BHCourier E-edition 092316

Page 1

Vote Yes On Measure Y – Support Your Local Schools!

BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME: LI

NUMBER 39

$135 PER YEAR - $1.25 PER COPY

www.bhcourier.com

SINCE 1965

September 23, 2016

Hotel Workers’ Union Complaint Alleges Wanda Used Foreign Money Against Hilton Initiative

THIS ISSUE

Beverly Vista parents raised $57K at a Farm to Table event. 4

Two Courier readers took their copy of the newspaper to Rome. 5

The Beverly Hills High football team lost to Cerritos last Friday. 19 •Sports 12 •Health & Wellness 14-15 31 •Letters to the Editor

George Christy, Page 6 The Year Of Living Dangerously Is The New Book From New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Maureen Dowd, That Is A Collection Of Her Columns And Original Writings Of Crackerjack Prose

CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More

25

Beverly Hills School Board Divided Over New Science Standards By Laura Coleman Inside Beverly Vista Science teacher Alana Castanon’s 6th grade STEM class, her students breathe a collective sigh of relief as she employs color to differentiate the sides of the two-dimensional orthographic projections she is asking them to pair with their 3-D counterparts. The students, seated around movable science tables, are engaged as Castanon reviews the lesson, asking questions to clarify their understanding and responding to her questions in turn. “This is what it’s all about,” comments Superintendent Steve Kessler from the back of the classroom, highlighting the room setup, the state-of-the-art white board projection screen, and the clearly talented teacher leading the lesson. District-wide, science teachers use Project Lead The Way (PLTW)

curriculum to teach their STEM courses. Embedded in PLTW lesson plans, Kessler said, are the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) which the State Board of Education adopted three years ago for California public school K-12 classes. To date, the Beverly Hills Unified School District has not begun to use textbooks, study guides or lesson plans that have been specifically designed around the new standards. Those products are still in their infancy. On Tuesday, in anticipation of moving forward in adopting NGSS district-wide–a move supported by the superintendent–the board convened a study session which included a comprehensive presentation by former BHUSD student, parent, and teacher David Seidel, who currently works as the Deputy (see ‘SCIENCE STANDARDS’ page 20)

Beverly Hills Police Think Pink This October To Support Breast Cancer Awareness By Victoria Talbot October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the annual international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to raise funds and awareness of the disease, and Beverly Hills' finest will be wearing pink to show their support. The Beverly Hills Police Officers’ Association is participating with The Pink Patch Project, inviting everyone to purchase (see ‘BHPD PINK’ page 20)

and the Federal Election Commission Thursday. The complaint alleges the Committee violated federal law by accepting contributions from The Wanda Group, a Chinese company owned by Chairman Wang Jianlin, that is prohibited from interfering in local elections. Election laws are very clear in the prohibition against foreign interference in an election in this country, precisely to prevent this type of manipulation. Section 441e of the FECA prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions, (see ‘WANDA COMPLAINT’ page 20)

Hilton Spokeswoman Responds To Sexist Slur In Mayor’s Online Blog By Victoria Talbot Mayor John Mirisch was called to account for his sexist slurs Tuesday evening in a moving presentation by Hilton consultant Marie Garvey. The mayor’s comments were made in a nearly 3,000word diatribe written for the Huffington Post last Friday entitled The Hilton Chronicles: Seven Strikes and You’re Out. The blog is one of several written by “John Mirisch, Mayor of Beverly Hills” for the online publication. The majority of which chronicle the mayor’s relentless villianization of the Hilton Initiative. Friday’s blog, however, went beyond roasting the proj-

ect or even an individual, which Mirisch has done before. This one turned sexist and misogynistic against Garvey, whom Mirisch hardly knows. On Tuesday evening, Garvey filled out a card for public comment and walked to the podium. Here is her statement, in full: “Good evening. My name is Marie Garvey and I have been the public relations and media consultant for The Beverly Hilton for the past 13 years. That said, I am speaking tonight as an individual, a private citizen and most importantly as a woman and mother. (see ‘MIRISCH BLOG’ page 23)

HELLO, JERRY! — Jerry Seinfeld with wife Jessica drew raves during the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater. Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie

EVENING IN THE GARDEN — Beverly Hills High School’s most enthusiastic supporters welcomed the school’s newest crop of parents at a special “Welcome” event on Tuesday evening at Beverly Canon Gardens. Pictured above (from left): Board of Education member Noah Margo, BHHS Assistant Principal Philip Wenker, new BHHS parents Rich & Glenna Baron, BHHS PTA Co-President Jodi Galen, new BHHS parents Steve & Debbie Ullman, BHHS PTA Co-President Laurie Okum, BHHS 8th Grade Transition Chair Cindy Trost, new parent Danny Mandel, Boardmember Isabel Hacker, BHHS AP Mark Mead, BHHS Principal Dave Jackson, and Board President Howard Goldstein. Courier Photo by Laura Coleman

By Victoria Talbot Unite Here Local 11, a union representing more than 20,000 workers employed in hotels, restaurants, airports, sports arenas and convention centers throughout Southern California, has filed a Violation of Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) complaint against the local ballot measure committee, Beverly Hills Residents and Businesses to Preserve Our City No on HH, California Secretary of State ID No. 1388394. The complaint was filed with the California Fair Political Practices Commission

While the telecast ratings disappointed, the ladies in their designers gowns were never more beautiful, and created a hot show. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.


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