FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013
Volume 12 Issue 107
Santa Monica Daily Press
ART ON PARADE SEE PAGE 3
We have you covered
THE PREPARE FOR THE WEEKEND ISSUE
Attorneys file suit to stop court consolidation BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES A coalition of nonprofits representing the poor and disabled filed suit against the Los Angeles Superior Court system over a proposed plan to cut costs that
they say will only restrict the ability of renters to protect their housing. The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Western Center on Law & Poverty, Disability Rights Legal Center and Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County called for the courts to put the brakes on a series of
consolidations that would remove eviction services from neighborhood courthouses, placing them in five regional “hubs,” one of which is Santa Monica. The consolidations, which the court announced formally last week and are scheduled to begin Monday, put an extreme
burden on low-income and disabled clients who either can’t travel or do not have access to transportation to get over 30 miles to a courthouse, according to the suit. Court officials say that they need to cut SEE SUIT PAGE 7
City Council passes environmental bill of rights for public Courts may decide how far these protections go BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
Monica politics “had been dominated by NIMBYs who used traffic fear as their primary tool for stopping development.” The reference, indeed the entire section on Santa
CITY HALL The City Council approved a unique law this week that enshrined the rights of the environment and residents’ rights to clean air and water. The ordinance, known as the Sustainability Bill of Rights, asserts that corporations and their leadership do not have special privileges or powers under the law that supersede the community’s rights. It also requires that the Office of Sustainability and the Environment prepare a report every two years documenting progress on the Sustainable City Plan, an effort begun in the mid-1990s to create benchmarks and goals to make Santa Monica more environmentally friendly, and that City Hall hold a public hearing. Finally, and perhaps most controversially, some believe that the law gives residents the ability to sue a polluter themselves when one of those rights are violated, without waiting for City Hall or other agencies to get the ball rolling. The ordinance was, in Councilmember Kevin McKeown’s words, a fundamental power shift away from business interests and toward the community that has not yet happened in the environmental movement. “Unrestrained capitalism has extracted the good out of our environment in many, many cases. Here, for the first time, we as a
SEE TUMLIN PAGE 9
SEE BILL PAGE 8
THE CLEAN LOOK
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com Conner Camp, 2, and his father Chris of the Santa Monica Harbor Patrol allow their heads to be shaven during the annual St. Baldrick's Foundation event at Barney's Beanery on the Third Street Promenade Thursday afternoon. The Camp family and others did the deed to raise money for kids with cancer.
Tumlin out as City Hall consultant BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL City offiTUMLIN
cials
confirmed
PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS HERE! Yes, in this very spot! Call for details (310) 458-7737
Wednesday that they would no longer work with traffic and circulation consultant Jeffrey Tumlin after comments on an online biography proved even more controversial than the parking policies he espoused. In the bio, Tumlin wrote that Santa
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
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