Palisadian-Post Serving the Community Since 1928
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Palisadian-Post Serving the Community Since 1928 20 Pages Thursday, March 1, 2018 ◆ Pacific Palisades, California $1.50 EXCLUSIVE Pali Bee Challenges Greatest Minds to Spell-Off Revolution Sweeps Through the Chamber By JOHN HARLOW ship: Wishnick gently rejected Editor-in-Chief plans by a former board member, Brett Bjornson, to raise mon- or more than a quarter of a ey to tide him over the next few century, Pacific Palisades months. FChamber of Commerce has been During his 25-year tenure, a clubhouse for local entrepre- Wishnick, a former banker, vol- neurs, a think tank, gossip shop untarily gave up much of his Stars of the day, pictured from left, back row: Councilmember Mike Bonin, Pali Bee, Presenter Gary Saunders, principal of Palisades and warm home away from home salary during lean times at the Charter Elementary School, and Honorary Co-Mayors Janice and Billy Crystal; bottom row: From the fifth grade, first-place winner with the beloved Executive Di- Chamber. Lily Williamson, third-place winner Tedrah Smedley and second-place winner Gigi Applebaum-Schwartz Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer rector Arnie Wishnick and his as- That is another reason why sistant, Marilyn Crawford. Wishnick has long been known By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA Guests were treated to free coffee from du, of Palisades Charter Elementary School, Now, as the town’s entre- as the “heart” of the Palisades, a Reporter Estates, a coffee shop opening soon in The took the third place trophy. preneurs gird themselves for the deeply respected and affection- Village, chips and salsa from Talulla’s, sweet For the second-grade competition, Maria opening of Rick Caruso’s Pali- ately regarded businessman who hen more than 100 grandiloquent treats from Hello Honey, and a gaming and Afzal from Marquez Elementary took home sades Village project (we are due will hopefully return to his pre- spellers gathered in Gilbert Hall at lego station put on by the Academy of Tech- first, Emerson Meehan of Pali Elementary to learn the date this week), the vious post as a film reviewer for WPalisades Charter High School on Sunday, nology, Art and Music. Sponsored by the Ac- came in second and Abigail Yoda, also from Chamber is about to be remade— the Palisadian-Post at the new Feb. 25, for the annual Pacific Palisades ademic Achievers and the Palisadian-Post, Marquez Elementary, finished in third place. both philosophically and literally. Cinépolis theater. Spelling Bee, the stage was set for a historic an environment to celebrate academia was After a quick b-r-e-a-k, pencils were Work is due to start on refur- During the refurbishment, battle of the brain cells. set. re-sharpened to start the next round of writ- bishing the Chamber offices on the Chamber plans to employ a With words like “esophagus” and “col- The top 10 first- and second-graders ten entries for third, fourth, and fifth graders. Antioch in March. It’s the first headhunter to find a “new Arnie” loquial” deceiving some of the finalists, los- were then announced from the stage of Gil- The submissions again passed through major upgrade in a quarter of a within 30 days. ers walked away with words they wouldn’t bert Hall, inviting finalists from local ele- an intense review by three sets of eyes to en- century. It will be someone who can soon forget and audience members gained mentary schools to sit front and center for sure accurate scoring. At the second round Thanks to $27,000 in dona- market Chamber services to a newfound appreciation for the autocorrect the next round. of oral spelling, the words significantly in- tions from local businesses, who new arrivals, including the 40- feature on their smartphones. Contestants had 45 seconds to spell out creased in difficulty. wish to keep a low profile, every plus Caruso clients—some were The competition started in the classroom five words, with every point they gained “Xylem” tested the competitors’ ability area from flooring to the bath- born digital and have never run a and library where first- through fifth-grade adding to their cumulative total. to spell silent pronunciations, and “circum- room will be upgraded. brick-and-mortar retail business contestants spelled out 30 words on paper to The first-grade, first-place winner was navigation” tried to make them forget what A honeycomb of offices will before. be submitted and scored by volunteer judg- Blake Shepherd from Marquez Charter Ele- they had started spelling in the first place. replace the original open-plan The new full-time head of es. The excitement and curiosity that was felt mentary School. The boy of few but properly The high standard shocked the Post’s layout. the Chamber will take the title of in the reception area at the start of the day spelled words had only one to describe his proprietor Alan Smolinisky, who took over “Thanks to careful planning, president from the current elected quickly turned into anxiety and anticipation, victory: “Proud.” as word pronouncer. While he admitted to we will get $50,000 worth of president, Realtor Susan Payne, as contestants awaited the results of their In second place came Calvary Christian never having heard of the challenge words work done with this new money, who will become Chamber chair. written submissions. School student, Dagny Pack, as Geevan San- (Continued on Page 3) which does not dip into Cham- On Feb. 16, after several ber coffers,” an insider said last Chamber board members re- week. signed for a variety of reasons, During the six-week resto- the rules were changed to allow Dog Park ration, Wishnick will relocate to resident Sam Lagana, Rams an- a space at Rodeo Realty and then nouncer and associate vice prin- Gets Paws return as what is being informally cipal at Pepperdine University in termed “executive director emer- Malibu, and former sports entre- itus” or something similar. preneur Bob Benton to join the Up Approval He told the board last year he board at the next meeting. wanted to step back in 2018. He This is on Friday, March 2. By JOHN HARLOW will retain a seat on the board but Benton has been on the board Editor-in-Chief will no longer be paid. before, but after finally deciding That may not be such a hard- against reopening his sports busi- he strange yet scientifically rig- ness in Palisades Village, friends orous tale of how a fake squirrel say he has energy to spare. Twas deployed to test noise levels at The Chamber feels it needs to the proposed Temescal Canyon dog hit the refresh button. park was revealed at the Pacific Pal- It is a venerable institution: isades Community Council meeting Founded in 1949 with 60 local on Thursday, Feb. 22. Leslie Campbell and Oscar de la merchants, it grew to a 400-strong One of the pressing issues hang- Wiener Photo courtesy of Wanelle Fitch membership. They each paid be- ing over the prospective pooch park, tween $375 and $500 per year for apart from how to pay for it and who PPCC Treasurer Richard Co- advocacy, networking breakfasts will pick up the waste, was the ques- hen, who is a supporter of the and educational seminars. tion of neighbors and noise. 35-year campaign for a dedicated But the rise of digital com- Would residents living above canine playground, worried that merce, the long decline of the Temescal, who have been almost “NIMBYs” may suddenly turn up Village retail area before Caru- suspiciously quiet about the pros- the volume as the park becomes so transformed it and the aging pect until now, be bothered by bark- real. of the average Palisades—at the ing from below? “Are you sure everyone up there same time as incoming (younger) It is similar to traffic frequen- knows about this project?” he asked. Calling All Travelers Palisadians worked more often cy noise, said park champion and David Kaplan, PPCC represen- outside of town—challenged the PPCC Representative At-Large tative for the area, said he had not 90272 Magazine, published by the Chamber’s identity. Lou Kamer, who revealed how they heard any rumblings as of yet. Palisadian-Post, is seeking travel tales Membership has fallen to measured it. “It has been covered exten- around 318 due-paying business- They excited a volunteer dog sively in the papers,” Maryam Zar, from locals who have journeyed near es, led by the real estate sector by throwing a fake squirrel into a PPCC chair, said before a council and far, and have returned with stories. (31 members), medical and elder- tree at the base of the canyon—no vote blessed the three-quarter-acre care (35), and food-related ser- real sciuridae were hurt during site. To enter the 2018 Travel Tales contest, vices (20). this experiment—and the resultant Leslie Campbell, who orga- Benton and Lagana represent frenzy was measured near homes nized a 3,000-signature petition send in 400-600 words, along with any “old new blood” to stabilize the along the top of Temescal ridge. pushing the project, said the next photos, to Managing Editor Sarah Chamber during this transition. The result? No worse than the aver- step is presenting it to the city’s Rec But the arrival of 40 new age traffic audio. and Parks commissioners—maybe Shmerling at [email protected] by members with post-millennial The pair of parks—one for big as soon as this month. Then they March 14 for a chance to win a prize. work styles could shake up the dogs, another for the pocket-sized— have to raise $500,000 to create it.