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Vol. 1, No. 22 • September 16, 2015 Uniting the Community with News, Features and Commentary Circulation: 14,500 • $1.00<br />

MOJADA:<br />

A MEDEA<br />

FOR OUR<br />

TIME<br />

See Page 20<br />

Can a Fix Slow the Asilomar Slide?<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

Stopping a landslide from moving is an<br />

expensive proposition, and experts<br />

acknowledge that there is no stopping<br />

Mother Nature—but they believe movement<br />

can be slowed significantly on Asilomar<br />

Boulevard.<br />

The street, abutting El Medio and Almar<br />

Avenues, is built on a hillside that has two<br />

landslides. One starts 90 feet below the surface,<br />

extends into the Pacific Ocean, and<br />

is considered inactive. The other, 35 feet<br />

down, is continually moving.<br />

The City of Los Angeles installed inclinometers<br />

to measure ground movement<br />

on Asilomar in 2000.<br />

Five years later the movement of the<br />

hill had sheared off the top of one of the<br />

inclinometers. A year later a measurement<br />

showed that the ground had moved more<br />

than a foot vertically.<br />

The street below Asilomar, Puerto del<br />

Mar, has disappeared, all but for the<br />

cracked asphalt and dirt that marks where<br />

it once existed.<br />

A 2008 geotechnical report prepared by<br />

Ninyo and Moore estimated that the cost to<br />

remove the landslide and repair the hillside<br />

would run about $26 million.<br />

With the impending threat of an El Niño<br />

and its heavy rains, there is worry about the<br />

bluff and hillside above two mobile home<br />

Pacific Palisades Community Council President Chris Spitz welcomes Councilman<br />

Mike Bonin to last Thursday’s meeting.<br />

Photo: Shelby Pascoe<br />

Presorted Standard<br />

U.S. Postage<br />

PAID<br />

Pasadena, CA<br />

Permit #422<br />

Puerto del Mar, a street below Asilomar Boulevard, was destroyed by the movement of a landslide located in the hill.<br />

Postal Customer<br />

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

parks, Tahitian Terrace (156 spaces) and<br />

Palisades Bowl (176 spaces), that are located<br />

on Pacific Coast Highway just north of<br />

Temescal Canyon Road.<br />

The problem is complicated because the<br />

hillside is owned by three different entities:<br />

L.A. City, Eddie Biggs (Palisades Bowl) and<br />

(Continued on Page 9)<br />

Bonin Addresses Concerns at<br />

Community Council Meeting<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

Questions ranging from backyard<br />

beekeeping and Archer School expansion<br />

to a pedestrian overcrossing<br />

that would connect Potrero Canyon<br />

Park with Will Rogers Beach were presented<br />

to City Councilman Mike Bonin at<br />

the September 10 Pacific Palisades Community<br />

Council meeting.<br />

In an opening statement to the packed<br />

room, Bonin addressed four topics: homelessness,<br />

hosting the Olympics, sidewalk repairs<br />

and police/firefighter recruitment.<br />

“For too long we have allowed the homeless<br />

problem to fester,” Bonin said, noting<br />

Photo: Shelby Pascoe<br />

the City’s ongoing battle against lawsuits<br />

and court rulings. “Our [the City’s] policy<br />

has become ‘sidewalks first’ rather than<br />

‘housing first.’”<br />

Bonin said there are 17,000 to 19,000<br />

people who sleep outside every night in Los<br />

Angeles and that he is fighting to get resources<br />

so there is a “menu of resources between<br />

sidewalks and permanent housing.”<br />

He also praised the Pacific Palisades Homeless<br />

Task Force for its civic leadership.<br />

“A lot of folks are excited about hosting<br />

the Olympics,” Bonin said. “[But] I’m concerned<br />

that L.A. would be on the hook for<br />

any overruns,” if indeed it is selected as the<br />

host city for 2024. He noted that the City has<br />

(Continued on Page 9)<br />

Friends of Library Pop-Up Book Sale<br />

Hundreds of nearly-new fiction and nonfiction,<br />

art, cookbooks, coffee table books,<br />

DVDs and CDs will be sold 8:30 a.m. to 1:30<br />

p.m., Saturday, September 19 at the Palisades<br />

Branch Library parking lot, 861 Alma Real.<br />

As an added convenience, credit cards,<br />

as well as cash and checks, will now be <strong>accepted</strong><br />

for payment. In case of inclement<br />

weather, book sale will be postponed until<br />

the following Saturday.<br />

Proceeds help purchase books, research<br />

material and other items the branch would<br />

not otherwise be able to offer.<br />

Visit: friendsofpalilibrary.org.


Page 2 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

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lot<br />

CalBRE#01173073


September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 3<br />

California Incline Construction Update<br />

Due to slope stabilization, the pedestrian overcrossing above the Incline may now be<br />

replaced during Incline construction. Initially it was going to be place one to two years later<br />

and require another Incline closure of four to six months. Photo courtesy of City of Santa Monica<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

Many people who have moved to<br />

the Palisades in recent years<br />

may not know about the 1978<br />

October fire that destroyed 16 homes and<br />

St. Matthew’s Church sanctuary as it roared<br />

through the Santa Monica Mountains just<br />

north of town.<br />

According to Los Angeles firefighters, the<br />

fire season, which typically begins in October,<br />

is ahead of normal this year because of<br />

the drought and persistent heat.<br />

Hillside residents received notices asking<br />

them to water plants and vegetation, while<br />

still following water restrictions. L.A.<br />

County Fire Chief Daryl Osby wrote in an<br />

August 21 letter: “The four-year drought<br />

has forced us all to cut back on water usage;<br />

however, we would like to encourage those<br />

residents in the wildland-urban interface<br />

to continue to judiciously water plants and<br />

ornamental vegetation in accordance with<br />

your local water restriction ordinance.”<br />

Additionally, all Palisades residents<br />

should make sure brush clearance is properly<br />

done.<br />

Observe Red Flag days. In 2006, LAFD<br />

was asked to identify areas such as very narrow<br />

roads, hairpin turns, tight curves and<br />

key intersections that, if not cleared of vehicles,<br />

would create a choke point during<br />

a fire. People need to be able to evacuate<br />

fire areas and firefighters need to be able to<br />

access these areas. Vehicles illegally parked<br />

will be ticketed and towed.<br />

If a fire is close to your property, evacuate.<br />

Leave early to avoid being caught in<br />

fire, smoke or road congestion. Don’t wait<br />

to be told by authorities. If it is an intense<br />

wildfire, they may not have time to knock<br />

on every door.<br />

“When the wind comes up, all bets are<br />

off,” retired Fire Station 69 Captain Mike<br />

Ketailly told the News.<br />

If you have an elderly neighbor, make<br />

sure they get out, too. The evacuation center<br />

for Pacific Palisades is Palisades High<br />

School. For those who have large animals,<br />

such as horses, the evacuation center is Paul<br />

Revere Middle School.<br />

Remember: You can replace property,<br />

but not lives.<br />

Be prepared. LAFD reminds residents to<br />

keep a pair of shoes and a flashlight ready<br />

in the event of a night evacuation and to<br />

have the six “P’s” ready: 1.) people and pets;<br />

2.) papers, phone numbers and important<br />

documents; 3.) prescriptions, vitamins and<br />

eyeglasses; 4.) pictures and irreplaceable<br />

The California Incline bridge, which<br />

closed in mid-April for reconstruction,<br />

is on target for completion by<br />

May 2016.<br />

“It is 30 percent complete,” said Santa<br />

Monica City Engineer Lee Swain at the<br />

PCH Task Force meeting held in Malibu on<br />

September 2. “All the piles have been completed<br />

and 450 soil nails have been put into<br />

the bluffs.”<br />

Swain explained that the nails extend 20<br />

to 75 feet into the bluffs and then are surrounded<br />

by concrete, which stabilizes the<br />

slope. One of the requirements of MCM<br />

Construction, in addition to the bridge replacement,<br />

was slope stabilization.<br />

The Incline Replacement Project has<br />

been in the planning stages since 2009,<br />

when the 1930s-built bridge was deemed<br />

seismically unsafe.<br />

“By December, two of the three bridge<br />

decks will be laid,” Swain said.<br />

Although there were dire predictions of<br />

traffic problems along Pacific Coast High-<br />

Be Prepared for a Possible Wildfire<br />

Photo taken on October 23, 1978, above Temescal Canyon. The fire destroyed 16 homes<br />

in Pacific Palisades and St. Matthew’s Church sanctuary.<br />

Photo: Jim Kenney<br />

memorabilia 5.) personal computers (information<br />

on hard drive and disks) and<br />

6.) plastic (credit and ATM cards) and cash.<br />

Before leaving your house: close all windows<br />

and doors to prevent sparks from blowing<br />

inside; close all doors inside your house<br />

to slow the spread of fire; turn on the lights<br />

in every room, the porch and yard, to make<br />

your house more visible through the smoke<br />

or darkness; and move furniture away from<br />

windows and sliding glass doors to avoid<br />

ignition from the radiant heat of the fire.<br />

Help firefighters by making sure all combustible<br />

yard furniture is away from your<br />

home; attach garden hoses to faucets and<br />

place them so they are accessible; place a<br />

ladder against the house on the opposite<br />

side of the approaching fire for access to<br />

the roof; and shut off butane/propane or<br />

natural gas valves.<br />

way because of the closure, traffic is flowing<br />

smoothly, except for evening and weekend<br />

traffic jams at the PCH/Pier exit.<br />

The stoplight at the Incline, which is almost<br />

permanently green, has led to complaints<br />

about the short timing of the light<br />

at Chautauqua and PCH, and the resulting<br />

backup of cars turning onto PCH and West<br />

Channel Road. At the meeting, Caltrans officials<br />

said they would check the timing.<br />

Additionally, Santa Monica police asked<br />

if the light at the Incline could be programmed<br />

to turn red, in order to allow cars<br />

attempting to make a left into beach parking<br />

just north of the McClure Tunnel the<br />

opportunity to do so safely.<br />

On September 9, Construction Manager<br />

Curtis Castle reported on the pedestrian<br />

overcrossing (POC) that goes directly above<br />

the Incline.<br />

“The City originally planned to replace<br />

the POC one to two years after the Incline<br />

project. This would have required another<br />

closure of about four to six months of the<br />

Incline,” Castle said. “However, due to condition<br />

of the current POC and the desire to<br />

take advantage of the current closure and<br />

avoid a second closure of the Incline, the<br />

City is planning to demolish and replace<br />

the structure as part of a change order to<br />

the Incline contract.”<br />

The City of Santa Monica is working<br />

with the contractor to determine cost before<br />

proceeding.<br />

Marquez School<br />

Hosts Food Truck<br />

Festival Sunday<br />

The seventh annual back-to-school<br />

Food Truck Festival will be held from<br />

4 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, September 20<br />

at the Marquez Elementary School<br />

lower yard.<br />

A portion of the proceeds will benefit<br />

Marquez.<br />

Co-chairs Amanda Keston and<br />

Laura Marie Salinas said, “Everyone is<br />

welcome and we look forward to seeing<br />

you there! It’s going to be a really<br />

fun day of food and fun at Marquez.”<br />

Food trucks will include Baby’s<br />

Badass Burgers, Joe’s Pizza, The Green<br />

Truck, Border Grill and Martin’s Ice<br />

Cream Truck.<br />

The Palisades High School awardwinning<br />

marching band and the PaliHi<br />

dance team will perform. Cheer<br />

Mania will teach cheers and lead<br />

other activities.<br />

Marquez spirit clothing will be on<br />

sale. Parents working with Marquez<br />

Adopt A Book will be on site to allow<br />

parents and friends to purchase a book<br />

to celebrate a child’s birthday or honor<br />

a teacher (or make a cash donation).


Page 4 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

Councilman’s Aide Has Roots Here<br />

By LAUREL BUSBY<br />

Staff Writer<br />

THE HOPE RANCH<br />

82 ACRES<br />

1172 Encinal Canyon Rd, Malibu<br />

OFFERED AT $5,990,000<br />

Agreat-grandchild of the founder of<br />

Pacific Palisades has returned to<br />

the area to help residents with<br />

their problems.<br />

Sharon Shapiro is the newest field dep -<br />

uty for L.A. City Councilmember Mike<br />

Bonin, who represents the 11th District,<br />

which includes the Palisades, Brentwood,<br />

Marina del Rey, West LA, Venice, Playa del<br />

Rey, Mar Vista and Westchester. Shapiro<br />

works with him in Brentwood and the Pal -<br />

isades to address both broad issues like<br />

homelessness and more personal issues,<br />

such as helping with an individual resident’s<br />

trash collection problems.<br />

“Anything and everything,” said Shapiro,<br />

29, who started working for Bonin in July.<br />

“It ranges from day to day—that’s what<br />

makes this job so interesting.”<br />

Shapiro’s great-grandfather is Rev.<br />

Charles Scott, who founded the Palisades<br />

with the Southern California Episcopal<br />

Methodist Church in 1922. She grew up<br />

in Los Feliz, where she still lives, and for<br />

the previous eight years, she worked with<br />

Councilman Tom LaBonge as his Hollywood<br />

area director. However, with LaBonge’s<br />

term ending in June and former Bonin field<br />

deputy Norm Kulla retiring, an opportu-<br />

Sharon Shapiro is Councilman Mike<br />

Bonin’s field deputy for Pacific Palisades.<br />

nity emerged to join Bonin’s team.<br />

“Working for him has been one of the<br />

best things I’ve been able to do in my eightyear<br />

career,” said Shapiro, who graduated<br />

from Whittier College in 2007 with a degree<br />

in political science. He’s “incredibly bright.<br />

It’s amazing and humbling to work for<br />

someone who is so smart.”<br />

The job also came with the perk of<br />

spending time in an area that holds a special<br />

appeal due to her family history. “I<br />

thought it would be a nice stepping stone<br />

to a community that I felt personally connected<br />

to.” Shapiro’s grandmother Martha<br />

was Scott’s daughter.<br />

Shapiro has found both similarities to<br />

and differences from her previous Hollywood<br />

post. Homelessness is also an issue<br />

there, and she was one of the founding participants<br />

in Hollywood 4wrd (four walls, a<br />

roof and a door), which worked to address<br />

homelessness in the area. Bonin also has<br />

focused recently on homelessness, and in<br />

July, his editorial advocating a continuum<br />

of safe havens for the homeless was printed<br />

in the L.A. Daily News.<br />

She has also found that both quality of<br />

life concerns and preservation of open<br />

space are common interests of Hollywood<br />

and the Palisades. However, Hollywood also<br />

has its busy nightlife aspects and issues surrounding<br />

the Hollywood sign, while the<br />

Palisades has a different style, with an involved<br />

citizenry and “small town neighborhood<br />

feel to it.” She noted, “It’s great to have<br />

a sense of community, and I feel that the<br />

Palisades really has that.”<br />

There are new issues too. Because the ocean<br />

lies on one side of the Palisades, the Coastal<br />

Commission has become part of her work.<br />

Shapiro has also started attending Pacific<br />

Palisades Community Council meet ings to<br />

learn more about local concerns and report<br />

back to Bonin. “I think he takes that to heart.”<br />

DAN URBACH PRESENTS<br />

GRACIOUS<br />

HIGHLANDS ESTATE<br />

16678 Via la Costa, Pacific Palisades<br />

OFFERED AT $5,890,000<br />

In addition, Shapiro has begun reaching<br />

out to local leadership groups, such as the<br />

American Legion Post 283 and the Tem es -<br />

cal Canyon Association, to learn as much<br />

as she can about the area, from its history<br />

to current concerns.<br />

Her goal is to serve “as a bridge and a<br />

conduit,” Shapiro said. “It’s difficult to navigate<br />

city departments . . . Sometimes you<br />

need a little bit of personal attention.”<br />

To contact Shapiro, call (310) 575-8461<br />

or email her at sharon.shapiro@lacity.org.<br />

Blood Drive Will<br />

Be Held Sept. 20<br />

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

blood drive, sponsored by Pacific<br />

Palisades Optimist Club, from 9 a.m. to 3<br />

p.m. on Sunday, September 20, at the Amer -<br />

ican Legion Hall at 15427 La Cruz Dr. For<br />

an appointment, call (310) 454-0527 or<br />

visit redcrossblood.org and mention sponsor<br />

code Post 283. Walks-in are welcome.<br />

Donors are reminded to eat a nutritious<br />

meal beforehand, drink plenty of fluids<br />

and bring a photo identification. Donors<br />

will receive a coupon for free admission to<br />

Madam Tussaud’s Hollywood (regular admission<br />

is $29.95) and admission for two<br />

to the Laugh Factory Comedy Club.<br />

MAGNIFICENT<br />

CRAFTSMAN<br />

965 Chattanooga Ave, Pacific Palisades<br />

OFFERED AT $3,499,000<br />

82 acres across Encinal Cyn from the Malibu Country<br />

Club. Five residences; each unique to its location.<br />

Equestrian facilities; barns, stables, pens pastures.<br />

www.1172Encinal.com<br />

Breathtaking 5bd/7.5ba ocn view Med estate on<br />

apprx ½ acre in the exclusive guard gated Enclave.<br />

Exceptional 180 degree ocn & mtn views. Resort-like<br />

backyard with pool. Membership in Summit Club.<br />

www.EnclaveEstate.com<br />

Magnificent 4bd/3ba Craftsman w/ dramatic ocn & mtn<br />

vus. Custom craftsmanship & vintage details meld<br />

seamlessly w/ all modern conveniences. Huge private<br />

backyard. Great end of cul-de-sac location.<br />

www.965Chattanooga.com<br />

Dan was recently congratulated by John Closson, Vice President and Regional Manager of Berkshire Hathaway<br />

HomeServices, for being the “Top Producing” agent in the Pacific Palisades office for 2014, as well as one of<br />

the “Top Ten” agents nationwide out of more than 35,000 Berkshire Hathaway sales professionals.<br />

CalBRE #01147391<br />

310.230.3757<br />

info@DanUrbach.com<br />

www.ExclusiveRealtor.com<br />

881 Alma Real Dr., Ste. 100<br />

Pacific Palisades, CA 90272<br />

S PECIALIZING IN P ACIFIC P ALISADES, MALIBU, SANTA M ONICA<br />

Dan Urbach<br />

Luxury Property<br />

Specialist


September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 5<br />

PCH Is a Jurisdiction Nightmare;<br />

Uber/Lyft Lowering DUI Arrests<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

In just 10 miles along Pacific Coast Highway,<br />

from the McClure Tunnel to the<br />

Malibu Pier, it would be possible to receive<br />

a traffic ticket from four different law<br />

enforcement entities: the California Highway<br />

Patrol (CHP) West Valley; Los Angeles<br />

County Sheriff’s Malibu-Lost Hills Station;<br />

Los Angeles Police Department West L.A.;<br />

and Santa Monica Police Department.<br />

At the PCH Taskforce meeting on September<br />

2, each group reported on traffic<br />

accidents on the portion of the road they<br />

patrol.<br />

CHP’s Leland Tang, whose jurisdiction<br />

is from Coastline to Malibu city limits, reported<br />

that through August there had been<br />

seven collisions: three involved injuries and<br />

four had property damage. By comparison,<br />

there were nine collisions in 2014. “The primary<br />

factor [for the accidents] was speed,”<br />

Tang said.<br />

Lt. James Royal with the sheriff’s department,<br />

whose jurisdiction extends from<br />

Malibu (where CHP’s jurisdiction ends) to<br />

Leo Carrillo Beach, said there were 191 accidents<br />

this year compared to 200 in 2014,<br />

through the end of July.<br />

Last year there were four fatalities, compared<br />

to five at the time of the PCH meeting.<br />

In February, Bruce Jenner’s Cadillac Escalade<br />

slammed into two other cars and a<br />

woman was killed. According to Reuters, the<br />

investigation showed speed was a factor—<br />

considering the existing traffic conditions.<br />

The second fatality was in March. Mela -<br />

nie Quinonez, who had pulled over to the<br />

side of the road, was hit while standing next<br />

to her vehicle in the early morning hours.<br />

The hit and run resulted in the arrest of a<br />

25-year-old.<br />

Deputies say PCH can be dangerous for<br />

pedestrians, joggers and even motorists who<br />

pull over, and warn, “When you’re on PCH,<br />

please be aware of your surroundings. Be<br />

careful when you exit your car and when<br />

you’re walking on PCH.”<br />

The third victim was a hiker from Scotland<br />

who attempted to cross PCH. Also in June,<br />

Dwayne Coleman, known as MC Su preme,<br />

died when a truck slammed into Coleman’s<br />

vehicle, which was parked along PCH.<br />

In August, a transient on a bike attempt -<br />

ed to cross PCH, near Zuma, at 8:30 p.m.<br />

“He didn’t have any lights,” Royal said. The<br />

man was airlifted to Ronald Reagan UCLA<br />

Hospital, and died four hours later.<br />

“Hit and runs are also up significantly,”<br />

Royal said. There were 43 this year through<br />

July as compared to 27 last year. Also DUIs<br />

were up: 74 this year and 57 last year.<br />

That DUI rise was different than the<br />

other three law enforcement agencies,<br />

which saw a decline.<br />

“It is absolutely noticeable how many<br />

“But in more affluent<br />

areas people are taking<br />

Uber and Lyft. It’s taking<br />

more drunks off the road.”<br />

— Nyamweci Samuel, LAPD<br />

drunks are taking Uber,” said LAPD’s<br />

Nyamweci Samuel, who said he observed at<br />

the last DUI checkpoint that at one point—<br />

of six cars, five were Uber drivers taking<br />

inebriated people home.<br />

Samuel’s area on PCH extends from<br />

Chautauqua Boulevard to Coastline Drive.<br />

“I cover such a small area,” he said, noting<br />

that accidents were up slightly, but there<br />

have been no fatalities in 2015.<br />

“In less affluent areas, people drink and<br />

then roll the dice and drive,” Samuel said.<br />

“But in more affluent areas people are taking<br />

Uber and Lyft. It’s taking more drunks<br />

off the road.”<br />

Other enforcement officials agreed that<br />

DUIs were down and Tang added, “State -<br />

wide DUI arrests are going down.”<br />

Samuel said that more of the DUIs now<br />

appear to be drug-related, rather than alcohol-related.<br />

He also said that at DUI checkpoints, officers<br />

look for unlicensed drivers because<br />

“Those drivers are five times more likely<br />

to get in a fatal accident.”<br />

Santa Monica Police officials reported<br />

there have been 21 collisions (10 involving<br />

injuries) through August from McClure<br />

Tunnel to Entrada. The highest frequency<br />

of accidents is on Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m.<br />

and the major reason is speed.<br />

Samuel, Tang and McDonnel said that<br />

there is an attempt to do more education,<br />

warnings and less ticketing. “If we give you<br />

a ticket it’s for education, not because we’re<br />

mean,” Samuel said.<br />

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Page 6 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

Heard<br />

About Town<br />

Upset by Jewelry Store Letter<br />

We have received another letter addressed<br />

simply to “Resident,” this time from<br />

a Westwood jewelry store. They claim they<br />

were most upset to hear about a wellknown<br />

Palisades jeweler and his troubled<br />

business and claim, “At Sarah Leonard Fine<br />

Jewelers, we are known for quality and<br />

ethics, something Pacific Palisades could<br />

use right now.” Sarah Leonard is probably<br />

not known for compassion, something else<br />

the Palisades could use right now. No, owners<br />

of Sarah Leonard, after receiving this<br />

letter, I would rather go to a pawn shop or<br />

flea market before I set foot in your store.<br />

Alcohol Tasting in Stores<br />

I read in the Community Council minutes<br />

that Gelson’s and Ralphs are applying<br />

to be able to have alcohol tasting tables in<br />

their liquor aisles. This really doesn’t seem<br />

appropriate in such family-oriented environments,<br />

with kids walking past the<br />

tables and observing. This also sounds<br />

dangerous, sending people out the door<br />

with a buzz as they try to remember<br />

where they parked their car.<br />

(Editor’s note: It is a tasting and the area<br />

will be “fenced off” from children. Stores<br />

are restricted to one vendor and one alcohol<br />

choice per day. The most one person will<br />

receive in a day is 8 oz. of beer or 3 oz. of<br />

wine—half a cup is 4 oz.)<br />

DWP Working on Sunset<br />

DWP have been working Sunset between<br />

Marquez and Temescal. We understand<br />

from the workers that they are<br />

laying more electrical lines from Brentwood.<br />

Has the DWP given up on the controversial<br />

new Distribution Station?<br />

(Editor’s note: According to DWP spokes -<br />

person Carol Tucker, there has been no<br />

movement on a site selection for DS 104.<br />

The project you observed is to upgrade the<br />

existing electrical line that goes underground<br />

from Kenter Canyon to the ocean.<br />

The purpose is to provide greater power reliability<br />

in this high-voltage transmission<br />

line, and is not related to the new DS.)<br />

Hot Days and Burned Paws<br />

Our sidewalks are awfully hot during<br />

these heat waves. Please be careful not to<br />

walk your dog on any surface you wouldn’t<br />

want to walk barefoot on yourself.<br />

———————<br />

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

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

spascoe@palisadesnews.com<br />

Oops!<br />

In the “Stop Thief!! Residents Give<br />

Chase” story in the September 2 issue,<br />

Bentons Sports Shop was identified as<br />

Benton’s. Bentons has been a staple on<br />

the Westside and a retail mainstay on<br />

North Swarthmore for the past 33<br />

years and we apologize for the error.<br />

ANN CLEAVES<br />

VIEWPOINT<br />

The Beauty of Diversity<br />

By RABBI ZUSHE CUNIN<br />

Executive Director,<br />

Chabad Jewish Community Campus<br />

The weekly Swarthmore farmers’ market is<br />

a colorful and vibrant place with many<br />

enticing and diverse fruits, vegetables<br />

and products to buy.<br />

Strolling through the open market, I also<br />

enjoy bumping into old friends, and making<br />

new ones. On a recent visit, I saw more than<br />

30 friends and acquaintances of all ages,<br />

backgrounds and occupations. I enjoyed<br />

conversing with them all.<br />

One sports coach shared with me his<br />

philosophy about success, saying “The difference<br />

between a successful person and an unsuccessful<br />

one is the successful person tried just one time<br />

more than the other.”<br />

A real estate investor I encountered told me<br />

his greatest life lesson: “No matter how much<br />

you make, only what is shared with family,<br />

friends and the needy really counts.”<br />

These “chance” meetings at the farmers’ market<br />

got me thinking about diversity and beauty.<br />

What is beauty? Is there a theme or rule for<br />

what is beautiful? Why does one person find<br />

something beautiful while another finds it<br />

unattractive or plain?<br />

Psychologists say symmetry plays a role. We<br />

tend to find symmetrical faces attractive as a<br />

sign of health. Familiarity with something also<br />

makes it beautiful in our eyes; while new and<br />

unfamiliar views can take our breath away.<br />

The Bible refers to the “etrog,” a citrus fruit used<br />

during the upcoming Sukkot holiday or Feast of<br />

Tabernacles, as beautiful or “hadar” in Hebrew.<br />

Its beauty is explained from the fact it “lives”<br />

(“dar”) on the tree for four seasons, therefore<br />

uniting each unique season within this final<br />

fruity product.<br />

Jewish mystical teachings of Kabbalah explain<br />

another word for beauty in Hebrew: “tiferet,”<br />

which also means “to weave.” This implies that<br />

beauty comes from weaving together various<br />

elements into a unified whole, as in sewing<br />

pieces of fabric into a garment.<br />

We see this in nature, too. A rainbow has bands<br />

of color, each beautiful in its own right. But the<br />

unique combination creates magnificence greater<br />

than the sum of its parts. Diversity is nature’s<br />

secret to not only beauty, but also survival.<br />

If we define beauty this way, then Pacific<br />

Palisades would be a prime example. Our<br />

hometown harmonizes various landscapes—<br />

mountains, ocean, lowlands and highlands—<br />

into one natural paradise. Each has its own<br />

unique beauty, but viewed as a whole, its collective<br />

beauty surpasses it all.<br />

Nature and her creator are teaching us an<br />

important lesson. Diversity is beauty; diversity<br />

is a blessing. As a community leader, I interact<br />

with people of varied ideological, educational<br />

and social backgrounds. I have learned from<br />

every one of them. I am not above anyone,<br />

nor is anyone above me.<br />

Together, we are a community of many colors<br />

and variations. Each of us is important. No, it’s<br />

more—each of us is crucial and irreplaceable.<br />

You offer something to the world that cannot<br />

be fulfilled by someone else.<br />

We can use this understanding to accept and<br />

tolerate where we differ. We can also go a step<br />

further—to see those different from us as<br />

completing us. We can appreciate how the other<br />

person’s differences serve our community, and<br />

actually make us all better, more complete<br />

and beautiful.<br />

Wishing you a healthy, sweet and beautiful<br />

New Year!<br />

Thought to Ponder<br />

“Life’s like a play: it’s not<br />

the length, but the<br />

excellence of the acting<br />

that matters.”<br />

― Lucius Annaeus Seneca<br />

Founded November 5, 2014<br />

———————<br />

15332 Antioch Street #169<br />

Pacific Palisades, CA 90272<br />

(310) 401-7690<br />

www.PalisadesNews.com<br />

———————<br />

Publisher<br />

Scott Wagenseller<br />

swag@palisadesnews.com<br />

Editor<br />

Sue Pascoe<br />

spascoe@palisadesnews.com<br />

Features<br />

Laurie Rosenthal<br />

LRosenthal@palisadesnews.com<br />

Graphics Director<br />

Manfred Hofer<br />

Digital Content and Technology<br />

Kurt Park<br />

Advertising<br />

Jeff Ridgway<br />

jeffridgway@palisadesnews.com<br />

Grace Hiney<br />

gracehiney@palisadesnews.com<br />

Jeff Parr<br />

jparr@palisadesnews.com<br />

Advisor<br />

Bill Bruns<br />

Contributing Writers<br />

Laura Abruscato, Laurel Busby,<br />

Libby Motika, Logan Taylor<br />

Contributing Photographers<br />

Bart Bartholomew, Shelby Pascoe<br />

———————<br />

A bi-monthly newspaper mailed on the<br />

first and third Wednesday of each month.<br />

14,500 circulation includes zip code 90272<br />

and Sullivan, Mandeville and Santa Mon -<br />

ica Canyons.All content printed herein,<br />

and in our digital editions, is copyrighted.<br />

Online:<br />

palisadesnews.com


Palisades News<br />

September 16, 2015 A forum for open discussion of community issues<br />

Page 7<br />

EDITORIAL<br />

Kill the MRCA’s Stop-Sign Cameras<br />

Astory in the Daily News (“WAZE App Blamed for<br />

Traffic in Parks,” September 7) explained that<br />

heavy traffic in local mountain parks, such as<br />

Temescal Canyon, is the result of people using the trafficnavigating<br />

app.<br />

“Traffic apps such as WAZE advertise routes through<br />

parks like Franklin Canyon Park,” said Fernando Gomez,<br />

chief ranger for the Mountains Recreation Conservatory<br />

Authority (MRCA). “This has resulted in a substantial<br />

increase in traffic and created a huge hazard for park users.”<br />

Later in the story, Gomez concludes: “The park access<br />

roads in most of our parks, such as Franklin Canyon<br />

Park, or Temescal Gateway Park in Pacific Palisades, were<br />

never intended to support the kind of volume that they<br />

now do.”<br />

Those of us who live in Pacific Palisades know the road<br />

into Temescal soon deadends and that WAZE would not<br />

send a driver there.<br />

In the story, Gomez was not questioned about whether<br />

the increase in people could be the result of hiking apps<br />

or social media.<br />

Palisades resident Warren Cereghino described a visit<br />

to Temescal Gateway Park on August 27. “On the driveway<br />

heading up into the park, about 20 yards north of the<br />

marked crosswalk/entrance to the lower parking lot,<br />

there are four traffic-counting cables stretched across the<br />

Money May Not Be the Answer<br />

I have been following the discussion of the homeless<br />

in the Palisades and have personally communicated<br />

with Officer Moore and written to Mayor Garcetti and<br />

Councilman Bonin.<br />

As a licensed psychologist, I worked in community<br />

mental health for a number of years and am discouraged<br />

that we seem a long way from effective solutions. Los<br />

Angeles has a shameful and degrading problem with<br />

homelessness, and our representatives need to learn from<br />

other places that have been more successful.<br />

Mr. Maceri presents a rather incomplete explanation of<br />

the causes of and solutions to the problem of homeless<br />

people living in public places (Palisades News, “Money<br />

Sought for Homeless Solution,” September 2). His<br />

advocacy that money would be well spent on hiring two<br />

of his social workers is likely a poor investment.<br />

The mantra “homelessness is not a crime” is off point<br />

and leads to the failed conclusion that we all must accept<br />

that people are free to live in very degraded conditions<br />

and behave as they wish in the community. Mr. Maceri<br />

would have us believe that the best we can do is cajole the<br />

chronically homeless, who often have chronic substance<br />

abuse and serious mental/behavior problems, into<br />

accepting help of their choice.<br />

A very important factor he did not mention is the<br />

change in laws that coincided with the closing of mental<br />

hospitals and other residential facilities.<br />

Thanks to the misguided notion of “civil liberties,”<br />

we are now very limited in getting anyone to accept<br />

shelter and needed medical and psychiatric treatment.<br />

roadway and anchored by some kind of nails and tape,<br />

with the terminal part looped around a tree on the left<br />

side. I thought to myself, ‘Oh, they’re counting traffic.<br />

Hmm, I wonder why?’<br />

“When I got up to the camera-enforced stop sign I<br />

saw a metal pole extending about 15 to 20 feet into the<br />

air with some kind of device on top. I surmise that it is a<br />

signal receiver for the tire-counting cables I noted above.<br />

The pole is connected to the stop-sign post and a metal<br />

box is chained to the post and the pole at the bottom.”<br />

A few days later, our editor visited the park and found<br />

the devices gone.<br />

Why? And why MRCA’s sudden interest in counting<br />

cars? The Daily News story concluded: “The warning<br />

comes as senators in Sacramento plan to discuss in<br />

January if the nine cameras installed at stop signs<br />

overseen by the conservation authority are justified.”<br />

Ah ha! The Daily News story was not about WAZE or<br />

increased car traffic, it was about stop-sign cameras.<br />

MRCA operates photo-enforced stop sign cameras,<br />

which generate $1.5 million annually in gross revenue.<br />

Tickets ($100 for the first offense) are mailed to the<br />

registered owner of the vehicle as identified from a<br />

photo of the rear license plate. The tickets are<br />

administrative citations, which don’t count against an<br />

individual driving record, but are turned over to a<br />

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR<br />

After the investment of considerable police and professional<br />

time, a disturbed or disabled person can be<br />

placed on a 72-hour hold if they are gravely disabled or<br />

present an imminent danger to themselves or others.<br />

After 72 hours a court hearing is required to hold<br />

someone for up to two weeks.<br />

This is very costly as well as ineffective with chronic<br />

populations. Even two weeks is too short a time to begin<br />

to help someone with multiple problems, so people are<br />

back on the street in the same condition. As a result, the<br />

trend has been to virtually give up on taking even the<br />

most grievously disabled or disruptive people in for an<br />

evaluation. What’s the point?<br />

Another factor has been the loss of will to enforce laws<br />

and regulations pertaining to public behavior and the<br />

use of public facilities. Not all cities tolerate skid row,<br />

encampments on hillsides, public intoxication, disturbing<br />

the peace, etc. Right now Los Angeles turns a blind eye<br />

to what used to be and should be unacceptable.<br />

Case in point is the man who appears to be both<br />

physically and psychiatrically gravely disabled who spends<br />

his whole day lying on the concrete sidewalks of the<br />

Palisades. He appears in very compromised physical<br />

health, is often barely clothed, and almost always surrounded<br />

by trash. He is easily agitated, rants, and<br />

threatens people.<br />

I find his condition as well as his impact on the<br />

community to be dreadful. Officer Moore told me that<br />

when asked, this man says he doesn’t want help, and<br />

therefore nothing can be done. After recently threatening<br />

a resident, he was finally taken in for what I assume was<br />

collection agency if not paid.<br />

When the cameras first appeared in Temescal in 2007,<br />

former Beverly Hills attorney, local activist and resident<br />

Jack Allen contended that the park deliberately ignored<br />

state law and national standards to raise revenue: The<br />

state Vehicle Code authorizes using automated traffic<br />

enforcement at stop signals, not stop signs.<br />

Many agree with his analysis, and last May Senate<br />

Republican Leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) introduced<br />

a bill to kill the cameras.<br />

Pacific Palisades Community Council reached out to<br />

State Senators Fran Pavley, Huff and Ben Allen, asking<br />

them to support SB 218 to end stop-sign photo enforcement.<br />

The PPCC wrote: “The two photo enforcement<br />

machines MRCA placed in Pacific Palisades’ Temescal<br />

Canyon Gateway Park are at intersections with no history<br />

of accidents or injury and very little traffic. As a result,<br />

PPCC has received numerous complaints about erroneous<br />

enforcement by these machines.”<br />

Senate Natural Resources Committee Chair Pavley<br />

blocked the bill in May in order to curb speeding in the<br />

parks and save stop-sign revenue. In January 2016, SB<br />

218 will return to the committee for a second time.<br />

The News agrees with Huff, Allen and the PPCC, and<br />

thinks it is time for MRCA to retire stop-sign cameras.<br />

a 72-hour evaluation and then released with absolutely<br />

no improvement in either his condition or behavior.<br />

In sum, three things need to be changed. First, commitment<br />

laws need to be such that people in need of<br />

intervention can be held for a longer period so evaluation<br />

and meaningful treatment become possible.<br />

Can anyone really argue that our current approach<br />

is compassionate to let chronically psychotic people lie<br />

on the sidewalk all day, because they are able to say,<br />

“I’m fine and can take of myself?”<br />

Second, some of our taxes should be directed to provide<br />

sufficient low-cost facilities that will house people quickly.<br />

This will entail simplifying the many regulations associated<br />

with putting a roof over someone’s head.<br />

Finally, our representatives need to be serious about<br />

not letting people live in public spaces, disturb the rest<br />

of the community, and break laws. I suggest we spend<br />

our money on a campaign to get Mayor Garcetti and<br />

other representatives to very actively get going on<br />

changing the paradigm and making this a priority.<br />

Linda R. Friar, Ph.D.<br />

Caruso’s Liquor License Plans<br />

Thank you so much for the article on the Caruso plan<br />

for liquor licenses (September 2). It sounds like he wants<br />

to open a movie theater and surround it with a food<br />

(Continued on Page 8)<br />

Palisades News welcomes all letters, which may be mailed to<br />

spascoe@palisadesnews.com. Please include a name, address<br />

and telephone number so we may reach you. Letters do not<br />

necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Palisades News.


Page 8 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

Letters<br />

(Continued from Page 7)<br />

court full of bars, and he won’t guarantee<br />

reasonable closing and delivery hours as<br />

evidenced with his fight over the liquor<br />

license at the Oak Room.<br />

I live in the Alphabet Streets, the<br />

neighborhood most affected by Caruso<br />

traffic. I don’t want 10 venues with liquor<br />

licenses. I don’t want restaurants that<br />

stay open until 2 a.m. so that Caruso can<br />

make some more money off the bars. I<br />

don’t want a one-way street that will<br />

drive traffic into the Alphabet Streets.<br />

Our neighborhood is already overrun<br />

with cars from the village. Our streets<br />

are less than 24 feet wide. It’s already a<br />

dangerous situation because of the<br />

crowded conditions. Our local fire station<br />

wants us to have parking on one side of<br />

the street because they can’t get their<br />

truck through the street, but the city<br />

won’t grant it. Now we have to deal with<br />

drunks and workers going home after 2<br />

a.m.? It’s not safe.<br />

I went through Jonathan Gold’s list of<br />

101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles.<br />

Only one stayed open until 2 a.m. The<br />

rest closed at 10 or 10:30 p.m. and stayed<br />

open a little later on weekends. It doesn’t<br />

sound like Caruso is looking for quality,<br />

just quantity. We have to fight this. We<br />

don’t need 10 venues with liquor licenses<br />

and we have to restrict the house of<br />

operation and delivery.<br />

Neighbors, please write to our City<br />

Council represen tative Mike Bonin<br />

(councilmember.bonin@lacity.org) and<br />

Debbie Dyner-Harris (Debbie.dynerharris<br />

@lacity. org) in Bonin’s office. Tell them<br />

not to approve this plan. Also write to<br />

Mustafa Blorfroshan (zaki.mustafa<br />

@lacity. org) at DOT and Nazario Sauceda<br />

(bss.bass@lacity.org), Director-City of<br />

L.A. Bureau of Street Services, about the<br />

one-way street. If we can’t use Swarthmore<br />

from the Alphabet Streets, this will force<br />

more cars onto Monument and Via de la<br />

Paz. Thank you.<br />

Patrice Dobrowitsky<br />

Women’s Self-Defense Class<br />

Our Women’s Self-Defense Course was<br />

a smashing success. We had five women<br />

sign up. The first hour we spent going<br />

over a PowerPoint Presentation and<br />

discussed how to recognize and avoid<br />

potentially dangerous situations. The ladies<br />

learned about anatomy and physiology,<br />

how to use pressure points, how to<br />

punch and kick, escape from a hold, etc.<br />

Then we spent three hours at the park,<br />

where we practiced various techniques.<br />

Everyone had a good time and learned<br />

a lot. We’re going to set up another class<br />

on September 19. Hopefully, we can get<br />

more people interested. Thanks for putting<br />

a story in the paper (August 19).<br />

Bill Shuttic<br />

Ultimate Health<br />

BUSINESS NOTES<br />

OPENINGS<br />

Sweet Rose Creamery, an artisanal ice<br />

cream shop owned by Palisadians Josh Loeb<br />

and Zoe Nathan, opened in August. Located<br />

next to Palisades Hi-Tech on Monument<br />

Street (at Sunset). Visit: sweetrosecreamery.com<br />

or call: (310) 260-2663.<br />

Roast: The deli-style eatery, which opened<br />

its first location in Brentwood in 2012,<br />

opened in the Highlands Village (former site<br />

of Chez Mimi restaurant) over Labor Day.<br />

Chef Whitney Werner describes Roast as a<br />

new-style deli that includes organic meats<br />

and roasted vegetables ($12.95 to $16.95<br />

for sandwiches and entrées with sides) that<br />

can be eaten in the restaurant or delivered<br />

for a home-cooked-style meal. Call (310)<br />

230-6000 or visit: roastdelimarket.com.<br />

CLOSINGS<br />

The QT Fitness studio, which opened in<br />

2013 in the Highlands Village by the Beach,<br />

as a woman’s-only fitness center offering<br />

spin, barre and yoga classes, closed in August.<br />

Owner was Danielle Robinson.<br />

The heavily utilized Goodwill Center<br />

closed September 1.<br />

ANNIVERSARIES<br />

ATAM (Academy of Technology, Art<br />

and Music) celebrated its third anniversary<br />

in August. Founded by Anthony Wamble<br />

in 2012, this is a center for students, young<br />

and old, to learn coding, create computer<br />

games and stay abreast of the most modern<br />

technology. Located at 881 Alma Real Dr.<br />

Visit: atampalisades.com or call (310)<br />

573-0012 or e-mail techandmusicteacher<br />

@gmail.com.<br />

UPGRADES<br />

Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce<br />

has a new website that includes a<br />

member directory, an event calendar listing<br />

of community resources and event photos.<br />

Visit: palisadeschamber.com.<br />

SPACE AVAILABLE<br />

Retail store-front space available at 835,<br />

843 and 859 Via de la Paz.<br />

(Editor’s note: For business announcements,<br />

send an email to spascoe@palisadesnews.com.)<br />

Atria Offers Programs<br />

Atria Senior Living, at 15441 Sunset<br />

Blvd. (across from Gelson’s), offers its programs<br />

free to Palisades residents. Please<br />

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

Rosh Hashana will be celebrated 10:30<br />

a.m. on Thursday, September 17 with Ter<br />

Liberstein. That afternoon at 3:30 p.m.<br />

Frank Sinatra impersonator Jimmy Brewster<br />

will perform.<br />

Opera singer Francesca Sola performs<br />

on Thursday, September 24 at 3:30 p.m.<br />

ELLEN MCCORMICK<br />

FEATURED LISTINGS<br />

JUST SOLD<br />

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615 Baylor St. | 3 BR, 2 BA<br />

Offered at $1,425,000 | www.615Baylor.com<br />

1177 Embury St. | 5 BD, 5 BA<br />

Newer construction custom home<br />

ELLEN MCCORMICK<br />

Distinguished representation of the<br />

Westside since 1984.<br />

ellenmccormick.com<br />

(310) 230-3707 | ellen@ellenmccormick.com<br />

CalBRE# 00872518<br />

©2015 An Independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC.


September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 9<br />

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Bonin<br />

(Continued from Page 1)<br />

been told that security costs would be covered<br />

by the national government—but wants<br />

assurance that this will still be true in 2024.<br />

A $1.4 billion lawsuit, filed by disabled<br />

residents, requires the City to spend $31<br />

million a year for 30 years to repair business<br />

and residential sidewalks. Once they are<br />

fixed, maintenance will revert to property<br />

owners. Bonin pointed out that in most<br />

cities, sidewalks are the property owners’<br />

responsibility. What has yet to be decided<br />

is which streets will be fixed first.<br />

Bonin is also pushing for more police<br />

and firefighters. “The last 10 years LAFD<br />

has been decimated,” he said, noting he<br />

fought to get five recruiting classes this year,<br />

but with the number of retirees, it won’t<br />

mean an overall gain in firefighters. He also<br />

promised he is fighting to restore Station<br />

69’s Engine Company (Sunset at Carey).<br />

“It’s high on the list for restoration.”<br />

Council President Chris Spitz then allowed<br />

audience members to ask questions,<br />

but specified that once a question was asked<br />

about a subject, a different topic had to be<br />

addressed.<br />

One resident objected to the beekeeping<br />

ordinance because he said it was not properly<br />

vetted. Lawmakers tentatively approved<br />

it on September 2 and asked City lawyers<br />

to finalize the wording before giving it a<br />

final approval.<br />

“Testimony in my district is nine to one<br />

in favor of the ordinance,” Bonin said. “It<br />

is modeled after other cities, including<br />

Santa Monica.”<br />

A resident pressed Bonin about the 17000<br />

Sunset apartment project (just west of Marquez<br />

Avenue), which is scheduled to go before<br />

the West L.A. Planning Commission on<br />

December 2. Developer Arman Gabay initially<br />

sought 49 units and some residents objected<br />

to the size of the project. PPCC asked<br />

that prior to an issuance of a Coastal Devel-<br />

opment Permit, a Focused EIR be prepared.<br />

“I am monitoring the 17000 Sunset project<br />

closely, and I have heard the concerns<br />

about slope instability and traffic impacts,”<br />

Bonin said. “I understand the developer is<br />

reworking the proposal, and will be reducing<br />

by half the number of units, which<br />

could reduce some of the traffic impacts.<br />

I will be eager to hear what the community<br />

things about the revised proposal.”<br />

The developer is not expected to present<br />

revised plans to the PPCC.<br />

Another question concerned the possibility<br />

of a pedestrian bridge over PCH at<br />

Potrero Canyon, which would allow hikers,<br />

bikers and beach-goers to access the beach<br />

without detouring to Temescal Canyon<br />

Road. Bonin said it was being considered,<br />

but there’s currently no funding available.<br />

A Riviera resident said, “I’m concerned<br />

about overdevelopment, specifically the<br />

Archer School and Caruso projects, and<br />

the overlapping construction.”<br />

Bonin said that a traffic impact study for<br />

Caruso Affiliated’s Palisades Village project<br />

had not yet been submitted to the City. He<br />

praised Archer for its proposed traffic plan,<br />

which will require 70 percent of all students<br />

to use a carpool (three or more) or buses.<br />

“There will be less traffic than there is now,”<br />

Bonin said, noting that he wants collaboration<br />

between all the schools along that stretch<br />

of Sunset to see who could have the fewest<br />

number of cars coming to campus daily.<br />

“A lot of residents came to me and want -<br />

ed a three-year window for [Archer] construction,”<br />

said Bonin, who believes the<br />

biggest traffic impact will be hauling, which<br />

is scheduled to be done in the summer<br />

when schools are closed.<br />

“When will Palisades Drive be repaved?”<br />

a Highlands resident asked.<br />

“It is a really, really long road [more than<br />

three miles],” Bonin said. “If I were to re -<br />

pave the street, it would be my District’s entire<br />

budget for a year.” But then he gave the<br />

good news that it will be repaved in segments<br />

over the next three to four years.<br />

Asilomar<br />

(Continued from Page 1)<br />

John McDonald (Tahitian Terrace).<br />

Although the City has reached out to<br />

both owners, neither are obligated to work<br />

with the City, because mobile home parks<br />

are under the jurisdiction of the state.<br />

Bureau of Engineering (BOE) geologist<br />

Robert Hancock has spearheaded a plan<br />

that includes dewatering wells and a massive<br />

wall that will support vertically 65 feet<br />

of soil.<br />

“It won’t stop the hillside from sliding,<br />

but it will help,” Hancock said at a meeting<br />

at the Palisades Library on September 2.<br />

The meeting was held to discuss environmental<br />

concerns before the project first<br />

goes through the City departments and<br />

then the Coastal Commission for approval.<br />

BOE Environmental Specialist James<br />

Tebbetts explained that three dewatering<br />

wells will be added to the two that are already<br />

located under Asilomar.<br />

When the water reaches a certain point<br />

in a well, it will trigger a pump that takes<br />

the water to the Asilomar drain, then to Las<br />

Pulgas Canyon stormwater drain and on to<br />

the Hyperion.<br />

Nearly all of the water on the El Medio<br />

mesa drains downward to Asilomar.<br />

Although this is considered an emergency<br />

project and a safety issue, the earliest construction<br />

will likely start on the dewatering<br />

wells is February. After the environmental<br />

review passes the City, the project must be<br />

approved by the Coastal Commission. “We<br />

can’t put a spade into the ground until we<br />

have the state permit,” Tebbetts said.<br />

Once construction starts, it will take<br />

about six months.<br />

“We’ve been watching [this landslide] for<br />

years. It keeps moving slowly,” Hancock<br />

said. “We’ve been trying to find the money.”<br />

Three million dollars have been raised<br />

through the City and will be used for the<br />

wells and the design of the wall.


Page 10 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

Investigation of Student Petition Addressed<br />

By LAUREL BUSBY<br />

Staff Writer<br />

The effects of last spring’s student petition<br />

to oust Palisades Charter High<br />

School Principal Pam Magee continued<br />

to be addressed at the August 18 board<br />

meeting with a new focus on whether any<br />

teachers may have been involved.<br />

Social studies teacher John Rauschuber<br />

spoke during public comment about the<br />

issue. He described first hearing about the<br />

petition when student Isabel Kelly came to<br />

his classroom during a break to ask for permission<br />

to gather signatures. More than<br />

1,200 students eventually signed the document.<br />

Kelly, a senior, chose not to comment<br />

on the issue to the Palisades News.<br />

Rauschuber said he allowed her presentation,<br />

and said she “began an impassioned<br />

speech,” which he let extend into about a<br />

minute of class time. He said she “personified<br />

raw courage” and “should be celebrated<br />

for what she saw as an injustice.” He also said<br />

that as a social studies teacher, he felt that<br />

this issue was not inappropriate to discuss<br />

in class since the department “emphasizes<br />

empowerment,” and last school year his class<br />

discussed varied events, whether they occurred<br />

at PaliHi or were of national interest.<br />

During the 2014-15 school year, the administration<br />

and the faculty had been involved<br />

in an at-times contentious contract<br />

negotiations and bell schedule discussions<br />

that had eventually required mediation to<br />

resolve.<br />

In the spring, the student petition was<br />

presented to the board in the midst of the<br />

evaluation process for Magee, who came<br />

to PaliHi in 2011. The board consequently<br />

hired an investigator to assess how much<br />

weight to give the petition in Magee’s evaluation,<br />

and this investigator more recently<br />

began working to assess whether there was<br />

any teacher misconduct involved. The results<br />

of both investigations are confidential<br />

due to their focus on personnel matters.<br />

The portion of the board members who<br />

are not faculty, staff or students, spent about<br />

an hour in closed session discussing the<br />

agenda item “Public Employee Discipline/<br />

Dismissal/Release,” and the issue was also<br />

addressed during the open meeting more<br />

vaguely.<br />

Spanish teacher and new board member<br />

Alex Shuhgalter said he would like to discuss<br />

ways to create a better climate on campus<br />

by starting afresh after a difficult previous<br />

school year. “Do we really want peace or a<br />

cool climate on campus?” he said.<br />

Magee, in a phone interview with the<br />

News, said that she is seeking to create a new<br />

positive focus for the school year. However,<br />

both board members and parents had contacted<br />

the administration with concerns<br />

about potential “misuse of instructional<br />

time or indoctrination of students.”<br />

Last spring, the News also received two<br />

letters from parents complaining about<br />

these issues.<br />

Magee added that the investigation is<br />

not restricted to the petition, but includes<br />

broader concerns. The idea is to develop a<br />

“better understanding” of what occurred<br />

and to make sure that all instructional<br />

“time is being used appropriately.”<br />

She said the administration is “doing our<br />

due diligence” to ensure “that kids are getting<br />

an education and not getting involved<br />

in adult issues—not becoming negotiators<br />

for the adults.”<br />

Currently, she said the investigation is<br />

simply gathering information, and at this<br />

point, she did not think that its findings<br />

would end with any teacher dismissals.<br />

Magee also said she is working to address<br />

the petition’s complaints. During registration,<br />

time was set aside to teach students<br />

about existing school ways to handle issues<br />

during a presentation that also included<br />

members of the Student Diversity Task Force.<br />

Another part of the effort includes creating<br />

a student bill of rights. About 70 students<br />

have thus far indicated an interest in<br />

the project, which will include researching<br />

their current rights and creating an action<br />

plan that will also address changes they envision.<br />

She said Kelly, a senior stopped by<br />

her office to talk recently and indicated an<br />

interest in working with the group.<br />

“We are working hard to let all students<br />

know that they matter and that their voices<br />

are heard,” Magee said. “If there are a large<br />

group of students that feel like their issues<br />

aren’t being heard, then I want them to be<br />

heard. I think it’s important that their issues<br />

are addressed.”<br />

In a related issue, the L.A. District Attorney’s<br />

office had contacted the board to address<br />

whether a previous closed meeting to<br />

discuss how the petition affected Magee’s<br />

evaluation should have instead proceeded<br />

in an open format. According to the board,<br />

the DA’s office, after an inquiry, sent a letter<br />

to the school stating, “After review of the<br />

matter, we believe no violation occurred.”<br />

Music Class For Children<br />

Woman’s Club member Ingrid Vinje teaches a music class for children two to<br />

four years old from 10 to 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22, at the Club, 901<br />

Haverford Ave. A parent or caregiver is required and one adult per child, please.<br />

The class is free for Club members and their guests.<br />

Broker Associate<br />

Fine Home Specialist<br />

30+ Years Experience<br />

KATY<br />

KREITLER


September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 11<br />

Water-Wise<br />

Workshop Set<br />

For Sept. 20<br />

Awater-wise workshop will be held<br />

from 1 to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, September<br />

20, at the Woman’s Club,<br />

901 Haverford Ave.<br />

The event is sponsored by Palisades<br />

Beautiful, the Pacific Palisades Garden Club,<br />

Mia Lehrer + Associates, Tree People, Rain<br />

Barrels International, Surfrider Foundation,<br />

Theodore Payne Foundation, World<br />

Wide Exotics and LADWP. There will be<br />

presentations, discussions and refreshments.<br />

Admission is free, but RSVP to<br />

surveymonkey.com/r/XGN82HB.<br />

Included in the presentation will be an<br />

overview of the climatic microenvironment<br />

and climate reality, a landscape overview<br />

(including plant material and trees), lawn<br />

removal and rainwater harvesting.<br />

After presentations, there will be a Q&A<br />

with the experts. Closing will include a raffle<br />

drawing for a rain barrel and a gift card<br />

from Anawalt Lumber.<br />

For those who preorder rain barrels, pick<br />

up will be from 3:30 to 5:30 at Regal Cleaners<br />

(rebates are available). The barrel has a<br />

grass spigot for garden-hose attachment, a<br />

screen to prevent mosquitoes from accessing<br />

water and a side brass overflow. Cost<br />

is $85. To order: RainBarrelsIntl.com.<br />

Chamber Hosts Annual Polo Tournament<br />

If you do not know what a chukker is,<br />

then head to the 23rd Annual Chamber<br />

of Commerce Polo Tournament from<br />

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 4, at<br />

Will Rogers State Historic Park.<br />

Admission is free and there will be pony<br />

rides for children. There is a $12 per-car<br />

parking fee at the park.<br />

Eight riders, atop galloping horses, hold<br />

on with their left hand as they swing mallets<br />

with the right hand at speeds of up to<br />

35 miles per hour.<br />

A chukker is a seven-and-half-minute<br />

period of play, and there are six chukkers<br />

in a match. Between matches enjoy divot<br />

stomping: spectators come on the field<br />

and stomp down torn-up turf.<br />

Will Rogers was an avid polo player.<br />

About the sport he wrote in his syndicated<br />

column May 29, 1932: “After seeing kids<br />

play polo against big guys, it only shows<br />

that horses are the greatest equalizer in the<br />

world. No matter what you weigh, the little<br />

fellow is your equal on a horse.”<br />

There will also be tours of the Will<br />

Rogers’ home at 11 a.m., 1 and 2 p.m. Food<br />

trucks will be available or bring a picnic.<br />

This year’s major sponsor is Wells Fargo<br />

The Private Bank. Sponsoring teams are<br />

defending champion Amafi Estates; PerennialFinancial<br />

Services; Pacific Palisades<br />

Lions Club; RLB Architecture;Technology<br />

for You!; and Wells Fargo.<br />

Throwing in the ball before each match<br />

will be Chamber President Adam Glazer;<br />

Steve Ghysels (Wells Fargo); and Mr. and<br />

Dealey to Speak September 24<br />

Palisades Presbyterian Church will resume<br />

its “Food for Thought” speaker series<br />

on September 24 at 11:30 a.m. in Janes Hall,<br />

off El Medio at Sunset. Reservations are<br />

necessary. Call (310) 454-0366 to reserve<br />

your seat and complimentary lunch (donation<br />

only).<br />

The guest speaker will be Dave Dealey,<br />

the son of Commander Samuel David<br />

Dealey USN, who was the first and only<br />

commanding officer of the submarine<br />

USS Harder. He will speak about his father’s<br />

naval career and the famous Harder.<br />

Dealey will speak about the many coincidental<br />

events and ironies which led up to<br />

the tragic loss of the Harder, with all servicemen<br />

aboard, on its sixth and final patrol<br />

in August 1944.<br />

A graduate of Santa Monica High School<br />

and UC Berkeley, Dealey is a retired attorney.<br />

He is a longtime active member of the<br />

Pacific Palisades Optimist Club, American<br />

Legion Post 283 and served on the Community<br />

Council.<br />

Miss Palisades Daniel Gottesman and<br />

Danika Masi.<br />

Al Epstein will be the play-by-play announcer.<br />

Members of the Chamber organizing<br />

committee are Ramis Sadrieh,<br />

Technology for You!; Felice Densa of the Will<br />

Rogers Polo Club and Chamber of Commerce<br />

Executive Director Arnie Wishnick.<br />

Call (310) 459-7963 or visit: palisadeschamber.com.<br />

Art Association Speaker<br />

To Discuss Buddhist Art<br />

The Palisades Art Association will feature<br />

Jason Hopper, who will lead a discussion<br />

on the influences of Buddhism on<br />

contemporary artists in the Himalaya region.<br />

He will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday,<br />

September 22, at the Palisades Woman’s<br />

Club, 901 Haverford Ave.<br />

Starting 2,500 years ago with the advent<br />

of Buddhism in India, the sophisticated<br />

symbolism of Buddhist art will be<br />

explored. Then the discussion will skip<br />

forward to look at how and why contemporary<br />

artists in the Himalayas are using<br />

Buddhist imagery in their artworks.<br />

Throughout the conversation, participants<br />

will examine images of some of the<br />

most beautiful and exotic art from the<br />

roof of the world.<br />

Excellence in Real Estate<br />

Celebrating 12 Years!<br />

From my family to yours,<br />

THANK YOU for your continued support.<br />

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310.496.5955 | www.pekarellis.com<br />

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Page 12 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

NO ONE SELLS<br />

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HOMES<br />

IN<br />

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THAN COLDWELL ®<br />

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$7,875,000<br />

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Remodeled Traditional in Huntington 6+5<br />

Amy Hollingsworth orth & Jamie Leff (310) 230-2483<br />

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facebook.com/ColdwellBankerPalisadesHighlands<br />

Connect With Us<br />

VIEW MORE LISTINGS AT<br />

CALIFORNIAMOVES.COM<br />

®<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Based on information total sales volume from California Real Estate Te echnology Services, Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS,<br />

SANDICOR, Inc. for the period 1/1/2013 through 12/31/2013 in Los Angeles, Orange,<br />

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

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

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

Therefore,<br />

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


Palisades News<br />

September 16, 2015 Page 13<br />

Highlands Village<br />

Undergoes Changes<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

In September 2013, PH Village Partners,<br />

LLC purchased the former Highlands<br />

Plaza (located at Sunset and Palisades<br />

Drive) and renamed it Highlands Village by<br />

the Beach.<br />

According to Christian Irwin, VP, Commercial<br />

Property, the locally-based owners<br />

vowed to make the mini-mall “more neighborhood<br />

friendly and become a center for<br />

residents where they could have their dayto-day<br />

needs met.”<br />

Two years later, the transformation from<br />

a strip-mall look and feel to a vibrant business<br />

center is well underway.<br />

The Village is about 25,000 sq. ft. and has<br />

15 storefronts that offer a wide variety of<br />

services: pharmacy, dry cleaner, nail salon,<br />

bank, pet store, dance studio, mailbox store,<br />

clothing store (happy L.A.), Starbucks and<br />

three restaurants (Taste, Moku and Roast).<br />

The original stark white frontage was repainted<br />

in muted multi-tones. “We wanted<br />

to make it look more ‘beach chic,’” said<br />

Irwin, noting that new landscaping includ -<br />

ed planting 19 palm trees. Teak benches<br />

were added along several storefronts to<br />

make the center more pedestrian-friendly.<br />

Parking issues were also addressed. Although<br />

there were 109 spaces, many were<br />

used by store employees, and “we also had<br />

a lot of carpools of golfers, hikers and bike<br />

riders,” said Irwin, who grew up in Pacific<br />

Palisades. “People would park for the entire<br />

day, which left fewer spaces for shoppers.”<br />

Now employees park on the street and<br />

people are reminded if they are not shopping<br />

or dining in the center, to park elsewhere.<br />

One of the first store additions was a<br />

Starbucks, which anchors the southernmost<br />

space. A small playground and an<br />

outside patio with shaded tables were<br />

built so parents could enjoy a cup of coffee<br />

while visiting with friends or watching<br />

their children play.<br />

Two tenants, QT Fitness and Goodwill<br />

Industries, have recently left, but Irwin<br />

emphasized that it was not the landlord’s<br />

choice.<br />

“Danielle Robinson [owner of QT] was<br />

a valued tenant and we were sorry to see her<br />

go,” Irwin said, noting she left to deal with<br />

personal issues. Since PH Village Partners<br />

believes a fitness studio is important to the<br />

center, they are seeking a similar business<br />

in that space.<br />

“We’re still talking with Goodwill,”<br />

Irwin said.<br />

Irwin, the father of a two-year-old boy,<br />

pointed to Ballet Conservatory West. “This<br />

is one of my favorite places,” he said. “There<br />

are 130 ballerinas who come here. Now<br />

while their moms wait they can walk to<br />

PH Village Partners’ Christian Irwin (right) welcomes new tenant Whitney Werner,<br />

who owns Roast, to the Highlands Village by the Beach.<br />

Photo: Wendy Price Anderson<br />

Starbucks and have coffee.”<br />

Moku, which specializes in sushi and<br />

Thai food, opened recently and Roast debuted<br />

over Labor Day weekend. A delistyle<br />

eatery, Roast has organic meats and<br />

Key Factors in Evaluating Palisades Properties<br />

By MICHAEL EDLEN<br />

Special to the Palisades News<br />

Home sellers need to determine an<br />

asking price, and buyers need to<br />

assess how much to offer and ultimately<br />

what to pay for their new home.<br />

Many rely on a professional realtor to help<br />

with their decision, while others prefer to<br />

do research online, and then rely on sites<br />

such as Zillow for guidance.<br />

It may help to understand some of the<br />

nuances that an experienced realtor takes<br />

into consideration when doing a comprehensive<br />

evaluation of a Palisades home.<br />

For example, certain neighborhoods are<br />

generally more desirable than others, such<br />

as the Huntington and others close to the<br />

Village area. Similarly, homes on a heavily<br />

trafficked street will logically be less desirable<br />

than those on quieter locations.<br />

Value is affected by whether a house has<br />

a view or not, and how unobstructed and<br />

from which rooms the view can be enjoyed.<br />

Lots impacted by geological challenges or<br />

other environmental issues will be of a<br />

lesser value. How much of the property is<br />

relatively useful, as compared with hillside<br />

locations that may substantially limit the<br />

usable yard, is another factor.<br />

The legal tract a property is in can make<br />

a significant difference in value, depending<br />

on restrictions that may exist regarding the<br />

height or size of a house. For example,<br />

more than a third of the Palisades is located<br />

in Tract 9300, which has a unique set of<br />

conditions, covenants, and restrictions<br />

(CC&R’s) enforced by the Civic League.<br />

Many of the tracts in Marquez Knolls,<br />

much of the area between El Medio and<br />

Bien veneda, Castellammare, Pacific View<br />

Estates and Sunset Mesa have restrictions<br />

protecting views. CC&R’s obviously help to<br />

preserve property values in some ways,<br />

while imposing some limitations that to a<br />

degree also may limit a site’s potential value.<br />

Reliance on online evaluations systems<br />

may be useful in many other communities<br />

where far fewer variations exist between<br />

and even within neighborhoods like the<br />

Palisades.<br />

As has been noted, Zillow and other similar<br />

systems do not take into consideration<br />

whether a house is on a 5,200 or 6,500<br />

square foot lot in the Alphabet Streets.<br />

They also have no way to factor in the<br />

presence or quality of views that may exist,<br />

nor anything about the condition of the<br />

home or property. Moreover, those online<br />

systems can vary as much as 10 to 20 percent<br />

from each other on the same property.<br />

Michael Edlen has been ranked in the top<br />

1 percent of all agents in the country with<br />

nearly $2 billion in sales. He has tracked<br />

Pacific Palisades sales since 1987. Michael<br />

can be reached at (310) 230-7373 or<br />

michael@michaeledlen.com.<br />

roasted vegetables that can be eaten at the<br />

restaurant or as takeout.<br />

Taste, which recently received a full-liq -<br />

uor license, will undergo renovations short -<br />

ly as one of the conditions of lease renewal.<br />

“This whole center is a project of passion,”<br />

said Irwin, who recently appeared before<br />

the Palisades Community Council to<br />

seek support for an upscale convenience<br />

store that would carry wine, cheese and<br />

other small groceries in the 950-sq.-ft. space<br />

next to Roast. “It would be a high-end market<br />

and hours would follow those at the site,<br />

9 a.m. to 10 p.m.”<br />

Irwin, whose mother Michelle operates<br />

the Michelle International beauty salon on<br />

Swarthmore and whose uncle, Martin<br />

McCrory, runs the beauty supply store on<br />

the same street, said he has 15 relatives that<br />

live or work in the Palisades. Even his wife<br />

Alexana’s sister now lives near them.<br />

“When my company bought the center,<br />

my eyes lit up,” said the Syracuse University<br />

graduate. “The partners who own the<br />

property are local and care about the<br />

community.”<br />

The last Family Fun Day of the summer<br />

will be held this Saturday, September 19<br />

from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free to<br />

residents and includes music, pony rides,<br />

a petting zoo, face painter and magician.<br />

Visit: HighlandsVillageByTheBeach.com


Page 14 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

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September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 15<br />

Hosting Jimmy Carter’s Book Tour<br />

By BOB VICKREY<br />

Palisades News Contributor<br />

While watching former President<br />

Jimmy Carter describe the details<br />

of his recent cancer diagnosis<br />

during a televised news conference, it<br />

occurred to me that anyone who had ever<br />

met him in person was not surprised by the<br />

gracious manner in which he was now confronting<br />

his own mortality. That congenial<br />

style has long been his trademark.<br />

His tireless energy has been on display<br />

since he left the White House 35 years ago—<br />

even now at the age of 90. His commitment<br />

to international humanitarian work has<br />

been well documented, particularly for his<br />

beloved project, Habitat for Humanity.<br />

The familiar smile he flashed often during<br />

the press conference took me back to March<br />

1985, when I stood on the steps of the Beverly<br />

Wilshire Hotel anxiously awaiting his arrival.<br />

I was to escort him during his Southern<br />

California stop on his national book tour.<br />

The publishing house for which I worked<br />

had just released his most recent book, The<br />

Blood of Abraham, a history of the ongoing<br />

Middle East conflict in which he had become<br />

deeply involved during his presidency.<br />

Our company’s publicity depart ment<br />

had planned a national tour for the book,<br />

including major media appearances, as well<br />

as bookstore events, which is where I came<br />

into the picture.<br />

As the local company rep, my job was to<br />

select bookstores which would host events<br />

and to accompany authors while they were<br />

in town on their promotional tours. This<br />

particular occasion seemed to have taken<br />

on an even greater significance and created<br />

quite a buzz for those in the bookselling<br />

community. Hosting a former President<br />

was considered quite an honor for most<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

Palisades resident Bob Vickrey and President Jimmy Carter during a 1985 book tour.<br />

booksellers, no matter what their political<br />

persuasion happened to be.<br />

When Jimmy Carter’s limo arrived in the<br />

Beverly Wilshire driveway under the breezeway<br />

awning, I was almost certain that I<br />

heard the faint sound of my knees knocking,<br />

but remained adamant that I could<br />

conceal my imploding anxiety.<br />

Sure enough, when he stepped out of the<br />

car flashing that famous grin, he said, “You<br />

must be Bob. Are you ready to have a little<br />

fun tomorrow?” I quickly relaxed and regained<br />

steady footing as we retreated to<br />

make our plans for the following day.<br />

What I immediately observed about the<br />

man with the well-known laid-back image,<br />

was the noticeable urgency in his walk, as<br />

well as his spirited manner—not exactly the<br />

passive, sweater-wearing figure we’d seen<br />

portrayed in his fireside chats during the<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

energy crisis in the late 1970s. I tried to keep<br />

up with his pace as we approached his room<br />

in the Presidential Suite, but I couldn’t help<br />

but wonder why he had been unsuccessful<br />

in conveying this contagious energy to the<br />

nation while he was in office.<br />

Despite the criticism he has received regarding<br />

his perceived shortcomings during<br />

his one-term administration, I’ve noticed<br />

that even his harshest critics are usually<br />

quick to acknowledge his charitable work<br />

at home and abroad after he left office, a<br />

concession ex-presidents rarely receive<br />

from their adversaries.<br />

I sat across from him in the luxurious<br />

living room of the hotel suite and he asked,<br />

“So, what’s on the docket for tomorrow,<br />

and what do you need me to do?” I explained<br />

the morning format I’d planned<br />

with an informal breakfast for various local<br />

booksellers that I’d invited to the downstairs<br />

drawing room.<br />

Carter revealed his admiration for those<br />

who work in bookstores. He got quite a<br />

chuckle when I told him of author Pat Conroy’s<br />

opening line when once addressing a<br />

breakfast gathering of booksellers, “Good<br />

morning to all of you in the book business<br />

who have taken the sacred vow of poverty.”<br />

As we convened for our breakfast meeting<br />

the following morning, he leaned toward<br />

me and asked if I had brought my camera<br />

along. He whispered, “People love to have<br />

their picture taken with the President.”<br />

By the time I returned with the camera,<br />

he had already met every bookseller in the<br />

room and was busily engaging each with<br />

stories that would likely last a lifetime for<br />

most of them. After breakfast, I took a snapshot<br />

of each bookseller—every one of them<br />

in virtually the same pose—with the President’s<br />

arm draped around their shoulder.<br />

When I took the last picture, he winked and<br />

said, “I told you so.”<br />

Before we adjourned, the President said,<br />

“I think we need one more. I’d like one<br />

taken of me with our host.”<br />

Not surprisingly, that particular picture<br />

still prominently resides on my bookshelf<br />

to this very day. And I can almost hear him<br />

say, “I told you so.”<br />

Bob Vickrey is longtime Palisadian. His<br />

columns appear in several Southwestern<br />

newspapers including the Houston Chronicle.<br />

This article was reprinted by permission<br />

of the Waco Tribune-Herald.<br />

Jong at Diesel<br />

Erica Jong, who revolutionized the way<br />

we look at love, marriage and sex in her<br />

1973 bestseller Fear of Flying, will appear at<br />

6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 25 at Diesel<br />

Bookstore in the Brentwood Country Mart<br />

to discuss her latest novel, Fear of Dying.<br />

In the book, main character Vanessa<br />

Wonderman watches her parents age, attends<br />

doctor appointments with her pregnant<br />

daughter, and sits by the hospital bed<br />

of her husband, Asher, 15 years her senior.<br />

With her best years as an actress behind<br />

her, she’s discovering that beginnings are<br />

easy, but endings can be hard.<br />

Jong is also the author of seven awardwinning<br />

collections of poetry and has written<br />

several nonfiction books. She lives in<br />

New York City and Connecticut.<br />

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

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Page 16 Palisades News September 16, 2015


September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 17<br />

Republican Speaker Series<br />

Features Pete Peterson<br />

Pete Peterson will lead a discussion<br />

in the Pacific Palisades Republican<br />

Club’s 2015 Speaker Series at 7:30<br />

p.m. on Thursday, October 1, in the meeting<br />

room at the Palisades Lutheran Church,<br />

15905 Sunset Blvd. Residents are invited<br />

and there is free parking off El Medio.<br />

He will speak and lead a discussion titled<br />

“‘Too Bad You’re a Republican’: Lessons<br />

from the Trail and a Look at 2016.”<br />

Peterson is Pepperdine’s School of Public<br />

Policy interim dean and executive director<br />

for the Davenport Institute. The Republican<br />

candidate for California Secretary of State<br />

in 2014, Peterson writes widely on public<br />

engagement for a variety of major news<br />

outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Los<br />

Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.<br />

Peterson is a leading national speaker on<br />

issues related to civic participation and the<br />

use of technology to make government<br />

more responsive and transparent. He has<br />

been a public affairs fellow at The Hoover<br />

Institute, and he serves on the Leadership<br />

Councils of the Public Policy Institute of<br />

California and California Forward.<br />

Call (310) 454-4345 or visit Pali sades<br />

Republicans.com.<br />

(Disclaimer: Palisades Lutheran Church<br />

gives space for community groups to meet,<br />

which does not imply an affiliation.)<br />

Student Success Conference Oct. 17<br />

Prominent L.A. independent school educators<br />

will address “What Are the Proven<br />

Keys to Student Success, Both in the School<br />

and the Future?” from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.<br />

on Saturday, October 17, at the Luxe<br />

Hotel, 11461 Sunset Blvd.<br />

The fee is $179 per person and space is<br />

limited. Call (818) 864-6725.<br />

“This is going to be an extraordinary event<br />

for parents,” said Sue Slotnick, the CEO and<br />

co-founder of Educational Test Prep and<br />

director of advancement at Village School.<br />

Keynote speaker is Dr. Rob Evans, the<br />

author of three books, including Family<br />

Matters: How Schools Can Cope with the<br />

Crisis in Childrearing. He will outline key<br />

dilemmas in raising children and adolescents<br />

today and offer concrete suggestions<br />

for successful coping at home and school.<br />

Following his presentation, parents can<br />

attend different workshops, hosted by 10<br />

experts on various topics.<br />

PASSINGS<br />

Donny ‘Conn’ Claps;<br />

Entertainer, Speaker<br />

Donny Conn Claps, 85, passed<br />

away September 2. He was a musician,<br />

comedian, speaker and<br />

creative spirit who entertained and enriched<br />

the lives of family and friends.<br />

He was born on January 3, 1930 in Waterbury,<br />

Connecticut, where he attended<br />

school and learned to play drums.<br />

Claps graduated from the University of<br />

Connecticut and was one of the founders<br />

of Beta Sigma Gamma, the first intercultural<br />

fraternity in New England.<br />

After college in 1952, he toured the Unit -<br />

ed States and Canada, with The Playmates,<br />

pianist Chic Hetti and vocalist Morey Carr,<br />

who were also from Waterbury.<br />

The group’s song “Beep Beep,” the story<br />

of a Nash Rambler and a Cadillac, was on<br />

the Billboard Top 40 charts for 12 weeks. It<br />

sold over one million copies and was award -<br />

ed a gold disc. At the height of the song’s<br />

popularity, the Playmates appeared on the<br />

Milton Berle Show, December 3, 1958.<br />

That same year, the group signed with<br />

Roulette Records as the label’s first vocal<br />

group.<br />

The Playmates followed up with a<br />

chart-listing single in 1959, “What Is<br />

Love,” and then again in 1960 with “Wait<br />

for Me.” They recorded four albums for<br />

Roulette before the group, which was<br />

known for its between-song comedy and<br />

banter, broke up in 1965.<br />

Claps reinvented himself first as a<br />

stand-up comedian, then as a professional<br />

speaker. He later turned to comedy writing,<br />

which opened his eyes to a career in<br />

Donny “Conn” Claps<br />

public speaking.<br />

When that career took off in 1980,<br />

Claps delivered more than 100 speeches a<br />

year to all types of groups.<br />

After he spoke, clients would ask him to<br />

recommend keynote speakers for upcoming<br />

conventions. Claps built a roster of qualified<br />

speakers and shortly after founded Convention<br />

Connection Speakers Bureau, one<br />

of the first speaker bureaus to book lecturers<br />

for conventions and business meetings.<br />

Claps moved to Pacific Palisades in 1972.<br />

He is survived by his wife of 58 years,<br />

Joanne, and his children Kiela, Steven and<br />

Koby and grandchildren Amanda and Kelly.<br />

A memorial service will be held in October.<br />

In lieu of flowers, donations can be<br />

made to: HOLA (Hearts of Los Angeles<br />

Youth), 2701 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 100, Los<br />

Angeles, CA 90057 or visit: heartofla.org/<br />

ways-to-give/donate.<br />

NOTICE TO READERS<br />

The Palisades News welcomes submissions of obituary notices<br />

for Palisadians, past and present. Notices must be 400 words or<br />

less. A photo may be sent for possible inclusion. There is no charge<br />

for the notice, nor the photo. For questions, or to submit, please<br />

e-mail editor@palisadesnews.com. The desired deadline for submissions<br />

is Thursday before the intended publication date (the<br />

first and third Wednesday of the month).<br />

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Palisades News<br />

Page 18 September 16, 2015<br />

Girls Volleyball Wants a Shot at State<br />

By LOGAN TAYLOR<br />

Sports Writer<br />

Under the guidance of head coach<br />

Carlos Gray, the Palisades High<br />

School girls volleyball team opened<br />

its season on September 10 by defeating<br />

defending Division II City champion Taft<br />

High School.<br />

The Dolphins opened Western League<br />

play by hosting LACES yesterday, and will<br />

remain home to play perennial City rival<br />

Granada Hills today at 4 p.m.<br />

Returning for his third season at PaliHi,<br />

Gray is optimistic after having won his first<br />

City title last year, and the 29th title overall<br />

for the girls volleyball program.<br />

“The expectation for this season is to<br />

reach our full potential,” Gray told the Pali -<br />

sades News. “This team’s ceiling is higher<br />

than last year’s team. I really think that this<br />

group could be special, but it will take a<br />

long time and it is a long road to get there.”<br />

Last year the Dophins beat Granada Hills<br />

in four sets in the Division I City Championships,<br />

but lost its first-round game in<br />

the State playoffs.<br />

The team began practicing the second<br />

week of August, focusing on hitting drills,<br />

passing and ball control, as well as holding<br />

scrimmages.<br />

Gray is joined by assistant coach Anthony<br />

Elizondo, who owns his own club team,<br />

the Santa Monica Volleyball Club, and has<br />

coached the Dolphins in previous years.<br />

Key players to watch this season are returning<br />

opposite Isabel Kelly, outside hitter<br />

Sadie Gray, middle blocker Angel Echipue,<br />

Setting ball for a teammate is co-captain Lucky Drageset.<br />

outside hitter Bella Edwards, and the “glue”<br />

of the team, libero Olivia Zelon.<br />

Zelon, only a junior, has already committed<br />

to play at the University of Texas in<br />

Golf Tournament Winners<br />

The L.A. Golf Academy hosted a<br />

youth tournament on August 23 at<br />

the Heroes Golf Course, a 9-hole,<br />

3-par course locate on the grounds of the<br />

West Los Angeles VA north campus.<br />

Winners in the 5-to-7-year-old category<br />

were Justin Tun, first, and Misha Zutler,<br />

second. In the 8-to-10-year old category,<br />

Peter Jen took first and Charlie Hayton<br />

took second. In the 11-to-14-year-old<br />

group, Gavin Loughran took first and<br />

Rowan Jen was second.<br />

For those who want to learn to play, a<br />

golf development program is held for juniors,<br />

ages 7 to 16, Monday through Thursday<br />

from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and on Friday from<br />

4 to 5:30 p.m. The co-ed program allows<br />

students to come on a daily basis.<br />

A special day of golf is planned for<br />

Wednesday, September 23. Youth can<br />

choose half day (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.<br />

or 1 to 3:30 p.m.) or full day (9:30 a.m. to<br />

3:30 p.m.).<br />

Private lessons are available for youth<br />

and adult, and all levels are welcome.<br />

The Academy caters to Brentwood, Santa<br />

Monica, Pacific Palisades, Westwood and<br />

Beverly Hills.<br />

All lessons are taught by PGA Teaching<br />

Professional Carlos Rodriquez, who has<br />

more than 20 years of experience. He previously<br />

worked as an assistant golf pro at<br />

Indian Spring County Club in Silver<br />

Spring, Maryland.<br />

Rodriquez’s philosophy centers on harmony<br />

between the mental and physical<br />

aspects of the golf game. He also insists all<br />

youth learn proper golfing etiquette. A<br />

U.S. Marine, Rodriquez is also a highlyrespected<br />

Aikido practitioner.<br />

Email: lagolfacademy@gmail.com or call<br />

(310) 230-2052 or visit: lagolfacademy.com.<br />

Photo: Logan Taylor<br />

2017. She will be coached by previous Pali -<br />

sades High star volleyballer Jerritt Elliott.<br />

“Olivia is the best defensive player that<br />

I have ever coached in all of my 26 years<br />

of coaching,” Gray said.<br />

With these key players as well as returning<br />

co-captains and setters Lucky Drageset<br />

and Delaney Arth, the Dolphins look as<br />

though they will be competing at an even<br />

Co-captain Isabel Kelly prepares to spike against an opponent.<br />

Photo: Logan Taylor<br />

higher level of play than last year’s team.<br />

When asked how this season will compare<br />

to last season, Gray replied, “I hope<br />

similar. Last year we were City champions.<br />

We lost some key pieces, but for the most<br />

part all of the main people are here. It is primarily<br />

realizing our potential and understanding<br />

that regardless of how good we<br />

are on paper, we have to work.”<br />

Y Fall Sports and Events<br />

Early bird pricing is still available<br />

through Friday, September 18 for the<br />

Palisades-Malibu YMCA’s fall sports<br />

at Simon Meadow that run through Saturday,<br />

November 21.<br />

A Punt, Pass and Kick competition for<br />

boys and girls ages 6-13 will take place at<br />

Simon Meadow on Saturday, September<br />

19 from 9 a.m. to noon and will include<br />

prizes and scrimmage games.<br />

An 8-week cross-country clinic will have<br />

youth ages 6 to 12 running through Tem -<br />

escal Canyon and improving their endur -<br />

ance on Sundays from September 27 to<br />

November 15.<br />

On October 3, the Palisades-Malibu<br />

YMCA’s Simon Meadow will be filled with<br />

the sounds of children playing flag football<br />

and soccer as well as the bright orange colors<br />

of the annual pumpkin patch.<br />

Flag football is offered for ages 6 to 8 and<br />

ages 9 to 11. The co-ed league practices<br />

weekly and has games on Saturdays.<br />

YMCA soccer has three co-ed divisions—ages<br />

1.5 to almost 3, 3-4 and 5-6.<br />

All the age groups play on Saturdays and<br />

the 5-6 year olds have an additional practice<br />

during the week.<br />

Contact YMCA Sports Coordinator<br />

Rashad Rhodes (310) 454-5591 or rashad -<br />

rhodes@ymcala.org.<br />

—LAURA ABRUSCATO


September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 19<br />

Kelly ‘Malibu’ Hayes Doesn’t Miss a Play<br />

Former Palisades High School wide receiver<br />

Kelly “Malibu” Hayes was sitting<br />

next to announcer Al Michaels during<br />

NBC’s coverage of the NFL’s season opener<br />

between the New England Patriots and the<br />

Pittsburgh Steelers on September 10.<br />

Hayes, who has been Michaels’ spotter for<br />

every football game since 1978, listened as<br />

Michaels reported that Steeler coaches were<br />

hearing the Patriots’ radio broadcast in their<br />

headsets, but Hayes’ eyes were focused on<br />

the field. The “eargate” problem persisted<br />

most of the first half before it was fixed<br />

(and the Patriots came out on top, 28-21).<br />

According to a feature by L.A. Times<br />

columnist Chris Erskine, Hayes has been<br />

working behind the scenes for 30 NFL seasons<br />

(and 11 Super Bowls) with Michaels.<br />

He has been responsible for making sure<br />

that Michaels has the right name and number<br />

for the players making the play.<br />

It was reported that during the football<br />

season, Hayes spends about 10 hours a week<br />

on his board, organizing stats and notes. He<br />

serves as a second set of eyes in a darkened<br />

booth, where Michaels is bombarded with<br />

Watch Palisades NFL Players<br />

If you follow the NFL Giants, Browns,<br />

Buccaneers or Redskins this season,<br />

chances are you’ll see a player from<br />

Pacific Palisades in action.<br />

Brothers Geoff and Mitchell Schwartz<br />

are former PaliHi standouts. Geoff graduated<br />

in 2004, before going to the University<br />

of Oregon. The 6-6, 340-pound offensive<br />

guard was drafted in 2008 and played for<br />

the Panthers, Vikings and Chiefs before he<br />

was traded to the Giants in 2014.<br />

Mitchell graduated in 2007 and attended<br />

UC Berkeley. The 6-5, 320-pound offensive<br />

tackle was first-team All-Pac 12 his senior<br />

year. He was drafted in the second round in<br />

2012 by the Cleveland Browns.<br />

Fellow Berkeley Bear Chris Conte, who<br />

grew up in the El Medio Bluffs area, graduated<br />

from Loyola High in 2007. The 6-2,<br />

203-pound safety was drafted in the third<br />

round in 2011 by the Chicago Bears. He<br />

signed a one-year contract with Tampa<br />

Bay last March.<br />

Kai Forbath, who grew up in the Highlands,<br />

played for Notre Dame High before<br />

attending UCLA. Although he was projected<br />

as the second-best kicker in the 2011<br />

draft, the 5-9, 197-pound kicker was not<br />

selected. He later signed with the Dallas<br />

Cowboys as a rookie free agent. He played<br />

for Tampa Bay and then joined the Washington<br />

Redskins in 2012.<br />

television distractions: reading promotions<br />

and hearing countdown to ads. Within seconds,<br />

for example, Hayes gives Michaels<br />

the name of the intended receiver and the<br />

defender who knocked the ball away.<br />

Hayes grew up in Malibu and played Pop<br />

Warner in Venice before playing at PaliHi<br />

against future NFL stars like Warren Moon<br />

and Wendell Tyler. After graduating PaliHi<br />

in 1974, he attended Boston University.<br />

During his senior year there in 1978 he went<br />

to golf’s U.S. Open to research his thesis on<br />

how networks covered the event. This led to<br />

a position as a “gofer” for ABC, which is how<br />

he heard Michaels was looking for a spotter.<br />

Hayes called him and said he could do it.<br />

In Erskine’s story (September 10), Hayes remembers:<br />

“I showed up in Lincoln. Game<br />

was Penn State versus Nebraska . . . I remember<br />

being scared to death.”<br />

At the beginning of his career, Hayes had<br />

other jobs, including selling ads for magazines<br />

(Penthouse) and then starting his own sports<br />

production company. But on weekends, he<br />

traveled to join Michaels in the booth.<br />

Hayes acquired his “Malibu” nickname<br />

from Michaels, but has since traded his<br />

surfboard for skis and swapped the beach<br />

lifestyle for Aspen, Colorado.<br />

According to the Times, Hayes jogs every<br />

day, including pregame runs around stadiums,<br />

and pens a wine column for the Aspen<br />

Times. Not a bad life for a PaliHi Dolphin.<br />

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Copa De Dillon Tourney This Sunday<br />

The second annual soccer tournament, Copa de Dillon, will be held at Palisades<br />

High School at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 20. A minimum donation of $350<br />

per team is sought and will be used to raise money for scholarships for the Dillon<br />

Henry Foundation.<br />

Henry, who played AYSO, high school and club soccer, died in a car accident<br />

in June 2007. The idea for the tourney came from Dillon’s good friends David<br />

Lau, Gabe Lister and Elliot Wainman to honor his birthday on September 24.<br />

Last year’s event had eight teams and raised almost $10,000. This year there<br />

will be 12 teams that will play in a single-elimination format.<br />

Admission is free, and food will be offered by Café Vida, Noah’s Bagels, Tivoli Café,<br />

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Page 20 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

Medea: A Tale of Displacement<br />

By LIBBY MOTIKA<br />

Palisades News Contributor<br />

The flight from persecution propels<br />

immigrants to take extraordinary<br />

risks. The successful ones celebrate<br />

the end of unspeakable hardships and<br />

fear. But this is only the beginning chapter<br />

for refugees; what follow are the challenges<br />

of starting a new life in a foreign<br />

place, away from family and isolated in<br />

cultural unknowns.<br />

Playwright Luis Alfaro takes up this second<br />

chapter in Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles,<br />

a re-imagining of Euripides’ tragedy<br />

that focuses on a Mexican family who have<br />

fled Michoacán to the barrio of East L.A.<br />

Staged at the Getty Villa, the 90-minute<br />

drama artfully and sensitively demonstrates<br />

how the family copes with displacement<br />

leaving Mexico with no sign, no welcome<br />

in that “other America.”<br />

Medea and Hason (Jason for those more<br />

familiar with Medea), their son Acan and<br />

Tita, a servant with healing powers, are<br />

finding their footing. Medea, a brilliant<br />

seamstress in Mexico, now sews men’s collars<br />

for humiliating wages.<br />

Hason has found promising work in<br />

construction in the employ of Armida, a<br />

successful Mexican developer, who intends<br />

to make Hason part of her business. Acan<br />

Sabina Zuniga Varela portrays Medea in<br />

Luis Alfaro’s adaptation. Photo: Craig Schwartz<br />

is a boy, eagerly molting into an American,<br />

ditching his huaraches for tennies, Papa<br />

for Dad.<br />

Subtly, director Jessica Kubzansky<br />

guides us toward the widening chasm between<br />

Medea and Hason: Medea clings to<br />

the traditions and values of Mexico;<br />

Hason sees his path to success in America<br />

by allying himself with Armida, compromising<br />

his relationship to Medea. “For<br />

me, she is a door, she’s given us a chance,<br />

I want more,” he says.<br />

The triangle tightens as Armida gnaws<br />

at the nontraditional bond between Hason<br />

and Medea by sealing her “business” pact<br />

with Hason in marriage, and mocking<br />

Medea for “thinking like an immigrant.”<br />

Being childless, Armida convulses Medea<br />

with the deepest cut a mother can imagine.<br />

She will adopt Acan, promising that he will<br />

inherit all she has.<br />

“Yes, she has me by the balls,” Hason<br />

says in pleading with Medea to accept his<br />

alliance with Armida. “Let her flirt, let her<br />

fall in love, it’s a small price to pay. We’ve<br />

worked too hard for this.”<br />

This being Medea, the inevitable tragedy<br />

that Euripides set in motion in the 5th century<br />

winds its way to the inexorable end.<br />

In looking for a way to bring this classical<br />

drama to a contemporary audience,<br />

Alfaro says he is just a chronicler and lets<br />

the classics talk to us. Choosing to frame<br />

this Medea within an immigrant story, Alfaro<br />

is turning this into a family story, a<br />

story about love.<br />

“Luis’ Medea lets me understand all the<br />

participants,” says Kubzansky, who is codirector<br />

of The Theatre @ Boston Court<br />

in Pasadena.<br />

“This is a painful, familiar love story<br />

about people navigating a new world when<br />

they don’t understand the rules.”<br />

The Getty production beautifully comprehends<br />

what is Mexican. “Underneath<br />

us is Azlan, our spiritual land,” Alfaro says,<br />

adding that the cast is an all-professional<br />

Latino team.<br />

Tita invites us into this deep, rich history<br />

as she enters the stage at the outset holding<br />

two large palm fronds. Waving them like<br />

bird wings, she invokes the past—the calls<br />

of the Michoacán bird—and the present—the<br />

helicopters patrolling overhead.<br />

In the end, Alfaro’s Medea is intimate,<br />

not grand, which brings its tragic end<br />

even closer to us.<br />

Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles continues<br />

at the Getty Villa at 8 p.m. Thursdays<br />

through Saturdays through October 3.<br />

For tickets ($40-$45), call (310) 440-7300.<br />

On Thursdays, light hors d’oeuvres and<br />

cocktails will be served on the Villa’s<br />

South Balcony ($40). On Fridays and Saturdays,<br />

a prix-fixe dinner with wine pairings<br />

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September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 21<br />

The Object Lesson Chronicles Our Past<br />

By LIBBY MOTIKA<br />

Palisades News Contributor<br />

There used to be a popular fundraiser<br />

at my brother’s school. For a dollar,<br />

you could pick a shipping box, contents<br />

unknown. You’d hope to hit the jackpot,<br />

but were willing to part with a buck<br />

just to see what was inside.<br />

Curiosity, the very human drive to discover,<br />

is at the heart of Geoff Sobelle’s latest<br />

work, The Object Lesson, directed by David<br />

Neumann and at the Kirk Douglas Theatre<br />

through October 4.<br />

Sobelle, who grew up in the Palisades,<br />

has pursued his curiosity through performance,<br />

which he thinks of as a metaphor for<br />

human experience.<br />

This experiment explodes to the full in<br />

The Object Lesson. The Douglas auditorium<br />

is overwhelmed with boxes, stacked to the<br />

rafters all around. Over 3,000 shipping boxes<br />

contain treasures from Everyman’s attic,<br />

lovingly wrapped in paper and labeled. As<br />

the doors open to the performance space,<br />

audience members are free to roam, open<br />

boxes, examine the contents and find a<br />

perch on a box to watch the drama unfold.<br />

Sobelle walks in and around the boxes,<br />

mingling with the crowd as they satisfy<br />

Las Doradas Will<br />

Hold Garden Party<br />

The annual Las Doradas luncheon, fund -<br />

raiser and fashion show will be held at 11:30<br />

a.m. on Saturday, September 26 in Brentwood.<br />

In addition to the catered lunch, there will<br />

be a silent auction and raffle drawings. The<br />

grand prize is a Hawaiian vacation for two.<br />

The deadline to RSVP is September 19. Contact<br />

Cheryel Kanan: clkanan@verizon.net.<br />

their curiosity.<br />

In past performances, Sobelle amped the<br />

proceedings with his own magic and clowning<br />

(he studied physical theatre, such as buffoonery<br />

and Commedia dell’arte clowning<br />

at the L’Ecole Internationale de Theatre<br />

Jacques Lecoq), but this piece is paced in<br />

reverie. As he inventories the contents of<br />

various boxes, he, and we, resurrect our own<br />

memories. Many are familiar—the Christmas<br />

decorations, the stuffed animals, love<br />

letters, rotary phone, birthday party decorations.<br />

But Sobelle is not content with the<br />

expected, pulling out sublimely ridiculous<br />

items: a toothbrush and toothpaste, which<br />

he proceeds to use; miles and miles of electric<br />

cord or tree roots; a head of lettuce, carrots<br />

and tomatoes, which he chops into a<br />

salad—while tap dancing on ice skates!<br />

“I choose the stuff, I’ve collected all of it,”<br />

Sobelle told the Palisades News in an interview.<br />

And while some of it is personal to<br />

him, Sobelle says it’s up to the audience to<br />

draw their own conclusions. “I am not here<br />

to help with the meaning. Some things are<br />

valuable, some are crap. I was laughing about<br />

the idea of an archeological excavation. We<br />

go to Pompeii trying to find antiquities, but<br />

what we’re really doing is rooting around<br />

in somebody’s garbage, 2000 years old.”<br />

As Sobelle moves around the space, uncovering<br />

fragments of his past, he is uncovering<br />

our past. “I see the piece as more about<br />

the audience than about me,” he says. “I<br />

think the project works empathetically and<br />

experientially.”<br />

While the pace is deliberately slow, meditative<br />

even, Sobelle feels the point of it is to<br />

quiet everything. “Some people can’t handle<br />

it and they walk out.” But these moments<br />

of pause and reflection, he says, are for us.<br />

We keep our eye on Sobelle, remembering<br />

that he is an entertainer, who believes comedy<br />

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Geoff Sobelle performs his culinary task on ice skates.<br />

is the highest order of art. “Laughter allows<br />

an audience to open, become vulnerable and<br />

experience the full realm of human emotion<br />

to discover a new plane of experience.”<br />

And he doesn’t disappoint us. The bits<br />

with audience participation are killing. In<br />

choosing his “victims,” he says he looks for<br />

several things, gauging chemistry and how<br />

much fun they’re having. Certainly the 10-<br />

minute dinner date tops the evening. Choosing<br />

a woman from the audience, he escorts<br />

her to dinner, which he prepares with the<br />

right amount of atmosphere and élan.<br />

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Sobelle credits his first Cirque du Soleil for<br />

his life’s passion. “I loved that first cirque<br />

under the tent on the Santa Monica Pier. My<br />

dream as a boy was to join the Cirque, so later<br />

when I found the Lecoq School, I was still<br />

bitten. I was excited by all those clowns. I was<br />

interested in this inventive spectacle, really<br />

live. It made me laugh and made me think.”<br />

The Object Lesson makes us laugh and<br />

makes us think too.<br />

Performances continue Wednesdays<br />

through Sundays at the Kirk Douglas Theatre<br />

in Culver City. For tickets, call (213)<br />

628-2772 or visit centertheatregroup.org.<br />

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Palisades News<br />

Page 22 September 16, 2015<br />

Soboroff Collects Famous Typewriters<br />

Story and photos by LAURIE ROSENTHAL<br />

Staff Writer<br />

Steve Soboroff’s entry into collecting typewriters<br />

occurred solely by happenstance. In 2005, with<br />

five kids in private school, the longtime Palisadian<br />

decided to sell his Sandy Koufax glove at a Sotheby’s<br />

auction in New York. The next item up at the auction<br />

was columnist Jim Murray’s typewriter.<br />

“The Dodgers were bidding on it. The Los Angeles<br />

Times was bidding on it,” Soboroff said. “Murray won<br />

the Sportswriter of the Year Award 14 times. Nobody<br />

else has won it twice.”<br />

Soboroff paid $18,000 for the typewrit er—a Remington<br />

Model J—and an expensive new hobby was born.<br />

Since that time, the Soboroff Typewriter Collection<br />

has grown to 33 typewriters, all owned by prominent<br />

people from a variety of fields, including entertainment,<br />

literature and science.<br />

Currently, the collection can be seen at the Paley<br />

Center for Media in Beverly Hills. Each typewriter is<br />

surrounded by ephem era, including magazines, letters,<br />

books, photographs and even a Plastic Ono Band 45<br />

(“Give Peace a Chance”).<br />

Soboroff wrote all the text that is featured in the<br />

exhibit on the old Royal typewriter that sits on his<br />

desk, which is two serial numbers off from the Ernest<br />

Hemingway typewriter that Soboroff owns. His<br />

Jerry Siegel created Superman on this Royal Portable Quiet<br />

DeLuxe.<br />

Photo: Michael Bulbenko<br />

Steve Soboroff’s Royal typewriter, similar to Ernest Hemingway’s, has a place of prominence in his memorabilia-filled office.<br />

typewriter can be found for $250, while he was offered<br />

$250,000 for Hemingway’s. It is one of seven that the<br />

author owned (Soboroff owns another one), and is<br />

the last one he wrote on before killing himself in<br />

1961. Soboroff doesn’t let anyone touch it.<br />

“My populist rule of thumb is if they were on<br />

the cover of Time, Newsweek or Sports Illustrated,<br />

I’m generally interested,” Soboroff said. This<br />

includes a diverse group, from Dr. Maya Angelou to<br />

Theodore Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber.<br />

His typewriter was taken by the FBI when he was<br />

captured, and eventually sold via a government auction,<br />

where Soboroff picked it up.<br />

When he met fellow Palisadian Tom Hanks, who<br />

is also a typewriter collector and represented in<br />

the collection with a Hermes 3000, Soboroff<br />

told him, “I’d take your typewriter.” It was<br />

delivered the next day, along with two Time<br />

magazine covers featuring the actor.<br />

There is a major difference between the two men’s<br />

collections. “He collects typewriters for the typewriter.<br />

I collect typewriters for who used them,” Soboroff said.<br />

Each typewriter in Soboroff’s collection has its own<br />

tale. Some of the greatest art and historical documents<br />

of the 20th century were created on them.<br />

Scientist Samuel T. Cohen’s typewriter was used<br />

when he worked on the Manhattan Project, the<br />

famed atom-bomb program of the 1940s.<br />

Orson Welles’ typewriter was his constant<br />

companion when he visited Paris. “He would lie on<br />

his back and he’d put the typewriter on his stomach<br />

and type,” Soboroff said.<br />

Jerry Siegel created Superman on his Royal Portable<br />

Quiet DeLuxe typewriter. His daughter, Laura Siegel<br />

Larson, sold it to Soboroff because she wanted to<br />

celebrate what would have been her father’s<br />

100th birthday in 2014.<br />

Other typewriters he has bought from family<br />

members and/or estates include those owned by<br />

John Cheever, Marlene Diet rich, Joe DiMaggio<br />

and Harold Robbins. The heirs are “entrusting me to<br />

celebrate the legacy of who owned the typewriter,”<br />

Soboroff said.<br />

Other featured typewriters include the one that<br />

George Bernard Shaw wrote Pygmalion on, the one that<br />

Andy Rooney had for 60 years and was featured on<br />

a segment on 60 Minutes and the one that John<br />

Len non wrote songs on before Beatlemania.<br />

The Smithsonian contacted Soboroff about<br />

donating one of his two Shirley Temple<br />

typewriters. “If I can donate to the Smithsonian, the<br />

finest museum in the world, it validates my collection.<br />

I gave them one.”<br />

He enthusiastically explains the history of the screen<br />

legend’s typewriter that is on view at the Paley Center.<br />

“That typewriter is 80 years old and prob ably used<br />

for about an hour. That’s like getting a Corvette<br />

from 1953 that somebody sealed hermetically.<br />

Her typewriter is in incredible condition.”<br />

Unlike today’s computers, which offer endless<br />

distractions, typewriters encouraged users to be<br />

extremely focused when they sat down to write.<br />

“Like an athlete, people got in a zone with these<br />

(Continued on Page 23)


September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 23<br />

Palisadian Tom Hanks is represented with his Hermes<br />

3000 and personally typed letter to Steve Soboroff.<br />

Soboroff<br />

(Continued from Page 22)<br />

things, and these machines were their partners in those<br />

zones,” said Soboroff, who relishes the fact that so<br />

many masterpieces were created on typewriters in his<br />

collection.<br />

He spends a lot of effort hiring people to prove that<br />

the typewriters’ lineage is correct. “No two typewriters<br />

type exactly alike,” Soboroff said, and he uses forensics<br />

and copies of original manuscripts to confirm that all<br />

his typewriters are authentic. It usually takes around<br />

six months for the entire process.<br />

Always looking to add to his collection, Soboroff would<br />

love to get a typewriter that was owned by a president.<br />

Thanks to the Paley exhibit, the Soboroff Typewriter<br />

Collection has grown, and now includes typewriters<br />

that belonged to Bing Crosby and Rudolph Valentino.<br />

This is the last typewriter Ernest Hemingway used before<br />

his suicide.<br />

“People would come and say, ‘This is the right place for<br />

me to put this typewriter instead of keeping it at home.’”<br />

Soboroff originally envisioned that the exhibit would<br />

be up for about two months— it’s now been nine. Unlike<br />

most museum exhibits, nothing is protected, or placed<br />

behind glass. Everything is close enough to touch, but<br />

there are polite signs throughout the room reminding<br />

people to look only.<br />

The collection was previously shown at Northeastern<br />

University’s new museum in Boston.<br />

Soboroff loans out his typewriters to different<br />

organizations, donating all of that income to the Jim<br />

Murray Memorial Foun dation’s journalism scholarship<br />

program.<br />

Every other year, he helps out the John Updike Society<br />

by lending the organization the author’s typewriter.<br />

And Siegel’s typewriter, on which Superman came to<br />

life, will travel to New York where it will be on view for<br />

five months at the “Superheroes in Gotham” exhibit<br />

Andrea Bocelli has written poems and more on his Standard<br />

Perkins Brailler.<br />

Photo courtesy Steve Soboroff<br />

starting October 9 at the New York Historical Society.<br />

Soboroff has lived in the Palisades with his wife,<br />

Patti, since they married in 1983. Their five children—<br />

Jacob, Miles, Molly, Hannah and Leah—range in age<br />

from 22 to 32. He has been president of the Los Angeles<br />

Police Commission for two years, helped guide the Playa<br />

Vista development, ran for mayor in 2001 and is involved<br />

in many civic and business activities throughout Los<br />

Angeles and beyond.<br />

When asked which typewriter is his favorite, Soboroff<br />

explains: “We have five kids. I tell every kid every time<br />

we’re alone that they’re my favorite. Every one of those<br />

typewriters is my favorite, for a different reason.<br />

“The typewriters tell a story. Provenance and other<br />

things tell a beautiful story. That’s what I wanted to tell<br />

about each one, because they’re really important pieces<br />

of American history.”<br />

Contact: paleycenter.org/p-soboroff-typewritercollection<br />

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Estates Director & Westside Specialist Since 1988<br />

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CalBRE #00575771


Page 24 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

Broadway Bound Opens at Pierson<br />

By SUE PASCOE<br />

Editor<br />

Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound, which<br />

opened on September 4 at Pierson<br />

Playhouse and runs through October<br />

11, is good, but with a few adjustments<br />

could be a truly memorable evening.<br />

This play, which debuted on Broadway<br />

in late 1986 and ran for almost two years, is<br />

the final chapter of Simon’s “Eugene Trilogy.”<br />

The first two, Brighton Beach Memoirs<br />

and Biloxi Blues, dealt with the adolescent<br />

Eugene Jerome growing up in Brooklyn<br />

and then his stint in the Army during<br />

World War II.<br />

The final play, which was nominated for<br />

a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is set in 1949.<br />

Eugene and his older brother Stanley still<br />

live at home and are trying to break into<br />

comedy writing. Their grandfather, a socialist,<br />

lives with them and refuses to move<br />

south to Florida with his wife. Even as the<br />

two brothers’ careers take off, their father<br />

and mother’s marriage is crumbling—and<br />

the tension is palpable.<br />

When critic Frank Rich reviewed the play<br />

for the New York Times, he wrote: “Broadway<br />

Bound contains some of its author’s<br />

most accomplished writing to date—passages<br />

that dramatize the timeless, unresolvable<br />

bloodlettings of familial existence as<br />

Brothers Eugene (DL Corrigan) and Stanley (David Tracq) are excited after hearing<br />

their comedy sketch on the radio.<br />

Photo: Joy Daunis<br />

well as the humorous conflicts one expects.<br />

But the seamless merging of laughter, character<br />

and emotion that ignited Biloxi Blues<br />

is only intermittently achieved here. There<br />

are stretches, especially in Act I, when<br />

Broadway Bound isn’t funny or moving but<br />

just reportorial and expository.”<br />

This is drama, and the attempt to force<br />

laughs in a story that needs to be told simply,<br />

is strained. This play doesn’t need<br />

opening and closing doors like a bawdy<br />

English farce. The play doesn’t need actors<br />

mugging. The play doesn’t need the constant<br />

shuffling of a chair just to create<br />

busywork for actors. Occasional silence or<br />

absence of motion can be just as powerful<br />

on stage as constant movement.<br />

Having seen the show on Broadway with<br />

Linda Lavin, who played the mother (and<br />

won the 1987 Tony Award for her performance),<br />

I remember sitting in the audience<br />

trying not to cry as it became apparent she<br />

would soon be alone in the house: a place<br />

where she had devoted her life to her family.<br />

It was a nuanced, magical performance.<br />

As much as Broadway Bound is a semiautobiographical<br />

play about Neil Simon<br />

(Eugene) and his home in Brighton Beach,<br />

Brooklyn, the fulcrum in this show is the<br />

mother. The audience has to feel sorry for<br />

her: it is crucial.<br />

One would urge another examination<br />

from the actress Georgan George (mother)<br />

and director Sherry Coon about that role.<br />

As the mother’s sister, Caroline Westheimer<br />

(Blanche) is lovely. Kenneth Steven<br />

Bernfield (Jack), who plays the dad, is nicely<br />

restrained and the audience feels sorry for<br />

him, even though he is blamed for breaking<br />

up the home. The two brothers, DL Corrigan<br />

(Eugene) and David Tracq (Stanley),<br />

are fine in their excitement of landing a<br />

career in radio/television. As the play progresses,<br />

Tracq seems to find his rhythm—<br />

and the asides, done for comedy and play<br />

progression, start to flow smoothly.<br />

The play is produced by Martha Hunter<br />

and Maria O’Connor. Show times are 8<br />

p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; Sundays at 2<br />

p.m. Adults are $20 and seniors/students<br />

are $18. Free parking. Call (310) 454-1970.<br />

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September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 25<br />

FALL EDITION<br />

Special Section—<br />

October 21, 2015<br />

Place Your Ads NOW in the<br />

Full-Color Pages, Full-Color Ads<br />

Distribution to the entire 90272 Palisades<br />

Community (by US Mail to 13,300 addresses<br />

& 1,200 distribution around town)<br />

Special Section Pricing<br />

(Call for details)<br />

Make your Ad Reservation Today!<br />

Ad Space Reservation Deadline: October 9<br />

Camera-ready Ad Artwork Deadline: October 12<br />

(Ads must be supplied by advertiser)<br />

Contact for Information:<br />

Jeff Ridgway at (310) 401-7692<br />

jridgway@palisadesnews.com<br />

Grace Hiney at (310) 401-7694<br />

gghiney@verizon.net<br />

Jeff Parr at (310) 401-7690<br />

jparr@palisadesnews.com<br />

Left to right, Kristi Temple, Kayla Anne Temple, Amy Lynn Bailey, Madelyn Ann Bailey,<br />

Coronet Debutante Ball President Candy Beaver, Catherine Ann Bigelow, Jacqueline<br />

Ann Bigelow, Nile Ruth Pierre and Lily Fae Pierre.<br />

Photo courtesy Candy Beaver<br />

Coronet Ball Board<br />

Names 2015 Debs<br />

By LAURIE ROSENTHAL<br />

Staff Writer<br />

The Coronet Debutante Ball board<br />

announced its newest debutantes at<br />

an August luncheon at the Bel-Air<br />

Country Club.<br />

Amy Lynn Bailey, Catherine Ann Bige -<br />

low, Nile Ruth Pierre and Kayla Anne<br />

Temple will be presented at the 66th Ball,<br />

which will be held at The Beverly Hilton<br />

on November 28.<br />

The four women were invited to debut<br />

based on their community service involvement.<br />

They have all worked as volunteers<br />

in the community for at least six years.<br />

“The girls are all accomplished high<br />

school seniors busy with a full fall schedule,<br />

who find the time to pursue philanthropic<br />

activities to better the community,” said<br />

Candy Beaver, current Coronet Debutante<br />

Ball president. “I am confident they will<br />

continue to inspire through their volunteer<br />

work for the rest of their lives.”<br />

Bailey and Pierre attend Palisades Charter,<br />

while Temple attends New Roads School.<br />

Bigelow lives in Northern California.<br />

The three local women all volunteer at<br />

Timeless Treasure Thrift Shop in Culver<br />

City and St. Anne’s in Santa Monica. In addition,<br />

Temple cooks for and feeds homeless<br />

women at OPCC in Santa Monica.<br />

Bigelow volunteers up north.<br />

Volunteerism is a basic tenet of the<br />

Coronet Debutante organization, and the<br />

women who spend time helping in the<br />

community are known as Ticktockers.<br />

Fifteen hundred and nine women were<br />

presented as Coronet Debutantes between<br />

1949 and 2014.<br />

Bigelow is a second-generation Coronet<br />

Debutante, whose mother, former Palisadian<br />

Jacqueline Ann Bigelow, was presented<br />

in 1976, and served as a Ball president.Her<br />

grandmother, Juanita Kamm, is a 70-year<br />

resident of Pacific Palisades and a former<br />

National Charity League (NCL) president.<br />

Bailey is also a legacy Coronet Debutante.<br />

Her mother, Madelyn Koll Bailey, debuted<br />

in 1975, and is also a past president of the<br />

NCL’s Los Angeles chapter. Amy’s sisters,<br />

Laura Bailey Mossler (2008) and Kristin Ann<br />

Bailey (2012), were also presented, along<br />

with her grandmother and great-aunt.


Page 26 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

DINING WITH GRACE<br />

THE NOOK<br />

11628 Santa Monica Blvd. (at Barry St.), West Los Angeles • (310) 207-5160<br />

This amazing restaurant has been a<br />

“find” for 10 years. Located at the<br />

back of the Plaza West (a minimall),<br />

look for the large NOOK sign.<br />

The restaurant has an amazing variety<br />

of top-quality foods and there is an exceptional<br />

list of cocktails, beers of various<br />

styles, as well as a consortium of ales, and<br />

a number of wines along with a variety of<br />

bourbons, rye, scotch, tequila and rum.<br />

The setting is simple with an open<br />

ceiling featuring rafters and aluminum<br />

pipes. There is a middle table for 14<br />

diners, along with a few booths and<br />

banquette seating on one wall. Large<br />

wooden framed mirrors decorate the walls. Tables are of<br />

simple wood but with all of the proper knives, forks and<br />

large white linen napkins found in first-rate establishments.<br />

Not many restaurants start their small menu with a<br />

mac and cheese, followed by shitake and gruyere bread<br />

pudding, or roasted cauliflower with a salsa verde aioli<br />

(each for $9). Ending this list of 10 small offerings is a<br />

Nook dinner salad of mixed greens with a rosemarybeet<br />

vinaigrette, dried cranberries, brandy pecans and<br />

goat cheese.<br />

My friend and I were torn between the crab cake with<br />

macaque choux and Tabasco vinaigrette ($15), or the<br />

roasted cauliflower.The latter proved to be excellent with<br />

its green and garlic-flavored salsa as a perfect accent to<br />

the roasted cauliflower. The shared dinner<br />

salad was also a delight.<br />

We had always enjoyed the Nook<br />

Burger before a film at the Royal Theater<br />

just down the street, but decided we<br />

wanted something different this time.<br />

Spicy Gulf shrimp caught my eye<br />

while my friend was intrigued by the<br />

chicken paillard. The spicy Gulf shrimp<br />

were perfect—tasty and succulent but<br />

not overwhelmingly spicy. The zesty<br />

flavor was a great accent to the Fall’s<br />

Mill stone-ground grits and slices of<br />

andouille sausage ($20).<br />

The chicken paillard composed of<br />

organic chicken breast pounded flat with garlic-smashed<br />

potatoes and sautéed rapini (brocoli raab), all with a<br />

marvelous lemon caper pan sauce, was equally delicious<br />

($19). The portions were generous and we took home<br />

leftovers.<br />

Keep the Nook burger in mind, because it comes<br />

with gruyere cheese, red onion jam and baby arugula<br />

on grilled rustic bread. It is served with fries or mixed<br />

greens and a homemade pickle ($14).<br />

For steak lovers there is steak frites with a hanger<br />

steak, shallot and mustard butter ($22), and for veggie<br />

lovers the squash and chickpea stew ($13) sounds tasty,<br />

as does the sautéed brown-rice bowl ($13). The menu<br />

is updated frequently.<br />

The chocolate and banana bread pudding with brandy<br />

caramel sauce and whipped cream ($7) sounded enticing<br />

for our shared dessert. It was as delightful as it sounded.<br />

A treat on the dessert menu for those who enjoy<br />

after-dinner drinks includes Irish coffee ($9), Cognac<br />

($12), special bourbons, rye and scotch. Also listed are<br />

a quintet of loose teas.<br />

Hours are from 5:30 to 10 p.m. daily except on Friday<br />

and Saturday when they remain open until 10:30 p.m.<br />

The bar’s Happy Hour is from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday<br />

through Friday.<br />

Parking in the Plaza West lot is free. As I said, Nook<br />

is a “find.”<br />

— GRACE HINEY<br />

310.230.7377<br />

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www.hollydavis.com<br />

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September 16, 2015 Palisades News Page 27


Page 28 Palisades News September 16, 2015<br />

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©2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each<br />

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