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Volume 11 Issue 138
Santa Monica Daily Press
SHUTTING DOWN 420 CELEBRATION SEE PAGE 14
We have you covered
THE EARTH WEEKEND ISSUE
New program to train local teens for careers BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
SMMUSD HDQTRS In a city where almost 63 percent of the population has at least a bachelor’s degree, the words “vocational training” can take on a distasteful patina. In Sally Chou’s view, people are looking SEE TRAINING PAGE 7
Mommy Wars give way to Doggy Wars in Twitterverse BY JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer
$40,000 a year in extra income by renting her home, as well as guests that prefer renting out homes rather than staying in highpriced hotels. The two groups are coming together to sign a petition as a rallying cry against the enhanced enforcement, which has shut down almost 40 rentals in the last year alone. For years, Tarsky and hundreds of other owners like her operated illegally, renting out their homes and rooms for days or weeks at a time with little fear that City
NEW YORK So let’s get all the puns out of the way, shall we? It’s the issue with legs — four of them. The doggone thing won’t go away. Has the presidential race just gone to the dogs? Or are we simply in those dog days between the primary season and the start of the general election? Whatever it is, the political Mommy Wars seem to have given way this week, at least temporarily, to the Doggy Wars, with an effort by supporters of both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama to gain points with the Doggy Vote. That’s dog owners, not the dogs themselves — at least for now. But let’s talk about those dog owners. We asked a bunch of them across the country what they thought. And many — though not all — were annoyed by the whole affair, calling it a silly and pointless distraction. “I hate seeing things detract like this from the real issues,” said Barry Leimkuehler, 53, of Phoenix. “Both sides are guilty of it. I guess until the debates start, they’re just filling up time.” Leimkuehler is a supporter of Romney, the presumptive GOP nominee, which gives us our segue. Because, to recap, it all starts with a story that has dogged Romney (sorry)
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FROM BEACH TO STREETS
Ray Solano news@smdp.com Employees with the Whole Foods on Wilshire Boulevard and 23rd Street walk through the nearby neighborhood Friday looking for trash as part of an urban cleanup effort for Earth Day called 'Clean Up Where You Live, Work & Play.' They were joined by students from the Compton High School Recycling Club and actor/activist Ian Somerhalder of ‘Vampire Diaries’ fame.
Vacation rental owners fight for legality Lifting restrictions could bring more tax revenue to City Hall BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
CITYWIDE As cloudy days begin to give way to sunshine and temperatures creep toward 70, evidence mounts that Santa Monica is primed to exit its period of winter hibernation and take its place as a summertime tourist destination. With the good weather surfaces the now-perennial debate regarding residents’ ability to rent out their homes and spare rooms to the thousands of visitors that flock to Santa Monica’s sandy beaches and shopping districts.
The stakes of the debate are higher this year than ever before now that a newlyminted Code Enforcement Division is actively investigating and shutting down vacation rentals and entrepreneurs are laying the groundwork to change the law altogether. On the one side of the fight is the Santa Monica Municipal Code, which clearly bans the rental of a home or spare room for under 30 days, calling it a “hotel use” which is illegal in areas of Santa Monica zoned as residential. On the other are homeowners like Melissa Tarsky, who brings in nearly
Andrew Thurm
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