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BEVERLY HILLS VOLUME XXXXVI NUMBER 51 $135 PER YEAR - $1.25 PER COPY •
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DECEMBER 30, 2011
How The Democrats Rigged California’s Districts Non-Partisan Research Institute ProPublica Releases Comprehensive Independent Study Couture De’ Aluminum— Beverly Hills resident and future-forward fashion designer Ayse Byzanz flaunted her latest creation, an aluminum laced dress, down Canon Drive Wednesday afternoon for p a s s e r s b y. Byzanz a native of Germany, said she moved to Beverly Hills to get her wearable art line off the ground.
BH Fire Captain saves a celebrity during charity event. 4
Beverly Vista makes 1,200 lunches during their Feed the Hungry event. 4
Courier Photo by Krystal Leach de Amante
Arizona native visits Two Rodeo’s Christmas tree for the holidays. 5
Recreation and Parks commission chair honored for service. 5
Julius Rothchild celebrates his 100th birthday this Saturday. 10 •Fashion •Arts & Entertainment •Birthdays
9 16 20
By Marla Schevker Last week, the Jim Falk Lexus dealership finally received approval to begin its expansion. It took two years and more than 12 meetings to get the necessary au-
• Announcements • Real Estate • Rentals • Sales • and More
25
(see ‘REDISTRICTING,’ page 12)
thorization from the Planning Commission and the City Council to move forward with the project. Even after two years, the completion of the project is at (see ‘LEXUS,’ page 18)
Christiansen Sentencing Thurs. By Marla Schevker The sentencing for former BHUSD Director of Planning and Facilities Karen Christiansen is set for next Thursday, Jan. 5 at 8:30 a.m. According to Deputy District Attorney Max Huntsman,
she could serve up to eight years in state prison. Christiansen was convicted of four counts of felony conflict of interest in her role as employee and consultant to the Beverly (see ‘CHRISTIANSEN,’ page 18)
Oregon Player Helps Choking Man During Beef Bowl Dinner
What Makes Us and Others Like A Restaurant; Celebrating The Holiday At E. Baldi With Our Local And Visiting Italians; The Mystery Of Madame X; Looking For The Finest Lingerie
CLASSIFIEDS
ensure that the voters got cheated. According to ProPublica, Democrats statewide had expected to gain a few seats as a result of redistricting but “an internal party projection says that Democrats will likely pick up six or seven seats in a state where the party’s voter registrations have grown only marginally… The losers in this once-a-decade reshaping of the electoral map, experts say, were the state’s voters. The intent of the citizens’ commission was to directly link a lawmaker’s political fate to the will of his or her constituents. But as ProPublica’s review makes clear, Democratic incumbents are once again insulated from the will of the electorate.” “Very little of this is due to demographic shifts,” Professor Doug Johnson at the Rose Insti-
Lexus Expansion Still At Least 18 Months From Completion
George Christy, Page 6
Editorial from Rabbi Pressman AND MORE
Editors Note: The following story is based on the report just issued by the public interest research organization “ProPublica” written by Olga Pierce and Jeff Larson and carried nationwide, but was buried by the Los Angeles Times. This year, unlike in decades past, California formed a citizen’s commission to redraw the district lines throughout the state. These lines will dictate who lives in what district and who represents those districts. Reelection for incumbents can become a likely occurrence or virtually impossible. Last week, ProPublica uncovered a scandal in the citizenrun redistricting commission. Its report revealed how the Democratic Party rigged the process, destroyed the commission’s independence and pulled the strings behind the scenes to
YES, THEY’RE YOUR BEVERLY HILLS NEIGHBORS—Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise live in a $35 million mansion, and they attended the premiere of Tom’s Mission Impossible—Ghost Protocol with his co-stars Simon Pegg and Paula Patton (above) in New York. More photos in George Christy’s column on page 6 and check his Pick of the Week on page 11. Photos By Alex Berliner/ABImages
Oregon guard Mark Asper performed the Heimlich maneuver on a diner at the Beef Bowl at Lawry's The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills yesterday. Paul Diamond told City News Service that he “bit off a piece of meat slightly larger than I could swallow, choked a bit” then stood up. “My son pressed a bit too high, sternum, rather than underneath,” said Diamond, a Sher-
man Oaks resident who had written episodes of Married... With Children' and Miami Vice. ”Mr. Asper came and did a proper Heimlich bearhug and I coughed the meat up.” Diamond said he was breathing throughout and was “not in too much distress.” “The posts that say he `saved my life' are exaggerating,” said (see ‘BOWLS,’ page 13)