The office of Councilmember Traci Park recognized Theatre Palisades and Kentwood Players during the theatre’s run of “Jest a Second”—pictured right—for “consistently providing residents of the city and county with outstanding live theatre productions.”

After Pierson Playhouse was destroyed in the Palisades fire, Kentwood Players offered Theatre Palisades a chance to present its play that was set to open on January 10.

“The collaboration between both theatres is exemplary and praiseworthy,” read a statement from Park’s office. “An example of Kentwood’s generosity and Palisades’ resilience. Both playhouses are to be congratulated for their joint efforts in bringing ‘Jest a Second’ to the stage.”

Pacific Palisades-founded Level UP LA conducted its End of the Year celebration on Friday, June 6, recognizing the accomplishments of the organization as well as a “year of hard work and dedication” shown by students at Coliseum Street Elementary School.

“At this event, Level UP team members facilitated physical activities, including soccer, as well as arts and crafts where students could design their own hats,” according to the organization. “This was an incredibly significant event in the culmination of the hardest year of Level UP to date following the January wildfires that displaced almost all members, yet showcased our continued resilience to continue to support our partnered schools.”

Palisades Jewish Early Childhood Center and Camp Gan Izzy hosted an open house at their new location, which included a Palisades Children’s Business Fair.

“It was such a special event,” Program Coordinator Nechama Diskin said. “We had about 200 people in attendance, Councilmember Traci Park stopped by and the judges for the fair were the hosts of the Three Homeless Guys podcast.”

DoorDash recently distributed $10,000 grants to 20 small businesses that were impacted by the January fires through its Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund, including Spruzzo Restaurant & Bar in the Highlands.

“Funded by DoorDash and supported by their partner Hello Alice, the Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund is providing direct financial support to help restaurants impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires,” read information about the program. “The grants will allow restaurant owners to cover critical expenses such as rent, equipment replacement, inventory and payroll as they work to rebuild and recover.”

Spruzzo, which is located at 538 Palisades Drive, reopened on Thursday, May 1, after being closed for almost four months following the Palisades fire.

“It has been emotionally difficult to see [Spruzzo] closed since the Palisades fire swept through the neighborhood,” Owner Ryan Gowhari said. “The ongoing closure has halted revenue, making it difficult just to cover the basics and support my loyal employees. This grant gives us a chance to hold on—to support our team, manage essential costs and focus on reopening stronger for the community that’s supported us all these years.”

By AUDREY SMITH | Intern

Following the Los Angeles wildfires, 18-year-old Aliyah Redding and 19-year-old Kyle Godwin wanted to give back to their communities.

Aliyah, from Pacific Palisades, and Godwin, from Pasadena, partnered to launch Teens4LA, an initiative to provide disaster relief, as well as mental health and wellness support, to youth affected by the fires.

Teens4LA partnered with Another Awesome Day, a nonprofit organization that focuses on mental health for teens. The initiative has since added three more members: Madison Baffo, Thane Douglass and Julie Menutti.

In five months, Teens4LA raised over $55,000, with $10,000 in its first 36 hours and $20,000 within its first two weeks. Some of the crisis response and community organizations that have been supported by Teens4LA include Project HOPE, Los Angeles Fire Department, Walk Good LA, California Fire Foundation and Altadena Girls Fire Recovery.

Redding, an incoming freshman at Carnegie Mellon University, previously lived in Marquez Knolls. He attended Coeur d’Alene Avenue Elementary School, Paul Revere Charter Middle School and Palisades Charter High School his freshman year, before moving to Santa Barbara County, where he attended The Dunn School in Los Olivos.

Redding said he felt compelled to take action after watching the fires devastate his old neighborhood and high school.

“As a Pali alum—but also someone who grew up in that community—I wanted to make a difference,” Redding said. “I wanted to take immediate action.”

Baffo, head of community and social marketing, shared a similar sentiment.

“Many of the families I attended school with and grew up around were directly affected by the fires,” she said. “Watching everything unfold in real time and feeling how close it all was to home motivated me on a personal level to do something about it.”

To broaden the initiative’s reach, Redding combined traditional fundraising with blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies.

“Part of why I turned to crypto was because I was able to pull from a global donor base, rather than just my local community,” he explained.

According to Redding, about 49% of the donations Teens4LA received came from crypto.

“Donors receive unique digital artwork as a form of receipt or ‘badge’ when they make a donation,” Baffo said.

More than 20 “global digital communities and digital artists” have worked on ART4LA Proof of Donation Collectibles.

Teens4LA was honored with the Social Innovation Crypto For Good Award at the 2025 Social Innovation Summit in San Francisco, and the Limitless World Summit named Redding a Top 100 Emerging Innovator for 2025.

Teens4LA was also featured at the innovation festival ETHDenver, which was attended by 25,000 people, and at LA Check In, a livestream benefit supporting individuals and organizations impacted by the LA fires.

In September, the initiative’s impact will be recognized at the Y3K Innovation Summit hosted on the campus of UCLA.

Looking to the future, the initiative is expanding “in both reach and scope” by working with “young people in other cities and states around the country to replicate the ‘Teens4’ model to support their local initiatives.” They are working with student groups and other communities with a goal of providing “long-term mental health support and disaster response infrastructure for students.”

Redding said that Teens4LA received tremendous support because “people want to help” and “are naturally inclined to want to do the right thing.”

Baffo agreed: “It’s powerful to witness how people come together in moments of crisis when they’re given the tools and opportunity.”

For more information, visit teens4la.org.

609 Rose Avenue, Venice, CA 90291
424-744-8136
wallflowervenice.com

By MERV HECHT | Restaurant Critic

I remember the first time I ate Indonesian food. My wife and I were traveling in Europe in 1962 and found ourselves in a small town in the south of the Netherlands. We checked into a hotel, and they recommended an Indonesian restaurant nearby.

When we arrived, the menu was, of course, in Dutch. However, the waitress spoke a little English, and I managed to order the “specialty of the house” along with a beer.

She brought me a Heineken, and it was the best beer I had ever tasted. I still remember it as being better than what we get here today.

After a while, dinner arrived. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before—somewhat reminiscent of local Korean restaurants, where they bring out 12 to 15 small dishes, each featuring a different specialty.

The presentation was striking: a large silver candelabra with little cups at the end of each leg, each filled with a unique and flavorful delicacy. Some of the food was spicy, some was mild; some dishes featured meat, while others were vegetable based. But all of it was delicious.

There aren’t many Indonesian restaurants on the Westside of Los Angeles, but I think I’ve been to all of them.

Last year, I wrote an article on Cobi, a restaurant that transitioned from Indian to Indonesian cuisine. It’s not a fully Indonesian restaurant—I would describe it more as an Asian restaurant with some Indonesian dishes. That seems reasonable, considering Indonesian cuisine incorporates influences from many neighboring countries. Cobi offers some authentic Indonesian dishes and is an excellent restaurant.

Recently, I tried another Indonesian restaurant on the Westside, which was quite disappointing. The only one I hadn’t yet visited was Wallflower on Venice, so I gathered a couple of friends and we went.

We were seated outside at an uncomfortable table that was far too small for four people. However, the food was great.

The first dish we had was a duck lumpia—crispy duck roll with vermicelli, lettuce and sorrel—which reminded me more of Filipino food than Indonesian, but it was very tasty, with an excellent chili dipping sauce. Next, we had Indonesian-style chicken satay—marinated chicken skewers with a peanut sauce, rice cake and acar pickles that were also delicious.

Following that, we had one of the dishes that had drawn me to the restaurant: the fried whole fish: branzino, herb ginger salad and miso sauce. It was beautifully presented and reminded me of dishes I’ve had in Indonesia. The only problem was that it wasn’t deboned, and trying to remove the bones at our small table was quite a chore.

We also had chicken rice and another dish that was essentially fried chicken: ayam goreng—the dipping sauces were delicious. That dish, too, would have benefited from the kitchen cutting it into manageable pieces instead of serving it whole.

While Wallflower is not entirely an Indonesian restaurant, it offers a variety of interesting dishes, many of which we didn’t get a chance to try. It’s worth a visit—probably more than one. The cuisine and service are excellent, as are the drinks.

For dessert, we had an English-style date cake, which wasn’t particularly Indonesian but was very tasty.

I plan to return to Wallflower, but next time, I’m calling ahead to make sure they debone that fish!

Merv Hecht, like many Harvard Law School graduates, went into the wine business after law. In 1988, he began writing restaurant reviews and books. His latest book “The Instant Wine Connoisseur, 3rd edition” is available on Amazon. He currently works for several companies that source and distribute food and wine products internationally. Send comments to mervynhecht@yahoo.com.