Earl Henry Down, who was found guilty in 1987 of one count of second-degree murder of 15-year-old Clinton Heilemann, a student at Palisades High School, and three counts of attempted murder, has been denied parole. At a January 5 hearing at Vacaville, the Board of Prison Terms also mandated a 15-year denial for further parole hearings under Marsy’s Law, which was passed last November by voters, giving victims and their families increased rights. The board, which bases parole requests on several factors including future employment and living plans, improvement through self-help programs, education, remorse, restitution and responsibility for the crime, heard from several speakers including members of Justice for Victims of Homicide; the deceased’s father and sisters; and friends Kenneth Waco and Matthew Williams, who was wounded in the shooting on Los Liones Drive on July 3, 1987. Williams told the Palisadian-Post that there were more than 75 letters from the community, as well as a letter from L.A. Chief of Police William Bratton, asking the Board to deny Down a parole. Down’s sister and brother were at the hearing. Both said that if he was paroled, they would try to help, but the brother is in an assisted-living facility and the sister is from Arizona, which meant that neither qualified as a location that Down could be released to. Down, 57, has two daughters; neither attended the hearing. At the proceedings, Down’s entire criminal history was open to review. Williams knew that when Down was sentenced in 1987, he was already a convicted felon, but Williams did not know that Down had previously been charged and convicted of child molestation, chasing people down on the freeway and fighting with them, wife beating, voyeurism against children and teens, multiple drug offenses and beating a police officer. ‘It took 45 minutes to just go through what he did in the ’70s,’ said Williams, who attended the entire four-hour hearing. ‘His history was horrible; it was sordid.’ The board expressed concern about Down’s violent attacks that seemed to escalate and especially his history of violence against children. In Williams’ statement to the Board, he said, ‘We have been sentenced to a lifetime of parole hearings, in which we are forced to relive Clinton’s murder and reiterate the reasons why this inmate must remain incarcerated.   His unprovoked attack on us was vicious, terrifying, excruciatingly painful and deeply traumatic. He threatened a group of youths without reason or provocation, physically assaulted one, and as they fled in fear of their lives, he shot them, permanently wounding two young adults [Daniel Dawson and Williams] and killing a 15-year-old boy.’ Heilemann was an altar boy at Corpus Christi, and an Eagle Scout candidate.

By ALICE LYNN Special to the Palisadian-Post Words can never fully capture the emotions I felt while witnessing the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama; pictures seem flat without the depth or expanse of dimension, and without the sounds of voices echoing joy and jubilance. But on the cold, crisp, sunny morning of January 20th, my two children and I were witness to a historic event that still leaves me reeling. The stories began on Monday, as my son Eric and I walked from our hotel, first to the Hart Senate Building, where we stood for over two hours with thousands of others in a security line to pick up our Inaugural tickets from Senator Boxer’s office, and then to the Congressional Office Building and Congressman Waxman’s office for additional tickets. Everywhere one looked, strangers spoke, new friendships formed, and hugs were freely given. We all seemed to be experiencing a new depth, a new connectedness that is uncommon in our lives; we were all celebrating together, and the feelings emanating from these human connections were astounding. Monday night over dinner with fellow Palisades friends, Gail Wirth and her daughter, Hannah, we shared experiences. Earlier, Gail had met Jesse Jackson as he was leaving our hotel and ironically, sitting next to us, was Jackson’s son, Jonathan, and his friends. A spirited conversation developed, and when Jonathan learned I was a therapist, we spoke for some time on the changing black family and the dynamics he witnesses among his friends, all successful in business but often feeling less sure in their parenting and marital roles. How does one capture the emotion experienced by being part of this extraordinary event? Perhaps it is best told in the vignettes of stories, of lives touched that so moved my family and me. ‘ There was the white judge, a Republican, who drove from North Carolina with his two teenage children, who never had voted for a Democrat, and who spoke of how moved he was by Obama and his message of hope. ‘ There was the African American foreign service officer from Maryland who spoke of his difficult time in foreign countries as diverse as Turkey, China and Morocco and how tarnished our reputation has become. He spoke of the enormous hope that America would once again regain our world standing. ‘ There was the white owner of an office furniture store, the campaign director from North Dakota, who spoke of meeting Obama and how they talked for over 20 minutes on being parents, and his warm impression of the man, of his poise and genuineness, who is our President. ‘ There was the African American family from Colorado who brought their two school-age boys to see the first black president inaugurated so they could someday tell their children they were witness to this historic event. ‘ There was the young hearing-impaired white woman, a recent graduate of Gallaudet University in D.C., who had experienced her first involvement in politics working on Obama’s campaign, and who with her Latina friend, a recent Stanford grad, were overjoyed at being able to attend the Inauguration. ‘ There was the 92-year-old African American woman from Missouri, who with tears in her eyes said, ‘Never in my lifetime did I expect to see a black man become President.’ ‘ There was the hearing-impaired white couple signing with enthusiasm and smiles. ‘ There was seeing the T-shirt on an African American man in his 50s that read ‘My President Looks Like Me!’ We walked, and we waited for hours in the biting cold, with thousands of others, and there was not once an incidence of unruly behavior or negativity. People of all complexions and nationalities, the able and disabled, with walkers and wheelchairs, the very young to the notably old’all Americans were represented, and we all felt the experience of coming together. When Eric and I arrived at our standing position in front and to the right of the Capitol, we looked back over the Mall and could barely take in the emotion of seeing thousands and thousands of faces stretching beyond the Mall and the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. My daughter Jennifer and her husband were standing just behind the Reflecting Pool and had even a greater perspective of the multitudes. No one else, my son observed, could have or has affected and energized and excited our country and the world in so profound a way as Barack Obama, simply by his rhetoric and inspiration. My daughter reflected on change in feelings between the races; having lived in D.C. with her husband for 10 years, she said the anger often seen was clearly absent, replaced by reconciliation between the races. As a young girl, a daughter of an Armenian immigrant, I remember keenly the road trip my family took in the summer of 1951. We were driving though the South. I had seen the ‘whites only’ signs, the difference in outdoor movie theaters and the homes distinctly differentiated by race. But when we stopped at a Fosters Freeze one hot summer day, and I went to the side of the building for water, and saw the two fountains, I ran back to my mother with great excitement to announce, ‘They have colored water!’ It was then that the full impact of racial division hit me. It is an experience that has never left.   (Alice Lynn, an active member of the Pacific Palisades Democratic Club, coordinated a group of about 20 friends who attended the Inauguration.)

Palisades Charter High School’s physically handicapped students still do not have an elevator to reach their second-story classes. In 2004, the Los Angeles School District began developing plans to install a long-sought elevator, located near the library, and construction started in May 2007. ‘We’re anticipating the elevator will be complete and certified in May,’ said Neil Gamble, LAUSD’s director of maintenance and operations. PaliHi mother Lainie Sugarman, whose son has had to use crutches on and off throughout high school, said she remembers being told that it would take six months to install the elevator. When the Palisadian-Post reported on the progress last September 18, LAUSD officials predicted the elevator would be up and running by December. ‘It’s absolutely insane,’ Sugarman said last Friday. ‘Talk about bureaucracy; all they keep doing is delaying it.’ Her son, Alon, will graduate in June. The school buildings, which are connected by an outdoor walkway on the first and second floors, do not have an elevator because they were constructed long before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, said PaliHi Executive Director Amy Dresser-Held. To assist students with physical disabilities, heart conditions, seizure disorders or broken bones, the school attempts to schedule their classes on the first floor or provides an assistant to help them with the staircase, Dresser-Held said. Students with moderate to severe disabilities are in a classroom on the first floor. The elevator, with a projected cost of $623,233, is still not complete because of issues with the fire alarm, Gamble said. LAUSD, which owns the school grounds and is in charge of maintaining and upgrading the buildings, hired an electrical engineer who designed the instructions for installing the alarm based on the school’s site conditions and code requirements. The contractor followed those instructions when installing the alarm, but the Division of the State Architect (DSA) inspector was concerned about how the alarm was mounted, Gamble said. The fire alarm may have to be redesigned and both LAUSD and DSA will have to inspect and certify it, Gamble said, adding he anticipates this process taking two months. Then, the district and the state inspector will have to test the overall function of the elevator and approve it before its operational. When LAUSD started the project, workers discovered an underground vault with wires and pipes that had to be relocated before construction of the elevator could begin, Dresser-Held said. ‘It’s not unheard of to have different site conditions in construction, especially when dealing with existing buildings, that delay the project,’ Gamble said. o o o In other facilities news, the Post reported on December 11 and January 1 that LAUSD found unacceptable levels of lead in the water at PaliHi in November, and all of the 22 drinking fountains were capped. During winter break, PaliHi purchased 10 individual carbon filtration systems for selected drinking fountains. ‘We made it a priority to fix at least 10 fountains in the most trafficked areas throughout campus because we were distributing bottled water for free,’ Dresser-Held said. All the other drinking fountains will remain capped until LAUSD can make the necessary repairs. Buildings constructed before 1989 may have lead in the water because they have brass fixtures, galvanized pipes or pipes where lead solder was used. PaliHi opened in 1961. o o o Over winter break, LAUSD also finished re-piping PaliHi’s gym for a cost of $623,421. The district began that project last May because the aging pipes were leaky and rust was contaminating the water. PaliHi administrators had expected the project would be done when school started in September. This fall, students were unable to use the restrooms or wash up after gym class, team practices and home games.

Although the economy is as deflated as a flat tire, business is thriving for Castellammare resident Jon Stokes, owner of Stokes Tire Pros in Santa Monica. His shop also services brakes, shocks and struts, and does vehicle maintenance and oil changes.   This third-generation family businessman thinks that one of the reasons his company has been so successful in a down economy is honesty.   ’If you bring your car in and tell me you want new brakes, and we look and see you still have two months left, I’ll tell you to bring the car back in two months,’ Stokes said. He gives the same candid advice to customers who believe they need a new set of tires.   In addition, Stokes credits his long-time employees, who have been specially trained in helping car owners select the right tires. ‘I have quality employees,’ he said. ‘They’re about putting good wheels on your car.’   Stokes has been in the business of fitting tires for Vipers, Lamborghinis, Porsches and BMWs, as well as family cars and vans, for more than 30 years.   One challenge he faces is helping customers understand tire costs. ‘People don’t realize that tires are tied into petroleum prices. Tires now cost 25 to 30 percent more than two or three years ago.’ Stokes said. When asked if the recent plunge in oil prices will result in lower tire prices, he said no, and cited several factors, including rising shipping costs .   ’America is not a manufacturer any more and products are not made here,’ he said, noting that the leading tire manufacturers have plants worldwide.   Another factor is the trend in automobile manufacturing to give each new car a specific tire, which means all of the models require different tires. Manufacturers make more tires, but less of specific models, and less production of an item results in higher costs.   Last Friday morning, a high-performance Viper was having four wheels replaced at a cost of $2,000.   ’A race car cannot do what it can without the specialized rubber,’ said Stokes, who spends his spare time racing cars in the Super Unlimited and Super Touring classes at Willow Springs, Button Willows and Fontana racetracks. In 2006, he won a Sportsman of the Year award, and in 2007 he was a time-trials champion with his Caterham Super 7.   ’Tires will win a race or lose it,’ Stokes said. ‘I can change how the car feels or handles just by changing the tires.’ The Stokes family business history began in the late 1930s, when Jon’s grandfather, Bill, opened a gas station on Pontius and Idaho in West Los Angeles.   His father, Jack, eventually opened four stations, the last of which was located on 10th and Wilshire in Santa Monica in 1966.   Beginning at age 9, Stokes worked in that station, helping to wash windows and check tire pressure alongside an employee who was also a hockey fan. Because of that influence, Stokes wanted a career as either a professional hockey player or a rock star. ‘Either would have been fine,’ Stokes said, laughing.   After graduating from North Hollywood High School, where his favorite class was woodworking, Stokes started his career with a furniture company. His goal was to make enought money to go to hockey camps and spend more time with his rock band, Witness. So when he had enough money saved to support himself for awhile, he would quit. And when he ran out of money, he’d go back to work.   That lifestyle stopped about 35 years ago when his dad bought a retail tire store at 1117 Santa Monica Blvd., where Stokes Tire Pros now stands. He gave up his lease on Wilshire and combined the service station and retail business crews. When several employees didn’t get along, and quit, Jack asked his son to help.   ’I was working in a high-end, cabinet-building store, and I would have kept that job forever,’ Stokes said. ‘What was supposed to be short-term turned into my life career.’   With his 13 employees, it is obvious that Stokes likes where he is in life. ‘I enjoy amateur racing, I enjoy interacting with customers and I enjoy the business,’ said the 18-year Palisades resident, who has three sisters who grew up in this area: Kim, Christy and Kelly. Contact: (310) 393-0767 or visit www.stokestirepros.com.