“It’s time.” Spurning an elongated farewell, Steve Rose succinctly announced the why and the when of his impending retirement as president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday morning at a Board of Directors meeting. Since at least the turn of the century when he was elected to his first term on the City Council, Mr. Rose has been … Read More

Sitting down one warm, sunny morning with warm and sunny James Forte is akin to inviting a clarinetist into your home. Except he turns out to be a sprawling, beautifully harmonious symphony orchestra. Born to reshape history, Mr. Forte was the first black police officer and later the first black firefighter in previously single shaded Culver City. On Sunday afternoon … Read More

Second in a series   Re “Meet the ‘Leader,’ the Captain of the City Council” A formerly prominent political observer at City Hall paused, exhaled and said that “this must be a frustrating time” for City Council members. “I am tempted to say there is a lack of leadership on the Council,” she said. “But that isn’t quite accurate or … Read More

There he was, the smiling superintendent of the School District. Dr. Josh Arnold. Father of two. Husband of one. Leader of 6,000-plus students in Culver City. He may not have been Alexander the Great – who died at 33. But he was conquering Culver City worlds that his predecessors had not been able to defeat. Since the last century, District … Read More

Last night, for the third consecutive Congressional race since President Trump took office five months ago, desperate Democrats failed to win a seat they were 100 percent positive they would win.   First Kansas, then Montana and last night Georgia. Runny eggs were dripping from the sad faces on CNN as liberals groped for an explanation or an excuse. For … Read More

First of a series   This is not your father’s City Council.   One reason is the unofficial leader of the Council does not resemble your father. Meghan Sahli-Wells is inarguably charmingly feminine, inarguably smart and astute. She also is: Assertive. Informed. Articulate. Committed so deeply to her causes that no one ever has espied the bottom of her political … Read More

On the one-week anniversary of the School Board’s surprise uncoupling of Supt. Josh Arnold after his first year in Culver City, the original impression remains: Although insiders say they anticipated the change, the community was caught off-guard. In March, Sue Robins stepped down as School Board president to move to Maine with her family. When polled for a reaction in … Read More

Re “New Bond Measures Possible, CBAC Says”   Reporting on the final interview Supt. Josh Arnold gave last Tuesday, six scant hours before the School Board gave him the axe, carries a whiff of sweeping up infragrant ashes following a huge fire. His responses were wash-day clean. They packed the pleasant aroma of well-pondered, freshly laundered frankness, just like the … Read More

Were the last two superintendents of the School District – both charismatic personalities – as alike as they seemed or more different than they publicly seemed to be? A onetime District employee assessed Dave LaRose and the just terminated Dr. Josh Arnold in perhaps surprising ways. “Dave LaRose was reserved, and he liked to talk about himself,” the person said. … Read More

Undeniably, the most fulfilled woman in Culver City, yesterday, today and a bushel of tomorrows is Leslie Lockhart, freshly promoted from assistant superintendent to the newly created title of interim superintendent. A 19-year veteran of the School District she rang bells of unbridled excitement before dashing home to celebrate with her family: Daughter Kennedy, 20, home from the University of … Read More