Larchmont Chronicle
presort standard u.s. postage
paid
los angeles, ca. permit no. 2342
APRIL 2014
vol. 51, no. 4 • delivered to the 76,439 readers in hancock park • windsor square • fremont place • park labrea • larchmont village • Miracle Mile
CIM Group weighs plans for Farmers Insurance site
SECTION ONE
Property at Wilshire/Rimpau in escrow CIM Group is in escrow and expected to purchase the Farmers Insurance property on Wilshire and Rimpau bou-
Stroll, ride on ‘Iconic Wilshire’ with CicLAvia
CAMPS covered in edition. 13 to 24 PARK set for improvements. SCOUT Troop 10 recall early days.
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ARTIST recalls life at Third St. 6 SAFETY talk at Park LaBrea.
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GREEN EGGS, ham on Rotary menu. 7 RACY new look for Petersen.
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SCHOOL BELL rings in clothes. 26 BALLET semi-finalists take a bow. 31 MOVIE reviews. 34
SECTION TWO Real Estate Home & Garden
Museums, galleries on car-free route An art walk, bike-related crafts and a festive good time are in store for all when CicLAvia rides into town. The part-party, part-bike fest, pedestrian friendly event returns to the Miracle Mile on Sun., April 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Iconic Wilshire Boulevard” starts at One Wilshire in downtown Los Angeles and cycles through Museum Row ending at Fairfax Ave.—at the future site of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The home of the Oscar will provide a photo opportunity: a backdrop featuring giant movie stills from famous bike scenes in film history. More bike-related events will be offered at LACMA, the Craft and Folk Art Museum and the Petersen Automotive Museum. The Mid City West ComSee CicLAvia, p 5
levards in the Park Mile area. The developers have shared plans for their use of the property with local residents, and have indicated they may want to seek an exemption to the Park Mile Specific Plan in order to build a hotel. The city plan is designed to protect the low density, single-family nature of the area between Wilton Pl. and Highland Ave., from Sixth to Eighth streets. Brookside residents, whose homes are adjacent to Farmers, are lobbying the city council office to resist any changes in the plan. CIM Group has developed major projects throughout the city. These include Two California Plaza, Hollywood & Highland, much of Third Street Promenade and Midtown Crossing (at Pico and Rimpau).
‘Design for Living’ in May Annual special section will feature homes, lifestyles and designers in the May Larchmont Chronicle. Advertising deadline is Tues., April 15. To reserve space, call Pam Rudy, 323462-2241 x 11.
SPRING FUNDRAISER
CONSERVANCY tour of the legendary site. 2 ICONIC foam store has fabric too. 8 HOME SALES add up.
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BOLLYWOOD on Museum Row. 11
For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11
GARDEN TOUR co-chairs, from left, Suz Landay and Fluff McLean are shown with Lisa McRee, whose Windsor Square garden is one of four featured at the fundraising event on Sun., April 27. Story page 4
PREPARATION FOR the Purple Line subway along Museum Row is ongoing. Photo by Dave Sotero/Metro
Petition 'raises awareness' of Metro subway issues Tree removal slated for Miracle Mile “Sleepless in Miracle Mile,” the headline of a petition circulating the neighborhood, has done its job, says James O’Sullivan, president of the Miracle Mile Residential Association. While the aim is to get 1,000 signatures on the online petition, the number is arbitrary as the process has already raised awareness of Metro’s “poor planning” in preparations for extending the Purple Line subway through the neighborhood, he says. The group is not against the subway. It’s all for mass transit. It’s the nighttime, weekend and holiday work hours, with no strategic overview in the coming decade, that the group opposes. The petition asks the L.A. Police Commission to deny granting Metro (L.A. County Metropolitan Transit Authority) carte blanche exemptions from city ordinances for the subway stations at Fairfax and La Brea at Wilshire. The group seeks to meet with the contractor before the job begins to determine a thorough work schedule. A spokesman for Metro said the agency is in the process of scheduling a meeting with the Police Commssion to discuss permits. A time frame has not been decided, he added. 100 trees to be removed Metro officials announced a plan to remove more than
100 trees from several medians and parkways along the Miracle Mile for subway construction work. The trees will be replaced after the subway is completed. At a recent meeting with Metro, hosted by the Miracle Mile Civic Coalition median advisory board, staff members explained the need for the tree removal to gain underground access. Two Mexican fan palms and perhaps two other trees at the Wilshire/La Brea median will have to be removed soon because their roots interfere See PETITION, p 7
On the Boulevard Glimpses by Jane When Gayle Trope dropped her purse by mistake on Larchmont during last month’s downpour, a stream of water carried it away. She chased it down the street, but couldn’t find it. Fortunately, a young lady named Melissa found the purse and returned it to the grateful Gayle. “There are some nice people on Larchmont,” she told us. *** The Academy Awards had special meaning to Angela Narinyan, a hairdresser at Haas. It was her nephew EdSee BLVD., p 32
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