Davies, Seabrooks Are Finalists

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

      Asst. Chief Hank Davies, the lone Culver City survivor going into the final round of a search for a new Police Chief, is joined in the select circle by a woman who came this close the last time.
      Capt. Jacqueline Seabrooks of the Santa Monica Police Dept. is a surprise finalist. Two months ago, the forty-four-year-old veteran said unqualifiedly that she would  not compete for the position.
      Several reasons were given at the time, none of which were expressed by Ms. Seabrooks.
      She has been reported to be first in line to succeed Santa Monica Police Chief James  T. Butts when he decides to leave law enforcement for a City Hall position in administration.
      Further, Santa Monica insiders said that Ms. Seabrooks would have to take a pay cut to come to Culver City as chief.

Duking It Out in Front of the Dems

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

       The fight at the Democratic Club on Wednesday night between the two principal gladiators in contract negotiations for the Teachers Union probably was not as fair as it looked.
       It pitted a club member schlepping a cause that every Democrat in the history of the world has passionately believed in against the most unpopular kind of outsider.
The former businessman who walked unblinkingly into the jaws of a toothy shark at the Vets Auditorium may as well have worn a sandwich board reading:
       “I Am One of Those Lousy Republicans You Love to Hate Because of My Core Beliefs and My Registration.”

Why Right Skate Park Took So Long

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

• See the earlier story below in Other Stories
 
            The most direct explanation for the extreme delay in finally identifying the Interim Skateboard Park as the home of the New Skateboard Park appears to have two wings:
            • Veterans on the city staff long have been convinced that the five-thousand square foot Interim Park was too small to house the permanent park and could not be enlarged without great difficulty. The grant that will pay for the New Park calls for a twelve-thousand square foot facility.
             • When a new Parks and Rec Director, Bill LaPointe, hired on last spring, and a few months earlier when a new Public Works Director, Charles Herbertson, was named, staffers assured them that the Interim Park was unsuitable for conversion.

St. Patrick’s Rally for O’Leary

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

When:  Monday, March 13, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. 
Where: Commissary Bldg, 8906 Lindblade Ave., Rancho Higuera
What:  Fundraiser — sample the popular cuisine from several local restaurants. Entertainment — featuring the lively music of Happy Richardson.
 
Theme: St. Patrick’s Day ,an early celebration.
Cost:  $30 per person,  $20 for seniors
Auction:  Artwork of the accomplished Culver City artist Salvatore Monteleone
 
RSVP:  vote4mehaul@pacbell.net or 310.559.1872

Davies Is the Sole Survivor

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

      If fitness can be judged by merit and title, it is justice in the most demanding sense that Asst. Chief Hank Davies is the single Culver City survivor going into the last round of a search for a new Police Chief.
      The cheers around the Police Station this week were for the popular twenty-five year veteran. In baseball parlance, he is regarded as a players’ manager.
      As one of the five finalists, Mr. Davies has at least a twenty percent chance of attaining every police officer’s dream goal.

      He was also a candidate the last time there was an opening, two years ago, after the era of Chief Ted Cooke ended with his reluctant retirement.

A Wetsider From Away Back

Ari L. NoonanSports

       Fresh from a visit to the second-floor office of the impressive Parks and Rec Director, Bill LaPointe, I stepped outdoors into the crispy cool of a gloriously beautiful Wednesday morning.
       Another unparalleled day in Paradise.
Just as I was immersing myself aesthetically in the lush green poetry of the Vets Park, an old friend called out. Richard Friedman, a giant of a man, professionally and physically, was striding sprightly toward me.
       Not for long. In two lengthy strides covering about thirty feet, he was abreast of me and past.
       A successful musical producer in Hollywood,  Richard’s career is double-parked atop a pinnacle because not much is left standing in his way. Ain’t nothing opaque or subtle about his carefully honed mind, his ambition, his remarkable gift for humor or his wizardry with cleverly coordinating music and performance.

Skateboard Park Ends up Staying at Home

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

The full text of Councilman Steve Rose’s pivotal speech is reproduced, in its entirety, at the conclusion of this story. 

          For one shining moment on Monday night that never again could be recaptured, City Councilman Steve Rose stood at the rhetorical crossroads of community history. Washed over, figuratively, by klieg lights, he delivered the oratorical gem of his political career.
          Striking with fluid swiftness and surgical perfection, he salvaged the day for all sides on the much ballyhooed — possibly overblown — matter of where to place the Skateboard Park . 
          Solution: In the same patch of cement, halfway up Culver City Park , where the so-called Interim Skateboard Park has been quietly languishing for almost five years.

Teachers Reject Raise Offer

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

            Negotiators for the Teachers Union have rejected the School District’s contract offer for last school year and the present school year, according to a District spokesman.
            Teachers would have received a more than five percent salary increase, which included additional wage increases for longevity, plus additional paid leave for jury duty and more, the District said.
            After a series of negotiation sessions that began in February, Teachers Union negotiators, who had previously agreed to a one percent wage increase for last school year, turned down the District’s offer of an additional four percent for the current school year.
            The District’s offer maintained the current retiree health benefit package for existing employees and eliminated this benefit for new employees hired on or after July 1.

Police Chief Candidate List Shrinks

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

          The identity of the next Police Chief hovered closer into view last night when the City Council, in closed session, reduced the List of Fourteen to the several veterans it believes are most suitable.
          The exact number of surviving contenders is not yet known.
          Four Culver City officers were in the running. The betting is that one or two will make the next round.
          Will it be Asst. Chief Hank Davis, Capt. Scott Bixby, Lt. Dean Williams or an unnamed veteran?
                   All four have logged long years of service in Culver City, a quarter-century in most cases.
          Knowing that yesterday was cutdown day, tensions ran thick at the Police Station. No one was seen walking around clapping his competition on the back, wishing him fair fortune.

With a Bow and a Wow, Dog Park Opens

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

Following the mother of all gestation periods, the Culver City Dog Park finally came tumbling out onto the birthing table last Saturday morning, and Vicki Daly Redholtz, the main moving force, practically shouted her joy.