Respected doctor and great golfer Lloyd Herman Thee, Jr., M.D. passed away on Memorial Day from multiple health complications. He was 84. Lloyd was a devoted husband, family doctor, medical officer, best friend, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, sports enthusiast and everyone’s hero. Born on August 22, 1921 in Long Beach to loving parents Lloyd and Louis Thee, he had a fulfilling childhood and loved playing baseball in high school. During this time Lloyd was oblivious to the flirtations of a junior high school girl named Mary Kathryn Pollard, (a.k.a. “Polly”), who first spotted him at a bus stop on the way to school and never kept her eyes off of him. Lloyd and Polly began dating just before Lloyd went off to Missouri to get his B.S. from Central College Fayette in the Navy V-12 program. They kept in touch via love letters for one year, when finally Lloyd returned on summer vacation for five days, proposing on the first day. They married on June 31, 1944 at the United Methodist Church. Lloyd moved his family to Pennsylvania while he pursued his M.D. from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. He and Polly had three children before graduation: Tom, Jim and Susie. Lloyd then graduated in 1948 and moved back to California. John, Nancy and Danny were born over the next few years in the Palisades. In 1949, Dr. Thee established his private practice in the Palisades until 1951, when he enlisted in the Navy and served as a medical officer until 1953. He returned and continued his private practice in the Palisades until 1988. Lloyd has a myriad of medical certifications, memberships and hospital affiliations, some of the highlights being Chief of Staff at Santa Monica Hospital in 1973-74; American Board of Family Physicians member in 1972, 1978 and 1984; an affiliate of St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica from 1949 to 1988; and a member of the American Medical Association. While living in the Palisades with Polly and their six children, Lloyd was not only a wonderful doctor but a proud family man. He was a Boy Scout troop leader and head coach for all the sports teams throughout his sons’ Little League years and high school. He also belonged to the Santa Monica Boys Club Board of Directors for 20 years. The family took many unique and memorable vacations, including a seven-month trip around the country to celebrate Lloyd and Polly’s 20th anniversary. Lloyd retired in March 1988 and moved to Laguna Niguel. He and Polly spent the latter part of these years traveling the world, to places like Africa, India, South America and Europe. Everyone remembers Lloyd for his respect, pride in his family and his medical practice. You could call him with any problem and he always knew the right answer. He was an honest gentleman, a great golfer and bridge player, and loved to eat chocolate. Lloyd is survived by his wife, Polly, six children: Tom in Canyon Country, Jim, in Montana, Susan Schlede (husband Terry) in Laguna Niguel, John in Camarillo, Nancy in Laguna Niguel, and Danny (wife Karen) in Oregon; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A longtime resident of Malibu and Pacific Palisades, Ruth Binder died of heart failure in early June in Yucca Valley, where she and her husband, Lowell, had lived for two years. She was 92. Ruth worked as an R.N. in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Stationed in the Aleutian Islands, she frequently flew to the South Pacific to pick up soldiers critically wounded in battle and operated on them in the air while the plane was en route to the hospital in San Francisco. She retired from service with a rank of commander. After World War II she continued her nursing career at, among other places, Santa Monica Hospital, where she was on the staff of surgeons along with fellow longtime Palisadian Roy Therriot, M.D. Ruth also acted as auxiliary to Lowell’s career as a successful real estate broker on Spring Street in Los Angeles. Ruth and Lowell moved to Malibu in 1948, where they lived until their home was burned in a fire in the early 1990s, after which they relocated to Marquez Place in the Palisades. Ruth was active in civil and social work, including the Pacific Palisades Woman’s Club and Federated Past Presidents Club, Les Marraines for the Blind Children’s Center and Pacific Palisades Republican Women. Besides Lowell, Ruth is survived by a daughter, a son and grandchildren.
Lunchtime on Tuesday at Mort’s Deli at 1035 Swarthmore. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
While there has been speculation in the Palisades village for weeks that a change in ownership of Mort’s Deli is “imminent,” owner Bobbie Farberow told the Palisadian-Post on Monday that she had “no comment.” Although she is not prepared to sign the lease recently offered to her by the landlord, Palisades Partners, she is said to be still trying to negotiate in good faith. (See Editorial, page 2). However, the Post has learned that at least two parties have been working for several months to acquire the popular eatery on the 1000 block of Swarthmore. Apparently former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, who owns The Pantry downtown and has an interest in Gladstone’s restaurant, is interested in acquiring the deli, as is a group of investors headed by longtime Palisadian Robert Klein, a vice president at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. While Klein, who is on vacation in Hawaii, did acknowledge that discussions have been under way “for some time,” he said that no agreement has yet been reached with either deli owner Farberow or Palisades Partners. Klein did say that a number of local investors are involved and that the plan is “to keep the name and enhance the menu.” However Klein noted that at this point “there are still a lot of unanswered questions,” including “when and if Farberow will retire.” He also said there is the larger question regarding the future of Palisades Partners, which represents several family trusts. It has been rumored that in the last year there has been growing acrimony among the three managing partners on the direction their business should take, fueling speculation that they are considering perhaps selling off all or part of their commercial interests in the village, which includes 18 of the 22 storefronts on Swarthmore, as well as half of the buildings in the 15200 block north of Sunset’including Pearl Dragon and the U.S. Bank. Klein noted in a phone conversation on Monday with the Palisadian-Post that whoever is going to invest in the restaurant “is going to be expecting a return. Residents like me who have lived here a long time want to keep Mort’s and the village like it is’with a small-town feel. One thing we know for sure is that we want Mort’s to always be here, as it has been for us and our children.” Palisadian Steve Soboroff, who said that his five children “grew up at Mort’s,” agrees. “What kind of a business model are the landlords thinking about here?” asked the developer who spoke with the Post on Tuesday. “No operator is going to accept a three-to-five year lease. At Cross Creek in Malibu we gave Marmalade restaurant a 15-year lease so they could recoup their cost of improvements and make some money. Without the right kind of lease the business will not work out for either the restaurant owner or the landlord. I hope Palisades Partners use their brains and not just think of their wallets when putting this opportunity together. Mort’s isn’t just any deli. It’s a Palisades institution. If they mess with that they could have a problem.”
On June 13 a carob tree failed at the root ball and collapsed on a Chevy Yukon on Ocampo totaling the vehicle. On June 15 a large eucalyptus branch fell on Alma Real a block from where the carob tree had failed the previous day. “The tree gave no warning,” said Yukon owner Michael McRoskey. “It just fell over.” The housekeeper was in the residence and heard a crash. She thought that perhaps it was a garbage truck, but after looking outside, she called McRoskey with the news. “The tree fell over, everyone is okay, but your car is under the tree,” she said. Ocampo was blocked off while an emergency city crew cleared the street. When McRoskey arrived at home, he saw his vehicle had been totaled. “I can’t even get an odometer reading, because the dash was crushed,” McRoskey said. “The scary part is if someone had been driving down that street around noon, they’d be dead.” “We are investigating the tree that failed,” said Nazario Sauceda Bureau of Street Services in the Department of Public Works. “They don’t fall like that typically.” According to Carl Mellinger, a certified arborist, tree failure can be the result of several factors, and each tree needs to be evaluated individually. Some of the causes could include an over-weighted canopy, sidewalk, lawn or irrigation system construction resulting in destroyed roots, or too much or too little water. Eucalyptus trees are prone to a situation called “summer limb drop,” which means they self-prune or shed limbs to protect the tree, Mellinger said. “There’s not a lot of science to explain why it happens, but it’s accepted knowledge.” In the past 10 months in the Huntington Palisades, two carob trees have failed at the roots and three eucalyptus have shed large branches covering the street below. Residents of the Palisades have expressed the need for more pruning on several occasions, including at a December Community Council meeting. At that meeting, Ron Lorenzen, street tree superintendent for the West Valley Region, explained that there are 700,000 street trees under the city’s responsibility, but funding for his department allows for only 70,000 trees per year to be trimmed. Currently, the city’s trees are on a nine- to-10-year pruning cycle. “Certainly, a nine- to- 10-year trimming cycle is not the most desirable,” said Sauceda. But, he added that “the Bureau has worked very closely with the offices of the elected officials to emphasize the need of more resources, considering that in addition to tree trimming, the Urban Forestry Division also performs root pruning, tree removals, stump removals and median island landscaping.” Mellinger said that “In Santa Monica they have fewer trees and more money, so some trees they prune every year. Depending on the tree, pruning is on a three- to- five- to- seven-year cycle, which is ideal.” In February, community activist Dick Littlestone e-mailed Lorenzen with another request for pruning the Huntington’s trees and was told that the contract would be awarded by spring. “We were delayed, but today the city contract was awarded (June 16),” said Sauceda. “We cannot tell the contractor where to go first, but my pledge is to have my staff make a request to do the Huntington as a first part of the contract. “The contractors the city hire also work for other cities and private entities as well, so we have no control over their schedule,” Sauceda added. “In the meantime, we have a certified arborist to inspect and monitor the subject trees until the time they can be trimmed. If there is an emergency, the city will take care of it.” In an e-mail to Robert Weber, Community Council secretary, this past Friday, Lorenzen outlined the bureau’s work load. “Since 7 a.m. this morning, there have been 51 requests for emergency service due to limb and tree failure from the West Valley north of Mullholland and west of the 405 freeway” “It’s unfair for the city to have to take care of the trees with the money they have,” said Mellinger. “The mayor wants to plant a million new trees. I’m curious to know how the City of Los Angeles is going to maintain 1.7 million trees, when they don’t have the budget to maintain the 700,000 we already have. In the long run, it would be cheaper to take care of the trees by putting money up front, rather than handling it with legal expenses caused by damage.”
Steven Boyers, the current Pacific Palisades Community Council vice chairman, will replace Kurt Toppel as chairman beginning July 1. Other executive board members will include Richard Cohen, first vice president-wealth management with Smith Barney, as vice chairman; Susan Nash, an attorney, as secretary; and Ted Mackie, owner of Palisades Bicycles, as treasurer. “Steve has assisted me many times in formulating motions and handling other community matters,” Toppel wrote in an e-mail to the Palisadian-Post last week. “He is pleasant, polite and diplomatic. I have every reason to believe that he will be a good and capable successor.” Boyers, who often comes to Community Council meetings dressed in a suit, is a business lawyer whose practice encompasses the areas of business transactions and litigation, including corporate, partnership, franchise and real estate law. He represents clients in transactional matters throughout the United States but restricts his litigation to California. While he has lived in the Palisades for almost 30 years, he never worked here until about two years ago, when he moved his office from Long Beach to the First Federal Bank building on Sunset. Before Long Beach, Boyers had an office in Santa Monica for several years. “I’ve always gone the other way, towards Santa Monica,” says Boyers, a Rustic Canyon resident who got involved with the Community Council around the same time he moved his law practice here. He was on the Rustic Canyon Homeowners Association’s board of directors and was particularly concerned about the Proposition K spending for renovations at Rustic Canyon Park. When the community became upset with the city’s performance, Boyers was asked to serve on the local volunteer neighborhood oversight committee (VNOC). “George kind of cajoled me [to join the Community Council],” Boyers says of then chairman George Wolfberg. “He passed me on to Norman [Kulla].” (Kulla succeeded Wolfberg as chairman.) Boyers joined the council as an alternate for Area 7 (Rustic Canyon) and then became the Area 7 representative. “It’s been relatively fast,” he says about his move up the PPCC ladder. “The council is really where the rubber meets the road in terms of what it provides to people,” says Boyers, who sees his work with the group as “an opportunity to make an impact, at least on the margins.” “I’ve been amazed by what effective leadership can do in terms of persistence,” he continues. “Twenty percent of the people do 80 percent of the work.” Boyers believes that in order to be effective, the council must be more assertive, prioritize the issues it chooses to address, and “pick battles we can win.” “If you have a reputation of winning, people will take you more seriously,” he says. A native of New Jersey, Boyers earned a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in English from Rutgers in 1964. During his college years, he drove across the country to California because he was thinking of transferring to Stanford. He gained admission, but when his mother died soon thereafter he decided to stay at Rutgers to be closer to his two younger brothers. “I never forgot California,” says Boyers, who earned his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1967. He moved to Los Angeles shortly thereafter and lived in an apartment on the beach in Venice. Boyers met his wife, Sara, in Westwood through a law school classmate. Sara, a native Palisadian, was in the first graduating class from Palisades High School. She is a former music-industry attorney and an award-winning children’s author. Her book “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” pairs the paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat and the words of Maya Angelou. Sara’s father, Jonas Ziering, rode horses in the Fourth of July parades in the 1950s and ’60s. The Boyers married in 1968 and lived in Santa Monica before moving in the late 1970s to Rustic Canyon, where they still live in the same house. They have two children, Jordan, 24, who lives in Oakland, and Lily-Kate, 21, who lives in New Mexico and trains race horses. Boyers left his law practice in the 1980s to run two contract engineering firms’first, Kirk-Mayer, Inc. in West L.A. and then Royalpar Industries in Connecticut. He became executive vice president at both companies and increased their revenues and profits significantly. After 10 years in business, which required constant travel, Boyers decided to return to law. This allowed him to spend more time with his family at home and out on the soccer field, coaching his daughter’s AYSO team, the Strikers. His son played Little League baseball in Rustic Canyon. “What I’m trying to do is be a country squire,” he says about his decision to move his practice to the Palisades and focus his skills and energy on resolving local issues. While Boyers is not retired and does not plan to retire during his yearlong term as council chairman, he plans to spend 10-15 hours a week working on Community Council issues. “I’m trying to make a contribution and pay back, in some way, for being an American in very fortunate circumstances.”
Jim Dorsey to Tell Whales’ Tales at AARP Jim Dorsey, a nationally known photographer, guide and author, will be a guest speaker at the June 28 AARP Travel Group meeting from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Palisades Branch Library, 861 Alma Real. Dorsey is best known to Palisadians as a mail carrier in town for 30 years. Now retired from the Post Office, the artist, writer and photographer is now dedicating full time to his adventures. He has kayaked, canoed, or sailed the rim of fire form Southern Alaska to the top of Baja, plus the Sea of Cortez to study cetaceans. The program will be all about whales: orcas, humpbacks and grays. Dorsey is a certified naturalist with the American Cetacean Society and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, and guides whale-watching trips in both California and Mexico. In his new book, “Tears, Fear & Adventure, 30 Years of Travel off the Beaten Path,” he devotes several Adventures to whale trips. He writes in the prologue about his first encounter with a whale. “The whale passed under me by mere inches and I saw his white saddle patch reflecting sunlight as he slid under me. …My total experience in a kayak has been less than an hour and yet in that minimal time I have come face to face with a wild 10-ton carnivore. …I notice I am holding a camera in a shaky hand but have no memory of taking a picture. I am terrified and exhilarated; and I do not know that my life has been changed forever.” Dorsey will bring copies of his book to the meeting. Aquadoptions at Aquarium Open to Individuals, Schools The Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, managed by Heal the Bay, has introduced its Aquadoption, a new program that allows people to adopt animals in the Aquarium for one year. All adoptions are good for one year and can also be given as gifts. Those who adopt receive a photo and fact sheet about the animal, along with literature about the Aquarium and Heal the Bay. Two free family passes are also included so that recipients can visit their foster animal. Eight species of animals are available for adoption, including a purple sea urchin, a California spiny lobster and a two-spot octopus. The price for adoption varies from $25 for a sea star to $100 for the lobster to $750 for the two-spot octopus. “Aquadoption is a great way to commit to keeping our bay and its animals healthy and safe,” said Vicki Wawerchak, director of the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. Schools and organizations are also encouraged to adopt. Santa Monica Pier Aquarium is located beneath the carousel at the Santa Monica Pier. Exhibits include interactive displays, large tanks featuring animals and habitats representative of the Santa Monica Bay, and touch tanks where visitors can touch tidepool animals. Contact: 393-6149 or visit the Web site: www.healthebay.org/smpa. Interactive Kids’ Musical, June 25 In Topanga “The Ohmies!,” the interactive off-Broadway hit musical for children integrating world music, movement and creative problem-solving, will play at The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga on Sunday, June 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 per person. Presented by Theatricum Botanicum, in association with Ohmies Entertainment, F O C Productions and Festival of Children, the musical helps children ages 2 to 6 understand themselves and the world around them by promoting pro-social concepts such as friendship, teamwork and diversity. The show motivates children to center their minds and strengthen their bodies. Visit www.theohmies.com. The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. Parking is available. Box office hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from noon to 6 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Call 455-2322 or visit www.theatricum.com. Methodists to Host Hoedown on June 30 Community United Methodist Church will hold the second family fun event in its “Family Chautauqua Series” program on June 30 at 7 p.m. “Boot Scoot and Boogie,” a one-night-only hoedown, will feature live country music, games, tacos and line dancing for all ages. Admission is free. The church is located at 801 Via de la Paz. Tickets for games and food are $1. All donations support CUMC programs for children and youth.
“If you didn’t have fun in high school, you’re not going to like this,” Sarah Kelly says about her feature-length film “The Lather Effect,” which will make its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival June 26 in Westwood Village. Kelly, who grew up in Pacific Palisades, wrote and directed the comedy about a group of high school friends in their mid-30s who reunite for one final weekend at the house where they spent most of their teenage years partying. The set is modeled after her parents’ home in the Alphabet Streets, and two scenes were shot at Palisades High School. The story was inspired by Kelly’s own nostalgia about her teenage years in the 1980s, and her desire to address the issues that she and her friends are now experiencing. Those issues include the responsibilities of marriage, balancing career and family and the pressure to have a baby. Kelly, who is happily married to fellow Palisadian Steve Prough, wanted to make a movie that speaks to her generation the way Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 cult-classic “The Big Chill” resonated with those who grew up in the ’60s. “I was trying to figure out how to do that reunion movie without a funeral or high school,” says Kelly, who made her directorial debut with the 1997 documentary “Full Tilt Boogie,” about the making of Robert Rodriguez’s “From Dusk Til Dawn.” Two years ago, around the time of Kelly’s 34th birthday, her parents were going out of town, so she and a friend decided to throw themselves an 80s-style birthday party. The invitation, which is still on her refrigerator, was an old photo of them dressed in ’80’s attire that dared everyone to “come as they were.” “Everybody raged,” Kelly says, explaining that people came in costume and with an adolescent mindset. She realized that so many of her peers were feeling the same way she was’missing their youth while dealing with “grown-up” emotional issues. Being an adult “is much harder work than anyone told us it was going to be,” says Kelly, who now lives in Mar Vista. “We were a privileged generation but maybe we weren’t quite prepared for even minor stuff hitting the fan.” Cleaning up the mess at her parents’ house after the party, Kelly realized that she had a movie to make. She wanted people to know that “it’s okay to have dichotomies in your life’to be married and miss an old boyfriend. It’s okay to admit it.” In order to bring her characters together, she set the film in her main character’s family home, which had recently been sold. Kelly’s own parents still live in her childhood home, which had a tree house, hot tub and “rat room,” where she, her younger brother Dominic, and their friends used to hang out. Kelly admits she longs for the Palisades of yesterday, from the House of Lee and its popular Wing Ding Room bar to the Hot Dog Show and The Hacienda Galvan, which she claims had “the best taquitos in the world.” She remembers that her parents, Andy and Marea, used to bring home end rolls of blank newspaper from the Palisades Post’s backshop so she and Dominic could draw on them. Kelly was determined to make her movie within a year, in part because she had spent six years after “Full Tilt Boogie” trying to sell her script of a teen film in the mold of John Hughes’ “The Breakfast Club.” That project, called “The Blessed Virgins,” was based on Kelly’s experiences at Marymount, an all-girls Catholic high school. Several studios showed interest but were deterred by Kelly’s insistence that one of the characters die in a car accident, as had happened to one of her friends in real life. For “The Lather Effect,” Kelly collaborated with co-writer Tim Talbott, and wrote the first draft in a month. The plot centers around characters who reminisce about their years at PaliHi, which Kelly describes as a place that “seemed like this dream place to go.” Her husband, the son of former Palisades bookstore owner John Prough, graduated from Pali in 1984; Steve and Sarah met growing up in their Alphabet Streets neighborhood. The main character, Valinda, is Kelly’s age (36) and is named after “a cool baby-sitter” who took care of Sarah and Dominic when they were kids. In the production notes, Kelly writes, “If two of those John Hughes kids [from “The Breakfast Club”]’namely Molly Ringwald [who played the prom queen] and Ally Sheedy [the basket case] combined’survived enough Saturdays in detention to make it to their 30s, it’s very possible they would have turned out something like Valinda.” “She’s me, but they’re all me,” Kelly says of her characters. Valinda is played by Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights” and the TV series “Spin City”). Ione Skye, who starred in the 1989 teen classic “Say Anything,” plays Zoey, who is married to Valinda’s high school boyfriend Jack (William Mapother). Kelly’s friend and mentor Eric Stoltz, an actor, producer and director, plays Valinda’s older, laid-back neighbor who still likes to crash high school parties. “He sort of believed in me a long time ago,” says Kelly, who worked as a production assistant on several of Stoltz’s movies, including “Killing Zo’,” “Kicking and Screaming” and “Pulp Fiction.” “He treated me like a filmmaker even when I was aspiring.” “The Lather Effect” also stars Sarah Clarke, Tate Donovan, Peter Facinelli, David Herman and Caitlin Keats. Kelly says the film’s metaphorical title means “rinsing and repeating your past,” then describes that “sudsy” feeling one gets when intoxicated: “You have to be aware of the extra bubbles.” The movie was filmed in Studio City over a span of 18 days, and Kelly says directing it was “everything I though it was going to be.” Dominic, a composer, wrote the score for his sister’s film, which also includes a host of ’80s hits by bands such as English Beat and Violent Femmes. “I can’t believe it’s playing in Westwood,” Kelly says, laughing. “Talk about nostalgic. That’s where I went on every date with boys in the ’80s.” But she adds that making “The Lather Effect” was therapeutic in helping her get over some of her teenage nostalgia. She has begun writing a new screenplay, “50/50,” an ensemble comedy/drama about modern marriage, and still plans to develop and direct “The Blessed Virgins.” Rated R for language, “The Lather Effect” was produced by Rachel Rothman, David Grasso, Gary Bryman and Mike Jackson, and edited by Darren Ayres. It opens June 26 at 7:15 p.m. at the Mann Festival, followed by screenings on June 29 at the Landmark Regent and June 30 at the Laemmle Sunset 5. For tickets, call (866) 345-6337 or visit www.lafilmfest.com.
With ongoing renovation, The Mountain Mermaid in Topanga once again boasts lush gardens and old world charm. Photo: Eric Staudenmaier
Perched on a ridge above Topanga Canyon, the historic Mermaid has endured more lives than the proverbial cat. Originally built as a country club in 1930, the statuesque Spanish Colonial-style structure later became a gambling casino and brothel, a private Jewish boy’s school, an American Legion hall, a gay bar and a celebrated concert hall. Joni Mitchell immortalized it in her song “Carey” (“Come on down to the Mermaid and I will buy you a bottle of wine”). During its various incarnations, it was known as the Sylvia Park clubhouse, Rancho Topanga, the Canyon Club and the Mermaid Tavern. The current owner, Bill Buerge, renamed it the Mountain Mermaid, perhaps alluding to the monumental climb he’s faced in restoring the property, which had fallen into a profound state of disrepair by the time he bought it 17 years ago. “It would have been easier to take it down and start over,” says Buerge, a longtime preservationist who has tackled dozens of renovation and restoration projects over the years, including spearheading the restoration of Aldersgate Retreat Center, one of the oldest buildings in Pacific Palisades. “There were holes in the floors such that you could see through to the basement, parts of the building had caught fire, and everything was at a half-tilt,” Buerge recalls. Nonetheless, he fell instantly for her, especially smitten with the 1,500-sq.-ft. Great Room, where a massive fireplace and three expansive arched windows anchor a space defined by a raised, beamed ceiling. The only problem was the Mermaid was already in escrow. Undeterred, Buerge made a backup offer. When the first buyers underwent the inspection of the building and discovered what Buerge describes as “a chamber of horrors,” he became the proud owner in 1989. It must have been true love, as the day Buerge moved in, his welcome mat consisted of piles of dead bees (exterminated along with the termites after escrow closed) and horse manure covering the floors. “Animals pretty much ran the place,” says Buerge, who shared his new digs with bats, rats and pigeons. One of the lowest points came when rain leaked through the attic, causing the ceiling to collapse in Buerge’s living quarters, depositing a mountain of rotten plaster laced with pigeon droppings. In Buerge’s own lively account of bringing the Mermaid back to life, soon to be published in a newly revised book on Topanga history, he makes note of having felt a special kinship with Tom Hanks’ character in the movie “The Money Pit.” In fact, midway through reconstruction, he ran out of money and put the Mermaid on the market. The half-finished property, still seductive in its charms, prompted people like Diane Keaton and Sharon Stone to request showings, but no offers were made. Thus began Buerge’s renewed commitment’with the aid of a significant bank loan’to go the full mile with the Mermaid’s makeover, an effort that culminated with the property being declared a State and Los Angeles County Point of Historic Interest in 1993. The Mermaid’s first life was as the Sylvia Park clubhouse, named for the daughter of one of the original developers. The imposing structure was built to lure homeowners to settle in this remote, newly subdivided land in Topanga. The Depression intervened, and the development never got off the ground. During World War II, mobster Mickey Cohen operated the property, placing slot machines in the basement and women upstairs. Buerge interviewed a Topanga resident from this era who remembers regularly seeing Cohen, always surrounded by bodyguards, coming out to collect his money. In the late ’40s, the Mermaid briefly became a Jewish boy’s school, and in the 1950s, veterans used it as an American Legion hall. In the 1960s, a former vice officer for the Santa Monica Police department purchased the property and transformed it to a gay bar. It was during this time that the Mermaid sustained the most abuse, with it original artifacts being sold or carried to the dumpster, the tile roof dismantled and the exterior clad in metal sheets. In the 1970s, it became the Mermaid Tavern, attracting a bohemian crowd (Joni Mitchell was a frequent patron) to concerts ranging from classical to such popular acts as Little Feat and Frank Zappa. The youngest of four, Buerge was raised in the Palisades by parents who were well-known in the community for their lively household and farm, where giant pumpkins were harvested every fall (the estate was sold last year and the construction of four new houses is underway). Buerge graduated from Palisades High in 1965. He went on to Cal State, Long Beach, where he received a degree in painting and drawing. For many years, he was a freelance illustrator and graphic designer for the Saturday Evening Post, NBC, and Capitol Records, among other clients. Along the way, Buerge’s interest in homes and gardens steadily evolved, and he increasingly lent his artistic vision and construction know-how to various projects until it became his full-time pursuit. Buerge and his longtime girlfriend, Gail McDonald Tune, are always on the hunt for antique furnishings for the Mermaid, whether at swap meets and estate sales, or during chance encounters, such as one Buerge had at a gas station in the Palisades. “I saw a guy who had this wonderful old door in his truck and I asked How much?” says Buerge, pointing to a weathered, Spanish-style door that now blends seamlessly into the Mermaid’s d’cor. None of the Mermaid’s original furnishings remains except one Monterey-style table. The property is awash in cleverly reused materials, from leftover terracotta roof tiles retrieved from the renovation of Mission San Jose, to second-hand ceramic tiles used in the reconstruction of the pool. A collection of vintage iron garden furniture dots the four-acre property, where unusual succulents thrive amid mulberry, fig and eucalyptus trees. Old horse troughs form the base of fanciful fountains that accent the meticulously tended grounds, where winding paths lead to a variety of enchanting outdoor rooms. The splendor and distinctive character of the property make it a magnet for the entertainment industry and fashion world. Buerge frequently rents the space for commercial projects as a way to help underwrite his ongoing work on the property (since purchasing the Mermaid for $650,000 in 1989, Buerge estimates he’s invested nearly $2 million in its renovation). J. Crew and Smith & Hawken have drawn upon its old-world charm for catalog shoots. Hollywood made it the backdrop of such films as “Speechless” with Gina Davis and Michael Keaton and “The Next Best Thing” starring Madonna and Rupert Everett. The civic-minded Buerge, who is an active member of the Topanga Historical Society, also hosts a variety of fundraisers at the Mermaid, including a special performance, “Reminiscences of Mozart by His Sister,” written by and starring Jane Marla Robbins, that will take place twice’at 2 and 5 p.m.’on Saturday, July 16. The event benefits the Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness. Under Buerge’s stewardship, the Mermaid appears to finally have found bliss’and stability’with one man. “I’ll be here for the rest of my life,” says Buerge, who envisions the property one day becoming a landmark and botanical garden preserve open to all.
The Palisades Predators, an all-star team consisting of 11-year-old PPBA players, was one of eight Southland teams invited to the Father’s Day tournament at the Big League Dreams’ replica fields in Mira Loma. The replica stadium in which the Predators were assigned to play was the Polo Grounds, longtime home of the New York Giants. The Predators’ roster consisted of Nathan Dodson, John Fracchiolla, Chris Groel, Charlie Jeffers, Jack Jordan, Austin Kamel, Chad Kanoff, Michael Lamb, Jackson Nethercot, Chris Sebastian, Hagen Smith, Taylor Stokes, Kyle Warner and Joshua Yoo. The Predators rallied from a 7-1 deficit against the West Hills Bomb Squad by scoring eight runs in the fifth inning, highlighted by inside-the-park home runs by Chris Sebastian and Jeffers and the pitching of Kamel and Stokes. Later Saturday evening the Predators showed their stamina by beating the Las Vegas Demons, 10-8. Pitchers Jeffers and Dodson combined for the victory. Playing for the championship of their pool, the Predators met the Mid-Valley Fear on Sunday. The Northridge-based Fear had racked up 34 runs in their two previous wins, but the Predators took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning. The Fear scored four runs in the fifth and held on for a 7-5 win.
No one knows winning quite like the six children of Richard and Elissa Sato. All were athletes in high school. Five played volleyball in college, three played on U.S. National volleyball teams, two played in the Olympics, one was a coach for three different Olympic teams and two just finished coaching their high school teams to CIF championships. On Tuesday, Sato siblings Gary, Liane and Eric were invited to Olympics Day at Palisades Elementary to share their thoughts on competition, teamwork and the value of family and sports. Gary, the oldest child, started the volleyball tradition in his family. He played on the U.S. National team for many years and went on to coach at Pepperdine University where he led the Waves to an NCAA championship. Gary was the assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National team and traveled to three different Olympics. His teams won a gold medal in Seoul, Korea, in 1988 and a bronze in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992. “There’s a high percentage that some of you will be in the Olympics,” Gary told a captivated audience of kindergarten through fifth-grade students. He then listed a number of Palisadians who have competed in the Olympics. Later Gary explained what makes a good competitor great. “An athlete needs to study the game, study their opponents and study themselves.” “A competitor looks to see what previous people have done and looks for common threads,” he continued. “They put in the hard work and use different training techniques. An athlete needs to evaluate his or her own strengths and weaknesses, but also has to be aware of “paralysis over analysis,” which means at a certain point they have to get out of the brain and let the body take over.” Liane is currently the head coach for boys and girls varsity volleyball at Santa Monica High, where the boys just won a CIF title. Her “boys” asked her if their win was better than when she won a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona. “At this time in my life, it’s better than the Olympics,” she told them. “I think playing has helped me become a better coach,” Liane told her attentive audience. “It gives me insight into the athlete.” Liane also played in the Seoul Olympics and on the U.S. national team for six years as well as playing pro volleyball. “Sports helps provide responsibilities that prepare you for life,” she said. “Sports also teach one of the most important things–how to be a gracious winner and loser. “To be successful in life you need to be responsible, surround yourself with positive role models and have a supportive family,” Liane said. The youngest of the Sato siblings, Eric credits his sister with the advice she gave him in seventh grade: “Choose your friends wisely.” He cited his family as his role model growing up. In the 1988 Olympics, Eric’s jump serve scored the point that clinched the gold medal for the U.S. He also played in the 1992 Olympics and won a bronze medal. He is now the head volleyball coach at Francis Parker High in San Diego, where both his boys and girls teams won CIF championships. “There was always competition in the Sato household,” Eric said. “My siblings taught me how to compete.” Gary was Eric’s Olympic coach, which both agreed can be tricky because they had to figure out how to put the sibling issues aside. “Make good choices, surround yourself with good people and when you fall, get back up and try again,” Eric advised the students. The other Sato siblings are Tedi, Glenn, and Scott, who lives in the Palisades.
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