By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

The Pacific Palisades Democratic Club will host its annual meeting—open to all and featuring appearances by local elected officials—on Sunday, February 4, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The event can be attended in-person at Palisades Charter High School in Mercer Hall or via Zoom. It serves as the PPDC’s “annual meeting,” at which the “executive board candidate slate and proposed bylaw modifications will be up for ratification by all club members in good standing who are present”—though the club hosts events throughout the year and its board meets monthly.

This year’s annual meeting is slated to feature State Senator Ben Allen, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and Councilmember Traci Park in person; LA Mayor Karen Bass will appear via live video feed; and Congressmember Brad Sherman will send a pre-taped segment. There will also be a Q&A portion with all elected officials who are attending live.

Admission to the annual meeting will be free for those who wish to attend, with a suggested donation of $10 to help with costs. For more information or to RSVP, visit palisadesdemclub.org.

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

A tradition started in the Palisadian-Post in 1954 and published since, parents Usman and Lauren Nabi welcomed the first baby born to a Palisadian family in 2024 on January 2 at 7:01 a.m.

Asher Nabi is the couple’s third child, after Aiden (6) and Noah (3).

Lauren said that she—originally from Dallas—met her husband Usman—originally from Pakistan—in New York through mutual friends. They moved their family to Pacific Palisades from New York near the end of 2018.

“We had our first in New York and then we moved here,” Lauren said to the Post. “It has always been a dream to live in LA. There were a couple of work changes that made the move feasible [and] we were over the moon to get to live here full time. It’s such a great place to raise a family … we love it here.”

As the couple approached one month with Asher, they reflected on their time with “their special little guy.”

“He’s just the sweetest baby. He is so cute,” Lauren said. “So adorable and delicious and cuddly, and he’s been really wonderful. It’s funny, you’re so nervous with your first, and Noah had come quite a bit early, so we were a little bit nervous with him … With Asher, it’s just been so much fun to enjoy all the newborn snuggles.”

The Nabis received a basket of prizes from local businesses and organizations, including The Pump Station & Nurtury, blueview ATELIER, Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club, Palisades Gift Shop, Earthbar and Purelife Biotics.

This year marked a close competition for the baby born closest to the start of the year: Taylor and Griff Simon welcomed baby girl Blake Elizabeth on January 2 at 10:28 a.m. The Beall family in the Huntington was the Post’s third closest baby, with Jessie Maria born on January 4 at 6:10 p.m.

In 2023, the first baby of the year was born to El Medio Bluffs residents Aly and Sean Uytengsu who welcomed Ford on January 3 at 4:43 p.m. The year prior, Mark and Aradhna Kelsey received the honor after the birth of twins, Maria Chiara and Sophia Devi, on January 3.

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Pacific Palisades Community Council met on Thursday, January 11, to discuss local updates, including community safety.

Camera installation is being considered to boost security in the Palisades and assist Los Angeles Police Department with enforcement, with several community stakeholders joining the meeting to discuss the possibility and different options.

PPCC and its partners have researched different cameras: PPCC Vice President Sue Kohl said she spoke with Flock Safety and learned of two different camera options. The discussion leaned favorable to Flock’s Safety Condor Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera, which is ideal for open areas, like intersections and parks, according to the company.

Kohl said the permits would be “a bit more difficult to get,” but the PTZ cameras can zoom and LAPD would be able to access its feed.

The cameras would require fundraising, as they are subscription based, and would cost $3,000 per year per camera, according to Kohl.

“We’d have to raise the money and then donate it to the police because we as personal residents aren’t able to get that installed in the public,” she explained during the meeting. “It’s something to look into for sure … if we could get people to volunteer their properties for installation … and certainly at the park.”

Pacific Palisades Residents Association President Jessica Rogers said she has also spoken with Flock, with a focus on its cameras that can read license plates, and her organization aims to “create a barrier for criminals within all the boundaries of the Pacific Palisades.”

“The reason why PPRA started this process … is we noticed crime going up and we saw what was going on around the rest of Los Angeles,” Rogers said. “The software system that Flock offers is what is most advantageous. It’s part of our mission—we signed up many, many decades ago as being the representative for safety in this community and we’re going to continue doing that.”

Rogers explained that PPRA has also identified individuals who have agreed to cameras being installed on their properties, and because they would be installed on private properties, they would not require permits.

PPCC Area 3 2nd Alternate Representative Michael Edlen said Flock sounds like the best system, and a fund has already been set up for anybody who would like to contribute to the safety efforts.

“It’s a 501(c)(3) through [Rec and Parks], and there’s already enough money in that account to fund more than a year’s worth of cameras,” Edlen said. “All it would take is coordination with the people at the city to get approval for whatever needs to be done.”

PPCC President Maryam Zar said there is a fiscal sponsor and a donor, and asked attendees to consider the information presented at the meeting to strategize as a community.

“This doesn’t have to be a PPCC project, so we don’t necessarily need to take a vote, but I do think that the PPCC galvanizes a lot of great things around the community,” Zar said. “So if we do take a vote and come up with a strategy, it becomes easier for me to then go to the city and RAP, and bring all the pieces together so we can have these installed, at least in the public spaces. We’ll leave the private stuff to PPRA because they are already doing a great job, and I think it would be important for us to let PPRA know that we support them.”

After the meeting, PPCC announced that it identified Flock’s Condor cameras as most appropriate for the Palisades’ open space needs.

“On January 25 when we meet again, the president will bring a proposal to the table for discussion and possible motion,” according to PPCC. “Fundraising has already begun, and money has been secured by at least one of our board members. City and state elected officials and agencies are in support of our work and will be relied upon to help this private/public partnership launch a pilot with permitting, installation and monitoring support.”

By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor

Palisadian author and historian Ernest “Ernie” Marquez died on Saturday, January 6, at the age of 99.

At the January 11 Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, Sharon Kilbride—Marquez’s cousin—said that his death was “unexpected, but he died peacefully.”

With deep-rooted history in the community, Ernest’s great-great-great-grandfather, Francisco Marquez, arrived in Alta California in the 1770s to help establish Spanish missions. After Mexico won its independence, Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes were awarded a land grant from the Mexican government for Rancho Boca de Santa Monica in 1839. The area includes much of Pacific Palisades.

After learning more about his family’s role in settling the area, Ernest believed California historians had largely ignored his family. When he retired in the 1990s, he became the family historian.

He went on to regularly speak at community events and wrote numerous books about local history, including “Rancho Boca de Santa Monica: The 1839 California Land Grant—A History,” which he completed at the age of 97.

Ernest was honored with the 2013 Pacific Palisades Community Service Award. According to a 2013 Palisadian-Post article, Ernest was overcome with emotion as he accepted the award. The offices of former Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin and Assemblymember Richard Bloom also presented Ernest with certificates of appreciation.

Ernest spent decades fighting for his family cemetery, which is now a public garden and historic landmark. His efforts were documented in a film called “Saving the Sacred Ranchero in the Canyon.”

“Ernie was my mentor and our family patriarch,” Kilbride said to the Post. “Ernie taught me so much about our family history. We went through so much together, saving the front portion of the cemetery from development and making the cemetery a beautiful place.”

Kilbride said Ernest loved the Marquez family cemetery and enjoyed hosting the students of Canyon Charter Elementary School, who would visit each year to learn about the Rancho history.

“We had our last cemetery field trip on December 11, 2023, and Ernie was in great spirits that day,” Kilbride said.

Kilbride said a celebration of Ernest’s life is in the works, and his ashes will be put in the cemetery in March, nearing the date that would have been his 100th birthday.

“Ernie will remain forever in the Santa Monica Canyon, a place that he loved so much,” Kilbride said. “He was a remarkable man, and I will miss him dearly.”

The family requested donations for the future maintenance of the Pasqual Marquez Family Cemetery with checks made payable to La Senora Research Institute-Cemetery Account—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization—and mailed to Kilbride at 245 Entrada Drive, Santa Monica, CA 90402.