Palisades News 7.31.2020

Read all your local news in under 20 minutes!

www.palisadesnews.com

July 31 – August 28, 2020 Volume 12, Issue 38

Exclusive Palisades Country Club Receives Multimillion-Dollar PPP Loan While Collecting Full Dues $2.5 to $5 million Paycheck Protection Program loan goes to Riviera Country Club

By Sam Catanzaro

An exclusive Pacific Palisades country club–who counts among its celebrity members the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury– received a multimillion-dollar small business loan from the federal government while allegedly laying off employees and still collecting full dues from its members despite being closed due to COVID-19.

On Monday, July, 6 the Trump Administration released data showing all recipients of loans through the $669-billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Riviera Country Club, located at 250 Capri Drive in Pacific Palisades, is the only country club in the City of Los Angeles to receive a PPP loan. According to records, Riviera’s loan was between $2.5 to $5 million. In addition,

Riviera Country, see page 5

Photo: Palisades News Archives

The entrance to Riviera Country Club.

Our Reputation Is Spotless.

Quality is our promise to you.

877-374-2567 Hand Finished Shirt Laundry | Bed & Table Linens Eco Friendly Dry Cleaning | Alterations & Tailoring

FREE PICK UP & DELIVERY THROUGHOUT THE PALISADES

YOUR AD HERE!

Contact Judy Swartz judy@smmirror.com 310.204.4255

TAX

Samuel Moses, CPA 100 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica

310.395.9922

WWW.PALISADESNEWS.COM

2

July 31 – August 28, 2020

Man Sentenced for Carjacking, Kidnapping in Pacific Palisades Crime Spree

By Staff Writer

A 50-year-old man was sentenced in July to 141 years to life in state prison after being convicted for a one-day crime spree in Pacific Palisades, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Brian Thomas Cruz, a transient, was found guilty during a court trial of four felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, an automobile; three counts of carjacking; two counts each of first-degree burglary,

person present, second-degree robbery, criminal threats and reckless driving causing specified injury, a bone fracture; and one count each of kidnapping and false imprisonment by violence.

On Aug. 11, 2014, Cruz went into a woman’s home and forced her at knifepoint to drive him in her car, which she deliberately crashed so she could run away, the prosecutor said.

The defendant went on to carjack a second woman, a teacher near Palisades High School, ramming the stolen car into

several other vehicles, the prosecutor added.

Cruz then abandoned the teacher’s vehicle and entered a home where he forced a third woman to surrender her car keys. The defendant crashed that victim’s car into other vehicles before running a red light and colliding into a car near Webb Way in Malibu, according to evidence presented at the 2019 trial.

The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, West Los Angeles Division.

Brian Thomas Cruz.

Photos: Megan’s Law

Local Restaurant and Lounge Sees Handful of Positive COVID-19 Cases Nine confirmed COVID-19 cases at Malibu’s Moonshadows

By Sam Catanzaro

A handful of employees at a local restaurant and lounge have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), according to county public health data.

Nine employees at Moonshadows–the popular restaurant and cocktail lounge on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu–have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (Public Health). Six of these cases are symptomatic and three are unsymptomatic data shows.

Palisades News has reached out to Moonshadows–which is open at the time of publishing–asking about any measures implemented in the wake of the positive cases and in addition if any of the employees who tested positive came into contact with costumers. The restaurant did “see” a Facebook message sent to them but has not responded at the time of publishing.

Other Westside restaurants with confirmed COVID-19 cases include Javier’s Restaurant in Century City (13 symptomatic, 3 unsymptomatic), Shake Shack in Century City (3 symptomatic, 0 unsymptomatic), Senor G’s in Playa Del Rey (5 symptomatic, 0 unsymptomatic) and Spago Beverly Hills (3 symptomatic, 0 unsymptomatic).

On Wednesday Public Health confirmed 91 new deaths and 4,825 new cases of COVID-19.

The high number of new deaths are from a backlog of reports received from over the weekend. The high number of new cases are, in part, due to a backlog of over 2,000 results

Photo: Courtesy

Moonshadows in Malibu.

received from Thursday through Sunday.

There are 2,045 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are confirmed cases in the ICU. There are a total of 2,599 confirmed and suspect cases that are currently hospitalized and 17% of these people are on ventilators. The hospitalization data is missing data from three hospitals not included in today’s update.

“I know that we’re all eager and anxious

to see our lives return to normal. We want our children to be back at school, seeing their friends and making cherished memories. We have the tools at hand to make this happen. We need compliance with our directives - so please continue to wear a face covering and do not gather with people you don’t live with,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.

As of Wednesday, Public Health has

identified 183,383 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 4,516 deaths. Public Health anticipates continuing to receive a backlog of lab reports in the coming days due to problems with the state electronic lab reporting system.

Testing results are available for nearly 1,683,000 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.

July 31 – August 28, 2020

WWW.PALISADESNEWS.COM

3

Special store hour for Senior citizens, pregnant women and customers with disabilities: 8am-9am General Public: 9am-9pm.

Delivery Hours: 7am – 3pm Call or E-mail before 2pm for same day delivery!

Prices valid while supplies last.

Not Available Sundays Prices Valid July 30th – August 5th, 2020 Curbside pick-up available 9am-5pm Daily (310) 452-2493

FEATURED THIS WEEK!

NATURAL ORGANIC SPECIALTY

SERVICE DELI

OSCAR MAYER BACON

MORTADELLA WITH PISTACHIO Sliced to Order

6

GREEN KALE

$ .99

lb.

Product of USA

Assorted Varieties

5

$

.99

PROVOLONE CHEESE Sliced to Order

16 oz.

99

99

2

¢

each

4

$ .49

each

FULL SERVICE MEATS All Natural

PICK OF THE WEEK WINE & BEER

USDA Choice

Fresh Lean

BONELESS, SKINLESS GROUND TURKEY HANGER STEAK CHICKEN BREASTS

White Claw Seltzer 12 / 12 oz. Cans

5

Freshly Ground

4

$ .99

Smucker’s

18 oz.

Assorted Flavors

3.49

Great on the Grill

2019 NAPA VALLEY SAUVIGNON Save BLANC $3

13.99

$

lb.

lb.

750ml.

LOW PRICES FOR YOUR EVERYDAY NEEDS

JAMS AND PRESERVES

$

$ .99

lb.

Peju

Bisquick

Eco’s

PANCAKE AND BAKING MIX

HAND SOAP

40 oz.

3.89

$

8 oz.

Assorted Varieties

2.99

$

+Tax

16.99

$

Assorted Varieties

No Hormones or Preservatives

89¢

Assorted Varieties 18 oz.

$ .99

lb.

BANANAS

Product of Mexico

CINNAMON ROLLS

9 oz. bag

¢

lb.

Lone Star

CRISP RED PLUMS READY Product of USA ICEBERG LETTUCE PAC SPINACH Product of USA

6

$ .99

BAKERY

FARM FRESH PRODUCE

1 each

$ .49

Natures Path

CEREAL

10.6-14 oz.

Assorted Varieties

4.59

$

+tax and +CRV

14

$

.99 +tax

TILLAMOOK CHEESE

lb.

HOT FOODS

Pork Baby

BACK RIBS

9

$ .99 lb.

Hot and Ready to Serve!

Whole Roasted

BBQ CHICKENS

6

$ .99

8 oz. Block Assorted Varieties

3

$ .99

+tax

each +tax

Hot and Ready to Serve!

1650 Ocean Park Blvd. Santa Monica 90405

Corner of 17th St. & Ocean Park Blvd. • www.bobsmkt.com

4

WWW.PALISADESNEWS.COM

July 31 – August 28, 2020

Local Surf Spot One of Dirtiest Beaches in State Heal the Bay releases annual report

By Sam Catanzaro According to Heal the Bay, a surf spot near Pacific Palisades has some of the dirtiest water in the state.

In an annual survey of over 500 beaches, Heal the Bay reported in July that 92 percent of California’s beaches had recorded good water-quality scores between April and October of 2019 — a significant improvement from previous years.

One beach, however, that did not score high marks was Topanga State Beach.

“Topanga Beach, which is no stranger to the Beach Bummer list, was Los Angeles County’s only Beach Bummer occupying the number five spot,” reads the report.

“Topanga Lagoon is likely the source of the bacteria pollution at the beach. The lagoon receives high amounts of bird and dog fecal matter so when the lagoon is breached, the fecal matter flows into the ocean resulting in high bacteria concentrations. An ecological

restoration of the lagoon is underway which could help mitigate the poor water quality.”

Topanga recorded an “F” Summer Dry Grade, “D” Winter Dry Grade and “F” Wet Weather Grade.

Will Rogers State Beach scored high marks for summer and winter dry days, although the Pulga Canyon storm drain and the beach at Santa Monica Canyon both got “F” wet winter grades.

Across Los Angels County, Summer Dry Grades were very good but slightly lower than average with 91 percent of the beaches receiving A and B grades. Wet Weather Grades were poor with only 42 percent of the beaches receiving A and B grades, which is average for the County. Winter Dry Grades were good and markedly above average with 92 percent of the beaches receiving A and B grades.

There were 68 sewage spills reported across the County which sent 148,276 gallons of sewage into bodies of water, according to the report.

Topanga State Beach.

In business since 1984

Keeping your house beautiful for over 30 year!

• RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • Family Owned • Los Angeles and Santa Monica

CALL TODAY FOR FREE ESTIMATE!

310.569.6265

Photos: Wikimedia Commons

WWW.PALISADESNEWS.COM

July 31 – August 28, 2020

Riviera Country, from page 1 records show Bel-Air Bay Club, also in Pacific Palisades but considered a beach club, received a loan of the same range while collecting dues, according to a source.

Multiple sources have confirmed that U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin is among Riviera Country Club’s current members along with Larry David–who raised over $150,000 for caddies–Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler and Luke Wilson. Former members include Walt Disney, Dean Martin and Howard Hughes Despite applying for and accepting the loan, during its closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Riviera Country Club collected full dues from its members as confirmed by three members of the club who wish to remain anonymous fearing retaliation from the club. According to one of these members, these dues range from $400 to $1,100 a month. In addition, a member says that after the club was shut down every member was charged an activity fee.

“It is shocking to get your members to pay full dues and you still need to apply for a loan and you know you are charging this bogus activity fee that was just another line item for them to receive,” a member said.

“The second they told us ‘we are looking at protecting our employees and not laying them off so therefore we [members] have to pay full dues’. I knew that was just an excuse.

I knew that the second we came back we are going to see employees gone. The fact that they accessed this PPP loan is of no surprise to me. The fact that they were able to get it is a bigger surprise to me.”

According to a member, most Riviera Country Club members were under the impression that the club would not be applying for a PPP loan, saying multiple employees verbally stated that the club would not be getting a loan. In addition, a member told the Santa Monica Mirror that at the beginning of April some members received an email saying that they were paying full dues in order to keep employees on the payroll. A member, however, says that this does not seem to be the case.

“It’s the principle that is the problem,” the member said. “I care about the fact that they are charging us full dues and this activity fee and they are promising they are not going to lay off our employees and we get back and half the employees I don’t see anymore. So

where are those guys?”

When asked what they hope the club’s response should be, members say that the club should prove that they actually needed it for the reasons the PPP was created, which was primarily for employees so they don’t lose their jobs and for businesses to be able to continue once they reopen.

“I am not sitting here being the judge or jury here, they just need to follow whatever the requirements of the PPP loan are. If they qualify for it, then they qualify for it, but they need to prove financials. The problem with a private club is they get to do everything in a black box. Nobody knows what they are doing,” a member said.

The Santa Monica Mirror has reached out to Riviera Country Club multiple times with questions and for comment but has not received a response at the time of publishing.

Bel-Air Bay Club has also not responded to a request for comment.

Members acknowledged that while closed the club had to maintain the grass on the golf course, Riviera likely had little overhead from the tennis side.

“The tennis courts have literally no maintenance. Every few years they have to resurface them. So when they closed for the pandemic, they literally removed the water fountains off the courts so they didn’t I think have electricity running,” a member said.

“So from the tennis side, even though their revenue may have gone down and they are paying employees’ salaries, they did not have additional overhead to cover either.”

While Riviera was the only country club in Los Angeles to receive a loan, several other golf and tennis clubs outside the city in Southern California were approved for PPP loans. With the exception of La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, Toscana Country Club and Claremont Tennis Club, none of the other clubs received loans more than $1,000,000.

Other loan recipients, as detailed in the chart below, include Palm Springs Tennis Club, Glendale’s Chevy Chase Country Club and San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club.

Riviera Country Club and Mnuchin have both made local headlines in recent months.

In May, Riviera was shut down by the Los Angeles City Attorney for opening in violation of stay at home orders. Also in May Mnuchin made headlines when Brentwood School–where Mnuchin’s children allegedly attend–received and then returned a PPP loan.

Get your business SEEN in one of our publications!

CALL TODAY

310.310.2637

5

THE BEST CANCER THERAPY YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

• Hyperthermia Naturally Heats Tumors • Studies Show Significantly Increased Survival Rates and Response to Treatment • Typically Minimal or No Side Effects • FDA-Approved for all Solid Tumors • Covered by Medicare and Many Insurances

(888) 580-5900 www.HCIoncology.com

2001 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 1190W, Santa Monica, CA 90404

6

WWW.PALISADESNEWS.COM

July 31 – August 28, 2020

High School Sports Pushed Back Until Winter

All California high school sports will not begin until midDecember

By Sam Catanzaro

High school sports in Santa Monica and statewide will not begin until December due to the rise in the coronavirus cases.

On Monday, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and CIF Southern City Section (which includes Santa Monica High School) announced the delay of the 2020 Fall sports season until December. Rather than sports being divided up into three seasons that run from August to June, there will be two seasons (Fall and Spring) that run from December to June.

“Over the last several months, and through the ever-changing situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been working on various scenarios to deliver Fall, Winter and Spring sports during the 2020-2021 school year,” said CIF Southern Section Commissioner, Rob Wigod. “From start to finish, the focus has been on how we can serve the young men and young women we are so fortunate to serve in the best way we possibly can, and I commend everyone involved for never wavering in their support of that philosophy.”

According to Wigod, regular seasons, some of which were 83 days (Soccer), 81 days (Basketball), 64 days (Football) and 57 days (Girls Volleyball) already had quite a range, in terms of the length of their seasons in previous years, but this year all sports will be around 72 games or less.

“We believe that to help with the overlap

Photo: Morgan Genser

Santa Monica High School’s Brett Edwards in action during the 2019 season.

of seasons, affecting student-athletes, coaches and facilities, we would standardize the length of the regular seasons to approximately 72 days, for those who previously had more days than that, while leaving the others with less than 72 days alone,” Winograd said. “The total number of days in some sports will be reduced, approximately 5%-12%, but schools

can still play the same number of maximum allowable contests, if they choose, in that smaller window.”

In addition to this newly developed sports calendar, CIF announced that student-athletes will be given the opportunity to participate with outside organizations during their season of sport, something not normally allowed.

The 2020-2021 sports calendars will be placed on the agenda as an Emergency Action Item at the next scheduled meeting of the CIF Southern Section Executive Committee on Thursday, August 13, 2020.

To view the full schedule of play, visit smmirror.com/2020/07/high-school-sportspushed-back-until-winter/

Century City New LA Marathon Finish Line Race organizers cite bigger finish line footprint in decision

By Sam Catanzaro Century City is the new home for the Los Angeles Marathon race organizers have announced.

On Friday, the McCourt Foundation– owners of the LA Marathon–revealed plans for the 2021 course that begins at Dodger Stadium and finishes at Avenue of the Stars in Century City. Since 2010 the race has finished in Santa Monica. The course will follow its traditional route until Brentwood, where runners will double back on San Vicente, Sepulveda and Santa Monica boulevards before finishing at Avenue of the Stars.

“This exciting change allows for a more vibrant and interactive finish experience than previously possible. It will provide the opportunity for much greater spectator

participation for family and friends with enhanced post-race activities including the Finish Festival with concerts and sponsor activations and puts runners close to hotels, transportation, and nightlife in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the best of LA,” reads a statement from the McCourt Foundation.

“We had a footprint challenge in Santa Monica, just from a space perspective,” added Murphy Reinschreiber, the chief operating officer of the Foundation. “We realized that there’s so much more we could do if we just had a bigger footprint at the finish line.”

The race–which has finished at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and California Avenue since 2010–has long been an economic booster for the City with 2,000 guests booking hotel rooms each year by some estimates and thousands visiting local restaurants and businesses. It has, however, presented residents and officials with hurdles including traffic, stretched security and neighborhood disruptions.

The starting of the 2019 LA Marathon in Santa Monica.

Photos: LA Marathon (Facebook)

July 31 – August 28, 2020

WWW.PALISADESNEWS.COM

7

Spree of Stolen Vehicles: Palisades Crime Update

Submitted by LAPD Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore

In a period of a little over 24 hours, four vehicles were stolen parked in Pacific Palisades.

Learn more in the latest crime update.

Robbery Sunset/Pacific Coast Hwy, 7/21/20 at 9 PM. The suspect (male, NFD) smashed a window on victim’s vehicle while victim was sleeping in the back seat. The suspect struck victim, took victim’s money, and fled the area.

Stolen Vehicle Samoa Way, btwn 7/3/20 at 8:30 PM and 7/4/20 at 9 AM. The suspect took victim’s vehicle from a driveway.

200 Tranquillo, btwn 7/3/20 at 10:30 PM and 7/4/20 at 4 AM. The suspect took victim’s vehicle from the street.

Embury/Bashford, 7/6/20 btwn 6:20 PM and 8:20 PM. The suspect took victim’s vehicle from the street.

400 Beirut, btwn 7/7/20 at b10:30 PM and 7/8/20 at 10 AM. The suspect took victim’s vehicle from the street.

600 Via De La Paz, btwn 7/7/20 7:30 PM and 7/8/20 at 7:30 AM. The suspect took victim’s vehicle from a driveway.

15200 Earlham, btwn 7/7/20 at 8 PM and 7/8/20 at 11 AM. The suspect took victim’s vehicle from the street.

700 Amalfi, btwn 7/21/20 at 9:30 PM and

7/22/20 at 8 AM. The suspect took victim’s vehicle from the street.

La Cumbre/Toyopa, 7/20/20 at 1:55 AM. A 22 year old male was arrested for driving a stolen vehicle.

Burglary 300 Amalfi, 7/5/20 at 3:25 AM. The suspects (#1-2 male, 5’7”, slight weight) smashed a sliding glass door to enter victim’s home. The suspect’s fled the area in a white 4 door Toyota Camery after the victim screamed at them.

Burglary/Theft from Vehicle 900 Hartzell, btwn 7/9/20 at 10 PM and 7/10/20 at 8 AM. The suspect entered victim’s vehicle and took sunglasses, tools and a flashlight.

Pacific Coast Hwy/Sunset, 7/10/20 at 10:16 AM. The suspect (male white, 5’11” 200 lb, 35/40 years) entered victim’s vehicle using a key placed on the vehicle tire. The suspect took a phone, wallet, and watch then fled the area in a black/blue BMW X7.

17900 Pacific Coast Hwy, 7/10/20 at 8 PM. The suspect (male, brown hair brown eyes, 5’8” 150 lb, 17/20 years) entered victim’s vehicle and took a wallet.

15300 Earlham, btwn 6/7/20 at 5 PM and 6/8/20 at 10 AM. The suspect entered victim’s vehicle and took golf clubs.

1000 Spezia, 7/17/20 at 9:58 AM. The suspects (#1 male Hispanic, black hair, 5’6”/5’7” 170 lb, 20/30 years, #2 NFD) entered victim’s vehicle, took tools, and fled in a maroon Lincoln Navigator.

15500 Sunset, btwn 7/19/20 at 6 PM and 7/20/20 at 3:30 PM. The suspect took a wallet,

money and credit cards from victim’s vehicle.

Theft 17400 Revello Dr, btwn 7/3/20 at 1 PM and 7/6/20 at 1:30 AM. The suspect (male Hispanic) took packages from victim’s front porch.

400 Beirut, 7/8/20 at 12:50 AM. The suspect (male white, 5’8” 150/170 lb, 20/25 years) took victim’s bicycle from the driveway.

17300 Sunset, 7/10/20 at 6:30 PM. The suspect (male white, brown hair, 5’7” 160 lb, 75 years) entered victim’s business, took food, and left without paying.

600 Alma Real, 6/11/20 btwn 1 PM and 5 PM. The suspect (possibly hired workers) took victim’s watch and wallet.

17300 Sunset, 7/18/20 at 8 AM. The suspect

(male black, black hair green eyes, 5’10” 175 lb, 25 years) entered victim’s business, took alcoholic beverages, and left without paying.

Under the Influence of Narcotics Pacific Coast Hwy/Beach House Way, 7/5/20 at 5:15 PM. A 23 year old male was arrested for being under the influence of narcotics after being investigated for a assault with a deadly weapon incident.

Trespassing 16100 Alcima, 7/7/20 at 11:30 AM. A 30 year old male was arrested for trespassing after entering and refusing to leave victim’s property.

RD 811.

OPINION

Nine-Bill Housing Package Derails Local Choices TOM ELIAS Palisades News Columnist

The silver lining provided by some past pandemics has been that they opened minds, awakening entire nations and continents to what was wrong with the way things previously were.

So it was, for example, with the bubonic plague of the 1300s, also known as the “black death,” which produced labor shortages that started the demise of the feudal system, turning serfs into free people if they could reach the walled cities of the time.

But there is little evidence that California’s leading lawmakers have seen the many changes the coronavirus pandemic has wrought in California.

No, even though COVID-19 has killed well over 8,400 Californians, current legislative leaders still pursue their old, pre-pandemic goals as if nothing were different.

That’s especially true in housing, where seismic change is about to occur as businesses increasingly abandon office towers, creating vast new vacant spaces that will inevitably become housing units.

This will create the dense housing sought for years by the likes of Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener and fellow Democratic Sen. Toni Atkins of San Diego, the state Senate’s powerful president pro tem.

New and current reality, which sees office leasing around California at its lowest levels since the Great Recession, with more and more companies telling workers to operate from home, has not dented these folks’ thinking. They persist in fighting the last war, always a losing proposition for military leaders and often equally disastrous for

politicians.

The best example of their thinking is a nine-bill package mostly sponsored by Wiener and Atkins, joined by other knee-jerk liberals like Berkeley’s Sen. Nancy Skinner and Assembly members Buffy Wicks of Oakland, Richard Bloom of Santa Monica, Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego and David Chiu of San Francisco.

As the Legislature sort-of returns from its second virus-induced recess of the year – a period when lawmakers ceded virtually all state authority to Gov. Gavin Newsom – the nine-bill housing package will start moving quickly through committees. It has backing from developers and labor unions, both major financial backers of many Democratic lawmakers.

Among other things, this package would effectively end single-family zoning in California, a longtime Wiener goal. It does this by allowing four market-priced homes on all lots that now have just one, with neither affordable units nor new parking spaces required. This alone could lead to wide disruption of residential neighborhoods if many homeowners take the wads of cash developers would soon proffer.

Another bill allows city councils to overturn laws passed by local voters which protect open-space on shorelines or other green areas. The package also allows cities to rezone any parcel they like to allow 10-unit apartment buildings, in spite of any prior restrictions. It decreases the amount of affordable housing developers must include in a project to get it expanded beyond current local limits, giving developers a 50 percent “density bonus” if they build more affordable units than now required.

And it allows tall apartment and condominium buildings wherever neighborhood businesses now exist. So much for city- or county-imposed height limits.

This package aims to encourage more and more

Photos: Getty Images

“This package would effectively end single-family zoning in California,” writes Tom Elias in his latest column. “It does this by allowing four market-priced homes on all lots that now have just one, with neither affordable units nor new parking spaces required. This alone could lead to wide disruption of residential neighborhoods.”

Californians to move into high-rise buildings and abandon their cars for public transit. It comes just when, rather than flocking to mass transit and ride-sharing services, most urban Californians are opting to drive private cars. Fears of contagion on public transit of all kinds stoke this trend, which sees ridership on trains and buses greatly reduced from last year.

None of this is needed. As more and more office space becomes vacant, there’s ever less call for new construction. What’s more, when conversion of office towers to residential use heats up, there will be more new housing than required to fill the state’s needs, estimated at about 3 million new units by 2025.

That timetable, of course, can be met easily

by conversions, but not by new construction, which will inevitably be held up by lawsuits and environmental issues.

It adds up to a picture of blinkered, singleminded legislators pursuing old goals with little relevance in the post-pandemic world to come.

That’s why the current housing package deserves to disappear, just like Wiener’s past failed efforts to rid California of single-family homes.

Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, “The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government’s Campaign to Squelch It,” is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, go to www.californiafocus.net

WWW.PALISADESNEWS.COM

8

July 31 – August 28, 2020

S ANT A MONI CA COL L EG E

Let’s start this fall together!

Earn a Degree or Certificate Online Classes start August 31 smc.edu/fall

SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dr. Nancy Greenstein, Chair; Dr. Susan Aminoff, Vice Chair; Dr. Louise Jaffe; Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; Rob Rader; Dr. Sion Roy; Barry A. Snell; Joshua Elizondo, Student Trustee; Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D., Superintendent/President Santa Monica College | 1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 | smc.edu