Residents living on Akron Street have long been upset and frustrated by the many cars speeding along that curvy, hilly connector road between Bienveneda Avenue and Lachman Lane. In the past year, for example, more than 10 parked cars have been scraped or had their side mirrors damaged, and numerous pets have been injured or killed by careless drivers, according to a neighborhood survey. Akron’s posted speed limit of 25 mph is hardly a deterrent, neighbors told the Palisadian-Post. Hoping to slow traffic, residents of the 69 homes that line the street have tried for years to have speed humps installed, but had always been rejected’until this spring, when they achieved a partial victory. A petition for a speed hump on upper Akron between Chattanooga and Lachman Lane was approved on May 5. Residents received a letter stating, ‘As you know, this location was earlier investigated for excessive speeding, and speed humps were recommended as the appropriate traffic measure.’ L.A. Principal Transportation Engineer Glen Ogura has confirmed that a speed hump will be installed on upper Akron by the end of July. Dan Urbach, who lives on lower Akron between Chattanooga and Bienveneda, has applied for a speed hump on that portion of the road. ‘We have his application and we are in the process of doing a study,’ Ogura said. Once the study is completed and if it confirms that the requirements for a speed hump are met, the next step is to have at least 75 percent of the residents sign the petition. The upper-Akron petition garnered 83 percent support. The process to acquired the first speed hump started in February 2007 when Akron residents Andrea and Roger Barton wrote to Department of Transportation Engineer Mohammad H. Blorfroshan, ‘This will be our neighborhood’s third attempt for requesting speed humps on this street,’ the Bartons wrote. ‘Last year the city recognized the speed problem and installed a stop sign on the corner of Akron and Chattanooga, but unfortunately, drivers continue to drive at unsafe speeds past our homes before arriving at the stop sign, which is rarely acknowledged. ‘The speeding problem is very serious. Two dogs were hit and killed yesterday, I was very close to being hit by an SUV while crossing the street with my two-year-old son.’ The couple concluded the letter, ‘Please help us keep our children, neighbors and pets from becoming fatalities. It’s only a matter of time and we would hate to have to reference all three requests in court if anything were to happen.’ Other neighbors recounted their traffic stories: ‘A blue Volkswagen was speeding up Akron and hit a six-month old retriever. They didn’t stop,’ said Katherine Orlinsky. ‘Our car has been in the body shop twice. Everybody has a story.’ ‘People honk at us when we’re trying to back out of our driveways,’ said Diane Braverman, and Gloria Kim commented: ‘My biggest fear is someone is going to take the curve [between Chattanooga and Bienveneda] too fast and hit my boys’ bedroom, which is next to the front yard.’ Hal Schwabe, a retired LAPD officer, told of a drunken driver who recently was speeding on Akron, hit and totaled a Prius, then drove off. Schwabe got into his car and followed him to Lachman Lane, where the driver had hit a truck and wall. The male got out of his car, accompanied by his young son, and said, ‘It’s not my car, I wasn’t driving,’ and started to leave. Schwabe told him he had to stay and the man punched him in the face. The man was subsequently subdued and arrested.
Merchants Group Eyes Events To Promote Local Shopping
More than 20 local business owners attended a second merchants meeting at the Chamber of Commerce office on July 8 to discuss events that could promote shopping in Pacific Palisades. ‘We had a nice turnout of enthusiastic merchants,’ said Roy Robbins, owner of the gift and stationery store on Swarthmore. All of the town’s merchants were invited and need not belong to the Chamber to attend these ongoing meetings. Many of the merchants wanted to know how this group’s function differs from SHOPP, which also promotes local shopping. Marni Diamond, former co-owner of Spanky Lane on Via de la Paz, started SHOPP (Shop Pacific Palisades) early this year. ‘Marni is raising awareness to encourage people to shop locally,’ Robbins said. ‘We’re all about giving residents a reason to stay in town when they shop. The two groups are working in tandem.’ ‘Our goal is to come up with about a half-dozen events or campaigns to entice customers to keep shopping in the Village,’ explained Denise Martinez, owner of Boca, a woman’s clothing store on Swarthmore. ‘The Chamber felt that the timing was right to resurrect an effective merchants group,’ Robbins said. ‘Everyone recognizes that the economy is tough.’ ‘This is a way to create camaraderie and promote events,’ Martinez said. ‘We are also more powerful as a group,’ Robbins said. The first promotion will be a coupon card that features a one-time, 20-percent-off-any-item discount at about 40 participating stores. The card should reach Palisades homes in early August. The merchants also discussed plans to make holiday shopping in the Palisades more enticing. They hope to open the season the day after Thanksgiving with a tax-free day, free parking, and evening hours. Participating merchants will decorate their store windows, with customers asked to vote for their favorite. On December 5, there will be a holiday stroll, like the one on Montana Avenue; the following Friday, Santa will come to town during the annual Ho!Ho!Ho! The merchants will meet again in August. Robbins and Martinez are looking for people who are willing to get involved and work on committees. People who have an idea for a shopping promotion can e-mail info@palisadeschamber.com.
‘Chaperone:’ Drowsy and Funny! Theater Review
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Aldolpho (James Moye) seduces the Drowsy Chaperone (Nancy Opel) in the Broadway musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” which plays through July 20 at the Ahmanson Theatre downtown.
Visit the shabby apartment of a Broadway musical lover and escape into his vivid imagination, where glamorous starlets and handsome young men spring out of the refrigerator and the pullout bed to act out their outrageous love story.
The musical “The Drowsy Chaperone,” playing through July 20 at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown, first premiered at the theater in 2005 and went on to become a Broadway hit and winner of five Tony awards.
Jonathan Crombie, who plays a fanatic musical fan (Man in Chair), tells the audience that he likes to listen to his favorite cast album, a 1928 fictitious hit, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” whenever he feels blue. He informs the audience that the ’20s was a time when “All the world was a party — for the wealthy anyway.”
Just as the album begins to play on the turntable, the apartment turns into a stage, where Broadway starlet Janet Van De Graaff plans to give up show business to marry a man she just met. On her wedding day, all havoc breaks lose as her producer, a Latin lover, and some gangsters try to break off the wedding to keep her in the biz.
Clever one-liners and puns written by Don McKellar and Bob Martin (who debuted the Man in the Chair role) abound, such as when a gangster disguised as a pastry chef asks, “Do I make myself perfectly éclair?”
Crombie, in a tattered sweater and with unkempt hair, wins over the audience with his performance as the pitiful, yet lovable musical nut. He has every line of the musical memorized and dances along with the actors and actresses, while commenting on the clichés of 1920’s musicals. When the producer (Cliff Bemis) bellows, “Oh, Lord in Heaven” as he contemplates how to stop the wedding, Crombie says, “Now, that was a little overplayed.”
Occasionally, the musical is interrupted when the phone rings or the record sticks, causing the singers to repeat the same lyrics or lines. At one point, the landlord (Chuck Rea) comes inside the apartment to fix a power outage, oblivious to all the Broadway actors and actresses.
Lead actor Mark Ledbetter, as the All-American bridegroom, steals the stage with an impressive tap-dancing performance to shake his pre-wedding jitters. He and his best man (Richard Vida) dance until their feet literally smoke while singing Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison’s witty lyrics “rhythm make ’dem cold feets trot down the aisle.”
Equally impressive, lead actress Andrea Chamberlain as Van de Graaff whisks around the stage, singing “I don’t wanna show off no more,” while diving through hoops, serenading a snake out of a basket, and escaping from a straitjacket, Houdini style.
Actress Nancy Opel portrays the Drowsy Chaperone, a theatrically over-the-top drunk stumbling around the stage. Her character’s task is to make sure Van de Graaff doesn’t see the bridegroom before the wedding ceremony, but she’s too busy refilling her glass. When Van de Graaff asks her if she has ever considered marriage, she says, “I only drink for pleasure, not out of necessity.”
The most comedic singing performance belongs to actor James Moye as the Latin lover, Adolpho. Adolpho tries to seduce the Drowsy Chaperone, whom he has mistaken for the bride, with a song that extols his own big ego. “The lovely ladies always cheer Adolpho,” he croons, filling the theater with his big voice and nearly losing the interest of the very lady he is trying to attract.
Be prepared to leave the theater with your cheek muscles hurting from laughing so much. It’s no wonder the show, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle and Drama Desk awards for best musical.
Tickets range from $30 to $90. The theater is located at 135 N. Grand Ave., at Temple Street.
Information: www.centertheatregroup.org or call CTG Audience Services at (213) 628-2772.
Stevens Ross Captures Local Landscapes in Vibrant Photos
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“Santa Monica Pier,” one of the many natural, local scenes in Stevens Ross’s photography collection.
By ALYSSA BRICKLIN
Palisadian-Post Intern
The walls of Café Vida are covered with sunsets, magnificent skies, and colorful trees. These photographs are the work of Stevens Ross, a long-time Palisadian resident and PaliHi graduate.
Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Ross has lived the majority of his life in the Palisades. He is the manager at the local Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and a freelance photographer. Ross began dabbling in photography in junior high. He took classes at Paul Revere and built a darkroom under his stairs where he developed his own photos. Now Ross uses a digital camera, and uploads the images to a Web site called Shutterfly, where he displays his photographic catalogue. Landscapes and sunsets are his main subjects.
While photography has up to this point been a hobby for Ross, recently he has broken into the professional aspect of the art. This began when he put some photos up at the Coffee Bean on Antioch Street, and they started to sell. His next move was to put his name on the list to get Café Vida to display his work. After over a year of waiting, a dozen of Ross’s 11” x 14” prints now decorate the local café’s walls.
Ross carries his camera everywhere, and shoots whatever catches his eye. He advises any aspiring photographer to do the same. “You never know what interesting things you will see,” he explains to the Palisadian-Post. Ross’s photos are mostly local scenery, shot at the Palisades bluffs and on mountain trails. Eventually, he hopes to travel to locations such as Colorado specifically to shoot scenery.
Ross underexposes his photographs in order to highlight color contrasts. He likes to keep his work “organic”. He does not use PhotoShop; his goal is to capture and present nature in its purity. “Everyone is in such a rush these days. No one ever stops and looks up at the trees or what’s around them,” Ross says.
The vibrant images Ross captures draw attention to the natural world, which is often forgotten and taken for granted. He will continue to show them at exhibits and art festivals.
Ross’s photography has been on display in Café Vida for two months and will remain on the walls until the end of July. Visit the café at 15317 Antioch St. to view Ross’s work.
Playoffs End for PPBA Squads
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
None of the Palisades Pony Baseball Association’s three all-star teams reached the sectionals this season. Palisades’ Pinto Division squad, coached by Mike Bennett, won its first two games in last week’s District 1 playoffs, beating Redondo/Sunset 8-3 and Lynwood, 8-5, but losing its last two to East Long Beach and host Lynwood. In the Mustang Division, Palisades played on its home fields at the Palisades Recreation Center’s Field of Dreams. Coach Mike DeSantis led his team to a 12-7 victory in its first game against Redondo, but Palisades lost its next game to Cheviot Hills and was eliminated by East Long Beach, 11-10 last Wednesday. The Bronco Division all-stars, coached by Bill Elder, also failed to reach the second postseason round. After beating Lynwood, 6-5, Pali suffered losses to host East Long Beach and Torrance.
Yankees Crowned Rustic Champs
Led by several Pacific Palisades players, the Yankees won the Rustic Canyon Little League baseball championship on June 22, thanks in part to the last-inning heroics of back-up catcher Seth Wexler. Wexler, a third-generation Palisadian who attends Marquez Elementary, hit a walk-off three-run home run to beat the Red Sox, 5-4, and clinch the title’one of several clutch hits for Coach Mark Palmer’s squad. Palmer’s son Ryan, a crafty left-hander from Lincoln Middle School, pitched six scoreless innings in the playoffs. Rounding out the team were Henry Siegel from Paul Revere; Tristan Knight from Malibu Middle School; Matt Kaufman from St. Matthew’s; Sawyer Paulson, Alexander Brown and Rafi Bono from Marquez Elementary; Charlie Dillon from Topanga Elementary; Sam Harrison from Palisades Elementary and Adam Czer from Lighthouse Academy.
A Home for Exiles Clings to a Hillside
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The architecture of Villa Aurora, built in Paseo Miramar in 1928, was loosely based on Roman, Moorish and Middle Eastern elements fused in a style called Mudéjar.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Villa Aurora may be the most secret cultural heritage monument in Pacific Palisades, often confused with the “other” villas in town—the Getty Villa and the Villa Leon, whose Italianate portico stands like a sentinel looking over Pacific Coast Highway.
While its seclusion in the hills of Paseo Miramar serves Villa Aurora’s primary mission as a retreat for writers and artists, its programs, musical events and receptions remain a mystery to many Palisadians.
Villa Aurora was built in 1928 for judge Arthur Weber, one of the developers of Miramar Estates (Paseo Miramar), who reportedly patterned the house after a small castle he had seen near Seville. Authenticity was key, importing wood for a ceiling from Spain, and the patio fountain from Italy.
The house with its 14 rooms on three floors is distinguished by its “carpets” of majolica tile produced by the Hispano-Moresque Company of Los Angeles.
The location on a challenging hillside was selected by the Los Angeles Times for a Demonstration Home intended to promote Miramar Estates as a superb location, “the ocean terminus of Beverly Boulevard (Sunset).” The project was used as a model of design, quality construction and up-to-date amenities, including an electric dishwasher.
As a consequence of the Depression, the neighborhood developed slowly and Weber’s “villa” remained a lonely place, with few neighbors. In 1939, partly because of the impact of the isolated life on Weber’s young son, the family moved to Santa Monica.
Perhaps the biggest misconception of the villa is its very name. Former resident Lamont Johnson recalled that in the early 1960s, the neighborhood wanted to give the little enclave a European cache by titling the major Mediterranean-style structures with French and Italian sounding names. Marble plaques were produced with a variety of romantic sounding names and affixed to nine houses, including Villa Aurora.
The real story of Villa Aurora and the genesis of its important history and current mission began with German novelist and Nobel Prize nominee Lion Feuchtwanger, who managed to escape Nazi persecution and settled in Los Angeles in 1941.
Smitten by the climate and the ocean, Lion and his wife Marta purchased the villa despite its having been thoroughly neglected while in bank foreclosure. Windows were broken, there was a foot of dirt on the floors, and the garden had turned to weeds. Gradually the Feuchtwangers cleaned up the house, purchased second-hand furniture, and with proceeds from Lion’s book sales purchased more lots for privacy. They built paths down the hillside and bridges over the ravines; Marta planted trees and designed flowerbeds with roses and seasonal varieties. Lion’s generous income from movie rights permitted them both to indulge their hobbies—Marta to buy trees and Lion to assemble a new library.
Soon the Feuchtwanger home became a Mecca for friends and compatriots, including fellow émigrés Bertolt Brecht, Thomas Mann and Salka Viertel.
Charles Chaplin was a frequent guest, and Charles Laughton gave Shakespearean readings in the garden. The Feuchtwangers and Manns also took turns hosting large dinner parties at which the men read from their latest manuscripts.
Despite the 8 p.m. curfew imposed on them by the wartime U.S. government, which designated the Germans “enemy aliens,” many of the writers accepted the restrictions and used the long evenings productively, working on their manuscripts.
After the war, the House Un-American Activities Committee charged many of the émigrés with “premature antifascism”—being opposed to fascism before the U.S. entered World War II.
Feuchtwanger was called before the committee and action on his citizenship papers was repeatedly delayed. He appeared before the committee a week before he died (in 1958), missing his final, ironic vindication. Marta was told the day before his death that her citizenship request had been granted and that, had he lived, Lion would have become an American citizen as well.
Marta continued to live in the house, pledging it to USC upon her death to establish the Feuchtwanger Institute for the Study of Exile Literature. She also donated Lion’s library, their house and the gardens to the university.
His bequeath opened the new and most important chapter in the story of Villa Aurora.
Challenges ensued, most critically the financial support of the Villa. USC’s subtle threat to sell the house to assure the upkeep of the library energized political support in Germany and birthed the idea of the Villa Aurora as an artists’ residence, and the formation of Friends of Villa Aurora, to assure the villa’s financial future.
The Friends, a private nonprofit organization in Berlin, began a major restoration of the house between 1992 and 1994, which involved shoring up the foundation, stabilizing the hillside and replacing all the pipes and electrical circuits.
A major assist in reducing overhead arrived with the designation of the Villa as a Historical Landmark in California, which resulted in a reduction in real estate taxes.
By the fall of 1995, the Villa was prepared to welcome the first two artists in residence, and in December of that year the Villa officially celebrated its new identity.
A local director was appointed and since that time, Villa Aurora and the Feuchtwanger Library (which resides for the most part at USC) have co-sponsored a variety of programs and projects.
These days, Villa Aurora continues its core activity, the Artists in Residence program, which each year brings up to 16 individuals for three-month stays. These young artists—painters, writers, playwrights, photographers, dancers—are not required to be German citizens but must be living and working in Germany to qualify to apply.
In addition, the Villa offers an annual Feuchtwanger Fellowship, which provides a residency of up to 12 months to a writer from anywhere in the world who is being persecuted or forced to live in exile.
The Villa staff organizes individual presentations for each of the artists and works closely with local cultural and education institutions to organize readings, exhibitions concerts, screenings, workshops panel discussion, salons and receptions.
The upcoming LACMA exhibition, “German Art after 1945,” will provide an opportunity for programming between the two institutions.
This year, the 50th anniversary of Feuchtwanger’s death, has also produced a number of local programs in conjunction with the library at USC.
While Villa Aurora retains much of Lion Feuchtwanger’s library and personal possessions, its lifeblood is the artists and visitors who continue to energize the intellectual and artistic connections. It functions as a living memorial to the great artists and intellectuals who found refuge from Nazi Germany in Southern California and it also reminds us of the importance of fighting for freedom of expression around the globe.
Pali Blues Dominate Home Finale
BY JEFF GOODMAN Palisadian-Post Intern The Pali Blues had been doing it all season long, outplaying their opponents on both ends of the field and dominating from start to finish. So it was no surprise that, in their last regular season home game the Blues put forth an effort that impressed not only their fans but also their opponent. The Blues scored first and never looked back, adding three more goals in the first half alone en route to a 6-0 shutout over Real Colorado last Thursday night at Palisades High’s Stadium by the Sea. Having already clinched the W-League’s first Western Conference championship the Blues (11-0-0) showed why they are unblemished heading into Friday’s season finale against the Los Angeles Legends. The Cougars (3-2-3), who lost 5-1 to the Blues in their first meeting, found the rematch even tougher. Kara Kabellis scored the first goal of the game in the 16th minute. Collette McCallum found the net twice in 10 minutes, and her corner kick to Amy LePeilbet netted the Blues’ fourth goal in the 43rd minute. “I thought we were pretty efficient,” Blues Head Coach Charlie Naimo said. “We had pretty good possession, and we were able to get quality chances. It’s nice to see us break through with a bunch of goals.” The Blues kept up the pressure after halftime and were rewarded twice. Jill Oakes scored on a header in the 62nd minute and India Trotter capped off the night in the 73rd minute with a smooth crossover and a low shot that bulged the back left corner of the net. The offensive explosion was a welcome sight for Naimo, whose team scored more goals against the Cougars than it did in its last three games combined. The defense, however, has been as good as any coach could want: six shutouts in the last six games. In fact, the Blues haven’t surrendered a goal since their last game against Real Colorado in Centennial on June 8. So with the defense a stone wall and the offense suddenly clicking, the Blues look to be a force to be reckoned with when the postseason begins later this month. Winning the conference was merely the first step for a team looking more and more like a juggernaut every game. “That was goal number one,” said Naimo, who hopes to reach the finals for the third time in five years. “Obviously, you cross it off the list, and the next goal is regular season champions. Then we go on to the ultimate prize.” For Naimo, the prize of the night was being able to give ample playing time to all six reserves. Such depth, coupled with a healthy lineup and a little bit of luck, is crucial to a run for the league crown, he said. Naimo is not surprised by his team’s success, even in its inaugural season. “The ownership wanted to give something great to the Palisades,” he said. “I started working back on this project in October, and from day one the goal was to challenge for a championship.” Now that goal seems very much within reach. The Blues and Legends kick off at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Citrus College. The Blues defeated their cross-city rivals 4-0 in their first meeting May 17. Having previously coached the United Soccer League’s New Jersey Wildcats, Naimo is quite familiar with his competition and said several teams in the East are capable of challenging the Blues in the playoffs. “I believe on paper we have the most talent but that doesn’t mean there aren’t teams out there who can beat us,” Naimo said. “I have the advantage of knowing them but they may not know us.” The Blues will be the West’s top seed for the playoffs and have a bye in next Tuesday’s divisional round. The conference semifinals are next weekend and the league championship match is August 2 in Virginia Beach.
Howland’s Camp Starts Monday
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland and his staff will conduct a youth basketball camp at Palisades High next Monday through Friday, July 21-25. The five-day camp is open to boys and girls ages 6-12 and will include passing, dribbling and shooting drills as well as three-on-three and five-on-five games. Camps run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Cost is $325 per player and space is limited. For more information, visit the Web site at www.camphowland.com. It will be the third consecutive year that Howland and his staff will conduct their camp at Palisades High. The inaugural camp in 2006 attracted 124 kids and guard Darren Collison dazzled his young audience with a shooting exhibition. Last year, it was forward Lorenzo Mata’s dribbling display that had the kids equally impressed. Howland led the Bruins to the Pac-10 title and their third consecutive NCAA Final Four appearance in March. Considered one of the top college coaches in the country, Howland owns a 126-45 record in his five seasons at UCLA (a .737 winning percentage). He was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2006. Before arriving in Westwood, he led Northern Arizona and Pittsburgh to the NCAA tournament–making him one of just a handful of coaches to take three different schools. Howland’s teams are known for tenacious man-to-man defense.
Riley Headed for Olympic Games
Ali Riley has been doing magical things with a soccer ball ever since she first laced up a pair of cleats. Now, she’s about to make more magic in Beijing, China, as a member of the New Zealand national team, which will be making its first appearance in the Olympics. Riley, a junior at Stanford University, already has 19 caps for the Football Ferns and will play a vital role in midfield at the Summer Games next month. “I have dreamed of going to an Olympic Games since I first picked up a soccer ball,” Riley said. “I am truly honored to have been given the opportunity to represent my country.” Riley, 20, was an All-CIF and All-Mission League player at Harvard-Westlake High in North Hollywood and has placed first in her age group in the Palisades-Will Rogers race several times. She was the Palisadian-Post’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2006. “We are very proud of Ali making the New Zealand Olympic squad,” Stanford Coach Paul Ratcliffe said. “Everybody involved in our program is looking forward to watching Ali represent New Zealand in China, and the New Zealand-United States game [August 12] where she will face former Stanford teammates Rachel Buehler and Nicole Barnhart.”
