Didi Hirsch; a valuable community asset

Judy Miller

NOTE: This is the ninth in a series of Culver City Progress Blog articles highlighting local community groups doing good work in Culver City.

Located in Culver City, Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center is a non-profit agency which has been transforming lives since 1942.  Their mission is to provide services to children and adults experiencing emotional and substance abuse challenges.  The agency provides a wide range of services to help people lead successful, productive lives and continues its ongoing commitment to erasing the stigma of mental illness.

Last year, the agency provided service in 11 centers throughout LA County and helped almost 75,000 children and adults.  Programs include outpatient treatment, employment assistance and wellness centers.  They partner with 65 schools in 13 districts providing student and parent counseling on site. Didi Hirsch also provides short term private counseling to individuals and families.

The agency was the first in the country to have a 24-hour suicide prevention crisis line using community volunteers. The Suicide Prevention Center is recognized as having developed the telephone crisis intervention model now used by most crisis centers around the world.  Providing service in both English and Spanish, the Crisis Line can be reached at 1800 273 TALK (8255). This service is not only for people who are depressed; but is also available to family members or friends who seek guidance in helping someone they care about.

It is estimated that in the U.S. someone takes their life every 15 minutes. Since 1980, as part of a national suicide prevention initiative, Didi Hirsch has also provided a program called “Survivors After Suicide.” Surviving the suicide of a family member or friend is one of the most traumatic experiences a person may ever experience.  Whether the loss is recent or past, professional therapists help people find a healing path.

Didi Hirsch is organizing a 5K Walk/Run for Suicide Prevention on September 23, 2012, starting from La Tijera Blvd and 88^th St. For details on time and location, please contact Didi Hirsch at 310.751.5420 or email tmarkowitz@DidiHirsch.org

Two of the agency’s case histories exemplify how Didi Hirsch works:

After losing her job, her car and her home, Angela, 26, was finally ready to kick her 9-year addiction to methamphetamine.  But she couldn’t do it alone.  She checked herself into a substance abuse treatment program but was so distressed by her separation from her 5 year old daughter that she left the program after just 2 nights.  Then she heard about Didi Hirsch’s outpatient substance abuse program.  Six months later, Angela was completely sober for the first time since she was 14 years old.  

Roger was a part-time longshoreman whose dreams had become derailed by mental illness.  He came to Didi Hirsch’s Excelsior House which provides residents an opportunity to live in a 28-day program, where he received counseling and learned better coping skills.  With the help and support of staff, he was able to go back to work and continue to receive treatment.

Clients who receive intensive mental health services at Didi Hirsch have seen big improvements in their lives.  Hospitalizations have decreased buy 55%, homelessness by 47% and incarcerations by 21%. 

Culver City is fortunate to have Didi Hirsch in our midst, serving the LA community for over 70 years.

What you can do to help:

·         Join the Didi Hirsch 5K Walk/Run for Suicide Prevention on

      September 23, 2012

              La Tijera Blvd. @ 88^th St. For details contact Didi Hirsch at 310.751.5420

·         Make a contribution to continue the work of this agency

·         Donate your car, boat, RV or motorcycle

·         Volunteer!

The DidiHirsch CommunityMental HealthCenter is located at 4760 S. Sepulveda Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230

Judy Miller is a co-founder of the Culver City Downtown Neighborhood Association and is a licensed clinical social worker

Advocating, Educating and Sacrificing: Will A New Superintendent Lead CCUSD towards a Rosy Future?

Roberta Sergant

It was a tough call.  Should I watch the Dodgers v/s the Philadelphia Phillies, or America’s Got Talent, Wheel of Fortune, or Hell’s Kitchen?  Then again, maybe I should get up off of my comfy sofa and attend
the Meet and Greet with the new Superintendent of CCUSD.  While baseball is important, putting the leadership of our schools is definitely not a game, it is serious business.

Unlike when Patricia Jaffe was chosen to lead our district as an Interim Superintendent, and then as our Superintendent, this time our talent search has led us beyond Culver City to mine the riches of South Kitsap School District, in the state of Washington.  Our newest addition to the CCUSD will guide us either more towards good fortune, or towards….well, let’s just say that Chef Ramsey will not be there to meet and greet us.

The direction and destiny of CCUSD is now in the hands of David LaRose.  With complete biographies on the Patch, and in the Culver Currents, how do we get beyond the curriculum vitae to know the man?  One way is to look at the honors that have been bestowed upon him…Man of the Year from the Kitsap Chamber of Commerce, Service to Youth Award from Kitsap Scouting, and Whole Child Award from the Washington State Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Hmmmm, all of interest, but primarily the last one, given “for his systemic and strategic approach to meeting the needs of all students.”  Repeatedly, in his own writing he mentions that his goal is for  EVERY child to succeed, ensuring that they are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged and hopeful. We can’t argue with that!  These goals jive perfectly with the CCUSD’s Mission Statement and Core Beliefs.

School Board President, Karlo Silbiger, wrote that Dave will “really elevate our focus on what’s best for kids in all aspects of their lives.”  With his background as a teacher, coach, principal, Assistant Superintendent for Family and Support Services, and Superintendent, Mr. LaRose comes with solid credentials and experiences to make this goal a reality. 

Much of Mr. LaRose’s writing deals with hopefulness, as opposed to being wishful.  He quotes Christopher Reeve and Dr. Martin Luther King, two brave men who inspired others with the importance of hope.  Now, we in Culver City need to help assure that the hopefulness that Mr. LaRose brings to CCUSD will be translated into positive change. 

EDUCATION:  Big changes lie ahead in education, including an entirely new set of Core Content Standards to go into effect in 2014.  Several of our schools need to improve our services to our English Language Learners.  This will be better achieved if we pay attention to the Low Socio-Economic Level students who often overlap with our EL population.  Mr. LaRose “addressed children’s needs beyond academics in South Kitsap schools,” said Kathy Clayton when Mr. LaRose was honored for his Whole Child leadership. He was recognized for a “broad spectrum of programs…. Making sure that kids are coming to school healthy and safe, and making sure that they are supported in the school system and beyond.”

ADVOCACY: In order to overcome barriers to success Mr. LaRose advocated broadened partnerships with the community in order to foster a wider safety net for South Kitsap students.  This is an area where our long established partnerships with CCUSD (Sony, Riordan Plumbing, Symantec, the Music Center, etc.) can be recognized and expanded.  Our ongoing search for expanded funds is also something that Mr. LaRose advocates.  Community groups and Support Groups (such as Scouts, Temples, Churches, Mosques, Advocates for Language Learning, PTA, booster clubs, etc) will step forward to assist.

SACRIFICE: This is the subject that will be the most difficult for the CCUSD community to swallow. Mr. LaRose has had experience with deficits, shortfalls, rising costs of labor, enrollment fluctuation, and budget challenges.  Part of his philosophy is the full inclusion of district employees in discussions and plans for implementation of any projected cuts.  In South Kitsap he said “We’re going to share in this; this is like family budgeting. It costs more to live now.”  Unfortunately, Mr. LaRose has familiarity with potential cuts to class size enhancements, elimination of funding for highly capable students, and reductions in staff.  He identifies these as “Value-Based decisions.” 

It is the hope of every employee, parent and child that our Culver City Board of Education has made the correct decision in hiring Mr. David LaRose to guide our schools through some lean times ahead.  It will be his values that will, in the end, have to mesh with our hopes and reality.  Culver City Unified School District is not Disneyland.  It is a happy place, but it is also a business.  We will need to watch our pennies, keep kids first, and hold on to each other on the scary rides.

Roberta Sergant is a CCUSD teacher at El Marino Elementary School

Momentum Building as Activists Continue Organizing Against Fracking

Rebecca Rona-Tuttle

By a unanimous vote of the Culver City City Council, on July 2 we became the first city in California to call for a statewide ban against fracking. KTLA Channel 5 proclaimed the vote “historic.”

Before the City Council weighed in, 24 speakers urged the City Council to recommend to the state either a ban or a moratorium on fracking.  Much attention during the meeting was paid to the terms “moratorium” and “ban.” After all, a ban implies that fracking will never be allowed. Period.

Ideally the City Council would have considered what many of us were asking for: a ban on fracking in and under Culver City. But it was clear from the outset of the July 2 meeting that only a resolution regarding the state would be addressed.

Fracking is well described on the website of Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community, an organization co-founded by Culver City resident Paul Ferrazzi. It reads: “Hydraulic fracturing, or ‘fracking’, is a process in which dangerous chemicals, mixed with enormous amounts of water, polymers and sand, are injected thousands of feet underground at pressures high enough to cause seismic explosions and create and prop open fissures in the sediment. This allows oil and natural gas to more easily escape and flow out of the strata to the producing wells.”

Frankly, we will never really be safe until fracking is banned throughout the world. But we’ve got plenty to do just getting bans in Culver City, LA County and the remainder of the state.

On the one hand, we activists are in a hurry. Why? Because we have absolutely no assurance that fracking is not going on right now. No moratorium on fracking is in place. And PXP is under no obligation to report its activities. So everything that we’re terribly concerned about—an enormous  earthquake causing death and destruction, the waste of many millions of gallons of water, pollution of the water in our aquifers, methane and possibly other pollutants in our air, and the many health problems associated with fracking, including cancer, asthma and possibly birth defects—could be occurring now or could be about to happen.

On the other hand, we know it will probably take many meetings, e-mails, speeches, letters to the editor, etc. before we are able to secure the safety of Culver City residents and people throughout the state—at least as it pertains to fracking.

Before I delve into what we’ve been doing in the days since that historic resolution, I’ll take you back to July 2.

The resolution drafted for the City Council’s consideration was for a moratorium, not a ban. The City had widely distributed its draft resolution, which recommended a moratorium on fracking to the State of California. But person after person strode to the microphone during the public comment period, nearly each of them calling for a ban against fracking. Their demands and pleas gave Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells the ammunition she needed to urge a ban rather than a moratorium.

She declared to all of us: “We have to be bold. The state needs pressure. We don’t have time to mess around. The message really does matter. ‘Ban’ sends a strong message.”

Councilman Jeff Cooper backed her up. “The word ‘ban’ shows we’re serious. We should let the state know how we really feel.”

In a lengthy speech about fracking and its dangers to the environment, Councilmember  Sahli-Wells  made it clear to all in the audience that she’d heard our concerns and shares them. The applause was long and loud—as close to a standing ovation as I’ve seen in the chambers.

Although Councilpersons Mehaul O’Leary and Jim Clarke stated they favored a moratorium, Mayor Andy Weissman requested the five-person body to achieve a consensus, and eventually the vote was unanimous: 5-0 in favor of a ban.

Unfortunately the City Council’s resolution falls short of recommending an outright ban. Instead it urges Governor Jerry Brown and the California State Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) to place a ban on hydraulic fracturing “until DOGGR takes all necessary and appropriate actions to adopt, implement and enforce comprehensive regulations concerning the practice of fracking that will ensure that public health and safety and the environment will be adequately protected.”

The resolution was nothing more than a request to the state. California might or might not pass a ban or moratorium. If California does not pass either, Culver City will have absolutely no protection prior to regulations being put in place. And goodness knows how effective or ineffective those will eventually be.

But there is value to the resolution. In the weeks leading up to the city council meeting, residents became further educated, and in the course of considering the resolution, the City Councilpersons learned much more about fracking and were further impressed with the level of concern residents expressed.

Next our City Councilpersons began to address the request for a ban “in and under” Culver City. We knew from the outset that they wouldn’t be voting on the matter that night. After much discussion two agreements were reached: the members need far more information before making any decisions. And fracking needs to be considered within the overall framework of updating and finalizing the city’s oil drilling ordinance. Mayor Andy Weissman directed city staff to demand information from PXP—“by subpoena or otherwise.”

Although many of us think it’s impossible for regulations to adequately protect us, Jim Clarke’s statement still gives me some hope. He told us: “Oil drilling is the most environmentally negative and risky thing we do in Culver City with or without fracking. We need to lobby DOGGR  to create regulations on fracking that will protect us. If their regulations do not sufficiently protect us, then we ban fracking.”

The mayor stated that the city council will address the oil ordinance in 45 or 60 days.

Meanwhile, the organizing is continuing. A group of us—some from Frack-Free Culver City, others representing Food & Water Watch and Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community—spoke out at a recent meeting of the Mar Vista Community Council. In an effort similar to Culver City’s, they were considering a resolution to recommend a fracking ban to Mayor Villaraigosa, the County Board of Supervisors and the Governor. Our presentations were well received, and the resolution to urge the city, county and state to ban fracking was passed by an overwhelming margin.

A few days ago, some Frack-Free Culver City members attended a Water Board meeting and heard heart-rending testimony about the harm caused by oil wells in Carson.

Other organizing is going on as well. Anyone interested in joining forces with Frack-Free Culver City can e-mail us at makeccsafe@gmail.com.

Rebecca Rona-Tuttle is a leader in Frack-Free Culver City and a Member and former Co-Chair of the Culver City Martin Luther King Planning Committee.

A Viable Solution to Culver City's Fiscal Emergency?

Stephen Murray

Culver City is in a state of fiscal emergency, still. Starting in 2010, a decline in City revenue was finally sufficient enough that the City had to spend from its savings account. Although previously the City had borrowed from other funds and sold property, in 2010 that wasn't enough and $3.2 million was taken from the reserves. Every year since then the reserves have been ransacked to make up the City's deficit. The City's current long-term structural deficit is $7-8 Million. At this rate Culver City is expected to be broke in 5 years.
   
How did this happen? The City has clearly lost income through the state's dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies, the collapse of the financial services industry, the housing market collapse and the tightening of credit culminating in a lessening of consumer spending at retail. Costs have increased too, not just from Cost-of-Living and the increasing complexity of running a city, but from rising employee/retiree medical costs, pension support and higher contribution rates into CalPERS- our public employees pension system.
   
The City lacks an auditing system, such as a Finance Committee, which works with Staff and Council to help create solutions. The City has made numerous and significant plans to address the deficit: deferring maintenance and capital improvements, borrowing from other funds, renegotiating labor contracts, pension reform, eliminating unfilled positions, selling more properties and incentivizing retirement. Each year's planning was helpful but insufficient to meet the City's revenue losses. This years budget analysis brings a suggestion to allow "our voters the opportunity to consider    increasing local tax revenues." 

From my perspective the voters already agreed to take on a tax increase in March. The City Council's proposed solution is to raise revenue via an add-on Sales tax increase of 1/2% or 3/4%. The council has been presenting the budget proposal as a Community Dialogue Series whose last session is tonight at City Council. Tonight's City Council Meeting will involve discussion of putting the Sales tax proposal on the Ballot.
   
California's has a base 7.25% State Sales tax rate and it ranks 6th in the nation on combined State and local Sales taxes behind Tennessee (9.45%), Arizona (9.12%) and Oklahoma (8.66%) to name a few.  Local add-on Sales taxes in California have traditionally been reserved for transportation projects, such as the three in LA County which add .25% each creating a 8.75% tax rate, but since 2001 over 120 local governments have attempted to use add-on Sales tax to fund General Purposes, and nearly 60% have been approved by voters. Of the 8.75% Sales tax in LA County, Culver City only receives 1%.
   
A 1/2% add-on Sales tax for Culver City increases the tax rate to 9.25% and brings in ~$7.5 Million- almost enough to cover the budget shortfall.  Santa Monica, Inglewood and 5 other cities have a 9.25% Sales tax and only 2 other California Cities have higher: South Gate and Pico Rivera at 9.75%. 1/2% won't get the City out of the red as it won't cover the deferred Capital Improvements, Maintenance and replenishment of the City's Self-Insurance and Reserves. An alternate proposal is to seek a 3/4% tax increase which would bring Culver City's tax rate to the 3rd highest in the State.
   
The attraction of using Sales tax is that, theoretically, most of the revenue would be from non-Culver City residents. Non-residents are using our roads and emergency services but aren't contributing their share. This could possibly be a compelling argument if the sales tax wasn't already our highest revenue source at 22% contribution. (When Prop 13 passed, Culver City's property tax rate was locked in below the States median tax-rate which resulted in Sales tax becoming our highest revenue generator.)
   
Sales tax has disadvantages. When Santa Monica proposed their Sales tax increase earlier this year they also expected a 10% loss in sales revenue. Sales tax revenue, like TOT, is relatively volatile compared to the more stable sources of property and utility tax. Dependence on Sales tax also skews land-use priorities by incentivizing local governments to prioritize commercial development and growth over lower income-producing residential uses.  Additionally, like other fixed-rate revenue streams, Sales tax is regressive- it proportionately costs more for those on the lower    income scale than those higher up- though there are exemptions for necessary goods: groceries, prescription drugs and some medical devices.
   
Culver City needs to address its ongoing $7-8 Million budget shortfall and a tax increase may be the most expedient way, but the City also need to address the institutional problems that have led to the City not being flexible enough to respond to forces when it needed to.  Likewise there is question whether there should be a sunset or expiration on the Sales tax. A Sales tax increase can only be a temporary measure, real tax reform should occur where we balance off our existing revenue volatility and land-use decisions with a more stable and community-driven revenue mix.
   
BTW, those looking towards Amazon.com as a way to escape a higher Sales tax will be disappointed as Amazon starts charging local Sales tax this month.

Stephen Murray was a candidate for City Council in April of 2012.

Rodney King made Culver City a Better and Fairer Place

Gary Silbiger

Rodney King, the catalyst for Culver City’s progressive movement, died on June 19, 2012 at 47 years old.  A victim of a brutal beating by Los Angeles police officers, he became a symbol of all that needed changing in the way police officers racially profiled, arrested, and denied constitutional rights of those they promised to protect.

On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was stopped by police officers as he sped in his car.  When he departed from his car, several police officers severely beat and tasered him.  Four LAPD officers were criminally charged and when the trial was transferred from Los Angeles to Simi Valley, a conservative predominantly White community, 3 were acquitted and one had a hung jury.  This led to a riot that resulted in the death of approximately 50 people and destruction in the amount of more than a billion dollars.  On the third day of the rebellion, Rodney King addressed the people and said, “Can we all get along?” quite a remarkable statement given the fact that he had been damaged by those with badges who did not want to “get along” with him.  The federal government later brought civil rights charges against the same 4 officers, 2 of whom were convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison. 

What in the world does this have to do with Culver City?  The answer is: Timothy Wind and Ted Cooke.

Timothy Wind, as you remember, was one of the 4 officers who  seriously kicked and beat Rodney King, a black man, with a baton at least 17 times, as shown on the famous videotape that was continuously televised on stations throughout the world.  Although Wind was twice found not guilty, he was fired by the LAPD in 1994.  Then, when he could find no other job, a small article in the Los Angeles Times informed us that Culver City had hired him as a community services officer – a stepping stone for becoming a police officer – by then-police chief Ted Cooke.

The L.A. Times article quickly caught the attention of a number of Culver City residents, many of whom did not know each other, that led to a meeting at a local residence to find solutions to a city government and police department that lacked the moral fortitude to tell Timothy Wind that his actions were unacceptable in our city.  This was the first time in recent memory that progressive minded individuals got together to plan solutions to city issues.  The individuals formed the Culver City Community Network which began immediately collecting over 1000 signatures demanding the immediate firing of Wind.  Several evenings were spent at City Council meetings addressing the Council with the request to fire Wind, sponsor a community dialogue with Police Chief Cooke, and form a public Police Advisory Committee.  Although a community meeting was held with Chief Cooke, nothing changed.  Public comment about the Wind issue was always held after the midnight hour when many individuals had left the Council meeting; the television and print media, however, stayed as late as required because of the importance of this timely issue.

The Culver City Community Network lasted for 6 lively years.  In addition to addressing police issues, CCCN focused on education topics, such as replacing the former Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (JROTC) classes with ones stressing peace and justice, which was successfully accomplished.  In fact, the CCCN initiated in Los Angeles County many of the educational materials exposing the military for misleading youth when joining the JROTC.  The Culver City Community Network published a popular newsletter, had members often address the City Council and School Board, contributed to the high school scholarship program, and had booths at the yearly Fiesta La Ballona.  After CCCN disbanded, its members continued to work on City and School issues, often increasing their commitments.  Since those early years, the lessons learned by the CCCN members have been fruitful in elections and a wide variety of local issues.

Rodney King, you probably never knew the impact you made on the lives of Culver City residents.  You were an unknowing catalyst in the movement for justice.  You brought many people together to work endlessly for a better world.  And you were very successful.  We thank you for your inspiration.

Gary Silbiger is the Co-Editor of the Culver City Progress Blog, the former Mayor of Culver City, and a co-founder and Past President of the Culver City Community Network.

The Culver City Animal Services Program -- A Dream Becomes a Permanent Public Safety City Service

Deborah Weinrauch

Theodore Herzl once said:  “If you will it, it is no dream.”

That statement is so true when it comes to Culver City.  Every school, business, house, park, in fact every aspect of life in our unique city began as a dream, and with the work of a caring government and the community, those dreams became reality.

Such has been the case with the Culver City Animal Services Program that began as a dream in 1999.  A group of Culver City residents joined as Friends of Culver City Animals (www.friendsofculvercityanimals.org) and decided that Culver City residents and animals deserved the same high quality animal-related services that residents, pets and wildlife in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Lawndale, Torrance, West Hollywood, Hawthorne and many other cities already enjoyed. 

Beginning in 2008 with the support of the City Council and the Culver City Police Department, an enviable local Animal Services Program was created from scratch.  Now if a resident has questions about licensing a dog, loses a pet, finds someone else’s pet, has neighbors with a barking dog, sees an injured or dead animal, encounters visiting skunks, raccoons, possums or other wildlife, Animal Services Officer Corolla Fleeger is available to help. (www.culvercitypd.org/animalservices)

The City Council did not stop with the hiring of Officer Fleeger; they also made sure that our lost and homeless animals were going to receive proper care in a local shelter.   In November 2008 the Council voted unanimously to house Culver City animals in the humane, friendly and clean spcaLA South Bay shelter where the goal is to find a home for each animal.  This has been a win-win for everyone, with the spcaLA providing an extensive and comprehensive list of  services such as humane education classes, adoption events, vaccination and microchip clinics, emergency training, low cost spay/neuter services and much more.  (www.spcala.com)

The local Animal Services Program has proven to be so successful that on June 5, 2012 it officially became a permanent city program.  Thanks to past and present members of the City Council and the Police Department, a dream has come true that has forged new friendships, positive working relationships, helped countless residents, saved lives, and given a voice to the voiceless.  Friends of Culver City Animals continues to serve Culver City residents through education, networking and assistance on a 24/7 basis.

On a final note for dog owners:  “If you license your pet, they will come home.  If you don’t, they are all alone.”  By law, every Culver City pup must be licensed to ensure your dog will never end up hopeless in a shelter.  If you have not done so already, the time to license your dog is today.  For a minimal fee, a license is life insurance for your dog.  (www.petdata.com)

Deborah Weinrauch is the Director of Friends of Culver City Animals.

A Silver Lining for the Help Group and Culver City

Carlene Brown

On Wednesday evening, June 20^th, I went to the Culver City Planning Commission meeting to offer Public Comment in support of The Help Group, a non-profit school who had requested a Conditional Use Permit Modification to accommodate an additional 200 students at their 400 –student site on Washington Blvd. between Inglewood and Grandview.

I deliberately wore a pair of designer sandals I had purchased at the Help Group’s Silver Lining Resale Boutique & Vocational Training Center, the first resale store of its kind providing vocational training and competitive employment opportunities to young adults with autism or other special needs.

What an exciting opportunity for Culver City to put themselves on the map as supporters of expanding such a state-of-the-art educational facility! I intended to convince the Planning Commission of just that.

But before I could offer my Public Comment, a written comment from former Mayor Alan Corlin stung my ears as it was read aloud. Corlin raised the question as to whether The Help Group is a “value added” to Culver City. Corlin disparaged The Help Group’s Silver Lining boutique because “it is of no benefit to Culver City’s coffers.” He then had the audacity to add that “non-profit organizations stifle economic growth!"

Immediately following Corlin’s diatribe, I charged up to the podium on my white horse. After offering my credentials as a passionate professional educator, I announced, “I am proudly wearing designer sandals that I purchased at The Help Group’s Silver Lining boutique, and that school is definitely ‘added value’ for Culver City!”

I told Planning Commission members of the wonderful tour I had been given by Nata Preis, head of one of two schools on campus. “She was so accommodating to Sylvester Street residents who registered complaints about outdoor graduation noise,” I said, “that she planned an indoor graduation ceremony for her school.” I wanted to ask if any Commissioners had visited the school, but out of respect, I refrained.

Congratulating the Planning Commission for re-considering their earlier decision to reject the Help Group’s application, I shared a commencement address quote from Paul Hawken: “Inspiration resides in humanity’s willingness to restore, redress . . . and reconsider. . . . The living world is not ‘out there’ somewhere, but in your heart.”

I held up photos of The Help Group’s 2011 ribbon-cutting ceremony in Sherman Oaks, with the tagline: “AUTISM CENTER OPENS NEW DOORS OF HOPE AND OPPORTUNITY.” Mayor Antonio Villariagosa and several LA City Council members co-hosted the event and offered words of praise and support. “That is the ribbon-cutting ceremony picture I want to see with the Culver City Mayor and City Council members,” I said. “I hope this Planning Commission wants to see that, too. And remember, ‘The living world is not out there somewhere, but in your heart.’”

The Commission did not see what I saw, however, and chose to deny The Help Group’s application for Conditional Use Permit Modification on a 3-2 vote. Commissioner Marcus Tiggs moved to approve the application, and Chairman Anthony Pleskow seconded the motion. The move to adopt a denial resolution was led by Commissioner John Kuechle, whose opening arguments echoed the free-market, heartless sentiments of Alan Corlin.  Though Kuechle’s arguments were expressed less blatantly, they were circuitous, petty, and devoid of real critical thought. Vice Chair Scott Wyant joined Kuechle in knit-picking the report given by Dr. Barbara Firestone, President and CEO of The Help Group. Wyant questioned my assessment that the Help Group staff was working hard to “accommodate” Sylvester Street neighbors. This tone of disrespect toward educators was familiar to me—the same energy I had felt in school board rooms where I given presentations about cutting-edge teaching methods and assessment tools.

The deniers’ line of argument demonstrates what cultural studies professor Henry Giroux refers to as “the ideology of the big lie. . . [that] propagates the myth that the free-market system is the only mechanism to ensure human freedom and safeguard democracy.” Giroux further asserts, in his Op-Ed piece published in Truthout, June 19, 2012, that “Getting beyond the big lie is a precondition for critical thought, civic engagement and a more realized democracy.”

The deniers do not want to get beyond the “ideology of the big lie” to learn the great “value added” that expansion of The Help Group can bring to Culver City, but Progressives do. Progressives value the information I gleaned from the promotional materials I requested—that The Help Group, founded in 1975, is “the largest, most innovative and comprehensive nonprofit of its kind in the United States serving children with special needs related to autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, ADHD, developmental delays, abuse and emotional problems.”

Specialized day schools on six campuses in the Los Angeles area offer pre-K through high school programs for more than 1,350 students, employing more than 850 staff members.  

The good news is that The Help Group will appeal the Planning Commission’s denial of their application to add 200 students to the Culver City campus, which will then place the decision in the hands of our City Council. A large network of Progressives who organized to elect Jim Clark and Meghan Sahli-Wells to City Council can now organize civic engagement on this issue, calling forth informed Public Comment in support of The Help Group and calling forth “a more realized democracy.”

The Help Group’s Silver Lining involves much more than a designer resale boutique!  

Carlene Brown is a retired teacher who is currently writing a memoir and a Certified Life Coach.