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WHAT’S UP WESTSIDE ..................PAGE 2 INSIDE/OUTSIDE ............................PAGE 4 MY WRITE ........................................PAGE 6 EARTH TALK ....................................PAGE 8 MYSTERY PHOTO ............................PAGE 11
MONDAY
05.23.16 Volume 15 Issue 155
@smdailypress
@smdailypress
Santa Monica Daily Press
smdp.com
Downtown development, infrastructure plans anchor Tuesday Council meeting BY MATTHEW HALL Daily Press Editor
The City Council reconvenes May 24 with a packed agenda featuring budgets, development, water and a diverse consent calendar. Council meets at 5:30 p.m. May 24 at City Hall,
1685 Main St. For a complete list of agenda items, v i s i t www.smgov.net/depar tments/clerk/agendas.aspx. BUDGET
City Hall has a two-year budget cycle and a five-year General Fund budget pro-
jection. During the “exception years” to the established budget cycle, City Hall has had a policy of investing in its Capital Improvement Program to support important infrastructure. The 2016-17 fiscal year is an exception year and council will discuss their infrastruc-
Science teacher retiring from SMMUSD Former stuntman planning to move to New Mexico BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
For parts of three decades, Robert Seymour figured out how to make science engaging and relevant in classrooms filled with pubescent preteens. It was perhaps the former stuntman’s greatest act. Seymour, a longtime teacher at Lincoln Middle School, confirmed this month that he’ll be retiring from the Santa MonicaMalibu school district at the end of the school year. But for Seymour, teach-
ing middle school students about everything from genetics and ecology to bacteria and viruses was less of a stunt than a thrill. “You can still excite them about the wonder of science,” he said. Raised in Royal Oak, Michigan, Seymour studied biology and psychology at the University of Michigan while developing his skills as an acrobatic cheerleader. Seymour started dental school at Michigan but steered himself in a different direction after two years, going to Orlando to work as
PARTYING DOWN THE TRACK
a stuntman at the former Disney MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios). Seymour eventually relocated to Southern California to pursue acting and began taking classes at UCLA to earn a master’s degree in education. With his science background, he said, teaching “was a perfect fit.” Seymour first landed in SMMUSD as a student teacher at Santa Monica High School and was hired to work at Lincoln Middle SEE TEACHER PAGE 5
ture priorities, as well as plan for next year’s budget. They will also receive an update on the five-year plan. “The Update shows positive balances during the first three years of the five-year forecast and shortfalls of SEE COUNCIL PAGE 3
Parking fees in place at parks near Expo Line Pay stations, time limits intended to keep Metro users away BY JEFFREY I. GOODMAN Daily Press Staff Writer
An attempt by the City of Santa Monica to help parkgoers has rankled a particular segment of the local population: parkgoers. Ahead of the opening of the Expo Line’s extension to Santa Monica, the City SEE PARKING PAGE 9
Matthew Hall editor@smdp.com
Thousands of people welcomed the opening of the Expo Line this weekend. Free rides along the train drew people to station parties along the line, including a ribbon cutting event at the Bergamot Station stop. The day began with inbound trains carrying more riders and ended with lines more suited to a new Disneyland attraction than a commuter train.
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