Councilman Jack Weiss at WVRC on October 3rd
RALPH BEASOM led the Pledge. LENNY proposed our National Anthem, and we did well. PP DON NELSON used the invocation for some thoughts by Michael Josephson, the subject being Apologies. It began, “For some people, an apology is always in the planning stages. Some people need to have it squeezed out of them. Some people say “Sorry” so many times it’s hard to know when they mean it. Others will never apologize, and others who never think to ask for forgiveness. Some people are separated by just one apology, others are reunited by just one apology. “Sorry” clears the slate and creates a new beginning.” Worthwhile, DON, - thanks.
We had no Visiting Rotarians, but PP STEVE SCHERER had a Special Guest, Lorin Ruttenberg, who is in Real Estate. PP DAVE WHITEHEAD introduced Floyd Fouquette, who runs the rental agency DAVE is now with – he’s a long time friend, and possible Special Guest. Surprise – LENNY brought SUNNY!
It was birthday time, for October arrivals. PP BOB WESSLING led off on the 8th, choosing Chicago. Rose Shaw came along in Fujien, China on the 10th. Both BILL EDWARDS and PP MICHAEL GINTZ liked the 11th, BILL in Bloomsburg, PA, and MIKE in Northridge. FLORENCE SAMPSON elected the 17th, in Brooklyn. PP STEVE DAY, along with SHANE WAARBROEK, both choose the 25th, STEVE in Sacramento, and SHANE in West Covina. BOB THOM elected Detroit, on the 30th, and PP PETER MORE chose the last day, the 31st, in Shanghai. They were serenaded, and signed the bookplates.
Eight members were signaled out for Special Recognition during October. RAY ZICKFELD came aboard 18 years ago. PDG ANDY ANDERSON has been with us for 25 years, along with PP TED IHNEN. DICK ROBINSON joined 26 years ago, and GEORGE COX has 28 years. PP HOMER NEWMAN is credited with 30 years, and HENRY TSENG came in 31 years ago. Of course, the Champ is PP BOB LUSK, with his 52 years!
CEO CHRIS specifically thanked the Board for their help in providing an excellent visit for DG David Moyers last week. The Paul Harris Dinner was this past Saturday, and PP DON NELSON and PP MIKE NEWMAN gave a brief report. It was at the CBS Studios, and we had three tables. While he was on his feet, PP MIKE reported on his dad, PP HOMER, who just had back surgery. He is doing well, and already walks better. And while it is some time ahead, the scheduled change of meeting in November has been cancelled – we will meet on the 15th as originally planned. ED GAULD talked about the R.I. Convention here in LA next June, reminding us that our Host Night is Monday, the 16th and the Hollywood Bowl is Tuesday night June 17th. You must be registered to attend the Hollywood Bowl event.
ELLIOTT TURNER came forward with his Joke. Seems there was a rancher out with his flock, and a very well dressed young man drove up in his zippy convertible. He said to the rancher, “If I can tell you exactly how many cows you have here, will you give me one?” The rancher agreed. The visitor then went into all sorts of electronic gizmos, including taking an aerial shot of the herd. He then spread all his reports out, and asked one of his gizmos how many were in the herd. The answer was 1,546 – which, of course, was correct. So our visitor picked up one of the herd, and stuffed it into his trunk. At this point, the rancher finally spoke up, “Let me tell you who you are. You’re a Congressman.” “Wow, that’s correct. How did you guess that?” “Well, you showed up here, although no one called you. You gave me an answer I already knew, and trying to show me how smart you were, you don’t know a thing about cows. This is a herd of sheep. Now, give me back my sheep.”
Before I get to our Speaker, I have an announcement.
Joy and I are going to Australia to see her Mother. We’ll be gone a month. So I have found some good and true reporters to take my place while I’m away. On Oct 11th, new member LEAH VRIESMAN will take over. On the 18th, LEE DUNAYER. On the 25th, ED WRIGHT, and on the 1st of Nov, ED GAULD. And just to show how I miss this task, I’ll handle the 8th, even though that is the day we get back! On that same subject, PP ERIC LOBERG will be bringing my Briefcase next week. Someone needs to pick it up and bring it back each week, of course – it does have some useful stuff inside, which we may need at meetings. And the final note – while I won’t be here to collect your parking money for St. Albans, it WILL be due when I return! And I should tell you that your honesty is an excellent example of Rotary Ethics – keep it up, please. Thanks, YOE.
SALLY BRANT introduced our Speaker, Councilman Jack Weiss. Jack has reported to us each year – this is his sixth, I believe – and he prefers Q&A, since that provides what people really want to hear about. Jack introduced his field deputy, Evan Gordon, who is at (310) 289-0353, and the person to contact with Westside questions.
Jack chairs a Committee that oversees the Police and Fire Departments, and both have been busy. The Police, under Chief Bill Bratton, have reduced crime significantly. The Fire Department, even though they had the recent discrimination suit, have an outstanding record of community service – 800,000 calls, and 20 complaints in a year!
He has helped squelch the attempt to develop the Veteran’s Complex for non-Veteran use, and is watching over Century City carefully. The new residential towers that are going in are designed for the use of those who work in Century City, and thus they should not effect traffic too much. He also is advocating a meaningful mass transit system. The proposed subway under Wilshire should jog left at Santa Monica Blvd, with a stop at Avenue of the Stars, and then back to Wilshire, and a stop at UCLA, in his opinion. He thinks this is perhaps no more than ten years away.
Q&A PP MIKE NEWMAN, What is the future of light rail in LA? Subways cost us about 300 million dollars per mile, and light rail costs maybe 50 million, so it is a lot cheaper. The problem is that no one wants to close two lanes of traffic on Wilshire. It will work in Cheviot Hills, perhaps, where they have an existing right of way. What about a stop at USC? Yes, that is in the works, and where it goes west of that is still being discussed. Jack did take a group of planners on the line that connects to Pasadena, and they all learned a lot, especially about the width of medians needed They also found that running a line along where present schools are located is very helpful. Floyd Fouquette, PP DAVE’S guest, was concerned about ridership on the subway, and the fact that Wilshire Blvd itself is not densely populated. That ‘s correct, but UCLA brings 60,000 people daily to Westwood – they need a stop. And remember that the main attraction of mass transit is that it be quick – so the straighter the line, the better. PP MIKE GINTZ reported on his own successful use of the rail and subway. PP STEVE SCHERER, What is the situation as far as Terrorism protection in LA? This is basically a function of intelligence, and we are doing better at that all the time. The Terrorism in WLA is centered on the harassment of Professors at UCLA who are involved with animal experiments. SALLY BRANT, what about the curb lanes on Sunset Blvd between GH and the beach? The problem is that the city doesn’t have money to do the necessary repaving. Major streets are repaved between 5 and 8 years, and that isn’t often enough. STEVE PETTIS, Who is watching to see that this repaving gets done? Jack immediately called on Evan, and they agreed it’s a tough problem. Jack Weiss, thanks for the update – come back soon.
Thought for the Day – If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something..
