MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2011
Volume 10 Issue 122
Santa Monica Daily Press KIDS STRESSED IN JAPAN SEE PAGE 8
We have you covered
THE YET ANOTHER WEEK IN PARADISE ISSUE
Budget list a byproduct of GOP’s frustration
COMMUNITYPROFILES STEFAN RICHTER
JULIET WILLIAMS Associated Press
SACRAMENTO When Gov. Jerry Brown announced last week that he was ending budget negotiations with Republicans, saying their demands were too much and came too late in the process, he rejected a lengthy list of requests GOP lawmakers wanted in exchange for their votes. His rejection led Republicans to question whether the Democratic governor was serious about compromise, as he repeatedly has claimed. But it also gave rise to criticism that Republican lawmakers had overreached and, in the end, failed to get any of the changes to employee pensions, business regulations and SEE BUDGET PAGE 12
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com RICHTER
Santa Monica chef at the top of his game Former ‘Top Chef’ contestant opening restaurants, writing books BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
OLYMPIC BLVD Stefan’s at L.A. Farm screams aristocratic eatery with every detail of its composition, starting with the rampant bulls with smouldering red eyes at the street entrance and following through to the richly appointed tomes that sit adjacent to the host desk. And then there’s the Double Bubble. A huge bowl of Double Bubble, splashing pink and yellow and blue hues across the otherwise muted earthtone palette like someone dropped a circus into the middle of a state dinner.
“People like it better,” said Stefan Richter, chef and owner of Stefan’s at L.A. Farm. The five-cent-a-piece gum is more expensive than the chalky mints you usually get at the end of a fancy meal, and it leaves a whole lot faster, too. “I’ve seen them take it by the bag,” Richter said. People know him as the egotistical Finnish chef from the fifth season of Bravo’s reality program, “Top Chef.” A guy with mad skills and a tendency to speak his mind without much in the way of diplomacy. In many ways, however, his approach to his business is not unlike the use of the bubbly confection at the front of his restau-
rant: fulfilling an expected program, but taking an end run around traditional methodology. On the one hand, Richter’s cooking pedigree is A-list. He worked in top kitchens in Europe, attaining degrees from cooking schools and achieving the title “master chef.” In his mid-20s, he worked alongside a famed cadre of culinary masters as part of the creative team opening the Bellagio Hotel, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas. Since, Richter made a name for himself at local restaurants, including the Drago SEE CP PAGE 12
Firefighters stage drill at L.A. high-rise ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES Dozens of fire trucks and a pair of helicopters were dispatched to a Los Angeles County high-rise building for a twohour emergency training exercise. Los Angeles Fire Department Greg Acevedo says Saturday morning’s drill simulated an earthquake and a fire on the 33rd floor of 2029 Century Park East, a 44-story building in Century City. Fire companies from Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Culver City participated in the drill. A staging area and mock evacuation center were set up at nearby Beverly Hills High School. Acevedo says crews practiced recently implemented new emergency elevator procedures and search and rescue practices. Fire officials will evaluate the companies’ roles in the drill.
Gary Limjap (310) 586-0339 In today’s real estate climate ...
Experience counts! garylimjap@gmail.com www.garylimjap.com
ALL FORMS, ALL TYPES, ALL STATES
BACK TAXES • BOOKKEEPING • SMALL BUSINESS
SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922
100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800Santa Monica 90401