Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 334
Dear Editor, Why I Am Supporting Daniel Lee and Alex Fisch for City Council: With great enthusiasm and abundant hope I am supporting Daniel Lee and Alex Fisch in their bids for seats on our City Council. These two gentlemen are uniquely qualified to be our city councilpersons. Daniel Lee, a social worker, and Alex Fisch, an environmental attorney. Both endorsed by the Sierra Club and by countless other entities and individuals, among them the Culver City Democratic Club and the Los Angeles...
Dear Editor, It’s been a pleasure serving on Marcus Tiggs’ City Council Campaign’s “Kitchen Cabinet” in the months leading up to our April 10 election. Why? Because the Tiggs team is comprised of both liberals and conservatives who can actually sit around a table and work together cooperatively, sharing their ideas and goals for the City without resorting to rancor, but united by an appreciation for Marcus’ background, abilities, philosophy, and plans for a positive future for Culver City...
Dear Editor, Why I am supporting Albert Vera: I have spent the last two months walking with him and listening to the way he answers questions and talks to voters. Why would this 24-year resident support him? At heart Albert is Culver City born and raised. He is not running for city council because he wishes to continue a political career elsewhere, he is running because he has a deep and abiding love and concern that our city continues to thrive and evolve, yet retain as many elements as...
Dear Editor, I hope you will join me in voting for Albert Vera for Culver City Council on April 10. Albert will be a valuable voice on the city council. I have long been impressed by Albert's deep knowledge of our city and his vision to protect the character of our neighborhoods while we move our city into the 21stt Century. I have also found that Albert is practical and results-oriented with a focus on what is best for Culver City – very important and valuable now that national politics are s...
Steve Hadland Observer Publisher We live on the west side of Culver City and today the horrible flyers you have taken a stand against in your last two papers were put on our porches. Unfortunately, we have no idea who delivered them and no names were on the flyers. We stand behind you and thank you for making public the divisiveness of this group of people. Culver City is better than this. Jeanne and Ken Conklin Culver City...
Dear Editor, As you are aware, Mayor Jeff Cooper and I are both termed out and there are two open seats in the upcoming City Council election on April 10th. We are both in agreement that we want Albert Vera to fill one of those seats and the only way that is going to happen is if you and a lot of our friends vote for Albert. Albert was born, raised, schooled and has worked his whole life in Culver City. He bleeds Culver City and is an integral part of this community. His is also a story of an...
Letter to the Editor: In a recent article in your paper by Neil Rubenstein, he said that the Farragut parking “problem” still exists. He went on to repeat everything that was said by the residents of the 10700 block of Farragut in their campaign to keep their parking privileges. In an effort to keep their privileges, they lost 3 lawsuits against the city that cost you and me (as taxpayers) over $300,000.00 to defend. This money could have been spent on something of value rather than on def...
The cowardly, mean-spirited, anonymous flyers attacking Albert Vera and Marcus Tiggs are the epitome of everything that’s wrong with politics in this country today. It’s what I’ve come to expect from national politics but I’d hoped that Culver City—“the City of Kindness”—was better than that. It’s depressing to discover I’m wrong. Since the flyers were clearly circulated by supporters of the other two candidates, I call on Daniel Lee and Alex Fisch to disavow and urge the end of such lowly t...
Mr. Hadland, Thank you for your article entitled “Council Race Turns Ugly”. Attached are two photos of the cowardly communist on my doorstep, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and always looking down, away from the cameras, to hide his identity. You may recall this almost identical hit piece was done two years ago against Goran Eriksson and Scott Wyant. I find these tactics revolting. The extremist, anti-business tone is particularly egregious, considering businesses provide jobs, salaries, goods, ser...
Culver City Teacher’s Pensions from Transparent California was the headline in Neil Rubenstein’s column on March 15. Within this lengthy column (tackling many subjects) was a list of retired teachers’ names and pension amounts, including ours, followed by this sentence. “In 2016, Teacher pensions paid a total of $11,390,424. In the opinion of many we need a Beverly Hills CPA and a Philadelphia lawyer to keep expenses under control, but now you know the real reason the school district needs more...
We all want the same thing; to feel safe at school. Today, March 14, 2018, the nation is walking out of school to show their support for the 17 victims who tragically died in the Parkland shooting. We completely support more gun control. There is solid evidence that less gun control will cause more homicides, suicides, and gun deaths. So, this walkout seems great, right? It’s a place where students can protest our current, ineffective gun laws in a safe manner, and express our political o...
Here are few things you may not know about Daniel Lee, who is running for City Council. Here’s what you may know: You may know that he’s very knowledgeable about matters pertaining to the Inglewood Oil Field, as well as gas and oil production in general, including the health and safety risks to which we Culver City residents are exposed. But did you know that he visited a CA State Assembly person and advocated for policy solutions? I was there, and I was so impressed by ideas—his ideas-- that...
: Yesterday I was quite shocked to see my name and the amount of pension that I receive from the State Teacher’s Retirement System published in your paper. Neil Rubenstein has written an article that lists the Culver City Board of Education Pensioners’ amounts. He goes on to add an article about Long Beach that could cause the city finances to go in the red next year due to all the pensions they give out. I would like to explain to him and to your readers the difference between city pensions and...
In a Commentary in the Observer’s February 8 & 14 edition, George Laase criticizes the Culver City School District for its five-year plan to raise our children’s teachers’ salaries only to the LA County median salary? What? These teachers don’t deserve to earn what the average teacher in LA County makes? This, despite the fact that Culver’s schools are better by far than most others in the state. Mr. Laase bemoans both the retirements of veteran teachers while at the same time bemoaning the cost...
Dear editor, On Wednesday, February 21st the City of Culver City invites us all to come learn about its new proposed oil & gas regulations and their environmental impacts review (EIR). This is the time to ask where in the EIR are risks of earthquakes addressed? Can an earthquake be stopped if drilling or fracking may trigger a faultline slipping? What measures does the City's EIR propose to protect us? What research is being used to justify the plan to allow drilling and fracking from 400' to...
By Suzanne Benedittis Please! No drone purchases until the City holds a Town Hall meeting detailing the pros and cons of having drone surveillance in Culver City. I just learned of the City's intention on NextDoor. I believe our Council intends well, but have the moral and ethical issues (plus public relations') that come with this decision been addressed? Drones are a like a “double-edged sword” with both favorable and unfavorable uses. As a Social Ethicist I ask you to pause to address mor...
Dear Editor, Thank you for your ongoing coverage of the Inglewood Oil Field. The good news for public health and safety is that both the EIR and scientific studies give our city council compelling evidence and legal grounds to adopt important safeguards including: a fracking ban; a 2500 foot buffer from homes, schools and parks; and no net new wells (i.e. an existing well must be safely closed for every new well allowed). The EIR and the science also both reach the same clear conclusion – there...
Dear Editor: Culver City schools are consistently rated as among the best in the state. This is due, in large measure, to the dedicated and talented teaching force, staff, and administration and Board, in that order. Therefore, to encounter more whining from Neil Rubenstein (11/16-22/-18) about compensation for Culver City’s public schools teachers is astonishing. Providing a safe, effective, and enjoyable education for our children is more than a generational obligation. We also reap huge benef...
Monday night, November 6th, the Culver City Council will decide if they want to allow further discussion and comment on 1000+ pages of a Specific Plan showing where they will allow oil wells to be drilled & fracked within Culver City and its Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The EIR and Specific Plan cost over a million dollars of Culver City taxpayers' money and took more than nine years to prepare. Have you even heard of it? What the effects will be on you, your home, your loved ones? By...
I am a resident of Culver City and founder of Angel City Ferret Club. This past week we have requested Culver City City Council to become a Ferret Friendly City; publicly supporting the legalization effort here in California. Since 1988 ferret enthusiast have been trying to change the 1933 law banning domestic ferrets. Supporters have tried every conceivable path towards legalization; legislative, regulative, in the courts and even a ballot initiative. The plain fact is that we the people don’t have enough political power to change this unjust...
While watching a video of one of last month’s School Board meeting, online, something happened that set me back. At the one-hour, seven-minute mark David Mielke, the Teachers Union president, was there to address the Board about School District salaries. While he was handing out an L.A. County salary survey and before he could get to the rostrum, Kathy Paspalis set the desired tone for Mr. Mielke’s address. She chirped in with a well-placed exclamation, “We’ve moved up!” Arriving at the speaker'...
While watching a video of one of last month’s School Board meeting, online, something happened that set me back. At the one-hour, seven-minute mark David Mielke, the Teachers Union president, was there to address the Board about School District salaries. While he was handing out an L.A. County salary survey and before he could get to the rostrum, Kathy Paspalis set the desired tone for Mr. Mielke’s address. She chirped in with a well-placed exclamation, “We’ve moved up!” Arriving at the speaker'...
Dear Editor, As many residents learned last week the new operator of the Inglewood Oil Field, Sentinel Peak Resources, dropped its request that Culver City delay its release of the draft Oil Drilling Regulations, Specific Plan and Environmental Impact Report. Further, SPR declared that they would no longer negotiate during meetings that included our city staff, consultants and the two-member Culver City City Council subcommittee that focuses on oil drilling. With each passing day during the...
Dear Editor: On Saturday, July 8 my son and I planned to drive to Solvang, California for 24 hours of relaxation. As we reached Santa Barbara, intending to drive to Solvang via Highway 154, we were stopped because a fire had erupted in the area of Lake Cachuma. When we finally reached Solvang, we contacted the Santa Barbara authorities in order to help with evacuations. On Sunday the fire had grown considerably in two locations in Santa Barbara County. As we drove back to Culver City on Route...
Dear Editor, The Inglewood Oil Field is the largest urban oil field in the contiguous United States. Roughly 10% of the field resides here in Culver City but that 10% is of arguable value to the field’s new owners Sentinel Peak Resources. If the show or lawyerly force coupled with worker testimony at the City Council’s community meeting on the issue in April is any indication the value of fossil fuel resources in the Culver City portion of the field is outsized compared to the small percentage s...
