Culver City Times

Surprisingly, the Planning Commission has approved the Swerdlow 7-Eleven project at 4436 Sepulveda Boulevard. In spite of efforts by local residents over a period of years to raise the consciousness of government and committee members who decide these things, it now feels very possible that we will have our sixth 7-Eleven within city boundaries and a third one located on Sepulveda for those who enjoy stopping their cars at short intervals to refill their soda cups.

Imagine that. Three on one street from Jefferson Boulevard to Venice Boulevard. Even though the property has stood vacant for more than a decade, must we be out of our skulls to think it's possible that our community really needs three 7-Eleven shops in such a short space?!

Blight. Bad. Graffiti. Bad. Trash. Bad. Congestion. Bad. Eyesore. Bad.

We all agree that the undeveloped property is overdue for a new commercial inhabitant. That abandoned gas station needs to go bye-bye. Come walk around the…

As you have no doubt read, Los Angeles just made history by becoming the largest city in the world to ban plastic bags in supermarket checkout lines. And to hear Culver City Councilman Andrew Weissman, Culver City is not far behind. Are you like me, in that you've been incorporating cloth bags into your routine with varying degrees of success (sometimes hard to remember to bring those suckers into the store from the trunk of my car...)? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the…

Blum & Poe Gallery in Culver City will present an evening of readings with Eleanor Antin and Simone Forti this Saturday, May 26th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Antin will read from her recent literary memoir Conversations with Stalin, described as a 'smart, no holds barred, black comedy in the picaresque, coming-of-age tradition of Holden Caulfield, Huck Finn, Little Orphan Annie and the irrepressible Dorothy on the road to Oz.' Forti will be reading poetry selections from her books Handbook in Motion and Oh, Tongue, her upcoming book The Bear in the Mirror, and new unpublished material. Admission is free. 

Eleanor Antin, a photographer and artist whose work often plays with classical or…

Construction -- or at least destruction -- continues on the former car dealership on the southeast corner of Washington and Sepulveda in Culver City. 

According to a representative of owner Continental Development Corporation, the property is being remodeled into retail space. The company is in negotiations with Starbucks, Chase Bank, Chipotle, Elevation Burger and Jersey Mike's Subs to fill the building on the corner. Continental is in negotiations with Fresh & Easy to occupy the new building to be erected in the property to the south.…

It's back! As previously reported, the owners of the property at 4436 Sepulveda Boulevard, at the southeast corner of Braddock Drive, are proposing the building of a 7-Eleven convenience store on the property. The Culver City Planning Commission invites your participation in a public hearing concerning whether it should be built. The hearing (rescheduled from February 8 and from March 14) will take place in the Mike Balkman Council Chambers in City Hall (9770 Culver Blvd.) on Wednesday, May 23, at 7:00.

The last time this issue came up (in February and again in March), it caused quite the discussion (see comments below).

The property is one of five vacant gas stations I highlighted back in April…

Every other friday, I'll post a picture of something in Culver City that is 'hiding in plain sight.'

This time, the question is: Do you know where in Culver CIty this sculpture is? If you know, enter your response in the comments box of this post! I'll reveal the answer in two Fridays, when I post a new game.

Last time, I posted this tower:

Culver City Times member Deborah Weinrauch correctly identified it as the tower at St. Augustine Church, adding, "The church tower is really beautiful and special and…

Culver City's own Roller Derby team, the Hollywood Scarlets, will host the "Midnight Terror" from Salt Lake City, Utah, this Saturday night in Culver City's Veteran's Auditorium. The main event is at 8 p.m., and tickets cost $14. 

They describe the event as "Family friendly, action packed, beer and wine with ID, and LOTS of fun!"

The reviews on Yelp really make it sound pretty great. 

According to LA Eater, the above space -- on the corner of Washington and Wasatch in the West Washington District of Culver City, directly across the street from Waterloo & City -- will be home to a new restaurant called The Corner Door. The chef will be Luke Reyes of The Tasting Kitchen on Abbot Kinney in Venice.

Says the LA Eater article:

It has taken several months to convert the former Financial/Real Estate office space into an actual restaurant, right now the project is about one month out.…

Reads the commentary: "On May 8th 2012 This is Raw UN-Edited Video of a Expo Test Train under its own power La Cienega to Culver City Station. This video was made with the Help of Metro staff."

Exciting stuff.

Some stills from the video:…

After a couple of months of construction, Culver City park has opened a new playground filled with the latest climbing and sliding equipment for area kids. 

According to a recent article in The Los Angeles Wave, the redesign had a $260,000 price tag, and it was financed through a Proposition A grant earmarked for park improvement projects. The article continued:

With amenities that include hexagon-shaped cubes — on which children can climb by holding on to hand and foot grips — a spinner, slides, springers, climbing ropes, a seesaw and a sandbox for water activities, Reynolds said the playground’s “universal design” will provide a fun…