CLASSIFIED ADS FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 4, 2010

November 4, 2010

EARLY DEADLINE: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be an early deadline for classified ads for the issue of December 2, 2010. The classified ad deadline will be Wednesday, November 24, at 11 a.m.

HOMES FOR SALE 1

GREAT DEALS. Homes Steps from Sand. Right in the Palisades! $125-450,000. Fab ocean views. For use as homes/offices/weekend retreats/condo alt. Terrific opportunity! PCH between Sunset and Temescal. 8 sold last year. Heated pool and rec center. Agent: Michelle Bolotin, (310) 230-2438, www.michellebolotin.com

BUILD YOUR DREAM ESTATE! Giant, flat, rectangular property, 18,300 sq. ft., all buildable. Unique opportunity for any builder’s imagination. Being sold for land value. Don, agt, (310) 230-1981

LOTS FOR SALE 1a

BEAUTIFUL ONE ACRE parcel in River View Estates, located just minutes from Paso Robles. Gated community featuring custom homes, fabulous views and all the amenities of Heritage Ranch are included. Across the street from the lake and new school and shopping center makes this a wonderful place to build your dream home, plan for your retirement or just vacation. Only 20 minutes from Paso Robles where you can enjoy world renown wine and fabulous restaurants. Call Alex, (805) 440-4418. Possible owner financing! ONLY $159,000.

HEADS UP INVESTORS. This lot is in an excellent location for a commercial/retail endeavor in the quaint town of San Miguel just minutes North of Paso Robles. Prime Mission St. frontage makes this parcel a great opportunity for an investor to participate in the future growth of this attractive downtown district. $127,000. Seller financing possible. Seller is extremely motivated. Call Alex (agent), (805) 440-4418

CONDOS, TOWNHOMES FOR SALE 1e

LOCATION! LOCATION! Stunning Palisades village 2 BD, 2 BA under $500K. Unique open floor plan, quiet/pvt unit w/ upgrades, greenbelt vu & pool. Amenities. Great value! $495K. Don, agt, (310) 230-1981

UNFURNISHED HOMES 2a

3 BDRM, 2 BTH HOME. 18 ft. ceilings, 2 decks, gas fireplace, spectacular mtn. views, new tile, s.s. appliances, separate 2 car garage, lrg closets, updated. Available 11/15. $3,700/mo. (310) 459-2692

HARTZELL STREET, Pacific Palisades. 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, w/ detached office/additional bedroom. Hardwood floors. Enclosed backyard w/ fruit trees. Min. 1 year lease. $3,400/mo. Phone (310) 570-3435

PACIFIC PALISADES. Bright 3 BR, 1 3/4 BA. Walk to village. Yard with some citrus trees. HW floors in living rm/dining area. No dogs. $3,400/mo. (310) 454-7275

2 BDRM, 2 BATH + DEN in upper Bel-Air Bay Club location. Private and lush setting. Walls of glass. Great natural light. New kitchen appliances. Attached garage. $4,000/mo. (310) 573-7473

UNFURNISHED APARTMENTS 2c

HOME-LIKE, SPACIOUS 1 bd, 1 ba, 800 sf. in triplex near bluffs & Village. Fireplace, bay window, hardwood, garage, laundry, garden. Non-smoker, no pets, 1 yr lease. $2,200/mo. (310) 804-3142

BEAUTIFULLY REMODELED 1 BDRM APARTMENT. Best ocean views in town. Stainless steel appliances, wood floors, fireplace, pool, laundry onsite & parking. Small pets ok. Please call (310) 227-9612. Equal housing opportunity.

CHARMING DUPLEX overlooking the Village. 1 bdrm, 1 ba. Quiet and quaint. Fantastic location. Walk everywhere. $1,695/mo. (310) 459-1220

ONE BEDROOM APARTMENT 1/2 block from Gelson’s and ‘village’ shops, two blocks from Temescal Cyn hiking. Quiet building, little street traffic. Call Michael, (310) 883-8049

COZY GUEST COTTAGE. Walk to Village. No smoke, no pets. Mature single person. $1,350/mo. Utilities included. (310) 709-5189

MOVE IN SPECIAL! 1 mo. free rent! Sunny 1 bd. 1 bth. Parking, laundry, carpet, fridge, stove, miniblinds. Small pet w/ pet deposit. 1 yr lease. $1,400/mo. (310) 589-5073, sunset.laslomas@gmail.com

LARGE STUDIO W/ GARDEN PATIO. Kitchenette, 3/4 bath & bonus room. $1,600/mo. unfurnished, $1,900/mo. furnished. (310) 795-3999

CONDOS, TOWNHOMES FOR RENT 2d

GEM IN THE PALISADES, Sunset & Almar. 2 bdrm, 2 1/2 ba. townhouse. Hardwood, tile, carpet, W/D, dishwasher, roof deck, parking. $3,350/mo. (310) 395-1073

$2,900/MO. BRIGHT, SPOTLESS TOWNHOME. 2 beds+2 baths. High ceiling master, plenty of storage, private garage with direct entry. Quiet, quiet. Broker, (310) 740-0302

BEAUTIFUL 3 BDRM, 2 1/2 BA Highlands townhouse with mountain views. Spacious, 2 fireplaces, 2 balconies, pool, gym, spa, W/D. Unfurnished: $3,500/mo. Elegantly furnished: $4,100/mo. (310) 459-9111

ROOMS FOR RENT 3

EXCLUSIVE BRENTWOOD HILLS HOUSE STUDIO. Private serene Brentwood studio w/ canyon view. Quiet, relaxed environ attached to gorgeous 2-story home north of Sunset off Kenter Canyon. Features a private entrance, patio, 2 bathrooms, Direct TV, Wi-Fi, deck, housecleaning services & laundry room. Heating/Air-conditioning and all additional utilities included. Perfect for writer, out of towner or commuter. Conveniently located near Brentwood Village. $1,900/mo. OBO. (310) 471-1011

OFFICE/STORE RENTALS 3c

OFFICE SUITE in the Atrium Building on Via de la Paz. 2 offices, reception area and restroom. Attractive space approx. 900 sq. ft. One year plus sub-lease. Rent negotiable. Great space. (310) 459-5353

OFFICE FOR LEASE. Professional building in Pacific Palisades Village for lease. Lovely and spacious suite available. Reasonable rent price. Excellent tenant improvements. 850 square feet. Please call Tracy Rasmussen at (310) 459-8700 for more details.

VACATION RENTALS 3e

PARK CITY. Unique and charming historic church converted to home. (435) 649-8298

LAS VEGAS VINEYARD VILLA luxury home offers 3,500 sq. ft. tri-level half acre with amazing strip view. Available now! Call Ramona for a reservation at (702) 222-0608

MISCELLANEOUS 4b

BAD CREDIT? NO PROBLEM!!!! Back to school. Holidays around the corner? Need some extra cash? Apply for a loan! Bad credit? No credit? No problem! Call (888) 593-7775. No fees.

BOOKKEEPING/ACCOUNTING 7b

NEED HELP WITH PAPERWORK? Mail & bills, bookkeeping, reconcile accounts, business mgmt, computer help. Caring, thorough, confidential. (310) 459-2066 or (310) 218-6653

COMPUTER SERVICES 7c

MARIE’S MAC & PC OUTCALL. I CAN HELP YOU IN YOUR HOME OR OFFICE WITH: ‘ Consultation on best hard/software for your needs ‘ Setting up & configuring your system & applications ‘ Teaching you how to use your Mac or PC ‘ Upgrades: Mac OS & Windows ‘ Internet: DSL, Wireless, E-mail, Remote Access ‘ Key Applications: MS Office, Filemaker, Quicken ‘ Contact Managers, Networking, File Sharing, Data backup ‘ Palm, Visor, Digital Camera, Scanner, CD Burning. FRIENDLY & PROFESSIONAL ‘ BEST RATES. (310) 262-5652

YOUR OWN TECH GURU * EXPERT SET-UP, OPTIMIZATION, REPAIR. Problem-Free Computing Since 1992. Work Smarter, Faster, More Reliably. If I Can’t Help, NO CHARGE! ALAN PERLA, (310) 455-2000

THE DETECHTIVES’. PROFESSIONAL ON-SITE MAC SPECIALISTS. PATIENT, FRIENDLY AND AFFORDABLE. WE COVER ALL THINGS MAC ‘ Consulting ‘ Installation ‘ Training and Repair for Beginners to Advanced Users ‘ Data recovery ‘ Networks ‘ Wireless Internet & more. (310) 838-2254, William Moorefield. www.thedetechtives.com

USER FRIENDLY’MAC CONSULTANT. User friendly. Certified Apple help desk technician and proud member of the Apple consultant network. An easy approach to understanding all of your computer needs. Offering computer support in wide variety of repairs, set-ups, installs, troubleshooting, upgrades, networking, and tutoring in the application of choice. Computer consulting at fair rates. Ryan Ross: (310) 721-2827. email: ryanaross@mac.com ‘ For a full list of services visit: http://userfriendlyrr.com/

EXPERT COMPUTER HELP ‘ On-site service’no travel charge ‘ Help design, buy and install your system ‘ One-on-one training, hard & software ‘ Troubleshooting, Mac & Windows, organizing ‘ Installations & upgrades ‘ Wireless networking ‘ Digital phones, photo, music ‘ Internet. Serving the Palisades, Santa Monica & Brentwood. DEVIN FRANK, (310) 499-7000

GARAGE, ESTATE SALE SERVICES 7f

PLANNING A GARAGE SALE? * an estate sale? a moving sale? a yard sale? Call it what you like. But call us to do it for you. We do the work. Start to finish. ‘ BARBARA DAWSON ‘ Estate/Garage Sale Specialist ‘ (310) 454-0359. barbdawson@roadrunner.com ‘ www.bmdawson.com ‘ Furniture ‘ Antiques ‘ Collectibles ‘ Junque ‘ Reliable professionals ‘ Local References

ORGANIZING SERVICES 7h

PERSONAL ASSISTANT/ORGANIZER. Outgoing & cheerful individual available for office or home organization. Office skills, errands, event & travel planning. Part time or temporary ok. 3 hour min. Reasonable rates. FEELING THE HOLIDAY CRUNCH? I can address cards, take care of your holiday shopping, Christmas decorating, gift wrapping, or party planning. Pam, (310) 733-8433

MISCELLANEOUS 7o

ESTATE ADMINISTRATOR. Years of experience. Impeccable references. Background check welcome. (626) 692-9688, lv message, rudig63@yahoo.com

NANNIES/BABYSITTERS 8a

NANNY. 15 yrs experience, infant-school age. Flexible w/ days, hours & overnights. FORMER PRE-K & K TEACHER. Great w/ pets. Top local references. Peace of mind for parents. Phyllis, (818) 340-7183

HOUSEKEEPERS 9a

PROFESSIONAL MAID SERVICES. In Malibu! We make your home our business. Star sparkling cleaning services. In the community over 15 years. The best in housekeeping for the best price. Good references. Licensed. Call Bertha, (323) 754-6873 & cell (213) 393-1419. professionalmaidinmalibu@google.com

LOOKING FOR A HOUSEKEEPING JOB. 2-3 days. 12 years experience, own transportation, legal, local references. Call Delmy, (323) 363-9492, delmycleaning.com

HOUSEKEEPER AVAILABLE. Excellent worker, dependable, trustworthy, excellent cook & excellent references. Call Arlina, (323) 229-9327

HOUSEKEEPER AVAILABLE Friday. Very good worker & excellent local references. 20 yrs experience. Own car. CDL. Can speak English. Call Marina, (323) 644-0090 (home) or (323) 829-9424 (cell)

GOOD HOUSEKEEPER AVAILABLE Monday through Friday. Own transportation, local references, good with kids & pets. Very light English. Please call Angelica, (818) 645-7775.

HOUSEKEEPER AVAILABLE 2-3 days a week. 22 years experience, own transportation, good references, honest, speaks English. Call Aida, (323) 735-7603 or (323) 835-9421 (leave a message)

ELDER CARE/COMPANIONS 10a

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU offering eldercare, childcare, and housekeeping. Professional and experienced. References available upon request. (818) 360-6368 or (310) 903-1434

CAREGIVER/ELDERLY CARE. Available day & night. Experienced, excellent references, mature, CPR & first aid certified, fluent English, own transportation. Please leave a message at (310) 745-7021

GARDENING/LANDSCAPING 11

PALISADES GARDENING ‘ Full Gardening Service ‘ Sprinkler Install ‘ Tree Trim ‘ Sodding ‘ Sprays, non-toxic ‘ FREE AZALEA PLANT ‘ Cell,(310) 701-1613, (310) 568-0989

MOVING & HAULING 11b

HONEST MAN SERVICES. All jobs, big or small. Moves and hauls it all. 14 foot truck. 20th year Westside. Delivery to 48 states. (310) 285-8688

POOL & SPA SERVICES 13e

PALISADES POOL SUPPLY. SWIMMING POOL SERVICE & REPAIR. 15415 Sunset Blvd., P.P. 90272 (310) 459-4357. www.PalisadesPool.com

STEREO, TV, VCR SERVICES 13g

1 REMOTE CONTROL THAT WORKS! Is your entertainment system not entertaining you? We can tune up your system, bring it up to date, hide wires, mount TVs, install speakers, etc. We can even reprogram or replace your remote control so it is easy to use. Call us, we can help! Lic. #515929. Stanford Connect, (310) 829-0872

WINDOW WASHING 13h

THE WINDOWS OF OZ. Detailed interior/exterior glass & screen cleaning. High ladder work. Solar panels/power washing also avail. Owner operated. Lic., bonded & insured. Free estimates. (310) 926-7626

MR. CRYSTAL WINDOW CLEANING. Please call Gary: (310) 828-1218 Free estimate, friendly service, discounts. Licensed & Insured.

PERSONAL SERVICES 14f

EXCELLENT PERSONAL ASSISTANT to help w/ tasks of the day. Organizing, driving, appointments, shopping, errands, property manager, banking deposits, etc. Excellent references. Evelyne, (310) 395-4660

PET SERVICES/PET SITTING 14g

PRIVATE DOG WALKER/housesitter, Palisades & Santa Monica. S.M. Canyon resident. Please call or email Sherry, (310) 383-7852, www.palisadesdogwalker.com

ClubHappyDog.com. Doggie Day Camp Play Group Excursions. Enroll Your Puppy at 4 Months Old. (310) 359-3433

MISCELLANEOUS 14k

FINE ART INSTALLATION. Confused about where or how to hang your art collectibles? Rick Strauss has been installing fine art for years in homes and offices throughout the Westside. Reasonable rates. (310) 459-8212

SCHOOLS, INSTRUCTION 15d

PIANO INSTRUCTION. Give the life-long gift of music! Very patient, creative teacher. Music degree, USC. Qualified, experienced, local. Lisa Donovan Lukas, (310) 454-0859, www.palisadesmusicstudio.com

TUTORS 15e

INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION. Children & adults. 20+ years teaching/tutoring exper. MATH, GRAMMAR, ESSAY WRITING & STUDY SKILLS. Formerly Sp. Ed. teacher. Call Gail, (310) 313-2530

MS. SCIENCE TUTOR. Ph.D., Experienced, Palisades resident. Tutor All Ages In Your Home. Marie, (310) 888-7145

PROFESSIONAL TUTOR. Stanford graduate (BA and MA, Class of 2000). Available for all subjects and test prep (SAT & ISEE). In-home tutoring at great rates. Call Jonathan, (310) 560-9134

MATH & CREATIVE WRITING SKILLS: COLLEGE ESSAYS, SAT/SAT II/ACT/ISEE/HSPT MATH PREP. All math subjects thru calculus. Jr. high thru college level writing skills. Fun, caring, creative, individualized tutoring. Local office in Palisades Village. Call Jamie, (888) 459-6430

EXPERIENCED SPANISH TUTOR ‘ All grade levels ‘ Grammar ‘ Conversational ‘ SAT/AP ‘ Children, adults ‘ Great references. Noelle, (310) 273-3593, (310) 980-6071

SCIENCE & MATH TUTOR. All levels (elementary to college). Ph.D., MIT graduate, 30 years experience. Ed Kanegsberg, (310) 459-3614

GROZA LEARNING CENTER. Tutoring K-12, all subjects & reading. SAT, ISEE, HSPT, ACT, ERB, STAR. Caring, meticulous service. GrozaLearningCenter.com ‘ (310) 454-3731

EDUCATIONAL THERAPY ‘ Assessment ‘ Motivation ‘ Remediation ‘ Personalized academic, cognitive, & behavioral support. ADD, Gifted, LD, School & Family Challenges. Free Consult ‘ Pre-K – Adult ‘ Local office 10+ years. Arlana J. Morley, MS, MFT, BCET. (310) 459-4125

ARE YOU FRUSTRATED? Want a new system of learning for children with AUTISM that really works? Private in-home sessions. WORLD TOURS TECHNIQUES, (310) 455-2505

MATH & SCIENCE TUTOR. Middle school-college level. BS LAUSD credentialed high school teacher. Test prep. Flexible hours. AVAILABLE to help NOW! Seth Freedman, (310) 909-3049

STANFORD-EDUCATED MATH & SCIENCE TUTOR. Young (ish) & personable, experienced, in-home. Algebra thru calculus, physics, chemistry, SAT. Refs. www.westsidestanfordtutor.com, (323) 309-6687

MATH TUTOR. 15 years in-home tutoring experience. Have excellent skills to deal with lack of motivation & experience to make math fun. Palisades resident. Call Jelica, (916) 302-6129

WORLD’S BEST TUTOR is now available in the Palisades. All ages, most subjects. Let me help your child succeed. References on request. Jan, (310) 454-6774

MATH TUTOR, 10 years + in West L.A., Geometry, Algebra 1 & 2, Statistics, Calculus. Michigan MBA. Very reasonable rates. Call Bill, (310) 454-9821

MATH, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS TUTOR * All math through AP calculus, AP chemistry and AP physics. Ask about homework club!!! www.clc90272.com or (310) 459-3239

Alex Van Name, a NAME you can TRUST! for k-12 Science and Math Tutoring. www.310ScienceMath.com. Summer Assignments, S.A.T. and A.C.T. Prep, Academic Tutoring and Support. Math, Pre-Algebra, Algebra, pre-Calc, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Honors and AP too! ‘Mr. Van Name is such a patient and creative instructor. He explains the material thoroughly and is always ready to explain it in different ways until it makes sense.’ Call: (310) 295-8915. Email: alexvanname@tmo.blackberry.net. 12011 San Vicente Blvd. Suite 540, Los Angeles, CA 90049

EXPERIENCED LOCAL CHEMISTRY teacher available for tutoring in chemistry. Specializing in honors & AP chemistry. Please call Carole, (310) 749-3378. For math tutoring, algebra through calculus, call Shane at (310) 749-3397. Reasonable rates.

* COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAYS * EXPERT GUIDANCE AND TUTORING. English professor with 15 years of experience. Please, call Diana at (310) 663-5606. engelmann_diana@smc.edu

SPANISH: Palisades resident from South America, patient & friendly, offers Spanish tutoring to all student levels. Learn, improve & gain self confidence at school, traveling, work, etc. (310) 741-8422

FRENCH/SPANISH TUTOR. Very experienced high school teacher. UCLA graduate. Flexible schedule. Reasonable rates. References on request. Call Dominique: (310) 702-0941

PRACTICAL FRENCH TUTORING. Make learning or improving French a Dynamic and Fun experience. Tutors all levels in the comfort of your home. Free level assessment. Call Francois @ (310) 804-1650

READING & WRITING TUTOR. Credentials in general ed. & special ed. 30 years of teaching / tutoring experience. Offering individual / small group sessions. Elaine, (310) 454-6070

MATH/SCIENCE/SAT TUTOR. Widely used by Palisades residents. Excellent references. Dozens of satisfied clients at top schools. Call Will at (510) 378-7138

KIDS’ ACTIVITIES 15g

PRIVATE FITNESS FOR KIDS ‘ Coach Corey provides one-on-one sports & fitness training for children 3-13. Specializing in coordination and motor skill development for all levels, including Autistic Spectrum (OT references). This unique program guarantees transformational RESULTS! Featured in London Times, Details & Good Morning LA! Call (310) 712-5758

MUSIC LESSONS & INSTRUCTION 15h

TRUMPET & MUSIC LESSONS. Phrasing, musicality, music theory, ear training, composing, songwriting. USC & Juilliard graduate. (310) 497-2929

CARPENTRY 16a

YANKEE CRAFTSMAN CARPENTER HANDYMAN specializing in home repairs and renovations. Frame to finish. No job too small. 20 years experience. Not lic. Call Mark at (424) 672-0645

CONCRETE, MASONRY, POOLS 16c

MASONRY, CONCRETE & POOL CONTRACTOR. 40 YEARS IN PACIFIC PALISADES. New Construction & Remodels. Hardscapes, landscapes, custom stone, stamped concrete, brick, driveways, retaining walls, BBQs, outdr kitchens, fireplaces, foundations, drainage, pool & spas, water features. Exlnt local refs. Lic #309844. Bonded, ins, work comp. MIKE HORUSICKY CONSTRUCTION, INC. (310) 454-4385 ‘ WWW.HORUSICKY.COM

CONSTRUCTION 16d

SEME TILE. License #920238, insured. All phases of tile work. Kitchens, bathrooms, walkways, etc. No job too small! Call Steve, (310) 663-7256. FREE estimates! Email: semetile@gmail.com & website: www.semetile.com

PALISADES HOME REPAIR SERVICE. Super reliable, super clean’over 200 completed home repairs. There is no one better! Lic. #294-272. Call Mark, (310) 622-2773

ELECTRICAL 16h

PALISADES ELECTRIC. ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. All phases of electrical, new construction to service work. (310) 454-6994. Lic. #468437 Insured Professional Service

ELECTRICIAN HANDYMAN. Local service only. Non-lic. Please call (310) 454-6849 or (818) 317-8286

LICHWA ELECTRIC. Remodeling, rewiring, troubleshooting. Lighting: low voltage, energy safe, indoor, outdoor, landscape. Low voltage: telephone, Internet, CCTV, home theatre, audio/video. Non-lic. Refs. LichwaElectric@gmail.com, (310) 270-8596

FENCES, DECKS 16j

THE FENCE MAN. 18 years quality work ‘ Wood fences ‘ Decks ‘ Gates ‘ Chainlink & patio ‘ Wrought iron. Lic. #663238, bonded. (818) 706-1996

CARLOS FENCE COMPANY. Wood & picket fences, wrought iron, chain link, gates, handrails, balconies, decks, pergola, arbor. Custom jobs available. (310) 677-2737, (310) 677-8650 (fax), carlos_fence@yahoo.com

FLOOR CARE 16m

GREG GARBER’S HARDWOOD FLOORS SINCE 1979. Install, refinish. Fully insured. Local references (310) 230-4597 Lic. #455608

CENTURY HARDWOOD FLOOR. Refinishing, Installation, Repairs. Lic. #813778. www.centurycustomhardwoodfloorinc.com. centuryfloor@sbcglobal.net ‘ (800) 608-6007 ‘ (310) 276-6407

JEFF HRONEK, 40 YRS. RESIDENT. HARDWOOD FLOORS INC. ‘ Sanding & Refinishing ‘ Installations ‘ Pre-finished ‘ Unfinished ‘ Lic. #608606. Bonded, Insured, Workers Comp. www.hronekhardwoodfloors.com (310) 475-1414

HANDYMAN 16o

HANDYMAN ‘ HOOSHMAN ‘ Most known name in the Palisades. Since 1975. Member Chamber of Commerce. Non-Lic., but experience will do it. Call for your free est. Local refs available. Hooshman, (310) 459-8009, 24 Hr.

LABOR OF LOVE carpentry, plumbing, tile, plaster, doors, windows, fencing & those special challenges. Work guaranteed. License #B767950. Ken at (310) 487-6464

LOCAL RESIDENT, LOCAL CLIENTELE. Make a list, call me. I specialize in repairing, replacing all those little nuisances. Not licensed; fully insured; always on time. 1 Call, 1 Guy: Marty, (310) 459-2692

DJ PRO SERVICES ‘ Carpentry, Handyman, Repairs. ALL PROJECTS CONSIDERED. See my work at: www.djproservices.com. Non-lic. (c) (310) 907-6169, (h) (310) 454-4121

SAM DE LA CRUZ’EXPERT CRAFTSMAN ‘ Painting ‘ Plumbing ‘ Tile-work ‘ Carpentry ‘ Electrical. No job too small! Rain or shine! Good references & reasonable rates. Sammy, (310) 386-2244

I CAN FIX THAT! ‘ HOME REPAIRS ‘ PALISADES RESIDENT, call today for help today. See ripmx.com/handyman for a list of services or call JOHN now, (310) 745-3200

PALI HANDYMAN & CONST. SERVICES. LOW COST HOME IMPROVEMENT. All jobs welcome such as all painting exterior-interior-walls-moldings etc., un-sticking of doors & windows, concrete, tile, brick/block, carpentry, woodwork, patios, decks, all fencing, gates, doors, cabinetry, drywall repair, roofing, additions, flooring, bathrooms, kitchens, water damage, electrical, plumbing, pressure washing, picture hanging, lighting, stucco, repair, sanding, clean up and trash removal and all other projects or fix it problems needed. Call now for a FREE ESTIMATE! Kevin, Brian Nunneley, (310) 488-1153 (always working in Palisades). Licensed, bonded and insured. 24 hr/7 days service available also!

HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING 16p

SANTA MONICA HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING. INSTALLATION: New and old service and repairs. Lic. #324942 (310) 393-5686

PAINTING, PAPERHANGING 16r

PAUL HORST ‘ Interior & Exterior ‘ PAINTING ‘ 56 YEARS OF SERVICE. Our reputation is your safeguard. License No. 186825 ‘ (310) 454-4630 ‘ Bonded & Insured

TILO MARTIN PAINTING. For A Professional Job Call (310) 230-0202. Refs. Lic. #715099

J W C PAINTING. Residential & commercial. Years of experience. Affordable & reliable. Local references. Lic. #914882. Free estimates. jwcpnc@yahoo.com. Call Jason Childs (Charlie), (310) 428-4432

JIMENEZ PAINTING ‘ Interior & exterior. Residential & commercial. Cabinet refinishing. Over 15 yrs exp. References avail. 100% quality work. For free estimates call Javier, (818) 268-3311 or (818) 489-7268

REMODELING 16v

KANAN CONSTRUCTION. References. BONDED ‘ INSURED ‘ St. Lic. #554451 ‘ DANIEL J. KANAN, CONTRACTOR, (310) 451-3540 / (800) 585-4-DAN

ONE WEEK ROOM REMODELS. Let us transform a room in your home in one week! Pali resident. Website: debonairenovations.com. (310) 877-5577

COMPLETE CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION ‘ Kitchen+bath ‘ Additions ‘ Tile, carpentry, plumbing. Quality work at reasonable rates guaranteed. Large & small projects welcomed. Lic. #751137. Call Michael Hoff Construction, (310) 774-9159

TILE 16x

Tile. Nancy Lee Douglass, Lic. #742322 ‘ Regrout ‘ Recaulk ‘ Repair ‘ Install ‘ Beautify ‘ Consult ‘ 25 yrs. exp. ‘ References ‘ Local ‘ (310) 450-6427

HELP WANTED 17

FUDDRUCKERS HIRING cooks, cashiers, shift leaders! Apply 2-4 p.m. daily. 10250 Santa Monica Blvd. 221 North San Fernando. Great Oppty’s! (310) 277-7756

NURSERY COORDINATOR to manage nursery at Pali. Lutheran Church. Sundays, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Childcare exp., 21 yrs or older. Starting $16/hr. (depending on exp.). Daryl, (310) 459-2358, dcedaryl@plc.cc

HAIR STYLIST * Station for rent in Palisades established beauty salon. Reasonable rent. Information: (310) 454-3521

GARAGE, ESTATE SALES 18d

WESTWOOD! Beautiful furn/furnishgs/art/collectibles, household goods. Linens/clothes/jewelry. Fri.-Sat., Nov. 5-6, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. 10637 Le Conte Avenue. Photos/details: www.bmdawson

Brownley & Waxman Retain Their Seats

dev

November 4, 2010

At the Palisades Recreation Center, Gisele (4) waited as her dad Rich Genow cast his ballot.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, *Staff Photographer*

In Tuesday’s mid-term election, there were surprises across the nation, but Californians largely re-elected incumbents. Veteran Democratic Representative Henry Waxman (who represents Pacific Palisades) retained his seat by receiving 64.6 percent of the vote, and Democrat Julia Brownley won a third term in the Assembly with 58.6 percent of the vote. Palisadian Mark Ebert, who has two daughters in college and a third in the work force, hasn’t missed an election since he was able to vote. ‘It’ll be interesting,’ Ebert said after voting on Tuesday. ‘I think the Democrats will keep the Senate, but lose the House.’ His prediction proved accurate with Republicans gained at least 60 seats in the House, giving them a tentative 239 to 185 advantage. In the Senate, Democrats retained a 51 to 47 edge. Democrat Barbara Boxer will return for a fourth term to the Senate after receiving 52 percent of the vote defeating Carly Fiorina. ’It’s a good turnout,’ said poll worker Bill McClean, who was stationed at the ballot box at the American Legion polling site on La Cruz. ‘I haven’t seen it this crowded since the Clinton election.’ McClean, who estimated he has worked between 15 and 20 elections, pointed out that since so many people now mail in their ballots, it was unusual to have a steady stream of voters at the precinct. Statewide, Democrat Jerry Brown was elected governor, defeating Meg Whitman with 53.8 percent of the vote. Democrat Gavin Newsom is the new lieutenant governor, Democrat Debra Bowen is the secretary of state, the treasurer is Bill Lockyear, the controller is Democrat John Chiang, and the race for attorney general is undecided between Steve Cooley and Kamala Harris. California voters also decided the fate of nine propositions. Defeated were Prop. 19 that would have legalized marijuana, Prop. 21 that proposed an $18 vehicle surcharge for state park funding, Prop. 23 that called for suspending pending air-pollution controls, Prop. 24 that would have allowed for lower business tax liability, and Prop. 27 that called for eliminating state redistricting. Propositions receiving a ‘yes’ vote were Prop. 20 which allows the redistricting of Congressional districts, Prop. 22 which prohibits the state government from taking select local funds, Prop. 25 which allows state legislators to pass a budget by a simple majority, and Prop. 26 that requires a 2/3 vote for certain state and local fees. Steven Wright, a first-time poll worker and Wildwood School junior, explained his duties. ’I’m a ballot clerk; I give you a ballot, make sure you know what you’re doing with the InkaVote [pen] and then I put you in the right spot.’ The Palisades resident said he volunteered for the day-long job because he thought it would be fun. Poll workers were on site at 6 a.m. and stayed until after the polls closed at 8 p.m. counting the number of ballots cast. For the 14-hour shift, workers make about $100. ‘I think all elections are extremely important,’ Palisadian Delores Judge said. ‘It’s my patriotic duty to be a poll worker.’ Outside the American Legion, three Loyola Marymount political science majors’Amanda Schwartz, Amanda Pourebrahim and Steven Guerra’were asking voters if they would like to participate in an exit poll asking who people voted for and why. This was one of more than 30 locations in Los Angeles where voters were given that opportunity. The three students, who arrived at 7 a.m. and remained until the polls closed, were not allowed to look at the surveys. The results were used to forecast the winners for the 10 p.m. Fox Television election coverage.

Gusto at the Village Fair

dev

November 4, 2010

Zach Hausner (right), age 8, won the inaugural pie-eating contest for kids at the Chamber of Commerce Village Fair on Sunday at Palisades High. On his right are Maximo Speiser, 8, and Maximo’s brother Sammy, 10. The boys all attend Palisades Elementary. Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer

Neighbors Fight Parking Along Will Rogers Road

dev

November 4, 2010

Residents are asking the city to improve traffic conditions along Will Rogers State Park Road. On weekends, many visitors park on the road to avoid the $12 parking fee at Will Rogers State Historic Park.

By DANIELLE GILLESPIE A number of Pacific Palisades residents who live next to Will Rogers State Historic Park asked the Community Council last Thursday to help them resolve traffic issues along the winding, two-lane country road that leads to the park. At the meeting, resident Brian Temple explained that on the weekends, people park their vehicles along the narrow road and walk uphill to the park to avoid paying the $12 parking fee. Parking is prohibited on nearby residential streets, Villa Woods Drive and Villa View Drive. As a result, Temple, who lives on Villa View, said it creates a safety hazard. Visitors make sudden U-turns and stop traffic when backing into spaces. Families and friends mingle in the street while unloading picnic baskets and strollers. In addition, visitors tend to walk in the middle of the street because there are no sidewalks. ‘It shouldn’t have to take a catastrophic accident to change this,’ Temple said. The situation was much worse on October 10, when the park hosted the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic. Attendees parked along both sides of the road from the bottom of Sunset Boulevard to the stop sign at Villa View, preventing residents from leaving or returning home. Many of these vehicles were parked illegally, but there was no enforcement. Jill Eisfelder, who lives on Villa View, said the neighbors have complained for years. Eisfelder presented the Council with a letter signed by 45 residential families and a packet of photos, illustrating the issues such as foot traffic and unsafe U-turns. To resolve the situation, the neighbors are asking that the city install clearly visible, unobstructed and understandable ‘No Parking At Any Time’ signs along both sides of the road from Sunset to the park. They also want the city to paint a yellow centerline on the road and paint the curbs red on the curves, where parking is especially dangerous. According to their letter, ‘Most of the road has no prohibition against parking ‘ most notably the two hairpin turns where parking creates an extraordinary hazard. There are a few ‘No Parking’ signs along the road, but they are confusing and ambiguous.’ There are 14 ‘No Parking’ signs on the west side of the road, and seven signs on the east side of the road between Villa View and the park entrance. Jessyca Avalos, a field deputy for Councilman Bill Rosendahl, told the Palisadian-Post on Monday that she has submitted a request to the L.A. Department of Transportation for more ‘no parking’ signs. She said signs have been ordered, but she does not have an installation date. She has also asked DOT to paint a yellow centerline, but DOT officials informed her that this action would completely prohibit parking on both sides of the street, which they did not think was necessary. Lt. Jody Perez of L.A. Parking Enforcement, who attended Thursday’s meeting, said that her officers do not ticket drivers if they can’t see the ‘No Parking’ sign from their vehicle. Once the new signs are posted, Perez said her officers will have a greater ability to ticket. ’If people get a $55 ticket for parking illegally, they quickly figure out that it’s cheaper to park in the Will Rogers parking lot,’ Perez said. Council member Joyce Brunelle said she thinks if Will Rogers lowered its $12 fee, more people would park in the lot. Will Rogers Park has a total of 118 regular paved parking spaces in addition to six disabled spots and two bus parking spaces. The overflow dirt areas can accommodate an additional 100 vehicles. Topanga Sector Superintendent Lynette Brody responded that the fee is $12 because for the past three years, the state legislature has threatened to close the park for budgetary reasons. ’It costs more money to keep the park open even if we cut down on the fees,’ Brody said, noting that the Angeles District (from Point Mugu to Los Angeles State Historic Park) brings in between $2 to $3 million in day-use fees, but requires a $4.5 million budget to operate. If voters had passed Proposition 21 in Tuesday’s election, California residents would have been able to park in the Will Rogers lot for free. The measure had proposed an $18 annual surcharge on all vehicles registered in the state in exchange for free day-use entry to all state parks. Brody apologized to the neighbors for the additional traffic caused by the inaugural Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic. She explained that the park had received a permit for the event and was allowed to have 2,500 visitors; about 1,700 people attended. Unfortunately, instead of taking the shuttle from Will Rogers State Beach, many attendees chose to park illegally on the road and walk up to the park, some of them wearing high-heels. Brody said she would work with the proper city agencies to alleviate this problem. Perez added that if she is notified in advance, she can have extra officers in the area to provide enforcement. ’We will make sure that we address it for the next event,’ Brody said.

Citizens Vie for Seats on the PaliHi Board

dev

November 4, 2010

The candidates running for a seat on the Palisades Charter High School board will share their goals for the school tonight from 6 to 7 p.m. in Room B-101 on campus. There are seven open seats on the 11-member board, which comprises three community members, three parents, three teachers, one classified staff member and one administrator. Lisa Kaas Boyle is running unopposed for the community seat, which will be voted on by PaliHi personnel, parents and students. Vicky Frances, Naomi Norwood and Robert Hayman are contending for the other community seat, which will be voted on by PaliHi personnel. PaliHi parents will vote for their seats. Incumbent John Callas and Stephanie Inyama are vying for the traveling parent seat, while Carol Osborne, Ines Boechat, Allison Holdorff Polhill and Randi Levin are competing for the parent seat. A traveling parent resides in the communities represented by PaliHi’s Permit with Transportation, Public School Choice and Magnet programs. The teachers and classified staff members will vote for their own representatives. Social studies teacher Chris Lee is running unopposed for one of the faculty seats, while special education teacher and incumbent James Paleno is running unopposed for the other seat. Julia O’Grady and Eleanor Rozell are seeking the classified staff position. Voters have until Wednesday, November 10 to cast their ballot. The Palisadian-Post has interviewed those candidates who will be voted on by parents and students.

TRAVELING PARENT CANDIDATES

John Callas, a sales director for the Rovi Corporation, has served on the board for the past two years. Since his election, he has lobbied the board to write policies that clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the administrators and the board. He is now working on that vision as part of PaliHi’s Governance Policy Committee. If re-elected, Callas wants to work on collective bargaining negotiations, and he thinks teachers should be graded on the basis of performance rather than tenure. ’There are fantastic teachers at this school,’ said Callas, who has two children at PaliHi. ‘Some of the bad ones are holding back the community.’ In addition, Callas said he would like to ensure that the board clearly communicates to all stakeholders the hiring process for selecting a new principal/executive director and then adheres to that course of action. ’I’m so in favor of the UCLA program to get our senior-level team,’ Callas said. The board hired consultants from the UCLA School Management Program for the 2010-11 school year to assist the school community with the selection of a new principal and/or executive director. Stephanie Inyama, who has a junior at the school, says she would ensure that the UCLA hiring process is timely, productive and cost-effective. She also wants to help develop a student transportation plan, with the goal of maintaining campus diversity and enrollment. This spring, LAUSD and PaliHi agreed to phase out busing students from around the city to the school by 2012-13 because of budget constraints. In addition, Inyama said she wants to ‘help implement positive and sustainable improvements within the math department in order to produce better student outcomes and reduce the need for outside tutoring.’ Inyama thinks that her 10 years of experience as a community consultant will be beneficial to the board. She works with public and private agencies and foundations to enhance the lives of children and families.

PARENT CANDIDATES

After serving as the community representative for one year, Carol Osborne became so impressed with PaliHi that she decided to send her daughter there rather than private school as a freshman. Therefore, she had to step down from her community-member seat a year early. ’I did want to serve the two years that I committed to,’ Osborne said of why she decided to run for the parent seat. ‘I think we made a lot of progress this past year, and I like to think that I helped in that progress.’ Osborne, who works as a corporate lawyer and regularly advises boards of directors on governance issues, said that she thinks she helped the board better understand its role, which is to focus on policy, strategy and the mission of the school. If re-elected, Osborne (the board’s current vice chair) wants to continue that work in addition to helping the board develop a budget strategy. ’I think we need to be innovative about growing our revenue outside of what the state gives us,’ Osborne said, noting that, for example, the school could charge tuition for summer school. Ines Boechat, a UCLA professor of radiology and pediatrics for 30 years, said she thinks her 10 years of experience working on diversity issues in the UC system will be an asset to PaliHi’s board. She is currently a member of the UC President’s Advisory Committee on Climate, Culture and Inclusion. ’Our state has a very diverse population, which is not well represented at the UC schools,’ Boechat said. ‘My goal is to work with [PaliHi] to improve what is called the ‘leaking pipeline’ and motivate students to go to college.’ Boechat, who has a daughter at PaliHi, also served on the University Senate Academic Council, so she is knowledgeable about the new requirements for admission, which will be implemented in 2013. ’I believe my experience and skills would be helpful to the school and our community,’ Boechat said. Allison Polhill, an attorney, has spent the past 12 years volunteering her time at Pacific Palisades schools. She currently serves on PaliHi’s Governance Policy and Hiring committees. She volunteers as a volleyball team parent and fundraises for the marching band. A mother of two PaliHi students, Polhill has also served on Palisades Elementary’s and Paul Revere Charter Middle School’s boards and charter writing committees. Because of this, she said she understands how boards and charter schools operate. She also emphasizes her ability to bring people together around a common issue. ’I know how to diffuse conflict and not to take it personally,’ Polhill said. Randi Levin, who has two children at PaliHi, says she wants to make sure the lack of state funding for education has the least impact on students. As part of her job as general manager and chief technology officer for the City of Los Angeles, she has saved the city more than $30 million in the past three years through a variety of mechanisms such as zero-based budgeting, which is also practiced at PaliHi, and combining and renegotiating contracts. She would like to employ similar methods at PaliHi. Levin also wants PaliHi to explore the use of new technology such as online classes as a financial resource. Students who are unable to attend a public high school because of illness or work can still be enrolled through online classes, which means the school continues to receive state funding for them. The state pays schools on the basis of the number of students who attend on a regular basis. Pali officials are already working to start such a distance learning program.

‘COMMUNITY SEAT TWO-YEAR TERM

Lisa Kaas Boyle, an environmental attorney and co-founder and policy director for the Plastic Pollution Coalition, has volunteered with the Independent School Alliance for the past two years helping to raise funds, so that students who do not have the financial resources can attend private schools. The experience inspired her to run for the PaliHi board because she wanted to improve the entire public school system for all students. ’It’s not enough to save a few,’ said Boyle, a 20-year Palisades resident. ‘We have to save them all. There has to be a public school system where every child has the opportunity to a great education.’ She noted that there is a growing gap between the rich and poor in this country and an increasing difference between what is offered at private schools compared to public schools. Her 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son attend Thacher School (a boarding school in Ojai) and Brentwood School, respectively. ’I feel a personal responsibility to make the high school in my community the best it can be,’ Boyle said.

Tracie Christensen, UCLA Leader and Devoted Mom

dev

November 4, 2010

Tracie Carole Christensen, a resident of Pacific Palisades, died Wednesday, October 20, in Santa Monica after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was 46. Born in Glendale, California, to Carole and Charles Deack on November 14, 1963, Tracie was raised in Alhambra and attended Marguerita Elementary School with her younger brother, Scott. Tracie loved to dance and perform as a child, and pursued her passion by becoming both a junior varsity and varsity cheerleader at Alhambra High School. She also excelled academically, graduating with honors, and was named to the National Society of Distinguished High School Students. Tracie earned her bachelor’s degree in communications at UC Santa Barbara, and made the dean’s list before graduating in 1985. She was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, where she met sisters who would become her lifelong friends. Tracie’s career path led her to UCLA, where she headed the development program for the College of Letters and Science while concurrently directing the Women and Philanthropy program. In 2008, she was selected from a national pool of candidates for the job of associate vice chancellor for development. At UCLA, Tracie was known as ‘a talented leader with an impeccable strength of character and fierce conviction’who consistently forged dynamic and loyal teams marked by an esprit de corps and a dedication to having fun in pursuit of unwavering success.’ Tracie married Robert (Rob) Christensen in 1993, and settled in Pacific Palisades. Together they enjoyed windsurfing, traveling to Hawaii, Aruba, Japan and many other destinations. After their son Cade was born in 1998, Tracie became a devoted mother who treasured her family and rarely missed Cade’s baseball, soccer, football and basketball games, along with the many school activities. Always with a smile on her face, Tracie was a shining light to her family, a dedicated friend and an inspiration to her colleagues. In addition to Rob and Cade Christensen, Tracie is survived by her parents, Carole and Charles Deack; her brother Scott; sister-in-law Denise; and two nephews, Ryan and Trevor. Services were held on November 1 at St. Matthew’s Church in Pacific Palisades, followed by burial services at Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica. An additional tribute to Tracie Christensen will be held at UCLA on November 7 at 1 p.m. at Royce Hall. All interested community members are encouraged to attend. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the ‘Cade Robert Christensen Scholarship Trust,’ c/o Keenan Behrle, 9665 Wilshire Blvd., Suite M-10, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, or the UCLA Sarcoma Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

John Buck, 56; PaliHi Grad

dev

November 4, 2010

John Arthur Buck, a former resident of Pacific Palisades, died on June 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was 56. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 23, 1953, John moved with his family to the Huntington Palisades in 1955. After graduating from Palisades High, he received a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. While at BYU, he went on a two-year mission to Belgium; he spoke fluent French and had a wonderful experience there. After working for Bank of America for many years, John tried to be an entrepreneur. He was working for a casino in Las Vegas as a reservations clerk before he died. ’In 2007, my brother invited me on a trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands for a week,’ said his sister Catherine. ‘He was generous that way.’ John was predeceased by his parents, Varge and Olive, his younger brother Roger, and his twin brother, Don Paul Buck. Survivors include his sister, Catherine Buck Maddox of Waco, Texas. A service will be held Friday, November 5, at Westwood Memorial Mortuary in Westwood.

Roberta Herr, 52; Native Palisadian

dev

November 4, 2010

Roberta Beagles Herr, a native of Pacific Palisades, passed away on October 30 at the age of 52, after a three-week fight with ‘poorly differentiated small cell cancer occurring in the liver.” Born at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica in 1958, Roberta lived her childhood on the Castellammare mesa. She had a congenital hearing loss, but with great determination became an extremely good lip-reader. She attended Marquez Elementary, Paul Revere Junior High and graduated from Palisades High in 1975. She attended UC Irvine and San Jose State University, where she earned a degree in occupational therapy. Roberta married Norman Herr in 1981 at Palisades Presbyterian Church, and enjoyed 29 wonderful years of marriage.’ During the early years of her marriage, Roberta worked as an occupational therapist at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, but gave it up to be an at-home mom, the job she enjoyed most in life. She was active with her family at Valley Presbyterian Church in North Hills, where she was involved in children’s ministries for the past 25 years. ‘ Roberta was a quiet servant and friend who blessed many, many lives. She enjoyed time with her husband, children and friends, and she spent many days camping and hiking with her family throughout national parks and wilderness areas in the United States and Canada. Recently, she had acquired a great interest in European travel because her son-in-law is from the Netherlands. ‘ Roberta is survived by her loving husband, Norman Herr, a professor at Cal State Northridge; her mother, Alice Beagles, a long-time resident of Pacific Palisades; her sister, Jessica Roos, a former school board member in Culver City;’her daughter, Christiana Naaktgeboren, who with her husband Marten serve in Uganda with Water Missions, a’Christian engineering organization serving the water and sanitation needs of people in developing countries and disaster areas; her son Stephen, a recent graduate of UC Santa Barbara; and her youngest son, John, a sophomore engineering student at UC Santa Barbara. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, November 6, at 2 p.m. at Valley Presbyterian Church, 9200 Haskell Ave., North Hills.’Memorial donations may be made to the Reformed University Fellowship (UCSB chapter), or Water Missions International.

Science, Song and Myths

dev

November 4, 2010

A Pre-History of Southern California

Author Susan Suntree in Temescal Canyon. Suntree is a poet, performance artist and teacher at East Los Angeles College.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, *Staff Photographer*

By Stephen Motika Palisadian-Post Contributor Susan Suntree, a Santa Monica resident, is a poet, performer and teacher deeply engaged with Los Angeles’s prehistoric past. Her new book, ‘Sacred Sites: The Secret History of Southern California,’ (University of Nebraska Press) culminates a more than 25-year effort to transform her understanding of the region’s dynamic geological and early human history into a unique poetic account. She’ll be reading from the book at Village Books at 7:30 p.m on Monday, November 8, and giving a slide talk derived from her research at the Santa Monica Public Library on Wednesday, December 8. Suntree’s 300-page book has been described by the writer Carolyn See as an ‘absolutely unique work of art,’ and a ‘symphonic epic in verse’ by UCLA professor Peter Nabokov. Yet, it’s also an important gathering of the natural history and myths and songs of the indigenous people of Southern California. Although it has some of the trademarks of a scholarly book, with an introduction by anthropologist Lowell John Bean, a large section of notes and an extensive bibliography, Suntree’s rich and expansive account of the restless land and the ancient singers defines the heart of this book. The project began simply enough, in the mid 1980s, when Suntree hoped to answer a question that was nagging her: ‘Where am I?’ A recent transplant to Los Angeles, she was shocked by the city after living in the Sierra Nevada foothills for the previous five years. ‘In Northern California,’ she told the Palisadian-Post, it was not uncommon for people to have knowledge of the geography and the indigenous culture. Here, no one knows where they are.’ Suntree, who studied folklore and English at the University of Arizona and theater at the University of Kent, had been working in performance, so she applied for funding by the newly created Santa Monica Art Commission. Inspired by her friend, poet Gary Snyder’s experience in Kyoto, Japan, where he visited the sacred Shinto sites in order to be acquainted with the area, she proposed the creation of a performance titled ‘Sacred Sites/Santa Monica.’ She received the grant and proceeded to write a script for a group of actors who performed the piece in schools and theatres in the region. After that, the show went dormant until 1992, when Cal Sate L.A. commissioned a ‘Sacred Sites/Los Angeles.’ The next iteration included a one-woman show, enlivened by different masks, which Suntree wears while performing, and development of a tour to prehistoric sites that she gave to classes and other interested groups. She took the show to Australia and, through the support of the 18th Street Art Center, to Utrecht, Holland. People began to ask if she was working on a book. The project ‘was burning a hole in my filing cabinet, and I had to make a decision about whether to do the book or not,’ Suntree explained. We either needed to break up or get together. I decided to do it.’ But writing the book involved filling in gaps in her understanding of geological and Native American oral history that didn’t even exist in books. Suntree spent hours interviewing all manner of paleo-scientists, from archeologists and ethnographers to botanists and geologists. She visited many archives, including that of Constance Goddard DuBois, a late 19th-century bluestocking, lesbian novelist from New England who came to Southern California after reading Helen Hunt Jackson’s ‘Ramona.’ ’DuBois became an amateur anthropologist, collecting objects, but even more importantly, the oral tradition of Luise’o Indians,’ said Suntree, who believes that without DuBois’s work, we wouldn’t have valuable songs and stories of the local tribes. For the Native people of Southern California, Suntree added, ‘The songs are the core of the cultural contract. The history of your family is in a song. The myths are sung.’ Suntree also canvassed key Native American and geologic sites. She was taken around by people like Chester King, the foremost archeologist of the Southern Chumash and Northern Tongva, the two tribes that lived in the Santa Monica Mountains. Other locations included the site where the San Andreas Fault is exposed in the Palmdale road cut of the Antelope Valley Freeway. She recalled witnessing ‘the dramatic twist and turn of the fault, a ribbon of breakage of this absolutely dramatic piece of fault. To stand there and really contemplate it was amazing, as though seeing one coil of the primordial snake.’ Joined by a Native American leader, her visit to Juitgait, known to us as Mt. Baldy, and one of the peaks in the ring of Seven Sacred Mountains that surround the greater Los Angeles area made a powerful impact. Each of the peaks is important in the Native people’s vision of the world. The valley between Frazier Mountain and Mount Pinos ‘is the arena of the center of the world,’ Suntree said. ‘Castle Peak in the Simi Hills means ‘Place of the tongue’ and is particularly charged with energy.’ The Santa Monica Mountains are rich with petroglyphs and village sites. Suntree noted that you can find cemeteries and places for doctoring, where ‘human beings enacted their connections with the rest of the universe,’ throughout the range. There were large Tongva villages at Topanga, which means ‘village in the mountains that run to the sea,’ in Malibu creek, and in Temescal Canyon. A key Tongva village stood where University High School is today. Called Koruuvanga, which means ‘place where we are in the sun,’ it sits on the Santa Monica-Malibu fault line, where a separation in the bedrock causes a line of fresh water springs. Suntree said: ‘It was a perfect location for a village, with fresh water, a wetland area that attracted birds, an upland going up to the Santa Monica mountains, and right on the old Indian trail.’ It’s where Cabrillo camped on the Feast of Saint Monica in 1769 and gave the bay and region its name. Today, several acres are preserved and maintained by the Gabrielino/Tongva Springs Foundation. Suntree explained that one of the most difficult things for her to understand was the rotation of the tectonic plates, from east to west. ‘The plasticity and motion of landscape is constant. All this land came twirling up from Mexico.’ She added with a laugh, ‘We’re heading to our demise in the Aleutian trench.’ In the book, Suntree starts her narrative well before the Earth was formed, going back more than 14 billion years, before space and time, and takes us up to the arrival of the Spaniards. She found the act of converting her performance scripts into the book manuscript to be a natural transition and believes that the long poem reflects the musicality of the performance piece. She wanted to score the poem so that the reader would get a sense of the rhythm of language and promote her readers’ inner ear, so that ‘they think there’s a storyteller in their head. I didn’t want people to be able to read this in blocks (like prose), but experience a landscape on the page, like a topographical map.’ The book includes 29 photographs by Juergen Nogai, the architectural photographer and a neighbor Suntree hopes to work with on a coffee-table book of photos of the sacred sites. ‘I think his architectural eye, and eye for structure, brought another way to seeing to the text, and added contrast to the writing.’ She is amazed how differently people look at sites once they know how rich the places are; knowing something happened there before gets them to ‘crack open the concrete’ and visualize a very rich history. After experiencing many rejection letters, Suntree caught a break when she showed the manuscript to William Deverell, the Los Angeles historian and USC professor. He thought the University of Nebraska Press editor Matt Bokovoy might like it. He was right. In advance of publication, Suntree’s manuscript was carefully vetted by a historian, a Native American scholar, and a paleontologist, who ‘went through it with a flea comb,’ Suntree said. ‘While the paleontologist found errors, he also said that he had learned a few things he didn’t know.’ Suntree takes satisfaction in correctly representing the science and myths, but also hopes that she has written a book that will ‘elevate the story and carry it forward.’

St. Matthew’s Concert to Highlight Principal Players on November 12

dev

November 4, 2010

Music at St. Matthew’s 2010 – 2011 season continues on Friday, November 12, at 8 p.m. with chamber music by Beethoven, Mozart and Strauss.’Tickets are $35 at the door; $10 for students. The program will bring together principal players from the critically acclaimed Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s for performances of Beethoven’s Septet (Opus 20), Mozart’s Oboe Quartet and an arrangement of Richard Strauss’s tone poem, ‘Til Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.’ ’World Class Music Close to Home’ is the Music Guild’s slogan and well describes the quality of programs offered by St. Matthew’s in the acoustically and visually brilliant space by architect Charles Moore.’ For details about future Friday night programs, visit MusicGuildOnline.org. For additional information, call (310) 573-7422. ‘

1...1,9641,9651,966...2,535 Page 1,965 of 2,535