LC Section One 10 2022

Larchmont

was enjoyed on Boulevard

By John Welborne

The post-pandemic return of the annual Taste of Larch mont was a big success, according to Hope’s Net exec utive director Brandy Muñiz.

More than 300 Larchmon tians and neighbors greeted one another walking up and down the Boulevard on Sept. 19, sampling food tastes from local eateries at the tradition al Monday evening event.

The city’s surface parking lot, adjoining the Larchmont Village clock, was headquar ters, with a balloon entry and multiple tent pavilions. In addition to ticket sales, the tents housed displays of raf fle prizes and silent auction items. Boy Scouts oversaw a couple of tents with bever ages, and there were tents featuring desserts for the purchasers of the Taste of Larchmont passports. All pro ceeds from ticket sales and

galas and a casino in the offing

Pumpkin patch to open

By Nona Sue Friedman

By Suzan Filipek and John Welborne

Following a long hiatus due to the pandemic, fundraising galas and just plain parties are making a comeback in and around our town.

Higher Ground is the non profit organization that uses recreation to give people of all abilities (especially our nation’s veterans) the emo tional and social tools they need to feel like they belong.

If you want to see a whole bunch of pumpkins (30,000 lbs.), swing by the Wilshire Rotary Club’s pumpkin patch at 568 N. Larchmont Blvd. Pumpkins go up for sale Sat., Oct. 8, with sales continu ing through Sun., Oct. 30, or until all are sold. The patch

is open weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The pumpkin patch sells “mini to giant pumpkins and everything in between,” according to Wendy Clifford, head of the Rotary pumpkin patch. In addition to pump See Pumpkin patch, p 30

Larchmont Family Fair to return Oct. 30

By Patricia Lombard

It’s back! After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Larchmont Family Fair is back. Mark your calendars for Sun., Oct. 30, from 2 to 7 p.m. for the reboot of this beloved neighborhood tradition that started in 1966.

The Larchmont Boulevard Association (LBA), organizer of the fair, said they are excit ed about some changes long time fair planner Betsy Malloy is proposing for this year’s event.

“We decided it was time to do something a little differ ent,” said Malloy, who has

Sign up for ‘speed humps’

By Casey Russell

Residents interested in hav ing speed humps installed on their neighborhood streets will be pleased to know that the Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation [LADOT] Resi dential Speed Hump Program will be accepting applications beginning Oct. 6.

Due to the COVID-19 pan

Special section: Local elections 2022

First Lady Jill Biden stopped at the Windsor Square home of writer/producer Marta Kauffman to attend a Sept. 16 fundraiser before visit ing Homeboy Industries in Chinatown. Then she headed across the pond to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Chron icle

Mon.,

tact Pam Rudy, 323-4622241, ext.

The Kauffman luncheon was one of many political events taking place in our neighborhoods during this busy season leading up to mail-in voting, culminating with in-person voting on Tues., Nov. 8.

This paper interviewed nearly a dozen candidates for the most-local offices that directly affect our neighbor

hoods. Articles about these candidates, along with expla nations of the seven ballot

propositions, are featured in our special section, Election 2022, on pages 13-20.

LARCHMONT FAMILY FAIR poster is reviewed by Councilmem ber Mitch O’Farrell and committee member Patty Lombard.

to

up on Larchmont

FIRST LADY Jill Biden is shown here with former resident Fr. Gregory Boyle during her visit to Homeboy Industries.

By John Welborne

. . . requires resident and business support.

Such support was evident last month, when the Taste of Larchmont returned to the Boulevard.

A fundraiser for needy Angelenos who are served by Hope Net, this annual Monday evening event draws residents who walk up and down the Boulevard, greet one another and enjoy food and beverage offerings from local merchants.

The beneficiary is Hope Net, a local organization found ed in 1988 to create and manage local food pantries serving people facing hunger in our area. There now are 12 pantries. The Taste of Larchmont got started 30 years ago this year, with leadership from this newspaper’s founders, Jane Gilman and Dawne Goodwin. (Learn more at bit.ly/3UiTyEC.)

Commendation for the September 2022 event is due to the volunteers who organized it and the many volunteers stationed at tables to check the dinner tickets. Great thanks are due to the generous businesses — mostly from Larchmont, but one from Western Avenue and one from La Brea Avenue — that donated their food and services to the equally generous ticket buyers. Specific thanks go to the raffle prize donors and the dining treat providers (listed elsewhere in this issue). Every thing related to the event helps Hope Net and the community.

Coming soon is another opportunity for local businesses to help the Larchmont Boulevard community: the Larchmont Family Fair on Oct. 30. To succeed, this annual community undertaking requires sponsorship. We hope that all Larchmont businesses (and others) will join the Larchmont Chronicle as a sponsor of the 2022 Larchmont Family Fair. To learn how you can donate, you may contact larchmontfamilyfair@gmail.com.

Be

Calendar

Tues., Oct. 5 — Yom Kip pur begins.

Mon., Oct. 10 — Federal holiday.

Wed., Oct. 12 — Great er Wilshire Neighborhood Council board meeting at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Check great erwilshire.org for details.

Tues., Oct. 25 — Hancock Park Homeowners Assoc. annual meeting at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Check hancockpark homeownersassociation.org for link.

Thurs., Oct. 27 — Delivery of the November issue of the Larchmont Chronicle

Sun., Oct. 30 — Larch mont Family Fair, 2 to 7 p.m. Mon., Oct. 31 — Hallow een.

Letters to the Editor

Sidewalk sleeper

I want to address the reac tionary letter to the photo that was taken of a homeless person sleeping in the early morning on the Larchmont Boulevard side walk [“Rights of the unhoused,” Sept. 2022]. The writer has thrown us a new euphe mistic word to describe the sorrowful, and sometimes bare ly clothed, women and men who roam the streets urinating on themselves and worse.

Instead of their taking shel ter and getting help for their mental conditions, we are confronted with them daily. “Unhoused” is how your let ter writer describes these poor souls as if they just lost their homes in a fire last night. They did not. They are on the streets permanently until a real leader can do something about it.

Homeless encampments, people sleeping on the side walks, and people begging on the streets are not a source of pride for the citizens of Los Angeles. These unfortunate

people who suffer from drug addiction are only a joy to see for those suffering from mis placed empathy and worse than that – virtue signaling – (plus the addicts’ drug dealers, of course). People suffering from drug addiction should never be on the streets of Los Angeles. It is a crime in my eyes.

To bring up a wonderful annual event like the Taste of Larchmont, which was created to decrease people begging for money on the Boulevard many years ago, shows how out of touch the letter writer is with the good people of this area.

California’s and specifically Los Angeles’ leaders, like Eric Garcetti, have failed the great people of this city by grow ing the homeless population exponentially while in office. Sad to say that this is the mayor’s largest accomplish ment in eight long years.

For the letter writer who prides herself as a “professional journalist” for a travel publica tion, I suggest she do a book on where to find the best home less encampments in the U.S. This may appeal only to the virtue signalers who are fine with watching drug-infected “unhoused people” suffer ing in the sweltering heat on the streets of Los Angeles like Larchmont Boulevard. This homeless population guidebook could be enjoyed immensely by the writer as she saunters past the homeless on the way to fetch her pumpkin spice frap puccino at Starbucks.

Richard Battaglia, President Windsor Square Hancock Park Historical Society

City Controller election

It was the honor of my life to serve the people of Los Angeles and the State of Cal ifornia over a 20-year public

(Please turn to page 12)

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

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

“I will probably just hand a bunch of candy out. The Com mon Elmwood [apartment complex on Norton Avenue] often has events and, if they have one, I’ll participate. Oth erwise, I’ll walk around and see the cool costumes and hand out candy.”

Boris Mulume Larchmont Village

“I’m actually making polymer clay skulls with exaggerated teeth and Frida Kahlo hair and flowers and I’ll sell them on the Boule vard on Halloween.”

Artevisto Larchmont Village

“We are taking our daughter trick-or-treating for the first time! She’ll be dressed as a farmer and will ride in her little wagon.”

Patrick, Glenda and Alba Diaz Windsor Village

‘What are your plans for Halloween?’

Taste of Larchmont

(Continued from page 1)

donated food and prizes go to the important work of Hope Net in stocking 12 food pan tries in the surrounding area. Learn how you can donate and otherwise help at hopenet.org.

Specific thanks for the suc cess of this year’s event are due to the sponsoring restau rants and donors of auction

ONE

and raffle prize items.

Participating providers were El Cholo, Erin McKen na Bakery, Esco’s Pizza, Go Get ‘em Tiger, Great White, Holey Grail Donuts, Jeni’s Ice Cream, Kiku Sushi, Larch mont Village Wine & Cheese, La Brea Bakery, Le Pain Quotidien, Levain Bakery, Louise’s Trattoria, Peet’s Cof fee, Sweetfin and Vernetti.

Raffle and silent auction donors included A.O.C., The Black Cat, Buck Mason,

Chevalier’s Books, Crafted LA, Diptyque, DR Pilates, The Ebell of Los Angeles, Fancifull Gift Baskets, Flan nel, Flicka, Healing Hands, Jardesca, Landis Gifts & Sta tionery, Larchmont Buzz, Larchmont Traditional Med icine, Larchmont Village Florist, Lisa Derrick Fine Arts and Pam’s Apothica, Kelly Martin and Tom Pat terson Curated Wine, Malin + Goetz, Marino Restaurant, Monsieur Marcel, Musso

& Frank Grill, Peake Ranch Wine - Gill and John Wagner, Res Ipsa, Rhodes School of Music, Romi Cortier Design, Rothy’s, The Scent Room, The Shade Store, Skin Laundry, Tailwaggers, Village Id iot and Village Heights.

LEVAIN BAKERY, to open next year adja cent to Vernetti, flew its director of marketing and communications, Pam Lewy, and boxes of cookies from New York to share with diners at this year’s “Taste.”

TROOP 10 SCOUTS helped manage the 2022 Taste of Larchmont.

CITY COUNCILMEMBER of the district, Mitch O’Farrell, helped with the event’s raffle. He is shown with Hope Net’s Brandy Muñiz, center, and raffle organizer Patti Carroll.

Right: ICE CREAM was on the menu, with Coldwell Banker’s volunteer tick et-checker April Duran and her three assistants greeting Katy Young Yaroslavsky, at right.

Queen Elizabeth to be remembered in song Oct. 2 and 9

By John Welborne

All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills will host a free concert and reception to make you feel as if you are in Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s homeland on Sun., Oct. 2. The All Saints’ Choir will sing five songs honoring the life of the

Queen. These English songs are what you would typically hear at Westminster Abbey.

The Oct. 2 concert in memoriam will take place at 5 p.m. in the church at 504 N. Camden Dr., Beverly Hills.

In keeping with the Brit ish theme, an afternoon tea

style reception will follow the concert. No reservations are needed.

One week later, on Sun., Oct. 9, at St. James’ In-theCity Episcopal Church, at 3903 Wilshire Blvd., the Choir of Saint James will sing Evensong in memory of Queen Elizabeth

Wilshire Rotary’s Pumpkin Patch Comes to LARCHMONT!

II, beginning at 4:15 p.m.

The St. James’ choir has been in residence at both West minster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, while the All Saints’ choir, in residence at Wells and Salisbury cathedrals in 2017, plans to sing services at Canterbury and Worcester cathedrals next summer.

Report from London

Artist Anne Mansour, who lives in Larchmont Village, happened to be in London for the Queen’s pre-funer al events and funeral, all of which were taking place around the time of Mansour’s debut showing of her artwork at Designers Guild on King’s Road in Chelsea. Mansour wrote to the Chronicle:

“It has been such an amazing trip getting to talk to Her Maj esty’s subjects here in London. One of my new friends, Juliet, who is an outstanding florist who grows her own flowers for Designers Guild, was saying how incredibly touched she was by the Scottish bagpip ers. (Her roots are Scottish.) She said that seeing all those men preceding the casket from Westminster Hall to West minster Abbey was one of the most memorable and intense moments of her life. The sound of the men marching combined with the emotional beckoning of the bagpipes and the colorful visual spectacle of tartans was something she will never forget.”

Adds Mansour: “The entire atmosphere was sur real. There was reverence, formality, tradition, ceremo ny, civility, respect, restraint; it all created a sense of unity, meaning and significance for a moment in time.

“For me, the slow march to Windsor Castle… I loved the moment on the way up the hill... All the bouquets of

QUEEN ELIZABETH looked charming in blue on her 90th birthday.

flowers had been unwrapped and carefully placed all in the same direction on either side of the road like a carpet of blooms, and there along the side of the road by the stables was the Queen’s black pony, Emma, looking so incredibly well turned-out and gor geous with her groom. To me that was such a beautiful moment. The connection to our beloved animals.”

All may enjoy a connection to the Queen and to England through music on Sunday evenings, Oct. 2 and 9.

Rose Award luncheon to honor Jaime Lee Oct. 13

Jaime Lee, Fremont Place, will be given the Rose Award by the Los Angeles Parks Foundation at a luncheon on Thurs., Oct. 13.

Lee, CEO of Jamison Realty Inc., is an LA2028 Olympics board member, USC trustee and commission president at the Port of Los Angeles.

The 11th annual event, which supports the Parks Foundation, will take place in the Rose Garden in Exposi tion Park, 701 State Dr. For tickets: 310-472-1990 or info@laparksfoundation.org.

Christmas trees at the same location. Tree lot opens November 25 100% of net proceeds are used for Rotary service projects

Parties

(Continued from page 1)

The group got a head start on the fall season with its “Honor ing Our Nation’s Heroes Gala” on Sept. 24 at the Peters en Automotive Museum. Los Angeles leader Spike Booth and his wife Debbe (who grew up in Hancock Park) enter tained a number of local residents, as well as the incom ing chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Gene T. Sykes. The keynote speaker, former Navy SEAL Lt. Cmdr. Dan Cnossen, was inter viewed by fellow Paralympian and gold-medal winner, skier Muffy Davis. During cocktails, guests had a chance to visit the museum’s “Bond in Motion” exhibit (open through Oct. 23). See: highergroundusa.org.

And coming up soon, one can learn about the impact that the Junior League of Los Angeles made in the 1920s. A fun-filled night of music is set for Fri., Sept. 30, at 6 p.m. at Rainey House on Larchmont Boulevard.

The Petersen Automotive Museum’s own 28th Annu al Gala will take place at the museum on Sat., Oct. 1, from 5 to 10 p.m. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen Group, will be honored. Live perfor mances, gourmet dining, a live auction and cars are featured

at the event. Visit petersen.org.

The Midnight Mission’s 20th Annual Golden Heart Awards Gala is Fri., Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. A cocktail reception and silent auction, awards dinner and musical performances are featured. Host is come dian Tehran Von Ghasri. Call 213-553-2392 or contact hkuro kawa@midnightmission.org.

Dress in garden chic for the Downtown Women’s Cen ter Every Woman Gala! on Sun., Oct. 9, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 501 N. Main St. Info: downtownwomenscenter.org/ everywoman

Earvin “Magic” Johnson will be honored with the Rise Together Award at this year’s Imagine LA Ball Sun., Oct. 9,

from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Pep permint Club. The 7th annual intimate charity concert will feature live performances by David Foster & Friends. Visit imaginela.org.

Craft Contemporary will honor artists Keiko Fukaza wa and Dennis Callwood and architect Joe Coriaty Sat., Oct. 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. The fund raising event will be held in the courtyard, 5841 Wilshire Blvd. The gala will include food, an open bar and live DJ music and a silent auction. For tickets, visit craftcontem porary.org/gala-2022.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will hold its second annual gala on Sat., Oct. 15, from 6 to 10 p.m. at 6067 Wilshire Blvd. Director and writer Steve McQueen, pro

ducer Miky Lee and actor Tilda Swinton will be honored. Julia Roberts will receive the Icon Award. Halle Berry is co-chair.

On Sat., Oct. 15, head to the Millennium Biltmore Hotel downtown for The Pacific Clinics’ “Uplifting Communities” gala that will celebrate the merger of Uplift Family Services (located at Hollygrove) and Pacific Clin ics, both community-based behavioral healthcare pro viders. The event begins at 6 p.m. and includes a cock tail reception, dinner and more. ABC7 Eyewitness News anchors Ellen Leyva and David Ono are emcees. Visit pacificclinics.org.

Try your luck for Alexan dria House at Casino Night on Sat., Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. at St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 1324 S. Normandie Ave. Board Chair Caroline Fitzgerald will be honored. Tickets include gaming chips. Call 714-603-3073 or write pam@alexandriahouse.org.

Holocaust Museum LA will hold its 14th annual gala on Thurs., Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. Honorees are Kelly Goldberg, Tom Teicholz and David and Sheryl Wiener. The banquet will be held at the Saban The atre, at 8440 Wilshire Blvd. Visit holocaustmuseumla.org

“Fostering Student Suc cess” is the theme of the Los

Angeles City College Foun dation Gala Thurs., Oct. 27, at the Skirball Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd. Cocktails start at 6 p.m. followed by dinner and an awards cere mony. Call 323-904-4400.

Mark the date! The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Art+Film gala is Sat., Nov. 5. Artist Helen Pashgian and Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will be honored. Call 323-857-4770 or write artandfilm@lacma.org.

Assistance League of Los Angeles’ Champions for Change Gala is Sun., Nov. 6, at the Taglyan Complex on Vine Street. Visit assistance leaguela.org.

COME VISIT US AT LARCHMONT PHYSICAL THERAPY

At Larchmont Physical Therapy, we are passionate about providing excellent patient care. As a privately-owned business with great integrity, we are able to attend to our patients’ physical and emotional states of being. We create an individualized plan of care for each patient that promotes optimal results.

Our team’s passion, background and expertise has been carefully selected so that we may better assist you with your own rehabilitation needs.

Dr. Doreen Cohen, DPT

Dr. Jason Gordon, DPT Doctor of Physical Therapy Specializes in: Sports rehabilitation, Functional training and manual therapy.

Dr. Zachary Lygizos, DPT Doctor of Physical Therapy Specializes in: Orthopedic Injury Manual Therapy Sports Medicine

Celebrating 37 Years Serving the Greater Los Angeles Community

Dr. Sylvia Chac Liang, DPT Doctor of Physical Therapy Specializes in:

and back pathology,

physical therapy

HIGHER GROUND guests at the Petersen Museum included, from left, Bob and Cheryl Baker, Cheryl and Peter Ziegler, Bea and Mike Wallace and incoming USOPC chair Gene T. Sykes.

DAN CNOSSEN, former pla toon commander of SEAL Team One, now a Paralympic gold medalist, is welcomed to The Petersen by gala chair Spike Booth, at right.

Why CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center?

Your family is in good hands at CHA HPMC. With over 3,600 babies delivered annually, CHA HPMC is a maternity care leader in Southern California. Our team of neonatal experts has experience you can trust.

More than 200 Obstetricians and nurses providing a multi-disciplinary approach from prenatal care, to labor and delivery, to postpartum support.

The only hospital in Los Angeles County to offer innovative fetal surgery procedures for conditions that affect babies in-utero.

Building to bring you world-class care close to home: •11 state-of-the-art labor and delivery rooms •33 spacious private rooms for mom and baby

•21 NICU beds for our tiniest patients

Baby-friendly designated facility offering personal lactation consultation.

Family-friendly environment offering 24/7 access and language interpretation.

Unique partnership with neonatologists from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group, providing topnotch care for high-risk deliveries and newborns.

Make the smartest choice for your Healthy Baby at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center

Family Fair

(Continued from page 1) planned fairs for a decade. “The pandemic has changed so much of our daily life; it seemed like a good opportu nity to change up this local tradition and bring every one together to celebrate our neighborhood. In addition to all the usual fun activities for kids, we are adding some fun for adults.”

Malloy has teamed up with composer and film producer Stephen Endelman to pro duce a concert featuring clas sic songs from the movies. Thanks to a partnership with an artisanal brewery with deep ties to the neighbor hood, adults can enjoy the concert in a beer garden set ting, sampling specialty beers along with barbecue from a local family-owned catering company.

Concert at 5:30 p.m.

The Fair will still take place on the Sunday before Hallow een, as usual, though it will start a bit later, at 2 p.m., with traditional booths and lots of activities for kids. To keep costs down for organizers and parents, Malloy is adding more free activities for kids and fewer expensive rides. The concert will start at 5:30 p.m.

“We are so delighted to be able to bring the fair back after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic,” said John Winther, LBA president. “We love work ing with Betsy and her team, who have consistently deliv ered a family-friendly, com munity-building annual event.

We are excited about this year’s concert and beer garden and hope to bring even more peo ple to together on our neigh borhood main street.”

The Larchmont Boulevard Association, the association of business owners and pro fessionals on the street, has organized the Larchmont Family Fair, with proceeds supporting the association’s costs for holiday events, secu rity, landscaping and beauti fication on the street. Every year, neighbors and local businesses also help support the fair through sponsorships and ticket sales.

Volunteers and sponsors

“Everyone who works on the fair is a volunteer, but the costs for insurance, rentals, city permits, clean up, etc. are significant, so we really appreciate the support of our sponsors and ticket sales,” explained Malloy.

If you are interested in get ting involved, contact larch montfamilyfair@gmail.com.

The Larchmont Buzz, a proud member of the LBA, is helping Malloy, along with LBA members Tailwaggers Pets, Rhodes School of Music and Chevalier’s Books, so look for more information on ticket sales, sponsorships and a schedule of events coming soon on the Buzz.

Snooknuk added to Fair Snooknuk is coming back to Larchmont for the Family Fair. Creator Cheri Moon will be bringing her Snooknuk magic to the Children’s Stage at the Fair where she will curate three fun-filled hours

of diverse programming, offering something to delight kids and their parents from 2 to 5 p.m.

“We are delighted to have Cheri, who is generously help ing program three full hours of fun family entertainment on the Children’s Stage,” said Malloy, also a seasoned mom and grandmother, who said she wanted to make sure there was plenty of activity for children and their parents to enjoy in addition to the usual inflatables and rides.

Additional talent

“I am thrilled to be back on Larchmont,” Moon said. “I’m so happy the Larchmont Fair is all coming together! I’m excited about the talent I’ve secured so far for the Chil dren’s Stage and potentially a few more that would real ly make it even more epic!”

Artists Leah Sprecher, Nicole Mangi, Kymberly Stewart and DJ Princess Ellie are already confirmed.

When they had kids and couldn’t find a music class, former Broadway perform ers Leah Sprecher and Nicole Mangi created “Broadway Babies.” It’s their way to chan nel their love of old-timey musicals, vaudeville and slapstick humor into an interac tive song and dance extrava ganza designed to engage kids in musical theater. Kids are encouraged to sing along and explore fun movement.

Kymberly Stewart is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, musician, actress, producer and early childhood music educator, and she also

will perform.

Kymberly also is a collab orator with Cheri on their Grammy Award-winning album “All One Tribe” by 1Tribe Collective, selected for Best Children’s Album. The Collective’s compilation album contains 25 songs that celebrate the rich diversity of Black culture and promotes positive self imaging for chil dren. The album received a mention by The New York Times and appeared in Bill board magazine.

And finally, to keep every thing going, even in between sets and special events like the costume parade, pump kin decorating and other fun events, DJ Princess Ellie will fill in with music and dance.

Speed humps

(Continued from page 1)

demic, the program was cur tailed in recent years. But, as of Thurs., Oct. 6, at 9 a.m., applicants prepared to repre sent their streets and do the work required will be able to apply online for speed humps on their streets.

The application process for the humps, which are designed to slow and calm traffic, is somewhat compli cated. Applicants should note that a street on which an asphalt hump, approximate ly 12 feet in length, would be placed must meet the required criteria.

Only one application per street will be accepted, and the person making the request will become the block representative.

To ensure general support for the hump, LADOT will request the representative submit a form with signa tures from residents on the street.

People interested in apply ing are encouraged to sign

HBLACK

Ekaette Ellie Shammah, stage name Princess Ellie, is an author and performer who performs with her group of kid and adult hip hop dancers.

Moon also has contacted Bob Baker Marionette The ater and Jim Henson Studios. She’s even working on get ting a Robot Puppet that can create balloon animals!

The preceding detailed report comes from one of the organizers of this year’s Larchmont Family Fair, Patricia Lombard, co-editor and publisher of the Larch mont Buzz. The information was first reported in the Buzz on Aug. 16 and Sept. 19. We appreciate her letting us share this information with our readers.

Omar

740

on to the LADOT website promptly at 9 a.m. Study ing the rules on the website well in advance is advised! Each Council District will be allowed only 25 applications and, once the total of 375 applications have been sub mitted to LADOT, the period to apply will close. People with experience say this could be on that first day, Oct. 6.

Visit ladot.lacity.org/ projects/safety-programs/ speed-humps for more infor mation.

Street, 90038

RA Nails

Book Online: blackstarbarbers.com

Speed hump on the 500 block of Lucerne Boulevard.

LA’s Health and Wellness Partner

PIH

International journalists visit Chronicle as part of Murrow Program

By Staff Writers

Thirteen participants in the “Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists — Research and Investiga tion” visited the Larchmont Boulevard offices of this newspaper for a tour, brief ing and a Q&A session. The

13 people were from Ar menia, Australia, Croatia, Czech Republic, The Gam bia, Ghana, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and South Sudan.

The visit on Sept. 15 was under the auspices of the U.S. Dept. of State’s International

325 N. Larchmont Boulevard, #158 Los Angeles, California 90004 windsorsquare.org

157 N. Larchmont Boulevard

Take Care of Our Trees

Here’s a simple way to increase your home’s value: add mature trees (or take good care of the ones you already have)! Research has shown that houses on streets with healthy parkway trees — especially if they trees are of the same variety and size — can sell for as much as 20 percent more than those on less shady streets.

Trees work hard for us: they keep us cooler, absorb sound, fight pollution, provide privacy, produce oxygen, and offer beauty, among other things. In exchange, trees need proper care, and this is particularly true now, with the stresses of drought and high temperatures.

Here are some tips for caring for your valuable trees:

1. Most important of all: do not stop or cut back on watering your street trees, even if you’ve replaced your parkway lawn with drought-tolerant plants or decomposed granite. Mature trees need more water than they will get from a drip irrigation system. The best practice is to modify your sprinkler system so that the trees have their own dedicated sprinkler valve. Second best is to run an inexpensive soaker hose under the canopy. In either case, let the trees have a deep drink every month or so (more often during hot spells). Run the soaker hose at a very slow rate for several hours, in early morning or evening.

2. Do not prune trees during hot weather. Most trees should only be pruned when they are dormant, in late fall or early winter. And don’t over-prune them. Harsh pruning can permanently damage trees, especially when they are already stressed by several years of drought. Always use certified arborists, even though they may cost a little more.

3. Don’t plant under the tree. Leave a wide area of mulch underneath it. This will help protect the tree from disease and damage from lawn mowers and weed whackers.

4. Definitely leave a wide area of mulch around your trees if you have replaced your lawn with artificial turf. Fake grass heats up the soil beneath it, kills beneficial microbes and doesn’t allow the tree to breathe.

Our trees deserve special treatment. Let lawns go brown and thirsty shrubs wilt, but protect our hard-toreplace trees. Windsor Square depends on them! For more tips on tree care, go to our website: windsorsquare.org.

The Windsor Square Association, an all-volunteer group of residents from 1100 households between Beverly and Wilshire and Van Ness and Arden, works to preserve and enhance our beautiful neighborhood. Join with us! Drop us a line at 325 N. Larchmont Blvd., #158, Los Angeles, CA 90004, or visit our website at windsorsquare.org.

Visitor Leadership Program. Local arrangements, in cluding the outreach to the Larchmont Chronicle , were made by the International Visitors Council of Los Ange les, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles. The 13 visitors were investigative journalists, reporters, and editors from wire services, print, TV, radio, and digital and social media, as well as professors of journalism. The Chronicle visit was near the end of their three-week so journ in Los Angeles.

Metro K Line to open Oct. 7 on Crenshaw

By John Welborne

As Metro completes work in our area on the extension of the D Line subway under Wilshire Boulevard to Westwood, the transit agency has announced the Fri., Oct. 7 opening of the first phase of the K Line that extends from the E (former ly Expo) Line’s existing light rail train station to the south along Crenshaw Boulevard to Inglewood. (“Light rail” trains are ones that have overhead electrification.)

In the following two years, the new K Line light rail system will open two addi tional stations that will allow connection via a new peo ple mover to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and to the existing light rail C (formerly Green) Line to Redondo Beach and Norwalk.

Also in planning discussions is a northern extension of the K Line to Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Beverly Center, West Hollywood and Hollywood. That extension, not yet funded and unlikely to begin construc tion until 2041, if funded, is expected to connect with the heavy rail (high voltage “third rail” instead of overhead elec trification) D (formerly Purple) Line at Wilshire Boulevard and the heavy rail B (formerly Red) Line at the Hollywood and Highland station.

stations at La Brea Avenue and Fairfax Avenue. Effec tive October 7, there will be weekend street closures above ground lasting approximately 13 weekends, at Wilshire and

Fairfax, while concrete deck ing panels are removed and the street above the new Fair fax Station is restored.

Wilshire Boulevard’s D Line (Please turn to page 11)

©LC 1022

In the meantime, under Wilshire Boulevard, Metro’s contractor is completing inte rior work at the D Line subway

METRO K LINE opens Oct. 7 and extends south from the E (formerly Expo) Line, with the future K Line connection to LAX commencing service in 2024.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISTS visit the offices of the Larch mont Chronicle to discuss the value of community-focused newspapers in a large media market like Los Angeles with pub lisher and editor John H. Welborne, at right.

Melrose pedestrian improvement continues

Melrose Avenue is a heavily populated street fea turing shopping, dining and entertainment. Our new safety features will improve walkability.

Work to improve pedes trians’ experiences along Melrose Avenue is under way thanks to a $3.9 million award to the City of Los Ange les’ Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) coming from Metro and local funding. The grant funds much-need ed pedestrian and transit improvements on Melrose Avenue from Highland Ave nue to Fairfax Avenue.

The awarded grant includes funding for lighting and access improvements at bus stops, sidewalk widening between Orange Grove Avenue and Ogden Drive, gateway and way-finding signage, street furniture and shade trees.  Three years in the making, work began in July and con tinues to progress.

In fact, I was proud to announce in July that my office worked closely with LADOT officials and the Mel rose Business Improvement District (BID) to bring to the intersection of Melrose Avenue and Orange Drive a new crosswalk and a HAWK (high-intensity activated cross walk beacon) signal, which flashes when activated to signal that a pedestrian is crossing the street. The HAWK signal will enhance safety and visibility for pedes trians in the intersection.

And with this new funding, members of the BID, Streets LA and my council office have spent the past few months walking the boulevard to finalize locations for trees along the stretch of Melrose Avenue between Fairfax and La Brea avenues.

My time as Councilmem ber is coming to an end in December, but the BID has agreed to care for and main tain up to 80 trees. The final proposed locations were pre sented at the Sept. 30 BID meeting. Currently, tree wells are being cut on the north side of Melrose Ave nue across from Fairfax High School in anticipation of the

Metro K Line

(Continued from page 10)

extension to La Cienega Bou levard is scheduled to open in 2024, and the further exten sion to Westwood is expected to open in 2027, allowing an approximately 25-minute trip between Westwood and Union Station, with 13 stops in between.

Learn more about the Oct. 7 opening of the K Line at kline.metro.net.

Council Report by Paul Koretz

upgrades.

As part of my commitment to the area, I am providing seed funding to assist in the care and maintenance of the trees. There is a three to five-year commitment need ed to nurture the trees as they establish hearty root systems.

We hope to begin the plant ings during the winter in preparation for a warm spring and in time for the antici pated project completion by summer of 2023.

Learn more at streetsla.lac ity.org/melrose.

CD13’s approach to homelessness works

When the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) released its homeless count numbers in September, we learned that homelessness decreased by 23% in our dis trict since 2020.

Though we still have work to do across Los Ange les, and though the size of encampments grew due to pandemic protocols, our suc cess in significantly reducing homelessness in the 13th Dis trict proves that our balanced, comprehensive approach works.

Here’s why it works: It starts with a variety of hous ing options. In fact, in the 13th District we’re building more affordable and sup portive housing than almost anywhere in Los Angeles. We have more interim housing than most areas. We’ve also converted existing building stock into housing, and we are even building affordable

Council Report by Mitch O'Farrell

housing on what used to be a city-owned surface park ing lot.

In addition to housing, we are investing in services, including outreach teams dedicated to our district that are a critical supplement to the work LAHSA is doing.

Our approach also includes innovative new policies, like robust protections for ten ants and significant rental relief. We’ve also pioneered the city’s first-ever model of unarmed crisis response, diverting non-violent calls regarding homelessness away from police and to service pro viders instead — an approach

that has been so successful that we’re now working on taking it citywide.

I want to thank every ser vice provider, every outreach worker, every volunteer, and every thoughtful, caring Angeleno who has stepped forward to be part of our col lective solution. That includes many people in your commu nity. Together, each and every day, so many people are work ing to address homelessness.

Overall, we know that the homelessness crisis continues to affect every neighborhood in Los Angeles — including yours. The count confirmed that, as homelessness went up 2% in the city and 4% in the county.

But in the 13th Dis trict, where homelessness decreased by 23%, we are leading with comprehensive housing, services and com mon-sense policies. This is an

(Please turn to page 12)

Letters

(Continued from page 2)

service career. Sadly so many distrust their elected leaders.

In a 2021 Gallup poll, less than half of U.S. adults (44 percent) say they have a great deal or fair amount of confi dence in people who hold or are running for public office.

We must remember that it is our responsibility as voters to do our homework and find the best candidates. To that end, I felt it was my responsi bility as a former Los Angeles City Controller to share my views on one of the candidates whom I believe, if elected, would be detrimental to the well-being of Los Angeles

Though many people don’t know what the Controller does, they should. The City Controller is one of three citywide elected offices and is the City’s Chief Financial Of ficer. Every City public dollar runs through the Control ler’s Office. The Controller

is responsible for making ev ery payment, including the salaries of thousands of City employees. As the Chief Audi tor, the Controller is the Truth Teller, Inspector General and the Taxpayers’ Watchdog.

One of the two candidates running for City Controller in November’s election is unfit for public office. Don’t take my word; look at what Kenneth Mejia has said about himself, “I’m a radical.”  He has shown himself to be an erratic, intol erant and extreme individual, yet he garnered 44 percent of the vote in the June primary.

Some of this is because An gelenos are angry about the state of LA with a burgeoning homelessness crisis, rising crime and streets clogged with traffic, which are serious and challenging problems. But fixing those problems means electing steady (stable) and proven leaders, not loose cannons like Mejia.

Here is the truth about Kenneth Mejia.

1. Five times in the last six years, his CPA license was either expired or inactive, as recently as earlier this year. While he was touting to voters that one of his qualifications for Controller was that he was an accountant, he wasn’t be ing honest. When Los Angeles Magazine discovered this, Me jia Tweeted: “Anyone who is a CPA knows you DON’T NEED AN ACTIVE CPA to be an ac countant.”

However, according to the California Society of Certi fied Public Accountants, the nation’s largest statewide professional association of certified public accountants, “you cannot practice public accountancy while your li cense is inactive. Additionally, when using the title certified public accountant or the CPA designation, you must place the term inactive immediately after the designation or title.”

2. He is an extremist: Mejia accused the President of be ing a rapist and racist when

he tweeted,  “I can’t waste my vote this year voting for Joe Biden as much as me & my DEMOCRAT friends love him as a rapist and racist.”

3. He played right into the hands of Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign in 2016 by parading around and Tweeting out a photo of him self holding a giant poster of Hillary Clinton with jail bars superimposed over her face. Echoing the calls of Trump mobs chanting, “Lock her up! Lock her up!”

4. Unacceptable behavior from Mejia campaign staff, from Los Angeles Magazine: …foul-mouthed Mejia staff ers have been disrupting a series of mayoral forums and debates this year. This in cludes attempts to force their way into a ticketed mayoral debate at California State Uni versity, Los Angeles, as well as the infamous interruption of a forum inside a Jewish house of worship in Valley Village on March 21. Such disruptions

are unbecoming behavior, perhaps, from the associates of a media-savvy Millennial vying to become the elected paymaster, auditor, and chief accounting officer for the na tion’s second-largest City.”

The City Controller is the one elected office in the City that is meant to be objec tive, exceedingly honest and accurate in its reports to the public, and responsible, rea sonable and rational in its financial advice to the Mayor and Council. The Controller has to be all about finding ways to make the City serve the public better…. not tear it apart and blow it up!

Mr. Mejia must not be the next City Controller. Paul Koretz has the experience, character, and temperament to be an effective Controller. I urge all voters to choose Paul Koretz as Los Angeles City Controller!

Laura N. Chick Former City Controller

CD 13 Report

(Continued from page 11) approach that works — and the numbers prove it.

Let’s replicate this across Los Angeles.

To learn more about our compassionate, balanced approach to homelessness, please contact my Greater Wilshire Field Deputy George Hakopiants at george.hakopi ants@lacity.org. My team and I are always at your service.

Aviva hosts 5K walk for mental health on Oct. 22

AvivaWalks for Mental Health is on Sat., Oct. 22 from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Holly wood Reservoir. This 5K walk raises funds for Aviva Family and Children’s Services (Avi va) and increases awareness surrounding mental health.

Sign up as an individual or as a team and get your neigh bors and friends to sponsor your efforts. If you cannot make it to the reservoir, par ticipate virtually by logging your steps starting Sat., Oct. 1.

Aviva is a nonprofit orga nization that helps families with mental health services, foster placement and adop tion, and crisis intervention, as well as supportive housing for women and children.

For more information about Aviva and its 5K, visit aviva.org.

HPHA annual meeting is Oct. 25

The Hancock Park Home owners Association annual meeting will be via Zoom on Tues., Oct. 25, at 7 p.m.

For more information, visit the group’s website, hancock parkhomeownersassociation. org, or hphoa.org.

Bass, Caruso will work to end homelessness — differently

By Suzan Filipek

One is a congresswom an who has worked with the underserved. The other is a billionaire businessman who builds tony properties.

Both have ambitious plans to end or at least make a huge dent in the number of people living on the street. Caruso’s is more ambitious, and expen sive. Bass would fine tune and expand the existing plan.

Both have ventured into our neighborhoods to speak with voters. Before the primary election in June, where Bass to taled the most votes among 10 candidates, she met interest ed architects and others at an AIA/LA (American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles Chap ter) gathering at the Wilshire Boulevard office of CO Archi tects that adjoins the La Brea Hancock community.

In September, Rick Caru so told an audience at a meet-and-greet at a home in Hancock Park, “If you want more of the same, vote for Karen Bass. If you want change, vote for me.”

The two candidates for may or of Los Angeles couldn’t be more different, candidate Caruso told the crowd of al most 200 gathered on June Street. Tell your friends, go on social media, get the word out, he prompted as he laid out his plan to end home lessness, reduce crime and beautify the streets.

The creator of The Grove shopping mall, Caruso served two terms on the governing board of the Dept. of Water and Power, and he was presi dent of the Los Angeles Police Commission when, 20 years ago, after the Rodney King verdict, the city was in a simi lar tailspin, he says.

He helped usher in a new era, which included commu nity policing and hiring an additional 800 police officers. Crime was cut by 30 percent, Caruso said.

The city is again on the brink, with corruption at the highest levels for city coun cil members and others in high-level positions. It’s a problem that “can’t be fixed from the inside,” said Caruso.

(He pointed to Bass being linked to a federal bribery and corruption case at USC, where she received a full-tuition scholarship.)

Meanwhile, Bass has point ed to another scandal at USC, where she implies that Caru so covered up a sexual abuse case involving a gynecologist and hundreds of women when he was chair of the school’s board of trustees.

Both candidates deny the allegations.

Neither Rick Caruso nor Karen Bass responded in time

to our several requests for an interview.

Karen Bass’ plan

If elected, Bass says she will appoint a homelessness chief and force the city and coun ty to work together and stop their finger pointing, and count every dollar. “We must spend these resources effec tively and efficiently — and that means getting more bang for our buck.” She will be a fierce advocate in Washington for federal dollars, she says.

Bass says she will house 15,000 people in her first year; build more temporary and permanent supportive hous ing; end street encampments and lead on mental health and substance abuse treatment.

According to the Los Ange les Times on Sept. 24, Bass would work with and expand the current system and build new shelter beds to accom modate 1,000 people and rely on vouchers, and she would promote the leasing and pur chase of motels and hotels.

Her plan estimates a firstyear cost of $292 million including construction and operating expenses for shelter beds, according to the Times article.

She calls herself a leader with a vision who builds coalitions.

“Los Angeles can be a city where all people have access to quality health care” and “where its economy can work for everyone.”

She will double down on crime prevention and return the LAPD to its full current ly authorized force of 9,460 sworn officers as well as re cruit new officers and improve training. She will invest in so cial services and job programs and hire civilians to take over LAPD desk jobs.

A former emergency room physician’s assistant and community organizer, Bass founded Community Coalition in 1990, advocating converting motels into housing decades before COVID-19 prompted the

creation of Project Roomkey.

She previously served six years in the State Assembly, the last two as speaker during the Great Recession. She was the first Black woman to head a state legislative body.

She was elected to repre sent the people of the 37th Congressional District, north and south of the 10 Freeway, in 2011. In the House of Rep resentatives, as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the Trump Adminis tration, she has shown she can work across the aisle, she argues. She is chair of the House Foreign Affairs Sub committee on Africa, Global Health and Global Human Rights.

Rick Caruso’s plan Caruso says he will declare a state of emergency on his first day, appoint a citywide homelessness coordinator, and institute accountability and an audit to end waste.

He says he will build 30,000 shelter beds in 300 days while implementing construction of additional long-term af fordable housing. He said it is time to take back our parks and public spaces and address mental health and addiction head-on. Construction ex perts would be hired, he adds.

According to the Los Ange les Times, Caruso would create new interim housing — Tiny Homes — on underutilized government parcels to tem porarily shelter 15,000 people. Another 15,000 people would be placed in sleeping pods in existing warehouses and other structures. Caruso estimat ed it would cost up to $843 million in the first year. The

Times estimated it would cost another $660 million per year for operating expenses.

Caruso says he will restore LAPD’s budget, return to community-based policing and place on the street 1,500 new sworn officers in addition to the currently authorized 9,460 (but currently staffed 9,284) officers as well as ex pand youth prevention and afterschool programs.

Caruso notes that he is not a career politician. He will work for $1 a year if elected mayor. As to why he’s a Democrat, after being an independent and a Republican? He answers that he is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. He left the Republican party 10 years ago to avoid the extremes he saw.

Caruso has donated to vari ous charitable causes, but when it comes to politics, he said, he has mostly given to Democrats. Visit karenbass.com and carusocan.com.

at 323.297.0070

catering@angeliniosteria.com

KAREN BASS at an AIA forum at an office near La Brea Hancock. RICK CARUSO at a home in Hancock Park.

In August and September, Larchmont Chronicle staff interviewed the candidates running for the most-local offices that impact our immediate neighborhoods. The five resulting articles are on the pages following.

Process versus litigation in

By Helene Seifer

Hydee Feldstein Soto and Faisal Gill took very different paths to becoming candi dates for the position of city attorney, and they express dif ferent approaches to the job. They are running to replace termed-out Mike Feuer.

Feldstein Soto: the accidental candidate

Hydee Feldstein Soto retired ten years ago from her legal practice as a partner in corpo rate law firms specializing in bankruptcy and acquisitions. After a decade out of the legal fray, what made her decide to run for office?

“I’ve lived here for 40 years. I’ve never seen the city in as bad straits as it is today,” Feldstein Soto begins. She bemoans the fact that so many people she knows have left Los Angeles and states, “I am not willing to leave without … seeing if there’s something I can do to make things better.”

“I am not looking to start a career in politics at the age of 64. … I see myself running as an accidental politician.”

Gill: history of political ambition

Faisal Gill has had a varied career in and out of the polit ical sphere. In 2003 he was spokesperson for the American Muslim Council and that year was also appointed policy direc tor for the Dept. of Homeland Security, where he was investi gated for, then cleared of, lying on his application. It was later revealed in material leaked by Edward Snowden that Gill was one of several prominent Mus lims kept under surveillance, beginning in 2006.

Being targeted for his reli gion, as well as experiencing hardship as a Pakistani immi grant, was critical in forming Gill’s lifelong commitment

to civil rights and fighting government overreach in his plaintiff-oriented legal prac tice, which favors litigation to address grievances. As an example, he litigated and won a case against the city proving racial profiling.

Gill first ran for office in 2007 as a Republican for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates, which he lost. He ran unsuccessfully as a Demo crat for a Vermont state senate seat in 2016. He was elected interim chair of the Vermont Democratic party in 2017. The Los Angeles City Attorney election is nonpartisan.

Feldstein Soto wants to make things easier

“The first job of city govern ment is to keep people safe, keep our streets functional … keep things clean, enact the kinds of ordinances and reg ulations and have the kind of constituent services that make people want to live here,” Feld stein Soto emphasizes. “And a lot of that is not big sexy work.”

The Puerto Rico-born attorney describes herself as a transactional lawyer, one whose “job is to get a deal done … to find the way to make things work,” which means streamlining the approval process for building

housing or starting a busi ness, for instance.

Gill has big plans

“I think the City Attorney’s Office can do big things like getting involved in criminal justice reform,” announces Faisal Gill. “My job is not just to advise every single city department but it’s also to make sure that they’re follow ing the law and take action when they’re not.”

Gill emphasizes that he is a litigator. “I’m somebody who’s been in court pretty much my entire life, criminal and civil.”

It’s no surprise, then, that he wants to “beef up the affir mative litigation division that exists in the City Attorney’s Office. … We can do that to go after businesses that are violating [such things as] environmental laws.”

Feldstein Soto puts public safety front and center Feldstein Soto thinks the perception of rising crime is more important than quib bling over crime statistics. She points to flash mobs and backyard intrusions and believes, “We need to put pub lic safety front and center … because the city that doesn’t feel safe is a city divided.”

Feldstein Soto takes note of hate crimes, “especially in the AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander], Jewish and the African American com munity.” Hate crimes have an outsize effect on public safety perception because, “A hate crime is really intended to terrorize an entire communi ty, and it succeeds.”

Feldstein Soto is concerned about long police response times and suggests that main taining a visible community presence is crucial. “Getting to know the neighborhood… makes a difference to the per ception of safety.”

Gun safety is also an issue Feldstein Soto wants to address. She focuses on “gun violence, restraining orders, keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people. I would love to draft an ordinance that closes the loophole on unreg istered weapons, whether that’s at a swap meet or pur chasing online or ghost guns.”

Gill prioritizes criminal justice reform / public safety

“Misdemeanors are being prosecuted, in my view, too much,” Faisal Gill states. He points out that even a misde meanor conviction can affect someone’s ability to find a job or get housing.” Gill promises to favor diversion programs over prosecution.

Gill plans to issue a 100-day moratorium on prosecuting minor misdemeanor offens es. He explains, “I’m going to sit down with all stakehold ers … and see which crimes

we should not prosecute.” He also notes that limiting the number of misdemeanors prosecuted would help free up time in clogged courts.

Gill says he wants to work with the Los Angeles Police Dept. to go after the pro liferation of guns, especially ghost guns.

He intends to work on a narrow interpretation for Los Angeles of the Supreme Court’s ruling that gave New Yorkers the right to carry con cealed weapons. “I was a guy who was a very big gun activ ist,” he admits. “But after what happened in Sandy Hook, I don’t know how anybody can actually think that there is not a problem with guns.”

Gill also intends to use his office to support more diver sion programs for youth, such as the police-run Little Rams football program in Watts.

Feldstein Soto: bring the homeless indoors When it comes to home lessness policy, Feldstein Soto cuts right to the chase. “I want to focus on solving our shelter and housing issue so that we can bring people indoors,” she says. “Turning the great outdoors into the safety net for our society is an

abdication of our responsibil ity collectively, not just our city, but our county, our state, our federal government.”

“I do think that a social safety net includes the basics of life.” She details, “That’s housing and healthcare and food and water and the things that people need to survive. A just and wealthy and compas sionate city will do all that.

But a just and wealthy and compassionate city also has to be in a position to keep its streets clean.”

On enforcing Los Angeles Municipal Code Sec. 41.18, which disallows encamp ments around schools, Feldstein Soto states, “I don’t believe it’s a city attorney’s job to invalidate any constitu tional and validly passed law.”

She believes that as long as it isn’t a pretext, there is legal precedent for buffer zones for safety reasons, citing space cleared around abortion clin ics and high transmission voltage lines, as examples.

Gill: remove impediments to building homeless housing

“Homelessness is the main issue that’s facing Los Ange les,” Faisal Gill states. “I want to work with city council and the mayor and make sure that whatever legal impediments exist to building transitional housing, temporary housing and permanent housing are removed.”

Gill is opposed to crimi nalizing the unhoused by prosecuting them for such things as vagrancy and tres passing. His website explains, “Homelessness is a housing issue, a public health issue and an economic issue.”

More information is at hydeeforcityattorney.com and gillforla.com.

HYDEE FELDSTEIN SOTO

FAISAL GILL

Mejia versus Koretz: disrupter or stalwart for city controller?

By Helene Seifer

The race to become Los Angeles’ 20th city controller can be seen as a David vs. Goliath showdown: rookie vs. seasoned politician.

Preceding the June prima ry election, the Los Angeles Times and L’Opinion endorsed Mejia for the office, but there has been a dramatic shift in the conversation as disturb ing information about him has surfaced.

The negatives

Recent articles in Los Ange les Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and an open letter from former Los Angeles City Con troller Laura Chick, who calls Mejia an “extremist” (print ed on page 2 in this issue of the Larchmont Chronicle) all raise concerns regarding Kenneth Mejia’s suitability for the position. Disclosed was that Mejia tweeted that President Biden was a rapist and racist, that Mejia had appeared in public holding a doctored photograph of Hillary Clinton behind bars, and that he paid campaign staffers to disrupt various mayoral debates. It was also revealed that his certified public accountant license was expired or inactive on-and-off between November 2016 and January 2022.

In response, Mejia has indi cated that there are some things he probably shouldn’t have said, but he counters that Koretz is working to pro tect the status quo while he, Mejia, seeks to shake it up.

Dirt often surfaces during campaigns. When weighing the negatives, voters also need to understand where these candidates stand on issues pertinent to the city controller’s office.

Political rookie’s skills

To 31-year-old political neophyte Mejia, his lack of political experience is a posi tive, allowing him to disrupt the machinery of government more than a current insider could. The candidate believes that his grasp of numbers should be a key attribute for the job. Mejia wants to be the first CPA in the seat.

Mejia was an auditor for sev eral firms, including his own and an electric vehicle charging station company, EVgo. He also worked for hedge funds. In 2016, Mejia joined the LA Ten ants Union to fight for tenants’ rights, and, in 2017, he joined the board of the neighborhood council in Koreatown.

Seasoned politician’s abilities

Mejia’s opponent, Paul Koretz, endorsed by the Los Angeles Daily News, current City Controller Ron Galperin and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, among others, was first elect

KENNETH MEJIA

ed to public office in 1988 as a West Hollywood city councilmember. Koretz spent 2000-2006 in the California State Assembly, and then he began a 12-year stint on the Los Angeles City Council rep resenting the Fifth District and has served as chair of the council’s personnel, audit and animal welfare committees. He is now termed out.

Outside of government, Koretz has served as Southern California Director of the Cali fornia League of Conservation Voters and Administrative Director of the Ecology Cen ter of Southern California.

Koretz told us he sees the controller position through a different lens than Mejia, stating, “You have to have an eye for where you can do things more efficiently.” He asserts that his proven ability to save the city money is a valuable skill for a control ler, and his campaign website states, “Paul Koretz is already doing the job.”

City controller responsibilities

So, what is the job? The City of Los Angeles’ website lacity. gov defines the city controller as having “…the responsibil ity for serving as the auditor and chief accounting officer of the city” with responsibility for approving city payments and auditing departments and programs. The department has a staff of 160.

As a political outsider, with accountant and auditor expe rience, Mejia suggests that, “You want to have someone who can go in there and break down the city’s finances, who can also explain it to people in a way that is easy to under stand and present it in a way that is also accessible.”

Koretz counters that cred ibility and the ability to get buy-in are key assets for the controller. As an example, he notes that he led the effort to avoid 5,000 recession lay-offs, explaining, “I did it by com ing up with my own ideas, working with stakeholders, working with other folks in City Hall to come up with dozens of efficiencies to save money. … We were able to

avoid [the layoffs].”

Mejia maps the numbers

During his campaign, Mejia and his energized base of young supporters have ana lyzed and mapped city data, much of it collected by current City Controller Ron Galperin. Mejia’s campaign website con tains such usable city maps as locations of dog parks, where the Los Angeles Police Dept. conducted traffic and pedes trian stops and a breakdown of where to find places to live that are covered by affordable housing covenants.

Mejia references the housing map. “We created this database and this map that many people have used to apply for housing. [We are] actually providing, number one, transparency, but number two, resources on what the city offers.”

Koretz corrects inefficiencies

Koretz emphasizes saving the city money by correcting inefficiencies. For instance, the city too often amassed penalties for paying bills late. In response, Los Angeles start ed paying its bills early, thus losing out on interest. When he was a new councilmember, Koretz worked with Wendy Greuel, city controller 20092013, and suggested, “This is the computer age, why can’t we digitize this effort and pay the bills on the exact day they should be paid?” It is estimat ed that paying on time saves $1 million a year.

Transparency in homeless spending: Mejia

Both candidates agree that homelessness is one of the most pressing problems fac ing our city.

Mejia says, “People want to know, ‘where is my money being spent?’” He proposes developing a publicly acces sible breakdown of the $1.2 billion in homelessness expenditures this fiscal year.

Next, he wants to “audit the city’s homelessness policies. … For example, [the city] is spending close to $70 mil lion this year on encampment sweeps. Are encampment sweeps the most effective solution? … Can we quantify how much that costs?”

Efficiencies regarding homeless policies: Koretz Koretz advocates for a com plete audit of all the programs that make up the patchwork quilt of approaches to end

ing homelessness but values focusing on one piece of the puzzle at a time and solving it.

As a councilmember, he “started the process of building modular housing” rather than constructing from scratch on site. Koretz notes, “It saves a couple hun dred thousand a unit.”

He asserts we could solve homelessness but, “The state needs to reassume its lead ership … and the time to do it is right now when they are brimming in money.”

Mejia’s views on policing Public safety and policing are huge concerns to Los Ange lenos. Mejia states that nearly 30 percent of the city budget goes to policing, $3.2 billion. He wants to provide clear informa tion on where that money goes and if it’s being effectively spent.

Paul Koretz’s environmentalism

Koretz emphasizes that the city controller should con duct audits to assess policy execution, including in the environmental arena. Over his years in politics Koretz has fought to strengthen the Clean Air Act, pressured the Dept. of Water and Power to cut emis sions, supported lowering greenhouse gas emissions and worked to close the San Onof re nuclear generation station, among other environmental measures.

For more information, go to mejiaforcontroller.com and koretzforla.com.

PAUL KORETZ

Council District 5 Choices: Katy Yaroslavsky or Sam Yebri

By Casey Russell

Two candidates, both of them lawyers, are running against each other in the race for the City Council District 5 seat. The majority of this news paper’s coverage area, formerly all within Council District Four (for more than 70 years), now is in CD 5 due to the 2021 redistricting. This Westside CD5 district includes Bel Air and Westwood but now also extends east along the north side of Olympic Boulevard to Western Avenue, then north to Wilshire Boulevard, then back west to Arden Boulevard and up the rear property lines be tween Arden and Rossmore to Melrose Avenue and then back west abutting West Hollywood.

Environmental attorney Katy Young Yaroslavsky has worked as the senior policy director for the environment and the arts in the office of Los Angeles County Super visor Sheila Kuehl. In the primary election in June, Yaroslavsky received just shy of the 50 percent (plus one) of votes needed to win the seat without a runoff.

Sam Yebri, an attorney often

representing employees, has held appointments as a com missioner on the Los Angeles Civil Service Commission and on the city attorney’s Gun Prevention Task Force.

Both candidates see home lessness as a major issue in our area.

Yaroslavsky is a proponent of creating a regional home lessness authority. “One of the biggest problems with LAHSA [Los Angeles Homeless Ser vices Authority] is that there is a layer of immunity for what LAHSA is screwing up. The principals need to be held accountable at the table. They

The Los Angeles City Council recently amended Los Angeles Municipal Code Sec. 41.18, which had existed with general ly the same prohibitive language since summer of 2021. The ordinance prohibits people from blocking pedestrian access by sitting, sleeping, lying or storing items within certain areas of the public rights of way, including streets and sidewalks, but requires a separate City Council resolution designating any spe cific area for enforcement. The amendment approved in August expands the ordinance to not require City Council action for areas within 500 feet of schools or day care centers.

need to use the structure they are sitting on and solve [the problem],” she says.

Yaroslavsky believes a big part of solving the problem will be more street engagement around mental health — even for people who are housed. Says the mother of three, we “need to make it easier for people to access mental health care, addiction services — help before they lose their housing. When we check in about food stamps or when someone stops paying DWP bills, we have to have someone check [in] to see if they’re close to losing their house… we [have to] connect them to services to help them fill the gaps.”

Yebri also believes in shift ing resources to mental health services. He says the “mental illness on our streets that’s untreated is devastat ing communities… We need more mental health hospitals. We need more funding of ad diction centers, and we have

(Please turn to page 20)

Local

Attorney

County Supervisor District 3 City Council District 5

U.S. Representative— District 30

State Assembly Member — District 51

November

City and County Ballot

City Proposition LH: Authorize public entities to develop, construct or acquire additional units of low-income housing in the City. Yes or No?

City Proposition SP: Enact new parcel tax to replace expiring Proposition K tax for City parks and recreational facilities. Yes or No?

City Initiative Ordinance ULA: Impose an additional transfer tax of a min imum of 4% on real property sales of $5 million or more. Yes or No?

1 - Reproductive Freedom.

“Yes”: The California Constitution should protect reproductive rights to not be at risk in the future.

“No”: Proposition 1 is an extreme, expensive, pointless waste of taxes that will allow abortion at any time.

26 - In-Person Sports Betting in Tribal Casinos.

“Yes”: Allow California’s tribes to provide vital services like health care, housing, infrastructure, and education to tribal members. Tax ing sports betting would increase the state’s revenue.

“No”: This measure would create a big increase in gambling that ben

State Ballot

efits only a few tribes; Gambling is addictive.

27 - Online Sports Betting. “Yes”: Regulating online sports bet ting would protect gamblers and end illegal online gambling opera tions and provide extra homeless ness and mental health services.

“No”: Large out-of-state gambling companies would profit and block smaller operations from the mar ket; more people would become ad dicted to gambling.

28 - Funding Arts and Music Ed ucation.

“Yes”: Arts and music education can improve a student’s personal

KATY YAROSLAVSKY SAM YEBRI

State Senate — District 28

Louis Abramson Rick Chavez Zbur

G “Maebe A. Girl” Pudlo Adam B. Schiff (I)

Bob Hertzberg Lindsey P. Horvath

Katy Young Yaroslavsky Sam Yebri

Faisal Gill Hydee Feldstein Soto

Lola Smallwood-Cuevas Cheryl C. Turner

Karen Bass

November

Mayor

2022 Election

City Controller

Council District

County Sheriff

Ballot Propositions

County Measure A: Allow removal of the elected Sheriff, for cause, by a four-fifths vote of the Board of Supervisors. Yes or No?

County Measure C: Enact taxes on marijuana businesses in unincorporat ed areas of the County. Yes or No?

Note: Information on the three City propositions, including arguments pro and con, is in this Los Angeles City Clerk booklet: tinyurl.com/9rfn2p67

Propositions

and academic life; only one in five schools has a dedicated arts teacher.

“No”: Proposition would limit state funds for other spending.

29 - Kidney Dialysis Clinics Re quirements.

“Yes”: Dialysis is a dangerous pro cedure; clinics should always have a healthcare provider available.

“No”: Prop 29 would take health care providers away from hospitals and emergency rooms; some di alysis clinics may close due to in creased costs.

30 - Income Tax on Millionaires for Electric Cars.

“Yes”: Greenhouse gas emissions

from cars contribute to climate change; wildfires are getting worse, and we need more tax money.

“No”: High earners may leave the state if income taxes increase; im portant projects should be paid from the General Fund, not new taxes.

31 - Banning Flavored Tobacco Products.

“Yes”: Kids are drawn to sweet-fla vored tobacco products; nicotine is addictive and leads to unhealthful life-long addiction.

“No” Argument: Adults will lose choice in what they buy; people will buy flavored products illegally, tak ing money from local businesses.

CD 13 voters to decide between Mitch O’Farrell and Hugo Soto-Martinez

By Casey Russell

This November, incumbent City Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell hopes to win enough votes to continue serving and improving the 13th Council District. He is being challenged by Hugo Soto-Martinez, a hotel workers’ union labor organizer, who says he is striving to make a difference for those he feels have been neglected by the city.

Larchmont Village, Ridge wood-Wilton, St. Andrews Square, We-Wil and Windsor Square — formerly part of Council District Four — now comprise the southernmost extension of the tradition al “Hollywood” city council district. Local voters now in CD 13 are residents north of Wilshire Boulevard between Arden Boulevard (both sides) and Western Avenue.

Both candidates in the CD 13 contest agree that top issues of concern for people in our area are homelessness and public safety.

Soto-Martinez, who believes a citywide approach to solving the problem of homelessness is necessary, says he would push for using underutilized space we already have in Los Ange les to make housing available quickly for people who need it. The candidate also told us he would dedicate four people on his staff to exclusively deal with homelessness so that the unhoused in CD 13 could be linked to housing.

The Los Angeles City Council recently, in August, amended Sec. 41.18 of the Los Ange

MITCH O’FARRELL HUGO SOTO-MARTINEZ

les Municipal Code (LAMC) to expand enforcement of the prohibition of sidewalk encampments within 500 feet of schools or day care centers.

Soto-Martinez is against the enforcement of Sec. 41.18 because he believes it “just moves people around on a shuffleboard and doesn’t real ly solve anything.”

O’Farrell notes that, as a general rule for his tenure as a council aide and then as a councilmember, he has believed in a “neighborhood, block-by-block approach.” He says he is “all about communi ty, not politics — not ideology.” However, O’Farrell believes the August amendment to Sec. 41.18 protects schoolchildren, families and faculty and is a reasonable approach. The can didate affirms that people who camp on public sidewalks can still set up a tent outside of the 500-foot buffer zone and people in these vicinities are “getting outreach to, very specifical

ly, get the help they need… they are getting more atten tion because they need it and deserve it. But, children and families deserve that, too.”

In regard to police, O’Farrell says he is leading the charge on providing unarmed response, stating that “over 500 calls in Hollywood alone, between Jan uary and April, [were] diverted from a uniformed, armed response to practitioners of specialized homeless services.”

O’Farrell says that means police officers can focus on actual crime while trained outreach workers can han dle other calls and get people access to services they need. He says this approach in his council district — the CIR CLE Program, which is like Denver’s STAR Program — was pioneered here in January 2022 and is working.

Soto-Martinez believes the CIRCLE Program is too limit ed in scope and too expensive

(Please turn to page 20)

L.A. Community College Trustee (Seat 4)

Sara Hernandez Christine T. Lamonica Ernest H. Moreno (I)

State Assembly Member — District 55

U.S. Representative — District 34

Isaac G. Bryan (I) Keith Girolamo Cascio

Jimmy Gomez (I) David Kim

Robert Luna Alex Villanueva (I)

Mitch O’Farrell (I) Hugo Soto-Martinez

Paul Koretz Kenneth Mejia

Rick Caruso

Supervisor candidates agree on some issues, not others

By Suzan Filipek

Candidates State Sen. Bob Hertzberg and West Hol lywood Councilmember Lindsey Horvath are both Democrats running for a nonpartisan seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Su pervisors, Third District. They both support having more so cial services for people living on the streets and in shelters, and they both support in creasing police training.

One important place where the candidates differ is home less encampments.

Hertzberg told us his stance is a significant contrast “to my opponent. This is where we’re very different.”

He supports a 500-foot set back of tents from schools, churches and other sensitive sites. And he would add more police to the force.

“You need more police in

the community,” he said.

While Horvath has voted to defund particularly the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. in her city of West Hol lywood, she stressed in our interview that she has had a positive working relationship with the sheriff’s department, even with recent challenges.

“I intend to continue to have

effective partnerships with law enforcement and use our crim inal justice system to make sure there is accountability in our communities to keep peo ple safe,” Horvath said.

While the Third District is vast — it spans from Sylmar to Malibu, with Larchmont and Hancock Park in its southeast end — the issues are the same: homelessness, affordability and safety, said Horvath.

A recent amendment, to Sec. 41.18 of the City of Los Angeles Municipal Code, which allows moving encampments from sidewalks near schools and day care centers, is a problem when people don’t have other places to go, says Horvath.

She says, “We have to pair that directive with a solution. We go out with street teams to meet people every day of the week… We do have the ability to create temporary

solutions. We can’t wait for housing to be built to let peo ple sleep on the street, where they’re going to die. That’s unconscionable.”

Hertzberg also would ramp up social services. “There is no reason the police need to respond with handcuffs and billy clubs and guns” in all situations, he says.

He also would create an en tity modeled after the LACMTA (Los Angeles County Metropol itan Transportation Authority — Metro) that would take on the legal obligations relating to homelessness and be held accountable. As at Metro, the new body would include all five members of the Board of Su pervisors and officials from the City of Los Angeles and smaller cities, all of whom would share the responsibilities and mange the problems rather than as sign them to others.

Horvath says her approach will be to scale up the pro grams West Hollywood has in place, and she points to her proven track record as two-time mayor and coun cilmember there, where homeless numbers are low.

Age and experience

In the June primary, Hertz berg pulled ahead, receiving 31 percent of the votes cast. Horvath earned 28 percent of the votes in the race, which pits the older and seasoned senator from the Valley, Hertzberg, 67, against Coun cilmember Horvath, 40, from West Hollywood.

“The problems that we face in the 21st century require 21st-century solutions,” said Horvath. “That’s why people are excited about my candi dacy. I’m eager to get in there and partner with people and not just recycle things from the past.”

While Horvath draws on her youth, Hertzberg evokes his experience.

Hertzberg says: “Unlike my opponent who has all Demo crats in a small city of similar political views, I had to be a speaker [of the State Assem bly] and a majority leader [of the State Senate] representing people, from Democrats to Re publicans, representing people from Shasta County to San Francisco to Imperial County.”

He knows how to work across the aisle, he adds, and he has gained the knowledge to work from the bottom up to help solve the homeless ness crisis.

Transit, environment Horvath reminded us that the 300 community transpor tation meetings in which she has participated have prepared her for a seat at Metro, if she is elected. She is a longtime supporter of the northern extension of the new K (Cren shaw) Line, once community concerns have been addressed.

Both candidates support Measure W and keeping a focus on other environmental issues.

Crime and safety

Both candidates note crime is paramount on people’s minds.

“People are scared,” said Hertzberg. “They won’t go (Please

20)

BOB HERTZBERG

LINDSEY HORVATH

CD 5 race

(Continued from page 16)

to clear encampments in sen sitive areas — next to schools, next to parks and next to li braries. That’s not a place for our neighbors to live, and it’s not compassionate or humane to let that continue.” Yebri supports the use of Los An geles Municipal Code (LAMC) Sec. 41.18 and says he would work to insure temporary housing is available.

Says Yebri on housing, “I want to be an idea guy.” Ye bri believes rent needs to be brought down for mid-range earners, especially on our commercial corridors, and he thinks the city council needs to work to make it easier and faster for people to build in Los Angeles. The father of four, who says he has a special passion for disability rights, says he helped spearhead a transformative housing project in District 5 for adults with special needs.

He believes more housing needs to be built near the sev en D (formerly Purple) Line subway stations coming to the Fifth District.

Such transit-adjacent housing would also be part of his plan to create climate solutions. We “have to be a world leader on electrifica tion,” he says.

In the environmental sphere, Yaroslavsky took the lead in developing Measure W, which was adopted in 2018 and is a safe water program that creates a funding stream for green infrastructure — storm water capture, new parks, open space, multi-ben efit green infrastructure.

“It’s deeply satisfying to see a problem and use the tools of government to solve it,” she told us. “That was the primary driv er of my running for office and thinking about what I was good at — what my skill set was.”

Experience and temperament are defining differences be

tween the two candidates. One has primarily private sector lawyer experience and is pas sionate to put that knowledge to work to improve CD5. The

CD 13 race

(Continued from page 17) for what it actually does. The candidate believes the Den ver-based STAR Program is what Los Angeles needs to mirror.

Although Soto-Martinez previously stated his support for defunding the police, and stated he opposes the police, he said in his interview with the Larchmont Chronicle that he would advocate for keeping the police numbers at what they currently are this year (9,284 sworn officers as of September). He said that the money that’s not being used to hire new officers could be redirected elsewhere, such as after-school programs, speed bumps and tree trimming.

other also was a private-prac tice environmental lawyer for five years but recently has worked in county government and thinks that that is key to

Environmentally, both can didates believe they can do a lot in the city because of the council’s jurisdiction over planning and land use.

Soto-Martinez says that, as someone who bikes and skate boards around Los Angeles, he thinks more can be done to create alternatives to travel ing around the city by car. He would push the city council to create more bike lanes and encourage the Metro board to put more money into bus infrastructure.

O’Farrell says the environ ment is a top issue on his mind. He is currently chair of the Cli mate Change, Environmental Justice, Energy and LA River Committee on the city council. Because of this, all of the city’s environmental legislation goes

being able to step into the job on the first day in office.

Additional information is at: samforla.com and katyfor la.com.

through his office — much of it introduced or co-introduced by him. “We are leading the charge to a carbon-free future by 2035,” says O’Farrell. “We’ve set very ambitious goals that are reachable.”

O’Farrell says, “The next four years are going to be pivotal. It’s going to take experience. It’s going to take a public ser vant and not an ideologue to be in this position.”

For more information, visit: hugo2022.com and mitcho farrell2022.com.

Supervisor

(Continued from page 18) out in the street wearing jewelry.” adding that he’s en dorsed overwhelmingly by law enforcement.

“Safety is an issue that’s top of mind,” said Horvath. “We need to make sure law enforce ment has the resources they need to fight violent crime. That’s essential. And, we also need to make sure they are not called into situations for which they are not trained.”

Visit lindseyhorvath.com and hertzbergforsupervisor.com.

LOWV to explain ballot measures

Oct. 12 at Ebell

By Helene Seifer

It’s difficult enough for vot ers to make informed choices about candidates for public office; our system of ballot measures is even more chal lenging, confounding and lacking in transparency. How can we make certain that we don’t inadvertently vote “Yes” when we really mean “No”?

Let an expert explain the real meaning of each of the seven state initiatives (listed on pages 16 and 17) that vot ers will find on their ballots in the November 2022 election.

Mona Field, president of the League of Women Voters of Greater Los Angeles (LOWV) will provide balanced infor mation for making informed choices on the ballot mea sures on Wed., Oct. 12, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ebell of Los Angeles, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd.

Field notes that the titles and even the texts of many mea sures are purposely worded to mislead voters. She warns that pro and con forces spend “hun dreds of millions of dollars to sway voters with short, emo tional and often deceptive ads.”

Additional helpful material is available at votersedge.org and easyvoterguide.org.

For the Oct. 12 event, a res ervation will be appreciated; visit ebellofla.org/event.

Calling All Older Adults!

ONE FREE MONTH

A special offer for readers of the Larchmont Chronicle. Bring this flyer to GenSpace to sign up and get started.

A new, innovative community center in the heart of Koreatown.

Designed to support the health, connection, and creativity of older adults, GenSpace offers a wide range of classes from fitness to horticulture therapy, art, tech training, financial literacy, and more.

Check out our class schedule at www.genspace.la or schedule a tour and to see our beautiful space in person.

GenSpace is located inside the Audrey Irmas Pavilion at 3643 Wilshire Blvd, between Hobart and Harvard.

Use your phone’s camera to scan this code to go directly to our website.

Delivering thoughtful Fancifull baskets for 35 years

By Jane Gilman

Wally August is proud of the good shape he is in at age 75. He attributes his good health to keeping fit, eating right and a positive attitude. He also shares a habit he started at an early age: taking the stairs two at a time.

Terry August, 66, attributes her good health to taking long walks from their Irving Boulevard home, and she also walks their dog.

She works out with a train er and follows her husband’s proclivity for organic fruits and vegetables. A favorite menu item at the August home is fresh salmon (which Wally buys at the Larchmont Farmers’ Market).

In business for 35 years, their Fancifull Fine Food & Gift Baskets shop is stocked with shelves of wine, fruit, cheeses, etc.

“We create artisan bas

kets which let the recipients know someone is thinking of them,” Terry explains. Their baskets are sent worldwide, and the Augusts have creat ed gifts for President Obama, corporation heads, actors and other newsmakers.

Terry added, “We get un usual requests such as for

the daughter of the Sultan of Brunei.” (Her gift included a guitar signed by the cast of “Glee.”)

The couple met at UCLA where Terry, a student, heard Wally playing trombone in his band RotoRooter All-Time Christmas Band. Wally was a professional musician and

later taught music and voice. Terry had wanted to become a teacher, but the basket idea caught fire. It was shopping at (the former) Jurgensen’s on Larchmont that inspired her to start a basket business. They first worked out of their home, but a boost in orders required a workshop. The couple later welcomed son Sterling and daughter Naomi into the family.

Favorite charities which they support are Write Girl and World Central Kitchen, but you will find their gift baskets as donated prizes at many events. They are active in their Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association and in the Hollywood and Miracle Mile chambers of commerce. The couple also opens the shop for communi ty meetings and fundraisers.

Fancifullgiftbaskets.com, 5617 Melrose Avenue.

Older adults connect again at JFSLA’s senior centers

By Helene Seifer

Senior centers, such as those operated by Jewish Family Service LA (JFSLA), often serve as a lifeline for old er adults who, too frequently, find themselves socially iso lated and depressed. During the height of the pandemic, these centers were shuttered and sorely missed by those who rely on them for connec tion and community.

Seniors were recently wel comed back to JFSLA’s five senior and multipurpose centers around Los Angeles, which serve over 10,000 older adults annually.

Susan Belgrade, JFSLA se

(Please turn to page 24)

Lawyer Doug Dalton dies

Defense attorney Robert Douglas Dalton died at the age of 92 on Aug. 20.

During his career, Dalton represented many well-known defendants. He was a longtime lawyer for Roman Polanski and advocated for others such as Burt Reynolds, Jim Brown, John Lennon and Watergate figure and aide to President Richard Nixon, John Ehrli chman.

Dalton believed strongly in the integrity of the legal sys tem and championed ethics in the practice of law. He was a Fellow of the American Col lege of Trial Lawyers of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the California State Bar Board of Governors.

The attorney sought to pass on his knowledge by teaching trial advocacy at Pepperdine and the University of South ern California law schools and was listed in Best Lawyers of America.

Dalton was a member of the Special Committee on Revi sion of the Federal Criminal Code and the Committee on California Jury Instructions and was the main author of West’s California Criminal Law (1995).

Near home, Dalton was a longtime member of the Fre mont Place Association who even served as its president for some time.

According to friends, Dal ton had been ill for a while but, ultimately, the cause of death appears to have been heart failure.

Dalton, who was born in Astoria, Oregon, grew up in Long Beach, California, and was a longtime resident of Fremont Place, died only 11 days prior to his 93rd birthday.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley, and their five chil dren.

AT FANCIFULL, Terry and Wally August.

JFSLA

(Continued from page 22) nior director of Multipurpose and Senior Centers, empha sizes that “…the opportunity for them to come back to a vibrant senior center where they can socialize, have fun and exercise is vital to them.”

JFSLA’s full array of in-per son and virtual programs is free for adults 55 and older and includes art and enter tainment activities, a movie club and one-on-one tech nology support. Particularly popular are exercise classes for all fitness levels, from chair yoga to high-impact strength and balance train ing. Adults 60 and over can mingle with friends over a free hot lunch.

Each center reflects its community, with activities in Russian, Farsi and Span ish where needed. JFSLA’s original center in the Fairfax district, the Jona Goldrich Multipurpose Center on North Fairfax Avenue, is one of the locations that offers a weekly social program for survivors of the Holocaust. Housed in JFSLA’s flagship Gunther-Hirsh Family Cen ter, it also hosts a current events discussion group, a cooking class and Friday Shabbat party. According to Eli Veitzer, JFSLA president and CEO, the Fairfax Avenue center previously was named for former Jewish Family Service executive director Freda Mohr. He explains, “Thanks to the very gener ous support of the Goldrich family, the center was rebuilt and expanded and named in honor of Jona Goldrich, a Holocaust survivor and long time supporter of JFS.”

Other JFSLA services available to seniors are home-delivered meals, transportation assistance and the ability to schedule an appointment with a social worker. JFSLA Senior and Multipurpose Centers are open on weekdays.

For more information or to make a required reserva

Cathy Brown

tion for a program, contact Activity Coordinator Danny Vasquez at dvasquez@jfsla. org or call 213-248-8519.

Jona Goldrich Multipur pose Center, 330 N. Fairfax Ave, 323-937-5902.

by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald

Who was that in the mir ror this morning? I’m looking for an effective treatment but I can’t hide out waiting for my skin to heal afterward. What do you suggest?

Now that we’ve (hopefully) weathered the last of fall’s heat waves, let’s take advantage of knowing we’ll be out of direct sun for several months. Fraxel Dual laser treatments improve everything from sun damage and pigmentation, lines and wrinkles, even acne scars and precancerous lesions.

“Dual” indicates two distinct wavelengths: one to stimulate new collagen production and one to force damaged cells to turn over. And because Fraxel Dual is fractional, (meaning it’s broken into microbeams), we can target problem areas and leave healthy skin untouched. This means rapid healing (aka shorter downtime). Most patients require three to five sessions, two to four weeks apart. You’ll leave our office with immediate results and see optimal improvement in three months.

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

Fraxel Dual empowers us to create mild to dramatic results. Instant gratification plus col lagen production, Fraxel Dual equals healthy skin from the inside out. Adv. skin deep

December 17, 1946 - August 28, 2022

Cathy Brown, age 75, of St. Augusti ne, FL, passed away August 28, 2022.  She leaves behind her daughter Kate Brown, St Augustine, FL and daughter Emily Brown Link (Todd), Fair Oaks Ranch, TX, and two grandchildren Abigail and James Link.

Her time in Los Angeles, CA, was as a realtor with Dippell Realty and as Vice-President of Realtor Training and Development for the Jon Douglas Company.

After leaving Los Angeles in 1992, she dedicated her time and service to the greater St. Johns County community and specifi cally as Executive Director for the Council on Aging.

A memorial service will be held 4pm on October 6, 2022, at the River House, 179 Marine St., St. Augustine, FL.  In lieu of flowers, contributions to St. Johns County Council on Aging are welcome.

SENIORS EXERCISE at newly reopened Jona Goldrich Multpurpose Center.

Photo courtesy of JFSLA

OAKWOOD SCHOOL

By Scarlett Saldaña

12th Grade

At the begin ning of last month, the Oakwood the ater department announced that this year’s middle school musical is “James and the Giant Peach.” Soon after auditions were held, the middle school kids began rehearsing, working on costume designs and recruiting students to work with lighting and sound.

As for the high school musical, “Little Shop of Horrors,” auditions will happen this month. Though it is a nerve-wracking process filled with chemistry reads, dancing and singing, it is always an exciting experience to be a part of a theater production. From acting to work ing on tech, there are various roles that bring each show together until opening night. The bonding moments during rehearsals rein force the strong community we uphold at Oakwood.

Near the end of October, we will once again host the Hal loween event. Students come dressed in their costumes ready to listen and dance to Halloween music, play games and watch a classic Halloween movie.

My favorite memory of this event was when I was in 7th grade and the student council, along with other seniors, pre pared a haunted house for the

middle school students. They put us into groups and focused our attention on a magic card trick until seniors hiding around the room tried to jump-scare us. It made for a funny and amusing experience, and of course, cer tainly something that I found to be memorable.

THIRD STREET ELEMENTARY

By Nikka Gueler 5th Grade

We started off the school year with a few fun events, includ ing a limeade fundraiser for the school PTA. The limes that were used came from our school garden, and baked goods were also sold. The event happened to fall on one of the hottest days of the year, making it a great success.

Movie night is returning to Third Street. This year, the movie will be shown outdoors.  Candy, popcorn, pizza and drinks will be sold.

The Reflections art competi tion is set to begin soon. This is a national competition organized by the PTA featuring artwork, photography and music. The competition encourages stu dents to stretch their creativity and submit original artwork in one of the categories. All the submissions will be displayed at an assembly later in the year.

New documentary spotlights Assistance League

By Casey Russell

“A Pebble in the Pond,” a new documentary from writ er/director Paul Howard, tells the story of the Assistance League of Los Angeles and its founder, Anne Banning.

The film honors this pio neer of American nonprofit organizations by tracing the League’s history from 1890 and highlights one of its sig nature programs, Operation School Bell.

Operation School Bell makes a major difference in the lives of children experiencing home lessness, children in the foster care system and children in low-income families by provid ing them with clothes, books, backpacks and other items necessary for their well-being and success in school.

The documentary quiet ly heralds individuals, once on the receiving end of the League’s programs, who now give back by offering their time and talents volunteering with Operation School Bell.

“A Pebble in the Pond” can be viewed on iTunes, Amazon Prime, YouTube and AppleTV or can be seen by visiting apebbleinthepondfilm.com.

On a sad note our principal of six years, Daniel Kim, is leaving Third Street for a new position with Los Angeles Unified.

CATHEDRAL CHAPEL SCHOOL

By Olivia Sherman 6th Grade

Hello, my name is Oliv ia. I’m a 6th grader and com missioner of public relations for Cathedral Chapel School. I am proud to be part of a safe and exciting learning environment.

CCS continues COVID-19 test ing weekly to ensure the health of the faculty, staff and students. We welcomed two new teachers this year: Mr. Zepeda (junior high religion/social studies) and Mr. Mir (junior high science/math). Mr. Zepeda is the 6th grade homeroom teacher and Mr. Mir is the 7th grade homeroom teacher.

There’s a lot going on at CCS. Classroom orientations were held in person on Aug. 23. Parents came to meet teachers and dis cuss plans for the year. Many field trips are planned and our famous spelling, religion and geography bees will return, as well as the following sports: volleyball, bas ketball, golf and track.

School picture day was Sept. 2. Our first school Mass was hosted by the student council on Sept. 13.  The academic decath lon team has started daily logic practice. Student Ambassadors have been trained. CCS is plan ning to begin a Girl Scout troop.  It looks like there’s a great year ahead!

Nine O’Clock Players resume performances

By Casey Russell

Nine O’Clock Players, founded in 1929 by the Assistance League, will be reopening the doors of its historic Los Angeles theater this month.

To kick off the comeback, the group will present “Cin derella: The True Story.” The inaugural performance will take place Sun., Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. with other performanc es scheduled on Sundays, November 13, 20 and 27 at 2 p.m.

This performance of Cin derella will present a lead character who believes gen erosity is what makes us truly rich, a prince in disguise and a fairy godmother who, like everyone, makes mistakes sometimes.

The 330-seat theater is located in Hollywood at 1367 N. St. Andrews Pl. and has been a shining light in chil dren’s theater for decades.

Seeing a live theater per formance can be a magical experience for a child. As local mom Caroline Tracy says, “You can see the wonder in kids’ eyes when they see the sets, the actors, costumes and makeup — not to mention the performances.”

The mission of the Nine O’Clock Players, according to its website, is “to introduce children to the magic of live performance, literature and music through the joy of the atre.”

THE CATERPILLAR from “Alice in Wonderland” signs autographs for young audi ence members in a previous production.

The group brings theater to children who might not otherwise be exposed to live performances. Field trips are made available at no or little cost, so that low-income and special needs families have the opportunity to share in the joy that live theater can bring.

The award-winning players normally do two full musical productions and host 12,000 children annually. Due to the pandemic, the theater closed its doors for two years, but carried on with virtual perfor mances, which continue to be available on the website.

For $15 tickets to “Cinder ella: The True Story,” call 323-545-6153 or visit nineo clockplayers.com.

The agony and ecstasy of Loyola High’s Camp Dawson

The August afternoon I visited Camp Dawson on the Loyola High School campus, the temperature in nearby downtown Los Angeles was 90 degrees. It was hotter than that on the artificial turf grid iron where the Loyola Cubs’ varsity football team was churning through their sec ond workout of the day in full pads and helmets.

Atten-hut!

Across America, high school football teams began their preseason with two-adays. These intense practices, held twice a day, occur toward the summer’s end and are of ten referred to as Boot Camp or Hell Week (it actually lasts two weeks). At Loyola, they use the term Camp Dawson, which sounds… kinder. The name is in homage to beloved former Loyola athletic di rector and football defensive coordinator Jon Dawson, who passed away in 2009.

Camp Dawson has become a tradition at Loyola for any student who wants to play on the Cubs’ football team. The preseason workouts clear the summer cobwebs and get the boys back on track with the necessary cardio and physical strength required to endure a varsity football schedule of 10 games, and then, hopefully, a post-season as well. Last year, Loyola plowed two games deep into the postseason before losing a 28-21 heart breaker to Etiwanda in the CIF (California Interscholas tic Federation) quarterfinals.

Youth Sports by Jim Kalin

Camp Dawson’s other purpose, and one just as important, is to instill cama raderie among the players.

“Camp Dawson allows us to really focus on football with out distractions,” said head coach Drew Casani. “And, just as importantly, it gives us an opportunity to spend time talking about teamwork, lead ership and being accountable to ourselves and each other.”

The agony

Camaraderie is often built through intensity and phys ical exertion, and at Camp Dawson, it’s no different. Of course, practicing twice a day is a great start for bonding among the players, especial ly when it’s done during the summer’s hottest month.

“There are temperature regulations, but it’s not the ac tual temperature,” explained Loyola Senior Director of Communications Maite Sara legui Berry.

“They use something called the Wet Bulb Globe Tempera ture (WBGT). Our trainers monitor the WBGT before and during practice to make sure it’s safe for them. We had no days where we were restrict ed.”

Plastic inflatable recovery tubs were also present on the track surrounding the foot ball field. These were filled with cool water in case anyone overheated. After practice, ice was poured into the water so players could submerge up to their waists for several min utes to sooth swelling and soreness in their joints and muscles.

The ecstasy

The players were required to spend the last three nights of Camp Dawson in Loyola’s Caruso Hall, which is more spacious than most high school gymnasiums or audi toriums.

“It gave us four entire days together as a team,” explained Coach Casani.

Air mattresses were brought in for team members to sleep on. At night, the atmosphere resembled a big slumber par ty. Two players, Jack Parris and Ryan Turk, took it one step further and, to duplicate the comforts of home, found a used sofa on Facebook Mar ketplace — which they had delivered to Caruso Hall.

Meals were another high light — after all, these are growing teenagers! The boys ate on campus. Some meals were provided by Z-licious, but the moms and dads took on the bulk of food prep.

“We completed Camp Daw son with over 60 dads and guardians attending our fa ther-son barbecue,” said Karolina Susnjar, whose son Jack is a co-captain along with

Xavier Ric and Zach Bowles. “Eight of the dads took over the kitchen and hosted a tritip barbecue lunch. They

MARLBOROUGH SCHOOL

By Avery Gough 11th Grade

Although the academic year officially starts in August, September is always an excit ing month, as it marks the beginning of many student activities.

September ushered in the Club Fair, which was held during a school-wide free period so that all students could explore new groups to join. Ideas for new clubs needed to be submitted in advance of the Club Fair and had to be approved first.

Parents’ Night of Classes took place Sept. 29, which was espe cially exciting as, last year, the event was held virtually. Parents (or guardians) rotated through classrooms on their student’s

PAGE ACADEMY

By Isabella Argiropoulos 7th Grade

Hello my Larchmont neighbors! My name is Isabel la Argiropoulos and I would like to tell you about our recent Page Academy events.

Welcoming the return of many familiar faces and many new ones in August, the new school year is off to a splendid start! Last month, we had our first free-dress day, Sept. 2, giv ing us a head start on fun-wear going into the Labor Day threeday weekend.

We continue our swimming classes at Page’s pool on Tues days and Thursdays, which is a refreshing break from the heat waves we’ve been having!

Picture Day was on Sept. 16 and everyone brought their best and friendliest smiles!

prepared, cooked and cleaned up afterward. They served 160 meals, and it was a huge suc cess.”

schedule. It was a good opportu nity for them to meet teachers and get an overview of the classes.

Upper school students have jumped right into college search prep. There are school visits, col lege counseling sessions and the SAT on Sat., Oct. 1.

The 7th/8th Grade Dance will take place on Fri., Oct. 14 and is a very fun event for lower school students to enjoy time with their friends. The dance is open to students from other schools. Making friends outside of Marlborough school friends is so important, and social events like these are where it happens.

Arguably, the most looked forward to event in October is Halloween, or Marlborough’s version, Pumpkin Day, when stu dents come to school in costume. Our teachers participate by dress ing in theme by department. There is an on-campus costume parade at the end of the day.

Campaigning for our 2022/2023 student council has also been well underway with a full field of candidates. The highlight of last month was on Sept. 23, when in honor of Grandparents Day, our fami lies (moms, dads, aunts, uncles, close friends and of course grandparents!) joined the stu dents for a special lunch, music and playground time.

With the beginning of fall, we look forward to the cooler weather and the many events for October, including, National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, Fire Safety Month, Red Ribbon Week, the Great Cali fornia Shakeout and our Fall Festival with costumes, games and all sorts of great treats just in time for Halloween!

Last but not least, please stop by the Page Academy booth and say “Hello!” during the Larch mont Family Fair on Sun., October 30, from 2 to 7 p.m.

Hope you all have a wonderful and spooky October!

SEATED on the infamous couch acquired on Facebook Mar ketplace are (clockwise from upper left): Matthew Pohl, Luke Harrison-Garcia, Jack Susnjar, William “Beau” Ferguson, Car son Real and Ryan Turk.

Larchmont Charter Hollygrove continues search for new campus

By Casey Russell

Larchmont Charter School officials are continuing their new site search for a replacement for the Hollygrove campus at Vine Street and Waring Avenue. The as-yet-unknown new location will serve for the 2023-2024 school year and beyond.

The team of administra

MELROSE ELEMENTARY

By Stella Coppola

On what seemed like a normal Mon day, pretty much every parent with kids in LAUSD got a call that said something like this: “LAUSD families, it seems that we have been hacked.” What?! It was not just Melrose Elementary. All of the schools in the Los Angeles School District had been hacked. Now, two weeks later, teachers are still getting students new passwords and getting everyone back online. Go teachers!

Ready to hear about some upcoming events at Melrose?

Good news! In-person field trips are back! This month, the 2nd grade got to go to the Getty Villa. Also, the 5th grade got to go to Dockweiler Beach for some sci ence, team building and fun!

A few days ago we had the most fashionable event of the school year, picture day! With everyone dressed up and looking fabulous, it sure was a fun day. Soon we’ll be dressing up for our costume parade and Harvest Fes tival.

Join me again next month to stay up to date on news at Mel rose Elementary.

ST. BRENDAN SCHOOL

By Jack Byrne 8th Grade

Hello, Larch mont! St. Brendan School is off to a fast start. Boys’ flag football, girls’ volleyball and track and field have started and are in full swing. St. Brendan is hoping for a strong sports season and has a lot of kids participating.

On Sept. 23, the school held its annual Wishlist Party, where parents support our teachers by helping them fulfill their class

tors and consultants has been working during the past year to find and secure a site. Team members hope to settle on a solution in the next two months. The team has mul tiple options on the table, but nothing is settled, and any ideas the community may have are welcome.

The school needs at least

room wish lists. The party was a great success!

There are a lot of fun events coming up in the month of Octo ber. These events include the Halloween parade, where every class gets to walk around in their cool costumes. The 8th graders get to judge and decide on the winner! There are also two Halloween plays that the 8th graders will perform in front of the entire school.

We are all looking forward to a great month. Thank you for reading the St. Brendan section in the Larchmont Chronicle

ST. BRENDAN SCHOOL

By Isabel Viola 12th Grade

The school year started off strong with the ESLA tradition of the red and white sorting extravaganza!

If you’re unfa miliar with this classic event, the ESLA community is split between the red and the white team and this activity determines where students and staff (includ ing their families) are sorted for the rest of their school lives.

New students this year placed their hand in a hat and picked the ping pong ball that deter mined their fate. The sorting process is a fun event where red and white captains get to make their respective teams excited for the upcoming school year.

Throughout the academic year, several red and white team activities are hosted by our very own Community Life Council. From tug-of-war to pancake rac es, these affairs never fail to lift up the ESLA spirits.

In other news, the girls’ vol leyball team started the season off strong by winning their first two games! Weeks of practice and team building have paid off and they are looking forward to the season ahead. Go Coyotes!

20,000 square feet on at least half an acre with approxi mately 16 to 20 classrooms for grades TK through four.

The team also is looking for a site with outdoor play space or one that is near out

a

E.

living room

from newborns to 18-year-olds feel comfortable

door space that the school can share. Approximately 60 parking spaces are needed, and the site should be acces sible via public transit.

Joy of Learning

Arenson Paul

Specialist

489 South Robertson Blvd. Suite 101 Beverly Hills, California 90211

Office: (424) 343-0046

Cell: (310) 487-1535

Email: TheJoyofLearning1@yahoo.com

Contact Amy Held at  amy. held@larchmontcharter. org or Dan Morrar at dmor rar@insiteefs.com with helpful tips or ideas.

As far as terms, the school is open to looking at shortterm leases, long-term leases or purchasing a site.

MAP of the search area for a new Larchmont Charter School campus.

ST. JAMES’ EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

By Evan Listi

6th Grade

Hello! My name is Evan, and I’m a 6th grader at St. James’ Epis copal School.

We official ly became the leaders of the school during our blazer ceremony on Sept. 7. Now that we are 6th graders, we get to do a lot more servant leadership work. This includes working with the St. James’ soup kitchen and being role models to younger students.

Being in 6th grade means it’s our last year at St. James’. We have already started the pro cess of looking at middle schools and preparing for our next steps. Though this can be a nerve-wracking time, our teach ers and advisers will help us through it.

On another note, we had a Bin go Night fundraiser on Sept. 10, which was a ball! The 6th graders had a great time calling out the numbers and giving out prizes.

I’m really looking forward to sharing all of the amazing things that happen at St. James’ throughout this year! One final thing: Be sure to check out St. James’ booth at the Larchmont Family Fair on October 30th!

CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION

By Eloise Cotteleer

5th Grade

The Center for Early Educa tion had a big day of firsts on Sept. 7! It was our first day back

at school! It was also the first day of school for our new head of school, and it was the first day parents could come back on campus since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

First days can be full of jitters thinking about your new teach ers and classes. A 3rd grader was nervous to meet his teachers and shared, “But once I met them, I loved them. They’re so nice!”

It was also the first day for Damien Jones, CEE’s new head of school. He was a little ner vous too, but not for long! “I was anxious, but for me that anxiety turned to excitement when I saw all the faces of smiling students.”

Finally, as mentioned, parents were officially allowed on cam pus and gathered for an assembly for the first time since March of 2019. A parent who has a child in 5th grade said, “It felt so positive and exciting to be back on cam pus in person for the first day of school!”

Based on such a successful first day, it looks like it is going to be a great year!

CHRIST THE KING SCHOOL

By Joshua Lo 8th Grade Christ the King students have been eagerly awaiting the month of October. From assemblies to activities such as parades and fun games, Christ

the King has it all!

To wrap up September, we cel ebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit to ask God to bless our endeavors for the school year.

8th graders will participate in projects with their buddies in kindergarten throughout the year. Our school will host High School Night on Thurs., Oct. 20, and representatives from 12 high schools will give presenta tions to junior high students and their families.

CKS students are excited about Halloween. Parents will organize a festival with games and prizes for all the grades. The 8th-grade class will use their artistic skills to create a haunted house for all the students to enjoy.

The football and volleyball seasons are in full swing and stu dents are practicing after school and looking forward to com peting in games against other schools.

CKS is celebrating its 65th anniversary and will be holding a gala on Sat., Nov. 5 to commem orate this great occasion.

THE WILLOWS COMMUNITY SCHOOL

By Simone Meltzer

8th Grade

On Sept. 7, The Willows Communi ty School was back in ses sion. Instead of starting the year with the normal routine of classes and homework, The Willows likes to kick things off with something special.

The first three-day week of the

school year is devoted to a “mid dle school retreat.” This is a funfilled, mixed-grade on-campus bonding time when the students get to ease back into the year with games and activities. The 6th, 7th and 8th grade students are divid ed into teams of 10 to 13 people.

Throughout the course of the week, they rotate through various fun activities, including a water balloon toss, paper-airplane mak ing competition, escape room and skit performance. Each team gains points throughout, which are tallied up.

The winner is announced at the beginning of the following week. The winning team receives a lunch delivery of their choice and bragging rights over their fellow students. Middle school retreat is a great way to start the year off with some fun and get to know the people in other grades before traditional classes begin and students fall into the rhythm of the school.

NEW COVENANT ACADEMY

By Dale Lee 12th Grade

It’s a new month and with it comes excit ing events! As the girls’ volley ball team and the boys’ soccer team are start ing to settle in, both seasons are off to a great start. Both of the teams practice hard every day, so make sure to cheer on our stu dent athletes at their games and support them through the live streams. Mark your calendars!

To give students and par ents the chance to connect with teachers and overview the year’s curriculum, NCA held an open house event for the first time after the COVID-19 pandem ic. Almost all families attended the event, visiting the decorat ed classrooms and discussing expectations with teachers. It was a lively night with families

of all grades attending.

Some honorable mentions in our student body; we want to hon or Cheyenne Kim and Jaydn Kim in the Class of 2022 for receiving the highly distinguished Interna tional Baccalaureate Diploma! In addition, congratulations to Dale Lee for becoming an National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test [NMSQT] Semi-Finalist. We hope for him to move on as a finalist and eventually an NMSQT Scholar.

PILGRIM SCHOOL

By Allison Pak 9th Grade

Last month, the entire Pil grim Secondary School (grades 6 through 12) went to Dock weiler Beach to do a beach cleanup and to play on the beach.

The goal was to leave the area better and cleaner than we found it and we accomplished that. We collected five 45-gallon bags of landfill trash, five bags of recy cling materials and 1/2 a bag of food waste. We ate lunch togeth er and had a great time.

Beach day has been a tradition at Pilgrim for many years, and beach cleanup was a great start to our new all-school sustain ability program.

Sports season has started and the sports include: Varsity flag football, varsity girls’ volleyball, varsity cross country and varsity pom. We also have all these sports for middle school. Next week, ele mentary sports will begin.

Everybody has been working very hard, coming as early as 7 a.m. and staying as late as 6 p.m.

Pilgrim School also has a new hot lunch vendor called One Potato. One Potato is all organic and healthy food.

The school year has started off strong. For more informa tion, please visit our website at pilgrim-school.org or call 213385-7351.

HOLLYWOOD SCHOOLHOUSE

By Miles Hoffman

6th Grade

Hello, my name is Miles Hoffman. I am a 6th grade student at Hollywood Schoolhouse.

I like reading, drawing, laughing and basket ball. To be a 6th grader means that you have a lot more respon sibilities. For example, I get to be a 6th Grade Ambassador, which means you get to do things like walk the younger kids to their classes. These responsibilities make you a role model for the school. If you act out in front of the younger students, they’ll think it’s okay to do so. In 6th grade, you better watch your act.

I am excited to announce that the buddies program is back! What’s that, you might ask? Well, in the buddy program, each child in an older class gets paired with someone from a younger class. They meet once a week and do fun activities like drawing or writing a little story.

Another thing that’s exciting is that next month, the 5th and 6th grade classes will be going to Catalina Island!

Lastly, my school is having a Saturday Family Open House on Sat., Oct. 22, at 10 a.m. This is

where you have a chance to tour HSH, look at the classrooms, meet all of the teachers and see if this school is a good fit for your family.

If I had to say two things I’m looking forward to this year, art class would be number one. I am so excited for art because this year, we will be doing more advanced projects. Something else that my school is doing is bringing back the Speaker Series, which is something that inspires you about your future. This year’s Speaker Series will be held at our brand new theater. I am so lucky to be a part of this Hollywood Schoolhouse organization.

THE OAKS SCHOOL

By Amelia Goldberg 6th Grade

Now that I’m a 6th grad er at the Oaks, a lot of things feel very dif ferent. As the oldest kids in the school, we are now involved in community activities like never before, and we are excited to learn.

Community and traditions have always been things that stand out to me about the Oaks. As a kid who came here in 2nd grade, I know these things are essential to the way we run. The Oaks has so many traditions, each one meaningful and fun.

For instance, this year we are going to be partnered with a kindergarten buddy. I am excit ed for this, not just because the mighty K kids are adorable, but because this means we will be looked up to like never before. I’m going to be a role model!

The last day of school for me last year was spent helping prepare for the 6th grade grad uation. This year I will graduate and follow the traditions of my predecessors. So much is new and wonderful about being in 6th grade.

IMMACULATE HEART

By Kellyn Lanza 12th Grade

Happy Fall from Immacu late Heart! Our cross country, volleyball and tennis teams began their seasons this past month by participating in tournaments and invitationals.

To honor these hardworking athletes, the Girls Athletic Asso ciation recently hosted the first pep rally of the school year. Meanwhile, winter sports teams for soccer and basketball began conditioning as well.

Starting on Sept. 15, Immac ulate Heart began celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month. Students made papel picado, the traditional Mexican

craft of cutting tissue paper into elaborate designs, to decorate the campus for our grand Sept. 16 celebration, which featured music, food and art!

This month, our student body launched fundraising efforts for The Walk, Immaculate Heart’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

Shadow Visits are also now underway on campus for those interested in attending Immac ulate Heart High School and Middle School. Prospective stu dents can register for Shadow Visits and other admissions events through our website at immaculateheart.org.

LARCHMONT CHARTER HOLLYGROVE

By Yena Rhee and Alastair Ayandele 4th Grade

grade.

Our music teacher, Mr. Mal colm, will lead students to perform music with songs such as “Spooky Scary Skeletons.’’ A mariachi band, Rodrigo Rodri guez, will be performing music like “Remember Me” from “Coco” to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.

It’s also an opportunity to learn about each other. As our princi pal, Ms. Eva, points out, “Many of our families celebrate Halloween, but some don’t, so it is an oppor tunity to learn about each other.”

Families are invited to see students perform at Halloween Morning Sing. Students will be welcome to wear costumes as long as they do not have weap ons, props or distracting items. Costumes are expected not to be scary to the younger grades. LCS students are excited to dress up as characters from movies and games, as well as many more fun and exciting costumes! Get ready to see characters from Pokemon, Roblox and Fortnite, as well as a lot more cool cos tumes for Halloween!

October is going to be a very exciting month at Larchmont Charter School! We are getting ready for Dia de los Muertos and Halloween!

Our Halloween Morning Sing will include amazing decorations created by our art teacher, Ms. Sabina, and Larchmont Charter Hollygrove students from every

Westside JCC opens licensed daycare for wee ones

By Helene Seifer

Tiny tables and chairs and rows of cribs and colorful age-appropriate toys await the arrival of babies in need of nurturing daycare. Known for its thriving preschool for twoto four-year-olds, the Westside Jewish Community Center

(WJCC) is putting the final touches on a new program space — a 1,350 square foot infant care center for wee ones aged six weeks to two years.

The Hive, as it’s affection ately called, expects to be up and buzzing by Nov. 1. Hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

weekdays. There will be a 3:1 child-to-teacher ratio, and each teacher is trained in infant and toddler education, first aid and CPR. Safety features include MERV-13 air filters, low VOC paint and on-site security.

Lauren Friedman, the director of Early Childhood

Education at WJCC, describes the program: “There will be sensory activities to stimu late brain development, such as using paint or water. We’ll let them get messy, let them explore squishy things, harder things. They will develop motor skills. With the real little ones, we’ll create a safe and warm environment. We’ll engage with them, talk to them, let them know they are safe.”

A dedicated play yard for the children will open in early 2023.

Miracle Mile resident Aman da Johns Perez, WJCC board vice president and Infant Care Center campaign chair, was instrumental in raising $1.3 million for the Center’s chil dren’s facilities, including $800,000 to convert a former dance studio into The Hive.

Caring for the youngest

among us is something more and more working parents need. “Demand for childcare has grown,” explains WJCC Executive Director Brian Greene. “Our neighborhood has transitioned from an older population to one with young families.” And those families, Greene observes, appreciate the emphasis on kindness and connection with others that is fostered in all WJCC programs.

“Our community at the JCC is so special,” states Friedman, herself a graduate of the Westside JCC pre school. “I’m excited that we get to extend the experience to the younger ones.”

As members of the WJCC at large, Hive families can par ticipate in all of the Center’s activities as well as specific social programs planned for

turn to page 31)

Pumpkin patch

(Continued from page 1) kins, they also sell gourds, squash and pumpkin carv ing kits. Pumpkin purchaser Clifford says the soccer ballsize pumpkin, about 10 to 12 pounds, is the most popular, and the largest on the lot are close to 60 pounds.

While looking for the per fect pumpkin, shoppers can participate in a scavenger hunt throughout the lot.

Clifford personally picks the pumpkins at a farm in the middle of nowhere near San ta Paula. She fills two large truck beds by the end of her shopping day.

The Rotary has been selling pumpkins at this Larchmont location for 16 years. The money raised goes right back

to the community, with dona tions directed to Operation School Bell, Red Shield of the Salvation Army, and the visu ally impaired students at Van Ness Elementary School. Next at this location, the Rotary will be selling Christmas trees, starting Fri., Nov. 25.

THE HIVE, Westside Jewish Community Center’s new infant care center. Photo courtesy of Westside JCC

PLAYING AMONG the pumpkins is Isaac Clifford, 4.

SETTING UP the pumpkins at the Wilshire Rotary Club pumpkin patch.

Photos by Wendy Clifford

Avoid commenting on appearances, but rather on strengths

By Casey Russell

I walk my dog daily around our quaint Larchmont neigh borhood. Recently, I’ve noticed that on about 10 percent of my walks, I come across one com pletely camera-ready young woman or another, wear ing very tight or very little clothing. Always, these young women are setting up and pos ing for an Instagram or social media photo or video. It makes me sad. How did they come to believe this is what they are valued for?

The unfortunate truth, in my opinion, is that it happens little by little from the time kids are little

Children learn what is val ued from what they see and hear. So, with all that kids are exposed to in Los Angeles, what can we do as parents to guide them toward knowing their value comes from who they are, instead of from what they look like?

We can start by not com menting much on kids’ appearances to them, or even around them. Children are aware of what others notice and comment on. So, be wary of making appearance what you talk about.

From a very young age, girls, especially, tend to consistent ly hear things like: “You’re so cute!” “I love your dress!”

“What pretty hair you have!” “Oh, I love those sparkly shoes.” “Your daughter is so pretty / beautiful / adorable!”

Often people are just trying to break the ice in an inter action with a child they don’t know well or haven’t seen in a while.  Maybe they are just try ing to say something nice or give a little confidence boost er to a shy kid. But a message is being sent. And, sadly, the message is that appearance is the first thing that is noticed and that it is, therefore, the most important.

Try not to play into this, and think about telling extended family that you’re trying to avoid such comments to your child. It’s all too easy to go home for holidays and watch as your daughter hears these comments with each new rel ative encountered. This kind of talk seems so innocent and, in a way, it is. But the reper cussions of hearing this often are actually really big.

Way too many people today feel that appearances are what matters most. We, as parents, can strive to fight that so our kids don’t have to repeat the inner thoughts many of us have had to hear. If someone comments on how beautiful our child is, we can add some thing like “… and she is working toward her green belt in tae kwon do,” or “… and she has been working so hard in school this year,” or “… and she is really great at speaking

Tips on Parenting by Casey Russell

her mind and standing up for others.” We haven’t been rude, but we also haven’t silently let another appearance comment linger alone in our kid’s brain. We’ve added onto what was said so that our child is sub consciously reminded that she is more than her outer self.

When we, ourselves, are talking to children, we can make sure we ask questions about what they are doing or what interests them. We can compliment them on their listening skills, their perseverance or a time we witnessed them making the world better in some way.

It’s equally important to be aware of how we speak to, and of, ourselves and others. It is common for people to casually say, “I look so fat in this.” Or, “She shouldn’t be wearing that.” Or, “Ugh, I look terrible!” Our kids hear all this and will feel about their bodies what we have unwit tingly taught them to feel.

I don’t know how it became normal for us to talk like this about ourselves. But it cer tainly hasn’t made my life any more joyful! I want better for my daughter. She does not need to hear someone say, “I need to get to the gym and lose ten pounds” or “Keep that cake away from me. It will go straight to my thighs.” We need to stop talking about ourselves with such mean judgment, not only for our own sakes, but for the sake of our kids.

What can we do instead? We can talk about exercising to be stronger and healthier. We can make sure we don’t shy away from having our pic tures taken or jump to say we look terrible in a photo that has been taken. We can have books and watch shows at home that show people of all different colors, shapes and sizes doing awesome things.

And, if we hear our children

WJCC daycare

(Continued from page 30) them. Friedman summariz es, “We are so much more than childcare. We are a community.”

The Hive welcomes families from all religious, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. WJCC membership is $450/ year per family. The licensed daycare program is $2,600/ month. The Hive is housed at Westside Jewish Community Center, 5870 W. Olympic Blvd. For more information email jfriedman@westsidejcc.org.

say something negative about their own bodies, we can put a hold on the instinct to negate the comment and instead ask a question. We can ask why they think that. This subtle shift can help us understand more clearly what our children are actually thinking about and

can act as an opening for us to steer the conversation back to what our bodies are actually for — taking us through this beautiful world, letting us run and play and do all the things we are excited to do.

We have a lot of power as parents. Let’s make sure we

are consciously using it to help kids know where their true values lie.

For more parenting tips, check out my book, “The Handbook for Life With Little Ones: Information, ideas and tips for birth to age five,” on Amazon.