FR EE
FRIDAY, JUNE 25, 2004
Volume 3, Issue 193
Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues
Farmer’s Market report to be released
DAILY LOTTERY FANTASY 5 5 8 11 16 39
Lawyers for victims say they should have had the 914-page law enforcement document six months ago
DAILY 3 Daytime: Evening:
2 0 4 830
DAILY DERBY 1st: 2nd: 3rd:
05 California Classic 06 Whirl Win 08 Gorgeous George
BY JOHN WOOD
RACE TIMES: 1:44.97
Daily Press Staff Writer
NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY CHUCK SHEPARD
■ After a 10-year study with a global positioning satellite system (reported in February), researchers at England's Oxford University concluded that homing pigeons do not get their bearings from the sun, as previously thought, but rather just follow roads and highways home. ■ Mr. Jian Feng, of Hegang in northern China, suspicious when his wife gave birth to a baby he regarded as seriously ugly, got her to admit that, though she was not adulterous, she had herself been seriously ugly before she met Jian, but had had major plastic surgery in South Korea and now did not much resemble her genetic look. (Even so, Jian divorced her and in May sued her for fraud.) ■ In April, a New York appeals court ruled that Leon Caldwell was entitled to a $50,000 state worker-compensation death benefit on behalf of his son, Kenneth, who died at age 30 at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, even though Leon had abandoned Kenneth shortly after birth and had seen him only twice since. The court said that Leon "met the legal definition of a parent" (but ordered him to pay Kenneth's mother her longoverdue $20,000 in child-support).
QUOTE OF THE DAY “The trouble with nude dancing is that everything stops when the music stops.” – SIR ROBERT HELPMANN
INDEX Horoscopes Pisces, be a duo tonight
2
Local Write a rhyme and make a dime
3
Surf Water temperature: 67°
3
Opinion Feinstein defense team responds
8
National West will host primary in 2008
10
Entertainment This week’s film reviews
14
16
Classifieds The classiest gig in town
Daily Press Staff Writer
CITY HALL — Smoking areas on the 1,600-foot-long Santa Monica Pier will measure 5 feet by 15 feet, be striped and have signs in both English and Spanish to help them stand out. Just one question remains — where to put them. Three months after local leaders attracted headlines worldwide for making it a crime to smoke on local beaches and the pier, they still can’t agree on how many smoking areas should be set aside, or where they should be placed. Discussions on the matter fell apart at this week’s City Council meeting. Staffers at City Hall recommended nine areas be set aside, from one end of the pier to the other. They also suggested an exception in the law be made for film actors on camera, and that it be left to pier restaurants whether they want to join the ban. Members of the council disagreed on how many spots should be set aside, and also split over where the smoking zones should be located. One used the forum to voice her fundamental opposition to the law.
“We’re talking about the reasons we’re doing this were health risks, but we say, ‘Hey, let people park SUVs, where there (are) no emission standards on the pier,” said City Councilwoman Pam O’Connor. “We don’t talk about that. We don’t talk about the health risks of the food that’s served on the pier. We’re not banning that. We’re not jumping into that and delving into that and regulating that. But we’ve singled out this health risk — not the others, but this health risk.” The nine spots that staff proposed be designated smoking areas include a gazebo on the southeast corner of the pier; a temporary area for events on the south rail in the pier parking lot; a spot in the center of the pier near the restrooms; on the south rail next to the amusement area called Pacific Park; another area near the restrooms in Pacific Park; along the south rail on the lower fishing deck; on the upper deck near another set of restrooms; and on the upper and lower fishing decks on the north side. Each area is located 135 to 450 feet from the next, staffers said. Mayor Richard Bloom and City
17-19
See SMOKING BAN, page 4
mony in the civil case is crucial,” Judge Baker told more than a dozen lawyers involved in the case. “And further delay ... would very likely prejudice the plaintiffs in the civil cases, who have suffered considerable injury.” A preliminary criminal trial against Weller, a retired grocer, is scheduled for Oct. 12. Jim Bianco, one of several lawyers representing Weller, said Thursday the elderly man’s failing health has continued to deteriorate since the crash. Weller has remained secluded in his house on 25th Street north of Montana Avenue. Meanwhile, at least 13 civil cases have been filed against Weller, the city of Santa Monica See FARMER’S MARKET, page 4
Level one done
John Wood/Daily Press
A worker sweeps the first level of what will be the new Main Library on Sixth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard. The multi-million dollar project is expected to be completed next year.
Santa Monica asks for $1M in terror funding BY JOHN F. MULLER
12-13
Comics Reality Check
BY JOHN WOOD
Special to The Daily Press
International The world in brief
City officials choke on designated smoking areas
7
State Population on the up and up
SM COURTHOUSE — Victims of the July 16 Farmer’s Market crash deserve access to a 914-page accident report prepared by the California Highway Patrol, a judge ruled Thursday. Prosecutors had kept the report confidential while a criminal investigation continues to
build against Russell Weller, 87, the Santa Monica man who drove through the market nearly a year ago, killing 10 and injuring dozens of people. Weller has been charged with 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter and is scheduled to stand trial this fall. Lawyers for the victims have argued for months that the CHP report should be viewed as a public document and be released by authorities. Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker agreed to order the report released, but said she will wait to do so until Tuesday, when she also will decide whether to limit access to it. “Given the passage of time since the Farmer’s Market tragedy, preservation of testi-
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Santa Monica will be more prepared in the event of a terrorist attack if a multi-million dollar budget proposal submitted Thursday is approved by the federal government. Mayor Richard Bloom met with public safe-
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ty officials and mayors from the Los Angeles area on Thursday to announce that they expect to receive more than $28 million in security grants from the Department of Homeland Security. The grants will provide funds for equipment, training and planning in the area, LA Mayor Jim Hahn said. Santa Monica will receive just less than $1 million under the proposed budget, according
to Bloom. The city will use those funds to contribute to a greater cooperative system that includes 16 cities in the LA area. “If (there) was a major event, then many jurisdictions would respond at the same time,” Bloom said. “So, the idea here is to equip an appropriate number of fire departments with See HOMELAND SECURITY, page 5
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