7th-Grade Flag Football Coached by Kris and Brad Zacuto, St. Matthew’s defeated host Brentwood, 34-6, last Tuesday in its Junior Delphic League opener. The Falcons were led by quarterback Andrew Goldberg, who threw two touchdown passes and two successful conversion passes. Halfbacks James Ondaatje and Chris Barnum each had a touchdown catch to lead the St. Matthew’s offense. Jackson Liquori led the Falcons with three touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Jackson scored on a 45-yard interception return and caught scoring passes of 20 and 52 yards. A.J. Hong rushed 10 yards for the Falcons’ first touchdown and Conner Gill caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Goldberg. Offensive linemen John Rockwell, Barrett Meister, Cary Kriegsman and Christian Williams blocked well to lead the Falcons’ attack. St. Matthew’s also played solid defense, forcing Brentwood to punt on its first possession. Middle linebacker Marcus Hogsta intercepted a pass on the Eagles’ next drive while Goldberg, Williams, Barnum, Ondaatje, Rockwell, Daniel Deloje, Daniel Ohriner, Starr Hathaway and Liquori also made big defensive plays. Also contributing to the victory were Jeremy McLennan, Greg London, Jack Kuhlenschmidt, Shahrod Khalkhali, Evan Biscow and Nick Albarino. The Falcons hosted St. Paul on Tuesday and host Harvard-Westlake today.
AYSO ROUNDUP
U-8 Girls The Golden Stars tied the Dolphins, 1-1, Saturday at Brentwood Science Magnet. The Dolphins scored in the second quarter but the Stars answered in the third quarter on a goal by Courtney Corrin, assisted by Marianne Verrone, Lizzy Howard, Jessica Friedman and Kelsey Allen-Niesen. Strong defense was played by Stars Erica Jaffe and Brittney Ghadoushi and goalie Libby Sondheimer stopped several goals. U-10 Girls The Silver Strikers defeated the Purple Penguins 7-1 at Barrington. Macauley Porter scored the Penguins’ only goal in the first half. Striker Becky Wagman scored three goals on assists from Amy Dickey and Hayley Alperin, while Alperin scored twice off passes from Diane Wald. Caroline Kanner added two goals and Caroline Sanford chipped in an assist. Black Magic remained undefeated with a 4-0 victory over the Red Hot Chili Peppers Saturday at Barrington. Defenders Samantha Fleck, Elizabeth Madden, Raleigh Bacharach and Catherine Barnes held the Peppers to one shot over the final three quarters. Mackenzie Howe netted two goals while Brittney Butler and Elana Ross each added one. Emma Sanderson was stellar in goal. U-12 Boys Judd Liebman scored three goals to lead Crimson United to a 7-0 win over the Jamaican Bobsleds. Turner Hanley, Parker Hiatt, Daniel Davis and Cole Kahrilas also scored. Forwards Kevin Walker, Oliver de Brevannes, Stephan Callas and Orly Israelson added assists. The United defense was led by goalie Casey Jordan and co-captains Shervin Ghaffari and Jordan Lewis, who shut out the opposition for the second straight game.
Pali Falls to Monroe
As the final seconds ticked off the clock last Friday night, Leo Castro looked to the sky and shook his head, perhaps hoping divine intervention would alter the outcome of a game he thought his team would win. Instead, Palisades High’s head football coach was struggling for answers after a 20-10 nonleague loss at Monroe that dropped the Dolphins to 1-3 overall. Again, it was turnovers and penalties that proved to be Pali’s undoing. The Dolphins failed on two fourth down conversions in the red zone and were flagged nine times for 90 yards, most of them holding calls after substantial gains by Andre Harris. Harris again led the Dolphins’ ground attack with 82 yards in 11 carries, but Pali could muster little offense after its opening drive, which ended with a 40-yard field goal by Dylan Cohen that gave the Dolphins a short-lived 3-0 lead. Cohen was pressured all game, completing 6 of 12 passes for 99 yards with two interceptions. He made the play of the game by scrambling out of trouble to find Brandon Bryant deep donwfield for a 49-yard touchdown that pulled Pali within 14-10 just before halftime, but the Dolphins didn’t score again. In the preceding frosh/soph game, the only thing more bizarre than the final score was the referee’s call on the play that decided the contest. Trailing 5-3 late in the fourth quarter, Pali quarterback Michael Latt threw a desperation pass that was intercepted at the three yard line by Monroe’s safety, who then ran into the end zone and was tackled by Raymond Elie for an apparent game-tying safety. But game officials ruled that the Monroe players’ momentum had carried him into the end zone, the Vikings were awarded a touchback and they subsequently ran out the clock. Despite the loss there were bright spots for Palisades (1-2-1). Donovan Blount rushed for 80 yards and freshman Kennie Merino kicked a 25-yard field goal.
Palisadian Soboroff Is Team Captain of Harvard-Westlake’s Volleyball Team

Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Every time Harvard-Westlake senior Molly Soboroff steps onto a volleyball court, she has one clear objective for herself: ‘Put every ball down.’ As team captain, Soboroff, 17, plays right side, or outside hitter and back row as a defensive specialist for the Wolverines, who compete in the Mission League in the CIF Southern Section, Division III. Per game, she averages 3 digs, 2.1 passes and 2.7 blocks. In preseason action, Harvard-Westlake was 6-8, which included four tournaments’the Lolani and Punahou in Hawaii over the summer and recently the Cougar Tournament and the Orange City Championship. League play began on Tuesday at Louisville. Soboroff, a Palisadian, attended Curtis School in kindergarten through sixth grade. She spent a year at Marlborough, an all-girls school in Hancock Park, before settling in eighth grade on Harvard-Westlake, located on Coldwater Canyon in North Hollywood. She says she chose Harvard-Westlake for a couple of reasons. ‘I knew about the volleyball program from [my time] at Curtis and Marlborough and both my brothers went there and loved it.’ One of Soboroff’s proudest achievements came at the beginning of the season when she was elected to one of the two captain positions by her teammates. ‘It’s something that I’ve dreamed of since I started playing volleyball and now that I have it, it’s awesome,’ she says. Recently, Soboroff was also elected to her school’s student-athlete advisory council, which meets once a month to discuss how to create a ‘better balance between homework and sports’ for student-athletes. A volleyball player since fourth grade, Soboroff attributes her development as a player to her past coaches, Steve Chen, Matt Sebree and her Harvard-Westlake coach, Jessie Quiroz, whom she and her teammates refer to as ‘Coach Q.’ ‘Coach Q is a great motivator,’ she says. ‘He’s taught me the basics of how to be a leader and is always offering me constructive criticism.’ Quiroz is equally as praising towards Soboroff, saying she is an excellent reader of the ball on the court and is one of the best passers and diggers on the team. ‘She’s one of the hardest workers out there,’ he says. ‘She loves the game.’ Last year’s Wolverine volleyball team lost in the CIF quarters against La Canada and finished third overall in the Mission League. Soboroff says this year’s team goals include: improving communication, creating chemistry, keeping focused and winning the league title. Individually, her goals include: having fun, forming good friendships and maintaining the team’s cohesion. Before each game, Soboroff and her teammates go through a pre-game ritual which consists of sitting in a circle, holding hands and talking about their goals for the game. After that, they go outside and ‘jig.’ ‘We have a dance we do called ‘Jigalow,’ where we dance in a circle,’ she says. ‘It’s really silly but it gets us pumped up.’ On occasion, the team will also head over to the local Coffee Bean Tea & Leaf to fill up on a Pure Chocolate Ice Blended drink, which Soboroff calls ‘the pump-up drink’ of the team. Soboroff, herself, has earned the nickname ‘carpool mom’ from her fellow Palisadian teammates’Katherine Kanoff, Katherine Quinn, Kaitlain Segal and Taylor Morgan’whom she drives home from practice each day. After Harvard-Westlake’s season ends in November, Soboroff will begin her third year playing for the Santa Monica Beach Club (SMBC), which is based at Harvard-Westlake. In club volleyball, Soboroff plays libero’a position not allowed in high school volleyball’in which the player is restricted to playing only in the back row and wears a different colored jersey than the rest of the team. Liberos may not serve, block or attempt to block and substitutions are not counted as regular and their number is unlimited. The club season ends in June, making volleyball a year-round activity for Soboroff. The majority of Soboroff’s Wolverine teammates participate on the SMBC, while others play for Sports Shack’a volleyball club team based at Marymount. Born and raised in the Palisades, Soboroff lives on Shadow Mountain off Bienveneda. Her parents, Steve and Patti, never miss her volleyball games’home or away. Patti even made hair ribbons to adorn each player’s ponytail. ‘They’re very supportive,’ says Soboroff, who has two older brothers, Jacob, 21, who attends NYU and Miles, 19, who attends USC. She also has two younger sisters, Hannah, 16, who also attends Harvard-Westlake and Leah, 11, who attends John Thomas Dye. Soboroff will graduate from Harvard-Westlake in early June and says she’d like to attend college in the East. ‘Ideally, I’d go to NYU and play volleyball.’ Her favorite courses in school include English, French and psychology but as far as what her major in college will be, she’s undecided. ‘It’ll be something that has nothing to do with math or science,’ she laughs. When she’s not spiking balls or serving up aces, Soboroff enjoys spending time with her friends and family and simply ‘being a normal teenager.’ On sunny days, one can find her and her friends lounging at the beach in Santa Monica or having lunch with her family in Malibu. ‘I also love to shop,’ she says with a smile.
UCLA’s ‘Spoken Word’ Speaks in Many Tongues
Fans of David Sedaris can breathe easy. The rock star of contemporary essayists, who fills Royce Hall’s 1,800 seats each year as part of UCLA Live, will forever be a featured player. So says director David Sefton, who regards the ‘Spoken Word’ segment of the UCLA Live series as one of his ‘personal babies.’ ”Sefton came to UCLA from England in 2000, immediately brightening L.A.’s cultural scene with his cutting-edge approach to arts programming. ‘Spoken Word,’ the literary arm of the series, is cast in the same imaginative light. ‘I approach it the same way as theater and dance,’ Sefton told the Palisadian-Post. ‘I’m always seeking to broaden the field, to invigorate the series.’ ”Indeed, the 2004-05 lineup steps way outside the box of a traditional author series, with a wildly diverse array of literary voices coming before the podium, striking a balance between the serious and comedic. ”New York Times Op-Ed columnist and Princeton professor Paul Krugman kicks off the season on Friday, October 15. Known for his unflinching candor and insight, he will share his views on topics from the economy to government and corporate scandals. ”On November 7, actor Willem Dafoe will interview authors Russell Banks and Michael Ondaatje in a discussion about the relationship between fiction in literature and fiction in films. ‘Dafoe is a massive Banks fan and starred in the film version of Ondaatje’s novel ‘The English Patient,” Sefton says, explaining the creative mix of speakers.’He knows our program well and basically offered to host.’ ”’A John Waters Christmas’ on December 9 features the legendary filmmaker in a stand-up comedy act that includes a bizarre cast of post-apocalyptic holiday characters. ”David Mamet, who had been on Sefton’s ‘wish list’ for some time, makes his first UCLA Live appearance on January 20. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, who successfully alternates between stage and screen, is the author of plays ‘Oleanna’ and ‘Glengarry Glen Ross,’ both of which he adapted for film, and is writer/director of such films as ‘House of Games’ and ‘Homicide.’ ”Hip-Hop in theater will be the topic when Danny Hoch takes the stage on Saturday, February 5. Hoch is an actor, director and playwright who brings the language of the street to the fore in a dizzying, one-man melting pot of transformations. ”Poet, writer, teacher and activist Nikki Giovanni, who was Grammy-nominated for her spoken word CD ‘The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection,’ will headline on February 16. Among America’s most widely read poets, she prides herself on being ‘a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English.’ ”Novelist A.S. Byatt, best known for her novel ‘Possession: A Romance,’ will share from her latest work ‘The Little Black Book of Stories,’ which mixes fairy tales with everyday life, on March 11. ”Rounding out the series on April 26 will be David Sedaris, a series regular and audience favorite, whose most recent book is the bestseller ‘Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.’ He will be joined by ‘This American Life’ writer and essayist Sarah Vowell. ”For tickets and additional information, call 825-2101 or visit UCLALive.org. All performances are in Royce Hall.
St. Matthew’s Orchestra Opens 20th Season With New ‘Fanfare’
The Music Guild of St. Matthew’s Parish will begin a yearlong 20th anniversary celebration with a concert by the St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra on Friday, October 15, at 7:30 p.m. in the chuch sanctuary, 1031 Bienveneda Ave. Thomas Neenan, who has served as the orchestra’s conductor since its inception in 1985, will conduct the 35-member fully professional ensemble. Neenan, who is professor of music history and music theory at Caltech, notes that an important mission of the Music Guild has always been its cultivation of new music, especially by American composers and composers of sacred music. With that in mind, the Music Guild has commissioned new works from six composers for the 2004-2005 anniversary season. ‘In October, we will premiere a new fanfare by Los Angeles composer Marc Falcone as well as the first movement of a four-movement suite, ‘Encores,’ by Joseph Curiale, who is best known for his work in the motion picture industry and with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra,’ Neenan says. ‘Joe is writing arrangements of four torch songs to be used as concert encores at four of our orchestra concerts. Each encore will feature a long-term member of the orchestra as soloist. We have a number of players who have been with the orchestra for more than 15 years.’ ”Also on the October 15 program are Mozart’s arias from ‘The Abduction from the Seraglio’ and ‘Magic Flute,’ featuring Palisadian basso Louis Lebherz, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2. Other commissions include ‘The Night Train,’ a concerto for flute, cello, harp, percussion and strings (again with longtime members of the orchestra in mind) commissioned from UCLA composer Roger Bourland; a setting of the ‘Magnificat’ for three female vocal soloists and orchestra by Paul Chihara (winner of awards from the Copland and Koussevitzky foundations); an anthem for choir, brass and organ by New York composer David Hurd; and a major work for choir and orchestra, ‘The Spacious Firmament on High’ by Gerald Near, one of today’s busiest and most highly respected composers of sacred music. ‘David Hurd is writing specifically with the church’s Fisk Pardee Memorial tracker organ in mind,’ Neenan said. Gerald Near’s anthem will be premiered in Pacific Palisades and Pasadena, along with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, in June 2005. Contact: 573-7787, ext. 2.
Juveniles Find Direction With Community Partners

Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
A brick wall separates the juveniles at Camp David Gonzales from the serene Santa Monica Mountains surrounding the youth detention camp. Yet for many of the male teenage residents, Camp Gonzales is a refuge from their normal lives, offering an unusual number of opportunities for a better life post-detention. ”Oscar joined the camp’s newspaper, Behind the Wall, which he says is ‘good for learning writing skills and self-expression.’ Now the managing editor, Oscar, who just turned 18, says, ‘I can get the group in order. I’m a leader.’ ”Glenn, 18, participated in a sound production class that helped him ‘release stress’ by writing raps and creating beats. ‘I wrote about my life,’ says the high school graduate who hopes to get a job or go to college when he leaves Camp Gonzales. ”These enrichment classes are supported by Community Partners, an after-school educational program intended to ‘redirect and relocate’ youth offenders, says Palisadian Paul Cummins, educator and founder of Crossroads School and New Roads School. ”’When we first went out there [to Camp Gonzales], we weren’t particularly welcomed,’ says Cummins, who created Community Partners through the New Visions Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on improving educational opportunities for underserved children. ‘We were an inconvenience to probation officers, and there was resentment because we were the ‘do-gooders.” ”Located in Calabasas, Camp Gonzales is one of 18 youth detention camps run by Los Angeles County’s Probation Department. Cummins was introduced to the camp through Carol Biondi, a children’s health advocate who asked him to visit the camp and offer solutions for improvements. ”’Once I saw what wasn’t being done, I couldn’t help but get involved,’ Cummins says. ”He noticed that the boys, ages 14 to 18, weren’t being assessed carefully (there were no statistics or information on their interests), nor were they being encouraged or given the opportunity to expand their interests. Many of them were leaving the camp and going straight back into the same communities, neighborhoods and gangs because they weren’t being placed in better situations. ”With the federal government’s statistic on recidivism at about 80 percent, Cummins had reason to be concerned. L.A. County’s recidivism rate is unknown, as records are difficult to obtain. ”The main objective of Community Partners is ‘to give [the boys] a sense of self-respect and a vision for a better life, through adults who can teach and place them,’ says Cummins, who talked with some of the minors about their interests during his initial visit. The camp’s population is about 60 percent Latino and 40 percent African American. ”Sitting in a circle with the boys, Cummins told the group that his hobbies were basketball and writing poetry, and as he was leaving, one boy put a book of his own poetry in Cummins’ pocket and said, ‘I write poetry, too.’ ”’We’ve made some startling discoveries about these kids,’ Cummins says, referring to their interests and talents. ”He hired Joe P’rez to run the program as full-time director. P’rez is ‘savvy, cool and tough,’ Cummins says of the Harvard graduate who earned his bachelor’s degree in government in 1997. ‘He’s got a sixth sense of how to negotiate the minefields.’ ” A native of Hawaii, P’rez taught at a private American high school in Puerto Rico for five years before continuing his education in Los Angeles, where he is currently finishing his doctorate in the Educational Leadership Program at UCLA. ”’California has the highest rate of incarceration for youth of any highly populated state,’ says P’rez, explaining that youth detention camps are ‘the second most secure setting [after the California Youth Authority [CYA].’ ”Most of the minors at Camp Gonzales are sent there for the less violent felony crimes, such as burglary or assault. Many of them are habitual low-level offenders who serve three, six or nine months. ”Daniel, 14, was involved in a robbery and had to return to the camp for a second stay. Now he writes stories about ‘how camp changed from the last time I was here’ for the opinion section of Behind the Wall. Other sections include sports, arts and entertainment, camp news and world news (each with its own editor), though Daniel says his focus is mainly on camp-related issues since ‘I don’t know what goes on in the world because I’m behind walls.’ ”Minors also write book reviews and poetry, conduct interviews with camp staff, and write summaries of news they read in magazines and newspapers brought in for their class each week. ”Carol Biondi started the publication about 2-1/2 years ago by bringing Los Angeles Daily Journal editor Katrina Dewey onto the scene. Dewey, who works with the boys every Saturday, says, ‘The core group is pretty dedicated about why they’re [on the newspaper staff].’ ”Talking to the boys on a recent Saturday, she explains that the goal of the newspaper program is to ‘talk about your feelings in a constructive way, learn to write together and create a better possibility for you guys in the world.’ ”When Community Partners got involved two years ago, a $30,000 Soros grant from the Youth Initiatives Program of the Open Society Institute helped provide the newspaper staff with equipment such as computers, printers, television sets and two white marker boards, as well as more supervision and organization. ”With the program’s support, the newspaper experience is ‘increasing their communication skills,’ says Deputy Probation Officer Stephanie Saunders, who helps run the newspaper class. More importantly, ‘they actually accomplish something and it’s here in black and white,’ she says, holding up the latest issue of Behind the Wall. ”Chief Probation Officer Richard Shumsky agrees with Saunders. While the majority of the boys read at the fourth-grade level, the newspaper class is ‘good for self-image and self-esteem,’ says Shumsky, a former Palisadian who visits the camp once a week. One artist who worked on the paper was ‘a virtual non-reader’ and another helped distribute the monthly publication, which the Daily Journal lays out and then sends to a printing shop. ”Through Community Partners, the young men can also take film production, drama (with The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company), a garden project class, indoor soccer, yoga, an employment skills class and a mysteries/human development class that runs like a discussion group based on Native American traditions. The sound production class is subcontracted with Sound Art. ”’Our goal is to turn on the kids in the classroom,’ says P’rez, who teaches indoor soccer. ‘We sneak in writing and literacy skills.’ ”The classes run in six-week cycles and most meet twice a week, Monday through Saturday. Times are organized with other camp activities, classes and programs, since the minors also attend regular academic classes while at Camp Gonzales. ”P’rez feels that the Community Partners program, run by New Roads, was needed because ‘sometimes it’s a conflict of interest for probation officers who are reporting violations but also trying to help the kids. It’s good [for the officers] to be partnered with a community-based program that is solely focused on helping the kids.’ ”In addition to six teachers who have higher degrees, Community Partners has two full-time placement coordinators who help relocate the juveniles post-detention to places such as the California Conservation Corps, Job Corps, private/public magnet schools and community colleges. ”While it’s still too early to talk about success rates and statistics, anecdotal evidence shows that the program has succeeded in increasing the number of camp minors placed in community colleges. ”About half of the college-age boys in the program go to college, says P’rez, who explains that Community Partners serves a third of the camp’s population, which totals about 40 to 50 boys per session, with 8 to 12 people per class. However, Community Partners has opened the program to more participants than the county is funding, in attempt to help a larger number of minors. ”State funding comes from the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA), a grant program administered by the Board of Corrections. Community Partners receives $360,000 a year, at $3,000 per capita. ”’So far, we’ve escaped the budget cuts,’ says Cummins, who’s helped place a couple of the boys at New Roads. P’rez adds that in the category of Intensive Training Service programs, Community Partners was the only one still intact after recent budget cuts. ”The program placed one minor, who had been ‘deeply entrenched in gangs at age 15′ at a high school in Colorado. This boy was shot almost immediately after leaving Camp Gonzales, but survived, and Community Partners was able to get probation terminated so that he could leave the state. ”’He’s had struggles, but the struggles that you have in a new school environment,’ P’rez says of the minor, who’s been at the Colorado school for six months. ”Another minor, who developed a knack for writing screenplays through the film production class, is now studying at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, located in the San Jacinto Mountains. ” ”For many of them, ‘this is their first positive [youth detention] camp experience,’ says P’rez. ‘It’s the first time someone gave them the benefit of the doubt, the first time they’ve been seen as someone with potential.’ ”Community Partners selects minors for the program based on their age and length of stay at camp. The program targets older boys who are turning 18 because there’s a greater opportunity of placing them at a community college when they leave, as well as those who are at camp for at least six months, since that’s a sufficient amount of time for ‘an intensive transition,’ P’rez explains. ”However, in making initial assessments of minors interested in the program, P’rez also looks for boys who would do well in enrichment classes for shorter periods of time, since the classes ‘plant seeds.’ He organizes ongoing meetings to check their progress and also oversees all of the case management. ”’We’re building a culture of trust [at Camp Gonzales],’ Cummins says. ‘Our program is valuable. And when a kid succeeds, we all look good.’
Scott Corwin’s Political Passion Merits Leading Fundraiser Role
Palisadian Scott Corwin insists he’s not a stargazer, but then there’s that constellation of Democratic luminaries he’s posing with in photos on his office credenza’Bill Clinton, Hillary, John Kerry, John Edwards and Teresa Heinz Kerry. ‘People say, ‘How great,’ when they see these photos. I say ‘Great, come to the fundraiser.’ These Democrats energize me.’ Although Corwin is now a trustee of the Democratic National Committee, named to the body for his prodigious fundraising’about $285,000 this year’he is most excited about the neighborhood party he is co-hosting on October 10 with 14 other Palisadian couples. Although entry is only $150 a head, the evening will be modeled on a major political fundraiser, with dinner, music and a meet-and-greet, Corwin says. Special guests will be Phil Angelides, California State Treasurer and California co-chairman of the Kerry Edwards Campaign; Antonio Villaraigosa, L.A. City Council member and national co-chairman of the campaign; and State Assemblymember Fran Pavley. A self-proclaimed passionate person, Corwin says that this party is ‘a way for the community to express themselves.’ At the end of August, Corwin equipped himself with 30 Kerry/ Edwards signs and went around to his neighbors on Grenola asking if they would like to post a lawn sign. ‘I wanted to share my enthusiasm and I think it’s important that people are involved. One of my neighbors asked me for a sign and said, ‘This has given us permission to express ourselves.” Corwin, 41, grew up in the Palisades, attended local public schools and UCLA and then law school at USC. ‘I always wanted to be involved in a grassroots way with politics, but didn’t. I was never involved in a campaign except later with consumer issues as part of my membership in the Consumer Attorneys of L.A. and the state consumer group (CAOC). ‘We as a family have been involved in various different causes. My wife, Susan, is on the board at University Synagogue, and she has involved our son Joshua with the Grammercy Shelter for women and children. ‘But on a larger level, I thought everything was fine when Clinton was president. Things were good and then I became a little more aware after Bush took office. I did a lot of reading ideas from people like [political gadfly] Gore Vidal, Noam Chomsky (‘Hegemony or Survival’) and Chalmers Johnson (‘The Sorrows of Empire’). I watched what has been happening over the last couple of years and have a lot of disagreement with what is going on. I think of what our country will look like when my son, who is only 11, becomes a man’in terms of welfare, health care and the environment.’ Then last fall Corwin got a call from a friend who wondered if he could help with Dick Gebhart’s campaign. He agreed’he had always liked the Missouri Congressman’and got three or four friends to attend an event. ‘I enjoyed it, enjoyed getting a chance to feel involved,’ Corwin says. In January he called the Kerry campaign and said he would like to help. That began what Corwin describes as his day job. ‘I come here to the office and work on the campaign all day, go home to spend time with my wife and son and then in the night I do my legal work.’ As a consumer rights lawyer, Corwin says that the last four years of the Bush administration have directly affected his clients. ‘A quarter of my clients don’t have health insurance. Many of them are minimum wagers, so if they are involved in an accident, my job is often to get them medical compensation.’ Corwin has taken up the presidential campaign in a serious, focused manner. And despite his newfound connections and being one of only about 200 DNC trustees, he is unpretentious, confessing that he has no political ambitions. ‘I have no agenda, nothing to gain personally.’ ‘There is only so much I can do as a person, so that’s why I am concentrating on the presidential race. Only this race for the president of the United States affects us all. It does matter, we’ve seen how much it really mattered in the last four years, and we’ll see more in four years.’
Canyon Gas Station Sale Pending
After being on the market for a year, the historic Canyon Service Station on Entrada Drive has an accepted offer. Also included in the sale is a 100-year-old house, one of the last remaining homes of the Marquez family, the original owners of the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica land grant. ‘I don’t know yet when escrow will close,’ said Monica Queen, a daughter of Angelina Marquez Olivera, who lives in the two-bedroom house. The sale appears related to settling Olivera’s estate following her death in 2002. While Queen would not say who offered to buy the two structures on the 17,000-sq.-ft. lot or how much they offered to pay, it is believed to be close to the $2.3 million asking price. While the property is zoned R-1, there has been a conditional use permit since 1925 for the gas station, which is leased out at $3,000 a month, to operate in this residential neighborhood. Brian Clark, who operates the station, is not happy about the pending sale. ‘I feel betrayed,’ said Clark, who had been in negotiation with the family, along with local realtor Frank Langen, to purchase the property on behalf of the community, a proposal the two men began working on when the property came on the market last fall. ‘We made them a full price offer,’ Clark said. ‘I thought we had a deal. They seemed really happy about the idea of preserving the gas station and maybe turning the house into a museum. Then two days later there are workers here taking soil samples to see if the gas tanks are leaking. That’s how I found out they had sold the property to someone else.’ Clark, who has had a lease on the distinctive orange-and-white station since 1996, said that when he found out about the pending sale last Saturday he was disappointed to hear that ‘whoever is buying the lot plans to develop it and either tear down or relocate the gas station. But where is it going to go? It’s not like you can just plant it somewhere.’ The news of the pending sale came at a glum time for Clark, who had lovingly restored the station, the oldest full-service station in Los Angeles. After battling the city and some neighbors for five years over the renewal of his conditional use permit, Clark was informed by L.A.’ s Department of Building and Safety on Monday that he would no longer be permitted to detail cars. While acknowledging that there are still zoning and variance issues to be resolved, Clark is sure a community buy-out of the property would have been the best way to go. ‘We could have made it work. But it appears we were too late,’ said Clark, who is now preparing to shut down the station in the next few weeks.
Renaissance Students Cope With Campus Instability
Students at Renaissance Academy Charter High School continued to study at off-campus locations this week while a Community Council sub-committee publicly addressed community concerns about the school. During the council’s RA sub-committee meeting Monday night, RA student Grace Willen presented some elements of the ‘Code of Community Conduct’ written by the school’s ‘ad hoc’ student council. Willen, a junior, is editor-in-chief of the Renaissance Report, the school’s newspaper. The sub-committee, initially formed during the Palisades Community Council meeting September 23, agreed Monday to have Willen as a permanent student representative, according to Kurt Toppel, the council’s vice chairman who heads the sub-committee. Among the eight rules listed in the ‘Code of Community Conduct’ are ‘We will not use basketballs and skateboards around the Alma Real building’ and ‘We will not drive to the Alma Real campus.’ RA’s main campus is located in the 881 Alma Real commercial/professional building. According to the school’s ‘two strikes’ transportation policy, no students are allowed to drive to school; if caught driving, a student receives a warning, and a second offense means automatic expulsion. Scott Adler, RA board member, parent and contractor, said that there are ‘probably a handful of people’ driving to school, and if students are caught, he’s confident the policy will be enacted. Meanwhile, the school has hired a consultant to make a traffic evaluation, with data due to be presented at the next RA sub-committee meeting October 11, according to Toppel. Another sub-committee member, RA assistant principal Jon Palarz, said he will be monitoring the day-to-day management of the school. On Monday, freshman classes were held in the Alma Real building, while sophomores and juniors traveled to the Marina del Rey Hotel and Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. The school’s Web site (www.rahigh.org) suggested that some class locations for that day would include the Palisades library as well as the YMCA conference room, but Palarz said no classes were held at the library this week. ‘Our students will be utilizing the library for research with the supervision of a teacher during library hours.’ He added that while the school had scheduled use of the YMCA conference room, ‘we haven’t had to use it.’ RA’s principal Paul McGlothlin used the school’s Web site to inform students and families about the reasons for continuing to hold the majority of classes off-campus. ‘Our Fire/Life Safety upgrade at Alma Real was completed last week and we are having a follow-up inspection tomorrow, Monday, October 4,’ McGlothlin wrote. ‘During this inspection, our occupancy will be limited.’ The school applied Monday for ‘E’ occupancy (allowing for educational use), a change of use from office to charter school, which would allow seven classrooms on the ground level, and increase classrooms from four to eight on the terrace level, for a total of 332 students. ‘In order for the school to exist in the building at all, we have to achieve ‘E’ occupancy,’ Adler told the Post Tuesday. RA board president and parent Bill Bryan said, ‘We’re at a standstill. We have met all of the standards [for ‘E’ occupancy], but the landlord [Greg Schem] has communicated that he opposes the change of use.’ Acknowledging that L.A.’s Department of Building and Safety is dealing with ‘a very difficult situation,’ Bryan said, ‘In our situation, not doing anything is highly detrimental.’ Tuesday, RA’s documentary and dramatic film production class met at ‘The Apple Store’ in Santa Monica, while other students attended classes at the Alma Real campus and neighboring facilities within walking distance. Wednesday was the first day this week that all of the students remained in the Palisades area for classes, held mainly at Alma Real, as well as the Methodist Church and Mort’s Oak Room. ‘Most of our students are remarkably resilient,’ Palarz said. Yet, he acknowledged that ‘some students feel their best in a situation that’s predictable,’ so the varying temporary classroom locations have ‘made them feel a little ill at ease.’ In her first letter to readers last week, Renaissance Report editor Willen wrote, ‘Here at RA, city politics with LAUSD and the Palisades community have been directing the course of our education.’ Palarz agreed that the students ‘are learning outside the classroom about traits of overcoming some adversity and sticking together. It’s a lesson in community politics.’ Code of Community Conduct By Renaissance Academy Ad Hoc Student Council, September 30, 2004 1. We will stop loitering along sidewalks and other walkways. 2. We will not go into the park playground at all. 3. We will cease using profanity. 4. We will not use basketballs and skateboards around the Alma Real building. 5. We accept the school’s zero tolerance policy toward all cigarette smoking and any other illegal substance use. 6. We commit ourselves to regular park clean-up and community service to assist in preserving and improving the beauty of the neighborhood. 7. We will not drive to the Alma Real campus. 8. We will accept discipline for infractions on these items. Future Expectations 1. We hope that Palisadians will get to know the students of Renaissance Academy. 2. We are planning to start a ‘Big Buddy’ program between our student body and some of the younger children at neighboring schools. 3. We would like to invite Palisadians into our school open houses and other events to improve the community’s perception of our school. Questions for the Community 1. Will the Council work to eliminate the harassment of students by community members? 2. Will the Council work with community leaders to allow reasonable access to the village at lunch? A much larger group of Palisades High School students have access to the village at lunch, so why shouldn’t we?