MAKING PIANO LESSONS FUN Vol. 2, No. 7 • February 3, 2016 Uniting the Community with News, Features and Commentary Circulation: 15,000 • $1.00 See Page 11 DWP to Install Power Poles By SUE PASCOE into two circuits. The pole site is determined Editor by where the circuits are split. “This is a good band-aid,” said Waizen - acific Palisades residents want cell egger, but he noted two issues with a pole- phones, computers, televisions, air top station as opposed to a substation: the Pconditioners and larger houses. Un- PTD is fused and has no backup trans- fortunately, the town’s existing electrical in- former, plus it has overhead exposure and frastructure cannot support the increased minimal remote monitoring. energy demand. “Is there any way around this?” a resi- As a result, two 65 ft. pole-top distrib- dent asked. uting (PTD) stations will be installed as a “No,” Herriot said. “When it gets hot, temporary solution until a second substa- everyone turns on their air conditioners. If tion can be built. we delay, the outages will increase and take Residents were also warned at the Pacific longer to restore.” Palisades Community Council meeting last Although Waizenegger acknowledged Thursday night that additional poles may be that alternate energy sources and low-en- installed, perhaps as soon as later this year. ergy appliances can help, and this area’s Bill Herriott and Jack Waizenegger of the DWP pole-top stations will be installed at Marquez Ave. and El Medio Ave. power station (built in 1935 at the corner Department of Water and Power addressed a year that last about three to twelve hours.” playground)—for aesthetics. In order to do of Sunset and Via de la Paz and upgraded the frequent power outages in some areas He explained that these three circuits that the DWP would have to obtain a condi- numerous times) is not enough. The area of the Palisades, why they are occurring and have been overloaded since 2009. Last year, tional use permit and there is a time factor. needs a second substation. the needed fix. they were overloaded at 118 percent, 123 The four-week construction will begin in In 2012, the DWP announced plans to “There are three existing troubled cir- percent and 114 percent. The heat gener- March in order to have these PTDs in op- build a new substation on its Marquez Av- cuits,” Waizenegger said. “They are outage ated from being overloaded can cause shut- eration before the summer when high-en- enue property, but uproar from the com- prone and overloaded.” downs and reliability issues. ergy demands surge. munity led to a task force being formed. The areas affected by these circuits are According to the law, the DWP has the The poles also can’t be placed under- This group rejected the Marquez location the Marquez Knolls area, Castellammare right to install utility poles in the public ground because “it is not practical,” Her- and recommended several alternate sites. and below Sunset by Palisades High School. right of way and that is where the poles will riott said. “They would be double in size, The DWP investigated these sites but has The circuits are 29-03, 29-06 and 29-05, be placed: one on Marquez Avenue below more expensive and more disruptive [clo- yet to make any decision. and DWP showed the statistical outages for Marquez Elementary School and the sec- sure of streets].” The average cost of a A petition is circling town, already signed those areas. ond on El Medio south of Sunset. PTD is $200,000, compared to about $30 by residents attending Optimist Club, Ro- “The average outage in Los Angeles is The DWP representatives were asked million for a new substation. tary Club and Chamber of Commerce once every [16 months] and lasts about three why the one pole couldn’t be placed at the The pole on Marquez will take circuits meetings and the farmers market on minutes,” Waizenegger said. “In the Palisades, back of the property that they already own 29-03 and 29-06 and create three circuits, Swarthmore, urging DWP to build the these areas have outages three or four times on Marquez Avenue (adjacent to the school and the pole on El Medio will split 29-05 substation on its Marquez property. ‘Mayor’ Nealon Hosts the Palisades By SUE PASCOE reception in Pacific Palisades. He spoke to the News on Friday after Editor “I’m going to place a cell-phone tower completing work on a short film, Super Sex, satellite 30 miles above the Palisades,” said with Ed Asner. The film is based on the joke opular Saturday Night Live star, co- Nealon, who reported that he has had two in which an elderly man is told by an attrac- median and actor Kevin Nealon different providers, has had troubles with tive woman, “I’m here to give you super Ptakes over the reins from Jake Stein- both—and he still does not get good re- sex,” and he replies “I’ll take the soup.” feld to become the 29th Honorary Mayor ception. Nealon has a co-written a comedy, The of Pacific Palisades. In addition, said Nealon, “I’m going to Pleaser, with his wife, actress Susan Yeagley. Selected on January 27 by the Chamber build a tunnel under Sunset to the 405 free- It will be filmed this summer and will mark of Commerce board, Nealon’s first major way and allow only Pacific Palisades resi- Nealon’s directing debut. policy decision is to work on cell-phone dents to use it.” “I am a people-pleaser, which has put me in awkward positions,” he said, noting the movie is based on one of those incidents. Postal Customer Postal New Honorary Mayor Kevin Nealon That same character attribute is one of the reasons Chamber Executive Director Arnie Austria and argue in Italy,” Nealon said. Wishnick was able to snag Nealon as mayor. He is also a gifted artist, but not formally **************ECRWSSEDDM************* “I couldn’t say ‘no,’” Nealon admitted. trained. “I’m a doodler. When I fly in planes, Born in St. Louis, he was raised in Bridge - I sketch the person next to me.” port, Connecticut. His father worked for a Nealon said he learned how to draw on Permit #422 Permit Pasadena, CA Pasadena, helicopter company and Nealon, from the his own. “There were two framed carica- PAID time he was six until he was 10, lived in tures of my mom and dad on my bedroom U.S. Postage U.S. Germany, where he learned to speak the wall, and I used to study them. When I was Presorted Standard Presorted language fluently. in Germany I saw a sketch of a soldier on a “I learned how to swim in Greece, ski in (Continued on Page 24) Page 2 Palisades News February 3, 2016 AVAILABLEAAVVVAILABLEAILABLE PROPERTIESPROPERTIESPR ow In EscrowEscr NEWNEW CORNERC ORNEROLISTINGLIS STINGTING | OPOPENO LOTLPENPOEN T SUSUNS UUNINI N 1-4-4 CHICCHIC ARCHITECARCHITECTURALCHITECTURAL 1920’s SPSPANISH ANISH ESTESTATETAAATETE ENCHANTING WITH DAZZLING AZZLING VIEWS IN RIVIERARIVIERIN MEDITERRMEDITERRANEANANEAN HOME $5,997,000$5,9977,,000 | CharmelEstate.comCharmelEstate.com $5,995,000,995,$5 000 | 945Corsica.com $4,699,000$4,699699,000 | 15204FriendsStreet.com15204FriendsS eet.comtrriendsS ow ow ow In EscrowEscr In EscrEscrow In EscrowEEscr NEW CONSTRUCTIONCONSTRUCTION STORYBOOKBOOKYORST HOME ON FANTASTICFANTTASTICASTIC SANTSANTANTTAA IN ABC’S CULDESACCULDESAC MONICMONICA OPPORAMONIC OPPORTUNITYTUNITYTUNIT $3$3,489,000 489 000 | 1042Embury.com1042Embury.com $2,695,000695$2, 000 | 15861SeabecCircle.com15861SeabecCircle.com $2,399,000$2,399$2,399 000 | 945 BerkeleyBerkeley St. ow ow In EscrEscrow In EscrEscrow COASTCOASTALSTTALAL VIEW COZY STARTERSTTARARTER HOMEHOMETER IN CHARMING COTCOTTAGETTAAGE CCONTEMPORARYONTEMPORARY EL MEDIOMEDIOEL BLBLUFFSUFFS NEARNEAR TO VILLAGE GE $2,399,000 | 730Lachman.com $1,992,000992,$1, 000 | 668Muskingum.com $1,499,000$1, | 755 RadclieRadclie St. #1 PalisadesPalisades BrokerBroker NearlyNearllyy $1 Billion in Homes SSoldold | WSJ’sWSJ ’’ss TopTop 100 AAgentsts NationwideNagen tion widewide | Giving 10% of each ccommissionommissionommission toto charcharity ity ANTHONYANTHONY MARGULEAS 310.663.4606 | Info@AmalfiEstates.comInfo@AmalfiEstates.com AmalfiEstates.comAmalfiEstates.com CalBRE#01173073CalBRE#01173073 February 3, 2016 Palisades News Page 3 Rustic Creek Cleaned for El Niño By SUE PASCOE way in the ground and then attaching two Editor layers of wire to the poles. A ladder from Casady’s backyard to the f one wants to visit a place that feels far stream 10 feet below allowed us access. Once removed from the Los Angeles urban in the bed, we met four County workers Isetting and is wet, cool and filled with who were repairing one of the wire fences greenery, surrounded by majestic trees, that had rusted away. The poles the men Rustic Creek is merely minutes away. were replacing were more than 75 years old The News recently visited the creek with and corroded. Carolyn Perry, a Santa Monica Canyon res- One of the workers told us, “We cleared ident since 1966, and Brooktree resident this stream in August.” But already the area Chris Casady to investigate the streambed’s had regrown with four-foot plants that vulnerability to flooding below Sunset. looked like papyrus, but belong to the One of Perry’s worries was that a fallen cyperus family (a non-native). There was tree or other blockage could cause the also a heavy growth of watercress, nastur- stream to back up and flood the area. tium, castor bean, German and Algerian Floods in 1968 and again in 1978 caused ivy, thistle and poison hemlock. near-disaster for homes along the creek. Bougainvillea, which had stretched across In those years, the heavy wood planks the channel, had been cut, and an ash tree and wire fences installed along the banks as well as a sycamore that had been growing in the late 1930’s prevented a repeat of the in the channel and had a two-inch trunk catastrophic 1938 flood that destroyed had been cut down, but four-foot saplings much of lower Santa Monica Canyon ap- were already growing out of the trunk.