Merry Christmas!
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MINI SANTA AND ELVES – Last weekend’s annual holiday concert at Beverly Gardens Park included a performance by the City of Beverly Hills/La Cienega Park preschoolers. During their performance, guests were treated to a special appearance by (from left): Mini Santa Jacob Bailey, and his mini elves, Mimi Martin and Sofi Martin. The annual community holiday event also included performances by The Beverly Hills High Madrigals and the Beverly Hills Unified School District Honor Choir.
THIS ISSUE
Nate, an 8-week-old boxer mix is our adoptable pet of the week. 4
The City Council honored Beverly Hills firefighters who helped fight the Thomas Fire. 5
BHUSD crossing guards were honored by the Health & Safety Commission. 19 •Health & Wellness •Birthdays •Letters to the Editor
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George Christy, Page 6 Those Creative Soulmates, Madelyn and Pete Hammond, Were Inspired By The 1961 Film West Side Story, Imposed As Its Stars Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer, For Their Christmas Card This Year
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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Veteran Educator Dave Jackson Bids Farewell To Beverly Hills By Laura Coleman With little fanfare, just as he likes it, veteran educator Dave Jackson yesterday bid farewell to the Beverly Hills Unified School District. After spending two years as principal of Beverly Hills High School from 201517, Jackson served as the district’s assistant superintendent in charge of facilities for the past six Pictured: Dave Jackson talks to students on the BHHS campus. months. “When I came here have just been wonderful,” for the year, I never thought that I Jackson told the Courier on the would fall in love with this district eve of his departure. “They have the way I did, especially the par(see ‘DAVE JACKSON’ page 13) ents and the community; they
Beverly Hills Seeks Real Estate Broker for Bouchon Space By Victoria Talbot With the closure of Bouchon at the Beverly Canon Gardens, a Request for Proposals (RFP), dated Dec. 13, has been sent to find a qualified real estate broker to assist with the lease of the commercial retail space located at 235 N. Bouchon closed its doors last week. Canon Drive. Assistant to the The City and Bouchon City Manager Timothy Hou, who Beverly Hills, L.P. entered into a oversees the City’s real estate portlease agreement in 2008. folio, confirmed that RFPs have The circumstances no longer gone out. The City was in negotiaexist to operate a profitable restaution with Bouchon until Nov. 7, rant,” Chef Thomas Keller told when the two parties reached a EaterLA in October. settlement following protracted negotiations. (see ‘BOUCHON’ page 8)
SINCE 1965
December 22, 2017
SEC Charges Lago Vista Project Owner For $1.2 Billion ‘Ponzi Scheme’ By Victoria Talbot The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Thursday an asset freeze against the group of unregistered investment companies called the Woodbridge Group of Companies, LLC and Woodland Hills resident Robert Shapiro, saying “the owner … bilked thousands of investors, many of them seniors, in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme.” Woodbridge LLCs were formed to purchase hundreds of luxury homes in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Pacific Palisades and throughout the West Los Angeles area. Among those homes was the property at 1260 Lago Vista Dr. that has galvanized neighbors in opposition to a proposed plan to develop the site
with a sprawling megamansion. Though the property, purchased for $4.5 million, has no approved plans or signed construction company, it has been leveraged for more than $14 million in loans. “Shapiro promised investors they would be repaid from the high rates of interest Shapiro’s companies were earning on loans the companies were purportedly making to third-party borrowers. However, nearly all the purported third-party borrowers were actually limited liability companies owned and controlled by Shapiro, which had no revenue, no bank accounts, and never paid any interest under the loans,” read the complaint. (see ‘LAGO VISTA’ page 8)
Beverly Hills School Reconfiguration Slated For 2018, Community Forums To Come In January By Laura Coleman After months of working toward consensus about just what the future of Beverly Hills schools should look like, the 22 members of Beverly Hills Unified’s Future Focused Schools Team (FFST) are poised to move forward with a united vision that will be presented to the school board next month. The school board is expected to vote on a reconfiguration plan at its Jan. 30 meeting. Before that occurs, however, the community at large is
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
VOLUME: LII
invited to attend two “community-wide forums” next month to discuss options for potentially reconfiguring the school district in an effort to both streamline education and save money. The forums are slated for Wednesday, Jan. 10, and Thursday, Jan. 11, from 7-8:30 p.m. at Beverly Hills High School’s Salter Theatre. “We’re actually in all honesty looking for input,” emphasized El Rodeo Principal Kevin (see ‘RECONFIGURATION’ page 13)
LES GIRLS — Daphne Wayans, Kiiara and Regina King turned out for the Netflix presentation of the U.S. premiere of Bright, starring Will Smith, at Regency Village Theatre. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.