The playground and small gym have reopened at Palisades Recreation Center following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, July 31.
The small gym has reopened with several programs, Senior Facility Director Jasmine Dowlatshahi explained, including Coffee & Community on Thursdays at 11:30 a.m., Tai Chi with Guy Horton on Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m., Pickleball on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 11:30 a.m., Open Play Basketball on Tuesdays and Fridays at 4 p.m., and a Summer Ballet Camp.
Select programming is slated to continue at Palisades Recreation Center until December, with groundbreaking currently planned for January 2026 on rebuilding the property—an effort led by Steadfast LA and LA Strong Sports. Other programming, including basketball, will continue to take place at alternate locations, like Oakwood Recreation Center.
Following the Palisades fire, the tennis center and large gym were reported on the CAL FIRE Damage Inspection Map as “destroyed,” meaning they were at least 50% damaged. Debris removal work has been completed.
The recently completed new playground was funded by Los Angeles Parks Foundation, through “monetary and in-kind contributions” from FireAid, GameTime and Banc of California. It was “designed to be universally accessible and inclusive, and to offer safe and joyful spaces for children ages 2 to 12,” according to LAPF.
More than 450 attendees tuned into a special meeting co-hosted by Pacific Palisades Community Council and Councilmember Traci Park on Thursday evening, August 7, to review a “recovery vision” for what lies ahead and a presentation by AECOM.
Park addressed the “pivotal moment” for the community as it reached seven months after the Palisades fire, transitioning from “mop up and debris removal” into the “long-term construction phase” in what will be “the largest construction effort in our city’s history.” She said she took information from “hundreds of meetings,” time spent in areas that experienced disasters, like Lahaina and Paradise, and meetings with contractors, builders and beyond into a “vision document.”
“As your councilmember, I am adamant that your voices and your needs and priorities and that your decisions are at the core of every decision we make and every step that we take going forward,” Park said. “My office and I are going to be here to help provide the coordination and the policy tools and support that you need, as well as the help that you’re going to need to continue your journey through this recovery.”
Park then shared her “recovery vision,” detailing that it would be “community-led” and “government-supported,” while rebuilding “the Palisades for the victims” and preserving the character. She also addressed improving emergency preparedness and modernizing infrastructure.
She detailed recovery surveys that were administered with the help of Maryam Zar and Palisades Recovery Coalition on a “wide range of issues,” spanning “insurance challenges; rebuilding priorities, plans and timelines; and infrastructure and public amenities upgrades and changes.”
“Most respondents lived in the Palisades for over 20 years and nearly 40% had children living under the age of 18 living with them at the time of the fire,” Park said of the just-under 1,000 responses.
About 37% said they planned to live outside of the Palisades for more than two years, while 32.5% said they would be back in less than two years and 30.5% were unsure. For those who were unsure, less than 35% reported “being adequately insured for the losses or damages” suffered.
The recovery vision included land use and preservation of community character, protecting and assisting property owners and renters, supporting small business recovery, infrastructure to support fire safety and emergency preparedness, protecting and restoring the natural environment, coordinated operations and logistics for the rebuild, restoring public spaces and amenities, and governance and funding strategy for the long-term rebuilding effort.
“The Pacific Palisades is a very unique coastal community with extremely limited ingress and egress, many sub-standard, old, narrow roads … ” Park described. “It is imperative that we continue to treat the Palisades with the due care that is necessary in all of our planning as we move through the rebuilding phase. I also think that it is really important that we respect the character of the Palisades, its natural beauty, the low-density hillside neighborhoods, your walkable village center.”
When it comes to coordinated operations and logistics for the rebuild, Park said she was “very, very grateful” to have AECOM on board to take on the load of the “very heavy lift.” Mayor Karen Bass announced on June 6 that the global infrastructure firm had been selected to “support a number of long-term components in the city’s recovery effort.”
AECOM Program Manager Matt Talley, who is also a disaster survivor, presented during the PPCC meeting after Park concluded, reporting in an activity update that they had “integrated with all relevant city department working groups” in the three weeks they have been involved, having attended more than 15 meetings at the time of the meeting.
Talley detailed three main areas of focus: infrastructure, including water and power; fire protection; and logistics and traffic management, mainly during the construction phase. Within the next 120 days, Talley said, the community can expect to see “three concrete plans,” which will be “data-driven” with “community input.”
“This is going to be a roadmap,” according to AECOM. “It lays out what the next steps are to your focus on concrete, action-oriented activities, so it really is intended to be a roadmap to continue the progress moving forward.”
The infrastructure restoration plan includes an “assessment of existing damage and current status, baseline infrastructure data, restoration tiers and strategic framework for rebuild,” according to the slideshow.
The fire protection plan “outlines phased strategies for fire protection and prevention mitigation measures, firefighting water supply alternatives, emergency access, evacuation planning and community protection priorities.” This involves coordinating with agencies like Los Angeles Fire Department and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Logistics and traffic management will include “access assessment, staging strategies, traffic control plans, protocols to support safe and efficient recovery operations.”
The meeting included after an hour Q&A session with members of the board and community.
A sample rendering Photo courtesy of Sabrina Halper
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
The Palisades Village Green Board hosted a virtual meeting the evening of July 31 to discuss a proposed public art installation at the site.
“Historically, the board has been very conservative in not doing anything to change the Green,” Village Green President Cindy Wilkinson Kirven explained. “It virtually looks the same as it did when it was installed.”
Now, Kirven continued, the privately owned Village Green and its all-volunteer board of community stakeholders are in an “unusual circumstance,” after the park sustained damage in the Palisades fire, including the loss of two sheds, a pear tree, all of its electric and “a lot of sprinklers [that] melted.” During reconstruction, the board will consider ideas like consolidating the sheds to clear space for something else.
“There could be space for the proposed art project, there could be space for benches,” Kirven said. “We talked about use of the Green … and whether or not the Green is laid out as the best use for now and for the next 50 years.”
Kirven said the board was approached by Sabrina Halper (granddaughter of longtime city of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commissioner and Palisadian Joe Halper) who is working with Elad Gil, who resided in the Huntington while Covid restrictions were in place and he could work remotely.
“They have come and offered to support, pay for and create—if that’s what we decide—install and create a maintenance fund for a piece of public art as a meaningful installation to honor and memorialize this moment in the community’s history,” Kirven said.
Kirven described the meeting as a “very early discussion” of the proposed project, with input and suggestions being sought before a design is finalized.
“These are just ideas,” Sabrina said before beginning her presentation on the proposed project. “Please be completely transparent with what you like and don’t like, and we can keep iterating and working with artists.”
Sabrina detailed her history of being raised in the Palisades from the age of 4, attending Village School and spending “after school hours at the park, Garden Cafe and Fancy Feet.” Her parents still reside in the Palisades, while she moved to the Bay Area to attend Stanford.
After two years in New York, she is living in San Francisco, working with Gil—a “technology serial entrepreneur and investor” who believes “deeply in supporting public spaces and civic inspiration.”
The public art initiative, Alexandria, launched in December 2024 and is focused on four cities—LA, Washington, D.C., Miami and New York City—for site selection. It is funded by Gil and a “small number of anon donors to date.”
The principles of the proposed project, Sabrina said, are to “restore the Green in its entirety: damaged landscaping and electrical features in need of repair”; “build something long-term beautiful, inspiring, additive, that respects the tragedy of the fires but looks to the rebuilt future”; “respect and reflect the ethos of the Palisades community”; and “maintain public gathering aspects of the Green that reflect current uses while adding a work of inspiration.”
The concept—which Sabrina said is flexible—is 20 to 30 feet in height, exploring “various materials,” including marble, bronze and carbon fiber. There are “various potential locations throughout the Green,” depending on the final statue selection.
“The Palisades has a very specific feel to it,” Sabrina noted. “It’s casual, beachy, it’s a really tight-knit community. So in all of the renderings, I tried to think of feelings and images that would fit into that and not do something too modern or too different.”
Sabrina presented several concepts, designed with feedback in mind from a previous conversation with the board, beginning with a flock of birds or phoenix rising, “honoring the strength of a community forged by fire, and lifting our gaze toward a shared and soaring future.” The next concept was an arch, representing a “step into something new” as a “symbol of transition.”
Additional concepts were a tree (standing for “life, growth and starting again” while being “grounded, steady and always moving forward”) and column of hope (a “tribute to the Palisades,” “engraved with images of homes, the beach and the Village’s historic arched building”). Past ideas, that Sabrina described as having “less interest” in them, were a gazebo (a “welcoming space where people can gather”) and Eos (“the goddess of the dawn,” who “symbolizes renewal”).
Each of the concepts Sabrina presented are customizable, with a range of possibilities discussed during the meeting, including adding a mosaic crafted from pieces of items found by Palisadians from their homes.
Following her presentation, Sabrina and Kirven opened the meeting up for feedback from board members and attendees, receiving comments to focus on the scale, functional elements (including seating) and thoughts on the concepts.
“It’s really important that we bring our community and our remnants, our feelings, our ideas to it and that those are the things that really drive us,” Village Green Board Member Lou Kamer said. “I would love to see incorporation with the local artists. I would like to see Palisadians come up with these final ideas and understand the Green for what it is, in terms of scale, in terms of lighting, the specific plan, traffic, all of those other things.”
After taking notes on feedback received from the community, Sabrina said she would “make sure that everything is taken into account,” adding there were “many good ideas and really important thoughts” shared.
“Hopefully we can all come together to create something,” Sabrina concluded.
Additional renderings are posted at instagram.com/palisadesvillagegreen, where community members have been invited to comment with feedback.
The Palisadian-Post presents an homage to Will Rogers’ column, “Will Rogers Says,” with a column by Palisadian Jimmy Dunne—on life in the “greatest town in America.”
Throw It Out of Bounds
I stopped my bike looking at Pali High’s football field the other day. A hot August day.
Started dreaming about myfootball career. Peaked when I was in eighth grade.
St. Francis Falcons. Our Catholic grammar school team in La Grange, Illinois. Those autumn Sunday games would be absolutely packed.
As a little kid, you dreamed of someday running through the huge banner held out by the cutest cheerleaders. Just roaring across the field to a sea of St. Francis fans cheering on their Falcon warriors.
I played left halfback. I had one move. That’s it.
I didn’t care what play the quarterback called. If I got the ball, I was grabbing that thing and going “left.”
Heading straight to the left sideline and then doing my move. The “stiff arm.” The goal of my play was to end up still standing up.
The other end of the spectrum? What hell looked like. Running straight up the middle. Get slaughtered and end up at the bottom of a big pile of giant, goat-smelling friends.
It was a pre-season summer practice—in a record-squelching August.
Smack in the middle of the afternoon on that practice field, it felt more like the top of a barbecue grill than a park. About 250ºF, with no wind, and I’m pretty sure the Woodstock for flying bugs.
My football scouting report wasn’t exactly “peaking” after my less-than-stellar seventh-grade season. In seventh grade, they demoted me to the sixth-grade team.
That makes you feel really cool inside.
And to rub a bucket of vinegar in my wounds, my younger brother (who was in sixth grade) played on the eighth-grade team.
Didn’t help very much in the potential girlfriend department, either.
Back to that eighth-grade practice.
After a few practices, the coaches had pretty much set in stone that I (and this other kid on the team, Rick Carney) were the runts of the litter.
Carney lived right behind our house, so we were best buddies growing up. Now that I think about it, maybe Carney and I should have spent a little more time running around the block instead of on our walkie-talkie wires that ran from my house to his.
Carney and I got the hint that the coaches weren’t exactly drinking the Kool-Aid of our amazing potential—when they dished out our practice uniforms.
They ran out of football jerseys for everybody, so Carney and I just wore undershirts over our shoulder pads. When we’d run, we’d be like flapping geese with the shoulder pads bouncing and clacking around.
But the kicker was the helmets.
They didn’t have any “regular” helmets for both of us—you know, the kind with facemasks to protect you. They gave Carney and me the used, reject helmets from the old Pop Warner league in town.
Those were the kind Knute Rockne wore back in the ’30s.
No facemask. Just this decades-old, hand-me-down, brown leather thing Carney and I stuck on our heads.
But my problem was my helmet (if you’d want to call it that) didn’t really fit on my big head. I found if I wore the thing backward, it was a little snugger.
So I did that.
The only problem was sometimes the thing would flop down in front of my eyes when I was running. But you do what you gotta do.
It was the start of practice, all melting in the heat. Carney and I were standing around the coach, looking like absolute dopes in our caveman helmets. The coach told everybody to do the same thing we did at the start of every practice.
Four laps around the goalposts. Off we all went.
That’s fun.
By the end of the first lap, Carney and I were already exhausted, chugging along in our spots of last and next-to-last place. Only Carney was behind me.
I was heading down the field for lap two—now only 50 yards away from those white, wooden goalposts—where everybody else had already made the turn.
I had to stay positive, one step at a time.
Just kept picturing and dreaming about all my favorite cheerleaders who barely knew my name—wildly cheering as I’d be busting through that banner on the first game.
I wiped off the mosquitoes snacking on my face, let those shoulder pads bounce around under my Fruit of the Loom and charged down that field.
Only three yards from the goalpost. Making the turn.
I figured no point in running one extra foot if I didn’t have to. So I’d cut it close around that goal post like a downhill skier.
What I didn’t count on was the helmet flopping in front of my eyes.
Next thing I knew, I plowed right into that goalpost. And down I went. Flat on my back with my arms spread out. Out cold.
And I know this sounds like something that would happen in a cartoon, but I swear to God, my Knute Rockne helmet snapped in two—right down the middle.
The helmet looked like a cracked eggshell on the dirt next to my head, and I was like a sizzling patty on the Memorial Park griddle.
Next thing I knew, I came to, looking up at the whole team of St. Francis players.
Coach Pridmore looked down at me and asked, “Dunne, do you know what day it is?”
I looked up at my teammates.
I looked over at the two halves of my helmet. I said, “The last day of my football career.”
Fast-forward to the first game of the season. I had a new role on the team.
Announcer.
Stood on top of this two-story scaffolding with a mic and called the play-by-play.
The fans loved me. Couldn’t have been better.
Here’s the lesson I learned.
So what?
So what if I’m not a professional football player?
Last time I checked, none of those bozos on that team ever were either.
Sometimes, in football, the best move you can make is to throw it out of bounds.
Cut your losses. Take a breath.
Think of a better play—and do that.
Jimmy Dunne is a modern-day Renaissance Man; a hit songwriter (28 million hit records), screenwriter/producer of hit television series, award-winning author, an entrepreneur—and a Palisadian “Citizen of the Year.” You can reach him at j@jimmydunne.com or jimmydunne.substack.com.
The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a “green tip” to our readers in each newspaper. This edition’s tip was written by Sara Marti, board member and social media lead.
A Silent Threat: Our Window for Renewal
In the aftermath of the Palisades fire, we are presented with a critical opportunity. While we rebuild and recover, a silent threat is already at work, one that fuels these fires, pushes out native species and drains our precious groundwater: invasive plants.
As Resilient Palisades, we believe this is our chance to restore our community’s natural resilience. We’ve been working closely with experts on this topic to help our community combat this problem.
Bill Neill, president of the Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mountains Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, provided a detailed account of why we must act now.
“For the past 40 years, my primary activity in CNPS has been to protect our native flora by controlling invasive non-native plants … I closely watch for news about wildfire in natural areas, because fire can provide an opportunity to control invasive plants more easily and cheaply than without fire; and if that post-fire opportunity is not taken, infestations of invasive plants usually become worse,” Neill said.
Neill pointed to plants like Ailanthus, or Chinese tree of heaven, as a major concern in burn areas. He explained the unique danger this species presents.
“When Ailanthus trees are burned or cut without herbicide treatment, the lateral roots sprout numerous suckers, which grow into saplings and eventually into tall trees; so a single parent tree is eventually replaced by a grove,” Neill said. “The Ailanthus roots emit chemicals harmful to neighboring trees and shrubs, and can damage water and sewer lines, and the suckers have been known to grow beneath buildings causing damage.”
If any Palisades residents have an Ailanthus problem, Neill can be reached directly at bgneill@earthlink.net.
The need for a rapid response is a sentiment echoed by Steve Engelmann, an environmental science teacher at Palisades Charter High School.
“In the world of invasive species, the mantra is Early Detection, Rapid Response,” Engelmann said. “If you identify an invasive specie in the early days, while their numbers are low, you have a fighting chance. But even a slight delay in an effort to eradicate tips the scales in favor of the invasive. The amount of time, effort and money grows exponentially to the point where it becomes a lost cause. A wildfire presents an opportunity. There is an opportunity for the plant. Most invasives grow rapidly and can easily take over entire ecosystems, blocking out the recovery of the natives. There is also an opportunity to eradicate. While the landscape is still mostly bare, it is easy to move around and locate the invasives before they get established.”
Engelmann also noted the personal value of this work: “As we are all dealing with our own personal crises in the aftermath of these fires, there is something satisfying and therapeutic about helping to restore an ecosystem. As I am writing this, I’m about to head out to help restore monarch habitat at the base of Topanga Creek where invasives are at work.”
Join Our Community Effort
Resilient Palisades is here to help you get involved.
Our Removal of Invasive Plants team, led by Jordan Corral, has been in the Palisades parklands regularly with these experts, physically tackling the problem. They have been working to remove invasive plants such as castor bean, fennel, poison hemlock and vinca using manual methods of removal.
We want to empower our community to join this effort. Our RIP team offers a free service to visit your property, identify any invasive plant threats and provide a personalized action plan. By working together, we can protect our homes and restore the health of our local ecosystem.
To get involved and/or request a visit from our RIP team, visit resilientpalisades.org/rip. Take this opportunity with us to bring back a Resilient Palisades.
The Palisades Village Green could really use the community’s help right now.
(Editor’s note: To learn more about Palisades Village Green and its initiatives, visit instagram.com/palisadesvillagegreen and palisadesvillagegreen.org)
Density
Every time the density conversation comes up, we have to relive the trauma.
Book Bungalow
I loved reading about the forthcoming book bungalow/temporary library. Looking forward to visiting when it’s open.
Playground
I attended the reopening of the playground at Palisades Recreation Center. It certainly was nice to see kids on the structures and enjoying the park.
Michele International
Happy to see that Michele International has found a spot on Montana Avenue.
Got something to say? Call 310-454-1321 or email 2cents@palipost.com and get those kudos or concerns off your chest. Names will not be used.
Pictured, from left: Park, Cragg, Vein, Rogers and Allen Photos by Steve Galluzzo
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Failure is not an option: That was the message Jim Cragg sought to convey to his fellow residents Friday morning, August 8, at American Legion Ronald Reagan – Palisades Post 283.
In direct response to ongoing challenges following the Palisades fire in January, Pacific Palisades community members have formed a local Long Term Recovery Group (Pali LTRG), which is dedicated to identifying and connecting local survivors to a network of associated donor relief organizations.
Community members, fire survivors and press were invited to attend the launch event, featuring remarks from Pali LTRG leadership, local government officials and representatives from major donors.
“This group comes at a critical moment in our continued recovery,” said Jim Cragg, Pali LTRG president and board chair. Cragg is also the legionnaire in charge of the Palisades Wildfire Support Center, which was set up at Post 283 in February.
“These major relief organizations have turned to our group to help identify and vet over 10,000 Palisades families in need of money, manpower, materials and information to get their lives back,” Cragg continued. “Palisadians are relying on us.”
Pali LTRG’s mission is to provide comprehensive recovery services to individuals and households impacted by the fire, ensuring that every resident—regardless of circumstance—has continued and equitable access to the resources and support needed to rebuild.
Devised by local community leaders and supported by the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, Pali LTRG brings national expertise and more than 50 years of disaster recovery practices directly to the Palisades.
“I want to inform you that VOAD member donor agencies have tens of millions of dollars in money, manpower, building materials and education coming available in upcoming months, and that the Pali LTRG has been established to connect Palisadians who have the greatest need for those resources,” Cragg continued. “We want to introduce to you VOAD and the LTRG. There’s a California VOAD and they represent about 40 organizations—faith-based groups, nonprofits and individual nonprofits—which are going to be made available through a program called Disaster Case Management, which is social workers paid for with federal funds who’ll be assigned to people who register with FEMA and SBA. You then get put on a list where you’re connected with us.”
Larry Vein, executive director of Pali Strong Foundation, introduced Cragg, saying: “Jim has poured his heart into this community, opened up this space to create another Disaster Relief Center and is now creating another space to help out our community because we’re going to get back home.”
Pali LTRG will identify “the most vulnerable Palisadians” with Disaster Case Management, using “established criteria to receive aid in the form of money, building materials, manpower and education.”
“These resources are meant to address items not covered by insurance or federal assistance,” Cragg said.
Attending the launch were Councilmember Traci Park and Senator Ben Allen.
“From the very first days in the aftermath of the fire, the team here at the Legion has been on the ground engaging in active service and serving as an incredible resource to this community,” Park said. “They have been of great assistance to me and my office and all of the leadership working so hard to get you all home … There are people who are further along in this journey than others but it’s imperative to make sure no one’s being left behind. Neighbors helping neighbors to rebuild not only homes, but hope. I’ll remain at your side every step of the way until every family is home.”
Cragg made it clear that not all residents will receive financial aid.
“DCMs are tasked with determining those with the greatest unmet needs,” he said. “The uninsured, underinsured and those most vulnerable, including the elderly and those with special needs. The LTRG will offer training, guidance, connectedness and mental health support to those who don’t receive financial support.”
Pali LTRG Executive Director & Vice Chair Jessica Rogers confirmed 1,000 people have signed up already.
“This is a community in motion,” she said. “We’ll keep the doors open until every voice is heard and everyone’s home again.”
Pali LTRG’s Advisory Board is comprised of community leaders, civic volunteers and subject matter experts who bring “local knowledge, professional expertise and a shared commitment to equitable disaster recovery.” Members include representatives from Pali Strong, American Legion, Pacific Palisades Community Council, Pacific Palisades Residents Association and others.
“As a father of a 10-year-old girl who watched her town burn, I want to say: ‘Failure is not an option,’” Cragg reiterated. “We’re going to rebuild that town for all those kids. They’re going to have a place to come back to, to grow up in.”
For more information or to apply for assistance, visit paliltrg.org or contact info@paliltrg.org.
The Palisadian-Post is currently seeking participants who are interested in writing or photography for its fall internship program.
Those who intern will be asked to commit between two and six hours per week to composing stories or taking photos, editing, and participating in events.
To be considered, send a resume and brief background, including interest in journalism and ties to Pacific Palisades, as well as two or three writing or photography samples to mypost@palipost.com.
—SARAH SHMERLING
Fire Relief Fund | Pacific Palisades
YouTube announced on August 7 that $3 million of $15 million it has committed in the aftermath of the January fires will go toward “a new fund for creative professionals” in Los Angeles.
“The fund will support performing arts and entertainment professionals in LA who lost their homes or experienced damage due to the fires,” read information about the fund. “This includes not only YouTube creators, but also the editors, writers, costume teams and countless other professionals who make up the backbone of the creative industry.”
For additional information, including eligibility and how to apply, visit entertainmentcommunity.org/disaster-emergency-financial-assistance. —SARAH SHMERLING
UCLA Survey of Evacuation Experiences | Pacific Palisades
A UCLA-based research team has created a survey regarding evacuation experiences during the 2025 wildfires.
The study is being done in partnership with Oklahoma State, University of California, Davis, University of California, Irvine, University of Hawaii, University of North Carolina, and Utah State University to “understand the experiences of Los Angeles residents during the recent wildfire events.”
“We are aware that many in our community have experienced survey fatigue over the past six months, with individuals receiving surveys on various topics,” read a statement from UCLA. “From what we know, this is the first survey to collect data on your evacuation experiences, so we hope it complements and does not duplicate responses you’ve given in the past. The goal of this work is to inform future disaster planning efforts that take into account people’s real-life experiences from this disaster.”
Sages & Seekers has opened enrollment for fall 2025—including an in-person program via Palisades Charter High School.
The intergenerational program connects “seekers”—students in high school or college between the ages of 14 to 25—to “sages”—participants who are age 60 and above who will share their “life experience with an interested listener.”
The Pali High program will take place at the school’s temporary location at the former Sears site (302 Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica) on Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. beginning October 9.
Additional in-person programs will take place at Larchmont Charter High School – Lafayette Park, Jona Goldrich Multipurpose Center, ONEgeneration Senior Enrichment Center and JOY Center, and The Waverly School. There are also options available for online programs.
A virtual information session for “older adults and organizations who would like to learn more about” online and in-person programs will take place on Monday, August 25, at 10 a.m.
For additional information or to sign up for either the informational session or the program, visit sagesandseekers.org/enroll.
Following a fundraising campaign that launched toward the end of February, a check for $18,000 was given to Palisades Forestry Committee handed to organization representatives on Thursday morning, August 7, in the Alphabet Streets.
The fundraising effort was led by former Honorary Mayor of Pacific Palisades Jake Steinfeld and Anthony and Sue Marguleas of Amalfi Estates where copies of the Palisades flag were available for sale with Steinfeld’s mantra: “DON’T QUIT.” The Steinfeld and Marguleas families matched donations.
The flag was originally available in 2014, with a design by Sean Lim and Will Dintenfass—who met at Palisades Charter Elementary School—chosen out of more than 230 entries. Marguleas has since reprinted the flag in 2020 and 2023.
“It was really meant to show a sign of camaraderie, to show a sign of community, to show a sign of togetherness,” Steinfeld previously said of the flag. “There’s not a lot of places that you can say resemble a neighborhood and the Palisades is just that—it is a neighborhood, the greatest of all time.”
The donated funds will go toward Palisades Forestry Committee’s “reforestation and recovery efforts.” The check was presented in the Alphabet Streets near one of the young street trees the organization planted, which was singed in the Palisades fire, but survived.
Patty Ryan Bearer Burns (center) with her children, pictured, from left, Suzy Pion, Tim Bearer, Wendy Bearer and stepson Marty Burns after being inducted into the Santa Monica Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2018. Photo by Steve Galluzzo
After Losing Her Alphabet Streets Home, 94-Year-Old Patty Ryan Bearer Burns Finds Strength in Family and Memories
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Perhaps no one has experienced a richer, more fulfilling life in Pacific Palisades than Patty Ryan Bearer Burns. For 65 years she lived on McKendree Avenue in the Alphabet Streets, but in a matter of minutes seven months ago, almost everything she owned was lost forever.
Since her house burned in the Palisades fire, Patty is coping with the tragedy thanks to the love and support of her children. They have rallied around their legendary mom, who, for decades, has been an active member of the community near and dear to her heart.
“We have some history in this town,” said her youngest son, Tim Bearer, who joined Patty at the Santa Monica 4th of July Parade along with Conrad Solum (a Palisadian since 1965), Conrad’s daughter, Lori, and her fiancé, Larry Van Lint.
Solum was attending an Optimist Club meeting the morning of the blaze on January 7. The 90-year-old, affectionately known as “Bobo,” escaped with only the clothes on his back. He, too, is faced with the daunting task of starting over.
This poster of Patty Ryan Bearer Burns, a collage of images from her playing days, was on display at her Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“I spent my first 18 years growing up in the Palisades,” said Tim, who resides in Calabasas. “Along with those of my mother and my sister, Suzy, many of my close friends’ homes went up in flames. Their loss has changed my life, and I’m working with a builder to help restore my hometown. Mom’s house—the one I grew up in—won’t be rebuilt, but my sister’s will.”
Patty, who turned 94 on May 12, is displaced and coping as best she can at Brookdale Ocean House, an assisted living facility in Santa Monica. The fire destroyed her home, but could not erase a lifetime’s worth of cherished memories.
“The backyard was 20 yards by 10 yards, and we named it ‘Bearer Stadium,’” Tim recalled. “We had a volleyball net and lights were put in when I was 10 or so. By our baseball rules, it was an automatic three outs if you hit the ball into a neighbor’s yard. That’s how I learned to be a line drive hitter.”
Patty was born in Chicago but grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Santa Monica High in 1949. She and her husband, Daniel Bearer II, met playing volleyball at Incline Beach in the late ’40s, just south of the Jonathan Club.
Tim Bearer holds the perpetual trophy high upon leading his team to the Firecracker Invitational basketball championship in 1994. Photo courtesy of Tim Bearer
Daniel was also a golfer and became club champion at The Riviera Country Club. Patty and her volleyball friends from local beaches drove cross country to the National Indoors four years in a row in the early ’50s, traveling to Nashville, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Houston.
She was selected to the U.S. National team and represented our country in the Pan American Games in Mexico City in 1955. The red-white-and-blue sweats from that competition, emblazoned with USA across the front, were among the prized possessions that did not survive the fire.
Tim recounted what happened that fateful day: “I remember my Watch Duty app pinging me around 10 a.m. that a fire had erupted in the Highlands. Suzy wasted little time getting Mom out and clear of danger. She drove to her mother-in-law’s home in Bel Air, but there was no time to save things. Just a couple bags of clothes and sundries. On the morning of the 8th we were all pretty numb and Mom was in tears.”
Patty taught PE and coached the girls’ Catholic Youth Organization sports teams at Corpus Christi School from the early ’60s to 1970, then taught tennis at courts in and around the Palisades well into the ’80s.
She had a second stint as PE coach for 20 more years at Corpus and became a parishioner upon moving from Mar Vista to the Palisades in 1959. She raised four children—Danny, Wendy, Tim and Suzy—each attending Corpus Christi, Paul Revere Charter Middle and Palisades Charter High schools and inheriting her athletic genes.
Wendy Bearer performs a skateboard routine at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in 1964. Photo courtesy of Tim Bearer
Danny (Class of ’68) played tennis for two years and made it to the City Rec and Parks 12-year-old championship match while Wendy (Class of ’69) was the Most Valuable Player of her eighth-grade class at Corpus and has taken up skydiving as a hobby. They were original members of the Hobie Surf and Skate team that won the inaugural International Skateboard Championships (broadcast by ABC’s Wide World of Sports) at Anaheim’s La Palma Stadium in 1965. Afterward, Danny and Wendy were both interviewed.
“I would’ve been the youngest competitor at age 7, but was too shy to participate,” Tim said.
Danny, who died of heart failure in his Santa Monica apartment in 2009 at the age of 59, was posthumously inducted into the Skateboard Hall of Fame (located in Simi Valley) in 2012. Wendy was inducted the next year, and Patty wrote an article that August for the Palisadian-Post titled “Bearers: Skateboarding Pioneers of the Palisades” about the sport’s genesis.
“A lot of us had nailed our old rollerskates to the bottom of a 2×4 and skated on sidewalks, but the new wave was conceived by surfers when the surf was small, as a way to exercise on land and have fun doing it,” Patty wrote. “In 1963, Larry Stevenson formed a team called Makaha to compete in the new evolving sport. The wheels were such that sidewalk surfers could do more tricks than ever and gain more comfort and speed. The first members of this team were Danny and Wendy Bearer, John Freis, George Trafton, Torger Johnson, Dave and Steve Hilton, and Greg Carroll.
“Soon, contests were held all over California and other teams formed. Don Burgess and son Don Mike made up a competitive team with Peter Berg, Barry Blenkhorn, the Keller brothers, and Chris and Steve Piccilo—all Pacific Palisades kids—called the Palisades Skate Team. Hobie Alter picked up on the new sport and the Makaha team all joined Hobie Super Surfer, adding Colleen Boyd, Suzie Rowland and Woody Woodward.”
The next year, a tournament took place at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Wendy was the first competitor to receive three “10s” in a contest. Her outstanding trick was to jump from her moving board over a three-foot-high jump and land back on her board.
“As skating so closely resembled surfing, in addition to Kick Turns, 360s, 180s and wheelies (now called manuals), they did a lot of ‘walking’ moves to get to the nose of the board and did a nose wheelie (hanging 10 on a surf board),” Patty wrote. “So all you young skaters: Know there is a lot of history about your passion, but please be respectful of your sport and of all of the people and places that you affect around town.”
Patty Ryan Bearer Burns watches the Santa Monica 4th of July Parade with her son Tim and fellow Palisadian Conrad Solum.
“We invented moves as we went along,” Wendy said. “We were pioneers and had only each other to learn from.”
The siblings were both avid surfers and members of the Malibu Surf Association. Danny was ranked 17th in the country as a 17-year-old and Wendy was one of but a few female surfers. Both won the inaugural LA City Championships at Sunset Beach in 1968.
Tim, a 1976 Pali High alum, is an athlete himself. He was MVP of his Pop Warner football team, played in the PPBA World Series three times, is in the UC Santa Barbara Intramural Department Hall of Fame (after having spent 20 years playing an alumni six-man flag football tournament) and graduated from USC. For many years he pitched for the alumni team in Pali High’s annual alumni baseball game, finally retiring in 2006 at age 48.
Suzy, whose married name is Pion, was the City Section Player of the Year in 1980 and was the setter on Pali High’s state championship volleyball squad in 1979 coached by Gayle Van Meter (still the school’s only state title). She went on to play one year at UCLA and has won many paddle tennis championships at Bel-Air Bay Club (she has been a member since the late ’70s) with her mom, her husband, Jeff, and her oldest son, Chase.
The Pions moved from Kenter Canyon in Brentwood to the Alphabet Streets in 2000. Two of their three boys—Drew and Chase—starred in soccer and volleyball at Windward School.
“Our family’s full of super athletes,” Tim said. “We learned it all from my mom.”
Tim’s youngest stepbrother, Marty, was best friends with Steve Kerr (a five-time NBA champion as a player and currently the head coach of the Golden State Warriors), who briefly lived with Patty and George Burns (the kids’ stepdad from 1973 until he died 10 years ago) while Kerr’s parents, Malcolm and Ann, were diplomats in Lebanon in the early ’80s.
“Marty and Steve were one year apart at Pali High and they had all the sports covered,” Tim reminisced. “Marty was the quarterback on the football team and the setter on the volleyball team, while Steve was a pitcher and shortstop on the baseball team and the point guard on the basketball team. George was like Steve’s second dad. He joked that he taught Steve to shoot at the YMCA when he was 7 or 8. Steve always gave him credit for that.”
One of Patty’s proudest moments occurred at the Santa Monica Pier in the summer of 2018 when she was inducted into the Santa Monica Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame in a ceremony emceed by lifelong Palisadian Sam Laganà.
Patty was 87 at the time and sharing that honor with her were Wendy, Tim, Suzy and Marty. She was inducted along with fellow Samohi alum Michael O’Hara, who captained the first U.S. Olympic team in 1964 and won 21 beach titles.
“Patty was my mom’s pick to be my first tennis coach,” Laganà said at the ceremony. “And Mr. Burns was our Santa Claus.”
Tim has vowed to give back to his community and called an old client from his ad sales days, Williams Homes (a family-run new home builder in Santa Clarita for 30 years) for advice about rebuilding Patty’s home (which she and her first husband had purchased for a mere $30,000). Since then, he has become the rebuild ambassador for Williams Rebuild in the Palisades area.
“My mission is to help families restore what they’ve lost with care, expertise and a clear path forward,” he said. “I work directly with homeowners, whether they already have architectural plans or need help starting from scratch. With economy of scales pricing, my role is to clarify the process, simplify decisions and guide every step from permits to move-in.”
By continuing to use our site, you understand that we use cookies to improve your experience and collect analytics data. To find out more, read our privacy policy here.
