CLASSIFIED ADS FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 12, 2008

June 12, 2008

HOMES FOR SALE 1

HAWAII EXISTS IN LA! NEW INVENTORY. 11 HOMES AVAIL. Terrific Opportunity! PCH/Sunset. Up to 1,600 Sq. Ft. $179,000-1.1 million. Some completely remodeled, many upgrades. Ocean views, wood floors, new kitchens, sun deck, rec center w/ pool/spa/gym. Steps from the sand. Condo alternative. Agent, Michelle Bolotin, (310) 230-2438

THE BEST DEAL in the PALISADES by owner. Sale price. $1,750,000. Owner will carry $1,650,000. Marginal credit ok. (No qualifying required.) 4 bdrm, 3 ba. Exquisite shape. Great neighborhood. Must be ready to close. (818) 307-6434

HOMES WANTED 1b

WE BUY HOUSES, APTS & LAND! ALL CASH, AS-IS, FAST CLOSE. David, (310) 308-7887

USC PROFESSORS (husband & wife) wanting to purchase guest house/guest garage w/ living qtrs or detached livable bldg in Pac Pal. (310) 433-3436, (310) 433-2984, friedmac@rockisland.com

FURNISHED HOMES 2

FULLY FURNISHED/UNFURN & tastefully remodeled. 3 bdrm, 2 ba cul-de-sac home in Marquez school district. Great floor plan. New kitchen & bath. 6 mos.-1 yr. $5,500/mo. Agent Gwen, (310) 749-8821

BEAUTIFUL SANTA MONICA CYN. Charming 2 bed, 11⁄2 bath cottage in cyn. Walk to beach, Montana Ave. Partially furnished. $6,500/mo. (310) 266-4540

FURNISHED/UNFURN 3 BDRM, 1 BA. Dining room. Close to village, no dogs, lovely garden. $4,200/mo., gardener included. (818) 705-4400, leave message

UNFURNISHED HOMES 2a

3 BDRM, 1 BA. $4,000/mo. util. incl. 2 car pking, close to village, schools, shops & beach. No pets. Appliances, W/D, D/W refridg. By appt only. Eric, (310) 428-3364

EL MEDIO BLUFFS 3 bdrm, 2 ba, Cape Cod. Corner lot, charming. 1/2 blk walk to bluffs. $6,000/mo. Call Elizabeth, (310) 293-8999

SPECTACULAR DESIGNER view home. 3+3+den, Ocean/mtn views in Village Bluffs. Master w/ fireplace & den. Lrge deck, hardwood floors through out. Also available furnished, short term T.B.D. $8,500/mo. (310) 344-0344

UNFURNISHED APARTMENTS 2c

BEAUTIFUL 2 BDRM guesthouse + fam rm, view, rec rm, NO KITCHEN. Small ref., hot plate, micwv, AC/heat. Cable, internet, util. incl in rent. $1,800/mo. (310) 454-9337

1 BDRM, 1 BA six unit vintage building. Hdwd & tile, ldry in bldg. Front & back patio. Light and bright. Parking avail. $1,700/mo. 1 yr. lease. (424) 228-4570

PAC PAL APT w/ mtn vu. Unfurn upper 1 bdrm, 1 ba quiet bldg w/ pool. Light & airy. Laundry on-site. Hdwd flrs. 1 car prkg inclded. 1 yr min lease. Credit ck. Sm pet ok w/ dep. $1,795/mo. + $1,795 dep. Call Jay, (310) 200-0063 (shown by appt only.)

APT 4 RENT IN EDGEWATER TOWERS. 3 BR, 3 BA with beautiful ocean view. Avail unfurn or furn. Call or email for pictures. (310) 887-1333; cybersepehr@yahoo.com

PALISADES 1 BDRM apt, upper, sunny, new paint, carpet, large kitchen, gas stove, fridge, one year lease, covered parking, storage, laundry. No pets. Non-smoker. $1,325/mo. (310) 477-6767

HALF BLOCK TO BEACH off Sunset. 1 bdrm, 1 ba. Newly tiled flrs thruout. Pool, security bldg, parking, hiking close by. $1,650/mo. Avail now. (310) 459-6369

CONDOS, TOWNHOMES FOR RENT 2d

PANORAMIC WHITEWATER VIEWS! Just steps to Beach, 5 min. to S.M. Fantastic top floor 2 BR+2 BA w/ all new interior: Hdwd, granite, stainless steel. Ocean view deck. W/D Garage. Quiet & safe. Greatly reduced to $3,980/mo. (310) 230-4200 • www.MalibuCoastline.com

RENTALS TO SHARE 3a

SHARING A HOME in the Palisades Highlands. Private room+bath & office. Fully furnished in gorgeous home. Util incl. Private club. $6,000/mo. (310) 454-3739

WANTED TO RENT 3b

LOCAL EMPLOYED male seeks guesthouse. Quiet, local references. Non-smoker, no pets. Call Palisades Post, (310) 454-1321

OFFICE/STORE RENTALS 3c

PALISADES OFFICE suites available in the heart of the VILLAGE including 1) Single office suites with windows in each office starting from $1,300 per month and 2) Office suites ranging in size from 1,400 sf to 2,400 sf, all with large windows with great natural light. Amazing views of the Santa Monica mountains, private balconies and restrooms. Building amenities include high speed T1 internet access, elevator and secured, underground parking. Call Brett at (310) 591-8789 or email brett@hp-cap.com

SHARE OFFICE SUITE overlooking Sunset Blvd in heart of Village. Furnished, $500/mo. Available July 1st. Call Jim, (310) 459-2757

VACATION RENTALS 3e

SUMMER RENTAL 6/1-9/1. Furnished garden studio with kitchenette, util, WI/FI, W/D, N/S, no pets. $1,100/mo. (310) 740-7928 or picasaweb.google.com/aimeeb/gardenapartment

MORTGAGES, TRUST DEEDS 4

MORTGAGE & FORECLOSURE DEALS * Over 100 foreclosure opportunities in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Santa Monica & West L.A. NOW. Why pay retail? Up to 50% price reductions. We have the data systems, financing & contacts for these discounted properties. Visit www.thecreditcrisis.net for more details. Sign in & receive a FREE copy of my book, The Credit Crisis Deals. ** Purchase & refinance loans: jumbo mortgages, $500,000 to $20 million+. Stated income, wide ranging credit, 1sts, 2nds, fixed & adjustable rates, cash out, and LTVs to 97%. Foreclosure bailout programs. Call Rick at First Financial Bancorp, (310) 571-3600 ext. #203 Visit my other website at www.realloans.com. email: info@realloans.com CA DRE #01144023

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES 5

REALISTICALLY earn more money in the next year than the past 5 years combined. (800) 687-2735

LOST & FOUND 6a

LOST: BROWN and WHITE FEMALE BEAGLE. “TESSA.” Near El Medio, North of Sunset. Reward, Reward! Call (310) 454-6679, (310) 454-0965, (310) 459-1538

BOOKKEEPING/ACCOUNTING 7b

QUICKBOOKS PRO, QUICKEN for small business. Shirley has room for one more client. Call (310) 570-6085

COMPUTER SERVICES 7c

MARIE’S MAC & PC OUTCALL. I CAN HELP YOU IN YOUR HOME OR OFFICE WITH: • Consultation on best hard/software for your needs • Setting up & configuring your system & applications • Teaching you how to use your Mac or PC • Upgrades: Mac OS & Windows • Internet: DSL, Wireless, E-mail, Remote Access • Key Applications: MS Office, Filemaker, Quicken • Contact Managers, Networking, File Sharing, Data backup • Palm, Visor, Digital Camera, Scanner, CD Burning. FRIENDLY & PROFESSIONAL — BEST RATES. (310) 262-5652

YOUR OWN TECH GURU * SET-UP, TUTORING, REPAIR, INTERNET. Problem-Free Computing, Guaranteed. Satisfying Clients Since 1992. If I Can’t Help, NO CHARGE! COMPUTER WORKS! Alan Perla (310) 455-2000

THE DETECHTIVES™. PROFESSIONAL ON-SITE MAC SPECIALISTS. PATIENT, FRIENDLY AND AFFORDABLE. WE COVER ALL THINGS MAC • Consulting • Installation • Training and Repair for Beginners to Advanced Users • Data recovery • Networks • Wireless Internet & more • (310) 838-2254 • William Moorefield • www.thedetechtives.com

GARAGE, ESTATE SALES 7f

PLANNING A GARAGE SALE? an estate sale? a moving sale? a yard sale? Call it what you like. But call us to do it for you. We do the work. Start to finish. • BARBARA DAWSON • Garage Sale Specialist • (310) 454-0359 • bmdawson@verizon.net • www.bmdawson.com • Furniture • Antiques • Collectibles • Junque • Reliable professionals • Local References

SOLAR/WIND ENERGY 7l

ALTERNATIVE ENGINEERING SOLAR • GO SOLAR • TAX INCENTIVES! Design & engineering solar/wind systems • Huge rebates • Financing available • Local Palisades contractor • Lic. #912279 • Call for free consultation: (877) 898-1948

MISCELLANEOUS 7n

CALL THE “INSTANT ASSISTANT” for home/office secretarial. MWord, Works, PC/Mac, Excel, Act, QuickBooks, Quicken, organization, property management, outlook. (310) 480-2798

NANNIES/BABYSITTERS 8a

VIP NANNY AGENCY. “Providing very important people with the very best nanny.” • Baby Nurses • Birthing Coaches • Housekeepers. (818) 907-1017, (310) 614-3646

SMART RUSSIAN NANNY/CAREGIVER. Experienced, excellent local references. Great cook, juice maker, housekeeper. Flexible. Lucy, (310) 490-9051

NANNY/BABYSITTING. Full time, Mon.-Fri. Live out. 15 yrs exp. Good English, own car, great local references. Available now. Please call Catalina, (213) 383-3727, (213) 500-8902

DOMESTIC AGENCIES 9

NEVERLAND NANNIES & DOMESTICS. We assist local families in finding domestic professionals for their household needs. Caring nannies, doulas, nurses; attentive assistants, housekeepers, chefs & more. Please call at any time. (818) 888-9894, (818) 653-6999. www.NeverlandNannies.com

HOUSEKEEPERS 9a

“PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.” We make your home our business. Star sparkling cleaning services. In the community over 15 years. The best in housekeeping for the best price. Good references. Call Bertha, (323) 754-6873 & cell (213) 393-1419

SUNSET HOUSE & CARPET CLEANING • Window washing • House cleaning • Carpet cleaning. Over 33 years experience. Call Barry at (818) 887-7150

HOUSEKEEPER AVAILABLE Monday-Friday. References. Experienced. Call Violeta, (310) 425-9015, (818) 391-8647

HOUSEKEEPER, ELDERCARE, BABYSITTER. Own transportation. Excellent references. Please call Irma, (310) 280-0785

HOUSEKEEPER/BABYSITTER experienced many years. Own car, references, speak English. Available Monday-Friday. Call Flor, (323) 308-7803

HOUSEKEEPING/BABYSITTING, Available Sat.-Fri. Full or part time. Live out. Good references. Please call (310) 312-6519

HOUSEKEEPER/BABYSITTER available Monday-Friday. Own car. Great references. Many years experience. Speaks English. Call Nury, (323) 907-2213

HOUSEKEEPER, 10 YEARS experience, local references, has car, speaks English. Call Zulma, (323) 348-4415

HOUSEKEEPING, EXPERIENCED, good references. CA drivers license. Speaks English. Available Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Call Flor, (323) 571-8299 anytime, leave message.

ELDER CARE/COMPANIONS 10a

PRIVATE CAREGIVER (CNA), also available for housekeeper. Experienced. References available anytime. Call anytime. (323) 255-1296 or (323) 222-8014

TOTAL CARE: Elder care/companion/nanny/housekeeper. Live-in or live-out. Many years experience, excellent references! Please call Nellie, (818) 357-8363

GARDENING, LANDSCAPING 11

PALISADES GARDENING • Full Gardening Service • Sprinkler Install • Tree Trim • Sodding/Seeding • Sprays, non-toxic • FREE 10” Flats, Pansies, Snap, Impatiens. (310) 568-0989

WATERFALLS & POND CONSTRUCTION: Water gardening. Japanese Koi fish. Filtration pond service, repair & maintenance. Free estimates. (310) 435-3843, cell (310) 390-1276. www.TheKingKoi.com

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES 12c

NEIGHBORHOOD THERAPIST: Caring, patient & local Palisades Psychotherapist available for help and insight into issues relating to your personal and interpersonal life. To make an appointment with Dr. Aunene Finger, Board Certified MFT, please call (310) 454-0855. www.neighborhoodtherapist.com. Lic. #37780

NUTRITION 12d

GLUTEN-FREE FOOD Delivered. Delicious gluten-free & dairy-free food delivered to your home or business. Gourmet, international cuisine. Fresh, never frozen. Discounted monthly service. www.glutenfreeglobal.com

WINDOW WASHING 13h

HAVING A PARTY? SELLING some real estate, or just want to do some spring cleaning? Get those WINDOWS SHINING by calling No Streak Window Cleaning, where we offer fast friendly quality service you can count on! For a free estimate, call Marcus, (323) 632-7207. Lic. #122194-49, insured.

EXPERT WINDOW CLEANER • Experienced 21 yrs on Westside. Clean & detailed. Can also clean screens, mirrors, skylights & scrape paint off glass. Free estimates. Brian, (310) 289-5279

THE WINDOWS OF OZ. Can’t see the view? Call the Wizard of Clean Windows! Professional interior/ exterior glass cleaning at a great price. Owner operated. Free est. Discounts avail. (310) 926-7626

MISCELLANEOUS 13j

BBQ CLEANING SERVICE. Summer’s the time to fire up the grill. Let us clean it for you. Fresh Grills. Call Dustin & Logan Minium, (310) 962-5784

PET SERVICES/PET SITTING 14g

HAPPY PET • Dog Walking • Park Outings • Socialization • Insured. Connie, (310) 230-3829

PERSONAL TOUCH. DOG WALKING/sitting service. Cats included. Pali resident over 25 yrs. Very reliable. Refs. available. If you want special care for your pet, please call me. Jacqui, (310) 454-0104, cell (310) 691-9893

PET HEAVEN • TOTAL PET CARE • Training. Walking. Playgroups and hikes. 30 years Pali resident. References. Call (310) 454-0058 for a happy dog!

FITNESS INSTRUCTION 15a

HAVE FUN! GET FIT! NORDIC WALKING CLASSES. Certified Advanced Nordic walking instructor, Palisades resident teaches private/group classes in the Palisades. Weekends. (310) 266-4651

SCHOOLS, INSTRUCTION 15d

SWIM LESSONS and LIFEGUARD. Experienced, Red Cross cert. female college student. Great w/ kids. Local resident. Please call Emily, (310) 913-0959

TUTORS 15e

INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION. Children & adults. 25+ years teaching/tutoring exper. MATH, GRAMMAR, ESSAY WRITING & STUDY SKILLS. Formerly Sp. Ed. Teacher. Call Gail, (310) 313-2530

SCIENCE & MATH TUTOR. All levels (elementary to college). Ph.D., MIT graduate, 30 years experience. Ed Kanegsberg, (310) 459-3614

MS. SCIENCE TUTOR. Ph.D., Experienced, Palisades resident. Tutor All Ages In Your Home. Marie, (310) 888-7145

PROFESSIONAL TUTOR. Stanford graduate (BA and MA, Class of 2000). Available for all subjects and test prep (SAT & ISEE). In-home tutoring at great rates. Call Jonathan, (310) 560-9134

CLEARLY MATH & MORE! Specializing in math & now offering chemistry & Spanish! Elementary thru college level. Test prep, algebra, trig, geom, calculus. Fun, caring, creative, individualized tutoring. Math anxiety. Call Jamie, (310) 459-4722

EXPERIENCED SPANISH TUTOR • All grade levels • Grammar • Conversational • SAT/AP • Children, adults • Great references. Noelle, (310) 273-3593, (310) 980-6071

SPANISH TUTOR CERTIFIED TEACHER for all levels. Has finest education, qualifications, 20 yrs exper. Palisades resident, many good references, amazing system, affordable rates. Marietta, (310) 459-8180

CREDENTIALED MATH & STUDY SKILLS TEACHER (BA-UCSD, M.Ed-UCLA, Ph.D. candidate-USC) Tutor K-College. Most subjects. 15 years recent classroom experience in the Palisades. Libby, (310) 963-0093

SUMMER CAMPS 15f

PAINT CAMP, ages 8 thru 12. Painting and drawing with local artist Kristel Lerman in private outdoor studio. Monday-Friday. (310) 699-2820

CONCRETE, MASONRY, POOLS 16c

MASONRY, CONCRETE & POOL CONTRACTOR. 36 YEARS IN PACIFIC PALISADES. Custom masonry & concrete, stamped, driveways, pools, decks, patios, foundations, fireplace, drainage control, custom stone, block & brick, tile. Excellent local references. Lic. #309844. Bonded/insured/ workmen’s comp. Family owned & operated. MIKE HORUSICKY CONSTRUCTION, INC. (310) 454-4385 • www.horusicky.com

R.N.D. MASONRY & REPAIR. Brick, block, stone, concrete, stucco. No job too big or small. Free est. (310) 924-0959, (424) 298-7374

CONSTRUCTION 16d

CASTLE CONSTRUCTION. New homes, remodeling, additions, fine finish carpentry. Serving the Westside for 25 yrs. Lic. #649995. Call James, (310) 245-0078

CONTRACTOR, bonded, insured for remodeling rms, additions, bathrms, kitchen, windows, painting, construction on hillside, blueprints, deal w/ city inspections. Lic. #887326. Call for free est.: (888) 783-7195

ELECTRICAL 16h

PALISADES ELECTRIC, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. All phases of electrical, new construction to service work. (310) 454-6994. Lic. #468437 Insured Professional Service

ELECTRICIAN HANDYMAN. Local service only. Lic. #775688. Please call (310) 454-6849 or (818) 317-8286

FENCES 16j

THE FENCE MAN. 14 years quality workmanship. Wood fences • Decks • Gates • Chainlink & overhang • Lic. #663238, bonded. (818) 706-1996

INDEPENDENT SERVICE CARLOS FENCE: Wood & Picket Fences • Chain Link • Iron & Gates • Deck & Patio Covers. Ask for Carlos, (310) 677-2737 or fax (310) 677-8650. Non-lic.

FLOOR CARE 16m

GREG GARBER’S HARDWOOD FLOORS SINCE 1979. Install, refinish. Fully insured. Local references (310) 230-4597 Lic. #455608

CENTURY HARDWOOD FLOOR • Refinishing, Installation, Repairs. Lic. #813778. www.centurycustomhardwoodfloorinc.com • centuryfloor@sbcglobal.net • (800) 608-6007 • (310) 276-6407

GOLDEN HARDWOOD FLOORS. Professional Installation and refinishing. National Wood Flooring Association member. License #732286. Plenty of local references. (877) 622-2200 • www.goldenhardwoodfloors.com

JEFF HRONEK, 39 YRS. RESIDENT. HARDWOOD FLOORS INC. • Sanding & Refinishing • Installations • Pre-finished • Unfinished • Lic. #608606. Bonded, Insured, Workers Comp. www.hronekhardwoodfloors.com (310) 475-1414

HANDYMAN 16o

HANDYMAN • HOOSHMAN. Most known name in the Palisades. Since 1975. Member Chamber of Commerce. Lic. #560299. Call for your free est. Local refs available. Hooshman, (310) 459-8009, 24 Hr.

LABOR OF LOVE carpentry, plumbing, tile, plaster, doors, windows, fencing & those special challenges. Work guaranteed. License #B767950. Ken at (310) 487-6464

LOCAL RESIDENT, LOCAL CLIENTELE. Make a list, call me. I specialize in repairing, replacing all those little nuisances. Not licensed; fully insured; always on time. 1 Call, 1 Guy: Marty, (310) 459-2692

GREENHOUSE Handyman & Home Maintenance. Major & Minor Home Repairs/Installations. Green Home Improvements & Retrofits. Termite/Moisture Damage Specialist. (800) 804-8810

HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING 16p

SANTA MONICA HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING. INSTALLATION: New and old service and repairs. Lic. #324942 (310) 393-5686

PAINTING, PAPERHANGING 16r

PAUL HORST • Interior & Exterior • PAINTING • 54 YEARS OF SERVICE. Our reputation is your safeguard. License No. 186825 • (310) 454-4630 • Bonded & Insured

TILO MARTIN PAINTING. For A Professional Job Call (310) 230-0202. Ref’s. Lic. #715099

SQUIRE PAINTING CO. Interior and Exterior. License #405049. 25 years. Local Service. (310) 454-8266. www.squirepainting.com

ZARKO PRTINA PAINTING. Interior/Exterior. 35 years in service. License #637882. Call (310) 454-6604

PACIFIC PAINTING SINCE 1979 • Interior/Exterior Residential/Commercial • Custom painting • Wallpaper removal • Drywall repair • Bonded & Ins. Lic. #908913. (310) 954-7170

OWEN GEORGE CRUICKSHANK. WALLPAPER INSTALLATION. REPAIR, REMOVAL, PLUS PAINTING. Lic. #576445. (310) 459-5485

REMODELING 16v

KANAN CONSTRUCTION. References. BONDED • INSURED • St. Lic. #554451. DANIEL J. KANAN, CONTRACTOR, (310) 451-3540 / (800) 585-4-DAN

LABOR OF LOVE HOME REPAIR & REMODEL. Kitchens, bathrooms, cabinetry, tile, doors, windows, decks, etc. Work guar. Ken Bass, General Contractor. Lic. #B767950. (310) 487-6464

COMPLETE CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION. New/Spec Homes • Kit+bath remodeling • Additions • Quality work at reasonable rates guaranteed. Large & small projects welcomed. Lic. #751137. Michael Hoff Construction today, (424) 202-8619

HELP WANTED 17

DRIVERS: TEAMS EARN TOP DOLLAR plus great benefits. Solo drivers also needed for Western Regional. Werner Enterprises, (800) 346-2818 x123

WORLD-RENOWNED PLASTIC surgeon looking for an admin assist & patient relations coordinator to join our team in Pac Pal. Will train & reward generously. Call (310) 459-6792

COSMETIC RN. World-renowned plastic surgeon. Pacific Palisades. Injectables/laser. Call (310) 459-6792

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT. Immediate F/T. Pacific Palisades solar company. Requires 3+ yrs exp. Excellent communications & computer skills. Submit resume to info@sunkingsolarpv.com

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER. Immediate F/T. Pacific Palisades solar company requires 2+ yrs. power systems exp. CAD, proposal writing, excellent computer & communications skills. Submit resume to info@sunkingsolarpv.com

P/T ADMIN ASST for top Pacific Palisades realtor. Must have initiative, be reliable and a multi-tasker and have professional/communication skills. Word, Outlook & Publisher proficiency a must. Please email hollydavis@earthlink.net or call (310) 230-7377

SEEKING PRE-SCHOOL TEACHER (min. 12 ECE units, higher degree in child development preferred) and Parent & Me Support Teacher. Preschool Teacher candidate must be dependable, have strong communication skills (written & verbal), be committed to continued professional growth, be able to establish meaningful relationships and work collaboratively with colleagues, children and families, and be able to develop and implement age appropriate, open-ended, process-oriented activities for children 3 to 5 years old. Knowledge of Reggio Emilia philosophy is a plus. Support Teacher candidate must be reliable, have min. 6 ECE units or be in process of obtaining them. Email: methodistpreschool@yahoo.com

FULL TIME RECEPTIONIST FOR BUSY PACIFIC PALISADES WEEKLY NEWSPAPER. Multi-task/self starter. Immediate opening. Variety of duties, classified ads, light bookkeeping. Dependable. Must have excellent phone & people skills. Bilingual helpful. Computer skills. Salary + benefits. Resume: Dept. C, P.O. Box 725, Pacific Palisades 90272 or fax (310) 454-1078.

G-K SALON & SPA Booth Rental. $150 P/T, $250 F/T & sell your own products. In the Village. Parking available for clients. (310) 459-1363

TEACHER’S AIDES wanted for September. 3-5 hrs/day. Must be 18 or over. No experience necessary but welcomed. Contact Marquez Charter School, (310) 454-4019

P/T OFFICE ASSISTANT. Two afternoons weekly. Filing, computer exp., Word & Quicken. Organizing some bookkeeping. References. Fax resume to (310) 459-0905

AUTOS 18b

1999 FORD F250 Super Duty V10 Supercab Longbed, Black w/ lumber rack & Weatherguard tool box. 265K miles. Great work truck! $8,500. Call John, (818) 621-0061

FOR SALE: 1992 Mercedes Benz 190-26. Papers with history. Superb condition. Maintained. A GEM! (310) 459-4239

GARAGE, ESTATE SALES 18d

ESTATE SALE—FINE FURNITURE. Sat., June 14, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. 607 Via de la Paz. Antique Italian din/set w/ 6 chairs. Oriental style side cabinet/hutch, bdrm/set (armoire/dresser/ nightstand/king-size mattress & box springs, misc. hsehold stuff. See pics & items on www.GREATSTUFFonsale.com or call (310) 928-3140

MOVING/GARAGE SALE! Full house: 3 bdrm queen, double & twin bedsets. Dining, family, living, dinette & study rooms. Several corner tables, bookshelves, table lamps. Many decorative items. Kitchenware, women’s clothes & accessories. June 14 & 15, June 27 & 28, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 16636 Calle Arbolada.

PETS, LIVESTOCK 18e

YORKIE AKC PUPS. Yorkie female pups. Vet checked, shots, dewormed. 1-yr health guarantee. Local delivery. $1,200. (630) 779-9675

SCOOTER SALES 18f

NEW “VESPA STYLE” SCOOTERS for sale. Fun & dependable. 150cc. Automatic, ABS brakes. Starting at only $1,500. 100 mpg WOW! (310) 403-2367 • scooterexcel@yahoo.com

WANTED TO BUY 19

WANTED: Old tube guitar amplifiers, working or not. ‘50s, ‘60s, etc. Tommy, (310) 895-5057 • profeti2001@yahoo.com

Cubs Complete Dream Season

dev

June 12, 2008

Nick Rivera celebrates his walk-off home run in the decisive game of the Mustang Division World Series last Thursday at the Field of Dreams.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, *Staff Photographer*

It seems only fitting that the Cubs wrapped up the Mustang Division championship last Wednesday at a place called the Field of Dreams. That’s because it was a dream season for the Cubs, who staked their claim as one of the best teams ever in the 54-year history of the Palisades Pony Baseball Association. The Cubs beat the Red Sox, 11-5, to finish the season with an astounding 19-2 record. Averaging over 10 runs a game while allowing only five, the Cubs finished the season on a 11-game winning streak. “What can I say? The kids practiced a lot and played hard every game,” DeSantis said. “I’ve been coaching [PPBA] for 11 years and this is the best team I’ve had by far.” The National League champion Cubs dominated the regular season, with their only blemishes being a 14-2 loss to the Tigers on March 29 and a 11-9 loss to the Orioles on April 19. In the playoffs, the Cubs continued their amazing run, outscoring the Phillies (14-2) and the Yankees (10-7) before exacting a measure of revenge on the Tigers, 6-4. As well as his team played byt the end of the season, DeSantis did not necessarily foresee the Cubs being a juggernaut when spring began. “The Board does a pretty good job of making it a level playing field,” he said. “Ratings for the teams are all even at the beginning of the year and it’s up to us coaches to develop our players. This group of kids was easy to coach and that’s why we improved a lot.” William Winkenhower got the Cubs off to a fast start by belting the first pitch for a home run to spark a three-run rally in the bottom of the first inning. He added a bases-loaded double during a seven-run fourth inning in which the Cubs began pulling away from the pesky Sox. Brian Canup went two for two with a walk and Brady Engel pitched four innings with one strikeout. Winkenhower had a huge lead when he came in to pitch in the fifth inning. He threw a 1-2-3 sixth, snatching a pop-up behind the mound for the final out. Assistant Coach Wink Winkenhower referred to the Cubs’ roster as “the luck of the draw” but the way they plowed through the postseason was anything but luck. Last Wednesday’s final was a microcosm of the team’s winning formula: solid pitching, timely hitting, opportunistic baserunning and mistake-free defense. “All of the kids contributed,” Winkenhower said. “It was amazing to watch. Every game someone we weren’t expecting made a great catch or had a big hit.” The upset-minded Red Sox were hoping to extend the series with a victory Wednesday but the Cubs made sure a winner-take-all second game would not be necessary. Pinto The Cubs won the Pinto Division with a 8-3 victory over the Orioles on Thursday–the culmination of a stellar season under Coach Jim Ford. “I’m a defense oriented coach and in 12 innings [in the World Series] we only allowed three runs–all in the same inning. That’s pretty impressive,” Ford said of his first World Series winning team. “We even turned a double play in the second game which you don’t see much with 7- and 8-year-olds.” The Cubs (16-5-2) fell behind 3-0 in the second inning on Thursday but exploded for four runs in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth to build an insurmountable lead. Jonathan Ennis, Davis Ford and Jackson Childers each had two hits, Lachlan Bonesteel and Andrew Arth both doubled and James Shannon made a diving catch in right field in the fourth inning Wednesday. Sam Goldman had four hits in two games. Riley Scott made a running catch in right field in the first game and had a hit and a RBI on Thursday. Will Schwerdtseger, Justin Perr, Chance Washburn and Nico Chapus all played vital roles in the Cubs’ march to the championship. After beating the Orioles by scores of 11-6 and 12-8 in the regular season the Cubs lost to them, 16-14, in the finals of the winner’s bracket’their first defeat since the middle of April. However, Ford’s squad bounced back to beat the Tigers, then blanked the Orioles 10-0 to force a winner-take-all second game. “Strength throughout the lineup was the key,” Coach Ford said. “In the two games every single kid had at least one hit and either a run or an RBI. Everyone contributed and that’s what has to happen to win it all.” The Orioles, coached by David Howard, were the surprise of the playoffs. They finished second in the American League but won three straight postseason games to earn a spot in the World Series. Bronco Even the most talented screenwriters in Hollywood would have a tough time scripting a more dramatic ending to a championship game than that which lifted the Dodgers past the Tigers last Thursday. The game was tied with one on and one out in the bottom of the sixth inning when Nick Rivera blasted a 3-1 pitch over the right-center field fence to lift Coach Bill Elder’s squad to a rousing 6-4 victory. “It was a no-doubter,” Elder said of Rivera’s home run. “That was the most exciting game I’ve ever been involved in. Both teams played their hearts out and it’s a shame one had to lose. It was a total team effort for us.” Rivera had three hits, scored three runs and tracked down a deep fly ball in center field off the bat of Tigers’ slugger Preston Clifford that kept the game tied 4-4 in the top of the sixth inning. Andrew Jones beat out a slow grounder to second to open the bottom of the frame and was erased on a fielder’s choice by Stanton Smith, setting the stage for Rivera’s heroic clout. Teammates emptied the dugout as Rivera rounded the bases. He was mobbed him at home plate and the celebration began. It was the Dodgers’ third win in five games against the Tigers, who proved a formidable adversary. “The Tigers made a great run and their coach [Todd Cooper] is a classy guy,” Elder said. “We split with them in the regular season and beat them 4-1 in the second round of the playoffs but they came all the way back and beat us on Wednesday to set up a winner-take-all situation.” Jasper Shorr pitched the first three and two-thirds innings for the Dodgers before giving way to Jack Closson. Brett Elder took the mound in the fifth inning and held the Tigers at bay for the remainder of the game. Riding the momentum from Wednesday’s 9-6 victory, the Tigers struck twice in the first inning when George Mitchell doubled and scored on Brandon Cooper’s single. Bryant Falconello added a solo homer to left field. Shorr doubled to score Rivera in the bottom of the first inning and the Dodgers rallied again in the third. Wiley Gibbens reached on an error and took second on Rivera’s infield single. Shorr’s hard grounder scored two runs and he later scored the third run of the inning to increase the lead to 4-2. Joseph Fasan, Hudson Fulgham, Andrew Slate, Clay Davis and Bobby Magel each played a key role in the Dodgers’ success throughout the season and in the World Series. Pony The Pali Blue express train kept steaming on track towards perfection, but it was nearly derailed by Palisades’ other team, Pali White, Saturday night at the Field of Dreams. Pali Blue (19-0) took an early lead only to see it disappear on Tyler Steil’s game-tying homer in the top of the sixth inning. Ultimately, though, Pali Blue prevailed, 7-6, when Will St. John singled to score Jack Jordan with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Kevin Carswell pitched the first five innings for Pali Blue and Ryan Kahn pitched the last two. Santa Monica Red blanked Pali White, 2-0, on Sunday to reach the finals’needing to beat Pali Blue twice to win the crown.

Raymond Zaller, Aerospace Engineer, 90

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June 11, 2008

Lucy and Ray Zaller enjoyed 58 years of marriage.

Raymond Carl Zaller, who moved to Pacific Palisades in 1956 and raised five children here, died on June 5 of complications from a stroke. He was 90. Ray’s parents immigrated to the United States from what is now Slovenia in the early 1900s. They ran a family bakery in Cleveland and were able to send all four of their children to college despite the Great Depression. Ray graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering in 1940 from the University of Notre Dame, one of the first colleges to offer that degree. Ray attempted to enlist in the military during World War II, but was required to continue his job designing fighter planes for Lockheed. After the war, he joined Douglas Aircraft, then the premier aircraft maker in the world, and became chief test engineer for its new passenger jet, the DC-8. Ray remained proud throughout his life that no passengers were lost in the DC-8 as a result of flaws in its airframe, the strength of which he had vouched for. Ray’s next big project was the fourth stage of the Saturn moon rocket. The challenge was to build a rocket motor that could heat up to thousands of degrees to boost the Apollo capsule to the moon, cool suddenly to below zero without cracking, and then re-start later to propel the craft back to earth. He led the test team that certified the fourth stage, which performed without incident on all 15 of its missions. Ray ended his career as a project manager on the Space Shuttle team, retiring at age 74. From the Cleveland Air Races, which he attended as a child, to the Space Shuttle, his life spanned the glory years of American aviation. Ray married Lucille Mary Litty of Brainard, Nebraska, in 1948. At the end of their 58-year marriage, he spent 10 years caring for Lucy in her long struggle with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. In the two years after her death, Ray could often be seen around the village as he walked hurriedly to the market, to church, or to the YMCA gym, where he worked out nearly every day. Ray suffered two strokes. Shortly after the first one, in April, he told family members that he had a dream in which the Virgin Mary appeared to him. According to some Catholic traditions, such appearances may be a sign that death will occur 40 days later. In fact, Ray died exactly 40 days after the dream as a result of a second stroke. He was a devoted member of the Legion of Mary during most of his adult life and prayed the rosary almost every day. He died surrounded by family and with a smile on his face. Ray is survived by his five children, John (wife Barbara) of Pacific Palisades, Greg (Laurie) of Grass Valley, Paula Miller (Jim) of Kirkland, Washington, Mark (Sharon) of Sonora, and Mary Munds (Ron) of Los Osos; and 10 grandchildren. A Rosary will be held for Ray at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 13 at Corpus Christi Church and will be followed by a memorial Mass at 5:30. He will be buried in a private ceremony at Holy Cross Cemetery alongside Lucy.

Balfour Elected Incoming Chamber President

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June 11, 2008

Toni Balfour likens business health to personal health and well-being.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, *Staff Photographer*

What do flying an airplane and starting a business have to do with the price of beans, you might ask. Actually, if you put the question to the incoming Chamber of Commerce president, Antonia Balfour, you’ll discover the logic. Balfour, who’s been flying since she was a teenager and keeps her pilot’s license current, compares the bravery required for both challenges. And as you talk to her, you see that there is indeed a common thread. “I’ve always been a thrill-seeker,’ explains Balfour, who made a cross-country flight with her father two years ago. ‘As a girl, I looked forward to risk-taking. I was the one who went bungee-jumping, skydiving, anything like that. When you think about it, starting a business, being an entrepreneur, is really the ultimate in risk.” After completing four years of her Chinese medical education at Yo San University in Santa Monica, Balfour ventured into unknown territory. “I was really good at being a student, I knew how to do that, but when it came to hanging up my shingle, I didn’t know what to do next.” So she did whatever she could think of to let the world know that she had established an acupuncture business in Pacific Palisades. “I wrote articles for the Palisadian-Post, I participated in networking groups, I joined the Chamber of Commerce and volunteered at the Health Fair.” That was in 2000. Now Balfour has migrated from sharing an office with chiropractor Bruce Beddoe to co-owning Oasis Palisades with Stephanie Kanan. Late last year, she and Kanan opened the health and wellness center, which offers acupuncture, herbs and massage in the Marquez commercial area. While Balfour, 37, is sold on the Palisades village atmosphere, she admits that doing business here is more challenging. Were she located in a large medical building with a select population seeking other medical needs, she thinks that building her business would have been easier. “My practice depends on word of mouth; it is a destination.” Most of her clientele are local, but she does have patients who come from some distance; one woman drives up from Long Beach for infertility treatments. But success in business doesn’t ever relate solely to making money, says Balfour, who follows the same principles in her business as she uses in Chinese medicine’yin and yang. Balance. “Your goal is to try to help somebody feel 100 percent as quickly and inexpensively as possible,” she says. “And if you achieve your goal, you would theoretically put yourself out of business.’ In order to maintain a personal connection with her patients, affording each time and attention, Balfour has developed other business outlets, including creating a line of canine herbs. As she begins her leadership of the Chamber (she will accept the gavel at tonight’s installation dinner), Balfour intends to focus on the health and wellness of the community, just as she does with her clients. “We are inundated with so much bad news in the world and with the economy that people get scared,’ she says. ‘So for me, health and wellness has to do with a positive attitude, motivating people to keep a positive spirit.’ Balfour intends to nurture hopefulness by bringing Chamber members together to work on new projects while maintaining the traditional Chamber activities that aid business growth. She has selected sustainability as the theme for her year in office. Her three-pronged plan includes locating recycling bins around the town on city property, expanding business recycling through a contract with Chrysalis, and introducing restaurant waste composting. To extend recycling throughout the Palisades, the Chamber has applied to the city for a permit to place those familiar blue bins on sidewalks and street corners. ‘The city gave us a $10,000 matching grant to underwrite this plan,’ Balfour says. And Chamber members have met the challenge with sponsorships. Balfour hopes to expand business recycling to reach every part of the town. Currently, the Chamber pays Chrysalis to maintain the village sidewalks and recycle trash. The nonprofit organization helps economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities. Balfour has already held her first meeting with restaurant owners to encourage an effort to recycle waste for compost. ‘The city relies on pockets like our community to help them out in these efforts to green the city,’ Balfour says. ‘They recognize that they cannot possibly do this alone.’ Balfour was originally drawn to Los Angeles from her native Florida to study Chinese medicine, which turned out to be propitious. Not only does California offer the best schools in the country, but Balfour found a community that she could embrace as home. Her sense of commitment to Los Angeles and to Pacific Palisades persuaded her husband of 2-‘ years to relocate from his beloved East Coast. ‘Marc is a true New Yorker,’ she admits, ‘but he enjoys a passion for life that we both share.’ The couple, who live in Culver City, still travel to Manhattan, albeit not as much as they did when they were stoking a bicoastal romance, but enough to satisfy the pull towards the ‘city that never sleeps.’

Teaching Legend Gilbert Named Parade Marshal

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June 11, 2008

The Fourth of July Parade's 2008 Grand Marshal Rose Gilbert. — The Fourth of July Parade’s 2008 Grand Marshal Rose Gilbert.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, *Staff Photographer*

Weathered books with titles such as ‘Roots,’ ‘Les Miserables’ and the ‘Canterbury Tales’ line Rose Gilbert’s bookshelf in the family room of her Pacific Palisades home. The books attest to how Gilbert has spent her life ‘ sharing her love of literature with teenagers. Gilbert, nicknamed ‘Mama G,’ has taught English at Palisades Charter High School since the school opened in 1961. While most teachers retire at age 55, Gilbert ‘ who will turn 90 on August 2 ‘ continues to teach young people, whom she affectionately calls bubbeleh (a term of endearment in Yiddish). She is one of the oldest teachers in the city, state and nation. Twenty-two of her former students are now teachers, counselors or clerical staff at Palisades High, and she has taught many of her current students’ parents. When asked if she ever plans to retire, Gilbert responded ‘Never! They will have to drag me out feet first.’ For that commitment, she received the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Lifetime Teacher and Golden Apple Awards and was named Harvard University’s Impact Teacher of the Year. She also received local and national acclaim, appearing on CBS’s ’48 Hours’ and the ‘CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,’ as well as gracing the cover of Teacher Magazine. Gilbert, who inherited millions from her late husband Sam, also gives generously to PaliHi and UCLA, where she attended college. In recognition of her significant contributions to the community, the Palisades Americanism Parade Association (PAPA) has selected Gilbert as the parade marshal for this year’s Fourth of July parade. ‘We thought that Mrs. Gilbert was a perfect choice for this honor,’ said PAPA President Rob Weber. ‘We wanted to salute her decades of service as a teacher at Palisades High and her financial contributions to the school ‘ highlighted, of course, by her lead gift to the aquatic center.’ Gilbert has donated $1.1 million towards construction of the center, named after her late daughter Maggie. ‘Thousands of Palisadians have been inspired by her teaching over the years, including a number of parade committee members,’ Weber continued. ‘She is a fantastic role model for the community.’ Gilbert, who grew up in Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles, decided to pursue teaching because of her first-grade teacher at Malabar Street Elementary School. ‘She taught me to read,’ Gilbert said. ‘She was a marvelous teacher. I didn’t have all good teachers, but the good outweighed the bad.’ That ability to read exposed Gilbert to a world of literature, and she spent much of her younger years in the library. ‘I loved going to the main library [in downtown L.A.]. That library has a great reading room. I read all the plays that I couldn’t afford to go see. I read them and used my imagination. I still remember reading ‘Street Scene’ by Elmer Rice,’ she said, trailing off into a distant memory. ‘I could just imagine it.’ Her father, Abe Rubin, worked as a tailor at MGM Studios and made coats and dresses for actresses such as Audrey Hepburn, Judy Garland and Eleanor Powell. Her mother, Ida, was a homemaker. She has one sibling, a twin sister Lily, who now lives in Culver City. Lily was also a teacher but left the profession early to stay home with her three children. Gilbert attended Belvedere Junior High and Roosevelt High School, where she met her first husband, Jimmy Corn. He died of an aneurysm when their daughter Maggie was two years old. When Gilbert attended UCLA in the late 1930s, the campus consisted of five buildings with a student population of 2,700. ‘Everyone knew everyone,’ she said. ‘I just loved it.’ She tutored the football team in penmanship for 20 cents per hour. ‘That was ridiculous,’ she said, laughing, adding that she still has the pay stubs. Gilbert graduated from UCLA in 1940 with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a teaching credential. Since jobs were scarce, she went to work for MGM as a temp, performing odd jobs. She soon became a contract agent making $35 a week, which was good money at the time, Gilbert said. She recalls actress Ava Gardner coming into her office and plopping her feet on the desk. ‘I said to her, ‘Don’t you ever put your feet on my desk,” said Gilbert, who found Gardner’s actions disrespectful. She soon grew tired of Hollywood. ‘They expect the real world to be like a script ‘ la la land; but it’s not the real world.’ In 1950, she married Sam Gilbert, whom she met through his younger brother. Sam, who had also attended UCLA, was a widow with two sons, Michael and Robert. He was already a real estate developer, and he encouraged Gilbert to pursue her passion for teaching, so she took her first full-time job at University High School in 1956 and later transferred to PaliHi. ‘I hope to teach my students a love of literature, a love of poetry,’ Gilbert told the Palisadian-Post. ‘I hope to teach them the fact that they need to give of themselves to the world ‘ to make the world a better place for themselves and for their children.’ PaliHi Spanish teacher Ruth Mills was a junior in Gilbert’s class in 1969. ‘It was very tough but wonderful preparation for college,’ said Mills, who recalled that UCLA had a test that if high school students passed they could take college courses as a senior. ‘I passed that test, and I credit it to Mrs. Gilbert. Her teaching style was, and is, dynamic, confident and ‘My way or the highway.” Gilbert would assign Mills and her classmates 80 vocabulary words per week and what she called a ‘serious background book report.’ Students were required to read a large nonfiction book in less than a week and write a report about the book that included scholars’ opinions. ‘Her class was the first class in which I learned to pull all-nighters,’ Mills said. Many of Gilbert’s students have shown their appreciation for her. The class of 1964 kidnapped her at 6:30 a.m. to take her out for a pancake breakfast. ‘No one has kidnapped me since then,’ she said, chuckling. The class of 1974 bought her a cake with a go-go dancer figurine that said: ‘We love you Mama G.’ It was a thank you for writing them letters of recommendation to college. Gilbert’s students also stay in touch. Last week, former student Richard Greene, who graduated in 1962 and writes speeches for Barack Obama, spoke to her Advanced Placement English class. For 26 years, Gilbert coached the PaliHi Academic Decathlon team, leading them to city awards for five consecutive years. She believes it’s important for her students not only to study, but also to participate in extracurricular activities, whether sports, leadership or community service. ‘We don’t live in an eggshell; we don’t live in a cave,’ she said. Gilbert spent her adult life following this philosophy. Photo albums with titles such as ‘Poland 1976’ and ‘England 1984’ inked across the bindings are next to the literature books on her bookshelf. Gilbert, who spoke Spanish, and Sam, who spoke nine other languages, spent their free time seeing the world. They were married for 37 years before he died of cancer in 1987 at age 74. She also traveled with her daughter, Maggie, a UCLA graduate and trust lawyer. They went to New York every summer for the Tony Awards, and once saw 23 plays in three weeks while visiting London. ‘She was my companion,’ Gilbert said. Today, Gilbert’s philanthropy honors the memory of her daughter, who died of an embolism in 2004 at age 54. Gilbert pointed to a photo of her daughter wearing a swimming suit in the 1958 Junior Olympics, and Maggie’s gold medal hanging off the wooden frame. Her daughter’s love of swimming prompted her to donate money for the aquatic center at PaliHi. She has also donated to research into bipolar disorder at the Semel Institute in Maggie’s name. She gives numerous scholarships to students at PaliHi and UCLA, many in memory of her daughter. These days, Gilbert spends time with her nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. And of course, she is busy with school, teaching a full load. At the end of the interview, she took out a stack of her students’ writing assignments. ‘I enjoy grading papers,’ she said. ‘It relaxes me.’

Architect Dan Meis’ Global Ambitions

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June 11, 2008

Palisadian Dan Meis, FAIA, of Meis Architects, now Aedas in Culver City.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, *Staff Photographer*

By ELIZABETH MARCELLINO Palisadian-Post Contributor Dan Meis has big ambitions. He wants to build an architectural firm that has the kind of impact on Los Angeles that Welton Becket had with iconic designs like the Capitol Records building, Pan-Pacific Auditorium and the Music Center, and also to foster the kind of design that leaves a legacy in the way that Skidmore, Owings and Merrill’s work reshaped Chicago. Such ambitions that might seem far beyond the scope of a 15-person team tucked away in a quiet, loft-like office on Helms Avenue in Culver City, except that Meis, FAIA, has just partnered with Aedas, the fourth-largest architectural firm in the world, with 2,200 architects in Hong Kong, New York, London, Beijing, Abu Dhabi, Moscow and 29 other cities. Aedas (from the Greek ‘to build’) has an impressively broad and sophisticated portfolio of office, retail, residential, hotel and mixed-use development projects around the globe. Some of the firm’s most eye-catching new work is in the Middle East, including one of the world’s tallest condominium towers, Ocean Heights I, in Dubai. What excites Meis about his new partners is the influence of their international perspective. ‘I’ve always been intrigued by the power of a global firm,’ says Meis, a Pacific Palisades resident. ‘I went to [an Aedas] retreat in Vietnam recently and just about every country was represented. That gives you a very different perspective on the work.’ While its scale presents opportunities Meis can’t easily create in a boutique firm, the Aedas culture also offers a comfortable fit with Meis’ own team. Aedas is what Meis calls a ‘first generation’ firm. He pegs the average age of its professionals as mid-30’s (he’s 46), as unusually young for a group of its size. The ethos is informal and decentralized while its commitment to doing large-scale, world-class work is intense. For a man whose dog, Molly, typically joins him in the office, informality is important and Meis’ passionate connection to his work is clear as he speaks. Meis, who has built a powerful franchise in the design of sports arenas and ‘experiential environments,’ was named as one of the top 100 innovators in his field by Time magazine in 2001 and twice named one of Sports Business Journal’s ’40 Under 40′ most influential people in the world of sports. He designed Staples Center, Seattle’s SafeCo Field, Paul Brown Stadium in Cinncinnati and Saitama Super Arena in Japan. His latest effort is the design of the proposed Los Angeles NFL Stadium and he sees an opportunity in stadium design to innovate and affect cities in a unique way. ‘I wasn’t a huge sports freak, but I was intrigued by the fact that these buildings have a big impact on the cities that they’re in because people are very passionate about them,’ Meis says. ‘Everyone might recognize the world’s tallest building, but they’re not very passionate about it–but the stadium where their team plays, they feel like they own that building.’ Though he’s had a design role throughout his 25-year career and graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Illinois, Meis sometimes sounds more like a businessman than a creative type as he talks about strategies for growing Aedas’ footprint on the West Coast. He admits to being thrown out of one of his college architecture classes for reading The Wall Street Journal. But Meis views architecture as neither purely art nor purely product, but an amalgam of both. He agrees that an architect must fight for his vision. He relates a story about Edward Roski, the billionaire developer of Staples Center and part owner of both the Lakers and Kings. Traditionally, stadium configuration follows the oval of seats ringing the floor or field, resulting in curved ends and two straight sides; related structural elements and ancillary uses are bolted onto those sides. But Meis designed a more dynamic, action-oriented form that incorporated the theater and entertainment space of Staples Center into the circulation of the building; his drawings called for an expansive, circular structure. ‘Roski kept telling me, ‘Get those curves out of the building ‘ we’re not going to build a round building.’ The [finished] building not only has curves but it leans and curves,’ says Meis, smiling. But Meis stresses that it’s part of the final design because his client ultimately saw the value in it. He says he realized early on in his career ‘that the client was buying a product, and you don’t get to build the building unless you can sell them that product.’ He concedes that he’s more comfortable than many of his peers with this marriage of art and commerce. What does he hope for out of his ‘marriage’ to Aedas? The partnership will take a two-pronged approach, both ‘extending our franchise in experiential design’ internationally and ‘building a strong Los Angeles practice,’ Meis says. He hopes to be able to overcome the dichotomy facing most architecture firms by retaining the innovation power of a boutique while still scaling the business to include an extensive array of clients, building types and geographies. Any partnership brings challenges, but Meis is clearly enjoying the honeymoon phase of this relationship. One of the most interesting opportunities he sees is a focus on sustainability. He believes that the constraints imposed by the need to create environmentally conscious architectural solutions will drive innovation. ‘Truly great architecture needs boundaries, whether those boundaries are monetary or environmental,’ Meis says. ‘In Europe you see a much more sophisticated approach to sustainability. At our Vietnam retreat, I was on a bit of a soapbox in terms of how important sustainability must become [to Aedas’ practice] and one of the Europeans leaned over and whispered in my ear ‘You [bleeping] Americans, you didn’t invent sustainability!” Meis laughs. It seems to be exactly this kind of reality check and broader world view that he values in his new alliance. So what about the NFL Stadium? While the rest of Los Angeles watches a classic championship duall between the Lakers and Celtics at Staples Center this week, Meis is working on schematic designs for Roski’s proposed stadium in the City of Industry. The Web site for the project envisions an $800-million development including the arena plus 800,000 square feet of retail space and 160,000 square feet of restaurants. Meis says his firm is ‘advancing design that cuts a significant amount of dollars out of the project,’ and the schematic designs will allow for precise pricing for purposes of assembling a financing package. Roski, blocked by the Los Angeles County Supervisors in his original quest for hundreds of millions in tax subsidies, was subsequently quoted by the Daily Breeze as saying that the project requires ‘absolutely no taxpayer dollars.’ How about the small matter of a football franchise? Los Angeles has been without one since both the Rams and the Raiders left town in 1995. Speculation has been active ever since, but Los Angeles, the second largest media market in the country, remains without a roster of NFL players. In public statements, Roski has focused on the likelihood of relocating an existing franchise rather than bringing in an expansion team and has said that offering a team the certainty of a new stadium will be the key to beginning serious negotiations. While others negotiate the political and business logistics, Meis’ team will keep busy working out the design details. Meanshile, what else would Meis like to be working on? ‘I’d love to do a really interesting house,’ he says. ‘[With a house,] the client is passionate and gets into every detail. It also offers the opportunity to work in a small scale, which would bookend the practice.’ His own house in the Marquez neighborhood was built in the 1950s. He lives here with his wife, Brandie, 14-year-old son, Max, who will start at Windward School in the fall, and 6-month-old daughter Sofia, and appreciates the small-town feel of the Village. Who knows whether Meis will reach the full range of his ambition to build a firm forever identified with the architecture of Los Angeles? But whatever he does, he’ll be passionate in pursuit of his vision. It’ll be fun to watch and see what he’s able to dream up next.

Families, Teachers Protest Proposed Cuts

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June 11, 2008

Families, Teachers Protest Proposed Cuts By SUE PASCOE Staff Writer Joining more than 40,000 teachers district-wide last Friday, educators from the five public schools in Pacific Palisades spent the first hour of the classroom day on picket lines in front of their schools protesting proposed state education budget cuts. Facing a projected state deficit of more than $14 billion before the end of the fiscal year on June 30, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger originally proposed 10 percent cuts in all areas of the state budget, including education. Schools were slated to receive $4 billion less than is required under Proposition 98. In May, Schwarzenegger’s revised $101.8-billion budget restored a portion of the cuts, but many categories of K-12 funding could still be reduced by up to 10 percent. Fears of pay cuts, larger class sizes and teacher layoffs have prompted action by teachers that included a May 4 car caravan to the governor’s neighborhood in Mandeville Canyon, as well as the ‘One Hour’s Pay for the Kids of L.A.’ demonstration. All teachers who participated in the protest were docked pay for that hour. At Marquez Elementary, there were more than 75 marchers, including parents, students and teachers. Passing drivers honked their horns to show support. ‘The Palisades Charter Complex is a great group of schools,’ said Marquez kindergarten teacher Elizabeth Sosson. ‘It is full of seasoned, interested and well-educated teachers. However, what the district is proposing will continue to devastate the lower-performing schools, where parents and teachers are not able to open their pocketbooks and write out checks for whatever their class or child needs.’ Marquez Principal Phillip Hollis agreed with the message that was being sent. ‘If this is a way to call attention to the budget crisis, and if it helps reduce impact on classrooms, then goal accomplished,’ he said. At Palisades Elementary, while teachers picketed, students were escorted to an assembly, where the current school flag was retired by the American Legion and replaced with a new one. At Canyon School, picketing students, teachers and parents chanted ‘Don’t take from school, it isn’t cool.’ The delayed hour of school turned into an opportunity for Canyon teachers to educate students about potential reductions that would affect them directly. California already ranks below the U.S. average in K-12 per-pupil spending. Carlos Velado, Canyon’s computer teacher, was one of the few teachers assigned to his classroom Friday morning and watched the rally from inside his classroom. ‘There was tremendous support,’ he said. Even though the booster club ultimately pays for all the extras at Canyon, including a computer teacher, Velado is concerned about the proposed budget cuts in other schools. Several parents commented that the demonstration was a wonderful civics lesson for students because they used their First Amendment right to speak up against a government budget that affects them and their future. Teachers from Revere Middle School protested at three different sites: Sunset at Mandeville Canyon, Allenford in front of the school, and on San Vicente at 26th Street. ‘It’s tragic we have to do this to get people to pay attention,’ said eighth-grade math teacher Steve Anderson. He noted that the clerical staff, substitute teachers and all of the sister unions also supported the demonstration. Revere UTLA (United Teachers of Los Angeles) union representative and seventh-grade science teacher Kim Uchida commented that most of the people driving by honked their horns. ‘They’ve been very supportive,’ she said. ‘Hundreds of people have signed a petition [protesting education cuts].’ P.E. teacher Paul Foxson worried about the possibility of a one-percent teacher pay cut, losing buy-back days and teaching positions being cut. He is also concerned about losing after- school programs because LAUSD could rent fields to other groups for a higher fee. ‘They are looking for money in any corner they can find,’ Foxson said. ‘The ultimate party that gets affected is the kids. It’s critical that kids have the best learning environment they can have.’ Although Palisades High’s teachers will not suffer a pay cut because the school is fiscally independent, there is worry that budget cuts could increase class sizes. ‘I don’t consider this an LAUSD or a union thing,’ said English teacher Dennis Danzinger. ‘It’s statewide. If cuts come through, class sizes will increase.’ When students arrived at PaliHi Friday, they were given the governor’s phone number, and many called immediately to protest any proposed cuts. ‘It’s important to send a message,’ said ninth-grade English teacher Sissel Hawks. ‘We need to make education a priority and not only give it lip service. It’s a message for our students that they need to stand up, too.’ (Additional reporting by KATIE SPARKS, DEBBIE ALEXANDER and THERESA HEIM-KILKOWSKI.)

Williams To Receive Mort Farberow Award

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June 11, 2008

David Williams receives the Mort Farberow Businessperson of the Year Award.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, *Staff Photographer*

When David Williams learned he was chosen to receive the 2008 Mort Farberow Businessperson of the Year Award, the lifelong resident of Pacific Palisades was both touched and excited. ‘It’s like I’ve come full circle,’ Williams said, ‘because when Mort died I was the one who proposed that we have an award in his honor. So to win it myself is a huge thrill. I only wish I could be there to accept it in person.’ Williams, the personal chef and camp manager for heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine, left for Austria on May 24 for a seven-week training camp and therefore will miss tonight’s Chamber of Commerce’s installation dinner at the Riviera Country Club. Klitschko is slated to defend his IBF, IBO and WBO belts against Tony Thompson on July 12 in Hamburg, Germany. He has not lost a fight since Williams joined his team three years ago. ‘Just being around this guy is inspiring because he’s so dedicated to his craft,’ Williams said. ‘He takes great care of himself and he’s very bright. He’s always learning new things.’ Now in its sixth year, the Farberow award was established in memory of the popular Chamber president and former Citizen of the Year, who owned and managed Mort’s Palisades Deli with his wife, Bobbie, for close to 30 years. The award emphasizes three things Mort held dear: community, Chamber and children. ‘Originally, I tried to have the award presented at the Citizen of the Year dinner, but I really wanted it to be special,’ said Williams, who said he is proud to join past winners Bob Benton, Bob Sharka, Roberta Donohue, Cheryel Kanan and Sam Lagana. ‘We got Bobbie’s advice on what the criteria should be and I took it from there.’ Williams is the owner and head chef of Mogan’s Caf’ on Palisades Drive. He holds the distinction of being the only Chamber of Commerce member to serve as board president for two non-consecutive terms. He played a significant role in bringing holiday decorations to the business district every December and chaired and/or co-chaired events such as the Auto Show, Moonlight Fall Festival, Taste of the Palisades and Holiday Ho!Ho!Ho! He helped push through the Chrysalis Street Maintenance Program and, in 2004, came up with the idea for Movies in the Park, now a popular August event. ‘I had such a great childhood here, I enjoy living here and I feel extremely lucky to have my business here,’ said Williams, who graduated from Palisades High in TK. ‘It’s a real advantage to have grown up here because I think you have a better sense of what the community needs.’ Williams, a big believer in giving back to the community, has done so is by coaching Palisades High’s boys varsity and junior varsity soccer teams, but his commitment to Klitschko contributed to his decision to resign in April after the Dolphins missed the playoffs for the first time in his 15 seasons. ‘It took me a long time to make the decision to step down,’ Williams admitted. ‘I did it because the season is six months and with my schedule, there’s no doubt I would be gone for some of it and that’s not fair to the kids. It was a great run and I think the program is well-established.’ Williams won the Community Council’s Community Service Award in 2006 and described the experience as ‘humbling.’ He’s equally dedicated to his latest honor. He arranged for his daughters Sarah (16) and Hannah (13), to accept the award in his absence and has shot a video in Europe to be shown at tonight’s dinner. ‘To have my name associated in this way with Mort Farberow means a lot because he did so much for our town,’ Williams said. ‘I know everyone who has won this award and it’s nice to be part of that group.’

Charles Richard Burdge, 84

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June 11, 2008

Charles Richard Burdge, a former 23-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away peacefully at Eisenhower Hospital in Palm Desert on May 27. He was 84. Born in Los Angeles on December 3, 1923, Dick grew up in Westwood, attended University High and then joined the ROTC upon entering the University of Southern California. After his freshman year, as World War II escalated, he was called to duty. He joined the Navy as a junior officer on the minesweeper 359. There, his ship fronted the Pacific Fleet, keeping the oceans clear of mines and alerting the fleet to air attacks. As the war ended, Dick was charged with turning over his ship to the Russian navy. Following his discharge from the Navy in June 1946, Dick returned to USC and graduated with a degree in business administration in 1950. While a student, he met Marilyn Blurock; they were wed in 1951. Dick took over Burdge, Inc., a printing/engraving business that his father started in downtown Los Angeles in 1923. The company has since achieved more awards for printing excellence than any other printer, and is now run by Dick’s oldest son, Don Burdge. Dick was active in the industry, including serving as president of the Engraved Stationery Manufacturers Association and as an officer of the Printing Industry Association. Dick was an avid golfer and boater and was a member of the Los Angeles Country Club and the California Yacht Club. He also belonged to the Jonathan Club and served on its board of directors in the 1970s. Dick’s wife of 32 years, Marilyn, passed away in 1983. He is survived by his second wife, Marilyn Pierose Burdge, whom he married in 1985, and his three sons: Donald of Long Beach, Douglas of Malibu and David of Hailey, Idaho. He is also survived by his grandsons William, Reed and Hayden Burdge and 12 step-grandchildren. Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 17, at Calvary Church in the Palisades Highlands.

New ‘Mountain’: Dick and Dee Dee Return!

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June 11, 2008

Dee Dee Phelps, Michael Dunn rehearse for their Dick and Dee Dee rock revue.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, *Staff Photographer*

“THE MOUNTAIN’S HIGH AND THE VALLEY’S SO DEEP….” The next time you hear that familiar hit in Pacific Palisades, it may not be coming from your car stereo on K-EARTH 101, but from the stage of the Pierson Playhouse, where a reformed Dick and Dee Dee will sing ‘The Mountain’s High’ and other signature songs on Sunday, June 22. Longtime Palisadian Dee Dee Phelps ”the ‘Dee Dee’ of the 1960s duo”will revive her old act. But there will be a new ‘D’ aboard’as in ‘Dunn.’ Michael Dunn will fill in for the late Dick St. John, who died in the Palisades in 2003. ‘We’ve been together four months,’ Phelps says. ‘It’s a going to be a really fun show. We’re even going to play a song from the movie ‘Wild Wild Winter’ called ‘Heartbeats’ that was never released as a single.’ As a teenager, Phelps (n’e Sperling) waitressed at what is now Gladstone’s restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway, back when it was Neenie’s Famous Weenies and owned by hard-livin’ local Austin Nienenhauser. The late Nienenhauser not only ran the main Neenie’s enterprise, but spun it off with several satellite beach stands, including a Neenie’s Weenies truck at the base of Temescal Canyon. ‘[Nienenhauser] wouldn’t show up for three or four days, so we wouldn’t know what to do or where to put all the money,’ Phelps recalls. ‘We put it in a huge paper bag and I’d stuff it under my car seat. We went to go eat at Goody-Goody’s Drive-In on Wilshire in Santa Monica because we didn’t like the food at Neenie’s.’ A Westside native, Phelps attended University High, then transferred to Santa Monica High, during which time she wrote a regular column for the Santa Monica Evening Outlook. Phelps had known St. John from grade school but cut off her friendship with him after he had cut off her hair as a prank back in junior high. ‘I didn’t see him again until I was in college,’ Phelps says, ‘and working at the See’s Candy store in Westwood. One day on my lunch break, I ran into Dick. He told me that he was looking for a job, but I said there’s only women working at See’s.’ So St. John miraculously got a position as a box boy/delivery guy at the Westwood See’s Candy outlet. That’s when he and Phelps bonded over their shared passion: music. ‘We accidentally backed into a hit song,’ Phelps recalls of the origin of ‘Mountain’s High.’ ‘We practiced at Dick’s house and he recorded it, took a demo to some record people, and they brought us into the studio. We came up with ‘The Mountain’s High’ as a B-side. The recording machine kept breaking down in the sound engineer’s home studio, which was in a garage in Hollywood. He said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s the B side, nobody’s gonna hear it anyway.” Then Phelps joined a family road trip to Seattle. ‘We were on the road. I heard it on the car radio when we got to San Francisco and I just yelled. I made dad swerve off the road. A disc jockey got distracted and played the wrong side. It became number one in San Francisco, and with that, we were signed to Liberty Records.’ Phelps and St. John were still teenagers when their first hit took the country by storm, climbing to number two on the Billboard charts in September 1961. They supported their single by hitting the high school circuit, backed by a South Bay group that you may have heard of, called the Beach Boys. ‘We had a manager who worked for William Morris and the Beach Boys had a song called ‘Surfin’. We played the high school gymnasiums all over Los Angeles and Orange County. ‘We were supposed to do a show on the day that JFK was assassinated [in November 1963]. When I walked downstairs, my mom was ironing and she had tears in her face. I had never seen my mom cry in my life.’ With all of the confusion, Dick and Dee Dee did not know whether their gig was on or off, so they hit the freeway for Orange County. ‘We got on the 405 and this spontaneous funeral procession crawled with lights on. It was like our generation’s 9/11.’ At first, they were asked to play anyway, but the concert promoter gave in and let them off the hook. ‘The Beach Boys were setting up and they were relieved to be out of this,’ she recalls. Plenty of adventures ensued while touring a pre-integration South with Gary ‘U.S.’ Bonds, including a run-in with bat-wielding rednecks in rural Texas, as recounted in Phelps’ recently published memoir, ‘Vinyl Highway.’ ‘When I came home to California, it was only a month, but I was a different person,’ Phelps says. ‘I couldn’t relate to my friends anymore and the happy-go-lucky beach culture.’ Phelps’ disillusionment with the music industry grew steadily, even as they switched labels to Warner Brothers and churned out another hit, ‘Turn Around,’ (co-written by Harry Belafonte), became staples on NBC’s ‘Shindig’, and not only opened for The Rolling Stones on their first American tour, but also recorded such unused Stones songs as ‘Blue Turns to Grey’ and ‘Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind’ with Keith Richards and Brian Jones singing backup vocals. But after Dick and Dee Dee hit the charts several more times, the act broke up in 1969. ‘Dick and I never had two hits in a row, but we had five Top 40 hits throughout the Sixties,’ says Phelps, who admits that she was a big part of why the act broke up. When Phelps started free-styling trippy poetry over instrumental parts, St. John decided to dissolve the act. ‘I was realizing how much music had changed,’ Phelps says of her disillusionment. ‘A revolution was taking place in this country. I thought we were stuck in a time warp musically. ‘Hair’ had happened, the whole San Francisco psychedelic scene, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Simon and Garfunkel.’ Phelps married manager Bill Lee, the Dick Clark Productions executive behind such shows as New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. The couple had a son, Chris, but the marriage soon crumbled. ‘Personally,’ Phelps explains, ‘I took a 360 in the ’70s, met my present husband of 33 years, Kane Phelps, moved to Big Sur, had two more kids, Jesse and Caroline, and moved back to the Palisades in 1980, where I’ve lived ever since.’ Residing in the Palisades was the logical choice for Phelps. Chris had already moved down here to be with his father, who died at age 44. Phelps herself has been enamored with the community since childhood. ‘My dad, who lived in Santa Monica, traveled all over the world, and he’d say Pacific Palisades is paradise. ‘We chose the Palisades,’ she continues, ‘because it was the most beautiful place we could think of. I love hills, I love trees, I love nature.’ The original Dick also lived in town until a freak accident took his life in 2003. ‘He lived on Chatauqua,’ Phelps says of St. John. ‘We tiptoed around each other. We were trying to be friendly. I saw him a week before he passed away and we had a very friendly conversation. ‘After a rain, he went on a low roof. Dick apparently fell. There was a pounding on the door. When Dick’s wife answered, someone was standing at the door. He said, ‘There’s a man lying out here.’ I guess Dick had landed on his head and had massive internal injuries. He passed away three weeks later.’ It was while promoting her memoir at a doo-wop convention last September that Phelps found the inspiration to revive the act. ‘There were about 600 people and they came up to me and told me what these songs meant to them,’ Phelps says. ‘One guy was wounded in Vietnam and he told me how these songs saved his life and kept him going till the paramedics got there. It was so heartfelt. It really touched me.’ In late January, Michael Dunn got the call from Phelps. It was a welcome surprise. ‘She approached me out of the blue,’ Dunn tells the Post. ‘I knew Dee Dee’s history, but I had no idea she was thinking of bringing it back and doing it again.’ Phelps and Dunn had known each other for nearly two decades thanks to their active participation at the Lake Shrine Self-Realization Center. Phelps has been providing music for the meditations at the Palisades temple since the ’80s. ‘Our choir leader is Alan Paul from the Manhattan Transfer,’ Phelps says. ‘We have meditations on Friday nights and Sunday nights. We have chanting and I lead that.’ ‘We helped put together a talent show there 17 years ago,’ Dunn recalls. ‘That was the first time we worked together. She has really been a pillar of the church over there for a long time. Each of us lead the chanting meditations.’ Dunn has worked in a production of ‘Godspell’ and on ‘Tulips,’ a Beatles tribute album by his old friend, Dan Castellaneta, better known for his voice as TV’s Homer Simpson. ‘Dan is an amazing vocal impressionist and he totally loves the Beatles,’ Dunn says. ‘So he had me sing the John Lennon lead vocals, and he did Paul, George and Ringo.’ So is Dunn intimidated about filling St. John’s shoes? Not at all, says the experienced singer. ‘By the end of the first session,’ Dunn says, ‘we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Wow.’ The blend that Dee Dee and I have is amazingly similar to the sound that Dick and Dee Dee had.’ ‘This just sounds amazing,’ Phelps remembers thinking of that moment. ‘He was in the exact same range as Dick St. John.’ Dunn says, ‘My favorite Dick and Dee Dee song is ‘Turn Around,’ which has become a wedding classic and was used in a Kodak commercial a few years back.’ Expect the pair to perform all of the old hits, including ‘Tell Me,’ ‘Young and In Love,’ and ‘Thou Shall Not Steal,’ when they play the Pierson. The new Dick and Dee Dee will also cover the Beatles, the Stones, and the Monkees. ‘This was Dick and Dee Dee’s territory,’ Dunn says of the Palisades, ‘so it’ll be fun to play for the home crowd.’ ‘The most creative time on the planet was the ’60s,’ Phelps says. ‘It was a musical golden era. We’re very fortunate to have been a part of it.’ Dick and Dee Dee will perform their ‘Rock and Roll Musical Review’ on Sunday, June 22 at 8 p.m. Tickets: $20. Robby Martinez and the Band of Gold opens. For information, call (310) 281-1183 or visit www.dickanddeedee.com for reservations.

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