S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
INSIDE Syrian SMC Student Wins Nation’s Largest Private Scholarship PAGE 5
May 10– 16, 2019 Volume XXI, Issue 42
Bird Rolls Out $1,299 Private Scooter Bird One hits the streets as study released on dangers of e-scooters By S am C atanzaro With four major scooter companies on the Westside, it is easy to forget that before Jump, before Lyft and before Lime, Birds were the only e-scooter in S a n t a Monica. Now the transportation company, which some have valued as being worth over a billion dollars, is offering an e-scooter for private ownership to go alongside Bird's fleet of rental scooters. As the company is looking to expand, however, local lawmakers are exploring further regulation. Bird One, which was announced by the company on Wednesday, is priced at $1,299 and has a range of 30 miles per charge. Bird One will also be available for people to ride as part of Bird’s shared fleet of e-scooters starting May 8. In a statement announcing the scooter's arrival, Bird Founder and CEO Travis VanderZanden, touted Bird One as the company's most durable scooter “Nearly two years ago, we launched our sharing business with retail, consumer e-scooters that lasted about three months in the sharing environment,” VanderZanden said. “[Bird One] is forecasted to last in the sharing environment for well over a
Photo: Bird, Inc.
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year. Given the excitement and demand for our next generation e-scooter, we are also making a limited supply of Bird Ones available to own. Bird One scooters will be available in three colors: black, white and rose. Devices will be delivered in the U.S. in the summer. People who purchase Bird Ones will be given $100 in credit to use on Bird rental devices. While it is unclear how many people will purchase these devices, the rollout of Bird Ones in the rental market will begin in Los Angeles, and therefore many are expected to be seen zipping in and around Santa Monica, but riders of these devices -- whether a rental or their own -should be wary of where they are riding. According to a recent study by the Austin Public Health Department, half of the injuries in a two-month period involving e-scooters in Austin, Texas were categorized as severe. These findings are similar to a January 2019 UCLA study that shed light on the dangers of e-scooter crashes, especially in Santa Monica. According to the researchers, people involved in e-scooter accidents are often injured seriously enough — from fractures, dislocated joints and head trauma — to require treatment in emergency rooms. “We’ve seen teeth knocked out, jaws broken in several places, noses crushed and head injuries including skull fractures. The most common injuries are wrist, ankle, collarbone and shoulder fractures,” said Dr. Wally Ghurabi, medical director of the Nethercutt Emergency Center at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. The researchers examined data from 249 people who were treated at the emergency departments of UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center between Sept. 1, 2017, and Aug. 31, 2018. The study found that
BIRD, see page 4
Photos: Getty Images/City of Santa Monica.
The California Court of Appeal granted the City of Santa Monica’s request for an expedited briefing and argument schedule in the case Pico Neighborhood Association, et al. v. City of Santa Monica.
CVRA Decision in Time for 2020 Election California Court of Appeal grants the City of Santa Monica’s request for an expedited briefing and argument schedule By Sam Catanzaro On May 6, 2019, the California Court of Appeal granted the City of Santa Monica’s request for an expedited briefing and argument schedule in Pico Neighborhood Association, et al. v. City of Santa Monica. By granting this request, the Court of Appeal agreed to a briefing schedule to allow a decision in the case to be issued on or before July 10, 2020, giving the City time to plan for a November 2020 election. The Court of Appeal left it to the parties to determine a specific briefing schedule that would allow for a decision by July 10, 2020. “This schedule would make it more likely that the City will be able to hold its next Council election on the next regularly scheduled election date, in November 2020. Following the regular election schedule would increase voter engagement and turnout, provide voters with their expected opportunity to regularly select their Council members, and avoid the expenditure of public funds on a special election on a different date,” the City wrote in their motion to the California Court of Appeal.
According to Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk, California law requires between 113 to 127 days’ notice before holding an election. The four councilmembers elected in 2016, Terry O’Day, Ted Winterer, Mayor Gleam Davis and Ana Maria Jara (who is serving out the remainder of Tony Vazquez’s term), will be up for reelection in November 2020, regardless of the result of the City’s appeal. The case, Pico Neighborhood Association, et al. v. City of Santa Monica, filed by plaintiffs Pico Neighborhood Association, Maria Loya and Advocates for Malibu Public Schools alleges that Santa Monica’s at-large election system dilutes Latino voting power in violation of the CVRA and discriminates against Latino voters in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the California Constitution. In a ruling released February 15, Palazuelos ordered that all future elections for seats on the Santa Monica City Council be based on a seven-district map drawn by an expert for the plaintiffs and that the City hold a special election this summer for all seven seats on the Santa Monica City Council using this new district map. Judge Palazuelos’ ruling prohibited anybody not elected in a district election from serving on City Council beyond August 15, 2019, calling for a special election to be held over the summer. On March 27, the Court of Appeal issued a stay a special election when they said that current members of Santa Monica City Council can legally serve during the duration of the city’s appeal.
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