S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY
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SANTA MONICA MAN FINED FOR HOSTING PARTY PAGE 2
September 4 – September 10, 2020 Volume XLXII, Issue 57
Barber Shops, Salons, Limited On-Campus Instruction Given Green Lights County revises health order By Sam Catanzaro Los Angeles County is slowly reopening. On Thursday, September 2, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health), in consultation with the Board of Supervisors, has revised the Health Officer Order to allow for limited, on-campus operation for schools in L.A. County, as well as limited in-door operations of Hair Salons and Barbershops. Beginning Monday, September 14, schools K-12 may offer in-school services for small cohorts of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP), students requiring instruction for English as a Second Language (ESL) or students needing assessments or specialized inschool services, as long as the school is able to fully implement the Health Officer’s re-opening protocols. Public Health will not, however, be opening the waiver program for instruction of students in grades TK-6 as the department monitors the implementation of this effort to safely get students needing specialized in-school services back to school. Under the order, hair salons and barbershops are now able re-open for indoor services at 25 percent occupancy provided they are in full compliance with the Health Officer’s protocols. The order “encourages” these businesses to continue outdoor operations when possible, and to offer in-door operations for those services that cannot be provided outdoors. All other current restrictions remain
unchanged at this time. “Right now, a cautious and titrated reopening - with close monitoring of
what happens to our data in the weeks to follow - is needed to ensure we are not experiencing significant spikes in cases,
hospitalizations and deaths, as we saw in
Barber Shops, see page 10
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102-Year-Old Woman Found Dead on Santa Monica Street Body found at corner of Colorado and 2nd Tuesday afternoon By Sam Catanzaro Santa Monica police are investigating the death of a 102-year-old resident whose body was found on a street corner Tuesday afternoon. The incident was reported around 2:30 p.m. at the intersection of Colorado Avenue and 2nd Street, police say.
According to the Santa Monica Police Department, the woman is believed to have fallen from her wheelchair. Police say a Good Samaritan found the woman, placed her into her wheelchair and then proceeded to move her into the shade when he discovered she was not breathing. After attempting CPD, the Good Samaritan called the Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD) who then called the (SMPD). SMPD forensics personal were called to the scene at 3:04 p.m., according to the SMPD. Police say there does not appear to be any nefarious motives in the case and that detectives are currently reviewing video evidence.
Santa Monica Man Fined for Hosting Glendora Party Santa Monica resident Davante Bell fined $1,450 by Glendora police By Toi Creel A Santa Monica man is facing fines for organizing an illegal mansion party in Glendora last weekend. 26-year-old Davante Bell was fined $1,450 after refusing to comply with orders from Glendora police that called for him to cancel the “100 Summers Mansion Party” party on August 22. According to Glendora police, the party violated the City code and the Los
Angeles County Health Department Order for non-essential gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. It included “musical guests” and “offsite bus transportation”. Bell was warned prior to the event that he needed to cancel, but instead held the party and shut it down a little after midnight when police were preparing the citation. The $1,450 fine Bell received was broken down into two separate citations: a $450 fine for an unidentified violation and a $1,000 fine for violating the hosting guidelines prohibiting large gatherings. In addition to Bell’s fine, another person unrelated to the party planning was arrested for a misdemeanor bench warrant. Police also gave out five vehicle code violations, 19 parking tickets and impounded one vehicle.
This isn’t Bell’s first run-in with police. He is a registered sex offender and his criminal record starts back in 2013 from a robbery and an attempted robbery case. According to court records, he was sentenced to three years probation as an accessory to the crime. He also pled guilty to attempted robbery in October 2016 and spent two years in state prison. Bell was also arrested in September 2019 for running a check forging scam out of Thousand Oaks. He stole around $8,000 from eight victims ranging in age from 16 to 21. In addition to the fine by police, Glendora officials are also coming after Bell with administrative fines and fees and potential litigation against him and the actual owner of the home.
Photo: Thousand Oaks Police Department
Davante Bell.
Body of Man Who Died by Suicide Found in Santa Monica Mountains Rangers located body man who died by suicide Tuesday morning By Sam Catanzaro Rangers in the Santa Monica Mountains found the body of a man who died by suicide Tuesday. According to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Ranger Ana Beatriz, a young male in his early 20s was discovered deceased in the area of
Sandstone Peak Tuesday morning. “Rangers responded and a suicide note was discovered. County officials are notifying next of kin. We offer our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased,” Beatriz said. National Park Service rangers closed for a period Tueday the Sandstone Peak/ Mishe Mokwa trails. There was is currently no further information available about the deceased’s identity or cause of death. This article will be updated once more information becomes available. If you or someone you love is having suicidal thoughts, call: 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Sandstone Peak.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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OPINION
Worst Housing Bills Fail; Solution via Market Forces Now Possible” TOM ELIAS Mirror Columnist
Evidence keeps mounting that California’s longtime housing shortage can be solved by market forces set loose by the lifestyle and workplace changes created by the coronavirus pandemic. Now the failure of the worst parts of a sweeping housing package in the state Legislature leaves the path clear for those market forces to work themselves out. Had the most wide-ranging of the bills passed, there could have been far less motivation for developers and local governments to heed the accelerating non-political forces. Potential housing effects of the viral crisis became noticeable almost immediately after “shelter-at-home” orders first came from county governments in the San Francisco Bay area, quickly followed by similar statewide decrees by Gov. Gavin Newsom. White collar workers for companies large and small were suddenly ordered to work from home, as companies from Internet giants like Twitter and Facebook to law firms, insurance companies, stock brokerages and many more provided technology for workers to work wherever they like. Soon, television broadcasters were shown in living rooms and backyards viewers had never before seen. Vacancy signs proliferated in the densest of business districts from San Francisco to Santa Monica to Fresno, San Diego, Orange County and beyond. Said a stock brokerage vice
president in Pasadena, “We spent $2 million over the last two years refurbishing our offices to accommodate more than 100 workers. Now we get five people a day working there. We don’t need all that space. Our people are as productive as ever; they’re just not in the office very often.” Realtors report record levels of vacancies, but a building boom propelled by previous state demands for more and more mixeduse office and commercial buildings has continued. As empty space appeared within existing buildings, spurred strictly by non-political events, state lawmakers kept pushing the most ambitious housing construction plan the Legislature ever saw. Pushed by Democrats like San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego and Santa Monica Assemblyman Richard Bloom, this package included SB 902, allowing up to 10 units on any lot zoned for a single home; two other bills allowing developers to build more high-end units on one site if they constructed enough affordable ones on others; a fourth letting city councils overturn without a new popular vote all height-limit laws passed by local voters – and much more. But the 10-unit bill died in a committee, along with the prospect of developers trolling established low-rise neighborhoods with fat bankrolls to tempt homeowners sitting on large amounts of equity. So did several other major proposals in the package. If the lawmakers behind these measures paid any heed to what’s going on in their own
Elias Housing Bills, see page 6
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“If legislators are really interested in solving the housing problem, and not merely in self-aggrandizement or feathering the nests of their campaign donors, they will leave well enough alone, allowing the market forces to play out over the next two to three years,” writes Tom Elias in his latest column.
September 4 – September 10, 2020
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Westside Chiropractor Sentenced to Federal Prison for Fraud Mahyar David Yadidi order to pay $1,976,832 in restitution on top of four year prison sentence By Chad Winthrop A chiropractor was sentenced today to 46 months in federal prison for conspiring to defraud a labor union’s health care benefit plan by offering kickbacks to patients for attending the clinic and by submitting approximately $4.8 million in sham billings. Mahyar David Yadidi, 38, of West Los Angeles, was sentenced this week by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who also ordered him to pay $1,976,832 in restitution. In November 2019, Yadidi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Yadidi operated Philips San Pedro Chiropractic – formerly known as Synergy Healthcare and Wellness Center – in San Pedro. From July 2016 to October 2018, Yadidi operated a scheme to defraud the International Longshore and Warehouse Union – Pacific Maritime Association (ILWU-PMA) health care benefit plan. Yadidi worked with coconspirators Ivan Semerdjiev, 41, of Irvine, a chiropractor who worked for Yadidi, and Julian Williams, 45, of San Pedro, a personal trainer who also worked for Yadidi. ILWU-PMA health care plan members were induced by Yadidi to visit his clinic with offers of $50 in cash for each visit, according to a one-count criminal information filed in this case. Yadidi also paid plan members to allow him to bill the plan when members did not visit his clinic. Yadidi offered monetary incentives to Williams, Semerdjiev, and other employees, as well as to patients, to recruit additional
plan members to visit his clinic. Williams induced plan members to visit the clinic by falsely informing them that they could receive personal athletic training services from him that the plan would pay for. Once plan members either visited Yadidi’s clinic or agreed to allow him to submit claims to the plan for non-existent visits, Yadidi billed and caused his employees to bill the plan for services that were not rendered, services that were not medically necessary, and chiropractic and physical therapy services that were performed by Williams, who was neither licensed nor otherwise qualified to be performing those services. At his instruction, Yadidi’s employees falsified records, including sign-in sheets that listed the dates plan members purportedly received services from Philips Chiropractic. Yadidi instructed Semerdjiev to falsify patient files to support the clinic’s fraudulent billing. Yadidi and his co-conspirators also created false entries in the name of plan members’ relatives, knowing that the union’s health care benefit plan allowed them an additional number of covered visits as well. Yadidi continued to operate his scheme after he was terminated as an authorized provider by the ILWU-PMA plan in August 2017, six months after it conducted an audit of his clinic. To continue the conspiracy, Yadidi changed the name of his clinic – which previously was called “Synergy” and falsely held out another person as the clinic’s primary owner and operator, when in fact, Yadidi continued to own, operate, and financially benefit from the clinic. Yadidi continued to submit claims to the plan in the sham owner’s name. During the conspiracy’s duration, Yadidi’s clinic submitted $4,756,284 in fraudulent claims to the ILWU-PMA plan, for which the plan paid $1,976,832. Williams and Semerdjiev each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and were sentenced to six months and one year in federal prison, respectively.
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New Santa Monica Senior Affordable Housing Greenway Meadows development nears completion By Sam Catanzaro A new development near completion in Santa Monica will provide 38 apartments to low-income seniors in the community. Community Corporation of Santa Monica will soon complete construction of a new building–known as Greenway Meadows–at 1820 14th Street that will provide 38 onebedroom apartments for seniors in Santa Monica, the City announced last week. The development, which received a $10 million investment from the City of Santa Monica in 2017, will provide apartments across a mix of income levels, with rents ranging from $538 to $1,214 per month, depending on household income. “The City of Santa Monica knows the strain the cost of housing puts on many in our community, including seniors who have lived here much of their lives,” said Community Services Director Andy Agle. “Greenway Meadows will allow 38 senior households to remain in Santa Monica.”
Elias Housing Bills, from page 4
Photo: City of Santa Monica
A rendering of the Greenway Medows development.
This new building will feature air conditioning, energy efficient appliances, a community room, an elevator, a laundry room and an on-site manager as well as a Resident Services Coordinator. Apartments will be available for persons with mobility, vision or hearing accessibility needs. The new building is in close proximity to many community
amenities, including Memorial Park, the Santa Monica Swim Center and businesses on Pico Boulevard. To be eligible, applicants must be 62 years of age or older with a minimum annual income between $16,885, $54,060 annually for a household size of two and $60,840 for households of three. Applicants who live or
work in Santa Monica will receive priority on the waitlist. There is no minimum income for households with a Section 8 housing voucher. Applications are online only and will remain open and ongoing. For more information and to apply online, visit santamonica.gov/housing-greenwaymeadows or call 310-458-8740 and leave a message.
districts, they might not have proposed these things, despite the strong support they quite
predictably got from developers and building trade unions.
For Twitter’s building in Wiener’s district now stands mostly empty. Office towers in Atkins’ San Diego district are nowhere near filled and “for-lease” signs abound in downtown Santa Monica, barely a mile from Bloom’s home. These empty spaces and many more like them will likely produce more than 1 billion vacant square feet that can be turned into apartments and condominiums in all price ranges with far less work, in far less time and with far fewer lawsuits to fight them than pushing for new construction. Building trades workers will be kept busy doing the electric, plumbing, elevator, carpentry and drywall work needed to convert commercial space into residences. Established neighborhoods will remain intact. Yes, it will take some rezoning to accomplish this. But those changes are inevitable: cities and counties would otherwise stand to lose large amounts of property tax money as massive vacancies reduce the value of commercial buildings. If legislators are really interested in solving the housing problem, and not merely in selfaggrandizement or feathering the nests of their campaign donors, they will leave well enough alone, allowing the market forces to play out over the next two to three years. That way, California will see the millions of new housing units it needs far faster than it could have under any of the failed new laws. 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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Budget Reform and the New Normal
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OPINION
“Santa Monica has doubled down on a tourist model for revenue generation, which also places disproportionate strains on all City services, increasing direct and indirect costs. The indirect costs to residents include degradations to quality of life from stifling traffic congestion, parking challenges, and tourist-targeted high-priced stores that increasingly force residents to shop out of town,” writes Marc L. Verville in the latest SMa.r.t. Column.
SMa.r.t. Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
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 Financial “Crisis”… or Maybe Our Biggest Financial Opportunity “Things are financially pretty grim… Our local economy has tanked… the City revenue…has, therefore, cratered…” This is the description of our City’s financial situation mayor Kevin McKeown provided to CNN in late May of this year (see https:// s m m i r r o r. c o m / 2 0 2 0 / 0 5 / s a n t a - m o n i c a -
mayor-appears-on-cnn-asking-for-federalbailout/). So, what was the City’s initial response to the financial “crisis”? Cost cuts to key resident-touchpoint programs were immediately on the table. While partial resources to some of these programs were later restored, the impact to the residents continues to be enormous. The current “crisis” revenue budget of $538M ($5,832 per capita) ranks Santa Monica at #23 (in the top 5%) of all California Cities (of which there are 483) on a pre-Covid 2018 per capita revenue basis. Santa Monica’s “crisis” per capita revenue is 50% higher than the City of Los Angeles’s 2018 pre-Covid revenue per capita of $3,899. It’s higher than the pre-Covid per capita revenues of Torrance, Culver City, Long Beach, Manhattan Beach and Newport Beach. Moreover, the $538M “crisis” budget is only 4% ($25M) below the full FYE 2013 actual revenues.
Revenue Strategy Impact on Residents Santa Monica has doubled down on a tourist model for revenue generation, which also places disproportionate strains on all City services, increasing direct and indirect costs. The indirect costs to residents include degradations to quality of life from stifling traffic congestion, parking challenges, and tourist-targeted high-priced stores that increasingly force residents to shop out of town. And, let’s not forget the largely unregulated scooter operations. Meanwhile, short term revenue declines are addressed with mismatched long-term policy choices like tax increases and the Plaza project, the latter being irreversible and subjecting residents to still more socialized costs in the form of further degradations in their quality of life. Operating Costs and Spending The current revenue budget is a “crisis” only because Santa Monica has a cost control problem. When cost management
discipline is weak, no amount of revenue is ever enough. The City has high structural costs. These costs include large in-house staffing as well as very high compensation (e.g. our City attorney earned $440K in 2019 pay and benefits compared to Santa Barbara’s $347K). Beverly Hills outsources its entire legal function. In a 2016 analysis by Transparent California, Santa Monica’s compensation costs per resident were tied with Beverly Hills. At the time, paying employees ten percent less would have saved $30M, almost twice as much as the sales-tax hike to 10.5 percent provided at the time. These structural trends remain today and reduce the City’s flexibility to deal with unexpected events. Resident quality-oflife programs are immediately cut when revenues dip.
Smart, see page 10
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Smart, from page 8 Discretionary spending also reflects the absence of long-term priority-based discipline. $33M of taxpayer funds were needlessly spent on overbuilding the City Hall Annex. Future interest costs are likely to exceed the initial overspend. In May of 2019, the City committed to an $800M 10year ($80M per year) climate change plan. Long Term Financial Stability Santa Monica has reported a recognized unfunded pension liability in the $450M range since 2014. As of June 30, 2018 (latest data available) it was at $448M. The unfunded ratio stood at 24% of the $1.87B total liability. From 2014, to 2018, annual revenues had increased by $121M (20%). While there has been an estimated $35M (8%) liability reduction this year through agreement with the largest of the three City pension groups, the unfunded liability remains at around $413M. Moreover, these savings will be partially offset by Santa Monica’s suspension of CalPERS accelerated payments for two years. Because of interest compounding, the longer catchup payments are deferred, the worse the unfunded liability situation gets. The unfunded pension is not our full financial risk. As the pension is managed by CalPERS, the liability is dependent on CalPERS investment performance. This past June, CalPERS noted that even before the pandemic, achieving their investment goals were at risk due to low interest rates, high asset valuations and low economic growth. They are now borrowing money to invest, hoping to keep returns at or above the 7.15% level that avoids increasing pension liabilities. But what happens if the current CalPERS 7.15% return drops by only 1 percentage point, to 6.15%? The current unfunded pension liability would balloon by $255M (57%) to $703M. Moreover, that max liability has grown 24% from 2014 to 2018 (excluding the recent pension group agreement). This risk has been disclosed in Santa Monica’s financial statements since 2015. Recent layoffs will have some moderating effect on the liability amount, but the highly
Barber Shops, from page 1 July after re-openings and holidays. As we slowly reopen sectors, we will watch closely how it is impacting community transmission. The longer our county’s 7-day average case rate remains above 7, as determined by the State, the longer we will remain in the State’s most restrictive Tier. In addition, once both our 7-day average case rate and 7-day average positivity percentage meet the criteria for Tier 2, they must stay there for at least two weeks before we can be moved to the next less restrictive Tier,” said Barbara Ferrer Director of Public Health. On Wednesday, Public Health confirmed 51 new deaths and 1,457 new cases of
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paid, and highly pensioned, staff remain. A 2017 study found that Santa Monica ranked 11th in the state for high-priced pension payouts. A total of 190 retirees of Santa Monica’s City government were receiving annual public pensions ranging from $100,000 to $250,000. Now is the time to Launch Real Reform of Our City’s Financial Management We need to change our financial management culture to focus on extracting much more value from the revenues we currently receive. We need to redirect that added value to residents’ safety, quality of life and financial stability. We need to reduce structural operating costs. And we need to eliminate the endless drive for revenue and tax increases that is a staple of the ad hoc spending culture. And, we need independent resident oversight to ensure we stick to our plan. Our “crisis” Budget Should be the Go Forward “New Normal” to Instill Spending Discipline. The cost of full resident program restoration and targeted enhancements, and pension liability paydowns should become the explicit cost savings targets to be realized from structural cost savings. A partial list of initiatives to realize these savings is below. While some of these concepts may be partially in place, implementation of the entire package would deliver maximum benefit to the residents. 1. Increase transparency and accountability by increasing direct resident oversight. a. Reinstate the Budget Task Force with qualified non-partisan residents to more broadly advise and make recommendations to the City Council on budget issues. Activities could include but not be limited to benchmarking and providing recommendations of methods through which the City can reduce expenditures and sustainably increase or diversify City revenues. b. Reinstate the Citizens’ Fiscal Sustainability Committee to review strategies to ensure the City’s longterm fiscal sustainability including pension challenges a. Expand the scope of the Audit Subcommittee to review compliance with the controls listed below. Three
of the five members of the committee should be residents and two be council members. 1. Prioritize all expenditures on proximity and/or impact to residents’ daily lives. a. Neighborhood-specific community / amenity spends should receive the highest priority (e.g. swim center, library, after-school programs, etc.). b. Prioritize capital project spends on direct resident benefit (e.g. paved streets vs. new City building) and City financial sustainability objectives (e.g. unfunded pension liability paydowns vs. “green” initiatives}. 1. Review all in-house functions for duplication elimination or potential outsourcing a. Evaluate all non-safety services (e.g. accounting, legal, garbage collection, water, beach maintenance, etc.) for contracting out at higher service levels and / or lower overall cost b. Review all consulting contracts for duplication with in-house staff. Eliminate one or the other. 1. Improve decision-making on major initiatives by using a holistic review process. a. Formally include estimates of “socialized” costs borne by residents (e.g. impacts to public safety service costs, water sustainability, congestion and related emergency service response times, pollution, etc.). b. Formally include potential resident benefits (e.g. resident savings from lighting City dark fiber) c. Measure the true cost of policy decisions. For example, track and use relevant activity metrics to assess and cost the share of fire and police resources consumed by various uses such as tourist weekend demand or homeless population support, among many others. d. Evaluate initiative outcomes under Best, Base and Worse Case planning and probability scenarios, if it’s not current practice. 1. Use formal benchmarking for contracting and capital projects a. Review all third-party service contracts
to ensure market-rate revenue splits where applicable; benchmark with other cities where available (e.g. wireless parking meters payments) b. Benchmark capital improvement project budgets to other cities and industry, using industry-recognized cost bands within which projects must fall to receive approval. Include results in formal review package. 1. Re-justify all existing department expenditures and programs against current City requirements in budget proposals. Eliminate inherent bias from rolling forward outdated trends and cost assumptions. 1. Improve the outcomes-oriented budget process by using measurable and actionable metrics instead of subjective “impression” metrics. If survey result data points are needed, then surveys should be constructed and conducted in a statistically valid manner. All of these initiatives are achievable and complimentary. They only require the will to implement and the discipline to maintain. Given the City’s financial management history and the resulting challenges it now confronts, it is past time that the City wholly embraces these opportunities to prioritize and sustainably restore the residents’ quality of life while, critically, stabilizing the financial future for both the residents and their children. 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.
confirmed COVID-19. This brings the cumulative number of positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County to 243,935, and a total of 5,878 deaths. In Santa Monica there have been 789 cases and 40 deaths. As of Wednesday, there are 1,048 hospitalized, of which 31% are confirmed cases in the ICU. Upon further investigation, 43 cases and two deaths reported earlier were not L.A. County residents. Ninety-two percent of the people who died from COVID-19 had underlying health conditions, according to Public Health. Testing results are available for 2,317,851 individuals with 10% of all people testing positive.
At the outset of the pandemic, Public Health had concerns for people experiencing homelessness as this population was unable to just “stay at home” as advised everyone else to do in March. “The data that we are seeing up to this point show these fears have not come to fruition. As of August 27th, 19,715 people experiencing homelessness have been tested (with 28,502 tests) with 1.87% positivity rate. As of last week, there have been 1,589 cases among people experiencing homelessness and 160 cases among people who work at shelters,” Public Health said. Since March, 448 people who were experiencing homelessness have been
referred for isolation and 1,040 people have been referred for quarantine. There were early spikes in cases in April and May due to an outbreak at a large shelter and due to wider testing in shelters. Since then, the number has remained fairly stable. “Tragically, we have seen deaths among both people who were experiencing homelessness as well as people who were working in shelters. To date, 41 people who were experiencing homelessness and 2 people who were working in shelters have passed away from COVID-19. And, in the last month, 15 people passed away, which may be related to the spikes in cases we saw across our county in the month of July,” Public Heath added.
September 4 – September 10, 2020
FILM REVIEW: “THE SLEEPOVER”
BEHIND THE SCREEN By Kathryn Whitney Boole The Sleepover is fun to watch, a chance to get away from it all into a fantastical world of clever kids and bumbling criminals. This is not an Academy Awards contender. However it’s sparkling with color, magnetic performances and striking production design. Reflecting director Trish Sie’s background as a professional dancer/choreographer/serious musician/ music video and commercial director, the film moves at a frenetic pace. There’s a lot going on visually every second, with multiple plot layers – attempting to solve a mystery, some endearing kids find that the people who raised them aren’t what they seem. The pace moves so fast there’s often no extra beat in which to appreciate the riffs or action in one scene before next scene barrels in. There is no clear overriding style throughout the film. However production designer Steven Altman gives it huge amounts of color and flash. He is the son of the late famed director Robert Altman, and started his career as an editorial and production assistant on his Dad’s films. The only prop I winced at was a crown that’s a key piece in the narrative. It looks like a Renaissance Faire prop. The filmmakers could have made a joke out of that…but they didn’t. Another “legacy” artist on this team is Cinematographer Conrad W. Hall, who has worked on such classics as Pretty in Pink, Ferris Buehler’s Day Off, Free Willy and American Beauty. He’s the son of late legendary cinematographer Conrad “Connie” Hall. The joy of the cast makes the film work. You can’t help but feel good about this movie. Due to the skill and talent of
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Rated TV-PG 100 Minutes Released August 21st on Netflix the performers, there is no shortage of funny scenes. The comedic banter between Ken Marino’s geeky pastry chef/Dad “Ron” and Joe Manganiello’s beefcake mastermind “Leo” is memorable. You may remember Manganiello from the Magic Mike movies and How I Met Your Mother. Malin Akerman, who usually plays edgy, intense roles, seems to relish the comedy of “Margot.” Akerman is fluent in four languages, and though severely dyslexic, has the mental stamina for the enormous amount of extra work necessary to master every role she plays. Teen Sadie Stanley carries the movie and Maxwell Simkins is hilarious as the young comic relief, “Kevin.” The Sleepover is a movie for the whole family, and may mark the beginning of Trish Sie’s career as a formidable director. I cannot end this column without a salute to one of my heroes, Chadwick Bozeman… “He was an epic firework display. I will tell stories about being there for some of the brilliant sparks til the end of my days.” - Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther. “I see parallels between Chad and Jackie. It’s eerie. To have him die on Jackie Robinson Day — … I couldn’t talk.” – Sharon Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s daughter. “Inhale and exhale this moment and thank God for the unique beauties and wonders of this day. We should take advantage of every moment we can enjoy the simplicity of God’s creation, whether it be clear skies and sun or clouded over with gloom.” – Chadwick Bozeman, in a tweet to friend Josh Gad. 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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September 4 – September 10, 2020
S ANT A MONI CA COL L EG E
Exciting events happening this fall! Santa Monica College is offering a variety of events online. Most events are free. Come join us for: • Dance Performances & Master Classes • Theatre Arts Performances • Music Concerts • Business & Entrepreneurship Series • Santa Monica Review Issue Launch Party
• Planetarium Shows • Sustainability Week • Art Exhibition Receptions • Green Screen Series • and much more! Visit smc.edu/calendar for more information.
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