Community Corner

President Returns Thursday, Plan for Traffic Around Town

President Barack Obama will spend Thursday night in Beverly Hills, but the majority of his short trip will be spent in Studio City.

President Obama is back in L.A. tonight. You know the drill — plan for the worst, hope for the best.

Details about road closures or his planned route are few, but anticipate his route could impact anyone driving through canyon roads in the western Hollywood Hills neighborhoods. 

Obama will be attending a presidential campaign fundraiser at George Clooney's home in Fryman Canyon home, just north of Mulholland Drive. It is projected to be the most lucrative fundraiser ever for a U.S. presidential candidate — an event expected to  generate $15 million.

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Will Obama travel via the freeway? Side streets? Cut through the canyon roads? That remains unknown to the public, but here's what we can say:

  • Air Force One is scheduled to land at Los Angeles International Airport at 6:25 p.m. 
  • Obama is expected to travel by Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and motorcade to Clooney's home, although the exact route was not released.
  • Access to residential areas south of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City will be virtually sealed off from about 8 to 10 p.m., with all local residents required to show current photo identification for home access, Councilman Paul Krekorian said.
  • Closures could lead to traffic delays on Ventura Boulevard and Laurel Canyon Boulevard north of Ventura Boulevard, Krekorian said.

Obama is scheduled to spend the night in Beverly Hills then leave the city Friday for an event in Reno, Nev.

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Curious about the inside of Clooney's home? CBS News was invited to visit during Oscar season this year. Take a peek as Clooney leads a video tour of his place.

Inside the Clooney home, the president will dine with such celebrities as Barbra Streisand, Robert Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire, and several high-powered Hollywood executives. DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg and his political adviser, Andy Spahn, arranged the dinner, which is being catered by Wolfgang Puck, according to the Los Angeles Times.

VIPs will pay $40,000 a ticket price to attend. But two-thirds of the projected haul is expected to come from contributions from tens of thousands of Americans who donated an average of $23 for a chance to win a ticket to the event, The Times reported. In the end, two winners and two guests will attend.

— City News Service contributed to this report.

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