Turning Point Prefers Low Profile

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

     The private school Turning Point, the educational home of the teacher who was killed by a seeming runaway car on Wednesday, lives the lifestyle of most residents and businesses in the Hayden Tract. 

     Secluded. Low profile. Elegantly understated.
     Behind fencing and dense shrubbery.

 

 

 

 

African American Museum Plans

Ari L. NoonanA&E

     The educator/artist Avery Clayton will discuss his plans for an African American museum, honoring his mother, Mayme A. Clayton, in a Saturday afternoon program sponsored by Friends of the Library at the Julian Dixon Library.
     The free event starts at 3 p.m.
     Mr. Clayton will talk about the large collection of rare, historically significant books, documents, films, music and memorabilia that his mother has amassed.
     The library is at 4975 Overland Ave. 310.559.1676 or www.ccfol.org http://www.ccfol.org.

On Way Out, Vera Endorses O’Leary

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

     In the semi-final act of his nearly completed political career, the often unpredictable Mayor Albert Vera yesterday endorsed the youngest of the City  Council candidates, Mehaul O’Leary.
     Pointedly — and playfully — passing over the other two contenders, his Vice Mayor, Gary Silbiger, and the Planning Commissioner Scott Malsin, the mayor was being formful to the end.
     Never one to worry about placing his shoe atop the foot of another, he boldly predicted that Mr. Silbiger and Mr. O’Leary will lead the field on Election Day, Tuesday, April 11.      
If the mayor throws himself into the campaign by aggressively seeking to convince longtime Vera loyalists to vote for Mr. O’Leary, there could be a payoff for the new kid.
     If he doesn’t, the value of the endorsement probably would plummet.

Endorsements — How Valuable Are They?

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

       Paul Jacobs, the last of Culver City’s four-term City Councilmen, paused at the lunch hour yesterday to appraise the merits of political endorsements in this town.
       Will they help elect Scott Malsin or Mehaul O’Leary or Vice Mayor Gary Silbiger to gain the two available seats on the City Council on Tuesday, April 11?
       “It is a wonderful question,” Mr. Jacobs, an attorney, said. “It’s probably been asked for decades, even centuries.”
       The answer, he concluded, is both yes and  no.
       The fluidity of the nature of politics reduces certitude. Predictions are no more than projections, hardly guarantees.

Vera vs. the Treasurer — But Why?

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

     At the arrestingly weird conclusion of Monday night’s City Council meeting, a maddening question hung over Council Chambers with all the subtlety of an elephant turned upside down:
     Why did he do it?
     Questions outnumbered answers.
     Even by the standards of a City Council where the bizarre passes for the near-normal, this was mysterious, peculiar and typically unorthodox.
     Entering the final month of his political career, Mayor Albert Vera attempted, virtually single-handedly, to chop off a major function of the City Treasurer’s office.

Smokers Were Sad as the Ban Played on

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

       Increasingly marginalized and vilified, the cigarette smokers of Culver City could have derived only one thin consolation from Monday night’s City Council meeting.
       They had just enough time to puff through a half pack of cigarettes while a cleverly coached army of professional protestors assembled to convince a sympathetic City Council to impose a smoking on all city parks.
       Possibly to celebrate the third anniversary of non-smokers who are participating in the Iraqi War, the Network of Nicotine Nudges invaded Culver City the night before last without a shot being fired.
       It was the quickest white-flag surrender in the history of modern warfare.

The Day That Teachers Struck Out

Ari L. NoonanSports

      Don’t you love it when unionists get what they asked for and still slink away in a petulant pout?
      For at least five years, I have been hearing the Teachers Union bleat that the School District doesn’t love them anymore.
      The most frequently repeated jibe is the following:
      Their talents are even less appreciated than those of the CEOs of Dell Computers,  Microsoft and General Electric.
As surely as if they had stood on the balcony of a tall building and emptied their wallets over the side, members of the Teachers Union shot another hole in their credibility last week.

5 Months Later — Are Mobile Homers Better Off?

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

       Five months to the week after the Redevelopment Agency arguably clouded the future of the twenty-three mobile home owners at 4071 Grandview Blvd., whom do you believe?
       Tom Mullins and his friend/neighbor Ms. Betty?
Although they hail from separate generations and contrasting lifestyles, they ardently believe their homes are as firmly rooted to the soil as any giant tree along their changing boulevard.

Or do you believe a gray-haired lady who knows the park better than she knows her family. Doesn’t like them any better, just knows their character better, and she isn’t smiling.
       Spotting a visitor she has not seen since last year, she vigorously waves for him to step inside, out of the sunshine. Offering a cup of tea with a stream of steam, she wants to tell him that the little community has slipped down the hill since the Redevelopment Agency’s three to two vote.

The Pedophile Threat — A Red Herring?

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

       City Councilman Steve Rose said yesterday that if the spectre of the threat of pedophiles —  raised during the recent heated Skateboard Park discussions — is true, “then no park in Culver City is safe.
“If the threat of child predators is truly an issue, no children’s play area is safe. But I don’t believe that is the case.”
     The Councilman is convinced “it was just a red herring” that became entered the debate less than two weeks before the skateboard location was determined.
     “I want to make clear,” he said, “that I don’t believe the subject was raised falsely. Some people may have concerns because of experiences they have had in different communities in different areas.” 
     Two police chiefs who assessed the grounds of Culver City Park for security purposes never brought up the subject of pedophiles.

 

Car Show Returns May 13

Ari L. NoonanOP-ED

     One of Culver City’s newest traditions, the third annual Car Show — Cruisin’ Back to the ‘50s, returns to Downtown in two months, on Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
     Once again, more than four hundred classic cars and hot rods are expected to be on display.
     Naturally, appealing food, spirited music and friendly vendors will be here, too.
Car Show Day has become a day both for car enthusiasts and for families.
     Nostalgia will be a special guest with a 2950s rock ‘n roll band providing the musica;l backdrop.
     For the third time in modern history, all of Downtown will be closed to traffic, creating a carefree pedestrian street fair for all to enjoy.