Auction Digs up Rare Fossilized Saber-Toothed Cat Skull
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BEVERLYPRESS.COM INSIDE • AFI highlights film history at Partly cloudy, Greystone pg. 3 with highs in • Federal charges the 70s for Ed Buck pg. 4 Volume 29 No. 39 Serving the Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hancock Park and Wilshire Communities September 26, 2019 WeHo votes to connect ‘HAWK’ signal makes crossing safer bike lanes to Beverly Hills n Pedestrian-activated n Lanterns coming to Santa Monica Boulevard crosswalk on Sixth Street better connects BY CAMERON KISZLA LACMA, Park La Brea The West Hollywood City Council approved two improvements to Santa BY EDWIN FOLVEN Monica Boulevard on Sept. 23. In a pair of 4-0 votes, the council Los Angeles City Councilman elected to move forward with David Ryu, 4th District, joined installing bike lanes between officials from the Department of Doheny and Almont drives and with Transportation Wednesday morn- installing overhead decorative ing to dedicate a new pedestrian- lanterns between Robertson activated traffic signal and cross- Boulevard and Hancock Avenue. walk on Sixth Street at Spaulding Councilman John Duran was absent. Avenue. The new 600-foot-long bike lanes The new signal and crosswalk will connect West Hollywood’s exist- will make it safer to cross between ing bike lanes on Santa Monica Hancock Park, which surrounds Boulevard to those in Beverly Hills. photo by Edwin Folven the Los Angeles County Museum Los Angeles City Councilman David Ryu and city and county repre- “We advocated for our neighbors of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits and sentatives discussed the new crosswalk and signal on Sixth Street. in Beverly Hills to install their Museum, and a sidewalk running lanes,” Mayor Pro Tempore along the south side of Park La Lindsey Horvath said. “I know they Brea. LADOT General Manager activate the signal. Once that can proceed through the cross- went through a whole process. The Seleta Reynolds said it uses the occurs, the light turns yellow and walk. least we can do is connect that last most cutting-edge signal technolo- then solid red, requiring traffic to Ryu praised the signal and piece from our city to theirs.” gy to ensure safety. stop. After a solid red phase, the crosswalk as the latest safety mea- City staff proposed four methods Known as a high-intensity acti- light begins flashing red and a sure for the local area and a model of creating the space necessary for vated crosswalk beacon, or countdown timer for pedestrians for the rest of the city. bike lanes on both sides of the HAWK for short, the signal has begins to show how much time is “There have been far too many street: narrowing the median that photo by Cameron Kiszla multiple phases. It remains dark left to cross. If the pedestrian has accidents on this stretch of Sixth divides traffic, eliminating street New bike lanes will be installed on so motorists can pass by until a finished crossing and the red Street, which connects residential Santa Monica Boulevard. pedestrian pushes a button to lights are still flashing, motorists See WeHo page 30 See Police page 29 Auction digs up rare fossilized Temple is a refuge for all n Beth Chayim mined to make history on its own. Chadashim founded The group was comprised of saber-toothed cat skull as nation’s first LGBT gay Jews who had struggled to find a house of worship that n Specimen was found Jewish temple would accept them. They initial- at Wilshire Boulevard BY EDWIN FOLVEN ly joined the Metropolitan Community Church, a Christian construction site in 1955 Three years after the 1969 institution in Los Angeles that Stonewall Riots in New York was the first in the nation to BY EDWIN FOLVEN City became a catalyst for the accept gays and lesbians, but as LGBT rights movement and Jews, the Christian church didn’t A fossilized saber-toothed cat sparked a decades-long struggle serve their religious needs. Like skull that was found decades ago in for equality, a small group of See Congregation page 29 debris from a construction site on Jews in Los Angeles was deter- Wilshire Boulevard is scheduled to be sold on Sept. 28 by Heritage Auctions in Dallas. The fossil, which has a minimum bid of $690,000 and could sell for more than $1 million, is considered one of the best examples of a saber- toothed cat skull in existence. It has been in the private collection of Los Angeles resident Arnold Newman since the 1970s and has never photo courtesy of Heritage Auctions before been offered for sale at auc- A rare fossilized saber-toothed cat skull will be sold at auction on Sept. 28. tion. While sales of such fossils are Museums of Los Angeles County, a saber-toothed cat that he previ- generally opposed by scientists and which oversees the La Brea Tar Pits ously sold, were not from the muse- museum authorities who believe and Museum where similar fossils um’s collection and therefore not they should be in public collections, are housed. Newman possesses a stolen or missing. The letter by the pending sale has generated letter from 1980 from a museum William A. Akersten, then-curator photo courtesy of Rabbi Jonathan Klein interest but not controversy with official who determined the fos- Beth Chayim Chadashim hosts a lively Rosh Hashanah ceremony dur- authorities at the Natural History silized skull, and another skull from See Fossil page 30 ing High Holy Days observances, which will be held at Temple Isaiah. 2 September 26, 2019 CALENDAR Park Labrea News/Beverly Press Beverly Hills Library’s Central Library, downtown. enced generations of artists. Butler The free bilingual book festival for organized the artist’s retrospective run- Chamber families invites people to read, dream ning Sept. 29 through Jan. 5 at the and celebrate in two languages. It will museum. 10899 Wilshire Blvd. Join the Beverly Hills Chamber of include workshops, musical perfor- (310)443-7000, hammer.ucla.edu. Commerce for an installment of its mances and storytelling with local and Future Member Lunch and Learn series international authors. 630 W. Fifth St. on Thursday, Sept. 26, from noon to (213)228-7000, lapl.org. Sundays Live 1:30 p.m. in the chamber’s board room. The meeting is open to future chamber music series members and existing members who LA Philharmonic Music lovers are invited to a perfor- bring a prospective new member with Conductor Enluis Montes Olivar leads mance by Marcia Dickstein, the them. Admission is free; registration is the L.A. Philharmonic in a performance Debussy Trio and Friends on Sunday, required. 9400 S. Santa Monica Blvd., titled “Copland’s America” on Sept. 29, from 6 to 7 p.m. at St. James’ 2nd Floor. (310)248-1000 ext. 157, Saturday, Sept. 28, in-the-City. The performance is part of beverlyhillschamber.com. at 11 a.m. in the the Los Angeles County Museum of Walt Disney Art’s Sundays Live series, which will Concert Hall. be held at St. James in-the-City (St. ‘Once Upon a Time Audiences will James Episcopal Church). Dickstein, learn about com- founder and artistic director of the at Sunset Plaza’ poser Aaron Debussy Trio, has been enticing new Enjoy “Once Upon a Time at Sunset Copland’s extraor- audiences to harp for many years and Plaza,” an event celebrating Sunset dinary musical inspiring composers to write new Plaza in West Hollywood, on vision and how it became a quintessen- works for the harp in the classical and Thursday, Sept. 26, from noon to 7 tial symbol of America by hearing jazz genres. She will be joined by vio- p.m. at Alley on Sunset. A special trib- examples of some of his most popular list David Walther and flutist Angela ute to designer Holly Harp will be held. music, some selections featuring Weigand. Admission is free. 3903 8647 Sunset Blvd. (310)652-6844, dancers. Tickets start at $23. 111 S. Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org. alleyonsunset.com. Grand Ave. laphil.com photo by Ed Kreiger Shaw Purnell, Leah Zhang and Abby Eiland star in Cailin Harrison’s play Art of Nayland ‘Golden Age “Last Swallows” running from Saturday, Sept. 21, through Sunday, Oct. ‘Batman Day 20, at the Other Space @The Actors Company in West Hollywood. The Blake of Radio’ cast also includes Matthew Downs, Ty Mayberry, Leilani Smith, Bob Cruise-in’ Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Members of SAG-AFTRA present the Telford and Tina Van Berckelaer. The play that illustrates how even fam- Fans of the Caped Crusader are invited Angeles presents “No Wrong Holes: “Golden Age of Radio,” recreating per- ilies who love each other can be amazingly dysfunctional. Elizabeth is to the “Batman Day and Lamborghini Thirty Years of Nayland Blake,” an formances from original radio scripts convinced her husband Robert will die soon, and she’s determined to Cruise-in” on Sunday, Sept. 29, from 8 exhibit running from Sunday, Sept. 29, with sound effects and original adver- to 11 a.m. Level Four of the Petersen through Sunday, Jan. 26. For over 30 get the whole family together for a final holiday. Of course, all three tisements, on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 3 Automotive Museum’s parking struc- years, artist, educator and curator Blake and 7 p.m. at the Autry Museum of the grown children and their spouses have their own lives, agendas and ture. Celebrate the 80th anniversary of has been a critical figure in American American West. Crossroads West Cafe emergencies, but a few obstacles won’t stop Elizabeth. Showtimes are “Batman” and view vehicles from the art, working between sculpture, draw- will serve a limited menu from 6 to 7 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m., Sunday.