Sorted by date Results 776 - 800 of 879
When we moved to Culver City 20 years ago we did not have kids, but we chose Culver City in part because of the school system. Please vote YES on Measure CC, the CCUSD school bond measure on the June 3rd ballot. Over the last 10 years that our son has been a Culver City student we have spent a lot of time at the school sites. The conditions of our classrooms, science labs, computer infrastructure, plumbing, electrical, buildings, athletic areas and schools are deteriorating and need fixing up. I...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Oh, Maria, do you think I can qualify for a payday loan if I don’t have a job? Or perhaps for a reverse mortgage, the one Fonzie from Happy Days pushes on television 24 hours a day? Hmmm . . . Should I go to Wells Fargo and apply for a home equity loan? I hope you know who still works there. No, I don’t need the money to travel to China and see the American jobs we lost; no, I don’t need a new car although a Tahoe would be nice, but why enrich the oil compa...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist I know it isn’t November but let’s talk turkey. Get a little closer so I can whisper a deep, dark secret that the Board of Education doesn’t want you to know. Before I start, take a look around. See anyone listening to our conversation? Okay, here it is. This bond issue, if passed, will go up every year if the value of your home or apartment goes up. The Board – and you just have to love them – isn’t concerned with seniors and renters. If you cannot pay,...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist If you are undecided as to whom you should vote for as Los Angeles County Sheriff, please consider Todd Rogers. Todd is an Assistant Sheriff and Vice Mayor of Lakewood. As sheriff he would restructure the department’s chain of command to ensure shorter spans of control and greater accountability, as well as immediate review of deputy-involved shootings, community policing and at-risk kids’ programs. Look at the website, www.rogers4sheriff.com, and vote for...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Is your child musically talented? For those students who would like to develop their vocal skills from the most basic concepts through the college level, the National Children’s Chorus rehearses each week at UCLA and will have auditions on Saturday, May 3. Visit nationalchildrenschorus.com. Many years ago, as a member of the California Army National Guard, I and several others “volunteered” for the assault helicopters. As you recall, the choppers would...
Dear Observer, We have seen your article by Lynne Bronstein about the recent Foreign Relations of the United States volume (“Documents Reveal Howard Hughes' Role in CIA Sub Retrieval”) and would just like to point out that readers need not wait for the book version to be published to read its contents. The volume is also available on-line, for free, right now, in PDF form at: http://static.history.state.gov/frus/frus1969-76v35/pdf/frus1969-76v35.pdf. In due course the Office of the His...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist I honestly don’t know what’s so fascinating watching someone trying for hours to outrun the highway patrol and the helicopter. Nowadays police use the pit maneuver or the spike strip or just follow until the bad guy runs out of gas. Has anyone ever escaped? To stop this craziness the British have an invention which uses radio waves to scramble the bandito’s electronic controls. The criminal’s getaway car stops dead in about 55 yards. Can someone please...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist For those who are familiar with the terms par, eagle, birdie and tee, you just know the lead paragraph is something about golf. And you would be right. Golf began over 200 years ago in Scotland at Saint Andrews. Now here is the big question: What is the only thing that hasn’t changed in two centuries? If you said, “Women cannot play at Saint Andrews,” you win!!! Later this year members will vote whether ladies can tee off. I just dusted my old bugle and soon...
Last week’s Commentary by Observer Columnist Neil Rubenstein was in error. Two of the founder’s names were incorrect. They should have read Diane Netzel and Dale Jones. The Observer regrets the error....
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist It wasn't that long ago that many of us were called by Barbara Netzel and Harry Jones to attend the formation meeting of the Culver City Education Foundation. Barbara was the wife of Paul, who was on the Board of Education for eight years and on the city council for two four-year terms. Harry was the Chief Administrative Officer for our town. So we gathered in one of the rooms in the Veterans Auditorium complex and longtime city treasurer Lu Herrera put a...
Dear Editor, Elaine Hirohama and Nancy Kuechle, co-presidents Culver City Friends of the Library and to whom it may concern, I truly do not understand how you can feel "delighted"!? To announce that Culver City's Julian Dixon Library cosmetic face lift will better serve the needs of the hundreds of dedicated patrons who use it regularly by closing it for an entire year, especially at the end of the school year when students need it the most. I frequent Culver City Julian Dixon Library at least...
Dear Editor, A common refrain anyone will hear coming from me is that I love living in Culver City because of the ability we have to actually speak with our community’s leaders. Over the 14 years I have lived here, there have been many occasions where I’ve felt the need to personally contact one or more of our city council members about an issue or an idea. Jeff Cooper & Jim Clarke are two council members who take the time to listen. I know that they listen, because they respond not with a rot...
Dear Editor, Why We Support Jeff Cooper and Jim Clarke. They’re proven leaders. They’ve demonstrated their ability to collaborate with council colleagues, guiding the city through some very difficult times and toward a promising future. They’re thoughtful, and responsive to constituents while sticking to their principles. In short, they’re what we elect our council members to be. That’s why. Molly Wyant Leslie Spanier-Wyant Scott Wyant Culver City...
Dear Editor, We are supporting Jeff Cooper for City Council for many reasons. Over the many years that we have known him, he has demonstrated strong leadership skills, a willingness to go the extra mile, a great sense of caring, a good ear for listening and forward thinking. We have watched Jeff as he has honed his skills in each of the above areas. As Mayor of Culver City in the past year he has taken his responsibilities seriously, and has always been respectful to those who have come before...
Dear Editor, This past year as mayor, Jeff Cooper led us through tough economic times and recently outlined plans to increase city revenues. He works with his colleagues in seeking to find ways that the City Council can protect our homes, improve our environment, work with our schools to decrease bullying and keep our community – our “hometown” - safe and secure. Jeff Cooper, our current mayor, Is a very fine leader indeed Faced with grave economic troubles He provided guidance in time of need...
Dear Editor, I am writing you today in order to advocate for a cause dear to my heart. Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services is aiming to expand their suicide crisis and prevention services. Didi Hirsch has been a part of Culver City’s community for over 80 years, offering various mental health services. Currently, Didi Hirsch is home to the oldest suicide prevention crisis line in the nation and is a lead innovator in the field. They offer various services related to suicide crisis and prevention,...
Dear Editor, Did you know that PXP has now done over 150 frack jobs using a variety of differently named processes in the nearby oil field? Are you concerned about the escalating magnitude and intensity of the earthquakes we are experiencing? Wonder if these are fracking related? You or neighbors complain of heavy noxious odors in the early hours when there is a marine layer? Concerned? Want answers? Four good men are running for Council. Incumbents seeking re-election ask we wait till the...
Dear Editor, We are writing to publically declare our support for the re-election of Jeff Cooper. We have known and supported Jeff for many years because we feel he is exceptionally qualified to represent us on behalf of Culver City. Jeff demonstrates all the qualities we need and desire in a local representative. He is caring, intelligent, informed, open minded and very diligent in the service he renders to the city. He is also very experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to Culver City¹s...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Let me be the first to tell everyone, “My eyes don’t lie.” The old sergeant doesn’t have macular degeneration or cataracts or glaucoma. Recently I saw our City Manager, Mr. John Nachbar, a person whom we all respect and admire, and told him of one department’s lack of compliance with Government Code 6250-6276.48, the Public Records Act – especially 6253(c). There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind that when soft-spoken Mr. Nachbar whispers, his voice carries...
Dear Editor, Two years ago, when Jim first threw his hat into the ring to fulfil an unexpired term, he had an amazing political resume. He graduated from the US Coast Guard Academy rising from Ensign to Commander through active and reserve duty. His Master’s Degree in Public Administration rounded his leadership role. He worked at an important Director level for Mayor Villaraigosa’s Office of Grants, overseeing millions of dollars of funding. He also served as chief of staff for Congress mem...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Recently a friend spoke to me while I was shopping in Aisle 8 and suggested I review a previous issue of the Observer. Casually reaching into the file cabinet drawer containing newspapers going back over a decade, remembering it’s the one on the very bottom on the far left, my fingers latched onto the issue of August 26 – September 1, 2010. The headline was “O’Leary Files $1 Million Civil Lawsuit.” It seems a customer, Mr. Singerman, slugged the councilma...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist I was wondering, what does one do when it rains cats and dogs? Since we are in a drought I didn’t spend much time dwelling on this subject. Maria, AKA “the wild gypsy lady,” came over, and at random local newspapers were reviewed. Interestingly, on March 14, 2003 Marta Zaragoza was appointed to the Baldwin Hills Conservancy by Governor Davis. On June 7, 2010 Chris Sellers was sworn in as Fire Chief by Mayor Christopher Armenta. On December 13, 2008 Mayor...
The contract between the City and Redflex ends on March 28, so it's likely the council agenda for March 24 will include a staff recommendation to add another five years of red light cameras. Here are some reasons not to do that. First, the cameras haven't reduced the number of violations to any significant extent over the years - in fact, the current trend is upward: Ticketing in 2013 was 11% higher than in 2012, per data at www.highwayrobbery.net. That dismal result is not just in Culver City;...
Culver City should soon decide to end the use of red light cameras, for many different reasons. Red light camera tickets send about two thirds to three quarters of the total fine revenue out of the local economy with the camera company fees plus the state and county fine surcharges. This does serious economic harm to the community. Red light cameras issue most tickets to safe drivers for small technical fouls that endanger no one. At many intersections the yellow intervals are too short for the...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist The Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) has probably the very best program in the State of California to teach elementary students Japanese. When many of us were in school the foreign language options became available in the second half of the eighth grade when, in my case, the Los Angeles Unified School District took a year of Spanish and stretched it over 18 months. George Washington High School had a fantastic program with Latin, German, Spanish...
