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You can pick your teachers

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Most Malibu kids have never taken direction from their parents. If you could travel back in time and observe the first Malibu Chumash family in the original Malibu shelter of white tree bark adorned with red leaves, you would see the parents yelling at their primate teen-agers for sitting around and brooding all day instead of hunting for grubs and berries like mom and dad. Then you would see a primate teen-ager stomp to a nearby cliff and draw on the rocks or throw sticks at the birds.

Dany Margolies’ article in the Oct. 28 edition of The Malibu Times concerning Kelly Cook, schoolteacher, illustrates that some Malibu kids do have the heart and aspiration to take direction from their parents. Malibuite Herb Binswanger (deceased) counseled me when I was selecting my first Little League team, “select a child for their parents.” Herb ascertained that you could teach an 8-year-old to play baseball easier than to instruct their parents in sportsmanship. On his advice I selected Karen Cook, Kelly’s younger sister on to my Little League team, the “Braves.”

In interacting with Karen, Kelly and the rest of the Cook family, I learned what an incontestable role family values, churches and sportsmanship can play in an individual’s life. Parents who have their offspring in any class taught by Kelly Cook are blessed by a teacher who educates by example and has been taught by example. I am delighted that the well-versed Ms. Margolies has brought the Malibu rebirth of Kelly Cook to our attention and astuteness of Webster principal Phil Cott in hiring her.

It is too bad that in the early days of Malibu whole families were torn apart by something as simple as wild dogs. In the present Malibu first-grade students may be inspired by Ms. Cook the way Ms. Bishop, my first-grade teacher did, and family values will play an important part in their lives.

Tom Fakehany

Youth coalition plans for teen center even without a building.

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With a sense of urgency spurred by the potentially violent incidents at Malibu High School last month, as well as the long-standing community demand for a teen center, the Malibu Youth Coalition is pushing hard to start a youth center program — without walls. The group has decided there is no time to wait for a building.

The coalition, an alliance of parents, school and business officials created after the April high school massacre in Littleton, Col., has created task forces for the youth center program, a community resource guide and an Internet youth activities master calendar. Kids are to be actively involved.

School district Superintendent Neil Schmidt, school district board member Pam Brady, elementary school Principals Pat Cairns and Cynthia Gray, Malibu High Assistant Principal Esther Winkleman, City Councilman Walt Keller, Chamber of Commerce members Beverly Hammond and Mark Ball, and MHS Governance Council Chair Jeff Jennings and Planning Commissioner Ken Kearsley joined about 20 parents at the Friday afternoon meeting at Malibu High School. Webster Elementary School representatives and youth were not at the meeting because of Halloween and homecoming activities, coalition founder Laure Stern said.

“The youth center is the key project for the community,” she said. “Littleton was such a big warning, we don’t have the luxury of waiting. After the incidents at Malibu High School [a student brought a gun to school and a bomb threat hoax was made the first week of October], we don’t have time for politics and much discussion. We need a place for kids to go, not only on the weekends but also after school.”

A recent media literacy class showed students had no reaction to violent images in videotapes of the Vietnam and Gulf wars, Stern said. “Kids are getting these images in an isolated community. They haven’t learned to express themselves. We have got to figure a way for kids to interact and socialize. They are looking for something to do.”

Youth would be involved in planning and implementation because they are involved in clubs and activities on campus and are proficient on computers, Stern added. “There’s no way anything can be done without the kids.”

Collaboration, funding

Stern asked city Recreation Supervisor Marilyn Stern to describe the community collaboration model she used when creating a teen center in San Diego County.

City official Stern said in Spring Valley, the city, law enforcement, school board and nonprofits invested staff time, money and other resources as the first level of collaboration. The city of Malibu had done this by committing part of her budget to the program, she said. “We are sitting at the table, that’s a commitment.”

The second level would be a partnership of at least two agencies. The third level would be collaboration by business, schools, religious organizations, etc.

Collaborators would prepare a mission statement, map assets to eliminate duplicate services and obtain funding. Nonprofits such as the city could apply for grants. For example, a state juvenile justice program must be applied for by March 2001 to obtain $500,000. Funding agencies look for a track record of collaboration, city official Stern said.

Center without walls

The center would be a place kids could call their own, a place they would go when they are troubled, recreation supervisor Stern continued. It would provide recreation and services such as health care, counseling, tutoring and business mentoring. “Kids would plan the events that appeal to them,” she said. “By using their talents and ideas, you will get them to come.” Parents Pat Cairns and Linda Piper noted how Friday night sports were popular.

One agency might provide a site for the center, recreation supervisor Stern said. If a building is not available, one collaborator might have land, another a trailer. “Right now we provide services. There is a concept of a center without walls. We are geographically challenged but maybe we could transport kids from place to place, such as from the skateboard park to counseling.”

Winkleman offered classrooms. Parent Barbara Milne suggested Saint John’s Hospital might bring a mobile health center.

Parks activist Kristin Reynolds suggested going to other communities to see how they have gotten groups involved.

Parents Larry Gray and Douglas Simpson were skeptical of city assistance and suggested the coalition take the lead. Keller responded that the city funds the sheriff’s Juvenile Intervention Team and recreation. Now that budget constraints were less, the city could use Proposition A funds for shuttle services instead of Kanan Dume repairs, Keller said.

The next meeting of the Malibu Youth Coalition is set for Dec. 2 at Malibu High School. For information, e-mail lem51@aol.com.

Stern to get his dream home

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The shoe was on the other foot for Andrew Stern, chair of the Malibu Planning Commission Monday. He appeared not as a judge but as a supplicant, asking the commission to grant him a variance so he might build a house on a 30-foot-wide lot in Point Dume.

Stern told his colleagues the proposed house on Sea Level Drive “ain’t a mansion.” The two-story house covers 2,509 square feet, not counting the basement.

Prior to the 4-0 vote granting variances in the zoning code, Stern described the house as the smallest one to come before the commission during his tenure. “All I’m asking for is the right to build to the neighborhood standards.”

“It’s a sloping site. We had nowhere else to go,” said architect Lester Tobias in explaining a design that burrows into the hillside. He noted the facade shifts away from the street to avoid interference with the neighbor’s view. In a tongue-in-cheek monologue, Tobias described his client as “one of the most powerful men in the state of California,” and questioned whether the commissioners fear they will be setting a dangerous precedent. He noted the property includes a second story to permit a bedroom at the rear, a basement with a bathroom and a retaining wall in excess of six feet on the west side.

The property sits on a lot some 30 feet wide with slopes in excess of 2-1/2: 1. Absent a variance, the second story violates the rule that the higher floor be only two-thirds the square footage below. Tobias stressed that the design has already received the approval of the homeowners association and the Escondido Beach architectural review board. Brandishing a shoe and a shoe horn, he described the house as “a great fit for this street.”

Dixie Moore, a resident of Latigo Canyon, praised the design but expressed her concern that others will get the same consideration when they seek approval for innovative designs. Kaye Ferguson of South Zuma View said the project was beautifully designed for a unique lot. She said the two-thirds rule is not suited to sloping lots.

In explaining his vote to permit the variances, Commissioner Ken Kearsley remarked, “One size does not fit all.” Commissioner Jo Ruggles said the two-thirds rule is designed to prevent square boxes, and essentially the same design was approved for the house next door to Stern’s lot. As for Stern’s desire to protect his neighbor’s view, Ruggles said the sentiment was “amazing,” and confessed she wouldn’t have been so generous if placed in the same situation.

Commissioner Charleen Kabrin said the construction of a bathroom in the basement creates habitable space, but she said her problem was with the zoning code, rather than with the Stern project. She added it would be punitive for the commission to reject these plans when it had approved the similar project next door.

In other business, the Planning Commission’s grant of plans by Barbra Streisand for a new home on Zumirez Drive has been appealed to the City Council. A hearing date has not been set.

The charm and karma of Carmen

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So many filmmakers get stopped in their paths,” says Julie Carmen. The Malibu-based actor is serving in her sixth year on the board of directors of IFP West, and was a four-year board member of Women In Film. So when she addresses Women In Film’s Networking Breakfast Nov. 12, she will focus on the theme, “Just Do It.”

She has more than just done it, playing the female lead in dozens of films, starring opposite such luminaries as Val Kilmer and Sam Neill, as well as the late George C. Scott and Raul Julia.

Finding distribution is currently the biggest stumbling block to filmmakers, she suggests. “Even if you can make a film on a $1 million budget, it takes $10 million to market it.”

Therefore, she warns, “It’s very important that filmmakers be clear on what success means to them.” Some, she says, want to create prestigious festival releases, some the blockbusters, some a calling card for their next film. But once the film is made, it is important to hand hold it through its release but then get on with the next project.

Carmen wrote a script and planned to direct a film, “Deep Song,” based on a novel about an American girl who left to live with gypsies. “The conundrum that I’m in is that first-time directors are not exposed to ‘A’-quality scripts, which is why I wrote my own.”

She found funding in Europe but couldn’t find U.S. distribution. “I decided to cut bait,” she says about abandoning the idea. “I feel freer. I didn’t get sucked down by the project.”

Most recently, Carmen starred opposite John Leguizamo in the soon-to-be-released “King of the Jungle.” Steven Bochco remembered her from a role she played on “NYPD Blue” and has created a recurring character for her on his new series, “City of Angels.”

The daughter of off-off-Broadway theater buffs, from age 14 she trained at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse. She first appeared on Broadway in “Zoot Suit” and can list 20 off-Broadway productions on her resume.

She graduated from State University of New York with a bachelor’s degree in film, theater and choreography. She says the discipline forced her to create projects and follow through on them.

She studied acting with Sanford Meisner, whom she calls “the meanest man I ever met in my life,” and with Uta Hagen, whom she calls “a healing balm.” She studied directing with Bobby Lewis and Jose Quintero. “I love seeking masters,” she says.

After filming her first movie, she was cast by John Cassavetes in his film, “Gloria,” which won her the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival, at the age of 18.

She never auditioned for Cassavetes. “John had the vision and autonomy to make choices,” she states.

She calls Cassavetes her guardian angel. “He directed from the heart.” He told her to jump off the mountain and not worry about falling, because he would be there to catch her. “It gave me a graphic example of freedom, a very visceral way to act.”

She appeared in Robert Redford’s “The Milagro Beanfield War.” “He watched me for two weeks before he gave me my first direction,” she recalls. “Then he told me that my aura was warm and that therefore I never had to ‘play’ that. ‘You can go to your other extremes and it will be tempered by your warmth,’ he told me.” And that was all he told her. “Directors leave me alone a lot,” she says.

Acting is about communication and human connection, she says. So she underwent psychoanalysis, then decided she wanted to go deeper and study analysis, which she did for four years while acting. “Acting drew me to analysis and now to yoga — how to be healthy, within extreme circumstances. It’s a similar attraction.”

She says she found her early years in Hollywood emotionally challenging. “I wanted to learn to ride the roller coaster between flattery and rejection and not lose my center. A lot of the industry is based on narcissism and spin. As a theater actor, I wasn’t coming from there.”

Now, she practices yoga avidly. “It’s helpful in my approach toward Hollywood.

“Yoga is not just an exercise. The entire process leads to splitting open the heart. You find that edge of discomfort and breathe there for one-and-a-half hours a day. You find calm within the extreme discomfort.”

The child of an activist family, she has received two Clio awards for writing, producing and directing public service announcements for the Latino and Latina vote.

She hopes next to direct her first documentary — on the history of Malibu from the point of view of elderly Malibuites. “Some are still surfing. Some still ride horseback in endurance races. There are so many exquisite stories that could come together.” The project will be produced by Candace Bowen and edited by Candace Brown, both well-known young Malibuites.

Julie Carmen addresses Women In Film’s networking breakfast Nov. 12, 8-10 a.m., at The Charthouse Restaurant, PCH at Topanga.

By land and by sea

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The problems of our oceans, and particularly pollution in Santa Monica Bay, were a principle focus and cause for alarm for many of the participants at the “Land and Sea” Oceans’ Conference, held this weekend in Ojai and Malibu.

“Each generation becomes the keeper of the California coast,” said Richard Charter, a marine conservation advocate with the Environmental Defense Fund, at Saturday’s Malibu conference. Scientists, attorneys and others who have been the keepers of the coastline spoke to concerned citizens at the gathering sponsored by Save Our Coast and held at Malibu City Hall. Mary Frampton, executive director of Save Our Coast, organized the conferences. “Mary is the eternal flame for protection of the ocean,” said City Councilman Walt Keller

“People inland don’t realize the ocean affects them,” said Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl in her opening remarks. Kuehl noted the work done in Malibu had been successful in influencing the state.

The conference focused on issues on land that affect the water quality of the ocean, for humans and marine wildlife.

Several disturbing trends were mentioned by keynote speaker, Dr. Jay Grimes, a marine microbiologist and director of the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Southern Mississippi. Seafood-borne human diseases have reached a high, and diseases of the ocean are on the rise, according to Grimes. Many solutions were offered, including new legislation and continued education.

Charter celebrated the fact that offshore oil drilling leases have been stopped by a rider one year at a time, but he pointed out that no executive order had been issued by either Presidents Bush or Clinton. “What will really determine our fate is who the next president is,” said Charter. Currently, only the three areas deemed marine sanctuaries in California offer permanent protection from offshore drilling. Charter also celebrated Gov. Gray Davis’ recent signing of legislation that is the foundation for a network of marine reserves.

Calling himself the “controversial” member of the panel, Steve Fleischli, executive director of the environmental organization Santa Monica BayKeeper, cited several problems contributing to poor water quality, including runoff from the Tapia Water Reclamation Plant, runoff from other urban areas, leaky sewer lines, mystery drains, septic tanks and Pepperdine University’s discharge into Marie Canyon. Fleischli is currently involved in establishing treatment standards for urban runoff from new developments.

He has begun to look at the impact of Malibu’s septic systems on the bay’s pollution. On the issue of septics Frampton said, “The city should lead the way to upgrading all our septic systems. I know that’s not a popular position, but there is good scientific evidence that they don’t work well, particularly on some of our sandy beaches.” Others at the conference, including Dr. Dan Hillman of Malibu, disagreed that septic tanks were causing the problem.

Panel members discussed actions Malibu citizens can take to protect the ocean. “Walk around your business or home, and see if there’s an illegal connection,” said Fleischli. “If you own a restaurant, don’t wash placemats out into the storm drain. Every action has a huge impact. Pick up after pets, don’t dump in the street.”

Dr. John Sibert, former Cal Tech professor, also advised education of elementary age children as a solution. “Get the kids behind it,” he said. “They’ll nag their parents and create the change.”

Other suggestions included electing officials who will stop projects harmful to the ocean and carrying the message to others to do the same.

“We’re planting the seeds that generate one thousand blooms,” said actor Edward Albert, Jr. “Don’t give up. It’s not only a valuable fight, it’s the only fight.”

Thanks for good news

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We’d like to thank The Malibu Times for publishing the Malibu People section in last week’s edition. The section highlighted the enthusiastic and dedicated teachers that inspire the children of Malibu every day. These are true heroes of the community.

The disturbing incidents that occurred at the high school must be addressed, however we must remember that they were isolated ones. What occurs every school day must not be overlooked. The teachers, administration, security, and custodians at Malibu High School provide a rigorous academic program in a caring setting.

Once again we want to commend The Malibu Times for their inspiring edition and send a heartfelt thank you to Malibu’s teachers for the positive difference they make in our children’s lives.

Cathleen Sands, MHS PTSA president

Karen Farrer, MHS executive vice president

Bless the walkers

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Thank you so much for the wonderful stories on the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. The articles by Karen York and Pam Linn were terrific as were the photos.

Almost all of us have lost someone we loved or knew to cancer.

These very courageous women who gave so much to make this grueling 55-mile walk from Santa Barbara to Zuma deserve the grateful thanks from all of us. The time, training, pain, blisters, and guts it took is awe inspiring. The money they raised for research will help save lives of current and future cancer patients.

I have lived in Malibu 40 years and would love to know the names of these fantastic walkers from our home town. They make us proud and happy to be their neighbors. And, everyone involved — all 2,900 walkers and the support teams — should be blessed for the courage they give to so many.

Alanna Niles

Priorities come first

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I can’t believe I find myself writing this letter to the editor, but I need to congratulate Councilman Thomas Hasse for his courageous action in firing Nidia Birenbaum.

A commissioner can always be replaced, but finding a good city manager is damn difficult.

James Scott

Traffic may slow to sludge

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Malibu commuters should brace for a PCH nightmare that will last well into next year. The city of Santa Monica has planned a massive sewer repair project, scheduled to begin Nov. 15, that will take away two lanes of the six-lane stretch between Chautauqua and the McClure tunnel. That portion of PCH is the only direct route for thousands of commuters who use the Santa Monica Freeway. The project could add hours to the morning and afternoon commutes, and it will become a way of life until at least May 2000.

Unlike several recent road repair projects, construction on the sewer repair will not be suspended during peak rush hour periods. “The contractor has been cleared to work on the installation 24 hours a day,” said community outreach consultant Vikki Zale. “Besides, they will really need to use those two lanes for their equipment.”

“Even with three lanes, that traffic is a bear,” said Malibu Emergency Services Coordinator Hap Holmwood. “I think it’s going to be slow going from Sunset.” Holmwood adds the project is already behind its original schedule, and the construction work could drag on into July or August. Holmwood suggests commuters use 26th Street in Santa Monica as their main route to and from the freeway.

Almost two miles of the existing sewer line will be replaced with a new, 54-inch line using a technique called “micro-tunneling.” Officials say the size of the old pipeline must be increased in order to capture dry-weather, urban run-off, which can then be treated before it enters Santa Monica Bay. Both Holmwood and Zale say in the long run Malibu will have cleaner beaches.

The 50-year-old clay sewer line underneath the highway was damaged in the Northridge earthquake. “It’s not that it’s dangerous,” noted Zale, “but obviously the longer you leave it, the greater the potential is for something more serious to happen.”

The city is already trying to get the word out to residents in Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica and surrounding areas. Large traffic signs have been posted warning of delays and advising commuters to avoid the area. “We are recommending that people leave early or consider an alternate route,” said Zale.

“It’s going to be a long nine months,” Holmwood said. “We have a bad traffic situation in Malibu and we just have to accept that’s the price we pay for living in Paradise.” In the meantime, he says, “I tell people to get those self-improvement tapes and relax.”

Along the PCH

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The Wilcox family built the Malibu Riviera Motel near Kanan in 1949. Originally 10 units, and now 13, winter rates were $4/night that year. Living in a tent during construction, the family members did much of the work themselves, and now have been in business more than 50 years continuously, save for a period in 1981 when a nearby fire caused some damage to two units and instigated a full remodel of the complex. The fire was started when a truck crashed into the hill nearby after losing its breaks coming down Kanan.

When the Riviera Motel opened, there was little competition along the PCH. The Malibu Inn Motel had been a busy place during the war and was located in the building next to ARCO where business offices are currently (Jon Douglas was there previously). The Casa Malibu opened at about the same time on the beach and the Holiday House was in business with a few units adjacent current-day Geoffrey’s. The Malibu Surfer, Malibu Shores, Driftwood (now Country Inn), and Albatross would come later.

The Wilcoxes built their home and photography studio soon after, a short distance down PCH, and Wayne was Malibu’s best-known photographer from 1955-1995, when he retired.

My personal list of favorite Malibu periods of the year, in order of preference, are fall days, winter days, fall evenings, summer evenings, spring days, winter evenings, spring evenings, summer days.

You probably have no idea how deep that water is out there. You have to go out about a half-mile before it drops to more than 50 feet deep. It is that way along the whole Malibu coast, from Santa Monica to Point Dume. One long reef. It gets to about 150 feet deep at about two miles, 300 deep after three miles.

You may know about Santa Monica Canyon down at West Channel Road, but how about Santa Monica Canyon in the ocean? About seven miles out is an ocean crevice by that name that has some 500-foot drops down to about 1500 feet.

In 1970, during construction, the new thoroughfare was called Dume Highway. Eventually, it gave way to its Agoura namesake and Kanan-Dume is now just known as Kanan.

It’s difficult to imagine Bluffs Park as a state park conducting state activities. How many people come to Malibu to use the parks? Aren’t the beaches the main attraction? The land is most suitable for local recreational events, certainly not to the exclusion of outside visitors. Once the hotel gets built at the corner, across from Pepperdine, the intersection will be a focal point in Malibu, and a continued and expanded layout of recreational fields will be ideal for the site.

Across the street from Carbon Beach is the Malibu Surfer Motel. Look at its sign sometime. A portion of the old sign says “T-456-6169” Good thing they didn’t add the area code way back when.

In 1804, the king of Spain wanted to reward one of his generals, Don Jose Bartolome Tapia, for excellent military service. He made a land grant of the Rancho Topanga Malibu Sostomo Simi Sequit.

What was the first home built on your street? The following addresses are homes on some of Malibu’s busiest residential streets and represent the oldest known houses on those streets, based on public records, which list the original “year built”:

31243 Bailard (1950), 20358 Big Rock (1952), 7371 Birdview (1936), 5838 Bonsall (1946), 30800 Broadbeach (1929), 6432 Busch (1947), 22042 Carbon Mesa (1948), 6110 Cavalleri (1949), 28981 Cliffside (1948), 1904 Corral Cyn. (1927), 29866 Cuthbert (1948), 33050 Decker School (1928), 7048 Dume (1947), 26312 Fairside (1957), 7059 Fernhill (1952), 7145 Grasswood (1948), 23837 Harbor Vista (1951), 30119 Harvester (1949), 5801 Kanan Dume (1950), 3740, 3760, 3761, 3966 Las Flores Cyn. (all 1921), 4128 Latigo Cyn. (1930), 26740 Latigo Shore (1945), 23746, 23812, 23832, 23844, 23868, 23910 Malibu Road (all 1927). The early birds got the best spots, but many of those homes sure look different now!

Malibuites used to order delivered food by the buckets. Chicken Delight occupied the spot where Malibu Chicken is currently, adjacent to Spic N Span Cleaners, and was a Malibu institution in the ’60s. You could get a 36-piece bucket for $9.49.

For many years, the early Malibu Realty Board (now the Association of Realtors) adopted a quote from Teddy Roosevelt as its slogan: “Every person who invests in well-selected real estate in a growing section of a prosperous community adopts the surest and safest method of becoming independent, for real estate is the basis of wealth.” No mention of Internet stocks.

The 1966 Chamber of Commerce directory reported ground had been broken for the Malibu Art Center, a large structure with distinctive shops, a fine restaurant, beauty salon, gourmet food store and 400-seat film theater, all surrounding a large atrium. It was located in the shady brick parking lot across from the Country Mart. The structure would’ve fronted on Cross Creek, from Starbucks to the photo processing shop, and extended halfway across the parking lot in front of Radio Shack. At the time, the location had a nursery of large trees, many of which remain there today, according to the architect of the project, local Harry Gesner. The developer soon fell on difficult financial times and the Art Center was never completed, but the foundation remained for later construction of all the shops behind Starbucks.

The stretch of beach from Coastline Drive to the Charthouse restaurant was once filled almost entirely with beach homes, where now there are none.

Been to Charmlee Park lately? Been there ever? Four miles up Encinal Canyon lie hundreds of acres of natural rolling hills and pastures overlooking the ocean and adjacent canyons. There are many hiking and biking trails, and up the hill by the water tank, the views are 360 degrees.

A 50-year resident of Malibu recently sold her house and moved on, but wrote to me some of her memories, beginning in the ’40s, living at Nicholas Beach: “There was no telephone from Trancas beyond County Line. Telephones came in the late ’40s and was a one-party line from the northern exit of Broad Beach Road to County Line. Before that we used the public phone at the Trading Post, a restaurant at Trancas. When it burned, the nearest public phone was located at Paradise Cove. The telephone never worked when the wind blew, it rained or it was foggy, which of course was most of the time. At that time the Tennis and Riding Club was a truck garden where celery was grown. In the early years the flying red horse on the gas station at Trancas could be seen four miles away.”

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