Last month, the Chronicle had the opportunity to interview our neighbor and Mayor, Karen Bass. While the interview was limited in time, we were able to touch on issues important to our neighborhood and our city.
When asked about the legality of the current ICE operations in Los Angeles, she said, “Courts backed up what the [Trump] administration did.” Therefore, because of the precedent recently set it would appear the raids are legal.
(Editor’s note: As the paper went to press, a federal judge had issued a temporary restraining order ceasing ICE raids in Southern California.)
Homeless Count drops last two years
n Good news disupted
By Suzan Filipek
Homelessness has dropped two years in a row, according to the results of the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count released last month.
The latest count “gives us something we haven’t had enough of lately: a sign of progress,” Marilyn Wells, Hancock Park, and Allison Schallert of Stories From the Frontline, said in a statement.
The annual Point-in-Time released by the Los Angeles
ON SET LOCAL RESIDENTS
Film production tax credit passes Congress
By Benajmin Gamson
Legislation to incentivize film and television production in California was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom July 3.
Assembly Bill 1138 raises the tax credit from 20% to 35% for productions and 25% to 40% for productions that are moving to California from other states.
“For more than a century, Hollywood has stood as a symbol of dreams and opportunity, not just for California, but for the world,” wrote As-
By H. Hutcheson
I walked into Rebecca Ressler’s small bookstore, Hollywood Books, at 6917 Melrose Avenue, to learn what she is suggesting to read this summer and found out so much more, including how a small independent bookstore has found its way.
My timing was impeccable as local resident Amelia Kring was in the shop with her dog ZZ picking up a few books for her annual trip to the Bahamas. Kring said, “My first stop before a vacation is always Hollywood Books!”
This is not your typical
By Nona Sue Friedman
Housing in Los Angeles is a hot-button item, and the future of upper Larchmont Boulevard between Beverly Boulevard and Melrose Avenue has been in discussion for several years. Reboot Larchmont, a local advocacy group started by Larchmont Village resident Sam Uretsky, has teamed up with Livable Communities Initiative (LCI), a grassroots organization also started in the neighborhood.
semblymember Rick Chavez Zbur in a statement. “But in recent years, that promise has been slipping away. With today’s nearly unanimous votes to pass the California Film & TV Jobs Act, California is shattering the status quo and giving one of our most iconic industries the tools it needs to change the ending.”
The bill passed the California State Senate 32-2 and the California State Assembly 691.
The legislation’s authors
SUMMER READING suggestions for a read you might not come across elsewhere.
Barnes & Noble. Here there’s a rotating rack with recommended books from friends in the neighborhood of Ressler and her husband, Macklin Casnoff, who happens to be one of the owners of nearby restaurant and wine bar, Stir Crazy, also on Melrose Avenue. Heading to the Bahamas
By Suzan Filipek
Two upper Larchmont Boulevard high-rise apartment projects have moved forward after they were granted Letters of Compliance from the Dept. of City Planning on June 13. The letters allow them to begin the permit process.
“The neighborhood stands firmly against these two
AT HOLLYWOOD BOOKS (left to right) Macklin Casnoff, owner Rebecca Ressler, and Amelia Kring with dog ZZ.
Ellen Goldsmith-Vein (center) and Jon Vein (right) will have more incentive to keep dollars in Los Angeles.
Editorial By Chronicle Editorial Board
Honoring our community
Loyal readers may be aware the Chronicle has a theme each month. Historically, August has been “Women of Larchmont,” in honor of the women who have contributed so much to our community.
This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of this section and look back to the first edition, August 1965. The “Women of Larchmont” were introduced as “a tireless army of petticoats…giving assistance to the needy, the handicapped, the sick…breathing life into community projects—museums, symphonies, musical groups, art centers.” (See “Looking Back” on page 17).
Women celebrated that inaugural year included Mrs. Norman (Dorothy) Chandler of Lorraine Boulevard, whose fundraising efforts created the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, completed in 1964. It would be the first building in Los Angeles’ famed Music Center.
While the petticoats may be gone, the women of our neighborhoods’ love for their community remains.
At various times during the Chronicle’s history “Men of Larchmont” have also been celebrated. This year we again honor the men in our community who also have made significant impacts in our neighborhoods.
As the paper evolves we aim to be inclusive, welcoming all people who contribute to our community.
325 N. Larchmont Boulevard, #158 Los Angeles, California 90004 windsorsquare.org
157 N. Larchmont Boulevard
“The First week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning.”
— Natalie Babbitt
BRING LIGHT BACK TO WINDSOR SQUARE! Windsor Square faces ongoing streetlight outages that cast our streets into darkness. What was once an inconvenience has escalated into a serious public safety concern. Last year, many streets north of Third Street had streetlight wiring repaired and bulbs replaced. Crews hardened the base of streetlight poles to prevent copper wire theft and poured concrete into vaults where wiring connects to conduits. Despite these efforts, entire blocks in Windsor Square continue to experience outages, many likely due to persistent copper wire theft.
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DARKNESS INVITES TROUBLE: Law enforcement recommends keeping porch, landscape, and interior lights on to deter burglaries—especially critical on streets with non-functioning streetlights. Broken lights also force pedestrians to walk in the street, avoiding darkened sidewalks and risking their safety.
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TAKE ACTION NOW! The Windsor Square Association (WSA) is actively addressing this issue. Our new board member, Guy Nemiro, is collecting outage reports to share with CD13 Field Deputy Mark Fuentes.
You can help by reporting outages via MyLA311. Simply visit windsorsquare.org/street-lighting and click the button at the bottom of the page. Please include your email address to receive a confirmation email with a service request number. Be sure to include photos of any damage to light poles or in-ground junction boxes where copper wire theft may have occurred.
Forward the confirmation email you receive, including the service request number, to mark.fuentes@lacity.org and blockcaptains@windsorsquare.org to help us track and resolve these issues faster. Also please also call Mark directly at 213-207-3015 to report the outage.
The more reports submitted, the more urgently the Bureau of Street Lighting will prioritize repairs. Let’s work together to restore light and safety to our community!
The Windsor Square Association, an all-volunteer group of residents from 1100 households between Beverly and Wilshire and Van Ness and Arden, works to preserve and enhance our beautiful neighborhood.
325 N. Larchmont Blvd., #158, Los Angeles, CA 90004, or windsorsquare.org.
Calendar
Tues., Aug. 12—Mid City West Neighborhood Council board meeting, 6:30 p.m., at Pan Pacific Park, 7600 Beverly Blvd., midcitywest.org.
Wed., Aug. 13— Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council board meeting, via Zoom, 6:30 p.m., greaterwilshire.org.
Thurs., Aug. 28—Delivery of the September issue of the Larchmont Chronicle.
Letters to the Editor
Patriotic, not plastic
For the past seven or eight years, local realtors have walked our neighborhood planting plastic American flags, with advertising for themselves attached, in the front yard of every house on the Fourth of July. Besides being unmindful
Larchmont Chronicle
of whether or not residents would want a flag placed in their yard, their practice of doing this every year greatly upsets me because of the enormous amount of plastic waste it creates.
I’ve contacted both real estate agents who have done this over the last two years, but have never heard back. I’m simply asking them to please think of some other creative methods to celebrate our country and advertise their services in a way that is more in tune with the world’s environmental needs. Just one example that I suggested (something our kids’ elementary schools did) was to attach small paper envelopes filled with California wildflower seeds instead of the plastic. I think we all would be happy with something like that!
Todd Louiso North Irving Boulevard Credit where it’s due As the independent group of neighbors who created the Larchmont Spring Block Party three years ago to bring joy and connection to our community, we were appalled by the paternalistic, self-con-
(Please turn to Page 5)
Write us at letters@larchmontchronicle.com. Include your name, contact information and where you live. We reserve the right to edit for space and grammar.
‘How do you contribute to your community?’
That’s the question our inquiring photographer asked locals.
“To show up everyday consistently—there’s beauty in consistency and beauty in being present. Even when it feels like it’s a little too late, it’s never too late. Being present has so much impact in itself.”
Haze Amor, with her So(u)l Smoothies On the Boulevard
“I’ve spent the last seven years as the anchor of LA Times Today, and I hope I’ve done a fair job of highlighting our city and our community. I hope I’ve been an honest broker.”
Lisa McRee On the Boulevard
“We come to Larchmont!” Gianna Jordan
“We come to Larchmont and support local businesses. It has all of our favorite places to eat, and we would rather be here than anywhere else because we know they are family businesses—we’ve grown up here and want to support them.”
Jack Balaban
“And, we get to see everyone we know when we’re on the street.”
Lilyana Wallack
“I bring in my neighbor’s trash cans.”
Henry Adams
“I help Henry—I practically live at his house.”
Jack Burke
Left to right: Gianna Jordan, Jack Burke, Lilyana Wallack, Jack Balaban and Henry Adams.
instagram @brigh2terabithia by Brighid Burnes
August Events Calendar
RIVERFEST , the fourth annual celebration by the Friends of the Los Angeles River, is on Sun., Aug. 3 from 2 to 8 p.m. at Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St. Live music, dance performances and eco-activities will be offered as well as food trucks and an exhibitor marketplace. The event will showcase the nexus of nature, climate change, history and the river. Registration is required at folar.org.
GRIFFITH PARK FREE SHAKESPEARE
FESTIVAL’S 22nd season features a new adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus” Wednesdays to Sundays at 7 p.m. to Aug.
Lots of play at hands-on science exhibits
By Julia Guillen
31. Bring a picnic and a blanket and head to the dell at the top of The Old Zoo. Visit indieshakes.org.
MUSE/IQUE ’s new show, “Like It Like Harlem: Salsa, Boogaloo and the Making of a New Musical Playground in New York,” plays Aug. 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Aug. 10 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave. Visit muse-ique.com
LOVE IN THE KEYS OF JAZZ & BLUES , a dinner-concert in the style of Lena Horne starring Claude Hall is on Sun., Aug. 17 at Hope Lutheran Church, 6720 Melrose Ave. Dinner is at 5:30 p.m. followed by the show at 7 p.m. Donations are $40. Visit hopelutheranhollywood.com. 3 6 8 17
The California Science Center (CSC) offers family-friendly activities all summer long. Here is a listing of their upcoming summertime events.
“Game on! Science, Sports & Play” explores the science of sports. Guests can participate in hands-on exhibits with Los Angeles-based mentor athletes, run baseball pitch simulations, virtually swim and dive and learn the physics of a perfect basketball free throw.
“Dogs! A Science Tail” unravels the science behind dogs’ bond with humans and teaches guests about how dogs’ senses of sight, smell and hearing help them understand the world.
“Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear” takes guests through interactive challenges to face their fears in a safe environment and discover the
reasons for our responses to stimuli.
“Ecosystems” includes multiple exhibits. In the giant “Kelp Forest,” guests can learn about the sea creatures that live in these underwater environments via a question and answer session hosted by a professional diver. The “Rocky Shore” displays a tank where visitors can touch some
shore-dwelling organisms and learn how sea life survives in harsh conditions. And finally, the “Desert” introduces guests to live desert tortoises, scorpions and fennec foxes.
“World of Life” offers a hands-on exhibit named “Life! Beginnings” which teaches about how living things grow, develop and survive.
(Please turn to Page 27)
A DOG EXHIBIT is on view at the California Science Center.
POLICE BEAT
Taco truck robbed at gunpoint, hot prowl apartment burglary
WILSHIRE DIVISION
According to SLO Tyler Shuck, July had fewer burglaries from homes, however burglary thefts from a car along with grand theft auto increased with the start of the month. Shuck is working with auto detectives who plan to implement some task forces along with extra patrols in the area.
ROBBERY: A taco truck was robbed by a Black male suspect wearing a black medical mask on the 200 block of South La Brea Avenue on July 9. He was double jacketed with a puffy purple jacket over a grey one as he wielded a handgun.
BURGLARY: Two Black male suspects wearing black hoodies and ski masks stole items from a home on the 400 block of South Citrus Avenue on July 10 at 7:30 p.m. They escaped in a purple Subaru.
BURGLARIES THEFT
FROM A MOTOR VEHI-
CLE: Items were taken from the following vehicles: a 2019 Mercedes AMG 500 on the 500 block of North Arden Boulevard, July 1; a 2025 Toyota Camry on the 100 block of
Larchmont
(Continued from Page 1) projects,” said Sam Uretsky, president of the Larchmont United Neighborhood Association. “We believe there are significant flaws in the buildings.”
Both projects are taller than the Boulevard’s maximum zoning height limit of three stories, or 45 feet. They were allowed more density and they were fast tracked under the mayor’s Executive Directive 1 (ED 1) to build affordable housing.
The Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council voted against the projects earlier in the year and in June unanimously passed a motion to remind city officials of the neighborhood’s yearslong work to remake upper Larchmont into a pedestrian friendly stretch of the Boulevard. This project threatens the Livable Communities Initiative, a plan for creating more affordable housing in the area, a component of the city Housing Element.
“This vision will not be able to be realized if these two projects go forward,” Uretsky stressed.
531 N. Larchmont
The applicant of the 531 N. Larchmont property, endodontist Dr. Fariborz “Mike” Bardi, of Magz, LLC, plans to include a dental practice on the ground floor of the new
WILSHIRE DIVISION
Furnished by Senior Lead Officer
Tyler Shuck
213-712-3715
40740@lapd.online
Twitter: @lapdwilshire
North Sycamore Avenue, July 3; a 2023 BMW S5 from the 500 block of South Hudson Avenue, a 2021 Range Rover from the 200 block of South La Brea Avenue, a 2023 Chevrolet Bolt from the 5200 block of Wilshire Boulevard, July 7; and a Tesla from the 100 block of North Sycamore Avenue, July 8.
GRAND THEFT AUTOS:
These cars were stolen: a Jeep Cherokee from the 300 block of South McCadden Place, July 3; a Ford Mustang from the 300 block of South Cloverdale Avenue, July 6; a Honda Odyssey from the 500 block of North Orange Drive and a Dodge Charger from the 5800 block of West Third Street, July 9. A Chevrolet 2500 HD was also stolen and then recovered from the in-
building. His plans include one floor of subterranean parking to serve the practice, but has no tenant parking.
According to the City Planning Dept. records, the 6,444-square-foot lot currently has an existing one-story medical office.
The project, designed by Metropolis Architecture includes a six-story mixed-use building with 64 units. One unit is reserved for the building manager.
Besides the size of the project, other potential problems associated with the plan are air conditioners being placed in the back of the 2nd floor, which could become a nuisance to the neighbors behind the building on Lucerne Boulevard, Uretsky said. 507 N. Larchmont
The project at 507 N. Larchmont is a five-story building with 42 units of 100% affordable housing
OLYMPIC DIVISION
Furnished by Senior Lead Officer
Daniel Chavez
213-793-0709
36304@lapd.online
Instagram: @olympic_slo1
tersection of First Street and Larchmont Boulevard on July 9.
OLYMPIC DIVISION
SLO Daniel Chavez mentioned officers have been walking around Robert Burns Park at the corner of Beverly Boulevard and Van Ness Avenue during the days to say hello to kids and pass out stickers. He said there has been an increase in license plate thefts and recommends residents purchase license plate screws online for added security. Lastly, there has been an uptick in homeless encampments and he is working with Council District 13 to offer services and conduct sanitation cleanups.
BURGLARIES: A suspect smashed the rear glass door of a single-family home on
over ground-floor commercial retail.
A 1921 single-family home rests now on the 7,005-square-foot lot.
The project includes a 1,200-square-foot Larchmont Blvd.-facing manager’s unit, with four bedrooms and four baths with twin balconies, “in essence a luxury apartment,” which can be rented or sold, and is hardly an affordable unit under the city’s guidelines, said Uretsky.
The developers had pulled out of a previous seven-story building proposed at the site after neighborhood outcry.
Now the developers are planning to build the smaller five-story project, according to Sean Tabibian, a principal with 507 N. Larchmont, LLC.
At the same time, many ED 1 projects are not being built, Uretsky said. “They get their entitlements and then they sit on them.”
Richard T. Chung, DDS
Cosmetic, Implant & General Dentistry
Member of the American & California Dental Associations. USC Graduate. Most insurances accepted. Appointments recommended. New patients and emergencies welcome! 321 N. Larchmont Blvd. #424, Los Angeles 90004 323.461.3786
the 400 block of North Irving Boulevard, ransacked the victim’s residence and took jewelry, July 6 at 10 p.m.
Property was taken from storage units in a multiunit dwelling on the 500 block of South Manhattan Place. The suspect used bolt cutters to cut locks on the units, July 11 at 11:30 p.m.
When a resident returned home, the apartment living room had been ransacked. The victim heard someone in another room and called the police. This is considered a hot prowl burglary. The suspect escaped by the time LAPD arrived on the scene on the 5000 block of Rosewood Avenue, July 12 at 9:30 p.m.
A suspect removed a window screen and tried to slide open two glass windows but was stopped by a pole at a multiunit building on the 100 block of South St. Andrews Place on July 12 at 7 p.m.
A suspect forced entry into a single-family dwelling and stole merchandise from a home on the 900 block of Third Avenue, July 12 at 10 a.m.
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT:
A Black male suspect approached a car and pointed a gun at the victim near the intersection of South St. Andrews Place and West Eighth Street on July 5 at 1 a.m.
A victim was on the floor when a suspect got on top of and slapped the victim multiple times, causing visual injuries. The suspect was arrested in this domestic violence case on the 4800 block of Rosewood Avenue, July 5 at 2 a.m.
BURGLARY THEFT
Film production
(Continued from Page 1)
include Zbur who represents Larchmont, Hancock Park and Miracle Mile and Senator Ben Allen who represents parts of Miracle Mile.
The legislature also approved a bill expanding the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program by more than $400 million, from $330 million to $750 million.
FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE:
A license plate was stolen from a vehicle on the 3500 block of San Marino Street on July 6 at 10 a.m.
A suspect removed wheels from a victim’s vehicle on the 700 block of South Wilton Place, July 12 at 11 p.m.
GRAND THEFT AUTOS:
An e-bike was stolen from the 4700 block of Oakwood Avenue on July 4 at 10 p.m. • • •
NEWS FROM NEIGHBORS: The Chronicle heard from a member of St. Andrews Square Neighborhood Association that a home on the 100 block of North Gramercy Place had been targeted for a break-in. The residents were out of town, but enlisted a house sitter in their absence. When a white, bald man knocked on the door in two separate instances, each time expecting no one to be home, he made excuses about packages being delivered to the wrong address to the house sitter. When the homeowners returned, they discovered the cable for their security system had been cut.
A 24-year-old Canadian male tourist was assaulted and robbed by four men, two of whom were armed, while he was walking near Lorraine Boulevard and Fifth Street on July 21 at 6:30 p.m. They stole his Gucci bag containing all of his credit cards, cash and cell phone. The robbers fled in a four door silver sedan.
National Night Out is Tues., Aug. 5 at Olympic Station
Meet your local police officers at National Night Out on Tues., Aug. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Olympic Police Station, 1130 S. Vermont Ave.
This annual event builds bonds between officers and community to create a safer environment. The evening is free and hosted by Olympic Division’s Los Angeles Police Department. It will feature tips on crime, live performances and inspiring guest speakers.
(Continued from Page 2)
gratulatory tone of Charles D’Atri and the LVNA (Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association) in their attempt to take credit for our efforts in their advertorial in your July 2025 issue [Section 1, Page 10].
To clarify: in 2023 and 2024, we invited LVNA—among many others—to be sponsors. They reluctantly agreed, providing no planning or execution help and minimal support. As D’Atri himself stated at the time, “This is your event…not an LVNA event.”
In 2024, the association even pressured us to pay one of their board members to perform music. We declined.
This effort to rewrite history and obscure the LVNA’s lack of meaningful contribution in recent years to this event isn’t just inaccurate—it’s deeply disrespectful to the volunteers who work tirelessly to bring
the event to fruition.
Maggie Peña, Annie O’Rourke, Kelly McAdams, Claire Kosloff, Cathy Gellert, Larchmont Village
Unpacking
ICE
There’s a lot to unpack in your most recent editorial [Section 1, Page 2, July 2025] concerning the ongoing ICE raids in Los Angeles, most of it quite disturbing.
To describe an elected official as “pandering” and “inciting anger and hysteria” as she struggles to protect her constituents and to label her actions, with no apparent proof, as part of her political aspirations, shows a profound and disrespectful insensitivity to her attempt to represent a community besieged by teams of masked agents often arresting Angelenos who have committed no crimes.
To then conclude that we as a city need actions that are “humane” as you defend by extension these unprecedent-
ed actions wholly devoid of the tenderness, compassion and sympathy that the word implies, says far more about this editorial board than you can imagine.
And, not surprising, your coinciding front-page article about immigration [“Immigration protests spread in Los Angeles”] quickly devolves into an editorial of its own, as you spend significant column inches comparing Trump’s deportation numbers to Obama’s, conveniently leaving out the fact that over 90% of Obama’s deportations adhered to his stated standard of national security threats, aggravated felonies and more, while Trump’s actions fail to show the same priorities.
I agree we need solutions that are, as you say, thoughtful, humane and realistic, but we need to get there honestly, and unfortunately this editorial fails to do that.
Gary Gilbert Windsor Square
Taste of Larchmont returns to Blvd. Sept. 15
By Nona Sue Friedman Taste of Larchmont is coming to the Boulevard for the 33rd time on Mon., Sept. 15. This is the sole fundraiser for HopeNet, a nonprofit organization that provides healthy food and logistical support to 12 local faith-based food pantries. In addition to raising funds, the event is a great community get-together.
Jane Gilman, one of two co-founders of the Larchmont Chronicle, was instrumental working with residents and establishing this fundraiser. Its impetus was to help the people on the street asking for food and money in the ‘90s.
Roya Milder, executive director of HopeNet, said, “All federal funding has been cut to our organization this year.”
That’s why it’s especially important this year’s event is a success.
Every year restaurants pass out sample specialties in front of their store or in the festival’s pavilion, located at the city lot, 201 N. Larchmont Blvd., also home to the Larchmont Village clock. At the pavilion, attendees pick up a “passport” with the name of each participating vendor. As they visit each location the passport is stamped.
A few of the participants confirmed thus far are Kiku Sushi, Louise’s Trattoria, Sweetfin Poke, El Cholo and Cookbook Market, with many more to come. In addition to eating and drinking the night away for a good cause, there’s a silent auction and live raffle. HopeNet is looking for benefactors, sponsors and donated items for the auction and raffle. Please contact Milder at 323804-6059. For tickets, which are $50, visit hope-net.org.
Silverado Beverly Place Presents: Empowerment Through Knowledge
At The Original Farmers Market
Plus special wine garden sponsored by Visit Paso Robles
*SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Visit the Paso Robles Wine Garden on the Plaza every Thursday in August beginning at 5:30pm to sample the best of Paso Robles' wines. Then visit Bar 326 inside the Market all month to purchase a glass of a curated selection from Paso Robles wineries. Cheers!
A Free Dementia Education Series for Families, Caregivers & Professionals Silverado Beverly Place invites families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to attend a powerful three-part dementia education series designed to inform, uplift, and equip those navigating the complexities of memory loss.
“Empowerment Through Knowledge” allows attendees to engage in meaningful dialogue, role-playing exercises, and practical learning led by experienced dementia care educators. Participants will gain valuable tools, emotional insight, and renewed confidence in their caregiving approach.
What You’ll Learn:
Session 1: Dementia 101 –Understand the fundamentals of dementia, dispel common myths, explore disease progression, and learn why early detection makes a difference.
Session 2: The Ten Human Desires – Discover how core human needs remain—even as cognition declines—and how honoring these desires can deeply transform the caregiving relationship.
Session 3: Communication & Challenging Behaviors – Learn how to interpret and respond to behaviors with empathy. Master strategies that reduce stress and build trust through compassionate communication.
Location:
Silverado Beverly Place
330 N. Hayworth Avenue
Dates & Time:
Wednesdays – September 11, 18 & 26 at 6:00 PM
RSVP Required: Stephanie Brynjolfson 323-243-5225
Zoom info will be provided at time of RSVP
Housing
(Continued from Page 1)
Together they formed Larchmont 2030.
In July, Larchmont 2030 hosted a couple of Zoom meetings and one in-person meeting to discuss, answer questions and spread the word about housing options for upper Larchmont. Discussions about this area were initially started by local resident Jane Usher in 2020. Usher served as president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission from October 2005 until her resignation in December 2008. Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed her to the City Planning Commission.
What is Livable Community?
During the Zoom meeting, LCI co-founders presented potential designs for owneroccupied housing units on the upper Boulevard that incorporate “gentle density housing” (three to five stories) over retail space with façades in a variety of styles, such as Art Deco, Spanish and Modernist, facing the Boulevard. Housing units would range in size from one to three bedrooms, each unit having a private patio with a shared courtyard on the ground floor. The plans conceived specifically for Larchmont will have the rear of the building tiered, allowing residents more privacy.
Currently, upper Larchmont is filled with office buildings, bungalows, empty lots and apartment buildings. Most of the commercial lots are similar in size, making the transformation of the street easier.
The idea is similar to creating an old-time “Main Street,” with the majority of one’s daily needs available within 15 minutes of one’s residence. Not only would it be convenient, it would also pleasing to the eye. Paris is frequently mentioned as a model. Another way to think of it is as a Sears house
kit—predesigned blueprints coupled with materials that were used to build homes in the early 1900s—but for city streets. Los Angeles already has standard plans for additional dwelling units, so it’s possible. LCI did its own informal survey to find out if employees on Larchmont would be interested in this kind of housing. The answer was a resounding yes.
Although the organization started in this neighborhood, its plan can be used throughout the city and the country. Similar layouts have already been instituted in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, and in South Bend, Indiana. There’s talk of implementing this type of system in Alta Dena and Pacific Palisades. Can it come to fruition?
According to one of the co-founders of LCI, Lindsay Sturman, “Los Angeles has the second lowest home ownership in the country.” Plans like these could start to change that. Larchmont 2030 has already started reaching
out to land and building owners on upper Larchmont.
There are multiple hurdles, but LCI is addressing them head-on. Some obstacles include changing the current building code requiring two stairwells to one, getting the mayor’s office behind it and having multiple city agencies talk to each other and review the plans. But the
team has been chipping away at the obstacles and gaining support from city officials and departments along the way. According to Uretsky, Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez is very supportive of the idea. Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky proposed a motion to modify the current stairwell code to the Los Angeles City Council. The Los
Angeles Fire Dept. as well as the Los Angeles Dept. of Building and Safety have been receptive to the plans. Finally, the Larchmont Boulevard Association, a coalition representing businesses on the Boulevard, recently endorsed the plan. Those who participated during the July Zoom meeting seemed very much in favor of the transformation.
UPPER LARCHMONT could incorporate designs like these. CITIZENS ARE WARY of designs like these.
SIMILAR LOT SIZES, along with standard plans, make construction more cost effective.
Books
(Continued from Page 1)
with Kring will be three books. The first is called “The Perfect Nanny,” by Leila Slimani. Ressler said, “It’s a French novel that was a best-seller there. When it was translated and released in the U.S., people lined up around the block to get it. It’s big page turner—a murder story.”
The second book is called “The Princess of 72nd Street,” by Elaine Kraf. Ressler said, “One of my friends recommended it. It’s about a woman who lives in New York City in the 1970s and has a persona as a princess, despite being a broke artist. It was just reprinted.”
And the third book comes from a group of novelas, or short stories, that haven’t been printed for a long time. Ressler said the publishing house New Direction just recently printed the series. She suggested “In the Act” by Rachel Ingalls. “This one is really amazing. It’s about a domestic relationship gone wrong. I can’t say more or I’ll give it away!”
So here’s your answer—the person who decides to open a small, independent bookstore these days is someone who really loves books, so much so that she helps neighbors curate and organize their own collections. This is truly something that is a specialty of Ressler’s. She said, “People with large libraries in Hancock Park and around town need help organizing their huge book collections and often want to sell or offer me their books. I really enjoy helping them go through their collection and appreciate what I am introduced to.” People contact her because she looks at books like they are treasures.
The shop is a small, but well-curated collection— some used, some new. There is a section of cookbooks her husband has chosen, art books, novels, and close to her heart due to her own young toddler, she has an extraordinary selection of children’s books. Some of the children’s
Homeless
(Continued from Page 1)
Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) found that homelessness fell 4% across Los Angeles County, to 72,308 individuals, and declined in the city of Los Angeles by 3.4%, to 43,699 people.
Unsheltered homelessness decreased countywide by 9.5% and in the city it dropped by 7.9%. Over the last two years, unsheltered homelessness dropped in the county and the city by 14% and 17.5%, respectively.
ly that our work isn’t done. It’s crucial we keep moving forward, together, to sustain our reductions in unsheltered homelessness.”
City and LAHSA officials attributed the drop to a coordinated effort with its partners at the city and county and programs such as Inside Safe and Pathway Home.
“For too long, the status quo had been to leave people on the street until permanent housing was completed. The mayor is focusing on bringing people inside quickly while expediting the building of permanent housing,” Wells and Schallert said.
books are classics you don’t often see in chain bookstores, and some she has found from other countries. Ressler pointed out there might be a way of teaching a lesson through a childhood story, or even a different lesson taught from a different culture with these books.
“These results aren’t just data points—they represent thousands of human beings who are now inside, and neighborhoods that are beiginning to heal,” said Mayor Karen Bass.
It is certainly worth a visit. You might be surprised, and return often! Hollywood Books, 6917 Melrose Ave., Tuesdays through Saturdays 12-6 p.m.
“We should be proud,” added Va Lecia Adams Kellum, LAHSA CEO, at the announcement July 14 on Zoom. “We can also see clear-
“It is now a trend,” said Kellum, who led the point in time effort, which was done by volunteers over four days in February.
But results from a RAND Corporation study found, “… that ‘rough sleeping’ (living literally unsheltered, without
A CURATED SELECTION of books from cooking to novels to art to children’s stories chosen by Ressler sometimes from your neighbors’ libraries.
FIND OUT WHAT LOCALS IN OUR AREA are reading by spinning the book rack.
Mayor Bass
(Continued from Page 1)
Mayor Bass said she wakes up every morning “…not knowing where the raids are going to be.” She finds out about the operations the same way we do: by phone alerts, from the news and on X. She also let us know sometimes “…the raids are in the city, and sometimes in the county” [the latter] of which she has “no authorization over.”
The city’s Office of Immigrant Affairs has a rapid response network which also reports to her. She did have a point of contention of not knowing who is performing the raids, as officers are masked and not identified with a badge or a uniform.
When asked for a solution, Mayor Bass responded, “The solution is for the White House to call off the raids. It’s one thing if there is a violent criminal; if there’s a reason. But that’s not what’s happening. Random people are being targeted at car washes. I have a hard time believing that car washes are headquarters for drug cartels.” When asked if violent criminals had been detained, she said she did not believe they had been. She said, “You and I both know that if they had, the administration would make big news out of it—they would march those people out in a second.”
When asked if the city could get the current form of the raids stopped, and what a thoughtful solution to the situation would look like, Mayor Bass replied, “What’s the situation? That’s the problem; we do not know what the situation is, because the federal government is not communicating with us.” She feels that there should be “collaboration, discussion
do not look the same as when originally drafted. There can be meaningful changes made to the bill before it is actually signed. If, in fact, the bill is signed, conversations would take place between cities and lawyers to find the best way forward. We’ll know in the next couple of months where the bill will land, she said, and then there will be opportunities for both sides to be heard. Finally, we asked the mayor for her message to our neighborhood and our city.
“[My family and I] are very happy to be here and want to be more a part of the neighborhood,” she said.
As for the people of Los Angeles, she said, “We have to make sure that we stick together. We can’t allow anyone to divide us.”
She mentioned beautification projects her office conducts all around the city. In July, her office staff converged downtown, to clean up graffiti in Little Tokyo by anti-ICE protestors.
“How can you be pro immigrant [and put] graffiti on the Japanese American Museum? That wasn’t pro immigrant. Anybody that defaces institutions that are immersed in the issue obviously are not pro immigrant.”
and negotiation,” but none of that is happening. When we posited that one of the arguments in support of the raids is that this is what the people voted for, the mayor was adamant: “We know the people of California did not vote for this, so that doesn’t apply to us.”
How do we come to a common ground? Bass said that prior to June 6, about when the raids started, she was “praising the administration” for their unprecedented support for the city’s recovery efforts following the January wildfires. But everything literally changed overnight. She has reached out to the White House and is looking to find a way forward and said she will continue to do so.
Senate Bill 79
Another issue important to our neighborhood is Senate Bill 79, authored by Sen. Scott Weiner. It passed committees in our state legislature and is waiting further action in the state Assembly. The bill would take away protections from single-family residence neighborhoods and Historic Preservation Over-
lay Zones (of which there are many in the Chronicle circulation area), allowing for the building of high-density multi-family developments in areas that are within a halfmile radius of a bus stop or metro station. We pointed out that even the mayor’s residence would fall into that net.
Mayor Bass was clear that many bills that get introduced at the state legislature are put forth to solve problems that are applicable to “certain areas” and then prescribed on a statewide level. The mayor “fundamentally believes” that we need hundreds of thousands of new units in Los Angeles and that the state needs to work with local cities. Building should be done without “unintended consequences” for neighborhoods. She told us that most bills sent to the governor for signature
Homeless
(Continued from Page 7) a tent, makeshift shelter, or vehicle) showed little change. This form of unsheltered homelessness is now the most common type in the study areas, representing about 40 percent of the total unshel-
tered population.”
Unsheltered homeless people were down 15 percent in the three areas but the decline was offset by a 9% increase in Skid Row in the RAND study. Since 2021, RAND researchers have surveyed unsheltered homelessness in Hollywood, Skid Row and Venice.
UNSHELTERED homelessness is now the most common.
LOS ANGELES MAYOR KAREN BASS was joined by more than a hundred labor, business, community leaders and immigrant rights groups to call for an end to recent immigrant raids.
Photo Mayor Bass’ office
Jennifer Kim
Lisha Yakub Sevanian
Kiel Fitzgerald
Fundraising dynamo and neighborhood cornerstone
By Helene Seifer
Once a month at exactly 5:20 pm., neighborhood friends arrive for a backyard “hangout” at the Windsor Square home of Kelley Kiel Fitzgerald and Jeff Reuben. “The start time is the same as our address,” Firzgerald explained, “so there is no confusion about when to arrive.”
This combination of humor, practicality and enthusiasm for her adopted neighborhood is a hallmark of Cleveland, Ohio-raised Firzgerald’s approach to everything she does, and she does many things. On the hyper-local level these include a monthly neighborhood cookbook club, as well as serving as her neighborhood block captain and former block party chair. Fitzgerald’s journey to find her community had several stops. She wanted to leave the Midwest and planned to work in film and television in Hollywood. After graduating Oregon State – where she acquired the nickname “Kiel” because there were too many Kelleys—she followed a boyfriend to Los Angeles. Neither the boyfriend nor the production career panned out, but she pivoted, becoming a paralegal in the entertain-
ment industry. She met Jeff Reuben, a tax attorney who worked a few floors above her. They married, settled in the Encino hills and had two children, Michael and Kayla.
Fitzgerald stopped working and threw herself into volunteering, organizing a gala at their children’s elementary school, Westland school. When Michael and Kayla went on to Campbell Hall for high school, Fitzgerald became president of the Parents Association for the school. She stays involved as co-chair of their Parents of Alumni group.
“When our son Michael went to college we wanted to move to a more neighborly place.” Fitzgerald said. After 20 years in the Valley she and her husband found the sense of community they sought in Windsor Square.
A friend identified the perfect house for them. “It was always supposed to be our house!” Fitzgerald enthused.
“A perfect 1919 Spanish Colonial. I love the backyard, love the neighbors!” She added, “We’ve been working on it since we moved in 12 years ago and no doubt it won’t be finished until we move into assisted living!”
Kiel’s self-deprecating humor belies the seriousness of purpose she brings to everything she does, often taking place in the fundraising arena. She served on the Assistance League Board for four years and is the current chair of the Anne Banning Auxiliary, which runs Operation School Bell, a program that last year distributed clothing, toiletries and backpacks to 10,000 local children. Fitzgerald works on their fundraiser “The Really Big Shoe,” which in 2024 raised $140,000 to purchase new shoes for children in need across L.A. This year the evening is scheduled for Saturday, August 23. She also joined the then Needlework
Guild of America, now National Giving Alliance (NGA), a name change Fitzgerald was instrumental in making happen. Her volunteer work is “how I made my friends,” she said.
“The accomplishment I am most proud of is taking over the fundraising for NGA Hancock Park, because they were struggling,” stated Fitzgerald, who was fundraising chair for 10 years. “I turned it into a machine. They were raising $20,000. I set the goal at $50,000 for my 50th birthday, and we did it!” Over the years the fundraising dynamo helped the NGA bring in as much as $125,000 per event for NGA-supported charities.
An avid reader and passionate disco lover (in contrast to her husband’s favored ‘70s rock), Fitzgerald values her closeknit family. Her adult children live across the street from each other in West Hollywood and come home for Sunday dinners and to play with the family dog, Lily the Chiweenie, a Chihuahua dachshund mix. “I am the sous chef and grillardin,” Fitzgerald stated. “Jeff is an amazing cook!” Jeff Reuben is as concerned as Fitzgerald about helping the community. This past
Father’s Day, he suggested they hold a fundraiser to assist victims of local ICE raids. Together they are planning a by-invitation-only dinner to raise funds for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center.
“I just feel extremely fortunate,” said Fitzgerald. “I’m so happy to give back with all my free time.”
Holocaust Museum starts final phase of construction
By Nona Sue Friedman
The Holocaust Museum LA (HMLA) will close temporarily on Mon., Aug. 4, to continue working on expanding its Jona Goldrich campus. The new campus is anticipated to open June 2026. The museum will continue to have programming online and off site, starting with film screenings at AMC 14 The Grove (Thurs., Aug. 7 is “Sophie’s Choice”) during construction.
With a 400% increase in attendance since 2011, its first full year in operation, the museum has now outgrown its space in Pan Pacific Park.
(Please turn to Page 12)
KIEL FITZGERALD
A Renaissance woman for the neighborhood, Jennifer Kim
By H. Hutcheson
“I’ve always tried to be active in the communities I find myself in…We moved around so much my whole life, and it’s probably why I need to be involved,” said Jennifer Kim of Hancock Park. And the community here has benefited from her desire to find connections. Kim is a woman who helps the needy, encourages her Korean heritage to be appreciated, promotes business relationships to prosper beyond her own, and perhaps most importantly, remains a deeply involved parent to her four children.
Kim’s memories of growing up are dominated by moving frequently. Kim was born in South Korea and moved to Los Angeles by the time she was 1. She spent her early childhood in the West Valley, but her father was relocated to Saudi Arabia to work as an architect with Samsung.
Not long after he moved, Kim moved back to Korea with her mother and attended American schools. Missing California, she returned on her own to live with family friends and finished school in Encino. In the 1980’s, she worked at the famed Sherman Oaks Galleria (from iconic films, “Valley Girl” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”). She worked, always—hard.
Kim graduated UCLA and went straight into the financial world, where she has been with the same group, Signature Estate and Investment Advisors, for over 30 years. “I watched my mother be successful in her own real estate career in Korea and knew I wanted that too as a woman.”
Kim said she consciously made herself part of her community in order to feel rooted.
Kim is a member of National Giving Alliance (NGA) a women’s nonprofit in the
neighborhood. This group has been active here since 1895, gathering and distributing clothing, linens and personal care items to the needy surrounding Hancock Park.
The other local nonprofit she engages in is Aviva Family and Children’s Services. Aviva provides services to families and young people in crisis and operates the Wallis House—
interim housing for women and children facing homelessness. She serves on its finance committee.
To keep connected to her professional world, Kim is a member of the Century City Chamber of Commerce where she helps to create a positive impact to those who live or spend time in Century City.
Kim is also deeply involved in her own family. She found a way to have a presence at her children’s school, Harvard-Westlake, by becoming president of the Korean American Parents’ Association. She enjoys promoting Korean culture and has 250 families participating in the club.
I spoke to Kim while she was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, attending her two younger sons’ fencing competitions. She’s very busy juggling many things, but clearly, was very focused on the job of parenting and less
about her achievements as I saw them. I learned a good deal about fencing and her thoughts on both her sons’ performances. That seemed apropos—putting the icing on the cake. She is an involved parent, and maybe that ends up the greatest gifts to a community. Being there for her family.
Kim has lived in Hancock Park for over 30 years. She said, “I love Hancock Park. I have since the minute I came here. When I moved here, the Boulevard was a great attraction to me, with its stores and restaurants. It’s so beautiful in our neighborhood—similar to Old Pasadena, but it’s right in the middle of the city. Location-wise how can it be any better? Koreatown, Beverly Hills, Century City and we’re near freeways—perfect location.”
And she’s perfect for our neighborhood.
skin deep
by Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald
Q: My hair is thinning, (I’m a 46-year-old female), and I’m freaking out. What do you suggest?
A: Hair loss remains one of those issues that cause people to feel incredibly alone. Of course, we know that hair loss can happen for women and men, for a variety of reasons including genetics, aging, and post-partum. But that doesn’t address just how deeply personal and devastating it can feel. You know I’m about to give you some good news, right?
KeraFactor is a breakthrough serum containing proteins and growth factors wrapped in nanoliposomes to maximize absorption by your scalp. In other words, it packs the nutrients that your scalp needs packaged in an ideal delivery system to stimulate your hair follicles to grow hair. We are dream-teaming KeraFactor and laser technology to penetrate the serum to the perfect depth for regrowth. Your hair is parted, and the gentle laser is applied to your scalp. KeraFactor is immediately massaged into your skin, and you relax under a red light for 10 minutes. Following your appointment, you’ll simply apply the serum every other day at home. We typically recommend three to six treatments spaced six weeks apart. The results are good, as in “wow” before and after photos good. Contact our office to schedule your first KeraFactor with laser treatment, and please remember, you are never alone with us.
Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald is a Board Certified Dermatologist located in Larchmont Village with a special focus on anti-aging technology. She is a member of the Botox Cosmetic National Education Faculty and is an international Training Physician for Dermik, the makers of the injectable Sculptra. She is also among a select group of physicians chosen from around the world to teach proper injection techniques for Radiesse, the volumizing filler. Dr. Fitzgerald is an assistant clinical professor at UCLA. Visit online at www. RebeccaFitzgeraldMD.com or call (323) 464-8046 to schedule an appointment.
Photo by Henning Witzel on Unsplash
JENNIFER KIM
Las Madrinas Ball funds Children’s Hospital Los Angeles this December
By Julia Guillen
Las Madrinas is the oldest affiliate charitable organization of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). In 1933, 65 Southern California women got together to save what was then known as the Convalescent Home of Children’s Hospital, thereby founding Las Madrinas.
Las Madrinas has supported pediatric medicine for 92 years, donating over $60 million to CHLA and funding more than a dozen projects and endowments.
This year, Las Madrinas has made a $5 million pledge to the Las Madrinas Endowment and Chair in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, which serves as a source of funding for the hospital to pursue clinical care and research initiatives. To continue fulfilling this pledge, 19 young women will partici-
Gardner St.
323-936-6191
JOHN C. FREMONT
6121 Melrose Ave.
323-962-3521 MEMORIAL
4625 W. Olympic Blvd.
323-938-2732
WILSHIRE
149 N. St. Andrews Pl.
323-957-4550 HOURS
Mon. and Wed., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tues. and Thurs., noon to 8 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 9:30 a.m.
pate as debutantes in the 86th annual Las Madrinas Ball on Sat., Dec. 20, where the girls
and their families will be honored for their commitment to the Los Angeles community.
THE DEBUTANTES who will be presented at the Las Madrinas Ball are (top row, left to
Alexandra Sabbag, Caroline Jane Holdsworth, Victoria Lee Bessant, Reed Marian Dietrik and Mary Kathleen McCoy.
Award show celebrates Latinos in entertainment
The 40th annual Imagen Award Show will take place Fri., Aug. 22, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, 9876 Wilshire Blvd. With these awards, the Imagen (Spanish for “Image”) Foundation celebrates the authentic portrayal and creative achievements of Latino people in the entertainment industry.
Each year, actors, writers and producers enter works in over a dozen categories, ranging from “Best Actor” to “Best
Feature Film.” The only requirements beyond authentic representation and achievement are that the work must have been produced for distribution in the U.S.
Notably, in 2016, Gregory Boyle, who grew up in Windsor Square and later founded the gang-intervention and rehabilitation program Homeboy Industries, was the Imagen President’s Award recipient. Tickets to the award show can be purchased online at imagen.org.
Carnival barbecue is cooking at Ebell
Enjoy the season at the Ebell of Los Angles at its annual BBQ in the Garden Fri., Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. Carnival-inspired flavors are on the
“Las Madrinas is an amazing nonprofit organization,” said Victoria Bessant. “I’ve been involved for a short time, since I just recently became a debutante, but I’m very excited to be helping CHLA. They do incredible research in support of all their patients.”
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is the highest-ranked children’s hospital in Los Angeles and is ranked 4th in the nation for best children’s hospitals. It is located at 4650 W. Sunset Blvd.
The high demand over recent years has forced the museum to at times deny school groups from visiting.
The new campus will include a dedicated space for a holographic exhibition featuring conversations with
virtual survivors; expansive galleries for exhibits and classroom visits; and a theater for survivor talks, film screenings and concerts, along with other features.
HMLA is the first survivor-founded Holocaust museum in the United States. Visit holocaustmuseum.org.
menu and music is on the offing. Dress in festive carnvial attire.
Visit ebellofla.org for tickets and more information.
Holocaust
(Continued from Page 10)
VICTORIA BESSANT lives in Hancock Park.
right) Tatum Elisabeth Lowe, Capri Cristina Chaves, Francesca Elizabeth Lesinski, Ashley Elizabeth Lemons, Elizabeth Lee Esvenshade and Scout Montez Butcher. Bottom row are (left to right) Ava Mae Bakhshandehpour, Catherine
Photos by Nick Boswell
FINISHED DESIGN of the Holocaust Museum Los Angeles.
Her heart belongs to Larchmont; the Ebell energizes her
By Helene Seifer
Lisha Yakub Sevanian, an Independent film producer and married mother of two young children, fell in love with the Larchmont area in 2003 while an undergraduate at USC. She found herself escaping her dramatic arts and economics studies by hanging out on Larchmont Boulevard. She appreciated its down-to-earth vibe and observed that Larchmont feels like a hands-on neighborhood where residents get involved in the community. Sevanian thought, “Wow! I could live here!” It would take 18 years for her wish to be realized.
In the 1970s Sevanian’s parents emigrated from Guyana to Manhattan, where Sevanian was born. She was still a child when her family moved to Southern California, first to the San Fernando Valley then Santa Clarita. “I had a very L.A. story,” she said. “A casting director came into my kindergarten and plucked me out to star in a Colgate commercial.” Sevanian’s love of performance developed during the year her family spent in Jamaica when she was 12. Her mother was doing economic research in Kingston. She recalled, “There I had
an opportunity to be a part of a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ production, and that sparked a passion that carried into my career.”
Jamaica also influenced Sevanian’s worldview. “I saw a different way people could live and society could run,” Sevanian reflected. “There were really, really poor people and really, really rich people. But there was a common appreciation for everyone. Also there was less hustle and bustle. It wasn’t weird to take a day off to go to the beach. It gives you perspective.”
After she graduated college, Sevenian and USC boyfriend, Andrew Sevanian, both earned law degrees at Hofstra University in New York, where she was president of the International Law Society and worked with a nonprofit giving free legal advice. She and her husband returned to California and settled in Santa Clarita. Still enamored by performance and production, Sevanian decided to forgo law and founded Calgrove Media, which specializes in family entertainment. Her company has produced over eight films, including the recently released “Spark,” which was featured in a New York Times
article (Elisabeth Vincentelli, “Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now,” May 9, 2025).
In Santa Clarita, Sevanian joined Raising the Curtain Foundation in their effort to restore a historic 1940s theatre. She is also a founding member of Arts for Santa Clarita and a member of Arts for Los Angeles which works with city officials to produce funding for the arts.
For the couple’s 2015 wedding, she toured the Ebell of Los Angeles as a possible wedding venue. She remembered, “I was fascinated by the idea of being around a women’s organization that lasted for so many years. I felt like a part of history.”
Although she chose a different wedding location, she began to attend Ebell events from then home in Santa Clarita. “I didn’t have kids; I was an entrepreneur and my schedule was very flexible. I wanted to do things where I’d meet interesting people.” Ebell President of 2016-18 Loyce Braun handed her an application, “And I signed up right there!”
Sevanian transitioned from attending programs to volunteering on them. Over the years she joined the publications, programming, and film committees, and also worked on the cookbook published by the Ebell. Lisha even got her mother, Fazie Yakub, involved. Yakub now serves on the Ebell board.
“Every time I walk into the Ebell I immediately feel like anything is possible,” Sevanian stated. “It gives you a boost of energy!” As a member of the Producers Guild’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Group and their Women’s Group, she is working to forge a relationship between women filmmakers and the Ebell. She is also making a documentary about the archival research being undertaken by the first scholar-in-residence
of the Ebell Women’s Institute, Meredith Drake Reitan, who is identifying archival aritfacts that hightlight the Ebell’s impact on the history of Los Angeles. Additionally, she serves on the Ebell programming committee and its film program subcommittee, where she plans film series.
In 2021, her husband joined a law firm in Century City. This was the time to fulfill Lisha Yakub Sevanian’s Larchmont dream. They moved a short walk from Larchmont Boulevard, where she and her family now enjoy Village Pizzeria, Holy Grail donuts and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. 5-yearold Sophia just graduated from Page Academy Preschool and will attend Larchmont Charter in the fall. Sevanian has already joined their fundraising committee to increase their swag sales and says, “ I have experience running an on-line store because I did it for my company.” Baby Ella is 8 months old.
“I love solving problems, so if something comes up and I think I can be helpful, or if I see a solution, then I get involved,” said Sevanian. “I love finding ways to bring people together and build community.”
The Marat Daukayev School of Ballet
Now Enrolling for Fall 2025!
Join one of Los Angeles’ most respected
At The Marat Daukayev School of Ballet, dancers of all ages are guided by world-class faculty in a supportive and disciplined environment.
Our curriculum spans from creative movement for ages 3+ to advanced pre-professional training, with performance opportunities throughout the year.
We welcome everyone from young beginners to experienced dancers. Adult ballet classes are held weekly— ideal for those returning to dance or stepping into the studio for the first time.
Whether your child dreams of dancing on stage or you’re an adult looking to reconnect with the joy of movement, there’s a place for you at MDSB. Register now at maratdaukayev.com! In addition to ballet training, we also offer private Pilates sessions and massage therapy appointments— bookable through admin@ maratdaukayev.com.
LISHA YAKUB SEVANIAN
The following organizations involve many Larchmont Chronicle neighbors. The organizations run the gamut of interests. Perhaps one will inspire you to become more involved in your community. If your group is not listed or if some information needs to be updated, please write to circulation@ larchmontchronicle.com or call 323-4622241, ext. 13.
Philanthropic
ALEXANDRIA HOUSE
A transitional residence for women and children who are in the process of moving from homelessness to permanent housing. Marissa Espinoza serves as the executive director. Sr. Judy Vaughan as the founding director. Contact: 213-381-2649. Website: alexandriahouse.org.
ANDERSON-MUNGER YMCA
Helping to strengthen the community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Rae Jin is the executive director. Contact: 213-427-9622. Website: ymcala.org/anderson-munger.
ARCS FOUNDATION, INC.
LOS ANGELES FOUNDER CHAPTER
Advances research in America by raising scholar awards for the best undergraduates, graduates, medical students and postdoctoral fellows in the fields of science, math, engineering and medical research. Contact: 310-375-1936 or losangeles@arcsfoundation.org. Website: los-angeles.arcsfoundation.org.
ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF LOS ANGELES
Improves the quality of life of at-risk children and their families. Programs include: accredited preschool, two clothing and school supplies groups for homeless and foster youth, a theater for children and a scholarship for graduating high school seniors who are homeless or in foster care. Sue Thalken is the board president and CEO is Greg Kovacs. There are more than 500 members. Their auxiliaries include: Anne Banning Auxiliary (Operation School Bell program), Hilltoppers Auxiliary (Foster Children’s Resource Center), Nine O’Clock Players Auxiliary (Theatre for Children Program), Preschool Auxiliary (Preschool Learning Center), Founder Assisteens, College Alumnae Auxiliary, Mannequins Auxiliary - Assistance League of Los Angeles College Scholarship program and League at Large - Family Membership and Young Professionals group. Contact 323-469-1973 or info@assistanceleaguela.org. Website: assistanceleaguela.org.
AVIVA
Provides support and services to at-risk women, children and families through mental health service, interim and supportive housing and foster and adoption programs. Amber Rivas is President / CEO. Contact: 323-876-0550 or info@aviva.org. Website: aviva.org.
BIG SUNDAY
Connects people by providing a huge variety of volunteer opportunities to improve lives and build community. David Levinson is the founder and executive director. Contact: 323-549-9944 or david@bigsunday. org. Website: bigsunday.org.
BLIND CHILDREN’S CENTER
Provides family-centered early intervention and education services for children from birth to kindergarten who are visually impaired. Lynne Thieme is board president and Sarah Orth is CEO. Contact: 323-6642153 or info@blindchildrenscenter.org. Website: blindchildrenscenter.org.
CALIFORNIA WOMEN’S LAW CENTER
Their mission is to create a more just and equitable society by breaking down barriers and advancing the potential of women and girls through transformative litigation, pol-
icy, advocacy and education. Elizabeth Kristin is legal director. Contact: 323-951-1041 or cwlc@cwlc.org. Website: cwlc.org.
CHILDHELP
Addresses the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children, focusing efforts and resources on advocacy, intervention, prevention, treatment and community outreach. Colleen Knerr is the Los Angeles chapter president. Contact: CAChapters@ childhelp.org. Website: childhelp.org/chapters.
THE COLLEAGUES
Supports children affected by community and family violence, abuse and other trauma. “Philanthropy through fashion” is their motto and fundraising through The Colleagues Room, a designer resale and vintage clothing store at 3312 Pico Blvd., is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and some Tuesdays. Contact: 310-396-7349 or info@thecolleagues.org. Website: thecolleagues.org.
COLLEAGUE HELPERS IN PHILANTHROPIC SERVICE (CHIPS)
A group of 50 volunteers that provide programming and fundraise to support local charities that help women and children who have been traumatized by violence, abuse and neglect. Contact: thechips1966@ gmail.com. Website: thechips.org.
CUISINE
Á
ROULETTES
for ST. VINCENT MEALS ON WHEELS
Fulfills the mission to fundraise and provide volunteer support for St. Vincent Meals on Wheels, which was founded in 1983. Veronica Dover is the CEO / executive director. Contact: 213-484-7775 or ssanchez@ svmow.org. Website: svmow.org/get-involved.
DIDI HIRSCH
MENTAL
HEALTH SERVICES
Provides mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention services where stigma or poverty limits access in the Los Angeles and Orange counties area. Will Lippincott and Melissa Rivers are co-chairs of the board, and Lyn Morris is the CEO. Contact: 888-807-7250. Website: didihirsch.org.
THE EBELL OF LOS ANGELES
A women’s club with philanthropic, cultural and educational programs that support 20 charities that help women and children. The club, founded in 1894, also grants more than 50 college scholarships each year. It holds lunches with guest speakers, wineand-dine dinners, barbecues, art receptions, dances, holiday events, plays, readings, film screenings, book clubs and craft workshops in a National Register historic Italian Renaissance building. Meredyth Deighton is the director of membership and programs. Randi Jones is the president. Contact: 323931-1277. Website: ebellofla.com.
FREEDOMS FOUNDATION
AT VALLEY FORGE
Educates students and teachers about the rights and responsibilities of American citizenry. Inspires them to preserve and advance freedoms. Raises funds to provide scholarships to students and accredited teachers to participate in the Foundation’s educational programs. Wendy Dio is president of the Los Angeles chapter. Contact: nijiwd@aol.com. Website: freedomsfoundation.org/chapters.
FRIENDLY HOUSE
The first residential program for women recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. Founded in 1951, it continues to provide
opportunities for women to recover physically, spiritually and emotionally through love, compassion and support. Zan Eisley is board president and Christina Simos is secretary. Contact: 213-389-9964 or info@ friendlyhousela.org. Website: friendlyhousela.org.
FRIENDS OF BANNING MUSEUM
Supports educational and cultural programs and restoration and conservation of Banning Residence Museum. Contact: 310548-7777or info@banningmuseum.org. Website: thebanningmuseum.org.
GOOD SHEPHERD CENTER
Raises funds to help women and children move from homelessness to self-sufficiency. Sr. Anne Lanh Tran is the center director. Contact: 213-318-5793. Website: gschomeless.org.
HOLLYWOOD FOOD COALITION
Aims to nourish the community by rescuing and distributing food and proividing nightly meals. Volunteers can prep and serve meals and help organize fresh food for distribution. Arnali Ray is executive director. Contact: 323-237-8438 or info@hofoco. org.
HOLLYWOOD YMCA
Newly renovated and recently opened. The Y strengthens community through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Contact: 323-467-4161. Website: ymcala.org.
HOPENET
Provides direct services to families and individuals in the Metro Los Angeles area to break the cycles of food and housing insecurity. The food pantry program is a network of 12 food pantries that are run in collaboration with interfaith agencies spanning 20 miles and providing free, accessible and healthy food to anyone that needs it. Taste of Larchmont, which occurs in September, is one of its fundraisers. Contact: 213-389-9949 or rmilder@hopenetla.org. Website: hope-net.org.
JEFFREY FOUNDATION
Provides in-person programs and activities for special needs children, ages 14 to 22 years, and their families. Alyce Morris Winston is the founder and CEO. Contact: 323-965-7536. Website: thejeffreyfoundation.org.
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF LOS ANGELES
An organization of women devoted to developing women’s leadership and promoting volunteerism to improve the community through effective action of trained volunteers. It was founded in 1926. Dawn Eash Wazzan is president. Contact: 323-9574280 or info@jlla.org. Website: jlla.org.
KARSH CENTER at WILSHIRE BOULEVARD TEMPLE
An organization guided by Jewish values that improves the lives of the underserved population by providing critical and accessible social services through direct service or collaboration with other providers. Contact: 213-401-4651 or info@karshcenter. org. Website: karshcenter.org.
LAS FLORISTAS
Helps the special needs of children with exceptional physical or cognitive challenges at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. Programs include wheelchair sports, scholarships, recreational therapy, adolescent support and pediatric art therapy. They host a spring gala, holiday luncheon and scholarship and awards dinner. Theresa Lorrimer is president. Contact: 562-298-3508 or mercedes@lasfloristas.org. Website: lasfloristas.org.
LES AMIES
Through fundraising, it supports Children’s Institute, Inc. to transform the lives of children exposed to adversity, trauma, community violence and poverty in Los Angeles. Nancy Derian is the contact person. Website: lesamiesinc.com.
LOS ANGELES MARYVALE GUILD
An organization of women dedicated to raising funds and awareness for Maryvale, Los Angeles’ oldest charity founded in 1856. Maryvale offers wraparound services for unhoused mothers and their young children. Website: lamaryvaleguild.com.
NATIONAL CHARITY LEAGUE
LOS ANGELES CHAPTER
Mother-daughter philanthropy organization that helps provide opportunites to develop this special relationship through social, cultural and philanthropic events. They have their own thrift store, Timeless Treasures Thrift Shop, at 9441 Culver Blvd., Culver City. Contact: membership@nclla. org. Website: nclla.org. Thrift Shop: 310559-8338.
NATIONAL CHARITY LEAGUE CORONET DEBUTANTE BALL BOARD
The Annual Coronet Debutante Ball honors young women involved in the National Charity League as they have dedicated themselves to their community through volunteering. The event supports the philanthropic projects of National Charity League, Los Angeles. Contact: 310-2455545 or juliebarker@att.net. Website: coronetdebutanteball.org.
NATIONAL SOCIETY DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
A nonprofit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history and securing America’s future through better education. It was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. There is a Hollywood chapter. Website: hollywood.californiadar.org.
NATIONAL GIVING ALLIANCE HANCOCK PARK
An all-volunteer women’s nonprofit, the Los Angeles chapter was founded in 1895 (as a branch of the Needlework Guild of America) and provides new clothes, linens and personal care items to economically disadvantaged individuals through local charities. They hold a gala fundraiser annually. Website: ngahancockpark.org.
PACIFIC CLINICS
They offer whatever services are needed to help individuals and families bounce back from traumatic experiences. Contact: 877722-2737. Website: pacificclinics.org.
PROJECT ANGEL FOOD
Founded in 1989 by Marianne Williamson and a group of volunteers to provide food to those impacted by serious illness. Project Angel Food serves the critically ill, providing more than 120,000 free meals per month, along with love and support, to men, women and children. Richard Ayoub is the CEO. Contact: 323-845-1800 or info@angelfood. org. Website: angelfood.org.
SISTERS OF SOCIAL SERVICE
Works with people on the margins through direct service and contemporary social action for change. Contact: 818-285-3358. Website: sssla.org.
Civic
FRIENDS OF THE FAIRFAX LIBRARY
Supports the library acquisition fund and various in-branch programs. Book sale every Wednesday from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Fundraises to support the library’s programming for the community. Contact: 323-962-3521. Website: lapl.org/branches/ john-c-fremont.
FRIENDS OF THE MEMORIAL LIBRARY
Supports the library through various programs. Book sale is every Tuesday from 12:30 to 4 p.m. and every Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. Contact: 323-938-2732. Website: lapl.org/branches/memorial.
FRIENDS OF THE WILSHIRE LIBRARY
Supports the library by purchasing supplemental books, equipment and items that assist library staff, enhances community programming and maintains the thriving garden. In addition to fundraising with bi-annual book and bake sales and donations, they have set up shelves inside the library dedicated to selling used books yearround. Contact: 323-957-4550. Website: lapl.org/branches/wilshire.
HOLLYWOOD BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN
Achieves equity for working women in all phases of their lives and promotes personal empowerment and professional development. The organization was founded in 1920. Armen Yedalyn is president. Contact 562-699-6288 or mjhop63345@aol.com. Website: bpwcal.org/hollywood-club.
LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS of LOS ANGELES
A non-partisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government and increased understanding of major public policy issues. Contact: 213-368-1616 or info@lwvlosangeles. org. Website: my.lwv.org/california/greater-los-angeles.
LOS ANGELES GARDEN CLUB
Increase knowledge and love of gardening, educates and supports philanthropic causes and promotes an understanding of the necessity for civic beautification. Three horticultural scholarships are given to horticulture students at Mt. San Antonio College annually. Contact: info@losangelesgardenclub.org. Website: losangelesgardenclub.org.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN BUSINESS OWNERS, LOS ANGELES
Helps women business owners grow their business, network and wealth through education, connection and events. Nationally there are over 10 million members. Contact: 213-900-1319. Website: nawbola.org.
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN, LOS ANGELES
Offers an economic safety net for women and their families in Los Angeles. Operates seven thrift stores in Los Angeles and an e-commerce site to raise funds. Offers scholarships, free clothing and rental assistance. Marjorie Gilberg is CEO. Contact 323-852-8500. Website: ncjwla.org.
WILSHIRE ROTARY CLUB OF LOS ANGELES
People taking action in our community to help our community. Leon Nixon is president. Website: wilshirerotary.org.
WINDSOR SQUARE-HANCOCK
PARK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Researches and preserves historical information about Windsor Square, Hancock Park and Greater Rancho La Brea. Arranges
historical tours, social events and annual Homes / Gardens tour. Richard Battaglia is president. Contact: wshphs@gmail.com. Website: wshphs.com.
WOMEN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES
Promotes participation in the legal profession of women lawyers and judges from diverse perspectives and racial and ethnic backgrounds, maintains the integrity of the legal system by advocating fairness and equality and improves the status of women by supporting their exercise of equal rights, equal representation and reproductive choice. Noelle Natoli is president. Contact: 213-892-8982 or info@ wlala.org. Website: wlala.org.
Hospital-Medical
WOMEN’S GUILD CEDARS-SINAI
Aids Cedars-Sinai Medical Center primarily through fundraising, support programs, research and education. Contact: 323-9044400 or womensguild@cshs.org. Website: womensguildcs.org.
CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES ASSOCIATES & AFFILIATES
Money is raised by 37 guilds and auxiliaries to fund projects designed to enhance vital services for children and for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Contact: 323-3612317 or associates&affiliates@chla.usc.edu. Website: chla.org.
LAS MADRINAS
Philanthropic organization dedicated to a tradition of supporting pediatric care and research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles by honoring families who have shown exceptional commitment to the Southern California community. Kimberly Root Sandifer is president. Contact: correspondingsecretary@lasmadrinas.org. Website: lasmadrinas.org.
LOS ANGELES GENERAL MEDICAL CENTER - CARES AUXILIARY
Supports Los Angeles County+USC by providing financial support and volunteer services to benefit patients by adding comfort to their hospital stay and providing services that help patients access quality health care. Contact: 323-409-6941 or lacusccares@gmail.com. Website: lacusccares.org.
LUMINAIRES, FOUNDER CHAPTER
Supports vision research at Doheny Eye Institute, now affiliated with UCLA’s Stein Eye Institute. Contact: 323-342-7100 or info@ doheny.org. Website: doheny.org.
LUSKIN ORTHOPAEDIC INSTITUTE FOR CHILDREN
Ensures access to pediatric orthopaedic care to children. Contact 213-742-1000. Website: luskinoic.org.
SISTERS SERVANTS OF MARY
Fundraises to assist Sisters who are RNs, LVNs and CNAs in carrying out their mission to care for patients in the patient’s home, regardless of illness, race or religion. Contact: 323-731-5747. Website: sisterservantsofmary.org.
ST. ANNE’S GUILD
A social service agency offering an array of services that promote the safety, resilience and ongoing achievement of young mothers, their children and their families. Contact: 213-381-2931 or contact@stannes. org. Website: stannes.org.
HELPER’S CLUB OF ST. JOHN OF GOD
ST. JOHN OF GOD’S WOMEN’S LEAGUE
Both organizations raise money for St. John of God Retirement and Care Center. Contact: 323-731-7141 or info@hospitallerfoundation.org. Website: sjghcs.com/ auxiliaries.
Art-Music
THE BLUE RIBBON
The Music Center’s premier women’s support organization commited to arts education, volunteerism and fundraising for educational programs and resident companies. Mary Ann Hunt-Jacobson is president. Contact: 213-972-7211. Website: musiccenter. org.
BARNSDALL ART PARK FOUNDATION
Provides funding to ensure Barnsdall Art Park is a vibrant, inclusive space for creativity and cultural expression, civic conversation and social empowerment. Contact: connect@barnsdall.org. Website: barnsdall. org.
BARNSDALL ARTS
Provides quality art education and exhibits that nurture creativity, artistic skills and aesthetic appreciation of art. Contact: 323-363-4629 or barnsdallarts@gmail.com. Website: barnsdallarts.org.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART COSTUME COUNCIL
Council members enjoy six to eight fashion-centric programs annually. Acquisitions and special projects support the Costume and Textile Curatorial Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Contact: 323-857-6558 or costumecouncil@lacma.org. Website: lacma.org.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART DOCENT COUNCIL
Volunteer educational services for students and adults in the form of tours, lectures and informal conversations. Contact: 323-8576109. Website: lacma.org.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART (LACMA)
Become involved with LACMA through monetary donations, art donations or support their education and outreach fund. Contact Diana Veach at dveach@lacma.org or 323-857-6207. Website: lacma.org.
LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC (LA PHIL) AFFILIATES
Supports the mission of the LA Phil through volunteer service, community engagement and fundraising; be ambassadors for music and connect communities. Contact 213972-3530 or volunteer@laphil.org. Website: laphil.org/support.
MUSES OF THE CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER FOUNDATION
Supports and promotes the California Science Center and its education programs for youth. Contact: 213-744-2035 or themuses@californiascience.org. Website: californiasciencecenter.org/volunteer.
Education
BUCKLEY SCHOOL PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION
Supports the school; assists in social, cultural and fundraising activities; and fosters good relationships among the school, the students, and the parents. Contact: pa@ buckley.org. Website: buckley.org/about/ parents-association.
CATHEDRAL CHAPEL SCHOOL PTO BOARD
Plans fundraising events for Cathedral Chapel School and general support of the school. Contact: 323-938-9976 or cathedralchapelpto@gmail.com. Website: cathedralchapelschool.org.
FRIENDS OF HANCOCK PARK ELEMENTARY
Fundraises and implements projects to enrich education and social experiences. Contact: 323-935-5272. Website: hancockparkschool.com.
FRIENDS OF THIRD STREET
A parent volunteer group which supports students, teachers and faculty through community building initiatives, classroom support and funding of enrichment programs. Contact: info@friendsofthird.org. Website: friendsofthird.org.
HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCHOOL
PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION
Creates opportunities for families to connect with — and support — one another and the school to create a warm, inclusive and joyful community. Website: hw.com/ parents/parents-association.
LARCHMONT ORGANIZATION OF PARENTS (LOOP)
Fundraises to enrich education, support teachers and staff and create a sense of community among Larchmont Charter School families. Contact: 323-380-7893 ext. 301. Website: larchmontcharter.org.
LOYOLA HIGH MOTHERS’ GUILD
Community of mothers who support the students and school through hospitality, service and fundraising. Contact: Moira Arjani at 213-381-5121 ext. 1322 or marjani@ loyolahs.edu. Website: loyolahs.edu/mothers-guild.
MARLBOROUGH PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION
Provides leadership and supports the school and its activities and staff. Contact: 323935-1147. Website: marlborough.org.
ST. BRENDAN SCHOOL
PARENT TEACHER BOARD
Welcomes new families and provides fundraising, a communication forum, and support of co-curricular activities. Contact: 213-382-7401 or parentboardsbs@gmail. com. Website: stbrendanschoolla.org/parent-board.
ST. JAMES’ EPISCOPAL SCHOOL PARENT ASSOCIATION
Organizes and coordinates parent involvement and helps build a sense of community. Contact: 213-382-2315. Website: sjsla.org/ parent-involvment.
TOWN AND GOWN OF USC
Philanthropic organization that was established in 1904. It supports USC through scholarships for students, building and campus enhancements and cultural programs. Colleen Stroyke is president and CEO. Contact: 213-626-9070 or president@ townandgownofusc.org. Website: townandgownofusc.org.
WILSHIRE CREST PTA
Fundraises and provides support for school and student needs. Contact: 323-938-5291 or info@wilshirecrestpta.org. Website: wilshirecrestpts.org.
WILTON PLACE SCHOOL PTA
Fundraises for and supports teachers and staff. Contact: 213-389-1181. Website: wiltones.lausd.org.
Ladies of Paramount, influencers of their day, still captivate
By Helene Seifer
Stunning costumes, movie posters and historic film ephemera are displayed in the Hollywood Heritage Museum’s captivating exhibit “The Ladies of Paramount.”
The small museum, housed in the barn where Paramount Pictures was founded in 1914, is overflowing with carefully curated groupings of original movie posters, lobby cards, publicity stills, fan magazines, artifacts from sets, jewelry and 25 mannequins wearing fabulous costumes, many from the most acclaimed costumers of the day, including Edith Head.
One of the oldest continuously operating movie studios in the U.S., Paramount Pictures was instrumental in establishing the concept of the movie star, and their leading ladies reigned supreme.
From the earliest days of the studio, actresses such as Clara Bow, Carole Lombard and Claudette Colbert became
icons, influencing fashion and the way women were depicted in film and affecting societal expectations of women’s roles. Beyond the sequins and jewels, the exhibit documents how Hollywood’s leading ladies navigated the Hollywood power structure to achieve success.
Among the actresses represented in the exhibition are the boundary-pushers Mary Pickford, a silent film star whose savvy and immense popularity enabled her to gain creative control over her films, and Mae West, who wrote some of her scripts and whose saucy demeanor stretched the definition of propriety. On display is Gloria Swanson’s letter of agreement with Paramount Pictures in which they agreed to pay her $1,200 dollars per week and her secretary $50 per week to promote “Sunset Boulevard.” Other artifacts in the exhibit
Women of Accomplishment
Dr. Neville Anderson
Larchmont Pediatrics
Dr. Anderson grew up in the Windsor Square area. She attended St. James’ School and Marlborough School. After graduating from Stanford University, she was an assistant teacher at Bing Nursery School. She received her medical degree from the University of Rochester. She completed her internship and residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. There she received the Victor E. Stork Award for Continued Excellence and Future Promise in the Care of Children. For seven years, she practiced in La Cañada at Descanso Pediatrics. In 2014 she followed her dreams and opened her own practice on Larchmont Boulevard. She was named a Top Doctor in Pasadena magazine and a Top Rising Super Doctor in Los Angeles magazine for multiple years. Dr. Anderson is one of the founding members of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Health Network, is on its Board of Managers and is the Chair for its Finance Committee. She is also an attending physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is on the Board of the Los Angeles Pediatric Society. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, hiking, going to the beach, reading and playing tennis.
321 N. Larchmont Blvd., Suite 1020 • (323) 960-8500
include Pola Negri’s seat from a movie set emblazoned with “Miss Negri Only,” home sewing patterns for women who wanted to replicate Carole Lombard’s wardrobe, Jeanette MacDonald’s glittering bridal gown and tiara from the 1929 film “The Love Parade,” Anjelica Huston’s unmistakable “Morticia” costume from 1991’s “The Addams Family” and a copy of a Marlene Dietrich biography on which Ms. Dietrich herself marked the parts she disputed with “Not true!” and “Kill you!”
Fascinating, too, are the historical tidbits including an explanation of the Paramount Pictures logo. Its famous mountain is surrounded by 24 stars, representing the 15 women and nine men who were the original actors under contract to the studio, which underscores how integral they knew their stars were to their success.
“The Ladies of Paramount” continues through the end of September at the Hollywood Heritage Museum, 2100 N. Highland Ave., across from the Hollywood Bowl. Visit hollywoodheritage.org.
Tanya Berenson Founder Beverly Hills Gymnastics & Los Angeles Gymnastics
Tanya Berenson is a world-class gymnast, trainer, coach, and general manager and founder of Beverly Hills Gymnastics, Los Angeles Gymnastics, and her new LAX location. She graduated from UCLA as a student athlete majoring in early childhood development, a skill set that now helps her train young children to be gymnasts of the future.
Tanya’s acumen in her twenty-plus years in the gymnastics world speaks for itself: She has contributed to the development of two Olympians and twenty-two USA National Champions, led the USA team in the Maccabi World Games, worked with the World Special Olympics program, organized gymnastics events locally, nationally, and globally, and was even a Junior Olympian herself.
Tanya’s greatest passion is working at her three locations. She takes pride in developing youth at all levels to actualize their potential in being the best gymnasts they can be. Tanya utilizes her twenty-plus years of experience to pass her pedigree onto the next generation.
Deena Blau is a highly acclaimed realtor with a proven track record of delivering exceptional results in Los Angeles’ most coveted neighborhoods. Raised in Hancock Park, Deena brings a deep understanding and love for the area to her work. With 23 years of experience serving Hancock Park and Miracle Mile, Deena has earned a reputation for her tireless work ethic, keen market insight, and unwavering dedication to her clients. Her award-winning approach combines cutting-edge marketing strategies with personalized attention to detail, ensuring that every property is showcased to its full potential. Whether you’re buying, selling, or investing, Deena’s expertise and local knowledge make her the go-to agent for those seeking luxury properties in these highly sought-after areas. With a passion for her community and a commitment to exceeding client expectations, Deena Blau is the trusted partner for anyone looking to make their real estate dreams a reality. Her impressive portfolio and glowing testimonials from satisfied clients are a testament to her professionalism and expertise.
homesbuydeena@yahoo.com • (323) 533-2212
Patricia Carroll President Hollywoodland Realty
Patricia Carroll grew up in the real estate business as the daughter of Hollywoodland owner Ed Carroll. She is now president of the firm her late father operated in two offices since the 1940s on Larchmont Boulevard and Beachwood Drive.
Carroll actively works for preservation and is the Treasurer for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, where she also serves on the Land Use and Outreach committees. She is a member of the Ebell Club, SASNA and Friends of Hope-Net and is on the boards of the Anderson-Munger YMCA and the Larchmont Boulevard Association.
Her address is in both the Hollywoodland Realty office at 584 N. Larchmont Blvd. and the original 1923 Hollywoodland Realty office at 2700 N. Beachwood Dr., the latter of which was the tract office and first building constructed in Hollywoodland. Fun fact: the Hollywoodland (Hollywood) Sign was originally built to promote the office and the development. Currently, Carroll continues to archive her extensive collection of historical Hollywoodland documents with references to both Larchmont and Hollywoodland.
(323) 469-3171 • Cell: (213) 268-3171
The Cat & Fiddle originally opened in Laurel Canyon in 1982, moved to Sunset Blvd. in 1985 and onto Highland Ave. in 2017. “The Cat” is on its third “life” and its best yet, catering to the industry and to the needs of the neighborhood and beyond. The not-to-be-missed events include Sunday Roast with Yorkshire pudding, Saturday and Sunday Brit-based brunch with Softies and Soldiers and Afternoon Tea with homemade scones and clotted cream. We are also showing many of the exciting soccer league games (see Instagram for schedule). On Mondays in August & September we’ll feature guest chefs offering their favorite specialty foods from around the world. The Cat & Fiddle was opened by Kim and Paula Gardner and is still passionately operated by the Gardner Family - Paula, Ashlee, Camille and Eva. Thanks to everyone for your undying support of 43 years. Although our founder Kim Gardner is no longer with us, we are grateful to him for “giving us a job!” The Cat & Fiddle 742 N. Highland Blvd.
MARY PICKFORD’S sheet music, movie stills and scripts.
CAROLE LOMBARD on the cover of “Motion Picture” fan magazine, toiletries and dress patterns.
THE HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM is housed in the historic birthplace of Paramount Pictures.
COSTUMES WORN BY (left to right) Barbara Stanwyck in the 1946 film “Strange Loves of Martha Ivers” (designer Edith Head), Anjelica Huston in 1991’s “The Addams Family” (designer Ruth Myers), and Susan Hayward in 1944’s “And Now Tomorrow” (designer Edith Head).
Soak up some sun with this riveting summer read
By Katie Urban
When a magazine boldly declared this book as “the most of-the-moment novel I’ve read all year, and the book of the summer,” I couldn’t help myself. I had to know what it was. Then I saw it claimed as Oprah’s July Book Club pick and that sealed it. I was intrigued before I even turned the first page.
I immediately picked up a
copy and by the next night, I’d read all 337 pages. Culpability, by Bruce Holsinger, wasn’t just good. It was razor-sharp, urgent and unsettling in the best way. A story rooted so deeply in the present moment, it felt like it might come true before I even reached the final chapter.
The premise: a tragic car accident involving a self-driving minivan leaves two dead in one car with five survivors
When I branched out on my own 20 years ago, I knew that Larchmont would be the perfect location for my practice. I was drawn to its small-town neighborliness and strong sense of community.
I gravitated toward cosmetic dermatology because it blends art and science. Years in practice have confirmed for me that this field is also really about empowerment. The ability to help people of all ages and backgrounds feel a bit more confident at all stages of life has been a gift for which I am truly grateful. I work to stay ahead of the curve to offer the “latest and greatest” as well as the “tried and true”. As a lifelong learner, I continue to speak at national and international conferences, as well as publish in textbooks and peer reviewed journals. I’m also grateful to be included as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor, as well as a Los Angeles magazine Super Doc, for the last decade.
As always, thank you to the community of Larchmont for your continued support.
Dr. Helen Fincher
I always welcome the opportunity to reflect on the past year for the Women of Larchmont issue. I’m grateful for the chance to pause and consider all we’ve learned.
Also, as Dr. Fitzgerald noted above, we are always striving to stay ahead of the curve to offer the “latest and greatest” as well as the tried and true. We offer the most current technologies available, which I enjoy tailoring to the individual needs of our patients. We can customize and combine many treatment modalities for you that also have little to no downtime.
As you all know, I will never tire of getting to work in my own neighborhood!
Angela Sarff Nurse Practitioner
I can’t believe I’ve been practicing at Rebecca Fitzgerald MD for over 10 years. I started as a Registered Nurse, working closely with the doctors, but shortly thereafter completed my master’s degree in nursing. As a Nurse Practitioner, I’m busy offering patients Clear+Brilliant laser, Laser Hair Removal, Fraxel, Thermage and Softwave skin tightening, Ulthera nonsurgical lifting, and Vbeam for removal of red spots, brown spots and even acne spots, among other treatments. I’m also excited to be offering a new laser treatmentwith Kerafactor—a comprehensive system for hair re-growth.
On a few personal notes, my son Finn will be starting First Grade this year and my daughter Maddie will be Starting TK, and we’re looking forward to visiting family in Iowa City in August. Once again, thank you to the one-ofa-kind community of Larchmont for your ongoing support.
Leslie Montenegro Aesthetician
I have been with Rebecca Fitzgerald MD for many years as a medical assistant prior to becoming a Licensed Esthetician. With the encouragement and support from my colleagues and practitioners, I decided to return to school at Santa Monica College to pursue my passion. I have developed expertise in a range of treatments. Our Facial services include Diamond Glow, Oxygen Facial, Hydrafacial, Dermaplaning, and Chemical Peel procedures. I enjoy customizing treatments and skincare regimens to help our clients achieve healthy, beautiful skin.
Rebekah Letsinger Aesthetician
Bekah has been a Licensed Esthetician with the practice since 2014. She has recently been studying and completed advanced courses in Manual Lymphatic Drainage with Vodder School International in Vancouver, Canada. Manual Lymphatic Drainage using the Vodder technique can be used to treat underlying inflammation and swelling. This treatment has an excellent effect on pain and is used for general relaxation as well as general maintenance for healthy skin. This service is now also being offered at the office and can be combined with other facial treatments.
in the other. Each lost in their own digital world, eyes on screens, not the road. The question that haunts the rest of the novel: In the age of automation, who is responsible? Is it the people who placed their trust in the machine? Or the machine itself?
I can’t stop thinking about it. I know many people who let their autonomous self-driving cars navigate rush-hour traffic, who eat lunch behind the wheel or take video calls while driving. This novel didn’t just tap into recent headlines, it cut straight to the heart of something we’re still figuring out. The slippery question of culpability in an age where technology is making decisions we used to make for ourselves.
What made the book even more striking were the interwoven snippets of nonfiction text that dove deeper into the ethical and moral consequences of AI. It reminded me of Holsinger’s last book, “The Displacements,” which I also loved. But this one felt even more relevant.
Final Verdict: A fascinating story about AI and its impact on our lives. Highly recommended.
Fun Fact: The novel was originally slated for distribution in October 2025, but
Comedy benefit supports local children
By Julia Guillen
Assistance League of Los Angeles (ALLA) will host “The Really Big Shoe,” a comedy show and silent auction, on Sat., Aug. 23, at 5:30 p.m. at The Preserve LA, 1370 N. St. Andrews Pl. The benefit raises funds to provide 10,000 pairs of new shoes to underserved children in L.A. Tickets are available at tinyurl.com/3yznsxx2.
All of the proceeds go toward helping local children via ALLA’s Operation School Bell, which provides impoverished children with new shoes and school supplies. Food and wine are included with admission. Before the event, you can also donate items for the auction, such as gift cards, wine, event tickets and weekend getaways. To donate, fill out the form at tinyurl.com/2axvj4mr.
moved when Oprah named it her July book club pick. Katie Urban was a publicist at Netflix for over a decade.
LOOKING
She left late last year and is now writing a novel. She lives in Windsor Square with her husband and two sons.
BACK Larchmont Chronicle, August 1965
Ali, as the local neighborhood expert, often called upon by both her neighbors and colleagues in understanding the unique inventory, off market sales and historic communities of Hancock Park, Windsor Square, Larchmont Village, Fremont Place, Brookside, St. Andrews Square and beyond. With over $70M in Sales in 2025 she is committed to advocacy and innovative thinking to help support the village she was raised in and serves.. Ali works tirelessly for her clients and believes that every client at every price point deserves the same experience.
She was named as a 2025 real estate all star for LA magazine and interviewed by California Association of Realtors for her swift rise in the business. She has recently been named #28 individual agent in Los Angeles and #223 in California by the Wall Street Journal.
She is a Marlborough School alumna and past Young Alumnae President, and currently is a part of Childrens Hospital Children’s Chain and Young Professionals Committee for The Saban Clinic
Ali Jack Real Estate Agent, Compass Real Estate ali.jack@compass.com • thealijack.com • (310) 507-3959
Active Member of the Larchmont Community, Wife, and Mother, Jennifer Kim is a native of Los Angeles and a Larchmont resident for over 20 years. She received her BA degree in Economics from UCLA and has been in the securities and insurance business for 30 years. Jennifer is a Managing Senior Partner at SEIA where she customizes wealth and investment strategies for families and corporations.
She is married to Mark Kim, a Los Angeles native and District Attorney in Downtown LA. They have four children, ages 14-21. Sterling is attending the University of Michigan and Fiona will be attending the University of Pennsylvania this fall. Sullivan and Remington will be attending HarvardWestlake as a Senior and Freshman where
Patricia Klindworth Senior Director, Page Academy
Patricia Klindworth has dedicated 35 years to Page Academy, with the last decade spent leading its Hancock Park campus. A passionate educator and leader, she has played a vital role in shaping the school’s culture and growth. Known for her commitment to excellence and student development, Patricia also serves as a key representative of Page Academy at community events within the Larchmont region, building strong local partnerships and pro- moting educational engagement beyond the classroom. Her dedication, leadership, and community spirit make her a true woman of accomplish- ment.
THE REALLY BIG SHOE donation QR code photo.
Dr. Rebecca Fitzgerald
Jennifer
A plant-powered guide to bolster your health during summer travel
For many of us, summer comes with many adven tures as we gear up to travel. Whether you’re driving up the coast to Big Sur or cash ing in on those points for a red‑eye to Rome, travel can be rough on the body. However, there are preventative mea sures you can take to ensure you have the most enjoyable and unbothered time possible while on holiday.
For me, that will look like a thoughtfully packed Zip lock of herbal remedies and tea bags to smooth out the bumps and keep me feeling like my vibrant self wherever I land.
A quick medical note here: before adding any new herbs to your routine, have a chat with your healthcare pro vider—especially if you’re pregnant, have high blood pressure or take prescription meds. Plants are powerful; they deserve the same respect as pharmaceuticals.
Motion sickness
Menders peppermint and ginger are two great plants to brew as a tea for nausea re lief. Peppermint can be very soothing to an uneasy stom ach, while ginger’s warmth stimulates digestion. Always steep as a hot infusion for at least 45 minutes before drink ing if you want to enjoy the full medicinal properties of the plants. (Worried about peppermint’s cooling energy? The hot water tempers it, so sip freely.) Keep a few individ
Health & Wellness
By Priscilla Duggan
ually wrapped tea bags in your carry‑on; flight attendants are usually happy to supply hot water. Jet lag support Clock still on Pacific time while wandering the streets of Lisbon? Melatonin makes some people groggy the next morning, plus it’s not as fun as sipping a mug of delicious tea. If you’re looking for sleep support, reach for lavender, aromatic flowers that coax the nervous system toward sleep; chamomile, gentle, slightly bitter, beloved by toddlers and titans alike; oat tops (Avena sativa), like a warm hug for frazzled nerves; linden, a very popular tea in Europe. This sweet, floral infusion will help to calm the nerves and aid di gestion.
If you are fighting dozing off at the wrong time, perk up with aromatic herbs like rose mary. Keep some rosemary essential oil with you to whiff when you need a little pick me up. Or try gotu kola, which can enhance cognitive func tion. The herb is native to many areas where elephants graze, and a little known tale tells that it’s responsible for the animal’s immaculate memory.
Pre‑flight jitters and in‑air anxiety
Passionflower is a gentle
nervine that calms anxiety without heavy sedation. Cat nip is also an effective nervine and particularly supportive for children.
Circulation support at 30,000 feet
Keep your blood moving af ter hours in a cramped plane seat with a kick of ginger, cay enne or turmeric. All three stimulate peripheral circula tion and help thin the blood slightly. A thermos of spicy ginger‑cayenne tea before boarding or a turmeric latte can be a godsend. (Pair with a quick stroll down the aisle every two hours.)
Post‑party liver love
Vacation nights stretch late—especially if you’re dancing in Mykonos. The next morning, treat your liver to milk thistle and dandelion root. Milk thistle’s silymarin complex protects hepatocytes (liver cells), while dandelion’s bitter profile nudges bile flow.
Everyday adaptogens for travel stress
Long security lines, lan guage barriers, missing flights—stress multiplies on the road. Tulsi/holy basil, ashwagandha and schisandra berry are great adaptogens to bolster resilience but keep you alert, so avoid them near bedtime. Your cortisol curve will thank you.
Building your herbal first‑aid travel pack
er when you know the farmer who grew the mint earned a fair wage.
Final board ing call
Travel inevitably throws cur veballs. Yet with a tiny pouch of lovingly sourced herbs, you can soothe the stomach, steady the nerves, outfox jet lag and greet every sunrise—whether in Santo rini or Santa Barbara—with Larchmont‑level vitality.
As always, I welcome you to reach out to me with any thoughts or questions at pcd1130@gmail.com.
Priscilla Duggan attended Marlborough School before continuing to Barnard
College, where she graduated with a BA in cognitive neuroscience. During her time as an undergraduate, she worked in an organic chemistry lab studying the development of novel psychedelic molecules. She is currently studying herbalism and working in mental health spaces before starting a master’s program in medicinal chemistry at University of Edinburgh.
Marlyse Scherr
Real Estate Agent, Coldwell Banker Hancock Park
Marlyse Scherr is the #1 agent in Hancock Park for Coldwell Banker Hancock Park, celebrated for her integrity, local expertise, and deeply personal approach to real estate. With over a decade of experience, Marlyse has guided generations of clients through some of life’s biggest transitions—always with empathy, strategic insight, and results that exceed expectations.
A proud Larchmont resident, Marlyse is also deeply involved in the broader Los Angeles community. She serves as co-chair of LA Families and Jewish Professional Women through the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, where she champions connection, philanthropy, and leadership. Her commitment to helping others—whether through real estate or community service—is woven into every aspect of her life and work.
Marlyse shares her life with her husband Adam, a commercial real estate broker, and is mom to their two beautiful children, Adelaide and Carter. On weekends, you’ll often find the family at Great White, browsing the Larchmont Farmers Market, or exploring local parks together.
251 N Larchmont Blvd. • marlyse.scherr@cbrealty.com • (213) 309-0627
Diana Knox Realtor, Christie’s International Real Estate christiesrealestate.com • (323) 640-5473
Diana grew up in Fremont Place in Hancock Park, attending Marlborough and Windward High School.
From there, she graduated from U.C. Berkeley majoring in Social Science and Economics. After graduation, Diana worked for Fries Entertainment in the foreign television distribution department in arketing and sales. She entered real estate in September 2002 with over 15 years of experience with sales, marketing and public relations, and project development. Diana has consistently been a top producer and has been recognized with various sales production awards throughout the years. She is a passionate dealmaker for sellers and buyers alike. For sellers, Diana works with the owner to educate, prepare the house for sale, effectively price the listing for optimum sale, market the house and most importantly, qualifies the Buyers to make sure they enter into a smooth transaction that will close escrow. For buyers, Diana works with the client to get access to pocket listings, the MLS, and help them purchase their dream home. Outside the office, she is an avid tennis player. She loves to read, entertain, travel and spend time with her family.
Choose your packaging wisely. Tea bags are light weight and TSA‑friendly; tincture bottles (1‑oz) excel for quick dosing; capsules work for roots like turmeric or ashwagandha.
Label everything. A Sharpie plus painter’s tape beats rum maging through anonymous brown bottles at 3 a.m.
Steep for efficacy. When brewing, aim for 45 minutes minimum. Use the hotel cof feemaker for hot water, then cover the mug with a saucer to keep volatile oils from es caping.
Stay organized. A quart‑size Zip‑lock meets carry‑on liq uid rules.
Ethical sourcing matters
Julie Stromberg
Attorney, Activist, and Advocate Stromberg Law Group, P.C.
An active community member, Julie is an experienced civil litigator with a practice focusing on representing students and their caregivers throughout California in school-related matters, including, but not limited to, special education, Section 504, school discipline, and Title IX. She has cultivated the legal expertise necessary to help clients face a full spectrum of issues. Julie serves on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles City College Foundation and on the City of Los Angeles Central Area Planning Commission. An Emerge California alumna, Julie is a delegate to the California Democratic Party for Assembly District 51. She was recognized as a “Woman of Larchmont” in 2015, “Wonder Woman of Council District 4” in 2019, and by the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust in 2021 for her work in creating more parks and park equity throughout Los Angeles County. She resides in Brookside with her husband, three children, and three dogs.
584 ½ N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004 julie@stromberglawgroup.com (213) 589-3460 http://www.stromberglawgroup.com
Stela Meyer Realtor, Keller Williams Realty
Stela Meyer is a dedicated real estate professional with a passion for historic homes, architecture, and community. She first lived in Hancock Park before starting her family, then spent 11 years in Marin, where she raised her daughters while remodeling, designing, and selling homes. Upon returning to Los Angeles, she continued raising her daughters in Hancock Park through the end of high school—deepening her roots in a neighborhood she loves and chose with purpose.
Known for her integrity, keen eye for design, and talent for staging, Stela transforms homes with warmth and elegance—always highlighting their best features while preserving original character. Her deep understanding of market value comes from personal experience as both a buyer and seller, and she brings that expertise to every client relationship with patience, honesty, and care.
Stela is a connector and a resource—not just during the sale, but long after. Her commitment to community, architecture, and the people she serves is the foundation of her work. For Stela, real estate is about more than homes; it’s about building and preserving the neighborhoods that make L.A. feel like home.
As Angelenos, we pride ourselves on wellness, but wellness begins with the plan et, the people who cultivate our remedies and the land they grow from. Whenever possible, buy herbs grown close to home—think the herb stalls at the Larchmont Farm ers Market or community apothecaries. Local sourcing not only preserves potency (shorter transit equals fresh er plants), but also reduces the risk of supporting farms with unfair labor practices or unsustainable harvesting. If you must order online, try to identify where the herbs are sourced from. Your Moroccan mint mojito will taste sweet
Melissa Warner
Co-Owner, Principal Designer Massucco Warner Interior Design
Melissa Warner, co-owner and principal designer of Massucco Warner Interior Design, has been a Larchmont resident for over a decade! Melissa is known for her use of color and trademark dressmaker details in every space she touches. She believes timeless style and functionality go hand in hand so her clients never need to sacrifice livability for personality. Melissa prides herself on being a one stop shop for her clients. MWID is a full service design firm that handles furnishings down to the art and accessories if the client wishes, but also acts as a liaison with contractors to oversee a project from design, to construction, to final installation. Melissa is also a proud mom of two who especially loves helping a family create their forever home. Melissa designs residential projects nationwide and has been featured in Luxe, House Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens, HGTV, Open House TV, and Traditional Home. She is a multiple Gold and Luminary List honoree and is an inaugural member of ADPro’s Directory.
MITIGATE TRAVEL STRESS with herbal preparations. Drawing by Priscilla Duggan
Rewind, unwind and renew with healing waters, massages
• Wi Spa is for, and you will see everyone you know there
By Priscilla Duggan
If you’ve lived in L.A. long enough, chances are someone has whispered near you, “You have to try Wi Spa!”
Tucked into the heart of Koreatown, Wi Spa is one of those rare gems that feels both like a ritual and a secret—despite the fact that everyone seems to know about it.
Open 24 hours, it’s perfect for insomniacs, overworked creatives awake in the wee hours or anyone in need of a serious reset. You strip down (yep, totally nude in the gender-specific areas), soak in hot and cold tubs, sweat it out in steam and dry rooms, dip in cold and hot tubs, then wander to the coed floor (called jimjilbang) in comfy spa-issued shorts and T-shirts to explore the five communal saunas—each one themed, such as jade, salt, clay, ice and the intense bulgama (heated to a sweltering 231 degrees).
Bring a book, nap between sauna sessions or grab a bowl of bibimbap from the café. Kids are welcome too. No, really; there is a dedicated “kid zone.” Wi Spa is nothing
haughty, but it’s immaculately clean and strangely comforting.
You’ll leave with baby-soft skin and that “I didn’t know how much I needed that” feeling.
WI SPA IN KOREATOWN issues a uniform to its clients before entering the coed floor.
Leisha Willis CPCU, AU, API Owner & Agent
Leisha opened her State Farm agency in Larchmont Village in 2013 following a 20-year career in management with the organization. Prior to becoming a State Farm agent, she directed human resources operations in California and led recruiting efforts in the southeast states for State Farm. A Michigan native, Leisha graduated Magna Cum Laude from Spelman College with undergraduate studies at Oxford University as a Luard Foundation Scholar. Her professional accreditations include Chartered Property-Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Underwriting (AU), and Associate in Personal Insurance (API). She is a Leadership America alumna and former board member for the United Way. Leisha holds her Life/ Health and Property/Casualty licenses and is a Registered Representative for State Farm VP Management Corp.
In her spare time, Leisha enjoys running, traveling and spending time with family. She is active in her church and community outreach organizations, served as vice-president of the board of the Larchmont Boulevard Association for several years and is honored to have mentored many young people in their careers. 500 N. Larchmont Blvd. • 323-785-4080 • leisha@leishawillis.com
The allure of Wi Spa seems to transcend through all ages too; it was attractive to me as a sophomore in high school, and I still love my regular Wi Spa ritual years later. It’s not just about self-care—it’s a full
mind-body reset in the middle of our chaotic, buzzing city.
Rumors are some people use it as a stop between long flights traversing the globe. After all, the facilities include a gym, resting mats, and showers open 24/7.
The cost to enter is $30 and treatments such as massage, facials, and nails are available at additional rates. It’s located at 2700 Wilshire Blvd. Visit wispausa.com.
• Ought the local community save this one?
By H. Hutcheson
Beverly Hot Springs Spa is the last remaining natural mineral hot spring in Los Angeles. The water in the hot pool feels like silk and boasts healing properties, as a posted sign states: “That pure hot water from 2,200 feet below the surface of the earth gushes out…to provide you with drinking and bathing delights.” But the historic spot needs a major facelift.
Although the Larchmont trolley did not service the springs, which were only made into a spa in 1984 by the Yang Cha Kim family, the trolley did service another nearby natural spring, which has since been capped. Hence, this is the last active spring in L.A.
Oil drillers discovered the water here in 1910 and it served as a local water source until the city instilled water mains in 1915. In 1931 the spring water
was then bottled and sold as “Wonder Water” for the mineral healing properties.
At the spa, I enjoyed the water (hot and ice-cold tubs, along with dry and wet saunas) and had an amazing facial by Angela, but felt I might not
return due to the facility’s run-down atmosphere.
What to do? I think of the Annenberg Community Beach House (established in Santa Monica at the former site of a 110-room mansion built for Marion Davies by William Randolph Hearst) and imagine a new public facility offering access to the deep thermal reservoir full of healing mineral properties for all—but in a clean, contemporary atmosphere.
Los Angeles needs to honor its history and the places that make it special. As the last vestige of the city’s once abundant springs, Beverly Hot Springs Spa is a treasure worth preserving—if only some generous donor or group of individuals was willing and able to take up the cause.
Beverly Hot Springs Spa is located at 308 N. Oxford Ave. Visit beverlyhotsprings.com.
• Relax, rejuvenate in waters of Desert Hot Springs
By Suzan Filipek
Desert Hot Springs has come a long way since I first started going there decades ago. Years ago it had been a small dusty town with several small motels dotting the rugged landscape.
Its award-winning mineral water still has the same healing mix of calcium, magnesium, silica and other
minerals that absorb into the skin, relax aching muscles, soothe tension and wash worries away. Many of the area’s spas have taken a distinctive upturn in recent years.
Azure Palm Hot Springs, Miracle Springs Resort & Spa, The Spring Resort & Spa and Two Bunch Palms are some of the spas in the area. Visit their websites for
more information.
With views of majestic Mount San Jacinto in the distance, these boutique spas are located atop Miracle Hill, above an underground aquifer which brings forth some of the purest hot and cold mineral springs on the planet, according to visitgreaterpalmsprings.com.
The water emerges from thousands of feet below to the Earth’s surface, naturally heated to 180 degrees. It is cooled to 104 degrees for hot tubs and 88 degrees or so in pools for refreshing swims.
Overnight stays and day packages are offered at several sites. Massages, facials, yoga classes, detox programs and more are among the offerings. Some rooms even have private tubs.
Desert Hot Springs is about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles and nearby to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree.
MINERAL WATER is on the menu at Azure Palm Hot Springs.
OPEN TO ALL in the heart of Koreatown.
ROCK WALL AT BEVERLY HOT SPRINGS SPA reminds the clientele of the origins of the natural mineral water on site.
The Larchmont Chronicle’s 2025
Saving the planet, one lawsuit at a time
By Suzan Filipek
Andrew Reich is on a mission to help save the planet, and he’s told more than a few jokes along the way. He’s a 30year member of EarthJustice, a nonprofit environmental group whose legal team fights to keep our air clean and water pure as well as fend off actions by the Trump administration.
“I’ve been passionate about [the environment] as long as I can remember,” Reich said last month at the Chronicle
He’s also funny. Early on, the New Jersey native honed his comedic chops watching the Marx Brothers and Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles.” Later, he would hone his comedic skills as part of an improv student comedy group while at Yale.
“You have to be a bit of an optimist to work in this field, but there is a lot of good news.”
The group took their show on the road, including to schools on the West Coast, where Reich would settle, graduating from Yale with an English degree. An avid reader of contemporary fiction, he found a job at a literary agency that had once represented Raymond Chandler and F. Scott Fitzgerald. “It was such
a cool first job,” Reich recalled.
But he had a dream of screenwriting and, with his former roommate, wrote a spec script for “The Simpsons.”
His former roommate, who was now studying law at Harvard, “didn’t want to be a lawyer, and I didn’t want to be an agent,” he said.
In what can only be described as a true Hollywood ending, their script was picked up, and after a few short-lived network shows, Reich was hired on the fourth season of the hugely successful sitcom “Friends.”
Over the next seven years he rose from executive story editor to executive producer, winning an Emmy for Best Comedy along the way.
He would go on to sell over 20 TV network pilots, which led to his comedic podcast, “Dead Pilots Society.”
His most recent project, near and dear to his heart, is the documentary “Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story.” It tells the story of the influential Los Angeles band of the same name and includes interviews with members of Pearl Jam, The Go-Go’s and Black Flag, among other musical influencers.
As Reich’s success rose,
Building for positive local change
By Nona Sue Friedman
Starting as a native New Yorker, with a brief stop in the Ohio, Sam Uretsky has made Larchmont Village his home for past 26 years. “It was good fortune to be here. The weather is too intoxicating,” said Uretsky. He feels lucky to have found this neighborhood through his wife’s cousin, who lived in Windsor Square. Upon moving here, Uretsky and his wife, Barbara, bought the house they still live in.
Disney recruited him in 1999 to organize their broadband internet group. He stayed for a couple of years, built the group he was asked to build, then left to be on his own and start his company.
Uretsky ran his own management and consulting firm, dealing with media marketing. It’s no wonder his emails are so easy to read and act on! His work took him around the globe. He liked being on his own, without the bureaucracy he experienced at Disney. He retired gradually from 2014 to 2017.
Uretsky’s involvement in the neighborhood started in 2020, when a house on his block was being rented out by event organizers hosting large, loud parties. As he said, “It ignited something
in me. I have a great love for the neighborhood and wanted to make a difference.”
Maneuvering through numerous agencies that were needed to make a change—Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles City Council Districts, Los Angeles Dept. of Building and Safety, Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association (LVNA), Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Association (GWNC)—opened his eyes to the local organizations and government departments he didn’t realize were surrounding him.
“It ignited something in me. I have a great love for the neighborhood and wanted to make a difference.”
His goal was to shut down the party house. It was illegal and intolerable to live near. His persistence and dedication to the project paid off when the house was finally shut down by the city just under two years later.
Now that his passion for helping the community was lit, he worked with a neighbor who had started a text chain for his area. She and Uretsky merged their efforts and formed Lucerne Arden United (LAU). According to Uretsky, “[It’s] the best orga-
nized neighborhood in L.A. The model should be rolled out throughout Larchmont.”
LAU is comprised of 150 neighbors within six blocks that all look out for each other, have block captains, help with babysitting in a pinch and have neighborhood walks with their senior lead officers. These walks have strengthened the fraught relationship between police officers and residents in recent years, according to Uretsky.
In 2023 and 2024, Uretsky was instrumental in helping North Plymouth Boulevard shut down its party house, which had plagued their neighborhood with crowds, reckless driving, noise and trash. This time, it was a much shorter process. Having done it once, he knew what was needed and what had to be documented to help agencies cease its operation.
Uretsky sits on the Transportation Committee of the GWNC and served on the board of the LVNA for a few years. He’s also recently formed two advocacy groups for the area. One is Fight Back!, an informal group that deals with state bills along with local security issues. The other is Reboot Larchmont, which is working to make positive changes to the housing and real estate landscape of
Andrew Reich Sam Uretsky
Pickleball courts open for all in Miracle Mile
By Nathan Rifkin
One more score for pickleball! PIKL Los Angeles is celebrating its grand opening of a new facility at 639 S. La Brea Ave. The ribbon cutting will tentatively take place in August, manager Manuel Maccou said.
Similar to tennis but better is how enthusiasts describe the
Andrew Reich
(Continued from Page 21)
he found his way to EarthJustice.
“Their strategy of using courts made sense to me…I saw it was a really powerful force behind the scenes,” he said.
While the group is funded in part by large donors and foundations, small increments of $20 and $50 that pour in from the public add up—they have increased threefold since Trump was first elected in 2016.
“It has grown to meet the moment…and I feel it will make a concrete difference,” said Reich.
“So many of these things have to be fought in court. Justice still wins in a lot of cases.”
He remains optimistic despite the current climate in Washington.
Today there are many alternatives to the fossil fuel economies—off-the-shelf solar panels and batter energy storage systems, for instance. And public opinion still matters. A proposed huge sell-off of private lands was removed from Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill before the bill was signed into law July 4 due to public outcry.
“People get overwhelmed by the problem. But doing something is better than doing nothing,” Reich said. “A lot of people go from apathy to despair and they skip over doing something in between… If
sport. Pickleball is catching on.
Players now have a new location to play on courts dedicated to the sport which is often vying for a location (tennis people, dill with it!), between Wilshire Boulevard and Sixth Street in Miracle Mile.
The facility features six outdoor courts and offers clinics, lessons, leagues and open play.
everyone just found one little piece of the problem…”
For Reich that was serving nine years on EarthJustice’s Board of Trustees before his current spot as co-chair of EarthJustice Council. He is also a member of other environmental groups, and he attends meetings held by Sothern California Air Quality Management, the governing body that makes decisions about the air that we breathe.
Reich lives with his wife, Christine Lennon (home and design editor for Sunset magazine), in Windsor Square. Their twins, a boy and a girl, are leaving soon college.
Reich is a hiker, backpacker and swimmer. “I like the outdoors, which is part of the reason why [I] care about these things…and it’s one of the great things about living here,” he said, citing trips he’s taken to the Sierras and the San Gabriel Mountains. He walked the five or so blocks to the Chronicle for this interview, leaving his EV at home.
“In my mind every gallon of gas you buy is like you’re donating it to Trump.”
Besides, in terms of making a difference, driving an electric vehicle is the “highest leverage action in the big picture.
“If you buy an electric car they’ll make another electric car and one less gas car. It’s a very exciting time,” he added.
“There are all these incredible solutions that people are coming up with. The thing that can’t make a difference is
Maccou said he is especially proud of partnership with the Self-Determination Program, which accommodates individuals with developmental disabilities.
Players don’t need membership to book a court.
For information on membership, court reservations and more, visit piklla.com.
doing nothing.
“It’s never been an easy fight, but if you only are interested in easy fights you probably aren’t going to achieve that much… You have to be a bit of an optimist to work in this field, but there is a lot of good news.”
Monastery could be new home for Homeboy
Homeboy Industries has started the initial proceedings to purchase the 4-acre Monastery of the Angels in Beachwood Canyon, according to their lawyer, SOMOS Group. The deal is very much in the beginning stages and contingent upon a $24.9 million state grant. If approved, the sacred space would become a housing and treatment center for participants in Homeboy’s program.
Homeboy Industries has been a gang rehabilitation and re-entry program founded 30 years ago by Windsor Square native Father Greg Boyle.
Sam Uretsky
(Continued from Page 21) upper Larchmont Boulevard. With Reboot Larchmont, he has connected with the Living Communities Initiative to create Larchmont 2030 and inform neighbors about a way to thoughtfully expand housing and retail (see Page 1 for more information).
But what Uretsky is most proud of is the creation of the Larchmont United Neighborhood Association (LUNA), a neighborhood group for Larchmont Village formed with other members of his community earlier this year. As president, he said, “LUNA is growing daily; we have monthly events that build neighbor-to-neighbor connections.” The group recently organized a couple of happy hours at Tu Madre on the Boulevard that he described as “joyous and hours of fun.” He believes that the more residents are engaged in the area, the better the neighborhood can be.
“It all plays into the fact that I love the community,” said Uretsky. “This is a wonderful, special and valuable part of L.A.”
Crime, housing were on Windsor Village agenda
Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky and Senior Lead Officer Hebel Rodriguez addressed residents at the annual Windsor Village Association meeting on June 24.
Yaroslavsky, from Council District 5, offered an overview of the city’s recently approved budget and discussed homelessness and housing solutions as well as proposals and crime, WVA board member Barbara Pflaumer told us.
Rodriguez informed the group that there have been no incidents since the community had a meeting several weeks previously to address crime.
There was a question and answer period with the over 50 attendees who voiced concerns about the failure of the city’s 911 emergency number to answer calls and the lack of response from the LAPD Wilshire Division front desk, which apparently is not manned after 8 p.m., Pflaumer said.
Yaroslavsky also addressed questions about the Park Mile and the 800 Lorraine Boulevard development project, both which were the result of the mayor’s executive order to build affordable housing.
An election was also held.
Besides Pflaumer, other board members are Heather Brel, Jeff Estow, Bruce Beiderwell, Chris Urner, Andrew Lo, Celeste Shields, Virginia Tanner and Marilyn Bachelor.
YMCA Summer Soiree honors
Welborne Aug. 22
John Welborne, former editor and publisher of the Larchmont Chronicle, will receive the Community Leadership Award at the Anderson Munger Family YMCA Summer Soiree on Fri., Aug 22.
The third annual dinner and fundraiser will take place on the rooftop from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the YMCA, 4301 W. Third St. The event is expected to sell out, said Rae Jin, executive director of the Anderson Munger Family YMCA.
Other awardees to be honored at the event are Dr. Daniel Loh, active Wilshire Rotary member and teacher at Larchmont Charter High School, Los Angeles Fire Dept. Station 52 and the Koreatown Youth and Community Center.
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available, ymcala.org/summersoiree.
Tasty treats help fundraise for Saint Vincent Meals on Wheels
Picture a warm and music-filled night in Hollywood, basking under a canopy of stars, illuminated by the warm glow of the Paramount Pictures lot. For hundreds of lucky supporters and food buffs, that night became a reality when they arrived at the 2025 Hollywood Under the Stars event at Paramount Studios to fundraise, eat and celebrate the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels (SVMOW) program.
The chef and pâtissier extravaganza kicked off with a step and repeat, which led VIPs to the historic Paramount Theatre for a special champagne and cocktail hour hosted by longtime Circle of Angels donors actors Ian McShane and wife Gwen Humble-McShane.
VIP Angel Chef hosts Giuseppe Gentile and Francesco Zimone, both of Florence Osteria Piano Bar and L’antica Pizzeria da Michele, served two special light bites: cavatelli in truffle parmesan sauce and gnoccho fritto filled with burrata.
Guests continued to stream onto the lot, filling the tables just in time to start sampling the other culinary wonders. Ahi tuna tartare in green goddess espuma, onion ash, micro lime leaf and summer flowers from Wife and The Somm; a hamachi shot with avocado, dashi, ponzu, radish and sprouts from Alexander’s Steakhouse; and fried chicken from Noah Clark’s Box
Around the Town with Sondi Toll Sepenuk
Chicken were just a few of the creative culinary tastings that were offered to guests.
Desserts included strawberry millet tres leches from Saffy’s, mini chocolate mousse and mini red velvet cupcakes from Lark Cake Shop and handcrafted chocolate and pistachio bonbons from Marsatta Chocolate.
Other chefs bringing their talents included Mihir Lad (Arth Bar + Kitchen), Nika Shoemaker-Machado (Georgia’s Restaurant), John Sungkamee (Thai Emporium) and Armando Quiroz (City Club LA).
After newscaster and host Susan Hirasuna kicked off the evening with a warm welcome, longtime donor, Hancock Park stalwart and honorary host Rick Llanos had the privilege of seeing his mother, 95-year-old Nelly Llanos-Kilroy, be honored with the St. Vincent Meals on Wheels Crystal Angel of Service Award. The distinction was awarded to Llanos-Kilroy in recognition of her decades of support and service to the organization and its founder, Sister Alice Marie Quinn.
Established by The Daughters of Charity in 1977, SVMOW has served millions of meals, including to homebound residents who were displaced by this year’s area wildfires. SVMOW’s core mis-
sion is to prepare and deliver hot, nutritious meals to the homebound while providing an emotional connection to their clients. “It’s more than a meal,” says Marrell Kinney, a driver and meal runner for the program. “It’s a meal wrapped up in care.” 2025-2026 the SVMOW program must fundraise 85% of the $10 million projected budget for the fiscal year.
With that reality in mind, the evening’s musical guests, 10-piece band de Bois All Stars, got the crowd up on its feet to dance and celebrate SVMOW’s achievements while looking ahead to future years of fundraising, caring and
Celebrating our 117th year Ages 2 years old - 8th grade
support for the homebound Los Angeles community. And now you’re in the Larchmont know!
ST. VINCENT MEALS ON WHEELS Board Chair Sister Joyce Wellerand, Nelly Llanos Kilroy and Rick Llanos.
ATTENDEES enjoy an evening of food and wine from some of Los Angeles’ best restaurants.
Ecclesia Gnostica Gnostic Christian Church Bishop Dr. Stephan Hoeller
Extended hours: 7:30am - 5:30 pm
LLANOS-KILROY FAMILY, (left to right), Julio Martinez, Rachelle Decker, Veronica Dover, Rick Llanos, Nelly Llanos Kilroy, Cece Llanos, Cathie White and Mark White.
Carrots and their tops make for a tasty dish
By Alex Marx
Longtime Windsor Square resident and landscape architect Alex Marx shared her variation on a recipe by April Bloom, which she found at Food52. We spent time walking with her on a recent Sunday at the Larchmont Village Farmers’ Market as she chose the seasonal ingredients to make this recipe.
Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 1-1/2 lbs. carrots with full green tops flake sea salt, such as Maldon
1 clove garlic peeled
1/2 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 cup walnuts
1 oz. Parmesan cheese
8 oz. burrata or fresh mozzarella, drained
2-1/2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Heat the oven to 500° and prepare the carrots. Trim the green tops off the carrots, reserving the greens. Scrub the carrots clean, but do not peel them. Separate the leaves and tender stems from the carrot
tops and reserve. Discard the tougher stem.
Heat a 1⁄4 cup oil in a 12” ovenproof skillet on the stove at medium-high heat. Add the trimmed carrots and 1 tsp. salt. Cook, turning the carrots as needed, until they are browned about 5 to 7 minutes.
Place the skillet in the oven and roast until the carrots are tender, about 8 to 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the pesto. Pulse 3 cups of carrot tops (reserving 1/2 cup for dressing), 1 tsp. salt, garlic, 1⁄4 cup basil, walnuts and parmesan in a food processor until coarsely ground. Slowly add 1/2 cup oil and purée into a smooth paste.
To make the dressing, place 1/2 cup carrot leaves, 2 Tbsp. oil, salt, 1/2 cup torn basil and lemon juice in a bowl and gently toss.
Arrange the roasted carrots on a serving platter with the burrata. Dollop the pesto on top, drizzle with the dressing and serve at close to room temperature.
‘Phil’ is back; elite sniper on the chase
Somebody Feed Phil: Larchmont resident/restaurateur Phil Rosenthal is back with his eighth season of his titular food show. As expressed to the Chronicle in a June interview about his new Larchmont (no opening date yet) diner, the show is basically “Anthony Bourdain if he was afraid of everything.” The show has levity and is ultimately about the power of food and family, both of which are extremely important to Phil. Catch it on Netflix, for some laughs and heartwarming moments. And you might just learn a little something about the world and yourself at the same time.
The Day of the Jackal: This series based upon the novel by Frederick Forsyth and a 1973 film of the same name, stars Eddie Redmayne as an elite sniper/ assassin globetrotting and taking contracts for hire. Redmaynes’ performance carries the series, although Lashana Lynch is powerful as an MI6 expert and desperate to trace the firearm used in the killing to the Jackal himself. The scenery is stunning and there is definitely a Jason Bourne/James Bond feel to the narrative. You can stream the SKY produced series on Peacock or find it available to rent on Amazon Prime. 10 episodes, and it picks up steam in the third episode.
Mr. Robot: Created in 2015, all four seasons dropped on in Netlfix July 3. Another thriller, this one with Rami Malek starring as a cyber hacker who is recruited to a subver-
sive group of “hacktavists” who want to disrupt the entire global financial universe. Touching on themes about the connectivity of the digital age and over consumption, the show will definitely make you think twice before clicking on the “buy now” button. The overall theme is psychological, thrilling and will keep you guessing what could be next.
28 Years Later: In theaters now, the film reunites director/producer/writing team Danny Boyle and Alex Garland respectively. Cillian Murphy, star of the original film in the series “28 Days Later”, executive produces but does not appear in the film. Shot entirely on an iPhone 15 Max, the plot centers around the United Kingdom being quarantined from the continent due to the second outbreak of the Rage virus. With surviving
communities doing their best to thrive, they are under constant threat of the “infected.” At its heart, this film delves deeper into the psychological trauma of isolation, the power of community and familial love. Ralph Fiennes provides another stellar performance as an eccentric doctor. Alfie Williams has a breakout role as the 12 year-old protagonist. Dark Matter: Created by Blake Crouch and based upon his book of the same name, Joel Edgerton stars in this show which delves into the complicated world of quantum physics. A thrilling ride, but keep your eye on the story, or it can get quite confusing. The premise: if you could change a major life decision to have the life you didn’t choose, would you do it? All episodes are on AppleTv+. Watch the first season now before Season 2 drops, which should be coming soon. If you have any interest in a complicated scientific theory that is exciting at the same time, this show is for you.
Dentistry for Children and Young Adults
USE THE WHOLE CARROT to create a beautiful dish for your summer soirée.
Larchmont Village has lost a dear friend in Tucker Carney
By Sondi Sepenuk
If it takes a village to raise a child, Thomas “Tucker” Carney, 56, could be considered a one-man whistle-stop. He lived a life focused on the importance of family, friends, community, humor and civic engagement. Sadly, Larchmont Village lost its dear friend and neighbor in Carney on June 23, following a short battle with lung cancer. Hundreds of locals showed up to celebrate his life on July 18 at the Carondelet House in Los Angeles.
Carney was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, welcomed by parents Thomas and Glenda and sister Missy. At age 21, he met his future wife, Erin Monaghan, at Denison University and the two would stay together for the next 34 years. In 2003, they settled in Larchmont, where Carney hit the ground running. He and local parents realized the need for a public charter school that would reflect the diversity of the Los Angeles community. He stepped up, becoming a key member of the Kitchen Cabinet, a group of parents who met in various Larchmont home kitchens. The group became the founding parents for what would develop into Larchmont Charter School (LCS).
To start a school, you need money. From the first bake sale to the “Garage-a-Rama” tag sales, Carney was there to organize and to sell, sell, sell! He designed the logo for LCS (a child reading under a tree) using his young son Finn as the standin. Rumor has it that some graduates even have the logo tattooed on them upon graduating! Once LCS was up and running, Carney didn’t stop. He continued to donate his time to launch five more parent-initiated charter schools based on Larchmont’s model of community and diversity.
Starting a school wasn’t enough for Carney. He served two consecutive terms on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, from 2016–2022, as a member of both the Transportation Committee and Land Use Committee. He was an avid proponent of technology and innovation and would talk to anyone and everyone about his love for driverless cars. He supported livable community initiatives and advocated for e-bikes, scooters, fare-free transit and increased bike lanes.
Not just a community advocate, Carney was an entrepreneur at heart, working as a talent manager in the film industry and starting multiple businesses and nonprofits. His love for Larchmont was imprinted on his family, as he guided them in developing their own Larchmont T-shirt business, the LarchShop. You
can find his three children, Finn, Maeve and Rowan, selling the shirts on Larchmont Boulevard throughout the year.
Speaking of Larchmont, Carney’s presence there was unmatched. He popped in daily to Go Get Em Tiger with his two dogs, Wyatt and Clover, ordering a cortado, chatting with the baristas and supporting their personal, off-duty creative endeavors.
Barista Audrey Goodman remembers Carney as a pillar of the store. “The first time I met him, he was wiping down one of our counters and brought us USB cables because he heard ours broke. He was the kindest, most generous, supportive person and made all the baristas here feel seen and cared for.
He’s what made our community feel so special, and he will be so missed… Every time I drink
a cortado, I’ll think of him.”
In his spare time, Carney was all about sports. He captained his Bronze AAA championship hockey team, The Maroons, but rather than just play (this was Carney, after all), he organized. Using the same principles of inclusion and socioeconomic diversity that he brought to LCS, Carney helped start and shape the soccer community of Hollywood FC, serving as board president and going out of his way to secure transportation to practices and tournaments for kids without access or means.
Carney was a fearless jokester. The sometimes-stayat-home dad participated as a contestant on ABC’s “Wipeout,” where he was given the nickname “Mommy Dearest.” Legend has it that ABC didn’t want to go with his first suggestion, “Mother Tucker.”
More recently, as a birthday gift, his family bought a bench in his name on Larchmont Boulevard from the Larchmont Boulevard Beautification Association. This thrilled and surprised him.
Once the bench arrives in August, the family encourages people to order a cortado, take a seat, and raise an Irish cheer to a beloved friend and neighborhood organizer — Mother Tucker, builder of communities, lives and, most importantly, villages.
Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association
Serving the Larchmont community between Beverly and Melrose, Arden to Wilton Place
“The objective and purpose of the LVNA has, since 1987, been the preservation and enhancement of our neighborhood.”
There are a couple of really good ideas starting to percolate regarding upper Larchmont Boulevard. At the LVNA we’ve long supported the vision of the Liveable Communities Initiative, and we had several members serve along with LCI folks (and many others) on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council’s ad hoc committee – the Upper Larchmont Working Group which delivered conclusively what we all want for upper Larchmont –live/work properties which enhance the housing, deliver needed apartments of various types and support the existing walkable, neighborhood oriented style of the area. Some of you may have seen a presentation on this at our May 2023 general meeting. There has been some real progress - LCI’s take has been included in “the plan to house L.A.,” the Los Angeles City Housing Element, which was approved by City Council recently.
Additionally, there’s one specific idea which might solve two problems we’ve struggled with for years – traffic calming and the need for parking. It’s brilliantly simple – create a diagonal parking strip along the existing median, narrowing the road AND creating a number of additional parking spots. It’s actionable, not expensive and could help. What do you think?
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!
Are you a senior, or do you have physical challenges getting around LA?
Please join us for a joint program with the LA Department of Transportation called “Seniors On the Move.”
We will be presenting a 45-minute Zoom program on Saturday, September 27 at 10 AM. Come learn about the terrific initiatives currently available!
RSVP to lvna90004@gmail.com . We will email you a Zoom link for confirmation.
New officers for the coming term are Sandy Fleck/Treasurer, Karen Gilman/Secretary, Adam Rubenstein/Vice President and Charles D’Atri/President.
In Larchmont Village there are always new ideas and new opportunities to further enhance our quality of life. If you have an idea or project on which you’re looking for support, we’ll get you with a member who’s got exactly the right combination of interest and knowledge to help you get it off the ground. Reach out at www.lvna.info
You can join or reach out to the Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association at Larchmont Village Neighborhood Association 325 North Larchmont, #294 Los Angeles, CA 90004
You can email the general LVNA box at lvna90004@gmail.com or President Charles D’Atri directly at lvgwnc@gmail.com.
lvna.info • lvna90004@gmail.com
CARNEY (in green) chatting it up at Go Get ‘Em Tiger.
TUCKER CARNEY with his family. Left to right: Maeve, Rowan and Erin, with Finn and Tucker in back.
TUCKER CARNEY, 1969-2025
Longtime resident and television executive Jamie Bennett, 78
By Chronicle Staff
James “Jamie” Stark Bennett II, a 40+ year resident of the neighborhood, who lived on June Street in Hancock Park and then moved to Lucerne Boulevard in Windsor Square, died on July 6 after a battle with cancer, his wife and children by his side. He was 78.
A New York City native, Bennett attended Mount
Hermon High in Northfield, Massachusetts, which this year honored him with the Head’s Award for his 60 years of support and commitment to the school.
While attending UC Berkeley, he chaired a student-run summer program in Washington, D.C., and produced an annual jazz festival.
The Harvard Business School was his next stop,
Gary Wendell Nelson, 84, passed away tragically on June 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Born August 13, 1940, in the quiet farm town of Summerfield, Kansas, Gary was the beloved son of Louise M. Nelson (née Ringen) and William Waldo Nelson. From his earliest days in the Kansas heartland, Gary developed a deep reverence for the natural world-an enduring love for “Nature’s Way” and all of “God’s Creatures” that stayed with him throughout his life.
A proud graduate of Summerfield High School, Gary held onto many childhood friendships for decades, keeping in touch through regular emails and attending reunions well into the 2000s. After high school, he earned a scholarship to Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, where he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. At K-State, he joined Phi Delta Theta fraternity, forming lifelong bonds with a group of men with whom he shared adventures and laughter well into their golden years.
Upon graduating, Gary moved west to Southern California to join the aerospace industry. Though a childhood hearing loss kept him from becoming an astronaut, he found fulfillment contributing as an engineer to the space programs of the day. But it wasn’t just work that drew Gary west-it was also the spirit of the place. During his bachelor years in Manhattan Beach, he found a vibrant circle of friends and lived the kind of joyful, fun-filled days that seemed lifted from a movie.
In the late 1960s, a career opportunity took him to San Francisco, where, on a blind date, he met the love of his life, Connie L. Montella. They married in 1971 and soon settled in Southern California, where they built a life centered on shared values, creativity, and deep mutual respect.
Gary shifted gears professionally in the 1970s, taking business management courses and moving into commercial real estate ultimately co-founding Chur-
where he earned an MBA, before beginning his career at CBS in New York City. He was relocated to Los Angeles where he was promoted to station manager of KNXT (now KCBS, Channel
Science
(Continued from Page 3)
“Fire! Science and Safety” shows guests how to make homes, families and pets safer from fire hazards. Interactive experiments investigate the science of fire and educate guests about fire-fighting skills, including kitchen safety tips and how to use home fire extinguishers.
While these exhibitions are
Gary Nelson 1940-2025
chill Mortgage Corporation, and growing it into one of Southern California’s leading mortgage banking firms with his longtime business partner. Known for his integrity and professionalism, Gary earned wide respect across the industry and chose to retire just over a decade ago.
Active in every community he joined, Gary gave generously of his time and talents. He served as a dedicated member of the Hancock Park Homeowners Association, where he took pride in beautifying his neighborhood. At the Wilshire Country Club, he pursued golf with limited enthusiasm, thanks, in part, to a lingering shoulder injury. While he never quite mastered the game, he cherished the time he spent at the club with his family, friends, fellow club members and staff. He was a joyful presence at Hollywood Presbyterian Church, where he most recently served as a deacon and found great purpose as a greeter, welcoming congregants with his signature smile and warm words.
Gary was also a past president of the Los Angeles chapter of Lambda Alpha International, an honorary society for land economics. And until earlier this year, he served as Chairman of the Board for Franklin Wireless, a publicly traded company.
Still, Gary’s proudest role by far was that of husband and father. He and
2), the CBS-owned television station. He went on to become vice president and general manager at KCBS.
He then moved to the Walt Disney Company as senior VP of Buena Vista Television Productions, developing such syndicated shows as “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,” “Siskel and Ebert” and “Win, Lose or Draw.” He was president and
all free daily, CSC also offers four 3D IMAX movies through Thurs., Oct 9: “Superhuman Body,” “Blue Whales,” “The Blue Angels” and “Antarctica.” Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for children. The films are between 40 and 45 minutes. For more information on viewing times and to purchase tickets, visit californiasciencecenter.org/imax.
CSC is located at 700 Exposition Park Dr.
Connie shared nearly 37 years of marriage until her passing in 2008. Together, they were a dynamic team bringing to life many home restoration projects with creativity and care. In 1974, they welcomed their daughter Jennifer, Gary’s greatest joy and lifelong pride. He supported her wholeheartedly in every stage of life, always putting her interests first. Gary gave Jennifer many gifts, but none greater than his unwavering love, steady encouragement, and belief that life was full of wonder and possibility.
Gary was pre-deceased by his parents Waldo and Louise, his sister Joyce Whitmore, and his beloved wife Connie. He is survived by his daughter Jennifer Nelson and her partner Immanuel Utomo; his nephew Kenneth Thomas; his niece Beverly Thomas; and relatives of his late wife, including Christopher Montella and Millie Abbott.
To those who knew him, Gary was the kind of man who believed in doing the right thing — even when it wasn’t easy. He listened more than he spoke, knew when to offer encouragement, and lived with a generous heart. He believed in hard work, in supporting those who sacrificed for others, and in the idea that a little fun never hurt anyone.
Gary Nelson will be remembered not just for his accomplishments, but for his faith, his warmth, his kindness, and the quiet strength he brought to every room. His legacy lives on in the lives he touched-and he will be deeply missed.
A service to celebrate Gary’s life will be held on Saturday, August 16, at 11:30 am at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1760 N. Gower Street, Los Angeles, CA, with a gathering after.
Donations in his honor can be made to First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood (CA).
Fund: “Designated Donation”; Fund memo: “Gary Nelson” or via check sent to above address)
CEO of ACI, a Los Angeles-based television and theatrical film production and distribution company. Upon the sale of ACI to Pearson Television (now Freemantle Limited) he moved with his family to London to run Pearson’s worldwide production. A return to his home on Lucerne led to participating in Pasadena Angels, an organization that nurtures business startups. He served as chief operating officer at Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in downtown Los Angeles and played a critical role in establishing SCI-Arc’s permanent place in the Arts District. Additional volunteer board work included Marlborough School, UC Berkeley Alumni Association, among many others.
Bennett and his wife, Carolyn, bought an 11-acre farm in Ojai, California, where Bennett joined the board of the Ojai Music Festival and served as its CEO and president for several years. Later he volunteered for Ojai’s Planning Commission.
Beside his wife, Bennett is survived by their children Katherine (Philip Ineno), Lucy and Brooks (Christina). Donations can be made to the Ojai Music Festival Community Fund, 201 South Signal St., Ojai, CA, 93023.
Master craftsman Sogmon Kosger, 84
By Julia Guillen Master craftsman Sogmon Kosger, of Hercules Custom Furniture, died June 1 at the age of 84.
Born in 1941 in Istanbul, Turkey, to an Arme nian family, Kosger immigrat ed to the U.S. and opened his first furniture store in 1972. Nine years later, he relocated to 5220 Melrose Ave., where Hercules Custom Furniture remains a staple of the community adjacent to Raleigh and Paramount studios. For nearly 44 years, Kosger meticulously crafted furniture pieces for countless Los Angeles residents and even made a bookshelf for the Larchmont Chronicle. Kosger is survived by his son, Sayat, who now runs Hercules Custom Furniture, 5220 Melrose Ave.
Home & Garden
SCHOOL’S OUT!
Read about local kids going to the beach, making music videos, going to camp and more on pages 7 to 9.
Next month, our School News reporters will be back on the beat for our annual Back To School issue.
HANCOCK PARK
LACMA showcases new space for art at Geffen Gallery
By H. Hutcheson
LACMA’s new David Geffen Gallery, designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, was on display for members and press only in July. The floating horizontal glass and concrete building, which spans Wilshire Boulevard, offers panoramic views of Hancock Park and Miracle Mile in all directions. Entire stretches of the building are made of glass walls, tipping the eye of the patron toward the Tar Pits and across to the Hollywood Hills. Art will be hung within the interior rooms (also made out of concrete), but made with hard, sharp, flat concrete edges—a strong contrast to the organic exterior structure.
Scheduled to open to the public in April 2026, docent James Canto said, “With LACMA being an encyclopedic museum, this particular building will have our permanent collection. Much of that has been off view for three to five years.”
At the member preview, Los Angeles local architect Jim Eserts and fellow architect Chris White shared with us their feelings of the extraordinary addition. Eserts said, “Experiencing the roof and that wall of glass around the perimeter is amazing because
you undulate all the way around. I don’t know why the interior spaces didn’t relate as well (moving organically), because concrete is a completely malleable material.” Concrete can be formed to any shape. White added, “But walls for art? (Needing to be flat?).”
Eserts said, “Yes, look at the Guggenheim in New York, where the art is hung on walls that have movement.” Both laughed and added, “Well, that’s not the best example!”
Not a favorite of the two architects.
Another docent shared that the ground floor will house a gift shop, a restaurant and education spaces.
WINDSOR SQUARE NATIVE & MARLBOROUGH ALUMNA
The unfinished connecting space south of Wilshire Boulevard will house the Steven Tisch Theatre, which will continue LACMA’s film screenings, lectures and concerts.
EXTERIOR OF GEFFEN GALLERY at LACMA with Tony Smith’s “Smoke” (1967) in foreground.
ENTIRE LENGTHS OF THE BUILDING made with glass walls look out across the city.
ROOMS MADE TO HANG ART are less fluid with mostly box-like hard edges.
LONG OPEN CORRIDORS with winding glass walls look out on panoramic views.
L.A. is finally getting on board with a homelessness solution
By Jon F. Vein and Freya Estreller
Across Los Angeles, homelessness remains one of the most visible and urgent challenges of our time. Despite massive public investment, the crisis persists. But now,
something promising is taking root—Los Angeles is embracing a proven model that’s working across California.
DignityMoves, the nonprofit behind a wave of innovative interim housing communities, is expanding its footprint in L.A. With projects underway in Hollywood and one completed in nearby Thousand Oaks, the city is finally getting on board with a solution designed for speed, dignity, and scale.
A smarter bridge to permanent housing DignityMoves doesn’t build shelters—it builds stability. Its interim supportive housing (ISH) model offers private rooms with doors that lock, 24/7 staffing, and onsite services like case management, job counseling and mental health care. It’s a far cry from congregate shelters that many people understandably avoid.
Each community is developed on underutilized land using modular construction from vendors like LifeArk and Boss Cubez. Some are pop-up villages; others are semi-permanent. All are designed to meet people where they are— and help them move forward.
ISH is not a replacement for permanent housing, but a necessary and missing link
in the housing continuum. “Think of it as an on-ramp,” says Elizabeth Funk, Founder and CEO of DignityMoves. “It gives people a safe place to land while they work on a path to stability.”
It’s working—and fast
In Santa Barbara, the county partnered with DignityMoves in a bold “DignityNOW” strategy to end unsheltered homelessness countywide. Three sites are already open, more are in the pipeline, and visible encampments have been replaced with clean, vibrant communities. At one downtown site, over 70% of residents moved on to permanent housing within a year.
In San Jose, Mayor Matt Mahan’s embrace of interim housing—paired with Digni-
Homelessness
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tyMoves’ communities like Via del Oro—has led to real results. While California saw a 10.3% increase in unsheltered homelessness last year, San Jose saw a 10.7% decrease.
The model is replicable, cost effective and fast. A DignityMoves room can be built in as little as six months for around $75,000—compared to up to $837,000 per unit for traditional permanent housing in Los Angeles.
Prevention is the key
Here’s a sobering truth: 80% of people who fall into homelessness initially do not have serious mental illness or addiction issues. But after six months on the street, that flips. Prolonged homelessness creates trauma and makes recovery far harder.
Interim housing gives people a chance to catch their breath before the damage deepens. With stability, people reconnect to services, family and purpose. And the impact isn’t just personal—it’s financial.
In Santa Clara County, a study found that leaving
someone homeless on the street costs over $80,000 per year in emergency services. By contrast, a year in a DignityMoves community costs less than half that—and delivers far better outcomes.
Building momentum in L.A.
Los Angeles has taken some important steps with its tiny home villages and encampment resolutions. Now, with DignityMoves, the city is adding a new, scalable tool to its homelessness response.
The organization’s unique “capital accelerator” model uses private philanthropy to unlock public dollars, speeding up development. In 2024
alone, DignityMoves raised over $20 million in private funds, catalyzing $99 million in public investment.
More than a housing developer, DignityMoves is a systems-change leader—helping cities navigate emergency powers, streamline approvals and build public trust. Their approach has earned bipartisan support in Sacramento, where recent legislation has formally recognized interim housing as a key component of homelessness solutions.
A future we can Build now DignityMoves isn’t claiming to solve homelessness overnight. But they are showing what’s possible when cities act urgently and compassionately. Private rooms, supportive services and fast deployment are a winning combination— one that brings people inside quickly and helps them move forward.
For too long, our streets have served as the waiting room for permanent housing.
With DignityMoves, Los Angeles is proving that we can do better. The question is no
longer whether we can solve this crisis—it’s whether we’re ready to build what works.
DIGNITYMOVES housing in La Posada, Santa Barbara County.
SB79: For preservation in Los Angeles, there is no greater threat
Earlier this year I wrote about Senate Bill 79 (SB79) and the threats it posed to the historic neighborhoods of Greater Wilshire. This bill, which is designed to promote Transit Oriented Development (TOD) would upend zoning codes throughout the city and county to allow for the construction of 5-6 story buildings on any lot zoned residential within ½ mile of a transit stop. This would cover almost all of our Historic Preservation Overlay Zones and historic districts allowing for the demolition of contributing structures in these areas, the demolition of historic cultural monuments and landmarks designated on the state and federal levels, no exceptions. There is no greater threat to our community’s and our city’s historic resources than this bill.
Approximately 6% of Los Angeles is protected as historic. A fraction more contains “identified historic resources” meaning those sites listed on Office of Historic Resources main database of identified historic buildings and districts, SurveyLA, that are not protected but are eligible for either city, state or federal designation. SB 79 places
a bullseye squarely on the oldest and most historic communities of our city, Greater Wilshire, Hollywood, Beverly Grove, Downtown, Westlake, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, West Adams, essentially all of central Los Angeles, that are rich in both designated and identified historic resources as well as transit.
Historic buildings and historic districts are not renewable resources. Once they are gone, they are gone. The protection and celebration of our built heritage has always been a fight in our city that likes to see itself as perennially young and dynamic. The historic preservation movement in Los Angeles through
by Brian Curran
decades of battles, victories and losses, established itself as part of the fabric of our polity and in the values of many of our communities. It is a recognized good. It must be protected at all costs.
Already the defenses are weakening. Laws such as SB330 passed in 2019, ended our city’s ability to create Historic Preservation Overlay Zones and Assembly Bills 130 and 131 recently signed into law by Gov. Newsom exempted new residential infill projects from the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA). CEQA had been a powerful tool for the preservation community allowing for the review of projects that affected identified historic resources, occasionally leading to the saving of a historic structure or its integration into a new project. But even AB130 and AB131 do not impact designated resources. Act now to stop SB79! By now most of the readers of this newspaper will have received notices from your homeowner’s and neighborhood associations asking for your help to defeat this bill, which not only promises to decimate the historic treasures of Los Angeles, but end single-family neighborhoods
as well, which also are not exempt. If you have sent an email or made a call previously, send another, NOW! Our Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur needs to hear from you before he returns to Sacramento on Tues., Aug. 19. Look for events that the Assemblyman will be attending and speak with him directly if you can, but also call and write to him urging him to amend this bill to exempt designated historic resources from this bill. His office line in Sacramento is 1-916-319-2051 or you can call the local district office 1-323-436-5184 or email him at assemblymember.Zbur@ assembly.ca.gov. It’s in our hands.
newsstand shuttered. What will replace
By Nona Sue Friedman
One of the largest retail spaces on Larchmont Boulevard now lies vacant. Rite Aid, a national pharmacy chain, closed July 27 after the company declared bankruptcy. Along with its closure, Above the Fold newsstand shuttered, since their space was contingent on Rite Aid’s lease. The property’s owner, Ron Simms, of Simms Commercial Development, already
hired real estate company Newmark Pacific to lease the expansive property. Newmark designed a splashy digital brochure with potential plans to divide the 12,000-square-foot space. In the proposed designs, the retail space extends to the sidewalk, mimicking the rest of the Boulevard. There is no mention as to whether Simms would provide the construction or if the
(Please turn to
ABOVE THE FOLD, the iconic newsstand on Larchmont Boulevard, closed after decades.
90 mph fastball is the new threshold for high school pitchers
Catch. There are few pastimes as American as a dad and his son or daughter throwing a baseball back and forth to each other.
Unless that offspring is a varsity high school pitcher.
The ability to hurl a pitch 90 mph is rare, but it’s a necessary benchmark for boys looking to play college baseball. Velocity is not the only factor scouts and coaches care about, but it certainly gets their immediate attention. Presently, only about 1% of the nation’s varsity high school pitchers can throw a ball 90 mph or faster.
Celts
“I don’t play catch with my son anymore,” admitted Jon Sidel. “It’s too scary.”
Jonah Sidel, who will be a senior at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino this fall, has reached 92 mph with his fastball, though he throws 90 mph consistently (the fastest a Major League pitcher has reached is 105 mph). This past season Sidel’s role for the Crespi Celts was mostly as a middle-inning reliever. “My favorite pitch is the fastball, when it’s on,” he said.
Sidel also has a great slider, and he’s improving his changeup.
Youth Sports by Jim Kalin
Crespi was one of California’s top baseball teams this year. They finished the season 24-3 and ended up ranked No. 21 in the nation. They compete in the Mission League, which is regarded by many as the best conference in the state for baseball.
The Celts progressed to the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) Division I state tournament semifinals in May, then were upset by Santa Margarita High. “I’d like to be a starting pitcher next year,” said Sidel. “That way I’d get more time to use all of my pitches.”
There’s a good chance of that happening. Crespi lost two stellar senior pitchers: Jackson Eisenhauer and Diego Velazquez. Eisenhauer, who attended Larchmont Charter School (Selma) and played in the local Wilshire Warriors League, was the 2025 Mission League Most Valuable Pitcher. Velazquez pitched and had an incredible .528 batting average in the early spring. He’ll play for USC in the fall.
MIP
Sidel was named Crespi’s Most Improved Player for 2025. Of course, he puts in additional time training. He plays baseball year-round and is presently on the SoCal Giants, a summer travel team comprised of the area’s best high school players. He attended baseball camps at San Diego State and UC Santa Barbara last summer. He also drives to Torrance in the South Bay several times a week to train at Beimel Elite Athletics, a state-of-the-art facility that specializes in developing every phase of a
baseball player’s game.
Sidel’s gravitation toward pitching makes sense. Before he played baseball, he was a skateboarder. He worked endlessly perfecting difficult tricks, learning technique and persistence. He broke his leg at Pedlow Skate Park in Encino, but that didn’t dissuade him from skating once his cast was removed.
“You have to be resilient in skateboarding and baseball,” he explained. “There’s lots of failure. You have to be willing to pick yourself up and keep going. You have to make adjustments.”
Sidel is a student of baseball. He loves everything about the game. His favorite team is the Dodgers, and the pitcher he admires most is the Texas Rangers’ Jacob deGrom.
“I like his mechanics,” he said.
Presently Sidel’s status is pitcher only, which means his sole duty on the baseball field
Big Sunday, a local nonprofit, aims to fill 5,000 backpacks for underserved students with everything they will need to start school. The backpacks will be distributed to 100 different schools, programs and shelters throughout L.A.
is to pitch.
“I’d like to bat next year,” he admitted.
A pitcher who bats? Sounds like the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. Not a bad role model at all.
Editor’s note: Jonah Sidel played basketball and baseball with Saint Brendan School and the Pan Pacific Park Wilshire Warriors. Hehas committed to Pepperdine University as we go to print. Jon Sidel, his father, has been a local business owner in the Larchmont neighborhood.
There are five in-person volunteer time slots starting Mon., Aug. 4 continuing to Thurs., Aug. 7. In addition to helping out in-person, volunteers can host a supply drive of their own or make a monetary or in-kind donation. All information can be found at bigsunday.org. In-person sessions take place at 1741 N. Cherokee Ave.
CRESPI’S Jonah Sidel has a fastball that tops out at 92 mph.
Photo by Brendan Cowles
Summer with my friends making a music video and memories
School is out. Some children are in camps, some working summer jobs and still others are in summer school. In lieu of the School Reports, we bring you a few personal journals of what entertainment our Larchmont young adults are finding.
By Julia Guillen
Every good music video needs to start with a scene. In this case, it’s my friend’s 17th birthday. We are not party people. Our idea of a “Sweet 17” included my four friends walking to get ice cream, failing to summon a ghost using a Ouija board and sitting in my friend’s yard listening to music not exactly the rough, partying teen lifestyle portrayed in the film “Project X.”
We were all debating what we wanted to do next when suddenly someone sat up in the grass and cried, “We should make a music video!”
Five minutes later, the four of us huddled over a laptop Googling lyrics to songs until we landed on the most hilarious one: “I’m Just Ken,” from the 2023 “Barbie” movie. After a rush of brainstorming in which we all shouted out ideas, I was somehow elected to play the role of Ken and lip-sync most
of the lyrics originally sung by Ryan Gosling. Are any of my friends actors? No. Was my costume just my hair shoved into a cap and a blanket around my shoulders? Yes. Were we all awful? Oh, absolutely. But it was also the most fun we’d had in weeks. We kept breaking character and
laughing as we danced along to Ryan Gosling’s voice.
At about 11 p.m., we pretended to fight each other while singing, “What’ll it take for her to see the man behind the tan and fight for me!”
We would not win a Grammy for our music video. But the feeling of barely being
able to breathe with how hard I was laughing was better than any trophy.
This is one of the last summers I’ll have with my friends, and for all of us it’s been a mess of jobs, internships, volunteering, vacations and beginning our college applications. We’ve barely had
time to see each other. This time next year, I’ll be preparing to leave them for four years—maybe even forever. So, that memory of trying to sing along to Ryan Gosling’s voice while my friends snickered from behind the camera is one I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life.
Enjoying beach summers between friends and school semesters
By Gianna Jordon
I love attending college in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, but for me, there is nothing quite like coming home to Larchmont Village every summer. Waking up in my childhood room and making plans with friends from the neighborhood brings me happiness, comfort and a warm nostalgia as we discuss everything we want to do in our summer between semesters. Stepping outside, the bright warm sun kisses my pale face while I take that all too familiar early morning walk to Larchmont. It’s quiet and peaceful with only a few neighbors out walking their dogs to greet me. I love that about this community.
While it’s early, and I feel exhausted after finals, and a
long cold semester, I am excited to meet my friends for sunrise surfing—our favorite summer L.A. tradition.
After we grab coffee and breakfast sandwiches at Clark Street, we then pile into one car and I smile from the beautiful feeling of being home. As we get to Venice, the boardwalk is still quiet, the waves are glassy and the sun is slowly coming through the patchy clouds.
We set up at our favorite spot, Venice Breakwater, right in the middle of the Venice Boardwalk at Ocean Front Walk. We get into the water, initially complaining about the shocking chill, I notice we are all smiling. We begin to cheer each other on to paddle out and catch waves. As we wait for the next wave, I
WINDSOR SQUARE students home for summer break enjoying their favorite activity (left, Skylar J. Rose and Gianna Jones).
understand that it’s not about surfing. It’s about water, energy, connection, the ease and flow of long-time friendships, our community and a familiar activity that further unites us.
After we dry off and head home, all tired and sandy, we reminisce about our favorite memories together and the fun times we had as children growing up around Larchmont.
Surfing is something I look forward to doing every summer because my friends and I continue to make new memories, add to our collection of silly inside jokes and transform our childhood friendships into meaningful adult ones. Coming home to L.A. and Larchmont Village during the summers is a reminder of how thankful I am for my hometown.
Jordan grew up on Arden Boulevard, attended Immaculate Heart School and is now a student at University of Colorado Boulder.
I enjoy seeing all the things
Larchmont offers
By Ty Smith
One thing I always enjoy over the summer is walking to Larchmont Boulevard and seeing how busy it is now that a lot of people have time off. It’s incredible to see so many people (and dogs!) walking on the streets shopping, eating and doing all the amazing things Larchmont has to offer.
One funny thing I would give a try is ordering at Starbucks. For example, I like using foods as my name like “Cheeseburger” and “Pizza.” But if you’re going for something funnier, try “Benson Boone” or “Harry Styles”—it always gives someone a laugh. And maybe if you don’t like the idea of saying your name
as “Cheeseburger,” you could actually get one if you’re out to dinner with your dad on the Boulevard! Or you could take things up a note with a voice lesson at the school upstairs from the real cheeseburgers like I do!
Aside from Larchmont, I love doing Sinjin Smith’s Beach Volleyball Camp and performing in Liza Mounjauze Productions. Right now we are currently doing the musical Oklahoma! One thing I did this summer was lay on my bed and think of ideas for this article! I am so excited for the rest of my summer.
Ty Smith is 10 years old and going into fifth grade at The Willows.
By Sadie Jacobs
Hello everyone! I’ve been to a few camps so far this summer, including a theater camp at the Willows Community School with my friend Eloise where we did a performance of “The Jungle Book,” and right now I’m doing a cheerleading camp at Campbell Hall. After that I’m going to Camp Teva at my school, Brawerman East, with a bunch of my friends. I got to be an only child for a week while my brother was away at sleep—away camp, Camp Alonim. We are taking a family vacation to Hawaii, which is where I was born, so it is special. I am going to go on a boat to see dolphins! And of course, fun days at home, going to Robert Burns Park every evening and playing some tennis at the club (LATC— dad’s note). I am having fun spending time with
Rite Aid
(Continued from Page 5) tenants would be responsible for that. There also is no mention of what leasing the space would cost. The Chronicle reached out to the Newmark Pacific realtors as well as Simms and had not received a response from either by the time the paper went to press.
TY SMITH (a.k.a. Cheeseburger) summers on the Boulevard with her dog Phoebe.
YOUNG LADIES OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD from Brawerman East (left to right) Eloise Felmann, Sadie Jacobs, Ella Samrai, Sophie Janko and Evelyn Steinberg.
Pals team up and get out from behind a screen
By Rhett Hutcheson
Playing video games has often been associated with laziness and mindlessly rotting away in front of a screen, and it all comes from the fact that when people game, they don’t actually exercise or move their body at all. Playing games like Call of Duty or GTA (Grand Theft Auto) can be very entertaining, can sometimes even build the mind to think strategically for a successful game.
Would there be a way to get that same satisfaction from blasting someone away in a game but also help improve our bodies physically? I think that the answer lies in Airsofting. This is a game where players use real looking guns with plastic BBs to shoot at each other while playing a variety of game modes. The game is similar to paintball, except there is no paint, which in return means that you can say goodbye to tracking paint into your car or house.
Physically participating in the game is a drastically different feeling from sitting on a couch at home with your heart beating out of your chest because you almost won your video game, rather than actually being in the game having to make decisions under an immense amount of pres-
sure. Sedentary energy boosts of adrenaline during a video game become actually useful when you are active physically, and can improve your own body’s stress response.
It is very interesting to learn more about yourself and how you react to a real world situation where someone is shooting at you. For example, imagine you are pinned down behind a car while being suppressed. Do you run? Do you stay in cover? Or do you figure out a way to go on the offense and get to the enemy? Everyone reacts in a different way, but from what I’ve seen, the people that are fast at figuring out how to switch to being the
one hunting instead of being hunted are the best players. Having strong communication with your friends in these scenarios is also essential, and Airsoft can help you think rationally under pressure instead of just being scared. While exercise, communication and fight or flight moments are all key components to Airsoft, it also is a great way to simply have some summer fun. While on the field, there are no thoughts running through your mind other than how to not get shot or how to do the shooting.
For indoor try Tac City Airsoft where you can rent gear, 2430 Artesia Ave., Fullerton. info@taccityairsoft.com.
‘Secret agent’ finds adventure this summer
By Otis Always McGuire
I went to Descanso Gardens with our friends Ace and Paula. We saw a rabbit and a bird feather. We saw an alive frog—mama screamed like this, “AHHHHHH!” We saw a rattle snake. I went to the Skirball—it was so fun. I got to be a secret agent and find all these animals that need help. I wish I could go there today, but I got plans. My plans today are to go to Uncle Drew’s. He is famous, you may recognize him as Drew Carey. He is silly, funny, cute—he loves me and we went to Seattle at the beginning of the summer. We went to the underground place of Seattle. It was a poop tour and
in one of the pictures the tour guide told us that there was a crapper exploding and that was hilarious. All that stuff was hilarious. Toilets were called crappers back then because the inventor’s last name was Crapper, which is hilarious.
I’ve been digging for bones and gold and diamonds in my backyard every single day and I dug a little swimming pool for some soldiers because they need some rest.
I went to my Auntie Shay Shay’s wedding. I was the bone breaker—I was the ring bearer. It was so fun, but sadly I didn’t get to break any bones. The summer has been going good. My conclusion is that summer fun should be fun.
WINDSOR SQUARE FRIENDS (left to right) Eamon Gillen, Rhett Hutcheson, Theo Marx and Jio Esposito.
OTIS ALWAYS MCGUIRE (left to right) enjoying his six-yearold summer with friends Lily Medina, Leo Langsbard and Evelyn Bentjen.
Politics dominate theater in 1908 and still resonate today
It’s been suggested that, from time to time, perhaps, my reviews are a bit political for a theater column. My response is that theater is a political act, but I concede the point. Fair enough. But what’s a fellow to do when the big musical downtown (“Parade,” recently closed at the Ahmanson) is a Tony-winning Broadway revival about a southern mob lynching a
northern Jew for a crime he did not commit? (There’s more to it than that, but bear with me.)
What about “44 – The Obama Musical,” also recently at the Kirk Douglas, where (to quote the production press release) “Barack Obama’s election… ended racism forever,” and the show tells “the story of Obama you won’t read about in history books...
Los Angeles History
Theater Review by Louis Fantasia
because history books are now banned in most states”? What about Strife, in repertory at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum (with plays by Shakespeare and Chekov) through Sat., Oct. 4? Written in 1908 by John Galsworthy (best known for “The Forsyte Saga”), “Strife” tells the story of a wildcat strike at an Edwardian tin plate factory in Northern England. Co-directors Ellen and Willow Geer transfer the setting to the Pittsburgh steel mills of the Gilded Age and let rip an epic battle between capital and labor. This may be the best cast and tightest production I have seen at the Theatricum in a long time, and they are aided by Galsworthy’s refusal to turn his text into a polemic.
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Galsworthy was considered the dramatic equal of George Bernard Shaw in his time, but unlike Shaw, who was committed to socialist ideals, Galsworthy tried to show the best in everyone. The factory owners believe they are paying the workers a fair wage. The workers really do need more. The union, caught in the middle, tries to get everyone to compromise, which people, when feel their way of life is being threatened, rarely do. It takes the death of impassioned strike leader Gerald C. Rivers’ wife (Earnestine Phillips) and the removal by the board of the company’s founder (the formidable Frank Ross) in a coup led by his liberal son to give the wavering union negotiator (Brian Wallace) the chance to finally effect a compromise between them.
Galsworthy’s bitter irony
is that after all the “strife,” personal and political, the compromise the parties agree to is exactly the document they rejected months earlier. The human cost, not the economic one, is at the play’s—and production’s—heart, and the large, committed cast brings the struggle to life with admirable clarity and conviction.
Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932, but post-WWI British writers considered him (and other Edwardians) old-fashioned and out of touch. Perhaps they were right, but compared to the flood of “relevant” plays by new writers that we’ve had here in the past few years, Galsworthy speaks to the strife of the moment and should be seen by everyone, no matter which cable news channel you follow, the-
Winding along Mulholland Drive, the Valley is the muse
On a recent drive from Sherman Oaks to Beachwood Canyon, I decided to take the scenic route. The fabled Mulholland Drive, originally designated the Mulholland Highway when it opened in 1924, is one of the city’s many tributes to William Mulholland, the self-taught civil engineer known for building the Owens Valley Aqueduct. The aqueduct transported water 338 miles from the Eastern Sierra, supplying a reliable water source to the semi-arid Los Angeles basin. Mulholland’s feat of engineering, the ensuing water wars (which got the Hollywood treatment in the 1974 film “Chinatown”) and his transformative impact on the landscape of Southern California led urbanist and polemicist Mike Davis to call him “the city’s most Promethean figure.”
On a clear day, stop at one of the road’s many north-fac-
ing lookouts between the 405 and 101 freeways and you’ll enjoy the city’s best views of the San Fernando Valley. The sprawl is staggering, bound on the east side by the Verdugo Mountains and by the Simi Hills to the west. Visible due north, where the Newhall Pass intersects the San Gabriel and Santa Susana Mountains is the wet and wild, zig-zagging downhill channel known as the Cascades. This is the terminus of Mulholland’s magnum opus and where the aqueduct’s opening was celebrated on Nov. 5, 1913.
Cast your eyes just southeast of this California
Historical Landmark and you’ll look upon the neighborhood of Sylmar. The foothill settlement, which by the late 19th century had been planted with 1,100 acres of olive trees, rose to become the largest olive grove in the world by 1906. In 1893, the
area was dubbed “Sylmar,” a portmanteau of the Latin roots “silva,” translating to “forest,” and “mare,” or “sea,” evoking a “sea of trees.” A local story tells that Mulholland, standing at the site of his planned aqueduct, endorsed the epithet, remarking that the ripple of the wind through the olive trees’ green and silvery leaves reminded him of “waves crashing against the mountains.”
In Encino, in the southern part of the Valley just west of the 405, the reigning tree was the native Coast Live Oak. In 1769, when the Spanish Portolá expedition traveled through the area, it was the Tataviam and Tongva village of Siútcanga, meaning “the place of the oaks.” The town’s present-day moniker doesn’t fall far from the “tree,” arriving from the Spanish term for “oak”—”encino.” In similar fashion, you may still be able to scrounge for winter squash (in Spanish “calabazas”) in Calabasas and the fragrant mignonette plant (Scientific name Reseda odorata) in the central enclave known as Reseda.
Scan again toward the east side of the Valley and find Pacoima, which was the Fernandeño Tataviam village of Pacoigna until the Spanish arrived. “Pacoinga” translates to “the place of the entrance,”
presumed to refer to the entrance to Tujunga, nestled in the flats between the Verdugo and San Gabriel mountains. The Fernandeño Tataviam language also provides the historical antecedent for “Tujunga,” from the word “Tuhúnga,” meaning “place of the old woman.” Originating from the Tongva root “tuxu” (“old woman”), Tuhúnga is said to have been designated for a storied rock outcropping in Little Tujunga Canyon that was shaped like a seated female figure.
Many titles for Valley locales were eponymous, appointed by the 19th- and 20th-century ranchers and developers who saw gold in the undeveloped flats just over the hill from the L.A. Basin. The city of Burbank is so called for sheep rancher David Burbank; Van Nuys, after developer Isaac Newton Van Nuys; and its neighbor to the south, Sherman Oaks, for developer Gen. Moses Hazeltine Sherman.
Others were borne of fantasy. In 1919, Miraflores, a Valley property owned by Los Angeles Times publish-
Theater Review
(Continued from Page 10) atricum.org; 310-455-2322. • • •
If you do want an escape from the political, try the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein, at The Group Rep in NOHO, through Sun., Aug. 31. The play explores the struggle for independence, respect and recognition by women in a post-1960s world (Yes—it’s a comedy!). For tickets, call 818-763-5990. • • •
Or better yet, see the Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt mu-
er Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, was purchased by novelist Edgar Rice Burroughs. Burroughs, known for his Tarzan series (beginning with the 1912 novel “Tarzan of the Apes”), rechristened the 540acre country estate “Tarzana Ranch,” after his famous title character. When Burroughs died in 1950, his ashes were buried beneath a walnut tree in the suburb—now simply called “Tarzana”—that still bears the heading of his high-flying hero.
The end of the road I drove the last mile of Mulholland, winding downhill, before landing on Cahuenga Boulevard, the historic mountain pass whose name was inherited from a Tongva phrase either meaning “place of the hill” or “place of the fox.” Turn right and I’d head south to Hollywood—my terra firma; the place I know and love. But something draws me north, toward the Valley—my fata morgana—a vast, blazing hot sprawl where heat waves rise above sitting old women, squashes and seas of trees, and where the King of the Jungle finds his unlikely home.
sical, The Fantasticks, the longest-running off-Broadway musical in theater history, at the Ruskin Theater in Santa Monica through Sun., Aug. 24, ruskingrouptheatre.com; 310-397-3244.
The original production opened on May 3, 1960, and closed Jan. 13, 2002, after 17,162 performances. Two days before opening night, U.S. spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers had been shot down over Russia. The week before closing, Enron’s financial collapse was front page news. That’s history; those are facts.
