Malsin’s Good Impression

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     Last Thursday night, March 2, I attended a City Council Candidates Forum in my neighborhood, Lindberg Park.
     It was an informative event where the candidates presented their views and answered questions on a wide range of city issues. Though all three candidates clearly care about Culver City, I was most impressed with Scott Malsin.
     As a long-term resident with substantial community involvement, including five years’ experience on the Planning Commission, Scott is familiar with critical issues in Culver City.
     He has demonstrated a knack for finding effective solutions to numerous problems. In response to questions fielded at the forum, Scott provided clear and practical answers that show his full understanding of the issues.

Good News for O’Leary

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     Having had the honor of serving you for sixteen years on your City Council, I know quite a bit about what it takes to be a good servant of the people. 
     My personal experience goes back to 1972 when I was first elected.  Over time, with patience, we have made Culver City a better place to live. 
     We are now about to fill two seats on City Council.  I am recommending Mehaul O’Leary for one of your votes on April 11,  for the following reasons:
     As a businessman, Mehaul knows the importance of good planning and balancing a budget. He will be good steward of our city finances.  He will listen, really listen, to your concerns.  He will work hard to make Culver City even a better place by preserving and improving our quality of life.  He will show you respect.

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.

How Will His Dream Turn Out?

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

            Two helpful clues about an idealistic homegrown boy who may become the next police chief of Culver City this month:
            A stickler for straight-line orderliness in every room of his life, he is the rare single gentleman who knows three days in advance exactly the clothes he will be wearing to the office. From his girlfriend to his pals at work, he is known for being fastidious, sartorially impeccable.
            His favorite reading matter is not this hour’s best-seller or a fictionalized thriller. It is Money magazine. Has been for years. Fascinated by the volatile intricacies of the stock market ever since a speaker came to Culver City High School back in the 1970s, he loves the tickle of challenges — and the plush rewards —that await smart players in the exotic world of investments.
            Capt. Scott Bixby, who celebrated his twenty-sixth anniversary with the Police Dept. in January, is in the quarter-final round of fourteen candidates to succeed the retired Chief John Montanio.
            On Monday, the City Council is scheduled to huddle with the Bob Murray headhunting company from Northern California to winnow the list to six.
            In a little more than two weeks, the field is to be shrunk to the Final Two.

Waiting for Oscar

Frédérik SisaThe Recreational Nihilist

     Ah, yes, Oscar Night is nigh. It’s time to get wrapped up in the sparkle and glamour of Hollywood’s biggest event. Film critics far and wide are tripping over themselves with predictions as to who will walk away with the little golden man.
     Fashionistas are foaming at the mouth in anticipation of the latest designer wear.

     But instead of fawning over the latest peacock fashions that will strut down the red carpet, or waiting for Philip Seymour Hoffman to squash the debate as to whether Heath Ledger or David Strathairn should win for Best Actor, I’m going for the Big Picture.

Leave Skateboarders Where They Are

Ross HawkinsOP-ED

     With the permanent location of the new Skateboard Park coming up for one last round of discussion by the City Council on Monday night, community activist Hannie Marlis would like the decision-makers to study her recommendation.
     Up to here, says Ms. Marlis, one consideration never has been reviewed.
Leaving the Skateboard Park where it is in Culver City Park.
       Last Saturday afternoon, at the hour of city commissioner Jeff Cooper’s protest picnic in the park to argue against the present plan — in the grassy area — a group of young boys was skateboarding in the alternative, or paved, area.

Insider’s View of the School Board

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

Part I of a series
 
          Frequently charged with petty bickering, incivil snarling, ill motivation and spectacular non-productivity, the School Board is getting a bad rap, says Marla Wolkowitz, one of its least controversial members.
          “Despite the way we are portrayed, we do get along,” she said. “If you study the documentation, we achieve a lot. We are called dysfunctional, but we vote five to nothing on ‘most everything.”
          Some of the School Board’s reputation for negativity is unavoidable, according to Ms. Wolkowitz, who recently started her seventh year on the Board. “Part of the image of any elected body is negative,” she said. “That is just the way it is.”
          For a further explanation, those aren’t five blushing, bashful young things occupying the semi-circled chairs of the School Board every other Tuesday night. “We are five people with big egos,” she said. “I never would say I don’t have one. We deal with our egos in very different ways.”

Everybody to the Woodshed

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

       May I suggest to Saundra Davis, the harassed president of the meddlesome School Board, that she show up at the next meeting, one  week from Tuesday, dressed like Emmett Kelly, the most famous clown in the last half of the twentieth century.

       Then, starting with our friendly dentist, Dr. Dana Russell, let us see if these dedicated curmudgeons are capable of baby grins.
       Maybe they don’t smile at Board meetings because they need classy ol’ Doc Russell to give their dentures a Wal-Mart-style cleaning.

 

 

A Voice for Malsin

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     I am writing this letter in support of Scott Malsin for City Council. I have known Scott for eight years, and I have always found him to be knowledgeable and fair in considering all sides of issues.
     He is very thoughtful and diligent. His intelligent analysis of the complicated challenges facing Culver City will make an important addition to the City Council. I have always been impressed with Scott’s deeply genuine concern for the betterment of our city.