Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
Editors Note: this story is updated from last weeks story entitled SMOKING GUN on Culver City Observer's website By Stephen Hadland Observer Publisher Prior to the closing of the Culver City Ice Arena last Sunday Culver City officials had informed the Karagozian family, who are the property owners, and Planet Granite, the new lessee, that the property is zoned strictly for ice skating and no other commercial purposes. Any rezoning will require City Council approval and may take many months to...
The City of Culver City issued the following statement with regards to the closing of the Culver City Ice Arena: The City of Culver City's highest priority is its commitment to ensuring the public's health and safety. There have been a number of rumors circulating recently regarding the Culver City Ice Arena, located at 4545 Sepulveda Blvd., and plans relating to the closure of the business by the current operator. The City would like to address these concerns. The City of Culver City was...
The Culver City Police Department is seeking the public's help with identifying an indecent exposure suspect. On Wednesday, January 29 at approximately 12:15pm Culver City police officers responded to a call of a man exposing himself at a local Culver City business. After speaking with the victim, officers learned that an unidentified suspect, described as a Male White, 20 to 30 years of age, medium build, with blond hair and a mustache, entered a Culver City retail business. Once inside the...
By Stephen Hadland Culver City Observer Publisher After suffering enormous losses reportedly in the hundreds of millions of dollars in the hyperlocal news market AOL has apparently dumped PATCH into a new company controlled by Hale Global. Hale Global becomes the new majority owner of AOL's Patch local news websites and fired the all of the editors covering the Westside. Westside Patch consisted of 11 websites managed by four editors, including the Culver City Patch and Santa Monica Patch. They...
At its January 28th annual meeting, Ballona Creek Renaissance (BCR) unanimously elected Deborah Gregory to its Board of Directors and to the recently open officer-level position of Board Secretary. An interior designer, teacher, mentor, and BCR volunteer, Deborah brings to the board a passion for creek, community, and nature. Living in the Del Rey neighborhood west of Culver City with her architect husband Brian Reiff and family, Deborah regularly runs along the Ballona Creek Trail, has a basic...
Culver City-based agency Pitch has promoted Xanthe Wells from executive creative director to chief creative officer, and has hired Gage Clegg as group creative director. Both were previously at TBWA/Chiat/Day LA. Wells' work includes working with Pepsi, Kraft, PlayStation, Pinkberry, and ESPN among others, and since joining Pitch last year, working on the rebranding of Meineke Car Care among other projects. Clegg, who was previously group creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day, spearheaded the...
By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter It's beginning to play like a broken record but it certainly sounds like a finely tuned instrument. The Culver City High girls basketball team won two more 2013-14 Ocean League contests to retain sole possession of first place with a 6-0 record. And they did it rather handily once again compliments of pin-point shooting from three-point range. Even head coach Julian Anderson has been impressed with the team's recent exploits, "We're shooting the ball...
By Fred Altieri Observer Reporter It's back to the fundamentals after the Culver City High boys basketball team took two more Ocean League hits the hard way. And it's become apparent the fourth quarter is the Centaurs' Achilles heel this season in the consecutive four-point losses. The first came at home against Beverly Hills, 60-56. Two nights later host Morningside High in Inglewood added to the pain, 68-64. The team returned to Monday's practice with a renewed commitment and determination to...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Super Bowl game was decided early as Seattle humiliated Denver. But the controversy surrounding Richard Sherman will linger for awhile. This was the featured sub-plot of pro football's biggest game. Is Sherman a jerk, as he appeared to be two weeks earlier in a classless interview following the Seahawks' victory over the San Francisco 49ers? Or is he a bright guy as appeared to be the case when he earned straight A's at Dominguez High in Compton and went on...
Dear Mitch, As my 30-year tenure as NBA commissioner concludes, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your reporting on our league. That reporting – favorable or not – played no small part in helping our sport grow. It is a source of great satisfaction to me that the NBA will now be led by Commissioner Adam Silver, for whom I have tremendous admiration, respect and expectations as he and his experienced and dedicated team take the NBA to successes that were unimaginable even a sho...
The Los Angeles Sports Council has named Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten as the 2013 Sports Executive of the Year. Kasten will be honored during the 9th Annual LA Sports Awards on Wednesday, March 5 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. A highly respected sports figure for more than three decades, Kasten has developed a reputation for creating winning franchises. In his second year with the Dodgers Kasten helped mold a team that last season won the Western Division title and advanced to the...
Senator Holly J. Mitchell (D-Culver City) has been appointed to the Rules Committee of the California Senate on the nomination of Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg. The Rules Committee is the managing body of the State Senate, responsible for appointments to all other Senate committees and state commissions, and for assignment of legislation to committees for action. Considered a leadership position in the Legislature's upper chamber, members of the Rules Committee initiate and review n...
Ithaca College congratulates more than 1,400 students who made the Dean's list in the fall 2013 semester. The list includes Martha Fisher of Culver City, who was named for the fall 2013 semester and Eric Mitchell of Culver City, who was named for the same semester. Ithaca College prepares students for success through hands-on experience with internships, research and study abroad. Its integrative curriculum builds bridges across disciplines and uniquely blends liberal arts and professional...
Kentwood Players will hold auditions for Agatha Christie's THE HOLLOW on Saturday, March 22 from noon tom5 pm and Sunday, March 23 from 6 pm to 9:30 with callbacks on Monday, March 24 from 7 pm to 10 at the Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester. Production dates are May 16 to June 21 for a six-week run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm with Sunday matinees at 2. The production is directed by George Kondreck and produced by Arlene Cohen and Sheldon Cohen by special arrangement wit...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Stop me if you've heard this story before -- like last month -- but the Lakers are trying to trade Pau Gasol. If you don't follow pro basketball closely you probably wonder why they'd trade a proven player who averaged 20 points per game in January. If you do follow the NBA you know it's a common practice for teams out of playoff contention to unload players with high salaries. These teams aren't going to get the lucrative playoff revenue, so reducing the...
Wellington Wesley Loomer ("Pete") passed away on January 27, 2014. His life was full, complex, and varied. He gave up a promising career as a band singer and actor to serve his country as a Marine during the Korean War. Being touched by poetry during the war, he changed his path, choosing to share his passion for literature with others. Following an extensive education, he continued his service as a teacher at Culver High for 33 years. He declined offers of university professorship, preferring...
Cornell University's Keima Udoka of Culver City has been placed on the Dean's List of the College of Arts and Sciences for Excellence in Scholarship for the Fall 2013 semester. The College of Arts and Sciences is Cornell University's largest undergraduate college. It provides a high-quality liberal arts education to its own students, and its courses are also accessible to all other students at Cornell. The college's faculty includes national and international leaders in their respective...
The Willows Community School celebrated a milestone in the history of the school's commitment to educating children with the Dedication of its New Campus on Sunday, January 26, at 8509 Higuera Street, Culver City. The Dedication Program included remarks by Culver City Mayor Jeffrey Cooper, The Willows Head of School Lisa Rosenstein, and Board Chair Wendy Felson. Chinese Lion Dancers, a parade by Willows' students, and performances by Middle School Choirs kicked off the ceremony. The City...
Cooper Komatsu stood tall and confidently spelled the word A-P-P-R-E-H-E-N-S-I-O-N to take home the Ninth Annual Culver City Unified School District Spelling Bee title on February 3 at Linwood E. Howe Elementary School. The six-grader from Culver City Middle School finished atop 23 other spellers – four students from each of the district's five elementary schools and Culver City Middle School competed. Komatsu certainly has a thing for spelling. Two years ago Komatsu and his partner, Lily H...
West Los Angeles College President Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh was pleased to announce that the college’s updated 2013 – 2036 Facilities Master Plan, which outlines the remainder of the bond-funded construction project, was approved by the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) Board of Trustees on January 15. Since the preparation of Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) completed in 2005 and 2010, respectively, conditions have changed. Long-term demand is projected to be lower than ant...
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...
Neil Rubenstein takes another swipe at public employees in his column (1/30 – 2/5/’14). He reports Treasurer Bill Lockyear’s observation that the state has “a $5 billion annual shortfall in its funding obligation for retired school educators.” However, he fails to present the full context of Mr. Lockyear’s comments as reported recently in the Camarillo Acorn. More fully, Lockyear says “the teacher retirement system in 30 years implodes if it doesn’t get fixed.” He further stated that the p...
This message is for Culver Crest Residents For the past year members of our Neighborhood Association have worked on developing an Emergency Preparedness Program. Our commitment should a disaster strike is to “be prepared, not scared.” We are launching a Street by Street canvassing effort to inventory community resources and skills, so should an emergency arise, we can coordinate efforts to facilitate everyone's safety. For example, if a serious earthquake were to occur, we may well have to fen...
Observer Reporter The Culver City Ice Arena was again the subject of a drawn-out public comment session and discussion at the Council's meeting Monday night, with an overflow crowd packing the Mike Balkman City Council Chamber. The fate of the ice rink and the building housing it is still, however, uncertain. With the rink due to close on February 2 and the compressors that keep the ice frozen due to be turned off as of February 15, to make way for the new tenant Planet Granite, city staff...
By Paul Walsleben Special to the Observer When you think of youth sports, many people only think of AYSO soccer and Little League baseball. Local sport parents are discovering that besides the two favorites, Culver City has a growing reputation as a center for Lacrosse. Lacrosse is played with netted sticks, and a solid rubber ball on a soccer-sized field. As a youth game, lacrosse has the appeal of a contact sport such as football, but with the agility and running elements from soccer. Players...
