By THERESA HEIM-KILKOWSKI Palisadian-Post Contributor Spurred by the death of an 18-year-old driver last month, the Palisades Highlands Presidents Council and concerned residents met last Wednesday night in search of traffic-safety solutions for Palisades Drive. Officer Chris Smythe of LAPD’s West Traffic Division reported that there have been 12 reported accidents this past year on Highlands roadways, including one resulting in injuries only three weeks after Travis DeZarn died in a head-on collision on Palisades Drive. LAPD attributes five of the 12 accidents to excessive speed. ‘This is the number one safety issue on Palisades Drive,’ Smythe said. ‘LAPD does not have the manpower to patrol the canyon, so it is up to the residents to spread the word to their neighbors to slow down.’ Sgt. David Podesta of LAPD’s West L.A. Division gave two main reasons for the lack of effective traffic enforcement: One, some LAPD officers are not radar-qualified, and two, many residents undermine traffic patrol by warning other motorists of cops on patrol by flashing their headlights. ‘Enforcement will happen only after a tragedy occurs,’ Podesta said. He was in agreement with Smythe, saying that because nearly all of the traffic along Palisades Drive is residential, it’s up to the residents to obey the laws. Engineer Mo Blorfroshan of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) proposed a barrier between north- and south-bound lanes on Palisades Drive. In order to do that, one lane would be closed, reducing the roadway to three lanes. Blorfroshan recommended closing a south-bound lane and keeping the north-bound (uphill) lanes intact. But most council members opposed taking away a lane of traffic. Speed humps were suggested, but Blorfroshan later told the Palisadian-Post that in order to have speed humps, the posted speed limit must be 30 mph or less and the street must be designated local. The posted speed on Palisades Drive is 35 mph at the upper portion and 45 mph on the lower, and the roadway is designated as a secondary highway. Additional reflective ‘curve ahead’ signs were requested, but Blorfroshon said the canyon already has them. Placing more raised road reflectors was suggested. The traffic engineer told the Post that there are some missing reflectors and LADOT will replace those. He said that the lane lines also have white reflectors. The LADOT will add a white edge lane to separate the slow lane from the curb, similar to those on portions of Mulholland Drive. ‘We plan to install them the entire length of the canyon,’ Blorfroshon said. He alerted residents to a national program called Safe Routes to School, which allows for an installed speed feedback sign near schools when the roadway speed is 45 mph or greater. A pole, with a speed limit sign, as well as the electrically operated sign will go up near Calvary Christian School and at Palisades Charter High School. The Calvary sign is in the construction phase and the high school’s sign is in the design phase. Messages like ‘slow down’ and ‘Your speed is . . .’ can be programmed into the installation. One Highlands council member suggested putting lighting along the entire Palisades Drive. Several members disapproved of this idea, arguing it wouldn’t improve visibility at night and could possibly ruin the aesthetics of driving through the scenic canyon. ‘I’m all for lighting, but I’m not a lighting person,’ Blorfroshan responded. ‘You have to talk to the Bureau of Street Lighting about this.’ Blorfroshan was asked if it was possible to make the traffic light at Palisades Circle stay red longer. He explained that the signal is a ‘resting red,’ which means it stays red in all directions until a car approaches. It stays red for three seconds and then changes to green. The purpose for the light is to slow down traffic. In order to have a regular stoplight installed at Palisades Circle, certain criteria need to be met, including volume, sufficient traffic on the side streets and accidents that have occurred at that specific intersection. ‘The bottom line,’ Blorfroshon said, summing up the challenges on Palisades Drive, ‘is not speeding and taking responsibility for your actions.’ LAPD’s Smythe emphasized that residents know that the canyon is rarely patrolled, especially at night, and take advantage of the open road. ‘People speed because they don’t care,’ he said. One council member concluded that the only way to get people to stop speeding is to focus on where it hurts the most. ‘If you come up with a plan that will either hurt their pocketbooks or their cars,’ he said, ‘then maybe they’ll stop.’ On Tuesday this week, Paul Glasgall, president of the Highlands council, said he was ‘very pleased’ about the outcome of the meeting and getting Blorfroshon directly engaged in these issues. Glasgall said he would like to see further solutions near Calvary, including a blinking light near the school, and that ‘there needs to be more police presence’–with radar-enforcement–along Palisades Drive.

Pacific Palisades is an isolated pocket within Los Angeles where people know their neighbors and crime rates are among the lowest in the city. But don’t tell that to the Burkholder family, which lives near the El Medio bluffs. They experienced two terror-filled nights until a trespasser on their property was finally arrested. Their ordeal began at 5:45 a.m. on December 4, when a flashlight shone into a bedroom window located at the rear of the Burkholder house; their back yard is only accessible via a side yard and two gates. The couple called 911. While Mrs. Burkholder was on the phone, her husband opened the back door and asked the intruder what he was doing there. ‘Delivering roses,’ he replied. The intruder then walked from the backyard around the house to the front door. When Mr. Burkholder confronted him again, the intruder left. During this time Mrs. Burkholder was on the phone with 911. When the operator learned that the trespasser had left, a patrol car was not sent. Mrs. Burkholder called LAPD’s West L.A. Station as well as Palisades Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore. But the police never came, she said. Moore told the Palisadian-Post he never received the call. Frightened that the intruder might return, the Burkholders left all their lights on for the next two evenings. ‘It looked like Fort Knox,’ she said. On Thursday (December 6), they were awakened at 1 a.m. when they heard a bang on the bedroom door. The intruder was back and pressing his face against the door window. The husband called 911, and the operator said, ‘There’s no patrol car in your area.’ ‘The guy was laughing outside,’ Mrs. Burkholder said, ‘And when the 911 operator made my husband repeat his name, we could hear the intruder mimicking my husband.’ When the intruder went to the front door, Mrs. Burkholder called her neighbor and asked her to call Palisades Patrol. The intruder rang the doorbell and then ran to a kitchen window and pressed his face against the glass. Mr. Burkholder punched the glass, scaring the intruder but injuring his hand. About 10 minutes after the Burkholder’s initial 911 call, a helicopter and an LAPD patrol car responded and the intruder ran off. ‘It seemed like forever,’ Mrs. Burkholder said. With a tip from the neighbors, the police found the trespasser in his red Suburban parked on a nearby street. The man taken into custody was identified as Lupe Fidel Venegas, 38, who apparently had been living in his car, police said. Bail was originally set for $1,000 for trespassing, but after hearing the Burkholders’ story, the city district attorney raised it to $30,000. A flyer was distributed in the El Medio bluffs neighborhood, stating that Venegas had a record of child molestation, burglary and other offenses. According to Officer Moore, ‘Venegas had a child annoying arrest on his record (child annoying usually covers verbal annoyances).’ Moore added, ‘It appears that Lupe [Venegas] was looking for his lover and believed his lover was hiding in the Burkholders’ home. It is unlikely that he poses a danger to the Palisades community at this time.’ Subsequently, the Palisadian-Post learned on Tuesday from Ventura County D.A. Tom Dunlevy that there was a bench warrant out for Venegas for failure to appear in court on December 10. Venegas had been charged with one felony count for corporal injury to a cohabitant. His current bail has been increased to $130,000. Venegas’ car was towed from the El Medio bluffs area on December 9, and his pre-trial date is scheduled for today, December 20. The Burkholders were satisfied to know that Venegas was being held, but were concerned about the more troubling issues: Why wasn’t their first 911 call recorded and why wasn’t there a patrol car available? ‘I know the police have a big area to cover, but when you call 911, just send someone, don’t tell us there’s no patrol car in the area,’ Mrs. Burkholder said. Pacific Palisades does have a 24/7 designated patrol car and Moore was questioned why the Burkholders had been told there was no patrol car. Moore told the Post that a new night-watch lieutenant had been assigned and was unaware that a patrol car had been designated for the Palisades. According to Moore the oversight has been corrected and the patrol car is back on duty. ‘I hope that nobody has to go through this again,’ Mrs. Burkholder said. ‘We still sleep with our lights on.’

Grace, a chow/labrador mix who wears a knitted collar, is always ready to greet visitors at Compatto, a popular yarn and knitting shop located on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. Co-owners Bonnie Davidoff and Nancy Hannah are close behind the pet, inviting customers to come in and knit, share a cup of coffee or tea, and chat. There are several sitting areas, including a large table near the front door that serves as a place for drop-in knitters and more than 15 classes a month. Free ‘Learn to Knit’ classes are offered for all ages every Saturday, from 1 to 5 p.m. On a recent weekend, several middle school students were seated around the table learning the basics. Near the back of the store, next to the coffee pot, are two sofas that give the store a homey feel and provide another area for knitters to gather, work and converse. One Friday a month, the store stays open late for wine, cheese and knitting, and every Tuesday a group of women gather at lunchtime to knit for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. ‘It doesn’t matter about your political persuasion, it’s cold in the desert on winter nights,’ Davidoff said. The knitters create helmet liners in specified military colors (black, green or brown), and some of them feature a small embroidered heart. The group also knits wool socks and scarves made to military specifications. A tag with the knitter’s name is included on each item to make it more personal. ‘We don’t talk about politics while we knit,’ Davidoff said, ‘but we want to do something to show our appreciation.’ Each month, the store usually sends off a box that typically holds about 30 knitted items. The store has a wide selection of unusual yarns including corn silk yarn (made from the ‘silk’ found on corn ears), hand-spun organic cotton, organic wools and bamboo yarn. The owners prefer to carry natural fibers as opposed to the acrylics, with prices ranging from $6 a ball for washable wool to $130 a skein for hand-spun silk with Swarvosky crystals. A skein of silk with little glass beads runs $40. The feel of the yarns is surprisingly soft. ‘This is half the fun of knitting–to feel the yarn,’ Davidoff said. ‘It’s a sensuous experience.’ In addition to selling patterns for an assortment of items like sweaters, mittens, hats and booties, the store carries a range of needles made from birch, ebony, rosewood and bamboo. They have square needles and even needles with tips that light up. ‘Needles are also part of the sensory experience,’ Hannah said, ‘and knitters become partial to the feel of certain ones.’ Hannah grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from Culver High School, and attended UCLA and the University of Connecticut. She lived in Westport, Connecticut and worked as a psychotherapist for 23 years, before moving back to L.A. with her daughter, Liz, a fellow at the American Film Institute. Hannah decided that she wanted to make a career change. She had learned to knit six years ago, when she joined friends who were taking a class. ‘I was hooked,’ Hannah said, and she started an on-line store that sold knitting kits. But realizing that she missed the human interaction she enjoyed as a psychotherapist, she opened Compatto (Italian for ‘close knit’) a year ago. ‘I like people coming in here,’ she said. ‘It feels personal. There are people to talk to, and you become part of their weekly routine and their circle.’ Davidoff, who had learned to knit when she was five, became one of the store’s regular customers. ‘Every knitting store has a personality,’ Davidoff said. ‘This store is welcoming and newcomers become part of the group.’ Davidoff became a partner in November, and calls this her ‘third career.’ After graduating from Hartford College, she lived in New York for 12 years, working in advertising sales. She moved to Los Angeles to open an office for a high-tech magazine and met her husband, Brian, shortly after arriving. Her second career was raising her two daughters, Cara and Chelsea, and volunteering for the Palisades YMCA swim team, at Palisades High School and at the Getty Center. Both daughters were standout swimmers at PaliHi and continue to swim for their colleges. Cara is in her final year at UCLA and Chelsea is a sophomore at the University of Vermont. The owners’ enthusiasm for their store and knitting is contagious. ‘The first three weeks I was here, I was so excited I would wake up in the middle of the night with ideas,’ Davidoff said. ‘People say they can’t knit,’ Hannah said. ‘I can teach anyone to knit in two hours. Once you know how to do that, everything else is manipulating stitches.’ Compatto is located at 2112 Wilshire Blvd. Call (310) 453-2130 for a class schedule.