Not-So-Serious Questions About Beverly Hills

First, a test on information presented in a past post: Whose wife did NOT like the word "Rodeo," the street name of Southern California's second most popular tourist attraction after Disneyland?  

- In 1852, Maria Rita Villa de Valdez of the “Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas" preferred to call her family's 4,500-acre land spread (located in what is now present-day Beverly Hills) “San Antonio” because she disliked the name "Rodeo" that her husband, Vicente Ferrer Valdez, had chosen. 

What future movie saying was first used in Beverly Hills, providing a specific section of our city the positive energy to be developed beginning in the late 1920s?

- "The South will rise again." 

One day, what may become the next crown jewel of our city?

- Word on the street is that the high-end iPic Theater may be coming to North Canon Drive.  

Who said the following? "When I die, my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, is going to read: 'I joked about every prominent man of my time; but, I never met a man I didn't like.' I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved."

- It was Will Rogers, who died in a 1935 plane crash at the age of 56 with aviator Wiley Post near Barrow, Alaska. 

Mass-mail marketers usually address mailings to "occupant." To whom is "junk" mail addressed in Beverly Hills? 

- To: Mr. and Mrs. John Dough, since it IS Beverly Hills. Or is it Beverly Bills?  

According to a city study done approximately a dozen years ago, how many of our residents live with incomes under the "poverty line?" 

- About 8.5 percent. While we have a rich history and highly successful population, Beverly Hills is made up of dedicated residents from all demographics.  

What is the most elegant-sounding intersection in Beverly Hills? 

- The corner of Gregory and Peck. Pretty snazzy! And no, Arnaz Drive was NOT named after Desi (in the 20s) as some history books falsely state. OMG!  

Following World War II, what part of Beverly Hills helped stem the area's housing shortage?

- By the 1950s, Greystone Mansion and Estate was traded to our city by Paul Trousdale for the right to build on the remainder of that land. The estate eventually became a city park. Also, the stables and trails of the unusually large Doheny family estate above Beverly Hills was divided into small, vacant lots and became a housing development. 

Why could our city have sometimes been nicknamed the "Beverly Hills Hysterical Society?"

- Even though we are now working on new building preservation codes, we are late to the preservation party and a protection process still needs to be codified. In the past, every time a building of obvious historic importance was to be demolished, our caring residents would jump to its defense.      

What psychological term could describe people who would over-build a house or public facility?

- An edifice complex.  

Whose fault is it that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority favors a specific subway route?

- The Newport-Inglewood Fault. The northern end—called the West Beverly Hills Lineament—reaches up to Culver City and Century City, through Beverly Hills almost to Sunset Boulevard.  

Between what three future bank sites will Santa Clause be flying beginning in late November?

- Santa's iconic sleigh will be installed again on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Beverly Drive between Union Bank on its usual southwest corner, the Bank of America (which will soon be moved from the northwest corner to the old Glendale Federal location on the southeast corner) and next to the future home of Chase Bank, which will replace Bank of America on its present northwest corner. Santa rising between banks? As resident Marine Gordon E. Moore wrote in jest on Facebook, "How symbolic an image is that?" 

We share the 90210 ZIP code with many who do not actually live in our city. What could be their loving nicknames?

- The Beverly Hillbillies.   

Why is it unlikely that we'll know the final results of the Beverly Hills Board of Education race by Tuesday evening? 

- The write-in votes being cast at city precincts must be counted by hand.

At Board of Education campaign parties, why will the desserts served continually whisper to guests that they're attractive?

- The desserts will be complementary. 

Thank you for reading these not-so-serious thoughts, Russ