Proposed Potrero Park Hours Need to Be Changed: Residents Urged to Reach out to Councilman Bonin

Posted on November 14, 2022 by Sue

George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon is flanked by homes on several sides.

The George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon is slated to have an opening dedication on December 3.

Residents were dismayed to learn the park signage will state the Wolfberg Park will be open from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. year-round.

Palisades residents had been promised that the park would operate from dawn to dusk because of the high fire danger, the influx of transients and the lack of lighting in this 46-acre riparian park.

Resident Chris Spitz, who is a former Citizen of the Year, sent a November 12 letter to L.A. City Recreation and Park staff: “I and fellow residents are shocked and dismayed to learn that RAP staff is now imposing new and, in this case, nonsensical and dangerous Park operation hours:  5 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.

“This sudden decision is completely contrary to the City’s repeated representations to the community over the course of many years — including written representations to residents by the former BOE Park project manager/engineer — that the Park would sensibly be closed from dusk (sunset) to dawn (sunrise), i.e., open only from dawn (sunrise) to dusk (sunset) — and that Trilogy locks would be placed on Park entrance gates which will automatically (i.e., by remote operation) lock the gates at dusk (sunset) and open the gates at dawn (sunrise).”

CTN has learned that all city park hours are set from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. unless the hours have been amended for a specific park.

According to RAP officials, if the intent is to have a sunrise-to-sunset park, the Council Office [Councilman Mike Bonin] needs to make a motion for an ordinance to RAP to amend those hours, and to add this park to the list of all parks that are closed from sunset to sunrise.

CTN contacted Noah Fleishman to ask if Councilman Bonin had made that motion. When he responds we will update the story.

If residents feel that the park should only be open to visitors from dawn to dusk, one can send an email to noah.fleishman@lacity.org and to rap.commissioners@lacity.org.

 

Brief Recap of Potrero Canyon Park:

This was Potrero Canyon at Friends Street before the City started infilling the Canyon.

* In the 1950s, houses start slipping into Potrero Canyon. The City begins filling the canyon with combustible rubbish, street sweepings, pavement removals and yard trimmings, but this action is opposed by the Huntington Palisades Property Owners Association.  

* 1964: the City acquires the Canyon from Charles and Martha Patterson, using eminent domain.

* 1964-1984: more houses slide into Potrero and neighbors bring a $75-million lawsuit against the City.

* December 1984: the City purchases 14 residential properties (13 on DePauw and one on Alma Real) for $6.8 million to settle an earlier lawsuit and announces a plan to install a drainage system and create a city park. The park will be completed in five years at a cost of $3 million. (An additional 33 lots were later purchased by the City.)

* 1990: drainage is completed, and sub-drains are installed. Grading and compaction starts.

* 2004: only about 35 percent complete, grading stops because of lack of funding. Project is put on hold. The Potrero Canyon Community Advisory Committee is formed.

* 2005: slope failure occurs at 211 and 231 Alma Real. Another lawsuit is brought against the City. Through Bill Rosendahl’s senior deputy Norman Kulla, the City and the Coastal Commission agree that all lots and houses along the canyon, owned by the City, will be sold and the proceeds dedicated towards completion of the park.

* 2011: a ceremony is held, and City officials vow the park will open in 2017 at a cost of $30.5 million.

* 2016-2017: dirt from Caruso’s parking garage construction on Swarthmore is taken to the Canyon to be used for fill.

* 2018: grading resumes, landscaping will go out to bid.

*2019:  another groundbreaking ceremony is held. Park is now scheduled to open in late 2020 or early 2021.

*2022: Potrero Park is renamed George Wolfberg Park at Potrero in honor of long-time Palisadian and activist, who oversaw the Advisory Committee for years. The dedication and opening of the park is now scheduled for December 3. (Readers can anyone make an estimated guess what this park has cost the City since the 1950s? The $11 million approved by the state for the proposed pedestrian bridge from Potrero to the Lifeguard headquarters on Will Rogers Beach over Pacific Coast Highway, will probably be upwards of that figure.)

The walls of Potrero Canyon started sloughing early in the development of homes along the rim. This photo was taken in 1952.

Posted in Parks | 3 Comments

Fentanyl Expert Spoke at Paul Revere: Steps to Take With an Overdose

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Sue

Dr. Roger Crystal spoke to students and parents about the fentanyl crisis.

If you see someone lying on the street, “under 50 and younger, assume it’s an opioid overdose and assume it’s fentanyl,” Dr. Roger Crystal told the nearly 200 people in the Paul Revere Middle School auditorium on October 26. “Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that can easily be laced into other drugs, such as Xanax, Adderall and marijuana.

“Fentanyl is appearing in other drugs and the person [lying there] was intending to get high on something other than fentanyl,” said Crystal who is frequently featured as an opioid crisis expert, which includes national TV appearances with prominent U.S. news media. He has testified at The White House, advising the President’s Opioid Committee.

Give that person Naloxone [NARCAN], because “if sufficient amount is given quickly enough than it allows normal breathing to be restored,” Crystal said. “Opioids kill more people than road accidents, HIV, and gun crime.”

Crystal, who is the CEO of Opiant Pharmaceuticals and a parent at Revere said, “The use of opioids is getting worse and one of the biggest health issues of our time.”

He explained that opioids, which include codeine, oxycontin, heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil are a class of drugs that work on the on the brain affecting the respiratory system.

“The person may not even know they are overdosing,” he said, because the drug affects the respiratory system, and the person stop breathing.”

“About 81,000 Americans died of opioid overdose in 2021. Fentanyl was behind nearly 90 percent of the fatalities,” Crystal said. “Fentanyl is longer acting and 50 times more potent than heroin.”

He was asked how long the drug takes to affect a person.

“Really fast,” he said. “It could only take a couple of minutes to kill someone. It depends on the individual, the amount and the method of ingestion.

“The general rule is really fast,” Crystal emphasized.

If someone is lying on the ground, they can be given Naloxone because even if it isn’t an opioid overdose, the drug won’t do any harm.  He listed the steps to take:

1)Assume an opioid overdose

2)Administer naloxone

3)Call 911

4)Put the person in a recover position (on their side)

5)Stay with the person until help arrives.

Crystal traced the current opioid crisis back to Purdue, the drug company that has now been dissolved after being held legally responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic.

The doctor, who worked for several years as a surgeon, specializing in ear, nose, and throat, head and neck surgery at leading institutions including Imperial College Healthcare, London and was awarded Membership of The Royal College of Surgeons of England, gave reasons why this epidemic got out of control.

He said that the drug companies said that oxycodone would not lead to addiction.

About that same time, physicians were also told that patients in pain had to be treated as a fifth vital sign, which led to more prescriptions.

Pharmaceuticals gave gifts to physicians to entice them to prescribe drugs.

“America is the only country in the world that allows drug advertising for people,” Crystal said, and noted that when opioid addiction was in its heyday, those who had become addicted could “doctor shop.” That means that they could receive prescriptions from numerous doctors.

Once a legal crackdown came on opioids, many of those addicted on OxyContin turned to heroin.

But heroin, is produced through poppies, and the crop has a growing season.

Now heroin addicts are turning to fentanyl, which is synthetic and produced in the laboratory – and can be manufactured 24/7.

Initially the drug came from China, but now is mostly manufactured in Mexico, and distributed through cartels.

According to Eddie Want, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security, in October federal authorities have seized more fentanyl in the Los Angeles area, than in all of 2019.  Wang said there has been an increase in fentanyl over the last three fiscal years.

Crystal was upfront with the audience about his position with Opiant Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures NARCAN nasal spray.

“I have a vision where we will be put out of business,” said the doctor who holds a BMedSci in physiology and a medical degree from the University of Birmingham, in the United Kingdom. He received his master’s in business from the London Business School.

Opioids affect the respiratory system and breathing.

Posted in Kids/Parenting, Schools | 1 Comment

Kill the Messenger: California Elections Rock!

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Sue

After a box was destroyed at Baldwin Park LIbrary in 2020, the L.A. County registrar said it empties boxes more often.

In an early musing, Circling the News questioned why it takes so long for California to have election results – it’s now Sunday, November 13, six days after the election and Los Angeles County is still counting, readers were quick to respond:

One wrote: “Your snarky comments comparing the speed of election results in Florida and California are unfortunate.  Neither De Santis nor Newsom is responsible for the process.  Florida Law requires mail-in ballots to be received by 7pm of Election Day, requiring early mailing (the P.O. Recommends 7 days).  California law requires that the ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.  Thus, the last of the hundreds of thousands of Californians who wait until near deadline (perhaps to be able to be apprised of late-breaking events before voting) might not have their ballots read until the 7-days-after-election-day deadline.  As a journalist(?), you should not allow your political biases to trample the facts.”

Another wrote: “On the continuum of quicker with more suppression versus more inclusive but take more time, why wouldn’t we want more votes to count?  Why do we need to know the results on election night?

“Florida has much more limited mail voting, no matter when it is mailed it does not count unless it arrives by election day, and they limit drop boxes. Our California system of maximizing participation should be highly preferred. Garcetti’s extended term does not end until the first of the year, over 7 weeks from election day.  I don’t see a big deal to wait a few days for the result if it allows for more participation.  Waiting does not have an impact on when the new mayor takes charge.”

Another reader, who has worked the polls wrote: “This article explains in detail about the ballot curing process taking place in Nevada, as of today 11/10. https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-margins-tighten-in-nevada-elections-advocates-look-to-signature-curing-for-edgeSimilar process is happening in California. Both states have razor-thin margins in a few races, forcing states to cure ballots, a process which usually isn’t necessary. These uncounted ballots can change the outcome of some very close races.

This link shows a list of states with signature cure processes:

https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-15-states-that-permit-voters-to-correct-signature-discrepancies.aspx

Volunteers are now being recruited to contact voters in Nevada & California who submitted ballots that need to be cured. I just received a call to volunteer a few minutes ago. I’m done with my elections work for LA County Registrar Recorder, now I’m going to start calling for cured ballots.”

Another reader wrote: “I read CTN daily, and I am finding myself more and more concerned with the politicization. I have never written back before, but your comment about the speed of the counting of election ballots in Florida versus California was, in my view, disconcerting. It is a complex situation, and yet you seem to place the blame of the entire ‘problem’ in California, and the supposed ‘success’ in Florida, at the feet of the Governors. It is rare that the many, very nuanced, problems that exist in this country can be blamed on, or fixed by, one person.”

Another wrote: “How do you suggest California count votes on ballots that haven’t arrived yet? Under California law, absentee ballots are valid if they are postmarked by Election Day and received within 7 days AFTER Election Day. In your email newsletter you made a bizarre, fact-free comparison to Florida. In Florida, absentee ballots must be received ON Election Day to be counted. I guess this is why you’re only roughly “circling” the news? Since you are a former professional journalist, I would expect you to research the relevant facts and apply rational exposition rather than relying so much on your personal biases.”

Another resident wrote “FYI, France with nearly 70 million people manages to count and publish the final results before the morning after the election day.”

 

(Editor’s note: Do people remember the “hanging chads,” in Florida during the 2000 presidential race between George Bush and Al Gore? In a 2008 US News story (“Hanging Chads: As the Florida Recount Implodes, the Supreme Court Decides Bush v. Gore”) that “For 36 days, who won the White House was in limbo, as Bush and Gore were separated by a razor-thin margin, complicated by voting difficulties in Florida and the complexities of election law.  . . .Overnight, concerns about voting irregularities emerged in places like Palm Beach County, where a punch-card ballot with a format that was easily misread resulted in many disqualified votes.

“Intent. Later on November 9, Gore’s team demanded a manual recount in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Volusia counties. News outlets carried images of Florida election officials staring at hanging, dimpled, and pregnant chads on Florida’s punch-card ballots, trying to “discern the intent” of the voters. Bush’s lawyers argued to block the recounts; several more attempts to stop, or protect, the recounts and ballot certifications also were filed. On November 24, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Bush’s appeal of a Florida high court ruling that allowed hand recounts to proceed.

“The legal wrangling only intensified. On November 26, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who doubled as state campaign cochair for Bush, certified voting results that gave Bush a 537-vote lead. Gore’s team won a court hearing to challenge those totals. On December 1, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over whether the Florida Supreme Court had overstepped its authority in managing recount issues. On December 8, Florida’s high court upheld the manual recount. The next day, Bush successfully appealed for a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the recount. Bush’s team argued that the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection for all citizens disqualified a manual recount because Florida’s counties had followed differing vote-counting procedures. The Gore team demanded that every vote be counted. On December 12, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-to-4 vote, stopped the Florida recount.”

Florida changed their voting process after that fiasco.

CTN is old fashioned and feels that sending ballots to every household is a mistake. This year, my house in Pacific Palisades received ballots for two people who no longer live here and haven’t for more than a year.

If one cares enough about voting, one can easily obtain absentee ballots—I have done that on many occasions.

Now that vote centers are open prior to elections and not just the day of, it also makes less sense to mass mail, because there are options.

In past years, I worked in several elections in Pacific Palisades – at the Calvary Church – when Los Angeles elections were still held in numerous locations – and we never turned away a voter.

Elections come under state jurisdiction, which is why there are so many variations across the United States—and because I’ve lived in different locations–I’ve voted in South Dakota, New York, New Jersey and California—I’ve seen the differences. Many feel that elections should be determined by national election laws, but I feel that they should stay with the state. Given that states are in control of elections and the governor is the head of the state CTN doesn’t think its unreasonable for Governor Gavin Newsom to step up and provide direction.

In the meantime: here’s another “snarky” comment. Maybe California could call it election month, that way those of us who would like faster results – instead of having election night parties, could have election month parties.

Posted in Community | 5 Comments

Legion Auxiliary Donates Thanksgiving Gift Cards to Palisades Firefighters

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Sue

(Left to right) Captain Williams, Daphne Gronich, Chris Justus, Brian Dudley,  Kelly O’Keefe, Jeff Foster,  Nancy Niles, Jim Rogers and Eddie Rincon were on hand when the auxiliary gave a grocery card to Station 23 to help pay for the Thanksgiving meal.

Many may not realize that firefighters have to pay for their own meals while working a shift at a station. Generally, those on duty take turns shopping and cooking.

“While many of us are celebrating Thanksgiving with family, our firefighters are on call,” said Joanna Curtis past American Legion Auxiliary president. “And then I learned not only are they on call, but they have to pay for their own meals. It just didn’t seem fair that they work on holidays, and then have to foot the bill on top of it.”

Last year for Thanksgiving, the auxiliary bought gift cards to Ralphs grocery story for Station 69 (Sunset and Carey) and to Von’s grocery story (Sunset and Los Liones) for Station 23. This year the group voted to once again donate grocery cards to be used towards a Thanksgiving meal.

Members stopped by Station 23 on November 2 to deliver the card and the firefighters were thankful for the gift. The C-shift will be working Thanksgiving Day and that crew came out to greet members of the auxiliary. When asked who will be cooking, they said, “We all take turns.”

Asked if they had advice for residents for the November holiday the response was quick, “don’t deep fry your turkey in the house.”

Auxiliary members were also told, “We have many patio fires because of deep frying.”

With the change of time and cooler weather, the firefighters also recommended cleaning heaters before starting them, checking smoke detectors and remembering to open the flue before building a fire in the fireplace.

Next, auxiliary members went to Station 69, and were invited in the kitchen, as one of the firefighters was preparing the evening meal. Receiving the grocery card, Captain Mike McIndoe said, “This will be great for Thanksgiving, especially with the prices now.

“Your support is much appreciated,” McIndoe said. He introduced the auxiliary members to a new member of the C-shift, Roman Vega, who was in his first month as a probationary officer.

It is rare for new staff to be assigned to Station 69, most new hires are assigned downtown. McIndoe said that there were so many new officers, and there is a policy of not assigning them to the same station, so Vega, who had previously worked at Alhambra, arrived here.

Auxiliary were told that numbers are drawn by firefighters to see who cooks that day, and “it’s the highest number,” and then the person goes back to zero, so they don’t immediately end up cooking again.

Station 69 firefighters, who will be eating at the firehouse on Thanksgiving, also warned “Be careful if you are frying turkeys.”

There were also reminders about checking smoke detectors, because there had been a residential fire in Brentwood that had resulted in a fatality.

Also, with December holidays rapidly approaching, “Remember to water your Christmas trees,” they said.

Auxiliary members know that many of the first responders are also veterans, so this seemed like a good way to show appreciation and express thanks for their service.

There are three shifts assigned to each fire station and the C-shift will be working on November 25.

Members of American Legion Auxiliary stopped by Fire Station 69 to drop off a grocery card to help with Thanksgiving costs.

Posted in Accidents/Fires, Community | Leave a comment

Toy Drive Sponsored by Palisades Rotary Underway

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Sue

Last year, Rotary members Nancy Cleveland and Marka Midwin (right) boxed toys for the Toy Drive. Toys are sought again this year.

The Pacific Palisades Rotary Club is sponsoring a holiday toy drive for the Salvation Army Westwood Transitional Village.

This is a nonprofit organization that is helping families transition from homelessness to independent living.

Sought are new toys that are unwrapped. According to Lori Eisenberg, the Program Coordinator at the Salvation Army Westwood Village, “the kids really love, LOL Dolls, board games, Roblox games, Minecraft games, arts and crafts, and anything sports related.”

The drop off location is 16320 Akron Street. “The gate will be locked but you can reach over the fence and leave them gently in the plastic bins,” a Rotary representative said.

The DEADLINE to drop off toys is DECEMBER 13.

Posted in Community, Kids/Parenting | Leave a comment

Mysteries and Opera Events Featured through Palisades  Library

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Sue

Pacific Palisades Library will present two events on Tuesday, November 15, and a third event on Thursday, November 17.

 

Mysterious Book Club

The Mysterious Book Club, which met regularly before Covid at the Palisades Library, is back. This month the club will discuss “Magpie Murders,” by Anthony Horowitz at 1:30 p.m. on November 15 in the community room.

The book includes a dead author, a missing final chapter – does it contain clue to the author’s death?

Masterful, clever, and relentlessly suspenseful, Magpie Murders is a deviously dark take on vintage English crime fiction in which the reader becomes the detective.  PBS is currently showing a televised version of the novel if one would rather watch than read.  But, the last one airs on November 20, so one will have to read the ending before coming on Tuesday or…

 

Opera Talk:

One of the passionate and knowledgeable volunteers at LA Opera will be giving a talk online about the Opera’s presentation of Tosca at 6:30 p.m. on November 15 on Zoom.

Floria Tosca, the famous opera singer, seems to have it all. Audiences cherish her artistry—and adore hearing about her tempestuous offstage romances. But as storms of repression and rebellion rage throughout Italy, the diva is forced to play a real-life role she never imagined.

Torn between devotion to her lover and the machinations of a treacherous sociopath who will do anything in his power to break her down, she’s trapped in an utterly impossible predicament with fatal consequences for them all.

These talks are always fascinating, even if you are new to opera. Email palsds@lapl.org for the Zoom link. Tosca will play at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion November 19 through December 10.

 

Family Storytime:

The next family storytime is 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 17.  The event features stories, songs and fingerplay, which helps build reading skills while having fun. This library event is suggested for ages 3 and up.

The Palisades Branch is located at 861 Alma Real Dr. (310) 459-2754.

Posted in Arts, Books | 3 Comments

Registration Open for Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Sue

David Houston, one of the co-founders of the Palisades Thanksgiving Turkey Trot leads the runners on that Thursday morning.

While much of the country suffers from cold and even snow on Thanksgiving Day, Pacific Palisades generally has a gorgeous fall weather, which will be perfect for the 8th Annual Turkey Trot.

Participants can either run the 5 or 10K, which starts at the Palisades High School Stadium by the Sea at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, November 24.

Many enjoy the run before settling into an afternoon or evening feast. About 2,000 participants are expected this year.  The first Turkey Trot was held in 2013 and was the idea of David O’Connell and David Houston.

“We are delighted to bring back the Turkey Trot back to Pacific Palisades after a two-year hiatus,” O’Connell said. “We know our community loves to run and be outdoors with their families. And there’s no better way to get their holiday season off to a happy, healthy start. We are ecstatic with the level of support we have received from both runners and sponsors alike in our community and look forward to seeing everyone on Thanksgiving!”

Both courses start at the high school and weave through the residential area above the Asilomar bluffs. The 5 K ends at the high school, while the 10K takes a run up and down Temescal Canyon before returning to the stadium.

Each runner will receive a t-shirt, a complimentary swag bag and a chip-timed bib with results posted shortly after the race at www.paliturkeytrot.com/

Registered runners will be able to pick up packets and t-shirts prior on November 21, 22 and 23 at the Swarthmore Room in Palisades Village.

Event organizers strongly urging runners to come to Palisades Village one of those days to pick up their gear early and avoid lines on Thanksgiving morning.

The 5K pricing is $40 prior to the race ($45 on the day) and the 10K is $45 ($50 on the day). The event will be sponsored by Palisades Development Company, Exela Technologies, Palisades Village, Berkshire Hathaway and the local 76 Station.

One can register online at: paliturkeytrot.com.

Proceeds from the run will go to Desita, a Pacific Palisades charity led by the Dr. Dan Levi Family, which supports medical and humanitarian missions in developing nations. Most of the volunteers are high school students who work before and during missions to help children in hospitals and orphanages. Desita also supports youth sports organizations in developing nations. Visit: desita.org

Proceeds from The Palisades Funding Turkey Trot will also go to local Fire Stations #23 and #69, in appreciation for all their hard work the firefighters perform in protecting the community year round.

Residents come out to support family running in the race.

Posted in Holidays, Sports | Leave a comment

LA Election Results: Who Won? Who Knows?

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Sue

Prior to the mid-term on November 8, a steady stream of voters use the voting box by the library.

 

As the L.A. Country Registrar continues to count ballots from the November 8 primary, the only certainty is that it could take several days to declare a winner in many contests.

It is really a shame that California, which led in the development of technology in the United States, might be among the last of the states to figure out winners in local races.

As of November 9, The LA Country registrar said that a total of 1,318,093 ballots were processed and counted, with 23.42% of registered voters casting ballots.

“Election results are available to view and download at LAVOTE.GOV.

“After Election Day there are still many outstanding ballots to be processed and counted in the Official Election Canvass.

“During the Official Election Canvass, all Vote by Mail, Conditional, and Provisional ballots received on Election Day are processed and verified. Once verified, they will be counted.

“The first post-Election Day ballot count update is scheduled for Friday, November 11,” according to the registrar.

On Wednesday, the race for mayor between developer Rick Caruso and Representative Karen Bass was a virtual 50-50 deadlock. The two have traded leads, but as of early November 9, Caruso had a slight lead.

Hydee Feldstein Soto was maintaining a comfortable lead today and was poised to prevail over Faisal Gill in the race for Los Angeles city attorney, but there are still votes to be counted . . .

Kenneth Mejia, a 31-year-old accountant, had a healthy lead today over three-term City Councilman Paul Koretz in the race for Los Angeles City Controller. Ever enthusiastic, Mejia declared victory on Tuesday night when the initial, but not total, results were posted.

Termed out was City Controller Ron Galperin. As Los Angeles’ chief accounting officer, he oversaw audits, accounting operations and financial reporting — including submitting reports on the effectiveness of city departments.

Traci Park had a lead over Erin Darling to succeed Mike Bonin in LA Council’s 11th District seat.

State Senator Bob Hertzberg and West Hollywood City Councilwoman Lindsey Horvath were locked in a virtual dead heat to replace L.A. County Board of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl for District 3, which includes Pacific Palisades.

Former Long Beach police Chief Robert Luna held a solid lead today in his bid to unseat Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Luna had jumped out front quickly when early ballot results but as the evening wore on, Villanueva began making some slow gains.

Traci Park Supporters are hopeful their candidate will prevail in the Council District 11 contest.

Posted in City/Councilman Mike Bonin, Community | 2 Comments

“Sweet Delilah” Provides Warm and Lovely Evening

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Sue

The cast of “The Sweet Delilah  Swim Club” includes Mary Allwright, Laura Goldstein, Maria O’Conner, Martha Hunter and Michele Schultz.
Photo: Joy Daunis

By LAUREL BUSBY

Circling the News Contributor

Fans of Steel Magnolias will likely be delighted by Theatre Palisades new play, The Sweet Delilah Swim Club.

Written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and James Wooten, the play centers on five Southern women, former college swim team members, who reunite each summer for a festive weekend at a beach cottage on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The women sling zingers worthy of The Golden Girls (Wooten was a writer on that show) and share each other’s lives at seminal moments during four weekends that occur over a span of more than 30 years

As directed by Sherman Wayne, Sweet Delilah Swim Club features a committed cast who display a flare for both humor and connection. The script, first performed in 2007, has become popular at community theaters and provides a simple tale with kindness at its heart. The banter between the women and their shifting life stories is the spice that enlivens the plot.

Sheree Hollinger, the health-conscious team captain played with warmth and verve by Maria O’Connor, organizes the group’s activities and tries to improve their eating habits, while Lexie Richards, a looks-obsessed narcissist (played with conviction and pathos by Laura Goldstein), provides both comic relief and occasional unexpected humanity as she regales the group with both her repeated divorces and her obsession with attractive men.

Vernadette Simms (Mary Allwright), a long-suffering friend who struggles with poverty, a difficult marriage, and a son who keeps going to jail, provides a constant streak of humorous commentary. Allwright exhibits a gift for comic timing as she spouts one-liners, such as “Of all god’s creations, elastic waistbands are my favorite” or “That’s the problem with husbands—they’re always saying they’re going to die for you, and they never do.”

Finishing out the cast are Dinah Grayson, a career-driven, hard-drinking lawyer who Michele Schultz invests with clarity and dimension, and Jeri Neal McFeeley (played with comic sweetness by Martha Hunter), a longtime nun who has a surprise in store for her friends when she arrives for the play’s first weekend together, which occurs 22 years after their graduation.

The crew bounces off each other with their disparate personalities, but, in Sweet Delilah Swim Club, the friendship that united them in college is one that can literally weather any storm. The evolution of the women through life’s challenges provides a touching thread that grows as the play progresses, and the different facets of their personalities shine in ways that will especially appeal to people who enjoy shows ranging from Designing Women to Beaches.

Co-produced by Wayne and Hunter, Sweet Delilah Swim Club also offers charming costumes by Alta Abbott and a homey beach cottage set (designed by Wayne) that is an apt playground for this tale of friends who make their way through life together.

Performances continue through December 11, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Haverford Ave. For tickets, call (310) 454-1970.

The play spans more than 30 years in the lives of the five women.
Photo: Joy Daunis

Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Rain, Blessed Rain, Fell in Pacific Palisades

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Sue

The rain started in the evening of November 6 and after several showers and downpours, the sun finally came out on November 9.

There were reports of several traffic accidents and garbage cans floating down the street.

The rain gauge on Radcliffe showed 1.7 inches of rain. That brings the total to 2.5 inches of rain for the year. On September 9, there was .4 inches of rain and again on November 2, another .4 inches was added.

The rainfall season starts on July 1 and runs through June 30 and the annual average in Pacific Palisades is 13.78 inches of rain.

The late Ted Mackie served as Palisades assistant rainmeister for years.

In November 2014, he shared a chart with a local paper of the rainfall over the past 73 years.

The driest cycle was the five years between 1987 and 1991, when Pacific Palisades received less than 10 inches of rain each year.His table showed the five driest years on record were 1976, 1990, 2007, 2012 and 2014.

The five years with heaviest rainfall accumulation were 1978, 1983, 1995, 1998 and 2006.

The most rain recorded in the Palisades since 1942 was 42.60 inches in 1997-1998.

Although 2020-21 recorded 4.26 inches of rain, 2006-07, still was the driest year with 4.11 inches of rain.

Last year, Palisades received 10.94 inches of rain.

2015-16 received 9.07 inches of rain.

2016-17 received 17.99 inches of rain.

2017-18 received 6.04 inches of rain.

2018-19 received 19.68 inches of rain.

2019-20 received 13.82 inches of rain.

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