Measure E Bond Acceleration Vote Tuesday - Let Your Voice Be Heard
BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 15
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SPLIT DECISION — Board of Education President Howard Goldstein, pictured standing in the future parking lot beneath Horace Mann’s new school building now under construction, considers how he will vote in support of accelerating Measure E bonds. Incoming Superintendent Steve Kessler, current Horace Mann principal, came out in support of immediate bond acceleration last week. On Tuesday, the board is prepared to tackle a solution to help ensure student safety with a vote authorizing the sale of $190 million in Measure E bonds that voters previously said OK to in 2008.
Beverly Hills middle school students competed in the state Science Olympiad. 4
City Council Seeks Control Of B.H. Employees Outside Work
The Cultural Heritage Commission designated two new historic landmarks. 5
Dodgers CF Joc Pederson visited fans at the Beverly Connection’s Time Warner Cable office. 17 •Real Estate •Sports •Birthdays
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By Victoria Talbot At the request of Beverly Hills Mayor Julian Gold, Vice Mayor John Mirisch and Councilmember Lili Bosse, the City is revisiting the rules governing outside employment for executive employees. “I am dismayed by things that have occurred,” said Councilmember Nancy Krasne. “I would have put this on the agenda, too. We cannot have department heads put in a position of conflict of interest.” “One example that has received recent attention involved the Police Chief consulting for a business that, subsequent to engaging the Police Chief, provided security services to the Beverly Hills Unified School District. Other
examples include scuba diving instruction; teaching, including online course instruction to graduate students at local universities; and real estate broker,” wrote City Attorney Larry Wiener in the staff report for the agenda item. The current City ordinance follows California state law, Government Code Section 1126, permitting outside employment with approval by a supervisor. The City’s municipal code 2-5-212 states that outside employment approval shall be granted “by the employees department head and the director of human services,” annually. Currently all City employees (see ‘OUTSIDE CONSULTING’ page 22)
Beverly Hills Elder: Max Webb, Voice For Israel, Businessman Part 31 in a series on Beverly Hills residents who have grown with the Centennial City.
George Christy, Page 6 In Her Second Memoir, A Fine Romance, Candice Bergen Cautions Women Over 50 About Making Choices. French Speaking Candice Lives Between New York And France Editorial from Rabbi Pressman AND MORE
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April 10, 2015
Are Bond Sales A Good Thing? The Courier Examines Measure E
Wally is one of the adoptable pets presented this week by FreshPet. 4
Green Payment Solutions held a grand welcoming party last week. 5
SINCE 1965
By Laura Coleman Before departing from Max Webb’s Beverly Hills office to take The Courier to lunch at Canters Deli on Fairfax, where he orders a tongue sandwich, the successful 98-year-old philanthropist gingerly rolls up his left arm dress shirt sleeve to reveal the tattoo he received in 1943 at AuschwitzBirkenau, one of 18 Nazi camps from which he survived during the Holocaust. “My number is here–I wear it with pride,” he says simply, the 145223 tattoo a powerful reminder of the 6 million Jewish lives that were lost because humanity allowed it to happen. The Beverly Hills businessman, who still signs the checks from within his enviable office at the corner of Wilshire and San Vi-
Max Webb
cente Boulevards, which he originally moved into with his now deceased partners and brothers-inlaw Nathan and David Shapell when the innovative office building opened in 1971, is one of the Jewish community’s most generous philanthropists. Indeed, in addition to helping create strong centers of (see ‘MAX WEBB’ page 21)
By Laura Coleman Roughly six months ago, a State of California Seismic Mitigation Program (SSMP) report identified 14 buildings of the Beverly Hills Unified School District that are seismically unsafe. Multiple experts have since told the BHUSD Board of Education that in the event of an earthquake above 3.5 on the Richter scale, depending on its epicenter, those 14 buildings are at risk of major structural damage including collapse. In that case, serious injury and even death can be expected. How and when to fund required repairs or replacement of buildings is now the question before the Board. Next Tuesday, the Board will vote whether to exercise the authority granted it by the voters to sell the remaining unsold $190 million of Measure E bonds. The 2008 vote author-
ized a total sale of $334 million of the bonds to fund the repair, reconstruction or replacement of seismically-impaired school buildings. The sale of the remaining unsold bonds is controversial because the BHUSD board in 2008 issued statements assuring Beverly Hills taxpayers that the rate they would pay on the bonds would not increase. If sold now, the tax rate will increase substantially although the actual dollar amount may or may not be significant depending upon the property and the taxpayer. The original tax rate projections assumed periodic sales of additional bonds over time as property values increased and generated additional revenue from the same rate. The Board has been (see ‘MEASURE E’ page 22)
The Beverly Wilshire - Still Pretty After All These Years 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 accomplished during the last The Beverly Wilshire is a two-plus decades, and there Beverly Hills historic landmark has been a lot, it is still in large for a variety of reasons, but part always going to be known, give the hotel credit for one more than anything else, for thing – it hasn’t forgotten about Pretty Woman. “We’ve always enjoyed its bread and butter. No matter how many great our relationship with the movie things The Beverly Wilshire has (see ‘BEVERLY WILSHIRE’ page 21)
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
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FA S H I O N I S TA S ALERT — Peter Facinelli and Anna Friel, along with Ciara previewed the fashions displayed during the 2015 NBC Universal Summer Press Day at the Langham Hotel. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.