Westchester/Playa HomeTown News May edition by Westchester/Playa del Rey HomeTown News

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T h e H T N .c o m Photo by Ballerini Cooley Studios.

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Our Super Mom Honorees...page 13 2016 Super Mom honoree, Betsy Sichi, poses with her children in front of Playa del Rey’s Ballerini Cooley Studios.

It’s build a garden, grow a community for Westchester’s EACG volunteers By Sandra Saldaña

was years in the making; Garden Manager Dorothy Stone recounts that in the mid-1970s the plot of land was originally reserved for an agricultural program of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Over the years, however, it became a storage area for trash bins and weeds until a new vision finally took place.

With the combined efforts of The Environmental Change-Makers, former Wright Middle School teacher Paula Cohen, several community members and a beautification agreement with LAUSD, January 2011 marked the official ground breaking for EACG. It was around that time that current (continued on page 2)

Space Shuttle Tank Heads to Marina del Rey

2016 Teacher Honorees

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Blueberry Bread

The community of Westchester has long been a hidden gem, with only its locals knowing about the treasures that lie within. Driving down Emerson Avenue, most people might only notice schools, homes and churches, but if you look a little harder, you will find a

A Look Inside Your

HomeTown

small garden that has brought together a group of dedicated volunteers that are inviting the community to step inside the urban oasis they’ve created. Occupying an acre of land on the campus of Wright STEAM Middle School is the Emerson Avenue Community Garden (EACG). This completely volunteer run garden

Far left photos courtesy EACG.

Clockwise from top left: Seedlings are available for the taking at the garden. Westchester resident and EACG member, Eva Edwards, tends to her garden plot. The EACG marches in last year’s parade.

Growing community in Westchester (continued) (continued from page 1) garden president, John Sharpe, saw a feature in the HomeTown News asking for volunteers. Looking to help, he began donating gardening supplies, and it would be a few months before he attended an annual meeting and decided to become a part of the garden’s board. Now some three years later, he admits that although he is not an avid gardener, he got involved because of the community. “The garden’s greatest value is that it’s a resource for the entire community, which is reflected by the diversity of those who have been and are currently involved there whether they are plot holders or not,” said Sharpe. “It is a microcosm of the world at large and all are welcome.” The garden and its club are open to anyone, as Master Gardener and “Grow L.A. Victory Garden” class teacher Dana Morgan puts it, “We welcome any hand that can hold a shovel.” Being attached to a middle school, 34 garden plots are reserved for students. Another 38 temporary plots measure 300-square-feet and operate on a firstcome, first-served basis. All potential plot holders can expect to pay a small fee—$10 a month—to cover gardening tools and water. Due to popular demand, the current wait list for a plot is 25 names long. There are some rules for having a plot: you must farm organically, you can’t neglect your plot, 20 volunteer hours a year are required and 90% of allotted space must be used to plant food. With a roster of more than 200 volunteers, when the garden is open after school hours and on the weekend, visitors are sure to meet fellow gardeners and community members admiring the outdoor space. Always looking to create new partnerships, EACG has worked with Page 2 • May 2016

groups like LMU, UCLA and Girl and Boy Scout troops. Even companies like Google want to get involved and have sent groups of employees to learn about the garden and to help with beautification projects. With the environment in mind, the garden makes every effort to minimize waste and has a wonderful compost heap that gardeners can use for their plots. A favorite among children, a blue bin on the property is home to hundreds of worms to help with decomposition. Once a month, on a Wednesday afternoon, you can expect

fall, and during the winter holidays, they have held sing-alongs. For kids and their caretakers, Teacher Zsuzsi Steiner leads the garden’s weekly story time. On Wednesday afternoons at 3:30 p.m. children gather around the outdoor classroom to listen to stories, make new friends and enjoy the garden in an interactive environment. Steiner believes that the kind of foodbased education the garden offers is important to the younger generations. She hopes that it will help to, “Make the connection that things we eat come from gardens, not grocery stores.” May promises to be an exciting event month for EACG as they will hold their largest, yearly volunteer event at the garden in honor of “Big Sunday,” a citywide initiative that encourages people to volunteer with nonprofits. The community is invited to participate in this family-friendly event to learn what EACG is all about, as well as get their hand’s dirty pulling weeds, painting and mulching. The volunteer day will take place on Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Later in the month, the garden will hold its inaugural “Small Plates to see volunteers feeding them. Fundraiser” on Saturday, May 21 More than just a place to admire at 6 p.m. as a way to celebrate their varieties of kale and growing volunteers and plot holders’ hard techniques, the garden is also rich with work. Produce from the garden will be classes and activities. Sharpe says that worked into some of the dishes at the one of the main missions of the garden event. Guests will also be treated to is educating the student population live music. and greater community through classes For EACG volunteers, having social and workshops. Morgan teachers a events and activities that celebrate four-part class on the fundamentals community are a vital component of of gardening, where students learn the feeling they are trying to create at about soil, conserving water and the garden. preparing food in a manner so that Westchester resident and coit keeps a high nutritional value. The chair of the garden’s Public Relations activities provided by the garden are Committee, Travis Dina-Pham, says numerous, and the majority of them it’s always a pleasure to work with are free and open to the public. Movie fellow volunteers. Even board meetings nights are held during summer and consist of fellowship, where people are Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del

The garden’s greatest value is that it’s a resource for the entire community...

just as eager to eat and drink with each other as they are to get through the agenda. He hopes the work being done at the garden has a positive impact on the community. “We want to raise awareness that we are a strong community and that this place is built on a volunteer-basis and is a wonderful holistic experience open to anyone,” said Dina-Pham. Sharpe hopes that 2016 will be a big year for the garden. While the EACG currently has a temporary agreement to use the space with LAUSD, he is hoping that this is the year a longterm agreement will finally be signed. This would allow the garden to raise funds to upgrade the space, make the garden’s walking paths more wheelchair accessible, so it’s ADA compliant, and level out the lawn area for future classes and events. This fall, the EACG plans to hold its inaugural WAM! (Westchester Arts and Music) Festival. WAM! aims to partner with local organizations such as Otis College of Art and Design and Loyola Marymount University to showcase art in the garden, with a festive celebration full of food and music. The true community atmosphere in the Emerson Avenue Community Garden is evident to anyone the second they step foot on the grounds. Visitors can expect to be greeted warmly and enjoy a little piece of nature right in the middle of the community. As a proud Westchester resident, Stone puts it best when she says, “Our motto has always been build a garden, grow a community!” The EACG is on the campus of Wright STEAM Magnet, located on Emerson Ave. between 80th St. and 80th Pl. in Westchester. For more information, please visit eacgc.org. Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

This Month Brings You A look inside your HTN Growing community in Westchester Shuttle’s fuel tank heads to Fisherman’s Village Teacher Eddy honorees 2016 Super Mom Honorees

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HOMETOWN STAFF/CONTRIBUTORS Stephanie Davis, Publisher, Editor Jeff Blair, Contributing Writer Fay Craton, Contributing Writer

David “Duke” Dukesherer Sr., Looking Back

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Airport Marina Counseling 11 Cantalini’s Salerno Beach 15 CarenetLA 10 Covenant Presbyterian Church 11 Custom Design & Construction 07 Drollinger Properties 14, 20 El Segundo 5-Minute Carwash 06 Father/Daughter Prom 15 Food Pantry, LAX 11 Kevin and Kaz Gallaher 27 Gateway to GO! 10 LA Arts Collective 20 LAX Coworking 16 Loyola Marymount 04

Marina del Rey Hospital 28 Neighborhood Council 17 Ozel Jewelry 07 Rainbow Acres 12 Socal Sports and Fitness 24 Silver Seminar Series 25 St. Anastasia School 05 Vergari and Napolitano 20 Visitation School 23 Westside/Pacific Village 24 Westchester Lutheran 03, 21 Westchester Town Center BID 03 Westside Neighborhood School 22 Zacha Homes 26

About The HomeTown News (HTN)

The HomeTown News is a monthly community newspaper dedicated to providing information about the people, events and happenings of Westchester, Playa del Rey, Marina del Rey and Playa Vista. Look for the HomeTown News the first Thursday of the month at your home or at one of our drop-off locations.

Connect with the HTN:

Mailing Address: 8939 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. 110 #745 Westchester, CA 90045 Email: westchesterhometown@yahoo.com • Phone: (310) 641-1016 Website: thehtn.com Facebook: facebook.com/thehtn

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May 2016 • Page 3

Photo courtesy NASA.

Space shuttle external tank heads to Marina del Rey A space shuttle external fuel tank, known as ET-94 and the last of its kind, is heading to Marina del Rey. After more than a month of traveling from New Orleans through the Panama Canal by barge, ET-94 is scheduled to arrive in Marina del Rey’s Fisherman’s Village on Wednesday, May 18 at 6 a.m., according to Department of Beaches and Harbors Division Chief of Community and Marketing, Carol Baker. The ET-94 will eventually be part of the California Science Center’s Space Shuttle Endeavour exhibit and will allow the museum to showcase the shuttle in its fully upright position, as if it were about to launch. The ET-94 was one of three lightweight tanks ordered for the Space Shuttle Columbia missions. ET-94 is the only flight external tank remaining in existence because it was never used for a shuttle mission. Once the some 65,000 pound tank arrives in Marina del Rey, it will be offloaded at Fisherman’s Village and will be on display in the parking lot near El Torito restaurant. Baker

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The ET is being shipped by barge, like the one pictured here, across the Gulf of Mexico and through the Panama Canal before it makes its way to Marina del Rey.

says that while businesses and the parking lot in Fisherman’s Village will be open during the time the tank is stored there, due to the high demand to see ET-94, parking in and around the area is expected to be difficult. On Friday, May 20, from 5 to 9 p.m., the Department of Beaches and Harbors will host a “Party in the Park” to celebrate ET-94’s

arrival. The event will take place in Burton Chace Park, located at 13650 Mindanao Way in Marina del Rey and will feature a DJ, food trucks, science exhibits, space-themed carnival games and family-friendly activities. Parking in county lots 4, 5 and 77 is recommended and the free Beach Shuttle will allow visitors to get to and from the park.

The ET-94 will be displayed in Marina del Rey from Wednesday, May 18 through Friday, May 20, before it is expected to leave at midnight on Saturday, May 21. From Marina del Rey it will travel through the streets of Los Angeles pulled by a truck on dollies. The trip to the museum is expected to take 13-18 hours. While this will be the only ET that has ever moved through the streets of Los Angeles, the Space Shuttle Endeavour made a similar trek after landing at LAX in September of 2012 with an estimated crowd of 1.5 million people watching. A similar outpouring of support is expected for the ET-94. According to the California Science Center, because the tank is not as wide or tall as the Endeavour, no trees will be removed during its transportation. Fewer utilities are also expected to be impacted. The route ET-94 will travel is as follows: • Marina Del Rey parking lot to Fiji Way • Fiji Way to Lincoln (PCH) (continued on page 6)

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TheHTN.com Photo top left by NASA/Bill Ingalls. Photo bottom left courtesy NASA.

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A space shuttle external fuel tank, known as ET-94, is scheduled to arrive in Marina del Rey’s Fisherman’s Village (pictured right) on Wednesday, May 18 at 6 a.m. An ET, like the one visible in orange (top left) on the Endeavour, serves as the “backbone” of the shuttle during launch.

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ET-94 makes its way to Marina del Rey (continued) • Lincoln to Mindanao Way • Mindanao Way to CA-90 • CA-90 to Culver Blvd. • Culver Blvd. to Lincoln via transition ramp • Lincoln to Loyola Blvd. • Loyola Blvd. to Westchester Pkwy. • Westchester Parkway turns into Arbor Vitae St. at Airport Blvd; Arbor Vitae St. to La Brea Ave. • La Brea Ave. to Manchester Blvd. • Manchester Blvd. to Vermont Ave. • Vermont Ave. to Martin Luther King Blvd. and Martin Luther King Blvd. to Exposition Park. For more information, please visit marinadelrey.lacounty.gov or call (310) 305-9545. To stay up-to-date with the ET-94’s arrival, please like us at facebook. com/thehtn in case of schedule changes. Parade looks for participants, sponsors and volunteers. The LAX Coastal Chamber’s 17th annual Fourth of July Parade will take place on Monday, July 4 starting at 11 a.m. along Loyola Blvd. and the entire community is invited to celebrate! This year’s theme is “Our Little Piece of Paradise: Celebrating 75 Years of Westchester” and participants are encouraged to create floats and entries that celebrate what makes the community of Westchester special. With the cost of the parade being upwards of $20,000 to cover honorariums, street closures, permits, clean-up and

sound, the parade committee is looking for the community’s support in helping fund the event. A crowd-funding page will be launched closer to the parade, and businesses interested in being event sponsors are asked to contact the chamber. Applications are now being accepted for float entries and community groups interested in marching in the parade. There is a $25 entry fee for all participants, and because the number of entries is capped at 50, groups are encouraged to bring creativity and innovation to their float designs. Floats with music are especially appreciated. For more information on participating, sponsoring or volunteering, please contact the chamber at (310) 645-5151. WISH High School competes for XQ Super School prize. On the heels of LAUSD’s Board of Educators recent approval of a high school petition by Westchester’s WISH Academy, the future high school’s design has been selected out of thousands of applicants nationally to compete as an XQ Super School Project finalist. XQ will award at least 5 proposals a portion of a $50 million award toward building the school of their dreams. Industry leaders in entertainment, technology, higher academia,engineering, and STEM have partnered with WISH Academy to support the school’s XQ Super School application on this next leg of its journey. Winners are expected to be announced in August. (continued on next page)

Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

Former President Bill Clinton heads to LMU. Loyola Marymount has announced that Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker for the university’s undergraduate commencement ceremony, taking place on Saturday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m. “President Clinton is one of the great statesmen of our time, and he will address our students as they embark on the next stage of their lives,” said LMU President Timothy Law Snyder. “His commitment to improving the lives of other people, during and beyond his career in U.S. politics, embodies the ethos of becoming women and men with and for others. President Clinton will inspire our graduates as they seek to lead lives of meaning, purpose and global impact.” Clinton’s nephew will be one of the 1,400 students that will receive degrees on Saturday, with another 700 graduate degrees conferred on Sunday. During the commencement weekend, there is expected to be increased pedestrian and vehicle traffic around the

university. NCWP election has four contested seats. With sixteen of its 31 seats on the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa board up for election on Sunday, June 5, only four seats have more than one person running. The contested seats include the AtLarge Community Interest Director Seat, which has four people running: Phivan Ha, Gilbert Oviedo, Ted Grose and Trevor Candler. Incumbent Gregg Aniolek and Jennifer Robinson are running for the Residential District 2 Seat (Playa del Rey); Incumbent Alex Eychis and Peter Dray are running for the Residential District 14 Seat (Playa Vista) and incumbent Scott Carni and Anthony Iglesias are running for the Youth Organization Director Seat. For more info on the election, please visit page 17 of the HomeTown News. We want to hear about your business or nonprofit! Email us at westchesterhometown@yahoo.com.

Ozel Jewelry Marina del Rey Readies to Celebrate Six-Month Anniversary

Next month, Ozel Fine Jewelry will celebrate six months of business in Marina del Rey’s Waterside Shopping Center. The family run-business, which is now three generations in the making, first opened its doors in 1982 with its flagship store in Redlands. While the Marina del Rey location is the family’s newest store, the Tekin family also owns locations in Victorville, Palm Desert and Rancho Cucamonga. At Ozel Fine Jewelry, which means specialization and customization in Turkish, they are known for their custom designs, selection of diamond jewelry, repairs while you watch and great customer service.

Salesperson Ruth Kronick (left) and Esther Tekin are ready to welcome customers to Ozel Fine Jewelry, located in the Waterside Shopping Center at 4718 1/4 Admiralty Way in Marina del Rey.

Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

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Random Notes/Opinion

TheHTN.com

Five ways weight-training can change your life By Jeff Blair

you retain and even gain muscle, while helping to prevent fat gain. Committing to 2-3 hours per week of weight-training can help each of us fight off this process of muscle wasting and help us maintain our muscle mass. 2. All movement requires strength. As muscle loss occurs from our mid20’s onward, we lose strength. When we lose strength, movement becomes harder because strength is what allows our bodies to move. This muscle and strength loss can also contribute to joint pain. When we have joint pain, we are less likely to move. It is just human nature to avoid painful activity. Since activity becomes painful, many health markers like blood pressure and weight may get worse. The next step for many is a prescription from the doctor. By incorporating strengthtraining into your fitness routine, you can maintain strength and activity levels and improve overall health. 3. Strength-training improves posture. When we are strong, our posture is usually pretty good. As detailed above, most of us lose strength and muscle with age. By working out, we can at least slow this process down and reverse it in many cases.

Opinion: Many people go to the gym and lift weights. They may use machines, free weights or even use body weight (such as doing push-ups). Most of us have an idea that it is “good for us,” but we may not know exactly how. I thought it would be good to get a “little scientific” this month and explain how strength training can directly improve our lives. 1. Preventing/slowing the loss of muscle due to aging. Many of us start to lose muscle in our mid-to late 20’s. This slowly reduces our strength and our metabolism. Over the next ten years, most of us see and feel a clear change in strength. This process continues through our thirties and forties. By 50, most have lost a lot of muscle and the fat gain process speeds up. When I discuss this process with people over 50, most people understand. They have lived it, so they do not usually need me to tell them it is real. My dad always told me never talk about a problem unless you bring a solution to the table. So here is the solution: strength training can help

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The key is following a program specifically designed to counter the effects of aging. “Pulling” movements and related exercises can help maintain upright upper-body posture. Squats, core strengthening and similar exercises can also help provide a foundation of support and structure for posture. By improving posture, we can all move easier and more painfree. 4. Strength-training burns hundreds of calories. A good weighttraining program will burn hundreds of calories. While the exact number varies, this calorie burning effect can help you maintain a healthy weight. One added bonus of weight-training is what is called the “afterburn effect.” After you finish a good weight-training session, your body’s metabolism will be increased. As you go about your day, your body will burn more calories. So you burn calories during the workout AND after the workout. 5. Strength-training can also improve cardiovascular health. Most of us think of two categories of exercise: “strength-training” and “cardio-training.” There are many ways to incorporate the two into one workout, however, if you choose to

do that. You can add “circuit training” into your workout, where you move from one strength exercise to the next with minimal rest. This is going to provide a good muscular workout, while also providing cardiovascular benefit. “Circuit training” is not the only way to lift weights, and it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is certainly an option. You can also incorporate 60-seconds of jump rope or jumping jacks into your weight routine and get cardiovascular benefits that way. There are almost endless variations on how you can merge cardiovascular training with weight-training. These are five clear ways weighttraining can benefit you. If you have any questions, please message me and I will try to help! Before you start this or any fitness routine, consult your doctor. JEFF BLAIR (M.S.) owns a personal training studio located in Westchester. He was voted “Best Of” Personal Trainer in the Hometown News’ 2015 Readers’ Poll. Jeff has been featured in “Men’s Fitness” magazine and as a “Fitness Expert” on ABC’s “Everyday Health” TV show. Email jeffblair@jeffblairfitness. com for fitness story ideas or comments.

Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

Letting go of fear to have what you want By Fay Craton Opinion: Recently I attended an awards ceremony for outstanding instructors. All five of the recipients had a special behavior quality. Each one of them at some point in his or her life had stepped away from a safe track and instead ventured on a heart-driven path. I heard stories of letting go of secure jobs or easy routes to pursue a direction which frequently was unclear or unpredictable, but something within their soul said, “Go for it.” Each one of them moved through fears and mind chatter that said, “Be safe and take a path that is more like what other people are doing.” Without ever anticipating recognition for accomplishments, each one of them learned, through practice, to live a life where anxiety and fear did not constantly control them. I sat listening to their stories, reflecting on my clients who let a fear keep them from obtaining something desired. As I continued to listen and reflect, I realized, I too will sometimes hold back to better “fit in” instead of letting go. Many of us learned, at young ages, patterns of thinking or behavior which continue to appear in life. Often times the patterns are not at a conscious level. The night after the event, in a class I was teaching, a couple of students shared about the anxiety they felt when even a minor good act is acknowledged. Many people have unconscious beliefs that keep them from having something they want or being all that they can be. Is there something you would like to do, but have anxiety about it? Anxiety can appear in your body as a knot in your stomach, tense neck or shoulder muscles, fatigue or as illness. It can show up as being “snappish” and annoyed at another person. Over a period of time it can lead to feeling “down” or “blue.” There are many ways it can appear. Because of your conditioning, the anxiety can be difficult to recognize for what it is. In addition, what is causing the anxiety can be difficult to name because it may come from long held patterns. What can be done to shift the patterns? The first step is recognition of what is happening within you. It takes recognition, a desire to change and the willingness to “look within” and actually change. Every person’s path to transforming long-held conditioning is unique to them. Guidance and support in the process is important. One important component of change is to remember that your life is

happening today. What has gone before is now done. What will happen in the future really is unknown since none of us have a crystal ball. Don’t keep your thoughts constantly fixed on either the past or the future. Make every effort to keep your thoughts engaged in what is happening in your life today. For example, look around you. What do you see? What do you taste? What textures to you feel? Actively seek out conditions in your life for which you can be thankful. For example, today, do you have eyes that can see? Today, do you have a roof over your head? Many items we take for granted can be included among items for which we can be grateful for today. The more you can train your mind to be grateful for today, the less time your mind will have to dwell on the past or the future. In considering the examples of the outstanding instructors, remember each one of them followed a heartdriven path. To be able to follow your heart, you need to practice listening to it. Hearts do not speak in words. This means you must take time to be quiet and tune into your inner being. Here are some examples of how you can listen: • Morning or evening meditation. • Placing your hands in soil to plant flowers. • Fully listening to inspirational music. • Taking a walk beside the ocean. • Taking a few minutes throughout the day to be quiet. Some people may have difficulty becoming sufficiently quiet to listen within because their thoughts keep going as a stream of constant chatter inside their heads. If this is true for you, you will first need to learn how to work with the chatter so it helps you instead of derailing you. This means you will need to become very mindful of the chatter. My wish for you is that you will be able to move past your fears and anxiety to claim what your heart desires. Your heart deserves an award for the gifts it is ready to express in this world. The award may not be a public event. It may be that the only needed recognition is to let your heart lead the way. Fay Craton, M.A. is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (mfc40011), which is the psychology license specializing in relationships (with ourselves or with others) and she has an office in Westchester. For more info, visit communicationtriangle.com or contact her at (310) 645-6762.

Come Join your Friends at

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Worship Service 10:30 am Canines@Covenant 5:00 pm Sunday Covenant is on the corner of 80th and Sepulveda Blvd. Church School for Young People during Service. We have an Orchestra and Adult, Youth and Children’s Choirs. Email: cpoffis@pacbell.net Childcare is provided-For more information, Call (310) 670-5750.

YOU CAN HELP! FOOD PANTRY, LAX

Emergency Food Distribution to those in need. Sponsored by the Westchester Clergy Association

Open Tuesday & Friday, 10am-12pm 355 Beach St., Inglewood

Bring donations of non-perishable food to Covenant Presbyterian Chuch. Volunteers and money donations also welcomed and encouraged!

For more information, please call (310) 677-5597

Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

Ad donated by the Covenant Presbyterian Church

May 2016 • Page 11

Secret recipes from the Inn: Bill’s Blueberry Bread Hey y’all! It’s us, the “Inncrowd,” and as we celebrate Mother’s Day we find ourselves swapping stories in the kitchen as we reminisce about our moms. The Inn at Playa del Rey’s owner, Susan Zolla, shared that her most cherished memories are of drinking tea with her mother and sisters as they gathered around the kitchen table. “My mother would invite her small group of friends (whom she called ‘the girls’), me, my sisters, and maybe a few of our own friends to sit around the kitchen table set against the trees and next to a very big bay window...that’s where we would gossip,” said Zolla. “She led the talks. It might be about a teacher, a neighbor, a boyfriend, or somebody that one of us was having a hard time with. Those talks were a hoot!” My co-worker, Dominique, added to the conversation that even when she was having a tough time, there was nothing her mother couldn’t fix with a hug and her homemade potato leek soup. My poor mom had to deal with me being sensitive and fairly highstrung since the day I was born– two

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Photo by Liz Hall.

By Rebecca Hill

Make sure to fold the blueberries in by hand to keep them whole.

months early–in a painful labor that lasted twenty-one hours. As a “preemie” my crib felt too big and scary so I would cry day and night, and the only place I would finally calm down and go to sleep was on my mom’s chest. I guess I liked hearing her heartbeat. When my mom eventually needed to go back to her nursing shifts, I was still high-strung, and my parents discovered the best way to get me to go to sleep was to place me in a

Hush Puppies shoe box. Apparently, I felt safe and secure feeling the sides of the box around me. My mom jokingly says there were days I cried so much and screamed so loudly that she considered putting the lid on the box! But she never did; the truth is, my mom never gave up on me even on the days when I was the snottiest of teenagers or the angriest of adults. She always cheered my victories and encouraged me after my defeats. My mom is definitely one of the most

nurturing people in my life. That word “nurturing” is the word that comes to my mind every Mother’s Day. It’s a word often used to describe moms, but over the past few weeks, it’s a word I keep hearing in another context as well. On the corner of Culver and Inglewood there’s a billboard that honors the memory of former City Councilman Bill Rosendahl. I see it every day as I drive into work. I like to think of Bill Rosendahl as was one of the good guys! He nurtured our community. He had tireless work and enthusiasm for our district, and his compassion for the homeless population in our community was inspiring. I did not ever get to meet Councilman Rosendahl, but we had a friend in common. Our mutual friend would often ask me to give her homemade baked goods from the Inn so she could take them to him. I’d always include a note saying “Hi, from all of us at the Inn!” until my friend confessed she threw all my notes away so she could pass the baked goods off as her own. She told me he really loved the Inn’s blueberry bread, so everyone at the Inn started calling our recipe “Bill’s Blueberry Bread.” (continued on page 20)

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Calendar

TheHTN.com

Ongoing monthly events: Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club

Playa Vista (opposite Coffee Bean). The Optimist Club is a worldwide volunteer organization that helps “make the future brighter by bringing out the best in children, in their communities and in themselves.” For more information, call (310) 415-0196.

Join the Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club every Wednesday morning at 7:15 a.m. for its weekly meeting. The club meets at Whiskey Red’s, located at 13813 Fiji Way in Marina del Rey. The cost of the meeting is $25, which includes breakfast. Guests are welcome and reservations are not required. For more info, visit playasunrise. org or call (310) 429-3808.

May events: LAX Sand Dunes Clean-Up The Friends of LAX Dunes and The Bay Foundation are looking for volunteers for their monthly cleanup at the LAX Dunes. At the event, volunteers will help remove invasive plant species, so native plants in the preserve can thrive in the spring. The LAX El Segundo Dunes are the largest remaining fragment of the El Segundo Dunes complex, and they provide a habitat for over 900 species, some of which cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. This month’s clean-up will take place on Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers can park along the LAX Dunes Preserve. Closed-toed shoes are required and sunscreen and a hat are recommended. Ice water and towels will be provided. For more information and a map of where to park, please visit santamonicabay.org and click on “Upcoming Events.”

Rotary Club of Westchester The Rotary Club of Westchester meets every Wednesday at 12 noon for lunch at the Crowne Plaza LAX Hotel, located at 5985 W. Century Blvd. in Westchester. The cost of lunch is $20 and validated self parking is free. Guests are most welcome! Reservations are not required. For information regarding the upcoming luncheon programs, visit rotary-westchester.com.

LAX Kiwanis Club The LAX Kiwanis Club is looking for new members. The club meets every Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel, located at 9620 Airport Blvd. in Westchester. Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world, one child and one community at a time. The LAX Kiwanis raise money every year for such causes as providing scholarships, holiday baskets for needy families and back to school shopping sprees. For more information about the club or to RSVP to attend one of their meetings, please email laxkiwanisclub@gmail.com.

Feldenkrais Festival Grab your yoga mat and head to the Westchester Senior Center for the free Feldenkrais Festival on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. At the event, attendees will hear from speakers on a variety of topics including natural pain relief, optimizing your posture, sitting in comfort and anti-aging for you and your dog. The event is open to all ages. The Westchester Senior Center is located in Westchester Park at 8740 Lincoln Blvd. in Westchester. RSVPs can be made by calling (310) 649-3317.

Life Story Writing Class Interested in writing your life story? The Westchester Life Story Writing Group meets every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The group teaches methods to recall and then write your memories. Since its inception, groups members have written numerous books on their lives. The memoir-writing workshop meets at the YMCA Annex, located at 8020 Alverstone Ave. in Westchester. Attendees are asked to donate $10 to the YMCA per semester. For more information, please contact Mary Sage at (310) 397-3967.

Teacher Eddy Awards Gala Local teachers will be celebrated at the LAX Coastal Chamber’s annual Teacher Eddy Awards Gala on Tuesday, May 10. This year’s honorees, which were selected by their peers and administrators, will be presented with a crystal eddy award and a slide-show in their honor. The 2016 Friend of Education Award recipients will also be announced at the event. The Teacher Eddy Awards will take place at the Hilton LAX Hotel, located at 5711 W. Century Blvd. in Westchester. Tickets are $60 per person. For more information or to RSVP, please call (310) 645-5151.

Playa Vista Optimist Club Join the Playa Vista Optimists the first and fourth Mondays of the month from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Concert Park, located at Pacific Promenade and Sea Bluff Drive in Page 18 • May 2016

Spring Dance at Westchester Senior Center The Silver Seminar Series is hosting its third annual Spring Dance on Thursday, May 12 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Westchester Senior Center. Local seniors are invited to the event, which will feature music, dancing, light refreshments, photos and drawings for prizes. There is a suggested donation of $5. The Westchester Senior Center is located in Westchester Park at 8740 Lincoln Blvd. in Westchester. For more information and to signup, please call (310) 695-7030.

Clybourne Park opens at Westchester Playhouse Opening night for the Kentwood Players’ production of Clybourne Park is Friday, May 13. Clybourne Park was written as a companion piece to A Raisin in the Sun, which was performed earlier this year at the Westchester Playhouse. Clybourne Park won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play. Set in Chicago, the play explodes in two biting and satiric acts, 50 years apart. Act I takes place in 1959 (as did A Raisin in the Sun) as nervous white community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a middleclass home to a black family. Act II jumps to 2009, in the same house, as the now predominantly AfricanAmerican neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of urban renewal by a Caucasian couple. Each of the seven cast members play different characters in both acts. Due to the adult themes, situations and language, the play is not recommended for children. Those under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult in the theater. Performances are held on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Ave. in Westchester. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at kentwoodplayers.org.

YMCA Pancake Breakfast Join the Y Service Club on Saturday, May 14 for its spring Family Pancake Breakfast! Funds raised at the breakfast will help assist needy families to enjoy the benefits and facilities of the Westchester Family YMCA. Y Service Club volunteers will be serving pancakes, sausages and beverages from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 14 in the parking lot of the YMCA, located at 8015 S. Sepulveda Blvd. in Westchester. Tickets are available from members of the Y Service Club, the YMCA

front desk or at the event for $5 per person.

Community Input on Playa del Rey Park Sought Interested in having your voice heard regarding Playa del Rey’s Del Rey Lagoon Park? The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and the Westchester/ Playa del Rey Park Advisory Board is inviting the community to make suggestions and public comments regarding the facility. At the meeting, potential park enhancements will be discussed. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in the Westchester Park gymnasium, located at 7000 W. Manchester Ave. in Westchester.

Beginner Birding & Creek Clean-up Interested in learning more about the Ballona Wetlands? The Friends of Ballona Wetlands are holding a monthly program that combines community service and bird watching. Geared towards students, families and anyone who is interested in learning more about the birds located in this natural resource, the program will take place every third Saturday of the month with the next meet-up taking place on Saturday, May 21 from 9 to 11 a.m. Gloves, tools and binoculars will be provided, but please bring a reusable water bottle. Attendees are asked to meet at the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve (the main parking lot is behind Alkali Water) at 303 Culver Blvd. in Playa del Rey.

Rotary Annual Book Sale Calling all book lovers! The Westchester Rotary Club will hold its annual Rotary Used Book Sale during Memorial Day weekend. The book sale will start Friday, May 27 and will run through Tuesday, May 31, which will be shorter than the sale has run in previous years. The book sale takes place in the Ralph’s shopping center, located on Sepulveda Blvd. between La Tijera Blvd. and Howard Drollinger Way. The club is currently accepting donations of books for the sale and has collection barrels at the Westchester Senior Center, Westchester Family YMCA and throughout the community. For more information, or to donate books, please email ramey.christa@ gmail.com. Proceeds from the book sale benefit the club’s community and international projects, including the Rotary Makeover Project, Vision to Learn, scholarships and more.

Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS

Sunday Monday Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

May

Friday

Saturday

NCWP Board Meeting @ Westchester Community Center

LAX Dunes Clean-up @ LAX Dunes Feldenkrais Festival @ Westchester Senior Center Volunteer Day @ Emerson Ave. Community Garden

Happy Mother’s Day!

3 Teacher Eddy Awards @ Hilton LAX

Commencement @ LMU

4 Westchester Farmers’ Market @ Westchester Park

5 Spring Dance @ Senior Center

Life Story Writing Class @ YMCA Annex

Commencement @ LMU 7

6 Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse

Father/Daughter Prom @ St. Bernard HS Pancake Breakfast @ YMCA

Food Truck Friday Nights @ Visitation

Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse

LMU Advisory Meeting @ Westchester Senior Center

10 Gateway to Go! @ Crowne Plaza

Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse

Annual Exhibition @ Otis College

14 Beginner Birding & Creek Cleanup @ Ballona

Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse

Westchester Farmers’ Market @ Westchester Park

Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse

Life Story Writing Class @ YMCA Annex

Annual Exhibition @ Otis College

Home Remodeling Street Fair @ Custom Design & Construction

Del Rey Lagoon Meeting @ Westchester Park

15 16 17 18 Gateway to Go! @ Crowne Plaza

Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse Rainbow Acres 35th Anniversary Celebration @ Rainbow Acres

22 Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse

Westchester Farmers’ Market @ Westchester Park

Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse

Farmers’ Market @ Playa Vista

Life Story Writing Class @ YMCA Annex

Rotary Book Sale @ Ralph’s Shopping Center

Clybourne Park @ Westchester Playhouse Rotary Book Sale @ Ralph’s Shopping Center

Rotary Book Sale @ Ralph’s Shopping Center

Gateway to Go! @ Crowne Plaza

Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

May 2016 • Page 19

Blueberry bread (continued) (continued from page 12) In honor and in memory of Councilman Rosendahl, we’re sharing the recipe for “Bill’s Blueberry Bread” with you this month. It’s one of our simplest, but most delicious recipes. We encourage you to make it for the loving, nurturing people in your life. Show them you love and appreciate them by taking the time to make them something homemade from scratch, or if that doesn’t work for you, come by the Inn. I’ll give you a slice of “Bill’s Blueberry Bread,” and you too can pretend you made it yourself!

Bill’s Blueberry Bread

3/4 cups Butter, Softened 1 ½ cups Sugar 1 Tsp. Vanilla 3 Eggs 1 ½ cups Sour Cream 3 cups All-Purpose Flour 1 ½ Tsp. Baking Powder 1 ½ Tsp. Baking Soda 1 cup Fresh or Frozen Blueberries Directions: 1. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. 2. Add the eggs one at a time until well combined. 3. Add the vanilla and sour cream. 4. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients slowly to the butter mixture.

5. Fold in the blueberries and pour batter into a 10” bundt pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, then serve! “Inn-sider” Tips: 1. If your blueberry bread is not done baking after 45 - 55 minutes, cover it with tin foil and leave it in the oven for another 15 minutes. The tin foil keeps the top of the blueberry bread from burning while the center continues to bake. Continue to check your blueberry bread in 15 minute increments until your cake tester (i.e. your kitchen knife) comes out clean. 2. If you are using an electric mixer for this recipe, you will want to fold the blueberries in by hand. Otherwise, the electric mixer will burst the blueberries and turn the batter Smurf blue. The Inn’s recipes have been lovingly collected over the past 20 years. Some are original recipes, others are wellknown recipes that have been adapted, and some are recipes that have been handed down by our innkeeper’s mothers and grandmothers over the years. Rebecca Hill is an innkeeper at the Inn at Playa del Rey and a published writer. Her stories have appeared in Redbook magazine and in over a dozen Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies.

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Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

May 2016 • Page 21

School News

Photo by Sue Marozik.

TheHTN.com

Visitation Catholic School students jump for joy after participating in a beach clean-up in Playa del Rey on April 28. The beach clean-up was part of an eighth grade field trip, where students wanted to do something nice for the community.

Westport Heights celebrates inaugural Career Day. Westchester’s Westport Heights recently held its inaugural Career Day to culminate pre-k to fifth grade classroom activities that centered around teachers helping students find out what they are passionate about and motivating students toward a potential career path. Even the school’s youngest learners prepared for the day with “All About Me” activities that encouraged them to think about what they would like to be when they grow up. During the event, Westport Condors had over 40 visitors from various fields, including a microbiologist who brought a Petri dish of germs, a lawyer who held mock trials and a fashion designer who brought historical garments to discuss fashion trends. Most of the presenters were parents from the school. Celebrities, including Larry English (NFL player for Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Actress Aeriél Miranda (Straight Outta Compton), and hairstylist for the stars Angela C. Styles (L.A. Hair reality show), made special appearances to help motivate the students. To keep the student’s enthusiastic about pursuing their interests and potential careers, the school invited 13-year-old singer and star of the Disney Channel show, “Stuck in the Middle,” Isaak Presley, to speak and perform at its April 25 school assembly. Presley emphasized his commitment to daily reading and dedicated music practice from the age of five as a source of his successful career. Otis students showcase their art during commencement weekend. The community is invited to visit the campus of Otis College of Art and Design during commencement weekend to view exhibitions and Page 22 • May 2016

Westchester Lutheran students had the privilege of hearing from Olympic track coach Bob Kersey and six-time Olympic medal winner, Allyson Felix, on Wednesday, April 2. They spoke to the students about their Olympic experiences and encouraged each one to be goal-setters in whatever they choose to do. At the assembly, Felix distributed signed autograph cards to every student.

artwork from its graduating class. Guests will have the opportunity to roam the campus and floors of its buildings to see artwork from students in a variety of fields, including fine arts, fashion design, toy design, digital media, graphic design and more. The exhibition will be open to the public on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Saturday, there will be a pop-up store in the product design exhibition. Otis is located at 9045 Lincoln Blvd. in Westchester. For more info, please visit otis.edu. Have something to share about your school? Please email us at westchesterhometown@yahoo.com.

Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

May 2016 • Page 23

In Pictures

TheHTN.com

Photo by rduronsletphotography.com.

Flight Path posthumously honors Morrey Plotkin. On Tuesday, May 3, dozens of community members gathered at the Flight Path Rotunda, located on Sepulveda Boulevard in Westchester, to celebrate Morrey Plotkin with a plaque in honor of his service and dedication to the community. Plotkin, who passed away in 2014 at the age of 97, was remembered by those in attendance for being a founding member of the Flight Path Museum and Learning Center and for being the originator of the Aviation Walk of Fame. Thanks to his vision, plaques commemorating aviation pioneers and luminaries are located along the streets of Sepulveda as an homage to the area’s flight history. His family, including his son, Larry Plotkin, and Diane Barretti, were on hand to mark the special occasion. Plotkin’s plaque is mounted to the P-51D Mustang Cockpit sculpture that is located on Sepulveda Blvd. in the Ralph’s shopping center in Westchester. Pictured: Plotkin and Barretti pose in front of the new plaque.

International softball player. Westchester resident, Olivia Lee, has been selected to play for the British National U19 team and compete in the European Junior Softball Championship taking place this August is Sant Boi, Spain. Lee, a duel citizen, started playing softball in second grade and played locally with the Westchester and the Del Rey Little League, where she was a member of the 9/10 year-old state champion team. For the last 18 months, Lee has played catcher for Team Easton Burkhardt in Santa Ana. Lee is currently a junior at Notre Dame Academy, where she has a 4.73 GPA and is a member of the Robotics Team. She hopes to add playing catcher on a college team to her resume in the near future. Page 24 • May 2016

Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

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Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News

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Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News