Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 221
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist One recipient of the Southern California Motion Picture Council’s 79th Annual Founders Day Golden Halo Award was Culver City Car Show’s “Mr. Good Guy” George Barris of Batmobile fame. Oh, my . . . My favorite steak house (when I was eating meat), the Buggy Whip on La Tijera Blvd in Westchester, has closed and the site will probably be apartments soon. One plan calls for 94 units and the most recent proposal calls for 39 studios, 45 one-bedroom, and 10 two-...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter How is Culver City doing with water conservation? Not too bad, as it turns out-but citizens should keep doing what they can to conserve. Scott Houston, director of the West Basin Water Board, told the City Council, in a presentation on August 10, that Culver City, given the goal of a 16 per cent water reduction rate for 2015, actually reduced water usage by 19 per cent in the month of June. . California is in the fourth year of a drought that seems...
With summer heat, people want to use water more often yet the drought in California necessitates water conservation. With this situation in mind, the City Council on July 13 adopted a resolution declaring the existence of Level 2 water supply shortage conditions and implementing mandatory conservation requirements per Chapter 5.03, Water Conservation of the Culver City Municipal Code. In April the council considered public input and information by city staff and directed the City Manager to...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter A standing-room-only congregation of community members gathered in a meeting room at Veteran's Auditorium on June 14 to discuss "mansionization" in Culver City and what to do about it. Before the meeting was over, it was apparent that this issue will be the subject of a long and contentious fight. The meeting became rowdy, with people talking out of turn, often talking at the same time and arguing, despite efforts by moderator Iain Gulin to keep things...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Despite the growing rallying cry around Los Angeles against "mansionization"-the building of larger single-family homes in residential neighborhoods-the City Council did not vote for a moratorium on the matter at their June 8 meeting. The Council's vote was 3-2 against a moratorium, with Meghan Sahli-Wells and Jim Clarke supporting the idea and the others opposing it. Mansionization is typically defined as the practice of replacing older, smaller homes with t...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Culver City will again be sponsoring the 2015 IndieCade videogame festival in downtown Culver City this October. But the City Council/Successor Agency’s vote to sponsor, at May 26’s meeting, did not come as easily as might have been expected. The vote to sponsor and give in-kind financial assistance per the requests of IndieCade CEO Stephanie Barish was 3-2, with council members Andrew Weissman and Jeff Cooper voting against Barish’s request. The two council...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter What might have been a routine procedure of passing Consent Calendar items one by one turned into a major discussion at May 11's City Council meeting thanks to an item dealing with a local playground. The item, C-5 on the agenda, dealt with the Syd Kronenthal Park Playground Rehabilitation Project. The park was recently the subject of improvements by the R.E. Shultz Construction Services Company. The Council was ready to approve the work done when a number...
By Sandra Coopersmith Features Writer The Jewish teaching, "According to the effort is the reward," was evident on Saturday, April 25 as an aura of community, joy, light and love enveloped Temple Akiba, a Reform synagogue at 5249 S. Sepulveda Blvd. The time had finally come for a Rededication Celebration following the extensive renovation commenced in late 2013. The temple, a presence in Culver City for over 60 years and its only Jewish house of worship, now visually exemplifies its mission as a...
By Stephen Hadland Observer Publisher Longtime Culver City resident and chair of Culver City's Finance Advisory Committee Göran Eriksson has become the first candidate to announce for one of the three seats available on the 2016 Culver City Council ballot. Eriksson has a long track record as a successful businessman and community activist, so while his announcement comes earlier than usual, he said planning ahead and being prepared is part of his nature. "I have created a campaign committee...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Every April, Culver City's city council performs the spring rite of choosing a new Mayor and Vice Mayor. Since there are only five members of the City Council the ritual isn't filled with suspense. The members merely rotate the positions, with the previous year's Vice Mayor usually ascending to the position of Mayor. This year, there was probably even less suspense than usual because the terming out of two council members next year meant that these two...
The Culver City Council has approved the design of a logo for the Culver City Centennial. The logo was presented by Jim Clarke, president of the Culver City Centennial Celebration Committee, a non-profit organization created to help plan and coordinate activities during the City's Centennial year beginning September 20, 2016 and running through September 20, 2017, the official date of incorporation. According to Clarke, the logo will be used to identify events and projects that are part of the "official" celebration, as well as to denote...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter On Monday night the City Council considered changing Culver City's elections to a mail-only voting system. However, the voting-by-mail idea was strongly voted down by four out of five council members. The issue had been placed on the agenda by council member Jim Clarke, who thought that since absentee ballots account for a large percentage of the total vote, the actual voting system ought to be changed to reflect that situation. But Clarke stood alone in...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter Last September, the City Council discussed a projected funding shortfall for the housing programs provided by the City and Housing Authority. At the Council's March 23 meeting, the Council reexamined current housing programs and the problems of funding. Culver City Community Development Director Sol Blumenfeld and Housing Director Tevis Barnes gave the Council a detailed staff report on the options available. Formerly, Culver City's housing programs had been...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter In an action that proves the times are indeed changing, the Culver City Council approved support of an amicus (friend of the court) brief from Mayors for the Freedom to Marry that would lend support to several marriage cases currently before the United States Supreme Court for review. The support was approved by four of the five council members with Mehaul O' Leary abstaining. The amicus brief has been circulating around the United States and has gained...
City Manager’s Office • Vice President Joe Biden at West Los Angeles College – On January 23 Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells participated in Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to West Los Angeles College (West). Vice President Biden toured West’s campus and met with college administrators to discuss improving education in the United States by making community colleges more affordable to more students. to Credit: The White House • Community Meeting on Overflights, Noise and Other Impacts of the Los Ang...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter January The Culver City Expo Line station was closed for almost two hours on January 7 due to a security threat involving what police called "a suspicious package" on the station platform. The Culver City Police were alerted and dogs from the County's K-9 division sniffed out the package, which was wrapped in duct tape and appeared to be merely a cushion. On January 17 Culver City police shot and wounded a man outside a 7-11 store at Washington Boulevard and...
By John Nachbar City Manager City Manager’s Office • Culver City Featured in SWISS Magazine - SWISS Magazine, the inflight publication of Swiss International Air Lines, features the Los Angeles area as a destination in the current December/January issue. There are three references to Culver City in the article. On page 23, artist Joshua Callaghan is pictured standing next to one of his wrapped utility boxes in downtown. On page 26, Susanne Vielmetter is featured; her gallery is on Was...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter The issues of rent control and affordable housing might be seen as six of one and half a dozen of the other. Affordable housing was, however, the preferred issue for the Culver City Council, who on Monday night agreed to agendize a discussion of that topic while dismissing rent control as a topic. The Council came to this conclusion after hearing from more than 50 public speakers, plus written comments. Four council members weighed in, as Mehaul O' Leary...
City Manager’s Office • Downtown Culver City Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony – On December 4 the holiday tree in downtown Culver City was illuminated for the holiday season. The Tree Lighting Ceremony was presented by the Downtown Business Association and the City of Culver City. Local businesses participated by giving out samples to the public, and several groups of students entertained the crowd as they sang holiday songs. Santa Claus made an appearance and was assisted by the Culver City...
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter June Lehrman and Stephen Murray brought up a new concern at the City Council meeting Monday night that of airport noise affecting Culver City. Airport-related problems are nothing new in urban affairs but as far as Culver City goes, the problem of overflight noise is on the increase, according to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Community Noise Roundtable, on which Lehrman and Murray are representative and co-representative, respectively. As...
Community Development • Panera Bread - Panera Bread has been issued a permit for a tenant improvement to build out an existing commercial space for a new restaurant at 10990 Jefferson Boulevard. • The Flame Broiler – The Flame Broiler has submitted plans for a tenant improvement for a new restaurant at 10758 Jefferson Boulevard. • Business Improvement District – The City has commenced work on the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Downtown Business Improvement District....
By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter The City Council took up the issue of mobile home park relocation at its meeting Monday night, with consideration of a draft RIR (Relocation Impact Report) for the Palms Mobile Home Lodge on Grand View Boulevard in Culver City. Ultimately, the Council adopted the RIR with a unanimous 4-0 vote (council member Jim Clarke was absent). The draft RIR was per a January 2012 ordinance amending the city’s municipal code to protect, and to further define, adequate r...
Madness and mayhem are the watchwords of the day when it comes to STONEHEARST ASYLUM. Directed by Brad Anderson from a script by Joe Gangemi based on the 1844 story "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather " by Edgar Allan Poe, STONEHEARST ASYLUM abounds with twists and turns set against a richly textured and lush, stylized Victorian-era visual palette. Boasting a cast of Sir Ben Kingsley, Sir Michael Caine, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Sturgess and Kate Beckinsale, among others,...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist It was a beautiful day in Los Angeles; the temperature was four degrees below 80 with low humidity and a slight breeze as 100 of the faithful came together June 8, 2014 at the Proud Bird restaurant to honor Jackie Dupont Walker, Jackie Hawthorne and the Weissmans, David and Ruth. At the 54th Assembly District Democratic Club Annual Awards luncheon, some Culver City residents honored in the past included Rick Tuttle, Honorable Megan Sahli-Wells (mayor),...
By John Nachbar City Manager City Clerk’s Office • Vacancies to be filled on Culver City's Commissions and Committees - The City Clerk’s Office is pleased to announce the application period for the following two vacancies: 1) Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Commission – Seat #1 (for an unexpired term ending on June 30, 2016) and 2) Disability Advisory Committee – Seat #9 (for an unexpired term ending on June 30, 2015). Applications will be accepted by the City Clerk’s Office until 5 p....
