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The Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office has obtained a stipulated judgment and injunctions against three local landlords in a lawsuit where the City alleged the landlords refused to allow a low-income tenant the right to use her Section 8 Housing Choice voucher. The voucher represented rental assistance offered to help the tenant, Liliana Dasic, stay in the home she had been in for 25 years. The City’s lawsuit, filed in February of this year, alleged the landlords had committed housing discrimination against the tenant who was 69 years old, disabled, a liver transplant recipient, and paying all but $198.00 of her monthly income on rent while using food stamps.“Ms. Dasic has been living in her rentcontrolled apartment for twenty-five years and pays a controlled rent of $838.78, far below market rent,” reads the lawsuit. “If the Defendants can get Ms. Dasic out of the unit, they could raise the rent to market level, which, the City is informed and believes, is at least three times higher.”
The judgment, signed by the parties and approved by Judge H. Jay Ford, III, includes the following requirements for the defendants Jonathan Lee, Leon Lee, and Jenny Lee: Accept the tenant’s Section 8 Housing Choice voucher; Adopt a City-approved written fair housing policy for the rental units; Complete a City-approved fair housing training; and Payment of $20,000 for the tenant’s restitution and the City’s costs.
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
Class action lawsuit alleges that the city is depriving minorities with low incomes of their vehicles By DoLorES QUIntana A civil rights lawsuit was filed in Federal Court on July 28 against the City of Santa Monica by pier vendor Reyes Murcia as reported by The Santa Monica Lookout. The class action lawsuit alleges that the city is depriving minorities with low incomes of their vehicles which violates their Fourth Amendment rights as reported by City News Service. The suit also alleges that the Black and Latino drivers are being charged excessive impound fees according to news reports. Civil rights attorney Christian Contreras said, to KTLA News, “They are not following basic California law in terms of what to do when a vehicle is impounded from an individual who is unlicensed.” Contreras represents Murcia in this lawsuit. The lawsuit states that the city is seizing the Black and Latino vendor’s vehicles without a warrant, using the city’s vehicle seizure policy with the intent of “coercing a fee” from the vendors and Murcia “contends he learned that the fee to release the vehicle would be $159.90 and, in addition, the city charges a 30-day impound fee of $1,128.” according to City NewsMurcia’sService.2006 Chevy Tahoe was impounded by the Santa Monica Police Department after he was pulled over for a broken taillight, according to the lawsuit, in the Santa Monica Pier Parking lot. When asked for identification, Murcia gave officers an expired Mexican driver’s license and stated that the vehicle was not a hazard per the lawsuit. The lawsuit further contends that the police carried out this impound “despite the registered vehicle owner being capable to produce or direct a licensed driver to operate the vehicle.”
Santa Monica Obtains Injunctions Against Landlords in Section 8 Voucher Discrimination Lawsuit
Judgment requires landlords to accept voucher, pay $20,000 in restitution By Sam Catanzaro
Casting your vote only takes two minutes and can be done by visiting this link: 1, and we will announce the results on September 30. Be sure to share this survey with your friends and colleagues. Voting is a great way to help your favorite local businesses! View the results from last year’s contest at smmirror.com/best-of-santa-monica-2021
smmirror.com August 12 – August 18, 2022 Volume CLIII, Issue 157 REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY INSIDE Santa Monica and Brighton & Hove Are Officially Friendship Cities PAGE 9
Pier Vendors File Civil Rights Class Action Law Suit Against City of Santa Monica
According to the lawsuit, the tenant was “just one unexpected expense away from losing her home” in December of last year when she came off the waitlist for a Section 8 voucher. Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers. Her landlords allegedly refused to allow her to use the voucher. In 2015 the City amended its fair housing law to ban such treatment of voucher holders. Since that law’s passage, the Public Rights Division of the City Attorney’s Office, often in collaboration with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, has used it at least 23 times to turn landlords’ denials of vouchers into acceptances, helping those applicants and tenants get a new, affordable home or to remain in their present one.
The lawsuit also identifies All City Towing, City Manager David White and Police Chief Ramon Batista as co-defendants and asks for the vehicle seizure policy of Santa Monica to be ruled unconstitutional and for the return of Murcia’s vehicle as well as awarding him court costs and damages. When reached for comment a City of Santa Monica press representative stated “The City of Santa Monica has just received this information and needs time to evaluate thoroughly to provide an accurate response.” and has had no further comment this week when asked. the Santa Monica Mirror’s annual Best of Santa Monica
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ext. 482 The Right Choice for You and Your Loved One WISE & Healthy Aging Adult Day Service Center For Your Loved One: A safe and enjoyable environment Tailored activities for each participant Open 11 hours daily, Monday through DailyFridaysocializing with peers Personal care Health Monitoring(therapeuticPurposefulmaintenancerecreationactivities)ofchanges in condition Trained and caring staff••••••••• Your Trusted Source for Adult Day Service Center The right choice for adult day care for your loved one. Socializing with peers in a safe, enjoyable environment. Trained and caring staff. Monday–Friday Using the latest research, WISE & Healthy Aging’s WISE Minds programming empowers individuals in the early stages of memory loss to impact cognitive ability, stress and depression. Our smaller group setting promotes wellness and includes activities that stimulate mind, body and soul. We offer the best that research has to offer to maximize capabilities. Let Us Support You –Addressing Early Memory Loss A Veterans Benefit! 1527 4th Street, 2nd Floor • Santa Monica, CA 90401 • (310) 394-9871 • www.wiseandhealthyaging.org A state-designated Alzheimer’s Day Care Resource Center Photo: Shacked Magazine Santa Monica police and personnel from the Los Angeles County Department of Medical ExaminerCoroner respond to a body found near the Santa Monica Beach on Wednesday. Photo: SMPD Anthony Barrett.
Call for a “sample”complimentaryday: (310)394-9871 For information:
Police say no signs of foul play By Sam Catanzaro A woman was found dead near the beach in Santa Monica this week. According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), around 9:10 a.m. Wednesday, officers and SMFD personnel responded to a report of a person down on the 2600 block of Ocean Front Walk, near beach restroom 26. “Officers discovered a female deceased wrapped up in a blanket. The female does appear to be experiencing homelessness,” said SMPD Lt. Rudy Flores in a statement. There are no signs of foul play, according to the SMPD. The cause of death has not yet been determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
Anthony Barrett arrested in connection to June 28 assault By Sam Catanzaro Santa Monica police are seeking the public’s help in identifying additional victims who may have been sexually assaulted by a recently-arrested man in SantaAccordingMonica.to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), on June 28, 2022, officers responded to the area of 4th Street and Colorado Avenue to investigate a sexual assault in which the suspect grabbed a female’s buttocks and then fled. The suspect was later identified by the SMPD as Anthony Barrett a 29-year-old male originally from Ohio. On August 5, SMPD officers arrested Barrett in the downtown Santa Monica area, and on August 9, the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges on Barrett for sexual battery and failure to register as a sex offender. SMPD investigators believe Barret has been in Southern California since at least June of 2022. He is known to travel between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Anyone who may have been involved in or witnessed an incident involving Barrett is asked to contact Detective Brian Spencer at (310) 458-8420 or Sergeant Chad Goodwin at (310) 458-8931. Persons with crime information can also contact Crime Stoppers by calling (800) 222-TIPS, texting from a mobile phone, or visiting their website at www.lacrimestoppers.org. Callers may remain anonymous and may be qualified to receive a $1,000.00 reward from Crime Stoppers. (310) 394-9871,
2 WWW.SMMIRROR.COM August 12 – August 18, 2022
Body Found Near Santa Monica Beach Santa Monica Police Arrest Sexual Assualt Suspect
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Recommendation would update vision statement in a way that would address issues of the community as it is today
Increased or enhanced park and open spaces for public Expansionenjoymentofpublic recreation spaces at Mother’s Beach and Burton W. Chace Park Activation of a more vibrant waterfront with an array of free and low-cost recreational and community programming accessible to all.
Some of those include, as stated in the recommendation submitted to the Board: Increased focus on community-serving amenities and the opportunity to incorporate youth-serving programming, including the Department of Beaches and Harbors’ (DBH) Water Awareness, Training, Education and RecreationSustainableProgram.and equitable development and business practices, including LEED Gold certification, payment of Prevailing Wage, and compliance with applicable County policies like Local and Targeted Worker Hiring and Labor Peace Policy
By Dolores Quintana Marina Del Rey is now considered part of District Two in Los Angeles County and now falls under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell. Supervisor Mitchell proposed a recommendation that would update that vision statement in a way that would address issues of the community as it isThetoday.recommendation is called “Aligning Marina del Rey with Los Angeles County Priorities for Equity and Inclusion” that would “instruct the Director of Beaches and Harbors, in collaboration with the Directors of Regional Planning, Public Works and Arts and Culture, the Executive Directors of the Los Angeles County Development Authority, the Poverty Alleviation Initiative and the Antiracism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, to incorporate the use of an equity lens, framework and tools, in consultation with other relevant County Departments, stakeholders, labor and community members/ organizations, to report back to the Board in writing” and giving the body a timeline, 60 and 180 days, to provide the Board with recommendations“for the completion of a comprehensive plan for the best and highest use of real estate and water assets in MdR, in light of the Board’s adopted County Guiding Equity Principles,” which would lead to more inclusive land use in Marina del Rey for all Los Angeles County residents.
Additionally, the recommendation explicitly called for the Incorporationfollowing:ofpublic art elements New and improved visual identification of Marina del Rey as a destination/ community, including monument, wayfinding, placemaking/ landmark, and informational/ interpretive signage, etc. De-emphasized use of County property for surface parking lots Enhanced tenant and workforce protections; Increased provision of affordable and “missing middle”Protectionhousingand expansion of wildlife habitats, especially marine bird rookeries Protection and enhancement of strategic scenic resources, especially marina and ocean view corridors A transparent and community-focused approach to all aspects of any MdR redevelopmentThefocusof Mitchell’s recommendation is on equity and inclusion for all Los Angeles County residents but also has provisions for the inclusion of public art, enhance protection for tenants of rental housing and for workers, and environmental protections. The recommendation was carried unanimously.
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A community aquatic center that is open to the public; A community-serving one-stop civic center and plaza, to potentially include new consolidated DBH headquarters, an enhanced library facility and other County resources.
WWW.SMMIRROR.COM4 August 12 – August 18, 2022
Photo: Loopnet Santa Monica, CA 90405 across from URTH cafe bikeshopsantamonica.comsales@bikeshopsantamonica.com310.581.8014
Supervisor Holly Mitchell Calls for Update of Marina del Rey’s Vision Statement
5WWW.SMMIRROR.COMAugust 12 – August 18, 2022 Not eligible for all property types. Eligible for fixed rate, jumbo loans on primary or second homes only. Applicant subject to credit and underwriting approval. Not all applicants will be approved for financing. Receipt of application does not represent an approval for financing or interest rate guarantee. Restrictions may apply, contact Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC for current rates and for more information. Find your forever home faster. Call today to learn more about your options. Ryan Woodward O: (310) grarate.com/ryanwoodward791-6077 Ryan.Woodward@grarate.com 130 North Brand Blvd, Suite 207 Glendale, CA 91203 Vice President, Mortgage Lending NMLS ID: 700492, LO#: CA CA - CA-DFPI700492 Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC is a registered trademark of Guaranteed Rate, Inc., used under license. Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC is a subsidiary of Guaranteed Rate, Inc.; NMLS #1598647; For licensing information visit nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Equal Housing Lender. Conditions may apply Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC is a registered trademark of Guaranteed Rate, Inc., used under license. Guaranteed Rate Affinity, LLC is a subsidiary of Guaranteed Rate, Inc. CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act
Santa
Tomorrow SMa.r.t, see page 9
The Music of Cities
WWW.SMMIRROR.COM6 August 12 – August 18, 2022
Just returned from 4 weeks of Classical Tahoe and found last year’s article every bit, if not more meaningful, in echoing the beauty of music and environment, in contrast to the accelerated direction and deterioration of our city’s environment. I spent the last 3 weeks at the 10th anniversary of my daughter’s “Classical Tahoe” music festival in the majesty of Lake Tahoe, meeting and listening to world class musicians from leading orchestras all over the country and remembering in my first college architectural class, being taught that architecture is “frozen music.” Listening to sequential rhythms and movements were similar to designing, articulating, and walking through spaces. Whether listening musically from movement to movement or being led from sidewalk to courtyard to lobby – there is a profound artistic similarity when done with a sense of feeling and poetry. This music festival provides a glimpse, or rather a broad vision into creative collaboration. The classical music of Mozart, Brahms, and Copeland from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries was inspired by the classical architecture and planning of European cities and the countryside of that time. But music today emulates a harsh and staccato rhythm of life, as do our solid, rectangular buildings that fill our residential neighborhoods and commercial streets – tall, block-like, stationary design experiences – instead of the integrated artistry and rhythm of sculpted buildings with landscaped courtyards and terraces. Sadly, contemporary architecture no longer sings, chants, or even hums. It no longer embraces its environment or exudes a texture that draws a smile – or even a gaze! And unfortunately this extends well beyond the architecture of single buildings or entire neighborhoods, well into the “movement” and confusion of our transportation and other mobility systems, our zoning codes, our piecemeal development. There is the lack of an integrated composition of all the instruments or pieces within the city. Where is a Schumann or Mendelssohn to organize our “movement,” our way of life into the beauty of a classical overture or into a zoning ordinance that wholly would interweave our interior and exterior spaces into a sculptured, uplifting “movement.” Just as musicians collaborate, we need the same spirit and creativity within all segments of our city – not improvisational, “piecemeal” development. We have a rich and diverse landscape – urban & rural, inland & coastal with a strong interdependence between people and their environment. But we’ve gotten away from real architecture, from what historically architecture has been about, from what “arch” and “texture” is about. Instead we’re just making boxes which our zoning code allows! Even though the Grateful Dead inspired us with the strong beat of their music – instead we have buildings that look like coffins. The only rhythm left in buildings today is contrasting a rectangle to a square or the texture of repetitive balcony railings similar to computer punch cards. Please City Council, bring music back into our lives. I’m retired now, but am speaking from 61 years of designing a range of residential, commercial, and institutional projects, working with developer clients, along with developing my own projects, who consistently found that “good design is good economics.” If my daughter can deal successfully with IONOPIN SMa.r.t. Monica Architects a Responsible
for
7WWW.SMMIRROR.COMAugust 12 – August 18, 2022 a range of problems – Covid restrictions, Dixie fire smoke & air quality, intermittent wind & rainstorms, flight cancellations & programming – surely City Council you also can! Santa Monica has such a rich heritage of landscape courtyard designs. We need to protect this heritage and safeguard our future. I challenge you to amend our zoning code and authorize a master plan which will go a long way toward avoiding our recent history of piecemeal decision making and budgeting – a master plan that will take approximately 2 years & $2 million – 1/3 of 1% of our annual budget!!! We need to safeguard our future. It’s time to salvage and build on the past, not to discard it in favor of economic return, but instead to include social, cultural, and environmental return as well! Just as this festival has grown from a small tent with a tree growing through it to a beautiful outdoor pavilion housing a world renown Classical Tahoe Orchestra, so can Santa Monica. We need to wake up and tackle this issue before we lose the Santa Monica we all love – our nature, our culture, our way of life all integrated with our built environment. There should be pleasure and inspiration wandering downtown or on our boulevards – walks that should talk to us in a harmonious way instead of a brutal, discordant manner. How about wider sidewalks with landscaped setbacks and courtyard entrances instead of narrow, shaded sidewalks – do we have the vision?. I challenge the City Council to amend and create a zoning ordinance that interweaves these exterior and interior spaces into a sculptured and uplifting movement – where is the Strauss, Beethoven or Tchaikovsky to life into the beauty of a classical symphony, into a master plan? The connection between music and city planning & design can be profound. When you marry art, music, and architecture, you create cities like Florence and Venice where people are still visiting 500 years later. This music festival provides a view into creative collaboration. This kind of vision and magic happens when artists and community leaders come together, work together – not fragmented into groups with selfish and contrasting philosophies! And all accentuated in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.SantaMonica is struggling financially and environmentally with piecemeal decision making and budgeting! So how then do we create an inspiring environment? How do we highlight the human factors important to a community instead of the economic return for developers and financial corporations? Our cultural and natural heritage is not just about preserving our past, but shaping our future. These composers were reacting to the environment they lived in – to the rivers, the sounds, the cities. Design matters, community planning matters! City Council, I challenge you to change the rudderless direction of our city, to amend our zoning code, and to authorize a master plan which will go a long way towards avoiding piecemeal decision making and budgeting – and instead will protect our heritage and safeguard a sustainable, greener future! Just as a gifted master conductor creates musical excellence, we need gifted master planners to give overall direction and comprehensive planning to our cities. Here’s to a conductor (master planner) and an orchestra (hopefully our City Council and staff) that once again allows Santa Monica to keep humming –to enjoy our oceanfront environment, our courtyard architecture, and our sense of community. Ron Goldman FAIA 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 & Planning Commissioner, Mario FondaBonardi AIA & Planning Commissioner, Marc Verville M.B.A, CPA (Inactive), Michael Jolly, AIR-CRE. For previous articles see santamonicaarch.wordpress.com/writingwww. fromSMa.r.t,page 7
The notion that “low-level” offenses do not matter, engenders an environment for crimes in our community that escalates rapidly.Weurge our fellow community members to channel their frustrations with crime in our community more accurately toward the part of the system that is failing them and hold those officials accountable for policy decisions that promote recidivism. We will never change our compassionate community values to illustrate that crime is not acceptable. We must be able to both educate and punish criminal offenders at all levels. We must elect policy makers that support efficient compassion in law enforcement. We all have choices to make this November, if feeling safe in our community is top priority for you, reserve your vote for those who are committed to the kind of public policy that keeps us all safe.Finally, the SMPOA enthusiastically supports Chief Ramon Batista’s strong commitment to a community driven approach to public safety. In his brief tenure, Chief Batista has proven to be an accessible and deeply engaged community partner. We are proud to serve under a leader that embodies the principles of the men and women of the Santa Monica Police Department.The219 sworn public servants represented by the Santa Monica Police Officers Association take our commitment to ensure the wellbeing of our residents, business owners and employees, including our tourism population, very seriously. We stand with you we are committed to working with our fellow community members to champion the type of policies and policy makers that will keep our city safe. Please join us in the work of supporting our men and women in law enforcement. Have your voice heard, advocate and demand for a safe and clean City of Santa Monica.
Recently, there has been increased public dialogue around the topic of crime and public safety presence in downtown, the parks, and other areas of Santa Monica. The Santa Monica Police Officers Association (SMPOA) would like to bring clarity to misconceptions about these issues and correct the record on a series of falsehoods. It is unambiguous, and recent history has demonstrated that promulgating a false narrative undermines the faith and confidence of our community and makes all of us less safe. The repeated notion that the Santa Monica Police Department does not deploy police officers from 11pm to 7am is completely false. The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) deploys officers throughout our city on days and evenings, 24 hours a day, seven (7) days a week. The rhetoric that 9-1-1 calls go unanswered or that parts of our city are left unprotected is simply untrue. The public record of calls for service and our response to those calls dispels the Moreover,falsity.thecontinued request for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) to provide police service in Santa Monica is neither the short-term or long term answer. The SMPOA supports and agrees with our police chief that more police personnel are needed. However, we strongly oppose the suggestion of hiring LASD in Santa Monica. The SMPD and LASD are two law enforcement organizations within LA County with a history of service; however, the culture of both organizations is different. The SMPD has a longstanding relationship of commitment within the city of Santa Monica, we hold dear, we value and understand our duty and service to our citizens and our business community. We understand you and we are here for you, unlike anyone else. Our philosophical view on how we police our city is based on an institutional knowledge of what our community expects from us, based on a decades long partnership with them. While the thought of bringing another law enforcement agency to “assist” may serve to satisfy optics for some, it is not a healthy solution and does nothing to resolve systemic issues that contribute to criminal behavior.TheSMPD is leaning into the issue of public safety and moving forward by making full use of force multipliers in the form of technology and personnel enhancements that make crime fighting in our city more effective. Our unmanned aircraft systems and automated license plate reader systems, in conjunction with our fixed and mobile camera systems, allows us to more effectively to 9-11 calls for service and despite charges to the contrary, puts more eyes on our streets. This enhancement is modern, potent, and practical in solving crimes and bringing criminals to justice. The police department is committed to expanding and improving these programs to better serve the community while simultaneously increasing our police personnel. The efficient use of our resources is something we can control. What we cannot control is what happens outside the scope of law enforcement. Our community and our officers consistently call for an increased response to crime in our city. However, our call and the call of the public have been dismissed. The policies of state and local elected leaders have made us less safe. Voting is how we begin to make a difference in our community and the state writ large. If the police department makes an arrest, we must all remember that the discretion to move the offense through the criminal justice system lies with prosecutors at the state, county, and local level. These entities have the discretion to decline prosecution, to lower the punishment and count minimal hours in jail as “timeserved”. When criminals see no reason to choose rehabilitation or fail their recovery programs with no recourse, the offenders see no consequences. For their criminal behavior and are thus incentivized to continue to victimize our citizens through, theft, intimidation, or assault. If the prosecutorial system fails in their duty to hold those that break the law accountable, the rule of law in a democratic society, the social norms that bind us together are broken, and our laws become ultimately devoid of effective deterrence.
WWW.SMMIRROR.COM8 August 12 – August 18, 2022
OpED: Santa Monica Police Officers Association on Downtown Presence
Officials of Santa Monica and Brighton & Hove in the U.K. officially signed the Friendship City Partnership Agreement on Friday, July 29, 2022, at the historical Royal Pavilion. The pact marks the beginning of the formal relationship, which aims to boost tourism between the two iconic pier cities.
Lizzie Deane, Mayor of Brighton & Hove and Kristin McCowan, Santa Monica’s Mayor Pro Tem, each signed the Friendship City Partnership Agreement in person after virtually hosting a signing in May of 2022. In attendance were senior representatives from VisitBrighton including Howard Barden, head of Tourism & Venues, Brighton & Hove City Coucil and Santa Monica leaders including Jeff Jarow, President of the Santa Monica Sister City Association, Jim Harris, Executive Director of the Santa Monica Pier Corporation and Santa Monica Travel & Tourism’s President and CEO, Misti Kerns. “This pact started out as a way to bring a touch of Santa Monica to Brighton and encourage travelers from both cities to step outside their comfort zones and visit someplace new, but it’s turned into so much more,” said Jarow. “We were able to create memorable experiences for families, culinary connoisseurs, beach and sport lovers and beyond. We’ve had a very successful month of events and we couldn’t be happier to share in and commemorate this experience with Mayor of Brighton, Lizzie Deane, Mayor Pro Tem of Santa Monica, Kristin McCowan and Visit Brighton.”Marking the occasion, esteemed artist and Santa Monica resident Ruben Rojas created a mural, which was unveiled at the Pier on Friday. Rojas’ artwork will be on display for a limited time before moving to a permanent location in the city in the coming months. “It was an honor to be an officiant of our two cities joining forces,” said McCowan. “We’re a great fit, seeing the commonalities and differences that make our respective cities unique and iconic is something I won’t forget, and I hope to welcome Brighton residents to Santa Monica in the near future.”
Santa Monica and Brighton Are Officially Friendship Cities Pact aims to boost tourism between the two iconic pier cities
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Photo: Courtesy Friendship City Agreement Official Signing at Royal Hall on Friday, July 29. Left to right Jim Harris, Executive Director of Santa Monica Pier Corporation, Henry Bruce, Mayoral Consort, Brighton & Hove, Misti Kerns, President and CEO of Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, Councilor Lizzie Deane, Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Kristin McCowan, Mayor Pro Tem of Santa Monica, Jeff Jarow, President of Santa Monica Sister City Association, Howard Barden, Head of Tourism & Venues, Brighton & Hove.
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• Wednesday, August 10, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., at Gardena Health Center, 742 W. Gardena Blvd., Gardena, CA 90247.
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• Saturday, August 13, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., at Inglewood Health Center, 10901 S. La Brea Ave. Inglewood, CA 90301. Free backpacks will also be given to children on Saturday while supplies last. Members of the public can click here to make an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine at one of these events. For more information about Venice Family Clinic’s National Health Center Week celebration and community giveaways, click here. 1984
In business since
• Thursday, August 11, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., at Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center, 2509 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405.
Venice Family Clinic, a nonprofit community health center serving 45,000 patients in need from the Santa Monica Mountains through the South Bay, has announced that it will celebrate National Health Center Week 2022 by providing free community resources and services August 10 – 13 at its clinic sites in Culver City, Gardena, Inglewood and Santa Monica. National Health Center Week is held annually to recognize community health centers, like Venice Family Clinic, that provide care to some 29 million people around the country. At four outdoor events at its clinic sites, Venice Family Clinic will provide patients and members of the public with free books for children, health insurance counseling, CalFresh enrollment, HIV testing, health and wellness information and resources, information on voting and resources from Children First Early Head Start for families and children. The public is encouraged to join in the celebration on the following dates and at the following locations:
Venice Family Clinic to Provide Free Community Resources in Celebration of National Health Center Week Nonprofit Community Health Center Offering Free
• Friday, August 12, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., at Irma Colen Health Center, 4700 Inglewood Blvd. #102 Culver City, CA 90230.
11WWW.SMMIRROR.COMAugust 12 – August 18, 2022 FILM REVIEW: NOPE Rated R 130 ReleasedMinutesJuly22nd
Warning: Do not see Nope unless you can give it your full attention. Do not go into the theatre tired or distracted as there is a LOT going on and the message is in the details. There’s probably no way that anyone will “get” it all. The key is, you don’t have to. Nope is not a Horror Movie, not a Sci Fi Movie, and definitely not an easy, laid back movie to watch. But the characters are endearing, complicated, naive, troubled and courageous. Director Jordan Peele always makes us contemplate who we are, what our place is in the world, and most importantly how our hubris continuously tempts us to assume more power than we have earned. The beginning of the film shows this message from scripture, a quote from the prophet Nahum: “I will cast abominable filth at you, make you vile, make you a spectacle.”
BEHIND THE SCREEN By
Indeed this does come to pass in the movie - humans become the spectacle. Into the world comes an extra terrestrial being that upsets the balance of life on Earth. Playing out this deep dive into philosophy are five colorful and engaging characters, created with excellent performances, and these aren’t the people you see in line at Starbucks every day. Courageous and naive, these players are mythical representations of us Danielall. Kaluuya is “OJ Haywood,” a master equestrian who runs his family’s horse ranch, which caters to the entertainment business. The family and the ranch have a heralded history in the film business, yet are virtually unknown because they are black. OJ is a form of the classic Greek “seer.” Almost autistic, he hardly speaks and doesn’t look anyone in the eye, but notices everything around him and has a knack for reading animals. His sister “Emerald” played deliciously to the hilt by the immensely talented Keke Palmer, is completely the opposite - a sharp hyperactive tomboy sprite who misses nothing and relays a constant commentary. Brandon Perea portrays “Angel,” a tech nerd with a thirst for discovery. He is the “innocent,” drawn into the story by association. Steven Yuen is the most tragic character as “Jupe,” once a child actor on an ill-fated sitcom, who has dedicated his life to reinventing his former fame. Michael Wincott is beautifully cast as “Antlers Holst,” a film director hanging the pursuit of his dreams, willing to die for the “money shot.” Oh, and there is an extraterrestrial alien with a mouth that resembles a camera shutter. Hmmm. The other “character” in the movie is location, the barren Aqua Dulce landscape, about 45 miles northeast of Santa Monica. This town of about 3500 has its own small museum highlighting the many classic movies that have been shot there throughout filmNopehistory.will inspire you to face how much we don’t know amidst our smug assumed belief in our superior intelligence. In this movie we repeatedly see the consequences of unfounded beliefs and failures of modern technology. If we aren’t able to find the ability to grasp the essence and profound importance of the other living things on our planet, if we don’t strike a balance with all life forms, then we will no doubt be visited by the destruction memorialized by Nahum. 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 Kathryn Whitney Boole
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