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Santa Monica Daily Press, June 18, 2009

Page 11

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THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2009

Impact to services expected to be minor during freeze FROM HIRING PAGE 1 Community Development include an environmental planner, inspector in its Building and Safety Division, a senior plan check engineer and transportation planning associate. There is also a senior planner position but it’s expected to be filled with an in-house candidate, instead freezing an associate planner position that will open as a result, Ellen Gelbard, the assistant director said. Contract employees might be used to fill some of the gaps. The openings in the department mean that the planners may be stretched out over various projects, requiring some to do two jobs at once, Gelbard said. “It’s definitely going to hamper our ability to do our work,” she said. The Housing and Economic Development Department currently has a

frozen staff assistant II position, which is the receptionist for the Housing Authority. The department has pulled in employees to share front desk duty. “It means that we got everyone helping to fill in to cover that position and that is time that they’re not spending on their primary duties,” Agle said. Lee Swain is expecting the three frozen positions in Public Works to have minimal operational impacts, saying that the vacancies are for jobs that will have the least obvious effect on the community. The positions are in architecture services and cemetery maintenance. He estimates the savings at more than $100,000. “We recognize in this economy we’re needing to tighten our belt just like everyone else,” he said. melodyh@smdp.com

Private donors help foot cost of parade FROM PARADE PAGE 3 rowdy,” she said. Some in the crowd got a little too rowdy, including a group that was shut out of the celebration when the Coliseum filled to capacity. Dozens of people tried to enter by climbing over a ticket booth and tried to tear down a temporary fence, police said. They threw rocks, bottles and other objects at officers, who fired beanbags into the crowd. In all, 15 people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, narcotics possession, disturbing the peace and other violations, police said. One officer’s hand was cut when something was thrown at him. Another officer suffered minor injuries while attempting to make an arrest. Several cases of heat exhaustion and a child who fell down a concrete staircase inside the stadium were the only other

injuries reported. Police Chief William J. Bratton said at least 1,700 officers, some in plainclothes, kept watch on the crowd. Fan Michael Sims arrived before dawn with his brother, sister, niece and nephews to ensure they would get seats inside the Coliseum. “Who would miss this? This is magical,” said the 45-year-old Sims, who has been cheering the Lakers since the days of Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar. In the days before the event, much was made of its estimated $2 million cost, with critics complaining that a city a half-billion dollars in debt and facing layoffs could not afford the celebration. But private donors joined the team and the owners of Staples Center to underwrite most of the cost. It was the first of the four Laker victory parades this decade to be privately funded.

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Santa Monica Daily Press, June 18, 2009 by Santa Monica Daily Press - Issuu