Second in a series Re “Hoffman’s Widow Reflects” [Editor’s Note: Director/producer O’Donnell, widow of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, discusses their relationship with a www.vogue.com reporter four years after his death from an overdose.] I told Phil that it would probably take a while to get pregnant because of my age (34). As it turned out, it happened almost instantly. I … Read More
Well, Council Candidates, We Are Waiting
Mr. Vera en route to a Rams’ game
When the City Clerk’s office announced on Monday that the nomination period – 23 days to go – had opened for candidates for April’s City Council election, there was no need to brace for a stampede. Culver City turned noiseless. By the newspapers, there is a healthy field of contenders for the seats that will open when Jim Clarke and … Read More
Rabbi to Muslims: Your Religion Is as Worthy as Mine
Rabbi Comess-Daniels
Second in a series Re “Jerusalem Belongs to the Whole World, Says Rabbi” It is fair to challenge how seriously Neil Comess-Daniels, a well-regarded longtime liberal rabbi in Santa Monica, takes his Judaism. Not very, to be succinct. In a bizarre, ill-timed, ill-worded, rambling, address at the Islamic Center of Southern California hours after President Trump declared Jerusalem the capital … Read More
‘My Awful Experience on the School Board’
Mr. Gourley
Fourth in a series Re “Mr. Gourley’s Last Lousy Job” Hardly anyone speaks more plainly than the attorney Steve Gourley. Reflecting recently on the homestretch of his notable public career, Mr. Gourley poured a glass of vinegar and said: “After being beaten up in Sacramento during my time as head of the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, I had to go … Read More
Hoffman’s Widow Reflects
Mimi O’Donnell. Photo, Anton Corbjin
First in a series Director and producer Mimi O’Donnell focused on her three children when they lost their father, Philip Seymour Hoffman, four years ago. The first time I met Phil, there was instant chemistry between us. It was the spring of 1999, and he was interviewing me to be the costume designer for a play he was directing—his first—for … Read More
Another Times Reporter Strikes Out – on Purpose?
Ms. Tarnopolsky
Imagine a random journalist who covers Congress for two decades. Twenty years on, he still is reportng that the Constitution was written in 1976. Speedily, the original copy was driven to over to the Capitol in a shiny black ’76 Cadillac. This kind of sloppiness is what we unlucky monitors of the erratic Los Angeles Times are asked to digest, … Read More
Where in the World (or Culver City) to Put Pot Stores
First in a series For the next nine months, in honor of the traditional gestation period, Culver City residents have been invited to debate their preferred locations for three recreational cannabis retail stores. Heading into his final four months on the City Council before being termed out, Jim Clarke is going away with a roar. Standing stoutly with the safety … Read More
Killer Ansman ‘Was Addicted to Women’
Mr. Camp
Second in a series Re “A Closer Look at Sgt. Ansman, Killer” [Editor’s Note: In May 2009, Sgt. Scott Ansman, former National Guard member, was sentenced to life in prison for the Aug. 24, 2007, murder of Joanne Crystal Harris and her unborn child at the Culver City Armory.] Last month a former aide to convicted killer National Guard Sgt. … Read More
It’s About Anti-Semitism More Than Anti-Trump
Despite the mainstream media’s fanatical hatred of President Trump, their fanatical – and scripted – response to his official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is 90-95 percent anti-Semitism. Most of the world hates Jews. The sky is blue. So? You only need a thumb to count the governments standing with Mr. Trump. Funniest punchline since Carol Burnet left weekly … Read More
Happy Birthday, Mom, for the 100th Time
I suppose because I still have a mom I let myself feel like a kid. And by the way, to act like a kid sometimes, too. Mom’s 100th birthday was yesterday. For weeks I was busy planning the party, largely from the standpoint of kids. I know. It was a party for a hundred-year-old, not for kids. But I so … Read More