We Salute Our Fallen Heroes This Memorial Day
BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME: LIII
NUMBER 21
www.bhcourier.com
SINCE 1965
May 25, 2018
Beverly Hills To Restore Metered Parking On South Santa Monica Boulevard
THIS ISSUE
Police Chief Sandra Spagnoli talked crime at a Town Hall meeting. 4
Bob Lindsey talks to the Courier about opposing Jim McDonnell in the L.A. Sheriff’s Race. 5
The Friends of Robinson Gardens hold annual Garden Tour. 7 • Real Estate 12 • Birthdays 18 • Letters to the Editor 26-27
George Christy, Page 6 SHARE’s Boomtown 2018 Raised More Than 1 Million Dollars At The Beverly Hotel, Adding To The Multi-Millions Fetched Over The Decades, Benefiting Local Charities
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
20
Beverly Hilton Project Returns With EIR, Public Scoping By Victoria Talbot Beny Alagem is back for approval on a new Beverly Hilton condominium design. Alagem, The Beverly Hilton’s owner, will unveil a revised proposal for his condominium plans to the public on June 12 at a meeting from 6-8 p.m. in the City Hall Municipal Gallery. This preliminary “scoping” meeting for the Modified Project will provide an opportunity for the public to comment on the environmental issues that should be addressed in the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The Modified Project, which would involve an amendment to the 2008-approved Beverly Hilton Specific Plan, will be discussed. That approved plan, which involves the 8.94 acres located at
the Wilshire-Santa Monica Boulevard intersection, included the construction of the now-completed Waldorf Astoria and the construction of one 8-story tower with 36 condominium units and one 18-story tower with 74 units. The approved plan also includes a 22,000 square-foot conference center and 2,183 parking spaces. In 2016, through the election process, Alagem sought to pass a referendum to build a single 26story tower, but was defeated. The new proposal is for a 23story, 307-foot high residential building, a change in the configuration of the pool, open space, restaurants and a modification of the conference center space. The new project would reduce the two-story (29 foot high) conference facilities building to (see ‘HILTON PROJECT’ page 11)
New BHUSD Leadership Team Takes Shape By Laura Coleman Beverly Hills Unified continued shoring up its leadership team this week, with the Board of Education voting unanimously on Tuesday to officially make Chris Regan Beverly Vista’s principal for the 2018/19 school year. Regan, who worked briefly as an assistant principal at Beverly Hills High School, has been serving as Beverly Vista’s interim principal since January. Also on Tuesday, the school board approved the hire of Leonidas Tarca as the new assistant principal at Horace Mann. “Mr. Regan and Mr. Tarca not only possess a wealth of experience as educators and administrators, but share a proven reputation as positive, student-centered
Chris Regan
Leonidas Tarca
leaders,” said Superintendent Michael Bregy. Prior to joining Beverly Hills Unified last year, Regan previously served as a middle school principal in the Bonita Unified School District, assistant principal in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District, Dean of Students at Alice C. Stelle Middle School, (see ‘BHUSD LEADERSHIP’ page 11)
The improvements include “straightening” the roadway to minimize “zig-zags” from merging traffic; wider lanes than pre-construction conditions; and an increase in the supply of on-street parking to 43 spaces from a pre-construction total of 27 spaces on the north and an addition of three new spaces on the south for a total of 16 spaces. One eastbound lane between Bedford and Beverly Drives will be eliminated to slow traffic and three left-turn pockets (westbound Bedford, eastbound at Camden and Rodeo drives) will also be eliminated to accommodate parking. The westbound left-turn pocket at Rodeo Drive added during (see ‘SOUTH SANTA MONICA’ page 11)
School Board Takes Emergency Action On Faulty BHHS Elevator By Laura Coleman Notwithstanding the fact that the Beverly Hills High School Science and Technology Center (STC) elevator is projected to continue breaking down throughout its remaining lifespan, on Tuesday the Board of Education unanimously voted to approve an emergency resolution to spend $149,418 to modernize the elevator in order to more expeditiously fix it in the future. The STC elevator, which is currently operational, has broken down and been repaired at least three times this year. Boardmember Isabel Hacker was not present for the 4-0 vote. “I hope it’s not a band-aid,” said Board President Lisa Kensington Palace Official Photos released by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Pictured: a rendering of The Beverly Hilton’s proposed new condominium project.
By Victoria Talbot Following up on a promise made to the merchants of South Santa Monica Boulevard (SSMB) prior to the onset of construction on the North Santa Monica Boulevard Reconstruction Project, which began in January 2016, the City of Beverly Hills will restore the on-street parking meters to both sides of SSMB at the beginning of June, adding three pedestrian scrambles at the intersections on Rodeo, Camden and Bedford Drives. The City will begin the restoration along with some improvements with nightwork, scheduled May 23, 24, 25, 29, 30 and 31 from 10 p.m. – 6 a.m. Traffic will be reduced to one lane during street work.
Korbatov, after noting that the elevator clearly had a design failure and she fully expected that a future board would need to address the issue again. A new four-stop elevator is estimated to cost north of $500,000. The need to repair the STC elevator reached a critical point of action following the previous board meeting on May 8 when BHHS freshman Rhiannon Carter informed the board that a doctor had told her that the breakdown of the elevator had triggered the recurrence of her childhood arthritis. During the days that the elevator was not working, Rhiannon said she would walk up to 18 flights of (see ‘BHHS ELEVATOR’ page 11)
O HAPPY DAY — Happiness prevailed in England and abroad throughout the wedding weekend of Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales, (a.k.a. Prince Harry) to Rachel Meghan Markle, (a.k.a. Meghan Markle). For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.