Cuts at Courts Lead to Long Lines and Waits

INSIDE
• Councilman
wants to legalize
marijuana. pg. 3
Sunny and
clear, with
temps around
73º
• Student visits
Israel. pg. 6
Volume 20 No. 11
Serving the West Hollywood, Hancock Park and Wilshire Communities
Transient
Arrested for
Racially
Offensive
Graffiti
Cuts at Courts Lead to
Long Lines and Waits
n Justice Moves Slower After Staff is Furloughed
and Courtrooms are Closed
BY IAN LOVETT
O
BY AMY LYONS
T
he Los Angeles Police
Department (LAPD) arrested
a male transient on March 10
at 2:00am while he was in the act of
spray painting a racial epithet at a
parking lot on Ivar Street and
DeLongpre Avenue. The same graffiti was also painted on a wall surrounding a parking lot at the corner
of Cahuenga Boulevard and
Fountain Avenue, and is believed to
have been done by the same person.
The perpetrator, 32-year-old John
Goodwin, who is Caucasian, was
spotted by a witness in the act of
vandalism. The witness called the
police. Goodwin was arrested for
felony vandalism, but the city attorney’s office later reduced the charge
to a misdemeanor when it was
determined that less than $400
physical damage was done to the
property. Graffiti that causes less
than $400 in damage is considered
a misdemeanor, according to Lt.
Robert Binder, with the LAPD’s
Hollywood Division.
The graffiti was a violent, racially motivated directive that was
See Arrest page 22
photo by Ian Lovett
Starbucks allows customers to carry guns if they are unloaded and
kept in a holster.
Koretz Joins Call to Keep
Shots in the Espresso
BY AMY LYONS
T
he West Hollywood City
Council
unanimously
approved a mixed-use
hotel/condominium project at
9040 Sunset Boulevard on
photo by Amy Lyons
A building at 9040 Sunset
Boulevard will be replaced by a
large new project.
n Tuesday, Abel Mikau
arrived at the County of Los
Angeles Superior Court
Metropolitan Courthouse at 6:30am
to pay a traffic ticket. Though the
building doesn’t open until 9:00am,
Mikau said he was far from the
front of the line.
“I thought I would get in right
when it opened, but I didn’t finish
until almost ten,” Mikau said. “It’s
slow, with people going through
security one at a time. I’m late to
work now. I’ve been losing money
this whole time.”
Due to the mandatory court furloughs on the third Wednesday of
every month, lines all week have
been snaking around the building
onto the sidewalk, with thousands
of people waiting just to get inside
and pay their traffic tickets. In
February, on the day after the furloughs, the court even sent a videographer to shoot footage of the
See Lines page 21
n Starbucks Continues to Take Heat
Over Gun Policy
BY IAN LOVETT
S
gt. Antonio Gonzalez of the
Los
Angeles
Police
Department’s
Wilshire
Division said when they get a
call about a man with a gun,
police respond with guns drawn.
“The majority of calls we get
like that, the person doesn’t even
have a gun,” Gonzalez said. “But
Hotel Project on Sunset
Strip Approved
Monday, March 15, but not
before asking for changes to
the development agreement
due to the bankruptcy of one
of the presumed development
partners. Changes to the
agreement were also made to
ensure that union workers
would be employed at the proposed hotel.
The project developers are
WN Sunset LLC, which was
originally owned by Richard
Weintraub and Ezri Namvar.
Namvar, head of Namco
Capital Group, Inc., had two
involuntary Chapter 11 petitions filed against him – one
was filed against him personally, the other against Namco
Capital Group, Inc. – on
December 22, 2008, according
to information at Namvar’s
See Project page 21
if they do, we would prone them
out on the ground spread eagle,
and then secure the weapon. It’s
safety first. Once we render
everything safe, then we can deal
with if he has a permit to carry a
weapon.”
California, according to the
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence, has the strongest gun
See Koretz page 20
photo by Ian Lovett
The line at the Los Angeles County Superior Court Metropolitan
Courthouse stretched around the building on Tuesday. Major cuts to
staffing were implemented later that day.
Marathon Route Boosts Business in WeHo
BY AMY LYONS
F
or the first time in the history
of the Los Angeles Marathon,
the race will wind its way
through Los Angeles, Beverly Hills,
West Hollywood and Santa
Monica. The new “Stadium to the
Sea” route, which starts at Dodger
Stadium – no surprise since
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt
recently bought the L.A. Marathon
– has local businesses gearing up
for race day.
The Sunset Strip is preparing to
host 25,000 runners during the 26.2
mile course, which will lead participants down the strip in miles 13
through 14. Mile 13.1 is located on
the Sunset Strip at Sweetzer Avenue
and the L.A. Marathon organizers
will stage a block party there, adjacent to Cabo Cantina, from 7:00am
– 1:00pm. The party will include
live music, radio remotes and sponsor tents featuring samples and
merchandise. Cabo is getting in on
"&*%".
March 18, 2010
!
$),'-$#" ' "'(,+
! ! " the fun by offering customers
brunch and drink specials starting at
$5. Bottomless mimosas and
bloody Marys will be on special
until 3:00pm.
Cabo Cantina general manager,
Keith Kubista, said the road closures are a small price to pay for the
great business he expects on race
day.
“They close down the road in
Hollywood for the Oscars and that
doesn’t bring us as much business
as the marathon probably will, so
I’m all for it,” Kubista said. “I’m
See Marathon page 22
photo by Christopher Wray-McCann
Thousands of runners participated in the L.A. Marathon last year, and
similar numbers are expected to run the new route this Sunday.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
2 March 18, 2010
Calendar
19 David Lynch
Foundation Benefit
L
egendary folk-rock-pop troubadour, Donavan, will headline a
benefit concert for the David Lynch
Foundation on Friday, March 19 at the
El Rey Theater. Doors will open at
7:30pm. Tickets are $25, or $110 for
VIP seating and a meet and greet with
Donovan after the show. Donovan
was one of the few artists to collaborate on songs with the Beatles, and has
played with folk greats Pete Seeger,
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. The David
Lynch Foundation helps at-risk youth
to meditate. The El Rey Theater, 5515
Wilshire Blvd. Call (323)868-7611.
you’ll see it all. Saban Theatre, 8440
Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Free
admission. Call (323)655-0111.
21 Comedy Giant
at Aero
O
n Sunday, March 21 at 7:30pm,
film director David Zucker will
appear at the Aero Theatre. Zucker, an
icon of cinematic comedy, will speak
after a double-feature of his films.
First up is “The Naked Gun: From the
Files of the Police Squad!” the hilarious Leslie Nielson mock detective
thriller based on the cult TV series of
the same name. It will be followed by
the sequel, “The Naked Gun 2 ½: The
Smell of Fear”, which is full of the
same inventive slapstick and wordplay as the first installment. The Aero
Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa
Monica. Call (310)260-1528.
The Mystery Plays
T
he Knightsbridge Theatre will
mount a production of “The
Mystery Plays”, opening Friday,
March 19 at 8:00pm. “The Mystery
Plays” is made up of two one acts,
loosely based on the tradition of the
medieval mystery plays. In the first
play, we are introduced to a director of
horror films, who has survived a train
wreck only to be haunted by the ghost
of one of the passengers. In the second
play, we meet a woman who travels
back to her small hometown to make
peace with the man who murdered her
parents and younger sister. Tickets are
$20 for adults; $18 for students and
seniors over 65. Knightsbridge
Theatre, 1944 Riverside Dr. Call
(323)667-0955.
Doctors Symphony
Orchestra
T
20 Vox Femina at
Zipper Hall O
n Saturday, March 20 at 8:00pm,
Vox Femina will celebrate
Women’s History Month with a concert titled “Sister, My Sister”, a musical journey showcasing women facing
the hardships and joys of life, love and
liberty. Classical motets to lighthearted parlor songs, 50’s girl group
sounds to foot-stomping gospel, it
will all be covered in this fun-filled
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Photo by Craig Schwartz
From left to right, Lisa Kron and Heidi Schreck star in the world premiere
of Kronʼs “The Wake”, which opens at the Kirk Douglas Theatre on
Sunday, March 21 at 8:00pm. The play follows a woman on the edge of
a nervous breakdown, a journalist who is tested in matters of love and
politics. For tickets, call (213)628-2772. The Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820
Washington Blvd., Culver City.
show. Tickets are $20-$30. Zipper
Concert Hall, Colburn School of
Music, 200 S. Grand Ave. For more
information, visit www.voxfeminala.org.
The Last Play
Standing
S
acred Fools Theatre Company
presents “Serial Killers” every
Saturday night for five weeks, beginning Saturday, March 20 at 11:00pm.
Come vote for your favorite miniplay and join in the fun. If you come
every week, you’ll get to see the stories that survive throughout the entire
series, and be responsible for voting
out the ones that don’t work. Tickets
are $7, and are only available at the
box office. Sacred Fools Theater, 660
N. Heliotrope Dr. Call (323)6665067.
Tour a Classic
Theatre
T
he Los Angeles Historic Theatre
Foundation will present a free,
comprehensive insider’s tour of the
partially restored Saban Theatre on
Saturday, March 20 at 10:30am. Tour
backstage, dressing rooms and see the
performer’s view from the stage –
behind the footlights. Learn how the
theatre accommodates Broadway
shows on a small stage. From backstage to the original projection booth,
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":6,7057 5:79 7+,7 5 Jazz Concert at
Disney Hall
J
azz stars Al Jarreau and Dee Dee
Bridgewater will be on stage at
Walt Disney Concert Hall on Sunday,
March 21 at 7:30pm in two solo sets.
The first set is Bridgewater’s tribute
to Billie Holiday, followed by Al
Jarreau’s career retrospective of his
hits from the the ‘70s and ‘80s to
some of his more contemporary work.
Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S.
Grand Ave. Tickets are $37 - $90. Call
(323)850-2000. Running the Los
Angeles Marathon
O
n Sunday, March 21, the Los
Angeles Marathon will hit the
streets at 6:55am, when the wheel-
Chopin’s Music at
LACMA
P
ianist Abbey Simon will perform
selections by Chopin, “24
Preludes Opus 28”, and “Schumann
Kreisleriana, Opus 16” on Sunday,
March 21 at the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art (LACMA). The concert will be part of the museum’s
“Sundays Live” series, which presents free classical music concerts to
the public. The show starts at 6:00pm.
LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. Call
(323)857-6234.
22 An Evening with
Marvin Hamlisch
O
n Monday, March 22, at 8:00pm,
Reprise Theatre Company presents “An Intimate Evening with
Marvin Hamlisch” for one performance only, at UCLA’s Freud
Playhouse. As a composer, Hamlisch
has won virtually every major award
that exists: three Oscars, four
Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and
three Golden Globe awards. He composed scores for the Broadway show
“A Chorus Line” and the films “The
Sting” and “The Way We Were”,
among his many other musical
achievements. For tickets, priced at
$50,
(310)825-2101
or
visit
www.reprise.org.
25 Women’s Theatre
Festival
T
he Los Angeles Women’s Theatre
Festival will be held at The
Electric Lodge, opening Thursday,
March 25 and running for four days.
Over the years, the festival has presented more than 400 of some of the
most extraordinary works by multicultural women from around the
country in the disciplines of theatre,
dance, music, performance poetry,
performance art, and storytelling.
Performers from the U.S., Canada and
throughout the world unite for this
year’s festival with the theme
“Meeting the New Decade.” The
Electric Lodge,1416 Electric Ave.,
Venice. Admission to the opening,
which includes a gala is $40, which
includes appetizers and champagne.
Call (818)760-0408.
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he Los Angeles Doctors
Symphony Orchestra will perform with six young winners of the
Westside Music Foundation’s Robert
Turner Piano Concerto Competition
on Sunday, March 21 at 3:00pm at
Fiesta Hall in Plummer Park. The
concert will feature three young
soloists playing a movement of the
Kabalevsky Piano Concerto, No. 3,
“Youth” in D Major and three playing
a movement of the Chopin Piano
Concerto, No. 1 in e minor. In addition, the orchestra will perform
Brahms “Variations on a Theme by
Haydn”. Plummer Park, 7377 Santa
Monica Blvd. Admission is free. Call
(323)
845-0174
chair racers take off from Dodger
Stadium. The race will commence
with a 9:50am finish line party and
awards ceremony at 1550 Pacific
Coast Highway, Santa Monica. Finish
line parking is available at the
Fairmont Miramar Hotel . For additional information about the
marathon,
visit
the
website,
www.lamarathon.com.
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Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
3 March 18, 2010
Council Considers Fees for Pot Dispensaries
n Ordinance Likely to
Go Into Effect in May
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
T
to people who are 21 and older. It
would also allow people who are
21 and older to purchase, transport, cultivate and possess up to
one ounce of marijuana. The
State of California and local
jurisdictions would have the
power to tax marijuana, potentially generating $1.4 to $1.8 billion annually, according to Clare.
Local jurisdictions could also opt
out of allowing the initiative to
apply in their areas, similar to
alcohol regulation in states where
some cities and counties allow
sales, while others do not.
“We have turned in more than
700,000 signatures of California
residents who agree that the current policy has failed,” Clare
said. “We have an opportunity to
tax marijuana like alcohol, and
direct these resources to what
matters most.”
Clare said the tax money generated could help erase budget
deficits that currently beleaguer
the state and many local governments, and could be used for
important programs such as education and healthcare. She said
he City of Los Angeles’ medical
marijuana ordinance moved
closer to being enacted when a
report was submitted to the city
council last Friday on the fees dispensaries will be required to pay to
conduct business.
The report by the city’s Chief
Administrative Officer (CAO) outlined the fees that will be required
by the Department of Building and
Safety, the Office of the City Clerk
and the Los Angeles Police
Department. Owners of medical
marijuana dispensaries will be
required to pay a $151 charge per
person for a criminal background
check that must be performed for all
employees. The fee must be paid to
the LAPD, and no persons with
felonies will be allowed to work at
the dispensaries.
Additional charges include a
$374 registration fee to be paid to
the city clerk when applying for a
license to operate a dispensary,
which will also cover the costs of
determining which dispensaries will
be allowed to remain open once the
ordinance takes effect. The city
ordinance capped the number of
dispensaries at 70, but may allow up
to 128 for dispensaries operating
before a 2007 moratorium which
reapply. Part of the city clerk fee is
for processing those applications.
In addition, dispensary owners
will be required to pay an initial
$688 to the Los Angeles
Department of Building and Safety
when applying for a business
license, and another $140 quarterly
for building and safety inspections
and updates.
Los Angeles City Councilman Ed
Reyes, 1st District, said he is confident that the fees will be approved.
Reyes, who has been overseeing the
implementation of the medical marijuana ordinance, said it will likely
take effect in May.
“The goal has been, and continues to be, to adopt a final ordinance
that protects our communities, and
at the same time recognizes the
rights of those who require access to
marijuana dispensaries for medical
purposes,” Reyes said. “The collective fees detailed in the report are
reasonable and get us closer to that
goal.”
See Councilman page 22
See Ordinance page 22
photo by Edwin Folven
West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran and Dale Sky Clare,
a spokesperson for the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of
2010, discussed the initiative during a press conference Monday at
West Hollywood City Hall.
WeHo Councilman Endorses
Legalizing and Taxing Marijuana
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
W
est Hollywood City
Councilman John Duran
officially endorsed a ballot initiative on Monday that would legalize marijuana and enact a tax on
the drug in California.
Duran joined Dale Sky Clare,
a spokesperson for the Regulate,
Control and Tax Cannabis Act of
2010, who announced that the
initiative has gained more than
the 433,971 signatures necessary
to qualify it for the November
ballot. Shannan Velayas, a
spokesperson for the California
Secretary of State’s Office, said
that seven counties, including
Los Angeles, are still verifying
the signatures, which is required
before the initiative is placed on
the ballot. As of Wednesday,
approximately 351,350 signatures had been verified. The signature verification would be
completed by March 24, Velayas
said.
The initiative seeks to regulate
marijuana like alcohol, allowing
licensed retail establishments to
sell up to one ounce of marijuana
photo by Edwin Folven
The Melrose Compassionate Caregivers dispensary on Melrose Avenue
is one of many throughout the city that will likely have to close once the
ordinance goes into effect.
metro.net
Metro Briefs
WESTSIDE/CENTRAL
Beat The Brown Bag Blues – Go Metro
Make your lunch break a real break. Get out of your workplace
and Go Metro for a lunchtime adventure on the town. For
inspiration, go online to metro.net and check the Destination
Guides to find something at just about every Metro Rail stop.
For what you save on gas and parking, you can a=ord dessert.
Go Metro To Dodger Stadium
Take advantage of a winning combination to reach Dodger
Stadium this season. Just Go Metro to Union Station and
connect with the Dodger Stadium Express. You’ll avoid tra;c
and help reduce air pollution; and your Dodger ticket is good for
the fare! The Dodger Stadium Express is made possible by Clean
Transportation Funding from MSRC. For more information,
visit metro.net.
Stimulus Funds Provide 50 New Clean-Air Buses
Itʼs Time for Big
Changes at the
Post Office
E
very time the postmaster
general or the board that governs the post office decides to
raise the price of postage, the service declines. Every time they
decide to reduce service, the cost
of postage increases. Now, they
are determined to end Saturday
delivery of residential mail, so
that must mean postage rates are
about to go up.
It’s past time for a new board,
a new postmaster general, and a
new attitude. The new management surely needs to reduce
postage and increase service, and
with all the new business that
will generate, they can hire thousands of new employees who are
currently unemployed or were previously laid off.
The federal government must
always take the lead in turning
around the economy in difficult
times. This is that time, and the
post office is that place.
Chuck Levin
Los Angeles
Pedestrians and
Cyclists Donʼt Mix
in West Hollywood
M
y wife and I have lived on
Holloway Drive in West
Hollywood for many years. We
love the city and enjoyed walking
our dogs, until recently.
The city ordinance allowing bike
riders on sidewalks has become a
hazard to people and dogs. The
ordinance states that riders must
ride in a safe manner and yield to
pedestrians. That doesn’t happen.
It is unenforceable, and only a
matter of time before serious
injuries occur to one or both parties.
Dennis O’Connor
West Hollywood
Have an Opinion?
Sound Off!
The Park Labrea News and
Beverly Press encourages our
readers to submit Letters to
the Editor. Letters must be
signed by the author, and a
contact phone number must
be included. If you would
like to have your opinion
heard, e-mail us at :
editor@beverlypress.com.
Check Online For Sepulveda Pass Updates
Find out the latest on road closures and construction delays on
the I-405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass at metro.net/405.
Metro and Caltrans are widening the freeway between the I-10
and U.S. 101 to add a carpool lane and reduce travel time on one
of the busiest – and most congested – freeways in the nation.
Go Metro To LA Marathon Sunday, March 21
An all-new course running from Dodger Stadium through
Downtown and Hollywood to Santa Monica will be featured at
the 25th Annual LA Marathon on Sunday, March 21. Metro Rail
will run as scheduled and spectators are urged to use the system
to follow the route. For a listing of Metro bus lines a=ected and
detours, visit metro.net.
If you’d like to know more,
please call us at
1.800.464.2111,
or visit metro.net.
WSC-CE-A-10-010 ©2010 LACMTA
Letters to the Editor
Metro has received the first of 150 new clean-burning buses
fueled by compressed natural gas it purchased with funds from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These first
buses will be used by Metro’s contract service operators with the
additional 100 on order slated for use in regular Metro service.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
4 March 18, 2010
Parking at Out of Order Meters Can be Risky
n Councilman LaBonge
Authors Proposal to
Clear Up Confusion
BY EDWIN FOLVEN
R
photo by Ian Lovett
Rosewood Elementary School is one of the LAUSD schools currently operating in West Hollywood. The West Hollywood City Council is
exploring a proposal to create a charter school district in the city.
WeHo Considers Creating a
Charter School District
BY IAN LOVETT
I
n an effort to gain more control
over education, the City of
West Hollywood is considering
forming a charter school district.
Citing concerns about the quality
of education provided in Los
Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD) schools, and the limited options available to local residents seeking quality education
for their children, the West
Hollywood City Council unanimously passed a motion on
Monday to begin looking into
creating a charter school district.
Currently, public school students
from West Hollywood attend Los
Angeles Unified School District
(LAUSD)
schools.
West
Hollywood students make up
only about 1,000 of the 700,000
students in the LAUSD. There
are two elementary schools within West Hollywood, but students
must travel outside the city limits
to attend a public middle school
and
high
school.
“A growing number of families
with children in West Hollywood
want higher quality public
school, but we are a very small
presence within the district,” said
City Councilmember Jeffrey
Prang, who sponsored the motion
to look into creating a charter
school district. “We had a strong
interest in a greater partnership
with public schools, and we
invested money in the elementary
schools, but there’s only so much
we can do.” “Fairfax High is our
public school, but there are concerns about the quality of education and about safety, and the vast
majority of West Hollywood high
school age kids probably go to
other schools. I think people in
West Hollywood would be willing to play a much greater role in
public school if it was something
they could impact more.”
Prang said the city made informal
overtures to Beverly Hills several
years ago, in hopes of creating an
affiliated school district, but nothing ever came of it. He also noted
the sheer logistical and legal difficulty of seceding from LAUSD
and trying to form an independent
school
district
in
West
Hollywood.
With a charter district, by contrast, West Hollywood schools
would remain part of the
LAUSD, but it would allow the
See WeHo page 21
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eceiving a parking citation can
be frustrating and expensive,
but the situation can be even worse
when a citation is issued after a
motorist parks at a meter that is
marked out of order.
Los Angeles City Councilman
Tom LaBonge, 4th District, said he
had received complaints from at
least a dozen constituents from his
district since December that they
had been ticketed after parking at
meters that were out of order.
LaBonge also said he had heard that
city employees were giving conflicting advice about whether or not
to park at broken meters.
Additionally, rumors have been circulating that the city was issuing
tickets at broken meters to boost
revenues during tough budgetary
times. LaBonge proposed a motion
in January seeking clarification on
the Los Angeles Department of
Transportation’s (LADOT) policy
on parking at broken meters, and
called LADOT representatives
before the Los Angeles City
Council’s
Transportation
Committee last week to evaluate
the situation.
“My concern is that if anybody
feels there is improper activity taking place in the city, that we get to
the bottom of it,” LaBonge said. “I
had heard about these problems,
and any time five people complain,
your radar goes up, but when ten or
more people complain, you go for
it. We got the department of transportation to rethink their process,
and explain their policy.”
Bruce Gillman, a spokesperson
for the LADOT, said the department’s policy is not to ticket vehicles that are parked at broken
meters. He added, however, that
parking at broken meters is not recommended.
“We don’t recommend people
park at out of order meters because
some of the older meters can reset
themselves, and even though the
meter said it was out of order when
the person parked there, when the
parking officer comes by 30 min-
photo by Edwin Folven
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation recommends that people
who park at broken meters immediately call to report it is out of order.
utes later, it says the meter is
expired,” Gillman said.
LADOT spokesperson Luz
Echavarria added that if people
park at an expired meter, they
should immediately call the number listed on the meter to report that
it is broken. Echavarria said the
LADOT documents the date and
time when a report is made, giving
motorists grounds to challenge a
citation if one is issued. “It’s in their
best interest to report it, because if
you get a ticket, you have the
proof,” Echavarria said. “But when
you see a failed sign, what we are
saying is find another meter.”
Melrose
District
resident
Michael Jacobson said he has
parked at broken meters many
times, but admitted he didn’t know
the city’s policy, and just assumed
he wouldn’t be ticketed. He added
that there should be more signage
or information available to
motorists informing them about
where and where not to park.
“I haven’t had any problems with
them resetting themselves, but I
have gotten plenty of tickets when
the time runs out,” Jacobson said.
“The tickets are expensive and it
seems like a scam. There need to be
more signs telling people not to
park at broken meters.”
Gillman said the city is in the
process of replacing old meters
with newer models that are not
expected to malfunction as much,
and do not reset themselves. He
said approximately 15 percent of
the city’s approximately 40,000
parking meters have been replaced.
See Meters page 20
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5 March 18, 2010
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Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
6 March 18, 2010
Students Head to Israel During Spring Break Trip American Legion Post Honors
n Jewish National Fund
Sponsors Program
BY AMY LYONS
W
hile many college students
gear up for spring break
excursions involving beachwear
and partying, UCLA senior Rachel
Barton is preparing for a servicebased trip to Israel. Barton will visit
Israel next week from March 22-27,
on a trip created by the Jewish
National Fund (JNF) that aims to
get young people involved in development there.
The trip, aptly titled Alternative
Spring Break (ASB), finds college
students and young adults working
on JNF’s “Blueprint Negev” campaign to sustainably develop the
Negev Desert, an arid area that
comprises much of the land mass of
Israel but is largely uninhabitable
due to dry conditions.
Participants are responsible for
raising a minimum of $975 before
going on the trip. Once the fundraising minimum is met, the program is
free, paid for by JNF donors, with
the exception of round-trip airfare.
The trip is open to any Jewish
young adult between the ages of 18
– 30. The first 300 applicants to
meet the fundraising goal are selected to take the trip.
photo by Michael Barash
Rachel Baron is one of the students who will be participating in
the spring break program in Israel.
The ASB trip, said Barton, is a
much more appealing vacation than
the typical spring break excursion.
“As much as it would be fun to
go on a cruise or on some other trip
with friends, this is something that
is so unique and I think I will create
stronger memories on this trip than
if I were just going on a trip to the
beach,” Barton said.
Barton will work with a group of
40 Jewish young adults from all
over the country and she looks for-
APLA Calls for More Funding for
HIV/AIDS Prevention Services
A
IDS Project Los Angeles
(APLA) is calling for a dramatic increase in HIV/AIDS prevention
funding following the recent release
of a report by the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) showing HIV infection rates
among gay and bisexual men are 44
times greater than those among heterosexual men.
“The CDC’s grim report tells us
that we have a public health emergency among gay men,” APLA
executive director Craig E.
Thompson said. “Yet prevention
funding has been reduced at the federal level over the past 10 years and
entirely eliminated by the state.”
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut
all state general funds support for
HIV/AIDS prevention education in
2009. Federal funding for domestic
HIV prevention has been cut by $23
million over the past decade, and
STD prevention efforts, when
adjusted for inflation, have 22 percent less funding compared to seven
years ago.
The CDC report, released at the
National STD Prevention Conference on March 11, shows new HIV
infection rates 44 times higher
among men who have sex with men
than with heterosexual men, and 40
times higher than women. The CDC
also said that syphilis rates among
men who have sex with men are 46
times higher than the rate for heterosexual men, and 71 times higher
than rates among women.
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12011 San Vicente Blvd.,
Suite 330
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 440-9200
william@whurttcpa.com
ward to making new friends. She
has taken two trips to Israel in her
life and she said she has been thinking about a return trip for the last
few years.
“I spent so much of my life learning about Jewish history, and when
you go to Israel you really get that
physical connection to what you
have learned,” Barton said. “I grew
up in a reasonably sized Jewish
community in San Diego, so I am
really in touch with the culture. But
it is really special to be in a place
where everyone shares your
beliefs.”
Since 2006, nearly 800 participants have been on the ASB trip.
The students’ days are filled with
work, such as laying bricks and
building playgrounds, and the
nights are spent viewing live entertainment, listening to music and
having fun. The groups will also
hear from environmental experts
and scholars to better understand
the complexities of the region.
A significant part of the ASB
program is the educational curriculum, designed to complement the
service work by providing an
opportunity to explore Jewish
insights and personal reflections on
the service experience. Time is set
aside each day for a discussion,
reflection and learning.
See Student page 22
Local Cops and Firefighters
photo by Don Schilling
The Hollywood American Legion Post 43 on Highland Avenue held
its annual “Law and Order Night” on March 15 honoring local law
enforcement and fire department officials. Sgt. James Farrell (left),
of the West Hollywood Sheriffʼs Station; was joined by Capt.
Beatrice Girmala, of the Los Angeles Police Departmentʼs
Hollywood Division; and Los Angeles Fire Department Capt.
Edward Banda Jr. Each received American Legion Medals of Valor,
commendations from the County of Los Angeles and the City of
West Hollywood, and certificates of appreciation from the City of Los
Angeles. Girmala accepted the awards on behalf of officer Brandon
Barron, who was unable to attend the ceremony.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
7 March 18, 2010
Mayorʼs Proposal Could Mean Alumni Help Dedicate New High School Track
Higher LADWP Electric Bills
L
M
ayor Antonio Villaraigosa
has called for a carbon
surcharge that would raise
rates for L.A. Department of Water
and Power customers between eight
and 28 percent. The surcharge
funds will be deposited into a
renewable energy investment fund
that will help create a local clean
technology industry and spur green
job
growth,
according
to
Villaraigosa.
The carbon surcharge proposal is
part of the mayor’s environmental
agenda to eliminate the use of coal
and make Los Angeles the cleanest,
greenest city by 2020. The increase
will create an incentive for residents
to use alternative energy, reducing
Los Angeles’ dependence on fossil
fuels, the mayor added.
Under the proposal, LADWP
customers will pay different rates
depending on how much energy
they use. Tier 1 customers, who use
the least amount of energy, would
have an average increase of eight
percent. Tier 2 customers would
experience increases of 16.8 to 18.9
percent; while Tier 3 customers, or
those who use the most electricity,
would have increases of 24.4 to
28.4 percent. For the average customer, the monthly bill is expected
to increase by less than $2.50.
The LADWP is expected to generate $648 million annually through
the rate increases. The carbon
reduction surcharge will be deposited into a Renewable Energy and
Efficiency Trust Fund that is
expected to create 18,000 jobs over
the next 10 years. The LADWP will
Committee
Approves
Hate Crimes
Protection Act
T
he California State Assembly
Judiciary Committee has
approved the Hate Crimes
Protection Act, which was introduced by Assemblymember Lori
Saldaña and is sponsored by
Equality California, an advocacy
organization for the LGBT community.
The bill, AB 1689, would prohibit
requiring that an individual waive
his or her legal rights when signing
employment contracts, providing
protections for hate crime victims. It
would also exempt hate crime victims from mandatory arbitration
clauses, often included in employment contracts. Although California
state and civil laws protect people
from hate-related crimes, private
contracts often require individuals to
relinquish their fundamental rights
and protections.
“Many employment contracts
have a mandatory arbitration clause,
which allows perpetrators of hate
crimes to arbitrate and not go to
court,” Saldaña said. “This bill
would make hate crimes an exemption if you sign one of these contracts. Hate crimes negatively
impact communities and an individual’s psyche, which is why they
must be brought to justice and not
stipulated outside of court as
required by a legal loophole.”
In Los Angeles County, there were
134 hate crimes based on sexual orientation reported in 2008 — the last
year from which statistics were
available — up from 111 in 2007.
recruit entry-level workers, train
and deploy them in teams to conduct energy audits and energy efficiency retrofits. The Trust Fund
will specifically invest in programs
such as solar and wind-generated
energy.
The rate increase is scheduled to
go before the LADWP’s Board of
Commissioners today, March 18,
and would then have to be
approved by the Los Angeles City
Council. Villaraigosa said the
employment program could start as
early as next winter.
os Angeles City Councilman
Tom LaBonge (right), 4th
District, joined former NFL allpro cornerback Mike Haynes and
members of the John Marshall
High School track team on March
12 to inaugurate the new running
track at the school.
LaBonge was an all-league
center and captain of the John
Marshall High Barristers football
team in 1970, and had been wanting to get a new track there since
his school days because the original track was too short.
The school is located at 3939
Tracy St., in the Los Feliz
District.
photo courtesy of the Fourth District Council Office
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
8 March 18, 2010
Summer School & Camps
A Listing of Local Programs for Toddlers through Teens
Pilgrim School
Pilgrim school offer a unique array of classes for elementary through
high school students during the summer months, when school is out and fun
is in. Their flexible, six-week academic and athletic summer programs will
run from Monday, June 21 to Friday July 30. Outside of the summer school
session, Pilgrim also offers day-camps, Monday through Friday from June
7 to June 18 and from August 2 to August 20. In addition, students can
experience a week of old fashioned sleep-away camp in a safe, fun-filled
environment at the 270-acre Cedar Lake Camp. This session will run from
June 14 to June 18. Students in Grades K through 12 must be registered
through the school’s online registration process at www.pilgrimschool.org/summer to enroll. Pilgrim School, Wilshire Center, 540 South
Commonwealth Ave. Call (213)385-7351.
Marlborough School
Students in every grade can come to Marlborough School this summer
for a program that includes courses to get the mind and body moving. The
beautiful, newly renovated campus at Marlborough is reason enough to
spend the summer hours there. Though the student body is all girls during
the school year, summer programs are co-ed. Girls and boys are welcome
to participate in the five-week program that includes activities in art, science, creative writing and sports. The regular program runs from June 21July 23, from 8:00am – 5:00pm; sports camps begin June 14. Course catalog and registration available at www.marlboroughsummerschool.org.
Marlborough School, 250 S. Rossmore Ave. Call (323)964-8401.
Summer at St. James’
The summer enrichment program at St. James’ Episcopal School will run
from Monday, June 14, through Friday, July 23. Students can expand their
knowledge in a wide range of areas in this program, including academics,
technology, sports, and the arts, in small, safe groups in a familiar environment. Students may take as few or as many classes as they like, making the
St. James’ program ideal for those trying to fill gaps in their summer
plans. For hours and dates, call (323)935-1147. St. James’ Episcopal
School, 625 S. St. Andrews Pl.
Cathedral Chapel School
The summer programs at Cathedral Chapel School are designed to
engage kids in all areas of academics. Designed for students in grades K-8,
the program includes math, language arts, study skills and computers from
8:15am – 12:30pm on June 28 – July 23. Students can stay at the school
until 6:00pm for daycare services. Applications are now available on campus. The cost is $350 per student. Cathedral Chapel School, 755 South
Cochran Ave. Call (323)938-9976.
Autry National Center
Autry Adventures summer camps are the best way to get your little one
interested in the history of the American West. Led by experienced museum teachers, each week-long adventure has an age-appropriate theme to
inspire young minds and create opportunities for fun-filled creative selfexpression. Camps will feature crafts, discussions, games and activities
along with tours of the museum galleries. Pre and post care available. Dates
are June 28 – July 30, half day or full day, 9:00am – 4:00pm, ages 5 to 12.
Cost varies: $145- $300, with discounts for early enrollees. 4700 Western
Heritage Way. Call (323)667-2000 or visit www.theautry.org.
California Science Center
Is there a budding scientist in your family? Find out by sending your children to the California Science Center for hands-on science camp. This program has something for everybody, whether it’s a parent-child class for “little learners,” ecology-themed courses that utilize the new ecosystems
See page 9
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
9 March 18, 2010
Summer School & Camps
A Listing of Local Programs for Toddlers through Teens
From page 8
exhibit gallery, or exploring the
challenges of living in space led by
an aerospace curator. More than 25
classes are offered, plus an extended day program is also available.
June 28 – August 20, half-day or
full-day, 9:00am – 3:00pm, pre-K
to 8th grade. Costs vary, but a basic
half-day session is $150; members
receive a discount. 700 Exposition
Park Dr., Los Angeles. Call
(213)744-7444 or visit www.californiasciencecenter.org.
LACMA Summer Art
Camp
Spend a week or more exploring
the Los Angeles County Museum
this summer. Taught by artists, each
week is a new adventure with fun
in-gallery activities and creative
studio art projects. Registration is
by mail only. $250 NexGen members; $275 nonmembers. Starts
July 12, 10:00am–3:00pm, ages 6
to 13. Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire
Blvd. Call (323) 857-6139 or visit
www.lacma.org.
Fowler Museum at
UCLA
KidsMuse Summer Camp will
let your children discover a love of
culinary arts. Children will learn
about food traditions from around
the world by exploring food-related
objects
in
the
exhibition
“Intersections: World Arts, Local
Lives” and creating their own artworks inspired by Maya chocolate
vessels, potlatch objects from the
Northwest Coast, Nigerian gourd
bowls, and more. Participants will
also be cooking and tasting foods
from Africa, Asia, the Americas
and the Pacific. North Campus,
UCLA. Session 1 for ages 6-8, July
26–30; session 2 for ages 9-12,
August 2-6 9am-noon. The cost is
$125 for members; $160 for nonmembers. Call (310)825-7325.
fowler.ucla.edu.
Huntington Explorers
Summer Camp
Nowhere will children learn
more about art than at the
Huntington Library’s summer
camp. With The Huntington’s
diverse collections as inspiration,
kids ages 5-12 can explore a wide
world of fun including cartography,
sculpture, natural history, cooking,
portraiture, theater, botany, poetry,
book
design,
and
much
more. Class schedules and registration details are available at
www.huntington.org. Registration
forms must be submitted by mail
before April 6. Sessions are July 26
– Aug. 13, 9:00am – 3:30pm, ages
5 to 12. The Huntington Library,
Art Collections, and Botanical
Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San
Marino. Call (626)405-2100 or
visit www.huntington.org.
Aquarium of the
Pacific
This day camp is perfect for little
ones who love underwater life. Day
camp is available from June 21August 13, for children ages 3 to
9th grade. Children will experience
the wonder of marine life through
hands-on activities, experiments,
animal interactions, and more at the
Breathe L.A. Urges Tweeting to Go Green
B
reathe L.A. held its third annual Green Salon Series at the
California Endowment Center on
Tuesday, which featured a discussion about the impact of digital
media on environmental issues. The
Green Salon Series is a public
forum on clean air, the environment
and healthy living, and panelists
discussed social networking, the
implementation of AB 32, the
Global Warming Act. Breathe L.A.
board member Ray Gonzales (left),
was joined by Stephanie Molen,
senior field representative for Sen.
Fran Pavley; and panelists Jennifer
Gooding, of Eco-Tuesday L.A., a
green business networking organization; Nicole Hansen, president of
Green Galaxy Enterprises; and Siel
Ju, who writes a blog on sustainable
green practices. The panelists
stressed that every Twitter tweet and
link to an environmental blog can
potentially be a rallying cry for positive environmental change. For
information on events in the series,
visit www.breathla.org.
photo courtesy of Breathe L.A.
Cathedral Chapel School
Kindergarten through Eighth Grade
755 South Cochran Avenue • Los Angeles, CA 90036
A Member of the Miracle Mile Community since 1930
A Catholic Education is an Advantage for Life
• Academic Decathlon Program
• Honors Math Program
STILL
• Spanish Program
ACCEPTING
• Instrumental Music Program
• Departmentalized Junior High APPLICATIONS
• Extended Day Care
• CYO Sports
• Lunch Service
• Outreach Concern Counseling Program
• Computer Lab with Internet Access
• Fully Accredited by WASC and WCEA
Call for information:
(323)938-9976
www.cathedralchapelschool.org
photo courtesy of Autry National Center
Drama is one of the popular activities offered at the Autry National
Centerʼs Summer Camp, running from June 28 through July 30.
Fish Fry, Sea Squirt, Oceans
Adventures, and Junior Biologist.
Or dive into some marine science at
the Marine Science Sleepover
Camp. This camp gives 7th to 9th
graders an opportunity to learn
hands-on what it is like to be a
marine biologist. Participants will
conduct experiments, study animal
behavior, learn oceanographic sampling techniques, and lets participants spend the night at the
Aquarium!
Whether your child is threeyears-old or a teenager, there is a
camp here just for them. Half-day
and full-day camps available.
Check website for up-to-date times
(www.aquariumofpacific.org) or
call (562)590-3100. 100 Aquarium
Way, Long Beach. Cost varies:
$85-$290.
Theatricum Botanicum
Summer Drama Camp
This 5-week, 90-hour camp is
held at Theatricum’s beautiful outdoor amphitheater and surrounding
grounds. Campers participate in
theatre technique workshops that
emphasize the building of a closely-knit ensemble. Each group culminates with a performance of an
edited Shakespeare play. Tuition
includes 2 tickets to the final performance. Runs June 29 - July 29
Ages 8 – 14. Cost is $695. Call
(310)455-2322. 1419 N. Topanga
Canyon Blvd., Topanga.
WeHo Budget Forum Held Monday
T
he City of West Hollywood
will host a budget workshop
on Monday, March 22 at 6:00pm
at West Hollywood City Hall,
8300 Santa Monica Blvd.
The city is preparing its 20102012 two-year operating budget,
and its 2010-2015 five-year capital work plan. The budget workshop will update the community
on the city’s current financial position, and provides an opportunity
for city officials to gather input.
Representatives of the city’s
Budget
and
Compensation
Division will be present to provide
information and listen to suggestions and comments from residents and business owners. The
2010-2012 budget suggestion
form
is
available
at
www.weho.org.
For information, call the city’s
Budget
and
Compensation
Division at (323)848-6524.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
10 March 18, 2010
ʻGreen Zoneʼ is No ʻBourneʼ
T
he fourth “Bourne” film is out
– sorry that’s a lie you might
have been visually fed if you saw
the trailer for “Green Zone”, starring Matt Damon. Don’t be fooled
by the clever marketing, this isn’t
the story of a lone soldier in a
world out to get him, but that of a
soldier who’s alone in the midst of
his military unit during the Iraq
War. The unit is on a fleeting mission to find weapons of mass
destruction. Too soon or too late?
Difficult to say.
It’s 2003 in Baghdad and the
chaos on the streets is topped only
by the disorganization of the U.S.
military. I remember when I saw
this film in 2007…wait, that was
the documentary “No End in
Sight”, in which Capitol Hill
insiders voiced their dissatisfaction with the Bush administration’s decisions in Iraq. “Green
Zone” seems to be a carbon copy
of the earlier film. Just imagine all
the newspaper articles you read
about Iraq packaged into an action
movie with “Jason Bourne”
punching and shooting his way to
the truth, but with less ninja
moves. Frustrated with his superiors’ lack of concern over shady
intelligence, Chief Warrant
Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon)
decides to go off post with the
help of CIA Baghdad bureau chief
Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson)
in search of secrets his government won’t share. He journeys
through war-torn Iraq, searching
for Pentagon Special Intelligence
Clark
Poundstone’s
(Greg
Kinnear)
secret
source
“Magellan,” who’s been providing the military with fake locations of WMDs. The loyal soldier
just might find himself torn
between truth and country.
This one is far from director
Paul Greengrass’ best, with such
amazing prior films like “The
Bourne Supremacy” and “The
Bourne Ultimatum”, but that
doesn’t mean “Green Zone” isn’t
at least entertaining. His cinematography provides some of the
best hand-held style shooting in
the business (you get used to it but
don’t sit in the front row), provid-
ing a grainy feel that throws you
into the action like a viral video.
Unfortunately, the time spent on
technique should’ve been given
to the storyline as well. It wants to
stand alone for the sake of its politics, but it needs revising for the
characters’ sake.
Sure, this is the Iraq War condensed into an action film, using
Hollywood conventions to portray a very real, very recent
benchmark in American history.
Is it a sensationalized story with
over-simplified
politics?
Absolutely. But that doesn’t make
“Green Zone” any less fascinating. While turning Kinnear’s
character into a you’re-with-usor-against-us-American-way
politician, the film doesn’t settle
for an anti-American message
that blames everyone, but focuses
on the breakdown in government
leadership that opposing positions
tried to resist. So Greengrass
shows great concern over those
who died in the 9/11 attack, while
also disparaging the U.S.
His
cinematography
provides some
of the best
hand-held
style shooting
in the
business
response.
With all its imperfections,
“Green Zone” remains an honest
and entertaining film that, while
ultimately forgettable, merges
thought with explosions—always
a welcome combination. At its
best, the film reminds us that the
events in 2003 shouldn’t be forgotten.
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Matt Damon stars as Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, a rogue U.S.
Army officer who must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden
on foreign soil before war escalates in an unstable region.
Green Films Hit UCLA
T
Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures
Journalist Lawrie Dayne (Amy Ryan) questions Chief Warrant Officer
Roy Miller (Matt Damon) in “Green Zone”. In the thriller, Damon stars as
a rogue U.S. Army officer who must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil before war escalates in an unstable
region.
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please call
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8757 Burton Way &
8750 Burton Way
Los Angeles, CA 90048
1/2 Bl. E. of Robertson Bl.
he Green Lifestyle Film
Festival (GLFF) will be
held from Friday, March 19
through 21 at the James
Bridges Theater at UCLA.
The festival was founded on
the idea that film can be used to
create environmental change.
The films will explore topics
such as how children are
birthed, how people raise their
children, the construction and
design of homes, illness, transportation and how it impacts
how people eat, how people
treat each other, and the impact
of consumer behavior on the
planet. The directors of the
films will speak with audience
members throughout the festival.
Celebrity hosts include
Australian
model
and
actress Joanne Rose, and Mad
TV
comedienne
and
actress, Debra Wilson Skelton.
In
addition,
Norwegian
model, Lillian Muller, and preteen
hip
hop
sensation, Maxso,will make
appearances. The GLFF will
also include the first vegetarian
food drive in the United States,
which is supported by
the Westside Food Bank. Also
launching this year is the
GLFF’s Pre-Teen and Teen
Project, which is designed to
give a voice to youth by matching young people with filmmakers and recycled electronics to
help them create projects. In
addition, there will be a free outdoor arena with entertainment,
live food demonstrations and
vendor booths.
Visit www.greenlifestylefilmfestival.com.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
11 March 18, 2010
Matthews Makes Magnificent
Music with ʻLiberty Innʼ
T
he launching of a new play by
Dakin Matthews is primed to be
a huge exercise in laughter, intrigue,
invention, and string upon string of
the most outrageous rhyming couplets the erudite classicist can provide. “Liberty Inn”, a musical
adapted by Matthews (book and
lyrics) and B.T. Ryback (music)
from librettist/playwright Carlos
Goldoni’s 18th century comic masterpiece, “La Locandiera (The
Landlady)”, is a hit.
Cameron’s Federal furnishings and
costumes keep hearts and minds
facing in the direction of a strongly
feminist theme in a world overwhelmingly populated by the
strong-minded male warriors and
leaders who conjured America into
being.
Mad About Theater
by Madeleine Shaner
Set in the early days of the new
American
Republic,
Dean
photo by John DeMita
John C. Combs and Charlotte Di Gregorio help bring “Liberty Inn” to life.
The Stars Come Out for ʻCatsʼ
photo courtesy of Boradway/LA
The family favorite musical “Cats”, which helped revolutionize musical theatre, returned to the Pantages Theatre for a strictly limited twoweek engagement, and celebrities came out in droves for the opening on Tuesday, March 9. Playing through March 21, stars in attendance at the opening included Debi Mazar, The ʻBachelorʼsʼ Tenley
Molzahn, Doris Roberts, Melora Hardin, Jeffrey Nordling, Carolyn
Hennesy, Loretta Devine and Jennifer Taylor. Making the opening
extra special was the appearance of a whole bunch of costumed cats
on the red carpet, strutting their feline stuff before the curtain rose.
Tickets for “Cats” are available at www.BroadwayLA.org or by phone
at (800)982-2787. Priced at $58-$78, tickets may also be purchased
at the Pantages Box Office and all Ticketmaster ticket outlets. The
Pantages Theatre is located at 6233 Hollywood Blvd.
Set in the early
days of the new
American
Republic, Dean
Cameron’s
Federal furnishings and costumes keep
hearts and
minds facing in
the direction of
a strongly feminist theme.
As the landlady/owner of her late
father’s Inn, Mirandolina (the stunning Deborah May) is known far
and wide as a great beauty, and a
great catch, since she holds under
her steel and velvet control the
room keys and the cellar keys to the
prestigious Liberty Inn, where anyone worth his or her salt is bound to
alight in the course of a career. The
lady, however, is not just a pretty
face, she’s also not a pushover for
the bumptious male egos of the ruling class travelers who are historically convinced of their powers, but
have yet to encounter an
indomitable woman. Ms. May also
has a delightful voice to match her
presence.
The Count, played by a studiedly
insufferable, and indelible John
Combs; the penniless and ridiculously foppish Marquis (an unforgettable John DeMita), who insists,
like Popeye… “je suis que je suis,
que je suis” or “I am what I am
what I am”, but isn’t, especially
photo by John DeMita
John DeMita stars as the Marquis in “Liberty Inn”.
when it comes to royal pocket
change; the foul-tempered Captain
who will never surrender to a mere
woman (a hilariously absurd object
of ridicule - Norman Snow); and
even the mild-mannered manager
of the Inn, Faber (a sturdy Bill
Mendieta), Mirandolina’s dead
father’s choice for his daughter’s
hand, are all in contention for the
grand prize - the lovely lady and
her profitable property.
But the Lady’s not for burning.
Marvelous strings of Dakin-
verse, a style familiar from his earlier adaptations of classic plays –
clever, pointed and giggle-worthy –
combine with B.T. Ryback’s fun
music to make “Liberty Inn” a fun
venue to visit and maybe rest a
while, even if it is a bit lengthy for
a comedy.
New Place Studio Theatre, 10950
Peach Grove St., North Hollywood.
Friday, Saturday 8:00pm, Sunday
2:00pm, through April 25. Call
(866)811-4111
or
visit
www.Andak.org.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
12 March 18, 2010
RESTAURANT
NEWS
Hollywood Farmers
Market Changes
Hours for Marathon
H
ollywood Farmers’ Market will
change its hours of operation
on Sunday, March 21 to 11:00am –
3:00pm because of the L.A.
Marathon. Normal operating hours
(8:00am – 1:00pm) will resume the
following weekend. Hollywood
Farmers’ Market is located at the
intersections of Ivar and Selma
Avenues between Hollywood and
Sunset Boulevards every Sunday.
The Farmer’s Kitchen, an extension
of Hollywood Farmers’ Market and
community certified kitchen, will be
operating from 10:00am – 4:00 pm.
The Farmer’s Kitchen, located in
the Sunset and Vine complex at
1555 Vine St. at Selma Ave and
Morningside Court, is open for
breakfast and lunch every Sunday.
Normal operating hours are from
7:30am to 2:00pm.
Local residents and LA Marathon
Spectators should stop by the market or the kitchen for a truly unique
shopping experience of California’s
freshest produce and a deliciously
sustainable breakfast or lunch after
you are done cheering for runners
through Hollywood. The Market
and The Farmer’s Kitchen are operated by Sustainable Economic
Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEELA) as nonprofit community activities. For more information visit
www.lamarathon.com or www.hollywoodfarmerskitchen.org.
Half Off Mondays at
Geisha House
M
onday night is a great time to
visit Hollywood’s hip Asian
dining spot, The Geisha House,
especially since they’re offering 50
percent discounts on the menu to
chase away the Monday blues.
That’s half off a huge array of rolls,
seafood dishes, noodles and more,
with an experience that is far from
half-rate. The Geisha House, 6633
Hollywood Blvd. Call (323)4606300.
Wine Tasting at L.A.
Athletic Club
O
n Friday, March 26, from
7:00pm – 9:00pm, the Los
Angeles Athletic Club will host a
wine tasting. For the occasion,
wine and food experts will guide
guests on a distinctive tour of
wines, cheeses and chocolates from
the early 1900’s. The event will
showcase wines from the pioneer
regions born in the early 1900s.
This is the time period just before
prohibition when the vineyards
started to stretch throughout
California. While sampling these
historic vineyard wines, guests can
indulge in pairings with artisan
cheeses from the old continent,
directly imported by Nicole’s
Gourmet Food in South Pasadena,
including cheeses such as BrillatSavarin created in the 1930s.
Guests can also indulge in the
sweeter side of things with Grand
Cru chocolates from Valrhona; featuring some of the best cocoa plantations from around the world. To
top off this culinary tour, Venicebased Dustbowl Revival will be
performing its funky mix of folkblues orchestra music fused with
old school gypsy rhythms and bluegrass. Tickets are $66 per person,
$88 per pair. The Los Angeles
Athletic Club, 431 W. 7th St. Call
(213)630-5200.
Old Town Temecula
Bluegrass Festival
S
pring is in the air in Temecula
Valley Southern California
Wine Country. During spring, in
Temecula Valley, once-dormant
grape vines come to life and the
wine is perfect. Over the next few
months the vines will bloom, set
their crop, plump up, and then
change colors in their final push
toward harvest. So why not come
out to the “Zin & Pasta Fest 2010”,
where the wine will flow? Held on
the De Portola Wine Trail, the event
runs from 11:00am to 5:00pm on
March 20 and 21 and costs $45 per
person. Have a “Zin” experience
along the trail, where you will
enjoy a three-ounce pour of zinfandel wine at nine wineries, pasta at
nine wineries and a logo glass.
Participating wineries are Cougar
Vineyard and Winery (951)4910825; Danza Del Sol Winery
(951)302-6363; Frangipani
(951)699-8845; Leonesse Cellars
(951)302-7601 x114; Masia de
Yabar
(951)303-3860; Oak
Mountain Winery (951)6999102; and Robert Renzoni
Vineyards (951)302-8466.
A HOLLYWOOD
LANDMARK
SINCE 1919
Finest Cuisine
11AM to 11PM
Closed Sunday
& Monday
(323) 467-5123 • (323)467-7788
6667 Hollywood Blvd.
Available for Private Parties Mondays
Award-Winning Restaurant
New BrewDog
Beers in Los
Angeles
O
n Saturday, March 20,
BrewDog will host a beer tasting. BrewDog’s Scottish cofounder, James Watt, will lead the
tasting, which will include
BrewDog’s signature beers. Last
fall, BrewDog brought the Atlantic
IPA to the United States, the first
authentically brewed IPA in more
than 200 years. For their latest project, BrewDog has been waging a
war against other brewers around
the globe for the title of the World’s
Strongest Beer. Taking on the title
of Emperor Penguins, BrewDog
Founders, James Watt and Martin
Dickie, created Tactical Nuclear
Penguin, the world’s strongest
commercially available beer at 32
percent alcohol. A German brewer
with a niche beer with 41 percent
alcohol challenged BrewDog’s title
as
the
world’s
strongest
beer. BrewDog immediately fired
back with Sink the Bismark, a 42
percent alcohol beer to firmly
reclaim the title of the world’s
strongest beer. Only 100 bottles of
Sink the Bismark are available in
the world. The tasting will take
place from 6:00pm-9:00pm at The
Surly Goat, 7929 Santa Monica
Blvd., West Hollywood. Visit the
web site at www.brewdog.com.
Call (323)650-GOAT.
Marathon Discount
at Lago
O
n Sunday, March 21, Lago,
celebrated for its imaginative
Italian cuisine, welcomes Los
Angeles Marathon participants and
spectators to the finish line in Santa
Monica with 15 percent off for any
diners who mention “Marathon” at
brunch,
lunch
or
dinner.
Additionally,
Lago
invites
Marathon runners to bring in their
number for double portions of the
“Body Refurbishing” menu and a
double portion of any housemade
pasta entrée. Lago is located at 231
Arizona Ave., Santa Monica. Call
(310)451-3525
or
visit
www.LagoSantaMonica.com.
photo courtesy of Locanda del Lago
Santa Monicaʼs Locanda del Lago will feature marathon day specials.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
13 March 18, 2010
Hollywoodʼs Spanish Tavern
El Cid
BY AMY LYONS
N
owhere in Los Angeles is the
Spanish tavern experience
more authentic than at El Cid. The
cavernous restaurant has it all:
Flamenco dancing, tasty tapas, todie-for sangria by the pitcher and
several dining spaces, both indoors
and outside. Descend the three
flights of stairs into the basement
and you’ll find a room where
nightly comedy, music and dancing takes place, and the food and
drink flow. Climb back up the
winding staircase and head out
back to the sprawling patio, where
hipsters flock during the summer
months to sip cool cocktails and
chat in comfort.
Built circa 1900 by D.W
Griffith, El Cid was originally used
to screen his controversial 1915
film, “Birth Of A Nation”.
Late in 1950, the building was
Spring Wine
Festival
converted into a mini theater, featuring plays such as “The Black
Pipe”, “Jail House”, and “The
Drunkard”. It became a hot-spot for
Hollywood types, and that vibe still
stands.
In 1961, El Cid Restaurant was
born, and the building was converted into an authentic replica of a
16th century Spanish tavern. With
gardens, fountains, and patios outside, and invigorating Flamenco
dancing inside on Fridays through
Sundays, El Cid is the perfect place
for a date, with dinner and a show
included.
But it’s not just about the dancing, it’s also about the Spanish
fusion dining.
During the one-hour Flamenco
show, guests enjoy a three-course
meal. The gourmet menu features
filet mignon, pork tenderloin, filet
of halibut, and more. My favorite
from the dinner menu is the mouth-
watering carne a la chimichurri,
filet mignon cooked to order with
chimichurri sauce served with
roasted garlic butter whipped potatoes and broccolini. The halibut
with fresh mango salsa is also a
can’t-miss dish, a fresh piece of fish
that absorbs the spice of the salsa
for a flavorful outcome. Vegetarians
can opt for the hearty stuffed pepper
vegetariano, a roasted sweet bell
pepper stuffed with an assortment
of season vegetables sautéed in
olive oil and Grand Marnier topped
with homemade tomato sauce and
manchego cheese served on a bed
of saffron rice. Dinner and a show
costs just $35.95 per person.
If you simply want to enjoy the
atmosphere and take in the Spanish
vibe, the patio is your best bet for
seating and an array of authentic
Spanish tapas is your best bet for
food.
I recently went with a group of
four, all of whom had a hankering
for tapas and sangria. We ordered
two pitchers of the red sangria, at
$30 each, which kept us sipping all
evening. Next we each chose a dish
from the tapas menu, starting with
the seared beef tenderloin, which
was so thinly sliced it practically
melted on our tongues. Served with
photo by Amy Lyons
For Spanish dining and dancing, El Cid is second to none.
red pepper butter and crumbled
gorgonzola, this small plate packs a
big punch in the satisfaction
department.
The
chicken
empanadas were next on our list,
lightly fried pockets of delicious
pastry stuffed with creamy salsa.
These are particularly good
Everything to Fill Your Spring Picnic Basket
D
on’t miss this Saturday’s 2nd
annual Spring Wine Fest, hosted by the world famous Bars of the
Farmers Market, 3rd & Fairfax.
Beginning at 1:00pm on the first
day of spring, this year’s event is
set to be even bigger than the last.
For a very reasonable $30 guests
can spend a relaxing afternoon tasting and comparing over forty
excellent wines, wine based cocktails, champagne and saki. Add to
this a fine selection of foods presented by Ulysses Voyage, M
Marcel and Sushi A Go-Go, and it
becomes a must.
Originally co-sponsored by
Famers Market Bars and Monsieur
Marcel’s Gourmet Market, the
2009 fest was so popular that it
truly raised the bar (no pun intended) on the wines folks expect to
find when they visit the Market’s
two bars, 326 and EB’s. With this
in mind, the bar’s management
invited wine expert, Christine
Buckhout, to join the team and help
establish Farmers Market as a place
to enjoy excellent affordable wine.
“Farmers Market has always
been a place to find fresh, local
produce, as well as the exotic, and
now that includes the wines we
serve”, says Christine. “By establishing a relationship with our wine
vendors and growers we can be
sure our customers always find the
best varieties from California and
across the globe at EB’s and 326.”
With that relationship in mind
some of those growers and distributors will be on hand at the Spring
Wine Fest to answer questions
about choosing, storing and pairing
wine.
For more information visit
www.farmersmarketbars.com
empanadas, not too heavy and perfectly golden brown on the outside.
The crab stuffed mushrooms came
next and they were gone within
three minutes. Overflowing with
crab stuffing, the mushrooms were
fresh and plump. Call (323)6680318. Located at 4212 Sunset Blvd.
FRESH
Colorado-Raised
Leg of Lamb
bone-in or boneless
ORDER NOW
FOR EASTER!
Marconda’s Meats
6333 W. Third St. • Farmers Market
323.938.5131
Family Owned at the
Farmers Market for 66 Years
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
14 March 18, 2010
POLICE BLOTTER
The following information was reported to the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station
between March 5 and March 11, 2010. If you are a victim of a crime, here are the
telephone numbers of local law enforcement agencies; Los Angeles Police
Department, Wilshire Division (323)485-4022 and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department West Hollywood Station (310)855-8850.
WEST HOLLYWOOD
PROPERTY CRIME
forced the victim to withdraw $300
from an unknown ATM before fleeing in a vehicle.
March 5
A man reported at 5:24pm that an
unknown thief had recently stolen
a camera, lens and memory stick
from an unattended bag at a hotel
in the 8300 block of Sunset. The
loss was estimated at about
$4,250.
At 12:27am, an unknown burglar
entered a residence in the 1100
block of Fuller and stole an Apple
iMac laptop computer valued at
about $2,500.
An unknown thief stole a briefcase,
containing a watch, checks and
miscellaneous items, from an
unlocked vehicle in the 7600 block
of Santa Monica at 1:30pm. The
loss was estimated at about $390.
7:05 pm, 7100 block of Santa
Monica.
At 7:05pm, an unknown Caucasian
male thief stole a box of perfume,
valued at $58, from a retail store in
the 7100 block of Santa Monica
and fled on foot along with an
unknown Caucasian female suspect.
March 6
A man was pushed off his bicycle
at 5:10am in the 8300 block of
Santa Monica by two unknown
Hispanic male robbers who then
took the victimʼs cellular phone,
valued at $350, and fled on foot.
March 10
At 2:45am, a man was robbed at
knifepoint on the sidewalk in the
1400 block of Fairfax by three
unknown African-American female
suspects who took about $100
cash from his pocket and then
March 11
At 10:05pm, an unknown
Caucasian female thief stole a bottle of wine from a retail store in the
7900 block of Santa Monica and
fled on foot.
During the week, seven suspects
were arrested for burglary or theft
after being observed shoplifting at
local markets and retail stores.
During the week, following four
separate traffic collisions, four drivers were arrested for driving
under the influence of alcohol.
During the week, six vehicles were
burglarized by unknown suspects.
Total estimate of damage and articles taken was $2,250.
During the week, eight vehicles
were stolen by unknown thieves.
During the week, nine reported
stolen vehicles were recovered
and the owners notified.
During the week, fifteen vehicles
were impounded for thirty days
since they were being driven by an
unlicensed driver or a person with
a suspended or revoked license.
Sting Operation Nabs Bike Theif
B
ike thief Matthew Mark
Mellish, 28, was arrested during a sting, near 9th Street and
Hope Street on March 12.
“It seems there is no shortage of
“The best thing
about this arrest
was onlookers
high-fiving the
detectives.
Being a bike
thief downtown
won’t win you
any friends.”
--Lt. Paul Vernon
LAPD Central Detective Div.
bike thieves downtown,” said Lt.
Paul Vernon, commanding officer
of the Los Angeles Police
Department Central Detective
Division. “With overall crime
down 18 percent from last year, we
have more opportunity to recognize
this trend in bicycle theft and then
work the problem.” Bicycle theft
rose 60 percent downtown in 2009,
and 19 percent across the city.
After a bicyclist reported his bike
stolen two weeks ago from in front
of the Ralphs supermarket on 9th
Street, detectives decided to leave
one of their own bicycles unlocked
against the bike rack. “The detec-
tives eyed a potential suspect right
away,” said Lt. Vernon. “He was
loitering around the coffee shop,
talking to another man.”
An undercover detective left the
bike and walked away. The six-foot
tall suspect walked up and rode it
away, in plain view of dozens of
people. “Most of the people had no
idea what was happening as they
saw the detectives pile out of a car
and give chase,” Lt. Vernon
explained.
One quick detective was able to
kick the wheel. “Apparently, the
thief hit his front brake too hard
which brought the rear wheel over
the front,” Vernon said. “He’s obviously not a skilled rider.”
Mellish was not seriously injured
in the crash. Detectives arrested
him on a felony charge for committing a petty theft, with a prior conviction. “To make that charge, this
man had to have served at least one
day in jail for another theft,” Vernon
explained. “This was no impulsive
act. He’s a grown man with a drug
habit that he wants to support on the
backs of local bicyclists.” Mellish’s
bail was set at $20,000.
Friday’s sting was only one arrest
in more than half a dozen conducted by undercover detectives downtown this year to address robberies
and bike thefts.
“The best thing about this arrest
was all the onlookers high-fiving
the detectives after the arrest,”
Vernon said. Being a bike thief
downtown won’t win you any
friends.”
Ghazalian Gets 42 to Life for Attempted Murder
A
20-year-old man has been sentenced to 42 years to life in
state prison for the attempted murder of a Hollywood auto body shop
owner, the Los Angeles County
District
Attorney’s
Office
announced.
Deputy District Attorney Andrea
Pott of the Hardcore Gang Division
said Arvin Ghazalian was sentenced
March 12. Jurors convicted
Ghazalian of attempted murder and
vandalism on November 20, 2009. Ghazalian and co-defendant
Edward Davtyan, 18, were seen
vandalizing the walls of a
Hollywood auto body shop on June
25, 2008. Ghazalian and Davtyan
left the scene but returned to confront shop employees. During the
argument, Ghazalian drew a handgun and shot the business owner
once in the chest. The victim survived the attack. Davtyan was convicted of vandalism. Jurors acquitted him of one
Lewd Acts in Parks
Leading to Robberies
L
os Angeles Police Department
Northeast Division vice officers are investigating ongoing acts
of lewd conduct in the form of public sexual encounters that are occurring in Elysian Park, Griffith Park
and Sycamore Grove Park in northeast Los Angeles. Though this activity has been
occurring for many years, LAPD
officers are especially concerned
about a recent trend in which participants are targeted for robbery
and assault by local gang members. There have also been numerous complaints from people utilizing the parks for jogging, picnics,
bicycling and similar activities.
Most of those arrested by have
been men.
More than 90 arrests have been
made in the Northeast Division in a
12-month period but the problem
continues to occur. Through
increased investigations and warnings of physical risks to participants, officers hope to curtail these
activities.
Robbers Hold Up
Local Smoke Shop
O
n March 7, four suspects
roobed the L.A. Smoke Shop
at 4968 Hollywood Blvd.
Surveillance tape showed a
woman entering the store first, posing as a customer. The woman then
left the store and drove off in a
light-blue van. Shortly after, three
men carrying handguns walked into
the store and demanded money
from the store clerk. The trio left
the store with an undisclosed
amount of money and fled in the
getaway van driven by the female.
The clerk was not hurt.
The female bandit is described as
African-American, between 16 and
18 years of age. She is approximately five-feet-four-inches tall and
weighs 120 pounds. She has long
black hair pulled back in a ponytail.
The three men are described as
African-Americans in their 30s.
They stand five-feet-eleven-inches
tall, weigh around 175 pounds and
were last seen wearing dark jeans
and hooded jackets.
Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to contact
Northeast robbery detectives at
(213)847-4270. count
of
attempted
murder. Davtyan was sentenced to
two years in state prison on
November 25, 2009. A third man charged in the case,
Oganes Davtyan, 19, was acquitted
of one count each of robbery and
witness intimidation.
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15 March 18, 2010
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
Ride Metro to
American Indian
Music Festival
Park La Brea Resident
Honored for FEMA Service
Park La Brea resident Merl Moore, and his wife Bobbie, were pictured on the cover of the March 3, 1983 issue of the Park Labrea
News after Moore was honored for his work with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Moore, who lived in
Hauser Tower, was a public information officer for FEMA, and provided assistance to Los Angeles residents and disseminated information to the media during 10 major disasters during his career. He
was recognized in 1983 for his service during major rainfall that
caused damage in the area. Other emergencies during for he provided service included a landslide in Laguna Beach, floods in
Washington, major brush fires in San Bernardino and Anaheim, and
Hurricane Iwa in Hawaii.
T
he Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (Metro) is extending a
special offer to visitors to the “Rock
the Count: American Indian Music
Festival” on Saturday, March 27 at
the Los Angeles State Historic
Park.
The festival runs from noon to
5:00pm and will include arts and
crafts, food vendors and free entertainment and performances by
American Indian and Alaska
natives. Sponsored by the U.S.
Census Bureau, the event is also a
reminder to participate in the 2010
U.S. census. Numbers generated
by the census play a key role in the
funding Metro receives for transit
purposes.
People who ride Metro and are
among the first 100 visitors to show
a valid Metro pass, Metro Rail ticket or Destination Discounts card to
the census booth will receive a free
leather personal planner. The census booth will be located at the
entrance to the event, located at
1243 N. Spring St., near the Metro
Gold Line Chinatown Station.
For information, visit www.rockthecount.com or www.metro.net.
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Scholarships
Available for
Military Families
!+856'$< 35,/ $7
30
#(67 2//<:22' $5. 8',725,80
$1 ",&(17( 28/(9$5'
#(67 2//<:22' T
he
Freedom
Alliance
Scholarship
Fund
has
announced that scholarships are
available for the children of military service members who have
been killed or seriously injured in
combat. More than $3 million has
been awarded to hundreds of
Freedom Alliance Scholarship
recipients since 2002 to offset the
costs of college. “Families of killed or permanently disabled service members face
hardships that most Americans can
“Families of killed
or disabled service
members face
hardships that
most Americans
cannot imagine.”
--Tom Kilgannon
Freedom Alliance President
Answers on page 22
not imagine,” Freedom Alliance
president Tom Kilgannon said. “To
honor the men and women of our
Armed Forces by providing scholarships to their children is a privilege. Paying for a college education
is one hardship that these students
should not have to endure.”
Eligible applicants must be the
dependent son or daughter of a U.S.
soldier, sailor, airman, marine or
guardsman who has been killed or
permanently disabled in combat or
in a training accident. Children of
soldiers who are currently classified as prisoners of war (POW) or
missing in action (MIA) are also
eligible. Applicants must also be a
high school senior or registered as a
full time undergraduate student,
and under the age of 26.
The application deadline is July
31. For information, visit
www.fascholarship.com/. 8%/,& $&,/,7,(6
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Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
16 March 18, 2010
Mothers March for Womenʼs Rights
&
33 5;,9,:;,+ ,9:65: (5+ .,5*0,:
(&$ 0;@ 6- &,:; 633@>66+ ,7(9;4,5; 6- 644<50;@ ,=,3674,5;
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Approximately 150 demonstrators marched down Wilshire
Boulevard from Shatto Place to MacArthur Park on March 13 as part
of the “Mothers March & Speak Out”. The event was designed to
call attention to struggles women face around the world, and the
contributions mothers make in society. The march coincided with
International Womenʼs Day, and was organized by the Global
Womenʼs Strike (GWS) and its Women of Color division. A wide
range of groups participated in the event, including Alexandria
House, the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders, California
Partnership, DCFS Give Us Back Our Children, Every Mother is a
Working Mother Network, Haiti Vigil and Military Families Speak Out.
For information, visit www.globalwomenstrike.net.
Following Haimʼs Death, Brown
Launches Prescription Drug Probe
C
alifornia Attorney General
Edmund G. Brown Jr. is investigating what he called an illegal
and massive prescription-drug ring
linked to the death last week of
actor Corey Haim.
Haim reportedly lost consciousness in his apartment in Studio City
on March 10, and coroner’s officials are conducting an investiga-
“Haim’s death is
yet another
tragedy linked to
the problem of
prescription drug
abuse.This problem is increasingly
linked to criminal
organizations.”
--Edmund G. Brown Jr.
California Attorney General
tion to determine whether his death
was caused by a drug overdose. An
unauthorized prescription under the
actor’s name was found during an
investigation of fraudulent prescription-drug ordering pads.
“Corey Haim’s death is yet
another tragedy linked to the growing problem of prescription-drug
abuse,” Brown said. “This problem
is increasingly linked to criminal
organizations, like the illegal and
massive prescription-drug ring
under investigation. It’s a serious
public health problem.”
The prescription-drug ring operates by using stolen doctor identities to order prescription-drug pads
from authorized vendors. The pads
are then either sold on the street to
addicts or to individuals who are
paid to fill the prescription and then
sell the drugs.
The doctor whose name is printed on the form is usually unaware
that his or her identity has been
stolen for this purpose, Brown said.
The investigation has thus far
uncovered more than 4,500 fraudulent prescriptions.
The incident is being investigated by RxNET, a comprehensive
task force of the California
Department of Justice, Bureau of
Narcotic
Enforcement;
the
Department of Health Care
Services; and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.
For more information on the
RxNET or the prescription-drug
monitoring
system
visit
www.ag.ca.gov/bne/CURES.php.
Drooyan Named to Police Board
F
ormer Chief Assistant United
States Attorney Richard E.
Drooyan has been nominated by
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to the
Board of the Los Angeles Police
Commissioners.
Drooyan formerly worked as a
federal prosecutor for more than a
decade, and has served as general
counsel
to
the
Rampart
Independent Review Panel and as
deputy general counsel to the
Christopher Commission. He will
fill the vacancy created by the
departure of Andrea Ordin in
January.
“Richard Drooyan brings to the
Police Commission experience as a
seasoned and proven federal prosecutor,” Villaraigosa said. “I am confident Richard will serve with
integrity that has become the hallmark of his career.”
Drooyan is currently a litigation
partner at Munger, Tolles & Olsen,
and has been in the position since
March 1999. Drooyan served in the
United States Attorney’s Office in
1997 and 1998 as Chief Assistant
U.S. Attorney. He was responsible
for the management of approximately 235 assistant U.S. attorneys
working in the criminal, civil and
tax divisions.
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&,:; 633@>66+ Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
17 March 18, 2010
CAFAM Delves into
History of Tarot Cards
photo courtesy of CAFAM
The Craft and Folk Art Museum is holding an exhibit titled “The
Foolʼs Journey: The History and Symbolism of the Tarot” running
through May 9. While primarily known today as a deck of cards for
fortune telling, the tarot was born out of the intellectual and artistic
developments of the Italian Renaissance. Influenced by alchemy,
Hermetic mysticism and the concept of AnimaMundi (the fifth element of life), the tarotʼs influence on art has lasted more than five
centuries.The exhibit showcases the 22 cards of the tarot, presenting historic examples from the French deck known as the Tarot of
Marseilles. Popular 20th Century decks, including the Waite-Smith
Tarot, and works of art by modern tarot artists, will also be featured.
The Craft and Folk Art Museum is located at 5814 Wilshire Blvd. For
information, call (323)937-4230, or visit www.cafam.org.
Peaceful, Private, with Music Studio on one of the best blocks in BeverlyGrove. A
very special 3Br/2Ba comfortable traditional home secluded behind a wooden
fence that creates a serene front courtyard. Newer open light and bright
kitchen/dining room ads sparkle to this home…as does the access to the backyard from the master suite…In the delightful backyard is a music studio for those
who love to jam…
Vegas Steals the Spotlight at MOCA PDC
T
he Museum of Contemporary
Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) presents an exhibit titled “Las Vegas
Studio: Images from the Archives
of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott
Brown” running from Sunday,
March 21 through June 20 at
MOCAPacific Design Center in
West Hollywood.
The exhibition presents original
photographs and films produced in
“Learning from Las Vegas
Research Studio”, a project conducted by architects Venturi,
Brown and Steven Izenour at the
Yale School of Architecture in
1968.
The project resulted in a book
titled “Learning from Las Vegas”,
which was published in 1972 and is
considered to be a landmark report
on architectural theory.
“For the architects, photography
was both the means of argumentation and representation of their
research,” curator Martino Stierli
said. “We have removed the images
from their original analytical context and have presented them as
photo courtesy of MOCA
“Las Vegas Studio” will be on show at MOCA through June 20.
photographic sensations.”
The exhibit includes more than
80 photographs and a selection of
films, focusing largely on secondary aspects and side products of
the research project. The new
exhibit shifts previously unknown
photographs to the forefront.
Admission is free to MOCA
Pacific Design Center, which is
located near the corner of San
Vicente Boulevard and Melrose
Avenue. For information, visit
www.moca.org.
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
18 March 18, 2010
Dodger News
Max Hosts ʻExpressionismʼ Art Show
Dodgers Offer
Dodgers Hold Clinics in Taiwan
Free Bus from
Union Station
A
free express bus will be
operating from Union
Station to Dodger Stadium for the
upcoming 2010 baseball season
through a $300,000 grant from
the Mobile Sources Air Pollution
Reduction Review Committee.
“Dodger fans can
now avoid the
traffic by using
our new Dodger
Express Bus.”
--Mike Antonovich
L.A. County Supervisor
photo courtesy of Peter Max
American art icon Peter Max will host a public artist show running
March 27-28 in Beverly Hills. Max Returns to Southern California
after 12 years to unveil his “Masters of Expressionism” collection of
paintings, including portraits of Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Van Gogh and
Picasso. Max is well known for his paintings of iconic Americana,
such as the pictured painting of vocalist Taylor Swift, as well as psychedelic, multi-dimensional paintings of historical landmarks in
American culture. Maxʼs art has appeared on everything from a
Boeing 777 Continental jumbo jet and the 1999 Woodstock stage, to
a giant mural at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The
Peter Max show will be held at the Road Show Company (RSC)
Gallery, 430 N. Rodeo Dr. For information, visit www.roadshowcompany.com.
Observatory Ends Screening of
Film About Birth of Astronomy
T
he last showing of “The First
Light: The Telescope Changed
Everything” will be held at the
Griffith Observatory on Sunday,
March 21 in the Samuel Oschin
Planetarium.
Four hundred years ago, Galileo
looked at the heavens through a
telescope and saw things no one had
ever seen before. “The First Light”
celebrated the International Year of
possibly life, in space.
The Griffith Observatory is located in Griffith Park at 2800 E.
Observatory Rd. For information,
call (213)473-0800, or visit
www.griffithobservatory.org.
The grant was secured by
County Supervisor Michael D.
Antonovich, 5th District, who is a
member of the South Coast Air
Quality Management District’s
(AQMD) governing board. “Dodger fans across the county
can now avoid the traffic, save
gas and help improve air quality
by using public transit and our
new Dodger Express Bus to get to
the game,“ Antonovich said. The express bus will enable
visitors to access Dodger Stadium
by taking the subway or light rail
lines, as well as many bus lines.
State-of-the-art clean-burning
compressed natural gas buses will
run between Union station and
Dodger Stadium every 10 minutes prior to the start of the game,
and approximately every 30 minutes throughout the game.
Dodger game admission tickets
will be honored as fare payment
to ride the bus. For route and
schedule information, visit
www.metro.net.
photo courtesy of Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers traveled to Taiwan on March 12
through 14 to play exhibition games against an all-star team from
the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The group
representing the team included Manager Joe Torre, outfielder
Manny Ramirez, and infielders James Loney and Chin-lung Hu.
Pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo (pictured) led a baseball clinic for 100 little leaguers at Taipei Municipal Tienmu Stadium in Taipei. The trip
was the second time the Dodgers have played in Taiwan, and the
Dodgers brought 33 players and staff members. The Chinese
team beat the Dodgers by a score of 5-2 on Friday, but the
Dodgers split the series, winning by a score of 11-1 on Sunday.
Dodgers Sponsor Marathon Charity
T
hinkCure!, a partnership
formed by the Los Angeles
Dodgers and owner Frank
McCourt with City of Hope and
Children’s Hospital L.A., will
take part in the New Performance
Nutrition L.A. 5K Run/Walk on
Saturday, March 20. Dodger fans
are invited to join the effort to
raise money for cancer research
by participating in the event,
which begins at 8:00am at Dodger
Stadium.
“You can walk or run the 5K at
your leisure as a member of the
ThinkCure! team,” said Janet
Clayton, president of ThinkCure!.
“This can be a great family outing
that encourages fitness, helps a
great cause and raises funding for
institutions that serve the people
of greater Los Angeles, and for
some can serve as an act of
remembrance and support of a
loved one.”
ThinkCure! supporters participating in the 5K run/walk, and
others who have signed up for the
L.A. Marathon on March 21, have
raised more than $20,000 to
advance cancer treatment. Since
its inception in 2007, ThinkCure!
has raised more than $2.5 million
for cancer research.
For
information,
visit
www.thinkcure.org/5K.
With a Zeiss
star projector,
Samuel Oschin
Planetarium is
among the
finest in the
world.
Astronomy, which was held in
2009, and showcased the events of
1609 that led to a new view of the
universe. The film introduces audiences to the beauty and wonder of
the night sky. From present day Los
Angeles, viewers travel back to
Padua, Italy in 1609 and experience
how the telescope changed everything.
With a Zeiss star projector, laser
digital projection system, state-ofthe-art aluminum dome, upgraded
sound system and theatrical lighting, the 285-seat Samuel Oschin
Planetarium Theater is among the
finest planetariums in the world.
Other shows currently running
include “Centered in the Universe”,
which takes visitors on a journey of
cosmic exploration and discovery;
and “Water Is Life “, which leads
viewers on a search for water, and
• Front and exterior doors
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Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
19 March 18, 2010
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TOYOTAS ONLY. May not be combined with other offers or
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Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
20 March 18, 2010
Koretz Calls for Change at Starbucks
From page 1
control laws in the nation.
However, the popular coffee chain
Starbucks allows customers to
carry a legally permitted weapon
and ammunition into their stores,
as long as the weapon is unloaded
and kept in a holster.
Los
Angeles
City
Councilmember Paul Koretz, 5th
District, has put forward a resolution encouraging Starbucks and
other Los Angeles businesses to
ban guns on their premises.
In recent weeks, Starbucks has
found itself at the center of a contentious debate about gun laws.
Pete’s Coffee and Tea and
California Pizza Kitchen recently
banned firearms from all their locations, and, in response, “open
carry” advocates in northern
California began openly congregating with their guns at Starbucks
locations.
“The goal is to prevent a burgeoning movement to have people
begin to carry guns and ammunition into private businesses, most
notably Starbucks, which has
declined the opportunity to prevent
people bringing handguns into
their locations,” Koretz said. “I
don’t think it’s become a problem
in L.A. yet. Crime is down in L.A.
to a fifty year low, and we are getting more of a handle on the issue
of gun violence. Why wait until
people start showing up with guns
to do something? If there are guns
around, it just takes someone with
an overabundance of testosterone,
and before you know it having
words becomes a shootout at
Starbucks or McDonald’s. “
Though the policy puts further
pressure on Starbucks to prohibit
guns in their stores, it does not
establish any legal ban on firearms
in Los Angeles businesses, and
Starbucks has maintained that their
policy is to abide by all state and
local laws. Koretz said the legality
of passing a handgun ban in Los
Angeles businesses would be
“gray at best,” but he was planning
to support a resolution supporting
the ban at the state level, which has
been put forward by California
Assemblymember Lori Saldaña.
The city council resolution adds
to the pressure mounting on
Starbucks to change its policy.
The Brady Campaign has gathered
33,000 signatures urging the company to ban guns.
“I think this resolution is very
much in keeping with what we’ve
been saying all along to Starbucks,
which is urging them to do the sensible thing, and say you can’t bring
guns into their stores,” said Peter
Hamm, communications director
for the Brady Campaign. “The
company doesn’t allow employees
to bring guns into the stores. If it’s
dangerous for employees, isn’t it
equally dangerous for customers?
Right now, our focus is on getting
Meters
steady during the past three years,
with approximately three million
citations citywide. The highest
number of citations, approximately
25 percent, are for parking in locations where street cleaning restrictions apply. Gillman said there is no
data available on the number of broken meters in the city. He added that
although the policy is not to ticket
people parked at broken meters,
motorists could still receive a ticket
if there are restrictions such as onehour parking and they remain for
longer periods of time.
“We try to be fair, but the bottom
line is, we recommend people do
not park at broken meters to save
themselves a headache.”
The phone numbers people
should call to report a broken meter
are (866)561-9742 or (877)2153958.
From page 4
Plans call for an additional 10,000
meters to be replaced by June 30,
Gillman added. More will be
replaced once funding is made
available by the city.
In addition to working more efficiently, Gillman said the newer
meters are more convenient, allowing people to use credit cards. He
also said the city is testing centralized parking stations known as
“Park & Pay” that have eliminated
meters in places like Hollywood
Boulevard, Larchmont Boulevard
and in the Melrose Shopping
District.
Gillman added that the number of
parking tickets issued has remained
photo by Edwin Folven
Motorists who park at meters that are out of order risk getting a citation
if the meter resets itself.
' &! "'#! '
%$
#"
" !! ' ! "# Starbucks to do what’s best for
employees and customer safety.”
Patti Koltnow, interim executive
director of Women Against Gun
Violence, also sent letters to
Starbucks, urging them to ban
guns. However, Koltnow said that
the company will only listen if
people give up their lattes until
Starbucks changes its policy.
“I used to get a Venti triple shot
every day, but I can’t buy coffee
there anymore,” Koltnow said.
“I’m hoping people will keep up
the pressure, and the main thing is
to withhold your purse. I wrote a
letter, but if I kept going and buying coffee there it wouldn’t make
any difference. You have to hit
them where it hurts, which is a
drop in business. That’s how businesses make their decisions, unfortunately.”
At the Starbucks at the corner of
Melrose Avenue and Stanley
Avenue on Tuesday, customers
remained largely unperturbed by
the prospect of people openly carrying guns into the business.
“The scary thing is I probably
photo by Ian Lovett
Some customers of Starbucks said they are not overly concerned that
people are allowed to carry guns in the establishment, but City
Councilman Paul Koretz believes the policy sets a dangerous precedent.
wouldn’t react to someone carrying a gun in,” said Autumn Cook.
“I’d assume the person was legally
carrying the firearm. There’s a difference between carrying a
weapon and brandishing a
weapon, if I can see it, it doesn’t
scare me as much as if someone
comes in and I can’t see it. It bothers me a little, but I’d be more
afraid if I were an employee,
they’re the ones that have to deal
with someone with a gun.”
Both Koretz and Sgt. Gonzalez
said that anyone who sees someone openly carrying a handgun
should call 9-1-1.
“You have to use your judgment
with what you want to report,”
Gonzalez said. “But if you see
someone carrying a gun, and you
feel unsafe, call the police.”
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
Project on
Sunset
Raises
Concerns
From page 1
bankruptcy trustee’s web site,
www.namvar-namco-bankruptcy.com. The web site also lists
WN Sunset LLC, the developer of
9040 Sunset, on the list of
Namvar’s LLC holdings. Namvar
also headed a Los Angeles bank,
Security Pacific Bank, which was
declared insolvent and was shut
down in 2008. However, a
spokesperson for Weintraub,
Louis Heilbron, COO of
Weintraub Financial Services,
said that as of March 10, Namvar
was officially removed from the
LLC.
“The
bankruptcy
court
approved a restructuring agreement of WN Sunset LLC on
March 10 that resulted in the
Namvar entity being removed
from ownership and management
of the LLC,” Heilbron said.
“Richard Weintraub is now sole
owner of WN Sunset LLC.”
Todd Neilson, the Chapter 11
Trustee for the bankruptcy estate
of Ezri Namvar, denied comment
on the project. The city was
unaware of the ownership change,
yet still approved the project.
Mayor Pro Tompore John
Heilman said he joined the council in approving the project on
Monday because of the protections added to the development
agreement, particularly one that
requires the developers to pay
fees for every year the project is
not developed.
“I still have great concerns,”
Heilman said. “I don’t see how
the project can be developed by
this developer, but it’s the city’s
job to move forward and get a
project that will work here. I think
the protections added to the development agreement will ensure
that we get a great project, and
that the developer will have to be
financially responsible if they
don’t deliver.”
WeHo Looks at
Charter School
District
From page 4
city to help fund and oversee its
local schools.
“What we’re talking about is a
model that still operates within
LAUSD,” Prang said. “It would
provide many of the same opportunities and services as local
school districts, but more affordably, and with less complication.”
Daphne Dennis, the Social
Services director in the West
Hollywood City Manager’s
office, said this would be only the
second charter school district in
California. However, the project
remains a long way from fruition
— so far, the city council has only
directed staff to investigate the
potential costs of a feasibility
study.
“This is a long term project,”
Dennis said. “We’re certainly not
going to have a charter district by
next fall.”
21 March 18, 2010
Lines Get Long at Courts
From page 1
lines, hoping to avoid any further
funding cuts.
Despite the video documenting
the furloughs’ effects, however,
lines are poised to get even longer.
This week the Los Angeles County
Superior Court laid off 329
employees and closed 17 courthouses, including the Hollywood
Courthouse. Those numbers are
expected to grow over the coming
months, with 159 more employees
leaving through voluntary departure by June, and up to 500 layoffs
and 50 courtroom closures expected by September.
“As far as long waits, the short
way to say it is, it’s only going to
get worse,” said Allan Parachini,
public information director for the
Los Angeles Superior Court.
“We’re closing the traffic call center, which will make it more difficult to communicate by phone, and
that brings more people into the
courthouse. It’s impossible to
know exactly how it will affect service, but we’re doing the best we
can with decreasing resources.”
Greg Blair, senior administrator
at the Superior Court Metropolitan
Courthouse, said that approximately 9,000 people come to the
courthouse the day after a furlough, as opposed to 7,500 on
other days. In addition, the Los
Angeles Police Department has
issued 30 percent more traffic tickets than a year ago, which brings
more people to the courthouse, as
will the elimination of the Traffic
Telephone Call Center operator
service, which assists about 10 percent of the 19,200 people who call
the Superior Court every day.
“It probably takes an extra five
business days after a furlough to
recover and get our crowds back to
normal,” Blair said. “We’ve
moved staff around to try to fill in
behind window clerks, but if they
continue to give out this many
tickets, we’re going to continue to
see these kinds of lines.”
Blair said that keeping the windows fully staffed would mean that
other projects, like scanning documents into the computer system,
photo by Ian Lovett
Hundreds of people were forced to wait in long lines outside the courthouse on Tuesday.
would have to be slowed or
stopped entirely. He did, however,
hope that automated systems could
help offset the loss of personnel.
“There are a number of automation projects in the works that will
hopefully save us a lot of work,”
Blair said. “We’re working on a
system to process mail payments,
and automated online home study
traffic school. It could get worse,
but I believe we’ll maintain our service.”
In the meantime, however, any-
one headed to the courthouse to
pay a ticket will have to budget
time for the lines.
On Tuesday, as Ken Davis waited outside the courthouse, he said
he’d been in line twice as long as
when he came six months prior, but
seemed resigned to the current state
of affairs.
“I thought I’d be inside at nine,
but I won’t get in until almost ten,”
Davis said. “I’ll most definitely be
late for work. But court is court. We
just have to wait.”
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
22 March 18, 2010
Marathon Provides Boost to Business
From page 1
from Chicago and I have worked in
areas where the Chicago Marathon
comes through town and we would
always get lots of runners in the
restaurant on race day and in the
days before and after the race, so
this is a really great thing for the
City of West Hollywood.”
Sharon Sandow, president of the
West Hollywood Chamber of
Commerce, said businesses are
excited about the new race course.
She expects the event to bring a
slew of first-time visitors to West
Hollywood.
“People come from all over the
country and the world to see this
marathon and now they will have a
reason to come to West
Hollywood,” Sandow said. “It is a
tremendously unique opportunity to
spotlight our community to people
who have never seen what we have
to offer.”
Brad Burlingame, CEO and president, of the West Hollywood
Marketing and Visitors Bureau, has
been doing outreach to businesses to
get them on board with specials and
business opportunities on race day.
“We are so thrilled that West
Hollywood is part of this,”
Burlingame said. “We won’t see the
financial results until after the race,
but there are so many restaurants
and hotels along the route offering
specials. There will be runners coming from out of town with a friend
or a spouse who doesn’t run, and
those people can eat or shop in our
city.”
At RH, the restaurant at the
Andaz Hotel, the marathon special
is the “Athletes Breakfast Package”,
photo by Amy Lyons
Cabo Cantina in West Hollywood is on the marathon route, and will be
offering specials to participants.
a meal that includes a choice of
smoothie, fresh juices and an egg
white omelet. It will be offered on
Saturday and Sunday. Melvin
Guerrieri director of sales and
marking for the Andaz, said he
expects the hotel’s rooftop pool
deck to be packed with spectators.
“Our pool deck offers a view of
the entire Sunset Strip, so we expect
lots of people to watch from our
location,” Guerrieri said.
Additional specials will be
offered at the Whiskey A Go-Go,
where marathon runners and
crewmembers get free entry after
7:00pm with proof of participation.
The Mondrian is offering special
rates at Agua Spa when people
mention L.A. Marathon. The
Standard Hotel will offer a
“Spectators Breakfast Menu that
includes housemade granola, fresh
baked muffins and more at a cost of
$5-$12 per person.
Those concerned more about
traffic than food and drink deals can
check a special section of the city’s
website to see all closures in the
West Hollywood area.
“The new Stadium to the Sea
route moves through four municipalities,” said race director Nick
Curl. “Each of these cities – Los
Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly
Hills and Santa Monica – has formulated their own street-closure
and traffic-control plan to meet the
needs of the 25,000 participants and
local residents. We urge people to
check out the traffic plans posted by
each city so that they’ll be well
informed on where they can and
can’t go and at what times of the
day on Sunday.”
For
information,
visit
www.weho.org
and
type
‘marathon’ in the search field.
photo by Amy Lyons
A 32-year-old transient allegedly scrawled racially offensive graffiti on
a wall next to Cahuenga Boulevard on March 10, and now faces misdemeanor charges.
Arrest Made for Offensive Graffiti
From page 1
scrawled across the wall in two
different locations. It read, “hang
all niggers.” Binder explained that
the LAPD would have considered
the incident a hate crime if it targeted a particular victim.
“When we see swastikas on
synagogues, we can say that person is targeting a congregation,
and that would be considered a
hate crime,” Binder said. “If this
remark had been spray painted on
a house, we would have most definitely wanted it classified as a
hate crime, because that indicates
that the perpetrator is going after a
particular family. In this instance,
society as a whole is the victim,
and the emotional damage could
be serious, but without a specific
victim, it’s hard to get a hate crime
classification.”
Goodwin is a repeat misdemeanor offender. He was arrested
a few weeks prior to the graffiti
incident for throwing rocks at
police cars.
“He has mental health issues
and we are keeping our eye on
him,” Binder said. “Unfortunately,
his offenses so far have been misdemeanors and we have to take
these things on a case-by-case
basis. We can’t hold him if the
charges don’t warrant it.”
Goodwin will appear in court
next week on misdemeanor
charges.
Councilman Endorses
Legalization of Pot
Student Heads to Israel
From page 6
From page 3
Although U.S./Israel relations have been shaken lately by Israel’s announcement to expand settlements in
East Jerusalem for housing of the Jewish population in
the middle of Palestinian neighborhoods – an
announcement that was made during Vice President
Joseph Biden’s trip to Israel – JNF spokesperson Jodi
Bodner said the ASB program is not impacted by those
events.
“It is a non-issue in terms of our work,” Bodner said.
“We are not a political group and we really stay out of
those conversations. Everything we do is in support of
the land and all the people of Israel.”
photo by Micahel Barash
Rachel Barton (center) is one of several students
who will be traveling to Israel.
Ordinance Moves Closer to Being Enacted
From page 3
Monica Valencia, a deputy to
Reyes, said the councilman is planning to hold a joint meeting of the
Planning and Land Use Committee
and the Budget and Finance
Committee on March 24 to review
the fees, after which they will be
sent to the full city council.
Valencia said while the incomplete
ordinance was approved and
signed by the mayor, procedural
rules require that any amendments,
such as the new fees, be reviewed
again by the council committees,
the full council and the mayor. She
said the council has 30 days to
review the report and make a decision after the committees make recommendations, and the mayor then
has 10 days to sign the ordinance.
“We needed to approve [the fees]
in order to move forward,”
Valencia said. “The councilman is
trying to move as quickly as possi-
ble.”
The ordinance requires a 1,000foot buffer zone between residences, schools, religious institutions and other sensitive uses; having a security guard present; and
making cash drops twice a day to
make the dispensaries less of a target for robberies.
“Technically, the ordinance has
been approved and is effective, it is
just not operational,” Valencia
added.
Once it is enacted, the dispensaries will have 10 days to resubmit
an application to stay open, or must
close. Representatives from the
Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office
have said they plan to move quickly to enforce the ordinance. The
process
begins
with
the
Department of Building Safety
issuing an order to comply, and if
the dispensary in question does not
close within 30 days, legal proceedings can begin, City Attorney’s
Office spokesman Frank Mateljan
said.
On Monday, a group of dispensaries led by Dan Halbert, owner of
the Rainforest Collective in Mar
Vista, attempted to challenge the
city’s ordinance. The group submitted signatures that would qualify a citywide initiative to be placed
on the November ballot that would
allow voters to determine whether
the ordinance should stand. The
City Clerk’s office is still verifying
the signatures, according to Holly
Wolcott, a spokesperson for the
Office of the City Clerk, but it has
been reported that the group fell
short of the number of signatures
required. Wolcott said no extension
was issued to give the group more
time to collect signatures. Halbert
did not return calls for comment.
the decriminalization of marijuana
would also free up law enforcement
resources currently dedicated to
eradicating marijuana, and would
ensure people convicted of minor
offenses relating to marijuana
would not be sentenced to prison,
freeing up space for violent offenders.
Duran said that contrary to some
people’s belief, marijuana is not a
“gateway” drug that leads to the use
of more dangerous substances. He
called on the federal government to
take marijuana off the Drug
Enforcement Agency’s list of controlled substances. Duran also said
marijuana is less harmful than
tobacco, which is readily available
in retail stores, and added that he
bases his viewpoint on his own past
marijuana use.
“I haven’t had a drink or a marijuana cigarette in 13 years, but I definitely inhaled,” Duran said. “This
campaign is about telling the truth
about marijuana use. We are in a
place where we have multiple generations that have tried marijuana,
and they realize it doesn’t cause
‘reefer madness’, and that it doesn’t
lead to other drugs. There are a lot
of falsehoods about marijuana use
that need to be addressed.”
Even if the initiative is passed by
California voters, marijuana would
remain illegal under federal law. But
Duran and Clare said the U.S.
Constitution allows states to enact
laws regarding public safety, health
and public welfare, and they believe
a voter-approved initiative could
withstand legal challenges.
Some opposition has arisen to the
initiative, including from D.A.R.E.
America, whose representatives
believe marijuana is a dangerous
addictive substance. Skip Miller, a
Century City-based attorney and
chairman for D.A.R.E., wrote an
editorial published in January stating that legalized marijuana could
lead to more widespread abuse.
“Two beliefs drive this push to
make pot legal, that new tax revenue will stave off deeper budget
cuts and that marijuana is a relatively benign drug. Neither is true,”
Miller stated. “Legalization almost
certainly would bring with it additional substance abuse in the state,
and the long-term public costs associated with that would vastly
exceed the relatively modest
amount of new revenue legal weed
might bring in.”
Answers From Page 15
23 March 18, 2010
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press
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MORTUARY
GROMAN
MORTUARY, INC.
... over 70 years of caring
dignified service to the entire
Jewish Community
GROMAN EDEN MORTUARY
SERVICES IN ALL CEMETERIES
(800)522-4875
LOS ANGELES
To place an ad call
(323)933-5518
MISSION HILLS
The news from around the
world - and around the
corner - delivered right to
your door.
Los Angeles Times and
Beverly Press & Park
Labrea News togther for
only $1.99
Call 1-800-474-5085
WINDOW CLEANING
RAMIZ WINDOW
CLEANING
and Maintenance
serving Park Labrea
Residents
for more than 35 years.
(323)653-7460
WINDOW COVERINGS
CAM’S SHUTTERS
& INTERIORS
Specializing in Custom Made
shutters, window treatments and
interior design.
We manufacture & install.
Family owned & operated
since 1960.
Call 800-867-5034
Visit our showroom in Covina.
www.camsshuttersandinteriors.com
for address & more information.
Have an
Opinion?
Comments
Welcome on
our website
or Send us a
Letter to the Editor
e-mail to:
editor@beverlypress.com
www.beverlypress.com
HARDWARE
7769 SANTA MONICA BL.
FURNITURE
RESTORATION
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SCREENS &
HARDWARE - DOORS
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TA S H M A N
! )*/% 1 2*1& -0 ,(&+&0 "$&%"! (
HANDYMAN
/-'&00*-,$+ $3 &12/,
/&.$/$1*-,
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1-800-200-TUBS
(323) 851-9142
(!" + '% + %#"
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INCOME TAX
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WEST HOLLYWOOD
(323)656-7028
Since 1961
HELP WANTED
GENERAL OFFICE,
ACCOUNTING
word processing,
good telephone skills,
people oriented.
Knowledge of
Jewish culture helpful.
Call Lynn (323)938-4489 or
(323)939-8444 or email:
71742.2262@compuserve.com
NEWSPAPERS
PARK LABREA NEWS &
BEVERLY PRESS
P.O. BOX 36036
LOS ANGELES, CA 9006
323.933.5518
www.beverlypress.com
www.parklabreanews.com
GOLD STAR
FAMILY OWNED
SINCE 1876
Jewlery
We buy gold, diamonds & fine watches
Top Dollar Paid!
Specializing in: ring sizing, Custom deisgn, Engraving,
Stone replacement, Wedding Bands, Restringing,
Bracelet Repair, Retipping prongs
We Offer Expert
Rolex Repair Service
Limited-Time Rolex
Repair special offer:
Complete Overhaul:
was $350
NOW ONLY $175
587 South Fairfax Ave. (1 bl. North of Wilshire) • (323)931-2113
24 March 18, 2010
Park Labrea News/Beverly Press