Santa Monica Mirror 5/08/2020

S A N TA M O N I C A

REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY

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May 8 – May 14, 2020 Volume XXXV, Issue 40

Santa Monica City Council Approves Sweeping Cuts, Layoffs Over 400 city employees set to lose jobs, $203.2 million in budget cuts approved

By Sam Catanzaro Santa Monica City Council has approved plans to layoff over 400 employees and implement sweeping service reductions as the COVID-19 crisis has left the city facing a major budget deficit.

At an over seven-hour meeting Tuesday, City Council authorized the abolition of 337 permanent positions and 144 part-time positions while approving $203.2 million in budget cuts.

The plan approved Tuesday frees up $117 million in one-time funds while slashing $86.2 million in ongoing expenses via cuts to city services, programing and staffing.

“We have a deadly pandemic and it’s hitting home in Santa Monica. I hope we can see each other through this as friends and neighbors and remember to keep some perspective that whatever decisions we make tonight–whether you like them or don’t like them–we are working really hard to come together as a community to get through this together. I believe we can.

I believe we will,” said Santa Monica Mayor Kevin McKeown at the meeting’s end.

The meeting began with Finance Director Gigi Decavalles-Hughes laying out the financial situation Santa Monica finds itself in brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Hotel tax revenues are down by almost 20 percent this year and we expect overall declines of 42 percent next year,” Decavalles-Hughes said. “As the economy reopens, tourism and dining, sectors that are strongly represented in our city, are anticipated to be among the last to fully open and recover. For this reason, Santa Monica will feel the brunt of this downturn more than other cities.”

According to Decavalles-Hughes sales tax revenue is down 14 percent while parking and other fee revenues have declined 9 percent this year and are forecasted to drop over 29 percent

next year. This loss of revenue will result in a $48 million general fund shortfall between March and June, a $102 million shortfall next fiscal year followed by a $74 million shortfall in the third fiscal year.

According to Interim City Manager Lane Dilg, there is no certainty that Santa Monica will be bailed out by the federal government.

The $2.3 trillion federal stimulus package enacted by Congress last month includes $150 billion for direct aid to local municipalities but these funds only are available to cities with populations over 500,000. In addition, FEMA reimbursements Santa Monica is eligible for can only be applied directly to COVID-19related expenses.

It should be noted that with $448 million in unfunded pension liability and flattening revenues, Santa Monica was already projected to be $72 million in the red by 2030.

The only council member to vote against the layoffs was Ana Maria Jara, who cited a lack of information surrounding the positions set to be eliminated.

“It’s really hard for me to be able to make any decisions on the positions without me having to know what the cuts are by staff level, what the cuts are by demographics, what the cuts are by unions and most importantly what they are by salary,” Jara said. “The transparency is not really there because what we are doing is, in essence, lying to the public, we are lying to the staff, we are lying to ourselves and I can’t do that.”

The reductions in services and programming were approved unanimously.

With the council’s approval to eliminate the over 400 positions, city staff will now enter into negotiations with the labor groups representing the laid-off employees over the impacts of the job eliminations.

In addition to the lay-offs, 126 staff members participated in a voluntary separation program, saving 90 current employees jobs according to Dilg.

During the public hearing Tuesday, residents and stakeholders expressed concern that many of the positions set to be eliminated will impact vulnerable employees.

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

A 2018 Santa Monica City Council meeting.

“Most of these are not white and so the hit to the racial diversity in Santa Monica is a heavy one, to say nothing of the struggles then confronted by many black and Latinx people trying to find other work in the face of the discrimination and the fear that racism breeds,” said Joanne Berlin a member of Santa Monica’s Committee for Racial Justice, referring to many of the as-needed and at-will employees set to lose their jobs.

Lauralee Asch, a 29-year retired City employee, former labor leader and longtime Santa Monica resident shared a similar view, while also touching on the impacts of program cuts.

“The largest number of job eliminations hit the lowest-paid employees the hardest. Though not shown in the data, it can be assumed that these cuts will also impact our minority employees in the most severe way,” Asch said.

“The cuts being suggested by this report are too severe, myopic and much too rushed. As a longterm resident, former City employee, labor leader, PAL board member and board member

of Santa Monica Travel and Tourism, I ask that you keep the Santa Monica that we know whole and provide guidance for measured change to address the current financial crisis. The council should consider a temporary realignment of priorities to address the crisis and save jobs.”

In response to these concerns, Santa Monica’s Chief People Officer Lori Gentles said “the cuts across the board seem to be aligned with and reflect the diversity within our organization proportionally.”

The Interim City Manager and Interim City Attorney are taking 20 percent pay reductions while other high-level staff including police and fire chiefs will take 10 percent and 15 percent pay cuts, according to the City.

Among programs set to be impacted by the cuts is the Preserving Our Diversity (POD) program, which provides cash-based assistance to senior low-income and long-term Santa Monica residents in rent-controlled apartments.

While Council gave direction to use a portion of

Budget cuts, see page 6

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Elite Westside Private School Receives, Returns PPP Loan

Federal Paycheck Protection Program loan given to Brentwood School

By Sam Catanzaro

An elite private school in Brentwood with ties to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin received a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the federal government before returning it.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Brentwood School announced in a recent newsletter that it has received a PPP loan.

According to the letter, the loan was approved and funded in mid-April. Other elite private schools like Harvard-Westlake have announced that they did not apply for a PPP loan.

According to an IRS filing obtained by the Times, Brentwood School’s endowment was around $17.4 million in 2017. Tuition at Brentwood School ranges from $37,500 – $44,000.

Among Brentwood School’s over 1,100

students are the children of Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, according to the Times.

While Mnuchin denied any knowledge of the loan, in a tweet the Treasury Secretary told private schools to return any loans the may have received.

“It has come to our attention that some private schools with significant endowments have taken #PPP loans. They should return them,” Mnuchin wrote.

Brentwood School’s newsletter announcing the PPP funding did not specify the loan amount.

After the media picked up the story, Brentwood School released a statement saying that the returned the load. Read full statement below Brentwood School’s decision on April 3rd to apply for the Payroll Protection Program under the CARES Act involved an in-depth evaluation of the school’s financial position in relation to the originally published government guidelines. However, a great deal has changed in the intervening weeks. In that time, the government has published a number of updates and revisions to the original parameters as it became clear the federal funds initially provided were not enough to staunch the incredible need that exists nationally.

Photo: WhiteHouse.Gov

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (left), who reportedly has children at Brentwood School.

Throughout the last week, we carefully considered the added clarifications as well as the growing understanding that, unfortunately, not all who qualify will receive PPP funds.

Given these factors, the Board has voted unanimously to decline the loan. We have returned the funds so they can be distributed to others who are in greater need of the assistance.

Without the PPP funds, cost cutting

measures and focused fiscal management are more important than ever. We are working to maintain the school’s financial health while preserving the full Brentwood experience as delivered daily by our faculty and staff. We are tremendously grateful for the loyalty and continued support of our current families, grandparents, alumni, parents of alumni, and faculty and staff, and we have confidence in our ability to face these challenges together.

Santa Monica College Fall Semester to be Remote Graduation ceremony to be virtual as well

By Sam Catanzaro Santa Monica College (SMC) has announced that its fall semester will be held online expressing doubt that a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine will be available before then.

Accoridng to SMC Superintendent and President Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, nearly 3,000 classes and student support services will be online for the Fall 2020 semester. This follows an April 8 announcement that the summer session—as well as SMC’s graduation ceremony on June 16—will also be held in a virtual environment, to keep the college community safe during the COVID-19 public

health crisis.

SMC’s main campus at 1900 Pico Boulevard and five satellite campuses also remain closed to the public until further notice. Classes at SMC Emeritus—the college’s program for older adults—and those delivered through Community Education and the noncredit program will also take place online, wherever possible.

This decision was announced by Jeffery following a recommendation made by the SMC Emergency Operations Team, which has been monitoring developments related to COVID-19, based mainly on two factors: a vaccine for the novel coronavirus will likely not be widely available until 2021; and it will be nearly impossible for SMC—the college’s campuses are all “open-access”—to identify, monitor, and distinguish between possible

SMC, see page 8

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Honey, We Shrunk the City!

Photo: City of Santa Monica

OPINION

“Retail sales were down, vacancies up, and hotel occupancy falling in Santa Monica even before the pandemic took hold. Yet city officials never would admit that homelessness and crime were major factors in the decline of downtown. If we are going to recover, then those problems have to be solved,” writes Phil Brock in the latest SMa.r.t. Column.

SMa.r.t.

Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow

Santa Monica is shrinking. The city has felt more intimate to our residents over the past seven weeks.

Streets that feel safer and walkable sidewalks are the norm. Traffic is now a distant purr instead of a constant cacophony of congestion and noise.

The silence between sirens much longer. The roses are blooming, and the poppies open. Yet we are unsettled. The pandemic brings constant uneasiness to each of us. Twenty-one souls have been taken from us by COVID-19 in Santa Monica, with 296

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confirmed cases in all. Yes, these include those in rest homes as well as permanent residents. I’ve heard that St. John’s Hospital has twenty-five COVID-19 patients this week with eighteen in the ICU. I pray for their recovery. ~ I talked to two residents Wednesday, one on the north side and the other, south of the tracks. While I am feeling idyllic about the newly found quiet in our 8.3 square mile city, both of them brought up the issues of crime and homelessness. Neither female feels a sense of safety in our town, and both wonder when or if Santa Monica will ever feel safe again for them and their families. It is distressing to hear the same comments over and over again about the city that I love. Our police chief, Cynthia Renaud, discussed her twin priorities this week at the virtual City Council meeting. She wants residents to feel safe and to be safe. If my conversations with either resident are typical, then the chief has a ways to go. ~ Retail sales were down, vacancies up, and hotel occupancy falling in Santa Monica even before the pandemic took hold. Yet city officials never would admit that homelessness and crime were major factors in the decline of downtown. If we are going to recover, then those problems have to be solved.

If they aren’t, then no amount of revitalization will work. Our town has to be first and foremost, a city

that works for residents. The health and safety of residents MUST be the top priority of our local government. ~ From Chelsea Sullivan, a Samohi ‘08 grad who lives in the NOMA neighborhood, “My family has suffered much personal property loss due to theft in Santa Monica over the years. And every year it seems to get worse and worse. We’ve had computers taken, multiple bikes jacked, our mailbox repeatedly ripped open, and even my husband’s truck was taken straight out of our garage, all in the middle of the night. The city doesn’t care about our personal property or safety; they enjoy collecting more of our money. We are leaving.” With our new reality in Santa Monica, a city that is leaner by necessity, the words of Chief Renaud must become our new mantra. “Feel Safe, Be Safe!” ~ Seven hours, forty-five minutes was the length of the marathon Santa Monica City Council meeting on Cinco de Mayo. The city administration pink-slipped 247 staff positions, and more left voluntarily with an exit package for a total reduction of 337 jobs. There was an exhaustive staff report about the proposed post-pandemic recovery and reorganization. The primary topic, of course, was how to solve the multi-million dollar budget deficit

SMA.R.T, see page 11

May 8 – May 14, 2020

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May 8 – May 14, 2020

Santa Monica Businesses Could Open Friday

Los Angeles County’s roadmap to reopening

By Sam Catanzaro

Los Angels County has outlined a roadmap to opening up businesses and recreation spaces, starting as early as Friday while hinting that beaches will also be accessible soon.

On Wednesday the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (Public Health) issued a fivestage roadmap to recovery roadmap to recovery that describes a phased approach to relaxing select directives of the Safer at Home Order and a reopening process for certain business sectors.

LA County is currently in stage one of the Safer at Home recovery stage. However, the County anticipates beginning stage two as soon as Friday, May 8 by allowing florists and some retailers to offer curbside pickup. Car dealerships, golf courses and trails can also open with appropriate safeguards in place.

“Physical distancing and infection control protocols must be adhered to and cloth facing coverings must be worn,” LA County said.

Budget cuts, from page 1 the $2 million in discretionary funds to maintain some levels of this program, the goal of enrolling 250 to 400 residents will not be met under these cuts. Speaking at the public hearing, Michael Soloff, Co-Chair of Santa Monica for Renters Rights, urged Council to maintain a previously approved expansion of the program. “[It’s] the most timely and cost-effective affordable housing program we have. It goes only to a subset of the most needy residents. Longterm Santa Monica seniors who do not have enough income after rent to meet their minimum needs like food and medicine. The $2 million necessary to fund the rampup is available in uncommitted residual housing trust funds as confirmed in response to public records act requests I made without changing any other aspect of staff proposal and will help a minimum of 434 seniors, 10 times the current enrollment,” Soloff said.

It should be noted that Soloff is the husband of Santa Monica City Councilmember Sue Himmelrich.

Also set to be eliminated is programing and maintenance at parks throughout Santa Monica, including Miles Memorial Playhouse and the Camera Obscura Art Lab. In addition, annual city events will be suspended and cultural and arts grants reduced. Former Recreation & Parks Commission Chair Phil Brock lamented these losses during the public hearing.

“City Councilmembers should be tasked with doing no harm to the segment of residents who typically need the most assistance from municipal governments: children, teens and seniors,” Brock said. “Many of the proposed cuts unfairly affect our community recreation and parks programs, lives and the POD program. City administration has talked a lot about community wellness over the past five years and that effort began with our youth and teens.

Keeping our community sports fields, pools and courts open and available for drop-in and organized play leads to reduced health expenses as our younger residents age.

“Historic Miles Playhouse provides an important

Later next week additional restrictions will be lifted to include many retailers, manufacturers, and other recreational facilities, the county says.

According to Public Health, the next three stages include the potential opening in phases of higher-risk businesses like movie theaters, schools, colleges and universities, followed by conventions and spectator events, to finally normal operations. Each sector will have safe reopening protocols that must be adhered to.

“Until final stage five is reached, Health Officer Orders and directives will still continue to ensure that we slow the spread of COVID-19 to prevent an overwhelming surge of COVID-19 cases at healthcare facilities.

Physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, frequent hand washing, self-isolation and self-quarantine will continue to be very important throughout the foreseeable future,” Public Health said Wednesday.

The County did not mention specifically when beaches would open, but Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said the beaches will open “at some point in the very near future”, describing the reopening as “slow”. The Daily Breeze has reported that beaches will open in four stages. Learn more in the video above. indoor-outdoor theatre venue for our community.

It is one community cultural use that benefits our youth, adults and seniors in a low budgetary cost and is also integral to helping to revitalize Reed Park for our residents. It deserves to stay open,” Brock added.

Mary Anne Laguardia, vice president of the Recreation and Parks Commission, spoke at the public hearing about how much of the programming set to be eliminated generates revenue.

“Roughly 9,500 to 10,000 people participate in field sports on Santa Monica fields. Based on financial documents we were able to review and conversations with staff, we are close to a net-zero cost in respect to field use. Field use permit revenue generates approximately $670,000 per year into the general fund,” Laguardia said. “If these fees don’t cover the costs of making these fields available to our children you have the ability to raise them. If we don’t have access to our school fields, we can’t run our programming: AYSO, soccer clubs, lacrosse and rugby. These sports and groups would disappear from Santa Monica.”

In addition to approving cuts, council also authorized $2 million in ongoing funds to be allocated, beginning in FY 2020-21, for restoring programs should the City’s circumstances postCOVID-19 permit such restoration. At the meeting Tuesday, Council identified the following programs and services in the following five areas as preservation priorities: POD program enrollment; youth-related programming including CREST Enrichment; playground partnerships and outdoor recreation, including the swim center; mobility; sustainability. Around $400,000 will be put towards each of these sectors in the restoration effort.

Even with the $2 million allocated towards restoration, the current level of programming for after school services will be reduced, including at the Santa Monica Police Activities League (PAL) and Virginia Avenue Park. At the public hearing, Angela Scott, a Pico Resident worried about the longterm impacts such reductions will have.

“I am a single parent. I often work overtime.

Knowing that my daughter is at PAL under direct

Photo: Getty Images

As of Thursday Public Health has identified 29,427 positive cases of COVID-19 across

all areas of LA County, including 203 in Santa Monica, and a total of 1,367 deaths.

supervision, receives academic support, mentoring and other cultural enrichment programming, as well as nutritious meals, lifts an unimaginable amount of weight off my shoulders. Virginia Avenue Park and PAL provide a safe haven,” Scott said. “I behoove you to be intentional when eliminating programs that impact the very heart of our Santa Monica community. Changes that could very well affect generations to come. With these cuts implemented, we are looking at families already facing financial struggles and now having to deal with struggles of finding affordable after school services in this financial storm we are experiencing.”

In addition, the public library system would lose $4.5 million in funding while laying off 65 employees and closing the Fairview and Ocean Park branches temporarily. This, combined with reductions to the CREST after school program, worried Santa Monica resident and parent Noah Garrison.

“This plan appears hasty and ill-thought-out,” Garrison said at the public hearing. “The proposed cuts get the very heart of what makes us Santa Monica, in particular they get at the heart of what is necessary and critical to our children. Cutting CREST, cutting classes and access to the aquatic center, cutting libraries–particularly in the southern

portion of our city– is absolutely not the right way to address this crisis and not the way we should be thinking. These are critical resources you need for families, critical resources for Santa Monica and these should be the last things you are trying to cut.

I note in particular the two libraries that appear to be completely cut or eliminated from the Santa Monica library program are in the southern portion of the city.”

Interim City Manager Dilg spoke at the meeting about the uncertainty the City will face in restoring these programs.

“When COVID-19 hit, we could no longer run these programs. And indeed, we don’t know when we can run these programs again under social distancing so there is an issue with respect to when we are allowed to safely run these programs and how will we do it,” Dilg said. We don’t believe we will be running these programs in May or in June, we hope we will be running some programs by July or August but we don’t know.”

To read the full staff proposal on “A Plan for the Future” where a full list of cuts are provided, visit http://santamonicacityca.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_ Meeting.aspx?ID=125.

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May 8 – May 14, 2020

OPINION

Virus Proving How Disastrous SB 50 Could Have Been TOM ELIAS Mirror Columnist

As Californians shelter at home, eagerly awaiting the eventual reopening of myriad businesses and hoping for the quick rehire of millions of the virally unemployed, at least they can be thankful state legislators had the good sense early this year to bury a proposed law called SB 50.

That was the effort by San Francisco’s Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener to make most of this state as densely populated as the Castro District he has long called home, filled with aged wooden walk-up apartment buildings.

It has taken the coronavirus pandemic to demonstrate just how dangerous Wiener’s concept could have been. The ultra-liberal former city official wanted to mandate construction of high-rise apartments and condominiums within a half-mile radius of light rail stops and three- to five-story structures all along frequent bus routes everywhere in California.

Never mind what that would have done to existing neighborhoods. Part of Wiener’s motive was his frequently-expressed scorn for singlefamily homes on separate lots, backyards and all.

Even before the pandemic, a Spanish research institute published research in the highly respected Science magazine showing that the denser a neighborhood and the more noise pollution its residents must endure, the greater likelihood of strokes and other cardiovascular episodes. This phenomenon is probably related to stress, the researchers reported.

Now the contrast between the toll COVID-19

SMC, from page 3 COVID-19 and typical flu cases in the fall.

“This was not an easy decision. There is no replacement for teaching, counseling, and talking to you in person; at the same time, nothing is more important than your health and physical, emotional, and mental well-being,” Jeffrey wrote in an email to students. “Your instructors and counselors are learning new

has taken in California, with about 12 percent of America’s population, and New York City, with about one-fortyieth of the national populace, demonstrates even more clearly how pernicious Wiener’s concept could have been.

Yes, in the absence of federal leadership, California reacted faster than almost any other state to the viral threat, ordering most businesses to close, shutting down virtually every venue where the public gathered and ordering the entire citizenry to shelter in place.

New York ordered the same measures only a few days later.

The results: New York City alone, with only a fraction as many residents as California, has seen about one-fifth of all American coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, California has had less than 5 percent of the nation’s virus toll.

The California numbers nevertheless number in the tens of thousands. But New York City had well over 100,000 cases at the same time California had 20,000.

Early action probably spared California a lot of misery. But the few days of additional open mixing in New York are not enough to explain the huge difference in caseload during the crisis.

Many epidemiologists have said dense populations act like petri dishes, allowing micro-organisms to survive and thrive. There is nowhere in America as dense as New York City, with its myriad skyscraper office and apartment buildings. There is also no place in America as reliant as New York City on densely-used subways and buses.

By contrast, California’s thousands of neighborhoods are far more loosely populated.

Wiener and others call that urban sprawl. If there’s density in transport here, it’s on traffic laden freeways, where commutes of 15 miles

skills, software, and tools so that they can give you the best possible academic experience,” Enrolled students, according to Jeffrey, will have access to mental/physical health counseling and 24/7 emotional support through the SMC Center for Wellness and Wellbeing.

A limited number of courses that are not easily offered in a fully online environment might be offered via a hybrid option, if health and safety requirements permit, according to SMC. “We are especially grateful in this current

Photo: Courtesy SMC

Photo: Getty Images

“So any future moves by Wiener or other lawmakers to mandate making California denser than it already is must be evaluated in the light of the series of frequent viral epidemics the world has seen over the last two decades,” writes Tom Elias.

can often take an hour for motorists alone in their cars. Except when most Californians are hunkered down in their homes, waiting out a quasi-quarantine. You won’t be infected if you’re alone and enclosed.

In general, the sprawling lifestyle that drew the majority of Californians or their parents here during the last century buffered the spread of the virus. “Physical distancing is working,” says the health director of Los Angeles County. “It has worked to date…it reduce(s)…the number of infections.”

It’s true that California has plenty of dense office towers and vast numbers of condos in areas zoned for multi-family occupancy. So it is likely no accident that those areas experienced the highest per-capita tolls in this pandemic.

Caseloads in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego clearly demonstrate this.

So any future moves by Wiener or other lawmakers to mandate making California denser than it already is must be evaluated in the light of the series of frequent viral epidemics the world has seen over the last two decades.

Which means the current problem should serve as both a warning and an affirmation for California and the death knell for the concept of densifying this state.

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, visit www.californiafocus.net.

moment for the 170+ career and academic counselors, including psychologists, who are supporting SMC instructors in ensuring that [students] get the support [they] deserve,”

Jeffery wrote.

For past and current information on SMC’s response to COVID-19, visit smc.edu/coronavirus.

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WWW.SMMIRROR.COM

May 8 – May 14, 2020

12 Half Hour Episodes/ Season One Released April 26th on Hulu

FILM REVIEW: “Normal People”

BEHIND THE SCREEN

By Kathryn Whitney Boole Strangely, I’m glad that I have not read the bestselling book on which this series is based. I was able to view the series on its own merit. Sally Rooney wrote the novel “Normal People” in her twenties.

Now 29, she is surprised by its huge popularity.

Rooney herself was a co-writer on the series and she writes what she knows. Her own life mirrors that of her characters. She grew up in a small town in northwest Ireland. She studied English at Trinity College in Dublin, started her Masters in Politics and switched to American Literature, meanwhile writing her first novel.

The series allows us inside the heads of “Marianne” and “Connell,” people magnetic enough that we can assimilate their voices as we watch. It’s the saga of an extraordinarily deep relationship, the kind that can last through a lifetime. It’s not all pretty or fun, yet it’s fascinating.

Our two “heroes” grew up in Sligo, a town of about 20,000 on the northwest coast of Ireland, 87 miles from the Northern Ireland border. The town’s claim to fame is that the renowned Irish poet, W.B. Yeats spent his childhood summers there.

Known as “Yeats Country,” Sligo boasts the Yeats Building, the Yeats Society, and a school dedicated to educating youth in the works of Yeats and his contemporaries.

Lenny Abramson directed the first six episodes.

The isolation depicted in his film Room (2015) is felt in Normal People. Marianne and Connell’s intense relationship separates them from their daily life and friends. Abramson achieves this with claustrophobic space, grey hues and soft muted colors that highlight faces and expressions. It’s an isolation evolving from their opposing status in society and from their high intelligence. The spare dialogue and beautifully shot close-ups impart their

Photo: Courtesy

“Part of the popularity of the series during this time of quarantine will be that even “normal” people will comprehend emotional isolation,” writes Kathryn Whitney Boole in her review of Normal People.

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emotions. Sometimes they seem to assume each other’s identity, to inhabit the same person.

Actors Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal have taken on these difficult roles at the beginning of their careers. Both do a stellar job. Mescal is Irish. Edgar-Jones is English but her mother is from Northern Ireland and coached her on the accent. The acting and dialogue are so powerful, you can visualize your high school self in episode 1, recalling the maneuvering and posturing done for social acceptance. Don’t be misled by the title.

If you are “normal,” you may not comprehend the motivations for the consistently self-defeating choices of our two protagonists.

Normal People is about universal emotions and yearnings of humanity from time immemorial.

We all sabotage ourselves at times. The key is our resilience, the ability to bounce back. Part of the popularity of the series during this time of quarantine will be that even “normal” people will comprehend emotional isolation. All of

us instinctively make choices sometimes that seemingly lead us away from the path to success – or did they really?

W. B. Yeats, for example, spent his life hopelessly yearning for a dynamic, beautiful woman named Maude Gonne. Much of his best work was inspired by this unrequited love. Gonne said to Yeats, “Poets should never marry. The world should thank me for not marrying you.” Yeats wrote of Gonne, “I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.” Truly, Yeats’ pain was our gain.

Does the relationship between Marianne and Connell ever become “normal?” Watch and decide for yourself.

Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@ gmail.com.

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May 8 – May 14, 2020

SMA.R.T, from page 4 we face. It was an enormously challenging afternoon and evening for the members of the City Council and for the residents who called in. Ninety people gave comments by telephone, some waiting up to five hours to speak. The technology was imperfect, and many in the queue had their calls dropped. Council members received almost 2000 emails from residents about programs and departments they considered vital.

Except for the overall restructuring guidelines, these changes remain in flux. If you are advocating for the preservation of a program or activity, keep writing the city council! “It ain’t over till it’s over!” ~ The budget deficit will balloon to an estimated $224 million over the next two years, thanks to the pandemic downturn. The council grabbed $117 million out of reserves, rainy day funds, capital projects, water settlement funds, and Measure GSH Funds to offset this deficiency. The council also approved a restructuring plan, which will reduce ongoing deficits by another $86.2 million. None of the council’s steps are final, as negotiations with the pink-slipped staff’s bargaining units began on Thursday. The negotiating bodies can respond with offers to chop their pay and take furlough days. The final budget adoption will be in mid-June. There are some in the city who are happy a day of reckoning is here. Santa Monica has overspent and overreached for decades. Can the same people who got us into this pickle be trusted to get us out? Wilmont Neighborhood Chair Elizabeth Van Denburgh states, “I’m good with the lowering of staff in a bloated city, but I’m not happy about the residents’ essential services not being provided.” Making do with less needs to be the new, permanent city goal.

The City Manager must become a master minimalist. ~ The proposed cuts reach deep into programs as diverse as youth sports, our swimming pools, the library system, the POD and WISE programs for

Mary FealkoFF 310.488.6502 fealkoff.com

seniors, mental health programs, the Big Blue Bus, street cleaning, and more. Before many of these programs hit the chopping block, the city manager needs to look deeper into the city administration for cuts that do not directly affect our youth, teens, and seniors. For example, as many have cited, why has only one position been cut from the city’s communication department. There are five remaining positions. Before former city manager Rick Cole’s hire, the department was comprised of one PR person. Cutting just three jobs from this department would free up another $300,000, enough to keep Miles Playhouse open or restore needed funding to our library system. ~ Crossing guards are a big deal. With our traffic congestion and general morning chaos, the proposal on the table is to enlist volunteers to assume the duties of the crossing guards who protect our children. Zina Josephs, the Chair of the Friends of Sunset Park, argued that the elimination of one police sergeant position would fund the entire crossing guard budget for the city. The top two SMPD police sergeants in 2018 grossed (including benefits) $438,479.00 and $435,248.00 respectively. Yep, one of their salaries would easily fund the crossing guard program and save lives. The bigger question - How could a sergeant log in that much overtime in one year? ~ The city’s plan calls for the elimination of city commissions that are not mandated by the city charter.

Residents of this city are an engaged, curious group who have a keen interest in the mechanics of city government. Reducing the amount of advisory input will lead to the stifling of dissent. How will Santa Monica have an engaged citizenry if residents can’t participate? ~ Santa Monicans for Renters Rights proposed a dramatic uptick in the business tax this week as a way to raise more revenue to balance the budget. They want this measure on the ballot in November. When will businesses decide that the high cost of rent and

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peripheral expense of running a business in Santa Monica is just not worth it? Many have already pulled out, and this tax is not even on the ballot yet! ~ Santa Monica Forward is still pushing its credo of increased density and wants to stack the city with boxlike buildings from their developer backers. One thousand four hundred new apartments in the canyon of Lincoln Blvd is not enough? The “manifesto” they offered to city hall has traction among the density hounds that don’t understand that there will be a new paradigm in already dense, urban areas because of the pandemic. The Planning Department, with the backing of this group, is already pushing for upzoning the entire city under the guise of restoring the city’s revenue. Open space, fresh air, and the sounds of the surf are the essential qualities of Santa Monica, not cramped apartments in mid-rise boxes. ~ We were universally unhappy with the traffic, density, and safety of Santa Monica before the COVID-19 shutdown. Imagine how we’re all going to feel in a few weeks when things are back to “normal!”

Emphatically tell the City Council that you will not take any more overdevelopment in our beachside community. The new developments have been a nowin proposition for residents, and ultimately, isn’t this city about you and me?

“I suddenly realized I was in California.

Warm, palmy air - air you can kiss - and palms.” Jack Kerouac

By Phil Brock for SMart (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) Thane Roberts, Architect, Robert H. Taylor AIA, Ron Goldman FAIA, Architect, Dan Jansenson, Architect, Building and Fire-Life Safety Commission, Samuel Tolkin Architect, Mario Fonda-Bonardi, AIA, Planning Commissioner, Phil Brock, Santa Monica Arts Commission.

For previous articles see www.santamonicaarch. wordpress.com/writing.

TAX

DBAs and LEGAL NOTICES SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME Case No. 20SMCP00117 Superior Court of California, county of Los Angeles 1725 Main Street | Santa Monica, CA 90401 Petition of: KASAI HAGOS KIROS for change of name.

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME To all interested persons: KASAI HAGOS KIROS Petitioner: filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: a. KASAI HAGOS KIROS to KAHSAY KIROS HAGOS The court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING: Date: 05/15/2020 | Time: 8:30AM | Dept: K Room: A copy of this ORDER to SHOW CAUSE shall be published at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: SANTA MONICA MIRROR | Dated: March 03, 2020 Judge Lawrence H. Cho Published: 04/17/2020, 04/24/2020, 5/01/2020, and 5/08/2020

Open as an essential service for: • Taxes, consulting, help with all the new programs and problems, etc • Can work long distance, with email or the U.S. mail

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May 8 – May 14, 2020

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