More than 100 Pacific Palisades residents showed up at Mort’s Oak Room Monday night for a public hearing on the controversial proposal to implement a preferential parking district within the Palisades. ”After a two-hour debate, which included comments and questions from the floor, there was no clear indication on what the Los Angeles Department of Transportation would recommend, although participants were asked to submit their straw votes at the end of the hearing. ”Residents were also asked to indicate their preference for parking restrictions (see below) and have until October 27 to forward their written comments to LADOT. ”Applications to be included in the district will also be accepted up until that date. ”’This is a truly democratic process,’ said Alan Willis, the chief transportation engineer who chaired the meeting. He presented a brief history of how the proposed district came about (several local residents petitioned for it), an explanation of current parking restrictions (which are generally limited to two-hours) and the results of the traffic survey that was done. ”Emilie Baradi, an engineer with LADOT, explained that on the day the survey was conducted in the proposed district, the available parking spaces occupied by non-residents (judging by addresses and zip codes of the registered vehicle owners) ‘averaged 50 percent’ and that on some streets it was ‘100 percent.’ ”Baradi used a color-coded map to clarify the potential district boundaries, a six-block area which will include McKendree, Whitfield and Rimmer (west of Monument); Via de la Paz over to Fiske and south to Sunset; all of Huntington Palisades from Carey to Pampas Ricas and south to El Cerco Place; and the Via de la Paz mesa from Antioch to Carthage and from Temescal Canyon Road over to Swarthmore. ”The loudest applause of the evening occurred when Jack Allen, an advisor to the Pacific Palisades Community Council (which has not taken a stand on the issue) suggested that the preferential parking district be restricted to the proposal currently being considered by LADOT. ”’Just put it on the blocks that have asked for it and don’t extend it to any other streets,’ he said. ”LADOT also provided residents with a clarification of the proposed parking restrictions for the district, which are as follows: ”Carthage between Swarthmore and Via de la Paz. Residents are applying to be exempt from the existing two-hour parking from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, plus no parking from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., except by permit. ”Radcliffe between Haverford and Bowdoin, two-hour parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, except by permit. ”Alma Real between Toyopa and Frontera, two-hour parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, except by permit. ”Monument between Albright and Bestor, two-hour parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, except by permit. ”Willis explained that the preferential parking request by Palisades residents is not for more restrictions, but rather for obtaining permits to exempt them from existing parking restrictions’a point that was made by several residents who support the preferential parking proposal. ”Other residents were adamantly opposed to the district. ”’I do not want McKendree included,’ said a resident who lives on that street. Another resident complained about the inconvenience of having to go to West L.A. to obtain the necessary permits, to which Willis replied: ‘This is an inconvenient program. Preferential parking is a last resort. Things have to be very bad for you if you have to do this here.’ ”Should the district be approved, each household can purchase up to three permanent annual permits for $15 each and two transferable visitor permits for $10 each. Both are renewable every four months. Residents can also purchase an unlimited number of one-time use guest permits for $1 each. While LADOT has technically approved the proposed six-block district (after conducting the parking survey and determining that the district meets the City’s program criteria), ‘we are still seeking feedback from the community before approving the establishment of the district,’ Willis said. ” ”He also encouraged residents who may be worried about the ‘spillover’ effect of the proposed district to submit petitions to have their own street included by the October 27 deadline. ‘The petitions require the signatures of two-thirds of the residents on the block,’ Willis said. ”Several audience members also argued at the hearing that the proposed preferential parking district fails to address the core problem, which Allen identified as a ‘lack of available parking in the Palisades.’ ”There were also concerns about how preferential parking will be enforced. ‘Chalking tires is one way,’ said Willis, who explained that the penalty for parking over the two-hour limit in a preferential parking district is $45. ”If LADOT does recommend the district, the proposal will be forwarded to the transportation committee for approval. If the transportation committee approves the proposal, it will then go before L.A. City Council. ”’In the next 30 days we will still be waiting to hear from you,’ Baradi announced as the hearing concluded. ”Further questions on preferential parking and applications can be obtained by calling the LADOT at (323) 913-4600.
82 Tramonto Condos Approved; Final Appeal Date October 1
The long-awaited decision regarding the proposed 82-unit condominium/townhouse development on Tramonto Drive in Castellammare was approved last Tuesday by the Los Angeles Planning Department. ”The property, which developer Ken Kahan purchased in 1999, occupies 3.98 acres overlooking Santa Monica Bay, above the Sunset/PCH intersection. The units will nestle into the hillside at 17331-17333 Tramonto and resemble an Italian hillside town. ”The approval states Kahan must designate and maintain 16 condominium units as Very Low Income (VLI) or Low Income (LI) affordable accessible rental dwelling units or designate and maintain eight condominiums for VLI affordable accessible rental dwelling units. The inclusionary VLI or LI units ‘must be located on-site or, with permission, may be located somewhere else within the coastal zone, or within three miles of the coastal zone.’ ”Prior to the issuance of any building permit by the Department of Building and Safety, an agreement (approved by the Housing Department) must be signed, which guarantees that the designated affordable accessible dwelling units will be reserved for occupancy by eligible households for at least 30 years from the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy. ”According to the L.A. Housing Department Web site, to qualify for affordable housing, all working members of a household must not exceed the income limit for the bedroom count and family size of the unit for which they are applying. In addition, there are various other requirements one must meet to fall into the affordable housing bracket. ”Despite years of neighborhood opposition to the project, the L.A. Planning Department, headed by director Con Howe, deemed many ‘substantial benefits will occur’ as a result of the project’s approval. ”Those include: bringing 82 new for-sale housing units to a part of the city in need of new housing supply, stabilizing and putting to productive use land that has been vacant since the Revello landslide in 1965, bringing needed improvements to Tramonto Drive, and improving the aesthetic character of the area by replacing two outdated apartment buildings with an attractive and well-designed condominium project and associated landscaping. Although the Department also found that approval of the project could result in ‘significant unavoidable impacts related to private views, short-term noise and traffic on residential streets,’ the Department stated that ‘the unmitigable impacts associated with the project are outweighed by the benefits and are therefore acceptable.’ ”The approval also states that trucks and construction equipment are restricted from adjacent residential areas during the construction period. Construction workers are not allowed to park on Sunset or any residential or local street in the vicinity, except for Los Liones Drive. ”Andrew Martin, president of the Castellammare Homeowners Association, said his group was ‘disappointed’ by the Planning Department’s decision, adding that the city is well known for being ‘developmentally biased.’ Martin’s group had lobbied for only 50 units to be built on the site. ”’We think it’s unfair to maximize revenue at the cost of the quiet and comfort of 250 homeowners,’ he said. ”Martin, along with other local residents, plan to file an appeal before tomorrow’s deadline. The appeal focuses on the the density and traffic concerns regarding the project. ”Residents wishing to appeal the approval or who are opposed to the locating the housing units on the site may file an appeal, which includes a fee of $71. The appeal must be be submitted in person on Master Appeal Form No. CP-7769 at the Department’s public offices located at 201 N. Figueroa St., downtown Los Angeles or 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Room 251, Van Nuys. Forms are available online at www.lacity.org/pln. Contact: (213) 978-1330. ”Several attempts by the Palisadian-Post to reach Ken Kahan by phone Tuesday and Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Mortimer Katz, 81; Lifetime Adventurer
Mortimer Katz, an inveterate adventurer and longtime resident of Pacific Palisades, died at home on September 5. He was 81. ”Born in Brooklyn, Katz was a Navy deep-sea diver in the South Pacific during World War II. After the war he studied engineering at Brooklyn Polytechnical Institute and then worked as a chief engineer for several large N.Y.-based machine shops until starting his own company, Applied Dynamics Corporation, in the early ’60s. The company made aircraft safety equipment and bid on government contracts. ”Determined to live in a climate that allowed him to fly every day, Katz arrived in California in 1973 after flying his Beechcraft Bonanza across the country. He took a local real estate agent up in the plane, pointed down at the Palisades and asked her to find him a house ‘there.’ He lived in the same house with its view of Catalina for over 30 years. ”With his mustache and ubiquitous cigar, Katz was a conspicuous sight for many years driving his cobalt blue Harley Davidson through the village or down Temescal Canyon en route to Culver City, where he had relocated his company. He was also a familiar sight at Santa Monica Airport, where he kept his planes, one of which was a biplane he built himself. After he stopped flying several years ago, he became an avid builder and flyer of radio-controlled aircraft and was a past president of the San Fernando Valley Giant Scale Squadron. ”Among his many passions, Katz was an accomplished horseman, dog lover, hypnotist, deep-sea fisherman, sailor and hunter. He passed along his many skills to the vast coterie of younger men and women he mentored. ”He is survived by his wife, Joan Frosh, a retired LAUSD teacher; his children, Andrea R. Vaucher, a journalist and author in Santa Monica, and Robert A. Katz, a Santa Monica-based real estate broker; and his sister, Joyce Bobley of Palm Beach, Florida. ”A private memorial service will be held at the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey.
Palisadian Teen Intern Shadows Pediatrician
By JULIAN SUHR Palisadian-Post Intern When most teens think of a summer job, they usually think about working at a restaurant, grocery store, or other such venue. But Bryan Wong, son of Gordon and Shirley Wong, who own Marquez Knolls Pharmacy, chose a far more exciting and stimulating way to spend the summer’ interning for a pediatrician. ”Wong, a senior at Palisades High School, heard about the program in an announcement on the school’s PA system, and chose the internship at Pacific Ocean Pediatrics. ”Initially, Wong shadowed various pediatricians and helped them with their duties. Eventually, the program developed to the point where the interns operated independently following schedules set up by doctors. ‘But the doctors were always around to help you if you had a question,’ said Wong. He also got to work in a few hospital nurseries and ERs, including those at Santa Monica Hospital and St. John’s Hospital. ”Dr. Robert Hamilton of Pacific Ocean Pediatrics has been hosting this internship program for about 20 years. Prospective interns often learn about the program through school counselors or by word of mouth. There are no set criteria for interns, but the program is geared towards those with excellent academics. Dr. Hamilton rotates the interns to work at different facilities, such as St. John’s Hospital and Santa Monica Hospital, as well as a few private practices. ‘The program focuses mainly on pediatricians, but I believe that it offers a good overall look at the profession for anyone considering a medical career,’ Hamilton said. ”Wong has clearly enjoyed the experience. The most interesting part of the internship was being on-site for a Caesarean section, something that most of us probably don’t get to witness during our summer jobs. When asked if he would still like to be a doctor, Wong said that he would enjoy pursuing a career in medicine. It involves a great deal of crying babies, but that is just an occupational hazard.
Lean on Me: McGowan’s Door Open to Troubled Teenagers
By BRENDA HIMELFARB Palisadian-Post Contributor Bella McGowan begins each work day by puffing up her couch pillows, putting the books in order, filling the candy dish, making sure the Kleenex and rocking chair are in place and generally keeping her office cozy and inviting. Her dog, Murphy, a wheaten terrier adopted from the pound four years ago, is at her side. McGowan has been the psychologist at Palisades High for nine years. Although much of her work requires an appointment, at lunchtime she keeps her office door open for anyone who just wants to hang out, read, play with Murphy or, perhaps, talk. ‘My office is the one place on campus where the kids can come and relax,’ McGowan says. ‘It’s a place where they can talk with confidentiality, where they can talk freely. I welcome them and am here to help with problems and give support.’ Teen depression is so common that this year McGowan invited Richard Lieberman, head of the suicide prevention unit for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), to address PaliHi’s faculty about suicide and the critical roles teachers play. In many cases, teachers are the first to notice at-risk students or those who need support, and knowing how to handle these cases is vital. ‘There is a full-time psychologist at every high school in the LAUSD,’ says McGowan. ‘The most important thing that we do is to provide emotional support to students, and staff as well.’ At one time or another, all adolescents experience depression, but it is the degree of depression that experts worry about. Recent research shows that students are happier and succeed better at school when they feel connected. They also found that students with at least three adult relationships outside the primary caregiver are happier and more successful. Those strong, supportive relationships are positive indicators for a healthy adult life. ‘This year I’m starting a peer mentoring program to help ninth grade students feel more comfortable,’ McGowan explains. ‘I want kids to benefit from an upper-classmate’s experiences. I want them to feel safe and to learn how to talk to one another; these are important life skills. ‘I want to train kids to recognize symptoms of depression. I recall many instances where kids have come to me and told me about someone who needs help. These days, kids aren’t as secretive.’ ”In fact, last year, McGowan was able to help a student in distress, through a phone conversation. ”’Some girls were talking to their friend on a cell phone,’ explains McGowan, ‘when they got very concerned about what she was saying. They came to me and I spoke with the girl; there was no one at home. We called the paramedics and I was able to intervene. The girl received the treatment she needed and when she came back to school, she thanked me. If kids hear about that, they will take that information and will now trust. It’s a little bit like a ‘pay it forward.’ There are many people doing that for students. There are very thoughtful, compassionate teachers.’ ”According to McGowan, today’s teenagers have different pressures, based upon what’s going on. For instance, it’s harder to get into college; there’s a lot more peer pressure. These days, technology has made everyone aware of everything, so there’s no difference between a small town and a big city, if one has a television set or computer. Teenage fears and problems are the same anywhere. ”’The messages we give at school are the same parents are giving at home,’ says McGowan. ‘Students can get it from the administration, counselors, psychologist and teachers. ‘If teachers see a student who is more sullen, sad or with his head on the desk, we’re very sensitive. Sometimes kids are referred to me by teachers, security guards, parents, grandparents or even neighbors. There are a lot of good Samaritans out there. Kids refer kids. They might say, ‘See so and so always standing alone’?’ The first thing people see when they enter McGowan’s office is Murphy on the couch. Parents, teachers and students find themselves petting him while they relay their problems. He provides comfort. ‘I’m better known as ‘the lady with the dog,’ says McGowan. I call him my ‘therapy dog.’ Kids who might be fearful to see me, will come to see Murphy and then will find themselves in an office where they can get help. They might have lunch and have no place to go. So they’ll come by for a piece of candy just to be connected.’ And Murphy’s always there to greet them. Editor’s Note: Part three of this series on teenage depression, appearing in next week’s Palisadian-Post, will explore how to determine if your teenager is depressed.
St. Matthew’s Sports Update
The St. Matthew’s seventh-grade girls volleyball team beat Campbell Hall Blue, 25-9, 25-15, in its Junior Delphic League opener last week. Down by 4-0 and 9-7 scores in the first game, the Falcons roared back when Meg Norton served 18 straight service points, including 10 aces, to close out the game. Setter Bonnie Wirth began Game 2 by serving 12 straight points, including eight aces. Cami Winding’s passing, Nicola Kronstadt’s accurate serving along with the consistency of starters Kate Morrissey and Caity Croft kept St. Matthew’s ahead throughout. Solid contributions from Carlye Gordon, Katrina Rochlin and Kyra Richardson further stymied the Vikings. St Matthew’s, coached by Andy Bernstein and Howard Feldberg, hosts Campbell Hall’s gold team next Wednesday. 8th-Grade Volleyball Under first-year coach John Caravella the Falcon girls defeated Windward in their Junior Delphic League opener, 25-16, 25-22. Katie McNutt served nine straight points to give St. Matthew’s a 9-1 lead in the first game and had three key kills late in the second game. Setters Lizzy Porter and Claire Soley ran the offense expertly while Anne Turner, Emily Slemaker and Emily Spradling set up many plays with her accurate passes. The Falcons’ roster includes Eleanor Combs, Codie Dicus, Rylee Ebsen, Taylor Frey, Sheridan Hathaway, Diana Irvine, Claire McCracken, and Audrey Turner. next Monday. The squad hosts St. Paul on October 4. 8th Grade Football Defeated St. Mel’s 14-8 in its Junior High Delphic League opener. Matt Bagnard threw touchdown passes to Bobby Kazimiroff and Logan Shoop and a two-point conversion pass to Shoop. Rory Behr rushed for 35 yards in five carries, Evan Palmer had three receptions and Kenny Fowlkes, Chet Hanks and Nick Barnes all contributed on offense. Hanks had five sacks on defense while Bagnard added two sacks and an interception. Linebackers and defensive backs (Palmer, Behr and Bagnard Dylan Bostick, Ryan Ashley, Conor Knowles and Fowlkes) played extremely well. St. Matthew’s is coached by Gary Bradison and John Norwood. The Falcons’ next game is next Friday, Oct. 8, when they host Harvard-Westlake Red.
Finished Before She Starts
Palisades’ Top Tennis Player Quits One Night Before Season Opener
If the Palisades High girls tennis team is to become No. 1 in the City this season, it will have to do so without its No. 1 player. On the eve of the Dolphins’ first match sophomore Olivia Colman informed Coach Bud Kling that she had dropped out of school to enroll in an independent study program. “I made the decision [to leave Palisades] because I have a spinal condition that causes my hamstrings to tighten up and going to school all day was too hard on my back,” said Colman, who compiled a 23-3 singles record as a freshman last fall. “I loved being on the team last year. Everyone was really nice, Coach Kling was very helpful and I’m glad I did it. My goal right now is to play national tournaments and be ranked in the top 10 in the 18s.” Kling said he was never made aware of Colman’s spinal condition nor did she tell any of her teammates about it. “I think it’s just another excuse she’s using for simply not wanting to play for us,” said Kling, who has coached the Pali girls to 12 City titles. “She could’ve done everything she’s doing now–the yoga, the massage therapy, the physical fitness, the private lessons, even the independent study curriculum–and still been part of our program. Her mom also claimed none of the classes Olivia took last year will count towards college but I confirmed through our counseling office that every class was NCAA certified except for science. “High school tennis provides a unique environment that you don’t get to experience anywhere else,” Kling continued. “It’s unfortunate that after all the concessions we made Olivia doesn’t feel any accountability or obligation to the team.” Kling had beefed up Pali’s nonleague schedule in an effort to provide more challenging competition for his top player, but without her the Dolphins were routed by Mira Costa 17-1, then defeated soundly by Malibu, 12-6, three days later. With Coleman, a 15-year-old currently ranked 38th in Southern California in the 16s and 70th in the 18s, the Dolphins were the clear-cut favorite to win their first City title in six years. Without her, the rest of the players know they must pick up the slack in order to achieve their goal. “We’re quite disappointed because we are really determined to win City this year and now all of a sudden we don’t have our best player,” Pali co-captain Brittany O’Neil said. “Olivia was given a lot of freedom to do her own thing. Coach Kling didn’t make her come to practice and we were all fine with that. Not a single player was resentful. We were happy to have her for the matches. We’d love for her to come back but she’s gone so we just have to make the best of it.” Palisades opens defense of its Western League championship at Westchester today.
Dealing with Depression
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
By BRENDA HIMELFARB Palisadian-Post Contributor It had been a hectic Saturday for Josh Mills, a Palisades High School junior. As a talented drama student, he had directed four shows for a regional high school drama festival, had gotten very little sleep and was totally exhausted. ”So, Sunday morning, when his mother, Ruth, insisted that he study for his Spanish test, Josh could hardly move. Having to do anything, particularly study for a test, was the last thing he wanted to do. He was simply wiped! Josh finally dragged himself out of bed and over to the dining room table where Ruth, a teacher at Palisades High, had placed all the books together to begin their work. He sat there, half asleep, at times laying his head down on the table, eyes closed. He just didn’t have any energy. In fact, it got to the point where Ruth had to constantly awaken him to answer questions. This went on for a time, and then Josh ‘lost it.’ He absolutely had had enough. In a rage, Josh jumped up from the table, threw a chair cushion and began screaming at his mother, then his father, who rushed into the room to see what was going on. Ruth recalls that her husband later said that the eyes of the boy he saw were like those of a wild man. The ranting, screaming person Ruth and her husband were watching was not the gentle Josh they knew. That Sunday’November 8, 1998’is a date that Ruth and Josh will never, ever forget. They know exactly where they were, what they were doing and how unreal it all seemed. Their lives were forever changed. ‘I had gotten mad and had yelled at my mom before’all teenagers do’but this was different,’ recalls Josh. ‘Afterwards, instead of getting over it, I kind of shut down. I don’t remember what my mood was or whether I talked the rest of the day, but I do remember thinking, the next day, that I wanted space from mom, my whole family. It wasn’t so much that I was mad. I just needed space and I wasn’t getting it. ‘I went to school for a few days and then I stopped going to school. I really couldn’t go and I really didn’t want to go. And it wasn’t the ‘don’t want to go to school’ like every kid says every so often. It was that I really didn’t care. I had no interest in a future or anything.’ ”Ruth called the school psychologist, Bella McGowan, but this made Josh furious and, once again, he got very angry. Finally, he agreed to see her with his parents. ‘Josh told Bella that he didn’t feel like doing anything,’ Ruth remembers. ‘He didn’t feel like getting up or going to school any more. He was having trouble sleeping at night, and then sleeping too much during the day. He had always been thin, but suddenly he began losing weight.’ What Josh was going through are just some of the signs of teenage depression. And the statistics are staggering. Among adolescents, one in eight suffers from depression. Only about 30 percent receive any sort of intervention or treatment. The other 70 percent simply struggle through much pain and turmoil, doing their best to make it to adulthood. Josh was fortunate to have such love and support from his sister, Jeanette, and his parents, who insisted that he needed help and were committed to finding the right treatment for their son. ‘It’s not Bella’s place to make a diagnosis, but she said that it sounded like it could be depression and she suggested that we take him to a clinic where Josh could see a psychologist, and if he needed medication, a psychiatrist,’ Ruth explained. ‘So we took him to the St. John’s Child and Family Development Center, where we met a psychiatrist who agreed that there was a moderate degree of depression and a medication was prescribed.’ Josh did well for awhile. But then his grades began to fall, and in less than six months he had a relapse. In March 1999, Josh entered UCLA’s NeuroPsychiatric Institute (NPI) in the Adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program, an outpatient program that offers three hours of school daily. ‘I really didn’t want to go there,’ admits Josh. ‘I thought it was a step backward. Part of me was hoping that eventually I would feel better and be able to go back to school, but that wasn’t going to happen. My parents and my psychologist and her supervisor, whom I had never even met, all talked to me. I was really mad. It was almost like an intervention. They told me that I had to do this, that I just couldn’t sit around the house every day. They told me I was ‘stuck’ and that I was going to be an in-patient if I didn’t go. So, very reluctantly, I joined the program.’ Most teens are admitted for two to four weeks. Josh spent time in the program from March until June, receiving several types of therapy: group, individual, recreational, occupational and educational. His depression manifested itself as a school-related anxiety. ‘This was a kid who had sailed through school,’ Ruth said. ‘But he was at a point where he literally couldn’t open a book, so the educational psychiatrist worked with him. ‘The first day they sat there and looked at the book. The second day, they would open the book. The third day, they would open the book to his assignment. And on the fourth day, they would have Josh answer one of the questions from the assignment. Josh gradually went from that helpless condition to being able to work with an outpatient educational therapist. Then he was able to do his work if one of us helped him. Then, if one of us just sat in his room. And this went on into the beginning of college. Finally he got to the point where, like any other student, he would come home and do his assignments on his own, which you expect from a high school kid.’ Josh graduated with his high-school class and recently completed Santa Monica College. He begins UCLA this month. ‘I took a lot of time getting through SMC. I took things slowly and never took a heavy load,’ says Josh. ‘I didn’t even take classes every semester. Attending UCLA has been a lifelong dream of mine. I’m nervous about going, but I know that’s a natural feeling for any new college student.’ These days Josh says he feels ‘really good.’ He’s on two medications: Effexor and Risperdal, an anti-anxiety drug that helps calm him down at the end of the day. ‘We’re at the point where I am able to lower my dose,’ says Josh, happily. ‘Depression is something that can be dealt with, ‘ he adds. ‘Even if it can’t be completely cured, you can have a normal life, a great life. And if you deal with it, you can move on and if you don’t get help, who knows what can happen to you? It’s one of those things that you have to acknowledge and say, ‘This is where we are. We need to deal with it. We can’t ignore it. We can’t hide it.’ ‘Depression affects the whole family, not just the patient,’ Ruth said. ‘For parents of teenagers, it’s very hard to tell how much is normal teenage rebellious behavior and how much is depression. If your child is suddenly confrontational, if his grades start to drop, if the things that have always given him pleasure stop giving him pleasure, it should be noted. So many parents don’t know what it is when it hits. We were lucky, because I worked at his school and I knew the school psychologist and we immediately had someone to go to. And we had what turned out to be a correct diagnosis within 48 hours. ‘When Josh first got depressed, I thought, What did we do? Should I not have helped him with Spanish that day? Is that what triggered it? That was a trigger that day. Another day it would have been something else. But I was assured that this was inevitable. This was going to happen.’ Dealing with depression is not always easy, something Josh readily acknowledges. ‘I think I’m certainly on the outside of it now,’ Josh says. ‘I don’t ever want to press my luck and say it’s all behind me. I know that there’s always the possibility that it will come back. I do worry about it coming back, but that is out of my control. And I know that if I keep doing the things that I need to do and lead the life that I know is good for me, the chances of depression coming back are probably pretty slim.’ (Editor’s Note: See related story about Bella McGowan, the Palisades High School psychologist, on page 15.)
Spikers Defuse Lighthouse
Not even a last-minute switch of opponents could deter Palisades High’s girls varsity volleyball team from posting its second victory Monday afternoon. The Dolphins were supposed to have hosted Malibu, but instead it was Lighthouse Christian Academy that showed up at the Pali gymnasium. No matter, Palisades got off to a fast start and held off a furious comeback attempt by the previously-undefeated Saints to post a 25-13, 25-23, 18-25, 25-16 intersectional victory. The win came two days after the Dolphins lost to San Pedro, 26-24, in the semifinals of the Chatsworth Tournament. ‘Because of the situation we didn’t have a great warm-up and we gave them so many points in the first two games even though we won,’ Palisades’ senior setter Diana Grubb said. ‘They were pretty determined and we had to step it up at the end.’ Palisades took a commanding Megan Chanin served four consecutive aces to give Pali a commanding 20-8 lead in the first game and Kaylie McCallister ended the match with a crosscourt kill. Coach Cheri Stuart chose to rest starting middle blocker Natasha Vokhshoori so that reserves Alina Kheyfets and Margarita Juarez could gain valuable match experience. ‘I switched our lineup to see how some of the younger players would respond,’ said Stuart, who learned a lot about how her team stacks up against the rest of the City from its performance in Chatsworth. ‘Skill-wise I think we’re better than most of the teams I saw. We’re still young and inexperienced but I’ve seen incredible improvement so far.’ After suffering a season-opening sweep at the hands of Santa Monica, the Dolphins beat Sylmar twice in three days’first in a nonleague match last Thursday, then again at the Chatsworth tournament. ‘We beat them easier the second time,’ Grubb said of Sylmar. Palisades lost its first pool play match to Chatsworth but rebounded to beat Marshall, Verdugo Hills and Canoga Park before dispatching Sylmar in the quarterfinals. One of the best players on the court Monday was Lighthouse’s 5-4 freshman fireplug Stephanie Sommer, who finished with 18 kills, four aces and 12 digs. Following in the footsteps of her older sisters, Lauren (one of the Saints’ assistant coaches) and Lindsey (an outside hitter at Concordia University), Sommer lives in the Alphabet Streets and also plays for the Sunshine Volleyball Club. ‘Our school is small, we only have about 60 students,’ Sommer said of CIF Division V-A Lighthouse, located in Santa Monica. ‘It’s not like Palisades where you have thousands of people to draw from. But I love my school and I wouldn’t want to play for anyone else. This was definitely a challenge’Pali is the best team we’ve faced’but it’s good for our confidence to know we can play with them.’ The Saints are coached by Palisadian Suzie Dimpfl, who grew up in Santa Monica and formerly played for Pepperdine and the United States national team. ‘Stephanie was about average today,’ Dimpfl said of her top player. ‘Believe it or not, she can play a lot better.’
Dolphins Feel Right at Home
Harris Rushes for Two Scores and Defense Comes Up Big in 14-12 Win
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
The scenario at halftime was all too familiar for the Palisades High varsity football team. For the third time in as many games this season, the Dolphins trailed going into the locker room last Friday night and once again the deficit was due to their own lack of execution. However, senior quarterback Dylan Cohen pointed out what he believed to be a weakness in the opponent’s defense and pointed it out during the chalk talk. To their credit, the coaches listened, and junior running back Andre Harris did the rest. ‘I let the coaches know that the two hole and four hole were open and we could run it right down their throats all night,’ Cohen said. ‘Before the first play [of the second half] I told Andre he was gonna’ get the ball and he did his thing from there.’ That ‘thing’ was a spectacular 72-yard touchdown run on the Dolphins’ first play from scrimmage which gave the Dolphins a lead they would never relinquish on their way to a 14-12 nonleague victory over Los Angeles at Stadium by the Sea. Harris ran roughshod through the Romans, gaining 210 yards in just 10 carries. He broke tackles repeatedly, frustrated would-be tacklers with stiff straight arms and dragged defenders with him for extra yardage. ‘Yeah, he was hard to tackle,’ Romans’ defensive back Patrick Morrison said of Harris. ‘Several times we thought we had him trapped and he escaped.’ Harris scored Pali’s first offensive touchdown in nearly 10 quarters on a 58-yard run up the middle that gave the Dolphins a short-lived 7-6 lead with 2:08 remaining in the first half. ‘We had to win this game and I felt I had to pick the team up,’ Harris said. ‘The turning point was that first possession of the third quarter. We may have been down, but we kept telling each other we were still in the game and we could still win.’ Marquise Coleman added 36 yards in seven carries for Palisades (1-2). When senior linebacker Dave Villalobos made a juggling interception, Pali appeared poised to take a one-point lead into halftime, but defensive end Maynard Walker intercepted a slant pass by Cohen at midfield and returned it to the Dolphins’ six-yard line. Morrison plowed off right tackle on the next play to give L.A. a 12-7 lead. ‘At that point, I kept thinking to myself ‘Here we go again,” said Leo Castro, who earned his first victory in three tries as the Dolphins’ head coach. ‘We were dropping passes, dropping easy interceptions, taking silly penalties. Nothing was going right. But the great thing about football is that each game presents you with many opportunities and in the second half we were able to capitalize on a few of them.’ A running into the kicker penalty gave Los Angeles an automatic first down to keep its opening drive alive, but the Romans’ eventually turned the ball over on downs. The ensuing drive ended when Pali wide receiver Anthony Anaebere dropped a sure touchdown pass after sneaking behind the L.A. secondary. Early in the second quarter, Brandon Bryant’s errant snap sailed five feet over Cohen’s head and, after retrieving the loose ball, the Pali punter was gang-tackled at the Dolphins’ 1-yard line. Raymond Mouton’s quarterback sneak gave Los Angeles a 6-0 lead on the next play. ‘That was all my fault,’said Bryant, who had predicted the Dolphins’ offense would bust loose in front of its home crowd. ‘I got a little too overanxious and just hiked it over Dylan’s head. We struggled, I struggled, but we battled back. No team can stop us, we can only stop ourselves.’ Los Angeles (1-2) advanced to the Dolphins’ 12-yard line with five minutes left but Bryant atoned for his earlier miscue with a leaping interception. On their last drive, the Romans marched to the Palisades 36 before Anaebere picked off a pass by Christian Martinez and returned it 40 yards with 43 seconds left. Cohen completed just one pass for six yards, threw two interceptions and missed a 28-yard field goal, but no one was happier when the game was over. ‘This was a huge win,’ Cohen said. ‘We had to have this game. It doesn’t matter to me how we do it, as long as we come out on top in the end.’ Pali players were inspired throughout the game by a trio of alumni looking on from the sideline: former quarterback and Palisadian-Post Cup Award-winner Carlos Flores (Class of ’99), former tight end/defensive back Stamen Borisov (Class of ’99) and former tight end/defensive end Melvin Hayes (Class of ’98). ‘I was pretty confident the whole time that we’d come back and win,’ said Flores, who played quarterback at Virginia Union, a Division II college, and now works as a bodyguard for a management company. ‘But towards the end it was a little shaky. But I’m proud of the guys for hanging in there and pulling it out.’ Frosh/Soph Sophomore receiver Javon Crowder caught touchdown passes of 40 and 45 yards from quarterback Michael Latt and also scored on a reverse’all in the first half’as the host Dolphins (1-1-1) posted a 21-6 victory.
