Happy Cinco De Mayo!
BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 18
THIS ISSUE
The BHPD is searching for the driver of this Honda after an alleged kidnapping attempt. 4
Extreme Swimmer Diana Nyad will join Monday’s Walk With The Mayor. 4
Marilyn Lewis of Hamburger Hamlet, Cardinali fame 5 died Wednesday.
The Active Adult Club Awarded scholarships to two BHHS seniors. 5
A major housing development in Bel Air is causing a stir with residents. 8 • Arts & Entertainment • Birthdays • Letters to the Editor
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George Christy, Page 6 Leaving Austria As A Teenager, Wolfgang Puck Apprenticed At Leading Restaurants In France, Before Coming To Beverly Hills And Opening Spago In 1984. Today, He Operates 100 Restaurants And Cafes
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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Beverly Hills Could Be In Talks To Buy Parcels 12 & 13 tions as “vague,” and said he would not comment on the specific nature of the negotiations. In public comment immediately preceding the council’s Tuesday study session item, resident Lionel Ephraim said that the item, “doesn’t appear to qualify as a closed session [item] to start with. It is a subject dear to the hearts of most residents ... Please make sure the residents are included in this discussion in the early stages. I don’t think we should be excluded or that we should go through what we’ve been going through with the disgusting mess on Santa Monica Boulevard.” “You’re right,” said City Attorney Larry Wiener, agreeing that it was “property negotiations.” He did not clarify further, pointing out that the item showed the negotiating parties and the parcels’ (see ‘PARCELS 12 & 13’ page 17)
Real Estate, Economy Discussed At 2017 Milken Global Conference By Laura Coleman The Milken Institute has shifted noticeably over the years, and its 20th Global Conference, held at The Beverly Hilton this week, proved an opportunity to reaffirm what it has become. Stated Michael Milken: “At the institute, efforts are focused on changing the world and helping you change the world.” If one only knows Milken from his eponymous conference, one observes a man with an uncanny ability to create and engage in panel discussions that are generally lively, informative, surprising and often philanthropically minded. This year, more than 4,000 people from 50 countries attended some 200 panels tied to the theme of building meaningful lives.
May 5, 2017
City Could End $10M JPA If BHUSD’s Teacher Salary Formula Doesn’t Change
C E L E B R AT I N G INDEPENDENCE — Israeli Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office Eli Groner and Israeli Consul General Sam Grundwerg joined Mayor Lili Bosse and Beverly Hills residents at the City’s inaugural luncheon celebration of Israeli Independence, Yom Ha’atzmaut. For more information, see page 5.
By Victoria Talbot Is the City of Beverly Hills in negotiations with the Beverly Hills Land Company to purchase Parcels 12 & 13? “It’s not a secret that we’d like to see a park there,” said Councilmember John Mirisch, being intentionally noncommittal. An item on the Closed Session City Council agenda Tuesday identified “negotiations” for the property: “Parcels 12 & 13, as well as the ‘island’ adjacent to and just west of Doheny Drive, also known as 9100-9364 N. Santa Monica Blvd.,” listing the City negotiator as Mahdi Aluzri, and the negotiation party as “Beverly Hills Land Company.” The agenda item says that both price and terms of payment are being negotiated. Exactly what the negotiations are for is not being disclosed. Mirisch termed the negotia-
SINCE 1965
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin kicked off this year’s Milken Institute Global Conference.
One of the more surprising revelations at this year’s conference was that the U.S. economy is heading for a downturn with a low likely to hit within two years. Now, whether the market double dips, or triple dips, or does something absolutely unpredictable, the good (see ‘MILKEN CONFERENCE’ page 22)
By Laura Coleman Wednesday’s School-City Liaison meeting might as well have happened on a playground with 6-year-olds instead of at City Hall with four elected officials, given all the bullying and tantrums that took place. “No. No. No. No!” exclaimed Councilman John Mirisch after Beverly Hills High School Principal Dave Jackson took the former mayor to task for making disparaging generalizations about Beverly Hills Unified School District teachers due to the fact that their salaries are tied to the City’s property taxes. Mirisch’s outburst followed his earlier declaration as to just what would happen if the school district failed to change its current salary formula. “Your other option is that you have a budget that is $9.7
million lighter,” he threatened. “That’s your problem. Sorry if that happens.” By the end of the hour-long meeting, the message was (see ‘JPA’ page 22)
BHUSD Could Scrap K-8 Model By 2018
By Laura Coleman Earlier this week, the Board of Education sent out a letter digitally signed by all five members, alerting the community to its plans to take a four-pronged approach to solve its current budget crises. Board President Mel Spitz took credit for authoring the piece, which he said reflected a unified front on the part of all five board (see ‘BHUSD K-8’ page 22)
Bosse’s ‘B.O.L.D’ Initiative Gains Support Among Key Retailers By Victoria Talbot Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bosse presented her bold new plan to a largely supportive group this week at a meeting of the Rodeo Drive Committee at The Beverly Wilshire. B.O.L.D is an acronym for “Business Open Later Days,” a signature initiative of Bosse’s second term as mayor as Beverly Hills seeks to gain parity with a host of new retail competition. At the meeting, Bosse reported that some retailers
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
VOLUME: LII
suggested that the move to keep stores open later was “long overdue.” Beverly Hills shops close early in the evening, prompting general managers of the City’s 30 hotels to send their guests to other shopping centers to dine and shop. The City’s businesses are weathering a storm of rent increases, report retailers. Some businesses are closing their doors and empty storefronts are raising the spector of (see ‘OPEN LATER’ page 22)
HELLO OUT THERE IN RADIO LAND — Natasha Bedingfield, Hailee Steinfeld and Raven Symone attended the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards at Microsoft Theater. Also there were Noah Cyrus, Sabrina Carpenter, Sofia Carson, Madison Pettis, plus others For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.