Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 184
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Karlo Silbiger Karlo Silbiger was one of three new board members who were elected in the November 2009 election, receiving almost 60 per cent of the vote. He served as Board Vice President for 2011 and Board President in 2012. In addition, he served as a member of the Board's budget subcommittee and was a member of the District Community Arts Team, serving both positions from 2009 to 2011. The son of former City Council member Gary Silbiger, Karlo Silbiger...
On Sunday, November 24, Mayor Jeff Cooper will join supporters from throughout the city to officially kick off his re-election campaign at an event from 2 to 5 p.m. at the home of Beverly and Dan O'Brien at 10824 Lindblade Avenue in Culver City. "I am proud of what I have helped accomplish in Culver City since being elected in 2010, but I recognize that there is much more work to be done," Jeff said. "That is why I am excited to announce that I will be seeking re-election to the City Council. I...
Dear Editor, Steve Levin will be a solid addition to our school board. Much has been made about his skills and intelligence as a rocket scientist, parent volunteer, President of the Booster Club at Farragut Elementary and former president and one of the founding members of the UPCC, but for me it is his common sense approach to problem solving that gained my support. Steve has an uncanny ability to actually listen, take a step back and explore an issue on all sides, discuss it with those who...
September 13, 2013 Community Development Department • Fourth Wall Studios – The studio has completed work on a 17,936 square foot tenant improvement located at 8601 - 8611 Hayden Place for a new green screen studio and offices. • Smashbox – Plans have been approved for a tenant improvement for an art gallery and photo studio located at 8549 Higuera Street. • eBay – Work has been completed for a tenant improvement located at 10451 Jefferson Boulevard. • Westfield Culver City – A permit has been...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter The three-block street near Sorrento Market previously known as Bush Way has been re-named for Albert and Ursula Vera, former owners of Sorrento Market. The City Council was unanimous in voting for the re-naming. Albert Vera, Sr., was an Italian immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in 1950 at the age of 15. He gradually learned English and started a food delivery service that grew into a storefront grocery, Sorrento, at 5518 Sepulveda Boulevard. Over the years V...
Council Honors Veras With Street Re-Naming The three-block street near Sorrento Market previously known as Bush Way has been re-named for Albert and Ursula Vera, former owners of Sorrento Market. The City Council was unanimous in voting for the re-naming. Albert Vera, Sr., was an Italian immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in 1950 at the age of 15. He gradually learned English and started a food delivery service that grew into a storefront grocery, Sorrento, at 5518 Sepulveda Boulevard. Over the...
Should smoking be banned in multi-unit dwellings in Culver City? That was the question mulled at the City Council’s meeting Monday night. The answer did not come easily. The item before the Council was an action item but not one that required a vote. The Council was asked to consider what action to recommend to city staff to either bring back as an ordinance or to not take action. Heather Baker, from the City Attorney’s office, noted in the staff report that while existing state and federal law...
Council Weighs Consequences Of Smoking Ban Should smoking be banned in multi-unit dwellings in Culver City? That was the question mulled at the City Council’s meeting Monday night. The answer did not come easily. The item before the Council was an action item but not one that required a vote. The Council was asked to consider what action to recommend to city staff to either bring back as an ordinance or to not take action. Heather Baker, from the City Attorney’s office, noted in the staff report...
City Manager's Update August 2, 2013 City Manager’s Office · Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Recognition - As part of its recently released Final Report, the County of Los Angeles 2012-2013 Civil Grand Jury ranked Culver City #3 of the County’s 88 incorporated Cities for the City’s outstanding performance in its fiscal health, governance, financial management, and compensation programs. The Grand Jury’s Final Report can be accessed on the Grand Jury’s website at http://grandjury.co.la.ca.us/gjury12-13/Final%20Report%20%2...
Residents Prevail In Parking Meter Dispute When Bob Dylan sang “Don’t follow leaders/Watch your parking meters” he never dreamed that at Monday night’s Council meeting a large number of Culver City residents would refuse to follow their leaders by demanding that parking meters not be installed on the south side of Jefferson Boulevard. On the agenda was a motion to install parking meters at specific locations within parking meter zones. But the residents’ protests (which included a real prot...
Shuttle Scuttled Sewer Tax Increased over Residents’ Objections The long heralded pilot shuttle service that was to link the businesses in the Hayden tract with the Expo Line rail station and downtown Culver City took an abrupt turn off the highway Monday night when veteran council watchers asked if anyone had bothered to check with the workers in the largely industrial area to see if there was even a need. The motion failed on a vote of 2-2 with one abstention. Council members Andy Weissman a...
Commentary Stormwater Runoff-Taxes-Muni Bankruptcy By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist One can easily see why the federal government is prodding cities to clean up their storm water run-off. The most recent data available shows that in dry weather the mouth of Ballona Creek rates an "A" and in rainy weather it is an "F." Then there is Culver Blvd. at the ocean -- an "A+" and "B+." Just when you thought taxes were high and couldn't rise again, the county figures it needs $1.5 billion to $1.8...
Let the Voters Decide Bond Committee Dear Editor, Culver City school facilities are in poor shape. You can see it when you walk onto any one of our campuses; termite damage, brown drinking water, missing ceiling tiles, inoperable sprinkler systems, outdated electrical systems... the list goes on. It’s likely that any building constructed before 1955 needs repair or replacement. All of our schools were built before 1955. The past five years of recession and the overall underfunding of public education in California have left our school f...
King Fahad Mosque Honored By Culver Exchange Club The Exchange Club of Culver City, which puts on the annual Culver City Fireworks Show at Culver City High with the sponsorship and support of the City of Culver City and the Culver City Unified School District, recently presented the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City with an award for the Mosque’s outstanding contributions of major prizes for the past several years to the raffle which is an integral part of that annual fundraising event. Riyaz Kadri, Rauf Patel, and Mohammed Khan accepted the a...
City Manager's Update June 21, 2013 City Manager’s Office · Culver City's Boulevard Music Summer Festival – Co-sponsored by the City of Culver City and curated by producer Gary Mandell of Culver City’s Boulevard Music, Culver City’s Boulevard Music Summer Festival will feature: A cappella Doo Wop from the Mighty Echoes and acoustic blues with Doug MacLeod on July 11th; an eclectic mix of country, bluegrass, rock and jazz with Ryan Shupe & The RubberBand on July 18th; jazz and blues diva Barbara Morrison on July 25th; hot country, rock and blue...
Council Approves Predictable Budget The Drama of Recent Years Is Missing The 2013-2014 Culver City budget was adopted Monday night but compared to the drama of recent years, when the Council had to approve major cuts and layoffs, the budget came and went without much fuss at all. Chief of Finance Jeff Muir said in his opening statement that there was “nothing significant about the report.” He noted that the budget had been presented on May 13, while June 3 and 4 had seen presentations by the var...
“Friends of Culver City Scout House” announces the grand re-opening of the Culver City Scout House. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on June 7. Invited guests included Culver City Mayor Jeff Cooper, the City Council, City Staff, members of BSA Troop 113 and the Culver City Rock and Mineral Club (CCRMC). The Scout House has served the community and Culver City youth for more than 70 years. In 2009, a group of concerned citizens formed the non-profit Friends of Culver City Scout House (FOCCSH) in an effort to perform much-needed repairs and...
6 George Barris Culver City Car Show Trophy Winners Trophy Sponsor Winner Vehicle Best of Show H. Hanslmair Insurance Agency Charles Tachdjian 1941 Ford Willys Awesome A Rush Street Bar & Grille David McMahon 1929 Ford Model A Best Mopar Playa-West Automotive Rick Davis 1962 Dodge Dart Convertible Best Sports Car Dave Ashcraft Chris Jargo 1972 Austin Healy 3000 Best Chevelle Wagon Marina Shell Ruben Rodriguez 1954 Bel Air Station Wagon Best Tri-5 Chevy Philip Tangalakis Esq. Tom Lask 1955 Chevy Bel Air Best Paint Claude's Auto Body/Paint...
What’s This? An Optimistic Budget Two possible milestones marked the Monday night City Council meeting. The Council passed an ordinance banning the use of single-use plastic bags in retail stores, and the presentation of the proposed 2013-2014 budget was more optimistic than in previous years. The plastic bag ordinance amends the Culver City Municipal Code to ban retail businesses from giving out single-use plastic bags, requires stores to charge ten cents per paper bag, and requires b...
Culver’s New Mayor: Jeff Cooper Sahli-Wells Becomes Vice Mayor Culver City’s new Mayor is Jeffrey Cooper; the Vice Mayor is Meghan Sahli-Wells. The new leaders of the City Council were chosen at Monday night’s Council meeting. The Mike Balkman Council chamber was filled to capacity with people who wanted to see the changeover. Some of them also wanted to voice their opinions to the Council. Public comment saw no less than 17 speakers, sounding off on issues ranging from plastic bag dispo...
Mayor Weissman Looks At A Year of Progress Mayor Andy Weissman addressed civic and business leaders last week in the 33rd annual Mayor’s Luncheon before a sellout crowd of more than 400. Introduced by the Master of Ceremonies, City Manager John Nachbar, the Mayor began by thanking all the groups and individuals who help make Culver City the place it is,” adding, “let us recognize that it is a testament to the strength and vitality of Culver City and recognize, appreciate and applaud it....
It Also Approves Six Summer Concerts Good things came in sixes at April 8’s City Council meeting, where the Council chose six members for the new Finance Advisory Committee and also approved six concerts for the summer concert series at City Hall courtyard. Finance Advisory Committee members include three residents, three business members, as well as three members appointed rather than elected by the Council. The three resident members are Crystal Alexander, Alejandro Lara, and Steven R...
Dog Park Pays Light Bill for 20 Years City Councils are accustomed to groups coming to them with requests for money. But at their meeting Monday night the Culver City Council received money from a group. Friends of the Culver City Dog Park presented the Council with a giant mock-up of a check for $35,000, a photo-op gimmick that required the entire Council and several of the Friends to hold the check up as they were photographed. (Yes, there was a real check for $35,000, delivered by hand). The...
Application Forms Provided Confusion The City Council was poised to vote on members for the new Finance Advisory Committee at Monday’s meeting when a glitch came up. It seemed that the applications were so muddled it was hard to tell if people were applying as resident members or business members. Council member Mehaul O’ Leary brought up the problem just as potential members were coming up to the podium to give statements about their qualifications. He complained that the applications were “co...
Culver To Follow County-Wide Trend “It’s going to be an anticlimactic discussion,” was Mayor Andrew Weissman’s assessment of the City Council’s reaction to an action item on regulation of plastic bags in Culver City. And it was somewhat anticlimactic, as the Council agreed unanimously on directing staff to draft an ordinance modeled on the Los Angeles County ordinance—banning use of single-use plastic bags in retail businesses and charging ten cents for each paper bag used. The unsurprisin...
