S A N TA M O N I C A
INSIDE
TWO ARRESTED FOR SANTA MONICA PROWLING INCIDENT AND METH POSSESSION
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
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September 24 – September 30, 2021 Volume CVII, Issue 112
Malibu’s Effort to Split From SMMUSD Stays Alive City of Malibu given more time following September 18 hearing By dolores Quintana
The Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization voted on Saturday to give more time to the city of Malibu to meet the conditions needed for the Committee to rule on the desired separation from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD). Malibu will be given an additional six months after the Committee’s eight to two vote on Saturday, September 18. This effort was strongly opposed by the City of Santa Monica and the (SMMUSD) during the contentious three and one half hour meeting. According to the study commissioned by the Committee, Malibu’s proposal has failed to meet eight out of the nine necessary requirements to be approved after careful review. Santa Monica had been in negotiations with Malibu leading up to the hearing in an attempt to allow a transition to Malibu creating their own school district. The negotiations have
lasted for years and Santa Monica is convinced that an equitable division of resources cannot be achieved with Malibu’s current demands on resources. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District President, Jon Kean, released this statement. “As a district, we are not optimistic about any major developments occurring during this additional review period as we have been in talks for years with the City and the City of Malibu’s position has remained consistent in seeking an inequitable distribution of financial resources,” Kean said. “Our district will continue fighting for the students of both communities and urge education leaders in Malibu to inject themselves into the city’s process in order to assist them in understanding why their proposal is flawed.” The SMMUSD believes that a separation under the current conditions would cause irreparable harm to students in both districts and that this continued attempt to separate school districts at this time is making it more difficult for the school district to attend to the needs of the schools and students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Malibu must meet the conditions that are required by procedure to get the approval of the Committee next March,
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
Roosevelt Elementary School in Santa Monica.
when they take another vote on the petition. Malibu must prove that the split would not significantly harm either district or contribute to ethnic separation or discrimination. In advance of the meeting, advocates from the
area worked to show the community that this proposed separation could cause a deep ethnic divide between these two communities since the new Malibu school district would be
Malibu Petition, see page 4
Sexual Assault Charges Filed Against Man for Two Santa Monica Beach Incidents Jarvis Mathias Newman charged with assault to commit rape and sexual battery By sam Catanzaro
Sexual assault charges have been filed against a man for two separate incidents on Santa Monica beaches this month. Last week the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against Jarvis Mathias Newman, a 26-year-old male, for his involvement in two separate incidents in Santa Monica. According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), on September 12 officers met with a victim who reported that a couple of days prior, she was asleep on the beach near
Muscle Beach when she was awoken by a male that was touching her vaginal area over her clothes. “The victim screamed and the suspect walked away. The victim provided police with a description of the suspect. She noted he had a distinctive gap in his front teeth,” the SMPD said in a press release. Days later, on September 15, SMPD officers were dispatched to the area of Ocean and Colorado avenues to investigate another assault. According to the SMPD, officers met with a victim who told them, around 4:30 a.m. she was asleep in her tent just to the north of Santa Monica Pier, when a male woke her up and began to make small talk. “At one point the male attempted to shift their conversation to be sexual in nature. The male then attempted to grab the female around the neck and take off her clothes. The victim screamed and was able to fight the male off her before he fled,” the SMPD said. The victim of this second incident provided police with the suspect’s description. SMPD personnel observed a male matching the description of the suspect, later identified as Jarvis Newman, in the area of 4th Street and Colorado Avenue. The victim in this incident positively identified Newman as the person who attacked her. During
Jarvis Mathias Newman.
Photo: SMPD
their investigation, officers learned Newman was an active registered sexual offender. Detectives followed up with the victim of the first incident and she also identified Newman as the male that assaulted her. On September 17 the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed assault to commit rape and sexual battery charges against Newman.