lc section one 12 2019 by Larchmont Chronicle

Larchmont Chroni cle H

VOL. 57, NO. 12 • DELIVERED TO 76,439 READERS IN HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT •

IN THIS ISSUE

Let holiday spending spill over into helping others

City clarifies reasons for relocation of tree wells

n Placement in question

THE HOLIDAY issue. Above, Farmers Market.

GLITTERATI gala at LACMA. 21

CHILI charity at Pink’s.

By Billy Taylor In the November 2019 issue, the Larchmont Chronicle reported on the loss of two healthy and mature ficus trees, as well as the relocation of their tree wells, once located in front of the Rite Aid store’s sign on Larchmont Boulevard. The story resonated with residents and policymakers alike. “Your article about the placement of the southernmost tree well re-sparked a reSee Trees, p 30

Reaction to demolition is vitriolic n See letters on page 2

HARVEST FEST in Griffith Park. 2-19 For Information on Advertising Rates, Please Call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11 Mailing permit:

n Toy and gift drives

SANTA listened to Christmas wishes at last year’s Open House on Larchmont Blvd. This season he also arrived on a fire truck.

It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays on Blvd. n Trees on Larchmont! Santa came to town

TUDOR home formerly at 361 N. Citrus Avenue.

By John Welborne The reaction throughout Los Angeles to the sudden Oct. 23 demolition of the historic Tudor home located since 1927 at 361 N. Citrus Ave., at Oakwood Ave. just west of Hancock Park, has been tremendous — and often vitriolic. The Larchmont Chronicle has received letters and online comments, some of which are in this issue, beginning on Page 2. The “lacurbed.com” article that appeared on the day of the demolition generSee Citrus, p 28

Health, Fitness & Beauty

Feel and look your best in 2020! Read the annual Health, Fitness & Beauty section in the January issue of the Larchmont Chronicle. Advertising deadline is Mon., Dec. 10. For more information contact Pam Rudy, 323-462-2241, ext. 11.

DECEMBER 2019

By Rachel Olivier It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas along Larchmont Boulevard. From the red bows that have popped up along the north end of Larchmont to the trees at the Wilshire Rotary tree lot, to the Holiday Open House last week, it’s clear that the holidays have arrived in full force. Wilshire Rotary tree lot The Wilshire Rotary tree lot at 568 N. Larchmont is open. Noble, silvertip and Douglas firs arrived the weekend after Thanksgiving. However, there will be no Nordmann or Fraser firs this year, says Wendy Clifford. They were unable to source them from any of the tree farms they contacted. But they do have a variety of sizes to choose from. People should be able to find the right

tree (or wreaths or boughs) for their spaces. Clifford noted. Battle of the bells Stop by the tree lot to see the “Battle of the Bells” preSee Holidays on Blvd., p 4

By Rachel Olivier During the holiday season it’s easy to get into the habit of gift buying, whether for family and friends or for yourself. So, it might be a good time to let some of that spending spill over into purchasing holiday cheer for others less fortunate. Read on for some local charities that are conducting toy and gift drives. • • • St. Anne’s Guild, 155 N. Occidental Blvd., is collecting gifts for babies ages newborn to three and teenage girls ages 13 to 18. Gift cards are also welcome. Deadline for the drive is Sat., Dec. 21. See Toy drives, p 14

St. James’ Church shines light on ‘Stories from the Frontline’ n 'I wish there had not been a stigma attached’ By Sondi Toll Sepenuk Angela Sanchez was 16, a junior in high school, when she and her father experienced homelessness. The memories are sharp: it was the beginning of the 2008 recession, one week shy of Thanksgiving. The Sheriff’s officers stood in the doorway of her family’s home, red eviction notice in hand, asking, “What are you

still doing here?” Ten minutes later, the locks were changed and Angela and her father, a middle-class architect, were homeless. Not knowing where to go, where to sleep, or where they would find their next meal, Angela and her father spent the next two years living in a car, in motels, in shelters and on the streets. During this See Stories, p 12

Menorah lighting, snowfall ring in season n Carolers, Kettle Kick Off at Farmers Market, Grove See a 100-foot Christmas tree, a white fir from Mt. Shasta, and a giant Lego menorah, hear carolers and visit Santa, all while strolling around the Original Farmers Market and The Grove this month. The next-door venues, located along Third Street near Fairfax Avenue, have a variety of activities scheduled through the end of the year to keep visitors in the holiday spirit. The trolley that travels between the Farmers Market

and the Grove is one way to see the decorated trees at both ends and enjoy the views while managing the crowds. Santa Claus, a nightly snowfall, and a tree taller than the one at Rockefeller Center with 15,000 sparkling lights and more than 10,000 glittering ornaments will anchor The Grove end, while carolers will perform at Farmers Market. Menorah lighting events will take place on separate evenings at See Farmers Market, p 18 MENORAH will be lit Dec. 22.

www.larchmontchronicle.com ~ Entire Issue Online!

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

Editorial

Calendar

By John Welborne The Holiday Issue Last month’s Editorial focused on “the demolition issue” affecting local neighborhoods. Let’s hope for a reprieve this month — as people of many faiths celebrate their and their families’ blessings. The staff at the Larchmont Chronicle is a blessing to the Publisher, and I join them (below) in wishing our readers the happiest of Holidays. Also, as noted by Jack Newman on the page at right, short conversations or simple nods might do a little to lighten the loads of those without real homes in which to celebrate this December.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

JOHN PAM

SUZAN

BILLY

RACHEL CAROLINE

Sun., Dec. 8 – Windsor Village Association annual meeting, 901 S. Lucerne Blvd., 2 p.m. Wed., Dec. 11 – Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council board meeting, Ebell Club, 743 S. Lucerne Blvd. at 7 p.m. greaterwilshire.org. Wed., Dec. 18 to Tues., Dec. 24 – Farmers Market Christmas activities with Dickensian Carolers and more, 6333 W. Third St., farmersmarketla.com. Sun., Dec. 22 – Hanukkah begins. Farmers Market Menorah lighting, 6333 W. Third St., 2:30 p.m. farmersmarketla.com. Wed., Dec. 25 – Christmas Day. Sun., Dec. 29 – Menorah lighting at The Grove, 189 The Grove Dr., 6 to 7 p.m.

Wed., Jan. 1 – New Year’s Day and Rose Parade. Thurs., Jan. 2 – Delivery of the Larchmont Chronicle.

Included are some received online.

JILL

Larchmont Chronicle STAFF

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JANE

Protecting our Historic Neighborhood California has an affordable housing shortage which some legislators are trying to address by fast tracking legislation that would increase density in cities. On the surface these ideas look good, but most of them are a Trojan horse for overdevelopment of unaffordable housing that would destroy residential communities. While Hancock Park is an HPOZ, our neighborhood is not safe from changes promoted by developers to replace affordable housing with unaffordable housing. There are a number of bills in Sacramento that would override many of the density and change limitations that keep Hancock Park an intact, beautiful and historic neighborhood. Our neighbors at Spaulding Square (one of LA’s thirty-five HPOZs) have made a short video that explains what’s going on and what you can do - www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRX_5E1BS3k. o o o Your neighbors are working with the Council Office and City Officials to fight against this legislation but we need your help. In particular, SB50 and SB592 will be presented to lawmakers in January. The Association will send information via the website, newsletter, Larchmont Chronicle column, and email lists about what you can do to help preserve our neighborhood, while still supporting the preservation of existing affordable housing and, simultaneously, the creation of new affordable housing. o o o Don’t forget that the holiday season often sees an increase in crime, particularly property crime. So, if you have a house alarm set it. Don’t keep valuables in view in your car. Lock your car and your house. Lastly, if you’re the victim of a crime, report it! This helps increase the number of police officers assigned to our area. If you’re planning to make any changes to the street visible portion of your house, including hardscaping, and windows, check with our HPOZ Planner Suki Gershenhorn (suki.gershenhorn@lacity.org), before starting. The HPOZ Preservation Plan, which regulates our HPOZ, can be found at http://www.preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park. There is also an online form you can fill out to help speed up the process (http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial. screening.checklist). Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System — tinyurl.com/ yyr3unhc — and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323463-5180. Adv.

‘Historic Citrus Ave. house quickly demolished’

This is so sad and infuriating! Having been in the home many times, I can attest that it had been lovingly and professionally maintained and was NOT a teardown. In fact, there had been recent upgrades to the plumbing, etc. The deceptive way [the buyers] went about it is disgusting and this is a huge loss to the neighborhood. I hope that someone is watering those beautiful sycamore trees while that lot sits vacant. Gabe M. Sherman Oaks That letter to the sellers is as underhanded as it gets. Anything to get their offer accepted! As a realtor, most of the dishonesty I’ve seen is on the part of the public — not the real estate agents

who get a bad rap for being shady. Clint Lohr Glendale The neighbors didn’t stand around watching; I for one stood in front of the bulldozer while the workers went around us with axes to hack out the leaded glass windows and hand carved beams and to deface the facade in a matter of minutes. The neighborhood is distraught, but through lies, deception, manipulation and not following the law regarding posting intent to demol(Please turn to page 27)

Publisher and Editor John H. Welborne Managing Editor Suzan Filipek Associate Editor Billy Taylor Contributing Editor Jane Gilman Advertising Director Pam Rudy Advertising Sales Caroline Tracy Art Director Tom Hofer Classified and Circulation Manager Rachel Olivier Accounting Jill Miyamoto 606 N. Larchmont Blvd., #103

Los Angeles, CA 90004 323-462-2241 larchmontchronicle.com

‘What is at the top of your wish list this year?’

“I want all these cats to find homes.” Carolina Bonet-Sanabrais (9) “Find a way to keep my house better organized. They say cleaning the house with the toddler is like trying to brush your teeth while eating Oreos. It feels like that.” Sofia Sanabrais Larchmont Village

“Right now I’m fostering these three kittens right here, and it’s definitely on my wish list for them to find forever homes.” Matt Johnson We-Wil

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

Larchmont Chronicle Founded in 1963 by Jane Gilman and Dawne P. Goodwin

Larchmont Chronicle

That’s the question inquiring photographer Talia Abrahamson asked locals along Larchmont Blvd.

Letters to the Editor TOM

THE

2020 Census: most may respond online Last month, the U.S. Census Bureau released its “Mail Contact Strategies Viewer” showing how the country will be asked to respond to the 2020 Census. Nearly every household will be invited to respond online, by phone or by mail to the census starting in mid-March 2020. Most areas — about three of every four households — will receive an invitation to respond online (or by phone), while the other households also will receive a paper questionnaire along with the invitation to respond online. Review the Mail Contact Strategies Viewer map at: tinyurl.com/rvrx5xs.

“At the top of my wish list is that the commuter traffic stop running down residential streets.” Michael Wright Windsor Square

“Health for my family.” Jorge Argueta with Vivienne Warren Hancock Park

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

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Simple nod or a conversation is a start in lifting toll of homelessness By Jack Newman The homelessness crisis has brought Los Angeles to its knees. From Hollywood to Santa Monica to the Downtown Arts District, it’s hard to ignore 59,000 displaced individuals roaming the county, ranking Los Angeles second for the rate of homelessness. The misery and pain that comes from living under such dilapidated and depressing conditions seems unimaginable. But these problems are very much real, and they’re projected to grow. This past year, Los Angeles saw a 12 percent increase in homelessness, despite new initiatives for housing placement, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The severity becomes more apparent when we look at the unsheltered homeless population. As reported by the online “Los Angeles Almanac,” 75 percent of the homeless live without shelter, which is close to 45,000 people. Proposition HHH In 2016, Mayor Eric Garcetti led Proposition HHH to be passed and implemented, which brought in over 1.2 billion dollars to acquire land for, and to build, supportive housing and shelters for the homeless and to create 10,000 permanent homes by 2026. While the city osten-

SECTION ONE

ON BOOKS, PLACES. 6 HOME GROUND 9 AROUND THE TOWN 10 COUNCIL REPORT 12 ENTERTAINMENT On the Menu 22 At the Movies 24 Theater Review 26 POLICE BEAT 30

SECTION TWO VIEW:

Real Estate, School News Home & Garden

NEW FIELD at Pan Pacific Park. 17 ON PRESERVATION 2 REAL ESTATE SALES 8 SCHOOLS 11 HOME & GARDEN 18 MUSEUM ROW 20 BRIDGE MATTERS 22 PROFESSOR 23 CLASSIFIED ADS 23

sibly has made strides for meaningful progress, 10,000 homes only cover a fraction of the homeless community and disregard the emotional toll on a homeless individual. Speaking to that, in her book “Stigma and Prejudice,” author Denise De Las Nueces writes, “Homeless individuals struggle every day under the weight of anti-homelessness stigma and oppression that render them seemingly invisible.” So, moving away from state and city level intervention, we must ask ourselves what we are able to do on an individual level. The Bowery Mission, an organization based in New York, encourages people to engage and acknowledge homeless individuals. Self-worth begins to quickly corrode when faced with constant isolation. Whether it’s a short conversation or a simple nod, gesturing alone might help to heal the devastation of unremitting loneliness. It is incumbent on us to rebuild the self-esteem of homeless individuals through engagement and face this crisis head on. VolunteerLA To offer more direct help, Mayor Garcetti created a VolunteerLA portal, which allows anyone to provide service in different areas of homelessness. Serving hot meals, tutoring homeless

students or simply being a person to talk to are among the many ways to be a part of homelessness remediation. We must be active in our Los Angeles community, whether it is for 365 days or merely 1 day out of the year. Moreover, the Los Angeles Mission, a nonprofit, describes the value in donations in its mission statement. While money provides means to keep services afloat, clothing and food give individuals comfort and sustenance. Especially as we edge closer to winter, donations of warm clothing will help the greater homeless population endure a cold season, rather than offering pocket change. Winter is far crueler without shelter. It is in our hands to dismiss the stigma around the growing homeless population and remain informed on how we can continue to fix the problem in Los Angeles. Mayor Garcetti has long-term housing solutions, but our community needs to act summarily. This is not a call for awareness; this is a call for action. It is time to put the onus on ourselves, roll up our sleeves, and fight for a bleeding demographic. Jack Newman is a senior at USC and a frequent visitor to the Larchmont neighborhood.

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

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Larchmont Chronicle

State laws threaten historic neighborhoods: first up, Hancock Park By Suzan Filipek Stately Hancock Park was recognized as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) in 2007. The city’s ordinance protects the area’s 1,200 1920s Period Revivalstyle homes. With houses set back on leafy tree-lined parkways, the area harkens back to a simpler time. New state laws threaten this genteel setting. Actually, the laws impact many single-family neighborhoods statewide. The good news is Hancock Park’s HPOZ has a Preservation Plan that sets guidelines

on building and design. Unfortunately, the plan has needed some tweaking and, now, time is running out. The Preservation Plan was poised for an update, but then Sacramento got in the way. “Since the governor signed SB 330, Hancock Park will be totally out of luck in adding to or updating our HPOZ… after December 31, 2019,” said Hancock Park Homeowners Association president Cindy ChvatalKeane. “We have repeatedly expressed our concerns about this timeline to Planning for months. To date, Planning has

Holidays on Blvd.

Avoid the traffic!

(Continued from page 1)

Shop close to home on Larchmont Boulevard. • Books • Candles • Children’s Clothes & Toys • gift certificates (for coffee, massages, Pilates, and dining, etc.) • Flowers • Jewelry • Menswear • Women’s Clothing • Pet Accessories • Toys for All Ages • Wine … just to name a few gift ideas!

www.LARCHMONT.com

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“an oasis in the city”

LARCHMONT BOULEVARD ASSOCIATION

not moved to allow us to update, or clarify, language in our Preservation Plan.” SB 330 essentially freezes, until 2025, historic zones and other historic resources as they are now. “Current historic districts are not impacted, but new plans or designations are,” according to Nicholas Greif, chief of staff for Councilman David Ryu. “We were about to launch Hancock Park and other plans in the city, and then SB 330 came along,” said Ken Bernstein, manager and principal planner in the city Office of Historic Resources, part of the City Planning Dept. As far as meeting the Dec. 31

sented by the Salvation Army; a friendly competition between the Los Angeles Host Lions Club and Wilshire Rotary to see how much money can be raised by each organization on Sat., Dec. 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Holiday open house; red bows Small businesses up and down Larchmont Boulevard participated in the Holiday Open House and Small Business Saturday event on Nov. 30. Besides the visit by Santa Claus, musicians from Rhodes School of Music played along the street. Local dentist Dr. Timothy Gogan and his “elves” already had spruced up Larchmont Boulevard’s trees with large red corsage bows from Third Street to Melrose Avenue.

deadline, “There’s no way to do that. It is a six-to-nine-month process,” Bernstein added. The 188-page Hancock Park Preservation Plan was written before anyone in the area thought much about Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), other than that they weren’t allowed. Subsequently, state laws have allowed up to two granny flats to be built on single-family properties, intended to help ease a housing shortage. While adding housing makes sense, the area’s Preservation Plan needs to determine how ADUs can be allowed and set other guidelines, ChvatalKeane said. “We were trying really hard to get simple language … not sweeping changes …,” she added. SB 330, which sunsets in 2025, is just one new law to affect single-family neighborhoods, and its design standards clause is a small part

of the law, “but it will have a significant impact on HPOZs everywhere,” Bernstein said. A proposed law, SB 50, by San Francisco’s state Sen. Scott Wiener, which relaxes zoning restrictions near public transit and work sites, was put on hold until January when it will be reviewed anew in the Legislature. Bernstein said he is consulting with the city attorney and municipalities with robust historic zones throughout the state on how they will apply any new laws. The good news, he says, is that every HPOZ in the city has a Preservation Plan, which was not always the case. “Fast-moving Sacramento is impacting us profoundly and they keep bulldozing… in these laws. It can’t be a one size-fits all, yet these bills are sweeping,” Chvatal-Keane said.

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS â&#x20AC;&#x201D; DECEMBER 2019

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HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

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Larchmont Chronicle

1919, a big year in Los Angeles, and history continued to unfold As readers of the Larchmont Chronicle know, many institutions and places around the neighborhood have celebrated a centenary in 2019. Just last month, John Welborne called attention to several, including Musso & Frank Grill, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Wilshire Country Club. John’s point was that the region’s growing sense of itself, its relief from war worries, and its confidence about the future engendered a civic mindedness that has built much we still enjoy. It’s a thought worth following as we move close to 2020, because 1919 really was a big year in Los Angeles. UCLA Ambition was evident on Vermont Avenue just south of Santa Monica Boulevard. That’s where the Southern Branch of the University of California opened on September 15, 1919. By the time of its first graduating class, a search

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL was on the site of today’s Central Library. View southwest from Bunker Hill, c. 1882.

was on for a new and larger space that would accommodate demand for public higher education. Westwood back then seemed remote and distant, but land there was available and relatively cheap. So deals were struck, building commenced, and UCLA found its lasting home in 1929. The behind-the-scenes story of the real estate transactions involving the corner of Fifth

325 N. Larchmont Boulevard, #158 Los Angeles, California 90004 www.windsorsquare.org 157 N. Larchmont Boulevard

Homelessness; Larchmont Trees

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. ADV.

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Homelessness is a problem that is affecting all of Los Angeles, and neighbors had an opportunity to listen to and question two very knowledgeable people on the subject at last month’s Windsor Square Association 2019 Annual Town Hall Meeting held at The Ebell. Tammy Rosato, president of the La Brea Hancock Homeowners Association and board member of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council and the Midtown Homeless Coalition, and Councilmember David Ryu discussed the complex and frustrating issue in depth and explained what solutions are being offered, and what more needs to be done. Councilmember Ryu mentioned his “Three Prong Solution,” which consists of: 1. Housing the Existing Homeless. There are currently five new facilities for formerly homeless individuals and families opening in Council District Four, and more across the city. 2. Preventing Homelessness. Creating more low-income and affordable housing, plus protecting renters in existing housing, will keep more people from falling into homelessness. 3. Critical Services. Reforming our disability laws and expanding the mental healthcare and conservatorship systems will allow first responders and other healthcare providers to offer real help to those in need. For more in-depth information on Councilmember Ryu’s proposals for addressing the homelessness crisis, what the city is doing about it, and how citizens can help, please go to: http://davidryu.lacity.org/ homeless_plan. o o o The other subject of great interest at the meeting was the status of Larchmont Boulevard’s beloved — or berated? — ficus tree canopy. The Windsor Square Association strongly believes that the boulevard deserves a comprehensive plan for gradually replacing our trees, to maintain the beautiful character of our shady shopping district. A piecemeal approach, whereby a few trees are removed with no overall consideration of the boulevard as a whole, will not serve Larchmont well. (Two mature ficus trees already have been removed in this manner just weeks ago, and they were replaced with African Fern Pines.) The WSA created such a draft plan in late summer of 2018 — called the Orderly Street Tree Replacement (OSTR) Plan. This plan takes into account the timing and spacing of tree replacement, so that the street will continue to looks its best, and the plan addresses planting, watering and maintenance responsibilities that often get ignored. The WSA is also pledging financial support for tree replacement (just as we helped underwrite the beautiful Jacaranda medians on lower Larchmont some years ago). The next step is for the most-involved parties — the Larchmont Boulevard Association (merchants), the Larchmont Village BID (landowners / landlords), the WSA, and the Fourth District Council Office — to sit down and hammer out an agreeable, final OSTR Plan from the draft presented last year. Please take a look at the draft plan, printed on the page at right, to learn more, or go to our website: www. windsorsquare.org.

On Books and Places by

Bruce Beiderwell and Grand, Vermont Ave. and Westwood — plus the necessary community financing — can be found in a book by James R. Martin (grand uncle of John Welborne) titled “The University of California in Los Angeles” (1925). UCLA’s grand opening of its new Westwood campus in 1929 means there will be another centenary to celebrate before long, but 1919 was the real start of it all. And it was quite a start. Ralph Bunche (who was to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1950) was among the earliest enrollees at UCLA. He and his cohorts were the “pioneers” who together constituted an unusual university demographic for

CENTRAL LIBRARY, view east (Bunker Hill at left), c. 1926.

the time. Because the Vermont Ave. campus had morphed from an established teaching school — the State Normal School that had been relocated from the present site of the Los Angeles Central Library, all as recounted in the Martin book — women at the new Southern Branch of the state university outnumbered men by a wide margin: 98 women and 30

UCLA in Westwood, c. 1929.

men graduated in 1925. While that fact didn’t and couldn’t separate the institution from larger social injustices (leadership long remained nearly all male and white), it did influence class profiles and culture in years ahead. Thinking of people in conjunction with place and time provides more to reflect upon. (Please turn to page 8)

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

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The Larchmont Village Orderly Street Tree Replacement Plan After months of careful research and consultation with experts, the Windsor Square Association was proud to present (in November 2018) our draft plan for the thoughtful and gradual replacement of the mature ficus trees that line the shopping district of Larchmont Village, between First Street and Beverly Boulevard. The plan is called the Orderly Street Tree Replacement (OSTR) Plan. Its goal is to preserve the beauty of Larchmont Boulevard while recognizing that most of the existing ficus trees will be reaching the ends of their useful lives within about another twenty years. (Note that, at present, almost all of the approximately 40 trees are deemed to be in good condition.) Over that upcoming 20-year period, our plan calls for the selective removal of a few trees at a time, and the repair of the surrounding sidewalk when replacement trees are installed. The trees slated for removal will be chosen for several reasons: their condition, the condition of the sidewalks around them, and their distance from other replaced trees. In this manner, the early replacement trees will have a chance to gain in size and canopy before all of the older trees are gone, and the Village will maintain its character to the greatest extent possible. The OSTR Plan also believes strongly that the new trees should be a low-water, low-maintenance variety. Our choice is the ‘Saratoga’ Laurel tree (laurus ‘saratoga’). The trees should be purchased in 36”-box size, and planted in uniform sidewalk cutouts, under the supervision of a certified arborist. The Plan also requires that an attractive metal sidewalk grate be installed around each tree, which will make the Larchmont sidewalks a lot more walkable. One of the most important requirements of the OSTR Plan is that the new trees have a dependable irrigation source. Lack of proper (or any!) irrigation is the main reason the current ficus trees have lifted sidewalks and caused other issues. It would be pointless to install new trees without creating a healthy environment for them to thrive. We have worked hard to come up with a reasonable and comprehensive approach to an issue that affects everyone who shops, works or owns businesses on Larchmont. We feel that it is essential to have an overall vision for our urban landscape before yanking out trees on an ad-hoc basis for no good reason. If you would like to see the OSTR Plan in its entirety, head to our website, www.windsorsquare.org. You can give us your feedback there, too. The Windsor Square Association’s next step is to work with partner groups, the Larchmont Boulevard Association (representing merchants) and the Larchmont Boulevard Business Improvement District (representing building owners), plus Councilman Ryu and his staff, to refine the Draft OSTR plan to reach a community consensus that will allow the first tree replacements to be made in upcoming, cooler months.

DRAFT:

LARCHMONT VILLAGE ORDERLY STREET TREE REPLACEMENT (OSTR) PLAN (TREE SIZES, NOTES, PLAN SCHEDULE)

9/23/2018

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325 N. Larchmont Boulevard, #158 Los Angeles, California 90004 www.windsorsquare.org 157 N. Larchmont Boulevard

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

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On Books and Places

(Continued from page 6) Donald Cram, a highly regarded teacher at UCLA and a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, was born in 1919. So was Jackie Robinson; he met his future wife at UCLA and starred as a long jumper and a football player for the Bruins. Basketball and baseball were then his minor sports, although he lettered

in all four. Ray Bradbury, who in the early ’50s wrote “Fahrenheit 451” in the UCLA library basement, spoils the time / place / person symmetry, but not by much. He was born in 1920. Racial covenants Of course, arbitrary connections are easy to make and not necessarily meaningful. But aligning some historical markers prompts real thought and feeling. Nat King Cole was born in 1919 and bought a house on Muirfield Road in Hancock Park

SEASON‘S GREETINGS!

Visit our Christmas Tree Lot for the “Battle of the Bells“ Dec. 14 • 11am-3pm The Red Shield vs. Wilshire Rotary to see who can collect the most for charity!

JOIN US!

Wilshirerotary.org

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Lifetime Member of ADA, CDA & LADS

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H Evening and Saturday appointments available H Larchmont Medical Building 321 N. Larchmont Blvd., Suite 517 • 323-957-5100 www. sylvabeziandds.com

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in 1948. M a n y neighbors were actively hostile to a black family — any black family RALPH BUNCHE, — mov- an early graduate ing into of UCLA, in his seHancock nior photo in 1927. Park in violation of the long-standing deed covenants that were ruled unconstitutional that same year by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Shelley v. Kraemer. One of the lawyers successfully arguing Shelley v. Kraemer’s companion case (McGhee v. Sipes) at the Supreme Court was Angeleno civil rights lawyer Loren Miller, who later was named a judge of the Los Angeles Municipal Court. His son, Loren Miller, Jr., became a Superior Court judge. His granddaughter, Robin Miller Sloane, has served as a Superior Court judge since 2003, and her undergraduate degree is from... UCLA. History isn’t a nostalgia mill. But taking in all parts of a story allows us to appreciate positive change, along with the grace, dignity, and courage of the Nat King Cole family and others like them. The Robinson family, too, was contending with great pressure in 1948, the year Jackie broke the color line in baseball. The point can be sharpened with yet another alignment: George Wallace, born in 1919, was in 1948 just starting a po-

NAT KING COLE, born in 1919, moved to Hancock Park in 1948, and the 90004 Post Office was named for him in 2002. His U.S. postage stamp was issued in 1994.

litical career that would be built almost entirely on exacerbating the nation’s racial divide. Personal reflections The rich texture woven into the past century has prompted personal reflection as well. My father was born in 1919 in Gage, Oklahoma. He grew up in the dust bowl and the Great Depression. He left both behind to serve overseas in the Second World War. He returned to the States, met and married my mother, a woman from western Kansas, and moved to Central California. That’s where my sister, brothers, and I started life. My wife’s mother was also born in 1919, but into a very different world: Juiz de Fora, Brazil. She would spend her married life in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Her only daughter wound up in Los Angeles, where — at UCLA — she met me. Unlikely connections created out of movement have marked the century. And for some of that movement and those connections, I’m deeply grateful.

Incumbent city councilman on ballot; open County seat

Several candidates have thrown their hats in the ring for a place on the Tues., March 3 City of Los Angeles primary election ballot. Among them is incumbent

It’s that time of year again, when you are thankful for everything merry and bright. May this holiday season be a delight. Give the gift of relaxation this holiday, with a gift certiﬁcate from Healing Hands. Please check online or in-store for Holiday Savings.

Councilman David Ryu, who announced his bid for re-election to his Fourth District seat last month. Five candidates in all filed notices of intention to run for the Fourth Council District seat with the Los Angeles Office of the City Clerk, prior to the Nov. 9 deadline to enter the race. Hoping to join Ryu on the ballot are: Susan Collins, Rick Joseph, Sarah Kate Levy and Nithya Raman. Deadline to file petitions with enough signatures to officially enter the race is Wed., Dec. 4. Ryu released a list of 100 activists and neighborhood lead(Please turn to page 9)

LOREN MILLER was a Los Angeles lawyer involved in overturning racial covenants at the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948.

skin

deep by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald

Q: My concealer routine is taking up too much time in the morning. Do you have any longer-term solutions for under eye circles? A: ‘Tis the season. We’ve got the double whammy of holiday exhaustion yet wanting to look great for all of the parties and socializing. Interestingly, under eye circles are much more likely to be the result of tissue loss than dark pigmentation. As we age we loose fat in many areas of our faces, even under our eyes. The thinner tissue allows our vascular structure to be more visible - thus the appearance of dark circles. Additionally the increasingly concave area creates the appearance of shadow. So here’s what we can do: for my patients of all ages, I recommend eye cream to plump up the skin. For a more powerful effect I also recommend the application of dermal fillers, such as Restylane. Fillers applied in and around the hollows will add volume to conceal the vascular structure, erase those shadows and even smooth lines. Additional application under the brows will raise and project this area and make your Botox last twice as long. Thankfully, you can end your search for that elusive perfect concealer. And during this season, who has the time? Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald is a Board Certified Dermatologist located in Larchmont Village with a special focus on anti-aging technology. She is a member of the Botox Cosmetic National Education Faculty and is an international Training Physician for Dermik, the makers of the injectable Sculptra. She is also among a select group of physicians chosen to teach proper injection techniques for Radiesse, the volumizing 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. Adv.

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Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

Bedazzling: The writing of Susan Orlean on Louboutins, libraries

2020 Election

(Continued from page 8) ers last month endorsing his re-election. Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson, who has been on the Council since 2005, is seeking Mark Ridley-Thomas’ Los Angeles County Supervisor seat in the Second District. Wesson’s 10th District

Home Ground by

Paula Panich cerned that a gold ring from an ex-boyfriend might be blocking her energy…” The chic young person talking to the consignment expert on the white couch (and to the journalist nearby) was in an apartment in the San Fernando Valley. Read this piece and you head to your own closet: Is there money to be made here? (Alas, no Louboutin in mine.) Silver is to be mined in the clothingresale business. But for me, the real gold in a magazine article or book by Susan Orlean has to do with language and subject, the latter of which is often in plain sight, but masked somehow to the rest of us. Orlean illuminates things we give no mind to. Things we might drive by five days a week. Like the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL). The Central Library had a fire inside on April 29, 1986. Orlean’s “The Library Book,” published in 2018, tells the story of the LAPL fire in a way that is a love story to all libraries. Ah — her language. Pay atCouncil seat is sought by 14 candidates, including Supervisor Ridley-Thomas, who is termed out at the County. The March 3 Super Tuesday election will include primaries for president, all of the state’s 53 congressional seats, 20 of the 40 state Senate seats and all 80 seats in the Assembly. The General Municipal (Presidential) Election is Tues., Nov. 3.

tention to the pleasure of her words, sentences, paragraphs, pages. Specifically, to the brilliance of the adjectives, verbs and images at play in anything she writes. Those “bedazzled” shoes — what can that mean? Studded with fake jewels, with other shining objects, most likely. It’s a wonderful economy. And it is an economy of inventive writing of which she is a master. The compact description near the beginning of “The Library Book” about the Central Library fire left me breathless. Roaring, blistering, boiled. To wit: “Steam from the boiling water percolated through the firefighters’ heavy flameproof coats. Their ears and wrists and knees were scorched. Their lungs became crisp with smoke.” (Page 27, Simon & Schuster 2019 paperback edition.) She has said that since everyone has access to everything in the internet age, what is it that writers can offer? After all, it’s been a long time since writers had access to knowledge and experience unavailable to most people. Writers bring heart and emotion to information and data, she holds. Writers are curators and interpreters. Writers can move past the simple matter of delivering facts. Writers follow the river and find the story behind the story. And you can hear her speak about this, in a talk she gave on June 17, 2011. Look it up. On the internet.

THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean tells of the 1986 fire and is a love story.

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I like that writer Susan Orlean now lives in Los Angeles. Or somewhere really, really close. Comfort can be taken that she is keeping her brilliant eye and mind and impeccable reporting on the complexities around her — and us — at this moment. Or any moment, for that matter. She’s been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 1992. If I followed anyone on Twitter, I would follow her. I fell under her spell in 1998 with “The Orchid Thief.” (The subsequent movie adaptation, “Adaptation,” bears little resemblance to this small masterpiece of nonfiction.) I can still conjure up scenes from this book. She does write in scenes. Vivid, dramatic scenes. Take her recent piece (Oct. 21) for the New Yorker: a profile of an online luxury consignment site. A profile, in part, of a few people who use the site, and an employee, a real one, who steps out of your computer screen, so to speak, and will sit on your sofa and cast her eyes at your shoes. Here is Susan Orlean: “One recent Wednesday morning, a young woman named Chastity Saunders ... had a pair of bedazzled multicolored Christian Louboutin booties that she loved but no longer love-loved, and she had mixed feelings about a pair of Fendi pumps and a Tom Ford foldover tote, and was con-

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

High Tea, Sheba gala, ‘Gutsy Women,’ history events and BBBS Big Bash “Meow, my little pretties — come have a purr-fectly good time.” And, so, more than 70 ladies descended upon the most ‘terrifying’ and beautiful “fur-midable” Las Palmas home of Margo O’Connell for her haunted High Tea Oct. 19. Her porcelain Buddhas were outfitted in black masks and skullcaps topped with kitty ears. The sculptures surrounding the pool were festooned with harlequin masks and spider webs. The guests obliged with their own regalia. There was Joyce Maddox Morandi as a bird with a collar of enormous feathers, ‘Sherlock’ Jane Gilman ‘Holmes’ as well as kitties Alexa O’Conner and Sarah Zepkowski and even Tinkerbelle. The dining room table was covered with elegant trays of delicate sandwiches and artfully decorated iced cookies. The hardly recognizable hostess greeted the outfitted ladies,

Around the Town with

Patty Hill with her long cigarette holder, as Cruella De Vil. Other guests included Natural History Museum’s Shell Amega and Chris Sion, Evelyn Vodhandel, Nelly Kilroy and her daughter Bea Wallace, and songstress Jan Daley. • • • Ruth and Michel Steinberger, Rimpau Blvd., were honored for their 30-plus years of service to Friends of Sheba and Sheba Medical Center, Tel HaShomer, at a gala Nov. 3 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. U.S. Ambassador to France, Jamie D. McCourt, was also honored for her humanitarian efforts at the event.

STUNNED GUEST Jan Daly is greeted by hostess Margo O’Connell at the latter’s spooky High Tea.

Guests in attendance included Israel’s Consul General in Los Angeles Dr. Hillel Newman and Maurice Marciano and Paul Marciano. ••• It was quite an event when Hillary and Chelsea Clinton came to the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Nov. 5. Their new

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tome, “The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience,” was discussed with mother and daughter by moderator, former California first lady Maria Shriver. Secretary Clinton recalled one of her favorite determined women, Florida Everglades environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who said “nature and men’s interactions with it is an enormous battle between man’s intelligence and his stupidity, I am not at all sure that stupidity isn’t going to win out at the long run.” Ms. Clinton (former First Daughter) pointed out an inspiring athlete who, despite her failed attempts to swim the waters to Havana, kept trying until she succeeded; and she, Diana Nyad, was in the audience! Also there were Carolyn Layport, Laura Cohen, Jackie Kruse, Michaela Burschinger, Megan Derry, Ron Balue, Laurie Schechter, Julie Stromberg, Patty Lombard with daughter Grace and husband Bill Simon, Ebell of Los Angeles president Ginger Barnard and vice president Janna Harris. A portion of the book’s proceeds will be donated to the work and legacies of the

FRIENDS OF SHEBA and Sheba Medical Center honored Michel and Ruth Steinberger. Photo by Curtis Dahl

ALSO HONORED was U.S. Ambassador to France Jamie D. McCourt, here with Maurice Marciano. Photo by Curtis Dahl

AT “GUTSY WOMEN” book talk at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre were Janna Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ginger Barnard.

Photo by ABImages

100-plus women spotlighted within. • • • The California Club was the setting for the 81st an(Please turn to page 20)

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ARGS6NSF. 4Rate is per person, land only, based on double occupancy, for check-in on April 1, 2020 in resort view king room accommodations at the Hilton Hawaiian Village® Waikiki Beach Resort on O’ahu and includes government taxes. 5Kids 17 and under stay free in same room as adults using existing bedding. Occupancy limits apply. Unless otherwise indicated: Rates quoted are accurate at time of publication & are per person, based on double occupancy. Airfare, taxes, fees, surcharges, gratuities, transfers & excursions are additional. Advertised rates do not include any applicable daily resort or facility fees payable directly to the hotel at check-out; such fee amounts will be advised at the time of booking. Rates, terms, conditions, availability, itinerary, taxes, fees, surcharges, deposit, payment, cancellation terms/conditions & policies subject to change without notice at any time. Cruise rates capacity-controlled. Advance reservations through AAA Travel required to obtain Member Benefits & savings which may vary based on departure date. Rates may be subject to increase after full payment for increases in government-imposed taxes or fees & supplier-imposed fees. Blackout dates & other restrictions may apply. Not responsible for errors or omissions. The Automobile Club of Southern California acts as an agent for Pleasant Holidays®. CST 1016202-80. To learn how we collect and use your information, visit the privacy link at AAA.com. ©2019 Automobile Club of Southern California. All Rights Reserved.

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Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS â&#x20AC;&#x201D; DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

Larchmont Chronicle

Lack of affordable housing is killing the American dream Los Angeles is an incredible city. With a diverse and vibrant community, we’re known for being welcoming and for ensuring that everyone has an opportunity to succeed. But our city is currently facing a crisis. With a critical affordable housing shortage, we need major reform to save the city we hold dear. When I moved to Los Angeles, my family didn’t have much. My brother, sister, parents, grandmother and I lived in a 700-square-foot apartment off the 101 freeway, and though it wasn’t much, it was our home. I’m forever grateful that we had that home to build our life in America. It’s because of this home that we were able to develop relationships with our neighbors, go to school and save up for a small business. It was in this small apartment that I learned how to skateboard, and where I agonized over college applications. It’s where my parents came home

after long days working multiple jobs, and where I learned I was accepted into UCLA. My story is becoming harder and harder in Los Angeles. A family that is struggling to get by now faces serious threats. Landlords can evict them at a moment’s notice, and as rents get increasingly unaffordable, many families have nowhere else to turn. Many of you know about my three-pronged approach to solving homelessness. We need to build housing for those currently living on the street and we need better mental health laws and more mental health services. But equally important is protecting our neighbors who are living on the edge. For many of our severely rent-burdened Angelenos, a rent hike or eviction could spell disaster. That’s why I’ve made it a top priority to reform the Ellis Act. This state bill makes it

Council Report by

David E. Ryu possible for landlords to evict tenants to turn their buildings into luxury condos, displacing thousands in the process. The state must repeal or reform the Ellis Act. But I’m not waiting for that — I’m seeking reform of the Ellis Act now, right here in our city. I introduced an Ellis Act reform motion in Council, and on Nov. 15, we ordered the Housing and Community Investment Department to report back on concrete steps that our city can take to reform that Act immediately. My motion seeks to increase the affordable housing requirement in new building con-

struction. And when affordable apartments are demolished for newer buildings, former tenants should have the right of first refusal to return, and at an affordable rate. My motion would increase the relocation assistance that landlords must provide to tenants — making sure that they can afford to find a new home — and also allow the city to acquire at-risk affordable units.

Too many families are being pushed out because of unfair evictions. Too many Angelenos are moving away because they can’t find affordable housing. We are losing our middle class — and our Los Angeles dream. I’m not going to stop fighting until we can ensure that Los Angeles remains the welcoming and diverse city that made my life — and the lives of so many others — possible.

FRONTLINE workers to combat homelessness spoke at St. James’ Church. From left to right: Marilyn Wells, Amy Perkins, Rob Krueger, Angela Sanchez, Tommy Newman.

Stories

(Continued from page 1) time, Angela continued to go to high school, her friends none the wiser that she was homeless. “I wish there had not been a stigma attached to being homeless,” remembers Sanchez, who lived in daily fear that her friends or teachers would find out. It’s people like Sanchez that Stories from the Frontline wants you to know. The organization, started by friends and homeless advocates Marilyn Wells, of Hancock Park, and Allison Schallert, of Larchmont Village, was born out of a motivation to get residents involved in solving the affordable housing crisis after hearing a formerly homeless woman share her own personal journey. “Hearing someone be so open and vulnerable really opened my eyes,” says Wells, founder of Stories from the Frontline and The John and Marilyn Wells Family Foundation. “I realized that if people heard these stories, it might change things. So I decided to start a storytelling program.” One of the main goals of Stories from the Frontline is to use its storytelling events to educate the public about the importance of supportive housing and support services within the community. Three-day event Angela Sanchez, the former homeless teen, is now an author who holds a Master’s Degree in Education from UCLA. Sanchez, along with other formerly unhoused storytellers and homeless advocates, were given the opportunity to share their powerful stories at a November three-day event at St. James’ Episcopal Church, titled “Understanding Home-

lessness in Our Community.” On the first night, Nov. 18, over 200 neighbors from Hancock Park, Hollywood, Koreatown and Mid-Wilshire came together to hear stories, learn statistics, and participate in a Q&A discussion (moderated by Wells) to learn more about the housing and homeless crisis. Day two, Nov. 19, featured a “Civil Society Day” for the children of St. James’ Elementary School, who participated in a workshop on homelessness with Sanchez. The workshop is the first of several planned for students at schools throughout Southern California. Then, on Nov. 24, Sanchez connected with even more locals at Chevalier’s Books on Larchmont while signing her children’s book, “Scruffy & the Egg,” based on her experience of being homeless. The choice of St. James’ to host the event, where both Wells and Schallert’s children attended school, was a targeted one. “In order to solve this crisis, we need to get people focusing on communities and how communities can help,” says Wells. “One of those ways is to get local churches involved so that they can reach out to the people in their own communities who can help spread the word.” Working with the United Way, Wells and Schallert have coordinated storytelling events in Long Beach, Torrance, Venice, Boyle Heights, North Hollywood, Pasadena, Hollywood and Mar Vista. All events focus on the importance of supportive housing. Supportive housing “Supportive housing offers a myriad of different opportunities for people to get help with job training, substance abuse, mental illness, and other things that may have (Please turn to page 21)

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

A perfectly designed closet is a gift to open again and again.

SECTION ONE

For a limited time, earn $500+ when you purchase Avera® or Laren®, our two premium closet systems. T H R O U G H D E C E M B E R 1 7 TH

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Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

Toy drives

(Continued from page 1) Bring wrapping paper, ribbon, scissors and tape to wrap gifts for residents Tues., Dec.

17 and Wed., Dec. 18. Contact Ardriono “Oge” Aldridge at aaldridge@stannes.org or call 213-381-2931, ext. 341. • • • Alexandria House, 426 S. 3903 Wilshire Blvd., LA CA 90010 213•388•3417 www.stjla.org

Sunday Services 8:00 am • The Holy Eucharist (Rite I) 10:30 am • Choral Eucharist (Rite II) 10:30 am – 11:15 am Sunday School 10:15 am – 12:15 pm Childcare (Children under 4) 12:15 pm • The Holy Eucharist Korean Language (Rite II)

Lessons & Carols Sunday, December 8 4:30 pm

The Choir of Saint James sings Lessons and Carols in the traditional English style. Freewill offering. This service replaces Evensong. This is always a STANDING ROOM ONLY event, so COME EARLY!

Christmas at St. James’ Christmas Eve – December 24

4:00 pm Family Service with Children’s Pageant 9:30 pm Carols with Choir of St. James NEW TIME! 10:00 pm Candlelight Eucharist NEW TIME!

Christmas Day – December 25

10:30 am Holy Eucharist with Gregorian Chant 12:15 pm Korean Language Holy Eucharist

CATHEDRAL CHAPEL of ST. VIBIANA CATHOLIC CHURCH

923 S. LA BREA AVE. LOS ANGELES 90036

ADVENT & CHRISTMAS 2019 December 24, Vigil of Christmas 5:30pm Children’s Mass 11pm Evening Mass

December 10, 7pm Penance Service December 12, 5pm Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 25, Christmas Day 8am, 10am, 12pm Masses

December 22, 5pm & December 23, 7pm Simbang Gabi, Filipino Advent Mass at Night

December 31, New Year’s Eve 8pm New Year’s Eve Mass

2019 Annual Christmas Fundraiser Dinner & Dance

January 1, 2020, New Year’s Day 9am Mass

December 14, 2019 at 6:30pm Wilshire Country Club, 401 N Rossmore 90004 $125 per person | RSVP by December 6, 2019 Join our Christmas Raffle and win fabulous raffle and door prizes! $10 single raffle ticket, $40 for five tickets Questions? parish@cathedralchapel.org

Tel. 323-930-5976 | www.cathedralchapel.org

Alexandria Ave., is accepting donations of gifts or gift cards until Christmas. Contact Michele Richards at 213-3812649 or michele@alexandriahouse.org. • • • Covenant House of California, 1325 N. Western Ave., has a wish list on its website. The local shelter also appreciates donations of gift cards and items such as towels, blankets, books, clothes and portable chargers. Call 323-461-3131 or visit covenanthousecalifornia.org. ••• Good Shepherd Center for Homeless Women and Children, 1650 Rockwood St., has wish lists for items needed by adults, children, teens and people moving into their own apartments on their website, but also check Amazon for a list. Gift cards from grocers, retailers and bookstores also are helpful. Call 213-482-1834 or visit gschomeless.org/donate-an-item. • • • Drop off gifts for the “HoHo-Hollygrove Holiday Gift Drive” at 5930 Gregory Ave. Wanted this year are unwrapped gifts for children ages infant to 17 years, wrap-

VOLUNTEERS AT St. Anne’s with donated gifts.

TOY DRIVE gifts beneath tree at St. Anne’s.

ping paper, tissue, gift tags, as well as gift cards to grocery and retail stores. Cash donations designated for the holiday drive are also appreciated. Gifts can be accepted between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. through Fri., Dec. 6. Local pickups are also available. Contact Camille Guerrero, at 323-769-7135 or camille. guerrero@upliftfs.org. Hollygrove is a division of Uplift Family Services. A final note: Try to match donations to what is needed. It might be tempting to clear out a closet or the toy box for

donating, and sometimes that is helpful. However, it is also important to make sure donations are actually going to good use. Look at the wish lists or ask the organizations what is needed. Sometimes, the best option is a cash donation, which allows the organization flexibility in applying the funds to what is most needed. Never just leave food or clothing just at the door or near encampments. Drop items off at approved locations or the items may not get used and can just end up adding trash to our streets.

December 2019

Sing-alongs for the holidays at Big Sunday

Christmas at st. Brendan Sacrament of Reconciliation for Christmas Thursday, December 19 • 11 – 12 noon, 4 – 5 p.m. Friday, December 20 • 11 – 12 noon, 4 – 5 p.m. Saturday, December 21 • 4 – 4:30 p.m.

Enjoy a sing-along with seniors for Hanukkah, and get into the spirit of the season at holiday parties and concerts this month at Big Sunday, 6111 Melrose Ave., The sing-along with seniors for Hanukkah is Wed., Dec. 11, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Hear holiday music by singers and musicians in the Big Sunday community Sat., Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. Have more fun with caroling and Christmas treats Sun., Dec. 15, 3 to 5 p.m. at the annual holiday party. Big Sunday also has a complete list of other ways to volunteer or be involved over the holidays. Call 323-549-9944 or visit bigsunday.org.

Christmas EvE mass sChEdulE Tuesday, December 24 • 4 p.m. & 6 p.m. Vigil Mass at 9 p.m. Christmas day sChEdulE Wednesday, December 25 • 8 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m. NEw yEar’s EvE day Tuesday, December 31, 2019 • 8 a.m. NEw yEar’s day Wednesday, January 1, 2020 • 8 a.m. 300 South Van neSS aVenue • (323) 936-4656

©LC1219

SECTION ONE

First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood 1760 N. Gower St. 90028 323-463-7161

Sunday Worship Services 8:30am & 11:00am

Hope Lutheran Church

Christmas Concert-Sunday, December 8 2:30pm in the Sanctuary

of Hollywood

Wednesday Worship in Advent (12/4, 12/11, 12/18)

Tuesday, December 24 • 7pm and 11 pm Candlelight Christmas Eve Service with courtyard caroling

7:00pm in Wylie Chapel

Christmas Eve Worship Services 5:00pm & 10:00pm in the Sanctuary

6720 Melrose Ave. • 323-938-9135 hopelutheranchurch.net

Ecclesia Gnostica Gnostic Christian Church Bishop Dr. Stephan Hoeller Sunday Eucharist 11:00am Wednesday Eucharist Eucharist 8:30pm 8:30pm Lectures • Fridays••8pm 8pm Wednesday • Fridays

307

2560 N. Beachwood Dr., Hollywood • 323-467-2685 3363 Glendale Boulevard, Atwater, Los Angeles • 323-467-2685

©LC0216

go to www.fpch.org for more details

©LC1219

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

Wilshire Rotary’s

Christmas Tree Lot

• •

on Larchmont!

Freshly Cut Oregon Trees, Douglas Fir and Noble, Wreaths & Garlands Tabletop to 10 foot sizes available Pre-ordered trees available for selection & pickup November 29

Open Daily & Weekends

Thru December 23 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

• •

Sunday, November 29 thru Wednesday, December 23 Weekdays - 3 to 7 pm, Weekends - 10 am to 8 pm

Fresh-cut Douglas, Noble & Silvertip* trees Wreaths & Garland

Larchmont Blvd. Fresh-Cut Trees Arrive Weekly568 on North Our Lot Across from Page Private School

Delivery Available • 323-464-1935

you’re goingof to Silvertips buy Christmasavailable trees this year, please help Rotary invest in our com* LimitedIf number munity. 100% of the proceeds go to The Wilshire Rotary Foundation & are spent in support of humanitarian, educational, and cultural programs and their operations. So celebrate the holidays and know that your money spent at our lot is going to help others — a win, win for everyone!!! Our Christmas Tree lot is located on Larchmont Blvd. across from Page Private School (between Beverly & Melrose).

568 N. Larchmont Blvd.(Between Beverly & Melrose)

©LC1218

Net proceeds from the Christmas Tree Lot go to the Rotary International Foundation and the Wilshire Rotary Foundation to benefit Rotary Service Projects in our community and around the world. For more information visit www.rotary.org or www.wilshirerotary.org.

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LARCHMONT VILLAGE FLORIST Michelle & Staff

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Wishing you Peace, Love & Joy

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

LARCHMONT CLEANERS

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Larchmont

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

Peace on Earth & Goodwill to All

Larchmont Animal Clinic 316 N. Larchmont Blvd. (323) 463-4889

from all of us at

The Barking Lot PAGE ACADEMY 336 N. Larchmont Blvd. (323) 464-3031

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Santa “Sees” You!

ZAVALA ELECTRIC Bernie Zavala • (818) 500-7778

Happy ays! Holid

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Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

n’s s g n i t ree

SECTION ONE

Happy Holidays

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SECTION ONE

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

Marat ‘Nutcracker’ comes to life this holiday season A Sugar Plum Fairy, waltzing snowflakes and toy soldiers are among holiday favorites in Marat Daukayev Ballet Theatre’s magical performance of “The Nutcracker.” More than 150 dancers, many from our neighborhoods, will twirl and leap in seven shows this month at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex, 5151 State University Drive on the Cal State University campus. Performances are Sat., Dec. 7 at 2 and 7 p.m.; Sun., Dec. 8 at 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; Sat., Dec. 14 at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sun., Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. Former Kirov ballet star Marat Daukayev will dance the role of Drosselmeyer alongside his amazing students to Tchaikovsky’s score. Dancers of all ages will be featured, including acclaimed guest artists. The school moved from its longtime Miracle Mile address recently to a 10,000-squarefoot space on the second floor of the Equitable Plaza building at 3435 Wilshire Blvd. For tickets and more information visit maratdaukayev. com.

SCENE from The Nutracker in a previous Marat production.

Photo by Sharon Cavanaugh

Farmers Market (Continued from page 1)

both venues. Read below for a schedule of events. Visit farmersmarketla.com and thegrovela.com. Original Farmers Market Fri., Dec. 6 – Salvation Army Kettle Kick Off and tree lighting with live music and singalongs, 5 p.m. Weds., Dec. 18 to Tues., Dec., 24 – Carolers, live music, holiday arts and crafts, Farmers Market hours. Sun., Dec. 22 – Hanukkah Celebration with a lighting

of a giant Lego Menorah, live music and arts and crafts, 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Grove Mon., Nov. 18 to Tues., Dec. 24 – Santa’s Workshop is open, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Make reservations online. Sun., Dec. 29 – Menorah lighting at the central fountains with live music at 6 p.m. The trolley runs Sunday through Thursday, noon to 7:45 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 1 to 8:45 p.m. The trolley takes a break to recharge 3:45 to 5 p.m. daily.

St. Brendan holiday boutique Dec. 8

Find unique gifts for friends and family at the holiday boutique at St. Brendan School, 238 S Manhattan Pl., Sun., Dec. 8 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Located at the school’s parish center, the boutique will feature vendors selling apparel and home goods as well as art, toys, school merchandise and holiday décor. Proceeds from sales will go to support the school. Call 213-382-7401.

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Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

Electric cars debut at L.A. Auto Show and challenge Tesla’s dominance By Steven Rosenthal Technology and innovation highlighted the newest electric cars from the 2019 Auto Show that ended at the Los Angeles Convention Center Dec. 1. Enthusiasts and auto testers will measure these newbies by how the new electric car models will compare to Tesla’s Model S. Going back five years, the car company financiers took a wait-and-see attitude with Tesla’s innovative electric anomaly. Then, they watched as Tesla moved 250,000 cars, and they realized they had done too much waiting and too little seeing. To their dismay, Tesla did so well it outsold Mercedes, Porsche and Audi combined in the U.S. Not to be outdone by Tesla, avowed Tesla predators spent millions, if not longterm billions, of dollars to shape, add tech and build the best performance electrics. Porsche went for the jug-

2020 PORSCHE TAYCAN electric debuts with smooth sports car looks and Porsche racing heritage.

MUSTANG E-MACH for 2020 is a four-door electric crossover that features familiar Mustang design cues.

ular, challenging Tesla with Porsche’s legendary high-performance pedigree on the inside and Porsche design smoothness on the outside. They gave it the name Taycan, which is a mixture of two Turkic words that loosely translate to “soul of a spirited young horse.” Taycan is pricey, as Porsches go, at $190,000, while the defender, Tesla Model S, weighs in at $90,000. A closer look at the

The future EQ concepts look hot, technological and stylish. Today’s EQ SUVs are for people who want their electrics to remain anonymous at the mall, and who identify with the “I don’t care if you can’t see that I have an electric vehicle” crowd. EQs have a modest 252-mile range. Almost every car brand offered an electric. Cadillac was a no show, despite their website

performance numbers reveals a Tesla win on quickness by tenths of a second, and another win on battery range with a 370-mile range to Porsche’s 220 miles on a single charge. Audi showed a tweaked production version of what was last year’s SUV e-tron concept for $75,000. Mercedes rolled out the first of many models planned for their EQ or Electric Intelligence line.

declaring. “Cadillac is charging ahead with electrification.” An auto show surprise was sired from the Mustang stable. Ford debuted a performance Mustang called the e-Mach ($40,000 – $70,000), depending on your options. All e-Machs arrive with electric power and the pony’s familiar design cues. Targeted EPA estimated range is about 300 miles.

HOLA celebrates opening of new arts center

60th annual holiday celebration at the Music Center

Angelenos of all ages are invited to the 60th annual Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Tues., Dec. 24 from 3 to 6 p.m. The free event will feature dance, and choral and instrumental musical performances.

Sip and shop with JLLA Dec. 8

The Junior League of Los Angeles’ 20th annual Harvest Boutique will be held on Sun., Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Montage Beverly Hills. A VIP shopping hour will be followed by brunch and a silent auction. For tickets and more information visit JLLA.org.

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Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) will celebrate the opening of a new Arts, Entertainment and Enrichment Center, 615 S. Lafayette Park Pl., with a dedication ceremony Sat., Dec. 7 starting at 11 a.m. City Council President Herb Wesson and Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks officials will be on hand to dedicate the 25,000-square-foot building made of 47 recycled shipping containers at Lafayette Park. The ceremony will be followed by a community block party at noon, hosted by E Entertainment’s Justin Sylvester. The party will feature performances by 2019 American Idol finalist Alejandro Aranda as Scarypoolparty, and by the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s and Gustavo Dudamel’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA). Visit heartofla.org/events.

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

FIRST CENTURY FAMILIES luncheon was in the main dining room of The California Club. Photo by Suzan Filipek

Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and Peter Fetterman Gallery present

Around the Town (Continued from page 10)

Beyond the Shadows: The Holocaust and the Danish Exception Photographs by Judy Glickman Lauder On exhibit November 4 – January 5

LOS ANGELES MUSEUM OF THE HOLOCAUST er 1939 100 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036 • 323.651.3704 ation Camp, Poland, 2018www.lamoth.org • Admission always free o

nual luncheon of First Century Families, descendants of Los Angeles pioneers who arrived here in 1881 or before. This year’s speaker was Diane Hoffman Dixon, who grew up in Windsor Square and spoke about her great-grandfather, Lynden Behymer, and the founding of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. [The Behymer family story and the family’s local houses are set out in Section 2, beginning on Page 4.] At the Nov. 7 luncheon, local attendees included JoAnn Clark, Diane and Hank Hilty, James Inman, Carolyn Layport, Ynez O’Neill, Sarane Van Dyke and Evelyn Vodhanel. Luncheon Chair John Welborne was especially glad to

see his former teacher from Third Street School (in 1958), Carol Thueson, attending as a guest of the Dixon family. • • • Nov. 10 proved to be a busy Sunday for locals. In the morning, Carolyn Ramsay, Windsor Square, kicked off the all-day Griffith Park Festival. In the afternoon, Hancock Park’s Judge Dean Hansell and Eric Kugler opened their 1920s Tudor-style home to the Los Angeles Conservancy’s Cornerstone Members. Among those attending were Toby Horn and Harold Tomin, who have their own historic home, a Paul Williams design in Miracle Mile North. Later in the day, June Street’s former resident, Harry Chandler, and wife Ceci were hosts for a (Please turn to page 21)

Alexander N. (Sandy) Campbell, Jr.: 1942 - 2019 S

andy Campbell grew up on the corner of June Street and Melrose. From there on his bicycle, he could pedal to all the places in Hancock Park that would mold him into the man he would become. On the way home from Third Street School each day, he could stop in at his grandparents’ house on Las Palmas, where his grandmother would often slip him a dollar, which he could use to shop on Larchmont. Once home, he could pedal across to the John C. Fremont Library, where he no doubt began his lifelong love of reading or to the Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC), where he learned the foundations of the game of tennis that would take him to the CIF Championships with the Harvard School tennis team and years of doubles matches with his father at LATC. Some days he would call his childhood friend, Dick Hillman, to meet him on Larchmont to buy comics with the dollar from his grandmother or maybe records at Stratt’s. It was a short pedal to the vacant lot on a cul de sac off June Street for baseball practice, and an even shorter pedal to his

BATTING practice; sister Suzie as catcher.

other grandparents’ house on June Street. When he wasn’t busy with all these activities, you’d probably find him involved with his Cub Scout pack. In 1965, Sandy’s family moved to that house on Las Palmas. His grandfather had built the house in 1926, when he brought his family to California from Kansas. There was virtually nothing around it. At the time, from the upstairs windows, you could see the oil derricks at Gilmore Field. In 1965, outside that upstairs window, Sandy spied the girl next door, Judy Minor, THIRD STREET SCHOOL Halloween parade in 1948 had Sandy and his who three sister Suzie on the sidelines, as seen in the Los Angeles Herald-Express.

years later would become his wife. From 1966-69, the U.S. Army took Sandy away from Hancock Park, as far away as Vietnam for a year. But when he returned from overseas in 1968 and married Judy, they settled in Hancock Park, where they raised their daughter, Alexandra. He and his father had an office on Larchmont for many years from which they ran the family businesses while Judy was working at Marlborough School. So as the accolades pour in about Sandy Campbell, who passed away in October, it’s good to remember those formative years he spent riding his bike around Hancock Park and how they contributed to the man so many valued as a friend, respected as a true gentleman, and admired as an extraordinary husband and father. His passing leaves a void not easily filled in the lives of so many, but most of all, his wife, Judy, and daughter, Alexandra.

GETTING TIPS from Herb Flam at the Los Angeles Tennis Club in 1954.

ACTORS Lyn Osborn, left, and Ed Kemerer of ABC-TV’s science fiction thriller, “Space Patrol,” with Third Street School Scouts (left to right) Sandy Campbell, Bobbie Danziger, Neil Rasmussen, Bruce Reisenberg, Warren Jones and Stephen Gill.

SANDY CAMPBELL in 2018

Adv.

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

JUDGE DEAN HANSELL welcomed Toby Horn and Harold Tomin at a Conservancy event.

Around the Town (Continued from page 20)

“History Salon” at their penthouse loft near Grand Central Market on Broadway. Fascinating speakers were Dr. William Estrada, who described the history of Exposition Park; Liz Goldwyn, who read from her fictional stories of 1890s Los Angeles ladies of the evening; and David Kipen, who read some of the missives from his recent book, “Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018.” Among locals enjoying the salon were Caroline and Frank Moser and Janna and Jim Harris. • • • Yet another wildly inspiring evening happened on Nov. 15 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. It was the 2019 Big Bash of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles (BBBS), a venerated group in its 40th year. The lively crowd included the “Littles,” passionate supporters and their guests. They were all there to honor and applaud Nina Jacobson, founder and CEO of Color

HISTORY SALON attendees in the DTLA Chandler loft include Caroline and Frank Moser and Janna and Jim Harris.

Force production group, and entrepreneur Michael Green for their devotion and generosity to the youth of our city. BBBS board chairman Brock Moseley spoke of his employees at Miracle Mile Advisors and how, despite loving their work, they felt a need to give back somehow. Being paired with a Little Brother or Little Sister was the perfect choice. Ever the gracious host, Mr. Moseley greeted and shook every hand during dinner. “We are not saviors, we are allies,” he stated, re-enforcing that 82 percent of the young participants go on to college. In attendance was one of the allies, Imax President Megan Colligan, whose “Little,” Brianna, has been successfully guided to university. Also there was one of Ms. Colligan’s and Stephen Galloway’s three sons, Jesse. Brock Moseley’s wife Susan, Joe Giunta, Steve Soboroff, Carlene and John Miller, Sarah Krupta

and Jeff Rao, Elisabeth and Tim Ward, and Cindi and Neil Smith were among the other support-

SECTION ONE

BIG BROTHERS Big Sisters Bash welcomed Megan Colligan and son Jesse.

ALSO AT THE BBBS BASH were Susan and Brock Moseley. Photos by Vince Bucci

ers in attendance. The knowledge that there are 200 children on the organization’s waiting list encouraged the bidding at auction to

exceed $500,000. The organization seeks more possible “Bigs” to volunteer to step up to the plate. And that’s the chat!

All that you are, you are here A WARM WELCOME. A tapestry of friendship. A place where there is room to be yourself. Find the gem of authenticity in a community within a community. Kingsley Manor is a pastiche of Hollywood grandeur and modern living, six miles to Beverly Hills, ten minutes to Walt Disney Concert Hall and L.A.’s best restaurants. Discover the art of living right in the heart of Hollywood. At Kingsley

TWO MUSEUMS were visible as the sun set at the Nov. 2 “Art + Film” gala at the County Art Museum. LACMA’s Resnick Pavilion is in the foreground, and the glass dome over the Academy Museum’s rooftop Dolby Terrace is beyond.

Stories

(Continued from page 12) caused the person to end up experiencing homelessness in the first place,” says Schallert. “Supportive housing looks like any other housing,” explained Tommy Newman of the United Way, and who grew up in Windsor Square, gesturing to a slide show of low-income housing. “It provides dignity but still mimics the architecture of the neighborhood.” Wells and Schallert are encouraging homeowners to think outside the box – for instance, turning their ADU (accessory dwelling unit) property structures into affordable housing units with the help of a supportive service agency. Several incentive programs are asking homeowners to do just that.

“Refurbishing your garage is a way to increase your property value while helping someone at the same time,” encourages Wells.

Correction:

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Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

Take the elevator to the 71st floor for this culinary treat I recently had a spectacular “Ladies Who Lunch” day with a college friend who was visiting from the Midwest. It takes a special kind of friend to jump at the suggestion that we hang out at the library, but jump she did. We headed for the Central Library downtown and lucked into a parking spot directly in front of the 5th Street entrance. Having downloaded a self-guided tour, we entered that beautiful space and followed the directions to see the wall murals, painted rotundas, sculptures and collections. In honor of its

miraculous recovery from the worst library fire in Los Angeles history, we visited their gift shop and bought signed copies of Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book.” It was a glorious morning. We had planned to finish our adventure with a typical Los Angeles lunch of cheap tacos, but after wandering through the library’s garden and finding our way back to the car, I noticed that we were across the street from the US Bank Tower, also known as the Library Tower because the city sold air rights to the building’s

On the Menu by

Helene Seifer developers to help pay for the reconstruction of the Central Library (planned and financed long before the 1986 fire). The second tallest building in Los Angeles (after Wilshire Grand Center) is known for a glassenclosed 45-foot exterior slide just under 1,000 feet above

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with green apple slivers for a fruity zing, and enhanced with Eastern Asian flavors of coconut curry, crushed peanuts, tamarind, and Thai basil, these little cabbages were uplifted beyond the usual pedestrian treatments. For our entrees, we chose pork and diver scallops. Two small, but thick, pork medallions were cooked to pink in the middle and served on grits, accompanied by a scattering of haricots vert and baby ears of corn. Grilled peach wedges provided a welcome sweet note. It was a good dish, cooked to a tad more than optimum juiciness and a salt pinch shy of full flavor, but definitely outdone by the scallops. Two plump scallops nestled in a puddle of corn kernels, charred chopped poblano, discs of summer squash and zucchini cream. It was a sophisticated Latin-flavored take on creamed corn that perfectly enhanced the sweet bivalves. This rare and indulgent mid-week lunch was a perfect way for two friends to celebrate our time together. Dare I say the tastes were elevated to the 71st floor? 71Above, 633 W. 5th Street, 213-712-2683. Contact Helene at onthemenu@larchmontchronicle.com

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the city, and for 71Above, the restaurant and bar with 360 degree views on the 71st floor. Suddenly a fancy lunch in a restaurant with a connection to the Library seemed like a better idea. There are several options for dining in the Library Tower: the formal restaurant, the bar, and the Skylounge. We opted for the bar, and we settled in with martinis. Chef Javier Lopez offers an extensive $35 two-course prix fixe lunch: the fall menu presents seven choices to start, including hamachi crudo with melon curry and pickled gooseberry and parsnip soup with apple mostarda. The nine second-course selections include crab squid ink pasta with calabrian chili and bottarga and young chicken achiote with pickled cherry tomato and tomatillo mustard. We selected roasted beets and brussels sprouts as our first course. The beet wedges were served with a multi-textured and chewy combination of farro, bulgar and buckwheat, alongside chickpeas and cucumber. Preserved lemon brightened the flavors, and a bed of sumac-dusted yogurt pushed the common root vegetable toward the Middle East. Brussels sprouts were even better. Roasted until crisp, served

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By Julia Stier Without the arrival of snow typical to other areas, one of the surest ways to mark the change of seasons in Los Angeles is by indulging in one of the winter-themed drinks popping up on menu boards at all of our favorite coffee shops. It’s time for the Pumpkin Spice Lattes to make room for Peppermint Mochas and Eggnog Lattes. And just in time for the holidays, The Original Farmer’s Market also welcomes a new purveyor of coffee. Green Maya is the Market’s latest coffee purveyor, and it joins six colleagues in caffeinating: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Starbucks, Charlie’s Coffee Shop, Bob’s Coffee and Doughnuts, Coffee Corner and T-Shop. At Green Maya, it’s coffee,

not cups of same, for sale. Customers may purchase bags of coffee beans to brew at home. Although you can’t order a cup to drink on the spot, Marius Daniel Popa, CEO of Green Maya, stands ready to serve samples of their organic specialty coffees. Popa shares that this Green Maya location is serving as a prototype for possible future, full-service Green Maya coffee shops. Green Maya — which takes its name from a claim by National Geographic that organic specialty coffee was one of the top Mayan foods — harvests its coffee beans from South and Central America. The company’s website promises that all of the products are “fair-trade, coming from sustainable and traceable sources.” (Please turn to page 23)

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Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

SECTION ONE

Chili dog sales support charities

Hear Mozart like it’s 1791 with some fine tuning from the Kasimoffs Just in time for the holidays, Mozart’s uplifting opera “The Magic Flute” is on stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion through Dec. 15. The pianoforte in the Los Angeles Opera production is a replica of the original, Kyril Kasimoff of Kasimoff-Blüthner Piano Co. tells us. The Larchmont Blvd. store delivered the early-music piano to the Pavilion in time for rehearsals, and store staff continues to tune the instrument to critical acclaim. “It’s getting rave reviews for its natural sound,” Helga Kasimoff tells us.

“Serge, my eldest, is at every performance, and he stayed for all the rehearsals,” she explains. The opera first premiered in 1791, while this much newer Komische Oper Berlin production is set in the silent film era. Another instrument from the family-owned Larchmont Blvd. store that is in the spotlight this month is its celesta. The instrument’s soft, ethereal notes can be heard in the score of the new TriStar movie with Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” “We have [instruments in] two prominent productions right now,” Helga says.

Winter flavors

cupday. Starbucks’ featured beverages include their popular flavors, Peppermint Mocha, Eggnog and Chestnut Praline. There are plenty of other coffee shops to curl up in on Larchmont Blvd., including Go Get Em Tiger (230 North) and Groundwork Coffee (150 North). Peet’s Coffee (124 North) is also rolling out a variety of cozy coffee choices including Peppermint Mocha, Pumpkin Latte, Holiday Spice Latte, Dark Chocolate Orange Mocha and Citrus & Spice Latte. With so many options in the area you’ll be sure to find your favorite festive flavor!

(Continued from page 22) Holiday drinks With the holidays right around the corner, many local coffee shops are offering tempting new winter-themed specialties. Two shops with the most anticipated offerings are Starbucks and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and there are plenty of both of these popular businesses to be found in the Larchmont area. A count by the Larchmont Chronicle found there to be approximately 10 Starbucks and seven The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf locations between Western Ave. and Fairfax Ave. and between Melrose Ave. and Olympic Blvd. “Red Cup Day,” Nov. 8., marked the beginning of Starbucks’ winter drink season, further signified by the company’s transition to serving coffee in festive red cups. Starbucks aficionados took to social media and uploaded pictures of themselves sipping their favorite seasonal drinks with the tag #red-

Windsor Village Association annual meeting is Dec. 8

The annual meeting of the Windsor Village Association is Sun., Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. at the home of Diane Dicksteen, 900 S. Lucerne Blvd. Election for new board members is on the agenda.

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of serving hot dogs (now in more than 40 combinations) to Angelenos and visitors, Paul and Betty‘s children, Beverly and Richard, and Richard’s wife Gloria, organized a “Chili Dogs for Charity” event selling 80-cent hot dogs for eight days starting at 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. (The limit per person was 8 hot dogs, by the way.) One hundred percent of the proceeds were donated to charity. The charities were selected by celebrity friends of Pink’s who came to help serve at the counter. The leadoff chilislingers were Mayor Eric

PINK’S HOT DOGS staff got help from Mayor Eric Garcetti and maestro Gustavo Dudamel during a November “Chili Dogs for Charity” event.

Garcetti and the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s maestro Gustavo Dudamel on Nov. 8. Sub-

sequent evenings saw, among other helpers, George Lopez and Justin Turner.

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EIGHTY YEARS is cause for celebrities, including local officials, to celebrate at the original Pink’s Hot Dogs on La Brea and Melrose avenues. Here, the mayor tempts Gustavo Dudamel as the maestro arrives to help serve hot dogs.

By John Welborne The year 1939 saw many world-shaking events, but there also was a local event of note … that seemed very small at the time. Paul and Betty Pink opened a diminutive business on rented real estate — just a pushcart — where they sold hot dogs to passersby for a dime and Cokes for a nickel. Now, in 2019, 80 years later, the business is much expanded and on real estate owned by the family. To celebrate the eight decades

Larchmont Chronicle

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

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An astonishingly good man is in the Neighborhood; five other good films A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (8/10): 108 minutes. PG. Tom Hanks gives his finest performance in this biopic that adds strong supporting performances by Matthew Rhys and Chris Cooper, among others. It’s hard to believe that a man is this pure but this film started with a standup by Mr. Rogers’ widow, Joanne, vouching for it. Telling the story of a troubled magazine writer doing an article on him as a vehicle to tell Mr. Rogers’ story is uniquely effective to capture the essence of an astonishingly good man. Ford v Ferrari (8/10): 150 minutes. PG-13. While entertaining with good racing sequences, this plays fast and loose with the truth. As just two examples, it paints Ford executive Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas) as a villain when there is very little evidence of that and makes driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale) look like a malcontent

when the truth is just the opposite. Both actors give awardquality performances. It’s disappointing that Hollywood always seems to take such liberties to “beef up” a story that doesn’t need any beefing. The Good Liar (8/10): 109 minutes. R. Con man Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen) puts the moves on rich widow Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren) through an online dating service. Roy is a smooth old codger and Betty is bewitched. I feel sorry for the people who have read the novel (not that it’s not a good one) because they know from the outset what’s going on. I didn’t read it and, as a result, enjoyed this immensely. Mirren gives her usual award-quality performance, but so does McKellen. Although it’s mostly talk, Condon directs with a fine sense of pace. This is a good one, despite a huge plot hole

At the Movies with

Tony Medley that most won’t notice. Knives Out (8/10): 130 minutes. PG-13. It was hard to believe that this Agatha Christie-type mystery was 10 minutes over two hours because it keeps moving throughout without one slow minute. Highlighted by a captivating performance by Daniel Craig imagining Hercule Poirot as a Southerner, aided by a fine cast of supporting actors and actresses, including Chris Evans, Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Plummer and Don Johnson, the twists come one after another along with a bewitching lightness.

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Scandalous: The Story of the National Enquirer (8/10): 96 minutes. NR. Gene Pope, Jr., wanted to emulate his father, a “made man” in the New York Mafia who ran an Italian newspaper there, so he bought another New York paper, with money supplied by Mafia chieftain Frank Costello, renamed it “The National Enquirer,” and moved its headquarters to Florida. He made the paper insanely successful as a tabloid sold in supermarkets, and he filled the paper with “inquiring” journalists who dug up the dirt on celebrities. This is a fascinating documentary about what was at one time a hugely popular paper. Very Ralph (8/10): 108 minutes. NR. This is an intriguing look at designer Ralph Lauren (né Lifshitz). While Ralph was not trained in fashion, Woody Allen sums his accomplish-

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ments up well: “The key to his success is an instinctive understanding that his taste spoke for millions and millions of people. It wasn’t trying to figure out what they liked; it was what he liked. He was betting that what he liked, they would like. And he was very, very right.” (HBO.) Midway (3/10): 138 minutes. PG-13. This fits right in with the old hokey B movies that Hollywood churned out by the dozens during World War II, including the platitudinous dialogue. The first hourplus is so uninvolving and clichéd it’s soporific. It is directed by Roland Emmerich, who is responsible for “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004) and “White House Down” (2013), two of the dumbest movies I’ve ever had the misfortune to endure. It should not come as a surprise that this film is so poorly done. The only reason I don’t give this terrible film a zero is because the attack by the dive-bombers on the Japanese aircraft carriers is very well done. It shows the harrowing danger of diving to bomb a ship in the face of immense anti-aircraft bullets that were being thrown at them. It’s amazing that any of them survived, but it certainly emphasizes the courage of the pilots who kept on coming. The rest of the movie is an insult to what is one of the great battles in the history of the world (like virtually ignoring Torpedo Squadron 8 that lost all 16 planes and all the truly heroic pilots but one). Charlie’s Angels (2/10): 120 minutes. R. I guess women want to prove they can do anything a man can do, including making senseless “action” films that have no raison d’être. Director Elizabeth Banks has done it in spades with this movie. It’s got all the stuff men put in their puerile action movies: ridiculous car chases, fights delivering one killing blow after another with the combatants always jumping up for more virtually unscathed, banal dialogue that is intended to be clever, scenes that make no sense whatever, falls that defy physics, papier-mâché characters, etc., etc., etc. This is a film without reason, wit or charm.

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Stories told with country music; Iceland’s frightening Nazi threat Salvage, book by Tim Alderson, music and lyrics by Mark Heard, Pat Terry, Rudy Vanwarmer and Tim Alderson, is billed as a play with music. The play takes place in a rundown, out-of-the-way bar, excellent scenic design by Joel Daavid. Preacher (David Atkinson) a lone guitarist, is strumming and drinking from a bottomless whiskey bottle. Bartender Johnson (Leonard Earl Howze) is deep into a puzzle book. Harley (Christopher Fordinal) arrives looking for the bar where Floyd Whitaker, a somewhat famous musical star, died. He’s found it. Harley is on his way to pawn his guitar; his wife Destiny (Nina Herzog) is pregnant with their first child. So, this is a pilgrimage to visit his hero’s last gig and possibly say goodbye to a lifestyle he loves. What follows is an exploration of weighing dreams and

aspirations against responsibility paced with some very sweet country music. As the story is told, songs like “I’m So Tired of It All,” “House of Broken Dreams” and Destiny’s “Everything is Alright” reveal the characters’ deeper emotions. The singing voices of Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Fordinal and Ms. Herzog are terrific, resonating with just the right amount of emotion and perfect country timbre. Director Damian D. Lewis has melded the music and dialogue seamlessly. The ending ties it all together in a satisfying conclusion, connecting the

seemingly disparate stories. This is a lovely interlude in the theater with some terrific music, talented performers and a satisfying play. Don’t miss it. Through Sun., Dec. 15, Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, 323-960-7712, onstage411. com/salvage. 4 Stars ••• The island of Hrísey off Iceland’s Northern Coast. Spring 1942. Invasion by Nazi Germany is a frightening reality. This is the set-up for The Defenders by Cailin Maureen Harrison. Three American GIs — Sgt. Frank McKinely (Tavis Doucette), Pvt. Fred LeFleur (Spencer Martin) and Lt. Marcus Jansen (Bryan Porter) — find shelter in an abandoned church, (excellent scenic design by David Goldstein). The play centers on their struggle to survive,

isolated and alone with a broken radio, damaged and missing weapons, constant threat of discovery and a series of unnatural and natural, yet unexplainable, phenomena: fluttering lights, earthquakes, lightning strikes, incessant rain and more. Tempering the situation is local Rev. Geir Stirdson (a terrific John P. Connolly) and his daughter Vigdis Geirdottir (Una Egerts). The reverend takes great pride in his country and is fiercely loyal. The residents of Hrísey fear the loss of their culture, their women and their safety with the presence of foreigners on their land. According to playwright Harrison, “the play examines the relationship between political and natural environments.” Director Reena Dutt keeps the intensity of the soldiers at a fevered pitch with only some respite. Mr. Martin’s (Pvt. LeFleur) Cajun

Holiday Fun Celebrate the Season at The Original Farmers Market Friday, December 6

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accent is hard to understand. Through Sun., Dec. 8, The Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-9605770, onstage411.com/defenders. 3 Stars

A PAS DE DEUX from “Don Quixote” performed at last year’s ABT Holiday Gala featured Isabella Boylston and Aran Bell. Photo by Vince Bucci

Holiday dinner gala with a twirl

American Ballet Theatre (ABT) will host its annual Holiday Gala dinner and one-nightonly performance at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Mon., Dec. 16. The performance will feature ABT dancers, with principal dancers Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Sterns and Devon Teuscher scheduled to appear. Honorary Chair of the ABT Holiday Gala is Jennifer Garner. Cocktail reception is at 7:30 p.m., the performance with dinner, and dessert with the dancers to follow. Tickets start at $1,000. Contact Judy Levy at Judy@lpaevents.com or 310-201-5033 Ext. 2.

Carol-athon to visit local houses Dec. 14; book now

Silverlake Conservatory of Music (SCM) is holding its annual Carol-athon fundraiser on Sat., Dec. 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. For a $100 donation, more than 75 singers will visit your home to sing two holiday (Christmas or Hanukkah) favorites, sung right on your doorstep by enthusiastic carolers from SCM’s children and adult choirs. To request SCM carolers visit your house, contact Karen Gilman at 323-466-1541, gilperson2@gmail.com. Want to join the group to go caroling? Email SCM at receptionSCM@outlook.com.

Art, mingling at Pop-Up Gallery

Keller Williams Larchmont hosts its ninth annual Pop-Up Art Gallery, 118 N. Larchmont Blvd., on Sat., Dec. 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. Fifty percent of art sale proceeds will be donated to local Larchmont Charter School.

Letters

(Continued from page 2) ish signs, Reuven and Shevy Gradon got exactly what they wanted. We look forward to welcoming them to the neighborhood. Johnson Hartig N. Citrus Ave. This was such a beautiful and special home! It is devastating it is gone and extremely disappointing that lies were told that it would remain protected and loved by the new owners. And that letter is so morally corrupt after what he did. What a disgrace! And I wish he would have decided to at least remove parts of the house in a historical preservation way. I would have bought a number of parts of that incredible home. Kat J. N. Las Palmas Ave. I completely agree — so sad that deception was used to tear down a beautiful home. Casey Towle Thanks for a great article that focuses on what truly matters in this case. I’m a property rights kind of guy, and it’s a shame to lose such a lovely house. But the real travesty is that we now have a morally bankrupt, lying [person] living in our neighbor-

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019 hood that sold his name and soul for a piece of dirt. Thanks for exposing him, and may karma act swiftly. Mansfield Neighbor Isn’t this a violation of the Demolition Notification Ordinance (Scorched Earth), and can’t this Gradon putz be subjected to a 15-year moratorium on building in that nowvacant spot? Gregory Z. Hollywood, CA I live on North Mansfield Avenue, one block west of the recent thoughtless and unnecessary demolition of the home at 361 North Citrus Avenue. I did not have the pleasure of knowing the Cole family who previously lived at this location, but I did know another family who lived there prior to the Coles. Like the Coles, this family sold the property to the Coles with the express desire that the house be preserved. The Cole’s recent letter to the Larchmont Chronicle regarding the sneaky, surprise demolition of this beautiful home moved me to write this letter. I am so sorry that they were deceived by the purchasers of their property. The attitude of disregard for promises made, disregard for neighbors and neighborhood, can be summed up in a popu-

lar saying, “Get over it.” Those of us who love beauty and history will never “Get over it.” Nora Summers N. Mansfield Ave Heartless, selfish criminals, plain and simple. What you wanna bet they plan to build a McMansion… Yoo Mei

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earth” penalties for similar destruction. The penalty that new owners Reuven and Shevy Gradon will endure will be distrust and shunning by their neighbors for however many, if any, years they live there. As my grandmother and mother would say, “What a shanda.” Toby Horn Miracle Mile

Thank you for your accurate and honest report regarding the demolition of the culturally historic home at 361 N. Citrus Ave. Without proper notification, we, the neighbors, stood in horror at seeing hammers blasting out the leaded glass windows alongside a bulldozer hard at work even before a fence was in place to (Please turn to page 28)

Too bad they cannot be sued for misrepresentation and forced to rebuild that home as it was before they got their grubby paws on it. It will be a mitzvah when what they did comes back as karma. Gail Landers How very sad to lose this charming piece of special architectural history, but even more so, to lose another bit of trust in humanity and feel the hurt for the rest of your life. Lesson learned: put it in the contract! Michael Scheidt S. Sycamore Ave. As I write this, I still feel emotional about the needless and selfish demolition of 361 North Citrus Ave. Ancient teachings tell us that it is unethical to deceive someone to achieve one’s selfish gain. Other property owners have been levied with “scorched

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(Continued from page 1) ated 315 comments in four days. Multiple letters appeared in the “Park Labrea News” / “Beverly Press,” on Nov. 7 and Nov. 14, including one from a potential home buyer, Michael Rucker of Larchmont Village, who wrote on Nov. 14: “Not only am I sickened at the thought of one of my favorite houses in Los Angeles now being in

rubble, my wife and I, trying to be first time home owners, are equally disturbed and angered at the thought that we could be outbid by couples like the Gradons who misrepresent their desires to protect historically significant homes.” Protecting a home Learning how to protect a home when it is being sold was a common theme of many letters and articles stimulated by the action of Reuven Gra-

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don and his wife at 361 N. Citrus Ave. The “Larchmont Buzz” responded with a helpful Nov. 11 article about “An Architectural Loss… and Lessons Learned” that includes the recommendations: “Don’t leave preservation up to new buyers;” “Do look into preservation options well before you put your home on the market;” and “Be aware of the many kinds of preservation options” (such as Historic Preservation Overlay Zones

[HPOZs], Historic-Cultural Monument designations, National Register of Historic Places listings, and conservation easements). See: larchmontbuzz.com/featuredstories-larchmont-village/361n-citrus-ave-an-architecturalloss-and-preservation-lessonslearned. Conservation easements The Los Angeles Conservancy’s Nov. / Dec. newsletter has some guidance on using

covenants in a grant deed … that author Adrian Scott Fine describes as “the best way to save a historic resource.” In his “Easements Demystified” article, Fine explains that conservation easements can provide stronger protection than traditional landmark or historic district designation. See: tinyurl.com/uvtuegw. For more information about conservation easements, visit: laconservancy.org/easements.

Letters

here. Wake up!!

since it is not attributed to a specific individual. The locations of the wells we identified under the direct supervision of the head of Urban Forestry Tim Tyson.” I’d sure like to learn the real story, as I know you would also. Dennis Levin Norton Avenue

(Continued from page 27) protect the house next door. What was heartwarming was witnessing so many caring people from various city agencies and neighbors offering a commitment to make this area an HPOZ. It is my hope that the new dwelling will meet the standards of height and setbacks without overbearing the houses that have integrity of size with lovely front gardens. As David and Cassidy Cole so beautifully stated, “Our neighborhoods and our communities deserve better than what happened at 361 North Citrus Avenue.” Thank you for allowing our voices to be heard. Brooke Anderson N. Citrus Ave. There’s a moratorium to build? New homes add value to the neighborhood. Why do you all care so much? It’s America friends — we build and improve... HPOZ is to the south — not

Fishel Cohen Los Angeles

‘Larchmont loses two large ficus trees’

Shame on Councilman Ryu and Ronald Simms for ignoring the wishes of our neighborhood. You both lose my support over this issue! Finian Shea Johnson Windsor Square

Tree wells

Your article (Nov. 2019) about the placement of the southernmost tree re-sparked my interaction with Rob Fisher from Councilman Ryu’s office. I had previously written to him indicating that the placement of the trees led credence to the narrative that Mr. Simms and company were the drivers on all action taken. He had indicated that Urban Forestry had been the decider on tree location. His response to my “Something is not kosher” follow-up email, where I pointed out your mention of the eight feet from driveway comment from Urban Forestry. The following is his [Mr. Fisher’s] response. Please ignore his, I assume, typo in the agency name. “Yes. I don’t know where they got that information,

RESTAURANT & COCKTAILS

New voting machines?

On the John Oliver show [“Last Week Tonight” / HBO], I have recently seen a segment on the vulnerability of the nation’s voting machines, and I was wondering if there was anything a teenager like myself could do to improve the situation or, at the very least, if I could find out what kind of voting machines my local voting center uses. I am worried that when the time to vote comes, I will not be able to trust that my vote will be counted. I hope that I will be confident in the safety of the nation’s voting infrastructure in the future, but I cannot be confident while these vulnerabilities in the system exist. Again, if there any way for me to make a difference? James D’Atri Larchmont Village Ed. Note: Please read our article this month on the new voting machines, Sec. 2, page 12.

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Trees

(Continued from page 1) cent interaction I had with Rob Fisher from Councilman Ryu’s office,” wrote Dennis Levin, Norton Avenue, in a letter to the Chronicle. “I had previously written to Fisher indicating that the placement of the tree well gave credence to the narrative that Mr. Simms [a Beverly Hills developer, and landlord for the drugstore at 226 N. Larchmont Blvd.] was the driver on all action taken to remove the trees and move the tree well,” he explained. According to Levin, Fisher responded that the tree well was moved under the direct supervision of Los Angeles Chief Forester Tim Tyson. “I’d sure like to learn the real story, as I know you would also,” challenged Levin. On the decision to move the tree well location, Paul Gomez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Public Works (of which the Urban Forestry Division is a part), submitted the following statement to the Chronicle: “With a commitment to ensure that both tree wells were replaced, but taking into consideration the existence of a streetlight and driveway, the tree wells were moved slightly to accommodate the two new trees while meeting the city’s

HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019 tree spacing guidelines.” This statement raises the question of how those city guidelines have changed since the tree wells were first installed years ago. The Chronicle posed this question to Gomez, and requested from him details of the city’s tree spacing guidelines. “We are not certain of specific tree spacing guidelines that were in place when the trees on Larchmont Boulevard were planted 60 years ago,” Gomez said in a written response. “In order to have two trees remain, as was requested by members of the community, one tree was placed closer to the driveway than normal to maintain proper space between the two trees, which is important to the health of the trees and infrastructure,” he concluded.

Larchmont Chronicle

POLICE BEAT

Property crime continues, stay diligent WILSHIRE DIVISION BURGLARIES: A suspect jumped over a back gate and entered the garage of a home on the 500 block of S. Lucerne Blvd. on Oct. 27 at 6:15 p.m. before taking several items and fleeing through a side gate. Cash and jewelry were stolen from inside a home on the 600 block of S. Mansfield Ave. on Oct. 29 between 6 and 7:15 p.m. after a front window had been pried open. Unknown property was stolen from inside a home on the 400 block of N. June St. between Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. after a window had been smashed and the

SMOKE behind LC Apartments at Melrose and El Centro on November 9 signals a fire at houses destined for new apartments.

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home’s interior ransacked. OLYMPIC DIVISION BURGLARIES: Tools and a bicycle were stolen from a home on the 900 block of S. Bronson Ave. after a rear door was forced open on Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m. A hole was cut above the deadbolt lock of a front door to

a home on the 800 block of S. Bronson Ave. on Nov. 9 at 4:10 a.m. allowing suspects to enter the home and steal a safe containing cash and jewelry. GRAND THEFT AUTO: A 2001 white Ford F250 truck was stolen on the 300 block of S. Norton Ave. on Nov. 8 at 9 a.m.

FLAMES shoot through roof at Carondelet and El Centro where firefighters stand. Fire Station 29 was one of many responders.

Happy Holidays from the Westside Purple Line Extension Section 1 Team!

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HOLIDAYS — DECEMBER 2019

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Larchmont Chronicle

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