BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME XXXXVI NUMBER 38 $135 PER YEAR - $1.25 PER COPY •
THIS ISSUE
Louise Korshak hosts reception for anniversary gala. 4
LAX supports Alzheimer’s awareness with purple pylons. 4
Affaire In The Gardens returns to Beverly Hills Oct. 15 and 16. 5
BHEF donates $456,000 to the BHUSD. 5
CHLA grant funds establishment of The Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Program. 12 •Health & Wellness 12-13 •Birthdays 18
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SINCE 1965
SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
Obama Travels Roil Beverly Hills Traffic . . . Again By Marcia Hobbs President Barack Obama visited Los Angeles and for the third time his motorcade managed to snarl traffic and inconvenience thousands. On Monday evening, his helicopter landed at the Veteran’s Administration fields behind the Barrington post office. He then rode by motorcade all the way to the House of Blues in West Hollywood–the entire route was on Sunset Boulevard which is always jammed at that time with regular working people trying to get home. Of course, Sunset was closed nearly an hour earlier, including streets crossing Sunset, which created a lock down zone so the President could star at two political fundraisers. The following morning his travels closed Sunset and all the cross-streets from Beverly Hills to Barrington again for an hour so he could have breakfast and leave The Beverly
JAMMED—Wilshire Boulevard was jam-packed with cars stuck due to President Barack Obama’s visit to West LA. Photo By Reggie Sully
Wilshire after 9 a.m. This time he inconvenienced people lucky enough to have jobs to get to–and I witnessed the “Mommy brigade” at the barricade where I was stopped, trying to corral their
Margo Joins School Board Race As Write-In Candidate By Krystal Leach de Amante Longtime resident and former teacher Noah Margo announced last Friday his write-in candidacy for the BHUSD Board of Education election. “I actually had been toying with the idea of running for quite sometime–when the slate was full with five candidates,” he admitted. “But I just didn’t feel there was a need for another candidate.” However, that need changed (see ‘MARGO,’ page 15)
Noah Margo
pre-schoolers and keep them occupied while we cooled our heels. Coming and going at prime traffic times he had the chance to see the reconstruction of the 405
up close and as personal as you can from an armored limousine traveling fast, a perk the rest of us would aspire to almost any day at 5 and 9 p.m. His route also took him up Rodeo Drive, our well known shopping street–oh, I forgot, he was here for fundraisers not to stimulate the economy. He did whiz by the great Halloween decorations at 605 Rodeo Dr., Stanley Black’s sculptures, and, of course, UCLA, which has a helipad and would have shortened our agony. The Secret Service does yeoman’s work, but it apparently does not include open cooperation with local police agencies, I have been told. We will undoubtedly have many more such visits to scoop up dollars for the presidential campaign, but common courtesy would tell the President’s staff that they too should stay off the road at prime traffic time when fundraising.
Council Hires Firm For ‘Peer Review’ Of Subway Project By Courier Staff Still refusing to work with the Beverly Hills Unified School District to protect Beverly Hills High School, the City Council Tuesday approved a $75,000 agreement to hire Exponent, Inc. to “peer review” the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Westside Subway Extension Environmental Impact Statement/Report after it is released later this year. A “peer review” simply looks at the work performed, the report written and advises
whether or not it was done competently. A “peer review” is not an independent study of the underlying data. This continues the troubling approach promoted by the council majority of Mayor Barry Brucker, Vice Mayor Willie Brien and apparent “rubber stamp” Julian Gold, M.D. This expenditure would duplicate professional expertise already retained by the school board. (see ‘SUBWAY,’ page 15)
No More Oil Drilling On BHHS Campus, Council Says George Christy, Page 6 Apropos Of LA Phil’s Gershwin Concert,Gershwin’s First Published Song Was When You Want ’Em, You Can't Get ’Em, When You’ve Got ’Em, You Don’t Want ’Em, which earned him $5. Editorial from Rabbi Pressman AND MORE
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By Krystal Leach de Amante The Beverly Hills City Council voted to adopt a new ordinance Tuesday permanently banning future oil drilling at the Beverly Hills High School campus beginning 2017. The new ordinance comes
after lengthy discussions over what has morphed into a controversial, heated topic between concerned residents, school board officials and the City Council. (see ‘OIL,’ page 14)
Superintendent Shares Plan By Marla Schevker Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent Gary Woods unveiled his “action plan” Tuesday. Although this plan does not have a timeline for completion, nor is it as specific as Woods said he would like; the action plan presents three specific goals with objectives and ac-
tivities as to how they can be completed. The descriptions of practice, or categories the goals fall under, are aligned with state and national standards including the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders and the California Department of Educa(see ‘ACTION,’ page 14)
GOING FOR THE BIG BUCKS—LA Phil’s Board Chairman David Bohnett is flanked by Gigi and Herbie Hancock during the all-Gershwin concert at Disney Hall that launched Conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s third season with the orchestra and raised $3.2 million. The beloved jazz artist Herbie improvised lustrously on Gershiwn’s Embraceable You, which he dedicated to his wife of 47 years. Herbie then soloed on Gershwin’s rapturous Rhapsody In Blue to non-stop standing ovations. More photos in George Christy’s column on page 6. Photo by Silvia Mautner