BEVERLY HILLS
About 1,300 patrons were forced to evacuate Beverly Center in an incident involving a possible bomb. Police say a man had parked his car at the bustling shopping mall and when he returned found that the vehicle had been moved, and more importantly, a briefcase he had left in the car had been moved within the vehicle. Police decided to take no chances, so they evacuated the mall and used a robot to retrieve the suspicious package from the car and blow it up. The briefcase contained no explosives. The owner of the car was concerned because he had been involved in a dispute with another man, who he claimed might want to use a bomb.
BRENTWOOD
Actor Jensen Ackles has sold his elegant Brentwood home for $3 million. The star of “Supernatural†is leaving a Mediterranean-style home that was built in 1947 and features 3,554 square feet of living space on a third of an acre in a walled site. The home, which had recently been renovated, has high ceilings, a loft library, three bedrooms and three bathrooms. It also has a 900-square-foot guesthouse.
The Getty Museum has instituted new rules that will allow visitors to come to the Getty Center in Brentwood and the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades on the same day and pay once for parking. Parking at either location previously cost $15. If visitors want to visit both sites on a single day, under the old rules, they would pay another $15 to park in the other site, also. The new plan calls for drivers to pay $15 once, for which they will receive a coupon that is good for parking at the other site, if the visit takes place on the same day.
Actor Malachi Throne has died of lung cancer at his home in Brentwood. The 84-year-old character actor was probably best known as Robert Wagner’s boss Noah Bain in the television spy series “It Takes A Thief,†which aired in the late 1960s. Throne’s wife, Marjorie, said her husband also appeared in several episodes of “Star Trek,†and portrayed the villainous False Face on an episode of “Batman†in 1966.
Jerry Perenchio, former head of Univision, Brad Freeman and his venture capitalist partner, Ron Spogli and Wayne Hughes, head of Public Storage, are getting together to boost the political aspirations of George Bush. In this case it’s George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the nephew and grandson of former presidents, and he’s coming to California to raise cash for his run for Texas land commissioner. The backers are hosting a $10,000 per couple fundraising dinner in May at Freeman’s Brentwood home.
PACIFIC PALISADES
A landslide closed the northbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway for most of March 20 in Pacific Palisades. Traffic was backed up for miles at one point after the landslide allowed tons of dirt to spill on the busy highway, north of Temescal and south of the driveway into Tahitian Terrace mobile home park. Part of the problem dealt with the fact that the landslide undercut a tall tree, which threatened to fall onto some power lines. Power did actually get cut off to a few dozen people while engineers dealt with the landslide.
Larry David would be the first to tell you. His home in Pacific Palisades is not listed for $15 million. The comedian’s residence is listed for $14.999 million. The 1950-vintage home has 10,000 square feet of living space that includes seven bedrooms and ten bathrooms, an office, gym and playroom. The property also has a guesthouse.
SANTA MONICA
There are now only two movie theaters open to the public on the Third Street Promenade. The 1,500-seat AMC Criterion 6 is being converted to retail space, though the owners of the property declined to identify the new residents of the property. AMC Theaters issued a statement saying that the property is being converted because of low numbers of people attending movies at the AMC Criterion 6.
Robert Redford may have an office in Santa Monica, but that doesn’t mean he likes it here. The Oscar-winning actor used an interview in this month’s edition of Esquire Magazine to decry the population and business boom that has occurred in the once sleepy Southern California coastal town. Redford was born in Santa Monica in 1936.
VENICE
The known and the not-so-well-known architects who have made contributions to the Los Angeles skyline will be featured in “A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture From Southern California,†the Getty’s initiative Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A., starting in April and continuing into the summer. One of the sites being featured is the former Gagosian gallery apartments in Venice, which were designed by Robert Mangurian and Craig Hodgetts.
MARINA DEL REY
Linda Buskey LeBanc’s online book “The Stress To Success Factor,†compiled with 18 co-authors, is making its first charitable donation to Habitat for Humanity-Honolulu. The publication is a self-help guide to personal development that was launched in Marina del Rey Feb. 6 with the mission to provide a portion of its proceeds to charity.
MALIBU
At least 50 million people tuned in to view at least one episode of the 10-hour History Channel miniseries “The Bible,†which featured the acting talents of actress Roma Downey, who also produced the epic with her husband Mark Burnett. The Malibu residents and television mainstays say the $22-million, five episode project was undertaken at least in part due to their enduring faith in the bible.
