Bonin Continues to Dictate, Despite Request from Park: Council Approves $5.1 Million in Transportation Projects

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Money for the Lincoln Boulevard widening project was sought by outgoing Councilman Mike Bonin on November 22. The City Council approved Bonin’s request on November 30.

Despite a plea from councilmember elect Traci Park, who will begin representing Council District 11 starting December 12, the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve $5.1 million to fund various transportation projects in the district that were requested by Councilmember Mike Bonin last week.

In a motion submitted to the council on November 22, Bonin asked the council to approve spending a little more than $5.1 million on four projects before leaving office on December 12.

One project, which has a price tag of $2.5 million, is intended to widen one of the busiest roads in the District, Lincoln Boulevard, to accommodate buses and make room for a light rail train.

The project includes widening of Lincoln Blvd between Jefferson Blvd and Culver Blvd, replacing the existing Lincoln Blvd Bridge over Ballona Creek, replacing the existing Culver Bridge over Lincoln Blvd, and reconstructing the existing Culver Blvd/Lincoln Blvd interchange.

In a letter sent to the council before the vote, Park stated in the spirit of collegiality and mutual respect to “delay action” on the approval of the funds.

Park noted that aside from the large price tag, in at least one of the projects, the Lincoln Boulevard Multi-Modal Bridge Improvement project, “there has been zero community engagement around this proposal and given the significant community and environmental impacts of this proposed project, this item should be delayed until the appropriate outreach and CLA/CAO analysis can be completed.”

Park noted that she neither supports nor opposes any aspect of the motion on the merits. But she asked her colleagues to give her time to analyze the proposals and seek community input on their merits.

“Given that these items were just introduced on November 22, 2022, which is less than 3-weeks before the current councilmember leaves office, it is hard to see any of these proposals as anything more than a “last minute rush job” with a massive price tag attached to them,” Park said. “For all of these reasons, I am respectfully asking to defer any action on agenda item 57 until after I take office on December 12. I thank you in advance for your consideration and am available to answer any questions that you might have regarding these issues.”

The council approved the projects with an 11-0-4 vote. The four votes were absent council members. The motion is headed to the Mayor’s desk for a signature.

(Editor’s note: This story appeared in the Westside Current November 30 and is reprinted with permission.)

Posted in City/Councilman Mike Bonin | 4 Comments

Sampling and Enjoying Canadian Cuisine

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

The fish (Pickerel) and chips were delicious.

Story and Photos by CHAZ PLAGER

One of the many blessings granted to California residents is the weather, which never dips below 60 Fahrenheit, even in the winter.

So, you can imagine the rude awakening I had when I headed up to Manitoba, Canada this Thanksgiving, where it was 20 degrees. Described by some as the Detroit of Canada (though that might be a bit unfair to Detroit), Winnipeg is the largest city in Manitoba.

I got to experience new and foreign things to an American like myself, such as a Canadian hockey game, basic human kindness, and most importantly, traditional Canadian food. I’ve always had an interest in food, so I can’t say I wasn’t interested in what Canada had to offer. With nothing else to do, I set out to try everything unique I could find. Here are a couple of highlights from my tour.

-Pickerel

Called Walleye in America, Pickerel is a kind of whitefish you don’t see very often. When I went to the Winnipeg mall, The Forks, and saw Fergie’s Fish and Chips was serving it, I knew I had to try it.

To be honest, Pickerel itself isn’t that great. It’s kind of bland, especially compared to the codfish I had a taste of when I went back for the second time. But the fact I went back for a second time should speak volumes about just how good the restaurant is.

Their portions are large and hearty, and they have some of the best fries I’ve ever eaten. Their fish is freshly caught, too – you can see workers carrying in buckets of them throughout the day.

It made a perfect stop after touring the Winnipeg Museum of Human Rights, which is a pretty cool museum in its own right.

A Sablefish dish included chorizo, risotto and cheese sauce.

–Sablefish

Sablefish is yet another whitefish, which doesn’t sound all that interesting by itself. However, the adventurous chefs at PASSERO decided it would go just great with chorizo, risotto, and cheese sauce.

And as strange as that combination of ingredients sound, it really does go perfectly together. The dish was designed to be shared, so it ended up being split between, my mom, and my dad and me. Which upset me just a little bit – I wanted to eat the whole thing. But it tasted good enough that I didn’t care.

-Caribou

Now we’re getting somewhere. Caribou is a kind of deer, specifically a reindeer. A place close to where we were staying called Peasant Cookery served a Venison Tourtiere, a French kind of meat pie.

My mom seemed hesitant at the idea of eating deer, but my dad had no problem asking me if he could have a bite or three of my food.

The restaurant itself is called Peasant Cookery, but you really do eat like a king. (It’s actually placed right next to a bar called King’s Head, which is a funny coincidence.)

The meat pie itself was massive, and it came with mashed potatoes, peas, and gravy. The meat was a mix of ground pork and venison, and the gravy was also made from venison.

Venison is delicious – it’s sweet and savory, but also very lean, so you don’t have to worry about weight gain. I couldn’t even finish the whole thing in one night, even with my dad’s help. Absolutely would recommend it.

To cap this off, I’d like to recount an experience I had just outside that restaurant, where I had my first interaction with local Winnipeggers, so they call themselves.

I asked two men what someone staying for a week could do here in terms of activities. The man on my right laughed, then whispered to the man on my left in French. Both laughed, then the man on my right asked me if I could spare him a cigarette.

I’m seventeen.

The caribou dish was accompanied by peas, potatoes and gravy.

Posted in Restaurants | 2 Comments

Prop. ULA: Red Herring for Helping the Homeless

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Prop ULA will not help those living on the streets.

The way to get the homeless of the streets is to tax the rich, according to Los Angles Proposition ULA, which voters approved on November 8.

Many did not read the proposition closely and instead voted for the sentiment.

People were convinced by the advocacy coalition, United to House LA, that the only reason there are still more than 60,000 people on the street is because there isn’t enough housing. And the only way to get more money to provide affordable housing is to tax the rich.

The December 2 tally by the L.A. County Register, saw ULA described as “funding for affordable housing and tenant assistant programs,” passed 58 % to 42%.

This proposition does not address the lack of winter shelters for the homeless. This proposition does not provide group shelters. It does not help those with addiction problems. It does not aid those with mental illness living on the streets.

City Controller Ron Galperin in February assessed Prop. HHH, which was passed in 2016. There has been $1.2 billion collected in bonds, was supposed to end homelessness. Less than 1,200 housing units were completed. He wrote in his report “Our previous reviews of Proposition HHH concluded that project costs were high and estimated development timelines did not reflect the needs of unhoused residents living in dangerous conditions.” https://lacontroller.org/audits-and-reports/problems-and-progress-of-prop-hhh/

The money collected from Prop. ULA will be used solely to fund the development of affordable housing to serve acutely low, very low, and low-income households, which in theory will stop people from becoming homeless.

The Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) would have authority to approve funding of up to $50 million per project. No City Council review or approval will be required.

Instead, a 15-diverse Citizen’s Citizens Oversight Committee, comprised of 13 voting members and two advisory youth members, will be appointed by the Mayor.

This proposition is also a way to bypass restrictions on tax increases. Special taxes generally require two-thirds majority, but taxes brought forth by citizens, such a Prop. ULA just need a simple majority.

Who are the rich that will be taxed? A 4% tax on properties sold or transferred for more than $5 million and a 5.5% tax on properties sold or transferred for more than $10 million. These sales include not only the large homes in many areas of the City but also includes the sale of apartment buildings.

One Palisades resident wrote, “most voters say ‘Yes, tax the first $10M, where do I vote yes?”

“That’s the problem,” the resident said. “Most voters who don’t have wealth could care less and that was reflected in the votes. It’s about a backlash to disparity once you put it on a ballot. Saying all my investments are now worthless, or we have to pay too much tax on our windfall is meaningless to voters who have no windfall.”

The resident pointed out that this proposition leaves owners of any property $5m+ with a 8-10% total transaction fee on the sale of their property in addition to other relevant taxes… whether a loss, a gain. “If you buy a property for $11 million, and sell it for $10 million in a year, you will still be required to pay a $550,000 tax on a $1 million loss.”

The resident added, “if you think the $1 to 4 million dollar properties are exempt, they are not. In fact, they could be next. What’s to stop the next tax on sub-$5m? What’s to stop the 5.5% tax from being 25%?”

Barron’s PENTA November 28 story (“Greenlit by More than 500,000 Voters, Measure ULA is Unpopular with the City’s Real Estate”) “Jon Grauman, of the Grauman Rosenfeld Group at The Agency, said in an email. ‘While we are all sympathetic to the dire homeless problem that exists in L.A., taxing the wealthiest residents in a city that is arguably already over-taxed—thereby causing many individuals to leave the state—is not the solution,’ he said.”

The story noted that Los Angeles already ranks as one of the top metropolitan areas that local residents are looking to leave, bested only by San Francisco, according to October migration data from property portal Redfin.

Bloomberg’s November 10 story (“Can LA’s Mansion Tax Unlock Affordable Housing Across Callifornia?”) points out that much of the revenue comes from sales of apartment buildings as opposed to mansions. “A real estate executive named Moses Kagan outlined one plausible scenario in a tweet: If a developer builds an apartment complex for $7 million and sells it for $10 million, making a profit of about $2.3 million after costs, then a 5.5% transfer tax would work out to $550,000 (my math, not his). That’s about 24% of the profit. Since a typical split on a deal runs to 80% for investors and 20% for developers, that tax ought to kill the deal.

As Jeremy Padawer wrote on Nextdoor: “I believe this is happening not because of homelessness…but because of hopelessness. Our children no longer believe that they can work hard and have better lives than their parents. As a result, wealth is less aspirational… more despised.

“I grew up in Mississippi and Tennessee and found my way to the Palisades with a good heart, idealistic nature and belief that we all can reach our potential with hard work,” he said. “This sort of tax is contrary to anything remotely close to those ideals. . . We have a $100 billion surplus in California … and then we do this.

“I would have gladly paid a percentage of gain to solve crime, homelessness and educations for my fellow citizens in LA… even with the $100 billion surplus,” Padawer said. “This tax is wrong. It’s not well thought out. And worst of all, it’s not well intended.”

A homeless encampment is below the underpass at 405 and Venice Boulevard.

(Editor’s note: United House LA is composed of many groups, including ActLA-Alliance for Community Transit, IBEW Local 11-electrical construction industry, KIWI -Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance, LA Family Housing, American Federation of Labor-representing 48 local unions, LA Can – Los Angeles Community Action Network—helping fight back against oppression, L.A. County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, MoveLA – transit, SEIU Local 2015—long term caregivers, SCANPH – Southern California Association of nonprofit housing, SAJE – strategic actions for a just economy, T.R.U.S.T. South LA – community organization and Unite Here! Local 11 – workers in hotel, restaurant, sports arenas and convention centers.)

Posted in Homelessness, Real Estate | 5 Comments

Betts Bakes Will Help with Holiday Treats

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

With all the last-minute December parties, many residents are feeling the crunch in trying to get holiday baking done. This year they are in luck, a new Palisades home business, Betts Bakes, is here to assist.

Launched in August, Betts Bakes owner Betty Morin is offering her services, with items baked to order.

Morin can prepare everything from cookie platters to intricate cakes. She also offers gluten-free items.

Her standard cookies include, chocolate chip (with or without nuts), ginger, peanut butter blossoms (chocolate kiss on top), chocolate crinkles (powdered sugar on top), oatmeal raisin, macarons (vanilla, chocolate, lemon with various fillings), coconut macaroons, biscotti, rugelach, gingerbread people, decorated sugar cookies, pumpkin bars w/cream cheese frosting and brownies.

Morin said, “Most of my cookie recipes come from a cookie cookbook that my mother passed down to me from the early 1960s that is falling apart but has the most amazing memories tied to it. It’s full of handwritten notes on favorite recipes and modifications that my mom or I made. I will never get rid of that book.”

If you have a family recipe that you love and won’t have time to make, Morin will bake it for you.

During Halloween and Thanksgiving, Betts Bakes featured pumpkin, apple and lemon meringue pies, which will still be available. She is now adding a chocolate meringue pie for residents to purchase. CTN received a small taste, and it was delicious.

Her standard cakes will still be available, and she is adding a chocolate or vanilla cake with peppermint sprinkles and peppermint buttercream or chocolate or vanilla cake with pale blue icing and snowflakes. Cupcakes will be available either with sprinkles or decorated as the Grinch.

Morin, who had morphed from film production to music production to a frozen food business, had always dreamed of opening a bakery. It took Covid and virtual meetings to open that door.

She was on the business side of healthy, frozen food entrees, which were sold in Gelson’s and Bristol Farms. That business was put on hold during Covid, because of supply issues.

Then her husband, who has 20 years of sobriety in AA, suggested that she bake a cake to be given to someone celebrating a year of sobriety in that program. One cake led to many cakes.

People started requesting cakes for birthdays and other celebrations, and Morin found herself propelled into a new career.

“Baking is very satisfying to me. It can be almost meditative, and I love the creative part of it, especially when I’m trying new things or decorating cakes,” the Palisades resident said.

“My biggest concern was whether I would enjoy baking if I ‘had’ to do it, but so far that hasn’t been a problem,” she said. “I still love it.”

Go to bettsbakes.com to see choices and prices. Morin said she’s open to special requests. (310) 310-2983.

The snowflake cake can either be vanilla or chocolate.

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Legion Welcomes Residents to Watch Army-Navy Game

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Army, Navy players will have special uniforms for the game on Saturday.

American Legion, Ronald Reagan-Palisades Post 283 is hosting a viewing party of the “Army-Navy” football game on Saturday, December 10.

All residents are invited to come watch the game. The doors at the Legion, 15247 La Cruz Drive, will open at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $5 per guest and lunch is included. Children under 12 are free. There will be a no host bar and there is a separate kids’ room. To RSVP, go to: alpost283.com Events – Legion Family Events – December 10^th Army- Navy Game.

This is one of the greatest sports rivalries in the country. For more than a century, The Army Black Knights have played the Navy Midshipmen. The teams first met in 1890 and have met annually since 1930. Overall, Navy is leading the series 62-53-7.

The game will take place at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, with gametime weather predicted at 42 degrees. For the season, Army is 5-6 overall and Navy is 4-7.

Army football will wear specialty uniforms to honor the “Iron Soldiers” of the 1st Armored Division who spearheaded the first ground-based attack by the United States in World War II. The Black Knights uniforms are inspired by the story of “Old Ironsides.”

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Torch, which began American ground operations against Axis forces in the European theater, which included North Africa.

Two weeks after Japan bombed the U.S. in 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill coordinated the U.S. entry into World War II.

Commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, about 125,000 soldiers landed in Algeria and Morocco in November 1942 in what was then the largest amphibious landing in history.

The Naval Academy announced its team will wear astronaut-themed uniforms, “From the sea to the stars.”

Posted in Sports | Leave a comment

Botanical Artist featured at Pacific Palisades Garden Club Meeting

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

Deborah Shaw will speak at the Garden Club meeting.

Botanical artist Deborah Shaw will be the Pacific Palisades Garden Club speaker tomorrow, December 5, at 7 p.m. Her topic “Botanical Art through the Ages,” will address the history of botanical art to contemporary times. Works by American Society of Botanical Artists will be shown. This meeting is open to the public.

Shaw has a degree in fine art from Pomona College, The Claremont Colleges. She has taught botanical art at the J. Paul Getty Museum and at Virginia Robinson Gardens. She has received the Distinguished Instructor award from the University of California, Irvine Extension, where she taught illustration and digital and information design.

Her work is in the permanent collection at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University and in private collections.

Shaw’s favorite media include graphite, watercolor, colored pencil, pen and ink, scratchboard, Illustrator and Photoshop. Visit: dbshawsstudios.com.

One lucky meeting attendee will win a special art print by Deborah Shaw. If you know someone who enjoys gardening, consider giving them a membership as a gift for the holidays. Individual membership is $30, and a household membership is $35. To receive the Zoom link, pacpalgrardenclub.org.

A Deborah Shaw botanical print will go to a lucky winner.

Posted in Arts, Community | Leave a comment

The Tale of Two Palisades Parks: Temescal Canyon and George Wolfberg at Potrero

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

This was a 2011 Potrero Groundbreaking, those assisting were (left to right) Rob Weber, Norman Kulla, Councilman Bill Rosendahl, Stuart Muller, David Card and George Wolfberg.

The mile-long park that stretches to Pacific Coast Highway from Frontera Drive came under serious scrutiny from neighbors at a “SPECIAL POTRERO” meeting sponsored by the Pacific Palisades Community Council on December 1. (The nearly two-hour meeting can be accessed on YouTube.)

Pressing questions included: Who will clean the bathrooms? How do you stop people from camping illegally? How do you stop illegally lit fires? What is happening to the trash that will accumulate? Where will trash cans be placed and where will the trash from the cans be emptied? How can we prevent people from parking on our street and gathering on our street by the park? How can you call the park a riparian park if there is grass? How do you keep bikes and skateboards out? How do you keep high school kids and the homeless out after hours?

Who do we contact if there are people in the park after hours. What if we see a fire?

The Zoom free-for-all continued with more comments: We were never consulted about the park or a gate on Friend’s Street. We were never asked about a pedestrian crossing on PCH, which will only encourage outsiders to visit the park. There wasn’t enough public scrutiny for this park. Why weren’t there community meetings?

The George Wolfberg Park will be Pacific Palisades second city park built in a Canyon. Temescal, and Wolfberg will both be cared for by Recreation and Parks Maintenance staff. One is open, one will now open December 10.

GEORGE WOLFBERG PARK:

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

George Wolfberg Park at Potrero has been in and out of construction for at least 60 years. More than $70 million has been used to stabilize the Potrero canyon slopes, on which multi-million-dollar homes were then built.

In the early 2000s there was a Potrero Canyon Committee, that met regularly and addressed all issues, including keeping this a riparian park (this editor worked for the local newspaper at the time and covered those meetings in depth). A Coastal Commission report in June specified there should be a gate at Frontera. The City had lots surveyed to make sure the development of the park was not done on private property. Non-native vegetation, that might be flammable was removed from the park and defensible space installed around properties.

George Wolfberg Park at Potrero has no picnic tables and no playground. It will be surrounded by a fence and gates and people will not be allowed to do anything, but hike and potentially walk leashed dogs. The park will be open from dawn to dusk and the gates will automatically lock, to prevent access after hours.

A Potrero Canyon Ground breaking was held in 2019 with help from (left to right) Debby Dyner-Harris (former Bonin District Director), Bonin Field Deputy Lisa Cahill, Councilman Mike Bonin and Norman Kulla (former Bonin Senior Counsel). Photo: Courtesy Mike Bonin

TEMESCAL CANYON PARK:

Homes line the rim of Temescal Canyon Park.

Temescal Canyon Park stretches from below Bowdoin to Pacific Coast Highway. There are no fences around this park, there are no gates. There are several picnic tables, a playground and bathrooms. This park is bisected by Temescal Canyon Road.

Since 2000, there have been at least two fires in this park that have shot up the hills threatening homes. Signs had to be posted in the park banning open fires and grills. The signs are periodically ignored.

There are food trucks that line the lower canyon, and in the summer, parking is a problem. Accidents are common because of people making illegal turns.

Several fitness camps and youth camps operate along Temescal, many are unpermitted. Some people hit golf balls and others allow dogs to run off-leash.

Every morning the RAP maintenance empties the numerous trash cans along the park. Maintenance staff clean and restock the bathroom.

Volunteers from the homeless task force constantly patrol the park. With the help of the LAPD beach task force, the number of homeless who camp illegally has been limited. This editor has helped clear out numerous abandoned encampments, which discourage other homeless from moving in.

There have been at least two homeless who have been found dead in Temescal. There were also two suicides in Temescal and a gang member’s body, who had been slain, was found.

People who live on the Temescal rim, do not understand why neighbors are so upset about the George Wolfberg Park. Residents along Temescal have been dealing with inconveniences for decades, but the tradeoff is an open space that everyone can enjoy.

At night if a light or flame is seen, Potrero neighbors can do what Temescal neighbors have done, which is either call the Los Angeles Police Department or the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Temescal Canyon was graded, with the high school placed at the top of the canyon, a road was added that connected Sunset Boulevard to Pacific Coast Highway–Photo 1957
Palisades Historical Society

Posted in Parks | 3 Comments

2022 Holiday Gift Guide

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

This 14-page gift guide features selections from stores in Pacific Palisades. Price points are from $6 to more than $3,000, which means there’s something for everyone. Have as much fun looking, as this editor did shopping.

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Posted in Holidays | Leave a comment

Holiday Concerts to Fill the Air

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

By BERNICE FOX

It’s beginning to sound a lot like the holiday season with many local choirs planning concerts in the next few weeks.

Here’s a look at several upcoming local choral performances in order by date.

Angel City Chorale, which appeared on America’s Got Talent, will perform a holiday concert this weekend at UCLA. It is also available on livestream. Photo: Vivian Zink

Angel City Chorale –

The large choir will perform a varied seasonal program called The More the Merrier with serious and light pieces, including Tom Lehrer’s Hanukkah in Santa Monica.

In person at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus

Saturday night, December 3, at 7 p.m.

Sunday afternoon, December 4, 3 p.m.

Tickets and details at: https://angelcitychorale.org/

Masks are “strongly recommended.” And Royce Hall strongly recommends that all guests be fully vaccinated or receive a negative COVID-19 test prior to the concert.

Plan extra time for parking at Parking Structure 5 on campus.

Or watch Angel City Chorale’s Livestream of the Sunday concert. A recording stays up for at least one week.

Sign up for the Livestream before the December 4 Sunday afternoon 3 p.m. concert, no matter when you choose to watch. The Livestream is free. But donations at signup are welcomed. https://accsings.ticketspice.com/merrier

Palisades Symphony and the Brentwood Palisades Chorale will perform in a free concert at the Palisades Methodist Church on December 4.

Brentwood Palisades Chorale –

Along with the Palisades Symphony, the chorale will perform Handel’s Messiah. This concert is a “welcome back” for the chorale which last performed in December 2019 and then went on hiatus for Covid.

In person at Community United Methodist Church, 801 Via de la Paz, Pacific Palisades

Sunday night, December 4, at 7:30 p.m.

No tickets are needed. It’s free, but donations at the door are welcomed. Masks must be worn, and proof of vaccination is required. Plan extra time for parking, which is available in a small lot behind the church and on the street.

(The Brentwood Palisades Chorale and Palisades Symphony are not affiliated with the church where they are performing.)

Details are at: http://www.palisadessymphony.org/Concert20221204.htm

St. Matthew’s Music Guild –

Yi-Haun Zhou

The concert includes the Chamber Orchestra performing Vivaldi’s Winter and a piece by Telemann. Then the church’s choir is added for CPE Bach’s Magnificat. Yi-Huan Zhou will be the featured soloist in Winter and the concertmaster for the evening.

In person at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1031 Bienveneda Ave., Pacific Palisades

Friday night, December 9. A pre-concert talk is slated for 7:10 p.m. The concert is at 8 p.m. Masks had been required earlier in the season. Bring your mask in case it is still required. Proof of full vaccination is required.

Free Parking is available in the lot next to the sanctuary where the concert takes place.

Tickets and details at: https://www.musicguildonline.org/program.shtml.

Mansfield Chamber Singers from a previous concert.

Mansfield Chamber Singers –

This small choral group will perform a varied holiday program.

In person at St. Augustine By-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 1227 4th St, Santa Monica, between Wilshire and Arizona. The concert is Sunday, December 11, at 3 p.m.

No tickets are needed. It’s free, but donations at the door are welcomed. Masks are recommended. Parking is in the public structure directly across 4th Street.

(The Mansfield Chamber Singers are not affiliated with the church where they are performing.)

Posted in Music | 2 Comments

Palisades-Malibu YMCA Christmas Tree Lot Opens December 1

Posted on November 30, 2022 by Sue Pascoe

More than 1,000 Christmas Trees are available for sale at the YMCA lot in Simon Meadow.

It is so easy to pick the perfect Christmas tree.

Go to Simon Meadow at Temescal and Sunset, select one from the more than 1,000 in the lot. There is a wonderful selection of Nobel, Nordmann and Vintage Noble trees, ranging in size from tabletop to 14-feet tall. There are garlands, wreaths and evergreen swag.

Once you have your tree, let workers strap it to your car or have them deliver the tree to your door if you’re inside the delivery area (Capris to Entrada to Sunset and PCH). If you’re in Brentwood, no worries, the Y will make arrangements to aid with tree delivery.

The lot will be open Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The trees 8-to-14 foot tall were unloaded one by one and carried to the lot.

Y workers started assembling the lot on Sunday, November 27 at 8:30 a.m. when the first of three semitruck loads of trees were delivered from Oregon.

The first semi carried 275 trees ranging in size from 8 to 14 ft. Each tree was carefully unloaded by hand by one of 12 helpers and carried to the lot.

Truck driver Julio Larrave said he picked up the second load of 707 trees in Oregon, late Friday night and started his drive to the Palisades. After his truckload of trees were unloaded, Larrave said he was headed back to Oregon for more trees.

More than 700 smaller trees, under 8 feet, were pulled onto the lot.

The third semi was set to unload today, November 30, just in time for the lot’s opening tomorrow.

Y Executive Director Jim Kirtley shows a new Christmas tree stand.

YMCA Executive Director Jim Kirtley, who has been working at the Y-lot since 2001, has a new Christmas tree stand, that “has significantly less leakage.” The stand for the tree has a stake, that is surrounded by a rubber grommet.

This is one of the Y’s biggest fundraisers of the year. Residents know they can get a tree much cheaper at those big box stores, but by purchasing locally, are supporting the local Y and some of its programs.

Residents are invited to the tree lighting at Simon Meadow on December 3. The event starts at 4 p.m. with hot cocoa, popcorn and music. The tree will be lit at 5 p.m.

On December 11, there will be a holiday glass sale at the lot from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be one of a kind glass gifts, jewelry and ornaments. Proceeds from sales will benefit the Santa Monica College Art Department and also the Y.

Tree sale proceeds, in addition to providing scholarships, will go to benefit youth. The Y’s Youth and Government runs two programs, a high school Model Legislature & Court and a middle school Model United Nations. Annually, students, many on scholarship go to Sacramento and learn how to write and pass bills and govern.

The Palisades-Malibu Y also has a teen fitness program, which gives a free personal training session to teens 12 to 17 years old. Currently there are sessions on Tuesday and Thursday at 4 and 5 p.m. To register, the teen must be on a YMCA Family membership.

The group had just unloaded a truck of more than 275 large trees, when the next semi, with more than 700 trees, pulled in the lot and needed to be unloaded.

Posted in Holidays | Leave a comment

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