BH Courier 04-20-12 Edition

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Happy Birthday Israel!

BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME XXXXVIII NUMBER 16 $135 PER YEAR - $1.25 PER COPY •

THIS ISSUE

Beverly Vista students donate more than 1,000 books for BookEnds. 4

Petie the four-month-old Shepherd mix is avaiable for adoption. 4

Diane Rosenstein Fine Art Gallery Opens. 5

www.bhcourier.com

Developer Experts Say MTA “Guessed” – No Active Faults Found By Matt Lopez Despite reports paid for by Metropolitan Transportation Authority claiming the area was seismically unsafe for a subway station, the city of Los Angeles in February approved a high-rise condo tower to be built at 10000 Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City, just south of Beverly Hills High School. Lucy Ibarra of the Department of City Planning confirmed to The Courier that the building, which will include up to 39 stories and up to 283 residential units while standing approximately 460-feet tall, was approved for development on Feb. 22. The property was purchased in 2010 by Miami-based developer Crescent Heights. Ibarra said the MTA’s claims about unsafe faults running along Santa Monica Boulevard led to the Department of

Breaking News—Council calls Special Session Sunday, 6 p.m., City Hall To OK Action - Finally. Exclusive to The Courier Informed sources in City Hall and the Beverly Hills Unified School District have con-

Building and Safety requesting the applicant, Crescent Heights, which applied for approval as SM 10000 Property, LLC, to submit a more detailed analysis of any seismic issues in the area before it could be approved. GeoDesign Inc., an internationallyrecognized geotechnical firm, analyzed the geology underlying the SM 10000 property. Its detailed report found no active faults on the site. This contradicts the findings of MTA’s report, but is consistent with findings of experts hired by the Beverly Hills Unified School District. GeoDesign’s other clients include public agencies, MGM Mirage and Catellus Development, the developer of the revitalized Los Angeles Union Station – the key hub for MTA – and the Metropolitan Water District. (see ‘10000 SANTA MONICA,’ page 18)

firmed to The Courier that the City Council intends to authorize its attorneys to call for a public hearing on locating stations in Century City and in Beverly Hills. The hearing procedure (see ‘PUBLIC HEARING,’ page 21)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - The community will celebrate Israel’s 64th birthday on April 29 at Cheviot Hills Recreation Center during the “Celebrate Israel Festival” which will include live music. Pictured from left to right: Monique Benabou from “The Voice” and Eyal Golan. For the full story, see page 18.

Joan Rivers covers another Broadway opening. 11 •Health & Wellness 12 •Arts & Entertainment 15 •Birthdays 20

Senate OK’s Small $$$ For MTA George Christy, Page 6 The Titanic And Avatar Each Grossed More Than $2 Billion As Of This Week; The Colleagues Raise $500,000 For The Children’s Institute; Dr. Charles Schneider Is Dr. Saviour Editorial from Rabbi Pressman AND MORE

CLASSIFIEDS • • • • •

Announcements Real Estate Rentals Sales and More

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April 20, 2012

Los Angeles Rejects MTA Seismic Study; Approves 39-Story Tower On Top Of ‘MTA Faults’

City Will Drop Bombshell On MTA El Rodeo’s “Relay for Life” set for April 28, to benefit American Cancer Society. 7

SINCE 1965

The U.S. Senate’s Appropriations Committee Thursday approved only $81 million for Los Angeles transportation projects. Projected total project cost ex-

ceeds $1 billion. The funds will be split between the Westside Subway Extension and the downtown “Regional Connec(see ‘SENATE FUNDS,’ page 21)

Council Majority Zev-Led MTA Group Frustrates Citizens Says ‘BHHS Tunnel’ By Laura Coleman and Marla Schevker The Beverly Hills City Council postponed passing a resolution during Tuesday’s meeting to withdraw support from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Westside Subway Extension in anticipation of the Metro Board approving the staff recommen(see ‘RESOLUTION,’ page 21)

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Planning and Programming Committee voted 3-11 Wednesday to recommend a subway terminus station at Wilshire/La Cienega and a tunnel underneath Beverly Hills High School. Lakewood Vice Mayor Diane DuBois, County (see ‘METRO,’ page 21)

Tower on top of MTA’s fault—”no faults there” - city of Los Angeles Department of Building And Safety

A Courier Special Investigation:

“We Do Our Part L.A.” Exposed as JMB-Funded Lobbyists By Matt Lopez You may have seen them at one of MTA’s open house meetings and they may have even knocked on your front door. “We Do Our Part L.A” has targeted Beverly Hills and the picture of this supposed “grassroots” coalition of business and labor unions is starting to become clearer. That picture shows a soon-to-be-registered paid lobbying group with funding coming from Century City OUT AND ABOUT IN B E V E R L Y HILLS–Halle Berry and fiance Olivier Martinez attended the Jenesse Silver Rose Gala, which provides shelter services for the needy. Halle and Olivier became engaged this week. More photos in George Christy’s column on page 6. Check Joan Rivers’ review of the the Broadway revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man. Joan critiques Gotham’s opening nights and reports on new books for The Courier.

Gilbert Flores/ Celebrity Photo

developer JMB Realty. Erin Lehane, whose LinkedIn profile describes her as a “public relations and communications consultant and contractor” appears to be the main point of contact for the group. Lehane lives in San Francisco, but has been working with We Do Our Part L.A. (WDOPLA) since its inception in November 2011. Lehane admitted to The Courier that JMB Realty, owner of the (see ‘WE DO OUR PART L.A.,’ page 18)


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