S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY
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August 28 – September 3, 2020 Volume XLXI, Issue 56
Santa Monica Cracking Down on Parties With Fines and Loss of Utilities Santa Monica explicitly prohibits large gatherings By Sam Catanzaro Organizers of parties in Santa Monica face fines of up to $1,000 and loss of utilities under action taken by officials this week. On Tuesday, Interim City Manager and Director of Emergency Services Lane Dilg issued a twenty-fourth supplement that allows enforcement against previously prohibited large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The order holds persons responsible for holding or allowing large gatherings—defined as gatherings of 20 or more—at a residence or other private property strictly liable regardless of whether the person was present at the gathering. Gatherings explicitly permitted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Safer at Home Order are exempt from the order. According to the City, violations are punishable as a misdemeanor or by administrative citation. The supplement also allows the City to shut off utilities (water service) at locations where large gatherings are held. “This is intended to make explicit that these ‘super spreader’ events are strictly prohibited in Santa Monica and will be enforced as private parties have increased regionally,” the City said in a press release. Gatherings with non-household members in smaller numbers remain “generally prohibited” by LA County’s Safer at Home Order, the City noted. Responsible individuals include
owners, tenants, landlords and managers of properties in addition to organizers of the prohibited gatherings, regardless of whether they are present at the gathering. Administrative penalties are set at $500 for a first violation, $750 for a second violation, and $1,000 for a third violation committed within one year. After issuance
of a citation to an owner, tenant, landlord, or manager, the City may also shut off utilities (water service) to the residence or other private property, according to the press release. On August 5, the City of Los Angeles took similar action when Mayor Eric Garcetti announced he would authorize
the Department of Water & Power to shut off utilities to homes and businesses that host “egregious” gatherings. In addition, Airbnb recently banned all parties and restricted rentals to no more than 16 guests at a time for all its properties.
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County Can ‘Think About’ Reopening Schools, Businesses if Transmission Rates Hold Community spread still needs to decrease, officials say By Sam Catanzaro Los Angeles County’s head of public health noted at a press conference this week that if the current rate of COVID-19 transmission holds officials could “think about schools, more businesses reopening.” “The work we have all done as a community and the sacrifices we are making are working. If we can maintain this lower rate of transmission, it means that we could begin to think about schools, more businesses reopening or, someday, moving their operations back indoors,” said Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) Director Barbara Ferrer speaking at a news conference Monday. According to Public Health, daily hospitalizations numbers have decreased by 45 percent from a peak of over 2,200 in midJuly. There are 1,219 confirmed cases currently hospitalized and 32 percent of these people are in the ICU. “The decreasing number of daily hospitalizations is one of the best indicators as it is an accurate representation of how many people are currently seriously ill from the virus,” the county said in a press release.
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica.
As of Wednesday, Public Health identified 235,386 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County, and a total of 5,663 deaths. The state is monitoring all counties to determine their progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19. L.A. County must stay below 100 cases per 100,000 people 14-day case rate thresholds for three consecutive days to be removed from the state’s COVID-19 county monitoring list. As of Wednesday, the 14-day case rate per 100,000 people for L.A. County is 198 cases per 100,000 residents, and we are grateful to see this number come down. “ We need to continuing taking all the steps we have these past weeks so that community transmission rates are low enough for us to continue our recovery journey,” the County said.
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David Leon Lopez faces up to seven years in prison By Staff Writer
A man faces charges of indecent exposure and stalking eight females, including a minor, in Santa Monica and the greater Los Angeles area. On Monday, a Long Beach man was charged with indecent exposure and stalking involving eight females ranging in ages 15 to 46 since last October, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. David Leon Lopez, 34, was charged with five counts of indecent exposure, four counts of stalking and one count of contact with a minor for a sexual offense. He pleaded not guilty Monday and is scheduled to return on September 14 for a preliminary hearing setting in Department S01
of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Long Beach Branch. Between Oct. 1, 2019, and Aug. 2, 2020, the defendant is accused following teenage girls and women in his car and exposing himself. The alleged incidents occurred in Long Beach, Santa Monica and Los Angeles. If convicted as charged, the defendant faces up to seven years, six months in county jail. The case remains under investigation by the Long Beach Police Department.
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Beloved Santa Monica Artist Passes Away at 99
Venezuelan born artist surrealit artist Luchita Hurtado passes away By toi Creel
For some in Santa Monica, the name Luchita Hurtado rings bells, for others it is a mystery. The 99 year old artist recently passed away last Thursday in her Santa Monica home. Hurtado was a Venezuelan born artist who received critical acclaim later in life, though her career stretched across decades. Her artwork centered around surrealism featuring a variety of drawings, portraits and
engravings. Hurtado lived in Santa Monica canyon just off Mesa Road and had a studio in the city where she would paint at night. She told publication Art 21 in 2019 at her exhibition, “It takes a great deal of energy, having the life of a parent and having the life of an artist...My real painting, I could do at night after everyone was asleep.” Hurtado was born in Maiquetía, Venezuela in 1920 though she grew up in New York. She began painting in 1945, capturing scenes of big cities, but also reflecting various momentments like feminism, Mexcain muralisn and environmentalism. Though she had painted for more than 70 years and was in a variety of group exhibitions, her work didn’t necessarily rise
to moderate fame until 1998, when curators stumbled upon her paintings after looking through her ex-husband’s work. After a Hurtado-exclusive exhibit was held in the 90s, her works soon gained attention in 2017 being featured on display at the Annenberg Community Beach House. Her artwork also made an appearance at the Hammer Museum’s “Made in L.A.” exhibition along with several other publications including the La and New York Times. “I’ve concluded that I’m going somewhere,” she told the New York Times in 2018. “It’s not death; it’s a border that we cross. I don’t think I’ll be able to come back and tell you, but if I can, I’ll find a way. If you suddenly see a pink ceiling, that’s me.”
Photo: 18th Street Art Center (Facebook)
The late Luchita Hurtado.
Hurtado leaves behind two sons who are
also artists though in performance and film: Matt Mullican and John Mullican along with two grandchildren.
Pali High Mourns Death of Shane Thomas: Soccer Player and ‘Beautiful Soul’
17-year-old Shane Thomas passes away while practicing soccer By Sam Catanzaro
Palisades Charter High School mourned
this week the death of 17-year-old Shane Thomas, a member of the Dolphin soccer team, who passed away likely due to heat while practicing in triple-digit temperatures. Thomas– an All-City soccer player set to be the Dolphins’ captain next season–was training last Saturday at a park in Chino Hills with FC Golden State, a club soccer team. According to Thomas’ sister Cheyenne, he left the field to take equipment to the coach’s car. When Thomas did not return, teammates began searching for him before
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finding him unresponsive. “He was found after practice away from the field and we are all devastated here at the club,” said Jimmy Nordberg, executive director of FC Golden State, in an email to Patch. “We are truly saddened by his loss and our thoughts and prayers are with his family,” According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff Coroners office, Thomas was discovered collapsed at 12:15 p.m. He died at 1:13 p.m. after being transported to
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Valley View Medical Center. “I started crying, I didn’t want to believe it. I know he was training, doing what he loves best. He was really excited for this season,” Pali High soccer coach Marvin Lemus told the Los Angeles Times. The Coroner says Thomas’ death was likely heat-related but a final determination won’t be known until the autopsy is completed. At noon last Saturday,
Mourns Death, see page 15
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Back to School 2020
LAUSD Announces Plans to Test and Contact Trace All Students and Staff Nation’s secondlargest school district to launch massive testing and contact tracing operation By Sam Catanzaro 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 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
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
school systems and communities across the nation as we all combat this pandemic.” 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. “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. Districtled COVID testing is an unprecedented step, but these are unprecedented times.”
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Screen Sitters Helping Busy Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Photo: Getty Images
Creating an enriching experience for virtual learning By Toi Creel
As millions of parents across the world have been forced to work from home and take on new childcare responsibilities, father Mark Kapczynski found himself in the same
Screen Sitters, see page 8
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WHEN STUDENTS EMBRACE A CHALLENGE
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Screen Sitters, From page 6 predicament: home, with his kids, a full work schedule, and a spouse who works too. “My wife Erin and I, we just needed a break from the madness to simply get some work done,” said Kapczynski. “On top of that, we wanted a healthier, more engaging alternative to online gaming and streaming video for our children,” he added. However, looking at other virtual child participation options, the father found that “screen” time still required a lot of parent time. He wanted his kids to have an enriching experience, without taking up too much of his or his wife’s time. So, they started Screen Sitters on March 15 of this year. “Our company mission is to give parents
freedom while enriching children. Kids 5-12 get to connect with a trusted, vetted adult outside their household who can give them a breather from the routine we’ve all fallen into, entertain them with activities especially geared towards the individual child, or just chat,” Kapczynski said. You might even call it kid therapy—one of the parents described it as that after a session his nine-year-old daughter had with a sitter on the platform. In an effort to address more demands put on work-from-home parents, in the fall Kapczynski plans to launch “Homework Sitters” to help children ages 10-18 understand and stay on top of their schoolwork. It’s not a tutoring service; more like “project management” for homework. Screen Sitters aims to help as many parents
August 28 – September 3, 2020
as possible with school-age children and they don’t just focus on individual parents. “We started to get a lot of interest from establishments. Our first corporate client was a publicly traded company with a fairly large employee base. We’ve also seen interest from startups and mid-size companies in many industries—from technology and entertainment to banking,” Kapczynski said. By partnering with businesses, Screen Sitters hopes employers continue to reallocate their in-office perks budgets going unused, such as for snacks and commuter incentives, to instead add on their program. “It’s all about supporting remote workers right now,” Kapczynski said. To book some time for your child or expand employee benefits, you can visit the website at ScreenSitters.com.
Zoom Boom in the Classroom -- the Lowdown on ‘Distance Learning By Simone o. eliaS
(Editors: Following is a guest column written by Simone Elias, 10-year-old granddaughter of columnist Thomas Elias. A rising fifth-grader, she is a veteran of California’s first attempt at mass distance learning, which will involve millions of kids this fall.) When the virus started, I was in fourth
grade in a Berkeley public school. I have one sister, who is three years younger, and we both got free laptops from the school district once everyone had to stay home. They call it distance learning, but they might as well call it laptop laziness. It’s so easy to just go to another website or watch a video. Since this started, it’s been more fun and better learning to do my own projects without
any teacher. For example, I set up Zoom calls with friends or relatives on my own, and I wrote a bunch of short essays about amazing places in the world. Lately I’ve been working on a podcast with my sister and a friend called “Street Spies,” which anyone can listen to on the internet (www.anchor.fm/simone-elias). School was not so good, though. My
Distance Learning, see page 10
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Distance Learning, From page 8 teacher even told us she was not comfortable teaching on the screen. When I thought about it, that made sense because teachers are used to being there with the kids in person. There also always seemed to be problems getting the Zoom code or the sound to work. A lot of kids were constantly leaving and joining the meetings at different times, for various reasons like bad wifi. Things were even harder for my sister, who was in first grade—she says she couldn’t even see or hear the teacher some of the time. I’ve also heard parents say kids from less privileged homes didn’t show up for the virtual classes as much. Kids can leave the room or turn off their video—and the teacher can’t do anything about it. Students can mute themselves, and they can also mute the teacher by turning off the sound. Then they can do whatever they want—get a cookie or anything else their parents let them do (if a parent is even there). That’s not true in school where kids get sent to the principal’s office if they won’t do what the teacher says. My teacher used a set-up for doing homework called Google Classroom. It had problems, too. The teacher puts “tasks” up and then students can just ignore them, and the teacher can’t do anything about it. This set-up also made me feel stressed because there were all these tasks with due dates lined up on the screen that I hadn’t done. Whatever the project, you can’t really do
Photo: Getty Images
anything social. Only one person can talk at a time on Zoom. You can’t have a separate discussion with a student, teacher or small group. Even to get to a “breakout” room— where you can do a video chat with less than all the people—you have to ask the “host” to do it for you. A lot of school is normally about hanging out with friends and being social, and you miss out on that, too. In person, school is longer, and it’s easier to share ideas and finish projects. One specific area where online learning
seemed harder than in-person learning involved paper workbooks. My teacher told students to scan their work and email the scanned pages to turn them in, but that was an extra step and not a lot of the students even had a scanner. There are also some good parts of online learning, though. For one thing, there’s not as much distraction from the other kids, so you can focus on the subject and learn about it. For example, I wrote some essays about the California Gold Rush for online school last spring. Did you know that Margaret Frank
made the equivalent of $400,000 in today’s money by making pies and selling them to miners? Overall, school online is not as much fun as it would be if everyone were there in person. I guess it’s true that something is better than nothing. But distance learning definitely takes some getting used to. Everyone is still figuring it out. (To respond, email Simone’s granddad, longtime California columnist Thomas Elias, at tdelias@aol.com.)
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Local Students Win Prestigious Scholarship and Mentoring By Sam Catanzaro
Two Brentwood high school students have won prestigious scholarships for their respective work in artificial intelligence and ethics. The Milken Scholars, a joint initiative of the Milken Institute and the Milken Family Foundation, has chosen 11 talented students from greater Los Angeles for its 2020 scholarship program after a rigorous nomination, application and interview process. Open to college-bound high school seniors in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and New York City, Milken Scholars are selected based on academic performance, community service, leadership and their ability to persevere in the face of personal challenges. Among these 11 students are two students from Brentwood’s The Archer Schol for Girls. As senior chair of the Honor Education Council at The Archer School for Girls, Lena Jones was an ethical compass for her school community. She led discussions about ethical behavior and presided over hearings for violations of the honor code, writing and presenting the council’s recommendations for disposition. The council also created
educational scavenger hunts to honor National Coming Out Day and the International Day of the Girl, and gave presentations to students and faculty throughout the year. Lena’s moderate, collaborative approach led to her selection as a delegate to the American Legion Auxiliary California Girls State, a civics training program, where she campaigned for and won election to the Supreme Court. Lena was one of two students chosen to represent California at ALA Girls Nation, where she was elected Senate Chaplain. She was asked to serve as a Girls Nation junior counselor in 2021. “Learning I’d received the Milken Scholarship was an electrifying start to the never-ending journey offered by the tightly knit community of Milken Scholars. Mere months into becoming a Scholar, I found myself surrounded by myriad mentors who were more than willing to give me advice and guide me to open doors of opportunity. As a witness to the benefits of my mother’s mentoring program, I am already looking forward to becoming a mentor to future generations of Scholars and giving back however I can,” Lena said. “I plan to attend law school after graduating, and I cherish every cent given toward that goal. The gratitude I feel for the Milken Family Foundation and their program could never
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be fully expressed. Still, from the short time I’ve been a part of this group, I can tell you that Lori and Michael Milken built something greater than a scholarship fund. Money and connections draw the eye, but I believe the inner workings of the Milken Scholars Program will change lives.” Hannah Kim believes artificial intelligence (AI) holds the key to our planet’s future. As an intern at the University of Southern California Bridge Institute, Hannah helped create detailed 3-D model of the pancreatic beta cell, key to understanding diabetes and creating targeted drug therapies; her team’s work was published in Cell, a Cell Press scientific journal. For her honors research project at The Archer School for Girls, Hannah developed a convolutional neural network that analyzes Doppler-shifted sound waves to let hearing-impaired drivers distinguish emergency vehicle sounds from background noises. Her prototype mobile app and windshield-projected display won an honorable mention from National Center for Women and Information Technology and an Archer RISE Award in engineering and technology. Hannah researched biodegradable manufacturing and recycling as an intern at Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment, presenting her conclusions to members of the
Photo: Courtesy
Hannah Kim (left) and Lena Jones (right).
Los Angeles City Council at City Hall. “Being named a Milken Scholar is a true honor. The mentorship and support network that this program offers is unparalleled. I’ve already made connections with my fellow scholars and advisors, and I look forward to developing profound friendships so that we can collectively make positive change in the world as future global leaders,” Hannah said. Hannah will study computer science at Stanford in preparation for a career in scientific research.
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Earn a Degree or Certificate Online Classes start August 31 smc.edu/fall
SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dr. Nancy Greenstein, Chair; Dr. Susan Aminoff, Vice Chair; Dr. Louise Jaffe; Dr. Margaret Quiñones-Perez; Rob Rader; Dr. Sion Roy; Barry A. Snell; Joshua Elizondo, Student Trustee; Kathryn E. Jeffery, Ph.D., Superintendent/President Santa Monica College | 1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 | smc.edu
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Santa Monica extends deadline for Outdoor Commercial Space Usage
Order provides greater clarity on what businesses can provide in outdoor commercial spaces By Toi Creel
On Wednesday, August 19, the City of Santa Monica extended the use of outdoor commercial spaces, allowing businesses more time to expand services and serve customers outdoors in the midst of a global pandemic. It’s the third revision of the 18th supplement to Santa Monica’s local emergency declaration. The supplement allows for greater use of outdoor space for local businesses including furnishings and materials. It also added an extra 30 days for businesses to decide the status of outdoor dining by either getting into an encroachment agreement or getting a permit from the City. In order to maintain outdoor dining services, businesses must have an official agreement with the City by September 17,which is when the supplement will expire. The efforts to extend outdoor dining are being spearheaded by the Santa Monica Economic Recovery Task Force who partners with the Santa Monica Business Improvement Districts along with the local community. Among other things the supplement
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
Outdoor dining set up on the sidewalk outside Hotel Shangri-La on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica.
provides greater clarity on what businesses can provide in outdoor commercial spaces including: furnishings, canopies, propane heaters, tables and chairs. The supplement did note that all furnishings must be removed in the event of an emergency. It also authorizes the director of Community Development Department to enter into temporary license agreements to use portions of certain public parking facilities or the Santa Monica pier for temporary use of gyms and fitness establishments. The application to renew will be online at the temporary outdoor use website at santamonica.gov/temporary-use-ofoutdoor-areas. Businesses can also submit interest to borrow outdoor commercial zone materials from the City. For questions or to submit your application, email the City at econdev@smgov.net.
Santa Monica School Officials Apologize for Sending out Inadvertently Racist Password to Students Algorithm combined a color and animal to come up with the password.
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By Toi Creel Officials in the Santa Monica School District had to issue an apology after sending students a computer password that could be considered racist. In a letter sent out to the parents of students at 14 Santa Monica and Malibu elementary schools, Officials explained to parents that a random algorithm combined a color and animal to come up with the password. The students use the password to access Google learning platforms. Officials decided not to repeat the name of the password. “Once we were made aware we immediately corrected it,” said Superintendent Dr. Ben Dratin in last Thursday’s letter sent via email. “We are deeply sorry this occurred and apologize to our entire community.” In planning for future mishaps, District
Commercial and Residential
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
Grant Avenue Elemenatry School in Santa Monica.
Officials said they have asked staff to inform a designated tech worker if they recognize a word combination that may be ill received. In the Thursday email, Drati also included a link to a July 29 anti-racism letter, where he outlined the District’s past and present actions taken against both systematic and blatant racism. In order to help provide support for desist discussions about ending racism and overall systematic oppression, he also included a link to a page of anti-racism resources.
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OPINION
Blackout Blackmail Possible in August Outages TOM ELIAS Mirror News Columnist
Never before in California’s long experience with power blackouts have systematic, preplanned outages been as short as the 20-minute to 30-minute electric shutdowns inflicted on about 3 million homes and businesses around the state in mid-August. Without doubt these blackouts were preplanned. “(We will have) excessive weather conditions and a persistent shortage of electric supply for the California grid,” said a warning texted to electric customers hours ahead of the first outages. There was a lot odd about this, aside from the short span of the blackouts. Gov. Gavin Newsom said later he didn’t learn of the shutdowns until just beforehand, adding they were caused by record-level heat. It’s unprecedented for any governor not to know well in advance. What’s more, while temperatures set records in some places, it wasn’t by much – a degree or two more than in the late summers of recent years. And, as was noted on social media, myriad California homes feature solar panels; schools and most power-using businesses were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. So why any shortage? Trying to blame this on the gradual shift to renewable power from wind and sun, as President Trump did, explained nothing. What really went on? It’s hard to be certain, in part because neither the Southern California Edison Co. nor the California Independent System Operator (CalISO), which runs the state’s electric grid, answered specific questions about how close to capacity several power plants operated during the shortages.
“This all looks highly suspicious,” said Bill Powers, a San Diego engineer expert on utility operations. The real cause of the problems that inconvenienced some customers, but never enough to produce much lawsuit liability, may have been a recent utility phenomenon known as “blackout blackmail.” The Southern California Gas Co. used this tactic several times in the last few years to keep its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility open in the hills above the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. It needs the gas storage, SoCalGas claimed, to prevent blackouts in summer, when gas-fired power plants sometimes at full strength. But most plants almost never approach capacity, and there were no actual blackouts while Aliso Canyon was virtually empty after its massive leaks starting in 2015. So this was clearly blackmail, the nation’s biggest gas utility trying to scare customers and politicians into letting it keep a hazardous facility open. The timing of the latest blackouts suggests a different sort of possible blackmail. These outages began less than three weeks before the state Water Resources Control Board is due in early September to consider keeping open most of the generating units at four gas-fired power plants cooled by Pacific Ocean water at Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Redondo Beach and Ormond Beach near Oxnard. All had been set to close by year’s end, reducing greenhouse gases as part of California’s climate change strategy. But the state Public Utilities Commission earlier this year okayed a reprieve, moving plant closing dates back by anywhere from one to three years. Together, affected units at the four facilities can produce 3,812 megawatts, far more than
“What really went on? It’s hard to be certain, in part because neither the Southern California Edison Co. nor the California Independent System Operator (CalISO), which runs the state’s electric grid, answered specific questions about how close to capacity several power plants operated during the shortages. ‘This all looks highly suspicious,’ said Bill Powers, a San Diego engineer expert on utility operations,” writes Tom Elias in his latest column.
enough to make up the stated shortfall of less than 1,500 megawatts cited by CalISO during the blackouts. One megawatt powers one home for about 15 months. No one will say whether the four plants operated near capacity on the blackout days. They usually run far below those levels: In 2018, the highest average load on any unit of the four plants was 10.1 percent of capacity at Alamitos Unit 3 in Long Beach. Edison, CalISO and the plants’ owners, Virginia-based AES Corp. and Houston-based GenOn Energy Holdings, want the generating stations left open. The PUC said OK, as it usually does when utilities want something. Because no one can or will say whether
these plants operated near capacity before and during the latest outages, it’s impossible to be sure this episode aimed to intimidate the water quality board, which has the final say. That’s why it’s a good thing Newsom quickly ordered an investigation, and why that investigation – unlike several others involving the PUC – must actually go forward rather than dying out quietly. 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.
OPINION
What’s Shaking? SMa.r.t. Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
While Covid-19 and the lockdown, social distancing and masks have been a primary concern that we all share, now is the time to look ahead to the upcoming elections, as campaigns are beginning to rise in the national consciousness. This election, we trust, will result in a new positive direction for us all. Similarly, here in Santa Monica we are also gearing up for our local elections, which will include five of the seven city council seats. Change is in the air. Nationally, and locally! Let’s shake it up. In Santa Monica we face a fiscal disaster, in part because of the pandemic, but also due to excessive spending and poor management of available resources. Prior to the lockdown, for example, there was a steady decline in retail operations and tax revenues, as the usual victims, local ‘mom & pop’ stores, began to shutter their businesses as commercial rents continued to rise un-throttled. And with one of the highest sales taxes in the state many local residents choose to shop elsewhere, further drawing down city revenues. There were about
nine million visitors per year pre-Covid-19, and they may have been filling hotel rooms, and buying from the remaining national chain stores that line the Promenade, but that too has been winnowed down. So, now that we are in this crisis, we must ask where was the foresight to prepare Santa Monica for the “rainy day”? Certainly, it doesn’t seem likely that it was a consideration in the excessive cost of the City Hall Annex at +/-$78million, and with interest, likely double that amount. The Annex, temporarily sitting empty, was an expensive vanity project designed to win an award that we know was not needed, and that might have been built for a cost in the $45+million dollar range. It can’t be in the $1.00/year for 65 year lease arrangement for 1.39 acres of our civic center land for the purpose of a quasi-private day care center that will serve mostly City and Rand Corp. employees, with another +/-$5.6 million thrown in to help build the structure. Or for the +/-$20million fighting against residents preferences for district elections. Well, now we have a “rainy day,” and the umbrella isn’t working. What Is this Council thinking? Does anyone think giving away another 2.57 acres of our resident owned land in the heart of downtown for a private hotel/office development will provide
Photo: Getty Images
“Why is this Council not fighting to protect our beachfront town? In addition to the COVID-19 impact and losses, communities across the state are being mandated to build massive amounts of housing. Under the State mandate, Santa Monica is required to build 8874 new housing units in the next eight years. That represents a +/-20% increase in our town’s population,” writes Bob Taylor in the latest SMa.r.t Column.
the rainy day coverage we will be needing? A proposed 10-12 story hotel/office building, when travel and hotel needs are collapsing, and when Covid-19 is emptying office buildings everywhere as workers are increasingly working remotely from home. We are offended that the developer, with the Council’s blessings, names the project “The Plaza”, when what the Council should be doing is listening to the residents that have been demanding a real plaza on that site for years. A central plaza, in the heart of our downtown, that serve all of the residents, and the visitors, and those that work in the downtown
area that might enjoy a quiet break at lunch to simply sit and relax under a shade tree. What a concept! But, by all appearances, a concept beyond the comprehension of at least six of the seven council members that recently voted to continue negotiations with the developer, five of whom are up for re-election. Remember that in November. Why is this Council not fighting to protect our beachfront town? In addition to the Covid-19 impact and losses, communities across the state
SMArt, see page 15
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SMArt, from page 14 are being mandated to build massive amounts of housing. Under the State mandate, Santa Monica is required to build 8874 new housing units in the next eight years. That represents a +/-20% increase in our town’s population. That number of units comes with economic penalties by the State if not adhered to and fulfilled. And the Council has yet to raise a voice in opposition to such an outrageous requirement. The mandate does not recognize or provide for the increased water and other infra-structure demands that will have to be provided and implemented, and with no financial help from the State! Tax increases anyone? In addition there are nine bad bills pending in the legislature that if passed would allow unlimited housing development. A developers dream. Five Council seats to be voted on in November. How about five fresh faces? 8874 new units, and possibly unlimited housing, when there are several significant earthquake fault lines that run through Santa Monica along the Wilshire corridor, extending from Santa Monica Blvd. up and across the north of Montana area and San Vicente. A potential hazard zone underlaying a good portion of our 8.4 square mile town, and when the inevitable, now long overdue by historic standards, earthquake hits us, and shakes us up, we can reasonably expect large scale damage. So, 8874 new units, potential seismic impact, Covid-19 impact, the rising crime rate, all can be seen to converge on police, fire, paramedic, and hospital demand, and could certainly overwhelm the capability to be dealt with in the possibility of a combined event. Whatever preparation our City has done in the last ten or so years to prepare for such a convergence of events, does not address the current issue of building those 8874 new housing units and the added burden they will impose, including thousands more car trips, further slowing emergency response teams. Yet this Council has not protested any of the nine proposed bills, including one that would allow ANY site to build ten units on it, and another from our former mayor and current Assemblyman, Bloom, who proposed a bill (gratefully pulled last week) that would have allowed any housing project to match the maximum height of any zone within 1/2 mile. What is the newly zoned height of the Miramar, or of The ‘Monster’ at 4th/5th & Arizona, or the height of the proposed Ghery hotel. How many
Serving Area since 1996 Locally Owned Business stories might those be? And, as the bills are written they will be permitted within that large seismic zone, which may cover as much as 20% of our 8.4 sq. mile beach town. Really? This Council has filed no protest, or joined the myriad of other communities in their attempt to stop the State legislature from potential passage of these onerous bills, as once again politicians capitulate to developer money and promised tax revenues. But at what cost to our quality of life, and the protection of our beach community. It’s not just a rainy day, it is a stormy day. While we have shared a focus on the pandemic and the growing death count due to the incredibly incompetent management at the national level, we too, locally, have been subjected to fiscal and planning mismanagement. It is time for a clean slate and a Council that will represent the residents, truly work to protect our environment, and remember that our beach front town is also a place of respite for so many in the inland and valley areas that need relief from these increasingly hot days. They don’t want to come to a downtown L.A. clone, they want, and need, a low rise, open, breezy beach front place to breath. And, so do we. Don’t give fresh license to the same incumbents that helped create this mess. Let’s shake it up this November. Bob Taylor, Architect, AIA for SMa.r.t (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow)
Ron Goldman, Architect FAIA; Dan Jansenson, Architect, Building & Fire-Life Safety Commissioner; Robert H. Taylor, Architect AIA: Thane Roberts, Architect;; Sam Tolkin, Architect; For previous articles see www.santamonicaarch.wordpress.com/ writings.
Mourns Death, from page 4 temperatures in the area reached 111 degrees, Patch reported. Following Thomas’ death, a memorial was set up in front of Pali High in his honor. “I will miss you so much. You always made me smile when I was down. I will accomplish many things for you. You always motivated me to do my best. I will forever love you,” reads a note written on a poster at the memorial. A GoFundMe was created this week to help Thomas’ family raise money to cover funeral costs. “A young 17 years old boy who was doing before his passing. what he loved Shane was determined, hardworking, graceful smart and all-around a beautiful soul. He touched the lives of so many and
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it’s our turn to give back to his family in their time of need,” GoFund me to cover the cost of [the] funeral,” reads the GoFundMe.
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