Culver City Observer -

City Manager’s Office

• Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Convening of Mayors - On September 28 Mayor Clarke represented the City at Mayor Garcetti’s 11th Convening of Los Angeles County Mayors. The meeting took place in Cudahy. The group heard presentations about Measure M (Transportation), Measure A (Parks), and the Los Angeles Consular Corps.

• City Centennial Celebration Events a Success – Many people joined in the September 24 Centennial Celebration events. The events included a community parade, opening ceremonies, and a block party. Be sure to go to http://www.culvercity100.org to find out more about some wonderful upcoming events.

City Clerk’s Office

• Vote by Mail Ballots - Vote by Mail (VBM) ballots were mailed beginning October 10. And, between October 11 and November 7 you may drop-off your VBM ballot for the November 8 General Election on the first floor of City Hall in the secure and safe drop-off box! You may also mail it to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk or drop it off at a polling place on Election Day.

All voters in Los Angeles County have the option to vote by mail. And VBM ballots, postmarked by Election Day, will be counted if received within three days by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (California Senate Bill 29).

For additional information on Culver City ballot measures CA, CB CD and CW, the Clean Water, Clean Beach Parcel Tax, please go to http://www.culvercity.org/vote. For additional information on Registering to Vote and Vote By Mail (VBM) voting, please go to http://www.lavote.net.

• Measure CW Town Hall Meetings – City staff will hold three community Town Hall Meetings throughout October to discuss upcoming ballot measure CW, the Clean Water, Clean Beach Parcel Tax.

Measure CW, if approved, will result in a $99 dollar per year parcel tax for single-family residential properties; $69 annually per multi-family dwelling unit; and $1,096 annually per acre of land or portion thereof for non-residential properties. City staff has scheduled several Town Hall meetings which are open to the public to provide information and answer questions.

Bacteria, pesticides, toxic chemicals and other pollutants are deposited into local water resources through the City’s aging storm drains, and a dedicated source of revenue is needed to fund improvements and projects to upgrade and construct new infrastructure. The City’s General Fund alone cannot support such large improvements. As a result, the City Council has placed Measure CW on the Ballot. A 2/3 vote is required to pass the measure.

Details about the Town Hall Meetings are as follows:

• Thursday, October 13 from 4 pm to 5:30 pm in the Rotunda Room at Veterans Memorial Building, 4117 Overland Avenue.

• Monday, October 17 from 7 pm to 8:30 pm at Mike Balkman Council Chambers, City Hall, 9770 Culver Boulevard.

• Wednesday, October 26 from 7 pm to 8:30 pm at the Syd Kronenthal Park Recreation Building, 3459 McManus Avenue.

For more detailed information regarding Measure CW, please visit http://www.cleanculvercity.org.

Community Development

• Reimagine Fox Hills Stakeholder Meetings – On September 29 staff presented the concept of “Reimagine Fox Hills” to property owners within the office park area bounded by Green Valley Circle on the South, Hannum Avenue on the North, Fox Hills Drive on the West and Buckingham Parkway to the East. The planning concept was well received by the property owners present at the meeting. Follow up meetings with area property owners, business and residents will be scheduled.

• ArtWalk 2016 – The Culver City Arts District (CCAD) will present ArtWalk 2016 on Saturday, October 8 from 2 pm to 6 pm. ArtWalk will celebrate the beginning of the fall art season with a free self-guided tour of art galleries exhibiting new, and distinguished artists, a pop up installation by Culver City’s Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA), musical and dance performances throughout the day at various venues, interactive art experiences and special offerings at several area restaurants.

The event is sponsored by the City of Culver City, the Culver City Chamber of Commerce, ArtScene, Fresh Paint, Helms Bakery District, and Charlie Company. Event partners include the CCUSD AVPA, On the Edge Dance Studio, World Arts, and Street Food Cinema.

More information about the ArtWalk and updates regarding activities, gallery events, music venues, performers, and performance times are available by visiting the http://www.culvercityartsdistrict.com or check out https://www.facebook.com/CulverCityArtsDistrict.

• Culver City’s Washington West Business District (WWBD) – The WWWBD will be hosting its second annual Taste of Washington West on Saturday, October 15 from 3pm to 6 pm . The event will feature a variety special tastings and drink specials from ten area restaurants hailed by LA Eater as “the most compelling restaurant row in this part of town.” The event will include live entertainment, including the El Marino Language School Rainbow Taiko drummers, Capoeira Batuque Live Drumming, music by Super Ultra Megatones and a chef talk with Chocovivo’s Patricia Tsai. The events will be centered on Washington Boulevard between Centinela Avenue and Wade Street.

Fire Department

• Fire Prevention Week is October 9 – 15 – “Don’t Wait – Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years” is the message behind this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign. Age matters when it comes to your smoke alarms. Check the manufacturer’s dates on your smoke alarms today! For more fire prevention tips, please visit our website culvercity.org/fire or firepreventionweek.org.

• Culver City Firefighters are Once Again going “PINK” this October – During the month of October, Culver City Firefighters will again be wearing pink to support those whose lives have been touched by breast cancer. Join them and show your support by purchasing a CCFD breast cancer awareness T-shirt. Beginning October 1 pink T-shirts in men’s and women’s sizes became available at Fire Station 1 (9600 Culver Boulevard) for $15 each. 100% of the T-shirt sales proceeds go directly to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

• The Great ShakeOut - More than 19 million people across the U.S. and its territories have registered to participate in the 2016 Great ShakeOut. On October 20 at 10:20 a.m. local time, participants will drop, cover, and hold on as part of the annual earthquake drill. Great ShakeOut earthquake drills are an annual opportunity for people in homes, schools, and organizations to practice what to do during earthquakes and to improve preparedness.

For a second opportunity to practice, Culver City will hold its Annual Disaster Drill at 7 p.m. Drop, cover, and hold on. If you are at home, wait 60 seconds and then place your “OK” sign in a location visible from the street to let first responders know you are “OK.” Visit http://www.culvercity.org/emergencyprep and http://www.ShakeOut.org for more information about each drill.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department

• Culver City Senior Center Presents A Peace Education Program – On Friday, October 14 the Culver City Senior Center presented a Peace Education Program. This is a media-based educational program created by the Prem Rawat Foundation. The program is designed to help individuals explore the possibility of personal peace and discover inner resources – tools such as inner strength, choice, appreciation and hope.

• Culver City Senior Center Community Forum – “Brain Health & Alzheimer’s Disease,” a free community forum, was held on Saturday, October 1 at the Culver City Senior Center. Mayor Clarke provided remarks.

The forum was hosted by Alzheimer’s Greater Los Angeles, with keynote speaker Dr. Edmund Teng, co-director of the Katherine and Benjamin Kagan Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Development Program at UCLA. The free program provided valuable insight and information to the attendees, covering topics that included tools to help keep the brain healthy, proper nutrition, spotting signs of memory loss and included a health and resource fair with booths that provided information about caregiving, clinical trials, assisted living, financial and legal planning, and other services available to the public.

• The Annual Los Angeles County Flu Clinic – Save the date! The annual Los Angeles County Flu Clinic will be offering free flu shots to our community on Thursday, October 20 from 9 am to 11 am at the Veterans Memorial Building.

• The Annual Disability Awareness Month Kids Carnival – The 14th Annual Disability Awareness Month Kids Carnival will be held on Sunday, October 23 from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Culver City Senior Center. This free event is open to youth and adults of all abilities and is made possible by our sponsors: Exchange Club of Culver City and the Culver City Senior Citizens Association, Inc. RSVP for the event is requested by October 19 and may be made by calling 310-253-6707 with your group/attendance information.

• The Culver City Senior and Social Services Zumbathon – It’s time for Zumbathon! On Saturday, October 22 Zumba instructor Yvonne Beraldi will host a Zumbathon from 9 am to noon. This event is open to everyone 18 and older. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds go to support Culver City Senior and Social Services programs. Come on over and shake your groove thing and get a great workout – all for a good cause!

• The Culver City Senior Center Holiday Gift Boutique – Save the date! The Holiday Gift Boutique will be held at the Culver City Senior Center on Friday, November 18 from 9:30 am to 1 pm. The Boutique will feature hand-made items created by Senior Center Association members.

• The Culver City Historical Society – The Culver City Historical Society invites its members and the public to a presentation and display featuring items from MGM’s vast collection of costumes as well as an informative discussion on the care and maintenance of this vast collection. Sharon Shore, former Historical Society Costumes Chair, and Denice Renteria, current Costumes Chair, will facilitate the discussion. Former Historical Society President Louise Coffey-Webb will give an illustrated introduction to the challenges of managing costume collections and will be available to sign copies of her book, Managing Costume Collections: An Essential Primer. The evening includes a 50/50 fundraising opportunity plus door prizes, including four tickets to The Magic Castle. This free program takes place on Wednesday, October 19 at 7 pm in the Multipurpose Room of Veterans Memorial Building at Veterans Park, 4117 Overland Avenue. Enter through the Archives and Resources Center from the parking lot behind the building, off Culver Boulevard. For more information on this event and on The Culver Historical Society, please visit http://www.CulverCityHistoricalSociety.org.

• Veterans Memorial Complex – USA Dance (Los Angeles Chapter) returns to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium with a Halloween-themed event on October 23. This event is open to the public. For more information, visit their website at http://usadancela.org/.

• Here are some highlights from the DAC meeting of October 5, 2016. At this meeting, the DAC -

a) Acknowledged recent installation of new audio/visual equipment in the Senior Center which includes assistive listening loop technology, benefitting DAC member Robyn Tenensap as well as other hearing impaired attendees at meetings, events and programs at the venue.

b) Received further information on promotion of the survey regarding the Public Works Department ADA Self Evaluation & Transition Plan and the entire process, led by staffer Christopher Evans.

c) Appointed DAC members Janet Cameron Hoult as the representative and N. John Hasegawa as the alternate to serve on the CDBG Advisory Committee.

d) Discussed the CDBG process, future of the program, and possible proposals with additional input and information shared by Christopher Evans, Glenn Heald, and Hong Wang of the Public Works Department.

e) Passed a Motion supporting the allocation of 2017/2018 CDBG funds, to the greatest allowable percentage, to the staff position of Disability Services Specialist.

f) Discussed ongoing planning for October’s Disability Awareness Month events, including: the City Council Proclamation and Commendation on Monday, October 10; the Annual Kids Carnival on Sunday, October 23; and the Culver City High School Wheelchair Basketball Assembly on Friday, October 28.

The next regular DAC meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Culver City Senior Center (meeting room TBD).

Police Department

• On September 28 Captain Mike Shank traveled to Washington D.C. to attend a law enforcement briefing entitled; “Advancing 21st Century Policing.” The briefing was held in the Eisenhower Executive Building at the White House and was attended by over 80 executive staff members from law enforcement agencies around the country.

The briefing was part of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing that was created to strengthen community policing and trust among law enforcement and the communities they serve.

• International Walk to School Day - On Wednesday, October 5 Chief Bixby along with the Command Staff and officers from the Police Department, participated in the International Walk to School Day as part of the Culver City Safe Routes to School Walk & Rollers Program. The members of the Department walked with hundreds of kids from all five elementary schools and the middle school, from various points around the City to their respective schools, in support of the event.

Public Works Department

• Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at City Hall - Public Works is pleased to announce that eight 240-volt Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations have been installed on City Hall’s P2 parking level for employee use. For most employees, the net cost to participate in the in the City’s EV charge-at-work program is less than charging at home.

Transportation Department

• Rideshare week in Southern California was celebrated from October 3 to 7. The transportation department encouraged citizens to “share the ride” by participating in Rideshare Fairs including the UCLA Rideshare Fair and the Aerospace Corporation Annual Commuter Fair. Staff was on hand to answer questions and distribute information to attendees curious about Culver CityBus routes and services.

• Public Transit is for Everyone - In partnership with Metro, Transportation staff hosted a workshop at the Culver City Senior Center on Wednesday, October 4 as part of the series “Public Transit is for Everyone.” The session provided an overview of “How to Ride the Bus” with useful transit tips and information. Participants were given easy, step by step instructions in “I’ve Got my TAP Card Now What?” Metro staff brought out their brand new Mobile Customer Service Center and attendees were able to sign up for new senior TAP cards and load them on the spot! Staff was on hand to answer questions and attendees were provided with materials to take home and given tools and resources to find out more information about the program.

• Limited Edition Centennial TAP Cards – While Supplies last! - Centennial TAP (Transit Access Pass) cards now available for $2 at either of its two physical sales locations. Come Visit us in person at our City Hall or Transportation offices. Cards only available while supplies last. Excited about the Culver City Centennial Celebration? Find out more at http://www.culvercity100.org.

Image, courtesy of the Culver City Historical Society, shows the 1922 Culver City offices.