Brenda Webster discusses and signs her novel, “The Vienna Triangle,” 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21
Volunteers are invited to join the monthly gardening and maintenance group that keeps the Village Green presentable, 9 to 11 a.m., corner of Swarthmore and Sunset. Students from Palisades High are especially welcome and will receive community service for participating. Just bring shears and gloves. Contact: Marge Gold at (310) 459-5167.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Monthly meeting of the Pacific Palisades Civic League, 7:30 p.m. in Tauxe Hall at the Methodist Church, 801 Alma Real. There is one house on the agenda, under old business: 15945 Temecula St. (a new two-story residence).
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24
Family storytime, “suggested” for ages 3 and up, featuring stories, fingerplays and rhymes that build reading skills while having fun, 4 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Public invited. Pacific Palisades resident Matt Miller discusses and signs “The Tyranny of Dead Ideas: Letting Go of the Old Ways of Thinking to Unleash a New Prosperity,” 7:30 p.m. at Village Books.
Coach James Paleno could not have handpicked a tougher playoff draw than the one his Dolphins got. Palisades was seeded ninth in the City’s 16-team Division I boys’ basketball tournament and must travel to No. 8 Fremont in the first round tonight at 7 p.m. The Pathfinders (17-8) and Dolphins (17-12) have no common opponents, but each played a difficult schedule. Fremont finished runner-up to Crenshaw in the Coliseum League while Palisades tied for third in the Western League–the high school equivalent of the Big East Conference in NCAA men’s basketball. Fremont is one of the toughest venues in the City and even if the Dolphins survive there, they would, barring a huge upset, meet No. 1 Westchester in the quarterfinals next Tuesday night–on the same floor where the Comets routed Palisades by 38 points last week. Fremont’s only loss on its home court all season was by two points to Crenshaw on February 6. Palisades is 4-3 on the road and nearly won at No. 2 Fairfax Jan. 28. All four Division I semifinalists earn a spot in the state playoffs. The City finals are Friday, March 6, at Galen Center on the USC campus. Girls Basketball The girls found themselves in a similar scenario as the boys, seeded ninth in Division I and having to travel to a Coliseum League school in the first round of the playoffs. The Dolphins (17-10) play No. 8 Dorsey (19-5) Friday at 7 p.m. If victorious, Palisades will either travel to top-seeded Chatsworth or host No. 16 Locke next Wednesday night. The Dons were second in the Coliseum (behind View Park Prep) and the Dolphins finished fourth in the Western League. Both defeated Venice and lost to Westchester, but while Palisades lost to Crenshaw, Dorsey beat Crenshaw twice in league games. Chatsworth (19-8) and Palisades did not play in the regular season but share two common opponents. The Dolphins lost twice to Westchester and split with LACES while the Chancellors blew out both teams in tournaments. The City finals are Saturday, March 7, also at Galen Center. Boys Soccer Palisades is back in the playoffs after missing out last year but advancing to the second round won’t be easy. The Dolphins, seeded 23rd out of 32 teams in the single-elimination draw, travel to No. 10 Bell today (kick-off at 2:30 p.m.). The Eagles (17-5), are one of the hottest teams in the tournament, having won eight of their last nine games (the only setback a 1-0 loss to undefeated and top-seeded South East). Palisades (9-4-1) clinched second place in the Western League with a 4-1 victory over LACES last Thursday. The common opponent factor favors Bell. It beat San Pedro 2-0 while the Dolphins lost 1-0 to the Pirates in their season opener. If the Dolphins win today they will either travel to No. 7 El Camino Real or host No. 26 Santee in the second round next Monday at 3 p.m. Quarterfinal games are next Thursday at the higher seeds. The City finals are March 7 at Contreras High. Girls Soccer After winning the Western League for the fourth time in Coach Kim Smith’s six seasons, Palisades now sets its sights on the ultimate prize: the City Section championship. Seeded fourth, the Dolphins appear to have all the pieces needed to reach their first final since 2005. The Dolphins (14-2-4) took their first step Wednesday night against 29th-seeded Marshall (result unavailable at press time) and, if victorious, advanced to the winner’s bracket to host either No. 13 Eagle Rock or No. 20 Reseda in the second round Friday at Stadium by the Sea. A loss Wednesday means Palisades would host the Eagle Rock-Reseda loser in the Invitational bracket tomorrow. The quarterfinals are next Wednesday and, provided neither team is upset along the way, the Dolphins would host No. 5 Granada Hills, which finished third in the tough West Valley League behind reigning eight-time City champion El Camino Real and third-seeded Chatsworth. Palisades entered the playoffs on a nine-game winning streak, having outscored its opposition 92-10 in the regular season. For complete playoff brackets in each sport, visit the L.A. City Section Web site at www.cif-la.org.
Scott Started Foundation to Honor Hall-of-Fame Golfer Who Thrived at Riviera
Chuckling, Pacific Palisades resident Lisa Scott described the time her great-uncle and legendary golfer Ben Hogan taught her how to swing a club. She was 12 years old and visiting his home in Fort Worth, Texas, for dinner. He took her into the beautifully decorated den with a golf club. Scott was so worried she would shatter the chandelier or cause other damage to the room that she could not focus. “Here, I had a private lesson, and I don’t remember one thing he taught me,” Scott said last week. Scott, 41, is still learning to play golf, and she started the Ben Hogan Foundation in 2007 to honor her great-uncle’s memory. The foundation supports charities and organizations that exemplify Hogan’s core values in life. Hogan, who died in 1997 at the age of 84, won 64 PGA tournaments (fourth most all-time) as a professional golfer, including a British Open, two Masters, two PGA Championships and four U.S. Opens, and won Player of the Year honors four times. He made history at Riviera Country Club, where the Northern Trust Open begins today. After winning the L.A. Open at Riviera in 1947, Hogan successfully defended his title there in 1948. Later that year, Riviera hosted the U.S. Open, which Hogan won, setting a tournament record of 278 in the process. The site of three epic Hogan victories in 18 months, Riviera has been called “Hogan’s Alley” ever since. “He loved the Riviera; he loved playing the course,” said Scott, who inherited Hogan’s estate along with her brother, Sean Anderson. Scott, who has lived in the Palisades for 10 years with her husband, Donovan (a freelance visual-effects compositor), believes it’s important to preserve Hogan’s legacy through her foundation. “He was the Tiger Woods of that time,” Scott said. “He gave a lot to the game of golf.” After Hogan died, people had encouraged his late wife, Valerie, to start a foundation, but she did not want to take on the endeavor at her age. Since then, ‘I have always had it in the back of my mind,’ said Scott, a stay-at-home mother with three children, Riley, 8, Savannah, 6, and Logan, 3 (who all attend Calvary Christian School). Scott based the foundation in Fort Worth, Texas, because that is Hogan’s hometown and hired Robert Stennett to oversee the day-to-day operations as executive director. Many of the charities that the foundation supports are in Texas, but Scott said the nonprofit organization is looking to expand nationally. The foundation advocates for golf (especially for young people), education, children’s health and the U.S. military. Hogan believed in the importance of education, so the foundation has partnered with the North Texas PGA Junior Golf Foundation to offer college scholarships. Earlier, Hogan paid for Scott’s college tuition at the University of Southern California, where she earned a degree in public administration. After college, she worked in the movie industry in visual effects. While growing up, “[Hogan] always asked ‘How are your grades? How is school?'” Scott said, adding that his financial support meant a lot to her. Hogan served in the Air Force during World War II, so the foundation also supports Patriot Golf Day, a fundraising program for the Folds of Honor Foundation and Wounded Warriors, Inc., which help families of servicemen and women injured or killed at war. “He was proud of his service; he was very patriotic,” Scott said, adding that he drove only American-made cars. The main goal of the foundation, however, is to share the story of Hogan’s inspirational life, especially with youth. Hogan proved that “everyone can be successful if they work hard,” Scott said. He was the youngest of three children and grew up in poverty. He spent his younger years working as a caddy and teaching himself how to play golf. In 1949, in the prime of his golfing career, Hogan suffered major injuries in a near-fatal car accident that left him with a broken collarbone, smashed ribs, a double fracture of the pelvis and a broken ankle. His doctors said he might never walk again. Yet, despite poor circulation and other physical limitations, he returned to the game he loved. Sixteen months later, he won the U.S. Open at Merion in Pennsylvania. “He overcame a lot and was very successful,” Scott said. “He never attributed any of his success to anything other than hard work.” In 1953, Hogan enjoyed one of the greatest single seasons in the history of the sport, winning five of the six events he entered–including the first three majors of the year, a feat that came to be known as the ‘Hogan Slam.’ He might have won the Grand Slam but for the calendar–the PGA Championship that summer overlapped the British Open in Carnoustie (which he won). He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 and, two years later, the USGA honored him with the Bob Jones Award in recognition of Hogan’s distinguished sportsmanship. To donate to the foundation, visit www.benhoganfoundation.org, call 817-301-9934 or write to P.O. Box 121518, Fort Worth, TX 76121.
The deadline is Monday, March 9, for joining the Palisadian-Post’s annual travel writing contest, which offers readers a chance to have their travel stories published in the March 26 Travel Tales and Summer Camps special section. (Space limitations this year may result in not all entries being published.) Please write about a memorable trip or a portion of your trip in 700 words or less. Type it up (no handwritten submissions accepted) and e-mail it to: features@palipost.com. Entries must be from Pacific Palisades residents or those who work or attend school in the Palisades. Include a short bio (25-50 words) and include how long you’ve lived (or worked/attended school) in the Palisades, and a bit about your profession and family. Please include a phone number. Accompanying photographs of your trip (with caption information) are appreciated. The winning entry will receive a prize to be announced.
Christine ‘Rissy’ Burke Nelson, the wife of writer-producer Peter Nelson, died on February 2 after a long battle with cancer. She was 74. Born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Christine met Peter Nelson at Yale Drama School and they married in 1960. She enjoyed an extensive career as an actress in television, with roles in ‘The Twilight Zone,’ ‘The Fugitive’ and ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ among others. The Nelsons joined Theatre West and acted on stage in comedies together. The Los Angeles Times called Christine ‘a radiant and exceptionally funny actress.’ After the birth of sons Paul and Burke, Nelson became a full-time mother and an involved citizen. She was one of the founders of The Center For Early Education and spearheaded a drive to save the monumental Moreton Bay fig trees in Santa Monica. Peter Nelson has maintained an office in Pacific Palisades for 35 years. During that time, he has written and/or produced more than two dozen television movies, as well as the British film ‘The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne.’ Together, the Nelsons often ate and shopped in the Palisades. They were exceptionally fond of the Sunday morning farmers market. Nelson is survived by her sons, Paul, a musician, and Burke, a lawyer; and grandchildren Noah and Emily. A memorial service is pending.
Judith Wolfe Bilson, a psychotherapist and Pacific Palisades resident, died on January 22. She was 59. Born February 21, 1949 in Toronto, Canada, Judith had a twin brother, David. She graduated from the University of Toronto, majoring in French language and literature. While at the university, although only 5 feet tall, she played on the women’s ice hockey team. Judith went on to receive a Ph.D. in psychology and an LCSW degree, interrupted by 2′ years of travelling around the world. In addition to the usual European countries, she visited places like Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iran, Burma, Australia (where she worked as a therapist for eight months) and other exotic places like Nepal. She considered herself a ‘woman of adventure’ and nurtured that impulse in family members close to her. Judith moved to the U.S. in 1981 to join her fianc’ and to get married in San Francisco. After divorcing in 1983, she moved to Los Angeles and established a private practice in West Los Angeles, initially working part-time at the Didi Hirsh Community Mental Health Center and the Florence Crittenten Treatment Center for Adolescent Girls. She eventually had a successful full-time private practice, first in Westwood and later in Pacific Palisades, focusing on individual and family therapy. She also taught at Antioch University, Jewish Family Service in Santa Monica, and at UCLA. Judith had occasional educational pieces published in the Palisadian-Post, including a 2006 article titled ‘Nurturing Family Holiday Gatherings.’ In 1995, Judith married Palisadian Wesley Bilson, and became stepmother to his six children and grand-stepmother to six grandchildren. She helped raise two of Wesley’s children, Greg and Jessica, and was a powerful positive force in their lives. Judith was also survived by her 92-year-old mother, Gertrude (‘Gerry’) Wolfe of Toronto, who who was with her when she died. ‘Her mother has wintered in Pacific Palisades for over a decade,’ husband Wesley said. ‘She and Judith could be seen almost every Sunday at the farmers market on Swarthmore, buying lots of flowers and lots of Kettle Corn, Judith’s Sunday breakfast.’ Judith and Wesley were involved Palisadians, including being longtime members of Kehillat Israel synagogue. Services were held January 25. Donations on Judith’s behalf can be made to Ohr Hatorah Congregation, 11827 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles 90272.
Longtime Palisadian Terry Wolfenden passed away on January 29, after a recurrence of throat cancer. He spent six weeks in the hospital and three weeks at home. He had been working daily, until age 89, at his office on San Vicente Boulevard. Friends and family knew Wolfenden as a generous man, a financial wizard and owner of several businesses. A loud, native Texan, he still loved to wear his boots and large-buckled belt late in life. Born in Carthage, Texas, in the eastern piney woods, Wolfenden moved to Elk City, Oklahoma, in high school. He was a football hero and fell in love with Kathleen Frances Shields after being introduced to this cute girl in overalls, who was holding a kitten. They were finally married on June 14, 1941, and moved to Inglewood, California. Wolfenden had come to California in 1939 and found a job at North American Aircraft. During the war, he located a better job at Hughes Aircraft, where he made parts for the PT Mustang. He continued completing manufacturing tools and materials until the war was over, when he started his own business, Exacto, followed by Masterite and United Energy Corporation. Wolfenden, his wife and two daughters moved to Pacific Palisades in late 1951, when he outbid another gentleman on a spec house on Toyopa Drive. It was one of the few houses on that side of the block (and his daughters recall that various empty lots became pet cemeteries until builders arrived). Joining the Bel-Air Country Club in 1954, Wolfenden was a tournament golfer until age 78. He was club president and held many other roles during his membership. Until recently, he still joined his cronies in the Grill Room for lunch. Terry Wolfenden had a wonderful sense of humor, with a great laugh. His family treasures many legendary stories from him, including the time he and a neighbor tried to remove a petrified tree stump from a yard. He will be sadly missed by ‘The Locusts,’ a large group of family including daughters Christina Woods (husband Bruno Loren) of Pacific Palisades and Jeanine Meunier (husband Leo) of Boston; grandchildren Jennifer Hranek (Nate), Patrick Woods, Meghann Woods and Mark Meunier; and great-grandchildren Marshall Woods and Vance and Harlowe Hranek. Also, family member Kim B. Woods. Private family services have been held.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12 American Legion Post 283 hosts the monthly Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at 15247 La Cruz. Public invited. Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Public invited. Ted Ashby discusses ‘The Resurrection of the Lone Ranger and Tonto,’ hosted by the Pacific Palisades Historical Society, 7 p.m. at the Pierson Playhouse, corner of Temescal Canyon Road and Haverford. Public invited. Hollywood producer, director, writer and actor Tony Bill discusses and signs ‘Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Film Set,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13 Snap Shots Literary Troupe presents ‘We Love Abe Lincoln,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. Enjoy readings and song from the page and stage, hosted by Eric Vollmer. (See story, page 10.) Theatre Palisades presents Neil Simon’s ‘Lost in Yonkers,’ through February 15 at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. Directed by Sherman Wayne and produced by Martha Hunter and Pat Perkins, the play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. For tickets call (310) 454-1970 or visit www.theatrepalisades.org. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14 A 2 to 4 p.m. reception for new Pacific Palisades Art Association members Ann Olsen and Florence Bienenfeld, who are displaying their paintings at the Palisades Branch Library during February. The public is invited. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15 The Temescal Canyon Association hikers will walk from Zuma Beach over Pt. Dume to brunch at Paradise Cove. If you would like to join the group, please RSVP to (310) 459-5931. The brunch is about $10. Meet at 9 a.m. in the parking lot at the entrance to Temescal Gateway Park for carpooling. No dogs. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 Monthly meeting of the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association, 7 p.m. at Rustic Canyon Park. Public invited. Award-winning author Philip Fradkin will discuss and sign his 2008 biography, ‘Wallace Stegner and the American West,’ 7:30 p.m. at Woodland Hall in Temescal Gateway Park. (See story, page 10.) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19 Brenda Webster discusses and signs her novel, ‘The Vienna Triangle,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore.
Here’s a Valentine’s Day story of sorts. For almost nine years, Scott Mischel’s business, Marc Michel Eyewear Studio, had been located at 15314 Antioch. Last December, he relocated his business to 15320 Antioch, on the north side of Salon Ca’ Pello, which his wife, Tiffany D’Nunzio, has owned since 2002. Got that? ‘It was time to upgrade,’ Mischel told the Palisadian-Post. ‘We took three months and we completely redid the store,’ while also adding about 400 square feet by taking over the former Teraine space. Despite the economy’s punishing downturn last summer and fall, Mischel felt the time was right to grow his business. ‘I had the opportunity to obtain a larger space from my landlord, instead of redoing the old store, and I felt this was a positive direction to go in,’ he said. ‘My business has always done well in this community.’ ββHis hunch proved right, because customers have been reacting positively to the move, according to Mischel. Step into the new Marc Michel store (the name is a simplification of the owner’s full name: Scott Marc Mischel), and the place looks inviting: high ceilings, vibrant green-and-white walls, large windows and gallery lighting brightening up the interior. Up on one wall is a mural of three pairs of glasses, two of them shades, in a pop-art design that Mischel himself imagined. He also designed an elegant iron fixture of a pair of retro glasses embedded into one of the counters. An island of wooden boards peeks out in the middle of the store, as if the floor has been ripped open to expose its old bones. The overall effect of this new location: hip, bright, clear, simple, elegant. Mischel sells name-brands”Chanel, Salt, Oliver Peeples, Rayban”as well as harder-to-find designer specs, such as Oliver Goldsmith and Face a Face. But he also takes pride in the fact that he also crafts glasses by hand. ‘I do my own lab work. I try to get a pair that suits a customer’s whole image,’ Mischel was telling the Palisadian-Post, when in walked Gil Grant, a writer/ producer with credits on ’24,’ ‘NCIS,’ and ‘Painkiller Jane.’ ‘Scott is the best,’ Grant tells the Post. ‘Scot and his staff know me, they know the product. I mean, look around. Look at how hip this place is!’ A lean and handsome man of middle-age, Grant picks up his specs’horizontal wire-frames, which Mischel has just finished creating by hand. Sure enough, they fit Grant perfectly, and he’s one happy customer. Mischel and Grant banter for a bit like old friends. In fact, Grant has been patronizing Marc Michel for about 5 years. Thin and hip-looking himself in a casual dark-blue paisley dress shirt and jeans, the store’s owner has been working in the eyewear business for about 30 years. After growing up around Tarzana and Woodland Hills, Mischel began his career in the Valley and learned the ropes by managing various eyewear stores. He discovered Pacific Palisades while dating D’Nunzio, who at the time styled hair at the Hilites studio on Antioch. Upon visiting the town, Mischel knew instantly that he had found the location where he would one day hang his own shingle. He opened his store in July 2000. D’Nunzio herself has been working since she was 13 years old. She grew up in the South Bay and attended the now-defunct Sassoon Hair Academy at the Santa Monica Promenade before working in the Palisades. In 2002, she bought her salon, the year she and Mischel moved from Marina del Rey to the Highlands. ‘It’s very comforting having him right next door,’ D’Nunzio says of working side-by-side with her hubby, though it’s not as convenient as one might think: they don’t carpool to Antioch since they keep different schedules. But have no fear, their collective carbon footprint is relatively minimal: while they may drive to work in separate cars, they reside less than 10 minutes away. On their down time, the couple enjoys walking their Alaskan Malamuts, Oliver and Katie, around the Highlands, and frequenting restaurants on the Westside. But work is where the heart is. ‘He really enjoys people,’ D’Nunzio says of her husband. ‘He enjoys his work and he works long hours.’ Well, you don’t need a pair of glasses to see that. Marc Michel Eyewear Salon is open six days a week from 10 to 6 p.m.; Sundays by appointment. Contact: (310) 230-4569.
Noel Bairey Merz, M.D., a nationally recognized authority on preventive cardiology and women’s heart health, will receive the inaugural Dr. Carolyn McCue Woman Cardiologist of the Year Award on February 26 in Richmond, Virginia. The award, which includes national publicity and a $10,000 prize, will be presented by the Virginia Commonwealth University Pauley Heart Center. Merz, who lives in the Palisades Highlands, is director of the Women’s Heart Center and the Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. In addition, she holds the Women’s Guild Endowed Chair in women’s health and is a professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai. The McCue Award, which honors the memory of one of the few cardiologists of her time and a pioneer in the field of pediatric cardiology, is meant ‘to encourage and inspire other young women to pursue careers in cardiology,’ said the McCue family. ββ’Dr. Bairey Merz has devoted her professional life to improving women’s health,’ said Eduardo Marb’n, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. ‘Through her research, we now have a much better understanding of the unique nature of heart disease in women.’ ‘Heart disease is the leading killer in women,’ Merz told the Palisadian-Post in a 2006 interview. ‘As a proportion, there are more strokes in women than in men.’ Every year since 1984, more women than men have died of heart disease in the United States. Both sexes suffer large-artery blockage, which means the artery lining becomes hardened and swollen with plaque (calcium and fatty deposits and abnormal inflammatory cells), minimizing or stopping blood flow. An angiography is used to diagnosis this condition. In women’s arteries, the plaque lining is smooth and even, unlike their male counterparts, which means the condition isn’t diagnosed through an angiogram and, quite often, is misdiagnosed because the symptoms for heart attacks in women are different from those in men. ‘Symptoms in women can include persistent chest pain or pressure,’ Merz said. ‘Patients describe it as a constricting band or ‘elephant on my chest’. They have fatigue and shortness of breath. Often the women have already had an angiogram and were told that nothing is wrong.’ Why do more women have small-artery disease? Women have smaller arteries than men and although size might be part of it, more probably it’s sex-related. ‘If you take a male donor and transplant that heart into a female, the arteries will not change, they will stay large,’ Merz said. ‘If you take a female heart and transplant it into a male, the arteries get larger.’ Available tests over the years have been geared towards the male and large-artery blockage. ‘Dr. Merz has made significant contributions to our understanding of how women’s hearts and arteries differ from men’s, and this award is a recognition of her body of work in this field,’ said P.K. Shah, M.D., a long-time colleague and former mentor of Merz, and director of the Division of Cardiology at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. Merz has authored more than 170 peer-reviewed research papers and has been an invited presenter at more than 300 scientific meetings. ‘Merz truly exemplifies the qualities of McCue,’ said George Vetrovec, M.D., chair of the VCU School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiology. ‘She is a trailblazer, a prolific researcher, an inspiring educator and mentor, and a very fine cardiologist. Her groundbreaking work in both preventive cardiology and women’s heart health has advanced our knowledge base and given serious momentum to these critically important areas of our field.’ Merz and her husband Rob, also a cardiologist, have three daughters: Alexa, a triathlete and senior at Stanford; Caroline, a fencer at Princeton; and Allison, a junior at Harvard-Westlake.=
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