March 2009

Animal Samaritans Break Ground on New Vet Clinic

Staff Report

Thirty years in the making, Animal Samaritans SPCA breaks ground on a new veterinary clinic on Feb. 24 (National Spay Day USA) in Thousand Palms.

Horoscope - March 2009

By Sherryl Nova

Institutions that are so last century are crumbling. We are in a period of rapid change, much like the years 1961-1968. It will be up to the Aquarian agers (born in the ’60s) to lead us back to parity, as so long ago baby boomers led us to progress. And be nice to boomers. They’re well-meaning parents and grandparents who deserve respect for their contributions.

Wealth - Caveat Emptor

By Ellen Paris

That billionaire Mort Zuckerman could fall victim to Bernard Madoff leaves average investors shaking in their boots. Brian Shea, vice president and regional manager of Wells Fargo’s Wealth Management Group, knows this firsthand. “This has hit a vein here,” he says. “It’s no surprise that we’re hearing from local clients that know someone hit hard by Madoff. Your money must be well diversified. We talk about that all the time, but we’re seeing so many investors who gave Madoff practically everything.”

Wheels - Mercedes-Benz AMG SL65 Black Series

There’s little point in trying to explain the reason for the Mercedes-Benz AMG SL65 Black Series’ existence. One look at it shows you all you need to know. Its purpose: speed. Lots and lots of enormous, tire-smoking speed.

In Store - Worthy Complements

By Susan Stein

Jimmy Choo iridescent snakeskin sandal with gold heel from Saks Fifth Avenue at The Gardens on El Paseo in Palm Desert. Linen and silk handbag with flowers from Zense on El Paseo. Tourmaline and...

Galleries - March 2009

By Steven Biller

Matthew Carone took up painting in the 1940s after Hans Hoffman asked him to model in a class in which Carone’s brother Nicolas was a student. He has never stopped painting since that seminal experience in Abstract Expressionism. His newest work reveals many of his influences, especially Roberto Matta and Franz Klein. It departs from the musicians and mythological figures that populate some of his earlier paintings and uses a dynamic gestural vocabulary that’s confident, rich in color and texture, and charged with emotion.

PSST - From Rooms to Runway

By Janice Kleinschmidt

Scarlett O’Hara famously made a gown from drapes in Gone With the Wind. Coachella Valley interior designers will set about making their own fashion statements in a similar vein for a Fashion Week El Paseo fundraiser/competition organized by the Palm Springs/Inland Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.

PSST - Bling and Bubbles

By Janice Kleinschmidt

Tami Cimperman wanted to send party guests home with rhinestone-emblazoned glassware. To her dismay, she found none; and vendors told her rhinestones wouldn’t stay on glass anyway. “Oh, really?” she replied and then began experimenting with cases of glasses until she came upon a process that worked (sorry, it’s proprietary).

PSST - Words About Wine

By Janice Kleinschmidt

If the next best thing to partaking in something you’re passionate about is reading about it, then Peggy Meyer calls it as she sees it: “heaven.” The Palm Springs resident uses the word to describe a wine book club organized by Wild for the Vine and the Palm Springs Public Library. At its first meeting in January, Meyer sipped a Layer Cake cabernet while discussing Peter Mayle’s A Good Year, about a man who inherits a vineyard in France.

Psst - Bali Hai

Although she lives in Bali, fashion designer Nadya says that Asian and Western cultures influence her creations. She describes her inspiration as “cooking with leftovers,” as she uses fabrics and techniques that enhance each other and are sourced worldwide. She peppers one elegant jacket with antique French lace and handmade Balinese buttons.

PSST - Devoted to Dinah

By Janice Kleinschmidt

Jane Blalock, Julie Inkster, Sandra Palmer, Donna Caponi, Nancy Lopez, and Amy Alcott may be the names most Kraft Nabisco Championship fans recognize. But followers of the golf tournament should at least know Neil Golub’s face. The president/CEO of Price Chopper Supermarkets has played in the pro-am portion of the competition every year since the original Colgate Dinah Shore in 1972. He has been teamed with the aforementioned pros, as well as Dinah Shore — and won twice.

Intelligencer - March 2009

An avid racer, Steve McQueen did many of his own stunts in films such as LeMans, Bullitt, The Great Escape, and The Getaway. Apparently, he passed along some driving DNA to son Chad. A former race car driver and father of two children attending Marywood Palm Valley High School, Chad McQueen helped organize a safe-driving skills course for local teens.

Editor's Letter - Steven Biller

It was close. Fashion Week El Paseo — the fourth-year event that punctuates the style and elegance of the Coachella Valley’s world-class shopping destination — was teetering on cancellation when the City of Palm Desert, one of the event’s major sponsors, voted to significantly reduce its funding. Fortunately, better sense prevailed with tremendous support from El Paseo merchants who count on Fashion Week to help stimulate interest and sales — especially as both have waned with our collective economic strength. The city came around and many other sponsors stepped up, acknowledging the power of this destination event, which draws visitors from outside the desert and helps fill hotel beds, restaurants, and the area’s great attractions.

Auction Action

By Janice Kleinschmidt

In 2007, a Beverly Hills buyer paid $288,000 for 30 cases of 1986 Château Mouton-Rothschild ($800 per bottle) at a Christie’s wine auction. That year, Christie’s wine department tallied up global sales of $71,647,944.

Revisiting Modernism - Christopher Georgesco

A Desert Hot Springs artist sees his work as an extension of his architect father, architect Haralamb Georgescu

Poise and Passion

By Joel Drucker

Ana Ivanovic seeks a repeat performance as winner of the tennis tournament formerly known as the Pacific Life Open

Astonishing Andalusia

By Jan Silver Maguire

Andalusia at Coral Mountain in La Quinta provide an irresistible draw: remote enough to inspire country-style living yet only a 10-minute drive to shops and restaurants.

Extreme Know-Howe

An L.A. designer reveals hip young men’s fashions for spring. A classic Southern Californian who comes from a skateboard/surfboard culture, fashion designer Jade Howe calls his menswear “cowboy punk meets English country gentleman.”

Shooting Star

By Jorie Parr

Fashion Week El Paseo marquee designer Juan Carlos Obando follows the path to becoming one of America’s hottest couturiers.

Flights of Fantasy

As Juan Carlos Obando readies his couture collection for Fashion Week El Paseo, we dream of his intricately detailed gossamer fashions floating over the beautiful landscape of Andalusia at Coral Mountain