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Councilmember Dan O'Brien Newsletter — March 8, 2026
📬 Councilmember Dan O'Brien — Culver City — March 9, 2026
Hello Culver City friends and neighbors,
Tonight there's a Council vote. Friday there's an awards luncheon ten years in the making. And somewhere in between, there's a school funding fight that deserves more attention than it's getting. New businesses are opening on our corridors. A city leadership appointment was just made that I think matters for our budget future. And a workshop next Tuesday could define one of our most important commercial corridors for the next decade.
A lot is moving at once — and that's exactly when it helps to have the full picture in one place.
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 A meaningful update in the Westfield Culver City shooting investigation: both suspects are now in custody. Kelsi Ann Taplette was arrested shortly after the February 13 incident on conspiracy and accessory charges. The second suspect, Kejuan Griggs, has since also been arrested. The investigation remains active. Detectives believe additional victims of the underlying robbery have not yet come forward. If you were there or have information, please reach out.
→ 🎯 My take: Two suspects in custody is the result of steady, methodical detective work. That doesn't bring back Angel Torres or undo what happened that night. But accountability matters, and I'm grateful for the focus our department has brought to this case from day one.
👉 Contact CCPD — anonymous tips welcome
🏛️ Tonight — City Council Meeting, 7 PM
🔹 Item A2 regarding the Phase I siting plan for Culver City's interactive digital kiosk program has been pulled. Fifteen kiosks placed across the community, providing live information on meetings, events, transit, local businesses, emergency services, and commercial advertising to help fund the program. The Council approved the Ike Smart City partnership in July 2025. The Ad Hoc Digital Signage Subcommittee reviewed proposed locations. This decision will be carried over to a future meeting due to unforeseen circumstances. I’ll keep you posted on when it will be back on the agenda.
→ 💡 What this means: These aren't just screens. They're civic touchpoints. As Culver City moves toward the 2028 Olympic spotlight, how we present ourselves in public space will matter more than people realize.
→ 🎯 My take: Placement is everything with something like this. I've been focused on making sure these land where people actually stop, think, and make choices.
👉 Review the digital kiosk program
🏪 Economic Development
🔹 Caffe Luxxe is now open at 9718 Washington Blvd, in the historic Washington Triangle Building. Their eighth LA location. Espresso, pour-overs, organic pastries, breakfast sandwiches. The brand launched in Santa Monica in 2006 and has built a real reputation over 20 years. I'm glad they chose this corridor.
→ 🎯 My take: A well-chosen café isn't just a business. It's a reason someone turns down a block they might otherwise skip. Downtown keeps building momentum, and this adds to it.
🔹 The Helms Design District is filling in fast. IKEA is still on track for a spring opening in its 38,000 sq ft city-center format. Joining them: Folks Pizza, Hayama by Watami, and a third concept still unnamed. The Helms District has been part of Culver City's identity for decades, and this next chapter adds real energy without erasing what made it special.
→ 🎯 My take: More foot traffic is good for everyone on that corridor. But I want to make sure the independent businesses that shaped Helms into what it is benefit alongside the new anchors (not get lost in the shuffle). That's an active conversation at the Chamber.
👉 Read about the incoming Helms tenants (Eater LA)
🔹 This Friday — 10th Annual Women in Business Leadership Awards Luncheon. March 13, 11 AM–2 PM, The Shay Hotel (8801 Washington Blvd). Five honorees this year: Dr. Michelle Catanzarite, Sharon Angel, Wendy Hamill, Leilani Terris, and Denise Ambrosi. ABC7's Michelle Fisher emcees. Tickets are $120.
→ 🎯 My take: Healthcare, production, education, handmade food, craft — these five women cover the full breadth of what makes Culver City's business community worth investing in. Ten years of this event, and it keeps getting better.
👉 Register for the Women in Business Luncheon
🌸 International Women's Day
🔹 Yesterday was International Women's Day. The women who run businesses on our corridors, show up to budget sessions and planning workshops, serve on our commissions, and coach our kids' soccer teams aren't doing that one day a year. They're here every week. Having the Women in Business Awards land on the Friday right after March 8 feels like the calendar got something right this year.
🏫 Schools & State Funding
🔹 Culver City joined a national day of action on March 4 focused on student safety and school funding. At the root of the local conversation: California is currently withholding approximately $5 million in Prop 98 funds designated for CCUSD schools. Those funds wouldn't solve the district's structural budget challenges alone, but they would meaningfully ease the pressure that's forcing difficult conversations about staffing and programs right now.
→ 🎯 My take: Our schools are one of the core reasons families choose Culver City, invest here, and stay here. When Sacramento holds back money that's already been allocated to our kids, that's not an abstract policy issue. It has real consequences in classrooms. I'll keep making that case at every level where it can be heard.
🏙️ City Government
🔹 Culver City has appointed Lea Eriksen as its new Senior Assistant City Manager, effective April 6. She comes to us from the City of Long Beach, where she served as Director of Technology & Innovation and CIO. City Manager Odis Jones specifically cited her capital improvement planning and long-range fiscal strategy experience as central to the decision; exactly the skills our current budget moment demands. She'll oversee the City's Innovation & Infrastructure portfolio and report directly to Jones.
→ 💡 What this means: As we work toward a structurally balanced budget, having dedicated executive leadership focused on infrastructure modernization and fiscal discipline is a meaningful addition to our team. Strong managers make everything else work better.
🚦 Transportation
🔹 Sepulveda Connects Design Workshop #3 is next Tuesday, March 17, at 6 PM at the Veterans Memorial Building (Rotunda Room, 4117 Overland Ave). The Sepulveda corridor redesign is at a pivotal stage. The choices made in these workshops will define how this street functions for drivers, cyclists, bus riders, pedestrians, and the 100+ small businesses that depend on parking and corridor access for years to come. I've been clear: I won't support a design that strips lane capacity or parking in ways that cut businesses off from their customers. If there's a safer, more functional street to be built here without doing that, I'm all in. But your voice needs to be in that room.
👉 Learn about Sepulveda Connects
🌱 Environment
🔹 The Compost Hub at Syd Kronenthal Park returns this Wednesday, March 11, from 10 AM to noon, in partnership with LA Compost. Every 2nd and 4th Wednesday. Bring your food scraps. It's ten minutes and it matters.
👉 Culver City environmental programs
📅 Dates & What's Ahead
🔹 Sustainability Subcommittee Special Meeting — Thursday, March 12 at 6 PM, Dan Patacchia Meeting Room, City Hall, 1st Floor.
🔹 Heads up — cancellations this week: Both the Planning Commission and the Finance Advisory Committee meetings previously listed for Wednesday, March 11 have been CANCELLED. Don't make the trip.
🔹 Next City Council Meeting — Monday, March 16, 7 PM. Agendas post the Wednesday or Thursday prior.
🔹 Sepulveda Connects Workshop #3 — Tuesday, March 17, 6 PM, Veterans Memorial Building, Rotunda Room, 4117 Overland Ave.
🔹 Walk 'n Roll Festival — Saturday, March 14 at El Marino Park. A family-friendly celebration of active transportation in our community.
🔹 4th Annual Culver City Book Festival — March 29, 11 AM, Downtown Culver City. Reading, writing, community.
🔹 CCFD Girls Camp — Registration now open. April 18–19. A great opportunity for young women to spend a weekend with our fire department. Details at culvercity.gov.
🔹 Every Tuesday, 2–7 PM — Downtown Farmers Market, Main Street.
🔹 How to watch and participate in meetings. Agendas post Wednesdays before Monday meetings. Attend in person or virtually.
🙏 Closing Thought
Friday is one of those afternoons worth showing up for. Ten years of honoring the women who build this city's economy. That's not a small thing, and I'm looking forward to it.
And then there's March 17. If Sepulveda is part of your daily life (your commute, your business, your walk to school), that workshop is where your perspective belongs. I'll be there, and I hope you will be too.
If something's on your mind (a question, a concern, something you noticed in your neighborhood), reply to this newsletter. That's one of the best ways I stay connected to what's actually happening on the ground. And if you have thoughts on the budget, budgetpriorities@culvercity.org is always open.
Together, we can build a stronger, more connected Culver City. Thank you for being part of our community.
