S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY
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INSIDE
POLICE WARN OF ARREST WARRANT
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August 21 – August 27, 2020 Volume XLX, Issue 55
Santa Monica Surf Shop ZJ Boarding House Closes After Over 30 Years
Photos: ZJ Boarding House (Facebook)
Longtime surf shop unable to come to lease agreement By Toi Creel A popular Santa Monica surf shop closed for good last weekend after over 30 years in business.
Zj Boarding House, founded in 1988, issued a statement on their website telling their customers about the closing. “We are so grateful for all the love and support over the last 32 years. We couldn’t have done it without all of you.” The shop did have issues with a landlord, Co-founder Todd Roberts told the Santa Monica Daily Press. He explained the shop could not come to a negotiation on leasing,but they could possibly open up a new location in the future.
“It’s closing because of an unachievable lease agreement that makes sense for the Boardriders to sign a long term lease,” Roberts said. “Because they couldn’t put together an agreement of what was fair rent for March until now and during the closure period, we are parting ways with this space.” The store was sold to Billabong in 2015, who was acquired by Boardriders in 2018. Robert told the paper that the majority of the more than 80 stores owned by Boardriders were struggling.
He said the shop wanted to continue to stay at the location, but the landlord wasn’t willing who negotiate. “It feels like to me it wasn’t necessarily ego, but it was two wills and they are pushing against each other and what’s getting lost in translation is a company that is very special,” Roberts told the Daily Press. “It’s super sad that not only are we going to shut this door, but also a connection to this community.”
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August 21 – August 27, 2020
Police Warn of Arrest Warrant Scam Active in Santa Monica
Sant Monica Police Department reporting multiple instances of phone scam By Toi Creel
Santa Monica police are advising the public to be aware of a scam active in the community involving victims being told there is a warrant out for their arrest. According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), staff have received multiple reports from community members who stated that someone contacted them falsely claiming to be police personnel. The
law enforcement impersonator oftentimes refers to the community member by name, is very aggressive, tells the community member there is a warrant for their arrest and requests payment, the Department says. According to the SMPD, sometimes these scams such will include spoofing a legitimate police agency phone number and using a real name of a law enforcement officer in an attempt to gain the trust of the victim. “SMPD would like to remind you that the Santa Monica Police Department does not call individuals and demand or request money under any circumstances,” the Department said. To report a fraudulent call people can call without providing any personal information and contact SMPD’s Non-Emergency line at (310) 458-8491.
Santa Monica Police Department headquarters.
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
Losing Our City! Our guest columnist this week is Marc L. Verville. He is a native of Santa Monica, now lives in Sunset Park and has resided here for over a half century. He served as Vice President of Finance for both Warner Bros and the Walt Disney Company. Marc is deeply concerned about our city’s future. Our City’s Future Is Slipping Out of Our Hands… Unless We Pay Attention We have all heard about the “Bad Bills” missing the mark on the housing crisis. Does the answer to fix hyper-localized land use challenges really lie in an experiment transferring land use control to distant, unelected and unaccountable state technocrats, completely sidelining local residents? What is the real scale of the housing problem we are solving for? How relevant can housing production targets remain while frozen in
eight-year cycles using assumptions up to twelve years old? How does legislation riddled with “in lieu” fees and unit thresholds allowing developers to sidestep affordable construction address the core issue? The Current Housing Bill Battles – The Beginning or the End? The current 17 or so 2020 bills focus on blanket upzoning to create massive new inventories of buildable sites for developers to accommodate the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (“RHNA”) production mandates. They add to the 56 bills already passed since 2016 as the latest installment of a legislative agenda eliminating local land use control and implementing a state-managed one-size-fits-all housing densification and production agenda. We are part of an urban experiment based on highly contestable assumptions.
SMart, see page 8
Swimmer Goes Missing Near Santa Monica Pier Lifeguards search for swimmer Wednesday night By Sam Catazaro A swimmer went missing near the Santa Monica Pier Wednesday night. As reported by CBS 2, authorities were
notified of the missing swimmer around 10 p.m. Wednesday night. The station says a fried reported the swimmer missing to a lifeguard tower near the Santa Monica Pier. A Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter and County lifeguards were actively searching for the swimmer Wednesday night and Thursday morning. No further details are immediately available. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Photo: Getty Images
August 21 – August 27, 2020
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LAUSD Announces Plans to Test and Contact Trace All Students and Staff By CHaD WiNTHroP The nation’s second-largest public school system will provide COVID-19 tests and contact tracing for all Los Angeles Unified staff, students and their families. On August 17 the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board of Education members voiced support for the launch of a program that will provide regular COVID-19 testing and contact tracing to all school staff, students and their families at LAUSD Schools. “As much as we have worked to improve distance learning since the school district transitioned overnight in March, we know there is no replacement for in-person school and we’re doing everything we can to get kids back safely,” said Board Member Nick Melvoin who reprsaents the Westside. “That is not possible without a comprehensive system of testing and contact tracing. As we’ve done with food for the community and technology, LA Unified is stepping up to fill voids and put this system in place. “ As part of this plan, research will commence studying the impact and effects of reopening and this data will be available to the general public. The testing and contact tracing program and
its corresponding research are a groundbreaking collaboration between Los Angeles Unified School District and leading scientists from the University California Los Angeles (UCLA), Stanford University and the Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, testing experts, and healthcare companies Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net. Together, they will be part of a task force co-chaired by Beutner and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary actions, and while this testing and contact tracing effort is unprecedented, it is necessary and appropriate,” Superintendent Austin Beutner said. “This will provide a public health benefit to the school community, as well as the greater Los Angeles area. This program will also provide significant education benefits for students by getting them back to school sooner and safer and keeping them there. We hope this effort also will provide learnings which can benefit other school systems and communities across the nation as we all combat this pandemic.” According to Beutner, the testing will cost about $300 per student, at least $240 million in total. While the decision about the return of students to schools is some time away, this testing and contact tracing program allows a
system to be built and tested and also provides a base of knowledge to help prepare for an eventual return to school campuses, LAUSD says. “COVID-19 has forced our school district to face new and unanticipated challenges,” Board Member Kelly Gonez said. “Our testing
and tracing program will be a critical part of our work to ensure the safety of our students and staff. It will allow us to respond quickly to any infections and slow the spread. District-led COVID testing is an unprecedented step, but these are unprecedented times.”
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Venice Family Clinic Expands Food Distribution Program
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By Staff Writer Venice Family Clinic, a nonprofit community health center that has already exponentially increased its distribution of free and healthy food at its Santa Monica site since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has expanded its program to provide free food to the community twice a month at its clinic in Culver City. Starting last Thursday, the Clinic will distribute free and healthy food from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month at its Colen Health Centers, 4700 Inglewood Blvd., No. 102, Culver City, CA 90230. The Clinic had been providing food to about 200 pregnant, pediatric and diabetic patients at the Culver City site for several months and is expanding this program to provide food to as many as 1,500 patients and members of the community. The Clinic already serves about 1,500 people a week at its Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center, 2509 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405, from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays. The number of people served there has grown from about 225 per event in February to as many as 1,700 today. “Food is medicine and that is why Venice Family Clinic committed itself to providing fresh and healthy food to our patients – and with the COVID-19 outbreak, to the broader community,” said Rigoberto A. Garcia II, Venice Family Clinic’s director of health education. “The pandemic has greatly
increased the need for food for people who have lost their jobs or seen their income reduced because they’re working fewer hours. We expect the needs will grow as this health crisis continues, and we are pleased we can be there to help our patients and the community.” Venice Family Clinic began distributing free and healthy food to patients at its Santa Monica location in November. With the COVID-19 outbreak in March, the number of people seeking food began to grow, and the Clinic expanded its Santa Monica food distributions from biweekly to weekly in May to meet the increasing needs. Garcia said 60% of the people receiving food are new clients, and 25% are from the community – they’re not Venice Family Clinic patients. The Clinic gets its food from Food Forward, Southern California’s largest urban gleaning program. Food Forward rescues over 500,000 pounds of surplus produce each week from fruit trees, farmers markets and the Los Angeles Wholesale Produce Markets and donates it to Venice Family Clinic and other hunger relief agencies. “We thank Food Forward and our generous donors and sponsors for making it possible for us to provide healthy food to our patients and our community,” said Garcia. “With their support, Venice Family Clinic has distributed nearly 170,000 pounds of food since the pandemic began.” Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal has been one of the leaders in sponsoring the Clinic’s food distribution, providing funding and support for healthy food for the Clinic’s patients.
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Restaurant Opens in Former Spitfire Grill Location Westside Food Scene By Kerry Slater A new restaurant has opened in the former space occupied by longtime Santa Monica staple Spitfire Grill across from the Santa Monica Airport. Learn more in the latest Westside Food Scene. New Restaurant Opens in Former Spitfire Grill Space A restaurant called The Cloverfield has opened in the former space occupied by longtime Santa Monica staple Spitfire Grill across from the Santa Monica Airport. As reported by Eater LA, The Cloverfield– specializing in thin-crust pizza, housemade pastas, burgers, craft beer and cocktails– boasts Tallula’s Mary Thompson as general manager and Alfred Salvatierra running the kitchen. The owner is Sean Martin who owns a bar in London called the Pregnant Man. The Spitfire Grill closed last December after 30 years serving hungry Santa Monica diners. Venice’s Great White Takes Over Subway Space Great White cafe, located on Pacific Avenue, has expanded its menu and dinner hours while also expanding its footprint by taking over a former Subway located next door. According to their website, dinner hours are from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and feature
shared plates, sustainably sourced fish and chips, chili prawn pasta and wood-fired-oven pizzas. In addition, the restaurant’s site touts a new natural wine program with offerings made by small and independent producers. Bruce Marder’s Brentwood Restaurant and Lounge Shifts to Mexican Cuisine Renown Los Angeles restaurateur Bruce Marder’s Brentwood Restaurant and Lounge at 148 Barrington Avenue has reopened under a new name serving “elevated” Mexican food. “Brentwood Restaurant is still a Bruce Marder restaurant, but we’ve reopened as Baja Norte!” reads a post on Facebook. Sidewalk dining or take out at Baja Norte is available Tuesday - Sunday from 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Marder, a restaurateur since 1972, opened Venice’s West Beach Café in 1972 and is currently operating Capo and Cora’s Coffee Shoppe–both in Santa Monica–in addition to Baja Norte. Beloved Sawtelle Coffee Shop Closes Beloved Sawtelle craft coffee shop Balconi Coffee Company has closed after a decade of serving Westsiders. Located at 11301 Olympic Boulevard #124, Balconi was known for using a siphon to brew their coffee in a quaint and cozy shop. According to a notice posted on its door and website, the last day of service was July 31. “Dear friends, thank you all for your support over the last
The former Spitfire Grill
Westside Food, see page 10
Great White Venice
A siphon at Balconi Coffee Company
The former Brentwood Restaurant and Lounge
Photos: Courtesy
August 21 – August 27, 2020
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My Dog Day of Summer
Commercial and Residential Servicing Southern California since 1996 I usually don’t sweat the news about temperatures. I live on the Westside, close to the Pacific Ocean, and it hardly ever breaks 78 degrees. Until yesterday. I took my pup, Zoey, out for a walk yesterday afternoon.I was in Westwood. I felt the heat immediately after walking out of my Uber-cool apartment. (that means temperature cool and “cool” cool.) I wished to myself, “Please Zoey, please don’t turn left to do the longer walk” She did. Shit. This route had us climbing a hill half-way back. I secured my new blue face mask (that matched my blue sundress) and we headed along the route. Things were going well. There was a nice breeze and we were going down-hill. Zoey was doing “her thing,” (both 1 and 2.) Once we started going uphill, that’s where the trouble started. The sun was directly in our faces. I started to get really, really hot. I looked down at Zoey. She was slowing down, as was I, and looking at me painfully. She’s kind of a princess—a Maltese with long, white fluffy hair, always coiffed. Everyone who meets her thinks she’s the cutest thing; she has a personality to match. I taught her everything she knows. So I knew that she was in the same shape as I was. We got to the top of the hill, and felt the cool breeze again. We made it! We both heaved a sigh of relief. By this time, my face mask was soaked in sweat, and I couldn’t breathe. I pulled it down from my face to get a couple of deep breaths. Zoey did too. She doesn’t have to wear a mask; lucky her.
We made it back to my place. There is a flight of stairs we had to climb before we could get into the house. I wanted to go fast so I could get it over with. But Zoey was stubborn; she refused to go. After a few minutes of push-pull between us, she eventually gave up and trotted up the stairs, both of us using every bit of energy we had. Once the door opened, we were welcomed with a gush of cold air from the air conditioning that I keep a cool 72 degrees. We collapsed on the cool wood floors after drinking some water; Zoey from her bowl, mine from a bottle. We laid there for about a half hour. I got to thinking, was that walk safe? How does one (or two) cool off in a short amount of time? I checked on line for some easy tips. Here is a list of the top ten: • Take a cold bath or shower. It lowers your body temperature quickly. • Hose off. If a shower is too far a way, find the nearest garden hose. I’ll remember this one for next time. • Grab an ice pop. I had some lemon ices that Zoey and I shared. I located them deep in the corner of my freezer. Woo hoo! • Sit in a raft in your pool. Zoey loves to play ball in the pool. • Exercise at a cooler time. I think I’ll start with this option first. Happy summer! Stay safe, strong and cool!
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SMart, from page 2 California’s 3.5M Unit Housing “Shortage” – Could It Be 1.5M…or Less? The 3.5M “shortage” used by the state originated in an October 2016 McKinsey Global Institute report. An independent 2019 analysis by the Embarcadero Institute note¬¬¬d that the benchmarks were wrong and the real “shortage” was around 1.5M housing units. California’s population growth has shown downward trends for three consecutive years according to the LA Times. Could a more realistic housing shortage estimate be even closer to 1M statewide? That reduction would reduce every city’s RNHA allocation. Southern California’s 1.3M Unit Housing “Shortage” In 2018, the 3.5M target was assigned to regions in the state by the department of Housing and Community Development (“HCD”). The Southern California Association of Governments (“SCAG”), which determines Santa Monica’s targets, received an opaquely determined 1.3M unit assignment to launch the eight-year housing plan cycle starting in 2021, known as the 6th Cycle RHNA. Santa Monica’s 8,874 Unit Housing Production Requirement Under new allocation methods, SCAG assigned 8,874 total units to Santa Monica, of which 6,152 are affordable (69%). This total is 7,200 units (4.3x)(!) greater than the prior 8-year planning cycle’s 1,674 total. The 8,874 is comprised of “Projected Need” (i.e. growth) of 1,156 units and an “Existing Need” of 7,718 units. “Projected Need” is the estimated underlying growth in the city through 2029. In fact, Santa Monica’s growth is projected to be only 2,782 households between 2020 and 2045. So, how could Santa Monica’s “Existing Need” now be 7,718 units given the 147 units in the prior planning cycle? It is the modeled outcome using the new factors of “job accessibility” and high-quality transit areas (“HQTA”), reflecting “workforce housing” objectives. The scale of discretion available to model “workforce housing” increased Santa Monica’s draft allocation from 4,829 units to 9,059 in one month, between October and November 2019. But does workforce housing even work outside of a spreadsheet? Will new residents require qualification by Santa Monica employment? If they change jobs outside Santa Monica, will they lose their residence? Reduced to modeling exercises, any desired outcome is now within reach. In the December 10, 2019 Council Study Session, an affordable housing advocate cautioned against appealing the draft November unit target of 9,059. Using yet another modeling exercise, Santa Monica was apparently being “under-allocated” and should have an allocation 56% higher, at 14,155 units, adding ±27,200 / 29% new residents! Clearly, the real target housing unit target for Santa Monica is whatever the development zealots in government say it is. There are no provisions to change allocations for changes in assumptions. By the end of the upcoming planning cycle, the original driving 3.5M housing “shortage” assumption will be 12 years old. Onerous penalties are engineered
into the legislation for missing hopelessly out-of-date targets including escalating fines, developer-controlled “by right” project approvals, and direct court project approvals. Unintended Consequences? Developers build where and what is most profitable – where people already want to be and where they can charge the most. Santa Monica checks those boxes. - Market Rate Development The state legislation is riddled with “in lieu” fees and unit thresholds that allow developers to focus on profitable market rate housing. Combined with the explicit intent of the development zealots to eliminate R1 zoning, the revenue available from multiple units on a single-family parcel will drive skyrocketing bids for these formerly R1 parcels. The result will be elimination of affordability of single-family homes for the existing city demographic. This will be devastating to the city’s future. It is the same counterproductive method used to eliminate lower-income renters via gentrification. - Affordable Housing Development If developers are able to substantially avoid affordable units in their projects, the burden shifts to the city to concentrate on 100% affordable projects to meet the towering 6,152 unit RHNA mandate. Shifting to 100% affordable projects creates a towering city subsidy funding requirement – likely between $2 billion and $3 billion. Or, use of all cityowned (i.e. free) land. Or some combination of the two. Since affordable units receive tax breaks and are exempt from certain pass-through costs, who bears the burden for infrastructure development (e.g. water, power, sewer, gas)
and service costs (e.g. police, fire, sanitation. The state will not provide meaningful assistance since all these new housing bills exempt themselves from the state constitution’s prohibition on unfunded mandates. It will be up to the rest of the residents (homeowners and market rate renters alike) to pay. What Next? The problem is that this state initiative is perfectly aligned with our current council’s agenda, and the council’s fealty to developers. With a rational production goal of between 2,000 and 4,000 units, it is likely that they could be accommodated within our current zoning without the need to devastate R1 neighborhoods. Much of the current zoning opportunities are with mom-and-pops who own small properties. It would require partnership. The city has grown by 5,300 residents (6%) since 1970. Unless challenged, the 8,874 new units would add ±17,000 residents (18%) on an entirely unplanned basis (i.e. wherever developers opportunistically find parcels). That kind of growth has not been seen since the 1930s and 1940s, when building and infrastructure were planned and on greenfield sites. Using highly contestable assumptions at best, this legislation along with this council’s agenda enable large corporate entities to expand their stranglehold on both property ownership and rental units, while making a fortune at our expense. Once our “infill” neighborhoods are densified, our city gridlocked with unplanned 20%+ resident increases, and more mega Plaza developments to help pay for it all, there will be no going back when the experiment fails.
With such existential threats to all residents’ quality of life and financial well-being (renter and homeowner alike), where is our city leadership? Why was there no formal appeal of the allocations during the appeal window? Where is the coalition-building with other similarly impacted cities? Rather than spending $10M to $20M fighting AGAINST its own residents in the district lawsuit, imagine if the city had used a fraction of those resources fighting FOR the residents by, for example, participating in a coalition with other cities to sponsor a ballot initiative prohibiting state control of local land use. What will work today is to enforce appropriate 20% to 30% inclusionary affordable units in every market rate project that is approved. But that requires determination in negotiation with developers. We need to tell our state representatives that this legislation is unacceptable. More importantly, we need to elect resident advocates to the Council in November. This will be the most consequential set of decisions we will have made in decades for the benefit and future of our city. By Marc L Verville 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.
August 21 – August 27, 2020
FILM REVIEW: “FEEL THE BEAT”
BEHIND THE SCREEN By Kathryn Whitney Boole This week, I decided to watch what I thought would be a cute kids movie, just for entertainment and a change of pace…didn’t even plan on reviewing it. What I discovered was a striking movie full of rising young stars. The backdrop of the film is a dance competition. Having been a serious dancer myself, I love dance…not so keen on watching dance competitions (yawn.) However the competition is just the setting in which this story plays out. The story is not really about the contest, it’s about communication – the language of dance. As usual with great movies, you can feel the syncopation of the whole ensemble. And, this movie’s cast is mostly inexperienced kids. I’m a member of the largest service club in the world, The Lions Club International, which focuses on supporting people everywhere who have vision and hearing loss. It heartens me to see young Shaylee Mansfield, age 11, who plays “Zuzu,” in a pivotal role. Shaylee is deaf and communicates beautifully in sign language. She has had her own show on YouTube, ASL Nook, from 2013 to 2019. In this film, she is asked how she can dance when she can’t hear. Her answer informs the movie’s title “I feel the vibrations.” By the end of the film, everyone is using sign language in addition to regular speech. Writers Michael Armbruster and Shawn Ku specifically created the Zuzu’s character as deaf. Ku, a professional dancer, had partnered with a deaf dancer and learned how they work with the vibrations. Director Elissa Down hired Anselmo DeSousa, a Deaf ASL dialogue coach. He created videos of the ASL in the script for the actors to use for practice. Mansfield worked with the ensemble to help them be more expressive with their faces when using ASL. That expressiveness is a skill required of all great dancers. Multi-talented Sofia Carson is the lead as
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Rated TV-G 109 Minutes Released June 19th on Netflix Broadway dancer “April,” who comes back to her hometown for a break, frustrated that her career has not reached the heights to which she aspired. The growth of April’s character provides the drama to the story line. Carson cuts a remarkable figure as an actress, able to portray both nuanced feeling and high drama with realism. She is a superb and creative dancer. Now 27, she has worked in film and TV since her early 20’s. In the Disney Channel’s movie Descendants (2015) she was part of a colorful musical fantasy. As a teen she attended Motion Dance Studio in Miami and competed as part of the In-Motion Performing Arts youth program. At the age of 19, she signed with BMI as a singer-songwriter. She endows April with not only amazing dance skills, but also an otherworldly presence. The whole cast makes an extraordinary ensemble. Worth mentioning are Donna Lynne Champlin, a superbly trained Broadway actor/performer/comedienne as “Miss Barb,” the lovable Rex Lee (Entourage) as “Willy Wong,” and newcomer Brandon Kyle Goodman in a great comedic turn as “Deco.” Wolfgang Novogrratz has teen idol potential as “Nick,” Eva Hauge as “Sarah” is a scenestealer – watch for more work from this young talent. Ditto “Justin Caruso Allan as “Dicky.” And little Kai Zen as “June” carries her own hilarious story line throughout the movie. I can’t say enough about every member of the cast - which also means that relatively unknown director Down did an extraordinary job helming this project. I only wish that more multi-million-dollar budget “tentpoles” and extravagant comic book franchises were as well written as this film. I know we will see more from everyone involved in this production in the years to come. 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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OPINION
Has Coronavirus Killed the Mass Transit Boom? TOM ELIAS Mirror Columnist
For most of the last 30 years, California saw a mass transit boom stretching from San Diego to Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay. Both light and heavy rail joined existing bus systems, providing new options for commuters and local residents to get around. Mass transit also took off as a planning concept. Cities that approve construction of new apartment and office buildings near rail stops often forego requirements for developers to provide parking. Even when they do demand parking spaces, it’s usually fewer than what was previously ordered. The presumption is that new residents and workers using those structures will use mass transit and their feet, that very few will drive cars. This has aroused both excitement and fear among many Californians, who envisioned the end of the car culture that has ruled this state for most of the last 100 years. But wait. That may not happen after all. The coronavirus pandemic has hit mass transit agencies harder than any government programs besides those directly involving health. The reason is clear: fear of contagion. No one who can avoid it wants to ride a crowded bus or train in the day of the virus, even if all aboard are masked. Take a look at the latest ridership numbers for the Los Angeles area’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which runs buses and an extensive light rail system. Over the last few years, this system opened several
Westside Food, from page 6 10 years and especially during this unprecedented global event. Unfortunately, we will be closing the business,” reads the notice. “We stayed in operation and navigated through the challenging months. We definitely believe things will get back to normal but not before getting a little harder. So the very difficult decision was made to shut down for now and keep everybody safe and try again in 2021 at some other location.” Culver City Tex-Mex Restaurant Closes Popular downtown Culver City TexMex restaurant Amacita is closed for the foreseeable future. The restaurant-helmed by chef Josef Centeno of Baco Mercat and Orsa & Winston–had its last day of service last Friday but indicated that the closure is only temporary. “We’re figuring out ways to adapt while the months ahead are still uncertain. We’ll miss all of you, our Culver City neighbors, but it isn’t goodbye,” the restaurant wrote in an Instagram post. Popular Pacific Palisades Eatery No Longer Taste–a popular Pacific Palisades Californian cuisine eatery–has closed according to food blog Toddrickallen.com.
new lines that cost state, local and federal taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. A major new subway project is underway between downtown Los Angeles and the Westwood area near UCLA, now something akin to a ghost town amid its plethora of virus-killed small businesses. During June, when COVID-19 cases eased up for about two weeks before their latest onslaught, ridership for the MTA’s buses and trains was 2.01 million, down almost exactly 3 million passengers from the previous June. Even with the new lines, rail ridership was off by just over 53 percent, from 281,010 in June 2019 to 132,532 this year. In San Diego, the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) started considering service cuts as early as March, as the pandemic began. There was still pressure to keep things running as usual, because, as the MTS chief executive said, “Our buses and trolleys are taking our most vulnerable residents to critical services, and first responders, grocery store employees, nurses and other healthcare workers to their jobs when we need them the most.” Meanwhile, ridership is down so much on the San Francisco area’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system (BART) that it expects to lose $975 million on operations over the next three years due to ridership drops that at times have reached 92 percent. And CalTrain, the San Francisco Peninsula’s heavy rail commuter line, warned it cannot continue running almost empty unless authorities in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties subsidize it via a new sales tax or some other device. Together, all California’s transit systems are asking $36 billion in aid from the next federal coronavirus aid package. That’s almost half the estimated cost of the entire
Photo: Facebook
“During June, when COVID-19 cases eased up for about two weeks before their latest onslaught, ridership for the MTA’s buses and trains was 2.01 million, down almost exactly 3 million passengers from the previous June,” writes Tom Elias in his latest column.
partially-built bullet train system – and it would not buy one inch more rail. This is for operating expenses only. It’s all fueled by workers operating from home and a return to commuting in private cars for those who have them, with trust for the sanitation of ride-share services like Uber and Lyft also low. Californians realize that using their own cars, especially if they ride only with others sheltering with them, is about as safe as staying home. Which leaves public transit to the poor, already most likely to be victimized by the virus. The question is whether this new attitude toward mass transit and other forms of
The restaurant, located at 538 Palisades Drive, has “disappeared from Pacific Palisades”, the blog reports. It is unclear if Taste–which also has a shuttered location on Melrose–will reopen, as the restaurant could not be reached for more information. We have been told by a reader via email, however, that “at least 2 parties wanted to buy the [Pacific Palisasdes] location but were unable to reach an agreement with the landlord.”
Amacita in Culver City
Taste Pacific Palisades
sharing rides will be permanent. For sure, it will be years before full trust is restored and folks again board trains and buses without worry. Which means no one should spend new money on transit until it all shakes out and we learn whether riders will eventually return or continue to shun buses and trains. 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
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