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MID-VOTING TIME at WVRC – July 29th
Yes, a week from today DON NELSON
and YOE will count the ballots – this will take place about 11:45
onward, and if you wish to be present, you are certainly welcome.
BUT – if you haven’t yet voted, DO IT NOW, PLEASE! The ballots must
reach us by meeting time on the 5th of August. Remember, if
you don’t vote, you don’t have any basis for complaining about whatever
the result may be.
But back to today, the 29th
– HENRIETTA LIAN led the Pledge, followed by LENNY FRIEDMAN and two
rotaractors, PIA O’NEIL and RONEN NAZARIAN as the song leaders, with PP
JIM DOWNIE on the piano. We did the first and last verses of America,
and it sounded good. BOB FLICK gave the Invocation, excerpted herein:
“We thank you, Dear Lord for your abundant gifts to us…and quoting Adlai
Stevenson,”In America, anyone can become president. That’s one of the
risks you take”, Lord, we ask that you keep us from being distracted,
…and help us to remember and remain focused on advancing the mission and
motto of our club, “Service Above Self”. Good Job, BOB!
STEVE LORE was called upon to
introduce any visiting Rotarians, and we had TWO! PDG RICK MENDOZA
from the Redondo Club, and Ruben Perez, from Pan De Azucar, Uruguay – he
was in the jewelry business. While I’m occasionally less than perfect in
my Spanish translations, I think his city and club name has to do with
Sugar Bread! Anyway, moving right along, there were several guests – PP
JIM COLLINS brought Carol, SALLY BRANT invited Kathleen Wright, who is
also with Coldwell Banker, and the husband of our Speaker, Dr. Milton
Krisiloff was there in support .of his wife.
Two brief bulletins about our
members who are ill –
RALPH BEASOM reported on BRUCE
ROLF. BRUCE is having a tough time. He has been moved to Berkeley
East, at the corner of Arizona and 20th Street in Santa
Monica. His direct phone number is (310)745-5990, and he can take phone
calls. PP HOWIE HENKES is having the same problem that RALPH BEASOM
just got over. HOWIE is at home, and awaiting the results of
another endoscopy. His internal bleeding has stopped, but they still
don’t know where it occurred. By all means give him a call. NOTE
– these two men NEED our support. Let’s show what Rotary means, OK?
CHRIS BRADFORD once again
announced the forthcoming District Breakfast, which will be on August 11th,
0715 at the LAX Marriott. Please reserve through CHRIS. But
before that, on Saturday August 7th, there will be a Seminar
on Membership, at Carson Community Center. It will start with
breakfast, and end at noon. SHANE WAARBROEK is the contact person, and
it will be a real learning session. Our Membership Committee will also
be meeting soon – stay tuned for the date, please.
And lastly, for August, there will
be an Ethics Symposium on the 14th, at 1 p.m. in the
Community Room at the Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd Street.
“Does the Four Way Test apply in corporate America” Methinks our own
Senor RUDY is much involved in this particular session. And of course
some deviate in the audience asked, “Are you for it or against it?”
Just shows that it’s dangerous to allow the convicts to talk. And a
note on menus, please. New member SOL DRESNER has approached the hotel
management regarding providing some specialized meals for those with
dietary problems. They have the capability to provide these menus, so
please contact SOL with your specific needs. And appro of nothing
else, I have meant for several weeks to thank PP JIM DOWNIE for
improving the stability of our Membership Name box. JIM put some
spacers in, and they have made a real difference – not a badge fell out
going back and forth to the Luxe, for which I am most grateful. Thanks,
JIM. RUDY’S WORLD was up next, and several members were suggested for
‘voluntary’ fines. This means that President Elect DON NELSON then
writes each of those so identified, asking them if they would like to
pay a fine, and if so, how much. While it is true that YOE was one of
those taped today, and thus the following may be considered somewhat
self-serving, it is also true that such additional letter writing is
really donkey work, and is it necessary? If we are to be fined, I would
urge Senor RUDY to name the amount when he names the culprits who
qualify for the Virgin Shelf. Those with contrary opinions should feel
free to let me know, but I think we ought to simplify the system,
please.
We had a most interesting Rotarian
with us, from Uruguay, as noted above. He is Ruben Perez, and his
Rotary Club has only 15 members. Their town, Pan de Azucar, has 9,000
residents – but they do not have their own Fire Station. Rotarian Ruben
ha taken on the task of building their much-needed Fire Station, since
the nearest one is 12 kilometers away – and the additional travel
time can be very serious in controlling a fire. He figures he will need
$50,000 to complete the structure, even with the site donated, plans
donated by a Rotarian, and cement provided by another Rotarian. Other
in-kind donations have been made, and he is seeking help from us and
other Rotarians. After the meeting today, I took him and Senor RUDY to
visit our own Fire Station #37, and Captain Mike Kitaily was his
always-gracious self. He showed them around and gave Ruben some advice
and suggestions. and we all appreciate his courtesy and help. This is a
really necessary project, and we wish Ruben good luck and Godspeed in
his efforts.
We then had a few minutes for
table talk, to discuss the possibilities of our sponsoring a Charter
School. It was agreed by all that our earlier Speaker, Frank Baxter,
provided lots of positive information, including noting the difference
in funding provided by LAUSD to their regular schools and to Charter
Schools. The test results of Charter Schools were quite good, and the
idea is certainly sound. The start-up cost is two million dollars, and
it takes a year to become operational. We also soon agreed that, should
we consider sponsoring one, it should be in South Central Los Angeles,
but with OUR name on it, of course. This is a real challenge, and one
we should explore further.
SALLY BRANT introduced our
Speaker, Flora Gil Krisiloff. Ms Krisiloff has an outstanding record
of community involvement and service, which began as a Public Health
Nurse thirty years ago, and she has never stopped serving the community.
She was born in Hong Kong, raised
in Thailand, and came to the U.S. when she was eleven. She earned a
full four-year scholarship to UCLA, and identifies herself as a
community activist... Having lived in Brentwood for the last twenty
years, she is a co-founder of the Brentwood Community Council, and
serves as its Chairman. Her organization is not one of the certified
community councils, which means they are not bound by the exclusionary
rules that limit these other councils. Her second area of expertise
comes from being appointed by then-Mayor Riordan to the WLA Planning
Commission four years ago – which she also chaired for two years. In
2001, Ms Krisiloff was named Brentwood’s “Citizen of the Year”. She is
also the recipient of the Paul Revere Award, and the City of LA 2000
Pioneer Woman Award, so her self-description as a Community Activist is
certainly accurate. She is a candidate to succeed Cindy Miscikowski in
the 11th City Council District, since Cindy must step down
due to Term Limits.
Her topic today is the Veteran’s
Administration property in Brentwood. This land, donated late in the
nineteenth century by two individuals to the VA, once comprised 700
acres, and now has been reduced to 400 acres – still a large parcel,
obviously. Three years ago, Congress mandated that the VA in Brentwood
put forth a development plan for the next twenty five years. The first
draft was totally unsatisfactory to the Brentwood Glen Homeowners
Association, and she has worked closely with Congressman Henry Waxman
and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to kill that first proposal. Her priority
is that the land be used for the benefit of Veterans, period.
Incidentally, the VA in Brentwood was the ONLY such facility to be
ordered to produce such a development plan. She soon learned that the
three-month extension given to the VA from Washington was totally
unsatisfactory, since so many other agencies and interested parties must
be consulted. This time limit has now been extended.
Q&A - BOB FLICK, "What can be
proposed that is appropriate to this large parcel?" The needs of the
veterans must be met, including permanent housing on the property, which
has none at present. Saving some open space is also important. ELLIOTT
TURNER, "Could they move to a larger site, somewhere in the county?" The
veterans much prefer to use the present site. DON NELSON, "Do you
cooperate with the Brentwood Home Owner’s Association?" Yes, we have
very good relationships with their Directors. Kathleen Wright, one of
our guests – "Have you considered putting in a Golf Training Center?"
There is already a nine-hole golf course on the site, and the Training
Center idea is one to consider. PP JIM COLLINS, "How many veterans are
there on the site now?" The VA has focused on Critical care, and they
are planning for housing to accommodate 360 permanent residents. RALPH
BEASON, "What about the plans for the Cemetery?" The VA would like
to expand its use, with more Columbarium niches. TONY MARRONE, "There
is a real existing mess at the intersection on Sepulveda – can this be
cleared up?" The problem is that some of the land is County land, and
the competing jurisdictions sometimes don’t work well together. This
can best be handled through Zev Yaroslavsky. MIKE GINTZ, "Is there any
present plan to help the many homeless vets who seem to just hang
around." Ms Krisiloff agrees, but nothing specific is in the works at
present. SLOSS VIAU, "The Salvation Army facilities have certainly been
helpful," and she also agrees. DENNIS CORNWELL, "The San Vicente
corridor to the beach needs help – it is always crowded." This is all
part of the increasing traffic everywhere in LA. RAY ZICKFELD,
Cheviot Hills won’t agree to ANY traffic changes, in his experience.
And the last comment, by Senor
RUDY – We should build another Madame Wu’s Garden in Malibu! Flora Gil
Krisiloff, thank you for your continuing involvement in our community
and for updating us on some of the problems.
YOE, Ernie Wolfe |