Taylor, Grosse Win Council ‘Sparkplug’ Award

The Pacific Palisades Community Council has named Lisa Taylor and John Grosse as the town’s 2007 Golden Sparkplug winners. The award has been presented annually since 1974 to ‘honor those citizens who ignite ideas and projects into community action which affect all of us.’ Taylor was chosen for her efforts in battling persistent graffiti in the stairway between Haverford Avenue and the Methodist Church parking lot. Last September, soon after moving to the Palisades with her husband and two children, Taylor began walking her son, Jimmy, 6, up the stairs to Palisades Charter Elementary. Distressed by the graffiti and vandalism, she decided to take action. Armed with a gallon of paint from Norris Hardware, Taylor painted over the scrawl on the fence lining the stairway, only to find new graffiti on benches the next day. She learned that the Chamber of Commerce gives out graffiti-fighting materials to citizens and that the police request photographs, which she has been doing ever since. From the photographs the police are able to see whether the tagging is gang-related. If it’s not, they’re able to accumulate the same moniker on different sites, so that when the tagger is eventually apprehended they can arrest for more than one offense. Hardly a week has gone by the past eight months that Taylor hasn’t had to give some attention to the area. She has enlisted her family to help, with Moran, 3, wielding a paintbrush and Jimmy trying to think of ways to catch the ‘robbers.’ Taylor keeps a corner of the family’s garage dedicated to anti-graffiti supplies, and pays their gardener to keep garbage and leaves cleaned out of the stairwell. She plans to apply for a city beautification grant in hopes that having having a mural painted in the stairwell will deter vandals. Husband Jim, who grew up in the Palisades and graduated from Palisades High, said about his wife: ‘Lisa is not the first person to work against graffiti in our neighborhood, nor will she be the last. However, Lisa has shown a dedication to our community this is matched by few.’ John Grosse is being recognized for his ongoing efforts to ease traffic congestion and parking problems around Marquez Charter Elementary that have been generated by increased local enrollment. Residents complained about morning and afternoon gridlock to the school principal, LAUSD and city officials and received little response. Grosse decided to take action. Responding to residents on Jacon Way complaining that they were unable to get off their street during school drop-off time because of traffic, the Grosses (who live on Edgar Street) sent flyers to people in the neighborhood, seeking members for a committee to address the traffic problem. They acquired 23 volunteers. Grosse started working with former Marquez principal Lewin Dover and is now working with new principal Phillip Hollis. As a result of various meetings, a new crosswalk and a stop sign have been installed at the west intersection of Marquez Avenue and Edgar Street, as well as ‘No Left Turn’ and ‘No U-turn’ signs at Bollinger Drive and Livorno Drive to help control traffic. ‘As a resident of this area, I can attest to the fact that these changes have already made a major impact on reducing congestion in the area,’ Janet Turner wrote in her nomination letter to the Community Council. Margaret Goff, president of the Marquez Knolls Homeowners Association, concurred. ‘He deserves the award with the amount of work that he’s done towards this project. ‘His tenacity and perseverance are admirable.’ Grosse, a retired aerospace engineer, said he other traffic-calming ideas, including obtaining more on-site school parking and re-activating a DASH bus system to transport students between the Highlands and Marquez Elementary. ‘I’m going to solve this problem,’ he told the Palisadian-Post. ‘I don’t give up until I can find a solution.’