About Town Redondo: COVID shift at RBUSD, city council Code of Conduct, Pustilnikov says not involved in recall

Redondo Union High school teachers will vote this week on whether to ratify a district-wide contract. Easy Reader file photo

No more individual COVID-19 case reports from RBUSD

The Redondo Unified School District will no longer report individual positive Covid-19 cases for the 2022-23 school year.

Instead, only cases which are part of three or more “epidemiologically-linked” positive tests are to be reported. 

An example would be three students on the same sports team. 

“Maintaining our COVID dashboard is no longer relevant or necessary,” said Dr. Annette Alpern, RBUSD deputy superintendent of administrative services.

In addition, for the new school year, unvaccinated district workers are required to self-administer tests weekly, with results given to their supervisors.

New employees:

The Redondo Unified School District has a total of 44 new teachers and counselors hired for 2022-23. An orientation and training was held Aug. 10-11. Also, the district has 81 new classified employees, for which a first-ever new classified employees’ rally was set for Aug. 16.

 

Council votes to discuss Code of Conduct

City councilmember Zein Obagi, Jr. on Aug. 9 proposed rules of conduct for the council, and a 4-0 vote followed to make it a discussion item at a future meeting. 

“Obviously, one councilmember continually disparaging another in writing is not something that should be allowed to occur. There should be consequences for doing that,” Obagi said in a subsequent interview. “We should not have infighting and instead just purely focus on disagreements between our opinions.”
The city has an official document, “Rules of Conduct for Council Meetings,” first adopted in 1977, and updated seven times, including earlier this year, about teleconferencing. 

Obagi’s comments relate to a councilmember’s newsletter.

“My newsletter has never attacked him. All it does is state the facts,” said Councilperson Laura Emdee. “So I can’t say any fact-based things about District Four that affect all of us?”

She represents District Five. 

Obagi said he has not yet sat down with the current Rules of Conduct to develop an opinion on what changes to make. 

“I stand by (my newsletters),” said Emdee. “If you see anything that could be derogatory, please tell me and I’ll remove it.”

 

Pustilnikov says he’s not part of Obagi, Jr. recall

AES plant owner Leo Pustilnikov said Tuesday he has no role in the effort to recall District Four City Councilman Zein Obagi, Jr.

Easy Reader asked him if an Obagi recall would help his interests. 

“I have no idea. It’s not my district. I’m not involved in that election in any way,” he said.

Pustilnikov has rented space in his S.E.A. Lab building for the campaign headquarters of Elliot Lewis and Catalyst Cannabis Co. Lewis and the Long Beach operation have been instrumental in the recall effort, as well as a retail marijuana initiative in Redondo Beach. 

Both matters go to a ballot Oct. 19. 

“Elliot asked me if I had space, I said sure, just make the space nice,” said Pustilnikov. ER

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