Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 334
Dear Editor, I have to agree with Mr Z. I am getting really tired of our elected officials calling our excellent police department racist. It sickens me the way that they have highjacked that word to push their radical agenda. Further, I found Mr Sarabia’s report absolutely biased and to liken police departments in the USA to slave catchers etc is incendiary, childish and unprofessional. This is the effect of Critical Race Theory being taught as fact in schools when it’s as factually based as...
To the Editor: In a letter published in the Observer (Jan. 7 – 13, 2021) Will Swaim makes the rather absurd claim that public employee unions “are by far the most powerful and lavishly overfunded political actors in California.” That dubious distinction goes to the oil and gas industry. The top lobbying clients nationally and in the state of California in the oil and gas industry are Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries Royal Dutch Shell, and the American Petroleum Institute. More illog...
Dear Editor, Take this pop quiz: What do Governor Gavin Newsom, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo have in common? Not one of them has missed a paycheck – even as they demand the closure of small businesses. Everyone has dismissed the concerns of constituents who are crushed by government-ordered lockdowns. And every one has been caught flouting the rules they impose on the rest of us. C...
Dear Stephen, When I was growing up, Christmas Eve always had a singular sense of the sacred. My grandparents, who were Italian immigrants, spent the evening cooking and setting up their large nativity scene. A sense of holy anticipation seemed to fill every space in our home, as did the intoxicating scent of my grandmother’s sauce. That memory has been so sustaining for me as we moved through the last days of Advent. With so much fear, uncertainty and isolation swirling around us, this has been...
DEAR EDITOR,, On a Saturday morning, during the month October 2020; more than 80 cars are lined up on the streets adjacent to a medical office building in Culver City, California. It is noted that the lines are moving slowly. Some cars have additional passengers whereas some are occupied by the driver only. Residents from the nearby apartments are out on their patios and some are looking through their windows wondering what is going on in their neighborhood. One lady shouts to an employee “Is t...
As parents and grandparents we want and need to do everything possible to keep our family safe. Halloween is and always has been my favorite holiday. BUT this year due to the pandemic things are different and we have to act accordingly. SADLY THAT MEANS NOT GOING OUT TRICK-OR-TREATING THIS YEAR. Try making a fun alternative activity for your children. Have your costumed children have a scavenger hunt with clues to find candy. Make a piñata and break it open. Hide candy (like an Easter egg...
Dear Editor What many in our community have found out since progressive majorities were put onto the local city council and school board, is that even if candidates can pass voters’ litmus-tests on political and social issues, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee those candidates will make good financial stewards for our city or school district. This election, though, voters have a chance to review the past record of one such school board member: Kelly Kent. Dr Kent has been on the board for the...
By Ron Bassilian, president of Protect Culver City Shortly after midnight on June 25 2019, Councilmembers laid bare their plans to phase in rent control. At that late hour, a number of us gathered outside Council chambers, determined something must be done. That was the genesis of Protect Culver City. What should concern everybody is: nobody had run on this issue. Now, they were now fully obeying the demands of some obscure group nobody had heard of. It followed their infamous inauguration - a...
Re: Realignment of City Budget due to COVID-19 Shutdown and Losses in Revenue In light of the pandemic and its devastating impacts at all levels of society, the Culver City Coalition for Fiscal Responsibility (CCCFR), on behalf of local residents, tenants, business operators and housing providers, call upon our city leaders to expeditiously reevaluate funding priorities. With the city’s recent declaration of a Fiscal Emergency, which has been further exacerbated by a shutdown-induced d...
Dear Editor, We all grew up in Culver City and we graduated from Culver City High school in the past five years. Now, as adults and part of the Culver City community, we look forward to and expect Culver City Unified School District to thrive for many years to come. Scott Zeidman is the perfect candidate for the Culver City Board of Education. Scott is not only exceedingly caring and responsible, but he constantly has stressed academics to all of us. Culver City High School alumni Matthew...
As local property owners, we have enough worries about our own properties. We shouldn’t have to worry about how much our homes’ equity has grown in market value. For most of us, the more our property grows in value, the better our retirement. Right? If local property owners do not vote down the city council’s proposed higher transfer tax rates, then, we will have to worry about how much our property’s worth has grown over the years. Because, when we decide to cash in, we will have to pay mor...
Dear Editor, These are the ecomments I submitted to the city council regarding Action Item a last Monday evening, 8-17-120: "Honorable Mayor, vice mayor and members of the council. Given that permanent rent control program in Culver City is a virtual fait accompli, I’d like to address two issues which still may be considered and accommodated. One is a provision, which the city of Los Angeles has, to give some further rent cap relief to owners who provide all the utilities to their rentals. I hav...
Last night city council deliberated on the task force to "reimagine public safety". This drew out the usual "defund the police" crowd. Rather than have a bunch of us speak at the meeting and draw it out, we decided to have one person speak on behalf of all of us. Keith Jones gave our statement last night on defending CCPD. Transcript: Good Evening Mayor Eriksson, Members of the Council & City Clerk Jeremy Green, My name is Keith Jones, I am speaking tonight on agenda item A-2 on behalf of...
By Maryann Gray I am a Santa Monica resident who lives near the Brentwood Urgent Care center, which is on 26th Street just north of Wilshire (1156 26th). In recent weeks, Brentwood Urgent Care has started offering COVID-19 testing. Testing is important, but a large number of people waiting for their tests, some of whom are surely COVID positive, congregate outside the Center, blocking the sidewalk. Even if they lined up neatly, the sidewalk is less than 6 feet wide in that location, which makes...
Dear Councilmember, I am writing to express my disapproval of what appears to be a reflexive action to consider reducing the budget of our police dept based on the recent unrest surrounding the senseless killing of George Floyd and other Black males at the hands of law enforcement. As an African-American male who has lived in Culver City for over 30 years, I believe I bring another perspective compared to my progressive friends/acquaintances, most of which happen to be white, now (some)...
Dear Editor, It's complete nonsense to say it is not safe to go to the beach! It's a well known fact that breathing ocean breeze sea air and taking in vitamin D rich sun rays has more health benefits than being cooped up in dark room with stale air. Most beach goers practice social distancing in our wide open beaches anyway. Governor Newsom's order closing our beaches is capricious and ridiculous! Since politicians can illegally declare that California is a Sanctuary for illegal aliens, why...
Dear Editor, I write in response to the various COVID-19 articles published in the Observer recently to insist that a Health and Science section be added to your newspaper. As a public health graduate student, I am pleased to see the extensive reporting of COVID-19 cases and testing efforts, but more coverage is needed regarding how the pandemic is impacting other aspects of resident’s health. How are residents safely filling prescriptions and receiving other necessary medical care? How is m...
Dear Editor, I sent the following to Culver City's City Manager John Nachbar regarding his Public Order dated March 27, 2020, which in essence puts the onerous on landlords to assume a financial burden if a tenant is unable to pay rent due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Dear Mr. Nachbar, I read your Public Order dated March 27, 2020 and I understand the need for tenant protection during this pandemic and for the most part I support the Order. However, there is one item in the Order I believe needs...
Dear Editor: Following up on the recent letter by Madeline Bernstein, President spcaLA, “In time of uncertainty, spcaLA is essential”, I would like to add information for those residents who love their pets but are experiencing financial problems during this time of the COVID-19 crisis. As the Director of Friends of Culver City Animals and a District Leader (District 37) for The Humane Society of the United States, I am in receipt of an extensive list of national and state resources for pet own...
Dear City Manager, Council Members, Chief Bixby, I was shocked to see the school open till Friday late afternoon, as I was shocked to see Most of you mishandling cases and make residents come to City Hall as you were not responding to e-mails, calls, and calls. Your delayed response or your unprofessional handling of known cases isn't helping me as resident to be safe and to promote healthy lifestyle. Can you please listen to valid concerns about the homeless and other stuff? Selam Alem Culver...
Culver City Businesses and Residents, The purpose of this letter is to address the pending decision which will be made by our Culver City Council members regarding the purchase of an Emergency Rescue Vehicle. An Emergency Rescue Vehicle (ERV) is an armored vehicle (commonly referred to as a "Bearcat") which can hold up to a dozen people, while protecting those inside from different types of firearms including high powered rifles. This type of vehicle is currently utilized by police departments...
Dear City Council Members and City Clerk: I am a Culver City gardener, a long-term Culver City resident and business owner. On behalf of my fellow gardeners and potential members we implore you to maintain and work with us to find a new location if necessary. Community gardens are vital part of urban life. Our garden members are renters, condominium owners, seniors, families and people with disabilities. The benefits community gardens provide are abundant. We urge you to provide more time...
There is no evidence that any resident of Culver City is homeless and living on the streets of Culver City. Let us end this facade by taking the follow steps: 1. Return the $23 million in federal and state taxes for homelessness. Why? a) We don't have any homeless residents; b) Continuing to accept these funds only forces us to rationalize a crisis that we do not have. There were 236 homeless identified in Culver City in the last count. Of those, who were Culver City residents?; and c) If any...
Monday night city council proposed allowing minors and non-registered voters on city commissions and boards. We at Protect Culver City are vocally opposed to the idea. We see it not as an extension of the franchise, but a disenfranchising of Culver City residents and voters by means of court-packing. Indeed, it’s court packing of the worst kind – by using impressionable children as political pawns. Culver City Unified was already embroiled in scandal under Kelly Kent, when she used school dis...
Dear Editor, We are currently circulating a ballot initiative among Culver City voters, requiring voter approval for rent control. We only have a couple months left to secure the 2800 signatures needed to get it on the November ballot. In an effort to meet our goal, we are bringing on a professional signature gathering company to help us get signatures, starting tomorrow. Collecting signatures is a time intensive process. Given our infant state as a PAC, we just don’t have the infrastructure t...
