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FEBRUARY 6-7, 2010
Volume 9 Issue 74
Santa Monica Daily Press HEALTH BILL MAY DIE SEE PAGE 12
We have you covered
THE ROLLING INTO TOWN ISSUE
Light rail a step closer to reality BY NICK TABOREK Daily Press Staff Writer
DOWNTOWN Transportation officials this
WET AND WILD
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com Cars make their way east on the I-10 Freeway during a rainstorm on Friday. Forecasters expect more rain on Saturday.
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ROUNDUP
Samohi baseball takes on cops BY DANIEL ARCHULETA Managing Editor
SAMOHI The Vikings baseball team has recruited an arresting group to help with its fundraising efforts. Samohi’s varsity squad will take on the Santa Monica Police Department in a char-
ity scrimmage game on Friday, Feb. 19 at home. While the game is free to attend, the proceeds from food and beverage sales will go to help the team improve its field and buy new equipment. This is the second fundraising event the team has sponsored since new Head Coach Sheldon PhillipGuide took over the program last year. The
team held a poker tournament late last year attended by a number of professional ball players and celebrities. It was during the poker tournament that SMPD Officer Francisco Franco approached Phillip-Guide about organizing the game. SEE ROUNDUP PAGE 10
More resources needed for ailing pelicans THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES Officials say they are running out of room to help all the sick or dying California brown pelicans on the Southern and Central California coastline. Paul Kelway of the International Bird Rescue Research Center says more than 500 birds have arrived at four wildlife centers in the last month, leaving them on the brink of closure as they run out of space and
money. A number of the birds were rescued from the Santa Monica coastline. Kelway says the centers have sent letters to state and federal officials asking for immediate help with the starving animals. He says it is not clear what is killing the pelicans, but it is likely related to a dwindling supply of fish. The center’s Jay Holcomb says sightings of sick birds are increasing and there could be a backlash if people expect the centers to take care of the birds and they don’t.
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The long-beaked pelicans weigh 8 to 10 pounds, stand about 4 feet tall and have a 6- to 7-foot wingspan. They are a symbol of the Pacific Coast, and were recently removed from California's endangered species list, Kelway said. Treatment costs about $500 a bird, Kelway said. Those interested in helping are urged to donate funds to the center by going on its Web site at www.ibrrc.org.
week signed off on a plan to extend the Expo light rail line to Downtown Santa Monica, approving the project’s environmental review and selecting a route for the line’s Westside component. The decision by the Expo Authority’s board on Thursday paves the way for construction to begin this year and marks a major milestone in the effort to link Downtown Santa Monica to Downtown Los Angeles by rail. The first phase of the project linking Downtown L.A. to Culver City is under construction, with the extension to Santa Monica scheduled for completion in 2015. The Santa Monica City Council has supported the project as a way to reduce traffic, cut down on vehicle emissions and encourage transit-oriented development. The $1.5 billion extension of the line would travel along Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica with the final stop at Fourth Street, where City Hall officials are mulling plans to create a pedestrian plaza. Opponents of the project have criticized the environmental review process, saying the Expo authority should have more carefully considered building a portion of the line near Century City underground because of safety and traffic concerns. As approved, much of the line will be built at street level, though bridges will allow the train to bypass some traffic-clogged intersections, including Cloverfield Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard. Kevin Hughes, president of the Cheviot Hills Homeowners Association, said his group and other Westside homeowners’ associations that have banded together as Neighbors for Smart Rail could sue over the plan. But he said one of the group’s chief complaints is that the Expo authority hasn’t been receptive to discussing homeowners’ “community anxieties” over the project before SEE EXPO PAGE 10
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