BHCourier E-edition 121115

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Happy Hanukkah!

BEVERLY HILLS NUMBER 50

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GOLDEN GLOBES — Nominations for the 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards were announced Thursday morning at The Beverly Hilton. Carol, the story of a budding romance between two women in 1950s New York starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, earned a leading five nominations. The nominations were announced by (pictured left): Angela Bassett, Chloe Grace Moretz, America Ferrera and Dennis Quaid. For more on the Golden Globe nominations, visit www.bhcourier.com. Celebrity Photo/Scott Downie

THIS ISSUE

The Women’s Club had its Holiday luncheon with the Mayor and Police Chief. 4

Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills names Luc Delafosse as General Manager. 8

Lucy Meyer leads UNICEF, Special Olympics efforts locally. 20 Dog Park Meeting The Parks & Recreation Commission will meet Monday at 9:30 a.m. in City Hall room 280A to discuss the dog park (permitting, entry, closed circuit TV, donor recognition) and more. Centennial Film RSVP Don’t forget to RSVP for a free screening of Phil Savenick’s Beverly Hills: 100 Years, 100 Stories premiere Jan. 7, at The Wallis. E-mail: bh100rsvp@gmail.com.

George Christy, Page 6 Winning The Pulitzer And Tony Awards, The 1950s Musical, Guys & Dolls, A Musical Fable On Broadway, Is Being Performed Through December 20th At The Wallis Center For Performing Arts

CLASSIFIEDS

37

Wendy, Leonard Goldberg Make $10 Million Gift To UCLA UCLA Health Sciences has received a $10 million gift, most of which will support multidisciplinary research on migraine, a debilitating neurological disorder that affects 36 million in the U.S. The gift was made by philanthropists and Beverly Hills residents Wendy and Leonard Goldberg. Wendy Goldberg is an editor and author; her husband, Leonard, is an award-winning film and television producer and executive. Leonard & Wendy Goldberg

Beverly Hills Elders: Gordon And Lee Gelfond, The Sweetest Pair Part 63 in a series on Beverly Hills residents who have grown with the Centennial City

Gordon & Lee Gelfond

don was slated to lead the Wednesday morning song before (see ‘GELFONDS’ page 24)

New Church Of Good Shepherd Pastor Asks Flock To Be Merciful By Laura Coleman Church of the Good Shepherd’s new pastor, Rev. Ed Benioff, is raring to make a difference in the lives of his flock. This week, in tandem with Pope Francis launching a worldwide “year of mercy”, Father Ed let his parisioners know that likewise, they too were being called upon to be “islands of mercy in a sea of indifference.” But just what can people do to make a difference? According to Fr. Ed, it’s important for people to pray to figure out just what that

December 11, 2015

Toxic Timeline: How Beverly Hills’ Arsenic Soil Became Everyone’s Problem By Victoria Talbot 9315 Civic Center Way has been a sleepy address for decades. Owned by the Beverly Hills Land Company, the 5acre site became a railroad right-of-way from 1926-1998, though the railroad had ceased to operate decades earlier. Now, riddled with contamination from arsenic, parcels 12 & 13 are under the microscope as the City and its residents try to unravel the events that led to the removal of 196 trees and subsequent potential release of fugitive toxic dust in a residential and commercial central area of Beverly Hills. Here is a timeline of the events: 1998 – Union Pacific Rail-

road (UPRR) returns the land to the Beverly Hills Land Company (BHLC) 11/2/2000 – BHLC and “transportation planners” meet with residents allegedly to discuss alleviating traffic on Santa Monica Blvd. Beverly Hills North HOA President Victor Bardack accuses then-BHLC president Gene St. John of a “veiled attempt to make friends of the residents and make them more receptive to what the developer wants to do.” St. John receives support from Beverly Hills’ then-City Manger Mark Scott. 6/2003 – A report by Lindmark Consultants that the property has toxic arsenic (see ‘TOXIC SOIL’ page 30)

City Council To Vote On Fire Department Pay Raises

(see ‘GOLDBERG GIFT’ page 28)

By Laura Coleman After nearly 65 years together, Lee and Gordon Gelfond know the secret to a good marriage. Part of that secret, Gordon explained, is never going to bed angry, enjoying the journey and often having a little patience. When Lee first spoke to Gordon she did so disdainfully. The two were in a social studies course at UCLA and as was tradition, Gor-

SINCE 1965

Rev. Ed Benioff

means in their own lives. In fact, Fr. Ed is a first-hand (see ‘GOOD SHEPHERD’ page 24)

By Victoria Talbot and Matt Lopez The City of Beverly Hills has posted the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the employee labor negotiations between the Beverly Hills Firefighter's Association and the City on its website. The posting reflects the City's transparency ordinance, to allow the public to comment on the resulting negotiations. The MOU for BHFA will be voted on at the City Council Formal Session, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15. The public can view the proposal on the City’s website at www.beverlyhills.org/bhfamou. The MOU contains the following: "Effective the pay period including October 6, 2015, employees will receive a base salary increase of two percent

Celebrity Photo Agency/Scott Downie

VOLUME: L

(2%). Effective the pay period following adoption of this MOU, employees will receive a base salary increase of six percent (6%). Effective the pay period including October 1, 2016, employees will receive a base salary increase of two percent (2%). Effective the pay period including October 1, 2017, employees will receive a base salary increase of two and one half percent (2.5%). Effective the pay period including October 1, 2018, employees will receive a base salary increase of three percent (3%)." For firefighter retirement pay, "classic" members, which means those hired before July 1, 2012, will pay their own full nine percent employee contribution to the California Public Employees Retirement System (see ‘FIRE PAY’ page 28)

A DAY IN THE SUN — Amy Poehler and parents, Eileen Frances Milmore and William Grinstead Poehler share a proud moment as Amy is honored with a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame – Star #2566 in the category of Television. For more photos, see George Christy’s column on page 6.


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