Pacific Palisades, California $1.50

Palisadian-Post

Serving the Community Since 1928

20 Pages

Thursday, October 5, 2017

◆

Paciﬁc Palisades, California

$1.50

PPCC Under

Caruso Reveals His Hand to Our Art Kids

Pressure to Investigate Rule-Breaking
Contractors

By JOHN HARLOW

across the town.

Editor-in-Chief

It is seeking to ensure that the city consistently applies a series of re builders in Paciﬁc Pali- rules, including local zoning ordi-
Asades “falsifying” permits nances, the community plan and and bending community plan the California Coastal Act. guidelines in their rush to complete new houses?
Critics warn that some such

rules conﬂict—or at least confuse
And is the Paciﬁc Palisades each other—and if monitoring the

Community Council, and its new- current ﬂood of permits appears ly hatched offspring, the Land Use beyond city planners, then certainCommittee, minded or forceful ly it’s a challenge for PPCC volenough to stop such rogue builders unteers to undertake such detailed

Caruso/Palisadian-Post art contest participants point out their winning pieces.

Photos by Chuck Larsen

in their muddy tracks?
These questions dominated the scrutiny.
Rick Mills, PPCC communilast meeting of the two bodies on ty representative, said that it was Thursday, Sept. 28, with uncertain such a widespread problem that results.
The issue was raised at LUC urging planners to take it seriously. by Joe Helper, a former parks ad-
Yet some of the more controthe PPCC should write to the city ministrator who suggested they versial projects are legally waterredraft rules to give themselves a tight. Last week an objector to a wider brief to tackle ever-morph- cluster of mansions near Potrero ing building issues.
Canyon had his paperwork de-
Later that evening, Janet Turn- scribed by the California Coastal er, U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu’s Commission as “patently frivoPalisadian

representative—but lous”—although he is still ﬁghting

speaking as a Marquez Knolls the project resident—said locals had stopped
As are opponents, known as four builders who were bending Highlanders United for Good, rerules to their advantage. But, she sisting a senior living project in said, they needed more help from The Highlands, who showed up in

Caruso talks business with Palisadian students.
Elyse Walker

Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer

the city, PPCC and LUC. force at the PPCC (although new
The heat was turned up by data suggests there is a demand,

Sarah Conner, chair of the Paciﬁc as there are now more people aged

Palisades Residents Association, over 80 than between 20 and 35 which is credited with blocking in town).
By JOHN HARLOW

Editor-in-Chief

Beverly Boulevard restaurant Madeo have storage space underneath. The previserves traditional Italian fare. But its spin- ous development had about 25 “doors” or off, FdeiM by Madeo, will be “light and outlets in the same area.

ick Caruso shared fresh details about airy,” and offer affordable family break-

Caruso said that around 75 percent

past planning atrocities in The
Maryam Zar, PPCC chair,

Rthe Palisades Village with the young fasts, he told the young artists visiting from of Palisades Village leases were already winners of the recent Caruso/Palisadi- schools, including Corpus Christi, Calvary signed: “I have asked my people to slow an-Post art competition, including how he Christian and Palisades Charter Elementa- down,” he joked.

Bluffs. She focused on one build- urged residents to share their ever on Lachman Lane, accusing idence of rogue building with the him of falsifying permit building council, so they can pass it onto

intends to ﬁt 42 outlets onto the three-acre ry.

site, as fashion maven Elyse Walker re-
When asked by one of the artists wheth-
There would also be a “great” burger er Palisades Village would have fountains,

applications.
The contractor at 656 Lachthe city.
But that may be the council’s

vealed she will be joining the development. place and a sandwich place.
Walker will maintain her high-fashion “There will be casual dining and ﬁne “but I will bring it up with my planners in stores on Antioch in The Village and in dining. It will disprove the theory that the the next meeting. They love it when I bring Newport Beach before opening a third store Palisades cannot support its own shopping them new ideas.” he said the site was probably too small,

man has since resubmitted his ap- limit: As Chris Spitz, PPCC chair plication, but PPRAbelieves there emeritus, said: “There is a threshare too many similar “paperwork old of legal proof necessary here— misunderstandings” happening what can we prove?”

on the same street as Vintage Grocers.
It will be called Towne, and unlike the kids can hang after school,” he said, read- currently working on the site but that will
Antioch store that opened 18 years ago, it ing his young audience accurately. double next spring as it cruises toward a will offer both men and women’s clothing. Caruso revealed that he would be hand- summer opening—possibly as early as July

economy. And it will be somewhere where

There are about 200 people per day

High Day for KI

Observers suggest it will be a fresh ap- ing over the shell of the new movie theater 2018. proach to fashion—in line with Caruso’s to operators Cinépolis next month—its rear message to the art competition winners wall will be landscaped to ease the view bike-loaning scheme and an Uber drop-off
He revealed there would be a free when they donned hard hats to visit the from Albright. building site on Wednesday, Sept. 27. point, and there is planning underway to ac-
Caruso said that he was looking at commodate driverless cars.
He said he was only talking to known about 42 operators in a space as big as brands if they could offer something differ- Nordstrom in The Grove: It is only possible ent from their familiar wares.

See more pictures from the art winners’ because even a 500-square-foot outlet will tour in next week ’ s e dition of the Post.

Let’s Get spOOKy

The congregation of Kehillat Israel Paciﬁc Palisades celebrated

Yom Kippur at the Fox Village Theater in Westwood with a special guest speaker, Shiza Shahid, social entrepreneur and co-founder/ CEO of the Malala Fund, which raises money to get more girls into schools.

It’s time to enter the Palisadian-Post’s annual Creep Your Crypt contest! Prizes will be awarded in three categories: Creepiest Crypt, DIY-Originality and Best Theme. For more details or to sign up, visit bit.ly/crypt_2017.

Page 2

Palisadian-Post

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

October 5, 2017

Palisadian-Post

Protect Our Village

I am so tired of this nuisance group calling themselves Protect Our
Village throwing rocks under the train.

2
¢

O ut Of the P ast

They’re seeking to put up roadblocks for the Caruso development wherever they can. For goodness sake, it’s a business district just like the last one was. We didn’t get up in arms about that.
And this small group of “supposedly” 120 is not the voice of the
Alphabet Streets, or the Bluffs, or Marquez, or The Huntington, or The Riviera or The Highlands.

April 16, 1970

Your Two Cents’ Worth

Got something to say? Call (310) 454-1321 or email 2cents@ palipost.com and get those kudos or concerns off your chest. Names will not be used.

It’s mainly two frustrated retired attorneys who don’t like that they’re going to be living in or close to the center of town, just like they did when Mort’s was the anchor tenant. And, wow, Mort’s often had entertainment at night. Were you sending cease and desist letters then?

Or is it just the polished and reﬁned Rick Caruso that you are so hell

bent on needling?
I really can’t get over the entitlement factor that people exhibit when it comes to this Village revitalization.
Caruso has gone way beyond his legal obligations: He has solicited opinion, he has altered his plans to assuage fears, he spent his money to build employee parking when he didn’t have to.

Ambivalence

I feel a tremendous ambivalence about Caruso. On the one hand, there is all the possible disruption from tens of thousands of visitors. On the other hand, I will at last be able to walk to the movies.

But, like spoiled children, all these two vocalists for POV can do is whine and stamp their feet because the market is being treated like a market and not like a retail clothing shop.

Senior Living

Stop this “protectionism.” I want this development and I’ve talked to at least 150 other people who want it too. Stop trying to ruin it.
All it takes is for one kid to pollute the waters and then everyone has to get out of the pool. Enough already.

I am concerned about the proposed construction of the dementia facility in The Highlands. Not only will

it cause more trafﬁc on an already

dangerous Palisades Drive, but as we learned from the hurricane-related nursing home deaths in Florida, it could be catastrophic if there is a major earthquake, given how isolated The Highlands is!

Judy Silk

Cost of Business

I have noticed remarks in the Palisadian-Post regarding Rick Caruso’s new shopping center. It seems some people feel he should lease some stores that are not too expensive for those of us who cannot afford these prices.

Senior Living II

Well, I feel I must add my two cents: Caruso spent years and went through a whole lot of meetings, etc. to get this project approved. He must have paid top dollar for the ground, dragging out tons of dust, much planning, etc.
I do not feel he is in business to lose money. It will take many years to recapture his investment and make money. Therefore, he really must charge huge rents to businesses that will pass along the cost to customers. What else is new?

A speaker at the community council: “I noticed a typo in the Post, where it said that the sleek new senior living facility was proposed for The Highlands. Surely that should have read a ‘bleak’ new senior living facility … ”

All the elements of a citywide walkout by Los Angeles teachers were reﬂected remarkably this week by the public school picture in Paciﬁc Palisades. A sit-in bolstered the walkout at Palisades High School as students spent free hours demonstrating support for their picketing teachers’ cause.

Gloria Murray

Do you know where a person in this photo is today? Contact [email protected].

Scary Donald

I am sorry to say but I will not be serving candy to kids dressed like Donald Trump this year. My lawyer friend told me I could get in major trouble for doing this—and at his suggestion I will post a sign that I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. I am also going to send

a letter certiﬁed mail to all of my

neighbors telling them to do the same. Halloween is about the kids and having fun, but I can’t support a kid who lacks common sense and dresses like DJT.

Variety

I appreciate the explanation of the Veterans Garden plan by the Park
Advisory Board. I am now aboard.

Postcard

However, I agree with Abigail Smith’s letter to the editor in the
Sept. 14 edition of the Post that three bocce courts are a bit much. The simple calculation of four players an hour for a ten-hour day indicates that the courts accommodate 840 players per week. I don’t think the demand is there.

How about one of them, instead, being a horseshoe or shufﬂeboard court, which are deﬁnitely more American than bocce? Or perhaps set

aside for a few benches for the veteran old-timers.

Howard Yonet

Oh, Dear

The person who submitted the deer comment last week seems very nice, but uninformed. First, we all know deer breed in the fall, well before the rainy season last year. So, don’t “Blame it on the Rain” like Milli Vanilli did in the 90s (talented musical artists). Secondly, after we hit a deer, are we supposed to walk back down the canyon late at night, look

for a sign with ﬂashlight in hand, read the ﬁne print, call the veter-

inarian, and then walk back to our car and wait two hours for someone to come? Like I said, well-intended person with a really bad idea.

Stronger T o gether

Julia Louis-Dreyfus shared news of her breast cancer diagnosis in a heartfelt Instagram post and tweet last Thursday, writing, “1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one.” She went on to say, “The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union. The bad

news is that not all women are so lucky, so let’s ﬁght all cancers and

make universal health care a reality.”
Women’s cancer statistics are unsettling, especially when the data cracks open and we see our own face, our sister’s face or our mother’s face looking back at us. We remember that cancer is intensely personal.
Louis-Dreyfus is an active member of our Palisadian community.
Her announcement reminds us how important a loving community of support is, how individual each woman’s experience is and the importance of health care that is affordable.
The Santa Monica-based and prevention-focused Lynne Cohen
Foundation advocates for underserved populations of at-risk women across the country and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this January.
According to a foundation spokesperson, it is crucial that women who are at increased risk for breast or ovarian cancer know their options for prevention and early detection. Factors that may put a woman at increased risk include age, genetic mutations such as BRCA1 and 2, family history, or Ashkenazi Jewish decent. It is important to understand the interplay between these factors (even following diagnosis) in order to determine future risk.
The Lynne Cohen Foundation funds and oversees four Preventive
Care Clinics across the country in which interdisciplinary teams of physicians and specialists collaborate to chart a personalized course of prevention for each patient, regardless of insurance coverage.
Amy Cohen Epstein founded the Lynne Cohen Foundation when she was just 21 years old after losing her mom to ovarian cancer. She remembers her mom as a “vivacious advocate for collaborative and equal access medicine.” The foundation that now bears her mother’s name carries on the heart of that work and advocacy.
Under Cohen Epstein’s ongoing leadership, the foundation focuses on touching real women’s lives today through its interdisciplinary Preventive Care Clinics, annual Kickin’ Cancer! athletic events and Peony Project Educational Gatherings.

Parking Lot

What is with all of the black Uber and limo drivers using Pampas Ricas as a parking lot in between jobs? Can anything be done about this? Somehow the word has gotten out among the drivers that this is a good place to hangout but it’s way uncool. This is a residential neighborhood not a commercial parking lot!

Jessie from Gelson’s visits the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.

Want to see your photo in the post? Take your Palisadian-Post on your next trip
(near or far) and email a photo to [email protected].

Smoking

Palisadian-Post

Published weekly since 1928 by the Palisades Post

881 Alma Real Drive, Suite 213, Paciﬁc Palisades, CA 90272 Tel: (310) 454-1321 • Fax: (310) 454-1078 • www.PaliPost.com

Anyone else notice Palisades Ralphs employees in uniform smoking in front of the store where customers walk in? I’ve witnessed this many times over the past few months. It’s not a good look and it can’t be good for business!

John Harlow Editor-in-Chief [email protected]
Gina Kernan
Managing Director [email protected]

EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING

Steve Galluzzo, Sports Editor

[email protected]

[email protected]
Nilanti Narain, Account Executive Lena Ford, Account Executive Lia Asher, Account Executive [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Much like Louis-Dreyfus’ message, the Lynne Cohen Foundation

puts faces to ﬁgures, and brings women into community and care. We

are stronger when we take action early to survive and thrive, band together and invest in the health of those around us.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. To learn more about what you can do to and for more information about the Lynne Cohen Foundation, visit lynnecohenfoundation.org.

Sarah Shmerling, Managing Editor Matthew Meyer, Reporter Gabriella Bock, Reporter [email protected] [email protected]

Decoy

Drivers speeding up and down Palisades Drive in The Highlands is a problem. LAPD motorcycle cops hiding behind trees and walls entrap more speeders into tickets, but probably don’t actually make the road safer since most drivers don’t see them. In lieu of a more visible presence, how about the police sta-

tion inﬂatable motorcycle police de-

coys on the road to get driver attention and encourage drivers to slow down?

Michael Aushenker, Contributing Writer

Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

[email protected]

ADMINISTRATION

Ashley Crocker, Receptionist/Classiﬁed Ads Carolyn Morrison, Executive Assistant

GRAPHICS

Michael Dijamco, Graphics Director classiﬁ[email protected] [email protected]

Ginna Grossman

Department of Corrections

Adjudged a newspaper of general circulation to publish all ofﬁcial and legal notices of the City of Los Angeles, the Judicial District of Los Angeles, the School District of Los Angeles, the

County of Los Angeles, the State of California and for other state, county and city government jurisdictions of which the City of Los Angeles as a part under judgment rendered January

9, 1958, as modiﬁed by Order of the Court on August 7, 1959, and further modiﬁed by Order of Court on November 21, 1960, in the Superior Court of the State of California, in and for
County of Los Angeles, Case No. SMC 6022.

Guggenheim Partners have asked us to point out they hold $295 billion in assets, not $300 billion, that there have been reports of an SEC “examination” rather than an investigation of the New York-based money fund, and that Guggenheim Latin America is not part of Guggenheim Partners but instead licenses the name in a “strategic collaboration.” We apologize for any confusion caused.

THE PALISADIAN-POST (USPS 418-600 4) is published weekly for $69 per year, by Pacific Palisades Post, 881 Alma Real, Suite 213, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Periodicals postage paid at Pacific Palisades, California. POSTMASTER: send address change to the PALISADIAN-POST, 881 Alma Real Drive, Suite 213, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.

The PALISADIAN-POST is 100% owned by Charlie Loves Brooms and Molly Loves Peanut Butter, LLC.

Palisadian, Vol. LXXXVI, No. 76 • Paciﬁc Palisades Post, Vol. LXX, No. 76

October 5, 2017

Palisadian-Post

Page 3

neighborhood news

Palisades

senator allen tours Pali steaM

The RivieRa

tate Senator Ben Allen visited Palisades Char- isadian-Post, “not only for the rigor and real-world
Ster High School on Thursday, Sept. 28, to tour relevance of the projects they had on display, but

the school’s STEAM facilities and CTE programs. also the enthusiasm and pride with which the stu-

“I was so impressed by the students and faculty of dents presented their work.”

Polo in the Palisades

The Paciﬁc Palisades Chamber of Commerce will host the
Quarter Centennial Polo Classic at Will Rogers State Historic Park

on Sunday, Oct. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Festivities will include

polo, a DJ, carnival games, food trucks, complimentary wine,

champagne and ice cream, pony rides and more.
Palisades Charter High School,” Allen told the Pal-

—MATTHEW MEYER

General admission is $25, while kids 12 and under are invited to join for free. VIP tables for 10 are available for $250. A portion of each ticket sale will be donated to SPCALA.
For more information, visit palisadeschamber.com.

—SARAH SHMERLING

The hunTingTon

Potrero Park in 2020?

Councilmember Mike Bonin’s ofﬁce set the estimated comple-

tion date for a park in Potrero Canyon at 2020 this week, noting that the city of LA recently obtained a permit from Caltrans that will allow construction to proceed as planned.
The project will make use of 122,000 cubic yards of dirt from the Caruso Palisades Village development.
Versions of a Potrero Canyon Park have been in the works since the mid-1980s, but constant permitting and funding setbacks had made tangible progress elusive.