BHCourier E-edition 021216

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BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME: LI

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SINCE 1965

February 12, 2016

Beverly Hills Toxic Tree Scandal: Subpoena Power Necessary To Enforce The Truth – What Will Mayor Gold Do? SCOUT HOUSE — The Beverly Hills Scout House Association is looking for a new home for the scout house structures located north of El Rodeo School. The Scouts have $40,000 of the $48,000 currently needed to make the move and must have a viable plan in place by April 15. For more information or to learn how to help, e-mail bhsa@bhtroop33.org. Front row, from left: Colin Jones, Luke Villalpando, Matias Olavarria, Dominick Guerra, Ben Villalpando, Christopher Wazzan, Dylan Davis, Joey Austin, Ryan Molinare and Nathan Borshell. Back row, from left: Jeremy Segal , Matt Zebrowski, Spencer Lemann, Brian Hall, Amir Kashfi, Jonathan Onstead, James Blauvelt and Cole Ordesky.

THIS ISSUE

Volunteers came together last week for the City’s annual homeless count. 4

Volvo of Santa Monica celebrated its grand opening last Thursday. 11

The Courier’s new auto columnist Shin Takei reviews the Tesla S P90D. 18 •Health & Wellness 12 •Birthdays 20 •Letters to the Editor 31

George Christy, Page 6 Former New York Mayor, Mike Bloomberg, Is Anticipated To Run As An Independent Or Third-Party Candidate For The Presidency, Spending $1 Billion From His Personal Fortune

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

24

Beverly Hills School Board Eyes Becoming Basic Aid School Of Choice For Funding By Laura Coleman Precisely 194 students in Beverly Hills public schools are not City residents–they are the children of City and Beverly Hills Unified School District employees. That number is about a third of what it was in 2010 when the school district entered “basic aid” status and simultaneously ceased issuing new permits beyond those for children of school and City emloyees. But those numbers could shift again depending on just what direction the Board of Education

decides to steer the district. On Tuesday, the board discussed becoming a Basic Aid School of Choice in exchange for state revenue that could be in excess of $1 million annually. By entering the California program, allowed under Educational Code 48300 for basic aid districts, the state would fund 70 percent of what out-of-district students are eligible to receive at their designated local schools. “It’s money we’re leaving on (see ‘BHUSD’ page 21)

Beverly Hills Elder: Lili Markowitz, Factor’s Famous Deli Matriarch

By Victoria Talbot Last week in Part One, The Courier shared the results of a public information act request regarding the events surrounding the removal of 196 trees on Parcels 12 & 13 by West Coast Arborists (WCA) Nov. 21 & 22 last year. In those documents we found that key staff members, including Deputy City Manager for Capital Assets David Lightner, and Director of Community Services Steve Zoet, conducted discussions with property owner Lyn Konheim beginning 2014 when he took ownership of the property, regarding the tree removal, and the City plan for the reconstruction of Santa Monica Boulevard (SMB) scheduled to begin in March 2016. These staff members were reminded in emails at least three times of the City’s easement on the North side of the property, including an ALTA Survey that enumerated every tree, its circumference and variety, and whose land it was on —Beverly Hills Land Company or/and the City of Beverly Hills. (Editor’s note: M. Hobbs in a conversation with City Manager Aluzri asked specifically about his knowledge of the content of the numerous emails

and attachments. Mr. Aluzri was honest in saying that at a time when he was fulfilling the responsiblities of four City positions, he trusted the staff in place and did not read all of the documents he received.) Then we traced an email chain that began after the tree cutting, which started with Deputy City Manager Cheryl Friedling on Monday Nov. 23 traveled throughout the City, instructing staff to tell the public that the trees were on private property, there were permits for the street closure, it was safe and legal, and that the City had no jurisdiction over the cutting of the trees—all of which was untrue. Picking up the story, we begin again on Jan. 5 when Assistant City Attorney Carol Lynch presented a report on the events surrounding the tree cutting on Nov. 21 and 22, which exposed people to arsenic-contaminated soil, illegally removed both privately owned and City trees and closed a lane of Santa Monica Boulevard without a permit. Lynch’s report practically ignored the DTSC, including a June 17 public meeting in which the DTSC put forth a draft Remedial Action Work (see ‘TOXIC SCANDAL’ page 19)

Part 67 in a series on Beverly Hills residents who have grown with the Centennial City By Laura Coleman Few will ever boast having a 90th birthday party quite like Lili Markowitz had last week, when 150 people danced the Hora around her in pure jubilation. Indeed, the event at the Mark (which her son owns) was a true celebration of life for a woman who has known profound loss and also renewal. In fact, Lili has been a beloved fixture in the Beverly Hills community ever since her family took over Factor’s Famous Deli on Pico Boulevard in 1969. Originally born in Transylvania, at 2 years old Lili moved to a nearby Romanian town where a few years later, after the birth of her brother and sister, her mother was struck with tuberculosis and relegated to a sanitorium. “I used to tell her, eat bacon,

Lili Markowitz

because it’s very good for the lungs,” Lili recalled advising her mom. Her mom, who died at 35, was very religious and thus kept Kosher, which meant that bacon was off the menu. She told her then 7-year-old daughter Lili that it was God’s will. (see ‘LILI MARKOWITZ’ page 30)

ACROBATIC BEAUTIES — Entertainment was nonstop during the Peninsula Beverly Hills Hotel’s celebration of the Year of the Monkey. Chef David Codney and pastry chef Stephanie Boswell prepared tablesful of delicacies that had the crowd pigging out. Managing director Offer Nissenbaum informed that the redesigned Belvedere restaurant is now open with free valet parking through March 1st. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6. Photo by Peninsula Hotel Archives


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