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.
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.
By RICK TOBIN Special to the Palisadian-Post There is really no true precedence for what is happening in the world’s financial markets and the impact of the ongoing credit crisis. Today’s financial markets are far more complex than in the past, thanks to the fact that Main Street has essentially merged with Wall Street over the years. The flaws in the efficiency of the ‘globalization’ of our world’s financial markets began to show last year. A high percentage of subprime mortgage loans started to default, partly because of the Federal Reserve’s 17 separate rate hikes in recent years. Many property owners saw their adjustable payments increase, and late payments began to skyrocket. The ‘domino effect’ of credit losses then followed the subprime credit meltdown around the world. Let me try to explain some of the key issues involved in this complicated mess, and how our credit crisis has evolved since 2007. Let’s begin with a brief explanation of Collaterized Debt Obligations (CDOs), which are derivatives–a synthetic financial instrument derived from another asset. CDOs may be a combination of bridge and mezzanine money, notes, equity and debt. CDOs are converted into bonds and later sold off to Wall Street, hedge funds, or foreign investors. Before the CDOs were sold off to investors, they were assigned a specific bond rating by a major credit rating agency. These rating agencies would rate the potential risk of these various forms of investment pools. AAA is considered the highest and safest investment rating, and is the same rating these agencies give to a U.S. Treasury bond. Traditionally, financial ratings are based upon true market value and actual market prices. However, these artificially created securities rarely had firm values, and were difficult to liquidate quickly. Sadly, many of the largest pools of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) were rated as AAA. As a result, investors from around the world purchased them in bulk. The rates offered were higher than a U.S. bond, and yet they were rated as the ‘safest’ investment in the world. What could go wrong? Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs) use short-term funding such as asset-backed commercial paper to purchase longer-term assets like Mortgage Backed Securities. Many banks and investment firms took their lower yielding money-market funds and invested them in higher yielding mortgage pools. The banks then profited from the difference. Many banks used SIVs as ‘off balance sheet’ investments, meaning that most banks did not report these gains or losses. Once the credit crisis began, this market ‘froze’ because it was difficult to determine the true value of these ‘off balance sheet’ investments. Some experts believe the greatest risk to the world’s financial markets is tied to the status of the estimated $45 to $62 trillion worth of Credit Default Swaps (CDS). The unregulated CDS market dwarfs the entire U.S. stock market (estimated current value $21.9 trillion), the U.S. mortgage security market ($7.1 trillion), the entire U.S. treasuries market ($ 4.4 trillion), and is significantly larger than the combined value of all bank accounts in the world. A CDS is essentially a counter-party agreement that allows the transfer of third-party credit risk from one party to another. One party in the swap is a lender who has credit risk from a third party. The counter-party in the swap agrees to insure the risk in exchange for insurance premium payments. If the third party defaults, the party who provides insurance will have to buy the defaulted asset from the insured party. The insurer, in turn, will then pay the remaining interest on the debt as well as the principal. Many of America’s largest bond insurance companies that supposedly will ‘guarantee’ any losses incurred through a defaulted CDS contract may already be technically insolvent right now. These same bond insurance companies may have assigned their insurance risk to off-shore bond reinsurance companies that may not have the proper cash reserves either to cover any losses. The unwinding of assets in the world’s ‘shadow banking system’ is truly the root cause of the credit crisis. The record number of Southern California foreclosures is forcing most banks to tighten their underwriting guidelines tremendously. Lenders have also been ‘freezing’ existing credit lines due to the high default rates. Many banks are facing insolvency issues themselves. They may not have the funds or the secondary market investors available for the larger jumbo loan amounts. Many of the mortgage loan products used by Pacific Palisades residents have disappeared recently. Non-conventional financing methods should now be considered as a way to beat the credit crisis. Please visit my Web site at www.realloans.com for more information. My other Web site (www.thecreditcrisis.net) has updated videos, daily blogs, foreclosure investments, and information on my new book, ‘The Credit Crisis Deals (Finding America’s Best Real Estate Bargains).’ Optimistically, we may just be experiencing the ‘growing pains’ of the globalization of all types of credit markets (home, business, credit card, auto and student loans). You still should learn as much as you can about this historic economic time period so your family may prosper. In terms of the Westside housing market, what do I foresee this summer? Pacific Palisades and other coastal areas may soon experience drops in median home prices due to a variety of factors. Even though Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently raised their conforming /jumbo guidelines from $417,000 up to $729,750 in Los Angeles County, the vast majority of all jumbo loans these days require full documentation, excellent credit and lower loan to values. A high percentage of homebuyers in the pricier coastal regions the past decade were ‘stated income’ borrowers who chose more affordable adjustable rate loans. Most of these loan products are not now available. Always remember: the availability of financing will always be the number No. 1 reason affecting real estate because the vast majority of home buyers need loans. (Rick Tobin is a real estate investor, lender and writer. His business, First Financial Bancorp, is located at 12424 Wilshire Blvd. in West L.A.)
` THURSDAY, JUNE 12 Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Public invited. Palisadian Norman Thrower discusses ‘Maps & Civilizations: Cartography in Culture and Society,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. FRIDAY, JUNE 1 Theatre Palisades presents ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,’ opening tonight at the Pierson Playhouse, 941 Haverford. With book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts, the musical plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., through July 13. Ticket reservations: call (310) 454-1970 or visit www.theatrepalisades.org SATURDAY, JUNE 14 The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority presents ‘Animal Talk,’ an interpretive discussion on the language of animals, 10 a.m. in Temescal Gateway Park, just north of Sunset Boulevard. The program is free; parking is $5. The Palisades Branch Library welcomes young adults (incoming grades 6-12) to join ‘Passport to Reading,’ the annual teen summer reading program, beginning today at 1 p.m. with a Mehndi (henna) tattoo workshop, led by Russell Chan. A special screening of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ follows at 2:15 p.m. in the community room, 861 Alma Real. Fancy Feet Dance Studio holds its annual Broadway Babies recital at noon and 6:30 p.m., at Paul Revere Middle School, 1450 Allenford Ave. Contact: (310) 459-7203 or visit www.fancyfeetdance.com. MONDAY, JUNE 16 ‘Bloomsday,” featuring various James Joyce readings in celebration of Ireland’s literary genius, 7:30 p.m., ??at Village Books, ?1049 Swarthmore. Guests are invited to enjoy the heady Irish coffee that host Katie O’Loughlin brews up to commemorate the occasion. TUESDAY, JUNE 17 Cook with the sun? Pasteurize water the same way? Both are being done in refugee camps in Africa and in less developed places all over the world. Come and learn about the work of Solar Cookers International at the Palisades Optimist Club meeting, 7:30 a.m. at Gladstone’s restaurant. Visitors receive a free breakfast and a chance to learn more about the Optimists. Kickoff for the library’s Summer Reading Club with storyteller Michael McCarty (‘Have Mouth, Will Run It’), for children of all ages, 4 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. The Temescal Canyon Association hiking group makeS a steep climb up from Paseo Miramar but the payoff is a view of the city at dusk from Parker Mesa Overlook. Public invited. Meet for carpooling at 6 p.m. in the Temescal Gateway parking lot. No dogs. Expect to be back between 8 and 9 p.m. Contacts: visit temcanyon.org or call (310) 459-5931. Alan Koch will talk about “Understanding the Brazilian Cattleya Alliance” at the Malibu Orchid Society meeting, 7:30 p.m., at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. THURSDAY, JUNE 19 Longtime Palisades resident Charles Wilson discusses his book, ‘Crossing Learning Boundaries By Choice,’ 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore.
We Are Not Alone! Pacific Palisades Sites Are Around the World
Vancouver’s Pacific Palisades Hotel boasts a conscientious “green” plan that saves energy and recycles.
‘FIRE THREATENS HOMES IN PACIFIC PALISADES!’ ‘When flames shot up from the steep valley below Eric Beal’s house and surrounded his back yard yesterday, his Pacific Palisades neighbors came running with their garden hoses. Five fire companies responded, and 20 firefighters dragged hoses through Beal’s and his neighbors’ back yards” Okay, stop! Before you wonder why you never heard about this fire, be aware that the above breaking news is an excerpt from a 2003 article in the Star Bulletin, which does not cover Pacific Palisades, California, but Pacific Palisades, Hawaii. That’s right: Hawaii! We we are not alone in the universe. There are other Pacific Palisades out there (you might call them ‘Pacific Parallel-sades’), and several are them are not even located in the United States. For example, Pacific Palisades is also the name of a 17-section apartment block found in one of the finest parts of Hong Kong. The complex contains 809 units, and the 1,000- to 3,829-sq. ft. flats range in monthly rent between $TK and $TK. This Pacific Palisades, a Sino Group luxury property located at the mid-levels of Hong Kong Island east, is home to senior executives longing for panoramic sea views and tranquility. It’s close to the vast Choo Sai Woo Park and, just like our Pacific Palisades, is near the ocean, dead center between North Point and Quarry Bay. The buildings are sandwiched between Tin Hau Temple Road and Braemar Hill Road. Incidentally, the 18th-century Tin Hau Temple, standing west of the Palisades complex in Causeway Bay, is named after Tin Hua, goddess of the sea (a loose analogy might be if we erected a shrine to ‘Splash’ star Darryl Hannah, which, this being Southern California, might happen one day if she has another hit movie). According to Sino Group, about 60 percent of Pacific Palisades’ tenants are expatriates, most of whom are Japanese. To help the Japanese feel right at home and to promote their culture to their neighbors, the Palisades complex celebrates the traditional Sakura Festival, from mid-March to mid-April, by staging various cultural performances, including a drum show, flower arranging, a karate demonstration, and a sword performance. The Palisades property also has a clubhouse that serves Japanese cuisine. ‘Pacific Palisades is a big international family’home to people from South Korea, the U.S.A., United Kingdom, and other destinations,’ said Victor Tin, Sino Group’s assistant general manager of leasing, in a press release. ‘We plan to introduce more overseas cultural events in the near future to further enhance the multiculturalism of Pacific Palisades.’ [DROPCAP] Located on the northern part of Pearl City, north of the 1 Freeway (a.k.a. Queen Liliuokalani Freeway) and Pearl Harbor, you’ll find the aforementioned Pacific Palisades, Hawaii. Komo Mai Drive is the main drag bisecting this island town, and it spans several residential streets with exotic names such as Aamomi Street, Akaikai Loop, Aaniu Loop, and Aamanu Street. According to Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, a single-family home in Pacific Palisades, Hawaii, currently falls in the low to high $600,000 range (considerably more affordable than our Pacific Palisades). ‘It is a nice middle-class area,’ Chris Cuyno, a Coldwell agent from the Leeward office, told the Palisadian-Post. ‘One of the reasons it’s not as sought after as it could be is because it’s located on a ridge and getting to it means going up a windy road. It’s a little isolated.’ Cuyno noted that the neighborhood is ‘completely residential,’ and even the main drag does not offer much in terms of commercial activity. ‘It’s not a main thoroughfare,’ he said of Komo Mai. ‘It goes from houses to houses. It’s important though because it’s the only road that goes to the Palisades.’ Pacific Palisades is one of the larger communities in this region, and its proximity to the various army and naval bases has helped shape its populace. ‘It’s become so diverse that it’s hard to put a cultural stamp on it,’ Cuyno said of the mix of military and local families. Unlike our Palisades, Hawaii’s Palisades does not border the ocean, but ‘you get beautiful nighttime views of the Leeward coast,’ Cuyno said. ‘You can see all the way down, depending on the weather.’ [DROPCAP] For a scenic destination of the non-tropical variety, travel up to Canada, where you’ll find the Pacific Palisades Hotel, a swanky five-star pair of towers in downtown Vancouver. A participant in the Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants Group’s EarthCare program, the Palisades Hotel has won numerous awards for its environmental leadership (e.g., using nontoxic cleaning products, installing energy-efficient light bulbs and low-flow toilets, and printing on recycled paper with soy ink). Hotel guests who drive a hybrid car get overnight parking for half-price. According to a Pure Canada magazine article, Pacific Palisades Hotel saved 521,000 kilowatts of electricity in 2007 by retrofitting its lighting system. ‘Fun and fabulous’ is the motto, according to Lydia Miller, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. ‘We’re not big, stuffy and corporate.’ Built by the Mel Zajac family, the hotel originally opened as four towers in 1968 and 1969. Top-floor suites offer glorious views of Stanley Park and the Northshore Mountains, and later this year the guest rooms will have flat-screen TVs and clock radios equipped with iPod docking stations. Like our Palisades, this Palisades knows something about catering to movie stars, dating back to when members of the Rat Pack stayed in the hotel in the its earliest days. ‘We have been a long-established upscale property that has hosted many celebrities,’ Miller told the Post. ‘We keep it low key, and they keep coming back.’ Of course, if a trip to Vancouver is not likely this summer, travel about 90 minutes south of here to Carlsbad, where you’ll find the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort & Hotel, located close to the beach and to Legoland. Of course, prepare to spend a few bucks: summer rates begin at $TK for a double. [DROPCAP] It’s only fitting that Hawaii’s Pacific Palisades is located on the main island of Oahu, a name that literally translates to ‘sheltered bay’ or ‘safe haven.’ The common thread running through all versions of Pacific Palisades appears to be that each one is located in a spectacular locale. Could it be that the very moniker ‘Pacific Palisades’ has become synonymous with ‘paradise’? When a Post reporter pressed Arnie Wishnick, executive director of our Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce, for comment on those other Palisades locations, he admitted that he had not heard about the Hawaiian Pacific Palisades, but he did visit British Columbia’s. ‘It’s a very beautiful hotel and it does our name proud,’ Wishnick said. ‘And I have a bar of soap from the hotel sitting in our office that I didn’t steal.’ (For information on Vancouver’s Pacific Palisades Hotel, visit www.PacificPalisadesHotel.com. To learn more about the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort in Carlsbad, visit www.GrandPacificPalisades.com.)
Steve Nuccio with bike above the Palisades Highlands, where he and his wife have lived since 1995. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
By THERESA HEIM-KILKOWSKI Palisadian-Post Contributor For the first time in 17 years, the Palisades Highlands Presidents Council has elected a new chairman. When I asked Steve Nuccio how he came upon such an honor, his response was, ‘When Paul Glasgall wanted to step down, some other people stepped up to take other roles, but no one wanted to chair. So in a moment of weakness I said yes. Somebody had to take a turn.’ Aside from being comical and colorful, Nuccio is serious regarding the concerns of the Highlands, a place he has called home for the last 13 years. He and his wife of 38 years, Beverly, live in a beautiful home in the Country Estates, one of 21 homeowner associations represented by the Presidents Council. Nuccio grew up in the Pasadena area, and majored in business at USC, which was where he met his wife. He eventually entered into the family business, managing Little Joe’s Restaurant in Chinatown with his brother until 1999, when he retired and the restaurant closed. The Nuccios lived for 20 years in Arcadia, where they raised their two daughters, Leslie and Kimberly. After the girls moved away and the maintenance of a large property became arduous, the couple decided to make a change. Beverly had grown up in Palos Verdes and wanted to live near the ocean once again. When she found their Highlands house in 1995, her husband pulled out a map of the trails in the Santa Monica Mountains and said, ‘Yep, I can live here.’ Nuccio is an avid mountain biker and takes full advantage of the vast terrain available to him from the moment he steps outside his house. ‘There are hundreds of miles of trails accessible from any of the trailheads [in the Highlands],’ Nuccio says. ‘I can get lost up there for hours and do from time to time.’ Now that he is retired, he devotes much of his time to the surrounding mountains, but he has other pastimes as well. ‘I like to build and fix things,’ Nuccio says. ‘I do all my own bike maintenance as well as for my friends. I am always building or fixing something, be it a bird feeder, a model boat, a playhouse for my grandchildren, Liesel and Avery, or something in the house. Sometimes Bev thinks I live in the garage.’ Nuccio first got involved with his homeowners board in 2001. ‘I went to a meeting to complain about a barking dog,’ he says. ‘Somehow I ended up on the board after that.’ Shortly after, he became president of the Country Estates, a gated community that begins where Vereda de la Montura dead ends. At first, Nuccio wasn’t sure what he was getting himself into. ‘I didn’t duck fast enough,’ was his explanation as to how he ended up being president. But it has been an enjoyable experience for him, as well as his neighbors. ‘Our annual meetings are a big party,’ he says. ‘We rent bouncers for the kids, we have it catered and invite the fire department. We make it fun so the members will show up. So far, it seems to work.’ Nuccio does not foresee a long-term appointment in the chairman’s position. ‘I’m a believer in officer term limits,’ he says. ‘It’s good for the character to change on a regular basis. I had everyone on my board in the Country Estates be chairman for a month. This way we get a slightly different vision on the issues each time.’ Under Paul Glasgall’s leadership, the chairman of the Presidents Council assumed most of the responsibilities, but the current officers have agreed to divide up the workload. Nuccio, who reluctantly accepts that he must be ‘the public face’ of the council, chairs the meetings and is the lead person dealing with security co-op. Jon Girard, president of the Santa Ynez Homeowners Association, is treasurer and in charge of the landscaping co-op. Vice chair Laura Chung (The Peninsula Homeowners Association) is liaison for community affairs, and Elaine Bauer (Palisades Recreation Association) is secretary and is responsible for communications with the other board members. Drawing on his experience as a board member of the California Restaurant Association, Nuccio is introducing what he likes to call ‘shop talk’ to the council’s agenda. This is when other council members are encouraged to share problems and solutions with each other. ‘Our associations differ dramatically,’ Nuccio says. ‘But a lot of our problems are the same. Shop talk gives us a common forum to deal with issues and it’s also a way to unite the residents.’ If Nuccio has his way, every association will also have its own annual party to build neighborhood rapport and communication. Nuccio’s main goal while he is in office is to clean up Palisades Drive, while also continuing the board’s focus on diminishing the problem with speeders. ‘Palisades Drive is the entrance to our community. It is our driveway,’ he says. ‘When we come home, it should be a scenic drive. We should be able to enjoy the beauty of the mountains. It shouldn’t look like some abandoned stretch of back road.’ Nuccio believes the sidewalks in the lower canyon should be repaved every seven years and that the weeds should be pulled, making it not only scenic, but also safe for those residents who like to walk the canyon for exercise. The problem is that the sidewalks are owned by the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks, not the city’s Department of Transportation. ‘There’s no money, no manpower and no expertise to take care of the problem,’ Nuccio says. ‘I go mountain biking with my buddy, Barry Kurtz, a traffic engineer. We discuss this problem regularly.’ Regarding the ongoing problem posed by speeding on Palisades Drive, Nuccio says, ‘There are no traffic mitigation measures to stop people from driving stupid. I don’t know the answer, but I won’t stop looking for the answer. The best thing we can do for now is to police ourselves.’ Asked about preparations for the upcoming brushfire season, Nuccio says he is already frustrated, noting that it’s difficult for him to take measures because of bureaucratic red tape. ‘It would be nice to have a fire break around the Highlands,’ he says, ‘but we’re surrounded by state land. So what we have to do is be real nice to Fire Station 23,’ which is located just west of Palisades Drive on Sunset Boulevard. These various issues certainly don’t dampen Nuccio’s enthusiasm for living in the Country Estates. ‘In the Highlands,’ he says, ‘we can live in the mountains without having to live on a narrow mountain road. It’s an absolutely perfect climate up here and we’re close to both the beach and the town. There’s a certain solitude that makes you feel like you’ve really left the city and all the problems behind. It’s our own serene little world.’ Of course, all is not ideal in upper Santa Ynez Canyon. ‘The deer keep eating my roses,’ Nuccio says. ‘But if this is the biggest problem I have up here, I live a pretty good life.’
Joe Rossi competed every July 4 int he Palisades-Will Rogers 10K race.
Joseph ‘Joe’ Rossi, a 52-year resident, died peacefully on June 2 in his Pacific Palisades home, surrounded by his family. He was 83. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, on September 28, 1924, Joe volunteered for the U.S. Army at age 18. He served in Europe during World War II and received the Victory Medal, among others. Returning from the war at 21, Joe followed his passion for health and fitness to study medicine and physical therapy, earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island on the GI Bill. Eventually he reached the University of Wisconsin, where he fell in love with Catherine (‘Kay’) Echle of Bowling Green, Ohio. ` The newly graduated physical therapists said ‘I do’ at the cathedral in St. Louis on September 15, 1951, on their way to Connecticut, where they took PT jobs at the Veterans Hospital in Rocky Hill and soon after started a family. In 1953, Joe and Kay moved to Santa Monica, where Joe took a job as the only physical therapist at St. John’s Hospital. In 1956 the Rossis moved to the Palisades and their home on lower Via, where they remained for 52 Christmas mornings. A talented therapist in her own right, Kay blessed her children by remaining home to care for Cathi, William, Joseph, John and Maria. Joe and Kay moved to the Palisades because, as Joe often said, ‘I wanted a good place to raise my family.’ All five Rossi children attended Corpus Christi School School and were raised in an era where they could walk to school and when the Bay Theater, The Hot Dog Show, Wil Wright’s, and Hacienda Galvan still stood. At St. John’s Hospital, Joe eventually managed a staff of over 100 and oversaw a vital hospital expansion, being a key contributor to what is now commonly known as ‘outpatient’ care. After retiring in 1982, Joe went into private practice. He was known not just for his expertise in health care, but also for his ability to motivate patients of all walks of life. The family often vacationed in Yosemite where Joe, ever fit and active, led his family and friends on virtually every trail within the majestic park. He was also a staple at the Palisades Fourth of July 10K race and ran up until the last few weeks of his life. He received dozens of awards marking his life’s passion: running. Joe was best known in town as the inspiring, friendly and caring man who not only ran, but also walked constantly and everywhere. People already miss seeing Joe pass by their yards, giving them a wave, a smile, or a brief conversation. He was generous with his time, helping others with the simplest of things, such as taking out the trash cans for his neighbors. For nearly 30 years, except for times when he was out of town, Joe missed his ‘route’ only once–the week before he passed away. A devout Catholic, Joe was an active member of Corpus Christi Church and volunteered at hundreds of events, attended Mass almost daily, and was an usher and a member of the seniors group. He is survived by his caring wife of 56 years, Catherine ‘Kay’ Rossi; his five children, Cathi, William, Joseph, John and Maria Rossi, all of whom live in California; grandchildren Kyle Rossi and Michaela Rossi; daughters-in-law Gabriella Rossi and Joan Rossi; brother Peter Rossi of Arizona and sister Marie Rossi of Rhode Island. In the few days before his passing, with a clear head, a bright smile and conviction of the heart, Joe Rossi told his wife and children that he was not afraid to die and that he was happy to have had such a long life. He said that he loved them all very much. A Memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 14, at Corpus Christi. Burial services are private. Joe’s family supports the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation (www.clfoundation.org). More information at www.joerossifinishedtherace.com
The beach at Castle Rock is Al Werker’s favorite place to spend a few hours, but on a recent afternoon he noticed that the newly completed lifeguard tower wasn’t occupied and that a large empty alcove in the restroom building had become a camping place for the homeless. In addition, a strip of land between the Castellammare/PCH pedestrian overpass was littered with trash and not landscaped. Werker, a retired McDonnell-Douglas computer service and software salesman, speculated that the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors had run out of money to finish that area. The Will Rogers State Beach renovation project’from Potrero Canyon to Coastline Drive–was originally budgeted for $12,016,000, but the cost had reached $13,617,000 by the time improvements were completed last June. Interviewed by the Palisadian-Post, Werker recalled thinking to himself, ‘They may not want to do anything ever, but as long as they complete one area they should finish the job.’ He proceeded to call Gregory Woodell, a Beaches and Harbor’s planning specialist who was familiar with the project. Woodell later told the Post that the disputed area at the western edge of Will Rogers State Beach is actually finished. Restrooms, a two-story lifeguard station, a handicapped ramp to the beach and parking-lot improvements were all in the original plans and all have been completed. The strip of land that Werker was concerned about was originally the entrance to parking lot 5, but when the lot was reconfigured to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the entrance was moved east, leaving the former entrance driveway vacant. Werker persisted, arguing that the land was someone’s responsibility. When Woodell learned it belonged to Beaches and Harbors, the area was cleaned. ‘After the fiscal year begins on July 1, we will ask for funds to put a sidewalk in and landscape the area,’ Beaches and Harbors spokeswoman Dusty Crane told the Post on June 2. She added that the empty alcove in the restroom building, populated by the homeless, was supposed to contain vending machines, which will be installed shortly. Meanwhile, the two-story lifeguard station built by Beaches and Harbors is empty. There is no running water or ventilation inside the building. Access to the beach from the observation tower could be a problem because as guards run down the steps from the second floor, a door has to be opened. A questionable planning design has placed the door next to steps used by the public, so when the door swings open it could hit an unsuspecting beachgoer. Although there is a garage for a lifeguard vehicle, access to the beach from that building will be difficult. Upon exiting the garage, the vehicle must be driven across a narrow parking lot to a ramp located at the other end. If the lot is filled with cars, access to the beach will be hampered. ‘It’s not the Taj Mahal,’ said Mickey Gallagher, Central Section Chief for L.A. County Lifeguards. ‘It is not something I would have built, but I’m dealt with a hand and I have to make it work.’ Gallagher said that the garage is currently being used to store supplies until the summer schedule starts on June 22, when a vehicle will be placed in the garage. It will be brought out early in the morning and parked on the beach before the lot becomes crowded. Since there is no running water in the building, Gallagher is trying to hook up a hose bib, so that washing the lifeguard vehicle will be possible. ‘There are a lot of little flaws we’re trying to work out,’ Gallagher said, including getting a phone installed by June 22 and solving the lack of ventilation in the tower. The second floor is a small box, with windows on four sides, and Gallagher hopes that vents can be installed to provide some sort or air circulation for the lifeguard. Gallagher also wants the door removed from the stairway to take away the danger of having it swing into an unsuspecting beach patron. County Lifeguards is also waiting for Beaches and Harbors to put in a flagpole. ‘There are some hurdles we have to address,’ Gallagher said, ‘but it [the lifeguard building] will be utilized by the end of summer.’
Be ‘Fair’ to Orange County, Says Local More than just carnival games and rides, the annual Orange County Fair (July 11 through August 3) offers motocross, lucha libre, even art exhibits. Just ask Katherine Lan”at age 21, a veteran Fair attendee. ‘The ferris wheel is wonderful at night,’ says the Kansas-bred UC Irvine student, who knows her fairs and considers the OC Fair California’s best. ‘I love the delicious funnel cakes, topped with loads of whipped cream and fruit and chocolate syrup. There are tons of fried foods that are probably only available at the Fair, such as fried ice cream. And yummy churros! Also, the smoked turkey legs are fantastic!’ Of course, there’s also the live animals. ‘I remember going into this tent,’ Lan continues, ‘and you could see ‘The World’s Largest Cow.’ In another tent, you could see ‘The World’s Largest Horse.’ And they were humongous! A cow whose head was the size of my body.’ Plus, normal barnyard animals. On Saturday, July 26, a cattle drive will usher 300 cows through Costa Mesa’s streets. So is that enough livestock for you? Orange County Fair & Exposition Center is located at 88 Fair Dr., Costa Mesa, 714-708-1500. For more information, including tickets, visit www.ocfair.com/ocf/
Eight employees of the Palisadian-Post took a special exercise class at Yogaworks last Friday during their lunch hour. Yogaworks Manager Billy Asad and Post Publisher Roberta Donohue agreed to have Asad take the employees through their paces in order to emphasize the role of exercise in a healthy lifestyle. Representatives from each newspaper department (advertising, graphics, production and editorial) were asked to attend. Of the eight men and women who took the 12:30 p.m. challenge, only one does yoga on a regular basis, two had previously tried a class, but the other five had never been inside a yoga studio. The action move was supported by Donohue because employers, who pay for most of the costs of health insurance and sick days, know it’s in their best interest to have healthy and alert employees. Unfortunately, obesity in the United States continues to rise and blame is placed on unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity. An activity as simple as walking 30 minutes a day can contribute to healthy bones, muscles and joints, while reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. So why don’t people exercise? There are lots of reasons and even more excuses, including gridlock on the freeways, which forces people to leave earlier for work and come home later. After people spend hours at work and in traffic, exercise often takes the backseat to household tasks, meals and television. One logical way to address physical inactivity is to make workplace exercise available or easily accessible. There was some nervousness as the group walked over to Yogaworks on Sunset Boulevard. Shoes and socks were removed and the employees went into a large room that had a wood floor and a large picture window facing the street. Despite the traffic noise outside, the studio was surprisingly quiet. Each person found a yoga mat and Asad assured everybody that although many people have a misconception of yoga, thinking that it involves putting their legs around their head or getting into other impossible poses, this isn’t the case. He said that the word yoga comes from a Sanskrit word, ‘yuj,’ which means yoke or union. Traditionally, yoga uses physical and mental exercises in order to unite the person’s own consciousness with the universal consciousness. Continuing, Asad explained that yoga poses, called ‘asanas,’ tone, strengthen, and align the body, and on the mental level, yoga uses breathing techniques and meditation to achieve relaxation and quiet the mind. After that simple introduction, he directed the group through different poses. With careful explanations, and by adjusting some stances, Asad soon had the group in the ‘downward facing dog pose,’ whereby the hands are placed flat on the floor in front and the feet are about three feet behind, with knees slightly bent. The pose is then held and this works on increasing flexibility in the hamstrings and shoulders, strengthening arms and legs, and ultimately benefiting the cardio-vascular system. Asad also led Post employees through the ‘knee to chest pose,’ ‘child’s pose,’ ‘plank pose’ and ‘warrior pose,’ as well as others. He ended the class with the ‘corpse pose’ which is essentially lying on one’s back with hands to the side and palms up, and breathing in a relaxed manner, trying to keep the mind calm. Afterwards, Keith McDaniel, Post press operator, who works out with weights, rides a bike and runs, said, ‘I’ve never taken a yoga class before, but it was great.’ He admitted on Monday that ‘I was sore the next day.’ Graphic Designer Tom Hofer, who also had never taken a class before, commented, ‘I will now.’ Sports Editor Steve Galluzzo, an avid tennis player, was another yoga novice. ‘I’d definitely consider doing it again,’ he said. ‘Two things surprised me. It’s a physical activity, but it is done in a different way and uses different muscles than those used in other sports. The other issue is flexibility, which yoga works on, as well as mental relaxation.’ ‘This was the first time I’ve done yoga,’ said Press Assistant Gregory Moratya. ‘Friends invited me, but I always told them ‘I’m good,’ and never went.’ Moratya said he will now take his friends up on their invitation because ‘I felt good after that class.’ The consensus from the Post team was that the mid-day class helped them focus and increased their energy on a Friday afternoon. Asad wants to target other Palisades businesses by offering classes that are different from those offered at Yogaworks in Santa Monica and Westwood. He is open to providing a noon yoga class if a business would like to provide that for their employees. In addition, Palisades Yogaworks will offer different classes this summer, including a kids’ yoga scouts journey that will balance yoga with hiking through Temescal Canyon on Wednesdays; a yoga and surfing camp on Fridays; and a class designed specifically for learning meditation techniques to cultivate focus. If you’re still pondering a Father’s Day present, Yogaworks offers a basic starter package for dads: a two-week program that includes four YogaBasics classes, a beginner’s manual, unlimited yoga classes, a free eco-friendly mat and a personalized class schedule. For more information, contact (310) 454-7000 or visit: www.yogaworks.com.
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