WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2011
Volume 10 Issue 70
Santa Monica Daily Press
DARK SIDE OF SUPER BOWL SEE PAGE 4
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THE MAX POWER ISSUE
Actress Pressly charged with drunken driving in Santa Monica THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY Prosecutors have charged Jaime Pressly with misdemeanor drunken driving. The 33-year-old “My Name is Earl” costar was arrested Jan. 5 after Santa Monica police say she was stopped for a traffic violation. She was released after posting $15,000 bail. Deputy City Attorney Melanie Skehar says Pressly was charged Tuesday morning with driving under the influence and having a blood alcohol content of .20 or higher. An e-mail message for Pressly’s publicist was not immediately returned. The charges were first reported Tuesday by celebrity website TMZ. Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
SLIGHT MIX-UP: A cigarette butt receptacle on the Santa Monica Pier has confused some visitors who think it is collecting donations.
No-smoking signs leave some puzzled BY NICK TABOREK Daily Press Staff Writer
SM PIER Money may not grow on tree branches, but, at least in Santa Monica, it sometimes turns up in places that are just about as unlikely. Namely, at the bottom of ashtrays. That’s right. It’s only been a few months since the City Council banned smoking on the Santa Monica Pier, but in that time at least $80 has been collected from the newly installed receptacles meant to serve as firesafe places to discard cigarette butts on and around the popular tourist attraction, a source familiar with the inner workings of pier maintenance tells the Daily Press. What gives? According to Eric Faber, a board member of the Pier Restoration Corp., which oversees the 101-year-old landmark, it all boils down to unclear wording posted on the gray metallic receptacles that reads: “Save the Pier, Deposit here” in prominent type.
Below that, in a much smaller font, is the explanatory sentence: “Smoking is not permitted on the Santa Monica Pier, please deposit your cigarette butts here.” Below that there’s a fairly prominent standard “no smoking” symbol depicting a cigarette with a strike through it. “I’ve always thought that signage was unclear in this city and it’s another humorous example of not a lot of clarity,” Faber said. “I think that [the designers] were trying to be clever, and the result was people thinking you should put money in there as well.” To be fair, the PRC board did approve the receptacles, which went through City Hall’s normal design process. Another PRC board member, Joel Brand, pointed out that considering the tens of thousands of visitors to the pier over a period of weeks, finding $80 worth of change during an ash tray-cleaning session isn’t terribly surprising. An extremely informal poll of passersby conducted in front of one of the receptacles
Teen injured during escape from blaze
by the Daily Press on Tuesday turned up mixed results. Alberto Galliani, a visitor from Melbourne, Australia, had no trouble deciphering the message’s intended meaning. But Ana Berman, in town from Israel, had a different take. “For me, it was like, ‘Oh, they want money,’” she said. After a moment’s reflection, she added: “But I guess I didn’t look here,” gesturing to the “no smoking” graphic. For the time being, it remains a mystery where the money deposited in the ashtrays ends up. One thing is certain: It isn’t going toward saving the pier. Faber, for his part, said he suspects it makes its way into the pockets of maintenance crew workers. He said he hopes the PRC board at a future meeting will direct the pier’s staff to find out who’s collecting the money and what’s happening to it.
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY A teenager was injured when she jumped from the second floor of an apartment building to escape a fire Saturday on Pearl Street. Santa Monica firefighters responded to the scene at 8:40 a.m. where they doused the flames. They transported the teenager to a local hospital for treatment. The American Red Cross of Santa Monica assisted the inhabitants of the unit that had been ruled uninhabitable with water and smoke damage by fire personnel. Red Cross responders helped the family locate temporary shelter and funds for food and other immediate necessities.
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