By Neil Rubenstein
Observer Columnist
I waited and it took well over 10 years but finally it now appears the government, at least in New York’s State Capitol, is starting to move on a problem I brought to our Assemblymember, Herb Wesson.
I suggested he introduce a bill to have an outside company certify the ingredients in herbal supplements. Eric T. Schneiderman, the Attorney General of New York, found that many herbal products sold by GNC, Target, Wal-Mart and Walgreens did not contain the ingredients listed on the bottle. Schneiderman said 78% of the products tested had no DNA of the plants listed or were contaminated by rice, beans, pine and wheat.
For all you coin collectors, June 3 through June 5 promises to be an exciting time. The world’s largest numismatic auctioneer, Heritage Auctions, will be in Long Beach. Call (310) 492-8600.
Do you want to take a cruise from New York to Europe on the luxury liner Queen Mary 2? Well, start packing and update your passport, because beginning on January 2, 2016 and for nine days the CUNARD people have an exciting journey for you. Check out ASAP their staterooms starting at only $3,970 (double occupancy) as they will be going super fast. Call (855) 698-6368 or go to nytimes.com/timesjourneys.
I’m disgusted and you should be, also; as of September 30, 2014 people working for the federal government or government retirees now owe more than $3.5 billion in unpaid taxes. Your eyes do not lie; it is almost 305,000 people owing an average of about $10,000. If you or I owed Uncle Sam $10,000 you can bet there would be an I.R.S. agent sitting in our driveway with two pit bulls waiting for a check.
Theodorsia and I were at the Brandeis Men’s Breakfast at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 15 to hear an expert from Cal Tech discuss the experiments at JPL. Then at 7 p.m. we were back at Vets Auditorium for the quarterly meeting of the Culver City Historical Society.
The meeting featured Albert Vera Jr. discussing his family and the Sorrento Market on Sepulveda. I was so jazzed that we went to the store the next day and purchased items it seems you can only get at the market. I mentioned to the group assembled how helpful Albert was in getting the restrooms at the Julian Dixon County Library ADA compliant. Briefly, Camille Jones, the city’s Disabled Services coordinator, worked for a dozen years to get the county to redo the restrooms, but with no luck. The problem was if a person in a wheel chair needed to use the bathroom he or she would need to drive 200 miles per hour to get to the senior center. The walls were too narrow to let a chair through. Since I was a Los Angeles County Commissioner, Miss Jones asked for my help and it took me five years of pushing the County Librarian to do the right thing. Ef Violin, the County Library Commissioner, was extremely valuable in this endeavor as was Albert who, as a Council Member, contacted Supervisor Burke, and the doors were opened.
I still hope the Historical Society, the Mayme Clayton Museum and the Cold War Museum will all be open on the same day, for example on a Saturday, so more people will come to Culver City.
When we came from New York in 1950 we stayed with my mother’s sister and her husband on Globe Avenue. If you wanted to find the house, it’s part of the southbound lanes of the San Diego freeway. I can still remember the can drives in elementary school that were used to feed the hungry. Today the U.S. Census Bureau claims one in five children is on food stamps. Maybe the schools and scouts could get behind this project.
State Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) has introduced a bill to prohibit the installation of red light cameras, a move he says would improve safety and traffic flow on California streets. Personally, I feel the red light bandits’ fines are used to fund the huge City Hall pensions.
I almost choked when I read on Page 5A, April 3, 2015 in the Ventura County Star that President Nixon’s Western White House in San Clemente is for sale for only $75 (seventy-five) million.
Are you a female and planning to go to college? Here are some scholarships you just might want to apply for:
1. Executive Women International Scholarship Program
2. Linda Lael Miller Scholarship for women
3. Society of Women Engineers Scholarships
4. Joe Francis Hair Care Scholarships
5. NFRW’s Betty Rendel Scholarship
6. Women’s Independence Scholarship Program
7. Young Women in Public Affairs Award
8. At the Well Young Women’s Leadership Academy Scholarship
The Tennessee legislature tried to pass a bill making the Bible the State Book. It passed their Assembly 55-38; however, the Senate voted 22-9 to send it to a committee. The committee has been closed, effectively killing it for the year.
For those who missed an article, all my commentaries can be found at http://www.culvercityobserver.com by placing Rubenstein in that website’s search box.
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