Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 277
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Let me be the first to tell everyone, “My eyes don’t lie.” The old sergeant doesn’t have macular degeneration or cataracts or glaucoma. Recently I saw our City Manager, Mr. John Nachbar, a person whom we all respect and admire, and told him of one department’s lack of compliance with Government Code 6250-6276.48, the Public Records Act – especially 6253(c). There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that when soft-spoken Mr. Nachbar whispers, his voice carries...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Recently a friend spoke to me while I was shopping in Aisle 8 and suggested I review a previous issue of the Observer. Casually reaching into the file cabinet drawer containing newspapers going back over a decade, remembering it’s the one on the very bottom on the far left, my fingers latched onto the issue of August 26 – September 1, 2010. The headline was “O’Leary Files $1 Million Civil Lawsuit.” It seems a customer, Mr. Singerman, slugged the councilma...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist I was wondering, what does one do when it rains cats and dogs? Since we are in a drought I didn’t spend much time dwelling on this subject. Maria, AKA “the wild gypsy lady,” came over, and at random local newspapers were reviewed. Interestingly, on March 14, 2003 Marta Zaragoza was appointed to the Baldwin Hills Conservancy by Governor Davis. On June 7, 2010 Chris Sellers was sworn in as Fire Chief by Mayor Christopher Armenta. On December 13, 2008 Mayor...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist The Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) has probably the very best program in the State of California to teach elementary students Japanese. When many of us were in school the foreign language options became available in the second half of the eighth grade when, in my case, the Los Angeles Unified School District took a year of Spanish and stretched it over 18 months. George Washington High School had a fantastic program with Latin, German, Spanish...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist March is upon us and many of my friends are wondering where can I go that is new and different, close by and reasonable. Try these. Story time at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, 3:30 p.m. Saturdays. Adults $5, children under 13 free. See healthebay.org. Santa Monica Conservancy Walking Tours of downtown Santa Monica, Saturdays at 10 a.m. For two hours and in six blocks one can discover 130 years of Santa Monica history. Public $10. Phone: (310) 496-3146....
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist From the "hard to believe" file: It was on Feb. 15, 2013, slightly more than a year ago, that an asteroid crashed into Russia with a force estimated to be about 500 kilotons of TNT, 25 times more powerful than the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima. Am I the only one old enough to remember when tobacco companies could advertise in magazines? Then the government got on a medical kick (and rightly so) and prohibited my pal, Joe camel, from the printed world. Y...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist I see State Senator Rod Wright is awaiting sentencing by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kennedy. This will allow Gardena Assembly Member Bradford to move up. Now comes the icing on the cake. Could Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas be looking at going to Washington, D.C.? Everybody knows Congressmen are not term limited and therefore it's a juicy plum of a job. May I suggest our friend Maxine Waters just might retire in four years . . . hmmm . . . and then . ....
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian, please get in touch with me and tell me if it is true. There is a vicious and mean-spirited rumor saying you appointed Scott Malsin your field representative. We all realize you just got elected to the California State Assembly two months ago from the 54th District, and as a rookie it is very easy to screw up. That's why you, a greenhorn, could easily be the laughingstock of the Assembly Members in Sacramento and the voters...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. recently brought charges against 72 police officers, eight firemen and five corrections officers among others who filed disability claims as a direct result of 9/11, for allegedly claiming mental health disorders. The investigation is ongoing and many others could be prosecuted. Perhaps you recall a recent article where the IRS sent hundreds of phony tax refunds to one address in Europe and one in China. Not to be fooled...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Congress, in its infinite wisdom, mandated that those men and women who served honorably and faithfully sometime between 1961 and 1978 would forevermore be considered Vietnam veterans. Those troopers could have served in the North Atlantic on a Coast Guard cutter doing iceberg duty or in Europe flipping pancakes in the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment mess hall, or in Pearl Harbor with the Navy or with the Marines at Camp Pendleton, as long as it was sometime...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Since 2010 homelessness among veterans has fallen by 24% across the country according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A recent assessment by HUD disclosed that 57,849 veterans were homeless nationwide -- very tragic, to say the least. From the file labeled "South of the Border," Brazilian police are among the world's deadliest by the rate of people killed in custody. Was it only two years ago that John Pike, as a police officer in the...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Although not much has been heard about HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in recent years three new medications have been developed to keep the disease in check: Atripla, Complera and Stribild. From the "Good News" file, Soval, a possible cure for Hepatitis C which affects 150 million people worldwide and kills more Americans each year than HIV, was recently approved by the FDA. I am extremely pleased to report new advances could, in the future, reduce the...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist A big thank you to Culver City council member and former Coast Guardsman Jim Clarke for the following: The Veterans History Project was created by Congress in 2000 to collect, preserve and make accessible personal accounts of American war veterans. The project goal is to ensure that future generations hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. Veterans from World War I, Word War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War,...
Can I hear three cheers for Edward Snowden and U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon who recently ruled that the National Security Agency’s efforts to collect telephone data probably infringed on the Fourth Amendment . . . ? Mr. Snowden has reportedly contacted Brazil for permanent asylum in return for our government's secret papers regarding that South American country. Supposedly Snowden has another million pages of classified unreleased documents. Rumor has it the administration will not p...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced during a recent visit to Jordan that United States troops could be based in the moderate Arab country for "several years." The mission of the U.S. force, which includes 1,000 troops and a squadron of F-16 and Patriot missile units, is to prevent the war in Syria from spilling over into Jordan. In a study of 187,000 nurses referenced in the September 2013 British magazine BMJ, it was...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist The election on Dec. 3, 2013 between former Culver City Mayor Christopher Armenta and the son of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas was disheartening, to say the least. I wrote and then rewrote my take on the 54th Assembly District contest before giving up. There is absolutely no doubt government classes at Culver City High School could easily spend a semester or two dissecting the many ramifications of this race in California. Neil would have...
Haven't been to a dentist lately? You may be at an increased risk for heart attack or stroke. A few studies have shown poor oral health to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, complications in diabetes, and more. Additional studies need to be done to ratify these preliminary findings. Have you heard about the great program in Ventura County? The Moorpark Unified School District and Moorpark Community College have started the college experience for high school juniors...
I forgot to mark my calendar so I missed the November 5th birthday celebration of that wonderful actor, Joel McCrea. I see the first day of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving will be celebrated this year on November 28th. The last time this happened was 125 years ago in 1888. I don't know if my memory is correct, but I kinda remember in 1962 or thereabouts Hanukkah fell on December 25th. I guess the political pundits would say Rubenstein is a high propensity voter since he missed voting in only one elect...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Perhaps I should be smiling and full of good cheer. Yes, my friend, Social Security for 2014 will increase by about 1.5% starting in January. The very wild gypsy lady told me Medicare will go up big time, wiping out any additional pesos the government put on my monthly direct deposit check. Presently I'm looking at my property tax statement for 2013-2014. I have often wondered why it comes so late in the year and must be paid in no more than two...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Whatever happened to acid rain? Would you believe the Los Angeles Aqueduct bringing water from the Owens Valley is 100 years old? And then there is the anniversary of the four-level interchange which was completed in 1953, some 60 years ago. After trying for many years to reduce the coyote population in inland Orange County communities with an education campaign aimed at removing food sources that attract them, the Garden Grove council recently voted to...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Perhaps I should be smiling and full of good cheer. Yes, my friend, Social Security for 2014 will increase by about 1.5% starting in January. The very wild gypsy lady told me Medicare will go up big time, wiping out any additional pesos the government put on my monthly direct deposit check. Presently I'm looking at my property tax statement for 2013-2014. I have often wondered why it comes so late in the year and must be paid in no more than two...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist From time to time I plan to note measures signed into law by Governor Brown. When a person is suspected of driving under the influence a search warrant can be issued, blood drawn and samples used as evidence. Police who have reason to believe property in the possession of pawnbrokers is lost or stolen can put a 90-day hold on its sale. Law enforcement can also take the items as evidence. A new prostate cancer test that measures levels of PSA and six...
The United States post office will soon have different hours. Here on Jefferson and Sepulveda one soon can transact business Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Help is one step away. I'm certain if Culver City registered voters are asked, "Who is Sebastian Ridley-Thomas?" there just might be 10 hands that go up. Consequently, in the next election for the 54th Assembly District I venture to say the county supervisor's son will have so many mailings the...
Commentary Post Office Hours –Sebastian Ridley-Thomas And More By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist The United States post office will soon have different hours. Here on Jefferson and Sepulveda one soon can transact business Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Help is one step away. I'm certain if Culver City registered voters are asked, "Who is Sebastian Ridley-Thomas?" there just might be 10 hands that go up. Consequently, in the next election for t...
Commentary Funding Obamacare PR Campaign, Legalizing Pot and Public Access By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columninst The farmers of northern Morocco are looking forward to the day when their legislators legalize the growing of marijuana. Their government would buy the crop and export for such products as textiles and medicines. The ruling party seeks to enact the bill within three years, with hopes it will lift the people out of poverty. Perhaps Governor Brown should send a group to Africa to...
