We Remember The Victims Of The Holocaust On Yom HaShoah
BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 14
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THIS ISSUE
One expert says Metro’s La Cienega Station subway site is “raining fossils.” 4
Tater is a 1-year-old terrier chi mix who is looking for her forever home. 4
Nancy Rubin is set to give the keynote address at LAMOTH’s Yom HaShoah Day of Commemoration on April 15. 5
Sophie Of Paris brings haute couture, fashion expertise to Beverly Hills. 17 •Real Estate •Birthdays •Letters to the Editor
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AWARDING EXCELLENCE – BHPD Officer Alex Duncan is the recipient of the POALAC Award for Excellence in Field Operations, a distinction earned with street-level engagement, cultivating relationships that have resulted in actionable information that led to arrests. Suspects were discovered in an abandoned building with burglary tools and stolen property. Duncan led patrol with 145 arrests and 24 recovered stolen vehicles. Pictured, from left: Assistant Chief Marc Coopwood, Alex’s father, Officer David Duncan, Award Recipient Officer Alex Duncan, Chief Sandra Spagnoli, Sergeant Blake Nance and Sergeant Eugene Kim.
Disaster Assistance Response Team Training Prepares BHUSD Teachers For The Worst By Laura Coleman Beverly Hills Unified teachers got a sobering dose of just what it means to be an educator in the 21st century on Monday at the school district’s biennial Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) training. “I know it’s a very scary subject and for you teachers it hits home,” said Beverly Hills Police Lt. Michael Hill in leading the day’s Active Shooter Training. “We need to be prepared and vigilant in almost everything we do. The reality is it can happen everywhere and Beverly Hills is not exempt.” In addition to Active Shooter Training from the Beverly Hills Police Department where attendees learned the mantra of “Run. Hide. Fight.” at Monday’s day-long Professional Development day, approximately 390 educators received training from the Beverly
Bregy Declines To Address Teachers On DART Day By Laura Coleman Just hours after Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) training day commenced on Monday morning, Beverly Hills Unified teachers were aflutter in surprise and conjecture as to just why Superintendent Michael Bregy had declined to address almost 400 educators during the day-long program’s agendized opening speeches. Multiple attendees told the Courier that the agenda had allowed time for Bregy to have (see ‘BREGY’ page 20)
Beverly Hills High Assembly On Racism Raises Awareness Rumors Persist At The Conde Nast Offices That Vogue Editor Anna Wintour Is On Her Way Out. The New York Post’s Emily Smith Reports That The Gossip Continues Nonstop. Denials Are Surfacing.
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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April 6, 2018
Basement Ordinance Referendum Race Heats Up
(see ‘DART’ page 20)
George Christy, Page 6
SINCE 1965
By Laura Coleman The power of words echoed poignantly throughout Beverly Hills High School last Friday following a series of intimate assemblies where around 200 students at a time packed the Salter Family Theatre and listened to speakers address the topic of racism. Starting with a film that highlighted our “cultural baggage” when it comes to notions of beauty, Friday’s powerful program, spearheaded by BHHS Principal Mark Mead, was designed to teach kids the importance of empathy. “Our big school goal is that everyone feels safe,” he told stu-
dents. “Today’s assembly is about family, and we’re a family here. We’re trying to come together. We hear that students are hurt on this campus by words. The consequences of your words are your responsibility. End of story.“ Mead estimated that just over 1,000 students, including all freshmen, attended the assembly, which included several speakers and short films. The program was born following a derogatory social media posting made earlier this year by a BHHS cheerleader who snapped a photo of the rival cheerleaders at a Beverly-Santa Monica (see ‘RACISM’ page 20)
By Victoria Talbot Efforts continue to gather signatures on a petition that will stop the City’s new Basement Ordinance from going into effect, overturning the will of the residents and the vote of the entire City Council for the benefit of real estate agent Branden Williams and his client billionaire developer Francesco Aquilini, who wish to build the project on Loma Linda Drive. Nine 140-foot long retaining walls would be visible for miles if 1193 Loma Linda Drive is allowed to move forward as planned with the 11,000 square-foot residence; more retaining walls would round the hillside next door at 1184 Loma Linda Drive, and together, the structures would dominate the hillside.
BREAKING NEWS At deadline Thursday, the Courier learned that Branden Williams resigned as principal officer and treasurer of Beverly Hills Residents for Preserving Property Values, which was behind the petition to rescind the Basement Ordinance. To read Branden’s full statement, see page 21.
If Williams succeeds in obtaining verifiable signatures of 10 percent of the registered voters in Beverly Hills, about 2,000 signatures prior to April 6, the Basement Ordinance, which goes into effect on April 6, will not go into effect; if they receive the signatures by April 10, the Basement Ordinance (see ‘BASEMENT UPDATE’ page 21)
Design Review To Consider Crucial Expansion Including Hillside Area By Victoria Talbot A proposal to add the Hillside Area and perhaps, Trousdale as well, to Design Review that was set as a priority for 2017-18 by the City Council has finally begun its journey forward through the bureaucracy of commission and council meetings, just as newly-installed Mayor Julian Gold is about to head up priorities for 2018-19. The Design Review Commission will hold a Special Meeting to begin the discussion on Monday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. The public is welcome The proposal would give the City yet another way to curb overdevelopment of unsightly megamansions in the
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
VOLUME: LIII
Hillside Area and perhaps, to add another level review for retaining walls and inappropriate development. “The priority item for FY 2017-18 was identified as a two-phase priority with the second phase to begin after work was completed on the first phase. Phase one was review and modification to the R1 Hillside development standards to ensure appropriate grading, scale, mass and basement design,” said Susan Healy Keene, Director of Community Developement. “Part two was always represented as consideration of expansion of design review into the Hillside. Since we have now completed the work (see ‘HILLSIDE EXPANSION’ page 21)
HOT TICKET — Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One is raking in big cash at the box office. Steven joined his cast during the Warner Bros Pictures’ world premiere at the Dolby Theater. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.