Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

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  • Masking up Again? Yes? No? Depends on What Fauci Said When

    Jill Chapin, Special to the Observer|Oct 2, 2023

    As we are starting to see Dr. Anthony Fauci in the news again to tout the benefits of masking, we should take the time to follow his directives on this during the past several years. At the beginning of Covid, he went back and forth on the usefulness of masks. In January, 2020 he said they don't work. He doubled down on this two months later when he said people shouldn't be walking around with masks because they're not providing the perfect protection that people think it is. Interestingly, the...

  • Stop the Incineration of our State

    Jill Chapin, Special to the Observer|Aug 28, 2023
    1

    Wildfires. Hundreds of lives lost. Thousands of homes destroyed. Millions of people without power. Billions of dollars in damages. Everyone seems to opine on where to point fingers for the mind-numbing fires we are enduring across our state. But the following fires here in California show a common denominator in each tragedy: - In 2003, San Diego Cedar Fire investigators determined that fires broke out in three areas, scorching 273,000 acres, caused when San Diego Gas and Electric power lines...

  • We Like the New California Law Punishing Doctors for Delivering Covid-19 Misinformation: Here's Why

    Jill Chapin, Special to the Observer|Oct 27, 2022
    1

    I'm all for doctors being subject to discipline for misinforming patients with false or misleading statements about COVID-19. In fact, could we make this law retroactive, and hold doctors accountable for not having kept up with evolving facts as the understanding of the disease evolves? -- Kaiser Permanente did a study on over 120,000 insurance enrollees and found that the thrice-vaccinated were more likely to get COVID than the unvaccinated. -- Australia, having one of the world's most...

  • Whiplash and the Media Regarding New Covid Boosters

    Jill Chapin|Sep 9, 2022

    September 5, 2022 - As the latest vaccine aimed at Omicron is about to be unleashed upon us, it would be helpful to all who can read to pay attention from one paragraph to the next when trying to understand the risks and efficacy of this latest shot. Recently, a major newspaper was disingenuous when it led us to believe that the unvaccinated were significantly more likely to get covid, be hospitalized or die than their vaccinated counterparts. This is true only if they acknowledged the CDC’s...

  • Shame on Santa Monica

    Jill Chapin, Santa Monica resident|Jul 15, 2022
    1

    If you have walked our iconic bluffs overlooking the ocean, you will find discarded cans, old backpacks, blankets and clothes on the other side of the concrete railings that spoil the otherwise majestic ocean view. While the rest of Palisades Park is kept up beautifully, the bluff's rim is riddled with trash. I asked a Parks employee about it and he said they weren't allowed to go over the fence to clean it up because it was too dangerous. So that's it? Are we out of ideas on how to safely...

  • As Dr. Fauci Says, We Don't Yet Know What We Don't Know

    Jill Chapin, Special to the Observer|Apr 19, 2022

    In my recent article, News not Fit to Print? some responded in a way that is best summed up by this one reader: "I genuinely believe that Dr. Fauci is a dedicated and HONEST public servant. Clearly if the vaccine was not effective, men like Fauci would not let it go unreported. Think about it. There would have to be a massive coverup involving thousands of people across the country to hide or even obfuscate a statistic that the vaccines were as ineffective as your cited statistics claim." Yet...

  • News Not Fit to Print?

    Jill Chapin, Special to the Observer|Apr 9, 2022

    I read an article in the Observer with the headline stating that 80% of covid deaths in a one-week period in Los Angeles County in March were among the vaccinated. Although this was astonishing enough, what caught my attention even more was that the statement was allowed to even see the light of day. I've been searching everywhere and have seen no counterpoint in any media related to questioning the safety and efficacy of the covid vaccine. I wanted to first verify the numbers, needing to...

  • Traffic Collision at Pico and Stewart Tuesday Morning Kills a Female Pedestrian.

    Police Capt Saul Rodriguez, SMPD PIO|Oct 14, 2020

    Tuesday morning at about 8:00 a.m., the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) responded to a radio call for service regarding a traffic collision involving a female pedestrian and vehicle at Pico Blvd and Stewart Avenue. When officers arrived, they discovered a pedestrian in the roadway suffering from severe head trauma. The involved vehicle along with the driver was on scene when officers arrived. Officers rendered immediate medical aid to the pedestrian. Santa Monica Fire Department Paramedics...

  • Sen. Kamala Harris: Proposing Crime and Homelessness, for the Entire Country

    April Miller, Observer Staff Writer|Jun 29, 2019
    1

    When she was Attorney General of the California, Kamala Harris claimed to resist taking sides when voters had ballot initiatives to consider. However, when you look at the language Harris chose to use regarding two recent disastrous propositions, it's hard to argue she remained impartial. It's just as hard to argue she did not tell the people of California egregious lies. These lies have helped lead to the situation we see today, with greatly increased homelessness, increased property crime,...

  • Four injured after cruise ship rams into tourist boat in Venice

    Emilio Rappold and, Annette Reuther, dpa|Jun 3, 2019

    Rome (dpa) - A cruise ship rammed into a moored tourist boat as it docked in Venice on Sunday, leaving at least four people with minor injuries, according to city officials. The ship, which dwarfed the other vessel, crashed as it came into the San Basilio cruise terminal in the popular lagoon city. The people injured were all taken to an area hospital, aid Venice officials. Dramatic footage of the collision appeared to show some people falling into the water as the smaller boat was hit. The...

  • Toxic Masculinity: #Metoo Movement Demands Mural of Leda and The Swan be Reburied at Pompeii

    AP, Observer Staff Writer|Feb 21, 2019

    The #MeToo Movement, or certain of its leaders, have demanded that archeologists rebury a "sexist and patriarchal" depiction of the mythological figure Leda and the Swan. "The mural shows a dangerously outdated version of the power relationship between men and women. The lack of consent, while mythological, may be easily misinterpreted as women's positive response to unwanted sexual overtures. It needs to be back where it was for the last 19 centuries: #MeToo" tweeted Alyssa Milano. From CNN:...

  • Santa Monica Animal Shelter and Police Sponsor an Adoption Event December 15th

    April Gray, Observer Staff Writer|Dec 20, 2018

    The Santa Monica Animal Shelter will be hosting a pet adoption event on Saturday, December 15, 2018 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Santa Monica Police Department Holiday Substation located at 1313 3rd Street Promenade. The pet adoption event will include a reduced adoption cost of $50 dollars on all dogs, cats, kittens, and rabbits. The animal shelter currently has several adoptable pets who are hoping to find a forever home this holiday season. The public is encouraged to post photos with...

  • Santa Monica Fire Dept Rescues Dog from Burning Building at 1435 26th Street

    Capn Patrick Nulty, SMFD PIO|Jan 9, 2018

    On Monday January 8th at 6:53 a.m. The Santa Monica Fire Department received multiple 911 calls reporting a structure fire at 1435 26th Street in the City of Santa Monica. Firefighters arrived 5 minutes and 3 seconds later to find a 2-story multi-unit residence with an active kitchen fire in one of the units. Firefighters forced entry into the unit an aggressively fought back the flames, preventing the fire from spreading to adjacent units. During the search of the smoke filled apartment,...

  • Lost Power Caused Elevator Entrapment, Structure and Transformer Fires on 9/11

    Capt. Patrick Nulty, SMFD PIO|Sep 16, 2017

    On Monday September 11th, 2017 at 10:40 a.m. the Santa Monica Fire Department received multiple 911 calls in the "Wilmont" neighborhood of the City of Santa Monica reporting various emergencies including explosions, and electrical wires down in multiple locations. The preliminary cause of the incidents was determined to be the result of construction crews excavating the athletic field of Lincoln Middle School, located at 1501 California Ave, who dug into buried high-voltage electrical lines,...

  • 2 Illegal Aliens Murder Girl, 15, "Because Satan Demands We Sacrifice a Soul."

    AP|Mar 5, 2017

    Two illegal alien MS-13 gang members from El Salvador, held three teenage girls against their will and killed one of them in what was described as a satanic ritual, police in Houston said Friday. Meanwhile, a dozen other MS-13 gang members were indicted in New York for killing high school students over a 7 year period. MS-13, also called Mara Salvatrucha, is said to have been founded in Los Angeles circa 1985, by immigrants fleeing civil war in El Salvador. It is now a major international...

  • Kim Jong Nam's Killer Was Known as a Singer and Reality TV Contestant

    Reuters AP|Feb 24, 2017

    A woman bearing a close resemblance to Huong sang on the show as contestant number 67816 on June 3, 2016. Facial recognition tools give a match to the pictures released by Malaysian police of Huong in custody. The Facebook page belonging to the accused assassin shows her in an 'LOL' shirt. Doan Thi Huong, posted glamour-type photos on her Facebook page called 'Ruby Ruby', and many of her Facebook friends were Koreans. The Vietnamese woman suspected of helping to kill the North Korean leader's...

  • Kansas Mom Who Provided Mass Shooter Cedric Ford with Weapons, To Be Sentenced.

    AP|Dec 1, 2016

    A federal judge will weigh the mental state of a woman who gave her ex-boyfriend guns he used in February's mass shooting at a Kansas lawn equipment factory in deciding what her sentence should be next week. The defense attorney for Sarah Hopkins has filed a sentencing memorandum that includes her psychological evaluation in advance of Monday's hearing before U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren in Wichita. Though the memo is sealed, earlier defense filings cited an evaluation in March that...

  • Kendall Jenner Testifies Against Stalker in a Los Angeles Criminal Courtroom

    AP|Oct 18, 2016

    Kendall Jenner testified Thursday at the trial of a man accused of stalking her that she was terrified when he followed her up the driveway of her Hollywood Hills home and repeatedly knocked on the window of her car. The 20-year-old model and reality TV star used her hands to illustrate how she made frantic phone calls to friends after locking the doors and watching Shavaughn McKenzie until help arrived. "I've never been so scared in my life," Jenner told the Los Angeles jury hearing the case...

  • The Walking Dead Meets World of Warcraft: Come Over To The Darkside of Comic Con

    April Gray, Observer Staff Writer|ERROR

    If you think Star wars is the only fantasy franchise with a dark side think again. Having just returned from an exhausting five days at the con I was exposed to several, little talked about, quirks of the con. The producers of this event love random, or so they say, but so much of the random is not as it seems. For those of you who don't know, Comic-con is a 4 day convention of comics and pop culture. At 46 years old, it is the premier comic, science fiction and fantasy convention in the world....

  • Bernie Sanders Apologizes After Local Doc Calls Clinton, Democrats 'Whores'

    AP|Apr 18, 2016

    Update: Dr. Paul Song abruptly resigned from his position on the progressive group called "The Courage Campaign," five days after making the controversial comments described below. Dr. Paul Song, railing against the relationship between politicians and corporations before Sanders' supporters on Wednesday, said, "Medicare-for-all will never happen if we continue to elect corporate Democratic whores who are beholden to big pharma and the private insurance industry instead of us." Song, a health...

  • Cal State Univ. May Avert a Strike

    AP|Apr 11, 2016

    California State University management and the California Faculty Association said on Wednesday in a joint statement that they're putting strike preparations on hold as they give contract talks another chance. "CFA and CSU management are working to find a solution, rather than continuing the dispute that began over 11 months ago," the emailed statement said. "Both parties have agreed to honor a 48-hour blackout period, effective today, on internal strike planning, communication efforts and...

  • Report: 80 Indians Dead in Temple Fire

    AP|Apr 4, 2016

    A huge fire broke out at Puttingal temple at Paravaur (Kollam District), Kerala early Sunday morning leaving at least eighty dead and over a hundred injured, local media said quoting police officials. The fire took place at around 3.30 am this morning. According to reports, the fire could have been caused due to a blast in the firework stockpile, readied for the temple celebrations. The police had earlier warned temple authorities to restrict usage of fireworks. A building at the temple then...

  • North Korea Says it Successfully Tests Long-range Rocket Engine

    AP|Mar 28, 2016

    SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea says it has successfully conducted an engine test of a new intercontinental ballistic rocket it claims will strengthen its ability to stage nuclear strikes on the United States. The North's official Korean Central News Agency released the news Saturday. The move, if true, would be a big step forward for the North's nuclear weapons program. But South Korean officials still say North Korea doesn't yet have a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile, let alone...

  • State Legislature Reaches $15 Minimum Wage Deal

    AP, Associated Press|Mar 21, 2016

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California legislators and labor unions on Saturday reached a tentative agreement that will take the state's minimum wage from $10 to $15 an hour, a state senator said, a move that would make for the largest statewide minimum in the nation by far. Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who stressed that the deal was not yet finalized, told The Associated Press the proposal would go before the Legislature as part of his minimum-wage bill that stalled last year. Leno said the...