Palisades Football Defeats Westchester 40-26: Remains Tied for First

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Sue

Senior Captains Nathan Spoonamore (76), Christian Baud (74) and Savyour Riley (4), participate in the coin toss at the beginning of the game. Looking on is Joe Spector, who had the press box dedicated to him at the game. He was recognized for being a life experience coach at Pali since 1987.

It was homecoming night at Pacific Palisades High School on October 21, when the Dolphins faced Westchester. Pali was 6-2 on the season and 3-0 in league and needed a win to stay tied for first place with Venice in the Western League.

The final score saw Pali on top 40-26, setting up the championship game at the Stadium by the Sea on October 28.

Comets kicked off and Palisades received the ball on their own 27-yard line. Less than a minute in the game, quarterback Roman La Scala handed off twice to Christopher Washington and completed two passes to Amari Yolas, and the Dolphins scored their first touchdown. Kicker Kellan Ford made the first of four PATS.

Westchester scored its first touchdown four minutes later: Pali blocked the PAT.

The Dolphins received the kickoff on their own 20-yard-line and worked steadily down the field. On the Westchester 28, La Scala went to Washington, who carried it to the 10-yard line. On the next play Washington took it in for a touchdown.

Westchester fumbled on its next possession on the 23-yard line, and defensive end Immanuel Robinson (6’2”, 210 pounds) recovered and ran it in for a touchdown. The Comets blocked the PAT and the score was 20-6.

After the kickoff, the Comets ran the ball back to their own 35, but a bad snap left them scrambling to regain possession, which they did on their own three-yard line. They managed to move it back to the 16, but were forced to punt.

The Dolphins took over on the Westchester 37-yard line. Passes to junior Sean Grier, who had 102 yards for the game, moved the ball to the red zone. A fake from the quarterback to Savyour Riley left the end zone wide open for La Scala to coast in.

Junior Evan Nehrenberg (200 lbs. 6’3”) sacked Comet quarterback, midway in the second quarter forcing Westchester to punt again.

Starting on the Dolphin’s 40, La Scala had two quick handoffs to Washington, who is credited with 18 carries and 91 yards for the game. La Scala passed to Yolas, who scored his second touchdown five minutes into the second quarter.

PaliHi scored its final touchdown of the half, and the game, with a pass from La Scala to Grier.

With five minutes left in the half, Westchester, starting on its 22-yard line, responded with a touchdown, but the extra point attempt was no good.

With under two minutes left in the half, Westchester scored again, but missed a two-point conversion. The score at half was 40 to 18.

It seems that the Palisades team felt they were done after the first half.

Even as the Comets came back fighting, making first downs and moving the ball, Palisades had “checked out.” The Dolphins didn’t have a first down in the third quarter and no points in the second half.

After the game, Head Coach Chris Lyduke told players, “We got a win: it wasn’t pretty. There was a lack of focus, a lack of concentration.”

He told CTN “We just went through the motions the second half.”

With the upcoming game with Venice on October 28 at 7:30 p.m., Lyduke promised, “This will be a good old championship football game.”

Venice beat University 43-8 on Friday. Both teams are 4-0 in league and have 7-2 record overall. This Friday night will also be Senior Night at Pali.

The Dolphins will face one of the toughest quarterbacks in the league with Venice’s Paul Kessler (220 lbs. 6’5”) a senior, who is averaging 195.4 passing yards per game. He is flanked by two seniors, running back Robert Lamar and receiver Rashawn Jackson. Jackson is averaging 84 receiving yards per game, and Lamar, who has 486 total rushing yards, average 8 tackles per game.

Posted in Sports | 2 Comments

Tipus Might Be the Wrong Tree for the Bocce Area

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Sue

The tipu trees in the Village Green have been called messy” because of flowers and leaves dropping. They are also get Psyllids. The trees do grow rapidly and provide shade.

The Pacific Palisades Forestry Committee (PFC) sought permission to plant eight replacement trees at the Recreation Center during the Park Advisory Board meeting on October 19.

The PFC proposed three tall pine trees near the entrance to the park, three Torrey pines adjacent to the kids’ playground, and two Tipuana tipu trees near the bocce courts.

The Forestry committee, a Community Council subcommittee, has organized the tree-planting project to help replace the numerous trees that have been lost at the park in recent years due to drought, disease and a windstorm.

Several residents who live near the Veterans Gardens/bocce courts had hired arborist Walt Warriner for advice about tipu trees in this particular location. These trees have graced the Village Green for decades.

Warriner, a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists, provides expert testimony, risk assessments, construction mitigation and community outreach. He told his clients, “I recommend going to the meeting and voicing an objection to the Tipu. I recommend the incense cedar tree. It is native, has the same general appearance of a redwood, is much cleaner of a tree than the tipu and does not develop a wide-ranging surface root system that could be invasive in some areas.”

Warriner sent a photo of this cedar, a tree native to Southern California, growing in Santa Monica.

At the PAB meeting, neighbors were not allowed to offer Warriner’s suggestion, and the board approved the eight trees, including the tipu.

PAB’s recommendation, which is advisory, now has to go before the L.A. Recreation and Parks Board of Commissioners. They have to approve the gift of the eight trees and members of the community would be able to comment during that meeting about the trees.

After the PAB meeting, David Card, chair of the PFC, was asked by email, “Did you ever ask the neighbors’ recommendation for the bocce area? If you asked, was that recommendation on the list of approved trees for L.A.? If you didn’t ask, why not?

Card said that his group had “asked RAP Forestry’s arborist for its recommendation for a shade tree for the Veterans Gardens picnic tables and was given the Tipuana tipu.”

He continued, “As a landscape designer, who 19 years ago graduated from landscape architecture school (UCLA Extension’s four-year Landscape Architecture Program), was the TA for the school’s Plant Materials professor, worked in his landscape architecture firm, and had my own landscape design firm in Pacific Palisades until 2017 (now doing landscape design as a community volunteer), I concurred in that selection, as did the Palisades Forestry Committee and the Palisades Park Advisory Board. RAP’s arborist and maintenance experts said that incense cedars are more susceptible to disease and do not do well in Los Angeles, based on their experience.”

CTN queried several members of the Village Green board about the tipu trees.

One individual responded, “I am very familiar with the tipus since we have three on the VG. They are messy, dropping yellow blossoms at one time of the year and losing their leaves at another time. They get Psyllids which creates another problem. We have to treat for this, so we don’t have a sticky mess on everything. Then the root system has wreaked havoc with our sidewalk and brick area. A number of years ago the Village Green had a very costly repair to replace the sidewalk and bricks.”

The roots from the tipu trees, can be invasive, and resulted in the brick pathways in the Village Green having to be redone.

Card responded to CTN about that information. “It’s not my decision. LA City’s Rec & Parks recommended the tipu for that site. The Vet Gardens people agreed — they manage that area of the park. They will buy and care for the trees, and they’ll have the resources to do so.”

Retired arborist Carl Mellinger, who grew up in Pacific Palisades and is on the Village Green Board, said he was never consulted about the choice of trees. He has agreed to meet with CTN to examine the space and the suitability of tipus.

Regarding maintenance: The Veterans Gardens is under the management of the nonprofit “Your Parks Corporation.” Currently, there is a three-year maintenance agreement for that area that includes the picnic area and bocce courts. It was signed in the fall of 2021.

In consideration for the maintenance costs, Your Parks can issue permits to conduct leagues without any payment to the City.

The two x’s mark where the tipu trees would be planted. One is adjacent to the bocce courts.  It appears that the trees will provide additional shade, but the trees could also cause problems with the courts because tipus have invasive roots.

Posted in Community, Environmental | 2 Comments

Qualia Senior Busby Thompson Qualifies as National Merit Semifinalist

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Sue

 

 Terrin Busby Thompson chats with Qualia School Founder Jim Hahn.                                                              Photo: Maggie Storm

Terrin Busby Thompson, a senior at Qualia: The School for Deeper Learning in Calabasas, is among the 1 percent of SAT and PSAT takers to earn recognition as a National Merit Semifinalist this year.

Busby Thompson’s status qualifies him to move on in the national competition and possibly receive one of 7,250 scholarships that together total almost $28 million.

Busby Thompson had suspected that his high-test scores might garner him this initial award in the competition, and he felt both happiness and relief after securing the honor. “I felt like my work paid off,” he said. “It’s a very well recognized award, and I hope that it will be helpful in getting me into colleges…. It definitely made me a lot more confident in knowing that I test well and could handle these high-pressure, speed questions.”

While Qualia, Busby Thompson’s innovative secondary school, emphasizes writing, problem solving and critical thinking over “one and done” testing, students have often attained high SAT or ACT scores, including a handful of perfect scores over the school’s 15-year history, according to Qualia’s co-founder Jim Hahn, who lives in Sunset Mesa.

As a deliberately small school with seminar-sized classes, Qualia provides a personal and passion-driven education that allows students to delve more deeply into standard academic subjects, Hahn said.

In addition, students in all grades take a philosophy course, designed to sharpen critical thinking and develop college-level reading, writing, and analytical skills.

In 2008, Hahn began the first iteration of the school, Areté Preparatory Academy, with five students at a West L.A. house owned by his father, Jim, a former Palisades Rotary Club president.

The school grew and eventually moved to occupy an expansive suite at an office building on Olympic Blvd., but the pandemic made the space no longer tenable in large part due to the shared air conditioning system.

Hahn and longtime friend Jon Cassie, Qualia’s co-founder, discovered an ideal new facility at 4345 Las Virgenes Blvd. in Calabasas, which was previously occupied by director James Cameron’s MUSE School.

The two-acre space offered well-appointed classrooms plus an outdoor space that could be used for classes, athletics and projects. The school moved there last year and changed its name to Qualia.

In addition to regular coursework, students enjoy Qualia’s flexible dual enrollment program. Busby Thompson, 17, has already taken 10 college classes and is enrolled in two more this school year, the post-calculus mathematics course, Discrete Structures, and C++ Programming at Santa Monica and West L.A. colleges respectively.

Busby Thompson says he prefers the style of Qualia classes though, because they allow him to explore topics that fascinate him. For example, he studies two languages, Mandarin and Japanese, and created video games that explore their cultures and mythology as part of his final projects for both classes.

In addition, he takes two music electives, band and music production, and also studies piano and saxophone outside of school, often incorporating music into his class projects.

Qualia students participate in a semi-annual philosophy-based Symposium, allowing them to delve into questions and topics that fascinate them, while learning to research, write and present in the style of an academic conference. Busby Thompson usually employs this time to research topics in astronomy and physics, two other topics that intrigue him, and he aims to find a college that will meet his need for advanced STEM work while also supporting his artistic endeavors.

Hahn, whose wife Mio is both a Japanese teacher and the director of advancement at Qualia, recently celebrated Busby Thompson’s National Merit achievement with the rest of the school with cupcakes and an impromptu party.

“It’s thrilling to see a student with such sincere and deep passions be selected for this honor,” said Hahn, whose son Diego, 17, is also a senior at Qualia, while daughter Amy, 19, a 2020 graduate, is a junior at Pitzer. “The fact that Terrin’s education has been driven by his curiosity and goals, rather than by résumé-building, makes this recognition especially meaningful.”

To garner semifinalist status, California students have to achieve higher scores than students in most other states, because the National Merit Scholarship Corporation provides the awards proportionally by state and California students as a group have higher scores than many other states.

High school juniors generally take the PSAT to earn this initial honor, although students without access to this test may take the more challenging SAT instead. Regardless, students must follow this initial success by also attaining high scores on the SAT or ACT.

About 95 percent of National Merit Semifinalists will advance to the finalist level, and they will receive notification of this designation in February. Several types of scholarships will then be awarded in the spring of 2023, including 2,500 National Merit Scholarships of $2,500 each, and corporate-sponsored scholarships of varying amounts. Students also qualify for 3,800 scholarships provided directly by colleges and universities, including some offering free tuition, room, and board.

Visit: qualiaschool.org

Posted in Kids/Parenting, Schools | Leave a comment

Local Library Offers Two Events: Writing a Novel and Baby Storytime

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Sue

Author Anne Louise Bannon will help beginning writers with “Ideas to Story.”

National Novel Writing Month Celebrated:

The Los Angeles Public Library is sponsoring Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) with a series of programs in October and November.

Funded by the Friends of the Library, every Palisadian who is writing a novel or considering writing a novel is invited for a series of workshops to help with the process.

“Ideas to Story” will be presented at 3 p.m.  on October 29, at the library, 861 Alma Real Drive with writer Anne Louise Bannon.

Bannon, who was a TV critic for more than 15 years, founded the YourFamilyViewer blog, and created the OddBallGrape.com wine education blog with my her husband Michael Holland, has authored numerous books.

She is the co-author of Howdunit: Book of Poisons, with Serita Stevens, as well as author of the Freddie and Kathy mystery series, set in the 1920s,  the Operation Quickline series and the Old Los Angeles series, set in the 1870s.

Bannon, the author of “Death of the Chinese Field Hands,” “Blood Red” and “Rage Issues” will lead participants in the process of turning ideas into a story.

After people have worked on “ideas,” the next library program will be “Outlining” at 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 5.

A write-in will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8 via zoom (email: palsds@lapl.org for the link).

On Saturday, November 12 at 3 p.m. an in-person writing event will be held.

Baby and Toddler Storytime:

The next Baby and Toddler Storytime is at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, November 2. Lap-sit (or not!) storytime is for babies and toddlers and their grown-ups to all share together. One child, one lap, please.

This program is for children ages 36 months and under, accompanied by a grown-up. Due to the structure of this storytime, please show courtesy by being on time.

Posted in Books, Kids/Parenting | Leave a comment

Park Advisory Board Discusses Pickleball, Trees, Restrooms and Grills

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Sue

The Palisades Park Advisory Board held its quarterly meeting on October 19 via zoom, and it did not disappoint for controversy.

Accusations from residents, which were not confined to public comment, flew throughout the meeting, which covered trees, grills, noise and light – but not pickleball.

PICKLEBALL:

Palisades Recreation Director Jasmine Dowlatshahi announced at the beginning of the meeting that a sound check would be done on tennis court #8 on Friday morning to ensure that if that court were to be turned over for pickleball players, there would be no noise issues. She also said that staff was complaining that the gym floors were being damaged by pickleball users.

Pickleball users were taping off Court #7 on Sunday afternoon. They were asked if the sound check had passed. They didn’t know, but said they had a permit to play.

PLAYGROUND AND RESTROOMS:

It was noted there is no shade on the playground since the tree next to it fell over last year. The playground is not ADA compliant. In July the PAB, an advisory board to Rec and Parks, sent a letter to Jimmy Kim, RAP acting general manager that “the condition of our ADA noncompliant playground and bathrooms are dangerous and unsuited to the standards of the L.A. City Department of Recreation and Parks.”

It was suggested that perhaps a shade structure could be placed above the playground, but a parent pointed out that the sand was dirty and needed to be cleaned, too.

The board was told by Los Angeles Rec and Parks Superintendent Sonya Young-Jimenez that “a lot of parks have to fund for themselves.”

PAB member Maryam Zar asked, “When was the last time money was allocated to 90272?”

PAB member Rick McGeagh explained that money had been raised for the Field of Dreams, the staircase to the Field of Dreams and for the bocce courts. “We’ve done more than our fair share of raising money,” he said, and noted that the “restrooms are a huge liability for the city.”

The bathrooms at the old gym and adjacent to the playground are not handicapped accessible.

GRILLS:

Then the meeting heated up with talk of the six grills located in Veterans Gardens: the closest is within 35 feet of neighbors’ backyards.

Pacific Palisades is located in the very high fire severity zone. The grills already must remain closed between April and November.

Neighbors said that even though the grills are closed, there are still fires in the park during those months.

Resident Rob Weber, whose house is next to the park said, “a couple of weeks ago, three food vendors, one with a gas grill, set up right on the property lines.”

PAB members were told that for some birthday parties, taco vendors would bring in their own grills. “We see gas and wood flames along our fence line,” Weber said. “We understand there are going to be activities, but there are rules that should be followed by people who use the park.”

PAB members agreed that cooking should not be allowed in the park by vendors and the statement “no cooking/flames” needed to be clear in the permits issued. Food trucks on the parking lot were determined to be safe.

Neighbors have complained that when the grills, located in the park have the padlocks removed from November 1 through April 30, that teens and homeless use them after hours. They say fires, which are not regulated, can pose a threat to their homes, especially during wind events.

Neighbors asked PAB to have grills remain closed year-round.

In a February 2020 email obtained by CTN, Erich Haas, who was the Palisades Recreation director at the time, wrote to neighbors:

1)  The operational times of the grills will be dependent on the time of the picnic permit which is approved by me.  Historically, picnic permit applications usually go for about two to three hours. Time of day can vary dependent on which day of the week and the times they are requesting.  As I explained to a resident at our meeting last week, the idea of keeping the grills locked when not on an approved permit was a very good idea and one, I felt could be implemented without much push back.

2)  Use of all park picnic areas are by permit only.  If they state they will be grilling, a staff will go and unlock the grill when the permit begins, periodically monitor the area throughout the permitted time and when the permit is over will ensure the fire is out and re lock the grill.

But at this meeting, Veterans Gardens developer/builder Bill McGregor said, “These grills are as high quality as money can buy,” and argued they should be unlocked starting November 1. “The comments from the neighbors are gross exaggeration.”

The park was asked if there was a hose or fire extinguisher close to the grills. “No,” was the answer. Incoming PAB President Andy Starrels asked about other parks, “Does Crestwood Park have grills?”

“No,” said Sonia Young-Jimenez, superintendent of Los Angeles Rec and Parks. The Crestwood Hills Recreation Center is located off Kenter in Brentwood, in a wildland-urban interface area.

The PAB voted that the grills should remain closed from November to April, unless someone had a permit, or someone went to the office to ask to use it. It was also noted that a fire extinguisher should be on site if grills are being used.

CTN contacted LAFD Station 69 Fire Chief Thomas Kitahata and asked him to look at the grills. If CTN has a response from the Captain, the story will be updated.

(In subsequent stories, CTN will report on other PAB topics: trees, noise, lights and bocce.)

There are six grills near the bocce courts. The closest is within 35 feet of a residence.

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Who Came Up with the Retirement Slogan “Golden Years?”

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Sue

Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch

BY BOB VICKREY

As I took my morning walk recently, I looked up to see a friend coming my way. He flashed a big grin as he approached with a welcoming greeting, “I would know that walk anywhere.”

I knew immediately what he meant.

In recent years my body doesn’t always obey what I command it to do. My legs have a mind of their own and often seem to veer in opposite directions. I told my friend that I had inherited the Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch technique. I had imagined the late Rams’ Hall of Fame running back walking in a similar manner as he got older. I feel honored to be carrying on his great tradition.

So, it’s like this: My left leg goes one way and my right leg goes the other. I usually just let them fight it out and I go with the winner. I’m always the last to know which way we’re actually going. It’s sort of like walking your dog. You are supposedly in charge of the route you’re taking, but in reality, you’re inevitably going whichever direction the dog chooses to go.

We certainly can’t say we weren’t warned about getting older. Bette Davis told us many years ago that “getting old isn’t for sissies.” Playwright Tom Stoppard once quipped, “Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.”

I vividly remember when this whole aging process began. The way I recall it, I was standing at the corner of Swarthmore and Sunset  about thirty years ago waiting for the light to change, when suddenly without warning, my chest simply dropped into my midsection. It happened so quickly that bystanders on the sidewalk audibly gasped.

At least that’s the way I imagined it happening. This was all very disconcerting for a guy who had always been thin and never had to hit the treadmill to keep his waistline in check.

I even imagined the news story that might have followed in the local paper:

Witnesses said the thin middle-aged gentleman was simply standing on the corner when his body changed right before their eyes. A paramedic was quoted as saying: “There was simply nothing we could do. It appears that Mr. Vickrey’s sedentary lifestyle led to this unfortunate incident.” He explained the condition was commonplace among many American males who watch too much football on television, and consider their trips to the refrigerator aerobic exercise.

 As my high school reunion approaches this year, I searched Facebook to find photos of my former classmates. It appears that others in my class had made their own frequent trips to the refrigerator—not to mention the restaurant dessert cart. I decided that packing my wide-angle lens camera might be helpful in taking group shots at the reunion.

 Consider all the television commercials that appear now during primetime hours featuring handsome gray-haired senior couples holding hands while walking on the beach, as the narrator talks about problems with incontinence, impotence or the chance of a stroke. The appealing images are in stark contrast to the message and the warnings given about the product’s possible side effects.

The narrator warns us: “However, you should not take “Stroke-be-Gone” if you are on heart, cholesterol or rabies medication. Side effects may include vomiting, diarrhea, foaming at the mouth, or barking like a German Shepherd.

When we were young, most of us took our vision for granted and never gave a thought about eye problems that might occur in later years. That has been the case for me and several of my friends, as we all make more trips now to our ophthalmologist offices than to the grocery store.

My peripheral vision loss has created its own problems navigating narrow doorway passages in my home, while regularly knocking off large chunks of the door facing. I’ve banged my left shoulder on the bedroom entrance so often that the door opening must be at least six inches wider now than when I bought the house.

I think I’ve built up enough calluses on that shoulder that I could offer my recently acquired blocking skills to the Rams on third-down, short-yardage situations—although a Rams’ tryout seems highly unlikely at this point.

I’m not quite sure who labeled these senior years as “golden,” since the journey has been like navigating a minefield of various health issues. But overall, I must say the retirement years have been pretty good, with the exception of a few speed bumps along the way to keep us humble.

Right now, I think I could use a good long walk to contemplate all this. But as usual, I won’t know which direction “we” are going until my legs make their decision. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll run into you on my walk, and we can share our thoughts about these so-called “golden” years.

It seems like there’s lots to catch up on. As Larry David would say, we’re overdue for a “stop and chat.”

 

Bob Vickrey is a writer whose columns have appeared in several Southwestern newspapers including the Houston Chronicle. He is a member of the Board of Contributors for the Waco Tribune-Herald, and was cited by the California Newspaper Publishing Association for column writing awards in 2016 and 2017.  He lives in Pacific Palisades, California.

 

Posted in Viewpoint | 2 Comments

Auditions Announced for Theatre Palisades Youth Winter Show

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Sue

Theatre Palisades Youth in the closing scene from “Newsies,” the summer production.
Photo: Lesly Hall

Theatre Palisades Youth will be holding auditions for the winter workshop, starting November 7: the show is yet to be determined.

Performances are scheduled for February 25, 26, 27, and March 3, 4, and 5, with rehearsals for the show, still being scheduled.

Everyone auditioning should prepare a short one-minute song from a Broadway or Disney musical. Young actors should be prepared to do a cold reading from a script. Everyone should wear clothes or shoes (no open toe) for dance.

Audition dates are: Monday, November 7. Group 1 will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and Group 2 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The second audition date is Saturday, November 12. Group 1 will be from 1 to 3 p.m. and Group 2 from 3 to 5 p.m. The third audition time is Monday, November 14 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Note: on Saturday, November 12, Temescal Canyon Road will be closed for street repair and the entrance to the theater parking lot, 941 Temescal Canyon Road, may be inaccessible. Parents should allow extra time for traffic and street parking.

CALLBACKS AUDITIONS will also be on Monday, November 14, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Theatre Palisades Pierson Playhouse.

Actors must RSVP to Director Lara Ganz by email calrayganz@gmail.com. The email should include the actor’s NAME, AGE, and preferred date and group.

Actors should arrive on time and expect to be present for entire time of their chosen group.

For more information, visit: theatrepalisades.org.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Temescal Canyon Road Will Be Repaved, Nov. 5, 6, 12, 13

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Sue

Potholes were common on Temescal Canyon Road last winter.

Department of Street Services is giving notice to all Pacific Palisades residents that Temescal Canyon Road from Sunset Boulevard to Pacific Coast Highway will be paved over two weekends.

Residents are advised to take notice. This is one of three roads in and out of Pacific Palisades and heavy traffic could be possible.

Councilman Mike Bonin’s Deputy Director Noah Fleishman wrote: “Temescal Canyon Rd. requires repair as the segment from PCH to Bowdoin St. was last repaved in April 2003 and the segment from Bowdoin St. to Sunset was last repaved in August 1990. StreetsLA determined the street has a “poor” Pavement Condition Index (PCI) score and requires reconstruction to prevent a failure in the future.”

Fleishman added, “Please communicate this to your circle of connections that may be impacted by this street closure.”

According to L.A. Bureau of Street Services, the first phase of the operation will require preparation of the existing roadway by cold milling the streets on Saturday, November 5, and Saturday November 12.

Repaving and resurfacing of the street will occur on Sunday, November 6, and Sunday, November 13.

“Temporary No Parking Signs” will be posted on the street at least 24 hours before the actual work begins to provide notice to residents and business owners.

Residents are asked to have all vehicles removed from the street to protect them from damage by construction debris and to prevent interference with the planned work. When work is not in progress between the preparation and resurfacing phases the signs will be reversed to allow for vehicular parking.

Vehicles will have access to the street during the cold milling of the project. However, it is requested that driving be limited within the project area to avoid possible damage to one’s vehicle.

Access will be restricted when the street is coated with liquid asphalt, prior to the resurfacing.

When the crews are working, there will be construction equipment and trucks in the area: this equipment may be of interest to children. Remind residents to be careful and ask children to avoid the equipment and work-site area.

Residents are asked to be patient during this project and to plan ahead. Persons with mobility impediments and their caregivers can request assistance if the scheduled street work limits their use (including ingress or egress) of the public right of way. If you have questions or need to request an accommodation, contact the supervisor on the project site or call (818) 756-8651 or (213) 847-3200.

Posted in Community, Councilman Mike Bonin | 3 Comments

OBITUARY: Dr. Mike “Mario” Martini, a Pacific Palisades Stalwart

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Sue

Dr. Mike Martini at an Optimist Club meeting asked members to sign up for the blood drive.

Dr. Mike Martini, 97, a treasured pediatrician in Pacific Palisades for decades and an active, always smiling member of the community, passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 12.

Longtime residents were quick to mourn one of its beloved individuals. Fellow Optimist Club member Rich Wilken said, “There are few words to express the deep pain and sorrow of losing this exceptional friend and community leader. Mike was the light in this world and touched so many hearts during his life.”

Dr. Nasreen Babu-Khan, a retired dermatologist, said, “I will miss him dearly. He was my pediatrician from the year I was born, 1959, and then became my patient. He inspired me to become a doctor.”

“Mario,” an only child, was born on March 25, 1925, to parents  Grace Ricciardi Martini and Michele (Michael) Martini. He graduated from Loyola High in 1942 and earned a pre-med degree from UCLA.

He attended St. Louis University Medical School,  where he met Elaine Krueger. The two married on June 11, 1949, and enjoyed 68 years together before her passing in 2018.

During World War II, Martini joined the Navy Reserve and worked in the Long Beach Hospital until the war’s end. During the Korean War, he was called back into duty, and he became the doctor for a mine-sweeping squadron in North Korean waters.

One day, shells landed in front and behind the ship.

“The captain yelled, ‘Go for cover. They’ve got us bracketed!’” Martini recalled. “The next shell hit us right in the middle of the ship.”

For the ship’s crew, the location of the blast was fortuitous. The gangway was damaged, shrapnel hit the smokestacks, and a shell whizzed past someone’s head as he worked in his office, but only one crewman was injured.

Upon returning home and finishing his residency, Martini learned about the opening at Dr. Edwin Russell’s pediatric practice on Via de la Paz. In 1954, the family moved to the Palisades.

Martini not only treated children throughout the community for more than 40 years but became ingrained in the town with his dedicated volunteer efforts.

He was a member of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA board from its inception, a past commander of American Legion Post 283, a former honorary fire chief, and the 1967 Citizen of the Year.

In addition, Martini was active at Corpus Christi Church, and his long volunteerism inspired Monsignor Liam Kidney to recommend him for a papal blessing (Benemerenti Award), which he received in 2010. He was also the last surviving charter member of the Palisades Optimist Club, which was formed in 1956.

He was a regular part of the Fourth of July parade, riding in the Station 69 fire truck on several occasions and marching for many years with the Optimist Club troupe. He was also a parade marshal in 1990, 2015 and 2021. In 2015, he and five other local WWII vets were honored because of “their military service and their long years as active community members and dedicated volunteers.”

For many years, Martini singlehandedly led the town’s Red Cross blood drive, which he just turned over in August to Corpus Christi.

In a 2021 interview, Martini said, “I look back on a wonderful life.”

Dr. Martini is predeceased by his wife Eileen and daughter Kathleen. He is survived by daughters Barbara Martini Laubacher (husband Tom) of Oxnard and Eileen Martini McCranie of Newbury Park; sons Msgr. Richard Martini of Carpinteria; James Martini (Michele) of Reseda and Joseph Martini (Jennie) of Mill Valley. He is survived by 16 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.

Services planned for Mario “Mike“ Martini are:

Rosary: Sunday, October 23, 7 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church

Funeral Mass with reception following: Monday, October 24, 10 a.m. at Corpus

Dr. Mike Martini at his home last year welcoming visitors.

(Editor’s note: if you’d like to read more about the Martini’s, go to elainemartini.blog—it contains memories and stories written by Elaine about the family, and was compiled by daughter Barbara.)

Posted in Obituaries | 5 Comments

DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) Protesting and Ballet Harvesting

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Sue

Members of the DSA on the Ballot Delivery page of the DSA website.

Circling the News ran some protesting tips from DSA, Democratic Socialists of America in its October 19 musings.

One reader wrote, “Stop endorsing DSA please. They have destroyed our city.”

Rest assured that CTN was not promoting DSA, rather, this editor was amused by the complexity of the suggestions given to people who were attending major protests for DSA.

Los Angeles residents only have to look to the protests last week at City Hall, to understand the social unrest is influencing the government.

For example, protesters were advised to turn-off geo-location devices in cell phones or to use a burner phone.

Other tips included: since some of the demonstrations were about police violence against people of color, that lighter-skinned members of DSA-LA should follow the lead of members (in other words let other people be photographed or televised – it doesn’t help the cause to have a Caucasian at the front of the group).

This editor  printed the suggestions, because I felt readers should understand that this is a well-organized group that wants to control the narrative in the media and government.  Residents should be aware of DSA, especially if they are considering voting for someone endorsed by the DSA.

In April, the Simon Wiesenthal Center expressed opposition to “labor organizer Hugo Soto-Martinez, a candidate backed by the Democratic Socialist Party’s (DSA) Los Angeles chapter, for endorsing anti-Israel measures in his DSA questionnaire.”

According to the story, DSA expects its candidates to endorse B.D.S. (Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) and to commit that they will not travel to Israel.

Soto-Martinez is running against Mitch O’Farrell.

The SWC does not endorse candidates, but “But when someone seeking to election to a post where he would be impacting on all citizens of Los Angeles, endorses extremist anti-peace boycotts of the Jewish State, we must protest,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC Associate Dean and Director of its Global Social Action.

CTN sent an email to the SWC to ask if any of the other candidates endorsed by DSA, such as Kenneth Mejia or Erin Darling had expressed similar views in a DSA questionnaire. A response had not been received, but if it is story will be updated.

DSA logo

BALLOT HARVESTING:

Additionally on the DSA website (dsa-la.org/elections/how-to-ballot-delivery), it explains how to ballot harvest (printed below), which is renamed “Ballot Delivery.” Ballot harvesting is legal in California.

How To: Ballot Delivery

  1. Confirm strong candidate support
    • If voting for other candidate, thank them and move on.
  2. “Have you received your ballot already?”
    • Great, Will you find it?
  3. Will you vote now?
    • Ask at least 3 times.
    • “X candidate is in line with all the values in our voter guide and we need your help to change this city”
    • “I want to make sure that your ballot doesn’t get lost in the mail or in the city bureaucracy. If we fill it out together right now, there’s an official place to sign it over to me and I can bring it to the city directly either today or first thing tomorrow morning.”
  4. Once you have successfully filled out the ballot using our voter guide, please ensure you place all of the ballot pages in the envelope provided.
  5. Have the voter fill out the red box on the right side with their signature, date and the voter’s address. YOU will fill out the top portion with your signature, name and under relationship to the voter write “Volunteer”

Once you’ve collected the ballot:

Congratulations! We are one step closer to ensuring we change LA for the better!

  • If you are canvassing with DSA-LA, take the sealed and filled out envelope and leave it with the lead(s) at the end of your canvassing shift.
  • If you collected it on your own or with a different non-DSA-LA sponsored canvass, please drop off at your nearest post office or nearest ballot box: (and a link to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Ballot Drop Box locations was provided).

 

 

Posted in Community | 3 Comments