Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 199
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter A new movie made its debut at the July 27 Culver City Council meeting. While it may not run at multiplexes around Southern California it might be playing soon at theaters in Culver City. The 2-minute-18 second film is called This is Culver City and was produced by Tomato Studio, a bicoastal company. Len Dickter of the Culver City Cultural Affairs Commission is the writer/director of This is Culver City and is the creative director/partner of Tomato Studio in...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Get ready with your bikes-or your feet-CicLAvia is coming back to the Westside this weekend. "CicLAvia – Culver City Meets Venice Presented by Metro," will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday August 9. As the third CicLAvia event this year, it will offer a variation of the 2013 CicLAvia Westside route, enabling participants to get a better experience of Culver City, among other neighborhoods. The six-mile route is closed to vehicular (auto) traffic and a...
With summer heat, people want to use water more often yet the drought in California necessitates water conservation. With this situation in mind, the City Council on July 13 adopted a resolution declaring the existence of Level 2 water supply shortage conditions and implementing mandatory conservation requirements per Chapter 5.03, Water Conservation of the Culver City Municipal Code. In April the council considered public input and information by city staff and directed the City Manager to...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Community members who wanted to see improvements to the playground at Sid Kronenthal Park got their wish at the June 22 City Council meeting. The council approved Design Concept “A” and the related budget for the rehabilitation of the playground. The Council also approved an addition to the adopted 2015-2016 budget by adding $75,523.80 from the General Fund to augment the remaining funds (an amount of $62, 051.20) from the Proposition A Cities Excess Gra...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter A standing-room-only congregation of community members gathered in a meeting room at Veteran's Auditorium on June 14 to discuss "mansionization" in Culver City and what to do about it. Before the meeting was over, it was apparent that this issue will be the subject of a long and contentious fight. The meeting became rowdy, with people talking out of turn, often talking at the same time and arguing, despite efforts by moderator Iain Gulin to keep things...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Despite the growing rallying cry around Los Angeles against "mansionization"-the building of larger single-family homes in residential neighborhoods-the City Council did not vote for a moratorium on the matter at their June 8 meeting. The Council's vote was 3-2 against a moratorium, with Meghan Sahli-Wells and Jim Clarke supporting the idea and the others opposing it. Mansionization is typically defined as the practice of replacing older, smaller homes with t...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Neighborhood discontent about the playground facilities at Syd Kronenthal Park led to a meeting on June 2 for area residents to discuss the matter with members of the City Council and Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC). The discussion had been prompted by complaints that there had not been public input on recently installed playground equipment at Syd Kronenthal Park. The new equipment had been dedicated at a "grand opening ceremony" on April 30....
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Residents of Culver City are becoming part of a growing movement against what is called "Mansionization" of neighborhoods-the building of residences that are too large for the lots they stand on and too big in contrast to other structures in the area. Other cities in Southern California have already passed or are in the process of restricting, the size of buildings in residential neighborhoods. Los Angeles adopted a temporary restriction on March 26 that...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Culver City will again be sponsoring the 2015 IndieCade videogame festival in downtown Culver City this October. But the City Council/Successor Agency’s vote to sponsor, at May 26’s meeting, did not come as easily as might have been expected. The vote to sponsor and give in-kind financial assistance per the requests of IndieCade CEO Stephanie Barish was 3-2, with council members Andrew Weissman and Jeff Cooper voting against Barish’s request. The two council...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter What might have been a routine procedure of passing Consent Calendar items one by one turned into a major discussion at May 11's City Council meeting thanks to an item dealing with a local playground. The item, C-5 on the agenda, dealt with the Syd Kronenthal Park Playground Rehabilitation Project. The park was recently the subject of improvements by the R.E. Shultz Construction Services Company. The Council was ready to approve the work done when a number...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Twenty-five speakers had signed up at the May 11 City Council meeting to protest a component of the proposed plan for a Hospitality and Entertainment District in south Culver City. But although they got their chance to speak, their actions of the past few weeks were what actually paid off as the City Council dropped the "signage component" of the plan. The proposed plan for the southern area of Culver City involves a district specifically designed for hotels...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter The City Council has agreed that a Poet Laureate is a good idea for Culver City. But the hope that a poet would be chosen immediately was squelched as the council at its May 11 meeting opted for creating a process that would allow fairness for all. Initially it looked like the council was going to appoint Dr. Janet Hoult to the position of Poet Laureate. Dr. Hoult is well-known to council meeting regulars as a speaker in public comment who gives her opinions...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Every April, Culver City's city council performs the spring rite of choosing a new Mayor and Vice Mayor. Since there are only five members of the City Council the ritual isn't filled with suspense. The members merely rotate the positions, with the previous year's Vice Mayor usually ascending to the position of Mayor. This year, there was probably even less suspense than usual because the terming out of two council members next year meant that these two...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Although there were heavy clouds in the sky, the Culver City Mayor's Luncheon on April 22 offered indoor sunshine as city employees, business representatives, and City Hall gadflies socialized, enjoyed great food, and listened to Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells' State of the City speech. The Doubletree Hotel provided the buffet lunch as well as complimentary cookies, and local businesses provided guests with goodie bags featuring such sustainable gifts as water...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter On Monday night the City Council considered changing Culver City's elections to a mail-only voting system. However, the voting-by-mail idea was strongly voted down by four out of five council members. The issue had been placed on the agenda by council member Jim Clarke, who thought that since absentee ballots account for a large percentage of the total vote, the actual voting system ought to be changed to reflect that situation. But Clarke stood alone in...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter In what may be a major step in the direction of controlling environmental hazards from the Inglewood Oil Field, Culver City has approved the appointment of the firm BonTerra Psomas as environmental consultant for preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Inglewood Oil Field Specific Plan Project. The appointment was voted on at the April 13 council meeting. The consultant was chosen, according to Culver City Attorney Carol Schwab, from a field...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Fox Hills may be up for a massive "revitalization" via a plan created by developers that would turn the area into a "hospitality and entertainment district." But one aspect of this revitalization, called "creative signage" in the plan and "giant billboards" by others, is generating some controversy. The Fox Hills Neighborhood Association (FHNA) is circulating a petition against the signage in the new master plan. The petition can be accessed at a web site...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Last September, the City Council discussed a projected funding shortfall for the housing programs provided by the City and Housing Authority. At the Council's March 23 meeting, the Council reexamined current housing programs and the problems of funding. Culver City Community Development Director Sol Blumenfeld and Housing Director Tevis Barnes gave the Council a detailed staff report on the options available. Formerly, Culver City's housing programs had been...
In the tradition of town hall meetings, Congresswoman Karen Bass, whose district includes Culver City, held a town meeting on March 12 to present arguments involving authorization of the use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS. President Obama (who was in fact, in town for a fundraiser in Santa Monica) has submitted a draft AUMF to Congress with the intention of "degrade[ing] and defeat[ing] ISIL." The AUMF would have a three-year...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Culver City's Department of Motor Vehicles is having a problem that many DMVs around Southern California are also having-exceptionally long lines and slow service. Since January 2, 2015, when the new law took effect that allows undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses, the volume of applicants has increased considerably. The DMV expects nearly 1.5 million undocumented immigrants to apply over the next few years. During the first three days...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Cooper Komatsu was honored by the Culver City Council on Monday, March 9 for winning first place in the Los Angeles County Regional Spelling Bee toward the national Scripps Spelling Bee to take place in May. Komatsu, aged 12, is a student at Culver City Middle School. On February 8 he finished first in the regional bee at Walter Reade Middle School in North Hollywood. He went 13 rounds, defeating 102 other spellers on the road to the championship in...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter In an action that proves the times are indeed changing, the Culver City Council approved support of an amicus (friend of the court) brief from Mayors for the Freedom to Marry that would lend support to several marriage cases currently before the United States Supreme Court for review. The support was approved by four of the five council members with Mehaul O' Leary abstaining. The amicus brief has been circulating around the United States and has gained...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter The recent outbreak of measles in Southern California is of concern to parents and school districts. Both legislators and educators are taking action to control the spread of this highly infectious disease. At the state level State Senator Dr. Richard Pan, a practicing pediatrician, is planning to introduce a bill to notify parents of their child's school vaccination rates. Dr. Pan authored a 2013 bill, AB 2109, requiring parents who exempt a child from...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Fire broke out at Culver City’s Southern California Hospital on January 29, forcing a partial evacuation of the facility. According to the Culver City Police and Fire Departments the fire began early in the afternoon at the hospital, which was formerly known as the Brotman Medical Center. Culver City Fire Department Captain Rob Kohlhepp told reporters he believed the fire may have been caused by workers who were burning some roofing material when a small fire...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter January 23 was a special day at West Los Angeles College as Vice President Joe Biden visited the campus, praised the dental hygiene department, and talked with college administrators about the President's proposal to improve education in the U.S. by making community colleges financially accessible to more people. WLAC is one of 15 community colleges recently selected by state officials to offer a baccalaureate degree. A press contingent of almost 50...
