LC 06 2024

Larchmont Chronicle

NEW OFFICERS visit the local paper. 2-14

For information on advertising in the paper, please call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11

Mailing permit:

Auto Show to kick off Farmers Market’s 90th

By Helene Seifer

Driving the launch of a “90 Days of Summer” celebration of its 90th year of operation, the Original Farmers Market (OFM) will present the 28th annual Gilmore Heritage Car Show on Sat., June 8. Named for Arthur Fremont Gilmore, the original investor in a dairy farm that later evolved into the landmark at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue, this anniversary kickoff event will feature “cars that fueled the birth of the market,” primarily classic American vehicles from the 1930s and earlier in deference to the OFM’s establishment in 1934, plus some exceptional later model cars. Attendees can expect to see 70 beautifully restored automobiles, including a 1914 Ford Model T, a 1929 Ford

Pets of Larchmont

Celebrate our best friends in the annual Pets of Larchmont section in the July issue. To be included, send a high-resolution (actual size) photo of your four-legged and feathered pals, along with the pet’s (and your) name and address (not for publication) and your contact info to suzan@ larchmontchronicle.com.

Summer Fun!

Summer is on the way. To honor the season, send us your favorite vacation photos, past and present, to be featured in the Summer Fun section in the July issue. Include your name and contact info.

Deadline for both sections is Fri., June 14.

For advertising information, contact Pam Rudy, 323-462-2241, ext. 11.

Streetlight wire theft hits neighborhoods

By Nona Sue Friedman

Streetlights in the neighborhood are going dark. Sometimes, lights are old and just malfunction, or the new LED bulbs don’t last as long as they should. But these days, the primary reason they don’t work is because thieves are stealing the copper wire from inside them. “They sell the wire to make a quick buck,” according to a spokesperson in Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez’s office. Dark streets leave some residents feeling vulnerable, unsafe and frustrated. When a light fixture is vandalized, the most challenging part is getting the city to repair it.

Outages in the area

Although many more lights are probably not working throughout the larger Great-

er Wilshire neighborhood, a substantial number are out on both Plymouth and Irving boulevards and Beachwood Avenue between Beverly Boulevard and Second Street. The area that has been hit the hardest are the streets of the Ridgewood Wilton Neighborhood Association (RWNA).

According to RWNA President Bob Reeves, who walked the area the night of May 16, “Fifteen of the lights are out; that’s more than half [of the lights in the area].”

Late-night streetlight vandalism has been a hot topic on a Ridgewood neighborhood text thread. Residents share eyewitness reports of streetlights being rummaged for copper wire. Surveillance video and photos show a thief coiling the copper wire, as

well as pictures of the vandalized light poles and their junction boxes, from which the wires emanate to power the bulbs above.

On Ridgewood Place, the same thief has returned numerous evenings and damaged many lights, making

Improved meters are not so improved

By Casey Russell

Two multi-space pay stations recently were installed in the public parking lot on the west side of Larchmont Boulevard. They look pristine and high tech and offer touch screens and a plethora of payment methods for parkers. There is a slot for coins, another for credit cards, a chip tap area and a pay-by-app option.

The two pay stations replaced the previous ones, which faced west and were a bit difficult to use when the sunlight hit the station’s screen. When the new stations were installed, sun glare must have been kept in mind,

because both new meters face north, making it much easier to view the screens.

But, these IPS Group-designed “smart” meters may

THREE STREETLIGHTS are out at the intersection of Ridgewood Place and Wilton Drive.

Photo by Kate Corsmeier

FIRETRUCK is expected to make a return visit to the “Days of Summer” auto show.

VANDALIZED STREETLIGHT at the corner of Arden Boulevard and Third Street.

PEOPLE attempting to use the new pay stations last month.

Editorial

By John Welborne

Twenty or so weeks left… to decide

Each of us age 18 and older in this part of town, and across Los Angeles County and across the nation, has the opportunity to decide about issues and individuals at the time of elections.

Although the beginning of summer is just upon us, summer soon will pass, and each of us voters — in about 20 weeks — will be choosing who and what he or she supports in various contests in the November 2024 elections.

In races for elected offices, the choices generally are down to two candidates in each race. An important election for all of us is the one for District Attorney of Los Angeles County.

One of the two DA candidates is  Nathan Hochman . A group called “Neighbors for Larchmont” is hosting a “meet and greet” for candidate Hochman on Tuesday, June 18 The drop-in gathering will take place at Le Pain Quotidien, 113 North Larchmont Blvd., from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Everyone is invited.

The  Larchmont Chronicle  hopes that Hochman’s opponent, incumbent DA George Gascón, similarly will come to visit our community and talk with potential voters. If Gascón lets us know when he is visiting, we will share the date and time with our readers.

DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION OF HANCOCK PARK

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

Public Hearing on Pawnshop Sports Bar!

Plan to attend the virtual public hearing on Thursday, June 6th at 9:30 a.m. and provide your comments about the proposed plan for the conditions of operation for the Pawnshop Sports Bar at 5901 Melrose (corner of Melrose and Cahuenga). The owner is asking for extended operating hours of 6 a.m. until 2 a.m., seven days a week, has not provided a parking plan as requested by the neighbors, and has shared no plans for security and noise management. The Pawnshop can host 275 patrons and will be a site to view broadcasts of international sporting events.

This part of Melrose Avenue has a number of restaurants, all of which close by 11 p.m. Many of them have full bars, but the number of patrons is much lower than would be hosted at the Pawnshop. Without some reasonable controls and agreements, this quiet part of Melrose, immediately adjacent to residential homes, could change dramatically. The Association and the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council have asked the owner to limit the hours of alcohol service from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., to provide a parking plan, and to set up a security plan. To date, the owner has refused the communities’ requests, and his permit application is unchanged.

Any permissions for extended alcohol service granted for this bar/restaurant will stay with the property. It would also set a new precedent for business owners on other properties along Melrose to receive the same kind of extended alcohol service hours. This is an important transition time for Melrose and Hancock Park. We ask you to think carefully about what’s important to you about living in our diverse neighborhood — home to many houses, apartments, condominiums, schools and churches.

The hearing is: Thursday, June 6th at 9:30 a.m. This hearing allows for public comment. We have learned over the years that strong community attendance and participation at these hearings is needed to get the attention of the Department of City Planning. We encourage everyone living in Quadrant One (Lillian Way, Cahuenga and Wilcox) as well as other Hancock Park residents to please attend. If you can’t attend, please submit a letter to the Hearing Officer: Yasmin.Diaz@lacity.org.

The ZOOM link is: https://planning-lacity-org.zoom.us/j/85765192714

Meeting ID: 857 6519 2714 and Passcode: 563278

If joining by phone: (669) 900-9128 or (213) 338-8477. When prompted, enter the Meeting ID: 85765192714#

The meeting’s agenda is to be provided no later than 72 hours before the meeting at planning4la.org/hearings.

Calendar

Tues., June 11 — Mid City West Neighborhood Council board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Pan Pacific Park Senior Center, 141 S. Gardner St., midcitywest.org.

Wed., June 12 — Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the Ebell of Los Angeles, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd., greaterwilshire.org.

Fri., June 14 — Flag Day. Sun., June 16 — Father’s Day.

Wed., June 19 — Juneteenth National Independence Day.

Thurs., June 20 — Sum-

mer solstice: first day of summer.

Thurs., June 27 — Delivery of the July issue of the Larchmont Chronicle

Letters to the Editor

Andre’s is open!

They are finally open now. Place looks great, full of old memorabilia. My husband, Perry Cooper, grew up going to Andre’s with his parents. It has always been a popular spot for Fairfax area families. We were so happy to finally visit their new location on Wilshire last month. The new place is a nice mix of memorabilia from Mr. Andre’s many restaurants over the years. Perry actually saw someone he knew since pre-school when we went, who was there with his parents. Perry even went back again for lunch last week, happy to have one of his old favorites back in the rotation. [“Andre’s Italian to open soon on Wilshire Boulevard,” Jan. 2024].

Shari Cooper

Beverly Grove

Burroughs boondoggle

Thank you for publishing Suzan Filipek’s update on the massive boondoggle of the Burroughs Middle School

Larchmont Chronicle

Founded in 1963 by

Gilman and Dawne P. Goodwin

Publisher and Editor John H. Welborne Managing Editor Suzan Filipek

Gilman

Helene Seifer

Hofer

Circulation

Accounting Irene Janas

606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103 Los Angeles, CA 90004

323-462-2241

larchmontchronicle.com

‘How will you be celebrating graduation?’

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

Modernization [“Modernization on track at Burroughs School,” April 2024]. Please note that LAUSD has not been truthful with the Larchmont Chronicle from day one and has repeatedly given false information to you and the general public. The first meeting for the Burroughs MS Project Advisory Group (PAG) was in January 2016 in the Burroughs Middle School Library, so not “3 to 5 years ago,” and the initial projection for the entire capital budget was $107 million. Currently, at $270 million. For those readers who have gone to LAUSD in the last 20 years, that’s a 152.34 percent budget overrun. When completed in the middle of 2027, it will have been a dozen years of consultants, bond executives, architects and administrators — all getting hefty fees building a monstrosity that wasn’t needed.

John Burroughs was designed in 1924 for 400 students. There currently are barely 85,000 middle school students in the whole district — and 77 middle schools — and city planners expect a 30 percent decrease in enrollment by 2030. Le Conte Middle School is just three miles northeast, and Bancroft Middle School is just 1.9 miles

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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.

CORRECTION

In a front-page story from last month, the Larchmont Chronicle touted golfer Nelly Korda’s highly anticipated attendance at the LPGA tournament at Wilshire Country Club. Two hours after we went to press, Korda withdrew. Even without Korda, it was a great tournament, won for the second year in a row by Australia’s Hannah Green.

“I think my family is going to go to a block party that a lot of people from my school will be at. And, two friends and I are going on a trip to Jamaica!”

“I can’t wait to celebrate my graduation with friends and family. We are having a celebration brunch, and my friends and I are planning a senior bonfire.”

Larchmont Charter School St. Andrews Square

“I celebrated with my whole family at dinner at Benihana and also went to see the Grateful Dead at the Sphere in Las Vegas with my dad and my best friend.”

Peter Borges Loyola High Windsor Village

Frida Heim

Oz Rubinson Windward School Brookside

School galas shine with future artists and alumni; charities hear from space scientist, view fashion, enjoy opera and honor local history

Town with Sondi Toll Sepenuk

Guests were welcomed into the Avalon Hollywood by a student-led strings orchestra for the annual LACHSA Future Artists Gala. LACHSA (Los Angeles County High School for the Arts) is a tuition-free high school. Founded nearly 40 years ago, the conservatory-style school focuses on dance, theater, music, visual arts and cinematic arts.

and

Angeles County High

Students are accepted based on their auditions, and they come from all over the greater Los Angeles County area.

Prominent LACHSA alumni include singer and Broadway performer Josh Groban (who was brought up in Windsor Square), popular sister band HAIM, visual artist Kehinde Wiley (who created the official portrait of former president Barack Obama), and singer / musician Phoebe Bridgers.

Actor and LACHSA alum Finn Wittrock was host for the gala on April 27, and he seamlessly guided the event through each performance. John and Robin Lithgow received the 2024 LACHSA Arts Advocates Award, based on their giving and their newly produced special, “Art Happens Here,” which was filmed at LACHSA for PBS stations nationwide.

World-renowned artist and

LACHSA alum Robert Vargas (who recently painted the LA Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani mural in downtown Los Angeles) received the LACHSA Luminary Award, which was followed by a live auction hosted by Jimmy Kimmel writer Tony Barbieri.

Also, in late April, at a full house luncheon at the Jonathan Club downtown on April 25, The Muses of the

California Science Center Foundation honored Dr. Laurie A. Leshin as Woman of the Year. Dr. Leshin, a geochemist and space scientist, is the first female director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a role that includes serving as a vice president at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA.

The Muses was created more than 60 years ago by a group of women who wanted to support

children’s education programs at the California Museum of Science and Industry. Local supporters attending the luncheon honoring Dr. Leshin included Hancock Park residents Melanie Miller Guise and Margo O’Connell.

It truly was A Chic Affaire at the lovely Lakeside Golf Club on May 9. There, The Manne(Please turn to Page 4)

LARCHMONT residents

Los

School for the Arts (LACHSA) board member Elizabeth Dennehy (left) with son Jack Lancaster (LACHSA alum) and Netta Walker.

JOSH GROBAN (left) and, left-to-right, Jerry Freedman, Robert Vargas and Finn Wittrock attended the LACHSA gala. Groban and Wittrock are alumni.

THE MUSES Woman of the Year luncheon honored JPL Director Dr. Laurie Leshin (center), shown with Hancock Park’s Melanie Miller Guise (left) and Margo O’Connell.

BILGORE (front left) hosted A Chic Affaire table with guests (clockwise, starting behind her), Jennifer Costin, Andrea Falco, Dre Guttag, Andrew Bilgore, Deniz Olgac Bilgore, Greer Saunders, Christian B. Mitman and Christy McAvoy.

Around the Town

(Continued from Page 3)

quins Auxiliary and the College Alumni Auxiliary of the

Assistance League of Los Angeles gathered with friends for a super fashion show and boutique luncheon. Windsor Square’s June Bilgore shared

the welcoming duties with chairman of The Mannequins Rebecca Trail. The fashions were from Trina Turk, and bright color clearly was the theme. Turk calls this her “Capri Collection,” inspired by the turquoise waters and bright florals of the Mediterranean.

The Assistant League’s Mannequins Auxiliary was founded in 1943 and continues to raise funds for the League’s charita-

ble services that have been a fixture in Los Angeles for more than 100 years. Fremont Place local Donna Econn is not only an executive officer of The Mannequins; she also was one of the models for Trina Turk’s new collection.

The next day, Larchmont Charter School (LCS) — the little free neighborhood charter school that could — celebrated its 20th anniversary at Vine Street’s Taglyan Cultural Complex on May 10. Billed as “20 Years of Magic,” the blowout event,

which featured a silent auction and many many many courses of food, showcased the history and growth of the school in the 20 years since its inception.

Starting on one campus in Hollywood, the school has now grown to four campuses throughout the greater Larchmont / Hollywood / Brookside / Downtown areas, giving hundreds of local children an alternative choice for public education, rooted in “the values of community, diversity and academic excellence.”

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FREMONT PLACE resident Donna Econn models new fashion from Trina Turk.

THE MANNEQUINS model Melly Lindsay shows a Capri Collection ensemble.

SUPPORTERS gather at Taglyan Center on Vine Street to celebrate 20th Anniversary of Larchmont Charter School.

LARCHMONT CHARTER founding parents Lisa Norling, Kim Huffman Cary, Lisa O’Malley with teacher Heather Kampf.

FOUNDERS Heather Boylston and Lindsay Sturman reminisce about the early years of the brand new charter school.

JUNE

CHA HOLLYWOOD PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER

Around the Town

(Continued from Page 4)

Heather Duffy Boylston, one of the school’s founders, recalled that, in the beginning, parents took out second mortgages on their homes to fund the school, as well as delivered toilet paper and other supplies to the school when they realized there was none available.

“The first time we pulled up and that ‘Larchmont Charter School’ sign was there, it was like, ‘oh my gosh, this is real,’” Boylston recalled happily.

The school opened as a K-2 program in 2005, then expanded by one grade each year until the school reached its final destination: K-12. But then, it grew even more! When California approved universal TK, Larchmont added the new grade to the roster.

Students this year, some of whom are the first to graduate in their families, received more than 500 college acceptances to schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Loyola Marymount University and USC. Today, LCS has more than 1,600 students enrolled in grades TK-12 and is one of the most sought after charter schools in Los Angeles. LCS is a California Distinguished School, one of Niche’s Best Schools, and is ranked one of the Best High Schools in America by U.S. News & World Report.

A week later, the theme shifted to opera — in the Hancock Park backyard of Robert Ronus. He gathered neighbors and friends from

included,

across the city to experience the extraordinary singing of young artists who are part of the Pacific Opera Project (POP), specifically singers in the upcoming “Madama Butterfly” performances taking place at the Aratani Theatre in Little Tokyo. Performing in the Ronus garden were Janet Szepei Todd, Peter Lake, Kimberly Sogioka and Kenneth Stavert.

The novel production, sung in Japanese and English (as compared to Puccini’s original Italian) is being revived during Opera America’s 2024 Opera Conference and World Opera Forum, being held this year in downtown Los Angeles. The event brings opera administrators, artists, trustees and advocates from across North America to DTLA.

POP’s “Madama Butterfly” will have performances on Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2, and on Friday and Sunday, June 7 and 9. Learn more at pacificoperaproject.com. The timing of the conference also allows out-of-towners (assuming tickets are still available) to attend LA Opera’s fabu-

lous production of Puccini‘s “Turandot,” which has four performances remaining at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion through June 8.

The next day, Los Angeles history was the theme as local resident and former Los Angeles County Supervisor (and Los Angeles City Councilmember before that) Zev Yaroslavsky was one of the

Michael Holland

and fellow Los Angeles City Historical Society board member Geraldine Knatz present the group’s Special Recognition Award to local resident and former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev

guests of honor at the Los Angeles City Historical Society annual Gala Awards Show and Dinner. Held, as it was for many years past, at Taix French Restaurant on May 19, Yaroslavsky was saluted along with other award winners DeMarco Smith, Bobby Green, Christina Rice, Judy Baca, and, posthumously, Todd Gaydowski, the former president of the society and former City Archivist. Former society president and former chief executive of the Port of Los Angeles, Geraldine Knatz, and City Archivist Michael Holland presented the awards.

Rounding out the merry month of May, NGA held its first ever off-site member appreciation party in a private room at All Season Brewing Company at 800 S. La Brea Ave. on May 21.

Members showed up with their “plus ones” to enjoy an open bar and Mexican food from Chicas Tacos. The endof-year party celebrated the hard work the members have performed over the past year, raising $53,000 to purchase and then provide needed clothing, linens and personal care items to organizations including Operation School Bell, Alexandria House, Assistance League of Los Angeles, Aviva Family and Children’s Services, Good Shepherd, Imagine LA, and Los Angeles House of Ruth.

Guests bid on silent auction items such as horseback riding in Griffith Park, Jewelry by Olivia K, Hollywood Bowl box seats, LA Dodgers tickets, and more! The night ended with Skee-Ball, lots of rowdy conversation, and plenty of

excitement for the upcoming year of NGA.

• • •

For those of you looking to support an important cause, which is both local and fun, don’t miss this year’s St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Hollywood Under the Stars gala fundraiser on Sat., June 22 at Paramount Studios. The event features some of Los Angeles’ “premier culinary and beverage offerings presented by L.A.’s top celebrity chefs and restaurants, with a spectacular program including live entertainment.”

Guests will indulge in mains and dessert samplings from chefs such as Gino Angelini of Angelini Osteria, L’antica Pizzeria da Michele (Francesco Zimone), Bertha Mae’s Brownie Co. and Malibu Meringue.

The magic starts at 6:30 p.m. and will feature actor and longtime Circle of Angels donor Ian McShane as an Honored Guest.

It’s not too late to buy your tickets, so go online to svmow.org/hollywood to reserve your place in Hollywood fundraising history!

And now you’re in the Larchmont know!

SKEE-BALL attracted NGA members and guests at La Brea Avenue’s All Season Brewing Company (in the former Firestone Tires building). Shown rolling away is June Bilgore.

RONUS GARDEN music aficionados

from left, nextdoor neighbors Sinan and Alina Kuzum, Dr. Neville Anderson, Robert Ronus, Pacific Opera Project executive director Katherine Powers and Carlotta Keely.

CITY ARCHIVIST

(left)

Yaroslavsky (center).

NGA PARTIERS felt very appreciated at the All Season Brewing Company party.

CURTAIN CALL (without the curtain) was given in the Hancock Park garden of Robert Ronus by “Madama Butterfly” singers, from left: Kimberly Sogioka, Janet Szepei Todd, Kenneth Stavert and Peter Lake.

‘Concours’ on Rodeo is in time for Father’s Day

Thrilling supercars, high performance vehicles and shiny antiques will be among the automobiles featured at Rodeo Drive Concours d’Elegance on Sun., June 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fathers, families and car enthusiasts are invited to enjoy an up-close look at some of the world’s most exotic and expensive vehicles at the 29th annual car show.

Cars from McLaren, Pagani and Czinger, plus race cars, classics and custom-built models, will line Beverly Hills’ toniest street — between Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard.

Admission is free.

“This Father’s Day tradition has always been something families look forward to attending, and this year’s lineup of cars will truly be inspir-

skin deep

by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald

Hair product, oil, dirt, oh my. If you stop and consider the buildup that’s likely on your scalp right now, you’ll agree ta deep-cleaning is well overdue.

Welcome the HydraFacial for your scalp. The HydraFacial Keravive cleanses, exfoliates and infuses skin with nutrients for healthier, fullerlooking hair. Who can benefit from Keravive? Anyone with a scalp, and especially those looking to address dryness, clogged follicles and poor circulation. Here’s how Keravive’s three-step process works: first, light suction plus HydraFacial Beta HD solution cleanses and exfoliates to clear away oil, dirt and buildup. Step two: Keravive booster serum with its blend of growth factors and proteins is massaged into your scalp for 10 glorious minutes. Finally, you’ll head home with a daily peptide spray to continue to keep your scalp and hair in optimal condition.

We are offering a package of three monthly treatments for $1,500. Contact our office to schedule your first appointment and get ready to enjoy your healthiest hair.

Out of sight, out of mind: your hardworking scalp gets little appreciation — until now.

Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald is a Board Certified Dermatologist located in Larchmont Village with a special focus on anti-aging technology. She is a member of the Botox Cosmetic National Education Faculty and is an international Training Physician for Dermik, the makers of the injectable Sculptra. She is also among a select group of physicians chosen from around the world to teach proper injection techniques for Radiesse, the volumizing filler. Dr. Fitzgerald is an assistant clinical professor at UCLA. Visit online at www.RebeccaFitzgeraldMD.com or call (323) 464-8046 to schedule an appointment.

Art, music and more at Tarfest June 15

By Suzan Filipek

ing,” said Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman.

“This year, we’re bringing some of the world’s rarest and most expensive cars to the show, plus the nostalgic vintage cars we all love,” said Bruce Meyer, chairman of the event.

Proceeds from the Concours benefit the Beverly Hills Police Officers Association and Beverly Hills Firefighters’ Association.

Larchmont Family Fair offers early sign-ups

The Larchmont Family Fair returns for its 59th year on the Boulevard on Sun., Oct. 27, a mere five months away! It’s never too soon to sign up for a booth for your school or nonprofit. Sponsorships are also available.

Larchmont Boulevard Association (LBA) Board President John Winther and the Family Fair committee have just begun alerting local organization of the availability of booths for the Oct. 27 event. Contact Winther at john.winther@camoves.com to reserve a space while they last!

In addition to the nonprofit booths, there will be thrilling rides, cuisine from around the world and, back by popular demand, a beer garden (for adults).

A children’s costume contest is also planned, in time for Halloween.

Larchmont Boulevard will be closed from First Street to Beverly Boulevard for the event, which will feature

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Juneteenth celebrated at Bowl June 19

Upcoming events celebrate the end of slavery in the U.S. — or rather when the people of Texas got word on June 19, 1856, that all slaves were free, pursuant to Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation issued 30 months earlier.

Juneteenth has been a federal holiday since 2021. There will be celebratory events throughout the country and in Southern California. At the Hollywood Bowl, a celebration of freedom and creativity co-curated by singer-songwriter T-Pain begins at 8 p.m. Music will be performed with a full orchestra conducted by Derrick Hodge at this event. For tickets and more information visit hollywoodbowl.org.

A live music and art festival returns to Pan Pacific Park, 7600 Beverly Blvd., on Sat., June 15, from 2 to 8 p.m.

The 21st annual free Tarfest — “A Day in the Park” — celebrates the city’s cultural diversity.

The headliner, Jamaican artist Blvk H3ro (pronounced Black Hero), will perform modern reggae, blending dancehall and afrobeats with soul and R&B. Musical performances also include Mariachi Quinto Sol and the reggae and afrobeat party Boomyard, among others. KCRW DJ Novena Carmel will spin tunes.

Art installations and gourmet food trucks will be at Pan Pacific Park. Art-making and cultural activities for all ages will be offered through the Korean Cultural Center, the Japan Foundation, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Holocaust Mu-

seum LA and other partners. Hip-hop and breakdancing workshops will be offered, and a Kids Creativity Lab with face painters and balloon artists will be sponsored by Television City Studios. Petersen Automotive Museum and Waymo will showcase state-of-the-art vehicles. The event is produced by Launch LA.

“Tarfest has been part of the Los Angeles community for more than 20 years, remaining an annual free event through massive changes that have transformed the city and our neighborhood,” Launch LA and Tarfest Founder James Panozzo said in a release. For more information visit tarfest.com.

ARTIST BLVK H3RO (aka Black Hero) will perform at Tarfest.

Photo by Pascal Shirley

I was one of those fortunate kids who never wondered where his dad was. He didn’t belong to clubs, wasn’t in a bowling league, and never played poker with the guys at night. Our family was his interest.

My dad forged memories. He took me hiking in Virginia on the Appalachian Trail for a week. One summer we built a small barn on our property from an old billboard that had been torn down. But my favorite memories are of him coaching me from the mat’s corner at wrestling tournaments. He was a prime example that encouragement adjusts better than reprimands when parenting.

Brighton

Johnny Patisaul’s son Brighton is a freshman at Loyola High School. Johnny’s favorite memory of his own father

Youth Sports by Jim

Kalin

he himself was 6. His dad was

skateboarder and would take Johnny

skate parks where he and his friends launched from 12foot vertical ramps.

“I’d sit there with my donut and chocolate milk, my feet dangling over the coping, and just watch them in awe,” says Johnny.

His son Brighton ran cross country for Loyola this fall.

“During the start of last semester, my dad wanted me to try a sport, and cross country was no-cut for freshmen,”

said Brighton. “Running has clicked with me since then.”

Brighton now is on the Loyola track team and runs the long-distance races.

“I thank my dad for giving me a strong work ethic and for being there when others weren’t,” says Brighton. “I would not be who I am without my dad in my life.”

Kim Sisters

Steven Kim competed in track for John Marshall High School and was the 100-meter league champion.

“I was a 5’7” Korean teenager, and I beat all those kids who were taller and stronger.”

Kim’s own daughters are also accomplished athletes. Faith is an eighth grader at GALA (Girls Academic Leadership Academy) and competes in Goldie’s AllGirls Basketball League. Faith’s little sister Alyson is a fifth grader at Larchmont Charter and rides horses at TES (Traditional Equitation School). She also played volleyball for Larchmont this fall. The sisters compete in the Starlings COLA (City of LA) Volleyball Club, and both mentioned that their favorite memory of their dad is practicing basketball with him late into the night in their driveway.

“I would like to thank my ahpah (Korean for dad) for all the time he’s dedicated toward my life on and off the courts,” says Faith. “He’s practiced basketball and volleyball with me countless hours after he got back from his office. He is the most amazing best friend and father.”

“‘Thank you ahpah for always supporting me,” adds Alyson.

Quinton

Jonathan Palmer’s son Quinton is a sophomore at Loyola High School and is in the school’s mountain bike club. He joined when a friend convinced him to give it a try.

“I wasn’t fully on the bandwagon until I saw pictures of the club on beautiful mountaintops. It’s hiking and biking combined, so what’s not to like?”

Quinton’s favorite memory of his father is when they at-

tended the 2012 MLS (Major League Soccer) Cup, and the home team, Galaxy, won.

“I still have the commemorative ring.”

Quinton’s father remembers watching his son at a mountain bike race in Temecula on an extremely challenging course called Vail Lake that was plagued with hills.

“He got his best time there,” said Palmer. “It was amazing.”

“I’d like to thank my dad for letting me try so many different sports,” says Quinton. “Cycling might be my forte now, but I was able to try soccer, baseball, tennis, basketball and more. He really

fostered my appreciation and love for sports.”

DAUGHTERS Faith and Alyson Kim with dad Steven.

LOYOLA freshman Brighton Wegg with his dad, Johnny Patisaul.

SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS Jonathan Palmer and his son Quinton.

Father Boyle honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom

By Suzan Filipek

Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries, a Windsor Square native, has been honored with the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Boyle, a Jesuit Catholic priest, was among 19 recipients saluted May 3 at the White House by President Biden.

The White House credited Boyle — founder of the world’s largest gang intervention and rehabilitation program — with turning around the lives of thousands

of Angelenos. Father Greg Boyle Day Closer to home, on May 17 the city of Los Angeles declared May 19, 2024 Father Greg Boyle Day. The City Council issued a proclamation establishing the tribute in honor of Los Angeles’ most famous priest.

Boyle grew up on Norton Avenue, where he was one of eight siblings. He attended St. Brendan church and school and Loyola High School.

As a youth, he frequented Chevalier’s Books, he told us in 2018 during a book signing

at the Larchmont Boulevard store. The event drew one of the largest crowds in the store’s then 78 years.

The Chevalier’s talk was focused on Father Boyle’s book, “Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship,” which evolved from his work at Homeboy.

The book is a collection of stories, ideas and parables based on Boyle’s then 30 years of working with former gang members and their families. He’s written several books; the most recent, which he co-authored, is titled “Forgive Everyone Everything.”

Among his many awards, Boyle received the 2017 Laetare Medal from the University of Notre Dame, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics.

Boyle, often called “Father G,” was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1984; he was set to head a student program at Santa Clara University when a trip to Bolivia, where he met the poorest people in the region, changed his course.

“The poor are trustworthy guides,” he told us in 2017, and “… as luck would have it, [the Los Angeles Archdiocese] needed a pastor at Dolores Mission, which was the poorest parish in the city.”

Dolores Mission was an area rife with warring gangs, and Boyle soon got to work.

Boyle and some business owners founded Homeboy Industries in Downtown Los Angeles in 1988.

License Plate-Reading Cameras Coming to Windsor Square?

You may have read or heard about a relatively new security tool that is being used by many local cities and also by individuals and businesses in the community.  License Plate Reading Cameras (LPRC) are solar powered and placed on top of a pole, which is then placed on private property.  They take photos of passing vehicle’s license plates only (no pictures of individuals) and store the information in a central storage site for 30 days.  In areas where LPRCs are in use, police say that they are an invaluable tool in investigating crimes by allowing them to see the vehicles located at the crime scene at the time of the crime.  Also, when vehicle license plates in the system that have been involved in a previous but unsolved crime are identified by an LPRC, the vehicle can be pursued by police.

At this time, the City of Los Angeles has not invested in LPRCs for the community, although many police vehicles have this equipment.  Some individuals and businesses in Los Angeles have leased the cameras for additional security.  In the City of Los Angeles, community cameras must be situated on private property.

There are Windsor Square neighbors who are looking to install LPRCs on their properties. If you are interested in further information about this security technology or might be interested in the extra security the cameras may provide, please let us know at tator100@aol.com. To learn about a nearby intallation on Melrose Avenue, type the following into your internet browser: melroseaction.org/lpriniative

WE NEED BLOCK CAPTAINS! Be the leader of your block and point person for all that’s going on in the neighborhood. The WSA has numerous block captain positions open. A great opportunity to engage with neighbors and community leaders. blockcaptains@ windsorsquare.org

The Windsor Square Association, an all-volunteer group of residents from 1100 households between Beverly and Wilshire and Van Ness and Arden,

Join

LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL declared May 19 Father Greg Boyle Day with a proclamation on May 17, 2024.

Immigrants and the American Dream live on; opera of the season

An article in The Christian Science Monitor (2/7/24) notes a 239 percent increase, since 2017, of U.S. expats moving to Portugal, one of Europe’s “hottest destinations.” Fifty years ago, however, Portugal was among the most repressive dicatorships in the world. The “Carnation Revolution,” a bloodless coup, set the country free in 1974.

Helder Guimarães’ The Hope Theory, at the Geffen through June 30, tells the tale of a child of that revolution who comes to Hollywood for a better life. What makes the

evening so extraordinary is not only the humanity that Mr. Guimarães (a professional magician) shares in his tale, but also the absolutely amazing magic tricks he performs. (No spoilers here — sorry!)

Mr. Guimarães is not the first immigrant to realize that America’s streets are not paved with gold, or that the American Dream has its nightmare moments, but hope for a better life is what led his countrymen to revolt, and others, like himself, to a new life. Caringly directed by filmmaker Frank Marshall,

Theater Review by Louis Fantasia

“The Hope Theory” is a quiet rebuke to much of the noise we hear about immigrants today. (boxoffice@geffenplayhouse.org)

What to watch for

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum opens its season June 1. Despite the landslide that fell on Topanga Canyon Blvd., the theater and local shops are open, but struggling. Access from the 101 Freeway is open and safe. Climate change is devasting summer theaters and festivals with intense storms and heat. The Theatricum has eliminated nearly all matinees because of heat, and it has stretched its season into cooler October. Many of the plants in its Shakespeare Garden have been replaced with hardier stock. Still, it continues — and should be supported! (theatricum.com/buy-tickets).

revival by groups such as Mr. Valenzuela’s Latino Theater Company would make Mr. Bushnell proud.

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• • • José Cruz González’s American Mariachi at LATC (through June 9) is another American Dream tale, with music rather than magic at its center. Set in the 1970s, Mr. González’s sprawling play combines a “getting-the-band-together” format with a female empowerment story (plus a dash of Catholic mysticism) as the women in the play overcome macho misogyny and patriarchy to form the first all-female mariachi band. Director José Luis Valenzuela puts the emphasis on the music (which is terrific) and the play’s heart (which is enormous) in overcoming the script’s narrative clichés. (tickets@thelatc.org)

Bill Bushnell, the stage impresario and founder of the Los Angeles Theater Center, died in January at the age of 86. Bushnell ran the four-theater complex from 1985 to 1991, when LATC was second only to the Taper in quality programming. There were many complicated reasons for LATC’s collapse, but its

• • •

The Independent Shakespeare Company is known for its Shakespeare in Griffith Park (As You Like It opens July 10), but it has established its second space as a venue for adventurous programming.

Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, starring Monica Horan (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), continues the adventure (through June 8). Beckett’s 90-minute near monodrama features Winnie, buried up to her waist in Act I and to her neck in Act II. In spite of loss, defeat and disappointment, Beckett argues that we must go on. Ms. Horan’s Winnie (directed by Melissa Chalsma) is the pluckiest and most optimistic Beckettian character ever. It’s a choice that takes the sting out of Winnie’s nostalgia and removes the terror from Beckett’s landscape, but Ms. Horan and company are to be commended for reviving this challenging, and all too rarely seen, work. (818-7106306)

• • •

Los Angeles Opera bills its production of Puccini’s Turandot (through June 8) as “the opera event of the cen-

tury.” Er…no. But it is the opera event of the season. The production features sets by David Hockney (originally for the Chicago Lyric Opera), massive forces and Puccini’s last score, which had to be completed by other hands after his death. Set in a fairytale China, the opera is full of racial stereotypes, which, for the most part, this production handles sensitively.

Tenor Russell Thomas is an impressive Calaf, the lover who solves fire-and-ice Turandot’s life-and-death riddles. Angela Meade was more ice than fire in the title role, while Guanqun Yu’s singing stole the show as the lovestruck servant, Liu. Garnett Bruce’s no-nonsense direction is a breath of fresh air, and Maestro James Conlon led the combined forces with stylish aplomb. Truly a grand night at the opera!

Comedy night at Hollywood Improv Bill Devlin’s Comedy & Cocktails is Sat., June 15 at 8:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Improv Lab, 8162 Melrose Ave. Special guests and live music will join Devlin in his long-running show. Visit improv.com for ticket and information.

ZOZO at Maison Midi: ‘cuisines of sun’ in home goods store

At Chef John Sedlar’s new restaurant, ZOZO at Maison Midi, one dines surrounded by purchasable items in an actual home goods store: colorful bistro chairs from Italy hang from the walls, shelves hold sparkling glass tumblers from Milan, and striped linen napkins are stacked next to sets of cheese knives. A large vase of flowers welcomes arriving guests, beautiful asymmetrical pendant lamps hang from the soaring ceiling, and the dining room’s backdrop is a wall-sized mural of Abiquiu, New Mexico, Sedlar’s childhood and current home, which provides much of his culinary inspiration. I couldn’t help but smile when I first entered the charming space.

Chef Sedlar is perhaps best remembered for Rivera, his acclaimed pan-Latin restaurant that operated in Downtown Los Angeles from 2009 through 2014, after which he moved to New Mexico. Lured back to Los Angeles by restaurateur Bill Chait to open ZOZO to replace the closed Cafe Midi, Sedlar elevates Maison Midi’s former food experience. Tastes developed at Rivera have been reinvented here in celebration of “cuisines of the sun: Native American, French and Hispanic flavors with world accents.” Chef Sedlar personally selected the contemporary silverware, the stunning ceramic plates and the square platters with glass-topped photos of Zapotec statues or colorful Indigenous pottery. Some dishes come with small figurines — one of ours sported a miniature of Aristide Maillol’s “Air” sculpture (an original of which is on view at the Getty Center). Chef Sedlar aims to spark conversation with his tableware as well as his culi-

Book launch of ‘California Eden’ June 9 in Pasadena

A party to launch the new book “California Eden: Heritage Landscapes of the Golden State” will take place on Sun., June 9, from 2 to 4 p.m. at La Casita Del Arroyo, 177 S. Arroyo Blvd., in Pasadena.

Co-editors Christine Edstrom O’Hara, a professor of landscape architecture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and Susan Chamberlin, a landscape historian, architect and founding member of the California Garden & Landscape History Society, will discuss storied landscapes featured in the book, from grand vistas to historic gardens.

Published by Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library, the 224-page hardcover includes 200 images. It retails for $65. Visit angelcitypress.com.

nary artistry.

Although there’s a well curated wine list, with many by the glass and carafe as well as bottle options, we selected two of their many fruit-forward cocktails. A refreshing rum-based drink mixes passion fruit, lime and pineapple juices, topped with yuzu “air,” $16. A smoky take on a Margarita combines mezcal with grapefruit and lime juices. The $16 cocktail is sweetened with agave, rimmed with lava salt and finished with a soda float. Both enhanced the food that followed.

Appetizers are terrific.

Piquillo peppers stuffed with gruyere cheese, golden raisins and chorizo, $11, are a lovely sweet, salty and savory starter. Gorgeous prawns in a mustard seed vinaigrette were accompanied by grilled endive, $21. Duck leg confit in tamarind sauce, $26, was an earthy, flavorful plate. A $15

On the Menu by

Helene Seifer

spring salad of dragon fruit, cactus pear, persimmon and crunchy sea beans was beautiful and refreshing, but I would have preferred a more assertive dressing to challenge the delicately flavored fruit. The starter that most awed us was the cream of cremini mushroom soup, $12. The rich, umami-laden soup was silky and immensely satisfying — a must-order.

Three bread choices were recently added to the menu, including $9 blue corn madeleines, but we went straight for the mains, supplementing with a vegetable dish, a $21

chile relleno filled with minced mushrooms, accompanied by purple potatoes and a Spanish-stye carrot dipping sauce for a sophisticated take on the usually cheese-laden dish.

The entree selections include every manner of fish, fowl and beast: soft-shell crab with green chile aioli, $28; $25 braised lamb neck from the tandoori oven; Berkshire pork chop with red chile pepita sauce, $32; a New Mexico green hatch chile burger, $20; and a $75 Wagyu ribeye with chimichurri, among others. We ordered chicken Jerusalem with olives, za’atar, mint and couscous, $27, a winning combination. A sweet branzino filet was served with honey labneh, feta and minced cucumber, $32, unexpected sides to what is most frequently served grilled à la Italiano. Lamb with chayote chutney and heirloom polenta, $44, was superb. The lamb ate

like a medium rare steak and was every bit as delicious as a prime cut of beef. I suspect even those who usually find lamb’s taste too funky will appreciate this meaty dish. The aforementioned Maillol figurine perched on a platter of little sides that accompanied our lamb. The visually arresting display included cold white asparagus, fava beans, crispy eggplant slices, caponata and roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine. A lovely feast! We skipped the cheese course and went straight to the sweets. I’m partial to fruit-based desserts or ice cream, so I was happy with the $12 tarte tatin and $11 raspberry almond tart. As of this writing, ZOZO will soon offer homemade ice cream — I look forward to trying their promised popcorn flavor!

ZOZO at Maison Midi, 148 S. La Brea Ave., 323-7464700.

Seinfeld’s frosted fun Pop-Tarts; lesson in money doesn’t add up

Unfrosted (9/10): 93 minutes. Netflix. PG-13. Jerry Seinfeld’s first foray into directing (he has a co-writing credit with Spike Feresten and Andy Robin) at age 70 is a booming success. This is a sparkling satire based on Kellogg’s and Post’s race to develop a new cereal that became Pop-Tarts. It’s got a topflight cast. In addition to Seinfeld, there are Melissa McCarthy, who is as funny as she’s ever been; Hugh Grant, who sparkles as he always does; and Amy Schumer, along with a plethora of cameos by people like Peter Dinklage, John Hamm, Jim Gaffigan — the list goes on. It is exactly the kind of lighthearted, funny film we need in today’s world to give us an hour and a half of fun.

A Man in Full (9/10): Six 45-minute episodes. Netflix. TV-MA. This is a multi-faceted tale based on Tom Wolfe’s 1999 novel about a real estate

mogul, Charlie Croker (Jeff Daniels), in big trouble. He is attacked by his banker, Harry Zale (Bill Camp), who claims he owes the bank hundreds of millions of dollars. Zale is aided by Charlie’s former employee, Ramone Peepgrass, (Tim Pelphrey) and eventually joined by Charlie’s former wife, Martha (Diane Lane).

Thrown in is a B story involving Roger White (Ami Ameen), the Black husband of Charlie’s Black secretary Henrietta (Jerrika), who is thrown in jail for assaulting a traffic cop, even though the cop was assaulting him. He is defended by Charlie’s attorney, Conrad Hensley (Jon Michael Hill), even though Conrad is a corporate lawyer. They get a judge, Judge Taylor (Anthony Heald), who appears to be as biased as the day is long. I mention these characters because they all give award-quality

At the Movies with Tony Medley

performances throughout this involving tale.

Finding the Money (8/10): 95 Minutes. Prime Video. NR. As the fly said when it walked across the mirror, I never looked at it like that before. This is a paean to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Its John the Baptist figure is Stephanie Kelton, who is called “an American heterodox economist, an advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders.”

In ordinary language, heterodox means heretical. The argument here is that everyone is looking at the deficit wrongly. What one draws from those

who argue for MMT is that the larger the amount of what we call the “deficit,” the better for us. Kelton and her many cohorts interviewed in this film proclaim that the “deficit” should be called an asset. When we sell bonds to China, she says, that’s good, and the “debt” is really an asset.

They say that all the deficit is is the government putting more money into the economy than it’s taking out. If the government puts $100 into the economy and taxes 90 percent of it out, that’s a deficit for the government, but a surplus for the economy.

Produced and directed by Maren Poitras, there are lots of interesting, seemingly sacrilegious discussions about what money is and how it has worked throughout the ages.

L. Randall Wray, a professor of economics, says that when money comes back to the issuer, it is destroyed. It’s been that way for all time. When taxes were paid in the Middle Ages in England, they were paid in tally sticks. When the tally sticks were returned as payment of taxes, they were burned. He claims that when money is repaid to the government, it is burned. I’m not sure if he is speaking metaphorically.

One of the best parts of the film is when Kelton interviews Jared Bernstein, chair of the

Council of Economic Advisors under President Biden. Following is an unedited transcript of how Bernstein stammers and mutters after Kelton asks him a simple question. Bernstein clearly seems to be in way over his head.

Kelton: “Why exactly are we borrowing in a currency that we print ourselves? I’m waiting for someone to stand up and say, ‘Why don’t we borrow our own currency in the first place?’”

Bernstein: “Well… The… So the… I mean… Again, some of this stuff gets… Some of the language that the… some of the language and concepts are just confusing. I mean the government definitely prints money, and it definitely lends that money, which is why the government definitely prints money and then it lends that money by… by selling bonds.

“Is that what they do?

“They, they… They yeah, they, they. They sell bonds. Yeah, they sell bonds. Right? Since they sell bonds and people buy the bonds and lend them the money. Yeah. So…”

The non-explanation continues for another 27 lines of text, not included here.

The participants in this video give a glimpse of their true colors at the end when the

Auto Show

(Continued from Page 1)

Model A Roadster, a khaki-colored 1930 Ford Model A Deluxe Coupe with contrasting yellow rims and a gorgeous baby blue 1955 Buick.

The car show promises to be

Parking meters

(Continued from Page 1) need to go back to school. Many users have experienced problems while attempting to pay. On the afternoon we spent time observing customers’ experiences, the meter on the south side of the lot was out of order, and the other one had multiple issues.

Some users found that when they entered their space numbers, the screen showed erroneous numbers and the meter would not let them add any time.

At the Movies

(Continued from Page 12) thrust of their goal is advocating for taxing the rich to pay their “fair share” and income distribution. However, the data for 2021 show that the top one percent of earners,

one of the most popular OFM events of the summer, drawing large crowds each year, says a Market spokesperson. Folded into the 90th celebration is the annual summer music series, slated to begin Thurs., June 6. Other noteworthy June events are a Pride Celebration

If time remained on the meter from the previous space-user’s transaction, the new parker had trouble figuring out how to add time to what was already there.

At times, the meter would only let a person add a total of 25 cents worth of time to the screen when prompted to “add time.”

Those trying to use their credit cards to pay found that swiping their cards worked just fine, but the tap-to-pay option was not reading the chip in the card.

Joe Russell, who parked in

defined as those with incomes over $682,577, paid nearly 46 percent of all income taxes.

The top 25 percent paid 89.2 percent of all taxes. The bottom 50 percent paid under 2 percent. I’m not sure how they define “fair share.”

Even so, I recommend this

on Thurs., June 13, featuring a Queen tribute band and a Blood Drive June 13-15.

July, the official birthday month of the market, heats up the celebratory action on Thurs., July 18, with an anniversary shop-‘til-you-drop Night Market. Fashion-related vendors without traditional brick-and-mortar shops, who instead reach customers online or through social media, will gather to offer a night of in-person shopping while tunes from the ‘90s play. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see and touch clothing that one normally has to judge by a photo on Instagram, according to an event organizer. Partici-

the lot, said, “For some reason, space 113 seems to be haunted. When you click to add more, it just gives random numbers with a minus sign in front of them — even on the app. You can’t add time, and therefore, you can’t pay.”

Eight out of 10 users on May 20 — in a time span of about 30 minutes — had some kind of trouble and ended up abandoning the effort and going to do their errands without paying. Apparently risking a ticket outweighed spending more time attempting to deal with the issues of the one working

because the discussions and arguments are interesting and thought-provoking, and the slant on the use of money is enlightening if what they say is accurate. Or is it nonsense?

Recommended Reading: “The Fury” by Alex Michaelides, a diverting mystery.

pating apparel merchants will be announced at a later date.

The fun continues through August with music nights and other anniversary plans still being finalized. The July issue

machine. On other occasions more problems were reported.

Aside from the meter’s payment problems, many users found themselves needing to hunch over in order to attempt their transactions.

The pay stations are perhaps perfectly proportioned for

of the Larchmont Chronicle will feature an historic overview of the Original Farmers Market and a comprehensive list of the “90 Days of Summer” events.

those of us in the 5-foot-ish range of height.

Update

A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Transportation told us a technician repaired the malfunctioning meters May 21 and that they are now “operating normally.”

THIS 1960 LINCOLN will be in the Gilmore Auto Show.

ATTENDEES at a past Original Farmers Market auto show.

Streetlights

(Continued from Page 1)

them inoperable, and thus creating dark streets.

RWNA is particularly upset about having a majority of their lights vandalized because, in 2013, residents voted to tax themselves and establish an official city lighting district specifically to keep the area safer.

Lights were installed in January 2014, and each home was assessed a one-time fee ranging between $7,500 and $15,000. Their lights are the newest in the neighborhood.

That is in addition to a $95 annual maintenance fee every

homeowner with streetlights pays.

More than just streetlights

Windsor Square residents and members of RWNA have also reported that landscaping and security lighting is being stolen from yards. The good intentions of neighbors to keep their homes and the sidewalk well-lit is being sabotaged by bicycling thieves. These actions add to a street’s darkness.

Frustration reporting nonworking lights

Reeves, along with Ridgewood Place resident Kate Corsmeier, has been very frustrated by the city’s complicated process for reporting damaged

the police can’t do anything until a report is filed. It’s a classic case of a catch-22, he said.

Corsmeier also tried filing a police report electronically. After spending a substantial amount of time with the online report, it was rejected and sent back to her, since she isn’t the victim.

lights. What both found out is that residents cannot file a police report for a streetlight damaged because the

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crime is against the city. This means that either the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL) or someone else from the city has to report the defacement. Reeves had been told that

Letters

(Continued from Page 2) almost directly north, and LACES is to our southwest.

The City of Beverly Hills is only two miles due west with mostly low-density homes or small apartments in that direction.

The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools campus has three middle schools on the old Ambassador Hotel property just 2.7 miles from JB. That latter construction project became the most expensive school in the United States. It opened in September 2010 at the cost of $578 million to serve 4,200 students K-12. Costs in 2010 were $350 per square foot. None of these six middle schools is at capacity, yet LAUSD wanted to rebuild John Burroughs Middle School to house 1,800. Where do the kids come from? The last time the school gave the community data, the students arrived from 63 different ZIP Codes driving past numerous partially empty schools. Instead of years of construction with kids exposed to asbestos, particulate matter and construction noise, LAUSD could have

Her annoyance with the situation led her to dial numerous random numbers from the Olympic Community Police Department webpage. She finally got through to a detective who was interested in the footage. After multi-

closed JB for one year and two summers and renovated the historic original building to accommodate 1,200 students for one-third of the cost. LAUSD could have used the other $200 million to renovate numerous other schools in the district.

LAUSD doesn’t care about our community; numerous homes on June and McCadden have suffered damage from vibration and construction earth movement, and the new building will be an eyesore for people who live across the street. Where is LAUSD’s logic? Why are kids commuting 45 minutes one way — increasing traffic, squandering their personal time and impacting the environment — all the while being driven past middle schools that have a lot of capacity?

It is bad for both their physical as well as their mental health. The entire LAUSD construction division is not about the kids or their education. It’s about consultants and bureaucrats feeding off the taxpayers, making large fees, salaries and pensions. Dr. Howard C. Mandel Hancock Park

Children’s Learning Lab offers exceptional small-group and individualized online learning in reading and math for K-6 students. Explore our

or call 310-454-1560

(Please turn to Page 15)

A SEALED JUNCTION box on Ridgewood Place.

THE MIDDLE OF the night, a suspect coils copper wire from a streetlight on Ridgewood Place.

Streetlights

(Continued from Page 14) ple attempts, she was able to upload some footage to a site the detective sent her. But still, no police report.

Council District 13

With this sort of frustration, the Chronicle reached out to Councilmember SotoMartínez’s office. According to a spokesman there, streetlight outages are the third

Family Fair

(Continued from Page 7) the “Larchmont’s Got Talent” show (check back for audition dates) and entertainment.

biggest complaint his office receives after housing / landlord issues and homelessness.

“The BSL has the highest [staff] vacancy rate of any department in the city at 30 percent,” said the representative. There are not enough BSL employees to make repairs. Citizens have to wait up to six months for streetlight repairs.

The Los Angeles City Council adopted a Soto-Martínez motion for his Council District 13 to utilize an additional $200,000 from the councilmember’s discretionary fund to pay for BSL overtime. The councilmember is hopeful that this will reduce repair time to two months.

“We know that well-lit streets are safer streets, and extended outages can make a neighborhood feel unsafe or scary to walk in. We’re prioritizing these repairs so we can ensure safe and walkable streets at all hours of the day,” Soto-Martínez said in an email. His office, as a city entity, can file a report to get outages repaired. His office encourag-

The free event has been produced by the LBA since the mid 1960s. It raises funds for the Boulevard’s upkeep, gardening, holiday decorations and more.

es residents with streetlight issues to first report outages, along with pictures and video if available, to 311 and then to the CD13 office at councilmember.soto-martinez@ lacity.org. These reported outages will be placed on a priority list.

Future of streetlights

Once the streetlights are repaired, how will BSL keep the fixtures safe from crimi-

nals and theft?

According to SotoMartínez’s office, there are plans underway to deter thieves and fortify the lights. But with more than 400 different kinds of streetlights in Los Angeles, there isn’t one easy answer.

One tactic that BSL and residents of RWNA are using is cementing the junction boxes shut. This makes stealing the

wire more difficult. There’s also the possibility of making some lights solar-powered, but that’s expensive and not all lights have that capability.

The Chronicle reached out to BSL numerous times for comment, but didn’t get a response. The author is a resident of Ridgewood Place and was instrumental in getting the lighting district adopted in 2013.

The Plymouth School

• Preschool program for children 2 to 5½.

• Creative activities to encourage cognitive & social development including art, music, movement & play

• Experienced teachers

• Over 50 years serving the neighborhood

AN OPEN JUNCTION BOX, after the copper wire has been stolen from it, making the light inoperable.

Photo by Mary Sandoval

MUSEUMS

“Never again” promise made at Holocaust Museum LA commemoration. Page 11

SO LONG, SLO Luncheon set for Officer Joe Pelayo’s retirement this month. Page 13 HERITAGE SITE Wine tasting and tours of Hollyhock House are back this summer. Page 12

Housing wars 2024: Local neighborhoods still under siege

The Little Hoover Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy released its most recent report May 14 on its review of the 50-yearold California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

While the commission was complimentary of the legislation, calling it “the bedrock of environmental protection,” with a history of protecting “disadvantaged communities” from environmental degradation, it boldly suggested that the state should exempt all infill development from CEQA review. “Infill development” is the construction of new projects in areas where most of the original vacant land already has been developed.

Housing goals

“California will never achieve its housing goals as long as CEQA has the potential to turn housing development into something akin to urban warfare — contested block by block, building by building,” says the report.

Exemptions for development from CEQA have long been the holy grail of housing advocates and the YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) movement, as CEQA remains the chief tool for local communi-

ties to assert their power over development, particularly development which has been sanctioned through state legislation. Lengthy CEQA reviews and lawsuits tend to drag out projects, interrupting financing timelines which often results in projects’ cancellations regardless of the merits of the CEQA arguments.

Here in Los Angeles, we are getting a glimpse of how such an exemption would play out through the mayor’s Executive Directive 1 (ED 1) program, which provides expedited review for 100-percent affordable housing projects that take advantage of state density bonuses.

ED 1

For those of you who have followed the controversial ED 1 projects in Greater Wilshire at 507 N. Larchmont Blvd. and 800 S. Lorraine Blvd., such projects land with a thud. They provide no public review, no exemptions for HPOZs and often are wildly out of scale with their surrounding community . . . and they even are exempt from providing parking if they are within a half-mile of certain high-usage transit stops.

The initial outcry after the mayor’s December 2022 issu-

On Preservation by Brian Curran

ance of ED 1 led the mayor to amend her directive in June 2023 to exempt R-1 single-family zones citywide. Locally, it was only through a concerted campaign of opposition by neighbors that 507 N. Larchmont has been stalled. The ED 1 program, however, has been a resounding success in permitting and producing housing units, with over 16,000 affordable units being in the pipeline throughout the city.

Really temporary?

ED 1, however, is only a temporary program, and it’s under threat from two lawsuits from the group Fix The City, questioning the directive’s emergency powers. In the meantime, ED 1 is in the process of being made permanent through a new ordinance. This has made the draft ordinance the focus of a fierce lobbying campaign by United Neighbors and other groups seeking to restrict new projects’ size and scale within

the new law, which supporters of the ED 1 program believe will blunt the program’s effectiveness.

“Religious” properties

Another program that has been exempted from CEQA is the result of California Senate Bill 4, the Affordable Housing on Faith Land Act, which allows religious organizations to build 100-percent affordable housing on land that they own regardless of zoning, including R-1 zones, if they owned the land prior to Jan. 1, 2024.

In the City of Los Angeles, the planning department would prefer to remove the date restriction. That could allow religious institutions to potentially become land speculators, partnering with developers to buy older homes in single-family neighborhoods and redevelop them. This law, while limited in its impact by the nature of the type of land (religious owned) and by prevailing wage requirements, still circumvents CEQA and public review.

Senate Bill 9

This push to reform CEQA in favor of infill development may also be given further urgency following the recent ruling that California Senate

Bill 9, the law that allowed single-family lots to be subdivided and developed with up to 6 units, recently was declared unconstitutional for charter cities by the Los Angeles Superior Court. SB 9 had been the YIMBY movement’s most significant victory over its bête noire, single-family zones, so the ruling is sure to be appealed.

But the message from the Little Hoover Commission is clear and sure to be trumpeted: CEQA remains the greatest impediment to housing development, and CEQA’s removal by the state is the only way to ensure victory over the housing crisis.

For those concerned about local control and protection of neighborhoods, the maintenance of CEQA review over development will surely be the hill to die on. Perhaps the new ED 1 ordinance can provide a template for a middle ground, carving out exempted zones and other restrictions. There are indications that Fifth District Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky thinks so, as she has sponsored motions in support of protecting historic districts. To ensure that CEQA survives will continue to take pressure from concerned residents and voters.

New stores and names popping up on Larchmont Boulevard

By Casey Russell

Sweet Lady Jane (SLJ) is officially open on the Boulevard and new employee, Jeansy Orellana, told us: “It’s been pretty busy so far! Everyone seems excited we are open.” The bakery’s famous triple berry cake is one of the first confections visitors to the store will see upon entering the quaint location at 203 N. Larchmont Blvd.

Another newly open Boulevard addition is a branch of the Oakberry Açai smoothie chain. Açai berries contain antioxidants, and it seems fitting that the shop is taking the slot at 122 N. Larchmont once filled by Jamba Juice, another store that sold smoothies.

Australian cosmetics brand Aēsop is now open at 128 N. Larchmont. It fills in the last retail bay of the new Larchmont Mercantile project in the former Lipson Building.

Muraya Sushi, one the Boulevard’s two longtime sushi restaurants (at 125 N. Larchmont), has transformed into Pho La Vache. Early May saw the rebranding of this, the Boulevard’s only Vietnamese restaurant. “I’ve been wanting to bring something different, Asian and trendy to the Boulevard for a long time,” said owner Jane Kwak. When we spoke, she told us pho is

one of her favorite foods, and customers had often asked if Muraya served rice noodles. Kwak seized the moment and has expanded Larchmont’s offerings to include pho (bone marrow beef broth, rice noodles, cilantro, basil, lime, sprouts and thinly sliced meat). Another popular Vietnamese offering, banh mi, is also on the menu, along with much more. Muraya lovers will be pleased to know that a favorite dish from the sushi restaurant will still be available. “We kept the crispy rice with spicy tuna because it was popular,” said a smiling Kwak.

A classic barbershop is coming back to the Boulevard! Barbers on Larchmont  was slated to open at the end of May, upstairs at the mini-mall at 417 3/4 N. Larchmont. Owners Cesar Vasquez and Cesar Perez worked with Perez’s uncle Jorge Hilario at the original Larchmont Barber Shop from 2013 through 2020, and Perez is excited to say, “We’re back in Larchmont where we belong!”

The original Larchmont Barber Shop, most recently in the former Lipson Building,

opened in the 1920s. In 2013, owner Jerry Cottone sold the shop to Hilario, who stayed in business on the Boulevard until new owners bought the building and closed all 14 shops for remodeling in 2020. Hilario moved Larchmont Barber Shop to 401 1/2 S. Fairfax Ave., where he is still in business.

And now, three of Hilario’s Boulevard-era employees again will be working on Larchmont.

When we spoke with Cesar Perez, who also owns West Barber Shop at 4506 W. Pico Blvd., he was excited to be opening the new business. His son is running his other shop, so Perez told us he’ll mainly be at the Larchmont shop. Located on the second level above Larchmont Hair & Nails, Barbers on Larch-

mont has four chairs, and people will be able to stop by for a cut seven days a week. For more information, call 323-378-6550.

According to Marlon Cortez, manager of the new Tu Madre (expanded from the take-out taco eatery formerly in Sweet Lady Jane’s Larchmont location), the new sitdown restaurant at the intersection of Larchmont and Melrose at 660 N. Larchmont is waiting on permits to open. Cortez said, “As far as I know, we have everything ready.” Cortez anticipates a soft opening followed by a grand opening that will include music and balloons for a festive atmosphere. Visitors can expect to find classic Tu Madre fare including its three best sellers: the chicken al pastor taco, the ahi tuna

taco and a bowl consisting of chicken, kale, rice and beans. Ryan Gurman, real estate agent for the building that Tu Madre now inhabits, told us that the whole building has now been leased. Although he couldn’t yet share which businesses will take over the slots on either side of Jess Rona Grooming at 656 N. Larchmont, the Chronicle hopes to update readers with that information next month. There’s good news for pet owners who have been wanting to get on Jess Rona’s client list. With a recently expanded staff, the sought-after, cage-free groomer is accepting new clients for the first time in four years. We now have a fifth Larchmont ice cream outlet to enjoy. Awan, also in the Tu

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BARBERS ON LARCHMONT’S co-owner Cesar Perez sits in one of his four barber chairs prior to opening. JESS RONA with one of her clients.

SWEET LADY JANE’S triple berry cake stands with other tempting confections in SLJ’s newly open Boulevard location.

Television City comment period still open for modernization plan

By Suzan Filipek

Following the lengthy first public hearing of the Los Angeles Dept. of City Planning May 15 on the proposed expansion and modernization of Television City at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, the city will continue to accept

comments, both pro and con. Written comments can be submitted to paul.caporaso@ lacity.org; write “TVC 2050” in the subject line and copy mindy.nguyen@lacity.org and councilmember.yaroslavsky@lacity.org.

The Planning Commission is tentatively scheduled to hold a hearing on the TVC 2050 project on Thurs., Sept. 12, and the commission also may take public comments at that hearing. The commission then will make a recommendation and forward the proposal to

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the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee for consideration, followed by full City Council review.

New stores

(Continued from Page 3)

Madre building, at 5630 Melrose Ave. (in the former Coffee Coffee spot) is serving vegan and gluten-free ice cream with flavors inspired by Indonesia. Next door, Dayglow Coffee, which collaborates with Awan in a similarly co-located West Hollywood storefront, is opening soon.

Larchmont Jewelers’ opening date has been pushed back

because a piece of the interior will not be installed until early June. The new opening is predicted to be mid-June, according to Director of Marketing Caren Ho. There is no word yet as to when Phil Rosenthal and Nancy Silverton will commence construction at Max and Helen’s, their proposed new deli in the space long occupied by Le Petit Greek (now operating as Greek Eats at 8236 W. Third St.).

This home at 690 S. Bronson Ave. in Wilshire Park sold for $1,751,000 in April.

Single-family homes

Condominiums

*Sale prices for April.

A City Planning Department ‘out of touch’ with neighbors

By Suzan Filipek

A big push from City Hall to build affordable housing fast has left many communities perplexed and angry. Including ours.

Called ED 1, the mayor’s executive directive to speed construction of 100-percent affordable housing and address the city’s homelessness crisis has railroaded projects that have hurt some of the communities the program strives to help, local leaders say.

One such project is on a narrow, vacant lot in the Windsor Village Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ).

Awaiting a building permit, the recently approved seven-story, 70-unit Brown Stone Capital development is at 800 Lorraine Blvd.

“It’s another example of a City Planning Department out of touch with Los Angeles neighbors, and the mayor’s directive gone rogue,” local resident Sam Uretsky wrote in an email earlier this year.

“It’s out of scale and out of keeping with the HPOZ,” John Kaliski said of the Lorraine project.

Kaliski, an architect and former board member of the Windsor Village HPOZ, said the December 2022 directive has disrupted safeguards that

IF PASSED, an Interim Control Ordinance would halt ED 1 projects in historic zones like this one on 800 Lorraine Blvd.

have been in place over many years.

“All of the guardrails that have been implemented have been upended,” said Kaliski.

The ED 1 application for the Lorraine property was deemed complete on April 18, and the City Planning Dept. has 60 days to issue a Letter of Compliance to developer / owner Nima Montazeri.

The Kevin Tsai Architecture-designed project includes studio and one-bedroom units and zero on-site parking. It was approved as a 100-percent affordable housing project.

On the heels of the approval of the Lorraine project, Councilmember Katy Yaroskavky introduced a motion requesting a citywide Interim Control Ordinance (ICO)

that would put the brakes on these projects in single-family neighborhoods and the city’s 35 Historic Preservation Overlay Zones.

Some good news

“That’s a huge deal,” said Cindy Chvatal-Keane, president of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association.

The ICO motion is expected to go before the City Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee before a final vote by City Council. No date has been set.

“We shared with Planning we did not think [Lorraine] should move forward. We were disappointed,” said Leo Daube, Council District 5 communications director.

The approval of Lorraine … “prompted the ICO in the first place,” he added.

Reports say the mayor plans to revise her executive directive, as the City Planning Dept. is not moving quickly enough to close loopholes and stem streamlining any project that is out of character with neighborhoods.

“That’s what we’re hoping,” said Chvatal-Keane.

But until the mayor steps in or the Planning Dept. takes action, “hundreds of these [ED 1] applications are coming in.” To date, 16,000 units have been applied for under the 100-percent affordable housing executive directive. Only a handful have been built.

Not NIMBY

“Nobody’s saying ‘Don’t build,’ but we want to have smart planning that fits into the neighborhood,” Chvatal-Keane said. Smart planning includes landscaping with trees and setbacks so that large-scale projects don’t butt into residential areas.

The president of the HPHOA is joined by other members of United Neighbors, who have been meeting with the mayor and council members. United Neighbors is a statewide coalition of residential groups. Threat to existing affordable housing

Another concern is the 600,000-plus units that are

in jeopardy as the executive directive has threatened homes protected under the city Rental Stabilization Ordinance, also known as rent control.

To help keep people from being displaced, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez sought and won an ICO that protects rent-controlled properties from the fast-track policy in some of her areas in Council District 1.

In a bit of good news, an ED 1 project at 507 N. Larchmont Blvd. that many area residents opposed has been pulled by the developer, Shaw Ebrahimian.

Vocal outcry could have prompted the developer’s action, some say.

That project application included a large loophole: “12 recreation rooms” facing Larchmont Boulevard with beautiful balconies. These could later have been converted into large, market rate units.

“ED 1 needs to have clear parameters for developers. Now it’s too fuzzy,” explained Chvatal-Keane.

Developer Ebrahimian told residents he plans to resubmit plans for a five-story, 40-unit, ED 1 100-percent af-

(Please turn to Page 12)

Hearing on Pawnshop bar is June 6

The Los Angeles Dept. of City Planning will hold a virtual public hearing on the proposed Pawnshop LA sports bar project on Thurs., June 6, at 9:30 a.m.

The Ventana Ventures project seeks to change the existing 7,808-square-foot, two-story office and photo studio at 5901 Melrose Ave., which operated as a pawn shop, to a restaurant and bar.

Building permit applicant Diego Torres-Palma has applied for a conditional use beverage permit to allow onsite sale and consumption of a full line of alcoholic beverages, and the restaurant would include 260 seats, private dining suites and occasional live entertainment, according to the public hearing notice.

Proposed operating hours

for the bar are 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., daily. No on-site parking is proposed.

Community concerns include the extended hours of operation, lack of parking and a security plan, the project’s location within 100 feet of Wagon Wheel School and Iglesia De Dios Camino de Santidad Church and noise and other potential disruptions from such a bar adjoining the residential area.

According to a spokesperson for the developer in an earlier email, initial plans for actual operating hours are from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Valet parking on-site was to provide 25 to 30 spaces, and the developer was seeking additional off-site parking nearby.

The design for the remodel by architecture firm

Omgivning will maintain the size of the existing building and restore and enhance its architectural details, according to city documents.

The Hancock Park Homeowners Association, the Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association and the Windsor Square Association have encouraged residents to attend the meeting and speak about the late-night hours, lack of parking and other concerns.

The project’s tentative name is in homage to the former Brothers Collateral pawn shop at the site. The two-story canary-yellow shop was run by Rudy Gintel of Hancock Park and his brother Ernest for more than 40 years, until 2020.

Built in 1934, the building was a Cut Rate drugstore in its earlier life.

Wilshire Rotary awarded ‘Club of Excellence’

Wilshire Rotary received a “Club of Excellence” award for the 2023-24 Rotary year at the District Conference, May 4 at the Biltmore Los Angeles.

It’s the third win for the Club, which last was recognized in the 2006-07 Rotary year.

The award is in recognition of the group’s many projects, Wilshire Club President Janice Prior told us.

Wilshire Rotary won among 12 clubs in the Large Club category in Rotary International District 5280. The District has a total of 66 clubs in the Greater Los Angeles area, spanning Calabasas to San Pedro and Santa

Monica to Downtown.

Winners were also announced in the Medium and Small Club categories.

ROTARIANS and winners honored at the Biltmore hotel, left to right: District Community Service Chair Sharon Gavin; District Gov. Makiko Nakasone; Janice Prior, president Wilshire Rotary; Lynnette Smith of Burbank Sunrise Rotary - Medium Club; Ken Waltzer of Santa Monica Rotary - Honorable Mention for Large Club; Connie Hui of Bellflower Rotary - Small Club; Steve Day of Westwood Village Rotary - Medium Club.

Block Party brought community together

By Casey Russell

The second annual Larchmont Spring Block Party was attended by up to 2,500 neighbors and friends on April 27.

Annie O’Rourke, one of the party’s organizers, told us the most exciting part was the energy. “The entire event was buzzing with neighbors enjoying a beautiful day together,” she said.

Children splashed around the water play area, tortoises from Tortoiseland (accompanied by handlers) roamed the block wearing “I Love Larchmont” bumper stickers, and families delighted in Got Game Camp’s activities — a crowd favorite was the water balloon toss.

School Board member Nick Melvoin, LAPD Senior Lead Officers Joe Pelayo and Hebel Rodriguez, members of the Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association, a representative of Assemblymember Rick Zbur’s office and Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez were in attendance.

Soto-Martinez’s office paid for the party’s permit and helped fund some of the rentals, and Los Angeles Sanitation employees distributed kitchen pails, compost bins and reusable bags.

The event raised $5,130 for Alexandria House, nearly doubling last year’s donation amount of $2,800 for the nearby transitional home for women and children.

When asked if the party planners expect to do the event again next year, O’Rourke responded, “Heck yes!”

ATTENDEES enjoy the water balloon toss at the second annual Larchmont Spring Block party on the 500 block of North Bronson Avenue.

Photos by Annie O’Rourke

TORTOISE mingles with guests while wearing an “I Love Larchmont” bumper sticker.

Springtime tour visits colorful gardens with the WSHPHS

By Suzan Filipek

“All Good Gardens, Great and Small” delivered a bounty of color and springtime festivity.

The tour, hosted by the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society, featured five gardens: three in Windsor Square, one in Fremont Place and one Hancock Park-adjacent.

“We had a wonderful time. The weather was great,” said Richard Battaglia, co-chair of the event and Society president.

More than 200 people were on the May 4 tour. Many firsttime attendees also joined the 48-year-old Society, created with friends by Jane Gilman, co-founder of the Larchmont

Chronicle and co-chair of the 2024 garden tour.

“The Historical Society is a very special (and sometimes kooky) family in the middle of our major metropolis,” Battaglia told us.

“It is lovely to see the volunteers and committee members come together, work together and take pride in their accomplishments,” he added.

More than 60 docents and other volunteers were involved in the tour.

Photographer Mary Nichols captured the exteriors of the homes and gardens in advance of the tour. Elizabeth Ige took photos the day of the event.

Silent auction chairs were Debbie and Mark Alpers. First-

time docent organizer was Alex Aurisch. Diana Braker co-chaired program ads with Jane Gilman. Jade Ikeda recruited Larchmont merchants to provide items to fill goodie bags.

Jolin Crofts worked as a wandering reporter interviewing attendees.

Other volunteers included Judy and Richard Zeller, pouring Prosecco for the attendees; Marlene Zweig organizing the check-in desk; and Brian Curran researched in advance the histories of the featured homes and gardens.

BACK YARD and swimming pool of the Windsor Square home commissioned in 1915 by George E. Huntsberger that was part of the

tour, “All Good Gardens, Great and Small,” in May.

Battaglia also thanked the

homeowners whose residences were featured on the tour: Marni and Howard Owens, Kathleen Losey, Toby Horn and Harold Tomin, Suz and

and

Nathan Hochman coffee hosted on Larchmont June 18

Meet Nathan Hochman, candidate for Los Angeles County District Attorney, on Tues., June 18. The meet and greet will take place from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at Le Pain Quotidien, 113 N. Larchmont Blvd. Neighbors of Larchmont is host.

Hochman faces incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón in the Tues., Nov. 5 general election.

Peter Landay,

Shar and Robert Penfold.

WSHPHS

ENJOYING the garden tour were, from left: Heather John Fogarty, Corie Brown, Alex Aurisch, Jane Gilman, Diana Braker, Beate McDermott and Neil McDermott.

THE JUNE BILGORE GARDEN, in Windsor Square, was the scene of the Historical Society’s silent auction and reception.

Hollywood’s Jewish founding in exhibit at Academy Museum

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JOHN C. FREMONT 6121 Melrose Ave. 323-962-3521

4625 W. Olympic Blvd. 323-938-2732

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Mon. and Wed., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tues. and Thurs. noon to 8 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Libraries will be closed Wed., June 19 for Juneteenth.

By John Welborne

There is a compact, but time-warranting, new exhibit at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures at Wilshire and Fairfax. It is the movie museum’s first permanent exhibit, and it is well worth seeing. That’s especially so for those who live in our Mid-Wilshire part of the City of Los Angeles — because we have such a good perspective on the nearby real estate depicted in the exhibit.

“Hollywoodland: Jewish Founders and the Making of a Movie Capital” tells its story primarily through projected imagery (it’s in a motion picture museum, after all) that shows the environs and origins of the first Hollywood studios.

Of particular interest to anyone familiar with, or curious about, the geography and history of our area south of the Hollywood Hills is the large topographic relief map table

onto which the evolving studio landscape is projected while a cyclorama (curved vertical screen against the wall) provides details of the evolution of Hollywood from 1902 to the late 1920s.

Opposite is a wall with detailed information about each of eight motion picture studios and their generally Eastern European Jewish founders. The third element in the exhibit hall is a corner for watching a new documentary produced by the museum, “From the Shtetl to the Studio: The Jewish Story of Hollywood.”

Like everything else in the compact space, that film is fascinating and well worth watching from beginning to end. It tells an important immigrant story.

The new exhibit adds information and clarity about buildings that remain a familiar part of our local landscape.

“HOLLYWOODLAND” VISITORS, at left, view the topographic relief map table in front of the companion curved cyclorama screen on the back wall in the compact exhibit room.

‘Never again’ urgent promise of Yom HaShoah commemoration

By Helene Seifer

Under a tent on the grassy expanse of Pan Pacific Park, next to the existing façade of Holocaust Museum LA and in front of the museum’s rising addition, an estimated 600 people gathered to commemorate the six million Jewish souls murdered in the Holocaust and also mark the 80th anniversary of the deportation of more than half a million Hungarian Jews to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.

On the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Yom HaShoah, a day of remembering the Holocaust (Shoah in Hebrew), and the 32nd annual commemoration hosted by Holocaust Museum LA, the pledge was, as always, “Never Again.”

“We are angry and we are scared”

This year “Never Again” felt particularly urgent, with many of the event speakers noting the worldwide rise in antisemitism, especially after the Hamas Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war underway in Gaza. As Katy Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles City Councilmember, said, “So much has happened in the year since we last gathered for this event, and in so many ways the world feels en-

tirely different… The promise of ‘Never Again’ is not just about preventing another Holocaust, though it most certainly is about that. It’s about building a world where such atrocities can never happen to anyone anywhere.”

Guy Lipa, board chair of Holocaust Museum LA, acknowledged compassion for the loss of civilian lives in Gaza and continued, “Our community was devastated by the events of Oct. 7 and the glorification of Hamas and violence against Jews. We are angry, and we are scared.”

Holocaust Museum LA CEO Beth Kean, herself the granddaughter of survivors, warned, “The alarm bells are ringing loudly… More than six decades later, [Holocaust Museum LA’s] mission to commemorate those who perished, educate future generations about the Holocaust and inspire a more respectful, dignified and humane world remains more important than ever.”

Mayor Karen Bass, in her address, stated, “I want to reaffirm my commitment to the Jewish community. Its safety, dignity and freedom are integral to the health of this entire city.”

Israeli-American actor Mike

Burstyn, as Master of Ceremonies, acknowledged the dignitaries in attendance on May 5, including the Consuls General of Lithuania, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland and Hungary and the Deputy Consuls General of the Czech Republic and Japan. Israel Bachar, the Deputy Consul General of Israel, spoke and noted that, “Since Oct. 7, antisemitism has increased by 400 percent in America,” and he vowed that Israel’s enemies “will not succeed to destroy our national home ever.”

Other notable guests in the tent were Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Jacqueline Hamilton, County Supervisors Lindsey

Horvath and Holly Mitchell, Los Angeles City Attorney Heidi Feldstein Soto, California Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, President of Santa Monica College Kathryn Elaine Jeffery, former City Councilmember Paul Koretz and former County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

“Let us be morally clear”

The keynote speaker was Wilshire Boulevard Temple Senior Rabbi Steve Leder, whose powerful speech began with recounting acts of brutality against Jews throughout the ages, including “1.5 million children turned into smoke [in the Holocaust].” He then addressed head-on

the controversial current situation in Gaza. “Let us be morally clear. There is a difference between murder and killing. Hamas murders Jews. And murder forces us to kill. Even when innocent people die in the process, they are not innocent victims of Israeli aggression. They are the victims of the terrorists’ total disregard for life itself…”

He continued, “To be a Jew is never to lose hope for a beautiful end to the oldest of stories.”

Maestro Conlon

The bitter pill of the situation in Israel, Gaza and the world was made sweeter with a musical interlude conducted by Maestro James Conlon, music director of the Los Angeles Opera and artistic director of the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School. The latter program promotes music by composers whose careers were affected by the Nazis. Conlon conducted LA Opera musicians in “Maienblumen Blühten Überall,” a poem by Richard Dehmel with music by Alexander Zemlinsky, an Austrian composer who was forced into exile by the Nazis in 1938.

(Please turn to Page 12)

HOLOCAUST MUSEUM LA CEO Beth Kean (second from left) with, from left, Mayor Karen Bass, City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky and Holocaust Museum LA Board Chair Guy Lipa at Yom HaShoah commemoration May 5 in Pan Pacific Park.

Sip wine, tour world heritage site at Barnsdall Art Park

By Suzan Filipek

Sip wine, tour an iconic historic site and enjoy a warm summer evening at the return of Barnsdall Fridays Wine Tasting on May 31 from 5:30 to 9 p.m.

Back after a long hiatus — since 2019, because of COVID — the event is at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House, Los Angeles’ only UNESCO World Heritage site. It continues every Friday through August 30.

The 15th season of the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation fundraiser supports the park, its arts programming and its landscaping, which includes the recent restoration of the historic Olive Grove,

which dates back to the 1890s.

The gated area on the West Lawn of the house will be reserved for those 21 years and older to sip wine, picnic and enjoy views of Griffith Park and the Hollywood Sign.

Silverlake Wine will curate a selection of artisanal wines, rotating food trucks will be on site, and DJs will spin tunes.

Work from five Los Angeles-based artists will be featured in “COLA 2024,” on exhibit through July 20 in the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, located in the park.

Tours of the interior of

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House include the dried flower installation “Ravi

Ikebana for Hollyhock House,” on display through the Fall.

Guests also can see new

Premiere of ‘Rose’ set for Ebell in 2025

By John Welborne

The Ebell of Los Angeles has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a $30,000 award under the NEA’s Grants for Arts Projects. The grant will support the commissioning, development and production of “All

About Rose,” a 1940s-era story inspired by the Rosie the Riveters of World War II, composed by Brooke deRosa and written by Velina Hasu Houston.

Its world premiere is set for March 2025.

“All About Rose” will be staged throughout March

2025, during Women’s History Month at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, and is part of the “Living Herstory” project of The Ebell Institute. The project offers free historical matinees to local schools.

“All About Rose” imagines the lives and challenges of a group of “Rosies” entering the workforce in Los Angeles, home of the aircraft industry during World War II. Together, these women fight to desegregate a local factory following Executive Order 8802, which banned discriminatory employment practices by federal agencies and all unions and companies engaged in war-related work.

For more information visit ebellofla.org.

Yom HaShoah

(Continued from Page 11)

Personal testimonials

Fewer and fewer people are left to testify about their personal experiences of the Holocaust, but an amazing group of about a dozen Holocaust survivors was there at Pan Pacific Park. Those from Hungary were among guests invited to participate in a candle-lighting ceremony. One of them was 96-year-old Mary Bauer, who was born in Hungary and survived Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, the Death

native gardens designed by landscape design studio TERREMOTO, featuring nearly 500 plants.

Hollyhock House was built between 1919 and 1921, com-

City Planning

(Continued from Page 6) fordable housing project.

Resident Sam Uretsky thanked the community for its advocacy in fighting the project but warned the owner / developer is still involved.

“Do keep in mind the property remains with the same owner. We need to remain vigilant about what the owner proposes next,” said Uretzky. Faith-based — the newest fight

The Faith Based Incentive Program is the community’s newest fight.

As it stands, churches, temples and other Faith-Based Organization (FBOs) can build

March and Ravensbrück concentration camp.

After the war, when Bauer reached the United States, she remembered what people said to her in the camps. “‘If you survive, tell the world about us.’ Therefore I keep talking and teaching about what

missioned by oil heiress and theater producer Aline Barnsdall. It is named for her favorite flower. Wright, who was among the world’s leading 20th-century architects, created stylized representations of the plant throughout the house.

Wine tasting tickets cost $45; $70 if you include a guided tour of Hollyhock House. Designated Driver tickets are available for $15 with entry only and wine tasting not included.

Guests are encouraged to bring blankets and reserve early, as tickets often sell out. Visit barnsdall.org.

The park is located at 4800 Hollywood Blvd. Parking is limited; rideshare and public transportation are encouraged.

affordable housing on their property as long as it was owned prior to Jan. 1 2024. This is pursuant to state law (Senate Bill 4, effective in late 2023).

“It eliminates turning FBOs into land speculators,” said Chvatal-Keane.

But a critical change is being suggested by Planning Department staff. In the second draft of its Housing Element implementation ordinances, the January 2024 date of the ownership requirement has been removed.  Eliminating the time cutoff “allows a giant loophole,” said Chvatal-Keane.

The staff’s move is not endorsed by Councilwoman Yaroslavsky.

prejudice and hate mean… Everyone born on this planet, regardless of skin color, ethnicity, or religious belief, they should have the right to live a free life of their choosing. Museums like this must stand as reminders of what happens when we hate each other.”

GuneWardena:

WINE TASTING returns to Hollyhock House after a long hiatus. Photo courtesy Barnsdall Art Park Foundation

Police converse with residents over chicken

By Nona Sue Friedman

“Coffee with a Cop” community gatherings are familiar in this part of town. The events are orchestrated by Senior Lead Officers (SLO) and local businesses and community members. The concept is to create a safe space for citizens to interact with officers in a nonviolent, non-emergency atmosphere. The gatherings also further police officers building relationships with local businesses.

The most recent Coffee with a Cop was held at lunchtime at a new chicken restaurant, Starbird, on Beverly Boulevard at Detroit Street, on May 9 with Wilshire Division LAPD. The afternoon gathering attracted about 20 people.

A resident of North Orange Avenue for more than 40 years, Conrad Romo was talking to Sgt. Wes Sarno about noise issues from a business, Creative Soundz, located at the end of his block. The Melrose Avenue business hosts parties in its parking lot into the wee hours of the morning. This creates a disturbance for the neighbors, much like a “party house.”

For the past two years, Romo has worked with LAPD

officers, Sarno among them, and other organizations to stop the nuisance. Recently, LAPD issued a second ticket to the location, which changed the status of the business to a place of interest. It has now been moved to the Vice Unit for future investigation.

According to Romo, the longtime delay “has been very frustrating and taken multiple hours” to address. He’s hoping that, with this new status, his business neighbors will keep quiet.

Another attendee is having roommate issues. She stopped by the event because she feels unsafe in her living situation.

Sgt. Sarno recommended she carry pepper spray and have a plan of action should things turn violent. This helped her feel more at ease, she said.

Jo Ann Lessor has lived in the neighborhood 50 years and learned about the city’s 311 app that makes it easier to report nonviolent situations. It is now uploaded on her phone. She enjoyed talking to the officers. “They were all very willing to chat,” she said. She also learned personal information about them and about their families, such as why they became cops.

SLO Joe Pelayo to retire; lunch June 5

By Nona Sue Friedman

After 17 years as a Senior Lead Officer (SLO) for Larchmont and the surrounding areas and 29 years total with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), SLO Joe Pelayo is retiring. “I have yet to see Europe,” Pelayo states. He plans to travel the world with his wife and 12-year-old son once he retires.

His last day on the job at the Olympic Community Police Station is Sun., June 30. The first stop on his world tour is Madrid this summer. After that, he is targeting another European locale during his son’s winter school vacation.

“I’ll miss everybody. This area is one of the best assignments in all of LAPD,” Pelayo recounts. “It’s a community that feels like home.”

Larchmont Village and Windsor Square, according to him, are the most involved communities and are incredibly organized. The local residential organizations made his job of communicating information much easier. He spoke highly of the system of block captains, especially those in

Windsor Square. Rotary to honor Pelayo The Wilshire Rotary Club of Los Angeles is honoring Pelayo for his contributions to the community with a luncheon at the Ebell of Los Angeles, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd. All are welcome Wed., June 5, at noon. The cost to attend is $35. Please RSVP to wendyclifford@gmail.com. New SLO Danny Chavez When we spoke recently with SLO Pelayo, he was on-site at a homicide near

Gramercy Place and Fourth Street. Also at the scene was the officer taking over Pelayo’s position July 1, SLO Danny Chavez. The two have known each other for a dozen years, and Chavez was Pelayo’s first choice to succeed him.

Pelayo and Chavez were bike riders in the Police Unity Tour in May — Chavez for the sixth time and Pelayo for the 10th. The four-day bike tour goes from New Jersey to Washington, D.C., and it raises money and awareness for families of officers who have died on duty.

SLO Chavez is looking forward to working with the communities in the eastern part of the Chronicle’s circulation area, and he feels the transition will be smooth. He’s been an officer with the LAPD for 22 years and a SLO for almost 13 of those years. Chavez was eager to announce his department-approved Instagram account, @ Olympic_1. Starting July 1, you can follow what he’s up to on the job. He will take over Pelayo’s phone, 213793-0709 starting July 1, and his email address is 36304@ lapd.online.

CENTRAL AREA REPRESENTATIVE to Mayor Karen Bass, David Nguyen (left), chats with Wilshire LAPD’s new Capt. Hollis and community organizer Kim Rivera of Melrose Action.

NEW TO LARCHMONT is SLO Chavez (right) along with retiring SLO Pelayo.

POLICE BEAT

Residential burglaries abound; student assaults fellow student

WILSHIRE DIVISION

The following crimes in the Wilshire Division area happened between April 28 and May 14.

ROBBERY: Suspects approached a victim in a car, pointed a gun and took the victim’s cell phone on the 7000 block of Beverly Boulevard.

AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS:

A student punched another student for an unknown reason on the 600 block of McCadden Place.

A victim was hit and injured with a wooden object near the intersection of Melrose and La Brea avenues.

Just down the street, at Melrose and Mansfield avenues, a suspect approached a victim and punched him in the face.

VANDALISM: An unknown suspect slashed tires on a victim’s car on the 5100 block of Wilshire Boulevard.

BURGLARIES: A suspect entered a victim’s home and

OLYMPIC DIVISION

Furnished by Senior Lead Officer

Joseph Pelayo

213-793-0709

31762@lapd.online

Twitter: @lapdolympic

stole property and a car from the home on the 400 block of South Plymouth Boulevard.

A suspect ransacked a victim’s home on the 500 block of South Lucerne Boulevard.

While a victim was home, a suspect smashed the glass back door. The suspect was scared off on the 200 block of South Rimpau Boulevard.

Suspects climbed into a victim’s home through a bal-

WILSHIRE DIVISION

Furnished by Acting Senior Lead Officer

Peter Choi

(213) 709-6279

38788@lapd.online

Twitter: @lapdwilshire

cony and ransacked the home on the 500 block of North Rossmore Avenue.

Multiple suspects entered a business using a crowbar. They ransacked the business and then left on the 600 block of South La Brea Avenue.

Another business was ransacked after suspects broke the glass front door on the 100 block of North Larch-

mont Boulevard.

THEFT: A bicycle lock was cut and a bike was stolen from the 600 block of North Sycamore Avenue.

Unknown suspects approached a victim, gave the victim a hug, then stole jewelry and fled on the 300 block of South Orange Drive.

OLYMPIC DIVISION

AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS:

A suspect who was experiencing extreme paranoia produced a gun and started firing toward a victim, who fled the scene near the intersection of Van Ness Avenue and Rosewood Avenue on May 11.

ATTEMPTED GRAND

THEFT AUTO: Two suspects approached a parked car and cut the driver side window and disabled its alarm. The suspects fled when

approached on May 11 on the 800 block of South Norton Avenue.

BURGLARY: A suspect entered a single-family dwelling by breaking the rear glass door, ransacked a bedroom, took property and fled through the backyard on May 10 on the 100 block of South Windsor Boulevard.

A suspect used a tool to pry open a metal bar on a window in a multi-unit building. They then used a tool to open the balcony sliding door on May 10 on the 300 block of Westminster Avenue.

A victim was inside the home in a multi-unit building when a suspect broke the balcony window, attempting to enter. The suspect fled on May 11 from the 600 block of South Wilton Place.

Personnel changes continue at Wilshire Division

By Nona Sue Friedman

There has been a significant amount of turnover recently at LAPD’s Wilshire Community Police Department (Wilshire). According to Senior Lead Officer (SLO) Hebel Rodriguez, this is a common occurrence within a division when many of its officers reach the age of retirement.

Capt. Cliff Humphris was promoted to a Captain III and sent back to head up the Metropolitan Division, from whence he came. His replacement at Wilshire is Capt. Jeffrey Hollis.

Capt. Jeffrey Hollis

Lining

With more than 30 years on the force, Capt. Hollis is the newest captain at Wilshire, where he had one of his first assignments as an officer. Hollis says, “It’s nice to circle back.” He started on May 2.

Previously, Hollis worked in gang units and the Special Problems Unit (SPU) at Van Nuys LAPD. He was a training officer there and at

Rampart, and he was captain at the Foothill Division. After Foothill, he moved to Valley Traffic before being promoted to Captain III and transferred to Wilshire.

He’s enjoyed all of his duties as an officer for LAPD and says, “being a captain means being flexible.”

The Chronicle talked to Hollis on his second day on the job at Wilshire. He already finds the officers, detectives and staff at Wilshire to be incredibly hardworking and “They hustle to keep the community safe.” He couldn’t be prouder of his division.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to be working with Capt. Rodriguez as my partner. She was a detective for many years and is great at putting resources to the crimes that are occurring.”

Hollis said television shows neglect to reveal the proactive research and planning that police do on a daily basis. LAPD officers have week-

ly and daily crime meetings where they share data among departments concerning what is happening in their particular areas. “We have a plan, seven days a week, for emerging crime,” according to Hollis.

With this crime information, the commanding officers figure out where to place different personnel.

This is especially true for the SPU that Wilshire implemented a month ago. The uniformed detail identifies crimes, their motives, time of day and potential suspects. The SPU maps the crimes,

trying to figure out trends. In summing up for the Chronicle, Hollis commented that, “I’ve never seen a division with so many community gatherings. It’s five times as much as any other division.” He’s been welcomed via email by multiple community members and organizations. He looks forward to meeting as many in the community as possible, in person, over time.

New Senior Lead Officers

In addition to a new captain, Wilshire Division got two new SLOs on May 5. Officer Andrew Jones is the

LARCHMONT CHRONICLE gets a visit from new Senior Lead Officers of Wilshire Division, Peter Choi (left) and Andrew Jones (right), on their second day of work.

Feeling blue? ‘Go where fashion sits… puttin’ on the Ritz’

In 1929, composer Irving Berlin published a sly-sounding tune with a snappy, stutter-step beat.

If you’re blue and you don’t know where to go to Why don’t you go where Harlem flits

Puttin’ on the Ritz

The lyrics painted a harmful stereotype of poor Black Harlemites dressing flashily to blend in with their supposed betters “with their noses in the air.”

Spending every dime On a wonderful time.

“Puttin’ On The Ritz” appeared in a 1930 musical film of the same title, noted for being the first song in a film to be sung by both Black and white performers. (Though, upon closer inspection, the choruses, separated by race, never actually share the stage at the same time.) The catchy number continued to surface throughout history with renditions — almost invariably performed in a top hat and coattails — by Clark Gable in “Idiot’s Delight” (1939), Fred Astaire in “Blue Skies” (1946) and Gene Wilder in “Young Frankenstein” (1974). For “Blue Skies,” Berlin updated the lyrics to describe anyone with high-brow aspirations in an effort to eliminate the racist connotations of the original:

If you’re blue, and you don’t know where to go to

Wilshire Division

(Continued from Page 14) newest hire for the Miracle Mile area, replacing retired officer Anna Schube. Jones is also following in the footsteps of his father, a retired LAPD motorcycle officer.

For the past eight years, Jones has worked at Wilshire on night patrol. He’s looking forward to working during the day and “being able to hang out with my fiancée at night. It’s a nice transition.”

According to Jones, working patrol is about chasing radio calls. He likens it to putting on a bandage. He’s looking forward to having the time and freedom to address issues and come up with permanent solutions for the neighborhood.

Why don’t you go where fashion sits?

Puttin’ on the Ritz

The title phrase of the song, now nearly a century old, references the famed Ritz hotels of London and Paris founded by Swiss hotelier César Ritz. The hotels’ five-star service and high-profile clientele made “Ritz” synonymous with luxury, a correlation that brought forth both Berlin’s catchy phrasing and the adjective “ritzy,” which came into use in 1910. Nabisco got in on the verbiage in 1934 when it named its new buttery cracker “Ritz,” promising “a bite of the good life” for a population in the depths of the Great Depression.

Among the earliest words we learn when class awareness sets in is “fancy,” meaning “posh” or “of particular excellence.” The word formed from the mid-15th-century “fantsy,” itself a contraction of “fantasy,” conjuring notions of desire. The roots of “luxury” more explicitly canonize associations between money and sex. Back in the 14th century, the word literally referred to sexual intercourse, evolving from the Latin “luxus,” which translates more generally to “excess, extravagance or magnificence.”

“Bourgeoisie,” the appointed term for a class of business owners and merchants that emerged in the Late Middle Ages, delineates social standing based on locale. The word derives from the Old French “borgeis,” meaning “town dweller,” which traces its lin-

becomes permanent.

Choi has been with Wilshire since 2015. Over his years of service, he’s worked patrol, the Vice Unit and as a Field Training Officer at numerous stations around the city.

He wants to be an asset to solve problems for the longterm.

SLO Choi can be reached at 213-709-6279 and 38788@ lapd.online.

SLO Jones can be reached at 213-793-0782 or 41719@ lapd.online.

Acting SLO Peter Choi has been an officer with LAPD for 17 years. For now and the next two months, he is overseeing retired SLO Dave Cordova’s area of Larchmont Village and Windsor Square. Although it’s a temporary assignment, he’s hoping it

Word

Café by Mara Fisher

eage to the Frankish “burg,” or “city.” By contrast, people from the country — “pais” — were called “peasants.” At the top of the economic strata was the aristocracy, a designation whose origins are neither hither nor thither, but rather from the Greek “aristos,” meaning “best of its kind,” “noblest” or “most virtuous.” Take that as you will.

The overlords of our socioeconomic hierarchy go by many monikers. “Tycoon,” which first appeared in 1857, is now a bit out of style, sit-

ting most comfortably next to “oil,” “steel” or “railroad” — the famed fortunes amassed during the Second Industrial Revolution. The word reached the English lexicon from a title given by foreigners to the shogun of Japan, from the Japanese “taikun,” meaning “great lord or prince.”

A similar term, “mogul,” denoting great power or influence, also borrows from the names of rulers from abroad.

Started by Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan, the Mogul (also spelled Mughal) empire ruled much of India from the early 16th century to the mid18th century. Another word to describe titans of industry — “czar” — comes from the word for Slavic monarchs, which itself is a descendant of the Latin “caesar,” the appel-

lation given to leaders of the Roman Empire.

In 1982, the Dutch musician Taco released his synth-pop reprise of “Puttin’ On The Ritz,” which went on to reach No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The ranking made Irving Berlin, then 95, the oldest living songwriter to have one of his compositions enter the top ten. Though Taco’s “Ritz” used the lyrics from Berlin’s 1946 update, the music video originally released for the song included actors in blackface and top hats in an unfortunate regression toward the song’s original subject matter.

On the bright side, “Puttin’ On The Ritz” entered public domain last year — here’s hoping the next version can do this ditty justice.

Larchmont

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

Bittersweet end to high school; seniors head off to college

By Nona Sue Friedman

Immaculate Heart will graduate 123 young women on Tues., June 4, at 8 p.m. under the stage lights at the Hollywood Bowl. Immaculate Heart is only one of two schools allowed this honor at the Bowl.

Commencement speaker

Lucie Arnaz is no stranger to the stage. The daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, she’s also an alumna of the school — Class of 1969. Sophie Stuecken, a resident of mid-Wilshire, is the student speaker at the ceremony.

Hollywood High School will see 276 students traverse the stage at the Hollywood Bowl for graduation. The ceremony takes place on Mon., June 10, at 5 p.m. The valedictorian and the salutatorian will give speeches.

Larchmont Charter School will see 126 seniors cross the stage on Fri., June 14, at 5:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, 540 N. Commonwealth Ave. Speakers will include the school’s executive director, Amy Held, Principal Mike Kang and the 2024 valedictorian.

An intimate class of 20 students will graduate from The School of Los Angeles (formerly Episcopal School of Los Angeles, ESLA) on Sat., June 1, at 10 a.m. The ceremony will take place on campus. The students nominate one person from their class to speak. This is the school’s eighth graduating class.

Girls Academy of Los Angeles (GALA) will graduate 89 young women Thurs., June 6, at Bovard Auditorium at USC. All four valedictorians will speak, along with the two salutatorians from the class.

A bilingual class of 34 students graduates from Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles on Fri., June 14. The ceremony will take place at the theater on campus. Keynote speaker is Rachel Rossi, director of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office for Access to Justice.

A total of 289 students will graduate from Harvard Westlake on Fri., June 7, at the upper campus. Students will choose a valedictorian and a salutatorian to speak at the ceremony.

Tree Academy is graduating 24 students on Fri., June 7, at 4 p.m. on campus, 8628 Holloway Dr. This group is the first class of founding students to graduate. Founding (Please turn to page 4)

SENIORS at Immaculate Heart don logos of their future colleges.

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

CAPS FLY at ceremony for Harvard Westlake students last year.

LARCHMONT CHARTER seniors enjoyed a picnic in a park during their final year of high school.

SIX FOUNDING STUDENTS are among the 24 graduates at Tree Academy.

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

look

Ceremonies

(Continued from page 2) students started in second grade, the first year the school opened. Speakers will include school co-founder Paul Cummins along with two founding students.

Loyola High School will graduate 298 young men on Sat., June 1, in Hayden Circle on the school campus. Chairman of the Board Robert Foster will offer the students a farewell speech.

BILINGUAL STUDENTS at Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles pose for their senior class picture.

HANDFUL of senior sportsmen from Loyola High School on signing day.

SCHOOL OF LOS ANGELES seniors enjoy In-NOut Burger on their return from their senior retreat.

STUDENTS WEARING white (center) graduate with honors from Hollywood High.

GALA SENIORS

giddy on signing day.

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

Graduates elucidate upon their college choices and aspirations

By Casey Russell

Sifting through pressure and remaining authentic

Ruby Dunsworth has lived in Brookside her whole life, but, as of August, she’ll be moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, to attend Langara College. The Immaculate Heart senior plans to study at Langara for one or two years before transferring to the University of British Columbia’s  (UBC) Vancouver campus.

Dunsworth opened up about the feelings this last year has brought. “It’s been a roller coaster of emotions,” she said. “People are afraid of saying goodbyes and of moving away from each other. But, at the same time, everyone is asking where everyone is going.” The senior told us she felt a lot of pressure from others and from herself. At the beginning of the year, she said she felt like she should apply everywhere — even to schools she might not have had a chance to get into.

Her advice to next year’s seniors is to apply where they want, but not to feel pressured to apply to certain schools

simply because other people are. She encourages people going through the process to really think financially, not just about the school’s name.

Dunsworth told us, “People post on Instagram about schools — where they got in, what they’re going to major and minor in… there’s a lot of social media pressure. It’s kind of like this whole competition thing,” she said. Though Dunsworth’s first choice would’ve been to start at UBC, she’s happy to know that she can transfer to the bigger school easily from Langara. And now that her decision has been made, she

is excited. “I’m an independent person,” she said. “I’m excited to experience something new. There won’t be any uniforms; I’ll be able to eat lunch out… I’ll be living away from home, which is scary and exciting.”

Dunsworth does have family in Vancouver. She has dual citizenship and has visited the city twice yearly since she was a baby, so she feels confident that she will know her way around. Apart from cleaning and cooking skills (“My mom’s an amazing chef!” she said), she told us she feels ready to live on her own. The graduate knows that her natural outgoingness will serve her well. She’ll be calling on her self-confidence to help her meet and talk to new people, which she sees as exciting and scary at the same time.   Dunsworth will be majoring in management at Langera, specifically marketing communications and advertising. “Advertising and promotion are super interesting to me,” she said. She feels that the major suits her interests and her skill sets, but told us that she is open to other avenues that might spark her interest.

Making music and being there for others

Buckley senior Sam Terr of Ridgewood Wilton will be attending the University of Miami in the fall. He’s a huge college football fan and wanted a big city school that had a strong community, school spirit and a nice campus. He said the U of M was the best school he got in to, and he likes that it has a traditional college feel.

Terr had assistance with the application process and is grateful to the outof-school counselors who helped him. Many seniors, he said, look to out-ofschool college counselors to aid them in breaking down which schools to apply to, guide them through the essay writing process and give pointers for the whole application process in general.

During his freshman year, Terr took a music composition production and technology course at Buckley and realized that is what he wanted to do for a career. He started playing the guitar at age 6 and now plays the guitar and produces music using digital audio workstations.

Terr makes house and tech house tracks, remixes songs and puts them on SoundCloud (a platform that empowers independent artists). He’s also in a band he co-founded with two others, called Wednesday in Berlin. “We have to figure out what we’re going to do [while we’re all] at college,” he said. Having done a month-long music production class over last summer at New York University, Terr has had a taste of college life. He also feels that Buckley has prepared him well. “The classes are difficult, and the rigor is (Please turn to page 8)

Ruby Dunsworth

Sam Terr

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

Graduates

(Continued from page 6)

there to get students ready for college classes,” he said. But he’s excited that Miami will feel different. He’s told us he’s ready to “start fresh, do it all over and make a group of friends.”

Terr will start at the University of Miami on Aug. 19, and he has hopes to be part of the music program there. Though he feels ready for his new adventure, Terr told us he would like to visit Buckley at some point to see the music teacher. “Mr. Haas really did a full 180 with the music program this year. He changed around the music composition class and the [school] band itself. We did more projects and made our own stuff, which is getting compiled into an album. He even had kids who weren’t in the band come and play.”

Buckley should be easy to visit because Terr said he wants to end up living in Los Angeles because of the ever-changing music scene. But he told us he’s open to travel and would like to see the world. He knows that he can “do music from anywhere these days.”

And what kind of person does he want to be while he’s

out in the world? “I want to be somebody who is kind and who can offer a helping hand and be there for anybody.”

Open-minded, artsy and ready to keep learning

Lulu Grieco of Campbell Hall told us that the past year has been stressful, but she realizes that most seniors applying to colleges will say the same thing. The Windsor Square resident and daughter of Nyakio and David Grieco told us that she’s always been very interested in art and has found Campbell Hall’s arts department to be amazing. Grieco participates in visual arts and dance at the school and, although she decided not to apply to any arts colleges, she wanted to include a portfolio of her work with her school applications.  She applied to 22 schools, so getting together the portfolio on top of making sure all the essays and regular submission materials got finished was quite a task. “I’d never had to write in the way that I wrote for the applications,” she said. Trying to “sell your whole being” was a bit of an adjustment, she told us. Fortunately, Grieco knew what she was looking for in

the schools to which she was applying. She had researched them and told us Campbell Hall’s school counselors helped a lot. “We got paired with a college counselor and met one-on-one before the application process started,” she told us. Grieco was a little indecisive at first because she didn’t know what she wanted to do — she still isn’t sure of her desired career path — but she has always been very active in extracurricular activities and remains passionate about many of the ones with which she’s been involved. Grieco has always been interested in psychology — specifically children’s developmental psychology and

forensic psychology — and she knew that she wanted to be on the East Coast. “I want to experience weather at least once in my life,” she said. The senior has visited the East Coast often with her mother and loves that it’s so easy to get around, and she loves the people there.

Her top three school choices were Brown University, University of Michigan and Wesleyan University. Ultimately, she chose to attend Brown. Grieco had done a juvenile forensics psychology and law class at the school for two weeks over the summer, and she has now visited the school three times. Brown’s open curriculum and the fact that students are not required to declare their majors until their sophomore year sold her. “I’m interested in so many things.

“The school’s curriculum is designed to make you not feel trapped. It fosters a community of people who have a variety of interests and are open-minded. You are around people who have so many different opinions and ideas. I love that. It creates more empathy,” she said. Her university is also right next door to Rhode Island School of Design, and Brown students can take classes at the art school

free of charge.

“I feel like one of my biggest things is that I never want to stop learning,” said Grieco. After university, she told us, she wants to go out into the world and constantly be taking in new information. She also wants to find a way to incorporate art into whatever she does. “I want to be a creative adult. Being in a cubicle is nightmare fuel for me,” she said.

When asked if she has any advice to give to next year’s seniors, Grieco said, “Start everything as soon as possible, set milestones for yourself and celebrate yourself for each step. Be proud — you’ll make it through.”

Grateful and ready to pay it forward

Aidan Turrill, the youngest of three brothers who live in Windsor Square with their parents,  Dounia and Michael, has attended Loyola High School for the past four years. “I’ve loved Loyola. There’s no place I’d rather have gone,” he said. Turrill told us that the brotherhood at the school is amazing and, as it turns out, many of the opportunities he’s had over his years there have shaped his future goals.

(Please turn to page 10)

Lulu Grieco

GRADUATES OF 2024

Graduates

(Continued from page 8)

Turrill is the community service leader for the Kino Teens Immigration Club at Loyola. He became part of the club during his sophomore year. It is named after a shelter in Nogales, Arizona (on the Arizona / Mexico border) for people seeking asylum. The club meets once a week to discuss laws that have been passed and how the U.S. is working to help immigrants.

Through the club, Turrill visited the shelter and the border, spending a week preparing meals for, speaking with and listening to migrants. “You can’t see what I saw and forget about it,” he said. On his

college applications, he made it clear that he wanted to be involved with equity and inclusion work at the schools to which he was applying and

Robotics, coding at Fairfax Fest

Math puzzles, coding challenges, art and design showcases and robotics competitions were among highlights on May 18 at Fairfax High School STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Fest.

Live performances, student-led activities, prizes and food trucks also were featured on the Melrose Avenue campus. The first annual event was designed to foster crit-

and

wanted to continue advocating for immigrant rights.

The senior told us he had a great support system throughout the whole college application process. His parents and brothers gave him a lot of input. His middle brother, Luke, attends Loyola Marymount University in Westchester and really wanted his younger sibling to join him there. “I got deferred and then waitlisted for LMU. I was disappointed, but now I think it’s a good thing,” he said.

Turrill told us that he had set his expectations low for the whole application process. “I knew that, wherever I went, I was going to be happy. Whenever you talk to anyone about where they went, they have good things to say,” he said. So, he didn’t let the rejection get to him too much. The fact that he was accepted by a number of schools already helped, and Turrill said that hearing friends talk about where they’d been accepted and rejected made him realize it was all just part of life.

Turrill applied to Penn State as a bit of an afterthought. But the tour he was given by Penn students sold him on the school. “The kids spoke so highly of Penn State. It was almost reminiscent of how

Loyola High School students talk about Loyola,” he said. He also learned that attendees had multiple internships throughout their time at the school. Apparently, the head of the communications school constantly sends emails letting people know about internships and job opportunities. Turrill found this to be very appealing. He was accepted to the school of communications under a film production major, but he says that he wants to switch when he gets to Penn. “I want to major in telecommunications and media management, with a minor in film production, because I think that’s broader and gives me more opportuni-

ty,” he told us.

When asked what he wants to do after college and what kind of a person he wants to be in the world, Turrill said, “I want to be someone who contributes. I am so grateful for the life I have and am grateful to be alive right now.”

The graduate’s goal is to repay everything that he’s been granted — whether it’s by being kind to others or advocating for immigrant rights.

“I want to chip away at repaying what I’ve been given,” he said. “Hopefully, one day I’ll be in a position where I have creative freedom over a film or television series. I’d like to do something with the stories of the people in Nogales.”

Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles

American International University

American University

American University of Paris (FR)

Boston University

Brandeis University

Cal Poly Pomona

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

California State University, Fullerton

California State University, Long Beach

California State University, Los Angeles

California State University, Northridge

Cardiff University (UK)

Chapman University

Clark University

Colby College

Colorado State University

Columbia University

Cornell University

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Dartmouth College

Emerson College

Fordham University

George Washington University

Harvey Mudd College

Hiram College

Instituto de Empresa-IE University (SP)

Indiana University, Bloomington

Kenyon College

King’s College London (UK)

Kingston University (UK)

Lehigh University

Lewis & Clark College

Louisiana State University

Loyola Marymount University

Metropolitan State College of Denver

McGill University (CAN)

New York University

Northeastern University

Norwich University

Oregon State University

Otis College of Art and Design

Pace University

Parsons Paris (FR)

Pennsylvania State University

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Sacramento State University

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University of Bath (UK)

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University of California, Berkeley-Sc/Po

University of California, Davis

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University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Merced

University of California, Riverside

University of California, San Diego

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of California, Santa Cruz

University of Colorado, Boulder

University of Denver

University of Edinburgh (UK)

University of Florida

University of Hawaii, Manoa

University of Houston

University of Liverpool (UK)

University of Manchester (UK)

University of Maryland

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

University of Miami

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

University of Montreal (CAN)

University of Oregon

University of Pittsburgh

University of Richmond

University of Rochester

University of Southern California

University of St. Andrew’s (UK)

University of Surrey (UK)

University of Tampa

University of Virginia

University of Warwick (UK)

University of Washington

University of Wisconsin Madison

Vassar College

Washington State University

Wesleyan University

Aidan Turrill

ical thinking, curiosity

collaboration among students of all ages, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District told us. ATTENDEES at STEAM Fest.

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

Epstein Scholars are bound for glory and for the moon

By Suzan Filipek

Fairfax High School graduate Tabassum Zaman has always been fascinated with the moon and astronomy and hopes to one day build drones and satellites to contribute to the space industry and to even travel to space. She plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering at Purdue University, followed by a master’s degree and Ph.D. in materials science.

She is among the 2024 recipients of the George and Irene Epstein Memorial Scholarship awards.

Three Fairfax High graduates and two Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA) grads were awarded $3,000 each toward their tuition. Another five students received book awards valued between $1,000 and $2,000.

The recipients were selected by the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Chapter of the International Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE). Education chairman of the Los Angeles Chapter of SAMPE, Dr. Howard Katzman, senior scientist at The Aerospace Corporation, announced the recipients’

names at a dinner on May 14.

The Irene Epstein Memorial Scholarship program was founded in 1996 in honor of the late Irene Epstein to assist financially needy, academically deserving students to study engineering, science, mathematics or medicine. In 2022, with the passing of Irene’s husband George (the Larchmont Chronicle’s former poker columnist), SAMPE voted to change the name of the scholarship to the George and Irene Epstein Memorial Scholarship.

Fairfax

There are two additional scholarship winners from Fairfax High School.

Scholarship honoree Romello McRae is heading to Dartmouth University, where he will major in physics and economics. He is interested in neurological electromagnetic effects, and he hopes to become a physicist utilizing electromagnetism. The triathlete is passionate about basketball, football and track. Science has been Fernando Cedillo’s passion from an early age. He is UCLA-bound and will major in biology with hopes of becoming a physician. He served as president of the Culinary Arts Club, and

he was a member of the Government Relations Student Advisory Council.

The following three Fairfax graduates will receive Book Awards:

Antonio Garcia plans to major in biology at UC Santa Barbara and become a doctor, a nurse or an intensive care worker. He attends Fairfax High’s Police Academy Magnet.

Following her passion for healthcare, Emily Choi will attend the pre-nursing program at Cal State Los Angeles with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner. She has

completed an internship at Cedars-Sinai and worked at Cedars’ Anesthesia Pre-Evaluation Center.

Jacqueline Santa Ana plans to attend Los Angeles Community College, where she will study nursing. She is passionate about animation, drawing and reading. She has sung in her church choir for many years and served as youth group president. She has also participated in many sports.

GALA

Jackson Gastelo will attend UC Berkeley, UC Davis or the University of Washington, where she will major in nu-

trition and food science. She plans to become a dietician, as well as providing dietetic counseling to young girls with eating disorders.

Ye “Joy” Gao will attend UCLA or Amherst College, where she will major in applied math, economics and music. She plans a career in business / finance, and she is passionate about music. The violinist has played with many orchestras, including at the Hollywood Bowl.

The following two GALA students will receive book awards:

Victoria Vargas plans to attend Case Western Reserve University, San Diego State University or Cal State Long Beach with a major in nursing. She hopes to become a registered nurse or a certified registered nurse anesthetist. She has received the AP Scholar Award and the National Hispanic Recognition Award. Brooklynn Luckett plans to attend Cal State Northridge and major in computer science. After college, she hopes to own her own business to assist individuals in navigating technology. She volunteers as a library ambassador at the public library.

SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS are from left to right: Jackson Gastelo, Romello McRae, Tabassum Zaman, Fernando Cedillo and Ye “Joy” Gao.

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

Early Bird registration is underway for AYSO fall soccer season

By Suzan Filipek

AYSO Wilshire is set to being playing ball in the fall on Sat., Sept. 7. Games will take place mostly on the fields at Fairfax High School.

Early Bird Registration is open now and continues through Sun., June 16.

This is the 48th year of AYSO Region 78 Hollywood-Wilshire region soccer.

“We’ve been the local soccer league since 1976 with lots of Larchmont kids and also surrounding communities: Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, Miracle Mile, Hollywood,” Regional Commissioner Kurt

Muller told us in an email.

AYSO is an all-volunteer, mostly parent-run, league that includes coaches, referees and administration.

Winter and spring teams

At the conclusion of the season, several tournament teams play through winter and spring in various Southern California tournaments. Region 78’s spring league members wear lime green colors, and “Hollywood” is written on the fronts of their jerseys.

“We also have run our Spring Academy for players age 4-12. This weekly training session that we hold on Saturdays was led by the coach team from Coerver Coaching. Brett Vor-

ster from Coerver is a Cal State Northridge alum and brought on mostly current CSUN soccer team players to lead each session,” Muller told us.

To register for the fall season, visit ayso78.info.

Fairfax centennial will tee off with golf tournament July 22

By Casey Russell

To kick off its school’s centennial celebration, Fairfax High School’s Alumni Association will hold a golf tournament Mon., July 22, at the Calabasas Country Club.

Registration will begin

at 8 a.m., and the shotgun start (all players beginning simultaneously, but from different tees) will take place at 10 a.m. Light refreshments will be served in the morning, and an awards buffet will take place after the tournament.

The Inaugural Alumni Golf Tournament will be played in a scramble format and will feature contests for such things as the longest drive and the closest to the pin.

Early-bird sign-ups are open through June 1, at $700 for a foursome and $185 for a

single player. Those who sign up between June 2 and 30 will pay $750 for a foursome and $200 for a single player. From July 1 to July 20, a foursome will pay $825, and a single player will pay $220.

For more information, visit fairfaxhigh100.org.

AREA SOCCER TEAM won second place at the Long Beach Classic in February.

AYSO PLAYERS with their moms on Mothers Day weekend, 2024. Assistant Coach Amy Reitsma-Cho is third “mom” from the right (in white cap). Her son is sitting on the fence behind her.

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

Balancing work and summer vacation without relying on screens

By Casey Russell

Summer vacation is almost here, and for many families, that means everyone will be home together for more time each day. Many parents now have jobs that allow them to work from home at least part of the time. And unless they have the resources to sign their children up for multiple summer camps, “bring your kid to work day” ends up being an everyday occurrence during the off-school months.

Although children of past eras had the freedom to roam the neighborhood and play outside until dinnertime, most would agree that option is not as feasible in this place and time. So, how can parents retain the ability to get things done while ensuring their children have a summer that consists of more than screen surfing?

Checklists

One idea is to let a child know that she is welcome to an hour of screen time on most at-home summer days, as long as other things have first been done. For elementary-aged kids, checklists can be

useful. Some items on the list could include brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating breakfast (preparing it and dealing with their own dishes included), reading, throwing the ball for the dog, playing with a younger sibling and doing something creative.

Stations

Another idea is to set up stations. I used this technique when my daughter was young. She wanted to be with me as I moved from room to room. The stations — in essence, little areas in various rooms stocked with a certain thing she enjoyed doing on her own — enabled me to focus on my tasks while she was focused elsewhere.

For young children, a PlayDoh station in the kitchen is great. I had a cupboard in which I stored Play-Doh, a cookie sheet, plastic cookie cutters and other Play-Doh tools. In the living room, I had little wheeled wooden toys set up on the window sill. There was also an area with toy cars and a homemade miniature wooden slide to roll the cars down. These were simple setups that allow each of us to do

Tips on Parenting by

Casey Russell

our own thing.

For elementary-aged children, consider having a crafting area during the summer (or all year). Setting up the corner of a room with a table, chair and small storage cart filled with supplies can bring hours of play. Materials don’t have to be expensive. The area can be stocked with pens, scissors, glue sticks, washable paints, construction paper, old magazines, pipe cleaners, old cardboard boxes, felt, sewing materials — you can even have a drawer for things found in nature (pinecones, sticks, dried moss).

For children old enough to follow written directions, your young chef can make fruit popsicles, lemonade, chocolate chip cookies, Jell-o jigglers, banana bread and more.  Place the recipes on a magnetic clip on the fridge

where it’s seen often. You can even include some easy dinner recipes…

Many children love Legos, Magna-Tiles and Lincoln Logs. A friend of mine had a Lego station in her family room, and it was a big hit. She also made a point of going to the library every week with her children, and she set up a special area to house the books they’d chosen for the week.

Outdoor play in the yard

For those with outdoor space at home, there are a lot of awesome options.  Sidewalk chalk can be kept outside for concrete-inspired art.  Paintbrushes and a container for water can be used for “water painting.” It’s not lasting art, but it’s fascinating to watch the colorful creations slowly evaporate.

Setting up a miniature car wash or doll bathing station can be a good once-in-a-while activity. All you need is a bin of toy cars or a few dolls / figurines, nature-friendly soap, sponges or scrubbers, towels, a dishwashing bin full of water and another plastic pitcher filled with rinsing water to let

the washing begin.

If you have dirt or garden space, perhaps your child can choose what he wants to plant in a certain area. Some children enjoy creating fairy gardens with stones, little popsicle stick houses and some figurines.

Potential of dirt

My 10-year-old can spend hours finding, observing and playing with bugs. Children who share this interest use a spoon or digger to make little bug homes in the dirt or in temporary outdoor containers. Bug and snail races are another great pastime. Dirt has a lot of potential. Obviously, getting children to move around outside is always a plus. Inexpensive items to keep in sight (tempting children to get moving) are jump ropes, hula hoops, homemade balance beams and balls. But roller skates and bikes are fantastic if you have the space.

And, of course, when your work is done, Los Angeles has tons of awesome hikes, parks, museums, gardens and beaches to go out and explore as a family.

WE

GRADUATES OF 2024

Without cell phones, social connections thrive at Pilgrim School

By Casey Russell

As the school year comes to a close, the Larchmont Chronicle checked in with Patricia Kong, head of Pilgrim School, to see how her bold “no cell phones” policy changed the 2023-24 year for students and teachers at the 66-year-old private school located on the campus of First Congregational Church at Commonwealth Avenue and Sixth Street. The Chronicle’s initial story about the policy for Pilgrim’s 6th to 12th grade students ran in our September 2023 issue.

Like many teachers and school leaders around the country, Kong had noticed drastic changes in how students with cell phones interacted with one another during the school day.

On his tour of colleges, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, said students came up to him and said, “We don’t have a culture anymore of speaking to each other.” Kong knew that removing cell phones from the school environment was necessary, but she believed there would be resistance.

At Pilgrim, although a few students thanked her for making the change when it was

announced in May of 2023, a majority of students were not happy about the decision when it was implemented. Through Yondr, a company that aims to “carve out places where real connection, focus and creativity can flourish,” Pilgrim purchased a $25 pouch for each of the 200 students at the school. Every morning, teachers check to ensure students have locked their phones in the pouch. They remain inaccessible, though in the child’s possession, from 9 a.m. until 3:40 p.m., when children can unlock their pouches by tapping them on a special unit before leaving school.

A key part of the process was

making sure all teachers were checking to make sure phones were in the pouches, Kong told us. At first, some students would resist or say they hadn’t brought their phones. One student had brought an extra “fake” phone to put in the pouch. “I’m telling you, they try everything and anything until it becomes the norm. Now kids will tell me they don’t think about it anymore because they know they’re not allowed to use the phone,” Kong said.

So what changes has Kong seen? Last year, no one was talking to each other. “It was quiet in the hallways and at lunch.” During their free periods, students would sit

silently on the hallway floor with their heads in their phones. This year, without access to their phones, the resumption of talking — in line while waiting for food, eating in the cafeteria, and during breaks and play time — took a few weeks because everyone was used to sitting with cell phones in hand.

“Now, it’s so loud!” and Kong has to remind students to walk in the hallways because they are chasing each other, playing tag and talking to each other. “In the beginning it was weird to see 6-foot-tall middle schoolers running around. Even I had become accustomed to people that big not playing.”

At first it seemed the students’ bodies didn’t know what to do, but then, “naturally and organically — because of curiosity and boredom — they’d go, ‘OK, let’s figure out what game we’re going to play,’” she said. Simple social stuff came back.

The younger students now invent different games or come to Kong’s office asking for more pens or paper. At first, some students needed help coming up with a plan for figuring out where and when to meet up. They had been relying on texting to make these plans. Without that tool, students had trouble knowing how to find each other.

(Please turn to page 15)

ZAIN IJAZ shows off his pouch while in the school library.

JOSEPH LIM stands outside with his pouch.

HANGING OUT on the field are (left to right) Hank Reberger, Dante Vinson, Noah Polikowski, Charlie Armstrong, Lucas Putman and Felix Cordero.

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

Nurse receives $10,000 in Simms/Mann ‘Off the Chart’ program

By Suzan Filipek

Jai Chung relocated from Korea in 2009 to follow her dream and become a nurse practitioner (NP). The profession was not an option in her home country at the time.

Chung is among 40 nurses who received $10,000 each in May in recognition of their skills, warmth and expertise from the Simms/Mann Family Foundation’s “Off the Chart: Rewarding Nursing Greatness” campaign.

Chung, a St. Andrews Square resident, is a supervisor NP in cardiology at USC Care Medical Group, part of

Cell phones

(Continued from page 14)

Now, high schoolers hang out on the field or in the cafeteria to talk or work together. Both the gym and the field are busy during flex period with boys and girls playing soccer, basketball and volleyball. Older students who don’t want to hang out with friends make appointments to see teachers to talk about work, projects or activities.

Kong even sees the policy making a difference outside of school. “I think they are

Keck Medicine of USC.

She was a recent nursing grad in Korea when she met an NP from the United States.

The meeting inspired her to pursue the profession; NPs do many of the duties often performed by physicians, such as prescribe treatments, order tests and diagnose patients.

Besides caring for cardiac patients, she mentors nurses, here and in Korea.

“It’s not easy to move to another country to follow your dreams and then take on a complex leadership role to uplift other nurses, all in the service of better patient care,

now hanging out more outside of school. Some kids still play online,” but in-person meet-ups and sleepovers are coming back, she said.

Kong knows schools can’t control what goes on at home, but she believes more parameters need to be set. She and many others around the country are aware of the correlation between social media and cell phones and anxiety, depression and loneliness.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of Oxford University’s Wellbeing Research Centre, who has been assessing the fig-

Jai Chung, NP

but that is exactly what Jai has done,” according to her bio on the Simms/Mann Off the Chart website.

ures for the recently released World Happiness Report, has noted significant declines in happiness in areas of the world where social media and cellphone usage is highest. His advice to parents and to young people is to work to reestablish a culture of actual in-person connection, as well-being science shows this to be a huge component of overall wellness.

Though Pilgrim is the first independent school in Los Angeles to implement usage of Yondr pouches, schools in the area have heard about Kong’s new policy and have reached

“Like many excellent nurses, Jai is often the first one to notice a problem and make a plan to address it: She saw that more and more patients required cardiac care, without additional MDs to provide it. So she worked within her institution to allow advanced practice providers to see cardiac clinic patients independently.”

Chung was awarded the nostrings-attached monetary reward the second year of the Simms/Mann campaign, which was announced during National Nurses Week. The campaign sheds light on a growing nursing crisis as nurses are exiting

out, interested in adopting similar policies. “It takes a lot of courage,” Kong said. Teenagers hate it at first, but she believes they ultimately want and need it.  She truly believes parents need to demand this of their schools, and the idea does seem to be catching on. According to Yondr’s website, one million students in 21 countries are now using their products.

Kong says that she has thought a lot about whether the pouches could be used in all LAUSD schools. She believes it would come down to a consistent effort from adults.

the profession in alarming numbers and many feel undervalued, according to the Beverly Hills-based Simms/ Mann Family Foundation.

“Nursing shortages lead to delays in routine screenings, diagnosis, and treatment; increased healthcare costs; and unmanageable nurse workloads. Yet a recent report from the American Nurses Foundation found that only one penny of every dollar of healthcare philanthropy is directed to the nursing profession,” Victoria Mann Simms, president of the Simms/Mann Family Foundation, said in a statement.

“The choice might come down to fighting about putting the cell phone in the pouch or teaching. And, though Yondr isn’t expensive — breaking down to $25 per year for each student — there are a lot of students in LAUSD.”

Would Kong herself take the leap again? “Yes. Absolutely I would do it again,” she said. “It is a gift to the kids. A gift of time; a gift of being together.”  To talk with Kong further about the program, email her at pkong@pilgrim-school. org. To learn more about Yondr, visit overyondr.com.

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

IMMACULATE HEART

By Emmelyne Lay 12th Grade

PAGE ACADEMY

By Isabella Argiropoulos 8th Grade

Finishing my last year at Immaculate Heart feels extremely bittersweet. The campus has been my second home for the past seven years. My closest friends and proudest accomplishments have all been made here.

All my best qualities I developed at this school. My time on the mock trial team during middle school fostered in me my ability to speak in front of a crowd and sparked my interest in law. Finishing third in Los Angeles County as a 12-year-old proved to me that I can achieve great things with the support of an amazing community.

This feeling of togetherness was furthered in the high school during my time as a member of the Debate team. I competed in my last tournament in April, but have continued to spend time practicing with the team by prepping the novice members for next year. While I look forward to my graduation at the Hollywood Bowl on June 4, I know I will miss Immaculate Heart deeply, and I am so grateful for all the school has given me.

Well, this is it! My 8th Grade class members and I, will be graduating from Page Academy on June 12! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Page Academy and will always hold in my heart my wonderful teachers and all of the friends I have made.

During Teacher Appreciation Week in May, I could not help thinking about how I would soon miss all of my amazing teachers. I also participated in my last Page Spring Show, “A Night At the Disco.” My classmates gave amazing performances in front of an enthusiastic audience of family, friends and faculty! The show was followed by a special Mother’s Day barbeque. The highlight of Spirit Week was the field trip to the California Science Center.

The junior kindergarten and kindergarten graduation and awards ceremony will be held on June 11 and the 1st to 8th grade graduation and awards ceremony will be held on June 12. With that, our school year will officially come to an end. Page Summer Camp will start on June 17. I want to thank all of you for

following my column these last two years. It has been my pleasure sharing with all of you Page Academy’s events. I hope you all have a fantastic summer!

ST. BRENDAN

By Harry Jannone Kim 8th Grade

CHRIST THE KING

By Anjella Guiza and Zoe Griswold 7th Grade

Even though June is the last school month of the school year, there are so many more fun and exciting activities for everyone to enjoy. Some of these amazing activities are the mini-carnival (which has already happened and everyone enjoyed,) the 8th grade graduation and our exciting 8th grade field trips to the beach and Six Flags.

Along with the school year coming to a close, all sports have now ended. Everyone who participated in a sport can now hang up their cleats and celebrate their amazing accomplishments. The 8th grade graduation ceremony will happen on June 7th at the St. Brendan Church. The kindergarten graduation will also be celebrated in June. The 8th grade class is excited to enter the next stages of their lives, but they will always remember the experiences they had at St. Brendan School.

The school year is coming to an end, and the month of May has been a busy and eventful one for CKS students. The 8th grade class went on a retreat to Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center in Sierra Madre. All students participated in the annual May Procession on May 11. The 2nd graders had their First Reconciliation and their First Holy Communion on May 18.

Many CTK students enjoyed local theme parks recently. Members of the school’s Academic Decathlon team enjoyed an outing to Universal Studios to celebrate their success at this year’s regional competition. Our Pueri Cantores school choir performed on the stage at Disney California Adventure Park and spent the rest of the day having fun in the park. The 8th grade class went on a day trip to Disneyland to celebrate their graduation.

At the end of the month, the newly elected student council members for the 2024-2025

school year will have an inauguration ceremony. To celebrate the end of the school year, our TK, kindergarteners and 1st graders went to the LA Zoo. The drama students are practicing regularly for the upcoming production of “The Lion King.” All the students are looking forward to seeing this great musical.

LARCHMONT CHARTER HG@SELMA

By Elsie Mohr 4th Grade

School is wrapping up, but the celebrations sure aren’t! Graduation festivities are starting, including the 8th-grade grad night at Universal Studios! Grade 4 students are excited too, because the “Stepping Up” ceremony takes place soon. This ceremony is a Larchmont tradition during which students get a personalized sash made by their 3rd-grade friends before moving up to 5th grade at the Larchmont Selma campus. Enrichments are also wrapping up, and “Suessical the Musical” participants will be performing on May 30 and 31. Summer is around the corner, so who couldn’t be excited? Happy early summer and thanks for reading!

PILGRIM

By Allison Pak 10th Grade

Pilgrim School had an amazing school year filled with so many successes and much progress.

GRADUATES OF 2024

The year-end celebrations are always so exciting and fun-filled. There is a lot of joy and pride.

The middle and high school bands performed at the Whisky A Go Go for their spring concert. We had a steamroller create prints for Arts Fest and students’ K-12 artwork was represented. The early education through high school Dance Show was a hit and it is always so much fun.

Our Film Festival will be at the Chinese Theater this year and we couldn’t be more thrilled! There will also soon be a sports banquet highlighting our athletes and championships. And, our Community Movie Night is coming up on June 2. Movie Night helps fundraise for our financial aid program.

The middle school dance and high school prom are right around the corner. The class of 2024 will be matriculating to colleges throughout the country — from UCLA to Johns Hopkins, Boulder and more.

AP tests are coming to an end and everyone is looking forward to our commencement, 8th, 5th and JK promotions. There are so many things to be proud of at Pilgrim! Go Panthers!

ST. JAMES’

By Hailey Lee and Kingston Smith 6th Grade

During this final stretch of the school year, there’s a lot going on at St. James’. Teacher

Appreciation Week was celebrated. Spring Family Evening and Night of the Arts also took place. These two amazing events showcased students’ work from throughout the year and highlighted their creative, musical and artistic talents.

The 6th Grade’s annual field study to Washington, D.C., which offered enriching experiences and historical insights, took place at the end of May.

Looking ahead, June heralds significant milestones, with graduation set for June 13. The amazing 6th grade graduates will be honored for their time

at St. James’ and for their many achievements. The school year wraps up on June 14th, marking the last day of school, and ushering in a well-deserved summer break filled with memories and anticipation for the future.

NEW COVENANT ACADEMY

By Sue Jung Park 11th Grade

and having fun!  Commencement took place, celebrating all the accomplishments the graduating class of 2024 accomplished. The Class received many college acceptance letters and scholarships and has committed to exceptional schools. We are so happy for all of you seniors!

THIRD STREET

Ms. Cha, Ms. Patricia and of course Principal Lee for believing in all of us and giving us amazing support and guidance. Panther pride forever!

TURNING POINT

By Lochlann O’Connell 8th Grade

New Covenant Academy held its annual senior chapel, senior breakfast and senior sunset and had its grad bash at Universal Studios! The seniors were able to make memories together for the last time before saying goodbye to the school community and sharing advice with the underclassmen.

Our annual International Day took place with each elementary grade representing a different country. There were performances and delicious food and they had a great time! Elementary students also held a market day, selling food and crafts. As a reward, they had more fun by going to Universal Studios!

The 5th-grade class went on a graduation trip to Palm Springs for three days, exploring the city

CHRIST THE KING SCHOOL

Nicholas Amaya

Libny Argueta

Hannah Bang

Gizelle Barrios

Cruz Camacho

Andrea Carstens

Fabiano Chavez

Saron Destahun

Owen Dominguez

Miles Fish

Daniel Gonzalez

Joshua Ibediro

Cristy Lee

Jason Lee

Esteban Lozano

Michael Medina

Mia Murrieta

Kelvin Patel

Sebastian Rezapour

Israel Serafin

Gisela Sevilla

Rene Tejada

Rio Villavicencio

Jane Yoon

Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto

By Olive Clancy 5th Grade

Greetings readers! We are ending this school year with a lot of exciting events. Last month, students raised $120,000 during our annual Walk-a-Thon, which funds extracurricular activities and special enrichment classes for every grade.

Coming up, we’ve got “Third Street’s Got Talent,” a fun event for the whole community where students can show off their skills. We 5th graders are especially excited for the dance in a couple of weeks to celebrate our graduation.

While we’re excited for summer and our next adventures in middle school, I know we’ll all miss Third Street and our incredible staff and teachers.

Special shout-outs to Ms. Choi,

As the end of the school year nears, my 8th-grade class is getting ready to graduate. To prepare we wrote personal poems, which we will read at our graduation ceremony, finalized the yearbook and started saying goodbye to our younger buddies.   Even though it’s sad to say goodbye, we are all excited for the next step in our educational journeys. We have been savoring the moments we have left together. One way we said goodbye to our younger buddies was by attending the kindergarten and Grade One annual “Poetry in the Park” celebrations. This is an event where our young buddies share poems they have written with their parents and the community. It was fun to see the performance and remember when I read my poems 9 years ago. It is hard to believe I will be standing on stage sharing my final Turning Point poem this month.

Cathedral (7) Providence (4) Loyola (4)

Immaculate Heart (2) Palisades High Walnut High

Bishop Alemany Pomona Catholic

Larchmont Charter

(2)

WE SALUTE THE GRADUATES OF 2024

HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE

By Penny Yoon 6th Grade

Well, this is it. My last Larchmont Chronicle article. A lot has happened! We went to Astro Camp, an astronomy-themed sleepaway camp that the whole 6th grade got to go to. It was a great experience that I’ll definitely remember. Some of my favorite parts were launching bottle rockets (mine was “The Eldritch Horror’’) and crawling through a pitch-black labyrinth called Long Division.

Coming up soon is our school movie night, where we get to watch “Minions” outside on the yard with the entire school. And soon after that, it’ll be Ditch Day, where every 6th-grader gets to skip school and go on a surprise trip. No one knows where it will be — the teachers haven’t told us anything! But from the stories I’ve heard from former 6th graders, it sounds pretty cool.

And last but not least, it’s almost summer! Which means, for me, a new school. I would say I’m nervous, but that’s an understatement for how absolutely terrified I am to leave the

past 9 1/2 years of my life behind. That said it’s also really exciting. And that’s it — the official last paragraph of my last article in the Larchmont Chronicle. Waving farewell!

CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION

By Griffin Miller 5th Grade

glory of the CEE end-of-year party.  There are blow-up obstacle courses, sports-style games, food and more! Each grade has a select time to have fun and good times throughout the day, and parent volunteers run the games for kids and teachers. Not only are there fun games, there are even more fun prizes to win!

when my graduating class goes to Step Up for the last time, I’ll sing along with the younger kids and remember a time when I was on the stage looking out at the teachers and older kids and welcoming the next grade into a class I knew they’d love.

MELROSE ELEMENTARY

As a 5th grader leaving Melrose, I’m so sad to leave but I am happy to start a new chapter of my life at middle school. This has been such a good school and I hope the current 4th graders enjoy 5th grade as much as I did.

BUCKLEY

By Max Terr 10th Grade

When the school year comes to an end at CEE, the fun is just beginning! Our Head of School, Damian Jones, reflected on the end of the year.

“My second year has been exceptional. I’ve enjoyed meeting with students, and overall, it’s been an exceptional year.”

At The Center, we mark the end of the year with many different celebrations. One event that everyone looks forward to is the CEE carnival, which is held during the last week of school. Kids from all grades love the carnival because they get to play around, have a good time with friends and make new ones!

Some kids have never experienced the most fun time at CEE due to COVID-19 or being new to the school, but thankfully, they will now get to know the

THE WILLOWS

By Birdie Reynolds 8th Grade

By Franklin Raghavan 5th Grade

Goodbye to the 5th graders!

The last month of the year is always met with mixed reactions. It’s bittersweet since you’re moving onto a new year, however, that sadness is combined with excitement for the next year.

At The Willows we have Step Up, which makes this experience fun and joyful instead of sad. During graduation, each grade sings a song to the rising grade to welcome them, since it’s the next grade’s turn to “Step Up” to the next year — kindergarten to 1st, 1st to 2nd and so on. By the time you’re an 8th grader you pretty much know every song from every grade level, and it becomes a time as a community that we all connect.

So, this year at graduation,

On June 11, the 5th graders will be graduating from Melrose — on a Tuesday.  Weird, right?

Some middle schools that kids got into are LACES, GALA, John Burroughs and King. The 5th graders will be playing in the staff-versus-students kickball game on community day. We will play against all the teachers, aids, front desk workers and the plant manager too.   Community day is when each grade shares their Cardboard Challenge engineering projects and has an international potluck.

The 5th grade has a field trip coming up. We are going to have a beach picnic on the last day of May. Disneyland is the destination for 4th graders as a part of their Imagineering STEAM projects.

By Suzan Filipek

Enjoy the sounds of summer at two free music series underway at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd.

Jazz plays on Fridays beginning at 6 p.m. on the Smidt Welcome Plaza. The 33rd annual program kicked off in May. Coming up, Sweet Baby J’Ai plays May 31, the Teodross Avery Quartet performs June 7 and Larry Nash & the Jazz Symphonics play on June 14.

The Latin Sounds program features Central and South American Indigenous and modern music from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico and Los Angeles. The concerts start on Saturdays at 5 p.m. at the Dorothy Collins Brown Am-

Back at The Buckley School… Congratulations to the graduating class of 2024! They have worked hard to meet deadlines and anxiously waited for acceptances — mission accomplished — and it is a class to celebrate.

The juniors are now working hard to fill the spot that the graduating class has left, building memories and setting their sights on a great senior year.   Confusion and frustration are still prevalent surrounding the beloved library. This will be an ongoing process as the students are passionate in their pursuit of maintaining a common fixture of school — a library.

To the seniors, you will be missed and we wish you success in all you do. We hope everyone has a wonderful summer!

Live jazz, Latin music at LACMA

phitheater on the Sixth Street side of the LACMA campus. The program celebrates the LACMA exhibition “Painting in the River of Angels: Judy Baca and The Great Wall,” on view until July 21. Visitors can enjoy open seating and picnicking on the grounds for both programs. Food and beverage are available. Admission to the museum buildings is free to Los Angeles County residents with valid IDs weekdays after 3 p.m. For Los Angeles County youth 17 and under admission is free at all times. The jazz series continues through October. Latin Sounds ends in September. The buildings are open until 8 p.m. on Fridays and are closed on Wednesdays. For more information visit lacma.org.

We are incredibly proud of our Class of 2024 graduates, who have been admitted to more than 130 colleges and universities both nationally and internationally.

Below is a sampling of the institutions to which they were accepted.

American University

Arizona State University

Bard College

Boston College

Boston University

Bryn Mawr College

Bucknell University

California State University, Long Beach

Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo

Chapman University

Claremont McKenna College

Colorado College

Davidson College

DePaul University

Drexel University

Elon University

Emerson College

Fordham University

George Washington University

Georgetown University

Goldsmiths, University of London

Gonzaga University

Haverford College

Indiana University

Johns Hopkins UniversityLoyola

Marymount University

Macquarie University

Marquette University

McGill University

New York University

North Dakota State University

Northeastern University

Parsons School of Design

Penn State University

Pepperdine University

Purdue University

San Diego State University

Santa Clara University

Sarah Lawrence College

Scripps College

Southern Methodist University

Syracuse University

Texas Christian University

The University of Edinburgh

The University of Texas at Austin

Trinity College

Tufts University

Tulane University

United States Naval Academy '29

University of Arizona

University of British Columbia

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Irvine

University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, San Diego

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Miami

University of Michigan

University of Notre Dame

University of Oregon

University of Portland

University of Richmond

University of Rochester

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

University of Southern California

University of St Andrews

University of Washington

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Vassar College

Villanova University

Wake Forest University

Wellesley College

For more information on this outstanding group of young women, scan the QR Code: