LC 01 2024

Page 1

Larchmont Chronicle

VOL. 62, NO. 1

• DELIVERED TO 76,439 READERS IN HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT •

IN THIS ISSUE

First-year report on homeless efforts given

Le Petit Greek savored 35 years on Blvd. n Greek Eats set to open

n Bass spoke at Larchmont Charter

HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY 7

EMPOWERING campers and counselors. 11

LEGENDARY dining in new book. 2-6

By Nona Sue Friedman Parents of students at Larchmont Charter School at Selma (LCS) flanked Mayor Karen Bass as she spoke to the media on Nov. 6 about homelessness in front of the school. She was on the sidewalk at 6611 Selma Ave. which 40 unhoused residents had called home before they were moved to interim housing on Aug. 10. Now the area is clear. It’s passable to students, teachers, faculty and neighbors who want to stroll the sidewalk. No one has to walk in the street to get to school. That’s because of the mayor’s Inside Safe program, which housed the people who were living on this street. “We are so grateful the mayor was able to find homes for the unhoused that were living here. Part of our school’s mission is to improve the community around us,” said Marian Bell, parent of a seventh grader and the homelessness outreach contact for See First-year, P 15

IN THE KITCHEN since 1963. 2-7 For information on advertising rates, please call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11

JANUARY 2024

THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN is a big draw to South Windsor Boulevard — both for Instagrammers and the big fashion house, Balenciaga. Photo courtesy of Balenciaga

Health, fitness, beauty and fashion in the ’hood By John Welborne Worldwide attention was given to Windsor Square at the beginning of December. With the Hollywood Sign in the background, between tall rows of Canary Island palm trees, fashion models strutted down the 112-year-old concrete street of Windsor Boulevard, between Fifth and Sixth Streets. Blaring music surrounded an audience of about 200 invited guests sitting in folding chairs lining the gutters on each side of the street.

Kept confidential in advance (both the full nature of the production, from the neighbors; and the actual location, from the guests), the event was the premier showing of the Balenciaga Fall Collection. The approximately 17-minute show is viewable on YouTube at: tinyurl. com/4aje4cvp. Celebrities spotted included Tracee Ellis Ross, Salma Hayek, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner. Also enjoySee Fashion, P 4

By Casey Russell After 35 years on the Boulevard, Le Petit Greek is saying goodbye on Sun., Dec. 31. In the restaurant’s final days, legions of loyal customers have been dropping by for a bite to eat and a chance to say farewell. Fortunately, those who love fresh Greek cuisine won’t have to go without because the same co-owners, Nora and Dimitris Houndalas, will be at the helm of a new Greek takeout and delivery place. Greek Eats, at 8236 W. Third St., is expected to open Sat., Jan. 6. According to Nora Houndalas, the fast-casual restaurant will have a menu similar to the one at Le Petit Greek, with an emphasis on salads, kebabs, gyros sandwiches and appetizers. The menu is at greekeatsla.com.

FAST-CASUAL Greek specialties are coming to Third Street.

Undermining established governments

Mailing permit:

n Concerns are nationwide, and not just Jewish neighbors feel threatened

MAYOR KAREN BASS addresses the press about homelessness in the city.

Love & travel are in the air

“Valentines” and “Vacation Planning” will be featured in our February issue. To reserve advertising space, contact Pam Rudy, 323-462-2241, ext. 11. Deadline is Mon., Jan. 8.

What is the connection — started with a pro-Palestine By John Welborne Sometimes overlooked in rally in Pan Pacific Park that between interfering with Los the ongoing discussion of the saw 200 demonstrators march Angeles shopkeepers and their battles and deaths following through The Grove to disrupt employees and customers — the savage Hamas terrorist shoppers and tenant mer- and the dispute over Zionism attack into Israel on Oct. 7 chants there before moving and a small country in The Levant adjoining the is the movement to undermine estab- “I ... have lots of family and friends in the Mediterranean Sea (a lished governments Los Angeles area [and] your recent article nation not even twice internationally. This was highly biased against Palestinians the size of Los Angeactually was part of and espouses a potentially dangerous en- les County) — recogthe local incident on vironment for my family and friends in the nized as the State of Israel in 1948 — that Nov. 24 that occa- Los Angeles area ... ” is 7,500 miles away sioned this newspaper’s front-page story, “Jewish to the intersection of Third from Los Angeles and the neighbors feeling threatened” Street and Fairfax Avenue, merchants and stores at The where many demonstrators Grove? [Dec. 2023]. We shall return to that The incident on that Friday, sat in the street and shut down the day after Thanksgiving, traffic for nearly an hour. See Jewish, P 9

www.larchmontchronicle.com ~ Entire Issue Online!


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Editorial

Calendar

By John Welborne

Support local news

The Larchmont Chronicle is grateful to our readers and advertisers who, collectively, make it possible to gather, analyze and edit the news, then print and distribute it, every month. This January 2024 issue marks the commencement of our 62nd year of doing just that. In addition to those just mentioned, thanks certainly are due to the two ladies — Jane Gilman and the late Dawne Goodwin — who saw and acted upon the opportunity to provide a local newspaper to the residents and businesses in this part of town. (We also thank Jane for continuing to help us out!) By now, the modern plight of American newspapers, large and small, is well known to those who keep up with the news. And doing that — keeping up with the news — is getting harder with every passing day. Fortunately for the Chronicle, we have the aforementioned readers and advertisers who keep this paper available for all. But other newspapers are closing all across the nation. Assembly Bill 886 (AB 886) was passed by the Assembly in June. In response to pushback from the Big Tech companies who would have to pay news outlets a fee when advertising is sold alongside news content produced by others, State Senate consideration of the bill was postponed. The Larchmont Chronicle suggests readers urge local State Senators Ben Allen, Maria Elena Durazo, Anthony Portantino and Lola Smallwood-Cuevas to work with their colleagues to adopt AB 886 in 2024. DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION OF HANCOCK PARK

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Homeowners

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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

HANCOCK PARK HOME Est. OWNERS ASSOCIATION 1948

137 N. LARCHMONT BLVD. LOS ANGELES 90004 www.HancockPark.org

Happy New Year! Our Goals For 2024 We’ve asked you what goals the Association should have for 2024, and you’ve answered: 1. Enforce traffic laws. Our neighborhood is inundated with speeding, reckless and cut-through traffic. Drivers of all kinds of vehicles run red lights, block intersections, dart around traffic barriers, roll through STOP signs and ignore traffic signs; E Bikes, bikes and scooters barrel down streets and sidewalks endangering pedestrians; all without consequences. We plan to press the LAPD and City to enforce the law, write tickets and make our neighborhood streets safer. 2. On security and safety, continue to work to keep our neighborhood safe. We plan to ensure that the City fully funds Crime Prevention Programs. 3. Repair our sidewalks, explore “outside the box” solutions for fixing dangerous sidewalks. 4. Repair our concrete streets, work with our electeds to make infrastructure a priority (not an afterthought) in the next City budget. 5. Address abandoned properties and force owners to secure their properties and maintain them to a reasonable, safe standard. 6. Remove graffiti quickly. 7. Trim our trees, the “lungs of the City,” so they’re healthy and safe. 8. Address public safety issues such as the dangerous flooding on Clinton Street between Lillian Way and Rossmore.

Sun., Dec. 31 — New Year’s Eve. Mon., Jan. 1 — New Year’s Day. Mon., Jan. 15 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Thurs., Jan. 25 — Delivery of the February issue of the Larchmont Chronicle. Sat., Jan. 27 — International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Green corn tamales

Regarding your July 2023 story [“Green corn tamales: Now is the time to enjoy peak season”], they are called “green corn” for a reason. It is because they are made with a variety of white field corn that was picked fresh while still a little green and soft and with the kernels easy to remove. This variety, if fully grown until the kernels get large and hard, is used to feed livestock. Once the young kernels are removed, lard, salt and baking powder are added to make the dough that then is stuffed with green chilies and cheese. That is then put into the fresh green husks the corn came from, making them green tamales instead of yellow dried cornmeal tamales. The flavor of the green tamales is like fresh corn on the cob and not like corn bread. They are very rare because the field corn is very hard to come by unless you live by a farmer that grows a crop. They originally were not sweet and no sugar was added. Rosa Jewell Los Angeles [The Chronicle shared this letter with El Cholo owner

Larchmont Chronicle Founded in 1963 by Jane Gilman and Dawne P. Goodwin .

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Publisher and Editor John H. Welborne Managing Editor Suzan Filipek Assistant Editor Casey Russell Contributing Editor Jane Gilman Staff Writers Talia Abrahamson Helene Seifer Advertising Director Pam Rudy

We wish everyone in Hancock Park and Los Angeles a Happy, Health Holiday Season and New Year!

Art Director Tom Hofer

Adv.

That’s the question inquiring photographer Casey Russell asked locals.

Letters to the Editor

When you renew your membership, you’ll be asked for your ideas. Help the Association fund efforts to keep our neighborhood safe and beautiful and give us your ideas.

We welcome volunteers to help with our work. Again, see our website for more specific information about all these initiatives and other efforts. A recording of the annual meeting is available on our website: hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org

‘What are your hopes for the new year?’

Advertising Sales Caroline Tracy

Circulation Manager Nona Sue Friedman Accounting Jill Miyamoto 606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103

Los Angeles, CA 90004 323-462-2241 larchmontchronicle.com

Ron Salisbury, and he wrote back: “After all of these years, this well-articulated description is perhaps the best we have ever entertained.” Write us at letters@larchmontchronicle.com. Include your name, contact information and where you live. We reserve the right to edit for space and grammar.

Volunteer for the homeless count Jan. 23, 24, 25

Volunteer registration for this year’s homeless count is underway. The count in the Greater Wilshire area will take place on Thurs., Jan. 25, the final night of the three-night count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). Volunteers for Greater Wilshire should arrive at 419 N. Larchmont Blvd. at 8 p.m. Pre-registration is appreciated. “They will need to pick up their walk packets and have the option to do onsite train-

“We have a new puppy. Our hopes are that she’ll be potty trained in the new year… that’s pretty high on the list at the moment! And… more time.” — Betsy “I hope that Covid will get a little better and no wars will be started!” — Jamie Betsy Carroll and Jeff Cooper with sons Jamie (left) and Charlie (right) Wilshire Park

(Please turn to Page 15)

CORRECTIONS

The following are corrections to articles in the paper’s December 2023 issue. In “Holocaust Museum LA expanding,” donor Smidt Family Foundation should have been Smidt Foundation. In “Jewish neighbors feeling threatened,” the date given in the headline was Nov. 25 for the pro-Palestine demonstration at and around The Grove. It should have been Nov. 24. In the article, “Two local teens work to keep Angelenos safe and beep-free,” the students’ schools were incorrectly named. Rowan Carney attends Immaculate Heart, and Dylan Foley attends Brentwood School. Also, it was Carney’s father who originally noticed the smoke alarm beeping, and Dylan Foley lives in Hancock Park, not Wilshire Park. The correct spelling of the female firefighter’s name in the article is Keira Coblentz, not Kira.

“We hope for a very healthy new year with the viruses at a minimum!” Michelle, Tyler and Zoey Broehm with their dog Cali Larchmont Village

“I hope I can be of service to more people as a dog trainer, because I like to see the effect of my work on people’s lives. The gratitude I get back is pretty awesome, too. And, I hope to get better at gift-giving!” Maximilian Schlossberg Windsor Village


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JANUARY 2024

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! &

Thank You Ice Age is more fun and closer than ever By Suzan Filipek The Ice Age has never been closer, or more fun, since the La Brea Tar Pits Mobile Museum made its debut in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The trailer brings the La Brea Tar Pits’ gooey past to children in TK to second grade classes. Already, five schools have been visited by the new vehicle, which on the one side of the exterior shows leafy

SECTION ONE

REGATTA victors.

5

HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY 6 SCHOOL NEWS 10 SUMMER CAMPS 11 TIPS ON PARENTING 13

SECTION TWO VIEW:

Real Estate Museums Entertainment

CHAMPIONS.

14

MUSEUMS 3 ON PRESERVATION 4 REAL ESTATE SALES 4 ENTERTAINMENT On the Menu 7 Theater 11 Movies 12 AROUND THE TOWN 8 POLICE BEAT 14 BEEZWAX 15 WORD CAFÉ 15

Hancock Park and the surrounding tar pits as they look today and, on the other side, a giant sloth and other megafauna from 10,000 years ago when the area was a very different landscape. Designed for learning through play, the 50-foot trailer has been in the design stage since 2018. The pandemic put the project on hold. During the pilot semester last fall, the kinks were worked out, and now the project is “ready for

the full rollout,” said Molly Porter, director of education for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Inside, children play as paleontologists working at a simulated excavation and puzzling together toy skeletons of giant sloths. They also howl like a dire wolf, pounce like a saber-tooth cat and act out other animals that once roamed the area where Wilshire Boulevard and (Please turn to Page 5)

for supporting our Larchmont businesses! “An oasis in the city” www.LARCHMONT.com

©LC0124

MOBILE TRAILER offers colorful and interactive displays, inside and out.


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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

A FULL BLOCK of South Windsor Boulevard served as a fashion show runway on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the beginning of December.

Fashion

(Continued from Page 1) ing the sunny Saturday afternoon was Nicole Kidman, who had just signed on as the brand ambassador for the Paris-based fashion house. Although the first inquiries about using the public street had gone out to neighbors in late June or early July, many residents — especially those on surrounding boulevards Plymouth, Lorraine and Lucerne — were surprised when they received a “Residential Access Pass” and instruction letter at the beginning of the week of the Dec. 2 event. A number of residents not on Windsor Boulevard (who already had agreed to keep themselves and their vehicles out of view during the filming and had received various payments for the (Please turn to Page 5)

2 3 Ye a r A n n i v e r s a r y ! T h a n k y o u , L a r c h m o n t !

˜ RC

Romi Cortier Design is pleased to announce the launch of ‘Artful Living’ housewares, inspired by Romi’s original art.

Available exclusively at the salon.

Where Art Inspires Beauty. Check out Romi’s book, The Art of Romi Cortier, now on Amazon.

425 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles 323-462-1089

member

www.RomiCortierDesign.com

©LC0124

Specializing In Cuts • Colors • Manicures • Pedicures

NICOLE KIDMAN posed on Windsor Boulevard in her new role as brand ambassador for Balenciaga.


Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

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Mobile Museum (Continued from Page 3)

CHAMPIONS Catherine Abdelshehid, Gabriel Tarossa, William For and Aiden Park.

SOME OF Pack 16’s winning floating entrants.

Cub Scout Pack 16 Raingutter Regatta: ‘Scary’ and ‘Artistic’ results

skin

deep

by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald

Have you ever considered what your life would be like if you weren’t busy being one of the more than 16 million Americans who suffer from hyperhidrosis? We know you’ve tried putting your excessive sweating into perspective. Of course there are more concerning ailments, but wearing black every. single. day., stressing about social situations and physical interactions on an entirely different level, and dealing with itching, discomfort and anxiety is no way to live. It’s finally your time to dare to dream. Brella is the first and only FDA-cleared sweat control patch. The in-office treatment calls for nary a needle, is noninvasive, aluminum free and affordable. Here’s how your appointment goes: the patches are applied to your under arms for 3 minutes. You will experience a warming sensation as sodium in Brella microtargets sweat glands to reduce overall sweat production. This single application can drastically diminish excessive sweating for 3-4 months or even longer.

four racing divisions. In addition to the competition, there was plenty of pizza, snacking and pandemonium. Below are the results of the specialty contest and racing. Wolves — Winner: Gabriel Tarossa. Most Scary Boat: Indy Jung with the boat Skull. Most Artistic Boat: Amaya Rempis with the boat Princess. Bears — Winner: Cather-

Fashion

(Continued from Page 4) inconvenience), were upset that their streets would be closed for backstage activities or for limousine dropoff for the guests. But, the inconvenience was all over by late afternoon, and the Windsor Square Association was able to tell residents that it had negotiated with the producer for a contribution that will pay for landscape maintenance of the Larchmont Median, between Third and First streets, for about one year. In a story in Women’s Wear Daily after the event, Windsor Boulevard resident Jeet Sohol told its reporter that “she was happy someone was having a fashion show on her side of town for a change.”

ine Abdelshehid. Most Scary Boat: Mason Im with the boat The Shark. Most Artistic Boat: Adriana Kim with the boat Sunset. WEBELO 1 — Winner: Aiden Park. Most Creative Boat: Astrid Huybrechs with the boat Nugget. Most Eco-friendly Boat: Zachary Bitzelberger with the boat The Earth. WEBELO 2 — Winner: William For. Most Original Boat: Belinda Vasquez with the boat Eye Wonder. Best Effort Boat: Che Nafa with the boat Batman.

We know that beauty isn’t just about antiaging, and you have our word that we take every aspect of your well-being seriously. Contact our office to schedule your appointment today and prepare to change your life. Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald is a Board Certified Dermatologist located in Larchmont Village with a special focus on anti-aging technology. She is a member of the Botox Cosmetic National Education Faculty and is an international Training Physician for Dermik, the makers of the injectable Sculptra. She is also among a select group of physicians chosen from around the world to teach proper injection techniques for Radiesse, the volumizing filler. Dr. Fitzgerald is an assistant clinical professor at UCLA. Visit online at www.RebeccaFitzgeraldMD.com or call (323) 464-8046 to schedule an appointment. Adv.

classes, and a marine biology trailer visits sixth to 12th graders. Two drivers and a staff of eight manage the three units, which are staggered at different campuses, where they park on school grounds for multiple days at a time. Community events and open houses are also scheduled, and parents are encouraged to visit. “These mobile units generate a lot of excitement, so we want to welcome the community,” said Porter. Signups for the spring semester are underway. Registration for fall 2024 semester open March 15. Visit nhm. org/educational-resources/ mobile-museums.

INSIDE THE MUSEUM’S MOBILE TRAILER, extended to double-wide size, La Brea Tar Pits exhibits welcome visitors.

BARBER SHOP Then

Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year!.

Now

Still serving Larchmont customers from our new location:

401 1/2 S. FAIRFAX AVE., 90036.

CARDI B. participated as a model in the fashion show.

Photos courtesy of Balenciaga

For appointments until 4 p.m., call (323) 433-4768 Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30-5:30 • Sat. 8-4:30 • Sun. 9-2:30

©LC0124

By Jim Kalin Local Cub Scout Pack 16 held its annual Raingutter Regatta race Nov. 10 at the St. Brendan School gymnasium. The Tigers, which are the youngest scouts, were not present, so there were just

Fairfax Avenue are today. “It’s experiential. Especially for this age group, they learn by doing,” said Porter. With up to 25 young kids in the trailer at one time, it can get a bit wild. “It’s a lot of fun and controlled chaos.” The mobile unit is free for the schools and the students, and a welcome sight at a time when field trips are down and school bus costs are up. The La Brea Tar Pits unit is the third and largest Mobile Museum in the Natural History Museum’s fleet. An archaeology-themed trailer travels to third to fifth grade

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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

Sip, shop and mini facials at Thirteen Lune Dr. Loh joins Larchmont dentally, all of the women they each found a niche in the Pediatrics in Medical Building By Nona Sue Friedman Thirteen Lune hosted a hol- creators were previously beauty industry that needed iday Sip ’n Shop on Dec. 9 at its store at 120 N. Larchmont Blvd. The festive event featured complimentary mini spa sessions, non-alcoholic beverages and product samples. The store “inspire[s] the discovery of beauty brands created by Black and Brown founders that resonate with people of all colors.” In line with the store’s mission, three new companies focusing on skin care — Flora & Noor, Forgotten Skincare and Shayde Beauty — showcased their specialty products and product lines. Coinci-

involved in pharmaceuticals. While working in that field,

to be filled. Voilà. New products are born.

AFTER A MINI FACIAL, Sheila Hoyer of Ridgewood Wilton enjoys a non-alcoholic beverage from Improv.

By Suzan Filipek Dr. Matthew Loh has joined Dr. Neville Anderson and Dr. Lauren Estrada and staff at Larchmont Pediatrics. Loh joined the practice located in the Larchmont Medical Building in July on a part-time basis, and he came on board, full-time, Dec. 4. A native of Redlands, Loh received his medical degree from Loma Linda University. He recently completed his internship and residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. At Pacific Union College in Napa, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in history and political studies with a concentration in ethics. In his free time, Dr. Loh enjoys rock climbing, hiking, playing ice hockey and haute

NEW TO THE TEAM at Larchmont Pediatrics is Dr. Matthew Loh.

cuisine. His favorite parts of living in Los Angeles include trying new restaurants and watching the sunsets. Larchmont Pediatrics is at 321 N. Larchmont Blvd., Suite 1020, 323-960-8500.

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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

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Jane Fonda, 86, speaks frankly about aging at GenSpace By Nona Sue Friedman Actress, author and activist Jane Fonda settled into her seat on stage and said, “An awful lot of young people here, but you’ll get old one day, if you’re lucky.” The audience responded with a laugh. Fonda spoke at a Better with Age talk held at Wallis Annenberg GenSpace, 3643 Wilshire Blvd., in Koreatown on Dec. 5. GenSpace is an innovative community center for older adults. The 86-year-old Fonda, who is so full of life, energy and charisma that she seems to defy her age, spoke with Willow Bay, dean of the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, in front of about 200 audience members. Fonda peppered her responses with humorous one-liners, spoke about her two books on aging and revealed, “I like to make my fears my best friend, and aging scared me.” She said that, through extensive research, she learned that people are living an average of 34 years longer than previous generations. She considers this a “grand gift of time” and refers to it as “your third act.” She doesn’t want to waste her final act and doesn’t want anyone else to either.

INTERVIEWER Willow Bay, dean of the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, talks with Jane Fonda, right.

She is the poster child for having a positive outlook and encouraged all of the attendees to feel the same. “This isn’t a dress rehearsal, this is it,” she said. When she was 59, she hadn’t a clue how she was going to live her third act, but “I didn’t want to end up like my dad, with so many regrets.” She has consciously worked on forgiving, communicating with her kids, being more compassionate and patient and listening from her heart. Of course, the workout queen of the ’80s still believes exercising regularly is critical for your quality of life. Fonda said that her knees, hips, a shoulder and one thumb are

all fake, but encouraged everyone there to walk, stretch and keep moving. Fonda also revealed, “I’m losing my eyesight, but gaining insight.” Her final fight is the climate crisis. Practically jumping out of her chair, she said, “It is an outrage. People are dying, suffering from fossil fuels and displaced by climate change. Everyone should vote for people who don’t take any money from the fossil fuel industry.” She believes the industry has been lying to the public for years and the only way for policy to change is for people to protest in the streets. She recalled when citizens did this in the 1970s. Their actions resulted in the

FOUNDER OF GENSPACE, Wallis Annenberg, introduces Jane Fonda. Photos courtesy of Unique Nicole for GenSpace

United States government creating the Environmental Protection Agency and passing the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. Lastly, she believes community has been declining since the 1980s. She encouraged everyone in the audience to “create community with like-minded people.” It’s one of the reasons she thinks GenSpace is such a special place. And not to mention, Fonda said, “Everything here is so beautiful and the space is impeccable. Just look around.” GenSpace’s mission is to create a brand new space that

reimagines aging through wellness, connection and lifelong learning. Its goal is to create community and reduce social isolation for older adults. When talking to GenSpace members Pat McNair and Ramona McCardell of Mid-City, they agreed that GenSpace is achieving its mission and goal in spades. The women said, “The events here are all great. They just wow us and make us feel special. We don’t feel old. It’s a treasure trove.” For more information and to become a member, call 424-407-4023 or visit annenberggenspace.org.

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The Beauty of Experience larchmont s own Rebecca Fitzgerald MD, a board-certified dermatologic surgeon, s extensive experience and up-to-the-minute expertise to the convenience of our own neighborhood

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JANUARY 2024

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Jewish

(Continued from Page 1) question later. The December Larchmont Chronicle story did elicit some reader responses, both pro and con. Locally, from Hancock Park, one reader thanked us for publishing the story and wrote: “Let’s hope this madness ends as soon as possible so we can go back to enjoying our wonderful lives in our peaceful Hancock Park community.” Another Jewish writer said: “Our community feels truly heard.” On the other side, we received three communications condemning our story, two from relatively far away. One writer, in Cleveland, Ohio, wrote the Chronicle a 500-word letter that was primarily a condemnation of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said of the Israeli government: “To push back this evil regime, rise and strike! Let no one continue to fear this man. Every Palestinian must be strong and fight on for their freedom. Rise and strike!” Another writer, an ophthalmologist in Chicago, criticized our story as biased against Palestinians, writing that: “I ... have lots of family and friends in the Los Angeles area [and] your recent article was highly biased against Palestinians and espouses a potentially dangerous environment for my family and friends in the Los Angeles area, who happen to all be Muslim and Palestinian.” The third writer was local, from Koreatown, just east of Western Avenue, and she first telephoned and spoke with us at length. Like the Jewish man quoted by the Los Angeles Daily News and by the Chronicle in our original article — who said he took offense at the Nov. 24 demonstration held in a neighborhood with a large Jewish population, and requested anonymity for his comments — our pro-Palestine critic of that story also requested anonymity. She subsequently sent us her views in writing, at our request: “I was upset to see the one-sided and fear-mongering claims you put forth in your article. I remain astonished that a protest calling for a ceasefire, an end to bombing and killing, can be considered harmful to ANY group. And it is absolutely false to claim that there was any chanting about ‘killing Jews’ as you quoted in your article as these protests are seeking to bring an end to the misery being experienced in the Middle East. “To conflate antisemitism with anti-Zionism is a false and dangerous comparison. With that article you did a disservice to those Jews,

DEMONSTRATORS for Palestine disrupted business at The Grove the day after Thanksgiving.

Photo by Hans Gutknecht / MediaNews Group / Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

like Jewish Voice for Peace, Orthodox Jews Against Israel, and many descendants of Holocaust survivors, who have been marching alongside many in the U.S. to call for an end to the dehumanization and violence against the Palestinian people.” The Larchmont Chronicle thanks all who called and wrote, but we do want to point out that a main theme of our original article was that the tensions are faced by both Jewish and Muslim Americans. This situation has been well documented in the daily media sources we cited. We listed the thoughtful Nov. 5 Orange County Register story on this subject: tinyurl.com/ ytcdv26n. More recent commentary in that same vein is everywhere. The online San Francisco Standard described differences of views among not only Muslims and Jews but also among Jews on Dec. 19: tinyurl.com/2auj7wnm. The confrontations on college campuses have been the source of much reporting, and the rise of antisemitism in America continues to get major coverage. See, in the Los Angeles Times on Dec. 15, the story by David Lauter and Jaweed Kaleem at: tinyurl. com/yhtkx5pt. Oppressors and oppressed But what does all this activity and dialogue concerning land in The Levant have to do with disrupting commerce at The Grove, 7,500 miles away? It appears to be related to the worldwide rise of anti-capitalism that observers credit to the teachings at elite and other colleges. A good discussion of this underlying issue associated with many of the current anti-Israel demonstrations (such as ones organized by shutitdown4palestine.org — the group that influenced the Nov. 24 disrup-

tion at The Grove) and similar groups is in a Dec. 7 Los Angeles Times story by Jenny Jarvie, “U.S. college campuses have embraced the Palestinian cause like never before. The story began decades ago.” See: tinyurl.com/ut4em6tr. Jarvie writes in the lengthy story (with contributions by Jaweed Kaleem): “But the story of how the Palestinian cause took off on campuses involves much more than academic theories. “It’s a tale of careful planning by activists, dramatic political change in Israel and the rise of a U.S. social justice movement that homed in on race and other markers of identity and framed many of the world’s conflicts as a simple battle between two sides: the oppressors and the oppressed.” Jarvie goes on to discuss how such views of life — the oppressors and the oppressed — are simplistic and cites UCLA political science professor and chair of Israel studies there, Dov Waxman. She writes that Professor Waxman “has always tried to challenge his students not to buy into simplified narratives about the Middle East.” The area in the accompanying map of The Levant is described by N.S. Gill (tinyurl.com/yv7dnh9w) as: “a geographic term that refers to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the nearby islands. Maps of the Levant don’t show an absolute boundary, because at no time in the past was it a single political unit. … “The term is often used in reference to the ancient lands in the Old Testament of the Bible (Bronze Age): the kingdoms of Israel, Ammon, Moab, Judah, Edom, and Aram; and the Phoenician and Philistine states. …” Today’s quagmire clearly

goes back to the 9th century BCE and before. To repeat the comment of one of the Chronicle’s recent correspon-

dents: “Let’s hope this madness ends as soon as possible so we can go back to enjoying our wonderful lives.”

THE LEVANT circa 9th Century Before Common Era.

Image via Wikimedia Commons


10 SECTION ONE

Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

PAGE ACADEMY By Isabella Argiropoulos 8th Grade Hello my Larchmont Neighbors! I hope you have all been enjoying the holidays! December was full of many great events. Our Mexican Dinner Silent Basket Auction and Movie Night was wonderful and successful. Our annual Holiday Show was a showstopper full of holiday music and dance! Our Page families came out in full support of Student Council’s pet and toy fundraiser and everyone

enjoyed a “snow day” in Page School’s parking lot. We had our class holiday parties in late December, with great food, a White Elephant gift exchange and a special visit from Santa himself! Classes will resume on Jan. 8. On the 12th, Page will hold its second quarter Honor Assembly — we can’t believe how quickly the school year is flying by! The 22nd is this year’s “100th Day of School” — our students are encouraged to come dressed as if they were 100 years old and to participate in a day full of fun activities! On the 26th we will have our Panorama Picture Day for our entire student body, which is one

of my favorites. I wish everyone a 2024 full of good will, health and happiness!

ST. JAMES’ By Kingston Smith 5th Grade Classes resume for St. James’ students Jan. 3. While the break has been fun, here are some events that we are looking forward to in the new year. First, we have some exciting news: the Havard Krokodileos are going to be performing live at St. James Preschool. Also, at our elementary school, we have

a day off to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. At St. James’, we have a tradition that will be continuing on Jan. 18 — In-N-Out Day. On InN-Out Day, parents get to come eat In-N-Out with their kids via a food truck. It is something the whole campus looks forward to. Finally, on Jan. 20, we have the Soul to Seoul BBQ competition at which families compete to see who makes the best BBQ. It’s going to be a lot of fun for everyone!

THE WILLOWS By Birdie Reynolds 8th Grade Although coming back from a long break can be difficult, The Willows students get back into the swing of things in January. Middle school self-defense classes will continue. The program is incredible because we not only learn to defend ourselves physically, but also learn to set boundaries and identify when we need help and how we can help others. Sports like basketball and soccer continue to practice and play the schools in our league to fight for a place in the playoffs and a chance for the championship. We are excited to see what the new year brings, especially with new units for many grades to explore and a new semester for the middle school to conquer.

MELROSE ELEMENTARY By Franklin Raghavan 5th Grade The holidays meant people had three weeks of vacation to forget everything. Happy 2024! The Melrose 5th graders

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are starting a new unit in science this January. It’s probably the most popular unit of the year — life science, focusing on the biosphere, feeding relationships and transfer of energy. Fourth graders are going to watch a day in the life of a bird at Ballona Wetlands. They’ll probably see ducks and egrets. A production of “Finding Nemo” was performed by the 4th and 5th graders. Next, the 3rd graders get to rehearse and perform a play. Another round of “Genius Hour” begins soon for the 5th graders. Trust me, one hour two days a week for six weeks is not enough for kids to be geniuses and use their imagination to create dynamic projects. Beautification day is coming on Jan. 27. We plan on planting new flowering plants.

NEW COVENANT ACADEMY By Sue Jung Park 11th Grade Happy New Year! As the new year came, NCA students wrapped up their winter break and returned to school, excited and ready to learn! Hopefully the winter break was a time where students were able to get plenty of rest and spend a festive time celebrating the holidays with their families. To kick off the spring semester, NCA will hold an Open House event. Parents are invited to students’ classrooms and get to spend time looking through the impressive work students have done. The event also serves as a time for parents to communicate with teachers. The boys’ basketball team also has been playing hard. Come out to future games and support them! Go Huskies!


Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

SECTION ONE

11

Camp Harmony provides a free camp for underserved kids By Nona Sue Friedman Camp Harmony is a special place that changes the lives of campers and counselors. It is a free overnight camp for homeless and underprivileged children in Los Angeles. Campers are transported to a camp in Ojai for a week of carefree fun where they participate in new and exciting activities. High school students in grades 10 through 12 apply and pay for the opportunity to serve as counselors. Camp Harmony (CH), which was founded in 1989, gives campers chances they otherwise may not have. Its goal is to inspire and empower the kids. For many of the underserved campers, this is the first time they have gone to sleepaway camp. Close to 400 campers come up for the week in late August. For counselors, the experience is one-of-a-kind. “Camp Harmony is totally life-changing,” according to Jordan Passman of Hancock Park, who was a counselor during high school and who has continued to volunteer yearround for the organization for the past 20 years. He continues, “It’s such a big part of who I am.” Now married and a father of two young kids, he plans on hav-

VOLUNTEER STAFF at Camp Harmony’s winter session are (left to right) Andrew Bank and Nick Melvoin — both of Larchmont Village — and Adam Slutsky.

Photo courtesy Brian Kramer Photography

ing them become counselors when they’re old enough. Many volunteers for CH talk about the family atmosphere surrounding this special experience and how participating in its programs changes your perspective. Another former counselor, Andrew Bank of Larchmont Village, said, “Camp Harmony has influenced the career trajectory of many of its counselors who, because of this experience, want to be involved in social work, public education [and] government.” Bank, who has been involved with the organization for the past 16 years, recounted that he bawled like a baby on the

last day of camp after his first summer. His friend and fellow counselor at the time, Nick Melvoin of Larchmont Village, who is now a board member of Los Angeles Unified School District, said, “You’re here for life.” So far that’s true, agrees Bank. Who knew that Bank would be one of four couples to find their beloveds at CH. Passman adds, “There isn’t another program like it in the city. It teaches the counselors to be philanthropic. It’s human-to-human.” The camp operates under the umbrella of United in Harmony (UNH), which is a nonprofit, non-sectarian organization.

MAKING PLAYDOUGH with campers at Camp Harmony is Jordan Passman of Hancock Park, center rear.

Over the years, UNH has added a winter camp that serves 300 campers. It also created a leadership program, which keeps high schoolers involved year round. The leadership program is a select group of high school students who gather monthly to organize an activity for a small group of campers. This could be bowling or an afternoon of miniature golf. On Nov. 10, the Chronicle visited UNH’s annual holiday party in Torrance. The space was abuzz with about 300 campers who sat on Santa’s lap, made ornaments, decorated cupcakes and left with two bags of new, donated clothing along with a bag of

new books. Brandon Sadkin, a counselor for the past couple of years and a member of the leadership program and former resident of Larchmont Village, said, “I love it! It feels great to have an impact on the campers and to give back to the community.” UNH is run almost exclusively by volunteers and operates with monetary and in-kind donations. If you are interested in learning more about the organization, visit unitedinharmony.org. The author is a previous board member — and longtime volunteer of — United in Harmony and Camp Harmony.


Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

IMMACULATE HEART By Emmelyne Lay 12th Grade

TURNING POINT By Lochlann O’Connell 8th Grade

Happy New Year from the IH Pandas! We hope everyone had festive and relaxing holidays. Immaculate Heart students have been enjoying these cooler winter months with good old fashioned cheer, commemorating the day of Saint Nick with candy canes and a prayer service, and observing the Winter Showcase at the end of finals week. Watching the student body sing Christmas carols dressed in their Christmas best was the perfect end to the first semester and fostered a magical holiday season for all students. This season of giving also saw IH students helping out at the annual carnival hosted by Homeboy Industries. Middle schoolers delivered the spirit of Christmas by distributing food and gifts Downtown for the Adopt-a-Family program. Immaculate Heart has been rocking this season competitively! Fencers Charly Stommel-Diaz and Rosie Lay qualified for the Junior Olympics. Our Debate team has had amazing performances, with Emma Sobel receiving her first bid to the prestigious Tournament of Champions, the first sophomore since 2015 to receive this honor. Senior Ava Wegmann-Gatarz has also been excelling all season by winning speaker awards. We are now off to a busy start in 2024!

Turning Point School recently held our annual food drive. Students in every grade donated packaged soups, vegetables and other healthy items to give to people experiencing food insecurity. We held an assembly during which each grade brought their donations to the middle of our grassy field. During the assembly, 8th graders read Thanksgiving-related jokes like, “What’s a turkey’s ringtone? Wing, Wing, Wing!” After our assembly, 8th grade students loaded up parents’ cars with all the donations to be delivered to Saint Augustine’s Volunteer Emergency Services (S.A.V.E.S.) in Culver City. The 8th grade students walked to the food bank from school. We unloaded the cars and sorted and packaged the cans. We also took a tour of the facility and spoke with the volunteers who run the organization. It was a fantastic experience because we were able to spread holiday cheer and help our community.

OAKWOOD SCHOOL By Charlotte Zabel 11th Grade Rehearsals for Oakwood’s next musical “9-5” recently started. Soccer and basketball seasons began and both sports

have already participated in numerous pre-season games and early weekend tournaments. Students for Reproductive Rights club (SRR) hosted a holiday bake sale for The National Network of Abortions Funds in our school’s central courtyard and brought in more than $1,000 for the cause. The club was founded by Oakwood student Opal Rierson amid the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Immersion courses were released to the school public and students hurriedly filled out Google forms in hopes of getting a recommended shortlist of programs they were interested in. Everyone is especially excited about immersion this year because the program will contain international travel opportunities for the student body. These were postponed during COVID-19. Trips to Mexico and Costa Rica are the highlights.

HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE By Penny Yoon 6th Grade I just got back from WinterFest, an annual HSH event. There are always tons of activities: laser tag, raffles, magic shows and more. Some of my classmates and I have been doing tours and interviews for middle school. Almost every day, one of us leaves early saying, “I have an interview!” or, “I’m taking a tour!” It’s fun to see all the secondary schools, especially when alumni from HSH

are there. After months of preparing, we finally pitched our HSH Shark Tank ideas to the Sharks (our head of school, learning director and homeroom teachers). You’ve probably heard of the wildly popular “Shark Tank” TV series — people pitch their small business ideas to an array of big business celebrities. It was really fun and kind of terrifying! Groups of two or three students came up with original products. We then made and sold the products and contributed the funds to our Sixth-Grade Ditch Day, a day all the 6th grade teachers and students get to skip school and go someplace special, like Disneyland or Universal Studios. My group’s product for Shark Tank was commissioned custom art. I hope I can keep doing special projects like these at my next school. I’m glad for the overall learning experience HSH has given me.

LARCHMONT CHARTER HG@SELMA By Elsie Mohr 4th Grade I hope you had a good winter break! Lots of classes have been working hard on signature projects. Signature projects are part of what make Larchmont Charter special. Each class brainstorms ways to make our school better and then chooses an idea to put into action! For example, Ms. Danielle’s 4th grade class is making a free library. The class collects used book donations from families and puts them on a cart so students can enjoy them. Another example is Ms. Allison’s 3rd grade class that is working to make recess more enjoyable for everyone. They made an art cart and a board game cart. The supplies

and games are now available for use during recess. The winter enrichment classes start this month after school, and everyone’s excited! Some enrichments include flag football, cooking and a theatrical production called, “Seussical: The Musical.” For the musical, students get to design and make props and costumes. Have a happy new year!

THE CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION By Griffin Miller 5th Grade Happy New Year! In the Upper Elementary grades at The Center, students get to experience overnight trips with their classes. At the end of 4th grade, students go on a really fun science trip for two nights, during which we learn all about the plants and animals in the region. This year, the entire 5th grade class went on a team-building, two-night field trip to Fulcrum Adventures in Culver City. It was exciting to gather at the buses, load up our bags and say goodbye to our parents. Some kids had never been away from home before, so we made sure to look out for our bunkmates and help each other. Students and teachers got to participate in fun and challenging activities like the Odyssey course, a two-layer, 60-foot-high ropes course, archery, campfires, game shows, hiking, painting and a lot of other fun games. Fulcrum was an awesome bonding experience for the 5th graders and our teachers…and we ate s’mores! In the springtime, the 6th graders will get to do their fun trip when they travel to San Francisco by plane to learn about social justice, art, math and the history of the city.

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12 SECTION ONE

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Larchmont Chronicle

SECTION ONE 13

JANUARY 2024

Who’s the ‘manager’ in your home? Your kids are watching

The Buckley School By Max Terr 10th Grade While the whole world was getting ready for the holidays, students at Buckley were preparing for finals. The upper school put massive amounts of energy into preparing for not only their final exams, but also the annual winter concert. The lower school prepared for exams and rehearsed for its yearly concert, which is always very special. The Buckley School took the opportunity this holiday season to give back. We hosted a toy drive that provided gifts to underprivileged communities. The school is committed to helping and serving communities in every way that it possibly can. That is all the news from The Buckley School. Happy New Year!

miliar — but because I was reminded that our children are quietly learning from everything they see. They are learning who is supposed to do what, how he or she is meant to behave while doing it and if they themselves should take initiative or should simply wait to do what is assigned. For example, if adults who haven’t taken on the manager role wait to be asked to do something before doing it — or expect to be given kudos for doing a task that the manager normally does without applause — kids will learn to do this, too. Mental load There’s a huge mental load that comes with taking on the home / life management role. And, though much of it is inherently done in the brain, our children cannot help but notice who has taken it on. They may not be aware of the brain space taken up by

Tips on Parenting by

Casey Russell tracking needs such as school, activities, appointments, days off, early dismissal days, field trips, permission slips, teacher conferences, picture days, practice times, uniform and equipment needs, carpool and transportation responsibilities, play dates, birthday parties, dentist and doctor visits, but they do learn from us who is in charge of these tasks. Checking in It can be interesting to check in and see who in our households is carrying the mental load. Who notices that all of Roger’s pants are too short, that

there are only two more rolls of toilet paper and that the milk carton is nearly empty? Who remembers relatives’ birthdays and buys holiday gifts? Who makes sure that, on trips, everything people will want or need to keep things running smoothly is packed (and then unpacked)? Who makes sure the kids are bathed? Who notices the dishes in the sink or the clean ones waiting to be put away? Who sees that the sink is indeed in need of a scrub? Ways forward If you discover an imbalance in your home and need some ideas for how to create change now and for your kids’ futures, read on: Replace the chore list with a daily half an hour of “noticing and doing.” Set a timer; give your kid a pencil and paper. Have him or her return the paper at the end of the 30 minutes with a list of things

he or she noticed needed to be done and then, took care of. Never ask for help in regard to household tasks. When you ask for help, you claim ownership. Instead, the phrasing can sound like this, “Let’s work together to clean the apartment on Saturday.” Or, “Our yard is in need of some work, why don’t you weed while I mow.” Suddenly, ownership has shifted. Make sure one parent doesn’t do more of one type of labor than another. Is most cleaning being done by one partner, while the other partner is in charge of fixing things and plunging the toilet? Be conscious of the example this sets. It can be well worth it to step into trying something you might not yet be comfortable with in order to make sure your child doesn’t grow up assuming certain tasks are hers or his.

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By Casey Russell The start of a new year brings with it new hopes and goals. It’s a time to look at what changes we want to make in our own lives and, perhaps, in the lives of our families. I recently read an article written in 2017 by Gemma Hartley for Harper’s Bazaar (tinyurl.com/bdenvppc). Hartley shined light on the fact that, in many households, there is an imbalance of initiative-taking for household / life needs. The general idea is this: there tends to be one person who is the main “manager” of the household and of family life. This person finds herself or himself in charge of remembering and noticing what needs to be done to keep family life running smoothly. In a business, this can be quite efficient. The manager is in a position of leadership and is, generally, compensated better than others for his or her skill, for the added responsibility he or she carries and for his or her time. In a family, though, this can lead to stress, discord and the perpetuation of a cycle of unequal, silent labor that many would like to break. Why it’s a problem The problem is that if one person is noticing and keeping track of what needs to get done, others in the family can start to see, subconsciously, all these tasks as belonging to that person. Sure, other family members will often be great about helping out if they are assigned, asked or reminded to do a job that the manager gives them. But, as Hartley points out, the manager doesn’t want help. She, or he, wants others to take equal initiative. The article struck me — not because the idea was unfa-


14 SECTION ONE

Happy New Year! Now that we have all rested and had fun with our families and friends over the holidays, it is time to return back to school. The Campbell Hall students are excited to get back into the swing of things, preparing to start off strong in the New Year. Congratulations to our girls’ varsity volleyball team, which won the CIF Championship! We will have our spring dance auditions in January. Also, the Gospel Choir begins its rehearsals. The Gospel Choir is a fun show to participate in and a fantastic show to attend. Additionally, we will have the annual orchestra concert for grades 7 through 12. The varsity boys’ soccer team will play against Buckley. Our sophomore students will be working on their academic course selection, planning and beginning the college prep process. Meanwhile, the juniors are in the middle of deciding which

colleges to apply to, and seniors have received their acceptance letters from the colleges to which they applied. These are very busy and exciting times on campus. Furthermore, our robotics team season is going strong. The last competition was in Los Angeles during the holiday break, and they have a few additional competitions in January.

MARLBOROUGH By Avery Gough 12th Grade Marlborough will offer “Morning at Marlborough” tours for prospective students on Jan. 5, 12, 19 and 22. Current Junior and Senior Violets, as well as some parents, will serve as guides and will visit classrooms, explore the campus and share anecdotes about the school to help illustrate the Marlborough School experience. And, now that I am a senior, it is fun to see what the upcoming 7th and 9th graders at Marlborough could look like. Spirit Week starts the week

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of the 29th and it is my favorite week. There are numerous school-wide competitions, some broken down by grade, including contests to see how many canned goods a class has donated. Points are tallied by day and week. The week culminates in a choreographed dance competition. Seniors may have a slight advantage, as they are given more time to perfect their routine. The dances are performed and the top three winners are chosen. At that point, the points from the whole week are totaled and winners are announced. Spirit Week engages the entire campus. All of Marlborough including teachers, faculty and students get very involved.

SAINT BRENDAN By Harry Jannone Kim 8th Grade Wintertime at St. Brendan School is a fun and lively time that brings people of all ages together. Basketball tryouts started. The junior varsity and varsity teams have been chosen and have started practicing. Both teams have been looking fantastic so far and are ready for the rest of the season. The Christmas Program was on Dec. 20. All the classes sang beautiful Christmas songs for schoolmates and parents. It was a great time for everyone. Christmas break started on Dec. 22 and school resumes Jan. 7. In January, 8th graders applying to high schools will start to take the high school placement test. Catholic Schools Week will be

from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3. The 8th graders have been practicing really hard to make sure they win the infamous volleyball game against the faculty.

of Students, Ms. Anna. It was so much fun for all!

PILGRIM By Allison Pak 10th Grade

This January at Third Street sounds like it will be very exciting. The AstroCamp sleepaway field trip is coming up. Every kid in 5th grade is pacing up and down making sure they turn in their last few forms. In preparation for camp, we chose study buddies who are going to be in our study groups when we get there. I heard that it will probably be snowing at camp, so we can’t forget to bring our winter jackets and other warm things. Back in December, 5th graders in Mrs. Skaggs’ and Ms. Yoon’s classes performed their play. The next day, Ms. Kellard’s class and my class (Ms. Min’s class) performed our plays. We performed Shakespeare’s, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” I happen to have my birthday on Jan. 8, which is kind of unlucky since it is right when school starts again. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Open houses were full of interested prospective parents and students. Playdates and interviews started and it’s great to see many new faces on campus. We celebrated our fall sports athletes at the sports banquet and the teams acknowledged were high school ping pong, middle school girls’ volleyball, middle and high school cross country, high school girls’ volleyball (Omega League champions) and middle and high school boys’ flag football. Congratulations to all of our athletes! We had the best and most fun Winter Festival in mid-December. We had food, games, a flea market, different vendors and all the proceeds will go to Alexandria House. The Association of Student Body in middle school and high school helped organized the event with our Dean

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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

SECTION ONE

First-year

(Continued from Page 1) LCS. Bell said that having this example right outside the students’ school is incredibly meaningful. Mayor Bass explained how, since taking office a year ago, she has helped house more than 21,000 people. That is 5,000 more than were housed in 2022 and 5,000 more than she promised while campaigning for the office in 2022. She also said there had been a doubling of the number of people in permanent housing from last year. Peeling an onion She used an analogy to explain the complicated issue of finding housing in Los Angeles. “Confronting this crisis is like peeling an onion. You cry along the way because every time we take a step forward we find a barrier and we have to knock that barrier down... We will continue to knock down barriers until

Homeless count (Continued from Page 2)

ing if they did not do their training online,” LAHSA communications director Ahmad Chapman told us. Up to 50 people can volunteer at this site. “If that site fills up and people still want to volunteer, we encourage them to volunteer at any of the other deployment sites in the County,” Chapman said. The count in Miracle Mile and Mid-City West will take place on Thurs., Jan. 25. To register as a volunteer for the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, visit TheyCountWillYou.org. You can register up to the time of the count in your area. Thousands of volunteers are expected to spread out across the 4,000 square miles of Los Angeles County. The volunteers will tally the number of unsheltered individuals, tents, vehicles, and makeshift shelters they see in their assigned census tract. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires a biennial point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness. In 2016, LAHSA started conducting its Homeless Count annually.

Passings

Charles T. Munger, of Hancock Park, Jan. 1, 1924 – Nov. 28, 2023. Linda J. McKnight, formerly of Windsor Square, June 1, 1949 – Dec. 8, 2023. Tom Juda, of Windsor Square, Oct. 22, 1946 – Dec. 10, 2023.

PARENTS OF LARCHMONT Charter School talk with Mayor Bass before the press conference.

there are no Angelenos left to live and die on our streets.” One way she and her team are doing this is by acquiring more data surrounding housing and homelessness. She wants to know, “Who is homeless? Who is moved into housing and how are they faring?” It’s all peels of the onion. She has made it easier for developers to process permits

and finish projects by cutting red tape and reducing permit wait time to 45 days from six months. Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martínez, Nithya Raman, (chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee), Bob Blumenfield (chair of the Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee) and Los Angeles Unified School

District Superintendent Alberto Carvhalo spoke of how grateful they are for the mayor’s courage to confront this problem head-on. They also commented on how her connections in Washington, D.C., have been instrumental. Bass has “locked arms with” — and had unprecedented partnerships at — all levels of government this past

15

year. This includes multiple departments within the city, county, state and federal governments, said Carvhalo and others. Because of the new and innovative approaches her office has implemented to confront homelessness, Los Angeles was chosen as one of five cities in the country to be selected for the federal ALL INside program. This is a first-of-its-kind program to address the unhoused at the federal level. She admits that she still faces challenges and is looking to get costs of housing individuals down. She states that her office is taking historic action to keep people from falling into homelessness as well. “This truly is a matter of life and death,” according to Bass. This visit to LCS Selma was part of the mayor’s weeklong tour of the city to mark the completion of her first year in office.


16 SECTION ONE

JANUARY 2024

Larchmont Chronicle


BINDERY

MUSEUM

Making books the old-fashioned way on Melrose at Larchmont.

New building is revealed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Page 2

Page 3

Real Estate Museums

Entertainment

VIEW

AROUND TOWN Horse-drawn carriage carried carolers through streets of Brookside.

Page 8

Section 2

LARCHMONT CHRONICLE

JANUARY 2024

HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • GREATER WILSHIRE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT


2 SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

Local bookbinder proves there is poetry beyond the page

By Casey Russell In an unobtrusive shop near the corner of Melrose Avenue and Larchmont Boulevard, Charlene Matthews quietly works her magic. The local businesswoman took her first bookbinding class in 1985, a year and a half after the birth of her daughter. Matthews had become antsy staying home caring for her child and decided to take a class. “I do a lot of hands-on things. I was raised as a Mormon, so I learned how to sew and knit early… and I read constantly. So, I saw the bookbinding class and thought, ‘Hmm … I have some books that need to be fixed…’” Matthews quickly found out the UCLA Extension class was much more than one for book repair. It was a book art class. Since then, she’s taken a lot of classes. Because Matthews needed to be home with her daughter, she was never able to study under anyone long-term. But a passion for binding had been lit within her. She did a lot of weekend classes and, in her words, “read like crazy.” For more than a decade, Matthews worked out of her home. Then, 24 years ago, she opened Charlene Matthews

BOOKBINDER Charlene Matthews in her shop on Melrose Avenue.

Bindery at 5720 Melrose Ave. As a binder located in Hollywood, Matthews told us that 30 percent of her business is for the film industry. She binds screenplays, does prop work for all eras and is hired to do script presentations. She has been binding director and screenwriter Zack Snyder’s storyboards for years. But she loves all aspects of binding. Artists come to her to make books that house their text, art and photographs. Matthews also does book repair, restoring spines, matching materials and working to make sure beloved tomes are brought back to life. Corporations hire her to bind presentations, and individuals

come to her to creatively bind their diaries or other personal writings. The artist often finds herself making special occasion books for people’s birthdays and milestone events, and she loves making museum-quality boxes to house fine objects. “It’s all handmade,” the artist told us. “There’s only one machine I’ve got that uses electricity.” Matthews works with all sorts of bindings. “The material can be anything.” The local resident told us she doesn’t read the books she binds. “You can’t read everybody’s books,” she said. “You’d go insane!” When asked how she knows what cover will be right for each book, Matthews

INSIDE Matthews’ shop, a black cutting machine sits near the entryway.

told us she talks to her clients, but said, “I’m just really good at that part.” She has a myriad of papers and cloth and told us, “I buy stuff that I like. I have in stock what I would make my own books with.” Having been in the practice of binding books since 1985, the book artist has bound quite a few of her own works. Some of these are in her shop, but she also has on display a unique piece of art. Over the course of several years, Matthews hand-wrote James Joyce’s “Ulysses” — in its entirety — on 38 seven-foot poles which now hang in her workshop. Bookbinders, the local artist told us, are a grumpy lot. They

tend to like to work alone. Matthews enjoys the solitary nature of her work and spends six days a week at the shop. “It’s a lot of work to make a book,” said Matthews, “Most people have no idea.” One of the things the businesswoman likes is that, as an American bookbinder, there is no right way to make a book. “I can take these different bindings and mix them all up,” she said. “If I were German or French, I’d have to do it in a certain way. But American bookbinders do it any way we want.” Her books can be found in libraries, museums and collections around the world. For more information, email binderess@yahoo.com.

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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

SECTION TWO

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What’s next for TV City’s proposed expansion plan?

By Suzan Filipek Public hearings on the proposed expansion of Television City are expected to start early this year. They would be the first community meetings since the release of the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR). Councilmember Katy Yaroslavky said in a community email last month that her office is reviewing the FEIR. “I have ensured that there will be no official public hearings on the project hosted by the City until at least January or February 2024 to ensure time for robust public review and input,” Yaroslavksy added. The FEIR document also contains corrections and modifications and responses to public comments made to the Planning Department in 2022 in response to the project’s Draft EIR. Developer Hackman Capital Partners posted a statement on its website following the release of the FEIR on Nov. 21: “This is a major step forward in the planning process to ensure that TVC will remain a studio through the modernization and expansion of this iconic but aging production facility. With the

City’s release of the Final EIR, after nearly three years of review and analysis, we are at an important step closer to creating thousands of good-paying entertainment jobs and keeping production and the families that depend on our most identifiable industry here in Los Angeles.” The group Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development questions the redevelopment plan, which the group says on its website: “poses an unprecedented risk of gaming the system and wiping out the neighborhood.” “Nothing in the FEIR — or the Specific Plan that actually governs the use of the property — indicates a smaller project,” the group’s co-chair Shelley Wagers told us in an email. “Even the eye-popping 1.87 million square feet they claim for the project actually understates its actual size, because the FEIR still uses disputed definitions for floor area,” she added. “… In short, after more than 400 largely critical comment letters and a year and a half of public outcry, Hackman is stickin’ to their story,” Wagers said.

RISING ABOVE RAY’S AND STARK BAR is the western end of LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries building.

Progress becomes visible at LACMA

By John Welborne Viewed from the west, from the Zev Yaroslavsky Plaza or the decomposed granite field surrounding Michael Heizer’s giant rock, “Levitated Mass,” the western end of the new David Geffen Galleries building is emerging from its cocoon of steel scaffolding — hovering like a giant wing over the existing Ray’s and Stark Bar. The finished ceiling and floor of this end of the galleries level is visible — looking not unlike a butterfly wing extended from a cocoon. Finishing work on the poured

concrete surfaces, as well as the installation of the tall glass walls that wrap the pe-

rimeter of the entire building, is yet to come. The metamor(Please turn to Page 4)

LACMA west end roof was almost done in this photo, with scaffolding soon to be removed, as partially shown above.


4 SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

Ring in the New Year with joy and promise for preservation I am happy to say that 2023 was a good year for preservation with lots of activity and few major losses. There was an increased focus on the preservation of the eastern portion of our Greater Wilshire community in Larchmont, Oakwood / Maplewood / St. Andrews as well as Ridgewood-Wilton / St. Andrews Square and Western-Wilton. This positive activity included James Dastoli’s five Historic-Cultural Monument nominations and the recent designation of the historic districts of Ridgewood Place and St. Andrews Square. I am looking forward to a new year that holds much promise with new developments locally and citywide. New LA Conservancy head Los Angeles’s premier preservation organization, the Los Angeles Conservancy, has a new chief executive following the retirement of legendary

On Preservation by

Brian Curran

CEO and preservationist Linda Dishman after 31 years. Adrian Scott Fine will assume leadership after serving as director of advocacy. He brings with him decades of preservation experience, including with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., Indiana Landmarks, the California Preservation Foundation and USC’s Heritage Conservation Summer Program among other preservation gigs. Congratulation’s Adrian! Citrus Square organizes for National Register designation I have long advocated for

325 N. Larchmont Boulevard, #158 Los Angeles, California 90004 windsorsquare.org 157 N. Larchmont Boulevard

A Happy New Year in Windsor Square

Make your New Year’s resolution to get involved with the Windsor Square Association and serve your community! January offers a number of opportunities to engage and participate in community outreach, emergency preparedness, public safety and social issues. Block Captains: Be the leader of your block and point person for all that’s going on in the neighborhood. The WSA has numerous block captain positions open. A great opportunity to engage with neighbors and community leaders. Contact: blockcaptains@windsorsquare.org. Community Preparedness: Join WSA Board Members Gary Gilbert and Steve Kazanjian in the organization and implementation of the city’s RYLAN (Ready Your LA Neighborhood) program in Windsor Square. This will support disaster preparedness for Windsor Square.

group is planning a series of outreach events including a webinar in February. I plan to be writing about this in my next column. California Preservation Foundation Conference The California Preservation Foundation will be returning

to Los Angeles for its annual conference. Entitled “Building Shelter, Community and Sustainability,” the event will be held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel May 29-June 1. More than 600 participants from across the state (Please turn to Page 5)

Windsor Village re-elects board at meeting

By Casey Russell Board of Directors elections took place at the Windsor Village Association (WVA) annual meeting on Dec. 3. Board president Barbara Pflaumer, who will serve the second year of her term in 2024, told us that board members Julie Kim, Ginger Tanner, Bruce Beiderwell and Marilyn Bachelor were re-elected. In addition to board elections, attendees heard a recap of the board’s recent accomplishments. In 2023, the WVA held its annual potluck dinner, screened two movies in Harold Henry Park for residents and hosted two park cleanups. Also in 2023, the board welcomed Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky to its June meeting, worked on emergency preparedness, continued planning for speed bumps on Lucerne Boulevard and partnered with the community to address the problem of homeless individuals at the Rite-Aid on Crenshaw Boulevard (that subsequently was closed as part of that company’s national bankruptcy proceedings).

LACMA

Public Safety: Learn more about public safety and the happenings in the LAPD Olympic Division by attending the Olympic Division Community Advisory Board Meeting January 7th. Windsor Square also falls into the Wilshire Division, so keep an eye out for its advisory meetings.

SOLD: This home at 962 S. Plymouth Blvd. in Windsor Village sold for $1,495,000 in November.

Real Estate Sales* Single-family homes

354 S. Lucerne Blvd. 428 N. Las Palmas Ave. 330 N. Arden Blvd. 545 N. Poinsettia Pl. 343 N. Citrus Ave. 343 N. Formosa Ave. 526 N. Irving Blvd. 338 S. Sycamore Ave. 344 N. Vista St. 570 S. Van Ness Ave. 658 Lillian Way 4842 Oakwood Ave. 962 S. Plymouth Blvd.

$6,600,000 $4,999,000 $3,610,000 $2,395,000 $2,165,000 $2,000,000 $1,880,000 $1,860,000 $1,801,000 $1,735,000 $1,550,000 $1,500,000 $1,495,000

316 N. Rossmore Ave., #400 737 S. Windsor Blvd., #104 606 Wilcox Ave. 5132 Maplewood Ave., #203 620 S. Gramercy Pl., #441 102 S. Manhattan Pl., #306 444 S. Gramercy Pl., #6 532 N. Rossmore Ave., #109 525 N. Sycamore Ave., #210 525 N. Sycamore Ave., #404

$1,765,000 $1,370,000 $1,260,950 $680,000 $655,000 $616,000 $585,000 $560,000 $490,000 $484,000

Condominiums

*Sale prices for November.

(Continued from Page 3)

Homelessness Issues: The WSA has been working with Council District 13 in addressing the encampments along 6th Street near Van Ness Avenue. We have been learning more about the process and issues surrounding housing — which both Mayor Bass and Councilman Soto-Martinez addressed at our Town Hall in November at The Ebell. You now have an opportunity to do your part by volunteering for the annual Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count 2024 which will be held on Thursday, January 25th. You can sign up to volunteer here: theycountwillyou.org.

©LC0124

Join In!: Sign up for neighborhood clubs or volunteer at local charities or for good causes. Working together on shared interests — or just having fun — is a great way to knit our community together in the coming year. The Windsor Square Association, an all-volunteer group of residents from 1100 households between Beverly and Wilshire and Van Ness and Arden, works to preserve and enhance our beautiful neighborhood. Join with us! Drop us a line at 325 N. Larchmont Blvd., #158, Los Angeles, CA 90004, or visit our website at windsorsquare.org.

the designation of Citrus Square as an historic district since the surprise demolition of 361 S. Citrus Ave. in 2019 by Reuven and Shevy Gradon. Now a group of homeowners, residents and preservationists have begun the designation process, researching and organizing in preparation for the submittal of a National Register Historic District application. The

phosis will continue around the building as the roof of the 347,500-square-foot structure is completed, with construction steadily moving east and across Wilshire Boulevard. Behind the construction fences at ground level, the portions of the building that will house vertical transportation (stairways and elevators), the new restaurant, educational facilities, the new LACMA Store and more are similarly being freed from the scaffolding utilized for the construction of formwork to hold the poured concrete of which the Peter Zumthor-designed building is composed. Museum officials say construction still is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Learn more at: lacma.org/support/building-lacma.

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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

SECTION TWO

Personal memorabilia is at heart of Village Pizzeria dispute By Suzan Filipek A dispute between the former and current owners of Larchmont Pizzeria — first reported in the pages of the Larchmont Chronicle — has escalated to social media and beyond. The Chronicle article was more than a year ago, several months after the July 2022 closing of the sale of the pizzeria to a new ownership group. Now the story of the acrimonious dispute has landed in the Los Angeles Times (“Who owns the memorabilia on the walls of this iconic L.A.

pizzeria?,” Dec. 14, 2023). Former owner Steve Cohen, who long has lived with his family in the Larchmont Village Neighborhood, near the pizzeria he founded 27 years ago, filled the restaurant’s walls with his personal mementos. He wants them back. All of them. There are the neon signs, the clocks, the framed personal photos and more. As reported most recently in The Times, the new owners refuse. They accuse Cohen of breaching his contract and presenting a rosier-than-true

financial picture of the pizzeria, said their lawyer, John Schlaff. The seller’s and buyers’ argument also has played out in social media. According to the buyers’ attorney, Cohen was offered a deal at one point to buy back the restaurant at half of the sales price. Cohen refused. He was then offered a deal where he would turn over access to the restaurant’s Facebook page (that he still controls) in exchange for the new owners returning the memorabilia,

On Preservation

column and in other articles in this paper. These sites are attached to developments that are in various stages of progress. The Fairfax Theater, 7901 Beverly Blvd, a designated Historic Cultural Monument is now a shell — its theater and interior gone as it awaits its entitled project to begin. CBS Television City project (TVC 2050), 7800 Beverly Blvd., has just completed a six-week community relations blitz in which 10,000 residents, stakeholders and interested parties weighed in on the design and its potential impacts to the local community. The historic studio designed by William Pereira is

to be preserved but surrounded by new construction. The Wilshire Professional Building, 3875 Wilshire Blvd., whose owner Jameson Properties was recently chastised for allowing the landmarked treasure to deteriorate, is due to be restored as part of a larger development under construction on St. Andrews Place. LACMA’s Japanese Pavilion by self-taught avant-garde architect Bruce Goff, celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. The pavilion, which underwent a two-year restoration and renovation, is set to reopen upon the completion of the new Peter Zumthor designed Geffen Galleries in late 2024 (fingers crossed!).

(Continued from Page 4)

will attend to learn, network, and share successes. The conference includes in excess of 40 sessions, special events, networking activities, and site tours in and around Los Angeles. It will also be exploring special localities and regionally-focused sites through “Loving Los Angeles,” taking an up-close look at some of the Los Angeles region’s best preservation successes and stories. Local preservation developments to watch There are a few historic sites to “watch,” sites that have been covered in this

attorney Schlaff said. That deal is still up in the air. The pizzeria’s new ownership group appears to include film producers Jeff Bowler and Bret Saxon. The two were the

5

subjects of an investigative report in November, also in The Times. Its authors described lawsuits and allegations of fraud in Bowler’s and Saxon’s film producing business.


6 SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

City’s famous and legendary restaurants celebrated in book By Helene Seifer Those with a love of Los Angeles history, food or architecture — or those who just enjoy eating out — are sure to have an appetite for the compendium of facts, stories, recipes and photographs found in chef, author and food historian George Geary’s newest book, “L.A.’s Landmark Restaurants: Celebrating the Legendary Locations Where Angelenos Have Dined for Generations.” A follow-up to Geary’s popular “L.A.’s Legendary Restaurants: Celebrating the Famous Places Where Hollywood Ate, Drank, and Played,” which focused on celebrity haunts, the 51 iconic restaurants in his latest work are places with long local histories where regular Los Angelenos returned again and again. Geary covers the length and breadth of Greater Los Angeles, providing detailed accounts about the original owners, clientele, menus, recipes and even architectural styles of restaurants from the Dal Rae in Pico Rivera to Geoffrey’s in Malibu, Joe Jost’s in Long Beach to the Original Pantry Café Downtown and the Googie-style Pann’s near Los Angeles International Airport. Although some of the

COVER of new book.

featured eateries are gone, such as Nickodell (which had locations on Argyle Avenue and on Melrose Avenue, adjacent to Paramount) and the Sportsmen’s Lodge (now a shopping complex), other restaurants, including Cole’s, The Apple Pan and Casita del Campo, are still going strong. Our neighborhood is well-represented with stalwarts Canter’s Delicatessen, El Cholo, HMS Bounty, Tom Bergin’s and El Coyote, among others. Historic photos Geary has amassed hundreds of historic photographs and mountains of fascinating information about Southland restaurants. In 1944, he recounts, 20 loyal customers hand-carried Tom Bergin’s horseshoe-shaped oak bar from its original Wilshire

CANTER BROS. DELICATESSEN original location in Boyle Heights. POSTCARD OF NICKODELL on Melrose Avenue.

Boulevard location to its new home on Fairfax Avenue. A Barney’s Beanery ad in the 1970s touted its burgers as a “perfect gift for your Valentine” and listed options including the “soaked” wine burger and the “intellectual” mushroom-and-egg burger. Few know that a pickle room exists in the bowels of Canter’s Deli, where approximately 55 gallons of cucumbers and green tomatoes are brined every day — and yes, their pickle recipe is included in the book. Scandals “L.A.’s Landmark Restaurants” recounts its share of scandals, disputes and trage-

EL COYOTE’S original location on La Brea Avenue.

dies. Original founders of the Dal Rae, Owen Dalton and Rae Harris, had to sell their place after Dalton’s divorce following his notorious affair with a burlesque dancer. El Coyote

has the ghoulish distinction of being the last place Sharon Tate and friends dined before their murder by the followers of Charles Manson; fans honor (Please turn to Page 14) (Please turn to Page 12)

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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

SECTION TWO

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Compassion is on the plate at West African vegan restaurant Located a few steps above street level on busy Melrose Avenue, one walks through a plant-filled dining courtyard into a welcoming dining room. Whirring palm leaf ceiling fans hang from a turquoise tin ceiling above a worn wooden floor. An eclectic mix of contemporary, bentwood pendants and antique pole lamps lend charm. Patrons sit at art deco-style plush turquoise booths or individual tables surrounded by gold velvet barrel seats. There’s an attractive wood bar, large picture windows, graphic curtains and wall hangings and scattered leafy plants. In spite of the elegant touches,

On the Menu by

Helene Seifer it has a casual, funky vibe. Servers are informative, patient and friendly. They know the small menu and cocktail list well and can explain the sometimes unfamiliar ingredients. Items are available à la carte, or one can order all nine savory and two sweet dishes as “The Ubuntu Experience” for $75. Additionally, there are six $17 specialty and four $12

Diamond Bakery says farewell to Fairfax By Nona Sue Friedman Subsequent to the distribution of the Chronicle’s December issue, Diamond Bakery has closed its retail location on Fairfax Avenue. It was there for more than 77 years. When speaking with owner Doug Weinstein, he told us, “It broke my heart.” But keeping the store open became too much of a burden. “I’ve done what I can to keep the brand alive, ” commented Weinstein. He sold Diamond’s recipes to BreadLA, which owns Brooklyn Bagel. It will

produce the core products, such as rye bread, chocolate chip Danish and babka to start. Weinstein revealed that talks are underway with major high-end retailers to get products into stores. He’s hoping for a special section showcasing Diamond products within markets. Meanwhile, Weinstein is moving back to Santa Barbara to be the chef for the café and head of event catering at the newly renovated Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara while consulting and selling for the Diamond Bak-

Andre’s Italian to open soon on Wilshire Boulevard

By Suzan Filipek A popular feature of the former Town and Country shopping center is making a comeback. Andre’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria will soon be dishing up plates of pasta and other Mediterranean specialties at its new sit-down restaurant in the historic Dominguez-Wilshire Building at 5400 Wilshire Blvd. The restaurant is expected to open by mid-January 2024. “We’re hoping. We’re waiting for the final city inspection,” co-owner Stephanie Gagliarducci told us. Gagliarducci is the grandniece of Dominic Andreone, a native of Italy, who opened the classic, cafeteria-style restaurant in 1963 at 6332 West Third St. in the Town and Country shopping center. The restaurant closed in July 2022 after new owners of the property announced plans to demolish the site to build an eight-story, mixeduse complex of housing units over retail, now under construction. The restaurant has since operated as a take-out location on Washington Boulevard.

ery brand. Currently, those who need a fix can visit a Viktor Benês Bakery inside certain Gelson’s Markets.

DIAMOND BAKERY’S rye bread is available at local retailers.

zero-proof cocktails and an assortment of wine and beer. My friend and I began with refreshing cocktails: Alewa, made with tequila, orange liqueur, rum and beet juice, and Bless the Rains, which features rum, falernum (Caribbean gingery lime and almond liqueur), grapefruit and creole bitters. Dishes often combine the familiar with the unexpected, such as a riff on the Italian rice ball arancini, here made with flavorful jollof rice (long grain rice made the West African way with tomato, chiles and onions). The three generous, slightly spicy, arancini are delicious dipped in the accompanying North African chermoula sauce (typically made with chopped parsley, cilantro, garlic, cumin, coriander and lemon juice), $16. Charred okra salad, $14, was recommended by our server and so we ordered it, in spite of our fear that it would exhibit that vegetable’s characteristic slimy texture. As promised, it didn’t. Smoky from the charring, tossed with pigeon peas and red kidney beans in a passionfruit vinaigrette, this was one of our favorite plates of the night. By turns crunchy and meaty, with rich umami flavor and both sweet and vinegary notes, this is a must order. We also loved the creamy hearts of palm bisque. Our only experience with hearts of palm previously was cut into rounds straight out of the can and added to salad.

We were pleasantly surprised by the depth of this warming soup. Topped with fried shallots and parsley oil, this $12 bowl is a perfect and healthy cool weather treat. My biggest complaint is that of the nine savory dishes, three are built around mushrooms. While I admire that they don’t use cashew cheese and impossible chicken to imitate meat eater’s meals, it would have been nice for the three bigger plates to feature a greater variety of vegetables. Nonetheless, the $18 pie stuffed with lion’s mane mushrooms, habanero and tamarind applesauce was satisfying. Meaty mushrooms were seasoned well and the spicy-sour-sweet flavor combination worked. We also tried $24 grits, here made with fonio, an ancient grain, and served with sautéed oyster mushrooms with tomatoes and old bay seasoning, $24. The seasoning tasted discordant with the dish, and a balsamic vinegar drizzle was an over-the-top embellishment that distracted from the interesting fonio and mushrooms. We were too full to try dessert, unfortunately, because the $15 plantain cardamom tart with coconut and berry compote sounds terrific. I’ll definitely return to try it and the other dish that called out to us: the $13 grilled cabbage flavored with Ethiopian berbere spice blend. Ubuntu, 7469 Melrose Ave., 323-433-4141.

Angelini

TM

O S T E R I A by Gino Angelini

HappyNewYear! NEW SIGN is up at the restaurant. Photo courtesy of Andre’s

Andreone died in January 2022 at the age of 99. Gagliarducci is joined in the new venture by co-owners Peter Andreone (Dominic’s son) and Simon Alvarez, the latter of whom started as a chef at the restaurant in 1981. The new space will seat 100 people inside and another 25 on the patio; parking will be in back. Hours are to be from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Watch for a joint ribbon cutting ceremony soon with City Council District 5, which is opening its field office in the same building.

Angelini A L I M E N TA R I

TM

7313— 7317 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, 90036 | 323.297.0070 www.angelinibeverly.com info@angeliniosteria.com Open for Lunch — Dinner — Catering — Private Dining

©LC0124

For those whose New Year’s resolutions include eating fewer animal products, a new plant-based restaurant with complex West African flavors might be just the enticement to give vegan food a try. Ubuntu, from James Beard-nominated chef Shenarri Freeman, was just named one of Esquire magazine’s best new restaurants of 2023. The name Ubuntu is from the Bantu group of African languages and means “I am because we are,” which is most often explained as an expression of compassion and humanity. Ubuntu restaurant achieves “ubuntu” with its warm service and atmosphere and animal-free menu.


8 SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

’Twas merry and bright and festive with family and friends

TWO WHITE STEEDS pull a carriage full of carolers through Brookside streets.

Around the Town with

Sondi Toll Sepenuk bring an unwrapped toy for the fire station’s gift drive, and from the look and sounds of the festive merriment, it was a successful event for all! ••• The Junior League of Los Angeles (JLLA), whose offices are located on the north end of Larchmont Boulevard, almost next door to the Larchmont Chronicle, held its annual Harvest Boutique on Dec. 3, at the Skirball Cultural Center in West Los Angeles. The League’s event is now 24 years young and still going strong, bringing in much needed dollars to help the organization fund its mission. In 1926, local Los Angeles women, Chronicle publisher John Wel-

LOCAL PARENT and children enjoying a Brookside evening of Santa and fire engines are (left to right) Archie Abramson, Helen Howe, Robby Persson and Amir Joseph.

JLLA COMMUNITY Achievement Award recipient Jen Lilley (left) with JLLA president Katherine La Spada.

borne’s mother among them, established the JLLA as an “organization of women whose mission is to advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration and training.” Guests at the 2023 Harvest Boutique bid on silent auction items including art, jewelry, apparel, services and travel, then strolled into the Skirball’s Guerin Pavilion to dine and listen to inspiring stories of hope and action. Actress Jen Lilley, an advocate for foster youths (who fostered two boys herself before adopting them), received the Community Achievement Award, and Teresa Grady Weeden was the Spirit of Voluntarism winner. The event raised approximately $130,000. Local attendees included Windsor Square resident Tessa Madden, member of the JLLA Board of Directors. ••• On Dec. 7, the women of NGA showed up in force to the Hancock Park home of Stephanie Sourapas to assem-

NGA MEMBERS (left to right) Kiel Fitzgerald, Shay Callahan and Beverly Brown take a dinner break while packing gift bags for Good Shepherd.

ble holiday gift bags for Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children. The dozens upon dozens of gift bags included robes, slippers, socks and toiletries that will surely delight and warm the residents of Good Shepherd during the festive season. While packing the gift bags, the members learned that NGA recently donated $10,000 to Operation School Bell, which is being used to buy shoes for LAUSD kids in need. Members are also currently seeking contributions for their annual giving campaign to help support their partner agencies over the next year, which include Alexandria House, Assistance League of Los Angeles, Aviva, Imagine LA, Los Angeles House of Ruth, McIntyre House, Pacific Clinics and their newest

partner agency, SunnySide5, which provides transitional housing for young adults aged 18-30 who are experiencing homelessness while enrolled in college or pursuing a trade. After packing up the bags, the women enjoyed a homemade dinner courtesy of chefs Georgia Bell and Tim Abell of Sweets2Savory that included such Mediterranean delights as vegetable salad, chopped salad, Pasta Bianco with hot, crispy bacon, fresh baked bread, and an array of gourmet sweet treats and cookies. ••• The always resilient and 100-year-old Ebell of Los Angeles wasn’t going to be defeated by COVID-19. After a four-year hiatus, the beloved holiday tradition of Supper with Santa returned with jin(Please turn to Page 9)

BOGIE’S LIQUOR Open 7 Days

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It was a merry and bright evening in Brookside on Dec. 3, when Santa, Mrs. Claus, and two shiny white steeds came trotting down Tremaine Avenue to bring the little ones joy, Christmas spirit and a bit of off-key singing. The horses, of Dream Catchers Carriages, waited patiently while families took turns climbing and disembarking from the wagon as they journeyed around the neighborhood, belting Christmas carols and sipping warm and festive drinks. The adults enjoyed mulled wine and eggnog, while the kiddos drained cup after cup of hot cocoa. The drinks were complemented by cookies, cupcakes, chocolates and peppermint sticks. To everyone’s great “surprise,” Fire Station 61 made a grand entrance, escorting three of its best engines to the event. Kids climbed aboard the trucks while the firefighters socialized with the local parents and organizers. Even Santa got in on the act! Carolers were asked by the Brookside Homeowners Association to


Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

SUPPER WITH SANTA attendees at The Ebell included (left to right) Monica Gamboa, Daphne Brogdon Peel, Ebell President Laurie Schechter, Georgette Gamboa, Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, Amara Lowry and John Lowry.

LONGWOOD HIGHLANDS residents David Shadle, Nicki Renna and daughter Stella enjoy the Supper with Santa sundae bar.

Photos of Ebell Supper with Santa by Rex Peel

Around the Town loved gle bells blazing on Dec. 8. Co-chairs Julie Stromberg and Daphne Brogdon Peel brought back all of the be-

SMILING faces organize sweet treats for the LCS World Fair bake sale.

PARENTS work the Korean food booth at Larchmont Charter School’s World Fair.

BRIGHT colors adorn the LCS Mexican food booth.

served up a delicious buffet of short ribs and gnocchi. For dessert, everyone made a quick beeline to the sundae bar. Yes, before you ask, there was hot fudge. After dinner, children and their chaperones were treated to one-on-one time with the one-and-only Santa Claus, who listened to every wish and request for Christmas morn. Of course, Supper with Santa wouldn’t be Supper with Santa without the world-famous Bob Baker Marionettes, and this year was no exception. To capture the memorable evening, there were two photo booths, as well as a professional photographer who snapped pictures of the children with Santa himself. Julie Stromberg was overheard stating what everyone was feeling: “This is the perfect event for children because they can be free and be kids!” For those of you who were unable to attend this year, never fear, the next Supper with Santa is only a short 365-ish days away! ••• The annual Larchmont Charter School World Fair celebrating the many cultures of the school took place on

Dec. 9. Food, fun, family and friends abounded as attendees strolled among the many booths set up at the school’s Fairfax Avenue campus. ••• A memorable holiday dinner took place Dec. 10 for members of the Windsor Square – Hancock Park Historical Society and their guests at the landmark Lawry’s the Prime Rib restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard. The restaurant’s Oval Room was filled to capacity with partygoers including four United States Marines who were present as the Society’s guests and who also collected the toys brought

for the Marines’ Toys for Tots campaign. As the Marines and others enjoyed their dinners, carolers circulated throughout the room, taking requests for Christmas carols. (Sadly, the carolers did not have an arrangement to allow them to sing the popular Irving Berlin song, “Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow,” that originally featured Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen in the 1954 movie, “White Christmas”!) ••• But speaking of snow, it fell on Larchmont (well, outside of DMH Aesthetics at 111 (Please turn to Page 10)

LANDMARK LAWRY’S Restaurant was the setting for 2023 Holiday Party of the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society.

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SANTA SUPPER guests Shaun Hu (left) and Leo Stromberg get ready to rumble, balloon-style.

9

Lunch & Dinner Every Day of the Year

Restaurant Hours: Mon.-Thurs. noon to midnight Fri.-Sat.-Sun. noon to 1:00 a.m. Bar open till 1:00 a.m. Mon.-Thurs. ~ 1:30 a.m. Fri. & Sat. LARCHMONT CHARTER SCHOOL’S World Fair attendees stroll among various food booths. LCS photos by Anna Anik

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(Continued from Page 8)

holiday traditions, including craft tables, ornament-making and holiday tiger eyes. Balloon animals were in high demand as Ebell member June Bilgore rallied the volunteer elves to use their creative rubber-bending energies on everything floaty. Ebell chef Tom Bellissimo

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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

SNOW surprises Larchmont Boulevard visitors outside of DMH Aesthetics early in December.

WINDSOR SQUARE residents Danielle and Himesh Pathmanathan with their dog, Chloe, get their photo taken with Santa Paws and Mrs. Claws.

HONEY AND MINNIE of Larchmont Village enjoy the snow at Tailwaggers’ Santa Paws event.

with the club’s “Give a Gift to Santa” program that gathered up toys for the Salvation Army to share with needy children in Southern California communities. ••• A mid-month gathering of friends and neighbors in Hancock Park found people ringing in the holidays with delicious food and drink at a happy conclave peppered with lively conversation. The Dec. 17 party was poolside; it is Los Angeles, after all. Mary and Kevin O’Connell caught up with fellow Hancock Park residents Sally Keller, Susana and Peter Funsten, Carlotta Keely and Judge Skip Byrne, along with Windsor Square denizens Tom and Terry Kneafsey and Judith Miller. Mary O’Connell’s artist brother, Peter Adams, was there from Pasadena. (Mary’s husband, Kevin, is host Michael O’Connell’s brother. Michael gave all credit for the outstanding party organizing to his bride, Margo.) A seemingly endless array of unusual and

tasty canapés was presented by Chef Alex Manos of Gourmaze catering. Enjoying those and visiting with many friends in attendance was Marlborough’s former Head of School, Barbara Wagner. The scene

was festive, and several people said they were glad to be sharing family and holiday news in person and not just via Zoom. ••• And now you’re in the Larchmont know!

LADIES IN RED ringing in the holidays are Margo O’Connell, Susana Funsten and Barbara Wagner.

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and Mrs. Claws posed with patrons and their pets while holiday booths distributed complimentary pet treats. The event, featuring real snow and VISITORS and their dogs play benefitting The Tailwaggers as snow fills the Tailwaggers’ Foundation, was well attendparking lot on Dec. 3. ed by pets and people alike. A week later, there was Around the Town more real snow on which to (Continued from Page 9) play, plus hills of the chilly N. Larchmont Blvd. one eve- stuff down which to slide, ning) and was on the ground in the parking lot of Larchon Dec. 2 in the Tailwaggers mont’s Page Academy. That parking lot, where Santa Paws snow-centric family event was organized on Dec. 10 by Wilshire Rotary as a gift to the community in connection

SANTA greets fourth graders from St. Brendan School while collecting toys for children in Los Angeles during the Rotary event.

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FAMILIES enjoy playing in the snow in Page Academy’s parking lot.


Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

SECTION TWO

11

Blame Monopoly game’s Pennybags for theater, arts demise ’Twas the month before Christmas, when all through L.A., there were versions of “Nutcracker” to whisk you away. There were “Christmas Carols” and a musical “Christmas Story” too, but bah, humbug! There were none to review! This, dear reader, may be my lament for 2024. With constrained budgets, decreasing season subscribers, and donors turning their attention and wallets from the arts to social justice causes and political campaigns, “runs” for most shows in the new year have shrunk from six or eight weeks to three or four — often not long enough to make the deadline for this paper. I shall get to some of the upcoming productions that I think will be worth seeing (whether I can review them or not) in a moment, but I want to share a recent interview I came across while prepping this column that speaks to the above malaise. Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, lamenting the decline of donor support for the arts, said in a recent interview [Slipped Disc, Dec. 12, 2023] that, “The triple-digit billionaires are not so much interested in the arts,” as they once were. “They

don’t understand the arts as well as we wish they did.” First, I’m glad there are triple-digit billionaires who are interested in more than just putting themselves in space, but… Whose fault is this? The list of contributors to art’s demise is nearly endless, from the loss of arts education in schools to our celebrity culture, to entertainment conglomerates that play to the broadest demographic. (I mean, would it kill the Grammys to air two minutes of the winning classical music release on TV?) Mr. Gelb points his indicting finger at himself and his fellow arts administrators: “Everyone was asleep at the wheel for the second half of the 20th century.” “Everyone,” it seems, came under the thrall of his or her own Milburn Pennybags, the Monopoly capitalist. The big donor, whether individual, corporate or foundation, had to be wooed, even to the detriment of the audience, which found itself increasingly priced out of concerts and plays, and worse, left with the feeling that the arts, in this country at least, were a luxury one could do without. When Milburn asked why people weren’t coming to the theater

Theater Review by

Louis Fantasia with his name above the marquee, management shrugged and doors closed. Some permanently. There is hope, but, as in politics, it has to happen at the grassroots level: Make sure your local schools (public and private) maintain active arts programs; get off the couch, fight the traffic, and GO to a live play or concert; and then, engage with your local venues — large and small — by telling them what you liked or didn’t, and why. It’s your theater. You don’t need me — just don’t tell my editor!!

What to watch for

MacArthur Fellow Samuel D. Hunter’s family drama, “A Permanent Image,” runs at Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice through Jan. 14: 310-822-8392; pacificresidenttheatre.org. The Pantages hosts “MJ: The Musical,” the Tony Award-winning tale of Jackson’s 1992 “Dangerous World” tour, through Jan. 28. 323-468-1770; hollywoodpantages.com. The Geffen premieres “POTUS,” Selina Fillinger’s comedy about seven women who clean up the mess of their commander in chief. Jan. 17 - Feb. 18. 310208.2028; geffenplayhouse.org. The Pasadena Playhouse brings comedian Kate Berlant’s one-woman show about secrets and self-discovery to town. Jan. 17 - Feb. 11. 626-356-7529; pasadenaplayhouse.org. The Ahmanson presents Matthew Bourne’s intense ballet retelling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” with music by Prokofiev. Jan. 28 - Feb. 25. 213-628-2772; www.centertheatregroup.org. The Fountain Theater presents the world premiere of “Fatherland,” written and directed by Stephen Sachs; story compiled from public records and court transcripts about the 19-year-old who turned his father in to the FBI for participating in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Feb. 22 - March 30. 323-663-1525; fountaintheatre.com.

Legendary jazz musician to play at Wilshire Ebell Jazz musician Bennie Maupin will perform at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Fri., Jan. 9, as part of a monthlong celebration of Black History Month. The saxophonist and clarinetist and his ensemble will

celebrate the 50th anniversary of Maupin’s album “The Jewel in the Lotus.” The recording was made in collaboration with Herbie Hancock and Buster Williams. Maupin is also known for his atmospheric bass clarinet,

Local students twirled in ‘Nutcracker’

By Suzan Filipek Local students danced the roles of the Snow Queen and Russian and Chinese dancers, among other favorites, in last month’s 50th anniversary performance of Westside Ballet’s “The Nutcracker.” The students who twirled on stage were: Jenne Shim, 11th grade, and Elle Shim and Mila Bakhshandehpour, both ninth graders at Marlborough. Dancer Lux

Saevitz is a fifth grader at St. James. If you missed the sold-out “Nutcracker” at the Eli and Edyth Broad Stage, the Westside Ballet of Santa Monica’s Spring Showcase — “Masters of Movement: Ballet through the Centuries” — is from May 17 to 18, 2024. Enrollment is open for all ages and levels at the school. For more information, visit westsideballet.com.

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playing in collaborations with Miles Davis as well as with Hancock and other jazz luminaries. The Wilshire Ebell Theater is at 4401 W. 8th St. Tickets are $40; members pay $30. Visit ebellofla.org.

Seeking Vacation & Valentine Tales!

DANCERS (left to right) Elle Shim, Mila Bakhshandehpour, Jenne Shim and Lux Saevitz. Photo: Sarah Madison Photography

Two special features — Valentines and Vacation Planning — will be highlighted in our February issue. Write to us about your trips near and far. And, Valentines, tell us how you met. Send 200 words or less for either subject and photos to suzan@ larchmontchronicle.com. Deadline is Mon., Jan. 8.


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Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

Bumpy ‘Race’; ‘Reacher’ captivates; Dumas’ tale is back At the Movies with

Tony Medley the political obstacles he had to overcome. It’s not the best auto racing movie I’ve seen, but it’s reasonably entertaining. It ends, however, with the graphic that reads, “…the content has been freely reworked by the imagination of the authors, the description of the events and characters involved have been dramatized, and some characters and events contained in the film have been created for narrative needs. The film cannot be considered a faithful description of the facts.” In other words, it’s mostly

fiction, probably like the scene in which Röhrl stops racing in the middle of an event to buy some honey, which is, to the film’s discredit, not explained. Reacher (7/10): Eight 49-minute episodes. TV-MA. Amazon Prime. This is the second installment of Lee Child’s “Reacher” series starring Alan Ritchson. This one is based on Child’s novel “Bad Luck and Trouble.” Like the first installment, Ritchson captures Reacher perfectly, and the story is involving, as someone is killing all the members of Reacher’s old army crew, and Reacher and his remaining crew are out to solve the problem, as they are all targets. Unfortunately, the casting of Maria Sten as the female lead greatly diminishes the enjoyment because whenever she mutters a line, it’s akin to running finger-

nails across a blackboard. Other than that, though, it’s a worthwhile watch. The Three Musketeers Part 1: D’Artagnan (7/10): 121 minutes. NR. Prime Video. This telling of Alexandre Dumas’ familiar tale is as good as Gene Kelly’s 1948 film, and that’s saying a lot. In French. Freud’s Last Session (6/10): 109 minutes. PG13. Atheist Sigmund Freud (Anthony Hopkins) committed suicide in 1939. Shortly before, he was visited by an unknown Oxford don (Matthew Goode). This totally fictional film presupposes that that don was author and theologian C. S. Lewis. and that they had monumental conversations about their divergent views. Alas, their conversations in this film are far from edifying. Rather, it (Please turn to Page 14)

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Audi’s four-wheel drive with its lighter but less maneuverable rear-wheel drive mid-engine Lancia 037. The driving force behind Lancia’s effort was Cesare Florio (Riccardo Scamarcio). And he placed his bets on his reluctant driver, Walter Röhrl (Volker Bruch), who did not want to participate in every event because he had already won a driver’s championship and wasn’t interested in winning another. Directed by Stefano Mordini from a screenplay by Mordini, Filippo Bologna and Scamarcio, there are not a lot of racing scenes, but among those that are shown are shots of side-by-side racing, which does not occur in rally events. The film concentrates instead on Florio’s difficult quest to win the rally with a rear-wheel drive car and all

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Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia (7/10): 108 minutes. R. Almost at the outset of this film about the battle between Audi and Lancia in the 1983 World Rally Championship, there is a statement that Americans generally don’t understand the rally competition, and it leaves it there. That is true. But this film would have been a lot better if it had taken a minute to explain how rallies work. Since the film doesn’t do it, I will. A “season” consists of 13 events of three- and four-day drives in various locations and in various driving conditions. The cars are timed against the clock and do not race face-to-face, so to speak. Had this been explained, the movie would be much more comprehensible to American audiences. In 1983, Lancia challenged


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JANUARY 2024

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Games over!

Speaking of the fall soccer season, Kurt Muller, regional commissioner, AYSO Region 78 Hollywood-Wilshire, told us, “We successfully concluded [in mid-December] the championship games at Fairfax High.” “Our Fall Season is powered by volunteers (mostly parents) and includes kids ages 4-18,” he added.

BOYS 10U: Fantas orange team, with coaches Ian Broucek and Jason George, won the champion game over the Raptors with coach Jonathan Kalinski.

GIRLS 10U: Highlighters green team, with coach Andy Hekimian, won the championship game over the Fireballs orange team, coached by Bradley Zimring and Ben Coyle.

BOYS 12U: Blunicorns blue team, with coaches Ross Klein and Josh Pineda, won the championship game over the Maroon Boys, led by coaches Sung Park and JP Finkelstein.

GIRLS 12U: Blackouts red team, with coaches Michael Wright and Cesar Cervera, won the championship game over the Swifties blue team, with coaches Kent Bailey and Scott Thomas.

Sign up for girls’ softball

Girl Scout cookie sales start online this month

Girl Scout cookie sales start as soon as Tues., Jan. 16 with digital orders. Booth sales begin Fri., Feb. 9. Visit girlscoutsla.org.

Help sort, pack winter clothes with Big Sunday on MLK holiday Volunteers are needed to help sort, pack and give away lots of warm clothing for struggling people on the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Big Sunday’s 12th annual MLK Day Clothing Drive and Community Breakfast is on Mon., Jan. 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 42nd St. Elementary School in Leimert Park.

Big Sunday is based on Melrose Avenue and headed by Founder David Levinson, of Hancock Park. In addition to helping pack and sort 2,024 bags of clothing, a photo, mosaic and beautification project at 42nd Street Elementary will take place that day. All ages are welcome.

To volunteer, start a clothing collection, donate or become a sponsor, go to bigsunday.org. Potential

sponsors can also contact berenice@bigsunday. org Additional questions, write to info@bigsunday.org.

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Registration for the spring season of the Wilshire Wildcats girls’ softball league is through Sun., Dec. 31. Late registration is through Mon., Jan. 22. The season runs from Jan. 22. to Sun., May 12. Practice is weekly at Lemon Grove Recreation Center. The program offers three divisions: 8 and under, 10U and 12U/Regular registration fee is $195; late registration cost is $225. Visit wilshiresoftball.com.


14 SECTION TWO

Landmark

(Continued from Page 6) them yearly on the anniversary at the booth where they sat that fateful night. In a scene worthy of an old-time comedy two-reeler, two men drinking at the bar at George Petrelli’s Steak House in Culver City just weeks before Christmas in 1954 pulled out guns and robbed the restaurant of $3,612, a bottle of scotch and the drinks they were in the process of imbibing, all while one complained that the steaks they had eaten earlier were too expensive, while the

At the Movies

(Continued from Page 12) deals more with Freud’s anger and selfish relationship with his lesbian daughter Anna (Lisa Fries) who became a renowned psychoanalyst. Creating this film was a dubious idea, poorly executed despite fine acting by Hopkins and Fries.

Larchmont Chronicle

JANUARY 2024

other defended the price, noting that for $15 they had had three steaks and wine. Author George Geary discovered his culinary passion when he was 12 and helping a political campaign by handwriting address labels for them. He was paid 25 cents and given lunch at Philippe the Original, which impressed him greatly. “This place is magical!” he thought at the time. “There’s sawdust on the floor!” Recently named Culinary Educator of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Geary

has been a pastry chef for the Walt Disney Company, created all the cheesecakes for “The Golden Girls” series, consulted or judged such television shows as “Hell’s Kitchen” and “The Taste” with Anthony Bourdain, taught cooking classes aboard Holland America Lines and has written nine cookbooks. This delicious history sounds like a sweet deal, but his foray into the world of competitive cooking went sour. When Geary was the culinary coordinator of food contests for the Los Angeles County Fair, he needed a

The Bricklayer (5/10): 100 minutes. R. A 21st-century formulaic thriller that epitomizes the nonsense foisted upon us by today’s moviemakers. It has brutal fights, unrealistic gun battles galore, silly car chases and a story that defies logic and reason. Here’s a sample of the dialogue: Kate (Nina Dobrev): “I froze

OLYMPIC WILSHIRE … You coulda been killed.” DIVISION DIVISION Fail (Aaron Eckhart): “It wouldn’t be the first time.” Furnished by Furnished by Hardly “Casablanca.” In Senior Senior accordance with today’s forLead Officer Lead Officer mulae, most of the heroes’ Dave Cordova dialogue is spoken in what Joseph Pelayo appear to be whispers. I’m 213-793-0709 213-793-0650 not sure why this has become 31646@lapd.online 31762@lapd.online the method of choice, but it is Twitter: @lapdwilshire Twitter: @lapdolympic irritating like the rest of the Information for Police Beat was unavailable by presstime. movie.

bodyguard after his life was threatened twice. Once a husband showed up late to the fair with his wife’s entry and harassed Geary when he wouldn’t accept her dish after the judging started. Police later told him his car might have been tampered with. Another time, the mortician spouse of a contestant menacingly measured Geary “Just in case.” Ever the fan of culinary and restaurant history, George Geary says, “I write about

them because I love what I do and want other people to love what I love.” Asked which new restaurants will be landmarks tomorrow, he sighed, “They don’t last the way they did in the past. More conglomerates and investment companies are backers. We don’t see families opening a restaurant and multi-generational families running it any more” The 272-page hardcover book is published by Santa Monica Press and sells for $50.

POLICE BEAT

School mock trial team wins first place in county championship

LOCAL Olive Gruber acted as courtroom artist in the mock trial competition.

have practiced since August. Coaches provided outlines of scripts for students to revise and make their own. But, the competitors did not know what the other team would ask during direct examinations, and they were required to think on their feet and formulate responses.

IMMACULATE HEART middle schoolers celebrate their victory in the 46th annual Los Angeles County Junior Division Mock Trial competition.

Students learn a great deal about the legal system, gain

confidence, practice teamwork and develop critical thinking and public speaking skills while preparing and competing, said faculty moderator Carolyn Polchow. This is the second year in a row that Immaculate

Heart’s team has reached the finals. Olive Gruber of Sycamore Square, an eighth grader, participated and also received a third-place award for her work as a courtroom artist in the mock trial competition.

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By Casey Russell At the 46th annual Los Angeles County Mock Trial competition on Dec. 4, Immaculate Heart Middle School took first place and was named the Junior Division champion team. The mock trial program brings together more than 2,500 middle and high school students for an academic competition. With assistance from volunteer attorneys, a hypothetical case is studied and researched by teams. Participants then simulate a trial and act as lawyers, clerks, witnesses, bailiffs, journalists and courtroom artists. This year’s final mock trials took place at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner Gabriella Shapiro was presiding judge. Immaculate Heart students


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Love or hate them, mice and their kin are almost everywhere Fun fact: rodents are everywhere. Love them or hate them, members of the order Rodentia — derived from the Latin rodere, meaning “to gnaw” — make up 40 percent of all mammal species and exist in almost every land mass in the world. Despite some bad press (see The Black Death), we welcome them into our homes as pets and into our collective consciousness through characters in literature and cinema. From Jerry (“Tom and Jerry,” 1940) and Templeton (“Charlotte’s Web,” 1952) to Remy (“Ratatouille,” 2007) and Skrat (“Ice Age,” 2002), not to mention the most beloved cartoon character of all time, Mickey Mouse, there’s something about these critters we can’t seem to get enough of. (For an insightful read on the prevalence of anthropomorphized rodents in film, see tinyurl. com/4e6c9wj4.) The order’s largest species is the capybara, a native of South America that can grow in size up to 145 pounds. Capybaras live in densely forested areas and are expert swimmers that can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes at a time. Curiously shaped with beautiful, almost pensive, almond-shaped eyes, the capybara gets its name from a now extinct language spoken by the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil. The Tupi name, ka’apiûara, combines the words kaá, meaning “leaf,” píi, or “slender” and ú, which translates to “eat,” to form the meaning “one who eats slender leaves.” The scientific name for this golden retriever-sized rodent, hydrochaeris, takes a different route, translating to “water pig” in Greek. The capybara isn’t the only rodent whose name relates to swine. The porcupine is a large rodent with a conspicu-

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ous security system — a coat of sharp quills that wards off predators, making it the rodent with the longest lifespan. The porcupine’s Old French name, porc-espin, comes from the Latin porcus, meaning “hog,” and spina, or “thorn.” The name origin of the guinea pig is a subject of debate, but its scientific name, porcellus, translates in Latin to “little pig.” Despite its name, the etymology of “hamster” has no relation to pork, ham or pigs. Instead, its name origins translate literally to “hamster” as far back as linguists have been able to trace. The beaver is the second largest living rodent and one of nature’s most prolific engineers, known for its sophisticated system of dams and lodges that provide shelter and defend against predators like bears and wolves. It’s the fearsome bear that shares a common name ancestor with the beaver — the Proto-Indo-European root bher, meaning “brown.” The bear was named euphemistically after the color of its fur due to fear of speaking its name aloud (see “Word Café,” August 2023), but beavers, with their razor-sharp incisors, may have also been of concern. Beavers are known to be extremely aggressive when defending their territory, and, in 2013, a fisherman in Belarus was fatally injured by a beaver when he tried to take a photo with the animal. In the Isle of Man, it’s the rat’s name that is feared most. The residents of this island territory in the Irish Sea instead opt for “longtail” or “r-a-t” to describe this common rodent. It’s a word taboo originating in the 17th century, when Sir Methadonia Athol was due to be awarded a knighthood. Stepping off the boat in England to receive his honor from Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Methadonia tripped on a rat and broke his nose. Under ancient Manx law, no man with a facial dis-

Word Café by

Mara Fisher figurement was allowed to be a ruling member of the nobility, so he was forced to step down and hand the Dukedom to his eldest son, Tastingio. Since then, the rat has been symbolic of bad luck, and it’s not uncommon for Manxmen and Manxwomen to knock on wood or whistle after saying its name — if they must. Closer to home, squirrels are the rodents that reign supreme. Scurrying up trees, darting across lawns and perhaps even decimating

your edible garden, squirrels — and more specifically the Eastern fox squirrel — are for most Angelenos part of the scenery. But, like our city’s postcard-ready palm trees, they were introduced from elsewhere. The story goes that in the late 19th century, a large population of aging Civil War veterans from the eastern half of the country came to Southern California to settle at the Sawtelle Veterans Home, now the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center. These veterans brought with them their pet fox squirrels, which are native to the southern states. These pets lived off table scraps until 1904, when VA administrators forced the vets to release their trusty companions, citing the reasoning that government

resources shouldn’t be used to feed the animals. By the 1930s, the population had reached the citrus orchards of the Valley, and they’ve since spread well beyond the boundaries of the city. Based on its name, it would seem the squirrel was designed to withstand the California sun. The word “squirrel” — and the name of the genus it belongs to, Sciurus — traces its roots to the Greek skia, meaning “shadow,” and oura, or “tail,” named for the rodent’s ability to shade itself with its fluffy posterior. So whether a rodent is friend or foe — or, as is the case for my pet ball python, food — we honor these “gnaw”-ers large and small, destructive and disease-ridden... and cute and cuddly.

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JANUARY 2024

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