LC 03 2021

Larchmont Chronicle

VOL. 59, NO. 3

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

IN THIS ISSUE

MARCH 2021

Hope offered at Hope on Alvarado

n Pioneer project to open

SECTION THREE

VACCINES are here. 3

By Suzan Filipek A pioneer project of modular housing, created to help alleviate the city’s chronic homeless crisis, was unveiled last month at Hope on Alvarado, 166 S. Alvarado St. With construction noise in the background, the site’s design-and-build team introduced the 84-unit permanent supportive housing project via Zoom. The Case Study & Site Tour was hosted by ULI (Urban Land Institute) Los Angeles with 117 in attendance.

It was a major team effort, Mark Oberholzer, associate principal at KTGY Architecture + Planning, said of the five-story apartment building constructed around a central courtyard.

Privately funded, Hope on Alvarado is fully leased and See Hope, p 10

DEVELOPMENT is sky high in Mile. 3-3

GIORGIO, longtime resident in the neighborhood.

LACMA exhibits are ready, waiting.

3-10 For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11 Mailing permit:

Are you a NIMBY? Take the quiz

Guest Columnist Marilyn Wells explores assumptions about homelessness in our personal “Not In My Backyard,” or NIMBY, assumptions. Read her first of six columns on page 3 in Sec. 2.

Summer Camps & Programs

Read our annual list of spring and summer camp offerings, activities and school programs in the April issue of the Larchmont Chronicle. Advertising deadline is Mon., April 12. For more information contact Pam Rudy, 323-462-2241, ext. 11.

LOUISE’S, in Larchmont Village, is among local restaurants offering casual dining-in-the-street.

Spring brings hope to the Boulevard n Larchmont adds more outdoor dining, posters for spring; no sidewalk sale

By Billy Taylor With spring’s arrival this month, Larchmont Village is eager to leave the worst of the pandemic behind with new historic photo posters displayed in storefronts, new shops to open, and the return of outdoor dining. Not to mention Village Heights is celebrating its 15th anniversary on Larchmont!

Here’s what’s happening on the Boulevard.

Sidewalk Sale cancelled For the first time in many years, the Larchmont Boulevard Association (LBA) has cancelled its annual spring Sidewalk Sale for the Larchmont shopping district. Among the reasons for the cancellation are that there are fewer retail merchants currently operating on the Boulevard because of empty storefronts and construction, as well as a lack of sidewalk space due to that construction, according to John Winther, president of the LBA.

Historic Larchmont posters Despite the news above, residents still have a reason to visit Larchmont: The first in a series of historic photo posters went up last month in the windows of two local storefronts as part of this year’s celebration of Larchmont’s centennial anniversary. The

LBA is working on plans for a big celebration in the fall.

The poster project, spearheaded by author Patty Lombard, is printing poster-size photos from her book “Larchmont,” a pictorial history of the street, published in 2015

by Arcadia Press. To the extent See Larchmont, p 6

Joane Pickett Larchmont is was more than going to the dogs (and cats) a friendly face n Tailwaggers to open in Flywheel spot

n Pickett Fences closes after 27 years on Blvd.

By Sondi Toll Sepenuk Every dog has its day, and the dogs and cats of Larchmont will get their lucky day in March. That’s when Tailwaggers, the locally-owned small business of former Brookside resident Todd Warner, will open its doors in the See Tailwaggers, p 8

By Sondi Toll Sepenuk To say that closing her beloved Larchmont Boulevard store of 27 years, Pickett Fences, was completely traumatizing, would be the understatement of the year. But that is what happened, and this is where we are.

See Joane Pickett, p 11

Register by March 9 to vote by mail for GWNC directors

By John Welborne Registration for the March 2021 Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council (GWNC) election has begun. Apply online at: tinyurl.com/y6tmcgzt You must set up an account to sign in and then complete your application to have your ballot mailed to you. “By mail” is the only way to vote (although you may drop your completed ballot in the ballot drop box in front of the John C. Fremont Library, 6121 Melrose Ave., between 9 a.m. on Fri., March 12 and 8 p.m. on Tues., March 16. Ballots postmarked by March 16 also will

be counted.

This hyper-local election is entirely independent of Los Angeles County voter registration. Even if you have been registered to vote in Los Angeles all of your life, you will not be registered to vote in this important Neighborhood Council election unless you do so now.

March 9 The absolute deadline to register and request a ballot is Tues., March 9. GWNC leaders have been relating horror stories of the challenges potential voters are encountering in obtaining their proper two ballots. Yes, if you live, work

or own property in Greater Wilshire you get to vote in two categories: your geographic See GWNC, p 2

www.larchmontchronicle.com ~ Entire Issue Online!

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

Editorial

Calendar

By John Welborne

Thank you. Register and vote. Son of SB 50?

Good news! The Larchmont Chronicle is going to continue being around, despite COVID-19 and the vagaries of the newspaper business! Why? Because of you, our readers. “Thank you” to so many of you who have responded with the envelopes inserted in last month’s issue. That really does help our little operation, now in its 59th year serving our neighborhoods.

The following item and the one after are included in this editorial for a simple reason. If, in the future, you are wondering why things are not as you would like in your neighborhood, or you wonder why there are changes on your block negatively impacting your quality of life, you will not be able to say that the Larchmont Chronicle did not warn you.

First, it really is important to vote in the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council election. See Page 1 story.

Second, there really is a threat to your quality of life. The dictatorial takeover that is being proposed in Sacramento is designed to benefit moneyed real estate interests and will not create substantial affordable housing, desperately needed. See columnist Brian Curran’s report on the latest Senate Bills on Page 2 of Section 2.

Now that you are warned, please register and vote, and please take action to prevent adoption of the bad bills and the ugly bills.

Tues., March 9 – Deadline to register and request Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council ballots. See story on Page 1.

Wed., March 10 – Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council board meeting via Zoom, 7 to 9 p.m. Check greaterwilshire.org to confirm and for login.

Sun., March 14 – Daylight Savings begins at 2 a.m.; turn your clock forward one hour.

Tues., March 16 – Deadline for receipt of Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council election ballots. See greaterwilshire.org/2021-elections.

Wed., March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day. Sat., March 20 – First day of spring.

Sat., March 27 – Passover.

Thurs., April 1 – Delivery

So moved and grateful for the Giorgio article [Feb. 2021], told with humanity.

Linda Lack Ph.D. Windsor Square

Remembering Chickie Byrne and Neighborhood Council Elections Hancock Park and the Association mourn the recent passing of former HPHOA president and founding Board member Marguerite “Chickie” Byrne. As a founding member of the HPOHA and a former president, Chickie was instrumental in initiating the installation of our historic street lamps, in starting the effort to establish an HPOZ and in stopping the Beverly Hills Freeway which would have destroyed Hancock Park.

Chickie was also an important part of the ongoing parkway tree restoration and planting, and she helped implement traffic mitigation measures. Chickie was the mother of six children and the beloved wife and partner of her husband, retired Judge Richard “Skip” Byrne. Chickie was a block captain and mentor to many people in Hancock Park as well in the larger LA and California community. She knew how to enlist her friends and neighbors in efforts to better our community, and her kindness, warmth and friendship will be remembered and treasured by all who knew her.

The elections for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council will be held, virtually, on March 16th. All stakeholders, which include Hancock Park residents, can vote, and it’s critically important that we do. Your neighborhood council works with the City to manage growth and development, mitigate traffic, deal with issues such as homelessness and security. You’ll need to request a ballot, so follow the instructions on our website at tinyurl.com/47jq2tfd . Please request your ballot before March 9th!

Join us on Monday, March 15th, for a Zoom meeting with our new Councilperson, Nithya Raman. Details will be sent via email and be available on the Assocation website. Parkway tree planting is continuing so, if you need a tree, contact us via the website, and remember to pay your dues. Dues pay for trees and so many other things that make Hancock Park beautiful. o o o If you’re planning to make any changes to the street-visible portion of your house, including hardscaping and windows, check with our HPOZ Planner Suki Gershenhorn (suki. gershenhorn@lacity.org) before starting. The Preservation Plan, which regulates our HPOZ, is at preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/ la/hancock-park. There is also an online form you can fill out to help speed up the process — the Initial Screening Checklist (preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist). Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System: laocb.org/programs/graffiti-abatement and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180.

Adv.

That’s the question inquiring photographer Talia Abrahamson asked locals along Larchmont Blvd.

of the April issue of the Larchmont Chronicle.

Thurs., April 1 – April Fool’s Day (not George Takei’s birthday).

Sun., April 4 – Easter.

Letters to the Editor ‘Giorgio, homeless’

‘A special lady’

I was just reading your February edition and was very saddened to hear that Chickie Byrne has passed away. What a special lady. I hadn’t chatted with her in a while but she was always lovely and helpful when I did. Condolences to her family.

Barbara Zawlocki Hancock Park

Subscription love notes

Keep up the fantastic work!

Marlene Zweig Hudson Ave.

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

.

Publisher and Editor John H. Welborne Managing Editor Suzan Filipek Associate Editor Billy Taylor Contributing Editor Jane Gilman Staff Writers Talia Abrahamson Helene Seifer Advertising Director Pam Rudy Advertising Sales Caroline Tracy Art Director Tom Hofer Classified and Circulation Manager Rachel Olivier Accounting Jill Miyamoto 606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103

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

‘What are you most looking forward to this spring?’

“Maybe going back to school after COVID.” Stella Kazanjian Windsor Square “Probably same, just looking forward to hopefully going back to school, if that happens.”

Mahlete Feuilladieu “Spring is kitten season, so I’m excited to foster kittens.”

Sarah Higgins Windsor Square

Keep up the good work!

William and Jennifer Fain Windsor Blvd.

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.

GWNC

(Continued from page 1) area and one special interest category. Otherwise, if you are a stakeholder because of your involvement in one of the special interest categories (other than renter, where you obviously live in the area) you only get one ballot. The special interest categories, in addition to Renter, are Business, Education, Religion, Other Nonprofit, and “At Large” (if you are a stakeholder with no other specific connection to the area).

Application instructions The City Clerk’s Office (manager of this election) has multiple fact sheets and information pages on its website, such as: tinyurl.com/t2vv58f7 . Also, GWNC has prepared a helpful four-minute YouTube video: youtu.be/RMJ7-HLT7bI .

Candidate statements Some of the 44 volunteer neighbors who have stepped up to be candidates have posted candidate statements at tinyurl. com/y63uu8f8 — where you must select “Greater Wilshire” on the pull-down menu.

As noted, neighbors are encountering challenges in using the City’s system, so do not be unduly alarmed if you also have problems. For help, please contact GWNC elections chair Brian Curran via e-mail (atlargealt@greaterwilshire. org) or try the City Clerk’s office at 213-978-0444 (and ask for helpful vote-be-mail staff members Michael Lektorich or Lanee Basulto).

“Spending more times safely outdoors with the weather.”

Ash Haas (right) Fairfax “She basically took the same thing, just being outside more. Being more involved with outside, instead of being confined inside.”

Aaron Schwartz

“I am most looking forward to the weather, I would say, for one. Probably hanging out with family, and living life.”

Becca Lightrake Windsor Square “It’s hard to say what will be different then because we don’t know, but just the weather and having that spring feeling.”

Nora Jacobs Hancock Park

“This spring, hopefully a little more freedom, a little less people dying. I’m looking forward to a vaccination. I’m looking forward to everything opening up and being beautiful again.”

Faith Martin Oakwood/Maplewood/ St. Andrews

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

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Residents are in the pink at Belmont Village with full vaccination

By Suzan Filipek Mary Anne Haas, 94, is among the 100 percent of residents at Belmont Village Hollywood Hills who have been vaccinated.

BELMONT Executive Director Allyson Young shared education on the virus beforehand.

But earlier, she tested positive during the senior living site’s regular testing and, although she was asymptomatic, she was quarantined for two weeks.

After being sequestered in her room for 14 days, and get-

ting her two Pfizer shots, she was eager to have her pink locks touched up, and now she is ready to celebrate her 95th birthday on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.

While most of the 100 residents at Belmont Village wanted to get the vaccine, there was one hold-out, said Allyson Young, executive director at the residence, located at 2051 N. Highland Ave. “He wasn’t sure, but after he saw nobody’s arm fell off after the first vaccine, that’s when we got the 100 percent.”

Three pharmacists from Walgreens went door-to-door to meet with the residents and also vaccinated the Belmont staff. The doses were administered on three occasions, with the second, and final, shots given in early February.

Education on the virus was shared with the residents and staff beforehand, and it was

explained that the vaccine was not only for their protection but also for their families, said Young.

“They’re still not giving

hugs… but it’s been a relief” to have protection from the coronavirus.

One resident, who is 102, was a baby during the Span-

ish flu and remembers hearing about it as a child. But she never thought another pandemic would happen in her lifetime, added Young.

DOCTORS AT WORK: Volunteer Val Ulene, M.D. (Windsor Square, holding February Larchmont Chronicle) and Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D. (Los Angeles County Public Health Director) assist with expediting the very efficient drive-thru COVID-19 inoculations at The Forum Feb. 6, with the new SoFi Stadium in the background.

SECTION ONE

SO LONG.

Congratulations

1

ON YOUR ENGAGEMENT!

AROUND THE TOWN 4 COUNCIL REPORT 7 SCHOOL NEWS 12

SECTION TWO VIEW:

Real Estate Libraries, Museums Home & Garden

DIVORCE ’30s style.

15

ON PRESERVATION 2 THE NIMBY DIARIES 3 YOUTH SPORTS 9 REAL ESTATE SALES 10 AT THE MOVIES 11 THEATER 13 MUSEUM ROW 14 LIBRARIES 16 HOME GROUND 17 POLICE BEAT 18 POKER FOR ALL 19 BEEZWAX 19 CLASSIFIED ADS 19

SECTION THREE MIRACLE MILE On the Menu

1-24 20

CELEBRATE LOVE AND YOUR

HAPPILY 3 51 N. B E V E R LY D R |

AFTER

WI T H G E A RY S B E V E R LY H I L L S

G E A R Y S .CO M

| 310-273-4741

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

Las Madrinas helps hospital in pandemic Las Madrinas is a group of women whose founder members came together in 1933 to raise needed funds for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) during the Great Depression. The name they chose means “The Godmothers” in Spanish. Over nearly nine decades, the ladies have raised more than $30 million for CHLA. This year’s annual meeting of the group was held virtually, of course. The current president, Kelly Rouse, on behalf of the members of Las Madrinas, presented to Dr. Mark Krieger, the hospital’s Sur-

geon-in-Chief and Director of the Neurological Institute, a major contribution for The Las Madrinas Endowment for the Chief of Neurology Chair and the Neurological Institute Epilepsy Program.

Also participating were the incoming president, Kristin Harrison, and Bonnie McClure, the chair of the CHLA Associates and Affiliates groups, which include Las Madrinas. New Las Madrinas board members and new members were announced. The endowment funds were raised this year despite the postponement of the group’s annual major

Thank You

for supporting our Larchmont businesses!

fundraising event, its debutante ball. The 2020 and 2021 balls will be consolidated this coming December.

Dr. Skaggs moves to Cedars-Sinai

Windsor Square neighbor, Dr. David L. Skaggs, has just been named the co-director of the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center, director of pediatric orthopedics, and executive vice chair of the Department of Orthopedics at Cedars-Sinai.

Dr. Skaggs leaves Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where he has been on staff since 1995 and chief of orthopedic surgery since 2011.

A world-renowned expert in the treatment of children with spinal deformity, Dr. Skaggs also holds a master’s degree in medical management from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. He is a Professor with Tenure at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.

At Cedars-Sinai, beginning this month, Dr. Skaggs will help lead the Spine Center and develop the hospital’s pediatric orthopedics program.

LARCHMONT BOULEVARD ASSOCIATION Representing businesses from 1st Street to Melrose

www.LARCHMONT.com

©LC0321

“An oasis in the city”

DR. DAVID SKAGGS

HOSPITAL GIFT for neurology was announced by three Children’s Hospital Los Angeles volunteers, from left, Mmes. Kristin Harrison, Bonnie McClure and Kelly Rouse. The happy recipient is Dr. Mark Krieger, the hospital’s surgeon-in-chief and director of the Neurological Institute.

Civil Rights activist honored at Look What She Did event March 7

Look What She Did (LWSD), a nonprofit organization founded by Brookside resident Julie Hébert, will be hav-

International film festival goes virtual this year

The Los Angeles Harbor International Film Festival embarks on its 18th year with an online presentation and program Thurs., March 11 through Sun., March 14.

The virtual film festival will include free movies such as Disney Pictures’ “Pollyanna” (1960) Thurs., March 11 at 10:30 a.m., as well as several short films Sat., March 14 at noon.

Other movies, such as “Phantom of the Opera,” (1943) can be viewed for a fee.

This year’s festival commemorates the Warner Grand Theatre’s 90th anniversary and is dedicated to the late Councilman Tom LaBonge.

For more information, visit laharborfilmfest.com.

ing a fundraiser Sun., March 7 at 1 p.m.

The virtual event will highlight the life of Dolores Huerta, a civil rights activist who, with Cesar Chavez, co-founded the National Farmworkers Association. A film on Huerta will be premiered at the event.

LWSD produces short films of trailblazing women to inspire other women and girls.

For more information, visit lookwhatshedid.com.

Around the Town with

Patty Hill

Around the Town is on a break

Larchmont Chronicle columnist Patty Hill is temporarily not out and about, and her Around the Town column is on hiatus.

-Editor

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

Thank You.

Happy National Doctors’ Day. We offer our unending gratitude to all of our physicians at PIH Health. Every day, all day, these dedicated men and women give our patients an expert, consistent, comprehensive and focused healthcare experience.

And they do it with compassion and understanding.

Thank you, doctors. From the bottom of our hearts.

PIH Health Downey Hospital PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital PIH Health Whittier Hospital PIH Health Physicians

SECTION ONE

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

Ghost kitchens are operating in the Village neighborhood

By Billy Taylor As restaurants struggle with pandemic-related restrictions to indoor dining, food delivery services have become a necessary tool for many residents.

To meet that demand, “ghost kitchens” (a cooking or preparation facility set up for food delivery only) are popping up across the city.

Locally, there are two new sources for you to consider at mealtime. A vegan Italian “restaurant experience” is available from shared kitchen space with Louise’s Trattoria on Larchmont Boulevard. A ghost kitchen preparing and a ghost kitchen serving Japanese-style sandwiches and protein bowls has taken over the kitchen at the former Le Petite Marché, located at the corner of El Centro and Melrose avenues.

Ciao Verde Italia A new vegan concept from Creative Cloud Concepts, the team behind Rooster’s Chicken House and Louise’s Trattoria, started taking online and telephone orders from its new Larchmont location on Feb. 19.

The menu boosts plantbased Italian staples like lasagna, spaghetti “meatballs,” and gnocchi, using locally sourced ingredients and “cheese” that is made in-house.

Customers can have the food delivered to their home, or opt to pick it up at 232 N. Larchmont Blvd.

Visit ciaoverdeitalia.com.

Hideout Perhaps you’ve noticed the kitchen lights on, but the dining room dark, at the former Le Petite Marché space. A small neon “Hideout” sign, discretely

hung, is the only indication that something more is going on behind closed doors.

The Chronicle contacted Hideout cofounder Brian Leung to learn more.

“Hideout is actually the umbrella company, where we’re launching multiple restaurants,” explained Leung.

Currently, customers can order from two distinct restaurant menus. The first, called “ijuu the strange beast,” is billed as a Tokyo convenience store experience, which features “sandos” (Japanese-style sandwiches) and a variety of bento boxes. The second, called “Hey

Hi Hello,” is all about serving “health and happiness” in a menu of bowls packed full of vegetables and grilled protein.

“Our goal is to bring a better dining experience and higher quality food to delivery,” says Leung, who believes that delivery should be as enjoyable as dining out.

Hideout’s kitchen is run

by Executive Chef Danielle Sobel, a former chef at West Hollywood’s Pacifique.

When asked if he plans to add indoor seating when allowable, Leung says that they “would love to add some seating for dine-in at that space” but, for

Larchmont

former Flywheel space at 147 N. Larchmont. Former Brookside resident Todd Warner is creating a one-stop-shop for all of your pet’s needs that includes space for retail, grooming and daycare. Read more on page 1.

After 27 years on Larchmont Boulevard, Pickett Fences closed its doors, at 219 N. Larchmont, in January (read more on page 1). Within a matter of days, a new pop-up shop was operating in its place. “The Optimist” is a men’s lifestyle concept from founders Joseph Miller and Larchmont resident David Fishbein. Their flagship boutique opened in 2019 at Culver City’s trendy shopping center, Platform, a development that the two men created in 2016 via their real estate company, Runyon Group. An associate at the Larchmont pop-up said they expect to be in the space for at least the next few months.

Outdoor dining returns After weeks of takeout or delivery only, restaurants in Los Angeles County once again can offer outdoor dining. On Larchmont Boulevard, several restaurants are expanding outdoor seating areas to meet demand, including Louise’s Trattoria and Vernetti, both of which have built wooden “street decks” for customers.

Sweetfin As you consider dining options on Larchmont, we hear Sweetfin Poke has launched a new line of “nutrient-rich and superfood dense” functional bowls with celebrity fitness trainer Lacey Stone. The new options include an “Immunity Bowl,” high in vitamin C and (Please turn to page 7)

(Continued from page 1) possible, the posters will be displayed in the historic image’s modern-day location.

The project will complement efforts to celebrate the Boulevard’s 100th anniversary this year with events planned by the LBA. According to Lombard, the idea for the project started with a conversation with Brookside resident Charlie Hess as the two brainstormed ways to “perk up” the shopping district at a time when vacant storefronts are multiplying.

The first display was placed in the window of the former Trina Turk location, thanks to property owner Ron Simms; a second display was placed at the former Flywheel location, thanks to new tenant Tailwaggers’ owner Todd Warner.

More historic photos are in the works to be posted in the weeks ahead.

New shops open Speaking of Tailwaggers, the retail pet store is opening a third location this month in the

hypnotistexaminers.org

Charlie Jackson Cell/Text 323.363.9010

New You Hypnotherapy 323.665.2831 ccjackson4861@gmail.com

deep

by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald First there was the “Freshman 15” then came the “Quarantine 19”. If it makes you feel any better, you’re hardly alone. In a poll by WebMD of 1,000 of their readers, 68% cop to snacking more during Covid. And unfortunately we don’t get much say in our genetic predispositions for where fat gets stored. Hang on, it gets better - as one of the few offices that offers both CoolSculpting and CoolTone, we’ve got your back, literally.

CoolSculpting is the widely popular alternative to liposuction that freezes fat cells to the point of elimination. Our office offers several uniquely shaped applicators to target your least favorite pockets of fat including the waist, belly, thighs, arms, bra fat, even under the chin. Within three weeks you’ll begin to notice changes in how you look and how your clothes fit, and the changes will continue over the next six months. If you simply maintain your typical weight, your results will endure.

Now imagine the benefits of a multitude of workouts without the time, energy and sweat expenditure? Hello CoolTone – the physical equivalent of doing 2,000 sit-ups in 30 minutes! The perfect complement to tighten and tone muscles after your CoolSculpting procedure.

Here’s how it works: a paddle-like device placed on your targeted zone emits magnetic energy. That energy prompts thousands of involuntary muscle contractions to strengthen muscle fibers. Six treatments are recommended to see the lean, defined, enviable look of Pilates enthusiasts.

To maintain your sleek new physique, come in for a maintenance session every few months.

We offer a special of 6 treatment areas of your choice for $2500. Contact our office to schedule your appointment today. While we will all have our takeaways from living through a pandemic, let one of them not be unwanted pounds.

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 to teach proper injection techniques for Radiesse, the volumizing filler, around the world. 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.

Classically trained

Certified Pilates Instructor ©LC1020

He also spent time at Ecole Lesage in Paris, studying the traditional embroidery techniques that would help define his couture garments, commissioned by private clients.

Mathew’s absence in the community has already been felt, and his bon vivant spirit will be greatly missed.

skin

Gia Marakas

Mathew Hancock, 1954 - 2021

Hairdresser Mathew Hancock passed away from cancer on February 9th, 2021. During his 25 years on Larchmont, he worked at Haas and Co. and Romi Cortier Design.

Prior to Larchmont, he worked at the highly regarded Bullocks Wilshire salon and I. Magnin salon.

now, they are focused on takeout and delivery only.

Visit findhideout.com.

COVID-friendly one-on-one instruction Longtime Hancock Park resident

info@giamarakas.com

323-697-0048

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

CD4 office grows staff, seeks local Access Center Our second month in City Hall has brought our team up to nearly full strength, and we’re excited to expand our capacity in serving you.

Each of our field managers is enterprising, enthusiastic and dedicated to ensuring every Council District Four (CD4) resident is heard. For those who haven’t met her, I’m particularly excited to introduce you to our field manager for Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, Windsor Square and the rest of Greater Wilshire, Su Lee. Su will be your primary point of contact for any questions, concerns or ideas you

Council Report by

Nithya Raman have for our office. Her job is all about listening to you, actively communicating about available resources and ongoing efforts on the part of our office, and identifying and supporting the priorities of the neighborhoods she serves.

High among the concerns Su has heard from the neigh-

Larchmont

(Continued from page 6) anti-inflammatory ingredients, the “Brain Booster” packed with omega-3s and leafy greens, and the “Protein Power Bowl” that aims to keep you satiated throughout the day.

Village Heights anniversary This month, Village Heights is celebrating 15 years on Larchmont Boulevard. “It’s amazing — I’m more surprised than anyone!” owner Louis Eafalla told the Chronicle.

In fact, Eafalla hopes the anniversary marks a pivot from the hardships of 2020: “Last year was really hard on so many levels. The ups and downs of opening and closing.” But things are slowly improving, he says: “People have hit COVID fatigue and they’re starting to come out.”

In regard to the large construction project (the former Lipson Building) just to the north of his shop, Eafalla said that he’s just trying to stay positive: “I don’t have any control what will go into those shops. But I’m hopeful that we keep the charm and character of the Village, that it doesn’t

SWEETFIN has a shop on Larchmont.

become like every other shopping mall in America.”

To celebrate its 15th anniversary on March 7, Village Heights is offering a 15-percent-off card for customers to be used for future purchases.

Local residents are encouraged to stop by and help celebrate.

“We have a lot of new merchandise including candles, stationery, journals and home décor,” said Eafalla.

Vincent leaves Larchmont After plans to relocate to a new space on Larchmont Boulevard collapsed, Vincent Hair Artistry (another refugee from the former Lipson Building behind the plywood pedestrian walkway) has taken space inside the Salon Republic at the Arclight Theatre Center in Hollywood. Stylist Nick Moses has joined Vincent De Marco at the new location.

Visit vincenthairartistry.com.

borhood are issues surrounding homelessness. We’re taking steps in City Hall and within our office to address this ever-growing humanitarian crisis, and wanted to lay out a few of those for you today.

In City Council, we’re continuing to push the ball forward in advocating that Los Angeles accept FEMA’s offer of 100 percent reimbursement for Project Roomkey and provide non-congregate shelter to thousands of unhoused Angelenos during this pandemic. It’s an opportunity to provide consistent and necessary care and services to people experiencing homelessness and set them on the path to permanent housing — and we’re pushing our partners in the state legislature to front Los Angeles the necessary funds to take full advantage of it.

February also saw the passage of one of our first motions, which instructed the city to

identify locations and funding for the purpose of building an Access Center in District 4. As our homelessness crisis has expanded to every neighborhood in our city, so too must we expand our range of services to meet people where they are. Access Centers will be vital places where unhoused residents can store belongings, use the restroom, take a shower, and talk to a case manager or social worker on a dropin basis. We look forward to updating you on this project as it continues to take shape.

To aid our office’s work in District 4, we’ve hired an incredible homeless coordinator named Liz Oh. Liz’s job consists of coordinating between our council office and the often-tangled web of city departments, county agencies and nonprofits that are responsible for providing timely care and services for Los Angeles’

unhoused residents. Liz is currently compiling a comprehensive list of contacts and available resources that will aid our office in providing support for our district’s housed and unhoused residents alike, as well as building a new management system for handling requests made of our office.

If you have questions about the steps we’re taking on this issue, or any other, I encourage you to reach out to our office!

Armida Reyes, our district liaison, is fielding questions and concerns at contactCD4@lacity.org, as well as answering our incoming calls at 213-4737004, while Su In Lee can be reached at suin.lee@lacity.org.

Each member of our team possesses the kindness and commitment necessary to serve CD4 residents and bring city government closer to you. I look forward to sharing our next steps with you soon.

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Tailwaggers

(Continued from page 1) former site of Flywheel and Blockbuster and Security Pacific Bank, and — once upon a time — the Larchmont movie theater, located at 147 N. Larchmont Blvd.

Tailwaggers’ move to Larchmont has been years in the making.

Blockbuster days “Back when the building was a Blockbuster, I reached out to the landlord to inquire about the space, but it wasn’t in the cards for us at that time,” explains Warner. “Then, when Flywheel closed, the landlord reached out to us. He wanted to fill the space with a neighborhood shop that would be a huge part of the community.

That was really important to him, since he had grown up in the area.”

Warner has two other Tailwaggers locations, one on Bronson Avenue and another on Fairfax Avenue. The two stores are a far cry from Warner’s previous line of work, which just goes to show that you can teach an old dog new tricks.

New tricks “I worked in post-editing.

I would sit for hours on end in an editing room with no windows, and I realized that I’m such a social person and needed to find something else,” Warner remembers. “I had always worked with animal rescue organizations, and the Bronson spot was open, so I decided to go for it.”

Warner opened the retail pet store, believing that was the

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

OWNER Todd Warner prepares for Tailwaggers’ big opening, slated for March.

end of the story. Customers begged him to open a daycare and grooming space, so he opened Tailwashers next door.

Then, Warner opened the second location on Fairfax.

And now … the cat’s meow: Larchmont.

“We are planning to open in two phases,” says Warner.

“First we will open retail, and then, as we get settled and the pandemic goes away, we will open Tailwashers, the daycare and grooming spaces.”

Warner has been hard at work transforming the former Flywheel into a space that will accommodate all of your Larchmont pets’ needs. He is warming up the exterior with new paint and flower boxes; the parking lot will be resurfaced; and the interior will be divided into retail, daycare and grooming areas that include self-washing stations. Warner’s favorite spot will be located right up front, near the cash registers.

“There will be a special

counter for the dogs, where they can jump up to get a treat,” Warner explains happily. “We will have one built for small dogs and one built for big dogs.”

Once Los Angeles is Covidclear, Warner plans to hold many community events, including pet-themed Santa Paws and Mrs. Claws holiday pictures, a Valentine’s Day kissing booth, a Halloween pet costume event and adoption days for animal rescue organizations.

In fact, the moniker of Warner’s store, Tailwaggers, has a long history of animal philanthropy.

“The Tail-Waggers’ Club was founded in England in 1928,” reveals Warner. “It was one of the first animal rescue organizations to create dog ID tags.

Back then, if you found a lost pet, you would write a letter to the foundation, and the foundation would write you back.

Reuniting with your dog could take a month!”

Hollywood royalty Stars such as Bette Davis put the Tail-Waggers’ Club on the map in the United States.

Fundraisers were held at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and Hollywood royalty such as Howard Hughes, Walt Disney, Greta Garbo and Judy Garland showed up to support.

The original foundation gradually faded out of existence, and Warner was lucky enough to snap up the name.

“Not only are we a pet store, but we also have the Tailwaggers’ Foundation, which supports 25 different dog and cat rescue organizations around

TAILWAGGERS CLUB has a long history of animal philanthropy.

nap, Warner will be working like a dog to ready the store for its big Larchmont debut, and he is thrilled to finally be a part of Los Angeles’ “ultimate community.”

“We’re really looking forward to being your neighborhood-friendly pet store,” says Warner enthusiastically, “and we can’t wait to get to know you and your companions.”

Los Angeles,” says Warner.

“Over the last several years, we have granted over $100,000 to help hundreds of dogs and cats.”

Some of those organizations include Sante D’Or Foundation rescue for cats, Paws for Life Prison Program, LA Animal Rescue and Pug Nation Rescue of Los Angeles.

With no time to take a cat

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

Three Great Ways to Save Money on Your Water Bill

No matter how much rain falls on Southern California, or how deep is the snow pack in the Sierra, it’s a fact that we live in an arid climate and must always be mindful of water usage. But what’s good for California can be good for your wallet, as well. Below are three useful tips:

One

We all know that running sprinklers during rainy periods is wasteful. But it’s sometimes hard to anticipate weather patterns — and easy to assume that someone else (your gardener, maybe) will adjust sprinkler timers accordingly. Here’s an easy solution: Install a Weather Based Irrigation Controller (WBIC). These “smart” devices will irrigate according to the needs of the landscape, automatically reducing times or skipping cycles during cool, rainy or windy periods, and increasing times or cycles as needed for warmer seasons. These WBICs potentially can save you more than 10,000 gallons of water a year, and hundreds of dollars on your water bill during the device’s lifetime. WBICs start at about $150, and they can be eligible for an $80 rebate from the LADWP. To learn more, go to: https://socalwatersmart.com/en/residential/ rebates/available-rebates/irrigation-controllers .

Two

Did you know that the sewer service charge you receive in every water bill is based solely on how much water you use in the winter? That rate is applied all year round, so if you reduce water usage during cooler months (defined by the LADWP as October through March), you will reap the benefits during summer as well.

To learn more about how the Winter Water Use rates work, go to: https://bit.ly/39sbrvf .

Three

The best way to save substantially on your water bill is to install a sub-meter, which will divide your water use into separate household and landscape charges. The sewer service charge does not apply to water used just for landscape needs. Sub-meters require professional installation and can cost several hundred dollars, but they will pay for themselves relatively quickly. By some estimates, the sub-meter can save as much as $100 per bill. To learn more, go to www.ladwp.com and search in the Residential section for “Sewer Sub-Meter.”

Let’s be smart and keep our Windsor Square neighborhood — and our wallets — in the green.

o

o

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Don’t forget to vote (BY MAIL) prior to March 16, 2021 in the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council board of directors’ election. You must register first. Visit greaterwilshire.org/2021elections for more information.

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.

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©LC0321

8

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

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10

SECTION ONE

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

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The building’s innovative design is made of stackable steel modules — built in China, shipped to Los Angeles, trucked to the site, and craned into place and fitted to make 400-square-foot studio and 450-square-foot one-bedroom apartments. The units are fully furnished and feature espresso-colored kitchen cabinets and appliances, sliding barn doors, AC and private bathrooms.

Large windows add light.

They also are a cost-savings and add to the building’s industrial look, Oberholzer added.

The modules are often compared to shipping containers because of their transportable shape, but “these were custom designed and engineered for this project,” Oberholzer said.

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living, six miles to Beverly Hills, ten minutes to Walt Disney Concert Hall

comes with a hefty learning curve.

“Wild West” The city once looked askance at this type of “Wild West” construction, but not anymore. “There are tremendous benefits to an alternative building style. There are so many more manufacturers now. Things are already evolving,” said Baldridge.

Two similar manufactured housing-built-for-speed structures — Hope on Broadway and Hope on Hyde Park — recently received Los Angeles Proposition HHH funding.

At Hope on Alvarado, about a dozen case workers with the County Dept. of Health Services will have offices on the first floor. It will also include a community room with a kitchen, conference room and bike storage.

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AT HOPE ON ALVARADO stackable steel modules were built to fit studio and one bedroom units and craned into place.

(Continued from page 1) tenants are expected to begin moving in this month.

A 14-month schedule to complete the project was delayed, largely because of manufacturing and transportation issues caused by the pandemic.

The pioneering design had a learning curve, the design and build team acknowledged in the Feb. 9 virtual tour.

A socially distanced and masked Oberholzer, sitting on black patio furniture located on the building’s courtyard, was joined by developer Scott

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

Joane Pickett

UURR O O Y Y D D N I MEE FFIN OLLDD,, OM CCO O’’ GGO & OTT O PPO KKSS,, & C C O O R R M AM HA SSH NSS,, UUN A A H H C C E LLEEPPRRE !!

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(Continued from page 1)

JOANE Pickett and her husband, Wiley, with the late Councilman Tom LaBonge.

pliers months in advance, and with the constant uncertainty of ‘will we be open, will we be closed,’ it’s difficult to plan and place orders. The supply chain has broken down. The delivery services don’t deliver on time, and the suppliers aren’t making the amounts needed. It’s just a mess.”

Joane is not only devastated about her own store having to shutter its doors, but is also worried for other small busi-

nesses. By forcing mom and pop stores to close their doors at the beginning of the pandemic, but not the larger, corporate entities, “Newsom and Garcetti basically said, ‘don’t shop at small businesses, but it’s okay to go to the big box retail stores like Target and Walmart to do all of your shopping there,’” laments Joane.

As small businesses slowly opened up again, holiday (Please turn to page 12)

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The pandemic has taken a devastating toll on many Larchmont businesses, both restaurant and retail, and as the pandemic wears on, month after month, and as the boulevard continues to change with the pandemic pushing it along, we are all witnesses to its transformation. But before we look forward, it’s imperative to look back, through the lens of one person and the little store that could … until it couldn’t.

Joane Hennenberger Pickett got her start in the business and sales side of wholesale clothing, where she sold to department stores and small retailers. She and her husband, Wiley, bought a “cute little house” in the Larchmont area, but Joane still found herself on an airplane every week, traveling for work. At the time, Larchmont Boulevard was a sleepy little street. Joane and Wiley decided to take a chance and opened up their very first retail store, Pickett Fences, in 1994 at 111 N. Larchmont (currently DMH Aesthetics), soon followed by her second store, Petticoats, in 1995, in the current Silver Linings frame store spot. Then in 2001, Joane decided to merge the two stores into one space at 214 N. Larchmont (most recently, the Trina Turk shop).

With every move, the Picketts’ prospects improved.

“This was before the internet and the Grove,” explains Joane. “When we moved to the 214 space, we were in a busier area, near the crosswalk. The high profile location worked out really well for us.”

The Great Recession took its toll, but her business survived and, with the loyalty of its customer base, thrived once again.

“Joane always did her best to meet the changing trends,” says Anne Loveland of Loveland Carr Group. “She even adapted to let people bring dogs and ice cream into the store!”

In 2016, Joane lost her lease.

“We looked everywhere for a new space,” she remembers.

“Beverly Hills, Melrose, Hollywood — but we ultimately decided that if we weren’t on Larchmont Blvd., we would just close up shop.”

Luckily, a spot opened up across the street at 219 N. Larchmont, and Joane quickly snapped up a new lease.

Things were humming along nicely until the pandemic hit. The total shutdown in March, April and May, combined with the constant closing and reopening of small businesses in Los Angeles over the next 12 months, in tandem with the closures caused by social justice protests, became untenable.

“It’s very difficult to plan ahead,” explains Joane. “I have to put my orders into the sup-

11

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Joane Pickett

(Continued from page 11) shopping picked up, but reality quickly set in.

“Christmas was really good and busy, but at the end of the day, I need Paramount Studios employees, Marlborough moms, school kids, and Rhodes Music School parents popping

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

in while they wait for their child to finish a lesson,” says Joane.

“Twenty ladies per day would come in just from the yoga studio. There was a lot of foot traffic that has just disappeared that you really don’t think about.”

Much of that heavier foot traffic was due to the constant upgrades to the street over the decades, many of which Joane

helped spearhead. She served on the Larchmont Boulevard Association (LBA) board for 25 years, as President, Vice President and Secretary, retiring last month. During her time there, she and City Council deputy, then councilmember, Tom LaBonge established the Sunday Farmers Market, added crosswalks with handicap cut-

outs, ramps and stop signs, and rezoned the street for a height restriction of 35 feet, or two stories, so the businesses on the boulevard wouldn’t tower over the neighbors’ homes behind.

Dr. Timothy Gogan, local dentist and also a board member of the LBA, appreciates everything Joane has done for the community.

“The kind of things that Joane worked on … she really beefed up the sidewalk sale, and she was the liaison with the farmers market … so it’s sad to see her go. But it’s so daunting to try to run a business when you’re closing down for weeks or months at a time,” says Gogan. “The thing is, you’re in business to make money, and if these landlords have high rents, $10-$12 dollars per foot, it’s just really hard for a mom and pop store to generate that, especially if they’re not allowed to be open. Joane contributed so much to the boulevard and

we’re really going to miss her.”

John Winther of Coldwell Banker, current LBA President, is also sorry to see Joane go.

“She was a very active member of the board, and everyone hates to lose an active member,” says Winther. “She went beyond being a retail and business person. She had an affection for the boulevard because she liked people and the community and she wanted to protect it. It wasn’t all about business.”

That’s the point that Anne Loveland likes to emphasize the most. “Joane brought her whole self and her love of community to the boulevard. Her store was the vehicle through which she had full self-expression. She could share so many of her gifts with the community through her business. Aren’t we lucky we had her and her husband?

But nothing lasts forever.”

Though Pickett Fences is no longer on the boulevard, Joane (Please turn to page 13)

HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE

also opens up people’s eyes to the many contributions of Black and African American individuals.

In Mr. Narbe’s math class, we had a lesson on Katherine Johnson and how she impacted mathematics. Sixth grade watched a video on her and dedicated the day for learning about different types of angles. Right, obtuse, acute, straight, reflex, and so many more angles. We visited a site where we could create angles, and the source would tell us what kind of angle it was, and the exact degree of it too! After that, we went to a different website where we tried to accurately guess the correct angle within five degrees.

Mr. Andy, the science teacher, screened a video for the 6th grade on environmental sustainability on Feb. 19. People coming to school for this experience got to see their friends, eat snacks brought from home, and enjoyed a movie as a grade, all while taking extra precautions for coronavirus.

By Emily Mansourian 6th Grade

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Big news at Hollywood Schoolhouse!

This month, all grades will be returning to campus, everyone masked and following our safety protocols listed on our website of course. There are also weekly Covid tests for all students and staff on campus.

In Ms. Abi’s 6th grade English class last month we did Black History Month projects. Each student was assigned a Black figure to study and write a report on.

There was also a poetry and technology component to this project. Studying these figures can teach students more about what that person did, why they were important, and the impact that they have had on the world. It

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

IMMACULATE HEART

By Quinn Lanza 12th Grade

On a recent Wednesday off from classes, members of the senior class gathered for the first time on campus for a socially distanced lunch. The seniors ate their take-out burritos outside on the field as they enjoyed their first in-person gathering of the Class of 2021 in almost a year!

Members of the Junior Class also received their class rings at the end of February in a way that let them celebrate together even as they were still apart. Although this year’s Junior Ring Ceremony was different than the usual tradition,

Joane Pickett

(Continued from page 12) has ideas about what the street will look like in the future.

“My takeaway is that brick and mortar stores were under pressure, and the pandemic is quickening the pace of their closures. Going forward, I think we will see more food and experience-based shops. I also think outdoor dining is here to stay, which is a positive thing.”

For the first time since Joane started working at the age of 21, she finally has a chance to relax in her Brook-

students viewed a live-stream Mass onscreen at home and then drove to campus to pick up their rings.

School spirit remains relatively high as students continue to learn remotely. Students have settled into their routines, and report that the new schedule with later start times has made online learning much more manageable.

Students have also been treated to guest presentations.

Recently, science teacher Stacie Miller’s marine biology class welcomed three IH alums, who spoke on their careers in the field of marine bio, providing students with insight into some of the work that they, too, could be doing in the future. Faculty and staff also continue to meet with Dr. Stacie Ma, an IH alumna and educator, for professional devel-

SECTION ONE

opment workshops on creating greater racial equity on campus and in our community.

Meanwhile, our sports teams

side home, and maybe play a tennis match or two. But for someone who has worked nearly every day of her life, that’s not an easy transition.

“It’s super strange that I don’t have a job, and I’m still decompressing and settling into it,” she says hesitantly. “But I want the neighborhood to know that I feel truly grateful that I have this community, and I’m thankful for so many friends that I’ve made while being a business owner on Larchmont.

It’s a very special place, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else in Los Angeles.”

continue to do virtual workouts, and the soccer team has gone back to Saturday morning practices.

Members of the team wear masks

13

and maintain social distance throughout the practice. At some point, students hope to cheer their teams as they compete!

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8th Grade

THIRD STREET

By Sofia Kirilov 5th Grade

February was Black History Month and Third Street Elementary joined in celebrating achievements by African Americans and their contributions to our society. At school wide assemblies, our students presented interesting facts about trailblazing Afri-

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION ONE

can Americans, including activists, poets, and writers. One of my favorite presentations was by a 5th grader who talked about the amazing Amanda Gorman.

Our teachers also gave us lessons on African Americans who made a

positive difference in our world. I learned that Black History Month is celebrated in February because it was the birthday to both President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

February was also the start of our senior celebration festivities.

Our first event was a 5th grade trivia night and it was fun and rather competitive! I loved see-

ing my friends (virtually) and we all got to wear our special edition t-shirts. Our next event is the 5th grade Virtual Talent Show and the plan is to have at least one special event each month for us until graduation time.

Normally, this time of year, we would host the Third Street Walkathon fundraiser. Because of the pandemic, however, we have a

new program called Shine Online.

Starting mid-February, for four weeks, students participate in weekly themed challenges to drive donations and win prizes. If any Third Street students ask for your support, please consider donating. All funds raised help pay for our amazing programs, including theater class, which just started virtually for 5th graders like me.

OAKWOOD SCHOOL

your interests and learn more about different fields, due to the pandemic, Immersion is unfortunately cancelled this year. However, there will still be school activities taking place this month, including a historical change for Oakwood!

Mid-March, Oakwood will be narrowing down new mascot submissions after deciding to officially retire the Gorilla mascot. While our past mascot never intended to be racist, the history of the gorilla as an animal, not as the Oakwood mascot, negatively impacted members of our community.

Lastly, though secondary students are still learning remotely, they will have the chance to safely visit campus in small cohorts. This optional visit will allow students to participate in activities and socialize with other students, while also abiding strict safety protocols.

By Scarlett Saldaña 10th Grade

For Oakwood students, the month of March usually brings the long awaited Immersion Program, in which students attend two weeks of specific classes tailored to their interests, or new topics they’d like to explore. These classes offer new opportunities for students to learn beyond the classroom, and in my past years at Oakwood, I’ve learned how to animate, I’ve learned more about physics and how roller coasters depend on this science, and I also learned more about the fashion design process. Even though these classes are always an exciting way to expand

BUCKLEY

By Jasper Gough 11th Grade This month 8th graders will have On-Campus Activities on March 1, 2 and 7.

These activities might include music appreciation and painting. These activities won’t be physical, and all participants will be socially distanced from each other.

From March 3 to 5, aspiring high school writers will attend the famed Iowa Writers’ Workshop remotely via Zoom.

This workshop will offer programs in story and playwriting, essay, poem, and story writing workshops. Middle and Upper

School students will have parentteacher conferences until March 8. These students will not have any classes while there are conferences.

High school students who have chosen to take the SAT (rather than the ACT) will go to a testing center and take the test on March 13. Next, on March 18 and 19, teachers will have their annual Teacher Conference to discuss class events and proceed for the rest of the year.

After that, Buckley will have its #StudentsStayWokeConference on March 20. In this conference, students will talk about how to be anti-racist and how we should make sure to hold ourselves and our friends accountable if they do anything offensive or racist.

Lastly, Spring break will start on March 22 and ends April 2.

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MARLBOROUGH

By Avery Gough 9th Grade

Happy Valentine’s and Presidents’ Day everybody!

I’m excited to report that, due to the steady decrease in positive COVID-19 testing, and more vaccine distribution in Los Angeles, Marlborough has decided to allow small group activities back on campus consisting of robotics, dance and athletic conditions.

Soon enough they will also add performing arts and academic support. Speaking of on-campus activities, the seniors will be returning to celebrate the Ring Ceremony, a long-honored Marlborough tradition.

Secondly, Young Women Stand Against Prejudice is an organization founded by Marlborough students whose current member-

SAINT BRENDAN

By Lucas Bland 8th Grade

It’s almost been a year in online classes for St. Brendan students, and it’s finally time to start going back to school.

Today, only Kinder through 2nd grade will be able to safely work in the classrooms, but as the weeks progress, we will be sending more grades back as safely as possibly. Speaking of grades, the 8th graders are going to know

LARCHMONT CHARTER

By Sally Shapiro 11th Grade

This year students at Larchmont established the first Larchmont Black Student Union. The leader of the BSU, 11th grader Noah Gomes, explained, “We knew there was a community of Black people here, and although it’s not big, we wanted a safe and comfortable space to talk, engage in activism, and spread awareness to often neglected issues.” Club leader Naomi Stevens said, “Having a BSU allows the community to learn more about black culture and history.”

In the club, members discuss current events, council with staff

MARCH 2021

ship is in excess of 45 women who can serve on three committees, Policy & Petition, Social Media, and Outreach. The Policy & Petition committee learns to write, research, and edit petitions. The Social Media committee learns to improve public awareness for STAND. Lastly, the Outreach Committee is divided into a) publicity departments, which is responsible for text banking, etc. and b) the presentations department, who learn to reach out to the existing groups and discuss these important issues. With the help of these three committees, STAND aims at creating change through petitions, but with the larger goal to educate young women on their power to create change. STAND is opening a new branch at Palisades Charter High School and looking for individuals who want to host a branch at their school.

Since March is Women’s History Month, STAND has launched a donation campaign in which the first 100 people to donate $10+ to what high school they are getting into around March 5.

Earlier this year in February, we had a very successful In-nOut fundraiser, and a special Ash Wednesday Mass as well. We also just had our Catholic Schools’ week where all of our daily assemblies and activities let a little light into our daily routines. The most memorable moments include the faculty winning in the faculty vs.

8th grade games, the cutest student council baby, and of course the teacher swap day. St. Brendan School will have more interactive events planned as we get back to regular school, so stay tuned! to discuss problems at LFP, and occasionally have guest speakers.

The BSU also plans events for the school. Currently the club is planning a Zoom screening of “Black Panther” and a talent show to showcase artistic expressions of hidden Black heroes throughout history. “It’s not just a club.” Stevens explains, “It’s like a family, because we all have each other’s backs and are there to support every member no matter what.”

The creation of Black Student Unions has changed education and led to great achievements. A year after the creation of the first BSU at San Francisco State in 1966, the Black student population there doubled and doubled again the year after that. Larchmont’s BSU is part of a rich history that will hopefully continue for years to come.

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SECTION ONE

Young Women Stand Against Prejudice will receive handmade brace-

lets from STAND. Please make sure to check out STAND’s website for

15

donation and involvement information: standagainstprejudice.org.

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Larchmont Chronicle

16

2021_GAF_Larchmont SECTION ONE

Chronicle Miracle Mile Issue_HR_4.pdf

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4:58 PM

MARCH 2021

SPRING Is Right Around the Corner

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CMY

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V I S I T & E N J OY L I V E M U S I C • K I D - F R I E N D LY E N T E R TA I N M E N T THE TROLLEY • OUTDOOR DINING • SAFE SHOPPING YO U R H E A LT H I S A T O P P R I O R I T Y F O R U S .

All activities will be monitored to maintain the most up-to-date recommendations in safety protocols.

We Can’t Wait to See You T H E G R OV E L A .C O M

|

@T H E G R OV E L A

Larchmont Chronicle

ADVENTURES

MILE VIEW

WILD TALE

All-girls Adventures in Nature science program was unveiled last month.

Pandemic? What pandemic? Architecture firm thrives in challenging times.

A rare attack reminds us to follow precautions — and don’t feed the wildlife!

Page 14

Page 6

Real estate MuseuMs, Libraries HoMe & Garden

Page 18

VIEW

Section 2

LARCHMONT CHRONICLE

MARCH 2021

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

366 S. June St.| Hancock Park | $12,995,000 Exquisite 1928 French Chateau. 8Bd /10 Bas. Enjoy Life.

Betsy Malloy 323.806.0203 CalRE #01293183

Martin Beck | Major Properties 323.314.7729 CalRE #01778125

171 S. McCadden Pl. | Windsor Square | $6,495,000 Magnificent and exquisite turn key English Tudor. 6Bd 7Bas, back yard with pool, spa & Guest house.

Betsy Malloy 323.806.0203 CalRE #01293183

Martin Beck | Major Properties 323.314.7729 CalRE #01778125

201 S. Plymouth Blvd. | Windsor Square | $4,799,000 Beautifully remodeled & restored English just 1 block to Larchmont. 3 bed/3.5 ba+1 bed GH

601 N. Larchmont Bl. | Larchmont Village| $4,399,000 What a fantastic opportunity to purchase a comm’l property. Two separate structures. Co-listed.

Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101

Betsy Malloy 323.806.0203 CalRE #01293183

Martin Beck | Major Properties 323.314.7729 CalRE #01778125

330 S. Irving Blvd. | Windsor Square | $4,499,000 Estate quality! 5Bed/3.5 in House + 2Bed/1.5 Huge Guest house + Yard! Must see!

165 N. Las Palmas Ave. | Hancock Park | $4,499,000 Stately English Tudor on a beautiful treelined st. 5Bd / 4.5Bas, covered patio, large pool & 3 car-garage.

Impressive remodeled 1921 Colonial Revival hm in Historic Windsor Sq. 4Bd / 3.5bas. Large pool, spa & private garden.

262 S. Arden Blvd. | Windsor Square | $3,585,000

571 Cahuenga Blvd. | Hancock Park | $2,935,000 All redone in 2018. 3Bd / 3Bas + studio apt, pool.

Lisa Hutchins 323.460.7626 CalRE #01018644

Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101

Shar Penfold 323.356.1311 CalRE #01510192

Lisa Hutchins 323.460.7626 CalRE #01018644

238 S. Norton Ave. | Windsor Square | $2,995,000 IN ESCROW. Family friendly Traditional on Norton with 5 bedrooms, 3 baths & newer kitchen.

Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101

316 N. Rossmore #606 | Hancock Park| $2,185,000 JUST SOLD. Stunning NW penthouse w/jaw-dropping views. 316Rossmore616.com Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

1643 Buckingham Blvd. | Mid-Los Angeles | $1,895,000 IN ESCROW. Large Prairie style home boasts 8bd/7ba with 4,836 sf living space. Large outdoor cabana.

Erik Flexner 310.941.3539 CalRE #01352476

255 S. Gramercy Pl.| Hancock Park | $1,199,000 IN ESCROW. Ultra Charming Craftsman Bungalow.

3Bds / 1 bath, liv rm w/decorative fpl. Large yard.

568 Windsor Blvd.| Larchmont Village | $1,000,000

637 Wilcox #1B | Hancock Park | $999,000

Duplex blocks from Larchmont Village ready for your creativity. 1 unit delivered vacant. 568Windsor.com

Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101

Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

IN ESCROW. Rare 2BD + 2.5Ba unit w/ terrace views, 24/7 security, pool. 637Wilcox.com Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

256 S. Lucerne Blvd. | Hancock Park| $2,200,000

518 Van Ness Ave. | Larchmont Village | $2,200,000

Rare find—great community, beautiful tree lined street; 1st time on the market in 50 yrs. 4Bd / 2.5 bas.

IN ESCROW. Charming 2 story home. Open living rm & den. Backyard is made for entertaining w/ blt-in BBQ Jenny Chow 213.810.8791 CalRE #00918577

Shar Penfold 323.356.1311 CalRE #01510192

COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM Hancock Park 323.464.9272 | 251 N Larchmont Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90004 ©2021 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the

2

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

They’re back! Spawn of SB50 lives on; the good, bad, ugly

After the collapse of the California Senate’s 2020 Housing Package in November of last year, the seeds of a new attack on the will of Californians to determine their own local housing policy were planted at the end of the last session of the Legislature. The failure to pass SB902 was the third strike in Sen. Scott Wiener’s attempts to end single-family zoning in California as a means to punish single-family residents and enable developers to profit by meeting demand for market rate housing in California.

Wiener’s previous attempts with SB827 (2018) and SB50 (2019) also did not pass. But sure as weeds that shoot up in spring, a new Senate Housing Package for 2021 was crafted in December and now has taken root. Like a weed, the package is fronted with a pleasant bloom of beneficence and creative thinking, but that masks a root system whose effect, if not intention, is to undermine local planning and control (while not leading to any meaningful increase in needed affordable housing). Quotations describing the new bills come right from their advocates’ press release (focus.senate.ca.gov/ housing).

The Good SB5 (Atkins, Caballero, McGuire, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Wiener) “establishes the initial framework for a statewide housing bond that would fund the creation of new, affordable housing for homeless and low-income families.” Dissolving the Community Redevelopment Agencies throughout the state in 2010 left a gaping hole in funding for the production of affordable housing, leaving it to inclusionary zoning and density bonuses to take up the slack. The results have been less than sufficient. If passed by the Legislature, California voters could see an Affordable Housing Bond on the November 2022 ballot, with greater funding for affordable housing becoming available if the bond passes.

SB6 (Caballero) “authorizes residential development on existing lots currently zoned for commercial office and retail space such as strip malls or large big box retail spaces.

The bill requires the development of residential units be at a minimum density to accommodate affordable housing and abide by existing local planning and development ordinances.” Again a wise bill which combines smart plan-

On Preservation by

Brian Curran

ning, affordable housing and local input.

The Bad SB7 (Atkins) “seeks to improve the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process by extending and expanding provisions of AB900, which streamlined paperwork and expedited legal challenges to large, multi-benefit housing, energy, and manufacturing projects.” By “improving” CEQA, this bill means gutting it, providing a major giveaway to developers in exchange for a few affordable units.

SB8 (Skinner) This bill slightly alters the state’s Density Bonus law that requires that qualifying projects set aside 20 percent of units for low- to moderate-income renters. The existing law has been criticized for not requiring more affordable housing for the bonus received, thus providing only an anemic amount of bang for the buck.

And the Ugly SB9 (Atkins) “promotes

New Listing 322 S. Rossmore| $5,750,000 5 Bed+5 Bath|Hancock Park

small-scale neighborhood residential development by streamlining the process for a homeowner to create a duplex or subdivide an existing lot in residential areas.” The long hand of Wiener and his attempts to end single-family zoning appear in this bill, a copycat of SB1120 that failed last November. It effectively ends single-family zoning, allowing a property owner to divide his or her property in half, build a duplex on both lots with two additional ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) for a total of eight units where previously a single-family house stood. See unitedneighbors. net for extensive information about this threat, including helpful drawings.

SB10 (Wiener) “allows cities to upzone areas close to job centers, transit, and existing urbanized areas to allow up to 10 units without having to go through the lengthy CEQA process.” This year’s version of Wiener’s failed SB902 would allow the city to override zoning to approve a 10-unit apartment building on any urban infill site or any parcel within a loosely defined “jobs-rich” or “transitrich” area, without provision for any affordable housing.

The entire readership area

In Escrow

of the Larchmont Chronicle would be affected. For more information, see tinyurl. com/5avuc5tt.

While I applaud the California Senate for adding some sweeteners to this bitter package, what nonetheless remains clear is that again Sacramento’s response to the housing crisis is to try to increase housing supply by abolishing single-family zoning, circumventing CEQA, and hoping developers will solve the affordable housing crisis, no matter how many times the legislators are told by their constituents NO.

Race track history told in photographs at WSHPHS lecture See photographer Michele Asselin’s presentation on her book, “Clubhouse Turn: The Twilight of Hollywood Park Race Track,” at a talk through the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society Wed., March 17 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers, or $50 for an autographed copy of the book with the talk.

For more information on this and other talks in the series, visit windsorsquarehancockpark.com.

SOLD

137 S. Larchmont| $2,995,000 4 Bed+4 Bath|Windsor Square

Co-Listed W/Ali Jack

836 Masselin | $2,900,000 6 Bed+5 Bath| MIRACLE MILE

111568 Chiquita | $6,795,000 6 Bed+ 8 Bath | Studio City

SOLD

339 N. Irving |$1,531,000 3 Bed+2 Bath|Larchmont Village

In Escrow

SOLD

In Escrow

8308 Grand View |$3,100,000 3 Bed+4 Bath|Hollywood Hills

Co-Listed W/Leena Deneroff

Represented W/ Juliette Hohnen

SOLD

212 N. Windsor |$2,825,000 4 Bed+6 Bath| Windsor Square

319 S. McCadden| Off-Market 4 Bed+ 3.5 Bath| HANCOCK PARK

DRE #01870534

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

NIMBY assumptions about homelessness: Are we all NIMBYs?

As·sump·tion - 1. a thing that is accepted as true without proof. 2. the action of taking on power or responsibility: the assumption of an active role in solving a problem.

Over the course of six columns for the Larchmont Chronicle, I hope to begin a conversation that explores our assumptions about homelessness … and our complicated “Not In My Backyard,” or NIMBY, assumptions. And I want us to explore the different ways we can assume an active role in helping to solve the problem of homelessness.

I’m sure that the last sentence made you think, “Oh boy, here we go again.”

Yes, here we go again, and if you’re tired of trying to explain to your kids why people live under the freeway or sleep in the bus stop down the block — that’s OK, because it’s complicated.

How far down the rabbit hole do we have to go before we make an effort to engage in assisting change? Picture us as Neo in “The Matrix” — we have the option to take the red pill, a pill that shows us the truth, as opposed to the blue pill, which keeps us unaware of our own complicity in the problem of homelessness.

Let us take this question-

naire as a starting point. (Circle your answers as you read; answers are on Page 12.)

NIMBYs’ Multiple Choice Questionnaire 1. I want more effort given to solving homelessness in Los Angeles. a. True. b. False.

2. I’m in favor of building permanent housing for people experiencing homelessness … a. On North Rossmore Ave. b. In my ADU or guesthouse. c. One or two miles from my home. d. In another part of the city that already has low-income housing. e. All of the above.

3. How much do you think the value of your property will change if affordable housing were built close to your home? a. +34%. b. -16%. c. -35%. d. 0% (no change).

4. If your neighborhood had affordable or supportive housing, how do you believe your life would be impacted? a. I would be concerned for my safety and the safety of my children. b. I would be concerned about an increase in crime.

The NIMBY Diaries by

Marilyn Wells c. I don’t think there would be a notable impact. d. I would be pleased to live in a more economically diverse neighborhood.

5. What are the top three causes of homelessness? a. Drug and alcohol abuse. b. Unemployment. c. Low wages. d. Lack of affordable housing. e. Poverty. f. Domestic abuse.

6. What percentage of people experiencing homelessness suffers from mental illness? a. Most. c. 45%. b. 58%. d. 26%.

7. What percentage of homelessness is a consequence of substance abuse? a. 69%. c. 30%. b. 45%. d. 10%.

8. What percentage of people experiencing homelessness develops drug addiction as a consequence of being homeless? a. 80%. c. 30%. b. 50%. d. 10%.

9. Why are the encampments

continuing to grow? a. Loss of jobs during Covid. b. City of LA has suspended “sweeps” (in most cases) because the Centers for Disease Control recommend that everyone shelter in place and not be pushed place to place. c. Evictions are happening even though there is a moratorium on evictions. d. More people are renters therefore more vulnerable to losing their housing e. All of the above.

10. How many people in LA County pay more than half of their monthly income on rent? a. 56,000. c. 420,000. b. 250,000. d. 720,000.

11. How many people living outside on the street are typically from the surrounding community? a. None. c. 20%. b. 5%. d. 77%.

12. What percentage of women experiencing homelessness in LA County are the victims of domestic violence? a. None. c. 38%. b. 28%. d. 50%.

13. What local venue would you need to use to hold a meeting of all the homeless students in California (K-12 plus all higher education)? a. The Rose Bowl (90,000). b. The Coliseum (78,000). c. Dodger Stadium (56,000).

3

d. The Forum (17,000). e. Staples Center (20,000). f. All of the above.

14. Anyone who needs rental assistance in this country can get it. a. True. b. False.

15. What percentage of young people experiencing homelessness have recently aged out of the foster care system? a. 3%. c. 15%. b. 10%. d. 25%.

16. What is the average percentage of income that lowincome working people spend on housing here in LA? a. 9%. c. 20%. b. 10%. d. 75%.

17. True or False: There are no affordable or supportive housing developments in the greater Larchmont area (within 2-3 miles of 3rd and Larchmont). a. True. b. False.

18. What is the biggest obstacle in building supportive housing? a. NIMBYs. b. Financing. c. Permitting. d. Finding affordable and available land. e. All of the above.

19. What can be done to speed up building affordable or sup(Please turn to page 10)

4

SECTION TWO

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

Founding CEO Wayne Ratkovich names successor

SECOND FLOOR INTERIOR of the Audrey Irmas Pavilion at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple is being finished.

Photo by Gary Leonard, February 4, 2021

Beautiful 1920’s Mediterranean Unit In A Hancock Park Fourplex (TIC) FULLY EQUIPPED, CONTROLLED ACCESS, BASKETBALL COURT Stunning Mediterranean unit in a Tenants-In-Common fourplex, offers the best of LA Living. All the charm & period details of the 1920’s combined with all modern conveniences. This 2 bedroom/2 bath gem offers a sunny and spacious living room with decorative fireplace, leading to the dining room, breakfast nook, and an updated kitchen with Stainless Steel appliances. Updated and spacious bath shared by both bedrooms, hardwood floors throughout, and generous closets. Original details include built-ins, crown molding, period tile, high ceilings, central air, laundry room with washer/dryer, updated plumbing/electric, tankless water heater, new roof, and retrofitted foundation/sewer line.

821 S. Mansfield Ave #2 Hancock Park

Estates Director, Sunset Strip

WAYNE RATKOVICH moves to an advisory role as chairman of the Ratkovitch Company.

ing with architect Brenda Levin to restore the 12-story art deco building.

He and his company have become well-known for restoring historic buildings, including many local ones, such as the Wiltern Theatre, Pellissier Building, Chapman Market and 5900 Wilshire.

“I always had a nose for reimagining opportunities and buildings into something that others don’t see,” said Ratkovich. “I’ll keep my eye out for those opportunities and pass them on.”

Town hall with Raman is March 15

2 Bed | 2 Bath | ±1,512 SF Offered at $835,000

Jill Galloway

Wayne Ratkovich, Windsor Square, founding chief executive officer of his namesake Ratkovich Company, announced last month that Brian Saenger will succeed him as the next president and CEO. Ratkovich will step away from day-to-day management of the company and assume the new position of chairman, where he will serve in an advisory role. He plans to spend time on his charitable pursuits, including working with Homeboy Industries.

Saenger, who has been with the company for 10 years, most recently as the chief operating officer and general counsel, oversaw development management, property management and legal and administrative functions before stepping into the CEO role last month.

Prior to joining the company, Saenger worked for 10 years as its outside legal counsel.

Ratkovich began his real estate career in 1977, when he and a partner purchased the historic Oviatt Building in downtown Los Angeles, work-

Just Listed

323.842.1980 | jill@jillgalloway.com jillgalloway.com | DRE 01357870 Compass is a licensed real estate broker (01991628) in the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdraw without notice.

Councilmember Nithya Raman will be featured at a March 15 “town hall” meeting (online of course). All are welcome at this meeting, organized by the Hancock Park Homeowners Association.

Scheduled for Mon., March 15 from 6 to 7 p.m., participants need to register for the webinar ahead of time. Visit tinyurl.com/cx626ta3 to register.

Concerns to be addressed at the meeting include safety and crime, zoning and land use, street and sidewalk repair, transportation, Dept. of Water and Power issues, the homeless crisis and CD4 discretionary funds.

Questions for the councilmember should be sent in advance to: admin@hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org.

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

Shar Penfold Presents...

262 S. Arden Blvd | Offered at $3,585,000 | In Escrow Impressive remodeled 1921 Colonial Revival home in historic Windsor Square, minutes away from Larchmont Village. Retaining its old world charm this home was thoughtfully renovated in 2016 with luxurious master suite, gorgeous bathroom, walk-in closet, fireplace and balcony, 3 more spacious bedrooms, one with ensuite and remaining 2 with tandem full bath. Large open space kitchen and family room with custom cabinetry, fireplace, butler's pantry with wine storage, Thermador appliances. Breakfast room. Charming powder room. Elegant staircase with stained glass windows. Guest suite and 1 1/2 bathrooms in the fully remodeled detached two story garage, which offers approx 400 sq ft not included in the square footage of main house. Open the family room double French glass doors to a entertainers deck with a fireplace overlooking a large pool, spa and private garden. Additional features include a living room, dining room, formal entry, gorgeous staircase with stained glass windows, a large laundry/mudroom, newer HVAC, plumbing, electrics. It goes on and on....truly impressive.

256 S. Lucerne Blvd. | Offered at $2,200,000 Outstanding location!! Easy to show. First time on the market in 50 years!! Huge potential to make this your dream home within a great community and beautiful tree lined street.

Close to Larchmont, 3rd St school and Marlborough.

Generous sized rooms. French door leading out to private back yard with pool. Outstanding opportunity!!

1037 N. Vista St. #302 968 S. Muirfield Rd. 142 N. Irving Blvd.

Sold Rep. Buyer | $2,125,000 Represented Buyer | $2,675,000 West Hollywood | 2Bd / 2BA Sold | $835,000 Leased Off Market $7,800/MO Sold Off Market

133 S. Spalding St. #301 Leased Rep Tenant $8,000/MO | 3Bd / 3BA

SHAR PENFOLD C: 323.356.1311

SharPenfold@gmail.com

CalRE #: 01510192 251 N. Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004 The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2021 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. CalRE #00616212

5

6

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

Local architecture firm thrives in a challenging year

By Billy Taylor Despite a year full of challenges, CO Architects, a local design firm for healthcare, education and research facilities, experienced double-digit growth in 2020 and even hired 25 new employees.

Located in the Miracle Mile area on Wilshire Boulevard, inside the former Carnation Company Building, CO Architects’ managing principal Scott Kelsey credits his firm’s success, in part, to his team’s ability to “adapt quickly” to the challenges at hand.

Eager to learn more, the Chronicle asked Kelsey to explain his firm’s approach to working in a pandemic.

Q: In the past year, CO Architects has hired 25 new employees and was ranked #2 for billings in Los Angeles County by the “Los Angeles Business Journal.” These are impressive accomplishments under the best of times, but during a raging pandemic, they are truly remarkable.

How did CO Architects do it?

A: “Technology has been a priority for our firm for decades, and we transitioned to remote working fairly quickly. About 20 years ago, CO was an early adopter of Building Information Modeling, which evolved our

ARCHITECTS enjoy the view from their office on the top floor of the historic Carnation Company Building on Wilshire Boulevard.

FORMER CARNATION Building is the home of CO Architects.

industry from blueprints and physical meetings to digital design and virtual collaboration among architects and contractors. This technological foundation expedited our transition to remote working and hiring,” explained Kelsey.

“Surprisingly, onboarding our 25 new hires was faster than traditional face-to-face meetings. The Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects recognized this and recently included us in a panel discussion on the future of remote working.”

Q: Your firm has a specialization in healthcare and research facilities, so it must have been rewarding to work on the local surgery center at Cedars-Sinai.

How long was the project in

the works? Is the surgery center in operation now?

A: “Design work on the outpatient surgery floor for Cedars’ Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion began in 2015, and the 45,000 square-foot space with 13 operating rooms opened early last year. CedarsSinai has been a great partner for CO,” said Kelsey. “Our team expressed our gratitude to Cedars’ staff last spring by sending meals during the height of the pandemic.”

Q: What are your goals for the firm in the year ahead? Are there any new projects that you’re looking forward to?

A: “We are optimistic that our healthcare projects will progress as planned. CO Architects designed the new UCI Medical

Center Irvine-Newport, which will break ground this summer and is scheduled for 2025 completion. Our med-ed and lab-design teams are largely staying the course; a multiyear update to UCLA’s La Kretz Botany Building — designed in 1957 by legendary Los Angeles architect Paul Revere Williams — is on track for completion by year’s end. We are also excited about several projects with the Los Angeles Unified School District,” said Kelsey.

“We are expanding our interior practice, as well. We generally do the interiors for the buildings we design and are now pursuing interiors-only projects, including designing the County Art Museum’s new administrative offices.”

Q: This article is a part of our annual Miracle Mile spe-

cial issue. As such, can you briefly talk about the location of your office on Wilshire and what it’s like to work in the greater Miracle Mile area?

A: “CO Architects has been in the 1954 Carnation Building since 1992. We enjoy being on the building’s top floor, as it affords us great views of the area and has a large balcony for social gatherings,” explained Kelsey.

“Being on Museum Row is creatively inspiring, thanks to close proximity to the city’s historic architecture in a multitude of styles, including Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, Modernist, and Googie. Miracle Mile is currently one of the most exciting parts of town, with the big LACMA project and the Academy Museum’s long-awaited opening this fall,” Kelsey said.

645 Wilcox Ave. #3B | Hancock Park | $949,900 Gorgeous vista & Wilshire CC #13 views! TastefulUpdated-Turn Key, 1Bed 1.5Bath & Office.

Cathie White 323.371.3152 CalRE #02088625

6151 Orange St. #311 | Miracle Mile | $419,000 1BD / 1BA top flr unit. Bright & airy. Open flr pla w/ views of the hills. Liv rm w/fpl, rooftop pool.

Cecille Cohen 213.810.9949 CalRE #00884530

142 N. Hudson Ave| Hancock Park | $18,500/MO GolfCourse View Estate! 5Bed/4.5 Bas 1bed/1ba guest rm, pool, 3rd St + Marlborough schools close.

Lisa Hutchins 323.460.7626 CalRE #01018644

829 S. Tremaine Ave | Hancock Park | $8,700/MO Beautiful English Tudor in Brookside! 5Bd / 3 Baths, spacious liv & din rms, remodeled kitchen. Pool & Spa Sandy Boeck Rick Llanos 323.687.6552 323.810.0828 CalRe #:01005153 CalRE #:01123101

968 S. Muirfield | Hancock Park | $7,800/MO LEASED OFF MARKET. 4Bd / 3baths English Cottage. Liv rm w/fpl, frml din rm, large deck, pool and cabana.

Shar Penfold 323.356.1311 CalRE #01510192

1166 S. Victoria | Hancock Park |$4,950/MO Wonderful home w/3 bed/2 bath. Remodel kitchen.

Hardwood floors. Large backyard w/workshop.

Barbara Allen 323.610.1781 CalRE #01487763

346 Westminster | Windsor Square | $4,000/MO

1515 S. Beverly Dr. #412 | Beverlywood | $3,600/MO Wonderful 3Bd / 2.5Bas in move-in condition. Hrdwd flrs, lrg balcony, LR w/ fpl. Pool, sauna, gym, rec rm.

Cecille Cohen 213.810.9949 CalRE #00884530

Sweet 3+1.25 home w/hardwood floors and newer appliances. Sweet backyard. Garage.

Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374

COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM Hancock Park 323.464.9272 | 251 N Larchmont Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90004 The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2020 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved.

Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. CalDRE #: 00616212

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

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8

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

Directory of Local Residential Associations

Below is a list of residential groups, including contact information, which serve the Miracle Mile neighborhoods and surrounding areas. To add or correct, contact info@ larchmontchronicle.com.

Beverly Wilshire Homes Association beverlywilshirehomes.com Diana Plotkin, president 323-653-6254 Boundaries: Wilshire to Rosewood, La Cienega to La Brea, excluding Park La Brea.

Brookside Homeowners Association brooksidelaca.com Emily Levin, president info@brooksidelaca.com Boundaries: Olympic to Wilshire, Highland to Muirfield.

Carthay Circle Neighborhood Association carthaycircle.org Brent Kidwell, president president@carthaycircle.org Boundaries: Wilshire to Olympic between Fairfax and La Cienega.

hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org Cindy Chvatal-Keane, president 323-829-8828 snorekel@gmail.com 157 N. Larchmont Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90004 Boundaries: Wilshire to Melrose, Highland to Rossmore.

La Brea-Hancock Homeowners’ Association labreahancock.com Cathy Roberts, president neighborhoodwatch@ labreahancock.com crmaison@gmail.com Boundaries: Wilshire to Third, Sycamore to Citrus.

Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association lvna.info Charlie D’Atri, president lvgwnc@gmail.com Boundaries: Beverly to Melrose, Arden to Wilton.

Fremont Place Association fremontplace.org Cam Davis, president camdavisla@gmail.com

Miracle Mile Residential Association miraclemilela.com Greg Goldin, president P.O. Box 361295 Los Angeles, CA 90036 info@miraclemilela.com Boundaries: Wilshire to San Vicente, between Fairfax and La Brea.

Hancock Park Homeowners Association Est. 1948

Ridgewood-Wilton Neighborhood Association

ridgewoodwilton.com Robert Reeves, president P.O. Box 74605 Los Angeles, CA 90004 contact@ridgewoodwilton.com Boundaries: Third to Beverly, Ridgewood, Wilton Pl., Wilton Dr.

Barbara Gallen, co-president Nick Medina, co-president Boundaries: Third to Wilshire, La Brea to Cochran and Hauser on the west.

Park La Brea Residents Association plbra.org Robert Shore, president 401 S. Burnside Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036 ParkLaBreaRA@gmail.com

St. Andrews Square Neighborhood Association saintandrewssquare.org Rory Cunningham, co-president Liz Gabor, co-president st.andrews.sq@gmail.com Boundaries: Third to Beverly, Gramercy to Manhattan.

Sixth Street Miracle Mile Neighborhood Association 6thmmna.org

Sycamore Square Neighborhood Association sycamoresquare.org

Conrad Starr, president info@sycamoresquare.org Boundaries: Wilshire to Olympic, La Brea to Citrus.

Wilshire Park Association wilshirepark.org Peter White, president Boundaries: Wilshire to Olympic, Wilton to Crenshaw Windsor Square Association windsorsquare.org Larry Guzin, president wsinfo@windsorsquare.org Boundaries: Wilshire to Beverly, Arden to Van Ness.

(Please turn to page 9)

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

9

Looking to the year ahead, longing for batting cages, baseball and …

Get thee to a batting cage…

“There are only two seasons; winter and baseball.”

Bill Veek, Jr. That quote says so much regarding longing and the ache of yesterdays gone, which in turn reveals the seduction of baseball’s sentimental essence.

William Shakespeare couldn’t have expressed it better.

Seems there’s much longing these days for baseball. A year ago, local youth leagues canceled spring ball because of the pandemic, and Major League Baseball (MLB) played a shortened 60-game season that began on July 1, though the stadiums were closed to fans. Oh, mine eyes crave Dodger Dogs; I shall weep anon.

Residential associations

(Continued from page 8 Windsor Village Association windsorvillage.net Barbara Pflaumer, president 835 S. Lucerne Blvd., #107 Los Angeles, CA 90005 213-347-9761 Facebook: WindsorVillageLA Boundaries: Wilshire to Olympic, Lucerne to western side of Crenshaw.

Information of interest to res-

Youth Sports by

Jim Kalin Wilshire Warriors Baseball, the local youth league based at Pan Pacific Park, hopes to begin player registration soon.

“Our fall club baseball did go forward in October and November on a very limited basis,” explained Wilshire Warriors Baseball President Luke Schugren. “We held practice pods with protocols in compliance with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health regulations, but

idents is also available from: Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce miraclemilechamber.org Stephen W. Kramer, president 5858 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 205 Los Angeles, CA 90036 323-964-5454 info@miraclemilechamber.org Larchmont Boulevard Association www.larchmont.com 419 N. Larchmont Blvd.

PMB 222 Los Angeles, CA 90004

there were no games.”

Schugren is optimistic about the upcoming season.

“We’re absolutely planning for a spring baseball season, but what that looks like specifically is still up in the air.”

A lifer T.J. Runnells is proprietor of Baseball Central, the premier Los Angeles location for batting cages and private hitting, pitching and fielding instruction, and any boy or girl who has participated in the Wilshire Warriors league has probably visited there.

“We aren’t open to the public just yet,” said Runnells.

“We’re working on a plan so we can be.”

Runnells has always been submersed in baseball. As a youth, he spent summers in ballparks, mostly Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium. T.J.’s father Tom played infield for the Reds in the mid-1980s, and Pete Rose was his teammate.

“Once school was finished for the year, we traveled to wherever my dad’s games were. Stadiums were my playground.”

Tom Runnells later managed the Expos, and on July 28, 1991, was with the team when Dennis Martinez pitched a perfect game against the

BATTER Kirin Runnells.

Dodgers in Los Angeles. Presently, Tom is the Colorado Rockies’ bench coach.

T.J. also played professional baseball. He was drafted out of high school by the Detroit Tigers organization, and played in the minor leagues.

Ground zero Runnells purchased Baseball Central in 2005 after working there as an instructor. For any local youth leaguer who wants to excel, it’s ground zero for sharpening baseball skills. Of course there are individual batting cages with pitching machines, but it’s also about atmosphere. Baseball Central is housed in a large warehouse at 5746 Venice Blvd., smells

Featured Listings for the Month of March by

wonderfully of leather, and is accentuated by the crack of bats hitting balls. MLB posters, bobbleheads and memorabilia ornament the walls. The instructors are experienced, and there’s a lounge with a big screen television that plays only baseball games. At Baseball Central, the ambiance is grand slam.

“Big leaguers come in and work out here,” said Runnells.

It’s common to see local college players, both men and women, from UCLA, USC, and Cal State Northridge batting at Baseball Central.

“We also serve the non-baseball community,” said Runnells. Baseball Central has been home to art shows, birthday parties and bar mitzvahs.

Check Baseball Central’s website, or call before heading down. They’re not open just yet, but once they are, reservations for batting cages are always the best bet.

Had baseball existed in the late 16th century, Shakespeare might have been a sportswriter for the Stratford-uponAvon Herald, and instead of depicting Hamlet as a tragic mess, the Prince of Denmark could have found solace playing shortstop.

And today, we’d know the game as Bardball, not baseball.

June Ahn 267 S. San Pedro St. #122 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Listed at $429,000 TERAMACHI is a LUXURY SENIOR (55+) complex in the heart of DTLA's historic Little Tokyo. Tastefully upgraded south facing unit on 1st floor w/easy access to the common area from the patio.

2 bedroom 2 full baths, spacious foyer entrance, open floor living room w/balcony leads to beautiful grassy courtyard. Master bedroom w/walk-in closet.

Dining area, gourmet kitchen w/granite countertops, breakfast bar & stainless steel appliances, spacious cabinets. Bright natural light throughout. Additional features incl. central air & heat, in-unit washer & dryer. Community amenities incl. sparkling indooroutdoor pool w/sundeck, spa, central courtyard w/ gardens, koi pond, fountains & waterfalls, fitness center, steam sauna, guest lounges, 2-story community room w/full kitchen facilities, BBQ's, guest parking & 24 hour front desk/security station.

Close to Little Tokyo shops & restaurants, Dodger Stadium & ever-expanding downtown - including the Arts District, Union Station, Staples Center & Disney Hall.

June Ahn International President’s Elite

Cell: 323.855.5558 juneahn21@gmail.com www.juneahn.com CalRE #01188513

Hancock Park 251 N. Larchmont Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90004

The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2021 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal

10

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

NIMBYs

(Continued from page 3) portive housing? a. Change planning regulations. b. Increase and streamline construction financing. c. Find more developers who will build it. d. Have a community buy-

in. e. All of the above.

20. In 2016, City of LA voters approved a bond measure to finance 10,000 units of supportive and affordable housing by 2026. How many units have been funded so far? a. 1,000. c. 5,500. b. 2,500. d. 7,300.

21. What factor(s) is/are

most responsible for driving up the cost of building permanent supportive or affordable housing? a. Required number of parking spots (equals fewer units). b. 8-10 different construction funding sources, each with its own rules and timelines. c. Increased building costs

HEIDI B DAVIS

due to state / federal regulations. d. Community objections and/or frivolous lawsuits. e. All of the above.

22. The County of LA has 10+ million people, how many parking spaces does LA have? a. 25 million. b. None when you need one. c. 18 million. d. 5 million.

23. When I see Giorgio, the older Italian man hunched over his shopping cart of raggedy possessions, I _____ a. Cross to the other side of the street.

b. Contact LA-HOP.org. c. Feel hopeless. d. Say hello and offer to buy him pizza (he’s Italian, remember). e. Look away as if I hadn’t seen him.

Turn to Page 12 for answers.

Larchmont Chronicle guest columnist Marilyn Wells, Psy.D. is a resident of Hancock Park and an advocate for people with lived homeless experience. She is a co-founder of storiesfrontline.org.

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Time to Sell / We have Buyers

342 N. Windsor Blvd offered at $2,325,000 / 4 bed 3 bath 1916 sqft In escrow with multiple offers within 7 days

Susan Yim

CalRe# 01883730

SOLD: This Larchmont Village home at 339 N. Irving Blvd. was sold in February for $1,531,000.

501 Wilcox Ave. 300 S. June St. 201 Rimpau Blvd.

857 Keniston Ave. 172 S. McCadden Pl. 432 S. Lucerne Blvd.

406 S. Sycamore Blvd.

212 N. Windsor Blvd.

604 S. Arden Blvd.

835 S. Orange Dr. 332 N. Ridgewood Pl. 968 Muirfield Rd. 346 N. Gower St. 128 N. Ridgewood Pl. 100 S. Lucerne Blvd.

898 S. Victoria Ave. 418 S. Citrus Ave. 250 S. Larchmont Blvd.

857 S. Bronson Ave. 339 N. Irving Blvd.

239 N. Ridgewood Pl. 525 N. Mansfield Ave. 343 N. Bronson Ave. 703 S. Norton Ave. 308 N. Irving Blvd.

HeidiDavis5@gma il.com // 213.819.1289 www.simplyheidid avis.com // dre# 01831924

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1036 4th Ave SOLD $1,100,000 Represented the buyer

www.930NorthWetherly.com

Single family homes HeidiBDavis

Heidi BDavis

944 S Longwood Ave SOLD $1,800,000 Represented the Buyer

Listed

930 N Wetherly Drive #304

1068 S. Lucerne Blvd SOLD $1,349,000 Sold with multiple offers

Matthew Yim CalRe# 01902417

t: 323-251-1481 e: matthew1yim@gmail.com 301 N Canon Dr. Suite E 251 N. Larchmont Blvd Beverly Hills Hancock Park

The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Affiliated real estate agents are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2021 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

$6,400,000 5,550,000 5,475,000 3,899,175 3,795,000 3,785,000 3,495,000 2,825,000 2,264,000 2,230,000 2,145,000 2,125,000 2,100,000 2,086,500 1,899,000 1,858,000 1,800,000 1,630,000 1,550,000 1,531,000 1,370,000 1,325,000 1,250,000 1,125,000 1,070,000

Condominiums 311 S. Gramercy Pl., #PH04 4568 W. 1st St., #301 412 S. Wilton Pl., #402 4407 Francis Ave., #301 861 S. Windsor Blvd., #205 5037 Rosewood Ave., #213 4822 Elmwood Ave., #303 970 S. St. Andrews Pl., #302

$902,500 900,000 855,000 795,000 729,000 706,000 680,000 564,000

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

11

Tense look at opioids; Renaissance — in all its squalor

Crisis (8/10): 143 minutes.

R. This is a high tension, slam bang story of the development of an opioid drug, involving vicious drug dealers, a whistleblowing professor, DEA agents, corrupt corporations promoting a dangerous drug, venal politicians, and a woman looking for vengeance for the murder of her son. Well-written and directed, it has excellent performances by Gary Oldman, Armie Hammer, Greg Kinnear, and the rest of the cast. There are many scenes in this film that inspire comparisons to the way the COVID-19 vaccines have been rapidly developed, approved, and marketed.

Sin (8/10): 128 minutes. NR. A slice of life of Michelangelo (Alberto Testone, who looks like I picture Michelangelo, who was certainly no Charlton Heston) in the first half of the 16th century. Director and writer (with Elena Kiseleva) Andrey Konchalovskiy has done a brilliant job of recreating what life must have been like 500 years ago in Rome and Florence and environs. It was dirty, filthy; people lived in squalor. And that’s the way this film pictures it. There was nothing romantic about living in the Renaissance, no matter how beautiful the art. This also is probably the most real-

istic re-creation of the character of Michelangelo, who was nothing if not cantankerous.

Another positive is that it was filmed on location, including Monte Altissimo, where Michelangelo got his Carrara marble. It is often difficult to know who the characters are, and the film is disjointed to say the least. It was the ambiance and the presumed accuracy of the depiction of the life of the times that captured me. That was so good and realistic that the time passed easily despite the lack of a captivating plot.

In Italian.

The Little Things (7/10): 127 minutes, R. Denzel Washington’s acting as a burnt-out, out-of-town deputy sheriff helping to search for a serial killer in Los Angeles is greatly aided by a fine, quirky performance by Rami Malek as a troubled fellow cop, and a scintillating, award-quality performance by main suspect Jared Leto, even though it’s 30 minutes too long.

The Dig (7/10): 112 minutes, PG-13. Both Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes give moving performances in this true story about a widow who sponsors what turns out to be an historic dig on her English property in 1938. The early WWII ambiance is very well

At the Movies with

Tony Medley recreated. Mulligan rarely disappoints and she doesn’t here.

I Care A Lot (6/10): 118 minutes. R. This is a legally phantasmagorical tale of a vicious elder care guardian (Rosamunde Pike) going against a psychopathic mafia chieftain (Peter Dinklage) — a film without a protagonist to cheer and filled with glaring reality-

challenged plotholes. While adequately suspenseful and entertaining, its morally deficient ending is disappointing.

Mafia Inc (5/10): 140 minutes, R. A fictionalized account of the Mafia in Montreal based on a non-fiction book, it is a disappointing pale imitation of “The Godfather,” totally lacking in captivating characters.

In fact, there is one scene, meant to be shocking, that is almost a direct copy from “The Godfather.” While violent, as required by the genre, it is too long, talky, and derivative to be involving. English and Italian.

Nomadland (3/10) 108 minutes. R. This story of a woman

living out a life of quiet desperation is depressing and slow, teeming with shots of Frances McDormand thinking. Although it apparently is intended to glorify the life of dropping out and travelling around the country alone, it trivializes the difficulties that must be inherent in journeying over hill and dale alone in a small camper. Even though the cast includes real “nomads” playing themselves, there is not one uplifting or humorous moment in the entire film. To its further detriment, there is an unnecessary, gratuitous shot of full frontal McDormand nudity that earns it an R rating.

Clint Lohr

Realtor®, GRI, CNE, SRES 818-730-8635 rholcwl@pacbell.net clintlohr.kw.com

KELLER WILLIAMS® LARCHMONT 118 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90004 Each office is independently owned and operated

Donating clothes for the homeless? Please call me!

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165 north las palmas avenue ~ $4,499,000 Hancock park ǀ 5 Bed + 4.5 Bath

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In Escrow

201 South Plymouth Blvd. ~ $4,799,000 Windsor Square ǀ 3 Bed + 4 Bath

In Escrow

255 south gramercy place ~ $1,199,000 St. Andrews square ǀ 3 Bed + 1 Bath

TIME TO FIND YOUR NEXT HOME!

12

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

Larchmont Village five-story apartment controversy continues

The GWNC Land Use Committee in February reviewed a development proposal for 500 N. Larchmont Blvd. (at Rosewood). In response to earlier comments, the architect made aesthetic changes

to the building.

Neighbors remain concerned about the five-story height, made possible because the Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) guidelines consider Melrose and Gower a "Major Transit Stop."

Answers to Homelessness Questionnaire on Page 3

1. If you answered True, will you join in the effort? 1 2. What came to mind first?

(All answers are currently correct.) 2 3. d. 3 4. What came to mind first? 4 5. b, c & f. 5 6. d. 6 7. c. 7 8. b. 8 9. e. 9 10. d. 10 11. d. 11 12. c. 12 13. f. 13 14. b. 14 15. d. 15 16. d. 16 17. b. False: See Step Up on Vine (2 miles) and Selma Community Housing (for LAUSD employees) (3 miles). 17 18. e. 18 19. e. 19 20. d. 20 21. e. 21 22. c. 22 23. What came to mind first? 23

FEB. revision - side

FEB. revision

ORIGINAL

Endnotes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Read on!

Read on! tinyurl.com/pjn8p23p Read on! tinyurl.com/jmtuzzth tinyurl.com/n95298ue Ibid.

Ibid. tinyurl.com/4ej7r62n tinyurl.com/m4vn9f4e 10 tinyurl.com/mnmf5ux9 11 tinyurl.com/k4yvc6sn 12 tinyurl.com/dmwrtjrs 13 tinyurl.com/2tjb98u8 14 tinyurl.com/62hm9yju 15 tinyurl.com/4zwuamzj 16 tinyurl.com/4zxcx3r5 17 tinyurl.com/jafnjhca tinyurl.com/4mhxsrc7 18 tinyurl.com/4exj7xcv 19 Ibid.

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid.

22 tinyurl.com/3xmrt66a 23 See Larchmont Chronicle story about Giorgio on Page 1 of Feb. 2021 issue.

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

13

How will the show go on if help is ‘too little too late’?

Theater Review by

Louis Fantasia tionally hire actors, musicians, etc., as independent contractors. These organizations must now employ artists as full-time employees and pay their related taxes, insurance and benefits, an increase of about 30 percent in operating costs. Arts groups have responded (apart from petitioning the Assembly to repeal the bill) by, at best, reducing offers to artists by the amount of the add-ons, or asking the artists to “donate” their services. As the “Daily News” put it, “a theater company with a broken water pipe can hire [its regular] plumber as an independent contractor, but the actors [hired for one play] have to be on payroll.”

Finally, on Feb. 9, 2021 the “Los Angeles Times” published a story describing how the (mostly privately funded) $38.5 million Arts Recovery Fund would work. The bulk of its assistance would go to organizations with budgets of $10 million or less. It also outlined efforts by other foundations

to make smaller, though still significant, grants to organizations with budgets of less than $5 million. While all of this is a positive, as David Callahan, founder and editor of “Inside Philanthropy” said in the article, it all could be “too little too late because the needs of these arts organizations are so huge right now.”

So… theaters will stay dark for at least another nine or 10 months. When venues do open, artists and non-permanent staff in California face reduced employment because of AB5. Germany, with roughly twice the population of California (and eight times that of Los Angeles County) spends another billion euros in support of its artists, while we are lucky if we have a hundred million dollar game plan (once you add up private and public support) in California. Artists can’t even find work as waiters any more! And they are supposed to make it through another 10 months?

How? If the financial burden doesn’t destroy people, the psychological one will.

At the end of January, mayors from 10 large cities, including Los Angeles, wrote to President Biden to urge an integrated Federal approach to help “reboot” the arts (artnet. com 1/29/21). The letter cited

the September unemployment rate, which showed that workers in arts sectors were out of work three to six times more than the overall national unemployment rate of then 8.5 percent, while pointing out (as I did a year ago) that the arts “industry” creates over 4.5 percent of US GDP. By comparison, heavily subsidized American farmers (according

to the USDA), contributed 0.6 percent to our GDP in 2019 (total industrial agri-business accounted for 5.2 percent of GDP). That year, U.S. farmers got $22 BILLION in government payments. That’s 20 times Germany’s cultural bailout, for six-tenths of one percent of our GDP. And they call the Europeans socialists!

Have a laugh this St. Patrick’s Day Bill Devlin’s Pre-St. Paddy’s Day Show with Kevin Nealon and other special guests is Sat. March 13 at 8 p.m. at the MacNamara Irish Import Shop, 742 Vine St. Chairs will be set up outside in the parking lot.

Chronicle photographer

Devlin will headline a show on St. Patrick’s Day with Jamie Kennedy and other special guests Wed., March 17 at 6 p.m. at the Andaz Hotel, 8401 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood. Write bill@billdevlin. com for tickets ($15).

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Remarkable: I’ve been a theater critic for a year without having once stepped into a theater! How much longer can this go on?

On Jan. 21 (according to KNX.com), Dr. Anthony Fauci, in a video conference with the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, stated that theaters and concert halls would not be opening until “late fall” of 2021, assuming “we reach a level of herd immunity of 70 to 85 percent … where the virus is … virtually no threat to anyone.”

Next, according to the classical music online magazine “Slipped Disc” (2/4/21), the German federal government allocated an extra BILLION euros ($1.2 billion) for artists and arts organizations suffering from the lockdown. The culture minister had actually asked for $2.5 billion in aid.

Third, California Assembly Bill AB5 (from 2019), while primarily intended to help or hurt (depending on your position) Uber and Lyft drivers, has had a devastating effect on small, California performing arts nonprofits, according to the “Daily News” (2/11/21). There are, the paper says, approximately 4,000 performing arts organizations in the state with budgets of less than $1.5 million, who tradi-

14

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

Amazing interviews highlight fundraiser for science program for girls

By John Welborne An inspirational and entertaining Zoom event was held last month to benefit the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) “Adventures in Nature” program. That popular program, for students through eighth grade, focuses on the E-STEAM fields (Environment, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics).

The focus of the evening was women and girls, and the dialogue in the “fireside chat” with the two honored women was entrancing.

Titled the “The Women in Science and Culture Celebration,” the event honored Chicana activist, artist and muralist Barbara Carrasco and seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones. Alie Ward, Emmy Award-winning science correspondent for shows on CBS and the CW, served as host and facilitator of the discussion with the two honorees. NHM President and Director Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga presented the honorees with statuettes based on

SPEAKERS at the Women in Science and Culture Celebration included (clockwise from upper left) artist Barbara Carrasco, seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones and museum president and geologist Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga.

the sculpture by Julia Bracken Wendt located in the museum’s rotunda.

The event raised more than $160,000 to support a new all-girls Adventures in Nature program developed to honor the NHM’s commitment to women in science and culture.

Student participants will conduct experiments, travel back in time to the Ice Age, explore fossils and wildlife in Los Angeles, and learn about the culture and way of life

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of the indigenous people of California. The program fosters a nurturing community of girls, and female scientists will mentor the girls.

The funds raised at the event will allow the NHM to sponsor more than 310 girls to

ADVENTURES IN NATURE at the Natural History Museum will feature a new program for girls. An inspirational animated video (below right and at tinyurl.com/vzcxr4dy) introduced the program.

attend for free.

The event included an interactive experience with Barbara Carrasco’s 1981 mural, “L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective,” soon to grace the museum’s new south-side entrance, the “NHM Commons” that will open onto the Memorial Coliseum and the

new Lucas Museum side of the NHM. See: tinyurl.com/ d93f4pjn

Ice Age fossils star in ‘Camp Croods’

By Talia Abrahamson Paleontologists at La Brea Tar Pits are not digging up macawnivores, moomoths and wolf spiders. However, under a new collaboration with Universal Pictures, kids had the chance to learn about the real paleontology behind the 2020 animated film “The Croods: A New Age.” La Brea Tar Pits hosted two virtual museum events in February for “Camp Croods.” The museum, a part of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles (NHM), also worked with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History to put on these nationwide events.

La Brea Tar Pits “This collaboration is a great opportunity to showcase the ways in which art and science intersect while at the same time introducing families to La Brea Tar Pits, the world’s only active paleontological research facility in a major urban area,” President and Director of NHM Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga said in a press release. “We are grateful to Universal and DreamWorks for

helping us provide campers with a new way to see science in action and encourage them to keep exploring the world around them — be it through paleontology or animation.”

“A New Age” For its Feb. 13 Camp Croods experience, the event kicked off with an introduction from the movie’s director, Joel Crawford. “The Croods: A New Age” takes place during the “Croodaceous” period, a fictional prehistoric timeline populated with hybrid animals.

Kids then got to hear from paleontologist Laura Tewksbury, a preparator with La Brea Tar Pits. She showed images of fossils related to the movie’s characters, like the humerus bone of a saber-toothed cat, who is a close relative of Chunky the Macawnivore, who is part sabertoothed cat and part macaw.

Tewksbury works on Project 23, the main excavation project at La Brea Tar Pits. The museum acquired 23 crates of fossil deposits in 2006, when fossils were discovered underneath the neighboring County Art Museum during

construction on a new parking garage there.

One of the largest discoveries from Project 23 is “Zed,” the nearly-complete, adult, male mammoth skeleton. According to Tewksbury, Zed would have been slightly less furry than the Croods’ moomoth — part mammoth and part cow.

Dreamworks Story Artist Heidi Jo Gilbert demonstrated, in a pre-recorded video, how to draw Chunky the Macawnivore, then museum educators led a craft-your-own creature puppet activity.

A professional puppet then took the virtual stage, with Nibbles, the saber-toothed cat cub, speaking with the Tar Pits Performing Arts Team about connecting science with art.

La Brea Tar Pits has been closed to the public during the pandemic, but the museum has maintained its emphasis on educational programming.

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

15

Better luck follows local best-selling author Julia Claiborne Johnson

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game. After talking about the five-year journey to complete her first book, she detours to mention that she got lung disease from the peacocks on her childhood farm. She praises her supportive posse of women writers in the neighborhood and her pandemic project to paint the stair risers in her home. She discusses her luck in having novelist Ann Patchett’s agent accept her within a

week of typing “The End” on her first manuscript, then veers to reveal what a bad swimmer she is and how she burst into tears in the cracker aisle when she found out her second novel sold. Along the way, Johnson peppers her conversation and emails with accolades for her husband, attesting to the fact that “He is divine in every way.

And he cooks!” and “He’s natu(Please turn to page 16)

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Johnson tried her hand at writing a screenplay and other speculative projects, and she enjoyed motherhood and neighborhood involvements.

She participated in activities of the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society, the Hancock Park Garden Club, the Ebell of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Tennis Club, until she became consumed with writing her first book. When she writes, she explains, “I can’t do anything else.” Johnson continues, “Sad, but for me, I have to cut off the outside world.” Johnson maintains her tennis club membership, however, so she can go to their gym.

As she explains, “The only thing I allow myself is to work out or I will drop dead!”

Speaking with the cleverly comedic Johnson is akin to playing a professional tennis match. Her thoughts lob from one subject to another, and the listener must run to stay in the

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ber nine on the “Los Angeles Times” Feb. 6 best-seller list.

Better luck, indeed.

The Tennessee native and Hancock Park resident built her career in the literary world, but it wasn’t until she was 50 that she wrote her first novel, “Be Frank with Me,” about a writer with an autistic child.

The story was inspired when she reread “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which her daughter was assigned at school, hoping they would have fascinating mother-daughter discussions about the novel. That didn’t happen, but Johnson realized that character Boo Radley was probably on the spectrum, and that set her off on the novelist’s path.

After leaving the family farm, where, she claims, “My best friend growing up was a pony,” Johnson attended the University of Virginia and studied creative writing at Boston University. That led to a jump into the Manhattan magazine scene where she worked for “Glamour” and “Mademoiselle.” For the latter, she culled through unsolicited fiction submissions to find the jewels worth publishing. “I had to read 10,000 manuscripts to find 12 to publish,” Johnson opined.

She met her comedy-writer husband Chris while in New York, and they moved to Los Angeles for his television opportunities. Johnson intended to find work here, but after years of trying without success to start a family back East, she got pregnant the very day they landed in our city. That changed everything, especially when their son Will, now 23, was quickly followed

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By Helene Seifer When local author Julia Claiborne Johnson wanted to start her second novel, she decided she needed an impetus.

“What am I going to do to get myself in the mood to write?” she wondered, deciding that “I’m not gonna cut my hair till I’m done!” When she put pen to paper she sported a short bob; when she finished writing three years later, she could practically sit on her mane.

The resulting book, “Better Luck Next Time,” is a fictional account of the real Reno divorce camps which flourished in the 1930s and ‘40s. Women of means from across the country would vacation on a westernstyle ranch while establishing the six-week residency required to obtain a quickie divorce.

Johnson’s book explores friendship, love, disappointment and the relationship the women had with the “cowboys” hired to keep them entertained at divorce camp. This is a subject Johnson knows something about because her father had briefly worked as a “cowboy” when he was 19 years old. “He had that job during the Depression. By the time I realized how interesting that was, he had Alzheimers,” Johnson recounts.

So she sought details from her brother, who knew that their dad had worked in construction before getting “this cowboy job to dance with the ladies and be charming.”

The book had a very buzzy January debut, given the popularity of her first novel, “Be Frank with Me,” and having received a starred review in “Publisher’s Weekly.” It was a Barnes & Noble National Book Club choice and made Amazon’s top 10 fiction list.

Chevalier’s Books sponsored a zoom book talk with the author, and sales are such that Johnson has had to return to the store to sign more books.

Approximately three weeks after publication, Johnson and her husband Chris Marcil both got very good news. He was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for writing FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows,” and Johnson learned that “Better Luck Next Time,” debuted at num-

16

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

Nature walks, shopping, classes, lectures at gardens

From talks on Los Angeles’ urban wildlife to nature camps to keep kids occupied, and other spring activities in between, local gardeners have a variety to choose from, both on location and online.

Botanical gardens are open to the public, but with posted protocols in place, such as timed entries and frequent hand washing or sanitizing.

Masks must be worn and social distancing practiced.

Arboretum At the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Ar-

cadia, kids ages five to 10 years old can participate in naturethemed art and science projects on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Adults can choose from tai chi, yoga or taking long walks through the gardens.

Zoom classes include learning the basics of bread baking, how to find wildlife in an urban landscape, and painting classes. Visit arboretum.org.

Descanso Gardens Kids in grades pre-kindergarten to 5th grade can choose from several interactive programs at Descanso Gardens,

1418 Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge. Combining online videos, walks through the gardens and downloads, kids can learn all about the different wildlife habitats at Descanso.

Adults can use the downloadable study guides from Descanso to explore their own yards and neighborhoods as they would Descanso Gardens.

Visit descansogardens.org.

Huntington Library While the outdoor areas are open to the public for timed visits, most workshops and talks are on Zoom, such as the talk on Charmian Kittredge

JUDY M. HORTON garden design

(Jack London’s wife), Wed., March 10, at 7:30 p.m., and Japanese architecture, Thurs., March 18, at 4 p.m.

In addition, check out the art talks and other lectures in the videos and recorded programs section. Visit huntington.org.

Theodore Payne Foundation Theodore Payne Foundation’s plant and gift shop, 10459 Tuxford St., in Sun Valley, is open for outdoor, socially distant business. Visitors can reserve their shopping time on the website.

The Poppy Days spring sale is Thurs., March 25 to Sat., March 27.

In addition, Payne has field trips, seed labs and other activities for kids from pre-kindergarten up through high school that may be scheduled

through the education department.

Adults can take advantage of classes via Zoom, and learn about correct plant habitat Sat., March 6 at 1 p.m., and how to set up a container garden Sat., March 20 at 9 a.m.

The Wildflower Hotline starts Fri., March 12. Call the hotline to get updates on where to find wildflowers on walks this spring. Visit theodorepayne.org.

Butterflies take flight at NHM

Watch butterflies take flight at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Pavilion, 900 Exposition Blvd., in late March. Visit the website for dates and timed tickets: nhm.org.

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JULIA CLAIBORNE JOHNSON’S hair documents the time it took to write her novel.

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Pathway to the studio

rally fabulous. I got lucky.” As she says, “Welcome to the free association that is my brain.”

This verbal agility is a hallmark of her writing, as well, which several reviewers compared to the smart rapidfire dialogue in a Frank Capra film.

Writing is a complex process. It took Johnson

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three years to get her first novel in shape to submit to an agent, and then two years of rewrites before it sold. “Better Luck Next Time” took three passes before publication. But the agony is worth it. “The fun about writing novels,” Johnson concludes, “is you go to readings [or virtual gatherings] and people are excited to see you. ‘It’s you!’ they cry.” She adds, “This is what it’s like to be prom queen!”

City Planning to consider guide for Zoning Code

The City Planning Commission is tentatively scheduled to consider an administrative guide for the New Zoning Code on Thurs., March 25.

The 700-page draft of the proposed Processes and Procedures Ordinance will act as the administrative guide for the New Zoning Code, which is the first chapter of the Los Angeles Municipal Code.

To learn more about the ordinance visit planning.lacity.org/zoning/code-amendments. Scroll down to Processes and Procedures Ordinance. To confirm the meeting date, visit planning.lacity.org/ about/commissions-boardshearings

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

17

Los Angeles County Arboretum: A library of life, needs protection

Spring begins March 20 and, at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, all is well, mostly. The South African aloes are flaming orange and yellow, as they do every spring, pandemic or no. And since it is March, the annual male courtship display of the Arboretum’s peacock flock is in full view.

Essential site Visitors have been flocking here in this year of lockdown. Because Los Angeles County deemed the Arboretum as an essential site early last year, the 127-acre property has been open. Arboretum staff members carefully monitor the number of people admitted; tickets are available online only, though members may just show up, membership card in hand. Face covering and social distancing are required, of course. (arboretum.org) The Arboretum was my main teaching home when I lived in Los Angeles. I am not impartial about these acres of plants, natural landscapes, wildlife, and historical buildings. I have given talks, writing workshops and classes there; what I have learned there is beyond measure. It has always felt like a place of

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solace and rejuvenation.

On March 15, the Arboretum will begin extended warmweather hours — blooming agapanthus and wisteria await you. Members will have access to the grounds from 7:30 a.m. until 9 a.m.; after that, it will be open to all until 7 p.m. The Peacock Café has reopened for “grab and go.”

Susan Eubank, the Arboretum’s librarian, has held, since 2010, a monthly community book discussion, “Reading the Western Landscape.” The gathering is now on Zoom; on March 31, the book to be discussed will be “Two Old Women,” by Vilma Wallis, a retelling of an Athabascan legend from a nomadic Alaskan Native tribe. Check the online calendar for this and other events.

The Arboretum grounds have a long, complex history, dating to the native peoples of the San Gabriel Valley. If I were in Southern California instead

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of New Mexico, I would take a late afternoon walk to Tallac Knoll, in the southwestern corner of the Arboretum, to see its 250 natural Engelmann oaks, reportedly the largest remaining grove in Los Angeles County. In the presence of these mighty trees, I think you can feel their healing essence.

Quercus englemannii is native to Southern California; the local Gabrielino-Tongva tribes once dined on their acorns.

Tallac Knoll is a geologic remnant of the Raymond Hill Fault, which runs from the east fork of the San Gabriel River and Monrovia Canyon and then west and south to the Pacific Ocean. Artesian springs from the Raymond Hill Fault feed Baldwin Lake at the Arboretum.

But water, as you are well aware, is a tricky business in Southern California. A section of the Arboretum, in the northwest of the property near the Arcadia Wash, is in danger from a proposed groundwater recharge facility and pump station, which is backed by a consortium of five foothill cities and the County of Los Angeles.

At stake are 425 trees This is the Australian sector of the property, where trees and shrubs have long been

BLOOMING ALOES in March.

Photo by Frank McDonough / LA County Arboretum

cultivated. At stake are 425 trees from 29 plant families, 53 genera, and 175 species, according to a count by Arboretum staff. Some trees are a hundred feet tall.

The proposal is hotly contested by Richard Schulhof, chief executive of the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation, Foundation board members, Arboretum staff, members, and visitors, along with adjacent homeowners, environmentalists, horticulturalists, and preservation groups.

The status of the proposal is pending. The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden has been a beloved public landscape for almost three-quarters of a century — a place you can count on.

Destroying one section would disturb so much else. As a biologist once said, about species preservation, but I think it applies to this great Southern California resource: “You shouldn’t burn down the library of life.”

ENGELMANN OAK is located between the Madagascar Spiny Forest and Africa sections.

Photo from LA County Arbortetum

18

Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

Raccoon makes a rare aggressive visit near Wilton and Seventh

By Suzan Filipek Mary Taylor and her dog were out for a walk on a recent Sunday evening in her neighborhood, at Seventh Street and Wilton Place, when a raccoon came from out of seemingly nowhere and attacked them.

Taylor was standing near her neighbors’ succulent garden when she saw her dog’s ears perk up.

She heard rustling from the fence and growling and thought maybe it was one of the wild cats that live in the area, or a dog, when, from about 12 feet away, the raccoon came charging at them.

The black-masked creature went after Ruby, her 50-pound cattle dog, and also clawed Taylor’s legs as Taylor tried to fight it off.

ATTACKS by raccoons are extremely rare.

Photo by Harlequeen.

Though smaller than her dog, the raccoon bit and locked on to Ruby’s back, dragging her into the street.

“I was terrified,” said Taylor, who remembers screaming at this point.

“Somehow my dog fought her off,” she said, and the raccoon ran in an opposite direction to Wilton Place, and Ruby bolted to the front door of their duplex.

Both Taylor and Ruby had

some minor gashes and bleeding on one leg. Her dog had recently had a rabies shot, and the vets assured her she would be fine.

Taylor fled to the emergency room at Kaiser and was put on four rounds of rabies vaccines spread four days apart. The hospital notified the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health, which contacted Taylor.

Taylor and her boyfriend, who had MARY TAYLOR and Ruby. moved here from Scouts. A rescue from Tijuana, Boston in the fall, adopted Ruby was timid before, and two-year-old Ruby from Mutt (Please turn to page 19)

POLICE BEAT OLYMPIC DIVISION ROBBERY: A male suspect approached a female victim while she was in her driveway on Jan. 29, near the corner of Beverly and Norton, and

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BURGLARY: A laptop, TV and clothing were stolen from inside an apartment on the 800 block of S. Gramercy Pl. after a suspect gained entry through an open front window on Feb. 2 at 2:45 p.m.

GRAND THEFTS AUTO: A 2018 Audi Q5 was stolen while parked on the 500 block of N. Windsor Blvd. between Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. and Jan. 30 at 9:30 a.m.

A 2001 Honda CRV was stolen while parked on the 200 block of S. Van Ness Ave. between Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. and Feb. 4 at 9 a.m.

A 2017 Hyundai was stolen while parked on the 800 block of S. Norton Ave. between Feb. 7 at 8:31 a.m. and Feb. 8 at 5 p.m.

A 2014 Kia was stolen while parked on the 900 block of Third Ave. between Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 9 at 9:30 a.m.

A 2000 Honda CRV was stolen while parked in the garage to a residential building on the 800 block of S. Wilton Pl. between Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. and Feb. 9 at 9:10 a.m.

A 2008 Nissan Rogue was stolen while parked in the

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MARCH 2021

SECTION TWO

19

Variance vs. variability: its upswings … and downswings

RUBY sustained minor injuries in the attack.

Raccoon

or it could resemble a wild carnival carousel. Aggressive Poker players are likely to show high variance, while tight players for All have low variance. The higher by your variance, the bigger the George bankroll you need to sustain Epstein yourself during down periods.

What about variability?

Variability is the lack of a variance is the upswings and downswings of the game as fixed pattern or the likelihood it is played. It could be like a of change from the mean valseesaw on a playground, fairly ue. In math, it refers to how equal on the ups and downs, spaced out the scores are in a distribution — the amount mals like raccoons, we could of spread of the scores around the mean. For years, I had be knee-deep in rodents. used the term while I was Don’t feed the wildlife Protect yourself and your thinking of variance. My mispets. Dogs are required by law take.…

An experience to be vaccinated against raA few years ago, I was playbies. Keep them away from wildlife. Keep pet food and wa- ing in a middle-limit hold’em ter indoors, away from wildlife. game at my favorite local If aggressive or unusual behav- casino. Playing selectively ior is observed, avoid the ani- tight-aggressive while focusmal and report it to Los Angeles ing closely on the game, after Animal Services at 1-888-452- about three hours I had man7381. Visit laanimalservices. aged to grind out a small profcom. More information is at it. And then it happened. …

I looked down at my hole wildlife.ca.gov/Keep-Me-Wild.

(Continued from page 18) now more so, notes Taylor, an aesthetician. Her boyfriend mostly takes Ruby for their nightly walk now, and usually earlier than before.

Unusual behavior “It is extremely rare for raccoons to attack persons or domesticated animals without provocation,” said City of Los Angeles Animal Services animal control officer and wildlife specialist Tami Shepphird.

The good news is that no one has seen hide nor hair of the raccoon since the Jan. 31 incident, she added.

“Typically, wildlife will avoid human interaction. In most cases where wildlife is becoming a nuisance, it is either ill or someone has been feeding them. I have seen squirrels become quite aggressive when they are used to being fed by people.”

What are they good for?

Raccoons are cute, sporting ringed tails and masks, and as carnivores, they are great at controlling rodent and insect populations. They also act as nature’s vacuum by removing carrion from around our homes. If it were not for ani-

cards and was pleased to see pocket Kings in the hole. In a middle position, I raised when the betting reached me. Four opponents and I saw the flop: Ad-Kc-9d.

My set of Kings looked like a sure-fire winner. Now my goal was to build the size of the pot I expected to win. The underthe-gun (UTG) opened the betting. I decided to just call along so as not to chase out chip contributors. The cut-off (CO) reraised — a three-bet.

Four of us saw the turn. It was another 9 on the board.

That gave me Kings-full of 9’s — a big full-house! Wow! I considered the likely range of hands my two opponents held.

My best guess was a pair of Aces or perhaps two-pair. After the UTG opened the betting, I raised – a two-bet. And then the CO reraised for a threebet. The three of us saw the river.

What a pot it was!

The dealer slowly placed a second 9 on the board. The

UTG checked to me. I opened the betting. And then the CO raised it up. The UTG then reraised (a three-bet), and I made it a four-bet. (That is the maximum allowed when three or more players are in the hand.) Surprise! My Acesfull was beat by the UTG’s quad 9’s.

Disappointed to no end, I spoke out: “What a horrible case of variability!” An elegant, well-dressed older woman to my right smiled at me and said, “You mean to say variance.”

I mumbled to myself, “Call it what you want; it was a monster pot that I lost.” All my hard-earned winnings were gone, plus … I had to take a break to avoid going on tilt.

George “The Engineer” Epstein, a long-time resident, is the author of three poker books including “The Art of Bluffing” and “Hold’em or Fold’em – An Algorithm for Making the Key Decision.”

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As you gain experience playing Texas hold’em, often you will hear the term “variance” used at the table. Why is it so important at the poker table?

What is variance?

In the “Official Dictionary of Poker,” Michael Wiesenberg defines variance as “the distribution of your results over a set of hands or sessions, or the swings in a positive or negative direction of cash flow.” In other words,

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Larchmont Chronicle

MARCH 2021

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Larchmont Chronicle's

Miracle Mile 2021

2 Miracle Mile 2021

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

All aboard! Wilshire / La Brea station dedicated to Councilman LaBonge

By Suzan Filipek

Councilman Tom LaBonge’s dream to connect residents and visitors from far and wide on seamless transportation throughout his favorite city is coming closer to a reality.

When the Metro “D” (formerly Purple) Line subway station opens at Wilshire / La Brea — scheduled for 2023 — passengers will see signs honoring the former local councilman, also known as “Mr. Los Angeles” and a great guy.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) board of directors recently voted to dedicate the station in LaBonge’s honor. The former Metro director and Fourth District councilman died on Jan. 7 in his Silver Lake home.

He was 67.

Signs with LaBonge’s name will be posted in addition to

TOM LaBONGE was an enthusiastic supporter of Los Angeles and the Miracle Mile.

“Wilshire / La Brea” signage, announced Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti.

Probably no one was a greater fan of our fair city than LaBonge.

“Anyone who knew Tom could tell you one thing about him: he loved every facet of our city — its geography, its diversity, its beauty, its people — and he gave his soul to it,” said Garcetti.

Tom LaBonge Panorama Separately, and the day before the Metro announcement, Mayor Garcetti established “Tom LaBonge Panorama” at the summit of Mount Hollywood overlooking the city, Griffith Observatory and Griffith Park. “[P]erhaps nothing was closer to his heart than Griffith Park, our crown jewel,” said the mayor. “He knew practically every inch of the trails, hikes and hills. He walked through the park daily. And it is only fitting that his name should forever be attached to this extraordinary landmark.”

LaBonge Memorial Forest In addition to the underground station and the mountain top, the Los Angeles Parks Foundation has just introduced a new partnership with award-winning Los Angeles (Please turn to page 6)

CHAMBER MEMBERS and guests attended the Zoom program saluting award recipients from LAPD and LAFD.

First Responders honored at annual Trailblazer Luncheon

By Caroline Tracy Members of the Greater Miracle Mile Chamber of Commerce (GMMCC) met on Zoom to honor the recipients of the 2021 Trailblazer Award last month. The award ceremony recognized first responders from the Los Angeles Police Department

(LAPD) and the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

A heavy roster of speakers spoke of the importance of their roles in the Miracle Mile community.

The GMMCC’s annual Trailblazer Award recognizes members of the community who exhibit outstanding dedication and service to the residents and businesses of the Miracle Mile. This year, challenges included, but were not limited to: a pandemic, civil unrest and economic fallout.

The GMMCC board chose to present the award to first responders. Recipients included: Battalion 18 (Chief Paul Pham and Fire Station crews), Fire Station 61 (captains and crews), Fire Station 68 (captains and crews), and LAPD’s Wilshire Division (captains and crews).

Luncheon speaker and city controller Ron Galperin observed: “In the world we live in, true heroes too often go unheralded and unnoticed, which is why honoring their work at the Trailblazer Luncheon is so important. Our city’s first responders, and their families, are the people who sacrifice to keep us safe and secure every single day. They are the working women and men who have been there and will always be there for us, along with the many health care workers, grocery workers, government workers and others who have helped keep Los Angeles running during the pandemic.”

Lyn MacEwen Cohen, president, First-In Fire Foundation, said of the responders’ efforts, “This is preparedness from the heart in the heart of Miracle Mile.”

GMMCC Executive Director Meg McComb added, “Each year our Chamber recognizes those in our community that have given significant and sustained service to the Miracle Mile. To me, the fire and police departments are not just an obvious choice, they are a long overdue and necessary one. With all manner of civic upheaval in the last year, none are more deserving of our thanks, praise and honor.”

Larchmont Chronicle

Miracle Mile 2021 3

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Development in the Mile is really high — sky high!

By Suzan Filipek The sky’s, well, the limit for four mixed-use projects in various stages of development in the Miracle Mile area.

The tallest among them is the Mirabel Residences, 5411 Wilshire Blvd., which will stand a formidable 42 stories.

“It’s tall,” admits the developer and owner of the property, Walter Marks III. But, he adds, the 348-unit apartment building with 39 affordable units will be innovative.

And, he hopes, something the neighborhood will be proud of.

“I have every intention of building something wonderful,” said Marks.

The Art Deco-inspired design by architect Richard Keating features a sleek, curvilinear, 530-foot-tall tower, tweaked in its design to avoid shadows on neighboring streets.

It’s forward thinking, says Marks, with an automated parking garage for 477 slots and electric charging stations. The sophisticated “WELL” building will offer clean circulated air and water and views. (In addition to air and water, a WELL rating measures noise and light in the built environment’s overall impact on health.)

Local retailers will be sought for the 15,000 square foot ground-floor space, Marks said.

But last month his plans hit a snag that will push groundbreaking back by more than two years.

Marks had been preparing a SCEA (Sustainable Communities Environmental Assessment), but the city is now requiring an Environmental Impact Report. It’s because of the Sontag Drug Building, Marks said.

The two-story Sontag building at 5401-5405 Wilshire Blvd., built in 1936, is considered an “excellent example of the Streamline Moderne

MIRABEL features a 42-story apartment tower and close proximity to the future Wilshire / La Brea subway stop.

style,” according to historic consultant Architectural Resources Group.

Marks bought the Sontag Building — which has been the home of Wilshire Beauty Supply and other tenants —

two years ago, and he planned to renovate and incorporate it into the Mirabel project.

The Cultural Heritage Commission voted last month to consider the proposed Historic-Cultural Monument desig-

Residential

nation sought by the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles.

The Commission is scheduled to tour the Sontag building March 24 and make a final determination May 6. If approved, the nomination will go to the City Council Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Marks submitted a letter against the designation, claiming the property is already listed in the California Register as a contributor to the Miracle Mile Historic District, and is protected, whereas this designation will impede moving forward with building “much needed housing, including affordable housing in the project area.”

City plans for a subway stop at La Brea Ave. — a mere two blocks “and 650 feet” from his block-sized property — inspired Marks, also the owner of Helms Bakery District in

Culver City, to step up his vision for the Mile.

“To me, owning real estate is a privilege and not a right, and if you have property as key as this one, you have an obligation to society,” Marks added.

The Mid City West Community Council approved the project in August, but opponents voiced concerns about the building’s height, traffic and parking impacts, and they raised doubts that the tower’s residents would walk to the subway.

The Wilshire Courtyard, at 5700 and 5750 Wilshire Blvd., was purchased last year by Canada-based Onni Group, and a major redevelopment project is in the works for the property.

Two high-rise office towers — at 35- and 41-stories tall — with connector bridges, terraces and street-level retail, (Please turn to page 4)

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Commercial Loans 1031 Exchanges Bulk Sales Business Opportunities ABC Transfers

MIRACLE MILE 2021

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COVER PHOTO of the construction of the Wilshire / La Brea “D” Line subway station, looking east toward the tunnel to Western Ave., is courtesy of Metro.

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4 Miracle Mile 2021

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

CIRCA 1936. The Sontag Drug Building on the northwest corner of Wilshire and Cloverdale avenues is being considered for a Historic-Cultural Monument designation.

Courtesy of Miraclemilela.com

Development

(Continued from page 3) are envisioned on the northern portion of the site by architect SCB. The new project would triple the current property’s square footage build-out to approximately three million square feet. An Initial Study of the project is under preliminary review by the city Planning Dept.

The current six-story, twobuilding office property on almost nine acres was built in 1987 by the late Jerry Snyder and was remodeled recently by previous owner Tishman Speyer.

The new project would retain and renovate the southern portion of the existing buildings. The new project will include 4,650 parking spaces in seven above-grade parking levels.

A hotel / residential complex is planned at 629 S. La Brea Ave., just north of the Wilshire / La Brea subway station. The eight-story, 200,000-squarefoot building is a CGI Strategies project, under applicant La Brea Bliss LLC. It includes 121 apartments plus a 125-room hotel designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, partnering with Togawa Smith Martin.

Among the one-, two- and

WILSHIRE COURTYARD re-imagined includes two high-rise towers at 35 and 41 stories.

three-bedroom apartment units, 20 percent are affordable units, and there is 13,000 square feet of commercial space planned above a twolevel, 185-car parking garage.

Amenities will include a rooftop lounge and pool deck.

Because of its affordable housing units and its location within walking distance of a subway station, the developer received an 80-percent density bonus under the city’s transitoriented communities (TOC) program.

The project is expected to open concurrent with the subway station.

The project was conditionally approved by the City Planning Dept. Jan. 21. A conditional use permit for alcoholic beverages was also approved in January.

The project is pending an appeal filed with the City Planning Commission tentatively set for a hearing April 22. Unite Here Local 11 and Fix the City are among the appellants.

The Town & Country on

Third St. at Fairfax Ave. is poised for a major uplift with a new, eight-story mixed-use complex of housing units over retail space, pedestrian-only walkways and bike paths.

The 490,682-square-foot Regency Centers development includes 331 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, new commercial space and two levels of subterranean parking. There are 996 car spots with 350 above ground. The project includes (Please turn to page 6)

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34TH ANNUAL EDITION

FOR INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT COLLIERS AT 818.325.4139

Miracle Mile 2021 5

6 Miracle Mile 2021

HOTEL and residential complex is planned on La Brea Ave., immediately north of the subway station opening in 2023.

(Continued from page 4) a new space added to the existing Whole Foods market

LaBonge

(Continued from page 2) architectural and landscape design firm RIOS to honor the late councilman through the Tom LaBonge Memorial Forest in Griffith Park.

RIOS, whose offices were located until recently on Larchmont Boulevard, will design a natural installation near the top of Mt. Hollywood, the recently re-named “Tom LaBonge Panorama.”

“We’re happy to be a part of

TOWN & COUNTRY, an eight-story apartment-and-retail development on Third St. near Fairfax Ave., recently released its draft Environmental Impact Report. Comment period ends March 29.

and CVS pharmacy on the western portion of the block, which will remain open during construction.

A draft Environmental Im-

pact Report for the project was released Feb. 11.

Public comment on the draft EIR will be accepted through March 29 by 4 p.m. Visit plan-

ning4la.org/development-services/eir and enter ENV-20182771-EIR. Community briefing webinars are Thurs., March 4 at 6

p.m. and Sat., March 6 at 10 a.m. Visit townandcountryla. com/resources-contact to RSVP and for more information.

Tom’s legacy,” said Mark Rios, who founded the firm in 1985.

Parks Foundation executive director Carolyn Ramsay (Windsor Square) added, “We’re proud and thrilled that our board member Mark Rios and his creative team will design this important project, which is close to all of our hearts.”

LaBonge’s widow, Brigid, who has collaborated in designating this memorial to her late husband, said of the forest: “This memorial project will create a living tribute to

Tom and a place of respite for all. I have enjoyed working on the vision for it and look forward to working with RIOS on its realization.”

She noted that the “Tom LaBonge Panorama” also recognizes that her husband and his seven brothers grew up in a house on Panorama Terrace in Silver Lake.

The forest project is being developed with donations from scores of Angelenos, companies, political leaders and foundations. Ramsay said

she was grateful to the many neighbors in the Wilshire/ Larchmont area who already have supported the Tom LaBonge Memorial Fund for Griffith Park. To contribute, visit: tinyurl.com/54mn6wjp or call 310-488-6158.

LaBonge served the Larchmont and Mid-Wilshire areas of Los Angeles through most of his 40-year career at City Hall, 14 years as councilman, and before that, as staffer to the late Council President John Ferraro.

LaBonge Scholarship And, finally (to date!) the Los Feliz Improvement Assoc. has established the Tom LaBonge Leadership Scholarship at John Marshall High School.

LaBonge was a member of the Class of 1971 at Marshall, where he was a star football player. At the time of his 2015 retirement from the City Council, his colleagues dedicated the intersection in front of the school, at Tracy and St. George streets, as “Tom LaBonge Square.”

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Assembly Member, 50th District  California State Assembly 

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34TH ANNUAL EDITION

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34TH ANNUAL EDITION

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Miracle Mile 2021 7

8 Miracle Mile 2021

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Construction, public safety are among MMRA’s concerns

By Suzan Filipek As usual, there’s a lot going on in Miracle Mile, though 2021 seems even busier than most years with several major developments underway.

Which is why sometimes it’s the simple projects that can help put things in perspective.

“I think things like a dog park go a long way to bring neighborhoods together,” said Greg Goldin, president of the Miracle Mile Residential Association (MMRA).

According to Goldin, an ideal grassy spot would be in Hancock Park, (parallel to W. Sixth St. along the north side of the La Brea Tar Pits parking lot).

The Tar Pits, however, has plans of its own for a major redevelopment of the site by architecture firm Weiss/Manfredi.

Down Wilshire Blvd., also on the Mile’s famed Museum Row, the Academy Museum is set to open Sept. 30, 2021 at the corner of Fairfax Avenue.

While there is international buzz about the new facility saluting the film capital of the world, with the MMRA there is concern about the movie museum’s parking.

Original plans called for the movie museum parking to be at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Spalding Ave. lot, but because of LACMA de-

velopment, that is no longer an option.

“We’re concerned with this, because we don’t know how this will work with traffic,” said Goldin. (According to the City Planning Dept., the majority of the Academy Museum’s required parking will still be provided at LACMA’s Pritzker Garage (378 of 466 required spaces), and the Academy proposes to utilize the Petersen Automotive Museum or the 6100 Wilshire Building for the remaining 88 required spaces.)

LACMA, for its part, is well underway with its redevelopment plans, which include building the David Geffen Galleries over Wilshire Boulevard.

Neighborhood concerns include other developments, as well. Among them is the 42-story Mirabel mixed-use apartment project at Wilshire and Cochran Ave. Goldin praised its design, which includes a sleek tower so as to lessen the impact of shadows on the neighborhood.

No question Mile development is intense, “but we’re not in a position to stop this juggernaut. … But we do have the right to raise our concerns,” Goldin said.

Which, besides density, includes aesthetics, so that projects conform to the area’s rich

PHOTOGRAPH of A. W. Ross, founder of Miracle Mile, from “National Geographic Magazine,” circa 1960.

Courtesy of MMRALA.com

Art Deco past, he noted.

The MMRA is also determined to keep Wilshire Green Park, a pocket park on Eighth Street between Curson and

Masselin avenues. It’s at the block-square Wilshire Courtyard property, recently bought

by Onni Group, which plans to redevelop the north half of the site and build two towers, 35and 41-stories, there.

Another property — a cityowned small parking lot south of Wilshire between Cochran and Cloverdale — is being eyed as a homeless housing site.

And Olympia Medical Center’s recent announcement to close at the end of this month sparked concern. Goldin hopes a deal can be reached with city leaders to extend the closure through the pandemic.

Safety, and more safety Miracle Mile boasts a safety program that includes 29 captains (out of 55 blocks), a disaster preparedness plan and a neighborhood watch.

“Block organization is necessary … Moreover, it greatly improves the quality of life for our neighbors who participate in the program,” said Kari Garcia, vice president and chair of the MMRA Safety Committee/ Neighborhood Watch.

“Hopefully, most people know that after the expected earthquake we will not have any city services whether it is LAPD or LAFD response for up to 72 hours, if not longer,” Garcia noted. Visit mmrala. com and miraclemilela.com/ safety-committee/ Fifth Avenue of the West Dramatic changes that would earn Wilshire Boulevard the nickname “Fifth Avenue of the West” began in 1920 when A.W. Ross purchased 18 acres along the boulevard, according to the MMRA website.

ACADEMY MUSEUM on Wllshire Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue is set to open Sept. 30, 2021.

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Miracle Mile 2021 9

LACMA IS READY TO REOPEN * LACMA meets—and exceeds—the most current health and safety guidelines for museums provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the City of Los Angeles.

LACMA is committed to providing a safe environment for all visitors and staff.

We will welcome you back as soon as State and County guidelines allow.

These exhibitions await you Installed Now and All New

Still on View

Coming Spring/Summer 2021

Bill Viola: Slowly Turning Narrative

Barbara Kruger: Untitled (Shafted)

Cauleen Smith: Give It Or Leave It

Chris Burden: Metropolis II

Acting Out: Cabinet Cards and the Making of Modern Photography

NOT I: Throwing Voices (1500 BCE–2020 CE)

Do Ho Suh: 348 West 22nd Street

Yoshitomo Nara Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera View From Here: Recent Acquisitions

Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific Mark Bradford: 150 Portrait Tone Richard Serra: Band Robert Irwin: Metropolis II

Chinese Contemporary Art from the Yuz Collection In the Now: Gender and Nation in Europe Reinstallation of the Modern Art Collection

Always free for members and L.A. County youth 17 and under *As of February 25, 2021, indoor museums are not allowed to reopen under State of California guidelines.

Exterior of BCAM and Resnick Pavilion at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Los Angeles County Museum of Art 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, near Fairfax LACMA.org | 323 857-6010

10 Miracle Mile 2021

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

LACMA exhibits are ready to open pending government okays

By Suzan Filipek Several new exhibits at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art have not yet been seen by the public, even though the exhibits were installed early last year. They had the misfortune to be readied just before the pandemic shuttered the museum’s doors last spring.

LACMA officials are eagerly waiting for the governmental go-aheads to open. (Outdoor exhibits and grounds have been allowed to be open to the public for some time.)

And when these shows finally open, things will be a little bit different. We’ll be wearing masks, for one, and socially distancing. One-way paths will be marked through the galleries, and doors are now equipped with touchless sensors.

Here’s a look at some of what’s in store on the inside: Japanese contemporary artist Yoshitomo Nara is featured in a retrospective of 100 of his portraits, sculptures and ceramics on an entire floor in the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM).

Doll-like faces gaze out from large canvases, while his phonograph record collection of folk, rock and other album covers fills one entire wall.

The artist has drawn much of his inspiration from a passion

100 WORKS by Nara await visitors at a to-be-reopened LACMA.

for music and his childhood memories.

It’s the first exhibit to show the influence of music on his art in the United States, and is also is the first international retrospective of the artist.

Yoshitomo Nara is through July 5, 2021.

A utopian society is created

by Los Angeles-based African American artist Cauleen Smith in a series of videos and installations that borrow from the ideals of the Shakers and artists of the Watts Towers and other works.

“Cauleen Smith: Give It Or Leave It” is in BCAM through Oct. 3, 2021.

Ventriloquists, puppets and sounds and voices in various forms through the centuries are depicted in 200 objects in

GIVE IT OR LEAVE IT installation by Cauleen Smith.

a LACMA-curated show in the Resnick Pavilion.

“Beethoven’s Trumpet (With Ear) Opus #131,” by artist John Baldessari plays musical phrases in this work inspired by the composer’s ear trumpet.

RECORD COLLECTION of the artist and “One Foot in the Groove” by Yoshitomo Nara await visitors at LACMA.

“LIBRARY of Unborrowed Books” in “Not I,” at LACMA

Also on display are books never read, from the Los Angeles Public Library in “The Library of Unborrowed Books.”

“NOT I: Throwing Voices (1500 BCE - 2020 CE)” is through July 25, 2021.

An installation of image and sound by pioneering video art-

ist Bill Viola features two projections on a large rotating screen of images showing the fullness of the human condition, in the Resnick Pavilion.

“Bill Viola: Slowly Turning Narrative: is through June 27, 2021.

(Please turn to page 14)

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Miracle Mile 2021 11

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12 Miracle Mile 2021

Following is a list of elected officials who serve the Miracle Mile and surrounding areas.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein 11111 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 915, 90025 310-914-7300 feinstein.senate.gov

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Directory of Elected Officials

Sen. Alex Padilla 11845 W. Olympic Blvd., Ste. 1250W, 90064 202-224-3553 padilla.senate.gov Rep. Adam Schiff 28th District 5500 Hollywood Blvd.,

Ste. 416, 90028 323-315-5555 schiff.house.gov

Rep. Ted Lieu 33rd District 1645 Corinth Ave., Ste. 101, 90025 323-651-1040

lieu.house.gov

a50.asmdc.org

Rep. Jimmy Gomez 34th District 350 S. Bixel St., Ste. 120, 90017 213-481-1425 gomez.house.gov

Assemblymember Miguel Santiago 53rd District 320 W. 4th St., Ste. 1050, 90013 213-620-4646 a53.asmdc.org

Rep. Karen Bass 37th District 4929 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 650, 90010 323-965-1422 bass.house.gov Gov. Gavin Newsom 1303 10th St., Ste. 1173, Sacramento 95814 916-445-2841

gov.ca.gov

State Sen. María Elena Durazo 24th District 1808 W. Sunset Blvd., 90026 213-483-9300 sd24.senate.ca.gov State Sen. Ben Allen 26th District 2512 Artesia Blvd., Ste. 320, Redondo Beach 90278 310-318-6994 sd26.senate.ca.gov Assemblymember Richard Bloom 50th District 2800 28th St., Ste. 105, Santa Monica 90405 310-450-0041

County Supervisor Holly Mitchell 2nd District 500 W. Temple St., Ste. 866, 90012 213-974-2222 mitchell.lacounty.gov County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl 3rd District 500 W. Temple St., Ste. 821, 90012 213-974-3333 supervisorkuehl.com Councilmember Nithya Raman 4th District 200 N. Spring St., Rm. 415 Los Angeles 90012 213-473-7004 councildistrict4.lacity.org Councilmember Paul Koretz 5th District 200 N. Spring St., Rm. 440, 90012 213-473-7005 councilmemberpaulkoretz. com

NEIGHBORHOOD RETAIL on Fairfax Avenue is the new setting for the Larchmont Barber Shop — originally “on the Boulevard” since the 1920s.

Barber takes Larchmont to Fairfax Avenue

By John Welborne You can take the barber out of Larchmont, but you can’t take the soul of Larchmont out of his shop.

Construction on his Larchmont building (he was one of the 14 shops in the former Lipson Building, now behind a construction wall) and high rents elsewhere on the street (despite the nearly 30 vacancies) forced owner Jorge Hilario to close up the 90-plus years Larchmont business in December.

But the Larchmont Barber Shop lives on — now nearer to the Miracle Mile than Larchmont, but still close by — at 401 1/2 S. Fairfax Ave. (near

the corner of Fourth Street).

Hilario took over the Larchmont shop in 2013, following the death of former owner Jerry Cottone, who had taken over the shop from his (Please turn to page 13)

LARCHMONT BARBER Shop found a new home on Fairfax.

Larchmont Chronicle

Miracle Mile 2021 13

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Area favorite: Toy Hall reopens as Miracle Mile Toys and Gifts

By Rachel Olivier Miracle Mile Toys and Gifts, 5464 Wilshire Blvd., formerly Miracle Mile Toy Hall, is not going anywhere, says new owner Christina Mullin.

Known as a favorite toy store for many families in the Miracle Mile area, both Mullin and Carrie Harr, former owner of Miracle Mile Toy Hall, were quick to assure that the store will remain a fixture of the community.

At the moment, the store is open with limited capacity, and also offers curbside, online and on-demand and byappointment service.

Mullin, the store’s manager for many years, has watched many of the kids grow up as they visited the store. She says that much about the store remains the same — classic, interactive and non-electronic toys and gifts that have made it a popular toy store since it was opened by the first owner, Christine Johnson, in 2013.

Some of the changes will include adding some homewares eventually, and no longer renting the event space (the pandemic having made it difficult to hold events or parties, especially indoors). However, Mullin says, she hopes to revisit renting that space again in the future when the coronavirus is under control.

Harr, who became partners with original owner Johnson in 2018, will be starting her own online toy and gift store, Cuckoo Clock Toys and Gifts.

A good fit Mullin has been the only employee since the pandemic hit, and she often gets calls from customers who have dropped by while she was at home. Her short commute — she lives across the street — makes it easier for her to help her customers, even while she’s helping her own kids with their schooling and projects.

Mullin moved to Los Angeles

from New York about 15 years ago, initially to get into casting.

She worked in retail since she was 14 years old, as well as in consumer behavioral research.

After having a child, and then deciding to go back to work, the nearby Miracle Mile Toys seemed like a good fit. Since then, with help from her husband and other family members, the store has become very much a family affair.

As an example of that, to source some of the funds needed to get the toy store up and running after the shutdowns and the purchase, Mullin set up a GoFundMe page, which reached its initial goal in three days based on donations from customers, friends and family.

Mullin says she looks forward to continuing to veer kids away from looking at screens and towards being more creative. Visit her new website at: miraclemiletoysandgifts.com.

MIRACLE MILE Toys and Gifts is open and ready for business.

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THEN: Larchmont Chronicle publisher John Welborne photographed with William LaBombard, both getting Saturday morning trims at the original shop on Larchmont in 2017.

Barber shop

(Continued from page 12) father, Vince. The Cottones ran the shop for close to 60 years.

NOW: Owner Jorge Hilario and barber Cesar Vasquez give trims in the new Larchmont Barber Shop — with many artifacts from Larchmont, but now on Fairfax Avenue — in 2021.

According to Hilario, he has been very much back in business since last month, although there may be a little fine-tuning still to come with the interior

decorating. But, during a visit there on a recent Saturday morning, the space certainly had the feel of a traditional neighborhood barber shop.

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14 Miracle Mile 2021

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Cathedral Chapel School 755 S. Cochran Ave. Ph: 323-938-9976 Principal: Tina Kipp Grades: K to 8 cathedralchapelschool.org

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Miracle Mile School Directory

Hancock Park Elementary 408 S. Fairfax Ave. Ph: 323-935-5272 Principal: Ashley Parker Grades: TK to 5 hancockparkschool.com

♥

Wilshire Crest Elementary 5241 W. Olympic Blvd.

Ph: 323-938-5291 Principal: Gayle Robinson Grades: PK to 5 wce-lausd-ca.schoolloop.com

Third St. Elementary 201 S. June St. Ph: 323-939-8337 Principal: Daniel Kim Grades: PK to 5 thirdstreetschool.com

90 Y OF M EARS IRAC IN TH LE M E ILE!

MIDDLE SCHOOLS Fusion Miracle Mile 5757 Wilshire Blvd.

Promenade One Ph: 323-692-0603 Principal: Katheryn Nguyen Grades: 6 to 12 fusionacademy.com John Burroughs 600 S. McCadden Pl. Ph: 323-549-5000 Principal: Steve Martinez Grades: 6 to 8 burroughsms.org

Cathedral Chapel School

Archdiocesan & State Academic Decathlon Champions 2017!

• Kindergarten through 8th grade • Fully Accredited WASC & WCEA • Schoolwide 4G Internet Access • 36 MAC Computer Lab • Spanish Program • K-8 iPad Program • Departmentalized Junior High • Art & Music Program • Honors Math Program

Yavneh Hebrew Academy 5353 W. 3rd St. Ph: 323-931-5808 Principal: Eileen Wasserman Grades: K to 8 yha.org

• CYO Sports • Choice Lunch Program • Outreach Concern Counseling • Extended Day Care • Junior High Academic Decathlon

New Los Angeles Charter 1919 S. Burnside Ave. Ph: 323-939-6400 Principal: Gabrielle Brayton Grades: 6 to 8 newlamiddle.org

AFTER SCHOOL ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS • Young Ninjas USA-Enrichment Classes • Fit & Fun Gymnastics

HIGH SCHOOLS

Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA) 1067 West Blvd.

Ph: 323-900-4532 Principal: Elizabeth Hicks Grades: 6 to 12 galacademy.org Fairfax High, Visual Arts Magnet, Police Academy Magnet 7850 Melrose Ave. Ph: 323-370-1200 Principal: Lorraine Trollinger Grades: 9 to 12 fairfaxhs.org Los Angeles High, STEAM Magnet 4650 W. Olympic Blvd.

Ph: 323-900-2700 Principal: Marguerette Gladden Grades: 9 to 12 lahigh.org Shalhevet School 910 S. Fairfax Ave. Ph: 323-930-9333 Principal: Daniel Weslow Grades: 9 to 12 shalhevet.org

Please call the school office.

Applications available online at cathedralchapelschool.org or in our school office.

©LC0321

K - 8th Grade Testing by appointment

755 South Cochran Ave., L.A. 90036 For Information (323) 938-9976 or cathedralchapelschool.org

RODIN GARDEN, I at LACMA uses camera obscura techniques.

Vera Lutter, photo courtesy of the artist

Museums

(Continued from page 10) Using her camera obscura technique, New York-based artist Vera Lutter’s 44 works in the Resnick Pavilion were made when she was in residence, and they chronicle works from LACMA’s collection as well as its now demolished eastern campus.

Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera through Sept. 12, 2021.

A selection of 16 newly acquired works include works by Calida Rawles and Christina Fernandez. In the Resnick Pavilion.

“View From Here: Recent Acquisitions” is ongoing.

While LACMA waits to reopen, there is lots to do online: “Reading Ventriloquist Scripts,” the first in a series of five readings, is Thurs., March 4 at 4 p.m. Free.

“In Response — Perspec-

TOUCHLESS SENSOR for opening LACMA doors.

tives on Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera” is Tues., March 23 at 4 p.m. Free.

Conversation series with LACMA this month include: “Art Moves: Not I Throwing Voices (1500 BCE - 2020 CE) Yoga” is Sat., March 6 from 10 to 11 a.m. Members $5; general public $8. RSVP required.

“The Moth Virtual StorySLAM: Nostalgia-Yoshitomo Nara” is Fri., March 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Member $5; general $8.

Visit LACMA.org for more information.

Larchmont Chronicle

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Larchmont Village

Miracle Mile 2021 15

16 Miracle Mile 2021

The following list of apartment buildings covers a major portion of the community. All are ZIP Code 90036 unless otherwise noted. If you have additions or corrections, please write to: info@larchmontchronicle.com.

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Miracle Mile Apartments

Avalon Wilshire 5115 Wilshire Blvd.

323-894-9430 avaloncommunities.com

Boulevard on Wilshire 5353 Wilshire Blvd.

866-380-1996 liveboulevard.com

Babylon Apartments 360 S. Detroit St. 323-930-2213 hpgmanagement.com

Brighton Villas 318 S. Detroit St. 323-930-2213 hpgmanagement.com

The Sycamore District is proud to support its local restaurants and essential food workers.

Broadcast Center Apartments 7660 Beverly Blvd.

424-523-5999 broadcastcenterapts.com

Oakwood Miracle Mile 5659 W. 8th St. 323-931-5659 oakwood.com

Burnside Residences 600 S. Burnside Ave. 323-497-4803 burnside-living.com

Palazzo East 348 S. Hauser Blvd.

424-532-8801 palazzo-east.com

Burnside Villas 649 S. Burnside Ave. 323-940-5443 liveatburnsidelofts.com

Palazzo West 6220 W. 3rd St. 424-532-9123 palazzo-west.com

Carthay Circle Apts.

6209-6225 Olympic Blvd., 90048 323-936-3793

Palm Court Apts.

740 S. Burnside Ave. 323-930-2564 harrison-properties.net

Cloverdale Apartments 600 S. Cloverdale Ave. 323-965-1565

Park La Brea 6200 W. 3rd St. 323-549-5400 parklabrea.com

Cloverdale Properties, LLC 660 S. Cloverdale Ave. 310-413-0209 cloverdale.optimuspropertiesllc.com

Enjoy beautiful sidewalk dining options or takeaway.

Cloverdale Towers 340 S. Cloverdale Ave. 323-936-0322 cloverdaletowers.bhprop.com Cochran Apartments 657–665 S. Cochran Ave. derekcusack.com/coc Cochran Avenue Apartments 442 S. Cochran Ave. 310-642-6556 cochranavenue.com Cochran Island Apartments 342 S. Cochran Ave. 323-932-0450 Cochran House 740 S. Cochran Ave. 310-729-0200 Curson Apartments 315-323 N. Curson Ave. 323-289-2374 cursonapts.com The Desmond 5520 Wilshire Blvd.

310-602-4202 livedesmond.com Essex at Miracle Mile 400 S. Detroit St. 323-342-5520 essexapartmenthomes.com Hauser Apartments 625 Hauser Blvd.

323-937-0930 hpgmanagement.com

Located on Sycamore Ave – just east of La Brea Ave & south of Santa Monica Blvd

Linda Manor Apartments 456 S. Cochran Ave. 310-710-9361

BARBER SHOP NEW LOCATION

Same telephone number!

Come see us at our new shop at

©LC03 21

(323) 464-6659

Masselin Park West 5700 6th St. 323-617-4856 masselinparkwestapts.com Micropolitan at Urban Lights 739 S. Ogden Dr. 323-319-5844

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

For appointments until 4 p.m., call

The Mansfield 5100 Wilshire Blvd.

323-634-0290 themansfieldapartments.com

Museum Terrace 600 S. Curson Ave. 323-745-1251 museumterraceapts.com

The Preston 630 S. Masselin Ave. 323-965-1253 theprestonapts.com Redwood Urban 345 S. Cloverdale Ave. 435 S. Detroit St. 630 Hauser Blvd.

323-938-5653 redwoodurban.com Ridgeley Apartments 756 S. Ridgeley Dr. 323-524-0553 ridgeleyapts.com Tiffany Court 616 Masselin Ave. 323-342-5516 essexapartmenthomes.com The Warwick 109 N. Sycamore Ave. No phone number available.

Wilshire Embassy Apts.

5805 W. 8th St. 323-933-6020 Wilshire La Brea 5200 Wilshire Blvd.

323-342-5515 essexapartmenthomes.com Wilshire West Properties, LLC 649 S. Ridgeley Dr. 323-784-0567 x80 162/164 N. Detroit St. No phone number available. detroitla.com 328 S. Cloverdale Ave. 323-936-5071 rentcwp.com 616 S. Burnside Ave. 323-937-4359 hpgmanagement.com 632 S. Cloverdale Ave. No phone number available.

5550 Wilshire Blvd.

844-486-2213 5550wilshire.com 5600 Wilshire Blvd.

323-342-5522 essexapartmenthomes.com 5778 W. Olympic Blvd.

No phone number available.

5880-5882 W. 8th St. 310-425-9070 6300 W. Olympic Blvd., 90048 No phone number available.

6526 W. Olympic Blvd., 90048 No phone number available.

Larchmont Chronicle

Miracle Mile 2021 17

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Spring comes to Farmers Market with fresh produce, menu ideas

By Rachel Olivier Spring has sprung, and with it the lifting of some health guideline restrictions. People are bursting to take advantage of outdoor shopping and dining in the fine weather, especially at the Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. Third St. When we asked Ilysha Buss, director of marketing at Farmers Market, how the Market was doing, she said that while it was at limited

capacity because of the health department guidelines, there also has been a bustling feel to the market — upbeat and vigorous — a sign of spring and hope renewed.

Rick’s Produce New at the market is Rick’s Produce. Opened last month across from Marconda’s Puritan Poultry and T&Y Bakery, the produce stand sells eggs, strawberries, avocados and a variety of citrus and vegeta-

Sidecar pulls up at Third and Fairfax

There is a new tenant next to the Trader Joe’s across from the Original Farmers Market.

Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee opened its fifth Southern California location last month.

Established in 2012, the shop has developed a devoted following for handcrafted doughnuts, “made fresh daily, from scratch, using the finest ingredients available” according to the owners. Their doughnuts are fried in small batches every hour, ensuring that each customer receives a fresh, warm doughnut. Their flavors include Huckleberry, Butter & Salt, and Maple Bacon, and they also offer a rotating monthly menu of seasonal flavors.

Stan Savage, executive vice president of landlord A. F. Gilm-

FLAVORS that can fill a sixdoughnut box include maple bacon, vegan chocolate truffle, huckleberry and more.

ore Company, says, “They are a terrific addition to the offerings at Gilmore Station and we know they’ll be warmly received by the local community and visitors seeking a delicious treat and a great cup of coffee.”

In addition to Trader Joe’s, the two other tenants are Mendocino Farms and Paper Source.

bles, as well as handmade salsas, guacamole, juices, jams, smoothies and sandwiches.

Owner Rick Dominguez brings his sustainably grown produce from his farm in Fallbrook, as well as from other family farms in the area. He began his business by selling avocados at local weekly farmers’ markets, and then expanded his produce selection.

In 2014, he purchased his own farmland. Currently, he operates a small location in Silver Lake, but the stand at the Original Farmers Market has become his flagship store.

Home cooking videos For customers who want to take a little bit of Farmers Market home with them, the Market also has recipes for several menu favorites on “Market Buzz.” The blog highlights dishes made by several Farmers Market vendors. Videos posted include instructions on how to

PERSIMMONS, lemons, limes and other in-season fruits and vegetables are available at Rick’s Produce.

make: Roxy & Jo’s lobster roll with French fries, Phil’s Deli’s pastrami and Swiss omelette, Singapore Banana Leaf’s mee goring, Patsy D’Amore’s “Pat-

sy’s Special” pizza and the French Crepe Company’s La Normandie crepe. The recipes can be found at farmersmarketla.com/market-buzz.

Solid Partners … preparing for the future.

AT NEW SIDECAR Doughnuts & Coffee location at Gilmore Station (next to Trader Joe’s and across from the Original Farmers Market), new batches are made every hour.

Always at the Ready.

In Miracle Mile

Imagination in the Spirit of Cooperation for the Love of Miracle Mile

Exquisite Floral Arrangements & Plants for Every Occasion!

5310 West 8th Street www.urbanflorist.net

©LC0314

323-937-7100

(323) 933-8164

©LC0321

(310) 204-1865

18 Miracle Mile 2021

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

All Season Brewing Co. replaces all season tires All Season Brewing Company is open for business at the former Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. building at 800 S. La Brea Ave. While the company brews 15 beers onsite, it also offers classic and draft cocktails, wine and house-made ginger beer.

Food is provided by Chica’s Tacos with choices that range from slow-braised steak tacos to plant-based nachos and chipotle barbecue chicken pizza.

The blurred indoor-outdoor space complements current health department protocols for outside dining. Besides the mask-wearing requirement, tables are set eight feet apart, and no groups larger than six people are allowed to sit together. Hours are Sunday to Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. to midnight, with the facility becoming ages 21 and over after 8:30 p.m. every night.

The historic Machine Age Streamline Moderne design of the building was considered ultra modern when Firestone built it in 1938 to sell tires, and it now is a City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

For more information, visit allseasonbrewing.com, or follow it on Instagram or Facebook.

HISTORIC FIRESTONE Tire and Rubber Co. on La Brea Ave. is now the site of the All Season Brewing Company.

Children can play, swim, make art at Park La Brea

By Jane Gilman It’s not unusual to see moms pushing strollers in Park La Brea as families take their young children on walks along the lushly planted landscape. The younger set has many ways to enjoy living at Park La Brea, the 4422-unit apartment village in Miracle Mile.

Destinations of those strolls might be the large Alandele Circle where replicas of dinosaurs make great climbing fun, or it might be the Halloween extravaganza at the

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equally large Burnside Circle with rides, pumpkin decorating and a costume parade.

If it’s a Saturday afternoon, there is likely to be a G-rated movie showing at the theater at the centrally located Activities Center. At one of the two swimming pools, some children are getting their first aquatic lessons.

In the Activity Center’s main room, there is space for more programs for boys and girls to participate in after school and weekends. One of these is “Debi’s Doodles,” a twice-

monthly program where boys and girls participate in arts and crafts projects. The program is run by Deborah Gillman, coordinator of the Activities Center. She leads the children in projects such as decorating backpacks, making masks and painting. The artwork is on exhibit at the Center every November, and the children’s recycling efforts are displayed on Earth Day. “We love ‘Debi Doodles’ classes,” said one mother. “Our children meet their neighbors and make new friends.”

CHILDREN’S CREATIVITY flourishes at “Debi Doodles” classes at Park La Brea.

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34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Miracle Mile 2021 19

20 Miracle Mile 2021

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

First foray back to in-person dining yields dreamy results It’s not often that I wake up thinking about a meal from the night before, but my first foray back to in-person dining since last March yielded such deliciousness that every tasty morsel lingered in my mind well into the next morning.

I was nervous about venturing into the eating world again, albeit outside with socially distanced tables.

My husband and I made an especially early dinner reservation in the hopes that we would beat the rush. We masked up, tucked hand sanitizer into my purse and drove to one of our favorite places, Angelini Osteria.

We were offered a choice of tables along the sidewalk or on the courtyard patio.

Although there were ample heaters, it was a chilly and breezy evening so we opted for the more protected patio.

There was a plastic canopy installed above us, probably due to the recent rains, so we worried briefly that we were perilously close to an indoor dining model not yet approved, but our early hour, mid-week strategy rewarded us with a nearly empty space for the first half of our meal.

Once seated we were told to read the rules about always wearing a mask when

On the Menu by

Helene Seifer approached by waitstaff and limiting the meal to 90 minutes, then pointed toward the QR code displayed on our table. When our phone camera focused on the little square code a menu opened, eliminating the need for touching paper. We felt completely safe.

We recently had food delivered from Angelini Osteria and especially enjoyed their delicate green lasagna, but takeout just isn’t the same as an in-situ experience, no matter how great the restaurant. To savor our night out, we lingered over $13 glasses of Sicilian red while heaping spoonfuls of an amuse-bouche of peas, peppers, and parsley onto savory crispy flat bread triangles while pondering our eating options.

We usually share everything for double the tastes, and this night was no exception.

We ordered the refreshing thin-sliced red beet, burrata,

From Breakfast

walnut and arugula salad, $18. Anything with beets and burrata automatically calls to me, and this combination, with the peppery greens, sweet, creamy cheese, earthy nuts and beets in a simple citrus dressing, was a perfect starter and a great lead-in to our pasta and main.

After so many months at home, we rewarded ourselves with an indulgently rich and pricey pasta, the $55 house made spaghetti chitarra.

Thick chewy pasta strands are made by pushing dough through wires strung on a special cutting box, much like a guitar (“chitarra” means guitar in Italian). Tossed with crumbled sausage and grated parmesan and showered in shaved black truffles, the spaghetti was worth every penny. I was instantly transported to two years ago, when I went on a truffle hunt in Tuscany followed by a three-course meal prepared by the third-generation truffle hunter’s sister. This pasta was even better than the one served at the source. Is there anything more glorious than the perfume of a truffle?

Its heady nose, the way it turns any food it touches into heaven-on-a-plate? This might have to join my list of

… to Lunch

must-have dishes.

Salt-crusted branzino is one of the mains I’ve always loved at the osteria, but this time we tried halibut with sauteed spinach, $40. The meaty fish was bathed in a light sauce of chopped tomatoes and minced onions and chives. Its fresh and delicate taste balanced the earthy pasta.

We left before having dessert and coffee since, by that time, the patio and sidewalk were completely filled with chatting

diners, and it seemed a good time to seek the more-open space provided by a brisk short walk to our car.

I had wondered if I could be comfortable going back to the old ways once the scientists tell us all is well. Judging by the experience of dipping my toe into the outdoor dining scene, the answer is “Yes! Resoundingly, yes!” That day can’t come soon enough.

Angelini Osteria, 7313 Beverly Blvd., 323-297-0070.

El Coyote celebrates 90 years

By Rachel Olivier Celebrate El Coyote Mexican Café’s 90th anniversary with a shredded beef or shredded chicken taco with rice and beans, or a cheese enchilada — for 90 cents — on Fri., March 5 from noon to 9 p.m.

Limit is one special per person for dine-in only at 7312 Beverly Blvd.

Continue the celebration throughout the weekend and partake of the El Coyote pizza — for 90 cents, one pizza per dine-in only — Sat., March 6 and Sun., March 7, noon to 9 p.m.

El Coyote, first opened by George and Blanche March in 1931 on First Street and La Brea Avenue, is a Los Angeles

landmark, known for the colorful décor, Hollywood charm, brightly costumed servers and margaritas.

A family operation, Blanche March left El Coyote to her brother and his wife, parents of the current owners, sisters Margie and Barbara. Margie’s son and his wife, Wayne and Rose Christoffersen, help run the day-to-day operation.

El Coyote is open for takeout and outdoor dining Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 9 p.m. While reservations are not taken, the café uses Yelp Waitlist to track parties waiting for a table.

Visit elcoyotecafe.com or follow the restaurant on Instagram (@elcoyotecafe) and Facebook (@ElCoyoteLA).

… to Dinner

… Fresh Ingredients is the Key! YOU CAN COUNT ON DU-PAR’S TO TREAT YOU WELL!

Take our bakery goods home to enjoy!

In the Original Farmers Market Open Sunday-Thursday 7 am - 6 pm, Friday & Saturday 7 am - 7:30 pm

3rd and Fairfax •

(323) 933-8446

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Miracle Mile 2021 21

Thank You,

Larchmont Neighbors For Supporting Our Family-Owned Businesses.

The Chang Family

The Jadidy Family

The Puente Family

The Thompson Family

Bryan’s Pit Barbecue

By Candlelight

Farm Fresh Produce

The Kipper Family

Kip’s Toyland

The Min Family

Light mY Fire

Littlejohn’s English Toffee House

The Wood Family

The DeRosa Family

The Zou Family

The Brelaz & Carvalho Family

Roxy & Jo’s Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar

Marconda’s Meats

The Brown Family

The Salad Bar

The Weiss Family

WEiss Jewelry

The Graves Family

Peking Kitchen

Phil’s Deli & Grill

The Gazal Family

The Coffey Family

Singapore’s Banana Leaf

Sporte Fashion

Local Ice

The Strouk Family

The Kraft Family

Sticker PLanet

•

6333 W. THIRD ST. LOS ANGELES 323.933.9211 FARMERSMARKETLA.COM @ FARMERSMARKETLA

•

The Gumbo Pot

The Kashi Family

Zia Valentina

22 Miracle Mile 2021

Larchmont Chronicle

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Toast St. Patrick’s Day at Bergin’s, Cat & Fiddle, Farmers Market

By Rachel Olivier Tom Bergin’s is back and open for business! With a tent ready to welcome patrons to enjoy an outdoor, socially distant pint in the 8,000-square foot parking lot, the public house at 840 S. Fairfax Ave. is ready just in time for St.

Patrick’s Day. Protocols are in place per health department guidelines, says David Castagnetti who operates Bergin’s with brother Fran Castagnetti.

Last year, just as St. Patrick’s Day arrived, Bergin’s and other restaurants and bars across the city ended up sitting out

one of the most profitable days of the year because of the coronavirus, he said.

Since then, places such as Tom Bergin’s, Cat and Fiddle and Market Tavern at the Farmers Market have had to perform a complicated dance between complete shutdowns,

Dine al fresco on our outdoor patios!

Enjoy brunch, lunch and dinner daily.

Call us or find us on Bentobox, Caviar, Doordash, Grubhub, Postmates and UberEats.

Mention this ad for a special treat!

7313 – 7317 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles,|90036 | 323.297.0070 7313-7321 Beverly Blvd 323.297.0070 www.angelinirestaurantgroup.com www.angelinirestaurantgroup.com

©LC0321

Daily takeout available 11am - 8pm

Open for Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner – Catering

Thanks, L.A., for 90 Terrific Years!

partial closures and cautious re-openings, and back again.

Some local bars, such as Little Bar or Molly Malone’s, have shut down completely, and they are waiting until inside service can begin again.

However, Bergin’s has combined takeout and delivery with outdoor dining (when an option), to keep the historic pub available to the public.

“We’re not going anywhere.

We’re in this for the long haul,” says Castagnetti, who adds that he and his brother Fran see Bergin’s as a vital part of the community. He says he views his brother and himself as “custodians” of the public house, and that it truly is a “public” house where people come to share good times and bad.

While this year may see a more subdued St. Patrick’s Day celebration, with reservations required and only limited space for patrons, Castagnetti says he takes the long view. He prefers to be cautious now so that by next year, or so, patrons can come back to enjoy Tom Bergin’s the way it’s supposed to be enjoyed.

Keep up with news about Bergin’s via Instagram, @ TomBergins1936. You can view their takeout menu options at tombergins.com.

Cat and Fiddle Other restaurants and pubs are also offering cautious ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The Cat and Fiddle Pub and Restaurant at 742 N. Highland Ave. is planning on “corned beef and cabbage and Guinness for sure,” says Ashlee Gardner, who helps with the marketing and accounting side of “The Cat.” This is on top of the other British dishes offered at the pub.

While there is a patio for outside dining, it will be by reservation only to ensure social distancing. And customers are required to wear masks when not eating or drinking.

Takeaway, curbside and delivery options are also available.

Visit thecatandfiddle.com.

Farmers Market At the Original Farmers Market, 6333 W. Third St.,

TOM BERGIN’S Public House is open for business.

OUTDOOR SEATING and other protocols have been set up at Bergin’s in preparation of welcoming customers.

Market Tavern serves contemporary British fare on the patio, and it will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. for those who want to raise a pint on St. Patrick’s Day. Wear a mask, and prepare for your temperature to be taken upon entering.

Delivery and takeout options are also available. Visit markettavernla.com.

Magee’s Kitchen will be serving up its traditional corned beef, parsley potato and cabbage special all day long.

If cooking at home, Huntington Meats and Marconda’s have pre-brined corned beef.

Pick up fresh cabbage, carrots and potatoes at Rick’s, Farm Boy or Farm Fresh produce markets.

Visit farmersmarketla.com.

Sláinte!

Celebrate Our 90th Anniversary

on March 5th

with 90¢ Special Dishes!

www.elcoyotecafe.com 7312 Beverly Blvd. 323-939-2255

©LC0321

Follow Us On CORNED BEEF, potatoes and cabbage will be offered by Magee’s at the Original Farmers Market on St. Patrick’s Day.

Larchmont Chronicle

Miracle Mile 2021 23

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

An 81-year Miracle on La Brea salutes its great neighbor, Wilshire Boulevard’s

Miracle Mile

PINK’S – The Little Hot Dog Stand That Could!

We serve more than 40 varieties of delicious, mouth-watering Hot Dogs and more than 12 varieties of colossal Hamburgers … be sure to try our awesome Fries & Onion Rings

Dine in our Patio or Take it to go — We are practicing all the proper protocols!

Sun – Thurs 9:30 am – 10 pm • Fri & Sat Until Midnight At "Pink's Square" — the corner of La Brea & Melrose Visit us at: WWW.PINKSHOLLYWOOD.COM

The Pink Family

@theofficialpinkshotdogs

@pinkshotdogs

#pinkshotdogs

@ pinkshotdogs

©LC0321

Follow us!

24 Miracle Mile 2021

34TH ANNUAL EDITION

Larchmont Chronicle

At Wilshire & Fairfax