Santa Monica Daily Press, July 07, 2010

Page 1

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Volume 9 Issue 204

Santa Monica Daily Press

JUDGE GIVES LOHAN THREE MONTHS SEE PAGE 3

We have you covered

THE BUREAUCRACY SUCKS ISSUE

Dakota Lounge gutted by fire BY KEVIN HERRERA Editor in Chief

WILSHIRE BLVD Investigators with the Santa Monica Fire Department today are trying to determine the cause of a blaze that tore through the Dakota Lounge early Tuesday morning, destroying everything but the music venue’s sound board and stage. No injuries were reported, said SMFD Division Chief Kent Coble. The fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. at the night club, located at 1026 Wilshire Blvd. Nearly 20 fire fighters responded to the scene and found flames coming from where the roof used to be, Coble said. “There was so much fire damage,” he said. “The roof completely collapsed.” Fire fighters took on the blaze from the SEE FIRE PAGE 10

Woman pleads not guilty in Redding murder Brandon Wise brandonw@smdp.com

BY DAILY PRESS STAFF

RUINED: Investigators with the SMFD are trying to determine the cause of a blaze that tore through the Dakota Lounge on Wilshire Boulevard Tuesday.

AIRPORT COURTHOUSE A Thousand Oaks

already, Hughes said, and her group’s email list continues to grow. The group, which has hired attorney Geoff Willis of Sheppard Mullin to assist them, is planning to appeal the FAA’s decision this week. It’s important to obtain the data, Hughes said, to prove that far more planes were directed to fly over Santa Monica homes during the flight path test than previously. The group believes the data would help its cause should the FAA attempt to make the test route permanent. In defending the agency’s price tag for the information, FAA Spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said it would take an estimated 1,100 hours of work to compile the requested data.

woman pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of murdering an aspiring model and actress in her Santa Monica apartment. Kelly Soo Park, 44, is accused in the killing of Juliana Redding, 21, who was found dead on March 16, 2008, after her mother called police when she could not reach her daughter. In court papers filed last month, the case’s investigating officer wrote that the victim’s father, Greg Redding, was involved in a business negotiation with Park’s employer, Dr. Munir Uwaydah, that “fell apart” five days before the murder. Park received $250,000 from her employer about three weeks before the killing, and her father received a $113,400 payment three days before Park’s arrest, according to the court papers signed by Santa Monica police Detective Karen Thompson. Uwaydah, a Marina del Rey physician, was convicted in 2005 of defrauding a medical supply company of nearly $1 million

SEE FAA PAGE 8

SEE PLEA PAGE 9

FAA wants 100K for flight path info BY NICK TABOREK Daily Press Staff Writer

SMO The FAA says it plans to charge residents $100,000 to review and release data from its six-month flight path test at Santa Monica Airport. A group of residents who said the test caused a drastic increase in flights over their homes in Sunset Park and Ocean Park requested the data after the FAA claimed the test had only a minimal effect on residents but helped reduce flight delays at SMO and LAX. The residents, united as the group Neighbors for a Safe and Healthy Community, requested data for flights at SMO for about a nine-month period under the federal Freedom of Information Act. Skeptical that the FAA could be downplay-

ing the number of flights directed to fly over their neighborhoods, they asked for a record of all flights told to take the test route, known as a “250 degree heading,” during the test run. The group asked for a fee waiver, arguing their request was for a non-commercial purpose, but were denied. In rejecting the fee waiver request, an FAA official on June 22 stated that “the disclosure of the requested information will not contribute to the understanding of the public at large,” but only to the understanding of “a narrow segment of interested persons.” Lisa Hughes, who helped organize the FOIA request, said she was shocked by the FAA’s decision. “This is the exact type of group that this law was set up to help,” she said. There are 1,500 people interested in the FAA’s data

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