A recently released police report details the motives of a Los Angeles School Policeman currently under investigation for a violent confrontation with students on September 19 at the back of Sav-on Drugs on Swarthmore Ave in Pacific Palisades. Still undisclosed is the complete record of Officer John Taylor, which has been a cause of concern and debate within the Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) in previous years. In late 2002, a superior officer at the LASPD blocked Taylor’s promotion to become a training officer. The officer cited ‘a series of excessive-force incidents which would have made him ineligible to train anyone, much less continue his tenure as a police officer.’ Following a complaint, Taylor’s superior officers announced on September 28 at a Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting that LASPD’s office of Internal Affairs would review the September 19 confrontation, in which Taylor used pepper spray to subdue youths near Sav-on’s loading dock. LASPD representatives will also appear tonight at 7 p.m. at the Palisades Community Council to discuss the investigation with concerned community members. According to LASPD officials, Taylor has been investigated before for his use of ‘excessive’ force. He has not, however, been found guilty of abusing his power by any previous Internal Affairs investigation. Taylor is already facing lawsuits alleging he used excessive force. One was filed in 2005 related to his use of force at Hamilton High School in 2001. That case was dismissed but is currently being appealed. Another lawsuit, filed this year, charges him with using an unnecessary amount of force to detain a 15-year-old female student at Crenshaw High in 2005. In addition, the family of a Paul Revere Middle School student who was arrested and sprayed with pepper spray on September 19 is expected to file a lawsuit this year. According to a former high-ranking official with decades of experience in the LASPD, Taylor’s police reports have also been the target of criticism before. The City Attorney’s office has complained to the LASPD on several occasions that Taylor’s reports have lacked the ‘elements of a crime’ necessary to bring charges against alleged perpetrators and have cited subjects “without cause and with exaggerated circumstances,” said the official. To the frustration of parents and other community members, Taylor remains a patrol officer in the area despite an ongoing investigation, and he monitors local public schools and areas throughout the Palisades where students congregate. According to the former LASPD official, it has been standard practice to reassign investigated officers until an investigation is complete. But LASPD officials defended their decision to keep Taylor in Palisades based upon the “totality of circumstances.” A long list of outstanding internal investigations could delay a decision by Internal Affairs beyond the original projection of nine weeks, said Lt. Tim Anderson, who is overseeing 73 internal investigations with six full-time detectives. Anderson insisted that an LASPD investigation would work to examine both sides of the complaint impartially and thoroughly. At this point, it is unclear how much more time than nine weeks will be needed. In recent years at the LASPD, large backlogs have sometimes led to embarrassing consequences. In 2004, an officer was recommended for dismissal after an investigation for his ‘excessive use of force,’ but he could not be fired because the investigation took longer than District law allowed. That officer continues to work at the LASPD. In 2005, Internal Affairs received more resources from a new chief of police. No officers recommended for dismissal have kept their jobs through a similar technicality since then, Anderson said. In his report, which the Palisadian-Post recently acquired through the Los Angeles Unified School District, Taylor defended his use of force as necessary to preserve his authority in the face of a disobedient and ‘irate’ crowd of local juveniles. According to the report, Taylor was in the middle of interviewing several male students riding skateboards on the loading dock behind Sav-on when ‘Subject 1’ (identified in eyewitness accounts as a 14-year-old male Palisades Charter High student) directed an obscenity at Taylor. When the officer asked the boy to approach him, the student allegedly continued using obscenities and ‘stiffened [his] body in an aggressive posture as if [he] was going to strike’ the officer. Taylor describes grabbing Subject 1’s wrist and holding him in a ‘rear wrist lock.’ He was then handcuffed and placed in the rear of the police car. During this time, Taylor wrote that a crowd of 60 to 70 juveniles began to gather around him. ‘Subject 2’ (identified as a 13-year-old male Revere student in eyewitness statements) asked why his friend was handcuffed in Taylor’s car. When the officer refused to answer Subject 2’s question, the boy shouted obscenities at Taylor and allegedly turned toward the right rear passenger door of Taylor’s patrol vehicle. ‘Believing that Subject 2 might attempt to free Subject 1, I grabbed onto [Subject 2’s] shoulders and turned [him] around 180 degrees,’ Taylor wrote. The officer then told Subject 2 to leave the scene. The boy allegedly walked around Taylor and toward the vehicle. At that point, Taylor began struggling to place Subject 2 in handcuffs. As he fought to arrest the juvenile, Taylor wrote that the crowd increased to 100 or more juveniles and ‘began closing in on’ him. He ordered the crowd to get back, but he alleges they did not obey his commands. Fearing that several members of the crowd (which he said had grown to as many as 200 people) could jump on top of him, injure him and possibly steal his gun, Taylor sprayed Subject 2 with ‘one short burst’ of the chemical spray. The boy immediately fell to the ground and was handcuffed. Taylor admits deploying the chemical spray on someone else (identified in eyewitness statements as a female PaliHi student) who approached Subject 2 while the Subject was on the ground because he initially suspected the person of trying to take his ‘prisoner.’ It was later discovered that the girl was trying to administer first-aid to Subject 2 who lay screaming in pain on the ground. Taylor radioed for immediate backup to keep the crowd away from the crime scene. Subject 1 was cited for using “offensive words most likely to cause an immediate and violent reaction/challenging to fight based on his words and physical aggressive behavior.’ And Subject 2 was cited for ‘disobedience to a police officer’ and taken by paramedics to the hospital. Eyewitness accounts reported to the Post conflict with some of the main facts asserted by Taylor, mainly the scope of the danger and the need of his use of the chemical spray. According to the officer’s report only two individuals were affected by the spray. In a statement received by the Post, one witness said that the officer unnecessarily used the spray at close range toward a non-threatening crowd that encircled the scene. The witness said that between five to seven people were affected by the spray, including himself, innocent juveniles and an elderly man. LASPD officials said that Officer Taylor would not speak to the Post. Taylor’s lawyer did not respond to several requests for an interview.
Waldorf School Opens on Sunset in November
If all goes well, 100 Waldorf School students in grades 1 through 8 will be moving out of their temporary classrooms in a Santa Monica church and into their new school in Pacific Palisades next month. Executive Director Jeffrey Graham told the Palisadian-Post this week that the new campus, located on Sunset just north of Pacific Coast Highway, will open in two phases. ‘We are focusing on completing the courtyard for the grades, and have applied for a temporary certificate of occupancy for that portion, and we expect to be through that process in November,’ Graham said. ‘The kindergarten and early childhood education wing will be completed by January.’ The facilities, which sit on an acre and a half of land, were originally constructed as a motel and restaurant (the Santa Ynez Inn) in 1946, and then converted into a Transcendental Meditation Center in 1976. Many of the 24 guest rooms surrounding the courtyard have been converted into classrooms and offices, said Graham. The former kitchen has been converted into a theater for dance and music productions, to which the public will be invited. Construction on the $3-million remodeling incorporates green technology where possible. There are cork floors throughout the building, and denim material has been used for insulation. The wood siding on the facade maintains the feeling of the former Santa Ynez Inn, and there is redwood fencing around the perimeter of the property, which is owned by the adjacent Self-Realization Fellowship (and leased to the school for 25 years). Planners also envision eco-friendly landscaping and a biodynamic garden that sustains a diversity of plant and animal life. The school, located at a particularly busy section of Sunset between Los Liones Drive and PCH, will be operating on an interim transportation plan approved by the City of Los Angeles until a traffic signal is installed at the intersection of Los Liones and Sunset. Those entering the school from Sunset will turn into a two-lane entrance cut out at the shopping mall (Kentucky Fried Chicken), drive in, drop off children and exit from the north exit, which is currently used by residents at the SRF. Waldorf has been meeting with the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Department of Transportation and Castellammare homeowners on the traffic light. ‘The Getty is willing to pay a share of the cost, but we are still talking with the city about streamlining the design, to cut down on the cost,’ Graham said. ‘We want to make it safe and look right, but also to accommodate the needs.’ The Waldorf School is part of an association of Rudolf Steiner/Waldorf schools with 1,200 campuses worldwide. The educational program integrates the arts and sciences within an art-based curriculum that addresses all learning styles: logical, linguistic, spatial, kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal and intrapersonal.
Bill Overpeck: Architect, 52-Year Local Resident
Warren Frazier (“Bill”) Overpeck, a wide-ranging architect who had lived in Santa Monica Canyon and Pacific Palisades for the past 52 years, passed away peacefully in his sleep on October 6. He was 81. Bill was born on September 26, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. He grew up in Westwood, loved track and football, and attended Emerson Junior High School and University High School. During World War II, Bill was a cadet in the Army Air Corps. After the war, he attended UCLA and graduated from USC’s School of Architecture. Bill’s first date with his future wife Margie was all thanks to Margie’s mother, who thought Bill was terribly handsome and very polite. She suggested that Margie invite him to join them at the family home in Palm Springs for Desert Circus week. The romance blossomed and Bill and Margie were married in 1952. Bill loved being an architect and continued to work until the day he died. Locally, he designed two Overpeck residences, the Gowland house, the Willis house, 25 townhouses in the Palisades Highlands and classroom buildings at St. Matthew’s, and remodeled the Jonathan Beach Club, the Bel-Air Bay Club and The Beach Club. In Marina del Rey, Bill designed the Marina City Club, the Promenade restaurant, and the Second Story restaurant. In Malibu, his buildings include the Zukin residence and the Malibu Professional Park. In Hollywood, he created the Kahse residence, the Sproule residence, the Gorst/Blackwell residence, and Wallach’s Music City. He designed hospitals and convalescent centers all over California, the United Methodist Church of Westlake Village and Agoura Hills, Church of the Oaks in Thousand Oaks, the Beverly Hillcrest Hotel, the Santa Monica Medical Building, the Beta Theta Pi House at USC, the Delta Gamma House at USC, the Friendly Woods Cluster Housing in Whittier, the John Thomas Dye School in Bel-Air and Ontario Motor Speedway. As a volunteer member of the Bel-Air Homeowners’ Association Architectural Review Board, Bill enjoyed conferring with his fellow architects. Bill’s greatest joy was his wife Margie, to whom he was married for 54 years. He also leaves behind two children, Peter and Destie; son-in-law Tom Isley; and two granddaughters, Alice and Lisa Isley. The entire family often traveled together to Yosemite, Mexico, Hawaii, England, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, sometimes with art supplies so that they could paint pictures together. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of one’s choice.
Palisades Bowl Residents Fight Conversion
As Palisades Bowl owner Eddie Biggs continues the process to convert the mobile home park above PCH into resident ownership, the residents are enlisting help from state and city officials to prevent the conversion. On Tuesday, three members of the Palisades Bowl Residents’ Association met with government officials, including Laurie Newman (State Senator Sheila Kuehl’s office), Norm Kulla (Bill Rosendahl’s office), Sal Poidonmani and Kim Strange (California Housing and Community Development–HCD) and Pam Emerson (Coastal Commission). The focus of the meeting was the instability of the hillside below Asilomar and above the Bowl and the liability that the owners would have to assume if the conversion were allowed to proceed. Although the land in the mobile park is under state jurisdiction, part of the hill directly below Asilomar is under city jurisdiction. Additionally, the entire hill is under the domain of the Coastal Commission. The dueling jurisdictions have left the residents with numerous unresolved maintenance issues. Last Friday, Palisades Bowl residents recalled the recent history of the hill. They told the Palisadian-Post of the fire that burned the mountain behind them in January 2004 and how L.A. Firefighters stopped it from progressing up the hill, saving houses on Asilomar. They remembered how the then owner of the Bowl was cited by the city because there wasn’t adequate water pressure (which was discovered while the firemen were fighting the fire). To the residents’ knowledge, the problem was never fixed. They recalled how, during the rains in 2005, the hill slid once again and the Fire Department ordered the evacuation of 12 tenants. Some were still without gas nine months later. Some units were without electricity, but that was eventually “fixed” by hanging an electrical wire between the park’s laundry room and a palm tree and then stringing it to another tree close to the hillside. When a city official was asked Tuesday who would be responsible if the wire fell during an earthquake and started another fire on the hill, the official, who did not want to be quoted, told the Post that the Fire Department would put it out, but that one problem with the Bowl was that no single government agency was responsible for that area. Glen Bell of Neighborhood Friends, which advocates for mobile home parks, said that although the state is responsible for conducting inspections in the Palisades Bowl, HCD is grossly underfunded. “Less than 5 percent of mobile parks will ever be seen,” Bell said. “Parks could go 30 years without ever having been inspected.” In the Bowl, the street has been dug up numerous times and been filled in unevenly; some of the roads are surfaced with gravel. The sewage pipes have been replaced, but the city and Coastal Commission did not conduct any inspections. Some Bowl residents have asked to replace their older homes on the pads with newer ones, as well as other construction, but the owner has issued a moratorium on building and construction. Biggs’ lawyer David Spangenberger explained that the reason the streets have been dug up is that new water, gas and sewer lines were installed connecting the mobile homes to the street. Currently, the main lines connecting to the laterals are being replaced. When asked about the electrical wire hanging between palm trees, Spangenberger said, “The electric system is owned by DWP. We are working with them to improve the system.” In terms of new buildings and construction, that is tied up with the electrical system as well, according to Spangenberger. The current system can’t handle the requirements of newer homes. Other construction is also stopped until it can be determined where the drainage systems will go. “We may have to transverse someone’s lot,” Spangenberger said. “We don’t want to have to dig up something they may have just built.” Councilman Rosendahl has said, “I’m very concerned about Palisades Bowl residents and the diminishing affordable housing stock which includes the Bowl.” He will meet with residents and the press at the Bowl on Monday to look at issues first-hand.
Calendar for the Week of October 12
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12 Campfire program “Nighttime Tricks to Find Treats,” 6:30 p.m. in Temescal Gateway Park. Meet at the campfire center and discover what tricks the park animals use to find their food and survive. Celebrate the campfire tradition with stories, songs and marshmallows. Bring a blanket and jacket. Parking: $5. Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m., Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. Public invited. Melissa Clark signs her novel, “Swimming Upstream, Slowly,” 7:30 p.m., Village Books on Swarthmore. Sasha hasn?t slept with anyone in more than two years, but her body has unwittingly hosted a medical anomaly known as ?lazy sperm.? Now she must summon the courage to revisit her past loves as her future takes shape within her. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14 Flu shots at Knolls Pharmacy on Marquez Avenue, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. First come, first served. Immunizations are $25 for customers 9 years of age and older. Medicare Part B patients (non-HMO) are welcome to participate at no charge. Onsite Wellness Service, Inc. bills Medicare directly. Palisades author Carolyn See discusses her new work of fiction, “There Will Never Be Another You: A Novel,” 2 p.m., Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. The story, which takes place primarily at the UCLA Medical Center in the spring of 2007, addresses ways in which we have been transformed by the events of September 11, 2001. This public event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15 Praise Anthem Sunday, featuring three powerful anthems by Rossini, Ashford and Gary Murphy, with Ayana Haviv as soloist, 8:30 a.m. traditional service, Calvary Church of Pacific Palisades, 701 Palisades Dr. Public invited. “This will be an awesome musical praise to God,” said choral director Gary Murphy. Monthly Temescal Canyon Association Sunday hikes resume today with a hike in Hondo Canyon from Old Topanga Road to Fossil Ridge. This hike is about 8 miles round-trip with moderate elevation gains. Meet at 9 a.m. in the Temescal Gateway parking lot for carpooling. Wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes. Bring lunch and water. No dogs. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17 Storytime for children ages 3 and up, 4 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. Orchid specialist Harold Koopowitz will be the featured speaker at the Malibu Orchid Society meeting, 7 p.m. at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford. “If These Walls Could Talk: The Story of the Pacific Palisades Chautauqua,” a talk by local author and historian Betty Lou Young, 7:30 p.m. in the dining hall in Temescal Gateway Park. Free admission and parking. (See story, page 18.) Chamber Music Palisades? season-opening concert, 8 p.m. in the sanctuary at St. Matthew’s Church, 1031 Bienveneda. (See story, page 15.) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18 Monthly meeting of the Potrero Canyon Community Advisory Committee, 7:15 p.m., in the old gym at the Palisades Recreation Center, 851 Alma Real. Public invited. David Mark signs “Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning,” 7:30 p.m., Village Books on Swarthmore. This is a history of negative campaigning in American politics and an examination of how candidates and political consultants have employed this often controversial technique. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 An Evening with Editors as Writers, featuring Gina Frangello, Stacy Bierlein, Leelila Strogov and Cheryl Alu, 7:30 p.m., Village Books on Swarthmore. Frangello serves as executive director of Other Voices magazine and will read from “My Sister’s Continent,” an edgy, compelling, first novel. Stacy Bierlein’s fiction has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies. Strogov and Alu are editors at Swink Magazine. Annual Country Bazaar tonight and all day tomorrow at the United Methodist Church, 801 Via de la Paz. (See story, page 20.) _______________________________SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE______________________ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 “Understanding November’s Ballot Measures,” a presentation by Palisadian Iris Kaphan of the League of Women Voters, hosted by the Palisades Democratic Club, 7 p.m., Mort’s Oak Room on Swarthmore. Public invited. Food available at Mort’s. Gala opening concert for the Music at St. Matthew’s season, featuring the St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra and the Men and Boys Choir of Hereford Cathedral, England, 8 p.m., in the sanctuary, 1031 Bienveneda Ave. Admission at the door: $25. (See story, page TK.) The Friends of the Library and the local AARP chapter will present the 1939 comedy ?Midnight,? starring Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, Mary Astor and John Barrymore, 2 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. _____________________________________ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 Monthly storytime program for babies and toddlers (under age 3), and their parents and caregivers, 10:15 a.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. The new program, which combines stories, songs and fingerplays, will continue December 6. Contact: 459-2754.
Elie Enjoys Field Day
Raymond Elie is not just a quarterback. He is an athlete. All of his skills were on display Friday night at Stadium by the Sea, where the Palisades High senior put on a show for the home fans in the Dolphins’ 35-14 intersectional victory over St. Monica. Elie was involved in four of Palisades’ five touchdowns. He finished with 64 yards rushing in nine carries, including touchdown runs of eight and 16 yards and he completed five of 11 pass attempts for 83 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Sudsy Dyke. To cap it all off, Elie scored the Dolphins’ final touchdown on a 13-yard interception return with 37 seconds remaining. Robert Gillett rushed nine times for 65 yards and opened the scoring on a two-yard run early in the second quarter. Deonte Baker caught two passes for 29 yards and Milton Strausberg added two receptions for 21 yards in Pali’s final tune-up before the start of league play. For the fourth time in five games, Palisades (3-2) had at least one touchdown called back on a penalty–this time negating a 50-yard run by Gillett. In all, the Dolphins were whistled for 12 infractions totaling 100 yards, but it did little to deter them against the winless Mariners (0-5). St. Monica, a Southern Section school barely one-fifth the size of Palisades, pulled to within 21-7 on James Wright’s 84-yard kick-off return midway through the third quarter, but Pali responded on the ensuing drive with Elie’s scoring pass to Dyke. St. Monica quarterback David Aiello was intercepted three times–twice by Elie and once by Dyke, although Elie was not credited with a diving grab because the referee mistakenly ruled that the ball had touched the ground. Backup quarterback Michael Latt played the last several offensive series for Palisades, completing two of his four pass attempts for 17 yards. Tailback Dajuan Cofield, who re-injured an ankle against Granada Hills, was cleared to play against St. Monica but was held out of the game in order to be 100 percent for Palisades’ Western League opener against L.A. University (4-1) this Friday night. Palisades is 0-10 in league games under current Head Coach Leo Castro. To earn a playoff berth, the Dolphins will likely need to win at least two league games. Their first opportunity will be tomorrow at Stadium by the Sea against a Wildcat squad that beat Palisades 36-19 last year and 52-14 in 2004. The frosh/soph game will be at 4 p.m. followed by the varsity game at 7 p.m.
Babos Wins Singles Title at Riviera
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Suzy Babos picked the right time to get hot. Entering last week’s Women’s All-American Tennis Championships at Riviera Country Club, the University of California junior had won 10 consecutive singles matches. Her streak reached 15 on Sunday afternoon when she outlasted Fresno State’s Melanie Gloria, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8) in the final–the first time in the history of the event that the championship match was decided in a tiebreaker. Babos took a 4-0 lead in the third set before holding off a determined Gloria. With the victory, Babos became the first player in 11 years to reach the finals of all three national collegiate events. Her trifecta began when she won the NCAA singles championship in May and continued with her run to the finals of the ITA National Indoor Championships as a freshman in 2004. Prior to Riviera, Babos won the Cal Invitational singles title, so she arrived in Pacific Palisades on a wave of confidence. She won five matches in four days at the All-American Championships, including victories over four players ranked in the top 40 nationally. Babos, whose hometown is Sopron, Hungary, became the second Golden Bear ever to win the singles title at Riviera, joining Raquel Kops-Jones who won it in 2003. Babos will be one of the favorites in the second leg of the women’s “Triple Crown”– the National Indoor Championships, held November 2-5 in Columbus, Ohio. In Thursday’s first round Babos defeated Jenna Long of North Carolina, 6-3, 6-4. In the second round, Babos beat second-seeded Kristi Miller of Georgia Tech, 6-4, 6-4, and in the third round she beat Caitlin Burke of Wisconsin, 6-3, 6-2. In the semifinals, Babos rallied to beat South Florida’s Shadisha Robinson, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 and Gloria ousted top-seeded Audra Cohen of Miami, who won the Riviera event as a qualifier while she was a freshman at Northwestern in 2004. In the doubles draw, fourth-seeded Roxanne Clarke and Kady Pooler of Arizona State knocked off defending champions Catrina and Christian Thompson of Notre Dame in a pro set, 8-4, to claim their school’s first All-American doubles championship. Seeded No. 3, the Thompsons were playing in their third consecutive final at Riviera yet they found themselves down 5-0 early to the Sun Devils’ senior duo. Clark (who hails from South Africa) and Pooler (Laguna Niguel) won four matches in four days, with three of their victories over teams ranked in the top 30 nationally. The ASU partners opened with a 8-1 victory over Brook Buck and Kelcy Teft of Notre Dame. In the round of 16, Pooler and Clarke beat Benik and Sukvak of FLorida, 8-6. In the quarterfinals, they beat Buck and Teft 8-1 and in the semifinals they edged Daniela Bercek and Elizabeth Plotkin of Duke, 9-8, by dominating the tiebreaker 7-2. Babos partnered with Cal teammate Zsuzsanna Fodor and the pair was seeded second in the doubles draw. After winning their first match, however, they fell 8-4 to Megan Moulton-Levy and Katarina Zorcic of William & Mary. Qualifying matches started last Tuesday. Over 100 of the top collegiate players representing 45 schools competed in the 23rd annual event. Riviera has hosted the tournament every year since 1988. Three players have won back-to-back WAATC singles titles at Riviera. The first was Stanford’s Sandra Birch, who lost the 1988 final to Cardinal teammate Tami Whitlinger, then won the next two years, each time beating a Stanford teammate in the finals. Paloma Collantes of Mississippi won in 1991 and repeated in 1992 and San Diego’s Zuzana Lesenarova won back-to-back in 1998-99. Nicole Leimbach of Texas Christian defeated Bercek 6-3, 6-4 to win the 2005 singles title. Palisades High graduate and 1989 Palisadian-Post Cup winner Heather Willens and Stanford teammate Laxmi Poruri won the doubles title in 1992, beating Alabama’s Marouschka van Dijk and Titia Wilmink. Six years later, Santa Monica’s Marissa Irvin paired with Stanford teammate Teryn Ashley to win the doubles championship over Vanessa Catellano and Marissa Catlin of Georgia. For complete tournament results, log on to the official ITA website is www.itatennis.com.
Humby Retains World Title
Palisades kickboxing champion Baxter Humby defended his International Muay Thai Council world title last Saturday at the Hollywood Park Casino, winning a unanimous decision over Douglas Edwards of Atlanta, Georgia. Weighing 156 pounds, the 33-year-old champion knocked his 25-year-old opponent down in the third round en route to the victory, which improved his professional record to 27-4 with 12 knockouts. In his previous fight, Humby defended his IMTC superwelterweight world title with a five-round unanimous decision over European champion Edward Denobrego on August 20 at the same venue. Known as the “One-Armed Bandit” because he was born with only part of his right arm, Humby has won 15 world kickboxing titles. With Saturday’s win, his combined amateur and pro record reads 63 wins, nine losses, one draw and 23 ko’s. Humby teaches kickboxing at the Palisades-Malibu YMCA and at Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center in the village. In addition to kickboxing, Humby is an actor.
Upcoming Athletic Events
Gene’s Team Tryouts Tryouts for Gene Selznick’s club volleyball teams will be held this Sunday, October 8, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Palisades High gym. Girls ages 14-17 are invited. Call 989-4809 for more information. YMCA Fitness Classes The Palisades-Malibu YMCA has added new fitness classes to its back to school schedule. From 8 a.m. to noon Monday-Friday, ‘Boot Camp/Body Works,’ ‘Cardio-Kickboxing’ and ‘Mat Pilates’ willbe offered and fitness counselors will be on hand daily in the gym. Childwatch hours have been expanded from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and free seven-day guest passes are available Call 454-5591 for more information. Santa Monica 5000 Generic Events has announced that actor Isaiah Washington, who plays Dr. Preston Burke on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” will be firing the starting gun at the inaugural Saint John’s Santa Monica 5000 on Sunday, October 22. The race will feature a ‘Media Mile,’ in which several of L.A.’s prominent reporters and photographers will have an opportunity to compete against each other in a friendly one-mile competition. This scenic 5k and 10k race starts and finishes near the Santa Monica Pier and features great ocean views and a post-event party on the pier. The party will feature several live bands including L.A.-based ‘Kelly’s Lot,’ ‘New Maximum Donkey,’ ‘Seeking Zenith,’ and ‘For Pete’s Sake.’ Participants can also look forward to a pancake breakfast served by ‘Survivor’ Kim Powers, gait analysis performed by Coach Pat Connelly and activities for children including balloon animals, face painting, and a magician who works with live animals. Race funds will help Saint John’s Health Center build its replacement hospital, which will include a new Emergency Department. For more information, log on to the Web site at www.santamonica5000.com/media. Westside Challenge Tennis players of all skills levels are now being recruited to participate in the ninth-annual “Westside Challenge to Beat Breast Cancer” on Saturday, October 21, at the UCLA/Los Angeles Tennis Center. The event will feature up to 84 players in a round-robin tennis marathon, followed by a reception at the nearby Straus Clubhouse. All players receive a souvenir bag filled with various items, are eligible for prizes and invited to pre-event instructional clinics run by tennis professionals. For a player packet or more information, e-mail coordinator Rick Grant at ricgrant1@earthlink.net or call 823-0157.
Parkins Sisters Headline In CMP Concert Oct. 17
In CMP Concert Oct. 17 Music ranging from a Vivaldi concerto dating to the late 17th century to a trio by Gernot Wolfgang composed this year will be featured works in Chamber Music Palisades’ season-opening concert at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17 in the sanctuary of St. Matthew’s Parish at 1031 Bienveneda. Representing the centuries between will be music by Mozart (18th), Mendelssohn (19th) and Piazzola (20th). Guest artists are the prize-winning Parkins sisters, violinist Sara and cellist Margaret, who will be joined by CMP’s own co-artistic directors flutist Susan Greenberg and pianist Delores Stevens. The specific works to be performed will be Vivaldi’s Concerto in D Major for flute, violin and cello, Mozart’s Overture to the ‘Marriage of Figaro’ for flute and violin, Mendelssohn’s Trio No. 2 in C Minor for violin, cello and piano, Piazzola’s tangos for violin, cello and piano and Wolfgang’s ‘Jazz and Cocktails’ for violin, cello and piano. Violinist Sara Parkins won a Grammy award as a member of the Angeles String Quartet and was a member of that group when they recorded all the Haydn string quartets for Philips Classics. She is currently a member of the Eclipse Quartet, an ensemble specializing in new music and mixed media collaborations, and the Mojave Piano Trio. In New York, she performs with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Philharmonia Virtuosi. She studied at Juilliard, Curtis, the San Francisco Conservatory and holds a master’s degree from SUNY at Stonybrook. Cellist Margaret Parkins was a prize winner at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Stonybrook Piano Trio. She has performed in concerts, tours and festivals throughout North and South America and Europe. Recently she was a guest artist with the Pequenia Ensemble in Argentina. She has been professor of cello at UC Irvine since 1997. The concert will be the first program of the 10th season of chamber music presented by Chamber Music Palisades. The series was started in 1997 and frequently features principal players from both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Single-admission tickets will be available at the door for $25 and students with ID will be admitted free of charge. For information on the CMP series, call 459-2070 or go to the Web site: cmpalisades.org.
