A Peek at School Board’s Ladera Resolution

George LaaseOP-ED

            One week after Ladera Heights’ parents took their appeal to transfer their children from Inglewood to Culver City to the State Board of Education, we present for the first time the resolution that the Culver City School Board unanimously adopted last October.
            Almost three months before the County Board of Education rejected the Ladera Heights appeal on Jan. 18, the School Board made its opposition to the move clear.
            There is no doubt that this transfer would cause a substantial negative effect on the Inglewood District. But the School Board was elected — and is compensated — to oversee, to keep its focus on, this district, not Inglewood.

Crest Residents Upset Over City’s Response

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

Mr Kissel

      After last week’s second invasion of choking fumes of gas in less than a month, some residents of the Culver Crest neighborhood were “pretty upset,”  according to Rich Kissel, chief of Neighborhood Block Captains for the homeowners.

      “When they called the Police Dept. and the Fire Dept., they felt they were getting the brush-off,” Mr. Kissel said, “when they were told the gas was not toxic and that it would go away.”

      Leaders of the Culver Crest Neighborhood Assn. are counting on homeowners in Culver City’s most fashionable section to bring their complaints to the Association’s Wednesday night meeting at 6:30 at El Rincon School.

Did Heaven Send the Mayor a Signal?

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

            Did heaven — in the form of the Democratic Club of Culver City —
send a signal to Mayor Albert Vera  that his first instinct was correct, that it really is time to  go?
            His on, then off, then who-knows withdrawal  from this spring’s City Council race took a hit when the Democrats voted overwhelmingly, fifty-seven  to seventeen, to support  Measure V.
            The mayor summoned all of the personal tools that have made him a cinch every time he has run for office. But they didn’t work this time.
            For anyone who has not been reading thefrontpageonline.com, he set up his typically informal pitch. He lifted the curtain a teeny bit to give the audience a preview.

In the Lead — It’s Gotta Be Measure V

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

            Refining last week’s season-opening debate over Measure V to a point of irreducibility, the attorney Andy Weissman, debatably, may be declared the winner.
            Dueling candidly, calmly and convincingly with City Councilwoman Carol Gross before a Chamber of Commerce business audience, Mr. Weissman and his rival acquitted themselves with matching brilliance.
            Even at gunpoint, neither would consider switching sides.
When Ms. Gross affixes her name to an April 11 ballot, she will vote against the steaming-hot, all-in-one Charter Reform measure, and she may attach at least one exclamation mark for emphasis.

In Defense of Saundra Davis

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

          The more one learns about the pettiness of several members of the School Board, the more one wonders how they can face the public with a straight face every other Tuesday night.
            They act like washer women, hanging over an unpainted back fence, gossiping
about the woman they love to criticize, Board President Saundra Davis.
     As if they were windy, latter-day Hedda Hoppers, they gossiped darkly about Ms. Davis in the Board Room at District Headquarters during a very public community meeting.
     This occurred — should we say naturally? — when Ms.  Davis was not in the room.

Why She Opposes Measure V

Ari L. NoonanLetters

     Tom Camarella recently went to great lengths to dispel purported misconceptions regarding Measure V – the City Charter Reform Amendment. 
     However, Mr. Camarella neglected to address a situation that has occurred by placing the Charter amendment on the ballot as a single document.
     The majority of the people I know are joining me in voting against Measure V. They are doing so for the plain and simple fact that it allows for no disagreements. 
     There are several hot-button issues contained in the ballot measure that we feel should be voted on as separate items.

If Ursula Will Give Her Blessing

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

            Having had a day and a half to think over an impulsive announcement at Monday night’s City Council meeting, Mayor Albert Vera said this morning he still has not decided whether to run for re-election. 
            He may. He may not.
After reversing himself for the second time in twenty-four days, he promised thefrontpageonline.com that he will make a final, final decision by the end of the week.
            Before performing his daily ritual of raising the two American flags in front of the Sorrento Italian Market this morning, Mr. Vera again linked his conclusion to his ailing wife Ursula.

Ladera Heights Appeals to the State

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

            Hoping to overturn last month’s ruling by the County Board of Education, Ladera Heights families seeking to transfer their children from Inglewood to Culver City filed an appeal yesterday with the state of California.
            “We feel that we wrote a very convincing statement of reasons for the appeal,” Cheryl Cook, one of the movement’s primary leaders, told thefrontpageonline.com.
            “But, as I have learned, politics is tricky, to say the least.
            “Of the three conditions that the County said we did not meet, we have strong arguments to support our claim that they were met.

Black Will Not Be the Next Chief

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

            Capt. Cerris Black will not be the new Police Chief — for one logical reason.
            But Asst. Chief Hank Davies, Capt. Scott Bixby, Lt. Dean Williams or one other veteran may.
            After the first round of cuts was determined on Tuesday afternoon, four members of the home team, the Culver City department, remained in the fierce competition.
            The original field, believed to contain sixty-eight candidates, was whittled to fourteen by the Sacramento executive search firm of Bob Murray & Associates.
            The next interviews start on March 6. 
         This means that Mr. Davies, Mr. Bixby, Mr. Williams and The Other Candidate will be automatically reminded of the job they all yearn for every time they encounter each other during the next month.

Bosh Brothers’ Suspect Is Charged

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

          The prime suspect in the cold-blooded assassination of the Bosh brothers two and a half years ago stands charged this week with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. 
         He could go to trial this summer for the gang-style slayings of Michael Bosh, twenty, and Timothy Bosh, twenty-one, in Culver West Park on the evening of Sept. 27 of ’03, just as the park was closing.
         Culver City Police Lt. Ron Iizuka told thefrontpageonline.com that Anthony Covarrubias was only returned to Los Angeles last week from New Mexico where he was convicted of a federal violation of  narcotics transportation laws.