BHA Holds Annual Meeting
Brentwood Homeowner President Robert Rene once again had ‘em laughing at the annual meeting held recently at University Synagogue. When showing a slide of long-time members Ray Klein and Don Keller, the image onscreen was that of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. When illustrating the point that “things change,” up went a slide of Bruce Jenner.
But the topics covered were mostly serious: crime, traffic, the proposed Archer School expansion, the recent VA announcement that it would do more to house homeless veterans on campus, the rise of AirBnB (a way to rent one’s home online), mansionization, construction, and the stop sign and Bundy and Mayfield.
Crime is down and remains low. Brentwood is one of the safest areas in the city. Home prices in Brentwood are up 15.5 percent year over year, with the average home now selling for $3.5 million. Overall, according to Rene, “Brentwood is a pretty good place to be.”
On the other hand, gridlock on Sunset is bad and getting worse, according to Rene. Rene said BHA had “gone way beyond reasonable” in its discussions with Archer School. Archer still wants much more than what the BHA board thinks would be compatible with the neighborhood, according to Rene. Rene said everyone agrees the school is great, but that’s not the issue, he added. The impact on the community is.
Councilman Mike Bonin also spoke and gave a largely upbeat picture of how things are going in Los Angeles. The structural deficit has come down 80 percent in the last year, he said, and there is a big push to boost the use of technology to improve efficiency in the delivery of city services. He said the city council would get serious about reforming the business tax, which many thinks drives businesses (and therefore jobs and tax revenues) out of LA.
Bonin said he has been involved in the Archer School discussions and believes his position is more “no, unless” (as opposed to “yes, if”). That is, he wants to work with the school but the school has to take seriously the desire to do nothing that would add to the local traffic burden.
Mandeville Canyon Association Gets New President
At the annual meeting of Mandeville Canyon Association (MCA) held Jan. 26 at the Riviera Country Club, Kathleen Durbin was honored for her many years of service as president. She is now ready to step back a bit and focus on getting pedestrian pathway that runs up the canyon completed.
Mike Bonin, city councilman for the 11th district, gave Durbin a plaque from the city. Bonin gave a quick rundown of issues facing Brentwood: Archer School expansion plans; tree trimming; traffic; and fire prevention and preparedness.
Florence Chapgier will now take over as president of MCA.
Water-Wise Garden Tour Approaches April 12
Brentwood Beautiful is sponsoring a Water-Wise Garden Tour on the afternoon of April 12. Homeowners will learn how they can significantly slash the amount of water they use by making simple and inexpensive changes to their gardens. Educational speakers from a variety of disciplines will share advice on how to transition to a low-water landscape.
The tour begins at Brentwood School, 100 S. Barrington Place, 90049. 1 to 4 pm. Donation of $25 to Brentwood Beautiful.
Get tickets through waterwisegardentour. eventbrite.com, or call 310.476.7234.
Free Rain Barrels
Last fall, Keep Los Angeles Beautiful partnered with Coca-Cola to provide 1,000 free rain barrels and rain barrel conversion kits to Los Angeles residents. The only prerequisite was attendance of a rain harvesting workshop, which the program sold out instantly.
If you’ve been waiting for the program to replenish its supplies, good news: the free barrels are back, with new workshop dates on the calendar. Keep Los Angeles Beautiful has secured another round of 55-gallon syrup barrels and rain barrel conversion kits from Coca-Cola to repurpose and distribute for residential use.
To get in line for one, you must pre-register for a distribution event online. The first is scheduled for March 7 at Friendship Auditorium in Griffith Park. Additional events will be announced for March 14, March 28, and April.
The events are free to all pre-registered attendees who can prove residency by showing a copy of their most recent LADWP bill or a California ID reflecting a City of LA address. Qualified residents will receive a 30-minute orientation on how to properly install and maintain their rain barrels.
Only one barrel will be provided per household, so if you’re in need of more, LADWP is continuing its offer of a $100 per barrel rebate (through SoCal Water$mart) if you buy your own. The rebate is limited to four barrels per household.
Baltaire, New Restaurant, Opens
Baltaire is now open after a long construction phase. Baltaire, an upscale steak house, is located where the Cheesecake Factory used to be. It’s between Coral Tree Cafe and Union Bank, near Darlington, on the north side of San Vicente.
Lecture April 16: How Pop Culture Becomes the News
The fourth and final segment of the Christian Science Monitor series on modern-day media will be held Thursday, April 16 at the Tenth Church of Christ, Scientist, starting a 7:30 pm. Veteran journalists Dan Wood and Gloria Goodale will moderate the session on “Arts and Culture: How Pop Culture Becomes the News.”
The Church of Christ, Scientist, is located at 1133 So. Bundy, catty-corner from Ralphs grocery store.
