WEST LOS ANGELES
UCLA has a new athletic coach. Steve Alford is already hard at work trying to repair the school’s tarnished image among Southern California recruits. The coach is working to overcome the legacy of his predecessor, whose gruff attitude and stubborn demeanor pushed a number of good prospects to try their talents at other colleges.
LAX expansion plans were approved by the Los Angeles City Council. The plan chosen envisions rearranging Lincoln Blvd. so as to make room to move a runway over. Neighbors are concerned about traffic, noise and pollution. Bill Rosendahl sided with these neighbors in opposing the runway expansion plan but was outvoted 10-3 by other members of the Council.
BRENTWOOD
At 6:48 a.m. on April 29, a potentially explosive device was found in the Emergency Room of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System’s (GLA) West Los Angeles Medical Center (WLA) campus. A person of interest is currently being questioned by VA Police. As a precaution, the Emergency Room, Primary Care Clinics, Admission and Discharge were temporarily relocated.
All Emergency Room patients were temporarily rerouted to another location within the hospital and all surgeries were placed on hold.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Bomb Squad assessed the situation and determined that the device was not active and posed no threat. At 9:30am Los Angeles County Sheriff Bomb Squad provided the “all clear†and all hospital operations resumed back to normal.
In some ways the rich and famous are just like you and me. So Harrison Ford found out the other day as he was cruising in his venerable 1955 Jaguar through the streets of Brentwood, while talking on his cell phone. The hero of “The Temple of Doom,†“Blade Runner†and “The Fugitive†on the silver screen apparently didn’t understand the rules. He was driving with the phone extended in front of himself, and not up to his ear. It’s still a violation, say the police.
PACIFIC PALISADES
The bombing horror that shook the famed Boston Marathon isn’t going to dampen the spirits of hundreds of people who are expected to turn out for the five and ten kilometer race that serves as a centerpiece of the Pacific Palisades Fourth of July celebration. The day of the race registration begins at 6:30 a.m. at the Palisades Recreation Center at 851 Alma Real Road. The race is being held in three parts. The 5 and 10 kilometer race steps off at 8:15 a.m. with the Kid’s Run an hour later at 9:15.
Los Angeles mayoral hopeful, Wendy Greuel, has taken to the airwaves to attack rival Eric Garcetti for accepting donations from Juri Ripinsiky. In an appearance on KABC’s “MacIntyre In The Morning,†City Controller Greuel noted that Ripinsky and two others served four years in prison for fraud, and had hosted a campaign fundraiser for Garcetti in the Pacific Palisades. Ripinsky has also personally contributed about $2,600 to Garcetti’s campaign, while it appears members of his immediate family have provided about $5,000 to Garcetti’s bid to become the next Mayor of Los Angeles.
SANTA MONICA
The investment giant, Morgan Stanley, predicts yet another boom in development for Santa Monica. The reason is that most people view the city as trendy, upscale and above all, safe as a place to live or run a business. The area has already experienced a boom in development over the past six months, some of it not welcomed by long-term residents who see Santa Monica quickly shedding its tony, bohemian flavor in favor of upscale businesses which change the way the city feels.
Construction is under way on the Santa Monica Pier in order to preserve and maintain the historic structure. The project will see the demolition and replacement of 365 feet of the pier between the high tide line and the westerly end of the pier – a project that is expected to cost about $8.5 million.
President Barack Obama is coming to Santa Monica in June for a Democratic Party fundraiser. The Hollywood Reporter says the June 7 event will take place in the home of Peter Chernin, Chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group, a film and television production company.
MALIBU
Two people are dead and two other people suffered injuries in the in-flight collision of a pair of small planes in flight in the skies over Malibu Creek State Park. One of the private aircraft crash-landed into a mountainside near Calabasas and the other managed an emergency landing on a golf course in Westlake Village. The Federal Aviation Administration said both aircraft took off from Santa Monica Airport and collided eight miles north of Ventura at about 2:01 p.m. April 30.
