Santa Monica Dispatch

Reported by George Wolfberg

The new Waldorf School is taking the lead in securing funding for a traffic light at Sunset and Los Liones -- by Fire Station 23, a dangerous curve.

A traffic light at that corner would not only slow traffic on Sunset down, but would make it safer for pedestrians.

The school is located on the SRF-owned property that was an iconic restaurant/hotel many years ago.

$350,000 is needed. $250,000 has been raised -- $50,000 from the school, $150,000 from the Getty Villa, and $50,000 from the City of Los Angeles.

As part of its effort to raise the balance, the school has scheduled a Traffic Signal Benefit.

There will be refreshments, live music, entertainment, and an art auction. Los Angeles City Council member Bill Rosendahl, Council District 11, will be the guest of honor.

It will be held at the Outdoor Room, 17311 Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, on Sunday, October 21, from 3 to 7 p.m. There will be free valet parking,

Event sponsors are The Outdoor Room, Marianne Kooimans, Tom Gramlich & Friends and 1Bagatatime

Please call (310) 454-7064 ext 4 to RSVP or to make your tax deductible contribution.

On Saturday, October 6, The City’s planners and consultants will finally turn their attention to the circulation element of the General Plan.

They’ve scheduled a community workshop, according to a City press release, “to integrate previous community input with new ideas and take a more in-depth look into how transportation will serve the community in the future. Community members will have an opportunity to both learn and express opinions about how the city should prioritize multiple transportation modes, such as walking, biking, automobiles and transit on city streets and other rights of way.”

The Saturday workshop, to be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the cafeteria at John Adams Middle School, is another in a series of workshops staged by the Planning & Community Development Department on the General Plan revision.

In February, 2005, Friends of Sunset Park circulated a questionnaire and
gave the results to the City.

The general consensus from the questionnaire is that the residents are looking for the City and its leaders to begin paying more attention to the concerns of its citizens. That the focus needs to be less on the City’s image as an influential business center within the Los Angeles Basin and more on it as a community of residents. The residents want you to refocus your energies on the small-town atmosphere that we were known for years ago, reminiscent of Santa Monica’s days as a beach community.

Yes, we want to be an urban community that makes a difference in Southern California and the country, but we do not want to give in to the pressures of growth and an expanding population and become like everywhere else in Southern California and the nation. We want a Santa Monica that is unique because it has stood against these pressures and not turned into yet another indistinguishable gentrified community on the sea.

Density -- We want our densities to remain largely the same as we have today (#26). A substantial number (47%) of the respondents want the old industrial core of the city to be down zoned. This is likely in response to the gridlock traffic that Sunset Park experiences during rush hour from the special office district, the college and other parts of the Westside.

Two of our largest issues in Sunset Park involve large public facilities located in our community, the airport and the college.

The Los Angeles City Council voted 11 to 1 yesterday in favor of Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s motion directing the City Attorney not to appeal a pro-tenant decision in the case of the Lincoln Place Tenants Association, et al v. City of Los Angeles, AIMCO Venezia LLC, et al.

In the wake of the vote, Councilman Rosendahl issued the following statement: "I am extremely grateful that my council colleagues voted to stand up for tenants rights and stand up for justice. In deciding not to appeal the court decision in favor of the Lincoln Place Tenants Association, the City Council firmly said that it accepts the court ruling that the tenants should not have been evicted, and that the City of Los Angeles has not just the ability, but the duty and obligation, to protect and defend renters.

"This is a momentous decision. I am proud of the tenants for waging their David versus Goliath fight. And I am proud of my City Council colleagues for joining with me in accepting our responsibility to be agents of and champions for social justice."

By Ava Tramer

Beaches
Clear and warmer
Highs: 64-75; Lows: 52-60

Inland
Sunny and warming
Highs: 69-88; Lows: 47-57

Deserts
Windy weekend, warm week
Highs: 74-95; Lows: 57-70

And Santa Monica…
After a windy Friday,
Count on a weekend warm,
And then throughout the week,
Expect nary a storm.

With cooler air behind us,
We’ll only feel the sun,
So embrace our perpetual summer,
And have some outdoor fun!

A Chinese curse – may you live in interesting times – is relevant. These are very interesting times in SantaMonica.

Yesterday, a superior Court judge issued a restraining order forbidding the City of Santa Monica from removing about 70 ficus and palm trees from Second and Fourth Streets temporarily.

The tree removal was scheduled to begin Monday.

Santa Monica attorney Thomas Nitti appeared on behalf of Tree Savers, a group of residents who organized in the wake of the City Council’s recent approval of an $8.2 million “improvement” project that includes $600,000-plus for the removal of some 70 palm and ficus trees from Second and Fourth Streets in downtown Santa Monica.

Beach towns naturally breed, attract and encourage bright, contrary, spirited people, and Santa Monica is an exemplary beach town.

Bureaucracies thrive on procedures, plans, rules, regulations and, above all, order. Over the years, Santa Monica City Hall has become an exemplary bureaucracy.

It’s an awkward pairing at best.

A majority of the Council members thinks and acts more like bureaucrats than representatives of the people. They have not simply stopped representing us, they have stopped listening to us. Today, City “procedures” count for more and have more weight than residents’ views and wishes.

Ironies abound in this venerable beach town.

The City enjoys describing itself as an “internationally recognized leader” in
the sustainability and environmental movements, but, over the objections of a throng of residents, it wants to remove a large number of healthy, mature trees from Second and Fourth Streets in downtown Santa Monica.

Tuesday night’s City Council meeting opened with another parade of residents protesting the planned tree removal, and closed with Council members and City staff discussing the alleged environmental hazards of a five-minute fireworks display on the beach at 9:45 in the evening.

It is probably true that fireworks’ residue contains stuff that shouldn’t go into the ocean, but it is probably also true that anyone who is capable of shooting fireworks off is also capable of cleaning up the debris left on the sand by the fireworks.

As residents have repeatedly and eloquently said, the removal of the healthy, mature trees from traffic-clogged downtown streets will have profound, multiple and long-range negative impacts on the environment. In contrast, the negative impacts of a brief fireworks’ display, if any, on the environment will be temporary and minor.

By Ava Tramer

Beaches
Mostly sunny with a sprinkle of clouds
Highs: 63-71; Lows: 53-56

Inland
Sun tossed with clouds
Highs: 73-81; Lows: 49-54

Deserts
Sunny with a dash of wind
Highs: 78-87; Lows: 58-65

And Santa Monica…
As temperatures drop into the 60s this week, we’ll catch our first simmer of autumn. Expect a light dusting of clouds early next week, with evening temperatures sinking into the chilly 50s. Plenty of sun will be folded into those clouds, so there will still be lots of warm rays to caramelize us. By the end of the week, the clouds will have burned off, and the sun will glaze our fair city. So while McAllen, TX gets broiled and Karlstad, MN gets chilled, we can steep in our temperate comfort and worry not about sweats or shivers.

Released yesterday by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the 2007 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count shows a 24 percent decrease in the overall estimate of the number of homeless people in Santa Monica on any given night.

The estimate for January, 2007 was 1,506. A similar count conducted in January, 2005 found an estimated 1,991 homeless people in Santa Monica on any given night.

This year’s count also showed a 30 percent decrease in the number of people directly enumerated on Santa Monica’s streets – from 949 in 2005 to 661 in the latest count.

The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City has announced the addition of four prominent Santa Monica residents to its roster of advisers.

Founded in 2004, the Coalition’s primary purpose is to advocate for residents’ f full participation in local development decisions. It is now expanding its roster as it explores new ways for traffic-weary residents to control development.

The four new advisers, who join over a dozen other leading residents, are Mark Armour, Joel Brand, Darrell Clarke and Maria Loya.

by Ruthann Lehrer
Landmarks Commissioner

There is no more important issue before the Landmarks Commission than the future of the Santa Monica Pier. The Landmarks Commission reviewed an EIR Environmental Impact Report) last fall that proposed major alterations to the entryway of the Santa Monica Pier, involving significant changes to its historic character and to the pedestrian experience. The iconic pier is not only a signature feature of our city’s history, it was the grass-roots movement to save the pier from demolition in the 1970s that led to the creation of the city's landmarks ordinance to protect our irreplaceable historic assets.

The concept for the project grew from the need to seismically strengthen the pier bridge as mandated by state law, and from the desire of the pier business association (Pier Restoration Corporation) to facilitate access to the beach parking lot from Ocean Avenue.

The EIR introduced four alternative proposals for pier access alterations. Four of them call for a widened roadway and wider sidewalks, nearly doubling the width of the bridge. Two of them add a new roadway ramp descending from the wider bridge down to the parking lot on the beach north of the pier. One alternative places the new ramp through the pier deck. All four involve moving the neon pier sign to the north, from six feet to fourteen feet.

Actually, he’s never been away. We’re speaking of Jack Kerouac, of course. His novel, On the Road, resides somewhere in the head of everyone who’s ever read it.. It’s that kind of book. Like it or hate it, you don’t forget it. And, it was the blueprint and bible for the beat generation.

It’s fitting, then, that to nark the 50th anniversary of its publication, Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center in Venice will hold the first marathon reading of On the Road: the Original Scroll on Saturday, October 20 from 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight, as the centerpiece of a three-day Kerouacian bacchanal. Venice was always more beat, and beatific, than San Francisco. And Venice beats have always out-classed the San Francisco beats, City Lights notwithstanding.

The marathon readers will include poets, writers, actors and artists and, as ever, surprise guests.

Treesavers, who now number in the hundreds and have at least three websites, continue to press the City of Santa Monica to abandon its plans to remove some 50 trees from downtown streets as part of its “urban design plan.” The City, in contrast, has apparently gone mute

On Saturday, October 20, at 11 a.m at 201 Broadway, Treesavers will begin a week-long “Save the Trees Hunger Fast,” organized by Jerry Rubin, an old hand at fasting.

The following Tuesday, October 23, at 5 p.m.,, Treesavers will stage a protest and rally at City Hall, prior to the City Council meeting.

Following the rally, Treesavers plan to speak at the 5:45 PM Council meeting “imploring the City,: in their words, “to stop the legal fight and join with them in seeking a positive win-win solution.”

However, as of October 17, there was nothing on the Council’s agenda for the meeting about the issue.

A Court of Appeals has ruled that the City of Santa Monica could be held liable for the July 16, 2003 Farmers Market disaster in which a motorist drove into the crowd of shoppers at a high rate of speed, killing ten people and injuring 64 before he pulled to a stop.

The driver, George Weller, now in his late 80s, was charged with and found guilty of 10 counts of manslaughter. He is now appealing his conviction. His lawyers will presumably repeat the claim Weller has made from the beginning, that his automobile malfunctioned.

The Court of Appeals ruling reversed a prior Superior Court ruling that the City was not liable, as it had a traffic plan for the market, which has been held for many years on Wednesdays and Saturdays on Arizona Avenue, between Fourth and Second Streets in the heart of the Thud Street Promenade.

Lawyers representing some of the people who were injured and the families of some of the people who were killed appealed the original ruling.

The trial has been scheduled to begin in February.

For reasons that are not clear, there are very few woman sculptors in America. One of the best is Joan Robey.

Joe Walentini wrote in Abstract Art Online, “Robey manages to beautifully capture a combination of potential anarchy and suspended fragility that serves as a sublime metaphor for life itself.”

Robey’s sculptures are large, exquisitely made, wry, complex, resolutely original, and she never repeats herself.

Sunday, October 21, she will open her studio from noon to 6 for an exhibition, celebration and sale. Champagne, beer and “tasty treats” will be served and Steve Stajich and Happy Accident will perform.

Robey’s studio is located at 247 South La Brea near Manchester in Inglewood.

By Ava Tramer

Beaches
Warm and clear
Highs: 69-75; Lows: 57-61

Inland
Sunny and hot
Highs: 80-91; Lows: 53-57

Deserts
Clear and sunny
Highs: 84-94; Lows: 63-66

And Santa Monica…
Sunny was bored. Every morning, he followed the same routine. He woke up, puton his fuzzy slippers, brushed his teeth, ate a bowl of Frosted Flakes with strawberries and 1% milk, and shone brightly over Santa Monica.

Every afternoon, he followed the same routine. He ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, carrot sticks, and two Oreo cookies, read the funny papers, and shone brightly over Santa Monica.

Every evening, he followed the same routine. After he finished shining brightly over Santa Monica, he ate chicken fingers or spaghetti with meatballs and read Harry Potter until his eyes got tired and hefell asleep. Then in the morning he would wake up and start the same pattern all over again.

Sunny did enjoy his life, but it was becoming much too repetitive and boring for him. One day, his friend Cloudy stopped by for a visit during lunch. Sunny told him how bored he felt, and asked what Cloudy thought he should do. “You know, Sunny,” Cloudy told him, “I’ve blown all over the world, and in Siberia and Boston and Antarctica, everyone loves you! They love your warmth! They dream about you and wish you could be with them every single minute of every single day! So you must know that no matter how boring and repetitive your life seems, whenever you shine brightly over Santa Monica, you are making people happy! And that is something to be proud of every single day.”

Sunny had never thought about it in this light, and he thanked Cloudy for making him feel better. He was so happy about what Cloudy told him that he even gave him one of the two Oreos from his lunch.

And from that day on, Sunny was never bored again. Feeling like a true hero, he shone proudly over Santa Monica for all to see.

Compiled by Zina Josephs

Planetarium Shows at SMC John Drescher Planetarium, 7 PM (Oct. 19, 26)

Alternative Car & Transportation Expo, 10 AM to 5:30 PM, Barker Hangar, Airport Ave. (free) -- electric, natural gas, biodiesel, hydrogen, ethanol, propane, hybrid, and other vehicle & transportation technologies.
Ride and drive. www.AltCarExpo.com (Oct. 19 and 20)

Community Dances (line, contra, square, Brazilian) at Miles Playhouse, Reed Park at Lincoln & Wilshire, http://www.MilesPlayhouse.org/?fa=NowPlaying (Oct. 19, 20, 21)

"Wake up with the Waves" - kids' concert at S.M. Pier, 9-11 AM (Oct. 20)

"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" -- a play for 4-year-olds and up. 11 AM, Saturdays and Sundays, Morgan- Wixson Theater, 2627 Pico Blvd. (Oct. 20, 21, 27, 28)

To the editor:

This Wednesday, October 24, 2007, marks the 60th anniversary of United
Nations Day. In the spring of 1945, representatives of 50 nations gathered in San Francisco to put the final touches to the Charter of the United Nations, which went into effect on October 24, 1945. Two years later, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a United States sponsored resolution declaring October 24 United Nations Day, to be commemorated annually by all members of the United Nations.
Since 1947, United Nations Day has been observed around the world by nations large and small.

While news of global military actions, natural disasters, human rights violations and varying degrees of civil unrest grab headlines, the United Nations and its affiliated agencies continue to work to eradicate poverty and major diseases worldwide. The United Nations, governments, non-governmental organizations and nonprofit
organizations such as the League of Women Voters are committed to meeting these humanitarian needs through an initiative called Millennium Development Goal.

According to City Council member Kevin McKeown, there will be a rally at City Hall on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. in support of the first item on the City Council agenda. The item focuses on ending “attack politics” in Santa Monica and making elections. In McKeown’s words, “more fair and accessible to resident-supported candidates, including more women and neighborhood activists.”

Rally participants will also address the Council during the meeting.

Mckeown, who was the target of a costly series of negative mailers and TV spots when he ran for re-election last year, said, “Last year's incredibly negative attacks in the Santa Monica City Council race don't have to be the future of our community's politics. We can take back control of our local elections from outside money, coming from developers and others who don't have residents' quality of life as a priority.

Shortly before 5 a.m. this morning, a brush fire broke out in the hills above Malibu and, driven by fierce, hot Santa Ana winds, it had spread across 1,000 acres by early afternoon.

500 firefighters were on the ground, with another 1,000, from all over the area, on the way and, all day, helicopters and tanker planes dropped water and fire retardant on the flames. but at a press conference shortly before 5 p.m., officials said that the fire had grown to 1,200 acres, with zero containment.

The winds died down late in the afternoon, giving firefighters a brief break, but at sunset, just as most of the helicopters were grounded by darkness, the winds kicked up again,

With as many as ten wild fires roaring across Southern California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency earlier tonight.

As many as 1,500 people have been evacuated thus far in Malibu, and, as midnight approached, 40-50 mph Santa Ana winds were whipping the fire, which remained out of control. Gusts to 90 mph are predicted for tomorrow, and high winds are expected to continue until Tuesday afternoon, with daytime temperatures in the 90s and virtually no humidity,

Along with the closure of PCH, Topanga, Malibu and Kanan Dume Canyon roads have been closed.
ew
And, in addition to previously announced school closures Monday, New Roads School, grades K-8, will be closed.
(See earlier story below).

Norman Solomon, producer of the new film: "War Made Easy: How Presidents’ Pundits Keep Spinning Us To Death" , narrated by Sean Penn, will appear in Santa Monica on Sunday, October 28, at the invitation of the Santa Monica Democratic Club and the Southern California Chapter of the Americans For Democratic Action.

Solomon will discuss the ways in which the US government, determined to start wars, has relied on a vast arsenal of propaganda techniques to overcome resistance at home and disapproval abroad.

Solomon is a syndicated columnist on e media and politics, and founder of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a national consortium of policy researchers.

City Hall has scheduled the second of two workshops on the future composition and design of the industrial districts in the southeast reaches of mid-City Santa Monica.

The first workshop focused on areas of stability, as well as potential changes, The aims of this workshop are to develop principles that reflect the community’s vision, consider land use options that will preserve surrounding residential areas, the possible creation of new neighborhoods and expansion of existing creative arts installations, and evaluate street grid patterns.

The industrial areas are approximately bounded by Centinela Avenue, the 10 freeway, Lincoln Boulevard and Colorado Avenue/Broadway.

By today, the Malibu firestorm had more than doubled in size -- to over 3,000 acres, and, according to some reports, the number of houses destroyed had tripled – to 15, but the 1452 firefighters deployed in Malibu had achieved 10 percent containment.

Weather forecasts indicate that Tuesday and Wednesday will be at least as dry and several degrees hotter than today, and the Santa Anas will continue to drive the firestorms until Wednesday afternoon.

With the addition of a fire in Acton Tuesday afternoon, there are now 20 fires raging in Southern California.

The Malibu firestorm has consumed 4,400 acres, but County firefighters say it has been 75 percent contained and estimate that it will be totally contained by Friday, when the fierce Santa Ana winds are replaced by cooler, more stable onshore winds.

Santa Monica Fire Chief Jim Hone told the City Council last night that three SMFD fire trucks and crews were dispatched to Malibu shortly after the fire broke out early Sunday morning. They remained in Malibu until yesterday s afternoon when they were redeployed to San Diego county. Another two SMFD fire trucks and crews were subsequently sent to battle the Malibu firestorm. They, too, have now been redeployed to other fires.

Addressing the growing interest in sustainable living and green buildings, the Santa Monica Conservancy has organized a house and garden tour to demonstrate how sustainable principles can be incorporated in older and historic homes.

The focus of the tour on Sunday, October 28th at 2 p.m., will be the home of John and Susan Zinner.

The tour will explore the ways in which the Zinners have compatibly combined their interests in historic preservation and environmentally sensitive design.

Built in 1936, the Zinner house is a sterling example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, executed by renowned contractor/designer Cecil Gale. Its historic architectural character was faithfully preserved and restored, while being converted into a "green home."

To: Mayor and City Council
From: Barbara Stinchfield, Community and Cultural Services Director
Jim Hone, Fire Chief

Subject: Information Regarding the Impacts of Fireworks Displays and Recommendation to Deny the Pending Request for Fireworks on Santa Monica State Beach for a Private Event

Recommended Action
Staff recommends that due to noise impacts, public safety and environmental concerns, the City Council deny a request for a fireworks display at a private event at the Jonathan Club on November 3, 2007.

During the 2006 election campaign, incumbent City Council member Kevin McKeown who was running for re-election was the target of a costly negative campaign that was largely financed by the non-resident owners of Casa del Mae and Shutters hotels.

Residents demonstrated at the hotels to express their objections to the attacks and McKeown was the top vote getter in the election.

At McKeown’s behest, the City Council held a study session at last night’s City Council meeting to explore “Public Financing of Election Campaigns” as a means of curtailing “attack campaigns” and reducing the infusion of “outside money” in local elections, To that end, City Clerk Maria Stewart presented a report on campaign financing options, as well as summaries of services currently provided by the city and recent legislative changes in campaign finance laws,

The Santa Monica chapter of the American Red Cross is seeking volunteers to serve in evacuation centers/shelters at the sites of the fires now burning all over Southern California.

While officials expect the Malibu fire to be totally contained by Friday, they believe that some of the larger fires won’t be extinguished for ten days, so the need for volunteers will continue for some time.

People who wish to volunteer should contact Beverly Holms at bholm@redcrossofsantamonica.org or Mark Solnick at marks@redcrossofsantamonica.org

October 25, 2007

Dear City Council,

As our own estimable Police Chief, Tim Jackman, remarked in a recent interview, “We’ve had several fatal accidents Downtown. The traffic issues are huge. Congestion is a big deal . . . ."

He's right and you have the opportunity to do something about it. Our city does not have an accurate measure of our existing traffic congestion or an accurate measure of future congestion based on all of the ongoing and proposed development in Santa Monica.

Over the past several years there have been many, many discussions about when to implement a new traffic impact methodology and what that methodology should be. The time has come to move past the debate and into the action phase nowthat our land-use and circulation goals have been articulated in the LUCE process.

The paragraph in our account of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting (“City Council Meeting – Annotated” below) about proposed Police and Fire Department’ storage facilities is inaccurate.

It’s inaccurate because we were absent for a portion of the discussion and relied on the Council wrap-up. But the more we thought about it, the less sense it made. So we did some checking, and found that the wrap-up itself was inaccurate.

It has since been corrected. And herewith is our revised and accurate account.

If you read the original wrong paragraph, we apologize. If you haven’t read it, don’t. In both cases, read this correct account.

As far as we know, the rest of the Council story is accurate.

CORRECT TEXT
In apparent agreement with residents who found the designs for proposed Police and Fire Department storage facilities flawed, the public process inadequate and the location of one of the facilities objectionable, the Council rejected the staff’s recommendation that it approve the locations and designs and direct staff to request bids.

Instead, The Council asked staff to subject the project, whose primary purpose is to provide storage space for the Police and Fire Departments’ emergency equipment, to the design and review process that such projects typically go through. It also directed staff to find additional alternative locations and establish appropriate levels for both funding and project aesthetics.

By Ava Tramer

Beaches
Warm and partly cloudy
Highs: 72-80; Lows: 54-61

Inland
Partly cloudy and hot
Highs: 80-91; Lows: 52-58

Deserts
Hot and mostly sunny
Highs: 85-95; Lows: 60-68

And Santa Monica…
With slightly cooling temperatures ahead of us this week, hopefully Southern California’s vicious fires, the biggest natural disaster to hit the United States since Hurricane Katrina, will soon be calmed and extinguished. The Santa Ana winds seem to be quieter, and with less brutal sunshine, the fires will have less help from Mother Nature. One can have too much of a good thing, and sunshine and heat are no exception. However, one can also place too much blame upon Mother Nature: arson is suspected in a few of the fires. So although she can be over-enthusiastic at times, we should still be thankful for Mother Nature, for she is good to us most of the year.

According to TreeSaver-in-Chief Jerry Rubin, the courtroom confrontation that was supposed to take place today, between the people who oppose the City’s plan to remove some 50 healthy palm and ficus trees and the City has been called off. For the moment.

On the eve of the trees’ removal, TreeSavers went to court and got a restraining order blocking the removal on the grounds that the City had neglected to do an Environmental Impact Report on the project. The City was scheduled to make its case today.

But, in the meantime, TreeSavers applied for designation of the trees as a landmark, and the Landmarks Commission will consider the unique application at its November meeting. If the trees were designated landmarks, they could not be removed, and further court orders would be unnecessary. On the other hand, if the trees fail to win landmark designation, presumably the TreeSavers and the City will meet in court.

Several individual trees have previously been designated landmarks, but this is the first time groups of trees have been nominated (the trees on each street have to be nominated separately).

Tom Larmore, chairman of the board of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, was quoted in the Santa Monica Daily Press this week as saying, “Given the substantially improved working relationship between the chamber and City Hall, we believe that endorsing candidates is not a good use of valuable volunteer time and effort and is potentially counter-productive in terms of promoting the chamber’s mission.”

If this doesn’t give you pause, nothing will.

Samta Mnnica High School art students’ annual exhibit, "Dia de los Muertos," will open Tuesday, October 30, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Roberts Art Gallery, which is located in the History Building on the Santa Monica High School campus.

Snacks will be served and some items will be available for purchase, including very cool T-shirts designed by Samohi students, with proceeds benefiting school arts programs.

Roberts is the oldest art gallery in continuous existence in Los Angeles County.

The last exhibit at Roberts featured landscapes from the WPA that are part of the Roberts’ permanent collection. The Samohi PTSA provided funds to re-mat and re-frame some of paintings.

The gallery participated in the recent "Pico Artists at Work" celebration.

Samohi photography teacher David Wood is in charge of the gallery this year.

For more information and a sneak peek of the new exhibit, visit
www.samohi.smmusd.org/art/index.html.

And the School District has a new Visual and Performing Arts website at www.smmusd.org/vapa/

Extending the discussions he inaugurated last year with residents about community priorities, City Manager P. Lamont Ewell has scheduled a new round of conversations.

At these neighborhood meetings, Ewell will present an update on the ways in which City Hall has responded to the community's concerns, as well discussing Santa Monica's needs and priorities as the 2008-09 budget cycle begins.

The meetings will be held on Thursday, November 1 in the John Muir Elementary School Auditorium, 2526 6th Street, on Tuesday, November 6 at the Montana Avenue Library, 1704 Montana, on Monday, November 12, at Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Avenue, on Monday, November 19, at the Ken Edwards Center, 1527 4th Street, and in Tuesday, November 20, in the Grant Elementary School Auditorium, 2368 Pearl Street. All meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m.

These gatherings are co-sponsored by Friends of Sunset Park, North of Montana Association, Ocean Park Association, Pico Neighborhood Association and Wilshire-Montana Neighborhood Association.

All locations are wheelchair accessible. For additional disability-related accommodations, or for more information about these meetings, please call 310-458-8281.