SCHOOL TAKES ROOT AT AMBASSADOR KENNEDY FAMILY AT GROUNDBREAKING EVENT.Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN Staff Writer Thirty-eight years after presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. at the Ambassador Hotel, his family and the community celebrated the groundbreaking Monday for a new school that will be built on the historic site. ``The fact that there's a school here is the greatest possible memorial the people of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. could give to my father,'' said Kennedy's son, Maxwell. ``It's a beacon. I'm grateful that my dad will be remembered in this way -- the finest school for the poorest kids.'' Retired Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. Superintendent Roy Romer Roy R. Romer (born October 31, 1928 in Garden City, Kansas, United States) was the 39th governor of Colorado and served as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2001 to 2006. , widely credited for his leadership in building a school at the mid-Wilshire District site, said the campus will offer a neighborhood school to thousands of students who for years have been bused miles away. The new school will relieve severe overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. at five schools, he said. ``It's in one of our most overpopulated o·ver·pop·u·late v. o·ver·pop·u·lat·ed, o·ver·pop·u·lat·ing, o·ver·pop·u·lates v.tr. To fill (an area, for example) with excessive population to the detriment of the inhabitants, resources, or environment. areas of the city, and we waited 20 years to get it,'' Romer said. ``It's a magnificent addition to L.A.'' School board member Mike Lansing, one of the few people to originally push for a school, said he never questioned his decision. ``If you really followed Robert Kennedy, he was about social justice, civil liberties and giving opportunities to the poorest of the poor so they can have a future life of promise,'' he said. ``Rather than having a monument that would hark his death, this is going to mark his life.'' The site has been seeped in controversy for decades, with conservationists fighting to preserve the structure where Kennedy was shot and killed in 1968. After lengthy litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , the district took possession of the site in 2001. The nearly $310 million facility will run from kindergarten to 12th grade and will be home to more than 4,000 students. The 2,400-student high school will be divided into five small learning communities with specialized curricula tailored to meet students' needs. The first phase is expected to open in three years. There will also be a third-of-an-acre park along Wilshire Boulevard on the 23.8-acre site. While most of the hotel has been torn down, plans for the school include preserving key historical elements. The building that was the site of the Cocoanut Grove -- the famous nightclub where Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles performed, and politicians, Hollywood starts and mobsters Mobsters is a 1991 crime drama detailing the creation of the National Crime Syndicate/The Commission. Set in New York City during the Prohibition era, it's a somewhat fictionalized account of rise of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, and Benjamin "Bugsy" mingled -- will be rehabilitated and turned into the school's auditorium. The lower level shopping arcade, including the Paul R. Williams-designed coffee shop, will be turned into faculty and student lounges and the cafeteria, and the north facade of the school will be built to resemble the hotel's Wilshire Boulevard profile. The original 1920s Embassy Ballroom ceiling will be integrated into the school's library. Kennedy was gunned down after delivering a speech in the ballroom. ``I see a new future for this place,'' said City Councilman Herb Wesson, who represents the neighborhood. ``Now this will be the place we will educate future presidents of the United States Presidents of the United States President Political Party Dates in Office Vice President(s) George Washington 1789–97 John Adams John Adams Federalist 1797–1801 Thomas Jefferson ... and doctors and lawyers ... and where people will be inspired.'' naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3722 |
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