With the results of the Nov. 8 Board of Education election finally clear, the winners are making plans to assume their new roles next month. According to the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s semifinal results , incumbent Brian Goldberg received the most votes in the race for three available seats on the Beverly Hills Board of Education. Beverly Vista parent Noah Margo came in second and educator/producer Lewis Hall came in third. The new members will join Goldberg at the Dec. 6 board meeting. Goldberg, the board vice president, is expected to assume the presidency at that time, while current board member Jake Manaster is expected to become the new vice president. Other board members Myra Lurie and Steven Fenton will attend their last official meeting on Nov. 22. Goldberg said he plans in his second term to continue the “cultural change in the way we operate as a district” that began during his first term. “My overarching goal is to ensure that this culture change takes root and becomes the norm for our community so we can protect against the mismanagement that led to our academic decline the past two decades,” he told Patch. “I [want to] continue to provide accountability, oversight and transparency to the district so we can ensure that our resources and efforts are focused on providing the best education for all our students.” Margo said he hoped his victory as a write-in candidate, which was only the second time in Beverly Hills history of such a success, demonstrates how hard he plans to work on the board. “I look forward to serving our schools and our community with the same fervor on which I ran,” he told Patch. On his campaign website, he thanked supporters and noted, “I’m driven more than ever to reach our mission of bringing Beverly Hills Unified back to national prominence.” Lewis Hall said he looks forward to introducing new ideas that he has been developing while attending meetings of the three main school board subcommittees. Since declaring his candidacy in August, Hall has been to most meetings of the Finance Committee (which advises on BHUSD financial issues), the Citizens Oversight Committee (which monitors district bond programs) and the Facilities Advisory Committee (which advises BHUSD on construction and maintenance issues). He was at the Nov. 14 Finance Committee meeting when he heard that he had been elected. “I learned a lot by attending these meetings and I have some ideas on how to improve the way things are done in the district,” he told Patch, adding that he will wait to offer specific advice until he takes office. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Read the original post: New Board of Ed Members Ready to Assume Office
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DEALFEED: The Bar at Cliff’s Edge
The Restaurant : The Bar at Cliff’s Edge The Deal : Select beer $3, house red/white wine $6 per glass, special du jour cocktail $7. When/Where : Nightly, 6PM to close; 3626 Sunset Blvd; 323-666-6116 . View post: DEALFEED: The Bar at Cliff’s Edge
City’s Affordable Housing Initiative Spent Nearly $50 Million, Produced Nothing
Reporters Bob Porterfield and Jackie Ginley are exploring the financial challenges facing Hercules for The Huffington Post and Hercules Patch . Read their report on municipal utility spending here . HERCULES, Calif. — There are 918 names on ‘the list.’ People from every walk of life are on it, with one thing in common: They all wanted the chance to take advantage of affordable housing offers in the small city of Hercules. Many have been waiting more than five years for a call that would have given them entrée to sparkling new digs in Sycamore North , a $70 million mixed-use housing development in this struggling community of 24,000 residents northeast of San Francisco. They’re still on hold, waiting for a project that looms over a mostly barren downtown, its only occupant a security guard living in a small trailer. “It’s a bummer,” says Karla Bernal, a Hercules native who moved back home two years ago and was lured onto the list, looking to buy a condo she and her mother could afford. “It would be amazing, awesome, to be able to live there.” Bernal ended up moving to nearby Pinole , where she rents a home. Even Hercules has washed its hands of Sycamore North. After dumping $38 million into the project with no hope of raising another $30 million to finish it, the city began maneuvering in August to find some way to salvage it. Negotiations are underway with potential buyers, possibly at fire-sale prices , and Hercules is asking the state to extend $5 million in loans it made to help with construction. City Council members are now debating whether, through a sale, to scrap Sycamore North’s 76 affordable housing units and convert the entire residential portion of the project into market-rate condominiums or retail space. Whatever the outcome, city officials say they hope to have the Sycamore North problem resolved within a few weeks. State auditors and federal investigators now are trying to unravel what went wrong with the Hercules affordable housing program, Sycamore North and other redevelopment projects in the town. A key question will be how a financially strapped community committed more than $100 million to an affordable housing program and its related infrastructure, spending nearly $50 million before the money ran out — including $30.2 million on the affordable housing segment of Sycamore North and $17.9 million more on other projects and assistance to benefit low-income residents — without producing a single unit of affordable housing. Another question will be why Hercules’ biggest affordable housing advocate, former City Manager Nelson Oliva , embarked in 2005 upon a spree of borrowing, spending and building that has nearly bankrupted the town. City Hall today is almost as empty as Sycamore North, with the few remaining employees, a new City Council, new city manager and new city attorney left to clean up a mess not of their making . It will be a daunting task. The Huffington Post and Hercules Patch reviewed thousands of pages of public records in an attempt to follow the trail of taxpayer money spent on affordable housing and other redevelopment in Hercules, but couldn’t determine where all the money went. Affordable housing program records are in disarray or missing, and former city officials and employees who knew what was going on have either been fired, laid off because of budget cuts, hired lawyers or simply refused to talk about Sycamore North. Even the experts and consultants who advised the city or have strong opinions on what happened in Hercules won’t comment publicly, for fear they will be drawn into lawsuits or grilled by FBI agents who are methodically interviewing current and former city personnel. “It’s easy for me in hindsight to look at this and say it was a poorly conceived project that was poorly managed,” says Frank Fox, a Philadelphia developer that Hercules hired in February to sort out its real estate transactions. “Cities should not be in the development business.” CONTINUE READING ON HERCULES PATCH Here is the original post: City’s Affordable Housing Initiative Spent Nearly $50 Million, Produced Nothing
Manson follower ‘Tex’ Watson seeks parole in Calif
The self-described right-hand man of cult leader Charles Manson, who was convicted of orchestrating the Tate-LaBianca slayings 42 years ago, has his latest parole hearing scheduled Wednesday in a California prison . View original post here: Manson follower ‘Tex’ Watson seeks parole in Calif
With Zuccotti Park Cleared, Occupy Los Angeles Is Estimated to Be the Largest Camp Left Standing
Now that Zuccotti Park is cleared, city officials are estimating that Occupy Los Angeles is the largest “Occupy” encampment left standing. Unlike other cities around the country that have cracked down on camps, officials here have no plans to shut down the encampment in the immediate future. more › See the original post here: With Zuccotti Park Cleared, Occupy Los Angeles Is Estimated to Be the Largest Camp Left Standing
Amara Miller at the LA premiere of "The Descendants"
http://www.youtube.com/v/Y1SxBrOKUu8?version=3&f=user_uploads&app=youtube_gdata Amara Miller talks to Los Angeles Times reporter Emily Rome at the LA premiere of “The Descendants.” Read the original here: Amara Miller at the LA premiere of “The Descendants”
Nick Krause at the LA premiere of "The Descendants"
http://www.youtube.com/v/XBnmSsM7bQs?version=3&f=user_uploads&app=youtube_gdata Nick Krause talks to Los Angeles Times reporter Emily Rome at the LA premiere of “The Descendants” View post: Nick Krause at the LA premiere of “The Descendants”
Philanthropist Seeks California Teens
California billionaire philanthropist Helen Diller wants to give away money to teenagers and has put out the call for California teens who want $36,000. Helen Diller, the wife of real estate billionaire Sanford Diller , has already given one quarter-billion dollars to charitable projects supporting education, the arts, medical research and leadership training for teens. The Bay Area billionairess has a passion for helping young people who want to give their talents toward the betterment of mankind. Helen Diller established the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards to celebrate and encourage the next generation of Jewish leaders who are already pursuing their own visions for social change. The generous awards are given to up to five young California volunteers who demonstrate leadership and commitment to making the world a better place.
Ranch Pays $17M for 2007 Wildfire
The corporate owners of a Santa Barbara County ranch have paid $17 million to end an investigation and compensate state and federal agencies for the cost of fighting the second largest wildfire in California’s recorded history, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Read this article: Ranch Pays $17M for 2007 Wildfire
Valley Vandals Target Businesses With Slingshots, BB Guns
The storefronts of four Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys businesses were covered in shattered glass on Monday night after vandals targeted Ventura Boulevard and Sherman Way. Police received the first call at 9:05pm and discovered vandalism at The Lover Thai-Chinese Restaurant, Leeds Mattress Store, Rodeo Realty and Mirage Fine Home Furnishings. more › See the original post: Valley Vandals Target Businesses With Slingshots, BB Guns
