Malsin Points to County To Heal PXP-Caused Flap

Ari L. NoonanNews

[Editor’s Note: Three earlier accounts will serve readers. about the story this newspaper broke almost 3 weeks ago. “PXP Has Angered Culver Crest Residents Once Again,” Jan. 4. “PXP, Pleading Innocence,’ Apologizes Profusely’ to Culver Crest Residents,” Jan. 5. “Culver Crest Outlines Complaints About PXP, State in Letter,” Jan.8.]

While anxious residents of the hilltop Culver Crest neighborhood await a ruling on their plea to delay oil drilling in the Baldwin Hills, City Councilman Scott Malsin said this afternoon he is pursuing a wider and longer-term objective. Instead of concentrating the city’s energies on resolving perceived problems with present drilling plans by a company, Mr. Malsin said “the only thing that is important is taking care of the city’s interests.”

Surfas Has a New Location — Will That Cool City Hall Feud?

Ari L. NoonanNews

After months of frenzied, City Hall-monitored searching — in, around and distant from Culver City — the embattled business owner Les Surfas said today he has secured a new location for the portion of his National Boulevard property the city intends to seize for redevelopment.

In the owner’s angry words this morning, “The city is pushing like hell to get me off of land I own — even though we told them we have a lease signed (for the new parcel of land). Why? Why now? Why do I have to get out right now? The city can’t do anything for months. What’s the hurry? I have asked that question all along, and I never have gotten an answer. They tried to get me out in November, then December, then January, and now it’s Feb. 15.” Mr. Surfas said the present occupant of his new property holds a lease that runs until Dec. 31. But the man is trying to find a way to vacate by June 30. “Even that is not good enough for the city,” Mr. Surfas hmphed.

A Shining Oscar-Worthy Morning — Swearing in Sen. Ridley-Thomas

Ari L. NoonanNews

In a smashingly glamourous, muscular and elaborate 80-minute ceremony this morning, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Culver City’s new state Senator, was sworn into office for the benefit of the community 45 days after his official swearing-in ritual in the state capitol. An enormous outpouring of encomiums from near and far admirers — the best-dressed persons who ever have entered City Hall — jammed Council Chambers to beyond capacity in a salute Mr. Ridley Thomas. Heartfelt laudation — fluff was banned — flowed more richly than Ballona Creek in its heyday. Perhaps the signal moments of tribute for the new senator came when a brace of longstanding and grittingly loyal friends of stature — boasting of tight relationships ranging from 20 years to 30 — testified about meaningful ways he has distinguished himself from colleagues. During the past 15 years, Mr. Ridley-Thomas, who proved himself a strong, flexible speaker and a sterling friend, has served multiple terms on the Los Angeles City Council and in the state Assembly since 1992. Now he climbs into the upper chamber in Sacramento. As mistress of ceremonies Jamie McCourt — she is the president of the Dodgers — asked the senator at the conclusion, “What’s next?” The question was rhetorical.

Twenty Questions Begging To Be Answered in the Next 52 Weeks

Ari L. NoonanNews

Twenty hometown questions that may — or may not — be resolved sometime during the New Year:

1.    Will the ground be broken anytime soon on Parcel B, the long-awaited architectural jewel of Downtown? “This year,” says a City Hall official. Same promise was made last year, too. “By spring,” she added, optimistically. Delays appear partially linked to engineering complexities with rerouting Washington Boulevard. The picture grows murkier. Hal Katersky, out after a nearly 3-year run as the chair of The Culver Studios, won a bitter bidding contest to be the developer. Where is he?


2.    As light rail mania gains momentum in Culver City, will Les Surfas be forced to move his prestigious restaurant supply company out of town to accommodate the light rail terminal complex? He has a January court date, which may prove illuminating.

3.    On the same subject, will The Jungle nursery — which definitely is moving to make room for the terminal layout — find a landing zone in Culver City, on the West L.A. College campus, in El Segundo or even farther away?


Restoring Dignity, Healing America’s Shameless Behavior Toward Voiceless Veterans

Ari L. NoonanNews

“We need to honor and respect the people who protect us” — Robert L. Rosebrock

In the midst of the fierce fight he is waging against a select group of fellow Americans to restore the integrity of the troubled Westwood campus of the Veterans Administration, Robert L. Rosebrock paused to make a distinction about his credentials. It bespoke the gilded nature of one man’s character. A well-known entrepreneur in the northerly neighborhoods of the Westside, he sought to make sure his military background was not oversold. “I am a veteran of the Vietnam Era — but I am not a Vietnam War veteran,” said Mr. Rosebrock. “There is a difference. I didn’t serve in combat. So let’s just say, ‘Vietnam Era.’” Drafted into the service in 1965, just as Vietnam was heating up, the years have been kind. Tall, military-erect and as open-faced as he was 41 winters ago, Mr. Rosebrock laughs easily and broadly. He also sports a serious mane of silver hair that should be envied by any man over the age of 50. How he came to be a stubborn, precision-valuing battler for the muddied rights of thousands of veterans — living and dead — is worthy of digestion in a warm, glowing season of reflection. He has launched his maiden campaign as an activist with the full force of his considerable intellectual and moral cannons. Bravely for a rookie, he is advocating strenuously for a cause where the field is as uncrowded as college campus draft offices were throughout the 1960s. Possibly because the sprawling, imprecise, little-understood concept of veterans rights is as gigantic and as vague as the sky, Mr. Rosebrock is, simultaneously, the drum major and the caboose of his campaign as he steadfastly soldiers on. The road ain’t crowded. His effectiveness may repose in the fact that he interlaces reverence for veterans and large dollops of reality in his one-man drive. His baby is the premium plot of ground on which the Veterans Administration rests, restlessly. Bisected by Wilshire Boulevard and the 405 Freeway, the plot is about to thicken, and the plot is about the size of a hefty Texas ranch. Because the land is so vast and the number of veterans is always sizable, perhaps many people feel, unsympathetically, that veterans as a group are sturdy enough to care for themselves. Not so, says Mr. Rosebrock. “We need to honor and respect the people who have fought to protect us.” Mr. Rosebrock has lived long enough to realize that with America engaging frequently in controversial wars across the world, veterans, in recent decades, have found themselves far down the popularity rolls.

Last 4 Performances

Ari L. NoonanNews

These five handsome, and somewhat scary, La Ballona School students — from left, Louis, Maria, Kristina, Cole and Isabella — will be starring in the special Christmastime show playing at the Ivy Substation on Saturday at 2 and Sunday at 2. Along with 23 other La Ballona students, they will join the Actors’ Gang to stage “Holidays on the Sea II: The Island of Holiday Ghosts,” an original show by Andrew Wheeler of the Actors’ Gang. Admission to the show is interesting — a new, unwrapped toy for Operation U.S.A. “Holiday” also will be staged next weekend at the same times. The Ivy Substation is at 9070 Venice Blvd., just east of Downtown Culver City. Two hours’ free parking is available on Saturday throughout Downtown. 310.838.4264 or www.theactorsgang.com.

Fiello Salutes Horiba — You Can Help Pick the Next Super

Ari L. NoonanNews

In the same week the accomplished Alice Horiba of El Marino School won still another Teacher of the Year award, the School District has put an unusual offer out to the community. In a way, you can help select the new Superintendent, or at least you may help decide what the next Superintendent looks like. Although the precise format has not been finalized, the public is invited to the Board Room at District headquarters on Irving Place on Wednesday and Thursday evenings at 7 o’clock. With the members of the School Board and reps from a State School Board headhunting company listening in, parents and others will be invited to describe what values, characteristics and assets the next chief executive of the School District should have. One of the headhunters is scheduled to describe the process more fully tonight at District headquarters. Since the search is being conducted by State School Board types, it is clear that Culver City will not follow the lead of LAUSD and hire a non-educator. With 100 percent certitude, the choice will be a person from deep inside education.

Feisty Surfas Shoves His Chin Into City Hall’s Face

Ari L. NoonanNews

Embattled but defiant, the Culver City business owner Les Surfas, strapped to a tightly configured redevelopment agenda by the city, said this morning he has a dare bulletin for City Hall. Bring it on. “They are trying to intimidate me,” Mr. Surfas said. “It won’t work.” By appearances, though, the upper hand belongs to City Hall. In a sweeping attempt to clear the Washington-National neighborhood east of Downtown of sites and sights it considers impediments in anticipation of the arrival of a light rail station in a few years, the city has been negotiating with Mr. Surfas for two years. The city recently succeeded, on a stormy night in Council Chambers, in confirming purchase of a large slice of his property. The city’s current mission is to shut down a crucial Surfas facility, his warehouse. Presently, the scenario has been shrunk to court wrangling. Left dangling was one pressing question for the harried but determined owner of a prestigious business dating back to the Depression Era. When would Surfas Restaurant Design and Food Supply, with its cast of national and international clientele, be forced to vacate its prized property, across the street from Mr. Surfas’ retail business? The city has failed to fulfill its promise to find a suitable replacement for his warehouse. The drop dead date is Jan. 15, the city said. Whoa, replied Mr. Surfas. There is an election coming up that he believes could yet rescue him. He asked the city for what he called a “courtesy delay.” Would they agree to place legal proceedings on hold until after California’s Nov. 7 election when voters will decide the fate of Prop. 90. This proposed constitutional change promises to curb government authority to seize private property by eminent domain. (Last Saturday, Louisiana became the first state in the nation to pass a similar measure with strong voter approval, 55 percent to 45.) “The city said no,” Mr. Surfas reported. Throughout the ordeal of his showdown with City Hall, especially in the past several months as the stakes were raised, Mr. Surfas has displayed an ironic sense of humor. Speaking in the third person, he said: “I would hate to think what the city would be like if they didn’t like Surfas so much and they were not trying to be so helpful.”

$5,000 for Each Police Union Member — It Is Called a ‘Signing Bonus’

Ari L. NoonanNews

It is not yet clear how the news is playing across the large audience of union members employed by City Hall. Each member of the Police Officers Assn. is scheduled to receive what is labeled a “signing bonus,” a lump sum payment of $5,000, after — if —the union ratifies a new contract. Representative members of the city’s other five unions have not been surveyed, but an early sampling showed “wounded” feelings that they did not receive the same treatment. “It certainly would have been nice for our members to have gotten a ‘signing bonus,’ too,” said a veteran member of a rival union. “It just was not in the cards.” Another woman union member said that “resentment is too strong of a description of my feelings. I am a realist, I guess. The city always is going to take care of its safety people, and that probably is as it should be. Five thousand dollars is a lot of money, though. It would have been nice to have and put in the bank.” A third union member said, “Let me tell you what I find rankling. A few months ago, (City Manager) Jerry Fulwood was talking about a $3 million budget deficit. We couldn’t afford anything. Then he said it was down to $2 million. Then he said it was down to $1 million. What’s going on here? Now they are giving out ‘signing bonuses’ to all the members of one of the city’s six unions. That adds up to $600,000. Where does this money keep coming from?” Jim Raetz, president of the Police Union, told thefrontpageonline.com this afternoon there is a direct, logical explanation. For decades, the salaries of safety employees in Culver City have, by policy, been linked to the pay scale of the County Sheriff’s Dept. and the LAPD. Culver City officers are to receive 50 percent of the raises their Los Angeles colleagues receive. Everybody winced, though, when the average of the latest Los Angeles hike was 17.88 percent. “Instead of getting the raise we were entitled to,” said Mr. Raetz, “we agreed to take part of it in cash and forego a 2 percent raise that we have coming.”