Tickets have gone on sale for the Citizen of the Year Celebration on April 14 at the Riviera Country Club, sponsored by the Palisadian-Post. Enjoy a scrumptious hors d’oeuvres party from 6:15 to 8:30 p.m., at a cost of $48 per person, as Citizen of the Year Stuart Muller and the yet-to-be-announced Sparkplug winners are honored. Please make checks out to Citizen of the Year Celebration, and bring them to the Palisadian-Post office (839 Via de la Paz) or mail them to P.O. Box 725, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.

Riders of Commuter Express Line 430, which runs weekdays from the Palisades to downtown Los Angeles, enjoyed a victory last week when City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa announced his support for continuation of the line. ”Villaraigosa chaired the City Transportation Committee’s March 23 meeting about the recommended cancellation of the bus route, one of the L.A. Department of Transportation’s 15 commuter lines operating throughout the county. ”’Antonio urged LADOT staff to work with our community representatives to devise additional strategies to increase ridership,’ said Norman Kulla, Palisades Community Council chairman, at last Thursday’s council meeting. ‘He indicated that if these efforts did fail, then he would reconsider this action. He ordered the matter back for a report from LADOT in 60 days.’ ”Kulla attended the Transportation Committee meeting ‘to argue against cancellation of the express line as recommended by LADOT.’ Also attending in opposition to cancellation were Line 430 riders Julie D. Clark, Linda Minky, Marnie Tenden and Ben Nahid. ”Monique Ford, who was present on behalf of Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski, ‘read a statement indicating that efforts had been made to increase ridership and that she understood that scarce transportation resource allocation supported LADOT’s recommendation,’ Kulla reported. He added that ‘although Councilmember Miscikowski has not joined our Board in supporting continuing 430, she was most helpful in arranging a face-to-face meeting between LADOT General Manager Wayne Tanda and Steve Lantz, Patti Post and me, held on March 16.’ ”After a brief presentation by Kulla, Clark and Tenden, ‘Mr. Villaraigosa stated that he agreed with Miscikowski, LADOT and his staff that scarce transportation resources must be allocated in a cost-effective way,’ Kulla reported. ‘However, he would not follow the recommendation of LADOT and his own personal staff to cancel Line 430 until after aggressive efforts to find alternatives to cancellation had been tried and failed. He stated that the evidence before the committee indicated that only modest efforts had been made to date.’ ”Kulla also said that Villaraigosa, who is running against Mayor James Hahn in the May 17 election, ‘indicated that he had received communications from the runoff candidates for Council District 11, Bill Rosendahl and Flora Krisiloff, supporting continuation of Line 430 and that he took this into consideration.’ ”Line 430 begins at Sunset and PCH, stops at El Medio and Capri, continues on to the VA Hospital, then makes three stops downtown before arriving at Patsaouras Transit Plaza. The service averages an hour and 15 minutes and costs $2.20 one way. For a detailed schedule and list of fares, go to www.ladottransit.com.

Since the Palisades Branch Library reopened on February 22, 2003, the Friends of the Library has been on the case. After spearheading a successful fundraising campaign for the new library building, the Friends group has continued to make improvements and adjustments to all aspects of the library’s operation. Friends of the Library president Gina Vincent, who took over from longtime president Mitzi Blahd in June, recently gave a walking tour of the library and pointed out all the work that her support group has done, or plans to do. For example, one of the most popular features in the children’s library from day one has been the circular window nook, which is incorporated into the fairy tale mural along the wall in the storytelling area. However, it was so popular that it has been repaired three times. ‘The drywall was not meant to hold up to the abuse of little feet banging against it,’ Vincent said. The Friends are spending $2,000 to fix it, this time with fiberglass and resin, like a boat. The artist will then re-paint it for the last time. ‘The window is the cutest thing about the library,’ she said. ‘Everyone loves it so much that we’re willing to spend the money so [city library officials] won’t close it off.’ Problems persisted in non-library patrons parking in the library lot and then going to classes in the adjacent Alma Real building, or conducting business elsewhere in the village, which resulted in a lack of space for library patrons. To remedy this problem and make it less convenient for non-patrons to park at the library, the Friends has extended the wrought iron fence to fill in an open space between the library and the 881 Alma Real building. Also, parking enforcement officers do patrol the library parking lot in the morning, and have given out tickets. ‘We’re hoping that parking is now just going to be for people at the library,’ Vincent said. Used book sales every six weeks are the Friends’ biggest source of funds, bringing in $50,000 to $55,000 a year. Money is also received from membership fees and private donations. ‘This past year we spent $40,000 just on books, not including books on tape and DVDs,’ Vincent said, adding that the branch has the city’s largest collection of recorded books, bolstered by $20,000 in purchases last year. Vincent projects that the Friends will spend $80,000 this year, paying for things that the city’s budget doesn’t cover such as a new copier and a clean-up crew from Chrysalis StreetWorks, which provides additional maintenance and trash removal and gardening for the back area of the library. The Friends also plan to buy furniture for the small patio, located next to the children’s area, which faces the grassy knoll. Currently, the area is locked and not open to the public, and is ‘a waste of space,’ said Vincent, so her group hopes to make it more comfortable for library patrons to sit and read outside. Teen librarian Brad Allen has been leading a teen advisory group that provides occasional Friday night movie showings in the community room, funded by the Friends. ‘We are very grateful to our Friends group,’ said Emily Fate, acting senior librarian. ‘They do so much to improve this library, and we are lucky to have them.’ Another new benefit sponsored by the Friends is Project Bestseller. Rather than reserving a popular book through the L.A. library system, and perhaps waiting weeks for a copy, patrons can check the book out of the Palisades branch for 25 cents a day. These bestsellers remain safely out of the library’s computer system, and are thus more readily available here. People can also request books they want for the program. Current examples include John Grisham’s ‘The Broker’ and Khaled Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner.’ Vincent became a Palisades Library Association board member in part to get her children involved. ‘I love the library. I thought if I was more involved there, my children would go with me, get comfortable there and get to know the librarians,’ she said. ‘I thought it would be a great place for my kids to love as much as I do.’ She and husband Garth, a lawyer, have three children’Calvary Christian students Katherine, 8, and Derek, 7, and Presbyterian Preschooler Caroline, 4. In addition to her work with the library, Gina is an active volunteer at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will become president of the Junior Women’s Club this month. ‘The library board is a great way to serve in our wonderful community,’ Vincent said. ‘You can get as involved as you would like to be.’ Meetings are held at 7 p.m. in the library’s community room. The next meeting is May 10, with the annual meeting to elect new officers held on June 14.

The Palisades branch of Bank of America suffered its second robbery in six days last Thursday evening when a white male jumped over the counter, attached what he claimed was an explosive device to one teller, and collected money from several tellers before fleeing the scene. The robbery in the Business Block building occurred at about 5:40 p.m. and caused complete closure of Sunset from Monument to Via de la Paz. Rush-hour traffic had to be rerouted until the LAPD Bomb Squad rendered the bank safe at about 9:30 p.m. The suspect (described as 5’11” to 6’1”, 150 to 180 lbs., 28 to 32 years of age) entered the bank, announced it was a robbery as he was going over the counter and then demanded money, according to LAPD Detective Dan Jaranillo. The suspect carried a canvas bag and wore a white mask over the bottom part of his face that Jaranillo said was believed to be ‘a kind of painter’s type mask, like a surgical cup.’ According to FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller, the suspect had a slender build, a light complexion and very short light brown hair. He was also wearing yellow-tinted sunglasses. ‘During the course of the robbery, he handcuffed what he said was an explosive device to one of the tellers,’ Eimiller said. ‘He wanted the $50s and $100s, and threatened that the device was, in fact, a bomb and that it would go off and the teller would be hurt if the money was not given to him.’ The suspect collected currency from several tellers and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. Eimiller said that the suspect exited through the back door and turned to the left, down the alley towards Antioch. According to the police report, when the suspect fled the building, he left the possible explosive device attached to the victim teller. Police soon removed the device and she was freed uninjured at about 6:40 p.m. Meanwhile, the area was evacuated before the LAPD Bomb Squad responded. This caused the evacuation and closure of most of the Palisades village businesses and streets for several hours. ‘The Bomb Squad determined it was not an explosive device,’ said Jaranillo, who arrived at the scene between 6:30 and 7 p.m. ‘No one was physically hurt.’ Jaranillo said the robbery does not appear to be related to the Saturday, March 19 daytime bank robbery at the same Bank of America. ‘It has not been connected yet with any in the area. As far as we know there’s nothing with a similar type of device.’ However, he added that the LAPD is working with the FBI to investigate these crimes further. Eimiller confirmed that both recent Bank of America robberies in the Palisades are still being investigated and no arrests have yet been made. ‘Both suspects are still fugitives,’ she said. ‘We have not ruled out that [the suspect in last Thursday’s bank robbery] may be responsible for other robberies in the L.A. area but it’s still under investigation.’ Prior to the two Palisades B of A robberies, California National Bank at Sunset and Swarthmore was robbed January 10. The suspect in that crime was described as a white male, 6′ tall, 160 lbs., 30 to 35 years, wearing a dark baseball cap, dark sunglasses, white T-shirt, blue shorts, black gloves and a fanny pack. In the last two years here, First Federal, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual and U.S. Bank have all been robbed at least once. Following two robberies in mid-2003, Wells Fargo on Swarthmore installed bulletproof glass fronts on teller windows to protect the employees. Whether the Bank of America will take similar safety measures is unclear at this time. Bank manager Zara Guivi was not available for comment and the corporate office referred all questions to the LAPD. However, since the robbery, a security guard has been posted outside the front door of the bank and the back entry has been closed off. ‘These [bank robberies] are not just happening in the Palisades,’ Senior Lead Officer Chris Ragsdale said at last Thursday’s Community Council meeting. ‘There was a takeover robbery at the [Brentwood] Bank of America on 26th St. [just south of San Vicente] three weeks ago. Westwood and Culver City are all subject to this.’ Two U.S. Banks’one at 33rd and Pico and one in Boyle Heights’were robbed Monday, according to Bob Grundstrom, manager of the U.S. Bank in Malibu. He told the Palisadian-Post Tuesday that his bank’s ‘internal security group’ had issued a warning on Monday, March 21, to all of its West L.A. branches to be on high alert last week. The warning was ‘due to the fact that there were a number of instances [bank robberies] in the last few days prior to Thursday [March 24],’ he said, including the March 19 Palisades Bank of America robbery. Grundstrom added that they are still on high alert.

‘Let’s see how we can make this work’for everyone,’ said Chamber of Commerce president David Williams this week, as he continued to search for a compromise between numerous Swarthmore merchants and their landlord, Palisades Partners, over proposed rent increases. ”However, as the business crisis enters its fourth week, little has been resolved. While most of the merchants have been strategizing, they have yet to come up with a unified plan to present to the landlord. Some of them say they are facing monthly rent hikes of up to 60 percent, or about $1,800 a month for a 1,200 sq. ft. space. ”Thus far, only about half of the dozen merchants affected’all of them currently on month-to-month rental agreements’have actually met with the landlord to discuss specifics of the new multi-year leases. And the few merchants who have been given the proposed leases said they are mulling their options, which could mean either accepting the terms as proposed or going out of business. ”While the Swarthmore merchants contacted by the Palisadian-Post this week were reluctant to speak on the record, citing confidentiality clauses, they did confirm that the lease being offered is a standard commercial lease and includes an addendum covering such issues as common-area operating expenses, hazardous waste, utilities, parking, and exterior signage. ”The addendum requires 10 signatures, representing the interests of 18 individuals in four family trusts that constitute Palisades Partners, the largest commercial landowner in the Palisades business district. ”Bob Benton, who has owned a sporting goods store on Swarthmore for 23 years, was the first merchant to be offered a new lease. The former Chamber of Commerce president told the Post he is still awaiting a resolution of his lease negotiations, which began last November. ”’Right now, I don’t have any good news to tell you,’ Benton said on Tuesday. ”In early March, Benton said the landlord had offered him a five-year lease, which would see his rent jump from $2.50 to $4.50 for his 2,200 sq. ft. space. His counteroffer of $3.95, which was rejected on March 8, brought to light the impending plight of merchants on Swarthmore, where there are currently three vacant storefronts: the former Emerson-LaMay Cleaners, Palisades Camera and Billauer-Sato Chiropractic. ”The three trustees for Palisades Partners’Bob Stelzl, John Watkins and John Wilson’would not comment this week on the status of negotiations with the Swarthmore merchants. ”Managing partner Stelzl was formerly a principal of Colony Capital, an international real estate investment firm. Watkins recently retired from the Whittier Trust, a Pasadena firm which manages private family trusts. ”Wilson, who grew up in the Palisades, is Scoutmaster of Troop 23 and an active member of the Palisades Rotary Club. His father, Robert, partnered in 1950 with J.M.W. Miller of Viking Development Company to develop the entire 1000 block of Swarthmore, from Sunset to Monument. ”The Post was not alone in trying to contact the three trustees. Williams, chef/owner of Mogan’s Cafe, said his numerous calls to the trio have not been returned. ”’We see the Chamber’s role as mediating between the merchants and the landlord, to bring some kind of resolution to this,’ Williams said, ‘but right now we can’t even get them to come to the table. We will continue to reach out, because this is important to us’all of us’but we can’t help wondering if there is a hidden agenda here. Is it really just about raising the rents or do they want to get rid of the merchants? We don’t know if they won’t even talk to us.’ (Editor’s note: Three Swarthmore merchants who lease from Palisades Partners, including Wells Fargo Bank, Baskin-Robbins and BOCA Woman, are apparently not currently in negotiation with the landlord, since all three already have existing lease agreements. Of the four businesses on Swarthmore that do not lease from Palisades Partners’Whispers, Solis Salon, Fernworks and Paliskate’the Post has learned that Solis Salon is facing a rent increase when its lease expires this month.)