The Courier Remembers Rabbi Jacob Pressman
BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 40
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Angelo leads this week’s Freshpet adoptable pets of the week. 4
Rabbi Jacob & Marjorie Pressman
Rabbi Jacob Pressman Dead At 95, Leaving A Legendary Legacy
Beverly Hills school board election lawn signs are being tampered with. 4
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The Beverly Hills Fire Department helps fight back against breast cancer. 5
By John L. Seitz It is with great sadness from the entire Courier family to announce the passing yesterday of our beloved columnist of more than three decades, Jacob Pressman, at age 95. The Philadelphia-born “Rabbi Jack,” as he was nicknamed, has been a pillar in the community since he and Marjorie, his beloved wife and partner of more than 70 years, arrived here in the late 1940s. He had graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received his rabbinical training at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
His first California assignment was as assistant to Rabbi Jacob Cohen at Sinai Temple. He then took over a small congregation (Olympic Jewish Center), which he turned into Temple Beth Am, building it into a prominent Conservative congregation of 1,300+ families and produced the nation’s largest annual campaign for Israel Bonds. He was the first registrar of the University of Judaism, and a founder of Camp Ramah, Los Angeles Hebrew High, and Akivah Academy. (see ‘RABBI PRESSMAN’ page 23)
Visionary Women were celebrated Wednesday at Gearys Beverly Hills. 8 •Real Estate •Sports •Letters to the Editor
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Jack Colker’s 76 Station at the corner of South Santa Monica Boulevard and Crescent Drive features one of the most unique gas station designs in the country.
Jack Colker’s 76: Filling Up Beverly Hills For 51 Years George Christy, Page 6 The Stars Were Shining Brightly During The Remembering Pavarotti Gala With Soprano Renee Fleming And Tenor Andrea Bocelli Dueting At The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
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October 2, 2015
Beverly Hills School District Works To Repair Long Overdue Deficiencies
THIS ISSUE
332-6 Oakhurst will go before the Planning Commission next week.
SINCE 1965
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 It takes a lot of work for a business to survive for 51 years in Beverly Hills, but a large part of it is developing trust from your customers. That trust has perhaps never been more apparent in Beverly Hills than at Jack Colker’s 76 Station, which has sat at 427 N. Crescent Dr. since 1964. “I had a woman come in here once who said she had followed Jack to every station he owned, and she pointed to her black car in
the parking lot,” said Dvorah Colker, Jack’s widow, who owns and operates Colker’s 76. “She goes ‘you see that car? If Jack tells me it’s white, I’m going to believe him.’” That kind of trust and devotion from Colker’s customers is a large part of what has made Colker’s 76 such a staple in Beverly Hills for more than five decades. Although the station opened in Beverly Hills in 1964, Jack didn’t take the reigns until two years later. (see ‘COLKER’S 76’ page 23)
By Laura Coleman When the “Big One” does in fact, hit Southern California, as experts predict it will, no one can say for certain what buildings will emerge unscathed and which structures will collapse. What is known, regardless of where the earthquake’s epicenter happens to strike, is that shockwaves from a major earthquake will reverberate across Beverly Hills. When the 6.7 Northridge earthquake hit in 1994, the reverberations were strong enough to take out Beverly Vista School, 20 miles away, proving that energy travels in ways that defy predictions. Previous BHUSD boards
have known since 1994 that Beverly Hills schools were seismically at risk, Board VP Howard Goldstein insists. However, it wasn’t until BHUSD consultant Tim Buresh cleverly made use of a drone, currently being operated by Totem in the process of constructing a brand new school building at Horace Mann, that the district’s acting facilities chief saw clear evidence last month that a seismic tremor had managed to dislodge cupolas at El Rodeo and Hawthorne that ranged in weight from 2,000 to 10,000 pounds. Both towers are now encased in scaffolding. (see ‘BHUSD REPAIRS’ page 26)
Beverly Hills Elder: Roger Behrstock – Businessman, Golfer, Performer Part 55 in a series on Beverly Hills residents who have grown with the Centennial City By Laura Coleman At 78, Roger Behrstock is two years shy of meeting the Courier’s age requirement to be considered a Beverly Hills Elder. But for Roger, who has spent most of his life living here, a number is way too pesky to get in the way of anything, Take for example what happened in 1974 at his 20th Beverly Hills High School reunion. After performing in a show with Bill Marx (Harpo Marx’s son), Roger was offered the following admonishment by his classmates: “Boy, did you miss your calling.” That Monday he called up his friend Norman Brokaw at William Morris and made an appointment. Once at the
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Roger Behrstock
agency, Norman immediately asked if Roger had a good deal for him. It was not an uncommon question; by 29, as Diversified Financial Corp. president, Roger had already made a name for himself as an (see ‘ROGER BEHRSTOCK’ page 26)
ALL IN THE FAMILY — Claire Danes with mom Carla and dad Christopher Danes the day Claire was honored with #2559th Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Category of Television. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.