BHCourier E-edition 123016

Page 1

Happy New Year!

BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 53

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PROVIDENCE SAINT JOHN’S, CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL PARTNER TO IMPROVE CARE FOR FRAGILE NEWBORNS—Providence Saint John’s Health Center is partnering with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) Medical Group to raise the level of care for the most fragile newborns in the medical center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Pictured, NICU leaders, from left: CHLA Neonatologist Steven Chin, MD, MMSc; CHLA Neonatologist Philippe Friedlich, MD, MS Epi, MBA; and Neonatologist Roxanne Arcinue, MD, interim medical director at Providence Saint John’s. See page 9 for the full story.

THIS ISSUE

El Rodeo hosted a Christmas Eve morning “Feed the Hungry” program. 4

Beverly Hills AYSO girls end season with big win. 4

Beverly Hills resident Julius Rothschild turns 105. 17 •Fashion •Holiday Gift Guide •Letters to the Editor

10 15 27

George Christy, Page 6 Holiday Repasts Were Festive At Villa Abbondanza With India, Lynn and Richard, And At Casa Christmas With Mitzi Gaynor And Managers Rene and Shane. Happy New Year To All

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

21

Final Beverly Hills Oil Well To Close Sunday By Laura Coleman Board of Education President Mel Spitz confirmed that Venoco, Inc. will extract its final drops of oil from the Beverly Hills High School oil well tomorrow with the remediation process to decommission the City’s final operational oil well set to begin immediately. “They are going to hold to the requirement that they cease production as of Dec. 31,” he said. “That’s the end of their lease.” There had been concerns that Venoco would not only refuse to honor the stipulations of its $1.1 million annual lease with the City and school district and stop drilling by Dec. 31, but that it would also be unable to pay the steep cost to remediate the site

after the energy company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year. The process for decommissioning and abandoning the BHHS oil well is expected to take at least three years and cost north of $10 million–all of which Venoco will be responsible for paying. However, just who will oversee that years-long process remains to be determined. “As yet it appears it will probably be the school district,” Spitz said. Venoco has been extracting roughly 300 barrels of crude oil a day from beneath the ground via the BHHS oil well for years, adding almost $1 million in (see ‘OIL WELLS’ page 14)

Making A Difference Profiling those who made a positive impact on their community in 2016 By Courier staff With a new year on the horizon, the Courier reflects on 2016 and the events that will have a lasting impact and people who have made significant contributions to the future of Beverly Hills and beyond. Making A Difference In The Classroom For Beverly Hills moms Jodi Galen and Laurie Okum, co-presidents of the Beverly Hills PTSA, making a difference in the lives of students is a daily affair. “They have this love for Beverly Hills High School that is just hard to imagine,” said BHHS Dave Jackson, adding that last year’s PTA co-president Marjaneh Manavi has also been instrumental to the success of the school. “You really cannot find three better ladies. They are classy, they volunteer their time endlessly. They get

Laurie Okum & Jodi Galen

it. They always are there for the kids.” When classes start up again Jan. 3, BHHS students will have access to an additional 640 laptop computers, thanks largely in part to the efforts of these women. (see ‘MAKING A DIFFERENCE’ page 17)

SINCE 1965

December 30, 2016

Hollywood Icon, Beverly Hills Resident Debbie Reynolds Dies One Day After Daughter Carrie Fisher By Matt Lopez Debbie Reynolds, a Hollywood icon, longtime Beverly Hills and Las Vegas mainstay and star of Hollywood's Golden Age, died Wednesday, heartbroken over daughter Carrie Fisher's death a day earlier. The star extraordinaire suffered a stroke at son Todd Fisher’s Beverly Hills home after telling him, “I miss her so much, I want to be with Carrie,” he was quoted as telling celebrity news website TMZ. Fisher, 60, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, never recovered after suffering cardiac arrest while on a flight from London to Los Angeles last Friday. Born Mary Frances

Debbie Reynolds

Reynolds on April 1, 1932 in El Paso, Texas, she grabbed the attention of Hollywood when she won a Miss Burbank contest at age 16, beating out (see ‘DEBBIE REYNOLDS’ page 16)

Police Arbitration: BHPD Capt. Rosen ‘Not Credible’ By Victoria Talbot The City of Beverly Hills has lost another arbitration in a decision handed down Dec. 22 in the case of Officer Joseph Vela, costing the City an estimated amount of more than a million for this arbitration alone, and undermining credibility in the Snowden-era leadership of Capt. Mark Rosen. “The Arbitrator found that Captain Rosen was not a credible witness. His actions in this matter on more than one occasion was an ‘abuse of discretion,’” concludes the document. The case revolves around an incident that occurred on May 31, 2013, in which Vela

Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie

VOLUME: LI

“dry-fired” his weapon in the process of storing it upon leaving the station in an unapproved area and was suspended for 80 hours by Capt. Rosen. Arbitrator Joe Henderson found the discipline, “was excessive and does appear arbitrary. . .” Henderson was particularly concerned that Officers Dale Drummond and Kevin Orth each received a one-day suspension – one shift without pay – for the accidental/negligent discharge of a weapon, under Snowden and Rosen. Said Henderson, “This Arbitrator cannot agree with the assessment that an accidental/ (see ‘POLICE’ page 16)

NICE PEOPLE — Ava Phillippe, Stevie Wonder and R e e s e Witherspoon attended the world premiere of Sing in Los Angeles. Ava is Reese’s daughter with actor Ryan Phillippe. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.


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