<br />
Family owned<br />
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Lic 831351<br />
TILE<br />
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Horusicky Construction<br />
310-544-9384<br />
www.Horusicky.com<br />
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3968 Pacific Coast Hwy., Torrance • (310) 373-7781 • www.simplytiles.com<br />
License #904876<br />
64 <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> • <strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong>
Southern California’s Newest Marina<br />
Happy New Year!<br />
NEW YEAR! NEW LISTING!<br />
5 Ginger Root Ln., Rancho Palos Verdes<br />
Located in the sought after gated community of Portuguese Bend, this<br />
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nearly 2/3rds of an acre. There is a view from nearly every room in the<br />
home of either the peaceful, serene, and park like backyard or the<br />
pastoral views of Portuguese Bend Riding Club located directly across the<br />
street. This is a very special property and PRICED TO SELL!<br />
LIZ SNYDER Offered at $1,299,000<br />
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• SLIPS from 28’ to 130’<br />
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• Pumpout - Public & In-Slip<br />
• Ample FREE Parking<br />
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<strong>January</strong> <strong>2016</strong> • <strong>Peninsula</strong> <strong>People</strong> 65