‘The story of Stan Chambers is the story of television news.’ ‘ Late anchorman Hal Fishman, in his foreword to Chambers’ new memoir, ‘KTLA News at 10: 60 Years With Stan Chambers’ For six decades and counting: television reporter Stan Chambers. Anyone familiar with the veteran correspondent, who has been working on the historic KTLA News broadcast since 1947, knows that when news breaks, Stan is often the first on the scene. The Manson family murders’check. Rodney King’check. The Northridge Quake’check. An April 10 appearance at Village Books on Swathmore’check. That’s right, for once, Chambers himself will be making news when he comes to town to sign copies of his memoir, ‘KTLA’s News at 10: 60 Years With Stan Chambers,’ co-authored by Lynn Price, on April 10 at 7:30 p.m., Village Books (1049 Swathmore Avenue). ‘News at Ten’ opens with a letter from former Palisadian Nancy Reagan and boasts no less than two forewords, one by former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw and another by Chambers’ revered on-air partner, KTLA Prime News anchorman Hal Fishman, who passed away August 7. The year 2007 will go down as a transitional year for KTLA News. Last year not only marked the pioneer news station’s 60th anniversary, but it also marked the departure of key veteran behind-the-scenes people, including longtime Morning Show Executive Producer Marcia Brandwynne, News Director Jeff Wald, General Manager Vinnie Malcolm, and beloved Morning Show host Carlos Amezcua (to KTTV). Looming largest: the unexpected passing of Fishman, a News at 10 fixture since 1960. In ‘News at Ten,’ Chambers, 84, traces his personal trajectory: from his Mid-Wilshire childhood to meeting first wife Beverly, mother of his 11 children. But the core of Chambers’ book, naturally, is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of his adventures in journalism”from the 1949 girl-trapped-in-a-well drama that launched his on-air career to the L.A. Riots, the O. J. Simpson trials, and beyond. Chambers gives ample space to remembering late colleagues anchor Larry McCormick, sports commentator Stu Nahan, and, of course, discussing his personal and professional relationship with the intrepid Fishman, to whom his memoir is dedicated. ‘He was the best,’ Chambers tells the Palisadian-Post. ‘I really miss him.’ [DROPCAP] Stan Chambers has local ties, thanks to his 14 children, three of whom are from his marriage to his second wife, Gege [Beverly passed away in the same month in 1989 that Gege lost her husband]. Two of his sons through marriage, Bill and Hank Elder, live in the Palisades with their respective families. Hank heads the flag committee at the local Sons of the American Legion, while wife Diane sings in the choir at Corpus Christi. They have two sons: Henry, 18, who attended Carlthorpe, Calvary, Loyola, and will soon be attending Pepperdine University; and Joseph, 13, who attended Marquez and now goes to St. Martin of Tours in Brentwood. Bill serves as head coach of the Palisades Pony Baseball Association’s Bronco Dodgers. He and wife Julie, Palisadians of 13 years now, have three boys. Chris and Patrick attend Loyola High School, while Brett is a sixth grader at Corpus Christi. The common chorus from the Chambers clan regarding ‘Papa’ Chambers is: ‘With Stan, what you see on the air is what you get off the air.’ ‘He’s very attentive,’ says Julie says. ‘He shows up for family events.’ ‘Everyone says about Stan, ‘You know what I like about Stan? He just reports the news,” Bill adds. ‘He’s a fantastic role model for all of us. Stan seems to have the capability to not let anything rattle him. He’ll rise above any negativity and always look for the positive in any story or person.’ Case in point: the Great Malibu Fire of 1993. ‘We were watching the fires at night and I watched it up until midnight,’ Bill recalls, ‘and Stan was there, with the embers behind him. I went to sleep, and when I got up at 7:30 a.m., I turn on the TV, and there is Stan, still standing there among the flying embers.’ Hank Elder, who works in commercial real estate downtown, remembers looking out his office window last May when the Griffith Park fire broke out. ‘I’m smelling smoke, I can see flames,’ Hank recalls. ‘I called my mom, I asked her, ‘What’s Stan saying?’ She said, ‘Stan’s not doing the fire.’ I said, ‘Stan Chambers is not doing the frickin’ fire?’ What’s wrong with that?’ So Hank phoned his wife, who used her maiden name back in her old profession. ‘I was a reporter for Channel 9,’ says the erstwhile Diane Zapanta. ‘I hadn’t worked in news for a while, but [then-KTLA News Director] Jeff Wald and I had been dear friends for 20 years.’ The Griffith Park fire hit this native Angeleno hard, and Diane Elder found out from her mother-in-law, ‘Stan is really sad, he’s sitting there watching it on TV. So I hung up, I called up Jeff on his cell, and I said, ‘Jeff, why isn’t my father-in-law covering this fire?’ she says, laughing. ‘He said, ‘That’s a good question.” Correcting that over-sight, Wald dispatched a news crew to meet Chambers at the scene for what, in retrospect, became poignant live television. An on-the-air Fishman appeared visibly surprised when his old colleague Chambers appeared. Once again, the venerable newsmen partnered to cover a breaking emergency. Last Christmas, at a family gathering, Chambers informed Hank and Diane that, thanks to their efforts, the TV journalist not only won a Golden Mike Award for the coverage, but the Griffith Park fire turned out to be the last time that Chambers worked with Fishman before the latter passed away. ‘Who would know that this would be the last story together?’ Hank says. ‘Isn’t that wild? Hal and Stan needed to say good-bye to each other. Without knowing it.’ [DROPCAP] Chambers devotes Chapter 8 of his memoir to the birth of KTLA (and television itself) by Klaus Landsberg, a man whom Chambers clearly respects and owes his career to. The late Landsberg built the station’s initial transmitter with his own two hands. Even many Southern Californians may not realize that KTLA not only embodies the invention of television but, in the process, created and innovated television news several times over, from creating the local news format that has become a worldwide standard, to introducing the news copter as reportage tool, to perfecting the playful, casual Morning News, which inspired a sub-genre of a.m. newstainment. Although Chambers’ first day of work at KTLA was officially December 1, 1947, the year 1949 launched his illustrious on-air career after he spent 27 hours straight covering the infamous Kathy Fiscus incident, which ended tragically when firemen finally pulled her out of a well to discover that she was dead. ‘The impact was just amazing,’ Chambers says. ‘All of the sudden, people were buying a television set.’ ‘Klaus had the tremendous ability to know the audience,’ Chambers continues, recalling how even an atom bomb could not stop Landsberg. The government would not let KTLA film a Nevada atomic bomb test explosion’but that was not about to stop Landsberg. ‘He brought the camera up on Mt. Wilson and pointed it toward Nevada,’ Chambers says, laughing. ‘He would bring transmitters and put them up on mountain peaks with his own two hands and establish the signal. We saw the first atom bomb exploded in the United States.’ Landsberg was not about to let such elaborate handy work transpire without milking it. ‘We spent a lot of money, a lot of time,’ Chambers says. ‘You know the Hellderado Parade in Las Vegas? He aired that the following week.’ The avuncular Chambers laughs hard at the idea that Landsberg could go from the sublime to the ridiculous without batting an eye. ‘Hey, the equipment was already up there.’ [DROPCAP] Like a great basketball player, Chambers instinctively knew when to pass the ball back to Fishman, and he is equally gracious in his own memoir, which he ends with words written by his son, Dave Chambers, and his grandson and journalistic legacy, Jaime Chambers. A new generation of KTLA news personality, the latter follows in his pioneer grandpa’s footsteps. Jaime already gleaned the admiration of his relatives. ‘My boys think he’s cool because he does the surf report,’ says Julie Elder. Jaime Chambers, 28, hit the floor running at KTLA when he joined the station on September 10, 2001. ‘He came out with us every day for six months,’ Stan says of Jaime, one of 34 grandchildren. ‘He really enjoys it.’ In his section of ‘News at Ten,’ Jaime writes of his own serendipitous moments in journalism. Such as the lackadaisical way in which he abandoned a margarita at El Coyote restaurant on Beverly Boulevard as he realized that a small plane had dropped from the sky over West Hollywood and crashed into a Fairfax District apartment building, starting a fire. ‘I was a medic before a reporter. I was also a lifeguard in San Diego,’ Jaime tells the Post, as he recalls rushing to the Spalding Avenue crash site on June 6, 2003. Jaime’s assistance, first medically and then journalistically in relaying details on the air to KTLA reporter Ted Garcia, served him well, as Garcia graciously introduced him live as his assistant producer. The broadcast won an award and cemented the junior Chambers’ newshound career, in effect becoming his Kathy Fiscus story. ‘You take off fireman gear and reporting is like medical work,’ says Jaime, who gets a similar adrenaline rush from reporting. He still carries a medical bag with him’just in case! Among the news the younger Chambers has covered: rival surfer gangs battling over beach turf in the Palisades. Himself married with two young children, Jaime tells the Post, ‘You only get time with Stan when you’re at work because he has so many children and grandchildren, so it’s insanity.’ Jaime smiles as he recalls a classic Stan moment. ‘It was the hottest day of the year,’ he recalls. ‘I was wearing a suit and tie because grandpa told me to wear a suit to work. We go to Woodland Hills. I asked him, Do you think I should wear a suit to my internship? He says, ‘Always. And of course, if it’s really hot, you can take off your jacket.” Jaime can already empathize with the odd quasi-celebrity experience of ‘Papa’ Chambers, who sometimes gets stopped for autographs while working out in the field. The fact that his grandfather’s reputation of integrity and professionalism precedes him ‘has helped my work immensely. When trying to get information, young reporters get shut down all the time. I get hugs.’ Jaime does not necessarily feel the pressure to live up to grandpa’s legend because ‘there’s no comparison: Stan is a master. ‘I always kid with him and say, ‘I started out as a TV reporter at 22, and you started at 24. He’ll say to me, ‘Yeah, but they hadn’t invented television when I was starting out, so I was at a disadvantage.'”

The Palisades-Malibu YMCA pool in Temescal Gateway Park remains closed because of the Y’s latest concern: liability for the hillside above the pool. Executive Director Carol Pfannkuche said Tuesday that her organization is worried about the hillside’s stability and the Y’s liability should a house come sliding down. After the pool was closed February 9 because of a water recirculation leak, the Y was given a quote of $350,000 to repair the aging pipes, but was also given a $25,000 estimate that could possibly work as a ‘Band-aid’ to fix the leak. On Tuesday, Pfannkuche showed the Palisadian-Post a six-inch plastic pipe that extends from a backyard on Rimmer Road down the hill to about 10 feet above the pool. Water was still in the pipe, and the ground around the pipe, about 50 sq. ft., was saturated. The area is near the site of a 1998 slide that closed the pool for several weeks. ‘We can’t make a decision on a contract until we know if the facility is safe to operate,’ Pfannkuche said. ‘It’s not clear who would take the responsibility.’ She referred to a renewed five-year lease with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which has not yet been signed. ‘This is a distraction being put forward by the Y so they don’t have to deal with all the swimmers who are saying ‘fix this pool,” the Conservancy’s Executive Director Joe Edmiston told the Post. ‘We’re not going to take the blame. ‘I’ve gotten calls from swimmers who say that I’m endangering their mental health because I’m not allowing the Y to fix the pool,’ Edmiston said. ‘The Conservancy isn’t in the swimming-pool business.’ The pool is on land previously owned by the Presbyterian Synod before it was purchased by the Conservancy. ‘We’re happy to have the pool, but we’re just not in that business,’ said Edmiston, who reiterated that the Conservancy has a deal under which the Y pays one dollar a year. In exchange the Y is responsible for the operations, maintenance and repairs at the pool, and is then allowed leeway to charge whatever fees it wants. As part of the agreement, the Conservancy is given two hours of pool use a day for their youth camps. ‘The taxpayers will not assume a scintilla of responsibility for the pool’s liability,’ Edmiston emphasized. The past two months have been frustrating for the hundreds of people who love the Y pool’master swimmers, lap and water exercisers, high school and Y swim teams and their families, as they wait for repairs to begin. Legal counsel for the Conservancy, Laurie Collins said that there’s no evidence of any hillside damage and she doesn’t understand the delay, either. ‘I drafted a lease almost three weeks ago [March 11] and have not received any comments back,’ Collins said. ‘It’s the same boilerplate lease that we used for the two preschools [Little Dolphins and Jewish Early Childhood Center].’ The existing lease in the 1994 option agreement for the Y’s purchase plan for the corner of Sunset and Temescal states: ‘Lease. Conservancy will honor the existing pool lease between the Synod and the YMCA for the term of that lease, and will continue the lease on the same terms thereafter for the existing useful life of the existing pool. The parties agree that on the expiration of said existing life, the parties will enter into negotiations for the possible replacement of said pool on such reasonable conditions as can be agreed to at such time for the continued use and/or management of the facility by the YMCA.’ Although the Conservancy’s new lease document is 14 pages, Collins said that the liability issues for the pool are exactly the same as the shorter document; the only difference is that the Conservancy lists them. Pfannkucke acknowledged that the Y has received the new draft, but felt the Y could not move forward until its board of directors and lawyers believe the facility is safe. A task force of seven people, some of whom are Y members and some of whom are swimmers, has been organized. Pfannkuche said people could write their concerns and send them to the task force at the YMCA, 821 Via de la Paz. Edmiston reiterated that under the current lease, the Y is responsible for all liability regarding the pool.

Since launching a fundraising campaign more than a year ago to build a state-of-the-art aquatic center on campus, Palisades Charter High School has raised $1.5 million of the $3.5 million needed. Rose Gilbert, the 89-year-old English teacher who has been the impetus behind constructing the two pools, has donated $1.1 million. The center will be named after her late daughter and swimmer, Maggie Gilbert. Jeanne Goldsmith, whose consulting group was hired to fundraise, told Pali’s board of trustees on March 25 that she had hoped to raise more money by now. ‘I think the writers’ strike and the concerns about the economy slowed the fundraising for us initially, but there is a clear need for this facility in our community, and it has been great to see local families whose kids do not go to Pali support the project,’ Goldsmith said in an e-mail to the Palisadian-Post after the meeting. ‘We have seen significant interest in the new aquatic center because of the YMCA pool temporarily closing and needing repairs and expect that excitement will grow when we break ground for construction.’ The Palisades-Malibu YMCA pool in Temescal Canyon closed in early February because of a recirculation leak. Since the aging pool needs significant repairs, PaliHi swim coach Maggie Nance said she thinks the high school will have the next community pool. School officials hope to break ground in August, but first, they need to raise 75 percent of the funds or $1 million more. Goldsmith believes it’s possible. She has submitted nine grant proposals and, so far, three local foundations have donated or pledged money totaling $36,000. Goldsmith is waiting for a response from the others. In addition, Palisades Optimist Club has given $10,000 and the Palisades Junior Women’s Club donated $5,000. The school hosted a casino-night fundraiser for Pali swim-team parents on March 7, which brought in $10,000 plus additional pledges. Palisadians Bill and Cindy Simon will host an invitation-only swimming pool party on May 1, and the public and Pali alumni will be invited to a bingo night in June. ‘We have a good game plan,’ Goldsmith said, ‘I think we will see some action in the next few months.’ School officials have already spent about $132,000 to hire Aquatic Design Group, an architectural firm that specializes in pools, and Goldsmith Consulting. As soon as the LAUSD and the Division of State Architects approve the design, school officials will ask pool-construction companies to bid on the project, said Executive Director Amy Dresser-Held. The aquatic center will be built at the corner of Temescal Canyon Road and Bowdoin Street, replacing the outdoor handball and basketball courts. The main 10-lane pool and an adjoining two-lane pool will be available for water polo games, water aerobics, synchronized swimming, diving, swimming lessons, water-safety training and swimming meets. Swimming coach Nance and Chief Business Officer Gregory Wood estimate that the aquatic center will cost about $370,000 to operate annually. However, by renting the facility to swim teams and aquatic groups outside school hours, the pool should generate about $540,000 in revenue, based on information provided by other aquatic centers, Nance said. ‘We have user groups who are ready to purchase [time] right now,’ Nance said. ‘Pools are in short supply on the Westside. I am confident that once it’s built, it will be self-sustaining.’

The Pacific Palisades Community Council voted unanimously last Thursday to oppose Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to close 48 state parks and reduce lifeguard staffing at 16 state beaches. Schwarzenegger has asked California State Parks to reduce its budget by 10 percent as part of his attempt to reduce the $14.5-billion budget deficit for 2008-09. Will Rogers State Historical Park and Topanga State Park are among the parks that could be closed. ‘These parks are dear to us,’ said council member Gil Dembo. ‘Years from now, where will our families have recreation?’ Adults and children from all over Los Angeles, not just nearby residents, hike and bike at Will Rogers and Topanga, added Treasurer Ted Mackie. The Community Council’s resolution will be submitted to the governor and the state Legislature. California State Parks decided to close 48 parks because salaries are the largest part of its budget and the closure would allow the department to eliminate 136 positions, said Roy Stearns, communications deputy director for California State Parks. ‘This latest 10-percent reduction, on top of the years and years of previous reductions, finally brought us to the point where all efficiencies were gone and we had no choice but to close parks,’ Stearns told the Palisadian-Post on Friday. Under the proposal, the department will keep 230 parks open. Although Topanga and Will Rogers have more visitors than some of the other state parks that will stay open, the department wanted to close parks evenly across the state, Stearns said. In 2006, Will Rogers had 203,807 visitors and generated $346,713 in revenue, while Topanga had 202,793 visitors and brought in $67,313. Will Rogers charges a $7 day-use parking fee and Topanga’s fee is $5 or $6, depending on the season. If Will Rogers and Topanga are closed, rangers and maintenance workers from nearby parks will periodically check on the facilities for any safety issues and to prevent vandalism, Stearns said. ‘Our goal would be to preserve and protect and, when the budget situation improves, reopen the parks.’ Stearns anticipates that people will continue to use the parks by walking around barricades. ‘We would ask them to honor the closures to ensure safety, but we just might not be able to make contact with every person who decides to take a walk.’ Los Angeles City Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Ed Reyes wrote a resolution against closing state parks and reducing lifeguard staffing that was presented at yesterday’s Los Angeles City Council meeting. ‘It’s not too early to speak out as individuals,’ said Lucinda Mittleman, who helped start the ‘Save Topanga State Park’ campaign, at last Thursday’s Community Council meeting. The campaign is part of the ‘Save Our State Parks Campaign’ that advocates for all 48 endangered parks. Will Rogers’ great-granddaughter Jennifer Rogers Etcheverry and the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation are hosting the ‘Will Rogers Never Met a State Park He Never Liked’ event this Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Community members are invited to help spruce up the park as a way of showing their support for state parks. On Saturday, volunteers will restore the hitching rail that Will Rogers used to tie his horse in front of his house in the early 1930s. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2 p.m. to honor the restoration. To learn more about the campaigns to save state parks, visit www.savetopangastatepark.org and www.savestateparks.org. —————————————————— RESOLUTION OPPOSING STATE PARK CLOSURE WHEREAS The Governor’s 2008-09 State Budget may result in an unprecedented closing of Will Rogers State Historical Park, Topanga State Park, and other state parks, as well as drastic lifeguard reductions on 16 popular state beaches; WHEREAS Will Rogers State Historic Park is an historic landmark that was recently renovated to enhance its unique recreational and educational uses and will, by the terms under which it was granted to the State of California, revert to the Will Rogers family if the State does not continue to operate the site as intended, WHEREAS Topanga State Park is located in the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and features spectacular geological formations, 36 miles of trails through open grassland, live oaks, and spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, WHEREAS Will Rogers State Historic Park and Topanga State Park are our nearest state parks and their closure would directly affect our businesses and families, WHEREAS Will Rogers State Historic Park and Topanga State Park are two of the few natural, public recreational and educational sites in proximity to urban Los Angeles County, a region that is experiencing rapid growth and increasing density, congestion, pollution and loss of open space, and WHEREAS the extensive trail system in these parks is accessible to communities throughout the San Fernando Valley, Malibu and other parts of Los Angeles County and provides hiking, biking, ocean views, breezes and wildlife sighting opportunities that are not available anywhere else, and WHEREAS school districts throughout Los Angeles County use these parks for educational programs in science and environmental studies, offering urban children a rare opportunity to experience nature firsthand, WHEREAS lifeguard staffing reductions will endanger public health and safety on California’s state beaches; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Pacific Palisades Community Council hereby (1) supports the Save Our State Parks Campaign; (2) opposes any state budget proposal that would result in the closure of, or the sale of any property located in, Will Rogers State Historic Park, Topanga State park or other state parks; and (3) opposes any budget proposal that would result in the reduction of lifeguard staffing on state beaches. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the PACIFC PALISADES COMMUNITY COUNCIL does hereby unanimously adopt this resolution on this the 27th day of March 2008. Copies of this resolution will be transmitted to the Save Our State Parks Campaign, the Governor, and the state Legislature. Richard G. Cohen Vice-Chair/Acting Chair

The second in the series of Palisades Environmental Evenings will be held on Wednesday, April 9 at 7 p.m. in the Fireside Room at Calvary Christian School, 701 Palisades Dr., in the Highlands. The evening is designed for all gardeners who want to create an environmentally friendly landscape. Attendees will learn how to beautify a yard with natives and Mediterranean plants, edibles, permeable hardscapes and nontoxic fertilizers. Tips on water-conservation measures ‘will show how it is possible to have a water-wise garden that is beautiful to behold,’ said event organizer Marie Steckmest. Speakers will include: 1. Stephanie Blanc, a local landscape designer who specializes in California native plants and Mediterraneans. She designed Rene Russo’s garden and John Zinner’s garden (Sunset magazine, October 2007). 2. David King, gardenmaster at The Learning Garden at Venice High–one of the largest school gardens in the country. He teaches classes on sustainable gardening and soils and fertilizers. 3. Rick Silva from the L.A. DWP will discuss water conservation measures, including types of sprinkler heads and irrigation controllers. This free event is sponsored by Palisades Cares. To RSVP, visit info@palisadescares.org or call (310) 459-1614. Gelson’s has donated reusable bags for this event.