FR EE !
ND EDITIO E K E E N W
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Santa Monica Daily Press
March 27/28, 2004 L O T T O
A newspaper with issues
Market crash driver to stand trial in August
Conical visit
FANTASY 5 12, 23, 28, 30, 37 DAILY 3 Afternoon picks: 1, 3, 2 Evening picks: 1, 9, 4
DAILY DERBY 1st Place: 9, Winning Spirit 2nd Place: 10, Solid Gold 3rd Place: 4, Big Ben Race Time: 1:48.54
BY JOHN WOOD Daily Press Staff Writer
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by Chuck Shepard
At his trial in November for stealing the equivalent of US$150,000 worth of jewelry from a house, Daniel Dady, 20, offered the defense of lack of motive, in that he had just inherited the equivalent of US$30,000 and did not need more. The jury found him guilty anyway, and at his sentencing in January, Judge Peter Jacobs not only sentenced him to 4 1/2 years in detention but also ordered him to hand over the inheritance to his victim as partial restitution (an inheritance the judge would not have known about had Dady not spoken up in November).
Volume 3, Issue 117
Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press
Somewhere in Santa Monica, a prankster threw a construction cone in a tree, and it has remained there for weeks. The first person to accurately describe where this photo was taken will receive two free movie tickets to Loews Cineplex Broadway on the Third Street Promenade. E-mail your answers to sack@smdp.com.
LAX COURTHOUSE — Elderly driver Russell Weller will stand trial before a judge this August, more than a year after the Farmers’ Market crash that left ten people dead and dozens more injured, officials decided Friday. Weller, now 87, is not expected to testify in the preliminary trial. If a judge rules there is enough evidence to proceed, the case likely will be tried before a jury. Prosecutors levied 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence against Weller in January, saying he should have stopped before driving through the crowded market on July 16. Defense lawyers countered the accident was tragic, but not criminal. “We’ve now had an opportunity to review all the evidence that the DA is going to present and there’s nothing in there that changes our mind from before,” said Mark Overland, who is representing Weller, alongside local attorney Jim Bianco. If convicted on all counts, Weller could face up to 18 years in prison. Boris Hoffman, 49, whose father died See WELLER, page 7
INDEX
INSIDE THE CHAMBER
Horoscopes Whatever, Aquarius . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Local Swan songs for orchestra . . . . . . . .3
Opinion Word’s worth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
State Hearst-case scenario . . . . . . . . . . . .8
A month-long series that examines the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce.
Stamp of approval: Board shuffles its lineup BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON
National
Daily Press Staff Writer
Squat thrust of epic proportions . . .8
International Europe is U.N.-happy . . . . . . . . . . .9
People in the News ‘St. Elmo’s’ dryer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
DOWNTOWN — It’s election time for the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce. In the next two weeks, more than 1,000 local businesspeople will decide who should serve on the chamber’s 37-member board.
Ballots will be mailed out by April 1 and votes will be counted on April 16, according to Kathy Dodson, the chamber’s president and CEO. Dodson expects a 10 percent return on votes. And while any chamber member can be nominated and voted for, a slate of 18 people already
— KATHY DODSON Chamber’s president and CEO
has been picked and put on the ballot. Four of them would be new to the board, if elected. “We try to get a good mix of large and small businesses, all industries and geographics,” Dodson said, adding in her two years at the chamber, the slate has been voted in both times. The nominating committee used that criteria to select the prospective board members over the past two months, then sub-
We will miss you Chuck!
Features
THE UNDER $10 DINNER SPECIAL
CHUCK NILES 1927-2004
Served from 4pm - 10pm
1433 Wilshire Blvd at 15th St
310-394-1131
“If you are a brand-new chamber member, your chances of being on the board are small until you’ve earned it.”
www.santamonicamusic.com
Jazz Radio Legend
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mitted their list to the chamber’s executive committee, which has the ultimate say on the slate. The nominating committee always consists of the chamber’s past chairman, current chairman and chairman-elect. Chamber board seats are twoyear terms and members can serve two terms consecutively. After that, members can’t serve on the board again. But there are excepSee CHAMBER, page 6