Heal the Bay announced last week that this past summer beaches in Los Angeles County had the worst water quality in the state, with Will Rogers State Beach at the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon heading the list. While each beach is known to have its own particular set of problems, Santa Monica beach is “notoriously” bad, said Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay, “in spite of the installation of a $1.2-million low-flow diversion project.” Because Santa Monica Canyon was for years considered one of the bay’s worst polluters, it was selected by the City of Los Angeles as one of the first sites for a low-diversion facility in 2002. Years of failing grades, not only in the wet winter months but also in what is known as the dry season (April to October), prompted the city to install the system, which is designed to redirect runoff to the Hyperion treatment plant in El Segundo instead of allowing it to flow directly into the ocean. Although last year’s end-of-summer grade at Will Rogers Beach was an A, this summer it was an F. Gold placed the blame directly on the diversion system, which he sees as flawed, starting with the berm, which is “grossly undersized. It needs to be twice as high and the drain is not cleaned out often enough. We’ve talked about it but not enough has been done, although there have been some small changes.” In 2002, runoff from Santa Monica Canyon was estimated to be four million gallons of dirty water a day: more, as it turns out, than the diversion catch basin can handle. In late July, Alfredo Magallanes, an engineer with the City’s Bureau of Sanitation in charge of the watershed protection division, proposed a number of modifications to the facility. These included upsizing the pumps and removing debris in the flow’s path, which required, among other things, an analysis of the capacity of the electrical panel. This was supposed to happen “within a week and a half,” Magallanes said at the time. “Those issues should have been resolved by now, although its not as easy as just throwing money at these things,” Gold said. “It’s not that simple.” Since 2002, the state has provided $78 million under the Clean Beach Initiative to clean up the most polluted beaches. “Although progress was seen in most coastal counties,” Gold noted, “[this year] L.A. County’s beaches took a turn for the worse. Now, local coastal cities have only nine months to clean up their act or they risk being in violation.” The message from Heal the Bay was clear: unless minimum water-quality standards are met by next July, both the city of L.A. and the county departments responsible will be susceptible to fines’up to $32,500 per day’under the Clean Water Act. Come July 31, all California beaches will be required to comply with new state water-quality standards or risk enforcement action. However, as of now, “L.A. is nowhere close to meeting those standards,” Gold said. “We need to shape up, clean up. You would think the health risks alone would be enough to spur action, but unfortunately it’s not.” Starting in the new year, additional funds will be available through Proposition O, approved on last November’s ballot. The measure provides for up to $500 million for projects to clean up and treat storm water before it gets washed into rivers and oceans. (Editor’s note: Magallanes told the Palisadian-Post this week that some modifications to the Santa Monica diversion project have been made and that a “test run” will be conducted before the end of the month to “make sure it is now running the way it should. We are confident it will,” he said.]

The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades will reopen to the public on Saturday, January 28, bringing to an end the protracted renovation construction that began in 1997 but was interrupted by opposition to the project. This cultural landmark returns with a new mission as an educational center and museum dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The renovated Villa includes new galleries, which feature steel support systems hidden in the walls and floors to secure large and heavy works of art and protect them in case of earthquakes. Among other highlights are the new 250-seat auditorium and the 450-seat Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater, an outdoor theater based on ancient prototypes that allows contemporary audiences to experience classical performances as they were once viewed. The site also incorporates new space for Getty staff and scholars, including state-of-the-art conservation laboratories, seminar rooms, a classroom, and the research library at the Villa with about 20,000 volumes. The Getty Villa will house the J. Paul Getty Museum’s collection of about 44,000 antiquities. More than 1,200 works will be on view in 23 galleries devoted to the permanent collection, now organized by theme, with five additional galleries for changing exhibitions. Two educational spaces will offer alternative ways to engage with art. The Family Forum, a hands-on discovery room for families, features activities that encourage shared learning experiences, while another interactive installation, the TimeScape Room, focuses on time, place and artistic style in the ancient Mediterranean. Research and scholarly activities at the Villa will be fueled by the presence of the Museum’s antiquities collection and the resources of the Research Library. As is the case with the ongoing scholars program at the Getty Research Institute, the new Villa Scholars Program will have an annual theme that serves as a focus for research and programs. A distinguished figure in the field will be honored as Villa Professor each year and will collaborate with Getty staff responsible for the intellectual direction of the program. The Getty Villa will also be home to the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program on the Conservation of Ethnographic and Archaeological Materials, the first master’s degree program on this subject in the United States. Three inaugural exhibitions will celebrate the opening. “Antiquity and Photography: Early Views of Ancient Mediterranean Sites” (January 28-May 1, 2006) explores the efforts of pioneering photographers to capture and study the visual remnants of the ancient world. “The Getty Villa Reimagined” (January 28-May 8) looks back on the Villa’s history and traces the vision that guided the development of the present site. “Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity” (January 28-July 24) celebrates the recent acquisition of the Oppenl’nder collection of more than 350 pieces of beautiful and rare ancient glass. The Getty Villa off Coastline Drive will be open Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and major holidays. Admission is always free, but advance, timed tickets are required for each individual. Tickets can be obtained online at www.getty.edu or by phone at 440-7300 beginning today. Parking is $7 per car, cash only.

By DIVYA SUBRAHMANYAM Palisadian-Post Intern Last Saturday, Palisades Charter High School had the honor of hosting and participating in the annual Drama Teachers Association of Southern California (DTASC) Fall Festival. After the day-long competitive event, Pali came away with third place overall, as well as several awards in the individual categories. Pali entered the festival in each of 10 categories: publicity, sets/lights and costumes (all of which were in the technical division), monologue, two-person, screenplay, student-written on a social issue, musical, group drama, and group serious. Students began arriving as early as 6:30 a.m., and by 7:30, most of the 62 competing schools had each claimed an area on the quad as their own. Pali students spread blankets near a brick wall next to the cafeteria, and were huddled together against the early morning chill. Some of them were lounging on the bench, chatting, while others seemed to be full of nervous energy. “Will you fix my hair?” asked a bouncy Teagan Miller of her friend, holding out a hairpin. Before the opening ceremonies, Monica Iannessa, Pali’s drama teacher and the school organizer of the event, gathered her students together in a classroom, telling them all how proud she was of them. She also gave them some valuable advice: “I want to impart the very important message that we have to spread goodwill today’We need to drop the petty.” When the announcement came from the outdoor stage for round one to begin, a crush of people spread out across the quad as students tried to find their assigned classrooms. I decided to follow the Pali “group drama” actors (“The Lion in Winter”), who were placed in the same room as nine other groups. Each performance had an 8-minute time limit, and actors were allowed four chairs as their only props. The room was filled with surprising mutual respect, and gracious applause followed every scene. Outside, after round one, senior Griffin Pepper (“The Lion in Winter”) said, “I’m a little nervous, because in the second round, you don’t have as much energy. But I’m still really pumped!” Once round two had finished, lunch began on the quad, with Pali’s own jazz band performing on stage. Students mingled with one another, and large circles of dancers sprung up on the grass. In an effort to further bring together participants, the organizers asked each class to identify themselves. They called out each year: “Sophomores! Juniors! Seniors!” and huge roars erupted. The yelling was carried by students striking up their own chants. Calls of “’06!” were returned with even louder cries of “’07!” as the schools were united in their common identity as high school students who loved acting. The semi-final results were announced soon after, the approximately 30 schools in each category written on long posters. Pali made it in all seven acting categories; the technical divisions presented only once and had no semi-final round. During another break, students gathered on the quad once again, dancing to music from the speakers, talking, laughing, and playing games. At around 4:30 p.m., soon before the results would be read out, the speakers began playing “Seasons of Love,” a popular song from the musical “Rent.” Everyone seemed to know the words, and a throng of people flocked in front of the stage to sing along with swaying arms. When the music changed to something more upbeat, these same people, all from different schools, grabbed on to one another’s shoulders, and a huge conga line snaked crazily around the school. Then came the moment of reckoning. As the posters revealing the top groups in each category unfurled above the stage, shrieks and squeals echoed across the quad from excited finalists. Pali made it in five categories, with the exception of screenplay and comedy. The cast of “The Lion in Winter” excitedly congregated in front of B101, where all the group drama finalists would be performing. Junior Spencer Strasmore fluidly shook out his arms and legs in his version of jiu-jitsu, insisting, with a laugh, that it helped him loosen up. Travis DeZarn, also a junior, said, “There’s a lot of stiff competition but we made it to the top ten, and that’s all that matters.” Once the judges had tabulated the results of the final round, at around 6:45 p.m., all participants jammed into Pali’s big gym for the awards ceremony. During the wait, the competition among schools seemed to become far more evident. “Whose house?” yelled one Pali student, and received the customary response of “P-House!” Some fans, also in marching band, began to loudly hum the school’s fight song, in another display of solidarity. The atmosphere within the group varied: some were nervous, others seemed to not care. “What happens, happens,” said Teagan Miller (“A Lion in Winter”). “It’s pretty much out of my control now, so I’m relaxed.” Finally, the DTASC director quieted the crowd, and informed them that there would be a surprise guest speaker to begin the ceremony’Val Kilmer. The star of “Batman Forever,” who attended Chatsworth High School, walked through the door to a standing ovation and exclamations of “Look, it’s Batman!” He gave a short speech, and was followed by the director, who then introduced the DTASC Festival’s newest, most informal category: the video showcase. This event did not count in Sweepstakes (the overall ranking), and the winners received a giant cookie rather than a conventional trophy. Pali received third place in this category. The awards were given out in order: the top 10 groups in each category were called up to the floor, and places 10 through six received honorable mentions. The top five received a trophy and a certificate, and the first-place scene performed to the huge audience. Pali’s rankings were as follows: publicity’third place; sets and lights’second; monologue (in which more than one participant from each school could compete)’fifth place and second place; and honorable mentions in group drama, two-person, and costumes. They placed third in Sweepstakes. When asked how she felt with an honorable mention, Teagan Miller said: “I’m happy; I had fun and it was a good experience.” This seemed to be the general consensus. There were the usual tears and bitterness for a low placing, or for not making it to finals, but overall, people seemed satisfied. Lauren Hunziker, from Pali’s two-person scene, summed up the true idea of festival: acting, not necessarily competition. “I think,” she said, referring to the many compliments she received, “to do something that powerful that compels people to make an effort to comment on it to your face is far more rewarding than a plastic trophy that sits in an office and no one remembers.”