Retired boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard, appearing here at a Beverly Hilton function in May 2009, will serve as the next honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Sugar Ray Leonard, who captured world titles in five different weight classes and is considered one of boxing’s all-time greats, has agreed to serve as the 27th honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades.   He will ‘take office’ in June when actor Gavin MacLeod steps down after a record five years in the volunteer role, coordinated by the Chamber of Commerce.   Since the job’s inception in 1951, most mayors have served two years, including such local residents as Jerry Lewis, Vivian Vance, Mel Blanc, Nanette Fabray, Peter Graves, Adam West, Walter Matthau, Ted Knight, Dom De Luise, Chevy Chase, Rita Moreno, John Raitt, Eddie Albert, Martin Short, Anthony Hopkins and Steve Guttenberg.   Said current Chamber President John Petrick: ‘Just as there are some people The Greatest Generation who only remember growing up when FDR was president, there are young Palisadians who only remember Gavin MacLeod as their honorary mayor. For 5 years, Mayor MacLeod has been the captain of our ship. He has navigated us through some very rough waters and delivered us safely. Now a whole new generation will have Ray Leonard to admire. The tradition continues.’   Leonard, 54, who lives in the upper Riviera neighborhood with his wife Bernadette and their children Daniel and Camille, has been active in the community, especially at St. Matthew’s School.   In May 2007, when he received the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission’s Ambassador Award of Excellence, Leonard told the Palisadian-Post: ‘I had a great career but now I enjoy spending time with my family. I truly believe that a champion is defined by what he does outside the ring.’   ’It’s great to be a part of this celebration in Ray’s honor,’ said fellow Palisadian Sam Lagana, a member of the LASEC Advisory Board. ‘He is not only one of the best fighters of all time, he’s also a great spokesman for boxing. He’s all about giving back’to his sport and to the community.’   As former Post Sports Editor Steve Galluzzo noted, Leonard first gained prominence at the age of 20 when he won a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. After turning pro, he won the WBC welterweight title in 1979, lost the crown on points to Roberto Duran, but won a rematch six months later to regain his title. In 1981, Leonard beat junior middleweight champ Ayub Kalule, then knocked out Thomas Hearns to unify the welterweight title. An eye injury interrupted Leonard’s career for five years, but he returned to capture Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s middleweight belt in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Leonard made several more comebacks and won two more world titles before retiring for good in 1997. Leonard and author Michael Arkush (a former Palisadian) are currently completing a book titled ‘The Big Fight,’ which will be published by Viking on June 7. ‘We have been working on the project for nearly two years,’ said Arkush, a veteran sports writer. ‘The book will cover his struggles inside and outside the ring.’
Pacific Palisades resident Katie O’Neill paints her sons, Gus (7) and Theo (5), at her temporary studio at 872 Via de la Paz. O’Neill will teach art classes in the space, previously occupied by Chefmakers, until the end of February, but she is seeking a permanent spot in the Palisades. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Inside Katie O’Neill’s new studio at 872 Via de la Paz last week, students of varying ages worked quietly on their artwork as soothing music played in the background.   ’Katie is really exceptional,’ said Alexis Deutsch-Adler, an adult student in her class. ‘She gives me direction, but allows me to have my own casual style, and she recognizes what my strengths are.’   Deutsch-Adler, a Malibu resident, began taking classes from O’Neill three years ago because she wanted to learn oil painting, and the lessons have paid off. She recently sold her first oil painting of a blue pumpkin.   O’Neill, who lives in Pacific Palisades, has taught drawing and painting lessons to adults, teens and children of all skill levels for the past 15 years in Malibu. Six months ago, she decided to let the lease expire for her studio on Malibu Road and Webb Way.   ’I have been wanting for years to move to the Palisades,’ O’Neill said, noting she desired to work closer to home. With her husband, Jon King, she has a stepdaughter, Greer, 12, who attends Paul Revere Middle School, and two sons: Gus, 7, who attends Marquez Elementary, and Theo, 5, who attends Lutheran Preschool.   O’Neill added that another reason for wanting to relocate was that her operating costs would have increased. The City of Malibu planned to charge local businesses fees to switch from septic tanks to a central sewage system.   She is now subleasing the Via de la Paz space (formerly Chefmakers), while Jay Navas finalizes his building plans to open a yogurt store, Toppings.   ’I am here a couple of months, while I am looking for somewhere else to be,’ O’Neill said, adding that she is actively searching for another spot in the Palisades.   Since opening in mid-December, ‘I have been getting a lot of response; I feel pretty confident that I could get my student base up,’ she said, noting that she is instructing about 25 students now. O’Neill, who grew up here and graduated from Palisades High School in 1987, had originally planned to work in the movie industry. After USC film school, ‘I worked as an assistant editor for a couple of years and realized that I didn’t want to be in a dark room for the rest of my life.’   She learned to paint from her mother, Virginia, and they opened the studio in Malibu together. Her mother retired three years ago.   ’I like to paint the figure in beautiful settings,’ she said, gesturing toward her artwork of surf culture displayed on the wall.   O’Neill also loves to teach others, saying she learns a lot from her students.   ’There is no way that I could be as good of an artist if it wasn’t for the teaching,’ she said. ‘I have had some students for 10 or 12 years, and I need to have something to teach them, so I have to keep learning.’   O’Neill welcomes students who want to become professional artists or desire to learn art as a hobby or for mediation purposes. She invites people of every skill level, even those who think they can’t draw.   ’It’s a much more learnable skill than people think; it’s just not taught in schools anymore,’ she said.   The first class is free so that students can determine whether O’Neill’s teaching style matches their learning style. She requires students, regardless of their previous art experience, to start with drawing before touching paints.   The amount of time students spend on drawing will depend on their goals and skills. If they want to become professional artists, she makes sure they perfect the basic drawing techniques. Many of her students have gone on to study art in college.   Students work on their own self-selected projects, and she tailors the lessons toward their goals. Once they start painting, O’Neill mainly teaches in oils and water-mixable oils, which are non-toxic.   Deutsch-Adler praised O’Neill’s teaching techniques. She had several years of drawing experience before taking lessons from O’Neill, but she found it helpful to review, noting ‘It’s uniquely valuable to learn the fundamentals before painting. It strengthened my art.’   Information: (310) 459-1030 or oneillsfineart.com
The California Coastal Commission is set to vote today to allow the sale of six of the remaining 20 City-owned canyon rim lots on De Pauw Street, providing an estimated $6 to $7 million to help complete the final phases of the Potrero Canyon Park Restoration project.   Proceeds from the sale of these residential lots, by way of a public auction, will be deposited to the Potrero Canyon Park Trust, an account established to hold and distribute money solely for the completion of all remaining phases of the multi-decade project. The City’s General Services Department hopes to hold the auction in March.   The city acquired 22 residential lots along the rim of the canyon while settling a series of lawsuits filed against the city in the 1960s and 1970s for damage caused by several landslides, which resulted in the loss of 20 homes and the endangerment of other homes.   Since then, through ongoing starts and stops, the city has slowly been working towards completing an infill project, which involved buttressing the canyon’s sides, importing three million cubic yards of fill extending up to the level of the existing lots on the canyon rims, and eventually creating a public park and a hiking trail down to Pacific Coast Highway.   The next phase of the project will entail remediating two remaining slides at the end of Alma Real. After that, construction will resume to complete filling, compacting and landscaping the canyon, using stockpiled soil and new dirt imported.
Richards Kennedy Farnham, a teacher at Palisades High School from 1961 to 1990 and a resident of Santa Monica, passed away on December 13. He was 90 years old. Richards was born in Thermopolis, Wyomin,g on July 27, 1920, while his parents were en route from South Dakota to Los Angeles, where his father and grandfather were going to take over a mining assay business. The family settled in the Altadena area on what was then ranch land, where Richards raised rabbits and guinea pigs and attended Pasadena city schools, including Pasadena Junior College. This ranching life led to a lifelong fascination with animals. Summers spent at mining operations managed by his father in desert areas around Death Valley and in Arizona introduced Richards to the reptiles of the Southwest, so that by the time he graduated from high school, he had a large snake and lizard collection in the family garage. At UCLA, he majored and graduated in zoology but always preferred the study of reptiles. While at UCLA, he met and married Carolyn Marie Bartlett, before he enlisted in the Army in 1942 as a first lieutenant, serving in the Pacific from 1942 until VJ Day. Returning to UCLA, Richards earned his master’s degree in zoology with a teaching credential and began working at University High School in West Los Angeles in 1950. He was on the original staff hired at Palisades High when the school opened in 1961. He was the science department chairman until his retirement in 1990. Richards’ passion for animals carried over into his biology classroom, which was always filled with living specimens of lizards, snakes, toads and turtles from all over the world. Thousands of students studied biology, surrounded by an amazing assortment of living creatures. Richards spent countless hours caring for his animal collection that, for many years, even included a sea turtle. He was able to take his hobby and passion and make it part of his career. His family and friends will greatly miss Richards, whose knowledge and love of animals inspired many of his students to become involved with biology themselves and even become amateur herpetologists. His unique personality made him a great teacher, and winner of a Golden Apple Award from the L.A. School District in 1980. He was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn, and a son, Carl. He is survived by his son, Paul (wife Laurel) of Fortuna, California; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. A remembrance of Richards Farnham will be held for family and friends on Saturday, January 29 at 11 a.m. at the main branch of the Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd. Friends who would like to leave thoughts or memories of Dick may do so at http://richards.farnham.muchloved.com. Donations in his memory can be made to the Forever Wild Exotics Animal Sanctuary in Phelan, California.
David Goldberg, a 49-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on January 7 while preparing for his daily morning bike ride at one of his favorite spots at Will Rogers State Beach. He was 82. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 7, 1928, Dave arrived in California in 1952 following service in the U.S. Army and graduation from the University of Miami in Florida. ‘His army unit was one of the first to arrive in Hiroshima following the dropping of the atomic bomb, and he spent the rest of his life reminding family, friends and students of the unspeakable devastation he witnessed. In 1956, Dave began a 32-year teaching career in Culver City schools, and met fellow teacher and wife to-be Diane Welder in that same year. They moved to their Iliff Street home in the Palisades in 1962 to be closer to the beach and Dave’s favorite surf breaks. At Culver Middle School, Dave combined his passion for U.S. history and movies to create an American history through film program, where he challenged his students to critique the accuracy of classic American movies. Following retirement from teaching in 1988, Dave enjoyed many more years on the beach with friends and family, and he continued to surf, swim and kayak in the ocean. ‘More recently, he enjoyed watching his grandchildren, Ben and Caroline Goldberg, compete in junior tennis tournaments throughout Southern California. In addition to his wife Diane and two grandchildren, Dave is survived by his son Danny and daughter-in-law Vicky, also of Pacific Palisades. He was predeceased by son Donald and daughter Ann. ‘ To honor all their memories, donations can be made to the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (4hcm.org), 328 Green Pond Rd., P.O. Box 306, Hibernia, New Jersey 07842. Funeral services for Dave will be held at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 14.
Velma Mae Davey, who had lived in Pacific Palisades for 22 years, passed away on April 28. She was 83. A Los Angeles native who graduated from John Marshall High School, Velma enjoyed living in Casa Gateway Senior Housing (located at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Palisades Drive) and near her sister’s family, the Miniums. Velma moved to the Palisades from Glendale, where she worked as a waitress at Damon’s and Anthony’s Red Vest for more than 40 years while raising her two daughters. When she was younger, after retiring at the Gateway, she actively participated in board meetings, created holiday events, developed many friendships, enjoyed a faithful mah-jongg’group and’took pleasure in her outings with other condo members. She certainly played a role in the Gateway community taking shape and evolving throughout the past 22 years. She referred to herself as ‘one of the originals,’ since she moved into the housing complex just after it was built in 1988. As she grew older, she received help and kind support from many of the Gateway and Palisades residents. As her health declined, Velma returned briefly to the Burbank/Glendale area to live closer to more family members, her deepest love. She is survived by two daughters, Sharyl Scozzaro (husband Joe) of Santa Barbara and Nancy Fox (husband Rick) of Glendale; four grandchildren, Tracee Porras of Burbank, Jamee Tingley of Burbank, A. Tianna and Nick Scozzaro of Santa Barbara; five great-grandchildren; as well as sister Evelyn, and nephews Chuck and Dick Minium of Pacific Palisades.
Jan Scalia, who lived in Pacific Palisades for 23 years before moving to Los Angeles in 2006, passed away on Christmas day at age 54. Born in Rome, Italy, Jan earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Northeast Louisiana University. She worked with a specialty in motherhood labor and delivery in Louisiana and at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. Jan was a talented cook who loved cooking and baking at dinner parties for friends and family. While living in the Palisades, she won three first-place blue ribbons in the Chamber of Commerce’s annual pie-baking contest for apple, pecan and cherry pies. She was also selected to sing the National Anthem in 2001 at the Palisades Fourth of July fireworks show after Palisades Americanism Parade Association (PAPA) judges deemed her a cappella rendition the best of all recordings submitted. She enjoyed making needlepoint and crocheted crafts and gifts for friends. Jan had a strong faith in God and was a member of Corpus Christi Church. The love of her life was her teacup poodle, Bella. Cause of death was a heart attack. Jan had been in renal failure because of lupus and was on dialysis for two years. Her wishes were to be buried next to her mother and father in West Monroe, Louisiana, where a funeral service will be held. A memorial service will be held at Corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades on Saturday, January 15 at 11 a.m. She is survived by two brothers, uncles, cousins and a host of friends. Donations in her name can be made to the Lupus Foundation of America.
Dylan Vecchione sailed around Maui and took pH water samples to see if there was a pattern to water acidity. Photo by Maurizio Vecchione
About five years ago, when Dylan Vecchione was seven years old, he began to observe changes in the coral reef off the coast in west Maui, a popular tourist destination.’ ’I noticed that the coral at the Kahekili Reef wasn’t looking so good,’ said Vecchione, now 12, who has gone to Hawaii at least twice a year since he was a toddler because his parents have had a timeshare on Ka’anapali Beach paralleling the reef. ‘I asked my dad what was happening to it.’ Maurizio, a scientist, business entrepreneur and co-founder of the IDEAS Studio in Pacific Palisades, couldn’t answer the question, which started Vecchione’s exploration of coral reefs’why they are disappearing and what can to be done to save them. Since then, the 12-year-old has published a brochure, conducted a survey of the Kahekili Reef, and started a grass-roots environmental project, which led him to build a Web site (www.reefquest.org). When he started his research, Vecchione learned that coral reefs are sometimes called the ‘rainforests’ of the ocean because they are ecologically important ecosystems, as well as a source of food and medicine and protect the coast from wave erosion. Vecchione was worried when he learned that in the past 20 years more than 35 million acres of coral reefs have disappeared. Even though reefs are home for 25 percent of all marine species, they occupy less than one-tenth of one-percent of the world’s ocean surface (about the size of Colorado). Shortly after asking his initial question, Vecchione was at the beach with his father and saw several University of Hawaii naturalists. The scientists told them the reefs were in distress and in danger of disappearing because they were ‘bleaching,’ meaning the coral starts to expel the algae zooxanthellae, which is how the coral receives its nutrients. Once the algae are expelled, coral loses color and may eventually die, eventually decimating the reef. ’The naturalists said that they were measuring the nutrient levels in the water and then the nutrient level from the island runoff,’ said Vecchione, who is a sixth grader at PS #1 in Santa Monica. He noted that coral and the zooxanthellae are symbiotic; the coral benefits from the photosynthesis and the algae lives off the nitrogen and carbon dioxide wastes from the coral. Vecchione said that there could be several reasons for the death of the reef, including climate change, ocean acidification, cyanide fishing for aquarium fish (spraying a sodium cyanide mixture into the fish’s habitat in order to stun the fish) and urban and agricultural runoff. He took action by writing a brochure, ‘ReefQuest: Learn About Kahekili Reef,’ printing 50,000 copies, and walking along the heavily populated beach and passing it out to tourists. His brochure suggests places to snorkel on Kahekili Reef, but it also gives invaluable suggestions for protecting the reef. He writes: ‘Suntan lotion is also acidic; it kills the reef, even the waterproof varieties.’ Instead of lotion, Vecchione wears a rash guard when he’s on the beach or in the ocean. He asks people not to feed the fish off-shore, because they are part of the coral reef ecosystem that helps keep algae in check by grazing on it. When snorkeling he asks people to look, but not touch the coral. He also asks people to stand on sand if they are in a coral reef, not on the coral organisms. ’One woman went in the water and started shouting, ‘Ouch, there’s rocks,” Vecchione said. ‘She was stepping on coral and destroying it.’ Vecchione also took his brochure to the Westin Hotel and spoke to the general manager. Not only did the manager agree to give it to every guest who checks in, the hotel is now paying the brochure’s printing costs. Last summer, Vecchione and his father sailed around Maui and took pH samples of the water to determine if there was a pattern to areas that are more or less acidic. To their knowledge no one has tested the water away from shore.” ’It is usually higher acidity, the closer you get to shore,’ Maurizio said, wondering if there was anything happening on shore that would justify that relationship. He noted that Maui has 15 county ‘injection’ wells. More than 14.6 million gallons of wastewater go into the sewer system, with about 11.4 million gallons reclaimed. The excess, which has solids and contaminants removed, is sent to injection wells that range in depth from 180 to 385 feet. Officials thought that the wastewater discharged into wells was absorbed by natural geologic formations, which then completed the treatment by natural filtering through rock and sand layers. Recent research shows that the treated water, which contains nitrogen, might be leaking to portions of the coral reef, upsetting the pH balance and slowly destroying the reef. ’You can see that it is reef, then more reef, then bleached reef, and then the reef stops where the underground water comes out,’ Vecchione said. With help from his dad, Vecchione started his own Web site, which is hosted by IDEAS Studio to support his grass roots ReefQuest project. He conducted a survey of the Kahekili Reef that was one of the first in Hawaii to be accepted by NOAA’s (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) for its Coral Watch global monitoring database. In addition to NOAA, Vecchione found sponsors for his work at UC San Diego, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of Queensland, Australia, and the University of Hawaii. According to Vecchione, chapters of ReefQuest outside Hawaii have been established to replicate ocean preservation work in other locations, including one at Paul Revere Middle School.’Currently, there are eight ReefQuest surveys underway, five in Hawaii and three in California. He urges those interested in preserving reefs, especially those with access to marine habitats and coral reefs, to participate in citizen science-based projects. ’The scientific community doesn’t have current data on coral health,’ Vecchione said. ‘They’re asking citizens to get involved. They have a protocol, a do-it-yourself coral health monitoring kit designed specifically for an ordinary person, which allows one to note the health of the coral, based on color, and then send it to the Web site [www.coralwatch.org].’ Until he visits Hawaii again this spring, Vecchione is bringing his crusade to Santa Monica Bay, where he and other students from PS #1 will take off-shore water samples next month to measure chemicals and other elements. Although the Bay receives ocean quality grades, the grading is based on shore testing and the father/son team are interested in seeing what they might find in the bay water. Already busy with schoolwork and ReefQuest, Vecchione takes piano and singing lessons, and also sails for the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey. He’s on the junior racing sail team and qualified for the national competition. Most importantly, this energetic, well-spoken, optimistic youth is well liked. This past year he was awarded the sailing sportsmanship award, based on a vote by his peers.
Baritone Jose Perez to Perform with St. Matthew’s Orchestra Music at St. Matthew’s continues on Friday, January 21, at 8 p.m. with a program of vocal and orchestral music by Rossini, Haydn, Respighi, Mozart and others at St. Matthew’s Church, 1031 Bienveneda. The concert features operatic baritone Jose Adan Perez, a native of Mazatlan, Mexico, and an alumnus of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program of LA Opera. A dramatically expressive singer possessing a rich, ample baritone of significant presence, Perez opened the 2010/11 LA Opera season as Di Cosimo in the world premiere of Daniel Cat’n’s ‘Il Postino,’ sharing the stage with Placido Domingo. Later this year, Perez will make his New York City Opera debut in ‘L’elisir d’amore,’ performing the role of Bel Core. Last summer he made his Hollywood Bowl debut as Danca’re in ‘Carmen’ with the L.A. Philharmonic under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel. Perez’ roles on the LA Opera stage include both Figaro and Fiorello in ‘Il barbiere di Siviglia’ and the Second Senator in the American premiere of Franz Schreker’s ‘Die Gezeichneten’ under the baton of James Conlon. His LA Opera debut came in 2008 as Marcello in two student matinee performances of ‘La boh’me.’ The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s, under the direction of Thomas Neenan, will accompany Perez in operatic arias by Rossini and Mozart as well as zarzuela selections by Torroba and Grever. The orchestra will also perform Respighi’s popular ‘Ancient Airs and Dances’ and Haydn’s Symphony No. 63, ‘La Roxelanne.’ Perez has consistently distinguished himself in his musical pursuits. After receiving an engineering degree from Tecnologico de Monterrey, he was awarded a scholarship to Mexico’s most prestigious Young Artist Training Program, the Sociedad Internacional de Valores Art’sticos Mexicanos, where he began his formal vocal training. He has been a winner of many important competitions and scholarships. For program details, tickets ($35) and other information, visit: musicguildonline.org or call (310) 573-7422. Tickets are available at the door. ‘ Baritone Jose Adan Perez
Palisadians Merv and Natalie Cooper celebrated their 50th anniversary at the Sheraton Kauai Resort on Poipu Beach in Hawaii.
Merv and Natalie Cooper, who live in Santa Monica Canyon, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on December 19. To commemorate this special occasion, they vacationed at the Sheraton Kauai Resort in Hawaii from December 6-16 and hosted a luncheon for their family at the Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. Their daughter, Heather Michelle Cooper, her husband, Rick Grandy, and their baby, Juliette, attended the luncheon along with their daughter Melanie Elaine Yevilov, her husband, Kelvin, and their 4-year-old twins, Ayden and Evan. Natalie’s sister, Marilyn Barlow, her partner, Irv Grace, and son, Brett Barlow and his wife, Julie, also attended. Since Merv’s sister Ruth Reidbord and her husband, Marv, could not visit in December, the Coopers celebrated with them on January 7. Melanie and Heather’hosted dinner and a trip to the Walt Disney Concert Hall to see Gustavo Dudamel conduct the L.A. Philharmonic. Finally, the Coopers will travel to Moscow in July to take a river cruise to St. Petersburg, followed by a trip to Helsinki, Finland. ’Natalie and I feel most fortunate and blessed to have’grown up with each other, having married when she was 18, and I was 22, and to still be very much in love with one another after 50 years,’ Merv said.
