David Gadelha may have stumbled upon his career by accident but the way he has been promoted up the ranks ever since has not. He was recently appointed Senior Recreation Director at the Palisades Recreation Center’a promotion he almost didn’t accept. ‘I had been working at Barrington Rec Center for four years and I was very happy there,’ Gadelha says. ‘We accomplished some great things there and started some very successful programs. In fact, about 20 or 25 percent of my basketball coaches lived in the Palisades and they all encouraged me to come over here when the opportunity came up. This is a real sports-oriented town with a lot of community support. The new gym and new fields are proof of that.’ Since he replaced Cheryl Gray in mid-June, Gadelha has devoted most of his time and energy to organizing and initiating Pali’s upcoming fall programs. One thing he has added already is a 5 & 6-year-old basketball league.’I only started full-time at Pali last week,’ he says. ‘Before that, I was back and forth between there and Barrington. I can take a lot of what worked at Barrington and implement it here because the communities are very similar. We had a great 5/6 league at Barrington last winter. We had 17 teams.’ Gadelha moved from Venice to Redondo Beach two years ago. He grew up in Santa Monica, played baseball at St. Monica High and went on to attend UCLA. It was while earning a degree there in sociology that he got his first job with the City. ‘At the mid-point of my freshman year I was broke so I looked at the job board and saw a part-time position available at Westwood Park so I took it.’ A year in computer sales did not satisfy Gadelha’s sports fix, so he went through civil service to find a job as Recreation Coordinator at Rustic Canyon in 1997. ‘I come from a single-parent family,’ Gadelha says. ‘I was raised by my mother and sports really filled the void I felt. I played football, baseball and basketball growing up. I even remember playing Corpus Christi in our school league. I was a pretty good catcher but I tore my ACL my freshman year so after that I had to play first base and outfield.’ A big-time Lakers, Dodgers and Bruins fan, Gadelha says one of the coaches he admires most is UCLA’s legendary basketball coach John Wooden. ‘I use his ‘Woodenisms’ all the time and I can quote many of the poems out of his book on a dime.’ Regarding the Lakers’ plight, he says: ‘I like [General Manager] Mitch Kupchak. His son played at Barrington Park when I was there. I’m more of a Shaquille [O’Neal] fan than a Kobe [Bryant] fan but it’s clear to me that Jerry Buss thinks Kobe is the future.’ Gadelha says the large gym at the Rec Center is supposed to reopen October 19. While overseeing that is his immediate goal, he also plans to get more local schools involved in programs at the park, implement a basketball skills challenge, increase numbers in the T-ball, five-pitch baseball and minor/major junior basketball leagues.
Street Racers Ready for 5K/10K Run
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
The countdown is underway for the 27th annual Palisades-Will Rogers 5K/10K Run, which will once again serve as the opening act of Sunday’s Fourth of July festivities in the Palisades. Followed by the parade in the afternoon and fireworks in the evening, the event is a proud local tradition and one of the most popular races in California, attracting between 2,500 and 3,000 entrants each year. The list of celebrities and athletes who have participated in or assisted with the race since its inception in 1978 is long and distinguished, including late actor Walter Matthau, singers Toni Tennille and John Raitt, ex-Los Angeles Kings goalie Rogie Vachon, ex-Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Davey Lopes, ex-NBA star Steve Kerr, Olympic gold medal swimmer Mark Spitz, Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Congressman Mel Levine. In recent years, the 5K portion of the race has been dominated by Palisadians. Former Palisades High and UC Berkeley standout Peter Gilmore has won six out of the last eight men’s 5K races and set the course record last year, blazing the streets of Huntington Palisades in 14:10’eight seconds better than his previous best time. After braving the Will Rogers State Historic Park switchbacks to win back-to-back 10Ks, former PaliHi and UCLA cross country runner Kara Barnard returned to the 5K last year and won it for the fifth time. Barnard won four successive 5Ks from 1997-2000. Friends Nate Bowen and Tyson Sacco crossed the finish line together in first place’marking the third time each has won the 10K, considered one of the most challenging courses in the state. Bowen, in fact, trained with Gilmore on the Nike Farm team in Menlo Park. Running the race for the second time, Lucy Fitzgerald won the women’s 10K last year in 38:12. Corporate sponsors for this year’s race are Coldwell Banker and William E. Simon and Sons. President Bill Simon and Scott Gibson, representing Coldwell Banker, will join Honorary Mayor Steve Guttenberg as the official race starters. Proceeds of the race will once again support the Palisades Optimist Club youth charities. Before the starting gun goes off, Miss Palisades Gilli Shir Messer will sing the national anthem. Messer had a featured role in PaliHi’s production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and is currently cast in ‘The Music Man’ at the Morgan Theatre in Santa Monica. Becoming as commonplace as the 5K/10K races is the Kids’ Fun Run, a half-mile race for children 12 and under, which starts at 9:15 a.m. The flat course begins on Alma Real and continues onto Ocampo, where runners will proceed south to Drummond, then head east on Drummond to Toyopa. The final leg has kids moving north on Toyopa to the disbanding area at the Rec Center. Those still wishing to join in one of the community’s proudest traditions can still register on Sunday at the Rec Center entrance from 6:30 to 8 a.m. at cost of $30. Cost for the Kids’ Fun Run is $15. Race Central will post times on its Web site after the race. For complete results, log onto the official Will Rogers Race site (www.pwr10k.com) one week after race day.
‘Maisie Dobbs’ Author Comes To Town for Tea and Talk
Post World War I London is the setting and Maisie Dobbs is the character enthralling modern-day readers in author Jacqueline Winspear’s two best-selling mysteries. The heroine, a psychologist and investigator, first appeared in Winspear’s debut novel ‘Maisie Dobbs’ (Soho Press, 2003). The young detective’s adventures continue in Winspear’s recently published second novel, ‘Birds of a Feather.’ ”A ‘Maisie Dobbs Event,’ a garden party hosted by Village Books, will treat guests to a traditional English ‘high tea’ with author Winspear at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 9. Staged in a local garden, the event will include such ‘between the war’ specialties as cucumber sandwiches, scones, clotted creams, tarts and cakes. ”Winspear’s character Maisie Dobbs is a young woman who has returned from nursing duty in World War I to her home in London a changed woman. Having experienced the perils and freedoms of wartime, she is unable to return to traditional feminine pastimes. Fate intervenes, and she becomes the assistant of a detective, and after his death she resolves to carry on alone. In ‘Birds of a Feather,’ Maisie moves up from her one-woman private investigation firm to a professional office in Fitzroy Square and an assistant. The character is made especially intriguing by her unorthodox sleuthing that calls upon Freudian psychology and her own psychic powers to trace a crime. ” ”Winspear, who now lives in Ojai, first immigrated to the U.S. from England in 1990. At the time, she worked in academic publishing, a demanding field with long hours. ‘If I wasn’t meeting with professors, I was attached to my computer,’ says Winspear, who resolved in 1992 to pursue her own writing career. With a background in education, she started out writing for international education magazines and eventually branched out to travel pieces and personal essays. ”’I always wanted to write fiction, but I was intimidated by it,’ Winspear told the Post during a telephone interview. ‘There’s so many good books around.’ As a nonfiction writer, she was advised to play with fiction as a way to enhance her nonfiction work. ‘I was clueless about how to think up a story,’ she recalls. ”That all ended in a moment that Winspear refers to as ‘artistic grace,’ when a vision of her main character appeared in her mind’s eye while she was driving one day. ‘I couldn’t wait to get home and write down what became the first chapter,’ she says. ‘I didn’t even have to think up her name, I knew it was Maisie Dobbs.’ ”What is not surprising is the part of history that forms the backdrop to Maisie Dobbs. The first novel is dedicated to the memory of Winspear’s paternal grandfather, who sustained serious leg wounds during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and her maternal grandmother, a munitions worker at the Woolwich Arsenal during WWI who was partially blinded in an explosion that killed several girls. ”’Doing research for the book was a complete indulgence, since I’m so interested in this era anyway,’ Winspear says. ‘It was an incredibly spirited generation of women and I wanted Maisie to reflect that, to do right by that generation.’ ”Winspear elaborates about how in pre- and post-WW I England, women took on the jobs of men, and by doing so claimed an independence that was difficult to relinquish. It was also a time when many women remained unmarried, simply because a generation of men had been killed in the war. ”While not a hardcore mystery fan herself, Winspear delights in the possibilities the genre offers her as a writer and hopes her books fall into the category of literary mystery, offering multiple layers of meaning to readers. ”Followers of Maisie Dobbs can look forward to more in the series. ‘At the moment, I have six in my head,’ Winspear says, ‘counting the two that have already been published.’ ”Tickets for the ‘Maisie Dobbs Event,’ organized by Connie Goetz and Barbara Edelman of Village Books, are $15 per person. To make a reservation, contact: 454-4063.
Young Palisadians
Compiled by ELAINE CHOI Palisadian-Post Intern TOM SHAPIRO, a graduate of Loyola High, graduated from the US Naval Academy at Annapolis this past month. Graduating within the top 100 of the almost 1,000 graduates, he was commissioned as an Ensign and will be serving his first year at UC Berkeley earning a graduate degree in oceanic engineering. He will then be stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Tom, the son of Diane and Dr. Alan Shapiro, is an Eagle Scout from Palisades Troop 223, a Silver Medal recipient in Crew 223 and has served as president for the coed crew of 25 high school students. o o o JAMES WRUBEL, son of Sharon Wrubel and the late John Wrubel, graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College on June 13, with a double major in music and in psychological and brain sciences. He graduated with high honors in music, having received the Dean of the Faculty Richter Research Grant for his senior thesis and performance work and McDonald-Smith Music Prize for performance. He played extensively in New England throughout his college years and studied music at London?s Royal College of Music as part of Dartmouth?s 2003 foreign study program. He is a graduate of Crossroads School, where he began studying jazz piano after having studied classical piano for many years with Nancy Arnold. James starts work this month in management for McMaster-Carr and will continue to pursue his interest in jazz piano. His sister Suzanne, who graduated from Dartmouth in 2001, attends Harvard Law School. o o o LYDIA SLEEPER, 9, an entering fifth grader at Canyon Charter School, is one of only 16 girls in the Los Angeles Girl Scout Council (approx. 10,000 girls) that sold over 1,000 boxes of cookies in this years annual Girl Scout cookie sales. Girl Scout Troop 551 sold over 4,000 boxes total through individual order taking and booth sales at locations including the Santa Monica Main Street Farmers Market. Lydia was top seller in her troop, but will be quick to tell you that the best part of cookie sales are the results. The troop votes on how all funds will be spent. Their ultimate goal is to visit China some day, but recent trips have included overnights in the local Santa Monica Girl Scout House and their first camping trip at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area. o o o Navy Seaman Recruit CALVIN H. GOMEZ, a 2000 graduate of Palisades High School, recently completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. During the eight-week program, Gomez completed a variety of training which included classroom study and practical instruction on naval customs, first aid, firefighting, water safety and survival, and shipboard and aircraft safety. An emphasis was also placed on physical fitness.
My Palisades Beach
By Maral and Lon Kirschenmann Going to The Beach when you live at the beach? Avoid the weekends to walk with a friend and talk Or go with your kid for a linger in the surf. Beautiful, Serene, Emotional. Feel at home, Feel natural. When they all come, it’s not the same. They, all of them, in hordes on holidays. Kids, umbrellas, picnic baskets and all. You let them have it on the weekends and smile. I see them and as I drive by I know come next Monday It will be all mine. The dolphins swimming by and the birds again. All mine. My Palisades Beach. Maral Nigolian Kirschenmann lives in Paseo Miramar and has lovingly chronicled Will Rogers beach through her photography. Her previous photo essay in the Palisadian-Post represented a panorama of the coast from her home. She welcomes marketing ideas for her photos’for a book or gallery prints’and can be reached at astorwood@hotmail.com. When not taking pictures, she is the president and managing director of Astor Wood Financial, Inc.
Fran Pavley’s Joy Ride
Assemblymember Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), who has participated in the Palisades Fourth of July parade for the past three years, said she would not miss riding in this Sunday’s event. ‘It’s always so great,’ Pavley said. ‘My husband Andy will walk with our dog Cammy, who is one of the Patriotic Pups, and I will be sitting in one of the cars.’ Pavley, who is up for re-election in November, has had a hectic six months in Sacramento, which saw Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger take office and Pavley introduce a bill to allow hybrid vehicles (which she drives) to use diamond lanes on the state’s freeways (AB-2628). In recent weeks she has been grappling, as have all legislators, with the state budget, which will not be signed by today’s July 1st constitutional deadline. ‘It’s in the hands of the ‘Big Five’,’ said Pavley, referring to the four legislative leaders (Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Assembly Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy) who have been meeting with the Governor daily to try to reach an agreement. While most of the $103 billion state budget ‘has already been agreed upon,’ Pavley said several contentious issues are still being negotiated, as she outlined in her June newsletter to constituents. Indian gaming is one. ‘The budget assumes that the Governor has finalized his negotiations with five tribes to obtain a share of their revenue for the state,’ Pavley said. ‘A portion of any such negotiated share would go to transportation and road improvement projects.’ Higher education is another issue of concern to Pavley, a former teacher. ‘Democratic legislators and the leadership team are actively supporting efforts to restore cuts made to higher education that would reduce enrollment, including qualified students accepted to CSU and UC schools who will otherwise be sent to community colleges instead; restoring outreach efforts; and reducing the amount of proposed tuition increases for community colleges.’ Pavley, who served as mayor in Agoura Hills for four years, is also concerned about how the budget will affect local government. ‘The deal that the Governor made with local government representatives, swapping and deferring revenues historically belonging to cities and counties, is still subject to debate in the legislature. Many small rural cities will go bankrupt from the proposed loss of revenues for two years which the Governor is calling their ‘contribution’ to the state deficit.’ Regarding tax increases, Pavley said that ‘although neither the Governor nor the Republicans will put taxes on the table, many Democratic legislators would support a 1 percent personal income tax increase for people who make in excess of $500,000 a year. This single action could avoid cuts to K-12 education, colleges and transportation. It could also reduce the ongoing borrowing and deferrals into our future that concern everyone.’ California is one of only three states in the country that requires a two-thirds vote of the legislature to pass a budget, ‘which means that a small minority of legislators can force, and have in the past, forced a budget standoff or concessions that may not be in the long-term best interest of our 35 million Californians,’ said Pavley, who did not envision that happening this year. In fact, this is the first summer since she took office (fall 2000) that she is able to take some time off because the ‘budget is in better shape than it has ever been at this point.’ Asked about her relationship with the Governor, Pavley said that she had her first semi-private meeting with him a month ago, along with a couple of other legislators, and was pleased to see that she and Schwarzenegger ‘agree on air and water quality issues. He is also a co-sponsor of my hybrid bill and has publicly supported my efforts regarding vehicle emissions. ‘ Diesel exhaust is a major source of our dirty air, and contributes to respiratory-related ailments such as asthma.’ In the meeting Pavley said the Governor took her by surprise when he asked her: ‘What is the one thing you want?’ ‘I told him I wanted many things. He said I should pick one.’ She said she’d have to think about it and get back to him. Pavley, who continues to champion education, transportation and the environment, plans to start campaigning at the end of August. She is running against Santa Monica resident Heather Peters, for whom the Palisades Republican Club held a fundraiser in June.
Kathryn Klein Zornes, 54; Businesswoman and Mentor
Kathryn Anne Klein Zornes, 54, died peacefully in her sleep on June 16 after a long struggle with cancer. At her bedside at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto were her mother, sister and several friends. ‘Amazing Grace’ was playing softly in the background as a priest gave final rites. Kathryn was born to Betty and Joe Klein on September 30, 1949 in Phoenix, Arizona, and moved with her family to Pacific Palisades in 1966. After graduating from UCLA, she worked as a management consultant for McKinsey and Co. for several years, then as an independent consultant. She was a well-respected businesswoman and a mentor to many. In her work, she traveled the world and also lived in Japan, England and Scandinavia and several parts of the United States. After returning to the U.S., Kathryn lived in Connecticut, where she met her future husband. The couple married and moved to San Francisco, where their daughter was born in 1993. Kathryn was an avid reader and a gifted writer and artist. She also loved animals and left behind her two faithful dogs, a cat and three cockatiels. The animals are now at home with family members. She is survived by her daughter Emma, 10; mother Betty Northington Klein and father Joseph Klein of Pacific Palisades; sister Elizabeth Scahill of Thousand Oaks; brothers Joseph Klein, Jr. of Santa Monica and Timothy Klein, M.D. of Phoenix, Arizona; niece Elizabeth Scahill and many loving friends and relatives in many parts of the world. A memorial gathering will take place at the home of her parents at a future date. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory can be made to Pathway Hospice, 201 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, CA 94040 or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 424 East 92nd St. New York, NY 10128.
PaliHi Principal Linda Hosford Reflects on Past and Future
Photo by Linda Renaud
‘Decompress, that’s the plan,’ says retiring Palisades High School Principal Linda Hosford, who in the last three years shepherded the school through its transition from being a charter school to becoming fiscally independent. ‘I want to take care of all the things I should have been doing for the last three years, my health, my house,’ she told the Palisadian-Post the day after graduation. The 40-year Los Angeles Unified School District veteran was hired as assistant principal in August 1990 and assumed the principal’s job in July 2001, after Don Savarese retired. After successfully guiding PaliHi through the arduous and contentious path to fiscal independence during the 2002-2003 school year, Hosford still maintains that the highlight of her career was ‘that day, May 13, when we finally had the vote to become fiscally independent from LAUSD. I don’t think it could get any better than that.’ However, Hosford admits it was a short celebration because there were still so many uncertainties. ‘We had to literally organize our own business by July 1. A lot had to be put in place and required a lot of work. It was frightening to some people,’ she said, referring to transition issues involving retirement benefits and salaries. But throughout the process, Hosford was most proud of ‘remaining student focused, no matter if other stakeholders might have thought it should not have been my top priority. In the end there is no way to please everybody all the time.’ While she recused herself from the process to select her successor, Hosford made some recommendations concerning the scope of the job of running what has essentially become a business with 2,560 students and a $16.8 million operating budget. ‘My advice was to divide this position into an academic principal and an executive director, who would be more involved with the business and political side of what needs to be done, especially with the charter renewal next year,’ Hosford said. The search committee, under the direction of Jack Sutton and other stakeholders’staff, parents and administrators’paper-screened a number of candidates for the principal’s position. Four candidates, all Los Angeles residents, were selected for individual interviews with the committee, which took place last week. The board of governors is still weighing the question of dividing the job. Six weeks ago, the board selected Greg Wood as chief business officer in charge of the preparation and monitoring of the school’s budget. A former Ex-Ed (Excellent Education Development) consultant, Wood is an expert in helping charter schools transition from a school into a ‘school district,’ with the budget, taxes, insurance and payrolls to manage. Hosford, who handled the academic and financial duties as executive director of the school, applauded the board’s choice of Wood. ‘He’s very sound with his judgment and creative in advising the board.’ Although Hosford will be away from the Palisades, she plans to stay quite connected. ‘I bid on a two-year subscription to the Palisadian-Post at our Casino Night so I’ll stay up with all the news.’
‘Mayor’ and Williams Installed
When Steve Guttenberg accepted another two-year term as honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades last Thursday night, he made one thing clear: ‘I will not be riding in the Fourth of July parade this year. Nor will I will walking in it. I will be landing in my 747 on Sunset. Okay?’ Guttenberg’s quip at the Chamber of Commerce installation dinner was one of the lighter moments of a mixed evening that included a moment of silence for Ronald Reagan, a children’s piano concert, and a Marilyn Monroe lookalike who introduced Guttenberg from the stage. After receiving congratulations from Viet Tran, the West L.A. aide for Mayor Jim Hahn, Jenny Toder from Assemblywoman Fran Pavley’s office, and Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski’s field deputy Monique Ford (who commended the Highlands resident for his efforts to slow down traffic on Palisades Drive), Guttenberg proceeded to deprecate himself before an audience 200 at the Riviera Country Club. ‘Have you seen what this man has done in the last two years? If failure is the stepping stone to success then we are well on our way!’ Guttenberg then gave 10 reasons why he should not be honorary mayor, starting with ‘I can’t read,’ and ending by admitting that he doesn’t even really know where he is most of the time. He suggested that perhaps Whoopi Goldberg, who lives in the Riviera, might be a better choice, but did declare that he wanted ‘a dedicated parking space in this town. Everyone knows how impossible the parking has become.’ He also let out that he buys his dresses ‘at Elyse Walker’s.’ On a more serious note, Guttenberg said that he never dreamed he would be blessed with such a wonderful life and ‘being in this very room with all you good people. I am a good son, brother, friend and community member and am really happy I have landed in this place.’ His parents, his sister and his niece’all from Long Island’were in the audience. David Williams, the owner of Mogan’s Cafe in the Highlands, ascended to the Chamber presidency in January when then-president Jim Stoltzfus, owner of Mail Boxes, Etc., surprised the community by announcing his move to Arizona with his new bride. Williams, who first served as president in 1998-1999, dedicated his presidency to his friend and mentor, the late Mort Farberow. ‘Mort was in line to serve as our next president,’ Williams explained. ‘But upon his passing I decided that the only way I could give back was to dedicate this year to him. He was my best friend, and as good a friend as you can ever hope to have in business. I thank Mort and I thank you. It is truly a privilege to serve as your president.’ Between musical selections by eight children pianists and a violinist from the Aesthetic Music Center in the Highlands, Palisades Rotary Club president Perry Akins presented the club’s annual Beautification Award to the Palisades Branch Library, in recognition of the opening of the new building in 2003. The award was accepted by Gina Vincent, president of the Friends of the Library. The annual Best New Business Award was presented by architect Rich Wilken to Scott Wagenseller, CEO and founder of Palisades Patrol. Chamber executive director Arnie Wishnick presented the second annual Mort Farberow Businessperson Award to Bob Sharka, founder of the monthly Palisades Film Festival who is also spearheading the Chamber’s new ‘Movies Under the Stars’ series at the Palisades Recreation Center later this summer. Wishnick introduced Sharka as ‘a dreamer,’ and said that besides fulfilling the three basic criteria for the award”the three C’s that Mort held dear: community, Chamber and children”Sharka added a fourth one: ‘Cinema.’ Wishnick noted that besides all that Sharka did for the community, which includes coaching baseball and being a math tutor, ‘he also does have a day job.’ Sharka recounted how Mort ‘had a rough exterior at times. I said hello to him for three or four years and I barely ever got a response. Then one day he said: ‘Hey Bob, can you give me a hand?’ I didn’t think he even knew my name. I was so pleased,’ Sharka said to applause. The Chamber’s 2004-2005 executive committee will include David Williams; president-elect Sandy Eddy; vice-presidents Mazi Aghalarpour, Sandy Derby, Brad Lusk and Roy Robbins; and past president and advisor Roberta Donohue. The directors are Antonia Balfour, Brook Dougherty, Bobbie Farberow, Terri Festa, Phil Kamins, Sam Lagana, Jennifer Lowe, Denise Martinez, Damon Raskin, Laura Tan Raskin and Elyse Walker.
Council Supports Movie Series
By BILL BRUNS and LAURA WITSENHAUSEN Following 8-3 approval by the Community Council last Thursday evening, Movies Under the Stars is set to debut on Saturday, July 24 at the Palisades Recreation Center, pending receipt of a permit from the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks. The free program, presented by the Chamber of Commerce and Friends of Film, will continue at dusk on the next three Saturdays (July 31, August 7 and 14). An outdoor projector will be set up on the grass playing fields and a half-dozen or so speakers will be strategically placed around the audience in order to minimize any potential impact on neighbors. The organizers hope to run ‘Grease’ on opening night, projected onto an 18-by-24-foot inflatable screen. Beforehand, the American Legion will sell hot dogs, soda and water, and people can also bring their own picnic baskets. Every effort will be made to have everyone begin leaving the park (quietly!) by 10:30 p.m. ‘We are continuing our efforts to keep everyone happy in this family-oriented screening series,’ said Friends of Film’s Bob Sharka. To that end, the committee will be working with sound engineer Bill Blanke, who has worked for 18 years with the Palisades Fourth of July parade committee. Blanke will check that the decibel sound level of a test movie is within the allowable and desired range before the first event. He will also conduct sound tests the night of the first screening. Security will be provided by Palisades Patrol, and Chrysalis Street Works has been contracted to clean the site afterwards. While the Movies Under the Stars committee may initially rent some of its equipment, it still needs tax-deductible donations to help underwrite various costs. Donations can be sent to Friends of Film, c/o the Palisades Chamber of Commerce, 15330 Antioch St., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. At last week’s Community Council meeting, Alma Real resident Valerie Clifford and Hampden Place resident Steve Henning said the film series was ‘a great idea’but in the wrong location.’ They argued that it was unfair to have their homes subjected to unwarranted noise and commotion on a Saturday night. But after an hour of discussion, including a spirited defense of the series by committee spokesman John Wirth, the council approved a motion supporting the pilot program with the proviso that the sponsoring organizations ‘make a continuing good faith effort to evaluate and reevaluate the impact of the programs upon the surrounding community and minimize such impacts, including noise, parking, security, clean-up and traffic management.’
