Palisades Elementary Charter School is holding its annual orientation for incoming kindergarten and new parents on Thursday, February 12 from 9 to 11 a.m. in the library. There will be a tour of the school, and an introduction of teachers and principal Joan Ingle. Fifth graders will give an account of their school experience at Pali Elementary. A question and answer session will follow the presentations. Adults only. No RSVP is necessary. For further information contact: Jennifer Taghibagi at (310) 454-2487.

Nicholas Rosser, a senior at Palisades High School, was killed instantly last Saturday on Palisades Drive when his car spun out and struck an oncoming vehicle about 6 p.m. Los Angeles West Traffic Division Detective Hutchings said that based on witness reports, speed was the most likely cause of the accident. Rosser, 18, who lived with his family in the Highlands, had worked at the Santa Ynez Recreation Center in the Highlands Saturday afternoon before driving down Palisades Drive, a notorious speedway. According to Fire Station 23 Captain James Varney, as Rosser drove back uphill from Sunset, he lost control of his 2005 Acura SRX and spun out. The right rear of his car struck a 2001 Dodge Dakota that was heading downhill, and then went into the brush in a ditch. Rosser was wearing his seat belt and the airbag deployed, but to no avail. ‘Both cars were upright,’ Varney said, but both cars were totaled. He confirmed that Rosser was the sole occupant in the Acura. The accident occurred about three-quarters of a mile north of Sunset at the start of the S-curves. Mario Cadenas, the 41-year-old Dodge driver, was transported to Santa Monica Hospital with minor injuries. According to Varney, the road was closed in both directions during the investigation, angering many people who were prevented from attending a large party in the Highlands. Varney, who retires in six months, is usually one of the first people on the scene at accidents on Palisades Drive. ‘Another one,’ he said Monday morning, his voice weary. ‘I’ve seen too much of this: we’re losing too many people.’ He pondered how a program could be put together to try and save young lives. Varney said that when Rosser’s father came to the accident scene, his sobs were heart-wrenching. ‘If people could see the face of the father when he saw his son, it said it all,’ Varney said. Cadenas, the truck driver, wrote in an L.A.Times blog: ‘Although my injuries were minor, my wounds of my heart will never heal.’ Amy Held, Palisades Charter High School executive director, said that Rosser was a member of the varsity lacrosse team and a surfer. Friends and family held a memorial paddle at Zuma Beach Sunday. ‘There are tributes to him all over Facebook,’ Held said. ‘We have our crisis team activated today [Monday] visiting his classes and providing support and counseling in the library and study center.’

Police Sergeant Curtis Massey, a Pacific Palisades resident with a wife and three children, was killed in a head-on collision on the Santa Monica Freeway just west of National Boulevard at about 5 a.m. on Wednesday, January 28. The driver of a silver Toyota Camry, who was driving the wrong way on the eastbound freeway, was also killed in the collision. Massey, a 17-year veteran with the Culver City Police Department, was driving to work in an unmarked police car when his Dodge Charger was struck by Camry driver Luis Palma, 21, of Van Nuys. Massey’s car was instantly engulfed in flames and both cars were totaled, closing eastbound traffic. Wreckage spilled across the highway divider into the westbound lanes, closing several lanes of that side of the freeway. According to California Highway Patrol Officer Travis Ruiz, an eyewitness placed Palma entering the freeway at Fairfax Avenue. He drove nearly four miles before hitting Massey’s car. Ruiz told the Palisadian-Post on Monday that Palma’s final 24 hours are being scrutinized to discover why he made the fatal mistake of entering and driving on the wrong side of the freeway. According to Ruiz, Palma was at his home until about midnight, when he left accompanied by a woman. Investigators are trying to track down the woman. As of Monday, the CHP was still awaiting a toxicology report. According to Corpus Christi Church spokesperson Carol Sanborn, a vigil service will be held tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church on Sunset Boulevard, with a reception to follow immediately in the parish hall at 890 Toyopa Dr. A funeral mass will be held tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles. Parking fees will be waived for the funeral and burial will follow at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. Those wishing to contribute to the Sergeant Curtis Massey Memorial Fund can go to www.culvercitypolice.com.

Paulo Emanuele, general manager of Airliners.net, died in a plane crash on Wednesday, January 28 at 5 p.m. as he attempted a takeoff from the Santa Monica Airport. The Pacific Palisades resident and father of a teenage daughter was piloting a red, two-seat Marchetti F260 when he lost power and then attempted to return to the airport. According to media reports, the plane went down at the west end of the runway and burst into flames, killing Emanuele, 46, and his passenger Martin Schaedel, 23, a Swedish business development consultant for the Web company www.farecompare.com. No one on the ground was hurt. Eyewitness reports say that the plane may have encountered engine failure before crashing nose first into the runway. Following the crash, the airport was closed for takeoffs and landings. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident. A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was registered to Malibu-based Wingspan. The Web site that Emanuele managed, www.Airliners.net, has more than a million photographs of every type of airplane, including pictures of airplanes used by airlines that are no longer in business. There’s a dedication page on that site, with the following tribute to Emanuele: ‘He will be remembered for his passion, his kindness, and his love for life. Paulo was an amazing pilot, an amazing photographer, an amazing friend, and an amazing father.’ A memorial for Emanuele was held at Corpus Christi Church on Tuesday this week.

Highlands resident Nicholas Rosser, who was killed last Saturday evening on Palisades Drive, is the third teenager killed in an automobile accident on local roads in the past two years. The others were 17-year-old Dillon Henry in July 2007 on Sunset, and 18-year-old Travis DeZarn in November 2007 on Palisades Drive. Community outrage over the senseless deaths was channeled into a public meeting on Monday night at Rustic Canyon Park. Although the meeting could only be publicized through e-mail and word of mouth, more than 100 people attended. Steve Henry, Dillon’s father, led the meeting, which included parents, youth, members of the Pacific Palisades Community Council and representatives from Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s office, the L.A. Department of Transportation and LAPD. On behalf of Rosendahl, field deputy Jessyca Avalos offered condolences to the Rosser family. ‘We’re here because it’s another tragedy,’ Henry said. ‘It’s time that we as a community say ‘No More!’ We want something to be done now.’ ‘My son died 15 months ago tomorrow on Palisades Drive,’ Tim DeZarn said. ‘The answer from the city was to put up reflectors [on the roadway].’ Henry urged those in attendance to sign a letter to Councilman Rosendahl and Mayor Villaraigosa requesting immediate action implementing traffic safety measures on Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard (near Evans Road). He then opened up the meeting to possible suggestions. ‘Have a neighborhood watch,’ one mother suggested. ‘I would be willing to write down [a speeder’s] license plate and send out a letter.’ Someone suggested that additional signage be placed on Palisades Drive, especially a warning of the S-curves, where many accidents have occurred. Many wondered why photo-enforced speeding tickets couldn’t be issued, and were told that they were legal in some states, but not in California. Others wanted to know why a photo-enforced traffic light couldn’t be put in the middle of the canyon. Other suggestions included putting up streetlights in the canyon and a concrete barrier that would divide the two lanes. ‘My brother lives on Palisades Drive, so I know how easy it is to pick up speed,’ said DOT engineering associate Hamed Sandoghdar. ‘The road could be redone so that there are two lanes going north [uphill] and one lane going south.’ Teens in the audience were clear about the one single change with the most impact: enforcement. ‘I’ve raced in that canyon for four years,’ one youth said, referring to Palisades Drive. ‘But I stopped on January 31.’ He then suggested that police enforce the road’s speed limit (45 mph) at different times and in different locations in the canyon. He recounted that after Rosser’s death, ‘many kids talked about how lucky they were because they had done the same thing.’ Adults in the room made it clear that speeding isn’t limited to adolescents, recounting the accident last February when a BMW driven by an adult went off the side of the road. ‘It’s not the street, it’s the drivers going 80 miles per hour,’ one man said. ‘I’m disturbed by people not taking responsibility for breaking the law,’ West L.A. LAPD Captain James West said. He explained that he had limited resources to police streets and expressed frustration that when police officers are targeting the road, oncoming drivers often warn other motorists by blinking their lights. During the meeting he e-mailed Captain Nancy Lauer, who is in charge of enforcement, and asked for increased enforcement, as well as a speed trailer for Palisades Drive. ‘Be aware that enforcement includes everything,’ West said. ‘We’re not only going to look at speeding, but if you don’t have a front license plate, we’ll pull you over for that as well.’ Former Palisades Senior Lead Officer Chris Ragsdale summarized the three options: engineering, education and enforcement. ‘Every six months there’s a fatality on either Palisades Drive, Sunset Boulevard or PCH,’ Ragsdale noted. YMCA Executive Director Carol Pfannkuche offered to facilitate education efforts for traffic safety. She can be reached at CarolPfannkuche@ymcala.org. A second meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 11, at 8 p.m. in Rustic Canyon Park, 601 Latimer Road. The agenda will include immediate safety measures and long-term plans for Palisades Drive and Sunset. Rosendahl and members of DOT will be present. Rosendahl has asked residents who have new safety or traffic ideas to call his office (310) 575-8461.