Sorted by date Results 826 - 850 of 879
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Perhaps I should be smiling and full of good cheer. Yes, my friend, Social Security for 2014 will increase by about 1.5% starting in January. The very wild gypsy lady told me Medicare will go up big time, wiping out any additional pesos the government put on my monthly direct deposit check. Presently I'm looking at my property tax statement for 2013-2014. I have often wondered why it comes so late in the year and must be paid in no more than two...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Whatever happened to acid rain? Would you believe the Los Angeles Aqueduct bringing water from the Owens Valley is 100 years old? And then there is the anniversary of the four-level interchange which was completed in 1953, some 60 years ago. After trying for many years to reduce the coyote population in inland Orange County communities with an education campaign aimed at removing food sources that attract them, the Garden Grove council recently voted to...
Dear Editor, History in Los Angeles was made when its city council unanimously passed a ban on bullhooks. Years of work, tireless effort, and constant prodding by dedicated animal welfare advocates and the community, finally resulted in a victory for our elephants. We moved city hall. Then a horrible thing happened. Councilmember Cedillo offered a friendly amendment which supported the ban but would delay its effective date for three years. This was done to assuage the circus interests who...
Dear Editor, Does fracking in Baldwin Hills concern you? On Tuesday December 3rd there is a special election. This is our opportunity to elect as our State Assembly member a Culver City favorite voted most popular elected official in 2008 because of his total dedication to the community. He will speak out and work on our behalf in Sacramento. Former Culver City Mayor Chris Armenta is running for 54th District seat. During the 2008 recession Mayor Armenta used his savvy as State auditor to...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist Perhaps I should be smiling and full of good cheer. Yes, my friend, Social Security for 2014 will increase by about 1.5% starting in January. The very wild gypsy lady told me Medicare will go up big time, wiping out any additional pesos the government put on my monthly direct deposit check. Presently I'm looking at my property tax statement for 2013-2014. I have often wondered why it comes so late in the year and must be paid in no more than two...
Dear Editor, Direct, deliberate and discerning. Culver City home purchasers are attracted to this community because of the schools. School board president Kathy Paspalis does her homework for Culver City students. Paspalis has worked the past four years, to improve our facilities while sustaining efficiencies that have allowed the school district to balance its budget. Paspalis asks the tough questions and shows the diligence to follow up. She is relentless in her pursuit for safe and highly...
I am writing this letter to express my support for Karlo Silbiger, a candidate in the 2013 Culver City School Board election. I have a daughter who attends Linwood E. Howe Elementary School, and I have been impressed with Karlo’s service on the School Board, his knowledge and experience, steady and consistent temperament, attention to detail, and his effective and nuanced handling of the critical issues facing the Board. Karlo Silbiger has demonstrated his commitment to the Culver City e...
Dear Editor, Kathy Paspalis “For the Kids” As a former teacher in the CCUSD it gives me great pride to endorse Kathy Paspalis for school board. I have had the opportunity to work with many quality people in this city whose primary interest was to make a difference in our children’s lives. Kathy is one of those special people. For years the overused mantra has been “for the kids”. This has had a hollow ring, and has not been for the kids, but for others’ self importance and ambitions....
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...
Dear Editor, Why am I voting and for whom? In the upcoming election on Tuesday, November 5 seven candidates are running for three available seats on the Culver City School Board. Each brings their gifts, perspective and commitment to our School District. In assessing the current needs of our District, two major issues stand out: (1) funding for desperately needed infrastructure upgrade and repair with maintenance factored in. And (2) implementation of the federally mandated Core Curriculum...
Dear Editor, I am voting for Karlo Silbiger because he stands for decent wages for classroom aides which resonates with my family history. I grew up in Mar Vista, where my two brothers and I were raised by a single mom. For 28 years, my mother worked as a front office secretary at a Los Angeles public middle school. At the time of her retirement nine years ago she was earning $29,000 a year. Our family got by because of her union salary and health benefits. I believe that all our classroom...
Dear Editor, The upcoming School Board election is an important one and I wish to share with readers my reasons for supporting the re-election of Kathy Paspalis. As a City Council member and as someone who regularly has attended school board meetings, I have had the opportunity to watch Kathy up close. I would describe her as decisive, focused and accessible. She has a tremendous work ethic but all of her actions are devoted to improving the quality of education for our Culver City kids. She...
As a Culver City parent, I believe it is time to increase the separation between the teacher's unions and the people that make decisions, which impact teacher's unions. People forget that teachers are union members and are influenced by their unions. Parents are focused on what is best for their children. We are lucky enough to have parents running in our school board election, who despite their very busy lives, are willing to take time away from their own families to help run our schools...
Dear Editor, I had heard from people working on Kathy Paspalis’s School Board re-election campaign that her lawn signs were being stolen from around town. Hers in particular, picked out at locations where there were pairs of two or sets of three signs. I thought it would be interesting to see what really was happening. I set up security cameras at a couple of locations. To view the results, go to YouTube.com and search for the channel “Culver City Politics.” It took no time to capture this...
Dear Editor, I want to urge everyone to vote for Sue Robins for the Culver City School Board for two reasons: 1. I met Sue when she was my daughter’s 8th grade science teacher. My daughter has behavioral and emotional problems due to her abusive background before we became her fost-adopt parents. Although several of the middle school teachers were sympathetic and helpful, none were as involved and involved us as Sue. She understood our daughter’s special problems and went out of her way to try...
Dear Editor, My three votes: Karlo, Claudia & Kathy Karlo has been an outstanding leader on the School Board over the past four years. He championed the solar project and Environmental Sustainability Committee, making our campuses greener every day. He's made the Board more transparent and responsive to the community. He researches every decision thoroughly, getting input from a diverse group of parents and residents. A product of Culver City schools, Boston University, and Harvard, he went on t...
Dear Editor, I’ve been teaching adapted physical education in Culver City Unified for over 10 years and work with “special needs” children. I’m frustrated with how the district spends taxpayer money. Why not fix the pool for three million and use the rest of the 7.7 million on air conditioning, faulty plumbing, and contrast paints on playgrounds (Helps visually impaired children from being injured.). Examples of problems and where the money should go 1) Nurse’s station at CCHS 96 degrees (...
Dear Editor, I have three votes in the upcoming Board of Education election, and I plan on using all three. With one, I’m voting for Sue Robins. Sue has ALL the qualities that are needed for an effective member of a board of education. She has firsthand experience of being a teacher in the Culver City Unified School District. Culver City is far different from other districts and charter schools. Indeed, CCUSD is one of the reasons many of us (including my parents, and later I) chose to purchase...
By Neil Rubenstein Observer Columnist From time to time I plan to note measures signed into law by Governor Brown. When a person is suspected of driving under the influence a search warrant can be issued, blood drawn and samples used as evidence. Police who have reason to believe property in the possession of pawnbrokers is lost or stolen can put a 90-day hold on its sale. Law enforcement can also take the items as evidence. A new prostate cancer test that measures levels of PSA and six...
I strongly urge you to vote for Kathy Paspalis, Sue Robins, and Steve Levin for School Board. I am a former booster club president, high school parent, and perpetual volunteer who has attended numerous School Board meetings, forums, workshops, and meetings. Based on all of these experiences I know that Kathy, Sue, and Steve are the most qualified candidates in this election cycle. Kathy has shown through her performance on the School Board that she does her homework, is incisive, intuitive,...
Because of my passion for this amazing free service, I am a dedicated supporter of Karlo Silbiger. Karlo initiated a meeting with our Friends’ co-president Andy Alexander and CCUSD Supt. David LaRose to include the Health Center information in the online registration packets for students/parents. Karlo was instrumental in ensuring that teachers would make student referrals to the Health Center. As a teacher, Karlo knows the importance and opportunity teachers have to identify concerns of y...
Dear Editor, Karlo Silbiger has won my endorsement. Now that I am finally of legal age to vote, I am proud to cast my first ballot in support of his reelection and I urge fellow Culver Citizens to do the same on November 5. In my time at Culver City High School, I witnessed an embarrassing absence of the student voice in the Culver City community. Critical issues have passed through the school board, meeting after meeting, without CCUSD reaching out for student perspectives or seriously investig...
Dear Editor: As a veteran teacher in Culver City Unified School District I feel fortunate to work in a community that values and supports excellence in education. During my tenure I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with numerous dedicated individuals. One of those people, Steve Levin, is a candidate for the Culver City Board of Education. Steve has spent countless hours supporting and volunteering for classroom programs, PTA events and booster club activities as well as fulfilling a...
Dear Fellow Voters: Several writers submitting letters about the school board candidates have noted the amount of volunteering each has contributed to our schools and want to make that a criterion for supporting them. To that point I will describe the situation that existed when my husband Stephen Schwartz ran for a seat on the Board in the ‘70s. He was a sheet metal worker in those years and our oldest son had just started kindergarten at Farragut. He hadn’t done any volunteering in the sch...
Dear Editor, We in Culver City are lucky to have Sue Robins running for School Board. She brings experience as a parent, teacher and professional to the table. Her concern for students and our public school system is deep; she's chosen to add serving our community in an official capacity rather than sit back and let others take the lead. Sue is a person with backbone, intelligence and integrity; she listens, processes and responds. We need school board members who will interact, listen, come to...
