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Rubenstein Retires From Public Service After 30 years of public service Neil Rubenstein has resigned from the Culver City Disabilities Advisory Committee. Rubenstein has served on various Culver City Boards and has chaired both the Landlord-Tenant Mediation Board and the LAX Advisory Committee and served as President of the Friends of the Library. He has received commendations from the city, county, State Senate and Assembly.  He was first appointed in 1978 by then-Culver mayor Richard Alexander. “I am extremely proud of my accomplishments,” stated Rubenstein in his letter to Mayor Mehaul O’Leary. “However, there comes a time to step aside.”

Fiesta To Keep August Date Fiesta La Ballona 2012 got off to an early start on Tuesday with more than 40 interested residents and business people in attendance. Fiesta Chair Mike Cohen polled the room on a variety of subjects including new events and a possible change to the weekend of June 22. For many years the Fiesta was held in May, however it was changed in the early 2000’s to the last week in August. One of the primary reasons given was to avoid inclement weather. The group considered changes including adding a 5K race, pet show, face painting, a parade, costume contest, roving performers and a cook-off among other suggestions.   MORE

Showdown Approaches For Parcel B Developers City Council Has Two Meetings in One Night   By Lynne Bronstein Observer Reporter   As promised, the City Council and Redevelopment Agency held another discussion and public input session on proposed developments for Parcel B (9300 Culver Boulevard) on Monday night.   Some members of the public were confused however, as the input session was scheduled during what was termed a “regular” meeting of the Council and Agency that was preceded by a “special meeting” at 6 p.m. However, the “special meeting” featured other agenda items, while the “regular” meeting was all about Parcel B. MORE

Police Blotter October 18 through 24 Car Burglary: On October 18 at 11:30 am a victim called the police department to report her 2008 Toyota had been broken into. The victim said she parked and locked her vehicle on October 17 at 8:30 pm in the 6400 block of Green Valley Circle. When she returned the next morning she discovered her driver side window was broken and her property missing. Residential Burglary: On October 1 at 12:45 pm officers responded to the 3600 block of Schaefer Street regarding a burglary investigation. The officers met with the victim who told them the following; she left her   MORE

Prescription Drug Take Back Day Is Coming   The Culver City Police Department in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency is hosting a drop off point. The purpose of this National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on October 29 is to provide a venue for persons who want to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.   This will be the third event and due to the overwhelming success of the first event held on September 25, 2009. At that time 3,000 state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the event and the American public turned in more than 121 tons of pills that day.   Simply drive by and drop off the unwanted prescription drugs and no questions asked.   The event will take place  from 10 am until 2 pm in front of the Culver City Police Department, 4040 Duquesne Avenue.

With Injuries, Mistakes, Centaurs Lose   Inglewood Takes Advantage, 30-10   By Dale Williams Observer Reporter   The Culver City High football team was already hurting before last Friday’s game against Inglewood, with several key players hampered by injuries.   The pain only got worse during the game.   Much of it was due to seven turnovers committed by the Centaurs in an ugly 30-10 Ocean League loss to the Sentinels that put a speed bump in front of Culver City’s hopes of reclaiming the league title.   MORE

Sister City Fundraiser The Culver City Sister City Committee's Vintage Style Fundraiser at the Culver Hotel was a success. From left to right are Tina Mollica, Maureen Genteman, Joyce Perlick, Sonia Karroum and Joy Jacobs.

As Rangers Advance, Angels’ Owner Fumes   The Texas Rangers have been in the World Series two straight years. The Angels haven’t made the playoffs two straight years. That’s enough to greatly concern Arte Moreno, the Angels’ owner who has a reputation of spending what it takes to keep his team in playoff contention. Now add the fact that Mike Napoli, the former Angels catcher, was traded to Toronto and then dealt again to Texas a few days later and has become one of the Rangers’ key players. It’s enough for Moreno to respond harshly. MORE

Culver Man Seeks Screenwriting Fellowship   Seven individual writers and three writing teams have been selected as finalists for the 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The finalists include Matthew Murphy of Culver City for “Unicorn.”  Their scripts will be read and judged by the Academy's Nicholl Committee, which may award as many as five of the prestigious $30,000 fellowships. The finalists were selected from a record 6,730 scripts submitted for this year's competition. The competition is open to any individual who has not sold or optioned a screenplay or teleplay for more than $5,000, or received a fellowship or prize that includes a "first look" clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer's work.

IT’S CULVER-SANTA MONICA AGAIN

 

Winner Gets Spot In Playoff Final

 

 

By Dale Williams

Observer Reporter

 

The Culver City High football team’s CIF-Southern Section playoff run might be a surprise to some, but if you listen to Centaurs coach Jahmal Wright explain, it makes perfect sense.

 

“At the time of year the playoffs start, a lot of teams are banged up,” he said. “But we suffered so many injuries early in the season, by the time the playoffs rolled around those guys were getting healthy, and we started to hit our stride.”

 

Culver City, which lost several key offensive players during different parts of the regular season, has regained its health just in time, and the Centaurs continued their postseason roll with a 51-28 victory over Righetti in a Western Division quarterfinal game last Friday.

 

Lukas O’Connor threw six touchdown passes for the Centaurs (9-3), who will play in the semifinals for the first time since 2002. And it won’t be just any team that Culver City will face.

 

The Centaurs will play host to Ocean League rival Santa Monica, which defeated Ventura last week, 29-24. The Vikings (11-1) have won eight consecutive games, including a 17-14 victory over the Centaurs in Culver City on Nov. 4 that clinched the league title for Santa Monica.

 

Now, the stakes are even higher.

 

Wright said he’s glad to face a familiar foe.

 

“Some coaches may not feel this way, but I’d rather play against a team I’m familiar with,” Wright said. “We welcome the opportunity to get another shot at Santa Monica. Them being a rival, and this game being for a spot in the championship game, just puts more on top of it.”

 

Culver City is aiming to get into a CIF championship game for the first time since 1978, which is also the last time the Centaurs won a title. Santa Monica is attempting to qualify for the first time since 2001 when it also won the title.

 

Santa Monica coach Travis Clark recognizes the difficulty for his team.

 

“In order to reach the championship game we’ll have to defeat Culver City twice in the same season, both at their place,’ he said. “That won’t be easy.”

 

 

The Centaurs’ offense broke out in a big way against Righetti (9-4), which finished second in the Pac-7 League during the regular season and defeated Downey in its first-round playoff game. Culver City scored on the third play of the game on an 83-yard pass from O’Connor to Jimmy Haywood and raced to a 41-7 lead at halftime.

 

Culver City didn’t punt until the fourth quarter, when the game had long since been decided.

 

O’Connor, who’s had his ups and downs this season, had perhaps his best overall performance as the Centaurs’ starting quarterback, completing 17 of 22 passes for 409 yards and the six touchdowns.

 

Alex Jackson caught seven passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns, Haywood caught four passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, Julius Wilson caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, and Kevin Porche caught three passes for 27 yards and a touchdown.

 

Akili Skannal scored a touchdown rushing for the Centaurs.

 

On defense, Ryan Jackson had 17 tackles, Ronald Jones had 15 tackles and a sack and Anthony Tucker had 10 tackles and a sack.

 

“We knew all season that we could play like this,” Wright said. “When we’re healthy, we can click on all cylinders. To do what we did in this game, it shows just how good we can be as a team.”

 

The Centaurs have lost their last two games against Santa Monica, but prior to that, Culver City beat the Vikings in 2007, 2008 and 2009.