Mark Groubert

Credit: Kevin Scanlon

Addiction: Buying the Cure at Passages Malibu

Mark Groubert
Perched on a bluff above Pacific Coast Highway, Passages Malibu Addiction Cure Center looks more like a prefab movie set than a place to kick hard drugs. Near the entrance of the garish $23 million mansion stands a glass-enclosed gym filled with the latest high-tech equipment, on which men and......
Almost showtime: Sunset at the Vineland (Photo by Rena Kosnett)

The Last Drive-in

Mark Groubert
I had just bolted the Malibu Inn, where Kid Rock and wig-wearing thespian Jeremy Piven decided to storm the stage and ruin a showcase by some musician friends of mine, when I noticed the flickering of cinema lights across PCH about 20 yards away. I crossed the highway and came......

Bonds Over Chavez Ravine

Mark Groubert
It’s a stunning SoCal afternoon at Dodger Stadium, and just outside the ball-field gates near parking lot G, more than a hundred jabbering kids in full Little League uniforms jump around like it’s Christmas morning. Anxious parents snap photos, some of the kids play catch, and the unseen presence of......