WEEKEND EDITION
COMMENTARY
FOOD
TRYING TO SWAY THE ELECTORATE PAGE 4 WATER LEARNING CURVE PAGE 7
MAY 10-11, 2008
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Volume 7 Issue 153
Santa Monica Daily Press GOING FOR 100 SEE PAGE 17
Since 2001: A news odyssey
THE PUSHING DEADLINE ISSUE
District takes a second look Internal review comes on the heels of molestation allegations BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
SMMUSD HDQTRS District officials plan to review policies dictating how sexual allegations at school sites are communicated to top administrators after it was revealed earlier this week that a middle school teacher arrested for allegedly molesting his students was also investigated in 2006. Leaders with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District said they were
unaware that Thomas Beltran, a 20-year veteran teacher at Lincoln Middle School, was investigated two years ago when a student told school administrators she was uncomfortable with the way he was touching her. Beltran was not charged because there was insufficient evidence at the time. The teacher was arrested on May 3, a day after Santa Monica Police Department detectives interviewed a 12-year-old student who claimed she was sexually abused. Beltran, who teaches English as a Second
Language, has since been charged on 14 counts of molestation stemming from inappropriate conduct with five girls, one of whom was allegedly molested for more than a year. The district was notified about the March 2006 investigation by the SMPD just a few days after Beltran’s arrest, receiving a copy of a letter written by then-Principal Kathy Scott to Detective Lloyd Gladden about the sexual abuse claims. “I met with Mr. Beltran ... to inform him
of (the student’s) complaint,” Scott states in the letter. “Mr. Beltran was shocked at the accusation and was upset that his actions had been interpreted as inappropriate.” The letter concludes by saying that Scott instructed the teacher not to touch any of his female students in his classroom to “protect himself from any further misinterpretation.” “Mr. Beltran was in total agreement with my request,” Scott said in the letter. SEE DISTRICT PAGE 15
Partying for Mother Earth BY KEVIN HERRERA Editor in Chief
CLOVER PARK It seems fitting that the 17th
trate how much faster commuters can zip through gridlock on a bicycle than by sitting, bumper to bumper, in their cars. A group estimated to be nearly 30 riders strong rode onto the I-10 Freeway heading
annual Santa Monica Festival will be held this Saturday, a day before Mother’s Day. The eco-friendly, zero-waste event — featuring solar-powered stages and vendors using materials that will be later turned into compost for farms in the Central Valley — is in many ways a celebration of Mother Earth and the efforts City Hall has made to make Santa Monica a leader in sustainability. “It’s always been a cultural and arts festival, but when we came on board about 10 plus years ago with [the] Cultural Affairs [Division] it has been about the environment as well,” said Andrew Basmajian, City Hall’s environmental outreach coordinator. “It’s a showcase for the city and public works. It shows the natural fit between the cultural and artistic elements of the community and how that intermingles with the environment.” The free event, which costs around $120,000 to produce, with $100,000 coming from city coffers, will feature music, dance and visual arts, as well “guilt-free” shopping from vendors featuring earth-friendly artistic wares. Fresh food from an assortment of local eateries will be available for purchase
SEE BIKES PAGE 14
SEE FEST PAGE 11
Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com
MAKING A MOBILE STATEMENT: Members of Crimanimal Mass get onto the I-10 Freeway by way of the Bundy Drive on-ramp during rush hour on Friday evening. A group estimated to be 30 riders strong rode along the freeway before transitioning over to the northbound I-405 Freeway.
Crimanimal Mass challenges car culture BY DANIEL ARCHULETA Managing Editor
I-10 FREEWAY With cameras firmly secured to their handlebars and helmets, a band of bicycle enthusiasts made a bee line toward the Bundy Drive on-ramp to the
Santa Monica Freeway, hoping to make a statement and not get caught by the California Highway Patrol in the process. Crimanimal Mass — an aggressive offshoot of Critical Mass — collectively decided to perform the stunt on Friday at the peak of rush hour traffic to colorfully illus-
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