Larchmont Chronicle
VOL. 63, NO. 2
• DELIVERED TO 76,439 READERS IN HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT •
IN THIS ISSUE
VALENTINES. How they met.
Catastrophic January firestorms spare Mid-Wilshire, other flatland communities
3
SCOUTING AMERICA annual issue. 8
VIEW NORTHWEST from the 1000 block of Fiske Street in Pacific Palisades toward the rapidly approaching fire, just minutes after the mandatory evacuation order was issued Jan. 7 to residents of the “Alphabet Streets” neighborhood. Photo by Manfred Hofer
Opportunities to turn grief into action n Local donation resources abound
THIRD STREET’S 100th fêted. 2-2
By Casey Russell The devastation of the January fires has left many overwhelmed with emotion. But when calamities hit, communities have the opportunity to rise up and help. Locals came together almost immediately in January to aid
those in need. The Hancock Park Home Owners Association circulated donation information and put together a drive the first weekend of the fires. Clothing, hygiene products, childcare and pet supplies, luggage, towels and bedding
Homeless Count put on hold
PALISADES home lost. 2-3 For information on advertising in the paper, please call Pam Rudy 323-462-2241, x 11 Mailing permit:
FEBRUARY 2025
By John Welborne This year’s Homeless Count had been scheduled for three days in late January, with the local (Mid City West and Greater Wilshire) counts to have taken place on Jan. 21. However, due to the wildfire crisis, this year’s count — throughout Los Angeles County — has been postponed. A Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) spokesperson told us: “We don’t have the new dates yet. I’m not sure when that will be decided. It is, in part, dependent on when the
Miracle Mile 2025!
Our year-round guide to lifestyle, entertainment, residential and business news, “Miracle Mile 2025,” will be published in the March issue. Advertising deadline is Mon., Feb. 10. For more information, contact Pam Rudy, 323462-2241, ext. 11.
current emergency ends.” Visit count.lahsa.org to learn more and to register when the dates are known.
and electronics were collected at a home in Windsor Square. Brookside residents, led by Sam Karim, collected items for the YMCA fire relief efforts. Gift cards, healthy snacks, water, microwaves, toys for young children and more were gathered. Julie Stromberg, of Brookside, spearheaded an effort to provide meals to firefighters at area stations. The Miracle Mile Residential Association started a Go Fund See Donations, P 15
By John Welborne The conflagrations of early January have been tragic for so many Southern California residents. As of our press deadline for this February issue of the Larchmont Chronicle, the areas south of the Hollywood Hills and east of the Westside have not seen such fires along our streets. That said, it’s probably safe to say that everyone in this part of town knows someone, or more likely, many families, that are directly affected by the devastating fires in the Palisades, Altadena and elsewhere. Shock and sadness can be seen on the faces on Larchmont walkers as the smoke continues to linger long after the damage has been done to neighborhoods throughout the county. But we also see hope and resilience in the eyes we meet and the friends we greet and the strangers we pass, which tells us our neighbors to the west and the east will persevere, and we will get through this, together. A separate story on this page reports on some of the generous individuals and organizations that have stepped up to help. The story cites opportunities available to those who also wish to assist.
Television City at CBS site gets green light n City Council approves project; neighbors oppose By Suzan Filipek The Los Angeles City Council has approved the TVC 2050 Project to develop land surrounding the historic CBS Television City studios at Beverly Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. The project is expected to be completed prior to the 2028 Olympics, a spokesperson for the developer said. The unanimous city council vote on Jan. 7 on the Hackman Capital Partners modernization and expansion project sets the stage for the 1.7-million-square-foot development. It includes sound stages, production support and general office and retail uses. It retains 265,000 square feet of existing buildings on the historic,
52-year-old television studio property. The approved plan also requires that at least 150,000 square feet of the site’s proposed 1.7 million square feet remain dedicated to sound stages, production support and production
office space in perpetuity, and that general office space be prioritized for entertainment uses. The plan stipulates that a maximum of 500,000 square feet is permitted for office space. But uncertainty about the development proposal See TV City, P 14
Longtime Chronicle columnist Patty Hill dies in Mississippi
By Suzan Filipek Beloved longtime Larchmont Chronicle society columnist Anne Patricia (Patty) Hill has died. She was 70. Hill passed away on Aug. 16, 2024, at her home in Mississippi following a longtime illness, her husband, David Hill, told us.
Hill was named a Chronicle Woman of Larchmont in August 2012, shortly after she became president of the Ebell Club of Los Angeles. She first visited the historic women’s club 13 years before, when a friend invited her to a weekly luncheon. See Patty Hill, P 14
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