Larchmont Chronicle
presort standard u.s. postage
paid
south gate ca. permit no. 294
DECEMBER 2009
vol. 46, no. 12 • delivered to the 76,439 readers in hancock park • windsor square • fremont place • park labrea • larchmont village • Miracle Mile
SECTION ONE
'Bungalow' on Windsor Square meeting agenda
Alliance confirms opposition to Crenshaw stop Lacks 'planning'
BAKE SALE for cancer research. 30 YE OLD TREE lot on Larchmont. 11 SHOPPING, service for New Garment Assoc. 17 HOLIDAY paranormal romance. 18 BONNIE BLUE, of "Gone With the Wind," is home. 19 PIGGY BANKS for Hope-Net.
28
GUIDE DOG in training on Wilton Place. 31
SECTION TWO Real Estate Home & Garden
HOME GROWN at Larchmont Farmers Market. 8 LOX and arugula at Farmer's Market. 13
For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11
The Wilshire Homeowners Alliance has gone on record opposing a Metro station at Crenshaw Blvd. In a letter dated Nov. 12 to David Mieger, Metro project manager, the community group stated that there is no “planning-based reason to justify construction of an unneeded subway station at this location.” The letter went on to say: “Scarce subway construction funds should not be wasted on building an expensive station in this low-density location, very close to the existing station at Western Avenue.” The Alliance is a group of 12 residential groups including the Hancock Park Homeowners Association, Windsor Square Association, Wilshire Park Association and Windsor Village Association. State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass’s meeting on Nov. 19 on the future of the Metro was the latest in a series of public discussions. Bass told the audience of close to 100 at Wilshire United Methodist Church the stimulus money and voter-approved funds will transform its transportation landscape.
Music to add to holiday festivity on Larchmont
Three Squeaky Wheels awarded
AREA BALLERINAS, sugar plum fairies and a nutcracker star in Marat Daukayev Company's seasosonal favorite. Page 42
Campaign hopes to lure See’s to original home Petition drive underway in St. Andrew's Square By Laura Eversz An effort to lure See’s Candies back to its original site at 135 N. Western Ave. is looking sweeter, thanks to a letterwriting campaign by members of the St. Andrews Square Neighborhood Association (SASNA). The original See’s Candy Shop & Kitchen opened in 1921. The two-story building was recently given landmark status by the city; its façade is soon to be restored following Cultural Heritage Commission guidelines. An e-mail circulated to neighborhood associations asked residents to write to
the See’s Corporation encouraging it to lease space in the building for an outlet store. “Say, in your own words, that you (and your friends, neighbors, relatives) would love to have See’s come back to its original location,” read the missive. “Sign your name and address so they’ll know you’re serious and local!” “I think it would be so terrific to have See’s in its historic original location,” said Henrietta Cosentino, SASNA secretary. “It would do a lot for the revitalization of Western Ave.” In addition to the e-mail campaign, SASNA organized See Sees, p. 16
Open house Dec. 6 Santa IS coming to town. He will arrive, courtesy of Fire Station 29, aboard an engine on Sun., Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. at California National Bank, 137 N. Larchmont Blvd., and he will be hearing wishes until 3 p.m. Santa’s appearance is part of the annual Holiday Open House from noon to 5 p.m. sponsored by the Larchmont Boulevard Assoc. DJ Forrest Mikell will be playing holiday music. The Pilgrim School and Ebell choirs and the Salvation Army Brass Band also will perform on the boulevard.
By Chris H. Sieroty As some Windsor Square residents continue to protest the Larchmont Bungalow, which they claim operates in violation of local zoning laws, City Councilman Tom LaBonge expressed his support for their ongoing fight to either close the restaurant or have them operate within the law. LaBonge told about 100 residents who gathered for the annual Windsor Square Association town hall meeting at the Ebell Club Nov. 12 that the issue should be decided this month at a city hearing. “I want new businesses and successful businesses along Larchmont Blvd.,” he said. “I also welcome new business, but (they) have to follow the law. They are not in compliance with the law.” LaBonge, who described the shopping district as “our American Main Street,” expressed his frustration at trying to contact the property’s owner Albert Mizrahi to discuss trying to reach a settleSee Windsor Square, p. 26
On the Boulevard Glimpses by Jane From Australia to Rangoon or closer yet, Arden and June, we begin our holiday poem with wishes to every home. We’ll sing a mighty chorus to families Jones, Bonorris. With the Wagners we’ll croon plus Cowans, Whiters, Kuhns. Noel to the Boecks, Craddocks, Nelsons, Kennedys and Coxes. To the O’Sullivans, cheers, and to Wolfs, Hudsons, Freres. May the holidays be merry to the kin of Blakely, Riberi plus Buhais, Martins, Wrights the Spiegels, Fourticqs, Whites.
VISIT SANTA at California National Bank during the open house. Above, St. Nick arrives on Larchmont Blvd. last year.
Shop for Gameboys, iPhones with the Hills, Landays, Cohens. To the list add Fullers, Kreisses,
www.larchmontchronicle.com ~ Entire Issue Online!
See BLVD., p. 23