Larchmont Chronicle
VOL. 59, NO. 9
• DELIVERED TO 76,439 READERS IN HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT •
IN THIS ISSUE
On the BOulevard
Will sympathy bring success for Giorgio?
Family Fair update, and changes afoot
n Our Larchmont neighbor revisited
BACK TO SCHOOL. 9-24
COMMUNITY refuge back on Larchmont. 4
A PROBLEM like Maria is solved!
21
By Helene Seifer “I need my money,” insists Giorgio, the 56-year-old who visits Larchmont Boulevard daily with a shopping cart filled with his meager possessions. “It’s an obligation! According to the law!” he shouts, referring to some combination of unemployment, Social Security and disability compensation he says he used to get until he received an unsigned letter from a government official denying him further payments. Giorgio tells a long saga about his government benefits, involving first being sent to a post office to collect his checks, then to the Social Security office, then to a payday advance store. About 18 months ago, Giorgio reports, See Giorgio, p 30
City Council redistricting underway n Residents’ views will be considered
SAVE FAIRFAX Theatre?
2-4
For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11 Mailing permit:
By John Welborne Our Greater Wilshire community generally is described as the neighborhoods north of Olympic Boulevard and south of Melrose Avenue, between Western and La Brea avenues. Within the City of Los Angeles, these neighborhoods have been a part of City Council District 4 since at least the time of World War II. Now, as happens every See Redistricting, p 2
Larchmont Blvd. Centennial!
Help us celebrate Larchmont Boulevard’s 100th birthday in the October, 2021 issue. It’s also our
Halloween & Harvest
issue. Ghosts and goblins beware! Advertising deadline is Mon., Sept. 13. For more information contact Pam Rudy, 323-462-2241, ext. 11.
SEPTEMBER 2021
n 100th is approaching!
Schools open!
Students have returned to classrooms, playgrounds and dance studios, and, so far, reports are favorable. Left, the Lilley sisters at Third Street Elementary. Top, dancers at Marat Daukayev School of Ballet. See stories in our annual Back to School special section on pages 10 and 14.
Curtain is about to rise at the Academy Museum Sept. 30 n ‘Wizard of Oz,’ live music among opening offerings
By John Welborne 100 years! Excitement mounts as our local community prepares to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Larchmont Boulevard shopping district. Special activities are planned for Sun., Oct. 24. More on that in a bit. In the meantime, as has been happening for the past 100 years, there are changes afoot in the approximateSee On the Blvd., p 6
Vote
on or before Tues., Sept. 14
Gubernatorial recall election is on ballot
By Billy Taylor Local voters beware — there are three recall elections in the works. Gavin Newsom This month, voters in the state will cast ballots by Tues., Sept. 14 for the California Gubernatorial Recall Election. “Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?” reads the first question on the ballot. The second question asks See Recall, p 6
By Suzan Filipek Oz with Orchestra” will screen When the curtain rises at at 2 p.m and at 7:30 p.m. in the the new six-story Academy 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater Museum of Motion Pictures in the Sphere Building. The on Thurs., Sept. 30, a classic conductor is David Newman. film with live music will herFanny’s Restaurant and Bar ald its opening. The first three Dining at the new museum months will feature special will also rise to cinematic programming, and visitors will heights. be able to dine at a restaurant See Academy, p 27 inspired by Hollywood’s glory days. Two screenings of the 1939 classic, “The Wizard of Oz,” will be accompanied by the American Youth Symphony to celebrate the opening of the new museum on Wilshire Boulevard at Fairfax Avenue. “A Symphonic Night at The Mov- STUNNING architecture is among features of the Academy Museum of Motion Photo by Josh White/©Academy Museum Foundation ies: The Wizard of Pictures.
www.larchmontchronicle.com ~ Entire Issue Online!
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Editorial
Calendar
By John Welborne Larchmont street trees are valuable infrastructure
Compliments are due to new neighbor, Christina Development Corporation, actively at work on rehabilitating and remodeling one of the original Larchmont Village commercial properties (124–148 N. Larchmont) originally developed circa 1921 by Julius LaBonte. 97 years later, LaBonte’s storefront retail building became the property of Christina, and remodeling work has been underway since early 2021. Although now surrounded by substantial temporary construction walls, the building’s sidewalk trees seem protected and healthy. That is a good thing, because — protected — those city trees are a valuable asset not only to Christina but also to the public at large. Stationary superheroes Trees’ importance to our community health was highlighted in a story in July in the “Los Angeles Daily News,” republishing the original story from the “New York Times.” See: tinyurl. com/wra59mrs . The story explained that “trees are stationary superheroes: They can lower urban temperatures 10 lifesaving degrees, scientists say.” And that is why all landlords and merchants on Larchmont Boulevard should do everything they can to protect the Larchmont street trees. Standing wrongly accused In her story, “New York Times” writer Catrin Einhorn describes a countrywide controversy oft-debated here on Larchmont: “Still, across the country, many people see trees as a nuisance or liability. They drop nuts, seeds and leaves. They buckle sidewalks. They are accused of destroying pipes — wrongly, according to scientists, who say that pipes crack from age, which only then leads nearby trees to send roots toward the leaking water.” Larchmont is 100 years old this year. Landlords therefore have many old pipes. Pipes, like other private infrastructure, must be maintained and occasionally replaced. Please don’t blame the trees!
Wed., Sept. 8 – Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council board meeting at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Check greaterwilshire.org to confirm and for login. Mon., Sept. 6 – Labor Day Mon., Sept. 6 – Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown. Thurs., Sept. 16 – Yom Kippur. Fri., Sept. 24, Sat., Sept. 25 and Sun., Sept. 26 – Larchmont Boulevard Association Sidewalk Sale. Thurs., Sept. 30 – Delivery of the October issue of the Larchmont Chronicle.
Thank you for the article in the August edition of the LC about Nithya Raman by Helene Seifer and Billy Taylor. I was reading through, anxious to see how she addressed the recall campaign being run against her, and I was surprised that it wasn’t even mentioned. Except for that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? I feel like the elephant in the room was never even discussed. I hope there is a follow-up article
Redistricting
(Continued from page 1) decade following completion of the United States Census, the city is reevaluating what should be the boundaries of the city’s 15 Council Districts. What do we think? Should our neighborhoods stay within Council District 4? Should
Larchmont Chronicle Founded in 1963 by Jane Gilman and Dawne P. Goodwin .
.
Publisher and Editor John H. Welborne Managing Editor Suzan Filipek Deputy Managing Editor Billy Taylor Contributing Editor Jane Gilman Staff Writers Talia Abrahamson Helene Seifer Advertising Director Pam Rudy
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That’s the question inquiring photographer Talia Abrahamson asked locals along Larchmont Blvd.
Letter to the Editor Raman recall?
606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103
Los Angeles, CA 90004 323-462-2241 larchmontchronicle.com
‘What is your best or worst school memory?’
exploring the recall campaign and getting her on the record discussing it. Love the LC always. Maggie Kuhns Hancock Park [See the story mentioning the proposed recall on Page 1 of this issue. – Ed.] 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. the entire area become a part of the district to our south? Should all of our area from La Brea, or even Fairfax, be combined in a new district including the Koreatown community to the east? Should all of our area be added to Council District 5, to the west, a district that now wraps around Beverly Hills and includes Westwood and Bel Air? Such changes, or no changes at all, will be decided by the current members of the City Council, based upon recommendations to come from an appointed City Council Redistricting Commission. That commission is seeking the opinions of local residents. Chaired by a distinguished Angeleno, Fred Ali, the retired 20-year president of the nonprofit Weingart Foundation, the commission holds regular meetings via Zoom and solicits public testimony there and via email and via its website: redistricting2021.lacity.org There was a hearing on August 4 that dealt with the present Council District 4. On Sat., Sept. 11 at 10 a.m., there will be another hearing, this one focusing on citywide communities of interest, including the present Council District 4. To view and/or participate in the hearing, or to learn more about this important decennial civic process in our city, visit the website.
“My teachers Layla and Sandra.” Evie Kueny “Learning how to use the library. I was in a special program back in Chicago, and for two years, we had no classes. We got a list of subjects, and then they sent you to the library for two years.” Murray Lappe Hancock Park
“Playing on the structure with my friends.” Ryder Newmark Windsor Village “My favorite school memory was when I met my new friends.” Nola Newmark
“My favorite school memory is when I volunteered with his class. I sat in for his class in kindergarten and did some admin stuff to help the teacher out. That was my favorite memory because then I was able to see him in class.” Josh McCloskey “My favorite school memory is probably when I went on a field trip to the Pacific Aquarium in Long Beach. I saw some hammerhead sharks.” Nico McCloskey LaBrea Hancock
“My favorite is usually when the fair goes on at the school because we can get ice cream and shaved ice on the same day.” Sophia Winnick Hancock Park
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FIRE ENGINES from Fire Stations 29, 52 and 27 responded to the Aug. 25 fire alarm at Good Goose Café on Beverly, just west of Larchmont.
TWO CREWS used hook and ladder trucks to access the roof above the Asian fusion restaurant to vent the smoke.
Significant amounts of smoke, apparently from an overheated electric bicycle or scooter battery charging in a storage area of the Good Goose Café, 5210 Beverly Blvd., at around 5:15 p.m. on
dispatch audio posted on the Citizen app. Traffic at the busy intersection of Beverly and Larchmont boulevards, including buses, was re-routed for several hours. According to an Instagram post, the
Fire alarm at Good Goose temporarily shuts down café Wed., Aug. 25, led to a major turnout of Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) and Police Department responders. The amount of smoke was significant, according to witnesses and the LAFD
Good Goose, still closed on account of the incident at the time the Larchmont Chronicle went to press, probably will be back open at the beginning of September.
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SWEET BLESSINGS. 28 BACK TO SCHOOL YOUTH SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Theater Movies On the Menu
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Interior Designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard & Celebrity Real Estate Agent Josh Flagg
SECTION TWO VIEW:
Real Estate Libraries, Museums Home & Garden
Celebrity Real Estate Agent Josh Flagg & Renowned Chef Giacomino Drago
HOME GROUND.
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ON PRESERVATION 6 REAL ESTATE SALES 10 MUSEUMS 12 LIBRARIES 13 POLICE BEAT 14 POKER FOR ALL 15 BEEZWAX 15 CLASSIFIED ADS 15
Just Another Day in Beverly Hills DINING . ENTERTAINING . HOME DÉCOR G E A R Y S . C O M
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Donate to HopeNet to help restaurants, and enjoy a meal, too
By Rachel Olivier Taste of Larchmont may be on pause (again) this year, but HopeNet’s executive director, Brandy Muñiz, wants everyone to know that he or she can help HopeNet while enjoying and supporting some of Larchmont’s eateries as well. When donors give $250, $500, $750, or $1,000 to HopeNet, a portion of that donation will be given to the Larchmont restaurants that have supported the HopeNet Taste of Larchmont over the years. In addition, as a “thank you,” donors may choose to receive a $25, $50, $75 or $100 gift card to dine at one of those restaurants. Muñiz, who took over as HopeNet’s executive director in September 2020, said that it’s been a challenge to raise support for the 13 food pantries in Mid-City, Koreatown, Hollywood, Los Feliz and Silver Lake that HopeNet supports — especially when
BRANDY MUÑIZ the major fundraiser, Taste of Larchmont, again can’t be held. Taste of Larchmont provides HopeNet with around 40 percent of its annual operating budget. While there have been letters to past HopeNet donors and postings and advertisements asking for support, Muñiz also has spent the past year grant writing, balancing income and outlay and otherwise stabilizing the 33-year-
old organization. Creatively thinking outside of the fundraising box in the middle of a pandemic has been a challenge, to say the least. The need is real Muñiz said that in 2020, HopeNet’s food pantries gave out 4.5 million pounds of food, compared to 3.1 millions pounds of food given out in 2019. For another comparison, 14,580 people received food from the food pantries in March 2019, compared to 42,734 people in March 2020. That is an increase of 28,154 individuals receiving shelfstable food and fresh produce in one month. But feeding people is not all that HopeNet does. Muñiz also has plans to expand how HopeNet helps. Besides increasing the options available at the food pantries (to accommodate food intolerances and provide more healthy alternatives), there also are the non-profit organization’s low-
income apartments, HopeWest, to look after. And the organization also is hoping to expand into developing more low-income housing options. Before HopeNet, Muñiz was director of development and community relations at Alameda Point Collaborative, a supportive housing community in Alameda County. She has experience in working in an organization that provides community support, from food and housing to therapy and youth programs. Virtual fundraiser Muñiz hopes that she can help HopeNet develop beyond its current scope. In the meantime, she hopes Taste of Larchmont regulars will consider taking part in this year’s virtual fundraiser. She also hopes neighbors will share experiences by posting photos on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtags #HopeMeal or #HopeNetLA. Visit hope-net. org/2021-taste-of-larchmont.
Downward dogs, tranquility are back at Center for Yoga
By Suzan Filipek “It’s cathartic,” Center for Yoga manager Deb Anderson said of the studio’s re-opening Aug. 24 at 230 ½ N. Larchmont Blvd. “It’s awesome to be able to re-envision the space and finish what I started … experimentation, new workshops and bringing more life and different styles of yoga.” Anderson had to roll up her mat after only eight months on the job when the pandemic hit. At the opening, the excite-
ment was palatable among the crowd at the city’s longest continually running yoga studio. The center offers a wide variety of classes, ranging from beginning to advanced. Gentle yin, restorative and meditation are also on the menu. Classes were free on opening day, which also featured a ribbon cutting with center principals — a group of locals who pooled their talents and resources to re-open the center. “In this time of great suffering and grief, we are so grateful
for the reemergence and resurrection of our Center for Yoga. May it be a place of refuge, a safe haven for our community,” said revered yoga teacher and board member Lisa Walford at the ribbon cutting. Before the studio closed, some 1,500 students took weekly classes there, said board member and Windsor Square resident Michael Barton. A modest menu of 60 classes per week to start is hoped to be increased to 120 weekly classes, offering an eclectic and in-
clusive approach with experienced teachers, for which the studio is known. Storied history Center for Yoga is housed in a three-story building with a storied past that dates to 1925, when it began as a Masonic (Please turn to page 25)
skin
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Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald is a Board Certified Dermatologist located in Larchmont Village with a special focus on anti-aging technology. She is a member of the Botox Cosmetic National Education Faculty and is an international Training Physician for Dermik, the makers of the injectable Sculptra. She is also among a select group of physicians chosen to teach proper injection techniques NEW YEAR for Radiesse, the volumizing filler, NEW YOU! around the world. Dr. Fitzgerald is an assistant clinical professor at UCLA. erase the holiday stresses with… spin, DMH , mani ped VisitSPA, online at www.RebeccaFitzgerMANAGER Deb Anderson in aldMD.com or call (323) 464-8046 the main studio opening day. to schedule an appointment.
Larchmont Boulevard Sidewalk Sale! September 24-25-26 Friday, Saturday, Sunday Sponsored by The Larchmont Boulevard Association ©LC0921
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On the Blvd.
(Continued from page 1) ly 78 tenant spaces in the 24 commercial buildings comprising the original, one-block shopping district between First Street and Beverly Boulevard. Since Aug. 25, at Good Goose Café on Beverly, a minor bit of remodeling has been underway in the wake of a fire alarm that brought a half-dozen big red fire engines to the neighborhood that day. Read about it on Page 3. Further to the south on Larchmont, owners of the new shoe store, Rothy’s, are hard at work completing their interior improvements, and the new restaurant, Great White,
is readying to open this month — just two doors down from Rothy’s. Also in the “food service establishment” category, the owner of Uncool Burgers closed that space last month. His takeout-only place, Tacos Tu Madre, will remain on the Boulevard. The exciting news about the arrival of the Center for Yoga is covered on Page 4. As to the other 22 current tenant vacancies in the block, there is no further news at this time. Since 1921, Larchmont Boulevard has existed to provide shopping opportunities for the surrounding neighborhoods, and it is likely that the street will do so long into the future. In 2021, to celebrate the 100th anniversary
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
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of the shopping district, the Larchmont Boulevard Association (LBA) is organizing “Larchmont 100 — A Centennial Celebration.” No Family Fair this year The celebration of the Boulevard’s 100th will take place on the day originally planned for the traditional Larchmont Family Fair, October 24, 2021. As was the case last year, Larchmont‘s favorite annual event is the victim of COVID-19. The Fair, which has been an annual mainstay of the community since 1966, will take place again next year, says LBA president John Winther of Coldwell Banker Realty. He says that the LBA board of directors concluded that there has been entirely too much uncertainty this year to plan properly for the familiar, multi-thousand-person
street fair, involving about 100 different organizations. However, in lieu of the 2021 Family Fair, there will be a significant celebratory event that same Sunday. At a stage to be erected near the flagpole and the Wilshire Rotary Club clock, LBA and community leaders will gather neighbors for a cake cutting and more — details to be announced within several weeks. Also being planned is a sidewalk tree planting for one of the empty spots on the Boulevard, in front of the former Goorin Bros. hat shop. All of the details will be revealed soon, including in the October issue of the Larchmont Chronicle that distributes on September 30. So, stay tuned, and save the date — Sunday, October 24. Happy anniversary, Larchmont Boulevard!
Recall
almost all of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council area, as well as a number of central neighborhoods including Miracle Mile, Park LaBrea, the Hollywood Hills and Silver Lake, plus Sherman Oaks and other parts of the San Fernando Valley, is facing the recall effort because some of the recall petitioners are upset, in part, over her handling of the city’s homelessness crisis. To get the recall effort on a ballot, petitioners will have until Nov. 4 to collect signatures from at least 27,405 qualified registered voters — a number that represents 15 percent of the districts’ registered voters. If enough signatures are gathered, organizers of the recall effort anticipate a Special
(Continued from page 1) the voter to pick a candidate to succeed Newsom, listing 46 candidates who qualified for the ballot. If a majority of the votes for the first question is “yes,” Newsom will be removed and replaced with the candidate receiving the highest number of votes on the second question. The new governor will serve for the remainder of the governor’s term of office, ending Jan. 2, 2023. Nithya Raman A petition for the recall of CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman was approved for circulation on July 9 by the Los Angeles City Clerk. Raman, who represents
Election will be held sometime between April 29 and June 5, 2022. George Gascón The campaign to recall Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, which was approved to begin gathering signatures in late May, has until Oct. 27 to collect nearly 580,000 valid signatures to get the question on the Los Angeles County ballot. With such a high number of signatures needed, all eyes are on the signature gathering process. Recall supporters reported in early August that they had reached 175,000 signatures, but, with the impending deadline approaching, opponents of the recall campaign are encouraged by the slow pace of signature collection.
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Housing solutions are on a fast track, says leader at PATH
By Talia Abrahamson Housing-forward, personcentered solutions to homelessness have been Tessa Madden Storms’s work for the past decade. Madden Storms, who lives in Windsor Village, is the senior director of philanthropy at PATH (People Assisting The Homeless) and the regional director of PATH Santa Barbara. “Certainly, the geographical change of pace of going on up to Santa Barbara keeps me on my toes,” Madden Storms laughed. In her two roles at PATH, she helps individuals experiencing homelessness in both Santa Barbara and greater California. Born in Wichita, Kansas, Madden Storms moved to California in order to attend USC, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science, with minors in nonprofit and organizational management. “It was really eye-opening to me, coming from another place without this prevalent homelessness issue, to see that and to say that this doesn’t have to be the case,” Madden Storms said. “It struck me pretty significantly.” She decided to pursue a nonprofit career in homeless-
TESSA MADDEN STORMS has worked with PATH for the past ten years. Photo courtesy of PATH
ness services after a college internship with Chrysalis, a downtown Los Angeles jobsfirst nonprofit working to solve homelessness. Starting on the path She then started at PATH, and she also entered a master’s program in nonprofit management at USC. She said she joined PATH when it had only about 80 full-time employees working exclusively in Los Angeles County. PATH, which was founded in 1984 as a housing-first nonprofit in Los Angeles, now operates in 150 cities across California.
“We’ve naturally grown. People have seen the work that we’re doing, and they want to invest in that same kind of services and programs in their own communities,” Madden Storms said. “Being one of the few people that have been here for this long, getting to experience that history has been really special.” PATH has housed over 11,800 people since 2013 — and in 2020 — served nearly 20 percent of Californians experiencing homelessness. During the pandemic, PATH experienced one of its best fundraising years in 2020. As the senior director of philanthropy, Madden Storms manages PATH’s statewide private giving efforts, campaignbased fundraising programs, donor relations and marketing. She said that people living at home were looking for ways to stay involved without being able to leave the house. “We were stuck at home for the better part of last year, and people who would normally be volunteering or engaging with organizations didn’t have the ability to do that,” Madden Storms said. “People who might not otherwise give actually wrote a check or donated online because that was their
way of supporting the causes they cared about.” New Housing Site During the pandemic period, PATH unexpectedly was able to open 13 new interim housing sites. It also worked with the State of California on “Project Roomkey,” the state’s COVID response that identified immediate temporary shelters for people experiencing homelessness. Madden Storms said PATH Santa Barbara helped run that county’s Project Roomkey program, which included the repurposing of motels, and PATH was later able to transition most of the residents participating into permanent housing. “A lot of these solutions that we, as a homeless service provider community, had been advocating for years and years — these creative solutions and quick solutions, like prefab homes or motels –– we hadn’t ever seen really being executed in a meaningful way,” Madden Storms said. “All of a sudden, in the face of the pandemic, it’s happening in days and weeks instead of months and years.” Madden Storms moved to Windsor Village two years ago, shortly before the pandemic
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started. She has been taking lots of long walks to explore the neighborhood, but she also knows the general area well as a member of the Junior League of Los Angeles since 2013. She believes that finding a home, or “making it home” according to PATH’s mission, is the highest priority and best solution to addressing homelessness. The answer to homelessness, she said, is homes. “People should live in dignity,” Madden Storms said. “Housing should be a right, not a privilege. That planted the seed in me in terms of homelessness services.”
‘Ensure the Truth’ virtual gala Oct. 21
The annual gala of the Holocaust Museum LA will take place virtually on Thurs., Oct. 21 at 5:30 p.m. The 13th annual gala, “Ensure the Truth Survives,” will be hosted by Melissa Rivers. Honorees are leaders working to keep lessons of the Holocaust relevant to future generations: Andrea Cayton, Melinda Goldrich and Judy Glickman Lauder. For tickets and information call 424-8327434, or write mann@mannproductions.net.
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Larchmont Chronicle
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In-person school returns; local parents opine on experiences
By Caroline Tracy After 17 months of remote or hybrid school, campuses across Los Angeles County have resumed in-person learning for the 2021 / 2022 calendar year. For many in our community, this is a welcome turn of events, but it does not come without concerns. The surge in COVID-19 cases (including breakthrough cases) spurred by the Delta variant has thrown many parents into a renewed state of caution. Here’s how a handful of locals (our neighbors) are feeling about the state of things right now: Michelle Baron, Windsor Boulevard, parent of Fiona and Penelope who attend Larchmont Charter: “Leading up to the first day of school there was a lot of excitement in our house. For the kids, they were excited to be back on campus with friends, and quite honestly, to be seen again. Haircuts and back-toschool shopping were high on their priority lists. I was happy for them, but also felt like ‘judgment day’ was upon me. How much learning loss was there? How badly had I failed as their
STUDENT kindness.
ALEXA AND BODHI Lilley of Larchmont Village attend Third Street Elementary.
STUDENTS back at Third Street Elementary on June Street.
supplemental, at-home teacher? But now that they are back in school (exactly where they should have been all along) and back in a routine, life feels totally manageable, and I’m seeing their excitement for learning and daily socialization. It’s a relief to know our school is committed to staying open this year, and I look forward to a time that teachers and students won’t have to wear masks.” Laura Eichhorn, Rossmore Avenue, parent of Liam Eichhorn-Cassidy who attends Citizens of the World Charter
– Hollywood: “I’m feeling excited and optimistic about the kids going back to school. CWC is well organized and ready for a safe return. Masks, distancing, testing — they’re on it. I’m most excited for my kiddo to be around other kids every day and PLAY. There is no substitute for faceto-face interactions, especially for kids who are still developing those important social skills. As for concerns, I’m worried that COVID safety precautions will put more screens in classrooms. I’m worried about the
long-term effects of learning on screens versus a more tactile (paper and pencil) approach.” Esther Lee, Brookside, parent of Faith and Aaron who attend St. Brendan’s:
ART
welcomed
“We are very excited and, at the same time, unsure of how things will be due to the new variant. But since St. Brendan’s did such an awesome job last year and was so on top of it, I feel more confident going into it this fall and know my kids are in good hands. I’m excited for them to be with their classmates and to learn to be independent (on their own without (Please turn to page 11)
OUTSIDE Citizens of the World Charter - Hollywood is Sonia Morrison, Arden Boulevard.
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION ONE
RETRIEVAL area for students at Third Street Elementary.
Back to School (Continued from page 10)
a parent around them all day). There will always be concerns of the unknown. I’m just trying to stay positive while being prepared for the unexpected.” Jenny Lilley, Lucerne Boulevard, parent of Bodhi and Alexa, who attend Third Street Elementary: “I feel confident that our
school is doing everything it can to keep COVID at bay. It’s taking it very seriously, and I have a very positive outlook for the year ahead. I don’t see it as a ticking time bomb as some others maybe do.” Sundeep Morrison, Arden Boulevard, parent of Sonia and Anand who attend Citizens of the World Charter – Hollywood: “As a parent to two children, one who is a week away from
being vaccinated and one who isn’t eligible, I’m feeling hopeful but anxious. This past year was a learning curve for our family; we elected to pull our kids out of school and homeschool for the sake of everyone’s mental health. This year our kids will be returning to in-person schooling. While I know that being in a classroom and interacting with other children is beneficial for our kids,
PARENTS wait at various pick-up and drop-off points.
I’m still concerned about their health and safety. No protocols are failsafe. I know my kids are resilient and will adapt, but the unknowns add a level of stress to child-rearing that is astronomical. As parents, we’re mentally preparing for the worst and can only hope for the best.” Candace Nycz, Van Ness Av(Please turn to page 18)
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION ONE
OSB places clothes and books in children’s hands
By Rachel Olivier Neither restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic nor a move to a new location, 6640 Sunset Blvd., are slowing down the Assistance League of Los Angeles (the League) Operation School Bell (OSB) mission: to get school supplies, clothes and books into the hands of children in need. The women’s auxiliary organization, founded in 1919, contributes to the community,
despite recent challenges. Debbie Roper, chair of the Anne Banning Auxiliary, and Kiel Fitzgerald, chair of OSB, both said that, while at times they had to be creative because of the public health restrictions due to the pandemic, they still were able to help 7,000 children in 2020. What does that help include? To get supplies to the kindergarten-to-fifth grade children who are experiencing homeless-
ness or in the foster system or otherwise in need is a multistage process. Typically, children are referred through either Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) or other school counselors, teachers and principals. Volunteers stuff the backpacks with hygiene kits (soap, toothbrush, masks, shampoo, etc.) and school supplies (pencils, paper, erasers, crayons, etc.). Children also receive clothes, such as socks, under-
Larchmont Village
wear, shoes, two sets of school uniforms and one set of street clothes; also included is a dictionary and one age-appropriate book. “Wheels” days One of the ways supplies are distributed to the children is through “wheels” days, when a 48-foot trailer filled with supplies is taken to elementary schools around Los Angeles for distribution. On those days, Roper says, OSB helps an average of 270 kids. They have about 18 “wheels” days scheduled throughout the year. New headquarters Both Roper and Fitzgerald are excited about the League’s new location. By mid month, they hope to be settled at the new chapter house, near Blessed Sacrament Church and Crossroads of the World. From the new headquarters, the volunteers will be revving up to distribute this year’s allotment of supplies to school children. Volunteers wanted Roper, who has been with the organization since 2002, and Fitzgerald, who joined in 2014, welcome new members. There are three levels of membership: members who contribute time during the
day, professionals who may have more time in the evenings, or sustaining members who may not be able to actively contribute, but who still want to help the League. Active members contribute five workdays per month, sometimes at the chapter house and sometimes “out on the road” during “wheels” days. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health protocols are put into place during volunteer events. Volunteers who work directly with children need to take a tuberculosis test and undergo a background screening. Roper pointed out that the Assistance League of Los Angeles has many auxiliary groups to choose from, besides the Anne Banning Auxiliary and its OSB project, including a group for teens called the Assisteens. Roper and Fitzgerald further noted that they can and do take volunteers on an “episodic” basis. If there are people or groups who want to volunteer for an afternoon during the holidays, for example, there are ways to set that up. For more information, visit assistanceleaguela.org.
ABOVE: Reading to children at an OSB wheels event in 2018 is project chair Kiel Fitzgerald. BELOW: Two Anne Banning Auxiliary members help a child get fitted for clothes at one of the 2018 “Wheels” events.
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION ONE
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION ONE
Ballerinas at Marat Daukayev dance for joy and in person
By Nona Sue Friedman Happiness and happy feet are what the students at Marat Daukayev School of Ballet are feeling these days. After many
months of practicing alone at home and only connecting with their ballet friends via Zoom, the dancers are finally back in person as of July.
Parents and dancers alike are “On cloud nine,” according to mom Kate Cury of La Brea Hancock, whose daughter Annabel, 12, attends the school. “It
was incredible for my daughter to go from home to her chosen family,” says Ms. Cury. Since July, the students are not only able to be together, they are finally able to dance in their new studio for the first time. As Annabel Cury says, “I was very excited when we heard that Marat Daukayev School of Ballet’s summer intensive would be in person. I was flabbergasted when I saw how beautiful the new studio was, and grateful that I would not only be doing ballet here, where the windows and studios were giant, but also that I would finally be able to see my ballet friends. Being back in person has felt very magical, exhilarating, and so fun. This summer was thrilling and I am looking forward to the new semester, and all of the new memories I will make!” “My girls literally had tears
BALLERINAS Matisse Love in white top and Grace Tankenson in black in the new studio.
Photo by Virginia Oxford
of joy,” is how mom Bonnie Rhow describes her daughters Annie, 16 and MyLee, 12, both Marlborough students, upon their return. It was the first time her ballerinas pointed (Please turn to page 15)
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BEAUTIFULLY POSED are, left to right, Annabel Cury of La Brea Hancock, Ellis Yeom of Miracle Mile and Caitlin Lee of La Brea Hancock. Photo by Mia Moran
Marat Daukayev (Continued from page 14)
their toes in the new studio space on Wilshire. “Ballet is their life,” says Ms. Rhow. After spending all of quarantine in a small space at home on Zoom to keep their endurance up, they were rewarded with an in-person summer intensive with their fellow dancers. Although all students have to mask up, wearing a mask doesn’t take
away from the experience. Marat Daukayev School of Ballet started its in-person program in July and is continuing throughout the fall. According to executive director, Pamela Daukayev, all students who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine must be vaccinated in order to participate in-person at the studio. Otherwise, the studio is still offering an online option. Those who are not eligible for the vaccine can go to class in
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DANCERS WITH FRIENDS in the new studio of Marat Daukayev School of Ballet are (left to right) Kate Shin, Eva McMillan, Kiyona John, Regan Ilacqua, Emma Ramirez and Gabriela Gamboa.
person. Ms. Daukayev says they are planning on keeping this season as normal as any other. They will do their usual performances, including the annual “Nutcracker.” Classes are available for kids from three years old through adults in their 80s. The studio has moved from its home in the Miracle Mile to a beautifully airy space in the Equitable Plaza at 3435 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 200. If you are interested in attending please visit their website: maratdaukayev.com.
HOLDING HANDS are Lana Namkoong, of Larchmont, and Allison Kim, of Wilton Place.
TRIO OF DANCERS, left to right, is Lola Jone, Oliver Bartlett and Meadow Press.
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Larchmont C
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION ONE
Directory of public and private schools Following is a list of schools both in and outside the Chronicle’s delivery area. Information regarding these schools was confirmed either by phone or email, as well as information available on school websites. Corrections or additions should be sent to info@ larchmontchronicle.com.
Nursery Schools
CHILDREN’S CENTER PRESCHOOL 4679 La Mirada Ave. 323-422-9690 ourccp.com For children ages 2.5 years to pre-kindergarten. Hours are 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., with half and full day options and aftercare until 5 p.m. CHRISTOPHER ROBIN PRESCHOOL 815 N. Alta Vista Blvd. 323-934-6512 christopherrobinpreschool. com Susan Huber and Elizabeth de Roo, co-directors. For children ages one to five years including parent and toddler and transitional kindergarten programs. Hours are 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. Check website for tuition and more information. HAPPY BIRCH PRESCHOOL 1423 and 1429 Tamarind Ave. 323-380-7311 happybirch.net Dr. George and Mali Rand, co-founders. For children ages one to five years, including parent and toddler and transitional kindergarten programs. Hours are 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m., with after care until 5 p.m. MARYVALE EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS ROSEMEAD 7600 E. Graves Ave. 626-537-3311 DUARTE 2502 E. Huntington Dr. 626-357-1514 maryvale.org Steve Gunther, CEO. Christina Moore, vice president of early childhood education. Ages infant to five years. Community Care license. Participates in the Child and Adult Care Food program. Meals included in cost of tuition. PLYMOUTH SCHOOL 315 S. Oxford Ave. 213-387-7381 theplymouthschool@gmail. com theplymouthschool.com Megan Drynan, director. Ages 2 to 5 years. Full days are 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Half days 8:45 to 11:45 a.m. Email for rates.
ST. JAMES’ EPISCOPAL PRESCHOOL DIVISION 625 S. Gramercy Pl. 213-382-2315 sjsla.org Patricia Joseph Thomas, director. Ages 2 to 6 years. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with before and after school care beginning at 7 a.m. and until 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit sjsla.org. SUNSET MONTESSORI PRESCHOOL 1432 N. Sycamore Ave. 323-465-8133 4212 Tujunga Ave. 818-623-0913 sunsetmontessori.com Liliya Kordon, head of school. Ages 2 to 6 years. Tuition is $1,650 per month for half days; $1,850 per month for full days. SUNSHINE SHACK 1027 Cole Ave. 323-466-4381 thesunshineshack.com Sara Schuelein Perets, founder and co-director. Tamara Brown, co-director. Ages 2 to 5 years. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with after care available. Check website for tuition rates and more information. WAGON WHEEL SCHOOL 653 N. Cahuenga Blvd. 323-469-8994 wagonwheelschool.org Ruth Segal, director. Contact Alison Lieber at alison@wagonwheelschool.org. Ages 2 to 5 years, 110 students. Hours are 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for 2to 3-year-olds and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for 3 1/2- to 5-year-olds, with an after school program. $1,900 per month. WESTSIDE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER PRESCHOOL 5870 W. Olympic Blvd. 323-938-2531 westsidejcc.org Lauren Friedman, director. Ages 20 months to 5 years, preschool through transitional kindergarten. Afternoon enrichment program includes movement, music, art and more. Email lfriedman@westsidejcc.org for more information. WILSHIRE BLVD. TEMPLE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERS West (Mann) 11661 W. Olympic Blvd., 90064 424-208-8900 East - (Glazer) 3663 Wilshire Blvd., 90010 213-835-2125 wbtecc.org Carol Bovill, director. Ages 2 to 5 years. West campus hours are 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. East campus hours 7:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Ages 18 mos. to 5 years. Call for rates.
Parochial and Private Schools
ARCHER SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 11725 Sunset Blvd. 310-873-7000 archer.org Elizabeth English, head of school. Grades six to 12; girls only. 510 students. CAIS and WASC accredited. Tuition is $43,275 plus fees. Check website for more information. BAIS YAAKOV SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 7353 Beverly Blvd. 323-938-3231 Joel Bursztyn, director. Girls only, ninth to 12th grade. Call for more information. BRAWERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WEST 11661 W. Olympic Blvd. 424-208-8934 BRAWERMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EAST 3663 Wilshire Blvd. 213-835-2170 brawerman.org Brandon Cohen, head of school. Kindergarten to 6th grade, co-ed. Check website for more information. BRISKIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OF TEMPLE ISRAEL OF HOLLYWOOD 7300 Hollywood Blvd. 323-876-8330, ext. 4000 briskinelementary.org Hannah Bennett, head of school. Kindergarten to 6th grade. After school enrichment and supervision Monday to Thursday until 4:30 p.m. Call for more information. THE BUCKLEY SCHOOL 3900 Stansbury Ave. 818-783-1610 buckley.org Alona Scott, head of school. Kindergarten to 12th grade. Tuition is $37,245 plus fees for kindergarten to 5th grade and $43,860 plus fees for 6th to 12th grade. Call or check website for more information. CAMPBELL HALL 4533 Laurel Canyon Blvd. 818-980-7280 campbellhall.org Julian Bull, head of school. Kindergarten through 12th grade, all gender day school. Check website for tuition rates. CATHEDRAL CHAPEL 755 S. Cochran Ave. 323-938-9976 cathedralchapelschool.org Tina Kipp, principal. Founded in 1930. Kindergarten to 8th grade. Call for tuition and for more information. THE CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION 563 N. Alfred St. 323-651-0707 centerforearlyeducation.org Reveta Bowers, interim head
of school. Founded in 1939. 2 years to 6th grade. Check website for rates. CHRIST THE KING 617 N. Arden Blvd. 323-462-4753 cksla.org Angela Chang, principal. Founded more than 60 years ago. Montessori transitional kindergarten to 8th grade. Check website for tuition rates. CURTIS SCHOOL 15871 Mulholland Dr. 310-476-1251, ext. 820 curtisschool.org Meera Ratnesar, head of school. Developmental kindergarten to 6th grade. Tuition is $33,319 plus fees. Call for more information. ECHO HORIZON 3430 McManus Ave. 310-838-2442 echohorizon.org Peggy Procter, head of school. Pre-kindergarten to 6th grade, 180 students. Hours are Mondays to Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check website for more information. EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF LOS ANGELES 6325 Santa Monica Blvd. 323-462-3752 es-la.com Kenneth Rodgers, head of school. Grades six through 12, 212 students. Tuition is $35,350 plus fees, but needbased financial aid is available. Check website for more information. FUSION ACADEMY 5757 Wilshire Blvd., Prom. 1 323-692-0603 fusionacademy.com Katheryn Nguyen, head of school. Rolling enrollment for grades six through 12. Live online, customized oneto-one education with fulland part-time options. Check website for Open House dates and tuition. HARVARD-WESTLAKE UPPER SCHOOL 3700 Coldwater Canyon MIDDLE SCHOOL 700 N. Faring Rd. 818-980-6692 hw.com Richard Commons, president; Laura Ross, associate head of school; Beth Slattery, head of upper school; Jon Wimbish, head of middle school. 1,620 students, coed, 7th to 12th grade. Check website for tuition rates. HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE 1233 N. McCadden Pl. 323-465-1320 hshla.org Ilise Faye, head of school. Pre-school to 6th grade. Tuition is $20,950 for presechool, $25,750 for kindergarten, $26,500 for 1st to 3rd
grade and $28,300 for 4th to 6th grade. Check website for more information. IMMACULATE HEART HIGH SCHOOL AND MIDDLE SCHOOL 5515 Franklin Ave. 323-461-3651 immaculateheart.org Maureen S. Diekmann, president; Naemah Z. Morris, high school principal. Gina B. Finer, middle school principal. Girls only, 6th through 12th grades, 700 students. Call for tuition and more information. LAURENCE SCHOOL 13639 Victory Blvd. 818-782-4001 laurenceschool.com Laurie Wolke, head of school. Kindergarten to 6th grade. Hours are 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tuition is $33,250. LE LYCÉE FRANÇAIS DE LOS ANGELES 3261 Overland Ave. 310-836-3464 lyceela.org Clara-Lisa Kabbaz, president. French and English curriculums available. Preschool to 12th grade, co-ed. Check website for rates and information for their six campuses. LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL 1901 Venice Blvd. 213-381-5121, ext. 1200 loyolahs.edu Gregory M. Goethals, president. Frank Kozakowski, principal. Boys only. Ninth to 12th grade, 1,260 students. For more information, call or check website. MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL 250 S. Rossmore Ave. 323-935-1147 marlborough.org Priscilla Sands, head of school. Girls only, 7th to 12th grade, 530 students. Tuition is $45,800 plus fees per year. MARYMOUNT HIGH SCHOOL 10643 Sunset Blvd. 310-472-1205 mhs-la.org Jacqueline L. Landry, head of school. Girls only, 9th to 12th grades. Base tuition $38,335 per year for 9th to 11th grades; $39,135 per year for 12th grade. Daily transportation is included in tuition. MAYFIELD JUNIOR SCHOOL 405 S. Euclid Ave., Pasadena 626-796-2774 mayfieldjs.org Joe Sciuto, head of school. Founded in 1931, independent, Catholic (Holy Child community), and coed. Uses “Whole Child” education approach. Kindergarten to 8th grade, 515 students. For more information, visit website. MAYFIELD SENIOR SCHOOL 500 Bellefontaine St.
Pasad 626-799 mayfields Kate Morin, h Girls only, 9th 330 students. C for more inform MORASHA AC EDUCATION 7561 Beve 323-655 morash Shlomo Harro school. Boys on learning differe on kindergarte but evolves wit email school fo and for more in NEW COV ACAD 3119 W. 213-487 e-nca Jason Song, p dergarten to Christian and accredited. Tui grade is $13,27 grades is $14 12th grade is $ NEW HORIZO 434 S. Ver 213-480 newhoriz Jolanda Huss principal. 75 st accredited priva school to 5th Preschool and ten tuition rat annually; $6,7 garten to 5th g extended care a website for mor NEW R 3131 Olym 310-828 newroa Luthern Willia Kindergarten t co-ed, 520 stu NAIS and WAS Financial aid Call or check w ition and more NOTRE DAM HIGH S 2851 Over 310-839 ndasl Lilliam Paetzo Girls only, 9th ELEMENTAR 2911 Over Transitional ki 8th grade, coed THE OAKS 6817 Fran 323-850 oakssch Ted Hamory, h Kindergarten 150 students. formation, chec OAKW 11600 Mag 818-732 oakwoods Jaime Doming
Chronicle
dena 9-9121 senior.org head of school. to 12th grade. Check website mation. CADEMY AND NAL CENTER erly Blvd. 5-5766 haej.org osh, head of nly, gifted with ences. Focus is en to 8th grade, th need. Call or or tuition rates nformation. VENANT DEMY . 6th St. 7-5437 a.org principal. Kin12th grade, co-ed. WASC ition K to 5th 75; 6th to 8th 4,405; 9th to $15,955. ON SCHOOL rmont Ave. 0-3145 zonla.org sain-Hendricks, tudents. WASC ate school. Pregrade, co-ed. prekindergartes are $7,150 750 for kindergrade. Optional available. Check re information. ROADS mpic Blvd. 8-5582 ads.org ams, principal. to 12th grade, udents. CAIS, SC accredited. is available. website for tue information. ME ACADEMY SCHOOL rland Ave. 9-5289 la.org old, president. to 12th grade. RY SCHOOL rland Ave. indergarten to d. S SCHOOL nklin Ave. 0-3755 hool.org head of school. to 6th grade, For more ineck the website. WOOD gnolia Blvd. 2-3000 school.org guez, head of
SEPTEMBER 2021
school. Kindergarten to 12th grade. NAIS, CAIS and WASC accredited. Tuition is $37,790 plus fees for elementary school and $44,310 plus fees for secondary school. For more information, check the website. PAGE ACADEMY OF HANCOCK PARK 565 N. Larchmont Blvd. 323-463-5118 pageacademyca.com Kristin Dickson, president; Pat Klindworth, senior director. Age 2 to 8th grade. Accelerative Learning Certified teachers and fully accredited by NCPSA, MSA/CESS and AI. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call or check the website. PARK CENTURY SCHOOL 3939 Landmark Street 310-840-0500 parkcenturyschool.org Judith Fuller, head of school. CAIS, ACS WASC, and NAISaccredited school for children ages 7 to 14, with languagebased learning differences. Check website for more information. PILGRIM SCHOOL 540 S. Commonwealth Ave. 213-385-7351 pilgrim-school.org Patricia Kong, head of school. Preschool (2 years) to 12th grade, 420 students. CAIS and WASC-accredited; member of NAIS and TABS. Call or check website for more information. SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL 910 S. Fairfax Ave. 323-930-9333 shalhevet.org David Block, head of school; Daniel Weslow, principal. Grades 9 to 12, co-ed. Tuition is $41,300 plus fees. Tuition assistance is available. ST. BRENDAN CATHOLIC SCHOOL 238 S. Manhattan Pl. 213-382-7401 stbrendanschoolla.org Collette Young, principal. Kindergarten to 8th grade. Check website for more information. ST. JAMES’ EPISCOPAL SCHOOL 625 S. St. Andrews Pl. 213-382-2315 sjsla.org Peter Reinke, head of school. Preschool to 6th grade. Remote learning at this time. Accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the CAIS. STEM3 ACADEMY 6455 Coldwater Canyon Ave. 818-623-6386 stem3academy.org Martha Jimenez, principal. Ellis Crasnow, director. Kindergarten through 12th grade. Specializes in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects for students with high-functioning Autism, ADHD or other social or
learning challenges. TREE ACADEMY 8628 Holloway Dr. 424-204-5165 treeacademy.org Darryl Sollerh, co-founder and director. For kids 6th to 12th grades. Provides accredited small classes with individualized instruction. TURNING POINT SCHOOL 8780 National Blvd. 310-841-2505 turningpointschool.org Laura Konigsberg, head of school. Pre-school (2 years and 9 months) to 8th grade. Tuition is $29,950 plus fees for pre-school, $36,052 plus fees for kindergarten to 4th grade and $39,975 plus fees for middle school. Call or check website for more information. VISTAMAR SCHOOL 737 Hawaii St., El Segundo 310-643-7377 vistamarschool.org Chris Bright, head of school. Ninth to 12th grade. Tuition is $42,000 plus fees; assistance is available. #vistamarschool WESLEY SCHOOL 4832 Tujunga Ave. 818-508-4542 wesleyschool.org Julie Galles, interim head of school. Coed. Kindergarten to 8th grade. After school program available. Tuition for K to 5th grade is $30,460; 6th to 8th grades is $34,020. WESTMARK 5461 Louise Ave. 818-986-5045 westmarkschool.org Elizabeth McGregor, head of school. Girls only, 4th to 12th grades. Visit website for more information. WESTRIDGE SCHOOL 324 Madeline Dr., Pasadena 626-799-1153 westridge.org Claudia Koochek, head of school. For children in grades two to 12 with language-based learning differences. Open house Sun., Oct. 17. See website for more information. WILLOWS COMMUNITY SCHOOL 8509 Higuera St. 310-815-0411 thewillows.org Lisa Rosenstein, head of school. Developmental kindergarten to 8th grade. Call for tuition rates. YAVNEH HEBREW ACADEMY 5353 W. 3rd St. 323-931-5808 yha.org Schlomo Einhorn, rav and dean. Eileen Wasserman, general studies principal. Established in 1958. Co-ed, from 2 years old to 8th grade. Hours are Monday to Thursday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 1:25 p.m. For more information, check website.
Public Schools Elementary CHARLES H. KIM ELEMENTARY 225 S Oxford Ave. 213-368-5600 kim-lausd-ca.schoolloop.com Jonathan Paek, principal. Kindergarten to 5th grade, co-ed. Special education, gifted and talented, Spanish dual language, maintenance bilingual Korean program and structured English immersion programs. CITIZENS OF THE WORLD HOLLYWOOD 1316 N. Bronson Ave. 323-464-4292 cwchollywood.org Jirusha Lopez, principal. Trans-kindergarten to 5th grade, co-ed. National charter program. Visit website for more information. CITIZENS OF THE WORLD SILVER LAKE 110 N. Coronado St. 323-705-9882 cwcsilverlake.org Maureen Lamorena-Tatsui, principal. Trans-kindergarten to 5th grade, co-ed. National charter program. Visit website for more information. LARCHMONT CHARTER FAIRFAX 1265 N. Fairfax Ave. 323-656-6418 larchmontcharter.org Mersedeh Emrani, principal. Jennifer Santangelo, assistant principal. Co-ed, transitional kindergarten to 4th grade. Check website for more information. LARCHMONT CHARTER HOLLYGROVE 815 N. El Centro 323-836-0860 larchmontcharter.org Alissa Chariton and Eva Orozco, co-principals. Transitional kindergarten to 4th grade. Check website for more information. MELROSE MATHEMATICS/ SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY MAGNET 731 N. Detroit St. 323-938-6275 melrosestars.org Mathew Needleman, principal. Stacy Bertuccelli, magnet coordinator. Kindergarten to 5th grade. Hours are 8:06 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. After hours and gifted and talented program. Call for more information. NEW LA CHARTER 5421 Obama Rd. 323-556-9500 newlaelementary.org Jenna Rosenberg, principal. Jamila Polk, assistant principal. Kindergarten to 5th grade, co-ed. THIRD STREET ELEMENTARY
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201 S. June St. 323-939-8337 thirdstreetschool.com Daniel Kim, principal. Expanded transitional kindergarten to 5th grade, co-ed. 8:06 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. VAN NESS AVENUE ELEMENTARY 501 N. Van Ness Ave. 323-469-0992 vannesselementary.com Pauline Hong, principal. Transitional kindergarten to 5th grade for general education; prekindergarten to 5th grade for visual impairment special education. Science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) program, Mandarin language program. Boys and Girls Club and other programs. WILSHIRE CREST 5241 W. Olympic Blvd. 323-938-5291 wce-lausd-ca.schoolloop.com Gayle Robinson, principal. Transitional kindergarten to 5th grade, co-ed, PALs (preschool special education), dual language Spanish immersion program for K to 2nd grade. WILSHIRE PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 4063 Ingraham St. 213-739-4760 rockets-lausd-ca.schoolloop. com Leighanne Creary, principal. Transitional kindergarten to 5th grade, co-ed. WILTON PLACE 745 S. Wilton Pl. 213-389-1181 wiltonplacees-lausd-ca. schoolloop.com Jung Hae Kim, principal. Transitional kindergarten to 5th grade, co-ed. Dual-language programs for Spanish/ English and Korean/English. Gifted and talented program in grades 3 to 5.
Middle Schools
CITIZENS OF THE WORLD SILVER LAKE 152 N. Vermont Ave. 323-705-9882 cwcsilverlake.org Christine Aries, principal. 6th to 8th grade, co-ed. National charter program. For more information, visit website. JOHN BURROUGHS MIDDLE SCHOOL 600 S. McCadden Pl. 323-549-5000 burroughsms.org Steve Martinez, principal. Samuel Corral, magnet coordinator. Sixth to 8th grade. Title 1 distinguished school, national magnet school of excellence. School for advanced studies, Korean and Spanish dual language programs. LARCHMONT CHARTER AT SELMA 6611 Selma Ave. 323-871-4000 larchmontcharter.org Sarah Perkins, principal. Yasmin Esmail, assistant
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principal. Co-ed, 5th, 6th and 7th grade. Check website for more information. NEW LA CHARTER 1919 S. Burnside Ave. 323-939-6400 newlamiddle.org Gabrielle Brayton, principal. Terrence Wright, assistant principal. Co-ed, 6th to 8th grades.
High Schools
ALEXANDER HAMILTON HIGH 2955 S. Robertson Blvd. 310-280-1400 hamiltonhighschool.net Brenda Pensamiento, principal. Co-ed, 9th to 12th grade. Includes business and interactive technology academy, communication arts academy, global studies program, and mathematics, science and medicine program. Magnet schools include music and performing arts and humanities. GIRLS ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, DR. MICHELLE KING SCHOOL FOR STEM 1067 West Blvd. 323-900-4532 galacademy.org Elizabeth Hicks, principal. Sixth to 12th grades. Girls only. Concentrates in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects. FAIRFAX HIGH 7850 Melrose Ave 323-370-1200 fairfaxhs.org Lorraine Trollinger, principal. Co-ed, 9th to 12th grade. Features Career Technical Education and visual arts and police academy magnets. LARCHMONT CHARTER AT LA FAYETTE PARK 2801 W. 6th St. 213-867-6300 larchmontcharter.org Mike Kang, principal. Lori Lausche, assistant principal. Heather Rios, assistant principal. Co-ed, 8th to 12th grade. Check website for more information. LOS ANGELES COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS 5151 State University Dr., Bldg. 20 323-343-2550 lachsa.net John Lawler, principal. Co-ed, 9th to 12th grade. Tuitionfree public school specializing in college preparatory and visual and performing arts. LOS ANGELES HIGH 4650 W. Olympic Blvd. 323-900-2700 lahigh.org Marguerette Gladden, principal. Co-ed, 9th to 12th grade. Includes science, technology, engineering and math magnet, career and technical education and gifted and talented program.
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AYSO readies to play ball, with kids, and parent coaches, too
By Suzan Filipek “Our season is starting a little later than planned, but we’re hopeful to kick things
off by September 18,” AYSO regional commissioner Kurt Muller told us. American Youth Soccer
Organization games will be held on a field at Fairfax High School. AYSO players are from ages 3 to 18 in Region
78, which covers Hollywood, Larchmont and Wilshire. Registration will continue through opening day for kids ages 3 to 5. “We will form as many teams as we have coach volunteer support from parents,” Muller said. “This is really the first soccer experience for kids, and we encourage parents to ‘recruit’ friends for teams. This is also a great opportunity for kids (and parents) to make new friends!” Registration for older divisions has been wrapping up,
but coach and referee volunteers are still sought. “Some of the volunteers we’ve heard from are super-pumped about getting back to old traditions and giving back to the community (even if it’s just helping with a kids’ soccer game). “The pandemic has been hard on everyone, and kids in particular. There is nothing more empowering than the ability to help others,” added Muller. For more information, email ayso78registrar@gmail.com or visit ayso78.info.
GAMES WILL BE HELD at Fairfax High School beginning midSeptember for ages 3 to 18. It’s a “great opportunity for kids (and parents) to make new friends!”
CHRIST THE KING SCHOOL Transitional Montessori Kindergarten through 8th Grade Back to School (Continued from page 11)
Please call the school (323) 462-4753 and schedule a tour of our campus: 617 N. Arden Blvd. L.A. 90004 Visit our website www.cksla.org
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◆ A challenging academic curriculum ◆ A strong spiritual and moral foundation ◆ An advanced technology program ◆ Competitive after-school sports ◆ An education of the Fine Arts and more.......
enue, parent of Frankie Wallender who attends Melrose Magnet: “I would have to say I am tremendously worried about the spread of Delta in classrooms, especially with 28 kids crammed into a classroom with no open windows. But the alternative is also awful, so what’s a parent to do? I will say, I am incredibly grateful that LAUSD has taken such a strong stance on mask wearing and enforcing the vaccine for all employees that go onto campus. I wish it wasn’t politicized, but we are lucky we live in such a progressive district. The baseline COVID numbers were actually better than I expected, which I hope illustrates parents’ willingness to be vaccinated, wear masks and use caution. Hopefully that trend will continue, but I am not so sure that it will.
I guess we just have to send our beloved children off each day with the hopes that they don’t get COVID, and keep hoping that the under-12 vaccine comes along sooner than later. The concern and anger are exhausting, but march on we must.” Cathleen O’Conor Stern, Cherokee Avenue, parent of Charlotte and Ethan who attend St. James’: “I am very excited for my kids to return to school and get back to a routine. Summer has been fun, loose, and exhausting. St. James’ has done such a great job of mitigating risk that I am not concerned about my kids returning to school. I know we may have to adjust protocols and expectations depending on how COVID progresses, but that is just where we are right now in the pandemic. I trust the school implicitly with any twists and turns that this school year may bring for our community.”
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Climbing the walls can be a positive thing — even at the Olympics Supposedly, wrestling is the world’s oldest sport. When it was slated for omission from the 2016 Rio Olympics, people were outraged. Wrestling was mankind’s original extracurricular activity, a survival instinct transformed into a pastime that required no apparatus, ball, or measuring system. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics debuted an event that might unseat wrestling as world’s oldest sport. Climbing. The initial primates in all likelihood spent most of their time in trees, away from predators. Climbing was a necessity, and the prize was survival. But humans haven’t lost their interest in climbing (figuratively and symbolically), and the sport’s inclusion in the Olympics was overdue. Climber Life “I was nine or ten when I first started climbing,” said Sigrid Eyal, 15. “My dad took me and my brother to Hollywood Boulders because it was a block from our school, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the walls.” Hollywood Boulders is one of four climbing gyms in the Los Angeles area, and is owned by Touchstone Climbing, a company based in San Francisco that has 13 locations throughout California. HoBo, as the members like to call Hollywood Boulders, opened its doors in 2016, and it is located at 1107 N. Bronson Ave., just north of Santa Monica Boulevard. The 11,000-square-foot space was previously a prop house, but now it’s a magnificent sprawl of multi-colored climbing walls imported from Walltopia in Bulgaria. Climbing is all-inclusive. There are no weight or age limits, and, for most members, it’s never about competition. “After I put on rental shoes that first time, I was kind of just traversing around randomly,” said Sigrid. “I remember not being able to get to this specific move when a stranger climbing on the same wall started cheering me on. “Can you imagine? I had
ple just dropping in to take a look,” said Justin Kim, an employee at Hollywood Boulders. In 2018, the film “Free Solo,” about American rock climber Alex Honnold, was released. It won that year’s Oscar for Best Documentary. Kim said there was a membership surge then also. That week leading up to the Oscars, the film crew and Honnold, who were in town for the awards ceremony, climbed at Hollywood Boulders. They weren’t members, and they didn’t pay. “I wasn’t going to charge Alex Honnold to climb,” laughed Kim. Another reason why it’s called Free Solo.
Youth Sports by
Jim Kalin
just walked through the doors, and there was already a supportive and helpful community.” The Team Sigrid soon joined the Hollywood Boulders youth competitive climbing team. The climbers met three times a week for three hours each session. “We do a lot of conditioning where we practice our strength, technique, and Right: LOCAL YOUTH Sari, endurance.” 5, began climbing early in life. This includes practicing different holds and moves on the training wall, running on the treadmills and utilizing the dreaded hangboard. “I’ve used hangboards before, with the team, to strengthen my hands,” said Sigrid. “Some of the holds were really easy, but the crimp-like ones made my hands look like claws after I dropped off.” Hangboards are central to an overall finger-strengthening training program, though, for beginners, using them without guidance can be dangerous. Like most businesses, Hollywood Boulders closed during the shutdown, which meant Est. 1999 no climbing team. This didn’t – Rigorous academic program stop Sigrid andEnable, her team“Educate, and Equip the Christian Leaders of Tomorrow” mates. – Effective and caring teachers “During early quarantine, – Safe and nurturing campus we had Zoom calls where we – Affordable tuition worked out together.” Sigrid also did pull-ups at – Solid Christian education home and jogged in her Park LaBrea neighborhood, and her father helped her build a makeshift climbing wall by nailing holds to their backyard fence. “Staying motivated was hard,” she admitted. TOP 10% in CA and nation for A Growing Sport The television coverage of academic performance the Olympics climbing competition has boosted attendance at Hollywood Boulders. “We’ve recently seen more day-pass climbers and peo-
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20
OAKWOOD SCHOOL By Scarlett Saldaña 10th Grade
Over the summer, I was given the opportunity to learn and work one-onone with a college professor through an online research program. Since I had previously written my first research paper at the end of my sophomore year at Oakwood, I was excited
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to be able to write and learn about another topic of interest, but I knew that I had to prepare myself for the rigorous road of research ahead. At the beginning of the program, I attended seminars with students from all over the world, and we focused on various topics that surrounded my research concentration, literature. Then, during the month of August, I decided that I wanted to explore the connections between literature and feminism, and with help from my
professor, I finalized my research question and began to write. While it is true that research is difficult, and at times, can feel overwhelming, at the end of the day, knowing that you are doing a more in-depth exploration of a topic that you are passionate about is incredibly rewarding. Doing research with a college professor has given me lifelong advice that I can continue to apply to my writing and research in my remaining years of high school, college, and so on.
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Alas, the end of summer is upon us, so we messaged 25 randomly selected high schoolers, “How do you feel about the start of the 2021-2022 school year?” The most common emotions expressed were excitement for social activity and fear of changes in the learning system, often simultaneously: “I’m excited to see people again! That said, I’m scared that [virtual learning will stunt] my success with my new, more advanced classes.” There was a surprisingly even split between students who found online learning to be easy and online learning to be difficult — many students were excited to return to schoolhouses just to enhance their learning experiences. Others disliked school in general and wished they could stay home. An interesting trend we discovered in public schoolers’ responses was safety concerns: One student thought, “My school is either not aware of or isn’t thinking about the level of caution we need to be taking.” Finally, we observed that almost all of the responders’ answers related to COVID-19, despite it never being mentioned in the question (or before it). The pandemic appears to be at the forefront of most students’ minds and to have diffused unprecedented feelings throughout the California high school student body.
NCA’s summer program is coming to a close, and as a final celebration, we’ll be ending it off with our annual summer festival! Although we won’t have the traditional water slide or water dunk, students will still be able to enjoy a bouncy house, striker game, bouncy house obstacle course, and carnival food. In addition, you can cheer on our volleyball students as they face off against NCA faculty and staff in a volleyball exhibition game. Hopefully, students are ready for some Back-to-School shopping! Starting Aug. 9, NCA had fully reopened for in-person classes! Woot Woot! It definitely has been a challenge with online courses and classes, but both students and teachers have persevered through and now will be able to have a more engaging and interactive learning experience. Of course, we are taking all the necessary precautions with mask mandates and social distancing still being in effect. Stricter schedules will be put in place and school re-opening protocols will be followed. All being well, everyone can stay safe and have another great year. I’m very excited to meet my teachers and friends in person again!
Artistic teens can apply to Spotlight
Hello everybody and welcome to the first column of the 2021-22 school year. I am Brendan Albert your intrepid reporter. To start off this school year students will be going back to campus in person on Aug. 30 with no online options being offered. All people on campus will be required to wear masks, get daily health screenings and also, even if you are vaccinated, get weekly COVID tests. In happier news, athletics is back! The Pilgrim Patriots will be returning to basketball, volleyball, cross-country, football and cheer. Those interested should sign up, now that the options are back on the table. It’s time to get those physicals and baseline concussion tests. Kiss your summer vacation goodbye, it’s time to get back to the grind. Get those back-toschool haircuts while you can. Get those fresh uniforms in your new size. Sharpen those pencils and get ready for school. See you all on the flip side.
By Hank Bauer 11th Grade
Southern California high school students can apply to participate in the The Music Center’s “Spotlight” program. This is a scholarship and artistic development program for any level of proficiency in acting, dance, ballet, classical voice, non-classical voice, jazz instrumental and classical instrumental. Deadline for applications is Oct. 18. Spotlight consists of mastery classes, performance opportunities, written feedback and motivational talks in addition to more than $100,000 in cash scholarships. The classes are taught by professionals and arts administrators to encourage self-esteem, courage, and motivation to take chances. Spotlight will culminate in June 2022 for its 34th performance at The Music Center. All skill levels are encouraged to apply at app.getacceptd. com/musiccenter.
By Dale Lee 11th Grade
PILGRIM
By Brendan Albert 10th Grade
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Third time’s a charm for Sound of Music enthusiast
By Caroline Tracy Brookside resident and Third Street Elementary fourth grader, Nikka Gueler, won first prize in the costume contest at this summer’s “Sing-A-Long Sound of Music” event at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 21. The winning
costume was an interpretation of the movie’s protagonist, Maria, as a “problem to solve.” The “Sing-A-Long Sound of Music” takes up residence every year (at least when not experiencing a COVID-related closure) at the Bowl. The movie is shown with sing-a-long
subtitles, all while the score is performed live by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Nikka and her mom, Vivian Gueler, ardent fans of the classic musical, have attended the show six times and entered the costume contest portion of the event three times. “Nikka was only three when we first went,” Ms. Gueler shared. “We were spectators only, of course, but she was enthralled with the costumes
and really wanted to get on stage. I told her she’d have to enter the contest the next year, and that’s exactly what she did.” The field of entrants is large, consisting of children, adults, and entire families. Costumes range from homespun to elaborate commissions. Ms. Gueler estimated there were 100 contestants this year. The winner is determined by the strength of the audience’s ap-
plause. “Nikka has been determined to win since we started coming to this event,” said Ms. Gueler. “It was a very exciting night for both of us.” Nikka’s prize included Tshirts, a book, and box seats to Marvel Studio’s “Black Panther in Concert” at the Hollywood Bowl this month. She also got a celebratory ice cream at Jeni’s on Larchmont — mom’s treat.
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NIKKA GUELER in her winning costume as Maria at the 2021 “Sing-A-Long Sound of Music” at the Hollywood Bowl with host Melissa Peterman.
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The Plymouth School NIKKA IN 2016, as Gretl von Trapp, dressed in drapery, which earned Nikka runnerup status, shown alongside the winning costume, “The Baroness.”
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NIKKA, IN 2018, was Liesl von Trapp and performed “Sixteen Going On Seventeen” on stage at the Bowl.
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Larchmont Chronicle
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Re-Opening Revelry, Honey Child at Marionette Theater
Re-Opening Revelry, an hour-long celebration of the Bob Baker Marionettes’ favorite things, continues through
Sun., Sept. 12 at the puppet theater’s new home at 4949 York Blvd. in nearby Highland Park.
The live, in-person show runs weekends and includes elements from birthday cakes and picnics, to multiple hol-
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Please check our website for a virtual tour and upcoming 755 South Cochran Ave., L.A. 90036 755Cochran South Cochran Ave., L.A. 90036 755 South Ave., L.A. 90036 events. For Information (323) 938-9976 or cathedralchapelschool.org For(323) Information (323) 938-9976 or cathedralchapelschool.org For Information 938-9976 or cathedralchapelschool.org Tuesday Tours: Call for an appointment
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• Classroom Art & Music Program
iday seasons, packing 16 months-worth of missed performances. As the first live show in the theater since March 2020, Re-Opening Revelry invites guests to participate in reopening ceremonies. As each guest enters the theater, he or she will be treated to his or her very own “Ribbon Cutting Ceremony” before the show. Honey Child In addition, there will be a special event for BBMT’s School House Rock series on Sat., Sept. 11. Singer Shannon Lay and Claire McKeown’s Honey Child will perform on stage with the Bob Baker Marionettes. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the performance is at 9 p.m. Twenty-five percent of ticket sales from this show will go toward funding field trips for Los Angeles school children. The singers require attendees to provide proof of COVID vaccination for this September performance. Tickets for both shows are $20. In addition, Halloween shows begin Sat., Sept. 18, and tickets are available now. For more information, visit bobbakermarionettetheater. com
RE-OPENING REVELRY performances continue through Sun., Sept. 12. Art by Ian Byers Gamber
CLAIRE McKEOWN’S Honey Child performs with the Marionettes Sat. Sept. 11. Art by Patrick Hruby
MARIONETTES have enchanted young and old since Bob Baker founded his puppet theater 58 years ago.
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Modernization to bring John Burroughs into the 21st century
After a decade-long planning effort, including various types of community outreach, pre-construction work has begun on an ambitious modernization project at John Burroughs Middle School, 600 S. McCadden Pl. The project is expected to take the school, which opened in 1924, into the next 100 years. Besides more classrooms at the sixth-through-eighthgrade school, the scope of the project includes more space
for the arts, music, sports and physical education. Existing buildings slated for demolition include 11 relocatable classroom buildings, the cafeteria-classroom building and the girls’ locker room building, according to a preconstruction update bulletin from the Los Angeles Unified School District. Seismic retrofit and modernization of the historic main building and other structures is underway. Going forward, construction of 27 new class-
rooms is planned. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027. A virtual, or possibly in-person, community meeting is
planned to take place in the fall. The 1,471-student school will mark its centennial in 2024, during the construc-
tion period. When it opened, John Burroughs Junior High School had 400 students. It will remain open during the construction.
WINNING POSTER is by Hannah Lee.
Hancock Park grad wins first prize for poster Hancock Park Elementary graduate, Hannah Lee has won first prize for the ninth annual Time in Education student poster contest. The contest, sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Los Angeles Times in Education, judged 150 entries by students
in grades four through 12, each poster promoting how Angelenos can do their parts in conservation of water and energy. Lee, who is 11 years old, graduated from Hancock Park Elementary in June. To see photos of other entries in the contest, visit nieonline. com/latimes/contests.cfm
We Invite You To Discover
Enjoy Grand Park’s ‘Easy Mornings’ on Saturdays in Sept. Start the weekend with a calm and fun time with the family at Grand Park’s Easy Mornings on Saturdays Sept. 4, 11, 18 and 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Arts events, wellness and dance workshops and a live DJ will be on hand as well. Food trucks and vendedores will offer food and beverages for purchase, or bring a picnic and enjoy the green space. Community partners include The Broad, Chinese American Museum and the dA
Thursdays at 8:30 am October 7 | November 4 | December 2 | January 6 HOT PINK furniture is a hallmark of DTLA’s Grand Park.
Center for the Arts. A COVID-19 vaccine mobile clinic will be parked on site and offer free Pfizer shots to eligible persons 12 and older. For more information visit grandparkla.org.
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Explore new worlds with Star Trek at the Skirball Center
Beginning Thurs., Sept. 2, adventurers, voyagers, explorers and discoverers can get tickets to the Star Trek exhibit, “Exploring New Worlds,” at the Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. The exhibit opens Thurs., Oct. 7 and runs through Sun., Feb. 20. Many of the artifacts and set pieces, organized by the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle and under license by ViacomCBS, have never been on display in Los Angeles. Highlights of the exhibit include set pieces from “Star Trek: The Original Series,” such as Captain Kirk’s command chair and the navigation console, a tricorder,
COMMUNICATOR used in Star Trek: The Original Series.
communicator, a phaser and tribbles. Also on view are a Klingon disruptor pistol from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and a Borg Cube from the movie “Star Trek: First Contact.” Costumes, scripts, concept art, storyboards and production drawings round out the exhibit. Tickets are $18 for general admission; $15 for seniors, fullTRICORDER used in the original series on the time stuEnterprise.
ORIGINAL CREW of the Star Trek Enterprise, from left to right: James Doohan as Scotty, Walter Koenig as Chekov, DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy, Majel Barrett as Nurse Chapel, William Shatner as Capt. Kirk, Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and George Takei as Sulu.
dents and children over 12 years old; and $13 for children ages two to 12. Visitors can see the exhibit for free on
Thursdays. For more information, visit skirball.org/exhibitions/startrek-exploring-new-worlds
PHASER from the original series.
DISCOVER YOUR PLACE TO LEARN AND GROW THE SCHOOLS OF WILSHIRE BOULEVARD TEMPLE
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Students stuck in the mire of others’ lessons not learned
For last year’s “Back to School” edition, I wrote that “the saddest casualty” was that “kids across the country… got the rugs pulled out from under them” when their spring plays and musicals were cancelled. “Arts teachers everywhere,” I wrote, were “being tossed back and forth by administrators and politicians with, to be polite, conflicting agendas” on how to handle the pandemic. That was then, this is now: In Florida, four teachers died from COVID-19 last month (CBS News, 8/13/21); in Tennessee, “arguments broke out” between parents and school board members who had imposed a mask mandate in their district (“People,” 8/12/21); in Sutter Creek, Calif., a parent “reportedly assaulted a teacher following a dispute over masks on the first day of school” (KNX, 8/13/21). A year ago I wrote that it was “the students, of course, who suffer most when the intangibles of an arts education — discipline, dedication, commitment, trust, diversity, enthusiasm, camaraderie are taken away from them.” But it seems that it is the adults who have forgotten, or perhaps never learned, those life lessons. This year, it seems to be the teachers who are bearing the brunt of the suffering. For 15 years I ran a summer Shakespeare teacher-training institute at the Huntington Library. For 2018 and 2019, the program was moved to that
Center for Yoga (Continued from page 4)
Lodge. Later, the space served as a dance school before yoga pioneer Ganja White opened the studio in 1967. In 2004, the Center for Yoga was purchased by Yoga Works, which operated the facility until the pandemic hit, when the national chain closed the studio. That’s when locals Michael Barton, Diane Buckhantz, Sam Doniger, Randy Paskal, Jai Yoo and Katharine DeShaw, plus
Theater Review by
Louis Fantasia hidden gem in the West Adams district, the UCLA Clark Memorial Library. In 2020, we punted and went on Zoom, doing an online workshop on “King Lear,” which some critics think Shakespeare wrote during the plague year. This summer, we opted for a hybrid approach. The 20 or so participating teachers and teaching staff had to be vaccinated. Temperatures were taken. “Zones” were taped on the stage floor, marking out social distances. Some instructors were Zoomed in from London, Wisconsin, Texas. And then, the weekend for which the workshop was scheduled, the indoor mask mandate was reinstated! In the few hopeful summer weeks when teachers had applied to the program, nearly everyone had written about wanting to be energized for school, with fresh ideas, as “things got back to normal.” That weekend, we all realized that this is the new normal: voice classes with masks on, staging socially distanced acting scenes, discussing race in Shakespeare (more on that at another time) and, most imWalford, stepped up and incorporated the studio and set an ambitious goal: to re-establish CFY as the premier studio on the west coast. Masks and vaccines are required, and leave your shoes and cares at the door. Founding monthly membership starts at $145. More information about the Center for Yoga, including the class schedule, instructor information, and special membership packages, can be found at centerforyogala.com
portant, trying to stay physically safe and mentally positive for students! Teaching is hard enough under the best of circumstances. Teaching the arts is even harder, and is an endangered enterprise in the best of times. Teachers do not need chest-thumping politicians putting their lives at risk, while making their jobs even more difficult. Teachers do not need parents threatening them for wanting to FOLLOW THE SCIENCE and keep their kids healthy and safe. I talk a lot about Shakespeare in this column (perhaps too
much), but it’s not a Shakespeare play I think everyone should be reading right now. It is “Inherit the Wind,” the 1955 courtroom drama (or see the 1960 film) by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, based on the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial,” in which a small-town teacher was tried for violating a Tennessee law against teaching evolution. Despite having Clarence Darrow for the defense (William Jennings Bryan argued the Fundamentalist view for the state), Scopes was convicted. It took the jury nine minutes to render its verdict after an eight-
day trial. Darrow, unlike Spencer Tracy, didn’t make a closing argument. All his expert witnesses (scientists) had been ruled inadmissible. Scopes’ conviction was overturned on appeal, but the anti-science mandate remained in place. Nearly one hundred years have passed since the “Monkey Trial.” Most people now accept Darwin, evolution, climate change, and the power of hand-washing, masks, and vaccinations to stop the spread of germs and viruses. Most people, but not all. And not nearly enough.
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION ONE
How a Leonardo survived the art world, oligarchs and revenge
The Lost Leonardo (9/10): 90 minutes. NR. “Salvator Mundi” (Savior of the World) is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, commissioned around 1509 by Louis XII of France and finished around 1513. This is about a painting bought for $1,125 in the early 2000s that
was later auctioned off for $450 million as the “Lost Leonardo.” Was it legit? Interviewed are art critics galore along with Diane Modestini, who “restored” it, and people who analyzed it, marketed it, sold it, and auctioned it off. It is a tantalizing tale that does not
have a slow moment, whether you are a connoisseur or not. The film is brilliantly filmed and directed as it tells its spellbinding tale. But it’s not just a story about a painting, it’s also a devastating indictment of the art world, avarice, power, and truth … and the lack thereof.
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In addition to the art world, it involves Russian oligarchs, Saudi princes, unethical middlemen, and revenge. Landmark and some Laemmles. Final Set (9/10): 109 minutes. NR. Not only is the acting superb, but the tennis is exceptional in its quality and realism. Thomas Edison (Alex Lutz) is a 37-year-old tennis player who was once France’s up-and-coming star. But he lost a big match when he was young and has been struggling ever since, confined mostly to playing satellite tournaments, making meager bucks to support him and his wife and child. Here we find him entering the qualifying round for the French Open. As important as the tennis are the relationships between Thomas and Eve and Thomas and Judith. I am tough on sports movies, so believe me when I say this is one of the best. In French. It will be available via numerous virtual cinemas; consumers can visit filmmovement.com/final-set to rent the film from ANY participating theater. White as Snow (8/10): 112 minutes. R. We’ll sing in the sunshine We’ll laugh every day We’ll sing in the sunshine Then I’ll be on my way Gale Garnett 1964 If you were around in 1964, this is one of the songs you were singing. And the girl you envisioned as you sang this song was probably Claire (Lou de Laâge), who stars in this film as the innocent, protected stepdaughter of Maud (Isabell Huppert). Loosely based on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” it is a thriller with pervasive evil that is present every moment of the film. The acting is exceptional. Lead actor de Laâge is reminiscent of Brigitte Bardot in her prime,
At the Movies with
Tony Medley although in this film she looks a lot younger than her 29 years. She is captivating, scintillating, hot, and sexy as she seduces one man after another, reaching the eponymic number as she finds her sexual freedom and revels in it. Then there is Isabelle Hubbert’s electric performance as Claire’s evil stepmother. Landmark. Putin’s Witnesses (8/10): 102 minutes. NR. This is sort of a Russian version of the old American books, “the making of the president.” Only this time it is made by a Russian. It is about Vladimir Putin’s first run for the Russian presidency circa 2000. It is produced and directed by Vitaliy Manskiy who had unique inside access to Putin and Boris Yeltsin, the man who resigned and who Putin replaced. Putin comes across as a thoughtful, reasonable man. But as he solidifies his power, he got rid of most of the people who supported him and helped him get elected. To get this film into context, however, one should read Bill Browder’s book, “Red Notice,” which tells the dark, scary truth of how Putin acts behind the scenes. It’s not pretty. OVID. The Protégé (4/10): 109 Minutes. R. There is a terrific word that producers of thrillers should learn. That word is “plausible.” This silly film would have been less silly and more compelling if there were one or two scenes that could be interpreted as being plausible. Alas, after 109 minutes a credible scene never appeared. (Please turn to page 29)
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
sion, $19 for seniors, $15 for college students, and free for members and children ages 17 and younger. The Oscars Experience — an immersive simulation that enables you to feel like you are walking on the Dolby Theatre stage and accepting an Oscar — is an additional $15. Hours for the museum will
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be Sunday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, at 6067 Wilshire Blvd., includes the Renzo Piano-designed soaring glass-and-concrete spherical addition that features a rooftop terrace offering sweeping views.
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The 300,000 square foot Academy Museum features more than 50,000 square feet of gallery space. The spacesuit from “2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)” and puppets from “Kubo and the Two Strings” (2016) are among objects in the museum collection. For more information, visit academymuseum.org.
ENJOY a movie in the David Geffen Theater in the Sphere Building.
Academy
(Continued from page 1) Fanny’s Restaurant and Café, developed by restaurateurs Bill Chait and Wolfgang Puck, is set in a 10,000-square foot, two-story space in a corner of the museum’s Saban Building (the renovated May Company department store). The restaurant design blends contemporary style with old Hollywood and evokes classic spaces such as the Brown Derby and Perino’s, studio backlots and the Streamline Moderne achitecture of the 1939 May Co. Visitors can also relax in an Art Deco-style bar and lounge area with curved booths. Fanny’s is named after the vaudeville character played by Barbra Streisand in “Funny Girl,” a role based on restaurant patron Wendy Stark’s grandmother, Fanny Brice. Wendy Stark’s father, Ray Stark, produced the film. Fanny’s will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, plus brunch on weekends. The Academy Museum Store also is on the first floor of the Saban Building. Films and programming If you miss the opening day program, no worries, there are more than 115 film screenings and programs to choose from through the end of the year. Spooky features will be shown during Family Matinees, a program on Saturdays at 11 a.m. in October. Indigenous/Native stories will be featured in November at the family programs. “Bride of Frankenstein,” on Sun., Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., kicks
“SHANGHAI EXPRESS” with Anna May Wong and Marlene Dietrich, 1932, film still.
off Oscar Frights, a monthlong showing of “13” macabre movies. “Joker” screens on Wed., Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m. as the first in a series called “Sound Off: A Celebration of Women Composers.” Oscar Sundays will begin its first iteration celebrating women artists. Lina Wertmüller’s “Seven Beauties” begins the series on Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m. In conjunction with the museum’s exhibition “Hayao Miyazaki,” the Academy Award-winning director’s complete body of work will be screened. “Stories of Cinema,” an ongoing series, kicks off Fri., Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. with “Real Women Have Curves.” “Beyond the Icon: Anna May Wong” celebrates the actor’s legacy, beginning with “Shanghai Express,” which also starred Marlene Dietrich and was directed by Josef von Sternberg. It will screen on Sat., Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Hours, tickets Tickets for film screenings and public programs are sold separately and do not require general admission to the museum. Timed, advance tickets are $25 for regular adult admis-
Redistricting and You: How to Share Your Voice Every ten years, following the national census, political jurisdictions throughout the country go through a process called “redistricting.” Redistricting is intended to keep the districts balanced in numbers and fair in representation, as populations change. Where district lines are drawn determines where and for whom residents can vote, and, therefore, which elected officials may or may not be responsive to your requests. The eight maps on this page show the dramatic transformation of our CITY district, Council District 4, over the years, beginning at upper left, in 1952, with a simple rectangle and gradually transforming into the sprawling shape at lower right in 2012. Our district currently is represented by Nithya Raman, only the fifth person to hold the office since 1945. Currently, the City Redistricting Commission has been holding a series of 17 public hearings to let Angelenos provide input on drawing new City Council Districts. While Los Angeles’ official population has not changed dramatically since the last census (3,800,000 in 2010 vs. 3,890,000 in 2020), there always are valid reasons to reexamine the boundaries. Local populations may have shifted, or existing districts may have become unwieldy. If you’d like to learn more or weigh in, you can attend (and/or participate in) the virtual public hearing being held on September 11. Register and receive a Zoom link at: redistricting2021. lacity.org. To find out more about your council district and community, go to the City of Los Angeles’ “My Neighborhood Information” at lacity.org/residents. You also can try your hand at drawing maps at districtr.org/event/ MapsofLA. See this full-size at windsorsquare.org/redistrict The Windsor Square Association, an all-volunteer group of residents from 1100 households between Beverly and Wilshire and Van Ness and Arden, works to preserve and enhance our beautiful neighborhood. Join with us! Drop us a line at 325 N. Larchmont Blvd., #158, Los Angeles, CA 90004, or visit our website at windsorsquare.org. ADV.
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Hip hip Hippo restaurant serves high-end tastes in casual surrounds Highland Park has become a dining destination for foodies, but the neighborhood still maintains an unpolished vibe. Hippo, a restaurant helmed by James Beard Award-winning chef Matt Molina, formerly of Osteria Mozza and Campanile, is the epitome of that casual
coolness. A nondescript sign on a nondescript block on North Figueroa Street leads to Go Get ‘Em Tiger coffee on one side, Triple Beam pizza on the other, a few scattered benches and then, suddenly, the space opens into a huge, airy room with a beau-
tiful wooden bow-truss ceiling, marble-topped bar and an accent wall filled with orange graffiti-style flower graphics. A doorway leads to a covered terrace and beyond that an adjacent parking lot has been converted into a pandemic patio, with sun sails and string
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lights and a graphic wall that ties the space together. Although a rudimentary drawing of a hippopotamus appears in various places at the eatery, Hippo is actually named for its location, Highland Park Post Office. A bit of a stretch, perhaps, but the name’s origin seems a fitting reflection of both the hip neighborhood and the thoughtful chef. After all, any place with a cocktail list that includes a drink called sábado picante (“spicy Saturday,” and most likely a play on the once uber-popular Mexican series “Sábado Gigante”) made from mezcal, guava nectar, ancho chile liqueur, falernum and citrus (an exceptionally delicious combination, by the way) is both playful and serious at the same time. The four of us shared “hippo” rolls, four soft, fluffy butterbasted Parker rolls served with a tasty honey butter, $9. A $10 salad of shaved raw Brussels sprouts and toasted crushed almonds and mint had a great crunch factor. $17 slivers of raw Hamachi over fresh plum slices with lime juice and serrano peppers didn’t rise to the ethereal level which the best sushi bars can coax from fish, but it was zingy and refreshing. Most disappointing was a $22 ball of burrata from Puglia. Perhaps cheesemakers from Italy’s heel eschew the oozy creaminess we’ve come to expect when cutting into burrata, but I would guess it was restaurant error that led to a too-cold, too-hard lump being served. However, the cheese came with two thick wedges of grilled Italian bread, rubbed with garlic and allowed to soak up what must be an altogether immoderate amount of extra virgin olive oil. This fett’unta is phenomenally chewy and earthy and almost rescued the dish.
On the Menu by
Helene Seifer Entrées, which mainly run in the $26-$28 range, such as smoked ocean trout with succotash and barbequed pork country ribs with coco beans, were tempting, but we decided to dive into some pasta. $19 bucatini with guanciale, tomato, red onion and chile flakes had a sweet tomato richness with a touch of smoky pork flavor, but the star of the meal was the $19 sweet corn cappellacci. Fresh pasta “hats,” containing golden corn puree, were in a light minced mushroom and celery leaf sauce. The silkiness of the pasta, the tiny cubes of woodsy funghi, and the grassy notes from the celery leaves combined to make this one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever had, both for texture and for taste. Hippo, 5916 ½ N. Figueroa St., 323-545-3536. • • • Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins the evening of Mon., Sept. 6, and it is traditional to start the year with a round challah served with (Please turn to page 29)
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
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Cedars gets high marks from ‘U.S. News’
heart surgery, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, orthopaedics, pulmonology and lung surgery and urology. Three other specialties ranked in the Top 20: ear, nose and throat; gynecology; and neurology and neurosurgery. “Despite the enormous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, CedarsSinai continues to provide extraordinary care and to advance clinical, operational and scientific innovations,” said Thomas M. Priselac, Cedars-Sinai president and CEO.
At the Movies
thing strapped to their brains. They go into a sort of a sleep, and Nick prods them to think about certain things from their past which are then projected as holograms onto a platform with incidents from their past played out in physical reality. It is beyond ridiculous. Landmark & HBO MAX.
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(Continued from page 26) Reminiscence (3/10): 116 minutes. PG-13. From the outset, it is hard to swallow. In the first place, it is set in the dystopian future somewhere that is already flooded all the time by the rising sea levels. It is sort of a pseudo noir with Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), some kind of “Private Eye of the Mind,” narrating. He’s out to find the inscrutable doll with whom he is infatuated (Rebecca Ferguson, who seems to be doing a feeble impersonation of Lizabeth Scott throughout), which is the basis for most noirs. The premise is infuriatingly absurd. Jackman has a kind of water-filled crypt that his patients lie in with some-
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On the Menu
(Continued from page 28) honey to symbolize a sweet year of goodness and blessings without end. Many bakeries offer special loaves for the holiday. Diamond Bakery, on Fairfax, stayed alive (barely) because of community donations during the pandemic. Now, new owners Doug Weinstein and Brian Hollander have added flair to the 75-year-old bakery. For Rosh Hashanah, Diamond offers a few different challah versions, including a three-pound chocolate chip loaf by special order for $12.50. Diamond Bakery, 335 N. Fairfax Ave., 323-655-0534. • • • Israeli chef Yoav Rogel, executive chef/owner of Mensch Bakery, offers several creative Rosh Hashanah challah options, most notably one sprinkled with swaths of sesame, poppy, sunflower, pumpkin, flax and oats. A small ceramic bowl is nestled in the center of the bread, ready for the accompanying honey to be poured inside, making a spectacular presentation for one’s holiday table. As of press time the price had not been set. Mensch Bakery, 7122 Beverly Blvd., 323-954-1250.
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Five Cedars-Sinai specialties earned the highest rank in California, according to the hospital rankings released in July: cardiology and heart surgery, gastroenterology and GI surgery, orthopaedics, pulmonology and lung surgery and urology. Cedars-Sinai had 11 specialties ranked nationally. The specialty rankings mean that Cedars-Sinai is among the Top 50 hospitals in the nation in these clinical areas. Seven of the specialties ranked in the Top 10 in the U.S.: cancer, cardiology and
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Cedars-Sinai has been recognized by “U.S. News & World Report” as one of the best hospitals in the nation. The medical center ranked #6 nationally in the magazine’s “Best Hospitals 2021-22” analysis. Cedars-Sinai also ranked #2 in the Los Angeles region and #2 in the state. The “U.S. News” rankings are based on a variety of measures, including patient outcomes and experience, technology and reputation (according to surveyed physicians).
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Giorgio
(Continued from page 1) he got that cessation of benefits letter and checks stopped coming. As usual, his story is punctuated with asides, sometimes tirades, about the cost of a Korean car parked nearby, about a stoned or drunk tattooed guy who sat on his bus bench and bothered him. He veers to a tale about his restaurant days when Elizabeth Taylor sat at the bar at noon and was drunk by 2 p.m., about unisex hair salons, about how smells affect people. “Some people can’t stand the smell of cigarettes … some can’t stand the smell of dog food or cat poo.” Giorgio believes he cannot get shelter until he gets his money. That isn’t technically true, but steps to getting housed are confusing, and there are more people in need than there are available beds. Just do a Google search “How does a homeless person
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION ONE
find housing in Los Angeles,” and dozens of governmental and nonprofit agencies pop up. Giorgio has neither a computer nor a phone, so navigating these services is difficult. Help is out there In fact, numerous people who know Giorgio from the Boulevard or have observed him on his daiGIORGIO pushes his cart up Larchmont ly walks around the wearing his signature knit beanie. neighborhood want to help him and have con- proached about housing he tacted friends at agencies that repeats his mantra, “I need my work in this arena. The People money! Money first! … When Concern, a group of profes- I get my check we can talk sionals and volunteers whose about [housing].” He pauses, mission it is to end homeless- then continues, “Something ness, has apparently taken up happened to me, nobody cares the Giorgio cause and has tried about it. Nobody’s concerned to reach out to him. if I have money in my pocket Out of respect for client or not. That I have difficulty privacy, The People Concern with my family, with the govdoesn’t discuss specifics of ernment for unemployment their work, but when I ask benefits, all things like that. Giorgio whether he’s been ap- They don’t care.”
They do care, it turns out, but it isn’t easy to turn sympathy into success. “It takes time to build up the trust of people to keep them going toward housing,” observes The Rev. Betsy Anderson, a lifelong local resident who is an Episcopal priest with a pastoral ministry at Skid Row Boulevard through the Church of the Nazarene outreach center. “Street people are survivors. They know how to protect their privacy. They don’t want to follow someone else’s rules.” Rev. Anderson first met Giorgio when they were neighbors; she in a home on Lorraine Boulevard and he on a bus bench at the corner, on Third Street. She worried about him. Rev. Anderson is one of the people who sought help for Giorgio. She once asked if he
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wanted to be housed, and he told her that he did, so she called homeless advocate Marilyn Wells, whose six-month column “The NIMBY Diaries” appeared in the Larchmont Chronicle this spring, and who co-founded Stories from the Frontline. Wells had heard about Giorgio from numerous sources and so spread the word. Do-gooders “Giorgio is very savvy about do-gooders,” Rev. Anderson cautions. “… People who want to help him but don’t have the resources to help.” Most Angelenos see evidence of our city’s failure on homelessness every day: adults cocooned in blankets in front of pandemic-closed stores or standing with cardboard signs asking for help. We see tent cities in alleys, in front of abandoned warehouses, clustered at the ends of our blocks. The problem seems unsolvable and too often we just walk by. There’s something about Giorgio, however, with his knit beanie and flushed cheeks, with his endless opinions and (mostly) friendly demeanor, that calls to people. While speaking with Giorgio one day, a steady stream of passersby helped him in little ways. “Do you want coffee?” one man asked on his way into Peet’s. “Yes! With cream and extra sugar!” Giorgio answered. “Do you want this breakfast taco?” someone else asks. “Thank you, I’ll take it!” The shopping cart “I gotta change shopping carts,” Giorgio announces one morning. “It’s broken. I cannot put a lot of things in there.” The cart appears to be held together with bungee cords, and the frame is bent. A few weeks prior, an out-of-control car careened across Beverly Boulevard onto the sidewalk and smacked into his cart, spilling books, papers, clothing, blankets and cigarettes everywhere and breaking his only piece of property. Giorgio recounts, “It was about 1:30 [in the morning].” He lost quite a few of his possessions in the crash, but he was alright. “If I hadn’t stood up from the bench [where he sleeps], he would have hit me. He’s lucky, too. I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know who it was. Man, woman, someone under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Giorgio wondered if the driver would have been hurt if the car hadn’t hit the cart and instead bounced into oncoming traffic. “Nothing happened to him when he hit the shopping cart.” That leaves Giorgio with a dilemma, finding another shopping cart. He won’t just take one from Pavilion’s. “Sometimes you find a shopping cart in an alley,” he explains. “Last time I gave $10 to a homeless guy under a bridge. He had about two or three. One was empty. I said, ‘I’ll give you $10 (Please turn to page 31)
Larchmont Chronicle
Giorgio
(Continued from page 30) for the shopping cart’ and he said ‘yes.’” This was two years ago, when he first got his current, now broken, cart. “Believe me, it’s a good deal for a shopping cart.” Giorgio’s friends Giorgio often talks about people he meets on the Boulevard as his friends. This time, however, he mentions friends from his pre-homeless life. “One who passed away, Daniel, Irish, from Boston, Massachusetts. He read the Bible all the time. He always carried the Bible with him. He’s a sober alcoholic. I met him in a coffee shop a long time ago.” He continues: “Keith. I haven’t seen him for a long time. I lost his phone number. He had an apartment in Hollywood. He was in the music business. Rock ‘n’ roll. Met him at the meeting.” It turns out that Giorgio made friends in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings that met in coffee shops in Santa Monica, Culver City and West Los Angeles, although he only admits to having done some drugs, not alcohol. “Sometimes when you’re young, you do a little marijuana. Addiction is addiction.” Either way, he’s sober now, so the program’s benefits lasted, even if his friends have disappeared. As has his ex-wife. Giorgio met Maria at a bus stop in Highland Park, near where he lived at the time. “She’s from Mexico. Different from women in California,” he says by way of description. They married and had two sons, Hector and Cesar. In the early days of their marriage, when firstborn Hector was a toddler, Giorgio had another coffee shop experience. “I met a woman in Beverly Hills and, believe it or not, I had the opportunity to be with the woman and get really well financially. She had a big house and drove a Rolls Royce.” He was having breakfast and she was seated alone at another table. They started talking. “The next time, I’m sitting at a table and she came in the door and sat with me. She offered me a lot of things, and I refused. I was very young, 20 years old.” The nameless woman told him he would have free rent, a salary, and a car. He would be the housekeeper and cook. The implication was that he would be more. “I had other plans,” Giorgio explains. “I was married. And a son who was two years old. If I was single, I would have taken the offer, but I was fresh married. The offer was pretty good, but I didn’t want to cheat on my wife. I try to be honest.”
SEPTEMBER 2021
Almost as a coda to his story, Giorgio adds, “My father told me you cannot be honest in this life 100 percent. There’s a price to pay, even if you want to be.” He’s vague about their life together or why the marriage ended. ”I am divorced, but I don’t wanna talk about it. Nice person, but everybody’s got problems.” He adds, “All women get attached to a man in some way,” he says. “They use a man somehow.” Giorgio thinks his ex-wife is still in Los Angeles. He called her when he was looking for his sons, but she didn’t pick up, and there’s no way she can call him back. He wishes her phone message would include a time when she’d be reachable. The sons Giorgio’s 34-year-old son Hector visited him “before the masks.” Giorgio continues, “we had a conversation for about half an hour. He said ‘OK, I’ll see you next week!’ It never happened.” Giorgio has repeatedly called him, but Hector never answers. It’s clear this both perplexes and pains Giorgio. “I don’t know why he doesn’t pick up the phone. Why he doesn’t come visit me.” He knows little about his son’s life except that he works various construction jobs. His 32-year-old son Cesar “… had problems with drugs. The other one is more responsible.” Cesar is in jail, or at least was the last time Giorgio heard any news. “I don’t know if he’s released by the courts,” Giorgio muses. “Maybe he can go back to school and take some kind of vocational training.” Giorgio wants to find out Cesar’s status, but “I have no way to reach him. I’m the father and I want to know where he is. This cannot be done over the phone. It’s not pizza delivery!” Memories of Italy Giorgio does occasionally talk with his two remaining siblings in Italy. He happily shares details about their lives and children, obviously proud of them both. His brother, Julio, is 70 years old now and owns property in a small country village near Bologna, where there’s “good food and the best restaurants! Lots of ice cream. Red wine.” Julio has two daughters; one is a child psychologist; Giorgio forgets what the other one does. His sister, Bianca, lives in Rimini, about 80 miles from Julio’s village. She has a daughter and two sons. One son is a welder, and the other is a machine operator who cuts marble. “Marble is a big business,” Giorgio says, obviously impressed. He lists places where marble is regularly installed. “Restaurants,
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hotels, houses. Big Business!” He describes a five-bedroom condominium that a deceased brother once owned in the Roman hills and that had marble floors throughout. “Floors in the living room, dining room, bathrooms. The kitchen had tile, green marble. Cool, but put down rugs. In summer, you can sleep on it. It’s fresh!” Giorgio stayed in that Roman condo once, and it’s obviously a cherished memory, from back when he still lived in Italy and worked and was surrounded by family and enjoyed traveling around Europe. “Paris is beautiful. Europe is beautiful. Every
SECTION ONE
country has its own beauty,” he reflects. “Even here is beautiful. North Dakota, Utah, Montana is nice. Idaho is beautiful. Tennessee, Connecticut. Beautiful there. Paradise.” Giorgio hasn’t visited any of those states. He learned about the grandeur of our country by looking at pictures. A moment later, someone walks up and tucks a wad of cash in Giorgio’s cart. A neighbor who can see Giorgio’s bus bench from her home and wishes to remain anonymous describes him as an angel who has been “… blessed with the God-given
31
strength to live.” She knows he walks miles and miles each day because she has observed him as far away as Fairfax and Sunset. In the wee hours, she takes comfort when “I hear his grumbling voice coming in through the window … he is bedding himself down to sleep behind his cart; his only refuge.” Giorgio turns 57 on October 18. Perhaps his next turn around the sun will find him ensconced in a warm room with a door. The Larchmont Chronicle introduced Giorgio in our February 2021 issue.
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SECTION ONE
SEPTEMBER 2021
Larchmont Chronicle
TOWN HALL
Co-living and renovation discussed at historic Rossmore apartment building.
DINNER, TOUR
LIBRARIES
Page 5
Page 13
Explore with your library card. It’s not just for books.
Benefit events include a virtual tour, and a chefcurated meal.
Page 3
Real estate MuseuMs, Libraries HoMe & Garden
VIEW
Section 2
LARCHMONT CHRONICLE
SEPTEMBER 2021
HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • GREATER WILSHIRE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT
505 S. Rimpau Blvd. | Hancock Park | $8,995,000
274 S. Muirfield Rd. | Hancock Park | $6,999,000
228 S. Hudson Ave. | Hancock Park | $6,495,000
165 N. Las Palmas Ave. | Hancock Park | $4,499,000
Intriguing History, Architectural Splendor & Impeccable Provenance! Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374
Staycation Paradise! 5Bd/4Ba up 1Bd/1.5 bas down. Marble kitchen, Den & media rm, pool & spa. Huge yard!
SOLD. Stunning 2 sty hm on Golf Course. 4 Ensuite bds, mds & bth, 1+1 GH w/kit. Recently Renovated. Elevator.
SOLD. Stately English Tudor on a beautiful treelined st. 5Bd / 4.5Bas, covered patio, large pool.
Lisa Hutchins 323.460.7626 CalRE #01018644
Cecille Cohen 213.810.9949 CalRE #00884530
Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101
4957 Melrose Hill| Hollywood | $3,199,000
1632 Virginia Rd. | Lafayette Square | $2,995,000
571 Cahuenga Blvd. | Hancock Park | $2,720,000
135 S. Alta Vista Blvd. | Hancock Park | $2,595,000
Historic Melrose Hill family compound w/4 bed, 3 baths, studio & 2 bed guest house. Large lot.
Top to bottom perfection. Beautiful remodeled 5 bedrm home—All w ensuite baths. 3,944 sf. Must See! Erik Flexner 323.383.3950 CalRE #01352476
SOLD. All redone in 2018. 3Bd / 3Bas + studio apt, pool. True Hancock Park! Move in ready! Lisa Hutchins 323.460.7626 CalRE #01018644
IN ESCROW. 2 Story character Spanish 4/3.5 + guest house. Appx. 3,100 sq.ft. 7,400 sq.ft lot.
122 S. Kingsley Dr.| Mid-Wilshire | $1,449,000
Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101
Cecille Cohen 213.810.9949 CalRE #00884530
922 1/2 S Serrano | Mid-Wilshire | $1,099,000
SOLD Represented Buyer. 4 Beds 3 baths, formal entry, living rm, family rm, large covered patio. Cecille Cohen 213.810.9949 CalRE #00884530
SOLD. Gorgeous Craftsman restored with new kitchen & baths. 3 beds, 2 baths & full of charm.
611 N. Bronson Ave. #7 | Hancock Park | 1,100,000 Architecturally significant penthouse w/2 bedrooms, 2 baths, views and lots of light.
Lovingly restored 2 Story townhouse. 3 Beds 3 baths, formal dining, wood floors, remodeled kitchen.
Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101
Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101
Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101
645 Wilcox Ave. #2B| Hancock Park | $925,000 SOLD. Off market. 1 bedroom 1 1/2 bath. Golf course views.
8712 Gregory Way #206 | Beverly Hills Adj | $740,000 SOLD. Wonderful Beverly Hills adj location one block from Robertson. 2Bd + 2Ba. Pool. 8712Gregory.com
1222 N. Olive Dr #409| West Hollywood | $585,000 Top floor condo 1br/1ba. 2 parking spaces. Quiet. Near Sunset Strip. Remodeled kitchen/bath. Pool
5885 Clinton St. | Hancock Park | $3,750 LEASED. 2 Story townhouse feels like a house. 3 Beds 2.5 baths, private front courtyard, rear patio.
Cathie White 323.371.3152 CalRE #02088625
Loveland Carr Group 323.460.7606 CalRE #01467820, #0888374
Barbara Allen 323.610.1781 CalRE #01487763
Rick Llanos 323.810.0828 CalRE #01123101
5113 Bluebell | Valley Village | $1,850,000
COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM Hancock Park 323.464.9272 | 251 N Larchmont Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90004 ©2021 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. CalRE #00616212
2
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
A splash of cold witch hazel: Raymond Chandler’s prose Raymond Chandler, who some people consider the best writer of detective novels in English, didn’t like that sort of hyperbole at all. He thought it was just “critics’ jargon,” this separating works of literature into this sort, or that sort. But last week, bored and recovering from illness, I reached out to my shelf, and for no particular reason, “The Long Goodbye,” Chandler’s 1953 novel, came to hand. I began rereading: “The first time I laid eyes on Terry Lennox he was drunk in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith outside the terrace of The Dancers. The parking lot attendant had brought the car out and he was still holding the door open because Terry Lennox’s left foot was still dangling outside, as if he had forgotten he had one. He had a young-looking face but his hair was bone white. You could tell by his eyes that he was plastered to the hairline ...” Holy cow! In three and a half silky sentences, Raymond Chandler dares you to look away. His writing is catnip. It all pivots on Terry Lennox’s left foot, the one he may have forgotten he had. His similes and metaphors, idioms, wisecracks, along with hyperbole, personification and understatement are among the techniques he used to
Home Ground by
Paula Panich
make his prose unforgettable. He creates emotion through dialogue and description. Four paragraphs later, in that opening sequence of “The Long Goodbye,” the girl (of course there was a girl in that Rolls-Royce) responds to the parking lot guy: “She gave him a look which ought to have stuck at least four inches out of his back.” His language is a tonic. A splash of cold witch hazel in the face on a hot morning. “... and the color of her hair was a dusky red, like a fire under control but still dangerous.” (from “Trouble is My Business”). “It was a blond. A blond to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window” (from “Farewell My Lovely”). In “The Big Sleep,” Chandler’s detective Marlowe is invited into a greenhouse to speak to his new client, General Sternwood: “The plants filled the place, a forest of them, with nasty meaty leaves and stalks like the newly washed fingers
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of dead men.” You get the picture. This is no Eden. Chandler, born in the U.S. in 1888, was classically educated in secondary school at Dulwich College in Dulwich, London. He read Livy, Ovid, and Virgil in Latin, and Thucydides, Plato and Aristotle in Greek. He translated texts from Latin to English, and then, after an interval, from English to Latin. He studied French and German, too, and he lived in each country to become fluent. I am enthralled by the idea that the writer studied the street language of Los Angeles and played with it, as he did Latin and Greek. “I’m an intellectual snob who happens to have a fondness for the American vernacular, largely because I grew up in Latin and Greek,” he has been quoted as saying. “It would seem that a classical education might be a poor basis for writing novels in a hardboiled vernacular,” he said, “I happen to believe otherwise.” Chandler, who died in 1959, wrote an essay in the “Atlantic Monthly” in 1944 called “The Simple Art of Murder.” In it, he has little praise for the genteel practitioners of his trade, like Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. He wrote, famously, “The English may not always be the best writers in the world,
CLASSICALLY EDUCATED, Raymond Chandler also studied the street language of Los Angeles.
Image by alittleblackegg is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
but they are incomparably the best dull writers.” But he does have praise for an American predecessor, Dashiell Hammett.
Hammett, he writes, “took murder out of the Venetian vase and dropped it into the alley ...”
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NEW LISTING
507 N. Gower | $1,895,000 4 Bed+2 Bath+Bonus | Larchmont
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3 Bed + 2 Bath | West Hollywood
322 S. Rossmore | $5,250,000 5 Bed+5 Bath| Hancock Park Pete Buonocore
pete@coregroupla.com
www.coregroupla.com
323.762.2561
DRE #01870534
DRE #01279107
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
3
Rossmore apartment project presented at a ‘town hall’ By Billy Taylor A neighborhood town hall meeting hosted by Atlantabased developer Domos Coliving attracted more than 30 local residents last month to hear details of plans to renovate the apartment building at 410 N. Rossmore Ave. National Public Radio’s Frances Anderton, host of the KCRW show “DnA: Design and Architecture,” was the event’s moderator. A panel of guest speakers included the project’s architect, Lorcan O’Herlihy, FAIA, Carlos Orozco with Morley Builders and
“This is a unique project with a lot of different components to it,” said Carlos Orozco, project executive at Morley Builders. Domos director of design and construction, Richard Loring. Domos Co-Founder Daniel Alexander was expected, but he had to cancel due to a family emergency. In his place, Jason Wright, a coliving resident at Hollywood’s Treehouse, was on hand to share his experience. The project’s architect, O’Herlihy, gave a quick overview of his inspiration
for the reconfiguration of the historic Hancock Park apartment building, including stepping-back the massing to allow for density to be focused in the middle of the building. He also noted that all residents currently in the rent-controlled building will return to larger units than they left. “This is a unique project with a lot of different components to it,” said Carlos Orozco, project executive at Morley Builders, who estimated that both the adaptive restoration and extension of the building would take 23 months to complete, once all necessary permits are received. Orozco said that his company plans to require workers to park at an off-site location throughout the process. Domos’ Loring, who has been living in the building, updated the crowd on current resident status and future unit count for the project. “When Domos purchased the building, we had 56 residents living in the building,” explained Loring, who noted that, since then, he personally has negotiated 41 buyouts. The 15 residents that opted to return to the building have had the option to pick their
ARCHITECT Lorcan O’Herlihy speaks of his inspiration for the reconfiguration of the historic Hancock Park residential building.
new units and have some customization of the unit. Existing residents will return to units completely renovated with added amenities such as dishwashers, air-conditioning, modern cabinetry and inunit washers and dryers. Unit, resident increase Loring gave a final unit count for the project. Once complete, the building will hold 54 traditional units and 33 coliving units — for a total 87-unit count. Currently, the building has 78 units. That (Please turn to page 8)
RESIDENTS attend an outdoor neighborhood town hall meeting at 410 N. Rossmore Ave.
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
Theatre recognized, but fight to save site continues By Billy Taylor The Fairfax Theatre was recently nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, but because the owner objects to the designation, the battle to preserve the 1929 theater continues. The California State Historical Resources Commission (SHRC) voted unanimously July 30 to nominate the Fairfax Theatre to the National Register following a presentation by Steven Luftman. The building owner’s legal representation, Bill Delvac, argued at the meeting that the building no longer maintained integrity as a theater — but his assertion was not accepted by the Commission.
Following approval by the California SHRC, the nomination was sent to the State Historic Preservation Officer for submission for consideration for the National Register. The final determination is made approximately 45 days after receipt of the nomination by the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C. However, while a determination for the Fairfax Theatre was still pending, an objection was received from the building’s owner, Alex Gorby. Consent of the property owner is not required, but properties cannot be listed on the National Register over the objection of a private owner.
FAIRFAX THEATRE was a catalyst in forming a new Jewish community when it opened in 1930.
Local designation In other news about the building, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission voted at its Aug. 5 meeting to recommend the property for
local designation. In fact, two groups, Save Beverly Fairfax and the Art Deco Society, have teamed up to advocate for the building being recognized for both its Art Deco architecture as well as for the importance the location had in forming a new Jewish community on the west side of Los Angeles when it opened in 1930. The first Jewish deli on Fairfax Avenue, the first kosher meat market and the first Jewish bakery were located in the theatre building. (The original center of the Jewish community in Los Angeles was in Boyle Heights, where Canter’s Deli first opened before expanding to Fairfax in 1948.) THE ORIGINAL CENTER of the Jewish community in Los Angeles was in Boyle Heights, where Canter’s Deli first opened before expanding to Fairfax in 1948.
Photo: Scott Beale / laughingsquid. com
Supporters say that the building is in jeopardy. There was a recent fire in the alley along its west side, and the owner’s neglect of the building continues to attract homeless encampments. “We can think of no better gateway to this historic neighborhood than this Art Deco theater. This is a neighborhood in transition. There is no better time to recognize the Jewish community in this area than now,” said Margot Gerber, president of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. Visit artdecola.org/Fairfaxtheatre-2021 to learn more about the campaign to save the Fairfax Theatre.
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
5
Architect’s works to be celebrated at curated dinner and tour
Celebrate the life and legacy of Los Angeles architect to the stars, Paul Revere Williams, with two events to benefit the Los Angeles Conservancy. “Paul Revere Was Here” will take place on Sun., Sept. 26. Join Williams’ granddaughter, archivist Karen Hudson, and Conservancy president, Linda Dishman, on a tour of four homes in “Revered Residences – A Virtual Event,” from 6 to 7 p.m. The price is $35 for members, and $75 for the general public. An in-person afresco dinner
will be held at Phenakite in the Williams-designed Anne Banning Community House from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The 1963, two-story colonial revival building previously served as headquarters for the Assistance League of Southern California. Enjoy a brief tour of the building and grounds followed by the curated meal by celebrated chef Minh Phan. Proof of vaccine is required. For tickets and more information on the events, visit info@laconservancy.org or call 213-623-2489.
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335 SOUTH ORANGE DRIVE - $1,975,000
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SOLD 2220 AVENUE OF O THE ST STARS, TARS S, #150 #1502 02 - $1,499,000 Century City, Incredible Views 2 Bedrooms + 2 Baths
RICK LLANOS
(C) 323-810-0828 (O) 323-460-7617 rllanos@coldwellbanker.com @RickLlanosLA CalRE#01123101
Large family compound in magical Melrose Hill. Main house has 5 bedrooms, guest wing or home office plus separate 2 bedroom guest house all on a 13,000 sq. ft. lot. $3,199,000
S SOLD 3330 NORTH TH KNOLL D DRIVE - $ $1,745,000 Remodeled Lake Hollywood, Great Views 3 Bedrooms + 2 Baths
HELPING CLIENTS FIND AND LIVE THE “LA DREAM” IN THE HANCOCK PARK/ WINDSOR SQUARE AND SURROUNDING AREAS FOR OVER 30 YEARS
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
Home on June Street, Firestone awarded by WSHPHS
After a nearly two-year hiatus, the Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society Landmark Awards are back! The Society, at its first live event on Aug. 29, in the garden of the Windsor Boulevard home of June Bilgore, presented its coveted Historic Landmark Award for best residential preservation and the prize for best respectful renovation and adaptive re-use. This year’s recipients were Joseph Guidera, for his preservation stewardship of 303 N. June St., and Matt Winter and the team of: M. Winter Design, Downtown Los Angeles hospitality company Pouring
On Preservation by
Brian Curran
With Heart and Conroy Commercial — for the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Firestone Tire and Service Center at 800 S La Brea Ave. Few houses in Hancock Park can claim the distinguished pedigree of 303 N. June Street. This spectacular specimen of the Mediterranean Revival style is no-
table for not only being the work of the distinguished and prolific architecture firm Hunt & Burns, but also for its connection to Alta California and the Ranchos of early Los Angeles. Commissioned by Patrick J. Watson, a scion of the Watson and Domiguez clans of Rancho San Pedro, the house’s design integrated rancho style elements in the entrance hall, such as the post and corbel columns, the rustic balustrade and staircase, as well as Spanish mudejar decoration on windows and ceilings. The architects even had installed Judson glass windows depicting
Clint Lohr
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P.J. Watson’s ancestral home, the Rancho Dominguez. The house was fully restored and upgraded for modern living in 2011 by Joseph Guidera, principal of the legendary design firm Ron Wilson Interiors. Guidera also relandscaped the property, retaining and enhancing several of the original features and outbuildings. The house was chosen as the first Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society virtual home tour, which enabled members to tour the home with Mr. Guidera and view his exceptional collection of furniture and art. Los Angeles’s historic development has long been synonymous with the automobile. This deep relationship with the car evolved into a rich heritage of experimental roadside and automotive architecture that defined Los Angeles from the 1930s through the 1960s. The 1937 Firestone Tire and Service Center is a surviving illustration of this architectural type in our community. Just off the Miracle Mile, itself an experiment in commercial planning for the automobile, the Firestone Tire and Service Center at 800 S. La Brea Ave. is also a striking example of the Streamline Modern
style, which, through the use of aerodynamic design, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy — “gave the illusion of speed, precision, and efficiency, with uninterrupted horizontal lines and rounded corners.” The Firestone Tire and Service Center closed in 2016 after 78 years of business and was acquired by Conroy Commercial and leased by DTLAbased hospitality company, Pouring With Heart. Soon after, a four-year restoration and rehabilitation began under the direction of Matt Winter of M. Winter Design, who pristinely preserved the majority of the original structure while preparing the building to become the new home of the All Seasons Brewing Company and the midcity outpost of Chica’s Tacos. Today the red paved drive is now patio seating. Where once tires were fit and fixed, are skee ball alleys and communal dining tables. In a tip of the hat to the building’s old use, the restoration even uncovered the names of mechanics who worked at Firestone and now showcases them. Congratulations to the 2021 winners of the Landmark Awards!
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
7
Homes for an Era, Agents for a Lifetime
TO BE REPLACED at Larchmont and Rosewood.
Five-story apartments on Larchmont approved
A five-story, 21-unit residential building on N. Larchmont Boulevard, at Rosewood Avenue, has been approved by the City Planning Dept. The project includes two parcels, one at 500-506 N. Larchmont Blvd. and the other at 5267 W. Rosewood Ave. The project was approved with conditions on Aug. 27 to include a 50 percent increase in density under the city’s Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) Affordable Housing Incentive Program. The project qualifies partially based on its proximity to two intersecting bus routes at Melrose and Gower (one the DASH bus). Two of the 21 dwelling units
will be for extremely lowincome households. The 26,648-square-foot building also includes 21 automobile parking spaces and 24 bicycle parking spaces. A second-floor recreation room and private balconies are among the project’s features. Earlier this year, the project architect Aaron Brumer presented a new design that included a muted color scheme in response to neighbors’ requests to blend the design into the neighborhood. Neighbors’ main complaint, however, was about the fivestory height, compared to the 2-, 3- and 4-stories-tall neighboring buildings.
SOLD
SOLD
LEASED
180 N. Las Palmas Ave.
404 N. Formosa Ave.
4919 Elmwood Ave.
4 BR / 3.5 BA Family Room + Pool Offered at $3,880,000
3 BR / 2 BA Offered at $1,895,000 Represented Buyer & Seller
3 BR / 1.5 BA + Den Offered at $3,950/MO Represented Landlord & Tenant
NEW
NEW
FOR LEASE
2945 Nichols Canyon Rd.
137 S. Citrus Ave.
435 N. Formosa Ave.
4 BR / 3 BA, 2,791 SF Mid-Century Gem Offered at $2,649,000
3 BR / 2 BA Charming Spanish Home Offered at $7,000/MO
3 BR / 2 BA Beautifully Remodeled Home Offered at $5,500/MO
Naomi Hartman Leah Brenner
323.860.4259 / 4245 nhartman@coldwellbanker.com lbrenner@coldwellbanker.com CalRE #: 00769979 | 00917665
Members ~ Society of Excellence www.naomiandleah.com
©2021 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. CalRE #00616212
8
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
Rossmore
(Continued from page 3) is an increase of 9 units, tech-
nically, but it gets complicated because the 33 coliving units might have up to four-or-five leaseholders.
As planned, the reconfigured building will include 11 four-bedrooms, 22 five-bedrooms, 42 one-bedrooms, sev-
en two-bedrooms and five studios. Loring stressed that only one occupant will live in each coliving bedroom. What exactly does that mean for the resident count? The Chronicle did the math. The existing 78 units can legally be occupied by up to 156 residents (two per unit), according to one interpretation of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). An alternative interpretation of DFEH code section 503(b) would permit 234 people (three per unit). The Domos proposed plan can accommodate 208 single leaseholders, according to Loring, who notes that renters in the 54 traditional units will have the opportunity to have up to two people on the lease (unlike those in coliving bedrooms), which could increase the total resident number to 262. Assuming that all of the traditional units have two people on the lease, at capacity, it is a total increase of either 28 residents or 106 residents, depending on the interpretation noted above. Opposition A majority of local residents in attendance voiced concern and opposition to the project. Several homeowners from
the neighborhood felt the scale of the project was too large, while others worried that a lack of enough resident parking in the building would inevitably mean that those residents would seek to park their vehicles on nearby streets. Daniel Enzler, general manager of the Wilshire Country Club, located directly across from the project, expressed concern for traffic on Rossmore Avenue, which can already be problematic at times, he said. Orozco responded to traffic concerns by noting that the City of Los Angeles will dictate what happens on Rossmore: “Morley Builders doesn’t get to decide,” he said. “Currently, the project is in the planning stages, but once it moves out of the planning stage, we would apply for the traffic permit — it is a process that you have to follow, and we are not there yet,” said Orozco. Loring added that Domos is working to improve traffic on Rossmore once the construction project is complete: “We have applied to the Bureau of Engineering for a street-widening permit for this building,” he said, adding that Domos hopes to add a pullout lane to be used for pick-up and drop-off for residents in the building.
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
9
Legislature approves State Senate’s latest ‘housing’ bills, despite City opposition
By John Welborne Despite the Los Angeles City Council’s nearly unanimous vote, on Aug. 18, to officially oppose proposed Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10, many local area State Assembly members joined the Assembly majorities on Aug. 23 and 26 to approve those two controversial new state edicts. With 41 votes required for adoption, SB 10, from San Francisco’s State Sen. Scott Wiener, was adopted on Aug. 23 — initially with only 41 “ayes,” but later with 44 “ayes” after some Assembly members changed their votes. Similarly, SB 9, from San Diego’s State Sen. (and Senate President Pro Tempore) Toni Atkins, also was adopted — initially with only 44 in favor, but later with 45 “aye” votes — on Aug. 26. These bills are the latest iterations of previously defeated Sacramento bills seeking to take land-use decision making out of the hands of locally elected officials and the communities that those local officials represent. According to 5th District City Councilmember Paul Koretz and others in opposition to the bills, SB 9 and SB 10 have been falsely marketed as affordable housing solutions. Koretz and his staff report-
ed that “earlier versions of these deleterious pieces of legislation” have been exposed as “tools to incentivize luxury housing and worsen the affordable housing crisis of Los Angeles.” Said Koretz: “These bills are an outrage. They have been cleverly marketed as helping build affordable housing and protect the environment, but they do the opposite. In fact, these bills do nothing to help solve homelessness, nothing to build workforce housing or address any of the real short-
ages of affordable housing, and [they] would make developers and investors richer in the process. If they . . . are signed by the governor, they will drive up the cost of real estate by de facto up-zoning most properties and decimating environmental review.” Koretz also observed, the week preceding the Assembly actions, that there are mechanisms to increase the inventory of truly affordable housing, however, “SBs 9 and 10, like their defeated predecessors, are not those mechanisms.”
At press time, both bills were being referred back to the State Senate, which needs to concur with the Assembly’s various amendments. Such concurrence is expected, and
the next and final decisionmaker will be Gov. Gavin Newsom, who may veto the legislation, approve it, or do neither (which is the same as granting approval).
OPPONENTS of Senate Bills 9 and 10 say approval by the governor will damage existing residential neighborhoods without creating affordable housing, all the while making big profits for real estate developers. Drawing courtesy of unitedneighbors.net
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
A magical life was well-lived at The Ravenswood
By Suzan Filipek Before Richard deGrandcourt was a neighbor to Mae West and host of a séance to contact Houdini, he mowed lawns in the neighborhood. “At seven-years-old, I began mowing all the lawns around the neighborhood with the old push mower. Having been a cub scout and Little League Baseball kid, I had wore both uniforms proudly,” deGrandcourt told us recently. He invested his earnings into his passion: magic. His dream began in 1958, when on a bike ride with his
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esteemed Magic Castle private club. But on this day, it was dilapidated and rundown. “As we walked around, I heard a voice speaking, which said, ‘You are the Great Ricardo.’” Some time later the premonition came true, when, after he did a magic performance at the Hollywood American Legion, a widow of a magician, who saw the show, gave the young deGrandcourt her husband’s collection of illusions and items from Germany and England, including a silk collapsing top hat and tails. And, like magic, he was the Great Ricardo! He performed some 2,000 shows for the Red Cross and other charities, as well as children’s birthday parties at Hamburger Hamlet and other restaurants. But first he would learn a few tricks from actor Cary Grant, who was in the audience when deGrandcourt visited a show at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. His parents had dropped him off at the theater to watch the show with Harry Blackwell, and the amateur magician was transfixed. Grant, a magic buff, explained the tricks behind the acts to the young deGrandcourt. Later, deGrandcourt spent his hard-earned money to pay for law school, and, occasionally, to take dates to Musso & Frank and the Brown Derby. He opened the Richard deGrandcourt Talent and Lit-
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erary Agency on Vine Street and Hollywood Boulevard, and in the 1970s lived in The Ravenswood, an historic Art Deco building. Its purple neon signage “on top of our magical home” lit up Rossmore, he recalled. “At one time, we had six maids who serviced all the apartments each day and a restaurant downstairs with room service. Valet garage 24-
hour car service, and two telephone operators at the desk. ‘Good morning, The Ravenswood,’ they would announce, and then transfer and screen calls with the old wire-style switch board.” Contacting Houdini His neighbor and landlord, the sultry actress Mae West, held séances at the site, which inspired deGrandcourt to try (Please turn to page 11)
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Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
11
MAGICAL acts from Richard’s early years included cards and a rabbit.
DeGrandcourt (Continued from page 10)
to contact Houdini. The lavish production included actors dressed as Egyptian guards hired from the Paramount studio. Academy Award-winning film editor Gene Ruggiero (“Ninotchka,” “Oklahoma”) directed the mysterious evening in the Egyptian garden room of The Ravenswood. It’s still unclear if the great escape artist ever showed. There were reports of static and rattling noises, and at least one person saw someone in a straightjacket on the roof,
mont Boulevard was featured in the Larchmont Chronicle on page 2, a publishing feat! “Even Mr. Blackwell, [a longtime Chronicle columnist], wasn’t on page 2,” said deGrandcourt proudly. While today he splits his time between a home in the Hollywood Hills and a boat in
MAE WEST & W.C. FIELDS in “My Little Chickadee,” 1940.
Photo: twm1340 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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cock Park, and he still wonders about that mysterious evening at The Ravenswood.
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AS A CUB SCOUT in 1951 on Gramercy Place, a young deGrandcourt mowed lawns.
deGrandcourt notes. DeGrandcourt met his late wife, Barbara Dulien, when he saw her picking roses in front of her home, once owned by Fatty Arbuckle on the 400 block of Muirfield Road. She had been a fashion designer, and her visit to Landis Department Store on Larch-
12
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
East meets West, Porsche legacy, ‘Witch Craft’ at area museums
East meets West in the exhibit “Legacies of Exchange: Chinese Contemporary Art from the Yuz Foundation” on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. The exhibit features works by Ai Weiwei, Huang Yong Ping, Wang Guangyi, Xu Bing, Yue Minjun and others. It features Chinese contemporary art created in response
to international trade, political conflict, and global artistic exchange and the works have been pulled from the Yuz Museum’s esteemed collection of contemporary art. Legacies of Exchange spotlights encounters, exchanges, and collisions between China and the West. This exhibition is part of LACMA’s ongoing partnership with the Yuz Museum in Shanghai, China,
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a joint effort to create collaborative exhibitions and to provide both museums with greater access to a more diverse collection of artworks. The exhibit ends March 13, 2022. Visit LACMA.org for tickets and more information. ❏ ❏ ❏ The Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd., has opened the second part of two Luftgekühlt exhibits, “Prototype Giants,” which focuses on the history and legacy of the Porsche 956 and 962 race cars. The seven-car display in the Petersen Vault at the Petersen Automotive Museum includes the Miller 962 that won the Rolex Daytona 24 in 1989 and a Coca-Cola-sponsored 962. The Porsche 956 was built to comply with the 1982 FIA World Sportscar Championship (WSC)’s new Group C regulations and was the first racing car to feature an aluminum monocoque chassis and ground effect aerodynamic elements. The 962 became one of the most dominant race cars ever, winning the WSC in 1985 and 1986, the IMSA GT championship from 1985-88, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1986 and 87, the 1994 24 Hours of Le Mans 1994 (a modified customer car), and other racing series for 10 years straight. The exhibit continues
YUE MINJUN, “INFANTA,” 1997, Yuz Foundation, © Yue Minjun.
Photo courtesy Pace Gallery
through Nov. 19. Visit Petersen.org. ❏ ❏ ❏ “Witch Craft: Rethinking Power” opens Oct. 3 at the Craft Contemporary, 5814 Wilshire Blvd. Artist Moffat Takadiwa transforms postconsumer waste — such as used toothpaste tubes, spray cans, computer keyboards — into lush, densely layered sculptures and tapestry-like wall works that embody the complexities of contemporary Zimbabwean politics, culture, and reference his Korekore heritage. For his first solo museum exhibition, Takadiwa created new works that defy gravity by floating in mid-air and cascading off walls. These pieces are Takadiwa’s investigations of power from a distinctly African perspective — one that acknowledges spirituality as a powerful resource for Africa’s future growth. Visit contemporarycraft.org. ❏ ❏ ❏ See fossils of titans of the Ice Age world who once roamed the area in the “Mammoths and Mastodons” exhibit at the La Brea Tar Pits, 5801 Wilshire Blvd., ongoing. Travel back to that time in the 3D Theater to see “Titans of the
THREE LITTLE WITCHES, 2021. The work is made of found toothbrushes and computer keys. Photo courtesy of the artist
Ice Age.” Visit tarpits.org. ❏ ❏ ❏ The West Coast debut of the exhibit, “Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall,” comes to the Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., Nov. 7 and is through April 17. Visit nhm.org.
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Larchmont Chronicle
older who have an LAPL card. Register through the Discover and Go portal to obtain a free or discounted pass to participating museums and attractions. Two active reservations are allowed per library card. Valid ID also is required. Visit lapl.discoverandgo.net for more information.
Since 1959 DINOSAUR HALL at the Natural History Museum features the largest dinosaurs and sea creatures to inhabit prehistoric earth.
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Enchanted and Carved - back at Descanso
View imaginatively carved pumpkins in October and wander through an enchanted forest of light during the December holidays at Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge. Presale of tickets for both events began Sept. 1 for Descanso members and will start Fri., Oct. 1 for non-members. Carved, open from Mon., Oct. 11 to Sun., Oct. 31, 6:30 to 10 p.m. nightly, is a familyfriendly one-mile walk among both pumpkins carved by local artists and oversized sculptures made of hay, sticks and other natural materials. There also is a pumpkin house, a hay maze, and harvest-themed food and beverages for sale. Enchanted Forest of Light, a nighttime, interactive onemile walk through light sculptures, returns Sun., Nov. 21 and runs through Sun., Jan. 9, and is open 5:30 to 10 p.m. nightly. New this year will be a town of magical stained glass creations built in the Rose Garden by contemporary sculptor Tom Fruin. Ticket prices are $25 to $28 for members and $32 to $35 for non-members. Visit descansogardens.org.
Talk on book of fashion designer Author Richard MatukonisAdkins will discuss his book, “Adrian, American Designer, Hollywood Original,” at a meeting of the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society on Wed., Sept. 22. The virtual event will take place from 7 to 8 p.m.
In 1933, “Fortune” magazine praised the M-G-M designer in an era when Hollywood designers were becoming on par with French couturiers. For tickets and more information on the event visit windsorsquarehancockpark. com.
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SECTION TWO
SEPTEMBER 2021
14
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
POLICE BEAT
Burglar takes toiletries, and a rash of grand thefts auto side the man’s bathroom window on the 400 block of S. Norton Ave. The suspect, who was taken into custody when police arrived, was found to have in his possession the victim’s bathroom toiletries. Jewelry and money were stolen from a home on the 800
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block of S. Norton Ave. after a suspect unscrewed window bars to enter the property on Aug. 11 at 11 a.m. Jewelry and money also were stolen from a home on the 400 block of S. Van Ness Ave. after a suspect broke a side window to enter the property on Aug. 11 at 12:30 p.m. GRAND THEFTS AUTO: A 2019 Hyundai Tucson was stolen while parked on the 500 block of S. St. Andrews Pl. between Aug. 1 at 4 p.m. and Aug. 2 at 8 a.m. A 2018 Hyundai Sonata was stolen while parked on the 300 block of S. St. Andrews Pl. on Aug. 2 between 12:05 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. A 2019 Hyundai Sonata was stolen while parked in a parking lot on the 500 block of S. St. Andrews Pl. between Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. and Aug. 3 at 8:15 a.m. A 2019 Kia Forte was stolen while parked on the 900 block of S. Bronson Ave. between Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. and Aug. 5 at 7:30 a.m. A 2013 Kia Sportage was stolen while parked on the 700 block of S. Wilton Pl. between Aug. 7 at 9:25 p.m. and Aug 8 at 6:30 a.m. A 1996 Ford van was stolen while parked on Maplewood Avenue between Van Ness and Wilton between Aug. 8 at 4:30 p.m. and Aug. 9 at 8:30 a.m. THEFTS FROM VEHICLES: A catalytic converter was stolen from a 2009 Toyota Prius on Aug. 8 at 9:15 a.m. while the car was parked on the 500 block of S. Norton Ave. WILSHIRE DIVISION BURGLARIES: A laptop computer and a watch were among the items stolen from a home on the 100 block of N. Arden Blvd. after a suspect
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broke a front door lock to gain entry and ransack the interior on Aug. 9 between 6:50 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. A bicycle was stolen from behind a gated and locked driveway on the 400 block of S. McCadden Pl. after a suspect broke the gate lock between Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Aug. 15 at 11 a.m.
THEFTS FROM VEHICLES: A wallet and technology equipment were stolen from inside a 2020 Hyundai Elantra after a suspect broke the driver side door to gain entry while the vehicle was parked in a building garage located at the corner of La Brea Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard.
Lucerne party house owner warned, but violates again By Billy Taylor The owner of the now infamous Larchmont “party house,” located at 310 N. Lucerne Blvd., had his day in court Aug. 25 for a bail review motion based upon recent incidents at the location, including ongoing and prohibited short-term rental
activity. A pre-trial hearing for the ongoing case was scheduled for Tues., Sept. 14. In court for the bail review, property owner Youval Ziv’s attorney told the judge that his client was in the process of selling the home. In the end, (Please turn to page 15)
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OLYMPIC DIVISION BURGLARIES: A man woke up and noticed his bedroom door had been closed, on July 31 at 11:30 a.m. Upon further inspection, the screen to his bathroom window had been removed, and a suspect was found hiding in a ditch out-
Larchmont Chronicle
SEPTEMBER 2021
SECTION TWO
15
Bad beats are here to stay, the river and other tales
If you play much poker, you are familiar with bad beats. We all suffer them on occasion; sometimes, it seems, too often. And it costs precious chips when they attack. A bad beat is a strong poker hand that gets beat by a long shot, often by a hand that should have been folded early on. Fortunately, bad beats are fairly rare; but you sure do know it when one hits you. To better help you understand them, here is a bad-beat story I will never forget. It happened to an opponent in a 4-8
limit hold’em game in which I played several years ago. Richard, a good, solid player was seated on the button, and was dealt Kh-Jh. That’s a good drawing hand with lots of possibilities. If the heart-flush did not develop, he still had two honor cards that could improve to a strong hand. Five players saw the flop: Ah-Qc-10h. He had flopped an Ace-high straight! Plus he held four-tothe-nut flush and a chance to catch a royal straight flush — and he was on the button
Lucerne house
was a brazen violation of the judge’s warning, given to Ziv just one day prior. Naderi confirmed that her office was on it: “Yesterday, officers responded to the location based on a call for illegal filming. Any citations issued, or reports prepared, will be provided to the Judge,” she concluded.
by
George Epstein
(last to declare), giving him an edge over his opponents. There was a bet and a raise and two callers before the action got to him. I could see he was thinking hard as to how best to play his hand in this situation. After studying the board and his hand, apparently reassuring himself of its strength — practically invincible, Richard decided to call the raise rather than reraising. With four opponents in the hand, he had a good opportunity to build a huge pot. Let the others do the raising. Why force out any “contribu-
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fectly. Then, he asked the dealer to deal him out. It was obvious that he wanted to avoid going on tilt. After a few minutes, he smiled at me and looked to the dealer: “Deal me out,” he said, as he gathered the rest of his chips and left the casino. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to prevent being the victim of a bad beat. Suffer the consequences and be determined to go on, always playing the best you can — or take a long break. George “The Engineer” Epstein, a long-time local resident, is the author of three books including “The Art of Bluffing” and “Hold’em or Fold’em – An Algorithm for Making the Key Decision.”
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(Continued from page 14) the judge scolded the owner and warned him that any future violations would result in bail being set. No surprise to local residents, a violation occurred at the address one day later. For more information, we asked Wilshire Neighborhood Prosecutor Mehrnoosh Naderi about the status of the case. Naderi confirmed that her office had appeared in court on the matter after requesting the bail review: “Our office had filed a bail review motion based on the last couple of incidents that occurred at 310 N. Lucerne. “Unfortunately, the court decided to admonish the defendant based on the violations and further stated that any further violations would result in bail being set. The defendant’s attorney indicated that they were 48 hours away from escrow closing on the location. As you know, bail is a decision the judge makes. We can file the motions to request it and argue it, however, ultimately it is their decision,” explained Naderi. A pre-trial hearing for the ongoing case is scheduled for Tues., Sept. 14. The very next day, LAPD senior lead officer Dave Cordova was called to the Lucerne property after a filming crew arrived at the location to start an unpermitted film shoot, according to reports from local residents. The incident
Poker for All
tors” at this point. Plus, by not reraising, he kept the strength of his hand well concealed. He could do his raising on the turn and river when the bets were doubled, which he did without hesitating and got several callers. The turn and river were both deuces. Richard’s acehigh straight looked good. But then, on the river, the Big Blind (BB) reraised Richard’s bet. Richard paused as he called. Now came the showdown. The BB turned up his 10-2 in the hole for a full-house. His runner-runner deuces did the trick along with having made the pair of 10s on the flop. A bad beat for Richard! As he showed his hand after it was over, we got into some conversation. As I mentioned above, Richard’s rationale was quite apparent. I could only agree with him and reassured him that he had played it per-
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SECTION TWO
SEPTEMBER 2021
Larchmont Chronicle
