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Calabasas Library Summer Programs

Summertime is a great time to take advantage of some of the programs at the Calabasas Library

By: Barbara Lipkin

For those under 3 and the 3-5 age group, there is Pumpkin Patch story time.  The children’s librarian reads, sings, & entertains the children during the 1/2 hour story time. For preschoolers, there is Nicole Tibbetts on Friday, August 6th at 11 AM.. Listen to the stories from the Land of Imagination.

There are special events for elementary school students on Wednesdays at 4 PM. Some of the remaining shows include meeting some of the animals of the rainforest, swordplay with a fencing performing and learning the history of the Medieval era, a magic show with Jeff Fredriksen & others. There is a special event on Sunday, August 15 at 6pm in the amphitheater with Juggler David Cousin. No tickets are necessary but seating is limited.

All this close by for all to enjoy. Let us support the Calabasas Library by attending events. Another way to show support is to join the Friends of the Calabasas Library, a volunteer group of citizens that work with the library to raise funds and sponsor programs to enhance library service throughout the community. The Friends of the Calabasas Library has purchased a pair of passes to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. These passes are to be shared by all Calabasas Library cardholders. Each pass admits one adult and can be used at LACMA only. In order to borrow a pass you must sign a form and make a reservation at the circulation desk in the Calabasas Library. For more information, please come into the library and ask at the circulation desk.

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Tags: Barbara Lipkin, Calabasas, calabasas library

An American in Chile

By: Barbara Lipkin

We were on the ocean when the earthquake hit.  By 7:30 AM on Feb. 27th, CNN had announced that an 8.8 earthquake had hit Concepcion & Constitution, Chile.  The phone line and fax lines were down.  There was a power outage in Santiago.  No one knew what to expect.  We have lived through two major earthquakes here in Southern California, but none were the magnitude of 8.8.  We pictured the capital of Santiago in rubble & the hills collapsed in Valpariaso.

We sailed on not knowing what we would encounter.  Fortunately, the damage was not as great as feared.  There were several docks damaged in

Valparaiso.  The ship docked to allow passengers off & then returned to anchor in the harbor for the next 4 days.

Valparaiso is compared to San Francisco.  It is a city of hills with structures hanging on to the edges.  Many of the government buildings near the harbor were damaged.  We could see chunks of concrete laying on the streets as people worked to remove them.  What surprised us was that the homes on the hills did not appear to be damaged.   Pedro Neruda, the Nobel prize winning Chilean writer & poet, had a home in the hills.  It was taped off.

Continuing along the coast to Vina del Mar, the upscale Miami Beach/Malibu resort area, there appeared to be little damage.  What we learned later is that although the exterior appeared undamaged, the interior was often quite damaged.  We were limited in

where we could eat since many restaurants & homes did have water. There had been a major music festival due to end the night of Feb. 27th which was obviously canceled.  It also was the end of summer vacation for school children, and the families staying in Vina emptied out quickly to make sure their homes and loved ones elsewhere were unharmed.  We saw that the best beach, which is usually packed,  was completely empty.  It was like a ghost town.

Between Valparaiso & Santiago lay the wine region of the Casablanca Valley.  Vineyards throughout were closed having sustained earthquake damage. This area is about 300 miles north of Concepcion.

Santiago is the largest city in Chile with a population of 6.5 million people.  When we arrived we saw the large squares filled

with young people sorting earthquake donations.  When  we approached any supermarket in the city (they are all small), young people in red tee shirts were requesting we purchase certain foods for donations.  The people of Santiago were actively working to help the quake victims with more collection areas as we traversed the city.  Unfortunately, my high school Spanish did not allow me to completely understand the updates on television as there were no English stations or newspapers covering the situation.  Aftershocks in the 6 range were not uncommon.

There are many high rises in Santiago. Hotel rooms were at a shortage.  Not only because the airport was closed & people could not leave, but they did not want to rent rooms above the 15th floor due to lack of electricity.

The political system was stressed as March 11th was the inauguration of the new president.  Both the outgoing & incoming presidents worked together to deal with the situation.

The airport had been heavily damaged, particularly the terminal & two glass elevators.  As a result, it was closed immediately.  LAN Airlines, the Chilean airlines, had an office around the corner from our hotel.  The line often was 5 hours long as people tried to leave Santiago & either go to other cities in Chile or out of the country.  No one had answers.  Unfortunately, Chile does not have a rail system.  In the 1980’s, due to corruption, the rail system collapsed.  The only way to leave was car, bus, or plane.  Many roads were damaged. A number of visitors took the bus to Mendoza crossing the border from Chile to Argentina & hoping to catch a flight to Buenos Aires or Montivede, Uruguay.  That trip of 10-11 hours did not always result in success.  On Monday, March 1st, the American embassy urged American citizens not to try the route.  The flights from Buenos Aires backed up, but travelers could not fly to Sao Paolo, Brazil unless they held Brazilian visas.  It was mass confusion.

We were fortunately that our daughter at home was in communication with American Airlines since no one here could get through.  We finally walked to an American Airlines office on Wed., March 2nd and were hopeful flights would resume.  They did resume on Thursday & we flew out on Friday.

The airport was an amazing experience.  With the terminal damaged, we could not be dropped off in front.  We walked a short distance to a line which zigzagged by the tents that were set up..We were fortunate since a few days before, it was necessary to walk almost one mile pushing or pulling your luggage.  Once we were in line, it was amazing how organized it was.  We went through check-in and security as needed.  We had obtained our boarding passes that morning at the airline office in Santiago.  The part of the terminal that was undamaged was also without air conditioning (Summer in Chile-in the 90’s), but we were grateful to be nearing our stay.  At boarding time, we went to a lower level, had a full body search, and then took shuttles out to the plane.

Although it was a great tragedy for this wonderful country and its people, we realized that things do not always go as planned, and part of traveling is learning to be flexible.

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.

Tags: Barbara Lipkin, Calabasas Homes, Hidden Hills homes

Ron Tudor’s Hidden Hills Home

25085 Ashley Ridge Road Hidden Hills, CA 91302

By: Barbara Lipkin

Ron Tudor, known for his infamous construction projects under Tutor-Saliba, has his $18.9 million home for sale in Hidden Hills.  The listing agent is Tracy T. Maltas.

With 7 bedrooms in the main house, 2 full staff apartmentss, a private guest quarters, a lake, a gorgeous ballroom with full bar, an arcade, tennis court, wine cellar, and more. This house is for a true entertainer.

Tags: Barbara Lipkin, Ron Tudor's house in Hidden Hills, Tutor-Saliba