Santa Monica Dispatch

The ad headline, “Meet Your City Leaders,” caught our eye, as we have wondered for some time who, if anyone, was in charge.

The ad went on to say, “The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce Presents: The State of the City 2008.”

It will be held on Tuesday, January 12, from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel.

In addition to the CofC, the sponsors are the law firm Harding, Larmore, Mullen, Jackle, Kutcher, and Kozal, the Santa Monica Mirror, Metropolitan Pacific Commercial Real Estate Service, the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau, Bayside District Corporation, RAND, and St. John’s Health Center.

The “leaders” are Mayor Herb Katz and City Manager Lamont Ewell, lawyer Tom Larmore, who heads the Chamber board, the Executive Directors of the City’s Convention and Visitors Bureau and its Bayside Corporation, Misti kerns and Kathleen Rawson, and the new Chamber CEO Laurel Rosen.

With all due respect, these are not the sort of “leaders” we had in mind.

Town-gown conflicts have long been a staple of literature, and, more often than not, they are written by English professors and, more often than not, they portray the townspeople as villains, bumpkins, philistines who have an abiding fear of and disdain for books and the people who write read them.

The periodic conflicts between Santa Monica residents (town) and Santa Monica College (gown) are, at once, more mundane and more complicated, and rarely feature bumpkins or philistines.

They are based in an unalterable and uncomfortable fact: the college is a state institution, and so it is not subject to most local rules and regulations. For instance, the City must approve all proposed buildings, but the state architect has the last word on SMC projects.

In effect, then, SMC is a semi-autonomous town that was dropped into the heart of Santa Monica some time ago and has not only created three satellite campuses in other parts of its “host” town, but created problems for its neighbors in all four locations as it regularly outgrows itself.

By Ava Tramer

Beaches
Rain, clouds, and cool temperatures
Highs: 55-61; Lows: 45-54

Inland
Cloudy and rainy
Highs: 56-62; Lows: 37-48

Deserts
Mostly cloudy
Highs: 60-65; Lows: 41-52

And Santa Monica…
I thought my job was supposed to be easy. I mean, how much is there for a weatherwoman to do if the weather never changes? It’s supposed to be simple to report on sunny day after sunny day. Santa Monica was supposed to be effortless for me. But now, you tell me, it’s supposed to rain on Saturday and Sunday? This is definitely NOT the painless job I thought it would be. It is becoming far too demanding. And next week it is going to be cool and cloudy? That’s not sun! That’s not trouble-free sunshine followed by more sunshine followed by sunshine! I do not understand!

I should quit.

But maybe I won’t.

This is kind of maybe beginning to get sort of a little bit exciting!

“The State of the City 2008” meeting is on Tuesday, January 15, not January 12, as reported in the story below. We either misread the announcement, or mistyped the number. In either case, the error was inexcusable, and we apologize to our readers and the event sponsors.

Sunset Park is one of the most attractive residential neighborhoods in Santa Monica. Situated on a gentle slope in the southeast quadrant, it literally overlooks the rest of the city.

Most of its streets are tree-lined and its mix of houses, vintage garden apartments and modern condominiums is entirely congenial.

But this serene neighborhood has been under assault for some time and it’s troubles are getting worse, not better. and, ironically, the chief trouble-makers are local, state and federal officials.

Regarding Peggy Clifford's article (see below) on various issues concerning Sunset Park, here are a few comments:

S.M. Airport -- It's true that there has been a tremendous increase in jet traffic at Santa Monica Airport (up to 18,000 landings and takeoffs per year) and that the planes "roar off the runway and over Sunset Park houses, raising air and noise pollution, as well as residents’ hackles, to new heights." However, we don't agree with Peggy that the City should have enlarged the runway. There is no space to lengthen the runway, and that's the last thing nearby residents want anyway. We've been asking for "Runway Safety Areas," based on FAA safety guidelines, to be painted onto both ends of the runway. This would effectively shorten the usable runway, eliminate some of the faster, larger planes, and offer residents some protection from aircraft overrunning the ends of the runway and plowing into nearby homes.

The City did ban jets from the airport years ago, but it was then sued for discriminating against jets. The settlement resulted in the 1984 agreement with the FAA which lasts until 2015. The City Council is currently between first and second readings of a city ordinance that would eliminate the Category C and D aircraft, which have faster landing speeds, from the airport. (Category D includes Gulfstream IV executive jets.)

Traffic congestion -- It's true that many Sunset Park residents are irritated by SMC's ongoing efforts to increase enrollment, due to the resulting traffic and parking issues in the neighborhood. There are currently about 7,000 households in Sunset Park and over 30,000 SMC students, 75-85% of whom live in L.A.

By Ava Tramer

Beaches
Mostly sunny
Highs: 62-71; Lows: 45-51

Inland
Clear with occasional clouds
Highs: 64-71; Lows: 38-42

Deserts
Clear and sunny
Highs: 65-73; Lows: 44-49

And Santa Monica…
The storm has passed, the sun is out,
Next week will be dry, without a doubt.
Come the weekend, temperatures will be warm,
There might be some clouds, but nary a storm.
Next week will dawn all sunny and bright,
But it will be cool out, ‘specially at night.
So even though things’ll look clear and sunny,
Be sure to dress warm or you’re nose’ll be runny!

California’s economy is the seventh richest in the world, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s draconian 2008-2009 budget calls for 10 percent across-the-board cuts that inevitably hit the most vulnerable among us the hardest

Among other things, services to the poor will be slashed, some state parks will be closed, including both Will Rogers and Topanga in this area, thousands of “non-violent” inmates in state prisons will be released, public transit funding will be reduced, and, of course, school budgets will be cut and Proposition 98 will be suspended.

Why is the seventh richest economy In the world unable to care for its poor and disabled and give its children a first-rate education? Is the state capital inhabited exclusively by twits and scrooges? Are they all in thrall to special interests? Are they corrupt? Or would they rather reduce the golden state to a vast junkyard than raise taxes?

Whatever the basis for our so-called leaders’ unwillingness or inability to do the right thing, it is inexcusable and intolerable. And residents should not tolerate another year of this fiscal assault and battery.

The first City Council meeting of 2008 on Tuesday night began with a mini-concert that featured some of the talented Samohi musicians.

Of the pieces they played, the most apropos was a classic Rodgers and Hart tune, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” for it rather neatly sums up the state of things in Santa Monica here and now.

Aside from the students’ appearance, there was nothing compelling on the meeting agenda. None of the key issues was addressed, suggesting that City Hall had chosen to ease into the new year and deal with the tough stuff later. Or not.

Zina Josephs, President of the Friends of Sunset Park, reports that Sunday, January 13, at about 5 p.m., Santa Monica Tower personnel notified the Airport Services Officer (ASO) on duty that a piston powered aircraft had gone off the west end of the Santa Monica Airport runway on landing.

The ASO responded and found that a single-engine four-seat “Jabiru” kit aircraft had rolled down the west slope and had come to rest on the lower west service road. There was no fire. The pilot and two adult passengers were uninjured. The aircraft’s right wing was bent and the landing gear and windscreen were heavily damaged. Closed briefly, the airport reopened following inspection by the ASO.

Santa Monica firefighters and police officers assisted the aircraft occupants and placed fuel absorbent on the roadway for a small fuel spill. They also monitored the aircraft’s removal.

Though Landmarks Commissioners praised Treesavers’ efforts to preserve 50-some ficus trees on Second and Fourth Streets in downtown Santa Monica, they voted 6-1 at their Monday night meeting to deny Treesavers’ application for the trees' designation as landmarks,

Commission chair Nina Fresco explained that the trees simply do not qualify under The landmark criteria.

The removal of the trees is part of an $8 million downtown “improvement” plan developed by the City, Though a large number of residents oppose the removal, the City has refused to reconsider its decision.

Treesavers initially went to court, sought and got a restraining order that put the City’s scheduled tree removal on hold. The group then applied for landmarks’ designation.

This afternoon, Rubin told us that Treesavers would meet tonight, and that the group would probably appeal the Commission’s decision, as well as going back to court.

The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) was formed in 2004, in its words, “ensure that those of us who call Santa Monica our home have meaningful input into the development decisions that affect our lives.”

To that end, SMCLC will soon begin collecting signatures from Santa Monica residents in order to place "The Residents' Initiative to Fight Traffic" (RIFT) on the November ballot.

The requisite documents were filed with the Santa Monica City Clerk yesterday.

By Ava Tramer

Beaches
Cooler with a chance of showers
Highs: 55-65; Lows: 42-46

Inland
Partly cloudy
Highs: 55-68; Lows: 33-40

Deserts
Mostly sunny
Highs: 56-68; Lows: 42-46

And Santa Monica…
They said it was California and the weather’d be fair,
But somehow I still felt a chill in the air.
I saw the sun hanging high up in the sky,
But I found myself wishing I had a parka nearby.
And then clouds rolled in, covering the sky in grey,
And before I knew it, it was a rainy day.
I told myself, “I must be dreaming!”
But when I pinched myself, the rain was still streaming.
So all the rumors about So Cal are apparently untrue,
And it is actually possible for the sky to be not blue.

Los Angeles Councilman Bill Rosendahl and Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution have scheduled a town hall forum focusing on “the impacts of Santa Monica Airport on the surrounding communities.”

It will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 22, at Daniel Webster Middle School Auditorium, 11330 West Graham Place in Los Angeles.

The forum will be devoted to reports on the political stance of local. state and federal officials regarding the airport, as well as a panel discussion of the effects of the airport on the health and well-being of its neighbors.

After the reports, there will be a general discussion of next steps.

Parking will be available on the street and also in the school's rear parking lot (entrance on the west side of Sawtelle Blvd. between Pico and National, at Ivy Place)

For more information, contact Martin Rubin at 310-479-2529, or
JetAirPolluton@earthlink.net, or check the website at w.JetAirPollution.com

As a longtime resident of Ocean Park, as director of Beyond Baroque in neighboring Venice, and as a Santa Monica Arts Commissioner for several years, I've seen many of my creative friends, and the vast majority of newcomers in the arts, move to Silverlake, Echo Park, and parts further east, north, and south. Artists left here, now losing affordable studios (at the airport and elsewhere), are ready to abandon Santa Monica. A number of galleries have already moved to a more welcoming Culver City, to downtown, and beyond.

The damage has been building steadily for years and has hurt the city I love. Santa Monica's support for, and receptivity to, artists, both prominent ones and younger ones that are struggling, is very much in question. Some call this the genius of the market. I call it a deadly blight - short-term gain exacting long-term harm on neighborhoods, gathering places, and public life.

A number of Santa Monica residents, consultants, and those serving the city joined together, over hundreds of hours, to conceive a better future. The result, the Creative Capital plan, when it was completed, was widely regarded as a national beacon and blueprint for arts infrastructure and artist support. It was endorsed by the Arts Commission, approved by City Council, and culture was voted a budget priority. That was a year ago.

A year has passed and nothing has happened.

“American Idealist,” a profile of Peace Corps founder Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., will premier on KCET (channel 6 in Santa Monica) on Monday, January 21, at 9 p.m.

In addition to founding the Peace Corps, Shriver also created Head Start, the Job Corps and VISTA, three of this country’s most direct, successful and enduring public service programs. He also spearheaded President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, but though LBJ enjoyed boasting about it, he failed to allocate sufficient funds for it.

In 1972, Shriver was the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate.

Like her husband, Eunice Shriver has always been committed to public service. She founded and has been actively involved in the Special Olympics from its inception.

The Shrivers are the parents of California’s first lady Maria Shriver and Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver.

Ms. Shriver, a TV journalist, was the documentary’s executive producer. In an interview with TV Guide, she said that she and her brothers call their father “the Elvis of public service.”

At last night’s City Council meeting, one of City Hall’s constant critics, Joy Fulmer, fulminated against the City’s plans for the pumping up of downtown Santa Monica in general and the Third Street Promenade in particular.

Following “Managing the Future of Downtown Santa Monica,” the staff report, which featured Bayside’s long-running consultants, Fulmer scolded the Council, noting that residents keep asking for the City to do less in the way of growth and development, but the City persists in doing more.

As it was a discussion item, the Council took no action, and at the conclusion of the discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Richard Bloom, who was presiding in Mayor Herb Katz’s absence, said the Big Blue Bus, the beach, Santa Monica Pier and the Promenade were all Santa Monica “treasures.”

The beach and the Pier are authentic treasures. As buses go, the Big Blue Bus is nice, but no nicer than the MTA or Culver City buses. And by no measure can a three-block stretch of high end chain stores/traffic magnet be called a “treasure.” Indeed, like Fulmer, many residents see it as a nightmare.

But City Hall loves it and. among its many recommendations, is the allocation of $850.000 for “enhancements and additional marketing.”

“Salt of the Earth” was made in 1954 during the black list frenzy. The House UnAmerican Activities Committee and the FBI ruled Hollywood, and they didn’t want this film made, much less seen.

It will be screened in Santa Monica on Friday, February 1, at 7 p.m. by
ILMS4CHANGE

Shot on location in New Mexico, the film focuses on the plight of the Mexican-Americans who worked for the company that owned the town and the mine in which they labored.

Don’t get thinking it’s a real country because you can get a lot of high school kids into gym suits and have them spell out “bananas” for the newsreels.

-- F. Scott Fitzgerald

By Ava Tramer

Beaches
Rainy and cool
Highs: 55-60; Lows: 41-51

Inland
Cool with weekend rain
Highs: 56-62; Lows: 34-46

Deserts
Partly cloudy with a chance of rain
Highs: 58-64; Lows: 40-47

And Santa Monica...
It's a rare occurrence in Santa Monica, but this Sunday, there is a 100 percent chance of rain. In our city by the sea that gets so few days of rain each year, this is a special day. Rather than moan about your wet misfortune, embrace the rain as a miracle of sorts, a unique present from the clouds that will douse our city and give the weather-deprived children something to splash around in. Buy your kids rain boots, take them outside, and teach them how to splash in puddles. It's something every child should know how to do, and in Santa Monica, that is so rarely the case.

DELL and Microsoft joined the (RED) roster this week, adding new products whose sales raise funds to fight AIDS in Africa.

According to a report issued by the Global Fund this week, total revenue generated by the sales of (RED) partners has reached $57 million.

The announcement was made by Bono, RED co-founder, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Michael Dell this week at the World Economic Forum at Davos.

The unique (PRODUCT) RED branded Microsoft and Dell PC and printer powered by Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED. Dell is the exclusive partner for PCs and peripherals of (PRODUCT) RED.

According to the Associated Press, “Barack Obama routed Hillary Rodham Clinton” in the South Carolina primary Saturday.

Following his impressive victory, Obama told a crowd of excited supporters, "The choice in this election is not about regions or religions or genders, It's not about rich versus poor, young versus old and it's not about black versus white. It's about the past versus the future."

We were as jubilant as the people in the crowd, as we had waited for years to hear a presidential candidate who wanted to do more than win.

Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver, co-founder of the (Product) RED Campaign that has raised $57 million to combat AIDS in Africa, is one of three people who will be honored tomorrow night in New York City by the Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR).

Shriver, artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, and Carine Roitfeld, editor- in-chief of French Vogue, will each receive amFAR’s Award of Courage for their “vital and distinctive contributions” to the global struggle against AIDS, as well their “outstanding leadership and distinguished service in furthering amfAR’s mission and for playing vital roles in increasing AIDS awareness and accelerating the pace of HIV/AIDS research.”

The evening will open with a keynote speech by amfAR board chair Kenneth Cole, and will include the première of a short film about amfAR’s history and accomplishments, introduced by Tony Award-winning actress Natasha Richardson, a member of amfAR’s board of trustees.

Marc Jacobs and Lou Reed are among the award presenters.

amfAR is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested $260 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.