Five minutes after Thom Peters came home from work on January 11 and gave his wife, Elaine, a kiss, her water broke.   ’I was frantically trying to gather all of our supplies for the hospital,’ Thom said. ‘Little did I know that it would be 24 hours before we saw [our baby girl].’   Elaine eventually had to have a Caesarean section, and Rachel was born at 3:12 p.m. on January 12 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Rachel, the couple’s first child, weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and measured 19.5 inches.   ’The birth was a little more complicated than we anticipated, but what matters is that she is healthy,’ Elaine told the Palisadian-Post at their home in the Marquez Knolls neighborhood.   Rachel arrived a week before her due date of January 19, and Thom speculates it’s because she wanted to win the Post’s First Baby of the Year contest.   She and her family will now receive 20 gift certificates from Palisades merchants. The Post launched the First Baby of the Year contest in 1954 and has honored a new baby every year since. Last year’s first baby was Natalia Capri Johnson, who was born on January 7.   The Peters moved from Santa Monica to Pacific Palisades in May 2010. They are members of the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association and the Pacific Palisades Historical Society. They chose to live in the Palisades because ‘it’s like a small town, and people really care about each other,’ Thom said.   Thom has worked as a plaintiff’s attorney for the past 19 years and is now with the law firm Ringler Kearney in downtown Los Angeles. Elaine worked as a plaintiff’s attorney for 17 years before becoming a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2009. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed her to the position.   Elaine, who grew up in Los Angeles, earned her bachelor’s degree in history and art history at UCLA and attended law school at UCLA, while Thom earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy and history from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and attended law school at Duke University.   They met in 1996 while serving on the board of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA). After years of friendship, they started dating in fall 2006 and were married in June 2007 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. They love to travel and honeymooned in Portugal.    Elaine and Thom chose the name Rachel for their daughter because it starts with the letter ‘R’ and therefore would honor their grandfathers, Reuben and Robert, respectively.   Thom’s parents, Bruce and Nancy of Colorado Springs, and Elaine’s parents, Len and Bea of West Los Angeles, all attended the birth. Rachel is the fifth grandchild for Bruce, a retired physician, and Nancy, a retired nurse and bereavement counselor. She is the first grandchild for Len, a retired lawyer, and Bea, an active volunteer.   ’Everyone was very excited to meet her,’ Elaine said, while smiling at her daughter resting in her arms.   Since coming home from the hospital, the Peters are enjoying spending time with their daughter. ‘She is extraordinarily alert and extraordinarily strong,’ Thom said, noting that she can really kick her legs.   ’She likes to party at night with daddy,’ Elaine chimed in, noting that in the months ahead, ‘we are looking forward to learning about her personality and who she will become.’

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27

  Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. The public is invited.   Sandra Malamed discusses ‘Return to Judaism: Descendants from the Inquisition Discovering Their Jewish Roots,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. During the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal, many Jews were forcibly converted to the Catholic faith. During the 1990s, historian Sandra Malamed conducted a series of probing interviews with people of Spanish and Portuguese descent across the country and abroad, who considered themselves Christians or even non-believers, but who nonetheless practiced various Jewish traditions often without knowing where the traditions came from.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28

German writer Christiane Neudecker will read from her prize-winning short story ‘And Then: This Sound,’ 8 p.m. at Villa Aurora on Paseo Miramar. The reading will be in English and admission is free. Shuttle service begins at 7 p.m. from street parking on Los Liones Drive. RSVP: (310) 573-3603 or visit infola@villa-aurora.org.   Theatre Palisades presents ‘The Diviners,’ 8 p. m. at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. The show runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8, Sundays at 2 p.m. through February 20. For tickets ($20-$16), call (310) 454-1970 or visit theatrepalisades.org.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 29

Gallery 169 presents paintings by artist Paul Rusconi, with an opening reception from 4 to 6 p.m. today at the gallery, 169 W. Channel Rd. in Santa Monica Canyon. (See story, page 12,)

SUNDAY, JANUARY 30

  Organ Dedication Service and Recital, 4 p.m. at Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, 15821 Sunset. Program features PPPC Chancel Choir and James Vail, choirmaster and organist, performing works by Bach, Widor, Dupr’ and Mulet and choral works by Tye, Hassler, Hanson, Britten and Franck. Admission is free.

MONDAY, JANUARY 31

Palisadians Bernard and Shirley Kinsey discuss ‘The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey’Where Art and History Intersect,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. This impressive book tells the story of the African-American experience from 1632 onward, through original art, artifacts and historical documents. One of the few published works that includes many overlooked and often untold stories of African-American achievements and contributions, ‘The Kinsey Collection’ makes an excellent teaching tool, gift, or resource for personal discovery and inspiration. (See story, page 12.)

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1

  Chamber Music Palisades will present four chamber music gems, 8 p.m. at St. Matthew’s church, 1031 Bienveneda. For tickets ($30) or a free season brochure, call (310) 463-4388 or visit www.cmpalisades.org. Tickets are also available at the door. (See story, page 13.) ‘

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2

  Danny Bergen and Friends of the Jazz Forum will give a free one-hour concert at the monthly Palisades AARP meeting, 2 p.m. at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. The public is invited.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3

Pacific Palisades resident Betty Lussier discusses and signs ‘Intrepid Woman: Betty Lussier’s Secret War, 1942-1945,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. A college student in Maryland when World War II began, Betty Lussier went to England to help the British fight off an impending invasion. Armed with a private pilot’s license, she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary and was soon ferrying planes and pilots for the RAF. Her experiences with a special liaison unit in Algeria, Sicily and France helping to set up a chain of double agents and transmit misinformation to the enemy are described in compelling detail.

The Pacific Palisades Community Council approved a motion on January 13 to oppose L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s attempt to pass a city ordinance that would allow a resident to own more than three dogs and three cats.   ’The proposed ordinance to increase the number of allowable pets per household to five dogs and five cats for a total of 10 may increase public nuisance and increase the impairment of the quality of life in Pacific Palisades,’ according to the Community Council’s motion.   Rosendahl introduced the concept in June, saying the change would provide stray animals in city shelters with homes and prevent them from being euthanized. In addition, it could raise revenue for the city through additional animal registration fees.   Since then, the Board of Animal Services Commissioners has given its unanimous support and the Department of Animal Services hosted two public meetings. The City Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee will now discuss the matter.   John Gregory, legislative deputy for Rosendahl, told the Community Council that the city also plans to complete an environmental impact report (EIR) to evaluate possible impacts.   ’I just want to make sure that everyone knows that there is a process in place, and we are not going to just rush this to City Council without a full study,’ Gregory said. Before the ordinance can go into effect, the City Council must give its approval.   For public safety, Gregory added that the city also plans to reduce the number of guard dogs licensed at one premise to two dogs, and no other dogs can be licensed at that residency.   Catalina Litochleb, owner of the Pacific Palisades Veterinary Center, told the Council that instead of increasing the number of animals a family can own, the city needs to actually collect the license fees. Residents are supposed to pay $20 to license their dogs. Cats are not required to have a license.   ’When dogs come into my clinic, between 10 to 20 percent of them have tags,’ Litochleb said. ‘Obviously, we cannot register 100 percent of the dogs, but we could register 80 percent.’   Litochleb suggests that the city raise the license fee and that private-sector veterinarians help by collecting these fees for the city.   ’If we could generate an extraordinary amount of income, then maybe we could have no-kill shelters,’ she said.   L.A. Department of Animal Services General Manager Brenda Barnette estimates that one-third of the dogs in the city are licensed. ‘There is no argument that the department has not been doing a good job of collecting licenses,’ she told the Council, noting that only 120,000 were collected last year.   Barnette, however, argued that Rosendahl’s proposed ordinance could help.   ’We are aware that there are people in this city who are very good caregivers and want more than three animals. We believe that we could increase our revenue from those licenses if we allow those people to have four or five dogs,’ she said.   Director of Animal Issues Movement Phyllis Daugherty, who attended the meeting in opposition to the ordinance, countered that if residents are not paying for a license when they have three dogs, they are still not going to pay when they have five.   Daugherty also argued that the proposed ordinance does not require residents to adopt animals from city shelters, so it does not necessarily mean those dogs and cats will be given homes.   As a veterinarian, Litochleb believes the ordinance would create an increase in barking noise, fecal excrement in public areas and an increase in zoonotic disease. The proposed ordinance also does not require homes to have a certain square footage. ‘What happens if someone lives in an 800-sq.-ft. condo?’ Litochleb asked. ‘That’s a lot of animals in a small space.’   Gregory responded that many of these concerns will be addressed during the EIR process. But given the current budget crisis, Council member Barbara Kohn asked how the city plans to pay for the EIR.   ’There are certain funds within Animal Services,’ Gregory said. ‘But that is a relevant concern that you bring up.’

Marquez Charter Elementary Principal Phillip Hollis has been named Region 16 Principal of the Year, and his name has been forwarded for the State award, which will be announced in March from among the 19 regional winners. Hollis arrived at Marquez Elementary in September 2006. He joked to the Palisadian-Post that his initial plans were ‘to learn which keys open which doors.’ His long-term goals included attaining a California Distinguished School status and eventually a National Blue Ribbon School designation. In 2010, Marquez was recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for its Digital Edge Program. Meanwhile, the School’s state API (Academic Performance Index) has risen from 880 to 920.   According to Region 16 President Angel Barrett, Hollis was also praised for the atmosphere he creates at the school. Said one of the people who nominated Hollis, ‘In the 14 years I’ve worked at Marquez, never have I enjoyed coming to work as much as I do since Mr. Hollis joined us.’

Jennifer McColm, founder of the Sunday farmers’ market in Pacific Palisades, envisions expanding the market to include Antioch Street between Via de la Paz and Swarthmore Avenue.   ’We have a lot of farmers who would love to get into the market,’ McColm told the Pacific Palisades Community Council at last Thursday’s meeting. ‘The market here is very coveted; no one wants to give up their space.’   John Edwards, board president of Raw Inspiration, added that he believes a lot of residents want more options at the market, which has between 20 to 25 vendors and is located on Swarthmore between Sunset Boulevard and Monument Street. Raw Inspiration is a nonprofit organization that operates the market and 17 others in Southern California in conjunction with the company California Certified Farmers’ Markets.   McColm and Edwards have not yet spoken to the business owners along Antioch about the possibility.   ’We thought we should come to you at the beginning to talk to your members on how to proceed,’ Edwards told the Council.   Council member Joyce Brunelle, who represents the Chamber of Commerce on the Council, said that the Chamber has not yet taken a stance because it wants the business owners on Antioch surveyed first.   Brunelle added that she would like those business owners reimbursed for any additional expenses that result from the market being at that location. McColm agreed and said that business owners along Swarthmore are compensated for cleaning the streets.   ’I know a lot of the businesses on Swarthmore love the market and say that it’s helped their Sunday business,’ McColm said.   Brunelle asked what kind of items would be sold on Antioch, saying she doesn’t believe the community wants a flea market.   McColm replied that the new vendors would sell organic foods and edible goods, similar to what is already provided at the market.   ’Everything will be [selected] by me and be very special,’ McColm later told the Palisadian-Post.   McColm envisions having 50 spaces on Antioch, but noted that one farmer typically takes two to three spaces. For a space, the vendors give 8 percent of their sales or pay a flat fee, depending on what is greater. The flat fee for a space is $25 for a farmer and $50 for a crafter.   Council member Jack Allen, who lives on Bestor Boulevard near the current market, asked if McColm planned to provide additional parking.   ’I am not envisioning lots of new people coming to the market ‘ and a lot of people walk to the market,’ McColm said. Neither Via de la Paz nor Swarthmore would be closed, so traffic could still flow on those streets.   Council Chair Janet Turner directed the Council’s Land Use Committee to meet with McColm or Edwards to share any concerns.   After the meeting, McColm told the Post that she planned to talk to the business owners on Antioch this week. ‘If everyone wants to do it, I would like to start before the spring,’ she said. Vendors at the farmers’ market expressed mixed feelings to the Post about the potential expansion.   Martha Castaneda of Skyline Flowers said she thinks having additional vendors will be beneficial. Having worked at farmers’ markets in Palos Verdes, Calabasas, Studio City and Brentwood, Castaneda said she finds that bigger markets have more options and draw more business.   However, another vendor, who did not wish to be named, said she is concerned there will not be enough variety: ‘If there is duplication, it does not serve the customers or the vendors at all.’ In addition, pedestrians will have to cross the heavily trafficked Sunset Boulevard to travel between the two sections of the market; therefore, she thinks many customers will simply shop on only one side.   ’It doesn’t make any sense to have them so far apart,’ the vendor said.

Dog owners, who for years had been letting their off-leash canines run on the playing fields at the Palisades Recreation Center in the early morning, were upset when a 7-ft.-high steel fence was installed in late December around the Field of Dreams. The owners felt that park officials wanted to close down their ad-hoc dog park that has existed for years, despite posted signs warning that a City ordinance prohibits off-leash dogs at City parks.   However, the real reason for the fence is to protect against vandalism. Unfortunately, the gate locks had not been installed by the end of last week, and Monday morning, juveniles broke into the Pacific Palisades Baseball Association sheds and took the golf carts and the ATV vehicle for joy rides on the fields. They destroyed most of diamond 4 and left tire tracks in the grass field at the front of the park.   Police arrested the youth about a mile from the Recreation Center at around 2 a.m., when the juveniles were discovered pushing a golf cart labeled PPBA.   Damage is estimated in the thousands, according to PPBA Commissioner Bob Benton, who is also a member of the Palisades Community Center Committee (PCCC), which paid for construction of the Field of Dreams and is responsible for ongoing maintenance and improvements.   ’The PCCC would prefer that the cost be reimbursed by those who are guilty, rather than the committee pressing felony charges,’ Benton told the Palisadian-Post.   Palisadian Mike Skinner, who has chaired the PCCC for 10 years, cited other vandalism that has happened since the four fields were completed. ‘A fire was started and doors were broken in one of the containers where our maintenance vehicles are stored,’ Skinner said, ‘and we’re constantly fighting graffiti.’   The PCCC was founded in order to pay for a total overhaul and upgrade of the 50-year-old ball fields and surrounding areas. After the plan was approved by the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks in 1999, funds were raised through private foundations, organizations and 400 individual donations.   When the $1.1-million Field of Dreams complex opened in September 2003 after a nine-month construction period, it featured new lights, new backstops, new fences, real dugouts, pitching bullpens and batting cages. The entire field was graded, leveled, and supplied with sod and a new irrigation system.   The PCCC continues to raise money to cover the $50,000 a year needed for maintenance of the fields and various repairs. ‘Taxpayer dollars pay for none of this upkeep,’ Skinner noted. Instead, about 80 percent of the annual maintenance budget is paid through PPBA player registration fees and fundraising events such as the annual pancake breakfast. Individual donations must fill the gap.   Last summer, after Department of Recreation and Parks officials learned they couldn’t use Prop. K funds to install the $10,000 protective fence around the Field of Dreams, they came to the PCCC, and the committee agreed to fund it. (Prop. K, which passed in 1996, has provided funds for the improvement, construction and maintenance of City parks and recreation facilities.)”””””’   ’People don’t realize the cost to keep the fields looking good,’ Skinner said. ‘To repair the area where a car has driven, the existing soil must be dug up, the hole filled, ground compacted and then the area resoded.’   A ‘Field Closed’ sign is posted when the fields are muddy, but is usually ignored. Now it can be enforced by the closed fence, and the ball fields will benefit.   For example, after the heavy rains in early January there were numerous dog-paw prints in the dirt infields at all four diamonds, which required hours of labor to repair for PPBA tryouts. ‘To smooth out the soil,’ said Skinner, ‘you have to get a shovel and dig up the prints, then refill and rake it. The City doesn’t do it, the maintenance crew that we hire does. My job is to protect this asset and investment that so many in the community worked to achieve.’   The fencing project was completed Tuesday night, when locks went on the four dugout gates and the three gates into the field. They will be opened when Rec Center staff arrive at 9 a.m. Monday through Sunday and locked by 9 p.m. Monday through Friday (on 5 p.m. on the weekends).   With the fence now preventing dog owners from running their dogs on the fields every morning, PPCC maintenance workers won’t have to waste time cleaning up dog poop in addition to their normal responsibilities, Skinner said. To donate to the Field of Dreams, call (310) 478-5041.

Many philanthropic parents hope that their children will also lead a charitable life, but they wonder how to instill this value.   ’A family foundation can be a wonderful way to teach your children how to give,’ said Julie Williams Lytle, vice president and director of the philanthropic services department at Whittier Trust Company, an investment management company.   A Pacific Palisades resident since 1984, Lytle has spent the past year assisting families with setting up and managing their own foundations. Lytle and a staff of seven currently handle $730 million for 31 foundations, ranging in size from $1 million to more than $200 million. She serves as an officer or director on nine of those foundation boards.   ’We help them operate the foundation so they can be involved in the details as much or as little as they wish,’ said Lytle, who is certified by the Institute for Preparing Heirs and the Southern California Grantmakers, which is a membership association of private sector grantmakers.   She and her staff help families establish a mission statement and find charitable organizations that align with those goals. They teach families how to evaluate organizations to assure the money they donate will be used wisely and effectively. They also manage the financial assets of the foundation, the grant making, check writing and regulatory compliance.   Family members sit on the board together and hold formal meetings, typically once or twice a year. If desired, Lytle and her staff will prepare all the information for those meetings as well as facilitate them, so they are highly effective.   ’A foundation is a great legacy, and it keeps the family close,’ said Lytle, noting that when the children grow up and move to other parts of the country, the foundation is an excuse for them to get together.   As part of her job, Lytle also advises her clients on how to teach their children philanthropy. While it is never too late, Lytle says parents should start while their children are young because values are established at an early age.   Parents can begin by requiring their young children to choose gifts for another family member. This encourages children to think about someone else’s interests and needs.   ’It starts with the family and then spreads to their friends, their community and hopefully, the greater world,’ Lytle said.   Allowance is also a good teaching tool. Children should be encouraged to set aside some money for savings, giving and spending. Lytle recommends youthgive.org, a Web site where children can set up an account to donate to charities.   Most importantly, Lytle says that children learn by example, so parents need to make their acts of kindness known.   ’A lot of parents serve on boards and volunteer, but they do so while their children are in school,’ Lytle said. ‘Sadly, the children don’t often notice.’   Lytle also recommends that parents consistently encourage philanthropic behavior.   ’I think this is the hardest,’ she said. ‘The best way to be consistent is to integrate giving into family tradition.’ For example, every birthday, require the child to give a gift to someone in need.   Lytle plans to share these tips and more to parents and their children at Palisades schools throughout the year.   A native of Norwalk, Lytle learned philanthropy from her mother, who was president of the Madonna Guild at her church in Santa Fe Springs. When a parishioner’s home burned down, her mother raised thousands of dollars and collected clothes, kitchen goods and other items for the family.   For 10 years, Lytle served on the Weingart Center Association board. The center provides homeless men and women the skills they need to become self-sufficient. Lytle, who’s engaged to Scott Nesbit (CEO of Rockpoint Land), also made giving a theme when raising her children. She has three children from a previous marriage.   Her daughter, Christine, a junior at UC San Diego with ambitions of becoming a human rights attorney, volunteers for the Western Service Workers Association on campus. This summer, she will work in Costa Rica at an orphanage with a group called Global Crossroads.   Her son, Ted, of Agoura Hills recently completed an Emergency Medical Technician program and will participate in a medical mission through Operation Rainbow in Ecuador in April. He has volu”nteered in animal shelters and taught autistic children how to surf.   Her younger son, Connor, is a senior at Windward School and a member of the school’s community service honors society.   Before joining Whittier Trust, Lytle was a partner with the Los Angeles office of Ernest & Young for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for XL/Data Comp in Hinsdale, Illinois as a district manager and for IBM as a marketing manager.   She received her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from UCLA, and a professional MBA at Harvard, sponsored through IBM. At Ernst & Young, she attended an advanced leadership program from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.   Lytle decided to move into philanthropic work because ‘I get to help good people do good things all day long.’   For information about family foundations, contact Lytle at (626) 403-3283. Her office is located at 1600 Huntington Drive, South Pasadena. ””””