Happy Hanukkah!
BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 49
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MEALS ON WHEELS–Beverly Hills’ finest volunteered their time to deliver Meals On Wheels to homebound seniors this holiday season. BHPD Lt. Renato Moreno worked with Meals on Wheels President, Hon. Les Bronte, to create this opportunity. Pictured, from left: Sgt. Robert Maycott, Officer James Keenaghan, Lt. Renato Moreno, Cadet Robert Parmelee, Beverly Hills Meals On Wheels President Les Bronte, Sgt. Todd Withers and Sgt. Max Subin.
Police Chief Rivetti Reports On BHPD Changes, Requests Staffing Additions THIS ISSUE
Beverly Hills resident Amy Furie took The Courier to Cannes. 4
Two-year-old Ireland is one of this week’s Freshpet Adoptable Pets. 4
The Petersen Auto Museum cut the ribbon on its new transformation Thursday. 19 •Real Estate •Birthdays •Letters to the Editor
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George Christy, Page 6 Capri: The Last August Is India Irving’s Debut Novel About Young Lovers On That Italian Island Of Love Near Naples. India Summered In Capri For Years, And Her Revelations Are Not To Be Missed.
CLASSIFIEDS • Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
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By Victoria Talbot Police Chief Dominick Rivetti informed the City Council of progress in the implementation of recommendations provided by consulting group Management Partners, designed to improve operations, hiring and disciplinary procedures in the Beverly Hills Police Department. Management Partners, a firm that specializes in consulting for public agencies, reviewed the de-
partment and offered 24 recommendations. The report painted a picture of a Department lacking in strategic vision, suffering from low morale and flawed hiring practices; with poor disciplinary procedures and a lack of transparency in promotional practices and poor succession planning and team building. Management Partners urged the BHPD to initiate a review of
SINCE 1965
December 4, 2015
Toxic Tree Cutting Mistake Raises Dust In Beverly Hills Vice Mayor Urges Residents To Avoid Farmers Market By Victoria Talbot A toxic cloud continues to surround the removal of over 190 trees on lots 12 and 13 on the east side of Santa Monica Boulevard the weekend of Nov. 21-22 by Lyn Konheim and the Beverly Hills Land Company (BHLC), defying instructions from the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and disturbing land heavily contaminated with arsenic. Amidst the finger-pointing, the City of Beverly Hills is allegedly scrambling to protect the health and safety of its residents and businesses, to understand how such a mistake could happen, and to discover what measures can be taken to protect the public and ensure
safety going forward. The City’s primary concern is for the public welfare, said City Manger Mahdi Aluzri. However, actions Thursday by the City do not bear that out. The City of Beverly Hills issued a statement Thursday that said that the State Department of Toxic Substance Control “has informed the City of Beverly Hills that there is no danger to the community from toxic substances in the soil on Parcels 12 and 13 as long as no activity is taking place on the site that disturbs the soil… The Beverly Hills Farmers’ Market will take place on Sunday as scheduled.” A call to DTSC Project (see ‘TOXIC MISTAKE’ page 13)
One Beverly Hills Public Beverly Hills Elder: June Claman, Hearing For Supplemental Saskatchewan To Beverly Hills EIR Set For Dec. 7 (see ‘BHPD’ page 13)
Part 62 in a series on Beverly Hills residents who have grown with the Centennial City By Laura Coleman A Beverly Hills resident for over half a century, June Faibish Claman knows what it means to come from nothing. “No one was raised in the way in which I was raised,” avers the grandmother of eight. “I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum.” June spent her earliest years in what she characterized as a “Godforsaken hamlet” in Saskatchewan, Canada in the village Markinch. There were 90 people in the village; one Jewish family, hers. There was no electricity or running wa-
June Claman
ter. Once a week she and her three siblings had a bath made from melted snow her mother gathered (see ‘JUNE CLAMAN’ page 16)
Goldstein Expected To Be Named School Board President By Laura Coleman On Tuesday, at 6 p.m., the Board of Education is set to swear in new members Isabel Hacker and Mel Spitz, in addition to electing a new president and vice president. The public is welcome to attend the event, which will take place at the STC/Jon Cherney Lecture Hall at Beverly Hills High School. Board VP Howard Goldstein is expected to be elected to the role of president, but district sources
question just who might take over the role of VP. According to Beverly Hills Unified School District Board Bylaw 9100, “the Vice President shall succeed to the Presidency.” In theory, rules of succession dictate that boardmember Lisa Korbatov, who served as President in 2011, would step into Goldstein’s soon-to-be vacant spot as vice president. Korabtov was reelected for a second term to the board just (see ‘SCHOOL BOARD’ page 22)
By Victoria Talbot The clock is ticking on public input on the preparation of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) on the property located at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard, known now as One Beverly Hills. In a move guaranteed to offer some obscurity during the holiday period, the City began the 30-day countdown for public input on the project Nov. 30, extending to Dec. 29, right in the middle of the most intense holiday travel, business closures, and extended vacation times. When was the last time this process and the public meetings started just before Hanukah, spanned Christmas, and ended during Kwanzaa? Susan Healy Keene, Direc-
Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie
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tor of Community Development, gave a carefully-worded response. “The City is still in the early stages of the environmental review process, and there will be many opportunities for public participation in the months to come. A Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (Draft SEIR) has not yet been written,” wrote Keen. “At the Public Scoping Meeting, members of staff, our environmental consultants, and members of the applicant team will be available to answer questions and receive comments on what items should be studied in the Draft SEIR. This scoping meeting is the first of many (see ‘ONE BEVERLY HILLS’ page 14)
A REUNION — Laila Ali, Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson reunited during the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures’ Creed at the Regency Village Theatre. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.