Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl has recently hired his third field deputy, Jessyca Avalos, since coming into office in July 2005. Avalos replaces Jennifer Rivera, who is now the legislative deputy for Councilwoman Janice Hahn, serving District 15 (the San Pedro area). Rivera, who worked for Rosendahl for six months, told the Palisadian-Post that she had always wanted to work in policy, and Hahn had contacted her about the opening. Rivera replaced Andrea Epstein, who now oversees the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks’ volunteer programs. ‘It was a heartbreak to lose Andrea after having the honor to work with her for two years, and Jennifer was outstanding,’ Rosendahl said. ‘These talented young ladies came here, and they learned things. We mentored them, and they moved on to other opportunities.’ Avalos, 25, will be Rosendahl’s liaison with the residents and organizations in Pacific Palisades, Brentwood and Santa Monica Canyon in District 11. Before accepting the position, Avalos worked for nearly two years as a field deputy and legislative deputy for Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents District 7 (the northeast section of the San Fernando Valley). The Venice resident said she wanted to transition jobs because ‘I wanted to work closer to home on issues that affect me directly.’ Avalos also wanted to work for Rosendahl. ‘He’s full of energy, and he really cares about the community.’ Because of her experience working for Alarcon, Avalos said she is prepared to tackle her new job. ‘I have dealt with constituents’ issues and have familiarized myself with how the city runs,’ Avalos said. ‘I have learned how to be a problem-solver.’ Avalos graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in political science in 2006. She had intended to major in criminal justice, but a professor who taught political theory inspired her to pursue a career in politics. Before taking the position with Alarcon, Avalos was a field organizer for the California Democratic Party for the gubernatorial election in 2006. The West Los Angeles native attended Notre Dame Academy, a private Catholic girls’ high school. Her father, Andres, works for the L.A. Department of Transportation and her mother, Noemi, is a nanny. Her sister, Ruth, is a police officer at LAX. Rosendahl said Alarcon ‘sung praises about Jessyca.’ ‘She’s really bright; she’s an amazing organizer,’ Rosendahl said, adding that he’s pleased to have her as a member of his team.
Meet Our Local “Sun King”
Palisadian Ishaq Shahryar Is a Leader in the Solar Industry
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
The title ‘Sun King’ may have belonged to France’s Louis XIV in the 1700s, but today Ishaq Shahryar has earned the nickname ‘ not for identifying himself with the Greek god Apollo, but for the advancements he has made in solar technology. A British scientific publication, New Scientist, first referred to Shahryar as the ‘Sun King’ in a 2002 article and the name stuck, Shahryar said, so he decided to call his new business, Sun King Solar, Inc. Shahryar, who has nearly 40 years of experience in the solar industry as a scientist and entrepreneur, recently opened Sun King Solar in the Atrium Building at 860 Via de la Paz, where he offers system design, engineering and installation of solar panels on residential and commercial buildings. ‘I have always been an environmentalist,’ said Shahryar, a resident of Pacific Palisades. ‘I am so glad the solar industry has taken off. I think people are seeing the danger of global warming.’ The solar panels convert sunlight directly into electricity, and depending on how many are installed, they will supply 50 to 100 percent of a consumer’s monthly electricity, Shahryar said. The panels even work on cloudy days, albeit not as efficiently. ‘It’s pollution-free, maintenance-free and noise-free,’ Shahrayr said. Business owners and homeowners can receive a 30-percent federal tax credit for installing solar panels. Homeowners have a $2,000 cap, but the U.S. government recently passed a bill to lift that restriction, which will be effective January 2009. Business owners can also write off the depreciation of their solar panels. The state of California offers cash rebates to offset the cost of solar installation on new and existing homes and commercial buildings as part of the California Solar Initiative, a 10-year $3.3-billion program that started in 2007. The rebates vary depending on the type of building and installation, but cover between 20 and 30 percent of the cost for the system, said Joel Davidson, Sun King Solar’s director of engineering. For example, an average homeowner can install a 3-kilowatt system for about $27,000 and receive more than $6,000 from the state. Many homeowners in Pacific Palisades have larger homes, so they typically install 6-kilowatt systems, which cost about $54,000 before tax credits and rebates, Davidson said. ‘The government’s tax breaks have all helped solar move forward,’ Shahryar said. Shahryar, who has lived here since 1981 with his wife Hafizah, first became interested in solar energy after graduating from college. He had earlier moved to the United States in 1956 from Kabul, Afghanistan, on a scholarship to study at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara, earning a bachelor’s degree in physical chemistry and a master’s in international relations. Upon completion, Shahryar worked for aerospace companies that manufactured space solar cells for NASA’s unmanned satellites. In the early 1970s when the government began looking for alternative sources of energy, Shahryar took a job with Spectrolab, a division of Hughes Aircraft. With the help of two other scientists, he invented the first terrestrial solar cell and developed the process of screen-printing cells on solar panels, which is still used in the market today. ‘They used to make fun of me,’ Shahryar said of some of his colleagues who thought it was impossible to screen-print the solar cells. ‘It was quite an invention.’ Shahryar then traveled around the world to sell the concept of sun being converted into electricity. ‘And I became a believer.’ When Hughes Aircraft wanted to focus more on space, Shahryar founded his own company, Solec International Inc., in 1976. His company, located in Hawthorne, commercialized the field of photovoltaics and outfitted more than 1,000 homes and businesses in Southern California as well as in India and Indonesia with solar panels. In 1993, Shahryar received a U.S. patent for creating a 20-percent-efficient silicon solar cell. A year later, he sold Solec International to Sanyo/Sumitomo of Japan and then founded and managed Solar Utility Inc., in Los Angeles. With that company, he developed the famous solar-powered Ferris wheel on Santa Monica Pier. In 2001, he applied for a new patent that reduces the manufacturing cost of silicon solar cells by 50 percent. A year later, Shahryar sold his company in order to volunteer as the Afghan ambassador to the United States because he had a desire to help his home country. He was the first Afghan ambassador in 23 years, representing the government of Hamid Karzai, who became Afghanistan’s new president in the summer of 2002, following the defeat of Taliban forces. Shahryar resigned in 2003 and then helped establish the Afghanistan Technical and Vocational Institute in Kabul. In the first year, the tuition-free school enrolled 600 students and now has 1,000. Shahryar hopes to create satellite campuses in other parts of the country. Wanting to return to his passion of photovoltaics, he decided to start Sun King Solar this year. ‘I don’t know anything else,’ the 72-year-old said, adding that he is not interested in retiring. ‘I’ve worked all my life; I think I am making a contribution, so why quit?’ He is expanding his company daily, but currently has eight employees, including his son, Alexander, a UCLA graduate with a degree in finance. ‘I train him,’ Shahryar said. ‘I want him to learn everything from A through Z.’ His daughter, Jahan, is attending college in California, studying political science. In the next three to four years, Shahryar’s goal is to manufacture a new solar technology that is being developed called thin film. This technology should be cheaper to manufacture and would help government eliminate solar energy subsidizes. After the new technology is developed, Shahryar hopes the government will require all homes and businesses to install solar panels. If that happens, solar energy could ultimately provide 20 percent of the energy used in the United States. For more information about Sun King Solar Inc., visit www.sunkingsolarpv.com, call (310) 230-8900 or e-mail info@sunkingsolarpv.com. To find out more about the California Solar Initiative, visit www.gosolarcalifornia.org.
Peninsula Is One Point Better
It took all 48 minutes for Peninsula to secure its first victory of the season by beating Palisades 22-21 last Friday night in an intersectional football game at Stadium by the Sea. Playing with passion and purpose, the Dolphins battled back from several deficits to keep the game close, but Conner Preston’s desperation fourth-down pass was intercepted by Anthony Papadakis at the Panthers’ 14-yard line with 1:30 left and the visitors subsequently ran out the clock. Despite Palisades’ second consecutive loss to a Southern Section opponent, there were signs that the Dolphins’ offense is starting to click. Preston, only a sophomore, had a marvelous game’completing 14 of 27 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Palisades (1-2) struck first when Joseph Hyman gathered in a bullet from Preston at the Peninsula 30-yard line and juked two defenders on his way to a 56-yard score with 3:18 left in the first quarter. It was by far the Dolphins’ most balanced effort offensively in their first three games. Khalid Stevens rushed for 80 yards in 13 carries and pulled Palisades within a point when he scored on a three-yard run, then caught a two-point conversion pass from Preston with 51 seconds left in the third quarter. Stevens is averaging 8.3 yards a carry this season. ‘We started doing the things we wanted to do on offense,’ Pali Head Coach Kelly Loftus said. ‘This is a big improvement over last year.’ Peninsula (1-2) routed Palisades 48-7 last year in Palos Verdes’a loss the Dolphins were eager to avenge. Tyquion Ballard rushed for 23 yards, caught three passes and had a potential touchdown catch glance off his fingertips. Loren Artis had a game-high six receptions for 115 yards. But it was a pass’not a catch’that electrified the crowd midway through the fourth quarter. Palisades trailed by one point when Artis took the field looking to punt deep in Dolphins territory. The snap bounced low and, rather than risk a block, Artis instinctively rolled to his right, chased by half of Peninsula’s defense. Just before he reached the sideline Artis launched the ball into traffic and receiver Preon Morgan outjumped two defenders and caught the ball for a first down that kept the drive alive. ‘That’s why we have him [Artis] in there in that situation,’ Loftus said. ‘Because of his throwing ability. That was a heads-up play.’ On defense, DeAndre Nelson and Bobby Powell each recovered a fumble to snuff out Peninsula scoring drives and linebacker Chris Hanuscin had a sack. The difference in the game was a successful two-point conversion after Peninsula’s game-tying touchdown in the first quarter. The Panthers got in kick formation but a receiver lined up near the Dolphins’ sideline and he was left uncovered for an easy pitch and catch. ‘We practiced the swinging gate all week, too,’ Loftus said. ‘That guy was hiding over there and we didn’t pick him up him in time.’ Hyman caught three passes for 74 yards and had several long kick-off returns that set the Dolphins up in good field position. Stevens’ 11-yard touchdown reception from Preston pulled Palisades within striking distance at 15-13 with one 1:05 left in the first half. Preston was tackled short of the goal line on the two-point attempt. ‘Our defense didn’t roll over,’ Loftus said. ‘They were very efficient and they owned us at times but I thought we held tough and got off the field when we needed to.’ One problem Palisades had was pass protection. Preston was sacked six times for 50 yards. ‘They were sending their linebackers through the ‘B’ gap when we were slanting,’ Loftus said. ‘The pressure wasn’t coming off the edges, they were beating us up the middle.’ UP NEXT: Granada Hills (1-2) at Palisades (1-2) F/S @ 4 p.m. and Varsity @ 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at Stadium by the Sea
Goldberg Makes Matador Final
Nearly 1,000 of the best junior tennis players in California, Nevada, Utah and Texas were in San Fernando Valley last week for the 45th annual Matador Designated Tournament. Not surprisingly, the Palisades Tennis Center’s contingent dominated in Northridge. Six of the final 16 players in the boys 10s and boys 14s represented the PTC. In the boys 10s division, Harry Cohen, Ben Goldberg, Lucas and Roscoe Bellamy, Cole Pilar and RJ Sands all made it to the second weekend. Sands pulled off the biggest win of his young career by sweeping fifth-seeded Spencer Dalton 6-1, 6-2. Roscoe Bellamy advanced to the quarterfinals and Goldberg, who turned 10 on Tuesday, kept up his current streak of getting to tournament finals. In the boys 14s, five of the eight quarterfinalists train at the PTC. The draw of 128 players included Alex Giannini and Alexander Solonin (each of whom got to the quarterfinals), Garrett Auproux and Brandon Clark (each of whom made the semifinals) and Seth Stolar, who reached the final. In the boys 16s, Brett Alchorn dropped only one set in five matches on his way to the quarterfinals. In the girls 10s, Grace Danko made the quarterfinals. In the girls 16s, Krystal Hansard knocked off the 17th seed in the first round, breezed through the second round, then lost to fourth-seeded Mayo Hibi of Irvine. At the Home Depot Center in Carson, Katie Vincent of the PTC breezed through two rounds to reach the semifinals of the 12-and-unders. At the Nationals in Las Vegas, PTC standout Brandon Michaels beat Daniel Maese of Texas in three sets, then lost to the No. 4 seed in the boys 12s singles. Michaels then partnered with Mease in doubles and the duo lost in the finals 9-8 in a tiebreaker to the No. 1 seeds. In the 14s, Robbie Bellamy lost a close match to top-seeded Brendan Aguilar in singles, then he and his partner fell to the No. 1 seeds in doubles. Palisadian Walker Kehrer was the No. 1 seed in the boys 18s and breezed through the first three rounds before losing to Zack Leslie in a third-set tiebreaker. In May, Kehrer led Brentwood’s boys tennis team to the CIF title.
Football Suffers Historic Loss
Santa Monica’s 42-6 Victory Is Largest Margin Ever in Rivalry Started in 1979
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Santa Monica Coach Zach Cuda admitted he was concerned heading into the Vikings’ September 19 varsity football game at Palisades. After all, his team lost Ocean League player of the year, starting quarterback Ryan Katz, to graduation. Fortunately, the Vikings still have Christian Ross in the backfield, and his power and speed proved to be more than enough to lead a 42-6 rout at Stadium by the Sea. “I saw from the film that Palisades is a much better team than last year,” Cuda said. “I really expected this to be a closer game.” The margin, the largest by either team in a crosstown rivalry dating back to 1979, one more than the 35-point margins by which the Vikings won the previous two meetings. “It’s just one game guys,” Palisades Coach Kelly Loftus told his troops after the game, ever accuentuating the positive. “The important thing is to learn from this and get better as a result.” Penalties, which led to three scores being nullified in Palisades’ season opener against Hollywood the week before, again hurt the Dolphins. This time, Palisades was flagged 16 times for over 130 yards. Not that Santa Monica needed the help. “Way too many penalties and way too many missed assignments on defense,” is how Loftus described the Dolphins’ sixth consecutive loss to the Vikings. “We’ve got to eliminate the slash marks on the clipboard. At least three times we kept their drives alive with stupid penalties.” Ross ended each of Santa Monica’s first three drives with touchdowns, on runs of 44, 13 and three yards. He amassed 153 yards by halftime and finished with 210 yards in just 17 carries. In fact, he watched the entire fourth quarter from the sideline. Palisades scored only once but it was a dandy. Joe Hyman caught a laser from quarterback Conner Preston and outraced three defenders to the end zone to pull the Dolphins within 21-6 in the second quarter. Preston completed 11 of 28 passes for 145 yards, Hyman caught three passes for 116 yards and Tyquion Ballard added four receptions for 17 yards. Luke Zelon scored the Vikings’ last two touchdowns on identical play–seam routs over the middle to beat one-on-one coverage. Santa Monica now leads the “Battle by the Beach” 15-6-2. The Dolphins last win over their beach rivals came in 2002–the first of Coach Jason Blatt’s two seasons.
Cross Country Off and Running
Based on what he’s seen at preseason competitions, Palisades High cross country coach Ron Brumel expects good things from his squad when the season officially opens today at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. At the 28th annual Woodbridge Invitational in Irvine, junior Carlos Bustamante clocked a personal-best 15:30 in the Division IV race’much faster than his prior three-mile time of 16:09 in last fall’s City prelims. “Carlos was ahead after the first two miles and he ran a very strong race,” Brumel said of his top runner. “He could definitely be Top 5 in City and qualify for the state meet.” In the boys’ senior race, Michael Fujimoto finished 22nd out of 197 runners in a personal-best 16:40–15 seconds better than his previous fastest time. Freshman Grant Stromberg was 17th out of 325 runners, picking up nine places in the last three-quarters of a mile to finish in 17:31. A trio of sophomores also gave strong efforts. Danny Escalante was 94th out of 171 runners, clocking 18:21 in his very first high school race. “Danny misjudged the course but he still looked very promising,” Brumel said. “He’s going to be someone to watch this year.” Eric Lopez, cut 90 seconds off of his best time to finish in 139th position in 19:09 while fellow 10th-grader Ryan Bertwell ran the relatively flat course in 19:14 in his first high school race. “Our frosh/soph boys could make City finals,” Brumel predicted. “Right now, the varsity lineup looks like Carlos {Bustamante], Mike [Fujimoto], Oliver Gard-Murray, Todd [Bertwell], Danny [Escalante] and Grant [Stromberg]. Mike and Carlos are the captains.” For the girls, junior Michelle Colato figures to be the Dolphins’ top runner. She was timed at 21:09 in the varsity race, good enough for 106th place out of 230 entrants. Collato was the Western League’s frosh/soph mile champion last spring. Senior Melina Vanos clocked a personal-best 22:45 and Brumel hopes she continues to improve as the season progresses. The Dolphins did not send enough runners to post a team score at Woodbridge. “Our girls lineup could be Michelle [Collato], Karli [Feder], Melina [Vanos], Nina [Kumar], Janquil [Scott] and Ava [Sun],’ Brumel said. “Melina will be our captain.” The frosh/soph girls will be paced by 10th-graders Wendy Gomez, Marlee Galper, Julianne Guida, Kaitlyn Kim and Amy Moulthrop. Palisades will be one of 20 teams competing in the Gordon Weisenberg Meet at Elysian Park this Saturday’a race named after the longtime Belmont High coach. The Dolphins have a nonleague dual meet against Canoga Park today at 2 p.m. at Pierce, then travel north to Malibu for the Pepperdine Invitational on Saturday. League competition opens next Thursday. Brumel and co-coach Mike Voelkel believe the Dolphins will have a successful league campaign. “I like the team we have,” Brumel said. “We should be able to fill all of our teams with kids who want to run.”
Christy Wilhelmi Offers Organic Gardening Tips and Tidbits
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
By LIBBY MOTIKA Senior Editor Christy Wilhelmi calls herself a garden nerd, and when you visit her at home and see myriad garden books, seed packs and a seasonal log strewn all over her dining room table, you can understand. She is passionate. Her obsession started 12 years ago with a small garden on her apartment balcony in Santa Monica, and then she was lucky enough to secure a plot at the Ocean View Community Garden in Mar Vista (there is a perpetual waiting list) and, now as a recent homeowner she has big plans to keep the raised beds full of the bounty of fruits and vegetables available to gardeners in Southern California. For Wilhelmi, it’s all about food. With her summer tomatoes, peppers and squashes just finishing up, she is already plotting the winter garden, which she considers the best time to garden in Los Angeles. ‘There is so much variety’salad greens, spinach, cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli rabe,’ she says. When she started out, she frequented retail nurseries, but in short time and with building confidence, she discovered seed catalogues, which to the gardener is like the Sunday New York Times’irresistible. A native Californian, Wilhelmi grew up in Simi Valley and enjoyed mucking around in the dirt, but what she really loved was spinning around on her toes. She started with rhythm tap. After college at UC Irvine with a dance/drama focus, she performed, and since 2002 has danced with the Hollywood Hornets, a performance and swing dance troupe that has triumphed in the competitive world with three jitterbug trophies. But all along the way, Wilhelmi has always found a place for a garden. ‘There really has been no transition from dancing to gardening because I always did both,’ she says. ‘Gardening became more of a focus when I became a vegetarian and started concentrating on where my food was coming from.’ With an increasing awareness of food sources, no doubt spurred on by the various contaminations reported in the news, Wilhelmi decided to become an advocate for sustainable gardening. Her Web site/blog www.gardenerd.com is a one-stop shop for gardening resources and information. She offers a tip a week’this week’s tip, ‘Start your fall planning now,’ answers questions with her own trial-and-error experience. Because most garden books, except for the Sunset guides, are geared toward the East Coast, Wilhelmi decided to start a class for budding gardeners who are interested in growing their own food, but don’t now how to get going. ’I think there are several reasons for this,’ Wilhelmi says. ‘A big consideration is space; there is a high rate of apartment dwellers in L. A. who would like to have a garden. So I offer a small container or small-space class. In addition, people are afraid to do anything wrong.’ In four class sessions, Wilhelmi covers the basics: soil and fertilizers, small-space planning, starting from seeds and transplants, tools and pruning. Despite the fact that she and her husband Andrew are now homeowners with a generous space to plant, Christy still loves her 15-by-15-ft. plot at the community garden’for another important reason. ’I like the commaderie and the diversity of people. There are 500 plots, and about 392 people’it’s just so rich. There is a Polish man from Northern California, a lesbian couple, an East Indian man, a school principal’just in my little section.’ Wilhelmi serves on the Ocean View board and oversees 25 plots. In addition to the community, she notes that her community garden plot, just walking distance from her home, offers a different microclimate from her home beds. Wilhelmi is offering a fall garden planning workshop on Satuday, September 27 from 3 to 5 p.m. To register, visit gardenerd.com. In addition, there is still room to join the Gardenerd Organic Gardening series. Visit www.smc.edu for more details. Finally, Wilhelmi is available for hand-holding upon request or to wax rhapsodic about organic gardening for garden organizations. Contact Christy by visiting her Web site.
Via House: Five Long Years in Construction
” src=”https://palipost.com/story_photos/owens.jpg” width=”199″ />
From her balcony, Via de la Paz resident Muriel Owens can view the cinderblock and dirt that remains from construction that started in 2005 on her neighbor’s swimming pool. The house has been under construction for five years.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Controversy surrounding a two-story home at 742 Via de la Paz that has been languishing in a half-finished state for five years, may be finally coming to an end.
Last week, the owner of the house, Siamak Hodjatie, told the Palisadian-Post: “We are going to move in within the next 90 days.”
“We are more anxious than our neighbors to finish this house,” said Hodjatie, the president of Cellular Fantasy, a wireless communication provider. “This is our house; it is not a spec house.”
As initially reported in the Post (“Via Residents Endure Years of Next-Door Construction,” August 31, 2006), next-door neighbors have endured on-going construction activity, a swimming pool excavation, and then extended months of no activity.
Muriel B. and James Owen complained to City Councilman Bill Rosendahl in a January 2008 letter, “We have lived in Pacific Palisades on a beautiful street for 20 years and we have seen many houses torn down and replaced, but nothing like this. It is a habitual garbage dump for people now, and cats and rodents climb over the mess as if we are in a third-world country.
“People walk by and throw their coffee cups and dog waste into the front yard,” Muriel told the Post. The Owens have petitioned the city and county twice, which compelled the owner to clean up his yard. In the past five years they have contacted, in addition to Rosendahl, former City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, the Civic League, Palisades Pride, the Pacific Palisades Community Council, the L.A. Department of Building and Safety, Inspector Chan and Chief Inspector Frank Bush and the Department of Sanitation in an effort to move the project along. Little changed.
The construction outlived one neighbor, the late Dorothy Bissell, who complained to Post staff writer Alyson Sena two years ago that “If you live next door to construction noises and an outhouse for years, it seems to me that’s too much.”
Bob Steinbach, spokesperson for the L.A. Department of Building and Safety, recently explained that residential construction permits are good for up two years and can be renewed for as long at it takes to complete the house.
“The object is to get the project done,” Steinbach said. His department has two options with construction: extend permits and try to get the project completed or expire the permit and declare the project abandoned. If the second course is taken, the department would have to pursue legal options, which can lengthen the process considerably.
Building and Safety records show that the main permit was renewed on March 15, 2007, and at that time the house was considered 95 percent completed.
“According to an agent for Hodjatie, the owner has suffered personal issues which have prevented him from moving forward on the project, but it will move forward shortly,” said Steinbach.
The Owens have endured dust blowing from the Hodjatie yard, which is without grass or landscaping. “My house is filthy from the dirt,” Muriel said. “We were going to paint the deck, but with wet paint, the dirt would stick. What would be the point?”
The past two years they have rarely see anyone at the site, but “once a month someone comes and empties the port-a-potty,” Muriel said. A security system periodically and randomly goes off with a verbal warning: “Intruder on the first floor.”
The two-story house, designed by internationally known architect Michele Saee, has a solarium/sun room, a wine cellar and a custom bar made of stainless steel. Saee told the Post that the inside of the house is completed. He would also like to see it occupied because “I would get some recognition and more projects.”
“Sometimes personal matters interfere with the completion of projects, and priorities are somewhere else,” Saee said. “Hodjatie is a very private man.”
Hodjatie explained there have been delays because it is a complicated job and there were issues among the city, contractor and the architect.
“I believe we have our final inspection in the next few weeks,” Hodjatie said. “The house is done, the appliances are in. All that is left is the driveway and the landscaping.”
The swimming pool, which will occupy most of the backyard, remains unfinished. A hole for the pool was dug in 2005, and after one heavy rain in January the Hodjatie backyard had a pool of stagnant water, worrying the Owens that it would attract mosquitoes. According to Building and Safety records, the swimming pool permit was last inspected in November 2006 and the contractor was given a partial approval for gunite. That permit is set to expire.
“There is an issue with the subcontractor about the waterproofing of the pool,” Hodjatie said, “but we are going to move in anyway.”
Palisadian Competes on Survivor
Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS
” src=”https://palipost.com/story_photos/whitmore.jpg” width=”199″ />
Palisadian Matty Whitmore is one of 18 contestants to compete in Survivor: Gabon—Earth’s Last Eden.
Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS
Matty Whitmore, a trainer at the Spectrum Club in Pacific Palisades, is a contestant on the popular CBS reality show Survivor. The two-hour season premiere airs tonight at 8 p.m, with Whitmore facing 17 contestants in Gabon, Africa.
The contestants are divided into tribes and they participate in challenges to survive, including finding food and making shelters. Every three days, the losing tribe holds a council and votes out one of the members. The final remaining survivor will win $1 million in December.
Before the Palisadian-Post spoke to Whitmore last Thursday, CBS publicist Lori DelliColli set the ground rules for the interview: “Matty can discuss anything that happened UP UNTIL HE LEFT FOR THE GAME. Nothing can be discussed about the actual game itself. Please let me know if this is not clear.”
If the Post couldn’t get a scoop on the show’s winner, or any of the possibly “nasty” contestants, what was there to talk about? Plenty.
Whitmore, 29, who rarely watches television, never aspired to be on the show. When a producer spotted him at a Whole Foods store in Santa Monica in April and asked him to call, he didn’t take it seriously. Later he was with his girlfriend, Jamie Moss, at her parents’ house and the subject of Survivor came up. Moss’s parents are huge fans of the show and urged Whitmore to try out, telling him “this is the opportunity of a lifetime.” He called CBS and immediately was invited in for testing. On June 15, he left for Africa.
Thousands of people try out for the show, but the psychological and physical tests eliminate all but 18. “It’s almost like trying to sign up for the C.I.A.,” Whitmore said. “They give you extensive evaluations; they want to know where your breaking points are. And you’re always kept in the dark.”
While he was going through the tryouts, Whitmore watched two earlier seasons of the show. Afterwards he came to the conclusion, “I think that going into the show with little knowledge is the best because it allows you to adapt more easily and be more flexible.”
Once Whitmore was selected, he signed numerous confidentiality agreements, including not letting anyone know he had been chosen, with the exception of his girlfriend and parents. The people he trains privately, as well as his Spectrum Club colleagues, had no knowledge of where he was for the 39 days it took to tape the show.
He admits that he doesn’t like to travel, though he visited Costa Rica once on a surf trip and Mexico several. “My bubble is the Palisades from Chautauqua to Sunset. I don’t even like to drive cars.”
After returning from Africa, Whitmore was not allowed to tell people where he had been, nor how he had fared in the competition. “The network wants to announce all of the contestants at the same time,” he said, but the secrecy was hard on him. “I don’t live a deceptive life. I don’t lie, I don’t cheat.”
Before Whitmore left, he thought that during breaks in the show, the cast would be given food and blankets. “I thought they’d throw you a ‘bone.’ That’s not the case. It’s as raw and true as it appears.”
The contestants were taped 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “I have absolutely no clue what’s going to be on the screen,” he said. “It’s super frightening, but it’s the most challenging and rewarding thing I have ever gone through. When you’re there, your mind is constantly engaged. It was the adventure of a lifetime, a definite blessing. You definitely learn to appreciate the simpler things in life.”
Whitmore said he didn’t know if he was the final survivor and wouldn’t until the season finale, when the whole cast returns for a final taping in December.
Whitmore is the fraternal grandson of actor James Whitmore. His parents, Danny and Leslie, grew up in the Palisades, attended Paul Revere and Palisades High School, then moved their family to Mammoth Lakes to get away from the Hollywood scene. His maternal grandmother, Mary Leech, was a realtor with Jon Douglas and still lives in the Palisades.
Survivor portrays Whitmore as a rich kid who has run through an educational trust. He did have a trust, as long as he remained in an academic setting, which he didn’t.
“A traditional education wasn’t for me,” Whitmore said, admitting that he spent his time surfing and “playing” in his early 20s. He played baseball at Saddleback Junior College in Orange County for two years, and briefly attended Santa Barbara City College, Ventura City College and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He also took extensive acting classes.
In 2004, Whitmore attended the National Academy of Sports Medicine and, five months later, he became a certified trainer. “I was the most broke I’d ever been; money didn’t make me happy at all,” said Whitmore, who eventually found a home at Spectrum (on Sunset at PCH). He also trains privately, and still goes on an occasional audition.
Whitmore likes trail running and has a miniature pug, Dink, but mostly enjoys his life with his girlfriend and hanging around Pacific Palisades, where they live.
“I love the Palisades,” he said. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”
Spectrum Club is hosting a premiere party tonight starting at 7 p.m. and Palisades residents are invited to attend.
Peace Pole Dedicated, Aldersgate Celebrates 80th Year in Palisades
Pacific Palisades. In the background is Buerge Chapel, built north of the lodge on Haverford Avenue in 1992.
” src=”https://palipost.com/story_photos/aldersgate1.jpg” width=”199″ />
Residents and visitors gathered on Saturday to help Aldersgate Retreat and Cultural Center celebrate the lodge’s 80th year in
Pacific Palisades. In the background is Buerge Chapel, built north of the lodge on Haverford Avenue in 1992.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
“Building community while fostering inner peace” was the theme Saturday as six speakers helped the Aldersgate Retreat & Cultural Center celebrate the lodge’s 80th year on Haverford Avenue.
Built in 1892, the Mission Revival style Aldersgate was once a private home on Harvard Street in downtown Los Angeles that later housed a fraternal association known as the “We Boys.” In 1928, the main house was cut in two and moved on a three-day trek across Los Angeles to arrive at its present location.
Today, Aldersgate is part of the California Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Its doors are open to all for group retreats (with accommodations for up to 44 persons), banquets, weddings, memorial services and special events. The dining room seats groups up to 50.
Saturday morning’s program featured a dedication ceremony for the Center’s new 7-foot-tall peace pole in the meditation garden adjacent to the Buerge Chapel (on the north side of the lodge). The pole has “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in 12 languages, including English, Spanish, Korean, Hawaiian, Chumash, Swahili, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Hebrew, French, Japanese and Braille.
“We purposely chose languages from each continent, to honor the local Native American tribe, and added Braille to be universally inclusive,” said Sandra Beckwith, program consultant at Aldersgate and producer of the event. “We also looked at languages that honored our regional traditions. Alas, there are only so many sides to the pole!”
The speakers included Paul Cogger, director of camping for the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (which operates six other camp sites similar to Aldersgate); two out-of-town Methodist ministers, Rev. Gary Keene and Rev. Sam Yun; Palisadian-Post editor Bill Bruns; and Lt. Col. Colleen Turner, a native of Pacific Palisades who now works as a communications analyst for the Department of Veterans Affairs on its Brentwood campus.
Beckwith presented certificates to the winners of the first Noble Awards in the children’s art and essay contest. The contestants addressed how they would create peace in our hearts, homes, communities and world.
“Aldersgate wants to offer the Noble Awards annually,” said Beckwith, “and we’re looking at next May for our next event. It will have a particular theme, offered to all local faith communities.”
“Building community while fostering inner peace” was the theme Saturday as six speakers helped the Aldersgate Retreat & Cultural Center celebrate the lodge’s 80th year on Haverford Avenue.
Built in 1892, the Mission Revival style Aldersgate was once a private home on Harvard Street in downtown Los Angeles that later housed a fraternal association known as the “We Boys.” In 1928, the main house was cut in two and moved on a three-day trek across Los Angeles to arrive at its present location.
Today, Aldersgate is part of the California Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Its doors are open to all for group retreats (with accommodations for up to 44 persons), banquets, weddings, memorial services and special events. The dining room seats groups up to 50.
Saturday morning’s program featured a dedication ceremony for the Center’s new 7-foot-tall peace pole in the meditation garden adjacent to the Buerge Chapel (on the north side of the lodge). The pole has “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in 12 languages, including English, Spanish, Korean, Hawaiian, Chumash, Swahili, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Hebrew, French, Japanese and Braille.
“We purposely chose languages from each continent, to honor the local Native American tribe, and added Braille to be universally inclusive,” said Sandra Beckwith, program consultant at Aldersgate and producer of the event. “We also looked at languages that honored our regional traditions. Alas, there are only so many sides to the pole!”
The speakers included Paul Cogger, director of camping for the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (which operates six other camp sites similar to Aldersgate); two out-of-town Methodist ministers, Rev. Gary Keene and Rev. Sam Yun; Palisadian-Post editor Bill Bruns; and Lt. Col. Colleen Turner, a native of Pacific Palisades who now works as a communications analyst for the Department of Veterans Affairs on its Brentwood campus.
Beckwith presented certificates to the winners of the first Noble Awards in the children’s art and essay contest. The contestants addressed how they would create peace in our hearts, homes, communities and world.
“Aldersgate wants to offer the Noble Awards annually,” said Beckwith, “and we’re looking at next May for our next event. It will have a particular theme, offered to all local faith communities.”
