Inga Neilsen will be performing her repertoire of solid gold cabaret standards at the Gardenia, 7066 Santa Monica Blvd., one block east of La Brea, for one show only on Friday, August 24 at 9 p.m. The Palisades resident will be singing from her CD ‘Love Me With All Your Heart,’ demonstrating the careful attention that she gives such standards as ‘Summertime,’ ‘Send In The Clowns,’ and ‘Over The Rainbow.’ Even with those songs that have become other artists’ signatures, Neilsen offers her own personal style, complemented by pianist Lee Lovett and his jazz ensemble, who will be appearing with her at the Gardenia. The deep timbre of her voice, the pointed emphasis in her articulations, and her liberal use of vibrato recall the early days of cabaret when the music was natural and intimate. Showing an interest in show business since she was eight years old, Neilsen was singing and dancing in shows in Las Vegas and the Far East by 19. After taking time off to raise her son, she reopened her career a decade ago, performing in clubs and producing her first CD. For three seasons, she performed in the Palm Springs Follies, and since then has been appearing in clubs locally. Dinner at the Gardenia is served from 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 cover charge, or $10 towards food or drink. For reservations, call (323) 467-7444.
Saltsman Celebrates Farmers’ Markets
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
A walk through a farmers’ market storms the senses. Crimson, tangerine and mahogany-tinted fruits and vegetables flash in the green-scented air, announcing that they are the stars of this show. Unlike climate-controlled produce sections in supermarkets, with impressively symmetrical, proud and unblemished fruits and vegetables, farmers’ markets celebrate the serendipity of size and shape while emphasizing the logic of growing the right thing at the right time, producing peak flavor. One of the oldest farmers’ markets on the Westside is the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, which after 26 years has matured into a way of life for farmers, home cooks and professional chefs and has become a prototype for neighborhood markets that dot the city from downtown to our own Pacific Palisades Sunday market. In her book ‘The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook,’ Amelia Saltsman acquaints us not only with seasonal varieties– champions seldom found in the supermarket, but she also reacquaints us with the vegetables’carrots, broccoli, cauliflower’that we take for granted. ‘When these everyday crops ‘sing,’ that’s something to write about,’ she says. Saltsman, who lives in the shade of Rustic Canyon, long ago adopted the farmers’ market as her one-stop shopping destination. And nowadays as poultry, meat ranchers and ‘honest-to-goodness fishermen from the Channel Islands’ have found a market at these local farmer’s markets, food shopping can be as simple as strolling down a blocked-off street. For almost 30 years, Saltsman has blended her love of cooking and fascination with the culture of food into her career. She was director at Faire La Cuisine Cooking School in Malibu in the early 1980s, writes about food for various publications, hosts ‘Fresh From the Farmers’ Market’ on Santa Monica City TV and has worked as a food stylist for a number of clients, including Marion Cunningham, Marcella Hazan, Deborah Madison and George Foreman. In her book, Saltsman lets the food lead the way; the recipes follow. She says simply, ‘the ingredients definitely talk to me.’ Her recipes reflect the season at hand and her first line of attack is to ‘stay out of the way of the ingredients.’ ‘I loved the research for the book,’ she says, which was really codifying an intuitive manner of cooking that she has followed in her own kitchen. ‘I loved seeing what this ingredient would do, for example, when I heated it in the simplest manner. Then I could pump it up a little bit more, if I needed to.’ She offers numerous examples of this modest approach to vegetables. ‘Roasting cauliflower was probably my biggest surprise,’ she says. ‘They are so sweet and nutty. The smaller you make the flowerets, the more they become like popcorn. You just throw them into a salted, boiling water for three minutes. Place them on a sheet pan, sprinkle them with a little olive oil and salt and roast them in a 425-degree oven.’ Her family’s testimonial says it all. A dinner of grilled salmon and roasted cauliflower yields ecstatic comments’about the cauliflower. A wife and mother of three, Saltsman has spawned a lively interest in food at home. ‘It is one of my greatest joys to watch my children develop into interested cooks, shoppers and food travelers,’ she says. Farmers’ markets are commonplace now, but it takes conscientious oversight to achieve a really successful market that provides a viable livelihood for the farmer, daily inspiration that restaurant chefs have come to rely on’some 60 L.A. chefs shop among the 85 venders at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market’and a way of life for the home cook. ‘A great market depends so much on the managers,’ says Saltsman, who dedicates a chapter in her book to Laura Avery, supervisor of the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market. ‘The manager has to bring a balance of farmers’ crops so customers have choices and farmers can be successful, and managers help to encourage farmers to stick it out. ‘The Santa Monica market started as an attempt to revitalize a very sleepy area,’ Saltsman adds. Saltsman emphasizes patience, not only for the farmers to establish their bona fides, but also for the customer, who must learn to wait for the seasons. While we in California are blessed with a benign climate that often allows blurring among seasons’late summer tomatoes can be paired with autumn pumpkins’Saltsman advises shoppers to notice what’s at the market. ‘If it’s not there, it’s not in season or locally grown.’ Markets can be overwhelming, Saltsman concedes, but she offers help in how to navigate them. Tips include making a simple list until you are more attuned to planning by season e.g. green vegetables, salad fixings, noticing the market layout, and being aware that only farmers are allowed to sell within the formal boundaries of the market, and they must grow the produce they sell. There is a perception that farmers’ markets’ prices are higher than those in supermarkets, but Saltsman after comparison shopping disputes that notion. ‘I’ve found that prices at the farmers’ market are one-half or less than those at the local supermarket on certain items such as peaches and tomatoes. On ‘premium items’ such as heirloom tomatoes, my local market was charging $8 a pound. At the farmers’ market, you can get four pounds for $10, and they were picked 24 hours ago! That’s value.’ Saltsman believes that with patience and trust, customers will learn all the delicious and amazing treats available at farmers’ markets. ‘Farmers’ markets say so much about place,’ she says. If I had only one day in a foreign city, I would choose to go to a farmers’ market. I would learn what people value, I would see them interact and it would tell me about the local economy. Farmers’ markets are where we reveal a lot about ourselves. Look how the Palisades Sunday market has become the town square.’ Saltsman will talk about and sign her book on Sunday, August 19 at 11 a.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore.
Thriving on Outdoor Challenges
A constant adventurer, 25-year-old Tim Lyne is always trying to push his limits. He has completed a marathon with minimal training, finishing the last four miles after blacking out. He has almost frozen to death on Mount Baldy, becoming so disoriented that he came down the side of the mountain opposite his starting point. He has visited South America and eaten guinea pig, monkey and live termites (which he insists taste like mint candy). Now, Lyne will attempt the two hardest outdoor challenges of his life, which double as charity efforts. First, in September, he will follow the 67-mile ‘Backbone Trail’ from Pt. Mugu in Ventura County to Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades–in under 24 hours. Then, using funds from this sponsored hike, he will travel to Tanzania during his winter vacation and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, contributing the donations that exceed the expedition’s cost to Impact Charities. Lyne caught the adventure bug as a child growing up in Ecuador, when his parents were missionaries with HCJB (Christian ministries that work with healthcare agencies and media). ‘I’ve always had a taste for this,’ said Lyne. ‘In Ecuador, once or twice a year we’d go to a creek and do rock scrambling up waterfalls. Even though I was only a kindergartner, I loved it.’ Then, when he was seven years old, his family moved to Auburn, Indiana, where his father accepted a job as a pastor. But for young Lyne, this small town with its abundant cornfields deprived him of the adventure he loved. ‘I always wanted something more scenic or some more challenging terrain,’ he said. He jumped at chances to leave town and experience new things. In 1997, he went on a group ski trip to Colorado, to a mountain that didn’t have a ski lift. So after skiing down the slopes, he wandered through the forest for several hours to return to the start. This might have fazed some people, but for Lyne, this trek’his first time in the mountains’was the one that got him started on his extreme adventures. Lyne graduated in 2004 from Azusa Pacific University, with a B.A. in cinema and broadcast arts, and then tried to enter the film industry, but that proved to be difficult. He found himself in a variety of jobs, from computer consultant to personal manager to documentary co-producer (‘K2: Daring to Dream’) to adventure trek leader. This last occupation was Lyne’s attempt to turn his passion for the extreme into a livelihood. But the job was exhausting’he would spend three weeks in the mountains with a tour group, take a break for a few hours to do paperwork and sleep, then return for a new group. During his first six months on the road, he had only two days off. Recognizing that he needed some down time, and wanting to try something else, Lyne left that job. He is now the director of brand marketing at Pollack Media Group (located on Via De La Paz, which is so near to his house that he rides his bicycle to work). His job involves gathering data, analyzing playlists/programming and creating reports for executives at places like MTV and VH1. On the weekends, he regularly hikes and explores local mountains. ‘Even in the San Gabriel Mountains, there are places I have been that have no sign that there’s ever been a person there before,’ explained Lyne. ‘It’s very satisfying.’ While his self-described hope is ‘to see as much of creation as possible,’ Lyne’s motivations for trekking are not purely scenic. ‘I want to push myself further and see what my body’s capable of doing,’ said Lyne. ‘I get bored with normal little hikes.’ His desire to test his limits has gotten him in some fairly dangerous situations. Four years ago, he got caught in a blizzard at the summit of Mt. Baldy and retreated down the opposite side of the mountain. He called a friend who drove from Azusa to take him around the base to his car, which unfortunately was frozen shut and covered in a sheet of ice. Lyne was forced to shatter a window to enter–breaking the seat mechanism in the process–and drive three hours home on dirt roads still in blizzard conditions, with his head out the window in order to see, while sitting on shards of glass from the broken window. However, he did learn a lesson from this near-fatal experience. ‘I was pretty terrified up there,’ Lyne admitted. ‘I’ve never been outside in wind that strong. But now I’m definitely much smarter about what I take with me and how to prepare for hikes’I have GPS [Global Positioning System], I have radio and I have the know-how to survive.’ These will all come in handy when he attempts the difficult ‘Backbone Trail,’ which Lyne believes might even be harder than Kilimanjaro, because of the fast pace and level of endurance required. The strenuous 67-mile hike is usually done over several days, and has only been completed in its entirety in one day by a handful of people. To train, he has been running 4 to 7 miles on weekdays and 10 to 20 miles on weekends, including courses with hills to simulate Backbone’s terrain. Lyne learned his lesson about training the hard way’in his first marathon, for which he had been too busy with college to train. He recalled nothing after the 22-mile mark until he woke up in the injured runners tent with an IV in his arm and a finisher’s medal around his neck. To this day, he cannot remember actually completing this race, even though he later saw video footage of his finish. While Lyne’s trip to Africa will be his first attempt at one of the world’s great mountains, it will not be his first time traveling for charity. He has made numerous trips to countries like Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and Australia to help others in need, and has combined these with his love for trekking. For this trip, he is raising money for Impact Charities, a London-based nonprofit Christian organization that trains village teachers in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. It recruits top teachers from around to world to improve the quality of education in rural Africa. Lyne was introduced to Impact by his sister Melissa, 30, who is studying at the London School of Economics for her master’s degree in international development and is also interning with Impact. ‘There are many wonderful nonprofits and NGOs that are doing great work throughout Africa,’ said Lyne. ‘But Impact Charities’ unique emphasis on teacher training is especially compelling to me. It’s more sustainable than just buying supplies.’ The expedition alone will cost about $3,800, but Lyne hopes to raise $2,000 to $3,000 more than that. To do so, he has been networking online, with sites like MySpace, Facebook and his own Web site, www.climbkili.com, through which supporters can donate cents per kilometer towards his successful completion of the ‘Backbone’ challenge. His church (the Risen Church in Santa Monica) has also made Impact Charities its charity of the month, so he has been collecting funds through that venue as well. Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro has always been a dream of Lyne’s. It is the tallest freestanding and most difficult nontechnical mountain (does not require special equipment or training), and he and his team will be taking the longest and most difficult path up the mountain. Known as the Lemosho route, it is attempted by only 8 percent of all climbers. But, as Lyne says, ‘Summiting this vast mountain is a goal, but it is not the primary objective of this expedition.’ Instead, the central purpose is to support Impact’s work in Africa. ‘Service has become so important to me because of my upbringing, Christian beliefs and just the basic satisfaction that comes from doing good,’ said Lyne. ‘I appreciate the connectedness of the world and its people and when I have the chance to use my skills, passions and resources to make the world a better place, I feel compelled to do so.’
Rodriguez and Kiino Wed in Santa Monica
Diane Carol Rodriguez and Ronald Isamu Kiino exchanged vows on January 14 in a sunset ceremony at the Hotel Casa del Mar in Santa Monica. Family and friends were in attendance. The bride, daughter of Cathy and Ruben Rodriguez of Pacific Palisades, earned a Ph.D. in international education from USC. She is the director of diversity at Santa Barbara City College. The bridegroom, son of Cece and Ron Kiino of Portland, Oregon, graduated from Brown University, where he majored in American civilization and played varsity baseball. He is senior editor at Motor Trend magazine. The couple honeymooned in Namibia, Africa, and plan to settle in Westlake Village.
Squire, Torres Abadia Wed in May Ceremony
James Robert Squire and Frances Dayle Squire announce the marriage of their daughter Genn’a No’lle Squire to Francisco Javier Torres Abadia, son of Jamie Arturo Torres Monroy and Luz Marina Abadia Rengifo, both of Bogot’, Colombia. The wedding took place on May 11 in Santa Monica with the Rev. Eric W. Schaefer officiating. A reception followed at Shutters on the Beach. The bride graduated from Marymount High School and received her B.A. degree in international studies and political science from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She is employed as the international protocol coordinator for the city of Dallas and the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. The bridegroom graduated from Colegio Mayor Celstino Mutis in Bogot’, Colombia. He received his bachelor of business administration degree in management at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business in Dallas. He is employed as a banker with J.P. Morgan Chase in Dallas. The couple met while studying in Paris in 2004. Following the wedding they honeymooned in South America. They currently reside in Dallas.
Transient Murdered in Potrero Canyon
Seth Grinspan, 46, a known transient, was allegedly stabbed and killed by Alfred Delagraza, 48, also a transient, in the 15300 block of Pacific Coast Highway at about 7 p.m. Saturday night. Police said that apparently an altercation took place between the two men and ended when Grinspan was stabbed, across the highway from the lifeguard headquarters, near the mouth of Potrero Canyon. According to firefighters from Station 69 in Pacific Palisades, who were first on the scene, a blood trail enabled them to pinpoint the exact location where Grinspan was knifed. He had moved about a hundred yards toward Temescal Canyon Road before collapsing. He was dead when the firemen arrived. The suspect ran across PCH to the lifeguard tower. When the female lifeguard saw he had a knife, she slammed the door shut and called police. According to Palisades Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore, firefighters held the suspect until the police arrived and took Delagraza into custody. Grinspan was well known to Moore. ‘He did cause problems,’ Moore said. ‘He had been accused of physically attacking a woman who lived in the Palisades.’ Grinspan also had a prior history of arrests. ‘We knew him to be a violent homeless person who had previous altercations with law enforcement personnel and with local residents,’ said Scott Wagenseller, owner of Palisades Patrol. Delagraza, who was not known by Moore or members of Palisades Patrol, will be charged with murder.
Planning Dept. Delays Shell Station Decision
Last Thursday, an associate zoning administrator at the L.A. Department of City Planning postponed deciding the fate of a proposed automated car wash and 24/7 mini-mart at the Shell station on Sunset Boulevard at Via de la Paz. But Administrator Dan Green, who presided over the hearing, said he was “inclined to reject” the car wash proposal, citing the Specific Plan, which regulates the character of buildings in Pacific Palisades commercial zones. Green left 10 days for proponents and opponents of the project to submit further arguments to be considered by the Planning Department. His final resolution is not expected to be made public until the first week of September. If approved, Shell station owner Jin Kwak would replace the station?s garage with a 1,640-sq.-ft. mini-mart and a 756-sq.-ft. car wash, which would operate from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Dozens of Palisades residents, fearing increased noise, traffic and crime, attended the standing-room-only hearing in West L.A. No resident spoke in favor of Kwak’s plans. After two hours of oral testimony, residents left encouraged by Green?s comments. In an e-mailed message to the Palisadian-Post last Friday, Green wrote that he needed more time to ?digest all of that information, especially in light of the effort that went into producing it.” Also, he said he will review provisions of the municipal code and conduct any necessary independent research. He made no statement regarding the mini-mart and declined to answer questions about whether he would be similarly “inclined to reject” it. At a Palisades Community Council meeting just hours after Thursday?s hearing, members alluded to what could be a more costly battle. Some believe that Kwak will appeal a negative decision or reapply with only cosmetic changes. “This guy might look like a small, immigrant business owner,” Vice Chair Richard G. Cohen said. “But he’s got significant resources.” Kwak owns six gas stations throughout Southern California, according to his project manager, Larry S. Turner, and has already converted many of his station?s garages into mini-marts and car washes?considered more profitable. Culver City recently rejected Kwak’s application to build a car wash there after neighbors of the would-be wash feared noise pollution. “We’re up against people who know their business,” said Council Chair Steve Boyers, a lawyer. “But as someone who goes to court, I’d rather have what looks like a victory than what looks like defeat.” In July, the council unanimously adopted a motion opposing the issuance of a conditional-use permit for the project. Members berated Kwak at that meeting for using false information on his application to the city. That application said that the station was surrounded on all four directions by commercial properties. It did not mention the three multi-unit residential buildings near the project, including a three-story condominium complex directly behind the proposed car wash. In June, the board of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association (PPRA) voted to oppose the Shell station plans. Since then, its members have actively organized opposition to the proposal. Ten of its members spoke during Thursday’s hearing, each elaborating on how this project would increase traffic at a crowded intersection, noise next to the condominium complex and possibly crime by attracting loitering. Project manager Turner has tried to allay residents’ fears. Speaking to the Post this week, he said that the impact of the project would be “negligible.” He says that the city concluded that no traffic study would be required when it approved the Mitigated Negative Declaration. A city official familiar with the application said that studies are not usually required except for very large projects. Turner cited an acoustical study that predicts that “sound levels will be below existing daytime ambient noise levels at all adjoining and nearby residential properties” as long as proper mitigation measures are used. Those measures, which Turner said would be required, include using a sound muffler, “bi-fold” doors at the entrance and exit of wash, and limiting hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Turner called it ‘premature’ to say whether Kwak would appeal a negative ruling. “You have to play the first quarter of the ball game before you play the fourth,” he said. The PPRA isn’t taking any chances. Members have retained a lawyer, Roger Holt, from Greenberg Glusker just in case this fight expands. “I don’t believe it’s over,” PPRA President Barbara Kohn said. “I don’t know how far it’s going to go. But I expect an appeal.” Letters regarding the station’s plans can be sent by e-mail to planning@lacity.org or by fax: (213) 978-1334. Please include the case number: ZA 2006-9396 (CU). —– To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.
Revere Upgrades To Be Completed before School
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
The quad remodeling project that started in June at Paul Revere Charter Middle School is expected to be finished before school starts on September 5. The parent-initiated project includes redesigning and repairing the school’s aging interior courtyard that was rutted with potholes and in general disrepair. With cement benches already in place, the bedding walls that surround the trees and planting areas were poured on Monday. The next step of the $300,000 project is pouring colored concrete for the walkways. After that, colored-concrete rectangular tiles will be placed in a fan-like pattern in the middle of the center grouping of benches. Portions of the area will have stabilized composed granite (similar to the material used for baseball infields) because it doesn’t erode and can handle a high volume of foot traffic. Adding trees and bedding plants will be the final step before students arrive on campus. Parents Nancy Babcock and Lori Vogel have overseen the project that was designed by parent and award-winning architect Eva Sobesky and is being built by H&H Construction. ‘We will definitely be done by the time school starts,’ said general contractor Jake Hunsaker of H&H, who had originally bid on repairing the cracked sidewalk that LAUSD planned to replace in that area. When the parents brought plans that would not only repair the sidewalk, but redo the entire area, LAUSD facility manager John Napoli helped finalize an agreement. The parents interviewed Hunsaker, liked his credentials and thought he was a perfect fit for the project. Until last week, Babcock and Vogel were still about $50,000 short in their fundraising and were trying to decide what to cut from the budget, including trimming back on the number of plants, which they had originally tried to get donated. ‘No one donates plants anymore,’ Babcock said. Last Thursday Babcock opened her mail and found a $30,000 check from the California Community Foundation on behalf of the Stone Family. She and Vogel were thrilled because instead of cutting something out, they were able to stay with the original plans. Construction thus far has also included sandblasting all of the concrete to make it aesthetically beautiful and installing French drains to improve drainage as well as irrigation lines for the plants. Currently, there is no money for the planned seven-foot diameter dedication piece mosaic for the center of the quad, nor funds to repair the 1968 round-tile mosaic that was moved from the quad to in front of the library. Donations or people who are willing to contribute their expertise are being sought. Additional funding would provide more landscaping items and garbage bins and pay for power-washing the existing sidewalks surrounding the quad. PRIDE’s Capital Campaign Team is grateful for all the donations that made the renovations possible, including a $50,000 donation from the Kelton Family, whose children went through Revere and who now have grandchildren at the school. Other donations came from the Broad Foundation, Cindy Simon Foundation, Tom Safran (the first person who donated), AYSO, Dwight Stuart, Paul Revere student body funds, PTSA and PRIDE, LAUSD, and local organizations that support public education, including the Palisades Junior Women’s Club, Riviera Masonic Lodge, Riviera Country Club, the Palisades Optimist Club, the Lions Club, American Legion Post 238, homeowner associations from Upper Mandeville Canyon, Crestwood and Brentwood, and various parents and community members. Once this project is completed, Revere parents have additional plans to update the California Distinguished school. ‘The next project will be a running track,’ Babcock said. Individual or corporate donations, including those from alumni or parents with younger children, are sought not only for this project, but also for continued improvements. Make tax-deductible checks out to PRIDE and send to PRIDE Capital Campaign at Paul Revere Middle School, 1450 Allenford Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90049. If anyone would like more information or a personal tour of the campus please contact Nancy Babcock at natcoopeve@aol.com.
Council Tackles Parking, Traffic Woes at Marquez
The Community Council voted last Thursday to approve sending a letter to L.A. School Board member Marlene Canter that advocates traffic control and parking solutions for Marquez Charter Elementary School. The suggestions include 1) turning one-third of the existing playground into parking, 2) leasing DWP land adjacent to the school, 3) mandatory car-pooling of students, and 4) providing busing, ‘especially for 154 students who live in the Highlands.’ Crafted by members of the Marquez School Traffic Committee, which is chaired by council member Janet Turner, the letter states that the Marquez PTA, Friends of Marquez and teachers support the proposed solutions. Discussion of the letter was not added to the council’s agenda until the day of the meeting, and several council representatives questioned if the school had been consulted. ‘I kind of feel that because school is out it [the council] is sandbagging the situation,’ said Cathy Russell, who represents area seven (Rustic/Santa Monica canyons). She was assured by Turner, who represents the Marquez area, that this was not the case. ‘We have support of the PTA and we have support of the principal,’ Turner said. ‘We’re not sandbagging anybody, I can assure you.’ Longtime member Jack Allen voiced his concerns. ‘I don’t like turning a third of a playground into a parking lot. That’s a sensitive issue in this community. It’s also dangerous [to have cars in a playground].’ Turner reassured him that ‘we’re working on that to design some way of keeping them apart.’ After the interchange, George Wolfberg moved that Chairman Steve Boyers finalize the letter with amendments and send it to Canter (who represents Pacific Palisades schools) with an invitation to attend the next PPCC meeting in September. The motion passed unanimously. On Friday, the Palisadian-Post contacted Principal Phillip Hollis, who responded by e-mail: ‘I cannot recall anyone agreeing to approve turning a third of the playground into parking. When did this conversation take place? I have asked my PTA chair (Katy Anastasi) and she too cannot recall ever saying such a thing! ‘I do recall a conversation with John Grosse [a member of the Marquez School Traffic Commitrtee] regarding such a possibility. But, never did anyone agree that this would be an appropriate solution,’ Hollis continued. ‘There are many flaws to this idea, including the tarmac being unable to support the weight of the automobiles, the difficulty of the flow of students, and with up to 400 students using the playground at lunch time, we need all the space we can get. I do not support the idea of turning our playground into a permanent faculty parking area.’ Turner, who brought the motion before the council, was asked this week why Hollis and the charter school’s governing board had not been given a copy of the letter prior to the meeting. ‘My understanding was that they were aware of the [proposed] solutions,’ Turner said. ‘I made the effort of calling a few people and we got the impression that they approved.’ Turner added that she was unaware that the governing board at charter schools must approve local decisions affecting the school. The council’s letter notes that ‘since March 2004, residents of the Marquez Knolls area of Pacific Palisades have been complaining about serious traffic congestion and parking problems in the adjacent residential neighborhood caused by the [enrollment] expansion of Marquez Elementary.’ The letter continues, ‘Recent attempts by Principal Hollis and the city to ease the traffic situation at Marquez Elementary have been somewhat helpful, but the problem has not abated. More than five hundred cars stop at Marquez Elementary every school day. The dangers and the confusion, not to mention the inconvenience of all those concerned, demand we do more to mitigate the traffic congestion and parking problem. The school population has gone from roughly 500 to close to 800 students and there is virtually no busing or mandatory car-pooling. The school has only 25 on-site parking spaces. This is unsatisfactory, as the staff is closer to 100. As a result, school-related parking has overrun the neighborhood.’ Speaking with the Post this week, Turner said she and her Marquez neighbors are frustrated about the situation. ‘We’re tired of excuses,’ she said. ‘We want to have a dialogue and invite all interested parties,’ including Marlene Canter. As an after thought she added, ‘It’s a huge playground; there’s no reason it can’t be fixed [for parking].’ —– Staff Writer Max Taves contributed to this article.
Movies in the Park to Screen ‘Ferris Bueller’
When Edie McClurg is channel surfing, she occasionally comes across “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” the 1980s teen movie that has become a staple on cable television. “It comes on a lot. If I’m flipping around the dial, I’ll look at it,” McClurg says casually. For her, though, the movie is not just 102 minutes of comic entertainment, it’s a chance to walk down memory lane. Although McClurg’s name may be unfamiliar, her face and voice are anything but. In ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,’ McClurg played Grace, the secretary and assistant of Principal Ed Rooney, Bueller’s arch-nemesis in the film. This Saturday evening, Palisadians will have the opportunity to see her in person at Movies in the Park, which will screen “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off,” after a brief introduction by McClurg. ‘I’m just going to say, ‘Hello, it was a lot of fun making the movie and I hope you enjoy the movie,’ says McClurg, who lives in the Hollywood Hills and might be joined by Palisadians Cindy Pickett (who played Ferris’s mother in the film) and Jonathan Schmock, who played a maitre d’. McClurg, a redheaded character actress who relies heavily on her keen improvisational skills and hilarious accents to elicit laughter, has been in hundreds of productions, including guest appearances on “Seinfeld,” “Roseanne,” “Full House,” “Malcolm in the Middle” and “Mad About You.” She’s done voice acting in “Bobby’s World” and Disney/Pixar’s “A Bug’s Life” and “Cars.” She has also played memorable bit parts in “Carrie” (in which several of McClurg’s scenes were filmed at Palisades High) and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,’ just to name a few. Chances are, if you’ve watched television shows or movies in the last 30 years, you’ve seen Edie McClurg. ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,’ released in 1986, written and directed by John Hughes and starring Matthew Broderick, is the story of a high school student who skips a day of school to gallivant around Chicago with his girlfriend and his best friend, trying to elude his parents and the principal. Like many other John Hughes flicks (‘The Breakfast Club,’ ‘Pretty in Pink,’ ‘Sixteen Candles’) ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ has become a classic in the teen comedy genre. ‘I thought it would be okay, just the summer’s teenage movie,’ McClurg recalls. ‘At the time some of the reviewers were a little concerned that it would give good kids bad ideas, but it just struck a chord with so many people.’ Now the film ranks at number 10 on Entertainment Weekly’s ‘Top 50 Best High School Movies.’ In the film, McClurg delivers one of the film’s most memorable lines. ‘Oh, he’s [Ferris] very popular, Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, bloods, waistoids, dweebies’they all adore him. They think he’s a righteous dude,’ she says, in her trademark thick Minnesota accent. ‘I just added [the accent] at the end of the line during my audition,’ McClurg says. ‘John [Hughes] laughed, and that’s how I got the part.’ McClurg, a self proclaimed ‘brain’ in high school, remembers asking Hughes which teenage stereotype he fell into. He smiled and replied, ‘I was a wastoid.’ A ‘wastoid’ or not, Hughes take on high school life still resonates with a lot of people. This Saturday, join the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce and Movies in the Park Palisades for ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ at 8 p.m. on the Field of Dreams at the Palisades Recreation Center, 851 Alma Real. Admission is free, and they might be taking roll: ‘Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?’
