The abrupt ending of last Friday night’s football game between Palisades High and Venice was unfortunate and, sadly, preventable if only cooler heads had prevailed. There is plenty of blame to go around but in the end PaliHi Head Coach Leo Castro and his son, Aaronn, the offensive coordinator, were wrong to remove their team from the field and refuse to return, thus leaving the officials no choice but to stop the game. The referees erred in not informing Palisades’ coaches about the jersey presentation to honor Venice offensive/defensive line coach Ron Price, who had recently celebrated his 70th birthday and has been a high school football coach for 44 years. Venice probably picked the wrong time to conduct the ceremony and also should have sought Palisades’ approval prior to kickoff to avoid any misunderstanding. Several sources confirmed to me that the presentation was supposed to have been conducted at the two-minute warning but was done earlier because fans had begun to leave the one-sided game. Palisades is but one of many schools at which Price has coached in his career. Would the Castros have felt as offended if the ceremony had been for a coach other than Price? Leo Castro was himself honored during Palisades’ game at Granada Hills this season, although that ceremony took place at halftime and PaliHi administrators were told beforehand. Last Friday’s incident has warranted an investigation by City Section officials. If such an incident had occurred in the Southern Section, Leo Castro would likely have been suspended immediately (pending an appeal) because there is a rule prohibiting coaches from removing their teams from the field during a game. No such rule exists in the L.A. City Section, although John Aguirre, an administrator in the City athletics office, said the City may consider implementing one. Aaronn Castro overreacted, did a disservice to his players and damaged the reputation of Palisades’ program. What kind of message did he send to his team? That whenever adversity arises, whenever you feel you are being ‘shown up,’ it is okay just to quit? Coaches tell their players to play as hard as they can on every play, regardless of the score. Venice had its second string in the game and did not appear to be trying to run up the score. In addition, the clock was allowed to run continuously in the fourth quarter, which is why it was necessary for Venice to call a timeout. “Surrendering” with 5:35 left was not the appropriate way to handle the situation. If Aaronn Castro or another coach had a problem with what was transpiring he should have discussed the matter with the head official BEFORE pulling his team off the field. Coaches’ pride and egos should never come before the players (many of whom probably don’t know or even care about the fact that Price used to coach at Palisades). The other disturbing factor is that Aaronn Castro threw the ‘white flag’ after Pali, not Venice, had scored. Rather than worrying about whether or not his team was “disrespected,” he should have used that extra time to huddle up his offense and discuss the upcoming onside kick (unless he was no longer interested in trying to score) and/or making sure all of the seniors got to play in their last regular season game. If you are going to ask your kids to play hard to the end then you owe it to them to coach hard to the end. If you’re going to ask them not to retaliate to “trash talking” and “dirty play,” you need to show discipline on the sideline yourself. In a two-page letter to LA City Commissioner Barbara Fiege, Leo Castro neglected to mention that it was his son who pulled his team from the field. ‘We win with Pride and lose with Dignity,’ he wrote. Is it dignified to walk off the field with 5:35 left? Castro ended his letter by asking Venice for a formal letter of apology to Palisades’ players and parents. Does he not also owe his players and parents an apology for his role in this embarrassing incident? Pali’s administration needs to conduct its own investigation of what happened and decide on its own if disciplinary action is warranted, regardless of what the City ultimately rules.
Pali Spikers Fall in Semis
Facing the two-time City champions in their own gym is hard enough. Throw in a noisy crowd and a series of questionable calls by the referees and the result was not favorable for the Palisades High girls varsity volleyball team. The Dolphins fought gamely but were swept by top-seeded San Pedro in the City Section semifinals Tuesday night. Palisades took a 12-11 lead in the first game before the host Pirates used an 8-0 run to take control. Pali fought off four game points before losing 25-21. After taking the second 25-22, San Pedro raced to a 13-2 lead in game three and won it 25-11. ‘They gave us the best battle we’ve had all year,’ San Pedro Coach Craig Tagler said of Palisades. ‘And that includes the game we lost to Pasadena in a tournament about a month ago. Our girls just rose to the occasion.’ In the quarterfinals last Wednesday, Palisades avenged a regular season loss to Sylmar by sweeping the Spartans on their home floor, 25-20, 25-19, 25-20. ‘I’m very excited for the future,’ PaliHi Head Coach Matt Shubin said. ‘The girls were just starting to gel. They played their hearts out and that’s all a coach can ask.’
Pali Cross Country Qualifies for Finals
The Palisades High boys varsity cross country team picked the perfect time for its best meet of the season. The Dolphins’ top five runners all ran personal-best times at last Wednesday’s City Section preliminaries meet and Palisades took fourth in its heat to qualify for the finals Saturday morning in Woodland Hills. ‘They did what I knew they were capable of,’ Palisades Head Coach Ron Brumel said. ‘I knew they were all capable of running much faster and that’s what happened. We were sixth going in and finished fourth so I’m happy.’ Marco Tringali set the pace for the Dolphins, running the three-mile course at Pierce College in 16:39 (well below his previous best time of 16:56) and finished ninth. Also dropping his time dramatically was Jann Stavro, who finished 10th in 16:41–a 30-second improvement. Palisades’ third runner was Jason Kil, who ran 17:25 and finished 24th. Muhanad Elias ran a personal-best 17:36 and finished 27th while Jeff Boone ran a personal-best 17:41 and placed 31st. Garfield won the heat with 45 points, followed by Granada Hills (54), El Camino Real (62) and Palisades (101). Palisades’ varsity girls team also finished fourth in its heat and qualified for the finals. Monroe won with 77 points, followed by Kennedy (77), Taft (87), Palisades (94) and Granada Hills (145). As expected, Palisades’ Kristabel Doebel-Hickok easily won her heat in a casual 18:17. Sarah Shores ran a personal-best 20:21 and took seventh overall and Angela Perry-Spahn was two spots back in 20:31, her fastest time this season. Katja Goldring of Hamilton won the other varsity girls heat and will challenge Doebel-Hickok for the City title Saturday. ‘It should be a great race,’ Brumel predicted. ‘I have a lot of respect for Katja, but Kristabel has always run her best in the big races and I think she has a great chance.’ The girls’ varsity race begins at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, followed by the boys’ varsity race at 8:45 a.m.
Photos Tell of This American Life
‘Where We Live: Photographs of America from the Berman Collection,’ the Getty Museum’s current photography exhibition, takes viewers on a meandering, off-the-beaten-path road trip through the United States. The 170 images by 24 contemporary photographers tell of beauty, loss, decay, hope and desire with voices as disparate as the country itself. And to Baby Boom-aged and older visitors, the pictures take on a melancholic cast: they serve up a slice of Americana instantly familiar, yet distant, since much of what is depicted’small-town Main Streets, old movie theaters and motels, country churches, barbershops and county fairgrounds–is gone or quickly disappearing from the landscape. The photographs, mostly color, succeed in distilling the poetic from the most ordinary subjects. Collectively, they work as an absorbing survey of life in the U.S. since the 1960s. An entire room is turned over to John Divola’s photographs of isolated houses in the Southern California desert. Tiny, one-story structures seem to hold a lonely vigil amid the barren and untamed landscape in these large-scale photographs with a conceptual edge. William Eggleston, a master at monumentalizing everyday subjects, zooms in on a woman’s beehive hairdo as she’s seated in a diner booth, in a photo from his 1960s ‘Memphis’ series. Others of his iconic shots cast classic American cars, Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles, in starring roles. Camilo Jos’ Vergara, a photographer from Chile, is known for documenting decaying urban environments and photographing the same buildings multiple times over many years. Two such images in the exhibition are of an abandoned, broken-down mansion in Detroit. The first frames the crumbling Victorian-style structure against a bleak, gray winter sky. Three years later, in a picture taken in summer, the site resembles a Mayan ruin, with vegetation overtaking the last remnants of the structure. Other photographers, such as Mary Kocol and Joel Meyerowitz, explore traditional American family icons, like the decorated Christmas tree and the white picket fence. The only three-dimensional work in the show is William Christenberry’s model of ‘Red Building in Forest,’ a humble structure in his native Alabama. He, like Vergara, has returned to photograph this same building over many years, using it as the barometer of changes occurring to his pastoral hometown. All of the work comes from the collection of Hollywood film executive Bruce Berman and his wife, Nancy, who have donated nearly 500 examples of postwar American photography to the Getty since 1998. ‘What informs my collection is what I took pictures of when I was in high school and college,’ Bruce Berman said in a recent Getty interview. ‘The road trips I took, the small towns I visited, and the people I saw influence a lot of what I collect.’ Berman’s collecting style, amassing deep holdings of each of the artists he collects, is reflected in the exhibition, with multiple works appearing from each of the 24 featured photographers. And it’s the Getty’s elegant, newly expanded suite of galleries devoted exclusively to photography that allows for larger, more in-depth exhibitions such as the inaugural ‘Where We Live’ to be mounted. Nearly 6,000 sq. ft. of gallery space opened up when the Museum’s antiquities collection moved to the Getty Villa, allowing the Getty Center to make the dramatic leap from displaying ancient objects to showing the work of living artists. ‘Family Business,’ a series of images by Mitch Epstein recording the demise of his father’s two businesses–a retail furniture store and a rental real estate empire–in his original hometown of Holyoke, Massachusetts, is among the most affecting in the show. Shuttered brick row houses and factories, an American flag hanging unceremoniously in a dry cleaner’s bag, a battered briefcase resting on a naked floral mattress: all add up to a powerful narrative open to every interpretation. ‘I was so immersed in this very particular world of my father’s,’ Epstein said during a phone interview from his home in New York City. ‘I was focused on things like the flag and old briefcases as relics symbolic of his life as a patriot and a businessman. ‘I was very aware of the danger of tripping up into something sentimental and too personal,’ he adds. ‘It was a learning experience about how to find balance and emotional restraint.’ Doug Dubois has turned the camera on his family for the past 20 years. His grandmother in particular became an inspiration to his work, as her recollections of life in the small coal-mining town of Avella, Pennsylvania, prompted him to make extended visits there to explore its spirit. The rhythm of family life in Avella is captured in ‘Matthew, Tracy, Donna, Devon and Velvet on Main St., Avella, PA,’ a photograph taken in 1992, that shows mothers and children spilling out onto the sidewalk with a beaming child, up front and center, looking directly into the camera. ‘This is one of the first families I met,’ Dubois recalls. ‘I had in my head all my grandmother’s stories about the hardships of raising a family in a coal-mining town. Here was a contemporary family living like that. They completely fit the bill. ‘I visited every year for four or five years,’ adds Dubois, who is still in touch with the family, though they have since moved away from Avella. Another of Dubois’ photographs in the exhibition is of his sister, Lise, who appears fearful and uncertain as she clutches her two-month-old son in the backyard of her new subdivision house in New Jersey. The tension is real. The picture, from 1999, was taken shortly after Lise’s husband left her. When the photograph ran in the The New York Times Magazine in 2001, Lise gave the following quote: ‘I could see the fear in my neighbors’ faces when they looked at me. The possibility that it might happen to them, too.’ Though based on the East Coast, longtime landscape photographer Karen Halverson has spent much of her career exploring and shooting pictures in the West, including an entire series devoted to Mulholland Drive. ‘I understood its mythic importance long before David Lynch made that film,’ she says with a laugh. These pictures, the same as much of her work, call attention to the imprint of humans on the landscape. Like most photographers, she relishes the element of chance. When she happened upon rows and rows of plastic lawn chairs set up in Death Valley, she was taken by the strangeness of their appearance. In her 1992 photograph ‘Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California,’ the chairs become transcendent, embued with almost the same grandeur as the mountains beyond. ‘Anything that is evidence of our presence in the natural world interests me,’ Halverson says. ‘It’s another way of saying ‘We’re here.” The exhibition continues through February 25, 2007 at the Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr. in Brentwood. Contact: 440-7360 or go online to www.getty.edu.
English Farce Sparkles in ‘Charley’s Aunt’
Once again Theatre Palisades is to be congratulated for going out on a limb with an interesting choice for the last show of its subscription season, ‘Charley’s Aunt’ by Brandon Thomas. ‘Charley’s Aunt’ was performed in Bury St. Edmunds in February 29, 1892 and moved to the London stage in December of 1892. English farces can be puzzling to California audiences. This is a funny play that works for all ages and is mostly well done, but young audience members will need to be prepped before attending in order to get the full benefit of the comedy. In 1892, young ‘well-bred’ women were not allowed to be alone with men without a chaperone. The first act of the play involves two young men, Charley and Jack, scheming to get two young women over to their residence, so that they might declare their love for them. The perfect opportunity presents itself when Charley’s aunt, Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez, is due to arrive any minute on a visit from Brazil. The two men send a messenger to invite the women for lunch in order to meet her. The two women, Amy and Kitty, agree to come. The story becomes more complicated when the aunt sends a telegram saying she won’t be there for a few days. When the women arrive and see the aunt isn’t there, they leave with promises to return when the aunt arrives. A third friend, Lord Fancourt Babberley (Babbs), comes to visit to show his two friends the woman’s costume that he’s wearing in a play and is instantly pressed into action as the aunt. Since this is a comedy, unforeseen complications make this simple solution a disaster. Babbs loves being with the women and makes sure that they are never left alone with the other two men. Jack asks his father to come to lunch as well in order to have him spend time with the aunt. The women’s custodian and uncle, Stephen Spettigue, arrives and both he and the father fight over the aunt (Babbs). Just when it doesn’t seem as if it can get any more complicated, the real aunt arrives, and once she sees there is already a Donna Lucia D’Alvadorez, uses an assumed name. Physical comedy is important to farce, and Matt Landig as Babbs works up a sweat with the shenanigans he’s asked to perform. He’s fun to watch, and I laughed out loud several times at the hijinks. Another interesting actress is Susan Stangl as Donna Lucia D’Advadorez, who with a sparkle brings her character to life. Totally believable are Drew Fitzsimmons as Jack and Andrew Zimmer as Charley in their earnestness to win their loves. Special mention needs to be made of the lovely mural that’s seen through the well-crafted set. Martha Meade, who has painted murals at local schools and has designed trompe l’oeil in individual homes, painted the piece. It is important to the set because the actors are constantly entering and exiting through the garden doors, and Meade’s work is a focal point. The costumes designed by Joyce Gale Smith are a huge success. Victorian costumes are not readily available on the small budgets that community theaters operate on, but somehow Smith has managed to put together not only everyday attire, but also exquisite evening fashion. ‘Charley’s Aunt’ runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through December 17 at Pierson Playhouse on Haverford. For tickets, call 454-1970.
PaliHi Production of ‘1984’ to Premiere December 1
Palisades Charter High School’s winter production ‘An Adaptation of 1984: A Place Without Darkness’ opens December 1. Performances will run Saturdays and Sundays at 7 p.m. for the first two weekends in December in Mercer Hall, 15777 Bowdoin. Tickets are $10 at the box office. Drama teacher Monica Ianessa was inspired to write this play after a trip to New York with other dramatic arts/theater study professionals. They were discussing political issues such as the Patriot Act, terrorism, and the “random” searches done at airports, which led them to the subject of George Orwell’s novel “1984 In the play Winston lives in a futuristic society, Oceania, in which the government controls all of its citizens’ actions and thoughts. Winston wants to break free from this brainwashing system and tries to preserve the realities of the un-totalitarian past. This play serves as a window with a view of Winston’s journey. PaliHi drama students Zach Frank, Hannah Schatzle, Cameron Rayner, Spencer Strasmore, Bettina Yung and Sarah Palladino star in the production. For more information, contact: 454-0611, ext. 3830.
Women’s Chic and Comfy Shoe Boutique Opens on Swarthmore
The sleek mid-century modern design of Andana, a new high-end shoe boutique at 1045 Swarthmore, has been attracting attention from local business owners and residents this past week. The store opened last Thursday in the 800-sq.-ft. space that was formerly part of Emerson-LaMay Cleaners and is next to Tabitha, the new maternity clothing boutique. According to owners Andreea Benuciu and Daniela Vasile (whose first names, combined, inspired the name of the store), people initially have been drawn by the luminous space with its tall ceilings and fire-engine red furniture, including a quilted leather daybed. Then their customers notice the merchandise: handmade shoes by Italian and Spanish designers, leather handbags, wallets, belts, hats and jewelry, displayed on built-in shelving and in a tall glass display case. ‘It looks even better than we imagined,’ Andreea said. ‘It was hard to put a high-end design in this space. We had to have a great, ingenious design to attract customers.’ Because they do not own the exterior of the shop and could not put a sign outside, they came up with an innovative solution: hang a metal sign with the shop’s name in curvy Bauhaus-style lettering, over three tall bar tables and chairs in the front window. Andreea and Daniela will host a Grand Opening party with wine and music on Thursday, November 30, from 4 to 8 p.m., during which they will offer some special deals. The philosophy behind Andana is to provide women with footwear that is sexy and feminine but also comfortable. ‘The shoes are timeless,’ Andreea says. ‘They don’t follow any trends.’ Prices start at $379. Their first customer last Thursday was a local woman who usually has trouble finding comfortable shoes she likes in her size (11). She left the store wearing a pair of red suede pumps with a small heel designed by Chie Mihara. The shoes are designed with cushioned leather insoles that make wearing heels comfortable. About 80 percent of the store is shoes, including designs by Alberto Fermani and Twenty Two, and many of the styles are designed exclusively for the boutique so customers will feel as if they’re buying a collector’s item or piece of art, according to Andreea. Andana also carries handbags by Pia Tonna, jewelry by Double Happiness, Icon wallets and purses imprinted with famous paintings (by Da Vinci and Michelangelo), and unisex leather bracelets by Dillon Rogers, among other accessories. One PiaTonna handbag design that has been particularly popular with customers is a teal incised-leather bag decorated with Murano glass on the tassel. Andreea and Daniela have been friends for years after meeting at a church in the Valley; Andreea lives in Sherman Oaks and Daniela lives in Valencia. Andreea, a native of Romania, moved to the United States eight years ago and has worked in sales in the beauty industry. Daniela, a USC graduate with a degree in biology, works in the restaurant business; her family runs The Garden Spot, a health food restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. Current store hours are Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Contact: 454-6515.
Calendar for Week of November 16
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16 David Humphrey hosts the Chamber of Commerce mixer, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at his Gallery of Rare Jewels, 863 Swarthmore. The public is invited to enjoy hosted hors d’oeuvres and a drawing for gifts donated by Chamber members. Palisades High graduate Norman Ollestad will discuss his debut novel, ‘Driftwood,’ 7:30 p.m., Village Books on Swarthmore. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17 Palisades Beautiful meets, 10 a.m. at the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Upcoming neighborhood tree planting will be discussed. The public is invited. Contact: www.palisadesbeautiful@earthlink.net. ‘Double Indemnity,’ starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson, will be screened at 2 p.m. at the Palisades Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Free admission. St. Matthew’s Parish School hosts its annual Christmas Faire, 6 p.m. at the Sprague Center, 1031 Bienveneda Ave. ‘Trail to the Stars,’ an easy hike and a view of the planets, from Mercury to the newly ‘demoted’ dwarf planet, Pluto, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Temescal Gateway Park. Bring a blanket, water, a jacket and a flashlight. Meet in the front parking lot; parking is $5. Theatre Palisades production of ‘Charley’s Aunt,’ 8 p.m., Pierson Playhouse on Haverford. Ticket reservations: 454-1970. This classic comedy runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through December 17. (See review, page 10.) SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18 Volunteers are sought for a work party on the Village Green from 9 to 11 a.m. Newcomers, especially, are invited to bring shears and gloves, and watch as the Christmas tree lights are installed by the Fire Department. Contact: Marge Gold at 459-5167. Inexpensive flu shots, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Knolls Pharmacy on Marquez Avenue. First come, first served. Immunizations are $25 for customers age 9 and older. Medicare Part B patients (non-HMO) are invited to participate at no charge. Onsite Wellness Service, Inc. bills Medicare directly. The L.A. Department of Public Works will hold a Backyard Compost Bin Sale at Palisades High’s stadium parking lot, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free composting workshops will be conducted at 10 a.m. and noon. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19 The Corpus Christi holiday boutique, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Parish Hall, 890 Toyopa Dr. (See story, page 10.) Ron Webster leads Temescal Canyon Association hikers on a 6- to 7-mile hike to a 1950s missile site and the Canyonback area of Brentwood. Meet at 9 a.m. in the Temescal Gateway parking lot. Fancy Feet Dance Studio benefit, featuring carnival games, a DJ, and three 20-minute performances, 2 to 5 p.m. on the Terrace Level parking lot at 881 Alma Real. Proceeds will help offset the cost of sending 43 young dancers to New York this summer for the Studio’s first dance education study program. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20 Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, 7:30 p.m., Palisades Presbyterian Church, corner of Sunset and El Medio. Public invited. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21 Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association meeting, 7:30 p.m., Rustic Canyon Recreation Center. Chautauqua Series, ‘Women and Children in Nature: Creative Expression in Music, Words, and Art’ by actress Jeanie Van Dam, 7:30 p.m. at the dining hall in Temescal Gateway Park, 15601 Sunset. (See story, page 11.) Loren Batchman will speak at the Malibu Orchid Society meeting on the ‘Batchman Philosophy on Hybridizing Cymbidiums,’ 7:30 p.m. at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. (See story, page 11.) WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 A free flu shot clinic, 9 a.m. to noon at the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. First come, first served. _______________________________________________________________ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1 Auditions for Theatre Palisades Youth production ‘Bubba The Cowboy Prince,’ an original musical directed by Nancy Fracchiolla, based on the popular children’s story by Helen Ketteman, 4 to 6 p.m., and tomorrow, December 2, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. (See story, page TK.) Palisades Charter High School’s winter production ‘An Adaptation of 1984: A Place Without Darkness’ opens tonight, 7 p.m. in Mercer Hall, 15777 Bowdoin. Performances will run Saturdays and Sundays at 7 p.m. for the first two weekends in December. Tickets are $10 at the box office. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 13 The Department of Recreation & Parks will hold its Board of Commissioners meeting, 5:30 p.m. at the Rustic Canyon Recreation Center, 601 Latimer Rd. The public is invited.
Tahitian Terrace Residents Fight Conversion Attempt
Azul Pacifico Inc., which owns Tahitian Terrace along the coast in Pacific Palisades, has been issued a temporary restraining order to halt conversion of the 55-and-older mobile home park to an all-age park. The hearing date has been set for December 28. Attorney L. Sue Loftin, representing the Tahitian Terrace Residents Association, filed the motion on October 30 to prevent the conversion, arguing that residents want to maintain the park’s present character. The timing is crucial because according to federal fair-housing standards, once more than 20 percent of a park’s residents are under 55, the park automatically becomes an all-age park. Located above Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Temescal Canyon Road, Tahitian Terrace has 156 spaces. Desmond McDonald, president of Azul Pacifico, told the Palisadian-Post that HUD housing guidelines permit age discrimination in mobile home parks as long as 80 percent of the occupants are 55 and older. But once the younger population goes over 20 percent, then the park owner is required by law to make rental units available to everyone and is not allowed to discriminate according to age. The mobile park was built in 1960 by McDonald’s grandfather, Robert E. Westenhaver, and his uncle, Robert Tebbe, and has remained under family control. McDonald, a Brentwood resident, took over management of the park in 1998. ‘It’s a beautiful place to live,’ he noted. ‘Our location is a primary reason people want to come here.’ According to McDonald, it’s not unusual that when someone wants to lease a unit at Tahitian Terrace and is not yet 55, he or she will put an older relative on the lease and then move in instead. Although McDonald calls those tenants ‘switch-a-roos,’ he also admitted: ‘We don’t go knocking on people’s doors and ask them who’s living there.’ Another problem arises if a man is 60 and his wife is 50 and then the older resident dies. ‘There are some variables that are unenforceable by us, unless we evict, and I’m not going to evict someone I want in the community,’ McDonald said. One mobile residency ordinance states that a resident can’t have a guest for more than 20 consecutive days. Yet again, McDonald has no way of enforcing the code. He said he also lacks a viable recourse for when a grandchild comes to live with the grandparents. McDonald has taken a census of Tahitian Terrace and estimates that the under-55 population ranges from more than 20 percent to under 30 percent. He thus argues that under federal guidelines, he can’t discriminate based on age. In July, adhering to state mobile home residency laws, McDonald alerted residents that he was changing the nature of the park. By law he is allowed to do that, as long as he gives the residents six months’ notice. ‘Many residents are concerned that by changing the park, they’ll lose their rent control, which is untrue,’ McDonald said. He also thinks many seniors object because they don’t want children in the park. According to Robin Holland, president of the Tahitian Terrace Residents Association, residents don’t want the change for several reasons. ‘We bought, believing that it was going to be a seniors park,’ Holland said. Also, many residents feel that Tahitian Terrace is not conducive to children. ‘The park is located on a steep hill and the road into the park has two blind corners. There’s no place for children to play except on the street and the hillside, which is a slide area.’ Residents are also concerned that the density in the park will change. They have figured there are 1.5 persons per space; with an all-age park the density could increase to three people per space, which would affect the already limited parking. McDonald is aware that many residents are also worried that he might try to convert Tahitian Terrace into resident ownership, a process that is currently under way at neighboring Palisades Bowl. ‘Given the cons, for the time being, we’re not going down that road,’ he said.
Boy Scout Suit Dismissed; Appeal Planned
A lawsuit filed by the parents of a 13-year-old autistic former Boy Scout against local Scout Troop 223 and the Western Los Angeles County Council of Boy Scouts of America was dismissed by a federal district court in late October. In their lawsuit, Pacific Palisades residents Jane Dubovy and Mike Reilly argued that Troop 223 and the Council violated state and federal disability laws, mainly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), after Scout leaders excluded their son, Casey Reilly, from scouting activities and from advancing in rank. Reilly’s specific form of autism, known as Asperger’s Syndrome, entails impaired communication skills, repetitive patterns of thought and behavior, and weak motor skills. The central debate in court was whether the ADA could be applied to a private organization like the Scouts. The ADA became law in 1990 and prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability. But the immunity of private clubs and organizations from that law has been a frequent source of debate nationwide. The Dubovy-Reilly suit cited a 2001 case mandating that the Professional Golfers’ Association follow the ADA. If the ADA could be applied to a private organization like the PGA, they argued, then it should also apply to the Scouts. The judge, S. James Otero, ruled that because the Boy Scouts of America excludes homosexuals and atheists it is not an ‘open’ organization and therefore does not have to follow the ADA. The only requirement for joining the PGA, Otero concluded, was being a ‘good golfer.’ ‘Boy Scout Troop 223 is not a private organization,’ said Dubovy. ‘It’s open to all boys in the community. They start applying to the Tiger Cubs at seven to eight-years-old. Being a boy in a certain geographic area is the only real requirement, not one’s sexuality or religious beliefs.’ Otero also rebuffed another argument from the plaintiffs when he ruled that the Boy Scouts do not cease to be a private membership club merely because they operate campsites for their own private use. ‘We were pleased with the judge’s decision,’ said Ross Harrop, executive of the Western Los Angeles County Council. ‘It is the way it should have been dismissed.’ Dubovy and her husband plan to appeal the ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. Their lawyer, Barak Lurie, said the judge ‘misapplied’ ADA law and ‘went beyond what he is authorized to do.’ That appeal is expected to be filed sometime this month. In August 2005, Scout leaders told Casey’s parents that he could only attend a weeklong, Scout rite of passage at Catalina’s Emerald Bay if his father came to supervise him. Casey’s father was an assistant Scoutmaster and frequently attended the Troop’s outings, and his brother is an Eagle Scout. But his father’s health prevented him from attending that summer’s event and his brother was not allowed to attend the event and supervise Casey. In Casey’s four years of Scouting, his disability had presented difficulties for the troop. He is physically weaker than his peers and often needs assistance on long hikes. Also troubling for troop leaders was Casey’s frequent use of foul language and his propensity to become hyperactive, which they insisted only Casey’s father could control. ‘We didn’t do anything wrong,’ said Troop 223 Scoutmaster Mike Lanning in a press release. ‘It is standard practice in scouting to ask a parent to accompany a Scout with disabilities whose behavior appears to endanger himself and others. With the help of their parents, our troop has worked successfully with many Scouts with various disabilities. Most have attained the rank of Eagle.’ Lanning has run Troop 223 in the Palisades for more than five decades, and the Troop has produced more Eagle Scouts than any other troop nationwide. As volunteers, Troop leaders receive no specific training to deal with special-needs children. And Casey’s parents said that lack of preparation created an inhospitable environment for their son and other students with special needs. When Casey used profanity or other Scouts with disabilities would not follow orders, Scout leaders would respond by yelling or threatening punishment, said Mike Reilly. Despite the case’s dismissal, there are signs that the suit might have already changed Boy Scouts’ special-needs training. ‘This experience is a reminder to provide additional training for our leaders and parents,’ said Harrop, who oversees 27,000 Scouts within L.A. County. An advisory committee will review the current practices toward special-needs students and recommend ways to better serve those Scouts, Harrop told the Palisadian-Post.
