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Santa Monica Daily Press FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2015
Volume 14 Issue 75
Allen fights vaccine exemption loophole BY DAVID MARK SIMPSON Daily Press Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO
Rookie State Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) is cosponsoring a bill to repeal an exemption that currently lets parents opt their ALLEN kids out of getting vaccinations for schools. The bill, which is expected to be introduced next week, comes amidst a measles outbreak that has spread widely in Southern California. Earlier this week, a baby, too young to receive the measles vaccine, attending a Santa Monica preschool, was diagnosed with the disease. As a result, 14 other babies at the preschool will remain under quarantine for three weeks. Earlier this month, a Santa Monica High School baseball coach was diagnosed with measles. Allen’s bill, co-sponsored by Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), would repeal the personal belief exemption. Some parents believe
that the vaccine is harmful and file waivers with schools, under the exemption, allowing their children to go unvaccinated. Additionally, the bill would notify parents of their kid’s school immunization rates. Samohi has a waiver rate of 7 percent, Gail Pinsker, spokesperson for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District told the Daily Press earlier this week. The district’s waiver rate was most recently tabbed at 11.5 percent, a decrease from 14.8 percent a year earlier. “The high number of unvaccinated students is jeopardizing public health not only in schools but in the broader community,” Allen said in a release. “We need to take steps to keep our schools safe and our students healthy.” Allen attended Samohi and served on the Board of Education until November, when he won election to the state senate. “As a pediatrician, I’ve been worried about the anti-vaccination trend for a long time,” Pan said in the release. “I’ve personally witnessed the suffering caused by SEE VACCINE PAGE 5
BASKETBALL PHOTOS SEE PAGES 8 & 9
City Hall recommends “Breeze” for bikeshare name
Courtesy photo
IT’S A BREEZE: City Hall rejected the names suggested by residents such as “Idiot Ride.”
BY DAVID MARK SIMPSON Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL City officials are recom-
mending “Breeze” for the name of the city’s new bikeshare system. City Hall solicited opinions on five potential names for the system and 42 percent of respondents said they liked or loved the name “Breeze.” Only 23 percent of the 460 who took the survey respond-
ed negatively to the name. City Council will have the final say on Tuesday. They voted unanimously in November to have city officials negotiate a $5.6 million contract with CycleHop for the purchase, installation, and operation of 500 bikes and 65 to 75 stations throughout the city and beyond. Contract extensions could bring the total cost to $10.4 million over
an 8-year period. Bikeshares allow riders to check-out bikes from one station and drop them off at any other station in the area. “Breeze references Southern California’s airy, bright coastal climate and lifestyle and sums up the sensation of bike riding, conveying the ease of bike share transportaSEE BIKE PAGE 7
Samohi ‘the perfect spot’ for 7-foot transfer BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
Morgan Genser editor@smdp.com
BIG MAN: Jayce Johnson brought his sill and size 18 shoes to Samohi.
PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS HERE! Yes, in this very spot! Call for details (310) 458-7737
SAMOHI In a perfect world, Jayce Johnson would have started and ended high school in one place. He never would have transferred, never would have had to learn new system after new system, meet new teammate after new teammate, impress new coach after new coach. “I wanted to stay somewhere for four years,” he says, “but it’s already too late for that.”
Too late indeed. Johnson has been on the move constantly over the last three years, recently landing at Santa Monica High - the fourth boys basketball program in three seasons for the lanky 7-foot junior. But the journeyman with the impossible wingspan and the size-18 shoes says he believes he’s found the right place. Finally. “This is it,” he says. “I’ll be here for the rest of my high school career.”
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
Johnson brings an interior presence to an already talented Samohi squad that features Auburn-bound senior Nuwr’iyl Williams, junior Jonah Mathews and freshman point guard Spencer Freedman. His defending, rebounding and shot-blocking abilities were immediately obvious for the Vikings, whose season continues Friday night with a league game at home against Culver City. And his offensive talent is revealing itself graduSEE BASKETBALL PAGE 6
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