Whither the Weather 11/23 – 11/29
By Ava Tramer Beaches Partly cloudy with chilly nights Highs: 60-71; Lows: 47-50 Inland Mostly cloudy with a windy weekend Highs: 66-73; Lows: 38-43 Deserts A warm weekend and scattered clouds Highs: 69-76; Lows: 47-52 And Santa Monica… Oh the weather outside is delightful, And those extra Thanksgiving calories are frightful, And since we can go jogging cause there’s no snow, Outside we’ll go, outside we’ll go, outside we’ll go. Oh it doesn’t show signs of stopping, To... Read More
Talking Trees in the Canyon
Rand Plewak, who lives near Rustic Canyon Park, has called a meeting to discuss the future of the Uplifters’ “experimental forestry grove” of eucalyptus trees next to the park. It has been proposed that every dead eucalyptus tree be replaced by an indigenous coast redwood. The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday, November 25, in the eucalyptus grove and will be short. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Talking Trees in the Canyon", url: "http://www.santamonicadispatch.com/2007/11/talking-trees-in-the-canyon/"... Read More
City Numbers Game
The staff report on recommended revisions in land use and circulation policies in the so-called industrial lands referred frequently to the need to achieve “jobs-housing balance.” In addition to all the obvious advantages of such balance, it might alleviate the monstrous traffic mess the City has created, which is probably why it’s suddenly become a City priority. Of course, it should have been a priority 20 years ago, when the City embarked on its manic economic drive,... Read More
Whither the Weather 11/16 – 11/22
By Ava Tramer Beaches Sunny and steadily cooling Highs: 56-69; Lows: 45-55 Inland Clear and warm Highs: 65-82; Lows: 39-51 Deserts Warm and sunny Highs: 66-89; Lows: 47-61 And Santa Monica… In 1620, the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims endured trying times, and eventually thrived, having a celebratory feast with the local Native Americans. They ate turkey, corn, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and sweet potatoes with a flambéed marshmallow topping.... Read More
SCVA Honor Choir Concert Sat.
The Southern California Vocal Association will present the Southern California Regional Honor Choirs in concert at Samohi’s Barnum Hall on Saturday, November 17th, at 7:30 p.m. Over 500 students from all over Southern California audition each year for the SCVA honor choirs.This year, 240 students were selected for the Mixed Honor Choir, the Women’s Honor Choir, and the Men’s Honor Choir. Tickets are $10 and will be available for purchase at the door. SHARETHIS.addEntry({... Read More
Huston Film Set in Cuba Screens Friday
“We Were Strangers” (1948), a rarely shown John Huston film, will be screened Friday, November 16, as part of the Los Angeles Coalition in Solidarity with Cuba’s film series, When Cuban-born Tony Fenner (John Garfield) returns to Havana after seven years, he joins a small band of revolutionaries dedicated to ending the reign toppling the tyrannical president. Aided by fellow rebel China Valdes (Jennifer Jones), Fenner sets an elaborate plot in motion. 106 min. Standard;... Read More
Notes on the Strike
In his latest Los Angeles Times column, “The Big Picture,” Patrick Golstein wrote, “When Tom Freston was fired from Viacom in 2006, he received $60 million in severance pay, more than all of the DVD residuals paid to WGA members that year.” In a separate instance, a striking writer told a TV reporter that the DVD of a movie he wrote made $40 million. His share was less than $8.000. Clearly, it’s far more profitable to be a fired corporate executive than a working writer,... Read More
Industrial Lands Plan Flunks
Eccentric topography notwithstanding, Santa Monica is a linear town – broad bands of houses and apartment buildings punctuated at remarkably regular intervals by boulevards, each of which has its own distinctive character, and all but one of which are commercial to varying degrees. The town is split in half by the ten Freeway, which runs downhill and diagonally from the L.A. border to the beach. Founded in 1875 as a modest real estate, it has become an accurate expression... Read More
Norman Mailer Dies at 84
In the beginning, he seemed to be the quintessential Hemingway character – a Harvard boy who became a man in the caldron of World War II. Then, with the publication of his first novel, “The Naked and the Dead,” he was seen by many as Hemingway’s heir apparent. But, if Mailer’s long, tumultuous life proved anything, it was that he was an original, who invented and reinvented himself with every book, sometimes for the better, often for the worse. His ego was as large... Read More
Too Much Traffic. Too Little Analysis
The following report was commissioned by Mark Gold, Director of Heal the Bay and Chair of the Santa Monica Task Force on the Environment,nd delivered on November 30, 2005. Its author, Laurel Roennau, is a longtime resident and traffic expert. We are running it now because in the meantime nothing has changed – except that traffic is worse than ever, and the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City has asked the City Council — again — (see “To the City Council,”... Read More
