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A federal grand jury has indicted two men on federal fraud charges that allege a double-booking, bait-and-switch scam run through online property rental platforms – primarily Airbnb – that brought in more than $8.5 million through misleading listings and fraudulently canceling reservations, which included discrimination against Black people, the Justice Department announced today. Shray Goel, 35, of Miami, and Shaunik Raheja, 34, of Denver, were charged Wednesday in a superseding indictment tha...
A Fresno hairstylist pleaded guilty today to nine felonies for defrauding a vulnerable physician out of more than $2.7 million before his death and then attempting to defraud his estate out of an additional amount exceeding $20 million. Anthony David Flores, 47, a.k.a. "Anton David," pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, two counts of money laundering, and one...
Former Culver City Councilman Daniel Lee has declared his intention to run for Los Angeles Unified School District Board District 1, the seat being vacated by longtime board member George McKenna. Lee's recent move from Culver City into Los Angeles puts him in place to campaign for the position. According to the Los Angeles based news site 2UrbanGirls, Lee states that 'Education is under attack from ideological forces who don't care about the harm that they are causing our students. This is...
Landlords are required to register units under the new permanent rent control regulations which went into effect on October 30, 2020. The first deadline for registration is March 31, 2022. For each subsequent year, starting on July 31, 2022, landlords must re-register each year by July 31st. If you have previously registered, visit the Residential Rental Registration Portal to view or update your information. Register online at: https://culvercity.hdlgov.com/Home/Home/Landlor...
Dear Editor, My thoughts keep going back to your article from a few weeks ago: “Dem Club President speaks on key issues.” Right away it opens up with an accusatory pull quote: “Common Sense Culver City is the same old guard, seizing on the issue of the moment.” Let’s set aside the humor here, that CCDC president Jeff Schwartz is nearly ten years older than the president of Common Sense CC. My concern is this one man used your platform to cast aspersions at so many groups in Culver City - fr...
David Ganezer Observer Staff Writer Rosario Perry has died of cancer. He was 75. The longtime landlord's attorney based on Pico Blvd, represented property owners across four decades in Santa Monica. "Rosario truly loved Santa Monica. He was engaged his entire life politically and professionally," said former Santa Monica planning commissioner Sharon Gilpin. "He enjoyed the back and forth of policy discussions and had some great ideas for the City. He was a walking encyclopedia on the history of...
By David Ganezer Hours before California's eviction moratorium was set to expire, the State Legislature extended renter protections through the end of June. The extension only applies to tenants impacted by COVID who applied for rental assistance by Thursday, March 31. This three-month extension is intended to give the state enough time to distribute $5 billion in federal funds intended for landlords, while tenants remain in their homes. California received the funds last May. Landlords and property owners across California have come out in...
As background, I have lived in Santa Monica for almost 50 years and served on the Board of Friends of Sunset Park neighborhood group for over 10 years in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Back then, we felt that developers might overrun the city with projects to the detriment of the residents. Never could I have imagined the current state of Santa Monica. Until January 11, 2022, I had never attended a community meeting about a development (Zoom or Live) that limited the time and amount of people in attendance, started late, ended early and had sound iss...
The effort to recall Mayor Daniel Lee and Councilmember Alex Fisch has collapsed for lack of interest and voter signatures. "The proponents of the recall petitions were unable to achieve the number of signatures required to be sufficient," city officials announced this week. "Therefore, no further action will be taken." Last year, Mark Salkin, a local realtor and attorney, launched the recall effort, stating that Lee and Fisch "are not listening to the community." He formed a formed a citizen gr...
I acknowledge our presence on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples. When this is expressed, some people think, “so give your house back”. Maybe. Maybe we all do it so we live in a society that owns its atrocities. For now let’s start with more educational support for Native people and more just housing policy. When my kids were little I used to drive through Culver City to get them to daycare. Cruising at pedestrian safe speeds, I loved the trees...
Dear Editor, I acknowledge our presence on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples. When this is expressed, some people think, “so give your house back”. Maybe. Maybe we all do it so we live in a society that owns its atrocities. For now let’s start with more educational support for Native people and more just housing policy. When my kids were little I used to drive through Culver City to get them to day care. Cruising at pedestrian safe speeds, I loved...
Dear Editor, Have you ever wondered why there is a shortage of housing in Culver City? I own residential housing in Clarkdale and I wonder about this myself. When I purchased a newly-built fourplex in 1988, I didn’t realize it was nearing the end of a building boom in Culver City. In the more than three decades that followed, I have seen very few new housing units under construction. At that time, Culver City was a great place to build. There was no rent control. Taxes and fees were r...
By Corva Corvax, a Logical Opinion 11/4 The West Hollywood City Council voted on Wednesday to pass an ordinance to raise the minimum wage in their municipality to $17.64 per hour. The wage increase would go first to hotel workers, who would start earning the extra money on January 1, 2022. Everyone else would get their increase beginning July 1, 2022. The odd-sounding wage rate matches the minimum wage for hotel workers in the City of Los Angeles for hotels with 150 or more rooms - a rate that Santa Monica also ordains for their hotel workers....
Culver City Vice Mayor Daniel Lee has entered the race for the congressional seat currently held Karen Bass who recently announced she is running for Mayor of Los Angeles next year. It marks the second time this year that Lee is seeking higher office. In March, he came in a distant second in a special election to fill the vacant 30th Senate District seat, previously held by current County Supervisor Holly Mitchell. The Senate seat winner, Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles), garnered 68% of the...
By Jack Simon, Observer Staff Writer The Santa Monica City Council this week adopted the revised 2021-2029 Housing Element Update, which "prioritizes 100% affordable housing in city-owned land" and "addresses historic discrimination and satisfies affirmatively furthering fair housing." The vote was not unanimous. Councilmember Gleam Davis and Mayor Pro Tem Kristin McCowan gave the thumbs down to the plan. At its Tuesday night meeting, the Council also voted unanimously to approve the...
By Jack Simon, Observer Staff Writer The city of Santa Monica has sued a local landlord for allegedly converting a rent-controlled apartment building on 10th Street into a complex mostly used for “unlawful vacation rentals,” thereby violating the Ellis Act and local rent control regulations. In a lawsuit filed on September 28, the city and the Santa Monica Rent Control Board allege that since 2018 NMS Properties, Inc. and its affiliates have violated the Ellis Act as well as local laws intended to protect long-term tenants and preserve the city...
Observer Staff Story Mark Salkin, a local Realtor and attorney, has launched an effort to recall Mayor Alex Fisch and Vice Mayor Daniel Lee, stating they "are not listening to the community." Salkin has formed a formed a citizen group, named Call to Recall, which will circulate the recall petitions and collect signatures of registered voters in Culver City. According to state law, Salkin and his group will need signatures from 25% of the registered voters for the recall effort to move forward....
The Culver City Council has introduced and approved a seismic retrofit ordinance to address "soft story" buildings in Culver City. These buildings are wood construction that have soft, weak, open front walls (SWOF) at the ground floor that are particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, said city officials. At its recent meeting, the Council also directed staff to explore financial incentives, fee waivers and/or reductions for landlords since seismic retrofitting is "very expensive" and to return...
By Ron Bassilian Guest Writer President,Protect Culver City Council was sued in federal court on June 22nd by Southern California Hospital of Culver City in response to their June 14th ordinance requiring an additional $5/hour “Hero Pay” for hospital employees. Councilmembers Vera and Eriksson opposed this ordinance, along with many residents, questioning the timing, legality and necessity of it. Undeterred, Council majority went along with it anyway. The lawsuit makes a serious allegation - that SEIU, the union representing hospital wor...
The question this evening is whether we will embark on a year-long path of outreach and study to determine how to create missing middle housing throughout our city in a way that preserves what we love about our respective neighborhoods, or whether we will kill the very idea of change right now for just one specific type of neighborhood. Fundamentally, we will decide tonight whether we are going to use the General Plan to reinforce once again the wall that was built around some Culver City...
The Culver City Council this week held a joint session with the Planning Commission to a discuss the controversial topic of "exclusionary zoning practices" in the residential areas. The highly-publicized Wednesday night's meeting drew more than 150 speakers and some 500 pages of correspondence from residents who oppose the elimination of single-family (R-1) zoning or any changes in residential zoning and others who decried the lack of affordable housing in Culver City. The public participation...
The City Council this week approved a resolution establishing a registration fee for residential rental units in Culver City. The fee -- $167 per unit per year -- was "based upon the reasonable costs associated with the administration and enforcement of the city's residential rent control program and tenant protection program," adopted by the Council last September, city officials said. Some councilmembers said the new fee will severely affect "mom-and-pop" landlords but others contended that...
The City Council this week approved a resolution establishing a registration fee for residential rental units in Culver City. The fee -- $167 per unit per year -- was “based upon the reasonable costs associated with the administration and enforcement of the city’s residential rent control program and tenant protection program,” adopted by the Council last September, city officials said. Some councilmembers said the new fee will severely affect “mom-and-pop” landlords but others contended that it a “reasonable and fair” business expense. Acco...
Culver City has announced that in-person city services at City Hall are now offered on a limited, appointment-only basis. City services will also continue to be available online, through email and telephone. The public is urged to make appointments for the following city services: Building Safety -- general assistance with plumbing, electrical, building and mechanical permits, making payments and picking up issued permits; City Clerk – pick-up services to retrieve documents; Planning -- zoning information, accessory dwelling units, a...
By Jack Simon Santa Monica is taking a tougher stance against landlords who have ignored the eviction moratorium and aggressively tried to force out long-term tenants during the pandemic. The SM City Attorney's office has filed a lawsuit against Youseph Golshirazian, Hanokh Golshirazian, and SoCal Investment Company, LLC – owners and managers of a multi-residential property at 153 San Vicente Boulevard – for violations of the city's Tenant Harassment Ordinance and the eviction moratorium, whi...
