The Queen Of Soul - Now At Rest With The Angels
BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 33
www.bhcourier.com
The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation will honor Nancy Krasne on Sept. 13 4
Hawthorne welcomed families back to school with a pancake breakfast. 5
Benedict Canyon residents are opposing a proposed hillside hotel. 8
The L.A. Philharmonic unveiled the architectural design for the new Judith and Thomas L. Beckmen YOLA Center. 10 •Health & Wellness •Birthdays •Letters to the Editor
12 18 27
George Christy, Page 6 The Art Market Is Exploding With Billions Of Dollars In Sales. In 1962, Andy Warhol’s Campbell Soup Collection Sold For $1000. Today It Is Valued At $105.4 Million.
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
21
August 17, 2018
First Beverly Hills RSO Meeting Cordial, Intense
THIS ISSUE
Marvin Winans Jr. became the third person to join the School Board race. 4
SINCE 1965
CITIZEN EMPOWERMENT – Pictured are members of the Beverly Hills Police Department Citizen’s Academy who proudly graduated after 40 hours of intense instruction in police operations, traffic enforcement, criminal investigations, defensive tactics, courtroom procedures and even firearms training. The Citizen’s Academy allows officers to engage with community members and to provide education and insight into law enforcement operations. The next Academy class will be announced in 2019. The graduates (alphabetically) are Monica Brener, Elizabetti Candido, Ashley Curiel, Bobbe Dawson, Leland Felsenthal, Julie Gilberg, Neil Gordon, Susan Gradman, Wayne S. Gradman, Joshua Greer, Pam Hendry, Alexander Amir Kashfi, Lyle D. Kurtz, Pamela Kurtz, Lynda Manaster, Benjamin Parnassi, Scott Reston, Ilene Rotenberg, Rhoda J. Sharp, Jay Solnit, Lanna Solnit, Jonathan Swerdlow and Ilan Tamir.
Beverly Hills Teachers Still At Impasse In Salary Negotiations By Laura Coleman Beverly Hills public school teachers pulled no punches about their feelings on contract negotiations in the wake of classes resuming once again this week: they are demonstrably frustrated. Beverly Hills Unified has been at an impasse with its teachers since March–for the first time in almost two decades. Since no agreement has been reached in the time following the suspension of formal bargaining negotiations, as a third-party mediator tried to achieve consensus, the district is now entering the stage known as fact-finding. If that fails, Beverly Hills teachers may opt to go on strike. (see ‘BHUSD TEACHERS’ page 17)
Contract Negotiations Get Personal By Laura Coleman Beverly Hills residents may soon get a stark wake-up call as to what happens when a teacher’s day officially ends and educators, for the first time in decades, become wholly unavailable. In an effort to put pressure on the Beverly Hills Unified School District in its contract negotiations with the teachers’ union, the Beverly Hills (see ‘CONTRACT NEGOTATIONS’ page 17)
San Diego’s Eduardo Luna Will Become Beverly Hills’ First City Auditor By Victoria Talbot Leaving behind the City of San Diego where he earned a reputation for fighting corruption, Eduardo Luna will become the City’s first auditor. The position, envisioned as a campaign promise by Councilmember Robert Wunderlich, has now become a reality. Luna served the city of San Diego for nearly ten years; his term was set to expire later this year. He took up his position during a time of tremendous upheaval when former Mayor Jerry Sanders
Eduardo Luna
was facing a pension crisis fallout that nearly bankrupted the City. At that time a federal investigation into accounting and disclosure practices for the city led to a key (see ‘CITY AUDITOR’ page 13)
By Victoria Talbot The first in the latest series of Rent Stabilization Ordinance Facilitated Dialogues went smoothly Wednesday evening, as tenants and landlords expressed their thoughts in an orderly fashion on each of the four agenda items covered. Led by facilitator Dr. Sukhsimranjit Singh, the session was well-attended by approximately 85 community members. In his characteristic turban and beard, Singh, smiling, laid down ground rules, beginning with the caveat that participants must listen to each other. “We are here to understand and to listen,” he said. The purpose of the meeting was to obtain feedback on the draft HR&A report that was submitted to City Council last
w e e k . F u t u r e meetings will address all of the other issues presented in the report. Dr. Sukhsimranjit At the Singh meeting, many of the participants met the new Director of Rent Stabilization, Helen Morales, for first time. “We were pleased with the attendance from both housing providers and tenants at the first facilitated session,” she said. “It was encouraging to see a productive and collaborative discussion. We look forward to continued conversations over the coming weeks.” (see ‘RSO’ page 15)
BHUSD Looks To Become School Security Innovator By Laura Coleman In an era where student safety has become potentially more important than education, Beverly Hills Unified School District is striving to be at the forefront of protecting its students and employees. Last Friday morning, as part of BHUSD’s staff opening day at the Saban Theatre, Superintendent Michael Bregy shared the school district’s plan for a campus security operations center, which would be staffed 24 hours a day in order to maximize the potential of staving off any threat. “It’s not something that closes,” he explained. “It’s not something that you have to wait until the next day to report something.” While the creation of the
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
VOLUME: LIV
security center is still in its infancy – as well the decision on what to call it – Bregy said he hoped that the “communication conference center” would be a joint venture with the City and a crucial nexus for information sharing. “Our belief is this will help the community, the police department and the schools to provide a safer learning environment for students,” said Jason Mikesell, chief executive officer of security advisory company iXero, which began working with BHUSD earlier this year. Mikesell said iXero brought the idea for the security center to the school district because it is “what’s needed.” Beverly Hills Unified would be (see ‘SCHOOL SECURITY’ page 17)
HEIR APPARENT — John David Washington (son of Denzel Washington) and Laura Harrier attended the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Grants Banquet at The Beverly Hilton. John David is receiving high praise for his screen performances. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.