Viewpoint: Some FireAid Nonprofits Prioritized over Those Serving Youth

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

PPBA Opening Day 2024 Brings Community Together

By KAMBIZ KAMDAR

As a 15-year resident of the Palisades, one organization that has brought my family immense joy is the Pacific Palisades Baseball Association (PPBA).

I joined the league’s board five years ago, and it has been a privilege to coach both of my sons through their baseball journeys. My youngest is currently in his second year as a Mustang, while my older son, a freshman at Pali High, plays on the JV baseball team. I’ve had the honor of coaching them during the regular season, the all-star season, and even in Cooperstown.

Over the past five years, I’ve been deeply involved in the PPBA community, including running the Bat & Grill for two years before the fires.

Saturdays at the “Field of Dreams” are among the most enjoyable days of spring, filled with simultaneous games, families, and players gathering at the Bat & Grill before and after matches. Opening day is one of the highlights of the year in Pacific Palisades, rivaled only by the 4th of July. The PPBA has truly been special for my family.

In the wake of the 2025 Palisades Fire, the board worked tirelessly to ensure we could have a season at Cheviot Pony to keep a tradition alive that started in 1954.

This year, we’ve partnered with Santa Monica Pony, and we recently celebrated our opening day on February 21. While we are grateful to Santa Monica Pony for hosting us, we are eager to return to our own fields.

Last season, after opening day, we applied for a grant from Fire Aid. As a nonprofit, we felt confident in our eligibility, especially since we knew Palisades Charter High School had successfully received a grant after losing their fields and is now building a new one at Cheviot Hills Recreation Center.

Given the extensive damage to our fields at the Palisades Recreation Center and the equipment lost, we requested a substantial amount to replace all necessary baseball gear, Bat & Grill equipment, wind screens, signage, and more. We believed this request was a no-brainer, considering that PPBA serves over 300 kids in the Palisades annually.

I understand Fire Aid’s limitations in providing funds to individuals, but a nonprofit dedicated to serving our community’s youth should not be overlooked.

It has been disheartening to see other nonprofits receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in aid while we wait. As reports emerge about the third round of grants being awarded, I felt compelled to speak out. Our contact at Fire Aid, with whom we communicated extensively last fall, has not responded to my recent inquiries. Our need is still here.

Although we have received a generous donation from the Pacific Palisades Community Council, I am at a loss as to why FireAid has not stepped up. It is difficult to comprehend how the board of FireAid makes its decisions and why certain nonprofits are prioritized over others.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Forcing People into Hiding for Beliefs

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

In ancient days when Christians were persecuted, they would let other Christians know they were not alone with this symbol.

The ichthys (Greek word meaning fish) was originally a secret symbol used by early Christians to identify themselves to each other. At one time Christianity was illegal and Christians faced persecution; the fish provided a way for them to communicate their faith without fear of being discovered.

It felt similarly when this editor told a person that after the February 22 Recovery Expo, she was headed to the Palisades Republican Meeting. That person was aghast and wanted to know what I was doing with “those” people. (For the record this editor also attended the Palisades Democratic annual meeting, too, and no one seemed upset.)

Half of my siblings are Democrats and half are Republicans. We manage to have very nice times together despite being the “Montagues and Capulets.” After the Palisades Fire, people should start looking for someone in government to help and not judge.

The guest speaker was Joel Pollak, who graduated from Harvard Law, was the senior editor at Breitbart and is now the opinion editor of the California Post.

The California Post Opinion Editor Joel Pollak spoke to the Palisades Republican Club.

He first spoke about the Democratic convention, which had just failed to endorse a candidate for governor. He suggested that to be successful this year, the party will need to push one candidate (and ask the other eight to drop out). “There are at least six major candidates that will split the vote,” Pollak said.

If there wasn’t agreement, two Republicans Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Biacono could advance after the June 2 primary election to the November ballot, which would be a first since in the “top-two primary system” took effect in California in January 2011.

He said in 2020 that’s what happened in the Presidential Election. After Bernie Sanders won the first three primaries, the Democrats aligned behind Joe Biden, who because the candidate and then president.

“I think California could be more exciting if there was more political diversity,” Pollak said.

One person asked him to address the Public Relations problem that Republicans have in the state. “The PR problem is just like parents who have that problem,” he said. “It’s not cool, it’s never cool to be the mature adult.”

The question is “how do you make being responsible cool?”

Regarding the L.A. Mayoral Race, he felt that incumbent LA Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman could split the vote, which could leave room for Spencer Pratt. “The key that Pratt has to unlock is how do you bring voters into the race,” Pollak said. “He has to find those voters and bring those people in.”

He said that people living here must start asking where governmental money is going. “Why don’t we have price transparency? What are we spending on?

Pollak said that people in L.A. want a change, “we need a shake-up,” but rather than voting for a Republican, Angelinos will vote for a Democratic Socialist of America –  just for change. No one wants to vote for the “responsible parent.”

“Any alternative, except for a Republican, looks good, even the DSA,” Pollak said and added, “Socialism makes all systems worse.”

There is a ground swell of people “who want the state back,” he said, noted that “We have to expose how things are going.”  Where did the $24 billion in state homeless money go? “Basic money is being taken, and we need someone to ‘open the books.’”

Regarding the new paper’s competition with the L.A. Times, Pollak said “We’re going to try to be competitive with them.”

 

Posted in City, News | Leave a comment

Viewpoint: City Cannot Save Us: Call to the Pacific Palisades Community Council

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

The three mobile home parks below the El Medio bluffs were destroyed in the fire.

By HANK WRIGHT

In February, the City of Los Angeles published three reports from AECOM, the engineering firm it paid $5 million to assess what Pacific Palisades needs to recover and rebuild safely. The reports arrived three months late. They were released through a Mailchimp newsletter. There was no press conference. There is still no public implementation dashboard. There is no named official accountable for executing the findings.

That tells you most of what you need to know.

The reports themselves are serious work. They document nearly $1 billion in infrastructure needs through 2033: $664 million in electrical hardening and undergrounding, $150 million in water system repairs, hundreds of millions more in roads, drainage, and slope stabilization.

They confirm almost all residential streets in the Alphabet Streets fail current fire code standards. They find most of our long dead-end streets lack turnaround space for fire apparatus. They document water pressure failed during the fire, hydrants ran dry at elevation, and the single trunk line serving the entire Palisades is a single point of failure.

None of this was a secret. Now it’s on paper. That’s something. But it changes nothing if the City cannot act on it—and it cannot. The Mayor Had the Wheel. She Crashed.

In Los Angeles, the mayor does not control the budget. That power rests with the City Council. What the mayor controls is operations—the departments, the agencies, the daily execution of city government. Karen Bass was elected to do that job. Before the fire, she did not ensure LAFD pre-positioned resources before a forecast red flag event. She did not enforce brush clearance on City-owned properties. She did not fix the hillside water pressure problems that had known deficiencies for years. The department’s after-action report, before it was quietly edited for public release, admitted LAFD chose to be “fiscally responsible” rather than pre-deploy resources ahead of a high-risk wind event.

After the fire, the AECOM report sat in the City Attorney’s office for three months. The lead AECOM project manager departed before reports were released. Neither fact has been explained. When the reports finally arrived, they came by newsletter. This is not leadership. It is incompetence masquerading as leadership.

Follow the Money

This giant pine tree was cut by DWP workers in the 800 block of Radcliffe Avenue after the Fire.

The City has no capital improvement funds for Pacific Palisades. To understand why, follow the money backward. In 2016, Los Angeles voters approved Proposition HHH—a $1.2 billion bond to build supportive housing for the homeless. The pitch was $350,000 per unit. The reality: costs ballooned to $600,000 on average, and as high as $837,000 per apartment. The city has now spent over $1 billion of that bond. By its own admission, the result is still inadequate to meet the need. Meanwhile, the County runs Measure H, a half-cent sales tax also dedicated to homelessness. The city added Measure ULA, a transfer tax on high-value home sales. The spending continues. The problem persists. And the City Controller’s office has flagged weakening liquidity and aging assets across the city’s balance sheet.

The proof of what this has cost is visible in a single fact: the proposal to fund the Los Angeles Fire Department through a new sales tax increase. The City is asking residents to pay again for fire protection they already paid for and did not receive. When $664 million in electrical hardening and $150 million in water repairs sit unfunded while the city builds $837,000 homeless apartments, that is a choice. Someone made it.

What the City Can Do, It Won’t.

All that was left of the Bruce Gallery on Via de la Paz after the fire were three sculptures by Jon Krawczyk.

Not everything in the AECOM reports costs money the City doesn’t have. Some of it requires only will, which the City proved it lacks. Fire egress. For years, homeowners across the Palisades have encroached on mapped fire access points—roads, paths, and rights-of-way designed to provide evacuation redundancy. The City permitted it. Code enforcement looked away. The result is a neighborhood with fewer escape routes than it had fifty years ago.

The residents who will fight street widening on the Alphabet Streets are not wrong. The problem on January 7 was not that fire engines couldn’t reach us. The problem was that fire engines were not sent. Widening roads providing access to firefighting ghosts solves nothing. Restoring the egress routes quietly lost over decades—that is a different conversation, and a necessary one. It requires no bond measure. It requires enforcement authority the City already has.

The City is capable of doing this. It has not been willing. The City Does Not Plan. It Reacts.

There is a deeper problem the AECOM reports illuminate without naming. Los Angeles does not do urban planning. Planning has been outsourced to developers. City services—water, power, roads—respond to permit requests. They do not model future demand or sequence investment ahead of need in any meaningful way.

Rebuilding five thousand homes is not like normal infill development, where permits arrive one at a time and agencies respond sequentially. It is a simultaneous demand surge hitting water, power, roads, and waste systems at once, in a neighborhood whose infrastructure was already beyond designed capacity before the fire. LADWP does not get ahead of this. It never has. The bureaus do not coordinate across agencies. They protect their lanes. And the City certainly can not corral the private players: Telecom companies and the gas company.

The AECOM Logistics report proposes a Special Implementation Group inside City Hall to manage all of this. The recommendations are sound. The institution intended to carry them out cannot do so.

We should not plan our recovery based on hope that City Hall becomes something it has never been.

The Answer Is Already Here.

Swimming pool water could have been used to save homes in Pacific Palisades.

Pacific Palisades has a trusted, community-rooted, and independent from City Hall: PPCC. The Pacific Palisades Community Council exists to represent residents in precisely this situation. It is the right host for what needs to happen next.

What the PPCC should do is engage an independent recovery project manager—funded outside the City’s structure, accountable to this community, not to the mayor’s newsletter. The job is the job the City cannot do: coordinating the sequencing of private rebuilds against public infrastructure work, so that a homeowner doesn’t complete construction on a block the City tears up every six months later for electrical conduit, water upgrades, telecommunications. Tracking LADWP undergrounding schedules against individual permit timelines. Identifying encroached egress points and supporting their restoration. Serving as the single credible information source not filtered through an administration that has already demonstrated what its filter does.

This is not a small undertaking. It is a concrete one. And the community has more reason to do it well than City Hall ever will, because we are the ones living with the consequences.

The AECOM reports gave the City a roadmap it paid $5 million for. The City has already shown it cannot follow one. The question is not whether City Hall will lead this recovery?

It will not.

The question is whether Pacific Palisades builds the capacity to lead it ourselves—before we spend five more years waiting for a government that has already failed us once.

PPCC: the call is to you. Engage a PM. Build the structure. I think we will fund it. The alternative is trusting a City who sent us a newsletter outlining what we already knew: The City of LA is not concerned with keeping us safe or lead such a critical task.

Posted in Palisades Fire, Viewpoint | 2 Comments

Mini-Celebration Planned by City for Temporary Library

Posted on February 24, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

There is a nook for kids in the temporary library.

Los Angeles City has placed two portable buildings in the Palisades Library Parking lot, 861 Alma Real. And. . .they’ve added books and staff. Now a mini-ceremony will be held for the opening of the temporary Palisades Branch Library at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 27.

Friends of the Palisade Library President Cameron Pfizenmaier wrote CTN that they had asked the City not to have it on Friday at that time, because it might be difficult for many to attend, because of school and work . .but plans were set.

“The following day, Saturday, February 28, the Friends will have cookies and balloons at the library to take advantage of all the foot traffic happening in town and at the Palisades Recreation Center (last day of the winter basketball season),” Pfizenmaier said. “Hope to see you there.”

The portable library and the adjacent room, which is available for community meetings is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. The books the city has brought to the library are the most requested in the system and Pacific Palisades residents can be first in line to check them out. The Palisades Library burned during the 2025 Palisades Fire.

Posted in Books, City, Palisades Fire | Leave a comment

Mayor Bass’ Office Will Address AECOM Report February 26

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

The office of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass will address the nearly 1,000 page of the newly released AECOM document in a Zoom meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 26.

The three-section documents include Public Infrastructure Restoration click here, Wildfire Resilience click here and Logistics and Traffic Management click here.

To register for  Mayor’s meeting click here. If a resident has questions they can be submitted to [email protected].

AECOM was hired by the city to replace Hagerty, which was paid $3.5 million.

The payment for AECOM, a global infrastructure consulting firm was unclear, but in an April 2025 Request for Proposals was worth reportedly $30 million.

In August 2025, residents at a Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting were told that AECOM would deliver a report within 120 days. That report went to the City at the beginning of December 2025. It was not immediately made public.

At the Palisades Democrat Annual meeting on February 1, CTN asked Mayor Bass about the status of the report. The Mayor said she had not seen it, that it had gone directly Hydee Feldstein Soto in the City Attorney’s office.

Feldstein Soto said that the report could possibly be released this week, February 9. She said that there were almost a thousand pages, three sections of more than 300 pages in each. The City Attorney said they had been asked by LAFD to redact personal information of firefighters to ensure privacy.

According to a November L.A. Times Story (“Palisades Fire Reports List Nearly $1 Billion in Infrastructure Needs”), “the resiliency report found that ‘almost all’ local streets within the Palisades are narrower than permitted by the city fire code – particularly in the Alphabet Streets, Rustic Canyon and Castellammare areas. A ‘majority’ of long dead-end streets did not fulfill the sections of the fire code ensuring that fire engines have enough space to turn around, the report said.”

A December 2025 lawsuit alleged that the city failed to comply with similar state regulations when it approved new construction in the city’s “very high fire hazard” areas.

 

Posted in City, Community, Palisades Fire | 1 Comment

Phil Reed Powers Dolphins into City Finals

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Sue Pascoe


Phil Reed works for position against San Pedro defender Bryce Jackson. He scored 29 points in the win for the Dolphins.
Photo: STEVE GALLUZZO

By STEVE GALLUZZO

CTN Contributor

Basketball

For one half, the Palisades High boys basketball team got exactly what head coach Jeff Bryant was hoping for Saturday night in the City Section Open Division semifinals at Southwest College.

Despite being a heavy underdog, fifth-seeded San Pedro showed up with a plan and executed it to perfection for 16 minutes before the Dolphins’ athleticism and skill allowed them to pull away for a 71-56 victory and a spot in the finals Friday at 8 p.m. at the same venue.

“Give them credit—that’s the toughest any City team has played us all season,” Bryant said. “I told my guys San Pedro is playing with house money. We’re supposed to win. They had nothing to lose. It was a good wake-up call for us.”

The Pirates (23-7) had stunned fourth-seeded Washington Prep 51-47 in the quarterfinals and were confident they could pull off a bigger upset after leading by as many as seven points in the first quarter Saturday.

Freshman phenom Phil Reed kept the Dolphins close with drives and pull-up jumpers and EJ Popoola’s three-pointer at the buzzer pulled the top-seeded Dolphins within three, 18-15, going into the second quarter.

EJ Popoola pulls down a rebound in the first half of the Open Division semifinal against San Pedro.
Photo: STEVE GALLUZZO

Palisades got a nose in front midway through the second quarter as its defense started to get stops and force turnovers that led to transition baskets. Reed had 17 of the Dolphins’ 33 points in the first half and they went to the locker room ahead by four.

“We expected to be ahead by more but my message at halftime was ‘Hey, we’re here for a reason, don’t get too high or too low,” Bryant said. “They started missing their shots which led to some dunks and got our motor going.”

Heeding Bryant’s advice to pound the paint instead of settling for outside shots, twins EJ and OJ Popoola went to work in the post and combined for 13 points in the third quarter, all of the damage coming on dunks, layups and free throws after San Pedro fouls. The Dolphins grew the margin to 18 heading to the final frame.

The last eight minutes showcased the Dolphins’ depth, and they answered each run San Pedro tried to make to narrow its deficit.

Ricky Alonso hit five three-pointers and ended up with 17 for the Pirates, but Reed countered with 29, the Popoolas netted 14 and nine, respectively, AJ Neale finished with nine and sharpshooting guard Jack Levey added eight—including a pair of three-pointers which upped his season total to 103.

Jack Levey makes a layup in the fourth quarter Saturday night against San Pedro.
Photo: STEVE GALLUZZO

Palisades captured its first outright league title in 40 years a few weeks ago. The program’s only upper division City championship was way back in 1969, when the Dolphins won 21 of 22 contests and beat Reseda in the finals at Pauley Pavilion.

Ironically, Palisades will have to beat another team from Reseda to win the title Friday in second-seeded Cleveland (20-9), which needed 24 points from sophomore guard Charlie Adams to beat Fairfax 68-64 in overtime in Saturday’s first semifinal. The Dolphins (19-11) defeated Fairfax by 47 and 28 points in the teams’ two Western League meetings at the end of the January.

“We won’t take them lightly,” said Bryant, who arrived early to get a look at Cleveland. “They’re league champs just like us.”


Junior transfer OJ Popoola dribbles into the front court around San Pedro defender Ricky Alonso.
Photo: STEVE GALLUZZO

Girls Water Polo

Bailey Gair scored three goals in the Dolphins’ 8-7 loss to San Pedro in the City Division I final.
Photo: STEVE GALLUZZO

Palisades Girls Water Polo  bid for a fourth City title fell just short as it lost 8-7 to league rival San Pedro in the Division I final last Wednesday at Valley College.

The Dolphins were behind by a goal with 40 seconds left when coach Theo Trask intentionally called a timeout even though he did not have any left. The Pirates were awarded a penalty shot and Tatum Mahi converted from the five-meter line to clinch it.

“My hope was she’d miss and we’d get the ball with the full 30- second shot clock with a chance to tie the game,” said Trask, a Palisades alum who helped the boys win four straight City titles from 2015-18. “The other option was to let them run the time off but even if we got a stop we’d only have 10 seconds ourselves. Unfortunately it didn’t work out.”

Despite being double-teamed nearly every time she got the ball, Bailey Gair scored three goals for the Dolphins. Jordan Detwiler scored twice, Dylan Kuperberg had one goal and Olivia Clark scored to get her team back within a goal with 17 ticks left. Sophomore goalie Nicole Magnusen made five saves.

The teams had split their two Western/Marine League meetings. Palisades was playing in its ninth straight section final (and 12th since the girls program was reinstated in 2011-12), but its first in Division I.

Yasmine Santini takes a shot in the City Division I final last Wednesday evening at Valley College.
Photo: STEVE GALLUZZO

Boys Soccer

For the third time in four years, Palisades’ bid for a second City title was ended by El Camino Real. The Dolphins dueled the top-seeded Royals through regulation and nearly forced a shootout, but Jayden De La Cruz scored a golden goal with two minutes remaining in overtime to lift El Camino Real to a 1-0 victory last Thursday in Woodland Hills in the Open Division semifinals.

In the 2023 Division I semifinal matchup, neither team scored in regulation and overtime but the Royals prevailed 4-1 on penalty kicks. The next season, ECR won 2-1 in overtime in a Division I quarterfinal game.

 

Girls Soccer

No. 1-seeded Cleveland scored three times in the first half on its way to a 4-0 victory over No. 5 Palisades last Wednesday in the City Open semifinals at Taft High. It marked the third straight season that Cleveland has eliminated the Dolphins in the semifinals. The Cavaliers won 3-1 a year ago, also in the Open Division, and prevailed 5-4 in a shootout in 2024 in the Division I semifinals.

Palisades has advanced to at least the semifinals seven times in 12 seasons under head coach Christian Chambers.

Posted in Sports | Leave a comment

Raptors Receive Perches, Owls Nesting Homes

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

Max Szymanski had help building owl boxes and raptor perches for his Eagle Scout project.

When Max Szymanski had to select a Eagle Scout project with Troop 223, his thoughtful, and necessary project, was building predatory purchases and owl boxes.

Szymanski, 15,  took an agriculture and environment class when he was at Paul Revere Middle School. He explained, “The class covered many different optics including natural resource management, farming practices, and gardening.”

Another topic the class covered was environmental sustainability and growing food. When he spoke to his middle school teacher Carrie Robertson, they discussed problems with growing food, which included insects and rodents, which made sustainability without pesticides a challenge.

“I talked to my teacher about some natural solutions, and we came up with building predatory perches,” Szymanski said.

In the process of developing his project, the Palisades Fire happened in January 2025 and damaged his home, school and neighborhood.

“The fire burned more than 20,000 acres of the Santa Monica Mountains, eradicating a large habitat for birds,” Szymanski said. “This inspired me to expand the project by building four owl boxes to shelter owls that were living in the Santa Monica Mountains.”

Max Szymanski had help placing a raptor pole in the Revere garden.

Circling the News asked if the birds had discovered the habitats. “There have been a number of bird sightings in the garden [at Revere], including three new Cooper Hawk sightings within the first month of the perches being installed,” Szymanski said, and added that there has been reports of nighttime owl activity, and at least seven red-tailed hawk fly-overs.

Szymanski said that “Predatory perches usually show bird activity within a few weeks of installation, which aligns with the increased raptor activity during this period. Owl activity was measured later in the measuring period, consistent with owl behavior, as owls are very cautious when establishing new nesting sites.”

In addition to helping displaced birds, Robertson, Revere’s agriculture teacher, is able use the sites to teach students about farming as they observe a balanced ecosystem and predator-prey relationships.

A new owl box is placed and ready for occupancy at the Revere Garden.

Posted in Environmental, Kids/Parenting, Schools | 3 Comments

Recovery Expo, Second Time Around

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

Vendors lined Alma Real and La Cruz for the PaliBu Expo.

The PaliBu Chamber of Commerce hosted their second recovery expo on a beautiful sunny day February 22. A prior Expo held in December gave residents a chance to speak to contractors, builders and architects, as well as City representatives. This one was similar, except the Goodyear Blimp was overhead in the background as the Genesis Invitational concluded that Sunday afternoon.

La Cruz between Sunset Boulevard and Swarthmore and on Alma Real to Toyopa were lined with booths.

One of the busiest tables was hosted by L.A. County Assessor Jeff Prang. Residents stopped by to understand the implications of their property assessment after the Palisades Fire. To sign up for Prang’s newsletter or to contact Prang, click here..

Another table that was busy was the Bureau of Street Services, as yet another Palisadian came up to them, one of the officials cut to the chase, “What street is the pothole on?”

Another Palisadian joked, they might as well ask, what street doesn’t have a pothole?

SoCal Edison, although not serving Pacific Palisades, was on hand for any Malibu residents that might need a question answered and they were giving out mini-first aid kits. Representatives from L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and Councilmember Traci Park’s office were also available for questions.

Southern California Edison was giving away mini First Aid kits.

And then there were booths upon booths of professionals with building aids. There was everything from windows to flooring to steel framing.

Residents were able to not only pick up pens, but hats, cookies, water bottles, gift cards, and even rice crispy treats.

Legacy Home Builders, based in Thousand Oaks, acknowledged that many people might already have builders – but if anyone wanted a second opinion, they were happy to do it. (888) 925-3422.

On the other side of the street, Homebound was offering lattes and 11 different house plans to choose from. A representative said the plans were certified and once a plan was selected, a home could be built and someone could move in with nine months click here.

Palisadian Susan Sullivan had just organized a similar event in Pasadena the day before and was enjoying a walk through this event with her husband Brian. He had received a tape measure at one of the booths and joked “this event really measures up.”

“Both events were great and a chance for communities to gather,” Susan said.

Fancy feet dancers performed, members of the Theatre Palisades youth cast gave a preview of one of the numbers of this weekend’s musical “Guys and Dolls,” New Vibes Gymnastics  were scheduled and in the background, the Amazing Music band provided a nice musical vibe for the event.

A resident wrote that Maryam Zar was introducing the head of FireAid to people yesterday and asked “How can a FireAid executive show her face when she squandered monies promised to help fire victims.”

Zar is the executive director of the PaliBu Chamber of Commerce and also a  nonprofit, the Palisades Recovery Coalition.  The resident was asked the name and responded, “I moved away as I didn’t want to ‘flame out.’”

CTN reached out to Zar about the FireAid rep. Zar replied, “I was glad to see Lisa Cleri Reale attended the Expo yesterday. I didn’t know she was coming — she wasn’t my guest — she was simply among the thousands of people who are estimated to have attended. For the few minutes I greeted with her at the American Legion Hall before and after the panel, I introduced her to Darragh Danton, and in that introduction she was able to share that Team Palisades is receiving a grant. It was a nice moment. It’s good to see Palisadian organizations moving ahead with recovery plans — each doing what they know best and contributing in their own way to the massive recovery ahead.”

Booth after booth of construction aids lined both sides of the street.

Posted in businesses/stores | 1 Comment

“Guys and Dolls” to Open at Revere

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

One weekend only, “Guys and Dolls,” Jr. will be performed at the auditorium at Paul Revere Middle School, 1450 Allenford, by Theatre Palisades Youth.

This delightful show is considered by many to be the perfect musical comedy. Set in New York City (Runyonland), and follows hardened gambler, Nathan Detroit as he tries to find thousand dollars to line up the biggest crap game in town – while dodging authorities.

He has pressure coming at him from another angle, too, His girlfriend and nightclub performer Adelaide bemoans the fact that they’ve been engaged for 14 years and never married. Promising it will happen, Nathan turns to fellow gambler Sky Materson, who will bet on anything.

His bet? That he can convince any woman that Nathan introduces him to will go to Havana with him.

The woman Nathan introduces him to is Sarah Brown the leader of the “rescue mission shower.’”  Sky convinces the righteous woman to go by promising her a dozen sinners to convert.

Although they both fall in love, Sarah finds out about the bet and Sky is sent out the door.

But this is a comedy and 35 youth are waiting to bring you a happy ending. This was the first musical this editor saw when she moved to New York City and it truly is a delight. Come hear songs like “Marry the Man Today,” “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat” and “Luck Be a Lady.”

About 35 youth are waiting to bring what is considered by many to be the prefect musical comedy. Directed by Lara Ganz, with co-directors/choreographers Rebecca Barragan and Aaron Jung.

Today, they performed on the street at the Recovery Expo much to the delight of people attending the event.

Opening night is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, February 25, with additional performance at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, with the last performance on Sunday, March 1.

For tickets: click here. (priced from $15-$30)

(Editor’s note: Theatre Palisades burned in the Palisades Fire, but the youth were able to rehearse at the Palisades Community Renewal Center, located on Nebraska Avenue in Santa Monica). Not only did the young thespians rehearse there, but they also received “break a leg” cookies on their last rehearsal day from the Center. The youth send their “thanks.”)

Posted in Kids/Parenting, Reviews | 1 Comment

PPBA Continues 72-year-Tradition with Opening Day

Posted on February 22, 2026 by Sue Pascoe

Teams ran on the field through a banner to start the season.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

 

The Pacific Palisades Baseball Association was founded in 1954. The league survived Covid and the Palisades 2025 fire that destroyed homes and fields. Last year, teams played at Cheviot Hills. This year, Palisades and Santa Monica are uniting. Saturday, February 21 was the first day of the 72nd PPBA  season, which was held in two waves at Los Amigos Park in Santa Monica.

The Pacific Palisades Baseball Association Season is officially underway with Palisadian Rory Wang connecting for a hit.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

“It’s exciting to see school families, church families today,” said Calvary Christian Pastor Justin Anderson, whose has a son playing Pinto and another on the Pony League. “I’m most impressed that nothing stops Palisades families from their traditions. . . . that’s how culture and community are built.”

Carter Berman, a Yankee Bronco said he was happy to be back with his friends. “We have a good field” . . . and then added that it would be different, again. A Village School student, he used to walk over to the Palisades Field of Dreams after school and for practices. His dad and coach Steven added that the important thing was “It’s the camaraderie, all are close friends and it’s just nice to be together.”

Berman said that his son was on an all-star teams that made it to Zone playoffs last year. “It was the furthest any PaliTeam made it . . .we almost made it to Super Region playoffs.”

Like many on the field, Coach Berman said they look forward to 2027 when the pancake breakfast and opening day will return to Pacific Palisades.

PPBA Board member Kambiz Kamdar said Palisades teams have blended with Santa Monica, but Pacific Palisades “still did really well in coming back this year.”

T-ball will have four full teams (four-year-olds) and eight teams will be in the Shetland division (five- and six-year-olds). There will be 10 Pinto teams (7–9-year-olds) and10 Mustang teams (10-year-olds) and six Bronco teams (12-year-olds). There will be three Pony teams: one will be exclusively for Santa Monica players, the other two will be Palisadians.

There will also be a blending of umpires from the two leagues. Long-time Palisades umpire Dirk Robinson and some of  his crew will be calling balls and strikes at one of three sites: Los Amigos, Marine Park and John Adam Middle School.

Erin Bitar welcomed players/parents/coaches to the Santa Monica field.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Erin Bitar, the president of the Santa Monica Baseball Association welcomed everyone to the first ceremony, at 9 a.m. which contained the youngest players.

Each team ran through a banner in the outfield that had been made by parents, and around the bases, before sitting down on the infield. Players wanted to know when they got to play and as Cardinal Coach Greg Smith explained to his four-year-olds, “This is sort of like a celebration, we’ll play next week.”

“We’re honored to share Los Amigos with you this season,” Bitar said and gave a shout out to  the Pali U10 AllStar team that made it to district and region last year, and also to the Santa Monica Pinto that went to District and to the SM Pony team that captured District and then went to the Section playoffs.”

Bitar reminded parents of baseball basics: “1) bring your players to games and practices on time; 2) sign up for snack and 3) wash their uniforms . . .or not.”

She then introduced Santa Monica Police Officer George to throw out the first pitch. Before throwing, George said, “I wish everyone a good season, and even if you lose don’t cry, just practice more.” Catching the first pitch was Bitar’s son Miles, a pinto player.

Officer George threw out the first pitch at the 9 a.m. ceremony.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Bitar told CTN that there was a new scoreboard, courtesy of the Kiwanis and SM City Council.

Observing almost every player wearing a necklace or bling, Bitar explained that they call it baseball “drip.” Pony has even adjusted rules to allow for “drip.”

In between the first and second ceremony, Duke Badt, a former PPBA player and a sophomore and member of the Palisades High School baseball team was accepting and giving out bats, pants and other gears.

“We’ve been doing it the last couple of years,” Badt said. “People bring in stuff they don’t need or anything they grow out of and if there’s something they can use they take it.”  In the past, the exchange was free, but now if people can, they are asked to make a donation to Palisades High School Baseball team.

Anything that is not used is given to a little league that might need a uniform through a program “Pitch In For Baseball.”

At 10:30 a.m. this editor saw a neighbor, whose sons, Rory and River, used to practice on the streets of Mt. Holyoke. They’re playing PPBA again this year and one positive according to dad is “We’ve met a lot of new people, and they’ve met a lot of new friends.”

Then it was time to run through banners for the older kids, and the throwing of the “first” pitch for the second time. This time Allen Jerkens, who coached the Pinto team that went to District, tossed it to Mustang Knox Jeffers. “He’s been in the league since he was four years old,” Jerkens said.

Play Ball! The season is officially underway.

Can I beat the throw?
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN

Pacific Palisades Baseball Board this year includes commissioner Bob Benton and members Blake Tucker, Kambiz Kamdar, Bryan Whalen, David Hoffman, Eric Foster, Matt Underwood, Karl House, Josh Weisman and Hamish Ari.

Rich Schmitt is the official photographer of PPBA and if you’d like to see his photos or request an action shot, he’s happy to help. He can be reached at [email protected].

 

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