Community Corner

The Westside's Top Stories of the Week

A roundup of what made headlines in our area.

Pacific Palisades

: The nonprofit Heal the Bay released its annual beach report card during a press conference in Pacific Palisades Thurdsay. While releasing the beach grades, Heal the Bay noted that bacteria levels at Los Angeles County coastal waters were dropping in the summer months. In addition, the report card showed 82 percent of L.A. beaches were earning A or B grades, a seven percent improvement over last year, but still well below the statewide average of 92 percent. Beaches in Pacific Palisades scored well on the report.

Santa Monica

The Santa Monica Airport Commission will hold a hearing to discuss the number of Groupons recently sold for discounted flight lessons at the airport. Neighbors say the sale of more than 480 coupons puts their safety at risk. The commission will discuss whether the ads violate city policy or lease agreements.

A mountain lion found in downtown Santa Monica was shot and killed Tuesday after authorities feared it would bolt near the Third Street Promenade. Police and Fish and Game wardens used tranquilizers first, but said attempts to keep it from escaping, including using fire department hoses and pepper balls, were unsuccessful. The Santa Monica Police Department is now  into the death. A  even if the animal hadn't been killed, his life would have still "been an uphill battle."

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In a rare move, Michael Thomas Gargiulo—the Santa Monica man accused in the stabbing deaths of two Los Angeles women, including an aspiring fashion designer who dated Ashton Kutcher—will represent himself at his murder trial without a lawyer. Gargiulo made his first court appearance Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles as a pro se defendant, a Latin phrase meaning "on one's own behalf." At the short pretrial hearing, Gargiulo said he would file a motion asking the courts for funds to hire an expert witness. Held without bail since his arrest in the spring of 2008, the 36-year-old faces seven counts of murder and burglary charges.

Brentwood

A former appraiser with the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office was arrested Monday for allegedly falsifying documents and lowering property values by about $172 million in exchange for campaign contributions by property owners to County Assessor John Noguez. Scott Schenter was charged with falsifying accounts and records on properties in Brentwood, Beverly Hills and Pacific Palisades. Two city council members are now  that may have had their values lowered inappropriately.

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Westwood-Century City

 : The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors approved Thursday the final two stages of the Westside Subway Extension, which will involve tunneling under Beverly Hills High School to reach a station in Century City. The board majority also rejected Beverly Hills' claims that the planned route for tunneling under BHHS was unreasonable. Representatives of the Beverly Hills school district said  to stop the subway from going under BHHS.

UCLA is a little closer to selling its Hannah Carter Japanese Garden after a superior court judge rejected a request from the Carter family to block the sale. UCLA has listed the property  and has extended the bidding period. The sale has prompted a coalition of preservationist organizations and members of the Carter family .

Venice

Four Los Angeles car washers sued their employers Monday seeking unpaid wages and restitution for time they allegedly worked off the clock, without overtime pay and without rest or meal breaks. The class action lawsuit was filed against the owners of three carwashes, including ones in Venice and Santa Monica.

Google opens its doors as the official sponsor of the Venice Art Walk & Auctions to benefit the Venice Family Clinic. The two-day Venice Art Walk & Auctions to benefit the Venice Family Clinic – the largest free clinic in the country – featured a party and silent auction hosted by Google inside the Binoculars Building.

Marina del Rey

A man suffered a leg wound early Tuesday in a car-to-car shooting on the Marina (90) Freeway in the Del Rey area of Los Angeles. The victim was driving on the eastbound Marina Freeway just west of Culver Boulevard when a gunman in a green sport utility vehicle pulled alongside and fired at least two rounds.

The proposed project at the site of a vacant lot known as “the Triangle” was a source of contention this week at a meeting of the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa's Planning and Land Use Committee. The planned site would consist of a 72-unit residential, primarily apartment, complex with 16,000-square-feet of retail space, including two restaurants, a bike shop and a grocery store. Some residents expressed concern of overdevelopment and the lack of an Environmental Impact Review (EIR).

Culver City

The Culver City Federation of Teachers' bargaining team and the Culver City Unified School District management have reached a tentative agreement for the 2012-13 school year. Highlights include a full year with no furlough days, a one-time bonus if tax initiatives pass in November 2012, and several other measures. If all goes well, the CCFT president said the agreement could be ratified by June 1.

Construction began this week on Phase 2 of the Expo Line project from Culver City to Santa Monica. Traffic detours have been planned as the project gets underway. Work will include utility relocations, construction of the light rail aerial structure over Venice Boulevard and the widening of Venice Boulevard.


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