Happy Arbor Day – Plant A Tree!
BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 17
www.bhcourier.com
Herbert Gold, the father of Mayor Julian Gold, passed away Monday. 4
The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust held a Yom HaShoah Day of Holocaust Commemoration. 5
APPLE AWARD WINNERS — The Beverly Hills community joined together Wednesday evening to celebrate this year’s Apple Award winners – a prestigious recognition of some of the incredible Beverly Hills Unified employees who call this district home. Said winner Chris Hertz to his colleagues: “Each of you belongs up here. Everyone of you is making tremendous differences.” Pictured: Director of School Safety Chris Hertz, Hawthorne kindergarten teacher Jory Lindsay, BHHS math teacher Josh Glass, El Rodeo instructional assistant Linda Omansky, French teacher Emannuelle Rousseaux, Horace Mann first-grade teacher Belinda Maisterra, BHHS intervention counselor Alison Norman-Franks, El Rodeo kindergarten teacher Jocelyn Bresnick, and Beverly Vista music teacher Katina Valles. -Laura Coleman
Beverly Hills Unified Submits Troubling Budget To LACOE
By Laura Coleman Make no mistake, Beverly Hills Unified School District’s latest 2017-18 budget does not paint a pretty picture. In response to BHUSD’s Second Interim Report, earlier this month the Los Angeles County BHUSD students will Office of Education (LACOE) participate in a Science authored a letter addressed to Fair on Saturday. 5 Board of Education President Lisa Korbatov stating that while the office believed the district “should” be able to meet its financial obligations for the current and The Anti-Defamation two subsequent years, it had some League’s Entertainment concerns. Industry Dinner was held last At the crux of this concern is week in Beverly Hills. 21 BHUSD’s failure to take action to 8,10 •Health & Wellness address its looming budget deficit. 22 •Birthdays The district’s First Interim Report •Letters to the Editor 31
for 2017-18, which was submitted to LACOE in December, had it making $5 million in staff reductions – a financial cut BHUSD has since withdrawn. “We are concerned this action poses serious implications for the district’s solvency,” LACOE’s April 10, 2018 letter stated. The letter further detailed LACOE’s concerns with the district’s latest projections, which has it operating with a deficit of $2.8 million for this year, and subsequently projecting out increasing operating deficits of $4.1 million for 2018-19, and $5.5 million for 2019-20. “Over the three-year span, the combined unrestricted General (see ‘BHUSD BUDGET’ page 20)
Virginia Robinson Gardens’ May 19 Tour Promises To Delight George Christy, Page 6 Mitzi Gaynor And Joni Berry Hosted The Professional Dancers Society’s 31st Annual Spring Luncheon At The Beverly Hilton. PDS Has Raised Huge Monies For Dancers Who Are In Need
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
24
April 27, 2018
Basement Ordinance Referendum Draws Scrutiny From City Council, Residents
THIS ISSUE
One-year-old Taos is this issue’s Adoptable Pet of the Week. 4
SINCE 1965
By Laura Coleman Less than a month remains before Beverly Hills’ garden party of the year returns to the City on Saturday, May 19, at the Virginia Robinson Gardens. Now in its 30th year, the annual Garden Tour & Showcase Estate, which raises funds for the Virginia Robinson Gardens historical estate, gives ticket holders the opportunity to visit several private home gardens rarely seen by the public. One of the fabulous private gardens on this year’s tour belongs to renowned interior and architectural designer Richard Shapiro, who is also serving as this year’s Grand Marshal. His “Florentine Villa” garden, which was also on
Gorgeous boxwoods fill Richard Shapiro’s whimsical private garden.
the garden tour just over a decade ago and has since been transformed, is now a whimsical repose inspired by the Chateau de Marqueyssac in France with a preponderance of boxwoods. “I was really taken by the tenacity and the singlemindedness (see ‘ROBINSON GARDENS’ page 19)
By Victoria Talbot City Attorney Larry Wiener responded to questions that were raised by the recent spate of signature gathering for a referendum to repeal the Basement Ordinance, directed by attorney Bradley Hertz and local Hilton & Hyland realtor Branden Williams that would benefit his client Francesco Aquilini in his attempts to develop the properties at 1184 and 1193 Loma Linda Drive. Signature gatherers, who self-reported remuneration as much as 25 times the going rate of $1 per signature, fanned out across the City and beyond last month to get enough signatures to qualify to be on the ballot. According to residents, several who have appeared at City Council meetings, and others who have written letters,
the circulators of the referendum petition made false statements or were inaccurate in their description of the petition. In addition, they did not educate potential signers about who hired the signature gatherers so they could make a more informed decision before signing. These issues were on the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council Study Session. The referendum petition gathered 2,966 signatures which are currently being validated by the Los Angeles County Registrar/Recorder. The petition needs the valid signatures of 10 percent of the voters, approximately 2,049 signatures of Beverly Hills residents registered to vote in the City. The County Clerk has until (see ‘REFERENDUM’ page 20)
World Leaders Flock To Beverly Hills For Milken Global Conference By Laura Coleman Nobel Laureates, global leaders, policymakers, industry executives, university presidents and medical researchers are among the 5,000 people expected to attend this year’s four-day Milken Institute Global Conference, which kicks off Sunday, April 29. At the center of the conference’s 150 sessions spread across four days at The Beverly Hilton, where around 700 speakers will discuss some of today’s most pressing issues, is the driving question, “How can we really come up with solu-
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
VOLUME: LIII
tions that can impact the world in the future?” explained Richard Ditizio, president of the Milken Institute. Now in its 21st year, the Global Conference is always a dynamic opportunity to help attendees actually change the world, in addition to facilitating connections between those who have money and those who have meaningful ideas. Titled “Navigating a World in Transition,” this year’s conference will include sessions focused on efforts to cure (see ‘MILKEN CONFERENCE’ page 21)
NANCY AND BARBARA — Barbara Davis congratulated daughter Nancy Davis for her success with The Race to Erase MS Gala at The Beverly Hilton. Celebrating it’s 25th anniversary, the celebrity-crowded gala raised multi-millions. In May, Barbara hosts a kickoff party at The Palm for the Carousel of Hope Ball, with co-host Bruce Bossi, Jr. On October 6th the Carousel of Hope, benefiting juvenile diabetes, will honor Robert DeNiro. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.