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Celebrating 20 Years Servicing Santa Monica
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MARCH 27-28, 2010
Volume 9 Issue 117
Santa Monica Daily Press PLOTTING A RETURN? SEE PAGE 12
We have you covered
THE ROLLING ALONG ISSUE
L.A. Marathon doesn’t produce expected bounty BY KEVIN HERRERA Editor in Chief
DOWNTOWN Streets were slammed with runners and spectators, giving the impression that businesses were benefiting from the influx, but the Los Angeles Marathon didn’t bring the boon that some merchants had hoped for. In interviews with the Daily Press, several local businesses reported no significant spike in sales on Sunday, March 21 when the marathon ended in Santa Monica for the first time in the race’s history. Hotels along Ocean Avenue were packed, but restaurants in particular experienced roughly the same amount of traffic as they do on a normal Sunday. “I think [the race and the crowd that came with it were] a deterrent for the people who usually join us on Sunday,” Bryant Coleman, general manager of Ocean Avenue Seafood, said. “Everyone was pretty awe struck.” Some diners canceled their reservations, Coleman said. He suspects that, “as reality set in, they may have decided not to come in.” From the outside, the Blue Plate Oysterette on Ocean Avenue looked busy, but in actuality it was just people passing by the restaurant on their way to pick up friends and family who ran in the race, said Salvador d’Auvergne, the restaurant’s general manager. The restaurant is located near the finish line of the race. Business was about the same, d’Auvergne said, but the free publicity was much appreciated. The goal was to promote the restaurant as much as possible on race day and he is confident that goal was accomplished. Some businesses, however, suffered significantly. Mariasol, a Mexican restaurant located at the very end of the Santa Monica Pier, experienced poor sales on not only Sunday, but Saturday when the Santa Monica Police Department closed off the pier for several hours because of a potential bomb threat that turned out to be bogus. Manuel Barrayo, manager of Mariasol, said the restaurant lost money on Sunday because they put extra staff on duty to handle what they expected to be a large crowd of hungry runners and their families. That SEE MARATHON PAGE 10
FUTURE STARS
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com Conductor Angela Woo (center) leads the combined middle school-high school orchestra through ‘Molly on the Shore’ by Percy Grainger during the 61st annual Stairway to the Stars concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Thursday night.
Nurses’ billboard ad draws hospital’s ire BY NICK TABOREK Daily Press Staff Writer
MID-CITY Nurses at Saint John’s Health Center kicked their labor dispute with hospital management up a notch this week, placing a billboard ad on Santa Monica Boulevard that questions their leadership’s commitment to Catholic social justice. Nurses at Saint John’s who favor unionization have long been at odds with the hospital’s CEO, Lou Lazatin, over what they say is harassment aimed at preventing them from holding a fair election to decide whether to join the California Nurses Association. The nurses have not been able to negotiate a fair election agreement with Saint John’s administrators and say they’ve been spied on and intimidated for holding
pro-union views. Federal law does not require the hospital to enter into a fair election agreement with the nurses, but CNA organizers say the hospital’s refusal to do so goes against principals supported by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The billboard ad, paid for by CNA and located near Brockton Avenue on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles, features a photo of Saint John’s nurses carrying a banner that reads “Saint John’s RNs for Safe Patient Care.” The ad also poses the question, “Catholic Social Justice Supports Nurse Unions. Why Won’t Saint John’s?” Roy Hong, an organizing coordinator for the CNA, said the ad is intended “to let the public know that Saint John’s administration is not respecting the teachings of [the] Catholic church.”
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The hospital has officially stated that there is no need for a fair election agreement because it follows federal laws meant to protect workers’ rights. In a memo to employees on Friday, Lazatin blasted the union’s billboard ad, writing, “I am offended by the union’s unprofessional tactics to distort the truth and besmirch Saint John’s reputation. “The union’s message on the billboard is an attempt to portray Saint John’s as not following our Catholic Social Teachings regarding employees’ rights to be represented by a third party. Worse, the union insinuates that patient care is not safe at Saint John’s.” In a statement released Friday afternoon, Saint John’s denied administrators SEE BILLBOARD PAGE 9
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