briefs • BHUSD’s Christiansen’s con- rudy cole • We Give sports • BHHS Football Team Wins tractor’s license expired in 2005 Page 3 You The Next President Page 6 Third Consecutive Game Page 12 ALSO ON THE WEB Beverly Hills www.bhweekly.com WeeklySERVING BEVERLY HILLS • BEVERLYWOOD • LOS ANGELES Issue 472 • October 16 - October 22, 2008 TThehe WorldWorld AccordingAccording ToTo SamSam EntrepreneurEntrepreneur SamSam NazarianNazarian talkstalks aboutabout growinggrowing upup inin BeverlyBeverly HillsHills asas hehe preparesprepares toto emceeemcee BHAAA’sBHAAA’s upcomingupcoming HallHall ofof FameFame dinnerdinner cover story • page 8-9 city • Measure E’s donations have come briefs • Board wrestles over send- rudy cole • Just What financing for the Waldorf Astoria hotel pro- internally assign an Asst. Supt to attend from financially invested firms Page 3 ing lawyers to city meetings Page 5 You Wanted, More Hilton Page 6 ALSO ON THE WEB posal without the condominiums. these meetings and report back to Beverly Hills www.bhweekly.com With what is happening with the econo- BHUSD? letters my a lot of proposals that seemed ‘do-able’ I am even more APPALLED at this mis- WeeklySERVING BEVERLY HILLS • BEVERLYWOOD • LOS ANGELES last month are no longer so exciting… use of my tax dollar since, at my son’s 10th Issue 471 • October 9 - October 15, 2008 Grade Open House at BHHS on Oct. 2, How will Beverly Hills & Herbert L. Wallerstein 2008, I was informed that 10th Grade IAT( be impacted by the email Beverly Hills Trigonometry), Biology and Spanish 3/4 unsteady economy? classrooms each lack sufficient number of “Just what you wanted, more Hilton” Just a for-your-information to the editor textbooks for our STUDENTS!!! Our OUR [Issue #471] of the Weekly. Your contributing wonderful District and School Board has 9th Anniversary I want to commend the Weekly as writer Rudy Cole has submitted the same funds to WASTE on Outside legal counsel strongly as possible for publication of let- column for the last several months while our kids still do not have enough ters explaining why the present Hilton now. Perhaps you might publish one of his textbooks in October of this school year!! redevelopment proposal is wrong. The pieces from years back to freshen At least our local legal professionals will detailed explanation from former your pages. Oh, wait a minute. Those were be able to generate sufficient Weekly, Chairperson of the City Planning similar too, only the hotel name Monthly and Quarterly billable hours to cover story • page 9 Commission Stacy Marks which you pub- was different. Earn that end of year bonus which will be lished last week should be read by each and calculated by our district law firms in the WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND? every Beverly Hills voter. Richard Baker coming weeks while our own kids do not The weekly column by your contributing Beverly Hills have enough books!! At least the You can write us at: editor promoting the present Hilton pro- lawyers will be able to pay that private 140 South Beverly Drive #201 posal is very painful to read each week. “All but one of Measure E’s donation school tuition for their kids in January Beverly Hills, CA 90212 This week he wrote, “We just need to be have come from firms financially invest- 2009!! I am sure The BHUSD is reim- You can fax us at: smart about growth… and be realistic on ed in its passage” [Issue # 471] bursing the lawyers for mileage, travel 310.887.0789 how important the 12 to 16 million tax dol- Thank you for the reports in [Issue 471] time, perhaps a meal or networking cock- lars the Hilton project provides to the identifying the corporate supporters of tail after the meeting, as well as time to email us at: City…” I don’t think even the developer, Measure E as well as the story detailing dictate and revise the meeting report [email protected] who isn’t bashful, has mentioned $16 mil- BHUSD use of taxpayer dollars to under- delivered to BHUSD. It is so important to lion. write FULL Employment For Legal maximize those “billable events” in a law A Hilton Hotel plus Waldorf Astoria Professionals fortunate to be connected Firm in these recessionary times!! Hotel, if the developer so decides, will gen- with BHUSD!! erate all the tax dollars that would be avail- It is APPALLING that BHUSD with, at I know why I AM VOTING NO ON able. The demand for City services from my last count, 9 Asst. Superintendents, MEASURE E!!! DO YOU WONDER the proposed condominiums cancels any spends taxpayer dollars hiring outside WHERE THE $ COMES FROM TO PAY benefit to the city of the condominiums! It legal Counsel to monitor local commis- FOR THOSE ANNOYING MAILERS TO is not in the best interest of the city to sion meetings which may or may not affect SUPPORT E? DO YOU WANT TO GIVE approve the high rise condominiums just our schools. Are the BHUSD employees SNAPSHOT because the developer says he can’t get so lazy and/or incompetent that they cannot letters cont. on page 7 WeeklyBeverly Hills Issue 472 • October 16 - October 22, 2008 Beverly Hills Weekly Inc. Founded: October 7, 1999 Published Thursdays Delivered in Beverly HilIs, Beverlywood, Los Angeles ISSN#1528-851X www.bhweekly.com 1 year Publisher & CEO Josh E. Gross subscriptions Reporter are available. Jacquelyn Ryan Sent via US Mail $75 payable in Sports Editor Steven Herbert advance Contributing Editor Rudy Cole Adjudicated as a newspaper of general Advertising Representatives circulation for the County Nicole Shamtoob of Los Angeles. Case # Nicole Sakhai BS065841 of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Legal Advertising on November 30, 2000. Michael Saghian 140 South Beverly Drive #201 Beverly Hills, CA 90212 310.887.0788 phone 310.887.0789 fax CNPA Member [email protected] All staff can be reached at: first name @bhweekly.com Unsolicited materials will not be returned. LEAGUE OF OUR OWN ©2008 Beverly Hills Weekly Inc. NORTH REXFORD DRIVE The Beverly Hills City Council on Tuesday recognized Beverly Hills’ All-Star Little League teams. The Little League girls’ and boys’ teams from ages 9 to 12 all received certificates from Mayor Barry Brucker. Pictured: Little League All-Star team for 10- to11-year-old boys. Front row (l-r): Stevie Dunn, Trevor Bergher, Sean McAllister and Max Stahl. Back row (l-r): Manager Steve Dunn, Alec Palchikoff, Vice Mayor Frank Fenton and Mayor Barry Brucker Page 2 • Beverly Hills Weekly language. This service will also encompass seeking out, fling [sic] applications for sup- Wedding Bells plemental funding sources. Beverly High grads Sharon Neman “Project management is defined as the (class of ‘00) and David Akhtarzad (’95) briefs oversight and strategic development of indi- were married at the St. Regis Monarch BHUSD’s Christiansen’s contractor’s vidual project. [sic] Including design devel- Beach on Dana Point on Oct. 4th. license expired in 2005 opment oversight, project budgeting, bid- The couple is currently honeymooning The BHUSD’s facilities manager Karen ding, construction oversight and project in Asia and will reside in Beverly Hills Christiansen, who will oversee the $334 mil- closeout through various agencies. It will when they return. lion school bond if passed Nov. 4, no longer also included [sic] oversight of any addition- Neman, who graduated from USC’s holds a valid California general contractor’s al funding sources in accordance with appli- Marshall School of Business in 2004, is license. According to documents obtained by cable regulation.” working for Blackhawk Capital Partners, the Weekly, Christiansen’s license expired in If the $334 million general obligation bond a real estate investment banking compa- December 2005, about a year after she was (Measure E) is passed in November, ny. Akhtarzad, who graduated with an hired by the District. Christiansen’s company Strategic Concepts, MBA from Pepperdine University in According to the California Contractors LLC, which oversaw the majority of 2002’s 2006, is a real estate developer focusing Licensing Board, Christiansen’s general con- Measure K school bond, will receive 2 per- on West Hollywood developments. tractor’s license was issued to Facility cent of the overall bond project budgets and Proud parents Shapar & Joseph Program Resources in El Dorado Hills, Calif. 4.5 percent of the construction value of each Akhtarzad and Shahnaz & Nourollah in 2003. It expired in 2005. bond project. The company would also Neman also live in Beverly Hills. The first record of her license is for K2K receive the equivalent of three months of Inc., from 1999 to 2003 also in El Dorado payment in the event of early contract termi- Hills. nation. The job description for the facilities man- Christiansen declined to comment for this story. ager position at BHUSD does not require a Sylmar. tion,” said Scranton. “It’s a proactive effort” general contractor’s license. A survey of BHFD pitches in to stop Valley blaze The Beverly Hills Fire Department has against a “red-flag warning.” facilities manager job descriptions for other lent its services to other cities or counties in BHFD has posted no parking signs in the California public school districts showed that Seven members of the Beverly Hills Fire Department were dispatched to help battle need eight times this year via California’s hills on the north side of the city to ensure a general contractor’s license, while helpful, Master Mutual Aid program that keeps emer- fire engines — which dispatch in pairs in the is not necessarily a requirement. the Marek fire at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning, according to Fire Department Chief Tim gency service departments across the state dry season — could navigate the streets According to Christiansen’s contract on-call in case of crisis, Scranton said.