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BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME: L
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SINCE 1965
September 4, 2015
Beverly Hills Water Rates Could Rise Again
GAME ON — Four of the five candidates for the November Beverly Hills Board of Education race kicked off their campaigns with friends and community members last Sunday. Pictured clockwise, from left: Barry Brucker, Sue Brucker, Eli, Isabel, Avrami and Adi Hacker at Isabel Hacker’s kickoff party; Ardyth and Sam Freshman and Lewis Hall at Hall’s kickoff party; Carter and Karen Paysinger at Paysinger’s kickoff party and Barbara and Mel Spitz and Janet Salter at Spitz’s kickoff party. Current Board of Education member Noah Margo, who is the fifth candidate running for a seat on the Beverly Hills Board of Education, kicked off his campaign the previous Sunday.
BHEF celebrated its new boardmembers at the Luxe last Thursdsay. 8
Beverly Hills High’s football season got off to a rocky start last Friday. 14 •Real Estate •Birthdays •Letters to the Editor
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By Laura Coleman With three seats up for grabs on the Board of Education and five candidates running, contenders were putting their best forward on Sunday with a quartet of election launch parties. Boardmember Lewis Hall, who bills himself as “the outsider with no political agenda,” was the sole incumbent candidate to launch his kick-off party on Sunday, which he did at the home of Ardyth and Sam Freshman. And, likewise, he was the only candi-
date on Sunday who could boast a litany of truly positive accomplishments that have occurred during his tenure on the board. Of course, accomplishments like having all four K-8 schools score above 900 on the Academic Performance Index, launching a successful STEM program and doubling students’ algebra proficiency scores were all positives that incumbent candidate Boardmember Noah Margo touted during his campaign kick-off the (see ‘SCHOOL ELECTION’ page 19)
Beverly Hills Elder: Gil Seton – Attorney, Tennis Buff Part 51 in a series on Beverly Hills residents who have grown with the Centennial City
George Christy, Page 6 Aunt Ruby’s Country Style Gourmet Peanuts Are The Best Quality Virginia Style Peanuts From North Carolina That Are Known For Their Lower Fat Content And Large Meaty Size
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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Board to reduce water usage by 32-percent, the burden has fallen on residents and businesses in the City to cut back on their usage. Unfortunately, that conservation looks like it will come at a cost. Less water usage by residents means less money going into the City’s water system. According to the staff report presented to the City Council, “the City’s water system has both fixed and variable costs that are funded through the sale of water... Therefore, rate increases are needed to ensure the City continues to have the necessary revenue to (see ‘WATER RATES’ page 14)
Off To The Races: Beverly Hills School Board Election Begins
By Laura Coleman Gil Seton, who celebrated his 88th birthday this week, first moved to Beverly Hills at 12 years old in an age where people still rode horses down the Rodeo Drive bridle path with stop lights few and far between. “It didn’t seem really rural but like a built-up suburb,” he described. Gil recalled it was summertime when his father, a general surgeon, moved the family from Great Neck, Long Island to the City of Beverly Hills. His mother was particularly excited about the abundance of different fruits, like grapes and cherries, which were now available to them. And Gil still re-
Gil Seton
members the flavor of fried chicken and honey-covered biscuits he’d get at the local drive-ins. “It all seemed so new,” he recalled. When Gil enrolled as a (see ‘GIL SETON’ page 19)
YOU’VE GOT MAIL... FROM 2014 — This week, The Courier received a check from the Beverly Hills Post Office (pictured above, on the bottom) that was mailed out to a former employee in 2014. That check never reached its intended target and was lost in the ether until finally being returned Tuesday. Pictured above: A check made out to The Courier was delivered by the post office in torn and tattered condition this week.
Beverly Hills Postmaster: ‘Sorry The Phones Don’t Work’ By Victoria Talbot Last week, The Courier printed more of your emails, relating your horror stories with the Beverly Hills Postal Service, as well as a response from Beverly Hills Postmaster Koula Fuller, in which she said that the phone service was being repaired. Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
THIS ISSUE
By Matt Lopez Water conservation is becoming a costly proposition for Beverly Hills residents. Months after passing new conservation laws, backed by potential fines of up to $1,000, the City Council moved forward Tuesday with possible plans to once again raise water rates City-wide. The proposal before the City Council Tuesday calls for customers to see a 5-percent increase in their water bill in November, followed by another 5-percent increase in March 2016, if needed. With Beverly Hills targeted by the State Water Resources
While it is true that there is no answer on the customer service line, electronic or otherwise, problems The Courier found included the fact that the service at the postal centers, as well as the delivery service, if mail was delivered at all. (see ‘POST OFFICE’ page 22)
THE CYRUS VIRUS — The family of Miley Cyrus includes Billy Ray Cyrus, Braison Cyrus, Noah Cyrus, Tish Cyrus, Brandi Cyrus who convened at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater (formerly LA Live). For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.