HOLMBY NEWS
November 20, 2020
From the Holmby Westwood Property Owners Association, serving the Holmby Westwood community since 1960.
1. COVID Restrictions – Update
2. Homelessness in Westwood
3. LAPD – Arrest of Interest
4. Metro Service on Thanksgiving
5. DMV – Learner’s Permit Extension
6. Fellow Restaurant – Welcome Back to Westwood
7. Activities & Things to Do
8. HWPOA Contact Information
1. COVID RESTRICTIONS – UPDATE
CURFEW / STAY-AT-HOME ORDER
From KTLA:
California will impose a “limited” but mandatory stay-at-home order and overnight curfew on most residents in a ramped-up effort to slow a spike in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday afternoon.
Starting this Saturday night, non-essential work, movement and gatherings will be prohibited between the hours of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily, according to a news release from the governor’s office. The order will last a month and is set to expire at 5 a.m. on Dec. 21, but it could be extended as needed.
NEW COVID RESTRICTIONS
Effective Friday, November 20, Los Angeles County will tighten pandemic safeguards and restrictions as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to increase significantly. These safeguards and restrictions protect the public health and safety of our residents, and their ability to be served in our hospitals.
The first measures, effective this Friday, are:
- For non-essential businesses permitted to operate indoors—including retail stores, offices, personal care services—occupancy will be limited to 25% maximum capacity.
- The number of patrons at outdoor restaurants, breweries and wineries will be limited to 50% max outdoor capacity.
- The number customers at cardrooms, outdoor mini-golf, go-karts and batting cages will be limited to 50% maximum outdoor capacity.
- Services at personal care establishments may only be provided by appointment to customers wearing face coverings by staff wearing face coverings.
-
- Services that require either the customer or the staff to remove their face covering, such as facials and shaves, are not permitted.
- Food and drinks cannot be served at these establishments to customer.
-
- Restaurants, breweries, wineries, bars, and all other non-essential retail establishments must close from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- Outdoor gatherings remain the only gatherings permitted, and they must only include 15 people maximum who are members of no more than 3 households.
2. HOMELESSNESS IN WESTWOOD
I attended a Zoom meeting this week on Homeless in the Village. Those participating included Holmby Westwood neighbors, Jasmine from our council office, Westwood Homeowners Association, Westwood Community Council, Westwood Village Improvement Assoc. and WLAPD Captain Jonathan Tom and Senior Lead Officer, Pete Ojeda.
Neighbors were concerned that the homeless in Westwood Village were making their way into the residential neighborhood setting up tents, and using prohibitive items.
The officers explained that this is an issue throughout the Division. There are 41,000 unhoused in the city and 63,000 in the county. Many lawsuits have been filed and some directives have been issued. They were very clear on one important point: Homelessness is not a crime. It is a societal issue.
Do not take the law into your own hands. The homeless have legal representation. If you see a criminal act, call 911 to report it. If a tent is on the public right of way, it is legal unless there is not 36” available for wheelchair access. Since COVID, LAPD cannot dismantle tents. If individuals are sleeping in a car that is not blocking a driveway, call 211.
LAPD does have an Abatement Team that is in charge of clean-up and will confiscate prohibitive items including drugs and alcohol. They speak with the homeless and try to get them housing and social services. We were told that a good portion of those on the street do not want to live in a shelter. They do not want to live within the rules of shelters and prefer to be on the street.
Email Senior Lead Officer Ojeda at 36393@lapd.online and tell him the location of the homeless person. Leaving a message on his Direct line, 310-444-0741 is not as effective as an email.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
Sandy Brown, HWPOA President
3. LAPD CRIME REPORT
COMMUNITY ALERT – SEXUAL BATTERY SERIES
The LAPD is seeking the public’s assistance to identify a suspect in a series of sexual batteries that have occurred in the Westwood community since October 2020. In this series, the suspect is on a bicycle and has approached lone females from behind. As the suspect passes the victims, he reaches out with his hand and grabs the victim’s breast. The bicycle used appears to have red lining with curled handle bars.
ARREST OF INTEREST
The City of Los Angeles has experienced a dramatic increase in the theft of catalytic converters from motor vehicles countywide.
On Monday, November 16, 2020 at approximately 7:25 a.m., West Los Angeles Patrol officers arrested two suspects for receiving stolen property (catalytic converters). Officers recovered cutting tools (electric saws and blades), tools commonly used to saw off catalytic converters, and several vehicle floor jacks from inside the vehicle. The suspects also had a freshly cut catalytic converter on the rear seat of the vehicle.
4. METRO SERVICE ON THANKSGIVING
On Thursday, November 26, all Metro Bus and Rail service will operate on a Sunday/Holiday schedule. This means all buses without Sunday service will not run. For routes and service information visit Metro.net or call 323.GO.METRO.
Regular weekday service will resume Friday, November 27.
5. DMV – LEARNER’S PERMIT EXTENSION
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is extending driver’s license permits with expiration dates through May 31, 2021, to give student drivers more time during the COVID-19 pandemic to complete the prerequisites needed for a provisional license, including 6 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction with a driving school and 50 hours of supervised driving practice.
Eligible permits are extended six months from the date of expiration or to a date 24 months from the date of application, whichever is earlier. The DMV previously extended permits expiring between March 1 and November 30, 2020. The DMV has alerted law enforcement of the extensions, which require no individual action on the part of drivers.
The DMV resumed behind-the-wheel drive tests with new health and safety protocols on June 26, and appointments to take the test are available.
Click here for more information
6. FELLOW RESTAURANT – WELCOME BACK TO WESTWOOD
Fellow’s owner Philip Camino has completely redesigned his Westwood Village restaurant and recently re-opened for dinner (Wednesday-Saturday). A new menu of modern Cal-French cuisine is served on a heated patio and prepared by a talented new Executive Chef and Sommelier who both come from prestigious fine dining backgrounds.
The revamped Fellow also features new interiors and introduces The Galerie at Fellow, an adjoining art gallery and exhibition space dedicated to bringing an exemplary selection of visual artists. The current exhibition is a collection from Sam Milgrom of Hollywood’s Mr. Musichead Gallery, as well as work by “bleeding hearts” muralist James Goldcrown.
Fellow is located at 1071 Glendon Ave.
(formerly The Glendon and Moustache Cafe)
Dinner: Wed.-Sat.; Reservations suggested
Website – https://www.fellow.la/
Article – Eater LA article
7. ACTIVITIES & THINGS TO DO
HOLIDAY STRESS REDUCTION THROUGH MEDITATION
Monday, November 23 ⋅ 6:00 – 7:00pm (via Zoom)
Sponsored by the Los Angeles Public Library
Join us on Zoom this Monday, November 23rd, at 6:00 p.m. for “Holiday Stress Reduction Through Meditation”. Doug Frankel will present a simple, yet powerful meditation technique that will be explained and practiced during the session. This can enrich one’s life personally, professionally, and spiritually, and help with seasonal stress.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://lapl.zoom.us/j/92482152005?pwd=dFZZRklJaHdNdDFHMFB6aFV6Y0FEUT09
Meeting ID: 924 8215 2005
Passcode: 153783
——-
BOTANY OF THE HOLIDAYS (Livestream)
Thursday December 3rd 2020 • 5:00pm PST • Livestream
Presented by UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden
Seasonal festivities bring together traditions, history, family and friends. To a botanist, they are also a case study of the deeply interconnected relationship between nature and culture. Join us for the 4th annual Botany of the Holidays as we travel to China and Brazil to share the botanical origins of some winter holiday traditions, and see just how important plants are to celebrations around the world.
This event is free, but RSVP to reserve a space and receive streaming information. An email will be sent out before the event to attendees with details for how to stream live.
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/botany-of-the-holidays-2020-tickets-124302834123
8. HWPOA CONTACT INFORMATION
HOLMBY WESTWOOD PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. Box 49180
Los Angeles, CA 90049
310-470-1785
Email: hwpoa@aol.com
Web site: www.holmbywestwoodpoa.org
Pay Membership Dues: https://hwpoa.square.site/
You Are Invited . . .
- To attend our monthly Board Meetings*
- To let us know your concerns about our community and your ideas about how we might work to improve it
- To become involved in our Association.
*Board Meetings are usually held the second Tuesday of each month. Please confirm prior to attending.