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The CCUSD Board of Education voted unanimously at its August 9 meeting to appoint Quoc Tran as the new Culver City Schools Superintendent. "Mr. Tran comes to us with a great deal of experience and a true commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion," said Board President Tashon McKeithan. "He will be a true asset to our District." Tran, currently the assistant superintendent of educational services at Franklin-McKinley School District in San José, California, will replace Leslie Lockhart,...
The Culver City Unified School District announced the hiring of Oscar Rodriguez, as Assistant Principal of Culver City High School; David Holley, as Assistant Principal of Culver City Middle School; Kana Nakagawa, as Assistant Principal of El Rincon and La Ballona Elementary Schools; Brian Raber, as Assistant Principal of Linwood E. Howe and Farragut Elementary Schools; and Mario Torres, as Assistant Principal of El Marino Language School. Holly, Nakagawa and Torres have already been approved...
The Culver City Unified School District CCUSD announced the hiring of Dr. Angela Elizondo Baxter as the District's new director of teaching and learning, effective immediately. Baxter has spent the past six years as principal at Willard IB Magnet Elementary School in the Pasadena Unified School District, where she increased African-American students reading at grade level by 21% in 2021 and was honored with the California Civic Learning Award of Distinction in 2019. Under her leadership, the...
The Culver City Unified School District announced the hiring of Katie Masterson as principal of Farragut Elementary School, pending board approval. She is expected to be formally approved by the board at its August 24 meeting and will be on-site when the school year begins on August 19. Since 2019, Masterson has served as assistant principal in the Wiseburn Unified School District, where she coordinated and directed school programs, including student attendance, student discipline, curriculum,...
A 29-year-old Culver City man was arrested and charged with murder in connection with a deadly hit and run in Santa Monica, police officials announced this week. Nicolas Ralph Sloan was also charged with assault with a deadly weapon, driving under the influence and driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration at/above .08, Santa Monica Police Department said. On August 2, at 1:05 a.m., Santa Monica police responded to a reported felony hit and run in the 3100 block of Santa...
A federal court has ordered a California company and its owner to stop distributing unapproved and misbranded drugs and adulterated animal drugs which they "claimed could cure, treat and prevent disease, including cancer, in both humans and animals," court officials announced yesterday. In a complaint – filed in the federal court for the Southern District of California in December 2020 at the request of the Food and Drug Administration – the United States alleged that AMARC Enterprises Inc. and...
A California man has plead guilty to rigging bids at public foreclosure auctions, federal court officials announced this week. Yama Marifat was indicted for conspiring with other real estate investors to rig bids when purchasing selected properties at foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County between April 2009 and October 2009, according to court documents filed in Sacramento. His trial was scheduled to begin on August 17. The one-count indictment alleges Marifat and his co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing not to bid...
Contending with the highly transmissible Delta variant, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department has reported the following Covid-19 totals for Culver City and LA County: Cases in Culver City – 2551 as of 8/11 Deaths in Culver City – 110 as of 8/11 Cases in LA County – 3498 reported on 8/11 (1,335,332 cases to date) Deaths in LA County – 28 reported on 8/11 (24,833 deaths to date) Currently, there are 1,573 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized in the County – an increase of 331 pe...
The UCLA Bruins have announced a very challenging early season men’s basketball schedule for the months of November and December. Below is the November & December schedule for the Bruins. Games listed as TBD mean time to be determined: Tue. Nov. 9 CSU Bakersfield Pauley Pavilion – TBD Fri. Nov. 12 Villanova Pauley Pavilion – TBD Mon. Nov. 15 Long Beach State Pauley Pavilion – TBD Wed. Nov. 17 North Florida Pauley Pavilion – TBD Mon. Nov. 22 vs. Bellarmine Las Vegas, Nev. – 5 p.m. Tue. Nov. 2...
It's been a while since the Los Angeles Rams have consistently thrown the ball deep. In 2018 and 2019 Rams quarterback Jared Goff and wide receiver Brandin Cooks got together on some deep pass plays but it was never consistent. Cooks left the team last year and Goff was traded this year to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford and the Rams also picked up DeSean Jackson, the former Long Beach Poly high school and California speedster. Can this combination help the Rams stretch the field and...
Russell Westbrook entered Staples Center with head coach Frank Vogel and General Manager Rob Pelinka for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers last Tuesday afternoon. Westbrook was all smiles as he sat on the stage in front of his family and over a dozen reporters. Before officially introducing Westbrook to the Los Angeles media, Pelinka publicly thanked the players he traded for Westbrook, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, and Kentavious Caldwell Pope for being a part of the Laker...
Culver City's varsity football team is using passing league tournaments this summer to integrate some new players in their system after losing several key players to graduation last June. Some of the players that they need to replace are All-State quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, All-State wide receiver Amari Pait, All-League running back Ayinde Bankol, All-League linemen Dylan Nichols and Adrian Simon and All-League receiver Legend Waring. Those are just some of many talented seniors that graduated....
After playing eight regular season games in front of empty seats in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles Chargers finally got to feel the experience of playing in front of fans when they hosted the Fan Fest and Open Practice last Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. A crowd estimated at about 30,000 was treated to a concert and a Chargers practice that highlighted the talents of quarterback Justin Herbert and a talented group of receivers. Herbert was thrilled to be back, playing...
City-backed development will feature 39 one-bedroom apartments for senior renters Senior residents and workers in Santa Monica will soon have an "affordable housing" option in town. City officials announced this week that EAH Housing will soon complete the construction of Magnolia Villas -- a new building at 1445-1453 10th Street that will provide 39 one-bedroom apartments for senior renters in Santa Monica. The new development received an $11.4 million investment from the city and will provide...
By Alyssa. Erdley, Observer Staff Writer 8/3/21 - County health officials have lifted the warnings that had been up on several Southland beaches yesterday, caused by high bacteria levels measured in the water. Only the beach at Avalon on Catalina Island continues to remain posted with warnings against playing, surfing, and swimming in the water near their pier. Officials said they did not believe the July 11 raw sewage spill from the Hyperion Treatment Plant had caused the unhealthy bacteria...
By David Ganezer Once again, an entire California town has been lost to a wildfire. Greenville CA population 1169 is a fraction the size of Paradise, which burned to the ground in 2018. But its loss is no less tragic for its residents. According to the AP, "the Dixie Fire tore through the Greenville on Wednesday evening, destroying businesses and homes as the sky was cast in an orange glow. A photographer on assignment for The Associated Press described seeing a gas station, hotel and bar...
Erica Cuyugan has been appointed to serve as Interim Director of the Santa Monica Public Library, city officials announced today. She will start her temporary post on September 5. A 15-year veteran of the Santa Monica Library, Cuyugan has served as the Assistant City Librarian since 2017, a role in which she manages system-wide library operations for Main Library and four branches. She will succeed current City Librarian Patty Wong who announced last week she was leaving Santa Monica on September 4 to take a similar role for the City of Santa C...
US, LGBTQ Flags Stolen from City Hall Someone has vandalized the flag in front of Santa Monica City Hall. Both the US Flag and the LGBTQ flag are missing. "The US flag and pride flag were raised in front of City Hall for the month of July," said an unnamed source at City Hall. "However, about 1½ weeks ago, staff found the pole hardware vandalized and both the US flag and pride flag missing. A work order has been placed for pole repair. The flag will be raised as soon as the pole is...
Nicholas Sloan, 31, has been charged with murder in a hit-and crash that happened in Santa Monica after he was kicked out of a bar, police said Wednesday. The incident unfolded early Monday after Sloan was asked by staff to leave Busby's Bar/Restaurant, according to a Santa Monica Police Department news release. Enraged by the demand, Sloan retrieved his Porsche Panamera and apparently tried to intentionally run over a patron near the front of the establishment, police said, citing evidence and...
By David Ganezer There are two perspectives on the current state of the pandemic in the U.S. One perspective is that it's time to accept some sickness and return to our lives. The New York Post recently printed an editorial entitled "Ignore the Hysteria: It's Time to Move Past Covid, America." The Post, a conservative newspaper founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1790, argues that with the vaccines, Covid is now like Influenza. Although the flu kills thousands of people every year, we do not shut...
If you are planning to attend classes on campus at Santa Monica College this fall, you need to be vaccinated. So says the local college as it is gearing up for the fall semester which starts August 30. In a letter to students, Santa Monica College detailed its mandatory vaccination program. The major requirements include: Evidence of vaccinations for all students taking on-ground classes beginning in the fall semester; All employees must report their vaccination status to the College District by August 16, and, if unvaccinated, must be fully...
By Jack Simon At least 191 homeless people have decided to move from their encampment on the Venice Beach boardwalk to permanent housing, Los Angeles city officials announced Wednesday. The Encampment to Home program "has demonstrated that when offered real housing, people jump to say yes, people want to be housed," said Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin, who launched the six-week initiative that offered homeless people a pathway to permanent housing and appropriate services to help them...
By Christine Peake During these uncertain times we all need to find laughter. Do we wear masks? Do we not wear masks? Are we heading for lock down? Do we care? Do I need to stock up on sanitizer and toilet paper again? Another booster vaccine? Should I have avoided the vaccine? What's Happening? Myself and my talented three comedian friends, the boisterous Jessica Winther, the dark and hilarious Teri S. and abstract humorist supermodel Eugenia Kuzmina embarked upon a mini-tour of comedy shows in Chicago and Wisconsin produced by Mark Klaber. I...
By Observer Staff LA County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) launched an enhanced adoption pro-gram called "Love at First Sight." "It's intended to improve the adoption experience for customers, increase adoption rates, de-crease animals' length of stay in the care center, and increase efficient use of staff time at DACC's animal care centers," writes Don Belton, LA Animal Shelters PR person. "During their visit, the potential adopter will be able to view all available animals and...
By Alyssa Erdley 8/6 - Local beaches, including all of the Santa Monica beaches, beaches in Malibu, Topanga, and on Catalina Island, have been experiencing sporadic closures and advisories since the July 11-12 spill of 17 million gallons of raw sewage from the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant located in Playa Del Rey. County Health Department press releases claim the high bacteria levels measured at area beaches are no longer the result of the Hyperion spill but rather reflect "day-to-day fluctuations in ocean water bacteria levels." However,...
