BHUSD Board Swears in New Leadership
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
BEVERLYPRESS.COM INSIDE • Shooting on Melrose pg. 4 Sunny, with • Feuer takes highs in the action on illegal 60s nightclub pg. 7 Volume 30 No. 51 Serving the Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hancock Park and Wilshire Communities December 17, 2020 BHUSD board swears West Hollywood questions Kuehl n Council, business in new leadership community criticizes supervisor over n Three members begin new terms outdoor dining ban BY LAURA COLEMAN success as the COVID-19 pandem- BY CAMERON KISZLA ic continues and once a safe return Rachelle Marcus was installed as to in-classroom instruction The West Hollywood City president of the Beverly Hills resumes, Marcus cited several Council and West Hollywood Unified Board of Education on issues the board will deal with Chamber of Commerce made Dec. 15 with Tristen Walker- including the budget, community clear their displeasure with Los Shuman installed as the new vice relations and Los Angeles Unified Angeles County Supervisor Sheila president. School District’s recent claim to Kuehl, 3rd District, during the “I know we’ve got a sensational own major portions of the land on Dec. 7 council meeting. board and we’re going to do great which Beverly Hills High School is During a discussion regarding things and I’m very positive about built. the city’s COVID-19 relief efforts our future,” said Marcus, who Marcus highlighted the district’s and the pandemic’s impact on the retired from BHUSD in 2013 after mission statement – “To inspire and local business community, photo by Jon Viscott/courtesy of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce 50 years of teaching. “We are in the enable each student to achieve aca- Fernando Morales, district direc- Local chambers of commerce and business groups marched on education business and our most demic excellence and meet the tor for Kuehl’s West/Metro Los Dec. 12 to push for businesses to reopen safely. important job is to prepare our stu- goals of college and career readi- Angeles office, provided an dents for the future.” ness” – as foundational to achieving update from the county and “For now, all I’ve heard is ‘stay icized the timing of the outdoor She emphasized the importance success in the future. answered questions. home and we’ve got you,’ but I dining ban, which came after busi- of working collaboratively as a “With the support of the parents, Multiple council members don’t feel like you have us, at all nesses made investments to pro- board to facilitate student success, the students, the administrators and expressed to Morales their dis- … People are looking for leader- tect their customers and employ- particularly as students return to the community, I believe we can pleasure with Kuehl, who voted in ship from Sheila and others and ees. She also asked about the tim- school campuses. meet these challenges and many favor of restricting outdoor dining are not seeing it. I lived through ing of the county’s COVID-19 “I recognize that the structure of more,” she said. last month. That order was over- the AIDS epidemic. We know safety compliance certificate pro- our education foundation has been Councilwoman Lili Bosse, who turned by a Los Angeles Superior what lack of leadership from the gram, which shows which busi- tested,” Marcus said. administered the oath of office to Court judge, though the state’s county looks like, and it looks a nesses have been trained and have In addition to ensuring that the Marcus, highlighted how the stay-at-home order still prohibits lot like this,” Councilman John agreed to follow the Los Angeles district’s students are given the restaurants from offering indoor D’Amico said. opportunity to achieve academic See BHUSD page 27 or outdoor dine-in service. Councilwoman Sepi Shyne crit- See WeHo page 27 TV City connects Fairfax students with mentors Raman sworn into n Teens discuss big ideas with tech, television titans office, outlines plans BY CAMERON KISZLA n Ridley-Thomas calls On a recent Monday afternoon, homelessness ‘moral representatives from tech compa- crisis of our time’ nies including Facebook and enter- tainment companies Sony Pictures, BY EDWIN FOLVEN Netflix, Television City and its owner, Hackman Capital Partners, Councilwoman Nithya Raman, gathered for a Zoom call. 4th District, was sworn in on The businesspeople and execu- Dec. 15 in a virtual ceremony led tives were not there to talk about the by City Clerk Holly Wolcott in future of television and movies, and which all council members of their conversation never touched on even-numbered districts took the box office numbers and Nielsen rat- oath of office. ings. Raman was joined by the win- Instead, they were taking turns photo courtesy of Good City Mentors ning incumbents in the Nov. 3 providing answers to “What is Allyssa Bross Larrabee and Brian Larrabee founded Good City Mentors. election and the other newcomer love?” and “Why do we find it so – Councilman Mark Ridley hard to love at times?” and dis- Television City contributed Platform, said Television City con- Thomas, 10th District. Raman cussing the topic with students from $50,000 to get the leadership pro- nected with Good City Mentors and Ridley-Thomas then partici- photo courtesy of the 4th District office Fairfax High School as part of the gram up and running at Fairfax through Los Angeles Unified pated in their first council meet- Councilwoman Nithya Raman Mentor LA initiative from Good High School in September. So far, School District Board of Education ing, which happened to be the posed with her family in City City Mentors. 39 mentors have spent a combined member Nick Melvoin, 4th District, last of the year before a City Council Chambers. Good City Mentors partnered 336 hours with 56 Fairfax students, who is friends with Brian Larrabee, Council recess until Jan. 12. with Fairfax High School through and on average, 34 students attend Good City Mentors co-founder and Raman outlined her work ness that will be further consid- Television City’s Changing Lenses each week for program-wide talks executive director. addressing homelessness and ered at a future council meeting, initiative, a $2 million pledge to and smaller breakout groups. “[Larrabee] is such a positive, said she hopes to continue including one to shift the focus of invest in the adjacent Fairfax Zach Sokoloff, a vice president infectious person … We pursued progress on the issue on the City how the Los Angeles Homeless District after the civil unrest of this with Hackman Capital Partners pri- Council. She introduced two past summer. For Mentor LA, marily focused on the Studio See Mentors page 26 motions pertaining to homeless- See Raman page 26 2 December 17, 2020 Park Labrea News/Beverly Press CALENDAR al catastrophe. Other films featured us02web.zoom.us/j/89527417340?pw Beverly Hills during the coming week include the d=RmswdFUxVElHN2xhVVlhOUlQ sci-fi/action movie “Breach” and the Y0gvZz09&fbclid=IwAR2ALmGQ6 Chamber romance/comedy “Sister of the 5kcTd9_KzFAFN5liXUfWlQdSbn4n Join the Beverly Hills Chamber of Groom.” The fist showtime is 4:55 hXPXwCrlitxqelkixqELUE#success. Commerce for its “Ugly Sweaters, p.m. Admission is $40 per vehicle. Beautiful People” holiday mixer on 1625 N. Las Palmas Blvd. are- Thursday, Dec. 17, from 4 to 5:30 nascreen.com. p.m., via Zoom. Dust off your ugly Fountain Theatre sweater, order supplies and get ready Settle in with your favorite beverage for some fun. The program starts with on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 5 p.m., a quick class in mixology to create a Latin student when the Fountain Theatre con- special holiday cocktail, followed by cludes its 2020 monthly Saturday a healthy holiday appetizer demon- film festival Matinee series with an Old stration. There will also be plenty of Latin American Cinemateca of Los Hollywood-themed holiday party holiday music and mixing. Prizes will Angeles presents the 13th annual with games and online play reading. LACLA Student Film Festival on photo courtesy of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center be presented to the top three ugly Actress Karen Friday, Dec. 18. LACLA is being Kondazian, a Cedars-Sinai received the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for health sweaters. Admission is $10 for mem- bers; $20 guests. members.beverly- held for the first time in a virtual for- lifetime member care workers on Dec. 15. hillschamber.com. mat and is free. As a means of encour- of the Actors aging and celebrating student film Studio and Los making, the festival will feature short Angeles Drama films created by youth from various Critics Circle ‘Storage Run’ media arts programs and middle and Have fun with “Storage Run,” a new, Award-winner, high schools in the greater Los First COVID-19 vaccines arrive interactive holiday experience from will portray Angeles area. The festival received Rogue Artists Hollywood legend Bette Davis in over 200 film submissions and the Ensemble. Part “Interviewing Miss Davis,” by works of 10 finalists will be show- one of the adven- Laura Maria Censabella. Inspired by at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center cased. Winners will be selected for ture will be avail- a true event in Censabella’s life, the Best Film, Most Creative and Best After the Food and Drug tion and illness,” said Dr. Jeff Smith, able on Friday, one-act play is set in 1985 as Davis Social Impact project. lacla.org. Administration approved the first chief operating officer of Cedars- Dec. 18, at 7 interviews a new personal assistant vaccine for COVID-19 on Dec. 11, Sinai. “Until [now], the vaccine was p.m.; part two (Wonjung Kim) upon learning that Cedars-Sinai Medical Center the missing tool in our ever-growing will release on her current, beloved assistant and received the first vaccines for front- toolkit of treatments and prevention Friday, Dec.