LC 10 2023

By John Welborne

Bright and early on Monday morning, Oct. 4, at 8 a.m. — at the Ebell of Los Angeles — our readers are invited to meet with Windsor Square neighbors Mayor Karen Bass and Sarah Dusseault and Windsor Village neighbor Jill Bauman. Joining those three women for what is being described as a “fireside chat” are two other prominent leaders addressing the homelessness crisis — Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, chief executive officer of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), and data expert Janey Rountree, executive director of the California Policy Lab at UCLA.

More than pumpkins to be at Patch

By Nona Sue Friedman

Harvest the Halloween spirit by purchasing a pumpkin from Larchmont Boulevard’s own pumpkin patch. Wilshire Rotary Club is once again setting up its pumpkin patch — for the 17th year — at 568 N. Larchmont Blvd. Choose your pumpkin starting Fri., Oct. 6. All of the proceeds are donated to charitable organizations.

This year, Rotarian Wendy Clifford is bringing two 26-foot trucks full of pumpkins and squash to sell on the Boulevard. That’s more than last year.

She and a few other Rotarians drove up to the grower in Santa Paula to take their pick of pumpkins. “It’s one of my favorite days of the year,” declares Clifford. The Rotarians walk around the fields with the farmer to pick and choose different pumpkins and squash.

n Public comments accepted until Oct. 27

By Suzan Filipek

Learn about proposed plans to reshape the design of the La Brea Tar Pits at an Open House for the plan on Sat., Sept. 30 from 9 to 11 a.m.

The long-discussed new vision of the planet’s most important Ice Age fossil site will include the entire 13-acre area of the museum and surrounding park in Miracle Mile.

The pop-up event on Sept. 30 will take place outdoors in

By Casey Russell

The Larchmont Family Fair returns to the Boulevard Sun., Oct. 29, from noon until 5 p.m. with “Fun for Everyone,” as this year’s theme assures us.

This year’s Fair lineup includes entertainment, Bob

Baker Marionettes, children’s music performances, a roaming fairy, a dance troup, a talent show and a children’s costume contest.

A food court will be set up in Larchmont’s city parking lot at the Clock Tower featur-

Each year, Clifford finds new varieties to add to the usual orange soccer ball-sized pumpkins (the most popular). Last year, Clifford ordered a splashy new squash that was yellow and white. This year, when she inquired about it,

By Casey Russell

This October, Marino Ristorante on Melrose celebrates its 40th anniversary. The restaurant was opened in 1983 by Naples-born Ciro (also known as Mario) and wife Maria Marino, who had been restaurateurs since the 1960s. Marino quickly became a hot spot for locals, Hollywood and political elite and anyone looking for authentic Italian food served with grace and unpretentious style.

Marino’s sons, Sal and Mario, were 16 and 17 respectively when the restaurant opened and they were dubbed

HAPPY ROTARIANS (left to right) are Wendy and Eric Clifford, Melody St. John and Elsa Gillham.

Photo courtesy of Wendy Clifford

MARINO SIBLINGS (clockwise from top left) Sal, Mario and Rosanna with their mother Maria at Marino Ristorante before the restaurant was refurbished.

Editorial

By John Welborne

Camel’s nose under the tent: Metro digital billboards throughout our city

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission did a major disservice to good planning in Los Angeles on September 14th. Even though the details of the Planning Department’s staff report made it clear to anyone with an ounce of sense — showing what can result from “precedents” like the billboard industry’s carefully-lobbied plan to install bright digital billboards throughout the City of Los Angeles on Metro property (where current zoning prohibits such commercially profitable but otherwise negative visual blight) — the Commission voted to go along with the lobbyists and with Metro and approved the proposal. Take a look at all of the photographic visualizations in the long staff report available online here: tinyurl.com/2p8cj4fx.

Just scan through the report and see what is to come . . . IF the City Council and Mayor go along with the lobbying billboard profiteers’ plans.

Make no mistake; this issue is not about public service announcements or “transportation communication” on the lighted billboards. It’s about seven flashing advertisements each minute – including near already confusing freeway in-

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DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION OF HANCOCK PARK 137

There’s a Lot Going On in Hancock Park Zoom with Us at the Annual Meeting Monday, October 16

LA is ever-changing. Having direct communication with elected officials, hearing about new City policies and how those changes and policies affect our community and all Angelenos is an important part of the HPHOA. The Association works daily with city officials, the LAPD, fellow community groups and our Neighborhood Council to protect and maintain our wonderful neighborhood community.

Every year the Association elects half of its Board members and holds an open meeting where all members can attend, ask questions and hear from community and civic leaders as well as Association Committee members. This is the place where you can find out what our challenges are, get important information for you and your neighbors and find out how you can be an active member in the fabric of Hancock Park and Los Angeles.

The Association’s Annual Meeting will be held on Monday, October 16th, remotely via Zoom. At that meeting you’ll hear from our Councilperson, LAPD and the Association’s Committee Chairs on everything from neighborhood security to trees to repairing our sidewalks and streets. You will also hear more about the important rezoning processes currently underway by the City.

If you’re a member in good standing — meaning you’ve paid your dues — you’ll be receiving a ballot. Please follow the instructions and mail in your ballot. Then put the Association meeting on your calendar and we’ll see you on Zoom in October!

Our website, hancockpark.org, will have the link to the meeting. Find out what’s going on in our community and how you can participate.

If you’re planning to make any changes to the streetvisible portion of your house, hardscaping and windows, check with our HPOZ Planner Suki Gershenhorn (suki. gershenhorn@lacity.org) before starting. The HPOZ Preservation Plan, which regulates our HPOZ, can be found at: preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park. There is also an online form available: preservation.lacity.org/ hpoz/initial.screening.checklist. Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the city’s Anti-Graffiti Request System: laocb.org/programs/graffiti-abatement and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180.

Calendar

Mon., Oct. 9 — Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Tues., Oct. 10 — Mid City West Neighborhood Council board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Pan Pacific Park Senior Center, 141 S. Gardner St., midcitywest.org.

Wed., Oct. 11 — Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council board meeting, 6:30 p.m. at the Ebell of Los Angeles at 743 S. Lucerne Blvd., greaterwilshire.org.

Thurs., Oct. 26 — Delivery of the November issue of the Larchmont Chronicle.

‘What are your Halloween plans?’

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

Sun., Oct. 29 — Larchmont Family Fair, noon to 5 p.m.

Tues., Oct. 31 — Halloween.

Letters to the Editor

Look forward to Lucy’s Thank you for the update on Lucy’s [“Lucy’s El Adobe Cafe plans its reopening,” Dec. 2022]. So many are looking forward to a successful rebound in memory of Patricia’s dear mother.

Loretta Garcia

San Fernando

[Ed. Note: Patricia Casado reports that progress is moving slowly and that another break-in at the restaurant was discovered on Sept. 14.]

Outrage over proposed homeless shelter

In a recent article [“Finding homes, shelter is key to solution, says councilwoman,” Sept. 2023] Councilwoman Katy Yaroslovsky talks about her decision to open a homeless shelter on Midvale Avenue in West Los Angeles. It fails to mention that this proposed shelter — with no curfews, minimal criminal background checks, and no

Larchmont Chronicle

Founded in 1963 by Jane

Gilman and Dawne P. Goodwin

Publisher and Editor

John H. Welborne

Managing Editor

Suzan Filipek

Assistant Editor

Casey Russell

Contributing Editor

Jane Gilman

Staff Writers

Talia Abrahamson

Helene Seifer

Advertising Director

Pam Rudy

Advertising Sales

Caroline Tracy

Art Director

Tom Hofer

Circulation Manager

Nona Sue Friedman

Accounting

Jill Miyamoto

606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103 Los Angeles, CA 90004 323-462-2241 larchmontchronicle.com

sobriety requirements — is immediately next to family homes, children, seniors and small businesses.

Yaroslavsky is ramming this project through despite the strong opposition of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Westwood South of Santa Monica Boulevard Homeowners’ Association, the Westside Neighborhood Council, the local businesses and a majority of the neighboring residents. Nor does the article mention that Yaroslavsky has dismissed the valid safety concerns of the neighboring residents. She has wholly ignored the business owners who have told her that this shelter will be disastrous for their momand-pop businesses, such as The Backhouse, Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, Chili Thai, The Wellesbourne and Jennifer Pennifer Bakes. Yaroslavsky has turned her back on the commercial landlord trying to fill vacant storefronts who told her that businesses have already cancelled their leases when they learned of this misguided project.  Simply put, as the yard signs that are now ubiquitous in Rancho Park state, Yaroslovksly’s proposed Midvale shelter is “BAD for businesses, BAD for residents, and Katy’s VERY BAD idea.”

Constructing a homeless shelter on the parking lot at Midvale and Pico Boulevard is as inappropriate and ill-advised as building a homeless shelter on the parking lot in Larchmont Village.  Council District 5 should be taking steps to revitalize the Pico Corridor, instead of taking away necessary parking and adding chaos to the neighborhood.  The residents and businesses of Rancho Park are pleading to work with Yaro-

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Write us at letters@larchmontchronicle.com. Include your name, contact information and where you live. We reserve the right to edit for space and grammar.

“This is our first Halloween in Larchmont, so we are going to check out what the trickor-treating is like. He’s going to be a mad scientist”

Jasmine and Avneet Singh with Sartaj (2) and Bixby Larchmont Village

“We’re going to Oogie Boogie Bash at Disneyland, Knott’s Scary Farm, Delusion (an interactive, theatrical haunted house), Sunburst Railbikes to ride through a pumpkin patch, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal and to the Magic Castle because I (Katrina) am a magician! We do Halloween this big every year!”

Brendan McGuigan and Katrina K. Windsor Square

“I think we are going to go to ‘Carved’ at Descanso Gardens.” Sean and Grace with kids Vivian and Crawford and their dog, Bosch Larchmont Village

“He’s going to go as a doctor. We already have his white coat and stethoscope. He wanted to be a doctor like his grandma. I’m a retired doctor.”

Alistair Liu and Mary Kelly Hancock Park

Rockin’ and a-rollin’ for good times and many good causes

The Bourbon Room in Hollywood was the place to rock ‘n’ roll on Aug. 24, when Larchmont area friends and family showed up to support local Zach Selwyn and his band, Zachariah & The Lobos Riders . The performers hit the stage promptly at 8:15 p.m. and, within minutes, the crowd was on its feet, dancing and enjoying the rhythm of the foot-stomping, toe-tapping tunes. This was the first time the band played together in months, after guitarist Selwyn took a brief hiatus over the summer to tour Europe, opening for the American rock band The Boxmasters. In attendance at The Bourbon Room were friends and Larchmont locals including Wendy Selwyn, Karen Burke, John and Allison Brotherton, Jib Polhemus and James Scura.

SECTION ONE

Around the Town with Sondi Toll Sepenuk

On Sept. 9, a group of generous individuals gathered at the headquarters of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels (SVMOW) to participate in the annual Blessing of the Wall. Located just steps away from the kitchen, the donor wall includes the names of significant donors — the Circle of Angels — who support the local charity that delivers more than 100,000 meals a month to seniors who are at risk of hunger.

According to SVMOW CEO and executive director Veronica Dover of Windsor Square, the generosity of

Circle of Angels members is remembered not only on this day, but also throughout the year at SVMOW special events.

After enjoying a delicious brunch catered by Paris Baguette, guests assembled for the blessing given by Vincentian Fr. Scott Jakubowski,

C. M., associate pastor of the nearby St. Vincent de Paul Parish.

• • • Hancock Park’s National Giving Alliance (NGA ) held its 2023-2024 Kick Off and New Member Event on Sept. 12, welcoming current and prospective members

to June Bilgore’s Windsor Square backyard oasis. The evening was billed as “a night to reconnect and recruit.” Members caught up with each other after a summer apart, listened to new President Danielle Avazian Reyes lay out the year ahead (Please turn to Page 4)

ROCKIN’ at the Bourbon Room: Cheyenne Doer, Jill Benjamin and Wendy Selwyn.

BAND Zachariah & The Lobos Riders play to a packed house.

Around the Town

(Continued from Page 3) and welcomed women into the group who were attending for the first time.

Attendees then enjoyed drinks and light summer fare prepared by chef Michael Beglinger. NGA serves seven local charitable organizations, including Alexandria House, Aviva, Good Shepherd Center, Operation School Bell, McIntyre House, Imagine LA and Pacific Clinics. Those in attendance included Oona Kanner, Marion Plato, Donna Econn, Olivia Kazanjian, Shar Penfold, Jennifer Kim, Penny Bentley, Robin Jameson and Aviva President and CEO Amber Rivas.

• • •

On Sept. 17, the entire neighborhood showed up to welcome the triumphant return of the 41st annual Brookside Block Party. This is covered in detail, with lots of photos, on Page 10 of Section 2.

• • •

Mark your calendars! Several gala fundraising events are on the fall horizon.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic celebrates the 20th anniversary of Walt Disney Concert Hall on Thurs., Oct. 5, with an homage to the architect of the iconic building, Frank Gehry.

ST. VINCENT Meals on Wheels’ annual Blessing of the Donor Wall was made by Father Scott Jakubowski, C.M., surrounded by members of the Circle of Angels who support the organization. SVMOW CEO and Executive Director Veronica Dover is on the pastor’s right. Photo courtesy of St. Vincent Meals on Wheels

The inaugural fundraising gala for the Paul R. Williams Scholarship and Education Fund takes place (appropriately) at the Williams-designed Beverly Hills Hotel on Wed., Oct. 11.

Wines, Cheese & Jazz Under the Stars will benefit Hollywood homeless services provider The Center and its Community Wellness Program on Thurs., Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at 6636 Selma Ave.

Meryl Streep, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey and Sofia Coppola will be honored

at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures third annual gala on Sat., Oct. 14. Co-chairs include Ava DuVernay, Halle Berry and Ryan Murphy.

Mingle with artists and supporters of Craft Contemporary at its annual benefit and auction on Sat., Oct. 21. Museum Executive Director Suzanne Isken will be honored at the event.

This year’s Art+Film Gala at LACMA honors artist Judy Baca and filmmaker David Fincher on Sat., Nov. 4. Museum Trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio will co-chair the 12th annual event.

On Nov. 5, the Los Angeles Conservancy will honor its president, Linda Dishman, who is retiring as head of the organization after 31 years. The benefit event takes place at Vibiana, which Dishman helped save.

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be honored at the Ho-

locaust Museum LA’s 15th annual gala, “We Educate to Stop Hate,” Mon., Nov. 6, at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Also honored will be philanthropist Gregory Annenberg

Weingarten and Sandra Gerson Kanengiser, a daughter of Holocaust survivors. Melissa Rivers will host.

And now you’re in the Larchmont know!

AT THE NGA KICK OFF (left to right): Sreevedi Karamuchi, Susan Kneafsey, Donna Econn, Penny Bentley, Kathleen Cooper, Shelagh Callahan and Robin Jameson.

NGA GROUP: Isabel Mayfield, Hedy Hutcheson, Laura Brenner, Elsa Castaldo, Beverly Brown, Oona Kanner and Deniz Olgac.

Woman’s Club of Hollywood gets spruced up and renamed

By Casey Russell

The Woman’s Club of Hollywood is currently undergoing a major rebranding and has a new name — “The Hollywood Club LA, at the Woman’s Club of Hollywood.” In truth, the original members in 1905 wanted to christen their club “The Hollywood Club,” but at the time, the name was already taken. Things are now coming full circle.

Why a rebranding? The charity organization, which is run by volunteers, has found that some would-be venue renters and supporters that are interested upon seeing the national historic landmark property have shied away due to the epithet.

“The name sometimes makes people imagine bake sales and bingo — we’re not that,” said Rosemary Lord, president of the club, when we spoke recently.

In actuality, the club, at

1749 N. La Brea Ave., has long been a filming venue for movies and television. It has hosted weddings and conferences and has been a gathering place for the community and club members since its beginning.

There are classes for yoga,

singing, performing and historic preservation. Writers’ workshops are offered regularly and “Ladies Who Murder Again…,” a workshop for mystery writers, will soon return.

Movie nights

Community events also

abound. The club hosts traditional movie nights and silent movie nights (the next will be on Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.), musical performances, special speaker engagements and fundraising events for the community as a whole.

Some upcoming events include a rendition of the play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (date to be decided); Whole Human Health Collective; a holistic health fair on Sun., Oct. 15; a celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights (date to be decided) and, on Sat., Nov. 4, the club will host “Tribute to the Black Music Icons.”

Lord told us that a sprucing up of the place is underway. But board members hope to do a major remodeling as soon as funds are raised. With the rebranding, club leaders hope to soon have bigger rentals and sponsorships.

The property includes numerous buildings. The main two-story building was designed by noted architect Arthur E. Harvey and was built in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. There is a huge (Please turn to Page 22)

THE CLUB’S main two-story Spanish Colonial Revival-style building was designed by noted architect Arthur E. Harvey.

Marymount High School celebrates past (and next) 100 years

By Casey Russell Marymount High School

celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, a mass followed by a cocktail reception took place Sept. 23. More than 700 guests were in attendance, including sisters from The Institute of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), pastors from Marymount’s feeder schools, the Leadership Council from Rome and the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez.

Much has been done to prepare for the centennial.

“Throughout the year, we’ve been doing intensive archival work,” said Jacqueline L. Landry, the head of school since 2009. Pictures have been sent daily to students and alumnae allowing them to take a look back through the school’s history.

Next to Marymount’s historic Cantrell Hall, the school

recently constructed a centennial courtyard honoring all those who have been part of the school.

But Landry told us that the real celebration of the centennial is more than about the new stationery or the new banners on Sunset Boulevard or even the big day of celebration.

School leaders have been

strategically working to move the all-girls school forward and ensure Marymount is ready to give its students everything the founding sisters envisioned — and more — for the next 100 years.

The school is tuition-driven, meaning it receives no funds from the state or the church. To have a top slate of faculty and staff requires

money, and tuition is high. The school is working to triple its endowment with the goal of becoming more accessible to an economically diverse population.

In the beginning

From the beginning in 1923, when the campus was on 28th Street, Mother Joseph Butler, who founded Los Angeles’ Marymount with five RSHM

sisters, believed education could change women’s lives. She wanted the school to be attended by girls from different economic backgrounds.

Looking to the future, the school also has refurbished its historic buildings to be more energy-efficient. They now have triple-pane windows and, spurred on by the pandemic, better air filtration systems.

Marymount also completed its new science lab and visual arts spaces. These had been long-term goals that leadership pushed to have finished for the school’s centennial.

Marymount believes in educating the whole person, Landry told us. She says that means that the school really has two curricula. One involves scope and sequence, science, math — all the things one might find listed on the school’s website.

But, another important invisible curriculum is the culture of the school. “We learn from one another,” said Landry. The head of school understands that social interactions, the manner in which you see faculty and other students behave — the humanity of culture, as she puts it — is also an important part of the girls’ educations.

The school has always taught mindfulness. Classes begin with quiet, and teachers and students set intentions prior to beginning class. Post-pandemic, more of these techniques have been added. “With only 345 students, we can turn on a dime,” said Landry. “If we notice the girls are worn out, we’re giving a free day. We really monitor the stress of our girls,” she said.

True voices

The school works to be aware of each individual and strives to be flexible so that each person gets what she needs. Original letters from the school’s founders talk about paying attention to each girl and getting to know each student. They also instruct teachers to truly know themselves, their temperaments, their true voices. Educators are encouraged to recharge themselves so they can teach

BROCKTON HOUSE, Marymount’s original location in 1923.

MARYMOUNT today with 2022’s graduates.

Family Fair

(Continued from Page 1) ing such comestibles as Mexican food, Hawaiian chicken, hot dogs, funnel cakes, sushi and bao bao.

There will be the traditional inflated slides, bouncers and other inflatables to delight the younger crowd, as well as  obstacle course inflatables, a train, bungee rides,  a rock climbing wall and more.

The beer garden was a hit at 2022’s Fair. Returning this year, it will be set up near the stage so as to allow for a pairing of entertainment and beverages.

As usual on Fair day, the Boulevard will be closed to traffic from First Street to Beverly Boulevard. Booths will be installed “back to back” in the center of the street — facing the sidewalks — so that Fair-goers can peruse the booths while also engaging with Larchmont’s shops and restaurants.

Produce comes to the fair New this year, a farmers’ market will set up in the Bank of America parking lot with seasonal fruits and veggies to offset the candy kids will collect two nights later on Halloween.

The Family Fair has been produced by the Larchmont Boulevard Association (LBA) since 1967 as a way to bring the neighborhood together and raise funds for the Boulevard’s upkeep, gardening, holiday decorations and more. Rides, food and beverages will require payment, but entertainment and admission are free.

Talent auditions Oct. 21

Auditions for the “Larchmont’s Got Talent” show will be held on Sat., Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Coldwell Banker offices at 251 N. Larchmont on the corner of Beverly Boulevard. All ages are welcome to participate. First prize is $500, second is $300, and third is $200.

AND FOUR-LEGGED LOCALS turned out for

20th anniversary Sept. 16. A carnival was held at the Larchmont location, and owner Todd Warner (above left, with two happy customers), was all dressed up for the

Former sheriff to speak at Wilshire Rotary Nov. 1

Former police official Jim McDonnell will be the guest speaker at Wilshire Rotary Club’s Wed., Nov. 1 meeting at noon at The Ebell Club. McDonnell, a veteran leader of the Los Angeles Police Dept. and subsequently Los Angeles County Sheriff after being chief of the Long Beach Police Dept., will speak on his current work as director of the Safe Communities Institute at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.

event. Pets and people filled the store’s parking lot to browse booths for free giveaways and to use their carnival tickets to play games and buy snow cones, cotton candy, hot dogs, veggie dogs and more!

Los Angeles cuisine is on the menu with Dine LA, Oct. 6 to

20

Explore Los Angeles diverse culinary offerings one prixfixed menu at a time during Dine LA’s restaurant week Fri., Oct. 6 to Fri., Oct. 20. It’s actually two weeks of specials and menu offerings during the 15th annual event, called Culture Through Cuisine. More than 200 restaurants are participating with lunch and dinner menus. See the lineup at tinyurl.com/5n93x3d6.

BOULEVARD TENTS house local nonprofit organizations and Larchmont merchants at the annual Family Fair.

Billboard blight, digital signs are on City Council agenda

By Suzan Filipek

Glowing billboards on Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA, Metro) properties within the City of Los Angeles are coming closer into view after the City Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council amend a zoning code that bans the flashing signs. At a Sept. 14 public hearing, the Commission approved

Metro’s request to display digital signs and erect up to 49 billboard structures, many with double-sided screens.

The Commission agreed with city planners to restrict hours of operation to be from 5 a.m. to midnight to address concerns about lighting up the night sky. The Commission stated that new technology, using louvers, will dim brightness of the signs.

Opponents at the meeting said the approval puts the city

on a dangerous path, akin to looking more like Las Vegas. Birds and other wildlife will be negatively impacted, and the ads, which can change every eight seconds, will distract drivers.

The ordinance will leave the city uglier, less safe and further from its own clean-energy goals, according to the national nonprofit advocacy group Scenic America (bit.ly/3QIXm2I).

Currently, there is a citywide ban on off-site digital billboards (ones that advertise products not sold at the site). In addition to Scenic America, other nonprofit groups, including Coalition for a Beautiful Los Angeles, oppose this latest proposal to loosen billboard regulation.

According to a July 12, 2023 message from the Coalition for a Beautiful Los Angeles (losangelesbeautiful@gmail.com), City Council President Paul Krekorian is “the driving force behind this effort to monetize and commercialize our visual landscape, attempting to rush the program through as quickly as possible...”

“In December 2021, Krekorian’s Budget and Finance Committee [of the Los Angeles City Council] approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Metro that was buried in an amended supplementary budget report, with no agenda posting or notice to the public. In June 2022, Krekorian removed an important paragraph from

a Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) motion that would have required an analysis of the program’s consistency with the City’s Mobility Plan and pending Sign Ordinance.

“Until now, the biggest supporters of these types of digital advertising displays have been convicted city councilmembers Mitch Englander and Jose Huizar. Of special interest, one of the key lobbyists for AllVision (Metro’s single-source vendor for the project) is Areen Ibranossian, former chief of staff to Councilmember Krekorian, who was lobbying for AllVision when Krekorian approved the MOA (as chair of the council’s Budget Committee) and continues lobbying the City on the program to this day.”

The proposal, known as the Transportation Communicaton Network, is expected to generate many billions of dollars in revenue for its commercial proponent, with one half of approximately $33 million being split annually between Metro and the City of Los Angeles.

Editorial

(Continued from Page 2) tersections and even right across from historic landmarks like the Angels Flight® Railway adjacent to Metro’s property at Fourth and Hill Streets in DTLA.

Protecting the visual environment requires eight brave City Councilmembers who are willing to say “no” to the chief elected advocate for this scheme – their City Council President, who also sits as a Board Member of Metro, where he earlier approved this selling out of visual Los Angeles to a billboard company.

If readers are concerned about the future look of Los Angeles, we urge them to seek Councilmembers’ support for common sense and to keep Los Angeles beautiful — rather than voting for an exception to our existing digital billboard restrictions. Tell Councilmembers to just say “NO” to Metro’s proposed “Transportation Communication Network” . . . really just “digital billboard advertising blight for Los Angeles.”

In addition, 200 older signs on Metro property are to be removed throughout the city. Proponents included union workers who said the project would create jobs and revenue from the signs. The draft ordinance next goes to the PLUM Committee of the City Council before heading to the full City Council.

skin deep

by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald

Even the most discerning consumer cannot resist the lure of a two for one product. What if your filler could do even more than add definition and reduce lines and wrinkles?

Skin boosters, a new class of injectable hyaluronic acid, can smooth, hydrate and firm the skin without adding fullness. Skin boosters have been popular in Europe and Canada for several years and have not been available in the United States until recently.

Welcome Skinvive by Juvederm, the first and only FDA approved skin booster in the U.S. Skinvive uses microdroplets of hyaluronic acid placed into the top layers of the skin to replenish hydration, improve light reflection, and smooth skin texture without adding volume the way traditional fillers do. Skinvive offers the same supple but structured support you expect from Juvederm products with the benefits of HA’s deep hydration, smoothness and glow that will have you skipping tinted anything. In more good news, the skin booster lasts an impressive 6 months or longer.

Contact our office for your Skinvive by Juvederm appointment and leave wondering where this miraculous treatment has been all of your life. Adv.

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

NEAR ELYSIAN PARK along the 5 Freeway is Metro land for a digital billboard. Image by Allvision LLC

Cleanup in honor of Tom LaBonge set for Sept. 30

By Casey Russell

Roll up your sleeves and help clean up neighborhoods on the Tom LaBonge Day of Service, Sat., Sept. 30, starting at 9 a.m. The City of Los Angeles Civil + Human Rights and Equity Dept. is capping off its LA for All week with this event.

Councilmembers Paul Krekorian, Nithya Raman, Monica Rodriguez, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Heather Hutt will participate, as will the LaBonge family. The late Tom LaBonge served on the City Council from 2001 to 2015. He was known as Mr. Los Angeles to members of the community for his enthusiasm and positive spirit.

Community members wishing to join in the cleanup efforts, which include the Mid-City area, can meet at the

Party houses on City Council agenda

Council District 10 office at 1819 Western Ave.

Participants are encouraged to bring their own refillable water bottles and wear comfortable clothing and shoes. All supplies for the day will be provided.

To RSVP for the Day of Service, visit bit.ly/labongeday.

In 2018, the City of Los Angeles adopted legislation attempting to regulate “party houses” that are rented out for parties and often are listed on websites like Airbnb. Even though the legislation was supposed to allow the City to prosecute violators of our Home Sharing Ordinance, we still see flagrant violations of the law in the Larchmont area

CD 13 Council Report

by Hugo Soto-Martinez

and across the city. In 2022 in Los Angeles, there were more than 4,000 illegal listings on

Homeless near schools is focus with LAPD

By Nona Sue Friedman

With pride, Senior Lead Officer Paul Jordan tells the crowd at Coffee with a Cop on Sept. 19, “Every morning at 5 a.m., before my shift, I drive down Selma Avenue in front of Larchmont Charter School to check on it.”

It’s easy to see that Jordan is very proud of the massive homeless cleanup the Mayor’s office spearheaded in late

INSIDE HANCOCK PARK

“Author Jane Gilman has done a fine job of chronicling the people and events that shaped this singular neighborhood. From ranch land to oil field to a premium residential area, Hancock Park’s trajectory is the story of Los Angeles. A great read and a marvelous reference.”

— G.S.

August with her Inside Safe program. If any more tents appear, Jordan says, he hears immediately as “the parents at Larchmont Charter are very responsive and super helpful.”

Patrick Mooney, homelessness director of Council District 13, reported that “Of the 61 people we found beds for, 59 are still indoors.” That is a very high retention rate.

All this talk of homelessness was the jumping off point for Ilise Faye, head of school at Hollywood Schoolhouse, to express her concern for the growing homeless encampment on Lexington Avenue. She said, “We are not getting any response from CD 13. We need help.” This encampment was cleared the day after the meeting. She doesn’t know who was responsible for that,

but she is grateful.

Speaking with her a couple of days after this meeting, Faye, who has been at the Schoolhouse for more than 30 years, commented that although she is happy the encampment is cleared she wishes there was more of a connection with her school’s community and Councilman Soto-Martínez and his staff. She said, “Our community would love to be more connected to Council District 13.” She says that the councilman’s office has not been as responsive to her as previous councilmembers had.

This Coffee with a Cop was hosted by LAPD Hollywood Community Police Station. About 50 stakeholders and 10 officers enjoyed coffee and croissants at Mother’s Market, 6677 Santa Monica Blvd.

Airbnb alone, but the city issued only 27 citations.

Now, a council motion that would finally allow for party house enforcement is making its way through the City Council process. If passed, this would give the neighbors of a party house the ability to sue to enforce our laws instead of only relying on under-resourced city departments. This could be a game-changer, and it would also require that home-sharing websites share their listings data with the city to ensure compliance with our Home Sharing Ordinance.

Additionally, another council motion was just introduced last month that would help fix this problem by requesting a staff report to provide recommendations to make enforcement more effective, including increasing fines or other penalties.

Our office will continue to work with the city attorney to enforce legal restrictions on illegal home-sharing and party houses, but we know that we also need bigger changes. To make an online public comment about these new motions, you can visit cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkConnect and look up motions 14-1635-S12 and 121824-S2.

Larchmont Chronicle

HEAD OF SCHOOL Ilise Faye (center), head of school for Hollywood Schoolhouse, addresses Patrick Mooney, homelessness director of CD13, LAPD Capt. Craig Heredia and Josef Siroky, field deputy of CD4.

House of Lebanon golf classic raises funds Oct. 30

Spend the day on the manicured greens of the Braemar Country Club at 4001 Reseda Blvd. in Tarzana. This is where the House of Lebanon (HoL) golf classic fundraiser takes place on Mon., Oct. 30. The day begins with breakfast, a putting contest, 18

Oldest public high school celebrates 150 years of educating Angelenos

By Casey Russell

Los Angeles High School

celebrated its sesquicentennial Sept. 17 with an event at the high school at 4650 Olympic Blvd. Former school counselor Willard Love gave the opening remarks. Councilwoman for the 10th District, Heather Hutt, presented certificates of recognition, and Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer also participated in the milestone celebration.

With a wink to the school’s mascot, the event’s theme was “Romans En Blanc.” Music and presentations representing various decades of alumni were followed by a brief memorial parade which closed the celebration.

Los Angeles High has some notable alumni including attorney Johnny Cochran,

actor / activist George Takei of “Star Trek,” Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, Magic Castle founder Milt Larsen, science fiction author Ray Bradbury and many others.

For more information about Los Angeles High School, visit lahigh.org.

Letters

(Continued from Page 2) slavsky to find an appropriate location for this project — one that will provide much-needed housing while supporting our local businesses and making our neighborhood cleaner and safer. Yet she refuses.  She ignores our concerns and doesn’t even respond to our emails.  Why does Yaroslavsky insist on working against her constituents?

Lizzy Chapman Rancho Park

Richard T. Chung, DDS Cosmetic, Implant & General Dentistry

Member of the American & California Dental Associations. USC Graduate.

holes of golf and several more golfing contests. The day includes lunch and is capped off with dinner and an awards ceremony.

HoL is a Lebanese American cultural center and nonprofit organization that celebrates the cultural heritage of Lebanon.

The center is located at 4800 Wilshire Blvd. in Brookside. Individual tickets start at $350 for adults under 30. Business and individual sponsorships are available. The event is open to all skill levels. To book your day of golf and support HoL, visit bit.ly/holgolfclassic.

AT THE EVENT: (Left to right) George Dewann Clark, ’76; Councilwoman Heather Hutt, ’75; Felecia Richard, ’75; Assemblyman Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer; and Deryck Allen, ’76.

Life as school mascot isn’t all fluff and fur, say character actors

By Jim Kalin

Imagine being dressed in a fur-lined sleeping bag from head to toe for two hours during a scorching Southern California evening.

“This Joe the Cub suit gets very hot, very quickly,” said Peter Berger, a senior at Loyola High School. “Within minutes of being in it, you get extremely hot.”

Life as a sports mascot can be difficult — dangerous, too. Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor accidentally knocked out Miami Heat mascot Burnie during an NBA finals game timeout skit that had the two playfully exchanging punches. The person inside the mascot suit was taken to the emergency room.

Incognito

“There are two main rules,” said Loyola alumnus Dalton Fitzpatrick, class of 2023, who has been a past Joe the Cub. “You are not allowed to talk while in the suit, and you never remove the mascot’s head in public.”

Those rules are universal. When Conor McGregor knocked out Burnie, the mascot was taken from the basketball court with head still intact. Later, the newscasters referred to the person inside the mascot suit as “the actor.” They never revealed the name of the individual who portrayed Burnie.

Absolute illusion is priority where mascots are concerned.

At Loyola, one can never be sure who’s inside the suit,

Youth Sports

by Jim Kalin

which also helps keep the student’s identity a mystery during the games.

“Throughout the various sport seasons, different people will don the Cub,” explained Berger. “Sometimes people are unable to make games, so someone else steps in.”

Spirit

Peter Berger is on the Loyola Pride spirit team, and it’s those students who portray Joe the Cub. There isn’t an audition or tryout process and, throughout the year, Joe the Cub eventually will be played by numerous students. It’s imperative that whoever plays Joe is animated and energetic. The mascot represents the Loyola Pride, and like them, he must be impassioned and high-spirited.

“The Pride focuses on creating a fun, festive and sportsmanlike atmosphere at all home games for the varsity football and basketball teams,” explained Christian Astran, faculty supervisor for the pep squad.

The Pride also attends select rival school and CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) games for other Loyola sports. The spirit team focuses on fan participation through activities

like Halftime Hero Contests and Home Game Rally Towels. The Pride also provides an educational experience about crowd engagement for student leaders. The squad creates crowd themes for games, social media promotions and special on-campus publicity to boost student participation for big home games.

But it’s Joe the Cub who is Loyola Pride’s most visible feature.

Game Day

So what’s a typical shift like portraying Joe the Cub? Obviously the suit can be uncomfortable, but not enough to dissuade students from climbing inside Joe on a hot summer night.

“It’s difficult to see from inside the suit,” said Dalton Fitzpatrick. “But Joe always has a handler, so we would communicate frequently when I needed a water break or to remove the head and cool off.”

The handler was helpful with other demands on Joe, which included photo requests,

meet-and-greets and managing frenzied younger fans.

“On occasion, the handler was needed to break up too many hugs,” laughed Fitzpatrick.

Ultimately, fan excitement when Joe appears far outweighs the suit’s discomfort.

“Everyone’s face lights up when first seeing Joe,” said

Fitzpatrick.

“The only annoying part of wearing the Cub suit is how the fur inside the head gets stuck in your mouth,” said Berger. “There’s nothing you can do about it while you have it on.”

Compared to a sports mascot, the Lone Ranger and Batman have it easy.

LOYOLA senior Peter Berger out of costume.

JOE THE CUB works the sidelines during a Loyola home football game.

IMMACULATE HEART

By Emmelyne Lay 12th Grade

Starting my senior year at Immaculate Heart High School has been bittersweet. Experiencing all of the amazing IH traditions for my last time demonstrates the magic of the school community.

One recent example is Welcome Day, which took place Sept. 1. The event celebrates the new IH freshmen, transfer students, and faculty and staff through songs, skits, dances and even gifts from each grade. Enjoying Welcome Day’s class performances and seeing both the excitement of the freshmen and the joy and pride on the faces of my fellow seniors reminded me of why I love IH so much. The connection of our sisterhood lights up on days when we can celebrate our togetherness and creativity.

Just days ago, IH launched the WALK, a three-week fundraiser that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. All the money raised directly benefits students. Tangible improvements to the campus are made — as demonstrated by our recently renovated quad. Funds from WALK also assist students by providing financial aid.

Along with the WALK season, Immaculate Heart’s recruitment efforts are now underway. Both the high school and middle school are now offering Shadow Day visits to prospective students. If you want to register for a Shadow Day or learn more about other admissions events, visit our website at immaculateheart.org.

SAINT BRENDAN

By Harry Jannone Kim 8th Grade

St Brendan’s students have started to settle into the school year, and everyone is having a great time. The student council inauguration took place at church. Members said an oath to the school on our first all-school Mass.

Two of the sports that have started are flag football and girls’ volleyball. The boys’ flag football team, made up of 7th and 8th graders, has started practicing three times a week, getting ready for the season. The girls’ volleyball team has a new head coach and they are ready for a great season.

There are also some after school activities such as skateboarding and basketball. The 8th graders are busy writing and practicing for the Hallow-

Nine O’Clock Players ready to enchant families

The Nine O’Clock Players will open the 2023-24 season Sun., Oct. 29, with a performance entitled “Enchanted Sleeping Beauty: The Legend of Briar-Rose.”

This will be the company’s 95th year delighting Angelenos with award-winning family theater. As usual, the Nine O’Clock Players will bring clever twists, magical music and zany characters to the stage with the retelling of a classic tale — this time, Sleeping Beauty.

The opening day performance will take place at 2 p.m. Other performances will be Sundays, Nov. 5, 12 and 19, also at 2 p.m. at the historic Assistance League

een play and parade, and some students are already making their costumes. The 8th graders have met their little buddies and have had a great time with them.

CAMPBELL HALL

By Claire “Cal” Lesher 11th Grade

This year has started to spin into focus. We have our annual homecoming carnival that features a Fer-

Theatre located at 1367 N. St. Andrews Place. For $15 tickets, call

ris wheel, fun rides, carnival games and delicious food and drinks. Later that afternoon, the high school girls’ volleyball team hits the court, CH varsity football plays against Victory Valley, and Campbell Hall cheer will do a half-time show. Additionally, the Elementary School has its annual costume contest and parade on Halloween day! Furthermore, the robotics team has its first competition at the end of October. Boys’ high school soccer and middle school fall sports will soon begin their tryouts. Also, audi-

323-545-6153 or visit nineoclockplayers.com or brownpapertickets.com.

tions will be held for our annual Nutcracker ballet and will immediately begin rehearsals. The CH girls’ tennis, volleyball and golf teams are in full swing with their season and are doing very well!

It’s nice that our campus is humming with a variety of fall activities.  Guest speakers are sprinkled throughout the month, our theatre department is in rehearsals for Shakespeare’s comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” and back to school night will happen soon. Stay tuned until next month.

CAST MEMBERS in rehearsal for “Enchanted Sleeping Beauty: The Legend of Briar-Rose.”

Halloween Haunt adds spirit, fun and funds to Wilshire Park

By Nona Sue Friedman

Get your costumes ready! Wilshire Park Association

(WPA) is hosting its annual Halloween Haunt on Sat., Oct. 28. This is the 14th year for the huge event. “What started as a simple front yard get-together has morphed into a major social and fundraising event,” says Halloween Haunt committee co-chair Azalea Bruns.

Happening just a few days before Halloween, this event is a great way to get in the spirit. The WPA will have its infamous haunted house along with fortune tellers seated to predict your future, a bounce house, trick-or -treating, a costume contest, a doggie costume parade and more.

If nearby Los Angeles Fire Department Station 29 isn’t putting out any flames, fire fighters will stop by and show off their trucks. Additionally, Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky is slated to make an appearance.

Hot dogs from Serendoggity will be on-site for purchase along with event merchandise. There will also be a silent auction to raise funds for the association.

The Haunt takes place on South Bronson Avenue

between Wilshire Boulevard and Eighth Street from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 28. Other than food and merchandise for sale, the event is free. Visit wilshirepark.org.

A little history

Lorna Hennington suggested that a Halloween event would be fun, “and I was all in,” Roberta O’Donnell tells of the Haunt’s humble beginnings in 2011.

Together, and with help from other neighbors, they organized the event, from building the haunted house to arranging the vendors. In 2022 new chairs Azalea Bruns and Jennifer Meislohn stepped in to keep the Association’s major annual social event and only fundraiser going.

COSTUME CONTEST in front of the D’Annunzio home.

ZOMBIES THREATEN co-chairperson Azalea Bruns at the Halloween Haunt.

A STAGED INTERACTIVE car crash decorates the street. Photos courtesy of Azalea Bruns

NEW RESIDENT OF Wilshire Park, Isaac Sung, being carried by his uncle, Heejae Park.

Pumpkin patch

(Continued from Page 1)

farmer Paul Barnard said, “You mean the Wendy?!” Those will be for sale at the patch again this year.

Special weekends

At the patch in late October, Wilshire Rotary is teaming up with another Rotary Club, from Culver City, Latinos Unidos, to host a taco popup. The Latinos Unidos will make and serve tacos for sale while the Boy Scouts from St. Brendan School will peddle refreshments on Sat., Oct. 21, and Sun., Oct. 22, from noon to 3 p.m.

Festivities continue the following weekend, with trick-or-treating around the pumpkins on Fri., Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. The next day, Sat., Oct. 28, at 2 p.m., there is a pumpkin-carving contest with prizes. Entrants must buy a pumpkin at the patch to participate.

Every day in October at the patch there will be the ever-popular maze and a scavenger hunt. Every weekend, Larchmont Charter High School students, who are part of the Wilshire Rotary Club through Interact, will help out with Halloween crafts and carnival games.

The patch raises money for local organizations,

some of which are the Anderson-Munger YMCA, Big Sunday, HopeNet and Van Ness Elementary School’s visually impaired classes.

Each year, the visually impaired classes from Van Ness are invited to explore

The new school year got off to a great start!  Our student council members, including our Viking mascots, welcomed everyone back to school on Aug. 16.  Students were very happy to see that new Smart Boards had been installed in all classrooms.

the patch before it opens to the public. Clifford says the students, “Love, love, love it!”

The patch is open weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fri., Oct. 6, through Mon., Oct. 30, or until the pumpkins run out.

Parents attended Back-ToSchool Night on Aug. 31, and had the opportunity to meet all the teachers and hear their goals for the new school year.

The football and volleyball season started and the teams are already competing in games against other schools.  Our athletes received new sports uniforms and we hope they will lead us to victories!

The Pueri Cantores school choir practices every week and sings at Friday Masses. On Sept. 22, we celebrated the Mass of the

Holy Spirit to ask God’s blessing on the new school year. Each class created a poster that represented the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Our annual Spell-A-Thon will take place on Oct. 3 and students are memorizing their spelling words for this event. We hope that the coming months at CKS will continue to be exciting and enjoyable.

Preschool and Elementary Open Houses

Saturday, November 4, 2023 -9 a.m. - 11 a.m. Saturday, December 9, 2023 -9 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Preschool Small Group Tours

Every Wednesday Oct 11 - Nov 15, 2023

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Elementary Small Group Tours

Every Tuesday Sept 12 - Nov 14, 2023

9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

*Closed the week of Nov 20th for Thanksgiving

For more information, please scan below

CHRIST THE KING Zoe Griswold and Anjella Guiza 7th Grade

OODLES OF VARIETIES of pumpkins are available at the patch on the Boulevard.

Photos by Wendy Clifford

HAVING FUN PICKING pumpkins in Santa Paula is Rotarian Larry Gillham.

Survivors and seniors celebrated Rosh Hashanah on Fairfax

By Suzan Filipek

Local senior and multipurpose centers hosted Rosh Hashanah celebrations, the Jewish New Year, for more than 100 seniors, including Holocaust Survivors through the Café Europa Program. Similar celebrations took place at senior centers throughout Los Angeles.

A large majority of the seniors who attended live in the surrounding area, and although this is a Jewish celebration, seniors who are non-Jewish attended the celebrations because of how much they enjoy the atmosphere that Jewish Family Services Los Angeles (JFSLA) creates with free food, music and socialization for seniors, spokesperson Diana Vasquez told us. JFSLA serves people of all backgrounds and identities.

JFSLA Senior and Multipur-

pose Centers hosted members of Café Europa, JFSLA’s weekly social connection program for survivors of the Holocaust, as well as participants from the JFS Arts, Wellness, and Engagement Program.

Nearly 50 seniors enjoyed

a catered meal, a lecture about the traditions of Rosh Hashanah and a musical performance at JFSLA’s Jona Goldrich Multipurpose Center on Sept. 7 at 330 N. Fairfax Ave.

“We were happy to celebrate, but we were also

NEW COVENANT ACADEMY

By Sue Jung Park

11th

It is already October, and this means the season of fall and Halloween!

Valedictorian of Larchmont Charter High School ’23

Stanford University ’27

As the school year has come to a close, I would like to thank everyone who helped me get to where I am. The Hancock Park community has become a second home to me where I was able to start my growth at Christ the King School and was able to continue my growth at Larchmont Charter High School (special thanks to Mr. Tam & Mr. Co for everything!) Finally, I would like to thank my family. Matthew, Margarette, Marc, Dad, and Mom, every success & achievement will always be dedicated to all of you. Go Cardinals!

Grade

NCA’s students will dress up for its Huskyween event. Every year, the school’s student council coordinates a spirit week. Each day has a set theme. Students can dress accordingly and show off their best outfits!

The girls’ volleyball and boys’ soccer seasons are coming to an end. The athletes definitely fought hard in every game during the season. As they finish off strong, make sure to mark your calendars and come out to support them.

excited to share and educate the community about social services, transportation, nutrition, and activities offered to older adults at JFSLA,” said Susan Belgrade, JFSLA Senior Director of Multipurpose and Senior Centers.

Through JFSLA’s Survivors of the Holocaust Program, JFSLA provides nearly 1,000 survivors with

While the upperclassmen were working diligently, the elementary Huskies had fun on their annual field trip to the pumpkin patch. From going through the corn maze to choosing their own pumpkin to take home, this was definitely a memorable experience for the kids!

THIRD STREET

By Olive Clancy

5th Grade

Happy October, readers!

Boy do I have a trick and a treat for you! Making Caring Common, an awesome program that helps remind our fellow students about being kind and respectful to others, recently started back up.

I’ve heard that teachers who

caregiver services, supportive resources, emergency financial assistance and Café Europa.

To spread joy during Rosh Hashanah, JFSLA sent Café Europa members a special Rosh Hashanah gift box that included a challah, grape juice, a honey jar, honey cake, and a Shana Tova greeting card.

participated in the Making Caring Common program got free cookies from Levain Bakery. Good for them! That’s the treat.

Now the trick is this: Ms. Cha, one of our amazing staff, got 52 of us 5th graders signed up to go to Camp Clear Creek on very short notice. It was so much fun!

We went hiking in the Angeles National Forest, did science experiments, made bracelets and swam during our three-night stay. It was a really cool experience and a good way to start off the year.

We hope to see you readers at the Larchmont Family Fair on Sun., Oct. 29.

OAKWOOD SCHOOL

By Charlotte Zabel 11th Grade

This month at Oakwood is a very busy one as we’re all getting back in the hang of the school year. We’ve already jumped right into our regular club meeting schedules. With time at lunch being spent either meeting with teachers, going to club meetings like Oakwood Students for Progressive Reform, which just hosted Oakwood’s annual body image discussion, or going off campus with friends, the Oakwood community is back in action and buzzing with activity.

Our tennis and volleyball teams are in the midst of a fierce pre-season and positivity is running high since the loads of homework haven’t truly kicked in yet. Auditions for our musical, “9-5” and our theatre production, “The Clean House” are happening in October and we’re looking forward to seeing them in the fall — especially after our exciting production of “Little Shop of Horrors” last spring!

Marjorie Rose Uy De Ong Luzuriaga

MORE THAN 100 seniors celebrated Rosh Hashanah at JFSLA’s Jona Goldrich Multipurpose Center, located at 330 N. Fairfax Avenue.

MEMBERS OF CAFÉ EUROPA, JFSLA’s social group for Holocaust survivors, dance during the Rosh Hashanah celebration.

THE CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION

By Griffin Miller

5th Grade School supplies, check!

New school clothes, check!

Summer reading and math packet… mostly check! The summer may be over, but we have an exciting year ahead!

It was an exhilarating week of “Firsts” at CEE.  The 6th-grade students experienced their first day of school, and for the first time, they had lockers! It was also the kindergarten students’ first day of elementary school.  The 4th graders are beginning their first year of team sports representing CEE  At The Center, 4th-6th graders can play co-ed flag football and girls’ basketball. We are super excited to see the 4th graders’ skills!

The 5th graders will travel to an outdoor camp for three days in a couple of weeks. They will hike, play, work on community games, and have fun! It will be a great year for the students at CEE!

THE WILLOWS

By Birdie Reynolds

8th Grade

What a month for The Willows! The 8th graders are preparing for the iconic Washington D.C. trip during which we will visit an array of museums. We will add to our education in ways outside of the classroom whilst bonding with each other and with teachers.

Later this month, we’ll have the annual Taste of The Willows, which is when Willows families each bring a dish from their heritage to share with everyone. It’s an opportunity for people to express their culture while also educating people about their traditions and recipes. Italian, Hawaiian, Japanese and Ethiopian cultures will be represented, along with many others. Often families will also demonstrate traditional games or dances for the community.

We are so lucky to have these incredible opportunities here at The Willows and the ability to share our heritages with everyone else in the community.

PAGE ACADEMY

Isabella Argiropoulos

8th Grade

Page students have been back at school since Aug. 7, and we’d like to welcome a couple of new teachers this year. Ms. Jennifer Mervis will be teaching english and reading and Ms. Jenny Madsen, a Page alum, will teach PE and Health.

August and September have already flown by! We have had our swimming classes at Page’s on-site pool. Campaigning for our 2023 / 2024 student council has also been well underway.

Our first family and community event for this school year was Special Friends Day. We invited parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and close friends for a special lunch, music and playground time. We also had our Fall Picture Day.

We kick it into high gear in October with many events planned for National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, Fire Safety Month, Red Ribbon Week, the Great California Shakeout and Halloween! Our annual Fall Festival will be held on Oct. 27 and staff and students will come to school in costumes and will participate in games with prizes, a haunted house and more!

Page will have a booth at the Larchmont Family Fair on Sunday, Oct. 29, so feel free to stop by!

HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE

By Penelope Yoon

6th Grade

Hi! My name is Penelope Yoon. I’ve been at Hollywood Schoolhouse since I was in preschool, and it’s definitely helped shape me into the person I am today. I’m more social and independent than I would be going to a different school. HSH is pretty small, so I know almost everyone.

I’ve learned how to be a supportive member of the community and to be comfortable talking to adults. I also like drawing comics, writing fantasy and playing drums in my band, “Expired Taco Bell Remains.”

This year, I’m pretty excited to be the oldest in the school. But, to be honest, I’m kind of nervous. It’s going to be a busy autumn. But that doesn’t mean I can’t still have fun. This year, my class is taking a trip to Yosemite National Park and to AstroCamp for three days each. Sleepaway trips are the best, and these will be extra special because they’re my last ones at Hollywood Schoolhouse! I’m also looking forward to being a role model for our kindergarten “buddies” using the skills I’ve learned from HSH over the years.

I’m so excited for the year ahead and all that’s to come.

THE BUCKLEY SCHOOL

By Max Terr 10th Grade

School is back in session at The Buckley School. Lower school has started off the year with creative projects to boost connections and foster

school-wide friendships. From practicing yoga to learning culinary skills, lower school does it all.

Similarly to lower school, middle school has set aside time to foster a sense of community and belonging. Students are participating in meaningful conversations about the year ahead and are doing other com-

munity building activities.

Buckley high school students have gone on a retreat off campus to spend some much needed time away from parents and to see friends again after a long summer. The tenth grade does this in a unique way by volunteering at local charities and nonprofits to help homeless youth. The sophomores also

cleaned up the Los Angeles River and learned about significant historical events in Los Angeles’ History.

Middle and high school students will be having a Back to School dance in mid-September. Seniors will also hold a fundraising event on Sat., Oct. 14, to raise money for their senior prom.

Music Center’s ‘Fallidays’ features variety of activities events this autumn

By Casey Russell

The Fallidays have arrived at the Music Center with a plethora of activities and experiences for all.

Día de los Muertos will be celebrated at Gloria Molina Grand Park, 200 N. Grand Ave., with 19 altars made by artists, community partners and local organizations Sat., Oct. 21, through Thurs., Nov. 2. Various DJs will provide music for outdoor dancing from 3 to 8 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 12.

Park-goers can take a wellness break with yoga Wednesdays and Fridays from noon until 12:45 p.m., through Fri., Dec. 29.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will be at the Ahmanson Theatre Fri., Sept. 29, through Sun., Oct. 1, and “Don Giovanni” will be performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., now through Sun., Oct. 15. For more information about these events, call 213-9727211 or visit musiccenter.org.

Fun and funds at Alexandria House’s ‘Casino Night’

Alexandria House is hosting a Casino Night to raise funds to support its programs and services.

The event will take place at at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 1324 S. Normandie Ave., Sat., Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

For the past 27 years, Alexandria House has helped thousands of women, children and community members experiencing homelessness and poverty.

RSVP: www.thewillows.org/events

Woman’s Club

(Continued from Page 6)

auditorium, a lounge, a boardroom and a suite of offices. Also included on the property is a two-story structure built in the Prairie School style. This was the original home of the Hollywood School for Girls. Additionally, there are two, small 1915 cottages which are often rented out to writers, photographers and other artists, as well as a parking lot for 95 cars.

There is a lot of history within the walls. Club members have always been very civic-minded. They long were supporters of the Los Angeles Orphans Home (which became Hollygrove and, most recently, Larchmont Charter School’s Hollygrove elementary campus), and the grand

Marymount

(Continued from Page 8)

at their best.

Landry believes celebrating Marymount’s centennial is also a celebration of Los Angeles. When the school started Downtown near USC (in a building called the Brockton House) in 1923, women had only recently been given the right to vote. In 1929, when the school purchased its current property above Sunset Boulevard, the neighboring UCLA campus had only four buildings. Marymount really grew up with Los Angeles.  Tradition is strong at Marymount, but much has changed, too. It is no longer required that the school’s

Currently, the organization is working to raise money to purchase two existing transitional houses. To make a donation now, visit tinyurl. com/884762pr.

Individual tickets for Casino Night are $95 and include $50 in gaming chips and one drink ticket. Tickets for larger groups are also available.

For more information about the nonprofit, visit alexandriahouse.org.

piano Charlie Chaplin played when he entertained at club parties for the orphans is still in the auditorium today.

Since 1945

The Hollywood Club LA has resided at its current location since 1945, when it purchased the campus of the Hollywood School for Girls.  The school was really for the daughters of the early film pioneers, but boys up to age 9 also attended. (Jean Harlow and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., were some of the school’s attendees.) The current clubhouse was built on what was the playing field of the school. For more information about the club, its classes and events, or to inquire about renting the space at this historic property, email womansclubofhollywood.com or call 323-876-8383.

teachers be Catholic.

While only one sister, Sister Margaret McKenna, teaches at the school today, the education of Marymount’s young women was long ago entrusted to non-nuns.

Now there are 17 different religions represented at the school, and the leaders look for teachers who understand the school’s mission taken from the Bible: “I have come to give you light that you may have life to the full.” It is a mission focused on social justice and the fullness of life that came from the school’s founders 100 years ago.

Marymount has more than 3,400 graduates. For more information about the school, visit mhs-la.org.

A YOGA CLASS at Gloria Molina Grand Park.

kids communicate

By Casey Russell

It’s almost Halloween. Soon kids will excitedly don their costumes of choice and set out to gather candy from generous, smiling neighbors.

As an adult, it’s fun to watch the kids in all their glory. But it’s also interesting to notice how differently kids receive their free sugar.

Some grab and go. Others are prompted to say “thank you.” Many say “thank you,” but don’t actually make eye contact with their benefactors. And once in a while, unprompted, there will be a meeting of the eyes and a child will say “thank you” before turning to go to the next house.

These little moments are gold. There is connection, acknowledgement, gratitude. And the neat thing is they can actually be a natural part of life.

Most of us strive to make sure our kids say “please” and “thank you” without reminders. But we can lead by example to demonstrate something more.

Greetings

In our distraction-filled world, it’s so nice to receive a warm “Hello, how are you?” or a genuine “Thanks for holding the door for me; that was really nice.” Kids can learn that giving more than an automatic, offhand utterance makes a big difference

MARLBOROUGH

By Avery Gough 12th Grade Prospective

Marlborough students will have a chance to visit the school and observe classes the morning of Oct. 25. They will get a sense of the school day and our class rotations.

Our Upper School students are looking forward to Homecoming on Oct. 28, although the theme has yet to be announced by the student council.

All Marlborough students and teachers come to school in costume when we celebrate Pumpkin Day on the 31st. There will be a costume parade in the gym and students and teachers all participate. Each academic department chooses a group category and coordinates their costumes. It is such a fun tradition.

Finally, starting on Nov. 1, the first performance for our allschool play, “Matilda, ” begins.

Throughout the month, Marlborough offers occasional days off for seniors to work on college applications, which is a relief in light of our workload this semester. It is a great practice that Marlborough offers for mental health.

in social interactions and relationships.

We may notice that our child’s teacher makes a point of greeting each student by name as he or she arrives. There is good reason for this. People feel recognized and known when they are greeted personally.

We can model this at home by making sure to stand up and greet family members as they return, or to at least take a break from what we’re doing so that we give a meaningful greeting.

As we’re out in the world, we can teach our kids to look people in the eye and take the time to say, “Hello, how are you doing today?” We, ourselves, can also work to give more than a “Hello.” We can remember to ask about the pet that had been sick or to ask how someone’s new job is going.

Getting a true greeting

Tips on Parenting

by Casey Russell

from someone can be a real mood-lifter. It makes us feel known and seen in the world. And, simple greetings like this can lead to stronger connections and can strengthen bonds.

Eye contact

Though many cultures have varying eye-contact preferences, and though there are certain individuals who are very uncomfortable holding a gaze, many people gain a lot from looking in each other’s eyes while communicating.

Many of us have probably noticed, with dismay, when a partner, friend or child is look-

ing at a phone while we are attempting to have a conversation. We may feel unheard, ignored and, perhaps, unimportant. Connecting with our eyes signals that we are engaged in the conversation. It makes people feel worth our while and important to us.

As parents trying to get things done, it can be easy to forget to exemplify the things we want our kids to do. But a quick “One second, honey. Let me make sure I finish this so I can give you my full attention,” can help. Our task gets done and our child has learned we care about what she’s saying. She also has seen an example of how she can respond in a reversed situation.

Eye contact matters. It has been shown to help people maintain concentration and focus. It lets those you are communicating with know you are confident about what

RHODES SCHOOL MUSIC

you’re saying, and it can make people feel we are striving to understand.

“I’m sorry”

Most often, when kids have hurt someone’s feelings, they are told to say “I’m sorry.” But the word itself often doesn’t really fix anything. I am working to practice saying a little more so that my daughter can learn to do the same. Here are some “I’m sorry” alternatives: “I understand I hurt your feelings. It wasn’t my intention. Is there anything I can do to make it right?”

“I hear you. It makes sense that you feel sad. I’m going to work to make sure I don’t do that again.”

When I remember to say things like this, my daughter knows she has been heard. Often, that in itself can dissipate hard feelings. My hope is that she will emulate these types of words when it’s her turn to be sorry.

Helping

is more than ‘please’ and ‘thank you’

Marino

(Continued from Page 1)

“the bumbling bus boys” by Rose Dosti, a Los Angeles Times food writer. “We moved up the ladder fast. We had connections,” said Sal Marino when we spoke recently. Laughing, his brother chimed in, “We were the ones who were treated the hardest, actually.”

The Hancock Park family consisted of parents Ciro and Maria and their children Rosanna, Sal and Mario. Marino Ristorante truly was, and still is, a family business. It was in their culture for the next generation to continue what the parents had started, said Sal. All three Marino siblings still live within five blocks of each other in Hancock Park.

“Mom was a very simple, quiet, discreet person. There’s a lot of that in our upbringing — mom’s simplicity — be humble, be kind,” said Sal. His father came up with delicious, traditional recipes and also taught his children to be respectful and discreet. The brothers recall him saying, “Kids, remember: We don’t feed them, they feed us.”

Though Ciro died in 2009, and Maria passed away five years ago, the family business is still thriving. Brothers Sal and Mario are at the restaurant 12 to 14 hours most

days. They opened their first eatery, La Bottega, together in 1993, and Sal also owned the now-closed Il Grano on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Dining at Marino, it is abundantly clear that the brothers love what they do. Sal is the chef. In his gardens (at home and at Marino) he grows produce used in his culinary creations. Mario is the maître d’. The two see themselves as true ambassadors of Italian food in Los Angeles.

Tomato Wednesday

I was fortunate enough to enjoy a dinner with my husband and daughter at the

neighborhood ristorante on a recent Tomato Wednesday — a weekly event at Marino during summer months from July to September when tomatoes are at their best. With its hardwood floors, spacious booths, nicely spaced tables and elegantly unified décor of black-andwhite drawings, Marino feels both posh and warmly welcoming.

“As a chef,” said Sal, it was funny when ‘farm to table’ started happening. We were like, ‘what the **** were you doing before?’” At Marino, the food has always been seasonal, he told me. The duo has a tasting menu daily and proudly changes the wines every time they change their menu.

The Southern Italian food is steeped in tradition but has evolved with the availability of products. “True Italian food in America is progressing, and so are we,” said Sal. There are now flavors the Marino children’s father didn’t have when the restaurant opened in 1983. “There was no fresh mozzarella, no prosciutto… We don’t have the same menu, but we keep to tradition.”

And what a menu it is! We sampled two tomato gazpachos (brandywine and green zebra), a caprese salad with a wider variety of tomatoes than I knew existed, zucchini blossoms (filled with a ricotta and sun-dried tomato filling and bursting with flavor) and a pineapple tomato carpaccio with wild blue fin tuna tartare and avocado.

That was just the beginning. The grilled albacore entrée even pleased my non-fish-loving husband’s taste buds. The Vesuviotti with yellow tomatoes was sweet and springy, and the eggplant parmigiana was smoky and savory with its red tomatoes and smoked scamorza.

Of course, my husband can’t eat at an Italian restaurant without ordering a pizza, and his pizza Margherita

was eye-poppingly beautiful and 100 percent perfect. And, once our daughter saw the profiteroles stuffed with vanilla gelato and topped with hot fudge that somehow appeared as our last course, they disappeared quite quickly.

Clearly, the Marinos know what they’re doing. There’s a reason high-profile Angelenos dine here and a reason some neighborhood customers come three to four times a week.

Even through the pandemic, the restaurant found ways to improve and evolve. Outdoor dining was temporarily added, and Rosanna Marino, with interior designer Patty Obermiller, worked to refurbish the restaurant’s inner

décor so that Marino could remain a beloved part of the neighborhood.

The Marino family is rooted in Hancock Park and cares deeply about their customers and the restaurant itself.

Menu from 1983

To celebrate its 40-year milestone, on Tues., Oct. 3, Marino will be serving a menu from 1983 at the same prices the food was served in 1983. It’s the family’s way of saying thank you to Los Angeles, and to Larchmont, for 40 wonderful years. Said the brothers, “We are blessed because we’ve had the pleasure of serving so many amazing people and learning so many things. It’s been an amazing journey.”

MARIA AND CIRO Marino together.

GRANDCHILDREN leaving their marks outside the restaurant.

TOMATOES from the family’s gardens.

BROTHERS Mario and Sal Marino at the restaurant.

Beautiful art collected by colonizing capitalists is now public’s

By John Welborne

Opened last month at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and continuing through March 3, 2024, is a fascinating exhibit of more than 300 artworks, animal and mineral specimens, scientific instruments, books and maps — initially collected by wealthy people across Europe, for their private pleasure, in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The exhibition is titled “The World Made Wondrous: The Dutch Collector’s Cabinet and the Politics of Possession.”

Those wealthy people established “collector’s cabinets” that they shared with family and friends. Today, their fascinating and beautiful objects and paintings largely are in the hands of museums open to the public.

One, two or three ways to view the exhibition

Just because the exhibition was curated with a political / social point of view, rather than just an art-oriented viewpoint, does not mean that the exhibition has to be experienced in any one way.

Saying of her curatorial creation, which includes substantial narration available via personal mobile devices and in-gallery printed handouts, Diva Zumaya, LACMA’s Assistant Curator of European Painting and Sculpture, observes: “[W]e hope to shine a light on how the interconnected legacies of capitalism and colonialism ... contin-

ue to this day and how the human and environmental devastation that they enact affect not only museums and the collections they care for, but the entire world.”

Zumaya’s full concept can be experienced by listening to the narration while looking at the beautiful objects and paintings.

A second approach might be to just listen to the narration and/or read the essays and entries by Zumaya in the Collator publication “The World Made Wondrous” that is available for purchase in the museum store. Just skip taking any looks at the art.

A third way to view the exhibition is just that – skip the narrative and look at the art. There is much extraordinary beauty on view, including 31 of LACMA’s 37 Dutch paintings given to the museum by Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter.

Collector’s cabinet

The World Made Wondrous assembles a fictional 17th-century Dutch collector’s cabinet, a type of collection that included both art and natural specimens from around the world. The wealthy collectors

of 450 (plus or minus) years ago included physicians, merchants, powerful politicians and others. Encyclopedic museums, including LACMA, are heirs to the tradition of the collector’s cabinet. This

particular exhibition aims to provide an immersive exploration of the economic and political structures that laid the groundwork for today’s museums.

(Please turn to Page 28)

PAINTINGS AND OBJECTS comprise a portion of the wondrous world on display.

THE WORLD Made Wondrous: The Dutch Collector’s Cabinet and the Politics of Possession — an exhibition just opened at LACMA. Photo © Museum Associates / LACMA

EXHIBITION LABEL for Heraldic Panels (above) on display in the World Made Wondrous exhibition at LACMA.

An oldie but goodie satisfies with Spanish comfort food

Maybe you’ve been happily going there for years; or perhaps, like me, you’ve driven by it a million times and assumed that La Paella, the striped awning-bedecked cottage on the sleepy access road that parallels car-choked San Vicente Boulevard, would be boring at best. I assumed incorrectly.

A Spanish restaurant specializing in paella and tapas, what La Paella lacks in dazzling design and chef-driven innovations, it makes up for in authenticity and rustic charm. My husband is a paella lover, and I am truly sorry we waited this long to try it.

I haven’t seen lace curtains in a restaurant since my college days in Boston where the colonial look had been liberally applied to seafood emporiums and fondue cafés alike. Stale there, it works at La Paella, adding to the character. Apart from the lace, the interior was simple and warm with white tablecloths, carved wood chests, small paintings and plants and wine bottles everywhere. It felt homey and inviting.

Of course, the four of us wanted paella, but it takes 30 minutes to prepare, so that left us ample time to smear bread with the accompany-

ing aioli and olive tapenade and sample some of the 36 tapas dishes on the menu while we waited. In Spain, popular tapas bars are often standing room only; patrons make a meal out of these little snack plates and copious amounts of alcohol (we shared a $45 bottle of tempranillo). La Paella’s extensive tapas selection includes $6 patatas bravas (fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce) and octopus with paprika, $9.95. We enjoyed the artichoke hearts sautéed with small chunks of cured ham, $9.50. The $7.60 chicken croquettes had good chicken flavor with a crispy exterior and soft mashed potato-textured interior. Garlic chili shrimp, $9.95, was disappointing. The shrimp were small and surprisingly lacked the garlic punch usually associated with this dish. Our favorite was the $7.90 tortilla Española (a tall wedge of stacked potatoes and onions held together with eggs in a kind of frittata). Delicioso!

There is an extensive menu: four soups and five salads ($8.90 garlic soup, $10.90 Caesar salad), 11 fish and meats ($32 grilled trout stuffed with Spanish ham, $24.90 chicken sauté with tomato, onion,

On the Menu

by Helene Seifer

peppers and eggplant, $36.90 steak in green peppercorn sauce).

However, the star of the show is the paella, and nearly every table had one. There are seven paellas on the menu, each sized for two to share, but they can be sized up to accommodate more diners. Choices range from a $48 vegetarian version to a $53 meat-centric one. There’s one made with squid ink, $55, and a $53 version that substitutes fideo noodles for the rice. We ordered the $58 paella Valenciana mixta, which included chicken, pork, seafood and vegetables cooked in saffron rice. A portion for three, $87, easily served the four of us. We paid the extra $2.20 each to upgrade to bomba rice, a Spanish variety perfect for paella because it can absorb huge amounts of water and still retain its structure. Although our server asked how we wanted our rice cooked, the house

recommends letting the rice crisp on the bottom. Do not hesitate to agree.

The fragrant paella is delivered to the table in the large shallow two-handled frying pan-type vessel in which it was cooked. The dish originally hails from Valencia, Spain (hence the name of the version we ordered), and in the original Valencian language, the word for frying pan is paella.

Our server did the plating, making sure we each got some of everything: shrimp, clams, mussels, little pieces of calamari, pork, chicken, vegetables. Then he scraped the crisped rice off the bottom of the pan and piled it onto a plate for us to share. We dug into the crunchy, chewy rice before we even touched the rest of the paella. Magnífico! The paella itself was among the best I’ve had. The pork and chicken weren’t particularly remarkable, although they rounded out the flavors of the dish. The seafood was delicious and had absorbed flavor from the saffron. The rice itself is really the main event. It was redolent of saffron and in spite of being cooked specifically to stick and form a crust on the

bottom of the pan, it stayed moist in the rest of the dish.

We ended the meal with $7.50 flan and $8.90 chocolate mousse for a satisfying meal of comfort, Spanish style.

La Paella, 475 San Vicente Blvd., 323-951-0745.

New Alfalfa serves healthy meals and happiness

Alfalfa Larchmont, the newest restaurant to open in our neighborhood, is at 5570 Melrose Ave. at Beachwood Dr.

The Larchmont site is the fourth in the Alfalfa empire, which started in Hoboken, New Jersey. Its founders, all childhood friends, later expanded with sites in Santa Monica and Jersey City before moving to Larchmont.

Menu items include a mix of salads, plant-based “chicken” tenders and breakfast burritos served all day. Gluten-free doughnuts include lavender, chocolate sprinkle, and fairy bread with rainbow sprinkles. Coffees, teas and lemonade are also on the menu.

Also offered is joy. “We aim to inspire healthier communities through real food and joyful experiences,” the founders tell on the website, eatalfalfa.com.

Complex MI6 triangle; robbery in Spain turns life upside down

Treason (9/10): 5 episodes. TV-MA Netflix. Young Adam Lawrence (Charlie Cox) is suddenly thrust into becoming the head of MI6 when his boss is poisoned. Things go immediately downhill when his prior relationship with Kara (Olga Kurylenko), a Russian spy, is resurrected. What results is a complicated triangular relationship involving them and his wife, Maddy (Oona Chaplin). Suddenly personal relationships and the future of the country are all intertwined. How good is this? I stayed up until 3 in the morning watching all the episodes.

Who is Erin Carter? (9/10): 7 episodes. TV-MA. Netflix. When Erin Carter (Evin Ahmad), a British teacher in Spain, stumbles upon a robbery in a supermarket with her daughter, Harper (Indica Watson), her life turns upside down. There’s a lot about her backlife that she hasn’t told her perplexed husband, Jordi Collantes (Sean Teale). Thus begins a fascinating thriller as we slowly learn about her and why people are out to get her. Shot in Barcelona, Ahmad and Watson give award-quality performances.

Make Me a Star (8/10): 86 minutes. 1932. NR. TCM. I saw this early one morning and I had never heard of it.

Starring Stuart Erwin and Joan Blondell, it is a touching tale of an inexperienced, unsophisticated Midwesterner who comes to Hollywood to become a serious West-

ern star. Joan Blondell takes pity on him and puts him in a movie just to make fun of his naïveté when he thinks it’s serious. This is a touching film that had me from the start with “don’t blink or you’ll miss them” cameos by many of the big stars of the day, like Gary Cooper and Maurice Chevalier.

Dumb Money (7/10): 104 minutes. R. The Gamestop story has become legendary on Wall Street. It was stock of a mall video game store that was used by a savvy amateur investor, Keith Gill (Paul Dano), to make millions by investing his life savings in it and then posting about it. Several other amateur investors followed his lead and the stock soared. On the other side were some major hedge funds who were shorting the stock. Gill and his investors caused a “short squeeze” that threatened to bankrupt the pros. Based on the book “The Antisocial Network” by Ben Mezrich and well-directed by Craig Gillespie, it is enhanced by fine performances by Dano, Shailene Woodley, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio and others.

The Equalizer 3 (5/10): 130 minutes. R. Director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington have had a fertile relationship with some reasonably entertaining movies. Alas, this time Fuqua brought his trademark grisly violence but forgot a believable story. They telegraph that what you are about to see is non-

At the Movies with Tony Medley

sense by an opening sequence that is utterly absurd, and that continues throughout the film. Robert McCall (Washington) is that hoary character, a vicious government assassin who is turning over a new leaf and wants to be a normal guy. Wounded from his last encounter, he comes to an Italian village and takes on the local Mafia.

Written by Richard Wenk, that might make for a good film, but the problem is that this film makes no sense whatsoever. There are no believable relationships; McCall is never seen to be in any danger even though he constantly puts himself into ludicrous situations, always emerging relatively unscathed.

I guess there’s supposed to be some non-romantic chemistry between Washington and Dakota Fanning, who plays a US government agent, but that totally fizzles. Exacerbating the lack of verisimilitude, Washington has put on a lot of weight and it’s a real stretch to think this guy could engage in combat with young, physically imposing men and generally escape to fight again.

Filmed in southern Italy, the two things good about it are

the scenery and cinematography (Robert Richardson). But the denouement is so ridiculous that what came before just validates the idea that Fuqua really didn’t have any idea where to go with this, so he just put in all his graphic violence and winged it.

The Re-Education of Molly Singer (3/10): 120 minutes.

R. Molly Singer (Britt Robertson) is a frivolous young lawyer who is fired by her law firm for her incompetence and lack of dedication, but then hired to re-enroll in her alma mater to make a man of her former boss’ inexperienced son.

Jennifer Lawrence starred

in a similarly themed film earlier in the year, “No Hard Feelings.” The latter comedy had verisimilitude this one sadly lacks. This is so silly and preposterous, it’s agony to sit through. It has about as much substance as an Archie comic book. Its depiction of the lives of college-aged millennials is hopelessly frivolous. They can’t be this shallow, can they? Its only saving grace for me is the appearance of Wendie Mallick, who was a mainstay on the almost forgotten, but very funny, 1990s HBO sitcom “Dream On.” Intensifying its annoyance is the woke casting now required of all Hollywood films.

BOSSCHAERT,

of Flowers

LACMA

(Continued from Page 26)

It also showcases works of exceptional beauty created by great artists (including Mother Nature).

Curator Diva Zumaya

Diva Zumaya is Assistant Curator, European Painting and Sculpture, at LACMA, where she has served in that position since 2020. She is the author of an essay on Dutch still life historiography and the legacies of capitalism that will be included in an edited volume of essays in 2024 to be published by academic publisher Brill, founded in the Netherlands in 1683.

Another exhibition

Also just opened (and available through Jan. 21, 2024), in the second floor galleries of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum (BCAM) build-

ing at LACMA, is the new exhibition “Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction.” The exhibition of colorful fabric objects explores abstract art and woven textiles over the past century. LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan says of this exhibition of more than 150 works: “Over the years, LACMA has presented exhibitions that examine the intersections of our encyclopedic collections. While weaving is often associated with the museum’s Decorative Arts and Design department and Costume and Textiles department, there are strong connections between artists working with this medium and the Modern and Contemporary collection. This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to present this interconnected art history with a refreshed lens.”

AMBROSIUS

Bouquet

on a Ledge, 1619, Oil on Copper, LACMA, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Edward W. Carter. Photo © Museum Associates / LACMA

TEXTILES among the many on display at the Woven Histories exhibition in BCAM’s second floor gallery.

EXHIBITION CURATOR Diva Zumaya explains her approach at a press preview.

Suicide as ‘heartwarming,’ Christian nationalism and Freud

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America. Before 2019, most suicides were white males, but cases have risen among women and minority groups (John Hopkins, “How to Talk About Suicide,” 6/15/22). I am hesitant to call a play about suicide “heartwarming” or “inspiring,” but Every Brilliant Thing , at the Geffen through Sun., Oct. 15, is.

The talented Daniel K. Isaac plays a young man, from age 7 to middle age, whose mother tries, and finally “succeeds,” in killing herself. He draws up an ever-expanding list of beautiful things to give her and himself reasons to live.

But to call Isaac’s a “solo” performance is wrong: audience members play everyone from the vet who puts down the family dog to Isaac’s father, wife and more. Staged in the round, the audience is cradled in a comforting set of crocheted blankets (my mother called them “afghans”). This is theater at its best: healing, human and holistic. The only depressing fact, on reading the clever program, is that the play — like Peter Pan Goes Wrong, or The Lehman Trilogy — was developed in England. Why can’t American “writers’ workshops” produce anything this good? geffenplayhouse.org.

Another statistic is the growth of the conservative wing of the American Catholic Church. This is the Christian nationalism of Steve Bannon, Ginni Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett. It is the atmosphere playwright Will Arbery grew up in and explores in his Heroes of the Fourth Turning, produced by Rogue Machine at the Matrix, through Mon., Oct. 16.

A “Big Chill” for the theologically repressed, the action takes place as four alumni of a small Catholic college (modeled on the one Arbery’s parents led) return for the installation of its new president. The four, played with pitch-perfect precision, passion and compassion, have

‘Folio turns 400’

staged Oct. 7, 8

“Shakespeare’s Folio Turns 400” will be explored in staged readings at Greystone Theater, 905 Loma Vista Dr. in Beverly Hills.

Larchmont Chronicle columnist Louis Fantasia will direct numerous actors invarious scenes from the Bard’s plays.

“Hamlet” will be featured on Sat., Oct 7, at 7 p.m., and “As You Like It,” is on Sun., Oct. 8 at 3 p.m.

For tickets and more information visit beverlyhills.org/ greystonetheatre.

discovered that “truth,” so self-evident in class, is not so obvious in life. Their faith has been challenged and they seek spiritual confirmation, but don’t get it from their favorite prof, now president (the extraordinary Roxanne Hart), who challenges them to think, pray harder and man up.

The performances are excellent, but Arbery’s play is problematic. He wants us to hate the sin (Christian nationalism) but not the sinners (nice people), and seems to have geared his play for an audience that has never seen Fox News. Liberals believe there will be some event that will finally get the MAGA world to see the light. Christian nationalists believe they are on a mission from God. Arbery could have issued them a sterner challenge. roguemachinetheatre.org.

Theater Review by Louis

Fantasia

Blood at the Root is Dominique Morisseau’s polemic dramatization of the 2006 “Jena Six” case in rural Louisiana, at the Open Fist through Sat., Oct. 28.

Six Black high school students were arrested for attacking a white student, charged, and tried as adults. An earlier incident of white students hanging nooses from a campus tree was written off as a “prank.” These events gained national media coverage, massive demonstrations and investigations by the FBI and Congress. The offending tree was chopped down.

What to watch for

Casa 0101 Theater presents the world premiere of Josefina Lopez’s “Queen of the Rumba, A Play With Dance,” through Oct. 22; Gloria Molina Auditorium in Boyle Heights. 323-263-7684.

“Sea of Terror,” a dark comedy about social anxiety by Emmy Award-winner Sam Catlin, runs at the Hudson Main Stage through Oct. 29. onstage411.com/SeaOfTerror for tickets.

Agatha Christie’s “Towards Zero” plays at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills through Oct. 22; www.Theatre40.org. 310364-0535.

But none of these remedies intrude into the play. The dynamic, young ensemble — and Michael A. Shepperd’s crisp direction — can’t hide the fact that Ms. Morisseau has an ax to grind, and it’s not against the tree. Racism is still a stain on this country, but we are not where we were in the 1950s. www.openfist.org. If all of this makes you want to see a shrink, I heartily recommend Freud on Cocaine

at the Whitefire Theater through Sat., Nov. 4. whitefiretheatre.com.

Howard Skora’s high-octane romp shows young Sigmund making his mark by writing “studies” on the non-addictive benefits of cocaine for Merck and Parke-Davis (true). Purdue pharma and oxy, anyone? Addict Freud quits cold turkey, starts to dream and the rest is history. A ton of prop coke (I hope!) fuels the first-rate cast.

La Brea Tar Pits

(Continued from Page 1)

Hancock Park between the George C. Page Museum entrance and the Lake Pit at 5801 Wilshire Blvd.

A Draft Environmental Impact Report for the project, La Brea Tar Pits Loops and Lenses, Master Plan and Concept Design, was released on Sept. 11. Public comments will be accepted through Thurs., Oct. 26.

Comments may be emailed to Inegritto@nhm.org or sent by mail postmarked no later than 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 to Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County, Attn: CFO Leslie Negritto, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90007.

Step back in time

When the reimagined La Brea Tar Pits opens in 2028 (the tentative date), scientists and visitors of all ages

will be able to step back in time — way back — to learn about the last major episode of global climate change and to consider possible solutions for our own time, museum officials say.

Members of New Yorkbased architecture and design firm Weiss / Manfredi were chosen in 2019 to create the Reimagine La Brea Tar Pits master plan.

The plan calls for a dramatic expansion of the museum, built in 1977 as the George C. Page Museum. The plan nearly doubles the research and collection space.

A one-kilometer pedestrian walkway, the La Brea Loops, (aka “Miracle Kilometer in Miracle Mile”) will connect the main areas of the museum on a journey from prehistoric times to today.

The locale is, “without a doubt, one of the most extraordinary sites, subjects and

settings in the world. If we think of Los Angeles as being the quintessential American city, then La Brea Tar Pits is quintessentially what is Los Angeles,” architect Marion Weiss has said in a prior interview.

Michael Manfredi added, “The master plan has evolved with the support of a great team of architects, engineers, designers, storytellers — even horticulturists and paleobotanists.”

Plan elements

The project would renovate an existing 63,200-square-foot building and construct a new, two-story, 40,000-square-foot

building northwest of the Page to include two theaters.

Other key elements of the plan include a new pedestrian bridge to take visitors across the existing Lake Pit along Wilshire Blvd. and the 7.3 acres of renovated park space that will feature picnic and play areas and a possible small dog park.

The iconic mammoth sculptures currently in the lake are included in the new design, as is the popular sloped lawn down which children have been rolling for decades.

Inside, visitors will be able to peek into a glass-enclosed Fossil Lab to see ongoing discoveries and the extensive collections. On the new building’s windows, animal images will be projected at night.

Fossil remains of saber-tooth cats, giant sloths, dire wolves and other Ice Age animals who walked the grounds here 10,000 to 50,000 years ago — before being pulled into the sticky tar below — will be featured in the new exhibition building.

Shade will be added at the existing outdoor classroom and fossil dig at Pit 91,

Mayor

(Continued from Page 1)

Dusseault serves as co-chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Homelessness, and Bauman is emeritus CEO of Imagine LA, a nonprofit group dedicated to mobilizing the community to end the generational cycle of homelessness and poverty. She also is co-founder of Social Benefit, the producer of this event.

Mayor Bass will lead the discussion of the challenges ahead in tackling homelessness. The conversation will be anchored in facts shared by UCLA’s Rountree. The group of five women will

where visitors will be able to see sticky asphalt oozing up from the ground below while watching scientists work in real time.

More shade is planned to welcome visitors at the entry plaza at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Curson Avenue, which also will feature an Ice Age-era Pleistocene Garden. A second entryway will be on Sixth Street for school groups. Native plantings that support local wildlife and birdwatching areas will be in the park.

A rooftop café and “Tar Bar” will offer refreshments and views.

“The site is a gateway to the Ice Age, and it is right on our doorstep,” Lori Bettison-Varga, president of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHM), told us when the project was first announced. “It gives us a very good glimpse into the last global climate change episode. Understanding what happened back then — 10,000 to 50,000 years ago — is key to finding solutions in our own time,” she added. For more information, visit tarpits.org/reimagine.

explore with attendees the major components driving the homelessness emergency in Los Angeles today and how city and county governments, nonprofit organizations and the private sector are collaborating on a strategic approach and a viable path forward.

Tickets must be obtained in advance. They are $15 for Ebell members and $20 for non-members. Coffee and light refreshments will be available for the gathering that has an 8 a.m. arrival time for a program start time of 8:30 a.m. More information and tickets are at tinyurl. com/bdzbp7w5

A NEW VISION of the planet’s most important Ice Age fossil site will include the entire 13-acre area of the museum and surrounding park in Miracle Mile.

THE PROJECT would renovate an existing 63,200-square-foot building and construct a new, two-story, 40,000-square-foot building on the La Brea Tar Pits site.

Initial public comment is open through Mon., Oct. 2, on proposed 42-story development.

BROOKSIDE Face painting, a dessert contest and more were at the 41st annual event.

New flavors and custom paper goods come to the Boulevard

By Casey Russell

Shorthand, the new-to-theBoulevard boutique stationery store at 126 N. Larchmont Blvd., has opened for business. Fernanda Izidorio, a Shorthand sales associate, told us there have been a lot of people coming in to check out the beautiful paper goods.

The store carries desk supplies, pens, custom stationery, notebooks and wrapping paper. It also has a wide array of greeting cards — designed by owner Rosanna Kvernmo — that are printed at Shorthand’s Highland Park location. So far, Kvernmo told us, the Larchmont store’s biggest sellers are its pens and custom notebooks.

Everything that says Shorthand on it is made by hand, but the store also imports Japanese and European stationery and desk supplies. “My litmus test is: for the love of your desk,” said Kvernmo.

The owner says she looks for aesthetically pleasing, functional tools. “I want to sell things that people are actually going to use and that will make their lives easier.”

When asked why Larchmont was chosen as the home for her second store, Kvernmo told us she had been looking for a place that had community vibrancy. Larchmont, she said,

has that “times a thousand!”

New food flavors will soon abound at Suá, 144 N. Larchmont Blvd. The Sichuan superette plans to open in late October. When we spoke recently with Jing Gao, an owner of the establishment, she said, “We are so excited to be bringing delicious, Sichuan flavors in a convenient, healthy, grab-and-go format to this neighborhood we love.”

Replacing Vernetti restaurant at 225 N. Larchmont Blvd., Cosimo Mammoliti and Shereen Arazm’s new Italian eatery La Bettola di Terroni is scheduled to open its doors in the first weeks of October.

Like the owners’ Terroni on

Beverly Boulevard, this restaurant will serve southern Italian food. While still serving Terroni classics, it will have more seafood on the menu. The menu will be curated by Sicilian head chef Costantino Guzzo.

Mammoliti is the creator of the Terroni brand, and the restaurants in the group use his family’s recipes. But Arazm is the one who pushed to gain this location.

“I really fought for the space to be ours,” said Arazm. Vernetti’s owner, Steve Vernetti, had decided he wanted the location to go to a neighborhood person and to remain an Italian restaurant. “Terroni is a neighborhood brand,” said Arazm, who has lived in Hancock Park for years. “I was determined that it had to be us in the space. My sister is one of the managers, and I can walk to work,” she said.

The duo is looking forward to doing business on the Boulevard. “We have a full liquor license, so we will be the only place on Larchmont where you’ll be able to have a martini,” said Arazm. The name La Bettola di Terroni is derived from the Latin word bevettola, which means “a place where you can drink.”

Anticipation is high for Cookbook Market at 310 N.

Larchmont Blvd. to begin doing business. Representatives told us they expect to open soon.

Also, we spoke recently with Caren Ho, vice president of marketing for the company bringing Larchmont Jewelers to the neighborhood at 119

N. Larchmont Blvd. (See our comprehensive article about the new store in the Chronicle’s June 2023 issue.) She told us they had expected to open in October but ran into some minor remodeling disruptions. “I think we’ll probably open at the end of November,” Ho said.

at Shorthand browse the store’s colorful selection of paper goods.

BETTOLA DI TERRONI is preparing to open in the former Vernetti restaurant space.

OWNER Rosanna Kvernmo

(left) with Sasha Siefman at Shorthand’s opening soirée.

Photo by Caroline Tracy

Dining and meeting neighbors at annual ‘Taste of Larchmont’

By John Welborne

Diners enjoyed the summer breeze while visiting with new and old friends and sampling a variety of food and drinks at HopeNet’s 31st annual Taste of Larchmont on Sept. 18.

Upon entering under a colorful balloon arch by the Larchmont Boulevard clock tower, guests picked up their passports to 19 participating eateries on the Boulevard. Money raised supports nearly a dozen local food pantries. To learn more, visit hope-net.org.

STROLLING Larchmont were (from left) Martha Welborne with Adam, Leighton and Landry Wiese, and baby Joni in the buggy. PATTI CARROLL ran the raffle and silent auction.

DINERS lined up for Kiku Sushi.

TASTE OF LARCHMONT sponsors were listed on a banner adjacent to the balloon arch entrance to the party HQ in the parking lot.

“PAVILION” in the parking lot was party central.

JUNE AHN checked in passport holders at Muraya. Jane Kwak is at right.

NORA HOUNDALAS (far left) oversaw Le Petit Greek’s Taste of Larchmont offerings with (left to right) Nicholas and Dimitri Houndalas, Jeannine Yates and Peter Aburto.

Celebrate Halloween and our local hotbed of ‘haunted houses’

By Brian Curran

It’s that time of year again, when our lawns, trees and houses are invaded by a ghoulish army of pumpkins, ghosts, graveyards and monsters! I have to confess I am a bit of a Halloween fanatic, and our house goes full Haunted Mansion mode for the month of October. But did you know that Halloween has become a major event for historic sites throughout Los Angeles and a vital source of their income and support?

During the month of October, many of Los Angeles’ historic sites become a hotbed of haunted houses and hayrides, vampiric operas and Día de Los Muertos altars attracting thousands of revelers.

Part of what drew me to historic preservation were illustrations in books of crumbling “haunted” Victorian mansions and desolate plantations of the South, where I grew up. In her 2005 article “Better For Haunts,” for the Smithsonian Institution’s

On Preservation by Brian Curran

American Art magazine, Sarah Burns explored this link between the haunted house and Victorian architecture. She traced how works from artists like Edward Hopper and Charles E. Burchfield, who painted lonely and abandoned Victorian houses, were seized upon by modernizers to label architectural fancies of the Victorian era as “ugly, excessive, and un-American” and “a symbol of past corruption still haunting the present.” Such sentiments led to the obliteration of a great deal of Victorian architecture in neighborhoods such as Bunker Hill in Downtown Los Angeles.

The ideas also bled into popular culture with cinematic architecture, from the Amberson Mansion in Orson Wells’ “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1942) to Alfred Hitchcock’s Bates House in “Psycho” (1960) and even to lighthearted but still decayed and creepy homes of “The Adams Family” (1964) and “The Munsters” (1964). Two of the more recent famous horror houses are our neighbors, such as The Rosenheim Mansion at 1120 Westchester Pl., aka “The Murder House” of the series “American Horror Story” (2011) in Country Club Park, and the Lambert House, used in the movie “Insidious” (2010), at 4350 Victoria Park

Dr. in Victoria Park. Nothing seems to beat the Victorian for a sense of the macabre.

Today such “haunted” architecture can even be a selling point, whether it be a real estate transaction or an historic attraction. Kat

Von D’s blood-red gothicized 1896 Van Nuys mansion recently found the perfect buyer when it sold to someone who truly appreciates the draw of the ghoulish delights — the owner of Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The cemetery itself is partly supported by tours and events such as its annual Día de Los Muertos event.

So if you are an advocate of historic preservation, remember when you are celebrating the spooky season, be it scary or child-friendly, to check out the offerings of these historic sites so you can show your support!

Hollywood Forever Cemetery: Día y Noche de Los Muertos, the annual crosscultural celebration of the Mexican traditional Day of the Dead. Costumes and decorated altars galore! Oct. 28, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 6000 Santa Monica Blvd.

Immanuel Presbyterian Church: Candlelight Koreatown, a Haunted Evening of Halloween Classics. Classical concert of the spookiest Halloween-inspired music played under the glow of flickering candlelight. Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m., and Oct. 27, 9 p.m. 3300 Wilshire Blvd.

Grauman’s Chinese Theater: Screamfest is the largest and longest-running horror film festival in the United States. Based in Hollywood

and considered the “Sundance of Horror,” the festival premieres and showcases new work from American and international independent horror filmmakers. Oct. 10 through 19. 6925 Hollywood Blvd.

Wilshire Park HPOZ: Wilshire Park Halloween Haunt, an annual family- friendly Halloween block party put on by the Wilshire Park Association. On S. Bronson Ave. (between Wilshire Blvd. and 8th St.) Oct. 28, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The Montalban Theater: The Vampire Circus, an extraordinary, immersive theater experience blending mystery, terror and exhilaration with breathtaking acrobatics and captivating characters. It offers fear, joy, laughter and wonder, taking audiences on a phenomenal ride through the world of vampires and the Underworld. Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 and Oct. 28 to 30. thevampirecircusexperience.com. 1615 Vine Street.

Ovation Hollywood: Icons of Darkness is not a historic place but the historic collection of Hancock Park collector Rich Correll, who — over 50 years — has amassed the world’s most extensive collection of sci-fi, fantasy and horror movie memorabilia. Daily through Dec. 6801 Hollywood Blvd.

Los Angeles Theater: Angel of Light. Prepare to embark on a thrilling experience where ancient curses, sonic secrets and demonic possession intertwine. Old Hollywood comes alive for this live immersive walk-through horror

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Development moves forward with city notice, public comment

By Suzan Filipek

Finally, the 42-story Mirabel project is gaining some momentum.

It’s been nine years since Wally Marks first brought to the Miracle Mile his vision for the skyscraper proposed at 5411 Wilshire Blvd.

The City Planning Dept. released a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the 348-unit development last month.

The NOP is the initial step in the lengthy city process that starts the ball rolling on the Draft Environmental Impact Report process, Marks told us in a phone interview last month.

Public comment on the project is open through Mon., Oct 2. Mail comments directly to Jason McCrea, City of Los Angeles, Dept. of City Planning, 221 N. Figueroa St., Room 1350, Los Angeles, Calif. 90012, or email jason. mccrea@lacity.org.

The four-page study, released Aug. 31, provides the public, nearby residents, property owners and others with information on the project and its potential environmental effects.

The project, at 5401-5425 Wilshire Blvd., will include 29 units set aside for very low-income households, 12,821

square feet of ground floor commercial space and 475 parking spaces.

Marks has designed the $500 million project with the nearby subway stations — now completing construction under La Brea and Fairfax avenues — in mind. Many younger people today don’t want to own a car, he notes.

“I’m hopefully going to be able to come up with ideas that incite a dazzling urbanite to rent my cars or use the

bus,” he said. He plans to have car rentals on the site for tenants as well as an automated, three-level, underground garage modeled after one at his Helms Bakery property on Venice Boulevard. And the location can’t be beat, he says. Besides walking to nearby museums, tenants will be able “to get to Koreatown and the Broad and the Hammer all without traffic. It’s great to be in the middle of the city.”

He also praises the Keating Architecture tower design, which features a glass exterior with a curvilinear form and a rooftop deck and common open space above a parking podium.

The façade of the historic 1936 Streamline Moderne Sontag Drug Store building at the corner of Wilshire and Cloverdale Avenue will be preserved.

Marks expects the city to release the Draft Environ-

mental Impact Report this coming spring, with community hearings to follow. If the Final EIR is approved by the city in 2025, the Mirabel could open in 2028 — in time for the city’s Summer Olympics, Marks says. His Miracle Mile roots go way back. His grandfather was the broker who convinced May Co. department store offiicials to open a store on Wilshire Blvd. back in 1939. “They (Please turn to Page 13)

THE 42-STORY MIRABEL will include 348 residential units and 12,821 square feet of ground floor commerical space. The façade of the historic Sontag Drug Store building will be preserved.

Consuls general homes on tour Nov. 4 with the WSHPHS

The Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society (WSHPHS) will showcase the homes of consuls general and other landmark estates on Sat., Nov. 4, from noon to 4 p.m.

The tour includes a visit to the beautiful homes and gardens, as well as refreshments and a silent auction. Society

President Richard Battaglia stated that attendees will have the opportunity to see treasures and interiors that are rarely seen by the public.  Fire stations and schools among beneficiaries

Proceeds from the event will go towards local fire stations, schools and libraries for landscaping projects. The Historical Society is also currently planning to beautify the medians at the intersection of Rossmore Avenue and Beverly Boulevard.

The committee members involved in this project include Bret Parsons, Joseph Guidera, Marlene Zweig, Judy Zeller, Beate McDermott, Kelly Montalvo, Debbie Alpers, Joyce Kleifield and June Bilgore.

If you’re interested in attending the event, the cost is $65 for Historical Society members and $85 for non-members. Tickets can be purchased on the day of the event at Fourth Street and Windsor Boulevard, or in advance at wshphs.com.

Former ‘bad boy’ to speak at Chevalier’s Books

By Casey Russell Andy Romanoff, author of

a new book called “Stories I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You,” has lived in Larchmont Village for nearly 40 years. Before moving to this area, he lived, in his words, “a pretty wild life.”

In 2015, Romanoff started writing about his youthful adventures and putting his tales into the world via various media outlets. “It’s fun to write about being one of those [wild] guys if you’re no longer one of them,” said Romanoff when we spoke.

He enjoyed writing about individual moments from his life, but he told us he never thought he had a book in him. Both Romanoff’s wife and his daughter are authors, so he

was well aware of the work involved in writing a book.

Several years passed, and Romanoff found that he had written close to 100 stories. The wordsmith realized he had unwittingly started to write a book.

A friend connected him to editor Amy Bookman and, together, they began figuring out how to create a timeline and framework for the numerous stories. A book was born.

Romanoff’s son, Jordan, had experience in the publishing world, having once worked at Taschen, the well-established publishing company. Jordan produced the cover and book design for his 81-year-old father. The book came out in the spring of this year.

“Stories I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You” recounts Romanoff’s early years in the ’60s and ’70s, when he would hang out on street corners waiting for something to happen.

Readers vicariously experience Romanoff’s many adventures, like stealing mo-

torcycles, getting kicked out of five high schools and living at a legendary commune called The Hog Farm.

But Romanoff also takes readers through his realization of wanting more for himself. He includes stories of his time in the film business, where he found himself pioneering remote-operated cranes in movies. He worked with such names as Steven Spielberg and Hal Ashby.

“Stories I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You” is written with an octogenarian’s knowledge and hard-won wisdom about his wild youthful adventures, his transition to career success and the peace this former bad boy found with family and friends.

Romanoff will read from his book at Chevalier’s Books, 133 N. Larchmont Blvd., on Tues., Oct 5, at 6 p.m.

Hancock Park Homeowners annual meeting is Oct. 16

Hancock Park Homeowners Association annual meeting is scheduled for Mon., Oct.

16, at 6 p.m., on Zoom. For information visit hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org.

Real Estate Sales*

Single-family homes

CONGRESSMAN Adam Schiff (at right) discussed his recent book with interviewer Richard Drooyan at Chevalier’s Books on Sep. 3. The store’s co-owner, Darryl Holter, is at left.

Photo by Gary Leonard

ROMANOFF’S “Stories I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You.”

SOLD: This home at 330 S. Windsor Blvd. in Windsor Square sold for $5,900,000 in August.

‘Major issues’ surface at TV City development, opponents say

By Suzan Filipek

A document setting forth “several egregious issues” for an expansion project at Television City at Fairfax Avenue and Beverly Boulevard was recently unearthed by people opposed to the project.

The 46-page TVC 2050 proposed Specific Plan “rewrites” height limits in the municipal code, includes a maximum of 10 liquor licenses and would prevent the public from appealing the project.

“They’re not following the rules,” Shelley Wagers and Danielle Peters, co-chairs of Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development, told us. The developer, Hackman Capital Partners, “has made a very big point of [building] a 21st century studio, when in fact the Specific Plan leaves the door very, very wide open to many other uses,” the cochairs added.

Mega-large in scope, if approved, the TVC 2050 development would be nearly 1.875 million square feet of new space on the Television City property.

The City Planning Dept. and the developer maintain that the developer-suggested draft Specific Plan has been in the case file all along and available to the public.

Yet, it’s curious that even a prominent Los Angeles law firm could not find the proposed Specific Plan, Wagers and Peters said.

“There is absolutely no clarity as to what the actual project is,” the attorney at Latham & Watkins LLP wrote in a Sept. 13, 2022 letter to the Los Angeles City Planning Dept. The law firm represents The Grove.

The attorney’s letter was among more than 400 comment letters submitted last year when the city circulated the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for TVC 2050 for public review.

“The DEIR makes clear that the project is essentially the establishment of a Specific Plan, but the Specific Plan is not included in the DEIR,” the Latham & Watkins letter continued.

The letter’s author did receive the newly discovered materials on Aug. 28, 2023, after a second request was made to the Planning Dept. under the California Public Records Act.

Hackman Capital says: Hackman Capital Partners responded in an email that “as part of the entitlement process, a draft specific plan was submitted to the Department

of City Planning in 2021. Since that time, the draft specific plan has continued to be refined concurrently with the environmental review process to allow comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) to be reflected in the updated draft specific plan ordinance, including giving all members of the community the right to appeal. It should be noted that all versions of the draft specific plan are consistent with the application materials

(Please turn to Page 13)

Watts Towers celebrates its colorful history

By Casey Russell

For 33 years, starting in 1921, Italian immigrant Sabato “Simon” Rodia worked on his masterpiece, “Nuestro Pueblo” (Our Town), known internationally as the “Watts Towers.”

The structure consists of 17 sculptures made out of steel, mortar and mosaic tiles. This fall, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs will honor the 102-year history of this beloved artwork and its site, the artist’s original residential property in Watts, which now is an arts center.

The 41st annual Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival

on Sat., Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will celebrate percussion and its role in society.

The 46th annual Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival on Sun., Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will serenade visitors with jazz, gospel and blues.

Admission is free to both events, which will take place at the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus, 1727 East 107th St. Food vendors will be onsite, cultural performances will abound, and there will be educational arts opportunities for young people.

For more information, go to wattstowers.org or call 213-847-4646.

DEVELOPER FOR THE PROJECT says it plans to continue a robust community outreach program. Above, a rendering of part of the Hackman Capital Partners’ TVC 2050 proposal.

WATTS TOWERS are still standing strong in the heart of Watts.

Photo courtesy of Dept. of Cultural Affairs City of Los Angeles

Time for

a

By Suzan Filipek

relaxing bath at Beverly Hot Springs, but not for long

Just as the Chronicle’s September issue was heading to press, the developer of a proposed seven-story building on Beverly Boulevard pulled the plug and cancelled the project.

If that project were to have proceeded, it would have capped artesian well water that bubbles up from deep below the Beverly Hot Springs Spa — the last natural hot springs in the city and one of the first Korean spas in Los Angeles. All about one mile east of Larchmont Village.

The City of Los Angeles Dept. of City Planning terminated all processing relating to that project in response to the developer’s Aug. 22 letter requesting withdrawal of its application.

While spa enthusiasts, including Teresa Burkett Bourgoise, a leading opponent of the proposal to demolish the Beverly Hot Springs, were relieved with the developer’s withdrawal, the good feelings did not last, Burkett Bourgoise told us in mid-September.

“Our enthusiasm about the developers pulling out was tempered quickly by the realization that yet another entity could emerge with an equally bad idea. It looks like we can

expect a prolonged course of action to keep the springs safe,” Burkett Bourgoise said.

The proposed sevenstory, 101-unit multi-family apartment building had many devoted spa-goers on edge because the design did nothing to incorporate a spa.

The springs would have been capped in connection with the project proposed by Century City-based Manhattan West Real Estate LLC. The project, called Oxford Apartments, was on Beverly Boulevard.

Warm alkaline waters that bubble up from an artesian well deep underground have refreshed and relaxed area residents and celebrities here for decades.

Many spa guests were caught off guard about the pending closure to make way for the proposed development, including Burkett Bourgoise, who became a “reluctant activist” upon hearing the news.

She and others quickly took action; they hired a lawyer and filed an appeal of the Planning Dept.’s approval.

While relieved with the latest developments, “We are moving forward with historic research and reaching out to historians about putting in an application for the springs to be a historical landmark.  That will

at least preserve the springs,” Burkett Bourgoise said.

Spa listing

The spa advocates’ fears may be justified. A posting on LoopNet, last updated Sept. 5, 2023, shows the property at 308 N. Oxford Ave. back on the market, with a price reduction, now offered for $10.5 million. The listing includes the spa and additional structures and parking, all on three parcels.

Owners Eddie Hugh and Yang Cha Huh took over the spa from Yang Cha’s parents, who built and opened the spa in the 1980s.

Besides losing the hot springs, spa devotees and others opposed the proposed development for its density, which would overpower the neighborhood. “It is like covering up the tar pits with a big box apartment building,” Burkett Bourgoise says in a post by Tracy Cook, a member of the Beverly Hot Springs Alliance.

“The hot springs and the spa are part of the bigger, richer story of Los Angeles that starts where a lot of LA tales begin, [with] Edward Doheny,” according to Cook. She was referring to Doheny’s legendary discovery of oil. She goes on to say some oil wildcatters hit something other

than the prized “black ooze,” which ultimately led to the local spa as well as many other hot springs.

As for the recent fight to save the Beverly Hot Springs, she writes: “The Alliance stepped up the battle as the September land use meeting approached.  Several in the group went to a local neighborhood council meeting and made the case with the attending City Council member (CD 13’s Hugo Soto-Martinez] to take on the cause.  He was resistant.  Fortunately, two days later, the developers pulled out of the project.   While this news is welcomed by those who care about Beverly Hot Springs, it is a temporary reprieve. We understand that we must do all we can now to protect the springs.  Much of that will come through the work for a historic preservation designation and community activism.  We also will need to exert pressure on elected officials who hide behind the process and shrug their shoulders with,  ‘Sorry, there is nothing I can do.’ This is hogwash.”

The Beverly Hot Springs is the only remaining of the many mineral baths that once dotted the city landscape, according to a Dec. 28, 2015, Los Angeles

Times article by Patt Morrison included in the appeal. The hot springs was discovered by oil drillers in the late 19th century, and it supplied water to residents before water mains were installed in this part of the city in 1915.

A May, 14, 1972, Los Angeles Times article by Terence M. Green recounts how the water was bottled and sold until World War II. In a 1972 interview with Grant K. MacCoon, a descendant of the 1910 land purchaser whose family still owned the property in the 1970s, MacCoon said the well then produced about 250,000 gallons of fresh water a day.

To read more, visit rancho-land.com/2023/08/27/ saving-beverly-hot-springs

Dinner for Linda Dishman Nov. 5

Linda Dishman, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Conservancy, is retiring from the organization after 31 years of leadership there. She will be honored on Sun., Nov. 5, beginning at 5 p.m., at a cocktails and hors d’oeuvre reception, followed by a sponsor dinner, at Vibiana, one of the Los Angeles landmarks she helped save. See: tinyurl. com/2h3rt2vw

Guest House: Over the garage has a 1BR & 1BA huge living room with pitch point ceiling, kitchen, laundry inside, patio with tree top view. Beautiful backyard with matured fruit trees, plum and fig. Brand new wall unit heating & air, brand new roof. Huge front & back yard, automatic remote control parking gate. Easy to show.

Guest House

Guest House

Brookside Block Party is back in business with food and fun

By Sondi Toll Sepenuk

On Sept. 17, the entire neighborhood showed up to welcome the triumphant return of the 41st annual Brookside Block Party. This year’s party took place on the 800 block of Muirfield Road. More than 300 people filled the street to eat, drink, socialize, play and enjoy each other’s company as families have done for four decades. A mariachi band welcomed guests at the check-in table, then neighbors had free rein to make use of the bounce house, water slide, obstacle course, face paint-

ALL ABOARD. Neighborhood children checked out the equipment from Los Angeles Fire Dept. local Station 29.

ENJOYING THE DAY were Reatha (center) and Owen Smith (right), their daughter Lisa (left), and Clare Shomer, in pink.

FACE PAINTING was among the many activities offered at the block party, which also included a dessert competition and watermelon-eating contest. Laura Prangley is at far left.

Brookside

(Continued from Page 10) ing and potluck, and many participated in the dessert competition and watermeloneating contest.

Summer-fun tunes

A DJ played summer-fun tunes while friendly canines strutted the asphalt runway and showed off their best doggie tricks, with the winners taking home prizes from Tailwaggers and a gift certificate to frame for the mantle.

Pinches Tacos and Mateo’s Paletas filled hungry bellies, offering tacos, rice, beans, corn-on-the-cob, condiments and churros. Each block was instructed to bring an assigned food item or beverage for the communal potluck, and neighbors did not disappoint. There were barrels of soft drinks and beer and wine on ice, along with cold juices for the little ones. Covering every inch of the communal table were treats and savories, including homemade cream cheese pinwheels with spinach and sun dried tomatoes, veggie bacon jalapeño poppers, lemon basil pasta salad, peanut butter chip cookies, chocolate cake, cheesecake and fruits.

Fire Station 29

From the local station on Wilshire Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue, Los Angeles Fire Dept. Ladder 29 fire trucks showed up to the delight and wonderment of the neighborhood children, who jumped aboard and played “firefighter for a day.” Local businesses, schools and homeowners who donated to the event included Met Him At A Bar, Matteo’s Ice Cream, Trejo’s Tacos, Larchmont Charter School, Louis the Loafer, St. James Episcopal School and the

Center for Yoga Larchmont,

others.

Brookside Neighborhood Association board member Loren Dunsworth was thrilled

with the turnout and all of the neighbors who showed up to pitch in, making the party a wildly successful return to normal.

Rare opportunity to live in Hancock Park ’s premiere full-service condominium building, the renowned Country Club Manor. One could be on the Champs Elysees, only with stunning golf course views and magnificent sunsets.

• Old world elegance abounds

• Impeccably maintained

• Bright, airy and delightful with views from all rooms

• Double-paned windows

• Formal dining and living room with hardwood floors

• Large master bedroom with sitting area plus two auxiliary bedrooms

• Two marble clad bathrooms: one full, and one 3/4 bath

• 2 parking spaces: one underground, one street level. Your choice to valet or self park

• Gym and in-ground spa

among many

DECKED OUT were Sylvie Garrigan (left) and friend; Above is Ryder Newmark.

FRIENDLY CANINES strutted the block, and some even took home prizes.

COMMUNAL TABLE offered an assortment of homemade sweet and savory foods.

Create Halloween treat boxes, listen to live music and dance

FAIRFAX LIBRARY

Toddlers

Story time: Sing songs and listen to stories at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. every Wednesday.

Adults

Walk-in tutoring: Every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. come for help with searching the internet, job resumes, applications and filling out forms.

All ages

Book Sale: Browse used books every Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. All sales support the library branch.

FREMONT LIBRARY

Babies & Toddlers

Story time: Listen to stories every Wednesday, from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.

All ages

Book Sale: Browse used books Fri., Oct. 6, and Sat., Oct. 7, from noon to 4 p.m. All sales support the library branch.

Eclipse viewing party: Come view the eclipse with free solar glasses and make a cyanotype print with the sun’s rays on Sat., Oct. 14,

Toddlers

Story time in the park: Bring a blanket and listen to stories and sing songs in Memorial Park each Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Preschool painters: On Mon., Oct. 30, at 11 a.m., visit the library for possibly messy painting.

Babies, Toddlers & Kids

Live music: Listen to a musician use literature as a jumping-off point for making music. Sing, dance and move to the songs on Mon., Oct. 16, from 11 a.m. to noon.

Kids & Teens

Drop-in tutoring with Steve: Need a refresher on some academics? Anyone in grades kindergarten to 12 is

welcome to stop by every Thursday, from 3 to 5 p.m., for one-onone assistance with any subject.

Reading to the rescue: Love dogs? Take this opportunity to read to a therapy dog on Wed., Oct. 11, from 4 to 5 p.m.

Spooky crafts: Stop by Sat., Oct. 28, at 11 a.m. to make some Halloween inspired crafts.

Teens

Game day: Enjoy some friendly competition with your peers on Thurs., Oct. 5, at 4 p.m. College search: Get help creating or narrowing your list of colleges on Sat., Oct. 7, from 11 a.m. to noon.

Perler bead creations: Create magnets and key chains with Perler beads on Thurs., Oct. 19, at 4 p.m.

Adults

B.Y.O. needle arts: Work on needlecrafts while sitting with others Mondays, from 1 to 3 p.m.

Art class: Paint and color every Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Book club: Meet on Fri., Oct. 6, at 1 p.m., to discuss “The Spectacular,” by Fiona Davis. If you want to read ahead, November’s discussion will be about “The Nightingale Affair,” by Tim Mason.

All ages

Solar eclipse: Safely view the partial solar eclipse at 9 a.m. on Sat., Oct. 14. There will be related activities and glasses available.

Chess club: Play chess or learn how each Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.

Book sale: Support your library by purchasing your next favorite read every Tuesday from 12:30 to 5 p.m., and every Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m.

WILSHIRE LIBRARY

Kids, Tweens & Teens

Halloween treat boxes: Create a special container for the treats you’ll get on Oct. 31. All supplies provided on Thurs., Oct. 26, from 4 to 5 p.m.

Adults

Film noir screening: Author Jim Dawson introduces a screening of “The Ring” (1952), a film noir set in and around Los Angeles about a Mexican-American prize fighter, on Tues., Oct 17, at 6 p.m.

LIBRARIES

FAIRFAX

161 S. Gardner St. 323-936-6191

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

MEMORIAL

4625 W. Olympic Blvd. 323-938-2732

WILSHIRE

149 N. St. Andrews Pl. 323-957-4550

HOURS

Mon. and Wed., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tues. and Thurs. noon to 8 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The library will be closed Mon., Oct. 9 in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ and Columbus Days.

POSTER for 1952’s “The Ring,” to show at Wilshire Library Oct. 17.

EXISTING TELEVISION CITY property at the southeast corner of Beverly and Fairfax is the subject of great controversy because of a developer’s “TVC 2050” up-zoning proposal. Imagery ©2023 Google, Imagery ©2023 CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies, U.S. Geological Survey, USDA/FPAC/GEO, Map data ©2023 Google

TVC 2050

(Continued from Page 8) and plans, Initial Study and Draft EIR. All of the elements of the specific plan that could have physical impacts on the environment were fully disclosed in the DEIR. The refined specific plan will be published along with the Final EIR.

“There will be no night clubs at TVC, and alcohol permits are common studio amenities.

“Alcohol sales, service and consumption are routinely regulated in specific plans, as seen in Paramount Studios Specific Plan and NBC Universal Specific Plan. The TVC Specific Plan includes this use to address studio needs and support neighborhood serving retail uses.

“Again, the TVC team is

On Preservation

(Continued from Page 4) experience which takes you on a journey of the macabre and suspenseful. Select dates and times Sept. and Oct. 615

S. Broadway.

Ace Hotel Theater: The Bride of Frankenstein. As this 1935 horror classic plays out larger than life on the silver screen, the magnificent musicians of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, conducted by Jenny Wong, perform Franz Waxman’s groundbreaking original soundtrack score live. It’s the ultimate cinematic experience! Oct. 27 and 28, 8 p.m. 929 S. Broadway.

Walt Disney Concert Hall:

fully committed to maintaining a robust community outreach program, listening to and responding to community feedback throughout this process and beyond. As the process moves forward, we are committed to continuing to refine the draft specific plan to address community concerns.”

Neighbors for Responsible TVC Development say:

The opposition contends that the proposed Specific Plan has provisions that did not appear in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), the official document that formed the basis for public review. A great concern is that the proposal deprives the public of its customary right to appeal planning decisions regarding the project.

The newly discovered proposal replaces key definitions

Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney as Erik, the Phantom, in makeup he famously constructed for the role. The projection of the 1925 silent film will be accompanied by a live soundtrack performed by organist Clark Wilson. Oct. 31, 8 p.m. 111 S. Grand Ave.

Heritage Square Museum: Tour rescued Victorians dressed up in their funerary best while participating in a ghost host of Oct. events such as an Edgar Allan Poe Storytelling Event Oct. 7, The Magic Market Oct. 8, Ghost Tours Oct. 13, the Annual Mourning Faire Oct. 15, and Boo-ze, Bites & Frights Oct. 20 and 21. 3800 Homer St.

La Plaza de Cultura y Ar-

B Gaddy ElEctric

of the Los Angeles Municipal Code with definitions that understate the height and mass of the proposed development.

It includes 10 liquor licenses to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. — far more licenses than those used by standard studio operations and longer hours than those granted to neighboring restaurants, bars, and hotels.

It includes such uses as indoor / outdoor nightclubs and concerts featuring amplified sound, lights, and special effects.

When the Final EIR is made available — no date has been set — a new public comment process is expected to begin, and the project will be reviewed by the City Planning Commission, City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee and the full City Council.

tes: The Final Exorcism is a staged reading of the play by Josephina Lopez, directed by Yel de Leon. Día de Los Muertos Family Day is where you can explore the historical and cultural significance of Day of the Dead traditions. Enjoy live music and dance and art workshops in the historic heart of Los Angeles. Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m. and Oct. 29, 12 p.m. 501 N. Main Street.

Mirabel

(Continued from Page 5) wanted to go to Hollywood, but he said Wilshire will be a big street.”

And indeed it was, with several other department stores

to follow. It was, after all, the Miracle Mile. It’s had its ups and downs since those early days, Marks notes.

But he’s optimistic about the future.

“I think this is going to be a wonderful place to live.”

KEATING ARCHITECTURE designed a tower that features a glass exterior with a curvilinear form and a rooftop deck and common open space above a parking podium.

Plymouth party house cited; neighbors anxious for its closure

By Nona Sue Friedman

Neighbors of the home at 300 N. Plymouth Blvd. finally feel some relief. After neighbors’ efforts, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officially cited the house as a party house. This is the first step to close the house down for all future events.

For months, nearby residents have been terrorized on a weekly basis by the activities occurring illegally at the home that sits on the northeast corner of Beverly and Plymouth boulevards.

Stopping the parties

Starting in the spring of this year, eight residents organized themselves as the North Plymouth Coalition (NPC).

Over the last few months, as the seriousness of the party house problems increased, so did the activity of their group. There are now more than 50 members who communicate regularly via What’sApp.

NPC has assigned tasks to

members, coordinated calls to LAPD about disturbances and compiled pictures of the events and the aftermaths.

Members have even solicited help from someone who successfully stopped a party house in his neighborhood.

In the week leading up to the Sept. 15 bust, members of NPC trolled social media and notified LAPD of a party

scheduled to take place.

As evening descended, about 350 underage kids arrived at the location. The street was jammed with cars. Neighbors flooded LAPD’s non-emergency phone line to report the loud and disruptive party. Los Angeles’ finest’s black and whites arrived, and officers walked down the block with blazing flashlights telling the kids to leave, while a helicopter flew overhead. Neighbors were ecstatic.

Senior Lead Officer Joseph Pelayo spoke with the home’s resident manager, Errol Webber, outside of the property and cited the home for loud and unruly gatherings, under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 41.58.1. He then affixed a citation to the front of the house.

While Pelayo was talking with Webber, a 911 call came through stating there was a stabbing at the location. With

some protest from Webber, LAPD went into the home to investigate. It turned out to be a fight and no weapons were found. Officers cleared the house and the street. All was quiet once again.

The following evening, Sept. 16, neighbors noticed trucks arriving with cases of alcohol and a DJ set up. Again, NPC went into action with calls to LAPD’s non-emergency line alerting them of the party prep. This time, since the house is on record as a party house, the police came and shut it down as guests were just beginning to arrive.

As Pelayo explained, “Once a home is in the system and identified as a party house, LAPD prioritizes the complaints. These citations also allow the city attorney’s office to build a

Armed man at Ebell during Kennedy speech

By Nona Sue Friedman

An armed man, posing as a phony U.S. Marshal, requested to be escorted to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Sept. 15. Adrian Paul Aispuro, 44, was carrying a loaded gun, spare ammunition and a fake badge around his neck.

He appeared at a side entrance of the theater claiming to be part of Ken nedy’s private security team. Kennedy’s actual security detail detained Aispuro and called the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

LAPD arrived quickly to the site at South Lucerne Boulevard and Eighth Street and arrested Aispuro for carrying a concealed weapon, a felony charge. Aispuro is being held in jail in lieu of posting $35,000 bail.

Kennedy was at The Ebell giving a speech for his presidential campaign, honoring Hispanic Heritage Month. His father, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated 1.8 miles east on Wilshire Boulevard at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968 after winning California’s Democrat primary presidential nomination.

case against the home owner.”

City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto is aware of the situation at 300 N. Plymouth Blvd. When asked about the home, her office responded, “We are unable to discuss potential enforcement actions against specific properties, however, party houses and their serious impacts to residents nearby and overall neighborhood quality of life are a top priority for this office.”

A representative from Council District 13 relayed a similar sentiment toward illegal party houses. “This office is against party houses. It is a clear violation of loud noise ordinances. The citing of this home is a good step, but not the end of the saga.”

The resident coalition realizes this is not the end, but is thankful for the swift actions of LAPD. They are hopeful that Feldstein Soto’s office will take further action against the home. Although it’s a horrific situation, NPC’s excellent communication and tenacious efforts seem to be paying off. They look forward to once again being able to enjoy their serene and peaceful neighborhood.

(Please turn to Page 15)

PLYMOUTH PARTY HOUSE after it had been cited. KIDS LINING UP to enter the Plymouth party house.

A croissant, or crescent, and other

This October, Word Café masquerades as a French bakery, its display case abundant with flakey, buttery confections.

The crown jewel of the French viennoiserie — the specialty bakery that sells sweet breads and breakfast pastries originally from Vienna — is the croissant. Its lustrous exterior shatters when torn, crisp shards giving way to layers of soft, pliant pastry.

“Croissant’’ traces its origins to the Old French croisant, translating to “crescent of the moon,” from the Latin crescentum, meaning “to come forth or grow.” This association, formed in reference to the moon’s waxing phase just after the new moon, nods to the croissant’s curved shape while rightfully glorifying its otherworldly splendor.

A sudden flash of light — this one streaking across the sky — provides the origin for the name of the éclair, a pâtisserie mainstay made of “choux” pastry filled with cream. From the French word for “lightning bolt,” éclair aficionados have debated whether the moniker is so assigned for the reflective sheen of the pastry’s chocolate

coating or rather the speed at which one typically devours it.

The profiterole, a close relative of the éclair, appears to have been equally adored. These round cream puffs are said to be named for the French profit, meaning “profit” or “advantage,” indicating their use as a small reward or compensation. Choux pastry puffs are further exalted when stacked two-up and coated with chocolate ganache, gaining the title religieuse, the French word for “nun,” for the dessert’s (some would say hazy) resemblance to a nun’s habit. Churchly garb gets in another sweet rendition with Jésuite, a triangular almond cream pastry named for the three-cornered hats worn by members of the Jesuit order.

The kouign-amann is a sugary, caramelized viennoiserie made from laminated dough. If the articulation of this conspicuously un-French sounding snack seems tricky, you’re not alone. My boyfriend tells the story of a particularly sadistic cashier at a bakery who wouldn’t let him order the delicacy until he figured out how to correctly pronounce its name — which

Mother of abandoned toddler appears in court

By Nona Sue Friedman

A toddler was left in a stroller on Larchmont Boulevard in the wee hours of the morning on Sept. 12. A pedestrian walking on the street called 911, and the toddler was taken to the hospital and was found in good health. Authorities

Party house

(Continued from Page 14)

How do party houses operate?

The homeowner rents the empty home for the evening to a party organizer. Then, the event organizer hires a DJ for the night and usually brings alcohol to the location. One party at this location advertised poolside bottle service for $1500.

The organizers advertise the party through social media channels. Hundreds of kids, normally underage according to the police, flock to the advertised location and pay admission ranging from $5 to $45. The events are loud, unsafe and illegal.

The residential streets are overtaken by teens needing to park. Then, they drive recklessly and intoxicated throughout the neighborhood and often urinate and puke on public and private property. They also litter and have rude and crude interaction with residents.

by Mara Fisher

took more than a few tries. This gluten gatekeeper was onto something, however, as this harrowing experience proved to be the perfect mnemonic — I don’t think my beau (or I, for that matter) will ever forget the pronunciation “kween a-mahn.”

The pastry’s vocalization to the English speaker — and its arguably crown-like appearance — are somewhat deceiving in their grandeur. “Kouign-amann,” a term in the Celtic-derived Breton language spoken in France’s

Brittany region from which the treat hails, is simply a hyphenation of the words for “cake” and “butter.”

A far cry from the divine derivations that brought us croissant, éclair and religieuse, there’s an abundance of pâtisserie fare whose names, when elucidated, feel less than dignified. Beignets, the deep-fried delight made variably from leavened dough or choux pastry (depending on whether you’re in Louisiana or France), get their name from the Old French buigne, meaning “bump” or “lump.” Similarly humdrum is the origin of “galette,” a round, flat dessert that may appear as a rustic, open-faced pie, inviting in its offering of seasonal fruit, or instead as a tidier, flakier tart closed with a glazed puff-pastry top lay-

er. Cast your gaze underfoot for the inspiration behind the name of this toothsome treat, which comes from the Old French gal, meaning “pebble.”

The title “pâtisserie” itself is serious business. In both France and Belgium, the law restricts its use to bakeries staffed with a licensed maître pâtissier, or master pastry chef, a designation earned after a lengthy training process. Despite the prestige associated with the role, I hope these experts in their craft can steal a smirk every now and then; if not from hearing a butchered pronunciation of kouignamann, then perhaps from preparing one of my favorite new discoveries — a small, round, airy pastry impishly titled pets de nonne, or “nun’s farts.”

soon located the child’s father and the two were reunited.

The Los Angeles Police Department found the driver’s license of the toddler’s mother, Targie Alexandre, in the stroller, and the 24-yearold mother was arrested at her workplace and taken into custody on Sept. 13. She was booked under a charge of child endangerment, a felony. Bail of $105,000 was set.

After being arraigned, Alexandre was released at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 14. She is scheduled to appear in court on Wed., Oct. 4, at Los Angeles Superior Court Central Division.

Word Café