The storms that soaked Pacific Palisades during the third week of January helped trigger a landslide off the Via de las Olas bluffs that stopped just short of Pacific Coast Highway. A quarter of mile south of Temescal Canyon Road, the dirt, rocks, uprooted trees and shrubs completely covered a trail used by Caltrans and transients.   Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services stacked sand bags on Via de las Olas in an effort to stop rainwater from draining over the cliff (near the Mt. Holyoke viewsite). Yellow tape was also placed at the site to warn people of the danger.   At an outjutting about 100 yards south of the sandbags, a section of the sidewalk and trees adjacent to the bluffs was fenced off. A sign ‘Keep Out, Unstable Ground’ was placed on the chain-link fence.   Albert Androsky, who has lived on the street since 1962, said that since he’s lived there, maybe only a yard of ground has come off the end of the road. ‘It’s been a great place to live despite the geological hazards,’ he said.   There have been several slides along the street, including the infamous ‘killer slide’ in March 31, 1958, when a state Department of Highways supervisor was buried at the foot of Via de la Paz. PCH was subsequently relocated around the toe of the slide, closer to the ocean.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has proposed canceling Commuter Express Route 430, which these Loyola High School students take to school in the mornings. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Rather than fighting rush-hour traffic in the morning, Pacific Palisades resident Hayley Levy listens to her iPod, sends e-mails on her BlackBerry and reads the newspaper on her way to work.   For the past two years, Levy has ridden Commuter Express Route 430, which makes two round trips Monday through Friday from Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Boulevard to the Patsaouras Transit Center near L.A. Union Station.   ’I think it’s the safest, most convenient way to get downtown and a great resource for the community,’ said Levy, who works at the nonprofit organization, Special Service for Groups. She boards the bus at Drummond Street and Sunset and the entire trip takes her 45 minutes.   Unfortunately for Levy and others like her, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has proposed canceling Route 430. This is the third time LADOT has threatened to terminate the line since 2002.   LADOT expects a $23-million budget shortfall for the 2010-11 fiscal year, and if services and user fees remain unchanged, LADOT predicts a $350-million deficit over the next 10 years. As a result, the department has decided to reduce services, such as Route 430, and increase fares for all of its services.   To determine which services to cut, LADOT looked at Commuter Express and DASH routes with low ridership or with services that may be duplicated by Metro or other carriers, according to a press release from LADOT spokesman Bruce Gillman.   With an average daily ridership of 53 people, Route 430 was rated as a marginal performer with services that are duplicated by taking Metro Line 2 to Commuter Express Line 431. By canceling the route, LADOT anticipates that it will save $179,000.   Westwood Hills resident Jody Litvak, who has taken Route 430 for the past five years, argues that all the other routes to downtown take much longer.   ’It’s the only viable alternative for public transportation on the Westside,’ said Litvak, a community relations manager for Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro).   Palisades resident Steve Lantz, a rider of Route 430 since moving here in 1995, pointed out that other commuter buses make more than seven round trips a day, and he believes it would be more effective to reduce the number of trips on those routes rather than completely eliminate service to an entire area.   Lantz, who works as the director of communications for Metrolink, added that Palisades and Brentwood residents pay their taxes and deserve service.   ’There needs to be regional equity,’ Lantz said. ‘It’s unfair.’   When LADOT proposed canceling Route 430 in 2005, Lantz fought to save the line and won a Golden Sparkplug Award from the Pacific Palisades Community Council for his efforts. With the help of Community Council member Haldis Toppel, he had the route redirected to Loyola High School, a move that increased ridership enough to keep the bus running. ‘The line was turned from a poor performer to marginal,’ Lantz said.   Thomas Ouligian, a Loyola High School sophomore, has relied on the bus to transport him to school for nearly two years, and he would hate to see it cancelled. ‘It sucks,’ Ouligian said. ‘I think they should keep it up. It’s convenient for the parents.’ Otherwise, parents have to drive their kids to school along the 10 freeway to Venice Boulevard and Normandie Avenue. Ouligian, 16, explained that parents take turns carpooling when school gets out at 2:15 p.m. His peers who participate in after-school clubs or sports are able to take the bus home. The buses stop at Loyola in the evenings at 5:11 p.m. and 6 p.m., and the one-way fare costs $2.20. Lantz and other bus riders are busy trying to save the bus once more. They have received the support of L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl and started a letter campaign. Last Thursday, Lantz pleaded before the Palisades Community Council, which voted unanimously to oppose terminating the route. ‘We urge LADOT to continue to provide this important service, which provides the only Los Angeles City transit linkage between the communities of Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, West Los Angeles, Loyola High School and downtown Los Angeles,’ the Council’s motion read. Bus advocates asked for the support of the Brentwood Community Council at its meeting on Tuesday night. The outcome of that request was not available at press time. LADOT will hold six public hearings to allow the public to comment on the proposed reductions. The hearing in West Los Angeles will be held on February 16 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Henry Medina West L.A. Parking Enforcement Facility (11214 W. Exposition Blvd.) in the Roll Call Room on the second floor. LADOT will accept comments or suggestions until March 3. Contacts: hearingofficer@store.ladottransit.com, (213) 455-0880, and LADOT, 201 N. Los Angeles St., #18B, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
The Los Angeles DWP began construction work on the interior of the Santa Ynez Reservoir in the Highlands in November. DWP is switching disinfectants from chlorine to chloramine and covering the 9.2-acre open reservoir in order to make drinking water safer for Pacific Palisades residents. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Construction to bring the Santa Ynez Reservoir into compliance with new environmental safety measures is well under way and should be completed by August 2011.   The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is covering the 9.2-acre open reservoir in the Highlands with hypalon (synthetic rubber) and switching disinfectants from chlorine to chloramine to meet two new rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established to make drinking water safer.   Environmental Construction, Inc. of Woodland Hills began work in November on the two-year project, which is estimated to cost $17 million. Construction on the inside of the reservoir is being done in two six-month phases and partly in the winter when the weather is wetter and the demand for water is reduced.   In October, LADWP stopped the water flow from Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir to Santa Ynez and allowed the remaining water to drain through normal customer consumption, according to a DWP spokesperson. Santa Ynez holds 117 million gallons of water for domestic use in Pacific Palisades, and residents are now receiving their water exclusively from Upper Stone Canyon Reservoir.   So far, workers have demolished and removed the inlet/outlet tower and steel walkway bridge, completed 40 percent of the electrical contract work, installed a portion of the landscape irrigation system, constructed four concrete vaults at the reservoir bottom and installed holding tanks.   Crews are working Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and an average of six trucks travel along Palisades Drive to the reservoir each day, according to DWP. Work will continue through April 30, at which time the reservoir will be filled for the summer. It will be drained once again on October 1 for the final phase of construction, beginning November 1. On May 1, 2011, the reservoir will be refilled and crews will finish the landscaping, which should be completed by August.   From now until August 2011, the work that remains to be done includes placing new asphalt on the reservoir side slopes and bottom, completing the remainder of the electrical work, and installing the chloramination equipment, an inlet/outlet pipe, drain-line, new fencing, a floating cover and rainwater removal system. The reservoir’s perimeter also needs to be paved.
Barry Blitzer with a Burmese python, the subject of one of his columns for the Palisadian-Post.
Veteran television writer Barry Blitzer, who in semi-retirement wrote a humor column and jazz reviews for the Palisadian-Post for 16 years, died on January 27 at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica from complications after abdominal surgery. He was 80. Born on April 21, 1929, in New York City and raised in Washington Heights, Blitzer attended the University of Georgia after being impressed with its Grady College of Journalism. He served in the Army during the Korean War and was stationed in Germany, where he worked for Armed Forces Radio. Returning to New York, Blitzer began writing for ‘The Phil Silvers Show’ and shared a 1956 Best Comedy Writing Emmy for the episode, ‘You’ll Never Get Rich.’ He went on to gain writing credits for other hit TV comedies such as ‘Too Close for Comfort,’ ‘McHale’s Navy,’ ‘Good Times,’ ‘Gomer Pyle USMC’ and ‘Get Smart,’ for which he shared a Writers Guild Award nomination in 1968 for the episode ‘What Where Whom Am I?’ with co-writer and frequent writing partner Raymond Brenner. In addition, he was proud of his work on ‘The Jonathan Winters Show’ and ‘The Carol Burnett Show.’ Blitzer also wrote episodes of popular Hanna Barbera cartoons, including ‘The Jetsons, ‘Flintstones,’ and ‘Top Cat,’ as well as children’s programs including ‘Land of the Lost.’ The Writers Guild was close to his heart, and he actively participated in many of its events over the years. In addition, he worked for equal rights for animation writers, and was a guest lecturer at the University of Texas. Fellow writer Sam Bobrick commented of Barry: ‘His sweetness came out in his writing. He was the nicest, nicest man you could imagine, and I’m going to miss him very much. He used to say some very funny things, and somehow they always ended up in my shows. He had such a dry sense of humor, and he never tooted his own horn. I don’t know anyone who has ever said a bad thing against him’and that’s very rare in this business.’ Blitzer and his wife, Elsie, moved to Pacific Palisades in 1973, shortly after their marriage. ’I was teaching social studies at Palisades High,’ Elsie said, ‘and that’s what brought us here. We rented a house on Charm Acres Place, a name that always amused Barry, and then bought a house on Akron.’ Winding down his television career but eager to keep writing, Blitzer began contributing his Pop Kulture column to the Post in October 1993, starting with these lines: ‘First off let me explain. I’m an irascible Senior Citizen as well as being a long-time Palisades resident and a confirmed Tri-Sexual. At this age, I’ll try anything! Furthermore, the opinions expressed in this column are strictly personal, highly prejudicial, inflammatory and do not reflect the opinion of any person living or of sound mind, including the Editor of the Palisadian-Post, about whom I have serious doubts. So readers, be tolerant and remember that you’re hearing from a borderline retiree with a cranky back and a 16-year-old daughter who thinks I belong in Jurassic Park.’ Every two or three weeks thereafter for many years, Blitzer would bring in his man-about-town column (typewritten at first until he finally broke down and bought a computer) and an occasional All That Jazz piece or theater review. He also enjoyed writing features about various residents and business owners in the Palisades and recounting the amusing moments and misfortunes that seasoned his travels. In 1997, Blitzer created a spinoff business writing prophecies for his own line of fortune cookies (‘Yenta Blitzer’s Jewish Misfortune Cookies’) that he sold at local outlets. Sample messages: ‘Never fear success’you will not have any,’ ‘Foreign travel awaits you’you are being deported,’ and ‘For you, Passover means no promotion.’ Late in life, even when he was in pain and bed-ridden, ‘Barry never lost his sense of humor,’ said his wife. ‘One day a Medicare nurse came to draw blood. Barry was only semi-conscious, but I heard her say, ‘This won’t hurt’it will just be a prick.’ And Barry responded, ‘Did you call me a prick?’ This upset the nurse, but the caretaker and I just laughed because it was so typical Barry.’ In addition to his beloved wife, Blitzer is survived by his daughter, Amy; his sister Benita, who is a well-known biographer; his cousin Barbara Diamant, an opera singer and music therapist; and his dog, Pilet. A Celebration of Life is planned for family and close friends; date and location to be announced. Donations may be made to The Writers Guild Foundation. Contact: (323) 782-4692, or visit: www.WGFoundation.org/donate.aspx.
Goubran (‘Gaby’) Wadih Goubran, a 31-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away on Wednesday, January 27, at the age of 67. Born on February 11, 1942, in Alexandria, Egypt, Gaby graduated from the University of Alexandria with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering. After working for the government for several years, he immigrated to the United States in 1969 and earned an MBA from Babson College in Boston in 1972. With an adventurous spirit, he traveled across America four times with friends, discovering his new country. Having grown up by the seaside in Egypt, closeness to the ocean was a priority for Gaby when he and his wife, Nancy Sarkisian, moved to Pacific Palisades to begin their married life in 1978. The beautiful views of Santa Monica Bay made the decision easy, and soon Gaby was enjoying the beach and running along the coastal bike path. A bon vivant with a great joie de vivre, Gaby lived his life fully in his native Egypt, then in the United States, and for some years in France. He worked hard, played hard and enjoyed life to the fullest. He was a devoted and loving husband and father, but also a great friend and an inspiration to anyone who came in contact with him. Outside of his work as a business consultant and a board member of Cryo-Cell Inc., Gaby was an active member of the St. Peter & St. Paul Coptic Orthodox church in Santa Monica, which he helped establish; a former president of the Palisades Rotary Club; a four-time marathon runner (Boston, Los Angeles, New York and Paris), and above all, the source of an infectious love of life. Gaby was officially diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in the winter of 2008. He fought the disease with courage and determination, going down every avenue that offered any glimmer of hope. When hope faded, he accepted his fate with his faith as his guide. He lived the last few months of his life the way he wanted, on his terms, with an abundance of his favorite foods (including champagne and foie gras!), and family and friends by his side. He cherished the daily calls and weekly visits, trying hard to fit everyone in, responding to every voicemail and e-mail he received. He is survived by his wife Nancy, a former fashion designer and now an accomplished oil painter, and their daughter, Alexis, a Georgetown University gradudate (2002) who has master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and USC’s Annenberg School for Communication, and is now working at Northrop Grumman Corporation as manager of employee communications. A memorial service was held at the St. Peter & St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church on January 29, followed by the funeral on January 30. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the church, 1245 Fourth St., Santa Monica, 90401.
Philip Rising Peters, Jr., a former resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away in Santa Monica on January 25 after a battle with pneumonia. He was 92. Although a resident of Brentwood, he maintained a strong connection with the Palisades through St. Matthew’s Church and School, the Bel-Air Bay Club and two of his children, Patricia and Philip, who both live here. Phil was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on March 16, 1917, followed by his fraternal twin, Henry. He also had an older sister, Mary, and a younger sister, Caroline. The Peters and the Rising families co-owned the Fairfield National Bank in Lancaster, which had been founded in 1873 and served what at that time was a primarily agricultural town. His grandfather worked at the bank, and his father after him, although that was not the path Phil, Jr. would ultimately choose. Phil attended high school at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, where he was a pole vaulter, a diver and a member of the debate team. He graduated from Williams College in 1939. Finding a job in that era was difficult. Probably with some assistance from his father, who at the time was president of the Ohio Bankers Association, Phil secured an entry-level position at the Central Trust Bank in Cincinnati. He lived at a bachelor rooming house and accounted for every penny in a small black book which he kept for many years to remind him of those days. He was a handsome young man and, with his engaging personality, was soon being invited to dances and getting around town. In 1943, after he was drafted into the Army, Phil qualified for Officer Candidate School and was trained as an artillery officer. He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge with the 183rd Gun Battalion, was in charge of intelligence for the battalion and was promoted to captain. During Phil’s bachelor days in Cincinnati, his younger sister was attending Mills College in California. On vacation, she brought her roommate, Caroline Dickason, home for a visit. Phil became captivated by this beauty from California, and he and Caroline ended up getting married in 1943 before his wartime departure for Europe. When Phil returned from the war in Europe, he and his bride decided to remain in Los Angeles, where she had grown up and where her father, a builder, had worked developing Beverly Hills. Housing was hard to find in postwar Los Angeles. They first had an apartment in Pacific Palisades, where they joined St. Matthew’s Parish and Phil joined the Vestry. They also started a family, which with time included three children: Barbara, Patricia and Philip. They bought a lot in the Huntington, but the foggy periods didn’t agree with Caroline, so they eventually moved to Brentwood. Given Phil’s outgoing personality, a family friend suggested the insurance business as a promising career, so Phil joined New York Life as an agent. He also began buying and selling small residential and commercial properties on the side. California was growing fast, often rewarding optimistic investors. He retired from New York Life when his health deteriorated in the early 1960s. Phil’s twin brother died from a heart attack in 1959. Phil had his first heart attack soon there#after. Treatment was very basic, consisting of bed rest and a few pills. However, Phil had both a strong spirit and emerging technology on his side. He was an early adopter of the cardiac pacemaker and (while these procedures were still new and fairly experimental) cardiac bypass surgery and then an aortic heart valve replacement in 1981. These steps more than doubled the length of his life. As Phil bounced back physically, he redirected his energy into investments, first in the stock market, then into assembling Santa Monica real estate parcels. He would return home with stories at the dinner table about workers and prospective tenants that were as charming as Norman Rockwell paintings, colored by his Midwestern sensibilities, punctuated with a good laugh or a small life lesson. While Phil slowed down in the past few years, he never lost his zest for life. He loved interacting with people. He cared about others and remained eager to learn, taking classes in computer, Shakespeare, memory, and Greek literature. He assured his family months before his death that he was intent on learning Spanish, despite near-blindness. He treasured that energy of life and shared it with others. Phil’s three children all attended St. Matthew’s Parish School, as did his granddaughter, Claire. He had been active on the St. Matthew’s school board during his children’s school years. He was a long-time member of the Los Angeles Country Club and the Bel-Air Bay Club. The joy of his life was his loving wife, Caroline, who passed away in 2005. He leaves behind his two daughters, Barbara Peters of Carlsbad and Patricia Peters of Pacific Palisades; his son Philip, III (wife Agnes) of Pacific Palisades; his granddaughter, Claire Peters; and his two sisters, Mary Peters Bolton and Caroline Peters Rockwood. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 7, at St. Matthew’s Church, 1031 Bienveneda. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to either the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio (www.decartsohio.org) or Meals on Wheels West (www.mealsonwheelswest.org).
Harvey E. Pittluck, an early pioneer in the air-freight industry, passed away on January 25 at his home in Pacific Palisades after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 81. Born in Flushing, New York, in 1928 to Bernice and Phillip Pittluck, he attended Cornell University and graduated from Hofstra College in Hempstead, New York with high honors in accounting. In 1953, he became a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York and was a member of the New York State Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Following graduation he developed a successful accounting practice while working for several airlines and air-freight forwarders. In 1961, he started Add Airfreight and served as president until 1967 when he left to form Profit By Air, Inc., which later became Profit Freight Systems. He was at the helm of Profit for over 20 years. In addition, he wrote for numerous trade publications, did consulting work for Pan American World Airways, and was president of the Air Freight Forwarders Association. For the last 15 years, Harvey was a partner and the chief financial officer for Stevens Global Logistics located in Redondo Beach. An avid tennis player and golfer, he was a past owner of the Malibu Racquet Club, and a longtime member of Riviera Country Club, where he enjoyed playing golf four to five times a week. He will be remembered for the kindness and generosity he showed to all he met, as well as being a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, friend and mentor to many. In addition to his wife Holly, Harvey is survived by his two sons, Lance Pittluck of Yorba Linda and Keith Pittluck of Los Angeles; his three daughters, Megan Brown of Carson City, Michigan, Alison Miller of Boulder, Colorado, and Stacy Pittluck of Rockville Centre, New York; his two step-children, Peter Monroe of Venice and Susan Chestra of Venice; 13 grandchildren; and a brother, Robert Pittluck of Green Bay, Wisconsin. One grandson, John Robert Pittluck, preceded him in death. Services were held January 31. In lieu of flowers, donations in Harvey’s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society or a charity of one’s choice.
Musician/Educator Aaron Nigel Smith Creates Children’s Music for ‘Everyone’
Smith leads the Palisades Children’s Choir at the Palisades Presbyterian Church. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Ever stroll around the village, just south of Sunset Boulevard, on a sunny weekday afternoon, and hear the notes of funk music wafting through the air like a bright red balloon? You follow the sound, like Yogi Bear chasing the scent of a freshly baked apple pie cooling on a window sill, and it leads you down Swarthmore to La Cruz, where a live band of young musicians is jamming outside Seven Arrows Elementary School. Well, Aaron Nigel Smith is the man responsible for that, as the director of Seven Arrows’ music department for the past three years, and on January 15, the seasoned singer, musician and producer released his second collection of children’s music, ‘Everyone Loves to Dance.’ You might call Smith’s new CD something of a ‘fam jam.’ That is, family-friendly music with a funky bent featuring Smith on vocals. Moreover, the album is primarily a Seven Arrows affair. Smith enlisted his sons, Zion, 11, and Eden, 7, as well as fellow Seven Arrows students Cole and Sage Schriener to sing and perform on ‘Everyone Loves to Dance.’ If the students at Seven Arrows are extended family, wait until you meet Smith’s friends. On ‘Everyone,’ Smith collaborated with one of the Backstreet Boys as well as with Ziggy Marley, son of reggae’s greatest icon and a Grammy-winning artist in his own right. Smith, 37, has worked with Marley before. He and the Palisades Children’s Choir (a group Smith founded last summer) collaborated on the track ‘Tuff Gong’ for Ziggy’s album of Bob Marley songs for kids. ‘Ziggy and his wife, Orly, invited me to start a private parent-and-me music class for their family and friends after meeting me at one of my music classes,’ Smith says. ‘Ziggy asked me to bring in a kids’ choir to sing on the ‘B is for Bob’ CD last year, which was the beginning of our musical collaboration.’ A few years before meeting Marley, Smith befriended Kevin Richardson, former member of the Backstreet Boys, who enjoyed 14 Top 40 hits. While the boy band continues to record, founding member Richardson quit Backstreet in 2006 to focus on his family. ‘I was introduced to Kevin a few years back when he expressed interest in collaborating on a kids’ DVD/television project,’ Smith recalls. ‘We immediately hit it off really well.’ Smith’s goal on such children’s CDs is to create new songs and/or update existing tunes with ‘cool, hip lyrics and fun hooks, simultaneously engaging the child and educating the child,’ he says. ‘I want to engage the mind, the body, the values and spirit.’ Born in Michigan, and raised in Overland, Ohio, Smith attended boarding school in Princeton, New Jersey, before attending the Michigan-based Interlochen Arts Academy, where he met his wife, Dierdre, who today performs as a modern dancer. Smith describes this arts-based high school as ‘a little Juilliard in the forest.’ It was there that he became involved with the American Boys Choir, with which he performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. Eleven years ago, Smith decided to ‘come to California to pursue some musical endeavors.’ He happily settled in Pacific Palisades a decade ago, having had enough of ‘freezing in the Midwest.’ ‘They’ve really taken to the program,’ Smith says of his Seven Arrows students. ‘They’re uninhibited.’ He also praises the school for integrating music, fine arts and the performing arts into its curriculum beyond the call of other schools. Between ‘The Masquerade’ every February (for which ‘costumes are made, manifest from scratch,’ he says), the Dia de los Muertos Festival, the weekly Kuyam music program, and ‘Winter Holidays,’ a celebration of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, Seven Arrows effectively melds arts and ethnic cultures into its school year. Smith has long married his musical background with children’s education. Launched in 2002, his enrichment program, FUNdamentals of Music and Movement, has been implemented in more than 100 schools nationwide. His Palisades Children’s Choir is currently auditioning kids (see information below right) at the Palisades Presbyterian Church for a program that will culminate with a spring concert in May. Margarita Pagliai, founder and principal of Seven Arrows, says that the school hired Smith because of ‘his history, his education, his creation of FUNdamentals, and his knowledge and understanding of global music.’ Smith is critical to the school’s overall curriculum because music is a core educational component, not merely an elective. Smith writes the school’s music curriculum, teaches choral music and instruments, and conveys basic music theory and the Orff method (a music education system ‘adapted to his own fundamentals,’ Pagliai says). He also organizes the weekly Kuyam jam, which includes the sixth-grade band and a parents band. The sixth-grade band is not a casual endeavor. ‘They need to master [their choice of music], which takes three months,’ Pagliai says, adding that no other local school teaches music three times a week with 45-minute sessions. Seven Arrows’ Andres Ospina, who helps Smith coordinate the parent band, cites Smith’s ‘inspiration, his ability to connect with kids. He brings a level of professionalism.’ ‘Music is the poetry,’ Pagliai adds, to engage children in learning about other cultures and customs and set them on the path to understanding her school’s credo: ‘We’re more alike than different.’ ‘If kids don’t understand that,’ she says, ‘they can not become global citizens.’ Outside of children’s albums, Smith has collaborated in the studio with the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, Bradley Baker and Cliff Morrison as a singer and as a producer. And his work has garnered him some notice, including the National Parenting Publications Award and the iParenting Award for his first release, the 2005 CD ‘Let’s Pretend.’ He was also invited to contribute to ‘Between the Lions’ after joining a stage version of the Emmy Award-winning PBS kids show two years ago. ‘Last year, [Boston-based PBS affiliate] WGBH decided to produce a music video to one of the songs called ‘It’s My Job,’ featuring me in it,’ Smith says. ‘The songs and video are currently being aired on [the program].’ Up next for Smith: ‘I am currently working on producing content for my original kids’ music television show. In addition, I am working on producing creative content for the My Gym Children’s Fitness Centers’ entertainment division.’ To audition for the Palisades Children’s Choir, children ages 8-12 should call 310-492 5794 or e-mail dsmith@palisadeschoir.org. Visit palisadeschoir.org for more information.
Steve Wein and his boys, Mason and Zack, play a game called Golden Point. It’s a tag game which they blog about at the Web site www.todayisfun.com. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
The pleasures of playing at home, making up games, and creating challenging puzzles seem to be in the air lately. Families are drifting away from passive entertainment toward more engaging activities for children. And for adults, too. Welcome to todayisfun.com, a blog that is home to bringing simplicity back into the home. Pacific Palisades resident Steve Wein and his editing colleague Paul Plew have created a daily activity blog that offers postings of fun, simple-to-plan activities for children ages 2 to 12. Their todayisfun.com Web site not only supplies an activity a day, but also provides a list of materials needed and the rules of the road. Many of these ideas are a perfect distraction to keep kids happy and occupied, without parents needing to spend money. The two men, both parents, have organized the activities according to categories, such as ‘good for the car,’ ‘good for a group,’ ‘outside activities,’ ‘rainy day fun.’ Fun may include making puppets from empty cereal boxes, tasting foods while blindfolded, asking Google to ‘decode’ the bar codes on all manner of products, or organizing races for kids, who run as different animals’their choice. Todayisfun.com is dedicated to helping parents come up with entertaining, educational and cost-free ways to keep their kids occupied. The ideas are archived on the blog, so if one doesn’t appeal or is too elementary or too sophisticated for the child or children, there are many others to choose. The two men came up with the idea, which launched in the spring of 2008, in an organic, casual way. ‘We both just enjoy being with our kids and playing with our kids,’ Wein says. He and his wife Valentina have two boys, Zack, 6, and Mason, 4. ‘We enjoy their minds and their inventiveness,’ Wein continues, ‘and, because we’re a bit ‘off,’ we thought it would be fun to share these ideas with other parents.’ Wein admits that many good ideas have been passed down, ideas that are just as fun today, but he is also drawn to games that people haven’t heard of before. His own mother set the tone when he was a boy. ’My mom sort of taught me that if you give a child a simple item without the bells and whistles and flashing lights, the kids will bring their own imagination to the game. She would give me a string of paper clips and say ‘Here you go, talk to me in an hour.” One of Wein’s favorites these days is the mythical animal game. ‘I say I’m thinking of an animal I saw at the zoo called the schmippopotamus, have you ever heard of it? The kids say, you mean hippopotamus, and I say, no, it’s the animal next to the Smelephant. And so it goes. The kids start to jump in and add their own animals.’ Wein says that big winners with his sons are the more active games, such as the running game as different animals. ‘My kids are more rowdy and physical, so these work well. Paul has a daughter and a son, who are bit older, 8 and 10, so other games work better for them.’ As for a 2-year-old? Wein suggests the game, good for the car, where you stretch out your hands as far as they go and then, clap, clap, clap. Trying on funny hats, or playing dress-up is always fun for little ones. There is also the Moon Catcher for a Day game. The first person who spots the moon is rewarded by being given the title ‘Moon Catcher.’ Wein and Plew, who edit commercials and television shows, make no promises as child development experts. They’re not doctors or therapists. But any one suggestion on the site might be just the right idea that will keep everything from slipping into total chaos.
Violinist Jim Stark will be the soloist and Joel Lish will conduct the Palisades Symphony Strings in a free concert on Sunday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Palisades High School’s Mercer Hall. The program will include the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major and the Violin Concerto in E Major, both by Johann Sebastian Bach; the Serenade for Strings by Elgar; and the Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler. Stark is concertmaster of the La Mirada Symphony and has been a member of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra for the past 14 years. After the intermission, Cary Belling will conduct the Palisades Symphony Wind Ensemble in two of his own compositions: The Tortoise and the Hare for Flute and Tuba, performed by Kaiko Okamoto, flute and Michael Margulies, tuba, and Acrobatic Overture for Winds. The musicians will also perform Simple Gifts, four Shaker songs by Frank Ticheli. Belling has been active in the Southern California area as a composer, orchestrator, arranger and violinist for the past 25 years. His commissions have been performed by numerous orchestras, including the Pasadena Community Orchestra, the Palisades Symphony and the Musica da Camera at Cal State Bakersfield. He also composes for feature films as well as for theatrical, educational and experimental works. Symphony contact: 310-454-8040.
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