My earliest childhood memories are of the joys school music imparted to me. Songs I learned in elementary school remain in my heart, where many other things learned there have evaporated into the mists of time.
Please, please give the gift of music to today’s children, so that they may carry that inspiration and strength into the challenges of the 21st century.
Rosalie Grace Heacock
Last week a letter was sent to The Malibu Times encouraging community members to purchase Christmas trees and wreaths, garlands and MHS logo clothing from the high school lot on the Point. We absolutely agree and hope the sales there are a big success for the high school.
Continuing the idea of school support, we would like to encourage all of our community members who shop online to consider doing so at http://www.schoolpop.com and giving school credit to your child’s school. That school will receive a rebate. All of our schools are listed for potential credit. If you don’t have children at one of our schools, please select a Malibu school (identify city and state) and the school will receive credit. Each time you shop, select a different school here in Malibu. If you select one of the public schools, 20 percent of the rebate will go to the Education Foundation which gives financial grants to teachers throughout the district.
Our point in writing this letter is to say that we feel all schools in Malibu should benefit from such rebates. We are united in feeling strongly that all children, not just a few, should have the support of our community. Thank you for remembering all of Malibu’s outstanding schools, both public and private.
When you shop on line go to schoolpop.com and type in your school choice. You will be helping children all over our city.
Thank you and happy holidays to all of you.
Pat Cairns, principal, Cabrillo
Phil Cott, principal, Webster
Cynthia Gray, principal, Point Dume
Michael Matthews, principal, Malibu High
Terry Miller, principal, Our Lady of Malibu
To the SMMUSD Board of Education and Dr. Schmidt:
Our family moved to this area from a suburb of Philadelphia two years ago. Despite numerous friends’ warnings about the sorry state of public education and its funding in California, we rejected private schools and opted to live in Santa Monica so we could send our children to public school here. Certainly, we were attracted by the quality of the academics, but we were especially drawn by the outstanding music program. Imagine our shock to learn that the elementary music program is now threatened.
It is difficult to convey what playing the violin, and exposure to music more generally, has done for our 11-year-old daughter (a sixth-grader on the Concert Orchestra at Lincoln). Involvement in music has fostered our daughter’s self-confidence, poise and interest in the arts. It has helped her develop discipline, good study habits and a belief in the value of hard work. It has helped her understand that teamwork is about individuals with diverse talents coming together to create a larger whole. It has helped her develop an appreciation for positive aspects of our culture. Imagine a sixth-grader who goes around the house humming Vivaldi, or whose favorite compact disc is Bach’s double concerto, or who thinks that Mozart led a fascinating life. Imagine a sixth-grader whose favorite school day is Thursday, because that is the day the Lincoln Concert Orchestra rehearses. Imagine a sixth-grader who looks forward to high school so she can be on the Symphony Orchestra and travel to Chicago. And we know that our daughter is not alone.
The feature that makes the SMMUSD different is the music program. Stairway to the Stars is a unique, magnificent, awe-inspiring spectacle that demonstrates what children are capable of when they are engaged, stimulated, and taught and directed by adults who love what they do. Eliminating the elementary school component of the music program would eat away at the core of the district’s (and the city’s) personality and values, and would have ripple effects on the students for years to come. A good education is about many things, including instruction in the music and arts that both reflect and shape our traditions and culture. To paraphrase Richard Dreyfuss in the movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” if you teach reading and writing but take away music and the arts, soon children will have very little to read or write about.
Please preserve the elementary music program. Please do the right thing for the city, the district and, most of all, the children.
Jose and Eileen Escarce
Parents of a Lincoln sixth-grader and a Franklin second-grader
With only three members of the council in attendance at Monday’s meeting, Councilwoman Joan House succeeded in manipulating the quorum requirements by leaving the hearing room whenever issues or votes came up that would otherwise split the council. House said Councilman Harry Barovsky was recuperating from surgery and Councilman Tom Hasse was at a business meeting in New Mexico.
Van Horn reluctantly dropped several agenda items, which will likely be rescheduled for Dec. 20:
Debra Bianco and Remy O’Neill of Cornucopia Farms have asked Councilman Harry Barovsky to apologize for making a motion at City Council to audit the books of all nonprofit organizations that benefit from our city tax dollars. In case Ms. Bianco and O’Neill haven’t noticed, Harry Barovsky has never responded to personal attacks. To my memory he didn’t during his campaign and hasn’t in his tenure of office. The council in their infinite wisdom voted 5-0 to audit the books of Cornucopia Farms and every other organization that receives the largess of our tax dollars. I have two questions. Why haven’t Ms. Bianco and O’Neill asked for the apology of all the other four councilpersons who voted to audit the books of Cornucopia Farms, and why can’t we stop the politics of personal attacks in our city?
Bud Favilla
An estate of more than seven acres on the beach along Encinal Bluffs has sold for approximately $27 million, according to public records. The property was most recently listed at $29 million.
The transaction is by far the largest ever in Malibu, more than $10 million greater than the previous record of a neighboring property. Likely, it represents the largest home sale in California this year, the second largest ever in Southern California and one of the most sensational residential deals in American history. The seller is the widow of a Nevada casino mogul. The buyer owns a worldwide company that produces herbal and nutritional supplements. Agents involved in the transaction hailed from outside areas.
The deal reportedly included elaborate furnishings and perhaps other assets. The home is estimated at approximately 18,000 square feet. It has 13 bathrooms. Fireplaces number nine throughout the house, including the master bedroom, kitchen, den, guest house and outside patio. There is a nine-car garage.
Sitting dramatically on the bluffs, the estate accesses 300 feet of private beach. Views include the Channel Islands up the coast. The property, near Decker Canyon about three miles west of Zuma Beach, is walled and features a spectacular guarded entrance gate. Within the grounds are acres of gardens and lawns.
Though few were allowed to view the estate, it listed originally in spring 1997 for $40 million. A recent price reduction dropped the asking price from $33 million to its latest level. The sale was reported last week in the Multiple Listing Service at an undisclosed price. Document stamps for the property in public records suggest the total exchange amounted to $27 million.
The stunning transaction caps a very strong year for Malibu real estate that saw upper-end values reach all-time heights. Real estate values in general increased about 20 percent this year, locally. Indeed, the sale accents a remarkable century for property values along this coast (the Rindge family purchased all of Malibu for $133,000 just over 100 years ago) and a profound final commentary on Malibu real estate heading into the year 2000.
Virtually every amenity possible was accounted for in the two-story, Mediterranean-style manor, completed in 1993: large rooms with high ceilings and intricate finishes, framed with ocean views; expansive decks and terraces; a state-of-the-art screening room; wine cellar; tennis court and rose gardens; breathtaking pool and spa; and a beach lanai and cabana.
“The Swan” and “Nicholas Nickleby”
Who doesn’t admire a swan? And so it is impossible not to like Ferenc Molnar’s “The Swan,” swimming serenely at Pacific Resident Theatre.
It’s lovely and old-fashioned, in the best sense of the word. It is also touching and apropos today because its characters are real and its lessons timeless.
Still, it is a fairy tale, about a deposed royal family, its “glory forever ended” but its taste for the good life forever inbred. The lovely Princess Alex is being urged by her family to marry the handsome but empty Prince Albert, heir apparent to a real throne. Yet she is intrigued by the working-class professor — by his honesty, intelligence and poetic soul.
The family dynamics are real and humorous, the sense of romance works, and we are left feeling the pain of impossible love and recognizing the courage it takes to be oneself.
Directed by Howard Shangraw with grace, the production includes Victoria Profitt’s wedding-cake set, lighting by Keith Endo that is pink and peachy, Audrey Eisner’s detailed costumes and a delightful cast that mostly underplays the characters’ dignity and humor.
Princess Alexandra’s late father described her as a swan, gliding majestically, silent, earnest, with irreproachable conduct. In this case, casting is perfect — Shiva Rose has a lovely dancer’s bearing, her voice is sweetly royal and her eyes are filled with despair and longing.
As the professor, Alexander Enberg is sturdy and sincere. His suppertime conversation with the princess is fluid and interesting. She asks intelligent questions, he responds at this level. Sadly, a swan should never come ashore, where it can only waddle.
As Prince Albert, Robert Lee Jacobs is a wonderfully stereotyped square-jawed, curly-haired prince. Interestingly, he lapses out of regality, slouching in his chair, occasionally scratching his nose.
As the family matriarch, Marilyn Fox is both regal and foolish, while Susan Dexter makes her sister distinctly nonregal. Diane Hurley plays Albert’s mother, sincerely royal in bearing and humorously royal in voice.
The young princes are Neal McGowan (playing young) and Justin Cowden (a very fine young actor). William Lithgow plays the competent and calming Cesar.
Orson Bean is Father Hyacinth, the uncle who repudiated his royal status for a life in service to Christ, with a “heart of gold, brain of steel.” His humor is unforced, his reactions natural.
At this performance, a piece of jewelry fell off a costume and lay twinkling on the stage until Bean, a prince of an actor, crossed, picked it up, admired it for a moment and, at an appropriate place in the dialogue, gallantly returned it to its owner.
“The Swan” plays through Dec. 18, returning Jan. 8 – 13, at Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd., Venice. Telephone for schedule: 822-8392.
There’s no hyperbole in the title, “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.” After a combined nearly seven hours (playing in two parts) at Theatre 40, one definitely has the sensation of sharing that adventurous life.
Yet the production cannot have the luxury of unfolding. It must, and this one does, immediately capture and welcome the audience. Even Part Two starts with an audience-friendly recap. Directed by Tom Quaintance, this production gives Dickens’ already colorful characters their due.
The production commits to the era. The deceptively simple set (George Cybulski) comprises shipboard, streets, offices, drawing rooms, schoolroom, coach and a stage. Street scenes are busy and smoky, interiors are dusty and somber (lighting by Debra Garcia Lockwood). Sound (Quaintance) hovers imperceptibly over the dialogue.
Designed by Shon LeBlanc, the costume and wigs are changed as swiftly and smoothly as the actors change characters. Even pinkie rings are worn and removed. That backstage scene would probably make a wonderful play.
One or another character narrates, easing transitions. Scene changes, by the actors, are fluid and nondisruptive.
Raymond Donahae offered energy, enthusiasm and a joyful yet no-nonsense interpretation understudying the role of Nicholas. In multiple roles, his fellow actors play dramatic and comic, swap genders and look to be having an exhaustingly good time.
Jerry Beal, a character actor’s character actor, takes on Mr. Crummles, the very theatrical director of the very theatrical theater company, as well as more subdued but no less interesting roles.
As the villainous Ralph Nickleby, Peter Ratray is subtly ominous, intriguing and convincing.
Jonathan Read plays a palsied Smike, with a cough so real, at first it sounded like someone in the audience. Moira Quirk neatly splits the reserved Kate and the spoiled Infant Phenomenon.
Weston Blakesley is menacing as Mr. Squeers. Nancy Daly is mesmerizing no matter whom. Ed Martin is a forthright Newman Noggs.
Maria Spassoff is a beautiful woman who manages to convincingly play her male characters. It’s even funnier when the bearded Dean Wood plays female characters, and he is also a warm Frank Cheeryble.
Jeffrey Winner changes not only his characters’ accents but also their walks. Amy Tolsky charms as she amuses.
The other delightful company members include Susan Brindley, LaSchanda DeVaughn, Linde Gibb, Chad Halyard, Joseph Hodge, Rebecca Marcotte, Todd C. Mooney, Paula Jane Newman, Jennie Ventriss, Michael Vodde and Jennifer Williams.
“Book now, avoid disappointment.”
“Nicholas Nickleby” plays tonight (Thursday) through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., at Theatre 40, 241 Moreno Drive (behind Beverly Hills High School). Telephone 323.936.5842.
Claiming city bureaucrats have allowed the poor to become the targets of their wealthier neighbors, a Point Dume family told the City Council Monday that fishing expeditions to expose code violations and to raze long-standing structures amount to an “economic cleansing” of the city.
Deborah Purucker took the podium for the public comments portion of the meeting. She alleged city staff have engaged in selective enforcement aimed at the eviction of long-term residents. By insisting “guest houses” be brought up to code standards or be demolished, the city has created a “lose-lose” situation, she said, contending these homes traditionally are the only form of low-income housing in Malibu.
She urged the council to create an arbitration or mediation board to resolve disputes involving structures that predate the city’s incorporation. Another option, she said, is a grandfathering law, or a statute of limitations that would preserve structures that are now some 30 to 40 years old.
Mayor Carolyn Van Horn said the question of code enforcement proceedings brought for retaliatory motives would be added to the council’s quarterly meeting in January.
John Purucker seconded his wife’s remarks and described a letter he received from a neighbor’s attorney urging him to tear down the 750-square-foot structure in which he lives with his wife and four children.
He said the city ignores the neighbor’s use of a gully as a landfill. “There’s really nobody steering the boat,” said Purucker, in describing the city government. “We get bounced from one committee to another.” He said his family plans to build a 1200-square-foot structure at the 1-1/4 acre site, but city officials insist the present building be demolished even without approval of the new plans. He said the city planners also vacillate on whether a two-car garage must be built.
Purucker charged the bureaucracy pits neighbor against neighbor, and that many similarly situated long-term residents remain “hiding in the corners,” afraid to talk about the problem lest they become the target of retaliation. He also cited conflicting standards enforced by the California Coastal Commission.
City Planning Director Chuck Ewing said he was unaware of the specific facts but said there are pending some 1200 code enforcement cases in the city. “They’re not all the same,” he said, noting the city is seeking to lessen the paperwork. He added the city already has a liberal attitude on grandfathering existing structures.
Environmental and Building Official Victor Peterson suggested the city council was not an appropriate forum to discuss the matter and said staff was available to sit down to try and come up with a solution at any time.
“We are bound by the code,” warned Peterson, stressing the issue is whether the structure is a dwelling unit and not a chicken coop. He said much of the information supplied by the Puruckers was subjective and questioned the age of the structure.
Meanwhile, the council will likely take up in the year 2000 the plans of Point Dume resident Barbra Streisand to build a new blufftop home on Zumirez Drive. The appeal of neighbors Eric and Cheryl Jacobson was originally slated for the Dec. 13 meeting. The hearing will be held Jan. 10 to permit proper notice to the neighbors.
With only three members in attendance, the City Council voted Monday to reject a proposal to build six homes at a Point Dume site formerly approved by L.A. County for the construction of 28 condominiums.
The proposal was part of a settlement of an ongoing lawsuit. The compromise was hammered out between Layman Financial Services and city officials in October 1998. In return for permission to build six homes on the 3.75 acre parcel, Layman dropped any claims relating to the 1991 County Code that would have allowed the 28-unit condominium complex.
Neighbors at Monday’s meeting protested the lack of public notice about zoning changes, as well as the increased traffic caused by six homes on a private cul-de-sac. They insisted the city must enforce its RR-1 category of one home per one acre.
Andy Layman defended the formula worked out with city officials as a win-win situation for Malibu that would preserve a single-family buffer on the property that borders a commercial office building. Attorney Alan Block said his client “is attempting to be a good neighbor” and chose not to litigate his vested right to secure the 28-unit construction. Acting City Attorney Richard Terzian described the proposal as “an appropriate compromise.” Planning Director Chuck Ewing agreed the proposal was “better than hitting ourselves in the head with a larger hammer.”
Faced with questions from Walt Keller on whether the investors had considered the profit to be gleaned from three houses rather than six, Layman sought a continuance to come up with the necessary paperwork.
Mayor Carolyn Van Horn endorsed Keller’s approach, and remarked that with lower density, the “sense of community is maintained.” She stressed the site is on a slope and characterized it as a “wildlife corridor.”
Councilwoman Joan House favored a continuance, but as a tactic to secure reconsideration, voted with her colleagues to reject the proposed residential subdivision. She said she supported the compromise and would favor bringing the plans back to a subsequent council meeting at full strength.
“I’m being pushed back again,” said Layman, alluding to the loss of time. “I’m not a wealthy man,” he remarked, suggesting one option would be to sell the land to a major developer who could push the plans through.
