Beverly Hills News
City Set To Launch New Website
The city is unveiling its brand new website and locals will be relieved to know it’s now far more user friendly. A bold black is replacing the pale, anemic green site and blue site with full-scale pictures and simple point and click directives. Mayor Barry Brucker’s new “Ask Bev†initiative now allows residents to simply click on any topic – from obtaining building permits to queries about the Cable TV channel and upcoming events and attractions. For more information or to check out the website visit www.beverlyhills.org
Elephants on Parade
In a fresh and creative bid to raise awareness for an orphanage in the North of Thailand, photographer Jemma Jacques-Adir auctioned off a select group of artwork painted by elephants. Appropriately named “Trunk Works†, this selection of authentic and 100% original work painted by the elephants in Thailand will help support an orphanage run by Buddhist monks to help abandoned and orphaned children from the ages of 5-18. Founder and director of Dreams Can Come True (DCCT), Jemma Jacques-Adir held an exclusive preview party of “Trunk Works” at the Penthouse Suite of the Beverly Hilton on May 23. The event included a silent auction of a variety of the original Elephant paintings as well as paintings made by some of the orphans themselves. All profits go towards the funding of DCCT and to support the children’s orphanage in Thailand. For more information, visit www.dcct.org
Bel Air News
Opening Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s will soon be opening in the new Palazzo Westwood building on Glendon. Students will no longer have to drive to Culver City or Santa Monica for their Charles Shaw – commonly referred to as “Two Buck Chuck” – Trader Joe’s well-known and well-liked inexpensive wine.
The chain sells organic food for reasonable prices and may give Whole Foods (another natural and organic foods store just a few blocks away) some competition.
Kiel Skaggs, a student who lives in the area, reflected on the Westwood community’s eagerness for the store to open nearby. “I love Trader Joe’s,” he said. “Their selections are great and their prices are awesome.” The many students and young professionals in the area who don’t have cars welcome the idea of having more grocery stores within walking distance.
The opening date for Trader Joe’s has not yet gone public, but Palazzo Westwood has already begun renting units. The new apartment complex will provide a pool, spa, lounge with complimentary coffee and fruit, exercise areas with a rock-climbing wall, as well as parking for its residents and retail space for the public. The building also welcomes pets, which can often be a difficult aspect of apartment hunting.
Special services for residents will include fitness classes, events, full-service concierge, and access to the building’s business center and conference room. The variety of amenities, however, don’t come cheaply: a 750 square-foot, one bedroom apartment starts at $3,190 per month, which is about twice as much as other one-bedroom apartments in the area.
All Ayes About Eyes
After experiencing a wave of burglaries last year, residents of Bel-Air are taking action to increase security measures. According to a survey taken by the Bel-Air Association, home security is the biggest concern of homeowners in the community.
To ensure resident’s safety, the Bel-Air Association has placed more security cameras at the entrances and exits of the community. The association is also encouraging residents to install security systems in their own homes and to join ACS Security in order to increase the number of security patrol cars in the area. Other security measures include crime-alert e-mails to the community, neighborhood crime watches and community meetings with police officials. The Bel-Air Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council has also addressed the problem in the past by organizing citizen and police forums to discuss burglaries, as well as funding night vision thermal cameras.
Burglary of the area made national headlines last August when two burglars were caught on tape driving up to rob a mansion in a Lexus, and being so nonchalant as to take a cigarette break during their crime. Thousands of dollars worth of jewelry were stolen during that incident, but some burglars have gotten away with millions. An estimated $20 million was stolen from the neighborhood between 2004 and 2007. More than 150 homes have been robbed including the home of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and at least one Security Company is being sued as a result.
Brentwood News
Students Raise the Roof
Students at St. Martin of Tours perform the time-honored play Fiddler on the Roof. The school has students throughout the Westside, and has been producing musical theatre for 13 years under the direction of Janet Adderley.
Animal Activists Targeted
A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge has granted UCLA a preliminary injunction against activists targeting faculty and administrators who conduct or oversee research involving laboratory animals. The legislation is aimed at members of the Animal Liberation Front and two smaller groups who have claimed responsibility for attempted fire bombings at residences belonging to UCLA faculty who work with live animals. The injunction extends and expands a temporary restraining order against the groups.
Dutton’s Brentwood Bookstore Feted
Los Angeles Times literary critic Kenneth Turan delivered a tribute to Dutton’s Brentwood Books before delivering the first of the honors at the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. Owner Doug Dutton received the night’s only standing ovation from people who patronized and recognized the uniqueness of the bookstore, which has closed its doors for good. In his brief remarks, Dutton thanked the “neighborhood” of Los Angeles readers for keeping the store alive for 24 years, and hinted Dutton’s might be back in business in some future time.
Santa Monica News
Market Crash
Case closed. A deadly crash at the Farmer’s Market in Santa Monica that resulted in the deaths of 10 people and left 63 others injured has finally settled. The City of Santa Monica will pay $21 million, including $6 million for the final two cases to settle. $15.3 million will go to plaintiffs in the 40 other cases agreed earlier this year.
NBA Nation
The NBA’s interactive mobile tour made its way to the Santa Monica Pier May 17 and 18 with NBA Players like Lakers’ guard Derek Fisher coming out to sign autographs and host shooting contests for fans. Fans from around the Westside made tracks to be there. NBA Nation, presented by T-Mobile and Kia Motors, travels 7,000 miles coast-to-coast, bringing basketball fans together as the NBA’s largest mobile basketball playground. The Big Show DJ Dallas Green kept fans on their feet spinning the hottest new music atop the 18-wheel, 53-foot show truck from the T-Mobile Sky Deck. Basketball enthusiasts had the opportunity to dribble, pass and shoot in the Kia Motors Performance Challenge course while competing for the fastest time, which qualified the winner to advance to the finals in Dallas, Texas, on July 13. The grand prizewinner will receive a Kia Motors Borrego EX.
Wheeling Away
At only 12 years old, she’s appeared in 28 feature films, 69 TV shows and 13 music videos, all the while carrying over 3 million people in her cabs. The Pacific Wheel at the Santa Monica Pier took her last spin on May 5 before crews dismantled the sun-faded behemoth piece by piece to make way for a shiny new wheel. And shiny it is, boasting 160,000 energy saving LED lights that will bring glittering visual performances to Santa Monica’s evening sky. The solar panels used for the old wheel will remain at the pier providing clean energy for the 90-foot ride and its 800 passengers per hour.
The old wheel was auctioned off on eBay for over $130,000, not including shipping and handling, a wheel mount and assembly, which may bring the cost well over $400,000. The lucky bidder is the son of a former Oklahoma City mayor and 32-year-old real-estate developer, Grant Humphreys. Humphreys plans to incorporate the wheel into a mixed-use residential community in Oklahoma City.
The Pacific Wheel, erected in 1996, was the world’s first and only solar powered Ferris wheel. The wheel made cameo appearances in many Hollywood films including A Night at the Roxbury, Titanic, and Thank You for Smoking. It appeared nightly in the opening credits of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Pacific Park has donated half of the winning bid to Special Olympics Southern California. And for each person who rode the wheel on its last day, $1 was donated to L.A.’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Animals. Inscribed with the words ‘Pacific Wheel,’ one of the hubs will be preserved at the Santa Monica Historical Society.
The new wheel, manufactured by Chance Morgan Rides, is a 1.5 million dollar investment for the city, debuting just in time for Santa Monica’s Memorial Day weekend festivities and the long California summer ahead. Its use of LED lights cut costs and energy consumption for the park. A solar application generates up to 71,000-kilowatt hours of photovoltaic power.
Pacific Palisades News
Happy Days
Mrs. Cunningham is leading the Fourth of July Parade! Marion Ross, perhaps best known for her role as Richie’s (Ron Howard) mom on the series “Happy Days,†will be the grand marshal for the day. Her role on the legendary sitcom made her an icon of American tradition; this new role only adds to the legend.
“We had no idea it would continue to run for 30 years,†said Ross. “We’re such icons now.â€
Pacific Palisades Mayor, Gavin MacLeod, and Marion Ross are old friends. “My darling Gavin! I married him on ‘The Love Boat,’†she said.
Ross is currently featured in a recurring role as Sally Fields’ mother on “Brothers and Sisters.†She also does voices for “SpongeBob SquarePants.â€
A Lovely Walk
The Pacific Palisades Junior Women’s Club sponsored the first Love Walk to raise funds for the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation for breast cancer research.
Dr. Love, a Palisades resident, is the president of the Foundation. Junior Women’s Club President Annie Barnes called this “A wonderful opportunity.â€
The Love Walk was a 5-mile course through the Palisades, beginning at the Palisades Library. Sponsors included Whole Foods, City National Bank, Prudential, Ralphs, Gelson’s, Yogaworks, Robek’s Starbucks and Noah’s Bagels.
Malibu News
Bu Bans Bags
The Malibu City Council has passed a new ordinance that will ban the use of plastic bags in Malibu at point-of-sale outlets. The ban goes into affect in six months for all non-reusable bags.
The Malibu ban applies to businesses within the city limits, not just pharmacies and grocery stores as in other, similar bans.
Single-use grocery produce bags are not included in the ban.
BioBlitz for All
The Santa Monica Mountains hosted a 24-hour inventory of every thing living within its boundaries on May 30-31. School kids and experts were invited to partake in the science fair outdoor classroom that identified as many species as possible in the natural environment. Through the National Park Service, in conjunction with National Geographic, these events are being hosted throughout the country.
In addition to cataloguing living organisms, participants heard talks by naturalists, searched for wildflowers, went tide pooling, and hunted for owls (with nets).
Displays and demonstrations that educate and inform were abundant.
Last Dance for Mary Jane
Malibu will attempt to ban medical marijuana dispensaries inside the city at a planning commission hearing on June 3.
The city has issued a moratorium on any new facilities but there are already several dispensaries in the area. City officials say there are no regulations governing their operation.
Marijuana facilities are still illegal according to the federal government.
Safe Harbor
Safety Harbor kids held their annual meeting in style, celebrating the year at the Opening Day on the Polo Grounds in Will Rogers’ Park May 3. The charity provides experiences and mentoring for parentless and homeless children.
Safety Harbor Kids pairs philanthropic and community-minded people with needy children and provides support to help them out of homelessness and poverty.
