What is it #39?

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Sue

I found this on a crowded shelf at our local Salvation Army store. It looked old and interesting, so I took a chance for $8.50.

After doing some research, I learned it’s an antique copper pitcher that was used in bars and taverns in the 1800’s.

It can hold one half gallon of wine or brandy or apple cider. A sturdy bar maid could carry two or three in each hand gripping the handles as she delivered them to the tables.

This rough handling accounts for the many dents. These pitchers were made in England or the United States in tinsmith shops or factories using copper sheeting from patterns. The pieces were then welded together.

Because of the lead solder, I wouldn’t use it for beverages – besides they often leak at the welds.

 

(Editor’s note: Palisades resident Howard Yonet has an interesting collection of curios from around the world and with his permission, Circling the News is publishing one a week. About the collector: Dr. Howard Yonet was born in Brooklyn in 1934 and attended Brooklyn College. He went to Baylor Medical School and then returned to do an internship at Bellevue Hospital. Yonet completed his residency at the Manhattan V.A. and the Montefiore Hospital. During this time he went skiing in Vermont and the Catskills, and while traveling found barns filled with early American pieces. This led to his interest in American Antiques.

In 1965, he married Daniele, who was originally from Nancy, France. During the Vietnam War, Yonet was drafted as a medical officer and stationed in Landstuhl, Germany (1966-1969). This was close to the French border, which meant he and Daniele and could visit her family.

While abroad, the Yonets took weekend trips through France and Italy, purchasing many interesting pieces at flea markets.

The family settled in Pacific Palisades in 1970 and Yonet practiced general radiology until 2006. He continued to acquire antiques and collectables at estate and garage sales and the Salvation Army Store. He also enjoyed looking for collectibles while traveling in Montana, Idaho, Colorado and Massachusetts. Daniele’s family helped add to his collection.)

 

 

Posted in What is it? | 2 Comments

Revere School Traffic Needs to Be Fixed

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Sue

Cars double park on both sides on the streets that radiate from Allenford, not allowing residents to leave the area when Revere middle school lets out.

The traffic at drop-off and pic- up times at Paul Revere Middle School needs to be fixed. There is only one road, Allenford, that goes by the school entrance. That street accommodates cars and buses that drop off and pick up the 1,700 students who attend sixth through eighth grade.

Sunset Boulevard runs along the north perimeter of the school, but there is no place to park or pick up students on that major four-lane thoroughfare. There are residences to the east and south with no roadway access to the school.

About 400 students come to the school on LAUSD buses, an additional 450 kids ride buses paid for by parents and there are 250 students on public buses (Metro and Big Blue Bus). That means about 600 students arrive or leave by car.

Those private vehicles descend on the three streets that radiate off Allenford. Residents living there are trapped in their homes twice a day. The only way in and out of those streets, Longworth, Brinkley and Pontoon, is Allenford. The Riviera Golf Course prevents exiting to the west.

Even though the school has no jurisdiction over the L.A. City streets, Revere school officials have asked parents to be considerate of neighbors and not block driveways.

This editor accompanied Pacific Palisades Community Council Area 8 representative Andrew Wolfberg to watch dismissal. That day a traffic officer was on site, and moved at least 50 different cars, which were illegally parking on Allenford.

Wolfberg said that if they could have an officer more frequently, it would stop some of the illegal parking.

The “west gate” of the campus, used to allow parents to line up on the inner driveway parallel to school, which took some traffic off the street. But following the nationwide school shootings, that practice had been stopped and the gates are locked, only allowing school buses.

Wolfberg said he had reached out to LAUSD Board Member Nick Melvoin’s office to inquire whether the District would consider opening the gate at the west driveway earlier to allow parents/guardians to pick up students, thereby reducing neighborhood traffic.

He also asked if someone from LAUSD’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety (OEHS) visit Paul Revere to observe the afternoon dismissal and report back with recommendations for improving safety and curbing inappropriate behavior by parents/guardians.

CTN reached out to Allison Polhill last week to see if LAUSD had looked at the situation. Neither Polhill nor OEHS has responded.

CTN asked if the neighbors had any suggestions to help ease the gridlock that occurs there at least twice a day. (Note: After observing the traffic, this editor, who had parked near the golf course, and then joined the traffic, taking a full half an hour to go less than a mile. Environmentally, the exhaust cannot be good.)

Below are suggestions from the most realistic to the least realistic.

1.    Increased parking enforcement.

2.    Traffic control officers at Allenford and Sunset.

3.    Traffic control officers at 26th and San Vicente.

4.    Opening the west driveway to accommodate vehicle queuing.

5.    Implementing LAUSD shuttles to the E-Line light rail stop at 26th and Olympic and major bus lines (Wilshire/Santa Monica/Venice).

6.    Increasing the number of LAUSD school buses for students.

7.    Implementing LAUSD shuttles for off-site pick-up after school.

8.    Staggering dismissal times for students.

9.    Taking and publishing photos and videos of parents/guardians who create dangerous conditions or disrespect the neighbors.

10.   Opening access to Paul Revere via Sunset between Allenford and Mandeville.

11.   Securing financial contributions from private businesses and local groups to offer reduced price options for the private yellow buses. (School buses from Palisades and other areas are available, but residents are required to pay a hefty fee for riding to a public school.)

12.   Paving the path next to the County Flood Control channel to create an additional lane for queuing.

13.   Constructing a multi-level parking lot on the west side of campus.

When neighbors moved to the “polo field” region of Pacific Palisades, they were aware of the traffic generated, but they are asking LAUSD and the City need to take stronger action to address these traffic issues and the associated misconduct because they create dangerous conditions for both students and residents.

The traffic congestion extends beyond the immediate vicinity, impacting a large part of the Palisades and Brentwood community. It can delay emergency vehicles responding to crises and transporting patients to hospitals, putting lives at risk.

The traffic issue is raised every year, but it is conveniently ignored by the City and LAUSD, both saying “there’s nothing we can do.”

Cars line up on either side of Allenford at pick up time, ignoring signs.

Posted in Community, Schools | 3 Comments

Pot Shots #26

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Sue

What are Pot-Shots?

Ashleigh Brilliant writes:

WHAT EXACTLY IS A “POT-SHOT” OR “BRILLIANT THOUGHT?”

Pot-Shots are epigrams, composed according to the following very strict rules.

The length must never exceed 17 English words. Note that this is a maximum. Some Pot-Shots are much shorter. Hyphenated words count as a single word.

Pot-Shots must be easy to translate into other languages. Therefore there can be no use of rhyme or rhythm, idioms, puns, or other word-play.

Pot-Shots should be capable of being appreciated in all times and cultures. Topical and cultural references must be avoided.

Every Pot-Shot should be as different as possible from every other one.

Every Pot-Shot must be totally original, and unlike anything else the author, or anyone else, has ever said before.

The words of a Pot-Shot must be able to stand on their own, and not require any illustration in order to be understood or appreciated.

Whatever is being said should be worth saying and said in the best possible way.

NOTE: These are ideal standards, and I myself have failed to meet some of them occasionally — but in general I have adhered to them quite scrupulously.

Posted in Pot-Shot | Leave a comment

Mansion Tax Fallout: LA Sees Sharp Drop in Housing Production

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Sue

(Editor’s note: This story appeared on September 12, in the Westside Current and is reprinted with permission.)

Single family “mansions” priced above $5 million have seen sales drop by 50 percent since ULA passed in November 2022.

By ANGELA MCGREGOR

The November, 2022 passage of ULA (aka, “United to House L.A.” or the “Mansion Tax”) is perhaps the best evidence of non-profit housing developers’ recently acquired political muscle.  SCANPH – the Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing – a membership organization that represents non-profit developers – lobbied hard for the measure.

They promised that ULA would increase the stock of low income housing, and reduce homelessness. It passed with 58% of the vote and went into effect in January of 2023.  Roughly 70% of the funds garnered by the transfer tax are earmarked for low income housing; the remainder are mandated to support renter assistance and other homelessness prevention measures.

The only exemption to this new tax is, according to L.A. Housing Department guidelines,  “reserved for low income housing developers that are 501c3 non-profits, community land trusts, limited partnerships and limited liability companies having a non-profit or community land trust general partner or managing member with a history of experience in affordable housing development or management.”  In other words, private developers of multi-unit housing – even projects with a significant low income component – pay the same 5% tax as billionaires selling multi-million-dollar mansions.

And as of April, 2024 the tax has brought in just $215 million over 16 months -– less than a third of the $900 million per year its backers had predicted.

But the actual result of the measure, according to multiple sources, is that ULA has put a damper on all real estate development, resulting in less development of both market-rate and affordable projects.  And as of April, 2024 the tax has brought in just $215 million over 16 months -– less than a third of the $900 million per year its backers had predicted.

According to a February, 2023 article 3 in the Real Deal, ULA has dried up multifamily financing in L.A because “The transfer tax makes it difficult to estimate what a property’s value will look like over the next three, five or 10 years — typical hold periods for a multifamily developer and owner. And for construction loans specifically, lenders may not want to convert the loan into a traditional commercial loan when construction is finished, given the uncertainty around how much the asset will be able to sell for once it’s finished.”

The Nonprofits’ Role in L.A.’s Housing Crisis

Part One:  The Growth of Affordable Developers

An April, 2024 study from Hilgard Zenith Economics examining residential building permits shows a 19% year over year decrease in residential housing starts between 2023 and 2024.  The difference in production between 2022 and 2024 is even more pronounced; two years ago, the city issued three times as many housing permits.  The only overall increase in building permits was for so-called  ED1 projects – defined as 100% affordable.  But these developments only constitute 11% of total output.

“The continued fall in citywide permitting is somewhat unexpected as interest rates have leveled off, local employment numbers have continued to climb and it was theorized that developers might adjust to Measure ULA by now,” Joshua Baum of Hilgard Analytics and Samuel Maury-Holmes of Zenith Economics wrote.

According to the L.A. Business Journal, “Sales are down across all asset types. In quarters two and three of this year, multifamily properties priced above $5 million sold for a total of $320 million. That’s far below the combined $2 billion sold in those same quarters last year.”

“[ULA] sounds good in theory, but in reality it’ll further increase the threshold at which it makes more financial sense to hold onto a property and rent it out rather than sell it.”

As for single family properties over $5 million – the so-called “mansions” that were supposed to have been impacted the most — sales have declined by over 50%.  As one property owner told USC’s Selina Kauser, “[ULA] sounds good in theory, but in reality it’ll further increase the threshold at which it makes more financial sense to hold onto a property and rent it out rather than sell it. Who’s going to want to sell off a property they are required by law to sell for at least 10% lower than its market value? L.A. is going to turn into a city of people who hold onto their property forever and pass it on to their heirs.”

Making matters worse, properties are only reappraised for property tax purposes when they change hands, meaning this extreme loss of liquidity, should it persist, may lead to less property tax revenue for the entire state for decades to come.

The local budgetary impacts of ULA’s revenue shortfall might also be dire.  The L.A. City budget for fiscal year 2024-2025, apparently drafted before the actual numbers were in, “allocates over $400 million in funding anticipated to be generated by Measure ULA to the formula categories in the measure and enables the city to spend receipts collected by the measure.”  It’s worth noting that this city’s latest budget already has a potential $400 million deficit.

Nevertheless, in May of this year, Councilmembers Raman, Hernandez and Harris-Dawson introduced a motion calling upon the L.A. Housing Department, in consultation with ACT-LA, a social justice coalition,  to identify ways to use ULA funds to implement a social housing program for Los Angeles, similar to that in Vienna, Austria (known as a so-called “renter’s paradise”).

According to their motion, “Through the social housing developed under Measure ULA, there is an opportunity to explore these alternative forms of ownership, generational stability, and wealth-building for more Angelenos.”  According to the online publication Dwell, which interviewed Hernandez about the motion, “It’s a great chance to use quite a bit of suddenly available money”.

An Occidental College study, primarily authored by faculty at UCLA’s Luskin Center (home of the Lewis Center, which had authored the pre-election study of the measure deeming its effects on housing production “minimal”)  titled “L.A.’s Mansion Tax:  An Evaluation of Measure ULA’s First Year” takes a glowing view of the measure’s impacts.

By their estimation, the $192 million raised by ULA in its first 10 months is laudable because it exceeds annual affordable housing revenue from the Federal government, and Proposition HHH’s annual revenue.

Nowhere does the study mention the previously promised $900 million, nor ULA’s impact on housing production and high-end real estate sales.  “Measure ULA will capture a small fraction of the immense amount of new wealth created by the area’s booming real estate market and put it to productive use,” according to the study.

Efforts to overturn ULA have thus far failed.  A measure scheduled for the November, 2024 ballot that would have required a two-thirds majority vote in order to pass taxes like ULA (and would have, therefore, repealed it) was struck down by the California Supreme Court.

The Court stated that the sweeping changes the Taxpayer Protection And Government Accountability Act would enact require an amendment to the state’s Constitution.  In April, lawsuits brought against the city by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association and Newcastle Courtyards (representing a family trust) were both dismissed.

According to the Loss Angeles Business Journal, leaders in the business, real estate, labor and housing advocacy communities are currently working to come up with a “fix ULA” proposal to amend the tax so that it doesn’t continue to chill the production of housing.  In the meantime, developers of all types of real estate are going so far as to stop developing housing within Los Angeles, citing business conditions that are, in their view, impossible.

 

Posted in City, Real Estate | 1 Comment

PaliHi Band Marches On

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Sue

The PaliHi Marching Band’s competition piece this year is “West Side Story.”                                               Photo: RICH SCHMITT

By CHAZ PLAGER

With the start of each new school year at Palisades Charter High School, there is also a new Pali Band season.

And when we say new, we really mean new. Peter Ye, the program director, is taking a fresh approach to this season’s band show after a rather lackluster performance last year. “We tried writing our own show last year, which took a lot of time and money and just didn’t have a result worth the cost,” Ye said.

The program As It Seems was an original composition by the members of the music department. The department has done original compositions before, but last year’s program was not a favorite with any of the judges, and the band took last place in most of the competitions it entered.

This year, the Pali Band will be performing a routine based on West Side Story, which the Band bought the rights to use. “I think this routine may be challenging, but West Side Story is extremely recognizable and popular, even among our students,” said Ye. “I’m confident in the talent we’ve gathered this year, and I think we have a good shot at making it to finals this year.”

Rights can cost anywhere from $200 to $3,000, depending on what pop songs are in the program or if it contains famous compositions, such as those found in Lord of the Rings.

This year’s band program has a total of 55 competing students, 45 from the marching band and, for the largest member pool it’s had in years, 10 students in the color guard. Baton twirlers Grace and Noelle Hardy are joining the competitive side of the band for the first time as color guard members and may prove the secret weapon they needed.

They often perform at half-time at football games, giving residents a preview of the program.

This year’s program is coached by familiar faces Michael Schlotter, Alison Avina-Wyant, and her husband Ceasar. The Pali Band will be competing at its first show at Downey High School on October 5th. The Band usually has only five shows, but should they make it to the finals this year, there will be six.

In addition to Downey, on October 19, PaliHi Band will be competing at the Moorpark Battle of the Bands at Moorpark; the Hart Rampage at College of the Canyons on October 26; at the MB Competition at SoFi Stadium on November 4; and the SCSBOA Prelims at West Covina High School on November 16 (Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association).

If they advance out of the prelims, they will participate in the Championships on November 23 (Location TBD).

Show up, cheer them on and wish them luck for the season. If a resident would like to donate to the band program, which receives most of its funding from parents, go to  https://givebutter.com/paliband.

The Palisades High School band performs at halftime of the football games.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT

Posted in Music, Schools | Leave a comment

Getty Villa Revives Ancient Hero in Outdoor Theater Production

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Sue

Eric Berryman as Memnon and Jesse Corbin as Achilles
in the foreground with Jesse J. Perez as Nestor and
Andrea Patterson as Helen in the background.
© Craig Schwartz Photography

By LIBBY MOTIKA

Circling the News Contributor

Over the 18 years that the Getty Villa has been presenting Greek and Roman drama, the Trojan War, its triumphant heroes and tragic outcomes have dominated thematically.

This is the greatest battle in Greek history, followed in the two great epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.  “Agamemnon” described the return of the Greek hero after 10 years away. “The Trojan Women” reminds us of those at home who suffer while the men continue the endless war.

In the current outdoor theater production, “Memnon,” we are introduced to another player in the epic story, Memnon, the Ethiopian king who journeys to Troy to fight alongside the Trojans in their darkest hour.

Records of this story are long gone; it has been 2,000 years since the first recreation of the Ethiopian warrior.  But writer Will Power has written a script in iambic hexameter that conveys the drama with bold and vivid language.

“Memnon” is directed by Carl Cofield and produced by the Classical Theatre of Harlem in their first major West Coast theatrical production.

As with all Greek drama, alliances, revenge and hubris all come into play in “Memnon.”

The story begins with the death of Hector, Troy’s last hope, cut down by the Greek Achilles. Ten years this war has dragged on, and now Troy is destined to disappear as Achilles is prepared to sack the city.

Hector’s dear friend Polydamas (Daniel Molina) suggests beseeching Memnon, who rules over all of Africa and India, to bring his mighty army to fight for Troy.

There is resentment on both sides, however. The Trojan king Priam resists, while Polydamas pleads with him, reminding Priam that Memnon is family—Priam is his uncle. “Time washes all resentment away,” he insists. “The great Memnon must come.”

All that ensues is the imagination of the playwright as Memnon is only briefly mentioned in the “Odyssey.”

Memnon (Eric Berryman) arrives with his vast army but displays a decidedly compassionate strategy. “In Ethiopia, we sidestep war for the most part,” he says. “We capture to calm them, not kill.”

This enlightened philosophy is a foreign concept for Priam, who sees victory as the number of dead bodies.

Memnon agrees to fight for just two days, then he’ll return home to the East. It never felt like home in Troy, he says. “I was Troy, but not fully Trojan. Strangers treated me more kindly than any Trojan ever did.”

His dilemma is confounding: Whether to come to the defense of Troy in possibly a futile risk or to betray his family in desperate need.

Inevitably, the third actor in Greek tragedy is the capricious nature of the gods. The battle to follow is almost preordained. The noble Memnon will meet the victorious Greek warrior, Achilles (Jesse Corbin).

Power employs iambic hexameter to reflect the epic poems like Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey” and Virgil’s “Aeneid.” All used this meter to tell grand stories of heroes, gods, and history

The excellent cast uses this steady cadence to convey the emotions and social order of the kings and warriors, and to propel the narrative forward.  We are reminded of the tragic history of this endless war and can’t help thinking about our modern world’s foolish bellicosity.

“Memnon” continues at the Getty Villa through September 28. Contact: 310-440-7300.

Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Brentwood, UCLA Leases on VA Ruled Illegal

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Sue

This is the north campus of the West L.A. VA.

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, after a 16-day bench trial, ordered the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on September 6, to build housing for low-income veterans on its West Los Angeles campus. In his 124-page decision that VA land leases to UCLA and Brentwood School on VA property are illegal because they don’t principally serve veterans.

His ruling could produce a massive headache for Brentwood, an ultra-exclusive private high school just west of the 405.The school’s athletic complex is on 22.06 acres of VA land and is 13 percent of the 300 acres of the West Los Angeles campus.

The area in blue, which contains Brentwood School’s athletic facilities is VA land.

In 2000, when Brentwood negotiated with the VA to build its athletic facility, American Legion Post 283, in Pacific Palisades, opposed it.

“This didn’t have anything to do with vets,” one Legion member remembered. “They didn’t listen to us.”

The construction was not only controversial with veterans, but also Brentwood store owners. A January 18, 2001, LA Times story (“Brentwood Shops Protest VA’s Parking Fee Hike”) because they felt the VA was favoring the school over merchants. At the time Brentwood School was paying VA $300,000 annually.

The story noted “. . .business leaders are questioning what they describe as a ‘sweetheart deal’ between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the exclusive Brentwood School for rental of a much larger government parcel next to the parking lot at a much cheaper rate.”

The school spent more than $4.5 million in 2001 to build an athletic facility, that includes the football stadium and track, aquatics center, a Pavilion, tennis courts and a weight room and fitness center.

Then, under a 20-year contract, VA Contract Officer Ralph Tillman and Brentwood School Headmaster Hunter Temple said the “sharing agreement” between the VA and the school meant that veterans would have the use of the sports complex, when students were not using it.

The contract was renegotiated in 2016 for 10 years. Brentwood pays $850,000 annually and $918,000 in-kind consideration that includes four categories: upkeep of the site, capital improvement to the site, special programs and events for vets and families, athletic recreational and educational programs for vets.

In a 2017-2018 audit, $670,000 of the non-monetary consideration was spent on the upkeep, repair and replacement costs of the high school athletic facilities.

From September 29, 2021, through September 28, 2022, Brentwood’s total rent was $850,000, with $1,135,235 for in-kind consideration. In November 2021, the VA executed a revocable license with the school, for 20 tiny shelters (valued at $200,000).

According to a January 21, 2019, LA. Times Story (“UCLA and Brentwood School Accused of Shortchanging Veterans at West L.A. Facility”) VA Inspector General Michael Missal said the Brentwood School misused its lease “because the principal purpose of this lease is to provide the Brentwood School with continued use of the athletic facilities.”

So, Brentwood School changed the name of its athletic complex to Veterans Center for Recreation and Education (VCRE) and announced it would also partner with vets by allowing them to use athletic facilities, whenever students were not using them.

The Brentwood High School pool and stadium are located on VA Land.

Vets would be allowed to swim in the Caruso Aquatic Center Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 a.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Unless there were practices, meets or matches, then high school students have priority.

Vets who want to use the Pavilion (basketball) or tennis courts could go between 5 and 11:30 a.m. and 8 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday from 5 to 11:30 a.m. and Saturday from 2 to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.  – unless there are games, practices or matches.

CTN asked two vets to apply to the program in March 2023 to see how easy it was to use the school facilities. The process involved several emails, telephone calls and a tour of the campus that stretched over several months. According to the vets, it was not an easy process. One vet said, why would any parents at a high school want ‘strange men,’ wondering around the campus?

This editor drove to VCRE Welcome Center in March, which is off the Japanese Garden on the VA and learned there were about 27 vets signed up so far that year, which must be done on the website (bwscampus.com/vcre).

The entrance for veterans to the Brentwood Athletic Complex is through the VA on the road by the Japanese Garden.

The late Colonel Dick Littlestone was upset about the leases because the Los Angeles National Cemetery was full, and he wanted the VA to build a columbarium, so when he passed, his family would not have to drive to Riverside cemetery. He was told there was no room for a columbarium because at the time the land proposed contained oil pipes for Breitburn Oil and Gas.

The VA had numerous leases with non-vet businesses, that included Sodexho Marriot Laundry Services, UC Regents, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Veterans Park Conservancy, Westside Breakers Soccer Club, Salvation Army, Westside Service (parking), Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Tumbleweed Transportation, a native plant garden, a parrot sanctuary, City of Los Angeles, UCLA, Brentwood School and Breitburn Oil and Gas.

A 2011 lawsuit brought by the ACLU against the VA, saw U.S. District Judge S. James Otero siding with veterans. He gave VA tenants six months to either appeal his decision or terminate their leases. It prohibited the VA from leasing land to private parties “totally divorced from the provision of healthcare.”

In 2011, Enterprise, Tumbleweed and Sodexo left.

Otero in 2013 struck down the leases, saying they were “totally divorced from the provision of healthcare.”

Ralph Tillman, who resigned in 2014, pled guilty to Federal Charges after taking bribes from West Services and received five months in prison. Richard Scott, who owned the company pled guilty to swindling the VA out of at least $12 million, was sentenced to six years in prison.

The Government Accountability Office said the West L.A. VA improperly diverted funds and underbilled leaseholders, potentially losing out on millions of dollars. The 2015 audit found that a private laundry service that missed $300,000 in payments was allowed to remain on the property.

Valentini v Shinseki was a class action lawsuit against Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and the director of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System on behalf of homeless veterans with severe disabilities. It also challenged the misuse of the 387-acre VA. In settling the lawsuit in 2015, a new master plan for the West L.A. VA was initiated.

In 2015, the federal government settled a lawsuit accusing the VA of misusing its property. By 2017, most of the tenants on the VA were gone, except for Brentwood, UCLA, L.A. City and oil drilling.

LEASES STILL REMAINING:

UCLA:

UCLA was allowed to construct an artificial turf baseball practice field on the VA, next to Jackie Robinson Stadium.

In addition to Brentwood School, the UCLA Jackie Robinson baseball stadium is on 10 acres leased from the VA. Their 10-year lease required them to pay $300K rent for the stadium; pay $500K for a VA-UCLA Family Resource and well-being center. They will spend $250K to sponsor a homeless mental health and addiction center and $400K for a UCLA Legal Clinic for Veterans.

OIL DRILLING:

WG Holdings SPV, LLC, which has replaced Breitburn and Maverick Resources on a 2.5-acre site by the freeway for oil drilling, is still in operation. Its lease required a monthly donation of 2.5 percent of its revenue to Disabled American Veterans for free transportation.

 LA CITY:

The City of LA was granted the use of the 12-acre park for three years (with the possibility of renewal or extension), which included the baseball diamonds, athletic fields, dog park and a parking lot. In exchange the park will be renamed Veteran Barrington Park. The financial commitment from the city includes 200K per year in Veteran employment, on and off campus; 50K per year in beautification efforts and 100K for design and build-out of Veterans memorial at the park.

The City also agreed to maintain the park, sponsor athletic, recreational, social and therapy programs and make them open to veterans and their families, and finally, the City will seek to relocate the dog park to a new location off campus and downsize the current one by 50 percent.

L.A. City is responsible for upkeep on Veterans Park, which is located on VA land.

 

 

 

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Free Concert Features “Peter and Mr. Wolf”

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Sue

Noted musical expert and composer Alan Chapman has composed a musical piece Peter and Mr. Wolf, which will be played in concert on September 22.

Introduce your children to classical music with Composer Alan Chapman’s original piece Peter and Mr. Wolf at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 22. The family-friendly event is Chamber Music Palisades’ first free matinee concert of the season.

Peter and Mr. Wolf is the musical story of an eighth-grader in search of a science project and his somewhat scary science teacher.

You don’t have to have children or teens, to come and enjoy the music in the beautiful sanctuary of the Palisades Community United Methodist Church. The concert is sponsored in part by the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club and the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, is held in the Methodist Church, 801 Via de la Paz.

Composer and Narrator Alan Chapman will lead audience members through the story, as a woodwind quartet and piano play the music, that supplements and tells the story through instrumentation.

Chapman is heard weekdays on Classical KUSC (91.5 FM). He also produces and hosts “Modern Times” on Saturday nights and “A Musical Offering,” a program of Baroque music Sunday mornings.

He was a longtime Professor of Music at Occidental College and served as a Visiting Professor at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. In recent years he has been a member of the music theory faculty of the Colburn Conservatory. Well known as a pre-concert lecturer, he has been a regular speaker on the Upbeat Live series since its inception in 1984. He also works closely with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and Pacific Symphony

Well-known musicians Susan Greenberg (flute), Zack Borrowiec (oboe), Michele Zukovsky (Clarinet), Alex Burns-Chay (Bassoon), Sarah Bach (French horn) and Pierre Long-Tao Tang (piano) will perform.

In addition to Peter and the Wolf, Quintet for Winds (Jacques Ibert), Ritual Fire Dance (Manual de Falla) and Trio for flute, clarinet and piano (Adrienne Albert) are on the program.

Donations are welcome in person or through the button below. We are very grateful for these contributions as they enable us to continue providing these wonderful family-friendly concerts click here.

Susan Greenberg, co-founder of Chamber Music Palisades, is also long-time flutist at Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and principal flute at Santa Monica Symphony.

Posted in Music | Leave a comment

Emmys Were a Win-Win for Home Audience

Posted on September 17, 2024 by Sue

 

Dan and Eugene Levy hosted the 76th Emmy awards.
Photo: Courtesy Television Academy.

The 76th Emmy Awards were held September 15, hosted by former Pacific Palisades Mayor Eugene Levy and son Dan.

Radio talk show host Tim Conway Jr. on his September 16 show the next day, described the Levys as funny and enjoyable and quipped that whoever produces these shows, should sign the father-son duo up to do more awards shows, including hosting the Oscars.

By contrast, Variety called the stars of Schitt’s Creek, which won nine Emmy Awards during its run, “affable, although not especially memorable, emcees.”

Sorry, Variety. Social media Tweets supported Conway’s view that the Levys were fabulous.

One wrote “I think Eugene Levy and Dan Levy should host every award show from now on.” A second tweeted “Put Dan and Eugene Levy to host everything.” Multiple X/Twitter users praised the natural chemistry the father and son brought to the show.

The evening’s top winner was Shogun with a record-breaking 18 Emmys. The Bear followed with 11 total wins.

The first presenters of the evening were Steve Martin, former Palisades Honorary Mayor Martin Short and Selena Gomez, whose show Only Murders in the Building received 21 nominations.

When presenting the trio, Eugene joked Martin and Short were The Golden Bachelor contestants.

But the three practically stole the show with amusing quips.

Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez presented at the 76th Emmys.
Photo: X.com

Short started the skirmish, “Steve, let me say what an honor it is to be working with someone who looks like he’s fallen and can’t get up.”

Martin responded, “And let me say what an honor it is for me to be working with someone who looks like a former women’s tennis champion.”

Gomez quipped “And let me say, what an honor it is to work with two men who are this far away from being childless cat ladies.”

The three were also nominated individually. Martin and Short lost to Jeremy Allen White of The Bear and Gomez saw Jean Smart receive the Emmy for Hacks.

Another former Palisades Honorary Mayor Billy Crystal presented the awards for Talk Series nominees/winner. Pretending to read from his diary, Crystal said that after appearing on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart told him they’d grab dinner after the program, but that he waited around and the host never showed up. Same with Seth Meyers. Crystal’s first impression of Stephen Colbert: “Brilliant guy but I wonder if he’s ever seen himself naked.” The award went to The Daily Show.

Reese Witherspoon was nominated for Lead Actress for The Morning Show.                                                                                          Photo: Courtesy Television Academy    

Reese Witherspoon, executive producer and star of The Morning Show, was nominated for Lead Actress, but lost to Anna Sawai (Shogun). Billy Crudup did receive a nod for outstanding supporting actor in The Morning Show.

Perennial Emmy nominee Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm was up for Outstanding Comedy Series, but lost to Hacks. David was also nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series but lost to Jeremy Allen White. Perhaps it’s time for David to consider a political career – and serve as the next Palisades Honorary Mayor.

The evening closed with the Levys on stage joined by their Schitt’s Creek costar Annie Murphy.

“They said the shining star of Schitt’s Creek is going to present the final award of the night, so…” Murphy noted to her onscreen dad and brother.

Eugene pointed out, there’s “a little confusion here.”

The actress responded, “You can stay onstage, but just kind of scootch back a bit.”

Dan clarified that they were about to announce the final presenter: their on-screen mother, Catherine O’Hara, who came on stage to present Outstanding Comedy Series, which was awarded to Hacks.

Two high-profile Palisadians are new Emmy winners.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Conan O’Brien both won Emmys at the Creative Arts Emmys, which were held September 7 and 8, at the Peacock Theater in L.A.

Curtis won Guest Actress in a Comedy for her role on The Bear. This is her first Emmy award.

O’Brien won as part of the writing team for his travel series, Conan O’Brien Must Go. This is his fifth Emmy award.

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CARE Act Supposed to Help Mentally Ill

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Sue

“Thousands of Californians are suffering from untreated schizophrenia spectrum and psychotic disorders, leading to risks to their health and safety and increased homelessness, incarceration, hospitalization, conservatorship and premature death,” the legislative counsel wrote about SB-1338, the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program.

The Pacific Palisades Task Force on Homelessness have watched with dismay when they realize someone needs help, but if that person refuses it, there’s nothing that these volunteers can do. They’ve worked with at least three different parents of homeless. Parents watch in anguish, with no options, because they are not allowed to seek help for their young adult children.

CARE supposedly will allow loved ones to act sooner.

But like many well-intentioned programs, the most serious flaw of this one is it is voluntary. The person who is mentally ill has to agree to the program.

In a Zoom meeting on August 26, Andres Lizardo (Norwalk Court Operations Manager), Linda Boyd (Program manager III for the Department of Mental Health) and Caitlin McCann (CARE court Coordinator Attorney) described the process.

To be eligible to enter this program, one has to be 18 or older, be schizophrenic or have another psychotic disease. It has to be shown that the mental health of the person is substantially deteriorating, and the person is unlikely to survive without community support.

Before SB-1338, families, roommates, or even a first responder could not request an individual be seen by the court – no matter how outlandish that person’s actions might seem.

Now, a parent can file a CARE form and show evidence of a recent involuntary hold. It can be done electronically at lacourt.org or in person.

After filing, an assessment will be done of the individual. Then a determination will be made of possible treatment, and oversight and implementation hearings will be done. There will be ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

The person being brought to court has to agree to enter the one-year program, because it is voluntary.

The care provided to the individual is required to be least restrictive.

During the Zoom call, the panel said that 230 cases have been filed since the program began in December and they are working on 171 cases. Of those, 20 people have entered into an agreement.

When a case is accepted, the person is automatically given an attorney. There are 50 attorneys with mental health experience, waiting to help clients, according to McCann.

The panelists were asked, if a person says ‘no thank you’ to the CARE program, then what?

Then a judge could still order the CARE program if he/she feels the criteria have been met.

Or there’s always the possibility the person with psychosis could say “not today” and then come back in the future.

At the end of a year, those in the program “graduate,” or they can elect to stay in the program, or they can be asked to stay by a mental health worker.

There are no graduates yet, since the program began in December 2023.

There was initial funding with $26 million for the first counties that implemented the plan and $31 million for all other counties, such as LA. All counties are required to implement CARE by December 2024.

The panel, which has experience with patients with mental illness was asked if they could wave a magic wand to fix the problem, what they would do.

The answer was fast, “Involuntary drug treatment, so the person could see what life is like, again.  Or some mandatory medicine, to shut up the voices in their heads, so we could help them,” was the answer.

Elyn Saks eloquently wrote about her schizophrenia in the book “The Center Cannot Hold.”

At one point in her life, Saks, who is now an associate dean at the USC Gould School of Law convinced her doctor, Kaplan [a pseudonym], to lower her dosage of Zyprexa. But, she starts to experience a return of the disease.

“For some reason, I decided that Kaplan and Steve (her friend) were imposters. They looked the same, they sounded the same, they were identical in every way to the originals – but they’d been replaced by someone or something. Was it the work of alien beings? I had no way of knowing, but I was terrified.”

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