Staying safe
Hi friends,
It’s looking scary out there. I hope you and your loved ones are safe.
As extreme winds spread fires throughout the region, I am thinking of you as well as our neighbors in Santa Monica, the Palisades, Malibu, Eaton, Pasadena, Altadena, and elsewhere who are impacted.
While Culver City remains safe from the fires at the moment, our air has become hazardous with an AQI of over 400. Breathing in that air can equivacate to smoking 11-14 cigarettes a day.
Some tips for dealing with poor air quality:
stay indoors
seal windows and doors
avoid strenuous activity (even indoors)
use an air purifier
wear a well-fitted N95 respirator mask if you go outside
To monitor the fires, you can use the Watch Duty app on or visit the site.
I would also recommend signing up for alerts from the city’s emergency mass notification system here and following the Culver City Fire Department on social media.
January is typically not wildfire season. Climate change has caused our region to become drier and therefore more susceptible to wildfires overall. The effects of our policy choices become more evident every year as climate catastrophes impact our everyday lives.
With each tragedy, we must renew our commitment to doing what we can on a local level to protect our environment for future generations.
Since it’s been a minute since I last wrote to you, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and got to spend time enjoying the holidays with your loved ones.
About two weeks ago, we held a community menorah lighting at Village Well. Thank you to everyone who joined us to light the menorah, eat latkes with apple sauce/sour cream, and ring in the festival of lights. You made the evening special. You can see more photos here!
left to right: Councilmember Freddy Puza, Aaron Lieberman, Ruben Cordova, Olga Lexell, me, Leah Pressman, Fatima Iqbal-Zubair
Sonia Garfinkel leads the Hannukkah prayers joined by Phoebe Kiekhofer Garfinkel, Talia Coutin, and me.
Between Christmas and New Years, I got to spend a few days in a place I’ve always wanted to visit— Mexico City. I was blown away by the safe streets and forward-thinking transportation I experienced there.
Rapid buses that came every 2 to 3 minutes
A women only section at the front of the bus to combat harassment
A massive connected network of protected bike and bus lanes
Bikeshare stations throughout the city
Pedestrian islands and refuges on major arterials
55km of open streets every Sunday for people to enjoy
Check out my TikTok about it!
Aaron and I using bikeshare during Mexico City’s ‘Muévete en Bici’ event featuring 55km (~35 miles) of open streets every Sunday!
The trip renewed my determination to make similar advances right here at home, and I am eager to continue that work with all of you.
Our first meeting is this coming Monday, January 13th. The agenda should be posted shortly on the city’s website here.
I hope you will join us!
Happy new year, and please stay safe out there.
With love,
Bubba