Larchmont Chronicle
VOL. 62, NO. 1
• DELIVERED TO 76,439 READERS IN HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT •
IN THIS ISSUE
First-year report on homeless efforts given
Le Petit Greek savored 35 years on Blvd. n Greek Eats set to open
n Bass spoke at Larchmont Charter
HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY 7
EMPOWERING campers and counselors. 11
LEGENDARY dining in new book. 2-6
By Nona Sue Friedman Parents of students at Larchmont Charter School at Selma (LCS) flanked Mayor Karen Bass as she spoke to the media on Nov. 6 about homelessness in front of the school. She was on the sidewalk at 6611 Selma Ave. which 40 unhoused residents had called home before they were moved to interim housing on Aug. 10. Now the area is clear. It’s passable to students, teachers, faculty and neighbors who want to stroll the sidewalk. No one has to walk in the street to get to school. That’s because of the mayor’s Inside Safe program, which housed the people who were living on this street. “We are so grateful the mayor was able to find homes for the unhoused that were living here. Part of our school’s mission is to improve the community around us,” said Marian Bell, parent of a seventh grader and the homelessness outreach contact for See First-year, P 15
IN THE KITCHEN since 1963. 2-7 For information on advertising rates, please call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11
JANUARY 2024
THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN is a big draw to South Windsor Boulevard — both for Instagrammers and the big fashion house, Balenciaga. Photo courtesy of Balenciaga
Health, fitness, beauty and fashion in the ’hood By John Welborne Worldwide attention was given to Windsor Square at the beginning of December. With the Hollywood Sign in the background, between tall rows of Canary Island palm trees, fashion models strutted down the 112-year-old concrete street of Windsor Boulevard, between Fifth and Sixth Streets. Blaring music surrounded an audience of about 200 invited guests sitting in folding chairs lining the gutters on each side of the street.
Kept confidential in advance (both the full nature of the production, from the neighbors; and the actual location, from the guests), the event was the premier showing of the Balenciaga Fall Collection. The approximately 17-minute show is viewable on YouTube at: tinyurl. com/4aje4cvp. Celebrities spotted included Tracee Ellis Ross, Salma Hayek, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner. Also enjoySee Fashion, P 4
By Casey Russell After 35 years on the Boulevard, Le Petit Greek is saying goodbye on Sun., Dec. 31. In the restaurant’s final days, legions of loyal customers have been dropping by for a bite to eat and a chance to say farewell. Fortunately, those who love fresh Greek cuisine won’t have to go without because the same co-owners, Nora and Dimitris Houndalas, will be at the helm of a new Greek takeout and delivery place. Greek Eats, at 8236 W. Third St., is expected to open Sat., Jan. 6. According to Nora Houndalas, the fast-casual restaurant will have a menu similar to the one at Le Petit Greek, with an emphasis on salads, kebabs, gyros sandwiches and appetizers. The menu is at greekeatsla.com.
FAST-CASUAL Greek specialties are coming to Third Street.
Undermining established governments
Mailing permit:
n Concerns are nationwide, and not just Jewish neighbors feel threatened
MAYOR KAREN BASS addresses the press about homelessness in the city.
Love & travel are in the air
“Valentines” and “Vacation Planning” will be featured in our February issue. To reserve advertising space, contact Pam Rudy, 323-462-2241, ext. 11. Deadline is Mon., Jan. 8.
What is the connection — started with a pro-Palestine By John Welborne Sometimes overlooked in rally in Pan Pacific Park that between interfering with Los the ongoing discussion of the saw 200 demonstrators march Angeles shopkeepers and their battles and deaths following through The Grove to disrupt employees and customers — the savage Hamas terrorist shoppers and tenant mer- and the dispute over Zionism attack into Israel on Oct. 7 chants there before moving and a small country in The Levant adjoining the is the movement to undermine estab- “I ... have lots of family and friends in the Mediterranean Sea (a lished governments Los Angeles area [and] your recent article nation not even twice internationally. This was highly biased against Palestinians the size of Los Angeactually was part of and espouses a potentially dangerous en- les County) — recogthe local incident on vironment for my family and friends in the nized as the State of Israel in 1948 — that Nov. 24 that occa- Los Angeles area ... ” is 7,500 miles away sioned this newspaper’s front-page story, “Jewish to the intersection of Third from Los Angeles and the neighbors feeling threatened” Street and Fairfax Avenue, merchants and stores at The where many demonstrators Grove? [Dec. 2023]. We shall return to that The incident on that Friday, sat in the street and shut down the day after Thanksgiving, traffic for nearly an hour. See Jewish, P 9
www.larchmontchronicle.com ~ Entire Issue Online!
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Editorial
Calendar
By John Welborne
Support local news
The Larchmont Chronicle is grateful to our readers and advertisers who, collectively, make it possible to gather, analyze and edit the news, then print and distribute it, every month. This January 2024 issue marks the commencement of our 62nd year of doing just that. In addition to those just mentioned, thanks certainly are due to the two ladies — Jane Gilman and the late Dawne Goodwin — who saw and acted upon the opportunity to provide a local newspaper to the residents and businesses in this part of town. (We also thank Jane for continuing to help us out!) By now, the modern plight of American newspapers, large and small, is well known to those who keep up with the news. And doing that — keeping up with the news — is getting harder with every passing day. Fortunately for the Chronicle, we have the aforementioned readers and advertisers who keep this paper available for all. But other newspapers are closing all across the nation. Assembly Bill 886 (AB 886) was passed by the Assembly in June. In response to pushback from the Big Tech companies who would have to pay news outlets a fee when advertising is sold alongside news content produced by others, State Senate consideration of the bill was postponed. The Larchmont Chronicle suggests readers urge local State Senators Ben Allen, Maria Elena Durazo, Anthony Portantino and Lola Smallwood-Cuevas to work with their colleagues to adopt AB 886 in 2024. DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION OF HANCOCK PARK
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Larchmont Chronicle
JANUARY 2024
HANCOCK PARK HOME Est. OWNERS ASSOCIATION 1948
137 N. LARCHMONT BLVD. LOS ANGELES 90004 www.HancockPark.org
Happy New Year! Our Goals For 2024 We’ve asked you what goals the Association should have for 2024, and you’ve answered: 1. Enforce traffic laws. Our neighborhood is inundated with speeding, reckless and cut-through traffic. Drivers of all kinds of vehicles run red lights, block intersections, dart around traffic barriers, roll through STOP signs and ignore traffic signs; E Bikes, bikes and scooters barrel down streets and sidewalks endangering pedestrians; all without consequences. We plan to press the LAPD and City to enforce the law, write tickets and make our neighborhood streets safer. 2. On security and safety, continue to work to keep our neighborhood safe. We plan to ensure that the City fully funds Crime Prevention Programs. 3. Repair our sidewalks, explore “outside the box” solutions for fixing dangerous sidewalks. 4. Repair our concrete streets, work with our electeds to make infrastructure a priority (not an afterthought) in the next City budget. 5. Address abandoned properties and force owners to secure their properties and maintain them to a reasonable, safe standard. 6. Remove graffiti quickly. 7. Trim our trees, the “lungs of the City,” so they’re healthy and safe. 8. Address public safety issues such as the dangerous flooding on Clinton Street between Lillian Way and Rossmore.
Sun., Dec. 31 — New Year’s Eve. Mon., Jan. 1 — New Year’s Day. Mon., Jan. 15 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Thurs., Jan. 25 — Delivery of the February issue of the Larchmont Chronicle. Sat., Jan. 27 — International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Green corn tamales
Regarding your July 2023 story [“Green corn tamales: Now is the time to enjoy peak season”], they are called “green corn” for a reason. It is because they are made with a variety of white field corn that was picked fresh while still a little green and soft and with the kernels easy to remove. This variety, if fully grown until the kernels get large and hard, is used to feed livestock. Once the young kernels are removed, lard, salt and baking powder are added to make the dough that then is stuffed with green chilies and cheese. That is then put into the fresh green husks the corn came from, making them green tamales instead of yellow dried cornmeal tamales. The flavor of the green tamales is like fresh corn on the cob and not like corn bread. They are very rare because the field corn is very hard to come by unless you live by a farmer that grows a crop. They originally were not sweet and no sugar was added. Rosa Jewell Los Angeles [The Chronicle shared this letter with El Cholo owner
Larchmont Chronicle Founded in 1963 by Jane Gilman and Dawne P. Goodwin .
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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
We wish everyone in Hancock Park and Los Angeles a Happy, Health Holiday Season and New Year!
Art Director Tom Hofer
Adv.
That’s the question inquiring photographer Casey Russell asked locals.
Letters to the Editor
When you renew your membership, you’ll be asked for your ideas. Help the Association fund efforts to keep our neighborhood safe and beautiful and give us your ideas.
We welcome volunteers to help with our work. Again, see our website for more specific information about all these initiatives and other efforts. A recording of the annual meeting is available on our website: hancockparkhomeownersassociation.org
‘What are your hopes for the new year?’
Advertising Sales Caroline Tracy
Circulation Manager Nona Sue Friedman Accounting Jill Miyamoto 606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103
Los Angeles, CA 90004 323-462-2241 larchmontchronicle.com
Ron Salisbury, and he wrote back: “After all of these years, this well-articulated description is perhaps the best we have ever entertained.” 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.
Volunteer for the homeless count Jan. 23, 24, 25
Volunteer registration for this year’s homeless count is underway. The count in the Greater Wilshire area will take place on Thurs., Jan. 25, the final night of the three-night count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA). Volunteers for Greater Wilshire should arrive at 419 N. Larchmont Blvd. at 8 p.m. Pre-registration is appreciated. “They will need to pick up their walk packets and have the option to do onsite train-
“We have a new puppy. Our hopes are that she’ll be potty trained in the new year… that’s pretty high on the list at the moment! And… more time.” — Betsy “I hope that Covid will get a little better and no wars will be started!” — Jamie Betsy Carroll and Jeff Cooper with sons Jamie (left) and Charlie (right) Wilshire Park
(Please turn to Page 15)
CORRECTIONS
The following are corrections to articles in the paper’s December 2023 issue. In “Holocaust Museum LA expanding,” donor Smidt Family Foundation should have been Smidt Foundation. In “Jewish neighbors feeling threatened,” the date given in the headline was Nov. 25 for the pro-Palestine demonstration at and around The Grove. It should have been Nov. 24. In the article, “Two local teens work to keep Angelenos safe and beep-free,” the students’ schools were incorrectly named. Rowan Carney attends Immaculate Heart, and Dylan Foley attends Brentwood School. Also, it was Carney’s father who originally noticed the smoke alarm beeping, and Dylan Foley lives in Hancock Park, not Wilshire Park. The correct spelling of the female firefighter’s name in the article is Keira Coblentz, not Kira.
“We hope for a very healthy new year with the viruses at a minimum!” Michelle, Tyler and Zoey Broehm with their dog Cali Larchmont Village
“I hope I can be of service to more people as a dog trainer, because I like to see the effect of my work on people’s lives. The gratitude I get back is pretty awesome, too. And, I hope to get better at gift-giving!” Maximilian Schlossberg Windsor Village
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JANUARY 2024
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! &
Thank You Ice Age is more fun and closer than ever By Suzan Filipek The Ice Age has never been closer, or more fun, since the La Brea Tar Pits Mobile Museum made its debut in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The trailer brings the La Brea Tar Pits’ gooey past to children in TK to second grade classes. Already, five schools have been visited by the new vehicle, which on the one side of the exterior shows leafy
SECTION ONE
REGATTA victors.
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HEALTH, FITNESS & BEAUTY 6 SCHOOL NEWS 10 SUMMER CAMPS 11 TIPS ON PARENTING 13
SECTION TWO VIEW:
Real Estate Museums Entertainment
CHAMPIONS.
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MUSEUMS 3 ON PRESERVATION 4 REAL ESTATE SALES 4 ENTERTAINMENT On the Menu 7 Theater 11 Movies 12 AROUND THE TOWN 8 POLICE BEAT 14 BEEZWAX 15 WORD CAFÉ 15
Hancock Park and the surrounding tar pits as they look today and, on the other side, a giant sloth and other megafauna from 10,000 years ago when the area was a very different landscape. Designed for learning through play, the 50-foot trailer has been in the design stage since 2018. The pandemic put the project on hold. During the pilot semester last fall, the kinks were worked out, and now the project is “ready for
the full rollout,” said Molly Porter, director of education for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Inside, children play as paleontologists working at a simulated excavation and puzzling together toy skeletons of giant sloths. They also howl like a dire wolf, pounce like a saber-tooth cat and act out other animals that once roamed the area where Wilshire Boulevard and (Please turn to Page 5)
for supporting our Larchmont businesses! “An oasis in the city” www.LARCHMONT.com
©LC0124
MOBILE TRAILER offers colorful and interactive displays, inside and out.
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JANUARY 2024
A FULL BLOCK of South Windsor Boulevard served as a fashion show runway on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the beginning of December.
Fashion
(Continued from Page 1) ing the sunny Saturday afternoon was Nicole Kidman, who had just signed on as the brand ambassador for the Paris-based fashion house. Although the first inquiries about using the public street had gone out to neighbors in late June or early July, many residents — especially those on surrounding boulevards Plymouth, Lorraine and Lucerne — were surprised when they received a “Residential Access Pass” and instruction letter at the beginning of the week of the Dec. 2 event. A number of residents not on Windsor Boulevard (who already had agreed to keep themselves and their vehicles out of view during the filming and had received various payments for the (Please turn to Page 5)
2 3 Ye a r A n n i v e r s a r y ! T h a n k y o u , L a r c h m o n t !
˜ RC
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Available exclusively at the salon.
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Specializing In Cuts • Colors • Manicures • Pedicures
NICOLE KIDMAN posed on Windsor Boulevard in her new role as brand ambassador for Balenciaga.
Larchmont Chronicle
JANUARY 2024
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Mobile Museum (Continued from Page 3)
CHAMPIONS Catherine Abdelshehid, Gabriel Tarossa, William For and Aiden Park.
SOME OF Pack 16’s winning floating entrants.
Cub Scout Pack 16 Raingutter Regatta: ‘Scary’ and ‘Artistic’ results
skin
deep
by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald
Have you ever considered what your life would be like if you weren’t busy being one of the more than 16 million Americans who suffer from hyperhidrosis? We know you’ve tried putting your excessive sweating into perspective. Of course there are more concerning ailments, but wearing black every. single. day., stressing about social situations and physical interactions on an entirely different level, and dealing with itching, discomfort and anxiety is no way to live. It’s finally your time to dare to dream. Brella is the first and only FDA-cleared sweat control patch. The in-office treatment calls for nary a needle, is noninvasive, aluminum free and affordable. Here’s how your appointment goes: the patches are applied to your under arms for 3 minutes. You will experience a warming sensation as sodium in Brella microtargets sweat glands to reduce overall sweat production. This single application can drastically diminish excessive sweating for 3-4 months or even longer.
four racing divisions. In addition to the competition, there was plenty of pizza, snacking and pandemonium. Below are the results of the specialty contest and racing. Wolves — Winner: Gabriel Tarossa. Most Scary Boat: Indy Jung with the boat Skull. Most Artistic Boat: Amaya Rempis with the boat Princess. Bears — Winner: Cather-
Fashion
(Continued from Page 4) inconvenience), were upset that their streets would be closed for backstage activities or for limousine dropoff for the guests. But, the inconvenience was all over by late afternoon, and the Windsor Square Association was able to tell residents that it had negotiated with the producer for a contribution that will pay for landscape maintenance of the Larchmont Median, between Third and First streets, for about one year. In a story in Women’s Wear Daily after the event, Windsor Boulevard resident Jeet Sohol told its reporter that “she was happy someone was having a fashion show on her side of town for a change.”
ine Abdelshehid. Most Scary Boat: Mason Im with the boat The Shark. Most Artistic Boat: Adriana Kim with the boat Sunset. WEBELO 1 — Winner: Aiden Park. Most Creative Boat: Astrid Huybrechs with the boat Nugget. Most Eco-friendly Boat: Zachary Bitzelberger with the boat The Earth. WEBELO 2 — Winner: William For. Most Original Boat: Belinda Vasquez with the boat Eye Wonder. Best Effort Boat: Che Nafa with the boat Batman.
We know that beauty isn’t just about antiaging, and you have our word that we take every aspect of your well-being seriously. Contact our office to schedule your appointment today and prepare to change your life. 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. Adv.
classes, and a marine biology trailer visits sixth to 12th graders. Two drivers and a staff of eight manage the three units, which are staggered at different campuses, where they park on school grounds for multiple days at a time. Community events and open houses are also scheduled, and parents are encouraged to visit. “These mobile units generate a lot of excitement, so we want to welcome the community,” said Porter. Signups for the spring semester are underway. Registration for fall 2024 semester open March 15. Visit nhm. org/educational-resources/ mobile-museums.
INSIDE THE MUSEUM’S MOBILE TRAILER, extended to double-wide size, La Brea Tar Pits exhibits welcome visitors.
BARBER SHOP Then
Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year!.
Now
Still serving Larchmont customers from our new location:
401 1/2 S. FAIRFAX AVE., 90036.
CARDI B. participated as a model in the fashion show.
Photos courtesy of Balenciaga
For appointments until 4 p.m., call (323) 433-4768 Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30-5:30 • Sat. 8-4:30 • Sun. 9-2:30
©LC0124
By Jim Kalin Local Cub Scout Pack 16 held its annual Raingutter Regatta race Nov. 10 at the St. Brendan School gymnasium. The Tigers, which are the youngest scouts, were not present, so there were just
Fairfax Avenue are today. “It’s experiential. Especially for this age group, they learn by doing,” said Porter. With up to 25 young kids in the trailer at one time, it can get a bit wild. “It’s a lot of fun and controlled chaos.” The mobile unit is free for the schools and the students, and a welcome sight at a time when field trips are down and school bus costs are up. The La Brea Tar Pits unit is the third and largest Mobile Museum in the Natural History Museum’s fleet. An archaeology-themed trailer travels to third to fifth grade
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JANUARY 2024
Sip, shop and mini facials at Thirteen Lune Dr. Loh joins Larchmont dentally, all of the women they each found a niche in the Pediatrics in Medical Building By Nona Sue Friedman Thirteen Lune hosted a hol- creators were previously beauty industry that needed iday Sip ’n Shop on Dec. 9 at its store at 120 N. Larchmont Blvd. The festive event featured complimentary mini spa sessions, non-alcoholic beverages and product samples. The store “inspire[s] the discovery of beauty brands created by Black and Brown founders that resonate with people of all colors.” In line with the store’s mission, three new companies focusing on skin care — Flora & Noor, Forgotten Skincare and Shayde Beauty — showcased their specialty products and product lines. Coinci-
involved in pharmaceuticals. While working in that field,
to be filled. Voilà. New products are born.
AFTER A MINI FACIAL, Sheila Hoyer of Ridgewood Wilton enjoys a non-alcoholic beverage from Improv.
By Suzan Filipek Dr. Matthew Loh has joined Dr. Neville Anderson and Dr. Lauren Estrada and staff at Larchmont Pediatrics. Loh joined the practice located in the Larchmont Medical Building in July on a part-time basis, and he came on board, full-time, Dec. 4. A native of Redlands, Loh received his medical degree from Loma Linda University. He recently completed his internship and residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. At Pacific Union College in Napa, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in history and political studies with a concentration in ethics. In his free time, Dr. Loh enjoys rock climbing, hiking, playing ice hockey and haute
NEW TO THE TEAM at Larchmont Pediatrics is Dr. Matthew Loh.
cuisine. His favorite parts of living in Los Angeles include trying new restaurants and watching the sunsets. Larchmont Pediatrics is at 321 N. Larchmont Blvd., Suite 1020, 323-960-8500.
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JANUARY 2024
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Jane Fonda, 86, speaks frankly about aging at GenSpace By Nona Sue Friedman Actress, author and activist Jane Fonda settled into her seat on stage and said, “An awful lot of young people here, but you’ll get old one day, if you’re lucky.” The audience responded with a laugh. Fonda spoke at a Better with Age talk held at Wallis Annenberg GenSpace, 3643 Wilshire Blvd., in Koreatown on Dec. 5. GenSpace is an innovative community center for older adults. The 86-year-old Fonda, who is so full of life, energy and charisma that she seems to defy her age, spoke with Willow Bay, dean of the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, in front of about 200 audience members. Fonda peppered her responses with humorous one-liners, spoke about her two books on aging and revealed, “I like to make my fears my best friend, and aging scared me.” She said that, through extensive research, she learned that people are living an average of 34 years longer than previous generations. She considers this a “grand gift of time” and refers to it as “your third act.” She doesn’t want to waste her final act and doesn’t want anyone else to either.
INTERVIEWER Willow Bay, dean of the Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, talks with Jane Fonda, right.
She is the poster child for having a positive outlook and encouraged all of the attendees to feel the same. “This isn’t a dress rehearsal, this is it,” she said. When she was 59, she hadn’t a clue how she was going to live her third act, but “I didn’t want to end up like my dad, with so many regrets.” She has consciously worked on forgiving, communicating with her kids, being more compassionate and patient and listening from her heart. Of course, the workout queen of the ’80s still believes exercising regularly is critical for your quality of life. Fonda said that her knees, hips, a shoulder and one thumb are
all fake, but encouraged everyone there to walk, stretch and keep moving. Fonda also revealed, “I’m losing my eyesight, but gaining insight.” Her final fight is the climate crisis. Practically jumping out of her chair, she said, “It is an outrage. People are dying, suffering from fossil fuels and displaced by climate change. Everyone should vote for people who don’t take any money from the fossil fuel industry.” She believes the industry has been lying to the public for years and the only way for policy to change is for people to protest in the streets. She recalled when citizens did this in the 1970s. Their actions resulted in the
FOUNDER OF GENSPACE, Wallis Annenberg, introduces Jane Fonda. Photos courtesy of Unique Nicole for GenSpace
United States government creating the Environmental Protection Agency and passing the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. Lastly, she believes community has been declining since the 1980s. She encouraged everyone in the audience to “create community with like-minded people.” It’s one of the reasons she thinks GenSpace is such a special place. And not to mention, Fonda said, “Everything here is so beautiful and the space is impeccable. Just look around.” GenSpace’s mission is to create a brand new space that
reimagines aging through wellness, connection and lifelong learning. Its goal is to create community and reduce social isolation for older adults. When talking to GenSpace members Pat McNair and Ramona McCardell of Mid-City, they agreed that GenSpace is achieving its mission and goal in spades. The women said, “The events here are all great. They just wow us and make us feel special. We don’t feel old. It’s a treasure trove.” For more information and to become a member, call 424-407-4023 or visit annenberggenspace.org.
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(Continued from Page 1) question later. The December Larchmont Chronicle story did elicit some reader responses, both pro and con. Locally, from Hancock Park, one reader thanked us for publishing the story and wrote: “Let’s hope this madness ends as soon as possible so we can go back to enjoying our wonderful lives in our peaceful Hancock Park community.” Another Jewish writer said: “Our community feels truly heard.” On the other side, we received three communications condemning our story, two from relatively far away. One writer, in Cleveland, Ohio, wrote the Chronicle a 500-word letter that was primarily a condemnation of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said of the Israeli government: “To push back this evil regime, rise and strike! Let no one continue to fear this man. Every Palestinian must be strong and fight on for their freedom. Rise and strike!” Another writer, an ophthalmologist in Chicago, criticized our story as biased against Palestinians, writing that: “I ... have lots of family and friends in the Los Angeles area [and] your recent article was highly biased against Palestinians and espouses a potentially dangerous environment for my family and friends in the Los Angeles area, who happen to all be Muslim and Palestinian.” The third writer was local, from Koreatown, just east of Western Avenue, and she first telephoned and spoke with us at length. Like the Jewish man quoted by the Los Angeles Daily News and by the Chronicle in our original article — who said he took offense at the Nov. 24 demonstration held in a neighborhood with a large Jewish population, and requested anonymity for his comments — our pro-Palestine critic of that story also requested anonymity. She subsequently sent us her views in writing, at our request: “I was upset to see the one-sided and fear-mongering claims you put forth in your article. I remain astonished that a protest calling for a ceasefire, an end to bombing and killing, can be considered harmful to ANY group. And it is absolutely false to claim that there was any chanting about ‘killing Jews’ as you quoted in your article as these protests are seeking to bring an end to the misery being experienced in the Middle East. “To conflate antisemitism with anti-Zionism is a false and dangerous comparison. With that article you did a disservice to those Jews,
DEMONSTRATORS for Palestine disrupted business at The Grove the day after Thanksgiving.
Photo by Hans Gutknecht / MediaNews Group / Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
like Jewish Voice for Peace, Orthodox Jews Against Israel, and many descendants of Holocaust survivors, who have been marching alongside many in the U.S. to call for an end to the dehumanization and violence against the Palestinian people.” The Larchmont Chronicle thanks all who called and wrote, but we do want to point out that a main theme of our original article was that the tensions are faced by both Jewish and Muslim Americans. This situation has been well documented in the daily media sources we cited. We listed the thoughtful Nov. 5 Orange County Register story on this subject: tinyurl.com/ ytcdv26n. More recent commentary in that same vein is everywhere. The online San Francisco Standard described differences of views among not only Muslims and Jews but also among Jews on Dec. 19: tinyurl.com/2auj7wnm. The confrontations on college campuses have been the source of much reporting, and the rise of antisemitism in America continues to get major coverage. See, in the Los Angeles Times on Dec. 15, the story by David Lauter and Jaweed Kaleem at: tinyurl. com/yhtkx5pt. Oppressors and oppressed But what does all this activity and dialogue concerning land in The Levant have to do with disrupting commerce at The Grove, 7,500 miles away? It appears to be related to the worldwide rise of anti-capitalism that observers credit to the teachings at elite and other colleges. A good discussion of this underlying issue associated with many of the current anti-Israel demonstrations (such as ones organized by shutitdown4palestine.org — the group that influenced the Nov. 24 disrup-
tion at The Grove) and similar groups is in a Dec. 7 Los Angeles Times story by Jenny Jarvie, “U.S. college campuses have embraced the Palestinian cause like never before. The story began decades ago.” See: tinyurl.com/ut4em6tr. Jarvie writes in the lengthy story (with contributions by Jaweed Kaleem): “But the story of how the Palestinian cause took off on campuses involves much more than academic theories. “It’s a tale of careful planning by activists, dramatic political change in Israel and the rise of a U.S. social justice movement that homed in on race and other markers of identity and framed many of the world’s conflicts as a simple battle between two sides: the oppressors and the oppressed.” Jarvie goes on to discuss how such views of life — the oppressors and the oppressed — are simplistic and cites UCLA political science professor and chair of Israel studies there, Dov Waxman. She writes that Professor Waxman “has always tried to challenge his students not to buy into simplified narratives about the Middle East.” The area in the accompanying map of The Levant is described by N.S. Gill (tinyurl.com/yv7dnh9w) as: “a geographic term that refers to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the nearby islands. Maps of the Levant don’t show an absolute boundary, because at no time in the past was it a single political unit. … “The term is often used in reference to the ancient lands in the Old Testament of the Bible (Bronze Age): the kingdoms of Israel, Ammon, Moab, Judah, Edom, and Aram; and the Phoenician and Philistine states. …” Today’s quagmire clearly
goes back to the 9th century BCE and before. To repeat the comment of one of the Chronicle’s recent correspon-
dents: “Let’s hope this madness ends as soon as possible so we can go back to enjoying our wonderful lives.”
THE LEVANT circa 9th Century Before Common Era.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
10 SECTION ONE
Larchmont Chronicle
JANUARY 2024
PAGE ACADEMY By Isabella Argiropoulos 8th Grade Hello my Larchmont Neighbors! I hope you have all been enjoying the holidays! December was full of many great events. Our Mexican Dinner Silent Basket Auction and Movie Night was wonderful and successful. Our annual Holiday Show was a showstopper full of holiday music and dance! Our Page families came out in full support of Student Council’s pet and toy fundraiser and everyone
enjoyed a “snow day” in Page School’s parking lot. We had our class holiday parties in late December, with great food, a White Elephant gift exchange and a special visit from Santa himself! Classes will resume on Jan. 8. On the 12th, Page will hold its second quarter Honor Assembly — we can’t believe how quickly the school year is flying by! The 22nd is this year’s “100th Day of School” — our students are encouraged to come dressed as if they were 100 years old and to participate in a day full of fun activities! On the 26th we will have our Panorama Picture Day for our entire student body, which is one
of my favorites. I wish everyone a 2024 full of good will, health and happiness!
ST. JAMES’ By Kingston Smith 5th Grade Classes resume for St. James’ students Jan. 3. While the break has been fun, here are some events that we are looking forward to in the new year. First, we have some exciting news: the Havard Krokodileos are going to be performing live at St. James Preschool. Also, at our elementary school, we have
a day off to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. At St. James’, we have a tradition that will be continuing on Jan. 18 — In-N-Out Day. On InN-Out Day, parents get to come eat In-N-Out with their kids via a food truck. It is something the whole campus looks forward to. Finally, on Jan. 20, we have the Soul to Seoul BBQ competition at which families compete to see who makes the best BBQ. It’s going to be a lot of fun for everyone!
THE WILLOWS By Birdie Reynolds 8th Grade Although coming back from a long break can be difficult, The Willows students get back into the swing of things in January. Middle school self-defense classes will continue. The program is incredible because we not only learn to defend ourselves physically, but also learn to set boundaries and identify when we need help and how we can help others. Sports like basketball and soccer continue to practice and play the schools in our league to fight for a place in the playoffs and a chance for the championship. We are excited to see what the new year brings, especially with new units for many grades to explore and a new semester for the middle school to conquer.
MELROSE ELEMENTARY By Franklin Raghavan 5th Grade The holidays meant people had three weeks of vacation to forget everything. Happy 2024! The Melrose 5th graders
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are starting a new unit in science this January. It’s probably the most popular unit of the year — life science, focusing on the biosphere, feeding relationships and transfer of energy. Fourth graders are going to watch a day in the life of a bird at Ballona Wetlands. They’ll probably see ducks and egrets. A production of “Finding Nemo” was performed by the 4th and 5th graders. Next, the 3rd graders get to rehearse and perform a play. Another round of “Genius Hour” begins soon for the 5th graders. Trust me, one hour two days a week for six weeks is not enough for kids to be geniuses and use their imagination to create dynamic projects. Beautification day is coming on Jan. 27. We plan on planting new flowering plants.
NEW COVENANT ACADEMY By Sue Jung Park 11th Grade Happy New Year! As the new year came, NCA students wrapped up their winter break and returned to school, excited and ready to learn! Hopefully the winter break was a time where students were able to get plenty of rest and spend a festive time celebrating the holidays with their families. To kick off the spring semester, NCA will hold an Open House event. Parents are invited to students’ classrooms and get to spend time looking through the impressive work students have done. The event also serves as a time for parents to communicate with teachers. The boys’ basketball team also has been playing hard. Come out to future games and support them! Go Huskies!
Larchmont Chronicle
JANUARY 2024
SECTION ONE
11
Camp Harmony provides a free camp for underserved kids By Nona Sue Friedman Camp Harmony is a special place that changes the lives of campers and counselors. It is a free overnight camp for homeless and underprivileged children in Los Angeles. Campers are transported to a camp in Ojai for a week of carefree fun where they participate in new and exciting activities. High school students in grades 10 through 12 apply and pay for the opportunity to serve as counselors. Camp Harmony (CH), which was founded in 1989, gives campers chances they otherwise may not have. Its goal is to inspire and empower the kids. For many of the underserved campers, this is the first time they have gone to sleepaway camp. Close to 400 campers come up for the week in late August. For counselors, the experience is one-of-a-kind. “Camp Harmony is totally life-changing,” according to Jordan Passman of Hancock Park, who was a counselor during high school and who has continued to volunteer yearround for the organization for the past 20 years. He continues, “It’s such a big part of who I am.” Now married and a father of two young kids, he plans on hav-
VOLUNTEER STAFF at Camp Harmony’s winter session are (left to right) Andrew Bank and Nick Melvoin — both of Larchmont Village — and Adam Slutsky.
Photo courtesy Brian Kramer Photography
ing them become counselors when they’re old enough. Many volunteers for CH talk about the family atmosphere surrounding this special experience and how participating in its programs changes your perspective. Another former counselor, Andrew Bank of Larchmont Village, said, “Camp Harmony has influenced the career trajectory of many of its counselors who, because of this experience, want to be involved in social work, public education [and] government.” Bank, who has been involved with the organization for the past 16 years, recounted that he bawled like a baby on the
last day of camp after his first summer. His friend and fellow counselor at the time, Nick Melvoin of Larchmont Village, who is now a board member of Los Angeles Unified School District, said, “You’re here for life.” So far that’s true, agrees Bank. Who knew that Bank would be one of four couples to find their beloveds at CH. Passman adds, “There isn’t another program like it in the city. It teaches the counselors to be philanthropic. It’s human-to-human.” The camp operates under the umbrella of United in Harmony (UNH), which is a nonprofit, non-sectarian organization.
MAKING PLAYDOUGH with campers at Camp Harmony is Jordan Passman of Hancock Park, center rear.
Over the years, UNH has added a winter camp that serves 300 campers. It also created a leadership program, which keeps high schoolers involved year round. The leadership program is a select group of high school students who gather monthly to organize an activity for a small group of campers. This could be bowling or an afternoon of miniature golf. On Nov. 10, the Chronicle visited UNH’s annual holiday party in Torrance. The space was abuzz with about 300 campers who sat on Santa’s lap, made ornaments, decorated cupcakes and left with two bags of new, donated clothing along with a bag of
new books. Brandon Sadkin, a counselor for the past couple of years and a member of the leadership program and former resident of Larchmont Village, said, “I love it! It feels great to have an impact on the campers and to give back to the community.” UNH is run almost exclusively by volunteers and operates with monetary and in-kind donations. If you are interested in learning more about the organization, visit unitedinharmony.org. The author is a previous board member — and longtime volunteer of — United in Harmony and Camp Harmony.
Larchmont Chronicle
JANUARY 2024
IMMACULATE HEART By Emmelyne Lay 12th Grade
TURNING POINT By Lochlann O’Connell 8th Grade
Happy New Year from the IH Pandas! We hope everyone had festive and relaxing holidays. Immaculate Heart students have been enjoying these cooler winter months with good old fashioned cheer, commemorating the day of Saint Nick with candy canes and a prayer service, and observing the Winter Showcase at the end of finals week. Watching the student body sing Christmas carols dressed in their Christmas best was the perfect end to the first semester and fostered a magical holiday season for all students. This season of giving also saw IH students helping out at the annual carnival hosted by Homeboy Industries. Middle schoolers delivered the spirit of Christmas by distributing food and gifts Downtown for the Adopt-a-Family program. Immaculate Heart has been rocking this season competitively! Fencers Charly Stommel-Diaz and Rosie Lay qualified for the Junior Olympics. Our Debate team has had amazing performances, with Emma Sobel receiving her first bid to the prestigious Tournament of Champions, the first sophomore since 2015 to receive this honor. Senior Ava Wegmann-Gatarz has also been excelling all season by winning speaker awards. We are now off to a busy start in 2024!
Turning Point School recently held our annual food drive. Students in every grade donated packaged soups, vegetables and other healthy items to give to people experiencing food insecurity. We held an assembly during which each grade brought their donations to the middle of our grassy field. During the assembly, 8th graders read Thanksgiving-related jokes like, “What’s a turkey’s ringtone? Wing, Wing, Wing!” After our assembly, 8th grade students loaded up parents’ cars with all the donations to be delivered to Saint Augustine’s Volunteer Emergency Services (S.A.V.E.S.) in Culver City. The 8th grade students walked to the food bank from school. We unloaded the cars and sorted and packaged the cans. We also took a tour of the facility and spoke with the volunteers who run the organization. It was a fantastic experience because we were able to spread holiday cheer and help our community.
OAKWOOD SCHOOL By Charlotte Zabel 11th Grade Rehearsals for Oakwood’s next musical “9-5” recently started. Soccer and basketball seasons began and both sports
have already participated in numerous pre-season games and early weekend tournaments. Students for Reproductive Rights club (SRR) hosted a holiday bake sale for The National Network of Abortions Funds in our school’s central courtyard and brought in more than $1,000 for the cause. The club was founded by Oakwood student Opal Rierson amid the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Immersion courses were released to the school public and students hurriedly filled out Google forms in hopes of getting a recommended shortlist of programs they were interested in. Everyone is especially excited about immersion this year because the program will contain international travel opportunities for the student body. These were postponed during COVID-19. Trips to Mexico and Costa Rica are the highlights.
HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE By Penny Yoon 6th Grade I just got back from WinterFest, an annual HSH event. There are always tons of activities: laser tag, raffles, magic shows and more. Some of my classmates and I have been doing tours and interviews for middle school. Almost every day, one of us leaves early saying, “I have an interview!” or, “I’m taking a tour!” It’s fun to see all the secondary schools, especially when alumni from HSH
are there. After months of preparing, we finally pitched our HSH Shark Tank ideas to the Sharks (our head of school, learning director and homeroom teachers). You’ve probably heard of the wildly popular “Shark Tank” TV series — people pitch their small business ideas to an array of big business celebrities. It was really fun and kind of terrifying! Groups of two or three students came up with original products. We then made and sold the products and contributed the funds to our Sixth-Grade Ditch Day, a day all the 6th grade teachers and students get to skip school and go someplace special, like Disneyland or Universal Studios. My group’s product for Shark Tank was commissioned custom art. I hope I can keep doing special projects like these at my next school. I’m glad for the overall learning experience HSH has given me.
LARCHMONT CHARTER HG@SELMA By Elsie Mohr 4th Grade I hope you had a good winter break! Lots of classes have been working hard on signature projects. Signature projects are part of what make Larchmont Charter special. Each class brainstorms ways to make our school better and then chooses an idea to put into action! For example, Ms. Danielle’s 4th grade class is making a free library. The class collects used book donations from families and puts them on a cart so students can enjoy them. Another example is Ms. Allison’s 3rd grade class that is working to make recess more enjoyable for everyone. They made an art cart and a board game cart. The supplies
and games are now available for use during recess. The winter enrichment classes start this month after school, and everyone’s excited! Some enrichments include flag football, cooking and a theatrical production called, “Seussical: The Musical.” For the musical, students get to design and make props and costumes. Have a happy new year!
THE CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION By Griffin Miller 5th Grade Happy New Year! In the Upper Elementary grades at The Center, students get to experience overnight trips with their classes. At the end of 4th grade, students go on a really fun science trip for two nights, during which we learn all about the plants and animals in the region. This year, the entire 5th grade class went on a team-building, two-night field trip to Fulcrum Adventures in Culver City. It was exciting to gather at the buses, load up our bags and say goodbye to our parents. Some kids had never been away from home before, so we made sure to look out for our bunkmates and help each other. Students and teachers got to participate in fun and challenging activities like the Odyssey course, a two-layer, 60-foot-high ropes course, archery, campfires, game shows, hiking, painting and a lot of other fun games. Fulcrum was an awesome bonding experience for the 5th graders and our teachers…and we ate s’mores! In the springtime, the 6th graders will get to do their fun trip when they travel to San Francisco by plane to learn about social justice, art, math and the history of the city.
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12 SECTION ONE
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Larchmont Chronicle
SECTION ONE 13
JANUARY 2024
Who’s the ‘manager’ in your home? Your kids are watching
The Buckley School By Max Terr 10th Grade While the whole world was getting ready for the holidays, students at Buckley were preparing for finals. The upper school put massive amounts of energy into preparing for not only their final exams, but also the annual winter concert. The lower school prepared for exams and rehearsed for its yearly concert, which is always very special. The Buckley School took the opportunity this holiday season to give back. We hosted a toy drive that provided gifts to underprivileged communities. The school is committed to helping and serving communities in every way that it possibly can. That is all the news from The Buckley School. Happy New Year!
miliar — but because I was reminded that our children are quietly learning from everything they see. They are learning who is supposed to do what, how he or she is meant to behave while doing it and if they themselves should take initiative or should simply wait to do what is assigned. For example, if adults who haven’t taken on the manager role wait to be asked to do something before doing it — or expect to be given kudos for doing a task that the manager normally does without applause — kids will learn to do this, too. Mental load There’s a huge mental load that comes with taking on the home / life management role. And, though much of it is inherently done in the brain, our children cannot help but notice who has taken it on. They may not be aware of the brain space taken up by
Tips on Parenting by
Casey Russell tracking needs such as school, activities, appointments, days off, early dismissal days, field trips, permission slips, teacher conferences, picture days, practice times, uniform and equipment needs, carpool and transportation responsibilities, play dates, birthday parties, dentist and doctor visits, but they do learn from us who is in charge of these tasks. Checking in It can be interesting to check in and see who in our households is carrying the mental load. Who notices that all of Roger’s pants are too short, that
there are only two more rolls of toilet paper and that the milk carton is nearly empty? Who remembers relatives’ birthdays and buys holiday gifts? Who makes sure that, on trips, everything people will want or need to keep things running smoothly is packed (and then unpacked)? Who makes sure the kids are bathed? Who notices the dishes in the sink or the clean ones waiting to be put away? Who sees that the sink is indeed in need of a scrub? Ways forward If you discover an imbalance in your home and need some ideas for how to create change now and for your kids’ futures, read on: Replace the chore list with a daily half an hour of “noticing and doing.” Set a timer; give your kid a pencil and paper. Have him or her return the paper at the end of the 30 minutes with a list of things
he or she noticed needed to be done and then, took care of. Never ask for help in regard to household tasks. When you ask for help, you claim ownership. Instead, the phrasing can sound like this, “Let’s work together to clean the apartment on Saturday.” Or, “Our yard is in need of some work, why don’t you weed while I mow.” Suddenly, ownership has shifted. Make sure one parent doesn’t do more of one type of labor than another. Is most cleaning being done by one partner, while the other partner is in charge of fixing things and plunging the toilet? Be conscious of the example this sets. It can be well worth it to step into trying something you might not yet be comfortable with in order to make sure your child doesn’t grow up assuming certain tasks are hers or his.
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By Casey Russell The start of a new year brings with it new hopes and goals. It’s a time to look at what changes we want to make in our own lives and, perhaps, in the lives of our families. I recently read an article written in 2017 by Gemma Hartley for Harper’s Bazaar (tinyurl.com/bdenvppc). Hartley shined light on the fact that, in many households, there is an imbalance of initiative-taking for household / life needs. The general idea is this: there tends to be one person who is the main “manager” of the household and of family life. This person finds herself or himself in charge of remembering and noticing what needs to be done to keep family life running smoothly. In a business, this can be quite efficient. The manager is in a position of leadership and is, generally, compensated better than others for his or her skill, for the added responsibility he or she carries and for his or her time. In a family, though, this can lead to stress, discord and the perpetuation of a cycle of unequal, silent labor that many would like to break. Why it’s a problem The problem is that if one person is noticing and keeping track of what needs to get done, others in the family can start to see, subconsciously, all these tasks as belonging to that person. Sure, other family members will often be great about helping out if they are assigned, asked or reminded to do a job that the manager gives them. But, as Hartley points out, the manager doesn’t want help. She, or he, wants others to take equal initiative. The article struck me — not because the idea was unfa-
14 SECTION ONE
Happy New Year! Now that we have all rested and had fun with our families and friends over the holidays, it is time to return back to school. The Campbell Hall students are excited to get back into the swing of things, preparing to start off strong in the New Year. Congratulations to our girls’ varsity volleyball team, which won the CIF Championship! We will have our spring dance auditions in January. Also, the Gospel Choir begins its rehearsals. The Gospel Choir is a fun show to participate in and a fantastic show to attend. Additionally, we will have the annual orchestra concert for grades 7 through 12. The varsity boys’ soccer team will play against Buckley. Our sophomore students will be working on their academic course selection, planning and beginning the college prep process. Meanwhile, the juniors are in the middle of deciding which
colleges to apply to, and seniors have received their acceptance letters from the colleges to which they applied. These are very busy and exciting times on campus. Furthermore, our robotics team season is going strong. The last competition was in Los Angeles during the holiday break, and they have a few additional competitions in January.
MARLBOROUGH By Avery Gough 12th Grade Marlborough will offer “Morning at Marlborough” tours for prospective students on Jan. 5, 12, 19 and 22. Current Junior and Senior Violets, as well as some parents, will serve as guides and will visit classrooms, explore the campus and share anecdotes about the school to help illustrate the Marlborough School experience. And, now that I am a senior, it is fun to see what the upcoming 7th and 9th graders at Marlborough could look like. Spirit Week starts the week
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of the 29th and it is my favorite week. There are numerous school-wide competitions, some broken down by grade, including contests to see how many canned goods a class has donated. Points are tallied by day and week. The week culminates in a choreographed dance competition. Seniors may have a slight advantage, as they are given more time to perfect their routine. The dances are performed and the top three winners are chosen. At that point, the points from the whole week are totaled and winners are announced. Spirit Week engages the entire campus. All of Marlborough including teachers, faculty and students get very involved.
SAINT BRENDAN By Harry Jannone Kim 8th Grade Wintertime at St. Brendan School is a fun and lively time that brings people of all ages together. Basketball tryouts started. The junior varsity and varsity teams have been chosen and have started practicing. Both teams have been looking fantastic so far and are ready for the rest of the season. The Christmas Program was on Dec. 20. All the classes sang beautiful Christmas songs for schoolmates and parents. It was a great time for everyone. Christmas break started on Dec. 22 and school resumes Jan. 7. In January, 8th graders applying to high schools will start to take the high school placement test. Catholic Schools Week will be
from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3. The 8th graders have been practicing really hard to make sure they win the infamous volleyball game against the faculty.
of Students, Ms. Anna. It was so much fun for all!
PILGRIM By Allison Pak 10th Grade
This January at Third Street sounds like it will be very exciting. The AstroCamp sleepaway field trip is coming up. Every kid in 5th grade is pacing up and down making sure they turn in their last few forms. In preparation for camp, we chose study buddies who are going to be in our study groups when we get there. I heard that it will probably be snowing at camp, so we can’t forget to bring our winter jackets and other warm things. Back in December, 5th graders in Mrs. Skaggs’ and Ms. Yoon’s classes performed their play. The next day, Ms. Kellard’s class and my class (Ms. Min’s class) performed our plays. We performed Shakespeare’s, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” I happen to have my birthday on Jan. 8, which is kind of unlucky since it is right when school starts again. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Open houses were full of interested prospective parents and students. Playdates and interviews started and it’s great to see many new faces on campus. We celebrated our fall sports athletes at the sports banquet and the teams acknowledged were high school ping pong, middle school girls’ volleyball, middle and high school cross country, high school girls’ volleyball (Omega League champions) and middle and high school boys’ flag football. Congratulations to all of our athletes! We had the best and most fun Winter Festival in mid-December. We had food, games, a flea market, different vendors and all the proceeds will go to Alexandria House. The Association of Student Body in middle school and high school helped organized the event with our Dean
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Larchmont Chronicle
JANUARY 2024
SECTION ONE
First-year
(Continued from Page 1) LCS. Bell said that having this example right outside the students’ school is incredibly meaningful. Mayor Bass explained how, since taking office a year ago, she has helped house more than 21,000 people. That is 5,000 more than were housed in 2022 and 5,000 more than she promised while campaigning for the office in 2022. She also said there had been a doubling of the number of people in permanent housing from last year. Peeling an onion She used an analogy to explain the complicated issue of finding housing in Los Angeles. “Confronting this crisis is like peeling an onion. You cry along the way because every time we take a step forward we find a barrier and we have to knock that barrier down... We will continue to knock down barriers until
Homeless count (Continued from Page 2)
ing if they did not do their training online,” LAHSA communications director Ahmad Chapman told us. Up to 50 people can volunteer at this site. “If that site fills up and people still want to volunteer, we encourage them to volunteer at any of the other deployment sites in the County,” Chapman said. The count in Miracle Mile and Mid-City West will take place on Thurs., Jan. 25. To register as a volunteer for the 2024 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, visit TheyCountWillYou.org. You can register up to the time of the count in your area. Thousands of volunteers are expected to spread out across the 4,000 square miles of Los Angeles County. The volunteers will tally the number of unsheltered individuals, tents, vehicles, and makeshift shelters they see in their assigned census tract. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires a biennial point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness. In 2016, LAHSA started conducting its Homeless Count annually.
Passings
Charles T. Munger, of Hancock Park, Jan. 1, 1924 – Nov. 28, 2023. Linda J. McKnight, formerly of Windsor Square, June 1, 1949 – Dec. 8, 2023. Tom Juda, of Windsor Square, Oct. 22, 1946 – Dec. 10, 2023.
PARENTS OF LARCHMONT Charter School talk with Mayor Bass before the press conference.
there are no Angelenos left to live and die on our streets.” One way she and her team are doing this is by acquiring more data surrounding housing and homelessness. She wants to know, “Who is homeless? Who is moved into housing and how are they faring?” It’s all peels of the onion. She has made it easier for developers to process permits
and finish projects by cutting red tape and reducing permit wait time to 45 days from six months. Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martínez, Nithya Raman, (chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee), Bob Blumenfield (chair of the Budget, Finance and Innovation Committee) and Los Angeles Unified School
District Superintendent Alberto Carvhalo spoke of how grateful they are for the mayor’s courage to confront this problem head-on. They also commented on how her connections in Washington, D.C., have been instrumental. Bass has “locked arms with” — and had unprecedented partnerships at — all levels of government this past
15
year. This includes multiple departments within the city, county, state and federal governments, said Carvhalo and others. Because of the new and innovative approaches her office has implemented to confront homelessness, Los Angeles was chosen as one of five cities in the country to be selected for the federal ALL INside program. This is a first-of-its-kind program to address the unhoused at the federal level. She admits that she still faces challenges and is looking to get costs of housing individuals down. She states that her office is taking historic action to keep people from falling into homelessness as well. “This truly is a matter of life and death,” according to Bass. This visit to LCS Selma was part of the mayor’s weeklong tour of the city to mark the completion of her first year in office.
16 SECTION ONE
JANUARY 2024
Larchmont Chronicle