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BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME: LV
NUMBER 20
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May 17, 2019
Beverly Gardens Park Grand Re-Opening Set For May 30 By Victoria Talbot After nearly seven years of restoration work, the City of Beverly Hills will celebrate the grand re-opening of Beverly Gardens Park from 5:30-7 p.m. on May 30. The public is invited to the event, which will be hosted at the Lily Pond in front of the Beverly Hills sign, both of which are significant milestones in the restoration of the park. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony will be accompanied by remarks from the Mayor and Recreation and Parks Commissioners. Light refreshments will be served and there will be live entertainment. Beverly Gardens Park is 23 blocks of linear green belt on Santa Monica Boulevard from the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and
Beverly Hills High National Merit Scholar finalists were honored at a dinner in Beverly Hills. 5
The Hollywood ReporterBillboard Media Group and more are set to move into 100 Crescent. 8 •Schools •Arts & Entertainment •Birthdays
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George Christy, Page 6 “She Could Easily Have Hidden Her Diagnosis,” Says Best Friend, Sarah Michelle Gellar, About Selma Blair’s Suffering From The Autoimmune Disease Known As Multiple Sclerosis. But She Didn’t. She Went Public Believing This May Help Others To Share Their Courage.
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FIRE SERVICE DAY — The Beverly Hills community turned out in droves last weekend for Fire Service Day outside the Civic Center Headquarters Fire Station on Crescent Drive. Visitors enjoyed live fire demonstrations, fire engine rides, educational programs, displays, and a special visit from the one-andonly Sparky the Fire Dog. Complimentary hot dogs and refreshments were served by Beverly Hills firefighters.
Beverly Hills School Board Talks Student Cell Phone Restrictions By Matt Lopez Could harsher cell phone restrictions be in the future for Beverly Hills students? The Board of Education on Tuesday discussed potential board policy that would place restrictions on the use of cell phones across Beverly Hills Unified School District campuses. The debate – which was only a discussion, not an item to vote on – was brought up at the request of Board of Education President Noah Margo. Margo said he’s seen “massive amounts of evidence” about the “addictive nature of cell phones” and said he felt the use of cell phones on Beverly Hills school campuses has a negative affect on interpersonal communication between students. Currently, the Board of Education has no official policy on cell phone usage on school campuses. Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy said each school campus has guidelines and procedures laid out in their specific school handbooks regarding cell phone usage.
Bregy said that on the K-8 campuses, cell phones are “not to be seen or heard at anytime during the school day” while at Beverly Hills High School, the current rule is phones are to be turned off in the classroom, but under the teacher’s discretion. Margo said those handbooks are difficult to enforce and said the school board should consider adopting an official policy. Margo compared what he hopes the school board can accomplish with cell phones on campuses to the City of Beverly Hills’ recent vote to ban tobacco sales. He cited reports that “high schools all over the country are banning cell phones” but said he’s not calling for an outright ban. “I’m willing to be flexible, but I am demanding change… we need to temper usage to create a different culture in our schools,” Margo said. “People come to [these schools] like zombies. We are headed for something that nobody saw coming… [people] created this device that is so (see ‘CELL PHONES’ page 15)
(see ‘BEVERLY GARDENS’ page 15)
Taylor To Be Appointed Interim Community Services Director By Victoria Talbot The Beverly Hills City Council will consider a contract next week for Raymond Taylor to become Interim Director of Community Services. Taylor will fill a position that will be left open when current Director Nancy Hunt Coffey promotes to Assistant City Manager. Hunt Coffey will fill the vacancy for current Assistant City Manager George Chavez when he becomes City Manager. City Manager Mahdi Aluzri will retire in June. Taylor will serve in the position during the City’s
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
THIS ISSUE
Wilshire Boulevard at the City’s western boundary, 1.9 miles to the eastern boundary at Doheny Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard, literally “fountain to fountain.” Laid out as part of the planned community of Beverly Hills in 1911, the parks were later designed by landscape architect Ralph Cornell. Cornell has been called the, “the single most influential landscape architect to shape L.A.” His work can be seen at the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden and the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Gardens at UCLA as well as the forecourt of the Music Center in Los Angeles. Restoration work began during the City’s Centennial celebration in 2014, an excellent moment for the City to
recruitment of a permanent Director of Community Services, which could take several months. Taylor served with distinction in Westlake Village as City Manager for over 25 years, beginning in 1993. He bravely assumed the (see ‘COMMUNITY SERVICES’ page 15)
NEW FRIEND — “We’ve gotten to know each other during the past month, and I’m very proud of her,” says Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Sopranos). She was speaking about the beautiful Selma Blair, who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, as was Jamie-Lynn, who revealed her diagnosis three years ago. They were at Nancy Davis’s 26th annual Race to Erase MS Gala at The Beverly Hilton. We remember Vanity Fair’s former editor Graydon Carter often mentioning at his Oscar parties how he loved Selma’s talent. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.