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CRA News November 2001
Selected articles from the newsletter of the Carmel Residents Association
Howard Skidmore with one of the
famous people who have met him.
Tales
of the famous (not all compliments)
will be told at meeting
| Thursday, November 15 -- CRA Meeting | |
| 4:45 p.m. -- Howard Skidmore: "Famous
People Who Have Met Me" Vista Lobos Meeting Room, Torres between 3rd & 4th Following the meeting, delicious hot and cold hors d'oeuvres |
|
"Famous People Who Have Met Me" ... Scandalous stories about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Bing Crosby and Richard Nixon ... and heartfelt tales of Harry Truman, Ike and Mamie, Bob Hope, Nikita Khrushchev and many others.
Howard Skidmore, one of the CRA's own, has agreed to speak at the Nov. 15 meeting. (A week early because of Thanksgiving) As a favor to CRA, Howard has agreed to waive his speaking fee of $10,000. Not that he was ever paid that amount, he says. But then he never asked. The former newsman and corporate public affairs officer has spoken to audiences in many places. Locally, he addressed Gentrain at MPC, The Group at Spanish Bay and the SIRS chapter at Rancho Cañada.
How did he meet so many of the world's famous? It started at the New York Herald Tribune, where he met the most important "celebrity" in his life, Zaza Irina O'Hara, the radio/TV editor, now Mrs. Howard Skidmore. Her mixed French-Russian, Irish-American name tickled both Walter Winchell and Ed Sullivan, and both put it in their columns. The young reporter interviewed a playwright just a year older than himself, Arthur Miller, whose All My Sons became the movie Death of a Salesman. As a night rewriteman, Howard sat in the chair that had earlier been occupied by John O'Hara, the novelist. However, nothing rubbed off, Howard found he couldn't write fiction.
A railroad and movie tycoon much in the news at the time lured Howard away from the newspaper, temporarily, he thought. Suddenly, he was transported across town to the 45th floor of the Chrysler Building, with a private office and secretary. Travel was by limousine and private railroad car to luxury hotel suites. He didn't mind the change at all. And now he really began to meet some of the world's mighty--and others who were magical personalities.
Howard is a CRA board member and also, for five years, has been master of ceremonies, introducing the honoree, at the CRA's Citizen of the Year Celebration.
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The "quality of our village
life" Your editor recently
came across an editorial written in 1958 by the late Col. Allen
Griffin, founder and publisher of the Monterey Peninsula
Herald, in which he philosophized about the "trademark" qualities
of our area--
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COUNCIL
NOTES
The historic preservation tide may be turning
Although no votes were taken at an Oct. 23 City Council workshop on
historic preservation, there seemed to be a shift in attitudes. The
Draft General Plan Historic Preservation Element and Ordinance
under discussion were based upon direction given to staff by the council
last January and, as described by Suzanne Paboojian, really only
protected six already-identified properties, merely "paying lip service
to historic preservation."
The planning staff, after consultations with Knox Mellon of the
State Office of Historic Preservation, and with city consultants Robert
Chattel, recommended by Mellon, and Bill Sugaya, of Carey
& Co., made a series of recommended changes to policies in the element,
which would strengthen the overall program. Mayor Sue McCloud
stepped down from the discussion because her house is on a list of historic
city properties. In general, Councilman Dick Ely and Councilwoman
Paula Hazdovac agreed with the proposed changes. Councilwoman
Barbara Livingston had already been in favor of them. Only Councilman
Gerard Rose remained resolute for doing the minimum to protect
historic resources.
One of the changes agreed to by Ely, Hazdovac and Livingston was removal
of criteria that to be historic a building must be the "first, best
or last" example of a style of architecture, etc., effectively ensuring
that few additional resources would ever be identified. Mr. Rose said
he "likes first, best and last" and that if you didn't have strict guidelines
such as this you would have "historicity hell." Another change supported
by Ely, Hazdovac and Livingston was to include language in the element
recognizing the possibility of historic districts in Carmel. Dick Ely
said "I was previously against historic districts but have changed my
mind." All four councilmembers agreed to more flexibility in eliminating
the rigid 50-year benchmark for qualification as a historic resource.
The crux of historic preservation is whether it should be voluntary
or mandatory. Acting Planning Director Chip Rehrig said
that, in his opinion, the city doesn't have a chance under state law
to get by with the voluntary program it has put together. Ely, Rose
and Hazdovac wanted the program to remain voluntary and Barbara Livingston
agreed with staff that it would only work if it were mandatory.
Melanie Billig suggested that general plan elements should be
visionary, setting out long-range goals. Instead, she felt that as written
the element read more like an ordinance, making historic preservation
sound like a burden rather than a "partnership in support of cultural
stewardship." She was supportive of staff's recommended changes.
Consultant Kent Seavey, who has done a recent survey of historic
Carmel properties, pointed out that a historic designation almost always
increases property values. In fact, he said, there are places where
having a historic plaque on a house has increased the property value
by a million dollars!
Final adoption of the Historic Preservation Element and Ordinance
will be on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 5 p.m. when the City Council will review
and adopt the entire Local Coastal Plan.
Schedule
for Historic Preservation EIR
| Comment Period: | September 7 to October 22 | ||
| City Council Study Session: | October 23, 5 p.m. | ||
| Historic Preservation Committee Review: | November 19 | ||
| Planning Commission Review: | November 21 | ||
| City Council Certification: | December 6 |
The EIR is available
for around $7.50 at Copies by the Sea, Dolores at 5th.
President's Message
by Monte Miller, President, Carmel Residents Association
Ask not what your organization can do
for you, but what you can do for your organization (to paraphrase a familiar
saying). So first let me cover some of what the Carmel Residents Association
is doing for you and then I will discuss what you can do for CRA.
Your CRA Board meets monthly. We discuss items which are on the agenda
for the next City Council meeting. If there are critical issues, our executive
committee may have met earlier to determine specific actions. These actions
could include getting advance board approval for handouts at the post
office or preparing positions for speakers at the council meeting. When
appropriate, we authorize speakers such as Jim Wright, Melanie
Billig or Anne Bell to represent the board. We also discuss
progress on long-term issues such as those included in the recent membership
issues poll as well as new topics.
We discuss what occurred at past council and commission meetings that
are of interest to CRA. Program chair Melanie Billig, who has brought
us some excellent programs, discusses plans for future speakers. Our hospitality
vice president, Laurel Whorf, keeps us current on the status of
the December 3rd party at La Playa and on other coming events. Linda
Anderson, editor of our newsletter and web page, briefs us on those
activities. We also have a short business session covering our financial
and membership status and discuss non-agenda items such as letters, e-mails
or phone calls from members with views on current issues or proposals
for new subjects to study. In addition to the board meetings, we have
general meetings with speakers on important local issues -- occasionally
on lighter topics. We also attend special meetings such as the Coastal
Commission or other county events that impact Carmel.
Monthly coffees inaugurated for new members have proven very enjoyable.
We include representatives from our board and general membership, many
of whom are active on city commissions and committees. New members are
given a packet of CRA information, volunteer opportunities, social calendar
and schedules of important events.
Now for what you can do for CRA. I think that the most important thing
members can do is to attend our city government meetings. We need to show
the council that we are interested in how the city does business and how
critical documents such as the coastal plan, historic preservation ordinance
and associated environmental reviews are handled. It is important that
members attend and express their views on these issues, as they will have
a profound effect on Carmel. The Planning Commission is making decisions
on what our residential and commercial areas will look like. They need
concerned citizens reviewing their agenda and offering suggestions such
as how to deal with the many small, single-story cottages being demolished
and replaced by "starter castles."
Every year when you pay your annual dues you are given the opportunity
to volunteer for various CRA activities, including our monthly beach cleanup,
helping with refreshments for general meetings or passing out handouts
and newsletters at the post office. We welcome your support. Thanks for
all you are doing.
After a decade of
planning--
ground is broken at Sunset Center !
From
left: As Brian Donoghue, Director of Sunset Center looked on, Ken White,
Bill Doolittle and Sue McCloud, complete with hardhats and gold shovels,
officially “broke ground” for the Sunset Center Project.
After two failed tries
at renovating Sunset Center in the 70's and 80's, and years of discussing
the need for a renovation, the Community and Cultural Commission, with
assistance from Director of Sunset Center Brian Donoghue, received
permission in 1992 from the City Council, under Mayor Jean Grace,
to form a task force to begin the process. Under Mayor Ken White,
$30,000 was allocated for a design study, and the seeds of a project
were sown.
A nonprofit foundation formed solely to raise funds for this project,
Sunset Center for the Arts ("the Arts"), under the able direction of
Bill Doolittle and his indefatigable wife, Nancy, has
raised $11.65 million. According to Bill Doolittle, this amount was
donated by 900 individuals, businesses and foundations. When bids came
in higher than expected, the city was able to extend its bond issue
from $5 to $10 million and "The Arts" agreed to raise an additional
million dollars for the $21 million renovation. In addition, the city
is applying for a grant from the state for "urban recreational and cultural
centers" from the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and
Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000.
Throughout the planning phase of this project, the Sunset Center Building
Committee, with representatives from the city and "the Arts," has met,
often weekly, to put together this complicated project.
On a sunny October morning, surrounded by project architects Bruce
Judd and Aaron Hyland and Hans Roebbelen of Roebbelen
Construction and his project manager Ken Wenham, Mayor Sue
McCloud, Bill Doolittle, chair of Sunset Center for the Arts and
Ken White donned hardhats, lifted symbolic gold shovels and officially
broke ground for the project. Ken White quipped that this project proves
that "Carmel works at lightening speed," and Mayor McCloud read from
the podium a message written a few years ago by performer Christopher
Plummer, "... and for God's sake, get yourselves a new theater!" Well,
Christopher Plummer, your wish is coming true. There will be
a new theater!
The city's annual tree
lighting festivities will be Friday, Nov. 30. Children's games will
begin at 4 p.m. and the program begins at 5 p.m. As always, there will
be music, Santa and delicious cookies and hot cider from the Red Cross.
The median lights will be strung on Monday, Nov. 26, at 7 a.m. and removed
on Monday, January 8. If you are interested in joining early-rising
CBA and CRA members in decorating along Ocean Ave., please call CRA
President Monte Miller at 620-0532.
Beach Cleanup
Saturday, November
17
10 a.m. - noon
* Volunteers meet at
foot of Ocean Avenue
* Please bring gloves
* Coffee and pastries served courtesy of Caffe Cardinale and
Carmel Bakery
(Please note that this month's cleanup is on the third rather than
fourth Saturday because of Thanksgiving.)
CRA loses one of its guiding lights
The organization was founded in Jane Mayer's living
room!
Founding member of CRA
and longtime Carmel community activist Jane Mayer died on Sunday,
Oct. 14. She moved in 1951 to Carmel where she raised her sons, Dicken
and Rock Scully. Long concerned with the rapid growth of tourism
and the changing face and spirit of Carmel, she was a member of the
Carmel General Plan Committee under Mayor Townsend, a member of the
Historic Preservation Committee and a board member of the Cherry Foundation.
A tireless advocate for the conservation of Carmel's unique character,
Jane, in 1987, helped organize a number of citizens who were deeply
concerned by actions of the Eastwood City Council and the proposed weakening
of Carmel's General Plan. This group first met in her Junipero Avenue
home ... and the Carmel Residents Association was born. Jane served
several terms on the board of the organization.
A familiar face at the podium of City Council and Planning Commission
meetings, Jane was consistent in reminding public officials of the importance
of protecting this beautiful village with her always-prepared, intelligent
and reasoned testimony. One exception was her explosive reaction to
finding that the city's Magna Carta had been removed from the
wall behind the City Council dais to make room for a newly-acquired,
framed city seal. Needless to say, officials quickly decided that both
could fit together on the wall--and so they remain today.
Jane and her husband, the distinguished writer, journalist and lecturer
Milton S. Mayer, co-produced the Voices of Europe radio broadcasts,
conducting interviews throughout Europe, and for many years led Great
Books Discussion Seminars in both Europe and America on university campuses
as well as in Carmel. Milton Mayer died in 1986.
A memorial contribution from Barbara Livingston to the Carmel
Residents Association in memory of Jane included this comment: "As one
of the founders of the Carmel Residents Association, Jane was an incredible
influence on our community. Her bright enthusiastic spirit and deep
abiding love and respect for this village will continue to be an inspiration
to all of us who knew her."
When a tree is injured or destroyed
by Suzanne Paboojian
Trees are well loved in our country and protected by its laws. Consider Thomas Paine's reference to the Liberty Tree, Connecticut's Charter Oak, Georgia's Pine and California's Redwood. This love, so natural and untaught, is protected by common law, as well as the laws of most states, not without exception in California.A tree whose trunk stands wholly on the land of one landowner belongs to that landowner. When a tree is damaged, the landowner suffers harm, including the loss of the tree, and the expenses included in such loss, as well as a loss to the value of his/her property. Such damage can be caused not only by chopping down someone else's tree, but also by damaging its health.
While a neighbor has the right to prune overhanging branches and limbs, as well as remove tree roots which encroach on his/her property, if such branch or limb trimming or root removal damages the health of the tree, then the neighbor is liable for damages to the tree owner. Damages may be double or triple the amount of the actual damages depending upon the intent of the chopper, i.e. negligent or intentional. (Civil Code §3346.) Damages include loss of the value of the property. Consider the effect on property value from the loss of an ancient Cypress tree.
Neighbors will often give a warning to a tree owner that harm is on its way. Pay attention to the warning signals and do something about it. Otherwise, you may have a barren spot on your property, and no amount of monetary damages can replace a well-loved tree.
Of course, unsound trees that threaten a neighboring property are not under the same legal protection as healthy trees, and are the responsibility of the tree owner. If a dead tree is about to fall, a neighbor can even enter an owner's property to prevent harm. Nevertheless, it is always best to first contact the tree owner if you suspect the tree or a limb is in danger of falling before going onto another's property to exercise a self-help remedy. Proof that the tree is dangerous in the form of a certified arborist's opinion is important, as well as a written request to the tree owner to either trim or remove the tree.
This information is generalized. You should consult the Carmel Forest and Beach Department and your legal advisor for circumstances specific to your situation. Suzanne Paboojian is a licensed Attorney and Realtor.
The Bells are ringing
a friendly message to CRA members
by Howard Skidmore
Catherine and Jim
Bell are not related to Alexander Graham Bell, as far as Jim knows,
but they are in the same line of work, so to speak. The gracious and outgoing
Bells are in charge of the CRA's telephone tree. That's the vital communications
network which keeps the members informed and feeling part of a vibrant
organization.
Catherine knows the value of friendly outreach to members. Her family
has been part of Carmel for three generations, and she and Jim joined
the residents' association five years ago out of a sense of duty, but
did not participate. Then, says Catherine, the friendly voice of caller
Lou Ungaretti, describing CRA meetings and events, got them active.
And active they are. Each month the Bells send out a letter to their crew
of telephoners outlining points to make in their calls.
The nerve center of this vital activity is the Bells' 1928 cottage, Hilltop
House, on Mission, 3rd northeast of Eighth. The Carmel Ballet Academy
is next door--there's music in the air--and the Scout House, where the
CRA's Citizen of the Year Celebration is held, is a few steps away.
David and Faye Goddard, Catherine's parents, bought the
house in 1938 as a second home, his maritime duties over the years making
living in other places necessary. Catherine remembers first visiting there
as a youngster when her grandmother Ella Goddard was in residence.
The house is distinctive, sitting high on a bluff. The well-known mystery
movie had 39 steps down. This cottage has 29 steps up to the front door.
The Bells are now working on alterations, partly to ease the passage of
Jim's six-foot eight-inch frame through the setting.
Jim (Dr. James A. Bell, to give him his due), does his Carmel duties in
breaks from his life's calling. He is Professor of Philosophy at the University
of South Florida, in Tampa. His daunting schedule is ten days in Florida
and then four days in Carmel, with airline commutes between. Fortunately,
he is now phasing into retirement, and travels only during the fall semester.
The Bells have the support in their endeavors of the part-time third member
of the household, grandson Shawn, age 13, a Carmel Middle School student.
He is already a five-year veteran of the CRA's monthly cleanup of Carmel
Beach. Catherine and Jim also turn out for that soul-satisfying duty.
Catherine is a native Californian, with a rather distinctive birthplace.
She was the only baby in the medical center on Catalina Island when it
was a naval base during World War II. Her father, a graduate of the California
Maritime Academy, went on to become captain of an oil tanker and then
harbor pilot in Tampa Bay. Catherine was in the first graduating class
at the University of South Florida. Despite her years of Florida residence,
she says, her father used to tell her she was "A Daughter of the Golden
West," and she has always felt a tie to the state. Jim took her to Catalina
Island last year, and it was a moving experience.
Jim, whose father was an oil company executive, was born in Maryland and
grew up near Portland, Oregon. During his years at Dartmouth, where he
studied science and languages, he had his own moving experience. Laid
up in the infirmary with a basketball injury, his ward companion was Robert
Frost, a Dartmouth alumnus. Jim doesn't remember the aged Frost talking
about poetry so much as getting to know his young friend.
For further study, Jim went on to Boston University, for the MA and PhD
degrees, and then to universities in Strasbourg, France, and Mannheim,
Germany. He won attention as a member of Strasbourg's professional basketball
team. Appointment at the University of South Florida followed in 1974.
His book, Reconstructing Prehistory, Scientific Method in Archeology,
has been published by Temple University Press.
Catherine and Jim met at a 10k running race, and later married. Along
with his bride, Jim inherited her two daughters, Cristin and Laura.
In 1997 Jim was on sabbatical, the family visited the Carmel home and
decided they wanted to stay. So Jim became a commuter, at least for awhile.
Besides their CRA activities, the couple are on the board of the Carmel
Cottage Society and are members of the Preservation Foundation and the
St. Bernards. They take advantage of the area's natural wonders, visiting
Point Lobos State Reserve often and going camping with Shawn. Daughter
Cristin and husband Gregory, when visiting from Colorado, join in the
outdoor activities. Cristin ran in the Big Sur Marathon last year. Daughter
Laura, Shawn's mother, is a midwife living in Pacific Grove. Says Catherine,
"We believe in small houses and keeping the flavor of communities. If
a house is a good example, keep it. And renovate with integrity."
After Jim retires, the Bells say they look forward to being even more
active in CRA and other groups. More active?
Remember that your City Council is on T.V.
City Council meetings
are taped and re-broadcast
Sundays, 8 a.m. - 12 noon on
KMST Channel 26
