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Doctors Prick a Harsh Regime

Burmese villagers gather outside guide Zinmar's home in Yangon where Dr. Geisler and Dr. Rock set up an outdoor clinic.
Burmese villagers gather outside guide Zinmar’s home in Yangon where Dr. Geisler and Dr. Rock set up an outdoor clinic.

By MELISSA BEAL Palisadian-Post Contributor In Myanmar, a 4-year-old orphan boy suffered for more than two years with a prolapsed bowel through an ostomy site. In simple terms, his intestines were protruding from a hole in his stomach. Only $250 was necessary to surgically repair the child’s organ, but his orphanage could not afford it. This boy was one of more than a thousand patients treated in and around Yangon and Pathein during a medical mission trip to Myanmar, led by Palisadians Dr. Marna Geisler, a pediatrician, and Dr. Terri Rock, a family physician who specializes in travel medicine. They worked in conjunction with The Myanmar Compassion Project, a non-profit organization in Rangoon. They were accompanied by a nurse and a nurse practitioner, plus Geisler’s husband, William Bierschenk, two of their children, Kate, 17, and Garrett, 16 and Rock’s 23-month-old daughter, Melanie. Thousands of children in Myanmar have no access to medical care, a result of drastic reductions in healthcare spending under a military regime. The nation spends less than $1 per person per year on health-care and the World Health Organization has ranked Myanmar’s health care system as the second worst in the world. Last July, Myanmar’s top general, Than Shwe, spent more money on his daughter’s wedding than was budgeted for health care for one year. ‘It’s worth the whole trip to have one human who won’t suffer for the rest of his life,’ said Rock, who recently received a photo of the little boy, now healthy, whose prolapsed bowel was fixed as a direct result of their trip in December. Geisler, who has been working on medical mission projects for 18 years, and Rock, who has more than 30 years of mission experience, met on a mission trip to Honduras several years ago. Still, Myanmar proved to be their most rewarding project. ‘It has never been as rewarding or gratifying as this trip, because no one had ever gone on a medical mission, and no one is going back,’ Rock said, alluding to aid restrictions in the Southeast Asian country. Geisler chose Myanmar for a medical mission trip after visiting the country with her husband in 2005. They were impressed with the beautiful ancient pagodas and other tourist spots in the former Burma, but were appalled by the poverty and disease they saw as they rode their bikes off the beaten path through local villages. Many of the local children had lice and scabies and, according to some locals, AIDS, malaria and snakebites were the three leading causes of death. Myanmar’s military government has placed serious restrictions on humanitarian groups, making it difficult for anyone to provide aid to Burmese people in crisis. Even the Red Cross was forced to leave the country, for administering AIDS tests. As a result of such stringent rules, Geisler and Rock’s team had to move to different locations every day in order to avoid government officials who might have attempted to blackmail or threaten them for providing medical care to those in need. Although the team had acquired permits to practice medicine in some villages, the government kept a close watch on them throughout their trip. To prevent any activity considered illegal by officials, a government ‘minder’ stayed at Geisler’s exam table at all times. Although he could not speak English, he could ensure that the Burmese translator was discussing nothing more than medicine with the mission team. ‘He was actually quite bored, so we put him to work,’ Geisler said. ‘We taught him how to take blood pressures and how to do urine dip sticks. It was funny, our big, bad overseer, doing urine sticks because he was bored.’ They also received a great deal of help from their guide, Zinmar, who was orphaned at an early age and raised in Pathein. She worked at the hotel where the team stayed. Geisler met Zinmar last July when she went to meet with local medical personnel to set up the December trip. Zinmar helped them set up various clinics and put Geisler and Rock in contact with area hospitals. Their team was unable to secure access to any hospitals, but with Zinmar’s connections they were able to send patients with serious health problems to those facilities that were better equipped than their outdoor clinics to deal with surgical matters. Geisler and Rock’s team paid for several surgeries, including the boy with the prolapsed bowel, with some donations, but mostly by underwriting them themselves. They also used their own money to pay for travel expenses, medication and government bribes. ‘It’s amazing how little it costs to help these people,’ Geisler said. However, medical expenses for so many people gets costly. The team also purchased medication, at reduced prices, from India and China. Although the Burmese people were familiar with most medications, they could never afford them. A doctor’s examination, however, was something most of the Burmese, especially the children, were unfamiliar with. ‘Most of them were scared. They didn’t know what a doctor was,’ Rock said. ‘We had on white coats but they didn’t know what that meant. They’ve never had a shot or any doctor experience.’ Every patient was given a medical exam and then sent to the expedient pharmacy staffed by Geisler’s children, Garrett and Kate, for a three-month supply of vitamins, analgesics and any other necessary medication, before visiting Geisler’s husband Bill, acting as Santa Claus, for a new toy. One little girl they examined was particularly frightened. Unsure what the doctors were doing to her or the other children, she hesitated to climb up on the examination table. Her big brother, quickly came to her assistance, slapping her in the face as if to say, ‘Get over it.’ Geisler and Rock laughed at the young boy’s methods, but then, no longer afraid, the little girl climbed up on the table for her examination. For her struggle, she received vitamins and a new toy. At another orphanage, Geisler examined a village boy who had heard about their clinic and walked an hour and a half to see the doctors. ‘He was basically healthy and couldn’t come up with a reason to see a doctor so he listened to everyone ahead of him in line,’ Geisler said. ‘He came to me with an entire litany of complaints, from headaches to chest pain to asthma to cough to diarrhea to arthritis to high blood pressure’everything the people ahead of him in line had complained about.’ The little boy was given a clean bill of health, vitamins, a toy and new shirt. To him, it was completely worth his arduous walk. On Geisler and Rock’s first day, their last patient was an area policeman. He waited in line with everyone else and was diagnosed and treated. He made no threats to shut them down, nor did he attempt to blackmail them. On their last day, however, they were not so lucky. At sundown, at an outdoor clinic outside Zinmar’s childhood home, the military caught up with them. ‘They obviously knew we were there all day and waited until we saw everyone who needed help,’ Geisler said. ‘But we were threatened with jail time if we did not shutdown immediately.’ Due to nightfall and a lack of electricity, the team was already in the process of closing their outdoor clinic. Nevertheless, they were forced to pay the fine for illegally providing medical care. Neither Geisler nor Rock know exactly how much the fine was because their translator, who was in charge of monetary issues within the country, paid the officials and refused to disclose the amount, advising the doctors not to worry about it. However, they do know that the amount was pretty substantial, at least enough to purchase the pig that fed the village later that evening. Still, it was completely worth avoiding a stint in a Burmese prison. Earlier in the day, Rock and Geisler had treated the children of the same military officials who had threatened them. The next day the officials met them for breakfast at their hotel to escort them immediately out of town. Before Geisler and Rock left Myanmar, they gave Zinmar a digital camera, so when she had an opportunity to use the Internet, she could send e-mail updates and photographs of the villagers they had helped during their visit. ‘We can get so burned out here at our offices,’ Geisler said. ‘It’s so nice to go to other countries where you can do what you can with what you have and people are thankful for it.’

Scholar to Explore Islam’s Diversity and Richness

Dr. Amir Hussain is an associate professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University.
Dr. Amir Hussain is an associate professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University.

The September 11 attacks revealed Americans’ ignorance about Islam, and suddenly churned up an awareness of the world’s second largest religion that had lain undisturbed like sediment at the bottom of a river. According to Dr. Amir Hussain, associate professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University, Americans are no better informed now than six years ago. Too many Americans have learned the little they know about Islam from talk-radio hosts, tabloid newspapers and commercial TV, believing, for example, that the Qur’an is a book of violence and that Muslims are engaged in a bloody battle to kill non-Muslims. ‘Antagonism against Muslims, like anti-Semitism, is a result of ignorance,’ Hussain says. ‘And when you don’t know, you assume, and it becomes very easy to stereotype.’ Hussain, who is a Muslim, will give an introduction to Islam as part of the Corpus Christi Distinguished Speakers series on Thursday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the church, at 890 Toyopa Dr. The public is invited. Hussain was 4 when he immigrated with his parents to Canada from Pakistan. The son of a working-class father, he completed all his academic work at the University of Toronto, which included, ironically, learning about his own religion. ‘Only about 4 percent of Muslims come from religious schools because most attend public school, so what I knew about Islam was mostly cultural,’ he says. Hussain understood the importance of studying the three great religions in order to understand what they have in common and how bridges can be built. ‘In many ways, Muslims, Christians, and Jews hold much in common,’ he writes in his book ‘Oil and Water: Two Faiths, One God.’ ‘All three religions are monotheistic, involving the worship of one God. The three religions are also prophetic traditions. The Qur’an mentions a number of prophets by name, many from the Hebrew Bible, and three from the New Testament: Zechariah, John the Baptist and Jesus.’ Hussain also writes in his book, ‘Muslims believe that Jesus was a great prophet, born of the Virgin Mary who is mentioned more by name in the Qur’an than she is in the New Testament.’ In 1997, Hussain came to the United States to join the faculty at Cal State Northridge. He was excited about the prospect of teaching in an institution where many of the students, like him, were the first in their family to attend college. He also looked forward to living in Los Angeles, home to some 600,000 Muslims. ‘Discouragingly, the university suffered from a lack of funding for the humanities, which was so ironic,’ he says, ‘because the humanities help us to know who we are. This is important!’ In 2005, a position opened at Loyola Marymount, which was exciting for Hussain. ‘Here I am in a Catholic university, in the largest archdiocese in the United States, and in a city with the largest diversity of religions in the world.’ His curriculum load this year spans the academic ladder, from teaching a course in world religions to freshmen and a graduate course on Islam and interfaith dialogue. To achieve interfaith dialogue, Hussain says that one must have not only a deep understanding of one’s own faith, but also an understanding and appreciation of the other’s faith. He facilitates the dialogue by offering lessons that Muslims can learn from Christians and that Christians can learn from Muslims. In the first instance, he calls upon Muslims to worship God instead of Islam. Muslims can begin to understand the Qur’an as more metaphorically true than literally true, as more and more Christians see the Bible. ‘Muslims can also learn a great deal from Christians about developing their religious communities in North America,’ Hussain says. ‘Muslims have been here just 40 years. They have been concerned with establishing places of worship, and during the last two decades a few Muslim social-service organizations have also sprung up. Now, they must establish community centers, senior centers and educational institutions, as have Christians and Jews.’ Christians have much to learn from Muslims, which Hussain says can be as simple as finding a Muslim friend to talk to. ‘This may be a neighbor, a doctor at the local hospital, a teacher, a restaurant owner or the manager of the ethnic grocery store.’ The next step, he says, is to listen and learn. ‘You don’t start out by asking questions such as ‘Why do Muslims hate us?” He also cautions Christians to be careful to get their information on Islam from reliable sources, not from people who have no first-hand information about Islam or Muslims. It’s also important not to blame your Muslim friend for evils that some other Muslims may have committed.’ Before September 11, Hussain would give a presentation about Islam every two months or so. In the months afterwards, he was giving one about every three days. His mission, he says, is to emphasize the commonality between the two faith traditions. ‘We share a common history and a common civilization.’ In addition to Hussain’s lecture next Thursday, audience members will be able to see an episode of ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie,’ a Canadian TV show. A $5 donation is suggested. Contact: (310) 454-1328.

SM Conservancy Ends Temescal Preschools’ Leases

By MELISSA BEAL Palisadian-Post Contributor The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy voted Monday night to approve two resolutions, giving Little Dolphins by the Sea and the Palisades Jewish Early Childhood Center one-year non-renewable leases at their locations in Temescal Gateway Park. Temescal Gateway Park is a public park, owned by the State of California and operated by the SM Mountains Conservancy since 1994. Little Dolphins, a private preschool operated by Seven Arrows Elementary School, opened in Temescal the same year, and the J.E.C.C., also a private preschool, opened in 2000. Since 1997 the Palisades Chabad, which sponsors the J.E.C.C., has also operated the Palisades/Malibu Jewish Community summer camp in the same location. Seven Arrows also runs a summer camp and after-school program, called Roots and Wings, in their location. In an interview with the Palisadian-Post, Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Conservancy, said: ‘There are kids in South-Central Los Angeles that are being denied the opportunity to use this park that is funded by taxpayer dollars, because exceptionally wealthy people, exceptionally well-connected people have mandated that the SMMC has to give these people [the preschools] preferred, exclusive access to the park,’ said Joe Edmiston, executive director of the SMMC. The SMMC has extended the leases for both schools in the past. But as a result of its board decision this week, the schools will be forced to vacate the park within one year. ‘The Chabad program already had a provision saying their lease was not renewable,’ Edmiston said, ‘and the Little Dolphins program has also been given an extended period of time due to political pressure from wealthy individuals who happen to have their children in these schools.’ At Monday’s meeting, parents from Seven Arrows presented several ideas that would allow Little Dolphins to keep its classrooms in the park, while helping the Conservancy meet its goal of increasing public access’especially to underserved youth’in the park. Their plan was denied. A spokesperson for Seven Arrows said that administrators were ‘devastated’ by Monday’s vote, but had no further comment. Rabbi Zushe Cunin of Chabad Palisades did not attend Monday’s meeting. He said that the J.E.C.C. will reserve comment until he hears from the Conservancy about the vote’s outcome. ‘I would like to hear directly from them to us to know how to react,’ Cunin said. ‘We have had regular contact with them, and an open dialogue.’ At the end of one year, the classroom space in Temescal will be put to public use. The Conservancy has already submitted proposed plans for both locations, but nothing has yet been approved. ‘Other people want to use this space,’ Edmiston said, ‘but until now it has been exclusively for the schools. It’s just not fair for a public park area, paid for by public taxpayers, to be walled off for an exclusive private use.’

Residents, Officials Tackle Traffic Woes in Marquez

Everyone at the Marquez neighborhood traffic meeting on April 20 concurred that traffic around Marquez Charter Elementary School during drop-off and pick-up is horrendous and parking for school events is a problem. But that was the last time there was complete agreement in the room. Ideas about how to fix the problems varied widely and resulted in a loss of civility as residents expressed anger at LAUSD official Brad Smith, Marquez principal Philip Hollis, city traffic engineer Mo Blorfroshan and each other. This was the second meeting organized by resident John Grosse, a new Community Council Sparkplug Award winner for his efforts in dealing with this issue. Grosse began tackling the problem three years ago after he counted 500 cars going past his home on Edgar one morning during school drop-off time. The current school population is 650, but is projected to drop to 590 this fall, which would of course lessen traffic. The school campus has 39 classrooms, but only 24 parking spaces, which means insufficient parking for all of the teachers, aides and administrative staff. If there is a school event, cars are parked on neighborhood streets. When Hollis came aboard last September, Grosse approached the principal and a traffic meeting was held in December. At that meeting, Blorfroshan agreed to install a stop sign at Edgar and Marquez, ‘No Left Turn’ and ‘No U-Turn’ signs (during certain hours of the day) at Edgar, Livorno and Bollinger, and a crosswalk at the west intersection of Marquez and Edgar. All of those recommended changes were implemented in an effort to increase traffic flow. ‘People crossing the street would make U-turns on Marquez and people driving down Jacon couldn’t get out to go to work,’ Grosse said. ‘Now they can.’ The downside of changing the traffic pattern is that drivers now turn on Bollinger and make U-turns and pull into residents’ driveways, causing new safety issues. ‘It is extremely dangerous with parents on cell phones, driving big SUVs and not paying attention,’ said Bollinger resident Mike Asad at the April meeting. ‘Someone is going to get hurt.’ Another Bollinger resident, Brian Fernee, asked if Blorfroshan had done a traffic impact study and was incredulous when Blorfroshan said he hadn’t. A traffic impact study was not required for the signs that were installed. Margaret Goff, president of the Marquez Knolls Homeowners Association, asked the principal to institute carpooling. Hollis said that he had recommended this and had also asked his parents to refrain from using hand-held cell phones during drop-off, but that he had no way to enforce either of his requests. ‘Residents are making all the concessions,’ Fernee said. ‘Parents aren’t making any concessions.’ As tempers boiled, another Bollinger resident asked a key question: ‘Why don’t we try to go after the problem? Is the problem one of timing, congestion or volume?’ Grosse noted that in 1993, the year the school became a charter, traffic started to increase and that the school became a draw for people outside of the Marquez area. Hollis pointed out that in this year’s lottery, only 10 students were taken, which means the majority of the children attending Marquez are now from the area. But, he added, ‘a significant portion of our children are from the Highlands.’ There are 154 students from that area or 23 percent of the student body. Some of the Highlands students used to ride the DASH (the ‘commuter’ bus liking the Highlands to the Palisades) until the service was cancelled in 1999. The Palisadian-Post queried Virginia Flores, field deputy for school board president Marlene Canter, about whether there is a maximum walking distance for students to elementary schools, before LAUSD will supply buses. Buses are provided for magnet-school students who live farther than a two-mile radius from their school. Flores spoke to David Palmer, deputy director of the LAUSD transportation branch, who replied in an e-mail: ‘The District does not provide transportation for students into their local resident school. Although Marquez has a rather large attendance area, size of an attendance area and distance from the school are not factors in determining transportation eligibility.’

Calendar for the Week of May 3

THURSDAY, MAY 3 Maia Danziger signs ‘Relax & Write: Tapping Your Unconscious for Life & Art,’ 7:30 p.m., Village Books on Swarthmore. In her book (with an accompanying CD), Danziger demystifies the writing process, sharing insights and anecdotes from her experiences and those of her students. Theodore Bikel and Alberto Mizrahi, two celebrated figures of Jewish music, come together in a celebratory concert tonight, 7:30 p.m. at Kehillat Israel synagogue, 16019 Sunset. Tickets are $72 at the door. (See story, page 13.) FRIDAY, MAY 4 The public is invited to participate in ‘Full Moon Hike: A Journey through Time,’ 7 p.m. in Temescal Gateway Park, 15601 Sunset. Hikers should bring water and a jacket; flashlights are optional. Meet in the front parking lot. The program is free; parking is $5. Contact: 454-1395. Theatre Palisades production of ‘The Hot L Baltimore,’ at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. Performances continue Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through May 13. For tickets, call 454-1970. SATURDAY, MAY 5 Opening reception for an exhibition by Israeli photographer Tal Yizrael, 2 to 6 p.m., Sharq private gallery in Pacific Palisades. For directions, contact (310) 454-6826. SUNDAY, MAY 6 Inaugural Technology Fair, presented by the Palisades Chamber of Commerce, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Antioch Street. (See story, page TK.) Brentwood-Westwood Symphony Orchestra presents the Artists of Tomorrow program, 3 p.m. at the Paul Revere Middle School Auditorium, 1450 Allenford. The free program features eight soloists, winners of the annual competition involving 36 talented young musicians. MONDAY, MAY 7 Garden writer Pam Waterman will give a talk on New Zealand gardens for Palisades Garden Club members and guests, 7:30 p.m. at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford Dr. TUESDAY, MAY 8 Annual meeting of the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association, 7 p.m., Rustic Canyon Park. Public invited. (See story, page TK.) Los Angeles composer Henri Lazarof will premier his newest composition, ‘Ensemble II for String Quartet and Four Hands,’ at Chamber Music Palisades’ final concert of the season, 8 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Church, 1031 Bienveneda. Tickets at the door ($25) or by calling 454-2177 or 459-2070. (See story, page 12). WEDNESDAY, MAY 9 Monthly meeting of the Palisades AARP chapter, 2 p.m. in the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. (See story, page TK.) THURSDAY, MAY 10 Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m., Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. Public invited. Palisades High grad Harry Medved discusses and signs ‘Hollywood Escapes: The Moviegoers Guide to Exploring Southern California’s Great Outdoors,’ 7:30 p.m., Village Books on Swarthmore. FRIDAY, MAY 11 Campfire program in Temescal Canyon features the life of the chaparral, 7 p.m. in the campfire center by the dining hall in Temescal Gateway Park, 15601 Sunset. Parking is $5. Contact: (310) 454-1395 ext. 106.

News in Brief: PaliHi Enrollment, LAUSD Police Suit

Palisades High Accepts 50 More Revere Students Off Waiting List The waiting list to become a first-year student at Palisades Charter High School got a lot smaller this week, after the school accepted 50 additional Paul Revere Charter Middle School students. Also, the school accepted 50 more Revere students into the magnet program, which has a separate admissions policy. Applications far exceeded available seats at the high-performing, 2,700-student school. That meant that school officials were not able to guarantee admission to Revere students who don’t live in the Palisades, ending a 40-year feeding pattern, as reported in the Palisadian-Post (’60 Win Pali Seats, Error Means Fewer Transfers,’ March 22, 2007). Another reason that admission to Pali has been uncertain for Revere students has been the result of conflicting feeding patterns. Revere is required to accept students from some communities like Venice, but PaliHi is not. Also, some students who attend Brentwood elementary schools like Kenter Canyon Charter Elementary are guaranteed seats at Revere, but not at Pali. Some Brentwood residents fear that if the trend of high enrollment continues, the school’s existing admissions policy might exclude their children from attending PaliHi. Responding to this concern, the Brentwood Community Council unanimously supported a resolution Tuesday night that urges the high school and LAUSD to align their feeding patterns and their admissions policies. The school was able to extend admission to those previously waitlisted, after parents of applicants confirmed that they did not intend to enroll at the school next fall. According to the latest school numbers, 55 Revere students remain on the waiting list, which includes 35 magnet students. Accepting those remaining students will depend on late enrollment from Palisades residents. School officials say that by May 15 they might be able to accept more Revere students from the waiting list. Civil Rights Trial Against School Cop Begins A lawsuit against Los Angeles School Police Officer John Taylor began on Wednesday in a federal courthouse downtown. Among other accusations, the suit alleges that on February 4, 2005, after a high school basketball game, Taylor grabbed a 15-year-old Crenshaw High student by the collar and belt, threw her to the ground and beat her over the knees with a baton. After that incident, the officer was reassigned to patrol public schools in the Westside, including Pacific Palisades. Last September, he was involved in a violent confrontation, where he used pepper spray to subdue several Paul Revere Charter Elementary students and adult bystanders near the CVS Pharmacy. Following several complaints of excessive force against the officer, the School Police Department began an internal investigation into his actions. The Palisades Community Council asked School Police Chief Lawrence Manion to consider reassigning the officer away from the Palisades, pending the outcome of an internal investigation. The outcome of that investigation is not yet known. Nisaa Madyun, who filed the suit against Taylor on behalf of her daughter, seeks compensatory damages for physical injury and emotional distress. The trial is expected to last two weeks. ———– To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.

Lagana to Receive Mort Farberow Award

Lifelong Palisadian Sam Lagana will be presented the 2007 Mort Farberow Award at the Chamber of Commerce installation dinner June 14 at Riviera Country Club.
Lifelong Palisadian Sam Lagana will be presented the 2007 Mort Farberow Award at the Chamber of Commerce installation dinner June 14 at Riviera Country Club.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

If anyone understands the value of giving back, it’s lifelong Palisadian Sam Lagana. Throughout his adult life, he has dedicated his time and energy to making the community in which he lives a better place for his kids and their kids after that. In recognition of his tireless work for numerous local organizations, Lagana is this year’s recipient of the Mort Farberow Award, which will be presented at the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce installation dinner June 14 at the Riviera Country Club. Upon learning of the honor, Lagana expressed surprise, gratitude and, most of all, respect and admiration for the man the award is named after. ‘I’m Unbelievably honored and humbled to receive this kind of distinction,’ Lagana said. ‘I was a huge fan of Mort’s. I saw him work as a mentor-leader by the way he just embraced people. He opened his place to encourage leadership. He was there to support you. He and Bobbie grew their business from the counter deli to a community landmark and fostered a sense of give-back that I took to heart.’ Now in its fifth year, the Mort Farberow Award was established in memory of the past Chamber of Commerce president who owned and managed Mort’s Deli on Swarthmore for over 25 years. The award emphasizes three things Mort held dear: community, Chamber and children. One way Lagana gives back is as a member of the Board of Managers for the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, where he offers advice and insight into how the facility on Via de la Paz can better serve Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga. ‘Giving back is critical,’ Lagana has always said. ‘There are a number of ways to do that’by serving our families, our faith, our community and our country. The YMCA fills several of those aspects for me, especially sharing of the community spirit ‘ Lagana grew up in the Palisades and now lives in the Marquez area with his wife Eileen and daughters Cambria (12) and Cienna (8), both students at Corpus Christi. He is an active member of both the John Wooden Award national steering committee and the American Legion Sons of the American Legion’s Squadron 283 executive council. On July 4 he can be seen and heard announcing at the annual PAPA parade. In serving the Chamber, Lagana has been involved with committee work since the mid-1990s. Last year he co-chaired the Holiday Ho! Ho! Ho! committee. In serving children, he has been active as a coach at the Recreation Center and YMCA for girls’ basketball for six years. Twice he has been elected to serve as Chief of the Indian Guides and Princess Nation and he frequently volunteers his time extending the message of ‘Positive Coaching’ to AYSO and the YMCA. Professionally, Lagana has made sports advancement his life’s work both in the Palisades and just up the road at Pepperdine University in Malibu, where he is the Assistant Vice Chancellor. As head of the Waves Club, he oversees a group of alumni and donors to spearhead several projects on campus, including fundraising for an athletic village that would add a 26,000-sq.-ft. enhancement to Firestone Fieldhouse. ‘Sports have been an important part of my life,’ said Lagana, who was a promising basketball player at Palisades High until a back injury brought a sudden end to his prep career. ‘Whether playing, coaching, announcing or administrating, I have always enjoyed the passion, camaraderie and strategy that goes into producing a moment of competitive greatness.’ Lagana is proud to join past Mort Farberow Award winners Bob Benton, Bob Sharka, Roberta Donohue and Cheryel Kanan. ‘These are people who have meant a lot to me,’ Lagana said. ‘I’ve know Bob Benton since he opened his store. I’ve seen what Bob Sharka and Roberta and Cheryel have done. I’m grateful to the people who have worked beside me and with me. If you surround yourself with great people, great things happen.’

Greene Gives ‘Tweens’ Voice

Move over Simon Cowell. Palisades vocal coach Dana Greene is training the next generation of singing talent. Her student, Teira Church, 14, just won a 2007 Music Center Spotlight Award. A veteran musician and performer, Greene trained Church using her specialized vocal techniques geared toward the young changing voice. Church’s grand prize win was in the category of ‘Non-Classical Voice’ at the 19th Annual Spotlight Awards held April 14 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The event featured young contestants selected from 2,000 hopefuls. Church and the other finalists received cash scholarships. An innovative music instructor, Greene is the founder of Kids Camp Idol that offers kids ages 7 to 12 a head start on their vocal technique. “While there are kids with natural talents, vocal instruction in this ‘tween age range requires a special sensitivity to their changing bodies and tones,” Greene said. “My number-one goal is to teach them to dig deep within and tap into their spirit.’ Kids Camp Idol is a two-week intensive program with a formal final live performance required. This year’s Kids Camp Idol will be held at the Adderley School for the Performing Arts in Pacific Palisades. Kids Camp Idol offers a chance to integrate individual skills in a peer group setting. To learn more about Kids Camp Idol, call (310) 650-SING.

Chamber Music Features Lazarof Premiere

Violinist Ida Levin and cellist Ronald Leonard head the cast for Chamber Music Palisades concert on May 8.
Violinist Ida Levin and cellist Ronald Leonard head the cast for Chamber Music Palisades concert on May 8.

Los Angeles composer Henri Lazarof will premier his newest composition, ‘Ensemble II for String Quartet and Four Hands,’ at Chamber Music Palisades’ final concert of the season on Tuesday, May 8 at St. Matthew’s Parish. The unusual work, which features two pianists at one keyboard, was commissioned by CMP as part of its ongoing pledge to encourage new music. Internationally acclaimed violinist Ida Levin and Ronald Leonard, former principal cello with the Los Angeles Philharmonic will head the cast of top Southern California musicians on the 8 p.m. program. Also to be performed will be Beethoven’s ‘Serenade, op. 25 in D Major for Flute, Viola and Violin’ and the ‘Piano Quartet, op. 25 in g minor’ by Johannes Brahms. All works will be introduced with commentary by KUSC/FM’s radio host Alan Chapman. Joining Levin and Leonard will be violinist Lorenz Gamma, pianist Ming Tsu and CMP Co-Artistic Directors flutist Susan Greenberg and pianist Delores Stevens. Henri Lazarof won the first prize at the International Competition of Monaco and the First International Prize, City of Milan, La Scala Award. He is the recipient of commissions from The Berlin Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta, Chamber Symphony of San Francisco, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and the Baltimore and Houston symphonies among others. No stranger to local audiences, violinist Levin made her professional debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at 10. She has gone on to establish an international reputation as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician and she has appeared as the latter on numerous CMP programs over the years. As principal cellist with the L.A. Philharmonic from 1975 to 1999, Leonard has performed under the batons of Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Carlo Maria Giulini, Andre Previn, Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He is currently the Gregor Piatigorsky, professor of cello at USC and is chairman of the university’s string department. In 1999 he assumed the conductorship of the Colburn School Chamber Orchestra. Tickets for the concert will be available at the door at $25 for single admission. Students with ID will be admitted free of charge. For information on CMP concerts call (310) 459-2070 or go to the website www.cmpalisades.org.

Calvert Keeps Right on Medaling

Neither Age Nor Injury Can Deter Local Badminton Champion from Competition

Lee Calvert does push-ups during a Fitness Forever class at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA in preparation for her next badminton tournament.
Lee Calvert does push-ups during a Fitness Forever class at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA in preparation for her next badminton tournament.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

Many who know her wonder how she does it. Perhaps she drinks from the fountain of youth. Or maybe, for her, age is a question of mind over matter’she doesn’t mind so it doesn’t matter. Whatever the reason, Lee Calvert seems to be getting better with age. One of Pacific Palisades’ most decorated athletes, the 82-year-old has made the Palisadian-Post’s athletes of the year list five times and has won hundreds of medals in badminton since she began competing when she was in her 50s. The shiniest additions to her ever-growing collection were brought home two weeks ago from the Canadian Masters Meet at the Boulevard Badminton Club in Toronto, where Calvert took golds in the 75+ and 80+ singles divisions and also collected a pair of silver medals in doubles. Calvert was among 300 athletes from all over the world, including Great Britain, Japan Pakistan and Peru, to compete at the event. She continues to win in spite of having had rotator cuff surgery, a hip replacement and knee injuries. The trickiest part may be getting her newly-won hardware through the metal detectors at the airport. “If I could die on the court while I’m winning, that would be the way to go,” Calvert says. Calvert learned to play her sport while attending Santa Monica High and she continued playing it for a short time in college. Once she was married, there wasn’t time for badminton. When her son was 5, she took a badminton course at her alma mater but never competed. Calvert’s second husband Larry Calvert was a world-class badminton champion. At one of his tournaments, Calvert remembers watching and telling him that she thought she should play herself. “Go for it!” was his response and, with that, she entered the world of competitive badminton. “I got into shape,” she remembers. “And then I was hooked.” Although she raised five children, so far none have followed Calvert into badminton. Daughter Nancy, who graduated from Palisades High, taught herself flamingo dancing. She now teaches and performs the dance, sometimes traveling to Argentina, and has urged her mother to try it. Mom isn’t sure she wants to. One of the aspects of badminton that Calvert enjoys most is the competition. Although her stepson Kim plays tennis and volleyball, the only other person in the family competing right now is Calvert’s granddaughter Catherine, who is on the UCLA soccer team. “I don’t miss a game,” Calvert says. “Unless I have a tournament myself.” When she’s not competing, Calvert works for Paramount Studios in international dialogue continuity. “I had to learn it on my own and now they have film schools to teach it,” she says. Calvert started going in once a week for her assignments but preferred to work from home because so many people on the set smoked. Her first show was ‘I Love Lucy.’ “I got to watch Lucille Ball on the set,” Calvert recalls. Her resume includes many famous television shows, including all of the original Star Trek and Mission Impossible scripts. She also worked on several films, including one starring Joan Crawford. One reason Calvert likes free-lancing is so she can work at night and still play badminton during the day. The next tournament she plans to play is the international combined age tournament in September, which she has won twice with Imre Bereknyei in the 120 age group. Though their combined age places them in the 130 group, they have chosen to “play down” to try and win the division three times in a row. “I want to keep physically fit and keep the enthusiasm,” says Calvert, who works out at the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club four times a week. “I find it harder to compete after 78. I have to fight the loss of hand-eye coordination, sight and hearing loss.” Calvert also cross-trains at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA in a Fitness Forever course that includes weights, yoga and Pilates. She also does countless push-ups. “I started with three and have worked my way up to 15 or 20,” she says. “I’ve been working on these since I’ve been in my 70s. That’s the advantage I have over these other players is the fitness thing.”