BHCourier 03-20-15E-edition

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Celebrate Nowruz!

BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 12

THIS ISSUE

Beverly Hills will be a host town for the Special Olympics World Games. 4

Alfie is a 12-year-old Poodle looking for a new home. 4

The BHHS Robotics team took first place in Saturday’s L.A. Regional FIRST competition. 4

U.S. Holocaust Museum holds L.A. Dinner – “What You Do Matters.” 5

Beverly Hills held its final “Healthy Lunch & Learn” seminar. 17 •Real Estate 10 •Special Sections 15-17 •Sports 30

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Julian Gold Will Take Reins As The New Mayor Of Beverly Hills By Victoria Talbot Mayor Lili Bosse will be handing the reigns over to Vice Mayor Julian Gold next week in a supersecret surprise-filled evening for Gold’s installation as mayor. The event is sure to reveal a style all his own. Mused Gold: “Life is not a straight line. If you had told me one of my life’s goals would be to become mayor of Beverly Hills at age 66, I would say you have to be kidding,” he joked. “But I am so honored! It’s really exciting.” Keeping mum about the details, he did say that his parents, daughter and family members from Illinois would be in attendance. Dr. Gold is married to Michele

Julian Gold will be installed as Mayor of Beverly Hills Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Gold, CRNA, PhD. Their daughter, Rebecca, attended Beverly Hills schools while Gold was serving as commissioner for Traffic and Parking and Parks and Recreation. In addition to his service to the City, (see ‘JULIAN GOLD’ page 7)

Francis-Orr Helps Write The History Of Beverly Hills This year, The Courier celebrates 50 years in the community. Throughout the year, we will honor the legacy of excellence in Beverly Hills’ heritage businesses that have called the City their home since 1965 or earlier. By Matt Lopez When you’ve owned a stationary store for more than half a century, you become an expert in a little more than just pens and paper. Francis-Orr manager Greg Guss fancies himself as someone who can dole out some pretty valuable relationship advice as well. “Sit down and write a girl a letter,” Guss told The Courier in his office at the store’s 320 N. Camden Dr. location. “In today’s digital world, a nicely-written letter or note stands out now more than ever. Trust me, it works.” His forte, of course, is still stationary.

Beverly Hills Elder: Jeanne Uzelac, Former Model, GI Girl Part 28 in a series on Beverly Hills residents who have

Editorial from Rabbi Pressman AND MORE

CLASSIFIEDS • • • • •

Announcements Real Estate Rentals Sales and More

City Watch

Beverly Hills 2014 Employee Salary & Benefits Survey By Matt Lopez This week, The Courier once again releases its annual comprehensive chart of City of Beverly Hills employee salary, pay and benefits, received this week after a California Public Records Act demand. This year’s chart is based on 2014 financial data and will be released in two parts, with the first of the two in this week’s edition of The Courier. The chart provides financial information on 1,013 full-time and part-time public employees of the City. The two-part chart will show that the City spent more than $79 million on total pay for employees (that includes salary, overtime, leave payoffs and car allowances), more than $22 million on retirement pay and more than $10 million

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By Laura Coleman Jeanne Uzelac, 89, still recalls idyllic Beverly Hills in its infancy when sunflowers “six-feet solid” lined Robertson Boulevard and she would run through the yellow blooms as a child playing with her young friends. “The air–I can see those blue skies,” she reminisced recently from her Beverly Hills home overlooking the canyon. “Oh, you’d run and feel like you’d get oxygen.” “I’d run everywhere,” she added, noting that one time, while running through the halls of Horace Mann as a student, the princi-

Jeanne Uzelac

pal had scolded her for it. Jeanne originally moved into the City at two-years-old, daughter to one of the town’s earliest realtors. She said her father sold mostly acreage from his one-room real (see ‘JEANNE UZELAC’ page 7)

on health, vision and dental. Another $320,000 went into various employee Retirement Health Savings (RHS) plans. It all adds up to a total cost of more than $112 million. Employee salaries and benefits are matters of public record under California statutes and multiple court decisions. The Courier requested date of hire, along with names and titles, but the chart the City returned did not include the date of hire for its employees. Next week, The Courier prints part two, along with a list of how City employee pay compares to other similar cities. On page 17 is a glossary of terms with their explanations. The chart begins on page 18.

Steve Kessler Tapped As New BHUSD Superintendent By Laura Coleman Come July 1, Beverly Hills Unified School District's longest serving employee, Horace Mann Principal Steve Kessler, is poised to assume the position of Superintendent. The Board of Education unanimously made the decision to tap the veteran (and beloved) administrator who joined the district in 1976 in a closed session discussion that carried over into Wednesday morning. “The board thought we needed to bring in someone

grown with the Centennial City.

The Polo Bar Is Ralph Lauren’s First Restaurant In Manhattan, His Third Dining Room Worldwide, And New Yorkers Can’t Stop Talking About It. A Beautiful Oasis For Good Food.

March 20, 2015

City paid more than $112 million to employees last year

(see ‘FRANCIS-ORR’ page 30)

George Christy, Page 6

SINCE 1965

Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie

VOLUME: L

with a proven track record [who] understands the community,” board President Howard Goldstein said. "It will allow us to stabilize the district.” Kessler, who was named an Apple Award winner last year, originally joined the Beverly Hills public school system in 1958 as a kindergartner at El Rodeo. The decision comes one week after Superintendent Gary Woods informed the (see ‘STEVE KESSLER’ page 17)

H OT G I R L S O N T H E TOWN — Charlize Theron and Pamela Anderson were joined by the film’s star Sean Penn on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of The Gunman presented by Open Road Films at Premiere House at Regal Cinemas, LA Live Stadium 14. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.


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