HOLMBY NEWS
February 19, 2016
From the Holmby Westwood Property Owners Association, serving the Holmby Westwood community since 1960.
1. Article about Holmby Westwood
2. HPOZ Update
3. Names are Meaningful – Did You Know?
4. Neighborhood Safety
5. Gas Powered Leaf Blowers
6. West Los Angeles Area Blood Drive
7. Upcoming Community Events
8. HWPOA Contact Information
1. ARTICLE ABOUT HOLMBY WESTWOOD
The article below was published in last week’s L.A. Times View Magazine. Holmby Westwood was featured as a residential neighborhood with a unique architectural style. Many thanks to Bret Parsons, realtor with Coldwell Banker, for providing a professional photographer to our community to photograph the homes featured in the article.
Link to article:
Holmby Westwood article
2. HPOZ UPDATE
The HPOZ Committee, a group of 15 dedicated residents selected by the Office of Historic Resources, is meeting on a regular basis with our assigned City Planner to draft our own Holmby Westwood Preservation Plan. This should be completed by mid-Summer, when it will be shared with and reviewed by the entire community. The Office of Historic Resources will then present our plan and survey to the Cultural Heritage Commission for review and approval. Our goal is to complete our HPOZ by the end of this year. The HPOZ will create a partnership between Holmby Westwood and the Los Angeles Planning Department to manage change in our community, avoid the adverse effects of mansionization, and maintain the character and identity which continue to make our community such a desirable place to live.
3. NAMES ARE MEANINGFUL – DID YOU KNOW?
The name “Holmby” (for Holmby Hills and what we now refer to as Holmby Westwood) was chosen by Arthur Letts, to honor his original home and ancestral family seat, Holdenby, Northamptonshire, England. The parish of Holdenby was frequently referred to familiarly as “Holmby”. In 1919, Letts, Founder of The Broadway department store and Bullocks department store, bought the 4,400 acre Wolfskill Ranch, immediately west of Beverly Hills. Letts, his son-in-law, Harold Janss , and Harold’s brother , Edwin, all envisioned an intelligently and beautifully designed residential and commercial development on this virgin land.
The Village of Holdenby, in the east Midlands, northwest of London, is dominated by historic and impressive Holdenby House, which is situated on 20,000 acres of lush English countryside. Mr. Lett’s son’s home, which eventually became The Playboy Mansion, is a mini-version of Holdenby House. Holdenby House dates from 1583 and was built by Elizabethan Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Haddon, to honor Queen Elizabeth the First. At the time, it was the largest private home in England. The house was owned on and off by different members of the Royal Family, and in 1709 was bought by the Duke of Marlborough. It has descended down the female line of his family and is now owned by James and Karen Lowther. The Lowther Family has produced more Members of Parliament than any other family in England.
For photos of the house and estate and a complete history, go to holdenby.com/house-history.php
4. NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY
LAPD CRIME REPORT
The West Los Angeles Area continues to be a target rich environment for car burglars. A variety of car burglars canvass neighborhoods throughout the night to commit their crimes while most of us are sleeping. Although many arrests have been made, the crimes continue occur. This tells us there are numerous suspects that are targeting neighborhoods. The Los Angeles Police Department is making every effort to address this problem.
Please do not leave ANY property visible in the car! Remember to Lock It, Hide it, Keep It!
Burglary:
400 block Loring Ave. RD: 0819. Between 2/16/16 and 2/17/16, unknown suspect(s) pried open storage container door to gain entry and removed construction equipment.
SUSPICIOUS PERSON
A resident reported that a man wearing a hoodie has been scoping the area on Lindbrook Drive between Manning and Selby. They found him at their neighbor’s house with a plastic bag in his hands on her premises while on his cell phone. Initially they thought he was delivering food but it happened around 11 pm Saturday night and apparently he had been there before, possibly snooping around. He drives a white Honda or Toyota. Please be on the lookout for anyone suspicious in the area.
ATM SAFETY TIPS
The Los Angeles Police Department offers a lot of great safety tips at www.lapdonline.org. One such set of tips concerns how best to keep safe when one is going to, or at, an ATM machine — and obviously, this is very timely and pertinent, given the quite recent series of ATM robberies that took place in Westwood Village before police apprehended the suspect. Here is a link to those safety and security tips: http://www.lapdonline.org/crime_prevention/content_basic_view/1366
5. GAS-POWERED LEAF BLOWERS
This is a reminder that gas powered leaf blowers are illegal. They can be very noisy and disruptive to other neighborhood residents. If you or your gardeners use gas powered leaf blowers, please refrain from using them. There are other options available, including a variety of electric leaf blowers. Thank you.
6. WEST LOS ANGELES AREA BLOOD DRIVE
10th Annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive
West Los Angeles Area Police Station
When: Tuesday, February 23, 2016, 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Location: West Los Angeles Area Police Station, 1663 Butler Avenue, Los Angeles, 90025. Bloodmobile parked in front of station.
To Schedule Your Life-Saving Appointment:
Visit www.redcrossblood.org and enter Sponsor Code: BadgeSoCal (choose LAPD West LA blood drive). Identification is required to donate.
Contact Sgt. Justin Scott at 33586@lapd.lacity.org for more info.
All presenting donors will receive the following Thank You items: BOB T-Shirt, discounted tickets to an Anaheim Ducks game at the Honda Center and LA Kings game at STAPLES Center.
7. UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS
Cash for College Workshops -Saturday, Feb. 20. The state of California, through the Student Aid Commission, offers several financial aid programs to help students and their families afford the high cost of college tuition. In the next few weeks, there will be several free “Cash for College Workshops” at different locations in our community to help students find out about, and apply for, these grants and loans. To see a list of the dates and locations of these workshops, and for a list of important documents you should bring, click here.
Service Academy Day – Sunday, February 21 from 1p-4p at the Los Angeles Federal building, 11000 Wilshire Blvd, Room C-206, Los Angeles, CA 90024. The Office of Congressman Ted Lieu is hosting their First Annual Bi-Partisan Multi-District Service Academy Day for students 8th-11th grade.
This event is open to students, parents, and community members. A representative from the United States Air Force Academy, United States Military Academy, and United States Naval Academy will be present. Additionally, there will be a student panel and parent panel. Finally, every congressional office in Southern California has been invited to attend and participate.
For more information, please click here: 2.21.16flyer
LA Musical Salon: 2016 Dinner Concert Series – The Los Angeles Musical Salon, sponsor of the Concert Series @ Westwood Library, invites you to join some of your Westwood neighbors for the 9th season of its unique Dinner-Concert Series, which starts next Saturday, Feb. 27, with an “Evening of Musical Gold” — opera, Broadway and film favorites with tenor Rodell Rosel, who we’re catching between engagements at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Houston Grand Opera.
Enjoy wonderful music in an intimate and fun setting where the musicians join us for dinner. And it’s all happening nearby at the Bel Air Bar & Grill! Click here for more info and reservation form. Hope to see you there!
8. HWPOA CONTACT INFORMATION
HOLMBY WESTWOOD PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
914 Westwood Blvd. Suite 573
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-470-1785
Email: hwpoa@aol.com
Web site: www.holmbywestwoodpoa.org