Jay Handal
Fury Boils Over at Villaraigosa and Weiss on Radical Pico/Olympic One-Way...
[Editor’s Note: Westside entrepreneur Jay Handal is infuriated by Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa’s drastic and controversial scheme to ban parking over about a 7-mile stretch of Pico and Olympic boulevards during rush hours, turning both into one-way streets to speed up clogged traffic. He fears businesses along the routes will be severely damaged.]
Mayor Villaraigosa and Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss have short-circuited the democratic process with their supposed traffic-freeing plan to force the Pico/Olympic plan on the ity over the objections of just about everyone – including other City Council members.
Mayor Villaraigosa and Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss have short-circuited the democratic process with their supposed traffic-freeing plan to force the Pico/Olympic plan on the ity over the objections of just about everyone – including other City Council members.
Losing That Small Town Feeling
As President if the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, I am extremely involved in the process of the Expo light rail line.
The study of Phase 2 has just been approved. Funding could begin within the next few years. The question begs: Why force business owner Les Surfas out now? What is the reasoning for pushing an internationally known, very successful Culver City business out when it is just not necessary.
Is there a deal already struck with a developer for that area?
Are the plans in the works now?
Is it truly about the Expo line?
A Character Reference for Harvey Bailey
I am not writing this piece to stick up for Lt. Harvey Bailey of the Culver City Police Dept. Only a court of law and jury of his peers will decide his fate.
But, I feel that having worked with then-Sgt. Bailey during my tenure as chair of the Western Hemisphere Marathon, I could offer my perspective of him as an officer and a community liaison.
In my years as chair, it was Harvey who bridged the gap between the Marathon committee and the city. This allowed the committee to run a smooth and safe Marathon through the streets of Culver City, Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County.
How The Jungles Bye-Bye Case Is Different
Never let it be said that sticking up for what is right is easy. But I'll give it another try here. While much has been written and said about "The Jungle" and the City Council, I have to say that making the comparison to Les Surfas and his business is just plain wrong. [See “With The Jungle Being Forced Out, Culver City History Repeats, Repeats, Repeats,” Dec. 12.] Mr. Surfas’ business sits on his own property, which is being taken from him by eminent domain. The Jungle sits on an MTA right of way, under a lease with the county agency. Like Piazza Europa in West L.A., when the lease was consumated, it was with the understanding that at some point, maybe in our lifetime, a train would once again run on the exposition right of way. The Jungle is a casualty of the attempt to modernize our MESS transit system in L.A. County.
While I am certainly not privy to what locations have been offered to The Jungle by the city of Culver City, I must certainly state that the city has no legal obligation to find another site for The Jungle, although doing so can only make them look better in the public eye. The Jungle is a private enterprise on a public right of way owned by an agency other than Culver City. I just don't think it is fair to make the city the bad guy here. Sorry.
Four Ways for Business Owner to Fight the Homeless
I have read last week’s story about the business owner who is having problems with a homeless person sleeping in the doorway (“How Can Harried Business Owner Combat the Stench of the Homeless?” Nov. 20). While the article quotes many notables with no solutions, I offer these, which we offer from the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce:
- Sign and serve the homeless person with a letter advising him or her they cannot come on the property. Culver City has a specific code. Once served, when they come back, they can be arrested for trespassing.
- Place a speaker outside the area where the person is sleeping. Play music all night, similar to the policy some of the local 7/11 stores have adopted. This is a negative for the homeless person.
- Light the area with a new and intensified halogen light, thereby making it uncomfortable for them to sleep in that doorway.
- Advise the City Attorney of the problem. Have it declared for a nuisance abatement issue, giving the police more teeth to work with. These are just some of the actions business owners can take to protect their properties within the current confines of the laws existing on the books today.
Jay Handal is President of the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
One Mans Behavior Was Shocking
I have read with great displeasure about the fiasco created at the opening of the Fiesta La Ballona last Saturday (see stories below). As President of the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, I hold and emcee many events which out-of- the-district politicians attend. At each and every one, a courtesy is extended to them should they wish to spread joy or greetings to the guests attending. I am shocked at the behavior of City Councilman Steve Rose, but not surprised. Review the tapes. Mr. Rose, on more occasions than I care to count, is condescending to constituents and very onesided in his manner. His lack of public manners has been displayed toward me and all of those with whom Mr. Rose disagrees.
