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The kitchen is NOT my happy place. While I love enjoying delicious food prepared by others, when it comes to cooking, mine is limited to cooking up ideas for stories, cartoons, and solutions to problems. Food is something else altogether, my forays into the preparation of which have been accompanied by burns, cuts, and indigestion. Not my strong suit. So, frozen dinners and the microwave are how I subsist, and that's fine. In the past, Thanksgiving was a very enjoyable shared event for me as...
What do you see as the most important issue affecting Culver City at this time? How do you plan to address it as a Council Member? Why do you feel you're especially qualified to deal with it? What is your position regarding Measure B, rent control? What is your position on the proposal to defund the Culver City Police Department by 50%? Those were the questions this publication posed to the nine candidates shown on the Culver City website as contending for three open City Council seats to be fil...
Ever wonder what it would be like to be a young poet roaming the country with your manual typewriter, hiring yourself out in malls and wherever you could set up a little work area so you could have strangers pour out their thoughts to you in exchange for a personalized poem? Wonder no more. Village Well Books & Coffee, a new independent general interest bookstore and café near City Hall and presently under construction at 9900 Culver Blvd. on the southwest corner of Culver Blvd. and Duquesne...
One way or another, pandemic notwithstanding, the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life of Baldwin Hills, which includes the communities of Culver City, Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, Crenshaw, and Leimert Park, was going to take place again this year. It just needed to be reimagined. And that it was (and very successfully!), as a drive-through Luminaria Celebration on Saturday, September 12th between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the parking lot of the Yvonne B. Burke Athletic Complex...
QUESTION: What do you get when you combine a determined Girl Scout with a seasoned and scam-savvy acting group, each aiming to keep seniors from becoming victims? ANSWER: A generationally synergistic solution using social media to shed light on a prevalent problem. Meet Geneva Eisel, a candidate for the Girl Scouts Gold Award which, per the organization's website, is earned by "the dreamers and the doers who take 'make the world a better place' to the next level." She is an impressive young...
Cancer is bad enough and we sure didn't need a pandemic but we've got one, so how on Earth do we hold a Relay? That was indeed the question, as Relays are crowded events that generate camaraderie, closeness, and sharing. Well, thank heaven for determination and creative thinking, a powerful combination in the fight against cancer. This year's Baldwin Hills Relay For Life, which includes the communities of Culver City, Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, Crenshaw, and Leimert Park, will be...
Monday morning, June 15th, as I prepared to engage upon my morning ritual of doing the LA Times crossword puzzle, I happened to glance at my horoscope: “You’ll suspect that you’re missing a vital obligation – to seize a chance at a different kind of happiness before the window closes.” Pretty cryptic, I thought. And then I remembered that the previous day I had sent The Observer a graphic provided by my neighbor, Pastor Michael Barrett, about a peaceful protest rally he and his wife, La’Kesia,...
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." When I took the citizenship exam at 18, my parents and I having emigrated from Canada to Los Angeles when I was 12, one of the questions I was asked was the origin of that quote. I correctly answered that it was in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. And then came May 25,...
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." – Dr. Seuss The good doctor could have describing Lorena Camarena, President and Executive Director of AllTogether LA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping seniors stay home and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating grocery and medication deliveries. "Seniors can call our hotline, (323) 310-0411, leave a message, and we will connect them to background-checked neighbors whom we match by zip code...
Along with many other seniors, my highly touted golden years seem to be transforming into iron pyrite (fool’s gold), thanks to COVID-19. True Story. I was in the market a few days ago and saw two women fighting over a couple bars of soap. Shades of that old Jack Benny “Your Money or Your Life” skit! Forget about money, it’s now soap, sanitizer, toilet paper, and similar hard won acquisitions. I got out of that aisle fast, yearning for the days when civility was more prevalent and the shelves...
Dreams can indeed come true, especially when that dream is, per the STAR Prep Academy's mission statement, "to unlock student strengths and nurture our students' natural gifts and talents to develop multi-skilled, high achieving, adaptive individuals, preparing them for a future of limitless possibilities." In the fall of 2019, STAR Prep, a college prep WASC accredited school since 2003, moved to the campus of West Los Angeles College (WLAC) at 9000 Overland Ave., Culver City, having determined...
On January 30th I had the great pleasure of attending the opening reception of INSPIRED: A TRIBUTE TO TRAILBLAZING AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTISTS IN LOS ANGELES, curated by Steven Fisher, the Interim Executive Director of The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum (MCLM) and Molly Barnes, an art dealer and radio personality who is currently an artist in residence at West Los Angeles College (WLAC). The event was hosted by MCLM and WLAC in the Fine Arts Gallery of WLAC at 9000 Overland Avenue, Culver City....
I had a dear Chilean friend who, after enjoying a particularly scrumptious meal, would loll back and, with eyes slightly glazed and a blissful expression, invariably say, "guatita llena, corazon contento" (full tummy, happy heart). She would definitely have said that after dining at Allegra California Café, which opened August 16th at 4437 Sepulveda Blvd. in Culver City. This casual, friendly restaurant is aptly named since "Allegra" is not only the first name of one of the owners, Allegra Perez...
That Culver City knows how to put on a heartfelt, fun, and productive celebration in honor of Disability Awareness Month was evident to those attending its 16th annual free Abilities Carnival and Resource Fair Sunday afternoon, Oct. 20 at the Culver City Senior Center, an event sponsored by the Culver City Exchange Club, Culver City Senior Citizens Association, Inc., and Culver City Neighborhood Girl Scouts. Acceptance, assistance and inclusion were the order of the day. "The purpose of the...
Flashing lights . . . blaring alarms . . . confusion . . . an unexpected ending to an intriguing week, but allow me to backtrack . . . "Raison" (reason) is an appropriate French word with which to start this story, because what reason can I give to justify writing in a local publication about COLCOA (City of Light, City of Angels), a week of French film and series premieres that took place Sept. 23 - 28 at the Directors Guild of America on Sunset Blvd.? Well, since Culver City's seal proudly...
Readers, you are in for an exceptional afternoon thanks to CRE Outreach's presentation of Point of Extinction, a science fiction political thriller that is sure to enthrall and inspire its audience on Sunday, October 6 at 3 PM at Culver City High School's Robert Frost Auditorium, 4401 Elenda Street, Culver City. This revelatory, entertaining and most unusual production is made possible in part by the City of Culver City in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Performing Arts Grant...
Tito's Fiesta Mexicana, which was such a huge hit when it was inaugurated last year on October 4 (National Taco Day and National Vodka Day) is back. Olé! The City of Culver City, Tito's Tacos (titostacos.com) and Tito's Handmade Vodka (titosvodka.com) are teaming up for a rousing repeat performance on Friday, October 4, 2 - 8 PM, at Tito's Tacos,11222 Washington Place in Culver City. Both brands have a strong philanthropic motivation, and all proceeds will go to support the Culver City...
Age is opportunity no less Than youth itself, though in another dress, And as the evening twilight fades away The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow On Sunday afternoon, September 15th, under the auspices of the Culver City Senior Citizens Association, Inc. ("CCSCA") and the Culver City Exchange Club, those stars were delightfully visible in the search for Ms. Culver City Elegance 2019, the theme for which was "You are the star of your own life." I arrived...
Tito’s Fiesta Mexicana, which was such a huge hit when it was inaugurated last year on October 4 (National Taco Day and National Vodka Day) is back. Olé! The City of Culver City, Tito’s Tacos (titostacos.com) and Tito’s Handmade Vodka (titosvodka.com) are teaming up for a rousing repeat performance on Friday, October 4, 2 - 8 PM, at Tito’s Tacos,11222 Washington Place in Culver City. Both brands have a strong philanthropic motivation, and all proceeds will go to support the Culver City Cultural...
"The most important thing is to be kind," said Martha Sternbach, a Culver City resident. "Never judge people by their color or religion." Having learned the tragic opposite of that message firsthand as a Holocaust survivor, she is committed to keeping the memory of that reprehensible time alive because "knowledge is power." She shares her story with groups at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust (www.lamoth.org) in Pan Pacific Park, 100 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90036, (323) 651-3704....
If ever I need to remind myself that we are a compassionate, committed, and very connected species, all I have to do is participate in an American Cancer Society event such as the Baldwin Hills Relay for Life, as I did on Saturday, June 22nd at Yvonne B. Burke Athletic Field on Fairfax in Los Angeles, Los Angeles. I did laps proudly and very, very gratefully, sporting my blue Event Leadership T-shirt and purple-ribboned survivor medal. (November 11th will mark the 28th anniversary of my...
Everything starts with a dream . . . According to my dictionary, one definition of jewel is "a person or thing that is treasured, esteemed, or indispensable." That certainly describes L.A. GOAL, (www.lagoal.org) at 4911 Overland Avenue, Culver City, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that was founded on a dream some parents had of how to make life better for their children with developmental disabilities. On Sunday, June 23rd, from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., the Members, their families and friends will...
The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life is an incredible antidote to the pain and upheaval cancer brings. I know. My life was unexpectedly detoured into Cancerland several years ago, a place I hope never to revisit. It cost me a breast to get out. I'm looking forward to the jolt of energy that will infuse me at Relay For Life of Baldwin Hills 2019, a wonderful, fun, educational and inspiring 24-hour event that includes the communities of Culver City, Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor...
"Where words fail, music speaks." ~ Hans Christian Andersen Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra ("KCO"), a 501(c)3 non-profit, was founded five years ago by Benjamin Mitchell, its president, a clarinetist who was influenced by the conductorless Orpheus Chamber Orchestra founded in 1972 in New York, in which the musicians, not a conductor, interpret the score. He believes that "sometimes a conductor can even create an invisible barrier between the players and their audience. When each musician has an...
Don't fall prey to predators! With May being Older Americans Month, this warning to seniors is timely. Fortunately, the con artists and scammers are up against a hardy band of superheroes. Adrienne Omansky's Stop Senior Scams Acting Program ("SSSAP"), founded in 1998, is actively involved at senior centers, libraries, community centers and other venues, offering presentations that use skits to entertainingly inform older adults about senior fraud and ways to prevent it. Be sure to check them...
