By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Pali High Partybook will host its inaugural flea market on Sunday, October 20, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

“Thrifty is all the rave right now,” read an event description. “Students and their families can sell almost anything—clean out your closets and garage.”

More than 50 vendors have signed on to sell items like clothes, shoes, ski gear, sports gear, surfboards, furniture, toys and antiques. There will also be vendors selling art, jewelry and other items.

Food trucks, including Oma’s Puffers, Q Bao Dumplings and Sunset Smash, will be on site during the event, and Pali High alum Matty Gottesman will perform live.

The fees paid by vendors to set up a booth will go to Palisades High School Booster Club—a nonprofit that is designed to “raise funds to support and enhance the learning environment for all students at Palisades Charter High School through the support of academics, art, athletics, drama, music and technology.”

The market—which is being hosted by Patricia Chang, Nicole Magnifico and Johanna Minassian—will take place at the Palisades Charter High School campus, located at 15777 Bowdoin Street, in the lower parking lot. Admission is free.

“Our goal is to establish this as an annual tradition, providing an opportunity for members of the community to sell both new and cherished items,” Minassian said. “Notably, many of our vendors are students who are raising funds for their sports teams, charitable causes or for the benefit of Pali High.”

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Following its September parking lot sale, Pacific Palisades Library Association has resumed collecting “gently read books” on Saturdays and Wednesdays through November 23.

Volunteers will be inside Palisades Branch Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 19, 23, 26 and 30, as well as November 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 20 and 23.

“Please note that we can only accept books in good condition,” PPLA—also known as Friends of the Palisades Library—wrote on a flyer for the collection drive. “Books should not be written in or highlighted, or show signs of excessive wear and tear.”

Magazines, textbooks, CDs, DVDs, encyclopedias and library books will not be accepted. PPLA also requested that book donations are not left at the library at times other than when a volunteer is present.

Books collected will be sold at future parking lot book sales, which support library updates and area programming like the annual summer creative writing contest and speaker series events.

“Our work in the community would not be possible without members and volunteers,” the flyer concluded. “To join us or for more information on how to volunteer, please email us at friends@friendsofpalilibrary.org.”

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

A community engagement meeting regarding the forthcoming Pacific Palisades Dog Park project will take place on Monday, October 21, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Palisades Branch Library.

“Come join the Office of Councilwoman Traci Park and the city of Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks to learn about this incoming amenity for our beloved dogs,” read information shared by Park about the meeting, which will take place in the community room. “After years of community advocacy, we’ve worked hard to secure funding for this long-time community priority, and we’re excited to see the project move forward. We hope that you can join us to learn more.”

The idea for an off-leash dog park in Pacific Palisades dates back nearly three decades—with an advocacy group, including Leslie Campbell, Carol Ross and Lynn Miller in 2017 called Pacific Palisades Dog Park Working Group, taking charge in recent years.

Before the group was formed, Campbell began a petition drive to establish a dog park in the Palisades that garnered almost 4,000 signatures after the Barrington Dog Park was threatened with closure over land use by the VA, which owns the space, in 2015.

During a Parks Needs Assessment undertaken by the County of LA at the same time, the Palisades and Brentwood were grouped together, according to information shared by the dog park group, with Miller representing the Palisades. A dog park in the Palisades was ranked the No. 1 need during the assessment, according to the group.

In 2017, then-Councilmember Mike Bonin passed a motion establishing the Pacific Palisades Dog Park Working Group, which was tasked with finding land in the Palisades for the park. After looking into alternate locations—including Simon Meadow, Will Rogers State Beach, Will Rogers State Historic Park and others—it was deemed and then approved that a space owned by Rec & Parks near the base of Temescal Canyon Road would be the best place for it, which was later supported by the community.

“We had researched every other possible location for this dog park,” Ross said. “So there had been a lot of research that had gone into it.”

Plans include small and large dog areas, totaling 33,255 square feet, according to a Rec & Parks board report. The project scope, according to the report, is to “create a new off-leash dog park, including new fencing, path of travel (concrete path, entry plaza), synthetic surfacing, landscaping (trees, irrigation, mulch), security lighting, [and] site amenities (shade structure, hydration station, benches, trash receptacles, dog agility equipment).”

“The dog park will be funded by Measure A,” the flyer for the community engagement meeting read.

Measure A funds, derived from an annual special tax on properties, are administered by the County of LA Regional Park and Open Space District Annual Allocation Program after being requested by the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners.

“When Measure A came on the scene, I went to all of the formation meetings and kept asking: ‘Does this fund dog parks? Does this fund dog parks?’” Miller explained. “So when it came to them defining their scope, they did include dog parks, which is great for us.”

Campbell and Miller met around that time during a Rec & Parks outreach meeting regarding Measure A in Brentwood. There were printouts of different ways to use the funding, Campbell explained, so she crafted a sign that said “dog park,” which was “packed with yellow stickers” placed by community members who were noting what they wanted to see the funds used for.

The Pacific Palisades Dog Park Working Group first announced during a Pacific Palisades Recreation Center Park Advisory Board meeting on January 25 that $1.5 million in Measure A funds would be requested by Rec & Parks to be designated to create the proposed dog park. This request was approved in September, Miller said.

The members of the dog park group thanked Park at the time for her aid in making the request happen—as the proposed dog park was one of her campaign promises made to Campbell ahead of her election.

“For decades, residents of the Palisades have been fighting for a dog park,” Park wrote on Instagram following the January 18 Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners meeting where the funding request was unanimously approved. “I’m so excited to announce that today, we are one step closer. Today, the RAP Commission approved our request for funding to move this project forward.”

To obtain Measure A funds, the group needed community input and approval before the application, which included a February 2018 meeting at Palisades Recreation Center to review the site location, design and obtain community suggestions, according to the dog park group, which garnered support from the Park Advisory Board and more than 100 attendees at the meeting at the time. The dog park was later supported by Pacific Palisades Community Council.

Following the upcoming community engagement meeting—as well as a second meeting in the future—the project is anticipated to go out to bid, Miller explained, and additional details will be narrowed down. Pacific Palisades Dog Park Working Group said they are hoping the project is completed in 2025, but that it may be early 2026.

“We’ve had phenomenal support,” Ross said of the project.

Questions regarding the meeting can be directed to Pacific Palisades Field Deputy for CD 11 Michael Amster: michael.amster@lacity.org. To RSVP for the October 21 meeting, visit forms.gle/r7eyNCB6TQyciX7K6.

By LILY TINOCO and SARAH SHMERLING

Pacific Palisades Community Council is now accepting nominations for its 2024 Citizen of the Year and Golden Sparkplug awards through Saturday, October 26, at 8 p.m.

Each year, PPCC honors individuals who have made voluntary contributions to the Palisades that benefit the community at large.

Citizen of the Year honors “long-term, steady, reliable and continuing outstanding” volunteer service, as well as a recent “extraordinary” accomplishment by an individual that resulted in a “substantial” benefit to the Palisades community. The recipient must be an adult who resided in the Palisades at the time of the accomplishment, as well as the service.

Golden Sparkplug awards honors citizens who have ignited original ideas and projects that have benefited Palisadians. The project must have been initiated, in progress or completed during the current or prior calendar year.

Adults and youth are both eligible to receive a Golden Sparkplug award. The recipient must have owned property in, resided in or operated a business in the Palisades at the time of their service, and can be any age. Nominations should include the nature of the original idea, effort or project, as well as how it benefited the community.

Any organization or individual in the community may nominate a candidate for either award. Both awards will be bestowed based on the quality or benefits achieved of their work, and not the quantity of nominations, according to information shared by PPCC.

“In the case of both awards, the services, accomplishment or project must have been voluntary and not related to nor a beneficial outcome of the nominee’s business, profession or occupation,” according to PPCC. “Neither award can be given to PPCC board members based on services directly related to their responsibilities as board members, although such services may be considered as a qualifying factor in the case of nominees for the Citizen [of the Year] award.”

In 2023, PPCC awarded Golden Sparkplugs to Laura Schneider, John Dwight, Sara Marti and Steve Cron.

Cindy Kirven was recognized as 2023’s Citizen of the Year. Kirven, co-president of the Village Green, was honored for her efforts to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the park’s founding, as well as a succession plan for the organization, which had “a board that was aging out and retiring.”

“How could I say no?” Kirven said about the volunteer efforts she has been asked to be a part of over the years in the Palisades. “To 50 more years of creating great community.”

In 2023, Palisades P.R.I.D.E. was given the Pride of the Palisades award, which is a discretionary distinction that is bestowed in “exceptional circumstances,” determined by the Awards Selection Committee: “Nominations from the public are not sought for Pride of the Palisades honors,” PPCC wrote.

Nominations should be sent via email to info@pacpalicc.org no later than 8 p.m. on October 26.

Honorees will be announced at the November 12 PPCC meeting. The winners will be honored at a gala celebration, slated for Thursday, December 12.

For more information, visit pacpalicc.org.