Culver City Times

Even before building renovations begin, change is beginning to manifest at the Wende Museum’s new space in Culver City’s Veteran’s Park Armory. Peeking in the glass front doors, one can already see the first object to be stored in the large, open interior of the building – a sculpture of a miner by Hungarian artist Szabó Jelzéssel.

Here’s how the Wende Museum describes the piece:

This sculpture celebrates coal mining, one of Hungary’s main industries. Naturalistically sculpted from one tree trunk nearly 7.5 feet tall, the figure conveys an extraordinary presence. The coal miner has broad shoulders and a grounded stance. He stands relaxed, supported by his drill, looking straight out into the distance, associating it with an ideal image of masculinity.

This…

This morning, Culver CIty Mayor Jeff Cooper shared some good news about Culver City's financial obligation to the state in the wake of the dissolution of its redevelopment agency. Said Cooper:

"I am excited to share some good news ... nearly $20 million worth! Last night, the city received a determination letter from the California Department of Finance agreeing to accept $2,724,618 to settle our dispute over what the city owed the state after our Redevelopment Agency was eliminated. The state originally wanted Culver City to pay $22,178,120! Thanks to an incredible, die-hard effort by our City Council and our amazing staff, we have cleared the most contentious part of our fight with the state to get our former redevelopment projects moving forward. Still lots of work to…

Every other Friday, I post a picture of something in Culver City that is 'hiding in plain sight.' Last week I asked: Do you know where in Culver City this text is?

Three Culver City Times members correctly identified that the words hang over the (southern) entrance to Sony Pictures Studio. Crystal Covington was the first to chime in -- and it was her first-ever entry. Congratulations Crystal! Diane Williams also spoke up for the first time since May with her correct (although unsure) entry. And Where Am I superstar Luis Lopez demonstrated both his eagle eye and a…

Sebastian Ridley-Thomas defeated former Culver City mayor and city clerk Christopher Armenta Tuesday to win a special election for the vacant Southern California legislative seat representing Culver City and surrounding areas.

Ridley-Thomas -- an aide to Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price Jr. -- will fill the Assembly District 54 seat vacated this summer when then-Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell, a Democrat, resigned after she was elected to the state Senate.

Ridley-Thomas is the son of former state legislator Mark Ridley-Thomas, who is currently serving as chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The district now represented by Sebastian Ridley-Thomas includes Culver City as well as Baldwin Hills, Century City, Crenshaw and…

Celebrate the season at the annual Culver City Downtown Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration in Town Plaza next to the Culver Hotel at Culver Blvd. and Van Buren Place this Thursday, December 5, at 6 p.m.  

Santa Claus will make a special appearance, and local choruses will perform. Mayor Jeff Cooper and city council members are expected at the event -- and hot cider, hot cocoa and other festive treats will be served.  Culver City makes this holiday celebration “green” and energy efficient, lighting a 22-foot artificial Rocky Mountain pine tree with more than 7,500 LED lights.

The event is presented by the Downtown Business Association and the City of Culver City.

WHERE:

Town…

The Ballona Wetlands Land Trust was founded in 1994 with the mission of preserving the greater Ballona ecosystem from urban encroachment. The tireless work of hundreds of volunteers and the generosity of many donors across a coalition of organizations led to the successful transfer of property from a private development into a State ecological reserve in 2004. While the roughly 600 acres that were ultimately set aside for conservation purposes was far more than many thought possible, an environmental analysis identified the size of the reserve as a challenge for maintaining biodiversity. This is one of many reasons why the Land Trust is opposing the current development proposal by the Annenberg Foundation. The article below is a response by the Land Trust’s President, Walter Lamb,…

Every other Thursday, 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 text is? If you know, enter your response in the comments box of this post.

If your answer fails to appear in the comments section immediately, fear not! So more people can play, I'll hold all the responses until next Thursday, when I'll reveal them.

Then the following Thursday, I'll post a new game.

Thrillist LA just put together a list of the "Coolest Bars and Restaurants in Town," and both Public School 310 and The Corner Door made the cut. 

Here's the semi-coherent blurb about Corner Door:

This just-opened, brick-and-steel-laden neighborhood barstaurant's got food from a former Tasting Kitchen guy (including cider-glazed wings w/ chipotle, brown sugar & scallions), but the Housewives-real hotness is drinks from an MB Post dude like the amazing-sounding bourbon, apricot, lemon, honey & Thai chili "Miner Incident," aka every single time you looked at a picture of Selena Gomez before last year.…

Artist Mitchell Syrop -- born in Yonkers but now a Los Angeles native -- has an outdoor piece up right now outside the Francois Ghebaly Gallery, at 2600 S. La Cienega Blvd. in Culver City.

"If we imagine ourselves as living in an enlightened, pluralistic society where enforced doctrines about the nature of people and things no longer exist, Syrop’s work makes us think again," concluded a Frieze Magazine analysis of the artist in 1998. The article went on to identify Syrop's persistent examination of "hidden systems of signification," describing in detail Syrop's ‘yearbook’ project:

These consisted of 21.5 x 27.5 cm…

Nearly 100 supporters turned out yesterday to voice their endorsement of Mayor Jeff Cooper who is seeking re-election to a seat on the Culver City Council in the April, 2014 election.

Held at the Veterans Park home of Beverly and Dan O’Brien, the event drew supporters from a wide variety of political backgrounds and from every neighborhood in the city.

“It was gratifying that so many people from throughout the city gave up their Sunday afternoon to let me know that they would like to see me continue working for Culver City,” Cooper said. “Over the past four years, I have worked hard to protect neighborhoods and keep our city on firm financial footing, and I hope to continue those efforts for four more years.”

A nearly 25-year…