Right Way to Support a Cause

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     A challenge faced by proponents of Measure V, the Citizens for a New Charter, is how to campaign for a document.  Supporting a candidate, particularly one with a recognizable personality, is easier. Coming in behind a one-issue ballot measure isn’t too hard, either.  Backing the city’s equivalent of its constitution for the April 11 election is a more complex undertaking.
 
     The Citizens for a New Charter encountered struggles in putting together a brochure. The new charter is absent a fetching smile or a distinctive speaking voice; you can’t show homey pictures of the charter and its family. 
     Actually, the charter has about as bland a personality as you could imagine.  Except for the red-lined version, it’s about as black and white as you can get. Voters say they crave black and white, but coming in around thirty-two pages by necessity, the new charter is a tad too long for bedtime reading.

Car Show Returns May 13

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

     One of Culver City’s newest traditions, the third annual Car Show — Cruisin’ Back to the ‘50s, returns to Downtown in two months, on Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
     Once again, more than four hundred classic cars and hot rods are expected to be on display.
     Naturally, appealing food, spirited music and friendly vendors will be here, too.
Car Show Day has become a day both for car enthusiasts and for families.
     Nostalgia will be a special guest with a 2950s rock ‘n roll band providing the musica;l backdrop.
     For the third time in modern history, all of Downtown will be closed to traffic, creating a carefree pedestrian street fair for all to enjoy.

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.

Why Malsin Is Right for City

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     I am pleased to support Scott Malsin for the City Council.  Scott is especially well qualified to lead Culver City. He has been a resident for fourteen years.  During that time he has been involved in a variety of ways.  He has gained knowledge of the city and its citizens.  He has a vision that will serve Culver City today and lay the groundwork for moving ahead in the decades to come. 
     The city must continue to evolve, to adjust to changes in our world and our residents.  He understands this, and he has the intelligence and courage to make the hard decisions to address these challenges. 

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.

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.