Palisadian-Post Serving the Community Since 1928 20 Pages Thursday, April 19, 2018 ◆ Pacific Palisades, California $1.50 Caltrans Rethinks Meet the Talent The Palisadian-Post is pleased to introduce the contestants for the 2018 Pacific Palisades Teen Talent Contest—which will take place at Palisades Charter High School on Wednesday, April 25. Notorious Intersection To learn more about the contestants, turn to Page 14 and 15 in Pali Life. By JOHN HARLOW be cutting it in two islands, could Tickets for this year’s contest are now on sale. Visit palipost.com for more information. Editor-in-Chief squeeze more vehicles through the intersection. riving anywhere around Pa- Engineers say although the in- cific Palisades can be fraught tersection itself only merges four Dwith tension—and even danger— roads—PCH, Chautauqua, Entra- but few intersections pump the da and West Channel—car flows heart as when Chautauqua Bou- on at least another 10 roads up to levard meets Pacific Coast High- a mile away would have to be fed way. into computer modeling to smooth Combining the poor surface out the turbulence in the system. condition of the steep and often It can be done: A 2012 Cal- water-logged boulevard, a com- trans study into the PCH/Temes- plaint that appeared in this news- cal intersection resulted in fresh paper in the 1920s, and the vol- algorithms applied to signals that ume of PCH traffic, a maneuver notably improved traffic flow. intensified by lane-jumping scoff- CCTV cameras could be add- laws feigning sudden ignorance of ed to prevent drivers who “forget” driving decorum, have long made that the left lane is only for turning this painful array of potholes a fa- left onto West Channel Road and vorite of 2 Cents commentators. try to push into slower right-hand There may be relief on the lane traffic feeding onto PCH, a horizon. cause of much tension and horn Over the next two years Cal- honking. trans, the state agency responsi- Palisades representative ble for PCH, will be “reviewing George Wolfberg, who returned options” for the intersection that from the latest PCH Task Force to could include completely rethink- the Pacific Palisades Community ing the safety cushion wall that Council with glad tidings of the funnels Santa Monica-bound traf- changes, said he was “interested” fic out of the Palisades. but would wait to see what else The changes will start appear- followed. ing over the next few weeks with Two conundrums remain: new signage and a “ladder” cross- One can make it safer, more civi- ing for pedestrians, Caltrans con- lized, but at a cost of mobility. The firmed this week. fierce debate about “road diets” This will be followed by a elsewhere on the Westside has wide-ranging review, the agen- made that painfully clear. cy said, working out how many And no one knows exactly Tennis Club Closes as Members Age Out— millions of dollars it will cost to what needs to be done at the inter- make the intersection both safer section until more money is spent and more efficient for drivers. working it out—public money that One possibility is “realign- Caltrans is wary about spending. Reflects the Graying of the Palisades ing” the crash wall: It has only just And by that time, a rapid take- been revamped, with sand buckets up of driverless cars may have last October revealed there were replacing an accident-prone metal changed the nature of automotive By JOHN HARLOW more people aged over 65 than be- wall that tore up and gouged pass- behavior anyway, even at this Editor-in-Chief tween 20 and 65 in the Palisades. ing cars, but bolder changes, may- venerable old black spot. The median age in the town is 47, or 40 years, the Pacific Pali- compared to 39 in 2002. And 36 sades Tennis Club was a happy across California. Fband of fierce competitors, a so- The town is in the top 10 per- Battle for cial club with a mean backhand. cent of the grayest communities in Sometimes its dues kept the lights America. on at Palisades Recreation Center. Younger generations, while ‘New Gladstones’ But now the club has low- working longer hours to pay for ered the net for the final time, the privilege of living in the Pali- calling “out” on its last members sades, are finding different ways of Turns Legal and stowing away the last of the socially engaging—often through now-iconic PPTC T-shirts. the internet. By JOHN HARLOW Department of Beaches and Har- The PPTC board, steered They connect more informal- Editor-in-Chief bors made headlines earlier this by president Albert Chang, has ly, more spontaneously, through month when it recommended that emptied the last of its treasure— dog-walking and coffee shops. t takes a lot to get a normally supervisors, including Palisadian around $3,900—into the coffers of They subscribe—apart from prop- lowkey county agency respon- representative Sheila Kuehl, back the LA Parks Foundation to keep erty, some do not require that club Isible for our beaches to get riled a bid by restaurateur Wolfgang such grounds a little healthier in sense of “ownership.” up enough to jab back at a critic in Puck and architect Frank Gehry the future And kids can play tennis on a public. But the tensions over who to prepare plans to replace Glad- It was, said all concerned, an video game console. replaces Gladstones restaurant stones when the county lease ex- emotional moment. They may hear the sound of on Will Rogers State Beach has pires in November 2019. Why? Because the member- closing doors as more social or- prompted such an outburst. “It will be a restaurant for ship had “aged out,” said Palisa- ganizations across the Palisades The County of Los Angeles everyone,” said Puck, who trans- dian player and octogenarian Joe follow the Tennis Club into fond formed dining in Los Angeles Halper. He is the most recently ap- memory. when he opened Spago in 1982— pointed member of the LA Parks 10 years after Gladstones Malibu Commission, which keeps an eye THIS WEEK iN opened near the site of Ted’s Grill, on such facilities. which itself dated back to 1909. Back in the day, there were (A lot of fish has been fried in this more than 200 members in the pali life location.) club who played robin marathons The supervisors looked at all and intra-club tournaments, and 21st Century Woman: four consortia bidding to inherit sponsored United States Tennis Karen Murphy O’Brien former LA Mayor Richard Rior- Association ratings—they mea- Walking away: Rec. Director Erich Haas and Joe Halper (Page 13) dan’s lease and invited a new con- sured the speed of serves, and Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer sortium, Sunset on Ocean, to pre- there were some extraordinary a new contractor changed the rules last count, around eight active pare to pitch again if negotiations players. at the center. Membership plunged members. did not work out with Puck over But then, as past president from around 90 in 2011, many of Tennis is still one of the most the next five months. George Wolkin recalled last week, whom were already older, to, at potent social connectors in town: In the meantime, it has As an academy, The Palisades emerged, new management at enough financial information for a Mary C. Wickham, the coun- Tennis Center, birthplace of the Gladstones has “refreshed” its fair decision. ty’s legal counsel, said not only Tennis Channel television net- menu, replacing frozen with fresh- The county has hit back, say- was there an objective element in work with celebrity fans such as cut fries and planning a “pick-up ing they received enough data to the scoring but also the gap be- Hillary Swank and Kate Hudson, breakfast” to be delivered to the judge that only Puck’s group, PCH tween PCH Beach and Sunset on flourishes. car that includes a Caffé Luxxe Beach, appeared to be economi- Ocean was so wide—almost 80 But the pioneering PPTC is far ‘Play On!’ Packs a coffee and a wrapped egg sand- cally feasible and sustainable on a points—that even giving Sunset from alone in “aging out”: Barbara Comedic Punch at wich. long-term basis. the points it claimed would not Marinacci, of Palisades Beautiful, Theatre Palisades Sunset on Ocean, which in- Keen argued that PCH Beach have brought Sunset close enough which has husbanded street trees (Page 18) cludes Palisadian Mark Verge, an was weighed down by pending to challenge the Puck bid. in the town since 1974, warned investor in Santa Monica restau- litigation that could harm its pros- Sunset’s partners now have to she may be among the last to take rants and hotels, was unhappy on pects: The county said such issues decide how far they still want to be on the task. Other once-vital orga- the day and has hit back a second only accounted for up to 15 per- involved in this process or, alter- nizations, such as The Optimists, time at the decision. cent on the “score” and nothing natively, strike out for legal relief face similar challenges. Where is Its attorney, Randall W. Keen had been hidden from them. So, in court. the next generation of active Pal- of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, de- this did not change the outcome. As the Palisadian-Post went isadians? manded that the county disqualify Keen said that there were scor- to press, the beach ball was still in A survey on city-data.com Puck because it did not provide ing errors in a subjective system.