Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words

Articles from the December 16, 2013 edition


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  • Witness Recalls 'Manic Grin' on Venice Boardwalk Crash Suspect

    Dec 16, 2013

    Witnesses and the first victim struck by a car that plowed through the Venice Beach boardwalk in August testified Tuesday they could not believe the Dodge Avenger continued after striking a vendor’s tent. They recalled in the preliminary hearing a car smashing an ATM near the corner of Dudley Avenue and Ocean Front Walk at sunset. It came toward them across the walkway, knocking over a trash can and a booth near a patch of grass. They said they expected the car to stop at this point. Instead, the vehicle swerved to the left, back toward the...

  • Omlette Parlor Closes

    Dec 16, 2013

    At the Santa Monica Omelette Parlor, on Main between Hill and Ashland, Superior Court Judge and former LA Mayor Jim Hahn and his wife Michelle are celebrating the 95th birthday of Jim's great-grandfather-in-law Frank Torres. Frank looks tanned and fit, and the servers bring on a sesame-seeded pastry with a lit sparkler sticking out of it. We all sing him "Happy Birthday." This is perhaps the last time anyone will ever sing "Happy Birthday"at this once-popular lunch and breakfast venue....

  • SMPD Warning about Elder Scam

    Dec 16, 2013

    The Santa Monica Police Department is currently investigating several reports in which senior citizens have been targeted as victims of an elder abuse scam. The scams involve one or two suspects who stage a minor traffic accident in a store parking lot involving the suspect’s vehicle and the victim’s vehicle. The suspect(s) approach the victims as they are leaving the lot and claim the victim hit their car. They demand money from the victim; claiming the damage is less than their insurance deductible. Police have noted that the suspects...

  • City Debuts New Eco-Friendly Parking Structure #6

    Dec 16, 2013

    Proving that the holidays are truly a time for giving back, the City of Santa Monica opened the new Parking Structure #6 on 2nd Street in Downtown Santa Monica on Dec. 19. The project which began construction in Mar. 2012 is now ready for its much-anticipated debut just in time for the upcoming final days of the holiday shopping season. In addition to providing much needed additional parking for Downtown Santa Monica and Third Street Promenade, Parking Structure #6 has been designed to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED silver standards...

  • Homicide Suspect convicted

    Dec 16, 2013

    On November 27, 2013, Francisco Leon-Urbalexo of Sonora, Mexico, plead guilty to one count of attempted, second-degree murder for the stabbing of Jarred Hill of Los Angeles. Urbalexo was sentenced to nine years in State Prison. Upon his release from prison, he will be released to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for deportation back to Mexico. The stabbing took place at the intersection of 4th Street and Santa Monica Boulevard on August 13, 2012, at approximately...

  • Folding Chair Attack in Venice

    Dec 16, 2013

    Police are searching for two men, one of whom was armed with a folding chair, in an attack caught on video at the Venice Beach boardwalk. James Karhu shot the video Friday from his apartment, located above the street, as neighbors called 911. The video shows two men punching and kicking the victim on a sidewalk. “My heart was beating out of my chest,” said Karhu. After one of the attackers ran away, the second man continued to strike the man with a folding chair. The beating continued for about two minutes as the attacker yelled at the...

  • Minor Earthquake Rocks MDR

    Dec 16, 2013

    A small earthquake has rattled the west side of Los Angeles and coastal suburbs. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 8 a.m. Thursday quake measured magnitude-2.8 and was centered a mile northwest of Marina del Rey. Residents of Marina del Rey, Venice, Santa Monica and Culver City reporting the quake on the USGS website mostly describe it as weak....

  • Red-Legged Frogs May Hop Again in The Santa Monica Mountains

    Dec 16, 2013

    You'll know it's springtime in the Santa Monica Mountains when wildlife biologists start alerting curious visitors to keep their distance from the first red-legged frog reintroduction effort ever attempted in Southern California. Biologists are gearing up to transfer fragile batches of California red-legged frog eggs from a tiny, isolated population in the nearby Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve to separate streams in the Santa Monicas where the species has not been seen in nearly...

  • Ford Focus Titanium: Power and Convenience

    Sabine Ganezer|Dec 16, 2013

    Life’s never dull when you’re the daughter of a newspaper publisher. New and random curiosities make their way into your home all the time: one day there’s a novel from an up-and-coming author on your desk, the next day you’re presented with free stationary, and every so often you even get free admission to an amusement park, all submitted by various businesses in the hopes of being featured in the paper. One of the most enjoyable perks to the newspaper business –free Disneyland...

  • Skaggs Happy To Be With Angels Again

    Mitch Chortkoff|Dec 16, 2013

    Tyler Skaggs was thrilled to be drafted by the Angels in 2009, when he was the 17-year-old star pitcher at Santa Monica High. Quite simply, he had been an Angels fan. But in professional baseball there are often twists and turns in a career. The Angels traded Skaggs a year later to the Arizona DiamondBacks. Last week the Angels acquired Skaggs again. In reality, at age 22, the 6-foot-5 lefthander has shown more promise than results. He's been in demand. The DiamondBacks wanted him originally...

  • Maury Wills At Westfield, Culver City

    Fred Altieri|Dec 16, 2013

    Maury Wills was born to be a Los Angeles Dodger. Eighty One years later he is still a Dodger, as sharp and as alert as during the 1960's when he altered the fundamentals of major league baseball with his speed and prowess on the base paths. Wills recently visited Culver City's Westfield Mall, signing autographs, talking baseball and even playing catch with some of the youngsters. He and Steve Yeager were on hand to meet and greet Dodger fans during the first stop of the 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers...

  • How Good Can The Clippers Be???

    Mitch Chortkoff|Dec 16, 2013

    After the Clippers set a franchise record for victories in a season Vinny del Negro was fired as coach. There was the matter of the Clippers losing in the first round of the NBA playoffs. That was last season and this one began with Clippers management sending a very clear message. It was time for the Clippers to approach – and possibly win -- the first NBA championship in their history. Doc Rivers, leaving Boston after nine years, was hired as the coach who might change Clipper history. The...

  • SAVING MR. BANKS

    debbie lynn elias|Dec 16, 2013

    Making this the jolliest holiday of the year, SAVING MR. BANKS is, quite frankly, practically perfect in every way. Based on the true account of the making of "Mary Poppins", SAVING MR. BANKS is the story behind the story; the battle of wills between studio titan Walt Disney and literary titan P.L. Travers as the man behind the mouse fought to fulfill a promise to his daughters, a promise to bring to life on the big screen the beloved story of the nanny with the bottomless carpetbag and talking...