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BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME: L
NUMBER 47
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SINCE 1965
November 20, 2015
It’s Woof-ficial: Beverly Hills Will Finally Get A Dog Park
The Kid Unity after school program visited The Courier on Tuesday. 5 •Health & Wellness •Birthdays •Letters to the Editor
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George Christy, Page 6 A Cultural Ambassador To The World, The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Performed For Honoree Bram Goldsmith At The Wallis. The Evening Raised More Than $1 Million
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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GIRLS INC. EMPOWERS — (From left): Cheryl Saban, Lynne Segall, Gelila Assefa Puck, Shelley Zalis, Holly Robinson Peete, and Cyma Zarghami shine at Wednesday’s Girls Inc. celebration luncheon.
Girls Inc. Honors Puck, Peete, Segall, Zalis, Zarghami At Annual Luncheon A DOG PARK FOR BEAR - Pictured, from left: Courier editor Victoria Talbot, Courier Publisher Marcia Hobbs, Councilmember Nancy Krasne, Activist Tina Sinatra, Vice Mayor John Mirisch, and front row, The Bear, Councilmember Lili Bosse and Amanda Foundation President Teri Austin.
Austin, Resident and Animal Activist Tina Sinatra, and Courier Publisher and President Marcia Hobbs have worked tirelessly to keep the project moving forward and support Mirisch and Bosse’s initiative. The site is expected to contain an off-leash dog park partitioned for small and large dogs that will have a keyed entry, limited to Beverly Hills residents, businesses, and hotel guests with dogs. All dogs must have Los Angeles County doglicenses (which requires spay/neuter certification and proof of up-to-date vaccinations) or proof of vaccination and spay/neuter (common requirements when traveling). (see ‘DOG PARK’ page 18)
Beverly Hills Elder: Ruth Grahm, Actress, Writer, Bonny Doon Rep Part 60 in a series on Beverly Hills residents who have grown with the Centennial City By Laura Coleman It was Ruthie Grahm’s very first day in Los Angeles when serendipity struck as it often did throughout her life. She was 11 years old, a bright-eyed, freckled red-head with a short bob, tired from spending the day looking for apartments that accepted kids with her family, and thus waiting outside the Hollywood Ranch on Vine and Sunset on a bench with a sack of potatoes while her folks, brother and sister shopped for sundries. “Along comes a man and a woman,” she recalled. “They said, ‘Little girl, do you work in pictures?’ I said, ‘How could I work in pictures? I just got here.’” The couple were studio producers and thought she had a look they could use, so they scribbled their number on the bag of pota-
toes and instructed her to have her parents give them a call. “After, my m o m turns to my dad, says, ‘It’s a good thing we Ruthie Grahm c a m e here, they’re picking up kids off the street,’” Ruthie recounted. Originally born in Philadelphia, when Ruthie was 5, the family moved to Rockaway, New York, where her father, Lou Herscher, (see ‘RUTHIE GRAHM’ page 22)
By Laura Coleman On Wednesday, the annual Girls Inc. Los Angeles Celebration Luncheon saluted five women whose extraordinary accomplishments have increased opportunities for women and girls, and inspired them to overcome challenges and succeed. The roster of attendees and honorees was particularly impressive at an event intended to raise funds to support Girls Inc. in delivering life-changing programs and experiences to girls across the
United States and Canada with the mission of inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. “Women leaders are key to inspiring the next generation,” said Judy Vredenburgh, Girls Inc. president/CEO. “Our 2015 honorees demonstrate what’s possible when girls set high expectations for themselves and boldly pursue their goals. We honor them for their professional excellence and their desire to provide many (see ‘GIRLS INC.’ page 18)
Beverly Hills Chinese New Year Bash To Celebrate ‘Year Of The Monkey’ By Victoria Talbot The Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau (BHCVB) has announced plans for the Fifth Annual Chinese New Year Celebration, including an exclusive partnership with the China International Culture Association (CICA) Jan. 31 at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. From Beijing, BHCVB CEO Julie Wagner made the an-
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
By Victoria Talbot After nearly a decade of efforts, the City of Beverly Hills is going to get its first dog park. Councilmember Lili Bosse, who made the dog park the Number One priority of her tenure as Mayor last year, was gleeful as comments drew to a close. "I want to make the motion," she cried out enthusiastically. And she did. The City Council voted unanimously to accept the final Mitigated Negative Declaration and again, unanimously, to hire RTK Architects, Inc. for consultant design services. The dog park is a reality! years, the City THIS ISSUE has For looked at locations, rejecting them one at a time. Since 2010, the City has been considering the location at the southeast corner of Alden Drive and Foothill The Fine Arts Theatre is Road after it was sugback in business in Beverly gested by Vice Mayor Hills. 4 John Mirisch. The 20,800 square-foot site will require soil mitigation to remediate arsenic contamination resulting from previous uses. The dog park has GOH japanese restuarant is bringing a new spin on sushi received support from to Beverly Hills. 4 many residents who have spent scores of hours hashing out details at several meetings of the Recreation and Parks Commission. Amanda Foundation President Teri
nouncement. “Last year’s soldout event was a great success. We are honored to partner with the China International Culture Association again this year to showcase the country’s cultural arts performances during our celebration in Beverly Hills.” Beijing’s finest troupes and performance artists will be (see ‘CHINESE NEW YEAR’ page 18)
STEPPIN’ OUT — Jena Malone, Evan Ross and wife singer Ashlee Simpson, and Jennifer Lawrence (in Dior Couture) arrive on the Red Carpet for Lionsgate Films’ The Hunger G a m e s : Mockingjay - Part 2 premiere at Microsoft Theater For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.