The Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce invites residents to enjoy huge discounts at participating stores and restaurants during the 7th Annual Village-Wide Sidewalk Sale on Saturday, July 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ”’Walk throughout the village and delight in the ocean breeze and friendly atmosphere while exploring hidden treasures,’ suggested event co-chairs Roy Robbins of Roy Robbins Gifts & Stationery and Denise Martinez of Boca. ”The sale offers visitors an opportunity to browse through the eclectic shopping community and find anything from ladies’ sportswear, men’s wear, formal evening wear, lingerie, vintage clothing, children’s clothes and toys, antiques from around the world, eye wear, cosmetics, books, gift shops, ceramics and jewelry created by local artists. ”Businesses promoting this popular event include: ”American Cancer Society/The Discovery Shop; Bentons The Sport Shop; Boca Man; Boca Woman; Collections Antiques; Elyse Walker; Fernworks; Gift Garden Antiques; Intima Lingerie; Ivy Greene for Kids; Jane De Lys; Marc Michel Eyewear; The Nest Egg; Paliskates; The Prince’s Table; Quiznos Subs; Roy Robbins Gifts & Stationery; and Terri’s Caf’
Nothing Like The Parade Beat
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Arnie Wishnick spent the week before the Fourth of July parade answering callers, most of whom wanted to know if the parade would actually take place on a Sunday. So when he got a call from a new resident asking if there was anything happening on the Fourth and where she could go to see it, he was refreshingly amused. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘where do you live?’ ‘On Toyopa,’ she answered. ‘I don’t think you’ll have to go anywhere,’ Arnie said. ‘Just open your curtains about 8:30 in the morning and you’ll see about 3,000 runners streak by, and then about 3, you’ll see marching bands, twirling batons and pups on parade.’ ‘What a great town I live in,’ she marveled’an exclamation that punctuates attitudes about the parade all along the route, from newcomers and veteran flagwavers alike. This ebullience is the result of an easy formula. It’s the beat. The beat of the drums, whether from military cadets, Highlanders or bands, sets the pace for all the parade participants as they make their way from Via de la Paz to the Palisades Recreation Center. The beat activates the flag teams, the dogwalkers and provides a flourish for the politicians and organization leaders as they are introduced along the way. This year there were 21 musical groups including six drum-and-bugle teams. We all love to sing along with the patriotic brass, but these drum-and-bugle teams, which customarily focus on field shows, brought a style of marching and stance that is quite different from the traditional marching bands. Decidedly not Sousa, these instrumentalists favor a jazzy contemporary sound choreographed with twirling, hurling banner stunts. ” When the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps, dressed in their purple Samurai visors and flanked by a flag team draped in shades of saffron and moss green, stopped to catch their breath, the crowd shouted for more music and banner gymnastics. For the parade watchers, the music is a big part of the party. Indeed, Omar and Mildred Salmassy received an extra special serenade for their 50th anniversary, which they were celebrating on the lawn in front of their house on Toyopa. One band broke off from the route, crowded onto their grass and executed a riotous drum salute for the couple, who have lived in the Palisades since 1967. The ranks of our own local Oom PaPa Band swelled this year to a record size. Thirty-one musicians plus marchers and flag bearers brought the total to 50. Once again, this was a family affair, with fathers and sons playing together and longtime children-turned adults like Martin Hudson participating. Hudson has been playing trombone in the band since high school and is now married with children. Tasha Wenger-Bialer didn’t miss the gig, her 7th, despite having baby Boris just two months ago. She taught herself to play the alto sax and participates in other bands around L.A. Spoiled by the constant beat, we only regret the dry spells that occurred throughout the parade. Coordinating and maneuvering large bands is a strategic challenge. We understand this, but recommend that next year the musical groups be staggered evenly throughout the lineup. The bagpipers, for instance, were bunched together at the start of the parade, and just when you wanted music to help entertain you when the parade came to a halt, there was none. With all the red, white and blue outfits and the colorful music, the parade reached a high mark Sunday afternoon, and now we have 51 weeks to think about next year’s parade and how we can make it even better.
Pali Bronco All-Stars Reach Tourney Final
The Palisades Pony Baseball Association’s Bronco Division all-star team enjoyed a winning weekend in Hacienda Heights, advancing to the championship game of the Highlander Invitational. The tournament included 12 of the best youth baseball teams in the region and when the dust settled, Pali had won three out of four games to take home second-place trophies. On Saturday, Pali beat Duarte and Whittier by 18-8 and 9-3 scores. On Sunday, Pali’s all-stars defeated Walnut Valley, 9-5, to earn a shot at top-ranked West Covina in the final game under the lights. West Covina won, but Pali head coach Steve Skolnik, who coached the Indians to the World Series in June, was proud of his team’s effort. ‘This was a great confidence builder for us going into the important Pony tournament in two weeks. To go head-to-head with some of the best teams in L.A. and advance that far proved to the kids that they can play with anyone.’ Coached by Skolnik, Bob Benton, Charlie Meister and Tom Lombardi, the Bronco all-stars consist of Dylan Jeffers, Patrick Elder, Jake Schuster, Barrett Meister, Greg Oliva, David Skolnik, Andrew Goldberg, Sam Ziering, Evan Abraham, A.J. Hong, Jack Lombardi, Steven Shigematsu, Jackson Ligouri and Chris Aronson.
Mellos Shows Merit
Palisades Highlands native Tyler Mellos had a senior season to remember at Cate Prep School in Carpinteria. Mellos was co-captain and four-year starter on the Rams’ varsity baseball team, which reached the CIF quarterfinals. As Cate’s leadoff hitter, he batted .474 with 37 hits in 78 plate appearances, stole 13 bases in 21 games, had a .705 slugging percentage with 19 RBIs, 12 doubles and three triples. Mellos’ achievements earned him a University President’s Merit Scholarship to Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he major in engineering and play baseball for the Tigers. Mellos began playing in the PPBA in 1994 under coaches Mike Skinner and Marcus Sitrin. Along with teammates Ben Soley and Greg Young, he played on the Pacific Storm traveling club team, which won tournaments in the San Fernando Valley, Palm Springs and Las Vegas. Two years ago, Mellos played in the Junior Olympics in Tucson, Arizona, and the Young Guns Showcase in Mission Viejo. Last summer he played with the Pacific Palisades American Legion and traveled to Queensland, Australia with the American Eagles’ under-20 national team.
YMCA’s Youth Triathlon Back in Palisades Sunday
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
By ELIZABETH FARNAN Special to the Palisadian-Post Riding the wave of success achieved at last year’s inaugural Palisades-Malibu YMCA Youth Triathlon, organizers are hoping the sequel is just as big a hit. Co-sponsored by USA Youth Triathlon, this year’s event will take place Sunday one hour after the start of the 5/10K races. It will consist of a 3-mile bike ride through Huntington Palisades, a 1.1-mile run up Sunset and finish with a 150-yard swim at the YMCA pool in Temescal Canyon. All athletes ranging in age from 7 to 15 are invited to participate and will receive a commemorative t-shirt and medal. Athletes will also be invited to march in the Fourth of July parade that afternoon. For the last month, dozens of young athletes ages 8-13 took part in training clinics in preparation for this year’s triathlon. The clinics were open to all interested and included kids from a variety of schools in the Palisades and on the Westside. The clinics were led by Palisadian and USAYT Director Deborah Hafford, along with local triathletes from the Los Angeles Tri Club. During the clinics, kids participated in drills and workouts in swimming, biking and running in order to learn the proper techniques, improve coordination and build stamina in each discipline. One theme throughout the program is that the trainees were relentless in their competitive spirit and positive attitudes. The clinics were based on a foundation of fun, and throughout all of the two-hour sessions every athlete worked hard at each sport. Under Hafford’s leadership, these young athletes have done more than train for a race. Each participant received a periphery course in setting goals, honing skills, budgeting time and striving for results. Hafford teaches from experience as a three-time Ironman Triathlon finisher and L.A. Marathon Masters Champion. USAYT is a non-profit corporation dedicated to bringing the sport of triathlon to the youth of America. The organization believes that through fitness, endurance and dedication, valuable lessons can be learned that will benefit today’s children and build a brighter, smarter, healthier tomorrow. Pre-registration and goody bag pick up will be Saturday, July 3 from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Palisades-YMCA office (821 Via de la Paz). Participation in the clinic series is not required for racers. Due to race day crowds, early registration is highly recommended. The triathlon race will begin at 10 a.m. in front of the Palisades Library Parking lot (also the starting line of the Will Rogers 5/10K races). Competitors must arrive by 9 a.m. for body marking. Awards will follow the race at the Temescal Canyon pool. Information can be found at http://www.usayt.com, by emailing mailto:info@usayt.com, or by contacting Kacy Mackreth at the YMCA: 454-5591.
Rec Center Has A New Director
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.
