Question: Did Caruso have a permit to close Swarthmore on June 22?
After receiving numerous complaints from residents, CTN reached out to L.A. Street Services Public Information Officer Elena Stern and asked if a permit had been issued, and if it had, why posting had not been done about the street closure.
Answer: Stern replied on July 9, “We followed up with DOT and the registered applicant for the event. Regulatory parking signs were not properly posted before the event. The applicant failed to complete the required sign posting process with DOT prior to the event.”
Stern said that the applicant was put on notice about the complaint and the violation of permit rules. “They have been advised that future violations may result in the denial of permits,” Stern said.
Nearly 3,000 runners/walkers take off to start July 4 in Pacific Palisades.
Question: Who won the Will Rogers 5/10K Runs on July 4? And which high school took the inaugural Lemen High School trophy, named after Dick Lemen, a longtime Palisadian and a track coach at Palisades High for many years? Lemen was also a member of the Ridge Runners, a band of about 20 local runners who originated the Fourth of July Will Rogers Run in 1978.
Answer: In the 10K race, Cosmo Brossy, 22, was first with a 34:18 in the men’s division and for the women it was Caitlin Chrisman, 33, with a time of 37:17. In the 5K race, the winners were Lower Merion, Pennsylvania resident Evan Hassman, who ran the 3.2 miles in 16:49, and Natalie Gigg, whose time was 18:42.
Palisades High runners won the first Dick Lemen trophy (running in the 5K).
Marilyn Crawford packed up the Chamber Office before the remodel. Her boss Arnie Wishnick is in the back chatting with people who stopped by.
Question: What happened to the Chamber of Commerce? First, Arnie Wishnick was gone and then Marilyn Crawford was replaced.
Longtime Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Arnie Wishnick was pushed out after 25 years to make room for a “new and improved” Chamber. Wishnick told friends the board was looking for someone younger to replace him. They found former retail owner Bob Benton, who was four years younger, at 71.
Marilyn Crawford, who had worked with Arnie for 19 years, was a casualty on July 1. After suddenly answering calls from people who were applying for her job on ZipRecruiter, Crawford realized she was being phased out and handed in her resignation.
On July 10, Benton told CTN, “No comment.”
CTN spoke with Crawford on July 14. She is working on weekends at Rodeo Realty on Via de la Paz. She said she loves it there and invites people to stop by and visit her.
“I loved working at the Chamber with Arnie,” she said. “We had a lot of laughs.”
Answer: Arnie Wishnick passed away in April. There will be a possible photo op this year when. supposedly Councilman Mike Bonin will add an Arnie Wishnick Way sign as an alternate street name to Antioch.
Matt Rodman and wife Rene in last year’s Fourth of July parade.
Question: Can you recap the best day in Pacific Palisades – the Fourth of July. Who pays for it and who rode in the parade?
This year Mike Lanning rode as the parade marshal. Since becoming the Scoutmaster of Troop 223 in 1953, he has seen 804 boys attain the rank of Eagle Scout–a national record.
This was Lanning’s first-time riding in the parade since 1979, when he was a Community Council Sparkplug awardee.
The parade grand marshals were co-honorary mayors Billy and Janice Crystal.
Lee Calvert, 94, was given the first Arnie Wishnick Award for her volunteer efforts on the Fourth, which usually begin with race registration in the morning, the VIP luncheon at the Methodist church at noon, working at the grandstands during the parade and then assisting at the fireworks/concert in the evening.
Alphabet Street resident Matt Rodman chaired the organizing committee (PAPA) for the second year in a row. The group is always looking for volunteers to help with the day and to raise funds.
Answer: Although the parade is free to spectators and admission for the evening’s concert and fireworks is modest, the day’s events are expensive to produce. Volunteer community members spend months planning for the Fourth, and actual costs hover close to $200,000.
PAPA must pay for police, traffic officers, street services, grandstands, insurance, cleanup, production costs, talent, fireworks and much more throughout the day and the evening.
Answer two: Last year, Ronald Reagan American Legion Post 283 donated $40,000 to the community event. Donors are already being sought for the 2020 Fourth of July.
““They have been advised that future violations may result in the denial of permits,” Stern said.”
How is that going to bother someone who regularly doesn’t bother with permits to begin with?