BEVERLY HILLS COURIER | AUGUST 29, 2014 Page 4
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B E V E R LY H I L L S M A I N N E W S
BHHS Principal Paysinger Drops Request For Punitive Damages By Laura Coleman Beverly Hills High School Principal Carter Principal has dropped two “key parts” of the lawsuit he filed against the Beverly Hills Unified School District, BHUSD attorney Fred Fenster with Greenberg ROTARY TUTORING—Last year, Rotarian Jeffrey Tomlinson (left) tutored Beverly Hills youth Leorie Yosian to shine in math. Yosian came to Monday’s Rotary meeting to share her story and encourage others to volunteer their time. “I think, if Jeffrey has any friends in this Rotary club that are like him, they should come and help out tutoring students like me who used to hate math,” she told 120 Rotarians. Tomlinson is one of many who volunteer in after-school tutoring with the group and they appeared at the meeting to encourage other Rotarians to do just that – help other kids like Leorie with all subjects at school. Orientation for volunteers is Sept. 9 at Roxbury Park Auditorium 4-5:30 p.m. Call 310 – 285-6810 at the Beverly Hills Community Services Department or email adriennetutor@gmail.com. Pictured (from left): Jeffrey Tomlinson, Adrienne Weise, supervisor of the Beverly Hills Academic Tutoring Program; 9-year-old Leorie Yosian of El Rodeo and Rotary President Sean O’Donnell.
By Victoria Talbot A suspect caught in the process of a residential burglary was apprehended and taken into custody by the Beverly Hills Police Department Tuesday.
At approximately 3:20 p.m., BHPD received a 911 call from a witness chasing a male suspect seen running down the street with a purse in his hand. It was later determined that the suspect had just
committed a residential burglary in the 800-block of North Roxbury Drive. The victim told officers that she was in the residence when the crime was in progress. She (see ‘BHPD BURGLARY’ page 19)
Rec and Parks Commission Forms JPA Ad Hoc Committee By Victoria Talbot The Recreation and Parks Commission voted unanimously to form an ad hoc committee to liaison with the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between the City of Beverly Hills and the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) to provide access to their facilities for recreation purposes. The item was agendized at
the request of Commissioner Frances Bilak. Director of Community Services Steve Zoet wrote that his Community Services staff represents the City and that there are no regularly scheduled meetings to discuss the JPA. Nonetheless, he admonished the Commission, “staff does not (see ‘JPA AD HOC’ page 19)
Beverly Hills School District To Hire Full Time GATE Teacher
PA R T Y T I M E – N o t e d Westside antique and estates guru Vanya Foster Rohner (third from left), holds her grand-nephew Thayer VanBuren McLean as her niece Vanessa Rigby McLean (left) and sister Valerie Foster Hoffman (right) at a party given by Beatrice Bennett.
By Laura Coleman The Board of Education voted to boost its GATE program allocation to $280,000 on Tuesday in an effort to hire a full-time teacher to run the state-mandated program. The decision, which was made late Tuesday evening, came after the board decided to retreat into closed session
Beverly Hills Resident Launches New Animal Rescue Foundation By Steve Simmons A new animal rescue organization has opened its doors in Beverly Hills: the Diana Gray Foundation, a pending 501.3c charity, is saving animals off “death row” and off the streets of LA. CEO Diana Gray has been involved in rescue for more than 12 years and has given hundreds of dogs their second
(see ‘PAYSINGER’ page 19)
AWESOME TWOSOME— Lynn and Thomas are Toy Poodle siblings hoping to be adopted together. They are a bonded, 2-year old, 6 and 8-pound, sister and brother pair. Those interested in adopting this rescue dog family may contact Kira Lorsch at 4Dogs@RHLGroup.com or ShelterHopePetShop.org at 805-379-3538.
Beverly Hills Police Nab Suspect In Home Burglary RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY—Beverly Hills Police Department cars lined Lomitas on Tuesday as police officers tracked down a man suspected of a residential burglary in the area.
Glusker confirmed this week. “These most recent revisions to the lawsuit demonstrate the weakness of the overall claim against the district and we will continue to defeat these baseless accusations,”
chance by flying them with Pilots for Paws to different sanctuaries across the nation. Next year, she is launching the “Flying Dog PUPPY LOVE–From left: Romeo & Juliet are just Project, a rescue two of the pups up for adoption. program that will via Lufthansa into pre-aptake dogs that are “out of time” proved homes in Germany. at U.S. shelters and fly them
after staff said there was only one applicant for a part-time GATE coordinator position. “You felt comfortable having just one applicant?” Board VP asked staff following the recommendation to hire an internal candidate. “We’re investing quite a bit of money and district resources. Is there (see ‘GATE’ page 19)
SENIOR OF THE YEAR—Beverly Hills High School Class of 2010 alum Alon Kashanian was one of eight UCLA graduates named "2014 UCLA Senior of the Year." Kashanian received the accolade as a result of his campus involvement, research and grades. “I credit much of my success in college to my outstanding education I received from Beverly Hills schools,” he told The Courier. “At Beverly, the teachers there were just fantastic mentors.” Following a gap year, Kashanian, a biology major, plans to attend medical school.
(see ‘ANIMAL RESCUE’ page 19)
NAVY LEAGUE SUPPORTERS—Singers Jamie and Gail Arias of www.LovePassion33.com entertained Naval Sea Cadets, U.S. Coast Guard and supporters of the Navy League of the U.S. Beverly Hills Council with a tribute vocal arrangement of music from the the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80’s at the organization’s 16th annual fundraiser hosted by Dr. Seymour Ulansey in Malibu. The event featured a silent auction, raffle, performance by The Larry Toomin Band and an Air-Sea Rescue demonstration by the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles and Bay Watch.
BHUSD Eyes Creating DualLanguage Instruction Program By Laura Coleman Beverly Hills students may soon say “hola” to two-way immersion education, if Superintendent Gary Woods has his druthers. On Tuesday, the district leader who brought the inno-
vative STEM curriculum to all sixth graders last year, gave the Board of Education its first public look at a pilot program he would like to bring to the Beverly Hills Unified School District as early as 2015. (see ‘LANGUAGE’ page 19)