Bay Theater
What a pleasure it was to finally have a reason to visit our Bay Theater for the first time since Cinépolis left and Netflix took over. Since almost all of us have Netflix and many are fortunate enough to have home theater systems, there’s not an overwhelming reason for lots of us to go to the Bay to see a Netflix movie we can see at home.
I know maximizing revenues from a local theater isn’t as important to a large multinational corporation like Netflix as having theaters in New York and LA who can show their movies so they’ll hopefully qualify for an Oscar, but Netflix needs to not monopolize the screens in a small, one movie house town.
It was wonderful, however, that Taylor Swift’s Eras Concert film was allowed to play there for a special engagement. Theater 5’s screen was larger than any of those I remembered from a few years ago, and the sound was, of course, excellent and made for a great evening.
Barring the occasional classic films they show from time to time (many of which I’ve previously seen), I just wish there were more reasons to go to the Bay Theater. Who needs more trips to Santa Monica when I can walk four blocks to the Bay?
Rocky Bowman
(Editor’s note: A full list of the Bay Theater’s offerings is available at baytheaterla.com. “Big,” starring Palisadian Tom Hanks, will play November 10 to 12; “The Parent Trap” on November 20 and November 22; and “Freaky Friday,” with Palisadian Jamie Lee Curtis, on November 21 and 23.)
Survey
I was reflecting on what occurred Tuesday, November 2, 1993, and the calls my wife made alerting me at work to come home. As you may recall, that was the day of the start of the Topanga fire.
There was complete communication confusion whether to evacuate and if so what exit routes were available.
Ultimately, as noted in The New York Times: “thousands had to flee.” Considering the population in the communities of Topanga Canyon, Sunset Mesa, Castellammare, The Highlands and Marquez Knolls have dramatically increased with no additional evacuation routes really should concern everyone.
For me, after my wife reached me at work in Culver City, I rushed home. It took me two and a half hours to travel nine miles. What was even more challenging was all the emergency response vehicles and media vehicles traveling the same direction, and most of the entry and exit routes blocked.
Since the city of Los Angeles does not have a specific hazard awareness plan that encompasses Pacific Palisades and our unique challenges, I would recommend that our community be alerted to and respond by completing the City of Los Angeles 2023 Hazard Mitigation Plan Update: Community Hazard Awareness Survey.
On items 1 and 2 of the survey, in the “other” section, I added the need for additional traffic control on Pacific Coast Highway, Sunset Boulevard and side streets to facilitate timely evacuation as necessary. This is especially important for the communities of Malibu, Topanga Canyon, Sunset Mesa, The Highlands and Marquez Knolls, which are most at risk for a traffic bottleneck.
Hopefully, this will help address our recent traffic and evacuation challenges. It is available at: surveymonkey.com/r/LosAngelesHazardAwareness.
Peter Friedman
Meet Your Neighbors
Pacific Palisades Newcomers & Friends was originally intended to welcome those who had recently moved into our community by offering participation in a wide range of activities.
Whether book or film discussions; restaurant or potluck luncheons; walking or hiking groups; games of bridge, mah-jongg or canasta; exploring outstanding sites in LA; or just a monthly coffee or happy hour was of interest, the groups expanded to include not just newbies but “friends”—meaning the residents of Pacific Palisades and our neighboring communities.
In November the group will explore the bargains of downtown Santee Alley, enjoy a “brown bag” lunch at our park, hear a discussion of scams and much more.
For more information, please visit our website: pacificpalisadesnewcomers.com.
Peggy Levin
Publicity Chair
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