To paraphrase an old Hollywood line, fasten your seatbelts, Santa, it’s going to be a bumpy flight.
Then again, could 2020 wrap up any other way? This most unprecedented year now delivers a holiday season that figures to be both one for the ages and something we’d probably just as soon forget.
Still, what better time of year to hope for better days ahead? Let’s face it, much of the business community could use a Christmas miracle about now, or at least all the glad tidings and seasonal cheer that can be mustered.
If the past months have taught us anything, though, it’s that L.A.’s business leaders and companies are a remarkably resilient bunch. Any group that can keep the lights on at a time like this, even if those lights aren’t shining quite as strongly as usual, should have no problem keeping spirits bright.
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It’s the season of giving, so let’s highlight a couple of notable recent gifts.
The Berggruen Institute has provided a $3 million gift to the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. The funds will help the school produce the Berggruen Governance Index, which evaluates countries based on their quality of political and administrative governance.
And BYD Care, which has offices downtown and is part of the manufacturing empire behind the BYD electric vehicle maker, has donated 16 million face masks as part of Africa Mask Week. The masks will be distributed in nations including Angola, Rwanda and Zambia.
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Next time you see a Culver City Bus roll down a Westside street, it might be riding a little higher. The Culver City Transportation Department recently earned Transit Agency of the Year honors from the California Transit Association.
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Brace yourself for a shark sighting at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures when it finally opens (hopefully next year). The last remaining full-scale shark model from “Jaws,” a 25-footer affectionately dubbed Bruce, has been installed as an exhibit at the Mid-Wilshire museum.
