BH Courier 11-25-11

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BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME XXXXVI NUMBER 46 $135 PER YEAR - $1.25 PER COPY •

www.bhcourier.com GIVING THANKS— Members of the Beverly Hills Active Adult Club enjoy the annual Thanksgiving luncheon at Roxbury Park and hosted by the Beverly Hills F i r e m e n ’ s Association. Deputy Fire Chief Mark Embrey and Fire Captain Ken Signorio serve turkey with all the trimmings to: seated (from left) Eileen Silver, Lily Muller, and Lisel Bernstein.

THIS ISSUE

BHHS cross country members qualify for state finals in Woodward Park. 4

Appointees to the Citizens Commission on Jail Violence meet. 4

Pets 90210 will hold an adoption event on Dec. 4 at Roxbury Park. 5

The Peninsula Beverly Hills holds an Emily Post meet and greet book party. 5

Swarovski unveils sparkling holiday decorations on Rodeo Drive. 8 •Fashion •Health & Wellness •Arts & Entertainment •Birthdays

8 12 18 21

Planning Commission Denies Gateway Project Application By Marla Schevker The Beverly Hills Planning Commission voted unanimously 4-0-1, with Commissioner Nan Cole absent, to deny a four-story, 65-foot-tall, mixed-use project proposed for the former railway property at the west corner of Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevard. Commissioner Noah

Furie made the motion and Commissioner Brian Rosenstein seconded the motion to deny the project. The Planning Commission also unanimously said it does not support the zone change request from the T1 (transporta(see ‘GATEWAY PROJECT,’ page 21)

Bocelli Launches Foundation With Beverly Hilton Concert Andrea Bocelli will cele- be a grant-making body supportbrate the launch of The Andrea ing two types of programs – Bocelli Foundation with cock- those that alleviate poverty, and tails, dinner and a live perform- those that help people overcome ance at The b a r r i e r s Beverly Hilton caused by illon Dec. 9. ness, or disThe benefit ability. concert is proThe founduced by the dation will aclocal event tively seek to production identify innocompany Stuvative and diomusica original projUSA and Jo ects. Champa. The “I feel very event will also strongly about feature record helping peoproducer and ple make the composer most of the Andrea Bocelli David Foster, world we live R&B soul in,” Bocelli singer Heather Headley, opera said. “I was born with poor eyesoprano Anna Maria Martinez sight and became completely and other surprise guests. (see ‘BOCELLI,’ page 9) The Bocelli Foundation will

By John L. Seitz If Fred Hayman is rightfully described as the “father of Rodeo Drive,” perhaps Beverly High alumnus John Carroll might arguably garner the same title when it comes to the newlook Cañon Drive. “After a great deal of soul searching on 1996, we decided to move our store from Rodeo to Cañon for two main reasons: our 40-year lease had expired and we had the chance to finally buy our own free-standing building and redesign our new store from

John Carroll

By Marla Schevker The Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Educated voted 4-1 to pass the first interim budget with a positive certification. Boardmember Myra Lurie dissented because she said she felt the budget proposed deficit spending. Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Alex Cherniss said district expenditures will remain stable for the 2011/2012 year, but district revenue will be cut by almost $5 million through

“no fault” of the district. The district will no longer be receiving the one-time stimulus funds it received last year. Federal revenue to the district in 2010/2011 was approximately $4.5 million and the revenue for the 2011/2012 year will be about $1.8 million. The County Assessor’s office is projecting the district will receive 1 percent in property tax revenue, an increase of .5 percent from last year. “We have a healthier budget (see ‘INTERIM BUDGET,’ page 7)

Karen Christiansen Found Guilty On Four Felony Counts

George Christy, Page 6 The Swans Are Back At The Hotel Bel-Air After Two Years Of Renovations, With Wolfgang Puck Welcoming Guests To His Grand New Dining Room Editorial from Rabbi Pressman AND MORE

CLASSIFIEDS

November 25, 2011

First Rodeo And Now On Cañon, Board Of Education Approves Carroll & Co. Leaves Its Imprint First Interim Budget

(see ‘CARROLL,’ page 9)

• Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More

SINCE 1965

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By Marla Schevker Reporting from Dept. 102 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court On Monday, former BHUSD Director of Planning and Facilities Karen Christiansen was found guilty of four counts of felony conflict of interest. Christiansen was taken into custody in lieu of a $400,000 bail and released Tuesday after the bail had been paid. Christiansen’s attorney Philip Kaufler told Judge Stephen Marcus he didn’t believe Christiansen to be a flight risk because she attended every hearing for the criminal case “faithfully” and requested a lower bail amount and monitor-

ing. Kaufler said before the felony convictions, Christiansen had not been found guilty of any crime and told the judge “in our view (the criminal case) is retaliation of the civil lawsuit.” Judge Marcus said he had to raise her bail, from the original $200,000 set last January, because a felony conviction is a “totally different ballgame” and white-collar crimes are considered “serious.” The 12-person jury deliberated almost two full days before returning its verdict against Christiansen and finding true an “ex(see ‘CHRISTIANSEN,’ page 21)

ARE YOU HEARING HOLIDAY BELLS RINGING?—Heidi Klum celebrated gift shopping on QVC at the Four Seasons Hotel. Not to be missed are the beautiful shops in Beverly Hills offering exciting new merchandise for the season. More photos in George Christy’s column on page 6 and check his Pick of the Week on page 15. Photos by Janet Gough /Celebrity Photo


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