Board of Education candidate Frances Bilak has lost two important endorsements since Patch reported Oct. 20 that an election debate had been canceled after Bilak emailed the Beverly Hills High School student who was organizing the event, claiming that she would contact local media and synagogues of his decision to hold the event during the Sabbath. Councilwoman Lili Bosse , who won every district in the city when she ran for election earlier this year, pulled her endorsement of Bilak after reading the Patch story. Planning Commissioner Brian Rosenstein also withdrew his endorsement of Bilak several hours after Bosse made her decision public on Patch. Bilak is one of four candidates running for three board seats in the Nov. 8 election. “The Last Word: The Last Election Debate” had been planned for 6 p.m. on Nov. 4, four days before the election. It was organized by Max Schwartz, a BHHS senior who hosts a talk show on KBEV6, the high school’s student television station. Bilak, like her competitors Brian Goldberg , Lewis Hall and Noah Margo , had agreed to participate in the debate. But when she realized the debate time conflicted with the Sabbath, she asked Schwartz to change the date or time. Although he tried to reschedule the event, Schwartz was unable to do so. In an Oct. 17 email to Schwartz, Bilak said that said she was “deeply disappointed” by his decision to keep the debate at its original date and time. “I will be letting the newspapers know tomorrow as well as the synagogues know of your decision,” she wrote. “I had told them that I believed you would respect the Sabbath and everyone’s decision to have dinner with their families on the Sabbath.” The debate was subsequently canceled. “When I read your Patch story, it broke my heart, particularly because Max Schwartz is an exemplary student and member of our community,” Bosse told Patch. “[Bilak] really crossed the line when she said, ‘I am going to let the synagogues and the media know,’ as though what he was doing was religiously motivated. It felt like bullying behavior, it was cruel and that is when I wrote her an email letting her know of my decision.” In Bosse’s comment to the Oct. 20 article, she asked that the candidate remove the councilwoman’s name from Bilak’s marketing materials for the remainder of the campaign unless the candidate made a public apology to Schwartz. Bosse said Friday that Bilak’s comments on Patch, in which she apologized to Schwatz, did not constitute a public apology and that her decision to withdraw support for Bilak was now final. “It is one thing to get frustrated with fellow adults, but with kids—the children of this district—the number one thing you have to have is compassion,” Bosse said. “I am sure she has learned a lot from this experience. It has been a lesson for all of us who take endorsements seriously.” Bosse noted that she originally had planned to avoid making endorsements in the Nov. 8 race. But when Margo decided to join as a write-in candidate, Bosse changed her mind because she said she knew how difficult a write-in campaigns can be and she believed Margo would make a good board member. At that point she decided to also endorse Bilak and incumbent Goldberg. Bosse still strongly supports Margo and Goldberg. Planning Commissioner Brian Rosenstein came to a similar conclusion after Patch alerted him to the fact that Bilak was promoting his endorsement in media advertisements. Like Bosse, he has also endorsed Goldberg and Margo. “I had assumed by tonight [Oct. 20] that I would have seen, or that you would have made, a public apology for the comments made to Max,” Rosenstein wrote in email to sent Bilak at 8:47 p.m. on Oct. 20. “What I saw on Patch was basically an ‘I’m sorry you feel that way’ message from you. That is not what I consider an apology and is not what Max and his family deserves or this community will find to be good enough.” Rosenstein posted his entire email to Bilak on Patch about an hour later at 9:52 p.m. At the time of this story’s publication, Bosse is still listed on Bilak’s website as being a supporter. Mayor Barry Brucker, who also endorsed Bilak, has not indicated that he plans to withdraw his support. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Originally posted here: Bilak Loses Two Endorsements After Debate Scheduling Controversy
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Moammar Gadhafi Is Dead, Body Dragged Through His Hometown Streets
“Mad Dog” Moammar Gadhafi has been killed. Libya’s prime minister has confirmed his death. The ruthless leader was hiding out in his hometown of Sirte when Libyan revolutionary forces overwhelmed the town and killed him. Gadhafi was shot while trying to flee. more › See the rest here: Moammar Gadhafi Is Dead, Body Dragged Through His Hometown Streets
PHOTOS: The Ten Best Cities To Trick-Or-Treat
Between the threat of razor blades in Kit Kat bars, roaming sex offenders and large spans of dark, empty roads, Halloween has the reputation of being a pretty hazardous holiday. Luckily, the data-heads over at Zillow have compiled a brand-new list of the best cities to trick-or-treat in. Researchers analyzed a host of factors, including safety, walkability, population density and median home values to determine the top places to hit the streets with the kiddies this year. Not surprisingly, the progressive haven of San Francisco came in first place, followed by Boston and Honolulu. But some unexpected spots (San Jose? Virginia Beach?) managed to make the cut, too. Unfortunately, the final list may give our friends in Suburbia an extra reason to keep their children inside this All Saints Eve. To which we can only offer our condolences and a reminder that the Fog City is certainly a lovely place to visit in the Fall. Take a look at the ten best cities for trick-or-treating below, and click over to Zillow for more information. Bummed your town didn’t make the cut? Be sure to let us know in the comments. See more here: PHOTOS: The Ten Best Cities To Trick-Or-Treat
Library Media Teachers Returning to K-8 Schools
After a yearlong lobbying campaign by Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education President Lisa Korbatov, the board voted Tuesday to hire two library media teachers to work at the city’s four K-8 schools. “I am really excited at the thought that our children will see a librarian at school,” Korbatov said after the 4-0 vote. Board member Jake Manaster was not at the meeting because of a business trip. There have not been library media teachers at Beverly Vista, El Rodeo, Hawthorne or Horace Mann schools since 2008, when the board voted to eliminate the jobs to save funds. Beverly Hills High School was able to keep its librarian. “That vote [in 2008] was a mistake and this is an opportunity to rectify that mistake,” Vice President Brian Goldberg said before the vote. “If we’re going to move the district from good to great to the best, we need to provide qualified library media and technology teachers to engage our students.” Each library teacher will cost approximately $100,000 in salary and benefits, BHUSD Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard told the board. Since the positions were not included in the current fiscal year budget, funding for the jobs will come from unrestricted district reserves. The BHUSD recently announced it had accumulated a cash reserve of more than 10 percent of its yearly budget. It is yet to be determined how the two librarians will divide their time among the four schools, although Korbatov said she is confident the BHUSD will come up with a plan by the time the staff members are hired. She noted that there are probably many suitable job candidates available since the Los Angeles Unified School District recently eliminated most school librarian positions. According to the job description posted on the BHUSD website, the new librarians will provide “library and media services to elementary and middle school students and teachers.” Such services include: The development of student literacy through the library media program Providing instruction in the skills needed to use instructional materials, research and reference tools effectively The introduction of appropriate literature for students The integration of instructional materials Curriculum resource selection and ordering Overseeing the library’s circulation, utilization, organization and maintenance In an interview with Patch in December when she took over the board presidency, Korbatov said that one of her top priorities would be restoring the library media positions at the K-8 schools. Be sure to follow Beverly Hills Patch on Twitter and “Like” us on Facebook . Read this article: Library Media Teachers Returning to K-8 Schools
Real Estate Run Down: Tom Gores
It seems that nothing stirs the real estate shit or polarizes The Children more than a pictorially-blessed tale of a multi-billionaire baller with a property portfolio that bulges and balloons with numerous high-priced properties. Some of The Children will surely aspire to acquire or, perhaps, ache with envy for the profound pile of cheddar required to own and maintain multiple high-maintenance mansions. Others will most certainly burn with a white hot and unreserved righteous anger about the extreme income inequality such residential decadence puts in stark relief to the meager means of so many. One such Los Angeles-based financier who will likely inspire some and invoke a wicked ire in others is Los Angeles-based private equity pooh-bah Tom Gores. Brace yourselves with a strong nerve pill and a stiff gin & tonic, butter beans, because based upon Your Mama’s entirely unscientific, probably incomplete, and decidedly conservative estimate Mister Gores owns well over $150,000,000 in ritzy residential real estate in the Los Angeles area. A peek and a poke through property records indicates the first property that Mister Gores and his wife Holly bought in the Los Angeles area is a 5,384 square foot Mediterranean abode in suburban Encino . Records we perused show they bought the 5 bedroom and 6 bathroom residence in October 1997 for $1,450,000 and sold in April 2002 to a long-time family friend and associate for $1,875,000. In June 1999, the then 30-something now 40-something year old Israeli-born and Michigan-bred and -educated Mister Gores paid $4,595,000 for a 10,479 square foot residence in the guard-gated, star-stocked and crime-plagued Mulholland Estates enclave, home to Tinseltown types like socialite/reality tee- vee queen Paris Hilton, not exactly winning actor Charlie Sheen, letter turner Vanna White, British pop star Robbie Williams, and actress/activist Judith Light and her actor husband Robert Desiderio . Property records indicate the 2-story Mediterranean mansion contains 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. We recently received a covert communique from our friend and frequent informant Babbling Babette who said she heard through the Platinum Triangle Real Estate Gossip Grapevine that Mister Gores’ long-time homestead in the Mulholland Estates will soon become available for somewhere in the neighborhood of $11-13,000,000. Now, children, use them noggins nuggets: What we’re saying here is that the rumored listing of said residence ain’t nuthin ‘ but scuttlebutt and gossip at this point, okay? Anyhoo , property records show Mister Gores–through a corporate entity that link directly back to address(es) known to be affiliated with him–also owns a modest nearby townhouse-type condo situated on a quiet cul – de -sac off Mulholland Drive above the Stone Canyon Reservoir in Bel Air that was obtained back in September 2000 for $765,000. We have no idea why Mister Gores might have wanted this townhouse condo but it’s not so far fetched to imagine it was acquired for use on a full- or part-time basis by family, friends and/or domestic staff. In February 2001, just shy of 2 years after snatching up his big ol ‘ Mediterranean mansion in Mulholland Estates , Mister Gores dropped $1,105,000 on a vacant parcel directly across the street that was eventually transformed into a gated and high-hedged private playground complete with swing-set, jungle gym, play house, trampoline, skateboard half-pipe, sand box, and basketball court. The 15,051 square foot lot (shown above)–substantially smaller than most of the other parcels in the affluent enclave and now, as per listing photos, with just a sport court and large lawn–is currently on the market with an asking price of $1,995,000. Apparently not satisfied with just the one mansion and the private playground, Mister Gores plunked down another $2,600,000 in May 2001 for a second but smaller mansion inside the gates of Mulholland Estates , this one across the street from his first acquisition in the hoity – toity ‘hood and a couple doors down from his children’s private playground. This purchase of a second mansion in Mulholland Estates may or may not have anything to do with it but the deal went down not long after– so the story goes –it was revealed that our Mister Tom Gores was (allegedly) doing the hanky – panky with his brother and business partner Alec Gores’ wife Lisa who at the time also lived in a 10,000-plus square foot house in Mulholland Estates . Mister A. Gores–a billionaire like his brother–(allegedly) reportedly hired shady private investigator to the stars Anthony Pellicano to get to the meat of the infidelity matter. We’re not sure what sort of sordid information Mister Pellicano turned up but we do know that Mister A. Gores eventually went to the court of dee – vorce while our Mister T. Gores remains married to his long-time wife Holly. Mister Alec Gores, for anyone who might be interested, eventually decamped Mulholland Estates for the much more expensive (and residentially steroidal) guard-gated enclave of Beverly Park where he settled into an elephantine and approximately 42,000 square foot French Normandy-style mega-mansion designed by architect Richard Landry , built to exacting standards over 3.5 years by the folks at Finton Construction , and decorated by interior designer Joan Behnke . But we digress…. Mister (Tom) Gores heaved his second-purchased pad in Mulholland Estates on to the open market in May 2011 with an asking price of $5,875,000. Listing information for the single story sprawler (shown above) indicates it measures 6,625 square foot with 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms that include a master suite with private sitting room, two-way fireplace, walk-in closets, vaulted and wood-beamed ceiling, and French doors that open the bedroom to a pergola-shaded terrace that overlooks the backyard. Other features of the property, as per listing information, are a direct access three-car garage, formal living and dining rooms, a library/den with massive carved stone fireplace and built-in book/display shelves, media room outfitted with projection equipment, and an eat-in kitchen with Saltillo tile flooring, granite counter tops, antiqued bone-colored cabinets, snack bar, breakfast area, and family/sitting area with a trio of French doors that connect out to the lushly landscaped and meticulously maintained backyard. The not exactly capacious but certainly sizable back yard area offers numerous terraces and patios, an almost freakishly green patch of grass, heated swimming pool, spa, a built-in barbecue center, and an oblique view down the rugged canyons and over the twinkling lights of the San Fernando Valley. Let Your Mama be completely clear here, puppeenuh weenuhs : We don’t know why Mister Gores purchased this particular property across the street from his primary residence nor do we know who (if anyone) occupies the premises on either a full or part time basis. Okay? Moving along…. Shortly after compiling his unconnected compound in the Mulholland Estates community, like all good billionaires who make their home in Los Angeles, Mister Gores went on the hunt for a house in Malibu. He eventually settled, according to at least one previous report , on an approximately 6,000 square foot ocean front contemporary sold by internet browser baron Marc Andreessen who went from rich to super rich in 1999 when he sold Netscape to media juggernaut America Online for an almost unimaginable ten billion bucks. Property records show Mister Gores, again through a corporate entity that links back to the same address as so many of his other properties, spent a titanic $22,600,000 for the 4 bedroom beach shack when he scooped it up in 2003. In August 2007 the property mad billionaire plunked down $3,325,000 for a mildly charming 1924 gingerbread Tudor with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathrooms sandwiched between a couple of ass-ugly apartment buildings in the flats of Beverly Hills. We are no expert but Your Mama assumes the seemingly exorbitant cost of the property has far more to do with the value of the multi-family zoned parcel located on the swanky edge of downtown Beverly Hills than with the value of the 1,678 square foot house itself. In April 2007, few months before snapping up the gingerbread Tudor, Mister Gores dropped $11,500,000 to acquire a “French Mediterranean” mansion in what is arguably one of the if not the most prime section of Beverly Hills. The gated residence (shown above), as it turns out, is currently available for lease with a monthly rental price of $39,000 , $43,000 , or $49,000 depending where on the interweb one looks. Listing information on the website of the listing agent–a familial relative of Mister Gores, dontcha know?–shows the 10,580 square foot mansion contains 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms including an expansive master suite with separate sitting area, dual bathrooms and a pair of custom-fitted walk-in closets. Listing information also indicates and reveals an impress-the-guests-style double-height foyer with sweeping floating staircase, formal living and dining rooms, wood-paneled library, wood-paneled family room with backyard access, and a colossal sky-lit center island kitchen with a breakfast counter and Suburu -sized commercial-grade range. The backyard space, large but far from gigantic, offers tree-shaded lawns, a covered dining patio, expansive entertaining terraces and a large swimming pool and spa. Your Mama can’t say with any certainty why Mister Gores opted to acquire the above mentioned mansion but it may or may not have something to do with a vacant and unusually large adjacent parcel he bought the previous year–that would be in February 2006–for a toe curling $33,640,000. Yes, children, Mister Gores paid thirty-some million smackers for a rolling piece of bare land located across the street from wealthy divorcée Suzanne Saperstein’s insanely opulent estate Fleur de Lys and adjacent to both media and music mogul David Geffen’s legendary 10-acre estate and Green Acres , the even more legendary, heavily fortified and decidedly deluxe estate of self-made supermarket tycoon turned private equity multi-billionaire Ron Burkle . We imagine that Mister Gores might have planned to build himself a massive residential monument to his considerable wealth on the property but as far as we know, five and some years after the pricey procurement, the 6-plus acre property remains all but undeveloped but for an outdoor basketball court, full-sized soccer pitch, and a couple of ticky -tacky looking pavilions that likely contain changing rooms and bathroom facilities. We claim no inside intel as to Mister Gores’ real estate motivations but it seems he decided at some point not to build himself a mega-mansion next door to fellow billionaires David Geffen and Ron Burkle . The increasingly fickle billionaire coughed up $18,000,000 in November 2008 for a 7,247 square foot mansion due north of the Bel Air Country Club. Not satisfied with just that one supremely placed property, Mister Gores laid out a truly staggering and almost outlandish $38,000,000 in January 2009 to buy the 11,400 square foot Mediterranean mansion next door that once belonged to motion picture colorizing pioneer Herbert Kalmus and was later owned by Verna Harrah , the wealthy widow of hotel and casino kingpin Bill Harrah . Miz Harrah sold the 1.5 acre estate in 2005 for $14,900,000 to a corporate entity believed by real estate gossips to be controlled by radio and television station tycoon Henry Carlson “Carl” Parmer , Jr. and it is Mister Parmer who–the lucky devil–pocketed upwards of $20,000,000 on the sale of the property. Mister Gores, who spent according to our bejeweled abacus a shocking $56,000,000 on the two adjacent Bel Air properties, proceeded to knock down the first house and is currently engaged in a full-scale gut renovation and expansion of the Kalmus – Harrah – Parmer pile that will, when all is said and done, surely cost him many if not several tens of millions more. Some time ago Your Mama queried a Beverly Hills real estate insider well call Rod N. Reel about Mister Gores’ substantial residential holdings in Los Angeles and among the many fascinating and informative tidbits he provided was that last year Mister Gores quietly snatched up fitness guru Bill Phillips’ 17,826 square foot Moorish-style mansion located just up the street from his billionaire brother Alec’s even bigger, hotel-sized behemoth in the guard-gated Beverly Park community. Property records, which show the buyer as a corporate entity that links directly back to one of several addresses that Mister Gores’ other many residences are connected, reveal that Mister Gores spent a staggering $21,000,000 in November 2010 for the 3- ish acre estate that includes 9 bedrooms and 15 bathroom residence known during Mister Phillips’ ownership as T he Great 78 . Mister Phillips and his wannabe actress wife Amy Molen appear to have decamped to a much smaller house above the Sunset Strip that property records show that picked up December 2010 for $7,350,000. The couple quickly caught a case of The Real Estate Fickle and last week flipped the 5 bedroom and 8 bathroom mock-Med villa back on the market with a much-increased price tag of $8,495,000. In addition to their $150,000,000-plus worth of residential real estate in Los Angeles, Mister Gores and his wife Holly also own a substantial amount of property in Michigan. Property records we peeped indicate they own at least one condo and at least two modestly sized single-family houses in Grosse Ile , MI, an upscale island community south of Detroit, as well as two side-by side river front residences on about 1.75 acres, both with private docks, one with swimming pool and pool house, and the other with a full-sized soccer pitch in the back yard. Now then, it’s late and we’re hungry so we can’t be bothered to come up with a smart and pithy close to this tale other than to suggest (and perhaps even predict) that he have not heard the last of Mister Gores real estate machinations and not by far. He is, after all, relatively young, filthy rich and has exhibited over the last number of years a growing susceptibility to a screaming and relentless case of The Real Estate Fickle. all listing photos: Hilton & Hyland Read more: Real Estate Run Down: Tom Gores
Rookie Quits Over Jail’s Rampant Inmate Abuse: Report
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s rookie who graduated at the top of his recruit class resigned after only a few weeks on the job, alleging that a supervisor made him beat up a mentally ill jail inmate, according to interviews and law enforcement records. The deputy, Joshua Sather, said that shortly before the inmate’s beating his supervisor said, Read more: Rookie Quits Over Jail’s Rampant Inmate Abuse: Report
‘At The End Of The Day, God Knows My Heart’
Story comes courtesy of California Watch By Will Evans The way Downey resident Lauren Baumann tells it, she was putting on Christian rock concerts at a mini-golf fun park and renting a $10,000-a-month historic mansion in order to serve God. And also to pay off a $2.9 million judgment from a 1990s fraud conviction in Texas. To federal prosecutors, it was just another Ponzi scheme. Baumann, 43, pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud, admitting that she lured more than two dozen people in Orange and Los Angeles counties to invest in Christian “battle of the bands” contests and real estate deals with false promises. She raised nearly $1 million, and in the end, her investors lost $560,000. “I am really just hoping there will just be a way to repay everybody,” Baumann said. “At the end of the day, God knows my heart. I felt this was what I had to do, is own what I did wrong.” It’s a familiar position for Baumann. She pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 1999. At the time, prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission accused her of running a multimillion-dollar pyramid scheme featuring high-profit, low-risk mortgage investments that didn’t actually exist. Bauman served three years in prison. She said she was unfairly blamed for some of it, but admits: “I clearly made mistakes. I was not prudent. There was money from people to pay other people off.” She said it wasn’t intentional. “It’s made out to be, ‘Oh, she sat down and put together this premeditated scheme.’ But, you know, things happen sometimes,” she said, comparing what she did with President Barack Obama raising the debt ceiling. Out of prison, Baumann headed back to her native California and tried to make money in the loan modification business. She said her biggest concern was how to repay her $2.9 million judgment. She was sued a few times, and the government tried to garnishe her wages. At one point, an investor found an old article online about her Texas problems and extravagant lifestyle, complete with breast implants, luxury cars and a lavish party with live cheetahs. D Magazine in Dallas ran an update in 2008 that made it seem like Baumann was at the end of her run. But she kept going. With the idea that she could host religious events, Baumann rented the Rives Mansion, a grandiose 1911 historic landmark in Downey, for about $10,000 per month. She moved in with her three children. “I am a believer that if you invest in the kingdom … if you put your time and talents in God’s work, to raise up Christian leaders, you’ll be prosperous,” she said. Baumann, who also claims she is descended from one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, said it’s in her blood to “raise up future leaders of my country.” At one point, she hosted the contestants of the Miss Downey Pageant for a mansion sleepover with movies, goodie bags and a massage therapist. “Lauren is a lady who is full of passion,” said Gary DeRemer, who runs the beauty contest. “She must have big ideas and not enough money.” Baumann didn’t try to hide from her past. “She said she had some jail time. She said, ‘You could Google my name and find out,’ ” DeRemer said. “She was a very compassionate person, a very loving person, so I overlooked that.” Baumann’s loan modification business was hurting from a state law, intended to block fraud, prohibiting advance fees. She said she started to borrow money. She thought she could make it back, she said, from the Christian rock shows. Baumann kept losing money, so she borrowed more, she said. She admitted in her plea agreement that she used investors’ money to pay back previous investors, as well as for the mansion rent, car payments and private school for her children. Baumann had become active in a local church called Desert Reign Assembly of God. She told people she had past trouble in Texas but won friends quickly, said pastor Don Metcalf. “Lauren’s got this persona of being a good, godly person, and she’s very convincing,” he said. “She makes it look like she’s very successful at things.” Metcalf said he learned later that Baumann was drawing in members of the congregation as investors, including a widow who ended up losing the life insurance money from her husband’s death. “She used the church to gain access to people,” Metcalf said. “There’s been a lot of people hurt.” At some point last year, Baumann said, she couldn’t make it work anymore. “I just needed to shut it down,” she said. “I didn’t want to – it just broke my heart.” Baumann moved into a small rental house. Earlier this year, she said, two “very, very nice” FBI agents knocked on her door, looking like movie stars. “I just told them,” she said. “I shared my heart and I shared what happened start to finish.” Baumann is now waiting for a sentencing hearing in December. “I’m basically taking whatever time God determines I have to continue investing my time and my talents into the kingdom,” she said. “I’m still believing there’s going to be prosperity.” Will Evans is an investigative reporter for California Watch focusing on money and politics. Find more California Watch stories here . See more here: ‘At The End Of The Day, God Knows My Heart’
Vernon Duckett – Peace of Mind for the Long Term
When Vernon Duckett first heard of long-term care insurance from his wife, Helen, he wasn’t enthusiastic, but his wife talked him into it. Years later when Helen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Vernon was thankful they had purchased the coverage. Helen’s policy paid for the best possible care until her death at age 82 and has preserved Vernon’s financial independence.
