Santa Monica Mirror 7-10-2020

S A N TA M O N I C A

INSIDE

CAR CHASE

REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY

smmirror.com

PAGE 9

July 10 – July 16, 2020 Volume XLIV, Issue 49

Jeffrey Epstein Accuser Demands Santa Monica Police Investigation

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Jeffrey Epstein 2006 mugshot for soliciting a prostitute

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica.

Alicia Arden says Santa Monica Police Department failed to investigate report of

1997 sexual abuse

By Sam Catanzaro A woman who says convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused her at a Santa Monica hotel is demanding an investigation into the Santa Monica Police Department’s

handling of the case.

Alicia Arden says Epstein sexually abused her on May 20, 1997, at the Shutters on the Beach hotel in Santa Monica. On Monday at a news conference, Arden announced that she is demanding an investigation into the SMPD response to the incident.

Arden, who was a model at the time, says

Epstein offered her a chance to work for Victoria’s Secret. According to Arden, a meeting was set up with Epstein at Shutters.

Speaking at the news conference Monday, she described knocking on the door and entering the room when Epstein told her to come closer and began groping her.

“Let me manhandle you,” Arden recounted Epstein saying.

When Epstein got distracted by a phone call, Arden attempted to leave the room. Arden says Epstein put $100 on the table to which she responded “Jeffrey I’m not a prostitute. I want to be in a Victoria’s Secret catalog.”

Following the incident, Arden filed a police report with the SMPD but says officers did not take her seriously. A week after filing the report Arden says she returned to the station hoping to get a female officer assigned to an

Police Investigation, see page 4

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July 10 – July 16, 2020

Santa Monica Sees Unhealthy Air Quality After Fireworks Fireworks continue in LA County despite ban

By Staff Writer Air quality throughout most of Los Angeles County, including Santa Monica, ranged from unhealthy to very unhealthy Sunday following a weekend of fireworks.

Los Angels County typically experiences some of its worst air quality on the 4th and 5th of July due to particulate matter and metal air pollutants from fireworks. Despite a ban on fireworks display this year in LA County, the air quality Sunday still suffered from illegal fireworks being ignited across the county.

Sunday morning in Santa Monica the Air Quality Index (AQI) surpassed 200, considered “very unhealthy”. Sunday afternoon the AQI remained above 150, considered “unhealthy”.

The effects of the air quality were evident Sunday in Santa Monica, with a haze obscuring neighboring Venice and Pacific Palisades.

Earlier in the week, Los Angeles County announced it was temporarily banning fireworks displays and shutting down beaches to prevent crowding over the holiday weekend in an attempt to slow a surge in cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

The Santa Monica Pier as seen through haze Sunday afternoon.

Santa Monica Beaches–Aside From Pier–Score High Water Quality Marks County) and Cowell/Main Beach Heal the Bay releases (Humboldt (Santa Cruz County) have seen a significant in grades over time. Inner Cabrillo annual water quality decrease Beach, Marina Del Rey Mother’s Beach, and Santa Monica Pier (Los Angeles report County) have shown no significant increase

By Sam Catanzaro

Santa Monica beaches–with the exception of Santa Monica Pier–scored high marks on Heal the Bay’s annual water quality report.

Water quality at Santa Monica beaches aside from Santa Monica Pier scored A’s and A+’s during dry summer and winter days, according to Heal the Bay’s 2020 water quality report for California. In addition, all beaches in the city garnered F grades during wet winter days, with the exception of Will Rogers State Beach at Bel Air Bay Club, which scored a C. The Santa Monica Pier, which scored a B on dry summer days and D on dry winter days, consistently has had some of the dirtiest water in California. Last year, for the first time in six years, the Pier was not ranked a “Beach Bummer”, beaches that received the ten poorest summer dry grades.

According to Health the Bay, while the Pier is no longer a Beach Bummer, it has not seen a significant increase or decrease in water quality over time.

“As part of our retrospective analysis, we also examined how grades at some of the most heavily polluted beaches in California have changed over time. We found that Clam Beach at Strawberry Creek

or decrease over time. However, we urge local governments to continue investing in water quality improvement projects at these beaches on top of what has already been done,” reads the report.

After the Pier made it off the Beach Bummer list last year, City of Santa Monica City Engineer Rick Valte attributed water quality improvements to efforts including the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility (SMURRF), Pier storm drain reconstruction and bird deterrent installations.

The only beach in Los Angeles County to be on the Beach Bummer list is Topanga State Beach checking in at No. 5, getting an F summer dry grade, D winter dry grade and F wet grade.

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

Photo: Getty Images

The Santa Monica Pier

Graphic: Santa Monica Mirror

Water quality at Santa Monica Beaches

gallons of sewage into bodies of water, according to the report.

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

The Pico-Kenter Storm Drain

July 10 – July 16, 2020

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July 10 – July 16, 2020

Santa Monica Street Sweeping Tickets Resume Street sweeping now occurs on first full week of each month

By Sam Catanzaro Santa Monica has resumed ticketing people for street sweeping parking violations.

The City’s nineteenth supplemental order, issued on June 29, authorized the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) to resume issuing citations for street sweeping parking violations beginning on July 1. Sweeping did not begin, however, until July 6, under a restructured plan that cleans streets during the first full week of each month. Street sweeping restrictions were lifted in March due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

According to Constance Farrell, Public Information Officer for the City, notices were sent to residents via paper flyers, social media posts, an SM Alert and announcements in SaMoNews “When we issued the emergency declaration extension through July 31, we included that street sweeping enforcement would resume in July. We sent an SM Alert on June 27, traffic

Police Investigation, from page 1 investigation. The case, however, was assigned

services staff put notices on car windows last week, and we shared multiple times on social media and in SaMoNews (in both of last week’s editions, including a call out box dedicated to this announcement),” Farrel said.

According to a poll on the Mirror’s Facebook page, 36 percent of 154 respondents said that a notice was put on their windshield.

Despite these measures, some residents say they were no aware street sweeping was set to resume.

Davis W., a Santa Monica resident who lives on 3rd Street, says he went to his car Tuesday and was surprised to find a $73 dollar ticket on the windshield for a street sweeping parking violation.

“There was no communication in the SM community that parking enforcement for residential neighborhoods had resumed this week after months of being suspended. No notification in my building, nothing in my mailbox, nothing in SM local papers*. I didn’t see anything on social media or hear from friends. And just about every other car on the street had a ticket. This is deeply, deeply unfair.

I would have been happy to move my car had I been informed – it would have been on the calendar and I would have spread the word to friends and others in the building,” Davis said.

Another resident, Mark Smith, says Tuesday

on his Hill Street block two parking enforcement vehicles showed up and “quickly” gave over 10 people sweeping tickets.

“Your staff claims citizens of Santa Monica were informed. None of the people I spoke with had a notice on their car or were aware. If your staff thought they were informed – then why send two officers to ticket cars?” Smith wrote in an email to City Manager Lane Dilg that the Mirror was included on. “If we were informed

– we would not park on the wrong side of the street. This is another aggressive and expensive overreach of City employees authority…. why are you harassing citizens when the need to isolate is now more important than ever?” *It should be noted that the Mirror did cover the return of street sweeping back in May in a news show distributed on our website, social media, and an email newsletter sent to over 4,000 people.

again to male officers who failed to investigate the incident, according to Arden.

“I was upset with my encounter with the police,” Arden said. “There was never any

follow-up…it seemed like my complaint was ignored.”

According to Arden’s attorney Gloria Allred– who represents 16 clients alleging Epstein

sexually abused them–letters have been sent to Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey and SMPD Chief Renaud demanding a reexamination of how Arden’s case was handled.

The Santa Monica Mirror has reached out to the SMPD for comment but the Department could not immediately be reached.

The news comes just a week after Ghislaine Maxwell–Epstein’s former girlfriend and associate–was arrested on suspicion of helping Epstein recruit and sexually abuse underage girls.

Epstein died by suicide last year while awaiting sex trafficking charges in New York City.

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

A car parked on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica with a street sweeping ticket Tuesday.

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July 10 – July 16, 2020

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Man Dies After Jumping off Santa Monica Pedestrian Bridge

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Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Man jumps off McClure Tunnel

By Sam Catanzaro

A man died in Santa Monica Saturday morning after jumping onto the freeway from a pedestrian bridge.

According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), a report of a person

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Police responded and located a male victim deceased in the northbound lanes.

According to the SMPD, evidence at the scene suggests the man jumped onto the freeway and was dragged a couple hundred yards by a vehicle.

The Los Angeles County Coroner identified the victim Sunday as Lucius DeShawn Wade, a 34-year-old homeless man.

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July 10 – July 16, 2020

OPINION

Wanted: a New City Councilperson SMa.r.t.

Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow

In a week the City Council will appoint a new Council person to replace the retired council member Greg Moreno.

That nominee will fill Greg’s vacancy till November 3rd, 2020 when the seat will be up in the general election which features five vacancies (Hara, Davis, O Day, Winterer, Morena). Because of the large number of City Council vacancies, five out of seven, and because this is a presidential election with a large turnout expected, this could be an historic City election with many candidates vying for the open seats.

In all elections incumbents have a disproportionate advantage. This has been proven historically over and over again in Santa Monica. Thus, the person the Council selects to replace Morena, will be listed as an “appointed incumbent” on the November 3rd ballot giving them a substantial advantage in this crowded field.

Therefore, it’s imperative the City Council appoint the best possible candidate to fill that slot, because it is likely they will be with us for the next few election cycles.

What challenges will that person face?

First. Our City is in the ICU both from the virus itself and from its economic fallout with the added burden of the massive looting of May 31st. Thus, the new candidate, along with the entire City Council, will need to rapidly stabilize the patient and plan its recovery which may take years. This will not be easy given the required staff, services and project cuts and the need to steward the limited City income and reserves for where they optimize recovery leverage.

Second. Our new candidate needs to attend to all the preexisting conditions the patient was experiencing before the virus hit. Among others is the end of retail as we know it, the fall of office space demand, the collapsing sustainability goals (lack of sufficient water, trash recycling, energy generation etc.), the snail like mobility progress, the inability to create sufficient affordable housing with the corresponding explosion in homelessness, the crime increase, the tourism decline, the City pension underfunding, and the fading school population with its attendant achievement gaps. These problems are all still here and getting worse. They are not going away and will continue to erode our already fragile City.

Third. Our new candidate will be leading a demoralized City. Its residents (owners and tenants) are mourning Corona Virus victims, are desperately trying to keep their families safe and avoid eviction and or bankruptcy, are frantically home schooling their children, are working at home and

“Our City is in the ICU both from the virus itself and from its economic fallout with the added burden of the massive looting of May 31st. Thus, the new candidate, along with the entire City Council, will need to rapidly stabilize the patient and plan its recovery which may take years,” writes Dan Jansenson in the latest SMa.r.t Column.

trying to keep their seniors safe, are fatigued by the clown show in Washington, are furious at the City’s massive failure to protect businesses and individuals at the May 31st looting and finally are starting to understand that even in a relatively wealthy City, the noose is tightening for everyone except the 1percent. Our citizens cannot realistically see how their lives will be better tomorrow?

So with over 117 residents signing up to be appointed to take on such momentous challenges, what should the City Council look for in a candidate?

First of all in managing the recovery of our fragile City, the candidate needs to have an intimate working knowledge of how the City government functions. This can only come from extensive public involvement or service on Boards, Commissions, Task forces and Civic organizations. While every Council person learns incredible amounts on the job, the most experienced will be the most productive the fastest.

Since the City government is always under pressure from special interests, the candidate must understand the role played by, for example, such groups among others as the neighborhood associations, the police, firemen and hotel workers unions, Santa Monica College, the hospitals, the Unified School District, the Coastal

Commission, the Conservancy, the Daily Press, Forward, Spoke, Kiwanis and its kin, CCSM, SMCC, SMRR, SMCLC, DTSM and the entire alphabet soup of such organizations. They all have a role to play in the City and try to drive policy and funding to their own member’s benefit, so the candidate needs to have substantial experience understanding of how they influence the City.

In spite of all these special interests, the candidate must be credibly resident centric.

This means selecting policies, funding and appointments that directly benefit both renters (over 70% of the City many of whom need eviction protection) and owners. Their ability and interest in doing this will be signaled by the projects and activities they have worked on in the past.

The candidate must also know and not be afraid of what is necessary to create a sustainable resilient city. The Santa Monica children born today will, in their lifetimes, face a City without beaches because of sea level rise with regular temperature spikes over 95 degrees plus the normal 25 year drumbeat of major earthquakes. Our City was making piece meal sustainability progress to date, but this new Council will need to provide real sustainability leadership as the climate change vise continues to increasingly tighten.

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

Finally the candidate must be optimistically flexible to encourage a demoralized angry citizenry. We are very far from our from the motto on the City seal: “A happy populace in a happy city”.

We are a traumatized City with PTSD needing hope from a candidate that has the flexibility to try new policies and initiatives so our City can go beyond just back to “normal” which was failing, but to actually being better than the previous normal.

The good news is that over 117 residents have applied for this challenging job.

They should all be applauded for their willingness to serve. Its now up to the City Council to select the best one.

By Dan Jansenson for Smart Santa Monica Architects for a sustainable Tomorrow (SMart) 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.

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July 10 – July 16, 2020

Jeremy Hersh’s Quietly Powerful “The Surrogate” CENTER STAGE

With Beverly Cohn, Editor-At-Large

There is something uniquely theatrical in writer/director Jeremy Hersh’s intimate film, The Surrogate. This insightful story unfolds almost as if you were watching a play with the highly professional acting associated with that art form. The characters are totally developed, supporting the believable, excellent dialogue. The wellhoned script presents a penetrating look at the struggle between three friends who are faced with an ethical and perhaps even a moral dilemma.

Jess, exquisitely brought to life by a very talented Jasmine Batchelor is best friends with Josh, tenderly played by Chris Perfetti, and his husband Aaron, well played by Sullivan Jones. They want to have a baby and Jess has agreed to be the egg donor and surrogate. The dipstick turned pink and they are jubilant that she tested positive and a new life has begun. They have agreed to cover all the attendant expenses to having their baby and the three of them are delighted. Jess continues her work as a web designer for a local non-profit and it seems all is well. There are lots of fun dinners, yoga classes, laughter, and great excitement over the arrival of the baby. All is well until they receive some unsettling news. After the third month, the prenatal test is positive for Down syndrome and thus begins a painful decision journey for the three friends. Jess wants more information and the three of them go to a community center that specializes in working with Down children. It appears to be a happy place and the children are engaged in all sorts of activities. There Jess meets young, really adorable Leon, beautifully played by Down actor Leon Lewis, and his devoted mother Bridget, excellently played by Brooke Bloom. Jess asks if she could visit their home. Bridget says yes and invites her for dinner during which she shares her experiences in raising her child, some of which are quite challenging. Leon is reasonably verbal and cheerfully responds to whatever instructions he receives from his mom. Back at Josh and Aaron’s apartment in Williamsburg Brooklyn, the guys are clearly conflicted and are having second thoughts on the prospects of raising a Down child, citing what they perceive to be the on-going attendant costs. With much sadness, they tell her that they decided they don’t want to have the child and ask her to abort the fetus and, at the moment, she agrees. To find a temporary respite from the horrible choice that lies before her, Jess has sex with her old boyfriend Nate, a really sweet guy characterized by Brandon

L-R: Aaron played by Sullivan Jones, Jess characterized by Jasmine Batchelor and Josh, Aaron’s husband, played by Chris Perfetti - good friends entering into an arrangement that doesn’t appear to have the happy outcome they expected.

Micheal Hall. He wants to marry her and says he will be supportive of whatever she decides, whether her decision is to abort or not to abort, in which case he would help her raise the child. At 29 years of age, and apparently commitment phobic, Jess doesn’t want to get married or even have a steady boyfriend. After giving it a great deal of thought, she decides that she does not want to abort and goes to her mother, Karen (Tonya Pinkins) to seek $100,000 from the trust fund left by her grandparents and would use the funds to buy a house for she and the baby. With a Masters Degree from Columbia, her mom patiently points out the pitfalls of raising a special needs child and refuses the request. She defends herself pointing out all the money she donates to charities with Jess shooting back that such generosity was to “assuage guilt for living a privileged life.” In the meantime, Josh and Aaron are under the impression that she is going to have an abortion. The day before the scheduled procedure, Jess goes back to her friends to try to reason with them, saying they could co-parent the child, but Josh has an unpleasant memory from his childhood of a Down kid named Devon and doesn’t want that for his child. In a heartfelt plea, he tries to explain that being a gay married couple was hard enough which is why they want to at least have a normal kid. She doesn’t commit one way or the other and moves in with her loving sister Samantha,

Photo: Courtesy of Monument Releasing

L-R: Surrogate Jess (Jasmine Batchelor) meets with Aaron (Sullivan Jones) and his husband Josh (Chris Perfetti) who present a compromise on how to deal with the unborn child.

sympathetically played by Eboni Booth.

The guys visit Jess at her sister’s house and propose that instead of aborting the child that they put it up for adoption. At that point, Jess gets angry and refuses that suggestion telling them she is going to have the child and that they will never be allowed to visit. Still there is the slightest question mark as to what action she will ultimately undertake and we are left with a lovely cliffhanger.

The Surrogate, which is director Hersh’s first feature, is a pitch perfect, fascinating, well-crafted, highly intelligent film. His narrative does not take a moral position on

abortion and allows each of his characters to make his or her own case, as to abort or not to abort, in non-diatribe, non-exploitative, crisp dialogue, with valid points of view.

Enhancing this captivating, excellent movie with his extremely fine theatre trained acting ensemble, is his production crew starting with Mia Cioffi Henry’s sensitive cinematography, D’Vaughn Agu’s delicate production design, culminating with Cecilia Delgado’s spot-on editing, all working together for this absorbing 93-minute Indy film which can be viewed through the Vimeo on Demand platform.

July 10 – July 16, 2020

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9

Car Chase Ends in Santa Monica

Passenger in custody

By Sam Catanzaro

The driver of a stolen car led police on a high-speed chase from Long Beach to Santa Monica on Thursday before leaving the vehicle in an apartment garage and fleeing on foot. A passenger has been taken into custody by authorities.

The pursuit began in Orange County with California Highway Patrol chasing the suspect on local freeways before ending near the area of California Avenue and 12th Street in Santa Monica when the stolen car was abandoned in the parking garage of an apartment building.

The passenger exited the car–a black Toyota Corolla–during the pursuit and was taken into custody by CHP. The driver fled on foot and police appear to still be searching for him.

The driver, described by eyewitness Brendon Colon, appeared to be of “Latino

A woman is taken into custody involved in a car chase that ended in Santa Monica.

descent”, no bigger than 6 foot, around 235 pounds, wearing a black shirt with a “big” The Toyota Corolla abandoned by the suspect.

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tattoo sleeve on his left arm. Colon and his friend were skating in the area when the

Photo: Sam Catanzaro

SMM Car Theft, see page 11

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Rated PG-13 160 Minutes Released July 3rd on Disney+

FILM REVIEW: “HAMILTON”

BEHIND THE SCREEN

By Kathryn Whitney Boole Sit down to watch Hamilton on Disney+ and prepare to put your socks back on because they’ll be repeatedly blown off. Those of you who have trained extensively in dance, voice and acting as I did, know the rigorous training regimen an artist must follow daily for years in order to rise to the top of their field in musical theatre. These are athletes of the art world. Only the elite rise to the top, and only the exceptional will attain a spot in a production such as Hamilton. The first number of this show is a display of extraordinary musical theatre talent who seem to function as one being in their ensemble. This show is a groundbreaker in style, with spoken word poetry and rap comprising the “libretto and music.” Interspersed are lyrical songs, which seem to spring naturally from the emotional undercurrent. You will be astounded.

Here’s just a bit of history on how this incredible show came to be. As with most brilliant works of art in any media, it was not created overnight. Lin-Manuel Miranda, a first generation Puerto-Rican American, was born and raised in New York City and spent a month each summer with relatives in Puerto Rico. During his college years at Wesleyan University, Miranda wrote and directed musicals. He also worked as an English teacher, and columnist and restaurant critic for a local newspaper but musicals became his “first language.” He wrote the music and lyrics to the hit Broadway show In the Heights, and also performed in it. While on break from that production he happened to read Ron Chernow’s biography Alexander Hamilton and discovered an affinity with this historical figure who had grown up poor in the West Indies in the mid-1700’s and made his way to New York in his teens as a penniless orphan. It was Hamilton’s ability to make a difference through words that caught Miranda’s fascination. This ability with words propelled Hamilton to become a dynamo who helped shape our young country.

July 10 – July 16, 2020

What better media to portray this story than “spoken word?” The seed for the musical was a spoken word poem that Miranda wrote and performed for President and Michelle Obama at the White House Poetry Jam in 2009.

Google Lin-Manuel Miranda White House 2009 - watch the performance.

Hamilton received critical acclaim from its opening night in 2015 to today. It won 11 Tony Awards and the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Although the story touches on the specter of slavery, that is not the central theme. Miranda notes today that though Hamilton did call out slavery, and that is covered in one of the scenes, he did not act to condemn it.

What Miranda has done is to digest a complex labyrinth of history and compose a lyrical poem about it using the language of troubadours, which in our time is musicals, to tell the tale - all the details, honorable and distasteful, from Hamilton’s adult life. The story ends focused on “Eliza,” Hamilton’s wife, who in the show is portrayed as sweet, meek and mild. In reality, contemporaries memorialized her as an impulsive tomboy with an iron will “with depth and warmth” beneath.

This production is so extraordinary because every single component of the musical is perfectly accomplished. The performers are superb, each character has their own voice, the costumes are like second skins to their emotional identities, the choreography is brilliant, the set recalls the 1700’s, stone and wood with natural light effects, Alex Lacamoire’s orchestration underscores every emotional and dramatic touch. All is perfectly timed and accentuated with music, song, words, dance, colors and lighting. This is the Mozart Symphony of Broadway Musicals – a perfect harmony of cast and creators. This filmed production is a compilation of two separate Broadway performances from 2016 with the original cast, captured on camera with great skill and detail and beautifully edited.

Growing up we were taught to envision the founding fathers of our country as courageous heroes who fought for independence from a ruler who put his needs before theirs. Actors

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“Sit down to watch Hamilton on Disney+ and prepare to put your socks back on because they’ll be repeatedly blown off,” writes Kathryn Whitney Boole in her review of Hamilton

of color play these figures in Hamilton. In order to make this “disconnect” from their historical appearances, a more realistic view of their personalities and motives takes shape.

I can’t help but wonder how Hamilton would have played to audiences in the late ‘60’s/early 70’s. The rock musicals Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar were conceived during that period. They were both radical detours from the more folksy happy musicals that came before them. Hamilton outdoes both in message, ingenuity and sheer creativity.

Young people of that time who were questioning values and historical traditions would have received Hamilton with open arms. Today’s younger generations can both identify with and criticize the “Founding

Fathers,” who were at the time forming a “nation of immigrants” and are portrayed by

a cast who more closely resemble the racial makeup of our nation now. If you balked on

spending almost the price of a luxury hotel

room for a ticket to the Broadway production of Hamilton, now is your chance to see one of the greatest musicals in history.

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.

July 10 – July 16, 2020

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A Day of Navigating Beauty and Wellness During COVID

I nearly rejoiced when we got word that beauty salons were cleared for opening. My hair had grown 4 inches, which is not a good thing when you have a short, cute pixie cut. It looked like I had a “beatles” wig on my head.

Unfortunately, the salon that I had been going to was severely damaged during the recent looting in Santa Monica, and had no idea about when they were going to open. So sad. I called a stylist that used to work at the Santa Monica salon and was my stylist for years. She was able to work me in. Yey! Since this was my real first day out in LA other than picking up groceries, I decided to make several other appointments. First my haircut, then the car wash, then my yearly Botox appointment, then the year-end tax meeting with my accountant, then the final errand was an overdue PAP smear. My physician even sent me a certified letter to make sure I knew it was time for this activity.

I figured I better go in, and get it over with.

Then, if I had any energy left, I would stop at the grocery store.

I arrived at the hair salon in Venice at 10:00a.

I slipped my face mask on, and walked up the stairs to the location. My stylist was cordial.

No hugs, no touching. Face mask on. She also wore a full length protective jacket and gloves.

Her station was right next to a large window, which I flung open. Right before I sat down in her chair, she wiped everything down with disinfectant, and then put a cover of the chair for extra protection. I felt safe -- as safe can be during a global pandemic. It took longer to prepare for the haircut then the haircut was.

I really appreciated that, and I walked out 4 inches less of hair on my head. It felt so good!

Next was the car wash. My Botox doctor is located in Encino, so I drove over the hill to the Valley and drove in to a car wash that was close to my doctor. All of the car wash staff wore masks, and safe-distanced. I asked for the deluxe wash and wax with the Baby Powder scent in the interior. I walked over to the cashier’s office and noticed there was a Plexiglas guard in front of her. Good thinking.

I paid for the service and sat down outside on a chair. Each chair was 6 feet apart, and everyone was wearing masks. Good job.

Again, it felt “safe.”

Photos: Getty Images

In the latest Hot Flash, Barbara Bishop natives a day of beauty and wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic, writing “I think going out is ok, as long as you and the place you are going to are very prepared. I got through it, but it was weird.”

My Bowtox appointment was next. They made sure that no one else was sitting in the waiting room, other than me. They front desk had a Plexiglas guard separating the receptionist from patients. The masked gal checked me in and asked me to sit on the lobby.

She also took my temperature. Soon I was taken back to the procedure area. Both doctor and nurse wore masks. I needed to take mine off, since it blocked the area where the Botox was going to go. The area was disinfected before and after my procedure. No issues here.

I moved on to the next errand.

I drove to Woodland Hills to deliver my fiscal year-end tax documents to my accountant that I have been working with for more than 20 years. I’m glad I put my mask on before I got to the office. I talk to my

SMM Car Theft, from page 9

TAX

accountant on a weekly basis, but really only see him once a year. So the natural response from him was to give me a great big hug. Not wanting to insult him, I hugged him gingerly and reminded him of the safe distancing rules.

I don’t want to repeat what he said. I hurried out of that office, and went from the frying pan to the fire, by heading to Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills.

I parked the car in the Kaiser lot. There were signs everywhere to wear a mask. I put one on, and walked towards the hospital and doctor’s offices. They definitely had their shit together.

They had a triage area outside the hospital, checking temperatures and other symptoms.

The patient population lined up for triage, with red lines designated as the 6-foot mark. I got through rather quickly.

I headed to the doctor’s office to get the PAP smear. Everyone was wearing masks. There was a Plexiglas guard installed at the reception area. Upon check-in, my temperature was taken again. Waiting room chairs were arranged to be 6 feet apart. 2 others were in the waiting room, sitting far away from me. Within a few minutes, I was lead into the doctor’s exam room. I got my temperature taken one more time. The doctor was nice, made me comfortable and the test was complete in 10 minutes; where the Covid prep took about 45 minutes.

It’s been two weeks. I have not experienced any symptoms. I think going out is ok, as long as you and the place you are going to are very prepared. I got through it, but it was weird.

The new normal. It’s sad.

suspect almost hit them with the stolen car.

“We’re just taking our cruise. He [friend]

starts crossing the street, I am probably about

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10 feet behind him. In the middle of the street, this guy jumps off his board because there is

this car, a black Corolla, coming around the

corner at least 30, 35 mph. He jumps off his board and then the Corolla continues to go

straight,” Colon said. “He ditches the car and goes on foot.”

This story is still developing and will be

updated online as more information becomes available.

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July 10 – July 16, 2020

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