FR EE !
E D DITIO N E K E E N W
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Santa Monica Daily Press
June 12-13, 2004 SLIP INTO SOMETHING A BIT MORE SUMMERFUL
A newspaper with issues
Jury still out on relocation of courthouse
Volume 3, Issue 182
Swept up in history
BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON Daily Press Staff Writer
SM COURTHOUSE — The criminals here have left the building, never to return again. The Santa Monica Courthouse has seen the last of its accused drunk drivers, trespassers, code violators, burglars, shoplifters and every other criminal who has violated the law in Santa Monica. Starting next week, they’ll either be shipped to the Airport Courthouse, courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, or will have to find their own way to court. And City Hall’s five prosecutors, the county’s public defenders and the criminal court judge say they will face longer commutes, as well as the countless witnesses who will be forced to travel to LAX to testify. Officials estimate moving the criminal court out of Santa Monica will cost local taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. But it’s not just about the money — Santa Monica’s community courtroom is gone forever, as is the convenience and efficiency of handling criminal matters in the same city where the cases were filed, officials said. “There is something to be said about what a real community courtroom does,” said City Attorney Marsha Moutrie. “It is the public’s courtroom where the social contract by which we
FANTASY 5 7 11 13 30 35 DAILY 3 Afternoon picks: 5 3 6 Evening picks: 9 9 7 DAILY DERBY 1st Place: 07 Eureka 2nd Place: 01 Gold Rush 3rd Place: 04 Big Ben
Race Time: 1:42.82
INDEX Horoscopes Taurus, you’re in your element . .2
Local
See COURTHOUSE, page 6
Devolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Opinion
John Wood/Special to the Daily Press
About 400 eighth-graders re-enact Picketts’ Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg on Friday at Lincoln Middle School as part of a U.S. history class assignment. The makeshift Union and Confederate armies assembled on the school’s physical education field and did battle with broomsticks.
Bridging the gap: Trives takes the chamber reins Former mayor to steady ship amid elections
Some gifts suck . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
State Reagan recalled . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
BY JOHN WOOD Daily Press Staff Writer
International Is eight enough? . . . . . . . . . . . .11
National Fall from grace . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Classifieds John Wood/Daily Press
Ad space odyssey . . . . . . . .16-19
People in the News Worm wiggles away . . . . . . . . .20
Everything must go: Ron Martinez and Esteban Vasquez remove files from the Santa Monica Courthouse on Thursday. Criminal court cases will be heard at the Airport Courthouse near LAX beginning Monday.
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A former mayor with strong ties to the community, Nat Trives took over as chairman of the local chamber of commerce Thursday, indicating he would work diligently to repair and build relationships during what promises to be a contentious election season. More than tackling any one issue, Nat Trives, 69, said he looks forward to channeling the talent of key leaders from various backgrounds to address Santa
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Monica’s needs. “We have CEOs and top leadership, and we’re going to tap their talent as far as whatever the city’s work is, as far as the chamber’s concerned,” Trives said after an installation ceremony at the Marriott Hotel in Marina del Rey. “You could travel all over the country and I doubt you could find a town of 85,000 people as involved as Santa Monica — and I travel all over.” Trives, who was approached by chamber leaders and asked to serve as chairman, said he hopes to facilitate more fluid communication and, ultimately, stronger ties between the business community and leaders from Santa Monica College, the local school district and City Hall. In his work, Trives will depend on his background as a politician, teacher and administrator. See CHAMBER, page 8
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