Anthony Marguleas Examines the Recently Passed Measure ULA

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

 

 

 

BY ANTHONY MARGULEAS, Founder of Amalfi Estates

This poorly thought-out Measure ULA will have significant consequences on the economy that will be felt for years.

ULA, which passed in November and is referred to as a “mansion tax,” imposes a new 4 percent transfer tax on property sales in the City of Los Angeles valued between $5 million and $10 million, with the transfer tax rising to 5.5 percent for sales of $10 million or higher.

This tax is for all residential and commercial properties, with some exclusions for churches and nonprofits. Last year this would have affected approximately $20B in properties, of which 727 homes or condos on the residential side and 270 apartment building sales, and 150 commercial sales.

While 4% or 5.5% additional transfer tax may not seem like much, the tax would be added to the city’s existing 0.45 percent transfer tax for an overall city transfer tax of 4.45% on Sales from $5M to $10M, and nearly 6 percent on sales above $10 million.

This new “tax” would come in addition to the county’s 0.11 percent transfer tax, which means a nearly 1000% increase in transfer taxes.

Backers argue the Measure will raise as much as $1 billion annually from the people who can most afford it to create housing for the Angelenos who most need it.

Helping the homeless is an admirable thing. One of Amalfi Estates’ six charity partners is The People Concern, and we have been supporting them for years because of the nonprofit’s excellent work.

Amalfi staff include (left to right) Brian Bogulisk, Desi Willis, Briar Pecsok, Chad Singer, Britney Penouilh, Anthony Marguleas (founder), Jack Marguleas, and resident Alex Slatkin, routinely donated to charitable causes, including The People Concern, which helps the homeless.

The issue is not raising money but fixing a broken system and bureaucratic red tape in Los Angeles.

In 2016, L.A. voters approved Measure HHH, a ten-year $1.2 billion bond measure to address the homelessness crisis by building 10,000 new affordable and permanent supportive housing units.

It has been a failure after six years, with only 1,000 HHH-funded units completed, at an average cost of more than $500,000 each (almost double the cost they had predicted).

UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies put out an 18-page white paper click here  in September, written by several UCLA, Occidental, and USC professors, which formed the basis for the ULA. (Editor’s note: The professors and lecturers are urban planners, sociologists and a lawyer.)

This paper had multiple erroneous assumptions and biases. “There is no evidence that the tax would impact rents for commercial or residential tenants. In most cases, transfer taxes are paid by the seller, who will have no legal avenues to pass on costs to tenants in a building which they no longer own.”

Additionally, this report cites multiple studies which show that rents are erroneously determined by the market, not taxes and fees. The paper also states: “Landlords already charge the most they can without losing tenants and facing vacant apartments/retail spaces — this will not change because of new transaction fees.”

This is a highly naïve and uneducated statement from academia rather than business owners and real estate experts.

A similar measure that San Francisco passed came up with a more realistic and less utopian viewpoint: “However, the impact of the recession on real estate sales, the volatility of transfer tax revenues in general, and the possibility of tax avoidance behavior due to the increases all create significant uncertainty around revenue.”

The ULA white papers authors stated the only people that would be affected are large wealthy corporations.

In reality most developers are small business owners. Those developers will now find development projects outside the City of L.A. to avoid paying an additional 4 or 5.5%. This will mean substantial lost revenues for escrow officers, loan officers, title officers, realtors, sub-contractors, and many others.

One of our developer clients said, “The ULA is a game changer for us. We have been building and selling new SFRs in the Pacific Palisades/Brentwood area in the $5 to $6 million range for many years. The new 4% tax on the selling price is equivalent to around 50% of our total project’s profit!  Therefore, we stopped our tear down/lot purchases in the area and shifted our business to other directions.”

Another developer, Jeff Mironer with Province Town Estates, said, “As a small business owner, I develop high-end quality custom homes and apartment buildings. We employ up to 100 highly qualified professionals per project. ULA will hurt us tremendously. With the increased cost for permits (that was already implemented to help the homeless; over 500 percent increase in 5 years), high-interest rates, materials, wages, insurance cost, and shrinking supplies, ULA – additional tax of 4 to 5 percent will cause losses for my company, and small businesses like mine.”

The white paper authors mistakenly state, “We found minimal evidence that the tax would impact some for-profit new construction projects, but developers can adjust their business models to minimize the impact of the transfer tax, and revenues from Measure ULA will fund the construction of a much larger number of deed-restricted affordable homes. Real estate investors who buy too quickly resell — the harmful practice of “flipping” — may be more impacted, which we view as a bonus.  However, the tax will significantly impact those with a short-term investment horizon who routinely ‘flip’ properties. This practice inflates housing prices and can cause evictions.  If a side effect of this tax plan is to discourage flipping and speculation, that is a bonus.”

Dan Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, said,  “It’s a great rallying cry for voters — ‘We’re going to take all this money from rich people and help the homeless.’ In the long run, this will bite us in the ass.”

The single most significant source of campaign contributions to Measure ULA is construction unions because ULA mandates strict project labor agreements to only unionized workers and significantly inflates costs. The measure benefits existing affordable housing developers, many of whom are financial supporters of the Measure. The Los Angeles Daily News called ULA a “special interest money grab.”

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said, “Angelenos should ask themselves why these groups sponsored and paid to put Measure ULA on the ballot.” He answers, “It’s affordable housing developers who will benefit from the billions of taxpayer dollars.”

The college professors who wrote the white paper also reference San Francisco and Culver City passing similar measures with solid voter support. However, rather than using those cities which spread the tax across all price ranges of properties, each having a different tax rate, San Francisco has six price ranges, each having a different tax rate, or Culver Cities has four price ranges of properties each having a different tax rate, they chose the City of Los Angeles to only have only two price points and tax rates.

San Francisco passed Proposition W on November 8, 2016 election and Proposition I on November 2020, establishing a marginal tax rate with six brackets.

  • 0.6% for properties between $250,000 and $1 million;
  • 0.75% between $1 million and $5 million;
  • 2.25% between $5 million and $10 million;
  • 5.5% between $10 million and $25 million;
  • 6% for those over $25 million.33

So, the City of L.A.’s tax on $5M to $10M homes is 78% higher than San Francisco’s.

Similarly, Culver City passed Measure RE on November 3, 2020, establishing a marginal tax rate with four brackets.

  • 0.45% on transactions under $1.5 million;
  • 1.5% between $1.5 million and $3 million;
  • 3% between $3 million and $10 million;
  • 4% for those $10 million and over.

In addition to not equitably spreading the tax cost to all property’s price ranges (like Culver City and San Francisco did), ULA targeted a couple of geographical areas.

For instance, Brentwood and the Palisades make up almost half (44%) of all the residential transactions sold over $5 million in the city of L.A., with Bel Air being a distant third with 58 sales.

In 2021, Brentwood had 118 homes sell from $5M to $10M, and 55 sell over $10M, totaling 173 transactions worth $1,767,770,500. The Palisades had the second most transactions with 105 sales from $5M to $10M and 38 over $10M, totaling 143 transactions worth $1,345,472,226

The study also does not factor in the past five years; we have had the most significant appreciation rate in decades. We are currently going into a depreciating market, with home sales slowing considerably.  Year to date, Brentwood residential transactions are down 27% compared to last year, and the Palisades is down 20%.

Santa Monica recently passed a similar transfer tax measure of a 5.6% transfer tax on transactions over $8 million.

“It’s going to hold some sellers back, or at least cause them to think twice,” said Jordan Levine, an economist with the California Association of Realtors.  “It undermines the broader growth in the housing market.”

Instead, the city — which over the last several years has received $1.2 billion in bonds for affordable housing from Proposition HHH — needs to spend more wisely the money it already has for affordable housing.

A homeless encampment is below the underpass at 405 and Venice Boulevard. Even though there has been funding generated for the homeless, nothing has changed here over the past three years.

Additional concerns are the havoc this will have on comparable sales.  Sales prices will be off as sellers and buyers try and pay commissions or other closing costs directly or out of escrow.

A $6 million sale that would use a $5.5M sale (that now sells for $4,999,000) will be affected. This, in turn, will lower future capital gains and property taxes collected. If the IRS can directly not collect the 1/3 that goes for capital gains on the difference of an average $5.5M sale that sells for $5M, they will lose $166,000 per transaction.

Additionally, the LA County tax assessor will miss out on the 1.25% tax on the $500,000 ($6,250) or $62,500 over ten years.

I predict we will see a significant increase in homes selling for $4,950,000 to $4,999,99 and $9,950,000 to $9,999,999 compared to the previous year by sellers working to lower their transfer taxes. This tax should be spread out over all price ranges and factored into what property values are doing.

If someone buys a home for $6 million and a year later sells it for $5 million,  with Measure UAL, they still need to pay a $200,000 tax on top of losing a million in equity.

With sales commission and other closing costs, a seller needs to sell for 10% more than they purchased to break even, which may work in an appreciating market, but we are going into a depreciating market.

While many predict an increase in properties coming on the market to try and sell by April 1, 2023, I don’t see that happening. Sellers don’t want to come on before Christmas, and even if they are able to come on the market in early January, it is doubtful they will be able to get into escrow and close escrow by April 1, especially given the current slowing market.

Additionally, several sellers told me they were planning on selling their home, and now, due to this onerous tax, they have decided not to sell.

 

Posted in Community, Real Estate | 7 Comments

“Palisades Day” to be Commemorated Annually on January 14

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

These first residents celebrated the founding of Pacific Palisades.

Councilman Mike Bonin’s Deputy Director Noah Fleishman presented a City Proclamation at the Awards Ceremony on December 8.

WHEREAS, 100 years ago on January 14th, 1922, the Pacific Palisades community, in the City of Los Angeles, was founded by Methodist families under an oak tree that still exists today at Founders Oak Island at 900 Haverford Avenue; and

WHEREAS, the Pacific Palisades is on historically significant land that is part of the ancestral homeland of the Tongva people and the continuous presence of the Marquez Family of Rancho Boca de Santa Mónica; and

WHEREAS, the Pacific Palisades was founded between the majestic Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Mountains; and

WHEREAS, the Pacific Palisades has blossomed to become a historically and culturally significant neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles; and

WHEREAS, the values of community, belonging, and home are core to the creation of the Pacific Palisades; and

WHEREAS, it is important to recognize, commemorate, and celebrate historically and culturally significant neighborhoods in the City of Los Angeles;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that every January 14th be commemorated as “Palisades Day” in the Pacific Palisades; and

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that “Palisades Day” be celebrated by, amongst other activities, the banging of pots and pans at a specific evening time so that together the entire neighborhoods may commemorate the founding of the Pacific Palisades community in the City of Los Angeles.

Pacific Palisades

 

Founder’s Oak is a islet of oak trees across from Pierson Playhouse where Pacific Palisades was founded in 1922.

 

December 12 Letter from Noah Fleishman to the Community:

I hope you’re healthy and doing well.

It’s with a heavy heart that I write to let you know that yesterday, Sunday, December 11th was my last day serving Council District 11 for Councilmember Mike Bonin.

I was born and raised in Council District 11, was able to intern for Councilmember Bonin for a year as a college student, and was fortunate enough to serve as the Brentwood & Palisades Field Deputy, Deputy District Director, District Director, and LAX Community Liaison over the last year and a half.

It’s been a great privilege to serve the neighborhoods I grew up in, and I am immensely grateful that I was able to work with each one of you to better our communities. Thank you very much, and I hope the next Councilmember and her office are fortunate enough to work with you all.

While it’s unclear what my next step will be right now, I hope to continue my public service and keep working with you in the future.

I hope to stay in touch, so please contact me anytime. My email is [email protected] and my new cell is (213) 866-2614.

I hope you have a great week and enjoy the holiday season.

All the best,

Noah Fleishman

 

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Opening Ceremony Held for George Wolfberg Park at Potrero Canyon

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Residents, who were members of the Potrero Committee, members of George Wolfberg’s family and city officials gathered for the formal ribbon cutting of the George Wolfberg Park at Potrero.

 

By SUE PASCOE and BILL BRUNS

Only 33 years after a construction crew began a massive infill project in Potrero Canyon by bulldozing the native vegetation, residents and various City officials gathered on Saturday morning to celebrate the opening of George Wolfberg Park.

“Without George Wolfberg’s leadership, this park would never have been completed,” said David Card, vice chair of the Potrero Canyon Community Advisory Committee and Community Council chair emeritus. “George built on the efforts of the Community Council, and many community organizations, activists and neighbors such as Randy Young and Jack Allen,” as well as four successive City Council members.

Wolfberg, who died in 2020, was an instrumental leader and mentor in Pacific Palisades as he chaired groups that included the Community Council, the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association and the Potrero Advisory Board.

Saturday’s ceremony, held on a long stretch of inviting grass below the Recreation Center, was emceed by outgoing Councilmember Mike Bonin, who was determined to get the park opened before his last day in office on Sunday.

Wolfberg’s widow, Diane, and their three children – Anya, David and Michael –were in attendance.

Cindy Miscikowski and Randy Young at the park’s opening.

Cindy Miscikowski, who served as the CD-11 Councilmember from 1997-2005, told Circling the News that the project began moving forward when she worked with Councilmember Marvin Braude (1965-1997).

As homes kept sliding into the canyon and their owners sued the City, Miscikowski said, “We knew we needed funds to stop the erosion in the canyon.” She recalled how landslides, flooding and earthquakes were wreaking havoc on the canyon and surrounding homes.

A 1985 L.A. Times story reported that Braude went to the City Council and said, “This project has to be done,” and received $9.5 million for the project. He predicted it wouldn’t take that much money and any extra would be returned.

Nearly 20 years later, after various delays, construction was still far from complete and had to be halted because City funding had dried up. Miscikowski devised a ingenious plan, approved by the Coastal Commission, whereby the City could sell the 22 residential lots it owned along the edge of Potrero, and the proceeds would be placed in a protected trust fund dedicated to completing the park.

Miscikowski’s successor, Bill Rosendahl, and his senior counsel, Norm Kulla (a past Community Council president), finally got this trust fund established so that work could resume…for another 15 years or so.

In 2005, Miscikowski established the Potrero advisory committee, which held monthly public meetings for three years as it worked with neighbors and the City to reach agreements on various aspects of the park — notably that it would be limited to passive recreation such as hiking along two trails down to PCH and would be landscaped with native vegetation, along with a riparian stream.

Eventually, the committee presented a five-page report to the Bureau of Engineering and Recreation and Parks that reflected a consensus for the park.

Kulla attended the ceremony and praised local historian Randy Young as someone he sought out when he needed information. “He has more Potrero knowledge than any other source.” [Young and the Palisades Historical Society will host a PowerPoint presentation, “The History of Potrero Canyon,” on January 17 at Theatre Palisades.]

Young told CTN that the final cost of the park, beginning when the City took possession of Potrero Canyon through eminent domain from Martha Patterson (paying $175,000 in 1975), will be “close to $100 million.”

He called the decades of construction at Potrero, “A slow-motion nightmare.”

(Left to right) Rob Weber, Diane Wolfberg, Andrew Wolfberg(front) and David Card before the opening ceremony in the new park.

Rob Weber, a member of the advisory committee, said, “The park was started in the 1970s, construction started in the 1980s and in the mid-1990s, it stopped. That’s when George got it going again.”

Weber noted that when he joined the committee, his daughter was 18 months old, and he hoped that he could walk down Potrero from his home to the beach before she went to college. “George told me it would take four to five years,” Weber said. “My daughter is now in her second year in college.”

Card, a landscape designer, explained that the 46-acre park is riparian, which means wetlands or “beside the stream.” The Coastal permit includes plants for the “wet” riparian (such as walnut, cottonwood and willow trees) and for the “dry” riparian: sycamores, coastal oaks, toyons and blue elderberry. The lawn “meadow” includes 12 Torrey pine trees.

“All of the plants in the canyon are natives,” Card said, adding that in the meadow, family picnics, reading, sunbathing and informal play (playing catch, kicking a ball, throwing a frisbee) would be permitted.

Activities forbidden in the park include “organized sports, lights, electricity, amplified sound, noisy toys, heaters, cooking flames and motor vehicles,” Card said. “And this is not a dog park.”

Andrew Wolfberg, George’s nephew, told the nearly 200 residents attending the ceremony, “This park is an endearing legacy for all of you.”

He noted that his uncle, who worked for the City of Los Angeles before retiring, liked to surf, swim and bike, and was a tireless volunteer, including decades as an AYSO referee.

Andrew urged residents to “get off the sidelines” and follow in his uncle’s footsteps. “He took great pride in his volunteer efforts and worked to get others to follow him,” Wolfberg said. “Find an organization you want to help and tell them Uncle George sent you.”

Numerous Potrero rim residents have been arguing that the park is not yet ready to be opened, noting that the perimeter fencing is incomplete, and correct signage (with accurate park hours — from sunrise to sunset) has not been placed. They worry that public safety could be an issue, given there will be minimal oversight of the park.

Meanwhile, there’s no way to access Will Rogers beach from the mouth of the canyon (until the promised pedestrian bridge is built) and the trail along PCH to Temescal Canyon has yet to be built.

Randy Young argues that the opening of the park is a positive development for the community and that residents “need to figure out how to manage it — maybe through a joint power authority. If neighbors become proactive, that would be a good thing.”

Young predicted that eventually, “This will be a beloved park, the way that it goes through the center of the Palisades,” offering 1.7 miles of easily accessible hiking trails with ocean views.

City Engineer Ted Allen said, “This is an exciting project. There are only a few marquee projects, and this is one of them.”

Joe Halper, a member of the Rec and Parks Board of Commissioners spoke at the opening of the George Wolfberg Park at Potrero.

Members of the Potrero Canyon Community Advisory Committee over the three years of its existence included George Wolfberg (chair), David Card and Rob Weber (co-chairs), Gil Dembo, Bob Harter, John Anderson, Judith Collas, Dennis Hackbarth, Leonard Horn, Carl Mellinger, Stuart Muller, Susan Nash, Maria Rosetti, Norma Spak, Chris Spitz, Stephanie Wilson Blanc, Nancy Castle, Charlene Baskin, Ellen Travis and Roger Woods.

 

 

 

Posted in Parks | 4 Comments

The Wongs Receive Rotary’s Businessperson of the Year Award

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Shirley and Gordon Wong were named Business people of the year.

Gordon and Shirley Wong, who have owned Knolls Pharmacy for 33 years, have been selected by the Palisades Rotary Club as the Businessperson of the Year.

“This is the nicest local hometown pharmacy anyone could ever want and ever expect,” resident David Tokofsky wrote in a review. “The Wongs are the best . . . we thank them a lot.”

The warmth and friendliness of the owners makes this a great place to fill prescriptions or find a gift.

“We take an honest interest in our customers and patients,” Gordon said.

After purchasing some vitamins, Shirley added a small pack of Chinese almond cookies. “I give cookies to my customers,” she said.

Anyone wanting a pleasant shopping experience might want to stop at the shop located at 16630 Marquez Avenue, which the Wongs have owned since November 1989.

In making the annual selection, Rotary Club members require that this person must hold a senior-level management position in his/her company; live or work in Pacific Palisades; and must have demonstrated leadership within the Palisades and the nominee’s own industry, while also demonstrating a character of “Service Above Self.” They annually donate to local schools.

Customers told Rotary members that Gordon gives professional help and Shirley dispenses “motherly advice and care.”

One wrote, “Gordon and Shirley are truly amazing and have dedicated their professional lives to serving the community.”

Gordon attended Paul Revere and graduated from Palisades High School in 1974. He received his doctorate of pharmacy from the University of the Pacific in 1982.

Shirley attended Hollywood High and graduated from Cal State LA in 1982 with a business degree in information systems. She worked first as an accounting manager at the Herald Examiner newspaper, then as an accounting manager with an entertainment company.

The couple met through family members, but thought that story was too boring, so they tell everyone they met at a bar – even their kids. They married in 1985 and celebrated with a traditional Chinese banquet.

They have four children, Brian, Christopher, Nicholas and Jessica who attended Marquez Elementary, Paul Revere and graduated from Palisades High School, like their father.

Customers say the store was always a family affair – and have watched the Wong children grow up. Brian is a pharmacist in San Diego, Christopher and Nicholas are engineers and Jessica recently took a job in the financial sphere.

“She’s been helping us here,” Shirley said, noting that her daughter will work a full day and then come help out in the store.

One resident wrote that they had been using the pharmacy for more than 10 years and never been disappointed. “Gordon and Shirley are truly amazing and have dedicated their professional lives to serving the community. They are so incredibly knowledgeable, hardworking, ethical, and caring. They always go above and beyond in helping their customers. They have everything major chains carry but they truly stand out with their impeccable service, little to no wait times, and benevolence.”

The couple kept the store open during Covid, with a table set up by the front door. They offered curbside service. “I lost 10 pounds running back and forth,” Shirley said.

Gordan said that one of the main obstacles in running a small business is going up against the “Amazons” the chain and large store mail-order businesses.

The Wongs say that business has grown in the 33 years and that “Customers have been really supportive – during hard times and lean times.”

As part of the award, the couple will receive a $500 donation to the charity of their choice and a one-year honorary membership to the Pacific Palisades Rotary Club. They will be honored at a dinner at Modo Mio, Tuesday, December 13.

The shelves are well-stocked and the atmosphere friendly and cheerful. Gordon did alert CTN to the fact there seems to be a nationwide shortage of children’s Tylenol and cough syrup right now. This is a small-town business, where the owners are happy to share their knowledge.

Knolls Pharmacy has full shelves of product.

Posted in businesses/stores | 1 Comment

Enter the Holiday Ho!Ho!Ho! Pet Photo Contest

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

The one-eyed Captain Elf is entering the pet contest.

The annual Pacific Palisades Pet Photo Contest is underway on Nextdoor.

According to Santa’s Head Elf Rosalie “This year’s Holiday Pet Photo Contest starts now! It’s time to put your pet in front of the camera – dog, cat, rabbit, bird, horse, goat, unicorn, rat, ferret, snake or lizard. Then post the pics of your furry and feathered small joy in all its glory!”

Pose your pet in its best holiday attire or show how your pet best appreciates the season – or maybe even the decorations. Photos can be funny or serious, elaborate or simple. People are allowed to submit one photo per pet or group of pets in a holiday scene. Dress your pet as Santa or a Dreidel or a Caroler or a Snowman or as fruitcake.

Once you’ve posted your pet, “like” your favorites and tell everyone you know to add their “likes” because this is a popularity contest that is determined by the number of likes.

The final day to submit photos is Christmas Day, December 25 until midnight.

Winning photos will be announced after likes are tallied – and Circling the News cannot wait to run the winners.

click here.

All residents are invited to enter the Pet Photo Contest, in conjunction with Ho!Ho!Ho!

Ho!Ho!Ho! This Saturday

Remember to join your friends and neighbors at the annual FREE Ho! Ho! Ho! companion event, Saturday, December. 17, 2 to 4 p.m. at Simon Meadow at the northeast corner of Sunset and Temescal Canyon. Take photos of the kids with Santa and Mrs. Claus! Enjoy local entertainment! Meet the reingoats.

The holiday festivities are free put on for the community, by the community.

Posted in Holidays | Leave a comment

Problems with Pharmaca Stem to Medly Bankruptcy

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

More than one reader has contacted this editor about Pharmaca, the pharmacy, which also offers natural supplements, cards and gifts that is  located at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and La Cruz Drive.

“I was just in Pharmaca and the shelves are almost empty,” the reader wrote. “I had heard a rumor that the landlord had substantially raised their rent and they might not be able to stay in the Palisades.  There were only two people working in the store (a couple of more in the Pharmacy) but there was no one to ask what was happening. I sure hope they aren’t leaving the Palisades.”

Circling the News heard a similar rumor last week and contacted Pharmaca’s Palisades landlord, who responded, “Pharmaca/Medly have a lease and I have not heard anything regarding closing.”

The problem is not the landlord, but rather centers around Medly, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based digital pharmacy, that acquired the Boulder-based Pharmaca in the third quarter of 2021.

Pharmaca, based in Colorado, had 28 stores. With that acquisition, Medly had expanded to almost 30 markets. It had earned a reputation as offering free same-day prescription delivery to customers in its stores in New York City; New Jersey; Philadelphia; Miami; Baltimore; Raleigh, North Carolina; Atlanta; and Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas.

But, according to Business Insider, Medly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 9.

The company’s assets were estimated to be $1 to $10 million and its estimated liabilities $100 to $500 million.

The company had laid off 293 employees or 16 percent of its workforce on August 4.

After reducing its staff, Medly closed many of its pharmacies without notifying patients, according to a December 10 Business News story (“Medly Files for Bankruptcy as Once-Hot Pharmacy Startup Crumbles Due to Mounting Losses”).

Medly’s CEO and founder Marg Patel stepped down from the company in September.

Also, in September 12 former employees filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Medly, alleging they weren’t given adequate notice or reason for being laid off.

According to the case, the pharmacy dismissed, without notice, an estimated 1,100 of its 1,850 full-time employees.

According to Law360, (“Medly Health Files for C.11 With Plans to Sell 22 stores”) the company is seeking a Delaware bankruptcy court’s permission to sell its 22-store Pharmaca business line.

 

Posted in businesses/stores | 4 Comments

Purchase a Chance to Ride with Santa Claus on Station 69 Fire Truck

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Win a chance to ride on the Station 69 hook and ladder with Santa and Mrs. Claus to Simon Meadow.
Photo: Rosalie Huntington

Ho!Ho!Ho! organizers are offering  residents a chance to ride with Santa Claus on the Station 69 Fire Truck on Saturday, December 17.

Raffle tickets are $40 and can be purchased at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, 821 Via de la Paz, by phone (310) 454-5591 or at the Y’s Christmas tree lot at Simon Meadow, Temescal Canyon Road and Sunset Boulevard, during operating hours. Only 10 winners will be drawn on December 15 at 5 p.m.

Winners will assemble at Fire Station 69, at Carey Street and Sunset Boulevard, at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, December 17. After a ride through town, all participants will disembark at Simon Meadow, just in time for Ho!Ho!Ho!

Each year, in addition to keeping a community tradition alive, Ho!Ho!Ho! honors local charities that make a difference.

This year, Hanx, a new coffee company founded by Pacific Palisades resident Tom Hanks, was selected. Hanx donates all profits to organizations that care for, and support, veterans and their families.

“Good products for a good reason,” the actor said.

Samples and more information about Hanx coffee and its goals will also be available at the Ho!Ho!Ho! on December 17.

“The Hanx mission has inspired us at Ho! Ho! Ho! to do more this year,” organizers said. “So, we are raising donations that will feed as many people as possible who cannot afford a meal this holiday season.

“We invite everyone to buy raffle tickets for a chance to ride in one of 10 spots atop Fire Station 69’s Ladder Truck as firefighters bring Santa and Mrs. Claus through the center of Pacific Palisades to Simon Meadow and the Ho! Ho! Ho!” Organizers noted that 100 % of donations raised from the raffle will go towards the Y’s weekly food distribution program.

This year the annual Ho!Ho!Ho! will include free popcorn, hot chocolate from Palisades Garden Care and delectables from local eatery Blin Blin.

There will be a photo booth, arts and crafts, reingoats, and performances from Fancy Feet, Gerry Blanck Martial Arts, New Vibe Gymnastics, Bluecat Music Singers and Palisades High School singers – and of course Santa Claus.

There will be lots of entertainment at the annual Ho!Ho!Ho!
Photo: Lou Kamer

HO!HO!HO! HISTORY:

The first Ho!Ho!Ho! took place on Dec 2, 1949, and was sponsored by the Palisades Chamber of Commerce.

It featured a community-wide square dance, a film showing at the Bay Theater, and prizes from local shops.  In 2018, when the original organizers decided to halt the event, a group of Palisades residents banded together to keep the tradition alive.  The Palisades-Malibu YMCA soon stepped up to host the event at the Christmas Tree Lot at Simon Meadow and now organizes the afternoon through the YMCA “Fun Committee” along with local residents and businesses.

Posted in Holidays | Leave a comment

Traci Park Sworn in as CD Councilmember

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Traci Park sworn in as new CD 11 Councilmember.

Venice resident Traci Park was sworn in as the new councilmember for Council District 11 at a ceremony on December 10 at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester.

More than 600 people watched as former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa performed the ceremony.

Rabbi Amy Bernstein from Kehillat Israel was a speaker.

“Bless all gathered here at this wonderful moment in our city’s life,” Bernstein said. “Bless Traci Park, who has taken it upon herself the responsibility of service to our great City of Angels. Strengthen her, that she may partner with You in repairing this miraculous and broken world.”

Park told the audience, “You elected me to change things.

“We can and we will do better. We will fight for urgent and compassionate solutions that get people off the streets and into safe settings, but I will also fight to keep our communities safe,” she said. “I will fight to make sure that kids can safely come and go to school, for seniors to access their local Senior Centers, and for safe parks and libraries for families and their kids.

“We WILL clean this district up no matter what it takes. That is the mandate that I received from all of you and that will be the top priority of my administration.” (The speech in its entirety is printed in a separate post.)

Five individuals tried to disrupt Park when she was speaking. Her supporters shouted them down, and the disrupters were escorted out of the building.

The L.A. Times in a December 10 story (“Protesters removed from incoming L.A. Councilwoman Traci Park’s Swearing in Ceremony”) tried to equate those protestors with Councilmember Kevin de Leon’s problems.

The Times, who endorsed Park’s opponent Erin Darling, pointed out that Park, a municipal law attorney, “ran on a platform of expanding the Los Angeles Police Department and aggressively enforcing anti-camping restrictions against homeless encampments.”

Several Palisadians were at the ceremony. One wrote “Traci delivered a unifying speech but stated policy changes were on the way regarding homeless services and restoration of safety on our sidewalks, parks and libraries.

“Her speech was interrupted five times by individuals (one man and four women) seated throughout the crowd, standing, screaming and holding up their phones to record the reaction.

“Each time uniformed police, undercover security and members of the public circled the individual and peacefully escorted them out the nearest exit door. Traci handled each disturbance with humor but after four times the audience was somewhat on edge.

“It was nice to see and hear the audience vocally drown out each protester with chants of ‘We love Traci’ or similar chants,’” the resident said.

“Unfortunately, after the event as Traci exited there was a man outside who walked up to a planter and pulled out a six-inch knife. A bystander noticed and held the attacker at bay until police arrested the individual.”

The resident reported that law enforcement was not sure who and when the knife was put in the planter by the door that Traci exited. “Nobody knew if the guy who picked up the knife was working by himself or others.

“Crazy and dangerous dark world we are part of these days,” the resident said.

This is one of five protestors that was shouting and recording herself during Park’s speech.

Mar Vista Voice, a progressive group who organized the Park protest, supported Darling and Proposition UAL. In a tweet, the group said Park supported a homelessness policy that had a 99 percent failure rate.

Park in her speech said, “ . . .our District has thousands of fellow human beings
residing in our public spaces without basic services and sanitation. They live in tents and vehicles. They inhabit broken-down RVs and makeshift shelters. They sleep on streets and beaches, in parks and neighborhoods.

“And as these encampments have grown in size and number, the sanitation and public safety toll on their inhabitants – as well as on surrounding communities – has become completely indefensible.

“FOR YEARS, we’ve collected and disbursed hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to solve homelessness, yet FOR YEARS the problems have continued to get worse,” Park said.

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Traci Park Inaugural Speech, December 11, 2022

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

 

CD 11 Councilmember Traci Park

Thank you all for being here on this glorious winter afternoon.

And special thanks to LMU, my alma mater, for holding this ceremony and to Antonio
Villaraigosa for doing the honors today and for the wonderful introduction.

I also want to thank all of my family, friends, colleagues, and constituents who made this day possible.

It’s thrilling to see so many people who matter to me, gathered here for a single purpose – to publicly uphold our commitment to the peaceful transfer of power from one elected leader to another.

Every time this happens, at any level of government, it reinforces our great democracy. And that’s something we can never take for granted.

And for me, it’s very fitting to be sworn in as a public servant here, because Loyola Law School taught me so much about the power of legal advocacy to change lives.

Since childhood, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer.

And as I pursued my dream through middle school, high school, and on to college, one of my greatest inspirations was Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

My other great inspiration was Matlock.

Seriously.

I mean, who doesn’t want to brilliantly defend justice, week after week, and deliver results in under an hour?

Of course, my awe for Matlock’s TV character eventually faded into nostalgia for his down-to-earth common sense – but RBG continues to burn brightly as a guiding light for me.

Justice Ginsberg’s groundbreaking accomplishments as a pioneer for change are as inspirational as the words she chose to describe them: “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

But RBG has been an inspiration to me not just because of her incredible 27-year career on the Supreme Court, but just as much because of WHO she was and what she had to overcome in her life.

She lost her mother the day before she graduated from high school and became one of only 9 women at Harvard Law School with more than 500 men.

She was once asked by the dean of the Law School, “why are you at Harvard taking the place of a man?”

Her story – a story of persistence and never taking no for an answer – is something that has guided me throughout my life.

I was raised in a working class family in Apple Valley. My mother was a school secretary and the president of her union, and my late father was a US Army Veteran and lifelong member of the Communication Workers of America before he passed away in 2005, when I was just 28 years old.

After my parents divorced, my mom raised me on her own for a lot of years. I watched her
work long hours, and struggle financially to support us both, often sacrificing things she wanted so that I could have everything I needed. We collected dollar bills and pocket change in a jar on the kitchen counter – our Friday night pizza and movie fund.

I was taught the value of family and hard work at a very young age. In my community and in my family, nothing was given to you. You had to work for everything that you had.

This is something that Mayor Villaraigosa knows all about – being hungry and driven to go
beyond any expectations that others have for you. Fighting for what’s important and, just like the Notorious RBG, never taking no for an answer.

No one in my family had ever gone to college before, but somehow, it was always assumed that I would. We didn’t have the money to pay for it, but I was determined to find a way. So, I started waiting tables when I was just 16, stockpiling dollar bills in a shoebox under my bed. By the time I graduated, I’d saved a few hundred dollars, which seemed like a small fortune at the time. It was just enough to pay for gas and roadside motels on my long road trip to Baltimore.

I worked two jobs in college [Johns Hopkins University] to make ends meet and borrowed heavily to pay the rest. I worried about the debt, but I knew that this was an investment in me, and my future, and that the hard work would pay off.

I came back to LA in 1997, and started law school, right here at Loyola. I was broke, and had to borrow more, and work even harder to pay the rent. I struggled to make ends meet, but law school was my dream, so I dove in deep.

My time at Loyola prepared me well to fight for those things I cared about, and to do it in a way that lifted up the people and communities around me. I learned to think critically, to ask hard questions, to evaluate facts, and construct compelling arguments. I learned there were two sides to every story, and that the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. I learned how the legal system yields decisions that impact us all – especially when lawmakers get things wrong.

I’ve had a successful legal career for more than 20 years. I wasn’t interested in politics and I certainly wasn’t a political insider. But when I saw what was happening to our Westside, I knew that something had to be done – that someone had to fight for what we cared about.

So we started this campaign almost two years ago in a front yard in Playa Del Rey. A few of us friends and neighbors sat down to talk about the problems. We had no idea what we were doing, but we believed we could make a difference.

I was a first-time candidate, with no political experience, no ties to City Hall, no database of donors. I was taking on the power of incumbency, the establishment, and a system that isn’t hospitable to outsiders like me. Early on, people told me I was crazy, that I would have no chance.

But we kept going.

That first meeting in Playa del Rey turned into a hundred more, and a remarkable thing
happened – people flocked from every corner of this district, ready to go to bat for their values, united in a vision for responsible leadership and a better Westside. We put away the politics to focus on pragmatic solutions.

We fought our way through a tough primary and an even harder general election, where people who had never even met me and trolls on the internet said awful things about me.

But even in the darkest days of the race, we never let the detractors get us down…because they were outnumbered by all of you. And you all have always been what this has been about for me.

It was you, the people here today and tens of thousands more just like you, from Palisades to Brentwood, Venice and Mar Vista… Sawtelle, Playa Del Rey – and YES Westchester, it was all of you who stood by me and believed in me. You lifted me up when I felt like I couldn’t keep on going. You were there for me in a way that I will never forget and will always be thankful for.

People came out strongly against me because our campaign and this election DID serve as a threat to the status quo. It was a referendum on failure we’ve seen enough of.

I wasn’t elected to sugar coat things or be quiet on the sidelines. You’re sending me to City Hall to fight for the things you care about, and I will never back down.

We will move with a sense of urgency that has been lacking for years now and stop all of the excuses and finger pointing, and we will do it in a way that leads others join us.

This is my pledge to City Council District 11.

As an attorney, I fought tirelessly for my clients. As your Councilmember, I will fight for you as my constituents – whether you voted for me or not.

I will be your voice at city hall and my office will be responsive to everyone in the District who actually wants to fix problems and make things better here on the Westside.

We have BIG challenges ahead of us, but I’ll approach them in a way that leads others to join me in working as a team to advance the issues we all care about.

As I look around our beautiful district, I am humbled by the trust you’ve placed in me. We have incredible assets – from the economic engine that is LAX and the entry point for tens of millions of visitors, to our environmental resources – our precious wetlands, the Santa Monica Bay and our coastline, to our beautiful Santa Monica mountains.

Our cultural and educational resources, hospitality and retail offerings, and vibrant business sector attract visitors, students, workers, investors, and innovators from all over the world.

And yet, in the midst of all this bounty, our District has thousands of fellow human beings
residing in our public spaces without basic services and sanitation. They live in tents and
vehicles. They inhabit broken-down RVs and makeshift shelters. They sleep on streets and
beaches, in parks and neighborhoods.

And as these encampments have grown in size and number, the sanitation and public safety toll on their inhabitants – as well as on surrounding communities – has become completely indefensible.

FOR YEARS, we’ve collected and disbursed hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to solve homelessness, yet FOR YEARS the problems have continued to get worse.

Last month, Westside voters made a clear choice.

You elected me to change things.

We can and we will do better. We will fight for urgent and compassionate solutions that get people off the streets and into safe settings, but I will also fight to keep our communities safe. I will fight to make sure that kids can safely come and go to school, for seniors to access their local Senior Centers, and for safe parks and libraries for families and their kids.

We WILL clean this district up no matter what it takes. That is the mandate that I received from all of you and that will be the top priority of my administration.

From day one, my team of homelessness innovators and problem solvers will hit the ground running. There are no quick fixes, but you’ll hear no more bureaucratic excuses. Together, we’ll set goals and forge real solutions for the Westside.

It won’t happen overnight, but it WILL happen.

As RBG told the New York Times in 2009, “Time is on the side of change.”

We are going to make change, but we don’t have the luxury of time.

We’ll begin taking those steps immediately and we’ll transparently report results.

My job will be to generate new, data-driven practices linked to measurable and successful
outcomes. But I can’t do my job without you. Moving past the status quo is going to require your participation and your continued support. We must find ways to work side-by-side. We won’t agree on everything, but we can start where we have common ground.

There is so much more that unites us than divides us. We all care about the environment and protecting our natural resources.

I’ll prioritize sustainable policies that mitigate climate change, protect our natural surroundings, and improve our economy. We’ll invest in workforce development that supports careers in green and clean-tech industries. We’ll support working families and renters who are playing by the rules and deserve a place in the westside as much as everybody else that calls CD11 home.

I’ll also be a strong advocate for the Westside business community and the needs of its vital workforce – including housing. By building a strong partnership between the City and local businesses, we’ll revitalize our District, boost our economy, and make sure the Westside retains its place as an event destination.

Our District has many competing priorities and viewpoints, and I promise to hear you and learn from you, and to represent ALL the residents and businesses in Council District 11.

In closing, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the overwhelming number of messages from people all over the District who’ve wished me well and offered their support. Nobody can do this all alone, and your support has meant the world to me in ways that you can’t even imagine.

And while I can’t possibly thank everybody who stood by my side, I do want to highlight just a few people who have been instrumental in this campaign.

To Rick Taylor and the rest of the campaign team, thank you for pushing us over the finish line. I appreciate each one of you and thank you for fighting for me throughout this campaign.

To my volunteers, who gave up their weekends to knock on doors and make phone calls, YOU put in the work that created this moment. Your hard work moved the needle, and this victory belongs to YOU.

To our LAPD Police Officers, Airport Police, Park Rangers, and all of the law enforcement groups who supported me early and stuck by me – I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You’ve been vilified long enough and that stops with me. You have my support and I won’t back down in making public safety a top priority in CD11.

And to our Firefighters… what can I say about our firefighters. You took a chance on me, you believed in me, and you fought for me in ways that I will never, ever forget. You didn’t just show up, you went to bat for me. You demonstrated loyalty in a world where loyalty is a rare thing. When things got tough, you had my back. Now, I’ve got yours.

And finally, to my family and my closest friends. I know this campaign was hard for all of you – we didn’t have as much time together as we would have liked, but you never complained. You hugged me when I needed it, you loved me even when I made mistakes, and your support gave me the confidence I needed to rise for us all.

Now, the campaign is over, the hard work begins. Together, as RBG reminds us, let’s fight for the things we care about, and do it in a way that leads others to join us.

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Post 283 Auxiliary Donates 50 Hygiene Kits for the Homeless

Posted on December 8, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Auxiliary members donated 50 hygiene kits to the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness. (Left to right) Gina Jakel, Ruth Kahn-Wells, PPTFH co-president Sharon Kilbride, Fran Aponte, Deloris Artis and Nancy Niles.

Post 283 Auxiliary learned that the Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness (PPTFH) was running low on hygiene kits.  On December 6, members presented PPTFH co-president Sharon Kilbride with 50.

“Thank you, guys,” said Kilbride, a former Citizen of the Year for her volunteer efforts with the homeless.  “This really helps.

She told auxiliary members that when social workers, who work with PPTFH, meet the homeless on the street, a rapport needs to be established. Many of those on the street are broken people and do not trust anyone.

Kilbride explained the process. “When we engage the homeless on the street, we start a conversation; we start to build a relationship,” she said. “We ask, ‘do you need a snack?’”

The conversation can continue as the homeless learn they can trust the people talking to them.

Next, those living on the streets might be asked, “Do you need a hygiene kit?”

In the kit, there is a new pair of socks, shampoo, soap, a razor, deodorant, toothpaste and a toothbrush.

At one “meet-up” medical care was provided.

The homeless are able to use the soap at the showers at the beach—but more importantly, it allows them to start to trust the social workers. The next step might be encouraging the homeless to attend a “meet-up,” which are held weekly down at the beach and at a site in town.

A meet-up allows the homeless to meet the Outreach Team and local police, with both groups offering services and assistance. Local churches and other volunteers provide brown bag lunches that can be given to the homeless at those meetups. One of the young homeless in the Palisades, offered this editor a cookie from his bag.

Kilbride said that one young man from Chicago was deteriorating rapidly on the streets. Through Project Homecoming, they were able to get a family member to take back. Before he left, he was given a hygiene kit. When Kilbride saw him at the bus stop waiting to go home, he was clean and shaven.

The kits, although, seemingly inconsequential for most Palisadians, help because, it gives some “a whole new outlook on life,” she said.

Kilbride said that many of the people they encounter, don’t want help, but the kits are given to those who seem ready to accept some type of aid.

The project was first brought to the auxiliary’s attention and approved in October, and then it was shopping at the local CVS and the Dollar Store to get 50 travel-size items of the various toiletries. Members of the auxiliary stuffed the bags on November 30, at the newly renovated American Legion Hall on La Cruz.

Members of the Auxiliary helped put together 50 hygiene kits. (Left to right) Deloris Artis Gina Jakel and Theresa Webb. Not pictured is Marie-Anne Helgeson.

(Editor’s note: Since 2016, when the PPTFH was created, the nonprofit has engaged more than 165 individuals, who are now off the streets and in some form of housing. About 1,393 campsites have been removed and cleaned. The number of homeless fires extinguished by LAFD is six.

From July 2021 to July 2022, 699 new individuals were engaged by the volunteer response team, 13 people are waiting for a housing voucher and 23 have been moved to some form of housing.

To find out more about assembling hygiene kits, making lunches or contributing financially to the PPTFH, a nonprofit, which has not been supported by Councilman Mike Bonin and CD 11, go to [email protected].)

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